Monday, March 03, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
7:24 to Awesome-villeIf you’re currently hearing the screams of your favourite bands or musicians it’s because they’ve likely heard what I heard today. If you can’t hear those screams, it’s because you’re not listening closely enough. That or you heard what I heard today and can no longer process the feeble attempts at recorded music your favourite bands or musicians have made in comparison to the new Meshuggah song available to be heard on bravewords.com.
Main page, top left hand-side. Brave Tunes.
Meshuggah – Bleed
This band has consistently evolved and mutated despite maintaining a signature sound that cannot be forged.
Chaosphere to Nothing informed listeners that speed was not a necessary tool in the creation of uneven jackhammer riffage. That slower tempos could open the doors for more complicated polyrhythms and place more focus on the impact of tone, both instrumentally and vocally.
Nothing to I was a trip through the history of the band which transitioned from the violent punishment of their early tendencies to their newer, more patient grinds. They also expanded on the flowing singular characteristics of free jazz and composed rhythms which became increasingly difficult to predict. On previous records, a pattern could have repeated itself several times throughout the course of the 4 count however with “I”, the band would carry a sequence over 8 or more bars.
I to Catch 33 continued with the latter elements of “I” in the sense that things remained slow, heavy, and unpredictable. People made the obvious complaints that the band “wasn’t what they used to be”, that they “lost the focus they had presented on Destroy Erase Improve” and that “they were turning their backs on their fans”. What those people didn’t know was that they were complete idiots who had no concept of why Meshuggah is what it is. Why they have moved beyond the limitations of the Metal genre and are without question one of the most significant recording groups of the last twenty years.
Bleed – Early reports from the band indicated they were composing new material with a brisker edge. You know, the one they’d “lost”. This denseness is without a doubt evident on Bleed however being the band they are, and understanding that in order to satisfy their own creative needs they have been able to remain evolutionary. Yes, the primary riff contains more strikes than all of Nothing and Catch 33 combined and the rhythm stutters in ways of old but the drums (high hat / snare) remain for the most part patient and simplified (bass drums excluded – unreal). That being said I can’t predict what the rest of the record will sound like. It is entirely possible that it may in fact be in the tradition of DEI or Chaosphere. I do doubt it though as they are not a band that takes to being predictable.
Every time this band releases new material they amaze and this is no exception.
Main page, top left hand-side. Brave Tunes.
Meshuggah – Bleed
This band has consistently evolved and mutated despite maintaining a signature sound that cannot be forged.
Chaosphere to Nothing informed listeners that speed was not a necessary tool in the creation of uneven jackhammer riffage. That slower tempos could open the doors for more complicated polyrhythms and place more focus on the impact of tone, both instrumentally and vocally.
Nothing to I was a trip through the history of the band which transitioned from the violent punishment of their early tendencies to their newer, more patient grinds. They also expanded on the flowing singular characteristics of free jazz and composed rhythms which became increasingly difficult to predict. On previous records, a pattern could have repeated itself several times throughout the course of the 4 count however with “I”, the band would carry a sequence over 8 or more bars.
I to Catch 33 continued with the latter elements of “I” in the sense that things remained slow, heavy, and unpredictable. People made the obvious complaints that the band “wasn’t what they used to be”, that they “lost the focus they had presented on Destroy Erase Improve” and that “they were turning their backs on their fans”. What those people didn’t know was that they were complete idiots who had no concept of why Meshuggah is what it is. Why they have moved beyond the limitations of the Metal genre and are without question one of the most significant recording groups of the last twenty years.
Bleed – Early reports from the band indicated they were composing new material with a brisker edge. You know, the one they’d “lost”. This denseness is without a doubt evident on Bleed however being the band they are, and understanding that in order to satisfy their own creative needs they have been able to remain evolutionary. Yes, the primary riff contains more strikes than all of Nothing and Catch 33 combined and the rhythm stutters in ways of old but the drums (high hat / snare) remain for the most part patient and simplified (bass drums excluded – unreal). That being said I can’t predict what the rest of the record will sound like. It is entirely possible that it may in fact be in the tradition of DEI or Chaosphere. I do doubt it though as they are not a band that takes to being predictable.
Every time this band releases new material they amaze and this is no exception.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Top 10, or 8
1. Destruction – Thrash Anthems
What do you do when the quality of your early output gets overshadowed by poor production values and drumming that sounds like Stephen Hawking tap-dancing with bags of ping-pong balls on his feet? You take your new drummer into the studio (one of the most solid thrash drummers on the planet) and RE-RECORD THEM. An interesting route for a ‘best of’ but this record couldn’t possibly deliver any more than it already does. Not to take anything away from the quality and nostalgia of the original recordings from these Germans but the updated versions of these tunes really allows their greatness to be revealed. The drums and guitars are so loud and in your face that they might as well be in your mouth and Schmier "I'M SO PISSED UFF"'s vocals are proof that a ridiculously tall, leather clad man can still sound terrifying with shreaky vocals. I find it very difficult to not raise at least one arm in the air when listening to this record.
Hey guys, how do you want this thing mastered?
Um, louder zen anyssing ulse und zee planetz.
2. Mors Principium Est – Liberation = Termination
Not even the electric-circus, white-button-down-shirt, white-pants, white-leather-cockroach-killer shoe, gold-chain, guess-jeans-belt-buckle, bass-thumping intro to the ‘Animal Within’ from this record can deny how awesome this band is. To some it’s pretty standard melodo-death-thrash but these guys have more shred in them than something with a whole lot of shred in it. All three of their releases have had at least 5 to 6 ‘YES’ songs which, if ya don’t know, is a remarkably high average. The main guitar player / song-writer chappy has left to pursue the arena-ready stampeding success of solo instrumental music which is a crying shame but he did a hell of a job in releasing three great MPE records.
3. Pig Destroyer – Phantom Limb
Pig Destroyer? No thanks, I’ve heard they’re good but I’m not that into grind. HEY WAIT THIS ISN’T GRIND.
One guitar, one drumset, and a very talented lyricist. I’m embarrassed to have so quickly dismissed them in the past. This record kills from start to finish with flurried blasts and grooved out glory.
4. Black Dahlia Murder – Nocturnal
Zach Gibson / Drums: Hey guys, I’m like the only good member of this band and the only reason Miasma was any good was because of my drum performance eff you to the max I’m out of here.
Black Dahlia Murder: Hey cool man, you were sloppy live and did nothing but complain the entire time anyway. Oh apparently you’re an arrogant prick too. No worries though as we’ve since replaced you with Tony Laureano, oh wait, we mean Kevin Talley, nope, make that Pierre Langlois, haaaang on, no here we go, Yo Shannon Lucas, why don’t you leave All that Remains and come help us destroy the rest of the modern American Thrash scene on our new record.
Shannon Lucas: Sounds good.
You ever heard a heavy metal waltz? Track 2.
1 – 2 – 3, 1 – 2 – 3-, puh – nih – shing.
5. Iron and Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog
Finally an album to counter that weird uncle of yours and his fondness for ‘world music’. Guess what, Paul Simon’s Graceland came out a looong time ago and those Putumayo Kenyan Jambalaya collections aren’t going to add the flavour to your collection you seem to so desperately desire. Nice multi-coloured vest by the way. Dear Sam Beam, thank you so much for evolving in a way that came as a complete surprise yet seemed to make a shocking amount of sense at the same time. The melodies and terrifyingly strong and the instrumentation is awesome. Also, the cut on there about the Buzzard smothered my face with a smile instantly.
6. Between the Buried and Me – Colors
Haha yeah we were just kidding when we released that completely unnecessary tribute record ‘The Anatomy of’ last year. I mean, we couldn’t have made it any less interesting if we’d tried, considering every song pretty much sounded exactly like the original with the exception of good vocals. BUT YAY have fun with Colors because we’re still crazy nerds who will throw in Vaudevillian and Country & Western sections into 11+ minute metal / prog blends freshly pureed for you to probably not completely appreciate.
