Ontwikseltsaar reviews: leet necro: Intestinal Apocalypse [...]

**Ontwikseltsaar** · Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 9:14 pm Post subject:

Thanks, I did put a lot of thought in the structure and point of the review.

**TheLonging** · Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 4191

are you still doing this?
_________________

I wanna thank you for letting me be myself.

NavyCherub wrote:

AshleyWilis wrote:

hi for me Its something different...
It seems like Full sound full combo...
I mean It show passion and determination for my guitar

Smoke weed erryday.

**Ontwikseltsaar** · Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2010 1:23 am Post subject:

**TheLonging** · Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 4191

.I forgot, I just saw ITATOS and assumed you were one of those people who were behind.

i dumb

Also I favorited your review on RYM, it's hard for me to say what I like and don't like in a REVIEW, music is easy to critique for me. But reviews are challenging. I just generally think in "good" or "bad".
_________________

I wanna thank you for letting me be myself.

NavyCherub wrote:

AshleyWilis wrote:

hi for me Its something different...
It seems like Full sound full combo...
I mean It show passion and determination for my guitar

Smoke weed erryday.

**Ontwikseltsaar** · Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 12:52 am Post subject:

"Buck Fever" by Estradasphere

Finally some time for myself. I caught up with the work I had to do for today, so maybe I'll finally have time to get to the next album in that list. Let's see, what do we have here. "Buck Fever" by Estradasphere... Hmmm, never heard of it. Buck Fever... Sounds like some poppy punk album. Hah, the things kids listen to these days. It's pathetic. They don't appreciate the refined beauty of timeless genres like jazz. Well, I'll just pour myself a scotch on the rocks, sit down in that magnificently comfy red chair in front of the fireplace and try to make the best of it.

After sitting down I look up at the several hunting trophies mounted on the wall above the fireplace. Magnificent beasts, but they were no match for me. Especially the elk in the middle is a glorious sight, it's majestic antlers almost touching the ceiling. As I listen to the rain outside and the crackling sound coming from the fireplace, I put the disc in the CD player, press "Play" and take a sip of my scotch. Now let's see if this album is any good.

Well, this guy is in for a treat, because that exact atmosphere is what Buck Fever is all about. The comfort and relaxation of having that perfect combination of a nice drink, a soft chair and all the time in the world. It's clear from the chants in the opening minute of the album's title track already. The jazz organ following the soothing beginning quickly shifts the song into fifth gear and not soon after the organ is joined by the first of many brass instruments to grace this album. Then after a small surf rock solo, the song goes into a last round of what could be described as the chorus of this instrumental song before ending this song with a bang.

Follow-up second track "The Dapper Bandits" follows much the same trajectory as the opening song with its catchy rhythms that would not be misplaced in the middle of the 20th century. With string instruments playing a section that's clearly influenced by middle eastern music, an interlude that would fit right into a funfair and the delicious jazziness that was also apparent in the previous track, this song makes for an interesting listen, while still maintaining the catchiness that makes the song sound excellent upon first listen, too. Yes, this is truly what Estradasphere is all about...

"IN SATAN'S NAME!"

Suddenly I wake up. What the bloody hell is—

"SOON YOU'LL FEEL MY PAI—"

There, I turned it off. I can't believe I even gave this album a chance. God, this is my first marriage all over again. This CD pretends to be all nice and easy, but it'll bite you in the ass as soon as— Alright, I'm just going to cut this guy short right there before he gets really annoying.

"Seriously though, 'In Satan's name'? That sounds like something for a... black metal song or something." That's right. That's because the third track on the album, "The Silent Elk of Yesterday", IS in fact an all-out black metal song. This was a wake-up call for me, because apparently I had to be reminded that Estradasphere is not a normal band by any means, even though that's immediately noticeable in the first two tracks.

So maybe the atmosphere described in the first couple of paragraphs is not what Buck Fever is all about. Then what is it about? It's hard to say, actually. Based on the title of the album and its cover, I'd say this album is about deer hunting. This suspicion is strengthened by some of the song titles and the fact that almost half the songs have spoken fragments in them about deer hunting, some of them supposedly recorded during a live deer hunt. These things can also be attributed to the overall wackiness of this album, though, as the songs are really all over the place. The aforementioned black metal song, along with a 0:14 grind track are two of the more extreme examples, from the metal end of the music spectrum, but at the other end of this spectrum we have songs such as "Crag Lake" that use sound effects from the Super Mario series, not to mention "Super Buck II", a complete jazz cover of one of the songs from Super Mario Bros. II, with a glorious upright bass (!) solo.

