You probably might have noticed the sketches I made regarding healthy eating, and there are more on the way. I implore you. That is because, like my brother who made a journal about this very topic, I am trying to lose weight in order to be more lean. For years I have struggled with my eating habits as I spent that time eating foods high in sugar, fat, carbs, and unhealthy ingredients overall. I didn't expect that weight loss would he one of my goals for this year, but as it turns out, due to a recent personal event, I am doing exactly that and I am building determination to get to my goal.
My current diet consists of lean meats like chicken and pork, nuts, seeds, granola bars, and foods with fiber, whole wheat, and healthy fats and protein. I also eat vegetables, mainly carrots and broccoli, and I have an apple with my lunch. Since fruits have naturally occuring sugar, it is best to eat them earlier in the day. The foods I am trying to limit or refrain from eating altogether are processed foods, foods that are high in sugar, added sugar, and fat, and foods that overall have little to no nutritional value to them. I am currently looking at healthier alternatives for these foods as well and I do not want to overeat. I am sick of overeating and feeling miserable. I am also limiting fast food to once or twice a month and the only things I drink are water and limited Diet Coke.
Of course, it is difficult to avoid sugar and fat as the unfortunate truth is that unhealthy food dominates the world we live in. So many people are overweight and obese to the point to where they're okay living that way. They don't want to change. They are not wary to the consequences of continuing to live an unhealthy lifestyle, either because the stimulants have such a hold on them or they feel some sort of nostalgia or emotional feeling attached to sugary or fat filled foods. Obviously, I still love foods like cookies and ice cream and burgers and chocolate but it was important for me to change my habits for good.
There's also a little preservation involved with this as well. If you save all that stuff for parties and special days, it becomes more special and rewarding. But even with this, I hope it doesn't push anyone to channel back to regularly eating it. The worst fear of mine is developing Type 2 Diabetes, and I don't want to be afflicted with that. I already have Autism and anxiety as it is so I don't need anything else to deal with. I just had to ask myself "Why am I doing this? Why the hell am I constantly eating all of this sugar and fat?" and after some time not doing anything about it, I made it happen. I went down from 243 poinds to 224 pounds in over a month. So it is working. I just don't want to have envy anymore. I want to extend my years so that I live the longest possible life I can.
So I just listened to the new album from German band The Intersphere, and I gotta tell you guys. This is a major contender for Album Of The Year in my opinion. And no surprise, considering I've been listening to this band in frequent rotation for the past few months leading up to the release of "Wanderer". This is a band that has drawn me in with their tendency to create a phenomenally addictive groove as well as provide excellent lyricism and instrumentation all in one song. "Wanderer" is a continuation of that. Their first album in well over four years since late 2018's "The Grand Delusion", which is also a banger, "Wanderer" is a sort of "best of" album in terms of The Intersphere's color palette, which means all of the positive traits I described about them are present and in full force here. The first three tracks alone in the title track "Bulletproof" and "Down" have some of the bounciest instrumentation than most bands can even cram into a full album. That, along with how well these songs play out on the album is proof of the band's unique sound and its evolving nature ever since early in their career. The album also includes deep cuts like "Heads Will Roll" which warrants attention with its heavy instrumental, the fast paced "Always On The Run" which is indicative of the band's knack for writing some of the best vocal hooks in progressive music and rock music in general, and the soft and sentimental "Under Water". This is the first album I've heard this year where it feels like a complete album experience, all wrapped up in just around 37 minutes. There are no bad songs here, and this is the kind of music that makes me excited and passionate about good rock music. It can be found, and it can be extremely well played, well written, thought-provoking, and musically sound. All of those characteristics can be applied to The Intersphere and their fifth studio album, their best to date in a career spanning nearly two decades. My rating is an easy 10/10.
