Deathfest in Charm City

On Sunday my wife and I spent the day in Baltimore at the Maryland Deathfest. I am not usually a big fan of festivals. My attention span has gotten super-low as I get older. But this year I saw that Windhand and Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats were both playing the same day, so I took the plunge and got tickets.

I've written about Uncle Acid before. I've written about Windhand before. Both bands are perfect examples of what is good about the current metal scene. Windhand do their thing slow and heavy. Uncle Acid play Sabbath-inspired melodic rockers that go fast-slow-fast. I was at first chagrined that Windhand was playing first at 1:30, but Uncle Acid wouldn't take the stage until 7:40.

Programs!

Never fear! The festival remained engaging the entire time. Sure, Jodi and I spent plenty of time hanging out in one of the quieter zones of the festival, but that's just because we had to get out of the sun and off our feet. Across the board it was a great experience. Interesting music, interesting and friendly people, crazy tats, scary tee shirts, awesome vibe.

We arrived about 12:30. Plenty of parking available right by the gates. Security checked IDs and gave us can-drink-wristband, then we had our tickets checked and got a let-us-in-wristband. Jodi had to open her bag and show what was in it. I had to lift up my tee shirt to show I wasn't packing knives or anything troublesome.

We had an hour to kill so we wandered through the copious merchandise area. Lots of vendors, some from metal record labels, were all selling tons of tee shirts, books, bongs, vinyl, CDs, posters, stickers and patches. Every metal band on the planet seemed to have a tee shirt there. I scored a sweet looking Windhand shirt and grabbed a sticker for my guitar case. Jodi enjoyed their set so she went back and got herself a tee-shirt, which she plans on cutting the sleeves off of.

Swag!

Vinyl-wise, I wound up getting an import 7" from Satan's Satyrs, a local DC band produced by my band's producer Don Zientara. I also got a re-released double LP of ASG's Win Us Over from the Relapse Records table. I could easily have spent a shitload more but for once restraint was in place.

Since we had nearly 8 hours to spend there, we would have to get something to eat. I got a couple hot dogs for lunch, then got some excellent Thai food from one of the vendors. There was plenty of beer and drinks to be had, but I was sensible and stayed with a ton of water, except for one A-Treat soda I couldn't resist.

Pseudogod

Soilent Green

But what about the music!?! The bands leaned more brutal than I go for. Windhand and Uncle Acid were definitely the high points for me. Jodi remarked afterwards that Uncle Acid were very different than the other bands. They almost felt out of place. The one that stood out to me was Pseudogod. They are from Russia and look particularly scary, covered in red paint and looking like stand-ins for The Devil's Rejects. We watched Inquisition and then Soilent Green for a while. Both were obviously great at what they did, but it was not quite my thing. I dug it though.

Windhand

Windhand started the day off perfectly. Jodi asked me if we really would need ear plugs. We were standing in front of one of the speakers and as soon as the drums started going we just grinned at each other. The reverberations seemed to be going right through us. I can only imagine what was happening to our organs. Windhand played 30 minutes and were fantastic. Sorry they only had that short of set. When Jodi got her tee shirt I realized their singer was working the merchandise table. I thanked her for a killer set and shook her hand. Doing the doom slow-heavy thing their songs tend to bleed into one another, but that's part of the charm. They set a mood of heaviness that just knocks me out. Tremendous band.

Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats

Five and a half hours later Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats took the stage. They were worth the wait. This is their first US appearance so it was especially exciting. This is the kind of music a motorcycle gang would dig. Jodi heard one kid having a fit for whatever reason, saying something about this Sabbath cover band not helping. HA! That's an easy descriptor. But they are doing Sabbath better than Sabbath is doing Sabbath these days. They played 45ish minutes and it was outstanding. I fled back to the merchandise table before their set ended in hopes of getting a tee bit I couldn't score one because all they and left were mediums and extra-large. Meh. The music did sound better from way back though. I had ear plugs in for most of the day and while it helped with my tinnitus, it took something away from the sound. Sacrifices for hearing the next week, right?

We left after they played. Candlemass and My Dying Bride still were up but we were both beat and had to drive back from Baltimore. But it was a great day. A very interesting experience. Depending on the band splaying I would go again. I think there would need to be at least two bands I am really into before investing the day again. I was impressed with the overall competence and arrangement of the whole shindig. Kudos to the producers!

Here's a few more sights from the festival!

Heavy Round-Up

If you've read here enough you know I have a soft spot for heavy rock and metal. Here's a round-up of some records of that ilk I have been digging and playing regularly.

The back of Old Man's Will eponymous debut says "File Under: 70s rock/blues rock/hard rock." That sums them up just right. Hailing from Sweden they are a modern band doing old school heavy rock. They are another great band on the EasyRider Records (about to become Riding Easy due to legal reasons) label. Deep Purple minus Jon Lord is what comes to mind when listening. "An Ennobling Evening" has that Ritchie Blackmore kind of vibe, heavy guitar licks over a thudding beat and wailing Ian Gillian-esque vocal. "Alidheim" is slow burn, rhythm and bluesy vocals before the bottom-friendly guitar lick kicks in. It's a nice debut by a very promising band. I look forward to hearing more from them in the future.

