Does the name Dale Schacker mean anything to you? Have you ever heard of such forgotten in time, animation cell wasting fodder as Denver The Last Dinosaur? Twinkle The Dream Being? How about Mr Bogus? If you answered "who the fuck cares" to any of those questions then fair play.. Dale Schacker was a musician and composer for the above mentioned cartoons as well as for the early 80's US version of Voltron. High on the success of Voltron : Defender Of The Universe, the studio, World Events Productions, bought up a Japanese anime titled Star Musketeer Bismarck. After altering key plot points, adding scenes, modifying content and basically dicking around with the format they released it onto TV screens as Saber Rider And The Star Sheriffs in 1987. Now, I will admit I had no clue whatsoever about this cartoon prior to becoming acquainted with the soundtrack about 3 years ago. In all honesty the actual series is pretty standard when compared to other 80's, space cowboy classics such as Bravestarr and Galaxy Rangers. What makes it, is the awesome soundtrack by Mr Dale Schacker. Awesome because he was granted full creative control to compose an entire score that would give the series its own identity and awesome for sounding like Bal-Sagoth playing Stan Bush songs while home invading Nickelodeon. Schacker packs the soundtrack with a ton of shredding, uber-processed 80's guitar, dramatic build ups, Morricone-esque motifs featuring harmonica and whip cracks, a slight touch of synthpop melody and various pieces of music that sound like those bits in The A-Team when they are building a tank out of a toaster and a lawn mower. Basically, its a pretty sweet compilation of tons of things most Illcon followers approve of. Need music to soundtrack those crappy chores? Here you go. Need music to soundtrack ignoring your girlfriend? Here you go. Need music to get ripped to? here you go. Saber Rider covers all your needs.
Need further convincing? Then wrap your ears around the awesome....
If your not sold yet then there really is something wrong with you, so included as bonus tracks are the French and Japanese theme tunes, a whole host of metal and rock versions of the main theme, a couple of remixes and a pretty boring interview with Schacker that they could have done without really.
P.S. The Saber Rider team had a huge robot cowboy thing titled Ramrod ( Bismarck in the original anime). As a kid, I had a catalogue for the inferior-to-Transformers GoBots which I am pretty sure featured a robot called Bismarck that was identical to the Saber Rider version. Can anyone shed any light on the Gobot connection?
Oh man, do I have a treat for you guys today. Killer Fox (also known as Killer Foxx) are an enigma trapped within an anomaly enshrouded within a vortex of mystery--a mindfuckingly awful yet compellingly listenable experimental/techno/death metal trainwreck replete with Vocoded narration, frenzied screaming, drum machines, extended acoustic guitar passages, and a confusing medieval (above)-meets-Motley Crue (below) visual aesthetic. Quite simply, Killer Fox defy any sort of tidy categorization, existing in the esoteric realm of Outsider Metal, where they rule as undisputed Kings. Although it's exceedingly difficult to extract any sort of coherent storyline from the Killer Fox continuum, it does appear that they released an impossible-to-find debut album entitled Going Under (also known by the titles All You Can Eat and The Night) in 1986, at which point half of the band (Vivian Fox and KK Fox) promptly died in a car accident, leaving the surviving members (guitarist Mick Stryker and drummer John Deacon) to create the absolutely baffling Orgasm of Death in 1990 before evaporating into complete obscurity. Attempting to quantify exactly how much of this album is a joke and how much is quote unquote serious is a futile endeavor, as just about anyone could discern after 30 seconds of listening. There is simply no way to put adjectives to the Killer Fox experience, although one reviewer described it as "... nonsensical, never-ending songs, 'vocals' like a ranting old hag and weird and totally unmotivated sound effects. Like if THE RESIDENTS had made a Sci-fi concept Metal album." YES. The Residents meet... Old Lady Drivers? Fuck. I don't know. Orgasm of Death was released by the mysterious and obscure Metal Enterprises label out of Germany, who also boasted (?) a "White Power Oi-Metal" band fronted by a black dude (FUCKER), history's only "Grind-sploitation" band (EXREME NAPALM TERROR--see yesterday's non-mixtape), and the terrible Steely Dan+reggae+German thrash abomination GODZILLA. I promise to explore the Metal Enterprises back catalog in greater detail very soon. Meanwhile, let Killer Fox fuck you in your ear-pussy.
IC sure has been on a "classic metal" bender lately, eh? Well, no better way to put a big fat exclamation point at the end of this phase than with an astral excursion into the booger-sugar fueled galaxy of Wolverhampton, UK's own CLOVEN HOOF. Rarely credited in casual discussion of the NWOBHM, Cloven Hoof were a strange amalgamation of Kiss-esque costumery (see above), party-rockin' moustache riffs, sci-fi/fantasy/occult imagery and lyricism, and good, old-fashioned, inspirational rock and roll. Originally comprised of members using the psuedonyms "Earth", "Air", "Fire", and "Water" (guess which is which), the band went about the standard 4/4 wannabe arena-rock so common amongst also-ran NWOBHM bands with a surprising amount of theatricality and flair, releasing three full-lengths, a live album, and one EP during the course of the 1980's and gaining considerable cult/collector status along the way. The Hoof's career arc has been sort of a strange one. Their first "real" release, 1982's 4-song The Opening Ritual, is a solid, rocking chunk of curious metal effluvium, with 3 songs sporting lengthy keyboard/narration intros and a tasty prog-bar-band vibe while the fourth, "Back In The USA", is an earnest (and quite obvious) attempt at cashing in Stateside--almost as if Cloven Hoof couldn't decide whether they wanted to be Def Leppard or Rush. Either way, the EP's final track, "Starship Sentinel", is a keeper.
(Side note: How much would it suck to be "Air" and have to go around wearing those raveresque angel wings?)
