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The Mick and Segue Music Commentary Thread


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While it was sort of pricey, I'm really glad I got the 10th anniversary edition of The Great Cold Distance since I've never owned a copy of the original. I've had a few days to sit through all the content and now the album's catapulting into my top tier of Katatonia albums. I think the 10th anniversary edition's main selling point is the 2nd disc of all the B-sides from the long deleted My Twin, Deliberation and July singles finally getting a proper release, and the live disc featuring the album performed live in full with the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra from September of last year. I can't stress enough how good those B-sides are, especially Dissolving Bonds and Unfurl. I think Katatonia's the only band I know of that can do no wrong when it comes to B-sides. And that Live in Bulgaria CD is just awesome to listen to. The orchestra adds some cool dynamics and texture to the songs. Those tracks that were lukewarm to me initially translated better live with the orchestra. The album closer Journey Through Pressure especially wow'd me on the live album.

 

On a different note, during my search for finding some movies to borrow at the library yesterday, I found Delirium circulating in the rock and metal section and while I've probably heard Karmacode a few times, I never really got Lacuna Coil other than that album, and if I never associated them with being Segue's favorite band, I might've forgotten about them for who knows how long. I figured that since no one ever borrowed it (probably not) and I'm an open minded person, I'd give them a more serious try. Ended up finding the most recent Kate Bush album also and borrowed that too. IDK what to expect, but that's the fun part.

 

Awesome! Because of you I'm still gradually falling in love with Katatonia.

 

Glad you gave LC a try! I'm rationally in love with them now. No longer the fanboy I was. Which I'm ok with!

While it's not necessarily the kind of metal I listen to, there's plenty of things that LC does which I really like (namely Christina Scabbia's vocals), but IDK if it just fell prey on Delirium but I think the male vocalist is the weakest link in the album IMO...his screaming/growls I didn't have a problem with though I didn't expect to hear screaming male vocals to start off the album, it's when he sings his cleans that for some reason rubs me in an indifferent way. Overall though, for what it's worth, plenty of good stuff on it, and it's something I'm gonna revisit again soon.

 

Delirium is my least favourite album. Oddly I love him though!

 

The album before that, Broken Crown Halo, was much better.

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While it was sort of pricey, I'm really glad I got the 10th anniversary edition of The Great Cold Distance since I've never owned a copy of the original. I've had a few days to sit through all the content and now the album's catapulting into my top tier of Katatonia albums. I think the 10th anniversary edition's main selling point is the 2nd disc of all the B-sides from the long deleted My Twin, Deliberation and July singles finally getting a proper release, and the live disc featuring the album performed live in full with the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra from September of last year. I can't stress enough how good those B-sides are, especially Dissolving Bonds and Unfurl. I think Katatonia's the only band I know of that can do no wrong when it comes to B-sides. And that Live in Bulgaria CD is just awesome to listen to. The orchestra adds some cool dynamics and texture to the songs. Those tracks that were lukewarm to me initially translated better live with the orchestra. The album closer Journey Through Pressure especially wow'd me on the live album.

 

On a different note, during my search for finding some movies to borrow at the library yesterday, I found Delirium circulating in the rock and metal section and while I've probably heard Karmacode a few times, I never really got Lacuna Coil other than that album, and if I never associated them with being Segue's favorite band, I might've forgotten about them for who knows how long. I figured that since no one ever borrowed it (probably not) and I'm an open minded person, I'd give them a more serious try. Ended up finding the most recent Kate Bush album also and borrowed that too. IDK what to expect, but that's the fun part.

 

Awesome! Because of you I'm still gradually falling in love with Katatonia.

 

Glad you gave LC a try! I'm rationally in love with them now. No longer the fanboy I was. Which I'm ok with!

