The Joy that is "Life Is Peachy" by Korn

So, yeah... I do realize this album is probably their most angry album, but I will say... this album... every fucking song on it is solid!! I don't think there is one song I don't like, and listening to it lately... really enjoying it!! I do think their first "self-titled" release is probably their strongest, but there are a couple of songs on it that I feel are kind of filler. With "Life Is Peachy", absolutely every fucking song is solid! The other thing I like about this album, is that... it seems every fucking song runs into the next one, and it feels like a very consistent record between the tracks. Everything seems to fit together nicely! I'm not sure why the songs were placed the way they were on the album, but it feels very natural! Even the quality of the mixes and mastering, and the general quality of the audio is excellent as well! I feel it is very clear!

The track list is excellent; when "Twist" kicks in and it kind of sets the tone of the album... then "Chi" kicks in immediately after... there's all these weird sounds on the tracks, weird noises and shit... which have been created with guitars. Personally, I think it's awesome! I will say from a sound perspective, I find this album... well noisy, but not in the white noise sense, I find it noisy in the sense that there is a lot of interesting distortion on the guitars and as already stated, the weird noises and shit! It feels very crunchy I guess! Even the vocals, Jonathan Davis' vocals seem to have some kind of distortion on them, likely they're not, but there definitely a nice crunch to them (it could actually be the choice of mic they used for the recording of the vocals). I will also say, even though I found this album noisy, everything seems to cut through in the mixes... which to me makes this album even more interesting cause, despite the noise, everything seems to fit in place and makes the overall sound of the album better!!

As most of you know, Korn is a huge influence for Twitch! And, I love going back to these earlier releases and really just listening and not only just enjoying the album, cause of the sound quality of the mixes, but finding inspiration within these tracks and applying some of this to my own endeavor!! There's also a lot of memories associated with these albums, a time and place of where I was at and my first time actually listening to this album. I think when I first heard this, I was in my first band Adam Hates You! at the time... and I remember seeing the music video for the song "A.D.I.D.A.S", it was fucked... seeing the band in a morgue and writhing around and all that kind of shit... it's kind of funny, cause that song is about well, their use of the acronym is: All Day I Dream About Sex... and the video is of them in a morgue. If I'm not mistaken, that was the only song off that album, that saw a music video treatment, but such a great song!!

Even though their first "Self-titled' release was explosive from the get go, this album seems more focused and refined in the sound! Yet, still explosive!

I will say here; outside of the genre nu-metal... I don't really listen to any other metal genre... unless we are talking about industrial metal... then that is whole other beast (Fear Factory anyone?). I will be honest here, I was tempted to put something in here about sound design, but out of all honesty, I think most metal bands, don't really do a lot of sound design type stuff (unless there is major use of synthesizers; ie: Industrial Metal)... I will say though, there is a certain quality of sound here... not necessarily sound design aspects, but certainly in the way the album was recorded, mixed, and mastered!

Love this album... and I will say, out of all honesty I think my favorite tracks off this album are "A.D.I.D.A.S." and "Wicked"!

What do you folks think of this album?

P.S.: Hey we released a new album called "Databomb", you can download it here!

So, what happened to the mixer feedback samples?

In this video we get into what we actually did with those mixer feedback samples, and what song they ended up in, on the album "Databomb"!

Nine Inch Nails... Further Down The Spiral...

I've gone on a very long stint, of not listening to Nine Inch Nails... but the last couple of days, I've been really enjoying them! I think it was probably good that I hadn't listened to them in a while, cause listening to Nine Inch Nails these last couple of days is reminding me why they are my favorite band of all time! Today, I was listening to "The Downward Spiral" and the various singles and EP's that came off this album... and something that came up in the playlist was "Further Down The Spiral"... now, "Further Down The Spiral" is a remix album... but as it came on... I realize I really enjoy this... when I was younger, I remember hearing "The Downward Spiral" at a friends place, and when I went to go and purchase it, I couldn't remember the title of the album, and mistakenly picked up "Further Down The Spiral"... I remember popping it into my CD player and realizing it was not "The Downward Spiral", I didn't return it to the music store and exchange it though... I kept it, cause I liked it.

