Hässlig :"Apex Predator"

Ok now we get into the time of year when I review albums that might have slipped by or been promoted in a way that caught my attention, however, they were number one on the lists of my peers so I am seeing if they are worth their praises. In this case, it's Cvlt Nation's number-one-ranked Black Metal album. A band from Spain, which is whatfirst made me skeptical, also, this is a black metal-punk rock hybrid, which could mean they just can't play their instruments. The first track sounds good. Here we get into the crux of what this album is about which I am not surprised, that it's a band that captured a raw grimy sound that is angry enough to work. 

This album turns into the issue of sound vs songs. Anyone can get a found it's about turning the dials of the right equipment. Not everyone can write a song. The problem with this is when you are four songs in and it still sounds like it's the second song, which was not as good as the first song. The vocals and the production are the most black metal thing about these guys if you had a punk yelling it would be punk. There is a little more chaos in the title track, but sounds like a mushy jumble of distortion with incomprehensible singing over it. What's the replay value of that? There is a descending pattern that breaks things up but it's too little too late and just goes back into what they have already done. 

"Abgrund" is back into the cacophony. It's raw but in a way that makes it just noise. You can hear a bass trying to fight its way through this mess. Feedback is the only thing that clues you into the fact that you are not still listening to the previous song. This album gets worse in this regard, sometimes the drums are not blasting at you but there is never anything to hook you in or make this memorable. "Raping the Exoskeleton of Life" is a great song title, but it sounds like everything else on this album. The fact they stretch that out for four minutes is just a waste of time. This would not make my best of black metal list , but it is worthy of my worst albums of 2024 list, as you can hear the first thirty seconds of almost every song and get the gist of what they are doing here, which is making thirty minutes of my life that I am never getting back after listening to this piece of shit. I'll give this album a 3. This is a lower score than Beyonce who claimed the number one spot on my worst of 2024, but she remains the champion of suckage since it took a assembly line of producers and songwriters in the most expensive studios to put out trash while these guys did it with dignity in their basements playing their own instruments.  

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BLACK SABBATH VOL. 4: THE CVLT NATION SESSIONS

The Fam over Cvlt Nation has released another tribute session. I like these because they always give me a chance to check bands I have not heard before. The first of these being Potion. First impressions being rough because the more I like the band the more critical ear I listen with. I like the guitar sound it's dense and still trippy. Not trying to cop from Tony Iommi. It's a tricky balance when trying to cover Sabbath. Yoiu want to give it your own spin, but these guys invented heavy metal so the stakes are high. The thing about Sabbath, is that they are very similar to how I feel about the Smiths. While I love the band, I have even greater love for Morrissey, if he is singing with them or not. Sure the solo albums might not live up to the classics of their bands , but it's hard to capture their sound without the distinctive vocals. I do not need an Ozzy impersonation. I do need you to hit the notes. I think hitting notes might not be the what this singer normally goes for as they have a more throaty tone, but they do go for it .

Yarrow does a much better job of hitting the notes. Though the change the tone of the song , by making it slower. It still works. They do throw in a bit of the song "Black Sabbath" . Which is more of their thing, Drug Cult handles changes in more of a Tori Amos fashion. "f/x" was always a fast forward classic, Bongripper just makes it a longer one. There is more off a deathly sludge to Oryx's attack upon "Supernaut". The vocals are a little grating , but the guitars are cool.   Mindkult gives a more sludgey southern rock feel to "Snowblind". The vocals are sung and certainly work on the verses. It is when it gets to the bridge that you hear this guy has not much in the way of power or range. Hearing covers like this also shine light on what and under rated singer Ozzy was. Of course only Ozzy is to blame for letting the emphasis be  put on his maniacal acts rather than his pipes.

CHRCH offers up a very dense take on "Cornucopia". The vocals sit way back in the mix until they go into a harsher scream. In places their version is slower and heavier. The snarl of the vocals sets the tone for the rest of the song. Sea Witch offers a more fuzzed out take on "Laguna Sunrise"  another song that is more of an interlude for me, (16) does a really good job with "St. Vitus Dance". They make an effort to sing even if it is from behind a veil of effects. Yidhra also dopes a pretty comparable job with " Under the Sun". I will give this one a 9. It is certainly one of the better albums like this Cvlt Nation has tackled.

