Opeth - Damnation

In keeping with my usual taste of heavy music, this week I'll be covering one of my top 5 albums of all time. Opeth's Damnation was released in 2003, and is considered to be a new classic in the world of metal.  Opeth was historically an extreme metal band prior to this release, but departed from that perspective in favor of a folky classic prog sound that I've since become nearly obsessed with.  I listen to this record at least once a week, and am very familiar, so I'll be analyzing this release in a different way than usual, talking about composition, lyrics, and my overall impressions of Damnation in a holistic context.

Sound: Opeth's 7th studio observation, Damnation, breaks away from the rest of their releases.  It's a completely mellow album. Mikael Akerfeldt described this album as "a way to get in touch with the music of the '70s that influences my writing, even my heavier music, but this gets me closer to it than ever before." The softer side shown on this album is polar opposite anything released under the Opeth name.  This album is, quite frankly, beautiful. The guitar work is intricate, the bass is ever present, offering a steady rhythm suited to the delicate nature of the guitar and Martin Lopez' percussion is absolutely astounding. His drumming switches from playing with passion and feeling, to playing with power and an out pouring of emotion. The guitars sound awesome, and it should be noted this is not an entirely acoustic album, alot of the riffs are played with electric and most songs are more or less a 50/50 use of clean electric guitar and acoustic, both 6 and 12 string, with the 12 string creating some very exotic sounding lead acoustic work. Having said that the album is soft, mellow, beautiful and fragile, does not make this album less evil. Death Whispered A Lullaby and To Rid The Disease are evil tracks lyrically and sound comparatively darker than the rest of the album.

Lyrics: Mikael Akerfeldt's voice as I said above, is delicate, beautiful and almost fragile sounding. Sounds strange to say about a death metal bands singer right? Opeth fans will know Mikael's softer vocals, and on this album his clean voice is at it's best. The lyrics on this album I believe are some of my favorite lyrics of Opeth's and of any band in general. Akerfeldt has connected with his pain and every powerful emotions he keeps inside himself and they pour out in the lyrics, and in his voice. I have the Lamentations DVD, where the entire Damnation album is played live, and it's obvious that these lyrics are very personal, and very close to his heart. This shines through on the album, especially tracks such as Hope Leaves, Akerfeldt's favorite track of the album. Closure is another example of the beauty in the album, the last lyric of the song "In the rays of the sun, I am longing for the darkness" sends shivers up and down my spine.

Overall Impression: The only gripe I could pick out about this album, is the length. Standard Opeth albums range from 5 to 8 tracks and are all about 60-70 minutes each. Yet on this album, it doesn't even reach 45 minutes. Having said that, I can't imagine this album being different. I don't think you could successfully add to or change this album and not have it kinda spoil the effect given already. Closure is perhaps my favorite song on this album. The lyrics are very powerful, and the Arab-esque Outro has to be heard to be believed, other favorites include Windowpane (beautiful, with great solo's) and In My Time Of Need, but it's all stunning. I recommend this to anyone, this album has universal appeal and I have gotten alot of people who have no interest in metal (death, black, heavy or otherwise) into Opeth through this album. This album can appeal to anyone, and I recommend it to metal fans, and anyone interested in skilled musicianship, beautiful lyrics and vocals and powerful, emotive music in general. Below is my favorite track off of this record, Closure. I hope you enjoy it!

The Contortionist - Language

The Contortionist broke into the scene with 2010′s Exoplanet, a 50-minute arrangement that covered a wealth of genres, and showed off a level of musicianship unmatched by their peers. A fluid blend of heavy, atmospheric, and everything in between, the album’s unpredictability and avant-garde approach was praised by critics, and quickly became the standard by which progressive metal was judged.

The band's next record, Intrinsic, was less brazen, further pushing the boundaries set forth by its predecessor with mixed results. Though equally impressive from a musical standpoint, structurally it struggled to find its footing, alternating between various styles with less competence.

This leads us to Language, the band’s third full-length studio album, and the first to feature frontman Michael Lessard, who joined the band after Jonathan Carpenter’s departure in early 2013. With a new front, the outfit has continued to progress their sound into uncharted territories, exchanging the dizzying time-signatures and bone crushing breakdowns of Exoplanet for more calculated soundscapes.

This change is apparent within the first 5 seconds of the opener, “The Source.” Lessard delivers a haunting hymn amidst mounting synth and subtle guitar work, and very quickly, one realizes that "the fans" have taken a backseat to sincere discourse. This is a band making music for themselves. No one else.

