Friday, November 27, 2009

Lumbering on...

These two acts set out to participate in two different kinds of music. How they would go about playing their respective styles is what sets them apart from the rest of the pack.

Woods of Ypres - Woods II - Pursuit of the Sun & Allure of the Earth (2004)



These Canadians have 4 full lengths under their belt. I posted the first album I heard from them and then feverishly sought it out for purchase, much like you will be doing.

Their latest release, aptly titled Woods IV was just released this month and was funded by the band and their fans. Earlier this year the band had posted on their Myspace that they were trying to continue their musical independence by accepting donations in order to help with the recording costs and manufacturing. They must have succeeded because the band was able to release their new album without anyone really knowing about it.

This is where you come in.

Woods of Ypres plays black metal in the vein of Agalloch (see the pattern?), and Enslaved. There's just as much emphasis on the heavier side of things as well as the melodic. The singing ability the band possess is what really helps drive home the very melancholy feel of the songs in a way that you can almost feel the bitter winter of Canada chilling your very core.

Black metal goes one of two ways these days, either symphonic and goofy as hell, or in your face raw heaviness that keeps close to the form of the early days. Some bands evolved black metal into something a little more expansive and that's where Woods of Ypres comes in.

Like their aforementioned familiars, Woods of Ypres creates great songs that shift gears appropriately in terms of feeling which then creates the forward movement of their music that contains plenty of dynamic structuring thus ensuring lasting impressions. They never get too carried away with the doomy mellow aspects of the music either. Those moments do have their place and in addition, they provide plenty of black metal integrity in the ways of assaulting speeds. Woods of Ypres have found that space in between heavy and melodic that works to project the emotions that classic black metal exhibits which is the delving into self and spirit. The mood swings are natural as they direct the songs seamlessly in and out of the turmoil that the artist chooses to share with the listener.

Another thing I would like to mention is that looking at the band, you would never think they are a BM act. See? They get it.

Tusk - Tree of No Return (2004)



Tusk released "The Resisting Dreamer" in 2007 and they did this without original singer Jody Minnoch as the press released stated he was not available for the project at that time. Instead Toby Driver of Kayo Dot and Evan Patterson of Young Widows would take the vocal helm. Whether this means that Minnoch is not with the band any longer remains to be seen and if this is true then I sincerely doubt the band can make an impact should they become active again.

The first time I heard this band was in video form in which singer Jody Minnoch was seen marching and falling in a spastic rage, the song kicked ass too. My point is Minnoch's madness really helped get the band's sound across as it does on "Tree of No Return". One can consider this grind, and they should but not without some real consideration as to what else is happening on this record.

Tusk enjoy heavy and noisy. Their mashing of the two created one of the most abrasive albums I had heard in awhile. Lucid intervals are picked right back up with great fury as the songs build and explode in a rage which Minnoch is the voice of. This is forward thinking grind if you will and still I have to note that I use grind loosely as the first release "Get Ready" set the pace and this monster presented here was the irritated hang over from that binge of litany.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Topography And Animal Life

Rock + Groove + Sludgy Piles of Heavyness = today's post.

What you should be doing when you read my blog is download the albums right away and then listen to them while you gaze upon my words of wisdom so in that way you can read my brilliance and experience the equally brilliant music filling your ears in a cacophony of excellence.

Let us begin.

Vampire Mooose - Self Titled (2003)



St. Louis inhabitants Vampire Mooose have been releasing some of the finest blend of jazz influenced hardcore and metal I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. If I were to name a band that these guys resemble I would have to say "Process of Self Development" era Candiria. Vampire Mooose take the same approach as Candiria by fully exercising their musical talents in the way of heavy music with intriguing angles. While the Mooose doesn't spin off in jazz heavy breaks or rapping like the aforementioned act, they certainly carry their influences on their sleeve as one listen to their self titled release will tell you. Just listen to the single "Adamantium Elbow" and you'll hear what I mean.

Vampire Mooose continues to put out albums through Rotten Records, the band just released "The Reel" but they tour very little, and basically make albums when they can. This is unfortunate because there is certainly a place for them in heavy music but due to their amount of activity they will never see a sliver of the notoriety they deserve, so it's up to you to get the word out because I've already done my share to inform you.

