Watain - The WIld Hunt Review

Out of all of the various sub-genres of Metal, Black Metal is one of the most difficult to like. A lot of it sounds like pure white noise to the average person. This is due largely to the obsession with sounding like a demo recorded in a garage, coupled with fast guitars and drums (for an example, listen to this). While it is raw and very atmospheric, it can also be very difficult to listen to. Another problem is the fans; they tend to be very close-minded, and as such Black Metal is quite stagnant in comparison to many other sub-genres. As such, Watain is a source of controversy.

Though they started as a rather typical Black Metal group with their first album, they cleaned up their production and varied their music more for their second, and began to establish an identity. Next they released their third, Sworn to the Dark, where they embraced an even cleaner production (while still keeping the raw guitar sound) and moved towards more mid-tempo songs. Then came the fourth album, Lawless darkness. Here they began to branch out, incorporating Thrash Metal into their sound (though they were still almost entirely black metal), and pissing off a lot of Black Metal Purists, but gaining mainstream recognition in return.

Now, we come to The Wild Hint. After the experimentation on the last album, many were left unsure of what to expect this time around, and this album continues that adventurous spirit. It opens with a roughly 3 1/2 minute instrumental intro, Night Vision, which is, surprisingly decent. Then De Profundis bursts through, a piece of incredibly aggressive and chaotic Black Metal (with the cleaner production, it almost sounds a bit Thrashy), with somewhat distorted echoes of his voice crowding in, only slowing down briefly before exploding again. After that burst of anarchic fury comes Black Flames March, a mid-tempo song that could have come straight of of Sworn to the Dark, a lull after a storm. Afterwards, the pace picks up a bit with All That May Bleed, which, while never reaching the sheer velocity of De Profundis, is still quite aggressive.

The next track is my favourite of the album The Child Must Die, marks the start best and most interesting part of the album, slowing its tempo once again, and focusing on creating a more mournful sound, which it carries through even as it speeds up towards the end, and is definitely one of the best songs on the album. They Rode On, the following song, is definitely one that will generate the most controversy, as it marks, of all things, Watain's first ballad, with vocalist Erik Danielsson trying out his singing voice (which while not amazing, fits the song to a tee) and it's quite good, to my surprise; at first I wasn't sure what to make of it, but it has grown on me. The next song is another vicious and fast song in the vein of De Profundis, slowing down a large portion of the song before building back up to its former speed. It really seems like this one should have been placed at the start of the album with the rest of the more straightforward and aggressive songs, but the song itself is very well crafted. The title track slows down once more, going for a very Doomy sound, with Erik Danielsson singing once again, as well as some vocal harmonies, and is very good as well.

On the tails of the titular track comes another one of my favourites, Outlaw, which is an odd one; it starts with a tribal, ritualistic rhythm, complete with chanting, then bursts out into a furious speed, before collapsing back into the same tribal rhythm once again at the end, and they almost seem to be channeling recent Rotting Christ in this song. The following song, Ignem Veni Mittere, is an instrumental, mellow and melodic until halfway through where the guitar becomes slow and heavy, slowly fading out into total silence. From this silence come the last track, Holocaust Dawn, which quickly descends into a slower, more crushing rhythm, then into silence, and bursts back once more, slightly faster.

This is definitely Watain's most bold album by far, a great mix of old and new, and very nearly perfectly executed. The only bad thing I could really say is that one song seems misplaced, but even that's just a minor quibble. Some longtime fans may be initially alienated by some of the later tracks, especially those expecting mostly more aggressive songs, but I urge them to give it a chance.

Final Verdict

8.7/10

Overrated is totally overrated

When extolling the virtues of an unknown or "underground" band, it's only a matter of time before somebody calls it "underrated." People will complain about how none of these great bands get any mainstream success, whenever they can, ranting about how people need to stop listening to shitty pop music and listen to <insert band name here>. Hell, I've even done it myself a number of times. 

