Jucifer, Testament

Jucifer

Music critics are privileged in that people send them music for free. They are also cursed in that people send them music for free. Ever since I became a music critic, I have been deluged with such piles of shit that part of me wants to say "fuck you" to all "benefactors" and just buy records like everyone else. Then again, everyone else now probably downloads the same piles of shit. Does anyone listen to records more than once anymore - or make records worthy of such?

Jucifer - Birds of a Feather
Testament - The Persecuted Won't Forget

I've reviewed two records that I actually want to get to know better. The first is Jucifer's sprawling L'autrichienne, which will require the rest of this year for me to digest fully. The second is Testament's The Formation of Damnation, which sounds like shit but has good music on it. This quote by Bob Dylan is applicable: "I don't know anybody who's made a record that sounds decent in the past 20 years, really. You listen to these modern records, they're atrocious, they have sound all over them. There's no definition of nothing, no vocal, no nothing, just like...static."

Jawbox on Cello - A Benefit for Cal Robbins

Speaking of Dischord, Gordon Withers has put out an all-cello tribute to Jawbox. The record is a benefit for Callum Robbins, son of J. Robbins, frontman for Jawbox, Burning Airlines, and Channels. Cal was born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, which affects the brain's ability to communicate with muscles. He cannot stand, crawl, or sit without support, and faces a lifetime of this, as SMA has no known cure. It's heartbreaking that his parents are thinking about a wheelchair for him at age three. Their only income comes from Robbins' work as a producer and engineer (he did Modern Life Is War's Midnight in America, Clutch's Robot Hive/Exodus, and Wino's upcoming solo record for Southern Lord). See the links below for more information on Cal, SMA, and how you can help.

Motorist (Gordon Withers)
Motorist (Jawbox)

Next to the human voice, the cello is the most expressive musical instrument. Its extremely wide range allows it both to growl and shriek, and Withers fully utilizes it. String tributes to bands are decidedly hit-or-miss; the relative simplicity of rock often feels flat when stripped of distortion and percussion. Not so with Jawbox, whose music exhibits counterpoint and harmonic ingenuity surprising even to me, a longtime fan. Withers has preserved much of the power of Jawbox's songs, while exposing the melodies behind their electricity. The result is not as explosive, of course, but then again, prime Dischord tempered aggression with abstraction.

Savory (Gordon Withers)
Savory (Jawbox)

Jawbox were arguably the best at adding emotion to that mix; "Motorist" devastatingly casts friendship/romance as a car crash ("So turn your back / Just drive on past / Cause nothing is better / Than getting out fast"). Robbins' voice here sounds a bit like Page Hamilton's; Zachary Barocas' kick drums flutter desperately under Kim Coletta's Kim Deal bass line. As for "Savory," to this day I still have no idea what it's about. (The video for it is even more baffling.) But as music, it's breathtaking - pulsing dissonance, weeping bends throughout, the afropop-esque miasma of the pre-chorus. The chorus is relatively upbeat, until the relative minor chord at 3:12 pulls everything out from underneath, as Robbins' voice trails overhead. It's like a rollercoaster just before it plunges.

Jawbox on Cello is available physically from Gordon Withers' MySpace, and digitally from Amazon, iTunes, and eMusic. All proceeds from CD sales will go to the Cal Robbins Care Fund. You can also make a direct donation via PayPal here.

Cal's story
Cal Robbins blog
Interview with J. Robbins

For Callum is another benefit record for Cal. Its two discs compile tracks by Channels, Jawbreaker, Joe Lally, Mission of Burma, Travis Morrison, and others. It is available physically and digitally. All proceeds will go to the Cal Robbins Care Fund.

Circus Lupus - Super Genius

Speaking of Joan Jett, she produced a 7" in 1992 for DC's Circus Lupus. The pairing was odd - jukebox queen and Dischord geeks - but it showed she had good taste. (The tracks also appeared on 1993's Solid Brass.) Circus Lupus were one of Dischord's more aggressive bands, not counting its straight-up hardcore acts like Minor Threat. Someone accurately described them as Fugazi meets The Fall; their rhythm section was organic and bass-heavy, while Chris Thomson's vocals threatened to leap out of the speakers and scrape you.

Breaking Point
Amish Blessing

In high school, a classmate of mine visited his DC area hometown for Christmas one year. He returned bearing armloads of now-classic math and noise rock - Jesus Lizard, Helios Creed, Dischord in its prime. Of the Dischord stuff, Circus Lupus flipped my wig the most, specifically 1992's Super Genius. At the time, I listened mostly to mainstream metal, so while Circus Lupus weren't that heavy, they seemed much more strange and threatening. The music was so dry and off-balance, and Thomson always seemed to wander into songs rather than enter them normally.

Now Circus Lupus don't sound so hostile - the guitar work often seems downright delicate - but that's probably because I've been conditioned by their offspring. Bands like Blues, Black Elk, and Fight Amp owe much to this sound. Before mathcore, there was math rock, and long division alone could split heads.

Super Genius is available physically from Dischord and digitally from Amazon.

Metal Mixtape: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap Australian album cover

AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" has taken up literally hours of my life. It's strange for a single - the breathing sounds on beats 2 and 4, rare singing by Malcolm Young, ridiculous lyrics about being a contract killer. When I tracked down covers of the song, I discovered that AC/DC tribute records are a huge cottage industry. (See here for an exhaustingly exhaustive list.) I have not included every cover of "Dirty Deeds" below, as there are far too many mediocre rock versions. Instead, I've highlighted some of the coolest, strangest, and worst covers. First, the original for reference.

