Music Exchange: Round One

Hello, everyone. Today's post is going to be heavy on recommendations, but relatively low on content. I'm not going to go into much depth about each artist on today's menu due to time constraints, but I may go back and do a separate feature for some of the artists I mention in this post. We'll see.

In case I wasn't particularly clear on the subject before, I'm currently in my senior year of college. This means that much of my time is occupied by reading about Plato, or researching Mexico's 19th century foreign debt, instead of discovering interesting bands to pass on to you folks. Thankfully, my roommate (who will go unnamed for now, since I haven't asked his permission) is a fellow musician, and a music major to boot. Since our schedules don't have too much overlap (I'm stuck being an early-riser this semester, while he burns the midnight oil), we've set up a whiteboard in our dorm room for sharing bands we think the other might be interested in. I've decided to start sharing the fruits of this exchange with my audience (such that it is) at this blog. This time, we both selected three albums from different artists, so I'll be sharing a total of six different bands with you today (in no particular order). Due to the sheer quantity of music this time around, I'll be fairly brief with each band. I think the music should speak for itself, anyways. Without further ado, let's get to the music.

Guitarman's recommendations:

#1: Haken - "Affinity"

My list of recommendations starts off with Haken's release from earlier this year, "Affinity." The album is modern progressive metal with an 80's pop-ish flair. Great stuff, and very much on the lighter end of the heaviness spectrum. I may do a more in-depth feature on it later, because it deserves more than just a little blurb here. Give it a listen, and you'll see what I mean.

#2: Gygax - "Critical Hits"

I think the best way to describe Gygax is to call them a nerdy Thin Lizzy. Actually, that's probably all the description that the band really needs. Their sound is straightforward classic rock/metal with focus on guitar harmonies (did I mention that they sound almost exactly like Thin Lizzy?), and their lyrical themes are about what you'd expect from a band named after the creator of Dungeons and Dragons. Their album "Critical Hits" doesn't ask for much of your time (it's about 30 minutes total), and is well worth it. We don't get enough of this stuff these days.

#3: The Dread Crew of Oddwood - "Lawful Evil"

There's some context behind this recommendation. See, I live on a themed hall on campus. Specifically, we're the pirate-themed substance-free hall. Kind of a strange combination, I know. My roommate is one of the hall captains, which is what we call our leaders. Anyways, The Dread Crew of Oddwood are similar to Alestorm (a band I previously featured) in that they write songs almost exclusively about pirates. Unlike Alestorm, however, they aren't a metal band. Dread Crew of Oddwood are an acoustic folk band that takes stylistic inspiration from metal groups. They're a quirky lot, and their latest album "Lawful Evil" is certainly worth a look if you're into folk and have a functioning sense of humor.

Roommate's recommendations:

#1: JJ Doom - "Key to the Kuffs"

For the record, no, rap isn't really my cup of tea. My roommate recommended JJ Doom for his lyrics, which are villain themed and, frankly, great. However, I'm probably not going to be seeking out this album that often. While this is some of the best rap I've ever heard, I tend to focus much more on the instrumentation than the vocals when I listen to music. As such, I gravitate towards rap-rock like Rage Against the Machine, Pre-Fight Hype or Southpaw Swagger when I want my rap fix. Still, I'll probably be coming back to JJ Doom, which isn't something I can say about most straightforward rap outfits. I imagine anyone who normally pursues rap music will absolutely love this.

#2: Danish String Quartet - "Wood Works"

And now for something completely different: traditional Nordic folk music. I'm not exactly qualified to assess the quality of a string quartet, but I must say that I'm enjoying what I'm hearing here. They're precise without sacrificing the inherent fun of the pieces they preform. If you enjoy folk half as much as I do, you'll enjoy them.

#3: Punch Brothers - "Phosphorescent Blues"

Full disclaimer: I'm still digging through their music, so this is more "first impressions" than "researched opinion." That being said, I'm really liking what I'm hearing from these folks. The Punch Brothers play progressive bluegrass, which is absolutely fantastic. I'm lacking in comparisons to draw from to describe their sound, but that's honestly a good thing in my opinion (just not when I'm trying to introduce them to you). They've managed to blend soulful bluegrass with classical inspirations, and it works bloody brilliantly. This is certainly my favorite of the groups my roommate recommended, and by a rather large margin. Definitely worth checking out!

