Pretentious Music for Pretentious Musicians

[Jakehammaren]

Alright, there are a few of us around here on the 'Boards who are just to pretentious for our own good. I am, without a doubt, one such individual, as anyone who has been around here for a year or more will be quick to tell you. Now, there are plenty of threads I and my fellow pretentious music nerds pour over, derailing the entire thing into a discussion on the finer points of genre, composition, influence, dynamics, vocal technique, etc.

Thus, I have decided to start a thread entirely dedicated to our need to discuss such things! Please, keep this thread devoid of lesser musical acts: we will only be talking about bands that would be impossible for someone with simple tastes to enjoy!

I'd like to take this chance to begin with a band I am currently enjoying immensely through a nice pair of Skullcandy headphones: [B]Summoning[/B].

Austrian avant-garde atmospheric epic black metallers [B]Summoning[/B] have created a world of their own. Well, not [i]entirely[/i] their own, seeing as all their works are lyrically based on Tolkien, but the soundscapes they forge are definitely unique. By using only rhythmic wardrums in place of a standard drum kit and keeping the song tempos between mid-paced and quite slow and drenching everything in tasteful symphonic keyboard work, they put most "epic" bands to shame. Their latest album, [I]Oath Bound[/I], is a complete journey through the highest mountains and darkest forests of Middle Earth, and is so engrossing that you'll want to set aside time to just listen and take it all in. For fans of bands that are completely doing their own thing, [I]Oath Bound[/I] is an unbridled MUST. Discuss.

[Goodbye, Face]

[font=arial][size=1]Good man, Jake.

So uhhh, I switched my last.fm page over to "overall artists for the past six months" instead of since I began it in 2005. I was getting really tired of new favorite not being able to progress because my entire top 50 artists were in the thousands. So when I did this, I discovered that my soul has been sucked into a certain band for the past six months, North of America. Yes, lol, they're from Canada.

They're virtually unknown, even in Canada, yet despite this they have five albums, that I know of. They play math rock that fits perfectly in the San Diego region's scene. At first listen to their last two albums, you would have no idea that there's only four members. All of them sing, and the guitars are so perfectly intertwined, it sounds like there's thousands of them at some moments.

Their stuff is hard to come by, even to purchase, but if you look hard enough, there's MP3's. Level Plane Records has a song on their media page: [url=http://www.level-plane.com/php/mp3_main.php]here[/url].[/font][/size]

[2010DigitalBoy]

[COLOR="DarkOrange"]This is why you're on my buddy list [B]Jake[/B]! You're always bringin the good stuff!

Anyway, lately my obsession has mostly been [B]dredg[/B]. They are a prog-rock/experimental band with a sound that varies over albums. Their first album, [B]Leitmotif[/B], is the one I have and from what I've heard of all three, it is by far their best. The sound is remniscent of [B]The Mars Volta [/B]on their album [B]Frances the Mute [/B]with a whole lot of music and not too many lyrics, though their music doesn't bog down to as little as the Mars Volta's tends to, and the CD is much shorter. Their other albums are very remniscent of [B]Coheed and Cambria's [/B]style, which is stil great, but not quite as much.

Also, my cousin just introduced me to [B]Pelican [/B]through their album [B]City of Echoes[/B] which I must say is absolutely fabulous. It's like post-rock with a kind of pregressive edge in that it is very technical and operates in odd time signatures at times. He gave me a copy of City of Echoes and [B]Australasia[/B], both of which i'm excited about.[/COLOR]

[Break]

Pretentious music? Well, [b]Boys Night Out[/b] recorded a concept album called [i]Trainwreck[/i], which Wikipedia describes as:

"... a tightly-knit concept album that followed the loss of sanity of one man following the murder of his wife he committed in his sleep."

Lyrically, it's powerful and disturbing (although some of the vocals are overshadowed by the music, which is, on its own, very good). The guitar melodies are often unique, and make note, perhaps even key, changes you definitely wouldn't expect. It's aggressive, it's moving, it's gentle, it's energetic; basically a very good album.

