Rexorcist's Forum Replies

I suppose the album gets more alternative as it goes along, so I'll give this one an upvote.  It also got less djenty as well, but I think we should keep the metalcore tag.

Before we do that, we should have Adding to the Gateway and removing from The Infinite be separate ones.  I'll be sure to vote on both if I can, as this is the last Volumes album I haven't heard.  I'll finish it when I'm done with the current album.

I've just changed the entry & we now have twelve ratings without a clear outcome.

Didn't know you could do that.

If it helps, I guess I'll vote yes to this one, but I'll leave it to be questioned as to whether or not this is goth metal by someone else.  Can't say I fell in love with this album.

I haven't heard any Sarcofago yet, but I'll hold off on that for a later marathon.  I've already voted on the top two, so now all that's left is Into the Pandemonium.  I don't know about the goth metal tag being primary.  I wouldn't vote for that since I only hear it in a couple tracks, but I do agree that the avant-garde tag should be taken off.  They probably should've been two separate Halls.

Most of the avant-garde behavior on the album is resorted to either including a different genre in a song or the kind of abrupt tempo changes that are quite common in thrash metal, and I can safely make that assumption after having blown through many thrash / blackened thrash albums for the last two Clan Challenges I finished.  "Avant-garde metal" seems more like a way to quickly describe this playful thrash album rather than a way to acknowledge a previously established genre, because comparing this sound to the works of Arcturus, Maudlin of the Well, some Blut Aus Nord and Thy Catafalque seems pretty impossible.

The one thing holding me back from voting yes is the goth metal inclusion.  I can't look at this album and say, "Tristania, Type O Negative, Draconian," etc.  Otherwise, I'll just end up in the same boat I'm in now.

I went to the releases tag and put together a chart for the highest-rated Swedish albums with a 5 vote minimum.

https://metal.academy/releases?releasesFilters=1&releaseCountry%5B%5D=211&releaseSort=releases.overall_rating&releaseSortType=DESC&releasesCountRating=5&fromYear=&toYear=

Candlemass is the clear winner.  Everything else is a bit scattered.  I'm surprised Blackwater Park is so low, though.

No one gonna mention the likes of Dissection, Dismember, Edge of Sanity, Entombed, Cult of Luna, At the Gates or Tiamat then?

I keep a ranked chart of all my top artists based on top 3-5 averages.  Here's the top five metal bands from Sweden, though I need to study Sweden some more.  I'm a bit behind on that.

1. Therion: Celebrators of Becoming (Live) (100) : Theli (98) : Live Gothic (97) : Secret of the Runes (96) : Vovin (96).  Average: 97.4

2. Opeth: Blackwater Park (98) : Ghost Reveries (97) : Watershed (95) : The Last Will and Testament (93) : My Arms, Your Hearse (93).  Average: 95.2

3. Falconer: Black Moon Rising (95) : Among Beggars and Thieves (94) : Chapters From a Vale Forlorn (92) : Falconer (90) : From a Dying Ember (74).  Average: 89

4. Cult of Luna: Somewhere Along the Highway (94) : Mariner (93) : Salvation (91) : Vertikal (85) : Cult of Luna (81). Average: 88.8

5. In Flames: The Jester Race (96) : Whoracle (95) : Colony (91) : Clayman (88) : Lunar Strain (73).  Average: 88.6

I still need to hear more Candlemass and Edge of Sanity.  Nut I'm largely good on Therion, Falconer and Opeth.

Plastic Neesound - nontitled (2024)

Genres: Vaporwave, Plunderphonics

I can't say I'm into Plastic Neesound's music.  In fact, I went through the whole catalog (not counting the few AI albums) just to add some fodder to my albums log.  I would even say that a large number of 0/100's that were obviously just there to be there and had no qualities worth mentioning makes Neesound one of the worst artists I've heard overall.  That's what happens with quantity over quality.  But this album's really not that bad.  Most of the experimental and vaporwave ideas are just okay, but it's the fact that the album is much more palatable and loaded with ideas that makes it a worthwhile distraction at the very least.

63

I don't see my beautiful baby THERION in that list.

