Blue Sky Black Death: Noir (5/5)

Joshua's Top 10 Albums of 2011

#2 of 10

Year: 2011

Genre: Atmospheric Instrumental Trip-hop

Label: Fake Four

TRT: 62:41

While they started their career solidly in the realm of instrumental hip hop, over the past couple albums they've been moving more and more in the direction of washed out electronics and trip hop. They've also become more interesting as they mature their sound. Noir is like a warm day on the tail end of summer. Everything seems calm and laid back, but you just have a feeling that a storm is brewing on the horizon, and you can't shake your sense of unease. Like a hallway where there's enough light to keep moving, but not enough to see what's at the far end. Blue Sky Black Death prowls in those shadows, waiting.

01 Our Hearts Of Ruin

02 Sleeping Children Are Still Flying

03 And Stars, ringed

04 To The Ends Of The Earth

05 Farewell To The Former World

06 Falling Short

07 Gold In Gold Out

08 Where Do We Go

09 In The Quiet Absence Of God

10 Where The Sun Beats

11 Starry

12 Fire For Light

13 Swords From Driftwood

14 Sky With Hand

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Cloudkicker: ]]][[[ (5/5)

Joshua's Top Five EPs of 2010
#1 of 5



Year: 2010
Genre: Progressive Polymetric Metal
Label: Self Released
TRT: 15:46

Ben Sharp said in an interview recently that one of the main reasons he started making music was to see how many layers he could fit in a song. This brief EP is a testament to that. Moving in a bit of a different direction than The Discovery, ]]][[[ is more focused on the build up than the pay off, but because of this the pay offs are some of his best to date. A nice little bite-sized snack that is substantial, regardless of size.

1. #
2. %
3. $

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The Cure: Carnage Visors (4/5)

Year: 1981
Genre: Atmospheric Post-Punk
Label: Elektra
TRT: 27:45

Until recently, very few people had heard this piece, or even knew it existed. It was written as the soundtrack to an animated short film Simon Gallup’s brother Ric directed. This short was used in lieu of a support band for the Picture Tour in 1981, and could only be found on the B side of the Faith cassette tape release.

I stumbled across it a number of years ago in a friends collection. I asked him about it and he gave me the back-story, and needless to say I was intrigued. Fortunately for me, I had the capability to do a tape rip and burn to CD (ah, the good ol’ days). At the time I didn’t dig it too much (but then, at the time I didn’t dig Pornography either, and now it’s one of my all time favorite albums). It was too minimal and too repetitive.

Fast forward a few years, and I again stumbled across the song, this time as an MP3 in my music library. Curious to see if it was as boring as I remembered, I put it on while reading. This time through though, it really clicked. I realized there is a lot more going on under the surface of this piece than is readily apparent. While it is indeed minimal and repetitive, there are a plethora of subtleties and hypnotic textures present that seem to just pull you in and hold you under. This is quite the sinister little composition. Bleak, dark, stark and I can only imagine that the film meant to accompany it was equally unnerving (something to do with toys and inanimate objects), though I still have not been able to track it down to see for myself.

Alas, my humble tape rip is no longer a rarity, as Carnage Visors was re-released on the recent Faith remastered deluxe package, and easily available to the masses. And while I’m sure the sonic integrity is much improved, I’d rather listen to my own dubious rip, “quality” be damned. There are some things that are better when left in obscurity, if for no other reason than to preserve their mystique. The forgotten and unknown often possess peculiar sway when discovered. That’s the way this was for me. I hope that’s the way it is for you as well.

01 Carnage Visors

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Zu: Carboniferous (5/5)

Joshua's Non-Metal Picks for 2009
#2 of 10



Year: 2009
Genre: Instrumental Progressive Rock Insanity
Label: Ipecac
TRT: 50:14

Imagine the band Shining walking down a dark alley late at night, and all of a sudden John Zorn's saxophone jumps it from behind and...has it's way.

This is dark, dirty, and unsettling instrumental craziness. This album really grabbed my attention from the start, and keeps me coming back for more, even though it scares me a little bit.

A truly progressive band.

