Eyehategod & Fight Amp Live in Wilmington's Ziggy's by the Sea
…
Ziggy’s By The Sea in Wilmington, North Carolina, is a near-perfect metal venue. The layout of the theater is simple, just an open concrete room with a stage that’s large and high for the venue’s size (capacity 746). That, coupled with the quality of sound and lighting, make Ziggy’s reminiscent of one of my favorite places, Oakland’s beloved Metro Operahouse. The music scene in Wilmington is small but tight-knit and thriving, perhaps in part due to the arrival of this relatively new venue. I saw the evidence firsthand on Sunday, April 17, with Eyehategod and Fight Amp.
Outside chatting with people, I was quickly caught up on all the scene’s juiciest gossip and had about a dozen leads on well-regarded new bands. Among the shows attendees were Dixie Dave and Randy Blythe, who kept a low profile except to graciously indulge fans who wanted pictures with them, and turnout seemed solid for a Sunday night with lots of support even for the early openers, Double-Wide and Wilmington locals American Americans.
…
…
Double-Wide had an exceptional set, with a well-balanced sound, impressive bass lines and strong vocals. Those of us in the audience weren’t ready for the way they threw us into the deep end straight off; they fit the bill perfectly and had people talking about them for the remainder of the night.
…
…
American Americans kept pace easily, their home-field advantage giving them lots of energy to feed off. My biggest takeaway was that their bass player has more fun than any of us. He plays with power while bouncing around smiling alongside sterner bandmates. In my mind, his gig pre-game ritual involves sharing a batch of home-brewed kombucha with his fellow parkour enthusiasts in the park, and those who know him personally describe him as being “full of life.” A closer investigation reveals I wasn’t far off; he was drinking coconut water and shared it with friends in the crowd between songs. I was skeptical after being informed that American Americans have been described as “southern metal/hardcore,” but they killed.
…
…
The real treat of the evening was Fight Amp. The band hails from Jersey and Philadelphia and are just wrapping up a two-week stint as Eyehategod’s direct support, but, Fight Amp differ from recent EHG openers like grindcore/thrash act Full of Hell. They are self-described “sludge punk,” but come across smarter and more musically evolved than most punk. On stage they have a noticeable sense of humor. One can hear some early-’90s industrial influence in the production on their latest album, Constantly Off, and a significant amount of grunge homage, as if Stone Temple Pilot’s “Purple” had a heavy metal baby with a more exciting drummer. About halfway through their set, I found myself thinking “I cannot wait to listen to this stoned.”
Fight Amp has been hitting the studio hard, with nine releases under their belt since 2009, and the work is paying off. Constantly Off is a fantastic album through-and-through, and the reviews reflect it. Their live performance is incredibly tight and the number of people who showed up specifically to see them at Ziggy’s was impressive, given their headliner.
…
…
Eyehategod’s set was unremarkable, but only in the sense that they are so consistent live that it’s barely necessary to say anything at all. Fight Amp’s front man introduced Eyehategod by asking attendees if they were ready to “have their faces melted off.” Mike IX Williams gets on stage, blows a snot rocket and wipes his nose, leaving a snail trail on his fingerless hobo gloves, he and Jimmy Bower rib each other and the crowd lightheartedly for a couple minutes, the feedback kicks up and the crowd gets its faces melted off for two hours. Williams and Bower are a natural Vaudevillian double act, with Bower playing the straight man to Williams’ screaming and swaying. Also, as an aside, Gary Mader may be the only bassist who’s playing I’d describe as “sarcastic,” which is especially satisfying for “Medicine Noose” and “Revelation/Revolution.”
The group has been at it long enough to be completely in control of their fans’ enthusiastic and occasionally manic energy. When a couple of guys in the pit took it a little too far and started shoving, Bower put the kibosh on the situation instantly and effectively with a gentle chiding of, “hey now guys, there’s no fighting at our shows,” then a mammoth bouncer “encouraged” the surly gentlemen to hug it out before the show could go on. Later, a kid who looked to be about 8 years old crowd surfed like a champion, with the crowd and band all effectively facilitating his safe return to the ground.
…
Double Wide
_MG_2498
_MG_2522
_MG_2540
_MG_2553
_MG_2571
_MG_2592
…
American Americans
Balancing Act: An Interview with Hex Inverter’s Christian McKenna
...
Forged by members of the extraordinary experimental, post-rock act Empty Flowers, Hex Inverter is a band obsessed with the concept of psychedelia: the illusory ability of heavy music to expand the listener’s perception. With vocalist and synthesizer manipulator Christian McKenna, we dive into the history and establishment of Hex Inverter, finding the balance between improvisation and songwriting, unusual production practices, and his own label Translation Loss Records. Dive in to get a deep insight into the brain melting sonic waves of Revision and listen to a premiere of “Cannibal Eyes” below....
...
Can you give us a brief overview of Hex Inverter's history? Mick and I have been friends for years. We hang out, drink beers, eat Mexican food and listen to like Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Genesis, Kyuss, Voivod and Earth, Wind & Fire records together. Only those four or five bands, though. We also listen to one song off the second Bob Seger greatest hits collection. A few years ago Mick played me some pieces he was working on. The ideas had this certain vibe that spoke to me so we started writing together. It just kinda gradually turned into this little body of work that ended up being our first record. I didn't really intend for it to be released. I played it for my friend and he suggested we send it to Redscroll. they offered to help us out, they pressed some records and helped us get a few shows. Our first couple gigs were with Kayo Dot. We've played as a three piece, five piece, two piece, four piece. We're releasing Revision with our friend Shannon's label called Anthropic Records. It feels like we're just getting started. Obviously you, Mick and Randy are also known from Empty Flowers. How would you compare the sound of Hex Inverter to Empty Flowers? Hex Inverter has tunes that are built off loose arrangements. The songs rely more on mood. Empty Flowers is coming from a more precise place. I can't speak for Mick but there was nothing preconceived with writing this stuff from my end. My composing approach has always been about trying to say something without much clutter. Less is more. Hex Inverter has a very elusive sound. How much of the end result is based on improvisation rather than wrote composition? The process has changed and evolved over the last few years. I would say our music is 60/40 in terms of songwriting and improvisation. I can't say we really have a definitive way of coming up with stuff. The first record Mick wrote 90% of the music and I wrote my parts. I helped Mick arrange some of his ideas but he did the majority of the work. Revision was a product of the band getting out there and playing live a bit. "Cannibal Eyes" and "Something it's Not" are responses to some of the tunes on the first record. This band started as a studio project in many ways. When Redscroll agreed to put a little money into our band we felt obligated to go out and promote the album. The band never tried performing the songs off Hex Inverter live so when it came time to do so we ended up almost writing new songs in the spirit of the originals. Sometimes the interpretations were so far removed from the originals we decided to give them new names and record them. Keith who has played both drums and bass with the band brought in the main idea for "Daphne." This was the first time we've had someone else contribute to the songwriting outside of Mick and myself. Compared with your debut, Revision is marked with significant leaps in composition and arrangement. Was the production process different? The new record is sort of transitional for us. It's serving as a bridge between the first phase of the band and where we're going. We've actually started recording new material already. I think the next record will be even more of a departure with songs that have elements of what we've done but pulling it off in a more concise way. The next record will contain our first recorded cover. We're doing "Veterans of the Psychic Wars" by Blue Oyster Cult. I'm very excited about this. Can you expand on the themes of Revision? You provide some powerful imagery with titles like “Cannibal Eyes,” and then you dwell into mythological figures such as “Daphne.” What is the connection between the two, and is there an underlying theme that runs through the record? I think Mick came up with the name Revision and I immediately said "that's it!" The band has had several lineups over the past few years.. Hex Inverter is constantly revising itself.. figuring out how to play songs from the first record created these revisions of the earlier compositions. "Fled" is largely based off the instrumental part of another tune. After sending Will Brooks the tracks to "I Swear I'm Not My Thoughts" and being so thrilled with what he threw back at me I decided to add new lines to his revision. "Fled" just became this beautiful piece that could stand on it's own. "Cannibal Eyes" is Mick playing with words. He's being a clever little bugger. "Cannibal Eyes" sounds like cannibalize. We're basically chewing up and spitting back out our songs in a new way. "Cannibal Eyes" is basically our live interpretation of "Bruise" from album number one. I'm not sure anyone has ever noticed. The lyrics are the most obvious similarity but they're much more even in the mix on "Bruise". "Daphne" really has no meaning. I came up with the key and vocal parts minutes before I recorded it. I don't know anyone named Daphne. A water color painting we used for our album cover was found on the wall of an art space gig that Hex Inverter played with Joe Talcum of The Dead Milkmen. We tracked down the artist from the owner of the space... a really talented guy named John Opal. I always envision paintings being revised as they go along. The name Revision just seemed to fit on many levels....
...
