Gaytheist : "How Long Have I Been On Fire"

At first when I pressed play I though out there is a lot of this noise punk stuff coming out of  the North West, But this has more of a math rock vibe. Then the vocals came and changed every thing. On their influences it said Dio era Sabbath. Their singer does not sound like Dio. He does have a tenor singing choice that is less Geddy Lee than Coheed & Cambria, but in that vein. In his upeer register he goes into more of a cracking sceam rather than a falsetto. What this does is add another dimension to their music.  Bats is the closet band I can compare them to though the vocals might be more melodic here. When his vocals go into a softer mode at the beginning for "Let the Wrong One Out " it is more like Birght Eyes in it's emotive nature, though not as pitchy. It busts into a more epic rock dynamic. Progressive noise rock could be a thing ?

The bass and drums handle the twists and turns of  "Hashbrownsblessed" which works off manic energy. Match rock is a key ingredient, but perhaps not as punk as it first came across. The songs are often just over a mintue, there are longer ones with 3 and a half minutes being the longest, so they throw alot into a minute. The only problem is this makes the songs run together.  "Hornswaggled" has more of a metal feel. "Fetid Delights" opens with more melody before into exploding the more amped up side of what they do . I am going to go ahead and guess after seeing their pictures that the singer is gay . Perhaps the drummer, who might be a bear. That does not mean this flamboyant. "Dental Records" is moodier. It is also the 3 and a half minute song menaing they have time give dynamics a slow burn. The drumming is pretty impressive here. There is more of a 70s jam kinda feel to this song. 

"Anticestry" is like anthemic rock but more rough around the edges. There is more of a straight forward proto punk feel to "Border Patrol". Which coud be more about sex than immigrants. They do get politcal on "Reigning Men". They get more metal again on "All Choices Lead to Death".  When the plod around on "Dropping Shit Loads of Truth Bombs" its more interesting,. He screams more on this one., The first time you hear him use a harsh voice.  This is the album's heaviest song. It ends with the more anthemic rock side of  what they do . Five albums in not sure how these guys went under my radar. I like the vocals and stepping away from the pack approach of what they do, I wil round this up to a 9.5. 

Ils : "Curse"

This band from Portland has been rumbling the underground with their  blend of noise rock that is so burly it hits ike methed out sudge. The vocals are more punk. They back off of the bludgeoning on  the title track  which is like a mix up between Clutch and Black Flag. Due to the groove. The vocals go into a nastier snarl in places. They use a fair amount of dissonance and a gnarly bass on tone with menacing your ears with " Don't Hurt Me" .  Their drummer proves himself with me in on the more metallic attack dealt by "No Luck".  Their sense battery of your ears, gains a little sonic atmosphere with "Noose" , while following their song writing formula. The vocals are clearly fixed into the two dynamics vomiting snarls and screams or the drunken punk exclamations.


"Whitemeat" tackles rascism, this is the only song where the lyrical content became pretty clear.Their punk side makes this political / social purging make a little more sense. The guitar riffs swirl around you on this one. They also go into how the problems of this world have something to do with parasites. If they are referring to the fact all humans are parasites then I am on board. "Northstar" finds the beating beginning to numb you out. Here they are chanting that it just doesn't matter'. This is a thought that is universal and doesn't just apply to this song, but any of the things they seem to be angry about. The vocals trade off from the screaming to more spoken sections quicker on "Casket Race" that works off a more taunt chugging. In places I can hear a Dead Kennedys influnce.  'It's Not Lard, But It's a Cyst" . Has more chaotic energy, though not vastly different than they have already been doing perhaps marginally more riff driven.,

The guitar's going into the last song have more of a throb, but they of course explode out of this. The syncopation is more deliberate, The vocals have less focus. I will give this album an 8.5. If you like rowdy punk flavored noise rock with a tendency to tell you what is wrong with the world these days then this band is going to be up your alley.