01 Ostia
02 Cthonian
03 Carbon
04 Beata Viscera
05 Erinys
06 Soulympics
07 Axion
08 Mimosa Hostilis
09 Obsidian
10 Orc

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Shelter Red: Strike a Mortal Terror (4/5)

Joshua's Top 10 Metal Albums of 2009
#7 of 10



Year: 2009
Genre: Progressive Instrumental Metal
Label: Sound vs. Silence
TRT: 31:23

New on my RADAR this year, but already on their second release, and boy is it a doozy.

Barely clocking in over half and hour, but with enough energy and badassery to fill an album twice that length. Very groovy, very heavy, and pretty solid on the technical side of things as well.

They're sort of like a cross between Russian Circles and Irepress, with a touch of Animals as Leaders to spice things up.

01 Strike a Mortal Terror
02 Inferno
03 This Is a Lost Ambition
04 The Moralist
05 Dejanira
06 A Confusion of Tongues
07 Last Rites for the Dying

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Animals as Leaders: Animals as Leaders (5/5)

Joshua's Top 10 Metal Album of 2009
#1 of 10


Year: 2009
Genre: Progressive Polymetric Metal
Label: Prosthetic Records
TRT: 51:50

This is the latest offering from Tosin Abasi (Reflux), and it's the best thing he's ever done. Initially Abasi rejected the idea of releasing a solo instrumental album, feeling it would be "egotistical and unnecessary".

I for one am thrilled that he decided to put aside his misgivings, and essentially prove himself wrong.

Here we have an incredible collection of groovy tracks that are actual songs, not just an excuse for some virtuoso to demonstrate their guitar wankery to the world. This album is actually a lot of fun to listen to, because it's a good album, not simply because it's technically proficient.

Having said that, Abasi is surely at the top of his game with this release, and there are many "WTF" moments that leave me reeling every time.

Abasi enlisted Misha Mansoor (also known as Bulb) of Periphery renown to help with the production, and it's rumored he actually helped with a bit of the writing and playing at times.

01 Tempting Time
02 Soroya
03 Thoroughly at Home
04 On Impulse
05 Tessitura
06 Behaving Badly
07 The Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing
08 CAFO
09 Inamorata
10 Point to Point
11 Modern Meat
12 Song of Solomon

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Cloudkicker: The Discovery (5/5)

Year: 2008
Genre: Progressive Polyrhythmic Metal
Label: Self Released
TRT: 39:48

Writing extremely complex music that is as intricate as it is interesting is no small feat, yet Cloudkicker seems to achieve this effortlessly. Ben Sharp, the sole entity behind the moniker, seems to have a firm grasp on what he wants to accomplish, and executes his ideas flawlessly.

Fans of Meshuggah, Periphery, Animals as Leaders and simlar progressive poly-rhythmic acts will eat this up.

This is the sort of album that makes me sad most of my friends refuse to listen to metal.

So after I'd had the album on repeat for 3 days straight, I figured it was time to take the next step in our relationship. but after several minutes of frantic searching, I came to the realization that nothing Sharp has ever released has been anything but a download link from his myspace page.

This is exceedingly admirable as far as motives and intentions go, but for the hardened collector like myself, this is a travesty! So I would implore you...if you enjoy this album as much as I do, drop a note at his myspace page and ask him to go through with a physical release. Maybe if enough of us request it, our wish will be granted.

01 The Genesis Device
02 Dysphoria
03 Avalanche
04 Everything's Mirror
05 Viceroy
06 Segue
07 The Discovery
08 Covington
09 Triumverate!
10 States

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Ulver: Svidd Neger (4.5/5)

Year: 2003
Label: Jester
Genre: Epic Experimental Film Score
TRT: 32:39

Generally this release gets criminally overlooked among the host of other releases by the Wolves of Norway. Originally i had downloaded a bogus copy with a bunch of weird and awful crap spliced in to the rest of it. When I finally realized I didn't have the real deal and aquired it, I was blown away with it's beauty. I've never seen the film, but it better be gorgeous enough to do this soundtrack justice. It really leaves you wanting to hear more.

