The Estranged: S/T

Portland's The Estranged have created an especially compelling take on the post-punk rebirth. Where most of the bands coming out these days dressed for 80's night tend to take on the cold distance of Joy Division, this band's album has a very organic warmth to it.The emphasis is more often placed on the punk in post-punk, and veers into the blurred lines between rock and punk as these guys pull from influences outside the batcave, you can hear strains of "Paint it Black" in "Hide" and they go after their songs with a much more rock n roll attack. This also leads to more punk moments, some in a more New Model Army sense others in a more straightforward fashion.

On "Fatalist Flaw" I can hear echoes of "Gimme Danger" by the Stooges, if sung by a young Joey Ramone in one of his more crooning moments. Sure the new wave era is an element but always through a filter of punk with hints of the Dead Boys and the Clash. The vocals stay in a croon, thats rather tuneful in the day where every band is paying tribute to the monotone delivery of Ian Curtis, which is great for Joy Division, but they seldom capture the same desperation, since they have yet to hang themselves. The vocals have more hope to them than most.

The bass player really gets the job done and works over time to establish the same kind of muscular grooves New Model Army utilizes. Melodies are always maintained, the guitars linger at the edge of dusk without really being dark, like the more goth leaning post-punk. I can even hear faint hints of early R.E.M , the jangle of the string being picked out.

The more clanging ring of guitar dominates "Mark of Sin" , with the urgent vocals taking on more of warble,like the college rock of the 80's coupled with the punch of Gang of Four."Over and Over" that on more of a old Cure like tremor , but generally speaking the band has less of a Cure feel to them than what I had read about them before hearing the album. Here it's a more along the lines of say "Hanging Garden" in the way the drums cascade.

The Police like staccato bounce of "Play For Keeps" is a lot of fun."Another Stab" races along at a frantic jangle with the vocals accenting the kinetic pace.The album closes on it's dreariest note with " the Ride". It retain the upbeat pace that permeates the album, but the bass holds more of slink against the choppy guitar work and more melancholic vocals.

I'll give this album a 9, it's fun and good to hear another take on the genre, it's more rock n roll than what I normally listen to and not as dark either, but still manages to earn repeated listens,



8.1

Current 93 : "I Am the Last of All the Field That Fell"

The first album since 2011's "Honey Suckle Aeons" and it's turned into an even like this is a Leonard Cohen Tribute concert, as they have dragged out a who's who of the Avant garde elite, as this album features guest spots by Nick Cave, Antony from Atony and the Johnsons, and John Zorn.Not that guests appearances are
out of the ordinary for them as Bjork and Wil Oldham have both appeared on releases .


 I can never shake Tibet's days with Psychic Tv, so they seem like one and the same at times. Sure I share a similar spiritual path as Tibet, so I have all the respect in the world for the guy, but the first listen to this one it seemed better back ground music than songs. With Psychic Tv, Genesis will always rein the spooky eccentric poetic parts in with some trippy melodies where these songs as allowed to wander.

True , I don't drop acid any more. If I was to...I would this album out again to see what I am missing. There is a jazz feel to the first few songs. Over the years these guys have been labeled all sorts of things from industrial to folk, members of Death in June have been a part of this project, so it goes with out saying it's going to be dark. I would call this shadow jazz, if asked to create a genre for it. David Lynch should be all over this when he remakes Twin Peaks, it sounds like Tibet got really tripped out and wandered into a jazz jam and grabbed the mic and they all filled in the cracks behind him, I think this works better on "Those Flowers Grew" than the more spectral opener.But at eight minutes this loose jam could have been reined in by a more sober mind.

The poetry continues to flow in it's abstract flow on " Kings and Things" . The female vocals trace over the skeleton of the song.  I can hear the correlation between Tibet's lyrics and Crowley's poetry. As a poet Crowley worked better when channeling other minds from other dimensions or in a more ritualistic fashion. I think psychedelics is what these songs are channeling, in the even he is sober as a judge year then it's the damage of hard living speaking through him.

By the time we get to "With the Dromedaries" it seems the dreamy twinkle of piano is going to be the only constant accompaniment on this album. The lyrics on this song are stronger than the rants of the first few. The percussive elements wait a little too long to come in during the song's final minute. The first ditty that really comes together like a real song  is " The Heart Full of Eyes" the piano takes on a more exotic scale with the drums and guitar simmering in the background . His seeming free flowing proses , fills in the gaps here rather than having to hold the full weight of the song on their wobbly nature. Feedback darken the corners of the song without the guitar really making a rock presence felt.

