by Andrew Wilhelm (TX)
The only way I can introduce New York death metal legends Immolation is through a divisive, crass question: If you don't listen to them, why are you reading this blog? Respect their contributions to metal, but more than that, respect their dedication. Like Morbid Angel, their approach to death metal is labyrinth-like, but with their ties to New York, they know where to throw down a mosh part. Hard to believe some bands actually don't peter out after playing for 22 years. Years after Dawn of Possession and Failures for Gods, Ross Dolan still commands as a frontman and Bob Vigna hasn't slowed down with his riffs or the jerky body movements he plays those riffs in. You want to talk about getting owned hard? Open for Immolation - there's no way you can follow them.
I spoke with Dolan on their sweet new record, Majesty and Decay, playing live, and kids these days.
Crustcake: I heard that something went down with Rose Funeral at the Oklahoma City stop on the Nile/Krisuin tour, where they had to kick out a couple attendees. Did that really happen, or is it just another internet rumor?
Ross Dolan, bass and vocals: Something definitely happened. I didn't really know what happened, I was just back at the merch table. Yeah, there were a couple guys, there was a fight that started between the Rose Funeral guys and a couple other people, and a couple people got kicked out. But I really don't know specifics, I was out of the loop.
Crustcake: Have you guys ever had to deal with any annoying hecklers?
Dolan: Eh, not really, every once in a while. You know, we had a couple of idiots on the Cradle of Filth tour, when we supported then in Europe. Just a couple of fuckin' douchebags, who, you know once you confront them, they have nothing to say. If you're going to go to a show, support the bands. If you don't like any of the bands, don't go to the fuckin' show. It makes no sense to me. We've been pretty lucky over the years, we don't really get any of that kind of stuff where it comes down to fights or anything like that. We get an idiot or two every once in a while who screams something out or does something stupid, but that's few and far between. In 22 years, that's maybe happened twice.
Crustcake: I've seen you guys about three times now, and while y'all aren't always the headliners, I think you guys have blown the headliners away, that's just my opinion though -
Dolan: Thanks.
Crustcake: Anyway, y'all definitely put a lot into your live show. Why is playing live important to you?
Dolan: Live is the only thing that is important. That's where it counts. The records are important, because that gets your name out there and that's how people you. But, it's when they come out to experience the live show and that's when it counts. That's the only time it counts because that's when your fuckin' on that stage and you're doing it live. If you fuck up or sound like ass, people are gonna leave that show saying, "man, those guys suck." That's your time to make it count. The hour we're up on stage, that's the only time we want to make it count. We go up there and try to feel the vibe coming off the crowd, even if the vibe is a little lackluster, we go for it. We create our own vibe. You've always got to give it 110%, as far as I'm concerned, when you're playing live. When kids leave the show, and they say, "wow, these guys fuckin' crushed," that's what I want to hear. That's what it's about. That's your job - that's why you're there.
"No Jesus, No Beast"
Crustcake: Is there more pressure to put on a good show because people don't buy records as much anymore?
Dolan: To be honest with you dude, record sales have never meant anything to us. We were always one of those bands, an underground band, we never sold more than a certain amount of records and we never saw certainly any money off the record sales. That's an industry thing, that's something that never affected us. For us, it was all about the live show since day one. It was all about going out there, performing live in front of the people who support you. It was about impressing them enough so that they would come and buy a shirt or buy a cd or come out to the next show. That's where it matters. The fact that the industry is hurting has no bearing one way or another on our performance live. Our performance live has always been something we took seriously from the very beginning and we still do. And there was never pressure for us to out-perform or over-perform because of sales in the industry being down. That has no bearing on anything we do, to be honest with you.
Crustcake: Are there any differences in playing live since you guys started?
Dolan: When we started doing this in 1988, there wasn't a huge death metal scene, the death metal scene hadn't exploded yet. It was still very underground and still very slow, I guess. It was kinda like, you know, you pretty wrote to pretty much all the bands that were out there at the time, whether it would be Nihilist or Morbid Angel or whoever it was at the time we were in touch with. We wrote to them, there was no e-mail, none of that bullshit, it was more of an initimate kind of vibe. Even shows back then, you would know everybody at shows, anyone who came out to an underground show back then was really die-hard and really into the music. You fast-forward 22 years to now, and you have the internet and a million bands, and you have so much exposure, and you have so many choices. It's kind of hard to reach a lot of kids, even though you have the Internet, it's still kinda hard because there's so many choices out there for them.
Crustcake: Going on that tangent a little further, social networking sites like Myspace, Facebook and all that say that they bring people closer together, but they can also make people further apart. What's your impression of this?
Dolan: It's an easy way to keep in touch with people. We have a lot of friends in Europe and it's not feasible to fuckin' call people all the time on the telephone. I would say in those circumstances, it's a key, it keeps you in touch. And it's a really cool way for an underground band like us to promote further than what the labels do, and what you're able to do just by touring. But for the younger kids, I'm gonna put a spin on it this way: for younger kids, I don't think it's a great thing. Kids today, they come home, they've got their computer, they got their video games, there's no interaction with other kids, they're not outside running around and laying and hanging out with other kids. They're just so involved with their computer and texting and emailing. It's kind of weird, it's something we didn't have back when I was growing up. We were all about not being in the house, about going out, playing sports, riding your bike, about connecting with other people and making friends. It wasn't about sitting at home on the computer. It's a double-edged sword to me.
Crustcake: Something else about the internet is that it tends to make people more anonymous. They're more likely to talk shit than if they had to go up to that person face-to-face-
Dolan: Dude, you're absolutely right. I read Blabbermouth, and I read a lot of this stuff. It just kills me the thing people will say. Everybody's a critic, everybody can do it better than everybody. It's very easy to comment and say some douchy shit, when you're an anonymous fuckin' icon. There's no fuckin' balls with that. But to actually come up and say "Listen, I don't like this" and to give a reason why, to articulate a point, that's a whole different that people today don't get.
Crustcake: I wonder what my generation's going to be like 20-30 years from now not knowing much about direct confrontation...
Dolan: It's definitely gonna be different. At least we had to chance and interact and if you had differences you learned to settle your differences, maybe without throwing down, but at least face-to-face, you learn how to come to some medium ground where you can all be happy. When you don't deal with people face-to-face, and it's all done electronically through [the] Internet, it's very hard. How do you develop those social skills to interact with other people? The younger generation's gonna have to sort that out.
"Furthest From the Truth"
Crustcake: Going into the new record [Majesty and Decay], it sounds more like Immolation's older material. What direction were you going for with this record?
