Kiahdaj July 3, 2015 July 3, 2015 I have a great love for music, and am always interested in finding more to love. With this thread, I hope to introduce others to great, often underrated music that I care deeply for. In the process, I would be happy to receive recommendations for new music to listen to, which I may then in turn review in this thread. You will quickly find that the vast majority of my favorite music falls under the "Rock" umbrella—in particular, you're going to see a lot of Progressive Rock and Post-Rock—but I am open-minded to any kind of music. I like a little bit from all kinds of different genres. As long as it's an album you love, please feel free to share it with me. Now, I've never actually reviewed an album in this format before, so I won't always do the best. I'm definitely open to any critique on the content of my reviews. In my reviews, I will try to be objective about it. This means that I will try to rate the album based on factors that extend beyond my own personal taste. But in the end, please remember that this is still my own subjective opinion. Just because I don't like an album that you do, doesn't mean it is bad. I'd love to hear what you all have to think about the thread, and the music. My Ratings: I'm not always the most confident in the exact number ratings I give to the albums I review, but I like to include them to give an overall feel of how much I enjoyed the album. It is very possible that I may go back and edit the ratings after the album has settled in more, or after I have reviewed more albums, so I know where they each best sit. Reviewed Albums: Thank You Scientist — Maps of Non-Existent PlacesThank You Scientist — The Perils of Time TravelThis Will Destroy You — This Will Destroy You "If this can be avoided, it should. If it can't, then it would be better if it could be. If it happened and you're thinking back to it, try and think back further. Try not to avoid it with your mind. If any of this is possible, it may be helpful. If not, it won't be."
Kiahdaj July 3, 2015 Author July 3, 2015 Thank You Scientist — Maps of Non-Existent Places http://evilinkrecords.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/tys_maps_front-FINAL.jpg[/img] Year: 2012 Genre: Progressive Rock / Jazz Fusion What better way to start this thread, than with this album? I thought it would be a good idea to begin with something that I love that is easily accessible, before getting into some of the weird stuff that I like. This New Jerseyan septet is not your usual act. The band consists of your standard rock lineup—a vocalist, lead guitar, bass guitar, and drums—but throws in a violin, saxophone, and trumpet for good measure. This album is a wonderful eclectic work, which combines sounds from everything from rock to metal, pop, jazz, and punk. To complement this stylistic eclecticism is remarkable and undeniable musicianship. The members of this band have all been playing their respective instruments for between 13 and 18 years, and they all play jazz and classical music outside of the band. In addition, 4 of the 7 of them have music degrees. Very early on, you can see that this album has a strong alternative rock sound to it. The brand of energy behind a lot of the vocals and guitar work give this album a very noticeable pop/punk front end. However, beneath those pop-y vocals lie some very intricate arrangements which really set this band apart from any old alternative rock act. The progressive and jazz influences can always be heard by anyone who knows how to listen for them. I don't believe I have ever before or since heard a group cram so many influences and styles into one piece of work, and certainly none who have done it better. You never know quite what you're going to hear; from the pop/punk energy, to the grooviness of a funk band, the a capella of 'Prelude', the latin bits such as the beginning of 'Blood on the Radio', the classical, metal, and certainly jazzy arrangements, to the full-on jazz jerk-off that is 'Suspicious Waveforms' (and I mean that in the best way possible), which contains a solo from every instrument in the band, and all the instrumental prowess you can ask for. One thing is for sure, and that's that no two songs on this album sound the same. Thank You Scientist has their own unique style, and there's nothing out there quite like this. Everyone in the band knows their stuff, and they show it. The vocals are pristine, and each and every instrument is played masterfully and precisely—playing off of each other to create a cohesive mesh of greatness. One of the things that makes this album wonderful is that you can tell that this is simply 7 extremely talented musicians having fun, doing what they love. It's great to just sit back and listen to the musical genius at work. It's worth noting that the most recent incarnation of this album is a remix. No, the original mix did not sound professional. Yes, it was muddy and over-compressed. No, the remix is not way better. While the remix is obviously a superior work of production, with all of the instruments sitting more clearly in the mix, I feel that the remix took a lot of the feel and "soul", if you will, from the original. Along with some, in my opinion, poor mixing decisions, such as lowering the presence of certain important instruments in integral parts, to mucking with the balance of the harmonies—creating an inferior texture at times, to perhaps the worst of all, which is bringing the vocals so far out in the mix. This single decision drastically altered the feeling of the album—making it feel a lot more like a pop production, than a progressive rock/jazz fusion one. Some might disagree, but I thought it was a no-no. But alas, the original CD has been sold out, and can't be bought anywhere for any reasonable price, so I'm stuck with what I've got. At any rate, you may not typically like rock; you may not typically like jazz; but I think this album is worth a listen, for any open-minded individual who likes music. This is Thank You Scientist's first full-length album. They released an EP in 2011, which I will probably be reviewing next. However, they have announced that there will be another album coming very soon, within the next few months. I hope you can all join me in salivating. 8.5/10 Revised, 11/2016 "If this can be avoided, it should. If it can't, then it would be better if it could be. If it happened and you're thinking back to it, try and think back further. Try not to avoid it with your mind. If any of this is possible, it may be helpful. If not, it won't be."
