A few months back I was jotting down some thoughts on how my musical taste has grown the past couple of years, and especially the last decade. While I could sit here all day and tell you how I've delved into this genre from that genre and so on, one thing hit me: I care more about how something sounds than I did when I was younger. It's less about the lyrical mood my choice in music makes and more about the audible wrecking ball on every new record I come across these days. To me, that's what is important. Whether it's as simple as a bright pop-punk song or as devastating as the drop out in a post-rock song, it's all about a feeling created through caring about not only how well a song can be played, but how it sounds out of the amp as well.
While I was jotting down some of those aforementioned thoughts, it hit me that I finally had a reason to dislike the general metalcore scene of the past six or seven years - there's no feeling coming out of their amps. There's so much structure built up around how a song or album will be executed, that it's as hollow and shabby as a Bluth property. So here are ten albums that deserve recognition for their intense auras, timbre and overall tone. I hope you find something in this that makes your skin crawl or shoots an audible confidence over you as you're listening.
Beyond these ten, what other albums do you listen to that just wash over as an it progresses forward track-by-track? What artists right now do you think are making the best out of their overall sound, not just their performance? Hit the replies and let's redefine the word "epic' or the phrase "I can't even..." with this week's discussion.
It's only one song, but "Stars" by Hum has absolutely unreal tone.
And in similar 90's alt rock fashion, the tone on Siamese Dream just slays.
Really enjoyed seeing O'Brother and Former Thieves on here. As far as other current bands go, I've raved about the guitar tones on Transit's Listen and Forgive, Tides of Man's Empire Theory, and August Burns Red's Constellations.
Definitely. I read somewhere that you can "hear the room" it was recorded in and I think that's accurate. The sonics of that album set it apart in his discog.
Third Eye Blind's self-titled. Always haved loved TEB's guitar tones for some reason. Also, as far as single songs go, Acceptance - Ad Astra Per Espera is an amazing instrumental as far as sound.
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