This album requires an appreciation for drone and hypnotic noise. These hymns to the wild mind pour out in fountains that are formless.Antony's voice on "Mourned Winter Then" gives the song a little more focus , but then it stops sounding like Current 93, as it's a cosmic catch 22. This comes closer to baroque folk than anything thus far on the album, shedding the jazz like feeling the other songs took on .

There is a more brooding rock like storm building at the beginning of " And Onto Picknickmagick". Flute gives it a more prog rock trapping to the boiling background that bubbles to life.I think the potential for tension this song could have developed is lost when it fails to dynamically latch onto a crescendo. "Why Did the Fox Bark" opens with a hint of noise and metaphysics, it finds where it really wants to go in the lilted piano line that runs smoothly under the prose. This time it's more fluid than earlier attempts.

An actually groove erupts on " I remember the Berlin Boys" and I think why wasn't this happening the whole time.It has a cabaret like swing to it. There is also a more jazz like and reckless interplay between the piano and the drums on " Spring Sand Dreamt Larks" , but it's not as graceful in execution as the previous song.

The album closes with the Nick Cave number " I Could Not Shift the Shadow", I am not sure what he was asked to do but I more crooning and less of a gravelly spoken word thing would have made this more of a song. The whole "bury your naked church / into my mouth " line works well to take the album out. I'll give this album a 7.5, round it up if you like doing drugs and listen to your crazy uncle read esoteric poetry to you.

Aesthetic Perfection: " ' Til Death"

Formed back in 2000 by Daniel Graves, this industrial project is based in L.A and is much more EDM, than what I or anyone owning at least one Ministry album would consider industrial. The opener is much more of a intro piece and creates more of a martial mood than the dark pop that follows. "Anti-Body" is pretty infectious  and falls some where in-between a more serious version of M.S.I and a more Halloweenish version of the Faint.

The synths have a very plastic 90's house fuzz to them on " Lights Out", which straddles the fence on being too happy for my goth heart.The melody doesn't have enough teeth to hold me. I can see this being Aqua's evil twin or j-pop with less Sailor Moon and more Vampire Hunter D. I can say when this song is allowed to play, like most pop it becomes a more easily chewed bubble gum that you don't notice is in your mouth aside from the sweet after taste.

This guy is not a bad song writer, he has been at this long enough to know a good subtle hook. The harsher vocal he tries to go into , well sounds like a choking joke, when you normally listen to black metal. The sounds he presents , as not heavy or menacing , but some pretty well inter linked legos from the future.

"Big Bad Wolf" has a little more beef to it's bass line and when it's all said and done, you can give this guy props for being able to hold a tune better than most of his ilk. The vocals are more of a second tenor than the bat cave baritone. He knows how to reach into his head register and at the end of the day is more of a pop singer.It's a few shades lighter than the last Skinny Puppy, and much smoother. At times Graves' voice reminds me of the queen from Panic at the Disco. I'm sure high school girls are all over this in some dark corner of the private school system.

The bass line to "Showtime" falls much closer to Depeche Mode flirting with Celldweller. The ahhs are very Depeche, but its a mode I don't mind this band going into as at this point I am much more likely to catch them than fork over a hundred bucks for the real thing."Oh, Gloria" is much less compelling listening and loses the momentum this album was starting to build.

It would have been really disappointing if the song " the Dark Half" didn't live up to it's name at least when it comes to the synths behind Graves, vocals which largely stay in a similar register when they aren't doing Depeche Mode karaoke. "The New Black" comes closer to the dystopian sound you might want from industrial , though it still is not what I would call industrial.

The album closes with "Lovesick" that recalls the dark balladry of a "Waiting For the Night". This album could use a stronger sense of dynamics , but its good dumb fun for what it is , I'll give it a 6.5, if its your bag around it up to a  7.    

What's Metal in 2014?

I was having one of my defining metal conversations, in regards to the new Cynic, and felt that metal is something that can be defined, as it contain certain sonic properties, while these are quantifiable in terms of decibels and gain levels in distortion. I think sheer power and aggression along with technique are other defining qualities, that keep it separate from genres like punk, hardcore and grunge. Sure it might come down to splitting hairs and counting straws, but for defenders of the faith, this knowledge is the first line of defense. Though there are some bands who try to play down the fact they are metal, when it becomes a bad word.

It was brought up that music is objective and who is anyone to define this, well the term came from a music critic, and last time I checked you are reading this article so I guess I must be qualified or you wouldn't be reading this on this site or any of the others this is going  article to be syndicated on. So lets break it down with the abcs and set the record straight for what metal is in 2014. I'm going to give several examples to use as a guide, not trying to write the encyclopedia of whats true or false, just a reference point for those who haven't been listening to it for almost 30 years.

