Krallice w/ guests @ Sonar / R.I.P. Sonar

On the eve of the first day of May (that's April 30th for all of you who are temporally impaired), Mick Barr's (in)famed tech/prog/black metal band Krallice came to the Sonar in Baltimore with a slew of interesting opening acts. While not as exciting as, say, the Eyehategod or High On Fire shows I've seen there, it was worth the 10 bucks for a ticket.

A mega-obscure Phillie-based band called Birth Noise opened up the set. It was a bit odd seeing two chicks conjure some dark guitar drone in complete darkness, and it was even odder when the tall one hopped on the drums while the other played really doomy riffs. A shadow was cast on the whole venue while these ladies made trance after trance. It was hard to tell where one song ended and the next began, and they didn't usually go anywhere, but the atmosphere was impeccable and swallowed the Sonar. Unfortunately, their set only lasted for about 15 minutes, but the crowd was very into their performance and I grieved slightly (slightly) when these two cuties left the darkness of the stage.

Birth Noise live... in someone's living room...

The Wayward (terrible name, eh?) followed up Birth Noise's shadow. They play a weird blend of experimental rock, and experimental rock. Or something. Their guitarist belted out some very strange, and sometimes mathy riffs, and their drummer was quite talented. They sound like a tame version of say, Hella, or Battles, or something.... Pretty legit band, despite the silly name.

Then there was Withered, the first real metal act of the night. Their style was somewhere between your typical black metal and the black-sludge fusion of Fleshpress. Basically, it was blast beat for a couple minutes followed by a long, drawn-out sludgy breakdown. They were very heavy and very fucking metal. The stage was bathed in blood red for their entire set, and it gave the band a very menacing appearance. The music was heavy and captivating, and I was headbanging like a muhfukka the whole time. It's also nice to know I wasn't the only one headbanging! (This band also suffers from terribly cheesy song titles.)

studio version

Then there was Krallice. The loud volume of the venue did them little justice; all the weird, technical subtlety in their riffs was lost in the distortion, and consequently, the ended up just sound like run-of-the-mill black metal. They had a lot of energy, though, and it was obvious the band members were really into it, their music simply didn't translate well in a live setting.

studio version

I feel I should conclude this article with a story about a pesky, fucked up bum who heckled us after the show. At first, he seemed timid enough, asking for a cigarette, but then he started talking about dancing and disco and shit, and was so fucked up on whatever drugs he was doing that he started dancing (if you could call it that). And he wouldn't fucking go away. He just forgot about his cigarette, awkwardly danced around, and started propositioning us for drugs, at which point we dipped like Tostitos in salsa, watching him stagger into traffic.

As it turns out, this would be my last show ever at the Sonar....

• The Wayward
• Withered
• Krallice

---

As of May 4th, the illustrious Sonar venue sadly announced that it is closing down (details here). So I dedicate this article to one of my favorite music venues, and indeed, one of Baltimore's best, and all the grand shows I had the fortune to see there (okay, it was really like 3 shows, but they were all really fucking good). May Sonar rest in peace!

Moss / Monarch - split

Artists: Moss / Monarch
Album: split
Year: 2007
Label: Rise Above

Genre(s) / Style(s): doomy doom doom

Line-ups:

Moss
Chris Chantler - Drums
Dominic Finbow - Guitar
Olly Pearson - Vocals

Monarch
Emilie Bresson - Vocals
Shiran Kaïdine - Guitar
MicHell Bidegain - Bass
Rob Shaffer - Drums

Tracklisting:
1. Moss - Maimed & Slaughtered (Discharge cover) - 6:12
2. Monarch - I Got Erection (Turbonegro cover) - 3:30


Doom bands gotta stick together, right? At least that's the mentality of these super obscure drone bands and their endless splits (I'm looking at you Moss). But hey, once and a while, these things turn out to be gems. Or at least interesting and/or listenable, like this one from UK's Moss and France's Monarch. This split features both bands covering, of all things, hardcore punk songs.

Like the split with Nadja, Moss starts this bitch off. But they do it correctly here with a cover of Discharge's "Maimed and Slaughtered". This is what you might be expect: a really slow version of a fast song. But the approach is really cool. Instead of just playing the original really slowly, Moss actually play around with it and make it their own. The guitars play the riff at a slow speed, yes, but the drum pattern is very different, simplified, and tom-heavy, so this ends up sounding like a strange ritual instead of a kick in the teeth. This song gets better at the end when the band falls into a headbanging groove and tops the song off with a noisy sample.

The original...

...and the cover.

Monarch, on the other hand, just play the Turbonegro song "I Got Erection", verbatim, even down to the minutest detail of broken English. But alas, they just play the song... and don't really do anything terribly interesting with it. It suits them I guess, considering their grind/p.v. side-project Rainbow of Death, and Emilie Bresson's vocals are as good as ever, but it just leaves a lot to be desired, especially when Moss actually do something right!