The band's first full-length (self-titled and released in 1984) found the band losing a bit of momentum and leaning more toward the commercial "hard rock" that became the bane (and eventually, the death) of the NWOBHM movement, but it's still a pleasingly ass-kicking release, with focus more on boozing, broads, and Satan than the spacey unicorn-isms of their first release. You can definitely hear Cloven Hoof yearning to create their own Screaming For Vengeance on this album, and it's an altogether charming experience. But hard times soon came, and their next album, a collection of live cuts titled Fighting Back, was an onslaught of poorly-recorded AM-radio drivel puncuated by moments of brilliance (see "Heavy Metal Men of Steel"), making it apparent that constant lineup changes, unrealized ambitions, and a decade notoriously unkind to heavy metal had taken its toll on this hard-working space-metal quartet. They enjoyed one last journey into glory with the one-two punch of their obviously thrash, hair, and coke-influenced 1988 and 1989 albums Dominator and A Sultan's Ransom (both oft-overlooked slabs of late-80's heavy metal awesomeness, although Ransom is the clear winner), but had dissolved into nothingness by the onset of the 90's. There was, of course, the inevitable "reunion" in 2000, which led to a couple best-of and live releases which were, of course, profitable for the band but depressing to everyone else. They slogged through the new millenium with several more lineup changes and very little new material (their one "new" album of the decade is hardly worth mentioning), and the last anyone had heard of them (last year), original bassist/composer Lee "Air" Payne had fired the entire band, carrying on under the same name with no other musicians involved. Bummer. But I digress. Here are all the good albums Cloven Hoof ever put out. Enjoy them irresponsibly.
(Side note: I found a downloadable version of the "Cloven Hoof Comic Book" RIGHT HERE. You should check it out if you're into that kind of stuff.)
PRO TIP: If you dug Demon, you will enjoy the first two albums more. If you are more into stuff like the Transformers OST (1986 style), you will prefer the latter.
In keeping with this week's theme of religion, religious music, and Holiday cheer, I offer today one of the most Christianity-obsessed bands on the modern market, namely Hertfordshire, England's resident psychedelic warlords The Meads of Asphodel. I had initially avoided this excellent band based solely on their name, assuming that they were some sort of "ambient-shoegaze" art-metal type thing. And although the Meads are not entirely without their artsy pretensions, my wild specualtion was, as usual, completely inaccurate. This is a band that is weird in all the BEST possible ways, a band that will keep listeners guessing from not only album to album, but song to song and even note to note. As odd acoustic flamenco passages, techno beats, monotone Latin narration, searing blackened choruses, and a permeating sense of Christian Evil weave in and out of a Meads record, one often finds oneself completely lost in a medieval world of LSD and murder, a dark, horrific place as likely to produce a major-key Dad Rock guitar solo or a weird 90's alternative-rock sing-along chorus as a blastbeat or a grinding tremolo riff. In a way, it makes perfect sense that The Meads of Asphodel incorporate a couple former members of Hawkwind (true). I have a question for those of you already familiar with this band: does anyone else hear a pronounced Rudimentary Peni influence here? Sure, MoA are way more obsessed with drugs and The Bible, but something about their simple, so-major-key-it's-evil guitar riffing and punky vocals scream Blinko to me, almost as if they are the 20-years-later psychedelic-metal version of said band. Anyone? I dunno. Anyhow, Excommunication of Christ was The Meads of Asphodel's first full-length release, and they've only gotten weirder with each album leading up to this year's awesome The Murder of Jesus The Jew. If you're already down, good job. If not, start here.
This is waaayyy better than any "metal" release that came out in 2010. NOT OPINION. FACT.
Yep, it's that time of year again. December. The month that all the metal critics, bloggers, journalists, and what have you trot out their year-end favorites, expounding on the virtues of what they think you should be listening to (and enjoying). A bit pompous, isn't it? Assuming that your exquisite taste in music needs to be shared with the metal community at large, that your 2010 selections are the only ones that everyone needs to hear? The kids are gonna like what they like regardless of your opinion, right? Get over yourself.
That being said, I'd like to welcome you all to Illogical Contraption's own year-end heavy metal blowout extravaganza. But this is no ordinary Top 10 or Top 20 or Top 1,000 of '010 list. This year has been a heinously busy one in the world of extreme metal, chock full of releases by just about every conceivable metal band (some inconceivable ones, too). There have been some really great albums, but really, what's the fun in standing around jerking off all over those ones? The sheer magnitude of new music on the market in 2010 guarantees that there will be a fair share of keepers, but more importantly, it conversely ensures that there will be a whole SHITLOAD of garbage to sift through as well. And THAT, my friends, is why we are here today.
So who writes a 'BOTTOM 20 OF 2010' list, anyways? SHELBY FUCKING COBRAS (left), that's who. Next question: Is Shelby Fucking Cobras qualified to write such a list? I would have to answer with a completely-qualified NO. Friends of IC know me as "That guy who could listen exclusively to the recorded output of Deicide, Suffocation, and Morbid Angel ('90-'95) and be completely content for the rest of his life", how could I possibly claim to have my finger on the pulse of modern music? The simple answer is that I DON'T. But I've been putting a whole Hell of a lot of effort into catching up with Metal Circa 2010 (read other attempts at concealing my codgery HERE and HERE), and I'm more than ready to bitch about some shit. I have a LOT of hate to share. A LOT.
But I don't hate my readers. I respect you. Therefore, it is imperative that I share these unarguable truths with you. What I do hate is shark-jumping, bandwagon-hopping, and unneccesary fellation of mediocre bands. And there is plenty of all that going around. I must expose falseness whenever and wherever I see it. It's part of my prime directives, like Robocop. What I say herein will not be popular. In fact, my claims will make some people very angry. But they are only my opinions. And like they say, opinions are like assholes. We all have 'em. Now allow me to spread my asshole OPINION for everyone to see.
