Choirs Of The Eye

The description “avant garde metal band” made me cringe and I was not looking forward to this listen. But when I put it on in the car it surprised me with how beautiful it was. As I was going through the car wash the crazy metal ending of The Manifold Curiosity created quite the atmosphere! I love this album!

This was more complex than I would have thought. Very interesting to listen to. The metal parts are quite heavy too. Cool album

My first thought reading the Wiki page on this was "uh oh, John Zorn has a record label". A little too avant for me probably, with the periodic urge to declare "this is just noise". I'm willing to entertain the argument that I'm just not ready for it. And it brought me around somewhat by the end and if nothing else it wasn't dull and felt like a cohesive whole despite the dramatic shifts in tone.

As one reviewer aptly put it in this section, post-2000 metal, postmetal and avant-metal are among the music genres done dirty in the 1001 Albums book (along with post-rock and several jazz classics -- other styles also explored by Kayo Dot in *Choirs Of The Eye*, incidentally). So I get why someone would want to place this particular avant-garde metal album in the list, just to set the karmic balance right in one swift stroke. Some of the tones (often owing more to postrock than to metal genres, to be honest), build-ups (gosh, that insane climax leading to black metal mayhem at the end of the third track!), and harmonies, whether darkly pretty -- the Lynchian and melancholic double-bass and piano-laden conclusion of "The Antique" -- or downright atonal, are impressive for sure, and you just can't deny the creativity and very open mindset that went into the writing and recording of this album. That said, and as the same reviewer also stated in here, it's admittedly a little weird to name this record first when so many other acts in adjacent subgenres have been ignored in Dimery's book. See that other reviewer's list when it comes to postmetal (to which I would add Converge, early Cult Of Luna, Neurosis, Gojira or Birds In Row). Same with post-rock, actually : no Mogwai or Godspeed You! Black Emperor's in the 1001 Albums book - if I had had more than one record to add in the users list, you would all have to review "Lift Your Skinny Fists...", along with the Canadian band's debut album that a user with good taste already placed there. So yeah... *Why* Kayo Dot first? Beyond that "contextual" perspective, I will add that I can also understand why some nonplussed listeners would perceive this LP as indulging a little too much in "noodling" instead of tighter compositional work. In some ways, *Choirs Of The Eye* sounds a little unfocused at times (especially for the sung vocal parts). I don't know... Maybe it's a little ironic that the spirit of The Grateful Dead can find its way in a 21st century metal band. I'm pretty sure that fan John Zorn would lambast me for such a caricatural take, though. What do I know, after all? I'm just a music fan with very subjective tastes among millions of others... 3.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums, rounded up to 4 8.5/10 for more general purposes (5 + 3.5) ---- Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 0 for now Albums from the users list I *might* include in mine later on: 2 for now (including this one) Albums from the users list I won't include in mine: 1

I’d been led to believe this was a band in the vein of Sunn and other heavier outfits, so the longer, calmer ambient passages took me by surprise. I was a bit disappointed at first, but as the LP went on I settled into its groove of atmospheric contemplation punctuated by aggressive bursts of noise. Not sure I’d return to any specific track, but the artistic experience was novel and executed well

+50 points right off the bat for the gall to submit an avant-garde metal album. Never heard of this, but I'm super intrigued. Wow, incredible. An insane blend of metal, post-rock, jazz and a whole bunch of other stuff that the album cycles between before any of them can get stale. Probably a really unusual comparison to make, but the band that this reminded the most of would be Talk Talk. Spirit of Eden/Laughing Stock, Metal edition? I hope everybody gives this the fair shot it deserves and doesn't immediately get scared away by the Wikipedia tags or song lengths, since it's not even all that inaccessible all things considered. Fantastic pick, 5/5.

