General Music Thread

[JayOwl]

^That's ok. Yeh, I didn't like that either. To be honest I'm running out of things to say on the board and I'm starting to use it less and less. If this goes well then maybe there'll be some more things on here that interest me.

Lady GaGa... while one or two of her songs are OK, most are really quite standard IMO. She did look really nice before she was famous yes, but she must be mentally unstable in some way. I've heard of The Band Perry, I just haven't heard them as far as I can remember.

 

[Eyes]

General question, are there any symphonic metal bands as good as Nightwish? I've tried various bits of Delain and wasn't a fan, Within Temptation I know a few songs that are good but I want more (Memories and Faster). It really has to be a female vocal doing the lead, I can only stand music that hard with one, it's why I shy away from metal more often than not, but Nightwish are just too amazing to leave alone. Plus they work male vocals well into their tracks and it doesn't leave my ears hurting.

This Kamelot band does sound interesting though...

ON THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM, with Lady Gaga, I don't think anyone who likes pop can deny that Bad Romance is a masterpiece, and I like several of her singles, but at the same time I find her massively overrated beyond that. Born This Way is a patchy album at best and there's only a few songs I listen to from it any more.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

General question, are there any symphonic metal bands as good as Nightwish? I've tried various bits of Delain and wasn't a fan, Within Temptation I know a few songs that are good but I want more (Memories and Faster). It really has to be a female vocal doing the lead, I can only stand music that hard with one, it's why I shy away from metal more often than not, but Nightwish are just too amazing to leave alone. Plus they work male vocals well into their tracks and it doesn't leave my ears hurting.

This Kamelot band does sound interesting though...

ON THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM, with Lady Gaga, I don't think anyone who likes pop can deny that Bad Romance is a masterpiece, and I like several of her singles, but at the same time I find her massively overrated beyond that. Born This Way is a patchy album at best and there's only a few songs I listen to from it any more.

The Within Temptation songs you listed are both from the last album, which was somewhat of a departure from their earlier work.

I love everything they've done, Sharon has an amazing range which you can hear on some of their earlier albums (Mother Earth & The Heart Of Everything in particular).

Kamelot is frickin' awesome. Especially the Roy Khan era, and especially the last 4 albums he did (Epica, The Black Halo, Ghost Opera, Poetry For The Poisoned).

Sadly, Roy has left Kamelot. I think their music will still be "Epic", but Roy brought a certain amount of theater to it along with a great voice.
Thomas Youngblood has always written & performed great music, so I'm hopeful.

The one thing that's closest to classic (aka: Tarja era) Nightwish that I've heard is the newest Xandria album.

They have a new singer, Manuela Kraller, who's about as close to Tarja voice-wise as anyone.

The first video from the new Xandria album:
[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekHjGVgiKsk[/YT]

 

[JayOwl]

^Most of the Nightwish I know comes from the Anette (current) era. I think Eyes prefers her too. Still, I'll give that one a listen. I don't usually listen to metal- Nightwish is the closest I get.

Listening, it really does sound like old NW- quite operatic. I like it. I find that most metal is far too harsh for my tastes with male vocals, (they usually start that piercing scream.. don't like it) despite the fact that a lot of my favorite music does have male vocals. Nice song anyhow.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Annette is good within the greatness that is Nightwish. I preferred Tarja a great deal more. Tarja's voice was a far better fit for that style of music.

As far as death metal, when I first heard that type of thing around 1991, I flat out hated it. I think it was Vader and one or two other groups.
The screaming and really bad musicianship turned me off that style for a long time.

For me to listen to it now, it has to have some good points. Like I said, Moonspell has good musicianship. I like Scar Symmetry, Fear Factory, a few others.

I have to be in a darker mood than normal to really enjoy black/death/doom metal though. So, a "special occasion" kind of thing.

Draconian is another good example of listenable doom metal, with an added female vocal (at least on this track).
[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjaCqERN8f0[/YT]

 

[Eyes]

I thought Memories was from an earlier WT era than Faster, which I know is rather new. It's the better of the two. I keep meaning to get more into them but I never get round to it.