This one is pretty much for completists, but it's still interesting. I'd say get it for the Discharge cover alone.

Verdict: 70% - 75 for Moss, 65 for Monarch

Try it. (Megaupload, 12 MB)
Buy it @ Rise Above on 7" vinyl.

Moss / Nadja - Split

Artists: Moss / Nadja
Album: split
Label: Foreshadow Music
Year: 2003

Genre(s)/Style(s): back-room drone-doom

Line-ups:

Moss:
Chris Chantler - Drums
Dominic Finbow - Guitar
Olly Pearson - Vocals

Nadja:
Aidan Baker - Instruments, electronics
Leah Buckareff - Bass, vocals

Tracklisting:
1. Moss - ...Of Flesh and Blood - 9:52
2. Nadja - I Am as Earth - 10:26

Moss and Nadja: two heavyweights of the droning sect of doom metal. If you're familiar even a little bit with this circle of doom, you should recognize Nadja as a prominent figurehead. Moss, on the other hand, are a fairly obscure UK funeral sludge act that hides itself as lichens among some old Welsh ruins, or so I'd imagine.

Moss start off this split with -- you guessed it -- a drone track. It sounds like it was recorded with a shitty tape-recorder then played back over a TV and recorded again. There is absolutely no richness or depth to this track, just a poorly mixed Bunkur knock-off (which is worse, because Bunkur are pretty bad). If there was a riff being played instead of just some slamming chords, it might be more interesting. But alas, the song is just typical strung out quarter notes. There's no building of tension, and no dynamics, which is critical to drone. However, the vocal performance is pretty good, in that tortured black metal sort of way, and, in fact, given the dingy production, making Moss's side of the split into a black metal track doesn't seem like such a bad idea. But as a drone track, it lacks the all-important power and meticulous dynamics that make drone good.

After Moss's 10 minutes snore-fest, Nadja bring their 10-minute behemoth to the table. And shit, is it a step-up. Right off the bat, there's already more going on in Nadja's track than in all of Moss's track. Weird, manipulated snippets of vocals dance around with some delicate guitar notes before some sloppily and awkwardly programmed drums enter the mix and add a really odd feel to the music, as if it was suddenly uneven and tilting, like being on a boat before your sealegs finally grow in. The guitars pick up gradually in volume and distortion before becoming Nadja's quintessential lava-wash of fuzz, while the vocals drift to and fro and the drums start becoming a little more stable and consistent. Again, production is a killer here: Nadja need a full, rich sound, and this back-room recording style doesn't really work for them. The guitars sound weak and feeble, and the drums just sound terrible and completely lacking in attack. Regardless, Nadja prove their worth in the form of slightly experimental shoegaze that is strung out beyond belief, and while this formula is improved upon vastly on future releases, "I Am as Earth" is a cool track (better than Moss's....).

I should note that I am largely unfamiliar with Moss's discography, and from what I understand, the material here isn't exactly representative of their other work. So unless you're a Nadja or Moss completist, this is a pretty forgettable split. You're better off digging the respective bands' more... "legitimate" material. Hell, if you're that much of a Nadja fan, you probably already have Corrasion, which includes a re-recorded version of "I Am as Earth", and don't even need this split.


Verdict: 50% - 30 for Moss, 70 for Nadja...

Try it. (mediafire, 27 MB)

Natural Child - Natural Child 7" EP

Artist: Natural Child
Album: Natural Child EP
Year: 2010
Label: Infinity Cat

Genre(s)/Style(s): garage rock / punk

Tracklisting:

A1 Shame Walkin' - 2:11
A2 Crack Mountain - 2:12
B1 Cougar - 1:30
B2 Dogbite - 1:41

It's worth noting that the tracklisting for the version I own is:

1. Cougar - 1:30
2. Crack Mountain - 2:12
3. Dogbite - 1:41
4. Shame Walkin' - 2:11
5. Easy Street - 2:15

Natural Child are one of those garage revival bands, playing what is otherwise catchy pop/rock from the 1960's... but with lo-fi production. Sure, it's formulaic and largely unoriginal, but it is by no means bad.

This quick little EP only has 4 tracks (although the version I have has 5 tracks, so fuck you), all short, sweet, and to the point. And I guess that's the real charm here: it's concise. It doesn't fuck around with anything experimental or extravagant. It's just five simple, catchy tracks, all under 3 minutes in length. It doesn't matter who you are, these tunes will have you bobbing your head.

The lyrics are also pretty funny here, particularly the lines "mom just told me everybody smokes weed" and "I just want to smoke crack with my friends". There's also a really fly bass solo at the end of "Cougar" that's a friendly reminder of the skill these guys have, but choose not to show off. On that note, it's worth noting that the musicianship on display is pretty tight, all the instruments are present and fully-functioning, and none of the layers are competing with each other; the bass locks down a groove with drums, and the guitar banters with some simple chords. Nice and simple.

