Up From the Underground: Xombie - "Capital X"

Rap and metal have been odd bed fellows over the years, from the earliest beginnings with Public Enemy sampling Slayer to it's explosion into the mainstream during the nineties where Rage Against the Machine opened doors for it's commercial exploitation. This five piece from New York is ready to make you forget the sour taste nu metal left in your mouth.

They have purged the marriage of most of the cheese laden tricks of the genre that eventually gave this sort of thing the same credibility as hair metal.They do not rely on hiding behind down tuned muddy throbs, instead right from the opener they explode in with more hard core influenced metal. The guitars are well layered created a sonic flare to what they do that eliminates any Korn comparisons.

Clean vocals back the aggressive rapping on "Miss Behave" this coupling of vocal styles is more post-hardcore than anything resembling the boy band antics of Linkin Park. The guitars are consistently this albums' strong suit.They know how to create dynamic builds and breakdowns and work with the songs, rather than burying the vocals or making a swap of distortion the drums can't maneuver.

The first hints of anything slightly funk appear at the intro of "Polar Ice", but it is only a slight wink. There is a groove  established, yet the guitars never force the bass to do all the heavy lifting. Growling vocals chime in from the background, but are used tastefully. On this song the subject matter of drunk driving comes up and at this point you realize that they are not defaulting on whining about mommy issues, but making social statements.

Front-man Adam Crews never comes across as an awkward suburbanite with his flow. His vocal styling remind me of a cross between Atmosphere and Mike Muir of Suicidal Tendencies.  The hey on the hook to "Rotten Apple" is the first thing that reminds me of  anything resembling the nu metal of yester-year, but all other leaning toward P.O.D are scarce. The title track employs gang vocals and a section where the band drops out and lets Crews carry on his frantic freestyle, with a much more hardcore slant , though the exotic scales used in one of the bridges is more metal.

Up until the albums final moments on "Friday" they steered clear of using turn tables, but by the time they jump out of the punk chord progression, it's hard to hold it against them as the song is pretty funny and it's clear they are not doing this for the nookie. They only bands from the nu metal era they come close to sounding like would be are Rage Against the Machine and Hed Pe, two bands that handling the hip hop elements of what they did pretty seriously.

Regardless of how guilty pleasure nu metal might have been for you, these guys have enough in common with hardcore and a legit attitude in what they do . Granted if you only listen to stuff heavier than Darkthrone then anything with rap elements might be a tough sell. I do think this will appeal to hardcore fans going back all the way to Suicidal Tendencies and is well worth a listen.

Pyrrhon : "The Mother of Virtues"

It's almost a stretch to call this spastic band of New Yorkers death metal. The open up their album with the gnashing of teeth that reminds me more of Today is the Day doing meth with Angkor Wat. From there it gets sludgey on "White Flag". Their is an ugly dissonance to how the song breathes it's toxic contortions around the seething vocals that do get more growly on this song , but staying in the more acidic Today is the Day range than guttural.

They do flow through a warped metamorphosis, whose angular hysteria I appreciate. The technical side of what they do is not just relegated to shredding. The flex some muscular chop and a burly roar on "Sleeper Agent" and while it's good spastic fun, it does make me wonder how the song writing that is a haphazard collection of brilliant mistakes hold up with no melody.    

They show slightly more death metal fangs on "Balkanized", but you still get the impression despite the slight Carcassisms that they listen to way more Botch than Morbid Angel. I prefer the snarl of ... its not personal. To how the vocals were delivered earlier. They thankful get a lot darker on "Eternity In a Breath", it's almost blackened, but also gets kinda post- rock in spots. It could easily be argued by the genre police that this is more sludge than it is death metal.

The get almost Absu like on "Implant Fever" , but with less ..or any thrashing. They often find themselves in collision with the cool riffs don't make a good song, as some of these ideas sounds like they were literally thrown in a baby blender to see what kind of a mess it would make. The drummer is a champ for taking this chaos on. There is a jazz like method to his madness.  

They launch in to some ranting on "Invisible Wound" that goes back into Today is the Day mode, with some leering down at David Yow's stripped down and masturbatory presentation. Sure this is hip in New York, but this song is barely hanging together. I do like the serial killer like whine the vocals take on when the emulate Steve Austin from Today is the Day. The taste of NY that you are expect, the more Krallice or Liturgy like mathematics don't come in until "The Parasite In Winter". .

They close with the title track that slows things down to a darker pace, that I would normally be a fan of , but this song doesn't retain enough form to really hook me in .It goes into freak out mode , but never had enough shape to divest in the first place. I will round this album , up to a six because what they do in the first place is so unique and something can be said for carving out a sound for yourself.  

