Post-Metal

This week I'm going to talk about the wonderful genre that is Post Metal, but first, I would like to apologize for the ugly default layout of my page, I'm going to work on it soon (I probably won't go to in depth with editing the page, but if I do, I will most likely try my luck with completely rearranging the page, possibly even tweaking it a bit by changing the HTML). Post-Metal is basically metal (usually, but not limited to, sludge or stoner metal) mixed with influences of post-rock and ambient. Some great examples of this would be the bands Rosetta:

Irreversible:

Callisto:

and Isis:

Well, that should be good for the day. I would explain the genre more, but I feel that understanding is best found through listening. Happy listening everyone!

and so we continue...

Hey people, sorry that it's been a while since my last post. I believe that last time, I left you off with Folk Metal and Shoegaze. Now, to start with folk metal. First, let me clarify that folk metal as a whole can only barely be considered a genre, as folk metal is just a metal genre with the presence of folk influences, which leaves room for thousands of different variations. Usually folk metal is influenced by European folk, but I have seen instances of middle eastern folk as well (see Orphaned Land). Some great examples of European folk metal would be Ensiferum (from Finland, lyrics in English), Moonsorrow (from Finland, lyrics in Finnish), Korpiklaani (from Finland, lyrics in Finnish), Finntroll (from Finland, lyrics in Swedish), and many others which I don't feel like listing at the moment. As you can see, these bands have varied styles, yet they are considered to be under the folk metal genre (though it is more than possible to be more specific when it comes to their genres). Next, for shoegaze. Odd name right? The genre picked up the name in the UK in the late 80's when a critic noted that the musicians stood very still when they were playing, as if they were gazing at their shoes. A good example of a shoegaze song would be Ecailles De Lune (part 1) by Alcest. I would list more examples, but they would be from the same band. I honestly have only just started to listen to shoegaze, and do not really have any favorite bands besides Alcest (and even then, I discovered them because of their black metal side, not shoegaze). Well, I think I'll wrap it up for now. Happy listening!
EDIT: I forgot to mention the now defunct band Amesouers. I wish they hadn't broke up. They only had one full length album, but it was a great album.

Let's just start simple...

For my first post, I'm just going to talk about my various tastes in music, and what I look for in certain songs. To start short, my tastes are Post Rock, Black Metal (note: if you're not very metal-genre savvy, this is NOT to be confused with general mainstream death metal, metalcore (or any "core" for that matter), screamo *pukes*, etc.), Folk, Folk Ambient, Folk Metal, Shoegaze, and others. I'm not going to get too in depth with each genre today, but I will say some of the most basic characteristics, and maybe even give an example. So, I'll start with Post Rock. Now, this genre is a bit hard to explain, though if you know it, and listen to it, even just from time to time, you'll know it. It can have a calming ambient-type feel to it at times, weird guitar sounds (such as using a cello bow on a guitar with a reverb pedal and a few others). I would say more, but I'll just give you an example (collapse under the empire). As you can see, it can get a powerful message through without any lyrics at all. Even without a video, you can interpret the message any way you want. Moving on to Black Metal. Black metal developed in the late eighties, with high influences of thrash. It is commonly misunderstood, because many people see the genre as pure evil, though quite the opposite is true. Sure, there have been many bands with occult inspired lyrics, but that is not true for most. As for the music, it is commonly semi-simplistic (though not all the time), with rough sounding chords and little solos (again, not all the time). An example would be the Finnish Folk-Black band, October Falls. (for lyrics, go here and click "view lyrics" on the song I). Moving on to folk. Now, most people can have a somewhat good idea of what folk is, as it is the most cultural music of many nations. I personally like European folk, such as Neun Welten. As for folk ambient, it is basically traditional folk music mixed with a somewhat spacier and more relaxing atmosphere. A great example would be Nest.  Well, that should be good for now, I'll save Folk Metal (which is very, very broad), and Shoegaze for my next post.
Ciao!
-Isaac-