The track listing is as follows:

1. Introducing (3:37)
2. Dreaming (4:52)
3. Waking (3:36)
4. Sentencing (3:28)
5. Medicating (4:00)
6. Purging (3:39)
7. Relapsing (4:55)
8. Recovering (4:07)
9. Composing (5:49)
10. Disintegrating (4:14)
11. Healing (3:24)
12. Dying (6:40)

The story is quite interesting in itself. You can read it [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trainwreck_%28album%29"][COLOR="Red"][B]here.[/B][/COLOR][/URL]

[Goodbye, Face]

[quote name='Break']Pretentious music? Well, [b]Boys Night Out[/b] recorded a concept album called [i]Trainwreck[/i], which Wikipedia describes as:

"... a tightly-knit concept album that followed the loss of sanity of one man following the murder of his wife he committed in his sleep."

Lyrically, it's powerful and disturbing (although some of the vocals are overshadowed by the music, which is, on its own, very good). The guitar melodies are often unique, and make note, perhaps even key, changes you definitely wouldn't expect. It's aggressive, it's moving, it's gentle, it's energetic; basically a very good album.[/COLOR][/URL][/QUOTE]

[font=arial][size=1]I keep hearing from fans of the band that this is their absolute worst album, so I basically skipped over it. I like Make Yourself Sick and their new s/t, though. I just keep hearing that this album was awful, so I'm intrigued that you like it.

(and people have heard of Pelican and BNO, so they're not that pretentious. They're both actually really popular.)[/font][/size]

[Break]

[quote name='Goodbye, Face'][font=arial][size=1]I keep hearing from fans of the band that this is their absolute worst album, so I basically skipped over it. I like Make Yourself Sick and their new s/t, though. I just keep hearing that this album was awful, so I'm intrigued that you like it.[/font][/size][/QUOTE]

I like the concept behind it, I suppose. Things in my area of music that have an interesting back-story to boot are generally eaten up by me. To be honest it is the only album I've heard....

..... :animeswea

[Jakehammaren]

Hmm... you guys should check out [B]Menomena[/B]'s latest album, [I]Friend and Foe[/I]. I bed you kids would eat it right up. Hell, even [I]I[/I] love it.

[Justin]

Everyone should check out Moonsorrow's newest album. It's two songs, and more playtime than three post hardcore albums, or 800 grindcore albums. Both tracks start off incredibly slowly and, as I alluded to, each of the two tracks is twenty-five minutes+. Having said that, it's not something you pop in on a ride to the QuickTrip. You kinda have to make an event of taking it in.

Having been a casual fan of Moonsorrow's older releases, I have to say that I was very surprised by the minimalism of the new record. It founds its soundscapes more in negative space than in the orchestral bedrock of previous works.

It's rad.

-Justin

[Jakehammaren]

[quote name='Kam']Everyone should check out Moonsorrow's newest album. It's two songs, and more playtime than three post hardcore albums, or 800 grindcore albums. Both tracks start off incredibly slowly and, as I alluded to, each of the two tracks is twenty-five minutes+. Having said that, it's not something you pop in on a ride to the QuickTrip. You kinda have to make an event of taking it in.

Having been a casual fan of Moonsorrow's older releases, I have to say that I was very surprised by the minimalism of the new record. It founds its soundscapes more in negative space than in the orchestral bedrock of previous works.

It's rad.

-Justin[/QUOTE]

Oh, agreed in full! It is an absolutely monolithic undertaking. A lot of old-time Moonsorrow fans are complaining to no end about them losing most of their folksy flavour, but I really love the direction they've taken. It's beyond massive and epic without relying on symphonic bombast - and that, my friends, takes a considerable amount of songwriting skill. Moonsorrow are a group of musical geniuses, no way around it.

That being said, I really do love their old work as well. [I]Verisäkeet[/I] is one of my all-time favorite albums (and I do like it better than [I]V: Havitetty[/I]). Anyway, thank you, Kam, for bringing up one of my favorite bands. Cheers!

[vegeta rocker]

Just wanted to say I plan to look to this thread often since i am trying to expand the music i listen to.

So please continue on, its kind of cool to have a thread centered around accomplished music.

[Jakehammaren]

[quote name='vegeta rocker']Just wanted to say I plan to look to this thread often since i am trying to expand the music i listen to.

