Despite some issues with flow and consistency, Automata II contains some of the most inspired musicianship seen from these modern prog legends in years.
Five years after the release of the acclaimed Pandora’s Piñata, Diablo Swing Orchestra (DSO) are back with their fourth full-length offering: Pacifisticuffs. If that’s a title that’s hard to take seriously then you’ve come to the right place, as DSO are anything but. Their music is fun and care-free, so…
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…
France is increasingly known as a breeding grounds for avant-garde and otherwise forward-thinking music. Maybe there’s something in the culture of the country that maintains the revolutionary spirit of their ancestors alive. Surely, every French is used to the numerous and almost ubiquitous manifestations and protests, sometimes devolving into riots,…
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 withtapmusic.netthrough 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.
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.
You probably haven’t heard of Dutch Avante-garde prog metal band Schizoid Lloyd, which is a shame, as their two previously released EPs, Virus in 2009 and Circus in 2010, were incredible slices of metallic weirdness that blended the humorous stylings of Queen, Mr. Bungle and Frank Zappa, as well as…
Avante-Garde metal extraordinaires Diablo Swing Orchestra are on somewhat of a roll lately as they prepare to release the follow up to the fantastic Pandora’s Piñata. Between parting ways with their original vocalist and the introduction of replacement Kristin Evegård, many have been wondering what the new material will sound…
I’m probably preaching to the choir here, but 2012 was fucking phenomenal. It had everything a music fan could ask for in terms of new releases, and then some. Personally, this year saw me furthering my tastes into more progressive and extreme stuff (with a heavy dose of jazz on…
Akphaezya are a French Avant-Garde/Gothic metal band. They are female fronted like a lot of their fellow gothic metal bands, but there’s more to Akphaezya than your average Nightwish-alike. Their albums are based on a Greek theater play they “found” (and by found they mean fabricated by their guitar player, but still a great idea). Their music is very ethnically influenced, and appropriately contains a lot of instruments, like organs, cellos, accordions and such. The avant-gardeness in their sound comes from their blend of many genres from smooth jazz, to folk. Their singer even performs harsh vocals, so a very broad palette of music is covered here. But when all these elements are piled on top of each other, does it sink or swim? Let’s find out! Hint: It’s pretty good!