TWELVE YEARS OF UNWANTED OPINION
I’ve probably heard this CD a hundred times, but for the purpose of (finally) committing it to this site I gave it another run through, and boy does it sound absolutely magical. Perhaps I’ve grown up a bit, but I can feel so much more going on here. These sweeping, all-encompassing drones simply have to be heard to be believed.
I think I’ve listened to this album about 15 times with the purpose of doing a review for it, but it always falls apart and I don’t really know why. However this time I absolutely made myself power through, in order to finally commit this one to the site. It’s been on the to do list for 5 years for fucks sakes. I think I know what my issue is. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any individual component to Bodyfarm, nor to how those parts are composed to work together in the medium of a death metal band, but there is something about this album that is so low key boring that I can’t quite put my finger on it. Is it the pacing? The general uninspired nature of the tracks? I don’t know, but Jesus, I struggled through this one. Sorry, Bodyfarm.
Someone needs to tell the director of this movie the importance of pacing. The 100 minutes or so of this film were some of the longest of my life. The plot is absolutely nonsensical, with the most asinine twists imaginable. Its a good thing really that you want the insufferable cast to all fucking die. That aside, Slave Of The Cannibal God is the usual concoction of cannibalism, tits and staged animal slaughter that comes with the genre. All in all, this is pretty terrible.
There is only so much that can be said about Cemetery Rapist, and I think I probably covered it all in my review of his Plundering… record back in 2015. You’ll cowards want some phresh slices of mad-ass porno-tinged slamz yo? Then, truly, fine and esteemed gentlemen, look no further, the Rapist has you covered. Trademark vocals skitter across four tracks of tinny programmed drums, and thicker-than-bong-grease riffage. Drill full, and ascend!
Vespertine is another classic in the original run of stunning Björk albums, and a welcome return to form after the miss that was Selmasongs (unsure if that counts as canon, being a soundtrack album). Vespertine is looser, much more abstract and flowing than Homogenic that came before it, and I suppose you could say that initially it suffers, lacking direction, however this formula turns out to really work well for Björk, and many of the records that followed would employ this method of songwriting. Vespertine is considered a must by many Björk fans, but I’m not super hot on it myself. Its great, but its not incredible. What a terrible thing!
I’ve been putting off this listen for as long as I remember. Thanks go then to one of my fellow night shift colleagues for pumping this out through the communal sound bar. I’ve never sat down and listened to Radiohead before, so it was an eye (ear?) opening experience to hear what all the fuss is about. Is it for me? I’m not sure, but this is a solid and at time morose album that is delicate and intricate in both its mood and instrumentation.
Lucio Fulci’s swansong in the director’s seat, in which he bizarrely plays himself as he goes mad, unable to tell what is reality anymore after donkeys years of directing gore and exploitation. To top off his deteriorating mental state, people are starting to die gruesome deaths, and Fulci begins to suspect that he is the killer. Despite this awesome plot summary (and the fact that the BBFC wouldn’t rate it), this actually is a pretty awful movie. The pacing is excruciating, Fulci can’t act (sorry meng, RIP) and it includes recycled footage from some of his earlier films. However there is a smattering of gorgeous Italian women present so if you like gore and tits and not much else you might be okay. Otherwise, you might wanna give it a miss.
Upon its release, Antichrist quickly became one of my favourite releases by the band. It retained the experimental, proggy edge of the previous record – which featured much more lighter songwriting and meandering exploration – and mashed that head on with brutal old school death metal. Akercocke have always had a death metal element to their sinister sound, of course, but the style here is totally different; you’ve got d-beats, more grooves, and more sludgy old school riffs. Mix that with the previously mentioned progressive edge, and also with Akercocke’s trademark, lightening fast, terrifying satanic ferocity, and Antichrist is one of the hardest hitting – if not the most easily accessible – offering that the band ever recorded. One of my favourite albums of all time, no doubt.
I’ve often heard of this film referred to as the “forgotten slasher”, where people imply that it fell into obscurity, when similar film such as Halloween or Friday The 13th went on to be powerhouses of cinema. Unfortunately, this effort can not be put in the same ballpark as the others mentioned here. Think of this as a combination of Scream and a Friday The 13th sequel. Throw in a bunch of medical mumbo jumbo, a veritable bevy of young ladies, a truckload of partying jocks, and you’ve pretty much got all the ingredients for this borefest. Despite there being literally zero gore or flesh (save for a decapitation scene where a head ends up down a toilet), and the acting being incredibly sub par in comparisons to the rest of the overall quality of the production, I did – for reasons that aren’t immediately clear to me – rather enjoy this. Just don’t expect much.
