Once again: what are you listening to now? Part 2.

[Pogre]

@Pogre
You probably remember, but, I'm not a metal guy. But, I appreciate and like the way you follow that genre and have a genuine affection for it. I too lived the 70's although I started in the 50s. Black Sabbath changed the game when they hit the stage. Its always easy to follow and copy. Any 12 year old kid and pick up a guitar and shred out most popular metal songs. It takes a very different talent to start a genre or kick off a musical movement. Sabbath did that and to a large extent many of the other bands we both like. My tastes run lighter but that don't mean I can't appreciate another mans affection for his music. Its music after all that should drive our interest in the hobby.

Well I know for a fact that our tastes overlap because I still listen to that cd you burned and gave me from time to time and I genuinely really enjoy most of it (every song on it is so well recorded too!). I do dip more into the heavier side of things but have great appreciation for good music across the board.

And I hear what you're saying about Sabbath changing the game. I think Metallica did too, but without Sabbath there wouldn't have been a Metallica. I think Metallica took it to new levels, but Sabbath frigging invented it. I have much respect and love for the 70s musically. So much great and novel music came from that era and laid the bedrock for a lot of my current favorite bands. The 80s..? There were some mistakes made, lol.

 

[Eppie]

That's a great way of putting it. I love anything I consider good. Genre doesn't matter to me one bit.

I think many of us think along those lines. My tastes probably lean closest to progressive rock, but there is so much cross over that it's hard to label some music and I sometimes hate to attach a label that doesn't quite fit. I was big Jethro Tull fan but part of that was because their music didn't fit one particular mold. It's rock but with a lot of folk and minstrel elements mixed in. Yes is probably my favorite but they borrow a lot from classical. Rush became more mainstream down the road, but I love the early works like Hemispheres with those long complex arrangements.

Metal, likewise, has different flavours. I was into Judas Priest in the '70's with Sad Wings of Destiny and Stained Class, but I considered that more heavy rock. Some might call it metal. Who cares, man, it's all great music. Screaming For Vengeance was the last Priest album that I was really into. So hard not to crank the volume up with those songs. For me, Hellion / Electric Eye is a great example of a heavy intro to a great rock song:

Ask me now what metal is and I would probably lean more towards Metallica, Korn, Slayer and Anthrax and the like. Some of those are more "thrash" metal, which is the one genre I'm not particularly fond of. Prefer something progressive along the lines of Tool. Not that metal has to be thrash. I love Metallica's Sad But True. It's a slow tempo but evokes the word heavy to my ears.

 

[Pogre]

I think many of us think along those lines. My tastes probably lean closest to progressive rock, but there is so much cross over that it's hard to label some music and I sometimes hate to attach a label that doesn't quite fit. I was big Jethro Tull fan but part of that was because their music didn't fit one particular mold. It's rock but with a lot of folk and minstrel elements mixed in. Yes is probably my favorite but they borrow a lot from classical. Rush became more mainstream down the road, but I love the early works like Hemispheres with those long complex arrangements.

Metal, likewise, has different flavours. I was into Judas Priest in the '70's with Sad Wings of Destiny and Stained Class, but I considered that more heavy rock. Some might call it metal. Who cares, man, it's all great music. Screaming For Vengeance was the last Priest album that I was really into. So hard not to crank the volume up with those songs. For me, Hellion / Electric Eye is a great example of a heavy intro to a great rock song:

Ask me now what metal is and I would probably lean more towards Metallica, Korn, Slayer and Anthrax and the like. Some of those are more "thrash" metal, which is the one genre I'm not particularly fond of. Prefer something progressive along the lines of Tool. Not that metal has to be thrash. I love Metallica's Sad But True. It's a slow tempo but evokes the word heavy to my ears.

Screaming For Vengeance is an awesome album! It was my favorite too when I was on my priest kick. I agree too, that a lot of their early stuff was more hard rock. This one tho, is straight up balls out metal and one of my all time faves.

Did you listen to the beginning of that studio version of "No Remorse"? It's really heavy, but not overly fast or thrashy. Just pure heavy metal, imo.

 

[panteragstk]

I think many of us think along those lines. My tastes probably lean closest to progressive rock, but there is so much cross over that it's hard to label some music and I sometimes hate to attach a label that doesn't quite fit. I was big Jethro Tull fan but part of that was because their music didn't fit one particular mold. It's rock but with a lot of folk and minstrel elements mixed in. Yes is probably my favorite but they borrow a lot from classical. Rush became more mainstream down the road, but I love the early works like Hemispheres with those long complex arrangements.

Metal, likewise, has different flavours. I was into Judas Priest in the '70's with Sad Wings of Destiny and Stained Class, but I considered that more heavy rock. Some might call it metal. Who cares, man, it's all great music. Screaming For Vengeance was the last Priest album that I was really into. So hard not to crank the volume up with those songs. For me, Hellion / Electric Eye is a great example of a heavy intro to a great rock song:

Ask me now what metal is and I would probably lean more towards Metallica, Korn, Slayer and Anthrax and the like. Some of those are more "thrash" metal, which is the one genre I'm not particularly fond of. Prefer something progressive along the lines of Tool. Not that metal has to be thrash. I love Metallica's Sad But True. It's a slow tempo but evokes the word heavy to my ears.

I'm really big into prog rock myself with Pink Floyd being my #1. Yes, Jethro Tull, Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, Riverside, Genesis, etc. are all excellent. Steven Wilson did some 5.1 remixes of the old Yes and Jethro Tull stuff and it's some of the best I've heard. I've got a good mix of King Crimson in there as well, but I haven't listened to all of it yet. I somehow wasn't aware of them.

Prog rock is one of the main reasons I'm such a fan of 70's era music. I can't say I like it more than metal, but it might be tied. Rock is also up there as well. Tons of excellent bands over the years that would just fall into "rock".

 

[Pogre]

I'm really big into prog rock myself with Pink Floyd being my #1. Yes, Jethro Tull, Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, Riverside, Genesis, etc. are all excellent. Steven Wilson did some 5.1 remixes of the old Yes and Jethro Tull stuff and it's some of the best I've heard. I've got a good mix of King Crimson in there as well, but I haven't listened to all of it yet. I somehow wasn't aware of them.

Prog rock is one of the main reasons I'm such a fan of 70's era music. I can't say I like it more than metal, but it might be tied. Rock is also up there as well. Tons of excellent bands over the years that would just fall into "rock".

I gotta admit that I discovered prog metal first, but it got me to appreciate that prog approach. I'm gonna have to listen to some more King Crimson to get a feel for those guys. I really like Porcupine Tree too, and was recently introduced to "The Pineapple Thief", another band with Porcupine Tree's drummer, Gavin Harrison. I don't know if Steve is involved with them as well, but they do sound pretty similar.

Well, I do love Pink Floyd and discovered them young so there's that. I often think of TOOL as a heavier version of Pink Floyd.

 

[davidscott]

I think many of us think along those lines. My tastes probably lean closest to progressive rock, but there is so much cross over that it's hard to label some music and I sometimes hate to attach a label that doesn't quite fit. I was big Jethro Tull fan but part of that was because their music didn't fit one particular mold. It's rock but with a lot of folk and minstrel elements mixed in. Yes is probably my favorite but they borrow a lot from classical. Rush became more mainstream down the road, but I love the early works like Hemispheres with those long complex arrangements.

Metal, likewise, has different flavours. I was into Judas Priest in the '70's with Sad Wings of Destiny and Stained Class, but I considered that more heavy rock. Some might call it metal. Who cares, man, it's all great music. Screaming For Vengeance was the last Priest album that I was really into. So hard not to crank the volume up with those songs. For me, Hellion / Electric Eye is a great example of a heavy intro to a great rock song:

Ask me now what metal is and I would probably lean more towards Metallica, Korn, Slayer and Anthrax and the like. Some of those are more "thrash" metal, which is the one genre I'm not particularly fond of. Prefer something progressive along the lines of Tool. Not that metal has to be thrash. I love Metallica's Sad But True. It's a slow tempo but evokes the word heavy to my ears.

