Necrophobic - Death to All

20 years old, Necrophobic are stronger than ever. They have finally recovered from the departure of founding member David Parland. The guitarist wrote much of the band's classic first two records. Replacing him has had mixed results. The turn of the millennium saw a descent into mediocrity, while 2006's Hrimthursum flourished with color and atmosphere.

Revelation 666

Death to All (Regain, 2009) continues Hrimthursum's hot streak. The production remains dense yet clear, but the album is shorter and more focused. More importantly, the band's aggression remains intact. It amplifies Slayer-style thrash with majestic melodies — see the stirring close to "Revelation 666." The result feels uniquely Swedish. Necrophobic share sonic and personnel connections with Nifelheim, Dissection, and Dismember. But they straddle more firmly the line between black and death metal. Death to All wields the former's atmosphere and the latter's power with graceful heft.

- Cosmo Lee

Buy:
Amazon (CD)
Regain (MP3)
Interpunk (CD)
Necrophobic (CD)

Interview: Greg Anderson, Sunn O)))

Photo by Jon Kristiansen

Greg Anderson isn't very concerned about entertaining crowds. This is surprising coming from a musician who fronts Sunn O))), a band that strives to capture as much of the live aesthetic as possible. But Anderson and partner Stephen O'Malley would rather make air vibrate than eye contact. As the main man behind Southern Lord Records, Anderson tells us about his vision with Sunn O))) and relationships with collaborating artists on new album Monoliths and Dimensions.

Interview by Jess Blumensheid

You did a unique release package for this new record, where instead of sending promo copies on CD, you only sent out vinyl. Why is that?

The main reason we did that was to make a statement about the way that people listen to music, especially journalists. If you're going to write about music, you should have a good stereo to listen to music on. I've noticed these days, people who are calling themselves journalists are people you're handing out promos to [and] are just popping it into their computer. The computer is not the place to listen to music. The small speakers are not able to properly translate the frequencies that are on our record, especially a lot of the subs and low end on our record. A lot of times when you listen to music on your computer, you're distracted, you're doing work on your computer, so you're not really paying attention to the record.

But with vinyl, you're forced to interact with [it]. You're physically putting it on and lifting the stylus up and putting it onto the record. You can't just skip around as easily as with a CD. We wanted people to listen to it from start to finish. If you're going to be writing about music and putting your opinion out there for the public to digest, you should listen to it in the way that the artist intended.

What has been the reaction so far?

It's been really positive. We wanted keep this off of the Internet as long as possible. These days, a lot of the excitement and the surprise of the new album by an artist is ruined because you can download and hear it two months before it comes out. We had this idea of looking back when we first got into music and we were really excited about music. When the new Slayer record came out, you really didn't have any idea of what it was about or what they were going to try next. You went to the store the day it came out. You were excited. You had never heard it before. It was a whole new experience. We wanted to try to inject some of that back into the album release process.

Monoliths and Dimensions has a very different sound compared to Sunn O)))'s earlier releases. How was the creation process different for this one?

There are a lot of different players and contributors, and that is what definitely contributes to the outcome of the record. We went into the recording of this record really the same way when recording our other records, where Stephen and I are in the recording studio working on ideas and creating the music. But on this one, we did that, and then we gave that music to other collaborators to basically expand on. Like Eyvind Kang, we gave him our basic tracks and he listened to them, and he wrote music and composed a score for a string section to play and a horn section to play. It was kind of like this multi-dimensional or multi-layered process. There's a foundation or core that Stephen and I have created, and then somebody else adds to it. Like on "Big Church," for example, the women's choir that was recorded — the music was actually a reaction to the guitar part that Dylan Carlson had tracked for that piece. And Dylan's piece was based on what Stephen and I had tracked.

Big Church (excerpt)

Other than the broad usage of different instruments, there's quite a list of contributing artists on this album. Why is that?

There were a few basic things that we talked about, and a few things we wanted to accomplish. One was working with different instrumentation, working with some different acoustic instruments, with horns, with choirs. We actually [tossed] around the idea of working with a gospel choir. That didn't work out. But the Vietnamese women's choir is what we ended up going with and tracking. We played a lot of shows with Attila [Csihar] on vocals and also Oren Ambarchi on guitar over the last couple of years. There were a lot of things that happened during those live performances that were really special. We were hoping that we could go into the studio together and try to work on some of those ideas that we had worked on in a live setting.

This was the first time that we actually done an in-studio, in-person recording with Attila and with Oren. They've been on several other recordings, but it was all done through the mail. Stephen and I would create. We [would] finish a track and then send it to either Attila or Oren, and then they would add their contribution to it and then we would end up mixing it. There's no real face-to-face contact, there's no that sort of energy bounced back and forth between the players when it's live because it's done through the mail. This time, we're going to do this together in the studio, and I think that's part of the idea of trying to have more of a live feel to it rather than not done in person. There's a lot of real subtle nuances that happen when you're in a room with somebody.

Tell me about the last song, "Alice." It has little riffs and lighter tones, like a solemn jazz tune.

The track is named after Alice Coltrane, who is an artist that Stephen and I are huge fans of. I find her music to be really inspiring. The idea of the track was to create a piece of music that had the heaviness, ominousness, and darkness of some of our other music. It was a little bit more subtle and [is] a track without massive amounts of distortion. We wanted to see if we could create a piece of music that was still dark and heavy without our usual "crutches" to fall back on.

Alice (excerpt)

How important is tone to what you do with Sunn O)))?

I think that for me it's about the end result. It's like building a house with a shitty foundation. If you have a shitty foundation, it's probably going to fall down. If you have a good tone, the end result of the piece is going to be enriched by that. It's hard for me to define or express tone. It's something that's taken me and Stephen a while to develop, find tones that we really like. I like warm, rich, big-sounding tones. On "Alice," the guitar tone [is] not overly distorted and has more of a chiming, ringing sound to it that you would not hear on our other songs. To me, it depends on what the piece of music calls for. It can be different things. Even that realization is something that's new for us, and I think it's really exemplified on this record — finding different tones to create a piece of music or to express different emotions rather than just a super-loud, roaring guitar through a stack of amps.

You mentioned in a New York Times feature that wearing robes and becoming immersed in fog helps you distance yourself from the audience, allowing you to perform better. How important is it for you to interact with your audience?

