Grindcore - and all it's offspring and brood - has a very special place in my heart (here's my other page dedicated to it: http://you-will-move.blogspot.com/ ) I listen to "heavier" music primarily as a catharsis. The visceral purging of emotion takes priority over how complex or creative a riff has to be to play, this music delivers said purging in jaded spades. Though many top-tier Grind bands flourish at both aspects, like any genre there are thousands of worse-than-mediocre bands trying to do it or utilizing the extremity of the sound as a bad joke, thusly overshadowing truly fantastic bands who dedicate their livelihood to a musical niche' that will never be successful nor catapult them to any sort of sterilized albeit prosperous and rewarding spotlight. It's truly a labor of love, and one that has negatively changed my opinion about a lot of the other genres of Heavy Metal out there, I mean - by comparison, aren't bands like Anthrax, Lamb Of God, Fear Factory, Pantera, Sepultura, etc. just distorted, downtuned, pop-music with strained vocals? All traditionally structured with choruses and pre-choruses, guitar solos, intros and outros, that post second chorus breakdown - never giving in to the frenzy and always keeping that snappy little groove for you to bop your head to? Not to say that it's bad, it's just - predictable... So, now that I've pissed you off:
5. Venomous Concept - Kick Me Silly - VC III
I've often theorized and bullshitted about just how much I believe Grindcore is truly the not-so-new Punk music - extreme demands require extreme responses, and with internet and media outlets precipitating a systematic anesthetization to all things violent and depraved, we need a genre that martyrs it's very being as music by succumbing to it's own frenzied passion. While most Grindcore bands syncopate punk rhythms around the prioritized blast beats, Venomous Concept flips that equation, coming across more as a modern day punk band that occasionally leans on the very essence of it's members' collective roots in the Grindcore genre to punctuate it's sound. It works as both an anti-numbing agent to the beat down, as well as a possible gateway for those on the edge of the Punk tier who may in fact be intimidated by something even more extreme than that with which they are passionate about.
On Kick Me Silly - VC III the "supergroup" sounds like the perfect amalgam of it's parts. Herrera, Embury and Cooke (who has been playing live with ND for the past two years in Harris' unexplained absence) bring the latter day Napalm Death sound while the now defunct Brutal Truth-half utilize Lilker's feral bass and Sharp's incomparably recognizable roar to round out the band's d-beat focused punk fueled attack. While I'd still love to hear this troop get as batshit as they possibly can, it's the restrained doses of the full possibility of VC's frenzied vitriol that keep this thing coiled and popping from start to finish.
4. Wake - Sowing The Seeds Of A Worthless Tomorrow
On Sowing The Seeds Of A Worthless Tomorrow Wake don't give a hoot about dynamics, the stop and go strike, or anything that constitutes a casual listener's grasp of rhythm. It's all one constant, blasting dirge into dark hopelessness. The sound here throughout these eight tracks feels almost hypnotically monochromatic, which only adds to the feeling of being piled onto. It's as if somebody nasally force-fed Gaza with a half-ton of PCP (referencing one limited exposure band with another - nice). The infrequent lighter chords that are struck throughout the belligerent stampeding of blasts that provide a limited bubble for which to gasp for air in add such a depth to the music without sacrificing any of it's claustrophobic characteristics. One second longer and it would have felt like too much, one second shorter wouldn't have been enough - this tester of souls is just right.
3. Wormrot - Voices
It took two full lengths and an EP for Wormrot to really turn my ear. With time and exposure I've gained an appreciation for the raw straightforwardness of their delivery, and though that is an easy quality for to which find yourself blending in with the rest, Wormrot continue to surprise me with sporadic surges of brief experimentation in their sound. Their influences can be easily identified, but the fact that there are so many songs on Voices that dedicate their entire being to said influences and in turn different aspects of the genre, stepping away from the finality of the record deposes a dynamic and versatility in writing that really makes Voices a fun experience. The production is the best they've had yet, and I think that's a big cog to really making each instrument stand out on it's own here, giving it a very organic, plug-in-and-play feel without sounding too raw or muddled. I always thought the hype of Wormrot in the scene was focused on the wrong things, more the geographical origin of the band than anything else - the Noise EP made my dumb ass pay closer attention, but Voices has me proclaiming that the threat is real.
2. Nails - You Will Never Be One Of Us
Nails continue to astonish me in how they can produce music so tonally fucking heavy that moves so incredibly fast, I think Kurt Ballou may have had something to do with it. You Will Never Be One Of Us is a fitting third offering from the band, upping their own game in fact. Careening consciousness with sledgehammering power-violence and dizzying, Venturi-effect like blasts that succumb only to thick, slabs of crawling rhythms where strategically appropriate. Considering they're wisely sticking to the short-but-sweet M.O. of final running times under roughly 12 - 13 minutes (contractual obligations be damned), you'd think that those aforementioned qualities would make You Will Never Be One Of Us a forced, possibly contrived, convoluted mess. Instead however, the bombardments of sound are so well composed that the songs in fact seem longer than they are, and gratifyingly complete. Even the eight minute-plus closer doesn't feel out of place. Oh, and it's catchy as hell too!
1. Gendo Ikari - Unit 1
What the? Who the? Huh? Yes, I stumbled onto these guys whilst prowling the seedy underbelly of Bandcamp some time in early October, and in the time since - to my delight (thru no influence of my own) - have seen other blogs and social media sites begin to sing their praises. Hailing from Glasgow, UK, Gendo Ikari's 7-track debut does everything right for me. It's got the jagged, unpredictable blasting that isn't too above itself to break into wonderfully brief, groovy strides - all along maintaining a singular aural onslaught. The tones are sharp but still weighty, with a shitload of jarring, sudden brake application before projectile-like surges of straight up Grind come violently tumbling forth. It's awesome, and maybe it's because they seem so off the radar right now, or the production standard comes across as somewhat DIY (I do wish it was louder), but there is an antagonistic virulence driving behind it that feels just slightly more palpable and genuine than most right now to me, and I just can't ignore that. They ain't the first to do it, and admittedly it's not breaking any new ground, but Gendo Ikari have taken almost all of my favorite aspects of the genre and managed to put them together comprehensively into a short and caustic exhibition of appreciation for the fundamentals of the millennium's new wave of Grindcore.
I've made it no secret here that when it comes to the Foo Fighters I'm a fan of their older, simpler, more straight forward stuff - I continue to invest in their output because quite honestly there is a nostalgia factor with this band conceived around the time of their first album that I still rings true in their current output though admittedly way more sporadic and way more muffled in it's impact. That's not to ignore the idea that the music they do now isn't good to me, it's just lost the charm of their early material. Sonic Highways is a good rock record, but for me it's the worst thing they've ever done. Too big, too elaborate, too bombastic, and too epic. No matter how loud you turn up Foo Fighters and Colour and The Shape, they still sound quiet - and though that may seem oppositional to everything a band like this stands for as possibly the last arena rock band of our lifetime, it's in that juxtaposition that I find that aforementioned, and for lack of a better term, charm.
Saint Cecilia is a reckoning back to those days - and although it doesn't mirror the kind of production value that may have been a defining characteristic of their first few albums for me, the song writing and the energy behind the recorded tracks feel like a direct wormhole to the sessions of the mid to late 90's. Turns out, the band has admitted to utilizing riffs, ideas, and old unreleased demos that never saw the light of day (a feat in and of itself in this day and age) that ranged back as far as 20 years ago. The title track manages to palpate the arena-easy dynamics of some of their later work but never dips into becoming too pretentious, and instead harkens back to vibes of "Learning To Fly" and "Generator" - probably because they didn't have the time to throw on a whole bunch of other superfluous instrumentation. "Sean" is a quick and somewhat whimsical pop-punk driver that seriously sounds as though it was ripped directly from the tracklist of Colour and the Shape, and most would slap me for saying so, but it's also quite possibly my favorite thing they've done in some 15 years. "Saviour Breath" is cut from the same cloth as a juiced up "Weenie Beenie", "Iron Rooster" is Nothing Left To Lose era Foo balladry, and closer "The Neverending Sigh" stands alone as what I hope represents a band stepping back as a step forward - as it subtly morphs from a drive to a glide in it's momentum throughout.