With Nightwish, I do prefer Anette really (Amaranth is a REALLY great song, as is nearly the entirety of Imaginaerum) but there is something about Tarja's voice that is still very appealing, particularly her energy on certain tracks on Century Child and Once. I also need to check out some of her solo work, she does have a new track floating around.

That Xandria song was very good, thanks. I keep trying to explore the genre as best I can but only dipping my toe into it, and too often it comes out bitten.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Yeah, you're right on Memories. I'm not sure what I was thinking on that. I think one of that later tracks on Unforgiven has the same feel.

With current NW, Tuomas writes & arranges differently, to suit Annette's voice & delivery. So, it's still great (and epic), but a little more up-tempo than earlier stuff.

I can't wait for the movie Imaginaerum later this year. And on that, it's spelled Imaginaerum, but still pronounced Imaginarium in the track Storytime.

^ What part of the genre has "bitten" you? I find there's a wide range of styles within the genre, but nothing I've ever disliked.

 

[marillion]

I thought Memories was from an earlier WT era than Faster, which I know is rather new. It's the better of the two. I keep meaning to get more into them but I never get round to it.

With Nightwish, I do prefer Anette really (Amaranth is a REALLY great song, as is nearly the entirety of Imaginaerum) but there is something about Tarja's voice that is still very appealing, particularly her energy on certain tracks on Century Child and Once. I also need to check out some of her solo work, she does have a new track floating around.

That Xandria song was very good, thanks. I keep trying to explore the genre as best I can but only dipping my toe into it, and too often it comes out bitten.

An "up and coming" band along these lines is Pythia, featuring Emily Ovenden (of Mediaeval Baebes fame - another FANTASTIC group)... They are a bit more raw and unpolished than bands like Within Temptation and Nightwish, but she has an amazing voice.

I'm really enjoying Within Temptation's latest and I'm also enjoying their newish sound.. Their first couple of CDs left me cold because of the growly/screamo lyrics, which is a shame, because the music was amazing. One of the songs off Unforgiving, Sinead, has been remixed by VnV Nation, an Irish techno/industrial band, but I can't seem to find a way buy it here in the states...

Here is Pythia's latest, in all their "Game of Thrones" glory.. LOL
Pythia - The Circle

And for good measure, here is something from the Mediaeval Baebes.
Veni Veni Bella

 

[The Habs Fan]

My favourite band is Stone Temple Pilots but my musical tastes are quite eclectic and it's accurate if I say that I like rock in all its forms. It's easier for me to list bands I dislike (like Nickelback) then genres I particularly enjoy since there are a lot of them.

One music blog I read regularly is: www.alancross.ca. Alan Cross is basically a legend up here in Canada where he is the host of a nationally syndicated radio show called "The Secret History of Rock." He was formerly the host of a show called "The Ongoing History of New Music". Anyway, as part of his blog, every week he lists new songs that sounded interesting to him. Some recent examples of very good songs I discovered through him were Midnight City by M83 and Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye. He posted both songs before too many people knew about them. I distinctly remember watching the Gotye music video when it had only 3000 hits on Youtube.

 

[Pingfah]

My favourite band is Stone Temple Pilots but my musical tastes are quite eclectic

No "but" needed, that's probably why you are such a big fan.

STP are one of the most eclectic rock bands to really hit the bigtime that I can think of. Something they don't receive enough credit for.

Anyway, I have listened to a lot of the symphonic metal in this thread and I am not feeling it. I hear a lot of clever instrumentation and impressive arrangements, but I am not hearing much in the way of songwriting that is exciting me.

 

[The Habs Fan]

My favourite band is Stone Temple Pilots but my musical tastes are quite eclectic

No "but" needed, that's probably why you are such a big fan.

STP are one of the most eclectic rock bands to really hit the bigtime that I can think of. Something they don't receive enough credit for.

I was actually going to go into detail on STP's eclecticism, but decided to keep it more about my music taste in general. But yes, I have thought about that this and I think that is why my tastes are so eclectic, yet I would say my tastes weren't eclectic before I discovered STP. STP came first, than my musical horizons were opened.