7. Radiohead – In Rainbows
There was a time oh so many years ago when I lived and breathed Radiohead. You know, back in the mid 90’s when I actually bought cd’s. How interesting is it that now, over 10 years later I actually got this record legally but still didn’t pay anything for it. Sure, a generous move by the band but it wouldn’t have been possible if myself and a few other million people hadn’t shelled out for their previous releases. The ‘pay what you want’ thing was kind of like having a friend win the lottery and offer to take you out to dinner while giving you the option of covering the tip. The real thrill of this record was its announcement roughly 10 days before the release. I gave up on them after Kid A when Metal got all possessive, asking me tediously jealous questions about who else I had been hanging out with and why my clothes didn’t smell of greasy hair and ‘someone else’s Right Guard’. I’m not the devoted fan I once was but the song ‘All I need’ is almost enough for In Rainbows to make this list alone.
8. Neil Young – Live at Massey Hall 1971
Oh hi, I’m Neil Young and I’m on stage at Massey hall. I released After the Gold Rush last year and will be releasing Harvest next year. I’m currently 26 years old. Guess what, that pretty much makes me more talented than you’ll ever be at anything in your entire life. "This next one isn’t quite finished yet, it’s called ‘The Needle and the Damage Done’". Yeesh.
Honourable mentions
Coliseum – No Salvation
I can’t justifiably include this record in the numbered portion of this list because I don’t actually own it yet. I am including it simply because after seeing them live at Sneaky Dee’s this summer I fully expect this album to be a monster. The singer and sole guitar player had four Marshall cabinets on stage and the drummer was absolutely amazing. The songs ripped in their hardcore / metal way and it was great in every way possible. They also have the coolest merch designs this side of Missoura.
Meshuggah – Chaosphere
This record was released in 1998 but since no band has topped the battering turbine of clattery caustics that is Chaosphere it will remain on any top list I compose out of spite and obnoxiousness.
1. Destruction – Thrash Anthems
What do you do when the quality of your early output gets overshadowed by poor production values and drumming that sounds like Stephen Hawking tap-dancing with bags of ping-pong balls on his feet? You take your new drummer into the studio (one of the most solid thrash drummers on the planet) and RE-RECORD THEM. An interesting route for a ‘best of’ but this record couldn’t possibly deliver any more than it already does. Not to take anything away from the quality and nostalgia of the original recordings from these Germans but the updated versions of these tunes really allows their greatness to be revealed. The drums and guitars are so loud and in your face that they might as well be in your mouth and Schmier "I'M SO PISSED UFF"'s vocals are proof that a ridiculously tall, leather clad man can still sound terrifying with shreaky vocals. I find it very difficult to not raise at least one arm in the air when listening to this record.
Hey guys, how do you want this thing mastered?
Um, louder zen anyssing ulse und zee planetz.
2. Mors Principium Est – Liberation = Termination
Not even the electric-circus, white-button-down-shirt, white-pants, white-leather-cockroach-killer shoe, gold-chain, guess-jeans-belt-buckle, bass-thumping intro to the ‘Animal Within’ from this record can deny how awesome this band is. To some it’s pretty standard melodo-death-thrash but these guys have more shred in them than something with a whole lot of shred in it. All three of their releases have had at least 5 to 6 ‘YES’ songs which, if ya don’t know, is a remarkably high average. The main guitar player / song-writer chappy has left to pursue the arena-ready stampeding success of solo instrumental music which is a crying shame but he did a hell of a job in releasing three great MPE records.
3. Pig Destroyer – Phantom Limb
Pig Destroyer? No thanks, I’ve heard they’re good but I’m not that into grind. HEY WAIT THIS ISN’T GRIND.
One guitar, one drumset, and a very talented lyricist. I’m embarrassed to have so quickly dismissed them in the past. This record kills from start to finish with flurried blasts and grooved out glory.
4. Black Dahlia Murder – Nocturnal
Zach Gibson / Drums: Hey guys, I’m like the only good member of this band and the only reason Miasma was any good was because of my drum performance eff you to the max I’m out of here.
Black Dahlia Murder: Hey cool man, you were sloppy live and did nothing but complain the entire time anyway. Oh apparently you’re an arrogant prick too. No worries though as we’ve since replaced you with Tony Laureano, oh wait, we mean Kevin Talley, nope, make that Pierre Langlois, haaaang on, no here we go, Yo Shannon Lucas, why don’t you leave All that Remains and come help us destroy the rest of the modern American Thrash scene on our new record.
Shannon Lucas: Sounds good.
You ever heard a heavy metal waltz? Track 2.
1 – 2 – 3, 1 – 2 – 3-, puh – nih – shing.
5. Iron and Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog
Finally an album to counter that weird uncle of yours and his fondness for ‘world music’. Guess what, Paul Simon’s Graceland came out a looong time ago and those Putumayo Kenyan Jambalaya collections aren’t going to add the flavour to your collection you seem to so desperately desire. Nice multi-coloured vest by the way. Dear Sam Beam, thank you so much for evolving in a way that came as a complete surprise yet seemed to make a shocking amount of sense at the same time. The melodies and terrifyingly strong and the instrumentation is awesome. Also, the cut on there about the Buzzard smothered my face with a smile instantly.
6. Between the Buried and Me – Colors
Haha yeah we were just kidding when we released that completely unnecessary tribute record ‘The Anatomy of’ last year. I mean, we couldn’t have made it any less interesting if we’d tried, considering every song pretty much sounded exactly like the original with the exception of good vocals. BUT YAY have fun with Colors because we’re still crazy nerds who will throw in Vaudevillian and Country & Western sections into 11+ minute metal / prog blends freshly pureed for you to probably not completely appreciate.
7. Radiohead – In Rainbows
There was a time oh so many years ago when I lived and breathed Radiohead. You know, back in the mid 90’s when I actually bought cd’s. How interesting is it that now, over 10 years later I actually got this record legally but still didn’t pay anything for it. Sure, a generous move by the band but it wouldn’t have been possible if myself and a few other million people hadn’t shelled out for their previous releases. The ‘pay what you want’ thing was kind of like having a friend win the lottery and offer to take you out to dinner while giving you the option of covering the tip. The real thrill of this record was its announcement roughly 10 days before the release. I gave up on them after Kid A when Metal got all possessive, asking me tediously jealous questions about who else I had been hanging out with and why my clothes didn’t smell of greasy hair and ‘someone else’s Right Guard’. I’m not the devoted fan I once was but the song ‘All I need’ is almost enough for In Rainbows to make this list alone.
8. Neil Young – Live at Massey Hall 1971
Oh hi, I’m Neil Young and I’m on stage at Massey hall. I released After the Gold Rush last year and will be releasing Harvest next year. I’m currently 26 years old. Guess what, that pretty much makes me more talented than you’ll ever be at anything in your entire life. "This next one isn’t quite finished yet, it’s called ‘The Needle and the Damage Done’". Yeesh.
Honourable mentions
Coliseum – No Salvation
I can’t justifiably include this record in the numbered portion of this list because I don’t actually own it yet. I am including it simply because after seeing them live at Sneaky Dee’s this summer I fully expect this album to be a monster. The singer and sole guitar player had four Marshall cabinets on stage and the drummer was absolutely amazing. The songs ripped in their hardcore / metal way and it was great in every way possible. They also have the coolest merch designs this side of Missoura.
Meshuggah – Chaosphere
This record was released in 1998 but since no band has topped the battering turbine of clattery caustics that is Chaosphere it will remain on any top list I compose out of spite and obnoxiousness.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Post Organic
They released my favourite record of last year and
I've mentioned them several times.
Their bus crashed a few days ago while on tour in Russia severly injuring Covan (vocals) and Vitek (drums). Vitek passed away this morning.
He was remarkably talented and only 23 years old but despite his age and the ages of his bandmates, they, and he were already veterans of the scene. He was a young adult in death and they were a band of near children when they released their savage debut, Wings of Creation, in 2000.
One more time for Witold "Vitek" Kieltyka.
They released my favourite record of last year and
I've mentioned them several times.
Their bus crashed a few days ago while on tour in Russia severly injuring Covan (vocals) and Vitek (drums). Vitek passed away this morning.
He was remarkably talented and only 23 years old but despite his age and the ages of his bandmates, they, and he were already veterans of the scene. He was a young adult in death and they were a band of near children when they released their savage debut, Wings of Creation, in 2000.
One more time for Witold "Vitek" Kieltyka.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
AAAlloThey’re back, which more importantly means he’s back. “He” of course being Dirk Verbeuren, or more popularly known around my headphones as Le French Fury.
