Rest in Power - Mke Browning

 

Tampa Metal's legned drumm/vocalist Mike Browning, who passed at the age of 62  on July 13th.From liver failure, which would not be a huge surprise to those who knew him and his tenouw lifestyle,. The deaths caused by the rock ' n ' roll lifestyle are sometimes slower coming than others.  He played in the earliest incarnation of Morbid Angel that went by the names Ice and Heretic before settling on the name they are famous for. He played on "Abominations of Desolation," which would not see the light of day until 91. He would be replaced by Terrorizer drummer Pete Sandoval as the classic lineup of the band took form. He played briefly in a band called Incubus, not the stoner Faith No More wannabes, then formed Nocturnus, which included in its earliest line-ups the bass player for Agent Steel and Vincent Crowley of  Acheron. 

What set these guys apart from the pack when it came to the Tampa death metal scene of the 90s was that they had sci-fi themes, and keyboards were very dominant to aid in this atmosphere. When I bought their masterpiece "The Key" as a teenager, I was surprised that the drummer was also the vocalist. They felt like a death metal version of Coroner to me due to their technical prowess. To this day, that album still sounds great. I recently got the full dynamic range mix, and it holds up against anything today. It is an album that shows they were at one time able to stand toe to toe with Morbid Angel, who are more consistent in their releases as until recently I had not paid much attention to wehre they band was after "The Key," which is their best formula

I know they have had other vocalists to allow Browning to focus on drums, but his voice is a signature of the band. Their later work had a high bar to live up to when it came to being weighed against "The Key," but you gotta give him props for sticking to what he loved. He was one of the most important figures in the Tampa death metal scene, and here is to hoping Tom Morris has some songs from the Key session buried until Mike's page in the Necronomicon is turned, and it shall come down in a demon comet to be made an MP3. If you are a death metal fan, go listen to "The Key".

 

1st 1st : "DAGGER"

Here is a band that has been getting a bit of a buzz over in the UK. They blend post-punk tension and deadpan vocals with electronic beats to provide more drive. The first song impresses me with how it moves and the scope of their sound, but the vocals might begin to bore me a few songs in, so let's see if they can counter-balance this with their expectations. Things get dancier on the second song, but the limited vocal range makes the vocals feel like an afterthought. I would say he is even more limited range-wise than Justin from She Wants Revenge, though they have a similar thing going on; however, they are not even that dark. He does go up a half step for one phrase on the second song, but that is not much. 

Perhaps if they used less bright major sounding chord progressions, it would distracct me from the dry drum sound. I think back when I reviewed the Secrecy album, I made it pretty clear about what I want from post-punk, so it's nothing against the genre, it is how you play to those expectations. There is a better groove to the song "Burning". The one after this follows a similar path, and it puts a great deal of weight on the bass player who is carrying these songs 'Encouragement" might be a slight rip-off of Interpol, but it's the best song so far.

The guitar player wakes up an add more atmosphere to "I Remember Everything".Then they strut out onto the dance floor with "Obligations," which makes me understand why people like these guys , because htey can dance to them."Song For Someone" is a more melancholy ballad that is limited by his vocal range. There are occasions where the instrumentation is able to convey the emotion and compensate for what the vocals lack, but this is what keeps them from being on the tier of a band like the Twilight Sad, who can use both to a more powerful effect. When you have a song called "Does the Devil Know My Name," I expect it to be your darkest song not one of the most dancey. i will give this album an 8 as they might not be a goth band but they can make people dance and that is going to be their fan base, people who missed Interpol the first time around and are too young to know the difference. 

Cartlidge : "Operating Altar"

 I listen to a great deal of death metal these days, so it's great to hear a band that takes on its own personality amid a genre that can be rather uniform in its sound and dynamic scope due to the common focus on aggression. This is a weird concept album that has the crazy spirit of Acid Witch if they were not obsessed with Halloween and were more focused on Carcass-like medical horror. The second song has some thrash moments to it. "The Autopsy" takes a more frantic approach that brings them a little closer to the more extreme fringe of death metal. The higher shrieked vocals hold more in common with Deicide as they accelerate the pummelling.

