Maudlin of the Well is a magical band. Excellent choice. Toby Driver, the band leader, has another band, Kayo Dot, which is also 100% wicked. You can't draw a conclusion on it from just one song tho. Even from just one album.
Sensitive and thoughtful analysis. motW albums are dreamlike in their sequencing (and in every way). The songs sound one way on their own and a different way as part of their album, the other album as a diptych, or the whole discography. This doesn't invalidate anything you said. I wish you find a time to listen to this and the other album in full one day not for the channel. Just to get immersed in there. There's a lot of depth in the Well. Glittering moonlight, corpse dust and more re: rule of cool metal riffing versus more experimental stuff, This is not just a core tension in this band but a lot of the heavy metal postmortem anxiety of the late 90s. If you play a straight metal riff as part of a broader collection of semiotics in the 90s era you are evoking different anxieties and ambitions as you would today. Today, funnily enough it probably means an outsider artist is playing a metal riff. motW were young metal kids that outgrew metal and the trajectory was fast and you're grabbing on to the slink just before it's released. At this stage you're hearing them it might work to view them like, Devil Doll and their relationship to occasionally playing straight up drums-and-guitars dark rock music... motW to me are more like that than they are akin to a Cannibal Corpse. Classifications do not matter in 'scene' terms, but historically I would classify them back then as a band that had some earnest love of extreme metal (much like the doctor sincerely loves his goth shit) at least because they try to do sequential storytelling in their music both through every experimental mean available to them but also with structured, linear, 'metalhead counterpoint' guitar riffs, thundering rhythm section unison, there is so much ambition but also cruelty in motW that comes from an occulated mindstate similar to that of mid Tiamat or My Dying Bride... Their postmodern take on romantic macabre music in essence flows out of that continuity. But much like in a dream the cruelty here can be juxtaposed swiftly with other moods or scenes and one might never return to the beginning. motW bring the cool and mean (and sociopathic, and calculating) energy of death metal-ish riffing in contrast to its own dialectic contradiction: the various emotional fragilities and secretive promises of childhood but also the pain and desperation of any adolescence. The people playing the scary death metal monster guitar riff and going grrrgrr grrr grr grrr are usually quite sensitive people. With motW the echoing innocence of the more 'quiet' parts reverberates over the heavier segments... children holding ghost guitars , whistful daydreaming, lucid imaginations or subconscious shimmerings... there is something very fragile at the core of motW and nobody will show you the way there. All the while, in fact, there are admonitions! There's some aleister crowley swamp wizard guy literally trying to tell you secrets wrong in a scary voice... or he's trying to help you, I don't remember. Anyway, you didn't get to hear that voice on this song, even. There's a whole theatre of emotive and expressive tools in here is the point and the straight up metal riff with double bass under it is a core component of this sound, and the first the band would leave behind as Kayo Dot.
Toby Driver really is a phenomenal musician. He rigidly composes all of his music and I believe can transpose and write it all in sheet music. On top of that he’s just very creative and knows how to manipulate a song to play with certain emotions
Awesome to get some motW on the channel. Tony Driver's later band, Kayo Dot, was my introduction to avant-garde/postmodern metal way back in 2013-2014, and I didn't discover motW until quite a bit later, but I instantly fell in love with them. Despite how much metal has evolved and continued to bring in other influences over the last 20 years there's still no band out there quite like motW or Kayo Dot, so I feel like this music is eternally fresh and original. I really loved revisiting this track as it's been quite a while since I've listened to them. Of the two bands, motW were the band that had the stronger ties to the extreme metal scenes that came out of the 90s, which makes sense given they debuted in '99 and this album was from '01. By the time Toby moved on to Kayo Dot, though, all of the other influences were arguably just as strong (if not stronger) than the metal influences. IIRC you've appreciated Kayo Dot in the past, though they're one of those bands that's been so versatile you couldn't hope to appreciate it them with just a few tracks, and their recent material has been entirely different from their earliest stuff. BTW, "maudlin" means "mawkishly sentimental."
