I recently had the privilege of being on Spider-Man’s program, Hanging Out in the Batcave. His program is sort of an acquired taste, but I think it went pretty well. We talked about my latest song, In December. Please check it out above!
I want to take a moment and say thanks to all the new subscribers I have from SpicySallads.com, HeavyMetalTruckWorks.com, and FancyCarnavalMasks.com! These web domains may in fact rank pretty high on www.StopForumSpam.com, but hey, that’s ok. I am the most non-discriminatory guy you will meet. I’m totally fine if my fans are bots, malware, A.I., Spyware, whatever. Each person or virtual person matters to me.
And if you are indeed a Russian bot, please take advantage of my music deal: $5 for 11 songs!!
Leah is a remarkably unique artist in several ways, and not just in her Celtic folk metal sound. She exists entirely independent of the record industry, has enough business prowess to make a comfortable living off music from her home without touring, and still finding the time to be a married, home-schooling mother of five.
On her latest album, The Quest, the “Heavy Metal Enya” went in to the recording studio and cranked the “MAJESTY” knob on everything. It is vast, epic, experimental, and breath-taking. It’s a bit like if Iron Maiden got 8-string guitars and recorded the Lord of the Rings soundtrack with Arwen on lead vocals. This album has more of a symphonic feel then some of her prior work, if that’s possible. It seems that the heavy guitars are lower in the mix to give deference to the non-heavy metal instruments: pipes, flute, keyboards, saz, and oud. Leah’s characteristically gentle voice blends well with the array of instruments, and the melodies are among her best. But don’t worry metalheads: there are still some great scalp-igniting moments, such as the guitar solo on “The Edge of Your Sword”.
This is a beefy sound mix. The first song is called the Quest. It contains 131 instrument tracks, if that gives you an idea at how lush the aural assault is. More background on the recording can be found in the “making of” video.
I commend this album to you. If you like epic metal/rock and it doesn’t grab you right away, give it another listen. There is so much packed in here that it takes a while to absorb it all. You’ll be glad you did.
Recently, THRICE rocked the Fillmore in Silver Spring, MD. Man, these guys are pushing 40 and still brought the metal/rock/hardcore/indie/punk. It was a great set list, voted on by fans. It spanned their almost 20 year and 20 genre career.
Their new album “Palms” is a great follow-up to their prior “reunion” album, “To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere.” A similar style with a baritone-tinged hard rock flavor (the Grey) while incorporating lighter, airy moments that would fit on an indie rock playlist (Just Breathe). Definitely worth a listen.
Don’t let your pants catch fire – my music is on sale!
Mislabelled?
Bagels are to donuts what raisins are to chocolate chips.
Technology is a wonderful thing, without a doubt. The advances are mind-blowing. Who would have thought that my phone could have more processing power than the NSA of 1965?* However, I’ve come to realize there are challenges with our advancing technology. Some people think we are more prone to look at a screen now than talk to an actual person. I don’t really care about that, but this is what I do care about: we are in the awkward adolescence before all commodities become self-aware, and that can lead to great confusion and suffering.
For example, the other day I walked directly into a door and smashed my face. I assumed it was an automatic door, because every reputable place has one. It was not. I need to tell me wife to get with the program at our house.
Furthermore, I can’t count how many hours I have wasted holding my hands under a bathroom faucet waiting for the water to come out, only to find it was one of those antique models with a handle (HAN – duhl).
I’ve hit 10 pedestrians with my Tesla because the auto-pilot feature wasn’t working. The judge explained that not all car companies have auto-pilot and just because my car has a “T” on it doesn’t mean it is a Tesla. It’s people like this judge that don’t appreciate the difficulty of living in these modern times.
If the robots want to come and take my job, that’s fine with me. I look forward to the A.I. consummation when I can sit at home in my easy chair all day with drones scanning my stomach to sense hunger and buzz over to drop Cheez-Its in my mouth.
*This fact still pending verification
A solo album from the former front-man of Porcupine Tree, Insurgentes is spacey, moody, unpredictable, powerful, and engrossing. Wilson’s Pink-Floyd-meets-90’s-hard rock vibe has soft, almost monotone vocal melodies overtop brooding, spooky clean guitars, followed by chunky rock riffs battering your cranium. The melodies themselves are simple, but enchanting, especially on the closing song – a gentle piano ballad. I’d recommend this for fans of prog, but even fans of alternative rock could find something to suit them. Great stuff!