While it's not necessarily the kind of metal I listen to, there's plenty of things that LC does which I really like (namely Christina Scabbia's vocals), but IDK if it just fell prey on Delirium but I think the male vocalist is the weakest link in the album IMO...his screaming/growls I didn't have a problem with though I didn't expect to hear screaming male vocals to start off the album, it's when he sings his cleans that for some reason rubs me in an indifferent way. Overall though, for what it's worth, plenty of good stuff on it, and it's something I'm gonna revisit again soon.

 

Delirium is my least favourite album. Oddly I love him though!

 

The album before that, Broken Crown Halo, was much better.

Figures. It was the only thing my library had so...now at least I know from a fan that it's not their best effort. Looks like Broken Crowd Halo is going in my Spotify.

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Paradise Lost are my musical soul mates.

 

They've honestly been a gift to my mental state these last few months. I've been listening for more than a decade but now they have truly taken over me. I really needed them and they haven't let me down.

 

Any artists that do this for you Mick?

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Paradise Lost are my musical soul mates.

 

They've honestly been a gift to my mental state these last few months. I've been listening for more than a decade but now they have truly taken over me. I really needed them and they haven't let me down.

 

Any artists that do this for you Mick?

 

oh i' have many bands that have become like safe havens

 

The Beatles

Toto.

Genesis

Tom waits(absolutly, lol)

 

Recently i know it's become a cliche with me......but Spock's beard/Neal Morse.

 

i can't even begin to tell how much this man's music now means to me........right up there with Waits, and that's an honor in Mick land.

 

Oh.......and 2 big comfort albums. Darkness on the Edge of Town and Tunnel of love.

 

both are big lights in my collection.

 

Mick

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Paradise Lost are my musical soul mates.

 

They've honestly been a gift to my mental state these last few months. I've been listening for more than a decade but now they have truly taken over me. I really needed them and they haven't let me down.

 

Any artists that do this for you Mick?

 

oh i' have many bands that have become like safe havens

 

The Beatles

Toto.

Genesis

Tom waits(absolutly, lol)

 

Recently i know it's become a cliche with me......but Spock's beard/Neal Morse.

 

i can't even begin to tell how much this man's music now means to me........right up there with Waits, and that's an honor in Mick land.

 

Oh.......and 2 big comfort albums. Darkness on the Edge of Town and Tunnel of love.

 

both are big lights in my collection.

 

Mick

 

Fleetwood Mac's Mirage is a blanket of warmth for me.

 

Nightwish are an escape and understanding.

 

Sonata Arctica are a brohug.

 

HIM supply the sexy when I need a self esteem boost haha

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But Paradise Lost just soundtrack my worst memories and somehow they help me to think through the worst.

 

Don't Belong and Pray Nightfall evoke the pain and confusion I've suffered and that sort of kindred emotion helps me see outside myself and it's helping me so much right now

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Paradise Lost are my musical soul mates.

 

They've honestly been a gift to my mental state these last few months. I've been listening for more than a decade but now they have truly taken over me. I really needed them and they haven't let me down.

 

Any artists that do this for you Mick?

 

oh i' have many bands that have become like safe havens

 

The Beatles

Toto.

Genesis

Tom waits(absolutly, lol)

 

Recently i know it's become a cliche with me......but Spock's beard/Neal Morse.

 

i can't even begin to tell how much this man's music now means to me........right up there with Waits, and that's an honor in Mick land.

 

Oh.......and 2 big comfort albums. Darkness on the Edge of Town and Tunnel of love.

 

both are big lights in my collection.

 

Mick

 

Fleetwood Mac's Mirage is a blanket of warmth for me.

 

Nightwish are an escape and understanding.

 

Sonata Arctica are a brohug.

 

HIM supply the sexy when I need a self esteem boost haha

 

i feel the same way about Tango From the Mac.

 

and Tusk, lol and Stevie's Bella Donna.

 

i missed this thread.........glad you are doing better.

 

Mick

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Paradise Lost are my musical soul mates.

 

They've honestly been a gift to my mental state these last few months. I've been listening for more than a decade but now they have truly taken over me. I really needed them and they haven't let me down.

 

Any artists that do this for you Mick?