Karst - Vision of Insane Hope (2003)



Savannah Georgia's defunct Karst were a precursor for Damad which was a precursor for Kylesa. Karst and Damad both featured Victoria Scalisi on vocals and Damad had Kylesa founder Philip Cope on guitars and backing vocals. All three bands share the same qualities but it would be Kylesa who went on to really elaborate and develop the sound.

Getting back to Karst, the band was short lived but managed to put out a few haunting releases, one being the album mentioned here "Vision of Insane Hope" which was released on a now defunct label in my area called Hater of God records. Karst took a page out of the book of sludge pioneers like Eyehategod and put their own destructive twist on things with their grooving blend of rocking doom.

It doesn't get much dirtier than this but don't get me wrong, this is not some slack jawed release. Given the area they come out of, there's plenty of grooving going on within the sludgy nature of the band's sound. Karst also makes use of multiple voices as can be heard in their back and forth schizophrenic display of well arranged vocal patterns. There's plenty of charged deep layered rhythmic passages that carry a great mid paced feel to the songs to keeps things lively. They are able to take the sludgy aspect of the style and give it momentum which in return results in a very heavy release.

This band will not be forgotten!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

When death smiles down...

Today's entry will focus on two fine death metal acts who base their lyrical content on specific themes. The first act is very well known and the second should ring a bell for many mosh enthusiasts.

In either case, both bands exemplify the true death metal spirit which we all know tends to be the blast beat, evil tremolo progressions etc. and the theme of death (duh). In regards to the death theme, these guys love the topics of killing and war, or to be specific, serial killers and war. And I know you're saying "Sounds like Death Metal to me!" my response is, "You betcha'! But wait, there's more!"

So why did I pick Jungle Rot and Macabre?

Well, as I said before, they do indeed exemplify the death metal spirit in terms of playing style and content but more importantly is how each band finds itself comfortable within its own space. Fortunately, they each have a distinctive way of playing within the genre they promote that you can't help but enjoy every release. If you were to hate one of their albums, then you would hate them all basically. So what I'm saying is, you have no reason not to like these releases mentioned here and further, no reason not to like each band's entire catalog.

When most bands tend to get boring after a few releases in an already exhausted form of extreme music, Macabre and Jungle Rot still manage to keep things fun.


Macabre - Murder Metal (2003)




The murder minstrels themselves, Macabre. Never before has a band brought to light the deeds of so many killers while keeping things both heavy and entertaining. They spin their tales about the world's most gruesome and renowned murderers and use childhood stories with well known folk melodies to create some of the most memorable death metal songs there are such as the infamous "Acid Bath Vampire" and "The Hillside Stranglers". This truly is death folk metal.

I could have easily posted "Dahmer" or "Unabomber" but that only focuses on one killer. "Murder Metal" has a variety of killers mentioned like their previous releases with better production. I mention the production for a reason. While they do tend to be on the more humorous side of death metal, the members clearly know their instruments as anyone can tell you by the poignant bass playing of Nefarious. Nothing like a band that doesn't take itself too seriously while displaying excellent musicianship.

I guarantee with one listen of this album you will be hooked. You will not be able to get the choruses out of your head to the point where you may just blurt them out randomly in a crowded elevator or while walking down the street. Definitely a mood enhancer.

Jungle Rot - Dead And Buried (2001)



Jungle Rot was doing the mosh heavy death metal before jack off douche bag acts like Oceano hopped on the very disgraceful bandwagon of the deathmosh bullshit flooding Myspace today (these bands are absolute shit people, don't ever think otherwise).

Jungle Rot keep things metal and still manage to fill their songs with mosh influenced material that never runs dry, nor does it every get boring. It's well done, which is a simple phrase that I will continue to use for bands that just tend to do things right while they get overlooked by the rich white suburbanite flat brimmed baseball hat wearing imbeciles who think Emmure is 'fucking heavy, bro'. Their blend of old school Death Metal is proportionate to their use of deathcore breakdowns. It's a fine mixture they have concocted and have used to their advantage for the past 10 years.

I picked "Dead and Buried" because it was the first release I heard from this band and I have been following them ever since. everything before this release is also worth checking out. They just released "What Horror Awaits" this year and before that, "Warzone" and "Fueled By Hate". All albums involve the theme of war. And because war is constant, they have a topic they never goes out of style! How sad, and brutal.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Today's Post: A Mix

It's Monday folks, the day you can't stand, unless you work part time, then you might have today off, in which case, you have no excuse not to check out the next two releases mentioned below this very instant. Get on it, slack ass.

