Maldire Wins, TAOBA FAILS :(
September 18th, 2012 by Hexfix93
Here is a link for a new Maldire review:
http://www.medienkonverter.de/reviews-velvet-acid-christ_maldire-5169.html .
Maldire has also made it to #3 on the Soundcheck in europe.
I still cannot believe all the hate on “The Art Of Breaking Apart” on all these press reviews of Maldire. I still am proud of the guitar work on that lp, and the fact that I delivered half of an unplugged lp that showcased my singing voice. Guess no one likes that or my skillz at playing guitar :( How sad. Should I even bother playing any songs off TAOBA live? From the way these people talk about it, shit, I should recall every copy of it sold and burn it in trash cans and film it for them. Even one of the x members of VAC came up to me at a guitar center and told me that TAOBA was amazing guitar work. WTF. I’m still confused with all the hate of it. I guess if you try to be diverse and show other talents you get shit on. On the contrary, I showed that I was not a button pusher talent less non musician who cannot play any real instruments. Guitars were apart of VAC from the start back on church of acid. Fun with knives and TTG where the only lps I made without guitars. So What the fuck? No one likes my sad songs? They were the most honest thing I could do at the time. I was alone, depressed and broken down. I could not make an upbeat or angry lp at that time. I guess i needed to be phony and fake another fun with knives to make all these critics happy. I am still kind of miffed at the constant bashing of the art of breaking apart.
What do you think? Was the art of breaking apart so god awful? I admit there are some issues, I ran out of time, It is not perfect. Still I love black rainbows, faithless, silver, killing a stranger, the art of breaking apart and amnesia. I love bands like death in june, and tool. Are the people who bought fun with knives so shallow that they do not listen to anything else? The pink dots are my favorite band in the universe, and when i make songs like that sometimes they like it some times they hate it. Its depressing.
Do not get me wrong. I love Maldire. But still there are good songs on taoba. Maldire is more polished in every way, and has no real guitar on it. The thing you hear in the beginning of mysteric is a harpsichord not a guitar. And the acoustic rompler guitar on inhale blood is not real. I had some x friends say really bad things about me, that i was not the same, that i was going down hill, this was when taoba was done. WOW I know a lot of people feel that way. fuck. Maldire was going back to a guitarless way of doing things, it is the sister lp to fun with knives and twisted thought generator. As lfb, hex angel, and cotd are all sister lps to each other in theme and guitar work. Taoba was my half mtv presents velvet acid christ unplugged, and minimal techno. I wanted to prove to myself that I could write songs with just an accoustic guitar and a mic. That I had the talent to take away the tech and still prove that I am not some talentless hack. I guess many do not see it this way.
I just had to get this off my chest. The constant apologizing I see in the press for my last lp has bruised my ego in a bad way. I guess I should just be happy that they all like Maldire. Still I want to defend a work of art I did that meant a lot to me for many reasons, while the press is taking a collective piss on it. :(
I guess I should shut up. I was always happier when I never read reviews, critics, or even fans. I need to just do what I want, if no one likes it, no one likes it, if they do and they show appreciation by buying it, then I am a lucky guy.
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September 18th, 2012 at 11:53 am
THE ART OF BREAKING APART RULES! BETTER THAN MALDIRE !!
September 18th, 2012 at 12:02 pm
I just started listening to Maldire a few days ago on Spotify.
I don’t know how you’ll deal with what I’m going to said but I like TAOBA much more than Maldire. Sorry to say this but for now i would even say that Maldire is at the bottom of my loved list :( .
When you first linked Black Rainbows on youtube, I listened to it, countless time and when TAOBA finally appears on Spotify, I loved it as much as all your previous albums. There are golden tracks in it. I felt that you poured a lot of yourself in it. I even made a donation on your site for this album to compensate the Spotify use.
I would have loved to feel the same for Maldire, which is not the case for now. Maybe it’s the kind of LP that needs more listening to be loved.
