Stoner Rock Playlist #33

 

THE GRAND ASTORIA: The Mighty Few

If Pink Floyd and The Mars Volta had a baby, and that baby grew up listening to heavy metal and punk, and then formed a rock band, that band would be The Grand Astoria.  Speaking of the Mars Volta, Kamille Sharipodinov reminds me of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez in terms of both his creativity and the frequency with which he produces truly new music.

If you are really paying attention you will not be able to turn this masterpiece off, and will have to agree that although there is no proper category for this music, it is undeniably heavy.  The Grand Astoria has Led-Zeppelin-like importance for me in terms of how they have altered my perspective on heavy music, and I consider them one of the best rock bands of all time. 

Here is “Curse of the Ninth”, a tribute to the myth that a classical music composer’s ninth symphony would end up being their last.  

Think you know what to expect from The Grand Astoria?  Download their Black Flag tribute album for free here:  

You can read Kamille's story of his admiration for Greg Ginn and how he came to be a fan of Black Flag.

The Grand Astoria is:
Kamille Sharapodinov - vocals, guitars, korg monotron 
Danila Danilov - vocals, flute, tambourine, korg ms2000 
Eugene Trukhin - bass 
Denis Kirillov - rhodes piano, clavia nordstage, steinway & sons piano 
Ravil Azizov - clarinet 
Alexey Nikiforov - trumpet 
Valery Dudik - saxophone 
Kirill Serov - percussion 
Alexander Filippov - drums 
Sophia Miroedova - artwork 
Alexander Karelin - mixing and mastering 

Back next weekend:  Happy Fourth!  -ULTRA

SUNDAY STONER SOUNDS

First up: The Grand Astoria.  If you haven't heard this tune yet, you are in for a treat.  Kamille Sharapodinov is not just good, he is a guitar genius -  a true prodigy.  This tune does not really paint a good picture of what the band is about, but no Grand Astoria tune does, since this band from St. Petersberg covers so much musical ground, from one album to the next, and within each album.  Stoner Rock gets to claim this band overall, even though so many of their tunes are outside the category's realm.  This particular tune, "The Serpent And The Garden of Eden" is probably best described as psychedelic Prog Metal.  It is long, but so worth the 14+ minutes.  If 14 minutes is too long an investment for a band you know nothing about, bump up to the 4:45 minute mark and linger, then hit up the 10:30 mark before you move on. 

Next: One of my four favorite bands, Solace, covering "World War" by The Cure.  Set to the Techno Viking video - could not be more classic.  I sure hope we'll get another Solace album someday.

Until next week; Thanks Grownman - Freakin' quality blog you run!!!