 

oh i' have many bands that have become like safe havens

 

The Beatles

Toto.

Genesis

Tom waits(absolutly, lol)

 

Recently i know it's become a cliche with me......but Spock's beard/Neal Morse.

 

i can't even begin to tell how much this man's music now means to me........right up there with Waits, and that's an honor in Mick land.

 

Oh.......and 2 big comfort albums. Darkness on the Edge of Town and Tunnel of love.

 

both are big lights in my collection.

 

Mick

 

Fleetwood Mac's Mirage is a blanket of warmth for me.

 

Nightwish are an escape and understanding.

 

Sonata Arctica are a brohug.

 

HIM supply the sexy when I need a self esteem boost haha

 

i feel the same way about Tango From the Mac.

 

and Tusk, lol and Stevie's Bella Donna.

 

i missed this thread.........glad you are doing better.

 

Mick

 

It's a battle. I won't be back to normal ever and I am accepting that

 

But I just need to have more fun. Both here and in life.

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So...I've tried revisiting Dream Theater. That bird has flown for me...I don't regret the £17 I spent on all the albums. But they are likely never going to one of those bands that define my taste.

 

I find them oddly shallow, and emotionally I can't latch onto anything to ever find myself more than blissfully entertained by the showmanship. I do appreciate the skill they have in composing excellent music, but between the clinical production and the honestly really hard to listen too vocals I just don't know if I want to sit through a DT album again. I really struggled last week, and scenes remains a great album, but for such a deep concept and often very emotional lyrics, the execution leaves me about as moved as I am after watching a Transformers flick. For all the skill in the world, nothing moves me. I think this is why bands like Paradise Lost, Sonata Arctica and Nightwish remain my favourite metal bands. I tend to gravitate towards goth and symphonic anyway, but I can't deny that DT travel very similar paths to the majority of my metal tastes. It's all very annoying.

 

In this light, I am happy to say I do enjoy two other bands I've discovered that are comparable: Symphony X and Pain Of Salvation. Both bands are great and SX likely won't ever be a favourite either, but POS are showing signs of being my next obsession!

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So...I've tried revisiting Dream Theater. That bird has flown for me...I don't regret the £17 I spent on all the albums. But they are likely never going to one of those bands that define my taste.

 

I find them oddly shallow, and emotionally I can't latch onto anything to ever find myself more than blissfully entertained by the showmanship. I do appreciate the skill they have in composing excellent music, but between the clinical production and the honestly really hard to listen too vocals I just don't know if I want to sit through a DT album again. I really struggled last week, and scenes remains a great album, but for such a deep concept and often very emotional lyrics, the execution leaves me about as moved as I am after watching a Transformers flick. For all the skill in the world, nothing moves me. I think this is why bands like Paradise Lost, Sonata Arctica and Nightwish remain my favourite metal bands. I tend to gravitate towards goth and symphonic anyway, but I can't deny that DT travel very similar paths to the majority of my metal tastes. It's all very annoying.

 

In this light, I am happy to say I do enjoy two other bands I've discovered that are comparable: Symphony X and Pain Of Salvation. Both bands are great and SX likely won't ever be a favourite either, but POS are showing signs of being my next obsession!

 

i'm telling ya.....Enchant.

 

though the way i'm putting them over you'll probably hate them, lol.

 

re Pain of salvation. i love them. but i tried them the other day. so. freakin. tedious.

 

i guess my mood is not tuned to them yet, lol

 

Symphony X is amazing no matter what.

 

Mick

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So...I've tried revisiting Dream Theater. That bird has flown for me...I don't regret the £17 I spent on all the albums. But they are likely never going to one of those bands that define my taste.