Chunk on chunk on chunk! Take Bolt Thrower and run it through the gamut of modern metal production and you’ll wind up with a sound that isn’t a bazillion miles from this. At first, it comes across as massively uninspiring, but maybe its the old school metalhead in me, because this was a grower.
Ah, my brain, she melts! I’ve always found Molting a strange name for a project. Like, it sounds more horrible than it actually is (lol). That aside, this full length release on the netlabel Torn Flesh is a true exercise in harsh noise. Aurally punishing, but that’s why we’re all here, right?
The Dad from Home Alone (haha) leads a cast of Misfits through this entertaining but incredibly low budget mush. Nuclear waste is being dumped in the sewers of New York (honestly, that would explain a lot IRL) and the CHUDs have come to wreak havoc. Hilarious spots for me were noticing bit parts played by Commissioner Burrell and The Greek from HBO’s The Wire.
What a mixed bag of craziness. Think classic / occult rock vibes meets prog weirdness. Refreshing, but definitely a bit meandering in places.
Oooh she’s a nasty one! This is fucking class, fair play. I was expecting some half arsed slam at worst, but fuck this is great! It’s more in the brutal death metal ballpark, but with grindcore-style song lengths and structures. Think asinine sampling, insane tracks and a fuckin’ mad time all round. Purulent Jacuzzi, I am ready to enter you!
The Low End Theory is a classic hip hop record. Just listening to the beats on this thing is an absolute pleasure. The rhymes from everyone involved are sharp and precise, and remind me of the days when hip hop wasn’t all about excess and debauchery (granted, there’s a lot of modern MCs who don’t rap this way, but you know what I mean). A stunning exercise, from start to finish.
Clanking, barking mad death metal for the entire family. I remember constantly seeing this record sleeve at a local HMV whilst growing up. I never really got into death metal until I was like 17 or older so I often wonder how different the trajectory of my musical fandom would have gone if I’d bought this when I was 13 or something. They, quite simply, in boomer talk, just don’t make death metal records like this anymore. Instead of an over-compressed polished turd, Severed Survival breathes. Sure, the tracks groan along with the nuance of a pneumatic drill, but the production is authentic and gory. Heavily recommended, not that anyone in the death metal world needs to be recommended an Autopsy record.
I’ve always found that Mudvayne were an underrated band. I can’t speak of what they became, but LD.50 was bristling with promises, and underpinned by a technical ability that left most nu metal bands significantly wanting. There is something altogether more Tool poking out through the stupid make up and early 2000s tropes. I could listen to that bass and drum combo all day. “Dig”, “Death Blooms”, “Nothing to Gein” are all incredible tracks and are all time favourites of mine.
I came to this world with nothing, and I leave with nothing but love. Everything Is Borrowed is a wildcard in The Streets’ canon, and absolutely one of my absolute favourites of theirs. The street-level rapped antics of the everyday pulse of the city is swapped in lieu of introspective philosophical musings and lyrics that are almost riddles. The scope of the sound is opened tenfold; gone are the banging garage beats, in are full band ensemble pieces, some tracks feature insane numbers of musicians. This is stunning, glorious and rewarding. It also still sounds like a bonafide Streets record. Brilliant album.
I watched this around the same time as Sweet Sugar and therefore muddle them up in my head quite a lot. Honestly, it hard to tell which one is more morally wrong but this sleazefest, whilst a bit slow-paced, is very enjoyable. I mean, as far as the ‘women in prison’ subgenre of exploitation film goes, I genuinely don’t know what more one could expect from a movie of this kind. Arguably, Big Bird Cage is the daddy (or mommy?) of the genre, plus it has Pam Grier, what more do you want?
Jesus Christ on a cross, this is a long boi. I mean, I’ve heard much longer albums than the 80 minutes or so going on here, but when the record is built up of djent 7 minuters showcasing little to no variation, peppered only by seemingly mandatory instrumental breaks, then holy fuck it feels like I’ve taken a whole ice age to listen to this thing. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, depending on how much you like razor sharp riffs and metal that’s more metal than metal itself. The production is dense, the songs are fucking heavy as shit, and whilst this may drag for some people, every time I find myself at the point of nodding off, a super heavy riff comes out of nowhere and blows my dick off. Outpost 31 by Chaos Trigger
White Light, despite being heavily appreciated by the Swans fan community, took a long time to unfold for me. It wasn’t until I got the vinyl version (paid out the nose for it, but it has since been remastered) that I could truly appreciate the songs as they unfold. Now the remaster is also on Spotify, so I’ve been able to spend some more time with these tracks. Honestly, its like listening to a different record now; the songs are lush and flowing, cut maliciously only by Gira’s biting lyrics. Otherwise, they flow from the speakers like beautiful rivers of glorious enlightenment.
