Posts from What bands/albums have you listened to recently? Auto-translated

Decided to get to know the band Blue October better. The guys play alternative rock/indie rock. I had one of their albums (the 4th), and I discovered it thanks to the song Hate Me. I also liked You Make Me Smile and 18th Floor Balcony, and the rest of the songs are pretty good too.
So, I downloaded their first three albums and the latest one. I haven't listened to them much, just skimmed through them. I can't say anything about the first album yet; it hasn't really grabbed me, although the songs are decent. The second album mostly features calm songs, and almost every one of them includes a violin. I especially liked Italian Radio. The third album contains a little bit of everything. I'll highlight Calling You, which I've heard before and really like. I haven't really listened to the latest album yet, just like the 3rd, but Say It is definitely a hit, and Dirt Room is great (I'd heard those before). And I'll also mention Blue Skies, which I heard for the first time. The chorus is so... mm

Yesterday, on a whim, I decided to download albums by the band McFly and I didn't regret it. The band plays in the Britpop/pop-rock genre, and in some songs, the music resembles light rock and roll.
The first album is very similar to old rock (not heavy), and some songs sound like The Beatles. It's a good album. The second one deviates a bit from the first in terms of sound, but overall the style remains. I'll highlight the songs All About You and She Falls Asleep, which consists of two parts. The third album is even more different from the first (more fast, energetic songs), but this doesn't make it worse. I'll mention Transylvania and Lonely. The fourth album continues the traditions of the third, and perhaps the best song is POV (Point of view), and in general, this is my favorite song from their repertoire; I'll also highlight The Heart Never Lies. I also downloaded an album of covers and B-sides, and there's also something to listen to there.

Three albums in the last week.

Korpiklaani - Spirit of the Forest - folk metal


1. «Wooden Pints» — 3:42
2. «Before the Morning Sun» — 4:25
3. «God of Wind» — 3:14
4. «With Trees» — 8:06
5. «Pellonpekko» — 3:36
6. «You Looked Into My Eyes» — 2:14
7. «Hullunhumppa» — 1:29
8. «Man Can Go Even Through the Grey Stone» — 2:22
9. «Pixies Dance» — 2:19
10. «Juokse Sinä Humma» — 1:16
11. «Crows Bring the Spring» — 5:25
12. «Hengettömiltä Hengiltä» — 0:34
13. «Shaman Drum» — 4:57
14. «Mother Earth» — 4:37

This is my first folk metal album. I fell in love with this album from the very first sounds. My favorite songs: Wooden Pints, With Trees, You Looked Into My Eyes, Man Can Go Even Through the Grey Stone, Pixies Dance, Mother Earth, and especially God of Wind. There will definitely be more albums of this genre to follow.

Children of Bodom - Follow the Reaper - melodic death metal


1. «Follow the Reaper» — 3:47
2. «Bodom After Midnight» — 3:43
3. «Children of Decadence» — 5:34
4. «Everytime I Die» — 4:03
5. «Mask of Sanity» — 3:58
6. «Taste of My Scythe» — 3:58
7. «Hate Me!» — 4:44
8. «Northern Comfort» — 3:48
9. «Kissing the Shadows» — 4:32

This is my first MDM album. After the first listen, only Kissing the Shadows appealed to me; in my opinion, it's the best song on the album. After a second listen, Follow the Reaper, Bodom After Midnight, and Everytime I Die joined it.

Iron Maiden - Brave New World - heavy metal


1. «The Wicker Man» — 4:35
2. «Ghost of the Navigator» — 6:50
3. «Brave New World» — 6:18
4. «Blood Brothers» — 7:14
5. «The Mercenary» — 4:42
6. «Dream of Mirrors» — 9:21
7. «The Fallen Angel» — 4:00
8. «The Nomad» — 9:05
9. «Out of the Silent Planet» — 6:25
10. «The Thin Line Between Love and Hate» — 8:27

I listened to some of the songs on this album (and possibly all of them) about a year ago, when my interest in music was almost unsystematic. The album sounds great. I'll note the following tracks: Ghost of the Navigator, Brave New World, Blood Brothers, The Fallen Angel.