7.2

Cvlt Nation Presents - Black Flag's My War

Cvlt Nation continues with their tribute series, where they take an album and have bands cover it front to back. You are probably thinking I am going to be biased because of my connection to these guys. I have reviewed this albums in the past, and leave my affiliation at my bed room door to give them an honest listen. Sean & Meghan would not want it any other way. We start off with a sludged out version of the title track by No Funeral . They hit some of the punches , but this pace takes all the punk out of it until the end. I haven't given this band much of a listen before which is why I like these tribute albums as I get a snap shot of what a band like this is capable of. My first impression of No Funeral is they are a more blown out and feral Eyehategod, maybe a little less swampy. Hellkeeper hits closer to home with their take on "Can't Decide". -(16)- does a passable job on " Beat My Head Against the Wall" . It more metallic and what I would expect for them. Bleach Birth tackles "I Love You " with great success. Though it's a song that would be hard to really fuck up as it's such straight forward punk, until the break midway into it. They also nailed this as well. They are always a band that I forget about so I need to keep more of an ear out for them as I have liked what I have heard from those guys.

The rest of the album consists of bands I am less familiar with. Fange offers an interesting industrial slant to "Forever Time" which is my favorite song so far into this. I think it shows who they are as a band and does the song justice though taking it into a much different neighborhood than the original. Now I am not going to be as emotionally invested in Black Flag as I am Black Sabbath, but I have owned this album and listened to it off and on over the past 28 years it has been in my consciousness. Kalloused comes close to have the same success with "the Swinging Man", but it is so over driven some of the songs finer points are a little lost in the translation. Then with Disrotted we are back to being drug through the murky waters in the bringing more density to "Nothing Left Inside".  They are paced like a doom, band but feel more like sludge as the emphasis seems to be on feedback rather than despair. This is the first song that I feel misses the mark and does so by consuming 21 minutes.

Devoidov does a really good job of "Three Nights". They capture the mood of the song and suceed at making it heavier without losing the song. Skincarver gets things back on a more sludged out road, which has been the path most of these bands have been on. So it is no coincidence that the album most shining moments came from bands that did not do this. Not to say all of the sludge versions were bad, some like this one buried the original song in the fuzz and dirge ridden dirt of what they do. I'll give this one an 8.5 , along with one of the Black Sabbath tributes Cvlt Nation did this is one of the strongest releases.

Primitive Knot : "Decanting the Dream-Gore"

My friends at Cvlt Nation were raving about these guys so I had to check it out. This British band is on a more experimental underground edge of post-punk. It opens with a ambient passage that is not quite a song. When they get more into the meat of the matter it sounds like a really low fi version of Killing Joke. The pitter patter of the double bass is kinda sad , but I can hear where they are trying to go. I hope they get there and are not content staying in this place production wise. I understand money is an issue for bands. The struggle is real. But in this case there is more intention than execution due to this. There is a more of punk feel to "Into the Forest of Knives" . The vocals sit further back in the mix on this one. More industrial soundscapes clash against the song's driving charge.

They take on more of a black metal feel, but with distant Death In June like vocals. Then we are back into the more punk place. There are some effects on the vocals and they sound much better this way. "Seven Thousand Crystal Frames" reminds me of Darkthrone's more black n roll moments. Then there is more of an industrial chant to "Howl of Rebirth" that really suffers from piss poor production as the drums sound paper thin, when they need to be bull-dozing you, go ask Godflesh how this works. One again I think there is potential, but this needed to be recorded in a proper studio, if it was then they need their money back.
The last track is just ambient noise. The production is really a sticking point here as it effects the overall execution of these songs. Things that could be powerful with more bass behind them fall flat and all the volume won't counter balance it. If you are really into underground punk then you have acquired a taste for things that sound like shit. It's like e you have a magical magnifying ear that can make a demo sound like "Reign in Blood" . I lack this having grown up in the 80s with everything over produced. So I am giving it a 7.5, it is being rounded up due to it's potential.

Barghest / Teeth - split cassette

This split between Baton Rogue's Barghest  and the California death metal band Teeth is dense from start to finish. While the two band occupy different genres that have both captured animalistic sonic oppression is very convincing manners. First up is Barghest. These guys are  still a feral as ever, but there is more focus within the songs that make this a much more palatable listen than some of their earlier efforts that I really wanted to like, but sounded like someone taking power tools to a trash can full of rabid kittens. This time they going into their punishing take on black metal with a little more ambiance. On "Born of Tooth and Talon" , there is still the sense that these guys grew up listening to Discharge rather than Iron Maiden . The rumble of the manic barrage  seem to have more direction and shows their maturation as a band.

They confront the problem that faces many "raw black metal" bands trying to keep it real, are really trying to keep it in 1991. The only time I want to hear that is when I go back to listen to "Soulside Journey" There is a more of metal storm brewing over "Coil Strike". These guys are not a Darkthrone or Mayhem cover band in wolves clothing. They do capture a similar drone that recalls that classic era in the second wave of black metal, but this is done in a very organic fashion. What I hear is who they are rather than who they want to be. 'They do not relent with the tempestuous fury and speed that is their calling card. 'Sterile Initiates" reins them in with more of a hammering gallop rather than a flood of tremolo picked guitar and blast beats.  Midway into the song a guitar melody rises from the angry blur to catch my ear. The Nameless Tongue" is one of their strongest offerings here. It has a grisly heart beat that pulses with bile, but carries a dark underbelly of melody when their attack slows into a more deliberate undulation.

