Sonic Alchemy

While I was at work today a thought occurred to me, I listen to vastly different styles of music and love ALL of it. This really isn't different from any other day but, it became much more apparent to me for some reason so I thought I’d share one of my play lists with you. As I was doing some paper work, I popped one of my mix CDs in my computer to pass the time. I'm usually the first person in the building but I still use a headset because some of the music I listen to is best enjoyed at very high volume.

The first batch of songs on the disc was by a group called, Sons Of Liberty.
Sons of Liberty is a band that was started by Iced Earth frontman John Schaffer. The music is of similar style to Iced Earth but the lyrics have more political undertones, very much like the groups Bad Religion and Rise Against. There's something both energizing and infuriating about a song that preaches how this country is being run by a non-government agency (The Fed). I must admit, the album pales in comparison to a live Iced Earth show but, then again, that’s like saying fresh orange juice and frozen orange juice just don’t really taste the same. However, the next song group of songs was a welcome tranquilizer to the soapbox style vocals that Schaffer puts out.


Next on the list were some songs by my favorite band, Thrice. Saying they are my favorite band is a gamble but I absolutely love their music and have followed the band since they formed, in 1998, and have watched them metamorphosis into what they are today. They started with a style that was a mesh of hardcore and alternative and they have now settled into more of an experimental/indy genre. The song I listed to that really stuck out is named, “Moving Mountains” from the album "The Alchemy Index Vol.II". The Alchemy Index is a set of 4 discs that all feature one of the four elements (fire, water, air, earth) and each song on the CD is influenced by that particular element. There were several different songs from the Earth and Water CDs on the play list so, I was pretty mellow for most of the morning.



This was followed by Abney Park’s "Herr Drosslmeyer's Doll" and the title track from a limited release of the new Vernian Process album “Behold The Machine”. Both of these bands are labeled as "Steampunk" and their sound is pretty eclectic. Think of what a Vaudevillian would sound like if you gave them electric guitars and a computer loaded with drums beats, synthesizer melodies, and sound effects. The also fuse their sound with more traditional instruments such as violins, harpsichords (which could just be a synthesizer but who cares, it sounds awesome), and orchestral brass. So, I was in a pretty good mood when the next cache of songs assaulted me.


When I say I was “assaulted” by the next group of songs I’m being very lenient. There is nothing tender, mild or soft about Trivium or Five Finger Death Punch. I found these guys by accident, thanks to my wife, and have been listening to them ever since. Probably one of the best hardcore groups I’ve heard, Trivium uses very hard thrash core guitar riffs and screaming vocals for the verses in their songs but, follow it up with melodic almost harmonic chorus lines and sweeping guitar solos to keep the songs moving. I was almost shocked the first time I heard the song “A Gunshot to the Head of Trepadition” but I’ve been hooked on the group ever since. Trivium falls into the same category as groups like Killswitch Engage, 36 Crazyfists, and Underoath (all bands that I still enjoy today).


To cap it off, the last few songs on the CD just made me laugh because I had forgotten that I put them there. All of us grew up listening to certain music and I must say that I thank my parents for exposing me to all forms of classical, jazz, and rock (yes, even Bryan Adams). The two songs that stuck out to me were Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” and Jethro Tull’s “Aqualung”. I listened to these two again on the ride home just because they are really fun songs. I laugh every time I hear Peter Gabriel because I think of the dancing turkeys from the “Sledgehammer” video. Others songs at the end of the CD included, “A Fifth of Beethoven” by Walter Murphy and “Take 5” as performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet. I know what you’re thinking, “How do you go from heavy metal to THAT?”. The simple answer is, as I stated at the beginning of the post, I love ALL styles of music (yes even some country...grumble grumble). Randomly, I’ve had that Reba McEntire song, “Fancy” going through my head for about a week now, talk about annoying...oh well.

I'll just blast it out with some Static-X later. Rock on people!