Ne Obliviscaris... And Plague Flowers The Kaleidoscope | Vocal Coach Analysis. the musicianship! 

Julia really is turning into a metal head! It’s fun to watch.

I crowd surfed in my wheelchair at Warped Tour back in 2018-2019, can’t remember which year, it was the last one. Thought I was gonna get dropped, but I didn’t. The band that was on was so shocked the vocalist stopped mid verse and his jaw dropped when he saw me

Fun fact: This song is part of the curriculum of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

These guys are incredible. All of their music is at least this good. I highly recommend "Forget Not" from the same album.

Props to the sound mixer too, I cannot imagine how hard it is to incorporate these instruments in this musical style and still have the bass and violin command presence in the mix.

Love it. Ne Obliviscaris is one of my favorite bands. Got to see them live and they were amazing.

Love it! I recommend checking out Ghost of Perdition by Opeth. The Roundhouse Tapes live version is awesome and has great clean and harsh vocals.

This almost feels like a jam session more than an actual song. I love it.

As such a long time fan of them.. this band is too underrated.. I wholeheartedly welcome any new reactions to them.

As a drummer, it's kind of counter-intuitive but in many ways it's easier to play double bass/kick drum beats faster than it is slower. You get a lot more use from the natural kick-back from the springs in the bass pedal that you can relax your legs and calves more to maintain it. That being said, Priesland is an absolute beast on the blastbeats and polyrhythms.

The "HOW DID THEY WRITE OR THINK OF THAT" part of metal is a large part of why I listen to it.

It's super late here so I'm going to dream of squishy ginger dumplings. 😴 Thank you Julia for always being amazing and never failing to educate and entertain me. Metal Julia is just the best.

I've heard this specific song is decomposed and studied out in Sydney Conservatory for the different compositional choices. I'd appreciate other songs from Ne Obliviscaris, they are indeed underrated. If you really want to delve into strange time signatures and drummer doing crazy stuff, just check out "Meshuggah - Bleed", specifically the drum cam with the amazing Tomas Haake. It took him three months to get the kick in his muscle memories.

That warm, lovely bass tone that Comment Julia noted is partially from playing with fingers instead of a pick. Joey Vera from Fates Warning is another great example of that style.

No one ever calls out the fact that Cygnus' bass lines hold this entire composition together at the seams perfectly. Haha, it's so amazingly present in the mix too... Never any love for us XL guitar players hahaha. FML... Edit: After making the original statement it was like video Julia heard my pain.... You're the first and only reaction to this, where someone has called out Cygnus' amazing contribution to this song.

As for your question about dropped crowd surfers. Was at a Street Dogs concert once and the vocalist encouraged people to come up to stage dive and surf. One of the people going up timed his jump real bad and the crowd below him wasn't really aware he was jumping. A few of us tried to catch him to no avail and he hit the floor.... No harm done and he was soon up again! Later in the show the vocalist did the "We love you, guys"-speech and asked if anyone in the crowd wanted to say anything. The guy who hit the floor earlier motioned for him to give him the mic and he got it. Turns out he wanted to announce he lost his wallet in the jump and the band didn't start playing again until we'd found it - it was actually still on the floor with money, cards and everything else still in it!

I recommend to listen their full albums, Portal of I (from which this comes) and Citadel. Too long for this channel but recommended to listen to anyways. The entire albums feels like a single "macro-song" very much connected like a single piece. Really amazing band.

I love this band, happy to set you react to them ❤️ I always kinda feel that there was once two bands, a death metal band and a folk metal band, that were both accidentally booked to play a gig on the same stage on the same night - they both turned up, and thought "bugger it, let's just jam", and Ne Obvliscaris were born 😂😜

Ne Obliviscaris transcend genre and totally blow expectation out of the water. This song is rightly called a masterpiece and a tour de force. Julia, why don't you do a monthly segment showcasing Australian bands/performers. You know, just to give the world a taste of local talent. Just a thought.....