The “they’re” also implies that a new Soilwork record is soon to be released. The entire record is currently streaming on their myspace, and based on my quick and unfair scan they seem to be continuing on into their happy-mid-tempo’d and keyboard smothered nice scream sundaes. If that sort of thing doesn’t sound appealing to you, and if you weren’t a huge fan of Stabbing the Drama (I was) you’ll probably just continue ignoring them in disappointment that they’re not just recycling Chainheart Machine. Whether or not you’re interested I would still recommend at least listening to The Pittsburgh Syndrome which is the apparent equivalent to STD’s Blind Eye Halo and Stalemate. In other words, the fast one, or, drum party yay.
If you follow these guys at all you may remember a studio video of Dirk once again proving why he’s one of the cleanest, fastest, and grooviest drummers in the biz. Turns out that that video was for this Pittsburgh song and it was a welcome change to actually hear the music behind the mashing (and the kicks for that matter). I’ve included that video below and if you’re as (pick your adjective) as me you can actually attempt to sync the video with the song. Think of it as a game. I did it, not as a game though, for seriousness. But then again, I’m super cool.
The video only lasts until midway through the lead which is a shame because the end of the song has a few arm storms. His right hand is typically frightening lightning fast and equally irate with his hi-hat and if you listen to the album version of the track you'll get to hear how impressive his feet are during the verse section. The beauty in Dirk’s playing is his subtlety and how flurried moments can slip by without a listener picking up on them. The songs aren’t showcases for his abilities but if you’re specifically listening for it you can’t help but be blown away. As far as I’m concerned he has some of the best feel and smoothest playing ever recorded.
Highlights (album version):
:00
:26
1:03
2:11
2:34
2:42
The “they’re” also implies that a new Soilwork record is soon to be released. The entire record is currently streaming on their myspace, and based on my quick and unfair scan they seem to be continuing on into their happy-mid-tempo’d and keyboard smothered nice scream sundaes. If that sort of thing doesn’t sound appealing to you, and if you weren’t a huge fan of Stabbing the Drama (I was) you’ll probably just continue ignoring them in disappointment that they’re not just recycling Chainheart Machine. Whether or not you’re interested I would still recommend at least listening to The Pittsburgh Syndrome which is the apparent equivalent to STD’s Blind Eye Halo and Stalemate. In other words, the fast one, or, drum party yay.
If you follow these guys at all you may remember a studio video of Dirk once again proving why he’s one of the cleanest, fastest, and grooviest drummers in the biz. Turns out that that video was for this Pittsburgh song and it was a welcome change to actually hear the music behind the mashing (and the kicks for that matter). I’ve included that video below and if you’re as (pick your adjective) as me you can actually attempt to sync the video with the song. Think of it as a game. I did it, not as a game though, for seriousness. But then again, I’m super cool.
The video only lasts until midway through the lead which is a shame because the end of the song has a few arm storms. His right hand is typically frightening lightning fast and equally irate with his hi-hat and if you listen to the album version of the track you'll get to hear how impressive his feet are during the verse section. The beauty in Dirk’s playing is his subtlety and how flurried moments can slip by without a listener picking up on them. The songs aren’t showcases for his abilities but if you’re specifically listening for it you can’t help but be blown away. As far as I’m concerned he has some of the best feel and smoothest playing ever recorded.
Highlights (album version):
:00
:26
1:03
2:11
2:34
2:42
Thursday, August 23, 2007
THREE FOR THREE
Some really unimportant things to mention are that Jori decided to leave the band after 7 years and 3 albums. This is a shame as shortly before that Jarkko also decided that he would no longer perform live with the band. Apparently things will be ok though as Karri and Tomy have been brought in to round out the lineup. Sadly though, after all that, Joona has also since decided to leave. I’m sure all of this is devastating news to someone but that someone is probably not you. What is important is that while Mors Principium Est doesn’t seem to have the ability to keep a steady lineup (or actually play live shows) they did release one of my favourite metal releases this year. Also, if you’re not from Finland, you may find Finnish names funny…feriously.
I’ve written about this band before but felt that seeing how I’m so inconsistent and pathetically lazy in finding things to post about I might as well just cover them again. To choose them isn’t a random decision though because as I said, their new release (Liberation = Termination) just kills.
The songs are still fluffed up with keyboards and the odd techno beat but I’ll gladly suck that up and trade it off for the absolute shred fest that comes with it. To be honest, after three albums from these guys I’ve come to accept the keyboards for their ability to set up tremendously heavy sections. There’s even a tune called Animal Within that opens with a straight up Honda Civic ready thumper and upon first listen I almost unknowingly threw on a pair of snakeskin pointed cockroach killers and puked in my hat but the guitar lead that Jarkko unleashes completely makes up for it. It’s peel-out fast and seemingly never-ending. This is most likely the reason he’s decided to stay with the group but not play live. One can only imagine that attempting to perform that solo on a nightly basis would likely result in death. Or severely cramped fingers.
As compared to the previous two albums the vocals are finally pushed up and thankfully uncompromised. The leads have also finally been turned up a bit as well which rules because these guys are some of the best as far as execution and composition goes.
There are two songs (The Opressed will Rise & Sinners Defeat) from the new record on their Myspace that are great examples of what these guys are all about.
I’ve written about this band before but felt that seeing how I’m so inconsistent and pathetically lazy in finding things to post about I might as well just cover them again. To choose them isn’t a random decision though because as I said, their new release (Liberation = Termination) just kills.
The songs are still fluffed up with keyboards and the odd techno beat but I’ll gladly suck that up and trade it off for the absolute shred fest that comes with it. To be honest, after three albums from these guys I’ve come to accept the keyboards for their ability to set up tremendously heavy sections. There’s even a tune called Animal Within that opens with a straight up Honda Civic ready thumper and upon first listen I almost unknowingly threw on a pair of snakeskin pointed cockroach killers and puked in my hat but the guitar lead that Jarkko unleashes completely makes up for it. It’s peel-out fast and seemingly never-ending. This is most likely the reason he’s decided to stay with the group but not play live. One can only imagine that attempting to perform that solo on a nightly basis would likely result in death. Or severely cramped fingers.
As compared to the previous two albums the vocals are finally pushed up and thankfully uncompromised. The leads have also finally been turned up a bit as well which rules because these guys are some of the best as far as execution and composition goes.
There are two songs (The Opressed will Rise & Sinners Defeat) from the new record on their Myspace that are great examples of what these guys are all about.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
DIE PIGAh, it’s good to be back. I’ve been itching to post for months but web access is non-existent when you’re rescuing endangered plants from the Mariana Trench. Oh of course I’m kidding. Who the hell would want to rescue anything?
Well I’m back from my hiatus of doing what I normally do in my day to day existence just minus my previous inconsistent postings, but I’ve been listening to something lately that I’m actually legitimately shocked I’m promoting.
I always build up to some lame reveal don’t I? Not like you couldn’t have figured it out by the picture anyways.
Pig Destroyer. Grindcore. What the hell am I doing listening to grindcore. The genre is alright but I never listen to it. Mostly because I can’t stand listening to it. Incessant blast beats, guitars that sound like they were amplified with laundry baskets and belch bucket vocals aren’t typically my thing but this record is really cool. You’ll have to go to their myspace if you really care to hear anything but it’s worth it. Also, don’t be fooled by the length of the two new tunes up there. For the most part the standard length on the record is, you know, a minute. What they’ve done to set themselves apart though is thankfully mix in solid double-kick grooves and what sound to my ears like some actual old-school riffage. The vocals are pretty ferocious too.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Whale RifferIt’s not that I don’t enjoy writing for this site. I really do. I think the problem is that my enjoyment doesn’t necessarily reveal itself until I’m about halfway through a new post. I suppose I’ve also been having inspiration issues lately, pretty lame. Thus is the cycle of metal. I mean, I can’t keep writing about the same bands over and over and it’s pretty rare that a new one comes along that I feel the need to devote enough time to educating myself about to the point where I feel comfortable posting about them. I guess there’s nothing stopping me from posting daily stuff about current stories but there are enough sites devoted to that so it would seem kind of cheap.
What am I trying to say exactly?
I don’t know man, that you’re lazy?
Sure, probably. I’m not going to say that it’s hard but…
…but, just finish the post.
Fine. Remember my top 10?
Yeah.
Gojira, the French band. Remember them?
Yeah, From Mars to Sirius. Seriously, how awesome is that record.
Ridiculously awesome. Honestly, some of the best production I’ve ever heard. The drums are so huge and solid.
