Kill Rock Music

‘And Now for Something Completely Different.’ (Monty Python)

We’re all guilty of growing complacent and perching comfortably in our safety zones, rarely sticking our head out. This is true of music as well as life. Anybody who knows my favourite bands can usually tell pretty accurately what else I may or may not like. I sometimes have a hard time stepping outside of my own head when it comes to music. I have a hard time seeing how a song that moves ME immensely can fail to move somebody else. I sometimes wonder what these songs sound like to somebody who doesn’t like music, or doesn’t like the same music I do. After a song has become part of you, it’s often hard to listen to it with fresh ears and sometimes that’s sad. I can never listen to my music, or even my type of music, completely freshly again, because I carry in so much baggage about sound, instruments, voices, image and everything else, but I CAN still listen to certain types of music with fresh ears, namely those genres I really have no interest in. Why would I do this? Well, why not? I’m a firm believer that you can’t really knock something until you’ve given it a try – and I mean REALLY given it a try – so that’s what I aim to do this week. So, based on the recommendations of a friend, I am immersing myself in metal, and none of that Twisted Sister bullshit. Nope, this is hardcore Scandinavian metal, the kind with growling and rat-tat-tat riffs and long hair and black clothing (or something. Do I look like I know what I’m talking about?).

Opeth – Watershed

Hessian Peel

Well, I didn’t know what to think going into this. One of the last things I expected was an opening of acoustic guitar and sweet singing. The first song, Coil, reminds me of something like Love or some other lost 60s psychedelia more than the proto-metal prog I thought this would be. A ha! Track two is more what I expected. A smattering of piano amidst the din breaks things up. For a split second I actually think of the Pixies and their loud-soft-loud dynamic. Then, ‘vocalist’ (singer is a bit of a stretch) Mikael Åkerfeldt comes in with the stereotypical death-metal growl, half Cookie Monster and half vomiting dog. I’d have to say that this is the biggest stumbling block to this type of music I face. I am usually impressed with the musicianship of these bands, and I was into my fair share of heavy (but melodic) stuff when I was younger, but I have a really difficult time taking any deathly guttural shrieking seriously (well, except for Tom Waits, but I wouldn’t exactly categorise him as death metal). Opeth’s songs tend to cram about 50 ideas into their (considerable) length, ranging from pummelling machine-gun guitars to acoustic strumming to piano interludes to almost bluesy solos. According to Wikipedia, the unchallenged arbiter of all that is true and good, Opeth are, apparently, a progressive metal band from Sweden, Watershed is their newest album, and it moves away from their death metal leanings towards a more progressive sound. The lyrics are mostly high school poetry about death, love, death and love, sadness, death and sadness, the death of love (which is sad), and other variations thereof. My favourite bit was when I was reading on the lyrics sites and some of the lyrics are listed as ‘incoherent growling’. The other thing that surprises me is that when these guys actually sing instead of incoherently growl, it sounds not dissimilar to a lot of the seventies geek prog like Yes and Rush (especially Rush). These guys aren’t killing people and drinking their blood! They’re the nerdy kids in school playing Dungeons and Dragons! I find that image pleasing and it oddly gives me more appreciation of the music. Part of the Lotus Eaters sounds like the soundtrack to a Mario brothers game to me, and that’s cool.

Isis – Wavering Radiant

Stone to Wake a Serpent

This is a brand new record, and Isis has been getting noticed even amongst us pasty, whitebread hipster music reviewers. Hailing from the US, they’re not so much a death metal type of band, but more ambient metal. Their sound kind of reminds me of Tool, and is quite hypnotic in its own way. They employ quite a repetitive approach to music, with repeating musical figures slowly developing and evolving over the length of the song. I like this trick in music, although my exposure was more through minimalist composers such as Philip Glass and Steve Reich. It’s a good sound in metal too, though. Although a lot of their work is instrumental, there’s still a bit of bellowing and growling in the music of Isis, and I can’t help but just sit there and say ‘why don’t you sing, you big, angry man?’ He’s got quite a fine voice when he does.

There’s something quite cinematic about the music, over the album as a whole and within each song. They feel like journeys, as I never knew (and after repeated listens, still don’t) where the songs would go. Part of me does wonder if I’m being less critical of Isis because I know they’re ‘cool’ and well respected. That would not be fair of me, but it is a distinct possibility.

The 69 Eyes – Blessed Be

Velvet Touch

Going back to the idea of expectations clouding one’s mind, when I first heard of these guys, I expected another death metal sounding growly band. What I DIDN’T expect was a return to 80s Sunset Strip LA glam metal – with growly vocals over top. Well, the vocals aren’t growly so much as comically deep. These boys are from Finland and play music somewhat similar to to fellow countrymen HIM. Album opener Framed in Blood (catchy title) sounds a bit like an angrier Blue Oyster Cult. This is party music for the gothic set, and it is quite fun in its own way. Synthesizer touches on a lot of songs make the production sound a bit dated, but in a fun way. They have a song called Brandon Lee, and if you imagine the musical equivalent of his character from the Crow – dark, pretty and mildly gothic – you’ve got a pretty good feel for the music of the 69 Eyes.

