Insane Vesper - Twilight Of Extinction EP [2008]

And back to the black metal. This overlooked gem has plenty going for it, and Insane Vesper on this were one of the most promising bands of the then-emergent modern French black metal scene, although I haven't enjoyed their most recent releases nearly as much. Naturally, it bears some similarity to the likes of Deathspell Omega, but it's a little simpler than them with some adherence to normal song structure.

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Weekly album analysis, week six

There's been some delays with this one due to recovering from Damnation Festival in Leeds (a review of which is yet to come), but I hope you'll all forgive me my insolence.

Appalachian Terror Unit/Oi Polloi - Profane Existence [2011]

Both of this bands really fucking get crustcore. Combining standard d-beats with non-standard patterns (y'know, just to mix shit up a little), they create one of the more exciting splits of this year so far. Oi Polloi I knew before - and enjoyed considerably, I must say, but as the more impressive band on this excellent split, I will certainly be looking into Apallachian Terror Unit some more. [9/10]

Ava Inferi - Onyx [2011]

I don't usually like much gothic metal, especially of the female fronted sort, but this, like To-Mera, is an exception. There is an added complexity and panache which is not annoying 'symphonic' elements, and that is what truly sets this album apart from the pack of shit. Whether this is in part due to the legend Rune 'Blasphemer' Eriksen's involvement is debatable - it is certain this sounds little like his other projects past or present. [7/10]

Devil - Time To Repent [2011]

Pure Sabbath worship on offer here - Devil really can craft a riff, and they do so with aplomb throughout this album, which, unlike much retro-rock stuff now, is a reasonable length at 36 minutes. The best track of the album is undoubtedly closer 'Howling (At The World)', in which all the riffs fit perfectly to create a wonderful reminder of just why Black Sabbath are so fucking great. [8/10]

Enslaved - Thorn [2011]

This is Enslaved's second EP of this year, and is supposedly a 'return to old Enslaved'. Is it fuck. Gone are still the epic semi-folky melodies, and to be honest, the whole things feels like a slightly cleaner produced version of 2001's awkward Monumension. [5/10]

Evo-Algy/Taake/Sigh/The Meads Of Asphodel/Thus Defiled - Swine Of Hades [2011]

Although some of these one wouldn't normally associate with black metal (namely Evo/Algy, the ex-Warfare duo), the five bands here fit together very well. It's apparent the varying levels of quality here - Sigh fall well below their usual standards and Thus Defiled are simply boring - but this is a split worth a download or purchase. [6/10]

Fifteen Dead - NecroCrust [2011]

Fifteen Dead play a kind of blackened crust which is quite common nowadays, perhaps its most famed practitioners being Iskra, but they do it in a slightly more aggressive way, including some blasts and the like without losing any of the desolate feel of the wonderful genre mash-up. This EP has three songs and is 13 minutes long, but should sound good to any fan of the style for its duration. [7/10]

Gnaw Their Tongues - Per Flagellum Sanguemque, Tenebras Veneramus [2011]

This is different to all the GTT I've heard so far - it's got far more of a creeping industrial/ambient vibe to it. I certainly feel this will be a grower, but it hasn't leaped out at me yet screaming 'This is a brilliant album!'. I hope repeated listens will reveal more of its mysteries. [6/10]

Hat - Vortex Of Death [2011]

Fairly standard black metal to tell the truth. Hat are certainly one of the less hallowed of the Norwegian black metal pantheon - probably due to their lack of a release back when 'this shit was real' when they formed in 1993. You get what you'd expect - harsh, but listenable production, raspy vocals, a buzzsaw guitar sound, and a mixture of faster and slower riffs. Sounds like a mix of A Blaze In The Northern Sky and Dark Medieval Times. [5/10]

Nuclear Torment - 8 Bit Death [2011]

Videogames are a topic that surprisingly haven't been touched on too much by thrash bands, but Nuclear Torment manage to mix well-written lyrics (at times laugh-out-loud funny) with well-written music here. Within the three songs spread across eight minutes, they showcase many different types of thrash from Sodom to Cryptic Slaughter, but the best part is how well they write a hook, best shown on the title track opener. [8/10]


