The Weekly Shuffle

This is a new weekly feature I'm going to do where I put my iPod on shuffle mode and review the first ten songs that pop up, it will maybe shed some light on artists that fall between the cracks in the album reviews and give a more comprehensive look at some who I might reference when reviewing artists. Ok so here it goes first up

"Repeating the Circle" by Ceremony. Off their "Zoo" album this song is a little darker than some of the more straightforward punk moments, the bass drives it and the wandering guitar melody would appeal to fans of more goth inflected post punk, and I tend to stray for the simplistic nature of most punk rock so for me to like these guys there has to be more it.

"My Death" by David Bowie, this is a b side from and import disc and is a more recent take on the song which originally appeared on the live "Ziggy the motion picture soundtrack" which is one of the best live albums ever. This is a cover of a song by Jaques Brel, but Bowie owns it , I like his version of "Let's spend the night together" better then the Stones original. To Brel's credit the lyrics are some of the best written ever.

"the May Song" by the Gathering , Night Time Birds remains my favorite album by the Gathering, despite people telling me to listen to "Home" I downloaded "Home" and this album still wins out because it's still in the realm of being considered metal, the chorus to this one has a nice punch to it and one of Annke's better hooks in my book.

"Duchess" by Genesis, the twilight of the acceptable Phil Collins years, here the descent into pop was well underway, but if you are going to do pop they were still using their thinking caps, the programmed drums creeping into play, this song takes it time and builds atmosphere two and a half minutes before the vocals set in isn't bei a slave to radio play and Collins was breaking away from being a Peter clone but sang with some balls to his voice...for Phil Collins, it's pretty majestic stuff.

"Here I Dreampt I was an Architect" by the Decemberists, "Castaways and Cutouts" was before they really entered their proggy phrase, but still some great songwriter and wry dark lyrics, though this is one of their rare non murder ballads for this time period of their career. Sure they are sellouts now, however hipster and graceful they managed to spread to the masses and water down their sound, the old stuff is not tainted by this enough to not keep its place on my iPod, this song hs a nice sway to it and interesting keyboards.

"Crucifixtion" by Deiphago, in the process of getting around to reviewing their album "Satan Alpha Omega" it's roughly produced raw black metal that hits with its blown speaker intensity. It might be a little too straight forward for me but we will get around to that when I review , if you like your black metal as raw as a bloody steak in the meantime check these guys out.

"the Accusation Chair" by King Diamond, while my love of the King has never been hidden opportunity to review anything hasn't presented himself , I wrestle with my self over which is better "Abigail" or "Them, and rather than resolve that here I can say this little four minute ditty is one of the heavier moments on this album and recaptures the darker vibe of "Abigail" particularly at the solo section midway through, and the " no where to hide" vocals influenced tons of black metal singers the keys are cool on this one too I always forget that part.

"As the Bell Rings the Maypole Spins" by Dead Can Dance, "Aion" is an under rated album by them that I have come to appreciate more over the years, it has a more ritualistic feel than there other lumps that went more cinematic in scope, Lisa Gerrad sounds great as she does, the percussive elements are toned down on this one and the vocals we've their around the song so not one of their more belly dancing inspiring songs.

"Necrophiliac" by Slayer, "Hell awaits" was at one time one of my favorite albums but as a whole didnt stay the test of time ,but this one is classic, the riff that comes after the line" I feel the urge the growing need to fuck this sinful corpse" is mean as fuck, the variation of it doesn't hold as much weight later in the song but hey we can hear bass, how many times did that happen after this album?

"the Ocean" by Led Zeppelin, ... The fact this song still brings to mind the sample of it used in "She's Crafty" , attributes to a slight burn out of it and while its not my favorite Zeppelin song of the thrity five songs of theirs which made it onto my ipod this one made it cut, the guitar on this is what brings it on home.

Cloak of Altering : Ancient Paths Through Timeless Voids

The new project from the one man band Gnaw Their Tongues, Mories handling every scream,guitar and button pushed or mouse click on these drums. These songs as chaotically as they are to my ears still sound more like songs than the majority of what I've heard from Gnaw Their Tongues.While one man black metal bands is nothing new , what Mories Dodson his projects is certainly different, my first few listens to this concluded this is pretty much as dark as Gnaw but less noise and space even though there is a Greg deal of ambiance in certain sections.

