The Fevered Forge

The 1st Weekly Random Playlist Review

posted October 14, 2007, 9:33 am | Log In To Post Comments | view comments (3)
Tags: Mnemic, Mayhem, The Decemberists, Car Bomb, Bright Eyes, Passenger, Ordo Ad Chao, The Crane Wife, Centralia, A Christmas Album

Thought this would be a cool thing to do. Every week I'll throw all of the music I own (thousands upon thousands upon thousands of tracks from hundreds of artists), throw it all on a playlist, hit 'randomize' and take a nice look at each of the first 10 tracks. Let you know what I think, why they're in my collection, stories behind them, etc. Just little (or not so little) blurbs on some good tunage. So we start:

 

 

Mnemic - Psykorgasm(From the 2007 album "Passenger")

 

I've been a big Mnemic fan since hearing "Dreamstate Emergency" from their previous record, "The Audio Injected Soul. They play a brand of metal that blends thrash, nu-death and Meshuggah-esque stop-start riffing. They've recycled vocalists on each of their 3 records, and now they've found what sounds to me like a perfect fit. More than before their attention to misanthropic melody and brutal breakdowns is amazingly sharp. Very progressive in nature, Mnemic are currently reaping the benefits of their dedicated work.  This song is one of the best from "Passenger", no doubt.

 

Mayhem - Anti(From the 2007 album "Ordo Ad Chao")

 

With as much inspiration and urge to recapture the true sounds of black metal as they had back in the days of the genre-defining "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas", a refreshed and re-tooled Mayhem have unleashed one of the most monsterous and truly frightening releases of the year with "Ordo Ad Chao". Songs like "Anti", a track released prior to the album as a teaser, truly create an atmosphere of suffering, agony and black depression. Imagine the planet aflame, only to be encrusted by a sheet of ice, only to be melted again...over and over...and that's what "Ordo Ad Chao" comes to represent. All of the world's pain manifested into a collection of disjointed, disembodied and chaotic black metal songs. Culling memories of that great album of the past I mentioned before, vocalist Atilla returns and seems to still retain all of the dead-air-essence that made "De Mysteriis" the instant classic it was, and still is. 

 

The Decemberists - The Crane Wife 3(From the 2006 album "The Crane Wife"

 

Whether they're pulling you in with pop-friendly hooks, a sense of storytelling seemingly lost in classic literature or their undeniable ability to translate emotion from the page to the speakers, The Decemberists are one of today's most well-rounded and enjoyable indie rock groups. While their shooting-star popularity is nothing more than figurable, they still manage to retain their innocence and their passion. "The Crane Wife 3" is a pretty little number, centered around a wonderfully imaginative lyrical direction and some warm acoustic guitar. 

 

Car Bomb - Hypnotic Worm(From the 2007 album "Centralia")

 

While they're relatively unknown now, I say wait 6 months or so and see just how many people are talking about Car Bomb. What they're doing is redefining the traditions of mathcore, hardcore, grindcore...you name the core, they're pushing it to a new level. It's progressive in all the ways DEP wishes they could be, and more than anything it is truly ignorant to any traditional sense of songwriting and structuring. This is true anarchy in music. "Hypnotic Worm", like all the other songs, throws so much at you that you're almost urged to skip back every 15-20 seconds to digest all that just happened. It's not worth explaining, only to say that not checking out "Centralia" could be a grave mistake for metal fans. Even if you hate metal, check it out and see just how progressive and forward-thinking this genre can be. 

 

Bright Eyes - Silent Night(From the 2002 album "A Christmas Album")

 

I keep this album out whenever the holiday season approaches. Next to maybe Sufjan Stevens' newer christmas album, I don't think I've ever heard a more touching and appropriate collection of songs for the season. Oberst and co. really know how to tug the heartstrings, and this depressing (damn near suicidal) take on the classic "Silent Night" might just be the best example of that, out of ALL of their work. Conner sings with a lonely sort of distance, and you can almost imagine him sitting by a window, staring out into a snowstorm, cut off from the world and the warmth and joy of a christmas with loved ones. You can't deny, however you may spend your holiday season, that some of us spend it in a state of lonliness and depression. Bright Eyes offers the perfect soundtrack to your blue christmas here.

