Progressivity

FS Portfolio/Index

2012-02-09T09:07:00.000-08:00

UPDATED -- 1.29.2012

I write for MetalUnderground.com, the premier metal news/reviews website. It's a pretty great job. This blog is an index of all of the things I've written or done for the site. I also take pictures and video, which you can find on YouTube and in the Photo Archive of MetalUnderground.com, respectively.

Special projects are listed just below this paragraph, followed by photo galleries, interviews, show reports, columns, news articles and videos. Album reviews are beneath these. I'm adding new content all the time, so check back often! These are organized alphabetically by band, and are listed like this:
Band Name - Album Title (review pub. date) - rating out of 5
Each is linked to its review page on MetalUnderground.com.

-------------------------------------------
PROGPOWER USA XII (2011) COVERAGE
09.15.2011 - Kick-Off Day (Powerglove, Vanden Plas, Evergrey)
09.16.2011 - Day One (Creation's End, Darkwater, Voyager, Eldritch, Mob Rules, Ihsahn, Sanctuary)
09.17.2011 - Day Two (Haken, While Heaven Wept, Red Circuit, Labyrinth, Forbidden, Therion)
PROGPOWER USA XII (2011) INTERVIEWS
09.20.2011 - RED CIRCUIT
09.20.2011 - CREATION'S END
09.21.2011 - EVERGREY
09.22.2011 - LEPROUS
09.23.2011 - HAKEN
09.24.2011 - POWERGLOVE
09.25.2011 - DARKWATER
PROGPOWER PHOTO GALLERIES
|| 3 Bands - Kick-Off Day
|| 7 Bands - Day One
|| 6 Bands - Day Two

CONCERT PHOTO GALLERIES:
11.12.2011 - INTRUDER / DOWNSLAVE
09.28.2011 - OPETH / KATATONIA
08.20.2011 - TIMES OF GRACE / UNDEROATH (3 bands)
07.21.2011 - SEVENDUST
07.01.2011 - SCREAM THE PRAYER 2011 (9 bands)
05.13.2011 - BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME (3 bands)
04.12.2011 - ASKING ALEXANDRIA (4 bands)
10.22.2010 - WHITECHAPEL's "Corruptour" (4 bands)

INTERVIEWS
12.22.2011 - Jason, Dan, & Brian of CZAR
12.02.2011 - John Pieroni of INTRUDER
11.03.2011 - Clint Williamson of EVERYTHING FALLS DARK
09.11.2011 - Morgan Rose of SEVENDUST
09.06.2011 - Henrik Fevre of ANUBIS GATE
08.12.2011 - Jesse Leach of TIMES OF GRACE (ex-KILLSWITCH ENGAGE)
07.07.2011 - Thom Green and JR Bermuda of SLEEPING GIANT
05.14.2011 - Blake Richardson of BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME
05.14.2011 - Jonny Davy of JOB FOR A COWBOY
04.13.2011 - Josh James of EVERGREEN TERRACE
03.16.2011 - Heri Joensen of TYR and HELJAREYGA
02.25.2011 - Chris Adler of LAMB OF GOD
11.15.2010 - Paul Mazurkiewicz of CANNIBAL CORPSE (w/ video)
--Syndication of CANNIBAL CORPSE interview on Blabbermouth.net
--Syndication of CANNIBAL CORPSE interview on Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles
10.23.2010 - Phil Bozeman and Alex Wade of WHITECHAPEL
10.23.2010 - Arjen Lucassen of AYREON
03.15.2009 - Christofer Malmstrom of DARKANE

SHOW REPORTS
11.17.11 - INTRUDER
09.29.11 - OPETH / KATATONIA
08.10.11 - TIMES OF GRACE / UNDEROATH
07.23.11 - SEVENDUST
07.06.11 - SCREAM THE PRAYER 2011
05.14.11 - BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME
04.14.11 - ASKING ALEXANDRIA
03.08.11 - LAMB OF GOD's Chris Adler - Nashville Drum Clinic
11.14.10 - CANNIBAL CORPSE's Evisceration Plague tour
10.28.10 - THE CORRUPTOUR in Nashville - WHITECHAPEL Headlining
08.28.10 - PORCUPINE TREE / COHEED AND CAMBRIA

COLUMNS
08.19.2011 - Opinion/Editorial: Good News for Old Bands?
06.27.2011 - Unearthing The Nashville Cover Band Underground (Part III)
11.08.2010 - Unearthing The Metal Underground in Nashville, TN, Part II
06.28.2010 - Unearthing The Metal Underground in Nashville, TN

NEWS ARTICLES
04.01.2011 - Mike Portnoy Joins Dimmu Borgir (April Fools Special)
--Mike Portnoy responded to this in an official tweet that same day.
--The article has been viewed more than 26,000 times.

