Mount Salem - 'Endless' CD Review (Metal Blade)

“Hailing from Chicago, IL, Mount Salem is a four piece psychedelic rock / doom metal band. They started writing music together in the summer of 2012 and released their first EP, Endless, in the spring of 2013. Metal Blade Records signed the band in the summer of 2013 and released an extended version of the band’s EP this past Spring which contained two additional tracks…The band puts a strong emphasis on tone and feeling in both their songs and live performances alike. Most of the band switched from their normal instruments and picked up new ones for this band and the result was much more natural than they had hoped for. Taking influence from the classics like Black Sabbath and Pentagram, they play loud, heavy rock and roll using all vintage gear. Throwing their own twist of dark and mysterious doom into the music, they invite the listener to step into their sinister realm..” — Metal Blade

Mount Salem play 70’s retro-doom (aka occult rock or witch rock) and, while the band’s music is the expected big sludgy stoner riffs and grooves, the songs often veer off into psychedelia. Vocalist Emily Kopplin sings in a haunted, waif-like manner and her vocals, along with the guitar riffs, are prominent in all of the songs. Kopplin also adds a church-like organ beneath the crushing riffs which serves as both additional atmosphere and a bridge between sections of the songs, rather than rising to the level of funeral doom.

The eight songs on Endless run just over 40 minutes and the disc picks up speed toward the back half of the disc. The first three songs are all stylistically similar, where bombastic, dirgy stoner riffs and thundering drums crash alongside of Emily Kopplin’s ghostly narratives and psychedelic organ. The songs start breaking from the mold with “Full Moon”, which has a slow burning atmospheric opening and this slow build kicks up into groove-based riffs with some time changes that will keep the listener engaged. “Mescaline” and “Mescaline II” are two of the strongest cuts on the disc. “Mescaline” is a shimmering and moody stoner/psychedelic instrumental which leads directly into the crunchy psychedelia of “Mescaline II”. This later number has a dense musical sound with a notable guitar line weaving beneath this sonic wall. The disc ends where it started as the guitar riffs on “Hysteria” sound like they came straight out of the Sabbath playbook and “The End” serves as a nice outro as it takes the pace down a notch with slower, brooding tempos and more prominant use of the organ.



Links:
Mount Salem

Pilgrim (Doom Metal) - Play The Acheron in Brooklyn on June 25th Along with London Doom Metalers Age of Taurus [Metal Blade / Rise Above Records]

Rhode Island's Pilgrim released their second disc, II: Void Worship, in April on Metal Blade and the band is coming into town next Wednesday for a show at The Acheron with like-minded doom metalers Age of Taurus (Rise Above Records).

Metal Blade describes Pilgrim's new disc as: "eight new epic tracks laden with tales of sword and sorcery, death, doom and destruction. Recorded at Moonlight Mile Recording by audio mastermind Mike Moebius, II: Void Worship delivers an absolutely unrivaled quality of tone and heaviness that many critics felt their original effort Misery Wizard had lacked. The band takes a new approach to their song writing, replacing meditated, repetitive hypnosis-inducing dirges with more calculated and demented powerhouse riffs. They build, shape, and climb into frenzied climaxes and fade into sweet sonic releases, molding perfectly crafted rock songs into twisting spires of evil doom metal masterpieces. It is obvious that Pilgrim has matured, both musically and as individuals, in their past two years of global conquest."

For the show at The Acheron, Pilgrim and Age of Taurus are playing with the two-piece dirge/drone band Holly Hunt and gritty Brooklyn noise-makers BLACKOUT (as in blackout drunk).  Tickets are $10 and doors are at 8PM.







Links:
Pilgrim (band)

Church of Misery (Japanese Bluesy Doom) Play Saint Vitus Bar on Nov. 12th along with The Gates of Slumber

Church of Misery - who, musically, are sonically comparable to early Black Sabbath - are coming back to the US in support of their fifth full-length disc Thy Kingdom Scum (Metal Blade). This new disc features the return of the band's original vocalist, Hideki Fukasawa, and the disc's seven tracks (50 minutes) were written and recorded by Tatsu Mikami, Junji Narita, Ikume Kawabe, and Hideki Fukasawa.  This new album has been praised as one of the best doom releases of 2013, with Decibel Magazine declaring it has "some of the wickedest doom grooves since Black Sabbath 40 years ago…it's resounding proof that no one right now-not even the reunited Sabbath with a newly wound-up Ozzy-can come close to the gargantuan swing of the mighty Church of Misery."

