Chapel of Disease : "Echoes of Light"

 

After hearing a ton of interesting things about this album I finally remembered to hunt it down and give it a listen.  The German band is a fairly interesting progressive death metal band, that wacky time changes aside and a penchant for rock n roll riffs are not too far out in left field. They are at times like a less gothy Tribulation. The guitarists are calling the shots here are the guitar is the centerpiece of the title track. The guitar wanders out of pocket very tastefully until things explode with the climax of the song. The guitar kicks things off on an epic scale for "A Death Though No Loss". The midrange rasp of the vocals rides the gallop of the guitar with greater purpose than what kicked off the album. When the guitar goes off into a jam, the tone is stellar and the playing is a wet dream for teenagers who idolize guitarists, even though it is not just shredding for no reason, but serves the song. 

The Sung vocal arrives for "Shallow Nights". They sing well enough, but the guitar remains the star. There is more of an alternative rock feel to the vocals. The guitarist continues to burn the house down here. By the end of the song, the guitar solos would have felt more gratuitous if it were not for the fact that he is so good at what he does. They return to a sharper more punchy rock-minded riff to drive "Selenophile" home. There is some jamming, but it is written with a more economical sense of songwriting. The larger-than-life epic riffing that opens "Gold / Dust" is offset by the more sedate sun vocals. I like the tone of the singing more in this song than in the previous one. 

Some of the phrasing to the last song is influenced by Eddie Van Halen, as much as it is classic rock as a whole. Production wise you are not going to find guitar solos with such a graceful tone. This is a great album well deserving of the hype it is receiving, It is more progressive metal than not, with an emphasis on guitar heroic that still serves the song which is an accomplishment in a genre that rarely uses restraint. I will give this album a 10. 

pst102

IDLES : "TANGK"

 

Working with Radiohead's producer certainly has changed things. The album opens with a very melodic introspective piece before blasting into the first proper IDLES song "Gift Horse". This is supposed to be an album of love songs, but the punchy delivery might make you question that. There is more groove to this. It is more post-punk and less punk, which I prefer. Bloc Party with less Gang of Four influence might be a fair point of reference. 'Pop Pop Pop' almost feels like hip-hop. Joe Talbot navigates these less organic beats with ease. 'Roy" is darker and less dancey. Talbot's voice has really improved over the year and on this album, he is a legit singer. His range might have only marginally improved, but he has a keen sense of where to put his voice and knows his limitations. 

His new improved voice can best be heard in "A Gospel". While I appreciate his performance, the song itself is the kind of ballad that would have been better left for Radiohead, as it does not play to the band's strength. "Dancer" however finds the new direction working more effectively as it takes what they do and expands upon it. The way they have expanded the sonic colors they paint these songs with is impressive. 'Grace' finds them falling back into more electronic balladry. Once again appreciate the effort but it might have been better left to Radiohead. "Hall & Oates' finds the pace picking up and their instruments plugged back in. The middle section has Talbot's vocal performance yet. 

'Jungle" manages to compliment the album's more introspective direction while being dynamic and not falling into balladry that is outside of their wheelhouse. I like the lurking mood of "Gratitude". The thing about experimenting with your sound is some are going to work better than others. This can be heard in the last song, which is less effective in this regard. I will round this up to an 8.5, not album of the year quality, but I respect the growth they made, there are some solid fun songs on here. If you are looking for a punk album this is not it. 

pst101

Looking Back in Anger at the Crow Soundtrack

 

It's time to look back at a soundtrack from the 90s and see how it has held up over the years.  For an album largely of covers and b-sides, it has stood the test of time better than most albums from 1994, and in truth aged better than the movie. It opens with "Burn" by the Cure which Smith wrote for the film. Not only is it the album's best song, it is one of the Cure's best songs. It has the drive of "Fascination Street' but the drums bring a tribal tension to it. The slinky bass line finds Machines of Loving Grace abandoning some of the industrial stomps for a more groove-minded song that plays to their strengths as a band, making it one of their best songs as well. Thus two songs in a they have established the theme of sexy darkness, which was the mood this movie was aspiring to. 