Dolan: We really don't sit down and consciously decide "Let's try this" or "Let's go in this direction" or "Let's do this." We really don't. Each we start the writing process, it's a clean slate, a completely new entity. We have no intentions other than to write something we are happy with, something that we can leave the recording studio "Ok, we're happy with this, we're proud of this, and this is something we don't mind putting our name on. Something we don't mind out fans hearing." You know what i mean?
Crustcake: Yeah. It does sound a little less straightforward than the last couple records.
Dolan: Yeah, it definitely has some of the traditional twists and turns of the early Immolation stuff. But I'd say it has a lot of straightforward stuff on there as well, a lot of heavier, a lot catchy stuff - but in a good way, not in a happy way. We always keep that in mind. We never try to stray too far from the path we've started along back in '88. So we try to keep that in mind and write stuff, like I said, first and foremost, that we're happy with. I think we're happy with it, I'm pretty sure that our fans will be happy with it too. That's the way we've gone about for the last 22 years and it seems to work.
Crustcake: The lyrical direction continues in the path from the last couple records where it's not so much about religion as it is about other topics. What influenced the lyrical direction on this record?
Dolan: A lot. I'm a big reader, we all read a lot. I drew a lot of inspiration's for this record from books I've read in the last year or two. I've read a lot of stuff on World War II, we've all kind of been fascinated with that. We read a little bit here and there when we can, we try to find stuff that's interesting to us. A lot of inspiration just comes from life, everyday life, things you see going on in the world around you, whether it's what's going on in the Middle East right or what's going on in our own country. We try to keep the political stuff very subtle because we never were a political band. There's been a lot of politics on the last couple records, it's just written in a way that it's very subtle. And there's a lot of social stuff, commenting on social issues. And there's a lot of personal stuff on the last record. We definitely have stayed a little bit from the religious thing only because, let's face it, the first five or six albums were exclusively about religion to one point, in one aspect or another. You can only say so much about particular topics before it gets very redundant. We're finding new ways to say different things. There's a couple songs on the new record like "Power..." "Divine Code" and "Comfort to Cowards," which are three songs that are about religion. The other stuff touches on war, touches on social things. "The Purge," for example, is a kind of like a continuation of what we started on "World Agony." But they're all very angry songs, and they're very relevant to what's going on in the world today.
Crustcake: "The Purge" is something I was gonna ask you about. You make reference to "the cancer is growing" and "human scourge." What exactly are you referring to?
Dolan: Us. People. Humanity. We're all to blame. It's just a look at how far we've come and how far we haven't come. Technology has brought us so far, but because of our general greed and ignorance and selfishness and lack of respect for our fellow man or where we live. We consume all our natural resources. Like I said, it's a continuation of "World Agony" in a sense, a more extreme take on it. We're all to blame, I'm not pointing any figures. We're all part of the problem. It's like an overview, standing back and looking at all the shit we've done and created, whether it be through war or corporations or whatever.
Crustcake: Going back to what you said earlier, I do notice a lot of extreme bands aren't direct in social commentary. Why do you think that might be?
Dolan: I don't know. I like to be more straightforward, to an extent. When we write stuff, we have very specific ideas and topics in mind. I try not to be as specific when writing them, however, because I like people to take something out of it of their own. You can have five people read the lyrics of one song and everybody's gonna get something different out of it. I like to leave it open enough where people can read it and say "Oh I kinda get it, this means this to me." I was the same way. I was a big lyric guy growing up, in the 80s and 90s, when I used to buy CDs it was the first thing I did - always read the lyrics. I'd always think "Woah, this is about this. This means this to me." That's what we kinda try to do. Make our point, but in a such a way people can take something else out of it if they want. I think moreso on the new record song are very specific, if you're intelligent enough to read into them you can basically tell what they're about. They're written in such a way you can get something else out of them, I think.
"The Rapture of Ghosts"
Crustcake: Why do you think Immolation has been able to go on for as long as y'all have?
Dolan: We enjoy what we're doing. If we didn't enjoy it, we wouldn't be doing it. Believe me, we don't make a living off of this, this isn't a job for us. This is strictly something we enjoy doing, it's a passion for us. We all work, we all have full-time jobs. We do the work thing and the family thing, but this is something we are all on the same page with, it's something that has been a driving force in our lives. It's something I can't imagine my life without. I think the fact that we enjoy doing it, and we don't look at it as a job, we look at it as something we're more passionate about that has allowed us to at least exist and be relevant for this many years.
November 30, 2010
CRUSTCAKE INTERVIEWS: IMMOLATION
GET THE PLANNING FOR BURIAL/LONESUMMER SPLIT NOW!
by Andrew Wilhelm (TX)
Not too long ago, we copped you to Music Ruins Lives, the label run by Thom of the mysterious Planning for Burial. We also mentioned that they were soon to release a split with black noiseniks Lonesummer. Now, we're here to remind you that the split in question is indeed awesome, and you should get it soon. Only 100 were made, and they're running out.
Scarcity not convinced you yet? Read below.
On Planning for Burial's side, they retain many of the elements of their debut, but at the same time, it's a different beast. "Sleeping in Separate Rooms" begins with a ambient drawl, but the song slowly lays its foundation in cascading waves of distorted guitar. It's as if the drone from "Leaving" coming back into the atmosphere and starts burning towards Earth. "Rooms" could be Jesu played in Sunn O)))'s robes, given that Planning for Burial shrouds itself in intrigue. In fact, the work of Broadrick hovers over this recording quite a bit. The following track, "If I Knew What to Say," recalls some of Jesu's poppier leanings. "Boring Domesticated Life," the final and standout song, recalls Godflesh in guitar tone, but Final in drifting structure. Thom's vocals are always in the back, further lending to the mystique of the record and the band itself. Like Nadja's best works, it's the sound you want to hear if you really are on your way to "heaven," "paradise," or "nirvana," whatever it may be. Still "post-life" music, and I dig it.
Lonesummer have a more top-to-bottom sound - barely-black metal noise. The first three tracks are just a massive wall of noise. "I Wish I Could Delete Last Night" is what you might say to yourself after those embarrasing photos from last night's frat party show up on Facebook, but in the hands of Lonesummer, it's a feedback howl for help. Cackles and drops pollute and discolor the record - did Bone Awl send in a bum tape? The last track, "Your Eyes Always Shake Me," throws you in for a loop. It's humming that could be sonorous, but the recording is much too rough to soothe.
The only thing in common with both of theses groups is that they're not commercial. Planning For Burial is something you can listen to ease into (eternal) rest, while Lonesummer is if for you never want to sleep for the rest of your life. The split is highly recommended.
What are you waiting for? Don't let this sell out!