One cannot control his taste nor other tastes, but be sure that TAOBA is loved, at least by on of your fan ;)
September 18th, 2012 at 12:09 pm
TAOBA isn’t what i go to when i want to listen to VAC. Having said that, it doesn’t make it shit. I go to TAOBA when i want sad, brooding, haunting melodies. I love that album. It’s different, and plebs are scared of different.if it had a different project title i bet those “fans” and critics would love it, which is disappointing. You should be able to make a jungle breakcore album, and so long as it’s good, it not get shit on just because it doesn’t sound like fwk.
September 18th, 2012 at 12:18 pm
like i said on fb, TAOBA is not bad. it’s just different and people associate VAC to electonic or industrial stuff, i think. TAOBA is more personal and introspective, a necessary to express difficult moments of your life(loniless and depression, i think)I really love TAOBA and black rainbows: these songs touch me deep inside. one of my favs songs of VAC.I can understand you when criticisms hurt you. People can’t imagine the time, the energy, maybe the story behind your work.All is you. But all i can say, man, it’s i feel sadness behind TAOBA and several times, tears were rolling down.maybe i’m too sensitive but oh well.. just appreciate and impressed by all the aspeects of your work. for me, you’re a great and a brillant artist.
September 18th, 2012 at 12:24 pm
I think it was a very good album, but departed too much from what people expected of VAC. if you released it as “VAC’s Bryan Erickson”, or another band name, kind of like with Toxic Coma, people would understand that it was a departure. Or even if you released a ‘two sided album,’ one side with Tripped Out, Vaporized, and the other side with Black Rainbows, etc, again it would say to people ‘this stuff is different.’ Sludge metal band Baroness did something similar with their most recent, and it was very well received.
It sucks that it has to come to that, but if you just put the right spin on it, i think it would’ve been appreciated a lot more.
September 18th, 2012 at 12:44 pm
Art was an amazing piece of work, probably the most honest and raw VAC has ever and will ever be. The only reason people complain about it is because you were typecasted to this bizarre standard of “evil industrial.”
Personally I always thought it was up to the band to tell people to go to hell, I’m going to write what I want to write. Its not very often that albums like Art happen as the band tends to be scared to do stuff like that. I’m glad you made that album because to me it is the most relatable piece of work you have done.
September 18th, 2012 at 1:01 pm
TAOBA is not my best lp, i don’t think it is, but i don’t feel like it sucks or that I have to apologize for it like all these reviewers are doing.
Why can’t they just say, taoba was an experimental lp for VAC that was not for everyone? Instead of bashing it?
I guess maybe they hate me for it :(
I hate spotify too, net streaming steals sales, and i dont get paid shit for it :(
September 18th, 2012 at 1:10 pm
Reviewers are dumb, and want their reviews to be liked as much as you want your albums to be liked.
Fuck them. You don’t have to apologize to anyone. You’re goddammn VAC.
September 18th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
maldire and taoba are a different sounds, i’m like taoba for the innovation’s sound but the very vac is Maldire.
September 18th, 2012 at 1:32 pm
you cannot trust anything critics will say because they can only assume to know you, the great gaps between people allow for such shallow opinions to be spread between a handful who are convinced their views are worth something, and that everyone should share the opinion… however, it is those intimate connections on a personal level that most reviewing critics never hear, and it is this bias that takes so much away from really genuine and entertaining music… i, personally, thought ‘taoba’ to be a strong record of growth, but some people refuse to see the artist as the ever-developing person they are…
September 18th, 2012 at 2:53 pm
Compared to your previous albums, TAOBA isn’t VAC. I don’t think its the issue of having guitars, it’s how they are used. When a majority of the albums are electronic sounding then an acoustic album is going to stick out. It doesn’t make the album bad, but its not what is expected. Its like when Metallica did Load and Re-Load…in my opinion they are good albums, but they are not Metallica.
September 18th, 2012 at 3:15 pm
Amnesia from TAOBA is my favourite track of all your work, such a powerful song. It cuts cold and deep, embodying the spirit of VAC just as well, if not better than anything from your other albums: dark, cold, alien, haunting. Creepy, yet beautiful, with an underlying tone of menace… It seems a lot of people can’t hear past the acoustic guitar work but TAOBO is a great album if you open your ears, while maybe not quite as “evil” as other VAC work. Great vocals, songwriting, and surprisingly different, but still uncompromisingly VAC.
