Metallica. In my youth I would have told you they were my all time favorite band without thinking twice. After all, they were the band that got me into “real” heavy metal. Before Metallica, my middle school ears had an affinity for all things hair metal, such as Poison and Motley Crue. But then one fateful day, I heard “One” either on the radio or possibly on (gasp!) MTV, memories are a bit fuzzy at this point. But what I can tell you of my first experience hearing that majestic thrashterpiece is that it was one of the defining moments of my life as a music listener, the staccato riffing and bludgeoning drums coalesced with James Hetfield’s barked lyrics into the sound my ears had always wanted to hear.
Continue reading ‘Dethroned Emperor #15′
At a glance, Zebulon Pike seem to craft their music from the same materials as Pelican: lumbering doom metal riffs, lengthy instrumental songs, and dynamic soft-and-quiet vs loud-and-heavy transitions. But closer listening shows some drastic differences between the two bands. Pelican’s songs, especially on their first two albums, are repetitive and loose; they create the feeling of refined jam sessions that slowly build up to skin-tingling highs. While unafraid of the occasional improvised break, Zebulon Pike’s compositions are more detailed and intricate. Constantly re-arranging and changing the riffs and melodies, they fuse the ambitious musicianship of prog rockers and classical composers with the thunderous doom metal. Zebulon Pike’s inspiration comes from the likes of Stravinsky and King Crimson rather than Earth and Godspeed You Black Emperor. What made The Deafening Twilight one of the most enjoyable releases of 2006 was the inclusion of these more complex ideas in doom metal without losing any heaviness or energy; it was epic, it rocked, and it was dense, revealing subtleties on repeated listens.
Continue reading ‘Zebulon Pike – Intranscience (2008, Unfortunate Music)’
