Still happy from yesterday

I’m totally stoked over the response from yesterday’s post. I’m almost afraid to write about anything today for fear of spoiling the success. Thanks again to everyone for reading and commenting; it really makes blogging worth the effort when people contribute. You folks are great!

Today I wanted to talk about some new music I’ve been listening to. Not necessarily “new” in the sense of having brand new CDs out (though some do). Nay, I mean “new” more in the sense of they are new to me in general. One of the great things about being a musician is that we’re constantly exposed to other bands and music thanks to all of the other musicians we hang out with.

Lately, I’ve been doing some branching out into other areas of music that six months ago I’m sure I would have completely hated. It’s always interesting to me how my musical interests ebb and flow. It seems that for a period of time before I see large growth in my listening tastes I seem to withdraw quite a bit and only listen to a very select bit of music. It’s usually jazz, for some reason. I’ll listen to nothing but jazz for several months, and before you know it – BAM! – I break out and start listening to bands I know I would have shunned previously.

And so I present to you today five bands/CDs that I have been listening to lately that I think (or should I say I “hope”) will interest you. Of course, if you have any suggestions of your own please leave a comment so me and the other Fretheads can check out what you’re into.

Periphery

I’ve mentioned this band a lot recently. Every once in a while a band comes along that just completely blows me away. Periphery is such a band. Hailing from the Maryland/Washington D.C. area, Periphery is the brainchild of Misha Mansoor, an absolute monster guitar player. His Soundclick and youTube pages have been jam packed with fans for a long time. His Periphery project has been a work-in-progress for many years now, and they recently released their debut CD.

Death metal, screamo, ambient, and prog are all pieces of the Periphery puzzle, and they all work perfectly together. Lots of layered guitars, a guest appearance on the songs “Racecar” by Jeff Loomis of Nevermore, and very singable melodies make this an absolute standout CD that you should definitely check out. Here is the official music video from their song “Icarus Lives” off the CD.

Animals as Leaders

I recently blogged about the guitar genius of Tosin Abasi. Although I spent a day blogging about him and his band Animals as Leaders, I feel compelled to include him again as a new band to check out. His and guitarist bandmate Javier Reyes’ talent is undeniable, and his mixture of jazz, fusion, and metal on extended range guitars are incredibly unique. Guitarists of all styles, and regardless of listening preferences, will appreciate what Tosin is doing musically.

You can tell everyone you heard it here first, Animals as Leaders and Tosin Abasi will be the next big guitar thing. So get on the bandwagon now and check them out!

I posted plenty of videos of Tosin on a previous article, so I figured I’d give Javier the props he so rightly deserves.

Karnivool

To be honest, I don’t know much about these guys. What I can tell you is that their CD Themata is awesome! Intricate guitar work that sounds simple, a great blend of clean and heavy guitars, complex time signatures, and very singable songs makes Karnivool a very fresh and welcome addition to my current listening tastes.

If I’m not mistaken, Themata isn’t their latest CD, but I like this one the most out of the two I have (the other is Sound Awake).

Here is a video of their song “Themata” from the CD:

Chimp Spanner

Chimp Spanner is the brainchild of UK-based guitarist Paul Antonio Ortiz. His style is somewhat similar to Periphery in that it contains a mixture of metal, prog, death metal, and ambient music.

His debut CD is very solid, and fans of instrumental guitar music will definitely enjoy it. His Meshuggah influence is sometimes a bit obvious, but no more so than other djent bands out there today.

Here is a video of Paul playing along to the song “Bad Code” from his CD:

Silly Fools

This last one is probably a bit of a stretch for most of you. Silly Fools is a rock/metal band from Thailand. Their guitar player – Jakarint Juprasert (“Ton”) -  is a monster. Actually, there are tons and tons of awesome guitarists coming out of Thailand. What makes Ton and the band Silly Fools great is that he is a very talented guitar player who writes catchy songs with great guitar work.

If you can get past the fact that you probably won’t understand what is being sung, I think you might really appreciate the music. Also bear in mind that most of the videos in Thailand are karaoke-style, so don’t be alarmed at all of the Thai text floating by.