First set of first impressions

I really enjoy listening to new bands but it takes a lot of work to find them by yourself. That's why I was more than happy to snatch so many albums from my sister's laptop. She listens to metal too so there is actually a big chance that I might find something I could really like.

I don't often have the patience to get to know new bands at home. I just download some samples but never really listen to them. It doesn't work that way. That's why I decided to listen to these new albums at work where I can really concentrate.

I have now listened to six new albums (that's pretty much all I can fit to my mp3-player) and I'm ready to write down some first impressions. Notice that these are not supposed to be reviews or recommendations, just lazy scribbles to document my musical journey. I hope that later I can look back to these and see how my taste of music has developed (and hopefully extended too).

Trivium - The Crusade



The Crusade it's indeed a very decent album... if you happen to like trash metal. I just don't like. I tried to listen to this with an open mind though, because this was something my sister especially wanted me to try out. But I just couldn't really enjoy this. It was too Metallica-like, and if I want to listen to something that sounds like Metallica, I listen to Metallica.

Nile - Annihilation of the Wicked



I'm not sure if metal music is supposed to make you feel good, but that is the main reason why I listen to it. Annihilation of the Wicked certainly did not made me feel good; It made me want to kill myself by being way too boring for my taste. Hell yeah, it's aggressive. But not in a good way. It was more like totally meaningless background noise, with no melody or anything that you could actually catch on. This album just made me yawn and I couldn't find anything good from it even though I listened to it twice. The cover art is quite cool, though.

The Gathering - Home



This album got me hypnotized from the very first song. And it just kept getting better song by song. I'd say that Home sounds a bit like No Need to Argue by the Cranberries but with a beat and rougher vocals. In fewer words: it's just perfect. Listen to yourself:



Carcass - Heartwork



I know that these bands don't exactly walk hand in hand, but somehow Carcass reminds me of Dimmu Borgir. It was the very first metal band I ever listened so I guess it's a good thing even though I don't really listen to it anymore. Anyway. Heartwork is quite basic melodic death metal album and therefore highly enjoyable if you're into that. I think I still have to work with this one even though I already like it. I just think I could like it more if I could listen to it when I'm on the right mood for it.

Porcupine Tree - Deadwing



I knew in advance that I was going to love Deadwing. I'm not psychic or anything. I've just seen this happen before; Amarth likes Vast. Then Amoena likes Vast. Amarth likes Katatonia. Then Amoena likes Katatonia. Amarth likes Porcupine Tree... Yeah. There's a pattern. I'm not trying to copy his taste of music, it just keeps happening. And it wasn't even Amarth who made me listen to this album in the first place!



Summoning - Stronghold



If Nile was an anti-feel-good metal, this is the exact opposite. Stronghold definitely makes you feel good. It will also make your imagination flowing. It sounds like a soundtrack and it will fill your head with awesome ideas and pictures. At least it worked for me and left me feeling totally creative. Now I just need to find out where to use such creativeness.