Seventh Rule Recordings may have left Chicago for the greener and Kuma's-less pastures of Portland, but they still show immense support the Windy City's metal scene. This year, the label has released records from Chi-town brutalizers The Swan King and Millions, and on October 25, Seventh Rule will drop Deception Among Birds, the latest album from thrashy grinders Harpoon. We've got your first taste of the record with the premiere of "Dreadnought," the third track from Brids. The song is pretty representative of the record as a whole, as it mostly marks a departure from straight-ahead lashing in favor of melodicism and hooks. Not that the trio has gone poppy - that couldn't be further from the truth, as there's still plenty of punch to go around. Sounds likes Harpoon has been watching their fellow Chicagoans The Atlas Moth closely and applying their own lean-and-mean tactics. Also of note is that Andy Nelson of Weekend Nachos and Like Rats engineered the record. From what we've heard, looks like Birds was in good hands.
Stream "Dreadnought" below.
Harpoon - "Dreadnought" by crustcake 
And if you still crave the more unhinged version of Harpoon, here's their video for "Company Man":
September 30, 2011
CRUSTCAKE STREAMS: HARPOON - "DREADNOUGHT"
AGALLOCH'S JOHN HAUGHM RELEASES SOLO 7"
John Haughm performing with Agalloch at SXSW 2011, Photo by Carmelo Espanola
By Andrew Wilhelm (Denver)
If you're a fan of Agalloch, guitar ambient, and limited edition 7"s, have we got news for you. Portland's Anthem Records recently released +46 17' 36.30", -124 4' 20.13", a solo 7" from Agalloch guitarist and vocalist John Haughm. The release consists of a sole five-and-a-half minute track of lush, shimmering guitar ebb and flows. Like Agalloch, it's textured beautifully and is sutible for listening for long treks into the wilderness, but +46 17' 36.30", -124 4' 20.13" also shows a completely different musical side to Haughm. It recalls the 70s German electronic works of Tangerine Dream and Popol Vuh, and if you are in awe with that stuff, you'll be pressing Werner Herzog to get Haughm on his next film.
You can stream the song here. Check out a short interview with Haughm on the material below.
Crustcake: When was this material recorded? What was your setup for this recording?
John Haughm: Back in May, I had mentioned to Jon at Anthem Records that I was working on some abstract guitar experiments so he offered me a release in his 7" single series. This series has had some respectable names involved like Daniel Menche, Nadja, Birchville Cat Motel, Nudge, Tom Carter, etc. so I was quite interested in contributing.
The setup I used on this recording is actually listed on the sleeve, though in the future I do not plan to limit my experimentation to just guitar. I am currently working on a piece that brings together prepared piano, cello, human bones, and hand-made bells. Coordinates and dates will determine the structure.
Crustcake: What sort of feelings or vibes do you intend for this material to invoke?
Haughm: For the 7" single, I was trying to connect with the universe in a trancelike, subconscious manner.
Crustcake: The material on the EP reminds me a lot of Tangerine Dream and Popol Vuh. How has German electronic music influenced you?
Haughm: For this stuff, I am actually most influenced by artists like Daniel Menche, Steve Reich, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Keiji Haino, Sylvano Bussotti, Richard Skelton, etc. Of course I am a huge admirer of the vintage Kosmische music you mentioned and I also am a great fan of modern synth drone like Oneohtrix Point Never and Emeralds.
Crustcake: Do you feel any connection between the material on +46 17' 36.30", -124 4' 20.13" and your work in Agalloch?
Haughm: No, it has absolutely nothing to do with Agalloch or rock/metal music in any way, shape, or form. I would go as far as to say that this is the total antithesis, in fact. These abstract studies are a nice reprieve from the more structured songwriting that goes on in my normal band.
Crustcake: The coordinates +46 17' 36.30", -124 4' 20.13" lead to a point in Cape Disappointment State Park in Washington. What's the significance of this location?
Haughm: Without going into too much detail, it has to do with a rather surreal and disturbing night I spent at that park earlier this year.
Crustcake: The EP will be limited to 500 hand-numbered vinyl copies. What's the appeal of limited releases to you?
Haughm: I wouldn't think anything more than 500 copies would be suitable for a strange, one-sided 7" ep with very minimal packaging. Originally we were only going to make around 200 copies like the others in the series.
Crustcake: Have you entertained the notion of releasing of a full length of this kind of material?
Haughm: No, as of yet I haven't really considered anything more than this 7" single, possibly a split 7" EP, and a cassette or 12" release sometime later. I guess we'll see what happens...
September 29, 2011
HOW DID MASTODON GET SO POPULAR?
Mastodon have a new album out, The Hunter. In our internal discussion of the record, an interesting question arose: Just how did Mastodon get so popular? What elevated them from underground prog-metal heroes to modern metal's commercial poster boys?
