Stuck In My Skull 541 -- "Sensorium"

Song: "Cry for the Moon" || Artist: Epica || http://youtu.be/jxWHrHC2Qe4 ||

Comments: Hello and happy Friday, everyone! For today I figured I would switch things up and quit talking about EDM. Instead, I'd like to take today to talk about one of my favourite sounds in metal: Epica. Epica is seriously fantastic, and it kills me that I haven't had time to listen to their more recent albums in full yet. For the amount of time I spend listening to them, Epica is seriously underrepresented on this blog. Their live album "The Classical Conspiracy" is one of my go-to albums, whether I'm being productive, gaming, or just relaxing. This song is taken from Epica's first full-length studio album, "The Phantom Agony," which I was shocked to realize came out in 2003. Man, this song is old, but it's one of my favourites. Let me put this in context. In 2003, Nightwish still had Tarja Turunen as a vocalist and was between the albums "Century Child" and "Once." Kamelot had just kicked out it's sixth studio album, "Epica," the first of the two-part story of Ariel which they finished in "The Black Halo." Sonata Arctica was releasing it's third album. This song is old. But enough about that, let's talk about why it's good. For one, I can't get enough of the opening riff -- that combination of piano and guitar does amazing things for the song and works wonderfully with the strings. All of them set the stage for and completely drop off to sit the focus squarely on the opening verses of the lyrics, which are phenomenal in both writing and performance. The way Simone Simons vocals work both with and around the other instruments is far-and-away one of Epica's greatest strengths. When I say 'greatest strengths,' that could imply that there's some sort of corresponding weakness. If there is, I can't find it. I'm generally not even a fan of rough vocals, but the interplay of the rough and clean vocals in this song is absolutely perfect and I can't help but love it. When a song makes you truly enjoy something that you wouldn't otherwise care for, you know you've got a winner. Check it out, and don't forget to like us on Facebook! Have a great weekend!

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Stuck In My Skull 540 -- "Resistance" [Free Download!]

Song: "Resistance" || Artist: Knife Party || https://soundcloud.com/knifepartyinc/reistance ||



Comments: Hello wonderful readers! I hadn't originally intended to do two entries in a row of free music, but I discovered this song yesterday and absolutely couldn't let this opportunity pass. I've been a fan of Knife Party for awhile now, both their studio work and their live sets. I can't begin to tell you how many times I've put their Ultra 2013 set on and gotten a solid hour of work done. With that in mind, I was ecstatic to hear that their newest song is out and available download from the Knife Party website for a limited time. It's an excellent track, with some really amazing drops and some fade effects that remind me of trance for some reason. It's got Knife Party's signature aggressive bass and beats but feels like "LRAD" in that it's not as aggressive of a track as some of their other songs like "Destroy Them with Lasers" or "Power Glove." Either way, I absolutely love it. Give it a listen and download it while you can! Don't forget to like us on Facebook!

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Stuck In My Skull 539 -- "Youth (Adventure Club Remix)" [Free Download]

Song: "Youth" || Artist: Foxes || Remixing Artist: Adventure Club || http://youtu.be/2XG_0iV2B40 ||

Comments: Hello everyone! Let's get your week started off right with an amazing remix of an amazing song. Foxes -- mostly recently famous for being the vocalist on Zedd's track "Clarity" -- put together a pretty excellent song that Adventure Club got ahold of and somehow managed to make better. This song sits somewhere between dubstep and chillstep, being slow and calm but not quite as mellow as what I would normally call chillstep. It's got Foxes' eerily good vocals perfectly complementing an excellent drop and some truly gripping instrumentation. I originally stumbled onto this song when I saw it on this a popular YouTube channel known for its excellent taste in free music. There's currently no download link to the song by either Foxes or Adventure Club so I don't feel comfortable providing a possibly dangerous link to a download site from here, but I will say that it's fairly easy to find a download if you just Google the song. (Do this at your own risk. Again, I can't find an official download so it may or may not be piracy at this point.) Whether you want to download it or not, definitely give this track a listen. It's amazing.

Update: Nevermind, there is an official download link. Click here! You'll have to like Adventure Club on Facebook to unlock the download, but it's official and it exists! Speaking of Facebook, make sure to Like us on Facebook as well!

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Stuck In My Skull 538 -- "Wasted"

Song: "Wasted" || Artist: Tiesto feat. Matthew Koma || http://youtu.be/AmEIemQfk34 ||

Comments: Good morning everyone and congratulations! It's Friday and the week is almost over! Today's song has been a recent favourite of mine, and been stuck in my head since someone mentioned it in conversation last night (I have the most interesting conversations sometimes...) I've been a huge Tiesto fan for years -- I can honestly say that while Tiesto wasn't the first electronic artist I found, he was by far the one I liked the most in my early days of exploring EDM. To this day, I still absolutely love trance, and I think Tiesto has done an excellent job of diversifying into house and other genres of EDM. Matthew Koma is another favourite of mine -- I've really enjoyed listening to songs he's been involved in since I first heard him in "Years" by Alesso. He's been really active in the last two years. Glancing at his Wikipedia page, he's been working with big names like Zedd, Hardwell, and Afrojack in addition to Tiesto and Alesso. Putting these two artists together on one song is bound to have excellent results, and it does. "Wasted" is an upbeat ear-worm that'll get stuck in your head and stay there, with a fantastic beat and lyrics I can't stop singing. Give it a listen and enjoy this song kick-starting your weekend.