The base line we are using here is Judas Preist, Iron Maiden  and Black Sabbath, if you are not consistently as heavy as these bands you are not metal.

A

Metal - Atriarch, Anthrax, Altar of Plagues, Amon Amarth, At the Gates, Acid Bath, Accept,Arckanum, Ahab, Amorphis

Not Metal - Ac/dc, Aerosmith,  Alice Cooper, Alice in Chains, Andrew Wk, Audioslave, Alterbridge, AFI, Anti Flag, At the Drive In

B

Metal- Black Sabbath, Burzum, Behemoth, Bolt Thrower, Brutal Truth, Bloodlet, Blood Bath, Blind Guardian, Borknagar, Black Anvil,

Not Metal -Bon Jovi, Breaking Benjamin, Buckcherry, Britney Fox, Boris, Black Veil Brides, Bush, Black Flag, Blink 182, Blue Oyster Cult

C

Metal -Converge, Carpathian Forest, Candlemass, Cannibal Corpse, Carcass, Cathedral, Coroner, Crowbar, Cradle of Filth,

Not Metal- post Traced in Air Cynic, The Cult, Coheed and Cambria, Clutch, Cinderella, Candle Box, Camp Freddy,

D

Metal - Deicide, Dark Angel, Dissection, pre-Sunbather Deafheaven, Darkthrone, Dimmu Borgir, Dio, Death, Down, D.R.I

Not Metal - Danzig, Def Leppard, Drop Kick Murphys, Dream Theater, Disturbed, Deftones,

E

Metal - Evoken, Eyehategod, Enslaved, Entombed, Exodus, Exhumed, Emperor,

Not Metal- Evanescence,Europe, Extreme, Epica,

F

Metal - Forbidden, Falkenbach, Fear Factory, Fight, Fates Warning, Finntroll,

Not Metal- Faith No More,Fly Leaf, Foo-fighters, Filter, Faster Pussycat,

G

Metal -Godflesh, Gorgoroth, Gwar, Gojira, Grim Reaper,

Not Metal - Ghost, Glassjaw, Godsmack,Guns N Roses, Godspeedyoublackemperor,

H
Metal- Helloween, Hexis, Hell Hammer, Hammerfall,

Not Metal - H.I.M, Hollywood Undead, Halestorm, How to Destroy Angels,

I

Metal - Iron Maiden, Incantation, Immortal, Into Eternity, Inquisition, Iced Earth

Not Metal - Iron Butterfly, Isis, In this Moment,

J

Metal - Job For A Cowboy, Judas Priest

Not - Metal - Jane's Addiction, Journey,

 

K

Metal -King Diamond, Kampfar, Kreator,

Not Metal - Kiss, King's X, Kamelot, Katatonia, Kvelertak, Kyuss, Kylesa, Killing Joke,

L

Metal - Lamb of God,Leviathan, Loss of Self

Not Metal - Lacuna Coil, Led Zeppelin,Life of Agony,

 
M

Metal- Metallica, Megadeth, Marduk, Morbid Angel, My Dying Bride, Ministry -post Pslam 69, Mercyful Fate, Manowar, Mayhem,

Not Metal- Monster Magnet, Motorhead,Marilyn Manson, Motley Crue,

N

Metal- Nevermore,Neurosis, Nocutrnus, Nile, Nachtmystium,

Not Metal- Night Wish,Nazereth, Nine Inch Nails,

O

Metal- Obituary, Overkill,

Not Metal - recent Opeth, Post Dairy of a Madman Ozzy,

P

Metal - Pantera, Primordial, Primal Fear, Prong,

Not Metal -Porcupine Tree, Paramore, Pearl Jam, Pentagram,

Q-

Metal- Queensryche- first three albums

Not Metal- Queens of the Stoneage, Queen,

R

Metal - Rotting Christ, Rainbow, Russian Circles,

Not Metal- Ratt, Rage Against the Machine,Royal Thunder, Rush

S

Metal - Slayer , Sodom, Sanctuary, Sepultura, Slipknot, Skeletonwitch, Shining (swe), Savatage,

Not Metal- Scorpions, Steel Panther, Spinal Tap, Soundgarden, Shining(nor), Swans,

T

Metal - Taake, Tyr, Trouble, Testament, Twilight

Not Metal -Tool, Twisted Sister, Type O Negative, Torche, Them Crooked Vultures, Thin Lizzy,

U

Metal -Unleashed

Not Metal - Uriah Heap,

V

Metal - Venom, Voi Vod, Vio-lence,Von ,Vektor,

Not Metal- Valiant Thorr, Van Halen, Volbeat,

W

Metal- Watain, Wolves In the Throne Room,  

Not Metal- Whitesnake, Wolfmother, White Zombie,  W.a.s.p,

X, Y, Z

Metal- Yob

Not Metal -Young gods, ZZ-Top


    
       

Zoso @ the Variety Playhouse

The fact that a tribute band packed in as many people as they did in their two night stint at the Variety Playhouse, is a testament to Zeppelin and the band's ability to capture their magic. The first night the band Zeppelin's first four albums, not pulling a Phish and playing them front to back in their entirety, but blending the material in a way similar to how the real band arranged their set lists.

Their John Paul Jones, was equally skilled at pulling off the keyboard parts, making the jammy "Song Remains the Same" styled version of "No Quarter. But while we are talking "Song Remains the Same" it was one of the last songs I expected for them to play off of "Houses of the Holy" and along side "No Quarter it proved to be one of the shows brightest moments.

John Mcdaniel's Jimmy Page reminded you that even as charismatic as Robert Plant was on stage, Jimmy Page was up in their fans faces. John struck all the classic Page poses that have adorned posters for years, and also took on the feat of replicating the rock god guitar heroics. It seemed his tone could have held more bite and perhaps some of it was in the mix, other wise he was a satisfying Page.

 Matt Jernigan filled the slot of the golden god, well his voice fared the best on "Ten Years Gone" because for me Robert Plant might be known for his mighty upper register, but it was his more subtle touches and use of melody to expand the dynamics of their songs , that really made Zeppelin stand out from their peers at the time, many singers like Ian Gillian to Rob Halford could throw their voices up into the rock yodel, but the attention to detail Plant gave more sedate sections is where other singers might not be able to capture his feel. Though often very Coverdale in tonal quality, Jernigan knew how to serve the songs and when to go into Plant's more add libbed vocal scats.  

It never struck me how popular "Moby Dick" was until seeing it preformed l never realized how popular it was, as  drum solos have never really been my thing, however Zeppelin came from the era where such decadence was showcased, and Greg Thompson, who capture both the primal nature of Bonham's vulgar displays of prowess in this regard as well as his innovative touch. You can tell he understood Bonham was influenced by jazz drummers the likes of Gene Krupa, which the first part of the legendary solo gave a nod to.

They were not apologetic about what they were doing, they came out and take hold of the crowd in a similar , though less frenzied manner , but carried the Hammer of the Gods well. I do wish I had gotten the chance to catch the show in city other than Atlanta, as the demographics lent the crowd to  flourish  with ex-frat boy types, more than neo-hippies, the age range dipped down into plenty of high school kids proving Zeppelin's music lives on for generations. Sure some of these  former frat boy types who saw Zeppelin as the precursor to other party bands like Widespread Panic. In some ways I suppose this is true, as Zeppelin opened many door, never the less it was upfront where the drunken fools paraded for the bulk of the performance. But if you live in a more cultured part of the country make sure to catch Zoso when they bring this show through your town,as it comes the closest to recapturing the magick of the world's greatest rock band , which are big shoes to fill.  

Twilight: Beneath Tridents Tomb

Much like Cynic who we recently reviewed,  Twilight finds them self looking up at the bar they set very high for themselves, as this third album follows up 2010'a " Monument to Time End". At one time this could have been said to have been an American Black metal supergroup, this album finds many of the black metal elements stripped away for more angular sludge ones.

The reason for the shift in style is due to the line up changes that find Blake Judd gone from the fold. Judd's replacement is Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth, whose addition is getting this release a fair amount of hype and from my first few listens of this album I  can say the material was written to fit Moore's style more than he is having to adapt to playing metal. To be honest the actual metal moments on this album are few and far between, it is taking me some getting used to, so lets dig into this.

The opener "Lungs" is more of a sloppy noisy ruckus that the Jesus Lizard might raise. It plods along at a much more Neanderthal like sludge pace. There is a cool feedbacked guitar melody that rings out along the perimeter of this fuzzed out pounding, but not a blast beat to be found. The metallic tinges of industrial percussion filling up the back drop sound like they are from a Neurosis album. In some ways this album reminds me of the Corrections House album that came out last year, though it is more song oriented.