Their "breakthrough" record, Crack The Skye, certainly wasn't constructed for commercial success -- few epic, prog to edges of fretboard and composition concept records are.
So what was it?
The following e-mails were exchanged Wednesday night:Il? Ya!: Here's a question - how did Mastodon get so big?
theseseans: The success of their music videos, I think, and accessible songs - that combo is most evident here:
and here:The best thing about Mastodon used to be how they could take musically interesting songs and make them seem neanderthal and bludgeoning instead of intellectual.
Chase Macabre: I think Mastodon generally write good songs, or at least did. Leviathan is a great record. Blood Mountain was pretty good. A lot of their popularity was the singing, and when they were coming up kids went ape shit for southern-tinged, sludge metal. Baroness could have had the same thing happen to them if the Blue Record was poppier and less meandering.
Il? Ya!: So two observations here:
1) I love "Blood and Thunder," but don't care at all for "Colony of Birchmen." Why? Is there really a distinct, measurable difference between the two? Is the first actually "better?" Or is it because of when and where I heard "Blood and Thunder?"
2) Why don't the videos on Leviathan have anything to do with the theme of the songs?
Van Damned: I never saw any of the videos until after I got hep to them. The vids didn't have anything to do with my liking of them.
theseseans: The videos aren't necessary for the underground to gain interest. That's why we are the underground. But both of those videos, and I assume the videos for Crack The Skye were in pretty heavy rotation on "Headbanger's Ball" (which, I did watch fairly regularly for a time - I'm a sucker for music videos). The program sucked for the most part, but every now and then you'd get a Mastodon, Goatwhore, whatever else mixed into the mess of All That Remains and such bullshit. The majority of the viewers of that program were probably there for the All That Remains and got Mastodon too. I think that is where a lot of the expansion in their popularity came from.
Van Damned: In response to Il? Ya!, I don't know when and where you heard "Blood and Thunder," but I do know that there are totally distinct and measurable differences between the two, as they sound nothing alike. For the record, "Colony" is one of my favorite Mastodon songs, and not just because I'm a Josh Homme fanboy. Regardless, they are both spectacular songs. And light-years ahead of the majority of the songs on Crack and Hunter. That's not to say that "Oblivion" and "Curl the Burl" don't kick ass -- they're the better songs from those two albums.
Also, re: The Hunter -- "Blasteroid" is total Torche worship.
Mastodon needs a narrative to stick to, else they're lost. (In oblivion.) I think the very fact that their videos had nothing to do with their material and were actually really dumb/goofy made them all the more approachable.
Il? Ya!: Van - I guess what I meant is, of course these songs sound different, but I have a hard time explaining why I like one and not the other. And I wonder how much of my music preference is controlled by external factors like when I heard the song, who wrote it, etc.
theseseans: I think it has less to do with what was happening when you heard that song, and more with the fact that "Blood and Thunder" is one of the best, most kick fucking ass, metal songs ever. Which, definitely helped catapult the band. The success of their videos and strength of their songs were too much to ignore.
[Ed. note: Andrew Wilhelm was too busy getting pummeled by The Body and Braveyoung in Denver last night to take part in this discussion.]
What about you, dear reader?
Why do you think Mastodon were able to rise to commercial realm?
Plenty of bands get signed and go nowhere. What made Mastodon different?
NEW DEFEATIST ALBUM TYRANNY OF DECAY AVAILABLE, VINYL UP FOR PRE-ORDER
New York grinders Defeatist have a new album, Tyranny of Decay, available right now. Via this link, you can buy the digital version for any amount you'd like, and get your vinyl pre-order done.
The best part is that the entire album is available to stream. Tyranny is easily the most accessible Defeatist record. While their quirkily recognizable riffs will still pounce around your brain -- and Aaron Nichols' vocals still sound croaked and choked -- Tyranny features real variety in tempo and feel.
Read more to read what Nichols had to say about the record.
Crustcake: Tyranny has slow, mid-tempo, "head banging" double bass parts and harmonies. All things that are a little different from the typical Defeatist sound. What brought the band to the expanded sounds we're hearing?
Aaron Nichols: We usually try something a little new when we're writing while trying to keep focused on the original intent of the band. I hate when bands try "branching out" or "progressing" or whatever. We didn't really approach this batch of songs any differently than before.
Crustcake: We're pumped to see the vinyl pre-order for Tyranny after not getting a vinyl pressing for Sixth Extinction. What's the difference this time around?
Nichols: This record will probably only be released on vinyl. The reason for the pre-order was because I was sick of waiting to put the record out and I didn't hadn't decided where I was pressing the records. The order has been submitted now though and I should have test presses in a week or so and hope to ship orders soon, barring any snafus.
