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I've been trying since about December to get into the heavier genres of metal (that is to say, black, death and so on). Up until a couple of months ago, I made very little progress. It was always the vocals that got to me - even though I could appreciate that a lot of bands in those genres had really excellent guitar parts, drums, and, in some cases, lyrics, I simply couldn't stand the harsh vocals. Immortal and Necrophagist, the first bands I heard about in those genres were far too brutal as an introduction - hearing those vocals was a bit like having someone applying sandpaper to my eardrums, as were Arch Enemy, the next band I heard described as 'awesome'. I was recommended Opeth by several people, but I couldn't really get into the style of their music (perhaps because I was never a big listener to progressive metal anyhow, so the addition of growled vocals did little for me). Theatre of Tragedy were a minor breakthrough, although their growled vocals are much gentler than most, as were Moonspell. Although despite liking Moonspell, I never really felt like I really wanted to listen to their music in the same way that I did with Theatre of Tragedy. My first real breakthrough happened fairly recently, with the recommendation of Wintersun and the melodic death metal genre in general. Tentatively listening through Wintersun's album for the first time, I could tell almost immediately that it was a very impressive album indeed. Stunning guitar melodies, compelling basslines, and above all, growled vocals that I really enjoyed and wanted to hear more of. There was an energy in tracks such as Battle Against Time and Starchild that I'm not sure I've found in any other band, and is exactly what I had hoped to get out of the heavier side of metal once I started genuinely enjoying it. A number of hours listening to Last.fm's melodic death metal radio station have put me on to Dark Tranquility and Amon Amarth. I have since bought the Fiction album of the former, and am so far enjoying it almost as much as I enjoyed Wintersun. This seems very promising, and hopefully by the end of the summer, I'll be enjoying bands like the aforementioned Necrophagist, without having to turn the volume right down to minimise the effects of their very abrasive quality.

In other news, I have been listening to a lot more of The Gathering. As I mentioned in my last journal, How to Measure a Planet? is a truly amazing album, and certainly one of the best I own. In Mandylion, The Gathering demonstrated their ability to generate an incredible amount of feeling from seemingly very simple, heavy guitar riffs. In How to Measure a Planet?, they seem to go in the opposite direction. The general feel of the album is much more subdued, and the result just as powerful as the two albums that preceeded it. The use of synthesised sounds and soft guitar combined with Anneke van Giersbergen's very moving vocals really makes one feel like one is going on a journey through space. Highlights include the uplifting Illuminating, the guitar in Great Ocean Road, and the incredible changes of mood in my personal favourite track, Travel. The half-hour instrumental title track certainly also deserves a mention here. I heard a number of criticisms of this track before I bought the album, but having now heard the track for myself, I cannot help feel that people may have been missing the point of it, especially the reviewer who described it as having "only nine minutes of listenable music". To me, the track is more intended to be atmospheric and dreamy - the sort of thing that one might listen to while going to sleep - rather than something intended to be listened to as one would listen to a 5-minute track. Either way, I was certainly very impressed by it. I think the only track which I sincerely did not like was the only remotely heavy track on the album, Liberty Bell. It wasn't bad from a musical point of view, but from a lyrical point of view...is there no way they could have done better than "We are sitting in a chair"? Because hearing that line makes me want to claw at my ears. Still, a truly amazing album overall, and one I would recommend to anyone, although given the complexities of it, perhaps only after a few weeks listening to Mandylion or Nighttime Birds is it accessible. Continuing with my chronological progression through The Gathering's discography, I have since ordered if_then_else, and am very much looking forward to its arrival.

Finally, my new bass guitar arrived today. I have been thinking of taking up the bass for a while, partly because good guitarists are so common (and I don't consider myself a good guitarist), partly because I've felt that it fits my rather quiet personality a lot better, partly because I know guitarists who I can play bass with, but I don't know any bassists I can play guitar with, and partly because playing things like the bassline of The Clairvoyant is just as awesome as anything you could do on the guitar, if not more so (even if one might not be appreciated by casual listeners quite as much). Having spent pretty much the whole of today playing around with it, and learning some easy tracks (such as Supermassive Black Hole), I have come to the conclusion that 1. it is certainly a very different instrument to the guitar, and 2. it is even more awesome than I expected it to be. So certainly a success on that front :). I'm also going to try and get some proper lessons this time, rather than teaching myself and ending up with horrible technique, as I have done with the electric guitar.

Anyway. I do quite enjoy putting down my thoughts about music even if nobody reads them, but if you have had a look through this entry (or any others), please feel free to comment and tell me what you think :). I'm also still up for any recommendations for melodic death metal, if you know of any good bands that you think I should try.