 

Immortal - Solarfall(From the 1999 album "At The Heart Of Winter"

 

The legendary black metalers Immortal have always been amongst my top 15 or 20 favorite bands. From their early, more classic-bm inspired noise to this, the album where frontman Abbath finally took full creative control and showed his inner-genius. Featuring slower tempos but a heavier and beefier overall sound, a more progressive songwriting style and more full-band interaction than ever before, "At the Heart of Winter" marked a huge turning point for the guys. "Solarfall" is an awesome song, with mid-paced riffing and moody, melodic interludes swirling together over Abbath's gruff and viking-like vocal assault. They would go on to make two even more impressive records, the last of which is in my opinion one of the best metal albums of all time, "Sons of Northern Darkness".

 

Led Zeppelin - Going To California(From the 1971 album "Led Zeppelin IV"

 

Well, what more really needs to be said for Led Zeppelin? Or for that matter, what many consider to be their greatest album, "Led Zeppelin IV"? Not a whole lot that hasn't been said already. "Going To California" is and is not easy to overlook; it is when you consider the album is front-to-back classic songs, it isn't when you consider how damn beautiful it is, and how it seems to jump out amongst the hard-rockers it's sandwiched between. I've said this before and I'll say it again; no band has ever been able to capture the true passion of their times quite like Led Zeppelin. Funny side note: when I first purchased Zep IV many years ago, I was certain it was a "greatest hits" compilation due to my unfamiliarity with their catalog. Heh.

 

Rush - Working Man(From the 1974 album "Rush")

 

Ahh, Rush. If you know me, you know they're by far my favorite group. For many their love affair with this Canadian 3-piece progressive powerhouse began with such definitive releases as "2112" and "A Farewell To Kings". For a select few who got to hear it then, their s/t debut was the initial grabber even though it features so very little of what Rush would become. Without lyricist and uber-skinsman Neil Peart in their ranks, the band concentrated far more on their roots and inspirations here, creating an album that reeked of Cream, Zeppelin, and Yardbirds influence. Very hard rock, fiery with a youthful passion the band would never recapture and that little factoid makes the album special in it's own way. "Working Man" has to be the album's most well-known track, a 7 minute ode to...you guessed it...the working man. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson were already sounding like the tightest of musicians, playing off of each other with practiced precision. 

 

John 5 - Welcome To The Jungle (G'n'R Cover)(From the 2007 album "The Devil Knows My Name"

Guitarist John 5 will probably be best known for his time in Marilyn Manson's band, where he managed to steal the show more often than not with some tasty licks that only sold fans about 2% of his overall talents. After a rough break from the band, he would dive into a solo career that's given us 3 records of some of the most interesting guitar work this side of Steve Vai. In fact, Vai contributes on this album, I believe. Anywho, this is a vocal-free cover of one hell of a classic tune, where John's guitar work takes over for Mr. Rose in high fashion. The entire song is guitar-based and it sounds so damn right that you can't help but think "This could have been the original version and still kicked tons of ass". John 5 is a hidden gem that's slowly working his way into the mainstream. He's worked with a wide variety of artists, and the future looks bright indeed for him. I still say he should drop the monicker Manson gave him though; it may be how most of us know him, but if he's ever to escape the wide shadow Marilyn casts, it might be a wise move. 

 

Stone Temple Pilots - Sex Type Thing(From the 1992 album "Core")

 

Wow, I forgot all about this album! It was once one of my absolute favorites, but as time went on I really lost interest in what Weiland and STP were trying to do. It's not that they didn't release good records after "Core", but they never really hit that high-water mark again ("Tiny Music" came pretty damn close though). "Sex Type Thing" is one of the album's several hit singles, and it's actually not one of my favorites from them but there's no denying it's catchiness and the sleazy lust that clings to every vocal phrasing. I really miss these guys sometimes, but it's still great to hear Scott with Velvet Revolver (or G'n'R junior). 

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