Vaura: the Missing

This is the  sophomore album by the New York band that features members of  Dysrhythmia, Gorguts, Kayo Dot, Secret Chiefs 3 and Religious to Damn. 

this album finds the band heading in an even more melodic and progressive direction.I am not sure why I was so reluctant to check this album out after having like the first one so much. It is not as dark as the last one.The crooned vocals are pretty much the mainstay of the album they are not as low an Ina Curtis like as they were on the previous album.

Many instances the band remind me of a mix between Junius and Vast, as their is a much more middle of the road element to their sound at borders on being radio friendly alt/ rock. The feel is more like many of the alternative metal bands in the late 90's. The song "Incomplete Burning" really stays in the safe middle ground, though it sounds good as far as their performance and  songwriting though this and the opening title track don't really grab me. Though after a few listens the vocals on the second song sit better with me.

It's not until "the Fire " where the band brings back any elements of black metal.Though the first song has a blasty element to it, but its more along the line of newer Enslaved.The lower monotone vocals are coated in effect to give them a more melodic quality than they held on the first album.

The dark moment creep up on "Mare of the Snake" it has almost a cold wave feel despite the strum of the clean guitar. The chorus isn't as catchy as you would expect the songs pay off to have but over all it creates a sufficient mood. A prog Rush sort of gallop kicks off "Pleasure Blind" before the slinky bass line takes the song away.It's an interesting transition and spotlights the playing which is the band's strong point.There are many col parts that dip out from the shadows of the song, the build and where the song ends up don't seem to be as dynamic and sonic as they did on the first album. The verses often coming across as catchier than the choruses.

"Passage to Vice" has a subtle David Bowie element the production on the vocals reminds me of I'm Afraid of Americans. "The Things That We Hide" finds itself in a more 80's post-punk throb of electronics. The vocal layering on this song is well done , but the vocals on this album never seem to find their hooks. Some industrial strength abrasion  is added to "Abeyance". The vocals that are not distorted in the chaos of the song haunt the back ground.There are some cool sounds coming from bass and guitars but wouldn't say its an actual song.  

There is a cool Cure like bass line to "Braced For Collapse" with 90's goth drenched vocals crooning in the spaces between. This song lets itself feel the anguish and build into the emotion rather than just coasting on it like most of the songs seem to. The album closes out with the moody "Putting Flesh to Bone" .The vocals limit this song as they stay in a robot effected monotone. Overall this is a well played and great sounding album but the writing is the only weak spot in terms of the dynamic potential that was not quite achieved here.Never the less it still manages to earn a 7 out of 10 .    

Yellow Eyes : "Hammer of Night"

 Catching up on all of this years releases, I checked out the newest from a band I have given a chance before, Yellow Eyes. This is the New York bands' second full length. The three piece continues to play a raw and reckless style of black metal, not far removed from what Fell Voices or Ash Borer once did, but rougher around the edges and without the ambiance of the drone. This album is less hypnotic than what those bands are doing now, and less refined as well.

After the initial spastic blast, there is some breathing room as things get darker and more melancholy than the rabid dog that started off the album. "In this Stillness" has a clamor to it but tempered with rusty chords that ring out.The snarl of vocals is lost in the mix but audible enough to know its there. They blast back at you for every breathe you are allowed to take. By the end of this song it begins to become a blur , so even after the acoustic outro going into the dissonant storm " Many Long Fingers Bent in Pain"you are still a little blast drunk. There are some ugly sonic chords being bettered about , almost in a similar manner than Liturgy once did, but the ring out less.  The songs run around six minutes so they are not as sprawling as what Fell Voices undertakes. The beat straightens out in more of a sailing gallop at times and gives the blasting some dynamic space.

"Ice Knell" doesn't waste any time launching back into the blast.After the first minute at that speed they hand on the chords long enough to get a breath in an throw themselves back into the tornado. With the lo-fi recording ,which captures more chaos than cvlt, their momentum makes some moments hard to decipher, with punches and accents left to break the riffs up.

The title track starts off with acoustic guitar, that feed back begins to form like mold underneath , before its back to the blast.The drumming is the most impressive element , though the guitar has its moment in the sonic fray. They have created a claustrophobic clutter, that can be noisy, though they do let an occasional darkness bleed through the wall of noise.

The album closes out with "Cabin Filled With Smoke and Flies" where the riffs are still dissonant and mean , but not finding any new ground, though there is a pretty heavy chug a minute and half in before they fall back into the blur of  blastiness. The song does end one a pretty good note, where their is a better sonic balance , but I wish this had been more of the albums themes. If you like your black metal really raw and sonic then its worth a shot, I like my black metal a little darker and more dynamic. I'll give it a six because they are good at what they do, I would like to hear this more fully realized.            