Burzum - Hvis lyset tar oss (1994)

Genres: Atmo-Black Metal

Looking at old reviews for albums is a good way to see just how much you've changed. In this instance, it's one of Burzum's crowning gems, the one he wrote right before his legendary (tho overrated IMO) Filosofem. The name is Hvis lyset tar oss, which is Norwegian for "If the Light Takes Us." At this point in time, much like Filosofem, I can't say I like this one as much as I used to. I even knocked off a whole star from my Filosofem rating when I heard it. But I don't think I'll go quite that far. Back then, I liked Filosofem more, by a 2/100 edge (92 vs. 90). This time, I'd say I like this much more than Filosofem, which only had a 93.

In my old review, I mentioned that Burzum expressed his anger perfectly. I really don't think so anymore. Hearing so many professional and even frightening shrikes and growls in my time as a metal fan, now Burzum's voice sounds unpolished and even a little dorky, like he's trying either too hard or not hard enough. Otherwise, the music itself is pretty good. I got it right in my older review when I said that Burzum delivers on the basics of atmo-black well enough. This album is cold and treacherous, much like an actual blizzard. There are synths in the back but they're typically faint and not forced, working just well enough to add a little spice to these four epics. But the thing about these epics is that they largely have a one-track mind, so once again, it's more about the atmosphere than the music. Still, it's a careful, though not too experimental, blend of atmo, depressive and traditional black metal with a little dungeon synth on the side.

So I would say in my current state as a music buff that Burzum's album right before Filosofem has the edge. I didn't really expect to like it more than Filosofem at first, but I'd say that this one feels more like an actual music album, and it doesn't have an overdone 25-minute ambient track at the end, but rather a synth track which feels like something out of a Tangerine Dream album (it has a 14-minute one, which is still overdone but easier on more melodic ears and actually showing clever shifts in gear).

76

Welcome to The North Rexorcist! I believe the transition has been successful (I can see that your ratings are now counting as Clan Ratings for The North), but let me know if anything looks weird.

Thanks a bunch!

Weird like what?

My top 10 out of the RYM top 40

1: Moonsorrow: Verisakeet (100)

2: Emperor: Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk (98)

3: Leviathan - Lurker of Chalice (98)

4: Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane (98)

5: Immortal - At the Heart of Winter (97)

6: Ulver - Bergtatt (96)

7: Murmuüre - Murmuüre (96)

8: Agallock - Ashes Against the Grain (96)

9: Bathory - Blood Fire Death (96)

10: Mayhem - De mysteriis dom Sathanas (96)

My top 10 in general

1. Emperor - Prometheus (100 / Symphonic Black, Traditional Black)

2. Blut aus Nord - The Work Which Transforms God (100 / Atmo-Black, Dissonant Black)

3. Alcest - Souvenirs d'un autre monde (100 / Blackgaze, Shoegaze, Post-Metal)

4. Emperor - Emperial Live Ceremony (100 / Symphonic Black, Traditional Black)

5. Enslaved - Mardraum (100 / Prog Black)

6. Moonsorrow - Verisakeet (100 / Folk Metal, Pagan Black)

7. Cabinet - Claustrophobic Dysentery (100 / Bestial Black, Black Death)

8. The Ruins of Beverast - Foulest Semen of a Darkened Shrine (Black Doom, Atmo-Black, Death Doom)

9. Sear Bliss - The Arcane Odyssey (Melo-Black)

10. Stormkeep - Galdrum (Melo-Black)

As you can see, having both Prometheus and Mardraum as their artists' top slot on my chart shows off my love of the more experimental stuff and my occasionally controversial hot takes.  Even by saying that specific live album is Emperor's best, when some would claim it's their worst, I prove that point.

OK, I've just verified that those clan challenges were successfully completed Rex. Congratulations as we all know what an enormous undertaking it is to complete four challenges. Ben will add you to The North shortly. It's not as simple as simply adding the clan to your profile as we need all of your previous The North ratings to be included in the Clan Ratings now that you'll be a part of the clan so it's a bit fiddly & requires nerd status to achieve without fucking everything up. Thankfully, I have one such nerd in the family.

