COURT IN THE ACT IS NOT DEAD

I've just been on holiday and none of the others ever post anything any more (if you're interested, either leave a comment on a post or email us at the email on the right). Got some stuff coming up over the next couple of weeks (Bloodstock, reading) which might limit the speed of posts but I've got some crusty stuff, Napalm Death stuff, and just general awesomeness planned.

REVIEW: Hubeskyla - Spencer's Return [2012]

A large sticker adorns the cover of this LP, as you can see by looking to the left. It implores the reader to 'Play it loud and drive fast!'. Not only is this terribly irresponsible by encouraging poor road safety, it also reveals the album for what it is before one has even begun to lower the needle - a driving album. Now, there's nothing wrong with driving albums per se, but in many cases, unfortunately this one inclusive, it leads to an album which is distinctly devoid of real substance.

Hubeskyla to me appear to take influences from a variety of sources - a lot of noise rock, a bit of jazz rock, a small amount of post-rock and just a little sprinkle of the NeurIsisian axis. These are popular influences, and also the sort that need to be done exceptionally well to avoid making music which amounts to nothing more than bland. Once again, I can't help but feel that 'bland' is the correct term for this album. Not to say that Hubeskyla lack good ideas completely; indeed, there are many present here, but they have a habit of taking the odd good idea, mixing it with a whole bunch of mediocre ones and stretching the whole thing out well beyond its welcome. They've tried to make a 45 minute full-length when in reality they barely have enough material for a 20 minute EP.

There are some elements of how they do things that I really like though - take, for instance, the start of the very first track 'Spanish Firebird'. There is no messing around with some empty ambient introduction before they get to business - indeed, there's not more than 5 seconds of swathing ambience before the first riff starts. And it is a riff-based album, clearly - apparently there's no bass used on the album, but this isn't really apparent until one reads the release notes, which state (I believe, my French isn't perfect) 'There are two main barriers to the simplicity of rock and roll: vocalists and bassists'. Unfortunately, somebody neglected to mention that this is often what makes 'rock and roll' interesting and/or fun to listen to. Riff-wise, this is very much based around sharp, jagged, and often triadic riffs, but too many of the riffs simply sound the same due to the over-reliance on tonic triads in their composition. There's also not enough - once again using the first track for an example, its four minutes are filled with precisely two riffs, one of which consists of three notes, and the other of two chords. Although both of these riffs are clearly intended merely as bases upon which the music develops (they are consistently surrounded by guitar effects and short solos), they dominate the music, not due to the production, but due to the fact that the net effect of the guitar effects and solos is roughly equal to 0.

Much of the album is at the same pace, and hence it's a relief when a track comes along that breaks the tepid warmth of the middle pace used. It's for this reason that 'Spencer Smith' and 'Nucleon Drive Experience' are two of the better tracks on the album - the former uses a slightly faster, decidedly more driving riff than is present elsewhere on the album (and still it is repeated too much), while the latter, which is the closing track, has a slightly slower tempo to it which certainly gives it an air of finality, acting as a redeeming factor for the mediocrity of much of the rest of the album - it sticks in the listener's head after listening, and adds a real sense of having been on a journey over the album, even if that said journey roughly consisted of driving round and round in circles in the desert going nowhere new.

Seven of the eight tracks present here don't use vocals, and this really lends an introspective feeling to the album. There's very much a sense that the band are making the music for themselves rather than for anyone else, and the whole album has a slight feeling of an extended jam session, albeit an extraordinarily well-coordinated one; I would've liked to have seen more of a wild, free-flowing element to the album given the room for improvisation in an album of this type. There are a few solos as previously mentioned, but they feel overly-structured rather than original. The one track which does feature vocals, 'Ne Touchez A Rien' (with Emmanuel Colliard doing guest vocals) is more entertaining than the rest of the album for them despite the fact that the vocals amount to little more than spoken word - the change in the general timbre of the music is very welcome at this point, the penultimate track.

I think all has been said at this point which is relevant to the review, and I will reiterate the most important point here - whilst the band maybe had enough good material for a solid 20 minute EP, what's happened here is they've chosen to extend it to an overlong album. And for that reason, I'm afraid I can't recommend it to anyone.