 

I find them oddly shallow, and emotionally I can't latch onto anything to ever find myself more than blissfully entertained by the showmanship. I do appreciate the skill they have in composing excellent music, but between the clinical production and the honestly really hard to listen too vocals I just don't know if I want to sit through a DT album again. I really struggled last week, and scenes remains a great album, but for such a deep concept and often very emotional lyrics, the execution leaves me about as moved as I am after watching a Transformers flick. For all the skill in the world, nothing moves me. I think this is why bands like Paradise Lost, Sonata Arctica and Nightwish remain my favourite metal bands. I tend to gravitate towards goth and symphonic anyway, but I can't deny that DT travel very similar paths to the majority of my metal tastes. It's all very annoying.

 

In this light, I am happy to say I do enjoy two other bands I've discovered that are comparable: Symphony X and Pain Of Salvation. Both bands are great and SX likely won't ever be a favourite either, but POS are showing signs of being my next obsession!

 

i'm telling ya.....Enchant.

 

though the way i'm putting them over you'll probably hate them, lol.

 

re Pain of salvation. i love them. but i tried them the other day. so. freakin. tedious.

 

i guess my mood is not tuned to them yet, lol

 

Symphony X is amazing no matter what.

 

Mick

 

Pain Of Salvation so far are hit and...well..interesting at the worst haha!

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So...I've tried revisiting Dream Theater. That bird has flown for me...I don't regret the £17 I spent on all the albums. But they are likely never going to one of those bands that define my taste.

 

I find them oddly shallow, and emotionally I can't latch onto anything to ever find myself more than blissfully entertained by the showmanship. I do appreciate the skill they have in composing excellent music, but between the clinical production and the honestly really hard to listen too vocals I just don't know if I want to sit through a DT album again. I really struggled last week, and scenes remains a great album, but for such a deep concept and often very emotional lyrics, the execution leaves me about as moved as I am after watching a Transformers flick. For all the skill in the world, nothing moves me. I think this is why bands like Paradise Lost, Sonata Arctica and Nightwish remain my favourite metal bands. I tend to gravitate towards goth and symphonic anyway, but I can't deny that DT travel very similar paths to the majority of my metal tastes. It's all very annoying.

 

In this light, I am happy to say I do enjoy two other bands I've discovered that are comparable: Symphony X and Pain Of Salvation. Both bands are great and SX likely won't ever be a favourite either, but POS are showing signs of being my next obsession!

 

i'm telling ya.....Enchant.

 

though the way i'm putting them over you'll probably hate them, lol.

 

re Pain of salvation. i love them. but i tried them the other day. so. freakin. tedious.

 

i guess my mood is not tuned to them yet, lol

 

Symphony X is amazing no matter what.

 

Mick

 

Pain Of Salvation so far are hit and...well..interesting at the worst haha!

 

i think POS is one of those bands. I find ideas by them i love. but for every good idea they have about 8 WTF are you doing moments.

 

but from day the good has been enough to make me a fan so it's all ok, lol

 

Mick

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So...I've tried revisiting Dream Theater. That bird has flown for me...

I think the bird has flown for me w/DT as well (at least my interest in future albums and tours)...I haven't listened to them since late 2015 and wouldn't mind not listening to them anymore if it comes to that. I still hold high regard for Images and Words through Octavarium but quite honestly, their music style no longer enthralls me like it did when I was 18. Actually, I can say that there's a lot of prog metal that do absolutely nothing for me right now in my life.

 

I don't think it's because I saw them this past Sunday cause I could sense it coming naturally, but I think Alcest is the band that I needed back in the forefront of my life. Kodama still resonates and moves me almost half a year since its release and I've grown a a newfound appreciation of the rest of their discography especially Ecailles De Lune and the controversial Shelter. Right now I feel like they're a band I can rely on to help me get through dark or uncertain times and/or put me into a state of otherworldly for 45 minutes or so. They're almost like a safe haven band for me right now.

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So...I've tried revisiting Dream Theater. That bird has flown for me...

I think the bird has flown for me w/DT as well (at least my interest in future albums and tours)...I haven't listened to them since late 2015 and wouldn't mind not listening to them anymore if it comes to that. I still hold high regard for Images and Words through Octavarium but quite honestly, their music style no longer enthralls me like it did when I was 18. Actually, I can say that there's a lot of prog metal that do absolutely nothing for me right now in my life.