No big.  I know a few little things about the bureaucracy of internal tech, albeit mostly from having started a couple of Fandoms I left to rot after a couple years.  And with it being that technical when most of the advanced stuff is handled for you, I can imagine it would be a bit more difficult here.

I'm ready for my fourth clan.  I have officially posted full-on reviews for these three list challenges:

1. Guardians: Power Metal - The Early Days

2. Infinite: Prog Metal - The Second Decade

3. Pit: Thrash Metal - The 80's

I'm ready for my fourth clan.  I've thought very long and hard about this, and came to the best decision I can.  Not only has this been a genre my core has been more and more drawn to over the last couple years, but it's also the genre I feel I can do the most good on when voting on halls.

The North.

These and this: Black Metal - The 2nd Decade

I do but I feel that comparing the opinions of yourself & our other regular contributors to those of the wider RYM community is like a winemaker arguing over the quality of fine wine with a teenage Passion Pop devotee if I'm being completely honest.

RYM has helped me a lot with my musical education and exploration.  Having said that, my core is built on "hot takes."  I typically make my ratings based on a "subjective best" criteria, meaning I stick with a technical evaluation and assign it a numerical rating, do that I can give sir ratings to genres I don't care for.  And this also explains why I typically criticize albums that are too long or samey, so this ended up being why I lowered my Burzum rating by a whole star.  Doesn't even reach my top 1000 metal albums anymore (though I still need to go over those other Burzum, Windir and Cradle of Filth albums to modernize my top 100 black metal albums).

This also explains why I had such difficulty finding a melo-black album for my top 100 after falling out of favor with Windir's Arntor.  And my number 1 doesn't even reach the RYM top 400.  But our charts are a bit difficult to gauge recommendations from because so few users are rating these albums on a consistent bases.

Well done, Rex! The gates to The North shall open for you when you earn that clan.

"When I earn it?". Was there anything else I had to, other than wait for Daniel to check it?

I did it.

https://metal.academy/lists/single/31

God, Ben is really on point.  The next Sear Bliss album I'm checking out, Heavenly Down, I've NEVER heard this kind of music.  It's... aquatic black metal, right out of Avalon and composed by the Lady of the Lake.  Enya black metal, and that is NOT an insult. Halfway through The Winding Path right now.  Perty freaking brilliant.  The blackest song so far, The Upper World, was a bit of a typical song, but the rest is quite inventive.

Yeah, they definitely have their own sound, and it's one that I return to over and over again. I'm thrilled that I've assisted another metal fan in discovering them.

And the best part about that sound is that it works so well no matter what sound they go with.  I mean, the debut is so serene and heavenly, then the next is rough and doomy, and their recent one, I reiterate, is aquatic, and they even have a sparse, groovy avant-garde one.  This is what I think a band should be.

Now all I have left are Thorns and Satyricon, but the latter will take longer since I need to listen to the previous releases.  I know absolute jack about them.  So if all goes well, I lock in my fourth clan today.  That on top of getting my two books physically published makes for an eventful weekend.

I have been crazy serious about the black metal reviews today.  I heard three Rotting Christs, Kvist and Vinterland, and the non-melodic album Below the Lights for the List Challenge today.  And now, I'm on a Taake album.

Finally got the debut novel published in a physical format yesterday, but I left out an important detail.  The Kindle page told me to adjust the file to the size I wanted, and I wrote the whole damn thing on 8.5x11 inches, apparently.  But since everyone was sending me videos, I had to do laundry, I had to get ready for a Christmas party AND I had to constantly deal with barking dogs and what not, I told myself "screw it ". So the book is the size of standard paper.

But this might actually be a good thing, because I have a lot of elderly customers at Dunkin who want to read my novel, so this checks out.  But my next book will be smaller.

Major congrats, bro, both to your wife and your 50th!

I've mentioned that I can't even get behind Filosofem the way I used to.  I might as well post that review on the Atmo Black thread if I haven't done so already.  It IS Filosofem.

"Filosofem" is my second favourite metal album of all time. Every second of it is perfect as far as I'm concerned.

Whoa.  Didn't know it was second.

