The Identity Matrix Hall of Fame
 

Welcome one and all to a new construction of the Domain. The Identity Matrix Hall of Fame. Anyone is able to request an album for nomination. Whether I have heard it or not, I will post a review of it using a special mathematical formula coded by my creator. (The same thing I use in my journal) If the album is good enough, 8.5 or better, then it will enter the hall of fame (an epic album collage created by myself) I have a lot of time on my hands now and would like to spend it writing more reviews. I have a ton of old reviews from school projects and an old blog that has been decommissioned. So I thought I'd edit them and put them to good use. I will add these in at intervals. Any reviews for my regular journal are up for nomination here on this thread. I'll add them in at the end of each week if they are good enough.

Albums in the Hall of Fame:
-One Hour by the Concrete Lake - Pain of Salvation (1998) 8.8/10 (Chula Vista)
-Fixation on a Coworker - Deadguy (1995) 9.0/10 (The Batlord)
-Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of War of the Worlds - Jeff Wayne (1978) 9.4/10 (Trollheart)
-Purple - Baroness (2015) 9.7/10 (The Identity Matrix)
-Remedy Lane - Pain of Salvation (2002) 8.6/10 (Chula Vista)
-36 Chambers - Wu Tang Clan (1993) 8.5/10 (DwnWthVwls)
-Blackstar - David Bowie (2016) 8.9/10 (The Identity Matrix)

Albums that missed the cut:
-Avulsion - Daydream Society (2016) 8.1/10 (YorkeDaddy)
-No Kill No Beep Beep - Q and Not U (2000) 6.8/10 (Tristan Geoff)
-Tell Me I'm Pretty - Cage the Elephant (2015) 4.9/10 (The Identity Matrix)

Nominations are open.

Current Nominees
-Laughing Stock - Talk Talk (Plainview)
-Frostbite - Kitty (Goofle)
-Progression through Unlearning - Snapcase (The Batlord)
-Village of the Pharaohs - Pharaoh Sanders (Frownland)
-Decompositions Volume One - Circle Takes the Square (Mondo Bungle)
-Act II: The Father of Death - The Protomen (The Identity Matrix)
-Home, Like No Place Is There - Hotlier (Tristan Geoff)
-Different Damage - Q and Not U (Tristan Geoff)

Thank you for any albums requested.

This is a creation of the Artificial Intelligent Construct: The Identity Matrix.

Old dude posting up.

One Hour by the Concrete Lake: Pain of Salvation

http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/6/5/6/1656.jpg

Lol consider Avulsion to be my nomination then :P

Well I'll post the review here, my journal, and the forum showcase thread. How about that?

Deadguy - Fixation on a Coworker


http://www.musicfearsatan.com/DSK/de...tion_(big).jpg

One of my alltime favourite albums (sorry it's a double but well worth it as you get both the story and the music) Original only: the remake didn't quite suck but was I believe totally unnecessary...

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...WayneTWOTW.jpg

Sounds great!

The anticipation might literally kill me

Here we go. The first nominee for the Identity Matrix Hall of Fame...