Bands, like actors, tend to get typecast- break the mold too much and people are thrown off guard, unwilling or unable to keep an open mind… their loss. Don’t fucking apologize for being creative!
September 18th, 2012 at 3:35 pm
As a long time dedicated fan, I would like to say that both TAOBA and Maldire are both amazing albums in their own ways. I may be biased, but I will always love TAOBA because of how unique it is compared to everything else you’ve done. It’s not bad at all, it’s just very different from what people were expecting. And that’s not a bad thing.
A lot of people misunderstood TAOBA because their introduction to VAC was through FWK and TTG. I got into VAC around the same time I got heavily into The Cure and Death in June, so I always found myself really digging your goth sound. I always loved songs like “Falling Snow,” “She Bleeds Red,” and “Sadder Still.” For me TAOBA was a full realization of that sound. It’s just unfortunate more people weren’t willing to embrace that kind of change. But you’re right, old school VAC had that style all along. I don’t think the press and new VAC fans realize that…
Maldire is a straight up return to the style on FWK and TTG. No guitars, distorted vocals, all electronic. The sound that a lot of newer fans know. It’s really awesome and I love it to death, but that doesn’t take anything away from TAOBA. It’s like comparing Nine Inch Nails’ “Broken” EP to Trent’s “Ghosts” album. It’s not fair to do that, because they’re completely different styles. Same with TAOBA and Maldire.
I may not post much on the forum anymore, but I can assure you that you do have fans out there that love TAOBA. It’s not a bad album, it’s just tragically misunderstood. Try not to let these bad reviews get you down Bryan. TAOBA is very good and you should be proud of it. :)
September 18th, 2012 at 4:02 pm
You can’t please everyone Bryan. Some fans really love TAOBA. What matters is that you made what you wanted and got to be creative. You don’t make your music to cater to picky reviewers, you make your music to express yourself. At that time, that’s what you expressed. If people don’t like it, it’s their loss:)
September 18th, 2012 at 4:18 pm
I like The Art Of Breaking Apart a lot.
In contrast, I don’t really like Maldire, I think it’s your worst album, sounds too much synthpop … I only really like Septic Rinse, Evoked and Maldire are still o.k., but the rest …
September 18th, 2012 at 4:28 pm
Synthpop?
Are you fucking joking, it sounds nothing like synth pop. LOL
fuck man people really miss the point. Christ whore is synth pop? Inhale blood? Mysteric? Evoked? Synth pop, ominous rattle?
Are you high?
September 18th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
@Morokiane
If “TAOBA” isn´t VAC because of its gothic-ness then “Fate”, “Pestilence”, “Calling ov the Dead”, “Hex Angel” and “Lust for Blood” aren´t VAC, too. What do all these LPs share? They all include at least one guitar driven song, electrical or acoustic.
Guitars were always part of VAC. Hell, there was a time when even a second member played guitars on VAC albums.
September 18th, 2012 at 4:41 pm
real artists change with every record. you could take NIN, Tool, Coil or VAC, they all always change(d) their style with every new record.
September 18th, 2012 at 5:26 pm
@sick I said it wasn’t about the guitars being included but how they were used. I’m not a musician…I can tell the difference between electric guitar and acoustic…and that’s about it. Listening to any VAC album outside of TAOBA I don’t clearly hear a “guitar” sound.
By no means do I think TAOBA is a bad album, it just stands out because it doesn’t have that “classic” VAC sound of those that came before it. While, for me, Maldire sounds like Pestilence and COTD.
I don’t care what instruments are used, real or synth as long as the sounds meld together in to something I like, which every VAC album has done.