God, Ben is really on point.  The next Sear Bliss album I'm checking out, Heavenly Down, I've NEVER heard this kind of music.  It's... aquatic black metal, right out of Avalon and composed by the Lady of the Lake.  Enya black metal, and that is NOT an insult. Halfway through The Winding Path right now.  Perty freaking brilliant.  The blackest song so far, The Upper World, was a bit of a typical song, but the rest is quite inventive.

Awesome!  Keep pushing, but don't push too hard.  And a major Happy Birthday to you!

I'm a big fan of "Dead as Dreams" although I do find it to be a touch overrated by the Americans as I don't think it's quite as classic as it's often made out to be. It's certainly a very solid & highly enjoyable black metal record though. I've not too sure it should qualify as ABM. It's always seemed closer to conventional black metal to my ears. 4/5

Coulda been the headphones I had.  Sounded pretty atmo with the Onn gaming set.  Not amazingly atmo, so I get you on this one.

Weakling - Dead As Dreams (200)

Genres: Atmo-Black Metal

I can only imagine what it was like for those in the know throughout the metal scene to get invested in such an awesome band only for them to break up after one album.  I can at least understand the disappointments of a good band breaking up and the disappointment of a great band only having one album.  For the most part, I've never had to deal with the gut blow of both happening in conjunction.  In fact, it's for that reason that I didn't bother with this 70-minute album for a while.  But now that I'm taking Metal Academy tests to cement myself as a true black metal fan, whether or not this album was required to pass is irrelevant to me (although it is).  I have to stop putting this off.

This album was made just as atmospheric black metal had already made its mark on the underground world.  People were already more than familiar with the likes of Blut Aus Nord and Burzum, but this was a different monster entirely.  The muddy drum sound, the despairing and disturbing guitar tones and the overall emotional core of the music is absolutely haunting.  It might've been their first album, but as Salieri said, this was no piece by a performing monkey.  With the right doses of blackened noise, doom metal and prog metal taking the stage, the album is not only a product of its time but an aural mirror into human torment.  Hell, even the lo-fi production adds an essential factor to the construction of the mirror.  I can't imagine this album sounding as good if it has polished production.

Don't expect to bang your head to this, don't expect to dance.  Find a good chair, sit back, and let the sorrow and lapse in sanity take you away.  Breathe in every second of this muddy and horrid soundscape that throws emotions at you with the speed of a whirlwind and the strength of a hydraulic press.

91

Before I post my Filosofem review, I'll post my top ten atmo-black albums.

1. Blut Aus Nord - The Work Which Transforms God (100)

2. Alcest - Souvenirs d'un autre monde (100)

3. The Ruins of Beverast - Foulest Semen of a Sheltered Shrine (100)

4. Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love (98)

5. Leviathan / Lurker of Chalice - Lurker of Chalice (98)

6. Blut Aus Nord - Disharmonium - Nahab (97)

7. Altar of Plagues - Teethed Glory and Injury (97)

8. Negura Bunget - OM (97)

9. Thurisaz - Scent of a Dream (97)

10. Ulver - Bergtatt: Et eeventyr i 5 capitler

Listening to Weakling for the first time.  Will post a review here after the current one.

Burzum - Filosofem (1996)

Genres: Atmo-Black Metal

Many have considered this album THE black metal album, due to its pioneering sound, diversity and heavy influence in various genres, including dungeon synth and ambient as well as its metal subgenres. As for myself, I always acknowledged the talent displayed here, to an extent, but never once to the extent that many have given it. Like other atmo-black albums, I considered this a great album before. But now that I am very different as a reviewer and metalhead years later, I've been looking back at the more repetitive classics as overlong or messy or lacking or whatever. I don't consider this a weakness, however, as I've been known for some wild hot takes, so I'm prepared to take on one of the most classic black metal albums in the world.

