~december

You know I listen to allot of music and I always seem to move faster than my friends; every week it a new band, that happens to be the best band in the world until the next one comes along. Sometimes some bands will last longer than others and I will end up getting the CD, but some things stick around longer; and re-invent them over and over, and I rediscover them over and over. I wanted to use this journal as a way of talking about some of the band/albums that have done this to me over the past 2-3 years.

Slint – Spiderland
This made its way from something I casually listened to at a friend’s house while falling asleep to one of my favorite albums of all time. This for some time rivaled Tool - Ǽnima, which is a big thing in my books. The album was the third and last release by the band and I think it is easily their best. The album has the most intense mood, from start to end it is tension and just builds and builds like there is always something about to break free; something brooding under the surface. And even when it does finally crack and shoot into these big choruses they manage to keep the tension. But by the end of the album you might assume this would have driven you nuts, this complete tension with no resolution, nothing happening. But the last song seems to do this perfectly brings you down and lets you settle. Also at only 6 tracks you would think it doesn’t fulfill an albums requirements but it lasts and feels like it lasts long enough to do its job perfectly.

Ohgr – Welt
Ohgr – Sunnypsyop
Skinny Puppy – The Greater Wrong Of The Right
I have chosen to throw these three albums all into one category because for me they are like this. These three even though released with some space between them feel like one. They could have easily been a box set. When I first heard Ohgr, I laughed. I had never been a fan of Skinny Puppy, and then hearing this poppy industrial music just made me smile. I loved it. I got a copy and listened to it a little but then ended up dropping it in search of new and better things, A few months later I then rediscovered it and listened to it religiously once again this has been happening for almost a year now. The new Ohgr album and Skinny Puppy I got at the same time. It took some listening to but the same thing happened. I worshipped these CDs and at times couldn’t tell which tracks were from which album. In my opinion when a member dies and you wait 7 years to release another album, that warrants a name change, still. These three go together perfectly and I can’t wait for the next from both of them.

Ulver
I have listed Ulver as simply a band because it is such a great deal of there work I am talking about. I am not a huge fan of black metal so Ulver were not likely a band I would have come across on my own, I was given about six or seven of Ulver’s albums at once by a friend and the first thing I heard was First Decade In The Machines. It blew me away. It was one of the best electronic albums I had ever heard. I then listened to Themes From William Blake’s: The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell, Perdition City, Lyckantropen Themes, Metamorphosis and Silencing The Singing. Each one of these albums I love. I have not felt this kind of attachment to a band ina long time. Every layered sound, the experimentation, the progression. Just amazing. I hope to find each one of these albums on vinyl if possible.

So there you go. If you have the time and resources please try looking into each one of these. I doubt they will disappoint.