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Pandemonium! - Muinomednap!


frozen dream

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Interesting to see that so many people don't get the Pandemonium! concept.

 

About sound: Well sound quality is really not the best, its old Filipe work and with mastering its as good as it gets. There is no magic stick to turn it into supersounding stuff.

Anyway, please spare me your mastering comments like eq-ing, thats just stupid. Get better speakers and you'll see that sound is balanced.

 

 

Musically i think its one of the best albums of all time. I don't like the darker tracks (especially nr. 4), but Nr, 3,6,7,8 are great.

 

And my favorite is Seq-uoia, such a strong and beautiful track. I listened to it staight for 5 days when i got, it, the whole Ra album only lasted 4 days... now its almost a year that i know it and this track hasn't got any weaker, i start to get the feeling that this track is an infinite source of fun and beauty.

 

My impression is, apart from what is going on here that most of the complaints come from persons who downloaded the tracks that got stolen from Metapsychic and now are disappointed that there are no new tracks on this CD, but CDs are not made for people who download unreleased stolen tracks.

 

Also, i think some people will miss the good tracks (nr. 7 and the mentioned nr. 8) because they somewhat hidden on this CD.

 

Last comment: I don't really care what other people think about this album, i didn't release it for hype but because it contains tracks like Seq-uioa, and i think its the best Phototropic album so far, so there will be Pandemonium! album Nr. 2 even if you all rate this one 1/10.

 

digi

Defending your label is of course very important, and I can see that you are upset. We are not telling you as a label that its a crap label, but sometimes labels have to listen to the peoples view on things in order to improve, or maybe to change some minor details. Personally, I did not like this release at all, for the exact above reasons by sounding all the same all the time, but for other people this might be the release of the century. I am happy for those people, but I wont be checking out a 2nd album from pandemonium, unless people tell me (which I know share my taste) that it is the bomb!

 

Good luck with the label though! :) Lets hope you will release something I will love in the future, there is not enough good music out there :D

 

Nemo

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The tracks Pandenomium, Stuck In The Walls, Moon Fishing seem to be made out of the same track but just prolonged and cut? Moon fishing is lower-tempo then the 2 but it sounds the same. The very same synths and sounds are used, with hardly any new sounds in each track, as well as repeated note compositions.

The lead sound in Stuck In The Walls is not the same as the one in Moon Fishing! You have to agree with that. Moon Fishing got these big saws while SITW uses a sharp high synth sound. Furthermore the Pandemonium track emphasises on guitars much more than the two previous ones mentioned. Next to that, in the rhytmic section there's a huge difference between Pandemonium or SITW and Moon Fishing. The latter one was made out of a 6/8 rhythm, which is based on another flow than the regular 4/4 rhythm of the first two mentioned.

 

There are more differences than just these mentioned, but probably neither you or I are going to change our opinion, so hm, that wouldn't help us further I guess... :)

 

***small remark*** Yeah just wanted to draw the attention to another difference that separates all tracks in the P! album...nearly each track has another kick. Kick-sounds seem to not matter that much for Goa and Psy people, unlike for people in other branches of music, for example Hardcore tunez. Anyway I always pay attention to the kicks, it's one of the main reasons why I fell in luv with Nitzho, but it strikes me how nobody ever mentioned the fact that albums like for example Ra or D5 use the same kick in like 20 tracks!

 

Remarks on my remarks are always welcome! :)

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Hello :)

Everyone has their tastes its normal no point of fighting. :)

My toughts as an artist :

Its normal that the whole album sounds the same style because you´re just listening to one artist and also based on a theme (in this case "Muinomednap!") .

I think that wasnt any point of producing a song , skipping next and then you hear something totally different that has nothing to do with the previous rest of the theme or project.

Sounding similar is normal once again , look at Psygone album , Ra , Filteria , Miranda , Agneton , Cyan , Astrancer , Afgin etc .. imo they all sound excellent! i truly love their works , using the same sounds is part of their personal "signature" and thats what it defines each artists persona.