100. ROLO TOMASSI To Resist Forgetting
99. PULSE ULTRA Look Closer
98. WHITECHAPEL The Ones That Made Us
97. OCEAN OF ANOTHER Counterparts
96. KINGDOM OF GIANTS Sleeper
95. WIDE EYES Protosun
94. MESHUGGAH Concantenation
93. FOR GIANTS How To Die
92. CAR BOMB Dissect Yourself
91. GREYHAVEN Foreign Anchor
90. MESHUGGAH The Exquisite Machinery Of Torture
89. ITHACA The Future Says Thank You
88. US IN MOTION Let The Dead Bury The Dead
87. VARIALS Bleeding
86. MESHUGGAH Nebulous
85. ITHACA Camera Eats First
84. PRIDELANDS Heavy Tongue
83. VARIALS Deathsong
82. HAUNTED SHORES When In Oslo
81. SPIRITBOX The Summit
80. ITHACA In The Way
79. VARIALS I Suffocate
78. MESHUGGAH Broken Cog
77. SEVEN Redshift
76. DISTURBED Hey You
75. MANDROID ECHOSTAR Rosalia
74. VARIALS South Of One
73. MESHUGGAH Light The Shortening Fuse
72. BUSH More Than Machines
71. NORTHLANE Savage
70. PROFILER Identify
69. VARIALS In Darkness
68. MESHUGGAH I Am Colossus
67. ALPHA WOLF/HOLDING ABSENCE 60cm Of Steel
66. PROFILER Miserable
65. ITHACA They Fear Us
64. VARIALS Ritual Division (Haus)
63. HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY Once Upon A Winter
62. UNDEROATH Pneumonia
61. FALLUJAH Glass House
60. WIDE EYES Amygdala
59. SPIRITBOX Hurt You
58. THORNHILL Heroine
57. FALLUJAH Embrace Oblivion
56. NORTHLANE Inamorata
55. BLACK MAP Melodoria
54. PRIDELANDS Parallel Lines
53. HIPPOTRAKTOR A Final Animation
52. ITHACA Fluorescent
51. SYLOSIS Heavy Is The Crown
50. US IN MOTION You've Got A Thing For Narcissists
49. NORTHLANE Echo Chamber
48. VARIALS .59
47. DESTROY REBUILD UNTIL GOD SHOWS Destiny
46. ROLO TOMASSI Drip
45. MESHUGGAH The Abysmal Eye
44. SILENT PLANET Signal
43. DESTROY REBUILD UNTIL GOD SHOWS The Arm
42. MOODRING Xeno (Foreign Love)
41. SEVEN Ghost
40. NORTHLANE Plenty
39. CURRENTS The Death We Seek
38. DESTROY REBUILD UNTIL GOD SHOW Satellites In Motion
37. THORNHILL The Hellfire Club
36. UNDEROATH We're All Gonna Die
35. MESHUGGAH New Millenium Cyanide Christ
34. VOLA Napalm
33. MOODRING Disintegrate
32. PRIDELANDS The Lake Of Twisted Limbs
31. THORNHILL Varsity Hearts
30. KARNIVOOL All It Takes
29. ARCHITECTS Tear Gas
28. ITHACA Number Five
27. ROLO TOMASSI Prescience
26. DAYSEEKER Without Me
25. WHEEL Blood Drinker
24. SEVEN The Simulation
23. THORNHILL BLue Velvet
22. TO WHOM IT MAY Swandive
21. MESHUGGAH Corridor Of Chameleons
20. HIPPOTRAKTOR Mover Of Skies
19. BAD OMENS Artificial Suicide
18. NORTHLANE Nova
17. MESHUGGAH Rational Gaze
16. ITHACA Cremation Party
15. FALLUJAH Mindless Omnipotent Master
14. NOTHING MORE Tired Of Winning
13. ROLO TOMASSI Cloaked
12. MOODRING Head In The Clouds
11. MESHUGGAH The Mouth Licking What You've Bled
10. THORNHILL Arkangel
09. NORTHLANE Xen
08. MOODRING Red Light Gossip
07. SPIRITBOX Sew Me Up
06. THORNHILL Leather Wings
05. NORTHLANE Carbonized
04. MOODRING Constrict
03. PROFILER Hypocrite
02. PRIDELANDS The Sun Will Find Us
01. THORNHILL Hollywood
Hello, Deviants. Scamp The Wolf here back with more content for your viewing pleasure.
I'm going to be trying something a bit new here. Since I haven't done a formal review on this website in months due to a bit of a writer's block, it's been hard to get my feelings out on albums that recently came out. Well, that's about to change because since October 14th is loaded with new releases, I have decided to come out of my shell and take a look at several of these and give my quick thoughts on them. So, here we go.
