Saturday, April 14, 2012

Mastodon - Crack the Skye

Шедевр

Нечасто выходят альбомы, которые называешь шедеврами. Выпускаются «классные», «крутые», «интересные», «сильные» и т.д., но вот шедевром в основном можно назвать один релиз за год, и то это у кого какие критерии. Вот Crack the Skye группы Mastodon в моем сердце титул шедевра именно и завоевал. Завораживающий и брутальный, тонкий и сокрушающий, легкий и замысловатый – такими почти оксюморонами можно описать этот альбом. Mastodon сумели совместить тяжеленький и качевый стоунер с определяющей этот альбом психоделичностью и уместить их в не такие уж простые, но и не такие уж бездушные проговые структуры. 

Одним из заметных качеств шедевральных альбомов есть то, что каждая песня имеет каку-то определяющую, отличительную черту, каждая несет свой характер. То же можно услышать на Crack the Skye: “Oblivion” завораживает с первых же нот и создает соответствующую атмосферу на весь альбом; “Divinations” развлекает более веселым подходом и «серферским» соляком; “Quintessence” продолжает начатое первым трэком колдовство и развивает его запутанными переплетенными гитарно-барабанными нитями, но всё же включает более оптимистично звучащий припев; “The Czar”, десятиминутное повествование о Григории Распутине, эпически подытоживает первую половину альбома своей разнообразностью, психоделичностью, и прекрасным блюзовым соляком; “Ghost of Karelia” продолжает завораживать: техничностью и захватывающими барабанными партиями вначале и вконце в песни, но более вязкой думовой атмосферой посередине; одноименный трэк “Crack the Skye” содержит, пожалуй, самый тяжелый рифф (и какой рифф!) на всём альбоме, а также так хорошо вписывающийся грандиозно мрачный и зловещий вокал Скотта Келли из Neurosis, и к тому же пару отличных соло; альбом завершает 13-минутный многоглавый монстр “The Last Baron”, песня, которая, по сути, объединяет все вышеупомянутые аспекты альбома, но, как бонус для любителей прога, содержит коротенький экскурс в эксцентричный стиль 70-тых а-ля “YYZ” группы Rush. Ничего подобного мастодонты раньше не писали.

Очень трудно найти какие-то недостатки на Crack the Skye. Можно даже сказать, что этот альбом идеален во всем: нетривиальными структурами песен, интересными музыкальными идеями и концепцией альбома, меняющимися размерами и темами, разнообразными вокальными партиями, исполняемыми тремя членами группы, отличными риффами и соляками, безупречной записью и пост-продакшном. Crack the Skye – это не просто четвертый альбом Mastodon. Это музыкальное творение, обладающее неописуемой связанностью и смыслом. Когда слушаешь такие альбомы, как Crack the Skye, то кажется, что слушаешь что-то очень важное, неземное даже, как будто сам Бог продиктовал музыкантам все партии и слова, и просто радуешься, что такая музыка была написна! Да, всё это субъективно, я поэтому и написал вначале, что именно в моем сердце этот альбом завоевал титул шедевра (хотя во многих-многих других тоже). Тем не менее, я убежден, что каждый человек, любящий тяжелую музыку, уделив этой работе достаточно времени, увидит в ней ту гениальность, которую в ней вижу я.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Fluxious - Why so Serious?

Indeed

How many famous bands have come out of Switzerland? I think for most people, however knowledgeable, the answer's range would be limited by the number of fingers on (maybe) both hands. My aim with this post, therefore, is to try to get a great new Swiss band noticed, and this week my pick falls on Fluxious, an outstanding female-fronted ensemble with conspicuously eclectic approach to making fun music.

Why so Serious? is something you won't here every day. Fluxious seamlessly combine heavy distorted riffs with funky, jazzy, reggae grooves, avantgarde craziness and progressive technicalities, and manage to produce simply rocking unpretentious music with catchy soloing, guitar licks, and memorable vocal lines. The result here is something that will satisfy both those who look for something original and experimental and will not throw off those who simply want to enjoy the music and don't care for complexity.

This album is heavy and light at the same time, practically every second of it, partly because of the omnipresent audible bass, which compensates for the parts where the guitars are not heavy, partly because of the drumming, which is generally very easy-going. The vocals are clean but generally have a harsher edge to them, but capable of conveying a wide range of emotions.

In the end, Why so Serious? is an album to have fun to. One might have to get accustomed to the heavy, bass-dominated sound, but it should not take too long to discover all the great hooks that Fluxious discharge either through vocals (the chorus of "Voodoo Mood"), guitars (great hooks on pretty much every song) or bass (the slap bass on "Games'n'Trials" and the chorus on "Unfair to You"). They deliver on every front.

Make sure to check these cats out, who are for me one of the most enjoyable discoveries this year.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Children - Hard Times Hanging at the End of the World & Death Tribe

Remember to Stay Children

"Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them."

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

"Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."

Jesus Christ
 

Listen up, kids! This is some music you should listen to, at least those of you who can still remain children at heart (from time to time). Children offer us something truly different from what one might here in any metal scene these days. It is hard indeed to put into any particular genre. Who cares about style names though when a band is so good at rocking!

Children sound exactly like their name suggests, which is the main reason their single Death Tribe and debut Hard Times Hanging at the End of the World are so refreshing.