Drama´s ? It´s past and its more than barried :)

About saying the album sounds like "A Mad Scientists Night" ,

When "AMSN" was made , "Muinomednap!" was already done , i made "AMSN" as an predecessor to the album just to give an idea to of what was coming next (that´s why "AMSN" got released first , hence the idea of saying that "Muinomednap!" sounding similar to it) .

In this case i guess its "AMSN" that sounds "similar" to "Muinomednap" but again it doesnt sound similar you´re just listening to the same artist or project in this case.

So we just have one thing left. Tastes. And tastes are un-discussible so , personally i think the album has a lot of variation (kickdrums , and every song has something different) and i enjoyed and still enjoy it a lot , as so i know there are people that love it and who hate it , its just opinions but as i already know its impossible to please everyone .

Then for the people that like this album , enjoy it! :D

 

PS:- Even this topic turned out in a "Pandemonium!" .. what leaves me even happier because its causing its own effect :D

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Hello :)

Everyone has their tastes its normal no point of fighting. :)

My toughts as an artist :

Its normal that the whole album sounds the same style because you´re just listening to one artist and also based on a theme (in this case "Muinomednap!") .

I think that wasnt any point of producing a song , skipping next and then you hear something totally different that has nothing to do with the previous rest of the theme or project.

Sounding similar is normal once again , look at Psygone album , Ra , Filteria , Miranda , Agneton , Cyan , Astrancer , Afgin etc .. imo they all sound excellent! i truly love their works , using the same sounds is part of their personal "signature" and thats what it defines each artists persona.

Drama´s ? It´s past and its more than barried :)

About saying the album sounds like "A Mad Scientists Night" ,

When "AMSN" was made , "Muinomednap!" was already done , i made "AMSN" as an predecessor to the album just to give an idea to of what was coming next (that´s why "AMSN" got released first , hence the idea of saying that "Muinomednap!" sounding similar to it) .

In this case i guess its "AMSN" that sounds "similar" to "Muinomednap" but again it doesnt sound similar you´re just listening to the same artist or project in this case.

So we just have one thing left. Tastes. And tastes are un-discussible so , personally i think the album has a lot of variation (kickdrums , and every song has something different) and i enjoyed and still enjoy it a lot , as so i know there are people that love it and who hate it , its just opinions but as i already know its impossible to please everyone .

Then for the people that like this album , enjoy it! :D

 

PS:- Even this topic turned out in a "Pandemonium!" .. what leaves me even happier because its causing its own effect :D

u used the same melody and same synthsounds in every track - that's a bad case of very bad taste

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u used the same melody and same synthsounds in every track - that's a bad case of very bad taste

you really don't get it,

some people like that, if you like a certain sound from an artist you can't get enough of it,

it's mentioned before, psygone, cyan do the same and people love(d) their album,

Ra did the same with his latest album,

if you like the sound you like the artist,

that's the case with 80% of all melodic artist from old skool until fullon from today,

 

you have success formula

and a success sound, typical with melodic trance...

 

am I teaching goa now ? :lol:

 

stryder, stop trying, you're only making it worse :P

 

you failed goa class again, see you back end September ;)

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rofl stryder you must have some very special ears that cant hear the difference between different melodies. :D Its just the scale that is the same, not the melodies. :drama: :drama: srsly rly fix earsss.. prblm slvd! hope you undrstnd whn i type in yur lgnguag :posford:

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To be honest I didn't like it too much either, I had high expectations but it sounded like goa full on, always the same structures indeed and screaming melodies that remind me too much of nitzhonot, no storytelling, no hidden melodies, perfect dance floor music... And there it ends, not for home listening imo

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it's is nitzhonot, More close to nitzhonot then goatrance that's for sure...

I can say it the most variated nithzonot album I ever heard since "the light of shidapu"

Nitzhonot is not my genre too but compared to what has been released, this is pretty good stuff,

lot's of goatrance influences, less trance minded...