NOTHING MORE Spirits
Nothing More has returned with a new album after over five years. Their last album "The Stories We Tell Ourselves" was a monumental achievement for the band, and as it stands right now it is easily one of the best modern rock albums of the 2010s, maybe even the best. So, the next album from the band has quite a high caliber to live up to considering it comes off of what is arguably a Top 5 contender for Album Of The Decade, and it's inevitable that it might not live up to that. That was my thought going into "Spirits", and after listening to the entire album, that's basically what happened. "Spirits" is not nearly as excellent as its preceding album but there is still a lot on here that IS excellent. Namely, the second single "Tired Of Winning" with is highly catchy hook and its bouncy guitar work and overall energy, as well as other tracks like the titular cut, "The Other F Word", "Best Times", and "Dream With Me". They do a great job here at not making the exact same album as before, as there is a noticeable darker mood to many of these tracks and some tracks are among the most aggressive that the band has put out. There's also more experimentation with several tracks going for a bit of an atmosphere like the quieter moments on the title track and the entirety of the song "Deja Vu", and the experiments are well received. If there are any complaints I have with the album, it's that some of these tracks don't immediately stick out as fantastic to my ears. "Don't Look Back" and especially the overly long "Face It" are my picks for the weakest cuts. But, this is still a very good album. It doesn't have to be top tier level music in order for it to be a very good project, and it proves that Nothing More is certainly a step above their mostly mediocre hard rock peers in terms of quality, effort, execution, and overall appeal. 8/10
VARIALS Scars For You To Remember
After a lead vocalist change, Philadelphia-based Varials return with their first album in three years entitled "Scars For You To Remember". When it comes to metalcore of this variety, Varials is one of the bands that pulls this off in the absolute best way. It's very simple, but very effective and very aggressive and tenacious and enjoyable. "In Darkness", their last album, drew me in to their sound so inevitably when news of a follow-up album were revealed, I was on board. "Scars For You To Remember" is pretty much a similar album to its predecessor in many ways. For one, there's the heaviness that Varials makes extremely convincing and believable, and all of the breakdowns compliment each song beautifully. But, this feels more like a conceptually based project than the previous album. Whether that's true or not is unknown, but what is known is that this is spectacular metalcore music. It doesn't matter that Travis is no longer at the vocal helm because Mitchell (also the lead guitarist) takes the spot with dignity across the entire album. The best examples of all of these high praises can be found on cuts like "Ritual Division", "Phantom Power", ".50", the closing track "Halo Of The Sun", and even the unique sounding "Circles", which combines the band's heavy, in your face metalcore sound with a slightly radio friendly twinge and it's well received. If you want some great metalcore, bands like Varials pull it off among the best in today's scene. Along with bands like Ithaca, Counterparts, and others, Varials are helping to make metalcore a more appealing genre again because their music is actually good. This is of high recommendation. 9/10
OTHER ALBUMS ALTER BRIDGE Pawns And Kings
About what you'd expect from an Alter Bridge album. Some longer cuts like "Sin After Sin" and "Fable Of The Silent Son", but overall if you like any of this band's albums you'll probably like this one, and they do a decent job at trying to stick with what's familiar. 7/10
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS Return Of The Dream Canteen
This is basically like an "Unlimited Love" B-sides album in my opinion. Not nearly as appealing as that album and some weird and questionable lyrics, but overall nothing offensively bad. It's still a testament to the band's longevity even though it isn't perfect. 7/10
WE CAME AS ROMANS Darkbloom
Easily the weakest album I heard this week. Not bad, but it's very typical of the metalcore style. I enjoy the more personal tracks like "Golden" and even the closing track "Promise You", but much of the rest of the album is very standard and stock. 6/10
And that's basically all I have for now. I will come back once I have more albums that I listened to recently. Since this is a big weekend for new music, I felt like I had to give these albums some of the spotlight by reviewing them. Alright, see you guys next time.
I feel like I have to reference the title of a video from a YouTuber named Sebastiside, and that is this. 4/4 is not boring. While that video title is meant to be taken as somewhat humorous, that is something that I 100% agree with. Here is the video below if you want to watch it:
Now, onto the journal. I've been heavily thinking of something that's been bothering me when it comes to modern progressive music, whether it be progressive rock, metal, metalcore, or whatever. And to put it simply, it's the fact that it seems like every single album that comes out in the genre has to have at least ONE song on the tracklist that's played in 7/8. Now, you might think that I'm about to rat on every song that has a passage that is played in 7/8 time, but you'd be wrong. Just like with 4/4, there is so much you can do with any time signature to make it interesting. But, it is the way that these bands are going about it nowadays that is really beginning to drive my blood to a boil.
I recently listened to the new Porcupine Tree album, their first in 12 years, entitled "Closure/Continuation". To be fair, I do like the album, but there are a couple of setbacks that prevent me from fully enjoying it to the absolute limit. While I was listening to this record, I stumbled across the song "Chimera's Wreck", which is the longest song on the album. Keep in mind that there were several songs before this track that I thought were solid but nothing special, aside from the excellent lead single "Harridan" and other tracks like "Rats Return" and "Walk The Plank". "Chimera's Wreck" sounds like it's going to be a very good song in its first act with atmospheric guitar work and melody and an interesting tempo change, and that continues for about three or so minutes. Then, at 4:04, there is a complete and utter downfall that is hard to ignore because a 7/8 passage makes it way through uninvited. The same exact one I've heard in about 9 trillion other progressive metal/rock songs and I'm utterly sick of it.