I know, and the vocals? Talk about a delivery. I mean, you notice when good vocals are good or the opposite, when you just can’t get into something, but this guy…
…unreal, so much conviction. Would have liked to have seen him record them, pretty amazing that he was able to put himself in that headspace in a vocal booth. It sounds like he wanted to eat the wood from the walls.
It’s conscious too which is refreshing. I guess if you think about it it wouldn’t be that hard to draw that much aggression from environmental subject matter. And let’s be honest, whales make for some heavy duty imagery.
That sounds dumb, I know what you mean though.
Whatever.
It’s also pretty cool that they pretty much cornered the market on that pick scrape across the strings thing. You know, when you rake your pick from the high E to the low E? Close to the bridge? SCREEEAAAAW.
Yeah, it’s wicked. Zakk Wylde does that thing too but these guys actually incorporate it into the riffage, it’s not just some trick, it’s really in there and part of the song.
Oh man, I know. Like that section 2 minutes into the tune “The Heaviest Matter in the Universe”? Where the riff falls into that bulldozer grind? And your ears keep getting tweaked by that, that SCREEEAAAW.
It rules.
Yep.
It’s funny too because since this record came out other bands are starting to use it more and when I hear it I just think, ‘man, they’re ripping off Gojira, from a record that’s less than 2 years old’. Talk about getting something right.
Yeah, like Chimaira.
Definitely, I mean, you know I think that last Chimaira record was pretty cool but that new song they have? Resurrection? They go into a big slow riff at the end and bring in what to me is already known as the Gojira scrape. It’s like, c’mon guys, people know.
You speak the truth.
Yes I do. I’m going to watch that live Gojira video of ‘The Heaviest Matter in the Universe’ now.
Good idea.
Thanks.
What am I trying to say exactly?
I don’t know man, that you’re lazy?
Sure, probably. I’m not going to say that it’s hard but…
…but, just finish the post.
Fine. Remember my top 10?
Yeah.
Gojira, the French band. Remember them?
Yeah, From Mars to Sirius. Seriously, how awesome is that record.
Ridiculously awesome. Honestly, some of the best production I’ve ever heard. The drums are so huge and solid.
I know, and the vocals? Talk about a delivery. I mean, you notice when good vocals are good or the opposite, when you just can’t get into something, but this guy…
…unreal, so much conviction. Would have liked to have seen him record them, pretty amazing that he was able to put himself in that headspace in a vocal booth. It sounds like he wanted to eat the wood from the walls.
It’s conscious too which is refreshing. I guess if you think about it it wouldn’t be that hard to draw that much aggression from environmental subject matter. And let’s be honest, whales make for some heavy duty imagery.
That sounds dumb, I know what you mean though.
Whatever.
It’s also pretty cool that they pretty much cornered the market on that pick scrape across the strings thing. You know, when you rake your pick from the high E to the low E? Close to the bridge? SCREEEAAAAW.
Yeah, it’s wicked. Zakk Wylde does that thing too but these guys actually incorporate it into the riffage, it’s not just some trick, it’s really in there and part of the song.
Oh man, I know. Like that section 2 minutes into the tune “The Heaviest Matter in the Universe”? Where the riff falls into that bulldozer grind? And your ears keep getting tweaked by that, that SCREEEAAAW.
It rules.
Yep.
It’s funny too because since this record came out other bands are starting to use it more and when I hear it I just think, ‘man, they’re ripping off Gojira, from a record that’s less than 2 years old’. Talk about getting something right.
Yeah, like Chimaira.
Definitely, I mean, you know I think that last Chimaira record was pretty cool but that new song they have? Resurrection? They go into a big slow riff at the end and bring in what to me is already known as the Gojira scrape. It’s like, c’mon guys, people know.
You speak the truth.
Yes I do. I’m going to watch that live Gojira video of ‘The Heaviest Matter in the Universe’ now.
Good idea.
Thanks.
Monday, December 11, 2006
10
1. Decapitated - Organic Hallucinosis - Sauron finally ditched and his generic death grunts aren't missed at all. They bring in some new kid named Covan who sounds remarkably like Barney from Napalm Death. That implies that he’s also really good. This thing grooves the hell out of the shed and is heavier than Satan the Hutt.
2. Mastodon - Blood Mountain - They're the new Zeppelin.
3. Gojira - From Mars to Sirius - It might have been released last year but that was only in Europe and I don't live there. It came out here this year so I'm putting it on this list. These frenchies knocked it out of le parc with a load of greenpeace whale sludge and the production is incredible.
4. Enslaved - Ruun – Aside from a few exceptions Black metal may be pretty much dead seeing as the only reason most bands play it these days is to have an excuse to wear corpse paint. Thankfully these guys keep recreating the genre by completely avoiding everything that’s so lame about it.
5. Urkraft - Inhuman Aberration – This record can sometimes be pretty generic melodic thrash but the performances are perfect and the riffs are never predictable. They're almost always rolling over the fourth beat and ending up somewhere only Danish people seem to understand.
6. I - Between Two Worlds - Heavy fist pumping rock metal with Abbath on vocals? Duh.
7. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale - I used to dislike his voice on the wu-tang records, I thought it was too whiny. I was so much younger then and too stupid to realize how insanely good he was.
8. Lamb of God - Sacrament - We're not supposed to like them anymore. What did Sloan say? That's rhetorical as I know the answer. They said it's not the band I hate it's the fans. Meatheads across the land may love beating each other up while listening to them (aka looking for an excuse to grab at each other) but to be honest this record is still with me. There’s enough of an evolution to keep me interested, the songs are heavy and catchy and Chris Adler is always entertaining.
9. In Flames - Come Clarity - Hell sometimes I like pop music.
10. Intronaut - Void – I’ve heard it enough to know that it’s top ten worthy. It will likely take many more listens to fully appreciate it’s denseness and weight. Next year I’d be disappointed with myself if I hadn’t included it.
1. Decapitated - Organic Hallucinosis - Sauron finally ditched and his generic death grunts aren't missed at all. They bring in some new kid named Covan who sounds remarkably like Barney from Napalm Death. That implies that he’s also really good. This thing grooves the hell out of the shed and is heavier than Satan the Hutt.
2. Mastodon - Blood Mountain - They're the new Zeppelin.
3. Gojira - From Mars to Sirius - It might have been released last year but that was only in Europe and I don't live there. It came out here this year so I'm putting it on this list. These frenchies knocked it out of le parc with a load of greenpeace whale sludge and the production is incredible.
4. Enslaved - Ruun – Aside from a few exceptions Black metal may be pretty much dead seeing as the only reason most bands play it these days is to have an excuse to wear corpse paint. Thankfully these guys keep recreating the genre by completely avoiding everything that’s so lame about it.
5. Urkraft - Inhuman Aberration – This record can sometimes be pretty generic melodic thrash but the performances are perfect and the riffs are never predictable. They're almost always rolling over the fourth beat and ending up somewhere only Danish people seem to understand.
6. I - Between Two Worlds - Heavy fist pumping rock metal with Abbath on vocals? Duh.
7. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale - I used to dislike his voice on the wu-tang records, I thought it was too whiny. I was so much younger then and too stupid to realize how insanely good he was.
8. Lamb of God - Sacrament - We're not supposed to like them anymore. What did Sloan say? That's rhetorical as I know the answer. They said it's not the band I hate it's the fans. Meatheads across the land may love beating each other up while listening to them (aka looking for an excuse to grab at each other) but to be honest this record is still with me. There’s enough of an evolution to keep me interested, the songs are heavy and catchy and Chris Adler is always entertaining.
9. In Flames - Come Clarity - Hell sometimes I like pop music.
10. Intronaut - Void – I’ve heard it enough to know that it’s top ten worthy. It will likely take many more listens to fully appreciate it’s denseness and weight. Next year I’d be disappointed with myself if I hadn’t included it.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
ANOTHER LESSON IN VIO-LISTENINGWhen a supreme talent arises in the metal community it can often be ignored by even more seasoned listeners because at times with this talent comes the desire to create the most caustic racket possible. In cases such as these the average to even advanced music fans are unable to digest what has been laid to .wav. In this case we're going to focus on Necrophagist. A band who falls into the commonly known metal genre as one of the many with too many names to bother attempting to label. Death, tech-death, math-tech, death-math, pyro-tech, ok so I'm starting to make these up but everyone else does so it's not even important. What is important is that if you can get passed the destructive drumming and grunting you'll find, in Necrophagists case, a guy who instead of applying his advanced brain to building a space station decided to pick up a guitar and almost single-handidly recreate the blast-math-being set on fire and put out with rock salt genre.