So if you're up for some quick, clean, fun tunes with some cheeky humor, grab this one, though the lack of depth prevents this from being one to write home about. And if Natural Child is really your thing, take comfort in knowing they've just released an LP called 1971, out now.

Verdict: 65% - Fun for the whole family, especially since there are so many drug references in such a short amount of time.

Try it. (mediafire, 15 MB)

Buy it. (mp3, iTunes)

Note: both links are for the five track version of the EP.

Greymachine - Disconnected

Artist: Greymachine
Album: Disconnected
Year: 2009
Label: Hydrahead (US) / Daymare (w/ bonus track) (Japan)

Genre(s)/Style(s): industrial, drone, noise, industrial metal

Line-up:
Justin Broadrick - Guitars, Bass, Drums, Vocals, Synths, Samples, Programming
Aaron Turner - Guitar, Vocals
Dave Cochrane - Bass
Diarmuid Dalton - Synth, Bass

Tracklisting:

	1 Wolf at the Door 8:08 2 Vultures Descend 9:38 3 When Attention Just Isn't Enough 6:41 4 Wasted 8:43 5 We Are All Fucking Liars 8:35 6 Just Breathing 5:09 7 Sweatshop 6:56 8 Easy Pickings 8:34 9 We Are All Fucking Liars (Version) * 8:35
	*bonus track for Japanese version by Daymare Recordings

Jesu's emergence in the early 2000's made it seem like Justin Broadrick had thrown in the industrial towel for good, instead opting for the post-metal approach over the heavy machinery that defined his early career; the slow, mechanical grinding and buzzing guitar drone of Godflesh had been given up in favor of light and fluffy melody. At some point Broadrick threw together some synth and drum tracks on the side, and handed them over to Aaron Turner (of the late, great Isis) who laid down some licks over top of them. Together, and with help of Broadrick's associates from Godflesh and Jesu, Greymachine was busy at work, turning what started as an email dub-over into one of the most poignant releases of 2009. And contrary to hype and reasonable expectations, this sounds nothing like Isis or Jesu, but is really another one of Broadrick's sick industrial symphonies, with an extra helping of hopelessness and dread.

the creepy-looking dudes from Greymachine
(from left to right, top to bottom: Cochrane, Broadrick, Dalton, Turner)

Greymachine sounds like what Whitehouse should have been. The classic noise / industrial of Godflesh's predecessors is stepped up a notch or two, in whirl of twisted samples, shattered voices, screeching drone, and rumbling bass. The rhythms are played mostly by Broadrick himself and share his characteristic repetitive style with hints of hip-hop, or dub, or jungle. The atmosphere is captivating and heavily layered; a swarm of sounds accumulates in all stereo spaces and it can be quite suffocating. The high volume outro to "Vultures Descend" and the dissonant harmonies that the guitars weep -- "Wasted", "Just Breathing", "Easy Pickings" -- are thick with paranoia and apprehension, and will have your skin crawling, or your ears bleeding. While each song is based around a very repetitive rhythm, it never gets boring; there's just too much going on in the song. The samples come in go like gale-force winds, the droning melodies grow or release tension, the vocal bark calls buried in noise.... It's oppressive, like living under the constant watch of Big Brother. But very real and heart-felt; the terror is genuine. The martial beats of "Just Breathing" and desperate samples (and obvious title) of "Sweatshop" also give this album a vague hardcore punk motif, writhe with allusions to anti-government/anti-corporate sentiment, while the wash of samples and industrial clamor sounds like a bustling city, slowly crumbling under the weight of dictatorship and stench of pollution and dilapidation.

Though supposedly a collaboration, it's hard to say where exactly Aaron Turner's genius rubbed off on this album, if at all. It could be the melancholic cries in the opening few minutes to "Wolf at the Door", or the absolute misery at the end of "Wasted"; the call-response riff that starts off "Just Breathing" especially sounds like the Isis track "Emission of the Signal" from Sawblade, and the roaring vocals on "We Are All Fucking Liars" and its bonus track remix are unmistakably Turner's. (In fact, it's worth noting that "We Are..." and its remix sound hardly anything alike, and the Daymare version is worth getting for the remix alone.) All the while, the psychedelic slamming of "When Attention Just Ain't Enough" and sinister bass / electronic drum patterns of "Sweatshop" screams Us and Them-era Godflesh and Techno Animal respectively. But since Broadrick is also credited with playing the same instruments as all the other members, it's nearly impossible to say what was laid down by who, and if was even necessary in the first place; i.e. could Broadrick have been just as well off on his own?

