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)