After listening to Steven Wilson’s solo album I came to realize that he’s probably THE musician of the zeroes decade. It’s not that it’s so great of an album (it’s not anyway), but he puts great music out there consistently, in many forms; be it his Porcupine Tree armada or when he teams with Aviv for more pop attempts, or any of his other projects.
Insurgentes
Latest Obsessions
Feos – Katastasi (ep) |
Post rock, Black metal, Ambient experimental, all in one. I guess recently I’m very much into albums that combine different elements. This is a great example. |
Gazpacho – Missa Atropos |
Gazpacho produce nothing but beatiful music. It’s a prog rock kind of thing, with great great songs. This is the 3rd in a row brilliant album (after Night and Tick-tock). |
Eric Clapton – Unplugged |
Eric Clapton released this cd sometime in 1992. Proof that he can rock with an acoustic guitar as much as he can with his electric guitar. Get this simply for the best version of the legendary Layla. |
Hella Comet – Celebrate your loss |
Simple recipe for a great album: Guitars, guitars and guitars. Huge sound, shoegazing touches, great vocals, post rock. Huge release, wish they had more! |
Freitod – Nebel der Errinerungen |
Hehe, it was about time before another DBM release found its way here. Freitod is a german band that has been around for quite a few years, yet this is the only album that i am aware of. Anyway, it’s quite good, reminding me of what Katatonia did on Discouraged Ones, but add a black metal approach to this. Powerful songs, my cup of tea. Love it. |
 Brendan Perry – Ark |
Brendan Perry is of course a very familiar name to everybody. This is one more of his quality-solo-releases post Dead can dance. Here we have his trademark sound and voice, mixed with eastern influences heavy keyboards, impressive sound and great songs. Check out Babylon. |
Pain of Salvation – Road Salt part one |
One more cd from Pain of Salvation. This time it is the 70′s that got into their sound. As usual amazing stuff and lyrics. Linoleum is such an amazing song.. |
Eleventh he reaches London – Hollow be my name
Eleventh he reaches London is an Aussie group from Perth, if I can recall correctly. They play a post-rock-hardcore type of thing but what sets them apart from the ‘masses’ of groups playing that thing, is the GREAT GREAT SONGS they have and their sense of melody. Also the whole album explores many different moods, making you want to sit in and absorb everything!
I’m shocked by how much this album rocks. Seriously. Get it. Asap.
p.s. what are you waiting for?
More DSBM releases…
Thy Light – Suici.De.Pression
This might as well be one of the best albums in this cheerful genre.
5 long epic songs with nothing but sad melodies.
Slow paced songs, drone riffing slowly unfold this masterpiece.
If you want to venture into this black world, this could be a great start.
Listen to “I am the bitter taste of Gall” to see how this sounds.
Sterbend – Dwelling Lifeless
Now, this is interesting. This is a german DBM band with extreme vocals that remind me of In the Woods’ Heart of the ages era and Burzum. Raw fast riffing alternates with slow guitar melodies.
Great, great stuff.
Listen to “… Left to weep and mourn”.
Soap&Skin – Lovetune for vacuum
I usually tend to write here about albums only after it’s been a while since i first got to listen to them, allowing time to mark only the truly wonderful albums instead of the ones that get stuck in you only for a while before you forget they ever existed.
This time I changed my routine. I’m sure that this is an amazing album. It’s something about her piano, her dreamy and sometimes aggressive vocals and definitely “Cynthia” which resembles Beethoven’s moonlight sonata, yet it’s a truly haunting track.
I’m not sure how to tag this album. I’ve never been a big fan of categories and I’ve always loved the albums that make it impossible to use them. I do understand the importance of them for someone who wants to know what does she sound like so I’ll throw some generic terms:
Piano driven songs, sad melodies, female vocals, wonderful, wonderful music.
Latest obsession – Sólstafir
Sólstafir are from Iceland. They play a blend of progressive-post metal, with a black hint and northern influences. It’s the kind of music that needs lots of listens to truly appreciate what these guys are doing but it’s a very worthy venture.
Sólstafir means Sky (I think).
Rawr!
Best CDs: Pearl Jam-Ten
Why? Ten was a tricky album for me. I bought that cd as a necessity to the Seattle sound of the early 90’s, but I could never get why this had anything to do with ‘grunge’. It took me time to really get into Ten’s sound and truly appreciate it for the diamond that it is. 70’s rock sound with dark lyrics, the occasional great guitar solo and Vedder’s great voice. Imho, this is the best by pearl jam! Too bad all of their later work could not reach up to their debut, but oh well.
Highlights? Besides the singles you most probably already know (alive, jeremy) the true gems of the album are: the epic ‘black’ and garden.
Wtf? Early 90’s dressing style was h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e. You’ll agree with me if you unfold Ten’s cover art 
Fun (and totally random) Fact: “Once” is the middle chapter of a trilogy of songs in what Vedder later described as a “mini-opera” entitled Mamasan, with it being preceded by “Alive” and followed by “Footsteps”. “Once” tells the tale of a man’s descent into madness which leads him into becoming a serial killer.
During the bridge of the song, Vedder can be heard muttering. He is actually saying “You think I got my eyes closed/But I’m lookin’ at you the whole fuckin’ time…”
(taken from wikipedia)
Best CDs: Neurosis-The Eye of every Storm
Why? Neurosis have been around for years decades. They’ve played with different sounds, different styles. From the hardcore punk of their past to sludge and metal and everything. There is one common element though in every single release of them: High quality of songs. Except this album. This is different. This is even better, this is their peak, at least in my humble opinion. A truly layered record. Multiple listens make this even more amazing. A headphone album. Special kudos to the keyboardist for creating this sound that reminds a bit of the mighty Floyd. But heavier. Too heavy actually.
Highlights? 8 songs explore different moods throughout the record. Every damn song is so beautiful. Damn! Do I really have to pick one? Hmmmm, maybe ‘I can see you’ for the epic ending? Then again, every other song could be here.
Wtf? I really can’t find any weak moments here. Maybe this is the ‘wtf’ moment 
Fun (and totally random) Fact: Watch here a stripped down ‘acoustic’ version of “I can see you”, performed from Scott Kelly himself (and only himself)
Best CDs: Sade–Best of
Why? Sade is cool. Yes, she is. And her songs are sexy. Mix some smooth jazz with soft beats and her voice. This is the result. 16 sexy songs, 16 late night songs. Perfect soundtrack for your, emmm, intimate times. You will want to keep that cd 
Highlights? Well, it’s a best-of cd. You can expect many of her hits to be here, except.. (read on to ‘wtf’). My personal favourite has to be ‘no ordinary love’.
Wtf? What on earth happened to ‘King of Sorrow’? The song is not in this best of collection. S-h-a-m-e.
Fun (and totally random) Fact: ‘Sade Adu’ is the singer’s name and she’s from Nigeria. Currently, she’s the most successful solo female artist in U.K.