They are marginally more deliberate about "the Snaguine Fiend". Partially due to the speed at which they attack these songs, they keep the songs typically around the four-minute mark or less. After some moments getting mired down in the genre's need for speed, "Among the Offal" finds them back on track with songwriting that helps set them apart. They maintain this songwriting streak with " Anatomical Incantations," which does have faster sections, but it is balanced out by the passages of more grooving riffage. There are echoes of old Morbid Angel and Carcass, without being a blatant tribute to either. Though thematically they lean in a more Carcass direction, as I mentioned before.

The title track does not stand out as much as the previous two songs, mainly because it stays locked in such a thrashing speed. The last song, "Stitch By Stitch," has a more purposeful accent on the blazing fast chorus to differentiate it. While this is not the best death metal album of the year so far or offer a challenge to the albums that were on that list it does carve out their own place to carry the torch one Carcass retires, and for that I will give this a 9.It drops on Everlasting Spew Records September 11th.

Operating Altar by Cartilage pst308

Black Sites : "For Eternity"

 

This Chicago-based band plays a fairly straightforward version of classic rock that leans towards power, though the opening track has more of an edge similar to Iced Earth. It's hooky in the manner of the 80's heyday of metal worked off. before losing its way in the 90s. They carry the heft of thrash without having to build speed. 'Aquarius Betrayed" is driven by what feels more like a pumped-up rock riff, before the palm-muted chugs. It's an intersting juxtaposition of sounds as I can also hear some Dokken influence in the guitar playing. They punch in harder in on the chorus, which does not work as well as their approach of the opening track, but they are melodic and dynamic enough to compensate. Midway into the song, they find their groove.

"Above Soil Beneath Sky" feels like a more modern approach to power metal. This places a great deal of weight on the vocal melodies, which find their singer always trying but not really nailing all the hooks. If you are into guitar solos they have them, and they are pretty catchy. They are dynamic songwriters, so that is in their favor. The common problem with power metal is anthemic does not equate to hooky. "Giving Up the Ghost " has a cool deliberate riff that I have high hopes for. The vocals work well with the riff, and that is all I am asking for here. The chorus is more fluid, proving my previous point. 

They continue to prove themselves to be darker than your average power metal band, which is not a high bar, but what they are doing works, until they lean too far into the more rock n roll side.  The bass leads into "Silent Wars," and the guitar falls in behind it in a more Ratt-like manner. Though you could also compare it to Ozzy. The chorus works for what they are doing but places them solidly in the 80s revival feel. "When Prophecy Fails" races along in a manner that doesn't resonate as much with me. They set up the last song to be a power ballad. I will give this album a 9, the yare solid muscians doing better than what most bands in this genre are doing , so if you want darker power metal with balls this is for you.

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Future : "The Real Me"

 

My affinity for this kind of rap music lies in the time I spent in Atlanta. I really love his album 'Evol," but he has not really wowed me with anything that came after, though I do like his work that came before that album. From what I have heard is that the ritics what something more introspective from him, but they feel he is doing his same old, same old, and I think the reason they don't like this is that it glorifies they hyper masculine gangster mythos, which, if he were white, would get called toxic masculinity. I think what he is doing here is what works for him and is true to who he is. There might be other conversations you want to have about what that is, but I don't care. I listen to a band that sings about raping corpses, so I obviously do not care.

The first few songs are pretty consistent with what he does, though as you get deeper into the albums, the lean begins to kick in and things mellow out. The beat is more subtle with less boom, and his lyrical flow begins to mellow as well into autotuned singing by the time we get to "California Girls" . He finds himself making trap ballads on "Weight Up". His vocals are less a jumbled murmur, which makes his voice more likea droning instrument riding the beat. Symphonic synths cascade in the background. Lyrically, things get silly on "Konnichiwa. but the pattern the lyrics are spit in gives the song more heft

"Trenchcoat' is almost an interlude.. "Snow in Skyami," it's back to the drugs, and if you are the pearl-clutching type that cares about misogyny in music, there is plenty on display. The drug songs tend to be darker.. "Build a Bitch" is pretty silly lyrically. "Radio" is ironically the catchiest. Despite that, in the song he declares it is not for radio. "2018" sounds like crack head is chanting at the beginning. It feels like he is trying to be Young Thug here. It is back to business on "Money Over Everything". The album starts to regain its momentum here.. 