Darkthrone’s trio of early albums are legendary the world over for their contribution to the second era of black metal music. Transylvanian Hunger has always admittedly been my favourite, but A Blaze In The Northern Sky has its charms. Denser in sound that it’s follow up, I find that Blaze meanders somewhat, wandering lost through the frozen crags of a hellish wilderness.
Well, this was just lovely. Imagine something like a game soundtrack come alive. Reminded me a bit of Carpenter Brut, if only more driven and less sparkly. The Perturbator wasn’t high on my list of listens, but I’m glad I gave this a go.
Considering the weight that both of these names bring in the noise, industrial and power electronics world, this collaboration record is unfortunately a bit of a mixed bag. The noise is brooding and atmospheric, with the odd ear piercing flourish. Genesis’ “vocals” however, massively take me out of the whole thing. I get it, it’s noise. It’s not uncommon to have vocals distorted. But when the pace is so slow and deliberate, as with most of the tracks here, and the tracks are spoken word passages rather than conventional lyrics, you’d expect to be able to hear at least half of what is going on. It reminds me of listening to longwave radio: kinda cool, but also kinda fucking pointless.
It’s hollow, menacing, ethereal and brutal. Yes, of course, it’s early Swans. I often hear of Jarboe’s presence in Swans described as a “thawing” of their sound. Sometimes that doesn’t really sit right with me, considering how punishing the records continued to be up until, and maybe even including, Children Of God. Jarboe’s presence perhaps, is a “thawing” of the jagged edges which were present on Filth or Cop; the band are simply choosing a different way in which to express their tortured core, and that is wholly evident on the masterful slab of misery that is Greed.
This had absolutely everything you could want from a low budget slasher flick, but still managed to be completely awful. That aside, the laugh factor was surprisingly high and the gore FX attempts were admirable. I’m not sure if the actors here are just “friends” of the director, even most porn stars act better than the girls playing the strippers in this movie. I’m gonna say avoid this one.
Possessing and dry and crisp production, Swamped In Gore allows Broken Hope’s floor-shaking low end to come through in all its glory. If you love sludgy, down tuned to fuck brutal death metal, then look no further. Bright yet melancholic passages act as breaks from the heaviness, and offer welcome respites on the journey that is Swamped In Gore.
Cheeky cheeky! Beer themed thrash metal is hardly a rare thing, but Wehrmacht’s Biērmächt gives Municipal Waste a lot to answer for. The similarities are uncanny in places. I’d say the same for some elements of Pete Steele’s Carnivore. But hey, I’m just here for the tunes, which are great. Cheers!
We supported these guys on their U.K. tour in 2015 (Christ, the time… she flies) which turned me on to their unique blend of death metal or even djent-style riffs and of course, blasting grindcore. In Narcosis is a perfect example of their frenetic sound, coupled with excellent sampling and a solid production job. You’d never guess there was no bass player. Good stuff!
Let me write to you about The Deuce. It has finished its compact run of three seasons in as many years and I can now commit it to the site (TV shows need to have completed their run to warrant inclusion on LIW – Ed). Everything about The Deuce has bells on. It starts as a 1970s period piece, where downtown New York is painstakingly recreated on the dime of big budget backers HBO. The series is created by David Simon, one of the visionary minds of modern television (he did The Wire), in collaboration with esteemed crime author and The Wire writer George Pelecanos. Big name movie stars such as James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal signed on, delivering, arguably, career defining performances alongside a stunning ensemble cast. So why, prey tell, is NOBODY talking about The Deuce? I don’t know if something has been lost in translation over on this side of the pond, but it is almost insulting that this unflinching goosey at the rise of the porn industry from the seedy underworld of crime and prostitution into your cinemas and living rooms has gone mostly under the radar. If you loved The Wire, then this is a no brainer, but The Deuce also packs a bit of class and swagger; maybe it’s the costume design, but The Deuce feels much more like a TV show than The Wire did, the latter having an almost documentary feel to it. Twin Peaks’ return aside (as I don’t suppose that counts as a “new” show?), The Deuce is hands down the best TV show to have been made in the last five years, if not longer. Massively underrated stuff
Steal This Album trundled out shortly after Toxicity, and I guess a lot of people at the time incorrectly thought it was a collection of tracks and leftovers rather than a solid canonical release in its own right. My mate left a battered copy of this at my house one day and it became my most listened to SOAD record. It doesn’t take itself as seriously as Toxicity and is full of all sorts of total nonsense (the best!), but there are some hard hitters here that are now legendary System tracks. Contender for my favourite release from this highly acclaimed group.
