Hey, this one I have completely forgotten about! Thanks for bringing it back to my attention. The good thing is I haven't listened to it in so long that I'm truly rediscovering it again
I'm listening it on Deezer, 320kbps mp3 quality. Don't think I have think I have the equipment to make use of SACDs. Still, sounds mighty fine
This has also led me down a rabbit's hole of similarly-themed, sort-of-rock-operas, concept albums. Some of them aren't rock or metal (like Janelle Monae's "The ArchanDroid"), but I've been pretty hooked on John Frusciante's "The Empyrean". It quite stands out.
I have no idea what this is about so I asked a buddy of mine who is into metal and I got some metallica, acdc. The metallica is definitely not my thing. I liked the acdc, it's like the guys are down to earth with a sense of humor. Metallica is like the world is black we're all going to die, it's hopeless, black, we're all going to die meaninglessly. I really can't get into that.
Can anybody recommend good sounding albums or groups that aren't hopeless backness death metal or whatever you call it? I'm old, so I know about Aerosmith, Van Halen, stuff like that. I enjoy some of it.
I have no idea what this is about so I asked a buddy of mine who is into metal and I got some metallica, acdc. The metallica is definitely not my thing. I liked the acdc, it's like the guys are down to earth with a sense of humor. Metallica is like the world is black we're all going to die, it's hopeless, black, we're all going to die meaninglessly. I really can't get into that.
Can anybody recommend good sounding albums or groups that aren't hopeless backness death metal or whatever you call it? I'm old, so I know about Aerosmith, Van Halen, stuff like that. I enjoy some of it.
Well, your buddy essentially listed the most popular bands in rock and metal (which is the lazy way out when giving someone recommendations). From what you said, I'm thinking you should probably stay away from straight-up metal. Hard rock would be more to your liking.
I'm going to skip the biggest names here, and instead make a list of some lesser known contemporary artists. Many of them are truly hidden gems.
Personally, I'd recommend you check out bands in the progressive rock and progressive metal genres, especially the former. But mind you, these artists often have more complicated song that what you usually hear on the radio and TV - both musically and lyrically. Also, prog musicians tend to pay special attention to good production and their albums very often sound great (from a purely audio quality standpoint).
And, if you want rock/metal music with no vocals, maybe check out some bands in the post-metal or post-rock genres? Such as: Russian Circles Long Distance Calling
In any case, all of these bands are awesome and have quality production, sound-wise.
Hey VShaft, thank you very much for taking the time to post all that info! I will definitely follow up on those bands and records. My buddy has been listening to metal for at least 30 years and it's funny but I never talked to him about it until a few days ago. You're right, he said he just mentioned the usual suspects and if I liked it (I really think he knew I would not) I could go from there. To be honest I did not know metal and hard rock are not the same thing. I guess that explains a lot. What I thought was metal is really hard rock. Thank you!
Well, there is absolutely nothing wrong about the usual suspects. If you're a complete newcomer to the genre, that's a good way to get you started. The trouble is, it may also give someone the wrong impression, such as that all metal is bleak and dark, or that X is this and that. Some people do not explore past those few most popular artists, and they miss out a lot. In this day and age, there so much mixing of the genres that there's a whole lot of music bunched up under the general label of "metal" and the lines are blurred.
Not that it matters, though, good music is good music
If you like any of the bands I mentioned, I will gladly share more similar music if you're interested.
Dude, thanks a tonne for the suggestion. I was not aware Be'lakor had released remasters, and they sound sweet. In particular "Stone's Reach" sounds absolutely superb ("Of Breath and Bone" for some reason is panned slightly right, and seems uneven in brightness which I'll probably have to correct in a DAW myself).
I think I will find new appreciation for Stone's Reach now. Plus I was able to give the Aussies some money which feels nice.
Here's a trip back in audiophilia history. A friend of mine came across a used copy of the Provocative Percussion album last year, and he shared with me the fun liner notes. Last weekend he came upon the first album in the series, which also happens to allegedly be the first gatefold album ever.