Decided to add my two cents here. In music, I'm almost omnivorous (I only dislike vulgar "chanson" and one-hit-wonder pop:smile48:). I prefer metal, as well as "classic" rock bands. Among my favorites are Metallica, Pantera, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, etc... I listen to a lot of music, and sometimes even the music itself (any kind!) gets tiresome, so I just want to sit in silence, and it's even better in noise-canceling headphones for the full effect:D! I'll try to write my review, and if it goes well, I'll create another one later. Mastodon - Blood Mountain (2006) 1. «The Wolf Is Loose» 3:34 2. «Crystal Skull» (Feat. Scott Kelly) 3:27 3. «Sleeping Giant» 5:36 4. «Capillarian Crest» 4:25 5. «Circle of Cysquatch» 3:19 6. «Bladecatcher» 3:20 7. «Colony of Birchmen» (Feat. Joshua Homme) 4:19 8. «Hunters of the Sky» 3:52 9. «Hand of Stone» 3:30 10. «This Mortal Soil» 5:00 11. «Siberian Divide» (Feat. Cedric Bixler-Zavala) 5:32 12. «Pendulous Skin» (Feat. Isaiah "Ikey" Owens) 22:15 "Mind-blowing" - someone aptly described the live performance of one of the album's tracks. The bassist screaming wildly into the microphone, the guitarist "meowing," combined with complex, irregular rhythms and a dirty guitar sound. And even the musicians' appearance, if not quite reaching ZZ Top levels, is close. But this is not the kind of "mind-blowing" that would only make you headbang! Despite its intensity, the mammoth's relatives are almost as complex as King Crimson and incredibly melodic - a rare combination, wouldn't you agree? In general, the band Mastodon was formed in 1999 in Atlanta by drummer Brann Dailor and guitarist Bill Kelliher and is considered, along with Lamb of God, to be one of the leaders of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal. The band's style is vague and elusive: it includes death, doom, progressive, and groove metal, as well as stoner rock, and even... jazz. They also tried to label it as sludge or post-sludge, but in my opinion, they have their own unique genre: what would be the best name for it? Glitch metal, perhaps? (although I haven't found any information about the musicians using illegal substances yet...). It's hard to find well-known analogues to such a nuclear mix: somewhere, something from Pantera (some guitar riffs, something in the arrangements of vocal parts), some associations with the American Armenian band SOAD (dizzying changes in rhythm without losing the delicate melodic thread and some kind of exoticism...), and maybe they borrowed something from Dream Theater, but that's just a little bit. Blood Mountain is the American band's 3rd studio album. All 4 albums released so far are dedicated to one of the elements. Blood Mountain is dedicated to Earth. Well, the pleasure of listening to it is quite comparable to the pleasure of getting a mass Slow in Heroes of Might and Magic 3. The concept of this album is the ascent to the so-called Blood Mountain (an analogy to life?) in search of the Crystal Skull artifact, with various adventures, such as meeting Cysquatch - a one-eyed snowman who predicts the future (the plot is quite something!). I'll stop here regarding the "literary" aspect. In terms of music, there seem to be no weak points in Blood Mountain; everything is crazy, chaotic, and yet, where it needs to be, there are no repetitions, there are some imitations, such as singing "in the style of Ozzy," but this "Ozzy" is not just copied, but is quite self-sufficient and good. Particularly successful is the tornado-like The Wolf Is Loose (although it still has the signature "meow":)), Crystal Skull, which pays homage to the 80s standards of Metallica, Sleeping Giant - with one of the strongest introductions in rock that I have ever heard:eek:, Colony Of Birchmen with a calmer, more drawn-out tempo, as if tired from the difficult climb up the mountain... Authoritative music publications have highly praised this creation: Rolling Stone - 9th place and Metal Hammer - 1st (!) place in 2006. Well, do you still doubt whether it's worth listening to?

Blind Guardian - A Night at the Opera (2002)

1. Precious Jerusalem 6:22
2. Battlefield 5:37
3. Under the Ice 5:45
4. Sadly Sings Destiny 6:05
5. The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight 5:30
6. Wait for an Answer 6:30
7. The Soulforged 5:18
8. Age of False Innocence 6:06
9. Punishment Divine 5:45
10. And then there was Silence 14:06

On their seventh studio album, the legendary German band presented their loyal fans with a real Trojan horse (and no wonder, as two tracks are dedicated to Troy!): for over an hour of material, there wasn't a single obligatory mention of Tolkien's "sacred" legacy, but instead, unfamiliar progressive elements popped up, systematically getting rid of the outdated remnants of speed metal.

I've read so many reviews like this: listened once - rating 3, the second time - already 6-7, the third - 10 out of 10... This doesn't happen with mediocre, run-of-the-mill albums. Even skeptical S. Kastalsky, in my opinion the best Russian rock music critic, gave it a 4+ (very good, a guarantee of quality and almost a unique phenomenon according to his rating scale). What is so special about this seemingly gloomy and pompous album, with its academic nature and lack of genuine emotion, according to some superficial reviewers?

