A disclaimer before I continue any further:
The definition of gloat (gloating, to gloat, gloated etc) is descibed as: to feel or express great pleasure or satisfaction because of your own success or good luck, or someone else's failure or bad luck:
I want it made clear that this post IS NOT a vehicle for me to gloat about the experiences of 11/13/08, but rather to give all of you hardcore SW/PT fans a pre-relase opinion on SW's first solo release, Insugentes.
Last night I was fortunate enough to have been invited up to a beautiful state of the art studio in Manhattan for a press/media premier of Insurgentes in all it's 5.1 glory.
To begin with I got to see a few copies of the Limited Edtion versions of the book/audio set and I have to say it is one of the most incredibly gorgeous packages I have ever seen. What SW and Carl have conceived with this package is beyond just a mere book of photos trust me. The photos themselves are stunning and evocative, the book, well, I am not going to ruin it for you but the book is absolutely top shelf and the way the lettering on the cover was done was, well, I'll stop there so that it will be a surprise for most of you...
Suffice it to say SW and all the people that worked on this project really conceived and delivered an incredible end product here, a true work of art if you ask me ! For those of you who bitched and complained that SW was an extortionist for charging what he did for this prodcut (more or less $ 50.00 USD), you have NO idea how foolish most of you are going to feel when you see these trust me !!!!!
As for the music... I am not going to go into a track by track breakdown as I feel that may ruin it for all of you by telling you what I heard and felt when I listened to Insurgentes (I was lucky enough to go into the media room and listen a second time with none other than Jordan Rudess and a few others, for a second listen), so please don't PM me and ask me to break it down for you because I simply won't...
Here is what I will tell you... This is one of the finest peices of work Steven has ever done in his career. It is the type of record you listen to and need to absorb a little at first because no two tracks are similar, in fact many of these tracks do not even really include standard verse/chorus arrangements, but they are mammoth and cinenmatic in scope. Heartbreakingly gorgeous one moment and sinister and frightening the next. Also, there were only two tracks that directly had any sort of PT influence (OK, I'll break down and give you a hint on these two, Harmony Korine, and Venano Para Las Hados).
I heard everything from Massive attack meets Sunn o))) (in the same song no less !), Cocteau Twins, And Crimson, to Hendrix, Slow Dive, The Cure, and and Depeche Mode, and so many more reverential influences it's impossible to describe really...
Insurgentes is the aural equivalent of a KILLER orgasm people, the kind that leaves you well and truly spent to the bone (no pun intended lol !) trust me on this one. I will be shocked if any hard core fan of SW's isn't truly blown away by this masterpiece after the first listen, but most certainly by the second like I was. Also, please make certain that you try, if possible, to listen to the 5.1 version before the stereo version. There are things going on in some of these tracks that you just won't be able to get your head around, for example the wall of "total f**king noise" (per the handout we were given with all the music credits and guests) that Get What You Deserve turns into in the final 2-3 minutes is mindcrushing in 5.1 !!!!!!
A couple of newsworty tidbits that will be posted on the Ins.org website (and SWHQ/PT.com I assume) are: The Ltd Edts are set to ship on the 17th I believe. Don't hold me to that for certain, but that was the concensus bewteen SW and Management. Also, there will be a 5.1 retail version offered, and in all liklihood will be offered with the retail stereo version due out in February. The availability of the bonus tracks that will accompany the Ltd Edt, has not been completely solidified as yet, however, SW was leaning toward keeping them exclusive to the Ltd Edt.
Now before you start freaking out people (Ministry, I hate to call you out on this my friend, but...) this has NOT been officially decided as yet, so DO NOT FREAK as yet. As it is, I understand the bonus disc (we did not get to listen to this during the sessions) includes 4 additional tracks, but I negelcted to look at the details on this when I was pouring over the book. Apparently there were a total of 23 tracks originally recorded.
My faves are highlighted in color, but the whole thing is f**kING amazing and I doubt there will be a disappointed fan amongst us when all is said and done. As I said, I am not going to break each track down as that would likely influence your listening experience but suffice it to say Insurgentes is a freakin' masterpiece people !
Then again, did we really expect anything less ?
SoD
laatste dagen toevallig nog wat liggen chillen met Sigur ros op de achtergrond
Damn, dat klinkt echt pijnlijk. 