Dark Blue : " Red White"

The members of this Philly trio has played in the who's who of hip modern punk, with members contributing in such bands as Ceremony, Clockcleaner, Puerto Rican Flowers, Paint It Black, Purling Hiss, and Strands Of Oaks.This is a collection of their old singles, but it pretty much feels like an album to me as the production is very consistent throughout. Off the bat I like the fact these guys are dark, and balance out the noise dusted edges. The singer's plaintive baritone carries more of a resonance on "Delco Runts" that reminds me of the guy from Crash Test Dummies. Side note if you think Peter Steele is the singer for Crash Test Dummies go ahead and give a gun a bloody kiss of your own. While I like the vocals on the second song compared to the first it seems like the guitars are dialing it in. The dirty over drive of the bass line to "...Just Another Night With the Boys", give the song more heft to off set the casual croon of the vocals.There is more of punk tinged rock n roll feel to the more straight forward "Hungry For Love". This song serves as proof that the singer's voice can't turn every thing to gold without some cooperation.

 "Subterranean Man" has more of an Iggy Pop feel to it. Think his post- Stooges more mid-tempo "Idiot" days. The vocals hint that they want to get a little wackier than they are. "Dear Iris" is more melodic and a few shades slower and more introspective. It does allow John Sharkey the chance to flex his pipes a little more. This causes him to be a little more emotive, but it's premature to label that as death-rock. "Skinhead Wedding in Canberra" is a little more upbeat in it's post-rock swagger. The song does cruise through some of the conventions of 50's rock. I suppose they could have been hoping for more of a Morrissey vibe on the acoustic "Chaos" that closes the album, but it further exaggerates the comparison to Crash Test Dummies I noted earlier. Maybe "God Shuffled His Feet" is going to become the new template for "Post-punk" to come. Another song where skin heads are the subject so these guys must be ex skin heads? here is a Merchandise feel to many of the songs,as this is the sound of punk kids growing up to become sad young men. I'll give this one a 9 and anticipate it making the move over to the ole iPod. If you are looking for some post-punk heavy on the punk but with some smarts to it ,then here's an album for you. 7.2

Undead Viking Mafia : "No Trials for Traitors"

Not a silly as their name, this Atlanta plays a beefy hybrid mix of sludge and middle of the road death metal...think Amon Amarth without the epic galloping. The vocals are generally a sing song scream mixed with well produced death growls. Sure there is some Pantera influence mixed in these guys obviously picked up on "Far Beyond Driven" era. The vocals belt out more melody on the second song at the times it feels like early pre-prog Mastodon is being mixed with Devildriver or some other Velveeta dipped mall metal.  By the time we get to "Stones of Morax" I'm getting little bored with rambling through the backwoods until the song slows down. These riff begin to all conform to their corrosion to tightly you have to pull them apart with Crowbar. The "I'm Not a nihilist" chant in the chorus of the fourth song gives it some redeeming qualities.

They needed the banjo at the beginning of "the Cosair" to break things up with the more Clutch like groove the song goes into , which makes the fist song so far to resonate with me. This is a dynamic I doubt is being replicated live and song that grabs me is not enough for me to leave my couch to go find out. The fuzzed out bass opening "Hatfields and McCoys" gives away to more late 90s tinged metal. Most of this sort of thing came out of grunge and has seen another resurgence, but is High on Fire really treading any new ground either? The big chorus that swells up is the songs saving grace, a female voice is buried in the mix and loses the dynamic impact it should have had. The production is pretty good on this album until too many things are put on the table without room to breathe. "Downhill Blues" brings another death metal tinged boogie out. What does this one have that different from what we have already heard here? I waited until I was past the two minute mark to declare... nothing.

From what I remember from catching this band years ago is they are were more spastic and came out of left field in a manner owing more to power violence or grindcore, here they have clearly honed their song writing chops into something more polished, but pretty predictable. There is more rock n roll on "For Four" to create more of a Kvelertak feel. But I own Kvelertak's albums and will listen to them when I want to hear Kvelertak. In Atlanta much like every big city with an over flow of bands, has one of everything. It's almost like the city's geek culture convention Dragon-con, you can expect to see someone dressed up as every comic book character. Sure one guy might be Dr.Strange one day, then Nick Fury the next, then enter the costume contest as the Comedian, but you will have seen them all. The bands are like that these guys might be Atlanta's Kvelertak, or they might be their Devildriver, but I want to hear a band as themselves. I want to hear something new that is why I prowl the inner webs looking for new music.

The more nu-metal take on doom explored on "Doom's Year Eve" finds the band getting down and dirty into some nastier death metal, though the keyboards are so far back in the mix that any ambiance they are attempting to add is negligible. The riff on the closing song "Serpentborne" reminds me of the riff from "Abigail" that Mastodon ripped off on "Crack the Skye" so it's recycled recycling, but it's a cool riff to rip off if you are going to steal something. I'll give this album a 6.5, this is more polished than most Atlanta metal and the highest score I can give something that's not all that original, but if you are young enough then that might not matter much to you.



