Misery never sounded so beautiful!
344629
What an absolutely beautiful album this is. I first came across The National last year on the compilation album&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Dark-Was-the-Night/dp/B001KVW574/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Dark Was the Night</a>&nbsp;where they contributed the lovely "So far around the bend".  Lead singer Matt Berninger's doleful baritone perfectly suits these soothing songs comprising jangly guitars, tinkling pianos, warbling hypnotic effects, orchestral embellishments, and a retro feel.

Opening is the fuzzy Folk of "Terrible love". "Anyone's ghost" is an absolutely brilliant Rockabilly-inflected song Chris Isaak would kill for. The chiming "Little faith" is a delicate thing with lightly military beats, while lead-off single "Bloodbuzz Ohio" is upbeat and still manages to be beautifully gloomy.

Everything is brilliant really, but the ballads really stand out; "Afraid of everyone" (with ghostly harmonies and ending on a nervy note), the acoustic string-swathed "Runaway" (with Berninger crooning "We don't bleed when we don't fight / Go ahead, go ahead / Throw your arms in the air tonight"), the spectacular "Conversation 16" (creepy sounding with reverbing/haunting effects, my absolute favourite), to the gentle piano-driven "England" (which builds to a euphoric climax).

They remind me of so many of my favourite acts; Editors, Interpol, Arcade Fire, and even Morrissey. Definitely one of the best albums of the year, which should see them getting even bigger than they are now.
2098180
I am completely amazed at the outcome of this album. I can definitely say I am a Primerhead for life! I had a dysfunctional kinda bond with their first one but its this one that found them a place in my heart. I have found this album completely grounded and real unlike some of the other music out there. After all the hate that went around and the verbal abuse I took for liking Intro.. this is a sigh of relief. I will now sit back and enjoy this album for it really is a piece of music I will dig forever.
2506776
I first read about the band through Billboard magazine's web site and how they were a huge success in the UK.  Then only a month ago, I heard "Yellow" on the local radio station here in Detroit.  After liking the song very much, I decided to take a chance by buying the CD.
For the most part, the CD doesn't disappoint.  A few words would describe the music:  moody, melodic, atmospheric, lo-fi.  And yes even depressing at times.  But the band's seemingly depressing music comes across to me as uplifting in a strange way.  Both the lead singer's soaring voice and the soft guitar playing are hauntingly beautiful.  It reminds me of standing out in the middle of a beach watching the sunrise.
In any case, if you're into bands like Travis (similar sound), Radiohead, and (the lighter side of) The Verve, you'll definitely love Coldplay.  Standout tracks include "Shiver", "Yellow", and "Everything's Not Lost" (a very uplifting, jazzy song if I might add!).  By the way, the music video for "Yellow" is probably the only video I've seen where the lead singer is walking on the beach singing in front of the camera the whole time!
4495107
November's Doom has been a band that I've been interested in listening to for quite a long time. I'd purchased their song "Buried" off of iTunes a year or so ago and got hooked into the beautiful dichotomy of savage heaviness and haunting serenity. The full album, "Aphotic", is no different. In fact, it's even better. The songs here are thunderous yet beautiful, executed with precision and grace. The vocals are some of the best I've ever heard on a melodic death metal album (that goes for the clean and growling vocals). The frontman's clean vocals are surprisingly deep and instantly transport you to an ambient realm of serene darkness, while his growls rip through the soundscape with a rumbling savagery that would give demons nightmares. Mixed in with the absolutely beautiful instrumentation, you get a sound unlike any I've heard before. My brother referenced them to Opeth but in all honesty, November's Doom succeeds where I think Opeth fails. November's Doom's sound is better executed, their style is better executed. . .everything about them is better. It also doesn't hurt to mention that they came out in 1989, whereas Opeth took life in the early 90's. "Aphotic" really hooked me into their sound and now I can't wait to get ahold of their other albums and take another journey into their sinister world.

