South Carolina USDM War Machine LECHEROUS NOCTURNE will release their third full length album, Behold Almighty Doctrine, on March 19th via Unique Leader Records.
The long awaited follow up to 2008's The Age of Miracles has Passed raises the band's already considerable game yet again. The band's technically accomplished musicianship and skillfully concise songwriting fuse without seam to make what will surely be considered one of the year's most lethal displays of U.S. Death Metal firepower. Ethan Lane and founding member Kreishloff are responsible for six-string sorcery; James O'Neal (Apotheosys, Atrocious Abnormality) and Alex Lancia (Annthennath) low-end tremors and rhythmic battery, respectively; and Chris Lollis (ex-Nile) hell-spawned roars of the possessed. The short of it? Faces will melt.
Album cut "Those Having Been Hidden Away" can be heard at this location.
1. INTRO 2. OUROBOROS CHAINS 3. BRING THE VOID 4. ARCHEOPTERYX 5. THOSE HAVING BEEN HIDDEN AWAY 6. PRELUDE #2 7. JUDGMENTS AND CURSES 8. LESIONS FROM VICIOUS PLAGUE 9. CAUSTIC VERTIGO 10. CREATION CONTINUUM
Since their debut in 1997, Lecherous Nocturne have established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the worldwide metal scene, landing a deal with Unique Leader Records on the strength of their self-titled EP and their desire to expand the already-extreme boundaries of thrash, black, and death metal. Powered by the dense, interlocking riffs of guitarists Kreishloff and Ethan Lane, Lecherous Nocturne strips their metal right down to the bloody bones.
Extravagant luxuries like mid tempo breaks hi-tech studio shenanigans conventional song structures and even guitar solos are all unnecessary in Lecherous Nocturnes world. Their music is an unrelenting firestorm of grinding double-picked guitars, Alex Lancias powerful machine-gun drumming, and massive low-end rumble courtesy of bassist James O'Neal, the intensity here is way over-the-top, Chris Lollis "band's original Guitarist" now at the helm providing a venomous vocal dirge accenting the bands fury, super-concentrated and highly disciplined bursts of bile.
Their last full-length album The Age of Miracles has Passed delivers a killing stroke and then slips away before you even have a chance to brace yourself. Lecherous Nocturne are poised to take the Metal world by storm. After the success of The Age of Miracles has Passed on Unique Leader Records and an extensive tour history, blackened death metal juggernauts Lecherous Nocturne are set to bring forth their highly anticipated release Behold Almighty Doctrine. A ferocious firestorm of controlled chaos sure to satiate fans of the genre, street date for the release is set for March 19th, 2013.
Kreishloff-Guitars Alex Lancia-Drums Chris Lollis-Vocals Ethan Lane-Guitars James O'Neal-Bass
Or: why the "change" pocket in cargo shorts is truly, genuinely great and useful:
Said pocket holds an iPod nano nearly perfectly, which in turn holds the digital version of the above record, which in turn--
allows Radio Music Society to permeate me while I go about my normal day: washing dishes, vacuuming and whatnot...
Radio Music Society is undeniably "pop" music (a term I'd normally consider an insult) at its very best (perhaps hence Esperanza's recent Grammy win): innovative music with clever, inspirational lyrics, while still melodically memorable: it's George Clinton-- if he played bass, came from a jazz background, and wrote less-sexualized lyrics.
It's adventurous, creative pop music. It's also, pretty obviously, an attempted "crossover" record (from jazz to pop), though it's pretty much successful in this regard (there's no instrumentals; it's all vocal-led pieces with a jazzy though pop-led sensibility):
"Endangered Species" is the best intro tune/ "crossover" example here: previously she just did the somewhat-famous Wayne Shorter piece (while singing the tenor sax line as scat); however, now there's intelligible lyrics (i.e., what's normally called "vocalese," which is normally a terrible thing, particularly in tunes like Monk's "'Round Midnight") but in this case, it pretty much works.
With the "deluxe edition" (normally a semantic indicative of a cash-grab by iTunes or whomever), you actually get an hour-long video of the "making of" the record-- and it's worth getting in and of itself.
Specific tracks, you ask?
"Land of the Free," which is just Esperanza and a bass with lyrics, is the most overly political tune here: It's George Clinton + Scott LaFaro + Public Enemy, ca. 1988.
"Black Gold," the initial single, still holds up, and in general I really enjoy Spalding as a "New Jazz Artist" (especially since she's a hot black chick playing bass guitar and singing!)-- how is this not hot...?
On track six, "I can't help it," you get this lyric:
"Like a trip to heaven, heaven is the prize..." (featuring Joe Lovano, one of the few tenor guys of the last, say, 40 years, whose tone, via his $1000 custom-made wood mouthpiece, I angrily covet)....
"Hold on Me," is Mickey Spillane (i.e., Dashiell Hammett over the top) as melody and mood... jazz as you probably think it is if you don't listen to much jazz)....
Basically? She's a "jazz"-borne ingenue, one who's decided to write jazz tunes that a very-literate public will chat about while drunk....
Evaluate that as you will, for good, or for bad....
The first time I heard the phrase “Nine Pound Gun” was when I was partridge and pheasant hunting near the Madison River in Montana. As we practiced with 12 gauge shotguns on some skeet before heading out into the fields near the river, one of the guides pulled out an old Civil War-era Springfield rifle and quickly hit, reloaded and hit, two clays. The second guide, who had been tending to the dogs, yelled back at the group of us hootin’ and hollerin’ over the accomplishment and said “Hey, Eagle-Eye, showing off with your 9 lb gun?” I didn’t understand the odd reference until I later found out that the rifle weighed 9 pounds and that a 9 lb gun was actually a European cannon found mounted on vessels of the English and Spanish armadas of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Nine Pound Gun (9LB GUN) is also a great power trio that fires classic, country-tinged southern folk rock in the tradition of Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, Son Volt and Uncle Tupelo. Jeremy Phillips provides lead guitar and vocals. Ross Kinsler plays a left-handed bass and Bob (The Drummer) Lovvorn provides skins and cymbal play. Both Kinsler and Lovvorn ably provide back-up vocals. Phillips and Lovvorn have shot it up together, off and on, for the past 20 years. The band is from Lafayette, IN - Middle America - and they sound the part. They only recently pulled the trigger on forming a trio with Kinsler.
9LB GUN has released one locked and loaded album and it is explosive It contains ten targeted tracks, is called Twelve, Twelve, and it goes off just like an over under shotgun. One barrel is full of bar room rock - the other, alternative rock backseat ballads. It all packs a one-two punch and can do some major damage when properly aimed. It is great beer bar music loaded with a bit of two-stepping - and it is American as apple pie.
By the way, 9LB GUN says on Facebook it is looking for a manager. Doing it that way is kind of a field artillery approach to a sniper problem, don’t you think? Hope it works out for them. 9LB GUN is definitely worth a shot.
As of the date of my submission, there's no downloadable content available from Sleep. Which means I have to stream it to hear it at all.
It's not like the album's called Dopesmoker, or anything... that implies one would do well to listen to this one NOT chained via headphones to their computer....
Fine! I'll stream it! Anything to just hear it!
Because I am a whore for Sleep! And Southern Lord in general! I even bought a freaking Sleep shirt for my wife, who doesn't even like metal! And she wears it! And gets compliments on it! And then says, "It's his."
Even though I have the first two iterations of Dopesmoker (Jerusalem and Dopesmoker), I am (quite figuratively) dying to hear this one-- it's remastered, there's Arik Roper's new stoner-via-Dune esque cover, there's crazy anecdotes about the recording of the album, e.g.: Pike stated that the "song was getting slower and slower and then it got weird. We started tripping out and second guessing ourselves." Recording the album was difficult. Pike recalled that "there was so much to memorize for that album, and we had to do it in like three different sections because a reel-to-reel only holds 22 minutes. It was really cool, but it was one of the hardest things I've ever done in in my life." SLEEP were in the studio for one month then went home to rehearse and returned for another month. Pike noted that they ended up with two or three different versions of the song. It also features an unreleased live recording of a live performance of “Holy Mountain” from San Francisco’s I-Beam in 1994.
