As promised, this is the music section; you can expect a song or two for download on here as a sampling of bands I enjoy. I'll try to keep it to bands that most people haven't heard of, as I realize that most people aren't going to want to read things they already know. I have to have Tool in there though; on the off chance someone hasn't heard of them, I must rectify that. Also I'll have links to each band's website (if I know the URL) as well as biographical stuff and album/song recommendations. Have fun.
Oh, and a * next to a track means that it's one of my favorites off of the album, whereas a * next to an album means it's my favorite album by that band.
Current bands in database
Tool
The Gathering
Gackt
Current song for download: None, I haven't uploaded a new one yet. Finding one that's under 5 megabytes is a problem for me, since anything I rip to my computer I encode at a 320 bitrate...
Sections: Vocals: Maynard James Keenan As I'm sure all of you know, Tool is the greatest band ever, for many reasons. They're one of the relatively few bands in music these days that actually provoke thought; in an age filled with meaningless hip-hop and angsty trash (at least lyrical trash), Tool stands out as a beacon of what could be. Each of their full-length albums explores a different part of the human psyche, which I'll get to later. Music-wise, they aren't your typical poppy trash. Featuring some of the most complex and interweaving instrumental passages found in modern music, each song is an experience. From the sublimely pure opening of Lateralus to the glaring guitars of Third Eye, each song is distinctly different from one another. However, the true beauty of Tool comes out in the euphoric vocal performance of Maynard James Keenan. Without question the greatest vocalist of all time, he is capable of turning even the most simple lyrics into a work of art. So many vocalists in this genre have no idea how to actually sing; rather, they growl and scream. Maynard, however, can do it all; songs such as Eulogy and Pushit highlight his singing talents, while others, namely Hooker with a Penis and Swamp Song provide a contrast with growling. The man can do it all. But don't take my word for it, go out and listen to them yourself.
Opiate was the band's first release; it's little more than a demo tape, although the roots of their first full release Undertow are definitely apparent. Overall it's a decent listen, although the relatively short length hurts the overall score. This album has 2 of my favorite Tool tracks. Tracklisting:
Tool
Band information
Album synopses
Opiate
Undertow
Ænima
Salival
LateralusBand information
Guitar: Adam Jones
Bass guitar: Justin Chancellor
Drums: Danny Carey
Genre: Rock/Metal/Progressive Rock
Website: Tool BandAlbum synopses
Opiate: 3.5/5 stars
Tool's first full-length release, Undertow is definitely a must-have. The obvious influences are grunge and grind-core, although the album has its own sound. While some songs are more formulaic like Sober, others are experimental, often containing large, flowing instrumental bridges replete with some of the finest guitar work seen in grind-core. The lyrics aren't as developed as on their later releases, but they still have meaning. The main motif running through the album is humanity's self-destructive nature. This is probably the darkest of their releases; their later albums are definitely more prog-rockish and don't deal directly with the dark side of things.
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Ænima is where the current incarnation of Tool began; the grind-core sound of Undertow is almost entirely gone, replaced instead by a progressive streak. This was a great step forward for the band; Maynard's vocals sound much better with an experimental backdrop. The general theme for this one is religion and how pointless and stupid it is, although transcendentalism also finds its way into a few songs, namely Third Eye. Most people think this is their best release, so if you want to start listening to Tool I'd recommend it. Be warned though; it's definitely their quirkiest full-length record.
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Salival isn't actually an album; it's an 8 song release, the first 3 of which are live versions of Third Eye, Part of Me, and Pushit. It also features a couple quirky unreleased tracks, as well as a few covers. All in all it's a good album, but not really their best work. I would suggest just downloading it, if it weren't for the DVD/VHS (both are available) that comes with it. The video part features all of their music videos at that time, which are quite fun to watch.