The sound... no, the Atmosphere! Dense, bright, vibrant, creating a kind of 3D effect and not letting go from the first to the last minute. As far as I remember, albums with such a consistent sound concept can be counted on the fingers of one hand (and it's not even certain that you'll need both hands!). Muffled, as if distant bass, "non-piercing" drums, slightly softened guitar lines, unobtrusive shimmering computer and symphonic effects - all this is generously coated with the powerful voices of "king" Kürsch and his backing vocal ensemble (coated in this context, like ice is coated with sunlight - creating an effect of cold, slippery shine with some joyful anticipation - anyone who has ever skated on an outdoor rink will understand me!..).

The album is full of various tricks, surprises, hidden under the icy thickness of the sound: almost a techno intro in the "opener," medieval music transitioning into a fierce melodic feast in Battlefield, and one grandmaster pause with a fade-out in The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight is worth something? Pure rock-pop, without any reservations. You find yourself thinking that a knight, clad in thick armor, in the year one thousand and something, with a guitar instead of a sword in his hands, is the most ordinary thing and there were definitely corresponding engravings in history textbooks:rolleyes: ...

I will not draw parallels between Queen and their immortal work of the same name (which I have listened to and re-listened to) and Blind Guardian with their metal opera. Let me seem tasteless and not understanding anything about music - but please forgive me for this blasphemy, the German album of 2002 still appeals to me a little more than the British album of 1975. Although how can one masterpiece be better than another?!:)

P.S. The link to the picture doesn't work, I'll fix it later...

Had nothing to do yesterday, so I decided to update my music library with new albums. 1. First, I downloaded the new Good Charlotte album called Cardiology and, with regret, noted that there was almost nothing interesting in it. Only Counting The Days was enjoyable. 2. Then, I decided to download My Chemical Romance and their new album Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys. It differs from their previous works in that the album incorporates electronic elements (and the drummer left due to hand problems). I don't know if the music has become simpler or not, but the sound has become more intense (with a couple of exceptions), and the music has similarities to old rock and punk bands (for example, the song Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back). For myself, I would highlight Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na), which is the main (in my opinion) energy source of the entire album, and it's hard to remain indifferent to this song. The Only Hope For Me Is You is a beautiful song, although in terms of sound, I only like the chorus (positive and truly giving some hope), as is the case with another song I liked, SING. And of course, I'll note Bulletproof Heart, which is my current signature quote. P.S. I feel that a new trend for Killjoys will soon appear; costume contests are already being held. 3. In the end, I decided to listen to the not-so-new album by Linkin Park. I mainly downloaded it because of the song Waiting For The End, the music video for which I saw on TV, and the song almost immediately caught my attention. I really like it; it's a pity that it's the only one so far, although I didn't expect much, unlike the band's fans, whose upset comments I read on the website while downloading the songs. It was funny to read, especially about how the new style will be more popular. Oh, well, it's quite the opposite. The old Linkin Park was liked by a much larger number of people than the new one. I, on the other hand, liked the changes because I no longer listen to their old albums, and it would be stupid to record the same thing again. The songs are mainly divided into two groups: below average and slightly above average, not counting the one I mentioned. I'll probably add it to my favorites. The only thing that bothers me about the album is that six tracks are just sounds that last less than a minute or slightly more than a minute. There are 15 songs on the album, and 6 of them are just this kind of filler. With MCR, I didn't like that there were three of them, which seemed like too many, but here there are six. And yes, I was pleasantly surprised by a song with an acoustic guitar. This is the first time I've heard something like that from Linkin Park.

I downloaded two albums (there aren't any more available yet) by the band Flobots, whose music is different from most of the bands that exist in the world. They play rock (Last.fm says it's indie) with a mix of rap and hip-hop. You might think they're similar to Linkin Park, Papa Roach, P.O.D, and other similar bands, but no, not at all. What sets them apart from all of that is their more melodic and softer music, the presence of a violin, three vocalists (one of whom is female), and much more.
I learned about the band through the song Rise (or rather, the music video for it), which I immediately liked. I'll also mention Handlebars (the music video is mega-cool, the animation is great), Airplane Mode (maybe my favorite), Mayday!!!, Never Had It, Superhero, White Flag Warrior, and Combat (the bass is great, it's a really funky song).

Downloaded the albums of American Hi-Fi, genre: punk rock, alt rock. I had a few songs from the first album, and I liked almost all of them; the rest turned out to be pretty good too. The second album became even harder; I would say it's in the style of hard punk. The third and fourth albums became softer, but this added variety to them. Overall, it's good. I haven't listened to the new songs properly yet, but one B-side immediately caught my attention: Dead On The Inside. It has a good rhythm and is a pleasant song. I would also highlight Maybe Won't Do, Where Love Is A Lie, Where Did We Go Wrong.