01 Preface
02 Ante Andante
03 Comedown
04 Surface
05 Somnam
06 Wild Cat
07 Rock Massif pt. 1
08 Rock Massif pt. 2
09 Poltermagda
10 Mummy
11 Burn the Bitch
12 Sick Soliloquy
13 Waltz King of Karl
14 Sadface
15 Fuck Fast
16 Wheel of Conclusion

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Blotted Science: The Machinations of Demensia (5/5)

#3 out of 10
Metal Album of 2007

Year: 2007
Label: Unsigned
Genre: Instrumental Progressive Metal
TRT: 57:15

As a testament to it’s greatness, I didn’t hear this album until October, and it was almost immediately not just in my favorites of the year, but counted as one of the best instrumental albums I’ve ever heard. If I had to make a comparison, I would describe this album as the result of James Malone from Arsis suffering from extreme sleep deprivation and listening to nothing but Meshuggah for days until finally passing out. If you are familiar with Spastic Ink and other Jarzombeck projects, you probably already know about this record, and it’s probably in your headphones right now.
Review by Praemorior

#6 out of 10
Metal Album of 2007
First off if you like Between The Buried & Me you'll love this album. It's instrumental but the riffs will keep you entertained. In the first song "Synaptic Plasticity" I was listening and then this crazy drum roll came out of nowhere and this heavy guitar tone that was absent before just stunned me. This will continue to happen over and over through out the album. When you get to the end listen to the last two songs again (this may sound strange). The last two songs are unique in that, the last song is the song before it in reverse. This was pointed out to me by Praemorior, and I love that you can hear the beats and guitars from the opposite and reverse end.
Review by |A Study in Temperament|

01 Synaptic Plasticity
02 Laser Lobotomy
03 Brain Fingerprinting
04 Oscillation Cycles
05 Activation Synthesis Theory
06 R.E.M.
07 Night Terror
08 Bleeding In The Brain
09 Vegetation
10 Narcolepsy
11 E.E.G. Tracings
12 Sleep Deprivation
13 The Insomniac
14 Amnesia
15 Adenosine Breakdown
16 Adenosine Buildup

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Battles: Mirrored (4.5/5)

#10 out of 10
Non-Metal Album of 2007

Year: 2007
Label: Warp
Genre: Instrumental Math Rock

This band knows how to rock Full of energy and spunk, their refreshing knack for strangeness is what really sets them apart from the crowd. While not truly an "instrumental" band, they vocals used are used in a purely aesthetic way, and are really no more than another instrument in the mix. They do things that you simply wouldn't expect, and keep you coming back for more.

01 Race : In
02 Atlas
03 Ddiamondd
04 Tonto
05 Leyendecker
06 Rainbow
07 Bad Trails
08 Prismism
09 Snare Hanger
10 Tij
11 Race: Out

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Thai Elephant Orchestra: Elephonic Rhapsodies (4/5)

Year: 2005
Label: Mulatta
Genre: Avant-Garde
TRT: 70:01

There is nothing else like this in the entire world. The Thai Elephant Orchestra is the brainchild of muscian and composer David Solder in cooperation with Thai Elephant Conservation Center, and it is a brainchild of epic proportion...literally. Equipped with giant instruments especially crafted for them, these elephants show uncanny rhythmic timing and propensity for musical creativity. This album contains tracks with just elephants, and also collaborations between elephants and humans. It is truly music that cannot be adequately described, but must be experienced to be understood.

Un fortunately, the only download I could find is missing the first track, so I must apologize for that.

01 A Child's Guide To the Elephant Orchestra
02 Phong's Solo
03 The Ganesha Symphony/The Birth Of Ganesha
04 The Ganesha Symphony/Shiva Beheads Ganesha
05 The Ganesha Symphony/A Head Is Found
06 The Ganesha Symphony/Ganesha Triumphant
07 Rhapsody In Grey
08 An Elephant's Swan Song
09 Three Baht Opera
10 Little Elephant Saddle
11 Floating Down The Pin River
12 Pin Pia
13 Bamboo Dreams
14 Bamboolin
15 Dancing With Prathida
16 An Adult's Guide To The Elephant Orchestra
17 Kaw-Liga
18 Pastorale Lite
19 Homage to Harry Partch
20 Baby Elephant Walk
21 Mr. Elephant
22 Eletranz
23 Chant! Chang! Chang!
24 Beethoven's Pastorale Symphony, First Movement

download Part 01
download Part 02

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