Aural Moon - Progressive Rock Discussion - Show 56

Another theme show with three CD's only....one more week of themes, maybe two before my Synphonic arrivals come...those along with the new Salem Hill (my goodness is that outstanding!) will keep us going through November:dogpile:

In celebration for Halloween, I've got three CD's that loosely represent the holiday. Now to find a loose woman....

Opeth - Ghost Reveries

This is the latest by the Swedish growlers. This CD has it ALL. The blunt force of "Blackwater Park" combined with the sweetness of "Damnation". This CD is unbelievable.

OK, lets get this out of the way. You will hear on five of the eight tunes the famed, feared, and hated "Cookie Monster vocals" (referred to hereafter as CM). On another tune, it actually works. So we're left with four tunes with the growling. Let the record show that I find it infantile and downright silly. But I'm telling you, this is an absolutely great prog CD. If you don't like the rrrgggggrrraaahhhh portions, I feel your pain. But I'm not going to defend it or discuss it much in chat. It simply is what it is.

1) Ghost of Perdition - My vote for best Opeth tune done to date. This one's an absolute powerhouse. The CM vocals are in the first two verses and also a bit later. Mikael Akerfeldt sings in about 4 different voices, and when he comes in with the regular voice it is jarring in it's depth. The structure is outstanding and ending rocks.

2) The Baying of the Hounds - Again, first two verses have the CM vocals, and again at the end. You get through that and you're rewarded with another 10+ minute powerhouse.

3) Beneath The Mire - A rock and roll beginning, very atypical. The mellotron lead (!) and the crunch of the guitar work so well. And the drumming here is top shelf (all through the record actually).

4) Atomement - no CM vocals, and a Beatlesque Harrison Indian thing going on. Very hypnotic.

5) Reverie/Harlequin Forest - Heavy start to the tune. Here's where the CM vocals work. After about three minutes, melodic bliss! The ending is almost exactly like King's X "Born To Be Loved" (really!)..had to throw a King's X reference in...it's the:rulez:

6) Hours of Wealth - No CM vocals, very mellow. Nice.

7) The Grand Conjuration - Very heavy, morphs into a Porc Tree sound. Good interplay between CM and regular vocals later on.

8) Isolation Years - Another non-CM tune...very mellow to close out the CD.

Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party

Danny Elfman's classic tweener CD is a lot of fun. Thought it would be a good contrast to the Opeth. The first tune is a personal favorite. The last tune you may know from the movie of the same name. I had to cut two songs to fit the show in. This should get the foot tapping...

Just Another Day
Dead Man's Party
Heard Somebody Cry
No One Lives Forever
Stay
Same Man I Was Before
Weird Science

Magenta - Seven

Been waiting to play this...seven deadly sins, Halloween...close enough.

1) Gluttony - As is most of their music, very reminiscent of Yes. The "cha cha cha" at the onset of the song is just like "Sound Chaser". This song really gets me going, I love it.

2) Envy - A calmer song, you'll hear "Entangled" pretty much ripped off in the middle. But they rip it off so well!

3) Lust - Here's where you'll hear "Starship Trooper" (aah ahhh). During that bit, there's a Howe-like riff that I know but can't place and it's driving me crazy... This is my favorite Magenta song. Fine orchestration.

4) Greed - Excellent vocal performance by Christina, another long well-written song.

5) Anger - Very mellow and sad....

6) Pride - Fairly rock and roll, a great sing-along ending ("Everytime you smile the sun shines down on me")...what a great performance of this at Rosfest.

7) Sloth - Very mellow for 7 minutes, then we're reminded why this CD is a step beyond their others. It's the use of the whole band. Rob Reed, the mastermind of Magenta, used to play a lot of parts himself. But Chris Fry goes sonic with his two-minute closing guitar lead. What a player.

A lot to take in (and type!), but I wanted to give you some extra notes this week.

Enjoy!!!!!