Support came from the Japanese artist, Anchorsong, who opened with an incredible blast of hardcore electronic. Grey hoody up, hopping to and fro, slamming his fingers frantically against pads on his MPC2500 sampler, Masaaki Yoshida resembled a Jedi mashing up beats. Jolting the audience awake, he looped melodies on his Korg synth above hugely energetic drum patterns. Performing in the middle of an all-female string quartet, some of the crowd were banging their heads, others stirred in a trance-like motion.  

When Portico Quartet took to the stage, everyone was geared up to be fully immersed in the atmospheric sound that would emit from KOKO's gigantic sound-system. The sheer sound and deep bass rumble would soon make those brave souls without earplugs think twice. The power in those speakers was immense; forcing your insides to shake and making those pre-act ciders churn into jelly. The impact of the sound-system, combined with the longer atmospheric remixes transformed the gig into more of a post-rock experience.

With the focus on a more progressive sound, some fans might have preferred the jazzier, easy-to-digest tracks. They did include previous album tracks, with 'Ruins' being a clear favourite. Their non-instrumental track, 'Steepless', with vocalist Swedish Cornelia also seemed to have a mixed response. The quirky individual took front stage and the lads sank into the background, yet this Björk-like treatment to the sound only created more interest adding another layer of beauty. 

Portico Quartet retained their non-band-like status, with more of a Four Tet/Caribou feel; boasting a jazz inflected dreamier sound, with Reich-esque rhythmical percussion, Caribbean-like steel drums and glimpses of smooth saxophone. Their previous albums have consisted of deep saxophone tones worked into varying drums and pitched percussion parts. Although their music embodies minimalism, it is heavily rooted in jazz. Their latest album, Live / Remix, re-works their material into longer sets that retain that chilled vibe. Displacing the new tracks to KOKO's live stage gave them a new platform to perform in. The set was complimented by fantastic lighting including the use of a giant disco ball so the room was showered in a dreamy haze of light.

Seeing Portico Quartet live was an intense and immersive experience, where you left feeling that your dreams would be cast in the warm glow of a sunset. Impressionable, soul-soothing; spectacular.

Let's get one thing clear here before we start this review. This album will not be for everyone. If you enjoy dark, desolate soundscapes or pummelling riffs with incoherent vocals then you may want to steer clear of this. If you feel like a bit of sunshine and happiness in your music then look no further than this, a true Alt-Pop classic for our times.

Alt-Pop, if such a thing exists (and it does now) can be seen as an arch understanding of what makes great pop music....well, great. The B52's made an entire career out of it and those of you who investigated further than the ubiquitous hit single would have been surprised to find the delights in store. This is what Saturday Looks Good To Me do, and they do it well.

Having been around the indie scene since early 2000's, they have essentially been a floating  member experiment in subversive pop music. Imagine The Sparks for the 21^st Century (OK, they're still around but so what) and you can understand what makes them tick. This, their reunion (of sorts) album is their most commercial effort to date in that they are actually trying to get it heard beyond their own inner circle.

Starting off sounding all woozy and alt-folk, this lasts for about a minute before glorious pop beats bounce in and introduce you to their world. Much like the Baby Brave EP reviewed earlier this year, this too parades itself with joyous female vocals and you will find yourself dancing at the most inopportune moments.

It could all go wrong so quickly and start sounding like a Delays record but SLGTM have a few tricks up their sleeve. By slowing the pace right down with ‘Invisible Friend’ and moving further out of normal pop territory by third song ‘Empty Beach’, there is an adeptness at work here which understands how pop music works.

This is accentuated by the wonderful musicianship throughout. I'll throw my cards on the table and say that I haven't heard anything quite like it since the glory days of Prince. Whilst the songs hold their own with verse, chorus, verse, the music strays off a variety of paths. Hear the saxophone seemingly two steps out of time with the rest of the music only to find itself back where it belongs in the end.