The leading issue is that certain things drag on too long. One of the lesser examples is the lead riff for Jesus ' Tod. Now the production is beautifully noisy and despondent, and the walkie-talkie quality of his blackened vocals was an excellent decision for the song, and for a leading vocal style. Production is easily the strong point, which is easily how its been able to influence so many atmosphere-based genres. Problem is, I've been falling out of favor with some atmo-black albums because so many of them drag on, and Filosofem is no exception. Having these songs last eight minutes at a time is kind of concerning. I've heard worse black metal albums that tried for more, so the production is the strongest point, second being the despairing and angry moods. But honestly, I shouldn't be asking a music album to STOP, especially when the repetition goes on for 25 full minutes on end with an ambient track which takes up 80% of side B. It should've had ten minutes taken off. I don't understand the man's line of thinking here.

I will continue to acknowledge the strengths of the album, and appreciate that there are those who love good solid atmospheres to calm them down or simply resonate with. But the way I see it, this is a music album, and that means creativity should be consistently challenged and justified, and there isn't a lot of it going on in these songs. The album is surprisingly well-produced, perfectly ambient and atmospheric, but lacking in imagination beyond that. If you're a metalhead and you just want to soak up moods then this is likely the album for you. It might be an atmosphere album, but it's also a black metal album, and plenty of black metal albums have done more with less time.

73

I really struggle with "Arntor", as well as Windir's next couple of albums to be honest. I guess I'm simply not the intended audience for these guys.

I noticed a surprising number of negative comments throughout the reviews on the RYM page.  I suppose its status could mostly be attributed to influence, like a number of early black metal releases.  I've mentioned that I can't even get behind Filosofem the way I used to.  I might as well post that review on the Atmo Black thread if I haven't done so already.  It IS Filosofem.

Windir - Arntor (1999)

Genres: Melo-Black Metal

As opposed to the outright evil displayed in many different kinds of black metal bands, Windir took a very different approach.  This album shows how far they can go into the triumphant, positive and epic vibes that come with the pride of being a viking.  This is music right of the the ancient North.  And it rarely even takes this direction to weird, seemingly inappropriate directions, like playing up the vibes to an obnoxious extent.  The most obnoxious and not-so-serious thing about this album is the dated intro.  In fact, the album is even so much fun that when I checked the name of the track I was on, The Blacksmith and the Troll of Lundamyri, I didn't realize I had heard four-and-a-half minutes of it, and that I was halfway through.  I honestly thought I was three minutes in at most.  But because the band was focused on developing a sound, there's not a lot of room for branching out beyond that.  In other words, the album is mostly about the identity of the band, and justify it with the skills they have.

This is one of those albums I gave a 100 to when I was first exploring black metal, which was a whole new world for me on a multitude of levels.  But now that I'm much more familiar with it years later, I've been lowering the ratings of many black metal albums.  So I would even go as far as to say that this album is more on the level of Cruelty and the Beast, being a 9/10.  I'm pretty happy about this though, as this common element of my recent reviews showcases how much I've grown and become aware of standards to develop.  This is a fun and influential album, but having started this earlier a few days ago and having fallen out of favor is what lead me to start a plethora of melo-black albums in an effort to find that PERFECT one.  So, Windir's re-evaluation helped me grow and discover something new.

89

This one might fit the criteria Rex:

Dornenreich - “Her von welken Nächten” (2001)

It's pretty cool that you mention that one, because I actually gave that one a shot yesterday.  Someone else recommended that to me on Reddit for the same purpose.  I was about to fall in love with it, but when I realized the first three tracks were following the same format with how it handled the genres, I was pretty disappointed.  Basically, it wasn't surprising anymore, and the fourth didn't really help fix that problem.  Really close.  I'll finish it one of these days, once I can get past that voice.  I mean, it was charmingly cheesy at first, like a gangling goblin sidekick from a good cheesy 80's fantasy movie, but then it just got overdone.

As for Ben's suggestion, I just checked out that Arcane Odyssey album, and I have one thing to say:

It had some doom metal, some folk metal at the end, good surprises among the length, mix between brutality and careful atmosphere, choice production.  This is going on my list of perfect albums, at 461, right between the Silent Hill II soundtrack and the Alien soundtrack.

I started my first ever audiobook this week  Clive Barker's The Scarlet Gospels narrated by John Lee.  I have Barker's Books of Blood on my shelves but never really bothered with anything Hellraiser related until starting listening this week.  Barker's got one fucked up imagination but it works wonders for horror fiction.