November 29, 2010
ULVER RELEASE NAME OF NEW ALBUM
Word's going around the Innertubes that legendary Norwegian experimentalists Ulver have a new album coming out next year. Its name? Critical Geography. So far that's all we know, but as always, we'll keep you posted.
BATILLUS: 'THE DIVISION' LIVE - FEATURING KAT KATZ OF SALOME, AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED
Unartig has posted a video of Batillus performing "The Division" this past Saturday night (November 27th). Joining the band for the song is Kat Katz of Salome and Agoraphobic Nosebleed. Her presence adds welcome energy to the song, and the audio quality is good enough to hear that energy come through!
Read more for the video, and check out Batillus' Bandcamp page to stream "The Division." (From their 12" split with Hallowed Butchery)
November 25, 2010
HAPPY HOLIDAZE: THANKSGIVING
Drunken fights between distant relations notwithstanding, Thanksgiving may be the most un-brutal holiday of the year. Unlike Christmas ("No Presents for Christmas") or Valentine's Day ("No Love Lost"), it's the one holiday that seems be passed over by metal and hardcore bands every year. Thus, we bring you "Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, 1986," a spoken word piece by one of the most fucked up, hardcore writers of the modern era, Mr. Beat Junkie himself, William S. Burroughs. It's the best we got -- hell, Burroughs is the man who coined the term "heavy metal." So what's your favorite Thanksgiving metal song? Tell us in the comments below, and pass us the Black Metal Berry Pie, please.
November 24, 2010
CRUSTY CLIP OF THE WEEK: IMMOLATION - 'UNHOLY CULT'
Every single Wednesday without fail, your hosts post a suitably stale video clip that we think needs to be revisited. Click here for more Crusty Clips. Got a clip you think we should post? Send it to crustcake@gmail.com.
by theseseans (NYC)
Whenever assembling a year-end list, you have to look back on the year and try to gobble up all the records you missed and hope that you can make an informed decision about them quickly. This year, Immolation's Majesty & Decay is a record that jumped out of the pile and has stuck with me for the last month. After the jump, check out some older material, "Unholy Cult," from the album of the same name. The quality of this clip is great (taken from the 2003 DVD Bringing Down The World), so watch out for those Bob Vigna body contortions!
KRIEG TO REISSUE PATRICK BATEMAN EP
When it comes to literary influences, most bands stick to H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and increasingly, Moby Dick. Patrick Bateman, the narrator and protagonist of Bret Easton Ellis' controversial novel American Psycho, has a black enough heart that he should grace many metal records. So far, the only metal album in his honor is Krieg's Patrick Bateman. This EP, originally released in 2004, features N. Imperial's most freeform, noisy, and all-out chaotic interpretation of black metal sandwiched in between samples from the film version of American Psycho. Imperial has always dwelt on hate throughout his recording career, as Krieg and otherwise, but for this 15 minutes, he was in the red in all senses. Intrigued? Inferna Profundus Records will be reissuing Bateman early next year.
Why did Imperial focus the album on such a character? Bateman is a model sociopath. He's an eligible bachelor for sure -- he's handsome, rich, has an MBA from Harvard, and regularly dines at restaurants most people can only afford to go to for anniversaries. He has a luxury apartment on the Upper West Side, where Tom Cruise is his neighbor. For music, he rocks out to Huey Lewis and the News and gets smooth to Phil Collins. Underneath all that suave is a murderous psychopath. Bateman will stab women while he's making love/raping them, and if a victim tries to get away, he'll come after her, naked, with a chainsaw (and if you've read the novel and not just seen the movie, this is by far not the most brutal of his killings). Hell, he doesn't always kill women -- he'll take out a co-worker for simply having a nicer business card.
In addition to the five tracks on the initial version, the reissue will feature a new track, "VI," that will be in the same spirit as the original recordings. A sample of "VI" is available at Inferna Profundus' Myspace. The layout will be updated, and Imperial will provide new liner notes. It will be limited to 500 copies, 100 of which will come in a digipack. Ellis also had a new book come out this year: Imperial Bedrooms, the sequel to his debut Less than Zero. So whether or not this is coincidental, you should pick up this release. Don't just stare at the album art below, eat it! That goes for the tracklisting too.
I
II
III
IV
V
VI (bonus track)
November 23, 2010
CROWBAR TOUR, REVEAL TITLE, RELEASE DATE OF NEW ALBUM
If you look up "riff" in the dictionary, Kirk Windstein's bearded mug is bound to be on the page. Good news, then, for all who worship the riff. After a five-year break, sludge heavyweights Crowbar are about to embark on a tour of the US and UK, with Black Tusk in tow. Better yet, they just announced the title of their upcoming album, Sever The Wicked Hand. It's due out Feb. 8 on E1 Music. With Eyehategod and Buzzov*en back on the scene as well, it looks like sludge is making a nice comeback. Is Dax Riggs paying attention?
Full dates and video below:
Crowbar w/ Black TuskNov. 27 - Savannah, GA @ The Jinx
You can view a video of the band's live performance at House of Blues in New Orleans - including two new songs - at Tyronehood.tv. Or watch the video below for live footage of the band playing a new song at Emo's in Austin on October 18th:
Nov. 28 - Jacksonville, FL @ The Pit
Nov. 29 - Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn
Nov. 30 - Raleigh, NC @ Volume 11
Dec. 01 - Charleston, SC @ Jimbo's Rock Lounge
Dec. 02 - Charlotte, NC @ Tremont Music Hall
Dec. 03 - VA Beach @ Hangar 09
Dec. 04 - Trenton, NJ @ Championship Bar & Grill
Dec. 05 - New York, NY @ Santo's Party House
Dec. 06 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary Coast
Dec. 07 - Providence, RI @ Club Hell
Dec. 08 - Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
Dec. 09 - Niagara Falls, NY @ Evening Star Music Hall
Dec. 10 - Columbus, OH @ Alrosa Vista
Dec. 11 - Chicago, IL @ Reggie's Rock Club
Dec. 12 - St Louis, MO @ Fubar
Dec. 13 - Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone
Dec. 14 - Little Rock @ The Village
Dec. 15 - Tulsa, OK @ The Marquee
Dec. 16 - Amarillo, TX @ El Cien
Dec. 17 - Dallas, TX @ Trees
United Kingdom
Jan. 13 - Colchester, UK at Colchester Arts Centre
Jan. 14 - Oxford, UK at O2 Academy 2
Jan. 15 - Bristol, UK at O2 Academy 2
Jan. 16 - Leeds, UK at Cockpit
Jan. 17 - Newcastle, UK at O2 Academy 2
Jan. 18 - Glasgow, UK at King Tuts
Jan. 19 - Manchester, UK at Academy 3
Jan. 20 - London, UK at Underworld
Jan. 21 - Birmingham, UK at O2 Academy 2
TRAGEDY CONFIRMED TO PLAY AT MARYLAND DEATHFEST IX
Unlike Andy, I don't think Maryland Deathfest IX has been wanked over enough. Indeed, when I heard the announcement that the festival added one more band to its already mind-blowing lineup -- Portland's apocalyptic D-beat crust kings Tragedy -- I knew one last wank was in order. If you know their story, good, you're ahead of the game. If not, make the jump for a primer on the U.S.' finest contribution to D-beat, full MDF IX lineup and a special "Tragic" surprise.