I highly recommend fans of melodic death (or Opeth) check out this band. Top tier, right here. :)
576114
Someone else called this album a dirge, a bad trip, and a bummer. I don't disagree with them on that- what bothers me is that they said it like that's a BAD thing! Locust Abortion Technician is indeed a disquieting experience from beginning to end, a distorted soundscape of droning, buzzing, and howling feedback that somehow WORKS. It's not something I listen to every day or even every week- but when I want to 'Acc-cen-tu-ate the Negative', this is just the ticket. It's the audio equivalent of kicking over a hollow log and grooving on all the pale, squirmy, eyeless things underneath.
There's a couple of duds- I could have done without 'HAY' or 'Weber', for instance- but overall, it deserves the legendary status it enjoys. The best track on the album (to my mind) is '22 going on 23', which is a masterpiece of dread. I don't recommend having this one play while driving out in the middle of nowhere at night... actually, no- that's the BEST TIME to crank it up and let that ominous sense of impending doom course through your veins like ice water as the feedback howls and the voices chant!
829057
Well I struggle to find words to harness my emotions at the moment.  The dulcet tones that exude from this masterful creation of humanities gullet, make Aled Jones sound like the devils vocalist!
Last week I came to the end of my tether, I had lost everything; wife, kids, car and job.  I was close to the edge, so very, very close.  I was teetering on the knife edge of suicidal depression.  Out of the blue an unmarked envelope fell through the letterbox.  Inside was a copy of the Best of David "dreamboat" Hasselhoff, and a lottery ticket for that evenings draw.  Needless to say that night whilst listening to the album; I won the lottery, my teeth straightened, my double chin and jowls dissapeared, my manhood grew to a stonking 14", my boss called me back in to work, a Ferrari was parked in my driveway, my wife returned and she was actually fit and my kids never came back!!  All of this is down to one man and one man alone, MR HASSELHOFF I owe you my life!!!!
3132312
Aching, poignant, exacting, stunning, resonant. I have never heard a more beautiful recording. Moment by moment and cut to cut perfect. Wow!

Although I received this CD just today, I recognize that I will take it deeply into my life and play it thousands of times.
3548172
I have owned this CD for a long time, and after all my years of searching for the best black metal, nothing has been able to top this. The production is PERFECT. Yes, you heard me correctly; perfect. For those of you who are already familiar with the buzzing guitar sounds of bands like Darkthrone and Nachtmystium, this is very similar, but even better. It is not so faded away that it takes away from the guitar resonance, and the guitars are always up front, being the main focus of the music.

The music itself is relentless, very melodic, and raw. This is the only album that encapsulates absolutely every emotion a human being can feel; I feel ashamed even attempting to review it. Perhaps the best way I can describe this album is to say that it is the most despairing, yearning, angry, beautiful, and dark/depressing album one can dream about.

Most will not like this album however. I have yet to find a fan as crazy about it as I am; even among true Norwegian black metal fans. It is not a simplistic album, so if you decide to buy it, just be warned that it is very technical, melodic, and complex. You will not love it in only one listen, unless you are me.
2449465
OK, maybe I'm late to this party, I just came across this Rhino re-release of Tales.  One of my favorite albums of all time, though I understand not all share my enthusiasm - an acquired taste perhaps.  Not only is the Rhino packaging really nice, but the real mind-blower here is THE SOUND!  And that's what's really important, after all, right?  On my first listen to the first track I heard vocal harmonies and subtle guitar parts I have never before heard.  Astonishing!  And certain passages where the music and Jon's singing peak at the same time, all of my previous copies -- vinyl, cassette, CD -- have exhibited marked distortion.  That is gone.  Complete sonic clarity.  At last.  Right on.
678762
This book has left me without words...

...Okay, so maybe I have a few.

I'm a fan of lengthy reviews that entail thoughts on plot holes and whether the characters are well rounded. But I'm at a loss here, struggling to decide how to sum up "The Sea of Tranquility" in so many words, and I'm left with the feeling that even the most epic-ly lengthy, descriptive review just won't do it justice. So I'm not even going to try.

This book sucked me in and spit me back out. It is natural for me to become attached to the characters in the books I read. It is NOT normal for me to cry. With them, for them, at them, over them, I just don't do it. So imagine my surprise when I found myself fighting tears over these characters and their circumstances. Josh and Sunshine just dug their way into my heart and started tugging, then yanking at it's strings, never really letting me go. I don't know if they ever will.