The second side of this cassette split is Teeth's very interesting take on death metal. I went into this more familiar with Barghest and it's not secret to regular readers that I prefer black metal to death metal and I was over songs tipping the eleven minute mark back in 2014, so this band really achieved something by winning me over. Their side of this split is one twenty three minute song. It takes you into the sewers of hell and chokes you with demon feces. The vocals are a low growl that are more muffled against the mic than gurgled. These guys are not doom, but in contrast to Barghest they provide a much more dynamic contrast and are not afraid to break things down into droney clean tone guitars. This provides introspection rather than the normally monochrome aggression that most death metal bands come at you with.  Thick with atmosphere, but never lost in minimalist shoe gazing the more serene sections that leave you floating out into the horizon, make the battering blasts more of a brutal contrast.

Those blasts come at nine and a half minutes into the song. They are torn between finding that sweet spot of sonic heaviness and lashing out in a more traditional death metal manner. Even though the song does ebb and flow, I think the overall result they achieve, will not find fans of death metal wishing that these guys were any heavier than what they bludgeon you with here. There are some trickier technical punches and the band shows the ability to lock into some very powerful grooves. Fans of more mainstream metal will be able to find more common ground here and fans of bands like Ulcerate will be right at home. This one ships on October 6th and is only limited to 150 copies so get your pre-order in now.

1349 & Tombs @ the Basement

Here’s my first concert of the year. It came on the day I found out David Bowie died so it served as a catharsis to vent out some of the depression hanging in my chest. Normally I would have had a harder time getting motivated to get out of the house at 9:30 at night but I had been wanting to see both bands for some time. And since my family over at Cvlt Nation was sponsoring the “Chaos Raids” tour, I felt even more obligated to make it out.

My wife had to work late so we got to the Basement right when Tombs was doing their sound check. We missed local openers the Vimur and Full of Hell. The latter I have previously seen with Mutilation Rites. Bassist Ben Brand from Woe was still in the band and had a pretty mean tone. The big surprise in the unexpected line up changes is the addition of Fade Kainer from Batilus/ Statiqbloom he often splits the vocals duties with Hill and has his own personality when it comes to his stage presence which honors the more black metal elements of the band, but also brings forward the more industrial influence that has been simmering under their surface. These cast a larger shadow in the live sound and the more post-punk moments were toned down, obviously touring with a band like 1349 they have had to bring it in the most furious fashion possible. Addition to the band and adds a lot to their sound. His synth work added punch to the low end as he accented certain hits.

First off before we get into their set, which cares what you think of black metal's more theatrical elements, these guys are the real deal and played with dead serious conviction. The stage was set for the ritualistic pageantry of black metal. The drummer first came out in a hoodie and full corpse paint on to adjust his drums before returning to the stage covered in sigils scrawled over his bare torso. Frost was no able to make it over so they employed Jon Rice of Job For A Cowboy, and I can’t imagine Frost being better than this guy who didn’t even break a sweat, but for a little guy hammering everything out with power and machine like precision . Singer Ravn brandished Gwar like gauntlets on his forearms and had a stage presence that was commanding and engaging. The mix shifted and the vocals were much more audible from the house p/a, so the closer you stood to the stage the more his croaks and screams faded behind the buzz saw guitar.

The band’s energy and intensity keep the momentum of their set flying by you no matter if they were playing blast beats or not. They won the Atlanta audience over due to the fact they have a punk rawness to them live. With Archaon handling all the guitar duties by himself, some of the layers that are on the album were given a more stripped down and straightforward treatment. From behind his cowl their bassist kept the rumble going for the occasional run up the neck Archaon took, but these happened so quick the wall of razor sharp sound kept it’s lacerating attack. While the material from “Cauldron of Chaos” dominated the set they came out and for their first three songs crammed “I am Abomination” , “Nathicana” and “Sculptor of flesh” in your face . If you have not caught these guys yet and call yourself a fan of black metal you are doing yourself a disservice. In fact both bands are a must as they approach their respective sounds with all the passion of their black hearts.

Cvlt Nation Sessions : Joy Division's "Closer"

I think most of my readers here are aware of  my connection to Cvlt Nation. So it should come as no surprise that I am going to review their  Sessions album which focuses on Joy Division's "Closer" album. They have done this with a wide range of punk, metal and post-punk classics so it makes sense that this album is up for the cover treatment. When looking at the kind of bands featured on this they all fall in line with the sort of artists the website has branded itself with. We agree on many things, the difference in our musical tastes tends to be Sean and company come from more of a punk rock background and steer away from some of the more commercial bands we touch on here. I like what I like regardless of if they are on Century Media or only releasing their albums in a limited 100 copy cassette pressing. In fact I like better production most of the time.