Did you ever get to see Jethro Tull live? I saw the in the early 70's I think it was on their Thick as a Brick tour at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. It was one of the best concerts I ever attended.

 

[Eppie]

Did you ever get to see Jethro Tull live? I saw the in the early 70's I think it was on their Thick as a Brick tour at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. It was one the best concerts I ever attended.

Twice in Toronto for the Bursting Out and Storm Front tours. The Storm Front show had the stage set up like a tall ship with rigging. Very cool. Saw him later in my home town in a small venue but their bass player was no longer with the band. If I remember right, I think Ian Anderson's son filled in on bass, but Martin Barre was still on guitar. The Toronto shows were awesome.

 

[Eppie]

Screaming For Vengeance is an awesome album! It was my favorite too when I was on my priest kick. I agree too, that a lot of their early stuff was more hard rock. This one tho, is straight up balls out metal and one of my all time faves.

Did you listen to the beginning of that studio version of "No Remorse"? It's really heavy, but not overly fast or thrashy. Just pure heavy metal, imo.

Have to credit Judas Priest for continuing to evolve their music and to put out something as heavy as Painkiller. It's a tribute to the band's longevity. Did you see the vid of BabyMetal performing Painkiller with Halford?

I did listen to No Remorse. Interesting contrast to the style of their current music but I see your point.

 

[Pogre]

Did you see the vid of BabyMetal performing Painkiller with Halford?

I havent, but if you have a link handy I'll watch it immediately! Baby Metal is not only a fun band, but they qualify on my heavy metal meter as being very heavy metal! I'm glad you introduced me to them. It's been a li'l while since I listened to them, but I watched a bunch of their yt videos after you told me about them. It's such a trip watching those little anime girls crank out heavy music like that.

 

[Eppie]

I'm really big into prog rock myself with Pink Floyd being my #1. Yes, Jethro Tull, Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, Riverside, Genesis, etc. are all excellent. Steven Wilson did some 5.1 remixes of the old Yes and Jethro Tull stuff and it's some of the best I've heard. I've got a good mix of King Crimson in there as well, but I haven't listened to all of it yet. I somehow wasn't aware of them.

Prog rock is one of the main reasons I'm such a fan of 70's era music. I can't say I like it more than metal, but it might be tied. Rock is also up there as well. Tons of excellent bands over the years that would just fall into "rock".

Long time Pink Floyd fan. I was one of the few Londoners (Canada. ) who took the bus to New York to see the original Wall tour, which only played in L.A., N.Y. and London England. They had a quadraphonic sound system that was put to full effect. Incredible show.

My friends were into all sorts of music and got Discipline from King Crimson as soon as it came out. Very unique album at the time. That led me to Adrian Belew and some of his solo work and side projects like The Bears. I also picked up U.K. when it was released when I heard the band line-up. Their self-titled album is one of a kind. Have to thank members here for introducing me to Porcupine Tree. That's right up my alley.

 

[Eppie]

I haven't, but if you have a link handy I'll watch it immediately! Baby Metal is not only a fun band, but they qualify on my heavy metal meter as being very heavy metal! I'm glad you introduced me to them. It's been a li'l while since I listened to them, but I watched a bunch of their yt videos after you told me about them. It's such a trip watching those little anime girls crank out heavy music like that.

Here they are at the 2016 APMAs performing Karate and then joined by Halford for Painkiller and Breaking The Law. I watched the Babymetal blue-ray gain recently and they put on one hell of a show.

 

[Pogre]

Here they are at the 2016 APMAs performing Karate and then joined by Halford for Painkiller and Breaking The Law. I watched the Babymetal blue-ray gain recently and they put on one hell of a show.

