album review original

10/14/24. The Work - Rivers of Nihil

Awh yes, it's good to be back. Another big update, another review done. I've mentioned this in inner circles before but this review will be Rivers of Nihils' "The Work". This review and my next one will be about Deathcore albums. Inapart of being the prog-guy I also really like heavier music, Hell I consider Machine head my 3rd favorite band of all-time-I will add a bands I know tier-list here soon. Kicking it right off with the wrongs, the whole album is very amateurish. Lyrics are written like a first draft, very, very odd effects that don't sound good but could've been circumvented with just technique and skill, example being the weird audio speed-increase in Terrestia IV: Work, and admittedly very simple chords. But it just sounds good. According to a making-of video the whole album is based off working in thankless job in New England, and if you've read my previous review, you'd know how much I love my thankless job in New England, so the lyrics just ring true, and just how intense it is, it's just so FUCKING good. The thing about heavier albums is that it tickles the guitarist center in my brain and makes me happy in a world that fucking sucks, and the simple chords, the motifs that are from previous albums, THE LYRICS ABOUT HATING WORK-it just makes sense to me in a way a really good album like Bloom doesn't, something you could put on in the background while writing code and fucking up a line over and over again, but the music in the background makes your soul so happy that you just continue until you get it done, same with work, this album occupies 2 of my 10 songs slot in my work playlist, because it just helps. 8/10, this one is shorter because the next one we're gonna go through an Odyssey.

9/21/24. Bloom - Caligulas Horse

I really do not intend of making these more than a week apart from eachother. Fact of the matter is I love writing reviews, it's just work is so draining, and I tend to write my reviews after my days over, so by the time I start them, I'm basically dead. That being said, It's time to review my favorite band. Caligulas Horse's, Bloom. This album came to me my first year of college, no one really liked me, I was in a Vermont far from anyone who did care about me, I was basically alone in the world starting anew. This was a done on purpose, I wanted to be alone, and start from the beginning, but I didn't know how lonely it'd be. The roommate who was supposed to be there with me, hated me, I hated him, So I lived by myself when he moved out very, very early on. Many sleepless nights of me grinding homework, or Yu-Gi-Oh with heavy metal in the background, feeling nothing from it. After I decided to listen to some Earthside, I happened upon them by accident when I entered into a music hall uninvited years prior. Now Earthside is a tale for another day, but the moral of this story is that without them I'd never be into Progressive Metal as much as I am today. Tuning into the Earthside radio on spotify, I happened upon Rust, by Caligula's Horse. Now all the primer out of the way, the reason why I poured my heart a bit there is because that is just what Caligula's Horse does. Even in Prog Metal standards, they're unique; never has a band been so gentle, and yet so harsh, so emotional, but also understanding. The lyrics in Bloom reveals a tale of control, jealousy, death, and the celebration of life all around the daughter of the mountain, the goddess in bloom. The opening tracls Bloom, and Marigold is about the blooming and growth of this daughter of the mountain, lets just call her, Grace, its a soft and gentle song that ends loud and grand in the arrival of Grace. In her light all hope is not lost. This grandness follows into Marigold, a song following a self described king. He's jealous of Grace, and the radiance she produces, and the love she is given by his people, threatening violence to her, and the people under her light, via stranglation. With his hands he has the power to change the world, for the best or the worse, and within his hands, and the loss of Grace, he see's that it's his responsibility to use his wealth, and power to bring back the hope that he took for granted, as much as he can, before he too falls into the undergrowth. Now I'm not gonna go in depth with all the songs off the album, Firelight is sloppy, Undergrowth and Daughter of The Mountain need a bit more time in the oven, that is to say they are still really good songs. Firelight is uplifting after Marigold's descent into despair, Undergrowth and Daughter of The Mountain add much needed context and characterization to this story. Rust is a song about despair. unlike Marigold, Rust is without jealousy, but employs a level of realism, and understanding that Marigold touched upon. The repeating Fuck your prayer for Rain, Pray for Rust with the imagery of eyes looking at him, and hands clawing on him, filled me with a sense of togetherness I haven't experienced with music before. I've always had trouble feeling people watch me all the time for the way I act, dress, and compose myself and It's all maddening, having trouble meeting new people did not help with this feeling, so having a song that understands the unbridled emotion of fuck you all, leave me be because I refuse to conform with your way of life, without being in your face, and loud about it, made be feel less alone in the world. That's Caligulas Horse's thesis; understanding human emotions, while being gently and comforting about it. The best way I'd describe Caligulas Horse is a really good friend. The final song I'd like to describe is Dragonfly. A song about jealousy and the lengths you'd go through to see your way through. The narrator is a man, who follows in Grace's light. He desires her radiance, he wants to feel all the warmth she gives out in his cold life. He would do anything for one last taste of her grace. His jealousy and depravity ultimately led him to kill her, his obsession with her made his life fall apart, as he dug himself many graves just to get a glimpse at her again, so in cloak and dagger he takes her life. A slow burn, but such a beautifully compossed song, with such soft lyrics it makes you feel safe, and warm inside as if you were this man, under Grace's light-however by the end of the song it gets harsher, and angier as we now feel his depravity, it's such an emotional rollercoaster, I love it. Despite everything I've said about the other songs in this review, they're all amazing, Sam Vallen, the Guitarist is a doctor in music, he understands the guitar more than I understand myself. Jim Grey sings as if it's his primary function in life, his range and style can change at a dime and it all sounds so beautiful. Every other member knows their purpose and plays their part and it all makes an etheral experience that hardly any bands try and fail to do. Most prog metal is preachy, but Caligula's Horse stays in their lane and understand rides smoothly. I know prog and especially the folkier stuff, but this album must be heard atleast once so your soul can thank you later, 10/10, fuck it 11/10.

