Now Playing #20

Bleed - Bleed

Two words...YouTube algorithm.  It knows me very well.  That's how I found Bleed, the latest 20 Buck Spin sensation.  Two more words...ear fatigue.  When I need a break from extreme metal, I revert back to my high school listening habits.  I was into Cannibal Corpse in high school, but I was also into Helmet and Deftones.  Man, this album speaks directly to Teenaged Dom.  It's a riff-forward porridge of 90's bands, namely Quicksand, Handsome, and while I hate to admit it, maybe a fraction of Linkin Park.  Just a fraction!  Even the album cover screams 1998, which was a pretty big year for the development of my musical tastes.  I can totally see myself listening to this on my portable CD player in between Geometry and Creative Writing.  Songs like "Fixate," "Marathon," "Take it Out," and "Through the Cylinder" offer a simplistic dose of alt-metal that stays in your brain pan longer than it should.

Geometry is lame, by the way.  It's easily the least metal branch of mathematics out there, although Trigonometry comes close.

October Tide - Rain Without End

Though this album was released in 1997, it was recorded a couple of years prior when there was next to no demand for melodic death/doom.  Would this even be a subgenre without Rain Without End?  Maybe, but I have to think it would sound different.  This thing is so good.  Honestly, I don't need to say anything else, as I imagine that if you have a propensity for weepy doom, you are more than familiar with October Tide.  Favorite tracks?  I'll go with pensive opener "12 Days of Rain" and "Sightless," the latter featuring a sweet guitar solo.  I'm not a demo guy, but since I own the reissue, it's worth mentioning that I actually prefer the production on the demos.  The kick drum is more pronounced.  Of course, I doubt that it matters to anyone.  Dig the Cure vibes on "Losing Tomorrow."  NOTE: This band has released seven albums.  I'm not saying they all suck, but you need to start here.