Well, it's now June and that officially means that my time of music blogging has reached a full year. That's not true exactly since I really can't remember the full date things kicked off. It was definitely later than this but... I'm tragically impatient. It's been a very cool run especially as things have progressed in recent times. Because looking back now, at some of my original posts, well, what a difference a year makes. Realising that getting into music journalism would require breaking new ground and seeking new bands has led me to find a tonne of new bands that I never would have come across previously and without a doubt my music taste has become enriched, as I've gotten into all kinds of underground bands and grown appreciation for older bands that had passed me by previously. It's been awesome! Thanks to all you regular readers who've supported this over the past year.
But, while I'm now having an awesome time listening to Antlered Man and Les Discrets and many many more... and gaining a bit of respectability from fellow rock and metal fans who also dig a bit of underground rock and metal, when I started off blogging in June things were a little different. My music taste was hardly as in depth as it could have been and the most in depth band that I knew at the time was the Truckfighters after getting into their Gravity X album following videos of Josh Homme telling me I needed to listen to them. Although I've never known anyone around me to be into the Swedish fuzzmasters, I was still a long way from knowing about the full nature of their musical background of glorious stoner rock, which I got into which I followed up by moving on to black metal and the more underground names in classic heavy metal, hardcore,post-hardcore, metalcore, whateveryouwantcore, alternative rock and again, many many more. You see a year ago I, well, how do you put it, I still had faith in nu metal advancing into the 2010's.
Yeah, one of my first posts is me explaining why I sill loved nu metal in spite of all the common criticisms against the genre, stating things like people's complaints that the genre was too repetitive did not affect me since I always do shuffle songs on my iPod, thus proving I would never consider sitting through an entire nu metal album and best of all, I stated that bands like Disturbed and Korn were still bringing nu metal to the mainstream, only to have Disturbed go on hiatus and Korn returning six months later with the dubstep infused ThePath of Totality. It was foolish at best, so if you ever do feel like reading some of the earliest stuff... don't. I guess you could and sort of watch me get progressively better at writing.
So, that particular post featured Linkin Park as the main subject following my total despise towards their 2010 release A Thousand Suns because you know, it wasn't nu metal. I should say at this point that I still do like a lot of classic nu metal albums (Except Limp Bizkit, always except Limp Bizkit with last year's Gold Cobra being the main reason that nu metal has no hope in the 2010's) but well, it's lost it's fire now. Now all the kids want dubstep n' deathcore! Anyway, having now re-listened to some stuff from A Thousand Suns, in honesty, it really wasn't as terrible as I remember it to be when I first heard stuff from the album. As the band intended, it's more atmospheric dreamy material that remains very gripping.
Soon the band will release their fifth album, the clearly angry LIVING THINGS since it's written in all capitals and caps lock always means anger. Having heard lead single Burn it Down a few times now, which I think is great, I would say that the Agoura Hills sextet are reaching a compromise between the atmospheric impact of A Thousand Suns with the hard hitting riff orientated Minutes to Midnight, with a more crystalline crisp production so it doesn't just sound like the nu metal of old. It's led me to many thoughts regarding their decision to do this, with my most cynical suggestion being that they've brought big riffs and choruses back into their mix to win back the fans that they lost with A Thousand Suns. This led to my thoughts about when metal bands decide to change their style as radically as Linkin Park did on A Thousand Suns. Does it always lead to a butthurt reaction from fans who wanted to hear the sound from the band that they're used to, even if the album is actually good? Let's think of some examples to waste your time.
