Following Cartesian quadrants:
Q1: Sunn O)))
Q2: Electric Wizard
Q3: Nine Inch Nails, specifically The Fragile
Q4: Porcupine Tree - Signify
Extra credit:
Left side: King Gizzard, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
Right side: Delicate Steve, Lemon Jelly, The Orb - The Dream
Top: I’m kinda at a loss here, I can’t think of a band that makes you want to kill but has songs that both do and don’t go hard.
Bottom: Steven Wilson
Q4: Porcupine Tree
God damn if that’s not spot-on.
Top: Sevendust? Depends on how harshly you judge butt-rock. Godsmack, same story. Orgy, if you’d put them that far up.
Bottom: to avoid technically repeating Porcupine Tree, I’d suggest Modest Mouse.
Note: this is following Cartesian coordinates, so it goes counter-clockwise starting with top right being Q1. I put porcupine tree in bottom right because they don’t go that hard, but damn they’re depressing.
Edit: Also, I haven’t listened to Modest Mouse. I haven’t listened to anything depressing in a while. Music plays a big role in my mood, and there’s enough depressing stuff going on right now.
I am familiar with Cartesian coordinates. I was also left speechless by “Stop Swimming.”
And if you’re avoiding pessimistic music, yeah, you can give Modest Mouse a miss. Raucous! Cynical. Occasionally real fuckin’ dark. I keep starting to recommend parts of an album and then remembering the album is titled Good News For People Who Like Bad News.
In the vicinity, but much more nuanced and upbeat, there’s Death Cab For Cutie… irony be damned. The lead singer was half of The Postal Service for their one album, of which “Such Great Heights” is unreservedly delightful and positive. Death Cab’s discography proper is downright jaunty. The subject matter’s just melancholy, at best.
Fyi Lemon Jelly and Delicate Steve are artists, not albums. I just realized they were listed in a way that might make you think they were albums by The Orb. Also, those three don’t really make you want to kill anything tbh, but they’re pretty chill and don’t really go hard.
I’d give the top of extra credit to Danny Brown or Swans
I keep cracking up at Delicate Steve being perfect for the doesn’t go hard slider, though.
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