10 New Reviews 9/24/2011
Sewer Goddess- Disciples of Shit - CD ( Black Plague/Malignant)
So what is going on here is terror, nightmares and pain all in a power electronic/ harsh noise background. You get what I mean if you've heard the term Death Industrial that is were we are with a Black Industrial overtone. Sewer Goddess is a female fronted wall of sonic bad karma thrown at you all at one. With Disciples of shit these are all live track and having seen them live a few times this is not a let down by any means. If you like projects like Control, Slogun, Sickness, Grunt and Folkstorm then my friends you have come to the right place. Maligant scores high marks with this . Not to forget the production is great for live album and the digipak it comes in is amazing to look at..
http://malignantrecords.com/
RasalHague- Rage Inside the Window-CD (Malignant)
This is haunting in ways only one alone in the dark at the very middle of the night can understand. The Cold Distant feeling Rasalhague gives you is something you don't get often in Dark Ambient sounds. Its Spacial, Ritualistic, Soundscape, Drift, Drone, Atonal all in one. Rage inside the window sounds like what you would hear in the most haunted of homes right at the time of your death. The arrangement are just chilling and jarring in the way they are presented. There is nothing over the top going on just a collection of simple tones, sounds and loops mixed with the right effects to un nerve the best of us. If youe a fan of Kerovnian on Cold Spring or Schloss Tegal " Black Static Transmissions" then you will be all over this. RasalHague is not for the casual Industrial or Dark Ambient listener. This is for those out there that like too feel the fear in the music... On an end not this comes in an amazing A5 digipak in tones and shades of very disturbing Reds..
http://malignantrecords.com/
Rwake- Rest- CD (Relapse)
Wow this starts out so delicate and acoustic folk like with female vocals and then out of no where it goes to a mix of Devin Townsend and Neurosis with touches of Black Cobra and His Hero is gone. This is one hell of a mindfuck it mixed so many elements into one stew of fury and power.. Just in the 1st 2 tracks I've Post Hardcore, Grind, Jazz, Blues and Death metal . Rwake is one of those band live that will just come face to face with you to make you remember there in control. Rest is so heavy and Doomy but in that dirty sludge and crusty way. They just have such a talent of way to arrange it they seem so much more elegant and majestic at times. What else is there really t say other then get this one of the best bands on the Relapse roster right now with Unearthly Trance, Howl and Tombs..
http://relapse.com/
Brutal Truth- End time- CD (Relapse)
So if I need to tell you who Brutal truth are then something is wrong these Grind/Death/Jazzcore legends have been creating there madness for over 20 yrs and its great to see Dan Kevin and Rich back at the controlled chaos as I call it. Brutal truth is a band about the sounds and way they effect the listener as much as the wall of audio carnage that comes from what they create. Brutal truth with Napalm Death and AC are what I think of for this off the wall and amazing style all at the same time. Brutal Truth are over the last few releases adding a heavy Industrial element to all they do as well and it works so well as the sounds seems to go together is theory and tracks.
When a band can create a 15 minute or 30 second track that has the same power and emotion in it. You know you can not lose. Bands like Brutal Truth I hope are still doing this into the 60's as we need 20 more yes of this....
http://relapse.com/
Taake- Noregs Vaapen- CD (Candlelight)
Every time I hear Taake they are more influenced by Satyricon and Khold and even Motorhead. I love the Icy cold Black and Roll sound and Taake are taking it all in with Industrial and Punk elements to a new direction all there own. At times I swear they are becoming what Marduk were doing around the the time of Panzerdivison album. Noregs Vaapen has this other worldly element going on with the way the synth work with a more black/death guitar sound that you would hear coming from band like Dissection and Hypocrisy. Black metal from Norway is moving into more a Post Rock meets Black Death sound with heavy atmospheres over the yrs were they were add more orchestral and jazz elements lets say 5 -7 yrs ago. Taake has become a force all their (HIS) own. The Darkness is all here and so much more..