VIDEOS
03.08.11 - LAMB OF GOD's Chris Adler - Drum Clinic in Nashville, TN
02.27.11 - LAMB OF GOD's Chris Adler - Phone Interview
11.22.10 - CANNIBAL CORPSE Show Report from Nashville, TN
11.14.10 - CANNIBAL CORPSE Performing "Scalding Hail" and "Unleashing the Bloodthirsty"
11.22.10 - CANNIBAL CORPSE Interview with Paul Mazurkiewicz
10.27.10 - WHITECHAPEL Show Report from Nashville, TN
10.27.10 - WHITECHAPEL Performing "Murder Sermon" and "The Darkest Day of Man"

ALBUM REVIEWS

A -

B -

BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME - Best Of (5.29.11) - 3.5/5
BEYOND THE BRIDGE - The Old Man and the Spirit (pending)

C -

D -

E -

THE EMPIRE SHALL FALL - Volume I: Solar Plexus (pending)
ENGEL - Threnody (5.1.11) - 4/5
EVERGREY - Glorious Collision (2.9.11) - 4/5
EVERGREY - A Decade and A Half (pending)

F -

G -

GUILT MACHINE - On This Perfect Day (1/25/11) - 4/5

H -

I -

J -

K -

L -

M -

N -

O -

P -

Q -

R -

S -

T -

U -

THE UNRAVELLING - Thirteen Arcane Hymns (8.20.10) - 4/5

V -

W -

X -

Y -

Z -

ZIPPO - The Road To Knowledge (5.4.09) - 4.5/5

Word From The Inside : Entertainment Journalism

2012-02-09T07:06:00.000-08:00

I recently had an opportunity to share some inside knowledge of one particularly fun part of the music business with a college student as part of a music business "mentor" program. That opportunity made me realize that more people need to hear this than just the people within this program, because this is something you don't really know about very well until you're inside of it.

From my point of view, working in my third year as a writer/reviewer for MetalUnderground.com, one of the top heavy metal news websites online, I can say that I do know a little bit.

I'm going to share some of the points I made in my talk with the student:

You don't always have to "know someone" to get in. I looked on LinkedIn.com a few years ago in a Metal music group and the owner had posted a job opening for a reviewer. I had just written 3 album reviews on my blog at that point, so I touched base with him, showed him my work, did two more reviews for MU, and he thought I had what it took to do it regularly.

You can choose what you want to do, as long as you're good at it. My boss typically makes arrangements with labels, pr firms, and bands so that they send their CDs and review materials to him directly, so he can farm them out to us. After the first year of sending me things, he saw which subgenre I really specialized in and where I gave the most thorough criticism at and now has me work with mostly that sort of music. In general, whoever you work for will want you to be passionate about what you're reviewing, whether that's passionately for or passionately against it, and to know that material inside out as well as know the audience you're writing for. That's the way to make your articles the most meaningful and get the most attention.

That's the difference between Amazon.com reviewers and published reviewers. Nobody cares about how many views they get on Amazon. When your company makes revenue based on page views (ads), they want to you to draw viewers.

You don't need a degree in Journalism, but it DOES help. What nobody tells you until you graduate is this: What they look at first is not your degree, but your writing. They would much rather have someone who's knowledgeable about what he's writing and entertaining than a dry scholar. Now, there is one exception: If you're primarily going to be an editor rather than a contributor, they're going to want you to check the work of others. This means you need to reduce misspellings, bad grammar, and nonsense that can come in from less skilled writers. You need to be on a level above most writers, which usually comes from studying writing. That all being said, degrees or training in journalism are big pluses.