The Oath are a couple foxy ladies from Sweden and Germany respectively and a couple guys named Fred (no offense) doing a fast, witchy blend of hard rock and metal. German singer Johanna Sardonis has a fascination with evil things and the hereafter; it bleeds into her lyrics. Swedish guitarist Linnéa Ollson can flat out play. Take the also eponymously-named album opener "All Must Die." That title does not express the end is imminent but that it's eventual, and that it might not be a happy eternity awaiting you. Musically it has a nice time shift in the middle. They do that a bunch keeping things especially interesting. The song titles are as expected: "Night Child," "Black Rainbow," "Death Delight" and "Psalm 7" for example. My copy came direct from Rise Above Records and includes a 7" for "Night Of The Demon." The album cover alone gets attention and the music backs up the look. If you dig devilish metal you'll dig this. It's harmless fun, whether or not they believe the shtick.

Less metal and more heavy rock is the wonderfully named British outfit Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel and their new LP Check 'Em Before You Wreck 'Em. Another offering from Rise Above Records, these fellows bring more 70s inspired rock. These Brits sound more like late-era Ozzy Sabbath. It's not earth-shattering but it's rock n roll and it's fun. Plus their guitarist calls himself Johnny Gorilla and I respect that. They look like they stepped out of the 70s. Denim and boots and weird birds riding motorcycles. It's fun and sort of stupid but the fun is in the stupidness. 100% respect in that statement. I dig it and if you dig loud guitars and heavy rhythm you will dig this. What's not to like about a song called "2 Tonne Fuckboot"?

Here's Old Man's Will doing "Evil Woman"

The Oath and "All Must Die"

YouTube is coming up short on stuff from their new record

so here is a clip from a February show of theirs:

Rise Above the Rest

With my renewed interest in the metal scene, I have realized it is far easier to find new bands that previously relying on Pitchfork and other review sites for passing along info. With metal, labels still have a place to play, giving traction and attention to bands that could be potentially working the margins. I wrote earlier about a couple records from a small American label called Easyrider Records. Another such label is the well-stocked Rise Above Records from England. Formed almost twenty years ago by Napalm Death's vocalist, they have a great catalog of heavy bands. If you are a metal head, you should seriously check them out.

Blood Ceremony, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats and Electric Wizard are three of the bands I really like on their roster. Two others I have recently been digging include The Oath and the wonderfully named Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell.

The Oath are a Berlin-based band and led by Johanna Sadonis on vocals and Linnéa Olsson on guitar. Both ladies are striking blondes. I mean...seriously. That is the bait to get you to notice. The music backs up the image. Solid playing, classic NWOBHM vocals, and two great songs make up their 7" single "Night Child"/"Black Rainbow".

Their sound is rooted in classic sounding European metal. It is not the scary kind of metal. It reminds me of a less interesting Blood Ceremony with their witchy underpinnings. That does not mean they do not have their charms. This EP is a nice appetizer for their full length due later this year from Rise Above Records. Sweet!

Here's "Night Child."

Whenever I think my band has a complicated name, I just need to think of the UK's Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell.  Named after a English naval hero, this power-trio is much much more 70s hard rock than metal. Their latest limited edition 7" on Rise Above Records is "Black Sheep" backed by "Elementary Man." Both are hard and fast and heavy songs. They are not deep or thought provoking but rock and roll doesn't always need to be deep. Many times they should just kick serious ass. If you like classic sounding riffs, check these cats out.

I can not seem to get the video to embed right, so here's a link to "Elementary Man." Just look at the clothes and you'll know everything you need to about these guys.

Slip the surly bonds with Earthless

From The Ages by Earthless is another of those records that I became acquainted with too late for it to have made my top ten list. That's a shame because it deserves a place. Earthless are an instrumental power-trio from San Diego who occupy that middle ground between heavy rock and metal.  They have a very classic vibe. The guitar playing reminds me a lot of Jimi Hendrix and Robin Trower at his noisiest. Not so much in terms of skill, though guitarist Isaiah Mitchell is plenty good, but more in the psychedelic scene their music paints. The rhythm section of Marco Rubalcala and Mike Eginton provide the lumbering foundation for the guitar's histrionics. The occasional keyboard joins the ensemble and adds a new element to the music's mysteries.

It's another double LP (what's with these bands and their double LPs?). Four songs. One on side 1, two on side 2, and the title track spread over both sides of the second disc. This is a record that is comfortable both as the trippy background to whatever you're up to, but also, and far more enjoyable, as something you let wash over you. Doing that, however, is a real commitment, an investment of time that not many bands these days require from their audience. It's enjoyable because even though the songs are long, they still move. There is shape and nuance around the central theme. It lurks and spins and coils in of itself. It starts and stalls and gallops and rumbles into a conclusion. Repeated listens bring forth some new sonic experience. For a discerning rock fan, it's a treasure of musicality.

I can't leave without saying how awesome the album art is. One of the many reasons I love vinyl over CDs is the jackets. In a CD booklet, there isn't much space to appreciate the cover. With vinyl you can appreciate the effort made over the entire package. Opening the front gatefold you see lumbering elephants, emblematic of the music, with what appear to be jewels within their foreheads, crossing a stone bridge from an otherworldly door to meet, naturally, not only an enormous bird dominating the front cover but a shaman-esque humanoid whose head is eyeball. Of course he is dressed in robs and holds a scepter because...because that's what dudes with an eyeball for a head carry.

Here's album opener "Violence of the Red Sea."

This Band Is So Heavy It Has Other Less Heavy Bands Orbiting Around It

From the first note on their latest record Soma Richmond's Windhand announces their intent. And the intent is making a sound as heavy and as doom-sounding as possible. When plucked the strings on their guitars must quiver like power lines in a hurricane. It is the sound of devils dancing in the Virginia Piedmont night. That sounds kind of Spinal Tap, but screw it, it makes me laugh.