 

who that likes nitzhonot this album this album will do it big time,

 

I've heard it once, and that will be enough, to much melodie,

 

but good work... it'll do even better on the dancefloor, the mastering could be a bit better true,

but old skool parties are filled with music mastered < 2000 so they won't notice ;)

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rofl stryder you must have some very special ears that cant hear the difference between different melodies. :D Its just the scale that is the same, not the melodies. :drama: :drama: srsly rly fix earsss.. prblm slvd! hope you undrstnd whn i type in yur lgnguag :posford:

what do those few differently placed notes change for you then? a lot? or is that the only significant difference in the tracks for you?

 

good example is afgin's latest - heaven's tears - clearly all the elements are there and it reminds me strongly of from the heart in the beginning, but the end is totally original though so recognisable

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what do those few differently placed notes change for you then? a lot? or is that the only significant difference in the tracks for you?

 

good example is afgin's latest - heaven's tears - clearly all the elements are there and it reminds me strongly of from the heart in the beginning, but the end is totally original though so recognisable

 

I think heaven´s tears was a bit to repetative for my taste, but thats a bit of topic :) and i know it wasnt the whole track, just a teaser but it was the same melody pattern on repeat. And as always, audio realism bassline, some albino sounds etc. + it tryes to sound like astral but it just dont IMO. Astrals sound was bigger, deeper real TB-303 real SH-101, Jupiter, Juno etc Albino or Audio Realism just dont do the same thing.

 

This pandemonium album on the other hand is original it dont try to immitate something that has been done Its a new style blending together elements from goa, nitzho, full on. Thats why i think a lot of people dont like it. And i dont blame anyone, nitzho can be very over the top sometimes.. and i wonder how this album would have sounded with normal goa kicks. I my self is not the biggest fan of nitzho, but i like the goa elements in this album. :drama:

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astral used the same sound for over 10yrs, when they changed it people suddenly started complaining. i dont see the problem here.

+10

 

 

I my self is not the biggest fan of nitzho, but i like the goa elements in this album. :drama:

+1
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  • 2 weeks later...

PANDEMONIUM! - MUINOMEDNAP!

2008

PHOTOTROPIC RECORDS

 

 

Posted Image

 

 

Track list:

 

1. Once upon a Time...

2. Pandemonium!

3. Stuck in the Walls

4. Moon Fishing

5. Falling Stars

6. I Saw it interlude

7. Flying Cookie

8. Seq-uoia

9. Key to the Trunk

10. An Harlequin's Tale

11. The End...

 

 

 

I've only gotten several albums this year (Opus Iridium, RA, Distant Systems, Goa Gate, and Juno Reactor, the latter on amazon MP3) because we've been getting raped lately with high gas prices and I've been getting more selective with what I buy. I've been looking forward to this album for a long time.

 

 

1. Once Upon A Time... is a surprisingly beautiful opening. It's magical. And it really sets the tone and the album up for a wonderful journey. If this was actually a full, uptempo dance song as developing and creative as the several minute 'Prologue' duration, it would probably be a pretty incredible dance number. At it stands, this is a musically wonderful, innovative introduction. B+

 

2. Pandemonium! comes next and the first thing I notice is the loud, repeating guitar, as it appears to be placed pretty up close with the music. For the first minute or so I tolerated it. It's just a guitar on a part of the track I thought. But you know when you hear a sound and you can basically sense when it is time for that sound to leave? It doesn't happen. The guitar loops and loops, the strong continuously. I'm trying to get into all of the cool sounds and melodies but even when most layers disappear, the guitar is left with a beat and decent melody. The interlude here would have been a good area to let go of the guitar. But it doesn't leave. Then around 3:55, it's gone. Oh thank God. Suddenly it appears again around 4:33. And just when a really cool rising melody structure is taking place too. Virtually all other sounds work together nicely. Nonetheless, the first track was more infectious, novel, and gripping. C

 

3. Stuck In The Walls starts off with a similar heavy, repeating guitar from the very start. It appears to be the same sound from the previous track. I like the melodies and sounds. But the on-going guitar is distracting from the more elaborate work. And I just heard a guitar nearly non-stop in the previous number, so there needs to be a break here. Finally from 2:30 to 2:40 the track breathsand is free from this sound that has been holding down the essence of Goa (being free). The music sounds more mature and fluid without the guitar that returns after just 10 seconds. The guitar is -- it reminds me of a kid that keeps shaking the same toy in the middle of an orchestra I'm trying to enjoy. And I keep telling him to stop. And he won't. It's too much. A sound cannot compliment a song if it is so redundant in a way that's not positive. C+

