TWELVE YEARS OF UNWANTED OPINION
Cover thy ears and lock up thyne missis, for Tsjuder are in town! Possessing a devilishly metallic and surprisingly clear production, Demonic Possession is the perfect showcase of Tsjuder’s razor sharp black metal. The record is almost a lesson in making kvlt and unforgiving black metal without having to plug guitars into beehives instead of amplifiers.
The strangest thing about The Satanist is that I have listened to it a whole bunch of times but I keep forgetting that I have. Like, the whole thing blurs into one track, asides from the first, and I attribute this to listening either whilst playing games, doing house work or at the gym. Either way, The Satanist is a solid record and cemented the long-running Behemoth project as a household name in black metal. The Satanist could probably be classed as one of the best metal records in the last decade, although it loses points for me for its massively compressed and dry production job, which is not how I like my blackened metal, but hey, that’s just me.
I’ve witnessed Cardiff’s Thorun in the live environment but have not until had the pleasure of hearing studio material. Expect seismic, glacial doom in the instrumental veins of Bongripper, but coupled with the power-tinged riffs of bands more grounded in the riff rather than out there in the ether; think more trad-doom enthusiasts such as Pentagram, or even Sabbath. Chorus Of Giants reminds me in parts of the band Slabdragger, and I don’t feel that lyrics would go amiss on some of these tracks. Either way, this is spot on, and I’m a bit annoyed at myself that it took me so long to check this out.
The Bad Seed EP was one of the final offerings from the volatile Birthday Party group. The tracks positively crackle with chaotic energy, firing this awkward, bizarre mix of punk and indie pop (yeah) up to a whole new level. There are times where it seems the whole song will fall apart, but that just seems like a part of the deal here. Worth going back to, especially for Nick Cave fans.
This is sick as fuck. Dr. Octagon’s (Kool Keith) self titled record from 1996 is a lesson in how to produce sublime hip hop beats, and then provide a stunning flow to go with it. Comparisons with MF Doom are perhaps too easy, but it’s easy to see where MF took a lot of inspiration from. Some of the lyrics about being a gynacologyst are a bit clumsy and haven’t aged too well, but all in all this is a fantastic hip hop record from an amazing producer.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t initially underwhelmed by Swans’ 90s output, especially coming in as a fan of the sonic destruction that was Filth, Cop, Greed etc. – Omniscience however, the live album I believe for the Love Of Life album, showcases those rigid and dark folk songs in the stretched out sprawling live incarnations one would expect from Swans. Even the morose electronic-laden and acoustic guitar driven rock melodies that the band were peddling through this time are turned into gigantic epics. The songs feel more organic, vital and alive, and I often say that Omniscience is one of the most overlooked releases in Swans’ back catalogue, if only for giving us this completely different angle on some of the 90s stuff. It doesn’t help that this is hideously out of print, but it can be easily found online if you are curious.
I’ve never properly taken the time to sit and listen to Dream Theater before so decided it would probably best to start right at the beginning. I understand that a different vocalist is at work here, but honestly, When Dream And Day Unite is pretty much as I expected it to be, discounting a roughness around the edges. This has 80s to the max vibes; snippets of hair metal breach through, and that snare is ridiculous. Otherwise what we have is glorious, meandering, mind-boggling progressive rock (or metal, whatever). This shit doesn’t usually rank high on my jams but I appreciate the musicianship involved competely.
Hey Frankenstein! You want some metal infused horrorpunk? What do you mean “no”? Haha I played the absolute death out of this record when I was a teenager. Admittedly, I only really bought it because it had Joey from Slipknot on guitars, but it opened up the world of horrorpunk for me. An obsession with the Misfits developed in the years coming which would allow me to snake into the punk genre too – so as rubbish as most people think this album is, it is responsible for a lot, as far as my own musical journey goes. The Murderdolls channel the spirit of old, specifically Alice Cooper or Twisted Sister, into the world of punk rock. Expect shlocky horror like the aforementioned Misfits, and expect a bunch of re-worked Frankenstein Drag Queens tracks brought over by vocalist Wednesday 13, but if you’ve got an appetite for some cringe lyrics and some stomping punk rock, I would suggest giving this a chance.
Can you believe this has been the longest gap between Napalm records? It doesn’t feel that long since Apex Predator dropped. I guess that means that I’m getting old as fuck. Either way, here she blows, coming in from the horizon like a steamboat with a deceased crew and smashing head on into the dock with “Fuck the Factoid”, before pulling out all the usual tricks (and I’m sorry, but that same goddamn Russ Russell production). It is however something of a pleasure to hear how Napalm Death keep things interesting despite every album for the last 20 years having almost the exact same sound. For all the press this album has got for being experimental and “not grindcore” (uhhh, like any Napalm record since 1989 you mean?) all that’s really happened is that Barney n Co have dialled up their public love for Killkng Joke, Swans, Sonic Youth etc. to the point where they interpret the sounds of these bands into the Napalm songwriting process. I mean, I wouldn’t exactly call that experimental to be completely honest, but I’m being a cynical fuck – the truth of the matter is that the combination works and this album is a fucking banger.
Greed Killing – as a single – is probably the lowest point in Napalm’s career, if I had to pick one. The band were pursuing an industrial or “groove metal” (says the press) direction at the time, but Greed Killing is a shameful commercial grab that is hideously out of place even with the album it’s from, let alone the band’s output in general.
Now this is how you do a Napalm Death record. Order Of The Leech is fucking ferocious, and was a phenomenal return to form after a patch of slower albums. Following on from Enemy Of The Music Business, Order… keeps the pace up, with flesh-ripping metallic grindcore carnage. Literally that’s all I can say. This started a trend in how Napalm records would appear and even sound. Favourite track: “Narcoleptic”.
The original Napalm Death Peel Sessions have to be some of the most brutal sounds put to tape. I cannot fathom the sheer energy, speed and ferocity that is going down on this recording. It is the polar opposite to Swans’ Public Castration Is A Good Idea, but on the same chart in regards to pushing the extremities of music. Truly essential noise. (This review covers the first two Peel Sessions released in 1988 and 1989)
Too Experienced is a chilled out journey through some tight, head-nodding variety of reggae. I’ll be honest, I’m more well versed in the spaced out, dubby strains of the genre, so this is a refreshing change. And what great tunes there are, from the bigger hits to the lesser known entries. Either way, a solid record.
I hate it when shit like this happens to bands. I guess something similar happened with Gorgoroth, where several instances of the band existed (also with Von if I recall). I tried to give this a fair go, but CKY without Deron Miller is not something I think I can get my head around. Sure, there are plenty of bands that can shed vocalists and reinvent themselves in the process, but personally I think Deron Miller was too ingrained in CKY for it to work without him. It’s a no from me.
A beautiful, morose journey through ambient, acoustic folk tunes. The guitars sparkle with life and the vocals, whilst admittedly I cannot understand, are gruff and powerful. I feel as though I am being transported to a distant land.
Having being slightly disappointed by Miles’ early 90s attempts at bridging into a more electronic music / hiphop direction (hey, just imagine what that could have done for popular music), I was a little anxious going in to this. As much as I would trust Bill Laswell with any band (except maybe Swans hahaha) I was indeed skeptical. But of course, my worries were quickly put to rest. What we have here is a gorgeous mirage of jazz fusion set to the backdrop of Laswell’s studio trickery and dub wizardy. Davis tracks are splintered into four approx-15-min collages of gorgeous sound. I will have to return to this album in a few years, once I have explored the Davis (and Laswell) catalog a bit more thoroughly and can greater appreciate what is going on.
