[asmox]

I had a lengthy list of albums that has been building for around a year now. I've been purchasing albums off of this list, and I've recently come to the realization that I mostly don't want what's left. I feel like I've explored a lot in a relatively short amount of time, and now I'm kinda stuck and can't figure out in which direction to move.

An idea of the kind of stuff that has been blowing me away -

A few weeks back, I finally managed to pick up a copy of Arctopocalypse Now... Warmageddon Later from Behold... the Arctopus. I don't know how many of you guys have heard this little 2-track EP, but 'You Will Be Reincarnated as an Imperial Attack Spaceturtle (Pt 1)' is probably the coolest song I have heard in a very long time. It's some of the most explosive, frenetic, humorous, and flat out groovy free-form "metal" I've come across.. and I'd say it even beats out what they went on to do with Nano-Nucleonic Cyborg Summoning. I dunno where to go for more stuff like that.. I've been through Dysrhythmia, Psyopus, Time of Orchids, Orthrelm, and everything inbetween that I could find - nothing satisfies in quite the same way.

maudlin of the Well. The closest thing I've been able to find is Subterranean Masquerade, and even that falls short of what makes motW one of the greatest bands of our time (IMO, of course). What I need is the seamless integration of ambience, atmosphere, jazz, death, doom, prog, indie, off the wall instrumentation, unorthodox structuring, and album "flow".. and I need all of these disparate elements to come together and make perfect sense. motW did it, surely there's another band around today that is also doing it? Please don't recommend Kayo Dot.. that is a perfect example of all the above elements mixed together in a way that does not really flow and doesn't particularly make very much sense at all <-- while that kind of stuff has its place in my collection, I'm not looking for any of it right now.

The Cinematic Orchestra. I picked up Man With A Movie Camera a while back, and it has turned into one of my favorite albums. It's so beautiful and tranquil.. the music flows over you and really takes you places. The arrangements, the layers of moody instrumention, and the stylistic deviations are all top-notch. This is the sort of album I would recommend to anybody.. seriously wonderful stuff. What else out there is like it?

Ram-Zet's Intra is an album that I still don't fully understand, yet fully love. It's insanity.. I read a review that said this album picks you up and places you in a world that you wouldn't want to be in even in your mind. That's accurate, in a sense. In my mind, this is what progressive metal should be.. even if this band in particular is a bit on the twisted side. It's frightening, but I really want to explore more of their world.. except I dunno where to look. Peccatum is the only thing that comes to mind right now that would be even remotely similar.. what else can I get?

Strapping Young Lad. There's only one Devin Townsend, but there's gotta be somebody else out there who can create such a massive wall of sound while injecting equal parts humour, sarcasm, and irony into the music itself. Alien is just a HUGE album in every sense of the word.. I want more stuff like that.

Guano Apes. In short, I love Sandra's vocals. I've never heard anybody sing quite like she does. There's just this genuine sense of power and a pathos surrounding their music that pulls me in. Anything else like this?

Murcof. Up to this point, this is hands down my favorite electronic artist. Nothing else compares in my book.. not Aphex Twin, not Shpongle, not Amon Tobin, not Venetian Snares, not anything else that I've heard. His music is a surreal blend of electronic tones, rhythms, and irregular beats that meld themselves into the aural atmosphere.. clever and unexpected breaks and intervals that keep your attention.. authentic and masterful sampling of violins, pianos, and haunting wordless vocals that add an ethereal layer to the soundscapes.. and excellent use of silence and dynamics. It's wholly electronic, but it comes across as an organic entity.. and it's completely unique. For those who are familiar with this guy, what else is out there that's similar?

Bubblemath. They simply make the tastiest prog rock I've ever heard. If you're familiar with these guys, PLEASE recommend me something similar.

Tortoise. I really enjoy the free jazz/electronica/lounge type thing they have going on TNT. What else is like this?

Elizabeth Fraser singing on Massive Attack's 'Group Four', from Mezzanine. Hearing her on that song kills me every time. Her voice is so ethereal, so pervasive.. I've never heard anything like it. I have several recordings from the Cocteau Twins, but there isn't anything there that elicits the same response from me. I'm not really sure what I'm looking for here.. I just can't get enough of those otherworldly vocals.

Frantic Bleep's The Sense Apparatus. I love, love, love this album.. and I need something to satiate me while I patiently wait for them to record a followup (ok.. maybe not so patiently). Anybody who is familiar with this, please recommend me something in a similar vein.