Sólstafir - Svartir Sandar [2011]

I'm impressed. This is the most I've liked any new folk metal in a while, and it's a DOUBLE ALBUM, for fuck's sake. Solstafir, already well-known to many as one of the biggest metal bands from Iceland, really have excelled themselves here, defining 'epic' well without forgetting the definition of 'interesting'. Expect swathing melodies and shamanic vocals without sounding like Mr. Folk Metal from down the street. [8/10]
 
Terrordome - We'll Show You Mosh, Bitch! [2011]

Despite the woefully embarrassing title, this is actually a solid thrash album. Certainly ahead of a large number of more recent thrash bands by virtues of the neck-snapping speeds they hit alone, my one main gripe with this is that there aren't really any supernaturally good songs. Good effort from these Polish upstarts. [6/10] 
 
Today Is The Day - Pain Is A Warning [2011]

I'll admit to being totally new to TITD, and this album didn't leave a great first impression. Sure, it's better than the vast majority of metalcore, due to more interesting riffing styles and more varied vocal attacks (I even sense some black metal in some of the tracks), but I see nothing which really sets the album alight. Maybe longtime fans will enjoy this; I'm afraid I certainly didn't. [4/10]

Vile Intent - Regression To The Mean [2011]

Short, fast, loud, powerviolence attack. It has the slower sections which make bands like Weekend Nachos and Spoonful Of Vicodin more interesting; that's not to say it's yet on the level of those two, but these six songs spread over ten minutes suggest that this band will be able to create violence miracles. [6/10]

Winterwolf/Disma - Split [2011]

Despite the underground pedigree of both of these bands, this split simply isn't all that good. The main problem is the wafer-thin production both sides of the split have, but neither band makes a large impression within their six-minute songs. Winterwolf are usually good, Disma usually great, but if it's recent Incantation worship you're looking for, get Towards The Megalith.

Death Grips - Exmilitary [2011]

This free mixtape from earlier this year drives down your throat the kind of insanity phonies like Tyler the Creator can only dream of. With modern hipster legend Zach Hill at the helm, the album blends the blares of industrial punk with traditional hip hop which leads to more than satisfactory results. MC Ride's screamed lyrics flow so roughly and inadequately he sounds near demonic in his constant, pounding delivery. Zach Hill's drums remain high in the mix for most the album adding a depth and the rhythm that is so often lacking in modern sample-based rap music. On the subject of samples, this album manages to cram in masses of them, from David Bowie to Pink Floyd to Black Flag to The Beastie Boys AND the album starts with a recording from Charles Manson, how many albums can make that claim! Thankfully these high brow samples' presence does not distract from the electronic rawness and delirium that Death Grips base themselves in. This is definitely one of the most original releases you'll find this year and IT'S FREE from their website right now so you have absolutely no excuse not to try it out!  If you want a taster, the Guillotine video gives an idea of what you'll be putting yourself in for...

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Download link is on the Death Grips website.

POST #600: My Chemical Romance - I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love [2002]

'PAH!', you may say, 'My Chemical Toilet fucking SUCK!'. That's a popular opinion, and I'm not going to challenge anyone who holds it. I love this album, though; it's one of the albums which got me into rock music and thus music in general. It's not a deep, 200 minute prog rock triple concept album, nor is it a 7-minute long grindcore demo (attempting to polarize our audience here...). It's simply a damn fine pop album - it has strong elements of punk, and is probably the sort of music that the term 'popcore' originally meant. The likes of 'Our Lady Of Sorrows' and its aggression contrast well with songs like 'Early Sunsets Over Monroeville' and 'Demolition Lovers' and their brooding balladry. If you've judged My Chem on the virtues of 'I'm Not Okay' and whatever that fucking nananana song is, that's fine, but I strongly advise you give this album a shot, particularly if you like pop-punk or screamo. This album is special to me, hence my choice of it for the blog's 600th post.

