Wo Fat - The Black Code

Up until about a month ago, I had never heard Wo Fat. I was familiar with their name, and quite honestly, I was intimidated. I’ve already explained this to Kent Stump (guitars/vocals) of the band, so we’re all good there. I had some weird, preconceived notion that if I listened to Wo Fat, well . . . something violent would happen within my head, something unforeseen would damage my already damaged psyche and my personal End of Days would be right around the corner.

Actually, after having spent some time with the Wo Fatcatalog, I can’t dispute any of the above mentioned possibilities are out of the question.

Enough babble . . . on with The Black Code!

The latest Wo Fat release, as found on Small Stone Records, is a devastatingly heavy album. Where the previous album, Noche Del Chupacabra, was a heavy beast of a record, The Black Code up’s the game and redefines the word “heavy”. The production is a little crisper, and that adds a greater definition of the variety of tones that the band uses to convey their menace. The greater definition makes the cleaner portions of the music cleaner, therefore, when the heavy portions drop, it feels even more overwhelming than before. But none of the knob twiddling and sound engineering knowledge would mean shit if the music wasn’t up to par . . . and folks, The Black Code beyond par . . . it’s a hole-in-one, if you really want to follow a golf analogy!

The songs, while at times are marathon in length, they’re so well conceived and executed that they don’t feel like they’re as long as they are. The individual performances from the trio of musicians is top notch and, while the focus may be on the guitar heroics of Stump, the rhythm section of Tim Wilson (bass) and Mike Walter (drums) keeps this sludge-y, doom-y, Lords of All That Is Heavy sound moving in the right direction. Grok . . . to listen to the rhythm section alone is a lesson that every bassist and drummer should enroll in. This tandem kills it . . . every minute of every song . . . which allows Stump’s guitar work to soar to the heavens when he’s not following along the trail that’s being blazed ahead of him.

Opening the album with “The Lost Highway”, I was originally surprised that with the subtle injections of blues mixed in with groove. By no means was it a “bad” surprise, it just wasn’t what I was expecting and it was a welcome change from those preconceived notions that I had going into this record. The riffs follow aplenty and savagery of the rhythms make the body roll with the groove. Brutally heavy music, but done with class. It’s not heavy just for the sake of posturing and knuckle dragging Neanderthalic music fans . . . it’s heavy with a purpose and as a way of life. What could get lost if one’s not paying attention on this particular gem, is the bridge leading to the wah-ed out guitar solo. There’s a dynamic there, a building tension, and when that sucker breaks, it’s like dam busting open and getting caught up in the oncoming rush of water. Try to cling to the guitar solo for some buoyancy, but beware . . . the thundering crash of the rhythm section will try to break your grasp. Fucking great song!

The title track follows next, and for over ten minutes, you will be bombarded with a tune so finely crafted in the ways of the Heavy that it may go down as the blueprint for those who follow. The tone that Stump gets out of his rig is awesome, and I don’t mean the overused meaning of the word . . . you will truly find yourself sitting in front of your speakers with mouth agape and staring in wild wonder at how such a heft can come from an instrument . . . you will be in awe, ergo . . . his tone is awesome. Once the band kicks in and the trio is riffing in unison, damn, it’s an example of the fierceness that these guys can seemingly whip out without a thought. It feels natural and organic, nothing is forced, almost as if these guys are connected by the strain of DNA and they have become a living, breathing, riffing single entity. Again, the Wilson/Walter tandem hold a great groove in the mid-portion of the song while Stump goes absolutely nuts! Jesus . . . the sounds this guy gets from his guitar are insane! And, when the trio drop back into the main riff, the tempo goes up and it’s a stunning sensation . . .

Only five songs in length, but clocking in at over forty-five minutes, The Black Code is rife with sonic exploration and extended jams. Sit back and take the journey, man . . . and when you get to the album closer, “Sleep of the Black Lotus”, I’ll be here waiting to wax poetic about its brilliance. I’m thinking that this is my personal fave off the album, but I have a sneaking hunch that “The Shard of Leng” may be lurking in the shadows to usurp the closer from this temporary throne. “Black Lotus” is a gem of heavy rock . . . in fact, if you close your eyes and image hard enough, you can actually see someone chipping away at the edges of a piece of ore yanked unmercifully from the earth, and the gleaming radiance of the precious rock shining from the crud surrounding it. That’s how I hear this song . . . beauty and elegance wrapped in a shell of darkened, crusted matter.

Wo Fat may still be creeping around the underground, but don’t think that this creature of the depths won’t be pulling itself out of the muck to spend time in the sun. These guys are on the rise and The Black Code is the elevator that will lift them to a greater audience, a more receptive ear. It’s an album that just stuns with every listen, not just in song structure, but instrumental performances and sonic execution. With the year coming to a close, I suspect this album will be on my Year End Best Of List. I can’t see it not being there. The album was done so well that the music just can’t be ignored.

--Pope

http://wofat.net/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wo-Fat/127735577283067

Confused Little Girl - Southern Gentlemen

Skeeters are snackin'. They're as big as half-dollars and they'll bleed you dry if you let 'em. The gators are patiently waiting. Some are stalkin' their prey. Shine a light and you can see the battalion of reptile eyes, like fallen stars strewn across the water's surface. Yes, we're in the icky Florida swamp, where it's scary-dark and it's nasty. I lived there once, and it's also where Confused Little Girl  and Southern Gentlemen rose from the filthy muck.

I told Racer that I've been listening to the independent release of this album for almost a year but I clearly wasn't the only one. Rotten Records took notice and signed the Orlando-based group, turning out Southern Gentlemen internationally on Oct. 11. They brought an exceptional and original rock band on board, in my opinion. Here's some information from their bio for those who haven't heard about Confused Little Girl yet.

"Confused Little Girl are a four-piece, deep-fried, southern swamp-rock band from Orlando, Florida. Their songs are filled with themes of drinking whiskey, murdering people and burying them in the bellies of alligators, pigs and the bottom of the water in the Everglades, and of course, selling your soul to Satan. The music that accompanies this subject matter is filled with loud guitars; heavy, groove-based big drums and enough fat-bottom for even Freddie Mercury to be disgusted. Since 2005, these beloved bastards of rock have been working tirelessly to shove their brand of heavy rock and roll down the throats of as many people as humanly possible."

Influences include: AC/DC, ZZ Top, Black Sabbath, Down, C.O.C., Clutch, and Queens of the Stone Age. What more do you need to know? Want details? Too bad. I don't know much else about Confused Little Girl, aside from the fact that Billy Van Muddlestein, David Washburn, Red Reilly and Josh Henry like booze, bitches and barbecue. Hell, who doesn't?