I actually try to not be concerned with how the audience is reacting to the music because that could potentially take me out of getting into it myself if I'm concerned about a reaction. It's really challenging music, so I realize it's not something that everyone is going to get. A lot of people, when they're confronted with something very unfamiliar, their first reaction is to recoil and reject it. I'd rather stay focused with the music and stay in tone with the other players, and hopefully I'm able to get into a space where I like, which is to block out a lot of stuff. It can be a transcendental experience.

One of the interesting things about wearing the robes and playing with the amount of fog that we use [is] it creates this anonymity among the players. More often than not, I've played a show and 20 minutes later go out into the audience, and people have no idea that was me playing up there on stage, which is cool because it takes away the ego or the personality and makes it something more ominous or bigger than the person. To me, that's what Sunn O))) is about. It's not about Stephen and I and our egos. It's bigger than that.

Photo by Gisele Vienne

From my experience, people either hate or love Sunn O))). How do you feel about that?

I'm satisfied that people are reacting at all. I think I'd rather have a band that evoked an extreme reaction in people. To me, it's really extreme and intense music, and I put a lot of myself into it. I really appreciate when people have a strong reaction, whether it's positive or negative. Honestly, I'm not disappointed or sad when I hear that somebody hates our band. I think it's interesting that we've had that impact on somebody. I realize that what we're doing is really challenging and it's not for everybody. It's experimental music. That's the nature of it. It's not meant to go down easy.

How concerned are you about reading press?

I read some of it. The main reason I'm doing the label is I really like turning people on to the music. I like to see what their reactions are. But at the same time, with the Internet especially, it can really be detrimental. I've had instances where bands have been slammed in reviews, and they've taken it really personally and let it affect their making of the art. I think that's terrible. With the Internet, it's a blessing and a curse. There's too much information and too much opinion out there, it becomes overwhelming and hard to decipher what's credible or real and what's not.

Is Sunn O))) still following the rubric of "the only rule is no rules"?

In some ways. As the group has progressed and more records have come out, [and] different opportunities have come our way, there is a little bit more structure. We try to keep minimal expectations and not limit [ourselves] with boundaries or rules. That makes it boring, like every other band I've been in with my life — same with Stephen — bands that are traditional and structured where you practice four hours a day, three days a week, working your ass off on songs and you hope to go on tour and hope to make a record. We didn't want to fall into those traps.

Links

MySpace
Southern Lord Records
Band page at Southern Lord

Minsk - With Echoes in the Movement of Stone

On their third full-length, Minsk brew a swirling cauldron of massive sounds. It's not unlike Through Silver in Blood. Both records fuse the anguish of early Swans with the crunch of Sabbath. Though Minsk are no Neurosis, the band is almost as adept at depicting the existential wasteland of modern man.

Almitra's Premonition

Minsk aren't doing anything countless bands haven't done before. They bridge the gulf between doom and psychedelic rock. Kylesa successfully accomplished this on their latest. Yet by slowing down tempos and repeating riffs interminably, Minsk are far more harrowing. This is most evident during their down-tuned sludgefest epics that can exceed 10 minutes. "Almitra's Premonition" and "Requiem: From Substance to Silence" plod as if they will collapse beneath their weight. Both also feature random sound effects and Vangelis-worthy synthesizers to heighten the sense of disorientation.

Christopher Bennett's monotone vocals also differentiate Minsk from their weed-loving brethren. While many bands forsake hollering in favor of gruff singing (Sleep, The Sword), Bennett approximates the simmering moan of Ian MacKaye. The latter portion of "Requiem: From Substance To Silence" demonstrates what Fugazi steeped in Blue Cheer would sound like.

Sanford Parker's gauzy production obviates many details, yet lends an oppressive weight. Much of the drums disappear beneath layers of guitars. Though Minsk beg for an economy-minded producer (this album did not need an hour to say its piece), they have honed their skills well. Not many bands can mold a unique sound from the finer elements of Hawkwind and Neurosis. Minsk are on their way to achieving this.

- Casey Boland

Buy:
The End (CD)
Amazon (CD)
Amazon (MP3)
Relapse (CD, t-shirt)

She's a maniac

I recently watched Flashdance for the first time. It is one of the greatest movies I have ever seen. Even though it is not very good, it is great. Never mind its two-dimensional characters, formulaic arc (a straight line), or that it would spawn Save the Last Dance with the addition of hip-hop and jungle fever. So many classic scenes! That kabuki/Paul Stanley dance was mind-blowing.

Maniac (Michael Sembello)

For some reason, Michael Sembello's "Maniac" on the soundtrack inspires, well, maniacal devotion. YouTube reveals dance tributes, karaoke tributes, piano and acoustic versions, even people uploading their takes on the guitar solo. It is a bitchin' solo. Ah, the '80s — when every pop hit had a shredding solo air-dropped into it, complete with two-handed tapping (thank you Eddie Van Halen).

Maniac (Evergreen Terrace)

Even metal has gotten "Maniac"al. The best such cover is by Florida metalcore outfit Evergreen Terrace, who make the song theirs. This is the only "Maniac" cover that I can listen to as actual music.

Maniac (Firewind)

For some reason, European metallers have really taken to "Maniac." Greece's Firewind deliver an impressively straight-faced power metal cover. It sounds exactly like one would expect.

Maniac (Carnival in Coal)

On the other hand, France's Carnival in Coal take the WTF route. They send up the song with hyperactive, almost breakcore-ish synths. I haven't been able to bring myself to hear it all the way through.

Maniac (Street Legal)

Less extreme are Norway's Street Legal. In fact, their cover is precisely in the middle. It is a feat to make music this boring. "Metal cover of 'Maniac'" — this is exactly what you think it would sound like.

If you've ever wanted to hear an Italian metalcore band cover "Maniac," you're in luck. Biosystem55 have done the honors. They do so in a way that requires watching, not listening. This is one of the worst music videos ever made. I can't stop watching it.

That's about it for metal. Even worse are the truckload of dance remixes that one can find on YouTube. But that's another post altogether. Don't go there, trust me. It's like watching multiple car crashes and clown conventions at the same time.

Maniac 2000 (Mark McCabe)

Ah, screw it. "Maniac 2000" was a pop-dance remix that evidently was a #1 hit in Ireland for 10 weeks. If so, Ireland is a f***ed-up place. If you dug those metal dance remixes I posted a while back, then this is for you. It may be the worst song I have ever heard.

