I thought I'd start a new franchise here on the site. You know, cuz Syrana has stolen all of the good weekly memes. I enjoy music, as most of you know, so I thought I'd post a song everyday during the week using my Blip.fm station and tweet it at the same time (if you wanted to follow at home.) Every week, I'd recap my choices and write a little blurb about them.
Hopefully, it's a good chance to hear some new music (or old music) and get my take on it. I do tend to lean towards Heavy Metal and Hard Rock, so most songs will probably be in that general area, but I will veer from time to time. I know music is very much like religion and politics, so I'm not pushing anything onto you. If you don't like something, I respect that. But, if you do, I'm more than happy to get you more info on it, just let me know.
Most entries will have a Wikipedia and Last.FM link at the end for you to get more information and listen to other songs at your leisure.
Without further ado..
Monday
Opeth – The Baying of the Hounds – Opeth is a band that I recently ran across within the last year, though I have heard of them earlier. I would describe their music as an acquired taste. This is one of their heavier songs. While firmly rooted in heavier metal, their music rides the proverbial roller coaster of styles including progressive, blues rock, and jazz. Funny story on how I started listening to them. One of their heavier songs was included on the in-game soundtrack of Saints Row 2 and I was hearing it a lot and fell in love with it. While a lot of their songs use normal, clean vocals, they do use a lot of “cookie monster” vocals in songs. I have to say that singer Mikael Ã…kerfeldt's growling vocals are some of my favorite. Deep and dark, while still understandable and without the need for him to yell or scream. But, there it is. [ Wikipedia | Last.FM ]
Tuesday
Metallica – Nothing Else Matters – Metallica. I don't really need to describe them. If you don't know about Metallica, you've missed way too much. As noted in a previous post, this is probably my favorite song of all time for a number of reasons. While not the quintessential Metallica song, it's very powerful. Even if you don't enjoy standard Metallica music, this one can be enjoyed by a lot of people.
Wednesday
Mastodon – Hunters of the Sky – I didn't really pick this specific song for any reason except that I recently heard it. I've been listening to Mastodon within the last year when I picked up their latest album. They sorta fall into the progressive/technical metal genre that I seem to enjoy most. They're another somewhat acquired taste, but are pretty well known due to songs like “Blood & Thunder” and “The Colony of Birchmen” which are both available in Guitar Hero: Metallica and Rock Band, respectively. [Â Wikipedia | Last.FM ]
Thursday
Trivium – Throes of Perdition – One of my favorites off of Trivium's last album, “Shogun.” Trivium, while somewhat well known in the metal circles, aren't a huge band. Their sound is very reminiscent of 80s thrash metal like Metallica and Megadeth. So, if you grew up enjoying that music, you'll probably enjoy Trivium. [Â Wikipedia | Last.FM ]
Friday
Dream Theater – Pull Me Under – While not my favorite Dream Theater song, it's considered their “hit” song (according to popular music standards.) I always describe Dream Theater as the biggest metal band that you've never heard of. Easily cemented as my 2nd favorite band of all-time, they've been around for over 25 years. Usually considered either progressive metal or technical metal, they're very well known for their technical proficiency, having won many awards. Their also known for their long, epic songs (which is why they're not too mainstream) sometimes hitting the 20-minute mark. This one, by their standards, is pretty short. [ Wikipedia | Last.FM ]
Appreciate the descriptions, very informative.
\m/
Oh man, a metal head. I approve.
I’m more a fan of Trivium’s “Ascendancy” album, which is much less reminiscent of Thrash metal, leaning more toward a combination of Death and Melodic metal (metalcore?).
But yes. I am a fan of this. Please keep it up. I believe Samodean said it best: \m/
Yay! Another Trivium fan 😀