If you do not know who this Swedish post- hard core band is then why did you click on this god damn review? This feels like a much closer return to the band who once showed the shape of punk to come. The opening track is stronger than the more straight forward "Violent Reaction" . The album before this one had scarce traces of hard core while this ones more firmly rooted in it. I am fine with having melodic hooks in fact I prefer if so " I Wanna Watch the World Burn" works really well for me. "Blood Red " is more aggressive.I guess the weird thing is when they came out they were ahead of their time now they sound like the status quo they helped established. So much so a song like "Malfire" almost sounds like Papa Roach. Despite this fact it is a pretty cool song.
"Turn the Cross" is more metallic and aggressive, but this doesn't equate being one of the more inspired songs."Damaged III" has a staccato groove to it, but doesn't feel like it is breaking a great deal of new ground but reaffirms what they already do well. There is more rock n roll to "Death In Vannas".Some of these moments bring Boy Sets Fire to mind. "the Infamous Left" is more straight forward and hard core tinged with darker moments. The breaks downs feel obligatory and not really that much a of a dynamic shift. While it starts off in a much more straight forward punk direction the song ends up in some pretty cool places .
I will give this album a 9, though it might still need some time to grow on. I think I am most impressed how it is a more aggressive return to their hard core sound. It of course does not touch "Shape of Punk to Come" but how many album really can come in and change the game like that. If you have been on the fence about their more recent efforts I think this album can win you over. This album comes out on October 18th on Spine farm Records.
This French band is gloomy enough for me. I was at first worried they were going to a French version of Katatonia. But the vocals have a more desperate urgency. They have a higher more Ozzy like timbre to them. The production certainly aides in creating the bleak urban landscape they are going for. There is a more Type O Negative like atmosphere to "Sleep Juice". Not that it's goth, it just shares a similar sonic space, though I can also hear the more power ballad like guitar tone from solo Ozzy. The vocals are more vulnerable on this song. Here is a guy that can fucking sing, but doesn't waste notes trying to sound like he is on "the Voice". They have been around for 13 years, so I am not sure how this band has eluded me.
"Touch the Razor" is impassioned, a feels a little to me like something Pallbearer might do. They do not have the affintiy towards angular low tuned riffs that Pallbearer does. It's not like they are setting out to be a doom band. They are just writing songs with a sense of mourning to them.There are big guitar riffs that hold a great deal of weight and in this way I suppose the comparison to Katatonia could be drawn. "Tara" is a atmosphere instrumental , more of an interlude or what might have been better served as the intro to song that follows. "4/19/16" has more drive on the verse leading into the song then begins to swim in it's melancholy. "Tired Eyes " begins to gather then kind of muscle associated with more traditional forms of doom.
"Negative Male Child" is not a ballad , but does has a poppy grunge sense to it that reminds me of much of the music I listened to in 90s that was not industrial. There is even a stronger sense of hooks in the vocals. There is another instrumental after this that . The last song "Full Ashtray" carries an ominous stomp.It fades out into ambiance, but over all is a solid song. I'll give this album a 10 when you strip away some of the atmospheric interludes as I think they are dark and emotive, in a sincere and powerful manner, I want to let it sink in more.
The band's 9th album opens with the nihilistic blues of the lead single "See You In Hell". Despite the album's title it's somewhat less of a love affair with Black Sabbath and more of a homage to the fuzzed out garage rock of the 60's. The drummer was obviously influenced by Mitch Mitchell's drumming on "Manic Depression" here. Not as aggressive as what we have heard from them in the past, but it sounds better the more you dial up the volume. The band took it upon themselves to handle the production in their own studio. Sonically this allows for less bells and whistles as it's stripped down to what the band sounds like just plugging straight into their amps. The creates a dry more more ranged sound, and thus a more retro affair.
The tempo shifts into more a methed out boogie on "Necromania". Lyrically "Hear the Sirens Scream" sounds like he went into the vocal booth with no lyrics prepared and just vamped off the top of his head. This song also has a more of a jamming feel to it and is not as focused in it's attack. It begins to drag a little once they hit the seven minute mark and I begin to wonder if it's going anywhere else or just more of the same. The answer they give me after declaring "drugs are their religion" is a guitar solo. It could have stood to come more forward in the mix rather than sitting back in the wall of guitar.