Any fans of Maudlin / Kayo Dot in the comments should check out Ode and Elegy. They released a self-titled album last year that is a single 55 minute track and has that Toby Driver flavour. Would also recommend it to you as well Bryan as the song is a really interesting combination of Post-Hardcore / Emo and some kind of Classical Mass which makes the song full of really interesting and unique ideas!
So glad anyone, and especially you, are listening to this band! I've listened to almost 17k bands so far and MotW is easily one of the most unique and interesting of them all. Every time I hear them I hear new things. Especially because they use so many different instruments and have like 10 members. A band like Car Bomb takes like at least 10 listens to each song to understand it but then you've pretty much got it down, while this band somehow keeps me from memorizing all the components like I usually can.
This band helped open my eyes to the possibilities of progressive music and genre fusion, back when I was a wee metalhead. A bit rough around the edges sometimes, but fantastic and unique creativity. Love Toby Driver's works. Check out Stones of October's Sobbing or Gleam in Ranks some time.
With liking their more melodic side better, you’d probably really enjoy their Part the Second album. They basically did a whole album of that. It was actually my first exposure to the band, and thinking I’d found a really good, intricate prog (pop? I’m not actually sure what I’d attach as the second word of that genre convention for them) band, I found my first exposure to their metal side pretty jarring. I came to enjoy it as well, but if you’re looking to listen to them for enjoyment sometime, that’s where I’d go next.
Cool more Toby Driver stuff! This is one of the coolest tracks from this album too, I love the attention to detail all over the place. You should check out one of his newer projects Alora Crucible.
omg i'm shocked lol. this song is the reason of my neck hernia at my teenage years... thank you for reaction.
Maudlin of the Well is a magical band. Excellent choice. Toby Driver, the band leader, has another band, Kayo Dot, which is also 100% wicked. You can't draw a conclusion on it from just one song tho. Even from just one album.
He has a few videos reacting to Kayo Dot.
Sensitive and thoughtful analysis. motW albums are dreamlike in their sequencing (and in every way). The songs sound one way on their own and a different way as part of their album, the other album as a diptych, or the whole discography. This doesn't invalidate anything you said. I wish you find a time to listen to this and the other album in full one day not for the channel. Just to get immersed in there. There's a lot of depth in the Well. Glittering moonlight, corpse dust and more
re: rule of cool metal riffing versus more experimental stuff,
This is not just a core tension in this band but a lot of the heavy metal postmortem anxiety of the late 90s. If you play a straight metal riff as part of a broader collection of semiotics in the 90s era you are evoking different anxieties and ambitions as you would today. Today, funnily enough it probably means an outsider artist is playing a metal riff. motW were young metal kids that outgrew metal and the trajectory was fast and you're grabbing on to the slink just before it's released. At this stage you're hearing them it might work to view them like, Devil Doll and their relationship to occasionally playing straight up drums-and-guitars dark rock music... motW to me are more like that than they are akin to a Cannibal Corpse.
Classifications do not matter in 'scene' terms, but historically I would classify them back then as a band that had some earnest love of extreme metal (much like the doctor sincerely loves his goth shit) at least because they try to do sequential storytelling in their music both through every experimental mean available to them but also with structured, linear, 'metalhead counterpoint' guitar riffs, thundering rhythm section unison, there is so much ambition but also cruelty in motW that comes from an occulated mindstate similar to that of mid Tiamat or My Dying Bride... Their postmodern take on romantic macabre music in essence flows out of that continuity. But much like in a dream the cruelty here can be juxtaposed swiftly with other moods or scenes and one might never return to the beginning.