The band was originally a one man operation helmed by Muhammed Suicmez. His first full length record was called Onset of Putrefaction and he recorded the entire thing alone. If you have any desire to create music like this you'll probably want to start honing your drum machine abilities as it's unlikely you'll find someone who'll ever be able to replicate it live. Unless of course you're Suicmez and your first record does well enough to give you access to the impenetrable fortress where they keep the drummers that aren't accessible to the public unless you've proven your worth.
Another example of a similar band I've endorsed before on here is Decapitated. If you like them at all they can be a good starting point for Necrophagist. Well, Decapitated and say, Eat 'em and Smile by David Lee Roth. I say this because if it wasn't for the vocals you could almost be convinced that this album was recorded by Vai and Sheehan. That being said he did actually manage to put a band together and the newest record, 2004's Epitaph, is a tight and clean shred-fest in every way.
Symbiotic in Theory is a good example of all that this band is. The fast parts rip, the slower sections grind and the instrumentation is mind-boggling.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
NICE SNEAKERS
From the top to the very bottom, the biggest to smallest, there is no music more broadly scrutinized, dismissed or loved than metal. I know, I know, it’s a sweeping and arguably ignorant statement and one that could be argued by classical music and Steely Dan fans everywhere but I’m referring to music listeners of all ages and cultures. Let’s be honest, Classical music, like Criterion DVD’s or a good pen can only properly appreciated by people at least over the age of thirty and if someone younger claims otherwise they’re either lying to impress or have lost their entire youth locked in a room with a viola. As for Steely Dan, well, either you get it or you don’t and if you don’t I pity your unfortunate soul for you are not even remotely as ‘nerd cool’ as you think you are. Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, myself, my dad, my uncle, and other geniuses are laughing at you.
It’s a complicated world of genres, sub-genres, sub-sub genres and laughable styles that is both intimidating and for the most part a complete waste of time to even try to follow. This is of course the primary reason those who choose to follow it even bother. It’s like collecting hockey or baseball cards. It’s expensive, wastes space, is detailed oriented and all about the thrill of discovery. You are willing to sift through months of junk just for that one solid find. It’s a risky game, entering a room of cynical metal heads that have seen and heard it all. You throw in your tape or CD, or connect your mp3 player, it’s building inside, ‘they’ll love this’, you think to yourself, ‘I can’t believe they haven’t heard this band yet, they’re going to be so blown away’. Are they though? Was I tired when I heard it? Am I completely off? It’s a risk you take and a risk you love. Of course the pay-off is never instant. Like any metal head they won’t give you the immediate satisfaction. That usually comes a few weeks later when you’re in a car with all of them and they somehow now know the good parts. From there it’s air guitars, air drums, and winced eyed head-nodding all around. You’ve done it, time to start the search again.
The complications, though, arise from so many levels which is what makes the genre so difficult to crack into. As a metal head you are willing to listen to almost everything, for a few seconds. The reality is that that’s usually all it takes. If you’re seasoned enough, those two seconds aren’t even necessary and your seemingly closed-mindedness can be perfectly justified. Take a look at your current local metal scene; chances are the bands with the biggest draws are those with the tightest black pants and the biggest high-tops. If you’ve been to one of their shows you were most likely surrounded by a crowd full of people who wouldn’t know Alex Skolnick from Alex Van Halen while they feign interest in a below mediocre band playing songs that are less engaging than listening to a co-worker re-count the dream they had last night. There’s a reason why the most technically proficient musicians look like complete dorks and this reason is something I shouldn’t have to explain.
Here’s where it becomes difficult. Where the fine line blurs, fades, and hides. The local band wearing brand new 1990 Reebok Pumps would argue that they’re old-school, which is perfectly fair as long as you accept that your band will never go anywhere. The second you become that ‘old school band’ in town, that’s it. You’ve dug a stylistic hole that you’ll likely never recover from. The upside of course being that you at least had women at your shows which naturally meant that your audience was doubled, until you tried to evolve your sound. Then the quasi-interested metal heads forgot about you and moved on to some other old-school indulgence to party to in between Deicide binges, the girls left because they discovered some other band with tighter pants on Myspace and their boyfriends finally lost interest because their thirst to be the first to say that they found the new Wolf____ became too much for them to withstand. It’s ok though, shelling out all that extra cash to release a 7 inch was worth it in the end wasn’t it? At least that’s what Slayer would have done in ’84.
The opposite and likely adverse effect to this is a band like The Dillinger Escape Plan. These guys always seem to be ahead of the game, are remarkably proficient technically, and pretty much anti everything. Interestingly enough though is that if you go to a Dillinger show you’ll likely be surrounded by a crowd that wouldn’t know Jim Henson from Jim Martin (you see, I use Jim Martin because most people who would claim to follow Dillinger would be likely to name drop Mike Patton who is widely accepted in the ‘cool’ category as is Faith No More, but probably wouldn’t recognize the bespectacled wonder that was Mr. Martin – aka I’m pretentious). Anyway, I respect DEP but I’ll be damned if I can get through an entire record of theirs. If you haven’t heard them, imagine taking four Steely Dan albums, over-lapping them all, continually speeding up and then slowing down the music, and all this while putting a barking dog next to you while you listen to it. It’s pretty self indulgent stuff and I do encourage you to see them live as their performance is comparable to playing dodgeball with a bee-hive instead of a ball.
What all this could really be traced to is a potential personal indictment of all things power metal. Well, not all things, only things post 80’s. This is unfair of course…yeah, whatever. My point is when it comes to metal, if you have elements to your music that are references to something old and you are not making any attempts to mold or update it than you are likely wasting your time. If you can impress your friends with a wailing falsetto think twice before you put a band together for the sole purpose of making others listen to you sing like Rob Halford. The reality is that you probably suck and don’t sound remotely as good not to mention your lack of Tipton and Downing. It’s a combination of elements that make a great band, not one gimmick. On that note, my apologies to Dragonforce, you’ve got a lot of talent but let’s be honest, you’re robots making the soundtrack for the video game called life.
If you’ve made it this far here is your reward. A British band that I only discovered yesterday and was inspired enough to write about today (if you check for updates at all you can appreciate the meaning of this). They’re called Biomechanical and while they do contain elements previously discussed (mainly high vocals) they are without question taking these elements and processing them through a technical thrashing blender of full on fury and boulders to the face. It’s fast, riff riddled and aggressive. The vocals go from the gut to the top of your head with the high stuff executed very strongly. The worst thing about the fact that they’re touring with EXODUS is that they’re not playing in my living room.
Go HERE and listen to Enemy Within. If you don't like it you're definitely not ready for Aja.
From the top to the very bottom, the biggest to smallest, there is no music more broadly scrutinized, dismissed or loved than metal. I know, I know, it’s a sweeping and arguably ignorant statement and one that could be argued by classical music and Steely Dan fans everywhere but I’m referring to music listeners of all ages and cultures. Let’s be honest, Classical music, like Criterion DVD’s or a good pen can only properly appreciated by people at least over the age of thirty and if someone younger claims otherwise they’re either lying to impress or have lost their entire youth locked in a room with a viola. As for Steely Dan, well, either you get it or you don’t and if you don’t I pity your unfortunate soul for you are not even remotely as ‘nerd cool’ as you think you are. Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, myself, my dad, my uncle, and other geniuses are laughing at you.
It’s a complicated world of genres, sub-genres, sub-sub genres and laughable styles that is both intimidating and for the most part a complete waste of time to even try to follow. This is of course the primary reason those who choose to follow it even bother. It’s like collecting hockey or baseball cards. It’s expensive, wastes space, is detailed oriented and all about the thrill of discovery. You are willing to sift through months of junk just for that one solid find. It’s a risky game, entering a room of cynical metal heads that have seen and heard it all. You throw in your tape or CD, or connect your mp3 player, it’s building inside, ‘they’ll love this’, you think to yourself, ‘I can’t believe they haven’t heard this band yet, they’re going to be so blown away’. Are they though? Was I tired when I heard it? Am I completely off? It’s a risk you take and a risk you love. Of course the pay-off is never instant. Like any metal head they won’t give you the immediate satisfaction. That usually comes a few weeks later when you’re in a car with all of them and they somehow now know the good parts. From there it’s air guitars, air drums, and winced eyed head-nodding all around. You’ve done it, time to start the search again.