As your sound is heavily experimental, I guess you are making use of a lot of effects in your instrument chains. Can you tell us a bit about your setup? What are the effects/modules that you just cannot do without? We're really trying to slim down our set up because it's just a logistical nightmare when playing out and we used to drag out embarrassing amounts of gear. I'm not much of a tech guy.. We used some different synths. I used a Moog and a little Korg that I have on the album. I have a looping pedal that I'm getting into more. Mick has been tripling up on himself live. He gets these loops going with guitars, bass and keys. We slowly build the songs up live based on various drones and loops. The set up changes all the time. I want to stay away from the drum machine in the future and work with a live drummer more. You had a slightly unusual recording session, where most of the tracks were recorded at Machines with Magnets, with Seth Manchester and Keith Souza, and then “Fled” was recorded partly by Steve Roche and then by Will Brooks (dalek). How did you end up making this decision? Was there any difficulty during the latter stages, mainly mastering, due to the use of different recording spaces, techniques, and different people mixing them? The process leading up to the recording was somewhat frustrating due to several personnel changes but once we got to the studio things went really smoothly. We've had four or five different people who have played with the band in the last few years. They weren't working out for various reasons. Some of it was my fault. Some of the folks I just felt were doing it for the wrong reasons and not really contributing anything but drama. It was growing tiresome teaching people the same songs over and over. We tracked the majority of the record live up in Providence, RI. A few days before heading up to Machines we lost our rhythm section. I didn't want to cancel the session because I wanted to document that stage of the band so I called my good friend Randy Larsen and he just did a phenomenal job. He really stepped it up on bass. Randy made the record much better and brought a fresh perspective to some tunes that we had been squeezing the juice out of for quite some time. He gave the songs a new sense of life. I've known Randy for a long time and he is one of my closest friends. We've worked on music together with Cable, Empty Flowers and some other projects over the years so it just made sense to reach out to him. Our engineer Seth came in and bailed us out on the drums. He's super talented and this was the first time Hex Inverter would have live drums on a recording. I'm pretty fried out on some of these songs at this point though I'm proud of the record. I'm proud of what we accomplished at the given time. We're ready to move onto the next thing. You also run Translation Loss Records, which has released albums from the likes Mouth of the Architect, Rosetta and Giant Squid. How do you find running a label in the current climate? The bands you named are really great and they're all longtime friends. I'm very proud of the long relationships we have with the aforementioned artists. We aren't signing bands to long term deals. We have been working with Mouth of the Architect since their inception and it's always just been one-offs. I'm so proud of that. I've been running Translation Loss with Starkweather drummer Drew Juergens for the last 17 years. I can't believe we've been at it for so long. The label is a love-hate thing sometimes but the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. I've gotten to work with some of my favorite artists over the years. It's very rewarding knowing they trust us to handle their work. It's getting harder and harder to get folks to purchase music. Things are constantly changing vinyl is definitely more popular now although I'm convinced 90% of the people that buy it from us never even listen to it. We've even released a couple cassettes over the years. Translation Loss is located in Philadelphia, and I think it has a really good grasp of the local scene. How would you characterize the current bands in Philly? Anything we should be at the lookout for? You're asking the wrong guy. I'm a homebody type and I don't get out that much. I live north of the city, out in the country. I'm not really in touch with the scene. I'm also not good at characterizing bands. Bardo Pond, Kohoutek and Stinking Lizaveta are three great bands from the area. I've shared bills with the latter two and I just saw Bardo Pond last Friday and they blew my mind. It's funny because I like metal but I'm not like this strict heavy metal guy. Translation Loss is mostly known for some of the more metal type stuff that's been released but we've put out all kinds of records, singer songwriter, ambient, solo piano and all other kinds of stuff. People always think I'm like this "metal or die" dude. I know it is very early to ask, given that the new album is out, but are there plans for any more music coming our way? Any EPs or collaborations on the horizon? We're already into the writing and recording process for the next record. I think the gap between releases will be much shorter this time. We just played our album release show last weekend and it was our best gig yet. I'm sure we will get out there more this year, we just have to pick and choose what we want to do, what makes sense for us. We're always getting offers to play gigs....
Upcoming Metal Releases 4/16/2017 – 4/22/2017
...
Here are the new metal releases for the week of April 16, 2017 – April 22, 2017. Release dates are formatted according to proposed North American scheduling, if available. Expect to see the bulk of these records on shelves or distros on Friday unless otherwise noted or if labels and artists get impatient. Blurbs and designations are based on whether or not I have a lot to say about it. See something we missed? Goofs? Let us know in the comments. Plus, as always, feel free to post your own shopping lists. Happy digging. Please note: this is a review column and is not speculative. Any announced albums without preview material will not be covered. Additionally, any surprise releases which are uploaded after this is published will not be covered. This week: ....
ANTICIPATED RELEASES
Virus - Investigator | Karisma Records | Avant-Garde Rock/Metal | Norway Honestly, I shouldn't even have to write about Virus - you should all be just as enamored as I am. Carl-Michael Eide's clattering, but still lyrical continuation of Ved Buens Ende's early future-sight moves forward still. In the shadow of last year's Memento Collider, the trio of Carl-Michael, Plenum, and Einar Sjursø offer two more songs in their distinct, avant-rock style, paired with one of the coolest music videos I've seen in a long time. Farsot - Fail·Lure | Lupus Lounge | Black Metal | Germany From Joseph's premiere of "With Obsidian Hands":"The cover of their new record, Fail·lure looks almost like a scarecrow. Scarecrows are almost as old as the practice of agriculture themselves, and evoke atavistic fears. Like the fairies of superstition, they are supposed to always be watching. Like all religious beliefs, they don’t do what they’re meant to (scare away grain-feeding birds, preserve an afterlife). These fears, stemming from superstition and observing the vastness of nature, come from that same brain case that Farsot poked at six years ago. These observations are relevant because Farsot are still poking around these essential themes. They’re using their music to ask large questions, and explore large contradictions. The difference is that now their music sounds more ornate and experimental. Album opener “With Obsidian Hands” doubles down on all of these elements, by the band’s own admission."Arkheron Thodol - Thaw | Independent/Digital | Atmospheric Folk/Black Metal | United States On the surface Arkheron Thodol sound like any other nature-oriented black metal band. Hell, I certainly thought that was the case, but, as it turns out, this Montana-based unit is so much more. Sure, they're pastoral, but there is a lot to unpack - intricately composed chord progressions, haunting, clean-sung passages, massive gait, and an aggression which is often lacking in forested metal. Though punctuated with elements of standard "modern" United States black metal, there is a multifaceted nature to Thaw which helps maintain a high level of interest. A lengthy audio clip from The Twilight Zone's "The Obsolete Man" in "Gnosis" elicited a surprisingly emotional reaction from me, to boot. Phrenelith - Desolate Endscape | Dark Descent Records/Me Saco Un Ojo/Extremely Rotten Records | Death Metal | Denmark Though primarily known for their work in the dripping, brutal Undergang, the new Danish masters of death metal cast their sights to and master the past in Phrenelith. Though superficially cavernous and Lovecraftian, Phrenelith's "strictly old-school" approach is rigid in structure and moves with a catchy, unbridled momentum (oh, and keep an eye out for the quietly released Chimaerian Offspring EP, while you're at it).
...
...
OF NOTE
Artificial Brain - Infrared Horizon | Profound Lore Records | Technical Death Metal | United States It's technical death metal and it's about space - I'm pretty sure most will stop reading there. To be honest, though they perform a great live show, Artificial Brain's debut never really "clicked" with me, and I think it will take a bit for Infrared Horizon to grow on me. Celestial Grave - Pvtrefactio | Iron Bonehead Productions | Black Metal | Finland Blacker than black and sharper than sharp - check back in a few hours to hear the EP in full. Ancient Ascendant - Raise the Torch | Candlelight Records | Death Metal | England This is death metal which grooves for sure, but the most interesting aspect is definitely the unique, thoughtful guitar work, though sometimes it "jangles" and rings just a bit too much atop the heavy root work. Coltsblood - Ascending into Shimmering Darkness | Candlelight Records | Sludge/Doom Metal | England The tag says sludge/doom metal, but this is surprisingly close to the putrid, death metal-inspired ire of the newly reformed Iron Monkey's heyday. Always nice when a band with such a banal tag catches me off guard like this. Cemetery Urn - Cemetery Urn | Hells Headbangers Records | Death Metal | Australia As it turns out, death metal from Australia isn't just some aberrant cave emanation. Sharp, distinct, and clear, the spastic and furious sounds of Cemetery Urn's third album more effectively mirror the works of Immolation and Perdition Temple than their murky countrymen....
FOR THE ADVENTUROUS
Cloud Rat/Crevasse - Cloud Rat / Crevasse | Halo of Flies Records/Contraszt | Grindcore/Powerviolence | United States / Germany/Netherlands Never faltering in their quest to craft the most adventurous, bucking, and wildest grindcore on the planet, Cloud Rat's second split this year (this month, in fact, as I appear to have missed a split with newly-reactivated Moloch) shows no sign of stopping. Paired with the vicious "trans-state" powerviolence of international unit Crevasse, this isn't so much a split as it is a means of leveling cities. Justin Walter - Unseen Forces | Kranky | Kosmiche/Ambient | United States We all grew up watching those aged, warped reel-to-reel documentaries in primary school, and I fondly remember the equally warped, soothing cloud which was their soundtracks. Justin Walter more than adequately mimics this bubbling, oozing sound of disintegrating, sun-frizzled nostalgia. Toby Driver - Madonnawhore | Flenser Records | Slowcore/Singer/Songwriter/Avant-Garde | United States People generally namecheck maudlin of the Well as a death metal band, which always struck me as a half-truth. Some of that band's (and even Driver's current work with Kayo Dot) most violent moments occurred when they were at their quietest. Stretching those sparse, harmonious elements into a singer/songwriter album, though I would lovingly refer to this particular style of pop minimalism as "slowcore," Toby Driver manifests yet another head of stylistic mastery on the hydra which is his body of work. Les Discrets - Prédateurs | Prophecy Productions | Post-Rock/Pop | France From Joseph's premiere of "Les Reproches":"Even in assuming lighter textures, Les Discrets evokes landscapes of misting rain, fog, streetlights and towering steel. [...] It’s kind of a tribute to the 80’s, New Order or Depeche Mode: its catchy feel, the synth bass line, the overall feel. I love that song so much."Guerilla Ghost - Suicide Notes of the 21st Century | Triple Eye Industries | Hip-Hop/Rap | United States Bet you wouldn't expect rap coverage other than dalek on this site, huh? Wrong! Forged from the Wisconsin punk and experimental scenes are the experimental sounds of hip-hop duo Guerilla Ghost. While appealing to dalek's more atmospheric conceits, Suicide Notes of the 21st Century more closely resembles the bile and edge of early horrorcore. I believe a notable artist recently namedropped Dr. Octagon in an Invisible Oranges feature not too long ago, to which this album bears a familial resemblance.