Hiromi's first album, Another Mind. I enjoy it immensely, much more so than either of her followups. More stuff like this would be great.

Well, those are some highlights for you guys to go off of.. but in reality, I just want something that will "wow" me. If you want an idea of what I'm already familiar with and the types of music I generally listen to, there's a link in my sig with the albums that I currently own.. it might be off by a few albums, but it's mostly accurate.

Any and all suggestions will be taken seriously.

~

 

[Enverxis]

I was just writing a big post but towards the end of the post I pressed the backspace key twice while the text box was not selected and I lost about half an hour's work, so I'll recouperate that later

 

[asmox]

Yeah, I've done that before.. it really sucks.

Nice avatar

 

[Cousin Patty]

It's hard to recommend music that I think will "wow" somebody else because everybody's tastes in music is so different and we are affected by different albums and songs differently. However, if you are stuck in a musical rut, here are some albums that I really enjoy. They may or may not wow you, and you may not like them in the end, but its something different to listen to.

In no perticular order:

Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja, Voimasta Ja Kunniasta (epic viking metal)
Bal Sagoth - the Power Cosmic, Battle Magic (over the top battle metal)
Summoning - Oath Bound (epic black metal)
Alice in Chains - MTV Unplugged
the Beatles - s/t (the white album)
Amorphis - Tales from the Thousand Lakes (prog-ish/death-ish/metal)
Wintersun - s/t (melodic speed metal)
Ensiferum - Iron (folky speed metal)
Conan the Barbarian OST
Camel - Mirage (70's prog rock)
Children of Bodom - Follow the Reaper (melodic, power/speed metal)
Apparat Organ Quartet - s/t (can get from www.aquariusrecords.org) (fun electronic stuff)
Vashti Bunyan - Just Another Diamond Day (70's folk with female vocals)

 

[Asr]

If you like Liz Fraser's voice, I recommend both CDs by Halou. The female singer has the same kind of upper-range voice. The music is also relatively trip-hop.

 

[Big G]

Hi asmox, Ive looked through your album collection...If you havent got Dillinger Escape Plan: Miss Machine get that for sure. Kinda similar in aspects to the Arctopus

 

[Hell_Gopher]

This might be a good time to really get into classical music. If you do, it will be quite a while before you come to a musical standstill again.

Perhaps I can recommend these:

1. Mozart - Requiem
2. Bach - St John Passion
3. John Adams - Shaker Loops

The first two of those are evergreen treasures, the third is a rather funky piece of modern music.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Hell_Gopher is right. This is a good time to jump genres. Pick something you've heard a bit of and enjoyed then jump in. I went through the same thing a couple months back and plunged into jazz. I still have a lot to learn, though I've read a few books on jazz and bought 25 or so CDs so far. I also tune in regularly to 88.1 in town- the local jazz station. I'm loving it and feel like I've missed out by not getting into jazz earlier.

So try classical, jazz, country, world music, anything. If something different from your usual music grabs your ear, go for it. Try scanning around the radio. You might catch something interesting on a station you don't listen to. Or poke around in the threads here and listen to music you've never heard of. Something will come up, and it is healthy to cultivate a taste for new music.

 

[Jasper994]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik Hell_Gopher is right. This is a good time to jump genres. Pick something you've heard a bit of and enjoyed then jump in. I went through the same thing a couple months back and plunged into jazz. I still have a lot to learn, though I've read a few books on jazz and bought 25 or so CDs so far. I also tune in regularly to 88.1 in town- the local jazz station. I'm loving it and feel like I've missed out by not getting into jazz earlier. So try classical, jazz, country, world music, anything. If something different from your usual music grabs your ear, go for it. Try scanning around the radio. You might catch something interesting on a station you don't listen to. Or poke around in the threads here and listen to music you've never heard of. Something will come up, and it is healthy to cultivate a taste for new music.

Very well put; I've done similar over the last couple of years. I started with mostly hip hop with some rock, and country mixed in. Now I continue to explore those genres on occasion, but have expanded into jazz, blues, folk, electronic, movie scores, and classical.

Some of the stand outs for me have been (in no particular order):

Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Katie Melua, Diana Krall, Norah Jones (including her stuff as part of The Little Willies), Infected Mushroom, Hallucinogen, Jacintha, Cantus, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman (particularly the Nightmare Before Christmas OST, although I'm liking Corpse Bride as well), Cantus (a real treat: Cantus is a male choral ensemble that is simply amazing. Recording/mixing/mastering for their last several albums are by John Atkinson the Editor in Chief of Stereophile), JS Bach (especially the Brandenburg Concertos), The Cowboy Junkies, Liquid Tension Experiment, Louis Armstrong, John Williams, various Cincinatti Pops Orchestra Performances, Jesse Cook, Loreena McKennitt, and Olga Kern.

