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Here’s another band that strangely remains unsigned: Stonecutters. They’re sludgy yet technical, like early versions of Kylesa, Baroness, and Mastodon. But Stonecutters are thrashier and more shredtastic. The Louisville, KY band includes guitarist/vocalist Brian Omer, who was in a ’90s hardcore band on Century Media called My Own Victim.
Their second full-length, Christhammer, is full of zig-zagging guitars and memorable anthems. (“Christhammer / Forcing you down!” is sure to stick in your head.) Its raw honesty stands out in a world overrun with Pro Tools and click tracks. Evidently, it has the blessing of some big names (Brent Hinds of Mastodon, Mike Williams of Eyehategod). Darkthrone’s Fenriz likes the artwork, which features a cool painting for each song. Is that enough name-dropping for you? No? Well, hear it yourself. With the band’s permission, the entire album is free for download below. Spread it wide, spread it far, spread the name of Stonecutters.
NB: available for purchase through myspace
Crystal ball says that's in my future! Thanks C!
You had me at Kylesa, Baroness, and Mastodon.
This stuff is great!
What the hell would you call this sound anyway? There seem to be enough bands working in it that some sort of vocabulary might be useful. Sludge doesn't really convey this sound, to me, because I already associate that with a much slower, more groove and blues oriented sound, whereas most of these bands mix NWOBHM and thrash riffs in with the hardcore riffs and vocals, and dispense with most of the blues influence. Early Touch and Go and Am-Rep stuff seem to be common touchstones too.
I know there's beard metal, but that's both imprecise (I've seen it used for Dillinger Escape Plan and Death, for example, and neither of those bands fit this sound), and derisive. Not that derisive is bad, necessarily… the genre (if it is one) has enough punk/hardcore overlap that self-deprecation might be appropriate.
Phew, nerd hour!
Excellent!
Who keeps back the electric car?
Who made Steve Gutenberg a star?
We do!
We DO!
I'm quite fond of the Beard Metal moniker. But since a perfect genre hasn't been widely accepted, it should be our job as metalheads to come up with one. I mean, even though your typical musician rejects the use of labels, it really is a basic human need. How else are you gonna keep your iPod organized?
How about:
Peppy Sludge
Swamp
Spludge (portmanteau of spunk or spacey and sludge)
Sludgecore (popular metal lately has a -core)
Well… I tried… Beard Metal it is!
Ironically, I believe that no one in Stonecutters has a beard.
I've seen the awkward term "technical sludge" applied to some of these bands. It might fit.
Who rigs every Oscar night?
We do, we do!
The problem I have with technical sludge, I guess, is that while some of these bands feature weird time signatures or complex guitar parts, technicality doesn't seem to be the main draw.
Has anybody heard the term New Wave of American Heavy Metal? Does that work at all, or is it more for bands like Lamb of God?
Oh, holy shit, never mind. I just googled that and the wikipedia entry lists almost every band that I hate. There are a few that I like, too, but no stylistic consistency: it seems like a useless term.
how about we brand it as "badass shitkickery" and call it a day?
I heard these guys' last self-release record and it slayed. I too wondered why it wasn't on a label.
Looking forward to listening to this.
once again the IO puts a good band front and center to be soundchecked. good stuff. glad to have blogs like this to help me find such bits of tuneage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ-KZyniB4c
Semi-crappy video quality, but I'm too lazy to dig up a better one.
Great album, brilliant name!
I wonder why they couldn't (or wouldn't) use the original Stonecutters logo?