...
FROM THE GRAVE
Selvans - Lupercalia | Fólkvangr Records | Symphonic Folk/Black Metal | Italy People seem to think that "symphonic" means "lame and unworthy of listening." Maybe listen to Selvans's debut, especially now that it's available on tape. This coincides with a special release of the Hirpi live CD and compilation from Avantgarde Music Casket Huffer - Gospels of Scum | Hibernation Records | Death Metal | United States Ridiculous death metal which skips the murk in favor of rendering their nightmares in as high definition as possible. Now available on vinyl....
OTHER RELEASES
Obelyskkh - The Providence | Exile on Mainstream Records | Psychedelic Stoner/Doom Metal | Germany Stoner/doom metal doesn't tickle my fancy as it once did, but they aren't all bad. Somewhere between Om's first two albums (which I still love) and the grit of early Electric Wizard, Obelyskkh toes the line between heavy minimalism and slow-burning groove. Goldenpyre - In Eminent Disgrace | Signal Rex | Death Metal | Portugal Hey, enough about Portuguese black metal, right? As it turns out, there are still extreme metal bands from that section of the Iberian peninsula who remember how to play interesting, weird riffs. Labÿrinth - Architecture of a God | Frontiers Records | Progressive Power Metal | Italy Get ready for some overwrought cheese which you won't be able to stop listening to. Power metal is a drug. Tehom - The Merciless Light | Blood Harvest | Death Metal | Sweden With all the clear, sharp death metal this week, here's something a little more old school and murky which "emanates from the pit."...
…
Fight Amp
Breakdown: Deathcore Hits A Dead End
...
Perhaps the most shat-upon metal subgenre of them all: deathcore. Formerly a home to a distinct brand of heaviness and technical innovation, deathcore hit the mainstream and got plainstream. Live, deathcore makes a ton of sense, as breakdowns have a clean impact and obvious appeal. On record, things get tougher: listeners pay closer attention to detail, and the likelihood of boredom increases when there simply isn’t any. Recognizing this, deathcore has been reduced to mere performance, “live only” music, no longer championing the music itself but rather its ability to stir up tornadic, throwdown crowds. Slam, slam, slam until you can’t slam anymore. Most deathcore bands with promising early releases either stuck around and got worse, e.g. Born Of Osiris (whose 2007 debut The New Reign is a masterpiece) and The Acacia Strain, or perished early-on. Some big-hitters came to power, bands like Job For A Cowboy, Through The Eyes Of The Dead, and All Shall Perish. There was promising material there, but evolution took a sour turn and the magic died. What's left lays dead at the feet of a bulging poser scene with an affinity for uninspired breakdowns and esoteric fashion accessories. Eventually, 2017 rolls around, and here we are: the two main deathcore bands of today have recently released albums, Look At Yourself by Emmure, and Suicide Silence by Suicide Silence. Simply put, they are godawful, and their failure clearly indicates the failure of this subgenre. Specifically, the failure to hoist the best on high, to give primacy to bands who write interesting (versus cheap) content, and to reject copycats and failed experiments. The scene has also failed to accept the death metal influences which were its wellspring in the first place. Emmure have written a copycat album. Suicide Silence have experimented and failed. Plain and simple, no surprises....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFHxisIYLx8...
In a rare and promising display, though, the scene seems to be swimming toward the edges of a pool that now contains two humongous turds. Reception and sales have been poor, and hilarious, especially for Suicide Silence. Some fans even wanted to block its release. The band’s last album, 2014’s You Can’t Stop Me, peaked at #5 on the Billboard Top 200 and stayed there for five weeks. The self titled peaked at #163 and stayed there for one week. Emmure's preceding album Eternal Enemies managed to hit #57 back in 2014, but they missed that mark at #73 with their latest. No substantial change there, probably because nothing about the new album is actually new. While it's sad that not trying at all (Emmure) is more acceptable to music fans than trying and failing (Suicide Silence), the point is to try and win. Yes, tougher than it sounds, but these are not amateur or unseasoned bands. Neither album showcases any honesty: they feel lazy and flaccid, released with the knowledge that the best work had not been done. Confidence is absent, and when success rides so heavily on the drama of performance, surefootedness makes all the difference. Suicide Silence could be given credit for trying, but the effort is half-assed. There are out-of-tune vocals, messy guitar parts and a completely lackluster productions. Above all, the radical decision to almost completely exclude breakdowns seems like a put-on, as if in hopes that praise (or sales) would follow just doing something different. Deathcore does not suck because the breakdown is inherently stupid, which means that removing the breakdown will not cure deathcore. Deathcore sucks because bands have forgotten how to write breakdowns, yes, but also because they've forgotten that there needs to be quality music in between breakdowns to make them work....
https://open.spotify.com/album/4H4B6MPQowYQvPEoI86rld...
To that end, Emmure royally fucks up. Look At Yourself slams away all day, but contains no real content. Live, tracks from this album will still produce the intended effect. But there's no nuance, however slight it could be, to retain any deeper interest. Doing breakdowns all the time defeats the very purpose of the breakdown. Putting the "core" in deathcore must go beyond reimagining death metal through a singular lens, otherwise you're writing incomplete music. Deathcore's saturation with one-footed bands like Emmure illustrates an unhealthy obsession with just one particular musical component, shunning artists who are trying to do more. No wonder bands like Echoes Of Misanthropy and NovaThrone remain in the shadows. While Suicide Silence and Emmure’s recent failures stick out from the pack, a little digging shows that the genre as a whole is losing economic steam. Nobody’s experienced a precipitous loss of goodwill the way Suicide Silence has, but Carnifex, Chelsea Grin, and Job for a Cowboy have all lost their charting ability over time. The industry as a whole is winding down, but older bands like Mastodon are charting better than ever while embracing radio rock and verse-chorus-verse song structures in the same general way that Suicide Silence is. The only path to deathcore success is experimental success. This proves difficult in a subgenre characterized by short attentions spans and a highly physical live experience. The centrality of "the drop" is both the foundation and curse of deathcore. Technicality is perhaps the only solution, as early Beneath The Massacre illustrates, or Rings Of Saturn now. Or smaller details, like dual vocalists, e.g. Despised Icon. Things which can't spoil deathcore's live appeal but also benefit the music itself and the in-home listening experience. Also, there's a balance to strike between death metal and deathcore while still remaining decisively deathcore, like The Red Chord demonstrated with their early work....
https://open.spotify.com/album/7MpBFAZre9YguFVWtgkGbo...
Deathcore is a great example of a subgenre whose scene has eaten itself. But something must come out of the other end, and we're still waiting patiently for it. Quality future deathcore will be a revamped celebration of the breakdown, but with exercised respect. It's undeniably easy to drop-z blast a crowd into a frenzy, but to keep them substantively listening over and over for texture is not. Turning to the tenants of death metal will yield solutions, but only if the populace embraces it. The right idea is to attract listeners from outside deathcore's established circle, to broaden the appeal of the breakdown by situating it appropriately within a solid metal framework, and then innovating from there. Suicide Silence must’ve known they were running the risk of alienating some fans, especially with those monumentally abysmal clean vocals, but they didn’t consider the risk of not attracting any new ones. Emmure just trusted that fans would buy a repackaged but identical product. These two positions are doomed from the start: they abandon the notion that bands not only give us what we want but can also determine what we want. Setting new expectations is the true power, not just delivering on existing ones....
Ajattara – “Suru” (Video Premiere)
...
It’s no surprise that the live video has endured. As the music industry has shrunk drastically since the heyday of music videos, this format has endured as the most efficient way to promote a band’s worth to unfamiliar listeners. They tap into a base sense of community, showing the effect that a band has on a crowd naturally encourages you to have the same reaction. Because of this, I can’t fault Ajattara for choosing such an obvious format for the video for “Suru”. Editing or no, this video proves that Ajattara have what it takes to hold a crowd. To anyone literate in the body language of heavy metal, the determined grimaces and synchronized nods are proof of sincere engagement, if only for a moment. But what makes the “Suru” video truly a metal video is that it takes one further step by incorporating more cinematic footage of landscapes and lone figures among the wilderness. These images aren’t reliant on what the band is doing on stage so much as what their music is doing to the crowd. Transportation is one of heavy metal’s strengths. “Suru” is no exception. It’s video captures what the fans envision when they hear it washing over them in the night air. In this setting the rolling triplets are more than rock solid rhythmic technique, they are the sensation of rippling waves under your feet. The eerie reverb isn’t a production choice, it’s the silence you hear on a morning walk through an empty forest. This quality is exactly what makes squares revolt from most metal. It’s a level of visual earnesty one inch too far normies. But Ajattara could give a fuck. “Suru” opens the path to the communal spirit of metal and encourages you to step into the circle....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKqlWQfrHeE&feature=youtu.be...
