1. Cranberries
2. Britney Spears
3. Men Without Hats
4. Rhianna
5. Ratt
Thursday, February 14, 2008
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1st Round: 1st Matchup
The FARCHINGS ACCOUNT
Opeth 101 by Mook Farchings:There are two ways to approach Opeth. I did it the hard way, which is to go in as a hater of death metal vocals and listen to UNDER THE WEEPING MOON, the 19 minute long epic from Orchid. Not a friendly song. I haven't had that difficult a time cracking a nut since listening to CLOSE TO THE EDGE by Yes when I was 21. But like Yes, Opeth has paid huge dividends and when Ghost Reveries came out in 2005, it is hard to imagine enjoying an album more. Opeth uses both clean and distorted vocals on a progressive-rock landscape orchestrated from a palette of various inspirations. Unlike the cliche' death metal band, there is not much in the way of brainless riffing. Instead, you will find soul-crunching progressions, high-speed descents into soulful and introspective jams that are in no hurry to go anywhere. I've always gaged a song-writer's ability and confidence by how long they are able to stay in one place and not bore the listener after 100 times through an album. Akerfeldt is no hurry and expertly weaves a textured cloth of music punctuated with growls and made more beautiful by his contrasting clean vocals. His almost impressionistic lyrics are also worth noting, in that they are almost dream-like in that they capture brief moments of emotion and thought without forcing any message. Many people try, but Mikael pulls it off. The listener determines what the song is about and takes from it what she will. The latest album GHOST REVERIES is a very approachable album with half the songs using death vocals and half not, which is pretty much the ratio throughout the discography except for the first two albums. If you are a fan of metal, start here. But be sure to go back and discover the classics for yourself: DELIVERANCE, DEMON OF THE FALL, BLACKWATER PARK. The other approach is to listen to DAMNATION, the all-clean vocal album put out at the same time as DELIVERANCE. You could listen to this album with your mom in the room. My final tip for learning a love for Mikael Akerfeldt's voice is to listen to the masterpiece HUMAN EQUATION by AYREON. Mike plays the part of FEAR and uses both vocal styles to amazing results.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G2jlXUkJ84
August 2007--Anchor Publications, LTD>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G2jlXUkJ84
August 2007--Anchor Publications, LTD>
NEWS--------->
2007-08-04
The much anticipated live album "The Roundhouse Tapes" (Live at the Camden Roundhouse 2006) will be released through Peaceville records on October 22. The double disc venture will feature the following songs:
CD1: "When", "Ghost Of Perdition", "Under The Weeping Moon", "Bleak", "Face Of Melinda", "The Night And The silent waters"
CD2: "Windowpane", "Blackwater Park", "Demon of the Fall"
The (even more anticipated) HD filmed DVD will be released in early 2008. This will also feature (lots of) fan interviews, band interviews, soundcheck footage and live photos + exclusive menu music written by Åkerfeldt and Wiberg.
The much anticipated live album "The Roundhouse Tapes" (Live at the Camden Roundhouse 2006) will be released through Peaceville records on October 22. The double disc venture will feature the following songs:
CD1: "When", "Ghost Of Perdition", "Under The Weeping Moon", "Bleak", "Face Of Melinda", "The Night And The silent waters"
CD2: "Windowpane", "Blackwater Park", "Demon of the Fall"
The (even more anticipated) HD filmed DVD will be released in early 2008. This will also feature (lots of) fan interviews, band interviews, soundcheck footage and live photos + exclusive menu music written by Åkerfeldt and Wiberg.
P-Dismal Art
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