BEHOLD THE BOTTOM:
Side question: Will 2011 be the year that Metallica finally breaks down and records a Christmas album?
20) CEPHALIC CARNAGE - MISLED BY CERTAINTY
I was certain that the new Cephalic Carnage album would be pretty decent. It appears that at some point I was misled. OH SNAP!
But seriously though, this album sucks balls. What's with the shit production? The clean vocals? It seems that these guys are making that heinous mistake so many grind bands have made as of late: angling for a shred of commercial success via MTV2 or Scion or whatever, but being just "commercial" enough to alienate their longtime fans and just "edgy" enough to keep the corporate cash cows at bay. Too bad, I liked these guys for awhile.
Instead, listen to Phobia's new EP, Unrelenting. Or even their brand new split with Gadget. They both kill (you will notice that this theme of suggesting good metal albums from 2010--rather than shitty ones--will continue for the rest of this post).
19) SIX FEET UNDER - GRAVEYARD CLASSICS III
There's just SO MUCH to hate about what Six Feet Under has become over the years, it's really difficult to narrow it down to one paragraph. Graveyard Classics is basically The Spaghetti Incident times nu-metal divided by Sublime's fanbase and subtracted from NASCAR. Six Feet Under is now a quote unquote death metal cover band, re-treading the same joke over and over, a painfully unfunny joke that goes like this: "Hey, what would it sound like if we took every generic hard rock/metal song in the history of classic-rock FM radio and replaced the original vocals with Chris Barnes' half-assed, monotone grunting?" It's not funny anymore, guys.
Remember that term I used earlier, "unneccesary fellation of mediocre bands"? Case in fucking point, right here. Everyone who's anyone will have Alcest's Ecailles De Lune on their 'Top 10 of '10' list this year, right? Of course. But honestly, I have NO IDEA what the appeal is here. I mean, I've never been a good buddy of the whole "dark ambient/shoegaze" genre, but Alcest seems almost exceptionally bad for this style of non-metal. Those vocals, yeeeeesh. The whining, quasi-soothing nature of the whole thing, it just REPELS me. Alcest sounds like they're exclusively playing the shitty parts of Opeth songs. Really. The first time I ever tried listening to this heap of garbage, I had to boil down and mainline straight Deicide just to get the omnipresent stink of PUSSY out of my clothes.
My apologies to anyone offended (and there will be many), it's just my own personal opinion that this type of weak-tea "intellectual-metal" posturing needs to be excised and destroyed immediately.
17) ENSLAVED - AXIOMA ETHICA ODINI I really liked Enslaved's earlier work, but managed to lose track of them somewhere around Monumension/Below The Lights. Pure morbid curiosity drove me to investigate their 2010 offering Axioma Ethica Odini, and the first couple bars of the first song proved to be a pleasant surprise: decent, mid-tempo BM with sufficiently ugly vocals, crunchy guitars, andAAAAAGGGGHHH clean "metalcore" vocals! Why?!?! Why would you do that, Enslaved? I mean, you guys used clean vocals in the past that actually worked, why would you embrace this new, pop-metal-esque, Stuff You Will Hate style? Oh yeah, to sell more records to teenagers (see also: Cephalic Carnage). Instead, listen to The Meads of Asphodel, The Murder of Jesus The Jew. 16) KORN - KORN III: REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAKorn put out a new album this year?!?!? SERIOUSLY?!?! Actually fellas, I think perhaps it is you who need to "remember who you are"--namely, washed up sub-human turds with NO PLACE WHATSOEVER IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AT ALL, EVER, FOR ANY REASON. And what's with the album cover? You think maybe Jonathan Davis drew that shit from memory? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA, really Korn, you guys lose at life. Really. Instead, listen to Murder Construct's self-titled debut EP. Or better yet, Monumental Torment's Oppression Submission EP. 15) MACABRE - GRIM SCARY TALES I'm starting to think that the "return to form" heavy metal album is just a myth. I mean, we had Slayer's World Painted Blood last year, touted before its release as a "return to form", and we all remember how THAT turned out, right? Do the words Death Magnetic ring a bell? I'm starting to think that when a metal band "loses it", it's just "gone", you know? There are no "returns to form", it's just OVER. That being said, I heard the same obsolete term bandied about in reference to Macabre's first album in 8 years or so, Grim Scary Tales (which I don't think has even seen proper release yet), and I have to admit, part of me was hoping for Sinister Slaughter II. But true to the corny joke that serves as the album's title, Scary Tales is waaaaayyyy too heavy on the jokes and waaaaayyyy too light on the shred, and despite a couple of solid jams, metal versions of "Who's Afraid of The Big Bad Wolf" and a half-assed, tongue-in-cheek Venom cover take the air out of this sucker REAL quick. Instead, listen to Autopsy's "comeback" EP, The Tomb Within. 