In the end, the aptly-titled Disconnected is in a league of its own, and even if it just a Broadrick project, which is clearly mostly is, it's still an utterly fantastic and devastating release. The atmosphere is overwhelming and infectious, surely to bring even the most seasoned of drone / noise fans to their knees. The early Swans / Godflesh junkies should thoroughly enjoy piercing punch of the rhythms section and the hissing, droning melodies. Greymachine create a world full of urban decay, escapism, and despair and it transfers well to the human soul, however sickly it may be. Industrial is back to the basics, but the ante is upped out of obsolete approaches and simple analogue static into a maelstrom of heavily layered cacophonous ballads.

This is easily one of the top underground albums of 2009 and the past decade, a worthy usurped to the post-Khanate blues and indeed, a return to what made industrial so damn good back in the day. It makes me eagerly wonder what Broadrick will do next.

Verdict: 95% - All hail Broadrick!

Try it. (mediafire, 138 MG, 320 kb/s)

Buy it. (CD, HydraHead / Blue Collar Distro)

Screaming Gorilla - Beautiful Pussy Audio Sessions

Artist: Screaming Gorilla
Album: Beautiful Pussy Audio Sessions
Year: 2010
Label: YOUR MOM!!!!!

Genres(s)/style(s): noisecore, tardcore, harsh noise

Line-up:
Rob Hall - guitar, vocals, drums, penis, other stuff

Tracklisting:

1. A-nalube [0:31]
2. Session One [2:23]
...a) Sound Check
...b) Shameless Dick Fucker
...c) Who Lives in a Pineapple Under my Dick?
...d) I Wanna Fuck the Librarian
...e) Sound Check
...f) ????
...g) Medical Disaster
...h) Illegitimate Children Fucking...
...i) ...with butter knives
...j) Anal Talk
...k) Technical Problem/Misunderstanding
3. Session Two [5:34]
...a) Sound Check
...b) Chores Piss Me Off
...c) Total Ass Head
...d) I Like Boobs
...e) Piss On the Dog's Face
...f) You Are A Queer
...g) There's a Dildo with Blood on it
...h) I Smashed My Teacher's Balls
...i) Hardcore Fuck
...j) Jesus is a Bearded Fuck Hole
...k) I Am America
...l) Pikachu's Anal Gaping Adventure
BONUS!: Boobs
BONUS!: Cock
4. Mark's Urinary Disposition [0:34]

This is Rob:

(No, really. That's Rob.)

Most of the time, he's just a silly tranny punk popping adderall and stealing candy from infants. But on the weekends, he's a superhero fighting crime under the name of Screaming Gorilla.

This is Rob on the job:

Now, Rob is also a really terrible musician. And if doing chores and going to school piss you off, you're half way to enjoying his awful hardcore babble. The other half of the journey to Beautiful Pussy enlightenment is being a deranged anarcho-hipster with a taste in static. If you fulfill these prerequisites, then voila! You're now ready for ramming your head into a wall really fucking hard.

If you're expecting music, think again. The Beautiful Pussy Audio Sessions are more transcendent and euphoric than that bag of mushrooms I left in your mailbox. The harsh feedback and clamorous drumming is as catchy as it is clever, and the beautiful static harmonies and overbearing distortion set an elegant ambiance lush enough to make Asva shit their pants. The true genius, though, is the lyrics. Mature, abstract, and contemplative, the words focus on such troubling issues as raping Pokemon, raping children, and defacing religious symbols.

This is true rock'n'roll, recorded in a professional studio in California. The message is clearly sung and sophisticated. The instrumentals put all others to shame: the jazzy drumming and smooth guitar licks conjure an image of some hip young people in business attire lounging around in a jazz cafe, snapping their fingers to the obvious, articulate rhythms. Yet, it makes you want to get up and move, to dance and sway like paper in the wind, maybe even flip over a table or two and burn down a senator's office.

Verdict: ∞% - penispenispenispenis

Interview with Screaming Gorilla when they had two members!

Screaming Gorilla - THE BLOG (includes download links!)

http://screaminggorilla.blogspot.com/

Drug Honkey - Death Dub

Artist: Drug Honkey
Album: Death Dub
Label: Diabolical Conquest
Year: 2008

Genre(s)/style(s): death-doom metal, sludge metal, noise, experimental, psychedelic

Line-up:
Honkey Head (Paul Gillis) - Vocals, Synths, Samples
Hobbs (Gabe Grosso) - Guitar
Brown Honkey (Ian Brown) - Bass
Bonghit Honkey (Adam Smith) - Drums


Tracklisting:

1.	My Sins	04:16
2.	The Devil Lasts Forever	03:42
3.	Death Threats	08:26
4.	Communion	05:48
5.	I Can Not	05:29
6.	China Black (Heroin: Part II)	07:34
7.	Burundi (Reconstruct)	05:07
8.	Who the Fuck?	01:07
Total playing time		41:29

Does life got you down? Have you hit rock bottom? If you answered yes to either of these questions, not only do I laugh in your face, but I also invite you to let our good, drug-addled friends Drug Honkey put a little something special in your drink.