I think I should add in a thanks here: Thanks to Head-Fi and the many members who have helped to heighten my musical enjoyment through better gear and expanded musical choices. This board and it's many members are simply awesome!

...and a very special thanks to Iron_Dreamer, LFF, Edwood, and Petery83 for their suggestions and recommendations.

 

[Enverxis]

It's coming, i've been distracted lately, but I should have some good comparitives to the bands listed

 

[FalconP]

It is sometimes rather tiring to explore a lot of music in, as you say, a short amount of time. Such mental fatigue can affect your appreciation of music: even the extraordinary sounds bland. I'd recommend a short break -- listen to nothing but a handful of old favorites for a while, a week maybe, and then come back to all the wonderful stuff you've accumulated recently -- hopefully this will give you a new understanding and appreciation of them.

 

[Enverxis]

Right.

Unfortunately yesterday I accidentally ****ed up my post and lost what I'd written.

maudlin of the Well appears to be on a different level to everything else, I can't really think of an artist that has created a masterpiece to compare it with, I did have a listen to Subterranean Masquerade but didn't think it was anywhere close, also wasn't a big fan of the CD. There is a band from the Czech Republic called Forgotten Silence however that *sort of* gets there, they started out as a Death/Doom band in 1994 and then started adding other weird aspects to their music such as jazz, tribal/ethnic, avantegarde structures and whatnot, and also a female vocalist for 3 albums.
I highly recommend their albums Senyaan and Ka Ba Ach, although both titles are very hard to obtain, I have only seen Senyaan availible from Metalopolis Poland for $20.14 USD, which is a fair price considering its a 2 CD and deep import. Ka Ba Ach is availible through the RedBlack Czech label although you have to send money via registered letter because Czech Republic is a country Paypal does not do currency for.

Ram-Zet is another tough one, few composers are as crazy/intellectual as Zet, the only real artists I can relate to Ram-Zet is The Kovenant, an Industrial Black Metal band who have the same drummer as Ram-Zet, fans of the Kovenant call Ram-Zet "rip-offs" of the early Kovenant sound. I am not a fan of The Kovenant myself however it would be fair to say that they have influenced Ram-Zet.
The other artist isn't really the same but sort of, Augury from Canada, who mix Bruuutal Death Metal with Progressive Tendancies and a bit of choir, great lyrics from this band, they have an album out called Concealed, which you can grab from Galy Records for ~$13 shipped or something (might be less for USA customers)

Guano Apes. According to John of Sonic Cathedral, Sandra Lusic is THE BEST in the female vocal rock/metal department, most versatile voice there is.
There are a few german nu-metal bands that have ladies with a similar tone, such as Bloodflowerz and Exilia, I suppose Stephanie Duchene of Flowing Tears has a similar tone as well but nowhere near the versatility, their albums are sub-par apart from Jade which is similar to The Gathering - Mandylion in a few ways, and I don't think you particularly were fond of that?
There are other bands with female singers with powerful voices such as Spanish Prog Metal band Ebony Ark,Polish power metal band Delight, the Swedish band called Amaran (melodeath/power metal with female vocals) and the USA old-school Thrash metal bands Fear of God and Znowhite.
Nikki Lane from Prog Rock band Lucid Fly also has an interesting voice. Also Maja from Polish Prog Rock band Moonlight, not the same as Nasic and not the same kind of music but definantly worth checking out!

Massive Attack; I can't really say too much about Trip-Hop except I really enjoyed the Moon Seven Times album (do not remember the name), there is, however plenty of female vocal electronica bands (darkwave, industrial, neoclassical, ethereal style stuff) with amazing female vocalists. I would suggest having a look at Collide, Dead Can Dance (male/female), Stoa, Dark Sanctuary, Dargaard (male/female), Estampie, Basque, Lisa Gerrard, Love Spirals Downwards, Autumn Tears, Tactile Gemma (has Monika Edvardsen from Atrox in it).
Also the band Elend, you'll love their work on The Umbersun, Winds Devouring Men and Sunwar the Dead!

