Marginal: Chaos and Anarchy (2015)

More Violence, Please.

In which joanismylover demands a higher fee

I like surprises. Good surprises. I do not like to be surprised with a last minute filing or an unexpected witness at trial. But I do like to be surprised when I check the docket to find another related case that the plaintiff's attorney has not told me about. I like to be surprised that opposing counsel has the gumption - the balls - to lie to a judge with a straight face and claim then he deserves to be compensated at $838 in part based on that lie. That was surprising and gave me a great opening to shove it down his throat. In a nice way, of course.



Marginal surprised me here like the above-referenced wannabe high-rolling liar of an attorney. In a good way. This release is being physically released in Portugal and the metal folks there are in for a treat. Grind and punk crust meld here in a 23 minute death crust package that "stops the bullshit" and eradicates from the world bands like Powerwolf. (No, I won't let it go). Short and to the point is this record and all of the songs. Listen to the first three songs (about 5 minutes) and if you are not feeling the urge to throw yourself into the nearest person, move on. But if you are slamming and banging your lawyerly head to the "sign of the times" then consider yourself admitted to the bar. The bar of death crust.

All of the tracks are are awesome, bar none. But the highlights are definitely "Stop the Bullshit", "Eradicate the World" and "More Violence". Not much else to be said here, except that if I could command an hourly fee of $838 - and I could bill for every time I thought - "I should be writing more reviews - I'll do Marginal next" - and if I was good at math* - I'd estimate that FMA owes me about $765,436.00. Is anyone really surprised?

4 out of 5 stars.

Hellprod

*I'm not.

Converge: Jane Doe (2001)

Converge's Jane Doe has been sitting on my "I want to check it out some day" list for several years. Basically since I found out how well-regarded it is by Decibel. Well, since they're on the Decibel Magazine Tour this year, and I'll be seeing that tour tomorrow, I thought it was finally time to familiarize myself.

I don't listen to a lot of hardcore, but my first thought on hearing this was that it sounded a little like the Dillinger Escape Plan. And some of those weird guitar leads early in the record sound similar to stuff System of a Down was doing around the same time period, only this is more batshit insane. So, not bad to start.

Nux Vomica: Nux Vomica (2014)

Working for It

It’s pretty easy to write a review when the music fits into some clearly-defined box. Nux Vomica actually made me work. You wonderful bastards.

So, this record is definitely a slow burner. That’s another reason I had to work so hard to wrap my head around it. It’s moody, acidic, blistering and beautiful. There are some punk sounds in the vein of Amebix when they speed up, but that’s not what they’re doing most of the time. Indeed, when I think “punk” I don’t think of an album with three songs ranging from 12 to 20 minutes. If it’s crust, it’s the doom-crust of Embers, fit more for metalheads than that other crowd.

Dark Americana Briefs, Volume 15

Darker Than Metal

More dark Americana. I hope you enjoy.

Jeff Zentner: The Dying Days of Summer (2009)
3.5 out of 5 stars

Pure country music doesn't often pique my interest, but then again, Jeff Zentner doesn't play a typical country style. The Dying Days of Summer is soft, quiet, and gentle. Despite its lack of violence it's still extremely dark and deeply sad. And not in a stereotypical "My wife left me and my dog's dead" way. It's mostly acoustic guitar and male vocals, but other sounds do assist on the dynamic front (female vocals, mandolin, etc.). Unfortunately, the complete lack of percussion and the extensive length of the record (64 minutes) make it a lot more challenging than it needs to be, and I'm not quite sure the payoff is enough.

Wovenhand: Refractory Obdurate (2014)

The Reverse Path

In the nearly three years since I found Wovenhand, I've found myself listening to it more than any other artist. If it's not my favorite band, it's at least my favorite active band. Consider the Birds is one of the five albums that changed my life, if you'll excuse the slight hyperbole. So, take this with a grain of salt if you must. But I've been recommending them repeatedly since then, and I've gotten nothing but positive feedback from anyone who's listened.

So, with that introduction out of the way, let's consider Refractory Obdurate, the band's seventh studio full-length. The Laughing Stalk (2012) found the band adding heaviness to their unmistakable blend of folk and country. I had always sensed an affinity to metal from David Eugene Edwards' music, but that is where it really came through. The incredible "Corsicana Clip" and "The Refractory" are excellent examples of a the Laughing Stalk sound continuing. But if anything, Refractory Obdurate represents an even larger shift for the band.

Dark Americana Briefs, Volume 14

Salt and Sky

I'm still chasing that dark Americana dragon.

Salter Cane: Salter Cane (2007)
4 out of 5 stars

I know nothing about Salter Cane, having discovered them by accident on Rdio and listened without looking them up. An extremely familiar drum beat (I've heard it from Munly and 16HP) kicks things off, and it's very straight-forward folk/country of the kind I'm used to. But also, it's fairly high-caliber, and for some reason I can't quite put my finger on, it reminds me of Nick Cave.

