Hopelorn - Tuonen Musta Joki Virtaa Sydämessäni [2012]

Back to more blackened crust. Hopelorn are a Finnish band who have a mainly 'black' version of the style. Their riffing is simple enough to be classified as fairly punky, but in itself is most certainly black metal. However, the battery is mostly given over to a typical d-beat with some blasts thrown in, and the structures, despite this being five tracks and 29 minutes, are fairly 'crusty'. But what about the content itself? Well, it's very decent. There's been a fuckton of the style around over the past few years, but Hopelorn are one of the better practitioners, as shown particularly on the track 'Mänskligt Avskräde', although every song here is a winner in reality. What's more, it's available as a free download through their bandcamp page, so you don't really have any excuse at all to not go and listen.

Bandcamp

Mr. Bungle - California [1999]

Wow, how did this take so long to get posted? If there was ever a prize for most insane of the musical insane geniuses, Mike Patton would certainly be a strong contender.

Not content with his funk-metal outfit Faith No More, in 1991 Patton created Mr. Bungle, as an outlet for his more experimental work. The first self-titled album could best be compared to a heavy metal Frank Zappa, complete with funky basslines, stream-of-consciousness vocals, and toilet humour (plenty of toilet humour).

But it seems this wasn't crazy enough, as in 1996 the Bungle released Disco Volante, which may have tried just a little too hard to be kooky and erratic, and loses coherence somewhat as a result. However just three years later the band released California, their masterpiece. It was the metaphorical 'just right' album, where the funk was the funkiest and the crazy was the craziest. But this album still had plenty of surprises up its sleeve, in the form of a plethora of different musical ideas from all kinds of sources (much of the album draws on various aspects of '50s music, from surf to doo-wop to good old-fashioned rock n' roll). The LP is an absolute goldmine of creativity, and although all the tracks are fantastic, penultimate song "Vanity Fair" just about sums up the feel of this extensively varied yet simultaneously crystal-clear album.

10 tracks, 44:14, 40.57 MiB

Zippyshare (Mp3, 128 kbps)

Stream: Dragged Into Sunlight - Widowmaker [2012]

If you like good music, you will like Dragged Into Sunlight. And their new album is available to stream. I'm listening right now and although the 15 minute intro track is overkill, this is sounding pretty sexy.

http://www.terrorizer.com/2012/10/26/widowmaker-by-dragged-into-sunlight-is-streaming-with-terrorizer/

Devin Townsend Project - Epicloud [2012]

...And then there's this. I won't be surprised if this gets pulled within moments of me posting it, but what the hell, it's worth sharing. If you're a metal fan that's been living in a box for the past four or so years, you could be forgiven for not hearing of the most recent work by the mastermind behind Strapping Young Lad: Devin Townsend. The Project albums were a big four-album concept touching on - as Townsend's albums always seem to - themes relating to self-discovery and internal evaluation. The album series told a story of sorts: You had the tense and uncertain Ki, contemplating if heavy music is really worth the emotional trauma. Then there was Addicted, an big album of dumb fun that tried to make heavy music poppy and danceable at the same time. After this came Deconstruction, an album that can best be described as throwing a big box full of ideas and guest musicians into a ceiling fan and recording what happens. Finally there was Ghost, wrapping up the project in a willowy, "everything is wonderful" kind of way, a great way of wrapping up a great album series.

And then he goes and releases another one. Oh well, it was a nice idea while it lasted.

The release of another album under the Project moniker just out of the blue like this kind of suggests that the name of "Devin Townsend Project" is just the "Devin Townsend Band" of the moment (well, the lineup is the same, I guess): Simply another title for yet more of Townsend's solo work.

But enough about semantics, what's the bloody album like? Well, if we're going to liken it to any of the Project albums, I'd have to say it's like Addicted to the power of The Final Countdown. The LP comes with metaphorical hooks up the ass, especially in lead "single" Lucky Animals (described by Townsend live as "the most annoying song in the world", and frankly it's easy to see why). Most of the tracks here have simple verses, big choruses and - once again similar to Addicted - slightly disappointing mid-sections. Songs like Grace and the first 'proper' track True North could either do with being a bit shorter or a little more varied. But oh well, repetition is the very essence of pop music, and while this is very unlikely to be a chart-topper (I think it reached #65 or something here in the UK), a lot of the songs could quite cheerfully be played on Radio 1 and be greeted with chorus singalongs and tapping feet of the day's rush hour commuters.

I haven't really said enough about the album for this to be a full on review (you'll have to wait until my 2012 roundup for that - yes, I am still doing one), I will at least say it's bouncy and memorable enough to be good for a spin or two.

13 tracks, 49:52, 97.04 MiB

Zippyshare (Mp3, 224kbps)
Edit 28/10/12: Well, that didn't take long.

The Bakerton Group - El Rojo [2009]

First up, I'd like to say hello everyone! It sure has been a while. All the well-known file hosts seemed to lock down on music uploads at roughly the same time I went to university, so I kinda crapped out and stopped uploading stuff for a while. But fear not! I'm back and starting off with an album that came out three years ago.

"Who are The Bakerton Group?" I hear you ask. Well, they may be better known for some of their other albums, including Blast Tyrant, the bluesy From Beale Street to Oblivion and of course the dark and brooding Ghost Reveries.

Wait, what? Yep, that's right. The Bakerton Group is essentially the US stoner rock band Clutch, with the help of former Opeth keyboard player Per Wiberg on the ivories. This, their second full-length, is a psychedelic blues-influenced instrumental album. In terms of a description of the album, I've said about all there is to say in that there last sentence. What I can add though is that this album has a pretty damn cool feel to it. It just feels like a bunch of dudes jamming in the spare room of their house, with a bit tighter production. So kick back like the constellation on the cover and give it a listen.

10 tracks, 47:15, 68.55MiB

Zippyshare (Mp3, 195kbps)

Spotlight: Fifteen Dead

Okay, quick story for you all. Fifteen Dead are fucking awesome. Story complete. I did say quick. In case you weren't aware, I've loved the recent emergence of dozens of incredible blackened crust bands, and Fifteen Dead are one of the best (along with Ramlord). They've only been around since 2010, but they've already created a discography of impressive size and quality. I still haven't heard the split with Chronocide (I really should - Chronocide are great too, much more of a blackened death sound than Fifteen Dead though), or the live demo, but the rest of the stuff is catchy, angry, and moderately atmospheric. What's more, it's all available on Bandcamp, mostly for free. So seeing as I can't upload, I'm going to treat you all in this manner.

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Can't upload here...

Hi, just letting you know that my university internet is fairly closely monitored so I won't be uploading until December (I have next to no time anyway). There should be a couple of reviews popping up soon too (sorry about the delay to Kabul Golf Club).

Also, because I can't leave without some musical indoctrination, check out Chapel's new album Satan's Rock And Roll (blackened Motorhead worship with awesome songs) and the new Anaal Nathrakh, Vanitas, which manages to be quite a bit better than Passion on first impression.

Unlikely to be many posts until December

I've just got to university and I think internet is monitored, and this, in addition to not having much time, means that I can't post much. I'll try and get one a week up.