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Alright guys. Here's the deal.
Years like this tend to be rough ones in the life of your average dredg fan, since we know that we won't be getting any real new material from the band. Of course, this is offset from the ability to enjoy other new releases, such as Tool, The Mars Volta, TSOAF (yeah right), and others. I assumed Tool would deliver the best album of the year, and for a month or so now it's held rather steady, but a new offering from another band has done something completely unexpected.
Last Thursday night, a member from this board and a good friend of mine (dredgfan001, Tucker) gave me a call and asked if he and the guys from Kaddisfly and Let Go could crash at my place between shows. Although the girlfriend and I had a trip in the morning and are expecting a child and such, we weren't going to refuse them a free place to crash, as all musicians rely on the support of their fans to succeed. On top of that, their last record ("Buy Our Intention, We'll Buy You a Unicorn") was a fun record last year that was, in the very least, a good record altogether, although it wasn't really that amazing to me and I had some complaints with parts of it.
The guys didn't get in until around 4:30 in the morning, but before we all crashed they played a song for me as an immediate "thank you" for the free lodging. They called it "PH" and asked me to check it out.
And I was fucking amazed.
***SPOILERS FROM HERE ON***
So they played another for me, and then another. That night, I heard three songs, and was completely floored. The next morning, before leaving Tucker played a small, minute long interlude that also fucking blew me away. Nicole and I left and went to visit family, but the next full day I had songs stuck on my head that I could only vaguely remember from my single listen. The next time, we met up with the band to let them stay at our place one more night, I looked at them and told them that I had to hear at least one song one more time. After some deliberation, the entire band agreed to get me really stoned and play the entire record for me.
Although the record went to be mastered today, the band told me that Nicole and I were the first people outside of the band's immediate circle to hear the cd. I listened to the entire record, which felt epic and about an hour or so long, from the first seconds with the opening sound of a crackling fire to the final seconds of the (literally) rapidly approaching third installment.
I'm saying this now, even though I haven't heard other records, because I think the cd deserves the hype. Here's the truth:
Kaddisfly has made what may ultimately shape up to be the most amazing release of the year. At once both dark and uplifting, epic and aggressive, downright angry and heavy, the cd is unlike anything the band has done in the past. This is the record they were meant to make, and this is the record that will earn them the trust of thousands of fans.
I want you all to know about this cd because it is on the scale of "El Cielo." My former complaints of Kaddisfly included undercontrolled vocals with spastic words, a snare that sounded like popcorn and a very cheaply produced indie album.
But those problems are gone, and what has replaced them is very slow, deliberate words, and TRULY soaring melodies (as cliche as the term has become, these vocals really do rise and fall swiftly, but with a newfound precision and depth). The guitars sound the angriest and largest I have ever heard. The song they were referring to as "PH" was actually called "Snowflake," and its FUCKING AMAZING. Including an aggressive guitar mocking and taunting a burlesqe piano line and and chugging rhythm pulsing through what can only be described as a tragic melody, the song has includes everything that makes this new album truly a milestone. The words are sincere, the vocals are approachable and tasteful, and the band is at a point in their development where it seems like they are simply overflowing with ideas.
Other highlights of the album that I remember are the following:
- A very quiet beginning that built up to "Campfire"
- LOTS of amazing guitars, all of which were VERY loud and VERY angry.
- One section of music that sounded almost like Glassjaw or System of a Down with a frantic drum and bass line with odd guitars and frantic, shouting vocals.
- Some lyrics:
"There's a drought inside the human mind" (or heart or soul, don't remember)
"Wind can either help a sail or tear it apart"
"You were born today to set sail the prairie"
"We live in four, not three."
"We had each other."
- And acoustic interlude that sounded almost western AND chinese, with a female operatic vocal chanting in the distance and singing a melody from a previous song
I also saw the artwork in the making, which can only be described as serene and entrancing.
My ultimate point: This album is essentially the musical equivalent of being stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere and witnessing all the heights and depths of the human experience from a distance. The cd is not as downright fun and happy as the "Buy Our Intention." It is instead very haunting, very passionate, and very much a statement. It will challenge the standards of everyone's musical tastes because you will not believe what you're hearing and you won't believe how amazing it is. I laughed out loud, gasped, and stared at the floor countless times, and had the privelege of seeing the band pull the songs off live flawlessly (yes, they are legitmately talented... it shows live). The record is slated for a September release, although it will doubtlessly leak, but I URGE all of you to purchase it. Until then, look forward to it. I GUARANTEE that EVERYONE will love this record. It has propelled the band to a status in my mind that I consider rare, and has put Kaddisfly equal to bands like dredg and Tool in my heart.
Until then, try and check out the band at a show and meet them. They're hungry for open ears, and you all would make the perfect new audience.
