Borderlands 2 - TTLG Forums

Boxsmith on 27/2/2012 at 17:32

Quote Posted by faetal

Gravity Kills = Guitar driven industrial by numbers. Sonically similar to some of what NIN does, but lacking all of the depth and finesse and I can't remember how a single song of theirs goes.

That's a fair assessment. Actually the whole reason I never got into Gravity Kills was because they sounded pretty damn uninspired. Their music is easy to listen to but it doesn't really stick with you.

Quote Posted by faetal

I don't like a style of music, or a genre, I like well written music. I even think the notion of liking genres a bit strange, as it kind of assumes that I don't care about the specific content rather than the broad strokes.

I just say I like industrial because a lot of the music I like either fits into the genre or the genres it spawned. That doesn't mean I necessarily restrict myself to the genre or indiscriminately consume everything scary and electronic (I've got three absolute favourite artists and only one of them made industrial). I think it's less about subscribing to a genre as a whole and more "this roughly describes my taste."

Quote Posted by faetal

I didn't mind Frontline Assembly (though I find the production too grating these days) or Stabbing Westward (to a small extent), but qualitatively, none of them have a fraction of the sheer talent Reznor has in terms of writing and producing.

The only FLA album worth listening to from start to finish is Nerve War IMO. After that, Leeb only manages to produce the occasional good track and a whole lot of filler.

Quote Posted by faetal

I know F242 well, I just don't like them, I find their structuring just a bit too ham-fisted - they don't sound deliberate enough for my tastes.

I'm not sure I get what you mean. Could you elaborate?

Quote Posted by faetal

Skinny Puppy are ok, though I preferred OhGr as they were a little more refined to my ear. Still not massive fans though.

You ought to listen to their more ambient stuff if you haven't already. Back and Forth 3&4 has some brilliant instrumentals you'd probably enjoy if you can't listen to their usual growly anger.

Quote Posted by faetal

One thing which Reznor provides is melodic vocals with a bit more depth than just "scream during the chorus, show them how angry you are".

I don't really care for NIN aside from the Downward Spiral. Actually, I think my problem with it is that it sounds too much like a musician made it. :p

Quote Posted by faetal

While we're on the genre, I should mention that the last gig I played was as a support act for KMFDM late last year.

You know what KMFDM needs? More experimentation, like on Nihil and Symbols. I feel like they've been in a creative rut lately, and though Blitz and Day of Light were really promising releases, WTF was just a snorefest.
I really like the intro to Home, BTW. Nicotine is an excellent song too.

Quote Posted by PigLick

some people need to listen to some Nitzer Ebb up in this

yesssss

faetal on 27/2/2012 at 17:47

Quote Posted by Boxsmith

I like barely any music. I'm too pedantic. Basically, I don't like anything which doesn't sound like a perfect distillation of itself. I like most NIN, most Cure, most Mode, a lot of Bowie, some Floyd, most Numan, some Manson (only Antichrist and Mechanical Animals really) and various other bits and bobs which don't really sit in any one place other than all being linked by great songwriting and brilliant production.

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The only FLA album worth listening to from start to finish is Nerve War IMO. After that, Leeb only manages to produce the occasional good track and a whole lot of filler.

I don't like any of their albums really. I used to like Tactical Neural Implant best if memory serves, but track wise, I think I'd only go back to Circuitry, Plasticity and Columbian Necktie if I'm honest.

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I'm not sure I get what you mean. Could you elaborate?

There are a lot of bars of what I'd call faffing in F242, lots of layer introduction, prolonged bars of not much going on, repetition of motifs where not needed. I don't know wuite how to put it - I don't know, like I said, I'm very picky and pedantic.

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You ought to listen to their more ambient stuff if you haven't already. Back and Forth 3&4 has some brilliant instrumentals you'd probably enjoy if you can't listen to their usual growly anger.

I've listened to most of their stuff over the years and not much of it grabbed me. Too noodley for my liking.

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I don't really care for NIN aside from the Downward Spiral. Actually, I think my problem with it is that it sounds too much like a musician made it. :p

Ah, this is where we'll differ then.

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I was never that into them. They were a mixed bunch as people too. The lead singer made himself pretty scarce, but most of the back up band, who are also in a band called Pig came out with us after the show (it was a home town gig, so they needed a tour guide).

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I really like the intro to Home, BTW. Nicotine is an excellent song too.

yesssss

Thanks a lot :)
How did you find the stuff? Did I leave a link on my profile or something?