 

I don't think it's because I saw them this past Sunday cause I could sense it coming naturally, but I think Alcest is the band that I needed back in the forefront of my life. Kodama still resonates and moves me almost half a year since its release and I've grown a a newfound appreciation of the rest of their discography especially Ecailles De Lune and the controversial Shelter. Right now I feel like they're a band I can rely on to help me get through dark or uncertain times and/or put me into a state of otherworldly for 45 minutes or so. They're almost like a safe haven band for me right now.

 

Alcest are great. But right now Paradise Lost are that shelter for me. Really don't know how I could have survived recent months without them.

 

I need to get back to Alcest.

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I played some Alcest today. First time in a long time...

 

It sent me to sleep.

 

In a good way...it soothed me to the nicest most relaxed vibe I've felt in a long time.

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I played some Alcest today. First time in a long time...

 

It sent me to sleep.

 

In a good way...it soothed me to the nicest most relaxed vibe I've felt in a long time.

They're a great band to get you in a relax state of mind. Even their heavier black metal passages puts me sort of a transcendental state. It happens with other music I listen to, but more than any band, I hear Alcest's music in visuals. With Neige being a Miyazaki aficionado though, it doesn't surprise me that I paint Miyazaki-esque visuals in my head when listening to his music.

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I played some Alcest today. First time in a long time...

 

It sent me to sleep.

 

In a good way...it soothed me to the nicest most relaxed vibe I've felt in a long time.

They're a great band to get you in a relax state of mind. Even their heavier black metal passages puts me sort of a transcendental state. It happens with other music I listen to, but more than any band, I hear Alcest's music in visuals. With Neige being a Miyazaki aficionado though, it doesn't surprise me that I paint Miyazaki-esque visuals in my head when listening to his music.

 

I definitely sense that Miyazaki spirit. It's the ambience, it's also I think a shared love for slowness and attention to quiet details.

 

I can't remember now why I never got fully into this band. If my memory is correct I really started digging into their music in 2013 and around that time I was heavily into Rush and classic rock so maybe now is the right time to explore this band.

 

I've gone back to gothic metal and also music by bands like The Gathering, Anathema, Katatonia and My Dying Bride are back on my radar.

 

It is easy to imagine Alcest being my next obsession.

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I played some Alcest today. First time in a long time...

 

It sent me to sleep.

 

In a good way...it soothed me to the nicest most relaxed vibe I've felt in a long time.

They're a great band to get you in a relax state of mind. Even their heavier black metal passages puts me sort of a transcendental state. It happens with other music I listen to, but more than any band, I hear Alcest's music in visuals. With Neige being a Miyazaki aficionado though, it doesn't surprise me that I paint Miyazaki-esque visuals in my head when listening to his music.

 

I definitely sense that Miyazaki spirit. It's the ambience, it's also I think a shared love for slowness and attention to quiet details.

 

I can't remember now why I never got fully into this band. If my memory is correct I really started digging into their music in 2013 and around that time I was heavily into Rush and classic rock so maybe now is the right time to explore this band.

 

I've gone back to gothic metal and also music by bands like The Gathering, Anathema, Katatonia and My Dying Bride are back on my radar.

 

It is easy to imagine Alcest being my next obsession.

2013 was also when I first heard of Alcest. Even saw them live when they co-headlined an American tour with Anathema that autumn and not too long afterwards released their Shelter album which I played heavily for the first few months of 2014 and then the band sort of fell by the wayside once I started listening to and getting obsessed with Isis and Dir En Grey, but I got interested again when they started teasings songs off Kodama which led me to where I am now.