The title Soma refers to a ritual drink from Indo-Iranian and Persian cultures. It was believed to give its consumer immortality.  It was believed the be a bringer of the gods. An apt name for a record like this. Though these gods may not be ones you wish to trifle with.

"Orchard" opens the festivities but it is song two that overpowers the listener. "Woodbine" erupts like a kick to the gut. Play it loud and the walls aren't the only things shaking. Your organs quake. It is low-end power that is the musical equivalent of Doomsday barreling through cities and countless Superman-delivered punches. The album is a double LP. The second LP has one song per side, both epics, "Cassock" and "Boleskin." The latter is one of those vinyl tracks that make use of the exit groove, in this case with wind sounds, that if you don't pay attention shall run forever. In the middle of the album, floating like a dream, comes the acoustic "Evergreen." As out of place as that sounds, it is brilliant at capturing the mood. Dread is equally present in detuned roaring electric guitars and strummed acoustics.

And above it floats the voice of Dorthia Cottrell. She is not so much the singer but the mistress of ceremonies. A female voice above this music is what makes it stand apart from other similarly minded bands. And the exception in their art is fantastic.

My taste in music is driven by melody and it is driven by mood. That is why I can happily listen to a great power pop record one day and the next hunker down in the sludge. Music is the perfect accompaniment to state of mind. With a band like Windhand, you might think there is a massive amount of negativity going on, but that is not remotely the case. Powerful, heavy music is all encompassing. I love the energy it creates. I love the sense of dread. Life thrives in the sunlight but it can sometimes flourish in the dark.

Here is the album opener "Orchard."

Pass That Shit, Man

One of the ways I find new music is through Twitter. I am not sure how it came to be but I somehow stumbled over a list from EasyRider Records with their Top 10 records of the year. They appear to be a new-ish boutique metal label. One their list they naturally had a couple of their own releases because, you know, promotion. I listened to the records on that list and two of them struck my ear: Banishment Ritual by Sons of Huns and Sweeden Salem's Pot. Yes, Salem's Pot.

I do not know any of the details about Sons of Huns beyond what's in their record. They are a three-piece. They have a strange, hideous space monster gracing the cover of their record. Their name is awesome. They play fast, heavy stoner metal. I think if you have a hideous space creature on your album cover you have to play stoner metal. It is some kind of rule.

The record rocks. There is the goofy Sabotage-era-Sabbath-esque stomp of "Agrenteum Astrum." "Heliolith" sounds like Slayer high on weed. "Horror In Clay" resembles a tuned-down Kill 'em All Metallica. "I'm Your Dad" has a Deep Purple vibe to it, especially in vocalist...actually...I don't know who the vocalist is...the record doesn't say. It's not Ian Gillian, I know that, but the appropriately placed shrieks are Gillian-esque. Much of it reminds me of the more renowned Red Fang.

One drawback is the record is a double LP and I do not think it needs to be. The songs are not extravagantly long. In fact Side B at under ten minutes. Maybe I should be playing it at 45 and not 33, but it sounds fine at 33. That would be funny if I am playing it at the wrong speed. This easily could have been on one disc. Side B closer "Waking Sleep" is this lounge-ish instrumental number that does not sound like a it-must-be-on-the-record-man kind of cut.

Salem's Pot is really the name of a band. I wish I had thought of this. But my band's music does not fit what a band called Salem's Pot should be doing. Salem, home of legendary witches and burnings and troublemaking. Pot, that herb of choice of so many bands. Salem's Pot, a play on Salem's Lot. Ok sure why not. Cover has what appears to be a lady fearing...something. Perhaps it is the hideous space creature from the Sons of Huns record. Spooky, blood drippy lettering. I don't know what Sweeden refers to but it must be spooky.

Music, you ask? What you expect. One song per side. Only a single vinyl disc, thankfully. It starts, it pulverizes your brain, it bids adieu. What's Sweedish for adieu? Frak it, who cares. What does it sound like? Let's say this: If you think a band called Salem's Pot is something you would like, then you will likely not be disappointed here. For Christ's sake, the back of the jacket says "recorded live in an old asylum by the damaged minds of a power trio." Does it really matter whether it sounds like Sabbath (it does) or Slayer or Deep Purple or Bruno Mars?

I sound like I don't like this record. Wrong! It's great! I really like it. Some people like Kanye West and Daft Punk and Lorde and shit like that which gets all the Grammy nominations and all the attention. I like sludgy stoner metal bands. Among other things. This genre makes me happy. I am not a partaker of the stoner part of these bands, but I really dig the music. To me it's fun, it's amusing, it makes me bang my head. Is it Shakespeare? Or the musical equivalent of Shakespeare? Trip Shakespeare? No. Whatever. It's not going to win Grammys or be on the cover of Rolling Stone or on whatever passes for Total Request Live. Maybe it will be on the current version of Headbanger's Ball because that would be awesome. if ever we needed Adam Curry to don his leather jacket and act tough (well, maybe not the second part) it's now. So many metal bands out there that deserve a little bit of limelight.

Don't be a punk. Check them out here.

Favorite Records of 2013 - Number 1

I was tempted to be a wise guy and list my bands record but that would be too obvious, right? Oh by the way, click here and do a little commerce and come back in a few.

Let me stress that this list is for my FAVORITE record of the year. Like I said at the start of this it is impossible for your humble correspondent to declare what the best record of the year is. I can most definitely say what it is NOT however, and it certainly is NOT the Kanye West record. That guy could smear his shit on a disc and Spin would give it 5 stars. Please. No, it is far more accurate to say what my favorite records are, the ones I keep coming back to to enjoy and find new things with.