Galley Beggar – “The Lake” (Song Premiere)
Helengard – ‘Firebird’ (Album Premiere)
...
Folk metal gets a bad rap. The genre’s bigger names like Korpiklaani or Trollfest would have you believe the field is populated by hairy, drunken vikings, but this is an oversimplification. Despite its party animal reputation, folk metal has a deeper, more emotive side. Sharing members with fellow Ukrainian Russian expats Kauan, folk metal duo Helengard avoid the stereotypes. Their self-titled debut was released in 2010, though the band seem to have been quiet since then. Now, almost a decade past their self-titled debut, the release of their second full length, Firebird, is finally upon us. Firebird, draws from a variety of folkish influences. The slow, somber gravitas found in some of their passages is reminiscent of Finnish folk metal legends Moonsorrow, while the folk instruments and jauntier melodies offer a romantic echo of the Steppes themselves. Opening track “Fall Rue” gets "right down to business," hitting the listener with a waterfall of keyboards and driving riffs. Subsequent tracks continue in a similar vein, guiding the listener on a journey through ancient lands and snowy mountain peaks. Harps and flutes play a prominent role all over this album, in particular on the track “Summer Feast”. Firebird is punctuated with short spoken-word interludes in the band’s native Russian. While these will probably be more enjoyable to those who can speak the language, they don’t detract from the flow of the album for English-speakers. Even after a lengthy period of public inactivity, Helengard shift between cold and brooding, and upbeat and uplifting, hitting a sweet spot that does away with the viking frat house image that still haunts folk metal. Lose yourself in the snowy, somber music of Helengard with an exclusive stream of Firebird below....
...
Follow Helengard on Bandcamp and Facebook....
Technical Ecstasy: The Best in Virtuoso Death Metal
...
People think of technical [insert your subgenre here] metal as songs made by musicians for musicians. We're talking metal wherein virtuoso musicianship is the primary focus: how fast, how complex, how mind-bending, etc. Something is lost when the focus shifts from how it sounds to how it's played, especially when it comes to guitar. At that point, music transforms into mere demonstration, a performance, something to gawk at rather than absorb on a deeper level. But some technical-whatever albums overcome this dilemma through extra-clever songwriting and abundant hooks. Having a knack for the progressive (experimental) expression of those incredible mechanical skills always helps too. The artistry in technicality flows from its limitlessness. With everything possible, if it isn't novel, then it isn't good. There is a glut of soundalikes, especially in tech-death. Tropes are allowed, but they have to be reinterpreted and repurposed; their definitions swung around in an opposition, challenging the status quo by demonstrating the unknown versatility of status quo itself. Proper technical metal need not be that technical, comparatively. It's not an arms race. It's how nifty you can be while performing at maximum capability within the bounds you set for yourself. That said, fluent guitarists are a dime a dozen. Creative guitarists cost much more for good reason, ones who can work with involved drumming and expansive vocals. Three bands - Exocrine, Yugen, Samskaras - have released albums in 2017 - Ascension, Stillness Disturbed, Asunder - which together sum up the promising state of modern technical metal. The technicality here is bare, the music's very substance, but it does not overpower elements of style, character, and mood. In fact, technicality creates these elements feet-first instead of sidestepping them. These albums are progressive, but not proggy. Fascinating, but not mind-numbing. Experimental, but familiar. Above all, they're resolutely jammable, perhaps the most important counterbalance to the sterility of technicality....
...
Exocrine - Ascension Technical death metal often suffers from over-mechanization, not the Fear Factory industrial type, but the Rings Of Saturn "programmed" type. When music feels like an algorithm, it loses its humanity. If you're already technically skilled, making complicated arrangements is easier than making complicated arrangements make sense, musically. Exocrine runs with the alien/insect theme (in the vein of Neuraxis), a guiding principle to reign in the inherent nonsense of such numerous notes. The band’s sophomore album Ascension coheres nicely even while toying with varying methodologies: speed thrashing, sweep picking, slamming and straight-up shredding. All the while, this album is pit-worthy, prime for moshing and leaving nothing to subtlety. Ascension fluxes continuously, as songs are heavily segmented. Ideas are experimented with in short bursts, and the listener plays a fun game of tag-along. With so much going on, thematics are key in keeping it under wraps. It also instills a sense of purpose. Exocrine takes opportunities to get soft with gentle interludes, quieter song introductions, and interspersed post-processing effects, but they don't dampen things with clean vocals or overt moodiness. Relying on its theme, Ascension remains foreign and mysterious throughout....
...
...
Yugen - Stillness Disturbed Creativity involves novelty, and removing vocals from your music forces innovation but invites mechanization. Perhaps this is why instrumental metal turns some people off automatically. While Stillness Disturbed isn't entirely instrumental (choir-like synth in the background, some protracted howling), it relies exclusively on its instrumentation for punch. A lot of instrumental technical metal feels like non-instrumental metal with the vocals cut, leaving a void usually left unfilled. Are those actual bass licks we can hear? Yes, finally. Excellent technical metal must be groovy, beyond breakdowns or catchy riffing. Stillness Disturbed makes groove top priority: the guitar technicality departs from traditional shredding, balancing simpler chord ascensions/descents with insistent triplet patterns. Meanwhile, the drumming feels biological, and bass is audible underneath guitar-heavy sections, popping its head out through the mix on opportune occasion. Yugen’s progressiveness comes from experimenting with non-traditional compositions and mechanics and then transforming them into an album’s (groovy) theme. Stillness Disturbed is all about cadence, rhythm and feel. It tones back on outright heaviness for ease of digestion, but retains the power to create significant body highs. It’s an interesting take on the Meshuggah-like approach....
...
...
Samskaras - Asunder For a core take on technical metal, turn to Samskaras. Here, vocals steal some spotlight from the instrumentation, intermixing clean and scream for a more dynamic approach. This is a departure from similar bands to whom vocals were an afterthought or a box to be checked. Overall, this aids Asunder's digestibility. A human voice can go a long way in preventing coldness from setting in. This aids the familiarity of the music, often left by the wayside by bands who overly fear triteness. The liberal use of blastbeats sets Samskaras apart from, say, Unearth, plus they don't resort to breakdowns. A clear-cut ferocity and pithy song lengths imbue some grind-like qualities. They even had the balls to lift some Pantera lyrics on the final track, "Conqueror." Normally this would be cringeworthy, but Asunder's overt confidence adds to its credit. If only this album was full-length we’d be able to see how themes were developed long-form. For its brevity, there is a great deal of content here. For the most part crystal-cut, Samskaras are aware of the benefits of some discordance, especially when mated to technical drum fills. The riffing otherwise switches off quickly between tremolo and single-note progressions. As a result, Asunder is full-bodied, a plump and hefty package, despite not being downright heavy in the traditional sense. Technical metal usually doesn't make the best workout music (your focus wouldn't be dedicated to the myriad of notes), but this album is an poised exception....
...
Ides Of Gemini – “Heroine’s Descent” (Song Premiere)
Woe & Ultha Removed From Hamburg Ist Droneburg
...
According to a lengthy post on their Facebook page, New York City black metal act Woe, along with their tourmates Ultha, have been removed from the bill at Hamburg Ist Droneburg at Hafenklang. While the venue has yet to make an official statement regarding booting Woe and co. from the show, Woe's Chris Grigg claims that they were informed via SMS that they were being kicked off for booking a show with Inquisition, who have a habit of associating with white supremacists. This is in spite of the fact that Woe have made their own left-leaning politics fairly public. More details on that in the post, embedded below:...
...
Admittedly, it's pretty strange for anyone to want to share a green room with a band like Inquisition, but Grigg claims that they have a vested interest in exposing black metal fans to explicitly anti-fascist politics in a live setting. "We never backed down from an opportunity to discuss it in interviews, we never shrank from it online, we covered a classic anti-fascist punk song to extremely apolitical black metal crowds, and we doubled down with songs like "No Blood Has Honor" on our new album." says Grigg, "Along the way, we introduced countless black metal fans who had never considered politics that it is possible to take an anti-fascist stance without sacrificing the harsh, abrasive stance of a black metal band." This isn't the first case of a venue getting skittish about being associated with heavy metal's right wing, and it likely won't be the last. For reasons that should be pretty fucking self-evident, metal bands that have played footsies with hate speech or Nazi-friendly imagery have rightfully become the target of a great of scrutiny lately. Droneburg choosing the nuclear option for Woe & Ultha wasn't the most nuanced or well-researched approach, but it isn't hard to see them simply trying to be safe rather than sorry. Woe & Ultha are only the most recent example of a well meaning act caught in the crossfire of the PR nightmare that is heavy metal politics....