If you want to know what I'm talking about, it's the one that goes "duh-duh-duh-duhduh-duh-duh-duhduh-duh-duh-duhduh-duh-duh". It wouldn't bother me so much if they only had one little section of it that was played in 7/8, and then it went to something more interesting, but they drive this rhythm into the fucking ground for pretty much the entire second half of the song. And of course with every song with this rhythm, the vocals follow along with the melody which helps to run this completely overused rhythm and beat it into our skulls like it's something new and original. But it's not. It's a rhythm you can find in several other songs, and each time it appears in a song, it instantly kills the song for me. Because God forbid we do anything unique with a 7/8 time signature. God forbid we do that. We have to use the same cliche rhythm that's been heard now for the past 20 or so years.
This was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. This is what led me to think about doing a journal like this ever since I heard it. Because there have been many songs that have been released by prog rock and prog metal bands that would be a lot better if they didn't include such an overused rhythm. Dream Theater's latest album "A View From The Top Of The World" includes two songs that do this, "Transcending Time" and especially "Answering The Call". Vola's amazing album "Witness" has the song "Future Bird" that instantly hits you with this rhythm even though the song itself is okay. Jinjer's song "Home Back" is great until they pull this off. Intronaut's latest album is guilty of this. Even the great Rolo Tomassi album "Where Myth Becomes Memory" has a song that follows this formulaic rhythm (which is excusable because they prove on other tracks that they're actually capable of making unique rhythms that are played in odd time signatures). And oh, let's not forget Haken and their latest album "Virus" from 2020, which I remember had so many songs with that rhythm that it was easily a disappointment for me. That should have been enough incentive for me to make this journal, but I guess I have too much patience.
The point is, if you can do so much with 4/4 time, then why don't bands do the same thing with other time signatures like 7/8? Why do bands constantly gravitate towards this rhythm? They even do it with 5/8 time as well. It's like these are the only time signatures and rhythms that prog metal bands need to use in order to make their album. It's like there is some unwritten law amongst the genre that all bands who classify themselves as progressive in any way shape or form HAVE to use this 7/8 rhythm at least once in their album or else it isn't acceptable. They can even drive that rhythm into the ground if they want by adding other instruments that follows it or singing a melody that follows it. This is why progressive metal and rock is starting to go downhill in my opinion, because they keep implementing these been-there-done-that time signatures and it's getting really old.
Take a look at what Rolo Tomassi was able to do this year with the aforementioned album "Where Myth Becomes Memory". Yes, there are tracks with 7/8, but at least, AT LEAST, there are moments where they break away from that to the point to where it's earned. Look at the song "Prescience", where it starts like it's going to have that generic rhythm but then they go off and completely surprise you by adding another time signature to it. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it sounds a bit like 10/8 or 11/8 or something. That's a characteristic that makes me enjoy that song. Tool's "Fear Inoculum" did some unique things with 7/8 and 7/4 time because that album was based musically all around the number 7. "7empest" even has sections that are in 10.5/8, which is a unique time signature and the rhythm totally kills in that song. There is proof that it can be done right and fit contextually into the song, but so much of the time it comes across as a band saying "hey look we can do complex time signatures" when in actuality it's a rhythm I've heard so many times at this point I feel like if I hear it again I will automatically shut the song off and not give it a chance.
Now, don't take this journal as me hating the progressive metal genre and calling it the worst genre of all time. Progressive metal and rock bands are more than capable of drawing you in with their work, which is why I love these genres. I love the djent genre because you can do so much with the rhythm and the flow of the song. Not every song that has a 0-0-0 guitar tab is going to be mindless chugging. Maybe it can also function as a form of melodic percussion to help give the song some spice and flavor. Meshuggah was able to employ a lot of unique polyrhythms that made their work stand out and have so much addicting groove and character. A lot of djent-influenced bands have done that as well, and as I personally gravitate towards bands that utilize groove to their advantage, I can easily jive with it. But, I don't see that with bands like Haken or even Porcupine Tree. And that's fine, these aren't technically supposed to be groove-oriented bands, especially not the latter. I'm just saying that there needs to be some variation when you utilize an odd time signature in your song. Maybe place a 3/8 rhythm after a 7/8 rhythm. Make all four measures of a song have different time signatures. I'm not saying just randomly chug on the guitar and bang on the drums with no conceivable rhythm whatsoever, but if you want to do something new, avoid using this overused and tired rhythm that isn't special anymore. And that's what I try to push onto people; if you market yourself as unique, then be unique. Don't just be a carbon copy. Be something special and new and invigorating.
This is Scamp The Wolf, signing out. Take care.