This is my zen song, it's a track I can put on and completely lose track of time. I wish that there was a way to present the whole album, the first two tracks have a similar concept but with more "music", just being riffs endlessly. The whole album was one take, and Dylan has said that if he could go back the only change he would make is to use recording advancements to make it louder, lol. conceptually I kinda feel like this is a reverse POV track, like listening to the music from inside the amp in a way, and in conjunction with the album art it always gives me the feeling of a massive oppressive blanket over me, I listen as loudly as possible. Thanks for sticking it out! I was afraid it might come across as a troll pick but it's genuinely a favorite
Laughed out loud when i saw this couple of weeks ago on your special selection list, knowing whats waiting for you :D For me this is so great type of music to fall asleep to. Very introspective… its also full of subtleties
I'm not really familiar with this band, but I'd be surprised if they artificially slowed anything down. Drone and doom bands in general are usually obsessed with their amps and analog effects, they always try to replicate the sound live. One of the more well known albums in the genre is literally called "Amplifier Worship"
only the last track in AW is a drone track, the rest is doom metal and sludge, not really comparable. Sunn O)))'s albums like Void or Grimmrobe Demos is a better comparison.
It's very rare that anyone makes a review about Earth or this album of theirs because it's very difficult. So I'm so glad you gave it a chance! :) Earth 2 is very difficult to listen to, but if you "understand it", it gives you a very deep and everlasting experience. I highly recommend their later albums as well. Pioneers of ambient metal. :) Dylan Carlson's musical genius and immense humility for music and life are felt in all his projects, whether solo or Earth. In addition Earth 2 album is 30 years old in 2023. In honor of this, it was performed live from start to finish for the first and probably last time at Central Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas as part of the Oblivion Access Festival in June. The entire concert recording can be found on UA-cam. Finally, if I may recommend music from them, listen to Junkyard Priest, The bees made honey in the lion's skull (I recommend a live performance because it is much more detailed than the album version. And I highly recommend the whole album.), The Rakehell, Old Black or Ouroboros is broken (both versions), but this hole is very deep once you feel it. :)
Amazing band. The main guy behind it was a close friend with kurt cobain and he bought him the shotgun. I like everything from eart pretty much and all of their stuff is a slowburn, but their bees made honey in lions skull would be my favourite. Droning psychedelic desert rock. Also their latest release full upon her burning lips is really good as well, less of a slowburn
I know of Earth as they're usually considered the pioneers of drone metal, though there were many precursors in other genres that innovated similarly noisy-but-minimalistic styles. Drone has never really been my thing, and I always tend to think that it's music made more to be felt live than actively listened to. I feel the same about this. It might be cool to hear live just to experience the weight/power of the sound, but it's not something that can be replicated with headphones and for active listening there's just nothing really there to latch onto.
Very meditative. Sometimes this is just what my brain needs. I'm just watching the thoughts go through my head while listening and not holding on to one idea. Quite fascinating. I'm finding it very thought provoking. I might have to use this as a form of therapy. Might also be helpful for "writer's block".🤔
Reminds me of binaural beats that i used to use long time ago. Felt like a therapy for me. One day i remember clearly, went to meditate for an hour and half after a smoke listening to stuff like this and for next 4 hours afterwards everything was in slow motion and i felt like water
If you want to react to something kinda ambient and electronic then I highly recommend Boards of Canada. My favourite from them is Dayvan Cowboy. It's so chill, beautiful and interesting.
i'm actually surprised you have not reacted to any drone metal at all considering how loved Sunn O))) is among music critics. every drone metal band says earth is their biggest influence. now i see why. but this is actually more tolerable than the what Sunn O))) produces. i actually hit the 15 min mark before i mentally had enough.