Dead Tank Briefs

Eclecticism

Dead Tank Records is a small label that's hitting my eclecticism in a lot of the right places right now. It looks like they specialize in vinyl and cassette, but you can hit them up on a pay-what-you-want for most (all?) of their releases. Three cases in point:

Thou: Ceremonies of Humiliation (2014)
3.5 out of 5 stars

People seem to lose their shit over Thou. I don't, so much, but I appreciate their raspy-voiced slow-burn sludge well enough. This release collects all of their extensive contributions to splits from prior to Summit on 3xLP.

Tiger Junkies: D-Beat Street Rock 'n Rollers (2013 Reissue)

Pay No Attention to the Name

Review by Metallattorney. He is the law.

I had seen mention of Tiger Junkies quite a bit but I never really looked into them. Part of that is probably due to the band's ridiculous name. It is the kind of name you might expect for a hair band. And the "D-Beat" in the album name is more of a reference to something hardcore, rather than metal. I never really looked much farther than that and certainly not enough to see who was attached to the project.

If I had looked at the two individuals responsible for Tiger Junkies, I would have felt a lot different about checking them out. That is because Tiger Junkies is made up of Joel Grind from Toxic Holocaust (a favorite of mine) and Yasuyuki Suzuki of Abigail (who I am not as familiar with but still enjoy). The band began as a tradition between the two in which Grind would play with Suzuki whenever he happened to be in Japan. I am a big Toxic Holocaust fan and also enjoy Grind's work with Yellowgoat, even though both projects are basically the same thing. This is a re-release of the project's 2008 album with some extra material thrown in and one song removed.

Beastmilk: Climax (2013)

The Kvohst with the Most

I’ve never even listened to his black metal releases with Code, but over the past few years I’ve become a fan of Kvohst. First his psych-folk band Hexvessel intrigued me. Then his deathrock band Beastmilk intrigued me. Then Hexvessel blew me away. And now it’s Beastmilk’s turn to see what it can do.

As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t know a lot about deathrock. My main touchstone for this style is a song or two off the soundtrack to The Crow--not the Stone Temple Pilots and Pantera that sold the record, but the moodier, gothy stuff that set the mood for the film. However, that’s only a superficially useful comparison.

Dark Americana Briefs, Part 9

Three More

Big John Bates: Battered Bones (2012)
3 out of 5 stars

Frontman Records contacted me after noticing my interest in dark Americana, and I thank them for it because this Big John Bates record was an interesting listen. In the end, though, Battered Bones isn't really what I'm looking for. It's described as "rustic punk," but I'm pretty sure it's some permutation of rockabilly. It's upbeat, punky rock with sounds pulled from dark Americana, but it's not really Americana, and definitely not dark. It's fun.

Metal Briefs: Clearing the Docket #3

Slacker

There are a whole lot of records that have been sitting on my iPod for far too long now. It's time to clear the docket.

Ranger: Knights of Darkness (2013)
4 out of 5 stars

Ranger's Knights of Darkness will cause spontaneous horn-throwing. I'm not kidding. This is catchy speed metal, played with enthusiasm (a necessity) and competence (a nice touch), with loads of short solos and more than a few falsetto screams. If Venom could play their instruments back in 1982, they might have sounded like this.

Välikäsi v. Come

What?

v.
Anyone who knows punk music well would probably find this matchup untenable. Philadelphia's Psychic Teens have nothing at all to do with Finland's Sokea Piste (I believe their name means piss-soaked). But I know so little about punk that this is perfect.

First, Sokea Piste. Välikäsi has been sitting on my iPod since March, and I've listened to it occasionally several times since then, each time coming away with almost nothing to say about it. I just don't know how to talk about punk music. It's catchy hardcore, with a raw production. It has some gang vocals, but not to an offensive degree. It also has a psychedelic side, and just a hint of deathrock (note the title track). It's good stuff, and much more intelligent than the tough-guy stuff that I know is an unfair stereotype of the genre.

The Dillinger Escape Plan: One of Us Is the Killer (2013)

Everybody’s Got One . . .

A new release by The Dillinger Escape Plan is, at this point, not really an opportunity to write an album review. Not a necessary one, anyway. The event is essentially the catalyst for everyone to voice their already well-established and strongly-held opinions, which fall into one of three camps. One, the people who don’t get it and don’t care. Two, the people who think they were great at Calculating Infinity but they began to suck more than any other band, ever. Three—and this is where I’ve pitched my tent—the people who love what they’ve been doing for approximately the last decade.

Kvelertak: Meir (2013)

Forventning

I’ll spare you the pedantic lecture on the meteoric rise of Kvelertak, because everyone already knows it. I’ll skip to the question at hand: Can they capture lightning in a bottle a second time?