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (AC/DC)

Bay Area thrashers Exodus covered the song as a bonus track on 2004's Tempo of the Damned. It's a surprisingly good fit; Steve "Zetro" Souza's sneer slots in nicely between Bon Scott's and Brian Johnson's. Trixter's version is as bad as you'd expect. It comes from the Undercovers collection, which also takes on Nine Inch Nails' "Terrible Lie" and the Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)." I have not dared to go there.

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Exodus)
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Trixter)

Oddly, two women have covered this song. Interestingly, both are avowed/alleged lesbians. (Note how each alters the line "For a fee, I'm happy to be your back door man.") Girl group icon Lesley Gore ("It's my party and I'll cry if I want to") does a rather bubbly version. It appears on the compilation When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear, which includes, among other things, a duet by Ani DiFranco and Jackie Chan on Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable." Joan Jett's cover kept me awake many nights during my adolescence. It's hands down the best cover of "Dirty Deeds," amplifying the menace of the original with over-the-top reverb, keyboards, and a friggin' sax solo. That vocal melisma at 2:47 is so hott.

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Lesley Gore)
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Joan Jett)

Even more oddly, "Dirty Deeds" has yielded not one but two bluegrass versions. The first, from the Back in Bluegrass tribute, is a yawn. However, Hayseed Dixie's cover on A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC is a barnburner. (The rest of the album is worth a listen; "Hells Bells" translates surprisingly well to bluegrass.) I've also included an acoustic version from If You Want Strum, You've Got It. (Tribute album titles kill me.) It's a coffeehouse rendition that bowdlerizes the third line to "You want to graduate, but not this bad." Lame!

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Back in Bluegrass)
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Hayseed Dixie)
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Acoustic)

"Dirty Deeds" has also inspired a fair bit of schmaltz. A recent cover on Lullaby Renditions of AC/DC (from the Rockabye Baby! series that includes infant-appropriate versions of Tool, The Ramones, and Metallica) hides the melodies in a miasma of flatted and sharped thirds. On the other hand, a holiday version on Hell's Bells of Christmas is straightforward. The as-advertised cover on The Rock-A-Billy Tribute to AC/DC is enjoyably bouncy.

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Rockabye Baby!)
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Christmas version)
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Rockabilly version)

Electronics and "Dirty Deeds" don't mix well. Buddha Lounge Renditions of AC/DC has a bhangra-style take that isn't too far from the "Macarena." 16 Volt turn in an industrial metal atrocity that so wants to be Nine Inch Nails. Even worse is the cover on 2005's Hip-Hop Tribute to AC/DC. It's just the song with the lyrics poorly rapped. Who greenlighted it???

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Buddha Lounge)
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (16 Volt)
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Hip-hop version)

Finally, parodies. Seattle radio personality Bob Rivers did a lovely piss-take called "Dirty Deeds Done With Sheep." Queercore icons Pansy Division didn't cover the song, but they spoofed the album's artwork on their Dirty Queers Don't Come Cheap 7".

Dirty Deeds Done With Sheep (Bob Rivers)

If you've gotten this far, you might as well download the whole shebang. You know you want to hear 54 minutes of "Dirty Deeds."

Metal Mixtape - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap [79.0MB .zip]

Living Colour - Stain

Speaking of black metal, Sunday marks the 15th anniversary of Living Colour's Stain. I'm admittedly not a huge fan of the band, as their records are wildly disjointed. They have a soul singer for a vocalist (Corey Glover), Ornette Coleman-meets-Eddie Van Halen for a guitarist (Vernon Reid), and an avant-funk rhythm section (Will Calhoun and Doug Wimbish/Muzz Skillings), with songs that range from reggae and afro-pop to full-on metal.

This Little Pig
Go Away
Bi

But Stain is by far my favorite Living Colour record. It's their heaviest, darkest, and most focused work. This was perhaps partially due to the departure of Skillings, the bassist on the sunnier first two records (the Living Colour most people know). Wimbish replaced him with an assault of slapping and harmonics; when he and Calhoun launched into phrases, they sounded like exploding shells. Reid had probably been listening to thrash; check out the Megadeth-esque riff at 2:15 in "Go Away" and the frantic riffing in "This Little Pig." Glover, too, was pissed off and alienated - see titles like "Go Away," "Mind Your Own Business," and "Auslander."

Yet things aren't all black, so to speak. Despite its lyrics ("All I have to feel is my loneliness / Nothing in the attic except an empty chest"), "Nothingness" has lush, '80s-esque synths. "WTFF" could have been a Public Enemy instrumental. As an ode to bisexuality, "Bi" beat Blur's "Girls & Boys" by a year: "My lover told me, well, that she's bi / I wanted to scream, there were tears in my eyes / She said, baby, baby, don't you cry / 'Cause the one I am with, you've been seeing on the side." Some very straight white boys and I covered "Bi" at a high school battle of the bands. You had to have been there.

Amazon has Stain digitally and extremely cheap physically.

Van Halen - "Panama" vs. Ratt - "Round and Round"

Speaking of Van Halen, have you ever noticed the similarity betweeen "Panama" and Ratt's "Round and Round"? Both singles came out in 1984, but I'm not sure which was written and/or released first. I'd guess that "Panama" was written first, due to (a) Eddie Van Halen's tendency to have tons of material lying around, often for years, and (b) the fact that 1984 was the first Van Halen album recorded at EVH's 5150 studio, where he would have stored such material. Here are the tunes, as well as excerpts for comparison.

Van Halen - Panama
Ratt - Round and Round
Van Halen vs. Ratt - Panama vs. Round and Round

And now, a head-to-head battle.