What a song and thank you for the analysis as usual. I'm appreciative of the different music that you decide to review because it adds that spice to life. I may not always like the song/group but still I appreciate the journey.

Very good song and composition! I now must recommend my favorite prog band: Between the Buried and Me there’s so many songs to choose from but I’ll go with “Extremophile Elite (Live)”

Cygnus bass is insane 🔥❤️🔥❤️

Thank you so much for making me discover this song and this album, it's an absolute masterpiece.

I know I'm late to the party, but I can't not chime in. These guys are amazing!!! They are such an international band as well. Xenoyr (harsh vocals), Tim (violin/clean vocals), Matt (rhythm guitar), Dan (drums), and Brendon "Cygnus" (bass) are all from Australia. Their lead guitarist, Benji (bald guitarist) is from France. Brendon left the band a few years back due to some personal issues, so their current bassist, Martino, is from Italy. And you talk about their drummer a lot. Dan is a beast. Sadly he just recently left the band, so we're all excited to see who they get to fill that roll. Like a few other comments here, I'd highly recommend Forget Not as the next song. Really anything else they have done will be a perfect next listen. You can't go wrong with anything from their discography.

OH NO! i should be going to sleep now. I guess I'm staying up another half hour. BTW, if you ever get a chance to talk to them, but Xen and Tim are both amazingly nice guys. Super good people. I've never tried ginger dumplings, but that sounds yummy......

Honestly even as a drummer, what this guy does with his timing and speed is incredible. And he is able to keep it consistent timing in both slow, medium, and fast foot techniques. You actually have to transition to a different techniques the faster you go, and use more heal, and less of your leg. You Get less power, but more seed, because you’re physically moving less, so most drummers use triggers at that speed. Playing a pre-recorded sound every time the drummer hits the drum head, Regardless of the amount of energy delivered, resulting in a clear and consistent sound.

This has been my favorite band since their first album. They're truly underrated and worth following. Some of the best metal on the planet

The metallic timbre of the violin in the beginning is produced with a technique called "sul ponticello", which means "on the little bridge". More overtones are produced when you play at the bridge, and if you at the same time add a lot of bow pressure as he does, you almost get only overtones.

These guys are incredible. Not a bad song. I saw them in concert during this tour when they came to Rhode Island. Unforgettable show. Got to meet the guys too. Definitely check out more of their stuff. This song is actually taught at Sydney Conservatorium of Music as part of their curriculum. Yes, I've seen someone dropped while crowd surfing. Usually happens when they get up from within the crowd and the people in front of them aren't paying attention. But it's rare and every time I've seen it happen, the person has been quickly helped up and checked on to make sure they're okay. I've crowd surfed a few times and never been dropped.

Will be seeing them live in a couple weeks for the first time. Been looking forward to it for YEARS! :)

So I saw these guys here In melbourne some years back when they opened for Sirenia and oh my lord. It was an ✨e x p e r i e n c e ✨. Been following them ever since. Their stage energy is actually phenomenal. They all get SO lost in the music that it feels entrancing.

Give it another listen. That bass is going nuts through the whole song, haha! He's an incredible bassist.

Thanks for this reaction. Ne Obliviscaris is an awesome band that deserve more recognition. If you liked the interaction between the 2 types of Vocals I would suggest you react to the band Mayan. Especially their song Saints don't die. 2 grunters and 3 clean vocalists.

A buddy of mine actually got dropped while stagediving at a Ska festival something like 20 years ago. He fell pretty badly and we even had to take him to the hospital. 2 hours later he was back however, enjoying the rest of the show and generally having a good time. The magic of music! :P

Ridiculously talented bunch of guys. Complex and beautiful music. I feel smarter after listening, and I think it's because the changes and time signatures activate different parts of my brain than more "comfortable" rhythms. Thank you for your reaction and point of view on this incredible band, and this tremendous song.