September 18th, 2012 at 5:37 pm
TAOBA is a fantastic album. You better play Black Rainbows live. Most reviewers that said TAOBA isnt good probably love all the garbage like Combichrist. You took a risk and tried to inject something different into not only your sound, but modern industrial music in general. I found it quite refreshing and still bang tracks from it on a weekly basis
That being sais, im still waiting on my copy of Maldire (and Satans Rising) to be delivered so i cant say which is better yet. Hex Angel is my favorite VAC album still tho
Also, all the people ripping him using guitars on TAOBA, you do realize that Bryan writes a lot of stuff on the guitar first right? Also, there is CLEAR guitar work going all the way back to Fate era (Masked Illusion being a prime example, which you should also play live)
September 18th, 2012 at 7:42 pm
I really like The Art of Breaking Apart, it did show your talent. I am also confused on why a lot of people don’t like that album. I think every band has that one album that isn’t as well received by press as the others but isn’t any less in talent.
September 18th, 2012 at 8:07 pm
@Morokiane: Serial Killer 101, Pain, Fade Away, Vaginismus, Phucking Phreak, Pray For Life, Hell one, Pretty Toy, Rain for 27 days, falling snow, serial killer 101, masked illusion, sadder still, repulsive, she bleeds red, cease to understand?
These all came out pre fun with knives? All guitar tracks..
September 18th, 2012 at 8:08 pm
I think Morokiane and Joe make good points.
I don’t follow music reviews so I’m not sure what they’re saying. But it was not the guitars or softer sound that made TAOBA a bit of a letdown.
Keep in mind this album came out after ***Lust for Blood***. The two albums are poles apart. LfB pushed the boundaries of VAC’s electronic sound. TAOBA was very “goth-y” by comparison. But that really wasn’t the issue.
Black Rainbows is a great VAC track. As is Amnesia. Both stand on their own against all your other work. It was the *dancier* elements of TAOBA that left me a bit “meh”.
Vaporized is not bad at all but I kept wanting it to bust out, go all, well, VAC, and felt it never did. Same with Killing in Space–it felt flat somehow. Limited in scope. Missing a complexity that is unique to bands like you or Juno Reactor or old school MFG. But these tracks couldn’t carry the album.
Tripped Out–also not bad at all-but felt it should have been *more* coming after LfB, TTG, or HA. Same with Caustic Disco–though some of the mixes were great.
Phucked Up Phreak was great but a retread. Cool but akin to a remix or alternate take.
Faithless, Killing a Stranger, and Silver are just starting to grow on me now. It’s a different sound for VAC.
So it was an expectation problem for me. My expectations were really high after LfB and I was hoping for a continuation of that sound in some ways. There was also a consistency issue–TABOA felt like a softer album with some other tracks tossed in.
If TAOBA kept all of its softer/guitar tracks and had a Bend the Sky and a Dilaudid or Caught, it would have felt more consistent and the focus on the electronic tracks would be less. My problem is I wanted those “dancy tracks” to carry it and this distracted me from the other tracks, which ultimately were the strength of TAOBA.
September 18th, 2012 at 8:16 pm
Also: when I say that a track is “meh”, that’s harsh. I mean when *compared against your best work*. And I think that’s how expectations tend to work. I also happen to think LfB is your best work. So trying to be direct and convey a sense of my expectations then as a long time fan.
September 18th, 2012 at 8:40 pm
And Days in Exile nails it too.
September 18th, 2012 at 9:48 pm
toaba was fantastic. you made it sound lonely, hypnotic, and sad. Yes, the drums don’t change much, yes the guitar repeats itself, yes this isn’t the regular VAC with ribbons of complex synthwork and muffled vocals that we all know and love. But what these “critics” don’t understand is that YOU conveyed your message perfectly. The execution was wonderful. it sounds exactly how you felt, and the simplicity is beautiful. That’s what people don’t understand. You made the best music possible for conveying those terrifying feelings that make people cringe at the thought of them. It was stellar. The only thing you could have done a little bit better in my opinion was bridge the songs together so they would have more of an overall theme.
September 18th, 2012 at 10:02 pm
Taoba was to be a EP with 6 acoustic guitar tracks, the label rejected teh idea, thus i had to come up with some dance tracks fast for that lp, and in my opinion, that is what ruined it, if taoba would of been all acoustic, it would of been better, i would of perfected the drums more too.