Of course, the whole section of wether the album was actually good or not is all a matter of taste and in several cases there are moments where I feel a bit isolated because everyone hates a lot of the albums in question. It's a bit like going out into respectable society as a fan of Dolan Comics. respcbl socitii pls. So, with that considered let's open this totally pointless rambling with the obligatory Metallica reference. As I've had to explain several times before with my head hung in shame, I do actually like St. Anger. I mean, I'm never going to say anything like "It's an hidden classic!" or "It's totally underrated!", it's still my least favourite 'Tallica album (Without counting Lulu) but, it has some cool moments. But the mass amounts of hatred it received from fans was quite clearly enough for the band to be put off recording anything with the rougher production and visible post hardcore influence that the album had. So, when the awesome Death Magnetic came out five years later, Metallica discovered their roots in making thrash metal which hadn't really been focused on since 1988's ...And Justice for All. Again, it was an awesome album, but I couldn't help but cynically think "This is just to win back the fans they lost with St. Anger, innit?" Maybe, you wouldn't look into that at the time but the fact that last year they released their four track Beyond Magnetic EP just two months after their atrocious collaboration with Lou Reed on Lulu bombed, cynicism rose to an all time high.
But this kind of thing sees metal fans being the most unforgiving towards the band's choices to change their style, especially when being totally revolutionary. Just look at Morbid Angel. The death metal veterans received much critical acclaim in the 90's with Altars of Madness and Blessed Are the Sick, two of the finest death metal albums of our age, so last year, when they clearly went into the studio after extended plays of Ministry albums and recorded Illud Divinum Insanus which was, well an industrial metal album. And what did the death metal fans think? Well, it can be answered best in this video that came out shortly after which made the Hitler Reacts videos to parody Downfall cool again. It's pretty funny and will only be understood by death metal fans.
Haha, a video that portrays Hitler as a death metal fan won't make me look good in front of all my friends that already take the piss out of me for liking death metal. But indeed purist death metal fans haven't forgiven Morbid Angel for that album and indeed have had no real reason to forgive the band, with the fire only being fueled further with the release of a remix album. Once again, I'm the only person in the world that enjoys this album since I like industrial and death metal. Sometimes I feel like my levels of tolerance and accepting are scarily high.
Often the rage towards bands that change their style comes from the fact that it makes them "sell-outs" and there's always a number of people that oppose that term and say that it's just the band doing what they want to do. But let's use a big example where it really was a case of selling out. Swiss extreme metallers Celtic Frost started with their own truly unique take on metal with 1984's Morbid Tales and 1985's To Mega Therion which both had a massive influence on black metal and death metal to come before going on to challenge themselves and listeners further with 1987's Into the Pandemonium, an album which saw the band open on a wide range of influences bringing in more industrial and gothic elements and avant-garde experimentation. When the band re-emerged a year later following a complete change in line-up, they essentially fucked up their legacy with the release of Cold Lake which saw them try and be Mötley Crüe, after moving to California and being tempted to make a glam metal album. I can only begin to imagine how disappointing it must have been for fans at the time. I had a difficult time trying to get through one Cold Lake song before then going back to listening to Babylon Fell. It was truly an example of a band selling out.
The cases of an majorly positive reaction to a metal band changing their style is rare indeed. But when such a reaction does exist, you get the case of Anathema. Their 1993 debut Serenades saw the band craft upon their own brand of doom metal, which along with the works of Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride became highlyinfluential upon the death/doom sub-genre as well as further symphonic metal bands like Within Temptation and Lacuna Coil. Throughout the 1990's their sound may have gradually softened but the atmosphere of doom did not. It was only until the release of 2001's A Fine Day to Exit that the group veered away from the darkness and focused solely on making new prog rock. And was there a furious uproar of doom metal fans enraged at their decision to embrace the light? Of course not! The spaced out prog was embraced to the extent that their most recent effort Weather Systems has seen the life-affirming prog songs continue. And it's beautiful. It's hard to think of an album in which I've been so immersed in an album for a long time. But I suppose what makes Anathema an exception against the uproar of annoyed metal fans is that their movement into prog music truly is a case of progression, where the musical complexity and atmospheric and emotional impact is broadened upon, rather than sounding cheaper and as though they've sold out. After all, there is still a wide range of death/doom bands to fill the boots of old Anathema. So many death/doom bands like... like....