"Oh Wretched Son" has its fair share of creepy dissonance. Its darker but the vocals are the most metal element going into. Wrest's gurgled rasp isn't compromised, he growls with as much agony as ever. The angular guitar sway over the chaos being drummed up around them. It is trancey at times and the first hint of a last occurs about two minutes in. The guitar tone is very different overall on this album, to accommodate Thurston.The lower more barked vocal bellows like Neurosis , and the riffs get beefier when this song builds. This song does come closer to the band's former glory than the opening track.

The album digs darker with the doomy "Swarming Funeral Mass". The industrial lite repressive elements clang up a storm on this song as well. The ominous nature of the atmosphere is much more convincing here. While its not black metal it is a reasonable facsimile of heavy. The almost funeral doom guitar melody that lingers in the background is pretty understated.

Where the band comes up against a hard place when it comes to meeting the expectations set by the previous album, is by and large the songs do not have the same flow and fury "Monument to Time End" has though it comes close to recapturing a similar feel at the onset of "Seek No Shelter Fevered Ones".  The brooding darkness seethes until the mood is ruined by the punk rock beat that it goes into instead of a blast beat. It's the very stiff snare sound that I hate about punk rock and sounds too amateurish for this band to be using.

Though in a different way than Sonic Youth, reckless noise casts an abrasive light on the bulk of this album though its most pronounced at the intro of "A Flood of Eyes". When the song actually takes off it finds its metal footing once again. Though they are not coming from the same place they have in the past. The guitars layers work in a more effective manner here to create a tapestry of dark density, that still haunts you, so we now know the band is capable of recreating what they have done they just feel the need to be hipsters around Moore. Even the blasting returns on this one which is one of the bands few black metal moments on this album.

More industrial abrasion surfaces on " Below Lights" the riff is very corrosive and angular, almost like old Swans in its jarring nature , just not as dark. It builds into a Crash Worship like clamor , but would have been left better served as an interlude than taking up space trying to pass for an actual song. It would have worked better if Moore had enmeshed himself in what this project had already perfected rather than changing to fit his playing as it had created a rather luke warm album that falls way short of the bar they already set.

 

Cynic: "Kindly Bent to Free Us"

Entertaining as it might have been at the time the "Carbon Based Anatomy EP" floated off further in the elf realms of Sigur Rios than I could digest if they maintained that trajectory.Cynic has not forgotten what side of the bread is buttered on in terms of their audience. The idea of them being a metal band is still expanded to it's breaking, though a heavy groove sticks to the opener, it becomes more hard rock than metal, and a very far cry from their early work.

There is a Rush feel to many of the riff, these give way to bass driven grooves in the same zip code as Dredg, who seem like a more fitting tour mate for the band at this time than metal bands. Sure it lacks the heft of "Traced in Air" which saw the clean vocals coming to the fore front, and they do even more so here. The vocal melodies are no longer counterpoints to the prog whirlwind, but given the space to flourish on their own.I no longer have much interest in radio rock along the lines of Muse, which is comes close to be I can appreciate when it is this well done.

By the title track, I am sorting through what works for me and what doesn't and then they hit a section that is "Traced in Air" and works for me as that album had the right balance of shred, melody and teeth. Too often prog bands these days forget the teeth and end up sounding like Journey...yes I am looking at you Dream Theater. I think their guitar tone darkening up helps them out. This is more of the guitar players show here, though drummers and bass players can find plenty of make their jaws drop.

They continue to experiment with new sounds and production wise this album is pretty pristine, I could put a beefier guitar on my wish list , but oh well... The vocal's are more front and center in the mix and aren't as weirdly layered as they were on "Traced in Air" which is the album this is really going up against for me. "Infinite Shapes" the vocals take on a more mature melody that hold their own. The sit against the more angular twists and turns the band excels at. Some of the guitar tones remind me of Pink Floyd's Animals and other they are not as warm and have more sterile precision to them.

"Moon Heart Sun Head" is wisely guided by the vocal and the music returns to a darker more introspective place. The rock god solos are in full effect and I am sure that will draw in a certain sector of Progpower fans. I don't think this album is going to win any fans over who did not like the band to begin with , primarily for not being metal enough or pretentious .

They keep trying their hand being a rock band on "Gitanjali" which almost sounds like a King's X song to me, in the way the punches hit and some of the chord voicings. "Holy Fallout" finds the band closing out the album  back in the well balanced "Traced in Air" zipcode, though this song and this disc as a whole is a slightly grayer shade , it would be hard pressed around this site to call it dark, but more solemn. This is going to grow on me, the more rock direction at times threw me off, but this album has been on repeat all morning so that says something in its defense. "Traced in Air" is a pretty high bar for it but it holds up pretty well even with slightly less teeth to it , so it gets a 9.5.