For Your Viewing Pleasure

Some recent notable metal releases elicit further positive spin-offs, in the form of their lead videos below. Let's take a butcher's hook, shall we?

Immediately familiar with Killswitch Engage's tight, galloping guitars and the ever powerful vocal of Mr Howard Jones, the video adds to the urgency of the song with a fast-paced cityscape racing around the slo-mo couple personifying the lyrical matters. It has a certain amount of cheesy schmaltz to it but is visually class, which is the main thing. The self-titled album from whence it came is out now and available here.

A Horse Called Golgotha

Baroness | MySpace Video

By far the trippiest of these selections, Baroness recruit the fella that shot their 2007 clip for 'Wanderlust', one Joshua Green, for this original Star Trek via Wizard of Oz oddity. The bald nutjob traversing various astral plains is subjected to a variety of effects - many seemingly intentionally dated - before his eventual transformation back to a regular looking Joe. Bizarre in the extreme and not entirely clear how it relates to the song, but it certainly catches the eye. The new Blue Record can be picked up over here.


Katatonia: Day And Then The Shade video

KATATONIA | MySpace Video
Most likely the lowest budget effort here, the tune fully trumps the visuals on show here. A relatively stereotypical metal vid, there's a gothic looking lass wandering around a wooded area with various unpleasantness afflicting her travels. The sparse, harsh landscapes are the most alluring, in fact, and could easily have lost the melodramatic thrashing of the vampiric chick. But maybe I missed the plot somewhere? Feel free to hip me to that in the comments. In the meantime I'll just keep digging the music that backs it. Which, incidentally, is taken from newie Night Is the New Day, available here.


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Now playing: Katatonia - Forsaker
via FoxyTunes

Simplicity Itself

I had intended to post this - and may yet do so - as a more in depth look at the cover song, given the variety of takes I have on the tune. But the timing seems right for this particularly enchanting version of 'Simple Man' by Alessi's Ark and as the song itself recommends: follow your heart and nothing else.

MP3 - Alessi's Ark - Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)

MYSPACE / TWITTER / LAST.FM

Originally by Lynyrd Skynyrd of course, this cover by 18-year old Londoner Alessi really elicits the warmth of the song, her voice conjuring both hope and longing from words that could easily become trite in the hands of others. It settles particularly well against the original whilst adding a personal flavour of the musician covering, which is certainly one of the hallmarks of a good cover song.

I'm sure I can dissect this further in future pieces but for now the song is more than capable of speaking for itself.

"My mama told me when I was young
Come sit beside me my only son
And listen closely to what I say
And if you do this it will help you some sunny day

Take your time, don't live too fast
Troubles will come and they will pass
You'll find a woman and you'll find love
And don't forget that there is a someone up above

And be a simple kind of man
And be something you'll love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can?
Then you can

Don't get your lust from the rich man's gold
All that you need now is in your soul
And you can do this, oh baby if you try
All that I want from you my son is to be satisfied

And be a simple kind of man
And be something you'll love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can?
If you can

Oh, don't you worry, you'll find yourself
Follow your heart and nothing else
And you can do this, oh baby if you try
All that I want from you my son is to be satisfied

And be a simple kind of man
Be something you'll love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can?
So baby be a simple, be a simple man
Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can?"

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Now playing: Madita - Ceylon
via FoxyTunes

Change (In the House of Yeas)

In a healthily expanding approach to exchanging music for some useful fan info, Brooklyn psych-indie troupe Yeasayer have become the latest to embrace the e-mail for free tune concept. Their newie 'Ambling Alp' - available here - is pulled from the second album Odd Blood, due out in February next year.....actually next decade, but who's counting? Me.

OFFICIAL SITE / MYSPACE / TWITTER

Of chief interest here is that the band appears to have embarked on a much more upbeat, outward-looking journey with their sophomore effort, the song bouncing along in a not dissimilar fashion to recent Animal Collective. With its cartoon like quality and extrovert chorus, it contrasts quite starkly with the pensive, restrained material to be found on their engagingly introspective debut 'All Hour Cymbals'.

Yeasayer "Wait for the Summer" from Mixtape Club on Vimeo.

MP3: Yeasayer - 2080
Taken from 'All Hour Cymbals', out now

As beautiful as that album was - and is, probing as it does into new corners of the mind on each subsequent listen - it's always a pleasure to hear a band unafraid to move in a new direction despite having already established a successful formula. And with 'Ambling Alp' retaining the more astral, psychedelic bent of their earlier material it seems likely that Yeasayer will keep a key part of the identity running through the releases.

All of which points to a bright start to the next ten years. Something which is all too disturbing, as I currently have little idea what will form my best of 2009 and, worse still, am toying with the prospect of a series spanning the best of this current decade we inhabit.

If only the clocks had gone back 1 month rather than just 1 hour...........


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Now playing: Biffy Clyro - Mountains
via FoxyTunes