And this is where Estradasphere really shines, because the instrumentation on this album is top notch. It's one thing to be versatile and to have the ability to play different genres, styles and instruments, but to be able to pull it off as convincingly and with such flair as done on this album is a whole other thing. Even with all the different instruments that are played in this album, the band members manage to make them sound like they've never played anything else. From the guitar solos in "Buck Fever" and "The Silent Elk from Yesterday" to the drum solo at the end of "A Very Intense Battle" to the trumpet solo in "The Bounty Hunter", everything is amazing.

This doesn't mean the album is perfect, though. As good as it is, it definitely has its less interesting moments. For example, I won't be listening to the songs "Crag Lake" and "Trampoline Klan" a lot and the majority of album closer "What Deers May Come" is, in my opinion, a needless build-up to a quasi-philosophical monologue. Which brings me to the other small monologue this album features: "Bride of the Buck". I can't tell whether this is supposed to be funny or pretentious, but either way, the track not only bores me, but annoys me to no end. I could even understand if it was put in to add to the atmosphere or to some kind of story, but it succeeds in neither.

Even without those few tracks, though, you're still guaranteed just over an hour of experimental goodness. All in all, with the exception of a few small tracks, there's very little to complain about this album. These guys not only know their instruments well, they also know how to pull off a variety of genres with great confidence. In the end, you're left with an album that, despite having a black metal song on it, might even be listenable to my grandma and that in itself is an achievement that should be lauded.

Score: 92/100

Standout tracks:
- Buck Fever
- The Silent Elk of Yesterday
- Super Buck II
- A Very Intense Battle

------------------------------------

I was originally going to give this album a 89/100, because that score "felt good", until I realized there's so very little I see that's actually wrong with the album, so I upped the score a bit. Also, no, I did not mention Mr. Bungle. I heard that Estradasphere takes alot of it's influence from them, but I never actually listened to it, so I really can't judge that.

I said in my previous post here that I found this album scattered and unfocused. That, along with the cake, is a lie. I was just hoping TheLonging would catch up on it and respond to it :P

Again, please give some feedback, I'd really appreciate it!
_________________

**Bendover** · Joined: 10 May 2008 Posts: 1069 Location: Monroe, WA

This is definitely my favorite album-a-day thread, you have quite a way with words and the amount of detail you put into these reviews is amazing. Your reviews actually make me want to listen to the album or at least check out some of the tracks you highlighted. Keep up the good work.
_________________

Skype wrote:

[4:09:44 PM] Jared Brock: War Ensemble is easy as hell [on drums]

**karatechess** · Joined: 25 May 2008 Posts: 977

**TheLonging** · Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 4191

You're the best reviewer here.

And I'm a mighty fine fucking reviewer.

Also yeah it's def not scattered and unfocused. A lot of their albums are like that (only one album really sticks to a few "genres"), but this is where they shine and maintain complete focus. You couldn't have said it better.

Favorited, and I'll just check in here every day now (unlike almost all the other threads here).

_________________

I wanna thank you for letting me be myself.

NavyCherub wrote:

AshleyWilis wrote:

hi for me Its something different...
It seems like Full sound full combo...
I mean It show passion and determination for my guitar

Smoke weed erryday.

**Ontwikseltsaar** · Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 2:19 am Post subject:

Thanks a lot people =O Also, TL, can you tell me whether or not it's possible to edit your review on RYM? I've changed a couple of things in my ItAotS review, and maybe I'll edit the Buck Fever review ever-so-slightly in the future, too, but I didn't find a way to do that on RYM yet.
_________________

**machchunk** · Joined: 28 Oct 2006 Posts: 3829 Location: Pasco, WA

**Ontwikseltsaar** · Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 2:43 am Post subject:

"All I Have to Offer is My Own Confusion" by Fireworks

I never really enjoyed pop music. Granted, I may like some of it, but I find that most of the material the genre has to offer lacks artistic integrity when the desire for catchiness and appealing to the mainstream public has as high a priority as it often has. I imagine it would give the musician less freedom as a lyricist and composer. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not denying all pop. I'm just saying that a lot of pop (which is, after all, derived from the word "popular") sounds sort of generic to me, even with the small selection of songs I've heard.