For the show at Saint Vitus Bar (advance tickets are $15), Church of Misery are playing with Detroit speed-rockers Against the Grain and Indianapolis doom-metal band The Gates of Slumber.  While I don't know much about Against the Grain, The Gates of Slumber released a great new EP, "Stormcrow", earlier this year which is available as a free download from Scion AV.



Church of Misery Fall 2013 US Tour Dates
10/18 - Oakland CA @ The Oakland Opera House
10/19 - San Francisco CA @ Thee Parkside
10/20 - Portland OR @ Rotture
10/21 - Seattle WA @ The Crocodile
10/22 - Bellingham WA @ The Shakedown
10/23 - Vancouver BC @ Rickshaw Theater
10/24 - Edmonton AB @ The Pawn Shop
10/25 - Calgary AB @ The Palomino
10/30 - Fargo ND @ The Aquarium
10/31 - Saint Paul MN @ Turf Club
11/01 - Chicago IL @ Ultra Lounge
11/02 - Rock Island IL @ Rock Island Brewing Co.
11/03 - Grand Rapids MI @ Pyramid Scheme
11/06 - Pittsburgh PA @ 31st St Pub
11/07 - Syracuse NY @ Lost Horizon
11/08 - Toronto ON @ Hard Luck
11/09 - Ottawa QC @ Mavericks
11/10 - Montreal QC @ IL Motore
11/11 - Providence RI @ AS220
11/12 - Brooklyn NY @ Saint Vitus
11/13 - Richmond VA @ Kingdom
11/14 - Baltimore MD @ Otto Bar
11/16 - Atlanta GA @ EARL
11/17 - New Orleans LA @ One Eyed Jacks
11/18 - Austin TX @ Mohawk
11/19 - Dallas TX @ Club Dada
11/22 - Tempe AZ @ Yucca Tap Room
11/23 - Los Angeles CA @ The Satellite
*w/ Saviours (10/18-10/23), Wizard Rifle (10/18-10/31), The Gates of Slumber (11/01-11/19), Against the Grain (11/01-11/23)

Links:
Church of Misery

Zolle [Italian Stoner/Doom Band] - Self-Titled CD Review (Out May 13th on Supernatural Cat)

STREAM: Zolle - "Trakthor"

I find it difficult to write reviews of instrumental albums as, often, the individual songs don’t stand out or break from the overall sound of the album. As such, it is difficult to make reference to any high or low points on the disc as these sorts of albums one listens to start-to-finish or not at all.

Instrumental Italian stoner/doom duo Zolle will release their self-titled debut album on May 13th via Supernatural Cat. The band practices a ‘less-is-more’ approach and pummels and grinds through the disc’s groove and riff-oriented ten tracks in twenty-eight minutes. While the music is relentlessly heavy, the band expresses their sense of humor through the song titles – many of which reference redneck living. The band’s most recent single, “Heavy Letam”, is suggestive of “Letame” — which means manure in Italian — resulting in “a shitty anagram about heavy metal.”

Continuing with the redneck references, the band’s bio starts with the line “Only those who know the ease of a cow while defecating can understand the genesis of the songs of Zolle.” While I have no idea what this means, somehow it seems relevant to the video below.



Zolle was formed by Marcello Lan (Morkobot), who lays down the meaty riffs, and counterpart Stefano who beefs things up on drums and xylophone, the duo commenced work on their debut album throughout the summer of 2012, and in just two months they had the music ready to commit to tape.

Their self-titled album was recorded in September of the same year by Michelangelo Roberti at Mizkey Studio (Morkobot) and mastered by Giovanni Versari (Zu, Morkobot, OvO, One Dimensional Man). It was almost all played live, with overdubs reduced to the bone. The drums are of considerable proportion and made of copper and the amplifier an old digital model of the ’50s which makes for a mammoth sound. Finally, Urlo from Ufomammut and Roberto Rizzo of Quasiviri/Runi add synth seasoning to flesh out the album.

Links:
Zolle

Teachers' Sons - "Teachers' Sons" LP Review (Space Rock / Doom)

Brooklyn Teachers’ Sons are a doom /space rock band who just released their brilliant debut full-length LP as a limited-edition (ltd. to 200) colored vinyl pressing. In an era of digital downloads, you have to love a band that has the b*lls to release their first record on vinyl (there is a digital download card included for those without a turntable which includes the full album plus a digital-only bonus track).

