Live - Stage

What am I thankful for this weekend (Canadian Thanksgiving, for the foreigners)?  To name a few: a great family, good friends, and generally being surrounded by some pretty amazing people.  And to name one more, music.  Where would I be without it?  Well, I'd for sure be leading quite the dull life, and would probably be one of those ignorant college students who religiously downloads the complete MuchMusic countdown.  Something about being the go-to music hipster just works for me.  Hell, no matter how low things seem to get, it's the music (with the help of some ridiculously awesome people) that brings me back up again.

Today I'll be brief, seeing as how it'll only be the tenth of October for another ten minutes.  "Stage" is a song by Live...you know, that band you think you've heard of before.  "I Alone," "Lightning Crashes," or "The Dolphin's Cry"?  No?  I tried.  But then again, two out of three of those songs aren't worth listening to.  It's the gutsy change of pace in "Stage" that brings them from the generic-alt-rock circuit to the band-you-want-to-see-live territory.  Listen and find out.

Most of all, I am thankful for you.  You know who you are.

Acid Bath - Venus Blue

NOLA metal Saturdays?  I can dig it.  Let's look at some underground stoner sludge from the Big Easy then, in the form of the long-defunct Acid Bath.  I'm a fan of the name, for starters, if you've ever come across the sci-fi short of the same title yourself.  But to the music now, because that's what we're all here for.  Acid Bath has a distinct sound...I'm thinking Live meets Tool infused with a hefty dose of doom.  I only throw Live into the mix because I intend to blog about them tomorrow and have been listening to them quite a bit, but enough of getting sidetracked.  Last year I got my hands on "Venus Blue" via Freegal, and it's been simmering on the backburner since, ready to make its triumphant debut.  Blame the stoner metal kick I started.

"Venus Blue" blends the beautiful and the gritty into something wondrous.  Melody duels with growls, and sludge competes against doom.  It's a battle of epic proportions, leaving "Venus Blue" surprisingly accessible.  I admit to not being a big grindcore or sludge fan, and don't get me started on doom, but I enjoy "Venus Blue."  You might too, but we won't know until we try.

Deluka - Stranger Than Fiction

The best music in the United States may come out of New York City, but now and again NYC has to borrow a collective or two from somewhere else...perhaps the UK?  That's the case with Brooklyn-via-Birmingham quartet Deluka, who describe their genre as future rock and roll.  Yeah, that seems accurate.  You listen to "Stranger Than Fiction" and try to come up with a better name for it.

I like a lot about "Stranger Than Fiction."  Lead Ellie Innocenti sounds like a pysch-laden Emily Haines; hell yes.  I also understand everything she sings, which doesn't hurt (especially after I gave up trying to type out the lyrics of "Grapevine Valentine" two nights ago).  The guitar work is majestic, the lyrics drip with brilliance, and perhaps, this is proof that perfect music is not fiction after all.  So why not give your afternoon the sixties-throwback-meets-NYC-underground injection it needs?

Underoath - You're Ever So Inviting + LYRICS

I may have prematurely posted about Nightwish without knowing about Anette's departure, but I'm on top of things now!  A few days ago, the world of metal got another heavy hit when Christain core mongers Underoath announced their split.  First, before we get to far in, I feel the same way about them as I do about Flyleaf.  Forget about the idealogies of the band, no matter when you believe in, and enjoy the music.  It was in the throes of my early high school career that I got my hands on Divide The Great Line, a disc that contains my favourite Underoath tunes.  Among them is the lyrically powerful "You're Ever So Inviting."

I'm always one for references to writing, and "You're Ever So Inviting" is full of them.  I'm including the lyrics below because there's so much good stuff to choose from, but it's not just the lyrics that propel this song forward.  You've also got intertwined growls and clean vocals, guitar artistry, and a certain something special that sets this apart from the ten thousand other metalcore songs floating around out there.  Rest in peace, Underoath.  You will be missed.