Concert reviews have a lot to them: For me, I like to make myself really valuable to whoever I'm working for (as well as to the PR firm for the band(s) or the band themselves) by being multi-faceted: The more you can do for them, the more they like you and will call on you for more writing, if it's good. For concerts, my boss contacts the band or PR firm and requests a guest listing and a photo pass to get me in the photo pit. I take pictures as well as interview whichever band guest listed me (they're going to sort of expect you to in return for that free admission.) Then, I sit down to write the concert review. Here's how I approach it --

Before the show, I study up on them so I can come with a picture in mind of how they want to present themselves to audiences. At the show, I'm watching for: 1) How they actually presented themselves, 2) crowd response, 3) band cohesiveness, 4) musicianship, and 5) uniqueness

People want to hear of the full experience, not just your own experience of the show. They want to read about it like it was a short story, that way they can gauge if they'd want to live that story or not (go to a show). Show reports are becoming more important these days since record sales are falling off and bands are having to tour more to make money. A good show report might drive in a few more ticket sales on future dates on that tour. Hell, even a bad show report (if written well) might make some people want to see that show!

CD reviews also have a lot to them: For those, the same rules apply: Write from your own opinion first, but realize that your audience isn't you and they're going to want to know some facts as well as opinions about it, especially in comparison with other bands that they already know. I listen to an album at least 5 times through before I start writing, meanwhile coming up with comparisons, phrases, and ways that I can make that review relevant to both crowds: Those that know the band and those that don't have a clue.

Oh, and don't forget to be entertaining wherever possible. Lest you forget, it is entertainment journalism.

There's no right or wrong way to do it -- it's all about being effective for your readership.

Interviews, even more: The prep-work is the hardest part. The actual interviews usually go much easier. Depending on what type of publication you're writing for, you may or may not want to make your questions more pointed, but a band or PR firm will always want you to cover a couple of bases with few exceptions:

If the band's on a tour, they're going to want you to ask about the tour dates, how shows have been if they've played any, and if they're touring in support of a new album, they'll want you to ask about the album. All about the album. Any aspect you want to cover from inspiration to studio process to band drama (if any has been publicized).

The beauty here is that there are many ways you can take it and the more of a fan you are, the more in-depth questions you're likely to ask, which fellow fans will be looking for. However, stuff like "How do you sound so amazing?" is just not gonna fly, but you definitely already knew that. You can't be too much of a fan.

Be able to knock yourself down if you find yourself kind of humping their leg (metaphorically). Having your fan blinders on can make for wasted q&a time and awkward band answers. They also change the dynamic between you and the band, usually making them open up less to you since they know you'll be happy if they just say, "Well, the fact is, we're awesome."

If they have a PR firm, the firm will sometimes supply you with press materials (a press release about the album/tour/recent news) as well as maybe some videos or songs of recent material. If they don't, just go internetting. The truth is out there, so they say.

Try and find interviews done with them in the past and not duplicate too many questions they've already been asked while still covering their answers. Like, if they've been asked a specific question about the meaning of a song before, maybe ask them "Since _____ was about Joey's brother's time in Afghanistan, what other experiences influenced the album?"

Oh, and most bands love off-the-wall questions, especially if they're witty and creative.

Sometimes, they're disarming and break a band out of its standard methods of answering.

NOW GET OUT THERE AND LIVE THE MUSIC.

Steven Wilson - Insurgentes

2009-03-14T11:27:00.000-07:00

“Pray for sound to quiet the howling.”

The culmination of touring, life experiences, trips around the world, views on the current state of music, and his consistent lyrical stylings dealing with the strange and profound, Steven Wilson’s “Insurgentes” is mature, gritty, haunting, and strangely smooth. Insurgentes plays like a major motion picture film.

Having only released a handful of limited-press short solo efforts (excluding the albums he released as Porcupine Tree when PT was a one-man act in the early years) known as “Cover Versions”, this is Steven Wilson’s first run at a cohesive solo album. Being the frontman of Porcupine Tree, Blackfield, Bass Communion, I.E.M., and co-writer of No-Man, Steven has had a lot of time over the years to develop his composition skills. As such, “Insurgentes” shows definite maturation. The songs aren’t sprawling, but aren’t short either. The melodic elements range from minimalist sonic composition, with drum machines and sparse guitar with background synth bits, in tracks like Abandoner to symphonic sections with a lot of air in Salvaging. The end of Salvaging recalls the strangeness of Porcupine Tree’s haunting pieces like Wedding Nails and the beginnings of What You Are Listening To.

