Album opener “When Sun Comes Out” is an awesome dance-oriented rock song that blows your mind with phat bass lines and a kick drum that blasts through walls like the Kool-Aid Man. Stomping rhythms and dynamic melodies coalesce into a twisted new form of pop music that is fit for kings and ladies. Complex song arrangements and infinite sound spectrums numb your ears while the sick rhythms that only someone from Austria could build together mash your guts inside out. Humorous lyrics, crunchy distortion, and industrialized beats aren’t the only attraction with Bulbul, they blend their own uniquely weird take on electronica, hard rock, indie art-rock, and bass-oriented thick melodies for something just outside of the Jesus Lizard and Mr. Bungle. Damn good combustible rock that is impossible to put into any subcategory–unless that subcategory is ‘awesome’.
Thrash metal that is unafraid of daring to do things a little outside of the Swedish metal mold. Slightly growling vocals that kill throats and remind one of near Slayer awesome. Fast and pounding drums anthem their way into your brain causing ecstasy and headbanging. These are some mean looking fucks too on their cover art. I highly doubt any one in Guillotine would be afraid to be the executioner and purveyor of the bloody guillotine. Let the heads roll I could hear them say. But also “Blood Money” isn’t a bunch of mindless blatthering about how tough the band is, how much gore they can shove into their lyrics, or how anti-society they are. Thankfully they attack the politics of the U.S. and the ridiculous amount of money that corporations and politicians push around to one another. Guillotine refuses to sit around amid this circle jerk of influence and peddling without raising their voice. And that voice is a welcome one.
The joy of listening to an album by Download is deciphering and breaking down each element to the complex sound collage that makes up each and every track. “Sorcear” is a perfect example, trolling about with an almost raunchy bassline and rhythm track, there’s exhausting bleeps, noises, and distorted sounds emanating from the speakers in a random yet controlled chaotic setting. “Zass Pie” continues with yawning voice samples that seem to whisper subversive hints into each ear only to be stood up tall with a military-esque kick drum and blasts of filtered rhythms. Over the years, cEvin Key (Skinny Puppy, pLateaU, Doubting Thomas, etc.) has honed his craft into an ambient textured orchestrated chaos with fittings of pure keyboard bliss, distorted and tangled sound effects, and mangled samples that reek of bong residue. Key over the years has easily been recognized as one of the most influential artists in the electronic circuit surpassing the likes of Autechre, Nine Inch Nails, and even the mighty Aphex Twin who now seem to follow his grace with rabid fascination. Twisted acidic breakbeats haunt many of the tracks with a renewed focus on dance rhythms that are broken, tossed into the air, only to rain down upon our ears. Each album that Download seems to pen casts aside previous futuristic sounds for a chaotic future of disco breaks that no one ever sees coming. Perhaps the most intriguing element of “FiXeR” is its uncanny ability to connect with the listener on so many different planes of existence–I could easily sit still and absorb each tune, as well as get up and attempt to dance, or leave it as background music while reading; but it really gets its vibe off proper when the listener allows each cast-off melody, every broken beat, and all singularly textured and heavily effected soundwave wash over him or her seeming to will a mirror of the listener’s soul and thought patterns out in a playful way. Astonishing and perhaps one of the best all-time electronic albums.
Vocalist Sabina Classen isn’t just another hot metal singer; she’s a class act that not only lights up the stage but sets it ablaze with her stirring vocals and stunning presence. Thrash metal has seen a revitalization lately in the metal community but bands like Holy Moses who have been around for nearly three decades never stopped to jump onto the latest trend or bandwagon. Tons of cymbal catches, harsh power chords, and harsh aggressive female vocals. The rhythm guitar takes a lesson or two from Kerry King (Slayer) and the abuse of the metal strings is daunting. A fitting title for an album that will kick you in the ass.
Power pop chords chug away with infinite harmonies leaking out and forming a swirling lollipop around which this Baltimore-based pop icon Edward Joseph Neenan forges dynamic songs. He brings to E. Joseph and the Phantom Heart his crafty ability to build bridges between divergent melodies amid smooth grooves in uncanny. The album opener could very well be heard throughout mainstream pop radio with killer guitar hooks and a seminal nod to retro alternative pop-rock. Power-pop this golden needs to be shared with anyone who will listen. Essential.
Boston has become known as a scene of mavericks in the hardcore and chaotic metal circuits. Ehnahre further exemplifies this theory with their amazing debut record “The Man Closing Up” on Sound Devastation Records. Featuring multiple guitars and even a double bass, Ehnahre is chaotic death metal with elements of doom and experimental orchestral instrumentation dotting the album. Each song is riddled with brooding percussion that devastates with bone-crushing might. Tackling on the experimental scene with an abandonment of traditional song structures, the group seems poised to walk the distance in a similar limelight that previous mavericks Isis, Converge, and Neurosis previously journeyed through.
Having been lauded by Alternative Press as one of the “100 Bands You Need to Know in 2008”, Ceremony is one of the most critically applauded fast-paced aggressive acts out there. Loud and abrasive un-melodic hooks engage the listener with fierce punk attitude ladled into a blazing fire pit of hardcore and adrenaline. Formed in 2005, Ceremony worked their tails off in the Bay Area punk scene finally reaching some notoriety with their bastion of a CD EP entitled “Violence Violence” which was dubbed an instant hardcore classic. Named in honor of Ian Curtis, Ceremony is a band you can’t miss out on if you consider yourself a true fan of anything hardcore or punk.
Indie dancey punk gouges out eyeballs amid guy and girl vocals that explode with intensity. Energetic hooks with fantastic synth and frenetic guitar stabs are just part of the assault off of Johnny Foreigner’s debut album finally available stateside. Hailing from Birmingham U.K., the trio has been making waves among indie circles in the know. Chaotic choruses that are true barn burners have hoisted this group to the forefront of critical praise lately. Recorded with Machine (Fall Out Boy, Armor For Sleep), “Waited Up ‘Til It Was Light” is out in October on Nettwerk Records. Check it out.
Vast. Huge. Monumental. Paramount. These are words that engage the listener as Tearwave’s latest opus “Different Shade of Beauty” pours its soul into their ears, whispering its way through their nervous system, and into their bloodstream. Dark and sweeping guitars ala My Bloody Valentine visit churning shoegazer atmospheres and ghastly female vocals. Once you sink your teeth in deep, “Different Shade of Beauty” is a dark version of the Cranberries with better musicianship, a knack for writing horror novels, and an uncanny ability to wash ashore as a desert island disc classic. You simply need this album.
It’s not often that an indie band lasts as long as Thistle has; in fact over these past fifteen years of playing together Thistle has not only grown close as individuals and friends but as a musical outfit. Tweaking their craft with each and every release, Thistle has long been a band that I’ve followed and adored. As one of the giant groups favored on one of my most loved indie labels, Tiberius Records which was formed by the fine gents in the band, Thistle nurses a sound that is similar to the Athens, GA rock sound of the ’90s. “The Small Hours” finds the group embracing a cognizant approach to guitar-centric indie rock with experimental soundscapes building up to a crescendo throughout. From a mixing perspective, this is one of the more interesting albums I’ve heard a rock group produce this year. Thistle proves that despite a lengthy timeline they can still produce something fresh and expansive.