So my favorite record pf the year is hands down The Eldritch Dark by Blood Ceremony. The band's name coupled with the album cover make it sound like this is some satanic band. Well, only kind of. HA! This nominally gets put into the metal category, but more appropriately it is folk-metal. What the hell is that, you ask? I describe Blood Ceremony as if Jethro Tull did Black Sabbath songs. Or maybe Black Sabbath doing Jethro Tull songs. Imagine it either way but front the band with a sexy witch. Mix that up and shake and you get Blood Ceremony.

They are another Canadian act. Four-piece. Guitar/bass/drum with the lovely Alia O'Brien doing vocals and keys and naturally the flute. They traffic in a classic proto-metal sound while incorporating folk touches. It's great stuff. Lyrically they find interest in the occult. Titles like "Witchwood," "Lord Summerisle" (for you Wicker Man buffs), "Ballad of the Weird Sisters," and "The Magician" give it a way. It is not as tongue in cheek (or Dio-inspired) as Ghost, but it's wicked in an amusing not sinister way. It sort of reminds me of the goth girl on my residence hall floor my Freshmen year who was probably casting spells on everyone, except with better taste in records. It plays like those creepy Italian horror movies from the 70s.

Why do I name it my favorite? It is an alluring record, especially with the alluring Ms. O'Brien presiding over the festivities. It helps, I will not downplay it. But without that the music is still great, still alluring in of itself. Ms. O'Brien is an excellent singer. The songs are catchy and heavy and airy all at the same time. The band is super-tight. Great riffs and grooves. I saw them open for Kylesa and was so blown away I hunted out and found a similar Yamaha guitar that guitarist Sean Kennedy plays. Which has incidentally become my go-to guitar for shows. Back to the record. The songs are just really good. Great interplay with guitar and keys/organs and flute and fiddles.

Here's "Goodbye Gemini."

So there you go...my favorite ten records of the year. I do hope you have been inspired to check them out! Otherwise, I wouldn't have gone to all the trouble. I will talk about some of the records I got recently that did not crack my list but might have if they had shown up earlier!

Oh, and a very Happy New Year! To paraphrase a poet of old, got a feeling '14 is going be a good year!

Favorite Records of 2013 - Number 2

Ultraviolet by Kylesa was an album I gushed about earlier this year. They are a Georgia band that has grown past the wall of noise that made up their earlier records. This builds upon their previous record to show a continued progression, not to the mainstream mind you, but a progression to more interesting and rewarding paths. Stoner metal and sludge metal is good, but when a band can use that as a foundation instead of a ceiling, those are the bands that are on to something.

Here is not a record for everyone. It's hard and it's heavy and it's trippy and it's spacey and it hits like a punch to the face. It takes a progressive track. The driving forces behind the band are Laura Pleasants and Phillip Cope. Their trading of vocal duties be it from song-to-song or within the same song keeps a close listener on his feet. Whether they are singing or shouting it remains mesmerizing with the heavy yet melodic music. "Unspoken" channels Megadeth-esque guitar runs with chanting vocals underlaying the main vocal line. It is a record with bottom in the guitars. I love the tone. It's heavy but it grips you not just through power and explosiveness but through strong song-writing. Good metal has good riffs and Kylesa has them by the bushelful. The swirling opening of "Grounded." The chugging Sabbath-esque riff powering "We're Taking This."

Another positive. It is short. At just under 39 minutes it starts, beats your ass, then gets out. I do not subscribe to the more-is-better school. My favorite records are those that do not fuck around. That say what they are going to say and be done with it. It is not brevity for the sake of it but it is knowing when the point is made. That's refreshing.

It astounds me that this record is failing to show up on so many best-of-metal lists. It is number two for me. I find it impossible to fathom there are 25 better metal records than this.

There was ONE record I found better than this one....what will it be!?!

Favorite Records of 2013 - Number 3

When you think of metal, what do you think of? Hair bands from the 80s like Twisted Sister or Ratt or Poison? Weird Brits singing about the devil and other similar things like Ozzy and Iron Maiden and Judas Priest? Nu-metal from the 90s like Korn and Limp Bizkit and Slipknot? The metal-as-fuck bands that the weirdos in high school listened to like Metallica and Slayer and Megadeth?

To me, only the second and fourth ones qualify as metal. That's just what I think so sue me. The first is glammed up pop, though Motley Crüe was close. The third is just....ugh...it's just not my thing so I will leave it there. I grew up on bands from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, more commonly reffered to as NWOBHM by nerds like me. That's Iron Maiden and Priest and and Mötorhead and even Def Leppard before they went pop. Bands like Metallica and Slayer have definite roots in NWOBHM.

That is all to say is that all music is a progression. The good bands are the ones that build on what came before. There is not too much new ground to tread. I joke that every chord progression has been used up. It is just how you use that progression; how you play that riff. Coming up with something completely new and different, at leafs with guitars and drums and amplifiers turned way the hell up is exceedingly difficult.

To me modern metal is no better exemplified than by a band like Pelican and their new album Forever Becoming. It is all instrumentals. A vocalist is not needed here because the music says it all. It is very hard to pull off but a band does not need a singer when the music is as perfect as this is. Metal can be difficult for many to find accessible. Pelican is accessible. Listen to "The Cliff" or "Perpetual Dawn" or "Immutable Dusk," listen to the prettiness in the passages. No band brings together beauty and aggression together better than Pelican. The songs are all sort-of longish, around seven minutes each. They form and twist and spiral within themselves; heavy aggressive passages power into majestic soaring riffs before spiraling back into black twists and turns. I have said again and again, good music is power. Good music grabs you by the throat and says "listen to me!!!" Forever Becoming grabs hold and doesn't let go, it makes you race back to the turntable to flip side over or hurriedly put on the next disc.