UPDATE: the venue has addressed this cancellation in their own Facebook post here. Facebook's translation feature reads the post as such: "Dear guests of the drone castle festival, Contrary to our announcement the bands ultha and wkd[sic] here today don't play. Reason is the participation of the bands at the conspiracy of the damned-Festival in Rotterdam on Easter Sunday in the headlining band plays the inquisition which we nsbm. We throw the bands no right tendencies, but quite a clean right wing bands. We would like to in Port Klang no stage. Unfortunately, we received this information on such short notice that a timely cancellation was no longer possible. We thank you for your understanding. Tickets can be purchased at the box office will be returned." More updates as they come....
…
Eyehategod
Idre – “Unforgiving Landscapes” (Album Premiere)
...
The first book to make me weep was Cormac McCarthy's The Road. The prose's deliberation in all its terse diction, lack of punctuation, and harsh bluntness felt all too real - like I was there. It hurt me down to my soul, and I felt a great, lifeless expanse surrounding me, wide and flat, beyond my small dorm room. There I was, eighty pages in, and, overwhelmed by its starkness. I had to put the book down Sometimes art makes you lonely, and I suppose art should elicit some sort of emotional response from its audience, but the truly enthralling pieces have become increasingly uncommon. I felt that same sort of desolate, lonesome expanse surround me when I first heard Oklahoma trio Idre's newest effort, the uncompromising Unforgiving Landscapes. Much like McCarthy, Idre's gloom is steeped in long-form minimalism, and, with two songs topping out at twenty-two minutes in length each, they, too, makes little use of punctuation in favor of lengthy phrases. Rife with folky, gothic undertones and clouded, dusty haze Unforgiving Landscapes is complicated, indescribable, echoing Townes van Zandt's soul-rending depression and the uncapturable horizon at the end of the endless, flat plain. Idre is pristine, well... mostly pristine, if a little sooty and sun-baked, but carries the immeasurable weight of solitude. Unforgiving Landscapes will see an LP (limited to 300) and cassette (limited to 100) May 19th on Wolves and Vibrancy Records and Breathe Plastic Records respectively. Wipe the sweat and dust from your brow and listen to the two-part, forty-four minute mammoth below....
...
Follow Idre on Facebook and Bandcamp....
Mat Fowler’s 10 Essential Folk Rock Albums
...
The term ‘folk-rock’ can be interpreted very differently depending on wherever you are in the world. But generally the mid to late 1960s was when the revelation hit on combining folk music with rock, or more accurately, electric instruments and most notably the electric guitar. In my experience being in a folk-rock band, the driving riffs accompanying the sweet melody lines and the emotiveness of the subject matter these songs touch on seems to resonate with metal audiences. Bob Dylan played his infamous electric set in 1965 at the Newport Folk Festival which sent shock waves across the world and inspired other bands in the U.S. such as the Byrds and Jefferson Airplane to follow suit....
...
But it was in the U.K. where bands like Fairport Convention were taking inspiration from traditional tunes of the British Isles and arranging them for a full electric band and it’s this niche area of the folk-rock umbrella I’ll be focussing on....
Mat Fowler plays guitar and mandolin as well as sings in Galley Beggar. Stream their new song "The Lake" here. The band’s latest album, Heathen Hymns will be available on April 28 via Rise Above Records. You can pre-order the album digitally or physically....
Fairport’s fourth album consisting of six traditional tracks including “Matty Groves” (a song dating back as far as the 17th Century), a medley of traditional tunes played fast and loud, and three original tracks, Liege & Lief is considered the forerunner for the folk revival in the U.K.
Listen here.
Ashley Hutchings left Fairport Convention shortly after the release of Liege & Lief to form Steeleye Span, reportedly because he wanted to explore traditional music even further than the rest of the members of Fairport were prepared to do, although a fatal car accident that killed Drummer Martin Lamble was also a reason Hutchings gives for the split.
This recording of the traditional tune “The Blacksmith” (first noted down by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1909) relies heavily on Gerry Conway’s drumming combining heavy ‘on beat’ with syncopated hits.
Listen here.
This is another spin-off from Fairport Convention, formed by Sandy Denny, the then lead singer of Fairport up until after Liege & Lief. She was joined by Australian Trevor Lucas and American Jerry Donahue on guitar and continued the trend to explore folk songs alongside covers of contemporary folk artists such as Bob Dylan’s “Too Much of Nothing” and Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Way I Feel”. They made great use of harmony and group vocals – something very prominent in traditional music of Britain.
Listen here.
Not that they need much of an introduction, but the third studio album by Led Zeppelin is an important inclusion in the list. The band’s direction looked to folk music for inspiration. The songs and playing styles of folk greats like Bert Jansch and Davey Graham were evident in Jimmy Page’s choice of guitar tunings and chord voicings. Add to this, Viking legends (“Immigrant Song”) and this, “Gallows Pole”, a traditional tune about a condemned man waiting for his aides to pay off the hangman as subject matter for Robert Plant provided a real cross-over for traditional folk fans to enter the world of rock music.
Listen here.
Trees, as with most of the bands on the list remained fairly underground and met little commercial success at the time but rather gathered a cult following and critical acclaim many years after they disbanded.
They, like Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span chose songs found in a huge catalogue of folk songs known as the Roud, which were collected from oral tradition all over the world. Their sound is defined by heavy guitar riffs and soloing, coupled with the prominent melodic bass in the mix. My band, Galley Beggar are lucky enough to have tracked down Celia Drummond (then Humphris) and convinced her to guest on our version of the standard “Let No Man Steal Your Thyme”.
Listen here.
Irish band Mellow Candle were a progressive group making full use of singer Clodagh Simonds’ piano, mellotron and harpsichord arrangements. They still had the guitars, bass and drums that defines the genre, just with a more ethereal edge, especially with the dual female vocals.
Listen here.
Hedgehog Pie were an electric folk band from the north of England. By the time they recorded their third album, The Green Lady, you can hear the strong influences of prog bands like Jethro Tull coming through, whilst keeping some elements of their folk roots in the subject matter and melody lines used.
Listen here.
Roll forward 30 years and the revival’s renaissance delivers the goods with this fantastic debut from the pixie rockers. Combine Moog synthesisers, crisp electric guitars, seriously cool drumming and a selection of medieval wind instruments and that pretty much sums up these caped, cult icons carving out the new wave acid-folk scene.
Listen here.
These American psychedelic-folk soundscapers hark back to the Mellow Candle vibe, relying on layers and washes of tones as the backdrop to Meg Baird’s soft vocals.
Listen here.
The band’s initial idea was to indulge their love of the heavy doomy sound. Something like Sabbath or The Melvins and experimenting with alternative guitar tunings. John Mosley, one of the band’s two guitarists recalls:
“While playing around with heavy music ideas in rehearsals, simultaneously I was getting obsessed with folk music, particularly the artists of the English folk revival. I had been aware of loads of folk singers since being a kid, as my mum played the melodeon for a morris side and had loads of records in the house. When messing around with the open tunings I started playing bits of Omie wise (that I knew from pentangle) and Man of Burnham Town (which I knew from A Martin Cathy record) and brought these to rehearsal. Bizarrely it seemed to sit ok alongside the instrumental stuff we had already written.”
Their version of “Are You Going to Leave Me”, is a heady mix of meaty, effected guitars driving the traditional tune, first heard by me on Shirley & Dolly Collins’ 1970 album Love, Death and the Lady.
Listen here.
Trial & Error: An Interview With Jute Gyte
...
Jute Gyte is, yet another, one-man, black metal outfit, but the similarities to other such “bedroom projects” end there. To label Adam Kalmbach as a black metal musician would be a severe mis-categorization. While much of Jute Gyte’s catalog does contain all of the tell-tale elements of black metal, that is a small facet of the very expansive body of work that Kalmbach has released to date. There are no missteps here. Everything feels quite deliberate. In the often image conscious, and formulaic aesthetics of black metal, Jute Gyre manages to be neither. Lacking corpse paint, proclamations, and grainy forest photos not only sets Kalmbach apart from the pack, it sets him free to release whatever sounds he sees fit. Whether exploring brutally atonal riffs and odd time signatures, or beautifully atmospheric albums of entirely beatless soundscapes, Jute Gyte is an ever evolving entity with a sound all its own....