I wasn't at all sure what to expect but I certainly didn't expect something from 2003, the nadir of music, to be this good. John Zorn, behind one of the worst-rated albums on the original list, is credited on this, and I can see why some folk might find his stuff objectionable, I really enjoyed Spy vs Spy so I was more than prepared to find out what was going on with this. It's a delight! One of the main problems I have with metal is that it so often outstays it's welcome. This album is brilliantly designed to limit your exposure to it, so it actually has an impact without rapidly descending into the fatigue that so plagues the genre. This is jazzy, ambient - in parts contemplative, in others outrageous. I liked it a lot, thanks for the recommendation!

Somehow this managed to beat the stigma placed on it by being avant- garde metal with jazz and noise rock inspos by being actually good and interesting to listen to. It had melodies and actual sounds beyond grating screams. Also, it probably helped that I listened to this while reading through all of trumps new executive orders because it fit the vibe pretty well.

Seems avant garde metal is my thing. Who knew?

This was really interesting. Far more more musically diverse than I expected it to be, with well-placed uses of atonality and quiet. Intense at times, but nothing too overbearing. Fave Songs: Marathon, A Pitcher of Summer, The Manifold Curiosity

By all metrics, Kayo Dot should appeal to me. I like heavy music, avant garde music, progressive music, long songs, loud/quiet dynamics... but it just doesn't. I've listened to this album before (several times) along with other Toby Driver projects. I check in every few years, and it still doesn't connect with me. That being said, it probably is a good choice for this list. There is a serious lack of any sort of metal inclusions in the wake of nu-metal, and this is one of the more critically acclaimed releases to come out in the last 25 years. It doesn't quite hit the level of prestige or crossover appeal that Mastodon, Agalloch, Isis, Deafheaven, Liturgy, Wolves in the Throne Room, Behemoth, Imperial Triumphant, or Blood Incantation have reached, but it's still in the pantheon of post-millennium metal.

Heavy yet subtle

55 minutes of metal, post-rock, jazz and noise madness. The usage of horns and strings distinguishes them from other bands in this area of music. A large contrast exists between the subtle parts and the all out destructive parts of the songs.

I enjoyed this album! I'm starting my work day listening again & all the screaming, misery & angst on Marathon is encapsulating how black my job makes me feel inside. Hate this place but love the album

I really have mixed feelings about this one. Some of it I found really interesting and liked, but the screaming/hardcore parts I can't stand. 3 stars.

It's definitely interesting and a creative blend, but I really didn't like listening to it.

Rating: 6/10

Nice. I'm only a casual Kayo Dot fan, but this is one of the better albums I've heard by them.

This looks like it could be doom metal or something. Never heard of it, but I like the artwork. Ok it's some kind of avant garde affair. It's been proggy rock, jazzy, ambient... all in the first 2 minutes. Keeping an open mind... now it's drifted into sorta metal but sorta mostly just noise. We're at 5 min and this is a tough listen. Half an hour later, still a bit to go but I get the overall vibe. Strange time signatures, "dynamics" in that LOUD then soft then LOUD then soft then LOUD fashion, 50 different musical genres (so learned!), weird singing. The full artsy works and jerks. Boring and pointless, imo. 2/5.

Avant-garde metal, post-metal, chamber rock, black metal. Rollo. Un 2.

The opening track was almost enough to make me not want to listen to the rest of the album. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as rock-jazz but now I do. Not my kind of thing

I didn't understand the proposal, for me it's music and that's it, from lounge to simple noise... if there's no song it's an album based more on sounds, which seem like a hypnotic trance. Very lazy

90% quiet noodling 10% nu-metal. Like seriously I think they accidentally hit record 2 hours before a rehearsal one day and just decided to publish it and see what happens.

5 songs..*squinting* 56 minutes? I had to pause this and felt no need to come back. I appreciate this project opening us to all types of music but avant garde metal..maybe we don’t have to listen to this before we die

Theres meal music which is pretty polarizing and there is avant- garde music which is pretty polarizing as well. You mix the two together and you don’t get acclaimed music everyone loves. Actually you probably get the most niche type of Music out there. This was weird, dull, and not something I’d enjoy listening to again. But at least someone likes it. 2.4/10