Have you tried to listen to the Sunn O))) track "Alice" off of their Monoliths & Dimensions album? I am not the biggest drone fan either, but I really like that track (and album). But this track specifically since it is still drone, but it has some woodwind instruments on there (not their pure sound, but still recognizable as woodwind instruments). Credited are: Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Flute, French Horn, Oboe, English Horn, Trombone as well as Double Bass, Harp, Viola and Violin. It also doesn't have Attila Csihar on "voice" like the other tracks of the album do, I like his vocals on this and Black Metal band Mayhem for example but they tend to be very weird. It's a 16 minute track, but it's not at all as static as this one. I have literally put on this track (maybe album minus the first track which is more pure drone) at the kitchen table when I was eating with my dad and sister, who certainly aren't going to enjoy drone metal at all and my dad though it was interesting and ok. He has been way harsher on some other music in the past at least. I actually think Bryan might like that one as well and I think it's one of the better tracks I know off to at least get people to somewhat enjoy drone music who are not used to it. It was the first one that really grabbed me for sure as far as I remember although I already liked Burning Witch before that (which has a lot of drone influences). Most people will probably really dislike the vocals in Burning Witch.
@@MaartenT brian has actually reacted Sun. he did big church.off that album and i actually really liked it. im only familiar with their early 2000s sound. i saw then once in 2001...once. i might like their newer material.
Requires certain type of mind set. Certainly fun stuff to listen go while falling asleep. Very interesting and rewarding if you lose yourself in it Theres one black metal band called fell voices, their regnum saturni album gives me kind of a similar vibe. Just that its pulsating cacophonous maelstorm
I always love when you realise that us black/doom metal fans have given you another completely (by all normal standards) absurd bit of noise to listen to. On a somewhat related note, I feel like there should be a denotation for that category of metal/music in general occupied by among others the extreme end of the Black Metal and Doom metal, they always seem to give both you and I similar vibes, and in general I find that fans of one will be fans of the other, along with Drone, Noise, Ambient stuff, some experimental metal, some contemporary classical and art music and so much else, the question is what it is that makes them similar, feelingswise, obviously they all tend to be pretty lo-fi and repetitive, but what is it about them that connects them in the emotional centers in our brains? I find it to be an interesting question at least.
This is interesting comment. If I understand it correctly, it seems that these seemingly unrelated genres somehow have a similar vein which attracts a certain listener. I find myself in this category. I absolutely love this stuff- drone, extreme metal, doom, ambient, experimental electronic, art music. To me I think that all of these genres push the boundaries of what we generally call music- each in their own way. This in particular, is mostly noise, yet, to me, a stable noise that moves me into an introspective space. I find that similar to ambient, the lack of movement creates an openness to pick about texture in the static/feedback and find the pattern in the overtones. This, to me, is similar with mediation. Sometimes I’ll fixate on the humming of the fridge and then be able to hear five tones instead of one- sometimes they pulse while others are static. Ultimately, I think what binds these genres together is the openness of the listener to listen to some weird 💩 On a side note, there are similar personality traits between those who listen to metal and those who listen to classical. Both share a strong “openness to experience (Big 5 personality traits) which is linked to creativity. They also display an aversion to authority, which is probably why metal in general shifts ways from the “standards” of music. Anyways, interesting stuff! Thanks for your stimulating comment!
@@ckokomo808 Of course, I hadn’t even considered that the listener could be the common denominator either, so the answer probably lies somewhere between the two, of the music having some sort of similar connotation, and the listeners having a similar emotional offset.
I recently released a beer through my brewery named after this song. The idea behind the beer was to do a still blend of barrel aged beers. Still, meaning no carbonation. The qualities of it were intense and very distinct from the sources it was blended from and some of the beers the stocks produced in other capacities. Earth is one of the most influential artists to me in this exploration of singular experiences and ideas. Even on their later works, it feels like they’ve been able to compose albums off the exploration of one single riff. I hope to be able to do this through fermentation and barrel aging. Absolutely loved your breakdown and analysis of this song, thank you!