There isn’t a lot of background information about Teachers’ Sons on the ‘net – the band’s Facebook page says: “The three members of Teachers' Sons are from small towns in West Tennessee and grew up together in the hidden fields therein. All sons of elementary school teachers, the three all took different routes in life to end up together in the "big city" creating music, more as a form of release and self-medication. Songs contain subject matter dealing with what goes inside the subconscious of the best and worst moments in the lives of those who have completely lost control of reality and themselves. Horrifying and uplifting (sometimes at the same time), the music is intended to leave the listener feeling a peaceful anxiety.”

To further clarify the “doom” label mentioned above, this isn’t the crushing, epic doom of Sunn O))) but rather the organic, slow-burning and brooding doom of bands like Woods of Ypres crossed with the space rock of early Pink Floyd and Hawkwind. The disc starts off with a languid and hazy 60s psychedelic number, “The Chosen One”, which combines moody guitars with murmured hazy vocals and layered multi-part harmonies. While this may sound like a typical 60s psychedelia, it is rather unsettling – especially when the lyrics are talking about the ‘fire waiting for you’. Some of the other standout tracks are “Dim The Lights”, which is a blackened doom number that opens with a voice-over about a murder victim and builds up a creepy atmosphere in both the back- and foreground before coming to an abrupt end. “Admiral Benbow” is guitar driven and is somewhat reminiscent of The Devil’s Blood with its big 70’s stoner rock riffs. "Not Too Far Down the Road" and "Shootout at the Hills" fall back into space rock and both numbers have acoustic segments and feature multi-part harmonies. "The Cancer" goes a step further into Teachers’ Sons' desolate universe with a Sabbathish electric doom number which has an undercurrent of free-flowing psych/prog leads. The disc goes out with "The Beast", which is a space rock number with an aggressive undercurrent (reminiscent of early Pink Floyd) that features intertwined guitars, minimalist drums and reverb vocals .

While the last Woods of Ypres record that I reviewed offered some sense of redemption on its final track, Teachers’ Sons doesn’t stray far from the lonely and desolate landscape that they started with on the LP’s first track. The band’s Facebook page says “Teachers' Sons is a project that redefines the space-time continuum with emphasis on what happens in the regions of the subconscious that contain the repressions of uncontrolled actions.”





Links:
Teachers' Sons

The Living Fields: Interview with Guitarist / Founder Jason Muxlow

DOWNLOAD: The Living Fields - "Interview with Jason Muxlow", July '11





Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of talking with Jason Muxlow, guitarist and founder of Chicago's The Living Fields.

The Living Fields just released their second full-length disc, Running out of Daylight, which marks their debut for Candlelight Records. Running out of Daylight is an eight-track 60+ minute tour-de-force that is near impossible to categorize as the band extends its doom metal "core" to include earthen pagan, symphonic and progressive elements. MusikReviews.de called the disc "terrible, dangerous, fascinating and wondrously beautiful all at the same time" and this quote does a nice job of summing up the amalgamation of elements found within this new disc.

BrooklynRocks talked with Jason about the band's new disc, the history of the band, Jason's side projects (Earthen Graves), the realities of The Living Fields touring and more.

Links:
The Living Fields

Pentagram - "Last Rites" CD Review (Metal Blade)

Pentagram "Call the Man" by Metal Blade Records

Earlier this month, Pentagram released their seventh studio disc, Last Rites, which reunites a now clean and sober Bobby Liebling with Relentless-era guitarist Victor Griffin (Place of Skulls). In keeping with the ‘tradition’ of an every-changing lineup, Liebling and Griffin are joined by Greg Turley on bass (who played with Pentagram in the mid-90’s) and Tim Tomaselli on drums (Place of Skulls).

In closing out their fourth decade as a band, Pentagram haven’t sounded this good in years. This disc isn’t a return to the classic riffs of Be Forewarned (1994) but nor does it sound ‘phoned in’ like the band’s last studio release, Show ‘em How (2004). Victor Griffin’s muscular, blues-based stoner riffs, intricate leads and “Drop B” tuning add a lot to this disc and Liebling’s distinctive voice has lost little of its power.

Like most Pentagram discs, Last Rites is a split between re-recorded tracks from the 70’s and newly written tracks. “Walk in Blue Light” and “Everything’s Turning to Night” were originally released in demo form on the First Daze Here and First Daze Here Too compilations. “Call the Man” is from demo tapes from 1971 and “Into the Ground” and “Nothing Left” are from Liebling’s pre-Pentagram band, Stone Bunny.