And of course, there's the little section mentioned at the beginning of proceedings, the case in which a negative response is given when bands don't change their style. And in an age where certain types metal has been suited for the changing world of musical trends. And that's why nu metal can't last in the 2010's. It was a musical genre that when it started in the form of Korn's self-titled debut was a darkened thing of it's own. But as it went on, it was watered down and crafted to be the kind of metal that could be played on the radio and became a musical trend that with the rise of indie rock, pop punk and emo bands just couldn't keep up. So, bands that continue to make radio-friendly nu metal anthems aren't going to get a positive reactions in the 2010's. That's why Limp Bizkit had such a shitty time with the release of Gold Cobra last year. There was no change from what they did in the 90's and early 2000's. If anything it presented them as being more annoying as Fred Durst rapped about how he was still better than everyone else, only now he was in no position to do so. Needless to say, the album bombed, they got dropped from Interscope and signed onto Cash Money Records belonging to obnoxious rapper Lil Wayne and... that's about it. It's not the most positive music story. I guess it's because they never really had a devoted pure metalhead fanbase. People were always pissed with them. The sound never changed and the people who liked their songs at the height of their popularity moved onto other bands. It's why Papa Roach became a glam rock band, why Disturbed switched to regular hard rock, why Korn switched to dubstep and ultimately, why Linkin Park started making albums like A Thousand Suns. Nu metal is long dead.
Granted, it's a short selection of examples and there are many more cases to pick up on. There are classic cases out there with The Beatles turning to psychedelic music, Queen turning from solid hard rock to synth-infused radio-friendly pop tunes, even the case of Slipknot reducing the levels of DJ effects and synthesizers to make solid heavy metal belters has caused certain levels of fury, but with those examples, it's clear that the world of metal is a world where fans want their favourite bands to do the right thing. They don't want Celtic Frost to stop being the most daring and dynamic names in metal and instead make cheap glam metal. It's why they want Metallica to keep being the kings of thrash and they don't want nu metal to survive. But truly, bands should be able to do what they want without any pressure from fans. If they lose fans, they lose fans but at least they've fulfilled their musical desires right? The complaint from fans that they can't believe that the band they've known to write music they've liked previously shouldn't make them hate everything about the band as it seems to ave in some cases. You could always think of the band albums as the work of a demented side project gone wrong or something.
Well, those are my totally pointless ramblings regarding the issue. Maybe I've spread some thoughts. Probably not. I'm pretty sure tonnes of you will totally disregard my opinion forever since I've revealed myself to be a fan of Dolan Comics. Oh well, happy fake anniversary ROARF and thanks for changing my musical life forever again.
When former Within Temptation keyboardist Martijn Westerholt formed symphonic metallers Delain in 2002 with Dutch singer Charlotte Wessels, there was undoubtedly cynicism towards the band. After all, as Within Temptation rose to greater heights, Delain were in honesty, making pretty much the same music. So, with Delain forever living in the shadow of Westerholt's former band, there's always been a desire from fans for them to rise up and finally have a performance on par with Within Temptation. So, on their long-awaited third album We Are the Others it must be asked, have they crafted a work to put them up there?
Well, once again, the cynical notion regarding Delain exists that they are essentially the same band as Within Temptation. We Are the Others shows nothing new being brought to the symphonic metal table. They deal in the kind of riff-driven symphonic metal, with song like the massive title track and Hit Me With Your Best Shot containing hooks as infectious as the... Spanish flu, I guess. As the band's driving songwriting style where the hooks are blended beautifully by crunching metallic riffs from Timo Somers and fresh sweeping synthesizers from Westerholt charge up Generation Me and Get the Devil Out of Me with an extra crushing industrial slickness.
With the mixture of industrial elements and frantic groove assaults in Where Is the Blood?, it's only all too appropriate that it would feature the main vocal appearance of the album from Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory, in which the striking contrast between the gothic tinged operatic vocals of Wessels and the ferocious growls of Bell makes the performance even more intriguing and captivating.