In all it's glory Saint Cecilia sounds like the lost stepping stone between Colour and the Shape and Nothing Left To Lose - and while it seems as though that's all I'm dwelling on here, even standing alone from everything else they've done it's a damn fine album - of course I've always been a sucker for the not-wearing-out-your-welcome glory of the Extended Play format. I can't be comfortable in whether or not the album turned out the way it did on purpose or not; I mean, I know some of the ideas were more than two decades old, but how much of it's sound was also the result of the album being a free EP? And possibly a sit down and knock it rush recording before finally getting to take that extended hiatus? Either way, they've earned some of my trust and heart back with this one, and that's saying a lot. Do yourself a favor and download it (it's free!), and while you're add it throw "Empty Handed" from their Songs From The Laundry Room EP onto it as an opener to create a nice little half an album's worth of material that feels like a new them when they were at their best. That song sounds in every way like it should have been on the self-titled debut. Keep it up, stop "evolving" and stop trying to "save" rock 'n roll.
Car Bomb. For those of you unprevy to this two-albumed loogie of hate, know that they are a musical force to be reckoned with. Spawned in the wake of the emergence of the ridiculously pigeon-holed genre-term "Math Metal", this four piece created albums' worth of controlled yet spasmatic ferocity the likes of which raises them above the visionless Calculating Infinity Clones pissing all over the creative original sound. Sure the influence can be heard, but Car Bomb abandons anything even close to resembling a hook or rhythm and instead comes off as a very jagged, very large pill to swallow, arguably more difficult to absorb then even some of the most unhinged Grindcore - arguably. The sound is so sharp, and so combustible, that instead of resembling 11 different tracks it's almost just one long compilation of fits and seizures. A soundtrack to the spewing forth of schizophrenic hate.
How does a band like this survive? Well, seeing as how they hadn't released anything in over 5 years I wasn't sure that they had, until I stumbled upon a documentary titled 'Why You Do This'. Just over an hour long, this short little film (put together by Car Bomb vocalist Michael Dafferner) follows the band on the road as they tread on and continue playing their undigestible brand of music despite what seems to be only a continuing series of disenchanting pit-falls and realizations. It's the usual run-of-the-mill kind of things any underground band has to deal with - playing to crowds of three or four people, automotive difficulties, being ripped off by club owners, continuously losing more money than you make - but for those who've never had the experience it makes for an interesting watch. The narraration throughout the film is mostly pessimistic, as though the whole project itself came to fruition as a result of half a decades worth of being jaded. If you don't take it as tongue-in-cheek halfway thru the doc you may find yourself telling your monitor to "just fuckin' quit then", but by the end you'll see it's not the answer that you're sticking around for but really the search for the answer. The film also uses Lamb of God and Gojira as examples of two groups who were able to claw their way 'tooth and nail' out of the underground to headline their own tour and earn an opening slot playing for Metallica. Poor examples in my opinion as both those bands earn their living on the other side of extreme music's line in the sand due to their sound being so accessible in comparison to a group like Carbomb. Lamb Of God is par for the course with a band like Slipknot, damn good at what they do, but still just a rehash of riffs and ideas that worked years before when Meshuggah, Sepultura and Slayer carved their paths (Phil Anselmo called and said he wants his tough-mumblings-over-tougher-riffs act back Mr. Blythe), but I digress. They were probably the only ones willing or available to contribute interviews and without them there would be an air of hoplessness throughout the film. The doc also includes interviews with members of Bella Morte, The Chariot, and Soilent Green, not to mention a spot-on 'why I do this' summarization about playing extreme music from ex-Death/current Charred Walls of the Damned drummer Richard Christy. The film is an eye opener for anybody that hasn't tried traveling across the country in a shit-box van w/trailer, and makes you thankful that groups like this don't toss their gear into the Ol' Miss while driving over it and call it a day. Can you imagine a world without violent basement shows where the fuse blows every song and Hepatitis C creeps like grave moss through bloody knuckes and abrased skin in mock-jungle temperatures? As I type this from the comfort of the home I own and live in comfortably I tell you that I cannot. So god bless those cursed with the passion for playing extreme music, and sacrificing their own comfort to tread across this country and scrape by with no expectations of ever seeing a light at the end of a tunnel or a multi-million dollar record contract not to mention even a mere 2 minutes on the radio. The film doesn't break any new ground, nor does it necessarily draw you in - but much like the Discordance Axis novella 'Compiling Autumn', the fact that it exists is a bonus. Fans of the scene and the band should consider themselves fortunate that someone was passionate enough about what they do to compile the resources and take the time needed to create it and make it available without profiting. So you should take the time to watch the doc if you're into the scene at all. Check it out below and order yourself a copy here.
I've always been positively fascinated with B-sides, tracks that just didn't make the cut for one reason or another. Either because of time constraints or maybe not fitting in with the theme of an album. Sometimes it's the band trying something experimental they think just won't cut it on an album, or may piss off fans. It kind of feels like you can get away with more with a B-side. A group can try something different or simply not overthink a song; if it gets flack you can shrug your shoulders and say "eh, it's a B-side". Or it's for something more specific. Often I think a one-off in a studio to record a song for a soundtrack or tribute album is just an awesome little snapshot of your art between phases.
In this day and age B-sides are kind of becoming a thing of the past. Casual listeners don't need singles when you can purchase a single song off any album on ITunes. And pretty much anything can be dug up with an ample youtube search. The following is a not-too-thought out list of bands whose B-side track - not available on any of their own regular discography (including Greatest Hits albums and B-side collections) - is arguably one of the best things they've ever done. I tried to stay away from the independent bands ripping up the underground because who can even keep track? Splits, demos, independent compilations, a burnt CD of new material only being circulated at shows... Sure Agoraphobic Nosebleed's 'Assault Rifle' is one of their catchiest and most sonically crippling and can only be found on the vinyl only split with Insect Warfare, but at that point where do you draw the line? For the most part I kept the following list to the more mainstream acts that actually got asked to contribute to something or had a single to sell: In no particular order:
Silverchair - Ramble Album: Without You Single
Diorama is one of the best albums I own. Silverchair ripped themselves from the herd with that one, even with the weight of a couple of really sappy ballads that record is still amazing. 'Ramble' is one of the best pieces from those sessions, and I've always thought it could easily replace either 'Luv Your Life' or 'After All These Years' and only add to that records greatness rather than possibly run your ears down with more symphonic balladry by album's end. And while both 'Hollywood' and 'Pins In My Needles' are other b-sides from those sessions most definitely worth mentioning, Ramble stands above them both with it's uplifting vibage and over-all composition. (The shitty quality version of the song above was the only vid I could find). Unfortunately, as it turns out the label told Johns to write a radio friendly song for Diorama after hearing the finished product. By this time the record as we know it was done and the band's vision was completed, this song remained a B-side due to Johns' resentment of it being forced on him.
Anthrax - Poison My Eyes Album: Last Action Hero Soundtrack
As a huge fan of the Bush-era of Anthrax back in my early twenties this track was king. Sounding like it was recorded during or around the Sound Of White Noise sessions, the slow-burn intro and outro help this 7-minute hard rock-fest reach near epic proportions. While most late-80's thrash dudes who haven't listened to anything outside of the Big Four in the last 20 years pine on about how much better the albums were with Belladonna on vox, I can't help but feel like the group stood out more and better as a hard rock / heavy metal band away from the watered-down thrash rat race their peers were all involved in. The Anthrax of today are nothing more than money-hungry sell-out iconoclasts cashing in on nostalgia tours and shitting down the throats of the fans that lifted them up. Also check out their B-side to the 'Nothing' single from the criminally under-rated Stomp 442 sessions 'Grunt & Click'.