The new material is good but somewhat of a mixed bag. Victor Griffin takes lead vocals on “American Dream” and this is a political song about the decline of the middle class. “Death In First Person” starts with a creepy “Alice Cooper Band” spoken word intro from Bobby before Griffin kicks in with the power riffs midway through the song. “Windmills and Chimes” is an “odd” number as I wouldn’t have expected Pentagram to record an alt-rock power ballad. The most interesting track is “8” which starts with some of the more creative drumming on the disc.

Pentagram has come a long way since (from the Washington DC City Paper) the days that Bobby required the City Paper interviewer to : 1) Always call after midnight; 2) all references to black magic and human sacrifices were to be off the record; and 3) at each 40-minute mark, Liebling would have to pause to smoke crack.

Last Rites is the first of a three-album deal with Metal Blade and, if they can hold this lineup together (and Bobby stays straight), they might reach beyond their core group of fans to become the “American Black Sabbath” (which is a label that has been following the band for years).

Links:
Pentagram

Master: Death Metal Veterans Announce March Show at Club Europa with Lightning Swords of Death

DOWNLOAD: Master - "In Control" (from Slaves of Society)

"Dragging its venomous oldschool intent like a caveman with his club, MASTER are proudly living up to their name and taking their place among death metal's founding fathers." - Terrorizer

Death metal legends Master are proud to announce their 2011 U.S. headlining tour. Scheduled to take place next month, the debauchery will commence on March 1 in Fredrick, Maryland and run through over a month's worth of dates before coming to a close on April 3 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The band will be joined by Los Angeles black metal collective Lightning Swords Of Death and Ohio thrashers Mobile Deathcamp.

The local show is at Club Europa in Brooklyn on Friday, March 4th. Master is playing with Lightning Swords of Death and Strong Intention. Ticket and door information hasn't yet been posted.

Said Master mainman Paul Speckmann of the trek: "Looking forward to bringing Master Metal back to the USA and sharing a few new tracks from The Human Machine as well as playing the classics once again for you! Master guitarist Alex Nejezchleba and Peter Bajci from the Czech Republic will be joining me on the American trek. Master your own Destiny."

Master released their tenth studio album, The Human Machine, last May via Singapore's Pulverised Records. Said Blabbermouth in a review of the record: "Master albums have always boasted riffing defined by density, nastiness, and slight contortions that make them memorable." Commended Metal Maniacs: "The Human Machine is a monster here to restore the idea that the world’s most grotesque and horrifying subject matter has a place to unfurl itself and those of us who indulge can do so without worrying if a hair’s out of place."

MASTER U.S. Tour 2011

MASTER Only
3/1/2011 Krug's - Frederick, MD w/ Strong Intention
3/2/2011 O'Brien's - Boston, MA
3/3/2011 Sonar - Baltimore, MD w/ Strong Intention

LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH Joins Tour
3/04/2011 Europa - Brooklyn, NY w/ Strong Intention
3/05/2011 Diablo - Buffalo, NY w/ Strong Intention
3/05/2011 Montage Music Hall - Rochester, NY (late show) w/ Strong Intention
3/06/2011 Popeye's - Peekskill, NY w/ Strong Intention

MOBILE DEATHCAMP Joins Tour
3/07/2011 Now That's Class - Cleveland, OH
3/08/2011 The Summit - Columbus, OH
3/09/2011 Macs - Lansing, MI
3/10/2011 Vollrath Tavern - Indianapolis, IN
3/11/2011 Reggie's - Chicago, IL
3/12/2011 Fubar - St Louis, MO

MASTER/LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH Only
3/13/2011 The Bourbon Theater - Lincoln, NE
3/14/2011 The Marquis - Denver, CO
3/15/2011 Club Vegas - Ogden, UT
3/16/2011 El Corazon - Seattle, WA
3/17/2011 Branx - Portland, OR
3/18/2011 Thee Parkside - San Francisco, CA
3/19/2011 The Metaphor - Escondido, CA
3/20/2011 The Blvd. - Hollywood, CA
3/21/2011 Ub's - Mesa, AZ
3/23/2011 Emo's - Austin, TX