"We come from the Swamp," Confused Little Girl says. "We play rock-and-roll music. Loud, angry, drunken rock-and-roll. Being from Florida, where tons of southern rock bands came from, we have southern music in our hearts. The details about how we met and who we've played with and all of that bullshit isn't important. It's music, you listen to it. So listen to it. "

I have listened to Southern Gentlemen - many times. Too many to count. I'm listening again right now and I'll tell you something: it never gets old. Like I said before, I've been playing this release since the beginning of the year and I'm not stopping now. I won't bother with trying to describe every song because it's all good. The guitars are southern-scuzzy; the vocals are hefty and raunchy, but they're definitely still clear enough for me. The bass and drums are just monstrous. It's everything I love about swamp rock. No wonder I can't get enough.

Oh. And the song titles. Don't get me started on that. "I'd Rather Booby Screw A Walrus" is a favorite, along with "Honestly, Who Gives Their Genitals Pet Names". "Hookers on Horseback", "(Hey Dad) Stop Looking at Porn on My Computer", "Jordan Catalano Needs to Break Up His Shitty Band" and "How Satan Stole My Heart". C'mon. Aren't those some of the most interesting song names you've ever heard? Just reading those names makes you want to listen, doesn't it? Go ahead. You'll be happy you did.

The sick, 12-song Southern Gentlemen was sort of an obscure title earlier this year. Well not any more. I'm glad to see Confused Little Girl get signed by Rotten Records. Now the world has a better chance to hear the swamp-rock I've been trudging through for months. Head to the Rotten Records site for this record and get your copy NOW.

Hail the swamp!

--Heddbuzz


http://store.rottenrecords.com/confused-little-girl-southern-gentlemen.html
http://www.bastardsofrock.com/
http://www.reverbnation.com/confusedlittlegirl

Black Tusk - Set the Dial

This one gave me some difficulties.

I hated it at first.

And I like Black Tusk a lot, don't get me wrong.

I liked the previous LP, Taste the Sin, I saw them live and thoroughly enjoyed their show, particularly their energy-- I don't even care how much they sound like Kylesa.

I went so far as to write most of a review of my hating it, which I discarded. Here are the high (low) points:

"Brewing the Storm" starts with a cool, low-gain sludgy-disco riff, and then proceeds to play it too long.... "Bring Me Darkness" starts with a "six-six-six" chant over a riff that starts great but by 1:32 has overstayed its welcome.

vaguely malevolent, apocalyptic sorcery lyrics comically contrast with lightweight, almost whimsical southern metal.

no great power here; sound like kids

Then I think I had that click experience. I was listening to Set the Dial wrong.

Black Tusk--

are a comic book band!

Now, this is said not with disdain but with love-- as someone who loves and still reads comics.

Like most characters in comic books and graphic novels-- they're larger than life and not really meant, generally, to take seriously, but, in an odd way, are just as serious about their art as anyone. E.g., "Yeah, I'm writing about things we both know don't exist, but I'm using them as serious props."

Maybe this will sum up my paradigm shift: Set the Dial is like the experience of going into a Haunted House commercial attraction for Halloween-- and not an actually haunted house (like, say, listening to Reign in Blood might be).

It's not gonna found any religions, but it will scare [rock] the shit out of you while you're listening.

"Carved in Stone" great, as is "Set the Dial to Your Doom" and "Crossroads and Thunder" [in retrospect, the song titles should really have tipped me off as to the tongue-in-cheek-ness on display here]; the sound overall of Set the Dial is much more stripped-down, production-wise, than previous LPs-- it's almost live-sounding, and it really suites their music:  the energy and enthusiasm I saw them display live actually comes through the speakers.

 

--Horn

Noothgrush - Live for Nothing

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. 

Your milage may vary, however. 

I'm not promising anything. Just sayin'.

--Horn

Shovel's Free Music Ripple Treasures - featuring Engine, Kadavar, Wiht, and Kraken,

Engine

Quality sludge heftiness from Olympia WA. Stream the whole demo from their bandcamp page.

http://engine1.bandcamp.com/album/engine-demo-album

Kadavar

Retro styled fuzz fiends from Berlin, Germany. One to keep an eye on I feel....you heard it here first.

http://kadavar.bandcamp.com/

Wiht

Splendid epic UK heavy duty goodness with a hint of post whatever it is. Another up and coming band worth keeping tabs on.

http://wihtleeds.bandcamp.com/album/the-harrowing-of-the-north

Kraken

My demo of the moment. Full EP freely available via their soundcloud page, retro styled witchcraft-esque doom. Where they succeed is in the melody and execution. Don't miss out.

http://soundcloud.com/luciferskraken/sets/demon




Doom on,

--The Shovel

Gideon Smith & the Dixie Damned - 30 Weight

Through the mist . . . hiding at the end of the alley.  Moonlight reflecting off the rain-soaked streets, illuminating dark corners of the gothic southern night.  Haze swirls around the erected crucifixes topping the tombstones.  Stone angels look on, hiding from the penetrating eyes of the gargoyles.

A pulse vibrates.  Heavy.  Intensifying.   Terrifying.

Something stirs in the netherlands.  The mist parts and Gideon Smith steps forward, six-string slung over his shoulders like a shotgun.  The Dixie Damned join in his wake like a sheriff's posse.  Guns are drawn.  Violence is due.

30 Weight may only be Gideon's third official full length release, but the man is already a legend, worthy of his own tribute album that showcased the exquisiteness of his songwriting.  An outlaw martial artist riding his iron horse into the horizon, the North Carolina native mixes Cult psychedelia, Sabbath occult riffery, and southern rock into his entirely unique blend of netherworld gothic heaviness.  Dust explodes under the weight of his boots.  Skeleton's run and hide as he rides into town.  God-fearing folk start praying . . . to no effect.  The legend has arrived. 

Still, knowing the man's music as well as I do, I wasn't prepared for the full glory of 30 Weight.  All dispassionate music writing goes out the window here.   This is a fucking amazing album.  Without a doubt the monster in Gideon's catalog, and a true triumph of sludgy Gothic rock.   30 Weight is a testament of crushingly heavy riffs, monstrous bone-shattering groove, eerie bluesy boogie, and unearthly tone.  And by tone I mean mood, imagery, tenor.  Feel the cold, blood-sucking breath of your master bearing down on your neck, cause Gideon is the resurrected spirit of every southern outlaw ever hung at the crack of dawn, crawling back out of the swampy delta cemetery ready to rock havoc upon your town. 

And it's all there from the very first second of the first track, "Black Fire."  A haunted moment of slide guitar echoes in the first second before the mother of all slinky guitar riffs explodes into the night sky.  Aided by the incredible guitar work of Phill Durr and the rhythm of Eric Hoegemyer, The Dixie Damned rise from the mud-caked underworld.  Gideon's voice occupies some emotional place that Danzig could only wish to reach, deep and husky, full of nuance and impossible menace.   The song is an epic to lost love, full of mournful reflection and cryptic pain.  It's real and it fucking grooves.   I honestly can't stop listening to it.