When Racer sent this to me I was literally listening to the older version of Dopesmoker on the stereo. It's fate/ kismet/ karma/ destiny....
Ironically, there is no weed with probably a quarter mile of me. Interpolate as is your wont, my minions. You may find this fact journalistically-dishonest (Pike and co. have said repeatedly that Dopesmoker was written to be heard while stoned), but I feel I must fully disclose.
So:
I've heard this new version a dozen times now: the first thing you notice is that the riff entering at around 0:15 is much clearer and louder. I don't really know that much about remastering, mastering, et cetera, and maybe they've only made it louder, but I can actually hear the pick hitting the strings, whereas on the version of Dopesmoker I'm familiar with, it's a bit harder to pick that out. At this point, I want both versions of Dopemoker on vinyl, at jet-engine volume, to truly try and parse the differences between the two editions.
Of course, my lineage is mostly German and Scandinavian, a notoriously-detail-oriented/obsessive people, and I personally am anal-retentive as fuck, so maybe I'm overdoing things.
Again: interpret as is your wont.
At about 21:30, once everything but the main riff drops out, you can again hear the strings over-vibrating against the pickup... which is pretty cool. I feel like I'm standing right next to the band in a small room without carpeted floors. The lyrics, too, are a bit more clear: the first line "Drop out of life with bong in hand" is easier to understand, as is the classic, "Lungsmen unearth the creed of Hasheeshian."
Man. That's some obscure poetic shit that Rimbaud, William Burroughs, Baudelaire, Rumi and Kerouac would find obtuse.
How can you not love that?
If nothing else, the reissue reiterates why it's such a great record (if you truly let it in, stoned or not)-- it just comes in and sweeps itself through your brain, it says to you we have all the time in the world, let's use it thinking of far-away lands that before this record you found impossible to believe existed....
If you already have the old version of Dopesmoker? If you're really into it, you'll wanna check this out. Otherwise, stick with the old version. Tune in, turn on, burn out, daddy-o....
Alestorm's genre was listed as Scottish Pirate Metal. I am not kidding you. This is possibly the coolest, weirdest thing I have ever had the fortune to stumble upon. And the album cover of Back Through Time fits perfectly within the genre description. A bloodied skeleton warrior wielding a sword that's impaling a severed head, you really cannot get any cooler than that. Well, maybe add a bit more corpes and spookiness, but you get the idea.
Back Through Time starts with the sound of wind whistling through sails while gutteral voices shout admidst cannon sounds. No, I'm not joking, they really went that extra mile. The lyrical content continues the pirate theme, talking of traveling through time to fight vikings, causing shipwrecks, while taking heads and.....treasure, of course. Really? Is this a novelty act, or are these guys actually this seriously obsessed with pirates? Racer, are you trying to make me lighten up a bit by sending me this album? Yes, it's very funny that a band is literally parading around as modern day pirates, but it's not quite as funny when you realize that the entire....album...talks.....of...nothing....but...pirates. The joke wears thin by the middle of the album.
If you forget the slight immaturity for a minute, these lads are actually talented. I really liked the doubling done by the keyboards and the guitars. The drumming chugs along like a runaway train, or ship, I guess *rolls eyes*. There were also orchestral acompanyments, including trumpets, many other horns, flutes, and what sounded like bagpipes at one point. Well, they are Scottish, so, there you go. I liked it, it added a nice cultural point, you can tell the lads are proud of their background. Alestorm's sound combines the chugga-chugga of death metal, guitars pushing the limit of speeds with the flighty meideval sound of pagan metal. Lots of old fashioned Scottish folk music mixed in with the heavy metal and of course the yells of "YAAHH, TREASURE LADDIES!" Sad part is, I'm not joking, that's almost a direct lyric right there.
I eventually stopped listening to the lyrics because they were just getting silly after a while. Getting past the whole silliness, Alestorm is really a pioneer in their sound. Flawlessly combining speed metal with pagan metal while piling on shouted lyrics, it's different, a good different. Pirate-ness aside, I would listen to this band again, possibly while on a road trip so I can pretend I'm a pirate too. Why not? Goths and pirates could go together quite nicely I think.
I walk around town looking like a teenage Adora BatBrat (just kidding, I wish I looked like her!) so I can't really be casting about judgement on looking weird, now can I? If Alestorm really follow through with this pirates thing and walk about in pantaloons and 1600 styled jackets, more power to them. Eh, cheers mates, may we all be freaky together!
There I was - an American in Barcelona in the late 1970’s. I paid for a small habitación off Las Ramblas. The city was, and is, a dizzyingly strange merger of cultures. The Romans conquered it and it is said to have been settled by the crew of one of the nine ships of Hercules and Jason and the Argonauts when they shipwrecked in search of the Golden Fleece. The City has been run by the Christians, overrun by the Visigoths, conquered by the Muslim Moors, and tended by the French. All that cultural clash has led to an interesting eclecticism in the architecture (just look at the Gaudi Cathedral) and in the City’s population. Modern influences, Western European and American influences, mix with the old.
As I walked up Las Ramblas I was surrounded by birds in bird cages, vendors, artists, musicians, singers, acrobats and dancers, all performing simultaneously, The influences changed as I walked. It was like the Doppler Effect of ambient sound - changing volume, timbre, tempo, style and pattern every few steps with a merger of two in the space between. I wondered whether these amazing and seemingly disparate influences I heard - flamenco, pop, jazz, rock, gypsy, middle eastern and classical - could ever be melded together by a band of musicians to capture the feel of a modern Barcelona.
I finally found that band in Ojos De Brujo, which in English means “Eyes Of The Sorcerer.” The band now has several albums under its belt and is marketed in North America by Six Degree Records located in San Francisco, CA. My first experience with Ojos De Brujo was their 2006 release entitled Techarí. It consists of a CD with fourteen tracks (all en español) and a CD-ROM of four videos, photos of the making of the album, lyric translations in 15 languages and a booklet pdf of album illustrations.
Band vocalist Marina “la Canillas” Abad has a fascinating voice that ably handles an incredible variety of musical styles - sometimes within the same song. Maxwell Wright handles male vocal duties and plays some percussion. Panko (yes, that is his full name) plays keyboards but also scratches like a NYC Club DJ at 1a.m. on a Saturday morning. Ramon Gimenez and Paco Lomena are flamenco guitar masters. Javi Martin plays bass. Xavi Turull pounds on the cajón, tabla, congas and percussion. and Sergio Ramos assists on the cajón and plays drums.
It is incredibly difficult to characterize the sound of Ojos De Brujo. It is crisp, clean, clear - an amalgam of influences and flamenco-tinged. It all comes together to form a fascinating and entirely enjoyable aural experience. - much like the band’s hometown of Barcelona. There are pop, jazz, rock, hip-hop, gypsy, middle eastern and classical influences, yet the music is thoroughly modern.
Really, though, back in 1978 I did wonder whether such a mixture of cultural musical aesthetics could ever amalgamate and synthesize. I realized that someday they would when I walked in and sat down at a table in a small steak restaurant/bar near the Barcelona bullring. Along with the torero clothing, bull horns, capes, hats, swords, picas and other bullfighting memorabilia that covered the walls, was a small television. The bar patrons’ eyes were transfixed on the TV. As I looked up I heard, “Mamacita!, Mamacita!” and saw on the screen a small girl running across a field to Melissa Gilbert and Michael Landon. A man’s voice melodically intoned over the scene. “La casa de la pradera” - Little House On The Prairie. Fusion had already started.
Acephalix' last full-length, Interminable Night, was my no. 7 album of last year, so I was excited to hear this one.