It's time for Eluveitie (pronounced Helvetie), Julia. A screamer and a celtic style singer, loads of different instruments, loads of different feels... It's gonna be a blast! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-d-pSq4MJmy8.html

The next song by them you should check out is Painters Of The Tempest Pt 1 (Triptych Lux)

oh wow! how did I miss you reacting to one of my favourite band, NeO! I saw them in Melbourne years ago, when they opened for Soil Work...couldn't remember the name of the band for the life of me, but loved their sound. I still find their first album, their best: Portal of I, which this song is from. Speaking of, the entire album has this sort of musical vibe - so if you enjoyed it, check out the whole thing! It's amazing. Music like this is why I love prog metal and all the variants. Though seeing them live is much more of a stand back and take in the music vs. more traditional metal where when you give into the music the mosh pit comes naturally. Never seen anyone dropped while crowd surfing myself, you do worry a little bit the first time you crowd surf but it "just works". I have seen a wall of death go very bad though, and at an Apocalyptica concert of all things. And a mate of mine during uni had his nose broken by a crowd surfer Mr Black hair, Xen, I saw on the train home from work one day ... and he looks the same in public as on stage. Sadly, he was on the opposite end of the carriage to me, and it was peak hour, so I didn't get to get through and meet him. Haven't seen him since either, but he got off at Glenferrie station. Sadly, the drummer recently left the band. I hope whomever they replace him with is as talented as Dan Presland is, because he was amazing in the band. It's like Marco leaving Nightwish, just won't be the same again

About the stage diving thing: I was at a concert where the audience was too afraid to participate. The singer, estimated 100 kg, climbed on a stack of loudspeakers and wanted to jump from there. Nobody came close to catch him, and he canceled the attempt. Not quite what you asked, but still a semi-on topic anecdote.

Their whole catalogue is more or less flawless, though I would recommend "Painters of the Tempest 1-3" or "Forget Not" for the next reaction.

Ne Obliviscaris and Be'lakor quicky became my favorite bands from Australia

I saw them live on this tour. It was so fucking good! Met the band, got merch signed. It was amazing. Great video!

HI Julia! I have seen live with my own eyes at a concert Greg Puciato (Dillinger escape plan's singer) let himsef fall backward from the top of side stage loudspeakers almost 5 meters high above the crowd and barely held up... P.S. Great video, happy to be awake in the middle of the night ('cause I like it...) so I can watch and comment as soon as Your video is out hehe!

I dont even know why, but i found myself tearing up watching your reactions in some parts, lol! It was like "SHES FEELING WHAT IM FEELING" hahah

I'm absolutely stoked that you decided to react to this ! Thank you for this , much love !

and nobody mentions the bassist who is an absolute monster and carries the song

OMG I love seeing people react to Ne Obliviscaris!

Been my favourite band for a decade.

Met these guys at the merch booth after they played their set at a Cradle of Filth show in Atlanta (2016), they were super nice.

Some of the very best in prog metal. So excited to see you get introduced to these guys. Been a staple in my playlist for a couple of years now.

One of my fave bands ever ❤️ thanks so much for this video! Made my morning.

Love the faces you pull when trying to digest wtf is happening now 😅 This song got me back into extreme metal afters years of absence. It's just so amazing.

Wow! First time seeing this channel, courtesy of a RU-vid recommendation 😮! The text bits appearing on the screen make it obvious this is a _high-quality_ reaction video production-SUBBED 😀!

So, im in Sweden listening to this and its 6:58 am. This is one heck of a good way to get my day started! Bl**dy awesome!

Professor Hindson commented: "I will be presenting 'And Plague Flowers The Kaleidoscope' to the composition students at the Conservatorium next semester as an exemplar in structure, mixing timbres, meters, modes, how to approach virtuosity, sound and noise, extended performance and techniques. The students will need to study 2 technical aspects of what Ne Obliviscaris have done in their music, and then use these techniques in their own classical music compositions."