8/30/24. Melodies of Atonement - Leprous

Do me a favor and listen to this to Contaminate Me by Leprous, I'll even give you the yt link here.its sort of sets the tone and its thematic considering I'm reviewing Melodies of Atonement by Leprous. For my sake I'm just calling it MOA. So those of you "real ones" listening to Contaminate Me you'll understand that this is what I expect from Leprous, this is what I'm used to, Hell I've even heard it live by the good grace of God-Leprous isn't always constistent. Leprous' discography from the first half to second half is totally indistinguishable. Which is fine, bands do this all the time, and if Leprous has a change of style they are within their right, and I totally encourage a band diversify and enjoy playing rather than sticking to one style and hating it, thats just how you get shit albums. MOA, isn't my style, most of the songs are slowburns or just... slow... granted Contaminate Me is slow but its more of a sludge metal than uhm... prog metal??? heavy djent??? idk genre assigning could be a discussion for another day-anyway Contaminate Me works as a slow song whereas songs off MOA tend not to, don't get me wrong I like Atonement and Like a Sunken Ship as do we all, but I like them in a vacuum, when all songs are slow in an album it just becomes a chore to get threw where most of their albums aren't a chore. And most of my criticisms do allign with Malina, and Aphelion, where it's too djent-y to me (and I love Haken!), the vocals... and lyrics... are not my thing, although I will point out I do think the vocals and lyrics in MOA in particular have increased in quality, following Einars solo stuff I truly think he has come into his own recently with his range, and style. That being said it's a good album! It just isn't my thing. 6/10. Oh yeah btw ZTO was a 8/10 I'm doing this now maybe.

8/28/24. Ziltoid - Devin Townsend

The first album I'd like to review is Ziltoid by Devin Townsend. Many of you know this has been a long time coming, my constant use of it on my instagram stories, the fact I listen to ZILTOIDIA ATTAXX!!! on repeat at work, and the fact I've alluded to reviewing it like twice now. It's the quintessential "rock-opera" prog metal album, to me atleast. It may not be good as prog metal that it spawned, but it's truly a marvel, and one of the most important prog metal albums. Before Devin Townsend went into the music scene, Metal, and Prog metal didn't really have a foil, that-is-to-say rock has prog rock, and punk rock, but metal had... heavy metal..? There wasn't really any innovation to the general understanding of metal, each metal genre, aside from most "modern" ones are just metal but we play darker, or we play louder, or we play even riffier, but with prog metal it took the heaviness, and harshness of metal, but made it flow more with more technical play, and diverse and innovative instrument use. By the time Strapping Young Lad, Devin Townsends first group, prog metal was a thing, it was just, like, proto stoner metal, or music best listened to high, strapping yound lads thesis was to be a metal band that has the energy, and harshness as any other metal band, but with the high technical play of the niche prog metal bands did, and they succeeded, being on high profile shows with the likes of Megadeth and didn't get boo'd out! Later in Strapping Young Lads venture, Devin disbanded due to mental health reasons, and made his solo projects in the early 00s. This stuff ranges from your average prog metal reaching nirvana one crackpipe at a time type music, to literal samples, but everything changed... with Ziltoid... Similar to how Strapping Young Lad wanted to reinvent metal, Ziltoid The Omniscient (zto) wanted to take prog metal and make it, story driven, sure music, and especially metal are no stranger to stories, concept albums existed for decades, but none delved into character, or had music that adhered to the general understanding of music theory, and none really strived to any real technical play into the experience, other than... ZILTOID!!! Ziltoid easily made perfect scores in music sites, and magazines, everyone loved Ziltoid! It's fun, its energitic, its moody, its goofy, and it's influence shows. Haken has stated they've taken influence from Devin, and it's no question that most of the UK prog scene is atleast somewhat influenced by Haken... Even if not directly influenced the fact that you can find almost all modern concept albums taking some direction from zto shows the sheer influence it has on story driven albums. It's quintessential, its omniscient.

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