#14: JK Flesh - 'Rise Above'
Listen to the colossal album opener "tunnel"! Not only is this the best JK Flesh album yet, it is also a classic album from Justin K Broadrick that matches up with the likes of fellow Englishman Mick Harris, aka Scorn, and other noisey proto-dubstep movements such as Meat Beat Manifesto and Muslimgauze. Broadrick has been so prolific and been around long enough that he goes through some ebb and flow in his career; he is back on a peak recently. As far as a mention of the word dubstep, I find this slower and more noisey proto version of dubstep much more enjoyable than the copycat genre we hear today. It is much more like dub reggae but fused with noise and industrial music. The layering that happens can be endless, but with 'Rise Above' Broadrick goes more minimal. This minimalist aesthetic that is perfectly executed production-wise drives the album. The distorted synth textures and crunchy basslines fuse together and create a gestalt effect, as the layers are in the production of each individual instrument themselves rather than creating layered orchestration. Since the production is layered upon itself it makes everything pop and each instrument is so dense and immense sounding that it is one of the heaviest electronic music albums I've ever heard. It is also slathered in analog warmth and goodness making it even more captivating since it sounds much less cold than your usual digital production. This is a nice session album when you just want to listen to something on headphones that will let you zone out and think. It is both relaxing and stimulating. 'Rise Above' lacks the vocals of the first JK Flesh album, but it takes what we've heard previously and refines them into something more densely and crushingly effecting. The unique and over the top sounding analog production heard on other JK Flesh releases has finally been honed into something that sounds entirely natural and organic while still sending buzzsaws of distorted noise at you in utmost clarity. That said, on this release I felt that it could benefit from some vocals even if mixed low or guest vocalists on half the tracks. Or, include even more obvious nods to industrial music with movie or tv samples, or some other transportational layer to coat the relentless beat and grinding bass noises, whatever would make sense. Since it is so minimalistic and repetitive, the album does drag towards the end when it slows down to a near halt on the last two tracks. That said, I think there is room for improvement and we are about to see some true next level captivating shit next time around, but this is a gigantic step in the right direction. There is not enough of this type of music out there, so it is a most welcome addition to the subgenre, whatever it is. Proto-dubstep? Grime? Industrial noise beats? Noise hop? Whatever it is, it is a fantastically distorted and heavy electronic excursion into an interesting pocket dimension that seems to emanate from England every few years.
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#15: Oranssi Pazuzu - 'Värähtelijä'
http://www.oranssipazuzu.com This is definitely not the most "out there" Oranssi album, which means this is not my favorite of theirs... but they are still making music on another level, even if not quite as high as their usual leveling up. The album does have its moments of weirdness and transcendental overtures, but 'Värähtelijä' is all about business. This is the most in your face, focused Orannsi Pazuzu album. Toned back a bit are the trippy layering, the multi-levular approach. That's some word I made up once, it's fun. This album bigly kicks ass is what I'm saying. Well hell, I am just meandering around the point: I have been a fan of this band for years now, so how cool is that? This may or may not be the most annoying review I'll ever write. But what more can I say about this band? I really love how unique it is, the blend of styles, the high production value, the weirdness of the band, etc etc. Oranssi Pazuzu is still all those things, but not quite as out there, like they are pulling back a bit and showing us what they are all about... which means, it is probably a good introductory album to the band. The band has made year end lists before with an incredibly strong discography. If you have not checked them out before, they have been described as black metal meets Pink Floyd; extreme rock with prog and psyche rock overtones and subtle nods to many different genres; things like that. At times they sound a bit like a Finnish version of Today Is The Day (another super heavy but psychedelic heavy metal band). I'm not really sure how to best describe them. But they are heavy, intense, and mystical sounding. Those combinations usually form my favorite heavy metal bands as long as they keep things unpredictable. I wanted to keep this album off the top 25 and in the Honorable Mentions category as a punishment for not expanding the sound further and instead contracting a bit... but maybe it was necessary for them as a band. Whatever the case, this album freaking rocks and sounds amazing, one of the best produced albums of 2016. If you love heavy, weird music, you must check these guys out and get that discography, it is dense, strong, and among the best heavy metal releases over the past decade. If you are new to the band, start with this one and then work your way back to the beginning, it is a memorable trip. This band has a certain magic to their inimitable sound, stellar production expertise, exquisite tones, multiple levels of sounds both concrete and spacey layered on top of each other, forming some of the best music you'll ever hear if you can get past the fact that some crazy motherfucker from Finland is screaming his balls off at you in an unknown language. Keep an open mind, listen, tune in and drop out. 'Värähtelijä' did not quite trip me out as much as I wanted it to, and it didn't get as weird as the other albums, but it still rocks harder than most and hones in on their core sound which is good enough for #15 on the list. I suggest checking out "Hypnotisoitu Viharukous", my favorite song of this 2016 incarnation of the band! Seriously, just get their entire discography, it's well worth it. Although there are some albums on this list that rock very hard, or for some, could be called Heavy (or even Metal), there were so many quality albums that were released in 2013 that I am making two year end lists to kick off the blog version of Questionable Taste (what once was a facebook page for my internet radio station called Through The Cracks, which morphed into some other manifestation of posting some music through the magic of youtube). "Like" the Facebook version of this blog on your Facebook please, if you are into that, so you can get any updates..
The purpose of this inaugural post is to get a list out there as quickly as possible, since this page is not really done yet, and 2014 is now well under way. I cannot even explain how excited I am about music right now, both as a listener and as a musician... it is truly a wonder to be into and follow the routes music is taking currently. Production keeps getting better, the musicians more imaginative and more connected to information than ever, and the cross referencing of ideas is phenomenal. Music is everywhere, and it has never been so easy to get the word out about it. Which is another problem unto itself, to get noticed or even recognition; but I digress. What makes this year different from my tumblr blog about 2012's music is that I am going to just list my favorite albums of 2013, and not worry about a cutoff (the blog format was a top 40). Since I know that I loved more than 40 albums from 2013, I am moving on from that format. Also, I will not do a countdown to #1 album style of blog, as I felt that was too arbitrary a way of doing things, and made me look at music rating too linearly, or whatever... maybe hierarchically is a better way to describe what I was doing. And tier-ing is lame and played out, isn't it? So I suppose I will still rate the albums, as I go through and review them all (albeit more succinctly than last year) alphabetically this time, according to 6 categories. Just like everyone, my taste is difficult to attribute to anything or to sum up, predict, etc. Music is just super subjective like that (which is part of what makes it so great). The things that I have been liking more and more over time are jazz and experimental music, and pop less and less. And I will always love heavy music, innovative and/or adventurous rock and roll, as well as electronic music of the progressive variety (well, prog probably applies to all those other genres too, but sometimes I can find prog to be exceedingly boring or cheesy). So all I can offer here is my expert, completely subjective as ever and convoluted opinion; and hope to turn people on to some music they would not have heard otherwise. Ok, so, the list, is what this is all about... the non-metal list:
And now, for the Honorable Mentions...
Well, that's that, and that was there. 2013 was an incredibly great year for music, and I encourage you to get every one of those albums I just listed, even the Honorable's. Next up, will be my picks for best Heavy Metal albums of 2013! |
AuthorG.M. Bowles Archives
February 2017
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