Hey This Looks Cool! - March

Continuing a monthly goal I set for myself, I recently picked this record up without ever having heard it. Initially I decided to do this once a month for the sake of the blog. It was something to add variety and maybe a little more interest, I've always wanted this blog to be more than just "look at my cool stuff"(I've got some more ideas that will debut soon). So adding these impulse buys and my impressions of them has accomplished that, at least a bit. That said, doing this has so far been a lot of fun for me personally. Music for me has always been a full experience, more than just the auditory. The visuals, presentation, and the emotion and feeling of music can and should be part of it. This feature of the blog has allowed me to focus on the other aspects of record collecting first, before that actual listening.

Without further ado, this month's record is Crosby, Stills, and Nash's "Daylight Again". What first caught my eye was obviously the band name plastered across the top in a neon-like font. I love the wonderfully cheesy cover with the 40s style Martian flying saucers too. What actually sealed the deal though, was the back cover and that shot of David Crosby with his glorious mustache and that cat a real lolwut moment; I needed to have it.

I'm a huge fan of the early stuff by this band, the debut and two albums with Neil Young are impeccable classics. This one came out long after their glory days though, after years of personal tension within the band(which led Young to leave shortly after joining), after tons of drug use, and after the 60's folk rock scene had long died. 1982 is the year; Michael Jackson, new wave, and MTV rule the world; is there a place for Crosby, Stills, and Nash? Well the answer is mostly. Upon listening to "Daylight Again" for the first time, I'm reminded of some other band. A band that plays soft rock, a band more like say...the Eagles? The first two songs, "Turn Your Back On Love" and "Wasted on the Way", are not bad by any means but don't sound like the CSN I know. These songs feel almost too 80s, and I understand why they wrote them.

The albums really picks up with "Southern Cross", which is classic CSN and a great song by itself. "Delta" is also a fantastic song. There is almost no guitar, instead being piano driven, and the trademark harmonies soar above the ivory. The emotion that pours out of the keys and the vocal chords really hit me, wow! The rest of the album contains good, adequate songs, yet no real standouts; that is until the closing title track. "Daylight Again" is stripped down, just three voices and an acoustic guitar. The second part of the song is a revisiting of "Find The Cost of Freedom" which was originally the B side to the 1970 single "Ohio", and the two compliment each other beautifully.

All said, "Daylight Again" is a solid album by a great band. What you'll find here is well crafted soft rock, and a touch of folk here and there. You won't find better vocal harmonies than these three guys pull off, and their voices hit you in your core. Because this is the 1980's and not the 1960's, many better albums of this genre have been made(several of them by this band). However, this album stands on it's own well. I'm now 2 for 2 with this feature!     

Wolves In The Throne Room Fanboyism...And Other Things

It was 2006, I had just graduated from high school and planned to spend most of my summer before college dicking around on the internet. This was when I decided to join this Facebook everyone was talking about, and I found a group simply called "Metal Heads". After becoming completely immersed in what was the best metal forum online at the time(it has since died and been brought back, but isn't very good anymore), I heard about this new black metal band from Washington state. At the time black metal didn't appeal to me much; I liked some Emperor and Mayhem, and of course Bathory but I hadn't really explored the genre. Maybe it was the atypical album cover, or perhaps the fact that I'd never heard an American black metal band that caught my attention; whatever it was I listened to Wolves In The Throne Room's debut and immediately fell in love with the band.

When I started collecting records a few years ago one of my main goals was to get an entire discography of this band. They are one of the very few that I can honestly say I love everything they've ever done. Recently I got a whole hell of a lot closer by finding the three records above.

First up is the band's 2005 demo, which was just released on vinyl by the German label, Van Records. I picked up the cd version when I saw the band live in September, the record hadn't been pressed yet. Upon listening to the cd I was very impressed, I hadn't heard either of band's demos and did not know what to expect. The first thing you notice is that this does not sound like a demo, the production is really great! The songwriting present here is also much more mature and refined than you'd expect from a band on just their second demo. Two of the songs, "Queen Of The Borrowed Light" and "(A Shimmering Radiance) Diadem Of 12 Stars", ended up being rerecorded for the band's debut a year later and admittedly the versions on that release are superior to these. However, the lack of polish on those two tracks is actually quite nice to hear and they hold up very well to anyone who has listened to the debut. The real treat to be found is the second track "Daggers Of Amethyst Crystal", which did not make it onto "Diadem Of 12 Stars"(except as a bonus track on the Van 3LP reissue). "Daggers" has some of the best riffs the band has ever written, and showcases some unique dynamics that aren't really present in the band's later material.

Van did a great job on the vinyl pressing. To my ears it sounds much better and fuller than the band's own self released cd. The artwork is faithfully recreated for the jacket and insert, and the label didn't feel the need to add all kinds of useless credits and other such things. The only complaint I have is the jacket, it is way too flimsy. Maybe I should get another copy to keep in perfect shape and use this one as a playing copy. Either way, I'm just happy to have this on vinyl...now waiting for someone to press the 2004 demo as well.

 
Next we have "Live At Roadburn 2008", which I'm sure you can guess was recorded at the Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Netherlands. Wolves In The Throne Room was on tour supporting their second album, "Two Hunters" when they played this legendary festival. The set list reflects this, as all but "Face In A Night Time Mirror Pt.1" are from that album. The LP comes with a bonus dvd of the show, and the dvd includes "Cleansing" which was left off of the record. This is a bit disappointing, and I wish they had included it; I understand that would have meant a second LP but that wouldn't have bothered me. Anyway the performance is stellar, you really feel the energy of a Wolves live show. The recording is soundboard and very high quality. Very little banter from Nathan Weaver is heard at all, and there are only a few sections of crowd noise, so don't expect "Unleashed In The East" or something similar. This is an intimate recording of an intimate show, and it's pretty great.

 
Finally is this gorgeous 2LP gatefold of the band's third album, "Black Cascade". The jacket is super heavy duty and could probably survive a war, the artwork on both the jacket and picture sleeves is just stunning, this is high class presentation. The album is the band's most straight forward black metal effort, and weakest in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I love "Black Cascade", just not as much as their other albums. This record is becoming harder and harder to find so I'm happy to have it in my collection.

I got some other records recently which are mildly interesting so I'll just write a bit about them. This is Aura Noir's 1998 album "Deep Tracts Of Hell", the Peaceville reissue version. A classic of black/thrash metal, but not quite as good as the album that preceded it("Black Thrash Attack"). This version has two tracks from the band's debut as bonus tracks, I don't really know why but I guess it's cool. The label were stupid and shipped the record inside the jacket so it has a nice big seem split on the top, but oh well.

The classic glam/punk "girl band" debut, "The Runaways". These 16 and 17 year old girls kicked so much ass back then. This is an original 1976 pressing in all its glory, though the on corner has been cut possibly signifying a promo copy. If you haven't heard this you're missing out, a lot of fun is to be had here. All the teenage angst, 70s women's lib, and great riffs make this a thoroughly enjoyable album. Plus that foldout image is just awesome, Joan Jett was SO hot in her day.

 
The above is an original 1987 pressing of Anthrax's classic third album, "Among The Living". One of the biggest thrash albums of the era, it is far from the best but still pretty damn good. This is really the last Anthrax release that's worth owning, as the rest of their discography ranges from "meh" to "oh god no!". I do love "Indians", when the needle drops on side b and that intro starts I get pumped every time.

 
This one is obviously Metallica's legendary second album, "Ride The Lightning". The one I picked up is not the original Megaforce pressing, but the Elektra second pressing which isn't a big deal really. The album has been talked about endlessly so I'll just say that "The Call Of Ktulu" is such an epic progressive metal piece that was way ahead of it's time.

Finishing up my recent finds is an original pressing of WASP's 1984 debut. What we have here is over the top cheesy 80's metal. This is the band that made Tipper Gore flip her shit and try to censor the American music industry, which means you should probably listen to it. Honestly if you don't like this kind of stuff you take yourself too seriously. Oh and in the jacket I found this, wonder if they'd still send me this stuff?