CRUSTCAKE REVIEWS: SAVIOURS - DEATH'S PROCESSION
Saviours - "Crete'n" from Kemado Records:
By The Swizard (CA)
Saviours are Oakland's favorite sons. Like many upcoming O-Town metal bands, they stood in the shadow of High On Fire early in their career, but really broke out as a local force to be reckoned with around the time they released Into Abbadon in 2008.
However, Oakland is not the world. While they have no shortage of fans outside of the Bay Area, a lot of people who seemed like they would be down with Saviours’ unique blend of NWOBHM-ready dueling leads, stoney riffs, thrashy rhythms and drug-heavy lyrics couldn’t entirely get behind previous records Crucifire, Into Abbadon or Accelerated Living. There were elements of these records that denim-tuxedoed hesher bros could get behind, but as a whole, the records were little too disjointed. On Death’s Procession (Kemado), that has all changed.
Whether frontman Austin Barber and crew were handing out customer feedback cards at live gigs or achieved a level of heavy metal consciousness only obtainable via partying at a level that would put the average person in a coma, Procession brings together the strongest suits of the band’s previous three full -lengths and delivers the 10 tracks the world has been waiting Saviours to release.
Head-banging, bong resin-laden rhythm parts? Check. Dueling guitar leads that would make Iron Maiden or Thin Lizzy look twice? Check. Circle pit inciting thrash parts? You fucking bet. Lyrics that make your teeth grind and your eyes twitch? More than one can wave a razor at.
Putting on Death’s Procession fills one with the same sense of satisfaction one gets when that perfect pizza is delivered: it’s so good that you almost don’t want to eat it because that means it's going to be gone at some point.
The guitar intro “To The Grave Possessed” not only has some of the greatest dueling guitars since Thin Lizzy’s “Bad Reputation," it creates an air of tension so mesmerizing it could lead to “whooping” and cracking beers in inappropriate public places.Other standout tracks include the thrashy “Crete’n” (which has a rather ruling video, see below), the ultra-doomy “The Eye Obscene” and “Dixie Dieway,"an righteous homage to classic metal bands like Judas Priest or DiamondHead.
Procession is Saviours finally arriving. By combining the boldest, most impactful elements that of their earlier discography, the band has released a record that sets them apart from their peers and is moving the band into being a front-runner of modern heavy metal. There isn’t anything not to love about this album. Crack a beer, load the bong, and turn this shit up. Saviours are here and they’re ready to party.
Saviours' Death's Procession is available from Kemado Records in vinyl, plastic and digital [here]
Check out Saviours on tour:9/29 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
10/1 San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
10/2 West Hollywood, CA @ Key Club
10/3 Scottsdale, AZ @ Chasers
10/4 Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
10/6 Austin, TX @ Emo’s
10/7 Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s
10/8 New Orleans, LA @ Siberia
10/9 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
10/10 Athens, GA @ New Earth Music Hall
10/11 Tallahassee, FL @ Engine Room
10/12 Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum
10/14 Savannah, GA @ The Jinx
10/15 Charlotte, NC @ Tremont Music Hall
September 28, 2011
CRUSTY CLIP OF THE WEEK: BURZUM - 'DUNKELHEIT'
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 (Denver)
No fancy intro will make this bit of news any less weird, so here it is: Burzum will release a collection of rerecorded tracks from Burzum and Det Som Engang Var entitled From the Depths of Darkness in November. While Varg Vikernes took us by surprise with the release of Fallen earlier this year, we never thought he'd be the re-recording type. Besides, a lot of the appeal of Burzum's earlier work is the atmosphere created by the lo-fi dynamics. Are these new tracks made "the way he orignally intended," as the link above boasts? Alas, Vikernes has been increasingly concerned with production as of late, given that he said of Fallen: "The sound is more dynamic -- we mastered the album as if it was classical music." If there's a lesson from this, it's that only Varg really knows who Varg is. At lease he hasn't comissioned a dubstep remix of "Rundtgåing av den transcendentale egenhetens støtte." We'll always have the originals to cherish, such as "Dunkelheit," the lead-off track from Filosofem and the only song of Burzum's with an official video. That clip can be viewed below.
September 27, 2011
TOXIC HOLOCAUST, MIDNIGHT RELEASE JAPANESE BENEFIT SPLIT 7"
It's always nice when bands we like turn out to be good guys. (Remember the Dio-fied Hear 'n Aid from 1985? I'm not sure how much African famine was actually relieved, but still!) Add two more groups to that list: Portland death-thrash maniacs Toxic Holocaust and Buckeye State black rock n' roll bashers Midnight. The pair have teamed up for a split 7" -- the proceeds of which will benefit the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Make the jump for more information about this bitchin' -- and beneficial -- release.
According to Relapse, the 7” is "limited to a one-time pressing of 1,000 copies on Japanese-flag colored heavy-weight vinyl, and features tracks from both bands."