But I do, because "Ride With Me" comes next, swaggering out of the speakers like a demonic motorcycle pack on the open highway.  Without ever having met Gideon, I already know that this is his theme song.  His reason for being.   The song to one day be played at his funeral as his leather-clad and tattooed pall bearers carry his mahogany and chrome casket to it's final resting place.  This is his essence, his being, his outlaw philosophy spit out into the wind behind him without a touch of remorse.  You either accept it or get the outta the way.  Against a crushing riff, Gideon sings:

Hands on the wheel
Picking up speed
I do what I feel
Do I look like I give a fuck if you like it?

Ride with me, Baby

And I'm hooked.  I'm there, the engine growling between my legs.  I'm tattooing parts of my body I didn't even know I had.  I'm in the pack.  I'm a member of the damned.  Fuck the world, I'm riding with him.

"South" is pure southern sludge and ethereal mysticism.  A song of sweaty, sultry intensity.  The outlaw lays bare his heart.  His passion is palpable as he takes his woman into the "wilderness of our love."  Layers of guitar swoon and mingle like fluids mixing in the midst of lovemaking.  It's heavy, it's intense, it's dark.  Just the way you'd imagine Gideon to be.

"Love of the Vampire" rips through a quasi-Monster Magnet/Fu Manchu riff before launching off into a blackened voodoo rocker.  Fuzz guitar shreds through the bluesy tone while the darkness of Gideon's vocals weighs down. 

There's more, there's so much more.  A plain intensely evil, stripped down cover of St. Vitus's "I Bleed Black,"  the out-and-out riff-rock of "Do Me Wrong," a twisted acoustic version of G.G. Allin's "When I Die," and the kicking groovy haunted blues workout that is "Come and Howl."  But these treasures I'll leave for you to discover on your own.  And discover you must.  If you love rock, if you love mood, if you love blues, sludge, southern gothic, heavy guitars, texture, motorcycles, zombies and undead outlaws, you owe it to yourself to hear this album.  Buy three copies.  Give one to your preacher. Nail one above your door to let the rampaging motorcycle gangs know your allegiance and your bowing to the master.  Let them motor by your house in peace.

30 Weight is epic.  Simple as that.

--Racer

Valley of the Sun -The Saying of the Seers EP

When I was visiting family in Kentucky earlier this summer I had no idea I was so close to such noteworthy new stoner rock. Cincinnati was just a hop, skip and a jump from where I was and I would have happily taken the short drive north for a chance to see Valley of the Sun. The Ohio rockers (Ryan McAllister, Aaron Boyer, Ryan Ferrier) have come out with a fantastic 5-track ep, The Saying of the Seers.

Before anything else, first let me say that The Sayings of the Seers have some of the best vocals I've ever heard in my favored style of rock. That's right. I said it: EVER.

Sometimes when I'm rockin' out I could care less about the singer. Now and then I don't even care if there's vocals at all. That's how I can like instrumental bands so much. It can be all about the music for me, but this guy (Ferrier) is in a class all his own so I just had to say something. Like electrifying. Or wondrous. How about moving? That's works, too. I love it when a band's vocalist can make me feel something deep down in my core.

Not to take anything away from the top-notch musicianship, but I got goosebumps about 2 minutes into "Riding the Dunes", an appropriately-named desert rock song. After relaxing me with some low, soothing and comforting "Woah"s and "Yeah"s, Ferrier voice astonishes me as he climbs way up the scale when the real riffage begins. I'm flabbergasted. He has amazing range and can hold a note for more than a few seconds.

It won't surprise you to know that "Riding the Dunes" (6:03) is my most beloved song on The Saying of the Seers, and it also the last. You'll find that I say that a lot. How my favorite is the last song on an album. Maybe there's a reason for that. Hmmm. Anyway, I included a link to it so you could listen (I know, the title is wrong). The beginning is great, too, but just wait until the "Woah"s and they "Yeah"s are done. You'll hear what I mean. You might even get chills like I did. I hope so.

The Saying of the Seers starts with an exclamation for me, much like it ends. The fuzzed guitars and heavy drums on "Hearts Aflame" immediately get my head nodding and then I'm introduced to Ferrier's vocal prowess. How do you do? You do it with style, man. I have an instant feeling this ep is gonna be another winner.

And I'm right. The up-tempo boogie treat, "Deep Light Burns", while it's the shortest, is one of my favorites 'cause of...you guessed it...the cowbell. I'm a sucker for a cowbell, even if it's only at the beginning of the song. "Mariner's Tale" (4:17) has more of a southern-style rock groove to me and "Aquarius" includes a Loud Love atmosphere, if you feel where I'm coming from.

Overall, I think Valley of the Sun give a stellar performance on The Sayings of the Seers, from beginning to end. The only problem I have is there wasn't enough to fill me up. I'm greedy like that.

You can listen to The Sayings of the Seers and snatch up a digital copy for yourself off Bandcamp. If you're a fan of superb rock music, I'm sure you will. Or you have already. There you can also get a free version of Valley of the Sun's self-titled 2010 debut ep.

--Heddbuzz

http://valleyofthesun.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/valleyofthesun
http://www.reverbnation.com/valleyofthesun

Spiderlord - S/T EP

I'm not religious but recently I've been worshiping the 'lord. Well, Spiderlord anyway.

Rejoice all ye people. For, lo, this band knoweth the way of hard rock and delivereth unto us righteous free music. Hallelujah!

Spiderlord is a 5-track EP available for free download right now on Bandcamp.  Racer sent me a link but i let him know pretty quick that i already had it. I'd already been listening for at least a couple weeks. Listening over and over. You will too once you get your free copy.

New York area rockers Spiderlord have all i need: the fuzz Racer knows i like so much, a healthy side of southern foot-stompin' groove, a dab o' sludge, and it's all topped off with clear vocal stylings. It's just tasty straight-up no-frills rock.

Several songs include some really memorable lyrics for me too. Those from "The Collector" are still stuck in my head. 'A 44 magnum..wherever I roam..'  I feel ya. 'Now I'm across the border..with 10 tons of snow..' Nice. I stole a a verse from the second track, "Qualify", and used it as a Facebook status i liked it so much. First time i've ever done that. 'Make it last like the Beatles and Stones' is a classic line and i'm sure i'll be saying it again.

"Solutions" could be my favorite song riffage-wise and it's the longest on Spiderlord at 4:21, but I would've ended the song a second earlier to make it an even 4:20. Right? Another couple of hard-hitters, "Different Speed" and "The Rolling Song", close out the album.

The 'lord giveth and then they taketh away. When I downloaded the Spiderlord EP it had probably my favorite artwork ever on my Ipod. A smokin' hot, fully-nude 'Devil Girl' sits Indian-style in front of you. With long black hair and her cute little horns, the succubus invites you to join her. Now the cover has changed for some reason. Oh why 'lord? Devil girl was genius. Any average guy like me was gonna hit play on the link just by looking at that artwork. I saw mention on Spiderlord's Facebook page of a similar cover by another band. As I'm writing, the Spiderlord EP  cover is now some giant mechanical spider hovering above earth. Whatever. It's not what's important. I still love the music.

