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@Supernaut: I'm no all that sure I know why I didn't like BHBC – I am guessing that part of it was the loss of Gebhart. But I really can't listen to No Evil. I don't like the song – it's too bland, too blah… The intro riff is good, but they've done that type of song better before. And that's when I stop. It doesn't happen often, but the opener has stopped me from liking the album. I guess it confirmed my suspicion that mp without geb would be dead and gone. Irrational? Yup. And I changed my mind after Kenneth arrived, but BHBC is a black hole for me.
I have just listened to the album once, so I will withhold complete judgment until I have played it a few times (it was available for download from Amazon.com at midnight, which is when I got it) – I will get the physical copy as well, of course, but for now, the digital copy will do – but what Mr. Nelson is going through is something I have survived a couple of times with MP. I started following MP around the same time – 1993 with Demon Box, and already in 1994, I was questioning my newfound love and devotion, because I did not like the production of Timmy. The songs were great, though, and the shows… The split show with L7 was spectacular – or maybe it was just that I was at the right place at the right time.
The last time I saw them live was during the Trust Us tour, and that to me was their peak. I struggled through their Baard-collaborations – it was filled with ups and downs for me – and then Gebhart left and BHBC was released… That was a huge downer for me. I still have an extremely hard time listening to that album – while the Baard albums really have grown on me. IALC may be questionable, but I get goosebumps from the dissonance in Custer's Last Stand. As for Timmy… Wow… Can't live without it anymore.
What happened after they brought Kenneth into the fold is that their albums sound like their shows from the 90s – like they really love what they are doing. In my eyes they are peaking again, just like they did in the 90s when they couldn't do anything wrong in my eyes. LLM, HMF – great albums. I still want CotF on CD – I don't have a record player anymore – but what they have done up until this point with Kenneth has blown me away. And I really like what I have heard from the Unicorn – even though I've only played through it once. It is exciting. The arrangements are challenging at times – and sometimes they are just straight forward and solid. I look forward to playing it over and over again.
However, if I hadn't liked it, just like with BHBC, I would just move on. There is no need to rail against a band because you don't like what they are doing now. You can be disappointed. You can even voice your opinion. But declaring them all dead for you – I find it a little over-the-top. It reminds me of the reactions to Opeth's Heritage – they weren't metal enough anymore… I don't mind anyone sharing, or even venting, I just really don't understand it. It is just a band. It is my favorite band – still – but it is just a band.
For me, the one thing that always brings me back to MP is that they do whatever the hell they want to do. And I respect them for that. I clearly haven't liked everything they released. I have liked even less of it when they released it, but then again, I never expected to. What really has been good for me is that my tastes have evolved alongside MPs – and they have often mirrored each other. I can't ask for more than that – whether I end up loving the Unicorn or just liking it. I already know I don't hate it – so it is the degree of liking that is in question.
