Flickr / Fear Factory - Mechanize

So yeah, remember my last post, where I said I was probably going to forget about the whole artwork thing? I totally lied about that. Here you can see the images of my copy of Fear Factory's Mechanize (see also below). Definitely one of my favorites as far as artwork goes. This version includes an extra track (Crash Test), as well as "special bonus content" (don't ask, I have no idea, it's probably some piece of shockwave or flash bloatware).



Anyway, the music is pretty cool too. I've known about Fear Factory for quite a while now ; I've had my period where tracks like Edgecrusher and Slave Labor were among my favorites. Around when this album was brand new, I remember downloading it, mostly out of nostalgia and slightly out of curiosity whether these guys actually made good stuff. After giving it a listen, I happened to stumble upon this version in the store. Impressed as I was, I bought it right away; and it was damn worth it. The only critique I really have is that the production is too loud, making this a little hard to listen to (no doubt this was intentional, but still). Samples on youtube: Mechanize, Powershifter. Other tracks I mentioned: Slave Labor (Archtype) and Edgecrusher (Obsolete).

New Music!

So on the trip to Norway I posted about in the previous post, I bought a bunch of CDs:

NAS - Illmatic


This has been one of my favorite hip hop albums for quite a while now. Sure, it may be a popular choice, but this album just gets hip hop stripped down to the essentials, focusing on them, working them out in great detail. It's a little bit of a grower, but the raw beats and (generally) interesting lyrics really make this shine. It's just bad-ass.

Dinosaur JR. - You're Living All Over Me


Another album I enjoy quite a bit. Unlike Illmatic, which I play a lot, I don't listen to this album that often (at least, not before buying it). However, as I was going to see them live, I was so enthusiastic I picked this one up, remembering how I liked it when I first heard it. And it was definitely worth the money!

Meyvn - Splintered Skies


Here's one I had never heard of. However, for a mere 2.50 euro's and awesome artwork, I really couldn't leave it. I expected something symphonic metal, in the line line of Epica or After Forever, but instead I got something better; a lengthy progressive metal album with plenty of impressive guitar, synths and heavyness. A friend compared them with Dream Theater; I actually don't like them- but if he's right, maybe I should give DT another chance.

Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder


Another 'classic' that I hadn't heard in a while. The RVG edition of this album is impressive like all the RVG jazz remasters I've heard (Ornette Coleman, I'm looking at you). Though perhaps not as avant-garde as I usually like my jazz, this album still has plenty of variety to offer and is a must-hear if you're working yourself through jazz.

Anathema - We're Here Because We're Here

(the text is on a plastic sleeve)

And here is a new album. I got this one with perhaps a little too little thought; I actually thought I was buying an atmospheric metal album. Surprise soon made place for enjoyment, however; this album is extremely pleasing to the ears (Steven Wilson- you actually did a good job here). However, unlike Porcupine Tree, this album doesn't suffer much from boringness (or at least, not yet). Also, this album includes a DVD-A of the album (which I have yet to try). Pretty good, for the price of a regular new CD. Oh- did I mention the carefully crafted packaging?

And that reminds me of yet another task I will probably forget about: documenting my CDs, one post for each, with pictures and all that. If I ever do it, the Anathema album, Fear Factory - Mechanize, Sunn O))) & Boris - Altar, Sigur Rós - Takk.., Municipal Waste - Massive Aggressive, Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV, will probably be the albums that go first, since (my editions of) these all have awesome/non-standard packaging.

And again..

Hey.

So since I was in Tromsø, Norway in (more or less) the previous week, I haven't really written anything. What I've been doing there? Visiting friends, and going to the bukta festival (edit: the search at last.fm for events sucks! I finally found it here). Here's the complete program (discussion below):

DAY ONE
BIG STAGE:
17:00
Big Bang
18:35
Disciplines
20:05
The Sonics (US)
21:45
MEW (DK)

SMALL STAGE
18:00
Kråkesølv
19:25
Navigators
21:05
Hayseed Dixie (US)
NIGHT PROGRAM
DJ Snowball

DAY TWO
BIG STAGE
17:00
Danko Jones (CAN)
18:30
John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen
19:50
Jim Jones Revue (UK)
21:15
Datarock
22:45
Dinosaur JR. (US)

SMALL STAGE
18:00
The Hex
19:20
Let's Wrestle (UK)
20:40
Tellusalie
22:05
Mondo Generator (US)
NIGHT PROGRAM
01:00
The Goo Men

DAY THREE: MORNING (FREE)
BIG STAGE
12:00
Blacksheeps
12:55
Moddi
14:00
Hurra Torpedo

SMALL STAGE
12:30
Mining in Yukon
13:35
Jabba the Butt
14:40
Bits'n'Pieces

DAY THREE: NORMAL PROGRAM
BIG STAGE
18:00
Hellbillies
19:30
Clutch (US)
21:10
Juliette Lewis (US)
22:50
Sivert Høyem

