Fanthrash: Duality of Things (2011)

Oldsters Return

Fanthrash's Duality of Things was released in July of 2011, the very tail end of the much-talked-about thrash revival. Or perhaps it was a year late for that particular revival. But it was still in time for the ongoing trend of old bands reuniting and giving it another shot.

They have a familiar story. Fanthrash was originally formed in Poland in 1986. They recorded a handful of demos before breaking up in 1992. In 2007, they returned, and still have three of the original members.

Corrosion of Conformity: Corrosion of Conformity (2012)

Baggage

I've been a huge fan of Corrosion of Conformity for over a decade now. That statement, of course, needs some clarification. In the days when CD burners and Napster were first becoming commonplace, I was in my freshman year of college. I obtained burned copies of Deliverance and Wiseblood, the band's seminal recordings in Southern-style sludge metal, and I LOVED them. I bought America's Volume Dealer on CD, and I actually liked it (though popular opinion is against the record). I got several tracks from Blind and Animosity off Napster, and didn't know what to think. I certainly didn't like them, so they were promptly deleted. Since then, I also enjoyed In the Arms of God a good deal.

Metal Briefs: Doom EPs

The Long and Short of It

The slow tempos and long runtimes of doom records can be trying for some. While it's something I personally seek out, I understand the trouble. It makes the EP a perfect format for those only dabbling in the genre, or just looking for a quick fix of the slow crawl.

Fire in the Cave: Fire in the Cave (2012)

Fire in the Cave contacted me about reviewing their two-song self-titled EP. The band's name refers to a famous thought exercise by Plato, questioning the nature of our knowledge about reality. I've always thought Plato's philosophy was stupid, but this music isn't. It's raw, heavy sludge/doom out of Florida, with a blues flavor and extremly angry growls, plus some black metal influence on standout second track "Aeden Carr." That one is plenty dynamic in just about every way, so this EP is definitely worth checking out. I give it 4 out of 5 stars, and look forward to hearing more from this promising band. It's a name-your-price download, so get on it.

Tyrants Blood: Crushing Onward Into Oblivion (2010)

Against the Tyranny of Apostrophes

Tyrants Blood is a Canadian band who contacted me about their 2010 sophomore full-length, Crushing Onward Into Oblivion. One definition of war metal is that it "sounds like Blasphemy." Well, Tyrants Blood features a former member of Blasphemy, and is every bit as insanely aggressive as what you might expect from the genre.

I haven't listened to a lot of war metal, but I'm hearing the same kind of black/death/thrash full-on assault of bands like Black Witchery. If you're even less familiar with the microgenre than I am, your closest point of reference might be Anaal Nathrakh, without the clean vocals that have been popping up more often in their recent work. In other words, Crushing is not for the faint of heart.

Meshuggah: Koloss (2012)

Swarm

I’ve mentioned Meshuggah many, many times on my blog. It’s really no secret they are one of my favorite bands, and have done more to shape my musical taste than nearly anyone else. In reading a review of a band as iconic as Meshuggah, you should always be aware of how the reviewer stands, and I must put it out there that this may not be entirely un-biased I pretty much think they can do no wrong.

Koloss is the Swedish experimentalists’ eighth full-length album. Many commenters have noted that they sound more organic this time around, and then struggle to explain exactly what they mean. This is clearly still a Meshuggah album, after all, so it still doesn’t feel natural to our human sensibilities. Think of it this way: Where prior Meshuggah albums are the audio representation of a complex industrial machine on the verge of flying into pieces, Koloss is more like footage of all the activity in a massive ant colony played at double-speed. Organic, yes, but alien.

Happy 30th Birthday

It's my 30th birthday today. It's also the birthday of the Pope (he's 85) and Wilbur Wright. The day is important to metal because that day in 1943 the hallucinogenic effects of LSD were discovered, thereby ushering in the psychedelic era, which led to psychedelic rock, of course a major influence on metal's creation. Sadly, no metal albums were released on the actual date of my birth.