- Cosmo Lee

Resurrection - Embalmed Existence (reissue)

The defining feature of Resurrection's Embalmed Existence (Nuclear Blast, 1993) was "The Storyteller." He was essentially an amateur voice actor who assumed an insane persona to tell an insane story. Voiceovers, which in sum formed the story, began every track but one. The result was a death metal record that felt like a twisted children's tale. Love them or hate them — Andrew from aversionline.com hated them so much that he made himself a version of the album with them edited out — the voiceovers were unique.

Embalmed Existence
Rage Within

Now Massacre has reissued the record with even more of The Storyteller. Along with remastered (i.e., louder) sound and two demos (unessential but interesting, as songs often take different forms), the reissue includes two takes of The Storyteller's entire story, as well as a "laugh track" (108 seconds of various flavors of "mwahaha"). The lavish liner notes feature historical photos and essays regarding the reissue, the demos, and the origin of The Storyteller. This reissue is the holy grail for his fans (are there any?).

Such distractions aside, the album is deservedly a minor classic. It might have become a major one had the band not split up after its release. Instead, it remains a sturdy memento of the Florida death metal sound — atonal, sometimes technical, without the bluesiness of its Swedish counterpart. Touches of musicality, like abstract chords and exotic solos, occasionally crop up. Alex Marquez of Malevolent Creation repute contributes lively drums. The melisma in Paul Degolyer's growl recalls that of Obituary's John Tardy. If Resurrection had had more time, Embalmed Existence might be mentioned today in the same sentence as Leprosy or Cause of Death.

That may yet change. The band has reunited, releasing a strong album, Mistaken for Dead, last year. It, too, features The Storyteller, though thankfully in much smaller doses. The Florida sound remains intact. In fact, the band sounds even more vicious than before — a Resurrection, indeed.

- Cosmo Lee

Buy:
Amazon (CD)
Amazon (MP3)
eMusic (MP3)
The End (CD)

Black metal in video game soundtrack

Black metal has made it into video games. This first foray actually looks promising: Undead Knights, by Tecmo, out this fall. The player's objective is to build an army of zombies — the fast kind, evidently — to fight humans. How awesome is that? I am not familiar with video games, and promo animations are more high-powered than actual gameplay. However, the above trailer is enticing. It's hard to go wrong with armies of the undead. (See Army of Darkness.)

Lightning Swords of Death - Invoke the Desolate One
Valdur - Blodhevn / Vendetta

Even better, the game will have a metal soundtrack. It looks not to be the usual major label B-side snoozefest. The first two acts announced for it are über-kvlt: Lightning Swords of Death and Valdur. They put out an absolutely killer split last year. It's hard to believe these guys are from SoCal. This stuff is killer! Lightning Swords of Death bring a bestial attack, with jabbing and piercing guitars. Valdur are also delightfully ugly, but more atmospheric. Yet who listens to splits now? Licensing music is the way forward. So much media now needs soundtracks — films, video games, multimedia art. Moby licensed out every track from Play. It's time to fight back!

Buy:
Amazon
The End
Blackmetal.com

Katatonia no longer katatonic

Now master tapes are hard drives

At last, movement on Katatonia's front! After innumerable delays — their new record was on my most anticipated list last year — the band is actually recording. The first three studio updates are up at the band's MySpace blog. Katatonia is one of the few bands whose mere name can give me chills. 2003's Viva Emptiness, which I discovered through aversionline.com, changed my life. It showed me how bleak and beautiful metal could be. I used to listen to it before going to sleep. It gave me Kafka-esque visions of lost souls dotting grayscale cities. Here is "A Premonition" from Viva Emptiness.

A Premonition

My main takeaway from these studio diaries is more cheery. I love gear talk — brands of drum heads, descriptions of signal chains, even the materials of guitar picks. At any given time, certain brands are in vogue in metal. In the past few years, Caparison guitars and Krank and Engl amps have become popular. Now the new "it" brands seem to be Polish — Mayones guitars and Laboga amps. Each has a formidable roster of endorsees. Katatonia use both brands now. Not that it really matters. The music is what's important. But many of the band's fans are probably musicians who enjoy mechanical minutiae. At the heart of every true metalhead is a colossal nerd.

- Cosmo Lee

Katatonia's new album is due out in October on Peaceville.

AxCx giveaway

Flyer by Seldon H*nt

The Show No Mercy series of NYC metal shows has concocted its most intriguing (or at least strangest) lineup yet.

• Anal C*nt (needs no introduction)
• F*ck the Facts (Canadian grindcore, reviewed here)
• Locrian (Chicago noise, reviewed here)
• Copremesis (NY death metal, reviewed here)
• Gwynbleidd (Brooklyn melodic metal, reviewed here)

Some band needs to be called Roger Maris* or Barry Bonds*. The show is on July 5, at 8pm at Public Assembly (70 N. 6th St, Brooklyn).

F*ck the Facts - No Return

For a chance to win a pair of tickets to this show, email invisibleoranges at gmail dot com by midnight EST, Thursday July 2, with your full name and the subject header "Seth Putnam is ____" (fill in the blank). I will choose a winner randomly.

Complete Failure - Heal No Evil

When I interviewed Complete Failure drummer Mike Rosswog for a Decibel feature (#45, Opeth cover, order here), he was diplomatic about Steve Austin, Today Is the Day frontman and Supernova Records head. Austin had given Complete Failure's debut, Perversions of Guilt (Supernova, 2008), strange production, to say the least. It was fuzzy, messy, and drum-heavy. Many objected to the sound, but I didn't mind it. Rosswog is a whale of a drummer (at that time, he was playing two sets a night, one for Complete Failure and one for Today Is The Day, doing Derek Roddy's parts from Axis of Eden), and the scratchy sound befitted his band's harsh grindcore.

Church of the Self / The State of Impure Thoughts
Craft of Discontent

Rosswog is no longer diplomatic. Complete Failure recently self-recorded and self-released an album, Heal No Evil. In a statement (full text here), Rosswog said:

The tracks were recorded and mixed at my new home-based studio, and we achieved a sound that is incomparably more clear and powerful than our last one. Our bass player James Curl was the chief sound engineer and producer for these sessions and worked 16 hour workdays for 6 nights straight to accomplish our goal of putting out a "comeback" album that proves we cannot and will not be held back by anyone's lack of effort or poor business decisions. Simply put, we are beyond pissed off at the "record industry"...