That's just awesome.

Band-Maid! That's the other band I was trying to think of that you told me about! The whole band are a bunch young Japanese girls and they frigging rock!

They're so good that when I watch them play I picture their parents being like beauty pageant moms, forcing them to practice 7 hours a day since they were 5 years old or something, lol.

 

[Eppie]

That's just awesome.

Band-Maid! That's the other band I was trying to think of that you told me about! The whole band are a bunch young Japanese girls and they frigging rock!

They're so good that when I watch them play I picture their parents being like beauty pageant moms, forcing them to practice 7 hours a day since they were 5 years old or something, lol.

Band-Maid is still one of my favorites and I listen to them on a regular basis. I wish more of the videos had subtitles (closed-captioning) but a lot of them do compared to other Japanese bands. I've been adding the lyrics to my flac files using a tag editor so that I can pull them up with Roon. Miku Kobato is a pretty good lyricist.

The band formed in 2013 so some of the "girls" are hitting 30 now. Well, my daughter is 27 so I guess they're still girls to me. What's unique for them as a Japanese girls band is that they are all very close friends and spend a lot of time together outside of the band as well, even though only the bass player and drummer knew each other at first. They originally had material written for them by the label but once they proved that they could write their own material they were given more freedom to create music on their own and they have definitely developed their own style.

I am also amazed at how well they play in some of the early footage that is out there. The bass player learned the instrument at the end of high school at the suggestion of a friend that needed a bass player. Now she is one of the best bass players out there. The drummer is a natural, full of energy, who works constantly to improve her speed and technique. The vocalist and rhythm player, who formed the band, developed into the spokes person and lyricist and didn't start learning to play the guitar until after they hired a dedicated vocalist. The lead guitarist oversees most of the writing and composition and can play piano as well. She's a real Jekyll and Hyde on and off the stage. The lead vocalist often gets the final say on compositions to maintain their signature sound. It's a real band effort and I think that comes across in their stage performances.

Yeah, call me a fan-boy.

EDIT: Oh, I have the blue-ray for that performance. Their Budokan debut got cancelled so they did a live performance with no audience. Quite good for a stage performance but I really want to get a copy of the Line Cube Shibuya concert.

 

[panteragstk]

Well, I do love Pink Floyd and discovered them young so there's that. I often think of TOOL as a heavier version of Pink Floyd.

I've said this myself many times.

 

[Am_P]

 

[Eppie]

One more Band-Maid vid for @Pogre. This is also from the live May recording. The first song, Manners, is one of my favorites. I like the studio version a little more but the bass is pretty hot in this mix and I love MIsa's sound and playing here. The second song, Black Hole, as probably the fastest tempo song that they do. A work out for the drummer, and the bass player displays her technique of sliding her pick into her palm to slap and then slides the pick back up to her index finger. She does it so fast now that she switches from picking to slapping and back seamlessly. Haven't seen anyone else use that technique like her.

 

[Pogre]

One more Band-Maid vid for @Pogre. This is also from the live May recording. The first song, Manners, is one of my favorites. I like the studio version a little more but the bass is pretty hot in this mix and I love MIsa's sound and playing here. The second song, Black Hole, as probably the fastest tempo song that they do. A work out for the drummer, and the bass player displays her technique of sliding her pick into her palm to slap and then slides the pick back up to her index finger. She does it so fast now that she switches from picking to slapping and back seamlessly. Haven't seen anyone else use that technique like her.

I shall check that out when I get some time later this afternoon. I think there's real talent there and do enjoy watching them play.

 

[Am_P]

 

[3db]

The album "Songs Of Mercy and Desire" by Elli de Mon is one awesome album with not a bad song on the album.

 

[Eppie]

I occasionally write down songs I come across on scraps of paper for future reference. Found an old scrap with Hey Man, Nice Shot by Filter. Great example of grunge with the mellow verses and a chorus that punches you in the gut. Verses kind of remind of The Smiths.
Crank it up!