http://candlelightrecordsusa.com/
Noothgrush-Live for Nothing-CD (Southern Lord)
Very rarely do I review live albums but in this one we have two of them and both are better then most of there studio recordings. I mean simply Noothgrush was a band that the world never fully got to hear as they were on tiny labels with mostly 7" vinyl singles or very limited pressings. You have to be into the Sludge, Crust, Doom scene to know of them. Well Southern lord has put to amazing live radio shows they did with some of there best tracks ever on one CD for the world to understand the power and majesty of these masters of Doom, Feedback, war cries and pure hate for the world around them. Though I have nothing in common with there Eco Political rants. Is the music and passion in what they present that has always won me over this Bay area band should have been as well know as Neurosis, Eyehategod, Cavity, Buzzoven, His hero is gone etc. All I can hope is with is amazingly well done live album this band will have a 2nd life. Come on people this a female drummer crushing the skins like this . This is were bands like Wolvserpent and Earth got the ideas that women and crush on drums!!!!!
http://southernlord.com/
Esoteric- Paragon of Dissonance-CD (Season of Mist)
I can tell you this will not be a long review and it doesn't need to be as Esoteric is Doom/Death perfection on all fronts. Slow, Punishing, Atmospheric, Ambient and Ethereal all at the same time and on average 10 + minute songs that ever grow boring. If you have a love for bands like Thergothon, Dolorian, Disembowlment, Dusk (USA), Shapes of Dispair, Draconian and Early Anathema then run don't walk to get this ... With every release the get more and more epic in there sounds and scope of it all. There is just something that strikes at you instantly if you a Doom/Death fan with Esoteric. Season of Mist has one of best rosters of Doom bands to being with only compared by Southern Lord and Napalm in my ears.. Here is a band that should be on next years Power of the Riff fest...
http://season-of-mist.com/
Isole- Born in Shadows-CD (Napalm)
So more Doom metal this time from the Swedish force known as Isole. This is more of the Gothic Doom/Death style . I hear a lot of My Dying Bride, Novembers Doom and While Heaven Wept in this band with some other elements of bands that seem to work in and out of the doom metal world as there is a prog element to all that going on here . The vocals for most part are very clean in nature but the acoustics and more flanged out doomed guitars work to envelope the feelings that Isole are presenting. The Bass is so low and massive with that heavy laid back drumming style it all comes together as a complete picture rather then one song and were on to the next. Born in shadows seems to be very story driven in that way. There is also almost an eastern element to the way all the tones and tracks are layered . The give me an Orphaned Land or Orphanaged taste from time to time. Isole is just simply impressive...
http://napalmrecords.com/
Old Silver Key- Tales of Wandering-CD (Season of Mist)
So what we have is a meeting of the minds members of Drukdh and Alcest come together to create a project and we get Old Silver key. Just to start off this is not a metal release in the way it black, doom or death. If you can use a term Shoegazing Post Metal have we just jumped to the point of no return with that much of a sub genre??? Well that what this is to a T... Its very airy and avant with many jazzy elements mixed in with Black and Doom metal elements . There are male and female vocals both very lushly sung and effected. There is a strong heathen and nature based them going on here. The Gods of the past would love this. If you like Antimatter or the last Anathema album you will fall to your knees for this. As that is the biggest vibe I get from all of this. Old Silver key is as Delicate and it is full of dissonent layers and triphop passages. I think they are very influenced by bands like Slowdive, Lush as well as the others mentioned. I really impressed with this but for some it will just be too much down the non metal path...
http://season-of-mist.com
The House of Capricorn-CD (The Swamps of one tree hill)
So here's a band that took me by total surprise and I mean this in a great way. The House of Capricorn is one of those bands that mixed 90's Post Hardcore, Metal and Punk in a way that is catchy , dark and powerful all its own. The remember of if you could mix Killing Joke, The God Machine , Helmet and Kyuss into one mighty project and left them to there own crazy song writing and just see what happens. I even hear elements of Jesu and Crowbar going on in this very interesting and refreshing band. I guess being from New Zealand has let them grow into a project all there own as the population is so small you can cultivate your sound. See this is the point I always make it takes time to really see the vision of a band. Maybe I'm coming out of left field but I can see this band on the Nuerot roster as they would fit well with there mix of dark and doomy sounds. The more I listen to this is very akin to Alaric so this maybe why its so to my liking. I guess Deathrock and Post Metal are really coming to the forefront of the 21st century indie music scene.
Comments