Stone Temple Pilots were heading toward peak popularity with the album "Purple" which this song would later appear on. They debuted it on this soundtrack first,  I think this song is lyrically clever, and I like the more subtle blues elements they ebb back down into. Nine Inch Nails cover of  "Dead Souls" works really well. Reznor does his thing rather than going for an Ian Curtis impersonation and it works. The more subtle jazzy passages of "Darkness" bring out Rage Against the Machine's more melodic side, making them seem like less of a one-trick pony. The Violent Femme's "Hallowed Ground" album is an example of their darker side which they tapped back into for "Color Me Once", an overlooked gem on this album.

Despite Henry's vocal limitations, the Rollins Band does a pretty good job of covering Suicide's 'Ghost Rider". There is more swagger than expected here. Butch Vig remixed Helmet's "Milk Toast' for the soundtrack, it's one of the band's calling cards. Pantera covers Poison Idea's "The Badge". and makes it sound like they wrote it. For Love Not Lisa proves they were better than most bands who merged as bigger one-hit wonders from the 90s like saqy Candle Box and this song is a testament to that fact.   My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult is one of the most reliable bands on this soundtrack so you can count on them to deliver, their whole persona is why they were actually playing at a club in the movie. Musically Jesus and Mary Chain is just as consistent, "Snakedriver" being a clear example of this. 

Medicine brought Elizabeth Fraser in for their remake of "Time Baby". Speaking of the Cocteau Twins , they should been the artist to perform the last song "It Can't Rain All the Time". as the Jill Siberry track is the album's only weak moment. It drifts without focus and the Cocteau Twins could have done much better doing similar. So far this reason this album is getting a 9.5, putting it still in the upper tier of movie soundtracks along side the "Lost Boys" soundtrack, 

pst100

Public Acid : "Deadly Struggle'

 

When you think of metallic hard-core, this kind of raw organic assault is not what comes to mind, more often than not it is something more metal-core or thrash-minded. These guys have more in common with Discharge or Gism than anything metal core. This also causes a single-minded uniformity of sound to form around the blistering charge of these songs. Are they legit in what they are doing? Sure. Are they original? Not so much. This could be any hardcore band from the 80s. So we are just capturing those sounds for the kids of today, who might be better off digging up those original albums. 

The vocals are really low in the mix. This also causes things to get mired down and sound the same. "Ignorance' is the first song with a riff that stands out and creates their own personality. The quick bursts of the song do not work as well as a grindcore band might pull it off, as 'Scraps of Sanity" feels more like a squeal of feedback than a song. "End of Pain" is a little more song-oriented, but the vocals being buried do not help these attempts. There are riffs, that are slammed together. 

'Hang the Leaders' is a distorted temper tantrum. This meaty outburst falls safely in line with what they set out to do. The gallop to the title track that closes the album is much more interesting. It compensates for the vocals sounding like a more manic murmur. I will give this album an 8, some of the reasons which include the production choices and placement of the vocals in the mix were obviously what the band wanted so you have to be into really raw  old school hardcore, it does not play to the songs strengths, but to my ears highlights the weakness, but if you are into that sort of thing then I think giving this album and 8, is fair enough., 

pst99

Jesus and Mary Chain : "Glasgow Eyes"

The Reid Brothers are back for the 8th album of their 40-year career. For me, the album they are always measured against is "Darklands" as it was my introduction to the band and the most sullen of their work. This album does touch on their more depressive side at times but finds them employing a wide range of moods. It opens with a rather upbeat pulse. It is more experimental in a different way. It sounds like they are toying around with synths and effects. Jim's voice sounds ageless, with his hushed dusky muttering. Lyrically things are brilliant. 

On the second song lies hints of their punk-influenced beginnings. The Brothers mentioned how jazz influenced the making of this album, and it does not make sense until hearing the subtleties of "Mediterranean X Film". This is most profoundly felt in the drumming that comes from Suede / Elastica drummer Justin Welch. "jamcod' was the lead single for this album. It is a somewhat deceptive illusion as to where the album goes as it winks in the direction of its more classic sound. It is very well written and I can understand why this was picked.  I prefer the plan muted tension of  "Discotheques". It feels more post-punk in many ways.