14) TRYPTIKON - EPARISTERA DAIMONES Another one I was still maintaining a glimmer of hope for, which broke my heart like all the others. For the record, I really liked Monotheist, but it seems like Tryptikon is wobbling into some extra-gothy territory that I really can't get behind, as if that cheesy eye makeup might finally be soaking into Mr. Warriors's sockets and causing him to make some really bad decisions. The songs on Daimones often take way too long to get fired up, and then seem to go nowhere once they're actually chugging along. The lyrics (and their delivery) are almost laughably bad, and the overall flaccidity of the Tryptikon experience leaves me scurrying for my old, beat-up copy of Morbid Tales like a scorned lover. Sorry, Tom, but it's over between us. Instead, listen to Sigh, Scenes From Hell. Questionable production, but still one (ahem) "HELL" of an album. (Sorry.) I only added this picture so that I could use the "Mantlers" tag 13) POWERGLOVE - SATURDAY MORNING APOCALYPSE OK, full disclosure: I really like Saturday Morning Apocalypse. I was never a fan of Voivod's cover of the Batman theme song, but I've got to admit: a tech/power metal cover of the theme from the 90's CARTOON version of Batman is madness bordering on brilliance. Throw in Inpector Gadget, Transformers, and X-Men, and you've got one jubilant Hessian nerd on your hands. The reason Powerglove lands on the BOTTOM 20 is this: I've had that Godforsaken power-metal version of the Pokemon theme song stuck in my head for OVER A FUCKING MONTH NOW. One more chorus of "Gotta Catch 'Em All" and I'm going French kiss a table saw. Instead, listen to Rhapsody of Fire, The Frozen Tears of Angels. Or don't. I would totally understand if you wanted to skip this one. 12) MASTODON - JONAH HEX: REVENGE GETS UGLY EP Jonah Hex: Revenge Gets Ugly introduces us to a new low-water mark for the commercialization of "extreme" music, and once again proves the age-old equation to be true: SHIT + SHIT = TWICE AS MUCH SHIT. In a way, it's almost poetic justice--a movie as insultingly bad as Jonah Hex deserves a band as insultingly bad as Mastodon, and vice versa. Did you see these guys on Letterman after Crack The Skye came out? Wow. Just... Wow. Instead, listen to Ghost, Opus Eponymous. Commercial-esque rock-metal done right. 11) HIGH ON FIRE - SNAKES FOR THE DIVINE A fine example of "good" production ruining an album. Dude, DON'T POLISH THAT TURD! IT SOUNDS BETTER AS A TURD! And I'm not saying that to bag on HoF's music. It's actually decent. But you can hardly even hear it anymore due to the muffling effect of a thousand engineers, producers, and A&R's humping the shit out of one of the last profitable acts in the heavy metal music industry. High on Fire bums me out, man. Also, how weird has it been to see Matt Pike go from stony Hessian uber-Bro to Creepy Stoner Rock Poster Boy in the last couple years? I bet someone casts him in a movie soon. Mark my words. Instead, listen to Acid Witch, Stoned. Stoned. 10) CYNIC - RE-TRACED EP I was not a fan of Traced In Air whatsoever. The prospect of a Cynic reunion seemed like a good idea at the beginning, but after hearing their jazzy, neutered take on the "old" Cynic sound, what I knew to be true in my heart of hearts became quickly apparent: metal bands should NOT re-unite (except Suffocation). But a "re-imagining" of their recently-released comeback album, in the form of the Re-Traced EP? How are we NOT going to draw parallels between this and Re-Load? It's not just a matter of bad music. This shit is near tantamount to consumer fraud. There are no "comebacks". Only "adult contemporary" metal for middle-aged navel-gazers. Sorry Masvidal. You seem like a cool guy, but I can't get behind this dreck. PS: Bring back the fucking robot voice already! Instead, listen to Lesbian, Stratospheria Cubensis. 9) WATAIN - LAWLESS DARKNESS I guess I'm still just kinda irked that Scion paid for their tour or something. It's like, all idealistic posturing aside, FUCKING OWN UP TO YOUR OWN FALSE-ASS COMMERCIAL INTERESTS, WATAIN. You are not "kvlt", in fact, you are not even remotely "tough". You can, like, soak your stage clothes in dead animals or whatever, but for God's sake, quit trying to trick your fans--with a straight face. Illogical Contraption has exposed your proverbial "pose". Sorry Bros. Off the artistic roll-call, so to speak. Instead, listen to Deathspell Omega, Paracletus. Or Kerasphorus' Cloven Hooves At The Holocaust Dawn EP. Or Troll, Neo-Satanic Supremacy. 8) EXODUS - EXHIBIT B: THE HUMAN CONDITION Please, Exodus. Please please please please. Just STOP already. In the name of Baloff, I beg you. Actually, you don't even have to stop. Just do it under a different name. The Exodus who released Bonded By Blood back in '85 is NOT the same Exodus that put out Fabulous Disaster in '88, and THAT Exodus is definitely not related to the group of hired goons that shoveled that steaming pile of Let There Be Blood onto our unsuspecting earballs 20 years later. Just ditch the name, that's all I ask. You're not "Exodus" anymore. I'll even give you 4 suggestions for a new moniker, free of charge: 1) BROCRASTERBATION 2) SHOVEL-HEADED MOSHBRO POSSE 3) PARTY-TIME FOOTBALL JERSEY BRO SQUAD 4) GOATEE-BRO PARTY DOWN XBOX 360 COORS LIGHT DUDEFEST Instead, listen to The Crown, Doomsday King. Just because. 7) HUNTRESS - OFF WITH HER HEAD Demo Really, just a terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible heavy metal band. Also, a terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible group of people to hang out with for a weekend. Go download it. (Jill: CALL ME.) Instead, listen to Slough Feg, The Animal Spirits. 