I remember when I first got into them during the No. 4 era and I started buying all their albums, that I kept hearing all of these songs I liked and had heard on the radio, but never realized they were all by the same band. The difference in sound from their first album to their 3rd is so drastic and yet they had multiple hit songs off both (as they do on all their albums which all have a different sound).

 

[Eyes]

I can't wait for the movie Imaginaerum later this year. And on that, it's spelled Imaginaerum, but still pronounced Imaginarium in the track Storytime.

^ What part of the genre has "bitten" you? I find there's a wide range of styles within the genre, but nothing I've ever disliked.

I really want to see that movie when it comes out, if only to see how they've fitted Nightwish into it. I think Storytime may have been recorded before they changed the name IIRC, brilliant song BTW

It's not so much the symphonic metal bands I know, but when surfing for good symph metal bands I often come across bands that do too much of the typical metal shouting in their songs (it seems Nightwish's style is best suited to my tastes, and not much else is when it comes to metal) so while I like finding music from blogs and the like, I'm always apprehensive about checking out any metal songs by a band I know little about.

I will check out that Pythia song when I get time/my internet starts working faster also, thanks marillion

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I just heard of the death of Deep Purple's Jon Lord:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18864409

 

[marillion]

Keane (their new CD is the best one yet.. SO good!!)

TOTALLY agree with you here. They had some good ones before, but "Day Will Come", "Sovereign Light Cafe", "On The Road" and "Silenced By The Night" are all epic. I like all the others too, I just haven't listened to them much yet, I ought to get on to that.

I have to admit that until I picked up Rush's new CD, Strangeland had not left my CD player... Every song is just so damn listenable!!

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I just heard of the death of Deep Purple's Jon Lord:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18864409

That truly sucks. One of the best keyboard/piano/organ players ever. The "keyboard" solo in the Made In Japan version of Smoke On The Water was the most amazing thing ever.

F%&$ cancer!

R.I.P. Jon.

I can't wait for the movie Imaginaerum later this year. And on that, it's spelled Imaginaerum, but still pronounced Imaginarium in the track Storytime.

^ What part of the genre has "bitten" you? I find there's a wide range of styles within the genre, but nothing I've ever disliked.

I really want to see that movie when it comes out, if only to see how they've fitted Nightwish into it. I think Storytime may have been recorded before they changed the name IIRC, brilliant song BTW

It's not so much the symphonic metal bands I know, but when surfing for good symph metal bands I often come across bands that do too much of the typical metal shouting in their songs (it seems Nightwish's style is best suited to my tastes, and not much else is when it comes to metal) so while I like finding music from blogs and the like, I'm always apprehensive about checking out any metal songs by a band I know little about.

I will check out that Pythia song when I get time/my internet starts working faster also, thanks marillion

I actually like the growling vocals best when they're inserted into great symphonic metal.

Early Tristania and ergo Sirenia are the best examples of this. Morten Veland is a great writer, arranger and growler.

Though he's a little less "cookie monster" vocals and a little more "Popeye the Sailor" vocals .

 

[Lonemagpie]

I just heard of the death of Deep Purple's Jon Lord:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18864409

I was just going to post that...

A year to the day after Ronnie James Dio...

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Here's a tribute to both Jon & Ronnie, from 1999. The original song was on Roger Glover's Butterfly Ball.

Only a couple shots of Jon in this one.

[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxzXuzTODEM[/YT]

 

[The Dominion]

That's sad, Lord was pretty much the only member who played in all the Deep Purple line ups across the years. A true veteran.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Here's the Made In Japan version of Smoke On The Water I mentioned earlier.

The organ solo is near the end. Definitive version, this.

[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBeguT-akw4[/YT]

 

[PlainSimpleJoel]

Nice idea for the thread. Most of the music I listen to would alternative indie or alternative rock. Mostly from the early 1990's to now. Australian and British bands feature more than American bands (with a few exceptions)