Weekly Shuffle

The fourth installment of my column where the old iPod goes on shuffle and I review the tracks that pop up.

"Rue D'Auseil" by the Great Old Ones, I recently reviewed this album so not be be redundant, I can say the album continues to grow on me. This song has a slow wind up better served as back ground music but when it kicks in has all the ambiance and experimental we now expect from metal out of france.

"She Lives" by Swans, ...I just wanna thank you, Gira's melodies are great here and one of the only things I miss about some of the newer stuff if the melodies aren't as focused as the older stuff, but it is heavier so ...it's the Swans I'm not complaining

"Severence" by Dead Can Dance, ...Perry knocks it out of the park on this one, I think Bauhaus has covered this one. It's the subtle vocal crescendo that does it for me, as it's sparse on the instrumentation. Still wrestling ver who put out the better non- metal album this year these guys or Swans.

"Heaven knows I'm Miserable now" by the Smiths, ... A classic, I love when Moz let's his falsetto float out , the lyrics encapsulate how I feel on a daily basis, their songs always speak to me, especially when Caligula blushes.

"Gypsy" by Emperor ...yes a cover of the Merciful Fate song. Ihsahn doesn't back down from going for the high parts either though most are buried in reverb and not hitting it like the King but even Ripper Owens can't hit it like the King , so this is one of the better attempts.

"bbbTone" by Pinback, these guys have an uncanny ability to weave melodies around their off time exploits not unlike the Police at times and much more effectively than Modest Mouse's attempts at an often similar dynamic. The bass is crazy dominating on this one but it works.

"Gateways" by Dimmu Borigir, the symphonic nature of what is going on at this point could have as much cheese as Nightwish, but it all some how works when you crept the fact they no longer are making black metal but dark gothic symphonic metal, they slay Cradle of Filth and even without I.c.s Vortex they manage to pull it off.

"Somniphobia" by Sigh, this type of winding Bungle like prog hits you with so much I don't have as high a tolerance for it as I did as a teenager, but this album is great the keys are very Deep Purple at times and the weird toy circus break down is better than most of the devils carnival soundtrack, making me think Sigh should have handled the music to that.

"Moonage Daydream" Bowie at his most genius and Mick Ronson being the rock god he was never paid proper homage for being, I mean this song stacks up against all the greatest , Zeppelin, Beatles , Zappa ...whatever, classic no questions asked any one who can't appreciate this no matter what kind of metal they are into doesn't have an ear for music In the first place and should Styx in the bathroom and hum along to the reverberations of their own farts.

"I am the Earth" by Watain , while they are one of my favorite bands , I have given preSworn to the dark material as much of a listen . It seems not too different and I own I just got so stuck on the last two albums so maybe I'll start a classic metal column and review "Casus Lucferi" during the draught of new music January always brings.