Sound&Shape - Now Comes the Mystery (2011)

I grew up with a dad that loved "easy-listening," or whatever that weird, niche-y, soft, '80s-sounding kind of music is that only looks to let you appreciate the quieter moments of life with a little background noise. The first thing I thought of when hearing the first song on this EP for the first time was "awesome easy-listening." While I wouldn't quite use that as a description for Now Comes the Mystery as a whole, its general vibe definitely warrants it, even if only a little. These guys suck you in, and regardless of your listening habits, never quite relinquish their hold on the peace of mind they helped to make.

I'll stop digging myself into a hole and simply state that this EP is a small taste of what I know Sound&Shape have in store for us. The potential here is something worth putting your dying mother on hold for. Absolutely love them.

Support these guys @$5 USD

Homesick for Space - Discography (2001-2010)

So I'm back (at least for a little while), and rather than start off on a baller-ass note, I thought I'd take this opportunity to post something a bit (i.e., much) more melancholic and definitely meant for cooler months: Homesick for Space. Don't ignore their name, as even upon that stepping stone to the band's career, they touched on the single, inbetween emotion that would permeate their entire catalog: a longing (homesickness) for some space that can't quite be grasped. This stuff is horribly, awfully and terribly congruous to how I feel on my least-sober days following a not-quite-mutual breakup, and I've got an inkling that that might be a close heir to the headspace these guys were in as they wrote and recorded these three albums.

Note: Not for birthdays, congratulatory celebrations, or getting into that really cute and bubbly girl's pants.

2001 - Homesick for Space @V0

2003 - Unison @V0

2010 - All We Are Now (or, 2007's ...Please Continue renamed and physically issued) @V0

Benea Reach - Discography (2007-2008)

Warning: This blurb is ninety percent Alleviat. It's also my most review-like. Don't worry, I'm clamoring for air as well.

A friend on Last.FM avidly recommended Benea Reach to me right around the time Alleviat came out. I gave both that album and Monument Bioneothan a spin, and afterwards very nearly forget about the band entirely. Since then, I've had them at the edge of my tongue, sub-consciously knowing that something special could, if dug deep enough, be found in their music. Now, having my memory jogged only this week, I've once again set out to hear what all the fuss was, and still is, about.

. . . and here I am, making a point of writing this while I listen, being utterly annihilated. Never in my life have I ever heard anything as completely sonically crushing as the entirety of Alleviat. I'm so taciturn that I can't even begin to imagine what I was thinking when I first heard it, or how this band slipped right through my mind without an ounce of protest. Benea work their magic by lulling you to repose and keeping you there with near-despondent brutality woven with haunting leisure; and though each song may seem thick at first, they quickly form a more whole identity with every subsequent listen.

Though both albums are cuts from the same species, Monument Bineothan is, however, a slightly different beast. It was before Benea perfected their atmosphere and Ilkka, their frontman, discovered what a god as a vocalist would sound like, though he was well on his way; the riffs weren't as full-sounding and uproariously uplifting as they are on the newer Alleviat, nor as catchy.--But to assert Monument's not being a major stepping stone in this band's career, or one of 2007's gems, would be a mistake--their acute originality can be seen in either era.

For fans of Meshuggah, Swallow the Sun, or anything that sounds like it was specifically recorded to bring about the apocalypse.

Note: My setups are usually somewhat EQ'd, but no one could or would deny Alleviat's absolutely immaculate production. The sound of it alone can get you pumped like no "FUCKING DEATHCORE" ultimate workout playlist could ever dream of doing. I'm out of breath just listening.

2007 - Monument Bineothan @V0: Part 1 & Part 2
2008 - Alleviat @V0: Part 1 & Part 2

Textures - Discography (2004-2008)

7/2009 - Drawing Circles is one of those albums that waddles along, unsuspectingly, grows in size until it eclipses the sun, trips over an overpass as it takes its first steps, and crushes every bone in your body as it mutters an "ow" or an "oops." It's the bastard son of Devin Townsend and Meshuggah after a long night of hard liquor and being lost in some long-forgotten desert. If "technical metal" or "progressive metal of the non-wanky kind" sounds yummy, pour this album in some Tupperware and dig in.

2/2010 - Because I hate the old blurb I wrote for Drawing Circles, and because that album isn't this band's only great opus, I've decided to delete the old post and re-post the whole damn discography seven months later.