Singer

Wikipedia describes Stephen Pearcy's vocals as "raspy, bluesy, yet provocative." I call them creepy. He sounds like a guy who'd cheat on your wife with your daughter. I suppose that was the point of hair metal, but even Vince Neil doesn't give me the willies like Pearcy.

Winner: Van Halen

Guitars

Normally, Eddie would win easily, but his solo is too short. He does hit that beautiful, complex chord at 2:29. Ratt's Robbin Crosby and Warren DeMartini turn in surprisingly robust Eurometal harmonies.

Winner: Tie

Rhythm Section

Man, Ratt's rhythm section is stiff. The blocky, compressed production doesn't help, either. Among the spandex and hairspray set, David Lee Roth-era Van Halen had unmatched groove.

Winner: Van Halen

Lyrics

"Round and Round" makes absolutely no sense. What the hell does "Tightened our belts, abuse ourselves / Get in our way, we'll put you on your shelf" mean??? David Lee Roth, on the other hand, is singing a sweet, double entendre-laced, ode to his car.

Winner: Van Halen

Record cover

Tawny Kitaen vs. "What the hell is Eddie wearing." (He's in the polka dots.) This one's not even close.

Winner: Ratt

Video

The videos for both are absolute must-sees. But "Panama" is merely ridiculous in an era of ridiculous videos (Bon Jovi also flew around over their stage in "Livin' on a Prayer"), while "Round and Round"'s wackiness literally goes through the ceiling. We're talking Crispin Glover territory here - especially with the rats.

Wikipedia has a great synopsis. An excerpt: "Meanwhile, a seemingly shy yet incredibly attractive female family member is drawn by the music and makes her way up to the attic. Once there, she morphs into a sexy space oddity and begins dancing to the song. Possibly the most puzzling portion of the video has the girl change appearance yet again, this time to the form of a rodent."

Winner: Ratt

Overall winner: Van Halen

PS. For research purposes, sometimes I pick up records I normally wouldn't buy. Today I was seen buying Van Halen's 1984 and Ratt's Out of the Cellar - by far my most embarrassing record store trip in years. The girl who rang me up must have thought, "Someone's stuck in their childhood. And tried to cover it up by putting a Disfear CD on top." At record stores, the only purchases that raise more eyebrows than metal is hair metal.

PPS. I will return to covering real metal soon, I promise.

Van Halen - Self-Titled

Yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of Van Halen's debut. I'm reading Everybody Wants Some, Ian Christe's fine biography of the band, and I've had fun revisiting the old records (that is, until the Sammy Hagar era; 5150 is fucking repulsive). They're fascinatingly varied (Fair Warning and 1984 are almost polar opposites), but I keep coming back to Van Halen. I cannot tire of this record.

On Fire
Ice Cream Man
Ice Cream Man (John Brim original)

Robert Christgau's Consumer Guide review:

For some reason Warners wants us to know that this is the biggest bar band in the San Fernando Valley. This doesn't mean much--all new bands are bar bands, unless they're Boston. The term becomes honorific when the music belongs in a bar. This music belongs on an aircraft carrier. C

What music, exactly, belongs on an aircraft carrier? (And why does aircraft carrier music get a C?) Perhaps Christgau meant music of macho-ness and/or athleticism. Van Halen is guilty of both, of course. "You know you're semi-good lookin'" comes to mind, as does every other lick Eddie Van Halen plays. But that's not the point. This record is about being full of cum, noize, and hunger, and putting up with David Lee Roth long enough to harness his ADD-led zing.

Of Van Halen's four singles, only "You Really Got Me," a Kinks cover, would make it on today's originality-bereft radio. "Runnin' With the Devil" is too dark and plodding (I never got why Van Halen records often began with plodders, as the band wasn't good at plodding - which was all it did with Hagar). The chaste heroine of "Jamie's Cryin'" would never make it on radio now - but her slutty doppelgängers in Tone-Loc's "Wild Thing" definitely would.

On second thought, "You Really Got Me" might not be a hit today. Eddie's sound is too edgy. His tone here is monstrous. The intro to "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" is breathtakingly orgasmic. Its barbed palm-muting charged with phaser and delay, with a stinging pinch harmonic goosing the end of the riff - that intro is the song.

On Fire

In general, Eddie's playing here would never make it on radio today. He crosses bar lines. Radio today - neutered, polished, formatted - doesn't cross bar lines. In the cover of bluesman John Brim's "Ice Cream Man," Eddie rockets into his solo with stratospheric major key licks, then zooms back down by moving the same fretting shape across the strings (an EVH trademark - see also "Hot for Teacher").

It's not diatonically "correct" - and that's why it's so electric. At his best, Eddie launched into nail-bitingly implausible acrobatics, yet always stuck the landing. Other guitarists have been faster or more technical, but few have conveyed the same fire (Trey Azagthoth and Dimebag Darrell have come close). A guitar solo, "Eruption," as the second track? That would never happen on a major label record today.

The most underrated aspect of early Van Halen was the backup vocals. When "I'm the One" morphs from a smoking solo to perfect barbershop harmonies - rival bands must have heard that and thought, "Fuuuuuck." "Feel Your Love Tonight" has backups so awesome, they make me headbang. The "tonigh-igh-igh-ight" melismas circling as a round - heaven in the backseat indeed.