Also, "You're Ever So Inviting" contains one of my favourite lyrics of all time.  I know why you never take your eyes off of me, I use my lungs for everything but breathing.  Enjoy.

The time has come for you
to sit this out
To fit inside your mold
would be to sell myself short

This ground we tread upon
is now filling up to our necks
We turn the pages left to right
We see everything

Oh, my story's growing, it is
on my last request
Don't make me feel so contradicting
There's no room for cheating and being yourself
Failure leaves such a bitter taste in their mouth

And on the last hour
we write so many new chapters again
And on the outside
where there are no surprises

Oh, it's getting longer
to see it through their eyes
would bring me so much closer
You can do this night after night
Failure leaves such a bitter taste in my mouth

Taste and see, I swear I know what's good
Be still and know that they won't lie to you every single time you're facing lies
I know why you never take your eyes off me
I've used my lungs for everything but breathing

I find myself dried up in this conversation
So pull me out, pull me aside

Katy Perry vs. Within Temptation - Our Wide Awake Solemn Hour

Symphonic metal meets pop?  I can dig it.

A certain someone recently got me back into mashups.  If you're a dedicated follower of my blog, you remember The Gaga Mixes and the all things Adele.  So we're all on the same page now?  Good.  Though Mother Monster and Judas Priest will forever be hard to beat, a new challenger appears in the form of Katy Perry dueling with symphonic outfit Within Temptation.  You'd be surprised how well "Wide Awake" works with "Our Solemn Hour."  Sharon den Adel just might be overshadowing Miss Perry...sorry Katy!  And get this: one of my roommates overheard me listening to it a few days ago and called it epic.  There we go.  What does this prove?  We may not be able to expect the unexpected, but if Katy Perry can go symphonic, then what's stopping the rest of us from being awesomely spontaneous?

Diamond Rings - Runaway Love (Stars Remix)

After yesterday's unpleasantness, why don't we try something new?  Very new.  Toronto electro monger Diamond Rings (a.k.a John O.) has an album coming out later this month known as Free Dimensional, and I'll be damned if I don't get my hands on it.  I have a few of his tracks already, but none stood out to me as much as one.  "Runaway Love" is something special.  Don't get me wrong, I like the David Bowie stylings of the original, but when rcrdlbl gives me a remix, nine times out of ten it's golden.  This time it comes courtesy of one of the best Canadian musical groups to ever appear on the scene, the always-lovely Stars.

Stars takes "Runaway Love" and does a 180, a 60, and then a 30 until you don't know which way is right any longer.  The 80s-tinged original is slowed down here, and John O.'s vocals are intermingled with Stars vocalist Amy Millan.  The remix is an electro ballad taken to a place you weren't sure existed before.  It's simply brilliant, and you'll swoon over the lyrics (I wanna burn my name in your heart, I wanna lose control).  It's a Facebook status waiting to happen, so what are you waiting for?

Tarja Turunen - My Little Phoenix

You may be tired of my Nightwish posts, but this is not one of them.  This is all about Tarja today, so don't even think about giving me any guff.  During a casual peruse through Youtube last week, I came across some of her solo work, and frankly intrigued, I had to take a look.  On her own, Tarja is free to go wild with her rock opera bits.  After all, it's what she does best.  "My Little Phoenix" stood out to me based on a few things.  Atmosphere, lyrics, vocal prowess...you know this woman can sing, people.  Simply out, you've got a fine piece of symphonic metal that has a few indicitive things: quieter verses with rising power to the chorus.  My fave.  And don't worry if you're a fellow Anette-ophile, you'll still like this.



PS: UMMMMMMMMMMM okay so I guess my ability to stay in touch with music is terrible now because I literally just found out 10 minutes after posting this that Anette is leaving Nightwish!  What is this world coming to, and what is this cruel irony that compelled me to blog about Tarja today?  Witchcraft, I tell you!