It's very similar to Black Breath's newest, in that there's a marriage of Entombed to New York City Hardcore-- the difference here is that Acephalix are much closer to Entombed than the NYHC-- they're boldly detuned, and overall slower than BB.
"Tomb of Our Fathers" is the first standout, with its groovy, Asphyx-like riffing and completely unintelligible lyrics... "Raw Life" is a lurching, undead-Golem of a riff/song, and highlights one of the qualities of this record-- it's just as rawly-produced as its predecessor-- you can hear absolutely every ambient sound during the recording, and (during the silences at least), it's pretty fucking cool; it underscores the heavier riffs once they start back up, and "Raw Life" clearly shows this effect.
"Blood of Desire" roars out of the gate, blastbeats at first then D-beats, then, with a Zeus/ Odin-like bellow, hits what is arguably the most "memorable" of the tunes here....
Short version: they're Entombed, got very fat and very pissed off-- can't move quickly at all, weighs 300 pounds (136 kilograms to my European brothers and sisters, 21 1/2 stone to my Irish homies) and would squash you without even thinking twice about it, though probably wheezing through the whole endeavor.
"In Arms of Nothing" intros with the same badass bass than Interminable Night started with....
Overall, there's a very slight change (I hesitate to say "evolution") from their previous record, and this consists in inching further down the death metal spectrum, ever-so-slightly away from the D-beat that characterized their previous record, Interminable Night. I can't say it's better or worse; just very slightly different.
To reuse a metaphor, it's death metal Coca-Cola. It's not new Coke, it's not diet Coke, and it's definitely not Cherry or Vanilla coke, what with their increased sweetness....
But how many Cokes have you drunk in your life so far? Hundreds to thousands, right? And they were all pretty good, yeah?
Deathless Master is your latest two-liter of D-beat-ish Death Metal.
If you love this very particular beverage, this is for you.
Black Earth. Dwell on the words for a second. Imagine it. Inhale it. Feel it in your hands. Black. Rich. Pungent. Dirty. Fertile. Moist.
Six words that best describe the uber talented shit kickin’ powerhouse three piece from Austin, Texas. Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you Black Earth.
The essence of our existence is the earth itself. Where all good things come from. Under the sun. Holding the water. The earth. Black loam. The kind that gets under the nails and stains your cuticles. (cute testicals?). In the same gritty vein as Americana rocker greats Leroy Justice and the Brought Low from New York City, and sparked with a renewed vigor, Black Earth come roaring back with their euphoric sophomore album “Pink Champagne” produced by Chris “Frenchie” Smith.
Make no mistake, they have “that sound”. The sound that’s going to go big come hell or highwater. You can hear it in the strength and depth of their song writing prowess and musicianship, the sheer power of their delivery and the interwoven, in each other’s pocket, synchronous gel jamability of their live show. The chemistry is more than evident. These guys would KILL live! And they have a reputation for doing just that. As their bio reads, “they demonstrate a lot of versatility. They’re tenacious live and can perform at will”. They’re apt to “go off the deep end into an improvisational tangent”. According to legend, they once did a thirty minute set and only played three songs. The crowd ate it up. Singer/guitar player Jason Calise captures a potent vocal combination of Mark Lanegan from the Screaming Trees and Ian Astbury from The Cult. Influential moments from the Rolling Stones, Sheepdogs, Seven Mary Three, Faces also leak into their sound like friends dropping by for a drink and a tickle.
Their bio continues – “Lots of indie bands use titles so generic that their fans have no clue about the light and dark places in the heart that the songs emerge from. Not so with Black Earth, who declared ‘Hell Yeah’ from the get go on their 2008 album ‘That’s Right, We’re Goin’ Balls Deep’—a collection that also included high energy fare like ‘Whatever Happened to Drinkin’ Whiskey and Kickin’ Ass?’.
Don’t sugar coat it boys.
“Continuing the theme of high hopes followed by shattered expectations, the three began work on Pink Champagne during some of the darkest, heaviest individual periods of their lives. Yet amidst the darkness and personal crossroads, there’s also a feeling that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. This record also shows a different side of the band. ‘We've been through a lot of difficult times, member changes, you name it’ says bassist Dave Rangel. ‘The one thing that has kept us together is the fact that we persevere and our love for music. Through this perseverance, we've been able to create some of our greatest moments. When the chips are down, we keep stepping up’. Pink Champagne begins in and then emerges from a much darker place resulting in an emotionally compelling work”.
Ten songs in ten days. Take no prisoners fellas.
The album kicks off with the twangy bluesy, somewhat countrified DEAR LADY LEAN. It offers up a grass chewin’, tabacco spittin’ feel featuring the rich, raspy vocal work of Jason Calise. The keys sweetly blend the instrumentation on this number. To quote Gord Downie from The Tragically Hip, it conjures up images strollin’ down a corduroy dirt country road on a dusty hot summer’s day pondering where the next paycheck’s coming from and whether the power will still be on when you get home.
The opening chords of FACE DOWN IN THE GUTTER kick ass! The freakin’ tone drips with so much texture and taste it would make Gordon Ramsey blush. It transitions into a flat out rocker while the vocals take on a more condensed, urgent feel - a perfect fit. Skins monger Jason Reece performs rhythmic gymnastics on the kit while Dave Rangel ‘s bass runs are lockstep. A couple of timely fuzzed out reprieves in the middle and near the end paint a different perspective. Calise opens up the throttle on his otherworldly tone towards the end - just fucking epic intonations on the solo. Lots of way cool FX here too and he works the baby wah like he’s spankin’ a wayward bastard child. This stubborn number just does not want to quit!
HER SONG – if this song was written for somebody’s wife or girlfriend then she must be a pretty special person. It has a very delicate Pearl Jam-esque quality to the guitar sound and song structure. Supported by a magnificent background Hammond wash, the song explodes in a Billy Duffy inspired burst in the middle and again at the end before it returns to its original introspective roots. Once again, Jason Calise squeezes out an exquisite fuzzed out solo near the end dripping with thick, savoury overmodulated tone! This puppy’s spewing chunks. Up front backup vocals bring it home.
LIVIN’ AND LOVIN’ is a hard driving, raucous rocker with an intro. reminiscent of the opening of Rod Stewart’s “Stay With Me” - only on speed. Eventually things settle back into a steady rock groove augmented by a fun, quirky bridge. Total live show fist pumper.
MY PRIVATE HELL – the title speaks for itself and the distorted guitar drives the dark point home and then some. This dark little ditty’s a no holds barred, straight up, no bullshit rocker featuring even grittier vocals with no shortage of cowbell, a sweet chorus and a raunchy, rippin’ solo that’s a perfectly imperfect fit (you read that right). Things pick up toward the end as the pace morphs into a full on gallop. The Brought Low salute.
NO WAY BACK assaults your earholes with classic Bad Company/BTO type power chords right off the top. It’s a simple, catchy tune that will ignite crowds into a rousing round of the chorus at a live show. A tried, tested and true head banger for those down front.
The title track PINK CHAMPAGNE is a sweet, complex acoustic number that really smacks of the Screaming Trees in terms of feel and tone, highlighted by some newly minted, prominent, lip smacking female background vocals.
SHE DON’T WANT IT – the Valient Thorr inspired rolling riff off the top has you grasping for your pint of the good stuff and raising it in a collective salute to this hard chugging, tongue-in-cheek rocker that hollers out a delectable chorus once again smacking of the mighty Brought Low. Who’s complaining?
SINGLE STITCH is a great example of Black Earth’s superior song writing talent. Epic in the most pulchritudinous haunting way. Sublime reverbed mouth harp sets up the laid back feel of the song. About three quarters of the way through, the guitar chimes in with more outrageous , over-modulated fuzzed out tones on the solo. Finger lickin’ good!
