I could have sworn Miss Lava was from Sweden. Their high energy rock action reminded me of the Turbonegro, Backyard Babies, Hellacopters, etc right away but it turns out their from Lisbon, Portugal! Almost as impressive as their big rock sound is the offensive artwork and clever CD packaging. The psychedelic vagina might be almost as good as the semi-subliminal one on the Mom’s Apple Pie album cover from 1971.
How’s it sound, you ask? Big, loud, catchy, dumb and fun. Big guitars, bigger drums, throbbing dirty bass and in your face vocals. “Play it loud until her hips shake” is their motto and I bet that’s what they do when they rage the stage. Blues For The Dangerous Miles is a solid 11 song album that should get any party started off on the good foot. “Don’t Tell A Soul” starts it off in righteous fashion with a big riff and heavy foot stomping beat.
Other highlights include the dirty “Black Rainbow.” The bass sound is pure raunch n roll and propels the music forward. Can’t help think that this was inspired by some Dio-era Rainbow and Sabbath, even though it doesn’t really sound like either of those bands. “Birth, Copulation and Death” has a saucy Turbonegro bounce and some racy female backing vocals. The 8 minute album closer “Scorpio” is not a cover of the Dennis Coffey classic, but a no nonsense rocker with a tripped out interlude.
Miss Lava are a solid rock n roll band, nothing more or less. In their native country they’ve shared the stage with everyone from Slash to Meshuggah and I bet they give the headliners a run for their money every time.
Hot on the heels of their blistering new release "Acid Blues is the White Man's Burden," JPT Scare Band have been tearing through vinyl sales with abandon. Perhaps it's that glorious two-tone, psychedelic vinyl? Perhaps it's the gatefold cover and trippy artwork? Nah, it's the intense, legendary guitar-work of Terry Swope and the crushing rhythm section of Paul Grigsby and Jeff Litrell.
But rather than have us toot the band's horn, we thought we'd let others lead the JPT parade.
JPT Scare Band "Acid Blues is the White Man's Burden."
"Each track sizzles with nostalgia, with fuzzy guitars, gritty vocals, and extended jam sessions that instantly transport you to what feels like a Hendrix concert. Everything grooves in its own right. . . will undoubtedly dazzle fans of classic blues rock. Terry Swope has got to be one of the world's most underrated guitarists!
If you miss the glory days of Cream, Deep Purple, and Jimi Hendrix, you have to check out these uncovered gems from JPT Scare Band." -- Bill's Music Forum and the Rock and Roll Report.
"The trio veers between Cream and Grand Funk Railroad." -- Tom Harrison, Quick Spins, The Province Newspaper
"Acid Blues Is the White Man's Burden, seven lengthy psychedelic bluesy rock stompers (nine of the vinyl version) that come howling out of the speakers. This is Classic Rock from the Golden Age! Holds its own against their famous niche sharers, such as Cream, Ten Years After, Rory Gallagher and the mighty Led Zeppelin. Singer Swope has the swagger and the chops, and the rhythm tandem of Jeff Littrel and Grigsby are solid and smooth. It just goes to show that it's never too late to be recognized as an interesting chapter in the Big Book of Rawk." -- Here Comes the Flood
"A Gem to treasure. Let the hypnotic music swirl around you. For anyone who wishes to delve into the heritage of the current crop of stoner bands, this is an unmissible compilation. Terry Swope rivals some of the day's greats including Clapton and Hendrix. JPT Scare band are the unsung heroes of the cult rock scene and now they have decided to remind the world of their phenomenal abilities. "Long Day," is fresh, a great introduction to the band. Centerpiece "Stone House Blues" recalls the excellent Led Zeppelin at the BBC disc with it's loose and thundering bass. "I've Been Waiting" has a riff so heavy it could be encased in lead. Sits comfortably along side Black Sabbath." -- Sonic Abuse
"Album of the Day!" - Roadburn.com