I've held the same opinion about a lot of punk rock throughout the years, though for different reasons. Originally, punk was a musical expression of discontent with society, with the establishment. It was the voice of the people and sure enough, people related to it and found inspiration in the music. Now that that effect has worn off and the trend isn't so new anymore, what we're left with, in my opinion, is a genre that makes everything a tad louder than tends to be needed, just to be heard, regardless of whether or not it stays true to its lyrical origins.

Of course, both these genres and pop music might just be "not for me", but still, with the past experiences I had had with them, it's probably easy to imagine my initial anxiety when I was forced to put a pop punk album on the list. To further illustrate: whenever somebody came in my room when I was drumming along to Paramore's "Misery Business" on Guitar Hero World Tour, I was quick to yell "Don't worry! I never listen to this kind of music in my spare time!" (which, in retrospect, might have just put suspicions in their minds when previously there were none...).

However, I've always been convinced that albums should best be listened to with the best intentions in mind. After all, disliking certain music is not something we do on purpose, at least for me. I don't listen to music and try to persuade myself into not liking it. It's something that happens to you, a simple matter of taste. However, when you have an established opinion of a certain genre, it's hard to put your bias aside when you come across such music again. So what do you do when you encounter an album that requires you to listen to a combination, no less, of two genres that you generally tend not to like?

Honestly, before listening to Fireworks' All I Have to Offer is My Own Confusion, I wasn't expecting to like the album. Based on its title and the genre, I expected the album to be nothing short of an unconvincing attempt at making a supposedly loud album, while the lyrics, as I imagined them, would be centered around personal issues (even though, I must admit, I found the album cover to be quite great. Staring at it long enough I felt as confused as the guy who made up the album title must have been). However, I tried to put those thoughts aside, thinking that if people like the album, it means that the album has something that's likable. It's simple and obvious logic, yet it's easily forgotten.

As it turns out, trying to like the album made all the difference. After listening to the album multiple times, I found the singer to be quite good. His voice is relatively clean, but still has the power that makes it sound natural next to the other instruments. These can only be described as effective. The drumming is fill-heavy and loud (but not too high in the mix), giving the songs a more lively presentation. The guitar, too, is effective with its catchy riffs, and even though, in my opinion, there's certainly a lack of soloing (the only solo is in "When We Stand on Each Other We Block Out the Sun"), the guitarist keeps the songs interesting enough, as simple as his part may be. It's a shame the bassist is barely audible.

This album isn't anything special instrumentally and it probably isn't very original, either. Also, the songs can get formulaic and in the area of song structure there is little variation to be found, but the singer makes a strong performance, the drumming is powerful and supportive and the riffs are catchy, and damn it all to hell if it doesn't sound good. I know I'm getting sucked into this, and I do feel like I should be more critical of this album, but this isn't going to get anything below a 70/100. This album is enjoyable, dammit!

Score: 70/100

Standout tracks:
- Geography, Vonnegut and Me
- 2923 Monroe St.
- I Support Same Sex Marriage

--------------------------------

This review was written relatively quickly, but was really hard to write. I hope I didn't offend anyone with this review and if anyone thinks I'm grossly mistaken about punk or pop, feel free to recommend me an album of either of those genres. I'm VERY unsure about this review, but what the hell, I'm just gonna go for it.

*clicks "Submit"*

**arte** · Joined: 29 Feb 2008 Posts: 848

I took the liberty of editing Intestinal Apocalypse upon the Bloody Altar of the Apocalypse so it includes our rerecords of Double Robot War, Cadaveriffic, and Austin and Rylie Being Assholes.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZHZ2HOJ6

**Ontwikseltsaar** · Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 9:01 pm Post subject:

**JTHomeslice** · Joined: 06 Jan 2008 Posts: 1100

Hmmm, I don't think you gonna like ADTR. They mix pop punk with metalcore, so I don't know what your gonna think of it.

Also, your reviews are fan-fucking-tastic. Very well written.
_________________

Mah Twitter|My Youtubes (The Darkness and Pierce the Veil wooooooo)|Album reviews?!?! (MCA tribute and Brendon Small's Galaktikon)

That's the biggest black ass I've ever seen and I like it