motW bring the cool and mean (and sociopathic, and calculating) energy of death metal-ish riffing in contrast to its own dialectic contradiction: the various emotional fragilities and secretive promises of childhood but also the pain and desperation of any adolescence. The people playing the scary death metal monster guitar riff and going grrrgrr grrr grr grrr are usually quite sensitive people. With motW the echoing innocence of the more 'quiet' parts reverberates over the heavier segments... children holding ghost guitars , whistful daydreaming, lucid imaginations or subconscious shimmerings... there is something very fragile at the core of motW and nobody will show you the way there. All the while, in fact, there are admonitions! There's some aleister crowley swamp wizard guy literally trying to tell you secrets wrong in a scary voice... or he's trying to help you, I don't remember. Anyway, you didn't get to hear that voice on this song, even. There's a whole theatre of emotive and expressive tools in here is the point and the straight up metal riff with double bass under it is a core component of this sound, and the first the band would leave behind as Kayo Dot.
Excellent breakdown on the evolution of riff writing.
Toby Driver really is a phenomenal musician. He rigidly composes all of his music and I believe can transpose and write it all in sheet music. On top of that he’s just very creative and knows how to manipulate a song to play with certain emotions
Awesome to get some motW on the channel. Tony Driver's later band, Kayo Dot, was my introduction to avant-garde/postmodern metal way back in 2013-2014, and I didn't discover motW until quite a bit later, but I instantly fell in love with them. Despite how much metal has evolved and continued to bring in other influences over the last 20 years there's still no band out there quite like motW or Kayo Dot, so I feel like this music is eternally fresh and original. I really loved revisiting this track as it's been quite a while since I've listened to them. Of the two bands, motW were the band that had the stronger ties to the extreme metal scenes that came out of the 90s, which makes sense given they debuted in '99 and this album was from '01. By the time Toby moved on to Kayo Dot, though, all of the other influences were arguably just as strong (if not stronger) than the metal influences. IIRC you've appreciated Kayo Dot in the past, though they're one of those bands that's been so versatile you couldn't hope to appreciate it them with just a few tracks, and their recent material has been entirely different from their earliest stuff.
BTW, "maudlin" means "mawkishly sentimental."
Any fans of Maudlin / Kayo Dot in the comments should check out Ode and Elegy. They released a self-titled album last year that is a single 55 minute track and has that Toby Driver flavour. Would also recommend it to you as well Bryan as the song is a really interesting combination of Post-Hardcore / Emo and some kind of Classical Mass which makes the song full of really interesting and unique ideas!
So glad anyone, and especially you, are listening to this band! I've listened to almost 17k bands so far and MotW is easily one of the most unique and interesting of them all. Every time I hear them I hear new things. Especially because they use so many different instruments and have like 10 members. A band like Car Bomb takes like at least 10 listens to each song to understand it but then you've pretty much got it down, while this band somehow keeps me from memorizing all the components like I usually can.
This band helped open my eyes to the possibilities of progressive music and genre fusion, back when I was a wee metalhead. A bit rough around the edges sometimes, but fantastic and unique creativity. Love Toby Driver's works. Check out Stones of October's Sobbing or Gleam in Ranks some time.
Meant to be listened to as the whole album imo
With liking their more melodic side better, you’d probably really enjoy their Part the Second album. They basically did a whole album of that. It was actually my first exposure to the band, and thinking I’d found a really good, intricate prog (pop? I’m not actually sure what I’d attach as the second word of that genre convention for them) band, I found my first exposure to their metal side pretty jarring. I came to enjoy it as well, but if you’re looking to listen to them for enjoyment sometime, that’s where I’d go next.
Cool more Toby Driver stuff! This is one of the coolest tracks from this album too, I love the attention to detail all over the place. You should check out one of his newer projects Alora Crucible.
Wow. I really like it so far
Toby Driver is an amazing songwriter
Very exciting band that I'm glad to see featured! Not too well versed with them but the song choice was great!
(Need I say I enjoyed the analysis?😊)
Wow, I love this band! Great pick!
More Maudlin
It’s no secret these guys experimented with some drugs while writing this stuff :D