Van Halen saves its best for last. "On Fire" is front-to-back mindblowing, from Eddie's tick-tock harmonics, to the "I'm on fiyaaah" backups that damn near make my head explode, to the crushing riff after the first chorus, to the evil, King Diamond-esque "fire" refrain afterwards, to Alex Van Halen's juggling act of a fill coming out of the bridge - how many babies were conceived to this song??? Van Halen II mimicked its predecessor, replacing "Runnin' With the Devil" with "You're No Good" and "Eruption" with "Spanish Fly" - but the band would never recapture such magic.

Fugazi - In on the Kill Taker (Albini demos)

Others have written on these demos, but I'll revisit them since yesterday's mixtape had a tune from In on the Kill Taker. Fugazi were somewhat creatures of habit. They jammed at Ian MacKaye's grandparents' house in Guilford, CT; they recorded at Don Zientara's Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, VA (interesting how the various Fugazi albums recorded there sound so unlike).

For their third full-length, they tried something different and recorded demos in Chicago with Steve Albini. Band renowned for live chemistry + engineer renowned for live-sounding recordings = match made in heaven, right? Not exactly. Neither band nor engineer was happy with the results, and Fugazi returned to Inner Ear to record their most aggressive album.

Fugazi - In on the Kill Taker (Albini demos) [23.2MB .zip]

In an interview, MacKaye said that these sessions never saw daylight. However, MP3's labeled as such have floated around the Internet. I don't know if they're the real deal, as (a) the MP3's are encoded at an abysmally low 160 kbps, and (b) evidently the band also did previous demos at the Guilford house.

But I'd believe that Albini did these demos. The ambience and snare sound seem like they could come from him. Albini has always claimed not to have a sound, only capturing bands as they are. But while his mind may be objective, his hands must be subjective. He has to make choices regarding what sounds best to him. Thus, he's probably prone to tendencies. The sturdiness here is quite Albini-esque.

Public Witness Program (Albini demo)
Public Witness Program (final version)

Origin aside, these demos are interesting as such. At this second round of demoing, the songs were pretty much set. But they still had fascinating work-in-progress differences from the final products. "23 Beats Off" didn't have a long noisefest of an ending; "Public Witness Program" didn't have handclaps, which to me is 50% of the song.

These differences aren't as huge as, say, those between the demos and final tracks of Jimmy Eat World's Futures (all of which are on that record's 2-CD edition, which I highly recommend; it is amazing to hear ugly (and I mean ugly) duckling demos turned into pop perfection). But they're meaningful. For a band as seemingly spontaneous as Fugazi, these demos show that every vocal "ad lib" and string scrape was not only planned, but also finely tuned.

High on Fire, Glorior Belli, Inked in Blood, etc.

High on Fire

When I saw High on Fire recently, I was astounded by the number of females in the crowd. Only Enslaved in Berlin had more girls - go figure. Actually, I kind of get that. Europeans invented metal, so it's in their blood. There, black metallers actually have Norwegian names, and girls go to the local Saturn (the German equivalent of Best Buy) in full metal gear, spikes and all, and shop in the "Hard 'n' Heavy" section like it ain't a thang. I think I just gave myself a boner.

High on Fire - Rumors of War
Glorior Belli - Sinister Resonance
Inked in Blood - Somewhere Familiar
Sebastian Bach - Back in the Saddle (feat. Axl Rose)

In American record stores, though, the only long hair in the metal section is male (admit it, guys - you've checked out fit longhairs before, only to have them turn around and be male - oof). I'd basically resigned my American metal life to "bro'ing down" until I saw High on Fire. There were so many women, it felt almost wrong. It was seriously disconcerting. And they were totally getting down. The sight of a girl throwing the goat is a mighty aphrodisiac indeed.

Here's my theory: girls like 3-over-2 accents. You'd see them raise their fists, as one is wont to do at High on Fire. But Matt Pike's guitar playing is mostly strumming, so there's actually not much to pump your fist to. Drummer Des Kensel is a fucking force of nature, and he's cranking out thrash and d-beats like his singer's named Lindberg. So it's a tug-of-war, this percussive onslaught with mushy strumming and the molten river of distorted bass. Thus during the verses, fists are raised but not pumping. They're just drifting.

But when the 3-over-2 accents come, it's indeed like coming, a simultaneously orgasmic vice grip of synchronicity. Fists pump involuntarily - then go back to drifting. High on Fire probably know this, as they dish out 3-over-2 accents with much greater frequency than any other band. The 3-over-2 accent is normally reserved for punctuation at the end of phrases (e.g., "time for primal concrete sledge"). High on Fire practically write entire songs around 3-over-2 accents. And this is why girls love 'em.

At Metal Injection, I've reviewed High on Fire, as well as French black metallers Glorior Belli and Deathspell Omega, Dutch death metallers Severe Torture, hair metal pinup Sebastian Bach, and the mammoth new live DVD set from AC/DC. At Decibel, I've reviewed ancient thrashers Overkill and Christian metalcore outfit Inked in Blood. The latter surprised me - extremely clichéd good cop/bad cop elements, but arranged with creativity, skill, and passion. It's the most uplifting record I've heard this year, and I find myself returning to it often.

Coliseum - No Salvation

If Fugazi were on Deathwish Inc., they might be Coliseum. Thus, abstract yet hard-hitting politics meet dirty tones, Motörhead worship, unison bends, and a general hardcore ethic. Ryan Patterson's howl even suggests Guy Picciotto with more testosterone ("defeater" sounds like "repeater"). Kurt Ballou's behind the boards on No Salvation (Relapse, 2007), so it pulses with thick, analog electricity. This record - vocals, lyrics, guitars, bass - roars.