Veneno Para Las Hadas recalls one of the main atmospheric guitar lines of Porcupine Tree’s Sky Moves Sideways, re-introducing it in a different setting. This nice reference re-colours the original piece in burnt sunset hues, with an ethereal stillness hanging in the air as waves of mellow sound and breathy vocals ebb and flow. The next song, No Twilight Within the Courts of the Sun, recalls some of Deadwing-era Porcupine Tree, I.E.M., and the oddity of King Crimson in its development and middle interludes. Steven’s multilayered vocal dronework in this part is especially notable. The piano towards the end is flavored with the expert playing of Dream Theater’s Jordan Rudess. This song sits like a demon in a church, a definite highlight on the album.

Significant Other has all the grace of Wilson’s Blackfield material, with the added light vocals of Clodagh Simmonds. Only Child blends a bit of Audioslave road rock sound with Wilson’s signature echoey vocal style developed with Porcupine Tree. Twilight Coda is a soothing light song, like Porcupine Tree’s Half Light, conjuring up all sorts of visuals for the listener. Twilight Coda even, at times, reminds me of bits of Ulver’s music. The haunting nature of the next song, Get All You Deserve, reminds me of the darker bits of In Absentia-era Porcupine Tree, with the oppressive addition of what Wilson lists in the liner notes as “total fucking noise” and a Nine Inch Nails-esque industrial drum track. The album’s closer, Insurgentes, takes us out on a soft note with breathy vocals, piano, and a beautifully reverberated 17-string bass koto played by Michiyo Yagi.

Guest musicians on this album include Gavin Harrison on drum, Theo Travis on several wind instruments, Sand Snowman on several acoustic guitar tracks, Dirk Serries with his guitar drones, the London Session Orchestra, Jordan Rudess on piano, Tony Levin on bass, Mike Outram on a guest guitar solo, Clodagh Simmonds on vocals, Susana Moyaho, and Michiyo Yagi on koto. Meshing without standing out, they make for a very smooth blend with Wilson to make this album all that it could be.

Steven Wilson’s “Insurgentes” isn’t the most accessible album he’s put out, but it’s a major effort and one worthy of many repeats. I highly recommend this album if you know who Steven Wilson is, and it’s worth checking out if you’re looking for something truly unique that you haven’t heard.

Rating: 8/10

Buy the album from Burning Shed, Wilson's mail-order company: http://www.burningshed.com/store/kscope/product/272/1459/

Exciting News!

2009-02-10T08:19:00.001-08:00

The metal gods are smiling on me.

I've just become a staff writer for MetalUnderground.com!

This means the formatting of this blog will change a bit, since my metal reviews will now be exclusive to MetalUnderground.

Progressivity will now take on a different form -- I will be reviewing mostly progressive rock, jazz, ambient, and world music on here. You can read all my metal reviews over at http://www.metalunderground.com from now on (once I get started, that is!).

Stay with me and STAY METAL!

CopyWRONG

2009-02-09T08:32:00.000-08:00

Interrupting the flow of reviews for just a moment, I feel I need to call attention to an issue. Seeing as how Blogspot has a TON of blogs that upload music that you could easily buy at your local record store, I thought I'd post a little blip on the Blogosphere radar about the legality of that, since I was the president of the Belmont University Copyright Society for 2007-2008.

First off, no matter the reason for sharing music, if you didn't pay for it and the artist has not said "YES YOU CAN SHARE IT", it is infringement of copyright. If the band is from another country, you're still not safe -- the myth of "but it doesn't fall under U.S. copyright law jurisdiction!" YES IT DOES. If you're downloading/sharing in America, even with songs from other countries, you are still subject to AMERICAN COPYRIGHT LAW. If you're downloading Swedish tunes and you're in Sweden, however, that's a different matter. I assume an American geographic location for the purposes of this blog, though.

If you don't own the copyright to material you share on the internet or other medium (cd, dvd, etc.), you're infringing.