With 22 songs on this album, there are bound to be some less inspired moments, "If I Could" being one of these. The influence of Yung Thug crops up again on "Big Moment." This album is not littered with guest spots and collaborations, so it's up to him to deliver all. "Cast a Spell' finds him once again going in a more Yung Thug like direction. It's an auto-tuned ballad. "Kick" has a more interesting backing track than most of the songs on this album. The backing track to 'Hollywood" sounds like it could be a song by The Weeknd with its more 80s synth feel, suited considering the direction that artist went in. The Weeknd vibes continue on "The Closer I Get", he has 9 different producers on this album ot assist with the beats, which explains the range of sound brought to the table here

"Alice" is one of the album's hookiest songs and the closest to pop this album gets with it's ywewerk inducing beat.  "Eye to Eye" balances things between the more trap ballad feel and his moving lyrical grooves. Despite the more trap ballad feel of some songs, I think he finds himself on this album, or at at least settles in with his persona and delivers what you want from him without compromising to conform to polite society so I will give this album a 9.5 and see how it grows on me.

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The Hu : "Hun"

This project feels a little contrived to me. I think the folk elements of what they do work, but the metal side sounds like a Temu version of Black Album-era Metallica. If they were jsut a Mongolian band playing metal, it would be one thing, but they are being marketed like it's It's a Small World of Metal. The fact that they are dressed like extras from Dr Strange only makes the point clearer. You mean to tell me they just broke out of their homeland, which has little contact with the music industry, or they were founded and developed? Almost liek the male version of Babymetal

 It opens with the most commercial song, Nothing. More guests on "Lost Soul," which is well written and produced, though nothing groundbreaking. But for big dumb metal for the summer festival beer-drinking crowd, it works."The Men" would sound like Nickelback if it were not dressed up as folk metal. There is a little more nuance to "Echoes of My Father", but vocals are not these guys' strength.  The song " Shadow " was such generic metal that it just faded into the back, and I had to give it a second listien to pay more attention to what is going on, which is not much. The first song that grabs me is "The Real You"; the riff is kind of thrashy and feels more like actual metal. Though the vocals continue to be weak.

There is more swubg in the groove to "the Gray Hun" but it makes it sound more like warmed-over Metallica. At their best vocally, you can tell it's taking a great deal of love from the producers. They go for a more melodic tone on "Universe," but the vocals hold them back; it feels like it is for a Disney movie. I think another thing I don't like about what they do is that none of this sounds dark; there are more introspective moments, but just anthemic rousing, which is also the thing I do not like about most power metal. I will give this album an 8  in trying to hear this from the perspective of a fan, thanks to the production and couple trong songs, but this whole thing feels highly contrived,

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Carbon Tomb : "Passage to a Neutron Star"

This Danish death metal trio is releasing a pummeling grind that carries hints of Morbid Angel in places but delivers it more brutally. They do not let angular riffing and dissonance stop them from finding a groove on the opening track. "A Hidden Creature" feels like it carries elements of crust punk into the dense blast ridden fray the song evolves into. The drums are hyper fast. When they slow down and let the organic ambiance of the chords ring out, it plays to their favor. The way the riffs modulate is very subtle but effective. There is a burly sonic quality that would almost feel like sludge if it were not for the frantic drumming when they storm into "From the Giants Snout"

. The vocals are typically in a lower, guttural, almost gurgle, that paints them into the singular, focused aggression death metal is known for. Later in the album, as it becomes apparent that there are effects on them, they feel like they are at peak form. Production-wise, this album si very organic and raw. The vocals sit under the guitar, but the mix lends itself to making room for the bass. The riffs take on the more machine-like grinding sound that Morbid Angel made famous on " Dog Hunter". The gutiar is more deliberate here than most of the songs so far. Though when they go into blasting, it feels like an easy default. A clean strum of guitar leads into " Of God's Neglect"., this contrast helps them to find a darker place to go into. When they lean into this sonic heaviness, I think it's clear that it's heavier than metal blasting. This song is followed by an almost grindcore-like spasm of riffs that is not crafted as well as "Of God's Neglect". 

They see-saw back into creepier, more deliberate moods as the album prgresses that are much more intersting. Even when the drummer lays the double bass on thick, they stay the course for the duration of the passage, as they are going to, of course, speed up at some point. They wrestle against their need for speed on "Reversed Head Renewal". They reach a better balance on the title track that closes the album and keep the blast to dynamic bursts in a more call and response manner.,  I will give this album a 9, as it works well sonically and is more interesting than most.  

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