Boxsmith on 27/2/2012 at 18:05

Quote Posted by faetal

There are a lot of bars of what I'd call faffing in F242, lots of layer introduction, prolonged bars of not much going on, repetition of motifs where not needed.

That's too bad. I guess we also differ in that I like a lot of repetition. One of my favourite tracks ever is What a Day by TG, which is pretty much just a synthesized loop on repeat for 5 minutes with Gen screaming about an awful day -- and I think that sounds really fucking good. :p

Quote Posted by faetal

I don't know wuite how to put it - I don't know, like I said, I'm very picky and pedantic.

Hey, no worries. I'm pretty much the same with games. As long as you're not an asshole about it (you're not) being picky is no big deal. I find it way too easy to give in to nonsensical elitism sometimes and I'm not proud of it, so I actually find that quite admirable.

june gloom on 27/2/2012 at 18:07

Quote Posted by faetal

NIN = subtle, yet brutal, but often beautifully fragile (no pun intended) soundscapes crafted intelligently around compelling songwriting by a classically trained pianist / production virtuoso

Inline Image:

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t185/dethtoll/th_600HURR_by_MahAnimu.png

faetal on 27/2/2012 at 19:02

You describe it better then. That's my take, it may contain fan bias, but it's certainly not a terrible description.

I'm not into most of the bands you post links to, but I'm not going to ridicule you for it.

Jason Moyer on 27/2/2012 at 20:48

If I were going to recommend "similar to NIN but still good" music to people I'd probably just go with (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl1iio-ebzk) Machines Of Loving Grace. They were fucking excellent, and managed to fit into the same category of 'industrial rock' while having almost nothing in common with NIN and the legion of NIN clones. Of all the 1990-ish post-industrial I was into in high school, they're basically the only ones I can still stand. Ministry were fun up through (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epDFHOVbhWk) The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste and KMFDM were alright from (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UssK9ovylA4) Naive through Angst and were especially shit after En Esch and Gunther left and took any sense of humor with them. Really I'm more of a fan of (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGN4BXyVP80) Dwayne-era Puppy and (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gukrW6h5CSA) Spybey-era Download when it comes to the "modern" concept of that shit.

Edit: Deth you can laugh, but everything Reznor/Vrenna did from 1990-1997 was fucking genius and is still being ripped off constantly. Probably by whatever that shorthair-era-Metallica-looking shit is you listen to.

faetal on 27/2/2012 at 21:06

Hmmm, I wouldn't think of MoLG as being at al like NIN really. Like I intimated above, I'm not really into stuff that sounds like stuff. NIN for me just has that certain something in terms of raw talent that everything else described as being similar seems to lack. Anyway, I'll leave it at that, just in case anyone wants to talk about Borderlands 2.

(This is NIN's apex for me: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P40YxDJdAo) when they opened with this at the Brixton Academy when I went to see them the second time, I nearly fucking shat)

SubJeff on 27/2/2012 at 21:27

So which Nitzer Ebb album am I supposed to start with? I've listened to the "top hits" on Spotify and I'm not too taken.

Boxsmith on 27/2/2012 at 23:07

Body of Work is a good place to start IMO. It's a compilation of their singles. Big Hit is, from what I know, reviled by most Nitzer Ebb fans for deviating from their sound too much, but I think it's easily their best album. Industrial Complex is their reunion album and it honestly doesn't even sound like the same band anymore. There's some really good stuff on there though, definitely worth a listen.

So yeah, Body of Work. A few other tracks worth hearing: Hear Me Say and Bordertalk from Big Hit, Promises and I Don't Know You from Industrial Complex.

Quote Posted by faetal

Thanks a lot :)
How did you find the stuff? Did I leave a link on my profile or something?

Crap, totally missed this earlier.

Yeah, the "visit homepage" link in your profile leads to your myspace.

Jason Moyer on 27/2/2012 at 23:36

Start with That Total Age, and if it doesn't grab you then you might as well stop there. If you like that, Belief is also pretty good.

Edit: Late on the reply, but while Front 242's early stuff is interesting for historical purposes, if you like Headhunter it's worth checking out the rest of that album (Front By Front) as well as the 3 albums they made after that (Tyranny For you/Fuck Up Evil/Evil Off) as I'd probably mark those 4 as their creative peak. They're also probably the least generically EBM records they did, which probably isn't coincidence in regards to their quality. Also, this is probably the most underrated track in their entire discography: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io46cpsWDew)