 

That year (2013) when I look back now was really an important year for me in shaping what kind of music I'm drawn to these days. I listened to a lot of Coheed and Cambria the first half of my freshman year. It was also when I got seriously into Katatonia and for most of that year, they were my main obsession. Even bands that didn't necessarily clicked with me or got obsessed over until a few years later like Cult of Luna, Neurosis, and The Dillinger Escape Plan I started listening to during this time. I was still dorming in college at the time and I killed plenty of time borrowing CDs in the school library and blowing money on music at any record store in the city I came across. I literally tried and listened to anything that looked or sounded interesting to me. That naive and spontaneously attitude I had with music outside my comfort zone changed my tastes for the better and I wouldn't done anything different. A lot of good things came about it.

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I played some Alcest today. First time in a long time...

 

It sent me to sleep.

 

In a good way...it soothed me to the nicest most relaxed vibe I've felt in a long time.

They're a great band to get you in a relax state of mind. Even their heavier black metal passages puts me sort of a transcendental state. It happens with other music I listen to, but more than any band, I hear Alcest's music in visuals. With Neige being a Miyazaki aficionado though, it doesn't surprise me that I paint Miyazaki-esque visuals in my head when listening to his music.

 

I definitely sense that Miyazaki spirit. It's the ambience, it's also I think a shared love for slowness and attention to quiet details.

 

I can't remember now why I never got fully into this band. If my memory is correct I really started digging into their music in 2013 and around that time I was heavily into Rush and classic rock so maybe now is the right time to explore this band.

 

I've gone back to gothic metal and also music by bands like The Gathering, Anathema, Katatonia and My Dying Bride are back on my radar.

 

It is easy to imagine Alcest being my next obsession.

2013 was also when I first heard of Alcest. Even saw them live when they co-headlined an American tour with Anathema that autumn and not too long afterwards released their Shelter album which I played heavily for the first few months of 2014 and then the band sort of fell by the wayside once I started listening to and getting obsessed with Isis and Dir En Grey, but I got interested again when they started teasings songs off Kodama which led me to where I am now.

 

That year (2013) when I look back now was really an important year for me in shaping what kind of music I'm drawn to these days. I listened to a lot of Coheed and Cambria the first half of my freshman year. It was also when I got seriously into Katatonia and for most of that year, they were my main obsession. Even bands that didn't necessarily clicked with me or got obsessed over until a few years later like Cult of Luna, Neurosis, and The Dillinger Escape Plan I started listening to during this time. I was still dorming in college at the time and I killed plenty of time borrowing CDs in the school library and blowing money on music at any record store in the city I came across. I literally tried and listened to anything that looked or sounded interesting to me. That naive and spontaneously attitude I had with music outside my comfort zone changed my tastes for the better and I wouldn't done anything different. A lot of good things came about it.

 

Hhow interesting!

 

After years of listening to intense and brooding metal, post metal, post hard-core and of course proper hard-core, 2011-14 saw me embracing "cheesy" music. AOR, prog and stuff like Bon Jovi and Foreigner over the likes of Neurosis or Mastodon or Khoma. Now my tastes are slowly turning back to what they always were and I'm opening up to more of that darker, intense metal that I've always ways loved. I think I will always be more drawn to the European metal scene than I am the US. I just feel there is more experimentation, more depth and beauty to European metal. There also seems to be less of a distinct "sound" to the European metal scene. However I sense that for the most part, American metal is fairly formulaic. For all the amazing music coming from America most of it I feel is either very much samey sounding, or it owes a lot to the European metal scene.

 

Bands like Dream Theater and Symphony X have a lot in common with European metal, as do the metal core bands (who basically picked up where the Scandinavian melodic death metal scene left off in the mid to late nineties). But I still feel more inclined to try a European band over a US.

 

Alcest are immediately rewarding and my goodness...I can see them taking over the next few weeks!

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I played some Alcest today. First time in a long time...

 

It sent me to sleep.

 

In a good way...it soothed me to the nicest most relaxed vibe I've felt in a long time.

They're a great band to get you in a relax state of mind. Even their heavier black metal passages puts me sort of a transcendental state. It happens with other music I listen to, but more than any band, I hear Alcest's music in visuals. With Neige being a Miyazaki aficionado though, it doesn't surprise me that I paint Miyazaki-esque visuals in my head when listening to his music.