The moment such a band does make it into the limelight, something funny happens. The moment a group does get noticed and picked up by a major record label, suddenly they get summarily dismissed as "sell-outs," and "overrated." It doesn't even matter if they actually changed their music at all, in the eyes of the former devotees they are now just another terrible "mainstream" band. In other words, these people don't actually wish these bands to succeed, they don't want the masses to listen to their favourite underground bands, they just want to complain.

It's really redolent of a lot of so-called "nerd culture" in its exclusivity. They just want to band together with a small group of people and complain about how these bands don't succeed, without the group ever succeeding. The moment a large number of people discover it, the fun's over. Complaining that a band is "overrated' is simply a way of saying you can't (or won't) enjoy anything that other people like.

Saying this doesn't make you sound cool, it sounds puerile and ridiculous. When most people hear you say that, they likely think you're kind of a douche, they are simply too polite to actually say it. So, don't be that guy, don't put on your your hipster hat whenever you talk about music. It's unpleasantly disingenuous, and it makes the people around you cringe.

Review: Hesitation Marks, by Nine Inch Nails

As a big fan of Nine Inch Nails, this album got me pretty excited when it was announced. I have every major release, and most of the remix albums, by this group. As a result, my expectations were quite high, especially when I heard the new single late one night on Facebook (interesting enough, I logged on and the first thing on my news feed was the new song).

With all of the hype and anticipation, how does the new album stand up? Surprisingly well, actually.

Hesitation Marks is a return to form, of sorts. After becoming steadily more rock-oriented and stripped down over the last 3 albums, this album marks a swift 180 in style. In a lot of ways, this album is a lot like Pretty Hate Machine. Those hoping for the harsher industrial music NIN made mid-career, this is not the album you're looking for. There are plenty of infectious beats, starting with the second track, "Copy Of A," and continuing onwards from there. It's a lot like With Teeth with the way the tracks tend to straddle the line between dark and sad, and upbeat (melancholy and dark most of the time, with a rather upbeat chorus) and in the way that most tracks land firmly in the "dark" category. There is one notable exception, which is also the worst song on the album, and that is "Everything." The song switches between what amounts to Nine Inch Nails' take on pop-punk with an emphasis on pop (complete with harmonised group singing of the first word of each sentence) and an abrasive, distorted chorus (which on it's own is not a bad thing). The two just don't mix very well, and it sticks out like a broken thumb.

Besides that, the cd is quite good. As always with Nine Inch Nails, the emotion bleeds through the lyrics; Trent Reznor has retained his ability to clearly telegraph feelings without becoming comically angsty like many other bands. Very few people can carry that into old age while remaining believable but, as demonstrated here, it can be done.

All things considered, this is a very good album, and a quite good NIN album. It's quite catchy and varies the beats and rhythms enough to avoid the common pitfall many bands playing similar types of music fall into, which is making all of the songs sound the same, with little in the way of song structure and focused solely on being easy to dance to. There are straightforward danceable tunes ("Came Back Haunted"), there are slower and more ambient tracks ("Find My Way"), and there are some funkier beats as well ("Satellite"). Most of the songs have some sort of distortion, echo, or ambient sounds, and it really brings out the tone of each song quite effectively. As always, Nine Inch Nails manages to hold the listener's interest throughout the album.

Definitely worth your money if you're a Nine Inch Nails fan, or just enjoy their electronic music more focused on song structure than repetitive dancing beats.

Final Verdict

7.5/10

A work in progress

As I have not written many reviews before, I will be experimenting a bit to see what works, so bear with me.

GREETINGS EARTHLINGS!

Hello and welcome to my blog. This is my second real attempt at a blog, as Tumblr did not much fit my long winded tendencies, and I generally am not a big fan. This seems more my style, however, so I will try it out for size.

I find introductions ought to be short and sweet, so I won't drag on.

I am a 19 year old male, hailing from the desert wasteland of Arizona (slight exaggeration). My musical tastes range wider than most people seem to think, although I tend towards rock and metal. That being said, it would take far too long to decant my various musical likes and dislikes into this introduction in enough detail to satisfy readers, so I will instead leave it up to you, the reader, to determine from my posts what those may be. If I come across as a bit obsessive, it's likely because I am.

I hope you enjoy my musings, and if you don't...oh well.