MASTER/LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH/MOBILE DEATHCAMP
3/24/2011 The Rail Club - Ft Worth, TX
3/25/2011 007 Rock Bar - San Antonio, TX
3/26/2011 Walter's - Houston, TX
3/27/2011 Rouge - Fayetteville, AR
3/28/2011 The Muse - Nashville, TN
3/29/2011 Hideaway - Johnson City, TN
3/30/2011 Volume 11 - Raleigh, NC
3/31/2011 Tremont Music - Charlotte, NC
4/01/2011 Club 306 - Roanoke, VA
4/02/2011 Mojo 13 - Wilmington, DE
4/03/2011 31 Street Pub - Pittsburgh, PA

Links:
Master

Woods of Ypres - "Woods IV: The Green Album" CD Review (Earache Records)

At the end of last year, Earache Records announced the signing of Canadian black metal act Woods of Ypres. The band has been around since 2002 and Earache will reissue the band’s fourth full-length, Woods IV: The Green Album, which was originally independently released in 2009, on March 22nd.

The Green Album clocks in just shy of eighty minutes and the organic sound, clean vocals and delicate instrumental interludes hide a pronounced sense of self-loathing and loss found within the lyrics. The band frequently garners comparisons to Type O Negative which is likely due to singer David Gold’s clean baritone vocals but there only seems to be a touch of Type O's style of goth-metal in the Woods of Ypres' music. The majority of the songs are slow burning, brooding doom (a la Candlemass) but the music doesn't fall into this bass-heavy genre. Rather, clear production brings out Gold's upfront vocals along with prominent guitars which range from metallic chugging and thrash riffs to delicate acoustical work. Adding to the mix, some tracks have soft interludes that use piano, violin, oboe and other 'non-traditional' instruments.

Lyrically, The Green Album focuses on the breakup of a relationship and the disc starts with "Shards of Love", where Gold is narrating both sides of a dialogue with his former girlfriend as she is packing to go as he is "pouring my heart to you trying to get you to stay". From here, Gold seems to resign himself to his fate and delivers the self-recriminating "Everything I Touch Turns To Gold (Then To Coal)" where Gold's vocals are complemented by additional harsh vocals. The gloom and doom lyrical themes lead into a wicked sense of 'tongue-in-cheek' irony as the disc progresses into "By The Time You Read This (I Will Already Be Dead" (with the lyrics "By the time you read / I will already be gone / Do not reply to this") and "Wet Leather", which Gold says "should obviously not be taken seriously, but instead as a song about a negative frame of mind that comes and goes ― when everything seems hopeless, pointless, "life is just pain and piss, everything is a scam," akin to something off of Sentenced's Cold White Light album." (quote from an Exclaim.ca interview with David Gold).

While Gold takes the listener into his downward spiral for the better part of the disc, the disc ends on a note of closure and rebuilding with the songs "To Long Life In The 'Limbo Union'" and the somewhat smarmy "Move On! (The Woman Will Always Leave the Man)".

One of the strongest cuts on the disc is the stellar "I Was Buried In Mount Pleasant Cemetery".



Woods of Ypres are playing a 10-date CD release tour next month that stops at The Bowery Electric on Wed., March 16th.

Links:
Woods of Ypres

Hull Plays Club Europa with Pentagram in January // Sole Lord CD Review

Hull’s debut disc Sole Lord (The End) was released last year but somehow I missed this disc first time around. Getting straight to the point, this disc will be on my ‘End of Year’ best-of list.

Not to start with a diatribe about the music industry but my belief is that weak product and iTunes have done more damage than illegal downloading ever will. If you take a band like the Rolling Stones, iTunes allows you to selectively purchase the one, two or three decent songs from each of their recent releases rather than forcing you to muddle through the other nine tracks of dross on each release. I’m old enough to remember the days when music (like Pink Floyd’s Meddle and Genesis’ Lamb Lies Down on Broadway) required an active commitment. Thanks to iTunes, music is now a lot more disposable and consumed in “bite-sized” three minute chunks. Pink Floyd felt their songs weren’t meant to be consumed on a song-by-song basis on iTunes and Hull’s Sole Lord falls into similar territory.

Sole Lord takes me back to the early Pink Floyd days as the band combines the ambient psychedelic (or perhaps a better descriptor is “psychosis”) of Meddle-era Pink Floyd with the sludgy doom of bands like The Melvins. While some bands release discs that are consistent from start-to-finish, Sole Lord comes across as one body of work that just happens to be divided across ten tracks. Songs seamlessly flow into the next and some riffs are reused across songs which add to the overall impression that this is one 47 minute body of work.