It’s a twisted ride of bubblegum harmonies, dark undercurrents and persuasive instrumentation. It is probably like Marmite and you will either love it or hate it. Either way, it is a blast of bright colour to usher in what will hopefully be a wonderful summer. And if the sun decides to stay in? Well, just press play again and get on you dancing shoes. An absolute delight and a genuine surprise.

If you’re like me and you love rainy days, just staring out the window watching it fall, or maybe even going for a walk while it’s coming down; you’re in for a treat with October Falls newest release The Plague Of A Coming Age. A dark folk metal album, or more so a black metal album with drab atmospherics, it’s perfect for days of calm, dark weather.

From the start of the album a rather drab tone is set. The clang of cattle bells (not cowbell, sorry!) and drums open up then explode with a cascading view of the mountains. Slow-paced riffs sit atop a gorgeous mix of music, the bass audible and the drums sound organic. The epic feel from tracks like ‘Bloodlines’ and ‘Mouth of a Nation’s Harlots’ is well complimented by the acoustic and barebones nature of ‘Boiling Heart of the North’ and ‘Snake of The Old World’. ‘Snakes…’ does eventually break in the end to give way to beautiful musical climax, fading at the end with the clang of more bells, proving this album is still moving. ‘The Weight of the Fallen’ has some rather nice running bass lines that stand out toward the end. They build to the transition to album closer ‘Below the Soils’, a track that has the peak swept wind roaring through it, chilling you to the bones as you try to keep dry and possibly wiping wipe the rain and tears from your face.

October Falls have made a very epic album with The Plague Of A Coming Age, but a strong and not overdone album. They could very well have milked the formula, as others have in the past. Instead they know when to stop and not become over indulgent or forceful. The music just moves well. With a set of soul-jarring vocals throughout the album, this is the perfect soundtrack for a walk in less than perfect weather. Maybe even a day in front of the fireplace. Any situations really, just do it alone, and peek inside yourself.

The Plague Of A Coming Age is available now through Debemur Morti Productions. I also encourage you to dig a bit into their discography if this is music that suits your tastes, you won’t be disappointed.

Support artists and musicians you love and enjoy.

HAIL!!!

Let’s get the controversial statement out the way at the top of the review: this is not music. Hold on though, that doesn’t mean it’s not worth listening to. Nor does it discredit its worth as an album. But, yeah, it’s not music. The collection of seven pieces pulled together by Yes Blythe are best described as soundscapes; pieces of aural art if you will. They exist to challenge as much as entertain.

The project from Manchester-based Callum Higgins was, incredibly, recorded over two and a half years ago – with only 30 copies ever made. Now, with a extended 250 copy run of hand-made albums, Keep the Faith comes housed in a package including a hand-stamped CD, tracing paper sleeve, stitched five page booklet, and a printed fabric insert all bundled in a screen printed brown paper bag. As mentioned, this is art.

Keep the Faith is an apt title given the slow building ambiance of opener ‘Teach Me All You Know’, which eventually gives way to a piano melody that is quite exquisite and comes to dominate the track. It doesn’t change direction much though. Rather, it expands, having picked its direction, and forges towards its crescendo – disrupted in parts by electronic drone, speech samples and something that resembles paper rustling. It provokes as much as it charms.

‘Before You Let Me Go’ is less melodic, more haunting. The one repetitive note driving the track sounds like a ship’s beacon breaking through fog. The note extends into ‘I’ll See It On The Way,’ a track that has been written to disturb, and maybe even anger the listener. The ceaseless barrage of sharp roars runs throughout the eight-minute track (imagine your de-tuned radio channelling a demon and you’re getting there).

This is the point though – music is designed to make us happy or sad. Higgins has gone further, pushing buttons to trigger different emotional responses – granted some of those responses will be to hit the ‘next track’ button – such as ‘Take The Dark Out Of My Day,’ a piece whose relentless high-pitched piercing does evoke genuine anger. It’s incredibly bold, possibly off-putting, but never dull.