 

4. Moon Fishing is the first track that seems to have the guitar in the background, though it's present. I hardly notice it in the beginning 10 seconds and really enjoy the opening melodies. The samples are cool too, as they've been on previous songs. Thankfully, the melodies appear to be more accentuated than the guitar for the first time on the album, save for the wonderful opening. There are several good sounds producing melodies here. One is at 1:43. It's good. Another is a flute that gives the track a nice old school and/or organic feel. As the track progresses the guitar does not seem to leave. Fortunately it's more in the background. Though to some degree I'd probably enjoy the juicy sound textures and Goa influences more without the guitar. There are many cool and stylish moments, sound details and alterations, samples, and special effects here. This artist can get very playful at times, it it really shows here. This is a fun song. B

 

5. Falling Stars is one of the better AP-influenced Goa tracks I've heard since Astral Projection released their last album I considered excellent in 1999, that being Another World. The Goa work is so strong and present on this song that it all but drowns out the guitars. But why are the guitars here? This is one of the most beautiful tracks and the artist is killing it with a heavy, repeating guitar sound that I have heard in virtually all tracks by now. It's like taking the same noticeable sound and repeating it loud enough for everyone to hear throughout every track back to back. The guitar does not enhance this song. I want to hear it without the guitar. I want to hear the whole album without the guitar. And Goa music breaks people out of the square, the generic thinking pattern because of its generally non-linear structure and artist direction. And while this music is Goa influenced, not Goa only per say, the guitar keeps me in the square more than this artist's recent formulaic but creative and fun Goa Gate album surprisingly did. B+

 

6. I Saw It Interlude is the first track since the opening without any guitar and just listen to how free and flowing it is. This is great. It's very well orchestrated, catchy, and musical. It's just too bad it's only 2:23 long and an interlude. This is the most refreshing track on the album since the opening. B+

 

7. Flying Cookie is a change up to Eastern Indian and/or Persian/Egyptian influence, sounds. But there's that repeating guitar again that has not stopped outstaying its welcome (that ended several tracks ago) on every track on the whole entire album, save for the intro and interlude. *sigh* The part from around 5:10 to 5:31 would have been so much fun without that which distracts from the fast and psychedelic Psy/Goa mind twisting rhythm. C+

 

8. Seq-Uoia has not much of an intro but begins relatively catchy and gripping from the previous track. I also find the melody/tone more gripping, exciting than the previous number. But that damn guitar. It wouldn't sound so much if I hadn't heard it on almost every previous track so far. I cannot see the correlation as to why the guitar is so promoted or why it is so present in virtually every track. Just listen from 1:52 to 2:15. That's a beautiful sound formulation and I can only imagine how emphasized it would have sounded without the guitar. As it thumbs over almost every new sound that appears, reducing the free and blossoming life with each interval of development, growth. The melodies are very well composed, a combination between beauty and aggression. Whereas guitar often accentuates aggression it is beyond complimentary by now. Melody wise, this is one of the best tracks on the album. Unfortunately the intended strength of the guitar has become the antagonist by its own inability to be gone and let life grow without the conceptual need or use of it. B

 

9. Key To The Trunk starts out great. The first melody around :015 is good, catchy. But I'm exhausted by this point as the (rahg, rahg, rahg ) guitar returns again. It's a monotonous sound that distracts from all of these accentuating, moving, and developing, fun melodies. Such as the part from 3:50 to 4:18. The number isn't as gripping as the previous one. It's decent, if a bit similar in formula relative to the past two tracks. C+

 

10. An Harlequin's Tale appears to lesson the g volume and let the music breath more. I barely notice the guitars. The melodies are pretty good too, especially the main tune. Although not as mixed up and detailed as previous tracks, this is a refreshingly unpredictable change up from previous uptempo numbers. It's more for listening pleasure than intended to dance to. The tempo, speed, and unique approach positively adds variation in style and feel to a relatively weak variety. This is a pretty good song. B-

