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Wassup, guys! You are now in the space for my music obsessions. This is the spot where I will post my thoughts on albums that deeply amazed me. Obviously this blog is subjective. I'm not some kind of professional sound engineer or "true metalhead". In this blog, I would rather tell you funny stories about my acquaintance with these albums and my aesthetic experiences associated with them than really make a critical review. All this stuff will be here
Also, you can recommend me to listen any album in the comments... Who knows, maybe it will be the next album for my review. :)
And of course, the blog will include such information about albums as: cover, genre and list of songs with links to music videos for user-friendly album introduction, maybe someone will want to listen it lol
Okay, I think you already understand that I'm nerd. You got me! So let's get closer to the topic.
Alice In Chains - Dirt
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Genre: grunge |
Rough start isn't it?
Indeed, if it were up to me, I would put something less depressing at the beginning of the blog. However, I couldn’t help but write about this album first, because it’s still my current music obsession... So, I'll start my first review with a little story:
I first heard about Alice in Chains from my dad. He's a huge Nirvana fan, and one summer day we were listening to album Bleach in his car. I said I like “heavy sound” in this album, which was not similar to other Nirvana music. Word by word, we began to discuss grunge in general. Where is the line between grunge and other genres? What make it special? And all of a sudden, my father takes me by surprise with a statement I didn’t expect to hear from a Nirvana fan: "Nirvana isn’t even a grunge. Do you know what a real grunge is? Alice in chains.". Then it seemed absurd to me as if it were some kind of joke. like... it's kinda weird to say that the most popular grunge band isn't even a grunge. But now, a couple of years later, I finally understand what he meant. He meant that Nirvana and AIC are not the same grunge. As they say, it's almost a joke.
I didn’t immediately have a desire to listen to “that real grunge” that my dad talked about. But... When I accidentally heard the song “Check My Brain”, I was hooked by Jerry Cantrell's talented riffs and this unique vocals. In combination it was PERFECt... IT was a point that was hard to catch forming your own sound as a band... And this was crystal clear; I was captivated by the AIC sound, it seemed to me that everything was in harmony with everything. After hearing a couple more tracks by chance, I realized that I wanted to learn more about them.
And so, my choice fell on the album Dirt, it was strongly recommended on the Internet, calling it the best of AIC. Oddly enough, they were all right; Layne Staley really knew this shit he's singing about. You know, after the first listen, I felt mixed feelings... On the one hand, it was the most depressing stuff I've ever heard, and on the other, it was a bliss in its purest form. This can be compared to an injection of painkiller. When you are both hot and cold at the same time, when energy flows in waves through your veins, but you are paralyzed. The question remains, why is music not a drug?
Regarding the lyrics... Let’s just say English isn’t my first language, so it’s easy to bribe me with sound. Well, I usually learn the meaning a little later when I purposely go to read the lyrics of my favorite song. And when I first read the lyrics it was tough.
"...
One who doesn't care is one who shouldn't be
I've tried to hide myself from what is wrong for me
For me
I want to taste dirty, a stinging pistol
In my mouth, on my tongue
I want you to scrape me from the walls
And go crazy like you've made me..."
-- Dirt
At first glance they may seem like: "Aww... I'm a heroin freak and I want to kill myself. Come on, hang me by that noose on the chandelier". You can also learn many different names for heroin while watching the lyrics.
a real, objective, incorruptible review
(haha stole this picture)
Alright, joking aside. After a careful listening of the lyrics, you may see that Lane is singing not so much about heroin addiction as about complete apathy in the face of death. When a person brings himself to such a state where he no longer cares whether he is alive or not. It's scary when you feel like dirt, losing complete respect for yourself, bury yourself deeper into your addictions, but in fact you don’t care about your life anymore.
What I like most in listening to the album Dirt from AIC, you feel like dirt, merging with it, overgrown with moss. And, you know, I wouldn't resist it. In theory, this is what this record is supposed to do - show you the hidden corners of your consciousness. And this album does that perfectly. But hey, it’s not enough to just read about it somewhere, you really have to experience it for yourself and listen to some "real grunge". Tough, suicidal, depressive, but so damn pleasant. This thing really gave me a special experience. If you feel like you might also like something like this, you can check out this album using the links above. I think it’s a special kind of pleasure.
Upd: 12/06/2024!
Heya! Long time no see, huh? I was thinking about album I would talk about next, and I finally decided...
Pentagram - Last Daze Here
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Genre: doom-metal |
My loved one. An amazing album from a criminally underrated band. It seems to me that Pentagram could have become giants, but for some reason no one noticed them. Seriously, when I tried to talk to my metalhead friends about this, none of them knew about this band!
I PERSISTENTLY advertise this album to everyone I meet. I also heard them by chance, I fell in love with it from the first listen, as soon as I heard their incredible "Forever My Queen". It's rare that I like some music the first time, but this album exceeded all my expectations. Catchy riffs, solos, ballads, philosophical lyrics... All of this resonated with me immediately, and it's amazing.
This album combines heaviness and gracefulness in an incredible way. And, curiously, I recommended this band to people with different listening backgrounds and everyone liked it. That is, you will like it, even if you are a metalhead, even if you are a lover of classical music, blues, jazz, whatever the hell you want. I like Pentagram because this sound is my comfort zone. And when I say I love doom, I mean this album, even if it may sound a little old or similar to heavy. I can call this album, dare I say it, one of my favorite albums overall. Seriously, the "First Daze Here" has no weak points asfm. That's why I write about it in my blog ::D
The album itself is a collection of remasters of old compositions, many of these songs were re-recorded and made slower and doomier. So... Don't expect the same sound from the early Pentagram records as on this album. The lyrics are devoted to the themes of love, existential questions, religion... In fact, there are many moments where you can speculate.
" Time that you take to find out life is not usually worth itself
Developin' a real "know how to get by"
And polishing all it's wealths
Have you ever felt pain?
When the screams come you know that you're dyin' in vain..."
- When The Screams Come
One of my favourite songs on this record - "Be Forewarned". Every time I hear this ominous sound, I seem to fall into a hole of my own feelings, I can’t help but get goosebumps while I listen to it. No matter where I am, no matter what I do while listening, the music makes its impact, the melody is incredibly strong and the vocals are catchy.(I wANT TO HEAR THIS SOUND ON VINYL SO BADd!!! >.<)
I advise you to see this for yourself.
In conclusion, if you are a fan of doom, stoner, or even just a music fan, you should check this out, you won't be disappointed. Despite Pentagram's relative obscurity, Bobby Liebling will forever be a doom legend.
Thanx for reading this nonsense! ::)
The list will be updated as I experience new music I can say something about =D
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