I wouldn’t use the word “prog” to describe Hull but Sole Lord is a rolling opus of gentle instrumentals which segue into groove-oriented walls of distorted guitars before returning back to another instrumental. The ‘light’ and ‘dark’ elements of this disc are pretty evenly balanced as there are an equal number of instrumentals balanced with songs that make use of roared/chanted multi-part vocals. Hull’s use of contrasting tempos across this disc makes for engaging listening so this is the sort of disc that you are going to want to block some time to actively listen to.

Below is a video from Hull’s “secret show” at Public Assembly in Brooklyn. Hull is playing with Pentagram at Europa on Jan. 06, 2011. Tickets are $15.



Links:
Hull

Moss - Tombs of the Blind Drugged CD Review (Metal Blade/Rise Above)

The title of this disc says a lot about the music - this is slow, ponderous doom metal which borrows a page from musicians like Xasthur and many of the artists on the Southern Lord roster.

Similar to Xasthur, Moss builds slow, hypnotic songs where tortured vocals are layered beneath a wave of down-tuned guitars, pounding bass riffs, and occasional funeral keys. Three of the four songs on this "EP" are over 10 minutes in length so that gives plenty of time for Moss' mind-numbing music to take hold. The final cut is a doom metal cover of Discharge's "Maimed and Slaughtered" which Moss manages to extend to 3x its original length.

This disc seemed to scare off a few reviewers but, as a fan of the doom/drone genre, I thought Tombs of the Blind Drugged was a great introduction to a band that I wasn't previously familiar with. Fans of most Southern Lord and Hydra Head releases will love this disc. For anyone not familiar with this genre of music, Sunn O)))'s Monoliths and Dimensions is a bit more accessible and probably a better place to start.



Links:
Moss' MySpace Profile

Leif Edling: Songs of Torment - Songs of Joy CD Review (Candlelight USA)

After 20+ years with Candlemass, bassist/songwriter Leif Edling has finally released his first solo disc Songs of Torment – Songs of Joy (Candlelight Records). On this disc, Edling is working with a new band which includes a number of long-time collaborators from past projects. The band is comprised of keyboardist Carl Westholm (Abstrakt Algebra), drummer Lars Skold (Jupiter Society) and guitarists Bjorn Eriksson and Chris Laney (Candlemass producer/engineer).

While there are some similarities to Candlemass, this album is ssslllooowww, lumbering and sludgy doom that makes prominent use funeral-sounding keys. This is an atmospheric disc – seven of the disc’s eight tracks are over 5 minutes in length which gives Edling plenty of time to build his horror movie style ambiance. Rich textures of sounds crash and fall over Edling’s ‘spoken word’ vocals and the majority of songs end up sounding more like Nick Cave or Alice Cooper than Candlemass.

There are two instrumentals on the disc which help break up the sound; the brief (under a minute) bass solo “Butterfly” and “Nautilus”. “Nautilus” is over 9 minutes in length and is based on the Jules Verne classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. This is one of the tracks that breaks from the ‘organ doom’ sound of the rest of the disc as Carl Westholm adds all sorts of keyboard effects to this track to simulate submarine and underwater noises. Another stand-out track is “On the Edge of Time” which embraces Hawkwind-style space rock. Edling calls this last track “a poetic reflection over some old but fantastic Hawkwind album cover art.”

Songs of Torment – Songs of Joy probably isn’t for the casual fan but fans of old-school doom metal are going to love this.

Links:
Leif Edling's MySpace Profile

Wino - Punctuated Equilibrium CD Review (Southern Lord)

After spending the past 25 years playing music, it seems hard to believe that Scott "Wino" Weinrich is just now releasing his first solo CD.

The new disc, Punctuated Equilibrium, will be released next Tuesday on the Southern Lord label. Like most Southern Lord releases, there will be a limited edition vinyl pressing. The vinyl pressing comes with a bonus 10" that contains four exclusive tracks:

- Chest Fever
- Der Gift (The Poison)
- On The (Sacrificial) Lam
- The Comet And The Moon

Wino has been busy since disbanding The Hidden Hand in 2007. He recorded both a solo CD and joined a new project, Shrinebuilder, with members of The Melvins, Neurosis, and Om. On Punctured Equilibrium, Wino is joined by Jon Black (of Rezin) and Jean-Paul Gaster (of Clutch). The disc was produced by J. Robbins (x-Jawbox, Government Issue) and comes with original artwork from David D'Andrea. There are also extensive liner notes from Wino that describe the origin of each track.

