CORRECTIONS HOUSE, the new collective featuring Mike IX Williams (Eyehategod), Scott Kelly (Neurosis), Sanford Parker (Nachtmystium) and Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), today confirm a string a rare live shows. The 19-date trek will commence on January 21, 2013 in Brooklyn, New York and wind its way through much of the of the East Coast before concluding in Denver, Colorado. Special solo sets by Parker, Lamont, Kelly and Williams will be performed prior to closing each night as CORRECTIONS HOUSE. Further info on CORRECTIONS HOUSE to be announced in the coming days.
Maryland bands never fall short on extremity. Since the mid-‘90s STRONG INTENTION have been punishing the underground with their own blend of New York-influenced hardcore breakdowns and blistering grindcore. Their unique sound has allowed them the longevity to play out and tour with such undisputed acts as Cripple Bastards, Disfear, Phobia, Extreme Noise Terror, Rotten Sound, D.R.I., Lock-Up and Misery Index, among others over their extensive career… and they’re just getting started.
These guys have put together a 9:38 rip into the time space continuum with their new release Razorblade Express.
With longtime friend Mike IX Williams of EHG fame in tow on two songs and oddly, the two longest tracks at just over 2:00 each, the whole release clocks in with a hit’em and run hard core style that has been missing for a very long time. While Mike will be the first to admit that being from NOLA so everything is slower, the rest of the tracks are NOT slow in any way.
Formed in the mid-90’s and going through several line up changes, the current members have stayed on the harder edge of “Core” and even taken it to extremes that have some calling it Grind Punk. This all coupled with the bands lyrics of the current world around us and an apocalyptic viewpoint, their front man Zac Ohler proclaims: “It’s been far too long since we put out a record, so having these six songs of ‘no hope/no future distort’ released by a killer label and having long time friend Mike IX join us in this act of terrorism seems to be the perfect fit. It’s time to rise and grind!”
Track listing: 01. Razorblade Express (featuring Mike IX Williams) 02. Messiah Whore 03. Holes In The Wall 04. 3rd Space Guerrilla Generator (featuring Mike IX Williams) 05. Rat Factory 06. Slaughter Intelligence
This release is also available in limited edition green vinyl with 150 copy pressing. Black vinyl with 350 pressings. 500 total, means get one FAST!!!
It is available from www.ebullition.com. The record is also available from Bandcamp, as well as iTunes, etc. Vinyl only, but it does include an mp3 download.
This is the aural equivalent of Charles Bukowski (not, interestingly, the German classical he used to write about); I initally thought that Eyehategod was, and, though Hank did live in New Orleans briefly, he is most associated with southern California, and San Francisco-- so the bay area's Noothgrush I'm christening The Aural Bukowski.
Why? They're decrepit, low-budget, oily probably-reeks-of-beer-sweat despondent riffmeisters. Much like Bukowski's poems.
Noothgrush (the name from, of course, the Dr. Seuss classic There's a Wocket in My Pocket! and is it sad that I immediately knew that?) play proto-ancestral sludge; they had broken up before sludge fully emerged as its own form and there grew up tropes around it.
Live for Nothing (on Southern Lord) is two live radio broadcasts from KZSU (in 1996), the other from KFJC (in 1999).
I’d never heard Noothgrush until the recently-released Power of the Riff festival soundtrack, on which ‘Grush had one track, “Oil Removed”– and then I was ashamed of never having heard them.
Live for Nothing is similar, production-wise, to Seven Foot Spleen– a higher-gain, thrashier (though detuned) guitar tone; nowadays there’s generally less overt gain, and a blurrier tone being used in sludge and doom metal, and this sound is a nice throwback change..
Noothgrush are angry, lurching, plodding drunken stumbling punked-out sludge. The best way to describe them, nay, inculcate them to your ears is here:
There’s a break at 2:30 of “Jundland Wastes”; everything slows down… and eventually a riff emerges that is just… Fugly.
Actually, that’s a great album title: Just Fugly Riffs. I would buy that, unheard.