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Well, what can I say? Lateralus is simply the greatest album ever made. With this record the band chose to immerse themselves completely in prog-rock, completely discarding their aggressive sound. The result is a masterpiece; each song is complexly interwoven with tempo changes, long exploratory passages, and some of the most meaningful lyrics found in music. No words I type here can do the album justice; the only way to truly understand its genius is to hear it for yourself. The motif for this one is the limited scope of human knowledge and how to transcend this, namely through recognizing the inner connections all of us have to one another. This album is more than just a musical masterpiece; it is also a spiritual and philosophical achievement. Listen, and your life will be changed, your eyes will be open. Remember, we are all one mind; float above all this. Imagine the unconceivable...
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Band information
Album synopses
Mandylion
Nighttime Birds
How to Measure a Planet?
If_Then_Else
Souvenirs
Vocals: Anneke Van Giersbergen
Guitar: Rene Rutten
Bass: Hugo Prinsen Geerligs
Drums: Hans Rutten
Keyboards: Frank Boeijen
Genre: Progressive metal/symphonic metal/power metal
Website: The Gathering
The Gathering is one of my favorite bands, at times rivaling Tool. They're a gothic metal outfit from the Netherlands that happens to have the best female vocalist out there, Anneke van Giersbergen. This bio/discography only follows them after their release Mandylion, as that was when Anneke joined up with the band; prior to that they had a crappy male growler on vocals.
Their sound in their later albums, starting with Mandylion, is most definitely progressive metal; frequent uses of symphonic elements can be found, as well as a plethora of keyboards. While the lyrics in among themselves aren't really anything spectacular, Anneke draws every ounce of emotion out of them, turning what is primarily fancy metal into a haunting experience not soon forgotten. This is definitely not your parents' metal band, folks. Although granted a lot of their songs can't really be considered metal, but that's what the "technical" genre defintion for them is. To be honest I don't know what I would categorize them as; they portray way too many styles to choose one or two as predominant.
Anyway, as I was saying, they're from the Netherlands, which isn't surprising as all good prog-metal comes from Europe. Lacuna Coil and Nightwish are both European, and they're incredibly good. If you're looking to get some good music, definitely get something by The Gathering. Actually I'd recommend every album listed here; each one is perfect in its own little way.
Mandylion was the album that started it all, or at least started Anneke's golden run with The Gathering. This is probably their worst album that features her, although it's by no means bad. This is also their most formulaic metal album; most of the experimenting takes place later on in their career. You can definitely hear the roots of their other releases in here though, and it's still a good album on its own. I haven't listened to it enough to have track recommendations, though.
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Ah yes, Nighttime Birds. This is easily my favorite album of their's, and it was also the first I obtained. While If_Then_Else and How to Measure a Planet? are very nearly as good, Nighttime Birds just has something about it that makes me love it. It's a very sorrowful album, and most of the songs are downtempo depression pieces; Anneke's voice meshes incredibly well with the music. If you're interested in listening to this insanely good band, I highly recommend starting with Nighttime Birds; it features elements of all of their albums, and so thus gives a good starting point. If you like the more typical metal, go with Mandylion, while if you like the ethereal pieces go with If_Then_Else or How to Measure a Planet?. Either way you can't go wrong.
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How to Measure a Planet? is the monstrous double disc centerpiece of The Gathering's discography. It also marks their final descent into progressive styles; metal is almost nonexistant here. The music instead resembles what Pink Floyd might have sounded like with an angelic vocalist. Ambience is everywhere, while hard-edged guitars and percussion are virtually nowhere. Free-floating keyboards, airy guitars, and soft percussion mark nearly every track on this album, and yet each song manages to sound different. Nothing runs together, which is a very remarkable feat in a double-disc record. Again, I haven't listened to this one enough to have song recommendations as I just got it a few days ago. Oh, and if you're wondering where I find all this stuff, I get it off of SoulSeek, a file-sharing program great for finding rare and foreign music.