In this case, Toxic Holocaust and Midnight deliver, respectively, "A.T.O.M.I.C" and "Destroy Tsunami's Power." Fuck. Yes.
The split also features exclusive artwork -- pictured above -- by Daniel “Sawblade” Shaw. Again, all proceeds will go to the Red Cross relief efforts for the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
It's available [here].
Finally, in case you didn't know, Midnight will play the utterly unfuckwithable Rites of Darkness festival in San Antonio in December. Additionally, Toxic Holocaust will tour Europe with Kvelertak, Trap Them and Wolves Like Us. Dates below.
Toxic Holocaust w/ Kvelertak, Trap Them, Wolves Like Us:11/08/2011 Ole Bull Scene - Bergen, Norway
11/09/2011 Stavanger - Folken, Norway
11/10/2011 Rockefeller - Oslo, Norway
11/11/2011 Samfundet - Trondheim, Norway
11/12/2011 Strand - Stockholm, Sweden
11/14/2011 Tavastia - Helsinki, Finland
11/15/2011 Pakkahuone - Tampere, Finland
11/17/2011 Sticky Fingers - Gothenburg, Sweden
11/18/2011 Logo - Hamburg, Germany
11/19/2011 Underground - Koln, Germany
11/20/2011 Doornroosje - Nijmegen, Holland
11/21/2011 02 Academy 2 - Oxford, UK
11/22/2011 02 Academy 3 - Birmingham, UK
11/23/2011 The Speakeasy at Queens - Belfast, Ireland
11/24/2011 ABC - Glasgow, UK
11/25/2011 Roadhouse - Manchester, UK
11/26/2011 Underworld - London, UK
11/27/2011 Muziekodroom - Hasselt, Belgium
11/28/2011 Le Ferraileur - Nantes, France
11/29/2011 Le Nouveau Casino - Paris, France
11/30/2011 Substage - Karlsruhe, Germany
12/01/2011 Abart - Zurich, Switzerland
12/02/2011 New Age Club - Roncade, Italy
12/03/2011 Szene - Wien, Austria
12/04/2011 Conne Island - Leipzig, Germany
12/05/2011 Exit Chmelnice - Prague, Czech Rep.
12/06/2011 Festsaal Xberg - Berlin, Germany
12/07/2011 Colos Saal - Aschaffenburg, Germany
12/08/2011 Backstage - Munchen, Germany
12/09/2011 Hirsch - Nurnberg, Germany
12/10/2011 Sputnikhalle - Munster, Germany
12/11/2011 Voxhall - Aarhus, Denmark
12/12/2011 Vega - Copenhagen, Denmark
12/13/2011 Kulturbolaget - Malmo, Sweden
September 26, 2011
CRUSTCAKE PICKS - NEW CAKE IN THE OVEN: RETOX - UGLY ANIMALS
By The Swizard (Oakland)
Justin Pearson is one of those dudes people love to hate. Whether or not his off-stage antics or attitudes on politics, punk or hardcore fall in line with yours, his track record of outstanding musical output (Swing Kids, The Locust, Head Wound City, Some Girls)is pretty unfuckwithable.
Retox, Pearson’s newest punk/hardcore endeavor, not only upholds the formidable legacy he has been apart of since his early twenties, but comes at a time when extreme music, while gaining both mainstream notoriety and acceptance, is doing so by becoming tepid, formulaic and safe.
Ugly Animals is an outstanding punk record. Boasting 11 tracks in just over 12 minutes, Retox evoke the dirty, chaotic and unruly feel reminiscent of bands like The Germs, Born Against and Antioch Arrow. But due to its members' past projects (Holy Molar, Cattle Decapitation, Les Butcherettes, The Festival of Dead Deer), the music is created by people who have incredibly tight chops, so you have all of the chaos that made punk what it was but played incredibly well. Animals jerks you around and pummels you throughout its 12 minutes, while Pearson barks, growls, and wails fucked-up, esoteric lyrics that are easy to scream back at him (which is a rather new element his style as a vocalist).
At a time when a good portion of this year’s Warped Tour line up is considered “punk” (go to www.vanswarpedtour.com to either laugh or cry over that sentiment), Retox do an outstanding job of reminding us all where punk came from, and offer a refreshing, modern take on an outstanding idea.
Animals embodies both the nihlistic, reckless abandonment that punk built itself on as well as outstanding technical ability that should accompany 30+ years of the genre's existence. Retox have breathed life back into a dead horse, and immediately start stabbing the shit out of it on Ugly Animals.
September 21, 2011
CRUSTY CLIP OF THE WEEK: MOTORHEAD - 'THE HAMMER'
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 (Denver)
Happy Birthday "Philthy Animal" Taylor!