3.6

Castevet: "Obsian"

Featuring the bass player from Krallice this New York band releases its second full length of very dense black-metal crossover. It's often hard for me to think of this album s death metal as the vocal lack shrieking and though there is the dissonant ambiance droning even in the thrashier brutality of the album nothing strikes meas being malevolent about their sound, pissed maybe. This is similar to how I feel about Krallice, but these guys are more enthralling than Krallice as they understand their playing must suit the song rather than just be the song.

"Cavernous" gets a little darker than the opener, but also ride the line between what is progressive death metal and what is black metal . The drummer is impressive he keeps a tribal swirl going with his rapid tom work. They strike a really good balance of letting the song breath while keeping a vice grip on the tension. The arrangement's flow really well.  It often strikes me like this is   the ambiance  tech death metal bands would like to do but can't fully realize, like the prog ending to "Cavernous".

The angular ugliness stays the course on " the Curve" , which is not as easy of a listen, as the turns in the riff are jarring before they slow down. The strummed chords ring out to a great effect than when the picking becomes a blur. When riff goes into a more straight forward race with the double bass it doesn't get interesting until the bass player finds a melody beneath it.

There is a cool melodic ring to "As Fathomed by Beggars and Victims" that reminds me of a less  folk tinged Agalloch. The song becomes a sonic trash compactor as it condenses before allowing a melodic burst out in the final minute. In the closing chug fest of "Seat of Severence" a clean vocal comes out as a surprising change. I think is is very effective dynamic, it's layered with a cool melody that reminds me of a less romantic Emperor. Sadly fans of heavier music ignorantly shun melodic singing, I think it allows the music to be heavier around it.This album is worth checking out, I'll give it a 9.

Survival -S/T

 I had almost forgotten this  new project from Liturgy's Hunter Hunt-Hendrix, was still waiting in the wings. The self titled album finds Greg Smith, and Jeff Bobula from the hardcore band Crushed team up with former band mate Hunter from when they were in a screamo band called Birthday Boyz. The album has been in the making for five years and was finally put to wax with  Colin Marston from Krallice and  Dysrhythmia  who recorded this at The Thousand Cave studio and the album sounds great  it is warm, full and organic, in some ways it reminds me of Aesthethica if it were mixed with Tool the clean sung and heavily harmonized are like Hunter's screams in Liturgy not the focal point of the songs which take some twists and turns .

From the opening you can feel a little of the Smashing Pumpkins groove that Hunter has eluded to in interviews prior to this albums release. The harmonies are a little Alice in Chains at times as well, but the album wouldn't be labeled as grunge due to it's angular nature and the guitar tone isn't fuzzed out and Sabbathy for the most part. Most of the time the guitar sounds like smoothed over Liturgy devoid of all the blasty mcnasty. 

The Tool comparison comes in with the mathy way the riffs bob and weave around one another. Unlike Tool they are not headed towards a big arena rock chorus. There is also something more organic and rock n roll to their sounds where Tool is darker and almost industrial. "Original Pain" takes the groove of the first song and boogie to it before winding away in a similar maze of dizzying turns. I takes the first three minutes before the ears here distinguishable traits in the the path way set out for the vocals . 

"Freedom 1" winds its way to life from the labyrinth the other songs were crafted from, but with a more shimmering jangle to it's chords. Like Liturgy, when it comes to writing songs they are not a afraid to just let the riff sit on its own to be fucked with and devoid of vocals. In some ways on this one there is a Mastodon thing happening. "Second Freedom" has a vocal chant to it that floats over the syncopated punches that are scattered under the song like a mine field.          

 The reprise of "tragedy" is under a minute so it seems more like an interlude rather than a free standing song, it mainly vocal harmonies swelling. "Since the Sun" breaks down into a slower acoustic ebb, that is haunting but minimal. They come blaring back into the tightly wound Tool like syncopations on "Our Way" and "Freedom 3", which are both similar in tone. Freedom 3 sets itself apart in tempo of the verse and goes into a more droning punch which is pretty cool.    

  I think fans of Liturgy will be able to appreciate this, though most black metal fans were either open minded enough to like them or got caught up in the hipster element and never gave the band a fair shake. Hunter has said in interview he sees Liturgy moving away from black metal, as he doesn't want to repeat himself, so this album makes a lot of sense. 

I will give this one an 8.5 as it's a fun listen and still growing on me, though most of the songs have a very similar feel to them and sounds like variations on a theme, just set to different tempos, rather than building dynamically.