I love heavy bands. I love old-school Metallica, I still love Iron Maiden and admire Slayer for staying true to what they do, and for being one of the few bands I actually fear. HA! Metal today is post-metal bands like Pelican and Isis making heavy, melodically brilliant music. Metal is metal-as-fuck bands like High On Fire and Kvelerator keeping thrash alive. Metal is the Sabbath-worshipers like Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats and Black Tusk and Lo-Pan. Metal is the bands like Mastodon and Red Fang and Baroness that bring metal without ignoring pop sensibilities. Metal is bands like In Solitude and Ghost paying tribute to their NWOBHM forbearers. Metal is the doom bands like Windhand and Wolves In The Throne Room making music frightening. And metal is the progressive bands like Opeth and Anathema and Alcest. It is the most interesting genre of music out there because it has so many facets, so many limbs from the enormous trunk. The future of rock is not metal. Rock will always be metal.

Enjoy "Immutable Dusk." The louder the better.

Up next...number two! Georgia has a plethora of amazing metal acts. Here comes my favorite.

Favorite Records of 2013 - Number 4

True Widow's Circumabultation was originally lower on the list but after listening through the headphones a week or so ago it catapulted into the top 5. And really made me sad that I missed them when they came through town a couple months ago.

This year I have been really into heavier music. From this point on the list will reflect that. Some records that just missed the cut included new joints by Dead Meadow, ASG, Earthless, Windhand, Uncle Acid, Kadavar, Palms, Anciients and Red Fang. Great records all around put only so many could make the list.

Circumabultation is heavy but not loud. It's heaviness is rooted in dread but not doom. The vocals aren't shouted or grunted or screamed or growled. They are quite...normal I guess is the best way to put it. True Widow is a three piece from Texas. They deal in a mix of stoner metal and shoegaze. Vocal duties mix between the guy guitarist and the girl bassist. it makes for a great and interesting shift from song to song. The guitars do not shriek but echo and hum and shimmer. Each song finds a musical idea and explores it. There are not any time shifts or even any discernible choruses. The band just powers along filling the space with energetic dread. Being done well it does not get old or boring. The groove catches you up and propels you along. The song titles are often as enigmatic as the music: "S:H:S" and "I:M:O" and "HW:R" balanced against metal-esque song titles like "Creeper" and "Numb Hand" and my favorite, the spaghetti-western inspired "Four Teeth."

Next up...instrumental post-metal bliss from one of Chicago's best bands.

Sink In The Fangs

Red Fang continues in the tradition of scuzzy looking guys drinking a shitload of beer and playing heavy stoner rock. They are heavy, they are loud, they play fast and then they play sludgy. And if you watch any of their videos they really love beer. Take "Wires" for instance. The setup is they receive a check for $5000 to make a video, which they promptly use to buy beer and destroy a ton of shit. It's funny and stupid all at the same time and perfectly encapsulates who they appear to be.

Whales and Leeches is their new record and it builds on their self-titled debut and 2011's Murder The Mountains.  Like the last record it is produced by Chris Funk from The Decemberists. If you have heard of that band you might find it curious he would produce a band like Red Fang. They both come from Portland, OR, so they have that going for them but other than that the connections are sparse. The Decemberists offer a very progressive take on folk music. Red Fang would be expected to beat those guys up. But music is really all connected. It's chords and notes and guitars and beats no matter if it is loud or soft or someplace in between. And Funk's production is something that makes Red Fang stand out from the common stoner metal band. Sure it's heavy but there are dynamics and nuance working here that you don't always find on albums from like-minded but lesser bands. A special treat is seeing Roger Joseph Manning Jr.'s name in the credits, he being the former keyboardist in power pop bands Jellyfish and Imperial Drag. His talents are utilized for just one track but it helps escort Red Fang's trip down the road toward more interesting and different places.

Stand out tracks include the album opening one-two punch of "DOEN" and "Blood Like Cream." The latter offers an almost power-poppy bounce and an Iron Maiden-esque guitar run near the end. Other cuts, Like "No Hope" and especially "Crows In Swine" remind me of their former tour mates Mastodon. Album closer "Every Little Twist" brings on the psychedelic-a; if you have the vinyl and are not paying attention, you'll find this song will go on forever as the record's lock-groove comes blessed with the end of the song...playing forever and ever and ever.

Here's "Blood Like Cream" from Live at KEXP:

You Will Get This Record...Then Pass The Time By Playing A Little Solitaire

Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats' Mind Control is as Sabbath sounding a record as you can get without actually being Black Sabbath. In fact, it is easily the best Black Sabbath record of the year by far, this included.

Take "Mt. Abraxas:" it starts gloomy and doom, total homage to the first eponymous Sabbath record, then it gallops into "After Forever" territory. before sludging back down. After that "Mind Crawler" kicks in, with it's heavy and simple riffs backed by a barely audible but completely essential piano run. It's the kind of song that makes me get up and dance like Michael Shannon covered in bugs. And that's just the first side of the first record. There's nothing terribly complicated in this music. It's derivative sure, but it takes everything that was great about Black Sabbath and just nails it. It's heavy and it stomps and it is a little bit scary. You feel like something evil (or maybe just interesting) is going to ooze out of the speakers. (Aside: googling "70s horror movie girls" brings up a surprising amount of lesbian activity).