I both love and hate the way his mind works.  I've read The Hellbound Heart and seen all three of his directorial efforts.

I've found that black metal in general is really helping me with my passion project which will remain anonymous at the time.  All I will say is that it will be deeply philosophical, psychological and quite chilling.  One of the self help videos my mother watched and sent to me is helping with determining character flaws and reactions.  And this one's going to be an epic.  If I'm not careful, it'll be as long as The Stand.  I at least want to go for 600 and not turn myself into the next Diane Chambers.

Anybody know some real genre-benders in melo-black? 

I have a few I would recommend to you, Rex, though a couple of them are mixed with other genres:

Underoath - Cries of the Past (2000)

Stormlord - At the Gates of Utopia (2001)

Shade Empire - Omega Arcane (2013)

Shylmagoghnar - Emergence (2014)

Waidelotte - Celestial Shrine (2024)

I'll be checking out all of these.  I can't promise I'll finish them all at this moment as I'm looking for something I'll consider absolutely peak, but I will definitely check out all of these bands when I form a top 50 or so melo-black chart.  If any of these albums sound a little different with each track, I'll check out that one first.  I typically steer towards mixing genres on a track-by-track basis.

Actually, Storm of the LIght's Bane is currently the number 1 black metal album on RYM. It seems that Filosofem has been massively down voted recently due to Varg's beliefs, despite the fact that everyone knew about them prior to the internet ever reaching the masses. Apparently there is less tolerance for judging art on it's quality rather than it's creator these days.

Yes, I was quite happy when I was it to Filosofem.  My recent reevaluation dropped it a whole star.  However, I don't have any right to combine the art with the artist; my favorite black metal band is Emperor, and Im away that they have reclaimed Faust for their reunions.  I believe they said they have different viewpoints on forgiveness in Norway than they do in America.  And I can get behind that as a person CAN change in over 20 years.  Of course, Burzum hasn't done much of that, but either way, my newfound disappointment with the album is purely artistic, and with no offense meant to anyone, I personally don't think it's honest for people to say the musical quality matches the moral quality.

My major problem with the album is that, while it sounds great, it lacks composition in place of atmosphere and drags.

Anybody know some real genre-benders in melo-black?  In the meantime, I'll be re-evaluating a couple albums...

Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane

Genres: Melo-Black Metal

I'm a bit surprised I'm the first one to post a review of this album on this thread.  It's basically THE melo-black album, and a contender for THE black metal album in general.

If you're first getting into black metal, then one of the first names you're going to hear is Dissection, specifically in regards to the album Storm of the Light's Bane.  This album was once the number 1 black album on RYM many years ago, and had been dethrones by the overrated Filosofem by Burzum for many years.  In recent times, it's reclaimed that position, and stands as a major player in black metal even now.

Now I'm a guy who very, very rarely gives single-genre albums a perfect rating.  There are only three instances I can think of in which I've done that: Songs of Leonard Cohen, South of Heaven by Slayer and Almoraima by Paco de Lucia (that's flamenco, btw).  And I'm not quite sure I'd give SotLB that just yet, but I completely understand if a lot of other people in the world would.  For a single-genre album, this remains pretty original throughout and never once gets tiring.  This sophomore effort is certainly not just an exercise in skillful riffage and drumming: it's a poetic testament to the power of black metal, downplaying some of the death metal that was carefully combined with black metal in their first album, allowing for some of the most excellent melodies black metal has ever featured.  It's very difficult to pick favorites out of the group, because the consistency in songwriting and performances makes it that difficult.  Even when you've heard the genre and basic sound before on previous tracks, they keep finding ways to impress you.  Even when they're recalling old tricks, it's the way they're organized that impresses.

It's certainly a much catchier album than before, and gets the winter vibe across perfectly without relying on winter production.  This is an essential for a reason: it's mostly so well done that it's a threat to beat.  I'm not even sure this sound has been properly emulated yet.

98

I'm pretty happy Filosofem is no longer the top black metal album on RYM.  Dissection, while not my number 1 choice personally, has a better overall sound and isn't tainted by an overlong ambient track that has very little imagination.  Burzum's quite good as a metal artist, but his dungeon synth needs work.