So please continue on, its kind of cool to have a thread centered around accomplished music.[/QUOTE]

Good for you, sir. It's cool to see someone wanting to actually look past their esablished taste and find some great new music.

I'm going to bring up another all-time favorite band of mine here: Blind Guardian. These guys have some incredibly complex sound structures, and some of the most ridiculouly awesome vocal harmonies/layering of all time. Definately, definately worth checking out.

[0ber0n the Neko]

[quote name='2007DigitalBoy'][COLOR="DarkOrange"]This is why you're on my buddy list [B]Jake[/B]! You're always bringin the good stuff!

Anyway, lately my obsession has mostly been [B]dredg[/B]. They are a prog-rock/experimental band with a sound that varies over albums. Their first album, [B]Leitmotif[/B], is the one I have and from what I've heard of all three, it is by far their best. The sound is remniscent of [B]The Mars Volta [/B]on their album [B]Frances the Mute [/B]with a whole lot of music and not too many lyrics, though their music doesn't bog down to as little as the Mars Volta's tends to, and the CD is much shorter. Their other albums are very remniscent of [B]Coheed and Cambria's [/B]style, which is stil great, but not quite as much.

Also, my cousin just introduced me to [B]Pelican [/B]through their album [B]City of Echoes[/B] which I must say is absolutely fabulous. It's like post-rock with a kind of pregressive edge in that it is very technical and operates in odd time signatures at times. He gave me a copy of City of Echoes and [B]Australasia[/B], both of which i'm excited about.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

I agree, dredg is a wonderful progressive rock band. They've got a unique sound that I hardly think resembles that of The Mars Volta. Volta, especially in their later, more wanky years, has a very, very latin sound. dredg's music has a more down-tone and interesting, yet intense and explosive sound. While TMV comes at you, full-force, all the time, dredg is more subtle. They sound NOTHING like Coheed and Cambria. I have no idea how you came up with that.

Pelican is a nigh-godly musical experience. Although their City of Echoes album was a little disappointing given their other material, it was a refreshing new direction. If they refined that sound a little more, it would probably sound even better than their older material. If you have Autralasia already, get The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw. Beautiful, epic, and progressive.

I'd have to pull the Lurker of Chalice card out about now. It's Wrest's (of Leviathan fame) other solo project, except instead of taking an aggressive, black, and fast sound, Lurker of Chalice is dark, ambient, and sweeping. Check it out.

Also, Ulver. No explaination necessary. Every album I've heard by them is outstanding, though Blood Inside is my favorite.

[quote name='Jakehammaren']Good for you, sir. It's cool to see someone wanting to actually look past their esablished taste and find some great new music.

I'm going to bring up another all-time favorite band of mine here: Blind Guardian. These guys have some incredibly complex sound structures, and some of the most ridiculouly awesome vocal harmonies/layering of all time. Definately, definately worth checking out.[/QUOTE]

/power metal

Power Metal is so not pretentious. XP

Blind Guardian is hit-or miss with me. Their "Nightfall in Middle-Earth" album was great, along with "A Night At The Opera", and "Somewhere Far Beyond". As for the rest... a few classic singles, but nothing notable.

[size=1][COLOR="DarkOrchid"]I merged your posts. Please don't double post. -Clurr[/COLOR][/size]

[Mr. Maul]

[SIZE=1][B]Arcade Fire[/B]'s [B]Funeral[/B].

Gold.

Pure gold.


[/SIZE]

[2010DigitalBoy]

[COLOR="DarkOrange"]To [B]Oberon[/B]: Well, the whole reason I ended up listening to [B]dredg [/B]was because I was looking for a band that was similar to [B]Coheed[/B], and if you listen to[B] El Cielo [/B]and then listen to [B]The Second Stage Turbine Blade [/B]by Coheed, there's a ton of similarities in my opinion. While I do agree that [B]TMV [/B]and dredg don't necessarily sound alike, they still have enough similarities for comparison, I think. Both are a great, unique experience, though.