The piano returns, thankfully, on ‘I’ll Keep the Faith Now’ and a pleasant enough melody underpins the track. Again, we are happy. This is repeated through, in an emotional rollercoaster – to steal a lazy cliché that will probably piss off Higgins as much as ‘Take The Dark Out Of My Day’ pissed me off.

Some will see it as political statement, some will see it as a comment on mankind’s destruction of the planet, others will see it as pretentious drivel. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? And does it really matter? This is art after all, and whatever the artist’s intentions, once it is in the eye (or ear) of the public, it is at the mercy of subjectivity.

In short, it’s like the soundtrack to a dystopian film where nothing in the world is as it once was. You’re not going to dance to it, or play it in the car. But if you listen to it, you’ll be provoked; you’ll smile, frown, and hear something you’ve never heard before. That in itself is satisfying.

With their debut record, ‘Beyond the Sun’, having been released just a matter of months ago you could be forgiven for expecting little in the way of development from Sunwølf on ‘Midnight Moon’. Thankfully, however, the latest in a series of highly promising Leeds based experimental bands have progressed quite noticeably on this release.

Whereas ‘Beyond the Sun’ was generally characterised by its consistently gloomy temperament, ‘Midnight Moon’ sees the band move forward into a slightly more varied set of moods. It’s quieter, more patient and reflective in tone, and sounds better focused as a result. If ‘Beyond the Sun’ saw the band’s debt to Sunn O))) become quite apparent, their similar appreciation of latter day Earth is on display here. The build-up has become as significant as the climax.

‘Prey to Melancholy’ is the perfect exemplar peace for understanding this album’s psyche. It retains the sludgier influences of their debut but transports them to a more peaceful plain through hazier post-rock esque execution. ‘Breach’ also sees the band delicately complement their heavier influences with more ambient excursions, whilst the two parts of ‘Plateau’ are confident enough to tease with the idea of a move into doomier territory without sliding into it. There are moments here when a band lacking Sunwølf’s songwriting maturity would dive straight into murky distortion but ‘Midnight Moon’ quickly becomes characterised by the clarity of its sound as much as anything else.

Critics could argue that this makes the record slightly predictable over its duration. If anything, though, the aforementioned clarity of Sunwølf’s direction here allows them to subtly explore a greater range of textures, resulting in a record that not only accentuates the work of their debut but also increases their palate of sound to the point that expectations for their future albums will be high. Some might say they have taken a small step with their development here, but such a step has resulted in fairly significant improvement.

A few weeks ago I read an American's view on Norwegians. Among those five millions you'll find the one writing this text, so obviously I was interested in what he had to say. In his blog post he went on about what he thought set Norwegians apart from the rest of the inhabitants of this planet. Some things felt more spot-on than others, but here's one thing he said which felt - surprisingly! - true: "If anyone raises a voice it is always abruptly (...) Norwegians usually give no sign they are about to explode until they actually do, like boiler rooms or hand grenades."

So, what does this have to do with Jenny Hval? The short answer: Everything! The long answer: The rest of this review. 

Innocence Is Kinky is Jenny Hval's follow-up to Viscera and is her second album released by Rune Grammofon in three years. And what we have here is clearly a continuation of her playful, sketchy and raw approach which was captured into Viscera. If you were to convert Jenny Hval's music into pure literature her books would be filled with poetry. The overall sound is stripped down, almost minimal at times and rarely more than two layers thick. This brings the main focus to Hval's voice which is constantly in the center of everything. She uses her dominant and almost cat-like voice in a similar style like Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon. She shifts between talking and whispering more or less tonelessly into the microphone. Other times her voice shifts between angel-like singing and bursting into abrupt screams. 