 

I definitely sense that Miyazaki spirit. It's the ambience, it's also I think a shared love for slowness and attention to quiet details.

 

I can't remember now why I never got fully into this band. If my memory is correct I really started digging into their music in 2013 and around that time I was heavily into Rush and classic rock so maybe now is the right time to explore this band.

 

I've gone back to gothic metal and also music by bands like The Gathering, Anathema, Katatonia and My Dying Bride are back on my radar.

 

It is easy to imagine Alcest being my next obsession.

2013 was also when I first heard of Alcest. Even saw them live when they co-headlined an American tour with Anathema that autumn and not too long afterwards released their Shelter album which I played heavily for the first few months of 2014 and then the band sort of fell by the wayside once I started listening to and getting obsessed with Isis and Dir En Grey, but I got interested again when they started teasings songs off Kodama which led me to where I am now.

 

That year (2013) when I look back now was really an important year for me in shaping what kind of music I'm drawn to these days. I listened to a lot of Coheed and Cambria the first half of my freshman year. It was also when I got seriously into Katatonia and for most of that year, they were my main obsession. Even bands that didn't necessarily clicked with me or got obsessed over until a few years later like Cult of Luna, Neurosis, and The Dillinger Escape Plan I started listening to during this time. I was still dorming in college at the time and I killed plenty of time borrowing CDs in the school library and blowing money on music at any record store in the city I came across. I literally tried and listened to anything that looked or sounded interesting to me. That naive and spontaneously attitude I had with music outside my comfort zone changed my tastes for the better and I wouldn't done anything different. A lot of good things came about it.

 

Hhow interesting!

 

After years of listening to intense and brooding metal, post metal, post hard-core and of course proper hard-core, 2011-14 saw me embracing "cheesy" music. AOR, prog and stuff like Bon Jovi and Foreigner over the likes of Neurosis or Mastodon or Khoma. Now my tastes are slowly turning back to what they always were and I'm opening up to more of that darker, intense metal that I've always ways loved. I think I will always be more drawn to the European metal scene than I am the US. I just feel there is more experimentation, more depth and beauty to European metal. There also seems to be less of a distinct "sound" to the European metal scene. However I sense that for the most part, American metal is fairly formulaic. For all the amazing music coming from America most of it I feel is either very much samey sounding, or it owes a lot to the European metal scene.

 

Bands like Dream Theater and Symphony X have a lot in common with European metal, as do the metal core bands (who basically picked up where the Scandinavian melodic death metal scene left off in the mid to late nineties). But I still feel more inclined to try a European band over a US.

 

Alcest are immediately rewarding and my goodness...I can see them taking over the next few weeks!

 

I sense some truth in what you're saying...but I'm probably more softer on the American vs. European metal debate. On one hand, Europe gave us the likes of Opeth, Katatonia, Alcest, Godflesh, etc. yet on the other hand, America gave us Neurosis, Isis, Converge, Dillinger etc.

 

I think the main problem with the American metal scene is that every once in awhile there'll be a band that sets themselves apart and once other aspiring musicians get wind of it, they build a scene that oversaturates into dull half assed uninspired knockoffs. Most American "post-metal" bands that came after Isis were rode off the Oceanic formula and never experimented far enough to craft their own sound. As a result, the post-metal scene has corroded but SUMAC (Aaron Turner's post-Isis band) is what post metal should be in a post-Isis world.

 

Actually, this applies to Japan also as to why I think the mainstream Japanese rock/metal scene is vapid in a post-X Japan/Dir En Grey world. I will say this, the underground metal scene in America is much more exciting and experimenting than those bands that are in the mainstream American metal circles.