And just like that, it’s like the last 8 years never happened. Mr. Harris low key returned in 2019 with the Scorn project, something that has been consistently solid for a while now. Feather brings more of that paranoid soundscape / slo mo beatwork that we all love so much. Keep your eyes peeled for the LIW post for the new full album following this EP/single. Glad to have Scorn back, mate!
This could probably be a contender for underwhelming listen of the year. How I have constantly put this off, year after year. Unfortunately, Parallel Lines lacks any sort of impact for me. It is fairly soulless, flat and devoid of any real substance. I have a lot of respect for Debbie Harry, but this is shit.
Every Halloween its become something of a tradition for this to go on the TV. The titular character holds little charm or comedy value for myself, but I have grown to appreciate the crazy world that Tim Burton has built for this movie. The wacky, gothic, almost laughable approach to a story about death is strangely heartwarming, despite being generally very weird. Throw in Winona Ryder in her prime, and you’ve got yourself a deal. Hey, she gets me through! Haha
The cool class of rhythm, blues and I suppose Latin American style percussion meets the pomp and bombast of more traditional classical movements. Moondog has always been an interesting project by a very interesting man, and this self titled offering is a testament to that fact. Highly enjoyable.
There really is nothing better for angsty super sludge than a dose of classic Neurosis. Times Of Grace is a clunky, unforgiving beast, but within the chaos is a smooth core of juicy riffs and distraught vocal performances. A classic, no doubt.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Blob. For something I thought was going to pure tacky nonsense throughout (don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of this too), the SFX and violence were a lot more intense than I expected. The acting was pretty appalling but the space creature looks pretty insane and the majority of its kills are fairly terrifying. Throw in some 80s-to-the-max vibes, and you’ve got a winner.
On Agoraphobic Nosebleed’s earlier work (I can’t remember which release specifically, but some of the noise pieces on Honky Reduction spring to mind) there are a few tracks which hit so hard sonically, that whenever the term ‘power electronics’ is used, I instantly think of them. G.R. by Deathpile immediately hits me with that same sonic collapse, that incredible rumble and those hectic vocals. It is far too similar to NOT have been a massive influence on ANb (or Randall specifically). This is beautiful; as beautiful as an album basically about murdering prostitutes can be. Truly, madly, deafeningly, this is power electronics.
I can’t believe it’s been 9 years since Scorn released Refuse: Start Fires. As someone who never thought I would hear new Scorn material, with it being one of my favourite low key projects ever, I absolutely shit the bed when I found out the project had returned last year. I’ll admit, this doesn’t really push the boat forward, instead wallowing in the mire of its own claustrophobic density, but yeah, I don’t fucking care about that. I’m so so happy to be able to lose myself in these paranoid, dark electronic passages and beats. The second from last track contains a bizarre vocal accompaniment, which is interesting, but otherwise it’s par for the course. And honestly, that really isn’t a bad thing, this is such a good record. Here’s to more Scorn.
There is something relaxing about the incredible weight of Sunn’s music. The Grimmrobe Demos is the band’s first release, where they brought their Earth worshipping drone to the masses. There is even a track titled “Dylan Carlson”, which is loosely based on an early Earth recording. Recorded live, there’s not much in the way of the variation or experimentation which permeates the band’s later drones, this is pure, grimm as fukk drone music. <a href=”http://sunn.bandcamp.com/album/the-grimmrobe-demos”>The Grimmrobe Demos by SUNN O)))</a>
I don’t know if God is Good (maybe if God is truly yourself?) but Om’s magical, hypnotising music truly is… good? Fuck that, it is outstanding. For all the experimental or religious music out there, there really is nothing else like Om in this world, and God is Good is as good (lol) a place as any to start with their discography.
Tasty tasty chunky death metal from one of my favourites of the genre. Bowels Of Repugnance stands apart from other Broken Hope records in that the tracks seem snappier and shorter, but otherwise it’s more of the same great low end deathly mechanics that we have all grown to love and enjoy. Gather around your family and love ones, put on the fire, and enjoy this timeless classic.