3/10

Hail Spirit Noir - Pneuma [2012]

Hail Spirit Noir are something of a rare breed nowadays - a progressive black metal band that doesn't go on pointless meanders around the realms of tedious ambience and atonal 'experimentation' just so they could hit that 70 minute mark for the album and make it 'truly progressive'. Ahem. Rant over. Hail Spirit Noir write SONGS - even the epic 'Into The Gates Of Time' is catchy and headbangable throughout its 13 minute duration. And 'Against The Curse, We Dream' and 'Haire Pneuma Skoteino' have some of the biggest hooks you're likely to hear in metal this year. That's not to say it loses touch of its black metal roots - and for this reason, it's very likely to be well up in lots of people's year-end lists. Hail the black spirit.

320 kbps

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Dispair - The Progress Of Human Extinction demo [2012]

I just heard this whilst surfing the blogosphere, and I was so impressed I decided to post it here immediately. Dispair is a Finnish crust band with heavy reliance on d-beats, but the music is great - think a base of Why-era Discharge with a nice sprinkling of Anarkist Attack era Anti-Cimex. So basically the sounds of two d-beat legends combined in 2012. This sort of music is so rarely made nowadays that anyone making it is actually doing something quite original despite the style having been around 30-odd years. Dispair are going to be great in the future. Watch this space.

Bandcamp link, so variety of bitrates

Bandcamp

iTunes Roulette, part II

Back to the 'I can't be arsed to do a proper post theme' (actually, I'm scheduling this a week in advance so the point's somewhat moot), here's the second week of a random look at my shitty taste. This week's not so bad - we don't have Dummy Burger and System Of A Down as the first two tracks, but I still feel there will be something less-than-kvlt in here.

1) Tomaso Giovani Albinoni - Movement I (Allegro) (of Oboe Concerto No. 6 In D Major, 1751)

Can't remember where I got this from - some classical blog, I don't doubt, but it's summer music at its most defined - sub-Vivaldi baroque classical is the name of the game. It's interesting, but not lasting. However, I can't make that judgement of Albinoni as a whole as I haven't heard any other compositions.

2) Tartaros - Into The Faculty Of Wonderful Secrets (off The Red Jewel, 1999)

There's no Dimmu Borgir this week, but this might as well be a slightly rawer version of Death Cult Armageddon. Recommended to me as good later Norwegian black metal, I'm afraid I see little merit to Tartaros. Symphonic black metal benefits from compositional complexity rather than sheer bombast, which is all that's on display here.

3) Black Sabbath - Neon Knights (off Heaven And Hell, 1980)

In my eyes, this was the best album that the late, great Ronnie James Dio was involved in - better even than the splendid Holy Diver and Mob Rules. This opening track exemplifies the sheer quality of the album - heavy metal done as well as can be with TONY FUCKING IOMMI and RONNIE JAMES FUCKING DIO. I think my point is made.

4) Mastodon - Bedazzled Fingernails (off The Hunter, 2011)

Mastodon are every hipster's favourite metal band which isn't Wolves In The Throne Room. That's not to say they haven't written some good music over the years - Leviathan and Blood Mountain are very good, and this song is one of the better ones off last year's The Hunter, which itself was a large improvement over the lacklustre Crack The Skye, but it simply doesn't warrant the levels of praise and popularity that Mastodon continue to receive.

5) MDC - Henry Kissmyassinger/Mao Tse Tung (off Elvis In The Rhineland: Live In Berlin, 1988)

MDC are one of the hardcore bands that I've never really been able to get into, and it's rubbish like this breaking up the good stuff which is my problem. The whole track is just a poor joke really, and doesn't warrant your time, my time, or anyone's time.

6) Ivebeenshot - What Would Clint Eastwood Do? (off Doza, 2008)

Whatever the last.fm tags suggest, this album has very little to do with grindcore - it's simply a mediocre deathcore album with occasional blastbeats and very frequent breakdowns. There really is nothing to say about this type of music. It's just dull.