First up is "Atrocity Exhibition" covered by the drone project Ambersmoke admitted to not liking this song or this album and that is evident because for the bulk of the song  the beat is really the only thing this has in common with the original, though it eventually takes on a shape closer to the original. Lunch is a band much more suited to cover "Isolation".  While it's a similar delivery perhaps a little faster phrasing, The vocals are a little higher than Ian's , but over all the do the song justice. A Black People handles "Passover" . They deviate from the blue print but being a death-rock band this is done in the best way possible. I assumed Shadowhouse would also take good care of "Colony" and I was correct.  They might even have come closer to the bulls eye than Lunch. There is an almost 90s industrial feel to the vocals on Sun Splitter's cover of "Means to an End". They nail the guitar riff for sure.

Sannhet's take on 'the Eternal" shows their respect for the band but still honors their own sound. The guitar playing is some of this album's best. They surprise me by using vocals on this one. Rule of Thirds is up next with "Decades". Another band that I had a feeling would at least musically capture the feel of the original. The vocals are where things really wildly differ and from their it twists my ear askew. The bass player knows what time it is for sure though.The band maintains their identity for sure. Going into Scott Kelly's cover of "Isolation" I was not sure what to expect. The music is more minimal and Kelly sticks to his more folk approach than the kind of singing he delivered in Neurosis. He does honor the feel of Ian and the boys. Overall I think there are some good pairings of artist with songs, the stand outs here being A Black People, Shadowhouse, Sannhet and Sun Splitter. If you are a Joy Division fan this is worth a listen as you might find some new bands you like in the process.


 

Return of the living death rock

I'd say 77% of anything I listen which resembles punk rock would also fall into the sub genre of death rock and 77% of the people reading this won't even know what that is unless they have heard the term thrown around in a sentence involving the Misfits, take goth and throw in more punk influence and their you go. Referencing the Return of the living dead sound track works as well.
CVLT Nation put out this mix tap for down load and it's so awesome the only thing which sucks is it down loads onto your i-Pod as one track any way the track listing is below

1. LOST TRIBE – Forever (2010)
2. RUDIMENTARY PENI – Annihilation (2008)
3. AGNOSTIC PRAY – Alienation (2011)
4. DEKODER – What’s Left (2011)
5. CHRIST VS WARHOL – Cross of Lorraine (2010)
6. INTERNAL AUTONOMY – Disappear/Appear (2011)
7. BELLICOSE MINDS – Tension Building (2011)
8. DEAD CULT – Surviving in a Dying World (2012)
9. ANASAZI – I Saw the Witch Cry (2011)
10. FANGS ON FUR – Cigarette (2010)
11. CRIMSON SCARLET – Two Kinds of Red (2011)
12. BELGRADO – Visions of Massacre (2011)
13. PINKISH BLACK – Spiritual Cramp (Christian Death) (2012)
14. ATRIARCH – Oblivion (2012)
15. ALIEN SEX FIEND – BBFC (2010)
16. BLUE CROSS – Time to Die (2011)
17. TANZKOMMANDO UNTERGANG – The Walk (2011)
18. CEMETERY – Grave Dance (2011)
19. BLOODY DEAD AND SEXY – Solemn Times (2010)
20. DYSTOPIAN SOCIETY – Dystopian Society (2011)
21. THE DAMNED – Under the Wheels (2008)
22. SPECTRES – Time is Out (2010)
23. CROSS STITCHED EYES – Become Earth
24. ALARIC – Assault Memory (2012)
25. SILENT SCREAM – Hive Mind (2011)
26. ARCTIC FLOWERS – Technicolor Haze (2010)
27. DEATHCHARGE – Newest Dark Age (2011)

http://www.cvltnation.com/cvlt-nationdeathrock-2012-mixtapecurated-by-oliver-sheppard/

it really is only missing Crypts who might be a little to electronic for this , but Atriarch and Pinkish Black are awesome and two bands I have been meaning to feature in the dawning of black metal to come I see more bastard marriages of death rock with black metal , Industrial is no stranger to this and weighs heavy on what we have heard from the new Nachtmystium. It is like throwing my teenage years into a blender, I'm fine with jumping on this bandwagon since I've had my seat on it since 1990.

Below is the Crypts video, the band has some ex-members of These Arms Are Snakes, So if the ironic moustache alarms you then consider the source...but theres enough anger that feels genuine here for me to second guess the sincerity too much, there is a "witch house" element and unfortunatly the album is not coming out til sept, though I am hoping for a leak as this would be the perfect soundtrack for 4 a.m. creeping around dragon-con.