Bar Review: Buffalo Sweat

Heavy and Dark

5% ABV / 20 IBU

I don't read or talk much about beer. So maybe I won't have much of value to say about this subject. But I obviously like to share my likes and dislikes, and I can do that well enough. So, welcome to the first installment of Bar Review, a sporadic feature here where I will discuss the subject of spirits. I just might not use a lot of fancy, in-the-know language.

Tallgrass Brewing Company is located in Manhattan, Kansas, home of Kansas State University. My wife hates the KSU athletic teams more than any other, but that doesn't reflect on the brewery. They offer a handful of different beers, but only one of them has been available at my local grocery store. Now, this is the kind of grocery store that has about 10 different choices for processed American cheese food slices, but does not have sliced cheese. It's a very old-school, small-town store, with the ordinary kind of awful taste that usually entails. But every now and again, the person who orders their alcohol will make an adventurous purchase. Buffalo Sweat is one of those adventures.

Buffalo sweat is a stout. Since Guinness is my first love as beer goes, you can bet I'm partial to a stout. Brewed without a lot of hops, plenty of barley, and cream sugar, it's smooth, rich, and sweet, with a distinct note of chocolate.

It costs about $8 for a pack of four pint cans.

The Verdict: From now on, if it comes out of a buffalo, I'm drinking it. I give Buffalo Sweat 5 out of 5 stars. Might I suggest pairing it with a nice, smooth, and heavy Jesu, like perhaps Silver.

Heavy Glow: Midnight Moan (2011)

Old School

Heavy Glow is a California stoner/garage/blues-rock band who contacted me about their first full-length album, Midnight Moan. I don't often listen to new rock music--I obviously tend toward metal and old rock--but given my enthusiasm for bands such as Graveyard, you can tell I like rock bands that succesfully capture an old-school vibe.

Heavy Glow does just that. In a lot of ways they sound like a proto-metal band, playing bluesy and psychedelic parts. They also have a very fuzzed-out sound on the guitar, and incorporate electric organ to great effect.

Occultation: Three & Seven (2012)

The Ghost’s Negative Blood Plane

"Occult" hard rock is a small but steadily-growing trend. Thus far, it has been almost entirely an exercise in nostalgia, its practitioners content to copy Blue Öyster Cult and Coven. Bands like Ghost and The Devil’s Blood have done a fantastic job of it, but they haven’t brought anything new to the table. New York’s Occultation is going to change that.

Like other bands in the movement, it might be a stretch to call what Occultation does metal. If it is, it’s avant-garde doom. If you took Ghost, replaced the vocalist with a woman, and traded the guitarist for the guy from Negative Plane, you would be well on your way to replicating this sound.

Metal Briefs: Bandcamp, Part 6

The Black Metal Edition

Given black metal's long history of "bedroom" bands, the DIY, easy-access Bandcamp should be a perfect fit--at least for those who don't go out of their way to be uber-kvlt and actively avoid broad exposure. It turns out, it is a damn good fit for black metal. There's plenty of it out there on the site.

Shroud of Despondency: Forced to Wander into Nothing (2002)

I'm starting to notice a problem with my methodology in this series. I went on a download spree a year ago, and some of these releases are no longer available on a free or pay-what-you-want basis. This is one of them. However, it's still worth mentioning. Shroud of Despondency is a Milwaukee band with a slew of releases on their Bandcamp page. Forced to Wander into Nothing is one of the oldest ones there. It's from the school of black metal which focuses on creating a soundscape rather than blistering your ear drums. The music is mid-paced and often instrumental, with nary a tremolo riff in sight, but some of the riffs are extremely interesting (see "A Ripple in Time"). Although their current lineup doesn't include a keyboardist, synths are a big part of the sound on this one, and there's also the occasional sound effect or sample. It's pretty good. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.