TQMD should never have been
There were too many years between Blue Green Orange, I Mother Earth's greatest album, and The Quicksilver Meat Dream; and it wasn't worth the wait. The mood and atmosphere created on TQMD seems forced and artificial. I was really disappointed upon hearing the album-- there is not a glimmer of that spacey, progressive sound they harbored for three other albums. Instead you get half-baked effort that tries to emulate Tool at every turn, and falls miserably short. However, one of the best IME tracks can be found on this disc-- Soft Bomb Salad-- but it's still not enough to redeem the rest of the album. IME has lost their momentum, as shown by TQMD and their live performances of late.
A Successful Step In Musical Evolution
Like all IME albums, it took me a few listen-throughs to get a grasp on what the new sound was in the latest installment, and I can truthfuly say that this one left the best and most profound impact on me. And I consider myself a big fan, if not one of the biggest of I Mother Earth. Always come to expect a strong poetic presence in their songs, but Quicksilver Meat Dream is a shining example of the amazing mastery of combining such an ancient art with new influences to make pure music. Congratulations to Bryan, Christian, Jagori, and Bruce in a successful step in musical evolution. Listening to this album IS an altering experience!P.S. Suggested tracks: I Is Us, God Rocket(Into The Heart Of Las Vegas, and No Coma
what happened?!?
what happened to ime? this new stuff sounds like something i could hear on one of the many crap stations on the radio....good melodies, but all simple sounding and no depth whatsoever!! and
what happened to the percussion?!?!?? and the guitars are all distortion with barely any clear channel sound and an almost complete lack of any thought out leads with feeling! way too industrial sounding. a waste of talent if you ask me. the best thing about this album is the mix!
--a disgruntled fan
WOW!
I'm not a reviewer as such, so I'll just give you my story. I was a long-time IME fan, and stuck to my guns that they were as good as ever with Blue Green Orange. After waiting so long for a new album, I wasted no time buying the Quicksilver Meat Dream, just out of loyalty. I was immediately taken aback by how much heavier the sound was, how the Tannas and Bruce Gordon could still combine catchy and challenging, and how great Brian Byrne was vocally. Still, when I put the CD back in its case, my first words were, "I think I wasted my money on this". Maybe I was put off by the relative darkness of the album, especially compared to the feel-good vibe of Scenery And Fish. Maybe the increased progressiveness of a few of the songs was too much to handle. Maybe they were trying to be something they weren't.
Still, something compelled me to listen to it again. When I did, I noticed that IME really IS somewhere inside those tunes (maybe even all over them), and that, just as in albums past, repeated listenings made the songs catch on with me. The instrumentation and song craft blew my mind, and the vocals were always phenomenal, maybe the best on ANY IME record. This record is amazing! These songs are now firmly planted in my brain, and I wonder how I could've dismissed them in the first place. They have depth and feeling. They make a cohesive collection in which skipping tracks is not only unnecessary, but is cheating you as a listener. Maybe best of all, they rock in a way that should silence everyone who said IME "wussed out" with their last album. In short, these songs could make this the most underrated major-label album of the year. Buy it and see why.
What a comeback!!!
As many fans were, I was a little disappointed with IME's last studio effort, "Blue Green Orange"... not that it was a bad album by any means, but it didn't seem to have the same fire of "Dig" or "Scenery And Fish". That is now the past! "The Quicksilver Meat Dream" excels far beyond my expectations, from the haunting first tracks of "0157:H7" and "I Is Us", to the incredible "Soft Bomb Salad", "Hell And Malfunction", "Meat Dreams", and my favorite right now "God Rocket". Utilizing electronic rhythms as a forefront on many of these songs, it gives an added atmosphere of stability even as the musicians go somewhat "chaotic but still controlled". You still hear the original IME riffs and feel here, but they are expanded with many new moods. Brian's vocals are exceptionally strong on this effort, and in my opinion surpass original vocalist Edwin. Christian's drumming is fired up as well, and Jagori and Bruce are filling in with the right runs at the right time. If this is a preview of the years to come, I think IME will finally get the international recognition they should have gotten many years ago.
The Fourth Studio Album from the Canadian Hard Rockers Arrives Just Over a Decade Since their Debut "Dig". Their Music Has Grown Lush and Even More Powerful Than Ever, with a Distinctive, Dark Video for the First Single "Like the Sun".