On a rabbit hole tangent I was reading up about the hollow earth theory online when I came across this Miles Davis album named after the subterranean kingdom. Recorded live in Japan, Agharta is a slow, meandering record that is reminiscent of sound tracks of films from the 70s and of rock bands jamming more than anything altogether more jazzy. This is Miles Davis’ group of course, so there is always that element, but this goes places that I did not expect it to go. I guess, in that alone, it has achieved something. A lovely listen.
I played this through a couple of times a while back and I’ve honestly struggled to think of the words that could best describe this aneurysm of experimental free form jazz. I mean, I guess it’s jazz? I don’t even know anymore. This is one of those truly experimental records; obscene even that it has you scratching your head but morbidly curious enough that you can’t stop listening.
How can something so chilled also be so thought provoking? Slightly off topic, but I get similar vibes off this as I did when I first heard Shpongle, only this particular record would best be served in an armchair with a cigar, rather than in a field high on mushrooms. Stunning compositions, all of which I heavily enjoyed. I can find no fault with this at all.
Heavy! Cripple Bastards are a household name for anyone into grindcore, and Nero In Metastasi cements them as a true juggernaut of the genre. Nero’s polished ferocity coupled with longer, more progressive tracks reminds of some of Nasum’s output. If I had one complaint, it would be that the record master is far far too over-compressed, but this is nothing you can’t get your head around after the first few blasts.
Consisting of two of the band’s earliest releases and one or two rare numbers tacked on the end, Deep Dreams Of Hell is a semi-official (?) romp through the misty beginnings of Aura Noir. The production is consistent and not too horrible, allowing the atmosphere to build and encompass you fully.
The ridiculousness continues with Scream 3, which is more meta and bizarre than ever before. I can see why they originally decided to leave it there after rounding out the trilogy (something a lot of horror franchises could do with), as the plot – by this point – has gotten very ridiculous. That being said, this is a very entertaining movie, and hands down beats the 2nd instalment of the series.
I’m not sure what tempted me to dig this one out, but I had legitimately forgotten how golden a gem this is. It kinda bridges the gap between melodic death metal and Arch Enemy’s later more mainstream efforts, but its easy to be mired in genre-isms when it comes to metal. Simply put, Anthems Of Rebellion is a straight up, solid metal record. Every member of the band amply pulls their weight. Its not the most groundbreaking thing ever, but its massively entertaining.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to hear John Zorn completely spazz out on a church organ? No, me neither, but now thanks to an ongoing series of recordings, we – the unsuspecting public – have been given the opportunity. The Hermetic Organ Vol. 6 – For Edgar Allan Poe (I don’t give a bloody fuck who it is for, mate!) is a little bit up its own arse, but sometimes the best things are. It is a little repetitive, considering the mind-altering dirges you could get from one of these instruments, but there’s another whole bunch of these where that dream may be more thoroughly realised.
A discussion at work about the greats of thrash metal led me to streaming this Kreator stormer. I’ve seen the cover for Coma Of Souls many times but had never actually checked out the record until now. Noticeably more progressive than the glorious Pleasure To Kill era, but doesn’t lay off with the savagery either. Kreator’s solos are just to die for. A pleasure to… listen haha
When I saw the prog asf cover art I geared myself up for a meandering journey through various mental states and experimental genres of jazz, perhaps at the same time. However, The Comet Is Coming play in a much more refined and chilled out vibe than I expected. Spacey, vivid and glorious in so many ways.
Broke this out for Halloween and to be honest I have absolutely no fucking clue what I watched. Jack Nicholson is the devil, right? Is that the plot? Fuck knows. Anyway, the lead trio of wonderful ladies are absolutely fit as fuck, which got me through, but I highly doubt I would ever watch this again. It’s kinda like Hocus Pocus but for adults, and without any plot.
How can Swans follow up on “the trilogy”? The increasingly transcendent musical journeys that the full band put out before folding in 2017 are on that pedestal for me, up on high with the musical greats of all time. It is perhaps a bit easy then, to be underwhelmed with Leaving Meaning on first impressions. The lush, dense soundscape formula is very similar, although the tracks here are much less demanding, sonically at least (is that a word?). The tracks are notably much shorter, although the album itself still clocks in around the 90 minute mark. There are some beautiful ideas here (“I have a beautiful idea!!!!” – Gira, sometime in 1987). The lyrics and vocals are much more back in the centre stage, which is a welcome return. In the Swans body of work, Leaving Meaning is still an incredibly solid effort, I just feel that I really have little to say in comparison to the mind-bending greats that came before it. I’ve listened to this countless times since it dropped, but maybe I just need more time to process it all.