A keyboard does appear at the beginning of the three minute drone "the Reaper". "Wicked Caresses " embraces a darker more traditional doom approach. It doesn't wallow in the linger tempo and hover under 90 bpms, when not in the total doom of the verse riff. They stay on a slower doomy shuffle for the closing anthem "Mourning of the Magicians" . He returns to claiming he will sill you in hell so I had to check to see if I had let the stream loop back around to the beginning , so this one didn't hold my attention as much as the first few songs. I also notice that his voice lacks the effects it's normally drenched in on their other albums. I can hear how this gives it more of a Coven like sound and less of a mid 70s Ozzy. But it makes the vocals cut through less like another instrument and showing he is a one trick pony here.Other wise this is a pretty solid album, I'll give it an 8.5, it has less apocalyptic thunder than albums like "Dopethrone" but I like the trashy exploitative mood it creates in the simplicity of the songs. They also prove you don't need long pondering wandering to be doom.
I really loved "Crooked Doors" I wore it out. This means the bar is held pretty high here. So I was uncertain of the slow droning riff that accompanies the more circular chant of the first song. They don't come out swinging like they did on the previous album. I went back and gave this song another listen after hearing the entire album, and it made a little more sense , but didn't really grab me. The snarl Parsonz summons on "April Showers" sounds almost like Blackie Lawless. This song snakes around but drones less than the opener and has more balls to it. She has a greater grit to her voice on this album for sure, but they have really backed off on the distorted when it comes to the guitars. Sure there is almost an "Amorica" like soul to "Tired". The only problem is they are not the Black Crowes. While she tries some interesting things with harmonies and less rock-centric melodies, it is not as focused as the previous albums. By the time we get "We Slipped" which is pretty uptempo, you might as well resign yourself that the metal trapping that gave intensity to other albums has been shed. The rock jangle is going to be hard pressed to grow on me in the same way the last album did.
There is a more Led Zeppelin boogie to "the Sinking Chair". This is much closer to what I want from these guys. The distortion could have been more amped and taken the chugged section to a heavier place so this is production choice. She lets her voice go into more of harsher metal scream at some points, though this song is more of a mid seventies vision of metal that what metal is by today's standards. The very stripped down "Plans" marries a starker version of Janis Joplin to the Black Crowes. I like this one more than I thought I would when it started. Her soulful vocals really sell it. There is much more piano on this album than I remember them using in the past. I also have a much harder time envisioning how these songs would translate live than I do with their other work.
"Anchor" works for me right of the bat. It's not metal but has rambling moodiness that connects with me and feels more powerful. The vocals and guitar work together much seamlessly than what happens on some of the other songs. The atmosphere and the brooding that drives the title track both immediately work for me. It does kick into a harder rock direction. The shadows that color the mood are obviously of importance to me. There is a more stripped down intro to "Push" than what the song ambles into which feels more like a lost Jeff Buckley track. The vocal performance really sells this song. While it rocks more and moves pretty fluidly it seems like "Turnaround" is one of those songs that is going to need to grow on me.
The hypnotic winding western tinged riffs that these guys do so well are invoked on "the Well" . The doing go to the obvious big rock chorus off the back and build tension. There are metal influences under the surface but I would not say this is a metal album. By the album's third act it becomes obvious they have remembered who they are and what they should be doing. The album comes to a close with 'We Never Fell Asleep". There is a dagger like quality to how the lyrics are spit out on this one and they gain some punch as the song progresses. Overall this one shows the band growing away from who they where and that takes some adjustment if you are invested in their old sound, but I'll around this one up to a 9.5.