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Burial - Untrue [2007]

Before dubstep became a pseudonym for "avoid this at all costs," it was artists like Burial who were replicating the soul and the grit of British underground music scene. Untrue almost plays as a homage to modern-day England and with tracks like "In Mcdonalds" and "Dog Shelter," Burial hardly portrays his country in the finest edge. This is all for the better though, there's a real spirit to this album that lifts it beyond a typical dubstep outing; it actually feels like Burial, strange as it sounds, has put emotion into his music, a trait so often devoid in the genre. As a record on it's own this is superb, the beats are strong and the relaying of a range of melancholic pitch-shifted samples (spreading from Christina Aguilera to the Metal Gear Solid soundtrack) adds a hidden depth to the music. Robbed of the Mercury Prize 2007 by Elbow, this album has since gone on to become a kind of cult-classic, littered all over various "Albums of the Decade" lists. Though there has not been in album since, tracks like his recent collaboration with Massive Attack show he's not devoid of ideas. I'm sure this will be the only time this blog treks down the dubstep path, and it's probably for the better, but if you're ever to... experiment let's say and embrace dubstep, this is the album for it!

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Deicide - Legion [1992]

Being an old-school death stickler, I firmly believe that only this and the self-titled are truly excellent albums made by Deicide. This has a slightly cleaner production, so it's easier to discern some of the more intricate guitar work than on the debut, but it still has plenty of venom, bile, and great songs like closer 'Revocate The Agitator'.

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REVIEW: Patti Smith - Horses [1975]

‘Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine’. Thus opens ‘Gloria’, the opening track from Patti Smith’s seminal debut album Horses. The track itself is actually a cover of a Van Morrison song, originally written for Them, but Smith recreates it – including a reinvention of lyrics to include said opening line – in such an idiosyncratic manner that the song sits quite happily among the rest of the album, well-disguised as a Smith original.

But idiosyncrasy was always one of the main objectives of the then-budding punk movement; a fact which was somewhat forgotten by the better-known English bands after the original rush of ’77. Smith used the lyric as a method of rebellion against the institutionalized religion she felt had been forced upon her; the three-chord progression was the style which came to be known as the ‘punk style’, sure, but by the time the likes of the Sex Pistols attempted to see commercial success past the surprising success of Never Mind The Bollocks, their attempts fell flat – not so much, I believe, due to the lack of another full-length, but more so because the style had had its 15 minutes.

So when the Pistols came stateside, performing just down the road from Patti Smith one night and frontman John ‘Rotten’ Lydon talked about ‘some woman singing about fuckin’ horses’ (or words to that effect), it was evident that they had lost touch with the roots of the movement. The diversity in Smith’s influences is evident throughout this album – for instance, second track ‘Redondo Beach’ takes a bouncy approach akin to reggae, predating ska punk by several years, whereas the first 9-minute epic of the album, ‘Birdland’, is loosely based around a piano ballad throughout.

When she actually becomes violently passionate during a song, therefore, it comes as quite a surprise – the first chorus to ‘Free Money’ comes out of seemingly nowhere, as does the vocal attack when past the introduction to ‘Land’, which for all intents and purposes is the title track. The point is this; although the instrumentation is interesting, sure, the focal point of this album is Smith’s outstanding vocal performance – one which has not since been paralleled in popular music.

This performance demonstrates quite capability the sheer range of Smith’s vocal styles – although upon one’s first listen to the album, one might remember the ‘monkey noises’ during the chorus of ‘Gloria’ and Smith’s tendency to take her pitch sharply upwards at the ends of vocal lines, but equally memorable upon repeated listens are the cavernous vocals utilised in ‘Land’ and the percussive approach used in many verses, which really aids in the appreciation of the quality of the timbre of her voice.

In essence, the variation in this album means that the post-punk genre is here before much of the groundwork of punk itself had been laid down. It may seem strange, a ‘post-‘ genre being spawned before its suffix was fully created, but that is the only way to demonstrate aptly the full level of innovation of this album. This album was, and is, one of a kind. Patti Smith did indeed go on to make more wonderful music with the likes of Radio Ethiopia, but this is by a long shot her best. An absolutely wonderful album.

Download here.