Today I will post about another obscure French act (pattern development?) and a solo artist that most of you hipsters most likely know about, but for this writer, she is another one of those glistening gems in a mountainside of useless rubble.


Superstatic Revolution - Goodbye Mr. Wanton (2005)




This French Grind/Noise/Metalcore act released the above full length, a pair of splits and one MCD before their break up. This is my second post about an underrated and obscure French act, maybe I am trying to say something... In any case, Superstatic Revolution came to me by way of a friend in 2003 or 2004. He sent me two tracks which I would later find out were from the band's split with Submerge. The files were lost and I had forgotten the exact name of the band. The songs I had been provided were still flooring me years later when I rediscovered them on an external hard drive. I needed to get more of these guys and find out their correct name. So one day I set out to find out just where the hell they were from and what other releases they had, if any.

It wouldn't be until about 2 or 3 years later that I found out they had released "Goodbye Mr. Wanton". Oh the excitement of rediscovering this band, and with a full length worth of material to explore.

This act was one of my first introductions to a more abstract way of playing heavy music. The band utilizes a huge sound while stuffing the loud mess with assaulting breaks of grindy havoc and unsettling riffs that resemble the mid to late 90's era of true Metalcore heaviness the likes of early Cave In, Snapcase, and Bloodlet. Like other heavy acts I have been posting, these guys definitely kept things interesting, there are no boring moments in this release because their ability to put their influences to work creates plenty of curve balls while at the same time ensuring a heavy delivery. It's also one of those bands where the name is a direct representation of the actual music they create. That doesn't happen all too often.

While I tend to focus on a particular album, sometimes the band itself is the purpose of the post. Like Rot In Hell, Superstatic's older releases are long out of print and hard to find. "Goodbye Mr. Wanton" is still available from Crucial Blast on both vinyl and CD.

St. Vincent - Actor (2009)



Annie Clark's creation St. Vincent has probably been man handled ad nauseam on Pitchforkmedia.com but I'm going to write about it anyway while bashing that hipster version of MTV. Here we go.

That site is a damn disgrace. It's basically your hypocritical hype machine. They are true flavor of the week sales people bent on eating their young. Go ahead, read their lengthy reviews that don't really supply much more than "It's not Vampire Weekend, so who gives a shit?" to "It's like Vampire Weekend so check it out!" If I ever saw a trend setter it's that site, and if I ever saw a trend follower, it's a clueless hipster who visits that site regularly to make sure the new Animal Collective is just as good as he or she thinks it is (it's not). Don't miss out on the who's cool this year list people! You may just find yourselves as lost as those who failed to catch yesterday's TRL top 10 list.

I better stop there.

As the solo artist, in the true sense of the word, Clark takes a hands on approach to her music. All the songs were completely written by Clark, and she took up the production with John Congleton.

"Actor" is the follow up to the acclaimed "Marry Me". I prefer "Actor" over the last release because she tends to show off her voice a bit more. The album contains more electronic beats and sampling but there's still plenty of instrumentation to go around. Catchy parts are rampant and the playful nature of the songs exists to lighten the mood on some of her more relational pieces. Sincerity has a place in her music and the variety of tones and emotions definitely play a large part in her song writing.

Clark is a stunning song writer who actually writes her material and plays it allm that's all you should need to be both inspired and enticed by her work. I patiently await her next release while you download or buy her current ones.

When you take into account how the average female pop star is portrayed and how they are exploited or how they exploit themselves for the sake of money and the covers of tabloids, (Women, I can only imagine the disgust you feel) it is a relief knowing that a really solid female talent like Clark exists.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Today's Post: Harcore, the way it should be

Most hardcore is simply ass. Fact. Hardcore, like any genre is like digging in the gold mines. You have to dynamite the crap out of the useless stones that lie in the way of the treasure. Rough simile but you get the idea. I am severely bored by most hardcore and that includes many many modern day acts. The heyday of Hardcore came and went a long time ago and in the meantime you have to wait for the right acts to form and re instill your faith in the style. Band after band tries to recapture that past energy and fails to do so. Then the image nonsense comes along and pollutes the scene further. Suddenly you just don't know what the hell is going on with a style of music you once loved dearly. Everyone has dealt with that tragedy and will become just as selective as I have over time if you aren't already.