Born from the ashes of the legendary crust-sludge group His Hero is Gone, and sharing ties with an eye-popping list of other bands, including Severed Head of State, From Ashes Rise, Warcry and Deathreat, the Portland four-piece has released three influential full-lengths and a smattering of seven-inches and EPs, all without the help of a major label. They have no web presence, they give few interviews and provide little information other than their names and song titles. Yet the band is widely considered to be among the top tier of D-beat crust punks, garnering heaps of critical acclaim and legions of fans worldwide. Sadly, news about Tragedy is hard to come by, so we take what we can get and get excited over what there is. Basically, my point is this: Do. Not. Miss. This. Band.
Maryland Deathfest 2011 Running Order:
Thursday, May 26 (Main room only)
CATHEDRAL
TRAGEDY
BUZZOV*EN
EXTORTION
LACK OF INTEREST
FLESH PARADE
MIASMAL
WITCHAVEN
NOISEAR
SHITSTORM
Friday, May 27
NEUROSIS
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY
EXHUMED
AURA NOIR
MARDUK
GOATSNAKE
KYLESA
MACHETAZO
FUNEBRARUM
NOCTURNAL
HATRED SURGE
NAILS
PULLING TEETH
Saturday, May 28
VOIVOD
EXHORDER
DOOM
IMPALED NAZARENE
DESTROYER 666
HAIL OF BULLETS
INQUISITION
HOODED MENACE
DROPDEAD
CIANIDE
ACID WITCH
AVULSED
BLOOD FREAK
DEVOURMENT
THE KILL
CRETIN
DEFEATED SANITY
MAMMOTH GRINDER
CREATIVE WASTE
INNUMERABLE FORMS
MASAKARI
Sunday, May 29
CORONER
NUCLEAR ASSAULT
DEATH BREATH
LOCK UP
ORANGE GOBLIN
REPUGNANT
CITIZENS ARREST
DEAD CONGREGATION
REGURGITATE
LAST DAYS OF HUMANITY
WORMED
CRIPPLE BASTARDS
MALIGNANT TUMOUR
NOKTURNEL
GRAVEHILL
NIGHTBRINGER
BAD ACID TRIP
OAK
VISCERAL DISGORGE
Finally, YouTube user xFuckThatx did the world a favor and uploaded 12 minutes of drool-worthy video of Tragedy playing what looks like a community center rec room, but what is actually a crummy neighborhood pub. There's no date given, but just to put this performance in perspective, the video shows MDF's penultimate Thursday night headliner playing in an empty to room with bare walls. What is wrong with people!?
November 22, 2010
TAKE US TO ROADBURN, PLZ? KTHX
More festival news to make you jealous! This time it's about Roadburn, which we've salivated over like most men do over Christina Hendricks. If you thought they couldn't rival last year...well, they did. Trust us.
Godflesh are playing Streetcleaner in its entirety. Swans are headlining one night. Candlemass will perform their classic debut Epicus Doomicus Metallicus as a whole, featuring original vocalist Johan Längquist. Buzzov*en will bring their reunited lineup to Europe. This is all mind-blowingly amazing, but take a breather before you read the next paragraph.
Like Neurosis and Tom G. Warrior before them, drone duo Sunn O))) will curate their own stage this year. Who did Greg and Stephen get to play for them? Oh, nobody major, just reunited doom/death lords Winter, the originators of drone Earth, Italian metal-fueled hardcore group The Secret, and our favorite Finnish doomsters, Hooded Menace, just to name a few.
Seriously, look at this line-up. Are there laws in the US that ban festivals this crushing?
Thursday, April 14th (Lineup Complete)
Godflesh
(performing Streetcleaner in its entirety, and in track order, including the Tiny Tears EP)
Pentagram
Wovenhand
Buzzov*en
Soilent Green
Alcest
Wardruna
Acid King
Circle
Blood Ceremony
The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble
Count Raven
Ghost
Today is the Day
Year of no Light
Winterfylleth
The Atomic Bitchwax
In Solitude
Zoroaster
Naam
Quest For Fire
Carlton Melton
Cough
Friday, April 15th – Sunn O)))’s Curated Event at the 013 venue
Sunn O)))
Winter
Earth
Scorn
Beaver
Hooded Menace
Menace Ruine
Aluk Todolo
The Secret
Void Ov Voices
Friday, April 15th – Roadburn Festival – Midi Theatre
Voivod
Incredible Hog
Pharaoh Overlord
Place of Skulls
Year of no Light (live soundtrack to CT Dreyer’s horror masterpiece Vampyr)
Saturday, April 16th (line up complete)
Swans
Candlemass (celebrating 25 years of doom, including “Epicus Doomicus Metallicus” in its entirety; featuring original vocalist Johan Längquist)
Shrinebuilder
Voivod
Weedeater
Yob (performing The Unreal Never Lived in its entirety)
Circle
Dragontears
Rwake
Master Musicians of Bukkake
The Gates of Slumber
Ramesses
Evoken
Yakuza
White Hills
Black Math Horseman
Liturgy
Lonely Kamel
Wolf People
Stone Axe
Ludicra
Imaad Wasif
Sunday, April 17th – Roadburn Afterburner – 013 Venue
Black Mountain
Dead meadow
Blood Farmers
Black Pyramid
Dragontears
Gomer Pyle
AUTOPSY TO PLAY CHAOS IN TEJAS 2011
Chaos in Tejas and Maryland Death Fest have something strange going on. The former started out a punk fest that has gotten more metal. The latter started off as a death metal destination, but has more crust and hardcore than ever. Whatever it is, it's working -- both fests keep getting bigger.
There's already been enough wanking about MDF though, so let's get to the real news: AUTOPSY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED FOR CHAOS IN TEJAS! The death metal legends will grace the festival scheduled for June 2-5 in Austin, Texas.
Full lineup below.
