Let me tell you, this is not a headline I expected to write in 2019. It’s been almost a decade since what we like to call The Doom Revival™ first started being felt across the metal community, as album after excellent album were released in the genre. As a result,…
Motorpsycho are a hard band to grapple with; their career, as we have told you before, stretches all the way back to the end of the 80’s. They’ve also ping ponged between numerous genres, always fixated upon progressive rock but blending in influences from jazz, pop, country, post-rock, and more.…
I love that I’ve written so much about avant-garde music lately that I don’t have to once again start with an intro about how weird of a genre it is. The Lychgate review I recently wrote is a pretty good summary of how I feel about the moniker. Actually, referring to that review is a statement about avant-garde in and of itself since there’s little in common between that album and the band we have in mind today, Ghostbound. The first has more black metal on it and a lot more abrasiveness, whereas Ghostbound’s All is Phantom draws more on the epic nature of progressive rock and the dramatic thrill of bands like Marillion. But it also layers those ideas on top of frequent blast beats, prominent strings, thick guitars and much more that comes from metal and its approach to the avant-garde. In short, it’s a wild ride of an album which leaves us beggared for an exact definition.
At this point, it must seem like we’re long past beating a dead horse when it comes to using this space atop our Editors’ Picks column to reiterate the mantra of “there’s just too much music!” But as we’re sure many of you have noticed, the amount of new music we face on a weekly basis far outpaces the time needed to digest it all, something we were reminded of yet again when it came to facing the onslaught that was September. Not only did the month have five Friday release days instead of the usual four, each of those official marker points for new music seemed to attract an enormous quantity and quality of releases from all corners of the music landscape. When we (The Editors) finally pared down our playlists and picked our personal recommendations for the month, we found ourselves with perhaps the longest list of album suggestions we’ve ever presented to our fine readers. Among these are albums from artists both old and new that hail from nearly every genre we all listen to on regular basis. This being the case, let’s not waste any more time and instead get to digging through the gold pile that was September.
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.
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.
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.
Even a cursory glance of our biweekly “What Heavy Blog Is Really Listening To” posts (last weeks update here) will reveal that there is a great deal of variety among our staff’s musical tastes. Due to this, we brainstormed the idea of “Playlist Swap,” another biweekly segment that takes place…
It feels weird, writing a Hey! Listen to This post for a band that’s been around since 1989. Saying that Motorpsycho references classic pieces of stoner and psychedelic rock would be a mistake, since they were an integral part of the continuation of that music into the 90’s. Nonetheless, it’s pretty much impossible to resist the urge for comparison. Their latest album, Here Be Monsters, was released a few short months ago and is veritably swimming in classic references. Pink Floyd, Yes, early Rush and Genesis and countless other names from the Golden Era of progressive/psychedelic rock all live side by side, creating a heady and moving elixir of emotions and nostalgia. However, this is much more than just fan service; Here Be Monsters is a complete and impressive album, spanning an impressive range of ideas and sounds. Check out “Lacuna/Sunrise” below and let’s circle back afterwards.
The eagle eyed ones of you will notice that we have added a Spotify playlist to the left hand side of the website. Currently, this widget displays a selection from our monthly Editors’ Picks segment, rotating on a monthly basis. But that got me thinking. Playlists are a useful thing, a tool which I use on an almost daily basis to regulate my listening. I often listen to music when performing some other task or when I’m in a specific mood. I don’t want to have to constantly select and play certain songs or albums. Sometimes I just don’t have the time; sometimes, I just don’t care what I listen to except that it’s “death metal” or “broodingly heavy”. For that, playlists are perfect, allowing you to easily curate in advance your vast musical collection. Keeping a large stock of them will help you chop down the sheer amount of moods available in music into something that can be digested properly.
