Sunday 30 May 2010

Notable Artists II

Greetings to you all, and I give my usual apologies for the lack of any posts recently, I am sorry. Anyway, today's post is another entry in the "Notable Artists" series. Today's post is a piece about the band Megadeth. They aren't the usual non-famous band I pick for this series, but they aren't that well known outside the genres of Rock and Metal, so that is why I thought them appropriate for this article. Anyway, on with the post.
I've had one of their albums for ages, but I have only recently properly listened to it. The album is Rust in Peace and I very much like it. The combination between great bass lines, good guitar riffs, brilliant lead guitar, and good singing to boot, makes this a band of accomplished musicians from the start. This is true, the talent is evident in the music. However I like the music for more than just the presence of talent, for there is much more to music than just a load of talented musicians playing in the same room, this has been the problem for some past supergroups. The different parts of Megadeth fit together very well and the resulting sound is brilliant. So I recommend you listen to them if you haven't already. I shall be getting some more of their albums in the near future.
As always feel free to comment about this, another article I've written, or in fact anything you want to share.

Thanks,

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Friday 14 May 2010

The joy of discovering new music

As you may know, it is a truly delightful feeling when you listen to a band you haven't heard before and find out they're awesome. This feeling is particularly pronounced when the band is not known by anybody you know and/or they aren't a famous band. I know this, and from time to time, I browse the net for new and interesting bands, or sometimes I just find something by chance. Not every band I find is good, but there is often one or two that stand out every time I look. The process of searching can often be time consuming, as I often search for bands that offer an album or two for free. But although long, and sometimes unsuccessful, it is a great feeling when you find that band with a great, and often original sound. Anyway, I thought I'd share with you a couple of the bands that I found using the above methods.

The Fifth Ocean

This was the first band that I really liked that I found using these methods as I remember. I was browsing a collection of metal and heavy rock bands that someone had posted in a list, saying they all had free music. This band caught my eye, because in fact their name was written in Russian. Anyway I saw their album, and listened to it. From the start I really liked it, my favourite song being the first track on the album. I listen to it now and again, all in all it's a pretty good album, and the fact that they sing mostly in Russian makes the songs interesting due to their difference from most of the stuff I usually listen to.

Fireland

I actually only discovered this band yesterday, that's what prompted me to write this blog entry. I found this band on Classic Rock Magazines Track of the Day pages, so most of the effort of finding this band should be attributed to them. So I listened to them and liked them a lot. Their guitar riffs were good, standard heavy metal technique but with something else. The lead guitar, especially in the solos was brilliant, and that is one of the reasons I liked them so much. The melody seems to complement the rhythm section very well. All together a great EP, and I'll try pick up one of their albums next time I visit a music store.

Well that's all for now. I hope you enjoyed this account of my musical findings. As always feel free to comment.

Thanks,

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Sunday 9 May 2010

Things From This Year

Gosh it's been a while, so I apologise. To be honest the delay in posting something new is as much to do with being busy as it is to do with not having anything to say. But I hope to rectify that now. Anyway, onwards. Today's blog is going to focus on things new to me in music this year, whether new albums from bands I like, or listening to something old that I'd never listened to before.

I'll start with new albums.

As you may know if you have read my top five (or rather more as it turned out) bands' blog entry, you may know that I quite like a band called H.I.M. (don't worry if you didn't read that blog as I have just told you all you needed to know). Anyway they released a new album in February called Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice. On first listen I could tell it was going to be an album which would take a large stake in my 25 most played songs on my iPod. This has turned out to be true. The album is utterly brilliant, a mix of great vocals and guitar lines, as well as the usual variance in styles that H.I.M. feature in their albums. My favourite tracks include Venere Veritas, Scared to Death, Heartkiller, and Love, The Hardest Way. But the rest of the album is still just great as well. All in all a great piece of work.

Another album I have listened to recently is Fever by Bullet for my Valentine. I quite like this band, not one of my top favourites, but I like them all the same. This new album, released very recently, is ok. I like Scream Aim Fire quite a lot, and this new album is a little different. I haven't listened to this new album enough for a full review, but I would say it's not too bad, but nothing compared to previous albums, it's worth listening to if Bullet are your thing, but don't expect too much.

Finally I have discovered, well not discovered as such, but I have listened to a band I haven't heard before after recommendation. I had been familiar with their name before but had never listened to any of their music, but after their music was recommended I decided to listen to some. The band in question is The Mars Volta. On first listen (which is currently my only listen because of various factors that contribute to make my life busy) I liked them a lot. I enjoyed the blend of effects with metal riffs as well as good vocals. I look forward to listening to more of their music as I have only listened to five or six tracks as of yet.

Well that just about wraps it up for now, as always feel free to comment, and I'll be back, hopefully within a couple of weeks (I apologise, I know I say this every time).

Thanks,

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