The band has not changed direction in the slightest, and I don’t think anyone expected them to. They are still Norway’s answer to Baroness, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and pure fun in metalpunk form (complete with the blackened touches inherent in their country’s DNA). They’re still loads of fun, they’re still high energy, and they still make you want to sing along despite the mother-tongue lyrics. But their debut was the result of saving up the best songs of their several years of existence without releasing any material, while the sophomore effort is the result of two years dedicated to touring the world. So, Meir is no Kvelertak, but it’s still worth the price of entry for those of us who’ve been losing our minds in anticipation.

Vhöl: Vhöl (2013)

Turn Up the Vhölume

Let’s get the clichés out of the way first. Number one, Vhöl is going to be attached to the term “supergroup” because it features members of Ludicra/Agalloch, Yob, and Hammers of Misfortune. There are times when you can guess what a supergroup is going to sound like based on the members’ other projects. That barely applies here. Number two, the band’s self-titled debut is on Profound Lore, so you can almost guarantee it will be good. That one does apply here. But I’m going to do my best to avoid those clichés from here on out.

Vhöl is going to be one of the most interesting sounds you’ll hear in 2013. There’s always a risk of oversimplification when a reviewer hands down a formula, but it’s a useful tool. This is what could have happened if Ludicra had gone the way of Darkthrone, keeping some of their black metal intact but falling in love with the crust punk and heavy metal of the 80’s.

Darkthrone: The Underground Resistance (2013)

How It Works

Let me tell you a little something about how reviewing works in this world. I get a lot of promos. Most of them are pretty decent, overall, but the more you hear, of course, the more "pretty good" just sounds like shit. I begin culling the herd based on convenience rather than merit, just deleting anything that's at 128 kbps, or if the tags are in ALL FUCKING CAPS or if the music isn't tagged with anything at all.

And I don't always put something into my library the minute I download it. So I was about to delete this untagged album. I had no idea what it was. But I thought, well, I could listen to a little bit on the off chance I could identify it. In this rarest of instances, I listened to about 5 seconds and said, "Oh, that's the new Darkthrone." It was a one in a thousand chance, but there's no mistaking Darkthrone.

Metal Briefs: Clearing the 2012 Docket

Procrastination

I’ve been putting these reviews off forever. Two of these bands contacted me in July. Rather than continue to delay, I’m just going to handle all five of them machine-gun fashion. Coincidentally, all of these bands are from the US, all of them are on Bandcamp, and all of these releases were from 2012.

Boddicker: Mitch Is the Bastard
4.5 out of 5 stars

Grindcore. Eight minutes. Heavy, with plenty of dynamics for such a short release. The cover art says “Boddicker A.K.A. Napalm Frost,” so you know where their allegiance lies. I’m no grind expert, as I’ve repeatedly said, but I love this quickie.

Metal Briefs: Death Metal 2012

Death before Dishonor

I don't think there's been any lack of death metal coverage on this site as of late, but I personally haven't written many death metal reviews this year. It's still one of my favorite genres, behind only doom metal (and maybe dark Americana these days) and it's not like I haven't listened to much of it. Here are just a few of the new ones I've heard.

Doomsday: Doomsday
(4 out of 5 stars)

Chicago's Doomsday play some seriously crusty death metal on their self-titled debut EP. It sounds more or less like early Acephalix (before they went Swe-death), so if you have Interminable Night then just play "Christ Hole" to decide whether you'll like this one. In other words, death metal that's been hit in the head with a brick and then sandblasted. Doomsday can groove, but they are at their best when going balls-out fast. I love the drums on "Empty Vessel," too. They close it out with the much more punk-oriented "I Kill Everything I Fuck," which, incidentally--probably not a good pick-up line.



Buy Doomsday

Nails: Obscene Humanity (2012)

Short, Fast, and Furious

Review by Metallattorney. He is the law.

It was with a lot of trepidation that I agreed to take a listen to this release. I was not familiar with Nails before so I had to look them up. What I found concerned me even more. Nails is a hardcore band. I do not care much for hardcore music. Nails is often associated with Converge. I really do not care for Converge. And Nails is on Southern Lord Records. With the exception of Lair of the Minotaur, I have never really cared for that label. But I did agree to give this a shot, and the fact that the release is three songs from an upcoming seven inch, I figured it would not be too painful. I can probably handle ten to fifteen minutes of hardcore.

Yes I can. This is a very impressive release, which is likely made better by the fact that it is so short. I am not sure I could listen to a full album of this, but I can definitely listen to these three songs.

Bädr Vogu: Exitium (2011)

Crusty Doomy Goodness

Guest review by Metallattorney. He is the law.

I will be completely honest up front and say that my experiences with crust are extremely limited. As in virtually non-existent, particularly in its pure form. I have heard a few bands that combined crust with forms of metal such as Gallhammer, but that is about it. Bädr Vogu is a band that combines crust with doom metal, so I am not in completely foreign territory on this release.