A beautifully unexpected introduction, the cascading vocals of this initial offering are soon replaced by the album’s first single, “Language I: Intuition,” A moody dotted 1/4 note delay sets the scene, and is soon joined by a pulsing bass line and more tasteful atmosphere provided by Eric Geunther, keys, another new addition to the group. Following a jazzy break towards the songs midpoint, the stellar guitar work of Robby Baca and Cameron Maynard is finally allowed to take the wheel. Within the track’s closing seconds, the song builds to a towering climax, before diving headlong into “Language II: Conspire,” which, for longtime fans, will undoubtedly satisfy the thirst for heavy. Less restrained and delightfully devastating, this track is also the first real look we get of Lessard’s underutilized screaming, which is unfortunate, its pretty gnarly.

Once past the brooding opening of “Integration,” listeners are whitewashed by drawn-out melodies and repetitious riffs. Similarly, “Ebb & Flow” comes complete with some phenomenal guitar playing reminiscent of Tosin Abasi, but frankly, they are downplayed by forgettable vocal lines, which are, unfortunately, somewhat common across the album’s nine tracks. Not to say that Lessard is a bad vocalist, he can sing, but with the exception of a few standout moments, his delivery isn’t particularly diverse, which in turn devalues this record's shift to a strong reliance on clean vocals. Progression is great when it’s natural, but progression for the sake of progression is less enticing. Plain and simple, I miss the heavy, I want to hear some yelling from time to time.

However, to say that Language is poorly written would be stupid. “Arise” and the previously referenced “Language II: Conspire” finds the group balancing their trademark duality with the same finesse that first put them on the map four years ago. Jaw-dropping shred soars as Lessard shows us what he is truly capable of, while Joey Baca, one of my favorite drummers, somehow manages to keep time with machine-like precision. “Thrive” demands your attention from the second it starts, and manages to maintain that same sense of urgency even during its softer moments, and the last track, “The Parable”, peaks with my absolute favorite moment on the album.

Though Language continues to lack the reckless aggression I missed so much on Intrinsic, as a whole, it still has a lot to offer. From a musical standpoint, it is daunting, and though there are times where they seem to be writing too deliberately, the undeniable quality of the final product makes these excusable. This band is pushing the genre, and in turn has to find out what does and doesn't work. I can't wait to hear the next step in their development! Below is the closer on Language, "The Parable", enjoy.

Vlog One

Hey Everyone, this is my first vlog, really it's just a bit of background about me and where the idea for lastronaut came from. 

Here are some links to my social media accounts:

Personal Facebook
CLOCKS Facebook
Personal Twitter
CLOCKS Twitter
Personal Soundcloud

IG, Snapchat: @ianjsheridan  

A Break From the Usual (What I actually do)

Up to this point, I've collectively left all of you in the dark insofar as to what I "do". Sorry about that!

As mentioned in my "about" section, I'm an engineer, producer, and musician. I grew up playing drums, and have since expanded into learning piano, guitar, and bass. I'm lucky enough to have played in plenty of bands over the years, but for the past several now I've been largely focused on Clocks, a progressive metal band that I started with my best friends in 2011. We've released 2 EP's and toured the country. Much of who I am as a musician, engineer, and human being in general has been shaped by my experiences in Clocks. I consider myself lucky to be part of something so rewarding.

I've done a little bit of everything for Clocks over the years. This track, titled "Indignation," is one that we recently released as a single. I've composed the drums and built multisamples of my own kit for replacement, written and recorded a few guitar parts (as well as all of the bass), and can even be heard singing harmonies on this song. I've also done most of the tracking and editing (though Dakota over at Pro to Pro does a lot of grunt editing work for me when he can) and also mixed and mastered the track. Hope you all enjoy, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this song!

O'Brother - Garden Window

I stumbled (literally) across O’Brother around two years ago at a house party on Illinois State University’s campus.  Someone took over the stereo and started playing “Malum”, the first track off of Garden Window.  30 seconds in and I was hooked, not to mention introducing myself and asking what awesome band was being played.  A few months later after countless listen throughs, I saw them open for Manchester Orchestra.  Long story short, O’Brother SLAYS live.  Even if the music isn’t really your thing, a show is worth the effort and investment. Trust me.

Released in 2011, the first thing that really stood out about Garden Window was how heavy it is.  Now, I’m not implying heavy metal, more in terms of the density and impact every track seems to carry.  “Malum,” the album opener, establishes right out of the gate that for the next hour or so of your life, a cryptic and sludgy wall of sound will be washing over you.  Opened by Merritt’s lyrical question “How great is my debt that my penance should be endless? Lo, my eager eyes will behold the truth”, Garden Window is a markedly dark record, one full of religious skepticism and existential questions.  On “Last Breath”, the album closer and ‘anti’-”Malum,” looks back to the original question, implying that seeking an answer only creates more questions, “So if god is an acronym, some giver of damnation, then why even bother with the concept of man?”