With a collection of songs filled with metallic riffs, poppy hooks and gripping symphonic and steel plated electronic backdrops, the majority of We Are the Others is made up. Certainly, the hooks are kept up and make the album as energetic and fun throughout but there's little extra variety beyond that. I Want You builds up as a metallic ballad but with frequent repetition of "I want you/ I want your (noun)", it get's a little grating after a while.
So, to return to my brutal honesty, I don't believe that We Are the Others will put Delain on par with Within Temptation, but it will prove their ability to make solid symphonic metal is as genuine as ever. With massive hooks, epic riffs and gripping backdrops, it's definitely a work of traditional symphonic metal that will appeal to the legions of fans of the genre. It's not as extreme as Epica, or even Nightwish and Within Temptation need not worry about their position as the rulers of symphonic metal, but Delain show they have what it takes to make a symphonic belter.
Delain's We Are the Others is out now via Roadrunner.
The Cult. It's debatable as to whether their name suits them adequately or not these days. They have a massive following granted but in terms of other British post punk groups that started in the 1980's, their influence and legacy isn't one that's stretched as far and wide, compared to say, Killing Joke, an overall better band whose MMXII album I still really really need to review on account of it being one of the best albums of 2012 so far. But the cult have retained a devoted following with their sophisticated hard rock tunes so, yeah, I guess they are pretty cult-like still. And if you are in that devoted following, their ninth album Choice of Weapon is a clear sign of the band roaring back towards top form.
Instantly there's a sign of a spark igniting the fire that exists within the bellies of the band on this album as Honey From a Knife opens with a rush of exciting riffs from Billy Duff building into a frantic yet fully settled melody.
The songwriting across the album is very skilled in this sense and strong hooks and big choruses are key while there's a strong sense of power across the song wether it's in in the soulful melodies of The Wolf and Lucifer, both containing a strong sense of fist-pumping triumph in their course or the almost theatrical performance of frontman Ian Astbury, whose riled up vocal delivery on For the Animal and A Pale Horse serves as the real driving force on those songs.
Even the more mellow moments in Amnesia and Wilderness Now support the awe-inspiring powerful delivery of the album with the melodic songwriting playing to it's strengths in a manner more sophisticated hidden manner and the reliance on atmospheric backdrops on Elemental Light and This Night In the City Forever chills listeners to settle into the groove of the otherwise riff-orientated performances.
So, Choice of Weapon is a triumphant step back towards the prime sound of The Cult. Maybe having the same consecutive lineup for more than one album for the first time ever was a considerable strength for the band. All the ethics of making a great rock album can be found, produced in such a way that Astbury's performance works together with powerful yet subtle songwriting which can be mellowed and mature but also able to muster up a considerable force. And with that and a decent amount of sweeping hook to make the perfect sound of the original post-punk movement. And that sounds just like what the expansive cult following of The Cult would like.
The Cult's Choice of Weapon is out now via Cooking Vinyl. The band will tour the UK in September with The Mission and Killing Joke.
This rarely happens but the case of Wakefield's band of brothers The Cribs is an exception. They are pretty much the only band I found out about and held onto after hearing about them on mainstream TV!!! Personally, I always remember the episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks on which frontman Ryan Jarman appeared.The entire episode is one of my highlights of watching TV. Yeah, I don't watch much TV. But after the episode, I had to find out more about the band, only to find that their light indie rock anthems are as effortlessly cool as Jarman was on NMTB, and I would say that this coolness is upheld once more on their fifth album In the Belly of the Brazen Bull.
The last time the band appeared with 2009's Ignore the Ignorant they seemed to be climbing up higher than ever before with alternative rock legend Johnny Marr playing in their ranks and high critical acclaim, earning high places in "Album of the Year" lists from NME, Mojo and The Fly magazines. But since then, Marr has departed the group to work on solo work and the band are once again the charming trio of Jarman brothers that they were when they first emerged in 2004.