7) Yutaka Shiina - Lover (off At The Moment, 1996)

One of the very few Japanese musicians whose music isn't completely apeshit, Yutaka Shiina here serves up a more than adequate album of piano jazz. His technical ability is good, but merely complements the excellent improvisation that Shiina brings to the table here. Good stuff.

8) Circle Jerks - 15 Minutes (off Wonderful, 1985)

Circle Jerks are one of the few punk bands who are genuinely witty. There is absolutely nothing political about their music, which admittedly makes a refreshing change from time to time, and this song is funny. It doesn't really get going until a couple of minutes in, but it's pretty good from that point on. I don't think I've given the full album a proper listen and will have to do so at some point.

9) Led Zeppelin - Dazed And Confused (off Led Zeppelin, 1969)

Everyone and their mother knows this song. And so they should, it's fucking great. Sometimes Led Zeppelin's music fails to keep my attention due to lack of riffs or ideas over long stretches (middle section of Whole Lotta Love, I'm looking at you), but this is solid throughout. Enjoy it whilst in the middle of this playlist of music that you probably won't have heard before.

10) Dmitri Shostakovich - Movement One (Moderato) (of Symphony No. 5 In D Minor, 1937)

Shostakovich is one of the best 20th century composers - and like the rest of the best 20th century composers, he's Russian. Not quite as avant-garde and dissonant as Stravinsky, yet still breaking new ground in the realm of classical composition, Shostakovich is essential to hear for classical music newbies.

11) Secrets Of The Moon - Black Halo (off Priveligivm, 2009)

Secrets Of The Moon are really, really, really good at writing riffs. Priveligivm is not their best, but it's still a solid album and is another solid example of their brand of mid-paced, slightly doomy, well-produced modern black metal. This one is actually pretty straight-forward and fast by their standards - indeed, there's little melody in the main riff, so the main appeal is the battery, but it's good anyway.

12) Soulreaper - Ungodly (off Written In Blood, 2000)

If you ever wanted a Morbid Angel album after Gateways To Annihilation that was worth listening to, this, and indeed Soulreaper's other one, Liferazer, are they. They really are little but a post-Vincent Morbid Angel clone, but they do what they do well enough to justify the style.

13) The Ruins Of Beverast - Skeleton Coast (off Unlock The Shrine, 2004)

Another iTunes Roulette, another TRoB track. This is an interlude track off the album, so I nearly skipped it and posted something else, but I'm being honest with you all here.

14) HammerFall - Dreamland (off Legacy Of Kings, 1998)

HammerFall's early albums are very much a love-it-or-hate-it proposition for many (their later albums are as a whole pretty poor). I love them - this isn't quite as good as the stunning Glory To The Brave, but I think that if you can overlook the massive faggotry present in the lyrics, the music is actually very well-made power metal.

15) Voivod - Twin Dummy (off Angel Rat, 1991)

Voivod are a band that I find to be overrated - their early stuff is excellent tech-thrash, sure, but the albums produced past that early era are just *adequate* grungey music. They say that grunge killed thrash, and this is an example of how.

Admire my shitty taste

Napalm Death - Live Corruption [1990]

N.B. Yes, I know the date of the CD release was 1993, but as the VHS was released in 1990 and it's the same thing, this seems to make sense.

Probably one of the first gigs with Barney Greenway at the mic, this is one of the best live albums ever. Perenially underappreciated within Napalm Death's discography, if you ever wanted to hear fuller-bodied versions of tunes from the first couple of albums, this is where to go. The sound quality is about as you'd expect for a professionally-released live album, and the performance is tight and good without losing any of the organic feeling. For anyone who can't get to a Napalm concert at some point, this is about as close to an ample replacement as you'll get.

192 kbps

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Profecium - Socialismo Satánico [1997]

Arguably the first RABM (Red and Anarchist black metal) album, this is as much a piece of history as a piece of music. Also one of the first Argentinian extreme metal bands, Profecium were innovators in every sense of the word. It's all in Spanish, but there isn't much ambiguity to 'Proletarios Uníos' and the like.

N.B. Sound quality sucks, but it's probably a third or fourth generation tape rip, and it's really difficult to find a better version.

