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13 | <h1>Music I Enjoy</h1> |
14 | <div class="contents"> |
15 | <dl> |
16 | <dt> |
17 | <a href="#sec1">The Bands I Like the Most</a> |
18 | </dt> |
19 | <dd> |
20 | <dl> |
21 | <dt> |
22 | <a href="#sec2">Skyclad</a> |
23 | </dt> |
24 | <dt> |
25 | <a href="#sec3">Kevin Moore</a> |
26 | </dt> |
27 | <dd> |
28 | <dl> |
29 | <dt> |
30 | <a href="#sec4">Chroma Key</a> |
31 | </dt> |
32 | <dt> |
33 | <a href="#sec5">OSI</a> |
34 | </dt> |
35 | </dl> |
36 | </dd> |
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41 | |
42 | |
43 | <!-- Page published by Emacs Muse begins here --><p>I have a <a href="http://www.last.fm/user/unknown_lamer/">last.fm</a> account.</p> |
44 | |
45 | <h2><a name="sec1" id="sec1"></a> |
46 | The Bands I Like the Most</h2> |
47 | |
48 | <h3><a name="sec2" id="sec2"></a> |
49 | Skyclad</h3> |
50 | |
51 | <p class="first">Skyclad is incredible folk metal. The first two albums (<em>Wayward Sons |
52 | of Mother Earth</em> and <em>Burnt Offerings for the Bone Idol</em>) are Testament |
53 | style thrash with a bit of fiddle and keys. The third album, <em>Jonah's |
54 | Ark</em>, blunts the edge of the guitars and adds a lot more fiddle and is |
55 | really where the band goes from making good to incredible |
56 | music.</p> |
57 | |
58 | <p><em>Prince of the Poverty Line</em> is about as 'heavy' as the first two |
59 | albums, but the the song structures are far more worked out and there |
60 | is an interesting infusion of folk and power metal into the sound. The |
61 | songs are mostly scathing social critiques of the state of society at |
62 | the time. The follow up, <em>Silent Whales of Lunar Sea</em>, is a decent album |
63 | but is scarred by terrible recording quality and mixing. It has |
64 | listenable songs (with "The Present Imperfect" and "Another Fine Mess" |
65 | standing out), and the only really noteable aspect is the slight |
66 | change toward a much less thrashy riff structure.</p> |
67 | |
68 | <p><em>Irrational Anthems</em> more than made up for <em>Silent Whales of Lunar |
69 | Sea</em>. The less thrashy and slightly more punkish riffing structure |
70 | takes over here and the songs are all fast paced with guitar and |
71 | fiddle duels taking place often</p> |
72 | |
73 | <p>The next two albums see the electric guitar deemphasized and the band |
74 | making something more like heavy rock than heavy metal. The EP <em>Oui |
75 | Avante Garde a Chance</em> starts out with a fast paced fiddle oriented |
76 | song, moves into a nearly entirely fiddle and acoustic guitar song, |
77 | and then goes into a few slow songs dominated by keys and fiddle. The |
78 | albums picks up in intensity with <em>Bombjour</em>, and then has an acoustic |
79 | version of a song from the previous album. The new material ends with |
80 | the slow and intense <em>Badtime Story</em>. A couple of covers and an |
81 | instrumental version of a song follow to pad the EP to album length.</p> |
82 | |
83 | <p><em>The Answer Machine?</em> is my favorite album in my entire collection. Most |
84 | of the songs have a fuzzy electric guitar and an acoustic guitar going |
85 | at the same time, and the album is music that I have found is |
86 | listenable to people who don't like metal. The fiddle, violin, and |
87 | piano dominate and are backed by interesting bass and just the right |
88 | amount of guitar. The album is a pseudo-concept album; each song is |
89 | about a different quest for the answer to life.</p> |
90 | |
91 | <p>The last two Skyclad album with Martin Walkyier (the original singer) |
92 | see a two step return to a more metal style, but this time something |
93 | resembling <em>Powerslave</em> era Maiden with heavy folk overtones rather than |
94 | Testament. Both albums lack any weak songs, and have a few that are |
95 | among the best Skyclad has ever done: "Cancer of the Heart," "A Well |
96 | Beside the River," and "Vintage Whine" on <em>Vintage Whine</em>, and "The |
97 | Antibody Politic," "The Disenchanted Forest," and "Think Back and Lie |
98 | of England" on <em>Folkemon</em>.</p> |
99 | |
100 | <p>Alas, after <em>Folkemon</em> Martin left, and the band seems to have lost its |
101 | magic. It is much like At the Gates; the core members meshed quite |
102 | well together and lost some magical chemistry upon a major component |
103 | leaving. Skyclad's first album with the new singer was ok, and perhaps |
104 | the next one will be better. Sadly Martin Walkyier decided to abandon |
105 | music forever.</p> |
106 | |
107 | |
108 | <h3><a name="sec3" id="sec3"></a> |
109 | Kevin Moore</h3> |
110 | |
111 | <p class="first">Kevin Moore is the first keyboardist of Dream Theater who left after |
112 | <em>Awake</em>. His work since then has surpassed the quality of everything |
113 | Dream Theater has produced since then for he posesses a unique |
114 | songwriting style and wonderful artistic ability.</p> |
115 | |
116 | <h4><a name="sec4" id="sec4"></a> |
117 | Chroma Key</h4> |
118 | |
119 | <p class="first">Chroma Key is Kevin Moore's primary project. It is mostly electronic |
120 | and fairly mellow.</p> |
121 | |
122 | |
123 | <h4><a name="sec5" id="sec5"></a> |
124 | OSI</h4> |
125 | |
126 | <p class="first">OSI was originally a collaboration between Kevin Moore, Jim Matheos |
127 | (guitarist of Fates Warning), Mike Portnoy (drummer of Dream Theater), |
128 | and a few other prog rock/metal people. The first album, <em>Office of |
129 | Strategic Influence</em> was a moderately heavy and good album that sounded |
130 | quite similar to <em>Disconnected</em> Fates Warning with Kevin Moore on vocals |
131 | and complicated drumming.</p> |
132 | |
133 | <p><em>Free</em> followed three years later and is completely different from the |
134 | first. This time the album was done with Kevin Moore and Jim Matheos |
135 | alone, and it finds a much nicer balance between keyboard and |
136 | guitar. The first OSI sounded too much like Fates Warning with more |
137 | ambient keyboarding; this one has a sound of its own. My ears have |
138 | heard this album many times, and will listen again many more.</p> |
139 | |
140 | |
141 | |
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169 | <p class="cke-footer">unknownlamer: Hail Satan |
170 | unknownlamer: And do drugs |
171 | urbanbohemiac: are you wearing underwear |
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173 | <p class="cke-timestamp">Last Modified: |
174 | March 13, 2008</p> |
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