Defeater
Seven Cities

Its strength is diversity. So many bands have similar influences, but the result is usually generic death 'n' roll. These songs vary widely in speed, with melodic touches and odd angles throughout. 13 tracks fly by in 31 minutes - a brief but nasty beating. Patterson, who works at Auxiliary Design, turns in a beautiful black, silver, and white layout. The liner notes are legible, and they have plenty to say. "Seven Cities" is about the "Seven Sisters" of oil - the image of "highways built on blood" has never been more apt. Any band that takes on Big Pharma ("Health as business preys on our need / While the poor die in the fucking street") deserves support.

No Salvation is available from Reflections (Europe) and Relapse (US).

Aeon, Akimbo, Dethklok, Prong, and more

Aeon

For some reason, I've been in a death metal mood recently. Maybe it's because I've been hitting the gym (TESTOSTERONE! BR00TAL!). Or maybe it's because it's warm here in SF, which enjoys its summer in autumn. It's hard to be grim and cold when the sun's out.

Prong - The Banishment
Dethklok - Hatredcopter
Aeon - You Pray to Nothing
Sickening Horror - An Eerie Aspect of Us...Drowning

Up at Metal Injection, I have reviews of Greek death metallers Sickening Horror and Swedish death metallers Aeon. At Stylus, I have reviews of Christian death/grinders Impending Doom, the incomparable Dethklok, and Prong, whose new album is their strongest since Cleansing. I also have a look back at my favorite Metallica recording, The $5.98 EP: Garage Days Re-Revisited. At Decibel, I have reviews of The Jesus Lizard's live DVD, as well as very drunk band Akimbo and a split by Dysrhythmia/Rothko.

3 Inches of Blood, Fugazi, Ministry, and more

3 Inches of Blood

Some new writing up - at Metal Injection, I have reviews of film buffs/metalcore-rs Killwhitneydead and Relapse retro thrashers Dekapitator. At Stylus, I have a look back at Fugazi's most underrated record, Steady Diet of Nothing, as well as reviews of the Speed Kills...Again compilation on Heavy Artillery, metal-obsessed rapper Necro, falsetto-fueled 3 Inches of Blood, Ministry's final album (that cover of The Doors' "Roadhouse Blues" is unbelievably banging), Xasthur's excellent latest mopefest, and Bloody Panda, who actually sound like their name - slow, fuzzy, wounded.

3 Inches of Blood - Night Marauders
Ministry - Roadhouse Blues
Xasthur - Cemetery of Shattered Masks

I would never have forecast this, but 3 Inches of Blood's Fire Up the Blades is my favorite metal album this year. Their last record was OK, but they seriously stepped it up this time. I have not had this much fun with metal in a long, long time. Every time I hear this album, goats and invisible oranges start flying and one-man moshpits erupt in my apartment. This is the kind of music that leads to unwise, impulsive tattoos. I'm no danger of being like the guy who got Ken Susi's face tattooed on his ass - but I'm just sayin'.

Joe Satriani - Surfing with the Alien (Legacy Edition)

It's been well over 10 years since I last heard Joe Satriani's Surfing with the Alien (Epic, 1987). When I was younger, I was into such guitar gymnastics, but my tastes have changed, and I haven't given the album much thought since then. Recently, though, I picked up this 20th anniversary "Legacy Edition" out of curiosity - to revisit an old friend, so to speak.

Lords of Karma
Echo

What surprised me was how well the material has held up. On one hand, the album is extremely dated. The electronic drums and tones are so '80s, all processed and Rockman-ed out. Even though there's been a resurgence of shred guitar to an extent, it's nowhere near the Shrapnel mania that swept guitar magazines in the '80s.

On the other hand, the songs are killer. Personally, I prefer the warm, organic feel of his self-titled album or the night driving atmosphere of Not of This Earth. However, Surfing has the most memorable melodies and compositions Satriani has ever written. "Ice 9"? "Crushing Day"? "Always with Me, Always with You"? All stone cold classics, with tight, efficient arrangements and eminently hummable solos. Ironically, this simplicity is why Satriani sits atop the shred guitar heap (with only Steve Vai in the same sentence). Even when he goes off on insane runs, he makes them sound easy.

Joe Travolta

This reissue isn't remixed (no need, as the original was clean to the point of sterility), but it's been remastered for pleasingly beefier sound. The liner notes are everything one could ask for, with lots of historical photos and Satriani's track-by-track recollections ("Lords of Karma" took 12 years to write???).

The included DVD contains a great-sounding gig from the 1988 Montreux Jazz Festival, featuring the classic trio with Stu Hamm on bass and Jonathan Mover on drums. The cameras are numerous and the editing is professional, though there is an unfortunate preponderance of behind-the-throne ass shots of Mover. Satriani's outfit is a car wreck, a vile vest and pants combo that suggests Keith Haring designing for Zubaz. I really did not need to see that much of Satriani's chest and armpit hair.

Other extras include a hilarious interview with Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel about Satriani, and videos for "Satch Boogie" and "Always with Me, Always with You." All this extra material comes at an elevated price, but it's worth it. This is arguably the best instrumental rock guitar record ever; the Legacy Edition is a perfect entry point for newcomers and a lovely nostalgia trip for oldsters like me.

Martin Grech - Unholy

The art of Stephen Kasner is one of the best things that's ever happened to me. Although I'm now familiar with his style, it still d/haunts me. It's a "take a deep breath and leap into the unknown" proposition, which I prize but find so rarely. I'm honored to have spoken with him; his interview and artwork are up today in my ongoing metal artists feature this week at Stylus.