The complications, though, arise from so many levels which is what makes the genre so difficult to crack into. As a metal head you are willing to listen to almost everything, for a few seconds. The reality is that that’s usually all it takes. If you’re seasoned enough, those two seconds aren’t even necessary and your seemingly closed-mindedness can be perfectly justified. Take a look at your current local metal scene; chances are the bands with the biggest draws are those with the tightest black pants and the biggest high-tops. If you’ve been to one of their shows you were most likely surrounded by a crowd full of people who wouldn’t know Alex Skolnick from Alex Van Halen while they feign interest in a below mediocre band playing songs that are less engaging than listening to a co-worker re-count the dream they had last night. There’s a reason why the most technically proficient musicians look like complete dorks and this reason is something I shouldn’t have to explain.
Here’s where it becomes difficult. Where the fine line blurs, fades, and hides. The local band wearing brand new 1990 Reebok Pumps would argue that they’re old-school, which is perfectly fair as long as you accept that your band will never go anywhere. The second you become that ‘old school band’ in town, that’s it. You’ve dug a stylistic hole that you’ll likely never recover from. The upside of course being that you at least had women at your shows which naturally meant that your audience was doubled, until you tried to evolve your sound. Then the quasi-interested metal heads forgot about you and moved on to some other old-school indulgence to party to in between Deicide binges, the girls left because they discovered some other band with tighter pants on Myspace and their boyfriends finally lost interest because their thirst to be the first to say that they found the new Wolf____ became too much for them to withstand. It’s ok though, shelling out all that extra cash to release a 7 inch was worth it in the end wasn’t it? At least that’s what Slayer would have done in ’84.
The opposite and likely adverse effect to this is a band like The Dillinger Escape Plan. These guys always seem to be ahead of the game, are remarkably proficient technically, and pretty much anti everything. Interestingly enough though is that if you go to a Dillinger show you’ll likely be surrounded by a crowd that wouldn’t know Jim Henson from Jim Martin (you see, I use Jim Martin because most people who would claim to follow Dillinger would be likely to name drop Mike Patton who is widely accepted in the ‘cool’ category as is Faith No More, but probably wouldn’t recognize the bespectacled wonder that was Mr. Martin – aka I’m pretentious). Anyway, I respect DEP but I’ll be damned if I can get through an entire record of theirs. If you haven’t heard them, imagine taking four Steely Dan albums, over-lapping them all, continually speeding up and then slowing down the music, and all this while putting a barking dog next to you while you listen to it. It’s pretty self indulgent stuff and I do encourage you to see them live as their performance is comparable to playing dodgeball with a bee-hive instead of a ball.
What all this could really be traced to is a potential personal indictment of all things power metal. Well, not all things, only things post 80’s. This is unfair of course…yeah, whatever. My point is when it comes to metal, if you have elements to your music that are references to something old and you are not making any attempts to mold or update it than you are likely wasting your time. If you can impress your friends with a wailing falsetto think twice before you put a band together for the sole purpose of making others listen to you sing like Rob Halford. The reality is that you probably suck and don’t sound remotely as good not to mention your lack of Tipton and Downing. It’s a combination of elements that make a great band, not one gimmick. On that note, my apologies to Dragonforce, you’ve got a lot of talent but let’s be honest, you’re robots making the soundtrack for the video game called life.
If you’ve made it this far here is your reward. A British band that I only discovered yesterday and was inspired enough to write about today (if you check for updates at all you can appreciate the meaning of this). They’re called Biomechanical and while they do contain elements previously discussed (mainly high vocals) they are without question taking these elements and processing them through a technical thrashing blender of full on fury and boulders to the face. It’s fast, riff riddled and aggressive. The vocals go from the gut to the top of your head with the high stuff executed very strongly. The worst thing about the fact that they’re touring with EXODUS is that they’re not playing in my living room.
Go HERE and listen to Enemy Within. If you don't like it you're definitely not ready for Aja.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
TALLEY - HO
Here’s a bit of a sobering post for any aspiring musicians hoping to start a metal band. Not that I’m trying to discourage anyone but just keep this one important point in mind: A good metal drummer is VERY hard to find. I could give a few examples including the side projects and session work that some have done but it would be almost comical and quite frankly as boring as waiting for me to update this stinking site.
One specific example though is Kevin Talley, a drummer that has appeared on a few tracks that I’ve profiled here.
I’ve ripped off portions of his bio from Kevintalley.net and included them below. I did take the liberty of leaving out such highlights as 1991’s “Played 1st concert with classic country band at grandparents 50th wedding anniversary.” figuring that if you want to investigate some of his more substantial career moments you can do some homework of your own. What is also crucial is to keep in mind that he was born in 1979 so when you read that he joined Maryland’s underground Grind/Death metal favorites Dying Fetus in 1997, he was 18 years old.
1990 began playing drums.
1996 Joined San Antonio metal band DEITY and made -The Resurrected- demo.
1997 Joined DYING FETUS and re-located to the D.C. area.
1998 May/June filled in for a U.S. SUFFOCATION tour.
1999 FETUS side project KNUCKLE DEEP releases -Come Clean-.
2001 Mar Kevin departs DYING FETUS.
2001 Apr Forms and records w/MISERY INDEX -Overthrow-.
2001 June/July METHOD OF DESTRUCTION (MOD) Reunion tour with Billy Milano of S.O.D. (Charlie and Scott of ANTHRAX).
2001 Dec Session work for DARK DAYS in Cali.
2002 Feb travel to the -Warfield- in San Fran to audition w/ SLAYER.
2002 Apr Travel to SLAYER's rehearsal space and jam with them for 2 days.*
2002 Formed rock band GRAYSON MANOR.
2002 Sept/Oct Session work in SWEDEN for SOILS OF FATE.
2004 Jan/Feb departs GM and forms 5th Wheel, a rock/punk band with Atlanta musician Tyler Edwards.
2004 Rejoin MISERY INDEX and releases -Dissent- EP.
2004 June Departs M.I. and joins Chimaira.
2005 Feb Chimaira records self titled release.
2005 March Record songs for DAATH including -Ovum-.
2006 Jan/Feb Talley fills in for THE RED CHORD.
2006 Feb/Mar Talley fills in for THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER.
2006 Apr/May Talley fills in for HATE ETERNAL.
2006 May session work for ASYLUM.
2006 Nov/Dec DAATH and Cattle Decapitation tour!
*Lombardo came back, he didn’t stand a chance.
It’s a sad reality that these guys are a rare breed. If you’re at all close to a local metal scene you’re likely already familiar with seeing the same guy planted behind the traps of a few bands. If you also have a young kid and they express any interest in playing a musical instrument put on your Earl Woods hat and get your kid some drums because I guarantee that if they end up being any good they’ll be in about 10 bands and one of those will surely make it big.
Talley with The Black Dahlia Murder
Talley auditioning for Slayer (note the walls of cabinets…in a rehearsal space. Hilarious)
Here’s a bit of a sobering post for any aspiring musicians hoping to start a metal band. Not that I’m trying to discourage anyone but just keep this one important point in mind: A good metal drummer is VERY hard to find. I could give a few examples including the side projects and session work that some have done but it would be almost comical and quite frankly as boring as waiting for me to update this stinking site.
One specific example though is Kevin Talley, a drummer that has appeared on a few tracks that I’ve profiled here.
I’ve ripped off portions of his bio from Kevintalley.net and included them below. I did take the liberty of leaving out such highlights as 1991’s “Played 1st concert with classic country band at grandparents 50th wedding anniversary.” figuring that if you want to investigate some of his more substantial career moments you can do some homework of your own. What is also crucial is to keep in mind that he was born in 1979 so when you read that he joined Maryland’s underground Grind/Death metal favorites Dying Fetus in 1997, he was 18 years old.
1990 began playing drums.