6) CRETACEOUS - SAURIAN JIHAD EP Probably the only band that I could ever possibly hate more than Huntress. There's a good reason their first demo only scored a 3% on Encyclopaedia Metallum. Jesus Christ. Thank God they broke up. (Download this milestone of human creativity HERE.) Instead, listen to some actual SF metal, like the Hazzard's Cure demo. I have it on good authority that their full-length is coming soon... 5) BURZUM - BELUS Burzum's new album is a fine example of what I like to call the Uncool Uncle Syndrome. UUS is easy to identify once you've seen the symptoms, and I'm sure many of you have experienced it already. Uncool Uncle Syndrome manifests itself thusly: You have an awkward, single uncle in his mid-to-late 40's or early 50's who suffers from social issues and/or a drinking problem. This uncle used to be a rocker back in the day, and he's had an extremely hard time accepting the fact that he's getting old, his metabolism is slowing down, and he can't party like he used to. He still plays in a band, though, with a bunch of other middle-aged losers like himself. They are terrible. At some point, he talks you into going to see his depressing-ass band play live at some dive bar/county fair/junior high dance. Their music is awful, repetitive garbage devoid of creativity or inspiration. You barely escape with your sanity. Welcome to the soul-crushing despair of UUS. Oh, also your uncle is a convicted murderer. Instead, listen to Blood of Kingu, Sun In The House of The Scorpion. 4) NACHTMYSTIUM - ADDICTS: BLACK MEDDLE, PART 2 YACHT-MYSTIUM NOT-MYSTIUM NACHT-FISTIN'-EM COCK-PISSTIUM LIMP-WRISTIUM meh. Instead, listen to Impaled Nazarene, Road To The Octagon (it's not a concept album about UFC, I swear). 3) EVERY SWOOPY-HAIRED, TIGHT-PANTS-WEARING, CLEAN-CHORUS-SINGING, FALSE-METAL-ENDORSING, SYNCHRONIZED HEAD-BANGING, HOT-TOPIC-SHOPPING, ANNOYING-RINGTONE-HAVING, JESUS-LOVING, EMO-MAKEUP-WEARING-AND-NON-IRONICALLY-STUFF-YOU-WILL-HATE-READING "METALCORE" DOGSHIT PRISON-BAIT-BEING BAND THAT PUT OUT AN ALBUM IN 2010. Too many to list, unfortunately. Instead, listen to Haiyano Daisuki's Invincible Gate Mind Of The Infernal Fire Hell EP. 2) A BULLET FOR PRETTY BOY - REVISION: REVISE Just in case I didn't make my feelings on their genre perfectly clear up there in #3, and just on the off chance that you missed my thoughts on A Bullet For Pretty Boy back here, allow me to repeat myself: "YOUR GOD DOESN'T EXIST AND YOUR MUSIC IS LOWER THAN THE LOWEST IMAGINABLE FORM OF ROTTING, PURULENT PIGSHIT. IF THERE EVER WAS A "JESUS" (AND THERE WASN'T), HE WOULD TURN HIS BACK ON YOU AND CAST YOU OUT OF HIS FLOCK, IF ONLY TO CONVINCE YOU TO PUT DOWN YOUR GUITARS, YOUR KEYBOARDS, YOUR DRUMSTICKS, YOUR MICROPHONES, AND JUST WALK AWAY... WALK AWAY FROM "MUSIC" FOREVER, ALWAYS, FOR ETERNITY. DON'T EVER, EVER, EVER COME BACK. YOUR "INPUT" IS NOT NEEDED. GET A JOB, STOP LIVING OFF YOUR PARENTS, GO FAR, FAR, FAR AWAY FROM US--THE PEOPLE WHO APPRECIATE REAL MUSIC, MUSIC WITH SOUL, MUSIC WITH INTEGRITY, MUSIC WITH FUCKING BALLS!" (Did you really think I was done with these guys?) Instead, listen to the Satanic majesty of Inquisition's Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm. 1) KVELERTAK - S/T Yeah, yeah, I know. Everyone LOVES Kvelertak. Everyone HATES Kvelertak. Let's just hunker down and wait this one out, I guarantee that no one will even remember this band by December 2011. A prediction: Kvelertak's career arc will be the exact career arc of their countrymen (and apparently main inspiration) Turbonegro. Just as Turbonegro started off playing ironic rock music disguised as punk rock, so too has Kvelertak begun their career by playing ironic rock music disguised as black metal. And just as Turbonegro slowly became a sad parody of themselves, losing their "punk rock" element and morphing into just plain bad ironic rock music, so too will Kvelertak drop any semblance to "menace" or "metal" in the near future, and before you know it all these jock-riding "metal critics" will be abandoning the Kvelertak Bandwagon like rats from a sinking ship. Irony upon irony. Hipsters rejoice! Instead, listen to something truly face-melting, such as Defeated Sanity, Chapters of Repugnance. Or Vasaeleth, Crypt Born And Tethered To Ruin. Or Perdition Temple, Edict of The Antichrist Elect. Or Decrepit Birth, Polarity. Or Brain Drill, Quantum Catastrophe. Or Rings of Saturn's Embryonic Anomaly. You can thank me later. Also, I want to wish my Dad a happy birthday. That is all.
Props once again to my mountainbro El Gordo for this one, an obscure slab of Aussie black metal that arrived in a package also containing this Ojorojo record, a sweet semi-bootleg Demilich T-shirt, and a DVD copy of 1974's Satanic Rites of Dracula (starring Christopher Lee and Peter "Grand Moff Tarkin" Cushing). But that's a different post altogether. We're here to talk about Hellspawn today. Despite the completely generic goat's-head album cover, the completely generic band name, the completely generic appearance of the band (what's with BM bands in which only the singer has short hair? You see that ALL the time, amirite?), and the completely generic album title (dontcha think Lords of Eternia would've been cooler?), this disc is actually quite the opposite of generic -- it is in fact full of shredding, far-above-par riffs, inhuman blastbeats, dynamic song structures, and pure, unadulterated, Christ-raping hatred. Depending on how you like your BM, you will either love this band or hate them. There is not the slightest hint of kvlt, lo-fi, tape-hissing bedroomery to be found here, just high-quality, well-recorded, well-thought-out songs aplenty, with production value out the ass and layers of synthesizers and in-between-song narrative interludes coming from every direction. Think Old Man's Child with cooler songwriting or Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk with more up-front vocals. THIS is how I like my black stuff. My apologies to anyone who disagrees, this album rules.
Ok. So I don't live in San Francisco. I live in Oaktown. A city that only a mother could love.