Speaking of lesbians, here's something to do: check out their website, specifically the Garbage Dump section, where fans upload images that might or might not have anything to do with Uncle Acid. It's.....strange...that's about the gentlest I can say about it.

Happy story about this record: I had first read about them when Steven Hyden mentioned them in a write-up he did about the state of metal citing primarily Kylesa (awesome), Deafhaven (OK) and Queens Of The Stone Age (tired). In fact that article is where I also first read about ASG and Blood Ceremony and Kvelertak, but I digress. Thanks to Spotify I was able to hear this Uncle Acid record and I dug it much. Then one day it disappeared off Spotify, with some message saying it could no longer be available in the US. FRAK! A couple weeks later I went down to Som Records on 14th Street in DC and lo-and-behold there it was, a vinyl copy of Mind Control, sitting on the shelf. I gasped..really...I gasped and probably squealed with delight when I saw it. I grabbed it lest another metal head lurked somewhere ready to pounce. It cost over $40 but I didn't give a shit. This record rules. Listen here for confirmation!

Forever Becoming

The best music is pure power. It attracts you, it reels you in, it envelops you. That is a primary reason why I often retreat to albums through headphones, searching for a powerful construct that overwhelms the sense. I prefer the lights extinguished except for a single candle. I take my contacts out or my glasses off. My primary sense at this point is auditory. Words are not even necessary. Often times it is simply the music that rushes over.

The latest record from Chicago's Pelican is Forever Becoming and it is one of those records. It occupies the post-metal niche but it is more than that. It is not just meticulously crafted but almost created. It is movement and energy. It feels alive.

The album opens with "Terminal." A slow build-up, like an engine turning over on a cold morning. It is after a minute the song finds its footing. Bass and drums driving the slow rhythm, an electric guitar picking notes over the top as the melody builds. It comes to a stop before "Deny The Absolute" crashes like a wave, the tuned down guitars assaulting the record needle. The jarring bass of "The Tundra" that rumbles like a beast. "Immutable Dusk" open the second side of the first vinyl record (the orange vinyl, as compared to the blue), might be the best of those songs, interlacing doom sludge with respite of cascading guitar work.

What sets Pelican apart is that dichotomy. Of power giving way to groove giving way again to power. Without any vocals the music must stand on its own. It cannot give way to predictability but has to be grand in scope. So we have 8 songs that vary in length three-and-a-half minutes to over nine. But none of those minutes feels wasted or for naught. It builds upon itself in emotion.

Here is "Deny The Absolute."

The Eldritch Dark

When all is said and done this year, I expect The Eldritch Dark by Blood Ceremony to by sitting at the top of my favorite records of the year list. They are one of the many bands that Spotify has recommended to me since I started using the service.

I have mentioned them a couple times here. First when I
saw them open for Kylesa; second when they made my mid-year report. In case you're just tuning in they are a four-piece from Canada fronted by a keyboard and flute playing lady. Naturally she is fine but that is honestly just ancillary to the music, which is a cross between Jethro Tull and Black Sabbath. Lyrically it is kind of silly, singing about witches and sorcery and goings-on in related forests, but that's part of the fun. It doesn't waste anytime, as album opener "Witchwood" (of course) demonstrates:

Black magic has come to Witchwood

Their devilry takes place within our lonely woods

Such strange words and stranger visions

Forbidden hymns to summon things one never should

The record continues in that vein. There's more about shape-shifters, and sisters up to no good, and the moon, and the dark, and magicians, and a song about Christopher Lee when he burned up The Equalizer in The Wicker Man. This kind of stuff always makes me laugh a bit. When I was a kid I used to think how dangerous it was to listen to things like Iron Maiden. It was more interesting than what you usually got out of rock lyrics. Blood Ceremony are the same way. The pseudo-witchiness comes across as kitsch more than anything else. It's not scary like Slayer is; when you see Kerry King you get the impression he probably does worship Satan. Blood Ceremony does it with a nod and a wink. And I mean this all as a positive!! Looking at the notes in the record it appears guitarist Sean Kennedy writes all the lyrics. That is somewhat disappointing. Lead singer Alia O'Brien is a looker and it's more alluring to think she wrote them, but that's really a whatever kind of thing. The charm is that you have a pretty girl getting all witchy and singing about devil hymns. She seemed like a nice girl when I saw them live.

The music is great through and through. It's a very folky kind of heavy rock. I've seen them filed under doom metal. It's not really metal...too much gets lumped under metal these days. It has mellow spots where the flute takes over but it has plenty of rock to keep the head banging, but it stays to a very 70s inspired brand of metal. Really very debut record-era Sabbath. The band is altogether tight. Good grooves, good melodies that are both bright yet sinister-esque. Great vocals. Guitarist Sean Kennedy played a beautiful Yamaha when I saw them which inspired me to look into getting one of my own. I found one on eBay which I got for a total steal. Granted mine is the low-end base model wile his was the high-end fancy one, but it plays amazingly well for a guitar I got mainly because I liked the look, so much so it has become my primary gig guitar. Sweet!

Anyway, here's the second track off the record, "Goodbye Gemini."

Awaiting the Mothership

In the DISCOVER section of Spotify, it will say things like "You listened to so-and-so, you might like these-other-folks!" or "You haven't listened to Debbie Gibson in a while. Listen now?" or "Your friend  likes Stryper. Check it out?"