To [B]Jake[/B]: I've not lisened to much [B]Blind Guardian[/B], mostly because I have a hard time listening to folk metal bands that aren't [B]Ensiferum [/B]because I always feel like [i]'I could be listening to Ensiferum right now...'[/i][/COLOR]

[Goodbye, Face]

[font=arial][size=1]So for all you guys who like quiet, emotive stuff with weird instruments, you need to check out [b]Godspeed You! Black Emperor[/b] and [b]Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band[/b] (usually shortened to A Silver Mt. Zion or The Silver Mountain Reveries). The quick story behind these bands (and I'm going to use a lot of abbreviations) is that GY!BE contains a lot of members who go off on their own little projects, but when ASMZ broke off from them, they decided to play songs in a different format and include vocals in the form of chanting. ASMZ was successful enough to break out of GY!BE's shadow and they produced some seriously amazing records.

I can understand why a lot of people would be too impatient for Godspeed on the other hand, their songs are seriously epic. Their songs frequently go past the 20-minute mark and they made a release that is 2 CD's or 4 LP's. The songs build up really slow and are comprised of shorter movements. Usually what happened in their live performances is that instead of playing an entire song, they would play a series of movements from different songs and improvise to blend one movement into the other. Usually, during the build-up, they take sound clips that they recorded, usually people (and sometimes poets) talking about things that annoy them about their government and society, and by the end of the clip the crescendo occurs, if there happens to be a distinguishable one in the song.

A Silver Mt. Zion, on the other hand, feels a lot more natural and organic. The songs are shorter, not really going past ten minutes. None of the members are exactly singing experts, which makes what they have to say sound sincere, and that's the quality I like about them the most. They're kind of the midpoint between what you normally listen to and what Godspeed sounds like, so I'd recommend these guys first. Definitely check out "God Bless Our Dead Marines."


I've listened to some Blind Guardian before and I just couldn't get into it. I think that a lot of the stuff that I listen to makes a lot of (textbook...?) metal bands sound cheezy. Maybe it's just power metal in general, though.[/font][/size]

[2010DigitalBoy]

[COLOR="DarkOrange"]I am one of those that is too impatient for [B]Godspeed [/B]XD I mean, I've liked some of what I heard, even the 20 minute tracks, but when they get into serious minimalist mode they take too long to come out of it. I'm cool with a quiet moment and some softer sound between the big stuff like is present in most post-rock, but I can't deal with several minutes of next to nothing. It's too close to drone for me >_< I haven't heard much from [B]Mount Zion [/B]except what I've heard from using [B]65daysofstatic [/B]radio on last.fm.[/COLOR]

[Goodbye, Face]

[font=arial][size=1]I saw 65daysofstatic live the other day. I've never had more fun in my life. I bought all their CD's, too. ^_^

And yeah, Godspeed is one of those bands that I can't just sit down and listen to. It's amazing background music, though. I always put them on when I'm cleaning my room/house, haha.

But I could seriously listen to A Silver Mt. Zion all day. 65days, too.[/font][/size]

[2010DigitalBoy]

[COLOR="DarkOrange"]I'm listening to the song [B]Sisters! Brothers! Small Boats of Fire are Raining From the Sky![/B] By [B]Mt. Zion[/B], and it's quite increadible, so I may just have to examine them more thoroughly. This is one band my family is going to get bored of instantly XD

Also, after having listened to Australasia by Pelican, I think I like it a lot more than City of Echoes. CoE is an excellent album, but not nearly as emotional, IMO.[/COLOR]

[Mr. Maul]

[SIZE=1]I like [B]GYBE![/B] a lot, as well.

The fact that their songs are quite long doesn't phase me one bit. Most of the time that I listen to them, I am surprised when they are over so soon.

Each of their songs consists of about 3 or 4 movements, which I find make individual songs seem like several shorter ones.

Good stuff.


[/SIZE]

[2010DigitalBoy]

[COLOR="DarkOrange"]Oh my god! We're on the second page and Jake and I haven't bragged about [B]Agalloch [/B]yet!

So, yeah, Agalloch is probably the greatest band ever. The songwriting is unparalleled, the musicianship is unbelievable, and it has more emotion than anything I've ever listened to, period. It's inspirational and beautiful and I could listen to it for eternity.