Chaos' line up also include cult Mexican black metallers Xibalba, death metal act Innumerable Forms, Australian hardcore band Extortion, Ceremony, and the legendary UK crust act Doom. No set times have been confirmed yet, but since Autopsy don't plan on many shows, you better see them by any means necessary. Book your plane flights to Austin now, cause what's better than top-shelf death metal, bottom-shelf tequila, and post-show street dogs?
CHAOS IN TEJAS 2011 Lineup (so far):
Autopsy
Bone Sickness
Ceremony
Crazy Spirit
D-Clone (Japan, U.S. exclusive)
Doom (UK)
Extortion (Australia)
Innumerable Forms
Isterismo (Japan, U.S. exclusive)
Miasmal (Sweden)
Origin of [m] (Japan)
Perdition
Reigning Sound
The Slowmotions (Japan, U.S. exclusive)
Unbroken
Vile Gash
Xibalba (Mexico)
November 19, 2010
EARTH TO UNLEASH ANGELS OF DARKNESS, DEMONS OF LIGHT 1 IN FEBRUARY
Above is the album art for Earth's forthcoming record, Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1, that Fact Magazine says is set for release Feb. 7 via Southern Lord. New Earth? Color us excited. [Ed. Note: Make that very excited!]
It'll be their first album since 2008's The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull, though they did just put out a killer comp that brings together Extra-Capsular Extraction and Sunn Amps and Smashed Guitars Live. Cellist Lori Goldston (Nirvana, David Byrne) and bassist Karl Blau will join Earth on this record, which will apparently draw from British folk-rock instead of desolate Western deserts or Southern gospel. No complaining from us - Earth can do no wrong.
Click below for tracklisting.
1. Old Black
2. Father Midnight
3. Descent To The Zenith
4. Hell’s Winter
5. Angels of Darknes, Demons of Light I
CRUSTCAKE REVIEWS: SLAUGHTER STRIKE - AT LIFE'S END
by theseseans (NYC)
Slaughter Strike's first real release following a CS/digital demo, At Life's End, is such an easy listen (for death metal) that it's a wonder why it was such a slow grower for me. Slaughter Strike features the rhythm section of the now-defunct powerviolence brigade The Endless Blockade, but their sound is straight death metal. At Life's End's songs have familiar structures, room to breathe and riffs that are ripe for headbanging.
As an opener, "Frozen Scream" initially turned me off. I thought its main riff was too melodic, too easily digestible. After repeated listens, its undeniable rhythms brought me over and I have accepted the bouncing riff's glory. This song also brings about a welcome nod to fun. While The Endless Blockade were a deadly serious band, there is no way David Kristiansen's pre-guitar solo bellow,"Put their souls on fucking ice!" could have come about in any way other than beers, adrenaline and laughter. The line -- and delivery -- demands to be heard to be appreciated. That's not to say that Slaughter Strike are devoid of substance. "Sin Eater" deals with the act of sin eating, which, as described by Andrew Nolan (bass), is a practice where "Sin Eaters broke bread and drank in the presence of the recently deceased in order to consume their sins and give them safe travel in the after life." The song itself is a slow-building (acoustic guitars and all), down-tempo festival of misery. When Kristiansen delivers the song's pinnacle line, "Waiting to consume your filth," you believe it.
The other three songs deliver their goods without embellishment. "When the Unspeakable..." benefits greatly from drummer Eric King's blastbeating abilities; the song is a great example of how grindcore's intensity is applicable throughout many different genres. "Carnal Promises" is irresistibly headbangable right off the bat, but then slows down and begins to foreshadow the creeping fright that "Sin Eater" delivers as the following track. Ending the EP is "Just Before Dawn," whose fast pace highlights Kristiansen's vocal delivery. His voice is powerful and strangely articulate for death metal, but in "Dawn," the delivery of his vocals matches the speed of the song and all else is superfluous. Slaughter Strike end together complete, as a unit.
The visual side of this EP is at once important, and at the same time dismissive. Its simplicity could lead one to overlook the importance of the images, but there is wealth here for those who are willing to look. The actual art for this release corresponds to the idea of sin eating, with a cover that gets more disturbing the longer you soak it in. The inside layout is no frills: straight black and white.
Audio: 8 / 10
Visual: 6.5 / 10
Front Cover
Back Cover
Insert
Insert
Vinyl*
Vinyl*
[Buy]: Slaughter Strike - At Life's End
*These records are incredibly reflective and were very difficult to photograph. The vinyl itself is transparent purple with an almost "tan" swirl-in. These really dark (yet still glaring with my reflection) photos were the best I could get. I spent more time on this than I would like to admit. Although I am far removed from a professional photographer I do try my best to get decent pictures up.
HEARTLESS, FEATURING MEMBERS OF MASAKARI, UPLOAD 7" FOR FREE AND TOUR
Masakari's The Prophet Feeds is one of our favorite records released this year. In less than 30 minutes, it's the right blend of His Hero is Gone, Japanese D-Beat, and serious political angst. While the band says they won't be touring again until next year, Pittsburgh hardcore band Heartless, which features guitarist Joe Yanick and bassist Adam Thomas of Masakari, will be going out on tour next month. And if you haven't heard them before, they have put up their 2009 7" EP for free download here. A little bit less crusty than Masakari, but no less awesome. It will definitely tide you over until the next Masakari release.
Full dates below. Mid-to-late December is usually slow for shows, so don't waste yout time at the mall!
Heartless December 2010 Tour9 Dec 2010 The Tower Cleveland, OH
10 Dec 2010 Waterworks Chicago, IL
11 Dec 2010 The Dojo Indianapolis, IN
12 Dec 2010 Lemp Arts Center St. Louis, MO
13 Dec 2010 Up In Flames Webb City, MO
14 Dec 2010 1919 Hemphill Fort Worth, TX
15 Dec 2010 Trailer Space Records Austin, TX
16 Dec 2010 Vinyl Junkie Houston, TX
17 Dec 2010 Dalzell House Shreveport, LA
18 Dec 2010 ACAC Little Rock, AR
19 Dec 2010 The Carter Jackson, MS
20 Dec 2010 Magic City Wholesale Birmingham, AL
21 Dec 2010 Little Hamilton Collective Nashville, TN
22 Dec 2010 Black Feather Cafe Berea, KY
23 Dec 2010 Rt. 47 Community Building Parkersburg, WV
ABSU'S PROSCRIPTOR REVEALS DETAILS OF UPCOMING ALBUM, ABZU
Hot off the heels of announcing a run opening for legendary blizzard beasts Immortal, the true Sons of Texan Darkness Absu's vocalist/drummer/visionary Proscriptor has revealed even more news: after the six-date tour, the occult mythological black metallurgists will enter the studio to begin recording their new album, Abzu, the second in a three-part series.