There was grit. And there was heart. These people were fed up and broken down over their lot in life, but the beautiful thing was that they absolutely should be! I didn't feel like any part of their story was over-reaching or trying too hard. They were just trying to deal and cope, even if the best ways they knew how weren't the best ways at all.

"The Sea of Tranquility" launched itself to the very top of my list of favorites. For it's charm, wit, pain, self-destruction, and ultimate redemption (or shall I say, salvation?), I will be singing it's praises for a very long time to come.
4061635
my introduction to massive attack, this is nothing like what i expected. brittle, haunted voices float over this the lumbering, tormented collection of acoustic layers. and what layers- sounds from the far east, throbbing  precussions, jazz influences, noises from god-knows-what brass machine  grinding itself to death. elizabeth fraser's voice is sexy, menacing and  heartbreaking all at once. wonderful stuff!
1417859
First of all... F you Hoover for breaking me! I had feels over all the books thus far and had a serious book hangover with IEWU but this one takes the cake. The minute I think my heart is fully broken, two pages later you take a ice pick to it again and two more pages again till I'm left a shroud of a human shell drained of all emotion cause it fell out my eyes! I think this book speaks such volume because it's so real and at the same time not real enough... like the happiness I wish all who endear could end up with but the real, horrid past of so many silenced or unheard. Sky's life is turned upside down at least 15,000 times and it's so raw! Holder has had his life ripped apart time after time and it's so unbearable. This book will ruin you, wreck you, make you hate humanity and scream at nothing because you can't not scream... this book is a must read!
950475
Well its that time again! Time to lock yourself in a dark room and explore the despair in the human heart. Yeah, you guessed it, im talking about listening to a NIN record, the new Fragile album...And this time you get  twice the pain and tragedy with a 2 cd set. One cant explain why visiting  Trent's underworld of rage is so irresistable. The Fragile is the same sad  horror story, but each NIN album is a cutting edge music experience and it  gets downright beautiful at times. Opening with the hard "Somewhat  Damaged", the band rips through the industrial soundscapes its so  famous for. From "Were in This Together",the promising first  single to the ultra catchy "Please", the album is a rollercoaster  of emotions. With instrumental tracks like "La Mer", it is  probably the best NIN album of all. While enjoying the edgy futuristic  sound, it makes you want to tell Trent " Hey buddy itll be Okay!"  But if he was happy, maybe the music wouldnt be as good.
4805326
Of course I had heard of "Bring Me To Life" and "Going Under" a long time ago...but I'd never REALLY REALLY got interested in Evanescence until I heard the astonishingly beautiful ballad I have come to know as "My Immortal."  You can feel the agony, the anguish, and every emotion that unfolds in that song.  After all, that's what good artists have the ability to do.  So onto this album as a whole.
I got this album yesterday for my 17th birthday and it is just phenomenal.  Don't listen to all the negativity about Evanescence being posers and not true music.  They are otherworldly talented lyricists and not so shabby at playing instruments and singing.  The only complaint I would have is one that several of my friends warned me about:  most of the songs sound, well, too similar.  However, the lyrics are incredible; some bringing me to tears, some making me extraordinarily happy.
I recommend this album to anyone who likes real music, good lyrics, and Linkin Park.
2482498
Raspy voice singing these vulnerable lyrics....BEAUTIFUL!
3622278
PITY is about the most goddamned intense album ever released. CLocking in at 36 minutes with 5 minutes of noise following piss angel, this album never grows old or lets up. ALthough the music rarely slows down, it never grows old, and gets you in a mood to go chop someone into giblets. The singer sounds like he is channeling insantity itself, from the hardcore screams to the black metal shreaks to death metal grunts. THe only way is up for Pig Destroyer.
692942
not only is the lead guitarist/vocalist extremely gorgeous, but OK Go sounds amazing! I heard of OK Go from a friend and I bought their CD in April. OK Go has never left my CD player. Well, unless I take it out to listen to it in my car. But seriously, OK Go has a great sound and it's lyrics are full of truth and brutal honesty. Get Over It trys to explain the fact that sometimes in life, one must get over something bad that has happened and to stop complaining about petty problems. Every song is just incredible and so worth listening to. Buy this CD!!! You will not regret it!