Segue Myles

Beyoncé- Lemonade

Still an astonishing masterpiece. 

3 hours ago, bluefox4000 said:

Beyonce

 

Self Titled (9/10)

Renaissance (6/10)

Cowboy Carter (8/10)

 

I've been dipping into her more.  it's easy to call this woman crazy egotistical and pandering.  all of which are valid.  but THERE is a serious artist and artistry to her that i do see.

 

Self titled was my fav so far.  it was very prince like. hyper sexual sensual r nb and i LOVED it.

 

Cowboy carter  is her "country" foray.  Segue just to illustrate......HATES THIS.  we talked and he was comically dismissive.  but i understand.

 

i however was wholly charmed and won over from note one unironically so.

 

it's not perfect.  but it's one of my fav listens of the year so far.

 

Renaissance was ok. not great.  there are some really great 70's retro moments but it's bogged down by too much fluff.

 

Mick

 

 

 

 

 

 

The way you ignore Lemonade has my piss fizzing.

16 minutes ago, Entre_Perpetuo said:

yesterday

 

Weezer - Weezer (Green Album)

U2 - War

Ornette Coleman - This Is Our Music

Gabriel Aplin - Phosphorescent

Ornette Coleman - The Shape Of Jazz To Come

Me and Gabriel Aplin share mutual friends. She's really sweet in real life! Was awesome seeing her blow up in fame 

Lana Del Rey- Lust For Life

Taylor Swift- Midnights

Lana Del Rey- Born To Die

Lana Del Rey- Ultraviolence

In all honesty, I'm shocked I am not already a die hard fan. I've revised my opinions on her first two albums, I underrated them upon release. I am in awe. Beautiful, stylish, and highly creative, this is an artist who knows how to explore her muse through retro sounds without sounding contrived or trend chasing.

Taylor Swift might be toppled yet.

2 hours ago, bluefox4000 said:

 

 

yea but it's not just that song for me.  i find this album incredibly generic.  You know that's a criticism of Toto in general people have that they're faceles and generic.  i think this album just gives into that tenfold.  so many tracks here are rockers and ballads any ol artist could have  done. also i can't handle bobby Kimble on this album AT ALL.  every song has the same adlib........HEY--YEA----YEA!!!!!!!!! or OH-OH-YEA!!!!!

 

shut up dude!!!!!

 

not a great record.

 

Mick

I love this album, but yes, it is generic. 

Lately I've been spinning Kingdom Of Desire a lot. That one has really grown on me.

19 hours ago, bluefox4000 said:

Toto-Mindfeilds (6/10)

 

Mick

No matter how much praise I give this album, I can't deny that if I don't skip High Price Of Hate, the album flow is so disrupted I switch off.

Normally I embrace albums I enjoy start to finish, and the skips grow on me. This is one album I had to edit for my playlist/burn my tracklist off on CD.

Alter Bridge- ABIII.5

The three bonus tracks are fantastic. Just love this of Alter Bridge. I'd put this album up against the best of Soundgarden for SOARING rock brilliance.

12 hours ago, Union 5-3992 said:

Rush - Grace Under Pressure

Wilderun - Epigone

Caligula's Horse - Charcoal Grace

Primus - The Desaturating Seven

Unleash the Archers - Apex

Deep Purple - Machine Head
Deep Purple - Who Do We Think We Are

Slomosa - Slomosa

Alice in Chains - Facelift

Mastodon - Once More Round the Sun

Once More Round The Sun was, for me, a really great album. I still find The Hunter quite dull but I love that album.

Alter Bridge- ABIII

In my top five albums of the 2010's. Beautiful collection of songs.

The Gathering- Mandylion

Paradise Lost- One Second

Lacuna Coil- Lacuna Coil EP

Nightwish- Oceanborn

Within Temptation- Enter

Oh gosh...take me back to the nineties please!

Rhapsody- Legendary Tales 

Still a masterpiece to my ears. 

Lacuna Coil, Dark Tranquillity and Rhapsody (Of Fire)

Dark Tranquillity- Character

Dark Tranquillity- Fiction

This band is phenomenal. Unlike In Flames, they never delved into mainstream waters. No hit singles, no soaring anthems ready for crowd singalongs...but I love that about them. They also have one of the strongest discographies in metal, but somehow remain underrated.

Oh well. 

They should be as big as In Flames at least, and I'd say fans of Trivium, Lamb Of God and KillSwitch Engage should look into them.

3 minutes ago, bluefox4000 said:

 

yay.  now you can properly enjoy her now that the old bitch is like

 

"well i guess i'll let the kiddies listen on the liver spotify or whatever that contraptions called.

 

 

Mick

Exactly! I am rarely home spinning albums anymore. I'm often out and about listening on the go, which is why Spotify is important to me now

5 minutes ago, bluefox4000 said:

 

to be fair to TRF i have like metal amnesia.  every time i'm not playing it i forget it exists.  now you think that's a joke but it's really not.