The obvious subtext is a schism with Austin and Supernova. DIY has served the band well. Heal No Evil adds sludge, noise rock, and loads of hardcore to the band's trademark grindcore. These elements intertwine organically; songs gear up and down seamlessly. Joe Mack screams as if at the end of his rope. Rosswog's playing is organic and surprisingly subtle. These songs could have been tracked live. They have that energy, and the band has the chops for it.

On this album, sound is a strength, not a liability. It's raw yet clear, basic yet punchy. One bass, one guitar, one drumkit, one vocalist. Early '90s hardcore comes to mind. The drums have some compression, but even that sounds like old-school tape compression. So much hardcore today is produced like metal, with overbearing walls of sound. Heal No Evil bucks that trend. It highlights four talented individuals in one pissed-off aggregation. In its anger at the record industry, this record is Complete Failure's analogue to Nine Inch Nails' Broken. They've even pulled a Trent Reznor and made it available for free download. Labels still offer advantages of scale, like publicity resources and brand affiliation. But this is the future for bands — self-financing (see also here) and self-distribution via the Internet, the world's cheapest and widest distribution network.

- Cosmo Lee

Download the album for free here.
Buy the CD (hand-numbered, limited to 100) here.

ASG @ The Charleston

ASG's Win Us Over (reviewed here) was my favorite record last year. This was not due to its style, as stoner rock/metal is usually not my bag. Rather, it was because it had songs — strong, soulful, memorable ones. It was one of those records where the start of each song perks up one's ears with the promise of good times ahead.

Low End Insight

I was excited to see if ASG could recreate such magic live. They played last week at The Charleston in Brooklyn. The Charleston has a nondescript bar upstairs and a tiny performance space downstairs. Why was a band that combined the best parts of Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, with a record on Volcom (ostensibly a moneybags label), playing to 30 people? Talk about a market failure!

If the band found this frustrating, it didn't show it. It set up quietly and confidently. One can learn a lot about a band before it plays a note. The hardest-hitting bands often speak the most softly. ASG eased into their set with a delay pedal workout by singer/guitarist Jason Shi. Sporting scruffy hair, a Kylesa shirt, and a baseball cap, he hardly seemed like a rock god. Yet after the soundman cut the lights, Shi became the Rat Dog Mage of Darkness.

Oddly, the band didn't play faster than on record, which is common live. If anything, songs dug in more deliberately. Scott Key regulated tempos with snares that opened and closed like valves. Shi's vocals were rawer than on record, which wasn't surprising. What was surprising was the songs' transformation from colorful anthems into electric storms. I am not a Les Paul man; I find the guitars bulky and muddy-sounding. But the chunk and sizzle in Shi's white axe evoked Appetite for Destruction. When he took off on leads, Andy Ellis' low end thundered unflaggingly. High voltage ensued. Solos spiraled skyward and riffs swarmed in unison. All this on what was probably an off night! ASG are touring the American South, East Coast, and Midwest. (See dates here.) Miss them at your peril.

- Cosmo Lee

Buy:
Amazon (MP3)
ASG webstore (CD, LP)
All That Is Heavy (CD, LP)

A Better Tomorrow #1: Sludge Swamps

Homemade EHG shirt

Invisible Oranges proudly presents its first podcast, A Better Tomorrow, hosted by Jess Blumensheid. Episodes will occur monthly. This inaugural edition is the heaviest podcast ever. In it, Blumensheid navigates the murky swamps of Southern sludge metal, with a detour up to Ohio. The track list is below.

A Better Tomorrow #1: Sludge Swamps

Weedeater - God Luck and Good Speed
Sourvein - Nightwing
Eyehategod - Anxiety Hangover
Rwake - The Finality
Leechmilk - Lament
Fistula - Destroying the Master's House with the Master's Tools

Goatwhore - Carving Out the Eyes of God

Goatwhore are a band I should love. They've got black metal, death metal, thrash, and Nola grit. They have delightfully painful song titles like "Baptized in a Storm of Swords" and "My Eyes Are the Spears of Chaos." Guitarist Sammy Duet has one of the coolest beards in metal. But despite all this, the band's discography hasn't interested me. Too much sameness, too few highlights. I prefer vocalist Ben Falgoust's other band, Soilent Green.

Apocalyptic Havoc

Carving Out the Eyes of God (Metal Blade, 2009) is something else, though. The ingredients are basically the same as before, except for some hardcore-inflected chugging riffs. But they are of higher quality now. Zack Simmons' drumming is more varied and memorable. Duet has massively stepped up his riffing. Now one can tell the songs apart. Somehow, the band sounds even more vicious than before. Erik Rutan's rough and huge production is much to credit. It is a big improvement from the flat sound he gave 2006's The Haunting Curse. This record is a beast from start to finish. Its intangibles — aggression, cohesion, physical presence — are fully "on." "Apocalyptic Havoc" is one of the year's best metal songs, and Carving Out the Eyes of God is one of the year's best metal albums.

- Cosmo Lee

Buy:
eMusic (MP3)
Amazon (MP3)
Metal Blade (CD, MP3)

Micro-donations for metal

Here's an idea: get fans to pay for an album before it's made.

Traditionally, fans have rewarded artists after they release albums. Downloading has killed that model. Yet fans aren't any less fan-atical about artists now. If anything, downloading enables fans to find what they truly like, instead of making do with generalized filters like radio and TV. (See Chris Anderson's The Long Tail.) People still pay to see bands play live. They just don't buy music now. Why do so, when it's easily available for free? Perhaps artists should capitalize on fan support earlier in album cycles.

Maudlin of the Well exemplify one way to do so. To fund their latest record, they put up a PayPal donation button on their MySpace. Anyone who donated got a credit on the finished album. 87 fans did so. Only a month after donations began, one fan stepped up and donated enough to finance the entire album. The band recorded it and made it available for free download (here), as MP3's, WAV's, and FLAC's. They even encouraged fans to seed torrents with it. No doubt this album has better distribution than many released on labels.

