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The Smell Of Rain - Mortiis
by zombieflesh
===Era II - Mortiis - The Smell of Rain===
===THE SOUND===
Mortiis (his stage name) originally started his career in the music industry playing bass guitar for the black metal band Emperor. From there he moved out on his own and became front man of his own group, also called Mortiis. His musical orientation has ... switched genre several times and he refers to these different phases as "eras". Era I consisted of classical compositions with a dark, ambient feel to them. Era II saw Mortiis transition into the more mainstream alternative music scene, with The Smell of Rain being the only album released in this era. Era III shows another shift within the alternative scene, with the sounds becoming more influenced by industrial rock.
Although Mortiis is from Norway, all of the lyrics are sung in English which means that they have a wider appeal, and he has a loyal fan base in the UK and throughout Europe. The language can be a little distracting sometimes, as translations do not always seem to come across quite right, or the sentence structure can seem odd thanks to our difficult English grammar. That said, I really like the imagery used in his lyrics and find a lot of the songs to be very emotive and poetic. Because of that I've decided to use this review to pick out my favourite lyrics from each song :)
===THE LOOK===
I discovered Mortiis back in the days when I was growing into a teenage goth and thought that reading Metal Hammer magazine was the best way to keep up to date with all of the latest and coolest bands. I believe Mortiis even used to have his own column in the news section for a while. Anyway, what caught my eye about Mortiis was his look. The group had a very distinctive style, wearing deconstructed outfits finished with layers of straps and ragged tears all dusted liberally with corn flour to give an aged appearance. Mortiis himself also used to wear a prosthetic face mask giving him a goblin-like appearance which is very dramatic on stage. I've seen them perform live a couple of times and they always had great stage presence as well as sounding amazing. The dishevelled look is pictured beautifully in the album art for The Smell of Rain, and it gives a real sense of him being lost somewhere in the wastelands.
===THE SONGS===
1."Scar Trek / Parasite God" - 6:02
I think this album opens on a really strong note, kicking off with a controversial song that poses incredulity at followers of the Christian religion. I myself hold a strongly atheistic viewpoint and so can relate to the message that is being communicated here. The song has a dark electro-pop feel to it, and then ramps up the beat by turning up the drums a notch or two, and distorted rock guitars adding a heavier edge. The lyrics are quite repetitive and the song does feel a little on the long side, but overall I think it's a good starting point. I particularly like the "choir" effect of chanting voices joining in to provide backing vocals as this fits in with the theme of the lyrics.
Favourite lyrics: "We are floating, above the mountains / Watching all the tiny people / How they waste themselves away / Obey themselves away."
2."Flux / Mental Maelstrom" - 6:46
This is quite a long track by any standards, but in this case I hardly notice it as it builds up from a softer start to become heavier and incorporate more layers as the song progresses. I really like the atmosphere that is created by the lyrics, which are very dark and angry. It's the perfect song to listen to if you're feeling the need to seek revenge on someone who deserves it! The repetitive guitar riffs have an almost machine gun harsh quality to them which fits really well with the lyrics and helps to reinforce the tone of the song.
Favourite lyrics: "I want you to descend / I want you to fall down / I want to be the end of everything you've ever done."
3."Spirit in a Vacuum" - 4:53
I think that this track is really quite similar to the one before it, both in terms of the music itself, the way the song is constructed, and also the lyrics. The words have a lovely poetic quality to them presented in simple, short sentences. This song features additional vocals from Martina Binder who has a beautiful, soft and fragile voice. For me this creates a sort of mystical, ethereal feel to the song and this is really the only thing that separates Spirit in a Vacuum from Flux / Mental Maelstrom.
Favourite lyrics: "Mental Maelstrom beckons me, to fall into the core / The Centre of the universe, mocks me forevermore."
4."Monolith" - 3:59
This track takes a more sombre tone and the lyrics are sung in an exaggerated, pained way. This song is heavy on the synth element and the pace is slowed right down to fit with the melancholic mood. There is also the addition of an interesting quote sample about three-quarters of the way through the song: "You ask me if I have remorse for what I have done. How can I, when I don't have a conscience?". This isn't one of the strongest songs in my opinion, and I think it could have been better placed either at the start or the finish of the album rather than dragging the mood down half-way through the CD.
Favourite lyrics: "The Monolith is I. / It was always me. / This world has always been, the place I really lived in."