When there's an ocean of unstructured music the sudden waves of structures feels very unleashing. Throughout Innocence Is Kinky the brilliantly crafted 'I Called', a noise pop song Deerhoof would've been proud of, is a perfect example of this. During most of the songwriting process I imagine Hval sitting in her bedroom toying around with ideas with a tape recorder before heading to the studio to mix all of her sketches together. For the production of Innocence Is Kinky she assigned PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish to do the final touches in Bristol. One of the most playful and experimental examples is the meta-song 'Give Me That Sound' starting with Hval whispering "I need a sound now / But there is no sound / Give me that sound" in the left audio channel, followed by an obedient burst of noise in the right channel. It continues with more noise, some poetry and ends with a repeated whisper: "Give me that sound".

I'm not sure Jenny Hval is the average Norwegian when all comes to all, but before raising her voice she'll never give you any sign she's about to explode. Just like that American pointed out.

Bone Sickness is a new band to my ears, but once the first track on Alone in the Grave (‘Submit to Decay’) was half through, they felt like old friends. This is an old school, but don’t call them “old-school”, death metal meets grindcore album. I hear the sounds of Repulsion and Autopsy grinding away in a dirty warehouse in front of people slamming into each other. Sounds about right for this type of music. I came close to almost even bringing in an early Entombed reference, but I’ll stop short of that. This is a very American sounding, dirty, punk infused with death metal, album.

As a whole, this album is relatively short. 18 minutes to the dime on my player. But in those 18 minutes BS (horrid acronym, I know, but I’m sticking with it) make your ears ring, your bowels move and your bones ache. Alone in the Grave slows down a bit here and there to lay the sickness on pretty thick; but these moments are just a tease as Bone Sickness speed it up just in time to knock you on your ass. But in the end it doesn’t quite matter: If you like your music sounding like it came back from the dead to take you apart, Alone in the Grave is your type of music.

At just the right length, Bone Sickness has delivered an album that can be put on repeat and listened to for house. A perfect soundtrack for your drive home from work, drinking brews around a fire, or just when you want to be reminded that America can still put out a sick (literally) album now and then. Be sure to grab this from 20 Buck Spin on 12” when it crawls out on April 30th. And, yes, AND, keep an eye out for an EP coming out on Iron Lung Records in the near future. Support bands and artist you love and enjoy, go get this album!

HAIL!!!

On Sunday April 14th 2013 the Metal Alliance Tour graced the Washington DC area with their thrashy loud aggressive presence and those of us who were smart enough to be at the show were treated to one of the best line-ups thrash metal has to offer. One change that was made to the original line-up was Shadows Fall replacing High On Fire for this last leg of the tour. This announcement disappointed me as I was really looking forward to finally seeing them live. I was also supposed to see them at Mayhem last year before they dropped off the tour for Matt Pike’s personal issues. Apparently someone doesn’t want me to see High On Fire! Regardless of that small change we were in for a treat on this fine spring evening in Silver Spring MD.

The opening act for the evening was Holy Grail, this was a band that I was most certainly going to see live as their first album Crisis in Utopia is still on constant rotation on my MP3 player and my assumption was that if they are as energetic and powerful on their album they must be amazing live. Well they proved me correct; Holy Grail blew out on to the stage like a tornado and blew me and my friends who were unfamiliar with them away. James-Paul Luna’s voice was in great form considering how long they had been touring and he hit all of those high notes with ease. The band itself on this night was tight and they flew through a set of new material from their latest album Ride The Void as well as a few from their debut album. For an opening act the energy was palpable and the crowd was very much into what Holy Grail was laying down. It was a bit early in the evening crowd-wise to have an appropriate pit but if Holy Grail can keep up this level of showmanship they will have a very loyal following and will be moving up the bill in no time.