Musically, O’Brother explores a variety of territory, but generally stays within the boundaries of post rock/metal.  That said, they aren't at all afraid to explore song structure and lengthy arrangements; “Cleanse Me” clocks in at just short of 14 minutes.  Listening to this album leaves one with the feeling that the band spent considerable time working on the continuity of these 11 tracks.  Each track builds off of the others, and the result is a release that feels truly complete.  For example, “Lo” re-purposes the vocal melody from “Malum” and reorients it into a semi-standard rock song.  “Poison” starts at a mellow pace, building gradually as a lead-in to “Lay Down”, a truly massive and epic song.  Further, “Machine Pt. I” and “Machine Pt. II” are so well connected that my musician’s intuition suggests their having started as a single song, serving to build intensity one last time before the last few tracks close the record.

Anton Dang, bassist, truly drives a large portion of Garden Window.  At times he branches far out of the norm, using a bow on his bass ala Jimmy Page’s famous guitar technique.  Michael Martins’ drumming is interesting as well, he’s generally a player that seldom breaks out of the pocket, but his building rhythms on “Malum” and “Poison” are some of my favorite moments on the record.

Believe it or not, Garden Window is O’Brother’s full-length debut.  It sure doesn’t sound like it, as they've taken all of their different influences and blended them in a totally unique way.  I've never heard a band that sounds quite like O’Brother, and doubt I ever will again.  This album stands alone in recent years in terms of originality and in my opinion, should be elevated into the realm of future classics.  It’s unique, powerful, and cohesive, and I can’t wait to hear what the band does next!

Below is the first track off of Garden Window, “Malum”.  Enjoy!

Russian Circles - Memoriam

Okay, we all have a band or artist that speaks to us on a particularly deep level, almost seeming like an artistic muse of our personality or taste. For me, Russian Circles is that band. They very recently released their fifth studio album, Memorial. It’s instrumental music, focused heavily on drums and shifting rhythms. In that sense, it’s typical of a Russian Circles release, but like each record before it the band has evolved. Their signature sound seems to be further refined on Memorial, and leaves no question why they continue to dominate the genre they pioneered (along with former label mates, Maserati).

I’d describe Memorial as dark, almost sour, especially in contrast to their past releases. After “Memoriam”, an acoustic intro, “Deficit” opens the record up in true Russian Circles style, with plenty of layered guitars, massive riffs, crazy bass fuzz and rotating polyrhythmic drum movements. Slow menacing riffs slowly speed up and build into a choppy, murderous riff with huge explosions of feedback and strings in the background. “1777”, one of the band’s best of all time in my opinion, plays on Russian Circles’ ability to engross the listener in a thick atmosphere, planting us somewhere in the distance, somewhere dark and cold.
In that sense, this band is truly one of the greats in terms of their ability to pull you in.

What really stands out about this record is the overall vibe it creates. Memorial seems inherently based around a set of feelings or ideas than individual riffs. “Memorial” and “Cheyenne” offer a great example of this. They are both tremendously understated, practically floating through time with little happening at all. Both tracks are about the textural experience. Not a lot of working and actively touring bands have attempted at, but Russian Circles pulls it off with finesse. Not once was I thirsting for structure or familiarity.

Every time Russian Circles releases a new record, I'm practically ashamed to listen to it. Its almost too perfectly suited to my tastes, and if there are flaws to be found, I’d be hard pressed to perceive them. Maybe one day I’ll be able to convince myself that some part of a certain song doesn’t work, or that a guitar tone is bad in a small section, but at the end of the day, I have a hard time finding anything negative to say about Memorial, or for that matter, Russian Circles in general. As a band, they’re completely focused on perfecting their craft. Their musicianship is impressive, and they’re far and away one of the most unique bands I’ve ever come across.

So all of that said, I’m clearly a little bit biased. Is Memorial a great record? I think so. Is it one of the best albums I’ve ever heard? That goes without saying, but I’ll stop being a fan boy now and let you judge for yourselves. Below is “Memorial”, the album closer. Enjoy!

Letlive - The Blackest Beautiful

Letlive, a post-hardcore band from L.A., released The Blackest Beautiful in July of 2013. Unlike peers in the post hardcore realm, Letlive shoots for big choruses, writes lyrics about major social issues, and most poignantly, dole out their sound with such intensity that it’s borderline suffocating (listen to “Casino Columbus” and “We, The Pros of Con”, you’ll get it). Its clear that Letlive wrote with the intention of “saying something”, and Jason Butler’s nuanced performance does just that.