Theatre of Tragedy – Velvet Darkness They Fear

Seraphic Deviltry

This music is very melodramatic, but I think melodrama has its place in music. It makes me think of Andrew Lloyd Webber, if he’d gone dark and gothic instead of cabaret musical. The growling vocals actually work quite well on this album, as it’s balanced out by the almost overbearing sweetness of the female vocals. Their music has a bit of a (heavy) Celtic feel, and one of their songs has what sounds like a harpsichord interlude. How cool is that? This particular strain of metal continues to confound me and my expectations. These guys are from Norway, and I must admit I’m quite curious why this type of music finds such a strong foothold in certain regions, and has almost no notice in other areas. Does the relentless winter darkness influence the tastes in Scandinavia?

My Dying Bride – 34.7888%…Complete

The Stance of Evander Sinque

Another outlier here, as this band is British, rather than Nordic. The vocals on this remind me more of unhinged grunge era bands than death metal growling. I have to admit, this makes the music more palatable to me. Even if it’s heavy, the sound of My Dying Bride washes over you more than pummels you. I initially quite like this album, but after about half an hour of it, it feels repetitive. All the songs are the same tempo, so it gets same-y. This gave me time to contemplate just what they are 34.7888% complete. Why the need for such statistical accuracy? Would they have lost some nuance by rounding up to 35%?

Anathema – Alternative 4

Lost Control

Aha! Another British band. Anathema reminds me of Pink Floyd in parts, with the same dark, prog-inflected feel of the Wall. I’m a bit of a sucker for piano music, and like it when it’s combined with heavy guitars (even if it’s a bit cheesy at times), and Anathema are good for that.

I would say this is by far the most accessible album I listened to this week, as the music is heavy but not overbearing, the vocals are tuneful and there are definitive melodies. Again, one of my major complaints is that it just feels overproduced. I don’t really like the overly glossy sound of these bands, as it makes it feel like some of the life and passion of the songs is polished and Pro-Tooled out of existence. It’s all down to personal preference, but I like a bit of rawness in my music.

So, what did I learn from this little experiment? I think the fact that I didn’t have a real point of reference for this type of music was more a hindrance than a help, as I just don’t think I can completely UNDERSTAND the draw of this music. It doesn’t speak to me personally, which is a knock against me, not the music, but who am I to discuss and dissect a band that has no emotional resonance for me? What’s the point? Music IS passion, and without that I can only provide a cold, clinical analysis of the sounds I’m hearing. The songs and bands I liked this week were also the ones that sounded closest to traditional rock music, my particular musical preference, so I wasn’t so much open to new sounds as I was open to variations on sounds I already like. Part of my aversion stems from nothing more major than personal preference on a mundane, technical level. I don’t like overproduced, inorganic-sounding music, and that’s what Opeth sounds like to me. Hell, get Rick Rubin to produce them and I’d probably like ‘em a lot more. Plus, I just tend to shy away from virtuosic playing. It’s why I tired of the Mars Volta too, and they’re hipster approved indie rock wankery, so I’m not singling out metal. The other complaint I have is one I stole directly from my parents when they listen to MY music: over these album’s near hour-long running time, it all starts to sound a bit samey. Loud, soft, loud, soft, shrieky bit, solo. Rinse, lather, repeat.

On the positive side, these people are generally excellent musicians, making the songs interesting, even if I feel they lack passion. The guitar work is epic shredding, and I really love the use of odd and intricate time signatures that change over the course of a song. Really, it just comes down to personal preference, and mine does not really fit with this type of music. This is not a groundbreaking conclusion, but at least now I can say I tried it and, for the most part, it wasn’t for me. I can see the appeal in this type of music now, even if I can’t say I’d listen to it regularly. Just because it lacks passion for me does not mean it lacks passion for everybody. Really, how is it different, in terms of emotion and even (to a lesser extent) instrumentation, from the raw aggressiveness of the punk I love? Or any more or less melodramatic to the anthemic indie (I’m looking at you Arcade Fire) that I regularly put on? It’s just a matter of taste.

New Music News

Phoenix has a new album out this week. They’re a French band that trade in poppy guitar rock, and do so quite well. Somewhat hypocritically given what I said about the above metal bands, I find Phoenix’s music oddly dispassionate too, but I like it in their music. Something about their songs does strike me as…calculated, but I think they’ve got a fun and hooky take on rock that still manages to work. Their songs strike me as perfect party music – it’s exuberant, catchy and rocks out, but it doesn’t distract you from the drinking, visiting and other party-related shenanigans. Good enough! Their new album is called Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, which I think is a geeky but cool title.

Phoenix - 1901

See you next week!