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Give me an insight of Hectic Watermelon, bitteschön.

It's a nice thought Bhikku, but I'm puzzled what you think this thread will offer which the biographies and reviews do not already accomplish.

What am I missing?

 

Easy Livin  -- if i get bhikku correctly, he's just trying to breath life into a message board that tends toward idiocy and fandom (as well as that rather uninspiring debate over what "progressive" means)



as for Schizoid Man -- <<disclaimer,:im not a musician, i just like what i hear...>> Isis is one of the forerunning Post-Metal bands; as such it represents an amalgamation in its use of long building arrangements, much in the way of Post-Rock,  but does so with the use of Metal instrumentation and common Metal elements. think moderately slow, meditative, guitar based songs with an emphasis on texture and the utilization of harsh/raspy vocals. thier best album is Panopticon, which is a very addicting album once you get into it, but other good ones are "Oceanic" and "In the Absence of Truth".

but now i have an Isis question... where do they get their album names from, at least for Oceanic and Panopticon. i ask because both terms yield incredible connection to modern history: Panopticon, unless it is mean to simply mean "ass-seeing" as it literally translates to, could be a connection to Jeremy Bentham's prison design, a design that was supposed to subdue the inmate by making them feel as though they are always under observation (hence the meditativeness and angst of the album, perhaps). Oceanic could mean simply that, a sensation of the oceanic, or it could be a reference to Sigmund Freud who, in "civilization and its discontents", rues the absence of such a sensation in his life (again...seems to tie into the meditative angst of the album...)

Proletariat wrote: Well prometeius, I personally think that Isis just chooses words that sound cool, kinda like how Tool names their songs.   I have recently been wanting to get into the math rock genre, could someone fill me in on Hella and Dan Cabellero.

Personally speaking I don't think both bands are that great for introduction into the genre, but they're one of the best in what they do. From Don Caballero I've only heard their Don Caballero 2 album. It harsh, raw, complex and just plain ugly (in a good way). It has some industrial influences as well in some songs. The thing I like about the genre is that the songs are always moving somewhere. They never have a solid ground (or in this case a time signature) to play in. The same can be said about Hella, but they are lighter and less raw than Don Caballero, but the idea is still present. They're more quirky and listening to it just makes you want to dance like if you where having an epileptic attack. I find Hella more accessible than Don Caballero. The best place to start with them is with their debut, Hold Your Horse Is.

There are other math rock bands that tend to heavier or even softer than these two, but that's for another discussion.

By the way, I highly recommend you check out the band Oxes while searching the genre. Their second album, Oxxxes, is very addicting and one of the albums that made me more interested in the genre.

chamberry wrote: Proletariat wrote: Well prometeius, I personally think that Isis just chooses words that sound cool, kinda like how Tool names their songs.   I have recently been wanting to get into the math rock genre, could someone fill me in on Hella and Dan Cabellero. Personally speaking I don't think both bands are that great for introduction into the genre, but they're one of the best in what they do. From Don Caballero I've only heard their Don Caballero 2 album. It harsh, raw, complex and just plain ugly (in a good way). It has some industrial influences as well in some songs. The thing I like about the genre is that the songs are always moving somewhere. They never have a solid ground (or in this case a time signature) to play in. The same can be said about Hella, but they are lighter and less raw than Don Caballero, but the idea is still present. They're more quirky and listening to it just makes you want to dance like if you where having an epileptic attack. I find Hella more accessible than Don Caballero. The best place to start with them is with their debut, Hold Your Horse Is. There are other math rock bands that tend to heavier or even softer than these two, but that's for another discussion. By the way, I highly recommend you check out the band Oxes while searching the genre. Their second album, Oxxxes, is very addicting and one of the albums that made me more interested in the genre.

Ricochet wrote: Give me an insight of Hectic Watermelon, bitteschön.

Very good jazz/rock fusion...the only album (so far) has Jerry Goodman as a guest on violin...he's on 9 of the tracks. It's mostly an instrumental album (only one song has vocals).

It can be a little hectic in spots (hence the name Hectic Watermelon)...but overall is a great jazz/rock fusion album. And the guitar is the main focus and it is brilliant playing, but can get a bit metal-like (not fully metal but kind of close).

Read Angelo's review

Proletariat wrote: Well prometeius, I personally think that Isis just chooses words that sound cool, kinda like how Tool names their songs.   I have recently been wanting to get into the math rock genre, could someone fill me in on Hella and Dan Cabellero.

 yea, thats what i figured myself (although the Tool jab was unnecessary) but i just really want it to be that they planned it... (Tool would have...)

as for math rock, i suggest you take a trip out to www.epitonic.com and find your way to math rock through the genre section...most every band has a downloadable mp3 and i believe both bands are in there, certainly the Don. (also try Volto Do Mar and The Redneck Manifesto)

i'd like to know about Maudlin of the Well

kazansky wrote: i'd like to know about Maudlin of the Well

Great avant-metal band! They're one of my favorites from the genre if you can tell by my (poorly written) reviews. They have their soft moments and their loud moments, but the soft ones are really soft and the loud ones are full-on-head-banging-loud. These two dynamics in their sound are well mixed and they never seem out of place (well, maybe at first, but you'll get used to it). Bath has more softer songs and it's my personal favorite, although Leaving Your Body Map is as excellent as Bath, but with more heavier songs. I haven't heard their debut thought, but I've been told it isn't as great as their last two. Highly recommended.