Excellent decision, Rex! Now which North clan challenge would you like to do to earn that clan?

I'll go over many of the albums I've already heard but did not review yet in the 2nd Decade challenge.  It makes sense, because I still need to focus on genres outside metal for my lists, but I can always go back on something I've already heard before if I really need a metal kick, and metal does help with writing anything related to Wings of Nialoca.

Having said that, I decided to celebrate by ending this long streak of putting off Nachthymnen by Abigor.  Wonderfully black album, but needing more variety (again).  Perfect production and wonderful playing, though.  Easy 9/10.

I'm ready for my fourth clan.  I have officially posted full-on reviews for these three list challenges:

1. Guardians: Power Metal - The Early Days

2. Infinite: Prog Metal - The Second Decade

3. Pit: Thrash Metal - The 80's

I'm ready for my fourth clan.  I've thought very long and hard about this, and came to the best decision I can.  Not only has this been a genre my core has been more and more drawn to over the last couple years, but it's also the genre I feel I can do the most good on when voting on halls.

The North.

I'm two books away from completing my 75 book reading challenge on Goodreads.  Right now, I'm blowing through a preteen spy book a regular at Dunkin gave me to read and donate.  Recruited by the FBI by Rob Baddorf.  It advertises Christianity on the front, but I'm halfway through with the book and there's BARELY any mention of God, Christianity, etc. at all.  As well, it plays out like a PG spy film that tried to capitalize on the success of Spy Kids, like Agent Cody Banks or Catch That Kid, except with only a little more brainpower behind it.  As well, I'm already halfway through this 250 page book in one day for a reason: the font is large and the chapters can easily be 2 pages long.  And many times, the second page will be 1-3 lines.  I think the author was intentionally writing short chapters with those short second pages to make chapter books feel easy for kids.  Many of these chapters could've been combined into longer ones, and kids could still read 5-10 page chapters, as they do with Jerry Spinelli.

Not that great of a book, really.  But once I'm done with this, I'll be getting through Abominable by Dan Simmons for the final book.

So on my Canterbury ventures I'm currently exploring Picchio dal Pozzo.  The debut was a massive creative splurge with some impressive harmony, instrumentation and personality.  It was a little unhinged, though, not on the hyperactive side, but based on hoe often the band showed off the many sounds they can make as opposed to fleshing out songs.  So this one gets around an 89.

This econd one, Abbiamo tutti i suoi problemi... God, what happened?  Simple, repeated sax notes, going on end for minutes, like the early stages of demo tapes being rerecorded for an album.  What happened to the excessive spark that took us from the forests of fairies all the way to alien planets with robot citizens?  What happened to all the personality?  This is so boring in comparison.  No sense of melody, no depth, no variety.  Almost halfway through and strongly considering a 4/10 for it.

I like the logic here around the “articulator” billing and also your rationale for your liking of that album cover.

Thanks.

I guess I thought of it since I myself am a writer, which means I have no right not to recognize articulation as a skill.  And since I try to design my own novel covers and avatars, I can't help but understand why the non-AI artists are a bit peeved at these other people being called artists.  I mean, I admit that it's totally possible to make amazing art from it (I made one good picture and it was still unfinished), but I'd rather not deal with the legal stuff attached to it.

I'm the opposite.  Most AI album covers, even the good ones, look pretty obvious.  So if it's extremely good, then I assume someone painted it either traditionally or digitally.  The way I see it, calling something AI without proof is a false accusation, and I'm quite against those, even the small ones.  The one thing about AI I'm against is calling yourself and "artist" when the computer's doing to work for you.  Since the skill comes through articulation, I'd say that it's better to call these AI artists "articulators."

Hey, if "cray cray" is acceptable...

By this standard, I will rate a cover, even if I think it's AI, and I'll do it fairly.  For example, take this cover.

