Ever since Deftones released their new album Private Music a couple months back, it’s been in constant rotation. It’s a really good album. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you should! It’s the album that should’ve come after Koi No Yokan. If you want to read more about Private Music, you can check out my review here. Earlier this week, while in the beginning stages of putting together an Ultimate Set List for Deftones, I realized how many great songs they have that don’t get played live. And there are a bunch. One track in particular that I’ve always gravitated to is the final song on their 2003 self titled album, “Moana.” According to setlist.fm, this song has only been played live twice and both happened in 2004. That must change (no pun intended)! “Moana” is one of those signature Deftones songs with the ambience, heavy guitars, pulsating rhythms and those oh so sweet vocals! So, I’m putting it out in the universe that “Moana” needs to start getting it’s time to shine!!
Next up on Audioeclectica.com’s 2020 End Of The Year Lists, the Top 10 Producers/Mixers. The stipulation is that, an album/EP had to have been released this year.
Vote for your favorite in the comments section. At the end of the month, I will release the results of the readers poll.
This list is also in NO PARTICULAR ORDER!!!
01) Nick Rowe/Steve Evetts- Greg Puciato: Child Soldier; Creator Of God 02) Billy Corgan- The Smashing Pumpkins: Cyr 03) Mark Nash/Ken Andrews- In Parallel: Fashioner 04) Terry Date- Deftones: Ohms 05) Will Yip- Nothing: The Great Dismal 06) EL-P- Run The Jewels: RTJ IV 07) Josh Wilbur- Killer Be Killed: Reluctant Hero, Trivium: What The Dead Men Say 08) Loathe- Loathe: I Let It In and It Took Everything 09) Shooter Jennings- Marilyn Manson: We Are Chaos 10) Brian McTernan- Be Well: The Weight and The Cost
I was originally going to make a giant list of the best debut albums of all time but, I thought doing an individual series would be more fun and frankly more interesting. There are zillions of great debut albums out there. Some of which are legendary and influential while others are just plain awesome. Some of you reading this might not agree with all the ones I pick and that’s ok. I just really want to showcase some great albums, some that you might have missed and some you probably haven’t listened to in a long time.
There are quite a few bands that really work to create a piece of work that is special. They don’t compromise their artistic integrity just to sell their albums. Instead they grind it out in hope that people will listen and grasp just what they are doing. One of those bands is Dredg. Never one to follow a trend or sacrifice their art for a buck, the guys in Dredg stand by their vision and don’t disappoint. Their third album Catch Without Arms just passed the ten year mark, and it still rocks just as much as when it came out. Catch Without Arms was released on June 21, 2005. This album showed a change to a simpler, and more straightforward musical style for the band but still had a bit of the etherial tinge that El Cielo had. The album was produced by Terry Date (Deftones, Pantera, Soundgarden) and had some additional help from Queensryche guitarist Chris DeGarmo.
Catch Without Arms features great songs such as “Ode To The Sun,” “Bug Eyes,” “Not That Simple,” “The Tanbark Is Hot Lava,” “Sang Real,” and “Jamais Vu.” These songs show the forward movement of the band and it’s members ability to write individual songs. Catch Without Arms is a concept album about opposites, mainly focused on positives and negatives. Each member brings something different to the table. Singer/guitarist Gavin Hayes has a very intriguing voice that makes his lyrics come to life. Drummer Dino Campanella is one of the most underrated drummers in music. His ability is astounding, not to mention his ability to play drums and piano at the same time. This is truly something awesome to watch. Mark Engles has a guitar tone that is his own. It’s melodic and clean that fits perfectly with the nature of each song. Bassist Drew Roulette grooves right along with Dino’s drums, and his bass lines add another element to each song.