The opener " A Plague Has Travelled with us" gets blasting after the opening creak. Since these are programmed drums they are able to blast at speeds humans aren't able to reach or maintain , the down side is the double kicks is buzz thin. The slower section in this one when it comes down from its initial spasm is cool and the song drifts off from there in an almost glitchy fashion. The mood and textures I like though unsure of the songwriting . "All I see is Dead Stars " treads similar ground until it sounds like Darth Vader boards the ship, the drum machines are thinly produced so speed aside its hard for them to sound heavy as is. The low growls on this off they are not pitch shifted in some way are well done they are buried in the mix so it's hard to tell, though when they have a monster effect on the, in the Ambiant break downs it's pretty obvious.

I was starting to get like a Fantomas vibe from this until the title track which started of making me think of " Last rights" Skinny Puppy, meets sounds of the Haunted Droid Factory, it strikes me as more dynamically balanced here though I liked the screaming better on the previous tracks , there is and interesting bass line that wanders of into a maze of discordant keyboards. I do think if Mories had called in the dude from Author Punisher this would be mind blowing. But alas the woes of musical misanthropy.

"Devoided" better screams return and the blasts sound almost real here I think I was just not paying attention to the double bass my first go through as it ounces like a vibrator on highest setting. The very Insert name ofa Mike Patton Project here spookiness of the breakdown is a welcome diversion and the programming isn't as nooning in this context. The disorted gate on the vocals midway through here's a nice touch to help add some density. I think listening to this through head phones makes it sound thinner than when it's just playing on the iPod dock.

"Initiation rites of Sector 5" starts of embracing the electronic nature of this and then veers off into a Morbid Angel riff. While the guitar is doing some pretty interesting things when the drums going into hyper digital blast I'm over it, good thing he keeps it very varied by this point. The second half of this song reminds me the most of Gnaw and the effect on the drums there works, I think if they had been given a more distorted sound in the mix the album would have benefitted, there are so many changes and sounding firing off on this one if one isn't to my liking it's quickly replaced by another.

The album closes with a futuristic tone on "the war has finally found us" it's almost like cyber dsbm as the guitars have the mournful tremolo to them. Surprisingly where the blasty nasties of mot black metal creates a hypnotic drone , I don't really get that from this album sonically . There are more unapologeticly electronic glitches which create an industrial Mr. Bungle feel. It's abrasive here in a migraine twisting tornado or jerked stop motion sound, like Emperor recorded through a blender, before letting you drift out into space. Inertia pulls you back in for some Lynchian spookiness, if he ever gets sucked into remake a sci if film I hope he takes notice of these guys.

The programmed drums are really the biggest distraction here and after Tiamat who was playing it too safe and conventional I needed something dark and wacky from left field so if I am able to block the buzz the blast beats out I can round this one up a whole point to an 8...though the battle royale that is my iPod hasn't had the final word on this.

Tiamat : the Scarred People

Once upon a time Tiamat was thought of as Black metal and were mentioned along side bands like Samael. 1994's "Wildhoney" was a game changer for extreme music though the same cant really be said for their new album. The opener and title track is a love letter to the huge man crush they have on Sisters of Mercy, though more rock and less dancing.

The blatant chords leading into the chorus of "Winter dawn" might be dumbing it down for this band , yet as far as old school goth goes they capture the feel. The creep of "384" darkens thing up though not heavy as the kids might think of doom today. It winks at Sisters territory and the chords ring out with menace, but heavy hs become a relative concept and I don't see many goth d.j's wooed but the more ominous tempos and despite when the guitar hit harder it makes me wonder if a new Tiamat album drops in the forest will anyone hear it.

"Radiant star" makes it pretty clear the days of metal are over, it's still an interesting song largely due to the oddly syncopated vocal placement. "The Sun also rises" mixes Pink Floyd with Feilds of the Nephillim, not a new direction. For these guys but it is prefromed in a more concise manner than they have in the past,with ethe leads stealing the show on this one. obviously since 94' the growls are not to be found.

"love terrorist" has more drive and could be most easily called metal. Though it is not harder than Feilds of the Nephilim. There is the weird Pink Floyd refrain, though the songs drifts midway in. If the refrain makes it closer to " the Wall" era floyd the song "Messian Letter" goes in more of a "Division Bell" territory so they know their Pink floyd. The leads here continue to steal the show as they are precise in nailing the David Gilmore school of playing. Not a fan of the " you are my only friend" lyrics or melody in the chorus , even in Pink Floyd's later year the melodies were given more thought but Tiamat isn't Pink Floyd.

They start to rock out in more of a Neil Young sense on "Before another Wilbury" dies which is a quick jam and I wonder if the title is a reference to the Travelling Wilburys. On "Thunder and Lighting" we are back at the Sisters of Mercy feel, this one more dance oriented like "This Corrosion". There's also a little rock to "Born to Die" like what Nick Cave's output in the nineties might have turned out like if he had worked with like Butch Vig. For Tiamat it works and seems like the most personalized song where the bulk of the albu, the tug of war between the Floyd influence and Sisters stays in full swing, I would say David Bowie is the middle ground between those to two but Tiamat misses that not to say , this isnt well crafter and some excellent guitar work through out.