September 15, 2011
CRUSTCAKE PICKS - NEW CAKE IN THE OVEN: NADER SADEK - IN THE FLESH
by Van Damned (TX)
When a supergroup assembles for long enough to produce a cohesive album, it's an event worth noting. When that album turns out to be an unmitigated success (see recent releases from Twilight, Circle of Animals and Shrinebuilder) it's like a ninth-inning home run: hard-fought and well-earned.
The collective convened under the direction of -- and named after -- Egyptian-born/NY-based visual artist Nader Sadek has hit one of those four-baggers.
At just inside the 30-minute mark, In the Flesh (Season of Mist) is an all-killer-no-filler sprint through the warped and demented arena of Sadek's mind. Sadek conceived the project -- "an exploration of the human condition as we now find it intermeshed with petroleum," he told Invisible Oranges' Joseph Schafer -- wrote a few riffs and songs, then assembled his team.
Filling out his roster are Steve Tucker (ex-Morbid Angel), Rune Eriksen (aka Blasphemer, Aura Noir, ex-Mayhem) and Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy). Other notables on deck include Attila Csihar and Krallice's Nick McMaster. Pinch-hitting are Tony Norman, of Monstrosity and Morbid Angel (briefly) fame, guitar wizard Mike Lerner (Behold… the Arctopus!) and current Morbid Angel axeman Destructhor.
Given the talent involved and resulting product, you might be tempted to proclaim this the real new Morbid Angel album. You'd only be partly wrong. Tucker's voice and pacing are unmistakable, there's no doubt about it. But Mounier here plays against type, firing lightning-fast salvos of Sandoval-esque blasts, yet reigning in his tendency to over-play everything all the time. Also, Rune's riffs and solos are too fluid and melodic, grounded in icy Norway, rather than the bad acid swamps of Florida or (yikes) R'lyeh. And the sheer technical weirdness exhibited by McMaster and Lerner means that Flesh occasionally freaks out with some elements of mind-warping prog and hyper-speed shred. It's nothing if not its own beast.
Performances are rendered in brilliant high fidelity (Sadek, himself, is listed as producer) but it's the little in-between moments of dripping horror and oozing dread that wraps the record in such a deliciously unsettling miasma of fear: the intro; the moaning cello and ghostly vocal chorus of that introduce and bridge "Of This Flesh;" the creaking strings and low-throated overtone chants on "Rusted Skin."
"It's as if the ghosts of petroleum are haunting us -- not only have we exhumed the bodies of the dead, so to speak, but we use them to kill each other," Sadek said.
He may not have played any of the instruments on Flesh, but the man knows death.
Nader Sadek - In the Flesh is available for purchase here.
September 14, 2011
UZALA POST TEASER FOR UPCOMING ALBUM
I loved Uzala's demo last year. It followed in line with recent strong, self-actualized opening statements from bands like Cauchemar, Christian Mistress and Pallbearer, each proving that doom in its truest and most classic sense is still alive and kicking. Uzala -- helmed by husband/wife tattoo artists Chad Remains and Darcy Nutt -- have recently picked up ex-Graves At Sea axeman Nick Phit for their upcoming full length, due out this winter on At War With False Noise. The Gem State doom slingers posted a teaser for the new release on YouTube, and while it's not much, it's enough get me super stoked for their new material.
AWWFN still has copies of the Boise, Idaho, foursome's demo tape. It's available here.
Listen to "Plague" from the demo here [M4A].
CRUSTY CLIP OF THE WEEK: RIOT - 'SWORDS AND TEQUILA' LIVE IN ROSLYN, N.Y. 9/15/81
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 (Denver)
The Crusty Clip returns with a vengeance!
One detail I somehow didn't mention in my recent Down review was Kirk Windstein's badass Riot shirt, featuring a lighter with the flame replacing the 'i' in Riot. If a bearded sage such as Windstein is rocking Riot, so should you.
You most likely know about Riot if you lived in New York in the late '70s and early '80s, saw Sammy Hagar in Texas around that same period and/or you are a huge metal nerd (like me). They're sort of the American parallel to Anvil -- they came close to breaking out, but close just won't do it in this business. Capitol Records were enthusiastic enough to sign the band to support Hagar, but not enough not to drop them because their 1981 record Fire Down Under, containing their most well-known song "Swords and Tequila," was considered too heavy by the label. Not helping Riot's case is that they had the stupidest fucking mascot on their early album covers. I mean, seriously. This ferret-seal hybird or whatever it is could not even compete with Eddie, Vic Rattlehead, or Cannabis Corpse's Weedmonster.
Even if they didn't have the mascot game on lock, Riot still had plenty of A+ tunes to garner them a strong cult following. Witness a performance of "Swords" from 1981 and get hooked:
LIVE REVIEW: DOWN (SAN ANTONIO)
Down
When: Sept. 1, 2011
Where: Backstage Live, San Antonio
With: In Solitude, Ponykiller
by Van Damned (TX)
First shows on tour can be dicey. Anticipation and adrenaline levels are maxed out. Grooves have yet to be established. Excitement combats fatigue. It's sink or swim. The boys get separated from the men -- sometimes literally, as in the case of Down and In Solitude's U.S. tour kickoff in San Antonio.
Down practicing in my living room.*
I missed Ponykiller due to a late start by me. By all accounts, their psych/math rock didn't whet any San Antonio appetites.
As for the other two bands (there was no local support), they couldn't have been more dissimilar.
Sweden's In Solitude are young, there's no getting around it. Bone-skinny and bright-eyed, these five lads from Uppsala -- some of whom aren't even out of their teens -- made their U.S. debut at Maryland Deathfest in May, following a cavalcade of Internet buzz and word-of-mouth excitement. Their fall tour with Down is their first real introduction to the continentals and its inhabitants and, unfortunately, it showed. Chalk it up to first-day-of-class jitters, but these kids looked a tad nervous, taking up a small amount of room on what was actually a pretty large stage. That's not to say they won't lock it in over the next few weeks; given their talent, they most likely will. Their San Antonio tour opener, however, was a little shaky. Rhythms chugged a little off-kilter, a voice cracked, cymbals that should have accented breaks were missed.
To be fair, South Texas meatheads in cargo jorts, Tapout and Affliction, buzzing on cheap beer and cheaper weed, are not primed for the dead-earnest Mercyful Fate/Angel Witch worship In Solitude rep. Nor are they particularly swooning over the fox fur, Chelsea boots and ghoul paint aesthetic that In Solitude swear by. The crowd response was mostly tepid -- but I'll be damned if all five grabbar on stage didn't pour out every ounce of denim 'n' leather/thrash 'til death attitude they had in their matchstick bodies. There were a few of us there who knew we were seeing something more: real art in infancy.
Particularly endearing was guitarist Niklas Lindstrom's quick exit mid-song to puke in the alley behind the club. It's a hesher's rite of passage to learn the hard way that extreme heat and cheap booze don't mix. By the next song, Lindstrom was back on stage, grinning from ear to ear and ready for more.
This is a band that can only get better with age.
Down, on the other hand, couldn't have looked more at home. With more than 100 years of combined on-stage experience (that's probably a conservative estimate), these NOLA metal titans owned every square inch of that room. Like any group of long-time friends reuniting after time apart, Phil Anselmo, Kirk Windstein, Jimmy Bower and Pepper Keenan -- each superstars in their own right -- meshed immediately, picking up probably very close to where they literally last left off. New to the fold was bassist Pat Bruders, who has replaced the ailing Rex Brown. Bruders, a long-time Louisiana metal staple, fit in perfectly, anchoring the bottom end and adding to the gray hair quotient reached by the band. That follicle color peculiar to accrued age is what made this show so special.
The songs, by now, should be familiar -- Down's Southern-friend sludge has become doom canon since their 1995 debut. But straight out of the gate, the songs took on fresh life, their performers looking as sprightly as the day they had written them -- if not more so. Sobriety, family and maturity have been very, very good to these men. Phil has never sounded better, joking and talking and laughing with everyone in earshot, on-stage and off, a cult of personality in every way. Kirk and Pepper were in lockstep with each other, grinning the whole time. The Bower Power was present. Each chorus became an anthem; each riff, a tidal wave. Nearly a thousand heads banged in perfect unison with the five on stage. It was fantastically fun.
After a brief moment's rest off-stage, Down returned for a three-song encore of the shout-along classics "Temptation's Wings," "Stone the Crow" and, finally, the ever-epic "Bury Me in Smoke." It was during the latter that the band traded their instruments off to members of In Solitude, Ponykiller and, if you can believe it, Jimmy Bower's aunt, who apparently taught him how to play, on drums. Seriously. The gang reunited briefly on stage to take a well-deserved bow before departing, leaving Anselmo alone on stage to lead the crowd in his now-standard benediction: AND SHE'S BUYING A STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN. Amen.
Fast-forward to 9:04 for the money shot.
*Just kidding.
September 13, 2011
LIVE REVIEW: DOWN (DENVER)
All photos by Andrew Wilhelm
Down
When: Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011
Where: Summit Music Hall, Denver, Colo.
With: In Solitude, Ponykiller
By Andrew Wilhelm (Denver)
First impressions can be tough to swallow. My first taste of New Orleans' Down was way back in 2002, when Ozzfest rolled through San Antonio. Down were one of the main acts on the second stage, and I caught a distant view from the hill of the amphitheater. Coherency was not a quality I ascribed to their set -- Phil Anselmo, of note, did not give it his all. If I remember correctly from those hormone-filled days, they didn't even play all of "Ghosts Along the Mississippi." I was crushed, to say the least. When Down came to Denver last Tuesday, it was technically the second time I've seen them, but it felt like the first. I finally saw the Down that packed 'em in across the world.