I'm about to check out the 70's neofolk/prog rock band Renaissance, apparently their female singer has a 5 octave vocal range, should enjoy that.

As for the rest, not my forté; It's sort of hard to top bands that excell in being themselves, best to look for other bands that do that in a different way

as you well know.

What else have I got that you might like, hmm, you still have to get Naamah - Resensement, their first album isn't that good, Resensement is just fantastic.
Virgin Black - Elegant and Dying, my friend Sam from the UK can't really get into Sombre Romantic, but he likes Elegant and Dying.
The Middle Eastern metal band Orphaned Land also would be something you would like.
VAST - Visual Audio Sensory theater is a pretty good indie/gothic rock album that I still think is one of the best i've heard, alot of different influences, follow up albums aren't of same quality.
I recommend grabbing another Boris album if possible, I particularly enjoy Heavy Rocks, but aren't too fond of the one you've got.

Aarni is another weird-ass Finnish Avantegarde project you might like.

I think that's all I've got

Hopefully you'll find something else you think is awesome amongst that bundle.

 

[LFF]

Hi Asmox. Your problem seems to be a common one for a lot of people I know. I suggest you go to a record store where you can sample music. Go to a genre section you have never been to and pick out 4 random CD's and go sample them. Eventually you will find something interesting and you can go from there. I tend to find an unusual amount of good things this way.

Also, check out my previous posts and picks of the week. Maybe you'll find something good there.

 

[Hell_Gopher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik So try classical, jazz...

Yeah, jazz is an excellent choice too, and in some ways easier to get into coming from rock than classical. You might have some of the old warhorses in that 500 album list, I didn't read all the way through ^^, but as I'm sure you know you can't go wrong with Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Coltrane when dipping your toes at first... (actually, you probably could go wrong with certain decades of those guys

, but I'm sure you know which albums are always recommended)

 

[kwitel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by asmox I had a lengthy list of albums that has been building for around a year now. I've been purchasing albums off of this list, and I've recently come to the realization that I mostly don't want what's left. I feel like I've explored a lot in a relatively short amount of time, and now I'm kinda stuck and can't figure out in which direction to move. An idea of the kind of stuff that has been blowing me away - A few weeks back, I finally managed to pick up a copy of Arctopocalypse Now... Warmageddon Later from Behold... the Arctopus. I don't know how many of you guys have heard this little 2-track EP, but 'You Will Be Reincarnated as an Imperial Attack Spaceturtle (Pt 1)' is probably the coolest song I have heard in a very long time. It's some of the most explosive, frenetic, humorous, and flat out groovy free-form "metal" I've come across.. and I'd say it even beats out what they went on to do with Nano-Nucleonic Cyborg Summoning. I dunno where to go for more stuff like that.. I've been through Dysrhythmia, Psyopus, Time of Orchids, Orthrelm, and everything inbetween that I could find - nothing satisfies in quite the same way. maudlin of the Well. The closest thing I've been able to find is Subterranean Masquerade, and even that falls short of what makes motW one of the greatest bands of our time (IMO, of course). What I need is the seamless integration of ambience, atmosphere, jazz, death, doom, prog, indie, off the wall instrumentation, unorthodox structuring, and album "flow".. and I need all of these disparate elements to come together and make perfect sense. motW did it, surely there's another band around today that is also doing it? Please don't recommend Kayo Dot.. that is a perfect example of all the above elements mixed together in a way that does not really flow and doesn't particularly make very much sense at all <-- while that kind of stuff has its place in my collection, I'm not looking for any of it right now. The Cinematic Orchestra. I picked up Man With A Movie Camera a while back, and it has turned into one of my favorite albums. It's so beautiful and tranquil.. the music flows over you and really takes you places. The arrangements, the layers of moody instrumention, and the stylistic deviations are all top-notch. This is the sort of album I would recommend to anybody.. seriously wonderful stuff. What else out there is like it? Ram-Zet's Intra is an album that I still don't fully understand, yet fully love. It's insanity.. I read a review that said this album picks you up and places you in a world that you wouldn't want to be in even in your mind. That's accurate, in a sense. In my mind, this is what progressive metal should be.. even if this band in particular is a bit on the twisted side. It's frightening, but I really want to explore more of their world.. except I dunno where to look. Peccatum is the only thing that comes to mind right now that would be even remotely similar.. what else can I get? Strapping Young Lad. There's only one Devin Townsend, but there's gotta be somebody else out there who can create such a massive wall of sound while injecting equal parts humour, sarcasm, and irony into the music itself. Alien is just a HUGE album in every sense of the word.. I want more stuff like that. Guano Apes. In short, I love Sandra's vocals. I've never heard anybody sing quite like she does. There's just this genuine sense of power and a pathos surrounding their music that pulls me in. Anything else like this? Murcof. Up to this point, this is hands down my favorite electronic artist. Nothing else compares in my book.. not Aphex Twin, not Shpongle, not Amon Tobin, not Venetian Snares, not anything else that I've heard. His music is a surreal blend of electronic tones, rhythms, and irregular beats that meld themselves into the aural atmosphere.. clever and unexpected breaks and intervals that keep your attention.. authentic and masterful sampling of violins, pianos, and haunting wordless vocals that add an ethereal layer to the soundscapes.. and excellent use of silence and dynamics. It's wholly electronic, but it comes across as an organic entity.. and it's completely unique. For those who are familiar with this guy, what else is out there that's similar? Bubblemath. They simply make the tastiest prog rock I've ever heard. If you're familiar with these guys, PLEASE recommend me something similar. Tortoise. I really enjoy the free jazz/electronica/lounge type thing they have going on TNT. What else is like this? Elizabeth Fraser singing on Massive Attack's 'Group Four', from Mezzanine. Hearing her on that song kills me every time. Her voice is so ethereal, so pervasive.. I've never heard anything like it. I have several recordings from the Cocteau Twins, but there isn't anything there that elicits the same response from me. I'm not really sure what I'm looking for here.. I just can't get enough of those otherworldly vocals. Frantic Bleep's The Sense Apparatus. I love, love, love this album.. and I need something to satiate me while I patiently wait for them to record a followup (ok.. maybe not so patiently). Anybody who is familiar with this, please recommend me something in a similar vein. Hiromi's first album, Another Mind. I enjoy it immensely, much more so than either of her followups. More stuff like this would be great. Well, those are some highlights for you guys to go off of.. but in reality, I just want something that will "wow" me. If you want an idea of what I'm already familiar with and the types of music I generally listen to, there's a link in my sig with the albums that I currently own.. it might be off by a few albums, but it's mostly accurate. Any and all suggestions will be taken seriously. ~