@@CriticalReactions im really quite sure you will love them. Its full of ornamentation and embelishments, the drums and bass dont change a bit and focal point is in the composition and guitar melodies/layering/soundscape. Also piano. Sometimes it feels like 7 different instruments are doing the section. The production is phenomenal. As soon as my latest special selection ends ill give u something newer from earth
This album is a psychedelic experience. I have the vinyl version and there are some hilarious new age quotes on the back, which are true! Headphones and darkness recommended. Takes me back to my college days, great for studying. Salute from Holland ❤😊
This is Earth's droniest album. They are literally a drone metal band, but their album The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull is like thrash-tempo compared to Earth 2.
Since I’m coming off of a period of 70 hour work weeks, I feel it pertinent to mention that at work, we frequently discuss the effects of time pressure and how important it is to avoid letting time pressure affect your work, as a fast mistake is worse than a slow correct action. Clearly the members of this band took that message to heart; my boss would be proud.
I sat through all of this (mostly to keep you company 😉). At first, coming off the reaction to the BadBadNotGood track with the Stetson feature) I was thinking of circulatory breathing. Then it dawned on me: This is in a way very much like bagpipes! With those constant root notes and some variation thrown in with that "note shiftable pipe". But I'm still lost on what would make this track "metal"(???) Can't for my life hear anything "metal" about it honestly... Not that it really matters. Rather heard some inspiration from really ancient Nordic or Celtic music (or how it's been supposed to have sounded). Also, I think that "cymbal" was a gong. Do admire your sincere engagement throughout the track and doing the analysis. Great work!
I was tossed some extra reading after making this video and it seems like none of the people involved were drummers so they just added some cymbal shimmers in places that they felt were right. It's an odd approach to the project but I think kinda worked.
I'm not a huge drone/drone doom fan, but I own and like a couple of Sunn O))) albums and I own a couple of other drone/doom albums as well that I think are good to ok. I also own a couple of doom albums with drone elements which I do like a lot (Burning Witch, the first Khanate album), but I have to be in the mood for drone metal in general. I don't listen to the genre a lot. But this one was a tough one for me to get through. I know I have checked out Earth before years ago, but there is probably a reason why I just kept it with checking them out quickly. I understand the appeal, but this one is a little too droney and is too slow evolving for me.
Light of day day of darkness by green carnation is an over an hour long song that is beutiful. About the lead singer having a kid on the same day his kid died. If you want beautiful black metal i cannot reccomend skagos ast and anarchic enough.
The drone on this track is overbearing like an angry fridge or a buzzing striplight whilst other things happen. Sleep research facility deep frieze is a better drone album.
i dont get 'drone' music at all. this is psychological torture for me. if this type of music was used as an interrogation tacit to extract information i would break rather quickly. i would rather listen to 'white noise'.
I like ambient drone stuff, but this is the emperors new clothes, it's a bit shit. Pyha does it better, bohren does it better, sleep research facility does it better, iron fist apocalypse does it better, .
This is my zen song, it's a track I can put on and completely lose track of time. I wish that there was a way to present the whole album, the first two tracks have a similar concept but with more "music", just being riffs endlessly. The whole album was one take, and Dylan has said that if he could go back the only change he would make is to use recording advancements to make it louder, lol. conceptually I kinda feel like this is a reverse POV track, like listening to the music from inside the amp in a way, and in conjunction with the album art it always gives me the feeling of a massive oppressive blanket over me, I listen as loudly as possible. Thanks for sticking it out! I was afraid it might come across as a troll pick but it's genuinely a favorite
Very interesting comment!
Love the idea of of being inside the amp, that sums up the vibe pretty well.
Maximum volume yields maximum results! Now Bryan knows truly what sparse is.
Laughed out loud when i saw this couple of weeks ago on your special selection list, knowing whats waiting for you :D
For me this is so great type of music to fall asleep to. Very introspective… its also full of subtleties
I'm not really familiar with this band, but I'd be surprised if they artificially slowed anything down. Drone and doom bands in general are usually obsessed with their amps and analog effects, they always try to replicate the sound live. One of the more well known albums in the genre is literally called "Amplifier Worship"
only the last track in AW is a drone track, the rest is doom metal and sludge, not really comparable. Sunn O)))'s albums like Void or Grimmrobe Demos is a better comparison.