Another way to recoup costs upfront is through SellaBand. Like PayPal, the site is a donation platform, but much more nuanced. Bands sign up for free, then attempt to reach either $50,000 or $100,000 donation targets. (Most go for $50,000, enough to record most albums nowadays.) Once the band reaches its target, SellaBand takes a 10% fee, gives 10% to the artist with no strings attached, and allocates 20% for manufacturing costs. The rest goes toward recording. Any time before the band reaches its target, fans are free to withdraw donations or move them to other bands. Donations occur in multiples of $10. The more fans (called "Believers") donate, the more they get. All donors receive the album for free, both as a CD and as a download. Additionally, for five years after the release of the album, bands must split revenues from sales 50/50 with donors. Donors receive in proportion to how much they donate. Large-scale donors even receive a proportion of publishing revenues, which mostly go to SellaBand. (See table of donor benefits here.) Essentially, fans become investors in an album.

Buy a band?

Both models have flaws. They each require having enough donor fans to make them worthwhile. Of the 735 metal bands on SellaBand, only a handful have reached donation targets. Larger bands are more likely to win the largesse of fans (see Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails). The PayPal button creates a free rider problem. People will be tempted to let others donate until the target is reached, then reap the rewards for free. As for SellaBand, artists may not want to give up publishing rights nor 50% of album sales. Then again, any operation with investors is beholden to them.

Still, these models point towards exciting possibilities. A band could finance an album with fan support, then use that album to sign to a label. Without dependence on a label to finance recording, the band is in a better negotiating position. Donations could allow bands to be less dependent on merch sales. Fans who don't need t-shirts, CD's, or other such tchotchkes could still support bands financially. This all relates to the concept of micro-donations. Japanese rock band Electric Eel Shock reached its $50,000 target on SellaBand with only 597 "Believers." On a smaller scale, after my computers and hard drives were burglarized in April, I put up a PayPal donation button. The resulting donations, which mostly came from strangers, were enough to buy the laptop on which I typed this post.

- Cosmo Lee

Stinking Lizaveta - Sacrifice and Bliss

Stinking Lizaveta are a band you've heard of but haven't heard. [Ed. note: I have. See live review here.] The Philly trio continues releasing albums and touring after fifteen years of eschewing trends and embracing creative freedom. It's refreshing to listen to a band not entangled in any music business machine. There is no artifice to their music. They don't rely on gimmicks or shock value. Stinking Lizaveta follow their muse regardless of where it leads them.

A Day Without a Murder

Sixth album Sacrifice and Bliss (At a Loss, 2009) perfects their bracing instrumental rock. While scores of bands attempt instrumental metal hybrids, Stinking Lizaveta suss out something different from tired trends. Their virtuosic abilities set them apart, particularly those of guitarist Yanni Papadopoulos. He deftly weds Satriani solo streams with jazz chords in the spirit of Wes Montgomery. Alexi Papadopoulos adds further jazz underpinning with fluid upright bass. "A Day Without A Murder" features the band at their strongest - a Shellac rhythm, Bruford-meets-Bonham percussion, guitar gymnastics laid atop. The song winds through numerous progressions, yet clocks in at less than four minutes.

Formidable musicianship has made Stinking Lizaveta a band's band. This partly explains their touring with everyone from Hidden Hand to Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. Sacrifice and Bliss overflows with impeccable musicianship, unique song structures, and creative riffing. Stinking Lizaveta are proof that a band can speak volumes without lyrics.

- Casey Boland

Buy:
Relapse
The End
All That Is Heavy
Blue Collar Distro

Musk Ox - Self-Titled

Back of liner notes

Musk Ox comes advertised as "neofolk." This throws me, as my admittedly limited understanding of the term runs to Current 93 and menacing stuff on Cold Spring Records. But Wikipedia includes Agalloch under "neofolk," and Musk Ox recalls that band's acoustic side. So, terminology aside, campfire singalongs aren't at issue. Instead, pristinely picked acoustic guitars (think Nick Drake) meander through settings of piano, cello, wind instruments, and nature sounds (e.g., chirping crickets). Vocal ooh's and aah's float in at times. Normally, music this tonally static — it mines bog-standard major and minor scales — does not interest me. But this record is undeniably soothing. I have found myself returning to it often. One cannot subsist solely on blastbeats and blasphemy. Sometimes one should hear acoustic instruments played deliberately and melodiously.

- Cosmo Lee

Lullaby for Ghosts

Buy:
Amazon
Recordstore.co.uk
Message Musk Ox via MySpace

Riffage: S.O.D. - "Pussy Whipped"

The Hall of Fame album for this month's Decibel (#57, Summer Slaughter tour cover) is S.O.D.'s Speak English or Die. As a kid, I was blown away by Scott Ian's tone on it. In the HoF feature, Ian recalls, "My philosophy with Alex [Perialas, co-producer] was, we're gonna have the sickest guitar tone that anyone's ever heard on an album." To this day, it remains one of the mightiest sounds ever recorded.

Pussy Whipped

Nowhere was it mightier than "Pussy Whipped," a song which adolescent me found hilarious. Below is the tab for the opening riff. For the latter halves of the first and second bars, Ian shifts up to fourth and third position, respectively. (Live videos on YouTube are great aids for transcription. Here I referred to the video from Live at Budokan.) Palm mute the riff at first, then let it ring for its last two iterations. Have fun with finger, er, fist banging mania!

Nifelheim reissues: Self-Titled, Devil's Force

Regain has reissued Nifelheim's out-of-print first two records, Nifelheim (1994) and Devil's Force (1997). This is a good thing. The reissues feature non-destructive remastering, historical photos, liner notes by Metalion of Slayer magazine, and bonus tracks — "Die in Fire" from the In Conspiracy with Satan Bathory tribute and "Witches Sabbat," a Vulcano cover from the Headbangers Against Disco Vol. 2 7". As these reissues show, Nifelheim have always kicked ass. Avoiding the Norwegian "blastbeats and bees in a bucket" sound, these Swedes channel thrash and traditional metal. Thus, they write actual songs, with hooky melodies and ripping solos. Now that Devin Townsend has shaved his head, the brothers Gustavsson own metal's best skullets, and some of its best tunes.

Satanic Sacrifice (from Nifelheim)
The Final Slaughter (from Devil's Force)

Buy:
Amazon
Relapse
Hells Headbangers

Voivod giveaway

Voivod's new record Infini comes out today in the US (on Relapse) and Canada (on Sonic Unyon). It's my favorite of Voivod's Jason Newsted-era records, mainly because it lets reverb into the mix this time. The album rounds up the rest of the tunes that guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour (RIP) left on his laptop when he died. (2006's Katorz housed the first batch.) Voivod's prime was in the 20th century, but this is a fine swan song. I'm giving away a promo CD of Infini. For a chance to win, email invisibleoranges at gmail dot com by midnight EST, Thursday, June 25, with the subject header "Viva Voivod" and your full name and address. I will randomly choose a winner.

