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
I'm seriously behind in my Rippling, especially new releases. So what better way to start the year off with three new killers from Brooklyn's Drug Front Records.
Born Loose - s/t
Born Loose is a 4 piece firecracker fronted by ex Candy Snatcher Larry May. I had the pleasure of getting my ears blown out by them over the summer and was really looking forward to this album. Fans of the Lazy Cowgirls will go for this band big time. Every song rocks hard and most of them are fast. Even the slower ones like "China Bus Express" and "Folds Of The Flesh" still rock with a strong New York Dolls influence. With a band name like Born Loose it's obvious that the Dolls & the Heartbreakers are a huge influence. My personal faves are the ones that have a lot of screaming like "Heart Attack" and "Step Up To The Plate (Be A Runaway)." The rude lyrics of "Sugar Pussy" show a low maturity level that I also approve of. The rhythm section of Shane Konen (bass) and Eric Robel (drums) are extremely tight and make fiery guitarist Suke work even harder. If you have a large collection of Sympathy For The Record Industry 7" singles that you've played to death, here's your new favorite band. Vinyl comes with a lyric sheet and a copy of the CD as a bonus.
Even though upstate NY is a lot closer to Canada, Long Island is the butt of a lot of jokes in NYC. There are also a lot of hockey fans on Long Island. Two Man Advantage have been blasting out their brand of beer & hockey fueled punk for well over a decade. This is what happens when you crank Poison Idea tapes while there's an Islanders game on TV. NoMeansNo have the Hanson Brothers as an outlet for their hockey fixation but Two Man ups the insanity level by a few notches. Their singer dresses up like the guy from Piledriver, another great Canadian export. None of this would matter if the jams weren't solid. Dynasty is 12 kick ass punk songs with great lyrics. Opener "Rookie Season" has great Zep inspired lyrics like "it's been a long time since I scored a goal." Their live shows are notoriously rowdy and they do a good job of capturing that on this album. The music is chaotic but tight and there's lots of miscellaneous screaming. Do you really need me to explain to you what songs like "Drink The Bar Dry," "When The Ice Melts Away" and "Hosers Sing The Blues" are about? My copy came in white splattered vinyl and has a full color SOD inspired collage on the inner sleeve, CD also included.
This 4 track EP is short, fast and to the point. Jim sings and is backed up by a kick ass three piece female band. Two minute songs are bashed out economically with very animated lyrics. The female backing vox are great. "Rock Hotel" doesn't seem to be about any of the metal or hardcore shows I saw promoted by Chris Williamson's Rock Hotel, but that's OK. "Moving On" is not a cover of Bad Co.'s "Movin' On" but that's OK, too. It comes in a nice sleeve on white vinyl. There's a download card that gets you 3 more jams.
Another good batch of releases from Drug Front. While lots of labels are cutting corners or putting out digital only releases, label head Dean Rispler seems hell-bent on overstock. Rumor has it he auctioned off some of his rare Americade test pressings to fund his label. Go to his website and do some shopping.
King of Hearts Productions will release the long-awaited, much-anticipated, documentary film I'M NOW: The Story of Mudhoney.
I'M NOW follows Mudhoney's 25-year career, from their early beginnings in the Pacific Northwest through the band's most recent world tour. Complete with testimonials from friends, music industry veterans, and musicians such as Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard & Jeff Ament, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore & Kim Gordon, Soundgarden's Kim Thayil, Sub Pop's Jonathan Poneman, and the band themselves, the film is the ultimate document of one of the world's most influential and beloved rock bands. The film was directed by Ryan Short and Adam Pease.
"I'M NOW is like Citizen Kane, but with more Grunge!" - Ryan Short (director / producer)
Trailers are available at YouTube:http://youtu.be/HXEj57inuA4 and http://youtu.be/xNlGDxul7cQ.
5 out of 5 Stars - Film Threat
"Honest, funny, sad, and ultimately, really inspiring" - Susie Tennant
(L- R) – Alex “Shmalex” Dontre – Drums | Rob “Rawrb” Kersey –
We'd commented before on the madcap antics of punk/pranksters, Psychostick. Particularly their song "Caffeine" which hit all the right chords around the Ripple Office.