Skimmy I want my dress back bitch
I mean, if you live in a place that has neighborhoods named "ghost town" ,"pill hill","bushrod"?!?!, "the murder dubs" (my old neighborhood- 23rd and 23rd...CHAOS CORNER UUUUUUUUUUGGHHH). Where if you stand on a semi-major street for more than 5 minutes your life might be threatened for those converse shoes you've been wearing since junior high or told by a little 6 year-old that you "have a fine ass booty for a white girl"...where was I going with this? Oh yeah.
GIANT SQUID
(Chugger, Shredder)
In the tails of Seanford's Grayceon and "Fancy Metal" posts I thought it appropriate to throw some mutha fuckin' GIANT SQUID in the mix. Because A) their music is aproximatley hella fancy and B) Giant Squid has two of the raddest, most inspiring and fucking METAL chicks I know. Jackie Perez Gratz once played cello with my old band (as seen below) on a song for a comp. She rules. (Spoiler Alert: Manslaughter and Cory Tozer-shredder extrordinare, *might just be conjuring some evil).
*maybe
(That would be me second from the left with the chain in my hand going UUUUGHH)
Anyways, they totally rocked me the other day at the Tidal Wave Festival in SF and I was like, WOAH. These guys are heavy duty. Which, is hard to impress a crowd when you are competing with these guys:
(No- for real, this really happened)
(can someone tell my bf that tidal wave is over???)
(Aaron makes Jack Sparrow eyes)
(It's not just my photography skills-these girls are HOT)
This video is amazing. Check out the dude in the orange pants. I was up front somewhere.
I think it's in order to entice you with their first album Metridium Fields: HERE. And a stellar sold out 7 inch split with none other than Jackie's other band GRAYCEON. You know who I'm talking about by now, I'm sure.
(FYI I gained full permission before posting this- Jackie even offered to give me a CD to upload-a true blue bro). They've gone through some major line-up changes, all for the better believe me. Jackie then joined the group after this album and they became heavier, more epic and focused.
The second and most recent LP (self released in 2009) the Ichthyologist is a concept album based on a graphic novel by Aaron Gregory (singer/guitarist), who, in fact is an Ichthyologist of sorts. I am so jealous of his profession. He's a scuba diver by trade that worked for a while for SF's Bay Aquarium feeding sharks. WHAT?!?! I was invited by their former drummer and his gf (and ex co-workers of Aaron's) to try my hand (or try not to lose it) doing this, but lagged and he moved to Monterrey to feed sharks down there. WHY GOD WHY?!?! Oh well, it's not like I haven't been up close and personal with sharks before:
Manslaughter Cousteau
This is what Aaron's description of what the album is about:
“Through the thoughts of the album’s protagonists, a man stripped of his humanity and left with nothing but the sea in front of him, comes a story about adapting in inhuman ways to survive the shock of human loss and total emotional tragedy, becoming something else entirely in the process”.
I really cannot say enough about this band and especially their last album. It is progressive, dark, moody, epic, post-metal and avante garde. FANCY!!! I would HIGHLY recommend listening to it on band camp and then BUYING the amazing tripped out colored Double LP on their site and buy a shirtplease too, because these guys work hard for their money, and you know they'll treat you right.
If you've been reading IllCon for a bit, you are probably somewhat accustomed to my (Cobras') taste in stuff -- I have my likes and dislikes, and I attack them both with equal vehemence. And as I'm sure you're aware, one of my favorite subjects to discuss is heavy fucking METAL. I am extremely picky about my metal, but I do like a varied cross-section of it. I think the metal genre is a breeding ground for some of the most creative and articulate musicians in the world, but it can also be a hotbed of pretension, falseness, and mediocrity. I'm not that old (*cough*31 this Saturday*cough*), but I am elderly enough to remember a time when the metal kingdom was a more honest and wholesome (?) place, before jocks and fratbrats had taken over the mosh pits and any self-respecting Hessian worth a stack of his own cassette demos wouldn't be caught dead wearing eyeliner or emo bangs. And up until the present, I prefer metal from this era -- I guess I like my metal like I like my women: dirty, mean as fuck, and at least 18 years old.
Right: It's OK to be old and love metal.
But I don't want to pigeon-hole myself. Lately I've become a little worried -- am I missing out on significant amounts of awesome metal as I contentedly kick back and rock the same old Obituary and Deicide albums once again? I don't know a Gojira from a Pelican from a Lamb of God from a Job For A Cowboy, and I've always just assumed that I'm not missing anything. I'm pretty sure I'm not. But lately I've been making a very real and focused effort to catch up on "modern" metal a little bit, in all its different forms. I'd hate for a game-changing album to slip under my radar as I pore over another batch of Carcass bootlegs here at the retirement home, and as a result, I've been stocking up on immense amounts of metal from '09 and beyond, separating the wheat from the chaff in some kind of an attempt to reconnect with the present.
Left: Shelby Cobras, circa late April, 2010.