5."You Put a Hex on Me" - 5:45
This is one of my favourite songs from the album and is an upbeat, catchy track with a good rhythm to it. It has what I think of as Enya(!) style electro sounds to compliment the title line of the chorus. (No, I'm not crazy. Remember Sail Away? This song reminds me of it in places.) This song is about casting a spell against someone and the lyrics really capture the essence of this ritual. I connected with this as I love all things horror, and the topic appeals to me as a fan of voodoo and witchcraft in my fictional entertainment. This has a great underlying beat to it, although it's not really pumped up enough to be a dance track, it's still more of a synth-pop offering.
Favourite lyrics: "In the middle of a circle, sits the one to fear / Maker of all miracles, the one I won't go near."
6."Everyone Leaves" - 6:41
This is one of the saddest songs that I've ever heard and I wasn't expecting it in an album of this type. The lyrics are simple but I really connected with them emotionally. If you've ever lost someone close to you then you will probably find this song to be meaningful and relevant; I certainly did and it still stirs up a lot of feelings in me whenever I hear it. It laments the loss but also encourages acceptance, so although I find it moving to listen to it also helps me feel more positive. The vocals are sung very gently, with a whisper-light touch. There are also some odd inclusions here like pan-pipe sound effects which I'm not sure fit, but they do manage to work somehow. What I really like about this song is that although it is slow and sad to begin with, it does build up towards the end and it feels like there is a real release at the end as the tension becomes greater and the vocals finally find their strength.
Favourite lyrics: "Everyone leaves in the end / Everything dies in the end / It doesn't matter how hard you hold on / Everyone leaves in the end."
7."Marshland" - 4:43
Marshland is one of my favourite Mortiis songs from all of his albums, and I think that this particular song really paved the way for him to develop his style further. With his later works you can see where the inspiration for this song has led him and I like that he has continued on in this style. We're back to a more upbeat sounding track, but the lyrics are actually quite desperate. There is a real sense of confusion and inadequacy, and the way that he describes the Marshlands makes it seem very real. There are lots of layers mixed together here, with the drums looping constantly in the background, and this is overlaid with electro-beats and chanted backing vocals which help it to keep the dark, gothic feel.
Favourite lyrics: "The only way to find myself / Is to descend deeper still." and "I'm stuck and cold where life is plentiful but nothing lives."
8."Antimental" - 6:17
This is another example of where two songs seem to blend into one another. This follows on from Marshland and uses much of the same styling. It has a slightly angrier feel to it, including the line "fist f*** baby" repeated a few times, not sure how this fits in exactly but it does amuse me. A lot of the lyrics are repeated again but this works to good effect, especially when building up nearer the end of the song.
Favourite lyrics: "I've got to stop existing mentally, in places that I do not want to be."
9."Smell the Witch" - 5:43
This song is a good finish to the album and rounds things off in an energetic way. This is an oddly upbeat, catchy track with odd lyrics and an overtly gothic feel. There are chanting choir-like backing vocals, strong drum beats, grindy guitars and even some church bell sound effects, hurrah! I think this pulls the album together, and when I loop this album on my MP3 player it works really well to finish the album off and then link back into the first track again, which is a cool effect.
Favourite lyrics: "Is this how fear smells?"
===SUMMARY===
This album came out in 2001 and I still listen to it now, so it's proved itself as a good part of my limited music collection. I really like the direction that Mortiis took when he started producing this sort of music and it only gets better from here. I'd definitely recommend looking up The Smell of Rain if you're interested in dark, dystopian electro-pop with a gothic feel to it. It's been released several times in small runs and you can find this cheaply on Amazon, with a pre-owned copy costing between £2-£4. A new copy currently costs between £9-£14 depending on year of release.
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Take Me Home - One Direction
by atanalltimelow
One Direction, where do I start?
I suppose you could say that they are basically the pretty boy equivalent to Marmite, if you don't like them you absolutely can't stand them, but if you even like them just a tiny bit, you somehow end up becoming obsessed with every inch of there existence, it's pretty amazing really.
One ... Direction were first discovered on the UK Singing Competition "The X Factor" where they placed third after being beaten by Rebecca Ferguson and Matt Cardle and although normally this would have set them back, the group itself consisting of Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan have gone onto to sell 4 times the albums sales and gain worldwide success, unlike the two X Factor Winners.
Now after much success from their first album "Up All Night" which was released November 2011, they are now releasing their second full length "Take Me Home" almost exactly one year later, bringing in songwriting collaborations from Ed Sheeran, Mcfly and Jake Gosling.
I personally absolutely couldn't stand "1D" at first, you see I'm more into the Rock/Pop-Punk Genre, so to me they were "just another boyband" and honestly they still aggravate me a bit, the fact that they don't write most of their songs and that they still believe they have "the best fans in the world" even though their fans regularly attack and hate on other people and artists and pick out personal points in their life that are very hard for them to talk about, but they have grown on me a lot, throughout the last 6 months I have seen how much happiness they bring to people, their music really can put a smile on people's faces and all five of them are such lovely guys.