 

On the contrary, I have yet to come across a European band that has proven to be a worthy contemporary/counterpart to Converge in the style they play in. Belgium's Oathbreaker comes close but they have their own original style that they can call their own. Meanwhile back in America, Deafheaven took the Alcest blackgaze formula and all of the sudden the Pitchfork crowd are all over this band when Alcest have been doing it before there even was a "blackgaze" scene.

 

My take on the debate is that there's a few American bands in such and such metal scene that I find superior than the European's answer to those bands and vice versa and I'll leave it at that.

 

But in the middle of all this, I concede that both American and European up and coming prog metal does absolutely nothing for me. Haken? GTFO. TesseracT? I'd rather listen to post-oBzen Meshuggah which does nothing for me also. Periphery? They ought to be ashamed of themselves. The most modern prog metal (both American and European) that I'm into is Intronaut but they've been around for over 10 years now. I'd throw Coheed and Cambria also but they've been a band for 20 years now and I don't even consider them prog really either...

Edited by PolarizeMe
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PolarizeMe, I highly recommend you a band called Insomnium. The latest album, Winter's Gate, is a beautiful forty plus minute song. It's amazing.

 

Also, I think I recommended them before, but another band, Swallow The Sun, are also great.

Edited by Segue Myles
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PolarizeMe, I highly recommend you a band called Insomnium. The latest album, Winter's Gate, is a beautiful forty plus minute song. It's amazing.

 

Also, I think I recommended them before, but another band, Swallow The Sun, are also great.

I think I've heard of the name before...actually, as I'm typing this I'm giving the album a listen.

 

I remember a few months ago you had very nice things to say about Swallow The Sun which I took note of and gave a few albums a listen but drifted off for awhile. I was gonna listen to The Morning Never Came had I not drifted off from the STS stuff...I find death/doom metal to be the kind of metal that Europe (especially Nordic countries) does better than America...while the Americans do post-metal better than Europe (Cult of Luna being the sole exception).

 

I recently discovered a Belgian band called Amenra who are on Neurosis' Neurot Recordings label and have been given high praise by Neurosis themselves. I haven't listened to a proper studio album yet but I did listen to their live album Alive yesterday which is a stripped down acoustic style compared to what they usually play (doom/sludge metal) which I really liked. Sometime tonight or tomorrow I'm queuing up their Mass V album for listening.

 

Since you've given me a band to check out, then I'd say Amenra might be worth checking out if you're looking for a "new" European band that's on the sludgy end of the metal spectrum.

Edited by PolarizeMe
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PolarizeMe, I highly recommend you a band called Insomnium. The latest album, Winter's Gate, is a beautiful forty plus minute song. It's amazing.

 

Also, I think I recommended them before, but another band, Swallow The Sun, are also great.

I think I've heard of the name before...actually, as I'm typing this I'm giving the album a listen.

 

I remember a few months ago you had very nice things to say about Swallow The Sun which I took note of and gave a few albums a listen but drifted off for awhile. I was gonna listen to The Morning Never Came had I not drifted off from the STS stuff...I find death/doom metal to be the kind of metal that Europe (especially Nordic countries) does better than America...while the Americans do post-metal better than Europe (Cult of Luna being the sole exception).

 

I recently discovered a Belgian band called Amenra who are on Neurosis' Neurot Recordings label and have been given high praise by Neurosis themselves. I haven't listened to a proper studio album yet but I did listen to their live album Alive yesterday which is a stripped down acoustic style compared to what they usually play (doom/sludge metal) which I really liked. Sometime tonight or tomorrow I'm queuing up their Mass V album for listening.

 

Since you've given me a band to check out, then I'd say Amenra might be worth checking out if you're looking for a "new" European band that's on the sludgy end of the metal spectrum.

 

Agreed on these points. I tend to think of post-metal as more of a US thing anyway.

 

And I actually recommend the Insomnium album Shadows Of The Dying Sun above Winter's Gate. Truly breathtaking and it has a few quieter, melodic passages that remind me vaguely of Katatonia. It's also easer to digest.

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Playing Panopticon for the first time in years.

 

Oh my I've missed this.

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