 

11. The End... is very mythical, warm, mysterious and traveling. The melody sounds influenced from a very cool action/thriller like Con Air. Filled with emotive ambient tunes and startling, little details, the number is very well orchestrated, scored. Furthermore it is a wonderful example of how much potential this artist has when he lets loose those irritating (g word) and lets the beauty of the sounds breath and flow. Being a short epilogue or closing, the track is unfortunately only 3:25, though it's compelling. This is one of the best tracks here. I just wish it was a little longer. Overall a great track. Very creative and thoughtful. I could listen to an entire album like this. B+

 

 

In conclusion, after spending around $22 on this album (including shipping) from saikosounds, I would have preferred it without the heavy, repeating guitar on every uptempo track. Muinomednap! may not have been a masterpiece without the guitars. Or with a style that generally recycles itself more than many albums including RA's 9th for same year comparison. RA's 9th broadened its style by having greater variation, sounds, and ideas developed in tracks. This would have been more enjoyable with less to no guitars, and a stronger track variety around the intro, interlude, and outro. Goa Gate by the same artist also lacked having a strong track variety (tracks sounding different from one another regardless that it's in the artist's style, vision. Fortunately, Goa Gate did not overuse guitars. If this artist (and I know he can because he's very talented) can strengthen the weaknesses on his debut, the sequal has potential to be great. Muinomednap! is like a really attractive piece of artwork and then at the very end, the artist decides to throw a not too thick but present coat of paint over it, reducing the clarity of the gorgeous landscapes and atmosphere, clouding its beauty with the most distracting and unnecessary "overuse of sound" I currently remember hearing on an otherwise good album. I've been so excited to hear this album because I loved the EP kindly given to us from this artist in 2007. Both EP tracks were very distinct in sound and direction. I suddenly found myself very enthusiastic to hear the album. And to a degree I like it. But why are the guitars such a consistent thing in almost every track? WHY? How does this enhance or compliment the album? Even if someone loves guitars, they're too repetitive and distracting from the good music here. At least give us a couple tracks without them or use them in moments as opposed to few and far between moments without them, to mix it up, so the melodies and tracks overall stand out more. The EP sold me. Both tracks on the EP were more or less great. And I don't remember guitars being on either of them as they are here. I really like Muinomednap!'s refreshing, innovative work as done in tracks 1, 6, 11,. They could have been more lengthy but I'll take quality over quantity -- that they are. It would be impressive if this artist made an album with tracks like tracks 1, 6, 11, but lengthier, so they resemble more danceable innovations like Talpa's musically unexpected and arresting Till We Meet Again track. Tracks 1, 6, 11 are filled with creativity, passion, grip, and they don't overuse any particular sound. They're excellent, fun, and free. Add uptempo/dance tracks 5, 8 and maybe one or two others (and trim those guitars) and that's a powerful track list. I'm frustrated with Muinomednap! because I want to like it more than I do. There is just so much energy, warmth, fun sounds, and creativity on it. I feel like the artist had fun making it. I can tell that a lot of time and work went into producing it. Not much work went into the guitar layer though, as it does more bad than good. And unfortunately the emphasis on guitar prevents the album from reaching its full potential. Lastly, the uptempo melody/sound work may be a bit formulaic, but it is so catchy in Falling Stars and Seq-uoia -- they deserve mention. I find the guitar overkill. And I'm surprised the artist didn't do something about it. I like guitars at times in Psy/Dance music (Four Carry Nuts - Mechanical Age, Dark Soho's first two albums, etc) but I find them distracting when used throughout every uptempo track and in combination with so many beautiful sounds and melodies. Because this artist makes music that is filled with light and freedom. The guitars keep the style more confined in a sense, and therefore less fantasy-based and free, which is what I think was intended with this otherwise fun and zippy style. So in all fairness, I recommend listening to the samples and if not bothered with certain things as much as I was, he or she may enjoy the album more than I did.

 

 

Favorite tracks: 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11.