Now, what do I mean? I mean that this band does not seem to care what's going around them, whether anyone will "get" their music or how many copies of their CDs they will sell. That's what makes young bands and their debuts in general so great: their minds are not occupied by anything other than music at that time of their career; they just want to let people hear the fruits of their creativity. As Doc Godin said in his review: "
the whole thing sounds like it's about to fall apart at any minute" but Children don't care - they keep playing and screaming their heads off: let everybody hear all the little flaws and inaccuracies! This is like eating an apple with a worm in it but no pesticide or wax touched its surface. Yes, give me some of that sun-filled, juicy fruit straight from the garden outside my window. 

Children's single and first full-length are the closest thing to the juvenile energy outburst of Metallica's Kill 'Em All. Yes, it does not have the maturity and grandeur of Master of Puppets, but that's the whole point: James Hetfield has never sounded as demented and, shall I say, matchless, like he did on Kill 'Em All thereafter. I don't know where Children will go with their next effort, but I just want to enjoy this unadulterated craziness coming straight from their hearts. OK, this review is getting long - time to describe the music... 

Hard Times... and Death Tribe have the spirit of thrash, the attitude of punk and the heart of stoner. This is riff-based music, and many songs are built upon a particular (drug-induced, intoxicating) guitar theme (check this out) that the song starts with (either with other instruments or not) and then builds and develops into other themes, an undeniably, it is the mighty guitar riff (remember Magnus?) that makes these two releases have unmistakably Children-nish character to them: by creating the aggression of thrash, the daredevilry of punk, and the psychedelia of stoner or, for that matter, the acoustic, melancholic beauty of the title track. Vocals and drumming amplify all these characteristics correspondingly, which makes Children's debut even more of a success.

Now, children, go out there, have courage to be honest, and share your hearts with the world! God Bless!

<3, K†ulu

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

ZAZ - ZAZ

Fragile and Strong (dedicated to my lovely fiancée, who introduced me to ZAZ)

French chanson anyone? Unexpectedly, me got a little hooked on some of that.

First time I heard of ZAZ was through this video sometime last summer: impressive performance and a great song even if you don't understand the sincere lyrics with truly existential connotations.

Later, I decided to give ZAZ more attention by listening to her self-titled debut. So how did that sound? Not too impressive after a couple of spins, and I did not really see any room for growing on me. Time went by though, and in autumn I found myself enjoying this CD quite a lot.

I do not have much experience with pop music, but I guess I am capable of perceiving and evaluating it. So what caught my attention with ZAZ? First, the voice. Isabelle Geffroy can sing: she can be emotional ("Trop sensible," "Port coton," "Éblouie par la nuit"), she can have fun (the crazy galloping "Ni oui ni non," one of my personal favorites), she can be serious ("Le long de la route,") or... in love ("J'aime a nouveau"). There is a lot of sincerity in her slightly husky voice and lyrics (which are worth reading by the way). Inside the fragile girl lurks explosive charisma and vocal cords capable of serious soul impact... Listen to "Éblouie par la nuit" or ZAZ's (superior in my opinion) rendition of Édith Piaf's "Dans ma rue" and feel for yourself.

Now to the music, and that's something usually more important to me than vocals. What we hear on ZAZ's debut can be described as chanson with some jazz elements. While I am used to heavy and/or complex metal riffs, here I encountered something really different: acoustic guitars, the upright bass, and the piano at the core plus occasional atmospheric keyboards, trombone and other brass instruments (on "Prends garde a ta langue" and "La fée"), and the violin. A big fat plus is that the music is not there just to accompany the singer; there are some great guitar and bass licks as well as active participation from other instruments (check out the guitar-violin duel in the second half of "Ni oui ni non"). Granted, there are simpler songs featuring just the guitar or the piano, but what makes the music generally enjoyable, after all, is that each instrument, where present, makes a meaningful contribution to the song's sound, and the interplay between the musicians results in rich harmony and simply enjoyable tunes.

Nothing to add: listen, have fun, and be happy! Always!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Lich King - World Gone Dead

Modern Thrash Done Right

Simply put, World Gone Dead by Lich King is without exaggeration one of the best examples of the new wave of thrash. This third effort by the Massachusetts-based outfit might not be all that original looking back at the golden age of thrash, but with World Gone Dead Lich King have achieved something notable. Not only did they unleash a real storm of riffing brutality in the vein of early Kreator, Exodus, and Vio-lence, but they also managed to do a few other very important things.
 
First of all, there is a sense of variation throughout the album: blazing-fast riffs change mid-paced riffs, choruses are properly emphasized, breakdowns are thrown in for slower headbanging as well as some real thrashing soloing. Even something rare in the genre these days as memorable vocal performance finds its place on this album. Second, variation spreads to the inter-song level, and while listening to World Gone Dead, one will hear separate compositions in different tempos, not just a sequence of riffs, all played 200 mph. "Grindwheel" is an example of a whole song being played in slow speed and still sounding thrashing heavy. Third, Lich King have finally managed to create a beefy and clear enough sound to project their aggression appropriately.

Full of memorable songs and addictive hooks, World Gone Dead is a real treat for any thrasher. In fact, "ED-209" features one of the most addictive riffs ever created. Intrigued? You know what to do then.