Korn - Proud Album: I Know What You Did Last Summer Soundtrack
Goddamn... What a great example of how awesome these fuckholes used to be. The song speaks for itself, written and recorded before they became the clichéd rock n' roll joke they are now. No! I'll keep it positive! Still speedballing, methed out, and dealing with a whole shitload of childhood abuse issues, 'Proud' is an unplayful, ditch-the-hip hop twinge, straight up purging; bolstering possibly the best build-up to climax they've ever done in a song - and considering that that was kind of their thing back then is saying a lot. There are many complicated questions we may never know the answers to with which this tracks existence only adds to as parabola: What happens after we die? What is Stonehenge? Who really murdered Teresa Halbach, HOW DID THIS SONG NOT MAKE IT ONTO AN ALBUM!?
Bookended by ominously industrial tones that fade in and out, 'Octagonal Stairway' presents itself as truly a stand-alone track amongst a genre whose short controlled bursts of belligerence often depend on the collective momentum and strain of an album's worth of material to deliver it's summed blow. 'Octagonal Stairway' also bolsters a much more visceral production style than it's closest peer session for 2012's Book Burner - whose much cleaner sound was a castigation point for Grindcore elitists. In the grand scheme of the band's discography this song is epic in terms of it's straightforward battery of the senses as well as it's length; at almost four minutes long, it retains it's Grind traits while defying traditional durations by extending itself with thrash like breakdowns and dizzying guitar riffs - basically an all-encompassing stamp of everything PxDx has evolved into and continue to masterfully execute.
Radiohead - True Love Waits Album: Unreleased
This one is kind of interesting because it sort of breaks my own rules for this time around. The original version of 'True Love Waits' to be released was on the live E.P. I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings, which contains a version of Yorke singing the ballad acoustically by himself. This version here is the unreleased studio recording of the same song. It's fairly straightforward considering the late paths into electronica Radiohead have taken in the latter half of their career. Those of you jonesing for more material that harkens back to the days of The Bends may find this off-the-radar song some kind of wonderful.
Foo Fighters - A320 Album: Godzilla Soundtrack
This was released somewhere between TheColour and the Shape and There Is Nothing Left To Lose, and guessing from both the sound, songwriting and most definitely the budget, I can assume it was recorded closer to the former. This was a flash of things to come from the Foo, but at the time it was something so seemingly out of their league that it became one hell of a hidden gem and a half. A gentle monologue that builds to a soaring instrumental latter half, sonically painting it's theme onto our imaginations as our narrator's plane comes gently plummeting to the ground, disappearing into the clouds below during the fade out. A mature and well written number that scoffs at mainstream rock song structures and actually includes, strings? Are those strings I hear from the band in 1998? I typically wave the flag for this band's earlier, simpler efforts, but while this kind of thing is just another spoke in the wheel for Foo Fighters now, back then it was, in their catalogue, a beautiful and epic movement - and remains so for me. This may not be my personal favorite B-side from the Foo, but it is the most agreeable of their non-album works in terms of it's awesomeness.
Chris Cornell - Sunshower Album: Great Expectations Soundtrack
I suppose I can understand how some may roll their eyes at this song, voiding it pretty high on the possible cheese factor - it's inclusion and role in the movie that presents it doesn't help it's case any. A steamy scene where a young adult Ethan Hawke bangs the young adult Gwyneth Paltrow for the first time after longing for her for most of his childhood. For me it's a five star track. The melodies, lyrics, sound and over-all flow of the song just seemed to come along at the right time and add to the perfect storm of self-induced feelings of worthlessness I once got off on and being 20 years old. Having never seen the movie until 2013 may have also helped me enjoy 'Sunshower' for what it is as a stand-alone track and not a relation to the format of it's source. Following the acoustic version of 'Like Suicide' that floated around (another gem found on the S.F.W. soundtrack as well as amongst Soundgarden B-side collections) and 'Seasons', which slept on 1992's Singles soundtrack - 'Sunshower' seemed to be the final and most verifiable promise of a phenomenal solo career for Cornell. Unfortnately nothing that followed on 1999's Euphoria Morning, 2007's Carry On, or the utterly abominable Scream (2009) compared to this or anything he scarcely did before.
Pantera - Avoid The Light Album: Dracula 2000 Soundtrack
Pantera was a band that prided themselves on not having B-sides. Typically, when a song didn't work that shit was flushed or the pieces that did work were worked into another song (see 'Piss' and 'Use My Third Arm'). 'Avoid The Light' is a song that really is it's own animal. Experimental guitar tones and riffing that could pass on a Meathook Seed album teeter over a tripped-out soft to heavy structure reminiscent to the kind of stellar shit that helped lay the foundation for the bandwagon killing The Great Southern Trendkill. More akin to TGSTK's 'Living Through Me (Hell's Wrath)' than anything else they'd done previously or since, 'Avoid The Light' is a very uncommercial effort that remains a sleeper amongst fans today. That being said it's a difficult song to fit on an album without bringing momentum to a damn near halt. The occult-tinged lyrics indicate that the song may have even been recorded specifically for the soundtrack itself. There's not a lot of info out there about this one, except that it's arguably one of the best things they've done.
Nine Inch Nails - The Perfect Drug Album: Lost Highway Soundtrack
I'm not a huge fan of Nine Inch Nails, I dig them alright but I haven't followed so closely the last decade or two - though I will say 2013's Hesitation Marks sort of brought my attention back. That's not to say I don't think that what Reznor does isn't great. I can think of a handful of tunes that are actually better than The Perfect Drug - 'Something I Can Never Have', 'A Warm Place', 'Hurt', and 'The Frail' all come to mind - but they're all also more along the lines of slower, more orchestral, closer to the heart types of movements. A niche' I believe he burns the strongest in. 'The Perfect Drug's frantic energy and pace, however, puts it more akin to his faster, more metal-tinged staples like Wish, and Head Like A Hole - only better - and for me makes this one of the few NIN songs that actually makes me want to move.
Type O Negative - Haunted (Per-Version) Album: Life Is Killing Me (Bonus CD of European Import)
The original version of Haunted had always been my favorite Type O Negative song; the idea that it could be improved upon seemed like an effort in futility to me; the "Per-Version" version showcases the same slow-moving titanic rhythms draped in the soliloquy of a desperate man in love and lust with a ghost. The vocal patterns are different and arguably improved upon with an almost Gregorian Monk-like delivery, and ear-wettingly eerie keyboard effects are sparsely added to the composition amongst other very subtle changes here and there - including a much more appropriate fade-out to the song rather than the abrupt Beatles-esque stoppage in the original. I can only imagine the soul-tearing creative decision making process singer/songwriter Peter Steele must have endured in determining which version would make the October Rust LP... Who am I kidding, it was probably just a flip of the coin.