And I feel blessed. Spiderlord (Lee Diamond-vox/guitar, Chris Bonet-guitar, Mike Zinn-bass and Gabe DeStellano-drums) also offer a new single - "Ungrounded" for free download on Bandcamp. It's over 9 minutes long and rocks as hard - if not harder - than anything on Spiderlord.

Praise the 'lord. Spiderlord. Bow down.

Heddbuzz

http://spiderlord1.bandcamp.com/album/spiderlord-2011-ep

http://spiderlord1.bandcamp.com/album/ungrounded-2011-single

http://soundcloud.com/spiderlord

Ripple Music Invades Grip of Delusion Radio!

Black Light Revolution for 6-18-2011

June 19, 2011 bossheathen

Keepin’ It Fresh!

Thanks to: Ripple Music, Vulture, Otis Reaper, Tricorn Rock, Kingsnake Philadelphia and Frost Hammer for submitting songs!  You should submit songs to: GripODR@gmail.com !

1. -(16)- – Thiothixene (Re-recorded Version) (4:07) 2. Poobah – Rock n’ Roll (3:48) 3. Mighty High – Don’t Panic, It’s Organic (3:41) 4. Grifter – Small Man Syndrome (2:32) 5. Sun Gods In Exile – Over My Broken Bones (4:46) 6. Stone Axe – Nightwolf (4:32) 7. Khann – The Gate (4:23) 8. The Engineer – Starving Artist (4:15) 9. Birch Hill Dam – Colossus (5:16) 10. U.S. Christmas – The Scalphunters (5:42) 11. Alunah – Living Fast in an Ancient Land (6:43) 12. Frost Hammer – Master of Weapon (4:27) 13. Tricorn – Give Me Some More (4:11) 14. Black Rainbows – Babylon (4:27) 15. Zeke – Chinatown (1:37) 16. Otis Reaper – Optimator (3:29) 17. Fister – Santabbath (5:41) 18. Vulture – Prick of Misery (6:09) 19. EyeHateGod – Dixie Whiskey (2:55) 20. Cherubs – Baby Huey (3:36) 21. The Lemmings – Blue Mountain (4:04) 22. Danko Jones – When Will I See You (3:27) 23. Kingsnake – Dying Working Man (3:25) 24. BOSS 302 – No Overdose (5:18) 25. Struck By Lightning – False Hope (3:30) 26. Obiat – Angry Water (4:10) 27. Capricorn – Hello Strawberry Skies (2:54) 28. Avernal – Green Machine (3:49) 29. Blind Dog – Keep Up The Gloss (3:46) 30. Dala Sun – I Have a Better Way (3:54) 31. Black Sabbath – Supernaut (4:41) 32. Tona – Red Cylinder (3:20) 33. Deathbeds – No Funeral (3:03) 34. Electric Magma – Tokener (2:01) 35. Apehanger – Put The Skin On It (4:54) 36. Lento – Hadrons (5:14) 37. Corrosion Of Conformity – Stone Breaker (5:16) 38. Solace – The Disillusioned Prophet (6:59)

http://www.steamingheathen.com/delusion/2011/06/19/black-light-revolution-for-6-18-2011/

A Burst of EP's - Featuring After Oblivion and the Great Sabatini

After Oblivion - Vultures

This three song promo found it’s way onto my hard drive and into my heart just the other day.

That band is the technical death metal band After Oblivion.  These dudes are based out of Tuzla, Bosnia & Herzegovina…try and say that three times fast. I am a fan of all things metal…especially good death metal. That being said, I am very skeptical of new death bands. It seems as though nothing has hit my tastes buds and made me want more. After Oblivion is a different story.

Their new Ep, Vultures is everything an up and comer in the death scene needs to be. Fast and thrashy yet not relying heavily on meaningless guitar solos. Their singer Adnan has an epic approach to his vocal stylings, which are very reminiscent of Death singer, Chuck Schuldiner. Almost as if he has risen from the dead. Could Adnan be the long lost love child of Chuck Schuldiner…possibly conceived during a late 90’s tour of Bosnia??  Maybe. The band itself reminds me of a 90’s tech death band. Again, you can hear their influences from the band, Death. 

The lead off track to Vultures is a song called “Septic Mind“. A very cool song that starts off with a very epic thrashy intro. Which leads into Adnan’s screeching vocals. Thrashy breakdowns and an awesome guitar solo make this one a keeper. I could see this band opening up for Amon Amarth or maybe even The Faceless.

Hopefully soon we will be graced with new full length album soon from the boys in After Oblivion. My musical taste buds cannot wait.

-Cicatriz

Listen to the album here: http://www.myspace.com/afteroblivion

The Great Sabatini 7"-- By the Power of Greyskull

A 3-song EP/ 7" (though essentially 2, since middle track "Helter Skeletor" is a minute instrumental), Montreal's The Great Sabatini and their self-titled 7" are a Lo-Pan-ish mix of rock with doom and stoner features.

They get big lyric points for so many diverse references in three songs (Rafael Sabatini, Vincent Lugosi/ Charles Manson, Jon Heder, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe), even though the lyrics are screamed into incoherence-- and the music is just as cheeky and surprisingly innovative: "Napoleon Sodomite" pounds along with a nice detuned-yet-nimble single-minded riff and "Trap Sequence" use a cool sequence of octaves to make things more heavy (rather than the ubiquitous power/fifth chord) and, even though it's instrumental is the best and most interesting track on here, eventually speeding up and into oblivion.

Kudos for writing catchy yet short doom songs. They get in and out cleanly and well.

Also there's banjo.

Nothing terribly unique, but fun stuff. Makes me wanna hear a full-length from these guys; if they can hold their penchant for being cute down to a dull roar (letting it enhance their music and not define it), should be very cool.

--Horn

buy and listen here: http://www.myspace.com/thegreatsabatini

Torche - Songs for Singles

An uneasy, uncertain, and unnerved man pops a newly purchased DVD into his player and pushes the play button.  He sits down on his couch facing his TV.  The Ripple Effect logo is emblazoned on the screen for a few seconds, and then fades away to black.  Moments later a familiar cartoon face appears, and some schmaltzy background music begins to play.

“Hello there friend.  My name is Penfold.  You might remember me from such films as…wait…I haven’t been in any.  Well, you might remember me from such sparkling write ups as…okay, you’ve probably not seen any of those either.  You know what?  That’s okay!  This isn’t about me.  We’re going to be focusing on you right now.  I’m here to help you through whatever relationship problem you’re experiencing at the present time by providing you with my expert advice and guidance.  You see, I’ve recently discovered the solution to all relationship problems.  That’s right!  And I’m going to share that secret with you my friend.  So get ready, because here it comes!”

“Over the next few minutes I’m going to demonstrate four relationship-related scenarios with the help of a few of my friends.  There will be a common thread running through each of them.  Let’s see if you can spot what that thread is.”

Scenario One:  The Lead Up

“Hey Penfold, where are we going?”
“We’re going to the most popular night club in the city.  It’s always packed, so it should definitely be a target rich environment.”
“Awesome!  Hey man, I need to get psyched up for this.  I need something that will boost my confidence and energize me at the same time.  Put on some tunes!”
“I know just the thing.  This is the new Torche album, Songs For Singles.”
“Sweet!”