"Paradise" the Pink Floyd fan club rolls out, it another side of Roger waters than The more Final Cut dramatics the song " the red of the morning sun" of the chorus are a nice touch suppose this one is one of the albums darker cuts though there is a lack of sinister . This one does have a little more sense of its own identity , but if we are playing name that influence the point is gointo later Waters Floyd. "Paradise" is very ,uh on of those Waters ballads from the Wall. The guitar work is great, the keyboard part that starts the song could have stood to modulate a little more as the sound gets repetitive. But once again this is about the leads.

So here's what happens to black metal in the golden years, while Tiamat was never Bathory or Celtic Frost I think they played an important role in that era of music transitioning from the nineties. In forming a conclusive opinion about this album I'm having a hard time believing there is nothing really metal about it all and have to accept this as a conscious decision and not that these guys are old and clueless as to what metal is. The great lead playing helps tip the scales on this one.

I had to round this one down to a 7.5, Because the keyboard heavy mix really shoves the lack of metal in your face and insult to injury is this is coming from the guys who put out "Wildhoney" so they set the bar high for themselves. With that said the song writing is for the most part polished and if you are going to mix Pink Floyd with Sisters of Mercy you are at least mixing top shelf ingredients. The result is laid back psychedelic goth rock, which lets face it there not a lot of this sort of thing being pumped out that's not a blatant type o ripoff.

Atriarch @ 529

Something happened last night at the 529. Some of went there with the singular focus of seeing Atriarch, we wanted a metal show, but being familiar with their music if not fans of it we were open to the interpretation of metal show as the band is in there interpretation of creating metal. Other people went to the 529 just with the knowledge it was goth night and there friends were going or like omg ...where else are people going to get wasted to escape their families on Thanksgiving.those people were ushered back out of the room by the sheer volume...there were those whose skills a instagramming their lives are liger like in proportion and they watched their phones until the energy created eclipsed their ability to just be seen and they too headed to more sedate settings.

If you read this blog then you know I was in the first category , I am a fan , who is pretty damn familiar with their work past and present , I did not know what to expect s the band is lost a hydra in their multi headed approach to metal. What I did not expect was the hypnotic spice ritual that followed. The band took the stage in organic fashion, though only the bass player and drummer were on the actual stage and the key boarding , singer and guitarist stood on the floor eye level with the crowd. The set took shape in a organize manner and coagulated into form as the singer Lenny Smith began a vocal check of his microphone by doing Tibetan throat singing. From their Guitarist Brooks Blackhawk began anointing the creative space with sage and the rest of the band simmered to a more fevered pitch until they reached the full roar of the opener for their newest album " ritual of passing" , the song "Parasite"which was every bit as powerful live but it came from a different place live, their was more grime where in the studio, I hear the slither of Dimension Hatross era Voi Vod. Here the vocals had a more chant like quality to them . Smith emotes from a deep place in his soul no matter the delivery which changed from a militant punk chant, dark bellow almost reach a croon or the scathing harsh tones, his screams actually sounded even better live.

The set seemed like one body of work even though I knew the individual songs.there was no pause in between them some type of drum beat, feed back or keyboard was kept the sonics floating. The black metal elements were represented as evenly as the doom, the kids there for goth not were not disappointed as there was enough darkness to the set, fittingly the bass player had a sticker on his bass head that read..real men hate god.
This was not expressed in their music through the normal wrathful thrashing one associates with black metal, those parts when they came held more of an Ambiant drone of early Darkthrone. The catharsis of their music in many ways felt internalized as the singer too almost Gollum like stances as he preformed and less warrior gestures black metal normally brings to mind.

The most remarkable element was after their set ended when I thought they had just begun due to the fact I had been captured in the moment ,held their in a meditative state where time stopped and the band draws you into to be totally engulfed I. The experience dispite hipster girls strutting throught the crowd of the glow of cellphones, I was surprised when my ears rand wheni left Becuase I felt their music but wasn't abrasives overpowered by sheer volume alone and I have seen the Swans twice in the son of a year so that kind of distorts your perception. Of what a louds show is . Like the Swans , Atriarchs music was very much a spiritual experience live and engrossed me furtherinto their new album once it was over. File them under never to miss.