In that sense, In the Belly of the Brazen Bull sees the group return to simpler material of simply chilled out indie rock and it's in this state of laid back ease that the songs actually grow a real impact. Perhaps it's the simplicity of songs like Glitters Like Gold and Come On, Be a No-One that removes any boundaries, resulting in a range of ecstatic life-affirming indie anthems of super-charged riffs and the echoed vocals of Ryan Jarman that gives a lot of the songs extra dusty charm.
It's not just supper-happy indie anthems to be found though. The album is prominent in the kind of alternative rock atmospherics and delicate charm that only having a former member of The Smiths in ones band could help one sharpen up on. There's details like Jarman's constant widdling of guitar on Pure O, which being drenched in feedback really emphasizes the gritty roughness and battered beauty that true lo fi indie rock is all about. Meanwhile the spaced out Back to the Bolthole is filled with the kind of dynamic texturing and songwriting that one can just step forward and lose themselves in and even their efforts of making an acoustic ballad on I Should Have Helped emits a certain pathos.
So, with a varying collection of high powered indie rock that constantly produces some emotional impact on listeners, The Cribs once more successfully craft a sweet alternative rock record with In the Belly of the Brazen Bull. It's kept simple once again but this attitude allows for a greater output in distorted power that carries their own sparkle. I wouldn't call it a completely essential indie rock purchase but, you wouldn't go wrong in doing so. The effortless coolness that reflects the guy that slyly told the panel of Never Mind the Buzzcocks that requiring 15 stitches ain't that funny is reflected once more.
The Cribs' In the Belly of the Brazen Bull is out now via Wichita. The band will play at Reading and Leeds Festival on 25th-26th August.
After Beach House, I'm now in need of some music that acts as the complete opposite. Give me something loud, abrasive and aggressive with the subtlety of a brick. Sabaton sounds good.
In all my time of knowing about the Swedish power metal sextet, there's been an immense sense of excitement that comes with them. Several friends of mine (Hey Peter and Steven and I forget who else was there) saw them live when they performed at Fat Sam's in Dundee supporting DragonForce. Supposedly that evening, their performance blew DragonForce to the ground. Well, in my opinion, that was never going to be much of a struggle. So, by force I have listened to a decent amount of the metallic war epics, so it's safe to say that their sixth album Carolus Rex is just as strong.
And that's a claim that has undoubtedly been met by some cynicism. The band has experienced something of a major lineup change with only frontman Joakim Brodén and bassist Pär Sundström remaining in the lineup, it seems surprising that the group would already go straight to recording an album, but then, nothing is ever done realistically in power metal. With war being the sole theme of the band's lyrics once more, Carolus Rex takes on the war experience of the Swedish Empire, so this is probably the closest the band will get to having a personal record since it's their homeland they're singing about. Needless to say, right from the opening of The Lions in the North, the guitar hooks from new axemen Chris Rörland and Thobbe Englund leap into action with a crushing delivery that can only deliver a sense of gloriously over-the-top triumph. It's in the squealing lead guitar, it's in the amazingly cheesy backing keyboards and the dramatic wails of Brodén. It makes the song completely energetic, gripping and makes you want to pick up your sword and charge into battle with Sabaton to defend your homeland of Sweden. Or wherever you may reside. Naturally, this kind of attitude is on display across the album, from the stomping breakdowns of The Carolean's Prayer and the dramatic gut-wrenching charge of Long Live the King, which all create a sense of indestructible warrior pride. And with that being the overriding album theme, it would be hard for me to say that it stands strong for the entire experience. There's always a metallic strength and rush of riffs to be found but the constant repetition starts to make the album drag on. And well, no one wants to be in a battle at war that drags on. While there's no denying that Carolus Rex is an undeniably strong effort from Sabaton, it's far from being their freshest or most edge-of-seat. It doesn't really touch the kind of performance they gave on Attero Dominatus or Coat of Arms and I suppose the fact that I got into the might and dynamism of Turisas way before I did with Sabaton doesn't help either. Sabaton are still going strongly in spite of their new lineup, but is this album as likely to impress my friends if they return to Fat Sams? Seems less likely...