Guiltless

Kasner did the cover for Martin Grech's Unholy (Island, 2005). It's the inverse of a Rothko take on a cross - not religious, but dirty, gauzy, fading. The image fits the the album, which pairs Grech's Jeff Buckley/Thom Yorke/male Bjork vocals with ambient alt-rock and occasional metal a la Tool or NIN. Like an M. Night Shyamalan movie, the result doesn't always work, but it's atmospheric as hell. "Guiltless," one of the album's singles, is a lush, slow burn.

Below are some outtakes from my interview with Kasner.

Do you think there's misanthropy in your work?

I think in terms of the darker side of nature, the darker side of man, buried thoughts, nightmares, regret, things that we as humans often try to bury - things that psychiatrists make a lot of money on.

In your album artwork, you often focus on a central element instead of playing with the edges of the frame.

In my paintings in general, I usually have a central focus or various groups of focus, and there's also areas that are not focused. They're unrefined, and I don't mean that in a negative way. It's almost like pinhole photography, where you have a focus, coupled with areas of distorted image.

I've always been fascinated by early photography. Some of the most powerful images I've ever seen have been in early photography or portraiture, where things are as refined as they can be, but the tools and techniques they employed at the time had a natural distortion to it. There's something about that to me that's so melancholy and so beautiful. Not to read too much into the edges of my paintings, but I think it's part homage to these photographic images.

Are you one of those people that prefer vinyl to CD's?

I most certainly do. But CD's and MP3's become very handy in the studio. If I'm working in the studio, I'm working for many, many hours. My work is pretty dirty. It's pretty hefty work. I don't paint in a very controlled environment. A lot of times I'm throwing huge buckets of paint and washes on my work. It's very tactile and messy. So it'd become inconvenient to always be flipping vinyl. But I do have a vinyl collection that I appreciate very much when I'm at home.

And This Army - Foe

English shoegazing meets NeurIsis heaviness - the typical result would be buried vocals, but Brendan McDermott's soaring singing is this band's trump card. The songwriting is a little undisciplined (either give me the perfect three-minute song or go the whole 10-minute distance), but the tension is interesting. Song or sound? Why not both, see Swervedriver.

The Ghost of Johnny's Pizza
Blackbeard

I'm curious how And This Army sounds live, since McDermott is its only guitarist. At times, I found myself wishing for more high-end information, but maybe with enough pedals and amps, the overtones are enough. With the guitar sketching out harmonic clouds, the bass takes up the melodies with assertive tones. The rhythm section uncorks some nice post-punk rhythms; the overall attack reminds me at times of Shudder to Think's Funeral at the Movies.

What's up with the strange, Gauguin-esque cover art (by Ben Partrick)? The lyrics come from a "rock songwriting" angle, and it's refreshing for me (as a "metal guy") to see narrative and play with language. This Brooklyn band has intriguing ingredients, so I'm excited to hear it hone them. In the meantime, you can find Foe (self-released, 2006) at the band's website.

Marty Friedman vs. Paul Gilbert - Big-Deth

The Japanese are responsible for some of the most fucked-up (and addictive) TV I have ever seen. There's their uber-sadistic game shows (warning: NSFW), my favorite of which involves forcing contestants to apply makeup while riding a rollercoaster. There's the most messed-up English lesson ever. There's the amazing Cats Carrying Fish, 11 full minutes of...cats carrying fish.

But the most mind-melting TV I've seen recently is this appearance by Marty Friedman and Paul Gilbert on Rock Fujiyama. American TV doesn't hold a candle to this. Friedman and Gilbert speaking fluent Japanese? The Japanese hosts rocking American accents? A weird duet where Friedman and Gilbert struggle through "Tornado of Souls" (which has one of my all-time favorite guitar solos)? It all pales in comparison to an incredible session of "play a riff by that band," where Gilbert demonstrates what a walking riff dictionary he is.

There's tons more of Friedman/Gilbert goodness on YouTube. I have watched this clip at least six times now...you can't beat the Big-Deth.

Hirax, Six Feet Under, Obscurus Advocam...

Obscurus Advocam

Some new writing up - at Metal Injection, I've reviewed robust efforts by old-school thrashers Hirax and 420 advocates Six Feet Under, as well as black metal from The Ruins of Beverast and Obscurus Advocam. The latter has been really doing it for me lately - black metal that's heavy for once! At Stylus, I have a dual review of Croatian math rockers Cog and Bosnian electronic/rock hybrid Vuneny, both on the always-inspiring Moonlee Records.

Hirax - Assassins of War
Obscurus Advocam - Verbia Daemonicus
Cog - Up Anchors, Down Sails

Rock Lobster

When I was much younger, I absolutely bugged out to the B-52's "Rock Lobster." I'm talking about full-on losing it, complete with bodily mimicking of the "down, down, down" part. After seeing a gazillion YouTube videos of the song, including a pretty good Family Guy rendition, I'm convinced this is one of the best songs ever written. The female vocals are perfect, Fred Schneider is Fred Schneider, and...dude, that cowbell.

Dead Horse - Rock Lobster
Botch - Rock Lobster

Why metal bands are the only ones to record covers of this song is beyond me. And, really, the covers aren't that great. I first heard Dead Horse's version circa 1991 via the wonderful WUNH 91.3 FM. It's not bad, gruffly faithful to the original. Botch's version, on the other hand, is one of the low points of the band's catalogue. The Internet seems to disagree, though; perhaps the most popular Google search leading to this site is people seeking that cover. Happy now?

Much more interesting is this live video, apparently recorded in 1979. It's one of the hottest things I've ever seen. We always knew Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson were hot, but gawdamn! And Fred Schneider's porn-stache! With the cameraman roving around, you'd think this were the set of Boogie Nights. Dark, sweaty, and slightly jaded, this version shits all over anything "post-punk" today.