Year: 1998
Genre: Progressive Rock/Metal
Nationality: Swedish

The Review: These reviews are going to be quick and to the point so I don't spend forever on them. First and foremost this album left an impression on me that very few concept albums have before now, thats saying something with my recent obsession with Coheed and Cambria. The prog rock/metal band Pain of Salvation have done something special with this concept album. Talking about the troubles of the weapons industry and a mans journey through the morality behind his occupation. The album is heavy, industrial, and loud. It carries the emotions within the instrumentation more so than the vocals. I saw a lot of Dream Theatre in these guys with the opening track, Inside. The twinkling piano that finds its way into more tracks than the first is a very neat touch that brings more emotion like I said earlier within the instrumentation. The track reminds me of Empire era Queensryche with the vocalization. The lead singer, while not Geoff Tate caliber, is very capable of delivering high powered vocals. A very strong opening leads into three excellent hard hitting tracks, The Big Machine, New Year's Eve, and Handful of Nothing. The latter being my favorite of the three. The combination of industrial tones over the heavy guitars bring out the overall heaviness of the album. The album then hits quite a few similar notes with Water, Home, and Black Hills. It keeps the pace of the album yet failing to add anything new to the mix. But the final three songs kick it out with a bang with Inside Out being a thirteen minute track that combines all of the elements of the album into one hell of a piece. Progressive rock can be daunting at first as a genre, but these gentlemen have made it look quite easy by taking a mix of Dream Theatre, Queensryche, and even some elements of earlier bands like Yes and Genesis to create a very captivating sound. I was overall very engaged while listening to this record. (For the record each album is listened to about 3 times before I write these reviews. One last night, one this morning, and one this afternoon.) Now the album does have quite a few production issues that I have with some tracks. Certain songs attempt the start and stop of guitars at random times to add some more progressiveness to the track. It doesn't work for me and takes away from the song, but this isn't anything to ruin the experience of the songs individually. Overall the album is very engaging, cohesive, and interesting in concept.

One Hour by the Concrete Lake receives an 8.8/10

Standout Tracks: Inside, The Big Machine, Handful of Nothing, Inside Out, New Years Eve

Weaker Tracks: Black Hills, Home, Water (I still liked them though)

Thus it is the first album to enter the Identity Matrix Hall of Fame. Congratulations to both Salvation of Pain (even though they do not care) and congratulations to Chula Vista with recommending the first album into the hall.

Add in No Kill No Beep Beep by Q and Not U

Woah, hold in there buddy. Don't want that.

Nice review. Glad you dug the album. You should check out Remedy Lane by them also. It's considered their best by many. Funny, Water is one of my fave tracks from this disc.

I enjoyed Water. Just not as a much as all of the other tracks. Would Remedy Lane be another nomination for the hall then?

Definitely. It's also a concept album.

I would second Remedy Lane. We did that in the PRAC and though I pretty much hated OHBTCL I loved this one.

Here we go, a very special nominee from YorkeDaddy himself...


Year: 2016
Genre: Ambient/Electronica
Nationality: American

The Review: Well I will begin by saying that the previous record was a very impressive one. I tend to not enjoy ambient music because it always puts me to sleep. However, this album would not go under the ambient umbrella simply because of the amount of things going on during the tracks. Very mellow in the beginning with tracks like Metanoia, Take What You Want, and Only Temporary. Actually the first half of the album seems to feel very relaxing and ambient, but there is an obvious progression in the tracks once you hit the halfway point with Pretend It Never Happened and onward. New ideas are constantly being thrown in with each passing track. I feel emotionally attached to some of these tracks like Vacancy and Desperation Days. I feel a moment of sadness to see them finish. The album definitely knows how to finish with Remember Me Fondly a beautiful track that raps up whatever story The Daydream Society is trying to convey. The fact that the album is able to tell any story at all without lyrics is a feat all its own. I was excited to take this journey and was wonderfully surprised with it. However, as a person who does not typically enjoy ambient music I was a little disappointed with the first half of the album. It felt too relaxing, which did fit the titles of the songs of course, but the album got exciting and felt alive with the latter half of the album. I just didn't find myself loving the album as a whole. Now I will never take away anything from this album because of my enjoyment of it. It is a beautiful journey that begs you to dive in and take. If the album did not have the first half of the album then I would assume the journey wouldn't be complete, which is why songs like Lonely, Afraid and Sensations feel so accomplished. Somehow an ironic form of confidence blankets these tracks making them all the more enjoyable.

Avulsion by Daydream Society receives an 8.1/10

Standout Tracks: Vacancy, Forget the Future, Desperation Days, Lonely, Afraid, Sensations, Remember Me Fondly

Weaker Tracks: Dendrites, Time Will Pass

YorkeDaddy, this right here is a wonderful journey that I feel could use a stronger atmosphere in the first half. But you have done a wonderful and almost perfect job once the second half kicks in. Sorry it won't make it into the Hall of Fame, but I am waiting with unbounded excitement for your next release. Avulsion releases on January 1st so everyone should go out and listen to it for themselves so they can share this journey.