Now, the originators of humorcore, Psychostick, are proud to share with fans their latest creation ‘Dogs Like Socks’ inspired by the band’s moral support, the Siberian husky duo of Elphie and Mishka. And after only 3 days, the video already has more than 100,000 views!
“This song answers the question, “Can you make something cute BRUTAL?” We just did this for fun. We have a recording studio, we had inspiration, so why not? Those dogs are the best… this is our tribute to them.” comments guitarist Josh “The J” Key.
Anybody with a dog should be able to relate to this heartfelt, hilarious tribute.
After completing their ‘Santa’s An Asshole Tour’ this past November/ December, Psychostick are now gearing up for their next tour in March with dates soon to be announced in support of their latest release ‘Space Vampires VS Zombie Dinosaurs in 3-D’, which is now streaming at the following location here. (http://psychostick.bandcamp.com/album/space-vampires-vs-zombie-dinosaurs-in-3-d)
Most high school friends can’t even stand to look at each other once school’s out, but in the case of vocalist Rob “Rawrb” Kersey and guitarist Josh “The J” Key, they decided to spend even more time together after graduation.
Harnessing their crazy sense of humor and love of all things metal, they joined forces with drummer Alex “Shmalex” Dontre and bassist Matty J “Moose” to create Pyschostick, a band they’ve coined as humorcore. With hilarious lyrics, heavy riffs, notorious stage antics and high-energy performances, the band has caused millions of laughs around the world and hundreds of mosh pits across the US, often simultaneously, since its birth in Phoenix, AZ in 2000.
Almost 100 percent do-it-yourself, Psychostick never strays from its signature sound, a combination of heavy music Chimaira, Machine Head and Hatebreed would be proud of and wit and humor that would make Tenacious D and Weird Al Yankovic holler with laughter.
With two full-length albums behind them – “We Couldn’t Think of a Title” and “Sandwich” – the band released their latest record, “Space Vampires VS Zombie Dinosaurs in 3D,” in 2011, following it up with a tour with Mushroomhead to add to their total count of 21 nationwide tours that have hit 47 states.
How much more appropriate can it be to end the year to finally getting to see a band I have followed since 1991? Got hooked on Drivin' N' Cryin' the year Fly Me Courageous was released but for whatever reasons I never got around to catch them live until now. Better late then never huh...yes indeed because this was a magic night!
At 9pm sharp the band casually walks out on stage, plugs in their instruments and kick things into gear with a short instrumental piece. It's followed by the beautiful Honeysuckle Blue and this long-time favourite of mine sets the standard throughout the rest of the night. Whether the band goes all out rocking or seduces the crowd with slower more mellow songs they can't do wrong at all. Hot Wheels from their current EP Songs About Cars, Space And The Ramones is next and apart from getting the crowd rocking what stands out the most to me is guitarist Sadler Vaden. He is extremely versatile and plays a blistering solo on this great song. Not only that, during the entire set whether he is playing lead, rhythm, slide or solo guitar he does it with such ease and elegance. It looks so effortlessly and easy but he is doing some very intricate things. What an addition for the band!
Another old favourite is then aired, With The People, and it's still a very current song speaking about the people having to rise and stand against the injustices made towards them. Positive change won't happen until then and that's where we are right now more than ever.
Drivin' N' Cryin' are in the midst of promoting two EPs released in 2012, Songs From The Laundromat and the aforementioned Songs About Cars, Space And The Ramones. They are parts 1 & 2 in a series of four to be released within 12 months, where part 3 is due in March 2013 and REM from Songs From The Laundromat follows With The People. It's a mid-tempo song with really nice vocal harmonies and it's a cool tribute to fellow Georgians R.E.M.
Further on Cheetah Chrome of The Dead Boys joins the band on stage for Out Here In The Middle Of Nowhere, a song from Songs About Cars, Space And The Ramones that he actual recorded with them. Fast and furious in true punk spirit it's over in about 2 minutes but man it rocks...awesome indeed!
After 27 years in the business Drivin' N' Cryin' know how to work a crowd. They know how to mix old songs with new to keep it interesting and they do it with such ease. Many a times bands barely play new songs when promoting their current album, Drivin' N' Cryin' on the other hand played 5-6 out of a total 11 on the 2 new EPs and that's great and how it should be. You couldn't really ask for more. However the icing on the cake for me occurs when they launch into Fly Me Courageous, the song that introduced me to these Georgians. It simply doesn't get any better than this!