Now since my mom pushed me to try it, I did try out AI fore a while but was largely unsatisfied with the results.  Now since the center tentacles look a bit like tentacles I tried to create when experimenting with AI during that phase, I could assume that it's AI.  But whether it is or not, I can honestly say that I find this cover thematically assaulting, properly colorized, beautifully detailed and completely eye-grabbing.  So I'll be rating this five-stars, but I acknowledge the computer as the artist in the event that this is AI.  However, looking it up, I found that this is simply digital art by Giannis Nakos, so in this case, this is an artist and not an articulator.

Stephen King's The Long Walk. Figured I'd finally read it before watching the recently released movie.

I plan on reading that before seeing the movie as well.

Just finished Mort.  While its humor is still only chuckles, its world building and reliance on alternate realities is very cool.  Death's a surprisingly believable character due to the satire of getting tired with your work, and it was cool to see the Rincewind cameo lived up to.  Just as awkward as ever.

80/100, best of the four books so far IMO.

Wait, it's not under power metal???

Nerd Alert: 

Currently reading Tolkien's The Silmarillion as I haven't done so since the 1980's. It isn't anything like as difficult a read as I remember it being and I am really enjoying it.

I still need to read that for this years book challenge.

As for myself, I'm on the fourth Discworld, Mort.  Decent series so far, but apparently I haven't even gotten to the good stuff yet.

I love Discworld. True, the very best ones are still to come. I would be very interested to know how Pratchett's humour lands with readers from outside Britain.

The wit is easily recognizable.  I'd say the strongest balance between wit and storytelling so far has in fact been Mort.  Of course, having just got off the back of the Hitchhiker's series, these jokes are more "decent" than anything.  I chuckle occasionally, but I'm expecting better things later on, so I might as well start from No. 1.

Nerd Alert: 

Currently reading Tolkien's The Silmarillion as I haven't done so since the 1980's. It isn't anything like as difficult a read as I remember it being and I am really enjoying it.

I still need to read that for this years book challenge.

As for myself, I'm on the fourth Discworld, Mort.  Decent series so far, but apparently I haven't even gotten to the good stuff yet.

Robert Wyatt - Old Rottenhat (1985)

Genres: Canterbury Prog Rock, Art Pop, Singer/Songwriter

Although Soft Machine is my favorite band in the Canterbury scene, I have struggled to get into Robert Wyatt's works.  He's too subtle and sometimes confuses emotionless vibes with a deep-rooted series of repeating complex beats, which can still boast some impressive composition but also feel incomplete.  In comparison to Soft Machine, this is a completely different world, one that is intentionally built to be introspective and beat-driven.  It shows mostly on this album, Old Rottenhat.

Lyrics, there's some pretty good poetry here, especially on The Ahe of Self.  This album's also notable among prog fans for being Wyatt's most blatantly political album.  There are some things I agree with here, but Wyatt had a communist period at one point, so depending on your political beliefs, you may want to check the lyrics carefully.  The album's even dedicated to an MI5 agent who was convicted for being a Russian double agent.  For the most part, lyrics are doing the majority of the work, but sometimes, the poetry just isn't as strong as it is on other tracks, leading the repeating complexities to keep a mellow mood with a couple cool twists here and there that still go on forever, sounding fairly pretty due to skillful production but never reaching creative heights.  Honestly, the album behaves a lot like a techno album, being lowbrow and built in repetition, but this is a ROCK album, and it doesn't manage to reach any serious emotional heights, so any of the six-to-eight-minute songs will only manage to be cute and enjoyable but underwhelming as well.

One can say that the unique reliance on complex repetition and mellow moods are bold and unique, and boldness helps, but the overall effect sounds like Robert Wyatt's, as the last track P.L.A. puts it many times, "trying to sleep."  This is strictly for Wyatt fans and boasts some strengths that are heavily noticeable if you're looking, but don't make up for the lacking melodies and lacking progressive unpredictability that build the genre, especially for bands like Wyatt's band.

67

Blowing through my favorite show while working on another novel.  It's been a major influence on my writing style, no military pun intended.

Shit, those kids can't lose their mom so early.

OKAAAY, so here are mt current Caravan rankings.

1. If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You: 92

2. In the Land of Grey and Pink: 91

3. For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night: 90

4. Caravan: 90

I don't think I've ever heard a more 9/10 band.