It's very rare that anyone makes a review about Earth or this album of theirs because it's very difficult. So I'm so glad you gave it a chance! :)
Earth 2 is very difficult to listen to, but if you "understand it", it gives you a very deep and everlasting experience.
I highly recommend their later albums as well.
Pioneers of ambient metal. :)
Dylan Carlson's musical genius and immense humility for music and life are felt in all his projects, whether solo or Earth.
In addition Earth 2 album is 30 years old in 2023.
In honor of this, it was performed live from start to finish for the first and probably last time at Central Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas as part of the Oblivion Access Festival in June.
The entire concert recording can be found on UA-cam.
Finally, if I may recommend music from them, listen to Junkyard Priest, The bees made honey in the lion's skull (I recommend a live performance because it is much more detailed than the album version. And I highly recommend the whole album.), The Rakehell, Old Black or Ouroboros is broken (both versions), but this hole is very deep once you feel it. :)
Amazing band. The main guy behind it was a close friend with kurt cobain and he bought him the shotgun. I like everything from eart pretty much and all of their stuff is a slowburn, but their bees made honey in lions skull would be my favourite. Droning psychedelic desert rock. Also their latest release full upon her burning lips is really good as well, less of a slowburn
I know of Earth as they're usually considered the pioneers of drone metal, though there were many precursors in other genres that innovated similarly noisy-but-minimalistic styles. Drone has never really been my thing, and I always tend to think that it's music made more to be felt live than actively listened to. I feel the same about this. It might be cool to hear live just to experience the weight/power of the sound, but it's not something that can be replicated with headphones and for active listening there's just nothing really there to latch onto.
Very meditative. Sometimes this is just what my brain needs. I'm just watching the thoughts go through my head while listening and not holding on to one idea. Quite fascinating. I'm finding it very thought provoking. I might have to use this as a form of therapy. Might also be helpful for "writer's block".🤔
Reminds me of binaural beats that i used to use long time ago. Felt like a therapy for me. One day i remember clearly, went to meditate for an hour and half after a smoke listening to stuff like this and for next 4 hours afterwards everything was in slow motion and i felt like water
@@autumnsphere7581 nice
their albums after 2005 are actually "normal". something like ambient metal/post-rock. Hibernaculum is my favorite, recommended
WOULD LOVE TO SEE the midi track so much to unveil its secrets
This is such a precious band. I love their existence! ❤️
I used to own all Earth vinyls. I don't know why I liked it back in the days. I sold them except Pentastar, Hex, The Bees and Primitive.
welcome to drone lol. wish they at least chose like the first song on this album, that one has riffs
also are you sure they paulstretched it? it was recorded in 92 with a pretty low budget, did they have that technology on the cheap back then?
If you want to react to something kinda ambient and electronic then I highly recommend Boards of Canada. My favourite from them is Dayvan Cowboy. It's so chill, beautiful and interesting.
i'm actually surprised you have not reacted to any drone metal at all considering how loved Sunn O))) is among music critics. every drone metal band says earth is their biggest influence. now i see why. but this is actually more tolerable than the what Sunn O))) produces. i actually hit the 15 min mark before i mentally had enough.
Have you tried to listen to the Sunn O))) track "Alice" off of their Monoliths & Dimensions album? I am not the biggest drone fan either, but I really like that track (and album). But this track specifically since it is still drone, but it has some woodwind instruments on there (not their pure sound, but still recognizable as woodwind instruments). Credited are: Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Flute, French Horn, Oboe, English Horn, Trombone as well as Double Bass, Harp, Viola and Violin. It also doesn't have Attila Csihar on "voice" like the other tracks of the album do, I like his vocals on this and Black Metal band Mayhem for example but they tend to be very weird. It's a 16 minute track, but it's not at all as static as this one.
I have literally put on this track (maybe album minus the first track which is more pure drone) at the kitchen table when I was eating with my dad and sister, who certainly aren't going to enjoy drone metal at all and my dad though it was interesting and ok. He has been way harsher on some other music in the past at least.