B-52's - Rock Lobster (live, 1979)

A Whisper in the Noise - As the Bluebird Sings

The Carpenters' Coalmen
Hell's Half Acre

Transdreamer
2006


Taking a break from metal today - though metalheads might dig A Whisper in the Noise because it's dark, dark, dark. AWITN recently played here in Berlin with Harvestman, the solo project of Neurosis' Steve Von Till, and its brand of gothic Americana isn't too far from, say, Across Tundras. Nick Cave, Gillian Welch, and Clogs might also haunt the same sonic universe. These are coarse references, but I know the dark side when I hear it.

A Whisper in the Noise is West Thordson, who is a genius. He takes a music store's worth of instruments - piano, guitar, strings, drums, french horn, minimal electronics - and orchestrates them into intimate, gorgeous masterpieces. Again, "dark" - not monochromatic, but subtle, fleeting, shadowy. When I am old and have lost everyone, I hope I'll have these sounds to wrap around me. When you age, you revert to childhood - this is the ideal soundtrack for burrowing under a blanket. Darkness, warmth, possibilities.

(Trivia: Thordson evidently lives and makes music in the abandoned Minnesota elementary school he attended as a child.)

AWITN's self-titled album is amazing in its own right, and I may also write it up someday. A new album, A New Dawn, recorded by Steve Albini, comes out this autumn - don't miss it. In the meantime, you can find As The Bluebird Sings at Indie Rhythm.

The Color Guard - Cornucopia

Kick Ass Instrumental

Suziblade
2007



I am often amazed at what I get sent to review. Yes, I listen to all kinds of music, but at the moment writingwise, I am a "metal guy." That should be obvious from this site and my MySpace. However, some of the non-metal "what the hell do I do with this" stuff I get is interesting, and a change of pace from "blastblastblast SatanSatanSatan 666." The Color Guard falls into this category.

This New York band recalls mid-'90s female-fronted alternative rock - Breeders, et al. - with slight goth and psychedelic tendencies (trivia: Winona Ryder's character in Reality Bites is named after singer Lalena Fissure). Accordingly, the band had a 2004 album called Dark Pop. Cornucopia is a pleasant little EP with scrappy guitar tones and male/female vocal harmonies. The songs range from faux-Latin exotica to garage rock to a fuzzed-out "Kick Ass Instrumental."

"Understandable vocals" rock is frankly not my forte, but this EP is well-done, and includes a live DVD filmed at CBGB's. For more sounds and CD/MP3 ordering info, check out the band's MySpace.

The Stooges, Titan, Devious, Omnium Gatherum, Dokken, and Liferuiner

Devious

Up at Stylus I have reviews of new albums by The Stooges and Titan. At Metal Injection, I've reviewed Dutch death metallers Devious, Finnish melodeath dealers Omnium Gatherum, hair farmers Dokken (who seem to be getting "they weren't that bad" reevaluation these days), and straightedge hardcore punkers Liferuiner.

Devious - Room 302
Omnium Gatherum - Drudgery

Speaking of sXe, Decibel has an interesting feature up on breaking edge. And if you haven't already, check out Adrien Begrand's fine piece on Manowar for PopMatters. Sitting through a Manowar DVD is the metal journalistic equivalent of "taking one for the team."

I'm giving a talk on Berlin techno in Seattle at the EMP Pop Conference at 2:15 pm on Friday, April 20. The conference is free to the public, and loads (and I mean loads) of music writing heavies will be there, so feel free to drop by.

Also, I'll be in NYC from April 13-19, so if you want to get a drink, share record store tips, etc., email me at invisibleoranges at gmail dot com. On Wednesday April 18, I'll be at the Annihilate This Week weekly at Guero, 9 Avenue A between Houston & 1st, so feel free to stop by and say hi. I'm the dude with the shaved head, glasses, and black shirt - like every other dude there, probably!

Michael Angelo Batio - Utter Ridiculousness

Now, I have seen some guitar shredding in my life. I've been to a Necrophagist show. I've seen Trey Azagthoth play live, up close. I've owned Steve Vai's Alien Love Secrets video. I grew up when Guitar One magazine was called Guitar for the Practicing Musician.

But nothing - and I mean nothing - comes close to the sheer fucking fury that is Michael Angelo Batio. Never mind that he is essentially a computer with a pick and bad hair, or that he is the most soulless guitarist I have ever heard. What matters is his absolutely absurd double guitar, with which he creates the sonic equivalent of masturbating twice at the same time. This is (two) hands down the most ridiculous guitar playing I have ever seen.

Name that hair metal band

EW.com has a cheeky photo quiz up - "Name that hair metal band." I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that I got a perfect score. I guess all that time spent reading Circus and Hit Parader in grocery stores as a child wasn't for nothing.

Wartime - Fast Food for Thought

Wartime

Chrysalis
1990



Speaking of Henry Rollins, here's an odd one from the vaults. Wartime was a one-off recording with Andrew Weiss, Rollins Band bassist up until The End of Silence. The EP had drum machine grooves, distorted and effected bass (imagine a mix of Rollins Band and Bootsy Collins), TV soundbites, and Rollins' trademark vocals. Every song had basically the same beat, and there's even a mangled cover of The Grateful Dead's "Franklin's Tower."

How this project got major label backing is beyond me. Rollins Band hadn't even achieved Lollapalooza notoriety yet. Even stranger is the fact that "The Whole Truth" had an MTV video (RIP 120 Minutes). It's bizarre beyond belief. Where else can you see Rollins striking swimsuit model poses? If anyone can explain what the hell is going on here, please do share. You can find this for pennies on Amazon.