Scenario Two:  After the Crushing Blow

“Penfold, why are you crying?”
“It’s over man!  She left me.”
“Oh jeez, I’m sorry to hear that.  That’s terrible.”
“I know.  This is the worst day of my life!”
“Hey listen; I’ve got something here that will cheer you right up.”
“I sincerely doubt it.”
“No seriously, I know how much you like your music.”
“Yeah, so?”
“Soooo…this is the new Torche album, Songs For Singles, and with one listen it’s going to turn your whole day around!”

Scenario Three:  The Decider

“Hey babe, welcome home.  How was your day?”
“Hey Penfold.  Eh, my day was fine.  Same as all the others I suppose.  So what have you been up to?”
“Oh, not much.  I’ve been hunkered down writing for most of the day.”
“Ah, I should have known.  Say babe, what are you listening to over there?”
“This?  This is Songs For Singles, the new album from Torche.  Good, huh?”
“Babe, I have to tell you.  You have the worst taste in music of anyone I’ve ever known.”

“You know…this really isn’t working out.  I’m out of here.  Have a nice life.”

Scenario Four:  Fireworks

“Yep, here we are Mr. Penfold.  This is the last available copy of Torche’s new album Songs For Singles in the entire city.”
“Thanks.”  The sales clerk leaves and another party approaches.  They happen to be very attractive.
“Oh shoot, is that the last one?”
“I’m afraid so ma’am.”
“Dangit!  I love that band and I’ve looked everywhere for this album!”
“You like Torche?”
“Of course!?  They rock!  Don’t you think so?”
“I do indeed!  Tell you what.  If I can have your phone number, I’ll gladly let you have this album.”
“You drive a hard bargain, but I like your style…done.  What’s your name?”  Ding-ding-ding!  We have a winner!

All right waveriders.  It’s time to get serious.  If you could not have guessed, I like Torche.  I like Torche…a lot.  I’ve been following this band for quite a few years now.  They made a gigantic initial impression on me when I witnessed their ferocious live show.  Needless to say I left that show with their first album in tow, and my appreciation for the band’s music has grown by leaps and bounds ever since.  To put it succinctly, Torche serves as my brain’s musical reset button.  Whenever I have befuddled my musical consciousness under a mountainous heap of undesirables, all I have to do is put on a Torche album and the world is right once again.  So what type of music holds this kind of sway over my mind?  Let me to try to explain.

You see, it is a bit difficult to adequately describe this group thanks to their musical approach.  I’m sure there are many people out there who can tell you that Torche sounds like one band or another, but try as I might I simply don’t have that ability.  Torche sounds like Torche, plain and simple.  These gentlemen play an invigorating combination of stoner rock, sludge metal, and pop that in my experience is entirely their own.  For further clarification I’m going to lift a couple of choice quotes I’ve run across that I think will be helpful.  Revolver magazine states, “At long last, we know what life would be like in a parallel universe where The Melvins became a pop sensation”.   And a sticker on the front of Songs For Singles finds the bass player, Jonathan Nunez, reflecting, “It’s a bunch of radio rock bullshit”.  Yeah right, if only!  I might actually listen to commercial radio if that was the case.

Songs For Singles is Torche’s third full length album.  It comes at the listener fast, furious, and melodious.  While it is the band’s most ear-pleasingly poppy release to date, make no mistake waveriders, this band is as heavy as a pallet of gold bricks and as solid as a blacksmith’s anvil.  To their credit, the immense amount of rock goes down extremely easily behind the clean singing and hummable riffs.  Discerning shoppers may look at the length of this album, just under twenty two minutes, and question whether or not it offers enough substance to justify its cost.  Rest assured.  The answer is a resounding YES!  All eight songs run rampant from the speakers, leveling all that dare to stand before them in defiance of their rock.  My personal favorites are pulsating album opener “UFO”, rheumatologist friendly “Hideaway”, and sonically uplifting “Cast Into Unkown”.  Oops, looks like we’ve reached the conclusion of the tape.

“So there you have it my friend.  This album, Songs For Singles by Torche, is the answer you have been waiting for!  We’ve demonstrated exactly how you can use this music to begin, end, or recover from a relationship.  Now it’s up to you to put what you’ve learned to good use.  I wish you luck!  But seriously; with this album and my patented techniques, who needs luck?”

--Penfold

buy here: Songs For Singles

Metal's Unlikely Ally: Pop; Featuring Red Fang's Murder the Mountains and Bloodiest's Descent

Red Fang: single-length radio sludge/stoner rock.


An interesting combination, really: Murder the Mountains, in my mind, emerges as an attempt (not entirely successful, but not entirely un- either, which really says something) to radically detune the White Album.... Pop hooks with clever, legitimate songwriting....

Red Fang put songs first (there's a clear continuing vocal melody, with narrative lyrics that seem to thematically match the mood of the music-- when was the last time that happened?), and only THEN riffs...

...though fear not, riffs there are, and all the way down to C-- bravo for writing riffs that subsonic, that seismic, that respectably de-tuned, while actually being memorable.

"Murder the mountain"-- sounds sinister, but not sure what that entails-- some sort of deforestation project? They're coal miners of some kind? ANYhoo....

"Hank is dead" QOTSA-ish riff and vocals... vibes like the Partridge Family as backing band for sludge band in 2011-- there's a suspiciously-wholesome vibe to gang chorus....

"Throw Up," at 1:55 fires up a riff that sound like sonic spaghetti you might've eaten at some important dinner date: it just kept coming, and coming, and coming, winding itself around your fork....

"Painted Parade" has a cool Blink 182-gone-wonderfully-wrong vibe: surf rock for tsunamis... "Number 13" has a great, lazy, THC-dripping version of a Stevie Ray Vaughn riff: then trots back into 1950s strut territory with the verse....

"Into the Eye"-- very swank, cool opening riff in only two notes (Eb to C#), then into a 6/8 time thing like something from the 1950s or Danzig's "She Rides."

Bloodiest: Swans-y (not the place in Wales)-- extremely heavy pop music-- manages to be heavy, sludgy and intense with no or little distorted guitar....

Nutshelled: David Bowie's backing band, en route to a concert, can't make it and the only musicians on hand are Swans....

OR!

Til Lindeman (Rammstein singer) writes scores for Bowie's backing band...
OR!

Godflesh unplugged.

Highlights:

"Fallen" sounds like Eddie Vedder's alterna-sludge project....
"Dead Inside" starts with the identical drum fill from 1988's Operation: Mindcrime track "Spreading the Disease," yet slower and more sinister, and is quickly revealed to be the only thing those tracks have in common/ singer sounds like Til Lindeman, both in his timbre and his manner, which sounds like the exhortations of a semi-psychotic yet charismatic shaman or druid priest over his followers (and there is a tribal/ teutonic vibe to the songs, the energy is distinctly brooding Visigoth-ly, like a warriored tribe sitting around caves and cookfires, waiting for a battle...)... at around 5:00 the songs drops into an ugly funk'd groove, guitar and bass pounding in alternating riffs like a giant unholy piston in Kali's engine of death...