Textures was probably the first band I got into that sounded like Meshuggah, but wasn't Meshuggah. As cold and mechanical as their debut, Polars, is, it's still somehow warmer than the bloodcurdling clockwork that is Contradictions Collapse through obZen. It definitely has something to do with Eric Kalsbeek, a man who, languid in voice and vehement in harsher-than-voice, tames the wild poly-rhythms around him with his effortless talents; or, it could be the drummer, Stef Broks, and his ability to not only play in pre-prepared Fibonacci spirals, but also add tons of syncopation, which, in a way, kind of gives a soul to the entire band. Broks doesn't make a huge habit of using rolling double-bass patterns, so when he does utilize them, it gets the point across really fucking well.

Note: The production and general sound of this band gets warmer with each album, so the middle-man, Drawing Circles, is probably the best place to start for newcomers.

2004 - Polars @V0: Part 1 & Part 2
2006 - Drawing Circles @V0: Part 1 & Part 2

2008 - Silhouettes @V0: Part 1 & Part 2

Kaddisfly - Discography (2002-2007)

I love this band. I really fucking adore this band. My inner eight year-old suddenly bursts forth in a frenzy of adventurous glee and seafaring surmise every time I spin Set Sail the Prairie; and whenever I hear Buy Our Intention..., a slightly younger conjectured child shows himself still, with that same gleeful expression eclipsing his face, but now with a newfound sense of green-thumbed innocence. Kaddisfly, to me, are a denouement, wrought from the idea that music can possess its own spirit, with no fear of undending ambition.

However pretentious and schoolgirl-like I may sound, Kaddisfly are the only band that, after years of listening and loving, still incite me to explore their wondrous world.

2002 - Humania @192

2003 - Did You Know People Can Fly? @192

2005 - Buy Our Intention; We'll Buy You a Unicorn @V0: Part 1 & Part 2

2006 - The Four Seasons @V2

Note: Apparently I don't know how to properly zip albums with the words "sail" or "prairie" in them, so the posting of this band's most recent opus has been delayed by way of God paying me back for all those nights of faking altruism to impress women. --But I'm not taking "Discography (2002-2007)" out of this post's title because I'm laz--I mean, because for some reason I can't. Yes, Blogger is the only one to blame here.

Beecher - Discography (2003 - 2005)

Sure, both Botch and The Dillinger Escape Plan were huddled in vans writing brain-shattering arpeggios in non-existent keys long before these guys ditched their training wheels, but mother of fuck does this band get overlooked. Forget the two aforementioned fretboard magicians -- as far as aggressive-as-fuck old school mathcore and I are concerned , Beecher is king.

2005 - Breaking the Fourth Wall (Reissue) @V0: Part 1 & Part 2
2005 - This Elegy, His Autopsy @ V0: Part 1 & Part 2

Cloudkicker - Discography

Ben Sharp, presumably a metalhead fella' from Ohio, set out to (again, presumably) create something remarkable with a project we now know as Cloudkicker. While he didn't quite set the bar as high as he might have hoped, mother of God, did he mock-up one hell of an effort, or two. Few bands (and even fewer one-mans) have been able to capture the atmosphere and matching intensity present here. Meshuggah-isms and repetition are the name of the game. Couple that with some borderline post-rock/metal leanings and you've got a recipe for a potentially kickass band with too many killer riffs for its own good. No, I didn't forget to add hyberbole.

Did I mention he offers his music for free?

“It costs me absolutely nothing to create the music. Zero dollars. I record all the guitars and bass straight into my laptop and program the drums using this one sequencing program, then I mix and master everything myself. The only thing that costs money are guitar strings, but I have a full-time job so it’s no big deal.”
– Ben Sharp, (Musical Awareness on Cloudkicker)

Commend him, dear patrons. My conscience is clear for now.

The Discovery (2008) and The Map is Not the Territory (2009) @V0 & FLAC

Theory in Practice - Discography

Theory in Practice has been my favorite death metal band ever since I first heard "Conspiracy in Cloning" way back in mid-2004. Sure, Nocturnus did almost everything this band has done about a decade beforehand, but Theory layered some well needed melody on top of that early-90s Floridian complexity. It's not just "FUCK" anymore. It's "holy mother of god HOW?"

For anyone in the mood for some completely over-the-top, OVERWHELMINGLY complex technical death metal, with some shiny songwriting skills and spacey keyboards tossed in at the last minute. Ever since their conception, Theory have opted for raspy, high-pitched shrieking growls instead of that low, bestial rumble your kids all know and love. They can be a little grating to begin with, but try your best to learn to love them. This band really delivers the goods once you do.

Note: This band gets their discography posted because they're so Goddamned good. Also, these albums are extremely hard to physically acquire without putting your son's brain surgery on hold. If anyone asks, I got lucky. My son is sti-...I mean, he's just fine, I swear.

The Armageddon Theories (1999) @V0
Colonizing the Sun (2002) @V0
Third Eye Function (Reissue) (2006) @V0: Part 1 & Part 2