1996 Joined San Antonio metal band DEITY and made -The Resurrected- demo.
1997 Joined DYING FETUS and re-located to the D.C. area.
1998 May/June filled in for a U.S. SUFFOCATION tour.
1999 FETUS side project KNUCKLE DEEP releases -Come Clean-.
2001 Mar Kevin departs DYING FETUS.
2001 Apr Forms and records w/MISERY INDEX -Overthrow-.
2001 June/July METHOD OF DESTRUCTION (MOD) Reunion tour with Billy Milano of S.O.D. (Charlie and Scott of ANTHRAX).
2001 Dec Session work for DARK DAYS in Cali.
2002 Feb travel to the -Warfield- in San Fran to audition w/ SLAYER.
2002 Apr Travel to SLAYER's rehearsal space and jam with them for 2 days.*
2002 Formed rock band GRAYSON MANOR.
2002 Sept/Oct Session work in SWEDEN for SOILS OF FATE.
2004 Jan/Feb departs GM and forms 5th Wheel, a rock/punk band with Atlanta musician Tyler Edwards.
2004 Rejoin MISERY INDEX and releases -Dissent- EP.
2004 June Departs M.I. and joins Chimaira.
2005 Feb Chimaira records self titled release.
2005 March Record songs for DAATH including -Ovum-.
2006 Jan/Feb Talley fills in for THE RED CHORD.
2006 Feb/Mar Talley fills in for THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER.
2006 Apr/May Talley fills in for HATE ETERNAL.
2006 May session work for ASYLUM.
2006 Nov/Dec DAATH and Cattle Decapitation tour!
*Lombardo came back, he didn’t stand a chance.
It’s a sad reality that these guys are a rare breed. If you’re at all close to a local metal scene you’re likely already familiar with seeing the same guy planted behind the traps of a few bands. If you also have a young kid and they express any interest in playing a musical instrument put on your Earl Woods hat and get your kid some drums because I guarantee that if they end up being any good they’ll be in about 10 bands and one of those will surely make it big.
Talley with The Black Dahlia Murder
Talley auditioning for Slayer (note the walls of cabinets…in a rehearsal space. Hilarious)
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
WICKEDCousin Tim: You're getting pretty lazy with your posts.
Me: I know...
Cousin Tim: You gotta go back to some of the classics, the old stuff.
Me: hmm...
Well, unfortunately for Tim I don't think this next post will necessarily explore a classic that he maybe had in mind so Tim, I apologize. Oh, and eat it also.
Witchery may not be considered classic in the typical sense but what they certainly do without question is play music that calls on and respects artists that most would consider to have earned the title, albeit with a certain thrashy flair that few can match.
The label 'supergroup' can sometimes be used generously and an obvious example shouldn't be too hard to think of. With G 'n R 'legend' Gilby Clarke, locomotive of intelligence Tommy Lee and, well, ok fine Newsted has cred, anyway while these guys may be big names they definitely wouldn't stand a chance against a line-up consisting of Martin Axenrot (Bloodbath, Opeth), Patrik Jenson (The Haunted) and Sharlee D'Angelo (Mercyful Fate, Arch Enemy, Silk shirt wearing, long greasy hair sporting swashbuckling type). Seriously, check that out. No contest.
Something that I've talked about before is how for the most part modern thrash has become clinical or mechanical. A successful band like Lamb of God, who are good, can at times lose my interest because Chris Adler is actually a metronome with an outrageously long beard. Or a band like Unearth release music that is so refined and polished that it can fail to satisfy people, not to mention every song has a scheduled breakdown at the 2:30 mark. The new Unearth record even has some 'Iron Maiden' type guitar parts, but that's all they are, Iron Maiden guitar parts. I don't know, Unearth is ok but I've heard Slaughter of the Soul already, I don't need to hear Slaughter of the Slick. Precision doesn't always equal power, Witchery knows this. That's not to say that Witchery is sloppy, they did pummel Supernova into the ground at the Metal olympics after all but their music grinds along briskly with raw riffing that should please any old schooler.
Wicked from 2001's Symphony for the Devil is an awesome burst of thrash that isn't trying to break into any kind of undiscovered territory but should put a nice Gary Holt grip around your neck and shake your head with it's quick power chord riffing, Slayer-esque breakdown and trading leads.
What's also cool about this song and the band in general is the guitar tone. It's actually pretty 'jangly' for lack of a better word. The advantage to this is that notes stand out with more clarity.
Now I haven't heard the new Haunted record yet but from what people tell me and from what I've read they pretty much aren't even the same band anymore. Also considering the fact that the most recent Witchery record sounds more like recent Haunted makes one believe that Patrik Jenson is starting to slow down a bit. You know, putting more focus on 'song-writing'. Whatever the hell that means.
Sidenote: This post took me about 2 hours, I'm pathetic.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Monday, August 21, 2006
THE PARTHow I’ve taken so long to get to this post I can’t really explain. Well, I think the reality is that I’m terrified of how difficult it will be to put into words the significance of this band and how they are not only one of the most important metal bands ever, but how they are also some of the most important individuals to ever pick up instruments and play music together.
From an outsiders perspective all metal sounds the same. Unfortunately for these outsiders and what they fail to realize is that everything from an unfamiliar perspective sounds the same. If you don’t listen to classical music, a violin is merely a stringed instrument. Just like if you don’t listen to metal, a polyrhythmic overlapping drum pattern sounds like ‘the drums’. The argument of ‘all things sounding the same’, though, while being mildly ignorant isn’t necessarily unfair as most of the time the music’s purpose is to work with, or contort something familiar. After all, if you can write a catchy tune who really cares if its foundation is constructed from the same ingredients (AC/DC)?. The reason for writing all that was to point out the fact that at times you get the rarity of a group that has managed to completely carve their own direction with a familiar art form to the point where they have absolutely no peers.
Opeth is the result of one man’s gift of songwriting and musicianship in combination with a few other guys who spent their teenaged years practicing to become better at what they do than the thing you think you’re best at. Their music is what happens when the talent can live up to ambition. This is not normal.
The ‘one man’ here is of course Mikael Akerfeldt; arguably the most versatile vocalist and songwriter in music today. He’s got your death growl well covered but it’s not until he shifts to his ‘other’ voice that the sweet sassy molassy factor of Opeth begins to reveal itself. This guy can sing. And this is no power metal wail, think Thom Yorke. Now in order for the softer vocals to work properly in the same song as the deep growl you need some well thought out transitions and it’s with these transitions that Opeth really shines. They weave sections together that should not, and normally would not work together. This can be attributed to a few things; one being that they’re ridiculously good, the other being that the average Opeth song is about 10 minutes long. Luckily for…well, us, the songs are so interesting that you don’t get bored. Like classical, Akerfeldt writes in terms of movements and not the typical verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/end. It’s more like intro/verse/prog melt-down/chorus/acoustic bit/lead bit/variation of chorus/re-invention of the wheel/end of the world riff/verse/outro/better version of the outro/front-end loader to your face outro variation/end.
Moving on,
If you aren’t familiar with the song from Deliverance called Deliverance and I’m introducing it to you then I will relish the moment of being the annoying guy that always has to tell you about when the really good part of a movie is coming up. In this case it’s obviously a song though, well, in movie format.
Deliverance from the live Opeth DVD Lamentations
moments:
1:20 – First transition from loud to quiet. What is most interesting about the quieter Opeth moments is how inventive the chords and progressions are. I assume that the melody comes first and the chords are formed around that. That’s hard.
3:56 – Peter Lindgren makes his presence known with a Middle Eastern type lead. What you may notice here is something that applies to the entire band and frustrates the hell out of me. These guys actually play their instruments with the technique tips that you’re supposed to ignore when you look at beginner’s guides to how-to-play instruments (aka properly).
4:29 – Martin Lopez insults all drummers who don’t listen to what’s happening vocally during the songs they play. Listen to how the fill follows the vocal pattern, crafty stuff. Too bad he’s not in the band anymore, not like Axenrot isn’t a good replacement considering his drumstool residency in both Bloodbath and Witchery.
5:10 – After you threw away your ‘How to play guitar properly’ book written by Opeth you really should have picked up the edition they released called How to write killer transitions in epic songs. Here’s Example 1 from Chapter 1 where it stresses the importance of the ride symbol.
So it’s Opeth and the song is lengthy, here’s the second portion. Please pause this video at the 3:05 mark.
1:10 – This is Heavy with a capitol J for Jackhammer.
1:29 – More ride. Chapter 1, Example 2.
3:05 – Alright, this is important. In 2 seconds you will become familiar with an Opeth moment that among fans is commonly known as The Part. I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out something to write here to prepare you for this but it was a waste of time. Un-pause and enjoy the fact that humans actually created this.