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Out of the misty mountains of bong smoke, Doomy Brits the Wounded Kings are back. The opener has a very Sabbath lumber to their more traditional and melodic take on doom. The first song is 14 minutes. If you have been keeping up with this blog lately then you know after reviewing new albums from bands like Lesbian and Sub Rosa, that I have been up to my ears in songs over ten minutes , which I had already begun to tire with last year. "Vultures" starts off with the tempo picking up into a more thundering brand of metal that reminds me of Electric Wizard.This song is slightly more compact, and I like when the singer dips into a lower croon.
"Kingdom" has a rougher tone and is more blues based. The song breaks down into a sample at the six minute mark, from this point there springs a very meaningful guitar solo."Bleeding Sky" is a little more plodding and doesn't distinguish itself from the other similarly paced songs, so the five minute run time of it is a blessing and a curse. There is a similar bluesy feel to the closing " Vanishing Sea" that makes me imagine what it would sound like if Iggy Pop sang for Black Sabbath.
I'll give this album a 7.5, it was well made and had some strong moments, but didn't blow me away. Though something can be said for the fact that it didn't blow either, or really sound like they were doing blow which tends to make everything sound like "Volume 4" era Black Sabbath.
Expectations are always high when it comes to what I want from my favorite bands. Killing Joke is one of the most influential bands ever, so you expect them to deliver. They do. They deliver an album that aligns itself with their length career which has touched upon everything from new wave to metal. Some things are pretty constant here like Jaz Coleman's voice which is smooth over the frantic rock driven by Youth's bass line feels more organic than most of their out put since "Pandemonium" . There are still flourishes of futuristic effects passing over the mix. It would put them more pack to their punk roots , but the riff carries more of a drone. They get heavier for "Dawn of the Hive" . It has the tribal post-apocalyptic chug that would not have been out of place on the soundtrack for the last Mad Max movie. The chorus backs off and gives a breather before they return to the hypnotic hammering that hold more finesse that how a metal band would approach this, though they more than capable lock into a more militant industrial which they display later in the song.
"New Cold War" is more melodic than either of the first two songs , though it also finds Jaz going into more of a roar in places. The disco hi-hat in Jimmy Copely's drumming has become a staple in post-punk, here it is used in context none of the newest crop of post-punk bands are forward thinking enough to imitate. The song is layered with so many darkly reflective sounds that this almost dancey element gives it the sense of movement it needs. The upbeat "Euphoria" continues to set this album apart from their more recent output. The chorus to this song is not over blown and the melody is allowed to coast with the atmosphere that has even more of a dancey propulsion than the previous song.
There is weird yet taunt groove to "New Jerusalem" where Coleman's vocals take on a an almost rap-like cadence in their placement, the build the song busts into is more intricate than just stomping on the distortion. There is a lot going on in there. Kevin Walker's guitar tone at times is more metallic, but the use of effects works perfectly in the over all mix of the songs. "War on Freedom" oddly has a more upbeat vibe to it to the commentary of Big Brother using things like facial recognition software to slowly impose upon us. Its midway into the album that I come to terms with the fact this won't be as heavy as "MMXII" , which isn't bad it's just different. Killing Joke has never made the same album twice and they are not bucking that trend. "Big Buzz" continues this trend with another upbeat almost punk like tempo. Coleman's lyrics give a wink to his mystic interests as he quotes Crowley's Book of the Law exclaiming " every man and woman is a star".
They get more metal with "Delete". The vocal line coasts over the more aggressive guitar work. They are one of the few bands that can approach this kind of cerebrally heavy sound and bring it to you such dynamic variance. This is something that even bands they have influenced like Ministry have not been consistent with and Killing Joke has been doing this since 1978. "I Am the Virus" finds Coleman adding a harshness to his voice on the chorus. "Into the Unknown" closes out the album, this song is heavy in some sense , but not metal. There is some interesting interplay between the synths and guitar. It is going to take a few listens for me to really absorb this but on my initial listen I have no problem rounding this one up to a 10 as the band maintains their sound, but refuses to become a retro act and rehash what they have already done. If you eve wonder why I can be so harsh on even supposedly iconic bands, when you have a band like Killing Joke who is still putting out music that finds them continuing to expand themselves musically then why should I accept less?