Saw these guys live and was so amazed! They're a experience live!

And she heading down the MeloDeath path. ❤❤Now you just need to check out Insomnium.

I have crowdsurfed and been dropped back when I was a teenager, the cool thing about mosh pits though is if anything like that happens everyone around you stops to make sure you're ok. I dropped my glasses in one once and everyone around me formed a protective circle and opened up a bit of space so I could find them (this was before smartphones so no torch, I was on hands and knees feeling around for them haha)

If you haven't checked it out yet, "Sons of Winter and Stars" by Wintersun is well worth a listen. It's a long one, but they mix it up, and the drummer (Kai from Nightwish) puts in *work* ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Tl5T-glTdXw.html

A series of relentless techniques as well as a feeling in incredibly good ensembles

Recommending my favourite singer of all time. Kyo from Dir en Grey. It can be Vinushka Live

Looks like I just missed this. I look forward to watching this nine minutes later than it aired.

I saw them live as an opening act for Sirenia back in 2013 in Sydney, they are brilliant and underrated.

I cant be the only one who gets oddly emotional EVERY time I hear this song? No? Just me? I’ll go cry in a corner then 😅

The calves is a reflex loop, the signal doesn't actually travel all the way to your brain it just kind of flickers on repeat. It takes time to develop

You're the best squishy ginger dumpling around! 🥰

🤘😄🤘 THIS IS GREAT !!!!!! THANK YOU JULIA !!!!! AWESOME BAND....

Watching a fellow music nerd see this band is just great :D. Saw them live once a long time ago :)

we love that ginger dumpling though... Cheers!

The violinist was incorporating harmonics, much like Jerry Goodman of The Mahavishnu Orchestra in the early 70's. You lightly touch the string without pressing it down to the fingerboard of the violin.

Always excited to see Ne Obliviscaris :D

Hey Julia! To add my two cents in on some questions you had; yes I’ve been dropped whilst crowd surfing and been knocked out from people coming over the top. With the muscle question for the kick it all really depends on why technique you use either high up on the pedal letting the souring do a lot of the work for you or “heel/toe” or a more planted foot. I think you would enjoy watching the drum play through of Demolisher by Evgeny (Slaughter to Prevail’s drummer) and you’ll be able to see not only how fast his feet actually are but his use of a few of these techniques. Love your videos and can’t wait for more! Stay metal!🤘🤘

Rivers of Nihil is another great Prog Metal band their song 'Where Owls Know My Name' is a classic and definitely worth checking out. Fleshgod Apocalypse would also be awesome to see an analysis of everyone loves The Violation because of the insane drums, but I'd love to see 'Epilogue', 'Cold As Perfection', or maybe 'The Day We'll Be Gone' to see what you think of the Opera as well as the harsh vocals, Veronica Bordacchini is amazing she's like exactly what you think of when you think of an Opera singer.

So glad you did this song! Great video

That 'Ching' 'Ching' 'Ching' in the drumming is what made me love the band

Beginning is in 7/8 (or should be, CD version is) but as soon as the drums kick in it goes 9/8 going to 12/8 (or 6/8 if you will) when the headbanging starts. But true, not really a natural feeling beat if you/re used to 4/4

nice miss Julia, cool keep doing metal

Yes, buddy of mine got dropped on his head (while crowd surfing) at a Jinjer concert lol. I saw it happen, so I went to help him up He was fine, but I imagine it didn't feel very good!

You should check out "Cambrian II: Eternal Recurrence" by The Ocean (also known as The Ocean Collective) next

Another awesome video, Julia! Definitely a really interesting musical piece!