Make the jump for a typically verbose missive from Proscriptor, Abzu tracklisting and tour dates (in case you've already forgotten.)
"This recording will feature our signature sound in maniacal fashion," Proscriptor said. "Now, we're appending dirtier elements of psychedelia and fusion characteristics. Lyrically, it will descend deeper into Enki’s lower world as well the Enochian Magic(k) System. I can tell you this album will definitely not be a 'natural progression' from previous releases, but a feat of metaphysical conquest and murkiness."
No album art yet, but the projected track listing of Abzu has been announced as (in no particular order): "Circles Of The Oath," "A Song For Ea," "Skrying In The Spirit Vision," "The Waters – The Denizens," "Warren Of Imhullu," "Earth Ripper," "Ontologically, It Became Time & Space," "Vita Janua Mortis."
Immortal w/ Absu U.S. Tour2/19/2011 Gramercy Theater - New York, NY
2/20/2011 Sonar - Baltimore, MD
2/21/2011 Mr. Small's Theatre - Pittsburgh, PA
2/22/2011 Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL
2/24/2011 The Summit Theatre - Denver, CO
2/26/2011 Backstage Live - San Antonio, TX
November 18, 2010
LIVE REVIEW: BLOODY PANDA, MONARCH IN NYC
Bloody Panda
When: Friday, November 12, 2010
Where: Cake Shop, Manhattan, NY
With: Monarch, Tinsel Teeth
by ill? ya! (NYC)
Kudos to Fred/BBG for opening last Friday's doom extravaganza at the Cake Shop with something a bit different. Providence, R.I.'sTinsel Teeth played chaotic noise rock with just enough of a rhythm backbone to root the mayhem in something solid. Let's be honest though, it's hard to focus on the music when a bare-breasted heathen, wearing a strap-on and covered in paint and blood, is growling, slamming herself into the crowd, rolling around on the floor and bar-diving.
The rest of the review and photos after the jump (warning - some photos NSFW).
Monarch! were up next (they swapped time slots with Bloody Panda) with a performance that was both an extension and an inverse of the first act. They were chaotic, but instead of being slammed by a body, we were hit with oppressive, feedback-laden funeral doom. In the end though, there was more rumble than riff and the songs all bled into one long sequence for me.
Bloody Panda bring doom up a notch to something more orchestral and intentional. Feedback and Sabbath riffs take a back-seat to rolling drums, funeral procession keyboards and the interplay between their dual vocalists: Yoshiko Ohara's moaning/chanting and Gerry Mak's throat singing/growl. The whole thing is more like a religious ceremony than a show. Bloody Panda is an incredible local band that deserves your attention. Don't miss them next time they play!
Tinsel Teeth 
Monarch
Bloody Panda
ONLINE COEXTINCTION LABEL OPENS, RELEASES UNSANE
Out of the ashes of traditional music business comes Coextinction Recordings. Based in Brooklyn and run out of the Translator Audio recording studio, the label was started by several local musicians, including Dave Curran of Unsane. Rather than focus on signing artists and putting out full-length albums, the idea is to work with musicians on quick, creative, one-time projects, then distribute them online.
The first recording session happened when Shrinebuilder were stuck in NYC (remember Volcan-gate?) and came in for a day to re-record Science of Anger. The labels first release are three new songs by Unsane, available for preview and download now.
Full release schedule below...
11/15/10 - Unsane
12/15/10 - Goes Cube
1/15/11 - Shrinebuilder
2/15/11 - Pigs
3/15/11 - Julie Christmas
4/15/11 - Fresh Kills
Plus: The Brought Low, Big Business, Totimoshi, Rosetta, City of Ships and more...
A LITTLE OLD SCHOOL IN YOUR NEW SCHOOL: LANDMINE MARATHON CASSETTE BOX SET
This one is for all you old fogeys out there who lament the way the metal scene has gone since the day the grand network of interconnected computer workstations was born and every 14-year-old kid with a modem knew about that one-man, basement-dwelling black metal band whose releases are only available on Maxell UR-90's (limited to 25): the good people over at Prosthetic are licensing an all-cassette tape box set of death/grind thrashers Landmine Marathon's three albums Wounded, Rusted Eyes Awake and Sovereign Descent.
The little DIY label Selfish Satan Recordings is limiting the box sets to 100, so click on over there to check it out. Landmine Marathon are getting out on tour with Skeletonwitch and Withered and should have a few of these box sets with them. Peek a photo of the set and see if you can pick it up in person after the jump.
Landmine Marathon 2010 Tour DatesNOV 18 Johnny's Side Bar Collinsville, IL
With SkeletonwitchNOV 19 Ruby Tuesday Columbus, OH
With Skeletonwitch and Withered
NOV 20 Frankie's Toledo, OH
NOV 20 Frankies Inner City Toledo, OH (No Skeltonwitch)
NOV 21 Otto's Dekalb, ILNOV 22 Mac's Bar Lansing, MI
NOV 23 Chubby Pickle Windsor, Ontario, CANADA
NOV 24 London Music Hall London, Ontario, CANADA
NOV 25 Absinthe Hamilton, Ontario, CANADA
NOV 26 The Mansion Kingston, Ontario, CANADA
NOV 27 Montage Music Hall Rochester NY
NOV 28 Lily's Pad at Toad's Place New Haven, CT
NOV 29 Krug's Place Frederick, MD
NOV 30 Legitimate Business Greensboro, NC
DEC 2 The Conservatory Oklahoma City, OK
DEC 3 Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios Denton, TX
DEC 4 Red Seven Austin, TX
DEC 5 Reno's Chop Shop Dallas, TX (No Skeletonwitch or Withered)
DEC 6 The Pine Box Midland, TX (No Skeletonwitch or Withered)
DEC 8 Skrappy's Tucson, AZ (No Skeletonwitch or Withered)
November 17, 2010
IMMORTAL TO FINALLY PLAY CITIES THAT AREN'T NY OR LA
Since reuniting in 2006, Immortal were under the mistaken impression that their fans in the U.S. were only in New York and Los Angeles. We're not the type of dudes to go on bands' Myspace pages pissing and moaning about that they won't play our city, but in our dark hearts, we wanted Abbath and crew to come to our respective necks of the woods. Thankfully, they are coming to their grim and frostbitten senses and their upcoming U.S. tour won't be so limited. While it's only six dates, fans in Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Denver, and San Antonio will get one more chance to experience the over-the-top trio in person. Opening the shows will be Absu, the only thing redeeming about Plano, Texas. (Side note: Absu's Youtube page has videos of drummer wunderkind Proscriptor auditioning for the one and only Slayer!) We're not gonna hate if you show up in corpse paint - given the excitement from us, we just might too.