"Acid Blues is the White Man’s Burden is without question one of the most natural sounding and charismatic records I’ve heard this year. At once celebrating what they were and what they are in a way few bands can actually pull off convincingly. Littrell, Grigsby and Swope show remarkable chemistry. Swope’s leads are not to be understated. The soul in what he does is so up front it’ll bring a tear to your eye. JPT Scare Band are able to harness what made heavy ‘70s rock so influential without sounding like they’re ripping anyone off, including themselves. If you’re not moved by the way these three players work together in the jammed-out last minutes of “I’ve Been Waiting,” you’re just not getting the point. Acid Blues is the White Man’s Burden might be a sleeper, but for those who discover it, it’s treasure." -- The Obelisk
"Compiled from studio outtakes spanning over 35 years, that this album hangs together so coherently and is wall to wall with the highest quality tuneage is a testament to just how incredible this band really is. An orgasmic display of sonic abuse from guitarist Terry Swope. Fuck me, this guy is a lost gem!!! Blazing with a technique that would make most big haired 80's shredders shit their pants but grooving with a feel that would make Billy Gibbons weep, Swope lays on note after note of pure class. This is certainly no one man band though, bassist Paul Grigsby lays down such a filthy groove that you want to take a shower afterwards and drummer Jeff Litrell swings like an aging virgin's nut sack!!! The charm of JPT Scare Band...it's passion that is both seductive and enthralling and a passion that seems unabated by years in the undergrowth." -- Sleeping Shaman
Contrast (con’trast): justaposition of different things.
Texture (Tex’ture): the effect of the different components of a piece of music such as melody, harmony, rhythm.
Surprise (sur’prise): to make somebody amazed.
Three words, each familiar to us. Three words that best sum up my emotions and feelings after bathing in this stunning post-rock, hardcore-ambient, progressive metal masterwork. I’m sure I could find more words, but I'll let these three suffice.
Italian prog masters, At the Soundawn, have created an album of dramatic and powerful emotional resonance. Growling hardcore one moment, deeply introspective and meditative the next. Brutally heavy and diaphanous and delicate. Urgent and languid. Ugly and beautiful. Song by song, moment by moment. Shifting is epic songwriting and performance at their peak. The album reminds me of the ocean, calm and meditative one moment, violent and deadly the next. Like the ocean, Shifting follows certain patterns and movements, but always with the suspense of the unexpected.
To be honest, I didn’t expect to like this album (hence the “surprise”). I remember it vividly. I was in the Drive-thru line of some random fast food chain waiting for a burger when I popped this disc into my player. After about 50 seconds of quasi-epic intro, the vocals exploded through my speakers. And I do mean exploded--terrorizing me in the type of screamo assault that usually give me warts. People who know me know that I can deal with anger, passion, and violence in my singing, I just don’t like being yelled at. By the 1:40 minute mark, I was ready to turn the CD off, but wouldn’t you know it, fate intervened. Before I could reach for the stop button, the attendant’s electronic voice squeaked through the speaker system to take my order. Distracted, I got my burger all taken care of and moved my car forward to wait to pay. It was then that I suddenly took notice of the music.
What had started out as an aural attack on my sensibilities had suddenly transformed into something remarkable. Gentle jazzy bass looped underneath the atmospheric guitar, gorgeously clean yet still emotive vocals called to me, and on top of all this layered the most amazing trumpet I’d heard in ages. Avant-jazz metal? Suddenly, At the Soundawn had my attention and never lost it again.
In contrast to this middle passage of “Mudra: In Acceptance and Regret,” the beginning suddenly made sense. Contrast and texture. Anger and penance. Tension and release. And so the song went all the way to the extended neo-ambient ending.
Combining the intensity and pure heaviness of an ear-slayer like Isis, with the ambient textures of Explosions in the Sky, the melodic beauty of Porcupine Tree, the fury and vision of Opeth, and a touch of Pink Floyd, At the Soundawn are a surprise in the making. Contrast. Texture.
