17 replies to this topic

[chillinrev]

Not one, not two, but three new Violet Burning albums. The preview videos sound good too. I will be investigating further. Saw them at Greenbelt this year, they blew the Mainstage away.






http://www.theviolet...g.com/index.htm

[Persona]

Wow. That is a lot of music. Really sounds like he's diving into the Smashing Pumpkins sound...

I think I know what my wife may be getting for Christmas... She still proudly wears her VB hoodie, whether it dates her or not.

[Crow]

I've still got a VB hoodie in the closet somewhere. It's getting cool outside, might be time to get it out.

The sound, wow, very intriguing. Like the self-titled album spiced with a kick of Jolt cola.

[opus]

Persona, on 19 October 2010 - 10:19 AM, said:

Wow. That is a lot of music. Really sounds like he's diving into the Smashing Pumpkins sound...

My thoughts exactly.

[Persona]

Do I actually remember these lyrics right from listening yesterday?

"They say that rock is dead, no it's not no it's not
They say that rock is dead, no it's not no it's not"

I know I'm close.

Sorry, Michael. I know you're looking for a hit, but that is horrid.

I guess if I pick it up for a Christmas present for my wife, I'll have to hear the whole song. Sad times for me.

Out of three CDs though, I'm sure there's some good stuff in there, somewhere.

[winter shaker]

Pre-order downloads sent out today. Massive files, mine took over 7 hours to download. Looking forward to listening to them tonight and throughout the coming weeks.

[Persona]

Hey, Alex, as you're new around here thought I should let you know that I am a fan of this band. Love them, actually. Always have. I've just been hard on them in this thread. If my VHS player worked I would have actually popped in my old VB doc I've got around here somewhere tonight...

[winter shaker]

Persona, on 01 March 2011 - 12:11 AM, said:

Hey, Alex, as you're new around here thought I should let you know that I am a fan of this band. Love them, actually. Always have. I've just been hard on them in this thread. If my VHS player worked I would have actually popped in my old VB doc I've got around here somewhere tonight...

Yeah. To be honest, I haven't been a huge fan of the 2000 releases, particularly This Is The Moment which seemed like a rather generic CCM album. But the S/T, Demonstrates Plastic And Elastic and Fabulous, Like You are all fantastic. And the original "Song of the Harlot"...one of the most powerful songs I've ever heard.

[Persona]

We are very much on the same page. Also add "There is Nowhere Else" from the I am a Stranger in This Place reworking of the tune and we are soul brothers.

I didn't get this at Christmastime after all. It's on the horizon though. Give us a shout when you can.

Edited by Persona, 01 March 2011 - 04:06 PM.

[Phill Lytle]

This is the Moment was intentionally CCM per request of their record company at the time - Northern Records. They were asked to do it that way to try to get a hit right off the bat in the CCM world. It didn't work and it drove some of their fans away. Drop Dead is much more in line with their 90's stuff in terms of quality. It's not as good as Plastic and Elastic, but in my mind not many albums are.

My brother just downloaded the new 3 part album and has had time to hear the first CD. He likes it so far. I hope to get it soon as well.

[winter shaker]

Phill Lytle, on 02 March 2011 - 03:42 PM, said:

This is the Moment was intentionally CCM per request of their record company at the time - Northern Records. They were asked to do it that way to try to get a hit right off the bat in the CCM world. It didn't work and it drove some of their fans away.

I didn't know that! That is quite surprising, considering how a lot of the albums produced by Northern Records wouldn't fit into the typical CCM marketplace (i.e. Love And Affection, The Hot Stuff, Face Your Fun).

[Phill Lytle]

Yeah, it surprised me as well. I guess it was their one attempt to reach that audience and when it failed they had no intentions of really trying to court that crowd anymore.

[winter shaker]

For anyone interested, The Violet Burning is about to embark on a tour. Two of the shows are in the Metro Vancouver area:



Oct 1, 7 pm
Friends Langley Vineyard, "The Venue"
$8-10


Oct 2, 6m
Richmond Penetcostal Church
Free

[Joel]

why do cool things happen in Van when I am not there?

[winter shaker]

Saw the show in Richmond last night. The Violet Burning helped kick off the Richmond Pentecostal youth service. It was a rockin' show; they mostly played songs from The Story of our Lives although they did play "Dreadful" and "Gorgeous" which made me happy. Most of the audience was younger than I was - I'm guessing high school age?

[Christopher Lake]

Chiming in here, as a semi-regular reader, rare commenter, and big fan of The Violet Burning!

I just received the (fairly) new 3-disc Story of Our Lives in the mail. I really wish that it were getting more attention, both from VB fans and from the larger music media. In my view, the overall songwriting here is stronger (much stronger) than on any VB album since Demonstrates Plastic and Elastic.

I'm still on the first half of the second disc of this 34-song opus, but thus far, this is truly my favorite Violets album since the self-titled. To some long-time fans, I realize that this may come close to sacrilege, but in some ways, I think Story actually exceeds the great achievement(s) of the self-titled (which is now available, very cheaply, as Lipstick Dynamite and Wonder-- the originally intended title-- on their website).