Sabaton's Carolus Rex is out now via Nuclear Blast.
Dream pop duo Beach House have always managed to use the sparkling style of atmospheric indie anthems to gain a wide amount of recognition from those they've been able to charm with their glossily produced anthems filled with organic and challenging musical arrangement. All their albums have led to major success both critical and commercial. As they approach the stage of releasing a fourth album while still remaining relatively unknown, many bands in a similar position would use this moment as a time to really show everyone what they're made of. In the case of Beach House, on their fourth release Bloom things are as laid back as ever.
One more the Baltimore duo unleash their chilled array of synth pop tunes filled with subtly strong melodies disguised in delicate beats awash with infectious hooks and lush synthesizer backdrops with Myth and The Hours having the graceful charm of a lighter This Mortal Coil and On the Sea containing the kind of swinging sing-along melodies that any Arcade Fire fan would be able to admire.
The layerings of keyboard pianos guitars and the occasional piece of organ all work together wonderfully on the album, creating the buildup of an atmosphere with a sound that is positively otherworldly and touching, allowing listeners to lose themselves in the ethereal sound of Lazuli and Other People.
As charming as the music is, it's actually a little different for me to think of any other possible comment to make. Maybe a greater pop mentality than I've ever been able to absorb is required to last the endurance of an album like this and maybe it's because I've been hearing more good riffs around me than ever but for me, this musical style can only entertain for so long. As the album goes on, the duo's performance just becomes stuck in one place and Troublemaker, New Year and Wishes all seem to merge into each other without anything to make them truly distinguishable and by the time we reach the closer Irene to find that an eight minute gap exists between the song and a bonus track, one must as wether it's actually worth hanging on for those minutes to find basically the same thing we've heard all album. Maybe people with a greater ear for pop music as a whole think the same. I couldn't possibly tell. It's just me asking for a little more sparks and dynamism.
And with me asking for more sparks and dynamism in an album by a synth pop duo that have always kept things on a mellow line, I end this album realising it's something sophisticated where being fun doesn't serve as a priority, therefore making me an unsophisticated immature listener for being unable to identify it's fully encompassing richness. But then, I'd rather have something fun and full of life than a collection of songs that while starting off charming also carry a sense of lifelessness resulting in a full inability for listeners like myself trying to boost their indie cred to hang on. I need something guitar heavy, packed with adrenaline and mind-blasting-ly fun to listen to now...
Beach House's Bloom is out now via Bella Union. The band will play at End of the Road Festival at Larmer Tree Gardens, Salisbury from 31st August-2nd September and will play at the London Roundhouse on 2nd November.
I've had a long time love for Shadows Fall. They're one of the finest bands that just play solid heavy metal in a way that can unite fans of metalcore and thrash metal. More-so, they've always been able to carry a genuine sound of classic heavy metal without intentionally playing the kind of riffs that were popular in the 1980s like your average 3 Inches of Blood or Steelwing. From the outset of their seventh album Fire From the Sky, there seems to be change occurring across the band. they've settled on a new logo which looks like the missing link between the logos for Evanescence and Decapitated and deals with themes with a bleaker and more apocalyptic state of mind attached. Musically however, it's once again the sound of classic Shadows Fall. I have no problem with this.
And the main reason I have no problem is that they bring together of adrenaline packed thrash riffs, pounding breakdowns and brutal grooves that officially prove that Lamb of God are now influential but on Fire in the Sky, the sound is sharper than it's been in a very long time. With metalcore hero Adam Dutkiewicz producing once again, the resulting sound is the sound of the band that have found a new freshness and drive to create heavy metal that manages to be beautiful and brutal at the same time.