Hypnotic, ambient, repetitive/industrial alterna-sludge....

Both very worth your time my liege.


--Horn

Buy here: Red Fang
Buy here: Descent

VYGR - Hypersleep

It's kismet, karma, predestination, Newton's Third Law, Ørlǫg, Wyrd...

It's very definitely Doom, in its middle English and musical definitions: a preordained, generally negative or dreaded, outcome and a slow-moving, ugly sub-genre of heavy metal.

We've just got our hands on Hypersleep by VYRG, which we've previewed moderately ecstatically before...

The universe felt the jonsing here. The universe responded, one might daresay, rather expansively... (hence the above thesaurus-fest).

Hypersleep, it turns out, sounds like:

Cthulhu, drunk on peyote-laced nepenthe.

VYGR, elsewhere, have been called space rock, doom metal, ambient sludge-- but they're truly Epic Narrative Sludge or Tripped-Out Sci-fi doom: Hypersleep sounds like a sci-fi movie soundtrack, with sludge:

VYGR's use of space is one of the more distinct elements of their sound, beyond the sheer weight of the riffs
First track, "Solar," practically a snippet at two minutes-- at 1:38 proceeds spiderly, shimmering background tiny string leads, suggests the end of "The Thing That Should Not Be"....

"Flares" opens with Riff of Riffs, yet also (perhaps it's the keyboards in the background), sounds like it could be the soundtrack for the horror movie Terrence Malick will never make... the verse riff has a great fourth-based harmony that sounds maudlin and exultant at the same time, somewhat like Galactus playing Barber's Adagio for Strings... and at 3:26 there it is, the Pink Floyd phased-out/ flanged-in lick in E... perfectly compliments the heaviness... VYGR know to break the heavy periodically so when they get back to it, it seems even heavier... like letting someone you're waterboarding up periodically, instilling hope, and crushing again when they go back under....

That simile may not seem like it, but it's a fun experience, that....

 trudge, yet gracefully.

"Orbital Hallucinations," aka A Riffed Out Dark Side of the Moon, encapsulates the sound here overall: nightmare alternate-universe soundtracks to the original Solaris, or the underrated Pandorum....

There are obvious similarites to Isis and Pelican-- but whereas Pelican's dominant mood is maudlin, or melancholy, VYGR's is dread and exultation-- like a brave-yet-scared-shitless cosmonaut who lost contact with his mother ship, but may be drifting to a previously-undiscovered planet....

"Galactic Garbage," at around 4:00 hits what can only be described as a "leaden harp" section... majestic, 10-story harp of all gods, being fought over by Dionysus, Pan, and Kulitta... and at 4:44 exactly, drastically changes, yet retains the same melody-- like Cthulhu suddenly tired of watching the previous three fight and tore it from their insignificant hands....

Track 6, "-", a sweeper at 33 seconds, with its stirring, ambient sounds, like droids sleeping off nightmares....


"The Hidden": moody, sad, at 4:40 takes a breather and mourns... stately and funereal in its dignified pacing... triumphant and sad, the bittersweet ending of an epic trilogy....

"Shapeshifters," in its seeming familiarity, cements what was creeping up on our unconscious... the mighty music here is also catchy... 5:28 lays down RIFFness, like Cthulhu has had enough and destroys it all... as you watch... rapt.... as it fades to silence, and black, and diminuendo screaming....

"Unmoved Mover" and its twin guitar harmonies over a slug-trailing-blood riff: Iron Maiden risen from the depths to destroy the humans at Poseidon's bidding... then around 2:15 lopes off, into the depths, alone, existentially despondent, after its pillaging....

"Path to the Unknown" ushers in "Event Horizon" with bell-like acoustic guitars that become the rumble of a train next door... "We Drift" opens with spacey whale calls and palm-muted lurching riffs....

We end with "A Distant Beacon," with the encroaching silence and darkness, the gaining lack of light, with static and a sonar blip, as we feel total stillness and its approach.


--Horn


[Maybe the best illustration of the mix of sounds and ideas on Hypersleep was shown by my computer (fittingly): as I write, it picks up words and tries to link them to other sites, usually forming an overall theme; all the links it got from the above text were so varied, with little to no discernable patterns emerging, that while I was writing it finally just opened a pop-up window that said "Holy Jesus, what is this fucking article about?" True story.]

creator-destructor records site: www.creator-destructor.com/store.php

VYGR bandcamp: vygr.bandcamp.com/

ShroudEater - Thundernoise

Ultra-low budget Black Cobra in D flat, as played by (mostly) woman.

Quite cool: Seismically-heavy, quirkily-lurching sludge.

This is fun stuff. I wrote the first draft of this review almost immediately after listening the whole album the first time. I wanted to capture my thoughts right away, and I rarely do that.

I've listened to it five times now, in less than 24 hours.

"High John the Conqueror" lurches to and fro, radically detuned, taking its time.... "Vesuvius" with its tribal drumming opener: dig that distorted bass riff, dig that thick-ass riff over top of it, dig that double bass coming in just then, dig the feedback and double-tracked vocals at 1:15... a heavier Kylesa meets Helmet.... "Cyclone" fires up one helluva simple thick-ass riff which segues into a pedal-tone-tastic instrumental riff fest.... "Shark Valley," mandolin-intro'ed, folk-sludge crusted riffer, similarly-instrumental.... "Oubliette," a remorseful Gothic instrumental...

"Baying of Jackals" starts tribal --"Rise from the place where you hide!"-- hits a semi-syncopated odd meter (i.e., you can't dance to it and headbanging might be a challenge); the two facets compliment each other and make the tribal more tribal and the quirky more quirked. "Sinister Hunt," the more riffy, stomp-laden brother of the previous piece-- ending with a mantra and slowing slowing slowing slowing feedback....

"Hands That Prey" (see what they did there?) a one-minute, acousticed, phased, delayed intro to "Pale Rider" and its riff-armored war horse of a tune, complete with gang (really prolly just multi-tracked) vocals, raises images of an army, invoked shaman-style, chanting a victory cry. THEN: around 2:00, becomes a quiet, drum-launched fireside chant, THEN: takes off again with the screaming war-painted masses.

Nicely ended, ShroudEater.

Thundernoise does absolutely nothing original. 

But it does it very, very well.

 --Horn

Beehoover - Concrete Catalyst

I strode with purpose into the anteroom outside of the Oval Office on my way to see the President.  The President’s receptionist attempted to stop me, but one look at my intense demeanor was enough to convince her that I would not take kindly to being hassled or delayed.  Five strides and I was across the room, forcefully opening the door, and making one last mental check of all the information I needed to relate to the Commander in Chief.  I knew I would be interrupting a meeting the President was having with some of his top advisors, but this situation could not wait.