What a rebirth it was.
Opening the show was Ponykiller, a New Orleans quintet singed to Anselmo's Housecore Records. Guitarist and vocalist Colin Yeo is also in Arson Anthem with Anselmo, Hank Williams III and Eyehategod's Mike Williams. Musically, Ponykiller owe a debt to Man or Astro-man? and Don Caballero, and add vocals that wouldn't sound out of place on 120 Minutes. Just the right amount of psychedelia to carry one away, but not to be plunged into Hawkwind's bowels. Naturally, one would expect that they wouldn't be on this tour if not for the Anselmo connection, but variety can nourish, and Ponykiller provided a energetic yet also laid-back start to the evening. These are some dudes to keep in eye on in coming times.
In Solitude's greatest strength -- or fatal flaw, depending on your cynicism and/or prickliness about originality -- is that they sound a lot like Mercyful Fate. King Diamond isn't in the most optimal of health these days, and even if Melissa and Don't Break the Oath can be found on Amazon and Mediafire with relative ease, there needs to be living, breathing entities to carry on the sound. In Solitude have taken on that role, and they keep the King of King's fire glowing like the flames of Oath's cover. The catchy twin guitar melodies, the haunting (if not bombastic) croons, the drive -- these Swedes preserved it all. They came off as a bit more bassy live, but the guitar action was not drowned at all. To the contrary, there was plenty of air for the solos and melodies to soar throughout the building. Vocalist Pelle Åhman does have a bit of an Erik Danielsson look to him, but he's a much more humble fellow (hell, there are dictators more humble). Even if there isn't much money to be made in music anymore, coming to America is still a big goal for many European bands, and In Solitude took the opportunity and came out swinging.
In their performance, Down proved they still had some of the anger and hunger that made Over the Under a success. They are also a healthier band than before, in Kirk Windstein's sobriety and the replacement of the ill Rex Brown with Crowbar's Pat Bruders, and that led no compromise in their power. Their Southern swagger grows as big as the South itself through the amps and the PA. Windstein's and Pepper Keenan's grooves sunk deeper, Jimmy Bower's hits were thunderous, and Phil's screams carried weightier resonance. "Lifer" was, to borrow a phrase from Anselmo's former band, goddamn electric. Another standout was "New Orleans Is a Dying Whore," a normally morose tune given a helluva shot of unrefined momentum. True to their New Orleans roots, Down loves their Saints, and Phil took some time out of the set to talk some mess about the Denver Broncos, with a strong, swift "Fuck Tim Tebow." While I am not a football bro, I am all for hating on right-wing Christian nutjobs, so my cheers were thrown into the rabble-rousing stew. Anselmo, the showman that he is, always likes to get a rise out his crowds. He's more articulate on stage than he is in interviews, and his stage movements suggest a return to Vulgar Display of Power excitedness, which shows you how much he enjoys playing and interacting with crowds.
Nearly an hour after slanging out classics like "Mississippi," "Eyes of the South" and "Temptation's Wings," Down started their encore with fan favorite "Stone the Crow," and while the sing-a-longs during the chorus were uplifting, it was closer "Bury Me in Smoke" that truly capped the evening. Not only did it sound heavier live, the members of the support groups -- every one of them -- came out on stage and gave Down a helping hand in stretching out the song to its doomiest limits. Once the jam met its endpoint, everyone left the stage except for Anselmo, who had one final request for the crowd: to sing along with him, "AND SHE'S BUYING A STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN." When one of your albums is named A Bustle in Your Hedgerow, how could you not? A triumphant end to an unforgettable evening.
Down/In Solitude/Ponykiller US Tour 20119/14 - Oklahoma City, Okla. @ Diamond Ballroom
9/15 - Des Moines, Iowa @ The People's Court
9/16 - Libertyville, Ill. @ Austin's Fuel Room
9/17 - Sauget, Ill. @ Pop's
9/19 - Louisville, Ky. @ Expo Five
9/20 - Grand Rapids, Mich. @ The Orbit Room
9/21 - Flint, Mich. @ The Machine Shop
9/23 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Masquerade
9/24 - Mobile, Ala. @ Soul Kitchen
September 12, 2011
FROM THE ASHES OF LUDICRA COMES LADY OF THE LAKE
You've long heard by now that Bay Area black metal heroes and heroines Ludicra are no more. While we're still bummed about it, we are happy to report that guitarist Christy Cather is already working on a new project called Lady of the Lake. The group made its live debut at First Church of the Buzzard in Oakland, Calif., on Aug. 30, with Uzala, Human Anomaly, and Young Lions (featuring Noah Landis, of Neurosis). If you dig stuff like Candlemass, Manilla Road, and Twilight of the Gods-era Bathory, you will eat this up. Check out "She of the Ocean" from the performance above and give us your thoughts. We hope to hear more from Cather and co. in the near future. And here's to hoping Aesop Dekker has a Blowfly tribute band in the works.
