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!

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 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 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: