STATIQBLOOM : "Kain"

Fade Kainer has been making dark music for some time. He did a wonderful stint in Tombs that brought that band to darker places. He has a good ear and knows what quality music is, so this album is not going to suck. The question will be is it going to stand up to his previous work, The opening track is driving electronica, which is dark enough, and sounds great in terms of quality for this kind of thing. As an instrumental it sounds more like a great deal of other music that circles this same smoke-filled dance floor. Aggro-tech feels like a more appropriate label to give the listener proper expectations. There are vocals to this one, they are distorted with effects and sit deep in the mix. 

I appreciate the harsher edge to the thump of "Obsidian Obscura", but it's a beat-driving sound and not a song. Much like the rule about cool riffs here, a similar sentiment could be expressed regarding this sort of thing, it would go more like "Cool beats alone does not a good song make".  As a beat is a beat,  there are hundreds of faceless entities making them. These beats are not uniform, though the production of them can be. "Hidden From Form' works better as a song as the vocals give it a little more purpose. The beat is more droning but is still effective. 

"Cold Steel Howl" is propelled by a beat that carries a great deal of apocalyptic enthusiasm, but not much more than pounding one a single-minded groove. The rest of the album tends to pulse off this more tribal pounding. I'll give this album an 8, I like the songs with vocals, they help separate it out from all the other music like this. Not his best work, but he does better than most who do this sort of thing. 

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Gothtober - Statiqbloom : " Beneath the Whelm"

This album by Fade Kanier flew under the radar. It came out back in July. is darker and denser. The first actual song is murky and buried back in the ambiance. I like the trippy drum sound to "Restless". The vocals are a croaked whisper under the pulse. There is more of an urge to dance prompted by the beat to "Ghost Deep" which is the first somewhat accessible song of this album. The vocals are more spoken. Attila from Mayhem lends his voice to "the Second Coming". I think it is interesting to hear him over something that is not Mayhem. Interesting though not the album's best song. 

I often complain about bands being more into sounds than songs. There is an exception to every rulle as Kainer drones on a sound and gives it enough groove to become a song on "Black Lava" . The song leading up to the more drum n bass side of "Buried" is pretty cool and even that part breaks things up enough to maintain this album's sense of dynamics. "Still Here" works off dramatic noises in a manner similar sonically to dub step, but less of a crashing clash a it still sounds like a synth. 

The album ends with a more rough around the edges approach to synth wave. He is not jumping on any bandwagons here , but exploring sounds he has touched on in the past .  Overall, more edm than industrial. The synths have a great deal of bite to them so it does not have to have guitar , they just move things at a less aggressive pound than what comes to mind when I think of Industrial. I will give this album an 8.5 , better than the bulk of the industrial I have heard trying to do things in this sonic scope this year. 

Statiqbloom : "Blue Moon Blood"

The opening track meets in that dark alley created in 90s by the likes of Skinny Puppy and pre-metal riffs Ministry. It has a beat the hammers you as it makes you dance. Things get even darker on "Black Walks Eternal" Fade offers a wider range of vocal flavor some of these more tortured and almost death rock like. The samples are clever and well placed. The vocals are used to set the tone to "Crooked Line" has do so with a smart syncopation that compliments the rough beat under it. "Talons Teeth" comes much closer to being the more typical brand of industrial that blared in most of the clubs during the genre's peak. The vocals are shouted in the cyber-drill Sargent manner, but a few other vocal colors are injected. There is more of a creeping synth slither to "Adrift". The vocals are more of a croaked narrative. It does find it's groove like the others and works of a more droning pulse.

"Feel the Flesh" finds Skinny Puppy's long lost "Rabies" drum sound. They had a somewhat more angular glitch to the pattern and the vocals take on a lower murmur. I like the more sung vocal moan that the 2:30 mark. It took me a second listen before I paid attention to "Mortuary". It is a little more formless than the rest of the album. The vocals are in a low whispered underneath the formless shift of the beat that never takes on a groove. "Nigredo" not only has a beat, it has one that pretty much slays the rest of the album, and this song might have my favorite lyrics as well.

The synth pulse in "Pale Lust" feels like a theme that is being continued from the previous song. It is almost like the outro for "Nigredo" if it was allowed to drone out more. The albums closes with the chaotic epic "Phantom Eye". The songs starts off with samples colliding into the beat and ambient noise smacking you around a bit. The song never takes form like the others. It flirts with many of the elements that I have like throughout the album, but here they are thrown against the wall for the sake of seeing what sticks. When the beat builds by the end of the song it does gel more for me. Overall the songs he decides are going to be songs are all excellent. I will round this one up to a 9 and see how it sits on me.

Tombs : " All Empires Fall"

What happens on Tombs new album should not come as a surprise considering how they have evolved with each album. The last album might not have been as dark as the previous, but Mike Hill and company continue to evolve. With the inclusion of Fade Kainer into the fold on "All Empires Fall" it made me think the industrial influence that has lurking under the surface would rise like Godzilla. This is not the case. They make it clear the metal isn't going anywhere. They kick the fucking door down with a neck crushing riff on the opening instrumental "the World is Made of Fire". They lash into something closer to straight up black metal for "Obsidian". It's not just full blast ahead. These guys have more tricks up their sleeves. Does Kainer's synths bring another sonic layer? Yes, but it doesn't compromise their sound.

The darkness rolls in on "the Last Day of Sunlight". This finds the band reaching the next level. Hill comes in with a low croon. The music slither around him in an almost exotic death rock fashion. We have heard this side of the band before, here it is just more fully embraced. Tribal drumming lead into the bass driven beginning to "Deceiver". Here the band fuses the two sounds into something dark and heavy with a ton of crunch to it. The verse riff has almost of Motorhead feel before going into the more chugged chorus. I had already heard "V" which finds them blending their dark side perfectly with the more metal muscle of their sound. I didn't even have to keep score on this one it gets a 10, this is what I want out of music. The only thing wrong with this release is the fact it's an EP rather than a full length, because it leaves me still wanting more.



 This album is being released on Relapse Records April 1st.

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.