What Heavy Blog Is Really Listening To – 11/10/17

Scott Murphy
What We're Really Listening To
For those who missed our last installment, We post biweekly updates covering what the staff at Heavy Blog have been spinning. Given the amount of time we spend on the site telling you about music that does not fall neatly into the confines of conventional “metal,” it should come as no surprise that many of us on staff have pretty eclectic tastes that range far outside of metal and heavy things. We can’t post about all of them at length here, but we can at least let you know what we’re actually listening to. For those that would like to participate as well (and please do) can drop a 3X3 in the comments, which can be made with tapmusic.net through your last.fm account, or create it manually with topsters.net. Also, consider these posts open threads to talk about pretty much anything music-related. We love hearing all of your thoughts on this stuff and love being able to nerd out along with all of you.

Release Day Roundup – 11/10/17

Scott Murphy
Release Day Roundup
Each month, we always seem to come to the same conclusion when it comes to our Editors’ Picks column: Friday release days open the floodgates and unleash a seemingly endless stream of quality new music. But while some of our Editors and Contributors sit down gleefully each week to dive into this newly stocked treasure trove, others find themselves drawing a blank at the end of the month due to the breakneck pace needed to keep up to date with what’s been released. Which brings us to this Heavy Blog PSA: a weekly roundup of new albums which pares down the the week’s releases to only our highest recommendations. Here you’ll find full album/single streams, pre-order links and, most importantly, a collection of albums that could very well earn a spot on your year end list. Enjoy!

Dan Terminus – Automated Refrains

Nikolai T. Nelson
Reviews
I'd like to think that, as someone who listens to a lot of synth based music, I've seen and heard it all by now. However, and perhaps to my own detriment, up until now I have yet to experience anything quite like the sights or sounds of Dan Terminus. A bold claim, for sure, but an even bolder one is to hone in specifically on what I mean when I say that his latest album is in fact an "all around experience." Before even delving into the music I want to take a long hard look at the album art. It is true, as they say, that one should never judge a book by it's cover but regardless something must be said for such masterfully done art which entices one in with such intrigue; I felt not unlike that of a curious futuristic tourist looking at a brochure for an exotic alien world.

Soul Curator // Writing Sci-Fi

Heavy Blog
News
Some may claim this to be all-too similar to a previous Soul Curator that I did on writing. And, yes, while the action this playlist is supposed to score is the same, I feel that writing science fiction is something completely different from the standard mode of writing. In a way, you need to make yourself leave Earth. You need to be able to break rules and then glue them back together again. The Albums To Write To Soul Curator included albums that (for me, at least) kept the mind focused and eliminated distraction; this, however, stands on different grounds. The key to writing great science fiction (or any imaginative fiction, for that matter), is to be able to tap into the fantastical parts of your mind. Whether you come up with something that is grounded more in reality or doesn’t adhere to anything this planet has heard of is completely up to you. And these are albums that can help you reach that mode of thinking.