Drug Honkey are a little known doom act from Chicago who seem to be another one of these "harsh doom" bands spitting in Khanate's face (see my review of Gnaw's This Face). Though the band has been around for some time, their fourth and most recent album, 2008's Death Dub, is piquing a good deal of interest in the doom underground and (finally, thankfully) bringing this gem of a band into the proverbial spotlight. Overall, the music is somewhat Godfleshian, but the thin, raspy guitar tones, grinding bass, hollow-metal drums, and psychotic vocals hearken more to Khanate laden with heaps of psychedelia, as if Ufomammut took a lysergide shit on Plotkin and co's self-titled outing.

As stated, the guitar is really thin and raspy, a major stray from the usual boulder-dashing typical to doom. This grating tone lays well with the bass, which is prominent and gurgling, as if being choked by the guitar. Together, they play riffs that, well, bear little resemblance to riffs. They're more like the fluid droning melodies of early Godflesh or the sparse wails from the axes of Khanate or Burning Witch. It's also worth noting that the bass usually plays more riff-like parts while the guitar lays down some textural, harmonic fuzz on top of it, sometimes overlapping into the same dingy sound. Sprinkle in some amp feedback and wall-of-sound shredding, and you've got yourself one frightening string section.

The drumming is critical for the pace. For example, if the drumming weren't so slow and methodical, "Communion" could easily be a black metal song. Instead the drums keep an almost drifting, groovy pace that's consistently slow - mid-paced throughout the album, but rarely boring or out of place. In fact, in keeping such a shuffling pace, it fuels the drugged-out, hazy/lazy atmosphere. The drums being somewhat low in the mix behind the string instruments enhances this aesthetic and even gives it some depth as the drums sound rather tinny and far off, but you can still identify all their components and they aren't totally washed out by the guitars' months-old bong-water tsunami.

Mr. Honkey Head (a.k.a. Paul Gillis) provides perhaps the most interesting aspects of the band. While the drums and guitars are keeping everything locked inside a project and dosed on the finest china black, Gillis is going nuts, vomiting hallucinogenic synth/electronics and a virulent variety of vocal techniques, ranging from deranged howls and shouts to heavily distorted death-growls, and even some punk-ish vocals (in particular, the Ministry-esque yelling in "My Sins"). And, indeed, some beyond-manipulated vocals, like the melting-demonic recitation of the song title "The Devil Lasts Forever". The electronics are very much on the Ufomammut side of things; weird UFO sounds and cosmic clatter mixed with a bubbling and rumbling approach similar to Choronzon's Era Vulgaris. In fact, this whole album sounds like a mangled version of said masterpiece, while at times sounding similar to the electronic filth of Greymachine.

Death Dub does well at creating a musty, drug-den atmosphere. The dingy production reeks of crumbling moldy walls, blood stained-shag carpets, and depraved crackheads curled up in fetal positions crying their sunken eyes out. If there ever was an album to deter you from the likes of heroin or LSD, let it be this one, because it works so well to convince you otherwise, that everything is okay (as the band members systematically O.D. in front of you). And as Gillis shouts for you to "open your mind" and "shut the door" on "Burundi", you've realized that you're in over your head and the fowl chemicals of escapism and self-destruction have got you by the balls.

So go forth and buy this album, or, at the very least, try it the fuck out. It's as addictive as the blotters and vials recommended to enjoy it to its fullest. Although, any metal fan, especially the doomesters and avant-garde crazies, should give this a spin. It's certainly expanding horizons like good peyote. Moreover, Drug Honkey hereby establish themselves as major players in the post-Khanate "harsh doom" scene. Indeed, this is some stiff competition.


Verdict: 87% - Addictive like the drugs they write about.

Try it. (mediafire, 74 MB)
Buy it. (CD, cduniverse.com)

Atheist @ Sonar in Baltimore

The night of March 10^th saw the return of the glorious technical wizards Atheist to Baltimore on the Jupiter World Tour. Unfortunately, to get to them involved shoveling out $25 and sitting through seven hit-or-miss opening acts.

Despite arriving 2 hours late, we managed to catch seven of the eight acts. The first we saw was some shit band fronted by a shirtless man with a strange lower-abdominal deformity / hip-indentations. The played generic metal with harsh vocals, emphasis on harsh as they sounded fucking awful and deafening -- too fucking high in the mix and the only place we were able to stand was right by the speaker vomiting out his silly RAWR RAWR RAWR at such a high volume it drowned out everything else save for the incessant CLICK CLICK CLICK of the bass drum YAWN. I guess it’s to the band’s benefit that I never found out their name.