Anthony Mangicapra: I’d like to know a little about what your interests or obsessions are outside of creating music. Maybe we could begin there? Adam Kalmbach: Most of my interests are related to the arts: music, literature, movies, games. I mostly read fiction and books about music and music history, but I also fumble with philosophy, poetry and history. I love '80s and '90s straight-to-video horror movies, the stranger end of Italian exploitation cinema (like Fulci's Conquest), Herzog, Bergman, Lynch, etc. Lately I've been interested in generative systems for fictional narratives: things like National Novel Generation Month, William Wallace Cook's Plotto, Mark Johnson's Ultima Ratio Regum, all those post-D&D fantasy novels that—being transparent transcriptions of gaming sessions—seem to constitute a relatively unexamined branch of 20th century aleatoric art. I find National Novel Generation Month especially interesting because it seems to me, a total layperson, that algorithmic generation of idiomatic fictional narratives and large-scale structures is in its infancy, while work on algorithmic generation of idiomatic music is far more advanced, thanks to people like David Cope. I don't know what this signifies about the differences between the two mediums. I've noticed that you have two very different sides to Jute Gyte, there's decidedly "metal" facet, which was my first exposure to your work, but other releases go elsewhere, into a more dreamy electronic area.I'm really interested in knowing more about how those two sides of your work coexist under the same moniker. I try to make music I would be interested in listening to, without concern for genre. My rationale, as I recall it from over a decade ago, for releasing all the music under a single moniker is that it is all a product of the same artistic sensibility, no different than a novelist writing in multiple genres or a visual artist creating both watercolors and woodcuts. In retrospect I wonder if I could have served the music better by releasing it through separate projects. I think the difference between the black metal albums and electronic albums is largely structural: the metal material has large gestures and contrasting, discrete sections, while the electronic material gradually, continuously transforms. Beginning with Ship of Theseus I've been trying to bring these styles closer together, to create music that draws on the black metal side's expressiveness and the electronic side's focus on process and detail. How much of what you do is based upon improvisation and how much is structured notation? Probably about 25% of the music is improvised while recording. For instance, the guitar parts in the last two minutes or so of "The Harvesting of Ruins" were all improvised and then layered together. The rest of the music is a mixture of material written by working out riffs intuitively with guitar in hand and material written according to some sort of compositional strategy and usually worked out on paper. I don't write anything down in traditional staff notation—I find microtonal accidentals one retrofitting too many of a system meant for modal or diatonic music with occasional accidentals—but I do write notes whenever I'm working on something complicated. My notes usually look like series of integers (designating pitches) to be used as material for riffs, along with serial transformations (inversion, retrograde, multiplication, Mamlokian spiraling or winding through arrays of pitches) of those series. There are various strategies to create the initial pitch series: creating a synthetic scale to work within, deriving pitches from a harmonic plan, making tone rows, rolling dice. The initial pitch series doesn't matter as much as the ways it's manipulated. I also note potential rhythms, structures, and tempos that come to mind. Usually after recording this kind of planned material I find only about half of it actually works, so I throw out the other half and replace it with more material, either improvised or written according to some other strategy. Occasionally a compositional plan will actually work and I'll end up with a unified track, like "The Sparrow", "Ship of Theseus", or "Griefdrone", but most of the time the tracks are built out of blocks of disparate material like collages. Finding a structure that balances and blends these disparate elements is a bit like solving a puzzle and is one of the more enjoyable parts of writing music, I think. The first track I remember writing notes for was "The Central Fires of Secret Memory", which opens and closes with a four-voice canon. Before that the music was all written intuitively or improvised. Have you any interest in performing live, or is Jute Gyte strictly a studio project? Are there any plans for a live performance, and would that even be possible? I have no interest in playing live. I would rather spend my time and energy making new music. And, as you suggest, the music was not written with performance in mind and would be difficult to adapt to a live setting. Would I be wrong in assuming that you are a fan of Partch and Ligotti? If so, how has that impacted your work? Partch isn't someone whose work I listen to often, but while a student I was fortunate to hear recitals of his music played on recreations of his instrument. The possibilities suggested by his 43-tone microtonal scale impressed me and undoubtedly played a part in my decision to use a microtonal guitar. I admire Partch and other early 20th century US avant-garde composers like Ives, Cowell, and Ruth Crawford Seeger, who in near isolation developed distinctive and fertile musical languages. I like Ligeti a lot and sympathize with his syncretic, omnivorous approach to music. The denser parts of “The Sparrow” approach Ligetian micropolyphony. Much of your work seems quite cinematic. Have you had any offers do collaborate on any film work? Is that something you'd be interested in? I've never thought of my work in those terms, and no one has ever contacted me about film scoring, but I wouldn't be opposed to it. It would be interesting to write according to the preexisting structure of a film. Are you engaged in any side projects, or collaborative work you'd like to talk about? I intend for the Jute Gyte moniker to cover any music I do on my own, regardless of genre, but I have been talking with another solo black metal artist about a possible collaboration. I won't say anything else since I don't know whether anything will actually come of the discussion, but I find the idea of long-distance digital collaboration interesting. From what I can gather as an observer, it appears that a big part of your work is rooted in philosophy, and reasonably academic classical music that I have to admit to being somewhat ignorant to. Could you speak a little bit to that? Aside from the value of the music itself, classical/academic/art/whatever music is sort of the R&D department of Western music and a great source of inspiration for generating and manipulating musical material in new (to me) ways. I'm a layperson to philosophy, drawn to it, as I assume most people are, in the hope of making sense of life as a terribly limited being in a chaotic universe. In recent years most of my lyrics have been attempts to grapple with mortality, identity and change, the illusions of free will and an enduring self, suffering without meaning, etc. and as I've fumbled with philosophy I've found some clarity and solace regarding these topics, in particular from Schopenhauer, Ernest Becker, Nietzsche, and Thomas Metzinger. Lyrically it seems that my albums have been growing increasingly bleak, reaching what I very much hope is the nadir with the album I'll release later this year. I found it emotionally draining to complete that album, and now I'm trying to find a way to move my art beyond this withering pessimism without forgetting it or repudiating it. I hope that makes sense. Even when you're in what would appear familiar territory, you seem to push yourself to cover new ground. Is there anything that you haven't done that you'd like to expand to? I have a long list of things I'd like to try, and a longer list of things I'd like to try again because my previous attempts failed in some way. As I mentioned earlier, my long-term project is to unify my black metal and electronic work into something cohesive that treats pitch, rhythm, and timbre equally without sacrificing complexity. This goal is probably unachievable (by me, at least), but I consider that a feature of the goal rather than a bug. Could you tell us something that you might like people to know about you or your work that some might find surprising? I don't know how surprising or interesting any of this is, but the title “Mansions of Fear, Mansions of Pain” is from a line in Bruce Springsteen's “Factory”, and the drum sounds that open “The Harvesting of Ruins” are sampled from Accept's “All or Nothing” and a recording of Iannis Xenakis's Antikhthon. What's in store for you, as Jute Gyte, or other projects, in the near future? I plan to release a new black metal album later this year, and there will probably be a split EP sometime this year too. I might release an electronic album next year....
Anthony Mangicapra is a visual artist, musician, as well a wine and pizza connoisseur who curates the Goat Eater Arts arthouse label and performs as Hoor-paar-Kraat....
Vin de Mia Trix – “Pharmakos” (Song Premiere)
...
Mastering the art of the "long song" is difficult, but most bands certainly try. Having enough material is never difficult, but, as we've learned from the missteps of Opeth's "Black Rose Immortal," whose various sections are pieced together with haphazard "transitions, coherence is the framework which bolsters lengthy material. With four songs spanning an hour and a half's time, Kauan-related Ukrainian death/doom unit Vin de Mia Trix's imminent Palimpsests is superficially daunting, but the potency and progressive nature of their death/doom metal majesty certainly warrants such length. See second track and first disc (this is a double CD) closer "Pharmakos," which slowly builds up to an explosive, organ-enriched funeral crawl. Through its many crescendos and emotional peaks, the flow of this particular track compounds upon its own intensity, slowly building to a gorgeous, choral climax around the eighteen minute mark. Too long? Maybe to some, but the steady stream of creativity logically builds to this conclusion. As opposed to "going for the gold" when it comes to hitting a specific length, Vin de Mia Trix treats these songs, and "Pharmakos" in particular, with a musical eloquence, backing up each conceit with appeals to the listener's emotion. It's like writing a good paper, if any of you can think back to your college days: everything requires evidence. The Palimpsests double-album will be jointly released on Hypnotic Dirge Records and Cimmerian Shade Recordings on May 31st. Head below for an exclusive first listen to "Pharmakos" with a lengthy statement by bassist/vocalist Alex Vynogradoff....
From the artist:PHARMAKOS is that one track we usually play at the end of our shows because of its emotional intensity. After finishing the climactic choir we feel utterly exhausted both physically and morally. In Greek tradition, pharmakós literally means a ‘scapegoat’. It is a sacrifice that ancient communities would offer their blood-thirsty gods to avert disasters. Pharmakoi would usually be chosen among the weakest: slaves, cripples, etc. A very doom metal kind of story! But that is only one layer of meaning. On a deeper level, pharmakós is associated with the most primitive fertility rites and especially the ancient Minoan cult of Dionysus, centuries before he became a jolly god of wine. In that old, pre-Olympic mythology, Dionysus, or Zagreus, was the king of the underworld, both husband and son of Rhea, procreating his own self and thus embodying the ouroborosian cycle of life and death. The archaic Dionysian Mysteries involved killing a sacrificial animal (pharmakós), associated with the god himself, and eating its raw flesh, celebrating life’s victory over death. In more civilized times, these ecstatic rites would evolve into theatrical performances, giving birth to tragedy. Many scholars believe that the idea of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice (and who is Jesus if not a scapegoat?) is derived from these older cults. This explains the Eucharist ceremony of eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ, celebrating his immortality. So, PHARMAKOS encompasses a range of meanings, but in a nutshell, it is a hymn to eternal life through ecstasy and sacrifice. As such, it has an almost religious feel to it.
-Alex Vynogradoff, Vin de Mia Trix
...
Follow Vin de Mia Trix on Bandcamp and Facebook....
December’s Fire feat. Nergal of Behemoth – ‘Vae Victis’ (Album Stream)
...
