Nadja - Touched (2003)
Nadja is a music project between husband and wife, Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff, that mixes elements of dark ambient, doom metal, drone, and shoegaze. They've put out a ton of stuff, and have pretty much stayed active since Nadja started as a solo project by Baker in 2003.
Once Buckareff joined the project, their sound definitely changed, and not necessarily for the worse. It just depends on one's own personal preference, if you like shoegaze-type stuff better, their later stuff as a duo is definitely for you. If you want more of a metal sound, stick to their earlier albums.
I chose to post this because A) it's one of my favorite albums, B) for some reason, ever since Touched was reworked in 2007 by Nadja as a duo, the original 2003 version of the album is kind of hard to find online, and C) since I fell in love with Nadja via the 2003 version of this album by finding a copy of the CD in my local library a long time ago, I thought it deserves more exposure, especially for people out there that hear the current version of Touched and wish it sounded more metal.
Seriously, the difference between the two albums is huge. They're practically two different albums--both great, but different. In my personal opinion, this version is better, because the riffs and droning, doom grooves are way tighter and also accompanied by growl vocals. It's darker, more aggressive, and completely merciless in its glacial, sonic assault. This is just one of those albums that cannot be experienced in its truest form unless one plays it loudly.
Track Listing:
1. Mutagen
2. Stays Demons
3. Incubation/Metamorphosis
4. Flowers of Flesh
Once Buckareff joined the project, their sound definitely changed, and not necessarily for the worse. It just depends on one's own personal preference, if you like shoegaze-type stuff better, their later stuff as a duo is definitely for you. If you want more of a metal sound, stick to their earlier albums.
I chose to post this because A) it's one of my favorite albums, B) for some reason, ever since Touched was reworked in 2007 by Nadja as a duo, the original 2003 version of the album is kind of hard to find online, and C) since I fell in love with Nadja via the 2003 version of this album by finding a copy of the CD in my local library a long time ago, I thought it deserves more exposure, especially for people out there that hear the current version of Touched and wish it sounded more metal.
Track Listing:
1. Mutagen
2. Stays Demons
3. Incubation/Metamorphosis
4. Flowers of Flesh