Tea Time

GENRE: heavy metal Oh, joyous day. Megadeth  is one of my favorite metal bands, but I never looked much past their Holy Wars  album. Solos are abound in this song (perhaps too much for my taste), but it's all a testament to Megadeth's  composition and skill. They can be pretty unpredictable in their songs. After a minute of mind-blowing solos, you get one of my favorite verses. That guitar riff is magnificent, especially when it's given context by the entrance of the drums. I, like many others hopefully, perceived it as a triplet rhythm. But, voila, it's a sixteenth note riff, a very typical Megadeth  riff at that. I'm a big fan of the singer's voice too (I forget the name). It has just the right amount of anger and raspy. Solos just permeate this entire song too. I almost feel bad for the guitarist. Overall, the song is pretty awesome. The solos can get a little old, but it's as classic a Megadeth  song as ever. Rating; 8/10

GENRE: heavy metal smoothie It's about time I get back into something that's on the opposite side of the spectrum. Something that's not sadboi or sadgirl music/aesthetic. But, thinking about it again, maybe this song could fall into the same category. Is it the lyrics or the style that makes it sadboi  music? Nonetheless, Trivium is a pretty popular metal band that grew throughout the early 2000's, and I've just never bothered to listen to their music. The only thing I knew is that their band leader is part-Japanese, which is pretty rad considering there's little Asian representation in the American metal scene. Regarding the song, the lyrics are a little cheesy, but the instrumentation is well-balanced, and the musical phrases blend well together to make a really coherent piece that flows well. The pacing that shifts from verse to chorus keeps things interesting. Matt Heafy's deeper voice is something I can really appreciate because it showcases an ex...

genre: folk metal, progressive, experimental drink:   water Here's to song four of Agalloch's  The Mantle .  Now we're getting somewhere. Compared to the previous song, Odal , this song packs quite a punch. Opening with a blistering drum beat, I Am The Wooden Doors , stands out against the backdrop of the album. I can't imagine what it's like to listen to this live. It's definitely a head-banger. Now and then, there's an intermission where the dynamics shift. I'm always a fan of the folk guitar, and it seems to be one of their favorite, consistent ideas to throw in.  There are few vocals, and it's almost like the other instruments take precedence over the singing. But when there is  singing, Agalloch manages to make it worthwhile. However, it's the drum beat that really steals the show.  Rating: 8.5/10

genre: heavy metal drink:   nuoc mat Now you're in for a real treat. I was curious trying to find songs similar to what my dad used to play (still plays I guess). And one my question had me pegged--do Vietnamese people have some kind of metal band out there? This what I stumbled upon. So apparently, the scene for Vietnamese metal (prog metal that is) is incredibly small, understandably. And so I kept digging, and I found a few songs that I actually enjoyed. They're pretty decent, and not totally foreign on the ears. And by foreign, I mean to say that their musical tastes are far different from mine. Their music tends to be overproduced, completely synthetic in their instrumentation, and downright cheesy. However, I will give them a plus on their vocals. Vietnamese singing usually pleases me.  Enough ranting, here comes a near addictive song that I couldn't stop listening to. With their lack of exposure on more mainstream platforms, I don't even know if this is...

genre: folk metal, progressive metal, drink:   strawberry and banana smoothie Agalloch is a new band that I've come across, and it made sense to me to listen to every song on one of their albums ( The Mantle, 2002) and document each one. In other words, it's a special series! Starting off with the album opener: A Celebration For The Death Of Man. Right off the bat, a timpani roars and introduces a rich acoustic guitar. The melody (if you can even call it that) in the guitar creates a slight dissonance as it moves through the chord progression. With the timpani leading the march, a low, droning, distorted guitar adds color and build up the song.  Being only two minutes long, this piece establishes a mood for the remaining album. In the far off distance, you can almost hear tribal instruments decorating the canvas. Over time, they only become more and more prominent, inciting a sort of mellow march. I don't know if I can really consider this a whole song, as it's m...

Macabre by DIR EN GREY genre: heavy metal, progressive metal Whenever a piece seems to transcend its medium, I can't help but describing it as an "experience" rather than music. This is one of those times. For a first listen, you really should devote a majority of your attention to this song. Experience  it.  This piece is just filled to the brim with all sorts of unusual instruments. The guitars range from bluesy rock, to your classic heavy metal. The midsection brings in dissonant organs, pianos, and other avant garde sound effects. Within 16 minutes, DIR EN GREY delivers a soul-crushing, all-consuming journey that I can only imagine would be unbelievable to see in person.  One of my favorite characteristics of this song is the vocals. Color me biased, but I want to praise this song more than you probably think it deserves. Reason being, it closely borrows my favorite elements of power metal. Emphasis on elements.*  Power metal is one of my fav...