For the most part, it's been a pretty fruitless endeavor. More and more often, I am reminded that my taste in music is usually the polar opposite of "critic's" taste in music, and I will almost always be the most disappointed by a band or album that has received large amounts of praise in the media. Examples: Remember when all the blogs and magazines had a huge boner for Nachmystium? Assassins: Black Meddle, Part 1 (great fucking title, guys) was on everyone's year-end best-of list, but I guess I just never "got it" (I wrote about it here). In fact, I think Nachtmystium is terrible. Now word comes down the pipe that Assassins 2: Black Metal Boogaloo (or whatever) is on the way, which I'm sure all the "critics" have already decided is awesome. I don't get it. My impression: hipster ninnies playing watered down, thoroughly mediocre hipster "experi-metal" for hipster beardos to jerk each other off to. Or what about Cobalt? This is another band that everyone couldn't get enough of last year, and seeing their album Gin on all the Top 10 of 2009 lists last year, I was fooled into buying it. I guess I'll never learn. I found their music to be a formulaic loud-quiet-loud snoozefest -- you know you're in trouble when the CLEAN singing is the best part. In a way, too much positive press will turn me against a band. And most bands that people love talking about are the same ones that completely fail to arouse my interest: Amon Amarth, Isis, the Red Chord, Converge, just about any band with three or more words in their name (besides 3 Inches of Blood and Wolves In The Throne Room, I guess) Mastodon, Baroness (that one song was kind of cool), any type of "shoegaze/drone" black metal (I blame Burzum and Darkthrone, PS), about 90% of bands discussed on MetalSucks, 95% of bands discussed on Blabbermouth, and 100% of whatever Sergeant D is listening to these days. The whole Folk/Viking/Pirate metal thing was cute for a minute, now I'm sick of hearing about it. But I digress. I didn't come here to bitch about what's WRONG with metal all day. I actually have some positive stuff to say here too. I swear we'll get to it soon. I think I've figured out what frustrates me so much about the state of modern "extreme music", and I can sum it up in one sentence. I'll use bold type AND italics to help it sink in:
METAL HAS BECOME SELF-AWARE.
Everyone remember what happened when Skynet became self-aware? It was bad news. The same thing is happening to metal. It's a tough concept to grasp -- I'm not sure I understand it 100% myself -- but I've found an example that illustrates my point rather succinctly:
We are all familiar with the band Arsis, correct? Well, I've always dug 'em (I'm a sucker for tech-metal), but I've never really had a mental picture of them in my head. Their lyrics have always seemed kind of emo (lots about "guilt" and "sorrow" and "candles" and whatnot), but I've forgiven it due to the insane guitar acrobatics and unconventional song structures. Resultingly, I procured a copy of their 2010 album Starve For The Devil upon its release. Let's take a look at the video for the first track, "Forced To Rock" (why would anyone be "forced" to rock in the first place? Doesn't that imply that one doesn't want to rock?):
WHAT THE COCK IS THIS ASS?
I'll tell you what it is: METAL BECOMING SELF-AWARE. This is metal declaring war on its creators. Do you get it yet?
It's not all bad in the world of tech-death metal, though. In the last year I've discovered a couple great bands, among them GOROD from France and OBSCURA from Germany (a country quickly establishing itself as the world tech-death capital). Both of these bands put out excellent albums in 2009 (Process of A New Decline and Cosmogenesis, respectively), and have stayed in pretty heavy rotation around ICHQ lately. If you're into self-indulgent wankery, I recommend checking both of these groups out (I'm not going to upload this stuff because it's still new and you should go buy it). Obscura totally reminds me of an updated version of their fellow countrymen PAVOR -- which is a really good thing. But here's the kicker: Both bands use the Cynic Focus robot/vocoder voice from time to time. What's up with that shit? I always just kind of figured that the Robot Voice was kind of like Cynic's "thing", you know?
Whatever.
Gorod, "The Path". Robot vocals at 2:35.
Obscura, "Choir of Spirits". Robot vocals at 2:50.
Speaking of Obscura, check this shit out (I am especially fond of the Calculus and Chemistry textbooks displayed prominently in the background. Adorable.):
And while we're still (kind of) on the subject of Cynic, am I alone in thinking that their 2008 "comeback" album Traced In Air was, I don't know... Kind of "meh"? I mean, Paul Masvidal seems like a nice guy and everything, but early reports have it that Cynic's next new album is going to be a "re-imagining" of Traced In Air called Re-Traced. Metal nerds are already creaming their jeans on this one, but I've got to call Consumer Fraud here. Anyone remember the Load/Reload debacle? I'm just sayin'...
One more item while we're on the whole tech-death thing: My boys BRAIN DRILL -- the band everyone loves to hate -- have a new album, promisingly titled Quantum Catastrophe (left), due to hit the shelves in exactly one week. It was hard to judge if their new lineup is up to snuff from the one video that I saw, but I've been addicted to their first two albums (2008's Apocalyptic Feasting and 2006's The Parasites) for a solid two years now. Should be interesting... And when are we going to see a new Deeds of Flesh record? That last one was epic... Or Necrophagist? Their new one was supposed to come out LAST YEAR... Hmmm...
Right: Another ruthlessly fucking br00tal 2009 DM release, Fleshgod Apocalypse's Oracles. Brother Peter uploaded it HERE. I suggest you check it out.
But enough of the super-techy stuff. Let's talk straight up death metal. In fact, I have a prediction I'd like to share with you all: You guys remember that "retro-thrash" thing? Guess what? By mid-summer all those denim vests and white sneakers will be replaced by Asphyx and Demilich T-shirts over sweatpants. That's right --
OLD SCHOOL DEATH METAL IS THE NEW RETRO THRASH.
How do I know? Because Japan is all over it. Ever heard of fucking COFFINS, bro? These guys have proved that there ain't a goddamn thing wrong with sounding like Autopsy in the present day, and if you don't believe me you should head over to The Unflinching Eye and let Brother Aylmer school you some. Once again, by mimicking our past, Japan has predicted our future. And if you have any doubts about that country's SUPERIOR TASTE IN EVERYTHING, I invite you to inspect their obsession with (and mastery of) SLAM METAL. Old school DM is the wave of the past/future, just wait and see...
Left: Sometimes it's OK to judge an album by it's cover.
For my old school death metal dollar, it doesn't get any better than the two-piece VASAELETH, who perform crushing, apocalyptic sludge via INCANTATION. Their 2010 release Crypt Born And Tethered To Ruin (left) has been melting my face repeatedly as of late, and I need to share the sickness. You should really go buy it from Profound Lore HERE and bask in the triumphant misery of your own gory demise. This album is BEYOND awesome.