The first hour of the show was recorded for a local radio station but as soon as that is over the band has everyone singing along in Straight To Hell. It's one of their most popular songs if you ask me and the crowd just loved it.
Cheetah Chrome returns to the stage and they go all out punk playing The Dead Boys' song Sonic Reducer. Actually from the moment the radio recording was over the band got rowdier, in every good sense of the word, with Kevn Kinney climbing speaker stacks and jumping from them! The frontman and founder of the band should consider a side career as a stand-up comedian. Because apart from being a great singer and guitarist he is extremely funny and really makes the crowd feel relaxed and at home. His interaction with co-founder and bass player Tim Nielsen is bar to none and their drive to keep Drivin' N' Cryin' rolling and still current is so visible on stage.
Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and what an end it was. They launched into a Kevn solo song, Blues On Top Of Blues and are joined by guitarist Audley Freed. This guy has played with Cry Of Love, Black Crowes, Jimmy Page, Dixie Chicks amongst many others and what a fantastic string slinger he is. The band were on fire jamming real good with Vaden and Freed trading solos back and forth. Amazing!
Kevn and Tim has assembled a great band around them and I can only hope this line-up stays intact because they have something going on here. Drummer Dave V. Johnson is solid and versatile and alert to any changes/jams going on and never miss anything. And I have already spoken about new guitarist Sadler Vaden and all I can add to that is....check him out!
All in all this was a great show and subsequently a great night. I couldn't have asked for a better occasion to see Drivin' N' Cryin' for the first time and my affection for the band from listening to them all these years increased a thousandfold.
Provided below is an excerpt from the completely fabricated, incredibly unofficial biography of the band Royal Headache. While it is utterly ludicrous to believe there will be any similarities between this sensationalistic propaganda and real people or events, we at The Ripple Effect provide our sincere apologies to any affronted parties. Hopefully the remainder of your time at the hospital passes quickly. Now, on to our exclusive preview!
Everything came to a head after the band played the main stage of the 2008 Queen’s Jubilee. Having an unnamed band play on the main stage was scandalous enough, but it was Her Highness’ reaction to their performance that really put the cherry on top of this fiasco. Here’s a word to the wise for all aspiring musicians. If you are playing someone’s party, regardless of their social station, and you see them place their hands over their ears while their face betrays physical pain…it might be a good idea to stop playing, or at the very least turn your amplifiers down.
The next morning newspapers around the country plastered similar headlines across their front pages. ‘Unnamed band gives Queen headache’. ‘God save the Queen from this nameless band’. ‘The Queen does not approve: Band proves harmful to her health’. ‘Her Royal Highness contracts a royal headache after listening to band’. Sensing a great opportunity, an aspiring music producer named Penfold contacted the band and set up a meeting. Once in front of the four musicians, he laid out exactly how he was going to help them take over the world with their music.
Step one would be to select a proper name. Fortuitously, the publicity surrounding the Jubilee had already provided a suitable band moniker; Royal Headache. It was perfect and memorable. Step two would be to capitalize on their current notoriety. Penfold proposed that the band put out a press release as soon as possible. It would state that the Queen had banished them to Australia, a continent literally on the other side of the world. When the band members correctly pointed out that this banishment was in fact a bald faced lie, Penfold pressed on explaining that it didn’t matter whether it was true or not. The point of the exercise was simply to get the band’s new name out there in the public consciousness. Besides he argued, Australia was lovely this time of year!
Thirty six hours later the band packed their bags and left on a red-eye flight destined for the land down under. Much to their amazement they were met at the Sydney airport by around forty to fifty members of the press, each of whom was more than eager to interview the ‘buzz worthy’ band. After providing minimal, direct answers to several reporters’ questions Penfold guided the band into a waiting limousine which promptly sped away. Although the rock and roll fans living in and around Sydney might not have realized it, they were all about to fall under the spell of Royal Headache. It was only a matter of time.