 

 

B-

 

 

 

Cover artwork/design:

 

The cover artwork is very artistic and catchy. This is my favorite cover of the year. And without certain over-usage of guitars I think the album would have been closer to the beautiful, flowing, and present nature of the wild and imaginative cover.

 

 

 

Samples

 

http://www.saikosounds.com/english/show_ar...artist_id=10562

 

http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/pot/pot1cd001.html

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For me quitar sounds, either sampled or synthesized can be good in electronic music,but then they need to be programmed or sampled good and sound nice, for example like in some Infected Mushroom tracks like: Stretched, where the Yamaha Motif synthesizer is played in a manner that immitates how a real guitar would have sounded. And unfortunately as Jon has pointed out here allready the guitar sounds here are not very good, Filipe told me a good while a go when he first showed me a track with a guitar accomp in and i was told it was there to give "body" to the track, but for me it dont work that well. The closed hihats and other metallic/percussive sounds on their own gives the track the "body".

 

Perhaps this was an element that the other people on Metapolemic Records records didnt like very much either, and perhaps on Shivlink records as well? Since Nick from Shivlink wanted Filipe to change some things in the track wich resulted in him leaving Shivlink Records. O well drama aside, nothing is perfect and neither is this album, but hopefully lost buddha will learn something from the critic/feedback here and improve to the next album? :drama: :)

 

Anyways i like the Pandemonium track and sequoia and the intros, interludes etc wich IMO are very original.

Without the guitar and the nitzhonot kick drums this would indeed have been a more pleasant album, the melodies are very good! :)

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Am I the only one who didn't even pay attention to the guitars? :unsure:

I swear that If Jon didn't mention them, I would even realize that the tracks have guitar samples. They're in the background and I can barely hear them.

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Although I agree with strydr about the production style being very formula structured, I don't agree about the review and I don't believe strydr is understanding and communicating the artist very well.

 

I too am a little disappointed by the lack of variety - however only talking about that is misunderstanding the artist and this very fresh and original style created by filipe. I think its a massive accomplishment that this kind of psychedelic energy is captured in a goa/nitzhonot style, yet is presented in the kind of energy full-on has today. This is really big dancefloor music, and is structured similarly so as to estalish this as a unique style rather than being percieved as expiramental nitzhonot or whatever. Yet at the same time I agree the lack of variety is very much an issue.

 

But overall this definitely is not deserving of a 3/10 rating.

 

I have listened through this album a few times but I need to wait longer to let the tracks and their impressions sink in, and maybe play a few of these tracks at parties before I might want to review this.

 

This album can be 5/10 - 7.5/10 depending on your taste and how well the music ages with time (whether it can be listened to more than 10 times and still remain interesting) It is too early to decide anything right now. As a first impression the music clearly is original and well produced. After multiple impressions it does dawn on you that too much remains the same from track to track - not to mention a tad cheesy... yet this is how you feel at home, how about on a dancefloor? These are things a reviewer needs to think about..

 

Also - once and for all will people please stfu and stop causing drama around this artist. Diaks stop argueing with Strydr because you disagree with him. I will seriously ask a moderator to remove these kinds of vibes from this topic if you are thinking of bickering and another 10 page waste of time results. Please review the album ONLY.

 

It sounds as if you state that you can say that one can tell others if music is bad or good. It all lies in the listeners hands to decide whether he likes it or not. There is nothing as bad or good music that applies to everyone as with everything else here in the world. A good review in the sense you are talking would rather be a scientific study which calculates the average perception of the quality of a specific album from all humans in the world. Then you could talk you just did. :P

 

On topic:

I really like this album! I would give this 9/10! Exactly my type: mystic melodies, hypnotic, warm and round kick drum; perfect to relax and dance to! I just realized that Muinomednap Pandemonium backwards. Didn't think about that. :)

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I just realized that Muinomednap Pandemonium backwards. Didn't think about that. :)

hmz yeah, that kinda stuff makes you like it even more huh sugapiehoneybunz

 

in overall i don't think this album has aged very well, about a few hours and it was all over for me.