I will not lie to you, I didn't really start looking into hardcore bands until I was out of High School and I'm glad I waited that long. It allowed me to have a very objective attitude towards the genre as I determine which bands I allow to grace my fine tuned ears.

Without further introduction I give to you two acts which I feel really keep that relentless attack mode strong in their approach. Obviously there are more acts to come that fall under this description so consider this my introduction to hardcore albums/bands you should know about.


Rot In Hell - Hallways of the Always (2009)



Rot In Hell is one of the UK's best kept secrets but A389 Recordings is attempting change all of that as they released "Hallways of the Always" this year on LP. The band has released numerous 7"s, most are long out of print so I thought I would post their most recent release which is still very available for you to buy. Yeah that's right, I said buy in reference to music.

This band is a jolt of frightening excitement. They are like a more pissed off version of Ringworm, that pissed. I strongly believe that this is the only appropriate way that hardcore should be played these days; seething with tenacious anger. I could go on and on trying to talk up these guys and it would just be useless. Pissed and ready to kill. That's all you need to know. In fact I feel I'm stressing these points too much anyway, I should just post albums and you go and download them.



Mammoth Grinder - Rage and Ruin (2008)



These guys are from Austin and if anyone is aware of the sheer insane hardcore/power-violence/grind acts that Texas has been producing for the past few years, then you know where this is going. We'll dive more into that with future posts. I posted "Rage and Ruin" here and they just released "Extinction of Humanity" a few months back which is equally devastating as are most things pertaining to the utter annihilation of mankind.

Like Mind Eraser and other notable aggressors, Mammoth Grinder just know how to do it and they do it with extreme vehemence.

While the band is clearly driven by a lot of grind and power violence elements it is clear in their song writing that they are first and foremost a hardcore band. This an act where if you listen to a dozen modern day hardcore acts and then switch the needle over to these fellas, you can just feel the difference.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Today: Busdriver & Comity

Today's entry involves a very talented rapper which most of you may already be aware of, and a French hardcore/grind act that has recently returned from a split.

Busdriver - Jhelli Beam (2009)



This entry will focus on Busdriver's latest release "Jhelli Beam". If you have been following Busdriver, this album was his next logical step as it continues to mesh his hip hop style with more dance/pop oriented beats all the while keeping things abstract and exciting as usual. If you have not heard of him until now, or like myself, only up to four years ago, then it's best to go back and see how he has developed his style over time.

"RoadkillOvercoat" played with a lot of pop elements, where as "Temporary Forever" and prior releases were more or less straight forward hip hop with the occasional hook making its way into songs on a vocal level. As the albums go on he begins to find the middle ground by incorporating the pop elements wisely while still keeping things creative and fresh.

Rhetoric just pours out of this man's mouth like a waterfall, his flow, or rather his rhythm, coupled with layered production, is what ties all of his fast paced bantering into a cohesive form. This man is not afraid to stray from the beat, and in the end the patterns make their way back to the core beat. The final product is always ear grabbing. His fine ability to compose lyrically is further complimented by his delivery.

Like progressive rock band Rush, Watchtower, King Crimson, and countless others that carry that 'progressive' label, I also consider Busdriver to fall under the progressive category as a rapper. He has an expansive vocabulary which in itself is a defining and unique quality in the hip hop world that very few possess. When he releases an album it's usually on repeat for a few weeks straight for me. Also important to note is that he tends to not take himself too seriously. Hip hop that takes itself too seriously usually results in too much subjective content. I can talk about myself all day too, but who the hell wants to hear that?



Comity - The Deus Ex-Machina as a Forgotten Genius (Andy Warhol Sucks) (2006)



Gotta love the end of that title.

When I was doing CD reviews for a couple of different websites I received a lot of crap as you can imagine. Every once in awhile I would receive a release by a band I really enjoyed which was always rewarding, a free album by a band you like. What was even more rewarding was getting an album by a band I didn't know and to my surprise, having it be a really kick ass release. %95 of the time it went the other way. That day, the other %5 came through and Comity arrived. Released on United Edge in 2006, this French act had released a very obscure album before this full length and they would go on to make one more after the one mentioned here called "And Everything Is A Tragedy" which never ended up getting distributed in the U.S.