 

My brain everytime is like...."oh let me try this metal every one speaks of.  bet it's not that good"

 

ALSO to YOUR point........yea guys i do like metal..........jeez i'm not some caveman, lol.  i think people just think of me as an AOR bitch

 

 

i'm not kidding when i say i do forget metal though .  i dunno know if it speaks to the genre or me. lol

 

Mick

I always forget how much I like any genre when I'm not into it.

Right now I'm like "symphonic metal, it will never catch on", but then I look at my CD collection and that's like 10% of it 🤣

And emo, when I'm not in the mood I am like "ha, fancy being 33 listening to that!"

Then the mood hits and OHMYGODFUCKMENOWJIMMY

42 minutes ago, Entre_Perpetuo said:

Sick! I guess I’d just never seen you mention them before.

I love how Mick posts often metal bands he loves, then he leaves the genre for one minute and then everyone is like WOAAAAAAH WOW every time he comes back to it later on 🤣

Joni Mitchell- Hejira 

Phwoar! What an amazing album!

6 hours ago, bluefox4000 said:

 

I agree.  Taylor swift did it but her reason was legit.  owning her own recordings again.

 

if you have a solid reason........please do.  

 

the new Comalies had no reason. (and don't say an anniversary ....that sucks, lol)  I haven't played it in a while but i remember my first listen.......yikes.  i hated it so much.

 

LC needs direction in the worst way.  they are a car that speeding down a highway.......with no driver.

 

Mick

Well...maybe...Black Anima is a really strong album aside from the mix.

But they do seem to be slow on a follow up...I swear they've been writing for at least two years now.

Hope it's not the end. But I'd hate them to turn into Leaves Eyes who just released the fourth exact same sounding album in a row.

19 minutes ago, J2112YYZ said:

 

Butchered Comalies is toilet worthy. I have no idea what they were thinking? I would rather the band just stay quiet for an extended period of time and work on new material instead of trying something like this. I sometimes think things like this are pushed on the band by the record label because when I listen to it I'm baffled as to why any band would want to do something like this to an album that is considered by many to be their best and be ok with it.

I've noted a lot of bands doing re-recordings lately. Paradise Lost, Sonata Arctica, In Flames and I'm sure many more...I think it's an easy sell.

The worst part of the new Comalies for me is that it is actually a really well done album. Great vocals, great songs, great playing...but we know how it sounded before and that ruins any chance of enjoying this version.

And honestly, one thing I've noticed is a lack of sensuality. Early LC had a somewhat passionate, warm, breathy vocal style from Cristina that was backed up by the style of music they played. These songs lack any of that sort of ambience and it leaves us with a really soulless experience.

I enjoy some of the new takes, but even then I think they took incredible songs and made them sound like modest b-sides at best.

But the production is so much better than Black Anima's. I wish they would fix that instead.

Lacuna Coil- In A Reverie

Lovely little album. They weren't yet on the level of The Gathering or Paradise Lost, but they were clearly on the right track.

Lacuna Coil- Shallow Life

I wish I hated this album, I feel left out. Oh well. Guess I will just have to keep on enjoying it...but not as much as anything else they did.

I like this handbag pop era of Lacuna Coil. I Like It is a crunchy pop rocker ready made for Glee or High School Musical. What's the iss...oh wait, never mind. I get it.

Sorry, I still singalong to every word 🤣

10 hours ago, JohnRogers said:

BBC News had a piece on an Amy Winehouse biopic. The word icon was thrown around a couple of times. My impression is she was a one hit wonder, with a substance abuse problem. Is this somebody who’s catalog I should be looking deeper into?

She was pretty much an icon here in the UK. Her substance abuse didn't detract from her music being massive here. When she died, it wasn't a shock but it did really sting. Amy Winehouse has fantastic albums. I feel she paved the way for Adele, who was constantly compared to her in her early days.

Winehouse was a huge presence on our radio before she died, so when she passed, it's hard to know if they played her more or just carried on as normal.

Lacuna Coil

Not sure what has happened, but I haven't played them for a fair while (at least not in a way that I paid much attention). I'm finding myself really immersed in my deep dive and really picking up on things I missed before. They have a lot to offer to melodic metal fans. Anyway, I feel a strong rush of love for them that reminds me why they are now nearly 20 years on my most consistently favoured band.

Lacuna Coil:

1. Delirium (I think 2016 was an amazing year for Lacuna Coil. They returned to the scene with style, great critical acclaim and won over many younger fans. Sales were steady, but the album itself is just faultless. I think the lineup change really brought new life to them, and this is their most daring album to date. The music videos this time around are stellar as well, particularly the one for You Love Me 'Cause I Hate You, which is very cinematic. Their is a joyous sense of ambition and creativity on display here, which contrasts magnificently with the intensity of the material. House Of Shame, Ultima Ratio and My Demons are the highlights for me. The bonus tracks are great (though i can see why they were cut, with their cover of Madonna's Live To Tell being arguably their best cover to date)

2. Unleashed Memories (Gothic metal perfection. Sure, you can hear that this was a low budget production, but the songs are sublime. Heir Of A Dying Day is a beautifulopening track that really, I think, helped define Lacuna Coil's style. Unleashed Memories sees the band rise above their early influences. If Comalies is the better known album, Unleashed Memories is the better album. Cold Heritage, Distant Sun and When A Dead Man Walks are hypnotically captivating songs.)