Greetings waveriders! Today I bring you my much belated review of the band Royal Headache. How belated you ask? Well, this is an album I have been enjoying since the beginning of summer. I’m writing this review in December. My apologies folks. Of course, after you hear this band’s music you may have a harder time accepting my apology. Keeping greatness like this to oneself is criminal! So without further ado, let’s get down to business.
I was frustrated with what I was listening to and needed a change of pace. Regardless of the level of quality too much of one music genre in the diet is unhealthy. In my case, it was too much dissonant metal. I needed something that was still aggressive, but something that was also more melodic and to the point. That something was classic punk rock, or music very similar. To find what I wanted I travelled to the Bandcamp homepage and input the keyword ‘punk’ in their search bar. Incredibly, I only had to sample a few other bands before happening upon Royal Headache. What can I say? Sometimes, fortune smiles on me.
This band is fantastic! They are exactly what I wanted to hear. When I hit play on the album stream I was taken back in time. This music sounds as if it could have been released right alongside all the classic 1970s punk albums. In fact, the austere production on Royal Headache’s self-titled release might just fool you into thinking that this music was actually recorded around that time…in someone’s garage. While that might normally be a detriment to the listener’s/my enjoyment, here it perfectly complements the songs as they whiz by at breakneck speeds. Garage punk. Brilliant!
I’ve read other reviewers compare this band’s sonic blueprint with The Buzzcocks and I completely agree with them. However, the first band my mind leapt to in comparison was The Misfits. No there are no camp or horror elements in the music, but I dare you to listen to the powerful vocals on this album and not hear similarities to the work of one Glenn Danzig. The singing is infectious, melodious, and electric. Also, the band just sounds so raw and energetic! Frantic guitar work easily grabs hold of the listener, but it is the steamrolling rhythm section that really steals the show. The bass player and drummer are simply stellar in my opinion.
The bottom line here is this waveriders. If you yearn for a band that spectacularly combines the sound of early 1970s punk rock with that of a garage band look no further. Your search has come to a successful conclusion. One listen to songs like “Never Again”, “Girls”, “Psychotic Episode”, or album closer “Pity” will have you jumping out of your seat with joy! Trust me people. It happened to me. It can happen to you. Royal Headache. Go!
In my life, music is a powerful thing. It is an important thing. Music is not something that just happens in the background. I plan around music and going to see bands, hell I even plan when I am going to sit down and listen to music. It makes sense to me that I enjoy powerful music, and powerful does not necessarily mean loud, heavy, metal, etc. It means music that moves me and makes me feel.
So here we have, all the way from Finland, a band called Maveth. And this is powerful music. This is grim stuff, a little blackened death if you will, and it certainly hit me at a time in my life when it seemed suited to be the soundtrack to my current events. My world has not been pretty lately, in fact I have been dealing with some pretty grim stuff. Maybe this is just the perfect of example of right place, right time, but this release really hit the spot with me. Not to say that I want to wallow in the darkness, but when things around you are all black, sometimes you want some music that just fits the situation.
This is the 3rd release for this band. This is their first full length, the previous releases being a demo and an EP. And according to their press, they have played a ton of live shows. It definitely shows up in the music on this release. They are polished, in a black metal sort of way, and they sound like a band that knows what they are doing. They are not a young band, in that they have been around for 5 years now, and it could just be that with this release, with the shows they have put behind them, that they are hitting that sweet spot for a band when it all starts to come together.
Maveth play a lot in the mid tempo sandbox, and it creates a very suffocating and brutal effect. There are some small tempo changes but it's mostly right in the same BPM throughout the album. You feel as though the sun is blocked out, little by little, as if the walls are closing in on you inch by inch. By the time you work through the almost hour length of this album, your soul is blacker than it was at the beginning. It's a little harder to find joy and happiness in life, things don't seem quite as bright. This is what a really good death metal album will do to you and for you, and “Coils Of The Black Earth” succeeds mightily in this regard.
Sometimes you wanna sing, sometimes you wanna dance, and sometimes you just wanna revel in the fact that life can be shitty, that life can be incomprehensible, that life can tie you to the bumper of a pickup truck and drag you through gravel for a while. If it's the former that you're after, go find a Chambers Brothers track called “Funky”. But if, like me right now, you seek the latter, this is the shit you are looking for right here. Roll in it like a hellhound rolling around in a field of rotting corpses.