About a week ago I was on Facebook when I saw One Direction advertising their free Take Me Home stream, which was going to be available for two days to give fans a chance to listen to the album and decide whether or not they wanted to buy it. I clicked on the link and was directed to iTunes, where I found the stream and thought, "Hey why not? It won't be that bad and I can be the first to review it on dooyoo" so after listening to this album at least 5 times, here is my review of One Direction's "Take Me Home".
Tracklisting
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1. Live While We're Young - 3:20
2. Kiss You - 3:03
3. Little Things - 3:39
4. C'mon, C'mon - 2:45
5. Last First Kiss - 3:23
6. Heart Attack - 2:56
7. Rock Me - 3:20
8. Change My Mind - 3:32
9. I Would - 3:21
10. Over Again - 3:02
11. Back for You - 2:58
12. They Don't Know About Us - 3:20
13. Summer Love - 3:28
Album Cover
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There's not much I can say about the Album Cover as it is a picture as opposed to Artwork but what I will say is that it sums up what this album and One Direction are all about, fun and mischief, in the picture they're all smiling and working together to try and climb onto the telephone box, it just represents their whole image and message, which I think is nice.
Track By Track Review
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LIVE WHILE WE'RE YOUNG (5/5)
-"Live While We're Young" is not only the first track on the album but is also the first official single, after being released a few weeks ago accompanied with a music video depicting One Direction throwing a pool party and just overall messing about and enjoying themselves. For me, I think this song is kind of a teen anthem, it's basically saying have fun while you can, because one day you won't get the chance to relax how you are right now because you'll be thrown into work or adult life.
The song itself is very catchy (It's been in my head ever since it came out) it has a simple bass line, which accompanies the repetitive lyrics in a good way, while each of the boys share an equal part in making this introductory song one to remember.
KISS YOU (5/5)
-From the first five seconds of "Kiss You" we can instantly tell that this track is destined to exhibit a much faster tempo compared to "Live While We're Young", with Zayn bringing in the first vocals we are introduced to a track that is much more sampled based, sporting lots of beats and rhythms created on machines (not that that's a bad thing) and an upbeat track that is possibly the fastest track we've seen from One Direction yet, the boys use a clever technique in the chorus, separating the last word of each line and although it might not sound like much it really gives the song a unique edge. Honestly this is probably my second favourite song on the entire album.
LITTLE THINGS (5/5)
-Aw "Little Things", now if you're a One Direction fan you will recall that last year Ed Sheeran stepped in and gave the song "Moments to Harry Styles for One Direction's first album "Up All Night" after it being recorded onto an album of songs he was never going to use, well he's back and better than ever folks, although this time allowing the boys to sing a song that's a lot more personal to him. Sheeran first wrote the song when he was 17, claiming "It was written about the best things about someone, kind of like the things you wouldn't expect." Well I can safely say One Direction have not disappointed when it's comes to making this song meaningful and sweet, keeping it acoustic and unplugged the boys give us a song that I'm sure will be serenaded throughout the world to loved ones and partners, with such lyrics as :
"I know you've never loved the sound of your voice on tape
You never want to know how much you weigh
You still have to squeeze into your jeans
But you're perfect to me"
Soon to be the second single off of "Take Me Home", this song is sure to make you smile.
C'MON C'MON (2/5)
-"C'mon C'mon" is probably my least liked song on the album, there's something about it that seems a bit as if it's been thrown together with no real thought, the beat is very basic and lyrics are very so-so, just my opinion but honestly whenever I listen to "Take Me Home" now I always skip this track, don't take my advice though, you may love it.
LAST FIRST KISS (4/5)
-Although still not at the same standard as the first three tracks on the album, "Last First Kiss" is definitely one of the best songs on the album. Just as they have done with "Little Things" One Direction choose to make this song almost solidly acoustic throughout the verse with only a sampled drumbeat to accompany the guitar, the tempo then picks up for the chorus allowing this song to be half ballad, half pop.
"I wanna be last yeah
Baby let me be your, let me be your last first kiss
I wanna be first yeah
Wanna be the first to take it all the way like this
And if you only knew I wanna be last yeah
Baby let me be your last, your last first kiss"
The song itself is basically about wanting to be someone's first love. (That's how I see it anyway).
HEART ATTACK (5/5)
-Now we come to my personal favourite song on "Take Me Home", I don't what is it exactly, whether it's the exciting chorus, the fast tempo or the way it's sung, but there's something about this song that I just really really like. (It's also perfect lip-syncing material, not that I do a lot of that...)