September 7, 2011
LIVE REVIEW: SPEEDWOLF
Photo credit: Matt Novak
Speedwolf
When: Sunday, September 4, 2011
Where: 1.21 Jiggawatts, Denver, Colo.
With: Remnants of Destruction, Echo Beds
By Andrew Wilhelm (Denver 666)
Just knowing the fact that Denver thrash overlords Speedwolf's most recent show was held in a DIY space in downtown Denver -- 1.21 Jiggawatts, located on Trenton between 14th and 15th -- convinced me that this was not going to be your average "chug a couple beers and headbang" affair. "DIY space" and "downtown" are two phrases you never associate with each other. Just mere blocks from the space was the consumerist catastrophe known as the 16th Street Mall, where terrible chains bond with their terrible customers. Despite the odd location, 1.21 Jiggawatts had everything a DIY space should have: a loose booze policy (though the dudes that keep up the place encourage you to support them at their bar), a skate ramp, sweet jams on the PA, and a mix of local odds 'n' sods in the crowd. Audience and band thrashing just inches from each other -- there's no other vibe like it, and boy did this show bring that vibe.
"Up All Night" we were.
A saxophone at a metal gig? Is Bruce Lamont in the house? No, it was Echo Beds, a trio of miscreants whose unsettling noise threw a curveball into the night right as it began. Shifting between John Zorn-ian saxophone blasts and cavernous drifts not unlike Locrian, they gave an unconventional show the unconventional opening it deserved. Their highly distorted and improvised take on percussion also provided the right overdose of discomfort. I dug it -- if it's loud and pissed, I'll always give it a chance -- but the claps couldn't conceal a dude yelling "Play some real music!" That should say something about Echo Beds' reception.
Remnants of Destruction were clearly a work in progress, and that was the fun of the trio. Made up of two young dudes and a guitarist who looks like their dad, they banged out no-frills thrash complete with everything but puffy sneakers. The solos were a little off sometimes, the drummer seemed a bit rushed and busy during certain songs, but there was no shortage of fun, energy and earnestness. Their drummer also does vocals with a strong death inflection, and while his stage banter seemed nervous in spots, most of us are afraid of public speaking anyway. They've got some practicing to do, but these cats do have some potential, so I'm interested to hear them evolve and obliterate.
After this gig, I'm going to declare Speedwolf as Denver's best metal band. Colorado may be a 420-friendly state, but these dudes prefer a strong cocktail of swagger and riffery on the rocks. Anticipation was high thanks to an advance of their self-titled record, due in November through the poseur-proof Hells Headbangers, packed full of inverted biker metal jams. If you like your metal with extra sleaze, a la Motorhead or Midnight, you cannot miss this band. Those songs sound ripping on my iPod, but on stage, there is so much more ruckus brought. While the short stage wouldn't seem to provide an ample opportunity to get more stage dives in the monitors, that didn't stop a dedicated pilots' union from trying. Not even a power outage during "Up All Night" could stop everyone from going balls out and balls deep. The frenzy was at its climax during Speedwolf's hometown anthem, "Denver 666." I'm not even sure if vocalist Reed Bremmer sang half of the lyrics 'cause the crowd jumped on the mic like it was a job offer. Bremmer also took the opportunity to take full advantage of the skate ramps by catching air that Converge fans would be envious of. That's not to say the show was all Bremmer -- bassist Jake Kauffman had quite a presence, too. First off, he was wearing an N.W.A. shirt, and that earns nothing but respect. He also charged into the crowd without warning, adding an element of surprise to the pit.
Speedwolf also do righteous covers, as Bremmer proclaimed: "If your band doesn't do covers, you need to listen to more bands." Their rendition of Motorhead's "The Hammer" blended into their set well, as Bremmer's just one Canadian border detention away from sounding just like Lemmy. Towards the end of their set, they teased the crowd into a Venom cover, but at the insistence of their bassist, busted out some KISS instead. Bremmer joked at the punks not digging the Knights in Satan's Service, and while playing "King of the Night Time World" is an oddly Milton Friedman-ian move to make in a punk joint, it rocked and who gives a fuck? I'd love to hear a take on "Calling Dr. Love" myself. Speedwolf closed out the set with the raucous Venom cover they hinted at, "Witching Hour." They're more Venom than Venom now, with that vigor and all.
Most importantly, it was the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, so many folks had time to let their hangovers dissipate and bangovers heal. You'll be hearing a lot about Speedwolf in the future - especially from us!