I actually think Bryan might like that one as well and I think it's one of the better tracks I know off to at least get people to somewhat enjoy drone music who are not used to it. It was the first one that really grabbed me for sure as far as I remember although I already liked Burning Witch before that (which has a lot of drone influences). Most people will probably really dislike the vocals in Burning Witch.
@@MaartenT brian has actually reacted Sun. he did big church.off that album and i actually really liked it. im only familiar with their early 2000s sound. i saw then once in 2001...once. i might like their newer material.
Requires certain type of mind set. Certainly fun stuff to listen go while falling asleep. Very interesting and rewarding if you lose yourself in it
Theres one black metal band called fell voices, their regnum saturni album gives me kind of a similar vibe. Just that its pulsating cacophonous maelstorm
Thumbs up just for sitting through that.
I always love when you realise that us black/doom metal fans have given you another completely (by all normal standards) absurd bit of noise to listen to. On a somewhat related note, I feel like there should be a denotation for that category of metal/music in general occupied by among others the extreme end of the Black Metal and Doom metal, they always seem to give both you and I similar vibes, and in general I find that fans of one will be fans of the other, along with Drone, Noise, Ambient stuff, some experimental metal, some contemporary classical and art music and so much else, the question is what it is that makes them similar, feelingswise, obviously they all tend to be pretty lo-fi and repetitive, but what is it about them that connects them in the emotional centers in our brains? I find it to be an interesting question at least.
This is interesting comment. If I understand it correctly, it seems that these seemingly unrelated genres somehow have a similar vein which attracts a certain listener. I find myself in this category. I absolutely love this stuff- drone, extreme metal, doom, ambient, experimental electronic, art music. To me I think that all of these genres push the boundaries of what we generally call music- each in their own way. This in particular, is mostly noise, yet, to me, a stable noise that moves me into an introspective space. I find that similar to ambient, the lack of movement creates an openness to pick about texture in the static/feedback and find the pattern in the overtones. This, to me, is similar with mediation. Sometimes I’ll fixate on the humming of the fridge and then be able to hear five tones instead of one- sometimes they pulse while others are static.
Ultimately, I think what binds these genres together is the openness of the listener to listen to some weird 💩
On a side note, there are similar personality traits between those who listen to metal and those who listen to classical. Both share a strong “openness to experience (Big 5 personality traits) which is linked to creativity. They also display an aversion to authority, which is probably why metal in general shifts ways from the “standards” of music.
Anyways, interesting stuff! Thanks for your stimulating comment!
@@ckokomo808 Of course, I hadn’t even considered that the listener could be the common denominator either, so the answer probably lies somewhere between the two, of the music having some sort of similar connotation, and the listeners having a similar emotional offset.
@@pietandersen6120 as usual…the answer is usually both/and rather than either/or (which in itself is a a bit paradoxical 😂).
I recently released a beer through my brewery named after this song. The idea behind the beer was to do a still blend of barrel aged beers. Still, meaning no carbonation.
The qualities of it were intense and very distinct from the sources it was blended from and some of the beers the stocks produced in other capacities. Earth is one of the most influential artists to me in this exploration of singular experiences and ideas. Even on their later works, it feels like they’ve been able to compose albums off the exploration of one single riff. I hope to be able to do this through fermentation and barrel aging.
Absolutely loved your breakdown and analysis of this song, thank you!
Cant wait for you to draw similarities between this and bees made honey in lions skull
I'm interested to hear how Earth evolved their sound and that title has come up a couple of times.
@@CriticalReactions im really quite sure you will love them. Its full of ornamentation and embelishments, the drums and bass dont change a bit and focal point is in the composition and guitar melodies/layering/soundscape. Also piano. Sometimes it feels like 7 different instruments are doing the section. The production is phenomenal. As soon as my latest special selection ends ill give u something newer from earth
@@autumnsphere7581 Sounds interesting. A bit static in some areas but sounds like there's still plenty to dig into.