Here is how Wino sums up the disc: "This is the culmination of a very old dream, one that has come true in many different ways. One of the main things I have learned is how I understand "success". To me, it's not all riches and glory so much as the impact on others lives. My main philosophy that guides me is that I was given a gift, a Musical gift which I use to bring happiness to others. It is also important not to overlook your own needs, but putting yourself in the other person's shoes is to me most important! Punctuated Equilibrium is how my personality has been described, as told in the lyrics."

Wino keeps the sound varied on on Punctured Equilibrium as the tracks range from a mix of stoner psychedelia (check out "Punctuated Equilibrium" or "Wild Blue Yonder", which has some Hendrix style riffs) to Clutch-style blues-based grooves ("Smilin Road", which is streaming on Wino's MySpace page and "Release Me"). There are also a couple tracks with a solid middle-eastern feel along with the (obligatory) Sabbath style downtuned "doom" tracks.

For any fans of Wino's past work, along with fans of the doom/stoner rock genre, Punctuated Equilibrium is a great addition to your music library.

Wino is currently in Los Angeles recording with Shrinebuilder and that disc will come out sometime this year on Neurot Recordings.

Links:
Wino's MySpace Profile

Trees - Lights Bane CD Review (Crucial Blast)

Lights Bane is the debut release from Portland's Trees. Trees play extreme doom metal and an immediate point of comparison is Khanate. There are only two songs on Lights Bane, "Nothing" and "Black", but both songs clock in at over 10 minutes each.

It is great to see a band step up and take over where Khanate left off. Like Khanate, Trees music doesn't utilize a traditional song structure. Waves of feedback, guitar and electronic noise are combined with vocalist L. Smith's tortured shrieking and murmuring to create a tension and a musical texture that is both disturbing and engaging.

This style of funeral doom/drone isn't for everyone but fans of the genre should find Trees' debut engaging.

Links:
Trees' MySpace profile

Nadja - Desire In Uneasiness CD Review

Nadja has to be one of the most prolific bands that I know. "Desire In Uneasiness" contains all new material and was released in April. The band has already announced their next album of new material, "The Bungled and the Botched", which will be released on July 10th.

"Desire In Uneasiness" is the first release for Nadja where the core-duo of Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff added a live drummer to the recording process. The live drummer and Baker and Buckareff's focus on using interlocking basses seem to have opened up the band's sound and given it room to breathe. The comparisons to Godflesh no longer seem valid and a good point of comparison for this release is either Earth or the Growing. Like these bands, Nadja's music falls more in the drone category than doom as their sound has none of the menace or darkness of some of their doom contemporaries (i.e. Xasthur and Khanate). The music on this disc builds a soundscape out of slow epic riffs that rise and fall like waves.

While there are only five tracks on this release, this disc clocks in at 60 minutes and most of the tracks are well over 10 minutes. The album plays like a coherent body of work where each of the tracks identifies slight shifts in the environment but each track still fits as a piece of the overall musical landscape.

This release is an exciting step forward for the band and Nadja should find fans in both the Hydrahead and Southern Lord camps.

Links:
Nadja's MySpace profile
Nadja's Website

Unsound Moves to The Pussycat Lounge

Unsound is moving to The Pussycat Lounge and is starting the year off with a bang.



The first show is next Saturday (Jan. 6th) and the lineup is:

JAMES PLOTKIN & TIM WYSKIDA (x-Khanate)
UNEARTHLY TRANCE (Relapse recoding artists)
DEEP IN VEIN
NEGATIVEHATE
NOVELIST

Admission is $10 and doors @ 9PM

Long Island's Car Bomb Sign to Relapse and are Playing @ Lit Lounge in January

A few months back, Car Bomb announced that they had signed to Relapse Records. Their upcoming LP/CD Centralia is now available for pre-order and the band is playing a show at the Lit Lounge on Monday, Jan 1st. Also on the bill are Throwing Shrapnel (from MA) and Asra. Tickets are $6.00.

Trouble - The Skull CD/DVD Review

Trouble's second release The Skull was released about a year after Psalm 9 and continues with the same dark and oppressive Christian themes as the first release. There are two notable differences though -- the production is better which highlights that the songs are darker. The press release that came with the Escapi reissue starts with the line "The Skull - Suicide and death and drugs".

About half the songs on this release were written and part of Trouble's live set prior to any of their studio recordings. Some of the "newer" tracks like Pray for the Dead and The Skull show the band's songwriting maturing but the lyrics reflect that Eric and the band are dealing with some pretty heavy issues.