Kudos to Sonar for doing the alternating stage thing (having one band set-up on one stage while another band played on the other). After Generic Metal Band #666 played their uninteresting set, we switched to the main room to see Fallen Martyr. I was taken by pleasant surprise when they started playing marauding black metal riffs! Then the vocalist hopped up on stage cloaked in a hood. He quickly disrobed down to a suit and it became instantly clear we were in for a corny ride from hell… and that we were. If it weren’t for the pointless synth/sample intros and interludes, and the vocalist’s banshee-croon and business attire, I could have taken them seriously. But alas, the gothic whiney-ness drowned what was otherwise decent black metal in a sea of yawns and disinterested stares.

Next up were Deranged Theory (I know, shitty name). Luckily, they kicked ass. The frontman was dressed in nothing but a Viking kilt and passed around a sexy horned helmet for the audience to indulge in. They played some death/thrash or whatever-the-fuck, and it was decent. All the lyrics were nerd-driven and about PC videogames I’ve never played (Starcraft and Castlevania were mentioned). Viking-kilt-man even brought out a sword for a stage prop which he later used to knight me and Adam as we knelt before him on a speaker. He was even cool enough to mosh with us during his own set! Regardless, Deranged Theory’s set came off as more stage-presence than anything, but it was still fun and got the concert-goers amped up for some brutal moshing that was yet to come.

After that was some stupid metalcore band with a synth – Last Chance to Reason I think – that did nothing interesting besides fuck around with some angular riffs here and there, and throw in a neat, but brief, bass solo at the end of their set. Again, major snorefest.

AND THEN MOTHERFUCKING REVOCATION TOOK THE MAIN STAGE. And thankfully so. At the Veil of Maya concert a while back, they were the only band there that didn’t suck deathcore ass, and holy shit do they still impress me. For those of you who don’t know, Revocation is a tech death/thrash band that Relapse has really been pushing recently. They’re worth seeing live, because they quite simply kill. Shred. Annihilate. REVOKE. The moshpit was off the hizzle for shizzle my nizzle, and they tore utter ass (I’m still in immense pain). This was almost worth the 25 bucks alone. Almost….

A Life Once Lost then followed up Revocation. They played more generic metal, but it wasn't as bad as RAWR RAWR RAWR BLAST BLAST BLAST from earlier on. And there was one stinky-ass motherfucker in a grey shirt that was ridiculously psyched to see them. We were tempted to flee, and in fact did about half-way through their set because we had better things to do like drink water and fart in a corner.

---

All this fucking around was starting to get old, but then it dawned on us – ATHEIST WAS UP FUCKING NEXT. FUCK YEAH. After literally hours of wayward moshing for the sake of killing time, we were finally about to witness the technical wizardry in person! Three grizzly-looking metal motherfuckers marched out, axes in hand, accompanied by a bald gnome-drummer and what looked like a cracked-out impersonator of Bret Michaels (according to Bronwyn). Keep in mind, I had no idea what the faces looked like behind the axes, so I was a wee-bit confused by their appearance (not really).

Fortunately, they tore ass and played a medley of songs spanning their illustrious career. It was kind of a nuisance to hear he frontman Kelly Shaefer go on and on about smoking pot in between songs, wasting precious time that could’ve been spent moshing to excellent tech death, or perhaps smoking us up. But whatever; they kicked ass, and the solos were absolutely incredible to watch played just three feet away from where we were standing! I guess the guitarist closest to me at one point broke a string, because he disappeared briefly, remerging with a new battle axe that, ironically enough, had a bad plug-in, so he kept losing sound during the last song (but kept on fucking shredding) while the audience members desperately tried holding the plug in place, but to barely any avail. Regardless, they were fantastic live – better than on their albums – though according to Adam, the drummer fucked up a Latin-rhythm part in one of the songs that he nearly cried about.

In the end, it was well worth it to see the masters themselves grace the stage. It was even cooler to get my Revocation shirt autographed by the frontman while Adam got sigs from Shaefer, the drummer from Atheist, and the dude from Revocation all over his onesie (yes, his fucking onesie – the most metal pajamas ever).

Hail Satan.

