(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 13: 2024, Bringing The Heavy (Another Slightly Past Mid-Year Review)

Not gonna lie: I enjoyed the stroll through 2024’s big hitters. And I have my attention being torn in a myriad of directions, having to get the Nine Circles playlist ready, the next post in Cinema Dual’s ongoing Kurosawa retrospective, a concert to attend Friday (I’m seeing Dweezil Zappa), and an extended weekend in the mountains to celebrate the last days of Summer. All of which is just my roundabout way of saying it’s time for another abbreviated post celebrating the music of 2024. This time we’re focusing on the heavier side of the spectrum, so expect the playlist this week to be loud, fast, and ferocious. Except when it’s slow, low, and meditative. Or progressive. This is why I love metal so much, you know?

ChrisAugust 31, 2024August 29, 2024Leave a comment

CD, Vinyl

The Flower Kings: Islands (2020)

Eighteen years. That’s how far we’re skipping into the future for the next review of The Flower Kings. Get your gasps out now: not only will we not see entries for The Sum of No Evil or even Waiting For Miracles, which was my first exposure to the band, but I don’t believe I’ve ever heard the other albums, at least in their entirety. I’m sure I’ll get to them eventually, but for now I want to talk about Islands, the band’s COVID album, recorded remotely and stitched together by Roine Stolt in his enforced downtime. So marvel at the Roger Dean cover (it’s a beaut) and let’s take a stroll through the band’s latest (in this series) approach to its unique blend of progressive rock.

ChrisAugust 28, 20241 Comment

flower kings unfold the future cover art

CD, Vinyl

The Flower Kings: Unfold The Future (2002)

You would think after the somewhat muddled response to The Rainmaker and the first real significant loss of a band member (Jaime Salazar departs the drum kit), Roine Stolt would put a pause on The Flower Kings and regroup. Nope: here we are a year later with new drummer Zoltan Csörsz, an expanded lineup that includes returning sidemen Ulf Wallender and Hasse Brunisson and Pain of Salvation’s frontman Daniel Gildenlöw contributing backing and lead vocals. It’s also back to epic album lengths, with Unfold The Future clocking in at just over 140 minutes. Gone are the overt “let’s get metal” moments, replaced with more cinematic ambition and jazzier, loose explorations. Does it all work? Well, much better than The Rainmaker, yes. But for more you need to dive in after the jump.

ChrisAugust 25, 20241 Comment

Playlists

(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 12: 2024, A Slightly Past Mid-Year Review

I’m about halfway through the next Flower Kings review, and also have a bunch of catchup work, both paying and not, that’s kept me from regular posting this week. So we’re going to keep things brief for this week’s playlist, which is going to highlight tracks from my favorite albums of the year so far. Think of it as a mid-year report, except it’s coming about a month and half too late. And to make up for the lack of commentary, and because there’s so much to love about music in 2024, we’re expanding one time from 1 hours to 2 hours.

Lots of different styles and genres within, so let’s cut the chit-chat and get to it.

ChrisAugust 24, 2024August 23, 2024Leave a comment

Playlists

(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 11: Back in the Acquisition Saddle Again

I’m back on vacation, this time disease-free and making the most of it on the sandy beaches of Jamaica, so album analysis and the final arc of Flower King records will wait until I’m home next week. I thought about another playlist of recent listening but, uh…it’s almost exclusively been the last few Deep Purple records. After initially being lukewarm on their new album =1, the first to feature Simon McBride on guitar, I fell hard for it and subsequently fell even harder for the last few with Steve Morse. You don’t want an hour of that, believe me (maybe you do).

Good thing I’ve been on a rampage lately with new music. Sure, it’s mainly progressive rock, jazz, fusion and – yeah – Deep Purple, but at least it’s not ALL Deep Purple, right? Right?

ChrisAugust 17, 2024August 17, 2024Leave a comment

Miscellany

10 Things I Learned Reading “The Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums OF All Time”

The one fun thing about my recent COVID-laden vacation was sitting back with a thick book of Canadian music critic Martin Popoff sounding off writ large at heavy metal records. Specifically, The Top 500 Heavy Metal Records Of All Time, as compiled via poll over 20 years ago. I’m a big fan of Popoff – even when I don’t agree with him (and that can be often regarding certain bands and genres) he has a very clear, entertaining voice, is deeply knowledgeable about the field of rock and roll, and – most importantly – backs up his opinions and claims. We’ll get a little more into that below, but despite being sick it was a blast to read him sound off on all 500 albums (again – he had no say in what was chosen, so it was a delight to read him rip on particular picks that don’t jibe with his own vision), bringing said albums up in my headphones and listening, forming my own opinions as I went along. And lo and behold: I learned a couple things in the process. 10 things to be exact, so let get over the jump and see what those things are and how they inform the way I consume music in this day and age.

ChrisAugust 12, 2024August 9, 20241 Comment

Consuming the Tangible

We are what we consume

Month: August 2024