BEHOLD VASAELETH:
But the Death Metal Album of the Year (so far) is DEFEATED SANITY's Chapters of Repugnance. By a fucking long shot. We last checked in with these Bavarian grindfreaks back here, but that album came out in '07 and things have changed significantly since then. Chapters is indeed the "game-changing" album I referred to at the beginning of this post, a horrific bloodbath of a release that sounds like Gorguts and Cannibal Corpse wallowing in a trough of severed limbs. Just when I was starting to wonder where metal could possibly go after all of its wonderful, gory mutations, my question has been answered. There are no words. This album is weird and mystifying in the same way that Lovecraft's protagonists could never describe the unimaginable horrors that confronted them at the end of their stories. Buy it. Crank it. Worship it. Repeat.
(Technically, this album was officially "released" TODAY. But whatever. You have been warned.)
DEFEATED SANITY, "Salacious Affinity". PS The bassist plays a Modulus Quantum 5. Duh.
Death metal chapter = CLOSED. Doom metal chapter = OPEN.
As you guys might already know, doom just ain't my bag. There's some good stuff out there, but for the most part, it's just dudes playing slow for the sake of playing slow. My attention span just isn't that long. There are, however, two doom albums that have blown my mind in recent months. They are FUNGOID STREAM's Oceanus (I think it's pronounced "Oh, see anus.") and AHAB's The Divinity of Oceans (BUY). We last heard from Fungoid Stream in 2004, the year they released the monumental Celaenus Fragments album (which you can, and SHOULD, get over at FROM THIS SWAMP). I was immediately enchanted both by Fungoid's Lovecraftian leanings and their funeral-doom-meets-John-Carpenter-synth-film-score meanderings, and the mere prospect of a new trickle from The Stream left me giddy with glee. Oceanus delivers. You can download two tracks for free on the official Fungoid Stream website.
Onward to AHAB! Everyone seemed to lose interest in this German band after the release of their Moby Dick-themed concept album The Call of The Wretched Sea back in 2006 (download that sucker here). And with good reason. The album came out right around the same time as Mastodon's Moby Dick album, and Ahab is only interesting in relation to Mastodon, right? FUCK YOU. As I might have mentioned the last time I wrote about Ahab, Wretched Sea is the ONLY White Whale-centric metal album that EVER mattered. Leviathan was a drag. Too bad everyone forgot about this band once the Mastodon controversy passed, because 2009's The Divinity of Oceans (above right) is amazing. Chumps.
So is "Seafaring doom metal" the new "it" genre? Has the market become so specific, so fractured, that I can afford to say "I only like OCEANIC funeral doom metal" and get away with it? Apparently so. Fuck yeah.
Also: I've never been a huge fan of High on Fire, but when did Matt Pike turn into a creepy, botoxed drag queen?
... And speaking of drag queens, you're probably wondering what these lovely ladies are doing in a post about the state of modern metal. Well, I have a surprise for you. Rhapsody of Fire has a new album out (in Europe - it won't be released stateside until June 29th). It's called (ridiculously enough) The Frozen Tears of Angels. It contains lots of narration and over-the-top shredding. And in a career built upon bombast and pomposity, it might be their most bombastic and pompous release to date. I know I'm probably alone in my love for Rhapsody, but mark my words: FROZEN TEARS IS FUCKING AWESOME. File this one under 'Most Pleasant Surprise of 2010 (so far)'. This album is both a return to form (their last couple albums haven't been great) and a brave adventure into unexplored territory. Yes, our buddy Christopher Lee is back, as are all the elements (in enormous portions) that have made Rhapsody the unstoppable epic-symphonic-shred-power-unicorn-Narration Metal juggernaut that they are. Yeah, I know: you're too "cool" for Rhapsody. But dude, you're seriously missing out. I'm telling you as a friend.
Just as Slough Feg's "White Cousin" was the best song of 2009, I'm starting to think that Rhapsody's "Reign of Terror" might be the track of '010 (probably not, though):
One last thing I want to get off my chest before I bail:
There are very few extreme metal bands that can stay both relevant and brutal for a several decades. Napalm Death is still holding it down, Testament is still keeping it real... Exodus? Well... No. Not you, Exodus. I was hoping against hope that Slayer's new (well, '09) album World Painted Blood would be some sort of return to relevance for them after hearing the "Psychopathy Red" single, but alas, my dreams were quickly crushed. Although "Red" was a pretty rippin' song, rumors about World Painted Blood being the "new Reign In Blood" were quickly proven false. No surprises there -- Slayer hasn't put out a decent record since Seasons In The Abyss. But bear with me here...
You have just borne witness to the (yawn) first (yaaaawn) track off of said album (yaaaaawn). It's all here: Boring, three note "main riff", sucky solo, uncomfortable spoken-word part... Jesus, what a mess. But it gets worse. Check out track 10, "Playing With Dolls" (I will LITERALLY GIVE YOU A MILLION DOLLARS IF YOU MAKE IT THROUGH THE ENTIRE SONG):
My point is this: it has become time for Slayer to throw in the towel. Artistically speaking, these guys sound like exactly what they ARE - 50-year-old dudes chasing after a music genre that is quickly leaving them behind. Slayer sounds like Kerry King looks - Outdated, irrelevant, overwrought, and sloppy. It's embarassing. Since the rest of the metal world is too polite to say it, allow me: STOP IT, SLAYER. YOU'RE CREEPING US OUT. For fuck's sake, listening to "modern" Slayer is like watching your parents get drunk and dance at a wedding. Yeesh.
Maybe it's blasphemy to call Slayer out like this. But isn't blasphemy what Slayer's all about? DID I JUST BLOW YOUR MIND?
I'd like to thank anyone who made it through this entire post. I meant for it to be a lot shorter, but I get carried away sometimes. Oops. Let me know about your take on the world of modern metal down there in the 'Comments'.
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