The new album rocks very, very hard on several songs (think Black Sabbath meets Mellon Collie-era Smashing Pumpkins). It is, by far, the heaviest album in their catalog. At the same time, there are many quiet, achingly beautiful songs, such as "Where Do We Belong?" from the 2nd disc.

What does one do, when an amazing album is released by a long-time favorite band, and almost no one knows about it or appears to care? Even the packaging for this set is beautiful! I haven't seen such a great booklet come with an album in a good while! I'm tempted to start a blog just to alert more music fans about the Violet Burning in general, and about this album in particular. Read the reviews at their website-- many people are calling it a career high for the band, and I (obviously) agree! It's like Pink Floyd's The Wall but with hope and, I would say, much more beauty.

Listen to tracks from the album here: http://www.theviolet....com/listen.htm

Edited by Christopher Lake, 02 March 2012 - 11:28 PM.

[winter shaker]

Christopher Lake, on 02 March 2012 - 11:17 PM, said:

I'm still on the first half of the second disc of this 34-song opus, but thus far, this is truly my favorite Violets album since the self-titled. To some long-time fans, I realize that this may come close to sacrilege, but in some ways, I think Story actually exceeds the great achievement(s) of the self-titled (which is now available, very cheaply, as Lipstick Dynamite and Wonder-- the originally intended title-- on their website).

...Speaking of which, how much does Lipstick And Dynamite Wonder differ from the self-titled? I've heard that there are a few slight variations, mostly in Michael's voice.

I've been trying to listen to the trilogy a little more. "I Caught Fire" is my favourite track of the whole set.

[Christopher Lake]

winter shaker, on 03 March 2012 - 01:39 AM, said:

Christopher Lake, on 02 March 2012 - 11:17 PM, said:

I'm still on the first half of the second disc of this 34-song opus, but thus far, this is truly my favorite Violets album since the self-titled. To some long-time fans, I realize that this may come close to sacrilege, but in some ways, I think Story actually exceeds the great achievement(s) of the self-titled (which is now available, very cheaply, as Lipstick Dynamite and Wonder-- the originally intended title-- on their website).

...Speaking of which, how much does Lipstick And Dynamite Wonder differ from the self-titled? I've heard that there are a few slight variations, mostly in Michael's voice.

I've been trying to listen to the trilogy a little more. "I Caught Fire" is my favourite track of the whole set.

I actually was not aware of any audible differences between Lipstick and the self-titled disc-- but then, though I've been a fan for almost a decade at this point, I did miss the latter when it was originally released. Of the two, I've only actually heard and owned Lipstick.

On the new album, I listened to the second disc, two times, last night. I also went back and listened to some of the first disc, trying to get a sense of the overall "story" (no pun intended, as it is a conceptual, story-telling album!), and the musical and lyrical "relations," in the songs. I am becoming more and more convinced-- this is truly a great album.

I dearly love the Violets' work from the mid-to-late 90s, and I also love Strength. I understand that many long-time fans are attached (for lack of a better word) to those creative periods of the band's life. However, taken as a whole, and, in many cases, even in terms of individual songs, I believe that Story is the band's genuine peak thus far. As a 3-disc set of 34 songs, it can be a bit hard to "take in" and absorb the whole thing. However, even in just my brief experience thus far, it is so, so worth the effort. (And I haven't been able to listen to even two of the discs in one night yet. Thus far, it is has usually been, at best, a disc, or half a disc, a night.)

One thing that has disheartened me a bit, is hearing of, or actually seeing, some VB fans, negatively evaluating Story, based on musical bits of one or two songs, or a few lyrics here or there, that they've heard. I actually like everything that I've heard from the album thus far, but that is, I'm fairly sure, partially because even before buying the album, I was able to hear various complete songs from it, at the band's website (http://www.thevioletburning.com/), and as graciously posted by Michael on their Facebook page. He is really doing all that he can to get this new music out to people, so that they can hear it and make an informed decision about it.

Some VB fans have heard a few of the heavier (more "metallic") and darker songs on this album and, seemingly, have decided that the overall work is not to their taste. To an extent, I can understand that-- it *is* a harder-rocking album than anything that they've released previously. However, the more that I hear from it, I am becoming convinced that this "heavier" sound is the sound of Michael actually going deeper, emotionally, into his heart and soul-- and also going deeper and wider, artistically, in the sense of taking a very serious look at the world around us (technology, the internet, everyone being more "connected" but not necessarily being as humanly close to each other, resulting in sadness and loneliness). This is a serious, heavy work, both sound-wise and in terms of mood.

At the same time though, there is so much melodic beauty on Story... so many wonderfully melodic moments... some are openly anthemic (similarly to "Gorgeous," which is one of my favorite songs of all time), some are very quiet, and a few are a bit of both... but they are part of this album, and I hate to think that any long-time fans may have decided against purchasing it, thinking that this is the "VB heavy metal album." It's just not that.

There are metallic songs here, and they tell part of the story, of an overall emotional journey, in TSOOL-- but it's not a metal album. It's a massive (but well-priced, for potential new fans!) work with so much to say, creatively and emotionally. (No, I'm not the band's publicist, hehe-- just hoping to get the word out more about this great new work!) I am coming to think that it's their best album, and that's saying a lot, given some of the classic work that they've released over two decades.

Edited by Christopher Lake, 03 March 2012 - 06:38 PM.