Full itinerary below.
All Shall Fall U.S.A. 201102/19/11 New York - Gramercy Theater (16 & older)
"Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms"
02/20/11 Baltimore - Sonar (All Ages show)
02/21/11 Pittsburgh - Mr. Small´s Theatre (All Ages show)
02/22/11 Chicago - Bottom Lounge (17 & older)
02/24/11 Denver - Summit Theatre (All Ages show)
02/26/11 San Antonio - Backstage Live (All Ages show)
CRUSTY CLIP OF THE WEEK: DARKTHRONE - 'ICONOCLASM SWEEPS CAPPADOCIA' LIVE IN OSLO 1990
Every single Wednesday without fail, your hosts post a suitably stale video clip that we think needs to be revisited. Click here for more Crusty Clips. Got a clip you think we should post? Send it to crustcake@gmail.com.
by Andrew Wilhelm (TX)
What's this? Fenriz, Mr. "Not playing live is my religion" playing live? On television? With four members? Truth is stranger than fiction after all.
Darkthrone, mainly known for their black metal classics, radical shift towards dirty metal-punk and Fenriz's enlightening interviews, started off as a death metal band. For a band that would later come to shun the genre, they recorded a pretty damn good death metal album, Soulside Journey. Nocturno Culto went by his real name - Ted Skjellum - and Fenriz was known as "Hank Amarillo." Was Fenriz on such a Necrovore bender that he felt the need to have a Texan name? Who knows. Below is a performance of "Iconclasm Sweeps Cappadocia" on Norwegian TV in 1990.
PHOBIA STREAMING NEW EP, HIT THE ROAD WITH EYEHATEGOD
Stream: Phobia - Unrelenting
Need something a touch faster after our tribute to DJ Screw? Orange County grinders Phobia got you covered. Their new EP, Unrelenting, officially comes out Tuesday through Relapse, but Lambgoat is streaming it now at the link above. Trust us, it lives up to the title. To explain more would betray the gospels of grind - succinct and brutal.
Phobia will also remind people "If You Used to be Punk, You Never Were" on tour with Eyehategod, which we announced earlier. Atlanta's finest, Zoroaster, will also be playing on some dates, all of which are available after the jump.
Eyehategod/Phobia 2010 TourNov. 30 Birmingham, AL Bottletree
Phobia/Resist and Exist Live Dates 2011
Dec. 1 Johnson City, TN The Hideaway
Dec. 2 Charlotte, NC The Tremont (w/ Crowbar, Black Tusk)
Dec. 3 Charleston, SC The Oasis
Dec. 4 Atlanta, GA The Earl
Dec. 5 Memphis, TN HiTone
Dec. 6 Indianapolis, IN Birdy’s (w/ Goatwhore)
Dec. 7 Little Rock, AR Downtown (w/ Goatwhore)
Dec. 8 Fayetteville, AR Drifters (w/ Zoroaster)
Dec. 9 Tulsa, OK The Marquee (w/ Zoroaster)
Dec. 10 San Antonio, TX Korova (w/ Zoroaster)
Dec. 11 Dallas, TX Reno’s (w/ Zoroaster)
Dec. 12 Austin, TX Red 7 (w/ Zoroaster, Kill the Client)Jan. 28 San Diego, CA Che Café
Jan. 29 Los Angeles, CA The Blvd
Jan. 30 Fullerton, CA Riff Haus
November 16, 2010
FATHER BEFOULED'S MORBID DESTITUTION OF COVENANT STREAMS IN FULL
Have you heard the hype on Father Befouled yet? Surely you've come across something or other: they've recently signed to Relapse, they just released a 7" on Nuclear War Now! and they are said to bring the return of Death to death metal.
So have you heard their new record Morbid Destitution of Covenant yet? If not stream the entire record here and let us know what you think! Are they the next Incantation? Or is it all just hype in the end?
Be careful with the stream, the songs loop, so if you are not paying attention (you're on your computer) you can end up listening to the same song a few times. This records seems worth a few listens to us, personal favorites are "Vomiting Impurity" and "His Divine Pestilence." 
1. Inno Sepulchrum
2. Sacrilegious Defilement of Deranged Salvation
3. Idol Defamation
4. As Reverence Descends
5. Paradise of Desecrated Nothingness
6. Sulfurous Majesty Above Man
7. Testament of Unholy Essence
8. Vomiting Impurity
9. His Divine Pestilence
10. Christless Mass
11. Now Desecrated
CRUSTCAKE REMEMBERS: DJ SCREW
If you've done your due diligence as a loyal 'cake reader, you've read our guarantees and know that we might occasionally pitch the odd curve-ball your way, just to "keep things saucy." This is one of those times. Van Damned and Andrew Wilhelm both hail from the great state of Texas and have put together a tribute to Texas rap's central figurehead and uniting force, the late DJ Screw, who died 10 years ago today.
Houston, Texas -- East Coast. West Coast. Third Coast. It's the early 1990s. South-side project kids start selling swag weed and drinking codeine-laced cough syrup. Car cults emerge in the fetid parking lots of crumbling strip malls, centered around old Cadillacs outfitted with wood grain, gleaming paint and thunderous, bass-heavy stereos. They're SLABs -- slow, loud and banging. Teens from the South Park and Cloverfield neighborhoods take the gospel of their youth, slick, radio-ready R&B and hard-edged West Coast gangster rap and leave it to rot in the humid Gulf air. The syrup takes hold of the music and the culture. A sound emerges: a dolorous, menacing discharge that drags along at a glacial crawl. It's the perfect soundtrack to night-cruising the endless highways and freeways of Houston's muggy -- and dangerous -- Third Ward.
It's Screw music, H-town born, H-town bred. And its originator is Robert Earl Davis, Jr. aka DJ Screw. In the late '80s, Davis began slowing down and scratching records -- "chopping and screwing" -- to emulate the experience of getting down on codeine. It was a far cry from the futuristic disco that bore hip hop, but thanks to Screw, Houston now had its own sound. He couldn't stop selling tapes because he couldn't stop making them. Every rapper and producer in H-town made sure their beats were Screw-ready. If it didn't sound good slow, it wasn't SLAB-worthy and therefore worth less than nothing. Local rappers were chomping at the syrup-drenched bit to spit on his records, resulting in the formation of the Screwed Up Click -- the S.U.C., sucka. If you were somebody in H-town -- Z-Ro, Big Moe (RIP), E.S.G., Fat Pat (RIP), Lil' Keke, among others -- you were a part of the S.U.C.
