Emeralds – Tonight at El Corazon
February 27th, 2009 BrianEmeralds – Seattle Band that reminds me of Corrosion of Conformity. Maybe I’ll go see them tonight.
Edit: Ok some of the other bands sound decent too
Full bill at El Corazon Calendar
A smattering of it all
Lavett – New band born from Swedish Metal bands
February 20th, 2009 BrianInteresting band here: http://www.myspace.com/lavettband
The Band members are from a lot of Swedish metal bands, namely Dark Tranquility, but they are far from Metal. I would call this light-metal at best. That said their songs are still sonically pleasing and interesting.
The Faceless, Cynic, and Meshuggah – concert review
February 7th, 2009 BrianHere’s a quick review of the concert I saw last night at El Corazon…..
The Venue: Tough to describe when you spend most of the time stuck behind a pillar in a room filled with metal fans young and old. It has a small, dirty metal club feel, a pretty decent PA, and is impossible to transit during a sold-out show. I was impressed the most by the sound since most venues that aren’t particularly deep in front of the stage often get muddy and distorted during a metal concert. I guess they have their act together since they are predominantly a hard rock, metal, punk venue. Security seemed pretty reasonable during some very intense moshing in front of the stage – they take action only when they have to, so don’t be an idiot. Lets just say if its a highly moshable band stay out of the pit area unless you are prepared for a few bruises. Only issue…where the fuck was the bar (is it that tiny thing stage right) and how the fuck do you get to it…
The Crowd: A broad cross-section of age for an all ages show, though mostly men. You pretty standard metal fanbase. I don’t think you go see Meshuggah if you are simply a Disturbed fan.
The Bands: I arrived partway through The Faceless, which was a pretty typical Hardcore metal band in the Bloodsimple variety, which a little less mosh emphasis – but maybe it was just early. Lots of tempo change and screamo…
Cynic was really interesting and musically/sonically awesome. I didn’t know much about them before the concert but they are definitely worth checking out more. Their Drummer has serious skills, definitely owing to a lot of the jazz timings in many of their songs. Everything was purposeful and composed keeping the complex music accessible. The lead guitarist used lots of a dissonance, also jazz like, that added a eerie and new sound to their songs. The vocals were predominantly clean, though the guitarist provided some subtle backup growls, that are much more prominent on the albums. A little change is very welcome after all the cookie cutter acts that are out there now.
This brings us to Meshuggah. They were brutal, in a good way of course. There music was fast and furious, with a lot of seemless tempo change. They provided plenty of foder for the moshers who managed to eccompass the entire floor of the club at times. The Drummer looked like he was busting ass to keep up with the horrid pace. Some of the drum fills/solos were simply monstrous in their rhythym and sequence, and I think I’d give him a raise. The guitars and bass laid down a very good base for the vocalist who had a great growl that wasn’t just screaming to the point of throat dismemberment. If it is even possible to conceive, there was some melody to his growling.
Going to See this tonight…..
February 6th, 2009 BrianGoing to see Meshuggah, Cynic and The Faceless play in Seattle tonight. I’m looking forward to this show more for Cynic than Meshuggah, but this should be good either way. This is also a first chance to check out El Corazon which I’ve never had a chance to see. Below is just what I’m going to see….
MySpace Links:
What’s been tickling my musical fancy lately?
January 31st, 2009 BrianAs usual I’ve been listening to all kinds of things lately but here is a short list of some faves…..
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1. Friendly Fires – Friendly Fires – 2008 – Genre: Danceable Indie-Pop-Rock - This one probably isn’t new to anyone, but this is just an all around solid album. There really isn’t a track that seems like a throw away and this Indie-disco-pop-rock is very danceable. If you don’t start taping your feet to songs like In The Hospital you might just not have any Soul-in ya.
2. Black Keys – thinkfreakness- 2003 – Genre: Indie Southern Blues Rock – Just solid rock with a heavy blues sound. This 2003 release has some glorious downright dirtiness that makes you want to roll around in the mud and yell hallelujah! Try Have Love Will Travel
3. In Flames – A Sense of Purpose – 2008 – Genre: Swedish Melodic Deathmetal – Another goodie by the modern-”classic” deathmetal band. Some nice hard cuts on this one such as Sober and Irrelevant and also some great epics like I’m the Highway and Sleepless Again.
