Ice Nine Kills : "the Sliver Scream"

I am going into this album with next to no experience with this band, and had a funny feeling about it knowing they are metal core, which is a sub-genre that really doesn't get much coverage here for good reason. It generally sucks because it sounds like mall metal. The chorus to the first song reminds me of Avenged Sevenfold. Obviously it is the darker and more melodic touches that are what I am listening for. The main reason I checked this album out to begin with is because it has a horror movie theme. "Thank God It's Friday " which is an homage to the "Friday the 13th " movies , is decent until we get to the cheese of the overblown chorus that tries to hard to be epic. I think "Stabbing in the Dark" is referring to "Halloween". It starts off almost like a power ballad before accelerating. "Savages" is kind of boring and vague in the movie it's paying tribute to. "the Jig is Up" is seems like it's about the Saw series. It's not remarkably original , but finds these guys doing what they do well enough. The chorus is less over top so that is worth something to me.

"Grave Mistake" is about as bland as it gets. "Rocking the Boat" might be about Jaws. It's pretty much color by numbers. While it is not wearing as badly on me as I feared it might, they are not coming up with anything to change your thoughts on metal core. "Enjoy Your Slay" is about the Shining, which get some points in my book since it's one of my favorite movies. They continue to play off more emo like vocal styling set against hyper thrashing with growls tossed in at random to induce break downs, but isn't this how most metal core could be described, so they don't really set themselves apart aside from the lyrical focus. "Freak Flag" is more vague in the lyrical focus , which is the most interesting part of this album. It is also one of the album's most accessible songs. "the World in my Hands" is another lyrically vague song, that is one of the more radio takes on Myspace Metal.

"Merry Axemas" is one of the more well handled songs. It is a nod to "Silent Night Deadly Night".. "Love Bites" is a cool take on "American Werewolf in London"it's my favorite song on the album, but it also reminds me of my girl friend so I am sure that colors my perspective. "Is it the End" takes It and makes it sound like something from a musical, until the screaming and double bass races into things. I'm guessing the guys from Less Than Jake are the ones handling the horns here. I'll give this album a 7. It's not bad. It's well done. Some of the lyrics are handled better than others. The emo choruses and sections that get big and wanky are not my thing. It might be yours.

Outre-Tombe : "Nécrovortex"

When it busts into the chug on the first song I am thinking "Damn Get it guys ". It does has a little bit of an early Entombed feel, but it takes me back to the classic late 80s death metal sound, I loved in high school. There is plenty of groove and some Slayer influence for good measure.Then they go more for speed on the second song and it compromises some of the magic the opener tapped into . The vocals begin to have more of an Obituary feel to their grunts. "Aberration" as a whole is an even faster and more driven song than the one before it. In doing this they sacrifice some of their personality. I get it this is a death metal album so I should not be surprised that it's going to be fast. There are moments of groove buried on "Concile Cadaverique". When they vary the tempos it works the best and gives you more to head bang to.

Things feels angrier and more violent from there. I can hear more thrash influence creep in. The guitars drone into the tremolo picking a little more, not making in blackened , but a throbbing blur.I know death metal should be fast. Some times it comes across like I will complain about anything. These guys nail it on the gallop of the title track. There are catchy riffs that make you want to return to the song. The lyrics seem like they might be sung in French half the time. There is little in the way of atmosphere, these guys work off sheer velocity and meanness. This does cause some of the songs to begin to take on a more uniform sound by the time you get to the album's 3rd act.

They pick from some of the best influences Entombed, Obituary, Sepultura and make them their own. The drummer for this kind of thing has to be a machine, but he really doesn't kill you with the double bass and is pretty tasteful for death metal. I'll round this up to an 8, though when I am in the mood for this sort of thing I am much more likely to go back and dig out my old Obituary albums, For kids who don't know any better and looking for new death metal this is worth your time.

Marisa Nadler : " For My Crimes"

She continues down a path of hauntingly morose balladry. More ghostly than Lana Del Ray. More folk than country this time around, though hints of western sounds still color this album. In fact there is more country on "I Can't Listen to Gene Clark Anymore" that the more ambient opening track. Things seem simpler here. More minimal compositions, keep the focus on the vocals. Sometimes these vocals are layered on the chorus , notably on " Are You Really Going to Move to the South". There is a modest return to country in the relaxed strum of " Lover Release Me". She sings smoothly without a trace of twang, yet there is something in her delivery that feels like old country.  She lets her voice crack rather than go into a head voice in certain places, giving it a rawer feel.

