Simply put, I love instrumental music. But I've been asked many times, "How can you listen to that?" There's no lyrics. No voice to tell you the story. Exactly. The instruments tell the story for me; they guide my journey. Half the time I may be hearing a band's vocalist but I'm not necessarily listening to every word he or she says. For me, it's all about the music."Take away all the vocals and it's still music," I tell people whenever I'm questioned about my love for instrumental rock/metal. I understand that everyone has different tastes and a lot of people insist on a vocalist. For those who don't, I have a couple of excellent instrumental bands/albums I've discovered recently and I thought I would share them with you in case you don't know already. I'm just that kinda guy.
The first is the self-titled, melodic metal debut by Soul Cycle, available at Bandcamp. I can't stress enough how much I'm loving this right now and I have to thank fellow music lovers at The Number of the Blog for giving me the hint.
"Melodic metal...with MORE BALLS!" That's how Soul Cycle founders and underground metal producers Chris Catharsis (Sonorant) and Mark Hawkins describe their music. These guys have several more thrash/death metal projects but Soul Cycle is more my style. No Cookie Monster vocals here.
I'm a huge Joe Satriani and Steve Vai fan but I'm going to be honest with you once again. Soul Cycle has made me shelve both of their entire discographies for the time being. The guitars are THAT good and so are the songs. Neither Satriani nor Vai were ever this heavy. Plus, they're getting old like me. Catharsis (composition, rhythm/bass guitars, drum programming, production) and Hawkins (composition, lead guitars) are my new guitar gods.
Influences: Catharsis and Hawkins mention bands like Soilwork, Devin Townsend, In Flames, Sevendust, Sikth, Misha Mansoor, Chimp Spanner, Tool, Meshuggah, Threat Signal, Mnemic, Rage, Misery Inc., One Way Mirror. "And those are just the ones that comprise the majority of our sound!"
Soul Cycle are making their finishing touches on Soul Cycle II right now. They've been posting teasers on their Facebook page recently and it's driving me crazy! I want more! I can't do anything but wait and keep hoping the release date is sometime soon. Until then, I'll keep listening to their debut. You can, too. Just stream the entire album and get your own copy at Bandcamp for whatever you want to pay.
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I'd like to thank the Prog Sphere music blog for hooking me up with Oresund Space Collective and their "totally improvised space rock".Wow. I can't say much else but these certainly are the perfect, laid-back and tripped-out, lava lamp jams I can love so much. Turn down all the lights and let the music take you on a journey through the ethereal cosmos - through the final frontier. I'm down with that.
Partial bio: Øresund Space Collective is a group with members from many different Danish and Swedish bands; these include The Carpet Knights (Malmö), Siena Root (Stockholm), Mantric Muse (CPH), The Univerzals (CPH), Bland Bladen (SE) and many others. The instrumental, psychedelic rock band has a shifting line-up and an extensive catalog; to date, I think they've released about 8 CDs and 3 vinyl records and I'm lucky enough to have a digital copy of their latest, Dead Man in Space (Feb. '11). I'm considering it some of the finest space rock available in this galaxy.
What amazes me so much about this Scandinavian supergroup - aside from the music - is the fact that all their recordings are totally spontaneous. There's no rehearsals. No preconceived notions of a song's structure. Like they say, it's all improvised at that moment in time. They're playing what they feel when they feel it. I sure can feel it too, man.
You can listen to Dead Man In Space and other releases by Oresund Space Collective at Bandcamp. Check them out for sure.
--Heddbuzz
http://soulcyclemetal.bandcamp.com/
http://www.oresundspacecollective.com/
http://oresundspacecollective.bandcamp.com/album/dead-man-in-space