Guest July 3, 2015 July 3, 2015 You know, I've been meaning to give these guys a listen since I heard about that incident with the carbon-monoxide a year or so back. A 9/10 seems like a good enough reason as any, so I'll see if I can't get ahold of some of their stuff for easy-listening in the next couple weeks. Anyway, cool read. Definitely update this thing constantly. Reading reviews for things I don't own is actually one of my favorite pastimes, if you can believe it. My vote to go through Scenes from a Memory still stands, but only on the condition that you'll listen to the entire thing in one sitting. Laid down, eyes closed maybe, seeing how the thing tells a story. I have a friend who said he'd listen to it, and wound up just skipping through it in no particular order. Which is fine, yeah, but I think if you've never experienced the entire album at least once before, start to finish is the best way. After that, I'd vote for Protest the Hero's Volition album, but more-so if you're already familiar with the band's work. Themes range from nonsensical Star-Trek-Vs-Star-Wars, to political/controversial themes covered through pretty intelligent writing. Rody Walker is also bae, so yeah.
Guest Anonymous July 3, 2015 July 3, 2015 Thank You Scientist sounds groovy! Davie and I will give it a listen if we can find it! OH here we just googled it and found nine videos of the album! Neato they sound awesome! Okay, Davie and I listen to a lot of different music, including contemporary rock, of course. We do like some new age stuff like Omnia and Faun. Faun's web page http://www.faune.de/newweb/pages/start_en.html Omnia, Earth Warrior (full album) These two bands play at an annual event called Faerieworlds we love to attend. http://faerieworlds.com/ I am not savy enough bout music genres and instruments to really do a proper review. But just give them a listen and judge fer yourself!. ~Melian
Kiahdaj July 3, 2015 Author July 3, 2015 You know, I've been meaning to give these guys a listen since I heard about that incident with the carbon-monoxide a year or so back. Where'd you hear about that? I personally saw it on their facebook page, at some point. What an awful shame it would have been for them to pass away like that. I figured you had heard about them through Coheed and Cambria. My vote to go through Scenes from a Memory still stands, but only on the condition that you'll listen to the entire thing in one sitting. I definitely wouldn't have the audacity to review a concept album without giving it an honest listen all the way through. I may wait a little while to review a requested album, so that I can get some bearings in the whole reviewing thing. I actually had some trouble deciding how I would frame the review for Maps, even being quite familiar with it. But I'll get around to it some time! I'm glad you enjoyed reading. I'll try to post something at least once a week, but more if I can get myself to. God knows there's no shortage of albums I want to review. "If this can be avoided, it should. If it can't, then it would be better if it could be. If it happened and you're thinking back to it, try and think back further. Try not to avoid it with your mind. If any of this is possible, it may be helpful. If not, it won't be."