Almost the entirety of the first verse and bridge is sung by Zayn, or at least that's what it sounds like, who sounds very meaningful throughout the lyrics and cleverly changes into different tones throughout, then what sounds like Harry joins in for the chorus, providing us with a very energetic and fun chorus that you just can't help but sing along to.
"And I'm like oww
Never thought it'd hurt so bad
Getting over you
And oww
You're giving me a heart attack
Looking like you do
Cause you're all I ever wanted
Thought you would be the one that's ow
Giving me a heart attack getting over you"
One of the better heartbreak songs of 2012 if you ask me.
ROCK ME (4/5)
-After causing gaining themselves a lot of enemies throughout the rock community due to their "lovely" fans, I have a feeling that this song is going to rub a lot of people up the wrong way and will cause a lot of people to claim that "They're trying to be rocky" but they're not. In this track, the boys have chosen to add a classic Rock N Roll beat very similar to the one used on "We Will Rock You" by Queen, to do something slightly unexpected and to possibly relate back to Harry Style's roots after previously being in a rock band himself (White Eskimo).
The song itself is a pop/rock ballad, containing lots of different genre's of music all rolled into one, without stepping away from the classic One Direction sound.
Definitely one to be remembered.
CHANGE MY MIND (5/5)
-Aw, another one of my favourites.
"Change My Mind" is yet another ballad and yet another acoustic, but it's a beautiful song, in itself it's very calm and relaxes the mood of anyone listening to it. I wouldn't be surprised if this track get's forgotten about a lot throughout reviews of this album as it's placed so far down in the tracklisting which is a shame, but hopefully One Direction will be smart and release this as the third single.
Acoustic is honestly what they do best.
"But baby if you say you want me to stay
I'll change my mind
Cause I don't wanna know I'm walking away
If you'll be mine
Won't go, won't go
So baby if you say you'll want me to stay, stay for the night
I'll change my mind."
A sad breakup song, "Change My Mind" is about not wanting the relationship to be over even though it's obvious the other person no longer shares the same feelings.
I WOULD (4/5)
-Now let's see, we've spoken about Ed Sheeran's collaboration, but I'm sure there was someone else involved...who was it? Mc-something? Mc-Mc-Mc-MCFLY! Of course, "I Would" was written by the amazingly talented and worldwide established boyband known as Mcfly, consisting of Tom Fletcher, Dougie Poynter, Danny Jones and Harry Judd.
Now, when looking back on the album, I forgot how much of a good song this is, it's definitely the last good one before the songs start getting less impressive, this song when first listening to it, will make you think you've heard it before somewhere, it tells the story of a boy pondering after a girl way out of his league (not that that's a problem for any of the One Direction boys), forever wishing to be noticed and get the girl he keeps dreaming about. This is set to be yet another wonderful teen anthem.
OVER AGAIN (3/5)
-"Over Again" is the second songwriting collaboration from Ed Sheeran, and even without knowing that before listening to it, you're are easily able to tell. The boys have chosen to imitate (not in a bad way) Sheeran's unique vocal style to really make Ed proud and although it's a nice song, the lyrics sometimes get a little bit too silly such as "I can make your tears fall down like the showers that are British" which isn't at all 1D's fault but personally puts me off the song slightly.
BACK FOR YOU (2/5)
-Possibly the worst song on "Take Me Home", this track is extremely repetitive and kind of a let down compared to the rest, sporting a simplistic beat and generic vocals.
THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT US (4/5)
-Although being the second to last song on the album, this track gives us hope that the last track will be a good one, it refreshes the classic boyband sound that the likes of "The Backstreet Boys" and "NSync" have documented in Music History, it's a nice thing to witness on such a recent boyband's record but it's hopefully a sound they will chose to include more of in the future.
They don't know about the things we do
"They don't know about the I love you's
But I bet you if they only knew
They will just be jealous of us
They don't know about the up all night's
They don't know I've waited all my life
Just to find a love that feels this right"
The song itself is about secret relationships, which let's be honest is something One Direction are going to have to go through a lot of.
SUMMER LOVE (4/5)
-The Album ends on a high note, with a song that's ironically about goodbyes to wave off the end to "Take Me Home", the song is a lovely acoustic song, very slow and calm, a chance for us to properly hear the boys lovely voices one final time.
Conclusion
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This album proves exactly how much One Direction have grown since being thrown together on "The X Factor", it is now easy to see the bond they have formed and the sound they have created together, this album is 10x better than "Up All Night" and is only the start of what I hope will be One Direction's very long and very successful career.
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