One of the bands that fit under the first statement is Texas' Mothership.  Apparently there are a lot of bands out there named Mothership. Most of them seem to be cover bands, including one Led Zeppelin tribute band. These guys are a tribute in that they salute the 60s and 70s hard rock and heavy blues bands of days gone by. A lot of bands do this kind of stuff but most of them unfortunately can't quite pull it off. Mothership, surprisingly in a way, do. The lyrics are...well let's just say it..sort of dumb in spots. For example "City Nights" talks about rock n roll being here to stay and how they are ready to fight and yadda yadda yadda.

But a band like this isn't agreeable because of the lyrics. Or the vocals, which are kind of meh, but are very happily crystal clear so that you can hear the guy is really singing, so I really do dig that. But it's all about the riffs, man.

And the awesome album cover. See said awesome-ness there ----->

But mostly the riffs. The jams are classic sounding 70s hard rock veering into metal. Like the side 1 closer "Angel Of Death", it's got a killer Richie Blackmore-esque lick that drives the song. "City Nights" has the wanting lyrics but it's no worse than any Scorpions song (that's a compliment). The album opens with a wicked-cool instrumental "Hallucination" before segueing right into "Cosmic Rain." The back side opens with a "Win Or Lose," which could have been a bonus track off some expanded edition of Never Say Die. It has songs that every hard rock record should have: songs about eagles and guys in charge of the moon and some weird word that looks like a girl' name. She's probably  the busty angel on the cover. Or at least a witch.

The band is a power trio from where I grew up...Dallas, Texas. Two brothers and a guy named Judge.  The bassist kind of look like Kim Thayil from Soundgarden. The lead singer looks like the fat violin guy from Kansas. The drummer looks like a drummer. The LP comes with a poster, which is fucking cool and should be in every metal record, that shows a wall of Orange speaker cabinets, so that immediately makes these near and dear to my heart.

Jokes aside, I like this record a lot. Music is supposed to be fun and this record is fun! It's not as inventive as Kylesa or as wicked as Blood Ceremony or as retro as Kadaver or as scary as Baroness but it's incredibly, incredibly solid heavy rock.

Here they are doing their thing with "Win Or Lose."

True Widow; Palms; Black Tusk

I've been amiss in my musings as of late! My sincerest apologies for that! Despite the absence I can assure you the records continue to spin on the turntable. I have found myself in a harder-rock kind of mindset lately so while the mood has been light the rock has been heavy.

I think it was a tweet that turned me onto a band called True Widow. They are a three-piece from Texas, two guys and a gal. I guess they get lumped into metal but they are more a hard-rock or stoner-rock kind of band. Stoner not in a Black Crowes way but stoner like when Black Sabbath tried to get deep. Sleep is the ultimate stoner-metal outfit but True Widow aren't that heavy. I checked their latest record, Circumambulation, out on Spotify after hearing about it and was just blown away. They make just the kind of heavy sound I dig: it's hard but it grooves, it breathes, it has room. It isn't fast at all, it has space and it powers along with a dynamite sense of melody. Music like this is often described as plodding. But True Widow don't plod; they stride like a giant. They remind me of The Sword but without the silliness and at half-speed. The vocals are strong alternating between boy and girl singing, and sometimes coming together very nicely. The song titles are interesting...tracks like "S:H:S," "I:M:O," and "HW:R" are mixed in with more typical heavy sounding tracks like "Creeper" and "Numb Hand."  It's not top 40...if you're looking for something radio friendly this ain't it. But if you like heavy music with a great sense of melody, strong melodic vocals, and great playing, you will like this record. They are coming to town in a few weeks and I plan to be there.

Here's the aforementioned "HW:R." Great track!

Palms are a supergroup of sorts. Not like Blind Faith or even Black Country Communion, but among the art metal set they are pretty high up there. Three-quarters the guys from Isis and one-quarter Chino Moreno from Deftones. The latter I have never really gotten into, but Isis is one of my more favorite of the progressive metal bands. Palms' self-titled debut record is mellower than either of those outfits' work. Art metal...kind of I guess...it's very atmospheric. Take opener "Future Warrior:" during the verses the drums are precise, the bass lines skip around the neck, the guitar weaves in and out and the vocals lay in over the top, then the chorus kicks in and the band locks in tight. This song is pretty emblematic of the record. Moreno does some of the best singing I have heard him do. What I like best about it is the mood it generates. Like True Widow's record it's a great headphone album. Chilling in the dark connecting with the music. Music is all about connection; good music at least. Something you can latch onto. It's lovely, if something classified as metal can use that descriptor. I think it can. Metal doesn't need to always be "Reign In Blood" (though that doesn't hurt!) and huge riffs. Metal can also be stirring, relaxing, something to soothe after the long day. A record that you can unwind to. Palms accomplish that perfectly.

One knock on it, it's a double record, two of the sides having only 1 song, granted they are both nearly 10 minutes long. With vinyl making a resurgence I'd like to see bands start to reign themselves in and get the material to fit a single record. That can be tough because the music is the music and how it comes out is what it is. But I am lazy and don't want to get up to flip and change records every 10 minutes. Rough life, right? Buy the CD and quit complaining! HA!

Here's "Future Warrior:"

Then there is Savannah's Black Tusk. Where as True Widow has an elegant kind of stoner metal and Palms soars like a dream, Black Tusk's latest EP Tend No Wounds hits like a hammer. They are more like fellow Georgians Mastodon than Kylesa (though this record is produced by that band's Phillip Cope). I like good sludge metal; music that's heavy like mud in the bottom register. This EP is heavy and it rocks with the tuned down guitars and has the requisite scary album cover. But then again they use a string section for the great "The Weak and the Wise." I like a metal band that's not afraid to do something like that; it's a nice touch. Vocally it has the usual shouting business but that's fine; even the growly parts which I usually don't like are done singing and not grunting; the singing overall is great and suits the music well. The first time I played the vinyl I played it at 33rpm instead of 45rpm. It took me two minutes to realize it was the wrong speed, though. HA!