If the electronic songs were bsides on singles, that would of worked.. The electronic songs are b sides and not as polished or forged as real songs. Lacking in song arrangement and parts.
Like i said it was not perfect. Still i love all the acoustic songs a lot. I was damn proud of it.
I feel with maldire, I put up another dance lp, with some synth pop influences, old vac influences, and strong lyrics and arrangements with some really pissed mean songs too. Spooky as well. I love Maldire. I hope it does well, i tried very hard with it.
September 18th, 2012 at 11:10 pm
taoba was a great album. I dont really care for the artwork and caustic disco though.
September 19th, 2012 at 12:57 am
They are both good albums. Production wise TAOBA takes the cake by far. Every song sounds clear and huge. My favorites being black rainbows and tripped out.
Maldire is good too but you can’t compare it to TAOBA. Honestly, I think TAOBA took a lot more balls to make than Maldire and people are shitting on it because it doesn’t sound generic enough.
September 19th, 2012 at 2:39 am
“I delivered half of an unplugged lp that showcased my singing voice. Guess no one likes that or my skillz at playing guitar”
So… Uhm… What’s your point?
P.S.: http://youtu.be/fkj19VarQx0
September 19th, 2012 at 3:01 am
I absolutely loved TAOBA! it’s my favourite VAC album. A nice break away from the usual EBM sound.. BTW I would love to get one of the t-shirts that came out with TAOBA, is there anywhere where I can get one? *fingers crossed* :)
September 19th, 2012 at 4:43 am
Bought Maldire yesterday and it blew me of the couch! Your best production ever, great sound! The songs are very strong and creative, VAC at it’s best. I wasn’t a big fan of TAOBA but that’s just an opinion and doesn’t mean the album was bad. I’ve always been a big fan from the beginning and since yesterday even more.I hope I can enjoy your music for many years more. Grtz from Holland
September 19th, 2012 at 11:56 pm
It’s the artwork, yo.
Your music is heads & tails above this scene-y bullshit. Less is more. You see an album cover like that and you think you’re in hot topic, not listening to some good music and that demographic doesn’t buy music.
Or I could be wrong, my opinion, do whatever you like, obviously there are still ppl like me who are happy to pay for a new copy of Maldire (and all your other cds over the years) otherwise you wouldn’t still be makin’ them :)
Gotta say I didn’t care for TAOBA the first couple of spins but over the years it’s grown on me. I’m listening to Maldire right now but I think I’ll switch albums for fun.
Cheers.
September 20th, 2012 at 1:11 am
I LOVED THE ART OF BREAKING APART!! They need to shut the fuck up it was so real and honest and I love that!
You should ask the big time fans what to do live!
September 20th, 2012 at 1:29 am
I like “The art of breaking apart”. All the sounds, lyrics and moods was close for me this time when it was released… The songs with guitars and clean vocals are great IMHO. So, I like VAC and I like the project’s exeprimenting ways of making music and looking for new expressions.
Greets!
September 20th, 2012 at 5:16 am
Well, I received Maldire CD yesterday from germany and now I can say it´s a very very good album, closer to FWK, COTD and even TTG, but it´s new and different; Evoked, Hypercurse and Maldire are my preferred songs (it made me think about the time I discovered VAC listening to FWK, I had the same fantastic feeling). So thanks a lot for keeping on making your music. Coming back to TAOBA, it´true it was different to your previous stuff, but in my opinion it just reflected your feelings at that time; guitar songs made me think in The Cure (and I love them), faster songs were good but not as powerful as other songs you made before, but it is only an opinion, you must do want you want to.
September 20th, 2012 at 5:28 am
I like the art of breaking apart. But I have to say the first contact with it surprised me. In fact I think the dance songs in this lp was not your best buts accoustic songs was really cool.It was a real evolution in your music. It was an artistic risk taking and I respect it very much. I love Maldire too because when I listen it I have the same feelings that I had with your old work I love as calling of the dead… I love in particular the side a little old school techno and trance music… Cool
Good luck to Maldire.
