Thoughts On Long Albums

In a recent interview with Guitar World, Gojira guitarist Joe Duplantier warmed my heart by revealing that the band’s latest album, L’Enfant Sauvage (my review can be found here) was made deliberately short:

“(Guitar World): The Link, which is 48 minutes long, was your shortest album — until L’Enfant Sauvage. Why is that? Has your songwriting became more compact over the years?

(Joe Duplantier): We did this on purpose. We wanted a shorter album because our albums are most of the time very epic and draining. You cannot go through the entire album intact, you know [laughs]. So I wanted to keep it short because I have an experience as a listener of albums like Metallica’s Master Of Puppets. It’s so short, it’s just eight songs. And other albums like Death’s Human also has eight songs.

When I listen to these albums, it’s so good, so intense and short that you want to listen to it and experience it again right away. I wanted people to have the same kind of feeling with our new album. Sometimes when it’s too long, you get turned off. So it helps the identity of a record to have something that is a little shorter with more impact. So this was done on purpose. We had a lot of material, and we could have done this epic, long album like we do usually, but we made it short on purpose.”

L’Enfant Sauvage is still on the long side at 52 minutes, but it’s refreshing to hear an acknowledgment that albums have become too long. I’ve expressed this frustration in some album reviews. It may not be the biggest reason, but I’ve always maintained that long, drawn out albums have contributed to consumer preferences for buying singles and individual songs rather than entire albums.

With the rise of CDs in the late 80s, albums grew from being typically 35–45 minutes to 60–75 minutes long. Bands and record labels felt that since a CD could hold more music than a vinyl LP then the space had to be filled. I’ve never understood the business behind this since CD production costs are miniscule compared to recording and marketing costs. So an album length that used to be a double LP then became the new norm for a single CD. What used to be thrown away or used for B-sides or outtake releases was now being released as part of an album. I prefer to listen to eight of a band’s most killer, best songs at the time rather than a 12-song album bloated with weaker material. That isn’t value. Try this - take any typical 12- or 13-song album and remove four or five of your least favorite. Would you like this shorter album better? More often than not, you’ll find yourself answering “Yes”.

In Concert This Week - August 16, 2012

There’s something going on every night this week of all rock/metal styles, so surely there is a show you should get out to see!

Doom metal guitar god Wino brings his acoustic/folk show with Conny Ochs to the Turf Club in St. Paul tonight, Thursday, August 16.

Friday, August 17 has rock band Saving Abel playing in St. Paul at Station 4 with Matchpoint and Aeous.

Of course, Saturday, August 18 is the big day for Knotfest at Somerset Amphitheater. You can read my final update (with set times and live streaming information) about the event here, but the confirmed bill at this time is Slipknot, Deftones, Serj Tankian, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Lamb Of God, Machine Head, Cannibal Corpse, Prong, and Gojira. Also on Saturday, the show for rockers The Classic Crime and Embers In Ashes has been moved from the North Star Room in Mounds View to Station 4 in St. Paul. Saturday as well has classic rock band The Guess Who headlining a benefit show for the Laker Educational Foundation with Patty Peterson and moZiak at Epic in Minneapolis.

It’s a brutal night of metal on Sunday, August 19 at Station 4 in St. Paul with Eyes Set To Kill, My Ticket Home, Awaken The Empire, Brothers Loyalty, and See The Rise. That same night Texas Hippie Coalition will be rocking at The Cabooze in Minneapolis with support from The Lost Wheels.

Things set even more intense at Station 4 in St. Paul on Monday, August 20 with Abolishment Of Flesh, Skinned, Sadistic Passage, What Lies Within, and Fetus Heist.

Station 4 in St. Paul then has an all-local bill on Tuesday, August 21 with Face Of Oblivion, Micawber, Ominous Conception, Australis, and Vessels For Our Ghost.

To wrap up the week’s event, Canadian thrashers Unleash The Archers bring their show to Station 4 in St. Paul on Wednesday, August 22 with local support from the mighty Dawn Of Valor and Eternalize, featuring Pyramaze and Echoterra keyboardist Jonah Weingarten in their first ever full performance.

Final Knotfest Update

Due to the unfortunate situation surrounding the well-publicized incarceration of Lamb Of God singer Randy Blythe in a Czech prison and cancellation of their planned tour with Dethklok and Gojira, there’s been a bit of uncertainty about the final bill for Knotfest this Saturday, August 18 at Somerset Amphitheater in Somerset, Wisconsin. A number of changes have been confirmed, and Randy has also been released from prison (on August 2) and is back in the US. Here’s the latest update on the performers at Knotfest.

The most important news is that Lamb Of God will be making one-off performances at both Knotfest events (the other in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Friday, August 17). They had initially cancelled, but now are back on the bill. With the Lamb Of God/Dethklok/Gojira tour up in flames, Dethklok has cancelled but Gojira will still be there. Taking the place of Dethklok is the mighty Machine Head.

According to a recent story on Blabbermouth, the set times for the final billing in Somerset is:

Main Stage

Slipknot: 10:20–12:00

Deftones: 8:10–9:10

Serj Tankian: 6:10–7:00

The Dillinger Escape Plan: 4:30–5:10 pm

Second Stage

Lamb Of God: 9:15–10:15

Machine Head: 7:05–8:05

Cannibal Corpse: 5:15–6:05

Prong: 3:45–4:25

Gojira: 3:00–3:30

If you can’t attend Knotfest, Event View Live is hosting Slipknot’s performance as an internet streaming pay-per-view event for $19.95. In addition to access to exclusive backstage footage and band interviews, Event View Live is also doing a cool thing by allowing you to stream the concert on demand for 30 days after the event. So even if you can’t (or don’t want to) sit at your computer on Saturday night, or if there are bandwidth issues when streaming live, you can watch the concert at your convenience.