Here's "Enemy Of Reason."

All this writing about metal bands lately. I have to admit that's where my taste has been taking me lately. I plan on tuning down one of my guitars and cranking up the distortion to see the heavy kind of tone I can get. Maybe an EP of sludge metal, sounding absolutely nothing like what we do now, is on the way. It's good to keep ones horizons wide! I promise that the next post will be something mellower.

Metal Show Musings...Part 2

So after a rocking trip to the Rock n Roll Hotel Saturday night, I was back at it Wednesday, this time to see Kylesa supported by Blood Ceremony, White Hills and Lazur/Wulf.

Quick thing about the RnR Hotel: every show I have been to there (which is now four) I have been less than impressed with the sound. All the shows have been on the loud side, but the vocals are always way down in the mix. So while I like the location, the beer list, the rooftop bar, and the general sight lines making it a great place to SEE a show it's not a great place to HEAR the show. Let me know if you think otherwise. I first thought it was just where I was: for Lazer/Wulf and White Hills I stayed to the stage right side. Especially for White Hills, where I was in front of the bass, I could barely hear the guitar. When I moved center stage right in front for Blood Ceremony and Kylesa it was still fairly muddy. Maybe that's just how the bands are but it just doesn't sound right to me.

Lightning not too good but that's Lazur/Wulf in there

Ah well, what about the bands, man!! First up was Lazur/Wulf. I admit I was late for these guys so I only caught their last two songs. I listened to their latest record The Void That Isn't on Spotify and thought it was pretty cool. They are a three-piece and they are in the experimental zone of the metal spectrum. Their show was also pretty cool. Mainly instrumentals with occasional vocals. I liked them OK but wasn't broken up about missing most of their set.

White Hills...SMOKE!

Next up was White Hills. They are a spacey kind of metal thing. I listened to their 2012 record Frying On The Rock and was not terribly impressed. It had a lot of weird stuff going on, a lot of stuff that sounded like filler. When they took the stage though I was pleasantly surprised. First, the bass player is a good-looking blonde. Every band should have a good looking blonde bass player. Including mine. And they had a smoke machine, which I loved and want my band to get. The music was MUCH better live than the one record I heard. They only did four songs so they were on the longish side but they got into some seriously good grooves. I was moving along with it and enjoyed it immensely. I should have bought the live vinyl they had available because I listened to it today on Spotify and liked it a lot. They are coming back in August with The Cult, so a trip to Silver Spring may be in my future.

The next band, Blood Ceremony, I was VERY excited to see. I listened to their new record, The Eldritch Dark, and just fell in love with it. It's out on CD but I want the vinyl, but it's still just pre-orders till later this month. Nor did they have any at the show to buy. Curses!! I did get their t-shirt, buying it directly from a guy who I later observed was the bassist. That would explain why he seemed very pleased to sell me their t-shirt. NICE! They are from Canada and sound like Black Sabbath doing Jethro Tull. But with a super-hot-kind-of-witchy woman singing, playing keyboards that sound like an organ, and playing the flute (hence the obligatory Tull reference).  Their songs are just awesome, a great mix of mellow meets heavy. They sing about witches and sorcery and summoning devils and imps but it's all in good fun. Their set seemed to fly by but I recognized much of the stuff from the new record. Once the vinyl shows up I'll go deeper into the music, just trust me they were outstanding and I will see them again if I can. Sweet!

Blood Ceremony...more bad lighting

Finally, the headline, Georgia's Kylesa. I've already covered how I love their new record Ultraviolet. The show did not disappoint. Heavy and head banging mixed with groove oriented swagger. They have two drummers, which is a bit much to me but hey whatever, bass (duh) a guy guitarist and a girl guitarist who reminds me of a friend of mine but with significantly more tattoos (see the extra pictures below).

Kylesa...they brought it!

A few observations. They have a shit load of pedals. As you can see, guy-guitarist (Phil I think it is) has not just a keyboard in front of him but some sort of weird theremin as well as a skateboard rigged into a stringed instrument which with an assortment of effects pedals he made all kinds of batshitcrazy sounds. Girl-guitarist (Laura I think it is) had even more pedals and did the leads. I liked her light green Chucks...I liked her playing better. Real good guitarist, not flashy or showoff-y but right in the vibe of the music. You don't have to shred all the time in metal (which they can certainly do) to kill it. For me, it's all about groove. And in the fast numbers I banged my head harder than I have in years...probably not since I saw Iron Maiden the first time in 1990...wow that's a long time ago. Laura is the better singer between her and Phil; she sings while Phil just sort of yells. That's fine it works I like it. Also, the bass player does not have two heads, as the picture above suggests; I had to use panorama-mode because I was right the frak in front and the nerve of that guy moving around during my picture taking.

So...killer show, all four acts were great but especially BC and Kylesa. Two t-shirts procured (guess who) but no vinyl (doh!). Very pleased and worth my still ringing ears!

Here's some more pictures since I was nice and close.

White Hills dude

White Hills lady...see what I mean?

Blood Ceremony guitarist with a SWEET looking Yamaha

Dude I bought the BC shirt from

Witchy woman

Alia something or other from Blood Ceremony

Kylesa Phil's effects

Kylesa Laura's pedals

Kylesa bass dude

Kylesa groove

Laura and tats and sweet Les Paul

Crazy sound time!

Set list