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I just realized that Muinomednap Pandemonium backwards.

What are you stupid? No I'm just kiddin!!! =)

I was wondering what "Muinomednap" was. You figured it out before me. :D

 

But that would make it !Muinomednap, with an exclamation point before, not after. Not that it matters.

 

 

The album has the same "guitar" short sample running in the background with the same layout for almost all of the tracks, whats up with that? It annoys me, the listener having to hear the same sound in the frequency throughout the whole album. It seems to be following the bassline in each track.

 

Okay there's an example. I just went back and read some reviews throughout the thread. That first sentence is exactly how I feel. I really hope that the next Pandemonium album improves upon its weaknesses here because the style has potential to have a much stronger, more positive effect. There are several tracks here I really like. Especially the melodies in Falling Stars! :)

 

Tracks Pandemonium! and Stuck in the Walls sounds a bit too similar to me, hearing them back-to-back with the chronic guitar and all. I realize they share the same style (or one of two sub-styles of one style, the other given to the shorter tracks) but Moon Fishing is very different from the previous two songs that come before it. And that's in the same general style too. The guitar appears to be less loud and/or present as well, the melody lead(s) are very prominant and distinct in Moon Fishing. Same with Falling Stars, minus the guitars.

 

Same goes for Flying Cookie, Seq-uoia, and Key to the Trunk back-to-back. They may be a little too continuous or lacking in variety/sound. Although this is in the artist's style. I understand. It's more about stronger, less repetitive differences in sound varity/style, melodies, structure, and story telling within that style. An Harlequin's Tale is the last lengthier song that sounds so distinct in this new style from anything before it. Tracks 1, 6, and 11 really break up the album nicely. I would have loved if more of the uptempo tracks followed this solid variation in style, where each uptempo track stands out as more characteristic and individual sounding (RA's 9th actually is a very good example) than the number both before and after it (with few exceptions).

 

When the album's good, it's good. The style is novel. But when it's repetitive with ideas and/or certain sounds, i.e: the guitar, well, it's not as enjoyable. So these are some ideas to consider for a potentially wonderful sequel. As Bruce Lee even said: "Absorb what is useful. Discard what is useless. And make it into your own."

 

 

Update: The best uptempo Pandemonium tracks I've heard to date are A Mad Scientist's Night and Alibaba and the 40 Acid puzzle. These are more the crazy/fun Goa-influenced style I find great. They're very catchy, energetic, danceable, and I never feel like either one is repetitive or overuses any particuar sound once.

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  • 1 month later...

I was excited to hear this album because of Pandem's track on V/A Human Hyperactivation.

 

This is album is really solid, the tracks are all appealing and good. It even has some really great Eastern influences on some of the tracks which is a big plus for me, also reminds me little bit of Ra's sound. Another good thing is that some of the ideas really work well, and are quite fresh(Especially in An Harlequins Tale).

But it's not all perfect, the biggest problem here is repetitiousness. The same synth sounds, the same flute and what's worse, the same damn guitar riffs. It really gets on my nerves how the guitar riffs stay there for basically the whole damn album. I mean, there's a little bit of difference in it, but it's so transparent that you don't feel like it has changed, at all and it really takes away from the album as a whole. Luckily it's not a deal-breaker, though.

 

With that said this is still a good album(Great on the dancefloors, I'd imagine), but safe-bets and repeats itself far too often.

 

Favourites 2(!!), 3(!), 5(!), 8, 10.

 

I'd give it an 8/10 (4-10 scale)

 

P.s. I haven't done a lot of reviews, excuse the noobiness of this one.

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why am i not amazed

probably for the same reasons as I? :)

 

I tried to give this album another chance, but I CAN NOT get into it. It is simply not my cup of tea. I prefer cheesy full on to this to be honest :(

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You know i am really sick of you people turning Filipes free stuff against the album. There has never been anything for free from Suntrip, and when Filipe does it, instead of appreciating it you turn his free releases against this album.

 

So here is what will happen: There will never be any free stuff from Filipe or Phototropic ever again. Hope you are all happy now.

 

Harald aka Digitoxin

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