These days, Polish extreme metal has an identifiable sound, or at least a few common traits. Great, double bass-heavy drums. Hoarse vocals. A sense of militant urgency. I can hear all of these things in Hate, Vader, Mgla, Batoushka and Behemoth. Even though those projects are now branching off into their own unique sounds, there are common threads. That commonality reflects a tacit agreement across the genre. We know what extreme metal is, now. It’s basic texts are writ. In 1996 that wasn’t so true, and bands were still prodding at the membranes encircling the cell, trying to get it to expand or divide. Piotr Weltrowski, best known as the early guest keyboardist in Behemoth, was one of those musicians pushing at the membrane. His little-heard solo project, December’s Fire plays with gothic and industrial keyboards more than guitar. On their 1996 album Vae Victis, songs like “Pragnę Twej Krwi” find their way into distorted guitar assaults, they just stop to smell the flowers along the way. Adam “Nergal” Darski of Behemoth takes a few turns behind the mic to keep things gritty, but this little-heard gem overall represents that golden time when extreme metal could have meant anything at all. ‘ Arachnophobia Records is rereleasing Vae Victis on April 24. Stream it below....
...
Kreator Live at Brookline, MA’s Paradise Rock Club
All words and photos by Ben Stas
...
Another spring, another Decibel tour. Now in its sixth year, the magazine’s curated roadshow continues to bring reliably stacked lineups of metal veterans and hungry newcomers to decimate venues across North America. This year’s installment found German thrashers Kreator and Floridian death metal greats Obituary topping the old-school side of the bill, while Cleveland’s Midnight and Philadelphia’s Horrendous rounded things out. The tour packed Boston’s Paradise Rock Club to the gills on one of its final stops in mid-April. The infectiously enthusiastic Horrendous took the stage first, barreling through a set that successfully synthesized a range of death metal styles. They were technically brutalizing one minute and taking progressive, melodic turns the next. And just as the case was with their opening slot for Tribulation last year, the foursome were visibly having the most fun on stage of anyone on the bill. Horrendous put in the work as a supporting band, and there’s doubtless a larger audience for them on the horizon. An old-fashioned guitar smashing is typically reserved for the end of a set, but for Midnight, the demolition of a sacrificial axe (read: cheap bass) served as an opening statement that effectively set the tone for the masked power trio’s set. Their scuzzy speed metal was in-your-face aggressive – literally, if you were standing along the barricade – and wore a proud streak of early Venom influence. There wasn’t a whole lot of depth here, but it was difficult to argue with the band’s commitment to the style. Obituary’s career-spanning set was the night’s most successful. Led by the dynamic growl and unassuming charisma of vocalist John Tardy, the band offered a split between their late 80s/early 90s classics and some solid 2010s selections. Tardy, his brother Donald on drums and guitarist Trevor Peres form the core founding membership of the band, and joined by more recent additions in bassist Terry Butler and guitarist Kenny Andrews, the five-piece effortlessly honed in on the groove of their sludgy brand of death. Nearly three decades on from the release of their 1989 debut Slowly We Rot – whose title track closed the set – Obituary displayed none of the rust of their years. In contrast to Obituary’s no-frills presentation, headliners Kreator brought a bit of visual flair to the table with their own high-powered lighting rig. It was a welcome change from a venue whose dim lights often evoke a dive bar rather than a rock club, but also an indicator of the arena-sized ambitions that Kreator still harbor. Frontman Mille Petrozza spent plenty of time during a lengthy set egging on the crowd, directing the pit and even engaging in some tired left side/right side audience cheer exercises. The effort was admirable, but combined with an overflowing setlist heavy on the band’s recent output, it was a performance with momentum issues. Still, that’s not to say that Kreator disappointed. This year’s Gods of Violence, which received a healthy share of the spotlight, is a perfectly serviceable thrash record – some say more like career highlight – and cuts like “World War Now” and “Satan is Real” were certainly suited to the live setting. On a technical level, they were a well-rehearsed quartet giving both those songs and a few from their early days an enthusiastic go. They sounded great, in a club not always renowned for its stellar acoustics. A leaner presentation would’ve benefited Kreator, but it’s hard to imagine that many hardcore fans or circle-pit participants left disheartened....
Horrendous
[gallery ids="21933,21932,21931,21930,21929,21928" galleryid="846:53948" galleryindex="0" enablefullscreen="yes" showthumbs="no" ]...
Midnight
[gallery ids="53955,53956,53958,53959,53960,53961" galleryid="846:53948" galleryindex="1" enablefullscreen="yes" showthumbs="no"]...
Obituary
[gallery ids="53969,53968,53967,53966,53965,53964,53963,53962" galleryid="846:53948" galleryindex="2" enablefullscreen="yes" showthumbs="no"]...
Kreator
[gallery ids="53970,53971,53972,53973,53974,53975,53976,53977,53978,53979,53980,53981" galleryid="846:53948" galleryindex="3" enablefullscreen="yes" showthumbs="no"]...
D-Beat from Hardcore’s Mecca: An Interview with Hive
...
It’s no secret that Minneapolis has a legendary punk scene. In addition to iconic bands like Hüsker Dü and The Replacements, the fiercely independent Extreme Noise Records and Amphetamine Reptile label both call Minneapolis home. Since the early ’80s, the Twin Cities area has fostered a vibrant DIY culture, fueled by house shows, political awareness, and some of the gnarliest hardcore and punk around. Distant from New York and LA — and the hunger for fame that can easily take hold of bands in those industry-heavy cities — punk musicians from Minneapolis are often rooted by the ideal to make music that they want to hear. Crust quartet Hive perfectly fits into that tradition. The band’s latest LP, Parasitic Twin, is blistering and relentlessly bleak, much like the albums of His Hero Is Gone and Tragedy. Parasitic Twin weds biting social commentary with unswerving D-beat, each gaining power from the other. Pre-order the Parasitic Twin vinyl from Crown & Throne Ltd. here. Listen to an exclusive stream of the record below. The members of Hive are lifers in the truest sense, having served time in Disembodied, 108, Threadbare, Endeavor, Harvest, Xaphan, Bosnia, Black Sleep of Kali, Malachi and Wolfbite. These are musicians who play for the right reasons and will likely grow old doing so. While some hardcore bands still get caught up in the live-fast-die-young cliché, Hive shows us that it’s way more punk to balance tireless musical dedication with the quotidian demands of adult life. Guitarist-vocalist Morgan Carpenter, bassist Emma Grey, guitarist Mike Duffy and drummer Mike Paradise of Hive recently sat down with Invisible Oranges to talk about their new record and playing music in Minneapolis.-J.J. Anselmi
...
...
Can we get a musical history from each of you? Morgan Carpenter: I’ve been playing in bands for roughly 22 years. I got started young and knew right away that I wanted to play punk (or at least music rooted in punk in some capacity). I’ve played in more than 30 bands over that time, though the majority of which were the result of playing in up to five active projects at once during my teens. Most of those were never really heard outside my hometown of Halifax, Canada. The more significant ones were Envision, Shrine of American Martyr, Existench and Useless Solution. In 2002, I relocated to Denver, Colorado, where I played in Bosnia, Black Sleep of Kali and Big Trouble among others. Since 2012, I’ve been in Minneapolis, where in addition to Hive, I’ve played in Xaphan with Mike Paradise, as well as doing two solo projects: Prey for Death and Prison Shank....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVfC3lthwjQ(Shrine of American Martyr)
...
Mike Duffy: I picked up guitar when I was eight or nine and started playing in bands in high school. I played in a few bands in Philly before I moved to New Brunswick, New Jersey to play in Endeavor. After we split up, I moved to New York and started going to school for music. I was a percussion and composition major in undergrad and then moved out to Minneapolis for graduate school in composition. I’ve done different improv groups, including a noise duo called Shield Your Eyes. I played in the re-formed version of Harvest a few years ago and then hooked up with Morgan and Mike playing bass and now guitar in Hive. Mike Paradise: I started playing drums when I was eight years old and started my first band in 1990 when I was still in high school. We put out a 7” a year later and I haven’t really stopped playing since. Most notably I played in Threadbare, Xaphan, 108 and Disembodied for a minute....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeMzoUT6kcg(Threadbare show in 1995)
...
Emma Grey: I stole my first bass in high school from a shitty guitar shop and used to play out of my mom’s stereo until I blew the speakers. I really haven’t stopped since then. I also took up guitar in my early 20s and have played bass and guitar in a lot of bands. I’ve also been on a few tours, including a European one with the band Malachi. Other highlights have been Wolfbite, Architects of the Aftermath and Shut-In. Besides playing bass in Hive, I also currently play guitar in a local queercore band, Contentious. Considering how long you’ve all been playing aggressive music, how do you keep yourselves motivated? Carpenter: I’ve never had a problem finding inspiration. I’ve always been a rabid music fan and constantly and obsessively seek out new bands to listen to. I love to hear new bands pushing aggression and intensity to new limits as the waves and generations of musicians swell and fade, as well as hearing new spins on styles of the past. I’m constantly inspired by this and it lights a fire under me to write. Lyrically, there is never a shortage of subjects to write about, especially right now. Duffy: The motivation comes from being part of something satisfying with inspiring people who I care about. Paradise: I’m inspired by the people I’m lucky enough to collaborate with. I can’t do what I do without other creative, expressive people. I’ve always played with people I want to be challenged by and learn from. For me, aggression is best expressed through my playing rather than my behavior. Grey: I have always had a ton of pent up aggression that has needed a release. Listening to and playing heavy music gives me an outlet for that. It is what keeps me calm and centered. It is catharsis for me. I also think that heavy music can just be so powerful and beautiful. Music has always been there for me through my darkest times and has literally saved my life. What Minneapolis bands have influenced you most? Carpenter: In the 90’s, I was an insane fan of Minneapolis crust punk, putting the city on the same pedestal as Seattle, NYC and Boston in that regard. Destroy was a favorite band of mine for years and years before I would ever relocate to the USA, let alone Minneapolis itself. When we started Hive, I wanted the influence of the classic Minneapolis crust sound to be recognizable, but to not be a clone either. In the same breath, Dillinger Four have always been another favorite. While musically there’s a long distance between Hive and D4, the cynicism and wit they’ve always harnessed has been a big influence on me lyrically....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMBGvR1LJ7EDestroy
...