Pinback @Terminal West

Terminal West continues to feel like the Bronze , the club from Buffy the Vampire slayer an it will carry that association for me until more punk or metal shows come through  and add a dirty element. the openers Solos were no Dingoes Ate My Baby, surprising because considering how competitive the touring market in California is you tend to have high expectations, but regardless Pinback repped the west coast well. It was a weird crowd for them either forty year olds or kids who looked like they were in high school with not a big margin in the middle. It seemed like a more Cobb county crowd as well, not a lot in the way of the tattooed and mustached east atlanta crowd .

the thing about Pinback is they cover such a broad landscape of musical feeling that I did not really notice they arranged the set set list In a manner that best allowed themselves to warm up into their set and fire at all cylinders by three songs in. I thought they were just making an interesting choice of opening with a more subdued approach.

I'm not sure why I didn't see the lack of floor monitors and think too myself " Oh they are going to be using in ear monitors and this isn't a metal sow so in this venue the stage volume is going to be more subdued than I'm use to so maybe to get the fuller spectrum of sound I shouldnt just camp out in front  of the stage like I'm in high school" but no I did  and was standing in front of or slightly to the left of Zach Smith so I got a more bass in my face mix and largely could not hear Rob Crow's guitar parts  though he seems to be a rare quiet guitarist and his vocals became more pronounced as the set went on. Though this was not a gig killer Becuase anyone  who has ever considered themselves to be a bass player need to see Zach Smith in action and reassess that. Though in all fairness Smith approaches the instrument in a more chordal fashion as a guitar playing would though he can pull off Geddy Lee like single note accents.Once they really hit their stride past the midway point and Rob Crow had put away a few more New Castles, Smith's playing became  the glue which at one point escalated into Crow busting a move and break dancing his way into a full on  stage bumping worm  amd running out into the crowd , too not really mosh but defiantly engage and the way he was bobbing his head to the Misfits playing over the p.a before they went on I am sure he has a punk rock past. 

Performance wise they were pretty flawless and a lot of fun, But from myvantage point the video screen behind the drums was partially obscured and the Previously mentioned lack of floor monitors made Crow's part lower in the mix than preferred, yet it don't take wha from my enjoy,ent of the performance and they can be filed as highly recommended to fans of math or indie rock,yet I think anyone who enjoys excellent musicianship can appreciate what they do in this setting. 

Ragnarok : Malediction

Ok nothing but black metal reviews for the rest of the year so starting them off with Ranarok's newest.

While only familiar with these guys when they have popped up on my last fm, decided to give their new one a shot, while I was under the impression these guys were old school raw black metal there is a lot more thrash and death influences than I might have anticipated and they waste no time incorporating them into the blast fest "Blood ofsaints " even has a few Deicide moments in the vocal patterns, the vocals which are much more discernible than you would think, giving them a more death metal feel, but in the days when the lines of what was death and what was black metal were more blurred so pre second wave. The first impression though is this is going to be pretty straight and relying on sheer speed of attack.

"Demon in my view" keeps up the albums established pace and is run of the mill until the chorus , I like the place ment of the vocals even if I think using the title in the lyrics of the chorus can be a little cheesy and it's up for debate if that's indeed the chorus as there isn't a lot of variance, though at this speed it gets a little sloppy on the ears when it comes to distinguishing parts. They do a similar thing on " Necromantic summoning ritual" though here is when I begin to here some of the phrasing and almost major tones sound like ultra sped up power metal, so these guys have a Hammerfall album or two they are hiding on the tour bus and their Deicide collection is out in plain sight, though it adds to the chorus leading into where the chorus should be as it has a thrashing attack.

They stay very consistent in tempo going into "Divide et Impera" almost to a fault , though the bass is up in the mix and power metal undertones are helping the gallop and the mid tempo accented riff is a dramatic and well timed change before going back to their trusted blasties. The growl begins to get a little monotonous at this point as it keeps at a midrange rasp, there are the more Deicide accent which makes their focus on where they go rather than any variation in pitch.

The opening riff of "Pro patri mori" should have been riffed out a little more before we descended into more of the same though like the previous song it slows down into some syncopated punches with some melody to them before dishing out more of the same thing they have been beating your ass with thought there's a little Morbid angel in this riff that cuts through the blasts about midway through making this on of the albums stronger songs

I like it when they lead with the viking riffs on "Dystocratic" and think they need to include more as they are more untouched with that current than Amon Amarth. The rest of the song begins to feel like these tempos are a cop out Becuase they lack better ideas which from the opening riff I know it's not true maybe just less inspired when it comes to arrangements. By the time we get to "Iron Cross" we get the point that this speed is the only troo kvlt tempo though the little breakdown ey throw in their is a reprieve just too much of the same and as much as I love the dark one the lyric" Satan has come to stay " makes him sound like puff the magic dragon.