 

The Glorious Rebellion : "Euphoric"

Rough around the edges and kicking with a mall metal stomp recalling old Helmet this band from Orlando, Fla is pissing in your vinegar. Fans of Pantera offspring won't find these guys off putting. They remind me of that drug summer in the 90's when all the metal bands who had been trying to wear Prong's jock strap decided it was time to get weird and go grunge. I checked this band out because some one (Noisey) mentioned Acid Bath in reference to these guys and I am here to tell you they have nothing in common with that band. Clutch, well if you took out all the Led Zeppelin blues references and fed them on a steady diet of 90s alt rock. The chorus to the second song whose title is too long and silly for me to bother with, has a little too much Static  X for my taste buds. I can smell the crusty stain cock rock left on these guys when it comes to "Benaquyl". I'm shocked Vice would give a band this close to nu metal the time of day, but maybe nu metal is ironically going to be the net cool thing now that they are leaving black metal alone.

Just so you know Kim Kelly had nothing to do with putting these guys on that blog. "Have I Told You Lately That I Loathe You" is a few chugs and a couple sniffs of glue away from being a Coal Chamber song. The production on this album is rougher around the edges than most pumped up grunge you hear coming out these days, though it reminds me a little of the first Cold album, but without the Bush like vocals. On "the Dirtiest Dream Jobs" which has a cool opening riff, the singer admits that his cock won't suck itself. He doesn't specify who he wants to take care of that, but the following song is called "Bitches Hate Misogyny" . If you wanna throw that Helmet riff in the microwave while the singer yells about going straight to hell then maybe it's something you can dig. I'm more tempted to download the first Korn album and see how it holds up to my memory rather than give this album another spin.This album doesn't suck, it is not what I was expecting going into it nor is it all that original. I'll round it down to a 6.5.

Decorum : "Vail"

This trio out of Brooklyn casts an ample shade of gloom over their sound on their new album "Vail". This is not another run of the mill post-punk revivalist band, they do not plug in a single six string and instead hit you with a hypnotic swirl of two basses. Vocally they weave their melodies in between a dizzy entanglement of bass lines  that warble in echoing waves. Male and female vocals dance around one another sometimes harmonizing at other times creating counter points. The male vocals are a dead pan baritone that sometimes reaches more of a croon. The female vocals are an indifferent indie rock alto. The bridge coming out of the verses is disjointed and gray, but it works for the sound they are going for. This is the perfect sound track for a rainy afternoon drive into an abandoned urban area. "Book Burning" jerks you from the drone they b began to mesmerize me with into brisk glide over the night sky . "High Order" distinguishes itself by going into the chorus at half time, and here chorus is more of a reference point, as they do not rely on the safety of traditional song structures. The chords drip with delay like it's wax from a candle lighting the way for darker clouds to roll it with the next subtle progression.

Sonic Youth's "Day Dream Nation" is a better reference point for this band than Joy Division or the more typical goth archetypes this current crop of bands are pulling from. They keep things up tempo, but gracefully dismal in their drone. "The Fall" finds the effects laden twin bass action capable of being melodic as their lighter string counter parts. The sometimes enter a weird sonic state of unsettling dissonance which takes you away it it's surreal rapture, not unlike some of the more fluid shoe gaze acts. In some the cinematic landscape being painted here has as much in common with post-rock as it does post- punk.This even has a surreal quality that you could zone out to much like shoe-gaze. The drums are rather minimal on this letting the cymbals carrying a static white noise with the faint snare is not marching them off the edge of the world. The drums give a delicate patter over the glass notes that spill out of the breezy "Artificial Tracks". This band's delay pedal is made of gold as it sends the notes pouring out like the ghost of a waterfall. The sonic drops are glimmers of a vibration that chant together.

The album has a very uniform sound when it comes to the cavernous echo that haunts it. It's how the notes are halted from their seemingly perpetual motion that sets "Blusher" apart. Vocals sound like the are being moaned from deep with in a narcotic slumber. The sound like The drumming keeps a beat, but stays out of the way, not offering many punches or accent expect to keep the song moving. The final song " Waxing / Waiting" was first released as one half of the "Centre" single released last year.It feels more corporeal than the bulk of this dream dipped wander this band takes you on. The rice paper snare hits are contrasted by the louder ring of the cymbals. The interplay of the two vocalists is woven around one another in not a duet or typical call and response, but dancing off one another in a manner not unlike how the guitars inter play. I'll round this up to a 9 as I like what they do, what they do just happens to have a very monochromatic shimmer.