@@CriticalReactions its all in the subtleties
Old Black from Angels of Darkness album would be a recco from me. Love the addition of the cello and the interplay with the guitar.
"There are no changes"
This album is a psychedelic experience. I have the vinyl version and there are some hilarious new age quotes on the back, which are true! Headphones and darkness recommended. Takes me back to my college days, great for studying. Salute from Holland ❤😊
This is Earth's droniest album. They are literally a drone metal band, but their album The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull is like thrash-tempo compared to Earth 2.
Earth is like soundtrack to life.
10:45
You should see their live gigs.
Since I’m coming off of a period of 70 hour work weeks, I feel it pertinent to mention that at work, we frequently discuss the effects of time pressure and how important it is to avoid letting time pressure affect your work, as a fast mistake is worse than a slow correct action. Clearly the members of this band took that message to heart; my boss would be proud.
Around 6.5 minutes in, you excitedly proclaiming “There are note changes!” Had me rolling.
I know he didn't listen to this loud enough, he should do a listen of the full album (or at least the rest of them) for maximum effect
Metal with a mantra approach
There aren't any stretching tools here. This is basically recorded live.
I sat through all of this (mostly to keep you company 😉). At first, coming off the reaction to the BadBadNotGood track with the Stetson feature) I was thinking of circulatory breathing. Then it dawned on me: This is in a way very much like bagpipes! With those constant root notes and some variation thrown in with that "note shiftable pipe".
But I'm still lost on what would make this track "metal"(???) Can't for my life hear anything "metal" about it honestly... Not that it really matters. Rather heard some inspiration from really ancient Nordic or Celtic music (or how it's been supposed to have sounded). Also, I think that "cymbal" was a gong.
Do admire your sincere engagement throughout the track and doing the analysis. Great work!
I was tossed some extra reading after making this video and it seems like none of the people involved were drummers so they just added some cymbal shimmers in places that they felt were right. It's an odd approach to the project but I think kinda worked.
Is the same band that did Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light? Because this sounds nothing like what I would recognize as Earth
Yup. I highly advise to check out all of their works. You will be very surprised
"dont skip the reaction" my man in this house we skip the intro. no need for that since your later analysis explains it all
I'm not a huge drone/drone doom fan, but I own and like a couple of Sunn O))) albums and I own a couple of other drone/doom albums as well that I think are good to ok. I also own a couple of doom albums with drone elements which I do like a lot (Burning Witch, the first Khanate album), but I have to be in the mood for drone metal in general. I don't listen to the genre a lot.
But this one was a tough one for me to get through. I know I have checked out Earth before years ago, but there is probably a reason why I just kept it with checking them out quickly.
I understand the appeal, but this one is a little too droney and is too slow evolving for me.
I triple dog dare you to do art of life live 1993 at the tokyo dome by x japan
Light of day day of darkness by green carnation is an over an hour long song that is beutiful.
About the lead singer having a kid on the same day his kid died.
If you want beautiful black metal i cannot reccomend skagos ast and anarchic enough.
David Maxim Micic just released BILO IV today, would highly recommend checking it out. it's amazing.
New Micic? I'll have to check it out.
Still waiting on it to start...
ha
Damn he plunged you right into the drone lol the first track is prob a better track to listen to
The drone on this track is overbearing like an angry fridge or a buzzing striplight whilst other things happen.
Sleep research facility deep frieze is a better drone album.
i dont get 'drone' music at all. this is psychological torture for me. if this type of music was used as an interrogation tacit to extract information i would break rather quickly. i would rather listen to 'white noise'.
I like ambient drone stuff, but this is the emperors new clothes, it's a bit shit.
Pyha does it better, bohren does it better, sleep research facility does it better, iron fist apocalypse does it better, .
Bull of heaven hasn't even finished playing their first song yet and their better too.
My ceiling fan is a better musician than these guys.
Pentastar and any album they made in the 2000's is way better than this, this album only works as a live performance imo