" the eleventh seal" is starting to sound like a continuation of the previous song, though it thrashes it's accents harder. This drummer is no doubt a machine among machines and gets credit for making some of these riffs more interesting , where if he had been a monotone blaster this album would have been ruined. Any metal drummer who are into over the top playing need to listen to this album like its a drummer clinic and add tow points to the final score. But superlative drumming aside the song "Fade into Obscurity" is what I'm beginning to think this album will do on my iPod. The riff on that song is mean as a angry bag of fucks and defies my theory this album running out of steam.

"Sword of Damocles" stood out for me from the first listen as the hook in the first part of the verse section sounds like a King Diamond bridge riff, or "So far so good " era Megadeth. Sure they revert to blast now ask questions later , leaving the cool riff all by its lonesome to cry in its corpse paint. The execution is flawless, no one has a bad performance though the vocals are one dimensional and I guess this is what the death metal band Daath would sound like if the went black metal and stopped soloing, the drums carry the connect the dots metal riffage. One of the best drumming performances on a metal album this year helps bump this one up to a 7 as the lack of innovation and melody would bore me after a whole and even though I recognize this is good for what it is I foresee it getting bumped from my hard drive to free up space more something more experimental that actually speaks to me, but as new gets scarce this time of year it might be what you need to hold you for right now.

Pinback: Information Retrieved

So these guys might be slight left field to what I normally cover on here but it's my party I can math rock if I want to. To Pinback's credit their musicianship alone should appeal to fans of prog in either rock or metal form and their most recent album has taken on a darker and more serious turn, thus it might make a better entry point for those of you whom their earlier work might have held to bouncy of an indie rock jangle.

The traits which has put Pinback head and shoulders over the hipster indie rock they are often lumped in with are not only still present but have been perfected upon. The fluid guitar playing is even more seamless and fluid in its interplay with the vocals.

No time is wasted establishing the moodier tone as the opener, "Proceed to Memory" simmers with a more introspective melody that glides over the syncopation. The song builds in rising layers.

The duo displays one of strengths of their close to faultless songwriting in articulate pattern the guitar and bass intertwine spotlighted from the beginning of "Glide" modulate in almost Fugazi like punches with the melodies dripping I between the cracks.

One stylistic change for the band is the inclusion of much more piano that begins to take the stage on "Drawstring" where I also noticed a somewhat of a theme developing in the lyrics of man vs technology and very drab social commentary taking form.

The more care free rolling melodies heard in their previous work in he sing song chant of "is there another side of your story/ is there something else you're not telling me" in "Sherman" (see video below)

This is the first album where I can recall being able to pick out the bands influences which are still not worn on their sleeves but the post chorus like bridge from "His Phase" reminds me post-Farewell to Kings era Rush, as the chord progress tighten around the drums. The piano in "Diminished" recalls some of Tears for Fears more reflective moments at times and Dark side of moon Floyd. I have always heard shades of the Police in the band and here they are of the more "Tea in Sahara" variety, but in the hands of this duo's songwriting magic they are well veiled to even to much scrutiny.

The dreamy elf like weaving of the vocals at the beginning of "True North" is counterbalanced well against the drifting shift of guitar chords set against piano and the appearence of strings. the vocals constrict into an interesting pattern around the swell of the song.

" a request " is a return to the bands earlier sound, but even here it's not like they are returning slavishly to all too familiar sounds or creating any sort of redundancy. They continue to uphold their legacy with the type of artistic integrity most bands of this ilk should be envious of. The production while a fraction or two slicker than "Autumn of the Seraph" gives ample space and preserves their sound rather than detracting from it with an abuse of effects or wizardy.

When the guitar of "Winslow , you idiot" takes a turn into a more straightforward rock direction than what typically is thought of in relation to the band they turn round and do something different in the verse. The piano often takes a more typical rock approach when it sees center stage rather than just providing color from the wings, but when this occurs the vocals steer clear of going the more obvious routes, though I'm surprised at how prominent role they take on a song like "sediment" , which by no means turns them into the Fray , but flirts with teen sitcom soundtrack in its dramatic build.

In the initial listens I would go ahead and give this album a ten as I think it builds upon the bands strengths and it's tone is more all purpose for my normally borderline depressed mood, where as earlier albums were more happy music for me , not that this album is glum, I think the more ultra realism found in the lyrical world view of the album contributes to this or maybe these guys had their insurence run out and are no longer medicated thus the Leap of maturity away from the rolling bounce of their other albums. If you have an appreciation for math, indie or modern non- dream theater progressive rock then this is worth your while, if already a fan of the band like myself then it sits as another classic.