“Black Waves” roars back in full screamo fury. Bass lines play out a passion play of melancholy. Drums and cymbals crash with the thunder of loss and regret. But not for long, as with so many of At the Soundawn’s compositions, the only constant is change. Halfway through-- the metal drops out. Disembodied sighs cascade over the tint of cymbals and the ambiance of keys. Toms kick in, like a pre-tribal ceremony, hearkening a coming hunt or kill. By the time the quasi-classical melody vocals kicked in, I was mesmerized.
“Caofedian,” reverses the formula. From it’s atmospheric beginning, it slowly builds in power and intent as the song progresses. The song reminds me of a metaphor for the day; opening slowly as the sun rises, the first rays of dawn slicing through the morning clouds. Light sparkles and shimmers in the textured guitars, the heavenly vocals. A moment of promise and potential. Until the 5 minute mark, when all hell breaks loose. Drums pick up in intensity, anger and directness. Vocals that were once so soothing erupt into a maelstrom of anger and disappointment. There’s real emotion here. And stunning craft.
Following the tribal beat of “Drifting Lights” At the Soundawn launch into “Hades,” the most Explosions in the Sky work here, with lightning bursts of distinctive guitars. And so it goes, the fury and the feeling. The beauty and the brutality. The melancholy and the madness.
Shifting isn’t an album for the timid. It requires your participation, your intent, to fully suck the marrow from what At the Soundawn offer. It's an album that must be taken as a whole, not a passage, a song, or even a segment. Several listens of the album are needed to grasp the ever shifting layers and emotions. But it’s worth it. My Ripple brethren would probably place At the Soundawn next to bands like Les Descrets in their overall scope of dark and brooding atmospheric metal.
I’ll agree. Then I’ll hit the play button and do it all over again.
Has there ever been a better slogan than Talk – Action = 0? D.O.A. mainman Joey Shithead has been doing exactly that for well over 30 years. He’s back with D.O.A.’s 13th album and it’s just as fired up as the classic “Disco Sucks” single was in 1978. Joey Shithead is a true lifer, like Lemmy, Charlie Harper, Willie Nelson, etc. The only thing that’s gonna stop this guy is if this planet runs out of beer. And if they discover beer on another planet I guarantee you that Joey will figure out how to drive his van there and drink them dry, too.
Talk – Action = 0 is pure punk rock as only D.O.A. can do it - fast, furious and funny. Album opener “That's Why I Am An Atheist” is a kick ass burner full of anger and speed. “Rebel Kind” sounds like a killer 1982 D.O.A. song that should have been on the great Bloodied But Unbowed compilation. These guys are REALLY tight for a bunch of old punks. Joey’s guitar playing is killer and the rhythm section of Dirty Dan (bass) and Floor Tom Jones (drums) hit hard.
Joey’s lyrics are just as pissed off as ever. Political songs like “The R.C.M.P.” (Royal Canadian Mounted Police), “Consume! Consume!” and “Tyrants Turn In Hell” get the point across without being preachy. Joey has fought City Hall all his life, and even won a few times, but always wants everyone to make up their own minds. “Captain Kirk, Spock, Scotty And Bones” and “I Live In A Car” (not a cover of the U.K. Subs classic) are more mid-tempo and balance out super fast ones like “They Hate Punk Rock.” As on most D.O.A. album there’s a few covers. Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin'” gets a punk make over. If that’s too serious for you, then skip ahead to their drunken rendition of Dean Martin’s “Amore.” Who let the Canadians into the wine cellar?
The fact that D.O.A. is still going strong in 2010 is so inspiring. If you think you work hard, check out Joey Shithead’s autobiography I, Shithead: A Life in Punk for true tales of noise, filth and fury. How this guy has managed to keep his sense of humor through all of the hard times and rip offs is truly incredible. Fans of real punk and true rock & roll spirit should pick this one up. And get a Joey Shithead Throbblehead doll while yer at it, too!