Duffy: Disembodied and Code 13 both loom large for me....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnrL0ZAMIwwDisembodied
...
Grey: All the Profane Existence and Havoc Records stuff was and is a big influence on me, but I tend to think about this in the present tense more than the past. There are just so many unbelievable bands in the Cities right now, and the fact that we are a bit isolated tends to create stranger and better art since we aren’t so influenced by the coasts. How would you describe the punk/hardcore scene in the Twin Cities? Carpenter: The hardcore scene in the Twin Cities is one of the strongest, truly underground punk scenes that I’ve encountered. Granted, there is plenty of history and heritage here that keeps larger bands and venues afloat, but I’ve never experienced a DIY scene like the one we have here. You’ve got a plethora of bands that run the entire gamut of punk and hardcore, as well as many punk houses, basements, DIY spaces, cafes and bars all regularly hosting shows for underground bands, both local and visiting. But what stands out the most is the thirst we all have for it. People show up. Punks constantly volunteer their time, money and patience to keep these things going. That unquenchable thirst seems to be continually passed down through the generations of punks. Paradise: It’s definitely thriving. I’ve seen it ebb and flow over the years. I’ve lived here my whole life and have seen many people come and go, but there is a core group of people that have never left and continue to support punk in the Twin Cities as passionately today as they did 25 years ago. There is always something happening here and today it feels as inspired and robust as I’ve ever seen it. Grey: The Minneapolis scene is pretty fucking wonderful and supportive. What makes the Minneapolis scene different from other cities’? Carpenter: We have Extreme Noise Records — simple as that. It’s been the mecca of punk for over 20 years, and it’s still going strong. It really is the cornerstone of the thriving punk scene in Minneapolis. Extreme Noise provides a physical address for like-minded people to converge in so many ways with this music. Because so many aspects of life have gone digital, I feel like it’s really special to have a resource like EN, and not just for its records — the volunteers, information on shows, bands, labels, benefits, community outreach, support and the fact that it’s been volunteer-owned and run for so long. It connects everything in extreme music in the Twin Cities. Grey: The “island effect” that manifests in the Cities really lets people be who they are, and we tend to not be as influenced by trends and fads. People in this scene just do what they do and aren’t afraid to be who they are and are therefore extremely passionate about their crafts. There is also a massive amount of support for art in general here, and people are real and not cocky about it. I have so much respect for so many people here. Hive doesn’t shy away from social and political commentary, which comes up a lot on Parasitic Twin. Does the title carry a specific meaning in that sense? Carpenter: The title Parasitic Twin is basically a metaphor for duality, with both positive and negative connotations. I’ve written several songs for Hive that deal with the adoration of false idols in a literal sense, ranging from politicians to the hierarchy of the punk scene. In that regard, the song “Acephalite” is about power figures and essentially waiting for the other shoe to drop. There is an inverse twin to every person in the political sense, and each side struggles to not be consumed by the other. In a less dark sense, the Parasitic Twin metaphor has taken on meanings to me personally as someone at or nearing mid-life with a spouse, children, career and other responsibilities. Yet I’m still unable to stop writing and playing music. When you reach this stage in life, you end up seeing many talented people decide to close the book on playing music, who can’t be faulted at all for that choice. Music was a labor of love at best in your 20s. By the time your 30s and 40s roll around, it can seem like agony staying active in underground music without making big sacrifices at home. It can be said that Parasitic Twin is the delicate balancing act. Grey: The title of the album has special significance for me as a trans woman. We started to record this LP right when I had made the decision to transition, and the record has evolved with me throughout that process. For me the “twins” represent the gender binary of male and female, with the Parasitic Twin being symbolic of male gender expectations, and my transition to a woman being representative of freeing myself from something that was literally killing me....
...
When some bands decide to “get political,” it seems like many of them succumb to empty idealism. But songs like “Low Hanging Fruit of War” and “Gated Community” convey a much bleaker outlook. Carpenter: “Low Hanging Fruit of War” was one of the first songs that was written for Parasitic Twin. The song focuses on military recruiters that target low-income and disenfranchised areas of the country, creating an insult-to-injury scenario. To me, this type of targeting reinforces the often-bleak outlooks which are prevalent in those areas — feeding off of false senses of patriotism, duty and honor — and providing nothing more than a “what do you have to lose” sentiment. “Gated Community” was a song written early in 2016, when the election cycle was ending and Trump was gaining steam as a front-runner. It was unbelievable to me at the time that he had any supporters getting behind him with the ridiculous campaign promises he was making — most specifically the threats he posed to immigrants and immigration. As a naturalized US citizen, I’m very familiar with the American immigration process and have met many people in the same situation, but who don’t have the privilege of white skin like I did. This song is one of two on the record dealing directly with the notion of this lunatic building a wall around his sanctuary, and the social fallout for normal people who have to face those he’s empowered with dangerous rhetoric. Does the music itself reflect that? Carpenter: I would like to think that the music carries the same weight and tension that the social and political commentary of the lyrics do. I have to often remind myself that we are a band, and some people really just want to get lost in the music and not the words. But at the same time, being the lyricist for a band gives me a rare platform that not many people have. I have a passion for writing good music, but I also cannot waste the medium. There are so many “fuck you’s” to give, and it would be an atrocity if I didn’t utilize every chance I have to hurl them. Hive strikes me as a very grounded band in terms of expectations. Can you talk about that? Carpenter: When Paradise and I first brainstormed what would become Hive, we had very clear intentions and goals in mind. As products of the ’90s hardcore scene, we both longed for certain aspects of what made us passionate about this music in the first place. Especially now, as the age gap between us and our peers in hardcore grows considerably. Essentially, we set out to ignore several of the things that are commonplace for bands that would only stand to complicate Hive: touring schedules, social media presence, social contracts, etc. We want to play music and engage people in real life. We are far from the first band to reject it, but we maintain no social media presence. We maintain a Bandcamp to make our music available to people, but will not take part in hollow interactions as means to further our name. We are just people playing music and trying hard to not bastardize that fact. Paradise: We were very intentional from the start about doing things the old-fashioned way. We didn’t feel the need to compete using social media to market ourselves, because we simply aren’t competing. We are participating in something that is best experienced in a room together with other people that want to interact with one another personally and physically. I have never played music to gain anything other than the personal satisfaction I get out of creatively expressing myself through music played with friends. This has ensured that it will always be enjoyable, inspiring, and satisfying to me. Grey: Hive is a fun project, and I love making music with my friends, but we really strive to do things in a way that is reflective of our lives in general. We are all serious people and are serious about playing music. We want to create art that is as good as it can be while staying true to the vision of this band and the vision of the people we would like to be in the world....
J.J. Anselmi is the author of ’Heavy: A Memoir of Wyoming, BMX, Drugs, and Heavy Fucking Music’. He sent us a copy once. We read it then never wrote about it, or even told him that we read it. But it’s good....
Celestial Grave – ‘Pvtrefactio’ (EP Premiere)
...
In the first part of his highly influential ‘Critique of Judgment’, eighteenth century German philosopher Immanuel Kant makes a distinction between the beautiful and the sublime. He argues that the beauty of an object is both readily apparent and universal; anyone should look at an orchid, for example, and agree on the subjective beauty of that orchid. The sublime, however, has more of a sense of mystery about it, because those things that might be called sublime — like a mountain range before an early morning fog has completely burned off, or the movement of storm clouds — exist on a scale far too large for most people to wrap their heads around. In simpler terms, beautiful objects elicit a pleasurable response, while the sublime provokes a combination of terror and awe. Given that framework, there’s something indefinable within the eye of the maelstrom of Pvtrefactio, the forthcoming 7” EP From Finnish black metal duo Celestial Grave, that elevates these songs to the level of the sublime. Part of that stems from the innate melodicism of the tracks, but chaotic arrangements and dimed-out, everything-louder-than-everything-else production keep things well away from atmospheric or post-black metal territory. A-side “Pvtrefactio” opens at a more funereal pace before morphing into something far more harrowing that sounds like Marduk on some seriously bad psychedelics. B-side “Deteriorating Angel” sounds a bit like Portal crossed with Black Cilice; trebly riffs occasionally break through to become audible above a near-constant wall of static and the incessant crashing of the hi-hats while heavily effect-laden vocals intone menacingly just underneath the din. Pvtrefactio is definitely not a beautiful listening experience, but its ugliness and intensity feels just as moving as anything Alcest or Agalloch has ever released. The EP will be available on April 21 via Iron Bonehead. Until then, enjoy our exclusive stream below.—Clayton Michaels
...
...
Follow Celestial Grave on Facebook....
…