Have you liked us on Facebook yet? If not, you should like us on Facebook. And here's that link one more time: Our Facebook page.

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Stuck In My Skull 537 -- "Shake It Off"

Song: "Shake It Off" || Artist: Taylor Swift || http://youtu.be/nfWlot6h_JM ||

Comments: Good morning everyone! Late yesterday, someone linked me to a Buzzfeed post about Taylor Swift's dancing in her latest song, and I knew I had to go watch the video. I'll admit, I was not expecting much. With that in mind, this song managed to pleasantly surprise me -- it's actually pretty good. I'm really enjoying the heavy use of brass in the song, and Taylor has done a pretty good job of making a really catchy tune. Basically, this song is unexpectedly good, and I was happy to have my fears dispelled. Go give it a watch!

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Stuck In My Skull 536 -- "Apollo"

Song: "Apollo" || Artist: Hardwell feat. Amba Shepherd || http://youtu.be/q8kUckZ15fE ||

Comments: Good morning and happy Monday, everyone! I don't know about you, but I was not ready for the weekend to end. So if you're like me and need a pick-me-up to get the week started on a high note, turn up the volume! Today's song is from Dutch producer Hardwell featuring vocals by Amba Shepherd. If that name rings a bell to you, it's probably because her career has been full of huge songs. She first gained major recognition for being the vocalist on Porter Robinson's breakout song "Vandalism," a long-time favourite of mine featured back in Entry 181. This track is an upbeat masterpiece that took my crappy Monday and turned it around, and I think it can save yours too. Give it a listen!

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Stuck In My Skull 535 -- "Empire"

Song: "Empire" || Artist: Shakira || http://youtu.be/QapfTGTXbxc ||

Comments: Good morning and happy Wednesday, everyone! To help you get through Hump Day, I've got a song that'll put a smile on your face, a beat in your ear, and get your mind out of a rut. A more rock-influenced song than many of Shakira's recent hits, "Empire" opens with a soft, acoustic section before bringing in some really well-done guitars behind the Columbian singer's powerful vocals. It's got a bit of electronic distortion in the chorus that I think is really well done, up there with the purposeful misuse of autotune in Kanye West's album 808s & Heartbreak. And yes, I just made a Kanye-Shakira comparison, and yes, I'm still torn about how I feel about that. Either way, this song keeps getting stuck in my head, so I figured it was time to share it with all of you. Enjoy!

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Stuck In My Skull 534 -- "Beam Me Up"

Song: "Beam Me Up" || Artist: Cazzette || http://youtu.be/mp-IZEFqrG0 (official video) || http://youtu.be/8pwv3g5D3b4 (lyrics) ||

Comments: Good morning, everyone! I've gotten a handle on last week's crazy computer problems, at least to the point that I have a stable working environment, so it's high time to jump back into the music! For today, I nearly wrote a duplicate entry. I was going to write on "The Hardest Mistakes" by I See Stars, before remembering that Amanda covered it last April. No wonder it sounded familiar! Instead, I've got the breakout track of Swedish EDM duo Cazzette. To borrow a term from DJ Abso-Newt-ly, this track is a banger. Stupidly popular and absolutely fantastic, this song is epic. It's got a blistering house beat complemented by a really excellent dubstep bridge, and the whole song is glued together by an exquisite vocal performance. Try as I might, though, I could not manage to find the identity of the vocalist. If any of you readers know, pretty please chime in here or on Facebook and let us hear it, I'm absolutely dying to know. Enjoy!

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Computer problems!

Hey everyone, as of now there is no Wednesday issue of Stuck In My Skull coming. Why? Blame Windows 8 not dual-booting well and a whole long list of technical mumbo jumbo that's causing me to scream, swear, and tear my hair out. Check back Friday!

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Stuck In My Skull 533 -- "Buzz"

Song: "Buzz" || Artist: Above & Beyond Presents Tranquility Base || http://youtu.be/eprS9GmNzMg ||

Comments: Hello and happy Friday, everyone! To get the weekend off right, I've got a truly excellent trance track for you. "Buzz" is an up-tempo number with pulsing bass and a catchy synth line that really makes you want to get up and dance, and I could listen to this all day. The artist here -- as best I can tell from the Wikipedia article -- is a side project of the well-known electronic group Above & Beyond, famous for producing a long list of singles and a particularly excellent remix of Motorcycle's "As the Rush Comes." There are numerous versions and mixes of this track, including the 'Buzztalk Mix' released a year after the original. Listen to a few and see what your favourite is. Be sure to like us on Facebook, and have a great weekend!

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