I've updated my music library, mainly with songs by Plain White T's. I found their very first album, as well as a new one, plus B-sides, Christmas songs, covers, and so on. The first one is quite similar to the second, only the quality is worse. The new album is the most different from all the others. It's called Wonders Of The Younger. Half of the songs have a fairytale-like sound, as if it's music from movies, and most of the songs are theatrical. The song Welcome To Mystery is from the movie "Alice in Wonderland," although I watched it recently and don't remember any songs like that being in it. I also liked Map Of The World, Last Breath, Wonders Of The Younger, Boomerang.

Added 12 hours 41 minutes ago
I've replenished my music collection with some good old-fashioned punk rock. The first band is Antifreeze; unfortunately, I only found one of their albums (and not in very good quality), but there's also a second one, which features a really great song called Pointless Emotion. I hope to find it in the future. From the first album, I like Is He Your Boyfriend, Anymore; I haven't listened to the rest properly yet. Oh yes, I do have one song from the second album, Dialogue, and it's great.

The second band is The Ataris. One album (I don't know which one it is) consists of short songs that are less than two minutes long. I can't pick out anything specific yet; I like everything. From the first album, Blue Skies, Broken Hearts... Next 12 Exits, I like Your Boyfriend Sucks, I Wont Spend Another Night Alone, and my favorite, Broken promise ring. The second album, End is Forever, hasn't grabbed me yet; I haven't really listened to it, nor the others. The third, So Long, Astoria, is notable for the song The Boys Of Summer; the rest are still being listened to. According to many fans of the band, this is their best album. The fourth, Welcome The Night, is more depressing. I've skimmed through it, and I liked almost everything; this album might become my favorite.

New music.

Pencey Prep - the former band of MCR's rhythm guitarist, where he sang and also played guitar. The music is a mix of punk and indie, sometimes with screams. They released one album and then disbanded. I like the song Yesterday, it's great.

Box Car Racer - a project by the guitarist from Blink-182. He was helped by the drummer from the same Blink and two other guys. The lyrics and music turned out to be dark for Tom (that's the guitarist's name), so he decided to release the album separately from Blink, although there is still a similarity.
I like the songs I Feel So and There Is. I also want to mention Letters to God, because there is a second part of the song, but it was recorded by another band (Angels & Airwaves), where Tom also participates, and this project still exists and they have already released three albums.

It's late at night. The queen sits alone in the royal castle, gazing sadly into the distance. The doors burst open, and a young messenger rushes into the hall, holding a strange box in his hand, followed by two guards. - Hold it right there, you little rascal! - NO! This is very important. The messenger reaches the queen and begins to speak. - Your Majesty, I have a gift for you, and you must see it right now, or rather, hear it. - Your Majesty, please excuse us. This... he didn't listen to us and ran straight through the guards. Queen: It's alright, I forgive you. Now you can go. After the guards leave, the queen turns to the messenger. - So, what do you have there? - Your Majesty, I have brought you an amazing device that can play wonderful music. This device can replace an entire ensemble. - Music without instruments? It sounds like magic. - Yes, but let me show you, and you'll see for yourself... This topic is like my blog :-* I've added music by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, genre: alternative rock/screamo. I'll immediately highlight the songs, without following the album order. So, the best song is definitely Your Guardian Angel; the lyrics are amazing. Next is Misery Loves Its Company, which is full of pain (in terms of mood), and Represent, which is uplifting (in terms of mood). I'll also highlight Face down, Home Improvement, Godspeed, and Angels Cry.

I finally waited for the first album of the young band The Young Veins, which was formed by the guitarist and bassist who left PATD. They play in the indie/folk genre. The music is pleasant, light, positive, and reminiscent of the 60s and 70s. I immediately liked the song Lie To The Truth.

The Canadian band Billy Talent plays punk/alternative music. Their very first album was recorded under a different name (Pezz), after which the band changed its name and released three more albums, each of which is called Billy Talent but has its own sequential number.
From Pezz's work, nothing particularly stood out yet, although Recap is good, and the second half of the songs Mother's Native Instrument, Absorbed are also good.
From BL1, River Below and Lies are good.
BL2 pleased me the most: Fallen Leaves, Surrender, The Navy Song
And from BL3, so far only: The Dead Can't Testify and Pocketful Of Dreams.

I was looking for B-sides and bonus tracks by Simple Plan, and instead, I found a band that almost all of the Simple Plan members used to be in. It's called RESET, and they have two albums. I liked the songs Friend and My Dream and I.

Hmm, my treasure. I've acquired another French band, now I have three. It's called Mauss. Currently, they have two albums recorded, although the third was supposed to be released in 2010. Maybe it hasn't been released yet, or maybe I just haven't found it.
I liked these songs:
from the 1st album: N'entendre que moi, Cracher mes nerfs, Qu'importe, Du mal
from the 2nd album: L'angle Droit (my favorite), A 20 Ans, Entre Parentheses, Marlene
For now, that's the list, but I think it will expand in the future.