Excuse #1: "But it's on Rapidshare/MegaUpload/Zshare/whatever! It's anonymous, nobody's gonna know!" -- Currently, you're probably right, but copyright law is expanding its scope, so your ISP may soon be able to turn you in for that kind of thing. And that doesn't change the fact that it's still infringement.

Excuse #2: "But I just want to get special music out there to people. These bands aren't big and need the recognition." -- You are not a distribution company under contract from a label with a license to distribute copyrighted materials. Layman's terms: YOU'RE NOT AUTHORIZED. TOO BAD. One funny thing about this excuse, though: Certain bands have obviously been helped by illegal sharing, like the explosion of European metal bands' popularity in America when they previously had no distribution over here. I won't deny that it HAS HELPED popularity in some genres, but it still probably wasn't the best way for a band to reach a wider audience.
Excuse #3: "Corporate cd culture and record labels are fascists and only love money. Don't buy the albums that support those money-hungry thieves. They don't even give bands a lot of money from it." -- Corporate cd culture's raised prices because YOU'RE NOT BUYING RECORDS. It's not that they love money (although they probably do, because money gets you a lot of stuff), it's simple economics. When a lot of people buy something, the price goes down because they don't need to sell high to make good profits. When a lot of people stop buying, it goes up. As for the band not getting a high percentage, this is somewhat true unless you're an artist with a lot of clout/fame, but it's not as if other parties in the deal are getting disproportionately large amounts of money. There's just a TON of parties that need to be paid out of the cost of an album -- distribution company, graphic designers, songwriters, record label, producers, guest musicians, etc.

Excuse #4: "The stuff we share is out of print/extremely rare." -- You win. It's still technically infringing, but I sympathize. I will agree that a lot of good music just isn't available anymore and should be, for music's sake. If this stuff isn't reprinted, the job of keeping it alive through the ages falls to the individuals who like it, and if that means you have to navigate illegal waters to preserve that creative contribution for humanity's sake, I support it. Laws aren't be-all, end-alls.

Those are the most used excuses I've read on blogs recently, and I just thought I'd address them. I may or may not be interspersing writings like this with my album reviews in the future. It's just what I feel is relevant to what we're all doing on the internet.

Non-Human Level

2009-02-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

"I am your God, I am your devil. Feel the newborn majesty in me. I have now reached a non-human level. There's nothing more for you to see."

These words should be familiar if you have any prior knowledge of Christofer Malmström's regular band, DARKANE. In exploratory fashion, Christofer's side project, Non-Human Level, directs most of its lyrics toward the human psyche and the depth of the human capacity for sensation and experience. The musical terrain is familiar as well -- brutally symphonic, with dual electric guitar leads orchestrating the metal onslaught, echoing the music he writes with Darkane. With the help of several titan musicians backing him, the music comes across as thunderous and bold.

Peter Wildoer, the drummer of Darkane, switches things up this time and takes on the role of vocalist, providing ammunition for the intensity of the songs in the form of death growls and shouts. Gustaf Hielm, ex-bassist of fellow Swedish metal lords Meshuggah lays down the deep low end of bass, providing an undercurrent for the music to float on. Ryan Van Poederooyen, drummer for the Devin Townsend Band, blends his fire on the drums with the music to complete the picture in style.

Beginning with a mystical acoustic guitar passage, the first song, Divine Creation of Void, sets the groundwork lyrically and musically for the rest of the album. With a fierce combination of drumming, dual guitars, and militaristic syncopation, things take off at a frantic pace. In the middle is something you don't often hear in metal -- a bass guitar solo! This one is a treat and very tastefully played.

Personal Hell and Windows on the World present more signature Malmström songwriting and development of themes, complete with blistering guitarwork and unnaturally heavy rhythms akin to those of Testament, while remaining true to the signature Swedish melodic sound of fellow Swedes Soilwork, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Dimension Zero, and others. The Second Plane is a crushing instrumental dedicated to the victims of the September 11th catastrophe. Unlike any other tribute to this event, this is HEAVY.

The most frantic track on the album, Instincts explores the human condition in regards to our needs and their effects on our bodies. In Glenn Benton-esque fashion, Peter Wildoer screams a chorus leading up to the church organ passage, which then gives way to a frenetic guitar passage with competing keyboard solos by Swedish virtuoso Lale Larson.

