Dark Americana Briefs, Part 7

You know the drill.

Across Tundras: Electric Relics (2013)
4 out of 5 stars

As I've mentioned before, Across Tundras is one of those few bands who expertly land themselves at the crossroads of metal and dark Americana. They sound like an old-school country/Western band (complete with nasally cowboy vocals) mixed with the desert rock of Kyuss. The production is extremely dry, and listening to it feels like a walk through the desert to a marginal frontier town. It's tailor-made for me, but your mileage may vary.

Across Tundras / Lark's Tongue: Across Tundras / Lark's Tongue (2013)

Desert Split

I’ve discussed the Denver-to-Nashville transplants Across Tundras once or twice before. Their combination of country, folk, psychedelic rock, and stoner metal is what you might call a perfect storm of my musical interests. They have the potential to be one of my favorite bands, but with as prolific as they are I’ve been unable to catch up on everything they’ve done. That’s especially so if you include guitarist/vocalist T.G. Olson’s solo work (most of which can be had on the Across Tundras Bandcamp). He’s one of those guys who can’t seem to stop creating.

Their latest release is a split with Lark’s Tongue, out of Illinois. This is a band I’ve never heard of before, but there is definitely a common thread running between the two bands.

Dark Americana Briefs, Part 3

I keep on listening to more and more of what I call dark Americana. I wrote these brief reviews before my brother died, but the music speaks to me now more than ever. Raise a glass to pain.

The Builders and the Butchers: Dead Reckoning (2010)
4 out of 5 stars

After wading through dozens of unknown entities without any discernible connection to metal or punk, I finally found one that was really worthy of attention. The Builders and the Butchers is a folk-rock band that sound like a combination of Man's Gin and 16 Horsepower, fronted by Eddie Vedder. It's catchy, mostly dark (drug themes, etc.) and has the right Americana vibe that I'm always looking for, with a laundry list of different instruments all making an appearance. The search has been worth it, and will continue. Check out Dead Reckoning.



Tangentially, why would you have a laundry list? You wash the dirty ones.

Buy Dead Reckoning

Country Briefs

Shit Kickin'

I grew up in a rural area in northeast Nebraska. As such, I was exposed to a lot of what was presented as country music. In truth, it was just pop music with affectations of country. As I got older, I discovered the legend of Johnny Cash, and realized there must be more to the genre.

My country exploration has been generally timid. I've listened to some Hank Williams III, but I've found that I like the idea of Hank 3 more than the reality. Thankfully, there's more country to appeal to metalheads than just Hank and Johnny.

Bob Wayne: Outlaw Carnie (2011)
3.5 out of 5 stars

Of the records in this post, this is easily the closest to what you might think of when you think about Hank 3 or country music. In a way, it's really quite fitting that Bob Wayne's Outlaw Carnie is on Century Media. It's dumb and straight-forward, with an attitude. Like the great Cash (who gets mentioned on "Ghost Town"), it's a lot about storytelling. But the stories are worth listening to, even if (like me) you're not usually interested in lyrics.



Buy Outlaw Carnie

Hank Williams III: Attention Deficit Domination (2011)

Review

The other day I was watching TV and pro bull riding came on. I don't really go out of my way to watch that sport, but when it's on I will watch it. That's the only real extreme sport, skateboarding and snowboarding be damned.

I feel the same way about Hank Williams III as I do about PBR. Occasionally, he's awesome. I’ve mentioned the eclectic country heir a handful of times on this blog. He plays country music that I actually want to listen to (which is pretty damn rare). He’s also played some pretty decent metal/punk in the past, with Assjack earning a fairly decent rating from me. Now, Attention Deficit Domination is his attempt at creating stoner doom.

Hank Williams III: Ghost to a Ghost / Gutter Town (2011)

Review

If you're not already familiar with Hank Williams III, you should be. The grandson of the legendary Hank Williams and son of the equally legendary Hank Williams Jr., he embodies the outlaw mentality of underground country music. Most of us forget (or don't know) that there is such a thing as underground country, since what's passed off as country these days is just bad pop music with a twang. As Celtic Frost was to Poison in the mid-80's, so Hank 3 is to mainstream country. On top of that, he's been involved in projects with Phil Anselmo, and his shows are legendary for starting out country, turning punk, and ending metal.

Just released from a bad label deal (sound familiar?), Hank simultaneously released four albums: the weird speed metal / auctioneering experiment 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin, the stoner doom Attention Deficit Domination, and the double country album Ghost to a Ghost / Gutter Town.