So, there you have it: round one of the roommate music exchange. I'm clearing off the whiteboard to make way for more music, and I'll be sure to let you know what makes the list! Until next time, Guitarman out.

New year, same gig

Happy intensely belated new year. Now that I have recovered from this weekend's shenanigans (flat tire repair, work gone awry, my 21st birthday), I'm ready to ring in the new-ish year a month late with some quality music. I have a lot of music to go through today and not quite as much time as I'd like, so I'll make this a bit briefer than I probably should.

Before I get to the music, though, I'd like to talk on the subject of harsh vocals in metal. You might notice that the music I'm featuring today is strewn with all manner of screams, rasps, growls, barks and snarls. This was intentional, and it's to make a point. It should come as no surprise to my audience at this point that I'm something of a metalhead. I can't help it; so much of the best guitar-work is found in metal, progressive rock, blues and flamenco. I simply listen to whatever has the most interesting or exciting guitar parts. Few genres these days are as guitar-driven as metal, from the treble-heavy blast strumming of black metal to the crunchy grooves of death metal. There is, however, something of a price of entry to the more hard-edged stuff in metal: the vocals. For the longest time, I simply chose to avoid harsh vocals in metal. Payoff be damned, I simply couldn't stomach screams or...whatever those black metal vocalists were doing (it just sounded like irritable stage whispering to me). I think the record that opened my mind a little was Lost in the Sound of Separation, by Underoath. It's not an album I return to often anymore, though. What really changed my mind to harsh vocals in metal was hearing Amon Amarth's single War of the Gods (from Surtur Rising) for the first time.

THAT was a gamechanger. I hadn't heard quality death metal before, let alone death metal with MELODY. The use of harsh vocals in music finally clicked with me. Amon Amarth was using the human voice (to great effect, I might add) as a percussion instrument, and not as an additional source of melody. It needed to be a gruff growl and snarl in order to not distract from the guitar lines in the treble. It needed to be abrasive to project any kind of power with that low of a pitch. The vocals took getting used to, but they made sense. I could accept that, and I'm glad I did.

What I'm trying to say here is that there is both logic behind these more abrasive vocals, and (more importantly) a MASSIVE payoff for acclimating oneself to them. Oh boy, is there ever a payoff!

Introducing Wilderun's sophomore album, Sleep at the Edge of the Earth.

This album is, without hesitation, my favorite of all the records I've encountered. It has folk instrumentation, beautiful clean vocals, blast beats, brilliant arrangements, excellent pacing, a sense of groove and of melody. It has harsh vocals. Basically, this is what would happen if we took Opeth, removed the 70's prog influences and replaced those with folk music. The result is majestic and should NOT be skipped over. This is the album I'd suggest for acclimating oneself to harsh vocals in metal. It's an extremely palatable blend of melody with black metal and death metal, and I'd recommend it to people who do not consider themselves metal fans at all. I have yet to show this to someone, metal fan or not, and have them dislike it. I could ramble on for hours about how much I love this album, but I'd rather just let the music speak for itself. It's not free, but it's worth every freaking cent and then some. You can pick it up from their Bandcamp page HERE. It's only $7 USD minimum, and it's worth so much more.

For someone looking for a bit less bombast and way more oomph and strange puns, we have Slugdge.

As much as I love these guys, I am not advocating using them as your gateway to extreme metal unless you're already fine with harsh vocals. Slugdge is freaking heavy, with a potent mixture of blackened sludgy death for your listening pleasure. No, they're more an example of the long-term payoff for acclimating yourself to extreme metal. They're also a pretty way to just jump straight into the deep end rather than sticking your toes in the water with Wilderun. If you're already a fan of the headier brews metal has to offer, then you'll feel right at home with Slugdge. They're creative, brutal, and highly entertaining. They also write all their songs about slugs bringing about the end times, which is frankly hilarious. Give them a shot at their Bandcamp page HERE. Their entire discography is available with a name your own price offer with no minimum price, after all, so there's no reason not to give them a shot if you (like me) are a fan of what they're peddling.