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If_Then_Else is actually the album I was listening to while I wrote the entire section on The Gathering. It's not as far out there as How to Measure a Planet?, but it's still pretty airy and ephemeral at times. This was actually the first time I've listened to this album, and, ironically enough, I was just starting the final track as I got to this section. After one listen I'm forced to agree with All Music Guide and say that this is their best release. The style of it is similar to Nighttime Birds and yet entirely different in that paradoxical The Gathering way. Sections of metal can be found amidst the floating raft of ambience, and they serve only to deepen the sound even more. Anneke does her best vocal work in this album which is enough by itself to mark it as the best. It's definitely not for those who enjoy hard music, though.
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Souvenirs, released in 2003, marks more experimentation by the band, both musically and lyrically. However, it's experimentation in a good way; each step forward is calm and calculated. There are no wild flights of fancy thankfully; it would truly be a shame to see a bad Gathering record. Style-wise it's very similar to How to Measure a Planet?, but it also has touches of If_Then_Else in there as well. This means that for the most part the music is ethereal and calm, with many free-floating pieces of near-ambience. Anneke's voice is golden yet again; I seriously wonder if there has ever been a time she HASN'T sounded perfect. All in all a very good release, but not better than If_Then_Else.
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Band information
Album synopses
Mars
Rebirth
Moon
Crescent
Gackt, also known as Camui Gakuto, is an artist from Japan. Now before you write this off as some psycho-Otaku obsession, actually listen to his music. For the true music lover the language the lyrics are in doesn't matter; all that matters is the sound and emotion of the piece as a whole, which Gackt certainly has.
Gackt has had a rather illustrious career thus far. He started out as vocalist for the band Malice Mizer when their original vocalist quit. After a long run with Malice Mizer, he eventually quit to pursue a solo career. A few years after breaking off with MM he released Mars, arguably his best album. Mars instantly rocketed him to stardom; a sort of cult has sprung up in following of him. It's a phenomenon, really.
Musically he sounds a bit like a Japanese version of U2, only that's a very poor comparison. He has a sound that is all his own, varying from pop-rock to symphonic rock to pseudo-death metal. Combined with his cherubic vocal performance this plethora of styles sounds incredibly good.
Mars was Gackt's first solo release, and is considered in many fan circles to be his best. The sound as a whole is very fresh and wide-reaching; common rock can be found in tracks like Asrun Dream and U+K, while classical instrumentals and jazz are evident in Freesia ~Op. 2~ and Vanilla. While I disagree that this is his best album it is definitely up there. This is his most "normal" album, so I would recommend it to newcomers more than the others.
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Rebirth is Gackt's weirdest album by far; from the first moment you can tell something is wrong. The opening track, which is always strange on his records, seems too far gone to be actually enjoyable. This trend continues through the first few tracks, unfortunately. About halfway through it picks up a little and finally ends in a blast with Seven, but that's about the only good song on the album. It is good enough to warrant the 3/5 rating; Seven could be my favorite song by any band ever.
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Moon was Gackt's third release, and it was definitely a vast improvement over the convuluted mess that was Rebirth. Apparently Gackt was able to control his more impulsive whims and stick to making good music, because this album flows together perfectly. Each song compliments the others in a way seldom found in a full length record. However it's a little too poppy for my personal tastes; I prefer the harder rock on Mars and Crescent. That's not to say it's bad at all, though; I still listen to it on a regular basis.
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Crescent is Gackt's newest release; it came out just at the end of 2003. It's also my favorite by far; the songs are much darker than his other releases, featuring more dramatic violins and harder guitars. Gackt himself also shines more than usual, displaying his vocal prowess and range on tracks like Tsuki no Uta and Hoshi no Suna. Overall the songs sound much more fleshed out and powerful, a pleasant change over the poppiness of Moon. This also marks the conclusion to his "MOON" project, which doesn't really make sense to anyone outside of Japan. I suppose it's something about the crescent moon rises after the moon...? Don't ask, I have no idea.
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