Kiahdaj July 3, 2015 Author July 3, 2015 Thank You Scientist — The Perils of Time Travel http://images.cdn.bigcartel.com/bigcartel/product_images/131784426/max_h-1000+max_w-1000/timetravelcover.jpg[/img] Year: 2011 Genre: Progressive Rock / Jazz Fusion Be sure and remember what Bert the turtle just did, friends, because every one of us must remember to do the same thing. I gushed enough about Thank You Scientist in my review of 'Maps of Non-Existent Places', so I will try to get to more of the point with this one. Be sure to remember that all of the awesomeness about the band from the last review still applies. This is 'The Perils of Time Travel'—the band's first studio release. I find that just about everything I said about 'Maps' applies here as well, but to a lesser degree. This album is just a little bit less of everything that made their second album so great. The arrangements are not as layered, there's not as much energy to it, it's noticeably less jazz-inspired, and everything is just a little bit more tame. The musicianship is still obviously top-notch, but they just didn't seem to push their talent as much, this first time. The style is still very unique, but this EP doesn't seem to take it quite as far as they did just a year later. Oh, and it's almost exactly half the length. A lot less time to explore and push the envelope, I guess. This album definitely feels pop-ier than 'Maps', and a lot more radio-friendly, as a whole. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but as someone who much prefers jazz to pop, it's not my preference. One thing this album has, too, that 'Maps' does not, is a weak track. Shocking, I know. I don't know if it's because of what I've already come to expect from Thank You Scientist even though I listened to their albums in the wrong order, but the first track, 'Grin', just isn't anything all that special to me, like the rest of their work. Not a bad song by any means, but compared to what they've shown they can do, it is a bit lackluster. That feeling ends very quickly for me, however, as the following 'Abandonship', 'Leave the Light on', and 'Make Like a Tree' are all exceptional tracks. Overall, 'The Perils of Time Travel' is still a very unique and commendable album. It still has a lot of the same things to love as their 2012 album and more; even a 'Back to the Future' sample! It might serve as an even more enjoyable work for those of you who prefer the pop side of their music, and like things a little less crazy. It's still a fantastic debut for a band that I know will only keep getting better. 7/10 Revised, 11/2016 "If this can be avoided, it should. If it can't, then it would be better if it could be. If it happened and you're thinking back to it, try and think back further. Try not to avoid it with your mind. If any of this is possible, it may be helpful. If not, it won't be."
sushi July 4, 2015 July 4, 2015 you may not typically like jazz I don't, but it worked and it was interesting. Not my favorite or anything. I like harder rock. "Some things have to be believed to be seen." - Ralph Hodgson
Kiahdaj July 4, 2015 Author July 4, 2015 Good thing I've got plenty of harder rock and metal to come. Any particular kinds you like? I still have to decide which of my albums to review next. "If this can be avoided, it should. If it can't, then it would be better if it could be. If it happened and you're thinking back to it, try and think back further. Try not to avoid it with your mind. If any of this is possible, it may be helpful. If not, it won't be."
sushi July 4, 2015 July 4, 2015 To be honest, listening to music is still a bit new to me. I mean when I was 16, I listened mostly to Metallica, because that's what my cousins liked. I tried a few other bands (Linkin Park springs to mind) mostly when girls found out that I didn't really listen to music, and suggested things to me in the hope that their band would magically turn me on to music. Lately I've gotten a car with a radio (I know that sounds insignificant, but my family has always bought 30 year old cars, so having a 12 year old car is a big deal for me) so I've actually been listening to the radio, and I've been enjoying rock from the 80s and 90s. I don't know how much of it is legitimately liking the sound, and how much is remembering these songs from my youth though. "Some things have to be believed to be seen." - Ralph Hodgson
AlienLoveSecrets July 7, 2015 July 7, 2015 I heavily second Enny on listening to all of Scenes From A Memory, if you somehow haven't already. To say that that album is an mesmerizing masterpiece would be the understatement of the century. As for my own request, It would be great if you could review Steve Vai's Passion and Warfare (I know, surprise, surprise) since that's also an album in which you need to lay down and listen to front-to-back, preferably with good headphones or good earphones. It's nice to hear that you already often listen to albums front-to-back, since it's so horribly-uncommon with people these days. It's entirely instrumental (except for a few speaking parts here and there), so it should certainly be a unique experience for you, too. I hope you enjoy it :). EDIT: When you want to throw in some heavy metal reviews, I would also suggest listening to and reviewing Pantera's The Great Southern Trendkill when you can. Another incredible album, to say the least. "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today Tomorrow will be dying."
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