Since no one else is gonna throw a rap album up:

36 Chambers (The song "CREAM" is missing from this YT video due to copyright restrictions.)

Damn thank you so, so much for taking the time to do this review. I absolutely loved reading it, especially for the helpful criticisms. I'm ecstatic that you enjoyed it overall and I hope it convinces more people to check out when it becomes public. Thank you again!

Just curious, but why wait to release it?

January 1st is the perfect release day given the subject matter of the album. It's about going through a dramatic life change so releasing it at the very start of a new year feels too apt to pass up.

I wish you were always this pleasant. :D

Alright then. I can definitely get behind that.

You're just mad cuz I'm better at Hearthstone

Pay2win :O

Joking aside im looking forward to the new album. I know i enjoyed one of your other albums but i cant remember which.

Talk Talk - Laughing Stock

http://www.electricity-club.co.uk/bl...hing-stock.jpg

My favourite album of all time, so no pressure...

http://static.stereogum.com/uploads/...-frostbite.jpg

Kitty - Frostbite

This album is MB-core. An essential and necessary listening experience for die hard members.

https://kitty.bandcamp.com/album/frostbite

Question for Trollheart. For Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds do you want the 2000 rerelease that is 6 hours or the 1981 version?

I think I mentioned it's the original, 1978 version I'd like to be considered. I think it's about 90 mins? Exactly as the picture. NOT the new version and not any re-release, the original please. Thanks.

^^^

Thanks I found the version you are talking about.

Something wicked this way comes...

Fixation On A Coworker by Deadguy

Year: 1995
Genre: Metalcore
Nationality: American

The Review: Something magical has happened. I really enjoyed a metalcore album. Why did I enjoy this album while not others? Because of the lack of emo in it. I enjoy some emo but keep it the heck away from my metal, please. Back on topic The Deadguys are a one time thing with this album being their only official record. I actually have heard of these guys prior to listening to the album, but I never listened to them. The album starts off with so much energy that never seems to stop. Tracks like Doom Patrol and Pins and Needles are hard hitting tracks in which the Hardcore vocals mix perfectly with the heavy and fast riffs. I love the fact that not a single song on here is full of machoism, often found in most of the metalcore I have tried to listen to. (Emphasis on the try). Instead the songs focus on other darker/negative lyrical themes. The midsection of this album I would say is its strongest part. The three tracks, Makeshift Atomsmasher, The Extremist, and Nine Stitches have some of the strongest instrumentation and vocals of the album. I guess if I had to dislike one song on this record it would be Crazy Eddie, I just don't seem to click with it as an ending track, but I guess none of the tracks would really be able to close, or open for that matter, the album due to an over cohesiveness of the whole album. It feels almost like no matter what order you put the songs in, the album will leave the same impression. Deadguy's also add some slower riffs into some of these tracks to give them an almost doom quality. Something I have not seen in most metalcore. The album tends to mix the two genres, heavy metal and hardcore, very well with heavy sounding guitar riffs and fast drumming and vocals. A mix that only once made me say "Wait a minute! That doesn't sound right." on the track Baby Arm but maybe that is just me not being used to this kind of sound. Overall I loved almost every minute of this album to death. This is the kind of metalcore I want more of.

Fixation on a Coworker receives a 9.0/10

Standout Trakcs: Doom Patrol, Pins and Needles, Makeshift Atomsmasher, The Extremist, Nine Stiches

Weaker Tracks: Crazy Eddie (Still like it though)

Well it seems we have our second entry into the Hall, and a metalcore record at that. Congratulations to both Deadguy, and The Batlord for officially making it into my Hall of Fame.

I gots metalcore for you. I'm always happy to show people that there was a time when metalcore was a thing worth listening to. Mostly during the 90s, when it was more of a punk movement of bands mixing hardcore/post-hardcore with thrash, death metal, and grindcore. When the Massachusetts bands, like Killswitch Engage and Shadows Fall, started incorporating "emo" and melodic death metal is when the genre started going down the tubes, and the current stereotype which dominates people's minds began. But metalcore is so much more than the Hot Topic bands.

Familiar with Converge? But for the moment...

Snapcase - Progression through Unlearning


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NdM5WIYiL.jpg

I have heard of converge but never listened to them. Added Snapcase.

I'll always be #1 bitches. :finger:

I think I'll keep a tally of the number of albums each member recommends. That way I'll post monthly report of who has the most entries into the hall.

Edit: I'll keep track of points as well. For those who obviously want to brag about it.

But my entry is .2 points higher than yours. Current #1 right here!

Tossing in an indo jazz record I've been wanking to lately.


Pharoah Sanders - Village of the Pharoahs

My favorite book, has probably just turned into my favorite musical as well...


Year: 1978
Genre: Musical/Stage Performence
Nationality: American

The Review: I am a huge fan of early science fiction novels, War of the Worlds obviously would fall under that category. I was genuinely excited to dive into this album. I was honestly expecting a lot of orchestration and narration but what I got was something much more special. The moment I started this record I could tell it was something special. The narration is well done and sounds very emotional, I mean it isn't boring or monotone. But the moment the instrumentals kick in, holy smokes it is going to be one hell of a ride. I was engaged for the whole hour and half runtime of this beast, and that is really a special thing. The story is so well told through both the narration, singing, and especially the instrumentation. With the repeating pieces for the invaders as they are introduced in each track makes the album overall feel cohesive. The actual music of this record is influenced in a lot of areas mainly progressive elements along with pop set guitars, but the majority of the tracks include less usage of orchestration than what I was expecting. But trust me when I say that is not a complaint whatsoever. The characters are well fleshed out, the Artilleryman is probably my favorite character for his portrayal in the "track" Brave New World. Also the instrumentation actually makes the aliens feel/appear/sound creepy or sinister. I really felt that the second half of the record was a little more song oriented compared to the first half. Tracks like the Spirit of Man are wonderful listens and I didn't even realize that the track was 11:38 long until I looked at the track during the fadeout. From start to finish I was engaged, invested, and fearful for the characters. Now I didn't fully enjoy Thunder Child. I honestly cannot explain why, I just felt like the song could have been something more especially after the best track on the album, Forever Autumn, from a song standpoint, blew me away prior to Thunder Child. I plan on putting this in rotation almost immediately. Overall the album provides beautiful and intense instrumentation combined with solid performances from the vocalists and narrators.

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the war of the Worlds receives a 9.4/10

Standout Tracks: I feel that this album deserves only to be listened in whole. Thus no tracks standout on their own.

Weaker Tracks: Thunder Child, because I find it the weakest overall.

Trollheart were has this been all my life. A match made in heaven is what I would call it and so I thank you. Congratulations as you have been officially added to the Hall of Fame along with Jeff Wayne's, wonderful, Musical Version of the War of the Worlds. This is top 100 of all time stuff right here for myself.

Delighted you loved it. This album formed a massive part of my growing up, and yes I agree that "Thunder child" is the weak point, if there is one, of the album. I also can't quite put my finger on it: I think the lyric is quite poor: "There were ships of shapes and sizes"??? Should the word different not be inserted there? Mind you, it kind of makes up for its suckiness at the end, with the big buildup to the final "UUU-LAAAHHH!"

That's the late Richard Burton narrating by the way (yes, he who was married to Liz Taylor and whose final incredible performance prior to his death was in Nineteen Eighty Four), while the Artilleryman you like so much is pop icon David Essex, and the late great Phil Lynott plays and sings Parson Nathaniel in "The Spirit of Man". Unbelievable album. Love it to death. Stoked that it made it into the hall of fame. :thumb:

No accounting for taste.

You're just jealous. You had your chance.