Journal of a Nightmare, Untrustable Surface, and The Genetic Failure scream of further metal majesty in similar fashion. Water responds to the MS Estonia tragedy of September 28th, 1994, in which 852 lives were lost at sea from the sinking of the ship. Solemn and melancholic, it heightens the tragedy of the event on each listen. Freaking Goose closes the album acoustically, the way it was opened.

Altogether, Non-Human Level is an exciting listen for those who listen closely. For those who can't keep up with the pace, prepare to be lost. For fans of fast, epic, and musically challenging metal, this is your salvation. For others, this may be too much to really understand. Nevertheless, it is a cohesive whole and a nod to classical composition with its melodic development. From a production standpoint, however, the album has its up and downsides. The acoustic guitars and clean electrics sound full enough, but the distorted electric guitars could've used some mixing to really bring out the sound of each one. The drums (specifically the snare) stand out quite a bit and could also use some equalization. If the guitars were a bit more clear and the snare less overpowering, the whole package would be grand. The vocals are bright, clear, and well-placed, as well as the lead guitars. Peter and Cristofer handled the mixing and production on the album themselves, so the result is impressive enough to work, just not the best it could be.

For pushing the genre forward by incorporating elements of epic classical composition in a non-Yngwie-Malmsteen fashion and working within the framework of the Swedish sound, Non-Human Level have created an essential album for the genre, and one that will be heralded as time goes on and the project gains more exposure than it currently has.

Rating: 8/10

Buy the album from Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/abu96z

Porcupine Tree - Lightbulb Sun

2009-02-06T06:22:00.000-08:00

"The sun is a lightbulb, a candle's a treat" starts us off on our musical journey through the dreary daydreams and mental storms the protagonist creates for us in Lightbulb Sun. An acoustic brings us into the fold of the turn of the century Porcupine Tree record, having made its debut in 2000. With 8 albums already behind them, Porcupine Tree had honed their sound quite a bit from the early sonic experimentation days, yet still kept their Pink Floydian notions of psychedelia intact, also releasing Voyage 34: The Complete Trip earlier in 2000. This album sees the band continuing to progress in their songwriting as well, taking on more melodic and lyric-based song structures than some of their prior albums like Stupid Dream (which was structured on purpose as a response to over-typical structured pop songs, to which the video for 'Piano Lessons' was directed at), Metanoia, The Sky Moves Sideways, and Up The downstair.

The title track graces us with a good five-and-a-half minutes of acoustic-driven rock, starting us off on a galloping pace and then taking us back down at the end, highlighting the recalling of the naivete' and innocence of youth. How is Your Life Today relates to us the story of an anxious and saddened individual locked inside his home after the departure of a person very close to him, with an almost playfully sadistic circus-like tune coming into play around the 1:52 mark. The lyrics speak of neighbors guessing at his condition since he's canceled the milk and they don't hear his voice through the wall anymore, along with describing how he was "kissed on the cheek by a cold mouth while the taxi was waiting like a getaway car". The vocal harmonies on this song are especially notable, showing off head songwriter/vocalist Steven Wilson's Beach Boys influence, utilizing 5-part harmony in separate parts.

Four Chords That Made a Million is PT's response to pop music and the quick lives of pop stars, with the lyrics being directed at pop hopefuls, discouraging them, but noting how easy it is to become a pop star. With sitar-like backing in several places over guitars and a bassline that's heavily 90's-sounding, this song distinctly recalls that decade of pop stardom, where all you need is four chords to get record execs to love you, call you their own, take you out to eat, give you a check, and then ditch you the next week.

Shesmovedon recalls PT's signature vocal harmonies on the chorus, echoing the lament of another victim to a woman who has quickly moved through partners. This song contains the most memorable chorus on the album, instantly memorable and hard not to sing along to.

Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before it is Recycled starts things off with the voice of a hopeful man, an acoustic guitar, and a dream to just leave the earth with the other person he speaks of (possibly recalling the female of Shesmovedon?). This may be a flashback to the time this person last was with the protagonist. Later on in the song, clips from the leader of the Heaven's Gate cult are played, detailing returning to another dimension.