“Ladies and gentlemen.  No time for pleasantries I’m afraid.  I need the room…right now.”  My words complemented my glare in persuading all of the advisors that I meant business, and they quickly extricated themselves from the office.
“Okay Secretary Penfold.  Would you mind telling me what this is about?”
“Mr. President, we have a situation.”
“A situation, Secretary Penfold?”
“Yes sir.  We have just received intelligence defining a clear and present danger to the United States of America, as well as the rest of the world.”
“All right.  Where does this threat come from?”
“Germany sir.”
“Germany?”
“Yes sir.  Two Germans have created a new weapon ripped directly from our worst nightmares.”
“What kind of weapon are we talking about here?  Nuclear, chemical, or biological?”
“None of those, sir.  This appears to be an entirely new type of weapon.  It is auditory in nature; a sonic weapon so to speak.”
“It uses sound?”
“Yes sir, music to be exact.”
“Music?  Seriously Secretary Penfold?  What exactly can this music do?  I listen to music everyday, but we don’t raise the country’s alert status every time I turn on my stereo.”
“Correct sir, but this music has been specially formulated to affect the environment it’s played in; specifically buildings and structures.”
“What do you mean Penfold?”
“Sir, what was the last Hollywood action film that you watched?”
“I think it was a James Bond movie or something, but what does that have to do with anything?”
“Just humor me sir.  Were there many explosions in the movie?”
“Of course!  It was an action film for crying out loud!  There were things exploding in almost every scene!”
“Mr. President, do you remember any ordinary building blowing up, one that did not contain any kind of explosive or accelerant?”
“Yes.  Now what is the point of this line of questioning?”
“That is exactly what happens when this music is played.  This music acts as a concrete catalyst.”
“Penfold, are you saying…”
“Yes sir.  Point a speaker playing this music at a concrete structure, or even something built with a small concrete component, and it will explode like a giant stick of dynamite!”
“Mercy!”  The President paused for a moment exhibiting grave concern.  “Tell me we know who has this weapon Secretary Penfold.  Tell me we know where it is!”
“We do sir.  The two men responsible form the band Beehoover.  Their base of operations is Esslingen, Germany.  They are located there now.”
“Good.  Send a representative immediately.  We need to make contact with these men as soon as possible.”
“Yes sir.”

Waveriders I give you Beehoover; the righteous, mighty, and inventive two piece ensemble from Germany that is out to send your musical enjoyment scale into tilt territory.  Analyzing my own listening history, it was a forgone conclusion that I would embrace this band with wide open arms.  Honestly, I feel as if a focus group looked into my brain, checked off the musical elements necessary to excite me, and compiled several of them to produce Beehoover.  Let’s break it down as simply as possible, shall we?  Beehoover sounds like an aggressive version of Tool, with a splash of Primus, topped off with Clutch-like vocals.  Don’t worry.  I’ll wait for that last sentence to properly sink in before continuing.  No…I completely understand.  Trust me.  I feel exactly the same way!

Concrete Catalyst is the third full length album, and fourth overall release from this dynamic duo.  The epic nine song experience monopolizes attention spans for its entire fifty minute duration.  There is no let-up.  None.  Zero.  All killer, no filler.  You know the drill.  Take care of any errands or responsibilities before listening because once that play button is pressed, you’ll be lost to the world under a constant barrage of enormous riffs, bottomless grooves, and brave explorations.  Perhaps the highest compliment I can give this album is that it makes me lose track of time.  I’ve lost multiple hours already, and this album shows no sign of relinquishing its grasp on me any time soon.  Problematic?  Not remotely!

As previously noted, Beehoover throws an avalanche of hammering riffs at the listener that refuse to be ignored.  Pick a song, any song.  No matter which one you choose, at some point you will be enveloped by wicked bass riffs and thunderous drumming.  It is unavoidable.  My two favorite songs from the album are “Sultana” and “Counted Is Bygone”.  “Sultana” begins with majestic, cascading bass chords that quickly transition into dissonance complemented with booming, echo heavy drums.  About a minute and fifteen seconds into the song the central heavy groove kicks in, producing instant fist pumping and head gyration.  “Counted is Bygone” burns brightly right from the start.  Quick, intricate bass strumming coupled with staccato drumming dominates the first half of this song before the latter half springboards into a full-on exploratory journey.  All of the musical exploration perfectly complements the sonic makeup of the song, serving to greatly enhance an already riveting performance.  Just fantastic stuff!

So there you have it waveriders.  If you a) are a fan of incredibly interesting heavy music, b) need a group to prove to you that a bass can in fact make you forget the need for a guitar, c) miss the sound of some of the nineties biggest non-grunge bands, or d) simply want to keep an eye out for what those wily Germans come up with next, you need to pick up Beehoover’s Concrete Catalyst.  Now let’s get back to the White House.

“Secretary Penfold, give me a status report.”
“Mr. President, our representative got there too late.  The music had been pressed and shipped out already.  The album had been uploaded onto the internet as well.”
“What does this mean Penfold?  What can we do now?”
“There is only one thing to do Mr. President.  We can’t stop the spread of this music.  We fully understand what chaos will result when people listen to this album.  All we can really do is set our top scientists and industrialists the task of finding a substitute for concrete.  I have a feeling we’re going to be rebuilding a great many things in the near future.”  After I finished my last sentence, the noise of distant explosions began to reach my ears.  It had begun.

--Penfold


Buy here mp3: Concrete Catalyst
Buy here: Concrete Catalyst

Wino - Adrift

I’m probably the last person you want reviewing an “acoustic” album. For the most part, acoustic guitar bores me to tears after a few minutes (Muddy Waters – Folk Singer is one of the few exceptions). But this is Wino we’re talking about, the master of doom, not some Jeff Tweedy snooze-fest so I approached it with an open mind and open beer.

Thankfully, the electric guitar makes an appearance early on and helped me to dive into this very solid album. Wino is an excellent player and it’s actually refreshing to hear him play acoustic. Lots of the riffs would probably work well in a band setting but playing them solo creates space for his great singing voice and powerful lyrics.

The title track starts off the album sounding like something The Who might have done in their early 70’s prime, energetic and moody. What really sold me on the record is the 2nd song, “I Don’t Care.” I’d imagine this is what Wino would say to me if I told him I was hesitant about listening to his acoustic album. It’s impossible for me to resist any kind of “fuck you” type of song extolling the virtues of having long hair and doing whatever you want. And then he rips into a great electric solo. Wino’s mentioned that Ross The Boss (The Dictators, Manowar, Shankin Street, etc) is one of his favorite guitarists and you can really hear the influence on this one.

“Hold On Love” and “Old & Alone” reveal a bit of a Beatles influence with big melodies to counteract the strong, personal lyrics. “Shot In The Head” is a great honky tonk shuffle. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Wino likes to drink beer and listen to Lefty Frizzell and Charlie Rich on a Saturday night. Even without bass or drums, it has a great boogie feel and killer slide guitar solo. The instrumental “O.B.E.” is all electric and lets him get all Frippertronic for 3 minutes.

