Does anyone else feel the same way? My post-freshman music review.

Lately I've had an incredible regard for specific artists.

I've been listening to the same groups over and over again and after every listen of their CDs I just lie down in shock and awe of how great those moments are.

I've been bouncing around various genre's so before we start, I just want everyone to know -- if you don't like the first CD, just stay with me, I might mention one you'll fall in love with.

The first band that really got me into these grooves of staying up until 5am the day of exams, listening to music was Gojira. A french metal band, they played alongside thrash / grindcore metal band Lamb of God very recently in Austin. A bunch of my friends went but I wasn't able to go due to certain circumstances. Not to be downtrodden though, I looked up Gojira on my own and bought three albums. Terra Incognita, The Link, and their most recent: From Mars to Sirius. I think Terra Incognita is a much heavier and sludgier work. I like it more, however From Mars To Sirius delivers such an experience, I encourage everyone to swim through it at least once. The production of The Link left me wanting a lot more, but it was a beautiful introduction to incredibly heavy guitar riffs and subsonic frequency massages. Gojira is one of my favorite bands now.

Soon after I started listening to Leviathan by Mastodon. Leviathan is, I believe, their second work after Remission. I'm not that much of a fan of Remission, but Leviathan -- oh god. I actually read Moby Dick again while I tried to follow along with the CD. It was really hard, but the it's just so beautiful to read along a soundtrack. It's really a feat I think Mastodon pulled off well. The swirling drums keep fast enough of a pace yet the guitar is still heavy and slow enough to capture you off your feet and just drop you forever never hitting the ground though. I think the extraordinary bredth of styles they play keeps you on your toes not knowing what to expect except good things. They too are metal, but I'm not sure which kind.

I've always wanted to live in France. After taking European History in highschool and learning about such an intricate history bestowed on one of the most magical places in the world, I found myself on a quest to try all things French. One of these was music. I was introduced to Daft Punk in 7th grade with their music video for One More Time on MTV. I loved their style and technique but never really took their style seriously. Until recently that is: I was able to get a copy of many albums from Thomas Bangalter and Alan Braxe. Trax On The Rocks might be one of the most badass albums I have ever listened to. A totally funky atmosphere plus and electronic beat and nothing extra makes french house look good and sound minimalistic but fulfilling. I'm only disappointed that finding most of their albums is quite difficult, especially a lot of their remixes of particular songs.

In the same vein as electronica, an old favorite Gabriel and Dresden comes back into the spotlight with their beautiful production of As The Rush Comes. But even more important than that is the recognition in their third song abilities. For days I would just listen to downloaded live mixes which were 3 to 5 hours long in some occasions with a track listing of a two-cd album release! Their mixing abilities are extra ordinary and the entire time the listener is just in a zone of euphoria and calmness. Certainly the best way to enjoy this track is floating in your pool at night with the pool lights dimmed and the fountains on -- whilst surrounded in a Spanish-esque residence: a most relaxed scene for the a most relaxed sound.

A new Notorious album? Yes, I know. It's rap. It's not (c)rap though. If I had to pick top ten rap artists, Notorious would be in it. Why? Not because of the new Biggie album (Greatest Hits or whatever... no!) but Life After Death. It's a two cd album, but never does it feel like fillers were thrown in. Biggie has a voice of pure perfection and an attitude and ... knowledge in ... there is a word for this... it's like knowing the third person's view ... omniscient? of life in general. He has come down and analyzed his actions and replays certain events with such savour that you just feel his pain. Biggie is able to move you from having hate, anger, and power to feeling pain and regret for being human. I'm only sad that rap has become what it has been which makes people just gloss over this album because they can't see what Notorious was really like after they got past his radio/popular tracks which felt one dimensional.

Incubus. Alternative rock? I really don't know. My experience with them had been very short before a few weeks ago. "What's your favorite band" I would ask some people, "Oh, Incubus" they'd reply. Oh... okay, don't know them, moving on. I then listened to S.C.I.E.N.C.E. Damn. This is brilliant, it's so innovative that I felt regret for brushing them off before. Fungus Amongus is an awesome album which takes you on a high inside a 2 inch cubed box. All the instruments feel like they are in your head. Awesome production all around. But... I didn't last long with them as others, I think it's because I ran into Deftones right after, but more on them later.

Isis. Pelican. Both of these bands are similar in that they are post-metal or whatever you want to call it. I like to call them sludge stories. Pelican is instrumental so for what it's worth.... I didn't want to do two seperate reviews for them because I didn't find any differences in the feelings I got from either of the bands work. But I much specify: from Isis one MUST experience Oceanic AND the Oceanic Remixes. Venetian Snares throws in a little psychotic twist which is mind blowing. From Pelican I need to recommend their latest album City of Heroes. The guitar work is just jaw dropping. If my iTunes on random switches to either of these bands, I'll find myself subconsciously pulsating my head back and forth, feeling my body carried by slow waves. They are that good and that hypnotic.

Bone Thugs! Bone Thugs and Harmony are a 'different' rap group. They are fast, yet they are very smooth and fluid. It's not that they are singing, they are still rapping, but they do it in a very viscous fashion. On some tracks, it almost feels as if every word is connected and the entire song is just one word. They just came out with a new album called Strength and Loyalty which has a track featuring Twista. Listening to a song with both C and Twista is like having a brutal verbal assault, but with the bullets being shot so fast it's like being zapped by a laser beam. Lie at the base of a waterfall. The torrent of powerful water is kinda the same thing! Their lyrical delivery is powerful, suave and it things just click.

I'm tired of typing for now, I'll post more later. I gotta mention Dr. Dre, Deftones, Nina Simone, Aphex Twin, Mors Principium Est, Lamb of God, and a maybe a few others.

Comments and feedback gladly welcome, what do you guys think of these bands. Ever gone through that phase?