SMALL STAGE
19:00
Bad County
20:30
[Ingenting] (SE)
22:10
Turdus Musicus
NIGHT PROGRAM
01:00
Senjahopen

Day One
Decent weather. A little chilly, but plenty of sun and no rain.
I missed half of Big Bang [sic], but they sounded good enough. Like all the bands on the small stage, this was listen-able. Disciplines, the third band of the day, was a different story. These guys (with one American member), playing "punk" in the vein of The Clash as well as more current-day "punk", had a pretty in-your-face sound as well as a great performance. However, I'd pick The Sonics (one of the bands I went for in the first place) as the best of the day. Old as they are, they still perform their fast garage rock with great charm. MEW, on the other hand, was not quite as good. I had heard of the band before, and I actually had pretty positive expectations from them, but it turned out to be a boring show, where everything drowned in bass and every song sounded like the last. Sure, it wasn't awful, but that's about all.

Day Two
Light rain throughout the evening. Pretty warm (for Tromsø standards; about 15-20 degrees C)
Again, I missed some of the first act, Danko Jones (who plays here every other year or so). This was some badass hard rock. Not spectacular, but the guy has a nose for entertaining the crowd. The following three bands (the hex, john olav nilsen & gjengen, let's wrestle) were all mediocre at best. Jim Jones Revue, a band I'd never heard of, proved to be quite a surprise; some pretty fast, blues-fueled rock they've got going. Great show, too. After an ignorable Tellusalie, the real feast of the festival began: Datarock, funky electronic rock, with an energetic show, followed by Mondo Generator. Mondo Generator did some badass covers of Queens of the Stone Age songs, as well as the Kyuss song Green Machine (one of my favorites) and played some hardcore-speed tracks. They probably take the prize of "best new-to-me band". Dinosaur JR. was a bit of a let-down; their music was high-quality, but not as noisy as I expected. Plus, their show was BORING.

Day Three
Warm day (~20 degrees C). Lots of sun. Great day for a festival.
Morning
I've only seen the last three bands; I heard some of Moddi in the distance, which had awful vocals. Jabba the Butt was an interesting group of two guys; drums and bass only. They played a little sludgy, heavy rock with an experimental edge. Before-last song, some random other guy popped up on stage; he did some vocals (without words). Funny, really. Hurra Torpedo was brilliant; they're basically a noise rock band that makes music with bass, guitar and kitchen equipment. Lots of percussion; covered Lady GaGa and that silly milkshake song I don't want to know. Hilarious, but slightly childish. Bits'n'Pieces was generic, boring poppy rock.
Evening
We skipped Hellbillies; Bad County was decent but not very interesting. Clutch was, well, FUCKING AMAZING. Not as heavy as Mondo Generator, perhaps, but more psychedelic. [Ingenting] was not really worth seeing; as was the headliner, Juliette Lewis. Apparently a famous actress, her music wasn't interesting at all. Turdus Musicus was okay; they played some kind of metalcore/post-hardcore. Pretty scene-y stuff, which I normally stay away from; but it was a kind relief from Lewis. The final act, Sivert Høyem, was pretty boring too. He played some songs from the band Madrugada, which were decent. We left early.

Overall, it was a great festival; however, the headlines were a little disappointing.

Signs of life...

.. through the most appropriate style of music for the occasion; death metal!

After taking a good while off playing Pharaoh (a city building game set in ancient Egypt), watching various seasons and series of Stargate (all of Atlantis and over a third of SG-1) and generally being covered in Egyptian mythology, the best start is probably...

... No, not Nile, actually. Nice try though. In fact, I'll post about Aeternam, a band that had their debut this year (though various regions of the internet seem to believe a 2009 release also exists, RYM does not). It's called Disciples of the Unseen and is in a strange region somewhere between (old) Arch Enemy, mordern melodic death and Nile. Though their melodic death is solid, the clean vocals and the non-metal influences are the prime elements that make this album impressive. I'm actually doubting whether the non-metal elements are related to Egypt, but suffice it to say the middle-east seems about accurate. Of course, there are some bands from this region (1000 Funerals, for example -- but that's for another post), but this one is not among them; they're Canadian. Either way, you can hear some here (out of these two I recommend Angel Horned).

Disciples of the Unseen:


Next up is one of a pretty long list a friend of mine got me not too long ago; Autopsy's legendary album, Mental Funeral. Though this is probably blasphemy to death metal fans out there, I haven't heard it in the past five years I've listened to metal. Boy did I miss out. Doom-infused, raw death metal, something that has probably served as inspiration for Entombed. They've probably got some friends in Obituary, too. This definitely sparks interest for Autopsy's debut, Severed Survival.

Mental Funeral:

Severed Survival:


Here's some more stuff I'll be (re)trying in the near future. If I feel I have something to say, I will post about them.
Benediction - Organized Chaos
Brutality - Screams of Anguish

Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Kraftwerk - Radio-Activity
A Life Once Lost - Hunter