Wartime - The Whole Truth

Mabou - Our Last Sleep Is Our Final Awakening

You're Like Lights in December
Your World and All That Is in It

Skean Dhu
2006


Steve Copley of Mabou is my colleague at Stylus, which disqualifies this plug from being an objective review. However, I'm happy to share my honest opinion of Our Last Sleep Is Our Final Awakening. It's a fine shoegazer album, one that grows on me with each listen.

What appeals to me is its homegrown quality. It doesn't hit you over the head with the "We are so shoegazer, remember 1991, remember?" vibe I've heard in some retro-minded projects. I like how the production is a little rough around the edges. One guy on guitars, one guy on percussion and programming, feed through effects and sequencing, and that's it. Loveless cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to make, and it doesn't sound much better.

On one hand, the album is generally pretty easygoing. The grooves are loose, the drums sound nicely natural, and the chord progressions are standard for pop music. No vocals here, except for perhaps some that have been highly processed into textures.

On the other hand, it hits some gnarly peaks, with guitar tones that rival the buzzing-est of black metal. This album's like life - it ebbs and flows, with some nasty headaches thrown in. Some of the uglier (in a good way) tones remind me of the vastly underrated Medicine.

"You're Like Lights in December" opens with a very Mancunian bass line. It goes into a I-V-IV with a nice contrast between sharped and flatted thirds; the highlight, though is a sudden patch of beautiful clean tones before distortion comes swarming back. "Your World and All That Is in It" does likewise, unexpectedly darkening in the middle with an MBV-esque bass groove. Heresy perhaps, but while I love Loveless, I've already listened to this album more.

You can find Our Last Sleep at Amazon and other online retailers.

Phazm, Marty Friedman, Hot Cross reviews

Phazm

New review is up at Stylus of French black 'n' death 'n' roll outfit Phazm. Up at Metal Injection are reviews of ex-Megadeth shredder Marty Friedman and Equal Vision artists Hot Cross.

Phazm - Black 'n' Roll
Hot Cross - Silence Is Failure

More Than a Feeling

RIP, Brad Delp

Iamthethorn, Dying Fetus, Dustin Kensrue reviews

Dying Fetus

New reviews are up at Metal Injection of Seattle sludgesters Iamthethorn, featuring Himsa's John Pettibone on vocals, and the infamous Dying Fetus. For some reason, Cannibal Corpse, Necrophagist, and Aborted seem like sensible metal band names to me, but I still get self-conscious when I tell people I like Dying Fetus.

At Stylus, I've reviewed the solo acoustic debut by Thrice frontman Dustin Kensrue.

Iamthethorn - As the Night Rises
Dying Fetus - Fate of the Condemned

Follow for Now - Self-Titled

She Watch Channel Zero?!
Evil Wheel

Chrysalis
1991


Follow for Now came up in the early '90s black rock movement that included Living Colour, Fishbone, and so on. Taking its name from Public Enemy's "Bring The Noise," the Atlanta band released only one album, a self-titled effort in 1991. It was mostly funk rock tinged with R&B and ska, with the occasional foray into hard rock and metal. David Ryan Harris' vocals were charismatic, and Chris Tinsley's Strat tones had much Hendrix in them.

The band was known for amazing live jams and call-and-response crowd interaction (see this comment thread). However, that energy did not translate in the album's sterile production. Inexplicably, producer Matt Sherrod played drums on the record instead of actual drummer Bernard "Enrique" Coley - major label meddling, perhaps?

Two songs stood out, though. "She Watch Channel Zero?!" covered the Public Enemy classic, which of course sampled Slayer's "Angel of Death." Thus, it was sort of a cover of a cover (dig the cheeky Sabbath reference in the intro). "Evil Wheel" was an anthem with Fishbone-esque horns and gearshift key modulations. Evidently, the song had an MTV video, which no one has uploaded to YouTube yet. You can find this album for shamefully little at Amazon.

Belladonna - Metaphysical Attraction

Black Swan
Mystical Elysian Love

Self-Released
2006


Not the Anthrax singer nor the adult film star, Belladonna is an Italian band that falls somewhere between hard and goth rock. But these terms are really too crude to describe this band. The former implies a certain simplicity, and the latter a certain aesthetic, neither of which apply here. Whatever it's called, I'm not normally into music like this; it's a testament to its quality that I quite enjoy it.

Evidently, almost 48,000 other people on MySpace do, too. The band currently boasts over 200,000 profile views, a staggering number for an unsigned band. By comparison, Helmet and The Haunted have fewer profile views. MySpace is the promotional tool de jour of bands, but I'm suspicious when one pushes that angle this hard. "The most popular Italian unsigned band on Myspace!" "Belladonna in the Top 100 Artists MySpace chart!" What do these things mean?

For one, it means they have someone who sits at the computer and sends out a lot of friend requests. But to get that many "friends" in the approximately 15 months the band has been on MySpace, it would have to average over 100 requests daily. That would be physically feasible, of course, but hugely time-consuming. Thus, I'd bet that a good number of these requests are not outgoing, but incoming, meaning that many people actually like this band.

All this talk of MySpace might seem ancillary to the music. But I'm trying to figure out why a band that's posting these kinds of numbers isn't signed yet. After all, on the Earache Records blog, Digby Pearson said that 100,000+ profile views get labels salivating.

My guess is that the band's sound isn't hip at the moment. This album has a rock vibe rooted in the '70s and '80s. The band lists Kate Bush, Led Zeppeli