[B]Falling Snow [/B]and [B]Not Unlike the Waves [/B]from the album[B] Ashes Against the Grain[/B] are what I would consider masterpieces as well as two of my alltime favorite songs. All three of their albums are amazing. [B]Pale Folklore [/B]is full of beautiful imagery, [B]The Mantle [/B]is cinematic and wondrous, and [B]Ashes Against the Grain[/B] is downright epic.

If you've never had the delight of partaking in [B]Agalloch[/B], you are missing out entirely.[/COLOR]

[Aberinkula]

[COLOR="Navy"]Where I live masterpieces like that can't be found. Things that are good, you can never find where I live. But from what you just said and what Jake has said before, Agollach sounds profound, and an essential addition to anyone's music collection. From what I gather the only bad thing about them is trying to find which album to get cause they all sound so good. >_<

So what CD is the best anyways?[/COLOR]

[2010DigitalBoy]

[quote name='Premonition'][COLOR="Navy"]Where I live masterpieces like that can't be found. Things that are good, you can never find where I live. But from what you just said and what Jake has said before, Agollach sounds profound, and an essential addition to anyone's music collection. From what I gather the only bad thing about them is trying to find which album to get cause they all sound so good. >_<

So what CD is the best anyways?[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[COLOR="DarkOrange"]First of all, you most obviously do not know how to use the internet. Go to youtube, type 'agalloch', go to purevolume, type 'agalloch' go to dogpile, tab over to music, type 'agalloch' it's not that hard >_>

Their best album? Depends on your taste. My two favorite songs of theirs, as stated above, are from [B]Ashes Against the Grain[/B], but I don't like any of the other songs as much on that album. [B]The Mantle [/B]is the favorite of most fans, but it's actually probably my least favorite of their albums. While there are some truly amazing songs on it such as [B]In the Shadow of our Pale Companion[/B], [B]You Were But a Ghost in my Arms[/B], and [B]A Desolation Song [/B]the rest is simply 'good' in my opinion. It's got a lot of soul and proficiency, but it doesn't stick with you as much.

[B]Pale Folklore [/B]is my favorite of thei ralbums not for any one stand-out song, but an entire album of outstanding material. [B]She Painted Fire Across the Skyline [/B]is a three-part masterpiece. The beginning of this song takes a bit to pick up, but once it gets going it's epic and amazing. [B]The Mishapen Steed [/B]is one of the prettiest instrumentals I've ever heard. [B]Hallways of Enchanted Ebony [/B]and [B]As Embers Dress the Sky [/B]are powerhouse, amazing tracks that I never get tired of. The other two songs,[B] Dead Winter Days [/B]and [B]The Melancholy Spirit [/B]don't have the same impact but are definitely worhty pieces.[/COLOR]

[Nomurah!]

[COLOR="HotPink"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"]Lately I've been listening to alot of Strike the Choir... (local band, [url]www.myspace.com/strikethechoir1[/url]) They are my second favorite band, and they have alot of great stuff on their latest EP, which sounds a bit like the Number 12's stuff, going into jazz breakdowns and having the two guitarists going at it, with David and Dustin screaming at each other in battles, it's absolutely great.

Also been listening to "Mongrel" by the Number 12 Looks Like You. It's quite different, with more offbeat and metal bits, and I feel it's too short, but it's really good. The guitarists have never been better, and I've never felt so good about a drummer before, Jon Karel is the (almost kinda) best drummer out there right now (he's still my favorite :3). The vocals are pretty good, and power-packed, and add emotions to some songs, now including lullabies, and different low-growls, and the singers sound better on this album, I feel.

Yep. That's what I've been listening to. Yepyep. Indeed.[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR]

[Goodbye, Face]

[quote name='I'm Not Nomura'][COLOR="HotPink"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"]Jon Karel is the best drummer out there right now. [/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[font=arial][size=1]lol, [url=http://www.myspace.com/hirollershirollers][b]no he's not[/b][/url].[/font][/size]

[Nomurah!]

[quote name='Goodbye, Face'][font=arial][size=1]lol, [url=http://www.myspace.com/hirollershirollers][b]no he's not[/b][/url].[/font][/size][/QUOTE]

[COLOR="HotPink"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"]He's original. And Fast. He has all the styles down, jazz, and metal. So, he's the best in my mind. He's awesome. Hands down, awesome. [/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR]