Showing posts with label Earth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Earth. Show all posts

Wednesday 5 May 2021

Earth "Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version" (1993)

 

A recent revival of Hibernaculum and The Bees Made Honey had me curious about their pre-reformation works that had been heaped with praise. As a curious teenage enthusiast, this record had left me dumbfounded to what the fuss was about. Now, with open mind and ears I find myself with a similar sentiment, although context may play a roll given what this anomaly may have meant to listeners back in the nineties.

With three gargantuan songs totally seventy three minutes, Earth 2 strikes me as more of a singular experiment in tone than anything structured, planned or even designed. This is Drone Metal resembling very little of Metal and much of the drone one might associate with engine noises and electronic buzzing. The entire musical piece is a wash with the dense, drowning, fuzzy flood of guitar distortion cycled with amp feedback to muzzle anything that happens to wander across its bleak path.

Admittedly I can comment there is a strange charm and allure to the droning noise but is it a work of genius? I suspect not. As background or foreground music it is mostly grating and is best enjoyed when entirely distracted from its presence. Perhaps its just not my cup of tea. I understand the appeal but the particular aesthetic at play here is mostly a discomfort that feels pointless to endure its unsettling presence.

With Seven Angels, a lone guitar deploys burly riffs reminiscent of Black Sabbath on loop. Slowly chugging palm mutes and rising to chord slabs with slices of short melody, it stands aside for offering something to focus on yet feels unremarkable to me. The second track shifts aesthetics slightly, the guitar work goes in a moody direction but ultimately its emotions are smothered by the droning, dirty sludge.

 Its not until Like Gold And Faceted that we hear drums, slow, temporal and disappearing for tempo shattering duration's, they barely crash through the wall of brown sound. At the hour mark, a scream can be heard and before it, a little lead guitar but as mentioned, these events do little to conjure purpose or intent. I must say, it does sound like cryptic rumblings are woven beneath the drone at times where its consistency breaks and cracks of something else is heard, undecipherable.

The whole thing seems like an unplanned session hinged around the concept of smothering the listener in blistering feedback for an unreasonable amount of time. Its spontaneous blurts of additional sound seems disconnect and purposeless. If there is magic to be found here, it has certainly alluded me, although I suspect the aid of hallucinogenics might yield different results for those who use them.

Rating: 2/10

Saturday 10 April 2021

Earth "The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull" (2008)

With the pandemic slowing the pace of new music by the artists I follow, I've noticed the freed time has had me picking out forgotten treasures. It is much fun to revisit old favorites and after blowing the dust of Hibernaculum we get to revive the one about the bees and the lion! I never got deep into this one upon release and the reason is swiftly apparent - Its all to similar. Earth's slow, drudging pace and methodical unraveling of suspended, elongated chords and melodies brews a warm atmosphere. Once familiar with the niche, it dissipates too a mood, one to be conjured but hardly encapsulated by.

With its axis a little more woven into the softly distorted guitars, texture and aesthetic ooze from the speakers as its melodies clime to unleash brooding chords that ring out in slow motion. In its simplicity, amalgamating layers of ambiguous hazy noise gush forth from its crashing power. Heard best in its opening songs, the charm wears off as future songs pivot more so to the piano as the lead instrument and in this relegates itself to a less imbued form.

Rise To Glory introduces a remarkably hazy guitar solo that ebbs and flows in its shoe-gazing presence, sluggish and reflexive, its grasp on tension and human expression is suddenly cut short as a sudden pivot ushers in the pianos phase. Hung From The Moon goes there again with the piano but its not quite the same. This additional layer, free from the grinding pace yet flowing with a complimenting looseness is wonderful, a stand out element that doesn't get much time to flourish. With this they had something but without, its all to similar and the record tends to drift to the background, where it sets a fine and soothing mood of calmness and ease. A good record but its clear now why it didn't stick with me back then.

Rating: 6/10

Tuesday 6 April 2021

Earth "Hibernaculum" (2007)

 

Here lies a blast from the past, one of my first steps into the worlds of Drone and Doom. Earth are known as pioneers in the field and Hibernaculum comes in the second leg of the duo's carrier after reformation a few years prior. To me this four track EP was a hypnotic exercise in simplicity and repetition that pushed its gradual shifts in tone and texture as the progressive archetype. Its entrancing mood was one I'd enjoy on many long walks home in the dark, I couldn't however convince my friends of its magic but with it passing my mind again recently, I have revived its wonder to my playlist to share with all of you through this music blog.

With the aged ears acquired since, I hear the likes of Noir Jazz as a distant cousin to this breezy, soft and natural record. Steeped in a neutral tone it feels rather adaptable to either the city night or natural beauty in the light of day. Its first three songs deliver gorgeous metallic acoustic guitar melodies. Drawn out at a snails pace its repetitious ideas are underpinned by chilling piano notes and the bellowing dense blanket of bass. Slow and methodical its incremental growth blossoms so slowly its like watching a face age day by day yet in the calming spell of its manor, an intensity manifests with its lurching distortion and subtle organs chiming in on the craft.

Its final song, clocking in at over sixteen minutes takes the temporal to its conclusion. The soft percussion performance of Adrienne Davies is drawn to a crawl as the textures of her cymbal strikes cry out in the void between lingering notes from a darkly guitar. A Plague Of Angels plunges into the chill of night where its counterparts exerted a sense of natural beauty, this one slides into the shadows, devoid of light yet still having this calming persuasion. Being able to hold the listener in its grasps, the gradual rise of blunt over-driven chords takes us into dramatic spaces as it grows bolder. It could be excellence in action, or possibly the countless hours of bonding that made it so vivid to me.

I've written on Earth's more recent Primitive And Deadly, back when I first started this blog. Its a different beast, more metallic and doomly with charming vocals and all. That was one of my personal favorites from 2014. This fun revival of an old gem has made me realize how little of their discography I have uncovered, perhaps one to dive into now! Hibernaculum is a fine record, solemnly neutral with a slight chill in its backbone, the temporal pace and sluggish unraveling is a power of its own! One to always return to from time to time.

Rating: 8/10

Friday 26 December 2014

My Top 10 Albums Of 2014


The end of the year is upon us, and now its time to write about my 10 favorite albums of 2014. Most of them have been reviewed on the blog which has only been going a few months. Writing about music has given me tremendous focus when it comes to appreciating music. I am now much more organized with my listening habits, I only write about records after I feel an understanding and connection to that without the blog wouldn't have been the same in the past. I'm thankful for this blog and everyones support by reading the articles, Its improved my musical experience greatly and this article will cover my thoughts of each record in brief.

(10) Panopticon "Roads To The North" Link
Delightfully different approach to Black Metal, Kentucky folk influences, an appreciation of heritage and culture made this a colorful and palleted record that is enjoyable on every listen.

(9) Yagya "Sleepygirl" Link
 

Not an especially distinguished or grabbing record, this was just simply what I wanted from this artist, some chilled out super mellow dreamy electronics.

(8) Earth "Primitive And Deadly" Link
A masterful record that saw long running band Earth find their inspiration and direct it into a mature and well developed record that brought vocal elements into their usually instrumental sound. An unexpected and welcome suprise.

(7) Erang "We Are The Past" Link

Erang has pumped out a lot of music in a short amount of time and each record brings a variety of interesting and indulgent music, but unexpectedly this one really stepped up the game with some of his most inspired and captivating music yet. Makes me excited for the future of this project.


(6) Wolves In The Throne Room "Celestite"
Stripping out core elements of their sound and focusing on the abstract synthesizer sounds, the group made a remarkable record that goes on a vivid and mysterious journey through space and time with and eerie and cold undertone. Gripping soundscapes

 (5) Behemoth "The Satanist"
Stunningly dark, evil and well composed. What could of been another run of the mill album for their 10th effort turned out to be focused and ambitious record that despite sitting in a comfort zone, turned out to be monumentally engrossing and heavy.

(4) The Underachievers "Cellar Door - Terminus Ut Exordium" Link

A pleasant surprise to find a Hip Hop record in the modern era I could get into. Very much enjoyed the atmosphere of this record which borders some dark moods at time. Great beats and flows outside of my comfort zone made this an expansive record for my taste.

(3) Saor "Aura" Link

A brilliant record that appreciates Black Metals melodic side, bringing together the abrasive aesthetics with culturally inspired melodies and instrumentation. A pleasure for the ears.

(2) Messenger "Illusory Blues" Link

A Progressive Rock record that draws inspiration from many of the greats while creating its own identity. This record is mature for a debut and paves the way to a bright future for this creative band.

(1) First Aid Kit "Stay Gold" Link
Picking my favorite was as easy as it gets. Since I first heard this record Ive found myself more and more engrossed by these gorgeous songs that are charming and relate-able with down to earth, uplifting and reflectional lyrics that are driven home by the pairs beautiful voices, which put me in a good mood every time I hear them. Simply can't stop listening to this one.

Wednesday 8 October 2014

Earth "Primitive And Deadly" (2014)


Earth are an American Drone Metal band from Washington that formed in 1989 and are considered pioneers in the field of Drone Metal. Over the years there style and sound has changed, evolving into a more melodic and Rock sound than their Drone roots, although still keeping the Sludge / Drone relevant in their sound. 2007s Hibernaculum caught my attention with its slow, sludging groves performed in melodical tones that created contrasting atmospheres of relaxation and intensity, since then i have been enjoying this bands output, and this album has certainly grasped my attention.

Primitive And Deadly sounds lush and vivid, capturing the textural depths of guitars that drone there beautiful distortion in graceful sludgery. The clean melodic leads share the space effortlessly as the two wrap and meld around one another. The drumming ever present, quietly retaining the pace of these slow burners with grace. On 3 this records 5 tracks, Earth introduce a vocal presence with exquisite execution, Lanegan & Qazi bring artistic, poetic performances to the fold, so tastefully done. There is a real connection between the instrumentals and the vocalists that add great depth to this record.

Through these slow burning numbers Earth build enigmatic & psychedelic soundscapes that have an almost rock-like feel to them. Maybe if sped up some of these riffs would sound a bit more so, but there sluggish dragging of these riffs create spacious atmospheres for these chords and distortions to ring out to great effect. Through these spaces the songs progress and build thoughtful and unresting moods that give this album and immersible quality. I'm ever so impressed with this record, I've been lavishing in these tunes. Earth have mastered their sound, and this record is a fantastic step forward for them.

Favorite Tracks: There Is A Serpent Coming, From The Zodiacal Light
Rating: 6/10