I don't always listen to albums when they're released. It's not that I don't get around to it - it's just that most times a flavor is best savored for a certain time of the year. Moons align, winds change, seasons whither - everything has it's soundtrack. In turn, sometimes that leaves a two year window for which to satisfy my sonic palette, especially when a record is released just after it's most appropriately designated epoch. So consider this a list in arrears. These are my favorite ten albums that were released in 2014:
10. Big Wreck - Ghosts
It wouldn't take much for Big Wreck to become a ridiculously annoying mainstream rock radio act, ala their Canadian country-mates Nickelback, prob. just a right place right time sort of scenario; I can only assume the career long tenure of intelligent riffs and eclectic influences taints the almost sickening catchiness of some of the melodies singer/songwriter Ian Thornley has been spinning since 1997's 10/10 In Loving Memory Of. B-dub's fourth magnum opus (and I mean that as Ghosts clocks in at an hour and ten minutes) hands that equation over in spades. Ghosts does a fantastic job of incorporating a little bit of everything they've done in their discography thus far, as well as exploring new territory - a fantastic formula for fans who have been listening since their inception (me), and were still thirsty for more after the 13 year hiatus breaker Albatross. I have a soft spot for Big Wreck; so while most may feel Ghosts is a bit uneven and hit-or-miss I blame nostalgia and a lack of similar acts in my collection for my sway. The "heavier" songs groove in all the right places and soar in their melodic chorus', so much so that the sugar would be almost too sweet in spots if it wasn't peppered along the way with more exploratory, sometimes near-brooding journeys that remind you why you haven't seen them play on the Super Bowl Halftime show - because despite the ridiculous radio catchiness in places, Big Wreck never dial back in lengths, or experimentation just off-the-mark enough to keep them off of the radar of impatient FM drifters.
9. Down - Down IV Part 2
The second EP in the four part series that will total Down IV is the least likely of anything they've done to win over any new fans. That being said, it gathers both it's strength and it's appeal from the group's back catalogue as both this EP and the one that preceded it seem an animal all their own, yet a fitting piece in the evolving totality of the body of work; as any seasoned Down fan will testify, as is each release, but Down IV Part 2 is easily the most raw and visceral of it's bretheren. It's the sound of a band that's completely stripped itself of the bells and whistles, there is a grainy salt to it that isn't easy to rub against; especially for the close-minded Douche-lords still clinging to NOLA as a work unrivaled. This is Down weathered and beaten, showcasing the seasoned veterans they've become, and the pioneers of a sound they've evolved from since emerging as a third-generation Black Sabbath influence, plugging in and just fucking going for it - and the album does an amazing job of capturing that vibe. It's dark, groovy and as heavy as a really heavy thing. At near 40 minutes long this feels less like an EP and more of exactly what it's supposed to be, another cog in the damn wheel of the big machine; listeners would be crumbling under the weight of both EP's as one album like Atlas if they released them more traditionally. Yet Down IV Part 2 ends it's marshy tread in a warm and hazy acoustic passage that feels like a proper closing to a first half, an intimation of clearer paths ahead, and perhaps a promise to be fulfilled in the form of the unplugged record Down has been talking about for nearly twenty years.
8. Pallbearer - Foundations Of Burden
Foundations Of Burden is a fucking mammoth of an album, this low-tuned slab of Candlemass-like doom is like a slow moving leviathan laying waste to landscapes as it slowly treads forth, and yet in places in grooves...interesting. I typically limit myself in most of the more sub-sub genres of heavy metal so as not to water down what I already enjoy, at the risk of sounding too much like a Mountain Dew commercial, I typically gravitate to the more extreme of these; which means I like my doom weepy with church bells and at 0.5 beats per minute. While Pallbearer sounds more like a direct descendant of Warning, or dare I say a great, great grandchild of Black Sabbath, it still delivers right where it's supposed to every time. 'Watcher In The Dark' makes you move when it starts to roll - whether you want to or not, the latter half of 'Foundations' ties your heartstrings to an anvil before kicking it over into a chasm, and I've never heard a better, cooler or more subtle riff transition than the 5 to 7 minute mark of the fantastic 'Worlds Apart'. Not to mention the new dimension of sound that 'Ashes' exhibits, never previously heard from Pallbearer, for to which I'd love for them to expound upon in future endeavors.
7. Gridlink - Longhena
While most modern more moderate to major label (budget) Grind bands like to power forth like a jet-fueled bulldozer through a landmine field, Gridlink harnesses their art like a swarm of carnivorous locusts swirling high above and collectively dive bombing their target audience in a high-end, flesh-lacerating assault. Gridlink had announced that Longhena would be their final effort whilst they were hashing it out - thusly making it's initial digestions upon release an almost religious experience to their rabid fan base, myself included. While both of this album's predecessors, Amber Grey and Orphan were fantastically frenzied fits of pure-Grind-blurring madness - the second showing an impressive progression from the first - the pattern continues and unfortunately ends with Longhena. Almost longer than the first two albums combined, at 23 minutes Longhena's penchant for injecting an almost uplifting foundation amongst the trademark six-string hurricane fury makes the album feel like an exhausting Grindcore epic. Sans the blueprint-defying violin heavy third track 'Thirst Watcher' (which adds incredible scope to the album rather than breaking it's momentum), Longhena's remaining 13 tracks pin you helplessly against the wall like a giant centrifuge and pulls you along for the ride. Kudos to Jon Chang for also recruiting Joey Molinaro to contribute, who's violin cover of Chang's previous band Discordance Axis' The Inalienable Dreamless was one of the coolest tributes to have ever made it's way to day.
6. Beck - Morning Phase
Sea Change was one of those albums that just came along at the right time under the right circumstances and bore itself into my spirit and left a scar. A phenomena that seems to happen a whole lot more when you're a twenty something borderline alcoholic shut-in, living alone with questionable social anxiety disorder. The only other thing I own from Beck is the Loser single because I thought the B-side 'Fume' was goddamn dope - and I may have downloaded 'Chemtrails' somewhere down the line. The point is that while I totally respect the guy's Ween-like ability to do whatever he wants I'm not a huge fan. So it was always a hard pill to swallow that Sea Change very well could have been a once in a career kind of album for him. Enter Morning Phase; a reunion of the Sea Change session musicians and an unofficial sequel to that album. Morning Phase harkens back to it's kin strongest in songs with strong and slightly morose string arrangements, 'Cycle', 'Wave' and 'Phase' could easily be placed anywhere on Sea Change's tracklist and only have made that album stronger than it already was. The other songs all bear the obvious resemblance: heavily acoustic songs with southern twinges, the subtle electronic flourishes that peppered Sea Change are not exactly glaringly absent, but noticeable to a guy who played the shit out of it. The comparison is always going to be there, I can't talk about one without the other as I consider Sea Change to be one of the best albums I own, and even the artwork of Morning Phase strikes a resemblance - so this can indeed be construed as a sequel, if not sibling. Unfortunately head to head Morning Phase is slightly more than disappointing - but mind you I only said slightly, which means it's still a damn good album. Despite the stellar songwriting on here I can't help but feel that some of the emotion feels a bit manufactured, but Morning Phase is also a more uplifting effort than it's better half - of course I'm also a very different person than I was which leads me to wonder how I would have felt about it if this was the year 2003.
5. This Will Destroy You - Another Language
This Will Destroy You's 2011 album Tunnel Blanket was the first time in the band's career that they didn't sound like they were trying to be Explosions In The Sky. The second rate formula of climactic inspirational guitar movements was abandoned for ebow heavy, keyboard laden ambience that really didn't stress itself out if it didn't go anywhere - and it was awesome, because I'm kind of really into that sort of thing if it's done right. 2014's Another Language injects that formless beauty into their previous more traditional songwriting thus creating a congealed and atmospheric record that is grandiose and cinematic in it's scope. Each track brandishing new sounds between beautifully understated melodies gives every cut it's own character and chapter place. I enjoyed Tunnel Blanket more than this record, but with Explosions In The Sky busy wasting their time collaborating on movie soundtracks there is a gap in my collection that TWDY is slowly beginning to fill with their ballsy and improved upon experimentations in sound.
4. Cloud Rat - Blind River
On Blind River, Cloud Rat dilute their dark, claustrophobic grind with desperate melodies that hint of hope beyond the glimmer of light so far away that is the surface of normalcy. That filthy feeling of raging disgust in the face of relapse and withdrawl in a home that lets in no light. It's a formula that doesn't stray far from what the band has always done, but with each effort Cloud Rat seem to be chiseling down the shapeless effigy into something more beautiful despite it's hardened and bitter mold. The strict confines of the Grindcore genre always prove a challenging channel to navigate and be original in without losing ones vision or identity or just sounding like you're trying too hard. The emotive and vitriolic purge of Blind River builds intersections and options in that channel - all the while maintaining the minimalistic simplicity of the plug-in-and-play sound.