She doesn't try to take a stab at rock on "Blue Vapor", but has a more commanding deliberation. This is the strongest song thus far. Things get marginally darker on "Interlocking". Overall I would say this album feels more nocturnal than dark. Dreamy and somber are her subdued melodies. "All Out of Catastrophes" finds her with more of a lower pitches huskiness to her voice, while managing to still capturing her trademark feel. Lyrically this might be the most interesting song thus far. "Dream Dream Big in the Sky" feels like 50s pop. There are some great song titles on this album, "You're Only Harmless When You Sleep" is one of them. This is a more delicate folk song. It builds faintly with some strings in the background.

"Flamethrower" is another lazy strum that rings out into a sad empty place. The melodies float around rather than pulling you into it. There is some interesting atmosphere in the background. The bulk of this album is certainly more stripped down than "Strangers". Strings join in on " Said Goodbye To That Car".  I think this album is going to have to grow on me. Production wise it feels more intimate. Songs like "Interlocking" I like more each time I hear them so I am going to go ahead an give this album a 9, as it's so ethereal and wispy the songs become intangible and don't hook me as quickly as some of her previous efforts. Comes out Sept 28th on Sacred Bones.

Vanishing Kids : " Heavy Dreamer"

These kids might not be the first band that has flirted with doom metal elements while embarking on another path. Bands like Messa and King Woman come to mind in this regard. This band features former members of Jex Thoth and draws influences from a wider web. The over driven guitar waking sluggishly from the hazy murk that is "Creation" recalls the retro vibe of  occult rock while bathing with lusher atmosphere. Despite the occasional rock god guitar solo that puts it's foot upon on the monitor to remind you where they came from, both the title track and "Without a Sun" both sound like they could have come from 4AD's catalog in the late 80s. The latter being darker while carrying a serpentine groove.

There is a burlier more metallic tone to the guitar that kicks up "Mockingbird". This is not the heaviest doom album you have ever heard. There is no reason to use the words crushing to describe anything going on here. But these are really well written songs that have a great mood to them. Much like artists Chelsea Wolfe or Emma Ruth Rundle, who appeal to fans of metal, I think these guys are on the harder rock end of that spectrum. I can hear traces of Siouxsie in the vocals as much as I can here Stevie Nicks or Grace Slick, so the cauldron of influences has been well stirred to create a brew of their own making. The doom undercurrent of what they do can be felt more on "Eyes of Secrets" ..

The first hint of anything Sabbath like does not surface until "Reaper". It's mainly in the hammer on of the guitar, with other more traditional doom nuances scattered. This is also the first time it winds into something that is more of a jam than a song with a clear cut direction. The vocals kind of soar and float more than form hooks. The tempo changes in one section, but is not really defined. It sounds good and as far a guitar solos go they are pretty great if you are into that kind of thing. It's like a weird cross between Sade and Jimmy Hendrix meeting over an acid trip on "Rainbows'.. There is a lighter dreamier tone to "Magnetic Magenta Blue" . The song begins to take form following a collage of trippy sounds. It's a little darker when the vocals come in. Three minutes in things get doomy again.

This album has heavy moments, and the guitar solos shoot for a more metal mark in how they aggressively go big. I would not call this a metal album it is a piece of dark psychedelic rock that occupies its own interesting space I'll round this one up to a 10 as the pieces of songs that did not click on first listen will grow on me as the over all mood of the album and the picture they paint here is pretty remarkable. .Svart Records is releasing this November 30

An Autumn For Crippled Children : " the light of September"

I had to go back an listen to the first song twice to make sure I heard what I heard. I had. It was a band who was once at the forefront of the depressive black metal scene, making bouncy happy music. They have been straying from black metal for some time. However they did it in a way that stayed true to their more down trodden sense of self. This is their 7th album, so change is bound to happen, lets just hope the first song is an isolated incident. They return to that somewhat on the second song , which is much closer than the title track to the band's identity up to this point. There is a little more of a shoe gazing thing to "Hiding in the Dark" , but it is briskly paced. There seems to be more reliance on electronics on this albums than in the past. I like that "lovelorn" has a more somber David Lynch like atmosphere going into it. Its not until two minutes into this drone that the guitar kicks in and goes in the direction we want it to. I would complain that this song is an instrumental if the vocals were not upon to their same bag of tricks on this album. Its a scream that sounds the same every time and has become this projects weak link though sometimes the only element making this metal.