The first thing that stood out for me, was the abrasive sound it had throughout the album... it was noisey! (A side story: After I purchased it, I remember taking it over to an girlfriend at the time, parents place and popping it into the CD player, and her mom said "...wow, they must have been on some serious drugs to write something like this!”)... This remix album has several collaborators on it, including Aphex Twin, members of Coil, J.G. Thirlwell, as well as Nine Inch Nails live members! Now listening to this remix album... it really is further down the spiral... like I feel like it takes the songs off "The Downward Spiral", and really fucks them up! I feel like this is the last statement of "The Downward Spiral", and pushes the songs into a deep and dark territory! Kinda like a last gasp of breath before drowning.

So, I guess... I'm just really enjoying it, and remembering why I like this remix album... I kinda feel like out of all the remix albums that Trent has done, this one stands out, cause there was a list of collaborators, as well, I feel like... when you listen to traditional remix albums... there really isn't an artistic statement associated with it, typically it's just other bands doing remixes and that's it... with "Further Down The Spiral" I feel like there's an artistic statement, that takes the story of "The Downward Spiral" and expands on it... and goes deeper.

Yeah, really enjoying it right now!

What do you folks think of "Further Down The Spiral"?

Atari Teenage Riot: Why I like them!

Yeah, if you've been in the scene for a while, you may know of a band called Atari Teenage Riot. Granted they aren't exactly industrial, they call the genre of music they create Digital Hardcore... which funnily sounds like a mixture of hardcore punk, and hardcore techno mixed together. I would say they step into the industrial realm slightly though, there are definitely industrial elements in the music. I first came across them in 1997 when a former band member introduced them to me... as his own music was inspired by ATR. I eventually found their album "Burn, Berlin, Burn!" in a record store in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan here in Canada. Atari Teenage Riot started in 1992 in Berlin, Germany. They took their name from a Portuguese Joe song called "Teenage Riot" and added 'Atari' to it, as they used an Atari ST computer to compose songs. Their tracks are highly political, with a very anarchist and anti-facist view. They were and still are quite chaotic and noisey, their songs at least in the beginning, mixed hardcore techno with breaks screamed vocals, and sampled guitars and shit... funnily enough, if I'm not mistaken they sampled Slayer, The Sex Pistols, Nirvana, and all sorts of other bands!

I think the one thing that stood out for me was the screamed vocals, and general chaos with the songs... there is song structure, but I feel like the way things were written and sampled it came out really chaotic... which I really liked! Also, their shit has become more and more pertinent with what's going on in the world politically. They have started riots with their performances! Years and years later, seeing their performances (on Youtube), and how they put together their live show, I find really inspiring! When I was writing the first Twitch album one of the songs I wrote on that album I exclusively sampled one of their songs... not gonna tell you which song, not sure you would recognize the sample I used anyway, as I pitch-shifted it and distorted the fuck out of it!! If you are curious, here's the album:


(And hey, this album is free... so fuckin download it!)

Over the years, Atari Teenage Riot, has remained relevant, and still very politically charged! They came to our city (Calgary) at one point, I could of gone to that show... and now I kind of regret not going, I would love it if they came back... as it would be amazing to see them live!
Are you folks into ATR? If so, why do you like them?

Industrial Music Monday - Tapewyrm

It's that day, and you know what that means... Industrial!! This week we have a project out of Oxford, UK. The music is in the vein of rhythmic noise/industrial. This endeavor is the sole creation of Michael Drayven. This project is called: Tapewyrm! Check it out!!






Tapewyrm Facebook

tapewyrm bandcamp

Sampling Feedback from a Mixer

Here we are capturing the wonderful sounds that a mixer makes (yes, I said a mixer)! 

Industrial Music Monday - Thegn

It's that day, and you know what that means... Industrial!!! This week we have a project originally out of Vancouver, BC, Canada. The music is in the vein of dark ambient/industrial/noise. The project is the sole creation of Joy (not sure if that is a stage name or not, but from the info I could find, it seems to be the name they go by)! This endeavor is called: Thegn! Check it out!!






thegn Facebook

absurdtrax.bandcamp.com

absurd-creation Soundcloud

Industrial Music Monday - WURM

What day is it..? Monday... What does that mean... Industrial!! This week we have a project out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The music is in the vein of experimental/industrial/ambient. The project's sole member is: Art Black. This endeavor is called: WURM! Check it out!!!






wurm bandcamp

wurm Facebook

Industrial Music Monday - Needlespit

It's Monday, and you know what that means... Industrial!! This week we have a project out of Phoenix, Arizona. The music is in the vein of experimental electronic/industrial/noise. They are called: Needlespit! Check this project out!!





needlespit bandcamp

needlespit soundcloud

Needlespit Facebook