Re-upload notes: Haven't listened to this one in a while, but I remember it being pretty good. Go for it. Don't let the politics put you off.

128 kbps

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Re-upload: Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss [1993]

To me, this is not quite Vikernes' best album under the Burzum moniker (that honour goes to the stupendous 'Filosofem'), but it certainly follows that. This was the first album on which Burzum began to take a more dreamy, almost ambient approach (although don't worry, this still sounds nothing like 'Dauði Baldrs').

Re-upload notes: Upon revision, I think I do prefer this to Filosofem, largely due to the fact that the ambient track on this one ('Tomhet') is interesting and not 26 fucking minutes long.

192 kbps (if anyone wants, I can re-rip this one at a higher bitrate)

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Greedy Mouth - Eat//Smoke//Poop demo [2012]

So I re-uploaded the first Greedy Mouth demo for you yesterday, and hopefully it's whet your whistle for this one. I honestly couldn't pick between the two. This one's longer, although it's still a short release. Anyway, back to the music. Female-fronted powerviolence, despite being more common than most other extreme music genres, is still something of a rarity (I think Stapled Shut and Despise You might have female elements to their vocal attack but don't hold me to that, I don't look this shit up unless I'm posting something). Greedy Mouth certainly make it work well. Each of the tracks here is a little bit more focused on the musical approach rather than the samples (although the delightful samples are still very much present).

256 kbps (or whatever from Bandcamp)

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Re-upload: Greedy Mouth - Demo 2010 [2010]

I wouldn't lie to you, my faithful readers. This demo is fucking ridiculous. Powerviolence at its logical extreme - spanning 6 tracks, the six tracks of this span just 127 SECONDS, approximately half of which is made up of samples. All this culminates in a swift, sharp kick to the bollocks. Particularly fun is the longest track of the bunch; entitled 'Wax On, Wax Off', it comes in at 31 seconds. Highly recommended.

Re-upload notes: I still think this band has the potential to be one of the biggest powerviolence acts in a couple of years if they keep churning out releases of this, the Eat//Smoke//Poop demo (coming soon) and the Seitan Worshipping Power Violence EP. Keep your eyes open.

160 kbps

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Re-upload: Nuclear Assault - Survive [1988]

Re-upload notes: Disregard the below, it's largely bullshit, but I can't be arsed re-writing a whole bio right now. This is a great thrash album though.

It may be a cliche to say that a band have 'matured' over the course of two albums, but it is not the case at all here. If anything, this is even faster and crazier than debut 'Game Over'. It's my favourite Nuclear Assault album.

Similar artists: S.O.D., M.O.D., D.R.I.

320 kbps

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Re-upload: Napalm Death - Harmony Corruption [1990]

Re-upload notes: This post's clearly from when I began writing a little bit more than a couple of sentences so the initial post should provide plenty of information.

No self-respecting extreme music blog should go too long without having this gem of death/grind, and considering Napalm are my favourite band, I'm surprised it took more than ten posts! Harmony Corruption develops upon Napalm's raw grind fury of Scum and FETO, and adds death metal influences - probably derived from European and US tours with the likes of Bolt Thrower, Death, and Obituary (whose vocalist, John Tardy, guests along with Deicide's Glen Benton on 'Unfit Earth'). This is probably Napalm's most underappreciated release - after the NME 'britcore' exposure, but before the relative commercial success of the likes of Utopia Banished (which is many miles worse), but the likes of 'Suffer The Children', probably their most famed song (as opposed to whatever 'You Suffer' is) demand your attention. Now.

192 kbps

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Napalm Death - Mentally Murdered EP and single [1989]

More Napalm Death is never a bad thing. Fact. Hence why these two releases excite me so much. The single doesn't contain anything which isn't on the EP, but it's good for 'collection' purposes (or rather completion - a lot of mp3s is not a collection). This is around the point at which they began to include a much larger death metal influence in their music - evident in the odd track on From Enslavement To Obliteration  but much more so here. Obviously the title track of the two is rather famous, but each track on this has a standout feature which makes it excellent in its own right. As there isn't much more I can say here, I'll just link you to a download:

192 kbps (EP)/v0 (single)

EP:

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Single:

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