Global Warning

Buy:
Amazon
Relapse
The End
Sonic Unyon

Helmet - Betty

Helmet's Betty, which turned 15 yesterday, commanded my youthful obsessions in a manner since unmatched. I had the CD, the "Biscuits for Smut" CD single, and the gatefold 2x10" — even though I had no turntable. That hung above my TV. I pored over interviews with Page Hamilton and hung his Guitar World cover on my wall. For a school class, I made an animated video for "Beautiful Love." My bass playing style comes almost entirely from Henry Bogdan's on Betty. When other teenagers drove around, they blasted G-funk. I bumped Betty.

I Know
Tic

Most cite Meantime as Helmet's apex. This is understandable — "Unsung," its video, the striking artwork. But for me, Betty holds up better over time. Meantime worked through a sound, Helmet's trademark dropped-D roar. Betty turned that sound into actual songs. Its production was also better than Meantime's — big and crisp. John Stanier's snare was gloriously and insanely pitched up. Ting! How strange Betty was. It had dropped-D crushers, roiling funk tuned to A7 ("Biscuits for Smut"), mauled jazz ("Beautiful Love"), bluesy banjo ("Sam Hell"), and a Zappa-goes-funk bit ("The Silver Hawaiian"). To top things off, it had a hip-hop producer, T-Ray (who sampled Sabbath on Cypress Hill's "I Ain't Goin' Out like That" — see here).

Betty's best asset was its big bottom. It is probably the bounciest metal record ever made. The drum intro to "I Know" harkens back to Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks." People cite Pantera and Machine Head for groove metal, but Helmet out-grooved them all. Metalheads are justifiably leery of groove, as it often comes saddled with stupidity (e.g., rap metal, nu-metal). But Hamilton sings in Lydian mode on "Speechless," for Pete's sake. Nu-metallers don't do wolf-howl skronk like in "Tic"'s rideout. I don't know how a jazz musician found the restraint to play economical, downtuned metal, but it was one of the best things ever to happen to me.

- Cosmo Lee

Faith No More - The Real Thing

Faith No More's The Real Thing turns 20 tomorrow. 11 year-old me couldn't get enough of it. I listened to it constantly for probably about a year. Then I left it behind. It's not a "deep" record. Faith No More isn't a "deep" band. I wonder what Faith No More means to people. It's good they didn't stoop to obvious themes like love and politics. But they were so "out there" that it's difficult to imagine a deep personal connection with them other than nostalgia. This band was in that place at that time. For some reason, people want to hold on to that. The videos of Faith No More's reunion shows are painful. Mike Patton sounds out of breath. He can't hit notes like he used to. Nostalgia is a deadly force. It clouds one's judgment and lightens one's wallet. Now it also clogs Internet bandwidth.

Zombie Eaters
Woodpecker from Mars

Better, then, to remember Patton as a 21 year-old. What a voice! Even when it goes nasal and annoying, it's irresistible. Patton had soul. It's not the easily definable kind on actual soul records. He's definitely emoting — but about what? ("You want it all, but you can't have it / It's in your face, but you can't grab it / What is it?" I bet this is about lap dances.) I haven't figured out what any Faith No More songs are about, and I doubt many of the band's fans have, either. Faith No More didn't seem to be about anything other than Faith No More. They filled up minutes with weirdness, skewed aggression, and catchiness — starting with The Real Thing, anyway. The stuff before doesn't even compare. Anyone who defends the Chuck Mosley years is doing "the demo was better" posturing.

It's a trip hearing The Real Thing after so many years away from it. The bright and clean sound takes getting used to. What I seek in music has almost completely changed after 20 years. What an innocent time, when I could tolerate slap bass, not to mention keyboards in metal. (I recently wheeled out Angel Dust and was repulsed by its keyboard-smothered muck.) It's cool, though, to hear a snare drum actually sound like a snare drum. Most drums now are horrific aggregrations of triggers and compression. It's cool, too, to find that I still know the songs almost by heart. Patton sure could write a catchy vocal pattern. This record has many "moments" for me. I loved "Epic" so much that I transcribed its piano outro by ear. The acoustic intro to "Zombie Eaters" was one of the first things I learned on guitar. What do kids learn guitar to these days???

My final takeaway from The Real Thing is how Sabbath-esque it is. The influence isn't obvious, like how stoner bands detune now and play bluesy riffs. It's more in how chords sustain and certain matters of timing. You feel it more than than you hear it. The guitar in "Woodpecker from Mars" is total Sabbath. When after 10 songs, the cover of "War Pigs" rolls around, it makes complete sense. Talk about owning a song! Faith No More made it theirs. It's apt that Mike Bordin is playing the song behind Ozzy now. But, man, nostalgia. Enough is enough. My first girlfriend was great. She was perfect for me then. But not now. Au revoir, Simone. Au revoir, Faith No More.

- Cosmo Lee

Logo design contest

Invisible Oranges needs a new logo. It will be part of a much-needed overall redesign of the site. Here are the details.

1. Seeking: Power, symmetry, legibility from a distance. Some examples along these lines: Metallica, Testament, Immortal, Mayhem, Deathspell Omega. I prefer logos where the first and last letters are bigger than the rest. Design something that would look good on a t-shirt.


2. The logo shall contain the text "Invisible Oranges" and no other text. The words may reside next to each other horizontally, or be stacked vertically. Each word has an odd number of letters, which aids symmetry.


3. No pentagrams or upside-down crosses or other such jazz.


4. Design can be by hand or using software. Submissions shall be white on black, or black on white, in a .psd or hi-res .jpg file. Email submissions to invisibleoranges at gmail dot com with the subject header "Logo submission". The deadline is midnight EST, July 7 (7/7).


5. The winner gets $50 (and immortality on this site). That is not much, I know, but Manhattan was bought for not much more. I may choose a runner-up design as well, which will earn $25. Receipt of prize payment shall constitute a sale outright of the logo and all intellectual property rights associated with it.

Please forward this on to artistic/design-oriented folks.