Jordan Saks - In-Lightening

Artist: Jordan Saks

Album: In-Lightening

Genre(s) / Style(s): free jazz, psychedelic rock, experimental, noise

Tracklisting:

1. Drone Aura Method Frenzy - 6:29

2. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa - Split 12 - 0:40

3. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ( All Music Is Live Music ) - 2:20

4. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa - Split 5 - 1:37

5. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ( Audio font ) - 1:22

6. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ( Adjectives vs. Actual Experience ) - 1:20

7. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ( A Tidal Introfusion ) - 1:13

8. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa - Split 1 - 1:18

9. This - 0:56

10. I Am Alien - 3:38

11. Venus Fly Trap ( Pirahna ) Flash Back - 2:43

12. a - 2:57

13. The Castles Angels - 3:24

14. Forgotten Dreams with ESP - 2:15

15. The Contorted Creation - 3:21

16. Between Nothing and Infinity - 3:51

17. Butterfly Sleeping Pills - 2:31

18. Five - 8:33

Jordan Saks is a magical wizard hailing from a far-off land called Columbia, Maryland. In this distant, alien realm, he rules not with a scepter, but with a guitar and drum set, commanding the magic of classic hallucinogen abuse and modern, coke-addled tech-wank. Yes, he is a ruling wizard of both extraterrestrial aural tyranny and unique charm and wonder. In-Lightening is a head-scratching journey through a void of confusion, collapse, and, eventually, madness.

The guitar-work on this album is delicate and sounds as if the guitars are floating, nay, wriggling, their way through a clusterfucked ether sea. Sometimes, they get heavy and noisy, almost metal-sounding -- "Forgotten Dreams with ESP" -- while other times they become mellow and jazzy -- all the "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" tracks. Still yet, at their most delicate, the guitars chill in ambient drift. The notes drip like water off of Saks' drenched axe. But other times, the guitars shred, and not in the Yngwie Malmsteen way. These parts literally sound like the guitar is being shredded, as with the come-and-go bursts of harsh drone static of "Drone Aura Method Frenzy" -- one of the most frightening album openers I've heard -- or the Merzbow-remixing-some-jazz-tunes of "The Contorted Creation". The guitar is literally all over the place on this album, and Saks will often times go from one style to the other in one song. Above all though, it is extremely unique and well-done; looks like those 15 years of playing guitar really paid off.

Saks has also been playing drums for as long as he's been playing guitar. The result is these spastic, jazzy, improvised patterns that sound as if at any moment the rhythms themselves (were they a concrete thing) would simply fly apart at break-neck speed. Occasionally, they hold a consistent beat, usually as some some top-notch metal drumming or, as a couple times in "Forgotten Dreams" shows, some tremendous hip-hop beats. For the most part, though, it's very hyper and jazz-inspired, and heavily free of form.

The vocal work, when present, consists of Saks babbling out incoherent streams of thoughts that'll have you scratching your head bald. Not to mention all the other weird electronic beats and samples that crawl in and out of some of the songs, or the complete messy mesh of heavily manipulated guitar, voice, and other sounds that pop up as these unexpected walls of layered noise that will also have you balding before your time. There's even a badass sitar briefly in "Castles Angels" and some programmed or sampled (I can't tell which) hip-hop and electronic beats that show up randomly in a few songs just to stop by, smoke your weed, then leave as quickly as they arrived; there are also few bits that straight up remind me of Daft Punk.

The production is surprisingly solid considering it was all recorded in the man's basement. The drums sound really nice and crispy, but manage to be really fragile during the mellow moments and fluttering during the jazz assaults. The guitars are rich and delicate, full and serene, alien and ornate, and neither instrument ever overpowers the other or is washed out by the other hectic whirlwinds of noise that blow through. Overall, In-Lightening has some really nice, clean production that gets lo-fi as fuck when it needs to, although, a substantial amount of this album is curiously mixed in just the left channel.

Jordan Saks conjures up one ridiculous musical voyage of free jazz and old-school psych and prog while bringing some modern math metal and noise influences. The whole thing is scattered and insanely varied, but really fucking hard to follow, not to mention all the "what-the-fuck" moments have led me to completely scratch off my scalp like there was a Mega-Millions jackpot printed on my skull. If you're looking for a total mindfuck of a musical voyage, then this album is right up your alley.

Verdict: 75% - Mind = Fucked.

Try it. (mediafire, 92 MB)

Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions

Artist: Sunn O)))
Album: Monoliths & Dimensions
Year: 2009
Label: Southern Lord

Genre(s) / Style(s): drone doom metal, dark ambient, experimental

Line-up:
Stephen O'Malley - Electric Guitars
Greg Anderson - Electric Guitars, Electric Bass Guitar
Attila Csihar - Vocals

with:

• Oren Ambarchi: Electric Guitars, Motorized Cymbal, Oscillator, Guitar Effects, Gong, Wolf Log
• Eyvind Kang: Viola; Choir, Brass, & String Arrangements
• Dylan Carlson: Electric Guitars, Choir Arrangements (inspired by)
• Julian Priester: Trombone & Conch Shell
• Stuart Dempster: Trombone, Conch Shell, Dung Chen
• Mell Dettmer: Tubular Bells, Hydrophone
• Timb Harris: Violin
• Jessika Kenney: Lead Alto & Soprano Choir; Choir, Brass, and String Arrangements
• Tim Smolens: Double Bass
• Moriah Neils: Double Bass
• Keith Lowe: Double Bass
• Daniel Menche: Man Choir
• William Herzog: Man Choir, Electric Tamboura
• Steve Moore: Trombone, Organ, Korg MS20, Roland Juno, Conch Shell, Dung Chen
• Brad Mowen: Concert Bass Drum, Percussion, Man Choir
• Joe Preston: Man Choir
• Rex Ritter: Korg MS20, Moog Voyager
• Hans Teuber: Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Flute
• Cuong Vu: Trumpet
• Tony Moore: Trumpet
• Melissa Walsh: Harp
• Taina Karr: English Horn, Oboe
• Eric Walton: Piano
• Josiah Boothby: French Horn
• Jutta Sierlinger: Choir Alto
• Angela Kiemayer: Choir Alto
• Varena Bodem: Choir Alto
• Katharina Einsiedl: Choir Soprano/Alto
• Stephanie Pfeffer: Choir Soprano/Alto
• Loma Döring: Choir Soprano/Alto

Tracklisting:

1	Aghartha		17:34
2	Big Church [megszentségteleníthetetlenségeskedéseitekért]		9:43
3	Hunting & Gathering (Cydonia)		10:02
4	Alice		16:21

Sunn O)))'s reputation precedes the band, most certainly. The dynamic droning duo of Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson have made quite a name for themselves in the musical underground under their defunct amplifier moniker, offering up molten slabs of Earth-drone, often taking the concept even further than anything Carlson and co. did. Although controversial in nature for their minimalist approach, the boys in Sunn O))) have an obvious willingness to experiment (if Black One and the hundreds of side-projects didn’t already make this clear). Their latest effort, and easily their best, is Monoliths & Dimensions, another boundary-pushing lurch from the bowels of hell.

The spine of this album is classic slower-than-a-crippled-snail, heavy-as-fuck guitar drones. But what is the true genius of the album is the introduction of complex soundscapes wrought from a horrific misuse of elegant brass and string sections and beautiful female choral arrangements, as well as some of the usual elements )that are still unusual for bands of this style). Monoliths & Dimensions is wrought with a cavernous atmosphere that seems like it was recorded in a cathedral, and the methodic unraveling of the meticulous soundscapes brings to mind a foreboding, slow, satanic sermon.

Attila Csihar seems to assume the role of preacher on this album, and "Aghartha" stands out as being the opening of some dark mass. Warped violin textures crawl like roaches and surge like a plague behind Csihar’s inching recitation. A foul wind blows through the half-broken windows of the cathedral, rattling the loose odds and ends of the far-off chandeliers and the wooden pews below them, flipping pages of scorched Bibles and the black shirts and skirts of receptive minions reveling in the word. To most, the sound alone would be disgusting, a message to any wayward Christians to turn back at once.

The opening choral passage of "Big Church" resembles a creed sung by once-heavenly female voices, fallen angels chanting The Lord’s Prayer in reverse. The preacher spouts curses against God, his words echoing off the arches and stained-glass of the forsaken cathedral in which he preaches. The congregation joins in with these ghastly melodies as if in confirmation of what they know they must do: to wage war on God. This gentle malice segues into ‘Hunting & Gathering”, a heavy and more doomy piece that carries a steady and easily-followed pace, in contrast to the first two tracks which take on a more ambient approach. The pace here is methodical and ritualistic, like Satan himself is being summoned. His dark soldiers of Earth prepare for battle, and a martial meter complete with warrior’s chants is kept.

"Alice", the finale to this behemoth, is a sort of white light in the night. It's strange, surging glimmers of sonic sun-rays pierce the darkened stained-glass windows of the cathedral and a quiet battle of light and dark ensues, with the trumpets of angels sounding valiantly against the wavering drones of demonic guitars. Soon, strings come subtly in to join the battle of angels and demons. The guitars soon become disoriented, fighting against themselves as the string and wind orchestra overpower all that was left of the mighty church of the king serpent of the furnace. The cathedral is beautifully ravished and life returns to the barren grounds tainted by the presence of the House of Hell as it lies in a heap of rubble. The song ends as if a new day is beginning: a harp flutters over a stern cello like a butterfly dancing in the air above a regiment of holy knights, before a horn stands alone atop a hill mourning the losses suffered in the battle and those lost to the dark lord, yet embracing victory of good over evil as the sun rises behind the player.

With this release, it’s apparent Sunn O))) are done with the boring, ultra-minimal, indecipherable guitar slaughter, and ready for a more mature career (if it continues from here). The experimentation with classical elements to create these black and cavernous soundscapes is incredible to say the least, and it makes me anticipate what these gents will come up with next, for rarely is a drone release so very enthralling.

Verdict: 95% - Aweso)))me




Try it. (megaupload, 320 kps, 119 MB)
Buy it. (Southern Lord)