"This is the most unusual record you have ever put on your turntable.
It is a unique mixture of entertainment, excitement, beauty and practicality.
It will show off all of the marvelous potentials of your stereo equipment - potentials that you may not even have realized were there before - and at the same time it will enable you to adjust your equipment so that you will get the best possible performance out of it.
What's on this record?
Music - brilliantly recorded music which has been arranged with great imagination and infinite care to bring out the whole spectrum of sound on your stereo equipment even while it puts your system through a series of tests which will tell you if your speakers are properly balanced, if your pickup is tracking correctly even under the most demanding circumstances and if your pickup arm is balanced so that it will not bind on the inner grooves of your discs.
Possibly you have had your speakers tested with a volume unit meter and have found that they are balanced - that they are 'electrically flat,' which means that the frequency response on each speaker is identical. This is a mechanical test and is highly accurate - as far as it goes. It does not mean that your stereo set is acoustically balanced because what our ears hear is affected by many things which have no effect on the reactions of an electrical meter.
The balance of your speakers is affected by the size and shape of your room in which you put them and by the furnishings in that room. If, for example, one speaker is next to a drape or a heavy piece of furniture while the other is beside a hard surface, you will get a decrease of high frequency response from the speaker next to the drape and an overabundance of high frequencies from the other - even though your speakers have been proved to be electrically balanced.
This record is designed to enable you to adjust your system so that the musical sounds have the same quality in both high and low frequencies and to reduce distortion to the barest possible practical minimum.
The care that went into making this record began long before the actual recording took place. All of the equipment in the famous Fine Recording Studios in New York which was to be used for this special recording was minutely checked and tested. The frequency response of both recording channels was painstakingly aligned (electrically). Later, when the recorded tape had been correctly balanced and was ready to be transferred to the master acetate, the stereo disk cutting equipment in the mastering room was lined up and checked through extensive frequency distortion runs (fifteen different calibrated cartridges were used in these tests).
As a result, the recording that you hold in your hand is as close to perfection as today's best engineering skills can make it. It is the definitive record for checking out all aspects of your stereo sound system."
Here's a trip back in audiophilia history. A friend of mine came across a used copy of the Provocative Percussion album last year, and he shared with me the fun liner notes. Last weekend he came upon the first album in the series, which also happens to allegedly be the first gatefold album ever.
You can feel the pride just oozing off of this thing. Makes me wish there were "making of" videos for this stuff.
Enoch Light’s best album is Spaced Out in my opinion, I had every vinyl he made except a couple. The songs were simply orchestrated versions of what was popular at the time. Authur Lyman.....those records were free in the 1990s.
Best reading I know of is Incredibly Strange Music volume one and two.
Note how most of the time the originals were better.
I really don't think it's necessary to make an argument that originals by Dick Dale and Arthur Lyman are better -- that's obvious. Those liner notes are just a fun artifact of early audiophilia.
I really don't think it's necessary to make an argument that originals by Dick Dale and Arthur Lyman are better -- that's obvious. Those liner notes are just a fun artifact of early audiophilia.
By the power of internet I hereby resurrect thee thread!
Agent Fresco - Destrier
Ghost Brigade - IV - One With The Storm
Gojira - The Way of all flesh <------ Because tasty drums
Mars Red Sky - Mars Red Sky
Om - Pilgrimage
Om - Advaitic Songs
RX Bandits - ...And the battle begun
By the power of internet I hereby resurrect thee thread!
Agent Fresco - Destrier
Ghost Brigade - IV - One With The Storm
Gojira - The Way of all flesh <------ Because tasty drums
Mars Red Sky - Mars Red Sky
Om - Pilgrimage
Om - Advaitic Songs
RX Bandits - ...And the battle begun
Gojira The Way of all flesh is a brilliant album. I have it on vinyl. The mastering is too much compressed, as all Gojira's albums. On vinyl it sounds better indeed, but not any big improvement.
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