They cruise into a fuzzed-out drone for "Pure Poor". Which finds some cool sounds being used, but is not as well written as their homage to classic rock 'The Eagles and the Beatles". That is even taking into consideration the song's more Joan Jett-like chord progression. "Sliver Strings" is a return to the palm-muted tension, which still works even they go to the well with it once more. I like the more revered out-guitar tone on this one. "Chemical Animal' is a powerful reflection on drug use. In contrast "Second of June" is much more hopeful and almost upbeat. Though it does linger on a droning guitar line. touch o

They crank a riff that has more in common with "Livin' After Midnight" on "Girl 71" . The last song is an obvious tribute to the Velvet Underground, though it does drift off into a more shoe-gazing brand of indie rock. This album might not be as good as "Dark Lands" but it does find the band being just as vital as ever and sounding less encumbered by age than their peers.  I will give it a 9.5. 

pst98

SHEER MAG : "Playing Favorites"

Little of this band's former punk leanings remain. Instead, they are making bland jangling rock n roll. The second song has a little more of Kiss feel to it. Most of the grit in vocals comes from the production. It's like the Temu version of the Runaways. The guitar is improved here, but the vocals need to be stronger. Some of the riffs would work better if accompanied by a punchier delivery. By the time we get to "All Lined Up" the band feels more like a 70s rock cover band that is playing melodic. There is more of a disco tinge to the groove of the song, which is pretty unfocused with little to hook you in, which seems like that would be the crux of 70s rock which was always centered on the vocals, rather than just rock god guitar playing.  

It typically feels like the singer was not involved in the songwriting process and she came in after the fact and went into the vocal booth just trying to come up with something that might fit. There is almost a Southern rock feel to "Don't Come Lookin" that finds the guitarists trying to emulate the Allman Brothers. They did nail; the tone, but these days there are computer plug-ins that can do that in post-production. This album is produced in a way that is trying to capture a more vintage sound. Five songs into this album I get to "I Gotta Go" and resign myself to the fact this is an album I must endure rather than enjoy. This is largely because this has all the originality of any garage band. It however sounds like the kind of band their parents might be in rather than kids their age, which might be the ironic novelty of their band. 

The guitar is such the focus that the drums are pushed way in the background taking away most of the gas to their sound. I keep waiting for something that shows who they are instead of being totally derivative, instead, they try to be the Jackson 5 on "Moonstruck". They do get kind of proggy for "Mechanical Garden" . When the vocals come in they try their best to ruin things.  The most unfocused song so far is "Golden Hour" which tries to blend the Jack 5 vibes with the Allman Brothers sounds, which are two things that were not meant to intermingle. Lyrically the album has been underwhelming, but hits a new low on "Tea on the Kettle". Though "Paper Time" proves they are capable of being worse., The gas runs out of their creative tank by the last song. 

I will round this one down to a 5.  Decent guitar playing provides a sliver of legitimacy to what would otherwise be some of the worst songs coming from a professional band that I have heard in some time. The more biased hipster voices in music journalism might try to give this band some hype for purely narrative upkeep, that has nothing to do with what we focus on here which is music. 

pst97

Necrophobic : "In the Twilight Gray"

 

This Swedish band is obviously just as big of an influence on Watain, as Dissection. With 32 years of experience under their bullet belts, they encompass more of the raw aggressive energy. There is a touch of death metal to what they do but it feels more black metal to me than not. Their bass player is the only member of this band who is new, as the rest of the band has been around long enough to be considered an original member. "Clavis Inferi" makes an attempt with the chorus, though is not as consistent as the opening track or "As Stars Collide' which works off a big epic gallop, along with purposeful vocals. The rasp of the vocals is articulate so the lyrics cut through the bombast. I can hear more common ground with Dissection on this song. 

By "Stormcrow" they begin to pour on the thrashing speed and the similarities to Dissection become more apparent. The pace is maintained on "Shadows of the Brightest Night". The articulate vocals help to define the sections of the song. It is even somewhat hooky, as they are very songwriting-minded, rather than just hitting you with a heavy sound. The big chanted section of "Mirrors of a Thousand Lakes" keeps things flowing even amid the ever-increasing number of guitar solos. To the band's credit, the solos are generally tasteful. One of the album's most effective moments is in the riff to "Cast in Stone" which leads a powerful enough charge without rushing into a thrash tempo.

They maintain this more effective sonic balance in a manner that serves the song on "Nordanvind" . The title however is more of a blast-beaten speed fest. Not the strongest note to end on as they have a more uniform sound more often than not. I think giving this album an 8 is fair enough, their fans who are into this will like it, I certainly appreciate the effort put into the songwriting, and some of the melodic nuances put into the storm of their light's bane. Century Media is releasing this March 15th. 

pst96