A lot of “message” oriented bands let the music itself take a backseat, acting simply as vehicles for a cause to travel on. The Blackest Beautiful is nothing like that. The tracks feel complete, and require several listens to really absorb. In my opinion this lack of immediacy is good indicator of this record’s longevity. People will pick up this record ten years down the road and still be able to relate and connect to it in a way that fits the times, so to speak.

Okay, so I realize that I said this record lacks immediacy, but that’s not to say that tracks like “The Priest and Used Cars” and “Pheromone Cvlt” don’t hit hard right out the gate. The former riffs intensely, but plows its way through to a stunningly restrained chorus with my favorite vocals performance of the record. The latter is ALL restraint, and the most personal song on the album. Butler’s lyrics are for a moment painfully intimate (in a good way), acting as a counterpoint to the almost selfishly constant vocalization (he even finds time to rap) that is his hallmark.


In terms of production, other critics have slammed this record for being underproduced, or at least poorly mastered. I’d venture to say that this opinion is based in the poor quality leak of the album that has since spread across torrent platforms. My (purchased) copy sounds great. If anything, I think it’s too clean, and too produced. Letlive is the type of band that might benefit from a raw production perspective. Too clean means that Butler’s ad-lib vocals feel deliberate and planned, which doesn’t vibe well with the self-awareness that he reveals in his lyrics.


The overarching theme for The Blackest Beautiful is best described by Butler’s cheeky remark about his band being “an example, an exhibition” on the album closer. We know that our entertainment often spurs the most change in society than anything we read in the news. We know that people use music and art to shape their actions and belief. Letlive combine a relevant message and good intention to use music and art for good, providing listeners with a positive influence to draw from. Below is a great example, “Banshee (Ghost Fame)”. Enjoy!

Haken - The Mountain

Haken, Hailing from London in the UK, has often been compared to Dream Theater. This, for me, is a problem. Why? Because despite the undeniable relevance of Dream Theater to progressive music, I am not alone in finding Dream Theater’s music to be generally void of creativity. It lacks feel, and to me is by-in-large an exercise in creativity. So, if someone were to say to me “Hey! Check out this band, they sound like Dream Theater,” it’s an instant cue to tune out. That said, when Haken’s album The Mountain was released last year, I couldn’t in good conscience say no to a thorough listen through. Even though I went in with little interest, the fierce loyalty that my friend’s hold to Haken’s music warranted exploration.

What makes Haken’s music so loyalty-inducing is that they don’t sound like any one other band in particular. Their progressive style seems to reference music from all over the map. The Mountain opens with a clean, open soundscape on “Atlas Stone”, draws influence from Mr. Bungle on “The Cockroach King”, and even ventures into Leprous-like territory on “In Memoriam”. Frankly EVERY track on The Mountain is interesting and generally cool, and brings Haken up to a level with the very best in progressive music.

The best part of The Mountain is Haken’s ability to mix beautiful melodies and pop-style song structures into a form that is both unpredictable and intellectually stimulating. They move fluidly from funky weirdness to metal and back on “Falling Back to Earth,” drop right back into a freeform jazz arrangement in “Atlas Stone.” Influence drawn from Marillion/Fugazi and Porcupine Tree appear on “Somebody.” Through all of these wildly different influences, nothing feels forced or derivative of another band. Frankly, it has a lot to do with Ross Jennings’ vocals, which I find to be a grounding factor, providing familiarity as the instrumentation floats across genres at will.

It goes without saying, though, that the vocals are not the only factor that make this record brilliant; the band is clearly highly talented. Both guitarists balance their work, and know when to take a step back from shredding and perform from a minimalist perspective. I love that Tom MacLean’s bass has been mixed in such a way that it actually stands out, it’s the source of some of my favorite moments on The Mountain. In terms of production in general, it’s more than good enough. The keyboard and guitar work never run into one another, a common problem from a mixing perspective. My biggest complaint sonically is that the drums are a little bit dry, and as a result are occasionally buried. My hunch is that it is due to how loud this record is. The Mountain is by no means squashed to the extent that a top 40 pop track might be, but enough that the drum tone falls victim to heavy mastering compression.

Overall, The Mountain is an example of Haken’s rarest talent; the ability to write a record that is entertaining for it’s entire 70 minute duration. The record feels fluid, moving seamlessly from genre to genre but never sounding like anything but Haken.

Check out “The Cockroach King” below. It’s just one collection of sonic flavors available on The Mountain, but it won’t disappoint!