The band soon broke up following the release of "And Everything Is A Tragedy" until about 3 or 4 months back when they announced they were getting together for a new EP. Imagine my excitement, an excitement I celebrated alone as no one I know has heard this band due to the fact that it really wasn't pushed by a label that didn't have the capacity to push it. Well now you know.

This band will quickly remind a well versed hardcore or early day screamo kid of a band most of us are familiar with called Botch. Comity is similar to Botch in that they aren't afraid to get noisy, they do so with focused aggression and musical prowess to boot. The difference is that Comity carry more of a grind influence throughout their very long tracks (The shortest song on this album is just about seven and a half minutes long). Why the long tracks? The band seems to take on the lengthy songs with well thought out force in a way that does not leave you exhausted. Boredom has no place here, each track is a piece of the monument. The band does well to mix things up by using fast and slow progressions to keep you involved.

Basically, this album provides what most heavy release fail to, a listen that demands engagement and pulls you in while at the same time delivering brutal tunes. Every track, as long as it may be, asks 'what will happen next?' The answer delivers my friends.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Welcome To My Blog! - First Post: Slayer & Converge

Welcome all, and thank you for checking out my awesome blog about shit you should be listening to, that's right, it's time to be a dick about this, well not too much of one, but a dick that stresses the point.

For too long we watch others around us suck at what they listen to. It's a proven fact that I made up with a general consensus that 80% of the people in this world have shit for music taste. This blog will help you help them, and you will, mark my words, you WILL see that everything I post here is a gem in its own right. Will you like it? Maybe not, but that means you just didn't try hard enough.

Let's begin. This year has been great for releases, the list is immense and includes such acts as Dying Fetus, My Dying Bride, Burnt By The Sun, Municipal Waste, Doomriders, Lewd Acts, Graf Orlock, Clutch, Hatred Surge, Magrudergrind, Insect Warfare, Suffocation, Dysrythmia, The Melvins, Dethklok, Depeche Mode, Coalesce, Church of Misery, Shrinebuilder, Ulver, Isis, Cattle Decapitation, Lye By Mistake, and the list goes on.

While I could do a year end wrap up, I believe the following two albums pretty much sum up this year in full and I consider them to be my top 2 favorites of 2009:

Slayer - World Painted Blood



Slayer is officially back. I don't know what happened but they probably had some sort of drunken thrash listening session and started thinking good and hard about what they are doing, where they came from and how they are still incredibly pissed off about the state of the world. The result was one of the best thrash albums I have ever heard and many can attest to this as well, they received a 10 in Decibel and Decibel hardly ever gives 10's.

The production is fucking raw. Araya sounds like he's going to pop a blood vessel. The solos are something awful as usual and yet, like all Slayer releases, they fit so well, you can never not have them in there. Everything is just in your face aggressive and if you take a listen to this release, then take a listen to the past three, you can see they were working their way back up to this point. They had their hiccups but the difference between Slayer and other bands is that they rebounded from those hiccups to put out their best release since Seasons In The Abyss (yes I say that fully aware that Divine Intervention was also very good).


Converge - Ax To Fall



When living legends Converge put out a release, it's a huge event. Deathwishinc's servers crash in a half hour after their vinyl pre-orders go up for their new releases.

No Heroes never really received the appreciation it should have. I believe that lack of interest occurred due to the pace of the album. Personally, I thought it was fantastic, and given the swift duration, it demands multiple listens. Ax To Fall picks up where No Heroes left off in the band's natural progression of finding a place for all of their varied influences. Kurt Ballou took a different yet consistent approach to the production, making the album sound full while keeping the raw sound the band is commonly known for. When the heavy parts hit, they are wild, when the slower parts come about, they are devastating. Converge is a band that utilizes dynamics to create a well rounded album every time.

Ax To Fall features a slew of guests from Neurosis, Blacklisted, Cave-In, Disfear/ex-Entombed, Himsa, Genghis Tron and so on. In making the album a truly collaborative effort, all of these guests are well integrated within the tracks they appear which then creates an ensemble of intensity that is unparalleled to anything else released this year.