The Rest Will Flow, offering a very beautifully recorded string section throughout the song, brings us to a happy moment in the protagonist's life, detailing (presumably to the female of Shesmovedon and Last Chance) the protagonist's feelings now that he found her again. This is perhaps the most sublime song on the album, with the string section and acoustic guitars driving an optimistic hymn into the horizon.

Hatesong brings us back to the empty bed of the protagonist, perhaps showing us that The Rest Will Flow was but a dream. The lyrics here are barbed and tinged with frustration and anger towards both himself and the woman. The basswork is quite notable on this song, while remaining mostly typical throughout. The drums, bass, and guitar combination make this song completely tight and the keyboards add an eerie edge. The middle of the song has a sprawling drum n' bass passage, showing off their skills and defining the Porcupine Tree prog breakdown for further albums.

With lush acoustic guitars and percussion, Where We Would Be finds our protagonist wishing he had contact with the woman, trying to get her to recall times they spent together when they were young. It's tinged with sadness, noting that "strange how you never become the person you see when you're young", and the vocal harmonies really pour salt on the protagonist's wounds, enhancing his sorrow.

Russia On Ice, alluding to an alcohol binge, brings out the frustration of the protagonist's position, stating that "Russia on ice is burning a hole" in his character. In this cold and melancholic song, we feel the full thrust of his loneliness and depression. The vocal harmonies and string section make this song, the longest on the album, the peak of the album and of the protagonist's story about his trials with life-long love.

Feel So Low sees the protagonist describing how he felt to the woman (who, at this point, is obviously not in his life anymore). This song is more of a "send out to the ether to get a little personal closure" song than a song sent directly to the woman in person. The protagonist has recovered after a turbulent run, and is left in a delicate state.

Porcupine Tree have made strides on every album to separate themselves from the normal progressive rock bands, not placing a ton of emphasis on keyboards or cutting up songs into different time signatures just to be different. They've cleverly blended good songwriting, melodic elements, sonic experimentation, and musicianship in the songs on this album and packaged it with a readily apparent and relatable storyline in the lyrics. Steven Wilson handled most of the production on this album, as has been the case for most Porcupine Tree albums, and it's absolutely top-notch, especially on the 2007 remaster of this album.

This album has no cultural context and the combination of readily relatable lyrics and accessible music makes this an easy listen for any generation of listener. It's a wild ride of an album, and one that I've personally taken close to 50 times. I highly recommend this album.

Rating - 9/10

Buy the album from PT's retailer, Burning Shed:

http://www.burningshed.com/store/porcupinetree/product/169/1059/

Introduction/Purpose

2009-02-05T21:21:00.000-08:00

ALRIGHT.

So what is 'Progressivity'?

Progress and Activity

I've been keeping an eye out for good reviews lately, especially those dealing with progressive music, whatever genre that may apply to. Progressive metal, prog rock, prog jazz, prog world music, whatever. I like reviews to be multi-faceted, critical, and honest, but lately I've found mostly reviews that are either strongly for or against the music they're reviewing. Either this is the best music you will ever hear or the worst kind of music you don't want to hear.

It's very rare that I find an album worthy of a 10 rating, and it's very rare that a 10 would come from an album that I haven't listened to at least 30 times over. I believe a reviewer should try to keep him/herself from going into dithyrambics over how amazing an album is or focus in too much on how horrible it is, and instead review it in four aspects:

1. Musicianship -- this means not just how skillfully the music was played and composed, and not only the level of technicality the musicians play at, but also the level of thought put into sculpting the music and how well the purpose of it translated.

2. Production quality -- say what you want, "Oh, but the BAND isn't responsible for how it SOUNDS", yes, but I'm not reviewing a BAND, am I? I'm reviewing an ALBUM, and the production is essential to determining how effective an album is.

3. Lyrics/concept -- at the end of the day, people by and large remember LYRICS and themes across an album more than they do the backing tracks. Some exceptions arise, of course, when you deal with music without words, but I won't be reviewing much of that.

4. PROGRESS -- what has the band done to make this record stand out among others? What have they done on this album, in the context of their genre, to further define or blur the definition of their genre?

I think those are the key points for reviewing albums, and I'm going to try and rain hell on those that don't with good reviews of my own on this blog.