I want to hear recommendations of what to buy and avoid - as a preface to my comments below. Specifically in the range of music my parents consider pure noise.
I am fairly new to high-end audio, but I have gathered this: Audiophila's general perception of what "rocks" is fairly...ahhhh...tame compared to my tastes. The writers of this fine establishment often refer to "rocking out" when auditioning and reviewing equipment, and I am always excited what they will mention as the source recording. And then it is Bob Dylan or the Beatles.
Maybe it is because I am "young" (in this crowd) and I got really into music in the mid-90's. Perhaps the fact that my second cd purchase was Soundgarden's Superunknown. But rocking out with a non-master-volume Marshall set to 4 is a different breed of rocking out from what I know.
I love classical music. Rather, I love late Romantic and early Modern music. I think Rachmaninoff's piano preludes are the heavy metal of piano, and they rock, But what about the harmonic richness of cascaded gain stages of a Mesa or a modern Marshall? Where are the good recordings? I am talking sound quality to go with face melting.
The best hifi metal recording I have heard is Baroness's The Red Album on double 45RPM vinyl from Relapse. A disappointment was Pelican's What We All Come to Need - musically compelling, but dull recording.
Does anyone do reviews of hard rock and metal with an ear toward critical listening? Stephen Mejias knows music outside of normal audiophile-only recordings, and I appreciate that, but can I hear about some rocking stuff worth really listening to? And if you haven't heard Baroness, listen to them now - but only in hifi. They will work on the best of systems - it is stunning. But brace yourself for vocals unlike any other hifi recordings out there...
I want to hear recommendations of what to buy and avoid - as a preface to my comments below. Specifically in the range of music my parents consider pure noise.
I am fairly new to high-end audio, but I have gathered this: Audiophila's general perception of what "rocks" is fairly...ahhhh...tame compared to my tastes. The writers of this fine establishment often refer to "rocking out" when auditioning and reviewing equipment, and I am always excited what they will mention as the source recording. And then it is Bob Dylan or the Beatles.
Maybe it is because I am "young" (in this crowd) and I got really into music in the mid-90's. Perhaps the fact that my second cd purchase was Soundgarden's Superunknown. But rocking out with a non-master-volume Marshall set to 4 is a different breed of rocking out from what I know.
I love classical music. Rather, I love late Romantic and early Modern music. I think Rachmaninoff's piano preludes are the heavy metal of piano, and they rock, But what about the harmonic richness of cascaded gain stages of a Mesa or a modern Marshall? Where are the good recordings? I am talking sound quality to go with face melting.
The best hifi metal recording I have heard is Baroness's The Red Album on double 45RPM vinyl from Relapse. A disappointment was Pelican's What We All Come to Need - musically compelling, but dull recording.
Does anyone do reviews of hard rock and metal with an ear toward critical listening? Stephen Mejias knows music outside of normal audiophile-only recordings, and I appreciate that, but can I hear about some rocking stuff worth really listening to? And if you haven't heard Baroness, listen to them now - but only in hifi. They will work on the best of systems - it is stunning. But brace yourself for vocals unlike any other hifi recordings out there...