Wolves in the Throne Room, "Face In A Night Time Mirror - Part 1"
All four of the songs on the debut album from Wolves in the Throne Room go over 12 minutes. Although it's very black metal, even from the beginning there were a lot of non-standard moves. The clean vocals on this track, for instance, not to mention the pastoral interlude. Metal has always played around with folk, and there have been other bands that have merged the sounds, but Wolves in the Throne room do a better job of that sort of thing than most.
The Aquabats, "Sequence Erase"
Well, phew, I'm ready for a break! The third Aquabats album doesn't quite hit as hard as The Fury of the Aquabats, but they're never anything less than fun, so it's still a happy thing to have around. This is how the album opens up, but they don't quite keep up this pace.
The English Beat, "Mirror In The Bathroom"
Hey, it's the second wave of ska! We don't hear that much from these bands around here. I love the first wave, and the third wave hit me at a time when I was a music obsessive, but I haven't done a ton of exploring in the second wave. Sure, I love the Specials and all, but I just don't have the same level of knowledge. Anyway, this song rules.
The Body & Full of Hell, "Light Penetrates"
Oh boy, back to the darkness. Noise merchants The Body regularly team up with other bands to release records. Here, they're paired up with reckless grindcore act Full of Hell, producing one of the more unsettling records around. If you like your music grim, well, here you go.
M83, "Night"
OK, we're done here! Enjoy the whiplash!