You’re reading this site, so you know, even if unconsciously, what a fugly riff sounds like– indescribable, indefinable, but instantly recognizable.
Like judicial perceptions of pornography.
Noothgrush hit that special spot… deep in your guts, like porn hits your tender, sensitive loins. You may actually riffjaculate during your experiences with Live for Nothing.
This gig is the greatest and one thing I'm learning fast is that my kinda music knows no boundaries or borders whatsoever. I'm listening to awesome tunes spanning the globe. It's like I'm on a rock/metal world tour.
Next stop: Serbia. Yep...I know. The only sounds I've heard from there are the grunts bellowed by hot women tennis players. I never thought my next top southern metal album would rise from a former war-torn country in southeastern Europe, but Concrete Sun (now that's heavy) sure blew me away with their debut, Sky is High. It teems with jackhammer riffage straight outta NOLA, and overflows with super-weighty vocals. I love Sky is High more than a fat kid loves cake and I quickly included it among my favorite releases of 2011.
A huge 'thank-you' to guitarist Bojan for hooking up The Ripple Effect with a digital copy of Sky is High. This is what he told us via email:
"Concrete Sun is a five-piece band from Novi Sad, Serbia. 'Southern sludge-n-grunge' is probably the closest you can get in an attempt to put us into a genre, but there's a lot more to the story than just that." Bojan said, "Our music is a blend of southern rock, blues, stoner, groove, sludge and grunge, characterized by bluesy melodies, sharp vocals and heavy riffage."
I couldn't have put it any better Bojan, but I'd like to add that it's also phenomenal music. Sky is High is 9 tracks of fresh southern heaviness that I've been craving for what seems like ages. Sure, veterans Crowbar finally have a new album, but Down and Eyehategod haven't put out any new songs in while and the real C.O.C. ended years ago. So did Acid Bath and Floodgate. Concrete Sun are the new European rookie starters on my southern metal roster. Hell to the yeah 'cause my Jonesin' days are over for now.
On the outstanding Sky is High, I hear hints of Black Label Society guitar licks along with the NOLA-inspired riffs. The vocals excite me, too, and bring back fond memories of another southern rock/metal darling of mine - Sixty-Watt Shaman. This album is hard as granite and I enjoy every song.
"Just a Beginning" (3:43) is the first on my copy, but shows up last on the Bandcamp track listing. No wonder it's one of my faves. It pulverizes me like a cinder block to the head the riffs are so dense. I think it's the beginning of a first-class album. "Euphoria" (4:24) is next, with dual guitars mixing it up before a rolling groove takes you along for a ride.
"Last Man Under the Sun" (4:52) is maybe the only song which I think has a mellow feel, but it still showcases a hefty chorus and amazing guitar/bass solos. "D.A.N.U.B.E." (4:43) and "Junkyard Dog" (5:03) both grab and throttle my neck.
I think one of the best on Sky is High - musically and vocally - is the longest, "God Forsaken Prostitute" (5:49). It's pure southern metal greatness...but the poor girl. You can almost feel her pain. Kidding. "Ruff Song" (3:10) is the bluesiest to me and just might be the most appealing to the general public. The title track "Sky is High" (4:00) begins with an intimidating southern riff and "Hide Behind" (4:22), another top choice, is peppered with Zakk Wylde guitar squeals.
Concrete Sun are looking for a record label, Bojan wrote. Hello...? Ripple Music...? The band was formed 2007 and went through a lot of lineup changes which halted its initial progress, including a year-long hiatus in 2009. Current members since 2010 include: Cerovina Strahinja (vocals), Mijatovic Bojan (guitar), Zivkovic Budimir (guitar), Petrovic Strahinja (bass) and Topic Milos (drums). Each "continues to evolve musically," according to Bojan, "with every member bringing their own set of influences into the story."
Sky is High by Concrete Sun (Aug. '11) can be downloaded in digital format (name your price) from Bandcamp. It's a must-have for any fan of 2-ton southern metal so click the link below and get crushed. Now.