Opener The Unknown plunges straight into this display of pure heavy metal with an explosive opening of hyperactive thrashy lead guitar picking from Jonathan Donais accompanied by Matt Bachand's crunching breakdowns. And alongside the haunting melodies of the chorus the song tells us already that despite the newfound hyperactivity this remains one of the darkest and most doom-laden releases so far.
There's a varying range of metallic performances across the album and each is as exciting, energetic and fresh as each other. Whether it's the juggernaut grooves of Nothing Remains that suggests that Black Sabbath, Sleep and Orange Goblin has been listened to or the deadly intro of the album's title track that sees riffs crawl out like spiked roots twisting round listeners ears dragging them into a metallic oblivion.
But as someone who's recently been starting to hear traditional metalcore beginning to grow stale and unexciting, (Demon Hunter) it's amazing to hear just how much of an exhilarating rush Shadows Fall is able to keep Fire From the Sky sounding, while sticking to traditional metalcore values. So no trance beats anywhere.
There isn't really much else to say about the album. Basically, it's probably Shadows Fall's finest work to date. Brian Fair's performance is at it's most passionate, while the band's performance is sharpened to a tee. Even with such a negative emotional impact, there's still an extreme rush of metallic intensity and fiery exhilaration. I've not really gone around describing an album as "Must-Have" but, here ya go!
Shadows Fall's Fire From the Sky is out now via Razor & Tie. The band will play at Download Festival at Donnington Park, Derby on 10th July.
The cases of an majorly positive reaction to a metal band changing their style is rare indeed. But when such a reaction does exist, you get the case of Anathema. Their 1993 debut Serenades saw the band craft upon their own brand of doom metal, which along with the works of Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride became highly influential upon the death/doom sub-genre as well as further symphonic metal bands like Within Temptation and Lacuna Coil. Throughout the 1990's their sound may have gradually softened but the atmosphere of doom did not. It was only until the release of 2001's A Fine Day to Exit that the group veered away from the darkness and focused solely on making new prog rock. And was there a furious uproar of doom metal fans enraged at their decision to embrace the light? Of course not! The spaced out prog was embraced to the extent that their most recent effort Weather Systems has seen the life-affirming prog songs continue. And it's beautiful. It's hard to think of an album in which I've been so immersed in an album for a long time. But I suppose what makes Anathema an exception against the uproar of annoyed metal fans is that their movement into prog music truly is a case of progression, where the musical complexity and atmospheric and emotional impact is broadened upon, rather than sounding cheaper and as though they've sold out. After all, there is still a wide range of death/doom bands to fill the boots of old Anathema. So many death/doom bands like... like....
And of course, there's the little section mentioned at the beginning of proceedings, the case in which a negative response is given when bands don't change their style. And in an age where certain types metal has been suited for the changing world of musical trends. And that's why nu metal can't last in the 2010's. It was a musical genre that when it started in the form of Korn's self-titled debut was a darkened thing of it's own. But as it went on, it was watered down and crafted to be the kind of metal that could be played on the radio and became a musical trend that with the rise of indie rock, pop punk and emo bands just couldn't keep up. So, bands that continue to make radio-friendly nu metal anthems aren't going to get a positive reactions in the 2010's. That's why Limp Bizkit had such a shitty time with the release of Gold Cobra last year. There was no change from what they did in the 90's and early 2000's. If anything it presented them as being more annoying as Fred Durst rapped about how he was still better than everyone else, only now he was in no position to do so. Needless to say, the album bombed, they got dropped from Interscope and signed onto Cash Money Records belonging to obnoxious rapper Lil Wayne and... that's about it. It's not the most positive music story. I guess it's because they never really had a devoted pure metalhead fanbase. People were always pissed with them. The sound never changed and the people who liked their songs at the height of their popularity moved onto other bands. It's why Papa Roach became a glam rock band, why Disturbed switched to regular hard rock, why Korn switched to dubstep and ultimately, why Linkin Park started making albums like A Thousand Suns. Nu metal is long dead.