Sourvein : "Aquatic Occult"

My only history with this band is the split they did with Graves at Sea. I'm  much more impressed with this album. "Avian" is the first song that feels like they are taking the plunge into the album with "Tempest" feeling more like an intro. Though most of the songs just break the two minute mark. This is a relief and proves that in order to play doom effectively you don't have to open the flood gates to ponderous ten minute plus behemoths. The fact that two members of this band were also a part of Buzz-Oven can be felt on the oppressive stomp to "Ocypuss".  "Aquanaut"  provides are more traditional doom counter point to this beating previously rained down upon your ears. "Hymn to Poseidon" has the melody submerged beneath the tides of distortion. "Mermaids" swims in more stoner rock waters not unlike those that older Queens of the Stoneages once bathed in. They attack "Urchins" like sharks with the scent of blood. This song's doom tendencies keep the bongs bubbling with the same intensity of Electric Wizard.

When T-Roy sings in his more raspy plea that involves more actual notes and less growling he taps into some honest desperation on songs like "In the Wind". They ebb down into the much calmer flow of  the interlude entitled "Cape Fearian". There is more of an undulating to the more conventional grunge groove of "Capsized". The way the vocals are delivered remind me a little of Today is the Day, T-Roy does sing a little more on this one. The undertow of "High Tide" pulls you down into murkier depths. The song is not as fully formed in it's sluggish tug. The babbling brook of bass that runs under the garbled vocals and wandering guitar solo, create a “Planet Caravan” like vibe, but this feels more like a free floating idea rather than some solidified in an actual song, so I write it off as an interlude.
 The stormy churn of "Coral Bones" find the band sailing along the coast of Electric Wizard. "Oceanic Procession" finds the band sail off into the night on a darker note. The barnacle encrusted rasp of the vocals gives the creepy outro an atmosphere that reminds me of when Tom Waits played Renfield. I'll give this one a 9 it gave me much more than I was expecting and proves to be one of the more ambitious doom releases so far this year so We shall see how this grows on me from here.

Weird Light : "Doomicvs Vobiscvm"

The hunger for doom strikes me at the oddest times prompting me to give this French band a shot. They play a more traditional Sabbath worshipping brand with clean retro vocals that have a Pallbearer like honesty to them. The band's weakness is the album's production as it lack any bass and there fore lack the balls needed to convince me this has the weight of heaviness. Declared as the best French doom, I suppose that bar is pretty low. With the bottom end so lacking even the more well executed riffs don't have what it takes to really convince me. I like how the vocals are layered on the second track and truth be told the vocals are really what keeps this thing afloat. If you are not a fan of actual singing then you will have to part ways with these guys here. The question is can the vocals alone keep things interesting for the span of a 14 minute song. While they are doom, they do not move at a funereal doom crawl.

Even though this is a post-humous collection of songs they flow together like it all should be one solid album.The atmosphere in the middle section helps spook things out. The drums needed a little more love in post- production the snare sounds like Lars Ulrich tuned it. "Conspiracy of the Dead" is not as long as the previous and has Bela Lugosi sample. It's slower and bluesy with more of a Sabbath feel. The vocals go a little lower and work well with the guitar. "Stare in the Dark" feel a little more strained and though the song is darker it doesn't have the same confidence in it's construction. Even when it speeds up into more of a boogie and the guitar solo comes in something just isn't clicking for me. I know this is just their demo and they couldn't get it together to put out a proper album, for it is I think a 6.5 is generous. Interested to hear if the singer does anything else in the future. France you guys normally bring it when it comes to metal so step up your doom game.

Khanus : " Rites of Fire"

This Finnish band goes at it more like a French band making me take a note to myself that when a band's p/r write up says they are totally unique that means they sound like a cross between Emperor and Deathspell Omega. The vocals are that choked lower King Diamond whisper. Credit where credit is due it's not your typical blackened death metal. The album's production is not as dense. The guitars might be layered, but not so heavily that they dominate everything. In weird time signatures and Urfaust like bellowing it's not like the hundreds of blast beat heavy bands I sort through in my in-box everyday. There are even more shouted vocals tossed in amid the lower growls. The sense of riffing is pretty crazy so while they are not totally re-inventing the wheel, they taking it for their own spin here. I also like the fact the song are fairly compact and not all sprawling ten minute epics. Though midway into "Orgone" there is a sense that are joining the lost common denominator of heavy with some of the death growls locked on the chugs.

There is more dissonance in the declaration "the Daughters of Fire", which finds them resisting the urge to become just another death metal band. I can appreciate the drummer's restraint and the way the riff pulses and throbs rather than throwing themselves into the full frontal assault. The soprano vocals wail away in the background as it begins to speed up. The chanted vocals are all over the place and things are generally chaotic. The closing hymn the " Rites of Sacred Ecstasy" finds strange tendencies questioning song writing choices as the song's more powerful moments find everything joining in a staccato chant then dissolving into something more formless.

This is an interesting album, they get a great deal of credit for bucking the norm when it comes to heavy. Keen ears can go under the surface to hear the influences I think they have adding enough of their own touch to this sound. I'll give it an 8. It's worth a listen if you like progressive black or death metal and prefer it darker and dissonant.