SOMETHING ABOUT YOU is the longest song on the album and that’s a good thing. It’s a stunning piece of song writing. Right from the peeling opening chords and subsequent gloriously refined fuzzed out tones. Jason Reece works the kit like a blacksmith pounding out a heavy masterpiece with gorgeous fills. The song is intensely percussive and he attacks the skins once again like a mad rhythmic magician. There’s more than a scent of the mighty Brought Low on this number as well which is certainly a welcome influence. I also detect a slight Ray Davies/Kinks thing goin’ on too. The reprieve in the middle showcases some mouth watering, hollowed out voice work as the BE boys take us on an extended psychedelic magic carpet ride exploring distant sonic galaxies. This song is VERY indicative of what they’re capable of pulling off live. It moves to a full gallop about three quarters in, right through to a rowdy, fist frenzied finish.
“As the title Pink Champagne indicates, Black Earth has a lot to celebrate. Successful tours of Europe and the U.S. have allowed them to share the stage with killer bands from both sides of the pond like Blue Cheer, Throw Rag, Burning Brides, The Meatmen, Supersuckers, Red Fang, Early Man, Atomic Bitchwax, Gogol Bordello, Jimmy Chamberlain Complex, Peter Pan Speedrock, Jingo De Lunch, Sasquatch, Dixie Witch, Young Heart Attack and Nashville Pussy. Black Earth was also featured in Classic Rock Magazine's October Issue # 150 with their song “Face Down in the Gutter” added to the compilation ‘The First Cut is the Deepest”.
And so they raise a toast to you.
Black Earth is Jason “Ving” Calise on vocals and guitar, Dave Rangel on vocals and bass and Jason Reece on drums (also of “And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead”).
Hailing from the Midwest, (I’ve seen that they are from Kansas and Kansas City, and there is a Kansas City, Kansas, so both could be right), we have Stonehaven. They’ve come through Seattle a couple of times in the past year but unfortunately I did not catch their live shows, but I will rectify that in short order the next time they come through town, because this is the good stuff. The Midwest is not known as a stronghold of black metal, but these guys certainly own what they do.
This is as grim and frosty a release as any Norwegian black metallers could put out. Upon first listen I was positive this band had to be from Europe, so yay America for putting out some of the classic sounding stuff. And actually, classic sounding isn’t entirely true; because Stonehaven do mix it up a bit. I hear some slight nods to straight up death metal in their music, and they are also not so tied into the tremolo picking drone that a lot of black metal bands fall into. That drone stuff can be very good when it is done well, but in my humble opinion very few bands actually do it well, so you can wind up listening to a nine minute track that bores you to tears. These guys avoid that by mixing up tempos, mixing up progressions, etc, and as I said above, it’s really good stuff.
Album opener “Suffering The Swine Array” pulls no punches and just starts things off right at full speed. There are no classical or operatic type openings with this band, just good old fashioned black metal coming right at you. This leads right into “Death Fetter” which has some spots that have a death metal feel to them in terms of tempo and the playing. I think my favorite track on the album is the fourth, “Addressing The Scorn Pole”. It alternates between straight up black metal time signatures and a waltz time, almost folk metal feel, and the transitions are done really well. I have to say that the songwriting is one of the big strengths of this band. Every track on this release is well written. Nothing on this album sounds out of place or extraneous. It all fits, it all sounds good together, and makes my black metal heart feel good.
I have to talk for a minute about the album cover. It was designed by one of the band members to represent an actual event in Norwegian history from the late 10th century. King Olaf apparently wanted his subjects to convert to Christianity and was very adamant about it, to the point that when a particular pagan priest refused to convert, he wanted to make an example of the guy. So King Olaf and his henchmen tortured this priest publicly and the culmination was forcing the priest to eat a live snake. While I don’t condone the forced Christianity, I always love the zeal of the Norwegians and the other Scandinavian folks who brought us the Vikings and so much great mythology.
There are a total of 8 songs on this release and they are all top notch black metal. Do yourself a favor, check out this album, check these guys out live if they come through your town, and just dig the black metal goodness that is Stonehaven.
If you like faster Sabbath-rock that hails from the realm of Acid King and Sleep, then Dark Earth is something you'd dig. The demo is on The Book of Faces. Check out the link below.
The first and self-titled track reminded me of Orange Goblin. Right on. 'Evil King' is a fast and driving slap-in-the-face of a track - kinda thrashy, even. And, to close a sweet demo, '42012' blasts off into the outer rims of the Riff Galaxy, leaving me to soar into head space.
In true northern Cali fashion, they navigate the Riff well. I look forward to future realeases from the band.
If you're in the area, check 'em out live at Johnny V's Bar in San Jose on Tuesday, April 24th.
Death/grind is the new thrash metal, updated from around 1985, to now:
it's sophisticated in terms of musical structure, rapid key changes, and challenging melodic (riff) formations-- it's hard to play, yet blisteringly furious (i.e., aggressive and fast)... a great balance of savagery and technical ability: witness Danny Lilker's definition: technical and yet intense....
Death/Grind, as a genre, is useless played at anything less than loudest-sound-possible (194 Db) volume: that's where it's made to be.
Like extreme forms of free jazz, this music is meant to permeate you, to absolutely be your everything for the time you're listening to it-- or to be nothing.
This is the complete opposite of background music.
BUT: give it the chance, and this will OWN you. It's perfectly, ridiculously extreme in that Death/Grind way, but is also full of surprises and tiny evolutions and tempo, key and texture changes enough to keep your cerebellum interested, while your reptile brain writhes in ectothermic ecstasy....
There's sweep-picked solos, blast beats, breakdown (all while being respectably detuned), blah blah blah-- you like extreme metal?
Monolith of Humanity is worth your while.
--Horn
[Monolith of Inhumanity is released worldwide on Metal Blade records on May 8, 2012.]
I went to a metal show last night and it just hit me how much I really love metal. I hadn’t been to a show for a while, as I’ve mostly been attending shows on the mellower side of the spectrum. It was in a sweaty little bar, on a Monday night, the bands were either locals or out of town with just enough resources to put a small tour together. There weren’t any big name bands, there were maybe 75 of my fellow metal heads there, but it was just awesome. I listen to a lot of metal either for these reviews or for my radio show, but there is nothing quite like being at a show, and feeling the metal. For me, there are very few better things in life, when it all comes together and you have a great time at a show.
So what does all that have to do with the new Job For A Cowboy CD? Not much, honestly. Except I really dig this new CD too. I’ve been a fan of the band since their beginnings. This seems to be another of those really polarizing bands, people seem to really love them, or really hate them, with not much in between. I know there are those who feel that the band just happened to be in the right place at the right time and that is the only reason they are successful, at least by metal standards. There are those who will tell you that you can’t tell one song from another, and yeah, there is a little of that. But they are damn good band and this new release really shows that.
Job For A Cowboy have gone through some lineup changes since their last release, and in my opinion the changes are for the better. They seem to have injected some new energy into the band and it is immediately noticeable. One of the previous criticisms of the band is that they played the much reviled “deathcore” style of metal. That is gone, let me tell you. Opener “Children Of Deceit” is a full on death metal assault and everything continues on from there. “Nourishment Through Bloodshed” and “Imperium Wolves” continue the bludgeoning. Then, lo and behold, something to shut up the haters. “Tongueless And Bound” comes along with an intro that verges on the black metal side, and there is some actual variance in tempo in this track. With this new lineup, there seems to be a new found sense of dynamics and variety in the song writing. I’d love this CD anyway, but these added features in the songs are pure gravy for me.
Tracks 5 and 6, “Black Discharge” and “The Manipulation Stream”, respectively, continue the brutality, but with some nice twists and turns. Many metal releases start out strong and seem to fizzle at the end, but “Demonocracy” ends on a high note, with a trio of powerful, hard hitting tracks in “The Deity Misconception”, “Fearmonger”, possibly the best JFAC track in their catalog, and “Tarnished Gluttony”. The final track is over 6 minutes, an eternity for this band, and really shows off their new song writing chops. This one is a definite change of pace from anything else they’ve ever recorded and a great way to close out the album.