Nachtmystium - Doomsday Derelicts

Nachtmystium mark the next chapter in their career with Doomsday Derelicts (Battle Kommand, 2009). Although only an EP, this release digs as deep as Instinct: Decay. Nachtmystium strip away all Zeppelin-esque tendencies from Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. I (reviewed here) and march forward with crisp sound. The ferocious blast beats, thrashing riffs, and Blake Judd's croak are easier to digest. Nachtmystium dress down in Doomsday Derelicts compared to their 2008 full-length. No rock star pants for this Chicago outfit, at least on this release.

Hellish Overdose (excerpt)
Life of Fire (excerpt)

Unlike in Assassins, Nachtmystium step forward without swaying too far from what they do best: black metal. While their adventurous leanings attracted attention with Assassins, Nachtmystium spare this release of wasted space. In every track, they hit the ground running. This is most obvious in "Hellish Overdose." The riff revs like an engine as Judd and friends scream that they're ready to fight. In "Life of Fire," mid-paced guitars pop with pounding piano, a catchy yet melancholy melody that's prevalent in their earlier work.

Nachtmystium don't constrain themselves to conventional black metal limits. Assassins proved their freethinking with new textures, sounds, and empty space. This experimentation awarded them an endorsement by Moog. But this release is less about playful synths and more about reeling Nachtmystium back to their minimalist roots. Doomsday Derelicts leaves hopes for a promising fifth full-length.

- Jess Blumensheid

Buy:
Relapse
CM Distro
Battle Kommand

Doomriders, Unearthly Trance @ Europa

Doomriders

On June 14, Club Europa hosted the BrooklynVegan-BBG Showcase, curated by brooklynvegan.com's Black Bubblegum. It should have been called Sludge Fest. The lineup featured Doomriders, Clouds, Sourvein, Unearthly Trance (replacing the injured Zoroaster), Javelina, Cough, Howl, Wetnurse, and Liturgy. I arrived during Howl's set. They justified their recent signing to Relapse with big riff after big riff. Some have groused about the label's move towards "beard metal" away from death metal and grindcore. Really, though, Relapse is so big now that it houses loads of all of the above.

Doomriders - The Long Walk
Unearthly Trance - In the Red

Europa has two floors, which meant running up and down stairs to catch overlapping sets. After Howl, I went downstairs to find Cough killing it. Just one guitarist — and with the no-stage, band-on-the-floor setup, I glimpsed him just once — but he sounded massive. It was total Eyehategod worship; it felt so good to feel bad. The bottom floor sounded much better than the top floor main stage.

I could only catch a few minutes of Cough, though, as Javelina began on the main stage. They unveiled new material that showed growth with proggier structures and more complex guitars. In Howl and Javelina, it was charming to hear a sound much like Mastodon's beginnings — sludge with metallic accents (guitar harmonies, etc.). While those bands can't write songs like Mastodon, they have remained true to the riff, and thus remain more viscerally satisfying.

Javelina

Clouds annoyed me even in soundcheck, so I escaped downstairs. There, Unearthly Trance were moving mountains and torching oceans. I saw them recently at Cake Shop, in a competent but chilly performance. This time, they were on fire. The tones were huge, the room was hot, and the band was "on." Unearthly Trance depend on factors beyond mere notes — noise, feedback, timing. Tonight they had complete control, switching sound on and off like a giant noise gate. Ryan Lipynsky howled as if impaled; Darren Verni cracked his snare like an enemy skull. Finale "In the Red" heaved with drums, screams, and sweat. The set required time to recover afterwards.

Doomriders finished off the night. They weren't at their best — I once saw them tear down the Pound in SF, shooting Motörhead and Thin Lizzy licks over the heads of hardcore kids — but they were professionals, and they did their job. Despite technical problems (broken string, broken strap), the band worked through new and old material to the visible delight of many. Ben Koller, frontman Nate Newton's bandmate in Converge, was watching. It was strange to see him sipping drinks and not committing domestic violence on drums. Such beatings this time came from Cave In's JR Conners. Most know Nate Newton as bassist for Converge, but tonight we glimpsed his other side: reincarnating the MC5 with much, much dirtier sound. The night covered us in filth, and we were glad.

- Cosmo Lee

Coalesce - Ox

During the '90s, Coalesce played the villain in a hardcore scene dominated by bands preaching positivity and unity. Their lyrics were malevolent and their music off-putting. While most of their peers sang about brotherhood or political consciousness, Coalesce mined the dark recesses of the human psyche.

The Villain We Won't Deny
By What We Refuse

It's hard to imagine ten years elapsing between 1999's 012: Revolution in Just Listening and Ox (Relapse, 2009). The band retains the idiosyncratic approach to fusing hardcore and metal that seeded tech-metal and (ignominiously) metalcore. They sound as tight as spandex, the performances as sharp as Shun knives. Guitarist Jes Steineger possesses one of the most atypical styles in extreme music, fingering many of his serpentine riffs with a jarring wobble. It's as if a nervous condition causes him to vibrate notes like a flicked spring. Sean Ingram's signature roar sounds as bile-fueled as it did in his early 20's. The Coalesce of 2009 is not too dissimilar to its 1999 self.

Bands influenced by Coalesce are younger, faster, meaner, and more complex. Clearly, the band has no desire to play catch up with greenhorns. Though they've constructed a strong return record, they won't shift cultural ground as they did over a decade ago. But I'd still rather listen to Ox than a sub-par Coalesce clone.

- Casey Boland

Buy:
Amazon (MP3)
Willowtip (CD)
The End (CD, LP)
Relapse (CD, LP, shirt)

Riffage: Foscor - "Searching a Seal of Pain"

Normally I don't do pre-release hype, but I want the world to know about Foscor's Groans to the Guilty. I've gushed about Foscor here and here, and judging from the promo trailer above, I will likely love the new record as well. The song in the trailer is called "Searching a Seal of Pain." It starts with a lovely riff in 6/4, tabbed out below. I'm not sure what to call it, except "gorgeous." (Gootar calls it "E add9 aug5 w5 no3.") It has sort of an Oriental sound. Slide the shape up and down three frets for the rest of the intro. According to the label, Temple of Darkness, the record comes out worldwide on June 28. (Two tracks from it are up on the band's MySpace.) I don't know what the distribution situation will be, so if you know anyone with a distro, tell them to contact Temple of Darkness to stock this dark material!