3. Life And Times - Lost Bees
After the not-as-good-as-the-rest-of-their-records 2012 release of No One Loves You Like I Do, Life and Times return to the front waving the bright and honorable banner of new-millennial space grunge colored to the same shade as their phenomenal mini-opus (EP) The Magician. Forgive the god-awful pop-culture reference here, but Lost Bees is all about dat bass. With a tone that cuts through butter, and dialed in to the mix so goddamn perfectly, it is the groovy-as-fuck anchor that keeps the songs moving along whilst vocalist/lead guitarist Alan Epps finger dances up and down the frets and punches in and out of different effects pedals creating high-end audio explosions of colorful sonic confetti that rain down upon the core until everything occasionally locks into a rhythm. This formula serves to amplify the sonic wallop you may be expecting in a crescendo but are never prepared for (i.e. the chorus of 'Again' and 'Passion Pit') even after the first couple of listens. It's like a handjob to the ears. Ever since the perfection of the all-too-short Magician EP, I've been longing for Life and Times to do something as similar and consistently awesome; a difficult feat for an LP - but Lost Bees comes very close to that notion. Extracting the five best tracks from this album: 'Again', 'Ice Cream Eyes', 'Bored To Death', 'Passion Pit', and 'King of the Hive'; to go toe to toe with the 22 minutes of alt-rock glory that is The Magician may result in a controversial split decision in the end. Add to that the fact that Lost Bees is indeed a full LP with arguably no filler (maybe 'Eyes and Teeth') and gives us five additional tracks on top of those may be cause to tip the scale in it's favor. That's not to take anything away from the rest of their discography, as it's all very good - it's just nice to experience a selfish desire come to fruition. And truth is there is no competition here, in the end Lost Bees is just a stop at a wonderfully cohesive and rockin' oasis in the Life and Times musical journey.
2. Opeth - Pale Communion
Pale Communion is everything you'd expect from modern day Opeth, which means you're not quite sure what to expect at all other than something cleverly progressive, which includes all of the trademarks that Pale Communion nails on the mark: eclectic instrumentation, organic sound and phenomenal songwriting. Everything else is the journey that this album feels like from the first song to the last. The pensive groove of 'Moon Above Sun Below' that takes a turn for the sinister in the latter half. The playful 'Goblin', which sounds as though it was directly inspired by the (specifically Roller-era) 70's/80's Italian progressive rock ensemble of the same name that scored such classic horror films as Suspiria, Zombi and the European version of Dawn Of The Dead. The soaking-in-rain sadness of 'Elysian Woes', the surprisingly uplifting 'River' (which sounds like it could have been on a Foo Fighters album - in a good way), and the bleak and wintery 'Faith In Others' are all valleys, mountains, and deserts to cross. I've always said that Opeth sounds like what a Death Metal band would have sounded like in the 70's had Death Metal existed in the 70's (especially 2002's spectacular Deliverance). They may have completely abandoned their Death Metal roots, but their new straight-forward progressive approach isn't something as out-of-the blue as the jean jacketed long-haired hard-ons stuck in that phase whine about (hello? Damnation?). Both Pale Communion and it's predecessor Heritage pull from that era's progressive bands as influence, most notably old Genesis and the aforementioned Goblin. This is actually the best album on this list, however - it's not my favorite - so....
1. Lantlos - Melting Sun
What is it with pink albums from bands with Black Metal roots always making my #1? Produced to the nines, volume pushed to the tens, layered, layered, layered and lush, lush, lush - Melting Sun is an atmospheric Black Metal band gone beautiful and bombastic. Towing a line somewhere between Hum, Isis (the band) and Jesu, we're presented here with six giant bejeweled movements that damn near sound like the Summer time version of Type O Negative's October Rust (in atmosphere and overall vibe specific to the season, not baritone or style - nevermind). Unafraid to develop slowly, or not develop at all - such as the droning of 'Oneironaut' and the simplicity of closer 'Golden Mind' - we're allowed to go for the ride and sonically soar with gigantically beautiful birds of prey - and by that I'm inferring to the big shiny brilliant melodies here - as they fly too close to the sun and actually evolve from it. Honestly there is nothing really new happening here, and it's all so cosmetic. Strip this fucker down to four or five instrument tracks, and give it a way more modest production value and I can't really say that it would be as impressive to me, but that's not the way it is. It still tweaks and combines those Post-Metal and Shoegaze traits enough to present the listener with something fresh and never quite heard before. Just like it's chromatically gloaming pre-twilight packaging, this album is as sweet as candy.
Type O Negative's enigmatic singer/songwriter/leader Peter Steele was truly unique, in both what he contributed to music as well as a human being. Though a majority of his catalogue is genre-bending if not isolated as it's own unparalleled flagship - the bands that he has fronted were often categorized in/or as a subgenre of Metal Music, and even there his views of lawfulness, government, and structure were more against the grain than the subject matter of a majority of even the most extreme offshoots of the genre. He was also a complete contradiction of what he appeared, often being referred to as a gentle giant, the icon's near 7 ft tall frame and menacing appearance (complete with incisors filed down to fangs) demanded attention in whatever environment it monolithically lurked, his physical presence was a walking contradiction of the withdrawn, introverted, kind man behind the murk. He died suddenly on April 14th 2010, and with that Type O Negative ended with the momentum of a jet car versus a 50 ton steel I-beam, and there was nothing more. No unreleased B-Sides, no live albums, no demos - just the wringing of the dead, dried up teet that was money-grubbing best-of albums that the band had no involvement with and a vinyl box-set release of all the old shit.
Soul On Fire is Jeff Wagner's tribute to the man, it is not a biography. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the read, and I fully applaud Wagner's efforts towards the project. Unfortunately, it was slightly doomed to be nothing more than a fan's tribute than anything more from day one, when the band members themselves refused to participate in the project. Wagner makes this clear in the introduction; also describing his own God-like projections onto the man that was Peter Steele, thusly churning forth the realizations from the reader that the book is being written by a man that really has the same relationship with it's subject that a majority of the fan base has; which is no relationship at all, except for through the music (and maybe one interview). I couldn't help but feel a disappointed comparison to Benjamin Nugent's Elliott Smith biography Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing; which basically consisted of acquaintances, producers, and an occasional barista's point of view on the mess of the man that was Smith and his music.
Wagner is quick to defend his work right from the beginning, defending his motives against the closest of Steele's companions, TON keyboardist and pseudo-fraternal companion Josh Silver, whom was most vocal about the project being unnecessary and disrespectful (I'm paraphrasing here). But Wagner kept on down the line; eventually recruiting ex-Carnivore bandmates, label representatives, neighborhood friends, and ex-girlfriends. I followed this project from the start, as a rumored inception through it's blossoming into an actual physical book; periodically checking in on Wagner's Facebook page which he dedicated to it's chronicling. Having heard all of the aforementioned speed bumps he encountered as they were happening kept my hopes low. It was only until the confirmed involvement of Steele's sisters that I became interested, shortly before it's release the Estate of Peter Steele (that being his surviving sisters) withdrew their endorsement of the book, based on their perception of a distortion of truth, and the work not being a celebration of the man's body of work. This also peaked my interest, as perhaps a reaction to a side of Steele that the family did not want revealed post-mortem - which is understandable, but it's also the foundation of any good biography, that and your subject matter still being alive enough to be involved. I'm not going to read something that I already know everything about. Unfortunately, for the most part that's what Soul On Fire is.