If you’re determined to hate them, this release probably doesn’t go quite far enough to change your mind. But if you can keep your mind open, you’ll find a very strong release from a band that just keeps getting better as they go along.
In many ways, apb is as responsible for The Ripple Effect coming into existence as any band out there.
I don't know when it was that Pope and I first discussed the idea of The Ripple Effect, but our intentions weren't grand. We never set out to be a "big" music site. We didn't want to publish news or "hip" viral videos. Really, all we wanted was to review the enormous mass of CD's and vinyl in our own collections with a pointed eye towards those bands that never seemed to get their fair shake of fortune and fame. Music that should've caught a bigger ear than it ever did. We wanted to make ripples.
When that first review published in October of 2007, launching the Ripple upon the unsuspecting world, our first article was Something to Believe In, the killer punk/funk compilation of rare singles from Scottish underground post-punk legends, apb. It was only natural. I'd been burning apb into anyone's brain who'd give me a moment of their time for decades. At KSPC FM, apb was always heavy in my rotation, getting a spin at least weekly. Led by the explode-my-mind manic funk bass and school-boy vocals of Iain Slater, the pacemaker solid and crisp funky drumming of George Cheyne, and the epileptic spasms of punk guitar from Glenn Roberts, there's never been a band who sounded like them. If you stepped into the station at the right (or wrong) moment, you'd see a very compromising image of your disc jockey, Racer X, flailing around the studio in some uncoordinated white-boy-tries-to-funk dance, thumb thumping away on an imaginary bass, ass going in several wrong directions all at once. And if that didn't frighten you to death, I don't know what would.
But back in 2007, Something to Believe in had recently been celebrated in a deluxe-edition reissue, and as interest in the band was rekindled, a live set from the BBC was unleashed. It seemed like time was right for a reunion of the mad punk pioneering Scots.
And as fate would have it, right after I wrote that first review, George Cheyne contacted me with the news that the band had recently reformed and released their first album in more than 20 years. That album 3, proved that the crew still had it in all the right places. The punk was punkier, the funk was . . .er . . .funkier. Everything was tight and rocking and damn if it didn't feel good having apb back.
Well, 3 turned out to be only the beginning, because apb have just roared back with another new release, the feline-dangerously titled Jaguar and it proves defiantly that 3 was no freak flash-in-the-pan reunion. Those of you like me who love the classic apb sound, we just got fed a thick slice of manna from heaven.
Now, I gotta reveal my bias here. I have everything apb has ever released. I mean everything. Every 7" single on those tiny UK indy labels. Every 12" single and EP. Their albums, their test pressings. In fact, I have more apb 7" singles than drummer George has or even knew existed. So, I'm far from an impartial judge here.
But then the goal of the Ripple was never to be impartial, damn it. Our goal has always been to bring light to those bands and albums that just need to be heard. And believe me, Jaguar is one of them.
From the first bass thump and staccato slice of guitar that starts "Cradle to the Grave," this is the classic sound of apb post-punk funk roaring back to life. Ironically, blasting out a song about the indignities and lost dreams of getting older, apb sound positively time defiant. Iain's bass leads a bouncing funky swath that Glenn explodes into wide paths with his chopping blitz of chords. George buries his head and keeps that motoring onslaught on a straight line right to that place of punk funk nirvana. I dig it when the song jumps into hyperdrive for the bridge after the main verse, Glenn bringing a huge Gang of Four Andy Gill attack to his guitar. All leading up the the manic build before the centerpiece lyric "And you know you're not as young as you used to be." This is vintage apb. Could've appeared on any Oily Records or Red River release from the early eighties in the best sense of that thought.
Now, before we go any further, we gotta look at our words. Writing about apb isn't an easy thing because the way they merge big looping funky bass and drums with the pure staccato spams of punk guitar and energy means that I gotta write "punky" and "funky" a million times. There just isn't any other way to describe the alchemy of their fusion. So, from now on we're gonna create our own vocabulary. Can't use p-funk cause that terms already taken so I'm gonna go with Fu-punk. Weak I know, but it's all I got.
So, having coined the fu-punk term, apb bring it on full-force with "Down at the Store," ramping up the pace and the angular slash of the guitar, and bringing in the smatterings of classic punk apathetic nihilism and materialistic discontent with a surprising romantic twist. After Iain's bass rumble and George's fist-tight beat, Glen chops the chords to pieces. Iain rails "There is no motivation anymore/every thing is sold out at the store/the outside world is a crashing bore/everything is sold out at the store/except true love."
"Electric Boy" immediately follows next with dense and heavy descending chords through it's chorus and ass-groovy fu-punky verses. This is a huge, huge song for apb and unlike anything I'd heard from them before. And dig that polyrhythic percussion breakdown. That's a band burning nitro in all cylinders.
"First Dance" percolates out next as funky as apb get, with its finger-mad bass thumping, drum attack and stinging guitar sounding like something that could've appeared on the classic "Dancability 12." Then comes the big change. I'd heard a rumor that there was a guest vocalist coming, but I gotta say it still caught me by surprise. After grooving to apb for so many years, the sound of a voice other than Iain's rather thin, nasal tone sounded as out of place as former President Bush being offered a Rhodes scholarship. Just didn't compute. No offense to Jim Sheppard, but his work on "First Dance" and the title-track "Jaguar" just seemed like an interesting idea gone wrong. But only for a moment. On repeated listens, the mix of new vocals over that classic apb fu-punk settled in my ears and found a home. It helps that "First Dance" is just an electric slice of danceable funk and that "Jaguar" explores new territory in a mid-tempo, electro-funk vein. Either way, both songs stand proudly in the apb cannon now and Jim's voice adds texture and his own nuance.
Still, I have to admit my pleasure when "Tangle Wires" pounds out next with a nasty Undertones-esque punk directness with Iain's nasal whine firmly back in place. "You Give me Pain" rounds out the 7 songs with another masterstroke of unfettered apb fu-punk perfection. Shotgun bursts of guitar searing under Iain and George's pure funk mettle. High energy, high fun, with a touch of classic snottiness. A new apb classic.
I'll be the first to admit that apb may not be for every one, but damn, if they aren't the one for me. 30 years on, and I still haven't tired of the band. And if they keep pumping it out with this much timeless energy, I bet I've got another 30 years to go.
“Did you talk to the guy Penfold?” “You mean the wizened old metal head who hangs out down by the arts district?” “Yeah, the old head. Did you talk to him about the band?” “I might have broached the subject.” “Don’t play games with me Penfold! You know I don’t like to joke around when we’re talking about the band man!” “All right Gary, all right. I’m sorry. I know how much you care about this stuff.” “Dang right I do! So what did the old head say?” “Well he was kind of vague when I asked him how we could achieve ‘maximum rock’.” “What do you mean Pen? Did he tell you what we need to do or not?” “Yes and no man. Yes and no. He told me that knowledge without mileage amounts to nothing. He said that several times.” “And that helps us how?” “I’m reasonably sure the old head was telling me in a roundabout way that we need to go on an epic quest around the world. I asked him where a rock band could find righteous inspiration and he gave me a list of five locations to visit.” “So what are we waiting for Penfold. Let’s round up Billy and Steve and get going!” ******* “This is it guys! This is the first place the old head sent us to find!” “Penfold, we haven’t even left our hometown yet. I’ll grant you that I haven’t actually walked around down here, but I’ve literally driven past this lot every day for the past three years on my way to work.” “For crying out loud Billy! Why do you have to be such a pessimist?” ******* “Penfold. Pen. Stop! I can’t climb anymore.” “Steve, we’re only a quarter of the way up the mountain.” “I can see that Pen. I just need a breather okay?” “Yeah Penfold, I could use a break as well.” “I can’t believe what I’m hearing! Do you guys want to achieve maximum rock or not?!” ******* “Penfold, we are LOST!” “Calm down Gary. I know exactly where we are.” “We’re in the middle of the freaking desert Pen!” “You’re not helping Steve. NOT…HELPING.” ******* “Oh man, oh man, oh man. What was that?! I’m sure I saw one this time Penfold.” “Billy, calm down. How many times do I have to tell you that alligators don’t live in this part of the swamp? They can only be found several miles west of where we are right now. We’re perfectly safe. Tell him Gary.” “He’s right Billy. Billy?” ******* “All right guys. We just need to get over that next snow drift.” “Penfold, you’ve said that about the last four snow drifts we’ve come across.” “I know Steve. I’m just trying to keep you guys motivated.” “Steve’s right Penfold. I’m cold and I want to go home.” “Billy, are you still upset about that alligator attack? I said I was sorry. What more do you want?” ******* “So what do you guys think about our journey together? C’mon. Tell me the truth. Hit me!” “I really don’t like you right now Penfold.” “That was a total waste of time Penfold.” “If I didn’t have this cast on my arm Penfold I’d be punching you in the face.” “Good! Fantastic! The old head told me this trip would energize us and he was right! Now all we need to do is channel this energy into our music and we will easily achieve maximum rock!!”