Respect.
ps: I’m french and my english is probably shit…
September 20th, 2012 at 12:04 pm
TAOBA was my favorite album you ever made. it had a ton of raw emotion in there that hit me real hard. its an album i listen to to be sad/pick up my spirits. if you were to ask me what the worst part of the album was i’d have to say it was all the ebm stuff. really heavy stuff and “lets fuckin’ dance!” dont really mix well with me. TAOBA got a bum rap because those that reviewed it are dill’weeds that think “oh, he made emb. that means he’s not allowed to do anything else.” i love your guitar work. always have, always will. i really wish you would have put some in maldire.
September 21st, 2012 at 10:21 pm
Your album got me through a rough time two months before TAOBA came out. I would listen to it on mushrooms and it was amazing!!!! One of your best albums I bought the album the day it hit the shelves. Got a bag of boomers and dinner and had a stellar night. :) The guitars and vocals are what made the album. Creative and innovative. It was an awesome.direction to take and it was a badass decision. I still have the same CD to this day. Caustic Disco is such a sick song to this day! Keep up your artistic outlook on things and your endeavors. Fuck what people think. They’re just a bunch of pussies who dont have a mind like yours. Being original is what is best about your music that’s why I dig it. Peace!
September 22nd, 2012 at 12:22 am
TAOBA has some of my favorite pieces on it. I listen to Killed in Space and Vaporized all the time (granted, I prefer instrumental in general). Phucked Up Phreak is an incredible remix of my fav song of yours ever (still can’t decide which version I prefer). Black Rainbows I think is completely emblematic of your relationship with your critics. From what I understood about your life at the time of TOABA’s production, its a perfect representation. I wouldn’t fret if they don’t understand it — we (your fans) loved it.
September 23rd, 2012 at 11:39 pm
I just want you to know that I love your sad songs. Sadder Still and Silver were beautiful. As far as The Art Of Braking Apart goes, It was different compared to the rest of the vac lp’s. But each of your lp’s has a different melody to them. I don’t think you should be upset that allot of people didn’t like TAOBA, but it came from your hart as an artist and that’s why I love your music so much. I own every cd you have ever published and I will continue buy your lp’s till the very end.
September 24th, 2012 at 12:02 am
I enjoy this album quite a bit. I agree that it would have been nice for musical continuity to break up the songs into acoustic and dance releases separately, but oh well some ventures are not possible. That said, I really hit musical ecstasy listening to most of this album and I hope to hear some of it on tour!
October 2nd, 2012 at 4:40 pm
The Art of Breaking Apart is a solid body of work. Much of it was also very different from what fans had come to expect; hence the reaction. You mentioned some time ago you intended to release the album as two EPs. Given the duality of the album, that makes sense. I’ve always felt the EP medium is well suited for experimentation. Throw a few tracks out, show a different side of yourself, see how the fans react. No harm done. LPs carry more weight; they represent the skill level and direction of an artist. Fans expect to be impressed and won’t mince words if they aren’t.
October 3rd, 2012 at 5:16 pm
At first I was turned off by TAOBA by after a few listens I grew to love it & consider it an excellent piece of work.
So there are definitely fans that appreciate the album as I for one do as does my lil wifey thing who generally isn’t as much of a VAC fan.
Keep up the great work & don’t let criticism bother you to much.
October 26th, 2012 at 9:16 am
LOVE TAOBA. MORE MELODIC BUT CANNOT CHOOSE FROM ALL THE WORK MY FAVORITE.
January 22nd, 2013 at 11:41 am
Your last paragraph entirely sums it up.
March 3rd, 2013 at 6:33 am
I love both albums. I am kind of blown away right now by how awesome Maldire is (bought it at concert!)… but TAOBA has some intense tracks and I’ve got quite a few saved on my workout playlist so how bad can it really be? Black Rainbows… Caustic Disco, Vaporized.. Yes. Fun. Pure Fun. Perhaps it is my ‘femaleness’ or introverted insanity or whatever, but I love the depth and exploration of emotions in some of these so-called “sad songs” and ALWAYS have in the VAC work… so please, never stop. They help us mere mortals. Some of us need it. We love it. Thank you.