Most of those songs were already written when we did the first record," explains Rick, with respect to The Skull's tortured lessons. "But a lot of the lyrics weren't finished at that point: it was basically Eric that needed to get to work on that stuff. And just from being with Eric and talking to him over the years, from what I understand, that was the most depressing time in his life, when he wrote the lyrics to that album. And it kind of shows. When you listen closely to what's going on in there, he sings a lot about suicide and death and drugs. There were just a lot of bad things he was going through."

Escapi Music has included a bonus DVD of the band performing live in Aurora, IL in 1985 with the reissue of The Skull. (I would suspect that the real date of the show is 1984 as Eric mentions that The Skull will be released in January. In looking online, I found one site that lists the date and club as Malos in Aurora, IL – Nov. 10, 1984.) I really enjoyed this DVD but don't think it is for everyone. It is filmed with a single camera from the back of the crowd and does not have sound from the board. Taking it for what it is (essentially a 20+ year old bootleg), it is pretty good and really shows what the band's live show was like when they first hit the circuit. The video runs close to 2 hours and highlights songs from both LPs. It is interesting to note that the band dropped the Accept and Angel Witch covers that seemed to always be in their set and have added covers of The Yardbirds' Heart Full of Soul and Sabbath's Children of the Grave to the set. Also, Run To The Light is included in the set almost three years prior to it being released on Trouble's 1987 LP/CD of the same title.

It is great that Trouble is finally getting the recognition that they have long deserved. Look for Trouble's new release and tour in early 2007. The band's website also states that the long awaited Trouble unplugged CD will be released in the summer next year.

Trouble - Psalm 9 CD/DVD Review

Escapi Music has just reissued the first two CDs by Chicago doom-metalers Trouble. The first CD, Psalm 9, along with releases by St. Vitus, Pentagram and Witchfinder General helped define the doom metal sounds (which has been copied by many bands that followed).

Psalm 9 was released in 1984 and caused quite a stir in the underground scene. The LP was on white vinyl, limited to 2000 and dearly beloved by those who happened to pick one up. Psalm 9 had heavy religious/christian-themed lyrics so the band was marketed by Metal Blade as a "white metal" band. This was a tag the band strongly resisted. There was also quite a controversy at the time over whether a "Christian" band would include the word "f*ck" in one of their songs (The Bastards Will Pay). In a recent interview, Eric Wagner reflects back on this release and its Christian labeling.

"I was brought up Catholic...but you have to remember , back in the early '80s, all the metal was kind of Satanic, and I didn't get into that vibe. So, as far as writing lyrics, I wasn't trying to save anybody, but just explore my life."

Hands-down, this is a great CD! Trouble is often referenced as being Black Sabbath accolytes but their music goes beyond the basic Sabbath sound. While Trouble's music utilizes similar plodding tempos and heavy bass, the music also differes in many ways. Trouble utilizes two lead guitarists (similar to what the NWOBHM bands did at the time) and frequently change both tempos and speeds. There are also elements of both speed and trash metal in a number of songs.

There isn't a bad song on this disc but particular standouts are Assasin, Victim of the Insane, and Bastards Will Pay. There are many reasons to pick up a copy of this CD (it is an excellent blueprint for bands starting out, the CD has been out of print for years, Trouble has reunited and will be touring again in 2007) but I think the strongest reason is the inclusion of a bonus DVD of the band performing live on cable access television. The DVD lists this performance as 1982 but I believe it to be closer to 1984 as the band mentions that their first LP is already out and that they have started writing songs for their second. It is amazing to be able to see the band as they were performing live over 20 years ago. It is also kind of fun to watch a very young Eric Wagner play air guitar along side of Bruce Franklin. The DVD is 20 minutes and contains three live songs along with an interview. Songs performed are Assassin, Psalm 9 and Victim Of The Insane.

Trouble's first release since 1995, Simple Mind Condition, is scheduled to be released by Escapi Music on February 20th, 2007.

The Growing @ Water Street Lounge, Brooklyn Nov. 11, 2006

The Growing were the final act to play last Sunday night. Every time I see the band, I am impressed with their live show and last week did not disappoint. There were also some humerous moments at the show. The first was that all of the band's electronics blew the power and it took a number of minutes to reset the circuit. The second was that after the band finished their set, they seemed completely shocked when the crowd started chanting for an encore (which the band played).

As it doesn't look like The Growing are currently touring, I would recommend checking out some of their studio releases. The band's first release on Kranky The Sky's Run Into the Sea along with His Return on Troubleman/Megablade are great starting points.