Thursday, November 13, 2008

My 13 favorite songs over twenty minutes

You might find lots of funeral doom and doom metal in this list , by nature, doom is long, slow and atmospheric. The Industrial entries of the list are based on previous literary works and the Avant-garde entries are plain weird experimentation.

13.- Surgical Sound Specimens from the Museum of Skin - Fantômas 1:14:17
Tag: avant-garde
Yes, this is the infamous track where the last twenty minutes is sound of a turntable stylus stuck in the runout groove of a record. Conceived as a soundtrack for a horror film, the concept of death explored is less romantic ad more proper of a Cronenberg Body horror film.
12.- Rite Of Finality - Asunder 50:23
Tag: funeral doom
Beautiful instrumental intro with added violins and clean guitars, enticing you into a sense of security were not by the bass in the background which looms like a dark cloud, then the full storm begins with death growls and epic instrumentation, then the epic falls into a gloomy dark ambiance with long and slow chords. the piece ends in utter desolation.
11.- Helio)))sophist - Sunn O))) 46:18
Tag: drone doom
As usual with Sunn O))), the droning background becomes mesmerizing, until we realize that we have been drawn to a land of sorrow and torture, with hidden horrors abound, biomechanical behemoths roaming, oblivious to the destruction wrought by their claws, a grey haze rather than darkness. the piece ends fading out to nothingness.

10.-Sacrilegium - Devil Doll 45:49
Tag: avant-garde
An energetic symphonic intro gives way to a choral chanting "Sacrilegium", gloomy cabaret tunes, prog-rock instrumentals, music boxes and a singing narration in a cornucopia of emotions, the piece ends with some sampling and a backmasked message.
9.-Somnium Obmutum - Estatic Fear 32:09
Tag: symphonic doom
A slow and heavy riff in a nocturnal ambient, a doom melody that gives way to a piano intermezzo before returning to the death growls, the true essence of Doom is this counterbalance, soothing vs. neurotic, the riff accompanies us in this trip through calmness and despair.
8.- Macbeth - Laibach
Tags: industrial, martial industrial 31:59
A Soundtrack based on the play by Shakespeare. Some listings separate it in tracks whileas others list it as one song. I list it as one, as the march in the introduction is revisited and expanded in the latter art of the album (I know, as a self-contained album it features leitmotivs)
7.- Die Hamletmaschine - Einstürzende Neubauten 31:47
Tag: industrial
More than a soundtrack for the play by Heiner Müller, it features the complete text of the play, this is the complete performing experience, the voices of the characters are there, Hamlet and Ofelia. As the previous Shakespeare reinterpretation, this is a timeless piece from its own world where the same rules apply to tragedies.
6.- Demontain - Ufomammut 28:07
Tag: stoner doom
Ufomammut's psychedelic grooves are given plenty of room to breathe, heaviness and soothing ambients are balanced, you could say that all of Ufomammut's tricks are here.
5.- The Garden - Cathedral 26:59
Tag: doom metal
Classical doomsters understand the scope of long compositions and in this case Cathedral takes the opportunity to paint a Hieronymous Bosch-like garden with all colors available, a female voice, seemingly out of place, introduces us to this epic 9 part tragicomedy of glory and decay, from birth to death.
4.- Avide de sens - Ataraxie 24:00
Tag: funeral doom
An ending that never seems to end, the main riff could otherwise be use as the ending of any other song, but this is just the beginning. When I listen to this song walking down the street there is a kind of background droning sound that makes me think there is something behind me. (my favorite time to listen Funeral Doom is walking while it rains), the calm places just seem to enhance the despair-filled growls that ensue, the energy level is greater and stronger, the piece ends in a slow decay at ties to the next song.

3.-Funeral of Mankind - Night Must Fall 22:24
Tag: funeral doom
If all of mankind is being buried and we're attending the funeral, who's growling at us?
Inhuman rituals and chants, hidden entities, mankind has receded to be replaced by others, were they human once? were they born that way?
2.-Missing - Until Death Overtakes Me 21:43
Tag: funeral doom
A delicate dirge before meeting the denizens of the grave, the dead have some excellent taste on the music they choose for their own wakes.
1.-Cirith Ungol - Reverend Bizarre 21:10
Tag: doom metal
Tolkien inspired despair, it follows Sam and Frodo through Cirith Ungol, it describes the death and decay they encounter while trying to grasp to the tiniest of hopes. Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh Burzum-ishi krimpatul.

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