3. Karmacode (yes, I put my all time favourite albums at third place. See! I cam be objective, people! But yes, this is my personal favourite album, but if i take nostalgia and personal feelings out of the equation, I think Delirium and Unleashed Memories are better. Still, Within Me, Fragments Of Faith, In Visible Light, Without Fear and Our Truth are songs that define my life. Periodt.)

4. Broken Crown Halo (Stunning album. It ended the era with the same lineup that first recorded the HalfLife EP back in 2000. It fittingly sounds like a combination of everything that came before. This album is perfect for newbies. One Cold Day is possibly their best ballad. A tribute to a former band member who passed away, it took on new meaning for me when my mum passed. Songs like I Forgive and Hostage To The Light are so melodically and vocally exuberant, its a wonder this band never broke through to the mainstream.)

5. Comalies (The fan favourite, the genre staple, the critical darling. It's fifth place, but first place in my heart. Eew that's gross, never saying that again. Let me try again: this album makes me moist. There, that is better).

6. Dark Adrenaline (Its like Shallow Life, only a million times better. Better songs, better hooks, better solos, better vocals, better production. Had this come out instead of Shallow Life, I think they would have had a much gentler backlash. Is it generic? Yeah. Does it really matter of the songs are fantastic? No. I'd actually love to see the band revisit this album, get rid of Don Gilmore who basically tried to turn them into Linkin Coil, and really let these songs soar. If I have one complaint, the songs feel too tightly edited. There is little room for spontaneity here, but the way the album charges through the hooks is brilliant all the same. With songs as brilliant as Intoxicated, The Army Inside, Kill The Light, My Spirit...its a bit odd they felt the need to add in a cover of REMs Losing My Religion.)

7. In A Reverie (The Gathering's Mandylion and Paradise Lost's Draconian Times lovechild, only it's not as attractive as either parent. Still, this is a wonderful debut that really feels like a step into the past. Of all the gothic metal debut albums, I think this one has cause to believe its the finest. Veins Of Glass, My Wings, To Myself I Turned, Falling Again...gosh this album is STACKED with killer songs.)

8. Black Anima (The songs are great, the production is not. Also their are moments throughout where sections of songs sound plagiarised from their back catalogue. Save Me has a chorus that sounds almost exactly the same as the chorus to Ultima Ratio from Delirium. Also, Under The Surface has a vocal line in the verse that is beat for beat the same as Andi's in Give Me Something More from Dark Adrenaline. I'm all for recycling of ideas, but Save Me literally sounds like a song from the previous album. Anyway, still great songs. Layers Of Time is a beautiful slice of emotionally hefty alt metal that takes the beauty of a song like The Ghost Woman And The Hunter and beefs it up with a touch of House Of Shames flair for drama. Its beautiful. And the rest of the album is top five material, its just...the production...its iffy. Black Anima has so much to offer and it's limitations are annoying).

9. Shallow Life (It's a sad thing: they really thought they had a smash hit here, but the album came out, upset everyone, and nearly lost them a fanbase. I think working with Don Gilmore, he who worked with Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson and Avril Lavigne, really ruined this albums chance to shine. He made it clear to the band he didn't think their older music was his thing, and he said himself he was shocked the band chose him. He took away everything he didn't like about Lacuna Coil and tried to mould them to fit the pop charts of 2009. So basically, he hated everything that makes Lacuna Coil magic. Dark Adrenaline did much to rectify the damage but it took til 2016, seven years later, for anyone to really take them seriously again. Me? I don't mind this album. I cringed at the time, and I actually think creatively, the band learned a lot from this album. Their ability to write huge hooks is the albums selling point, and they only improved on this when the heaviness came back later on. Still, I'm Not Afraid, Wide Awake, the title track and all three bonus tracks are killer. And Not Enough has a chorus to die for. I love that song, and likely always will).

10. Comalies XX (there are moments this shines. Its beautifully produced, the vocal performances are pristine, I love Daylight Dancer...but it's a pale, soulless imitation of a classic album. I honestly think it's too clean sounding. Where are the atmospheric synths? It's all too...basic. I will also credit them for the new Ghost Woman, Unspoken and Entwined. These three new versions shine because Cristina really sounds impassioned. Still not sure thats enough to match the originals. I really don't like the new Angel's Punishment. Like, at all. That was my first Lacuna Coil song so I'm heavily biased.)

10 hours ago, Mr. Not said:

This exchange inspired me to give Awake another full visit today, because I thought maybe we're in the wrong here.

 

We're not.

It's my absolute favourite to be honest, and I find Images And Words suffers for me because that early 90s metal production style always makes everything sound like a demo. I think Awake has better songs and better production. It's my favourite DT album to be honest. Distance Over Time and View From...are likely in my top three at this point too.

Still...all just opinions.