Years like this tend to be rough ones in the life of your average dredg fan, since we know that we won't be getting any real new material from the band. Of course, this is offset from the ability to enjoy other new releases, such as Tool, The Mars Volta, TSOAF (yeah right), and others. I assumed Tool would deliver the best album of the year, and for a month or so now it's held rather steady, but a new offering from another band has done something completely unexpected.
Last Thursday night, a member from this board and a good friend of mine (dredgfan001, Tucker) gave me a call and asked if he and the guys from Kaddisfly and Let Go could crash at my place between shows. Although the girlfriend and I had a trip in the morning and are expecting a child and such, we weren't going to refuse them a free place to crash, as all musicians rely on the support of their fans to succeed. On top of that, their last record ("Buy Our Intention, We'll Buy You a Unicorn") was a fun record last year that was, in the very least, a good record altogether, although it wasn't really that amazing to me and I had some complaints with parts of it.
The guys didn't get in until around 4:30 in the morning, but before we all crashed they played a song for me as an immediate "thank you" for the free lodging. They called it "PH" and asked me to check it out.
And I was fucking amazed.
***SPOILERS FROM HERE ON***
So they played another for me, and then another. That night, I heard three songs, and was completely floored. The next morning, before leaving Tucker played a small, minute long interlude that also fucking blew me away. Nicole and I left and went to visit family, but the next full day I had songs stuck on my head that I could only vaguely remember from my single listen. The next time, we met up with the band to let them stay at our place one more night, I looked at them and told them that I had to hear at least one song one more time. After some deliberation, the entire band agreed to get me really stoned and play the entire record for me.
Although the record went to be mastered today, the band told me that Nicole and I were the first people outside of the band's immediate circle to hear the cd. I listened to the entire record, which felt epic and about an hour or so long, from the first seconds with the opening sound of a crackling fire to the final seconds of the (literally) rapidly approaching third installment.
I'm saying this now, even though I haven't heard other records, because I think the cd deserves the hype. Here's the truth:
Kaddisfly has made what may ultimately shape up to be the most amazing release of the year. At once both dark and uplifting, epic and aggressive, downright angry and heavy, the cd is unlike anything the band has done in the past. This is the record they were meant to make, and this is the record that will earn them the trust of thousands of fans.
I want you all to know about this cd because it is on the scale of "El Cielo." My former complaints of Kaddisfly included undercontrolled vocals with spastic words, a snare that sounded like popcorn and a very cheaply produced indie album.
But those problems are gone, and what has replaced them is very slow, deliberate words, and TRULY soaring melodies (as cliche as the term has become, these vocals really do rise and fall swiftly, but with a newfound precision and depth). The guitars sound the angriest and largest I have ever heard. The song they were referring to as "PH" was actually called "Snowflake," and its FUCKING AMAZING. Including an aggressive guitar mocking and taunting a burlesqe piano line and and chugging rhythm pulsing through what can only be described as a tragic melody, the song has includes everything that makes this new album truly a milestone. The words are sincere, the vocals are approachable and tasteful, and the band is at a point in their development where it seems like they are simply overflowing with ideas.
Other highlights of the album that I remember are the following:
- A very quiet beginning that built up to "Campfire"
- LOTS of amazing guitars, all of which were VERY loud and VERY angry.
- One section of music that sounded almost like Glassjaw or System of a Down with a frantic drum and bass line with odd guitars and frantic, shouting vocals.
- Some lyrics:
"There's a drought inside the human mind" (or heart or soul, don't remember)
"Wind can either help a sail or tear it apart"
"You were born today to set sail the prairie"
"We live in four, not three."
"We had each other."
- And acoustic interlude that sounded almost western AND chinese, with a female operatic vocal chanting in the distance and singing a melody from a previous song
I also saw the artwork in the making, which can only be described as serene and entrancing.
My ultimate point: This album is essentially the musical equivalent of being stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere and witnessing all the heights and depths of the human experience from a distance. The cd is not as downright fun and happy as the "Buy Our Intention." It is instead very haunting, very passionate, and very much a statement. It will challenge the standards of everyone's musical tastes because you will not believe what you're hearing and you won't believe how amazing it is. I laughed out loud, gasped, and stared at the floor countless times, and had the privelege of seeing the band pull the songs off live flawlessly (yes, they are legitmately talented... it shows live). The record is slated for a September release, although it will doubtlessly leak, but I URGE all of you to purchase it. Until then, look forward to it. I GUARANTEE that EVERYONE will love this record. It has propelled the band to a status in my mind that I consider rare, and has put Kaddisfly equal to bands like dredg and Tool in my heart.
Until then, try and check out the band at a show and meet them. They're hungry for open ears, and you all would make the perfect new audience.
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