I've been pretty fanatical about this band for the past 20 years, they are my number one amongst a pretty damn diverse and large collection of musical acts. So, sadly, I've made an effort over the last two decades or so to read/watch every article, interview, review and so forth that made it's way into public media in whatever form. Actually it wasn't an effort at all, as I didn't even realize the encyclopedic knowledge I'd acquired of the band and their music that was made available to me until some of my peers began showing an interest in their music. And so, unfortunately I didn't really walk away from Soul On Fire with a whole lot I didn't already know, in fact I found myself asking 'what about this, or what about that' more times than not - to which Wagner usually got around to addressing at some point in the book. Except for Chapter 13, the final chapter - which actually enlightened me on so much I had wondered about for years following the last days of, and days after, Peter Steele's untimely demise. Any of the quotes coming from the members of Type O Negative themselves were acquired from past interviews and publications, and I recognized 90% of those and in some cases could even tell you the source without perusing the bibliography. That's not me bragging, merely showing you how pathetic my personal life is.
I can't help but feel like the Carnivore years, both in their original inception as well as their reincarnation in 2006, got a whole lot more coverage than was needed, and I feel like this is mostly because of the willing contributions of the Carnivore band mates, and the glaringly absent involvement of the rest of TON. This is most evident in the glossing over of the creative processes for each album; although, admittedly Wagner did a nice job of summarizing how each album came to be. I did enjoy the insight on some of the 'tricks' they used to capture the unique sound on Bloody Kisses as well as how a majority of Life Is Killing Me's seedlings were initially composed by keyboard. I may be the only one out there who really wants to hear more about the concepts and how they came to fruition when it comes to each monstrous opus the drab four shat forth, but I think the majority may get bored with another 100 or so pages of that sort of detail. I guess I'm just funny that way.
I also couldn't help but roll my eyes and/or take with a grain of salt any quote from anyone involved on the Roadrunner label. Steele had made it quite abundantly clear how he felt about Roadrunner and the contract he believed he was a slave to in interviews over the years; a point of contention noticeably absent in the book. It addresses and sugar coats how they basically stole his work from him when the band recorded the demo that became the album Slow, Deep and Hard, as well as manipulating some of the band's catalogue without their permission in an attempt to produce more radio-friendly singles and necro-fuck their discography after the band had left the label in an un-permitted 'Best Of' album; and for those of us in the know that was only the tip of the iceberg. I understand business is business, but don't regale us with stories of the friendship you had with a cash cow you had chained up and were pumping. Yes, you supported Bloody Kisses; but after the next couple of albums didn't sound exactly like Bloody Kisses that support noticeably dwindled into just another act. I wonder if they only agreed to contribute to the book if Wagner agreed not to include any of Steele's ravings about his negative views on everything he felt Roadrunner had done to he and his bandmates over the years.
Wagner is a good writer, and his perspective on the music shares a kinship with my own. TON were fantastic at creating an entire world with their music; and it's not until you become familiar with said world and all the things referenced behind the scenes that you begin to truly admire the genius that the band was. When you know about the wet Red Hook roads, where the D-Train is going to take you, or you can make out that name being screamed behind the wall of lush sound in 'September Sun' because you know who it's about, it can reach you on a more personal level despite it's subject matter being intensely personal to someone else specifically. Wagner's relationship with the music and it's subject matter feels like a palpable dimension, much like the universe The Beatles created to their diehard fans; much like Type O's catalogue does for myself. His descriptions, comparisons, and analogies of albums nearly mirrors my own, and his theories of certain songs - spanning a chronological distance of albums away - being extensions of each other are both interesting and personally relatable. Readers should utilize these ideas as a guide to what you should be getting out of this band.
His personal theories and perspectives unfortunately also creep into theoretical motives of what drove Peter to do some of the things he did, like become addicted to drugs, and return to a faith he loudly vocalized as being ridiculous later on in life - with a loose summarization of third party commentaries to go on he bases a every downward turn in the man's life on what he thinks the subject could have been thinking. Early on it's alluded that Peter made it a habit of never giving the same answer to a question in an interview twice, because he hated interviews, hated being misinterpreted, and wanted to keep it interesting for himself - so right there how do we know anything as valid from the horses mouth?
Soul On Fire, to me, is more a written documentary of one fan trying to piece together the enigma that was Peter Steele than it is an appropriate biography. There were a handful of moments of the man's life that were unveiled that I had no idea about prior to reading the book. The fact that this book even exists is awesome, because despite it's many short-comings; all of which were a result of a lack of cooperation from people who knew Steele best (including Steele - because, you know; he's dead again), it's still awesome to sit down at the end of the day and let the mini-series unfold in your head of the Brooklyn sheep-in-wolf skin's roller coaster ride of life, because it's still an extension of Type O Negative, despite their non-involvement; as funny as that sounds some of us need that closure after the sudden impact with which it all just fucking ended, and we're not going to get it from anyone in the band, as they've all seemed to appropriately moved on. For die-hard fans of TON it's still a good read, but it's real purpose to me would be to serve as a 101 for casual listeners who want a quick catch-up to those of us who have been listening and immersed for the last 24 years; and maybe help elevate them to the next level of appreciation for this truly unique, and phenomenal band. Oh, and there are a lot of really cool candid photos. You can order it here: http://www.petersteelebio.com/
Let's face it, our reverence for holidays is spun from the elated mysticism each one harbors so strongly at us as children. Christmas, Halloween, The Fourth Of July all seem to plant their seeds in our beings as impressionable youngsters and then germinate in us as we grow. They all seem to amplify the characteristics of the season they act as the pinnacle of, and for most create fond memories of what it is to be care free and still believe in their indelibly magical characteristics each presents to us before the anchor of science keeps our logical minds from flying so freely. Remember when the moon followed you?
This fondness of pre-adolescent tradition evolves as we grow older; but make no mistake about it - the semi-adult versions of all of these holidays: Mistletoe and eggnog, slutty costume parties at bars, barbecues and keg stands; only became and continue to become because of the experiences and magic - for lack of a better word - that we try to subconsciously recapture from those nostalgic memories of childhood as we fasten our seatbelts for the turbulence of the foreboding and inevitable grown-up years; where those of us who have spat forth larvae are allotted the opportunity to relive our own experiences as little ones through our children's excitement. The moon is simply so large and so far way that it plays on the shape of your eye to create the optical illusion that it is always in your presence.
There are plenty of songs about Summer and America - and a disgusting boiling over of Christmas jingles and Winter Wonderlandy serenades that start to get shoved down your throat as early as October. But those of us who have evolved to appreciate all of the Autumnal season are often shortchanged in the sonic representation of a crepuscular soundtrack that can act as a sort of diegetic sound to the images of a rainy late fall afternoon or evening. And what do we get for the actual holiday of Halloween? The hokey-dokey sounds of 'The Monster Mash', or a generic commercial re-imagining of John Carpenter's Halloween theme - no thanks. And so, in another insomnia-induced fit of frustrated boredom I have compiled a subtle list of selections and artists who do a bit more for the unflinchingly morbid vibe of the Fall season than some cheese-ball musical succubus trying to churn out the first pop-Halloween classic in an effort to live the rest of his days sipping margaritas, beating his Czechoslavakian wife, and collecting royalty checks. Hopefully some of these may tickle your twilight zones enough to open your mind more than it already is. yay.