GOJIRA Album Review

Gojira – L’Enfant Sauvage

Roadrunner, June 2012

10/10

Gojira is the rare French band that’s made any kind of impact on the metal scene. In fact, the only bands from France I can recall off the top of my head are Trust, Treponem Pal, and Dream Child. There’s good reason why Gojira’s profile keeps rising worldwide—they’re one of the most original and inventive bands to emerge within the last few years. Any time a band steps up to a major label from the independents there will always be a nagging dread that the corporate suits will ruin a good thing, but Gojira has stuck to their guns and delivered an album that keeps their trademark sound intact. Imagine dissonant chords, chugging rhythms, and gruff, monotonous vocals all twisted into the musical equivalent of a bulldozer that mows down everything in all directions. Admittedly, this may not sound like a recipe for success, but Gojira manages to always keep it interesting by introducing some fast elements (listen to “Planned Obsolescence”), varying the vocal style a bit, and weaving through intriguing lines, such as the short, bass-led instrumental “The Wild Healer”, the mellow start of “Born In Winter”, and the surf-sounding guitar segment about two-thirds into “Explosia”. Other high points are on the first half of the album, including the title track, “The Axe”, and “Liquid Fire”. At about 50 minutes long, L’Enfant Sauvage is the perfect length to keep the listener interested for the whole ride. For those new to Gojira, the first listen may be a bit confusing, but with a couple more spins you’ll come to appreciate and understand their bizarre, unique style. It remains to be seen whether Gojira will be able to break into more mainstream ranks, but with the right push all of the other pieces are in place. L’Enfant Sauvage firmly places Gojira atop of the current crop of rising metal bands and should propel them to new heights of success.

Gojira will perform at Knotfest alongside Slipknot, Deftones, Lamb Of God, Dethklok, Serj Tankian, Cannibal Corpse, Prong, and The Dillinger Escape Plan on Saturday, August 18 at Somerset Amphitheater in Somerset, Wisconsin.

Concert Announcements - July 27, 2012

The Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis just announced a local show with Emergent, Vaudeville, Thira, Whither The Tide, and R.A.G.E. on Friday, August 10.

Hard rock band Saving Abel plays an 18+ show at Station 4 in St. Paul on Friday, August 17. Advance tickets are only $5.

Yesterday it was announced that the Dethklok, Lamb Of God, and Gojira tour was cancelled due to Lamb Of God’s singer Randy Blythe ongoing legal trouble in the Czech Republic, where he continues to be held in jail. All three bands were scheduled to be a part of Knotfest with Slipknot on Saturday, August 18 in Somerset, Wisconsin, and I’ve removed them from the calendar listing. Hopefully replacement bands for Knotfest will be announced.

On Sunday, August 19, Texas Hippie Coalition will play at The Cabooze in Minneapolis.

Blue Felix plays a free show at Neisen’s in Savage on Thursday, August 23.

The Turf Club in St. Paul has instrumental warriors Zebulon Pike along with Jel, Pizza Boys, and Good Morning Gentlemen on Friday, September 14. This show will also feature a drum-off with Dave King, JT Bates, Martin Dosh, and Tim Glenn.

As if having Wino playing on Thursday, August 16 at the Turf Club in St. Paul wasn’t awesome enough – now godly doom metal pioneers Saint Vitus will play at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis with Weedeater on Monday, October 1.

GWAR returns to First Avenue on Sunday, November 18 with Devildriver, Cancer Bats, and Legacy Of Disorder. This is an all ages show, and tickets go on sale today, Friday, July 27 at 12:00 noon.

Lastly, rock legends The Who will be performing Quadrophenia (and more) in its entirety at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Tuesday, November 27. Tickets go on sale at 10:00 am today, Friday, July 27.

Slipknot And Knotfest To Invade Twin Cities and Omaha Areas August 17 and 18

There's been a slew of new concert announcements this week (more on these tomorrow), but one bit of news can't wait and that's the long overdue return of Slipknot to the Twin Cities on Saturday, August 18 at the recently renovated Somerset Amphitheater in Somerset, Wisconsin. To make it even more special, this is one of only two dates for Knotfest, an apparently new annual festival-style touring event—the other being Friday, August 17 in Pacific Junction, Iowa (just outside the Omaha, Nebraska metro area). The band lineup differs slightly on each day, but the Somerset date has a more extensive bill, so far being:


Main Stage:
Slipknot
Deftones
Serj Tankian
The Dillinger Escape Plan


Second Stage:
Dethklok
Lamb Of God
Cannibal Corpse
Prong
Gojira


More bands should be added to the bill. I'm just hoping that a long-time favorite live band of mine, The Urge, who is slated to play the Pacific Junction date, will be added to the Somerset show. From the initial press release, it sounds like there will be vendors and a variety of activities including carnival rides. One cool feature will be a "Slipknot museum" with information and memorabellia from the band's archives. I'll have more information about the event as I learn it!


Tickets for both dates of Knotfest go on sale this Friday, June 8 at 10:00 am CDT through Ticketmaster. The event is all ages and tickets for the Somerset date are only $23 plus fees. The Ticketmaster event page states that "A limited number of tickets will be made available at 'early bird' discounted prices." It's unclear whether $23 is the early bird price or whether this is the standard price.