It was lovely seeing your thoughts on this gorgeous piece. Any chance of hearing your thoughts on an Eluveitie song? For clean vocals, check out A Rose for Epona. For growls, check out King. For both, check out Rebirth

Yes!! Dug Pinnock (the frontman for the incredible band King's X) once tried to stagedive in Detroit, Michigan and the crowd let him fall. There's an etiquette to stage diving, and he broke it (he went feet first)...justice was meted out when people chose NOT to be kicked in the head to catch him. He acknowledged his error once he returned to the stage, seemingly unhurt but wiser.

As far as crowd surfing, it does happen that people are dropped but it’s pretty rare. There in an unwritten agreement between the surfer and the crowd. You have the privilege of being up close in the crowd but you will support any crowd surfer that goes over you.

A few things for you Julia. About letting someone fall to the ground when they start to crowd surf, I've personally never seen it happen. Also Ne Obliviscaris is indeed a very complex listen, it took me a few listens to really get what was going on in their music amd still today, I discover new thing when I listen to them. And if you wwant to hear speed, I suggest that you take a listen to Archspire... have fun discovering them ;)

"MR BLACK HAIR EVERYWHERE" lol love it :)

This band is incredible.

I remember reading that this song was fully finished in about 10 o more years? So its One hell of a job there in the composition

Daniel Johns from Silverchair was very famously let fall at a festival in the late 90s when he tried to crowdsurf. Rumour is someone stole his pants too!

I saw a couple people dropped on their head when they were crowd surfing at a Slipknot show a week ago! Also the reason Dan looks so relaxed is because he does hours and hours of double bass endurance exercise, check out his RU-vid channel. Also he plays this set every night.

to your question, ive for SURE seen people get dropped during crowd surfing lol. its just one of those things that happens. you gotta expect it when going up to surf. the thing that you probably didnt think of that happens alot is the females get groped while they surf because they are basdically at the mercy of the people underneath them. also, gotta be ok with losing your shoes lol. that happens alot

Starts at 5/4 and goes into 3/4 at some point, and I'm not even exactly sure what else, LOL! I'm a drummer of 23 years and I don't even know a lot of my time signatures. I just play what feels right with the music.

Yes

I think I have a crush on Julia. What a personality and smile. Great reviews and knowledge

I think you would love to check out Leprous with Nighttime disguise. It was made with fans following them in the studio via internet and making suggestions on how the song should progress. The song should har been a bonus track, but the result was so good it was included on the album.

Design your Universe (live Retrospect) / Unleashed (live Retrospect ), Cry for the Moon(live Retrospect) - Epica Nightwish - 7 Days to the wolves (live) I remember you - Skid Row (live) Burning Time (live) - Iced Earth Ategnatos / King - Eluveitie Rebel in the F.G.D. or The great Missconceptions of Me - W.A.S.P

Thank you for the fun, surgically inquisitive evaluation in your reaction to ' And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope' ,.Sweet. And great comments that ensued. I like the Urn(s (darkly) by them also.... and for another reaction..... Please do Vintersea's "Illuminated" (haunting Imaginary mytho-attestation). Avienne (vocal) in an interview with A&P Reacts acknowledges this NeO album "Portal of I",from which Plague Flowers..K.. comes from, as one of five that changed her musical life (she is an interesting story) and Vintersea has opened for NeO and Jinjer. Pretty special and Xenoyr (Mr, black hair guy) did the artwork for this Vintersea album..... Thank you and please pardon me for being long winded

These guys are the mad scientists of composition :-)

This is such a great song. If you're looking to do another song from them at some point I highly recommend - Of petrichor weaves black noise. 🤙

i'd love to see your reaction to wintersun. The sonic pump studio live rehearsals are legendary. Sons of winter and stars is probably the most known one of the bunch. would be perfect after this. Has Kai hahto on drums, he plays in Nightwish these days as you probably know. If you want to see some truly epic drumwork, this is your ticket :-)

I have seen a lot of people fall when crowd surfing. some people don't realize that there is a weight limit, along with a crowd being too spread out. I have once seen a guy fall on his head and they had to get the ambulance to get him.