In no particular order:
7. DEADSY -
It's a hard way to start a list, with a band that got their break being signed to the lead singer of Korn's god-awful Elementree label back in the late 90's, thus being marked with the leprous stamp of being a Nu-Metal band and opening for the likes of Orgy and Videodrone, but let's just get past all that shall we? I really dig Deadsy, mainly because I think they were doing something different and so in-your-face simple that it was a hard thing to soak up for a lot of people, and I have yet to hear another band imitate them or use their formula properly in an effort to exploit the potential of being labeled a pioneer in what could be a really cool new genre. Deadsy is not a Nu-Metal band, and if you really take band images seriously or use it as an excuse to shit all over something before tasting it (which I certainly do) getting over their physical appearance and presentation may be like swallowing that razor-bladed snickers bar first out of the bag. I can be that close minded, so luckily for me I was so impressed with their dark little new-wave 80's serial-killer sound before I ever even saw them that I never paid much attention to their colored suit assignment / elemental goth make-up thing. But I guess in their defense, with this much androgynous synth-laden early 80's pop worship in their music, a little mascara and over-tone may really put a pretty little bow on the total package for listeners who want the whole kit and caboodle, and they never really plastered themselves all over their own album art to really try and exploit it - well, maybe a little bit.
Deadsy is really simple and easy to pick apart, but it fucking works. A sonically may-as-well-be single down-tuned E-string guitar sound laying the floor for a New Order bass guitar to white-guy dance on top of and a very creepy up-in-the-mix keyboard playing the prime melody in most of the songs. The drums sound like they were recorded from a 1986 Casio finger-drum pad complete with hand-clap sample and there is even an occasional robot voice that makes a cameo where appropriate (but really is it ever appropriate? Ask Styx). Over it all is the Peter Steele possessing Peter Murphy-on-Barbituates crooning of vocalist Elijah Blue. Remember that scene in Silence Of The Lambs where Buffalo Bill puts his lipstick on, tucks his schlong between his legs and then starts boogying the fuck out to Q Lazzarus' 'Goodbye Horses'? - Deadsy's first album Commencement kind of feels like the soundtrack to a whole movie of that scene, only a tad more disturbing. I'd cringe too at the thought of somebody trying something like this, taking that already uneasy drug induced androgyny of the seedy 80's new wave underbelly and trying to make it feel even more uneasy - but what makes it rise above eye-rolling "they're trying too hard" cheesiness is the stellar song writing and melodies throughout. Even when it turns into something uplifting and beautiful within itself, it still lingers in a kind of eerie gloom, and I guess that characteristic alone kind of almost makes Commencement more of a goth-album than anything else, despite it's wonderful originality.
From the twisted sludge balladry of songs like "Future Years" and "Flowing Glower", to the danceable synth-laden trippiness of "Mansion World" and "She Likes Big Words", this album covers the gamut of known and unknown 80's new wave influences and drenches them in a neon-colored creepiness. There are a couple of times on Commencement when the music shifts gears from it's own serial killer-transvestite - dark new wave trappings and becomes full on Dark Carnival of Souls rolling through town.
Deadsy only has two albums under their belt, (not to mention an out-of-print limited demo/debut) and a 7 year gap between them at that. And with absolutely dormant activity at the headquarters and a whole bunch of side projects going on one can all but assume the band is done. While Commencement in my bass-ackwards opinion is a landmark of an album in it's own right, the group's second effort Phantasmagore leans more toward mainstream rock than the charming little niche of sonic glow-in-the-dark grave moss that it's predecessor bloated, but is still arguably worth owning for the fantastic 'Better Than You Know' alone. If you've never heard of them and give it a shot I think you'll find that there is no middle ground here, as you either really dig it or I've completely lost all my credibility, not that I had any to begin with - because people would actually have to be reading this to lose that. But if you find the charm that I did and want a little more than two releases be advised that there are an ass-load of fantastic B-sides and covers the band recorded that got released on various compilations or never actually saw an official light of day that are floating around the internet like chunks of space feces in Zero-G. So if any of the aforementioned over-use of the words new-wave, dark, and 80's appeal to you, put down your lipstick, grab your skin-suit and give Commencement a whirl before you get all coked up and head out to the mandatory work costume party.
Recommended Album: Commencement
6. BODUF SONGS - Hard words and violent imagery whispered through beautifully soft melodies is the summarized modus operandi of the one-man haunted folk project Boduf Songs. Singer/songwriter Matthew Sweet weaves eerie tales of suicide, homicide, isolation, decapitation, and torture from a minimalistic pulpit of acoustic guitars and ambient drone. While the band's early works are a much more traditional one man/one guitar affair, each release is a subtle step forward into something darker, incorporating peppered electronic effects and keyboards, and even an occasional power chord just to get a point across.
The band's latest offering Stench Of Exist has taken so many small steps from the simple beauty of the group's debut Boduf Songs, that it's almost unrecognizable as the same band. But like watching a child grow every day, the artistic change is seamless and logical when you take the journey, and the change barely noticeable when you grow with them. The emotion conveyed behind the monotone hushed vocals of Sweet is impressive within it's limited context, a testament to the lyrical content and melodies that carry the words atop a bed of gloom. The music is a still lake on a cold day, quiet and reflective - with the invisible ravages of nature stirring beneath the surface.
Recommended Album: How Shadows Chase The Balance
5. MATT ELLIOTT - Such epic and grandiose Victorian misery has never sounded so wonderfully ominous than when sung from the wine-stained lips and played from the thorn-pricked fingers of the morosely talented Matt Elliott. The singer/songwriter pens hauntingly self-loathing tales of love and loss, illustrating an atmosphere within the music so literal you'll feel as though your reading a novel rather than listening to a record. Acoustic guitars that are sickly plucked evolve into dark waltzes accompanied with violins and ghostly Theremins, pianos and tubas - you begin to feel as though you yourself are a spirit within the ballroom. Beautiful and elegant melodies come to an end only to be resurrected as doomy, baroque multi-layered vocal hums. Half dark folk, half cinematic score for a French vampire film - the music and context is deadpan in it's delivery and goes beyond ridiculous right back into genius.
Every song in this man's catalogue hides textures within itself, and every song takes multiple listens to truly digest and remember. While each record sounds the same as the one before it to an untrained ear, further commitment and open mindedness will reward the listener with the subtle nuances of beauty wrestling with the drunken beast deep within the muck. Elliott's 2012 offering The Broken Man is his most epic and complete work in my opinion. Hauntingly beautiful songs dripping with misery, complete with Funeral Bells in the distance and the occasional chorus of howling wolves from afar, the songs are small in their stature - but magnanimous in their atmosphere.
Recommended Album: The Broken Man
4. Lurker Of Chalice - Black Metal's origins are firmly and proudly rooted in the pagan folklore of Nordic culture. Thusly making any U.S. native Black Metal band very difficult to take seriously for quite some time. It's only been recently that the genre's themes have expanded enough to be able to shed those xenophobic qualities and showcase a more worldly perspective on the style. Jeff Whitehead's one man U.S. Black Metal band Leviathan is arguably the primogenial of these to be respectfully accepted into the cult-like scene. When the woman he loved tragically died as a result of an inoperable brain tumor, Whitehead eviscerated his catharsis into a separate project from Leviathan called Lurker Of Chalice.
From start to finish Lurker Of Chalice is a harrowing descent into the sublevels of human despair. Part whirlwind-like buzzsaw guitar riffing, part droning sludge, part atmospheric avant-garde, all stitched together with the tortured bellows, cries, and demonic groans of a man emotionally torn to pieces in the dark. From the hypnotic speed and dissonance of the more traditional Black Metal 'Piercing Where They Might', To the almost triumphant strumming of 'Vortex Chalice', to the slow wade through the bile duct of an ocean of grief that is 'Minions', Lurker Of Chalice offers such a variety in it's torture that it's different enough to enjoy without owning a single other Black Metal album. The traditional low production level causes all of the instruments to occasionally congeal in all the right places here, creating sonic vortexes of abysmal gates into the psyche, and murky, almost orchestral movements of ugly endurance; such as the middle section of 'Fastened To The Five Points', which likens to Chopin's classic Piano Sonata No 2 "Op. 35: III. Marche funèbre: Lento" aka Funeral March. Lurker Of Chalice's one and only album is both immensely sad, and don't-listen-to-in-the-dark scary.