Some days waveriders. Some days you just luck out. A coin lands on the side you called out. You find a dollar on the ground. Etcetera. What someone views as lucky is different from person to person. That’s the way of the world. For me, when I stumble across a killer new band I always feel lucky. This music discovery can unfold in a number of ways. Lady Luck smiled down on me most recently a couple of weeks ago while I was on Facebook. Going through status updates on my wall I observed that my boss, Racer X, had ‘liked’ a post by Brutal Truth/Total Fucking Destruction drummer Richard Hoak.
Mr. Hoak wanted to know if there were any blogwriters/music journalists who might be interested in reviewing his latest musical offering to the world. Said offering is the debut album by a band he drums in named Old Head. Maximum Rock is the name of the album, and it was released on January 1st of this year (2012). Not wanting to waste the man’s time I found the album on bandcamp for sampling purposes. About forty seconds into the first song I was messaging Mr. Hoak as fast as my fingers could type! You know immediately when you’ve stumbled upon something great, and I wasted no time throwing my hat into the ring for a chance to review this high octane music. Thankfully I was granted permission, and this review began to take shape.
Old Head is an explosive quartet made up of Megadan Tumolo on vocals, Ryan Moll on guitar, Dan O’Hare on bass, and Richard Hoak on drums. Essentially, Old Head is the membership of Total Fucking Destruction plus a dedicated singer. I was excited about hearing Old Head in large part due to my fondness for TFD’s last album Hater, which I reviewed for The Ripple Effect several months ago. That album is grindtastic! More of the same would have been perfectly acceptable to me, but I’m very happy to report that Old Head is a remarkably different musical beast. Whatever you may say about Maximum Rock, it is defiantly not a retread of past accomplishments. Far from it.
What we have here waveriders are established grindcore musicians successfully trying their hand at music that is equal parts thrash metal and classic 1970s rock. The combination feels oh so right, and it sounds utterly fantastic! If you don’t believe that these two great tastes can be melded together look no further than album opener “Bleeder”. This incendiary song starts ominously with a persistent bass drum thumping out the downbeat underneath a couple of grimy guitar/bass notes. Then all hell breaks loose as the unhinged, hyper speed thrash element takes over. The aggressively melodic sing along choruses mark the only times the song is brought back to earth. Outside of that; blastoff! The rest of the album doesn’t disappoint either. Those looking for a weak song or lull in the album won’t be able to find one. Maximum Rock is relentlessly superb! This is thirty one minutes of your life well spent! Well…if you want to rock that is.
Before I wrap this up I must make note of the three covers that Old Head perform on this album. Normally I prefer to let a band’s original compositions do the talking, but these covers are truly exceptional. The band completely reimagines Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young’s “Almost Cut My Hair”, evolving it from its acoustic roots into an absolute metal scorcher. Same goes for Jethro Tull’s “Fat Man”. The vocal melody remains the same, but the song takes on an entirely different attitude thanks to the boisterous guitar/bass playing and frenzied drumming. Last but not least, the band’s cover of Black Sabbath’s “Rock ‘N’ Roll Doctor” is refreshing. That’s right. Refreshing. If I told you a band had recorded a Sabbath cover I would bet my last dollar no one would have guessed it would be this song. You all know I’m right.
Waveriders, Maximum Rock is an album that needs to be on your radar. If you like thrash metal. If you like 1970s hard rock. If you like grindcore music and want to try something different this album is your ticket to nirvana! Pick up a copy today, and rock on!
Deep breathe now, mates, prepare yourselves. My name is Gorgeous Nightmare, and I......am a One Directioner. I do not deny it, I love One Direction. I stayed up and watched all of the KCA's just to see One Direction's performance, even though I detested everyone else at that awards show. I bought three copies of their debut album, simply because one version had a poster, one had exclusive pictures of the band, and the third had a scrapbook instead of a normal booklet. But luckily, I am still a somewhat older teen girl, so I have something of an excuse to my fangirling out on this band.
If any of you have read any of my previous articles, you know I am an extreme metal gal. The darker the better. Men dressed as goth corpses normally strike my fancy. So why do I desperately love a pop band, a pop boy band at that? Because they are really very superb, that's why.
One Direction started out as five solo singers on The X-Factor UK in 2010. They were all on the brink of being sent home, when Simon Cowell decided to save them by putting them together as a group. Four-fifths of One Direction, Liam Payne, Louis (pronounced Lou-ie) Tomlinson, Harry Styles, and Zayn Malik are from England, with the exception being Niall Horan, who is from Ireland. These lads have got a ton going for them: good looks, pure talent, determination, and Simon Cowell's belief.
I don't like singing shows, to be honest. I like my singers to make the rounds the old fashioned way, playing at dives until they catch the eye of a record label. My facebook had an ad with these guys on it when they were still on the X-Factor, with the label, "Meet the next Justin Beibers" I opened it, because I don't like to be behind on the uptake, even if I don't listen to mainstream. (Don't make me relive my school's reaction to me not knowing who The Situation was earlier this year!) I expected a laugh, and some cringes. What I did not expect was to be blown away by the talent these guys possess at their age. When they first got together in 2010, they ranged from 16 to 18 years old.
What's even better, One Direction sound amazing live. At the KCA's they blew Katy Perry out of the water performance-wise. Lots of pop singers are disappointments live, when you discover your favorite artist is nothing without the bells and whistles from a studio. Nope, One Direction are as perfect live as they are on CD. Even better in my opinion. The auto-tune or whatever diminishes their individual voice's sound a teeny bit. I almost couldn't tell Liam from Niall just by listening, and that bothered me, considering they each have little aspects that make their voice unique and wonderful.
Having this gig as a writer, someone gave me a free download of their single, "One Thing" as an acoustic version. I loved it; raw talent just pours out of these guys like water from a spout. In the accompanying video, the lads were singing their super-hit, "What Makes You Beautiful" acoustically. One Direction were slumped on couches, relaxing, most of them not even wearing shoes, and they still sounded exceptional. "More Than This", a ballad on the album, sticks out among the other ballads, it truly showcases how great these guys' voices are. It's heart-wrenchingly despair-filled. "When he opens his arms and holds you close tonight, it just won't feel right, cause I can love you more than this. When he lays you down I might just die inside, it just don't feel right, cause I can love you more than this." Oh, come on, it pulls your heart strings a bit now, doesn't it?