Beginning to pick up on a little more of a formula. Despite the fact "Fragility' is more piano driven at two minutes in the guitars come in a sweep every thing away. I will say it does capture their mood better than the first song that was way off base. The guitar tone is interesting to "the Silence Inside" which builds into something that sounds like it might be from their more classic work, as the dynamic intensities clash well against one another. "A new day has come" remembers what made the old days work, though not recycling ideas."Still Dreaming" just kinda breezes by without leaving me much i can latch on to. It sounds good I just don't feel like it tells much of a story..

"The Golden Years" races along the same smooth pace the previous song hit cruise control with. It is just not as emotive or dynamically driven as what I normally get from these guys. What works on this album is how they are balancing out new sounds while not trying to isolate their audience. I'll give this album an 8 as it does return to the sound I would from them without ripping themselves off like AC\DC. Sure in the process of experimentation not every shot they take hits the mark , but over all it's nothing for them to be ashamed of as they pretty much redeem themselves by the end of the album.

Korpiklaani : "Kukija"

I must be a glutton for punishment. I go into this album knowing it's going to be too happy for me, but give it a shot anyway. Surprise, when we say folk metal here it is more like polka than metal. It's not til the third song that they find some darker minor key notes and slow down some.The mix is a little as the guitars could stand to have more heft. When they build into a more epic chorus it's not totally cheesed out, so I can still deal with it and this might be one of the first songs I have liked from these guys. A more longing tone opens "Harmaja" , but if there is one thing I have learned from these guys, it's don't get too comfortable as they could kick into that stupid polka thing at any moment. This one has a more subdued ballad like feel which seems a little soon 4 songs in. But at least they are showing more restraint.

They continue to show more of a grasp of what folk means than an all out frolic. The metallic qualities are pretty basic palm muted chugging and the recycle most of their folk melodies, but it is working better on this album than some of the drunken jigs I have heard them embark on in the past. The bass has a little more of a presence than what I recall in the past from them. About six songs in things all begin to sound the same. The vocal delivery is somewhat to blame as the melodies all follow the same bouncy staccato cadence, until the chorus where they are more sung. Sometimes there is a little more of a gallop where and there. They slowly begin to add more punch in to the metal sections . "Kallon malja" finds them grinding down into heavier amid the sway of pirate shanties which works really well for them.

They continue down are heavier path than I have heard from them with darker tinges.But for every song there is something that sounds like polka from the middle ages . "Riemu" is back to being almost too happy, though the bounce back to keep a better balance on "Kuin korpi nukkuva"though even then some of the folk elements are to bouncy and ska like .The guitar on "Juomamaa" sounds like something from a pop punk album and like the emphasis on on all the violins and hurdy gurdys. There is a more somber tone going into" Tuttu on tie". By the time the vocals come in I am having to reconcile myself to the fact that even though they came closer this time out these guys might not be my thing. I'll round this one down to a 7.5 .

The Weekly Playlist Vol 7 Where is My Mind ?

In terms of readership / views these have gotten too popular for me to stop now as Vol 6 -the Cure Edition, beat out most albums reviews this week. Granted the Cure is in the wheelhouse of most of my readers here.We are breaking from the focus on an artist or genre theme this week. There is still a theme, this is not my most personal blog, it the blog where I am the last word so I get to do what I want. It is however Cvlt Nation that I touch on subjects like kink, mental illness and drugs that goes deeper than what I think about the new Interpol album. While I can have some emotional connections to the music at the end of the day life will still go on if Nick Cave puts out a shitty album, not to say he would. In the event he did, I have learned even most of my favorite artists will at some point let me down. Just because I don’t see eye to eye with Converge about the direction they are headed in, it is not enough to make me want to go have a drink. Where is My Mind is the name of the column I write for Cvlt Nation on mental health...yes it’s also the name of a Pixies song. It’s been a mental health week for me and to be honest I think I never truly got balanced back out post Dragon Con, so it’s made me more anxious and reactive than normal and when I came off a panicked high swing there was the wouldn’t I be doing everyone a favor style suicidal idealization. Now my meds are regulated and I’m screwing my head back on so you guys are stuck with me for a while. So this is the sound track to my crazy. Rather than posting a bunch of songs about being crazy I forced myself to pick only from albums that have come out this year. Some are as new as Pale Waves and Slothrust, others like Iceage and Voices have been out for awhile. So you might find some new music along the way, though I didn’t feel like putting the links to the full album reviews on here, I am sure you are adults that can internet very well, so Here you go..