Recommended Album: Lurker Of Chalice
3. THE CLASSICAL HALLOWEEN COLLECTION: CLASSICAL MUSIC OF DOOM, DREAD, AND ALL THINGS WICKED! - I'm fairly certain you can only find this gem on iTunes, but with 50 amazing songs at $6.99 this is arguably the best deal out there (as far as getting 50 songs for $6.99 goes). These are all the classical classics that you've probably heard hundreds of times around this time of year since you were a sapling but never knew the names of. They are the true-blue soundtracks to the Halloween season, as traditional as Silent Night is to Christmas. If I say 'In The Hall Of The Mountain King', or 'Funeral March of a Marionette' and you can hum the tune, then you know and enjoy it well enough to do yourself the favor of downloading this hidden treasure.
There are as many more familiar songs on here like 'Night On Bald Mountain', 'Danse Macabre', and 'Toccatta and Fugue', as there are off the map movements I'd never previously heard like 'Carnival Of Animals', 'Peer Gynt's Op. 9 Planets', and 'Syrinx'. The collection also respectively stays clear of the more modern film compositions that usually get thrown on generic Halloween compilations, so there is no 'Tubular Bells' or 'Theme From Nightmare On Elm Street'. Though there are a few passable cuts from 'Psycho'(did you see what I did there), and a phenomenal version of the theme from the movie Halloween that includes an additional little string segment on top of the already familiar composition that adds an impressive additional layer to the previously one-dimensional work (sorry John). As is thus far a reoccurring theme on this list, the music walks the line seamlessly between the light and dark, painting a world of fear and wonder around you if you're as vulnerable to atmosphere as I am. This is top notch introspective-appreciation-of-the-season music to throw on whether you're going on a midnight fog walk in late October, or simply sitting on the porch watching the leaves fall into the rays of the sun.
2. TYPE O NEGATIVE - Of all of the music that's out there from all of the generations that have left there fingerprints in the art form, none make me more grateful to exist as a young adult in the prime era of their music than Type O Negative - It makes me believe in predetermination to be alive in the very short window of time that they had been purging sounds. While I consider their entire body of work to be nothing short of phenomenal, I'd have a difficult time defending that same opinion to someone who scoffs at the very notion of it. How do you argue the greatness of a band whose vocalist occasionally rolls his R's in a mock vampiric lingo? Or pens a song titled "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend". It also doesn't help that the most fanatical of Type O fans are often stereotyped as chubby thirty-something Goth chicks who claim to practice Wicca and touch themselves to the chorus of 'Be My Druidess'. Unfortunately anybody that's ever been to a concert or two of the group would find that generality to be alarmingly valid - which also gives reason as to why the heavier, darker, more dirge-induced albums tend to be their least well-received by active listeners, but that's a whole 'nother rant completely (maroons).
Flying the flags I've flown for bands that seize in more extreme venues of sound coming out here and telling you I how much I adore Type O Negative is a bit like telling my asshole jock friends back in highschool that I think I may be in love with Katie Wilshmalski - the black haired, white faced, midnight eye-lined queen of darkness who wore spider-web veils to school and wanted everyone to call her Cruella Darkwidow. I've never tried to push Type O onto anyone because it's not until you immerse yourself enough into their body of work to realize that everything they do is layered in this thin smegma of self-deprecating tongue-in-cheek humor, and without that the band would crumble under the weight of their own depression or flame out in a ridiculous fizzle of complete gayness. So to simply hear it for what it is superficially and not entertain the notion that it does both flaunt it's amazing melodies, strong structures, and originality as well as make fun of itself all in one bombastic psychedelic dirge is to remove yourself from a situation that could better you because you just don't want to put the effort in. Or you just think it sucks, and without that aforementioned shmegma I would too.
Unlike the rest of the majority of music on this list, Type O are a bit more blatant about the motives and inspiration, citing Halloween and it's themes directly multiple times throughout their discography. Personally, I think the band and the season are symbiotic - there is a totalitarity going on there that only amplifies the experience of both if you're as passionate about music as I am. No two albums are the same in either their sound or delivery. From the raw Black Flag meets Black Sabbath hardcore dirge of Slow, Deep and Hard, and the lush and beautifully layered autumnal textures of October Rust, to the sonic anvil sinking into the abyss of World Coming Down, the psychedelic pop-rock of Life Is Killing Me, and the dark dicography-spanning melting-pot jams of the very under-rated Dead Again, TON leave a creepy green trail of original sounds that have never been successfully duplicated, nor ever will. While the styles from album to album may alter, the general sound does not. Distorted guitars and bass play over processed drums and gloomy to grand keyboards that create melodically lush soundscapes or underneath-everything funeral dirges.
Singer/Songwriter Peter Steele baritones his songs of fucking girls, getting fucked by girls, losing loved ones, and hating himself - sometimes channeling Lurch, sometimes channeling Tears For Fears, sometimes channeling the congealed spirit of every Brooklyn cab driver that ever got short-changed a tip. Amongst it all are subtle and not-so-subtle innuendos of Vampirism, Druidism, Lycanthropy, Necromancy, Murder, Suicide, and Drug Abuse all romanticized or mourned over in 5 - 15 minute epics of Pink Floyd meets Black Sabbath meets The Beatles meets The Munsters gothedelic-hard rock bliss. Throw in some Gregorian Chants, rattling chains, pipe organ, and occasional woman screaming as she gets violated by a piece of machinery and these son's of whooors will become your best friends from this Halloween until the one you almost make it to.
Recommended Album: October Rust, World Coming Down, AND Dead Again
1. GNAW THEIR TONGUES - After the trick-or-treaters all go home, the candy is all but gone, and the last Jack-O-Lantern slowly burns itself out and succumbs to the bitter frost of the beckoning winter, we're left with the cold charmless nights of old. The cuteness of things that go bump in the night fades, and the fun that comes with fear when it's all wrapped up and commercialized suddenly fades away. Horror changes it's definition back to the dreadful thing it used to be that you never want to have to face. If all the other bands on this list were movies like Friday The 13th, and Nightmare On Elm Street, Gnaw Their Tongues is the untitled torture-porn snuff film you've only read about that got banned in 194 countries. This is one of those bands I honestly dare you to listen to in the dark. Zero fun, zero melody (though 2010's opus Le Arrivee De La Terne Morte Triomphante bleeds an occasional glimmer of hope from beneath an ocean of bile and excrement), an extreme audio journey into what feels like all-to-real violence, perversion, and ritualistic terror. I actually even once read a critic liken the music (if you can call it that) to seeing something you can never un-see, being 'marked' if you will.
Rumbling horns, thunderous percussion, clattering hardware, shrill strings, scraping metal, and screaming from both the vocalist and the victims paints dimly lit soundproof cellars with metal drains straining gore. This is generally categorized as black metal but Gnaw Their Tongues is really a one-man grandiose sonic experiment in the sounds of vile torture and human suffering - there is very little sonic pleasure to the ears here, but still a curiosity within it all that strokes the same synapses that make you slow down and look when driving past a fatality on the expressway. With album art as gruesome and disturbing as the sonic massacre within it you'll feel like your name has gone on some government list somewhere after you've ordered it and given it a listen. If you should ever find yourself falsely accused of some grisly crime, an album or two of Gnaw Their Tongues pulled from your library to be used as Exhibit A may in fact seal your fate with any jury, so tread lightly and stay out of trouble. Probably one of the most extreme bands I own, the mood strikes to listen to Gnaw Their Tongues few and far, far between, still sometimes you just want to saw your own arm off without actually sawing your own arm off. Make no mistake, this is a terrifying sonic purging to test the boundries of oneself with - and you've got to respect that, and dig it a little too.
Recommended Album: All The Dread Magnificence of Perversity
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