5:20 – They knew it so they worked it. The high part comes out, Opeth rules.
Like Enslaved, Opeth is a metal band that advances by exploring the past. On their most recent release, Ghost Reveries, they became even more influenced by 70’s prog and some songs even had Deep Purple-esque organ parts. What’s also interesting is that the album Deliverance was initially intended as a double-disc with the mellower acoustic based Damnation but label nonsense separated the records by about 5 or 6 months. Damnation is an album by a metal band that your parents/girlfriend/wife will probably like, especially your dad if he’s a big Floyd fan.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Friday, August 04, 2006
BARK AT THE MOUNIER
I’ve admitted before that I’m not exactly the biggest death metal fan. Not that I don’t respect it but I just can’t really get into it. Now, as I’ve been pretty lazy lately I’m going to go back to one of the original focuses of this site, which is the flying feet, and crazy hands of metal drummers.
It would seem as though if someone were to conduct a metal drumming world cup France would be well represented. With players like the previously covered Dirk Verbeuren and Cryptopsy’s Flo Mounier they’d be a pretty tough team to beat. So yeah, this is about Flo.
It’s impossible to deny that this guy is a one man wrecking crew. It’s also fitting that he left France only to move to Quebec, the metal mecca of Canada. Not quite sure what’s going on over there but with bands like Voivod, Cryptopsy, Kataklysm, and Gorguts, that province for one reason or another has seemingly had a head start on the rest of us.
Cryptopsy has without a doubt released some vital Death Metal. With records like None so Vile and Whisper Supremacy they’ve more than established themselves as a force to be reckoned with. But if you listen to their albums you get the distinct impression that it is the Flo show. Not taking anything away from the rest of the band as they have chops to spare but when you listen to their new record the two things that seem to stand out are the sounds of Lord Worm’s dog barfk vocals and Flo’s drum assault.
So here’s a picture of Flo’s drumset. As you can see when he came up with the configuration he decided not only go over the top but also beat the crap out of the top and then eat it. If you look closely you’ll see five foot pedals. If you’re not sure what these are all used for I’ll explain it to you. There are the obvious double bass drum pedals and high hat. There is also the not so uncommon 2nd high hat for open positions and then of course the Flo fast forward pedal which he uses to manipulate time.
Last year there was a music exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art and one of the pieces on the display was Flo’s drumset. There were also a few occasions where people could go watch Flo play as part of the exhibit. Here’s a video of this and watch towards the end where Flo activates the fast forward time manipulator pedal. I swear this is not sped up and you may find youself swearing at the inhuman speed on display.
Here’s a song from the new Cryptopsy record (Once Was Not) called Adeste Infidelis. This is music made by people just because they can and want to. It’s also music made by crazy people for crazy people.
I’ve admitted before that I’m not exactly the biggest death metal fan. Not that I don’t respect it but I just can’t really get into it. Now, as I’ve been pretty lazy lately I’m going to go back to one of the original focuses of this site, which is the flying feet, and crazy hands of metal drummers.
It would seem as though if someone were to conduct a metal drumming world cup France would be well represented. With players like the previously covered Dirk Verbeuren and Cryptopsy’s Flo Mounier they’d be a pretty tough team to beat. So yeah, this is about Flo.
It’s impossible to deny that this guy is a one man wrecking crew. It’s also fitting that he left France only to move to Quebec, the metal mecca of Canada. Not quite sure what’s going on over there but with bands like Voivod, Cryptopsy, Kataklysm, and Gorguts, that province for one reason or another has seemingly had a head start on the rest of us.
Cryptopsy has without a doubt released some vital Death Metal. With records like None so Vile and Whisper Supremacy they’ve more than established themselves as a force to be reckoned with. But if you listen to their albums you get the distinct impression that it is the Flo show. Not taking anything away from the rest of the band as they have chops to spare but when you listen to their new record the two things that seem to stand out are the sounds of Lord Worm’s dog barfk vocals and Flo’s drum assault.
So here’s a picture of Flo’s drumset. As you can see when he came up with the configuration he decided not only go over the top but also beat the crap out of the top and then eat it. If you look closely you’ll see five foot pedals. If you’re not sure what these are all used for I’ll explain it to you. There are the obvious double bass drum pedals and high hat. There is also the not so uncommon 2nd high hat for open positions and then of course the Flo fast forward pedal which he uses to manipulate time.
Last year there was a music exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art and one of the pieces on the display was Flo’s drumset. There were also a few occasions where people could go watch Flo play as part of the exhibit. Here’s a video of this and watch towards the end where Flo activates the fast forward time manipulator pedal. I swear this is not sped up and you may find youself swearing at the inhuman speed on display.
Here’s a song from the new Cryptopsy record (Once Was Not) called Adeste Infidelis. This is music made by people just because they can and want to. It’s also music made by crazy people for crazy people.
Saturday, July 29, 2006
THE SOUTH POLES
It's the return of the BEEEEEEENNNNND!! Too bad for the shakey cameras and lame 'metal themed' video insertions. Either way, YESSSSS!!
Watch the video here.
It's the return of the BEEEEEEENNNNND!! Too bad for the shakey cameras and lame 'metal themed' video insertions. Either way, YESSSSS!!
Watch the video here.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
ROLLIN ALONG
What better way is there to kill time these days than youtube? This past work weekend was somewhat slow and therefore allowed me some serious time killing discoveries on this jungle of video gems. Who knew that Henry Rollins had a tv show show? Well I suppose if you have the Independant Film Channel then you knew but I don't so I didn't. Anyway there's a bunch of cool stuff that he's done including a good Ozzy interview and various other performances. What is also exciting is that an upcoming episode will feature Slayer. This is exciting. Apparently there will be a performance of the new song 'Cult' but what I could find so far is them playing 'Disciple' from God Hates Us All. If you're reading this site you'll probably already enjoy it, so...enjoy it.
First watch this:
Then enjoy the only musician other than Michael Jackson to perform with catcher pads, a singing grizzly bear, a whole lot of drums and Kerry King play a little dity.
Slayer on Rollins
Also, Bravewords has a review of the new Slayer record up and it's pretty positive. Read it here.
What better way is there to kill time these days than youtube? This past work weekend was somewhat slow and therefore allowed me some serious time killing discoveries on this jungle of video gems. Who knew that Henry Rollins had a tv show show? Well I suppose if you have the Independant Film Channel then you knew but I don't so I didn't. Anyway there's a bunch of cool stuff that he's done including a good Ozzy interview and various other performances. What is also exciting is that an upcoming episode will feature Slayer. This is exciting. Apparently there will be a performance of the new song 'Cult' but what I could find so far is them playing 'Disciple' from God Hates Us All. If you're reading this site you'll probably already enjoy it, so...enjoy it.
First watch this:
Then enjoy the only musician other than Michael Jackson to perform with catcher pads, a singing grizzly bear, a whole lot of drums and Kerry King play a little dity.
Slayer on Rollins
Also, Bravewords has a review of the new Slayer record up and it's pretty positive. Read it here.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
PAYROLL
I swear I'm not on it, Warner Brothers that is. This is too good not to post though. As some/most/hopefully you know the new Mastodon record entitled Blood Mountain will be released on September 12th. The song Crystal Skull is now online at Mastodon's Website and their Myspace and it kills. Even better is the ripping lead, I always knew these guys had some shred in them and I'm glad they're putting it on display. There is also the first episode of the making of the new record online, drummers beware.
Also of note is that they will be on tour this fall and are playing the Phoenix in Toronto and I have a ticket. I'm almost jealous of myself. This will be the best prog-metal album about fighting mythical beasts while struggling to climb a mountain...ever.
I swear I'm not on it, Warner Brothers that is. This is too good not to post though. As some/most/hopefully you know the new Mastodon record entitled Blood Mountain will be released on September 12th. The song Crystal Skull is now online at Mastodon's Website and their Myspace and it kills. Even better is the ripping lead, I always knew these guys had some shred in them and I'm glad they're putting it on display. There is also the first episode of the making of the new record online, drummers beware.
Also of note is that they will be on tour this fall and are playing the Phoenix in Toronto and I have a ticket. I'm almost jealous of myself. This will be the best prog-metal album about fighting mythical beasts while struggling to climb a mountain...ever.
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