Dredg is one of the most underrated bands to come out since 2000. They really know themselves and what they are capable of. Their ability to push the boundaries of their art is uncompromising and satisfying. Give this album another listen and you’ll see why it is an unsung masterpiece
I’ve been a huge Deftones fan since I first remember seeing the video for “Bored.” I thought Adrenaline was a cool album when it came out, then I heard Around The Fur and my excitement level went through the roof. Around The Fur was so powerful. There was a striking difference between this album and their debut. As The story goes, when Deftones went into the studio to make Around The Fur they really didn’t have a set idea of what they wanted to come out with. This time around the guys spent more time in the studio with producer Terry Date. If you listen closely to Abe Cunningham’s drums, you can tell there is a difference on the drum sounds especially the snare, as he began to experiment using different snares on each song. There is also something really intriguing about the quiet to loud dynamics on the album as well. When you have songs like “My Own Summer (Shove It),” “Lhabia,” Around The Fur,” “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” it really shows the bands growth and ability to write songs that can be heavy yet have a sense of melody without compromising their artistic integrity.
After a break from touring Around The Fur, the band spent a few months locked away in the studio writing and recording what would become White Pony. The majority of this time was spent trying to write songs, and that the writing of a particular song “Change (In The House Of Flies)” was the turning point for the group as they began working as a “band.” There was also pressure from their label to release the album sooner, but, the band decided to take their time making the album that they wanted to make. The band essentially picked up where they left off with Around The Fur by really delving more into melancholia and melody. The album is explosive and beautiful, thus making it one of the bands most mature releases. The inclusion of songs like “Digital Bath” “RX Queen,” (which features guest vocals by Scott Weiland), and “Knife Party,” join in with the vibe that “Change” had in its spaciousness and use of experimentation. The guesting of Maynard from Tool was a great use of a guest vocalist on “Passenger.” Even with all the experimentation and evolution, Deftones still had their heavy touch on a lot of the songs like “Elite,” “Feiticeira,” and “Street Carp.”
Granted these are two very different albums but they are similar in showing a bands evolution. Personally I’ve always been more partial to Around The Fur, for it’s raw prowess, and unforgiving nature. White Pony is a close second though. To me though Around The Fur just really gets me going in such a fashion that I can’t turn it off, or even turn the volume down. Where do you fall on this issue?
There are certain albums in every bands catalog that get overlooked. Most people when they talk about Pantera talk about Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven. In 1996, amongst a lot of band tension, Pantera was able to put together their most brutal and honest album The Great Southern Trendkill. This album is known for relentless screaming throughout the album most notably on “Suicide Note Pt.II.” Also featured on the album are some of the fastest tempos and most down-tuned guitars that the band ever recorded. It also has a more experimental nature to its songs, such as the acoustic guitar and keyboard-laden “Suicide Note Pt. I”, the long breakdowns in the middle or near the end of songs like “Suicide Note Pt. II”, “Sandblasted Skin”, “Drag The Waters” and “War Nerve”. Some of the more intricate vocals that Philip Anselmo has doen can be heard on songs such as “Suicide Note Pt. II”, “The Underground In America”, “Sandblasted Skin”, “War Nerve” and “Living Through Me (Hell’s Wrath)”. A very interesting fact about the making of Trendkill was that Phil Anselmo recorded the vocals for this release in Trent Reznor’s studio in New Orleans, while the rest of the band stayed in Dallas to work on their parts. Of all the albums Pantera released, this one is by far my favorite. The lyrics go beyond just the normal anger. Topics such as hate for the media (“War Nerve”), suicide (“Suicide Note”), drug abuse (“10’s”, “Living Through Me (Hell’s Wrath)”) the end of the world (“Floods”), trends (“The Great Southern Trendkill”, “Sandblasted Skin”) and teenage taboo on life (“The Underground In America”) are all brought up.
1996 saw the release of Metallica’s Load, Sepultura’s Roots, Rage Against The Machine’s Evil Empire, and Korn’s Life Is Peachy. The Great Southern Trendkill stood out amongst all the other metal bands releases of 96. with the exception of Neurosis’s Through Silver and Blood. Do yourself a favor and take another listen to The Great Southern Trendkill and you’ll have a totally different appreciation for it!
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