Screw -- the music and its creator -- wasn't radio ready, but even this stuff found its way into the mainstream. Two hours East of Houston, in Port Arthur, Chad "Pimp C" Butler (RIP) and Bernard "Bun B" Freeman were rapping as UGK, the Underground Kingz. For the Port A duo, like their H-town brethren, life was all cars with woodgrain grippin', bitches with paper stackin', grindin', plexin', smokin' and swangin' and bangin'. They sweated swagger and started killing it on the mic right around when Screw was taping his first mixes. But in 2000, they found themselves on two huge, national songs: Jay Z's "Big Pimpin'" and Three 6 Mafia's "Sippin' on some Sizzurp." Both brought Houston rap culture to a wider audience. Things really started getting out of hand when Mike Jones -- a "Major Without a Major Deal," as a mixtape once boasted -- found himself with a major deal. Signing frenzy was full-swing in Houston. Soon, younger artists like Slim Thug, Paul Wall, Chamillionare and the venerable UGK could all be seen on MTV. Now you can find chopped and screwed versions of most popular rap songs on YouTube.
Screw's originator didn't live to the music he created go worldwide -- DJ Screw died 10 years ago today. While we at Crustcake tend to keep our coverage limited to the darkest and heaviest of extreme music culture, we respect Screw's DIY aesthetic and celebrate his unfailing devotion to the slowest and lowest depths that rap has ever dared to delve. So roll up a blunt, po' up a cup and check out this list of the 10 finest Houston rap songs to get up on that barre to. And if you ever find yourself on Cullen Boulevard, on Houston's South side, stop by Screwed Up Records & Tapes and say hello. Its owner is gone, but the music lives on.
10. Big Hawk feat. Big T - "You Already Know"
9. Big Moe feat. Z-Ro - "Bang Screw"
8. Z-RO - "I Hate You Bitch"
7. Fat Pat - "Tops Drop (Long Version)"
6. Scarface - "My Block"
5. Trae feat. Pimp C, Big Hawk and Fat Pat - "Swang"
4. Lil' Keke - "Southside"
3. Big Pokey feat. Lil' Keke, Big Moe and Mr. 32 - "Ball n' Parlay"
2. UGK - "One Day"
1. DJ Screw (RIP)
November 15, 2010
STREAM AGALLOCH'S MARROW OF THE SPIRIT AT NPR MUSIC
Right on the tail of Salome's new album Terminal, the good folk over at NPR Music offer up another stream of heavy goodness. Available for a limited time is best album of 2010 contender Marrow of the Spirit, by the mighty Agalloch. NPR describes the record as "fire emerging from fog" and I couldn't agree more. Head on over to the NPR Music page to check it out and let us know what you think in the comments.
HEXVESSEL, NEW PROJECT FROM CODE MEMBERS, IS FOLKED UP
Kvohst and Aort (two-thirds of British black metal experimentalists Code) spent the year following the release of Resplendent Grotesque exploring the odd instrumentation and occult folk threads that wormed their way through that album. The result of that exploration, Hexvessel, will see the light of day with Dawnbearer in February. While little other than a three-minute preview clip (see below) has been leaked, it's clear from the clues Svart Records has dropped that this will be an album to watch for. To wit, here is a list of words or phrases used to described the project: "a holy body or host carrier of spectres, magic spells and rituals," "psychedelic folk music," "Satanic Blackmetal" (sic), "'60s Canterbury folk," "Negro Spiritual Church hymns," "occult, Crowleyan magick," "Haitian voodoo," "dulcimer, psaltery, sawblade, harmonium, zither, gongs, harp, mellotron, mandolin and bandoneon," and "original hand-drawn artwork by Finland's godfather of doom, Albert Witchfinder." If you can't find something in that list to get excited about, you're doing it wrong.
Click below for the preview clip.
November 12, 2010
CRUSTCAKE REVIEWS: UNEARTHLY TRANCE/THE ENDLESS BLOCKADE SPLIT
by Andrew Wilhelm (TX)
Unearthly Trance mania continues here on Crustcake, only this time it's not Sean watching their every move. At this point, I'm expecting to see him and Ryan Lipynsky on Page Six. The Brooklyn trio recently released a split with our favorite recently-deceased power-noise-violence unit The Endless Blockade. Both bands are known for their use of noise music, but they don't incorporate such elements in the same way.
The Unearthly Trance side is one 15-minute composition, "Blind Driving Through the Ghost Mountains." The first few minutes feature a frosty guitar sequence built on a trashy beat not common for doom bands. Lipynsky has been hailed for focusing on riffs, and rightfully so, but the guitars oddly float in the mix a la black metal. [Ed. note: Read Lipynsky's (rather outspoken) opinions on black metal here.] In that sense, it is like driving blindly through ghostly mountains (not that I can exactly speak from experience). From there, the track gets slower and slower. The breakdown reminds me of the latter half of Thou's "An Age Imprisoned," except being beaten down by a blizzard instead of drowning in a swamp. A noise burst that comes in the end acts a like a stroke and after a brief moment of clean guitar, the song is over. With a sound so open, you wonder how the band can be from an urban metropolis.
Flip over, and you'll wonder if your record player is fucking up. Nope, that's just feedback and blasts from The Endless Blockade. If you're familiar with their full-length, Primitive, you'll know what to expect. Their self-titled track, which appears on every TEB release, is reinterpreted as dub-gone-evil. Unlike Primitive, the noise and powerviolence portions are separate. They aren't woven in like Unearthly Trance did with their half of the split. Of course, the intensity of both parts of their sounds makes up for their oil-and-water pacing in the record. The end of the split is perhaps the crowning moment of the whole record, featuring a racist/anti-technological/drunken senseless rant. You'll have to hear it to capture the hilarity.
I can't really determine if there's a clear superior in the split. While I mentioned that both bands take different approaches in using noise, the foundations upon which they lay noise are not the same. Simply put, their differing implementations worked. While neither group deviated from their sound greatly, they manage to balance faithfulness and freshness to make a pretty good release. This split is not for casual fans, but most splits aren't.
The packaging is not complex: it contains the typical sleeve and a double sided-lyrics insert. Earthy greens and brown dominate the artwork. Alas, I imagined Unearthly Trance being more in frostbitten blues and whites, and the Endless Blockade in bleak greys, blacks, and reds. The edition pictured here is black wax - all you need. No fancy Hydra Head/Southern Lord stuff here.
Audio: 8.5/10
Visual: 6.5/10
[Buy] - Unearthly Trance / The Endless Blockade
Front:
Back:
UT lyric insert:
TEB lyric insert:
UT side:
TEB side:
