Cormorant - Dwellings Review

A cormorant is a dumb bird. I just thought I would mention that before I get into the album. It's pretty metal though. A flock of cormorants destroyed an island somewhere.

It's honestly a bit tough to correctly categorize where Cormorant fits on the metal spectrum. There's such a vast array of influences they draw from, and play with, yet it is somewhat comforting to know there are bands who can still create wonderful music and not be pigeon-holed into a niche for specific people to enjoy. If you are well versed enough in metal, and listen closely, you will hear everything from first wave black metal, to Opeth and Porcupine Tree, and beyond.

So right off the bat, we have a really cool lead into the opening song "The First Man", which seems to be about the Earth and stuff. Arthur von Nagel's vocals are top notch, they fit the music extremely well and offer a good balance between tr00 and understandable. The lyrics are actually very important for getting into the whole theme that Cormorant is going for on Dwellings. I highly suggest reading them while listening, either on the internet or in your physical copy!

As we head into Funambulist (my favorite song by the way), you can hear more of the prog influence creeping in. There's a very nice intro to this song, it brings back memories of Pink Floyd almost. Arthur's shouting vox come into play, barking the lyrics at you, leading into a cool little bass part (also played by Arthur!). Brennan's soft vocals come into play here, invoking sounds of Steven Wilson, which brings us to the killer guitar playing of Matt and Nick. They tear shit up on this album. Everyone's performance on this album honestly is fantastic. It all fits together so well, despite being so different from each previous section of the songs/album you are listening to! I'm a sucker for guitar solos, and I love the shit out of what Nick and Matt are doing here. Eventually you'll come to a part in the song where the song breaks down and Arthur comes in speaking French over a soft guitar sound, slowly bringing back the rest of the instruments as it starts to ramp back up again and Arthur screams at you! Then he fades back into a whisper to a quiet outro of the song.

The band, and album is a very different animal from anything else out there. It's very intelligent, very forward thinking. Cormorant dares to do things on their own terms, in such a unique way, that you can't help but appreciate it and love them for it. A quirky little DIY band from Petaluma, California has broken into the metal scene. They made a few waves with Metazoa, but they caused a full on tsunami with Dwellings. They command your respect with this one, and it would behoove you to give it a shot!

Everything about this album is a step up from their prior efforts, and I suggest you support them to the fullest!
You can purchase Dwellings here:
http://cormorant.bandcamp.com/

Where to begin?

I'll start by saying that I really fucking hate people who claim to love metal, but listen to complete and total bullshit. This is why I'm mad!

Lets start here! Mastodon fucking sucks. Why do they suck, you ask? They appeal to the worst kind of metal fan. They are a "safe" band. They don't do anything interesting, they aren't too heavy or too soft, they play the kind of music that no respectable metal fan would support. These are the same kinds of people who sit in their car and still blast Master of Puppets or Vulgar Display of Power on repeat in 2011. They are the same kind of people who make absurd claims like "Pantera was the only band flying the metal flag in the 90s!"

Get real. The metal underground is a vast and sprawling tomb of fucking legendary music. There's so much great metal out there, the fact that a person is stuck listening to the same shit they heard 20 years ago is depressing, to say the least. Get your head out of your ass and start looking for music, or don't even fucking bother talking about it like you know what the deal is. 

Want an example of what is wrong with everything? Go here: http://www.metalsucks.net/2011/11/28/the-best-metal-albums-of-2011-as-chosen-by-metal-musicians-themselves-%E2%80%94-part-i/

Look at those lists. These are METAL musicians choosing the best "METAL" albums of 2011, and there are less than 5 people who seem to understand what the fuck they are talking about, and only ONE who seems to have actually delved into the music enough to come up with a relevant opinion.

Fuck off posers.

Watch this space.

I will post something here shortly. It's going to be a hatred filled rant about why people who listen to shitty fucking metal are such losers.