4. The Knux – Remind Me in 3 Days – 2008 – Genre: Hip Hop of the Outkast variety – If you heard this album in passing you may have thought it was a new album in passing. That is not meant as a dig, since we’ve come to expect a quality, evolving range of sounds from them. This Album however has all the elements of Outkast’s great, but less experimental tracks with a very unique flavor. You’ll find lots of electric guitar that mixes up the range of sounds you’ re likely to hear and hey they actually have lyrical talent which seems lacking in the mainstream hip-hop world these days. Just a solid, no great album that makes the TIs and Soulja Boys look late shameful posers. Check out Cappucino, F!RE, and Life in a Cage as a start.
Music Picks – 3/16 – EDM – Issue 1
March 16th, 2008 BrianI originally intended to do a regular column on my picks for good tracks, albums, and artists. I’ve been a little negligent in my responsibilities so here is the first issue of Brian’s Music Picks.
The picks this week are focused on EDM (electronic dance music). I have 3 tracks I found particularly appealing, one which has been very recently released and should not be a surprise and another which I found by happenstance which I also found to be a good tune. See the reviews and comments below and follow the links to Beatport to listen to a sample.
Eric Prydz – Pjanoo – Original Mix
This track is a recent release and it should be no surprise that it will be a hit. It is Eric Prydz. I love the repeating lead and how the bass line acoustically changes the feel and cadence of the lead. It may not be groundbreaking, but it is sure to be a club hit and has a great drive to it. Below is a youtube video of the song.
Oliver Klein and Martin Eyerer – Babylon
A great techno track, this song has a minimal feel to it, but doesn’t carry the occasionally overly simplistic monotonous sounds that many other minimal tracks have (that sound where you think a ten year old could have created that). It take something special to take a minimal tack from mediocre to quality. The xylophone like lead has a varying beat that is ever changing but at the same time not grating or unsettling.
Hybrid – Finished Symphony – Deadmau5 Remix
This track is from 2007 so it is far from new, but it still has been flowing through my playlist and I had to throw it in there. I usually loathe strings, synthesized or real in EDM tracks, but somehow Hybrid does it with ease and Deadmau5 applies its characteristic sound in surprisingly effective fashion. Warning: It still sounds like Deadmau5 once things get rolling, so if you suffer from Deadmau5 repetition headaches you may want to avoid this track.
Battle of the Unofficial Campaign Ads
March 3rd, 2008 BrianThis post is inspired by a posting that was made on a media newsgroup. It described the new Unofficial Ron Paul “Revolution” video by Aimee Allen (already has a song that many probably know titled Revolution) as a response to the will.i.am “Yes We Can” video made in support of Obama. Both are embedded below. I don’t believe the Ron Paul video matches Yes We Can in message, impact, or effectiveness.
The Ron Paul video (embedded above) is slick, well produced and appeals to our pop sensibilities. But that’s exactly the problem. It is a pop video that utilizes a political message. The message is token, the depth lacking, and the lasting power or internet phenomenon potential limited since in reality its just a music video. I must caveat this by saying that who knows what Aimee Allen’s true intent was. Maybe she wasn’t looking for the same respond will.i.am’s video received and maybe the Ron Paul campaign is just losing steam. It is definitely more engaging to the eye than the “Yes we can” video due to the visual content (looking at celebrities over and over gets old after the first minute or two). BUT, I think the Ron Paul video triggers the pop culture part of our minds more than the political side. The message gets lost in the glossy packaging. It is ineffective as a political rallying cry since the minute they throw in the Suicide Girls, people will be thinking about them and what will come next visually rather than any message that is in there. They might pull in a few young eyes who think Aimee Allen is hot, but I’m not sure how SGs translate into revolution or Ron Paul. Not to mention
half the time they yell Ron Paul it could just as easily be Run Pull. More pop using a little political messaging rather than political messaging utilizing a pop medium. Don’t see the emotional tug that will.i.am’s originally had.
