Thursday, October 7, 2010

#5 : The fabulous life.




Had I known that right after the the 10 days of exam madness coupled with a 330 marker goliath at my coaching centre, I would have to endure even more coaching exams, tests, and other challenges, I would have never promised you guys that I'd be returning back. This is the "important period that decides the course of the rest of your life". Anyway, I'm sure you've heard that before. Make it or break it, they say.

Yawn.
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I've been returning to a bit of metalcore this week, a genre outlined by the alternating vocal styles, a relatively subdued chorus, breakdowns, and relatively new age bands. Ever heard of Killswitch Engage, Bullet For My Valentine, As I Lay Dying, August Burns Red, und so weiter?
I'm guess a bit of Bullet, maybe. And that too 'Tears Don't Fall' [groan.] and 'All These Things I Hate'. 

But let's get a bit beyond that. I wouldn't want to talk about the calmer songs. The genre is based on displaying emotions of anger, rage,irritation or betrayal, in the least violent way possible. Which is still pretty violent to the ears, mind. But what I see in these songs are the technical aspects of the song architecture. Say the riffs and the interludes. The riff doesn't consist of barred Drop D chords (to the layman : the guitarist seems to be using just one finger while playing) , but are almost always interlaced with notes, connecting them together like dots to form the riff. 

And it's even more interesting to learn to play them, if you're a rhythm guitarist. Not quite the lead guitarist's solo heaven, but there are a few exceptions. The interludes and choruses have a sense of calm about them (which you'll notice in any Killswitch Engage song) and the verse is more or less like metal. Oh, and many usually have a pretty calm intro, which suddenly transcends into a heavy riff section (à la "My Curse" by Killswitch Engage)




I don't follow this genre all too much, because not too many bands define themselves as metalcore bands. So even I'm limited to the few bands aforementioned. And like I do always, I'll hook you up with a playlist that you can check out.







1. As I Lay Dying - The Sound of Truth
2. All That Remains - Two Weeks
3. Bullet for My Valentine - Hand of Blood [NFS - Most Wanted? Yes.]
4. Killswitch Engage - This is Absolution
5. Killswitch Engage - The End Of Heartache
6. Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare
7. Bullet For My Valentine - Begging For Mercy
8. August Burns Red - Meddler
9. As I Lay Dying - This Is Who We Are
10. August Burns Red - Mariana Trench

And you can also hear the songs I mentioned before the playlist if you already haven't heard them. Sorry, but I can't provide much of variety.


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On other fronts, I've become a real fan of Kaskade, a house artist who's grown in prominence in recent times. Check out these two videos. The first is probably the definition of what house music is like in 39 seconds, and the other showing what house playing european clubs look like.





Sorry for the short length, but I'm really overburdened.

Arrivederci,

Audiophile 93.


P. S. 250 unique views! Thanks for the support! :)

2 comments:

  1. interesting blog! never been to something like this before

    following you (:

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Shruti. :)
    Spread the word.

    And by the way, I think you've still not "followed" me as the follower count's still not incremented.

    ReplyDelete