Across Tundras: Sage

Review

Sage is dry. Across Tundras dream of cool, clear water, but do not find it. It's the soundtrack of walking through the Nevada desert, hallucinating from exposure.

I love the dark Americana vibe of bands like Man's Gin, Wino, and Dax Riggs. I'm not even sure I've mentioned it before, except for my glowing reviews of Smiling Dogs and Adrift. Across Tundras compellingly fuse that vibe to the stoner metal / desert rock of Kyuss.

Loss: Despond (2011)

Review

Even among metalheads, funeral doom is not a genre with wide appeal. The reason is probably that most bands in the genre are content simply to plod along without doing anything interesting. Even some of the good ones are happy with atmosphere alone. Only a handful of great funeral doom bands create mood and melody.

Nashville's Loss is one of those great funeral doom bands. Despond is only their first full-length, but they already display such mastery of the genre that I have no qualms about declaring their greatness.

Whitechapel: A New Era of Corruption (2010)

Review

Tennessee's Whitechapel has been hard to ignore in the metal universe lately. Professional reviews on both sides of the Atlantic have this message to old school metallers: Like it or not, this is the direction death metal is going, and this band is as good as it gets.

Now, I don't have anything in particular against deathcore. I am a death metaller at heart, so there is something slightly off-putting about the genre, but I'm willing to give it another chance.

Whitechapel is unusual in that they have three guitarists. That's not something real noticeable in their sound, but it does make them heavy. Technically, the band is precise and proficient, but their songwriting is a bit uneven. Vocalist Phil Bozeman is awful: He sounds like he's doing a bad parody of death grunts. (And the production cranks up the vocals way too high even for a good vocalist.)

When all they try to do is go for unfocused brutality the music is forgettable. The breakdowns are probably cool at a live show, but on a recording it isn't. On the other hand, they sometimes try some unique rhythms to very positive results (see "Breeding Violence" or "Unnerving"). I hate to say it, but these rhythms are distinctly hip hop influenced. So, when they sound good they are--brace yourself--kind of like "brutal nu metal".



The Verdict: Whitechapel has a lot going for them, and there are some good moments on the new album. If they would get rid of their vocalist and (I know this sounds weird) listen to a lot of early Korn, they could be something much better than they are now. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Metal Briefs: Country/Metal

Country and metal had been begging to be put together ever since Motörhead dressed up like cowboys and did "Shoot You in the Back". Many sludge metal groups, of course, use some southern rock influence. But here I'm going to take a look at three albums that are a lot more country. I could also have done Jeff Walker Und Die Fluffers, but maybe that will be another day.

Rebel Meets Rebel: Rebel Meets Rebel (2006)

David Allan Coe is about as legendary as you can get among outlaw country singers. Who would have thought he would do so well as, essentially, a replacement for Phil Anselmo? Three members of Pantera (including Dimebag) did the music, and Coe did the singing, and it turned out quite well. Overall, it sounds a lot like Pantera (as you might expect), though less aggressive or dark and with more of an outlaw country sound and attitude. The obvious standout track is opener "Nothin' To Lose", but other greats include "No Compromise" and "Cherokee Cry" (the latter sounds suspiciously like it could be from Down). I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.



Hank Williams III: Rebel Within (2010)

I never thought I'd be buying a country album that didn't say "CASH" in big letters on the cover. But Hank III is about as outlaw as it gets, dabbling in country, punk, and metal. Whether this makes him simply a chameleon or the ultimate punk, I don't know, but he seems equally adept at all three styles. Rebel Within is almost purely country. No, not Nashville: This is very old-school country, with nasally singing and lots of twang. To me, that can get kind of tedious after a while, but he does incorporate blues (e.g. "Gone But Not Forgotten") and metal. The two obvious standout tracks are the title track and "Tore Up & Loud", which both have a lot of metal influence. I'm not sure I'm fully qualified to review a country album, but I like this well enough. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.



Assjack: Assjack (2009)

Hank III's metal band Assjack is the most aggressive album on this list. It's groove metal, hardcore punk, and sludge metal thrown into a blender, with the occasional hints of country and industrial. It's much faster than that description would indicate, and very aggressive. Standouts include "Cocaine the White Devil" and the amazing "Redneck Ride" (which uses elements from that cliche hillbilly banjo song). This is a very enjoyable listen, and I give it 4 out of 5 stars.