- Cosmo Lee

Shackles - Traitors' Gate

Traitors' Gate (Hells Headbangers, 2009) has the makings of a classic. The first and only record by Shackles, who broke up after releasing it, it is one of the finest examples of Australian thrash to date. Shackles share the German edge of compatriots Hobbs' Angel of Death and Deströyer 666, but are more melodic. (See also fellow countrymen Armoured Angel, another one-album wonder.) The result is often epic, with soaring leads and harmonies. But the intensity never flags; dig those insane drum beats kicking off "Iron Crosses" and the breakneck speed of "Exorcised Remains." Acoustic guitars often enrich the buzzsaw attack. These additions are organic, and in general the record shows much forethought and vision. Too bad these ended, but they did so while on top. This is a record for the ages.

- Cosmo Lee

Iron Crosses
Exorcised Remains

Buy:
CD
Gatefold LP
Picture Disc

Absu tickets giveaway

Absu

Booking tours must be a bitch now. People have less to spend, so it takes more to get them to come out. Tours now are often traveling festivals, with huge, multi-band packages. Cancellation by even one act can be disastrous. If the contract between venue and booker specifies performers by name, and the booker fails to provide one of them, then the booker has breached the contract. The contract must then be renegotiated. At least that is the thesis behind this account of the recent Blackened Fest debacle involving Mayhem.

The Cognate House of Courtly Witches...

Absu's current tour has also experienced upheaval. Dubbed "CIII," it was to showcase some of Candlelight's finest in black metal — Absu (reviewed here), Averse Sefira (interviewed here, reviewed here), and Glorior Belli (reviewed here). Averse Sefira and Glorior Belli dropped off the bill for various reasons. Now Absu is touring with Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, a middling thrash band not even on Candlelight, and Sothis, a band whose live set once literally put me to sleep. This show begs for late arrival.

That is the cup half-empty. The cup half-full is (1) fewer bands means an earlier bedtime, and (2) the headliner still makes the show worthwhile — the way shows originally were. I am excited to see Proscriptor McGovern do his Phil Collins sing/drum routine behind the kit. Can he keep up vocals over the awesome clatter of songs from Tara? Reports from Maryland Deathfest say yes. The new Absu merch people have been sporting looks sweet also.

For a chance to win a pair of tickets to the Absu show this Sunday, 6/21, at B.B. King's in NYC, email invisibleoranges at gmail dot com by midnight EST on Thursday, 6/18, with the subject header "Six pack Absu" and your full name. I will choose a winner randomly.

Obituary - Slowly We Rot

Getting it right the first time means it's only downhill from there. On Slowly We Rot, which turned 20 yesterday, Obituary not only found their sound, but nailed it shut. The record answered the question of what Celtic Frost would sound like playing death metal. Grumbling trudges, thrashy rave-ups, and whammified solos formed half the album. John Tardy's vocals made up the rest. Only Martin van Drunen and early Chuck Schuldiner were as vicious. This record had it all - great riffs, great songs, great performances, great sound. Morrisound productions were hit or miss; this one was a bull's-eye. Sludge and speed made a beast with two backs. The title track's tolling bell evoked "Hells Bells." Touches of flange gave "'Til Death" extra morbidity. Since Slowly We Rot, Obituary have chased its holy grail with various lead guitarists and production approaches. The results have been reminders of how the first time was the best.

- Cosmo Lee

Slowly We Rot
'Til Death

1349 - Revelations of the Black Flame

What happened??? Revelations of the Black Flame (Candlelight, 2009) has nine tracks. Four are ambient interludes. One is a six-minute intro. One is a Pink Floyd cover. (Evidently Americans aren't the only black metallers indulging their "psychedelic influences.") The three remaining tracks are metal, but two mine a sort of blackened doom. ("Serpentine Sibilance" is basically a slow rewrite of "Nathicana" from Hellfire.) That leaves one track sounding like 1349. Once synonymous with balls out black metal, they have gone soft.

Serpentine Sibilance
Nathicana (from Hellfire)
Misanthropy

Exploration is fine. Hidebound music like black metal needs it. But 1349 don't even seem to like exploring. Mired in ambient fluff and sludginess, they sound tired. Black metal is music of dedication. However monochromatic earlier efforts might have been, they exuded dedication — to speed, intensity, and making the most of limited ingredients. As later Satyricon albums show, drummer Frost is more suited for high speeds than low ones. When he gears down, he plods, with little sense of groove.

The sad thing is, this record shines sometimes. The ambient interludes are sometimes interesting. Riffs are more memorable now, partly because there are so few of them. But this record seems thrown together with no regard for momentum. Intro, metal, interlude, metal, interlude, metal, Pink Floyd cover, interlude, interlude — this type of excess is normally reserved for hip hop. Was this record a contractual obligation? No songs from it are on the band's MySpace. Do they realize it's a dog? For an interesting take on the record by Tom G. Warrior, see here.

- Cosmo Lee

Buy:
Amazon (CD)
Candlelight (CD)
Interpunk (CD, LP)

Suffocation is love

Can I just say how much I love metal right now? In the past 12 hours, I've watched a metal DVD, written three metal reviews, transcribed three metal interviews, and written two metal magazine features - and I still can't get enough. A big part of my renewed metallic vows is the new Suffocation record, Blood Oath. It doesn't come out until next month, but the band is already selling it on the Summer Slaughter tour, and I'm sure it's already leaked all over the Internet. One of my stereo speakers broke recently, and even through one speaker (i.e., with only one guitar), the record still kicks ass.

Cataclysmic Purification
Frank Mullen talks about his vocals

I hardly get fanboy-ish about bands anymore, but interviewing Suffocation for a feature still has me jelly-like inside. Never in my life did I imagine I would get to talk to Frank Mullen and Mike Smith, both heroes to me on their respective instruments. Mullen's voice is one of this earth's finest things. When we missed our original interview time and he left me a voicemail - I'll keep that thing on my phone until it dies. Above is "Cataclysmic Purification," the first "single" from the album, as well as a clip of Mullen talking about his vocal techniques (which are kind of like Martin van Drunen's - i.e., none). Hearing that Long Island accent practically makes me weep.

Blood Oath comes out July 14, and you can pre-order it with all sorts of goodies, including a t-shirt, poster, and frickin' trading cards. Remember RockCards? When I collected them as a kid, all I seemingly got were fucking Bon Jovi cards. Multiple Tico Torres trading cards = FAIL. Suffocation trading cards are infinitely cooler.

- Cosmo Lee

Pre-order "Limited Blood Red Edition" here.