 “Green Speed” is the fastest song on the album with killer dueling electric leads over a driving acoustic rhythm. But the real highlight of the album for me is the cover of Motorhead’s biker anthem “Iron Horse/Born To Lose.” It’s always been one of my favorite Motorhead songs (especially the On Parole version when Larry Wallis was in the band) and Wino really makes it his own. With all due respect to Lemmy, I don’t think he has a drivers license and shouldn’t really be operating any vehicles, while Wino is a well known die-hard motorcycle mutherfucker. The lyrics obviously mean a lot to him and his soulful vocals deliver the message hard.

Wino’s discography is pretty solid and Adrift is a great addition to it. Don’t let the “unplugged” thing scare you off. You can still play it loud n proud.

--Woody
Buy CD: Adrift

Buy here mp3: Adrift
Buy here vinyl: Adrift

http://scottweinrich.com/

Weedeater - Jason... The Dragon

What we have here is... a problem I call the Metalli-Wizard Conundrum.

It's this: do you judge a new record by an established artist based purely on the album itself, or based on how it compares to previous (great) releases by that artist?

The conundrum, or "the 'nun" as I call it, is named for (duh) Metallica and/or Electric Wizard, both of whom have stellar, nay, world-changing records in their discography, but have then released albums that, while good in some cases, aren't anywhere even near the caliber of said great records.

Obviously, you don't need my help with the Metallica comparison: I actually liked Reload, but only after I stopped thinking of it as a Metallica album and just enjoyed it as an above-average rock record. Same with St. Anger: if you listen to it as if it were from a new band, you get "Man, this album is odd. Where will these guys go with this?" Whereas, listening to it as a Metallica record, you think "Holy Shit, how the hell did these guys get here?"

As with Electric Wizard. I don't care how it's reviewed now, with everyone squealing in delight over the new Black Masses-- it's a good album if by a new band, but compared to Dopethrone? Nuh-uh. Every other critic is masturbating his/herself over Black Masses, but it's only because EW release albums so rarely. Once it sinks in in a few months, people will realize that it's just a regular old cracker:

Which brings us to Jason... the Dragon.

As succinctly as possible: by itself, it's an awesome (some of the awesomeness in the promise of what this band could do) dirty, utterly sludgy (no surpise: Dixie Dave Collins was in seminal sludge band Buzzov*en), distinctly southern, bowel-rumbling bear of a record.

Don't get me wrong: if the tags stoner, sludge or doom mean anything to you, you should pick this up, and so quickly.

However.

Maybe it's my problem. Maybe imagination is the destroyer.

I just expected more. In listening to Jason... I went back and listened to their previous record, God Luck and Good Speed, just to make sure my memories weren't stained by nostalgia. They weren't.

Jason... is essentially a variation on God Luck.... Almost like when jazz players release 25 live versions of their work. That's perfectly acceptable there, indeed, it's a pivotal part of jazz: how many versions of a melody can one make? How inventive can a player get?

Unfortunately, the test of jazz artists (to me) is a little bit compositional skill, and 95% improvisational ability. They're making new versions of old songs on the spot.

Weedeater have made, with Jason... the Dragon, a cool variation of God Luck and Good Speed. Unfortunately, they took a long damn time in the studio to do it. No points for improv.

Like Metallica did* with Ride/Puppets/Justice, there is seemingly a Weedeater "record blueprint": a couple of (filler) songs that are short, around a minute, and mostly feedback; two acoustic numbers; and several stomps that will rule you and your loved ones and are effing totally effing awesome. (And deserving of two effings.)

The title track is a crushing number that sways back and forth, like an oil tanker threatening to fall over, yet never going. "Palms of Opium" is one of the aforementioned acoustic numbers where Dixie Dave's raspy Tom Waits-ish voice works perfectly.

If only the whole album were as good as these two...?


--Horn

http://www.myspace.com/weedeater

*First song starts acoustically, but eventually becomes a really fast thrasher; second song long title track, third song slower, usually detuned, fourth song acoustic ballad, last song full-out thrasher from start to finish, etc.

Ultraphallis - Sowberry Hagan

On Riot Season records, Liege, Belgium's Ultraphallus' Sowberry Hagan comes out January 24 and is...

...something...

...you should pick the motherfuck up.

Ultraquick version: an experimental cross between Sloath and Portishead.

Less quick version: it's got "typical" Riot Season production, like Sloath: a lot of bleed between tracks, making a single lumbering, massive doom metal sound, rather than several tracks overlaid each other. Frankly, it's a sound I really enjoy, and one that sounds great whether at (my fave) jet engine volume, or through good headphones. It's an organic monster-- the Swamp Thing coming into your ears (literally?).

Track shortlists:

"The Red Print": includes the (almost certainly improvised) vocals by Oxbow's Eugene Robinson, in a remixed ambient-rock track, all the while managing to sound like a metal version of Leon Thompson and his work with Pharoah Sanders. Soooo nice.

"Torches of Freedom": ambient, noise: spoken word about Bush administration... "The Loss of Their Teeth" is beautiful, almost lullaby-like; "Golden Fame" is riffy and introspective, and most easily encapsulates how Ultraphallus hits: a doom metal Portishead....

"The Crumbled" is banjos and birdsong (did I mention Ultraphallus were experimental? See this link about Eric Dolphy and birdsong... it sorta hits at where they're coming from, baby)....

"Cinghiale" includes increasing tape hiss and saxophone, and seems to me to be the perfect cross betweeen the love of "sound" and the love of Doom (like Preslav Literary School)...

I"ndians Love Rain": brooding, complex, mysterious (and does the title make more sense in Belgian French...?).

"Right Models" and "River Jude" are easily the most rocking tracks of the album, like a slow rock version of Kylesa's "Scapegoat"... or a combination of the Descendents and Sloath meets L7....

Album opener, "Pathological Freemind Verse" is (intentionally or not) an homage to Merzbow, all noise and intent....

Ultraphallus rocked a shitton of new sonorities: banjos, alto and soprano saxophones, noises and samples and field recordings-- as much as someone as abstract as Eric Dolphy-- and blends them all into a stew of sound, so much so that I, who plays soprano, alto and tenor sax, couldn't tell which sax was which.

Maybe that's the most apt description of Sowberry Hagan: an attempt to blend, without regard for the listener, pretty much every genre that comes into their minds....

The album title is a Mark Twain reference, and an obscure one at that: it's referenced once in Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 6, (about a man renowned for his cursing).

Musically! ...Myriad elements: doom, ambient, noise, sampled sounds, Kate Bush, Swans, death metal, Portishead, crushingly heavy alternative....

Engineering! ...Overall what I'm calling a "dusty" sound: Sowberry Hagan was "remixed with low frequencies," including sub-mixed samples, hidden noise, and other Interesting Sonic Oddities....

Overall? The haiku* review?

Oppressive
Scary and reassuring
Like warm grave soil



--Horn


Riot Season Records: http://www.riotseason.com/news.htm

Ultraphallus Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/ultraphallus


*I know this is not Haiku form.