ASMOX-please allow me to return a long overdo favor...im going to throw out a couple of albums that have had significant influence over me over the past 10 or so years-try some out:

Tri-Hop: IMO, nothing will ever touch Mezannine or Massive Attack but of all the female vocalist driven, experimental/electronic/tri-hop ive heard in the recent past, nothing has quite impressed me like Goldfrapp's "Felt Mountain and Laika's "Sounds of the Satellites".
The former's experimental appraoch is reminiscent of early Bjork (not so much in sound but more in pushing the envelope by combining genres and essentially creating a new and fresh sound), while the latter is more traditional, albeit minimal Trip-Hop.
Thievery Corp's "Richest Man in Babylon" and Zero 7's "Simple Things" are both terrific chill-out/downtempo release.

I dont think ive ever heard you mention anything related to classical...try Phillip Glass's "The Hours", IMO the perfect soundtrack; powerful minimalist classical.
Along the same vein but more electronica/ambient influenced classical-try Cliff Martinez's "Solaris".
Lastly, ive been really soaking in Ludovico Einaudi's "I Giorni" which is just beautiful, romantic piano-perfect for cleaning the aural palette.

Switching gears a bit...been enjoying some good Instrumental Hip-Hop lately: pick up anything by Prefuse 73, RJD2 and Omid. For straight intelligent underground hip-hop with quality beats pick up anything by MF DooM and any of numerous monikers including: Danger Doom, King Geedorah and Viktor Vaughn

For some killer acid/electronic jazz, Daj Cam's "Mad Blunted Jazz" and "Fillet of Soul" are not to be missed.
Are you into electronica? I know you like Aphex Twin and Autechre as we have discussed both in the past. I think the Richie Hawtin (Plastikman) is THE most talented DJ/Producer around, you should own all of his individually produced albums while the relatively recent release of "Transitions" by Plastikman is excellent.

Shoegaze-Slowdive's "Souvlaki Spacestation" is an essential/must have; one in particular that I believe you will enjoy emmensely. Also, a guy like you who really appreciates musical complexity I would hope already owns everything by Sigur Ros?

Lastly-some world music to balance things out a bit: Peter Gabriel's "The Last Temptation of Christ" is simply a perfect album.

Hope ive provided some new material for you to explore.
Enjoy!