"What Makes You Beautiful" is a made-for-summer hit that sounds like it would be right at home being blasted out of a car with the top down as it heads to the beach. The video is set on the beach, too, confirming my thoughts on it. Another thing I really liked about the video was the girls in it. Everyone has seen the 'music video girls'. You know, the drop-dead gorgeous, enviable figured girls you just know went home with one of the band members due to their shimmying and shaking all over the place. The girls in "What Makes You Beautiful" are very pretty, yes, but they aren't overly made up, nor are they scantily clad, popping and locking all over the camera. They're the kind of girls you see and say, "Hey, I look like that, those boys must like normal girls!" Morale booster a bit?
The next music video was for their next hit, "One Thing." The boys are dressed as almost like a mod-Beatles, and they are gallivanting around London. The beginning shows the boys running around a park, genuinely being cute and adorable. The rest of video shows scores of One Direction's dedicated fanbase, and how One Direction interact with them. One Direction are very loyal to their fans, constantly tweeting, 'how is everyone? how was your guys' day?' to their followers, in addition to asking them questions, like Zayn's 'I've just shaved my head, not sure what you guys will think, I'll post a pic in a few. tell me what you think. x' It was an April Fools Day joke, as Zayn has a signature hairstyle, but you get the idea.
I noticed that there seems to be a more guitar-oriented sound to One Direction. Instead of all synths, and machines, a lot of songs have catchy, smooth guitar lines that give One Direction a nice edge in the competition of pop singers. They don't look like other pop singers either. Everyone is trying to be the next Lady GaGa, or Justin Beiber, face it, it's the sad truth nowadays for the mainstream. One Direction dresses quite sharply, with nice jackets and plain t-shirts underneath, or patterned jumpers, nice trousers, with plain white or plain black trainers. In some shots, they are seen with suspenders, and bow-ties, like a mod-40's look. Very nice, fitting for the good-looking lads, I would say. Simplicity puts the focus on their music and talents, not how 'outrageous' they can seem like some other stars.
Talks were made in getting the boys their own show on Nickelodeon, a fact that many One Direction fans were NOT happy about. Fears that the boys were going to turn into squeaky clean friends, Big Time Rush were happily put to rest by the band themselves. All five members agreed that they are focused soley on their music careers, and not looking to making any forays into the world of acting, beyond making tv appearances as themselves. I'm happy, because really, I like One Direction the way they are, hopeless romantics in their songs, but in interviews, they're dirty minded and and make jokes about each others sex lives. They're 18-20 and they act like they're 18-20. =)
One Direction are beloved (maybe a bit too much, haha) in their native countries, England, and Ireland. They've debuted in America the past month, to much fanfare, and much adoration. Some fans camped outside the Today Show's building for three days merely to catch a glimpse of One Direction making their North America debut! News is still spreading throughout America about the band, but already they have leagues of hardcore fans here.
Good looks, great songs, love for their fans, One Direction seem poised on the threshold to take over the pop world. They've captured the hearts of millions upon millions of fans around the world, and are now taking the United States by storm. Is there anything these guys can't do?
“This is the soundtrack to your worst nightmare: Life”. So says the press release accompanying this album from French black metallers Haemoth. If your life is unrelentingly bleak, filled with plague and pestilence, nasty and noxious, then this probably is your soundtrack. This is music made by musicians unapologetically in league with Satan. And it is so damn good.
I have written before about my love of French black metal. I have never been to France, so I don’t know what it is about that fair country that provides us with such quality black metal, but this is definitely the grade A good stuff. This is what black metal should sound like. This is how black metal should make you feel. Hopeless. Haunted. Forlorn. The music is menacing, virulent, and vehement. There is no doubt about how these guys feel about life on planet Earth when you listen to this music. Any effort that can make you feel things to this degree is worth taking note of, whether you actually like the particular genre of music or not. Music should take you somewhere and make you feel. Maybe that’s what makes this stuff so good.
The song titles give you an idea of where this is headed before you even give it a listen. “Odium”. “Slaying The Blind”. “Demonik Omniscience”. “Spiritual Pestilence”. “Disgrace”. “Son Of The Black Light”. “….And Then Came The Decease”. This ain’t no party, or disco, or foolin’ around. This is flat out war on humanity, Christianity, goodness, light, happiness, and all related topics and ideas. There are ambient passages on this album that will absolutely creep you the fuck out, that will make you check to be sure the lights are on in the house and go check out any noises you hear. Because there are times when you just aren’t sure if Satan and his minions might be coming up through your kitchen floor.
So personal confession time; I don’t know what it is about music like this, but it actually relaxes me. It soothes me. Maybe deep down inside I’m just a sociopathic hater of mankind, maybe I can’t wait until the Dark Lord rises up to take dominion over this world. To see the dawn of a new day when, to quote Black Sabbath, “Satan laughing spreads his wings”. Maybe I’m not the happy go lucky guy most people see me as. Maybe I’m someone you should just stay away from.
But I think it’s more likely that I just love music that makes me feel. I love music that exposes thoughts and ideas, even if they are a little controversial or outside of the mainstream. Or maybe that’s just what I want you to think, so your guard is down when I bury an axe deep into your skull.
The Eternal Fall is a very strange band. I loved half the album and didn't like the other half at all. The great songs are light, punky trad goth, while the others petered off into mindless whining. I barely got through the first tracks on the album, "Beneath the Stars" and "You Are Always in My Mind." But "Always It's the Same" is a fantastic song. It's almost as if the Cruxshadows went trad goth and met the Cure halfway. It's actually one of my favorite songs right now, that's how awesome it is.
"Broken Dreams," "Empty Eyes," are some more phenomenal trad goth sounding songs of the album. The Eternal Fall has a really good sound, if they could just keep it going. The tracks that were good were REALLY good. But the tracks that weren't so good stuck out like Snooki at Wave Gotick Treffen. Minimalistic piano and synth paired with ghostly lamenting sounds good on one or two songs, but not on half the album. "Ich Denk ed Dich," and "The Pain," straddle both styles perfectly though, he's not wailing the whole time, he's singing, and moaning, but it's balanced with guitars and drumming that keep the song moving in the right direction.
I think that's the problem, the songs aren't balanced enough. By the end of the album I could tell which ones were going to be crap and which ones were going to be good, just by the pattern it was following. Albums shouldn't follow patterns, they should be a listening experience, full of twists and turns, surprises at every corner.
On the really good songs, the sound is phenomenal. Upbeat synth and drums with groaning guitars swirled in make for a very romantic goth, punchy sound. As I said before the ones that are good, are really really good, I just wish the whole album had been like that. Also, another thing worth noting, this album is supposed to have two dics, but I only got disc one, so I can't tell you how the other one sounds. I would listen to this band again, but I would listen to the whole album before buying it.
The music coming out this year has been nothing short of incredible and really hard to keep up with. I'm behind at least a couple months on what has been released. With that said, I am finally getting around to writing up Beautiful Things, the latest album from one Anthony Green. It's an incredible album to say the least.
Most people know Anthony Green as the front-man for post-hardcore Saosin and Circa Survive. Over the past few years,his focus has increased on his solo career. Green expands his musical chops by implementing bits of country, rock, pop and electronica. Musically Beautiful Things is all over the place, but it's in a good way.Calling Beautiful Things a diverse record is an understatement.
The first stand out track on this album is the song "Blood Song". If an alternative country song is what you're looking for than look no further. Lyrically this song is what you would expect from Mr. Green. "Who's gone, buried in the well?" Who's gone, buried in the well? Nobody knew him, he had only arrived. Who's gonna break it to his wife? Who's gonna break it to his wife? She died giving birth to her fifth and final one... Who's gonna rescue all his sons? Who's gonna rescue all his sons? Bares heavy burden, but you could give them away... Who's got a home for them to stay? You can't sell the children, but there's hell to be payed. And I'm not giving these orphans away...er dream... Who's gone, swallowed by the sea? Who's gone, swallowed by the sea? She was only twenty, but she fucked like thirty three. Who's gonna round up all her things? Who's gonna round up all her things? Nobody liked her, but they loved it when she'd sing. Who's got a bell for us to ring? We won't make a sound 'till her body's in the ground... And I'm admitting the voice sounded strange... Said, "You'll get no more sleep at night. You no longer sleep at night. You No longer dream. You won't get no sleep..."