More “that was cool” than “what a great message”
The Obama video (embedded above) on the contrary is minimalistic, almost reminiscent of the NBC public service announcement ads. The Message is political, the format is political and it uses a pop medium to that end. The celebrities are almost inconsequential, as most B and C celebs are anyways. Its the words and message that gets all the focus, as its repeated over and over again. Yes it helps that its a very well crafted tag line, its tough to beat “Yes we can”, but as with the adoption of “change” by every candidate the message is also in the packaging. I believe Obama’s unofficial ad really found a balance between pop and politics
Share your comments below.
Update: As you can see from one of the comments below, the Aimee Allen video is actually not an official video, but was an early version that was prematurely leaked. I think the analysis still stands as when, what, how, or why it was released is not as important as what is on the web now. Maybe the official video will have a completely different feel to it, but this is the content we have to consider for the moment. I look forward to the official version. At a minimum the original video had a lot of potential, so in the end it could blow the Obama ad out of the water. I hope they still complete it and post it even though Ron Paul has now discontinued his campaign activities.
Ola Frenning leaves Soilwork
February 16th, 2008 Brian
I just read that the main guitarist(Ola Frenning) of Soilwork is leaving the band. The official release can be read on their website Soilwork.org. This would be a sizable loss to Soilwork since they lost former guitarist Peter Wichers to a career in production after that last album Stabbing the Drama. They are going to continue touring and I’ll be going to see them play in Seattle in late March, so I’ll see how they sound after this change.
I have to say I was pretty disappointed by their last album Sworn to a Great Divide. It left much to be desired, but still had a lot of the elements from previous albums. It is not clear if they hit a wall creatively, with the label or are just milking the cow. We’ll have to see what the future rings since it seems like they have a full year of touring planned. stay tuned! The full quote from the band website is included below:
SOILWORK, who recently completed the Lamb Of God/Killswitch Engage U.S. tour in support of their new album Sworn To A Great Divide, have decided to part ways with guitarist Ola Frenning.
It was felt that Ola resisted the demands of the road and found it difficult to come to terms with the amount of touring scheduled.
Sworn To A Great Divide is SOILWORK’s fastest seller and the live demand for the band is growing. They intend to play everywhere and fulfill the album’s potential.
Vocalist Björn “Speed” Strid says: ‘It was a very difficult decision to make because Ola has been our friend and bandmate for a very long time’.
The decision will not affect any of SOILWORK’s plans. Guitarist David Andersson will fill in on their upcoming Finnish/Baltic tour as well as the “Scum Of The Earth” U.S. tour with Throwdown. The band will then tour Australia, Japan and South-East Asia before returning to Europe for festivals and a headlining U.S. tour in the Fall.
Ola Frenning comments: ‘After 10 years, 7 albums and several world wide tours, we’ve realised that we have developed in different directions and have a different set of values, profession wise. The disagreements have reached their peak and it has become an untenable situation. The band’s solution is that I part ways with them so that I won’t be in the way for the future plans of SOILWORK.
However, since I’m not gonna be on the road (at least for a while), I will now be able to continue with my songwriting and producing at another level. For further information, visit www.myspace.com/olafrenning. The page will be updated in the near future.
Cheers to ya all… And thanks for making these 10 years with the band memorable’.
-Ola Frenning
posted by: Soilwork (12 Feb 2008)
Reaper Audio Editing Software
February 16th, 2008 BrianThere is a great new audio editing product on the market right now. It is called Reaper and it is a competitor to Cubase, Sonar, Logic, etc. One of the reasons it is a great product is because it is being constantly updated in response to user needs, not to mention instead of a piece of bloatware like many of the editing suites out there it is relatively compact. You can run it off a USB drive if you want.
Reaper is a cross between donation-ware and shareware. There are no iLok keys or fancy anti-piracy controls, instead you can download the fully functional suite for a month after which time it will ask you to pay for it, as you should if you’re still using it. However it will still function normally minus a delayed startup screen. I think this is great because I know I may download software and play with it for a day get distracted and return to it a month later to make the purchasing decision. You’re screwed if you happen to be trying out many of the “commercial” products out there. Not to mention to register for non-commercial use it is only $50 and for a commercial license only $225.
There is a great user community and the developer(s) are easily accessible compared to those at Digidesign/Steinberg who won’t answer a phone without a credit card. Often feature requests by customers will be integrated into the next release which is always right around the corner. It isn’t a perfect production suite, as few are, but it is definitely worth checking out, especially for those home studio folk (like myself). Reaper.fm