My favorite track on this album is only available on the deluxe edition. From my past reviews you know I am quite fond of Deftones/Crosses/Team Sleep crooner Chino Moreno. Well, the track "Right Outside" features him. The mix of dueling croons from Moreno and Green make this track special. Not to take anything away from Anthony Green but Chino Moreno's added vocals make this track amazing. Lyrically this song speaks of break up and the endless wait for someone. "What did you ever see in me? You know that diamond ring will set you free. While you are waiting for that dream.. I'll be waitin' in the morning when you're coming to your senses. Don't keep tellin' me you didn't mean it just to make me stay. How did you get so far away? How did you get so far? What did you ever do for me? You thought those eerie eyes would break you free. Are you still waiting for that dream? I'll be waitin' in the morning when you're coming to your senses. Don't keep tellin' me you didn't mean it just to make me stay. How did you get so far away? How did you get so far? Something in our dreams to keep the stars away.. Something in the stars control our fate.. I'll be waitin' in the morning when you're coming to your senses. Don't keep tellin' me you didn't mean it just to make me stay. How did you get so far away? How did you get so far? I'll be waitin' in the morning when you're coming to your senses. Don't keep tellin' me you didn't mean it just to make me stay. How did you get so far away? How did you get so far?"
Anthony Green's Beautiful Things is truly that, beautiful. With the great range in music genres, it's 41 minutes of Green stepping out of his comfort zone. Lyrically I loved this album as it is brutally honest. Like most music in this genre, I used it as a nice break from my normal metal and hardcore jams.
-Cicatriz
Anthony Green goes good with: Saosin, Circa Survive, Team Sleep, Crosses, Deftones, Team Sleep, Thrice, Dustin Kensrue, The Sound of Animals Fighting
I would think the purpose of sending out a blanket blast of promos is to get someone’s attention, get your album reviewed, and use that press to build up more excitement for your band. So Terrordome, mission accomplished!
I received a 5 song blast from Polish thrashers Terrordome, and it hearkens back to the glory days of thrash. This is full-on, mash the accelerator and hold on for dear life music. It goes by in a blur, the average song length is only about 2 minutes, but they manage to pack a punch in every second that is recorded. The press release cites Slayer, Dark Angel, and Cryptic Slaughter as influences and they aren’t kidding around. If you ever thought Slayer and not Metallica were the height of thrash, this one’s for you.
And you gotta love bands where English is a second language. I don’t mean to poke fun at all; it’s just that they use English with such gusto, like the album title, “We’ll Show You Mosh, Bitch!” Song titles are good too, like the energetic “Thrash Til Deaf”, which I have no doubt would be the end result of a Terrordome show. I kinda like “Silence (While the Violence’s On)”, too, as a title. It’s like those European guys on Family Guy, they use the language as best they can but there are always little cues that English is not the mother tongue for them.
So anyhoo, this release is short and sweet and this review will be too. If you like early, old school thrash, if you like metal that relentlessly pummels while it makes you feel so good at the same time, get your mitts on this release and party like its 1984.
Only one month into the year and I already have my #1 album of 2012. What's a heavy music fan to do? Enjoy it for the rest of my life, that's what.
The first time I heard a riff-laden Iron Balls Of Steel, the full-length debut by LOINCLOTH, I was streaming it on the computer, and not too long after that the vinyl was spinning in my record player and the album cover was in my hands. That might have been the quickest music purchase I ever made. In fact, I know it was. I ordered the record online almost a month before it was released.
I've really liked a lot of music coming from Southern Lord Records, but the problem is: I haven't cared for a lot of the vocals. Well, the Lord answered my prayers on January 17 and my problem's been solved. Seriously heavy riffs - no fucking vocals. Yeah, you know how I love that instrumental stuff.
This is 16 tracks and nearly 40 minutes of pure bone-jarring riffage. There's no pretty acoustic guitars. No dreamy intros or fancy solos. I said pure riffage and I meant it. Quick, start-stop riffs you swore were just there. Lumbering riffs that kinda linger in the air. On this record, chugging riffs are everywhere. You'd better have Iron Balls Of Steel cause you're gonna get kicked in the junk when you listen to it.
Former members of North Carolina's death/doom outfit Confessor, Steve Shelton (drums) and Cary Rowells (bass), have joined up with Virginia's man of many riffs, Tannon Penland, to create one of the most unique heavy albums I've heard in a very long time. This is one of my favorite metal releases in maybe 10 years or more. I love it that much.
About: "The idea behind the formation of riff-mangling instrumental/progressive act, LOINCLOTH, was to create a band that focused only on the things that made the members' favorite form of music inspiring and powerful, steering clear of cliché formulas, and choosing instead to carve its name out sheer force of will. Punishing riffs and a mean rhythm section were all they were interested in...To them, metal was getting punched in the face by sinister riffs while a tight rhythm section kicked them with counter-beats to the gut!"
Iron Balls Of Steel is raw and stripped down to it's... well...LOINCLOTH. (Gasp) It's ter-RIFF-ic metal for all the people like me who want nothing more than to rock the fuck out and not listen to a growling, groaning or wailing singer while I'm doing it. I don't need no stinking vocals.
I asked Penland if there were ever any plans to have a singer on this record.
"No, the plan from the beginning was to create something that focused on abstract rhythmical spaces with no interference from vocals or guitar leads," he said. "We had thought about bringing in a singer as a guest to possibly do a cover. I strangely, have never played a cover song (in any of my bands-present or former). We just didn't have time to do it. It would be interesting to hear a singer in context of Loincloth. I would imagine it would be pretty fucking frustrating for a lot of people to attempt."
Could you describe your music in your own words?
Penland: "Loincloth is a difficult beast to describe. At the root it is quite primitive It celebrates the metal we love in a rather abstract way. How to kaleidoscopically explore a singular riff through its endless rhythmical possibilities and keep it HEAVY was our goal. As a singular tag, I really don't know? 'Steve Shelton Metal'? haha..."
He has a particular fondness for the dummer, no respect to the bass-player, however. "It was a joy to make this record. Steve and I were are able to create not only what we wanted to hear, but something that we wanted to communicate to a larger dialogue in metal. For me it is particularly special because I have always been a 'drum nut' and Steve is my favorite drummer on the planet. To play with Shelton was a true gift every time I walked into the practice space."
As much as I love this album, the chances seeing the band in person in the near future seem to be slim and none.
"I do wish we could take this record out live, but it is a virtually impossible task at the moment. We live in different states and the other guys have pretty rock-solid work schedules. Also, for Loincloth to sound "right" live we would need a second guitar player and we don't have one of those."
Too bad. I'd love to see and hear them play live. I'll just have to stick with my vinyl and hope I don't wear it out any time soon. I suppose my digital copy is always an option.
The Japanese version of Iron Balls Of Steel (Daymare Recordings) contains remastered versions of old material, Penland added.
I'm not gonna try to compare this record to anything else because I don't think I've heard anything quite like it. To me, it's is a one-of-a-kind metal masterpiece and I won't soon forget the day I got it in the mail and placed it gingerly on the turntable. The only thing that would make it better: if it would have come with an actual loincloth. I gotta get me one of those now, and I'll rock out with my cock (almost) out. Best band name of the year for me, too. Maybe ever.
LOINCLOTH. Fuck yes. I can pretty much guarantee that I won't like anything more than Iron Balls Of Steel this year. Guess I'll keep looking for the rest of my top-10.
*footnote: I love this record so much that I personally made these videos (with permission) so you could hear LOINCLOTH for yourself.
![Pink Champagne [Explicit]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51wCcbLiG4L._SL500_AA280_.jpg)