I did not envy Shadows Fall having to follow Holy Grail as they really had their work cut out for them with the crowd. I will admit this right now; I know nothing about Shadows Fall! I can’t say that I have ever heard one of their songs and I know/knew nothing about the brand of metal that they play. I assumed it wasn’t thrash because if it was I probably would have heard of them. Regardless they still came on the stage to perform and I will give them credit for coming out with energy and ready to slay. Well, at least the front man Brian Fair was ready, his to the knees dreadlocks whipping about the stage as his head moved to the music. Fair admitted that he had a bit of a hangover and the show and the crowd was helping him work through it but I can’t say the same for the rest of the band. The lead guitarist, Jonathan Donais looked like he still hadn’t woken up from whatever stupor he was in either the night before or right before coming on stage and that also rang true for rhythm guitarist Matt Bachand. They were two of the most boring guitar players I have ever seen live on stage in my life. Seriously! This was Shadows Fall chance to make a fan out of me, and Fair did a fair (sorry had to) job of doing that with his energy and crowd banter but one thing is sure from that performance; I am not going to be running out to buy any of their records any time soon! Of course this also concerned me because Donais is the fill in lead guitarist for Anthrax on this tour.

The next band up was the mighty Municipal Waste. A band I like as a crossover band but not on the top of my list overall. They play the type of thrash I really love but with their own brand of humor and alcohol references that at times can come off as sophomoric but if taken with a grain of salt is just a fun escape. Regardless of all of that I am a changed man! Municipal Waste jumped out on the stage (by cartwheel for frontman Tony Foresta) and blasted in to their version of crossover thrash and immediately won me over as a lifelong fan. Talk about a fun time at a show! If the show would have ended with Municipal Waste working their way through 'Your Cut Off', 'Terror Shark', 'The Art of Partying' and a few others that would have been enough for me! Not only that but talking about having fun with not only the crowd but security (who in their own right really did a spectacular job) and making sure that the fun was had by all but ensured everyone knew who was in charge. It may have been a short set but it is one I will measure other live acts with for a long time in the future.

Following the more gleeful Municipal Waste was the always powerful, yet serious Exodus! This was my first time ever seeing this band live and I was really looking forward to it but with trepidation as I couldn’t grasp how they were going to mix some of their older songs with the much more epic sound of their latest few albums. Alas, there was no real reason for concern as Exodus did a great job of mixing the old with the new and including what I can only assume where crowd favorites as the mosh pit was livelier than at any other time all night and the band seemed as excited as the crowd. That in and of itself makes seeing Exodus worth it but the setlist was very, very strong. Thrashing out to 'War is My Shepherd', 'Blacklist', 'Bonded by Blood', and finally the classic 'Toxic Waltz', they played the crowd with the expertise of a veteran, established band and left no bodies behind. Much like Municipal Waste before them, Exodus frontman Rob Dukes played the crowd perfectly and even orchestrated a well executed 'Wall of Death' with the crowd prefaced with a William Wallace (Braveheart) 'Hold, Hold, Hold' and the crowd ate it up.

Finally it was time for the headliner of the evening. My friends and I were remarking before Anthrax hit the stage that this was the fourth or fifth time we had seen them in the past twenty months and they have been better each and every time we see them. So for us, expectations were high. But as Anthrax has done show after show they came out energized and working on all cylinders. Scott Ian just about his usual frenetic self but you could see that his two or three day bought with food poisoning took a little out of him but not enough to make a big difference. Luckily for us too because fill in guitarist Jonathan Donais had not worked up any more energy since his set with Shadows Fall. Of course the highlight of this tour for Anthrax was the playing of the album Among The Living in its entirety. The benefit for fans being that a majority of the songs on this album where either never played live or haven’t been on Anthrax’s setlist for a long time. Once again Joey Belladonna’s voice was top notch and he is a proven frontman who knows how to play the crowd. Mid-set the band took a break from Among The Living and played a song from their latest covers release Anthems. It was the cover AC/DC’s 'TNT' and it went over like gangbusters with the crowd. Once again and I am not sure if I can reiterate this enough; Anthrax is a must see band live! But I digress, Anthrax moved into the second half of Among The Living and of course the place went crazy when it was time to “Wardance” as prescribed by the song 'Indians'. Anthrax finished off their set with their cover of Joe Jackson’s 'Got The Time' (my all time favorite Anthrax song because I can play it on bass) and returned for an encore of the oft missed 'I’m the Man' and finally 'Antisocial'. Once again Anthrax proved that they can bring it like no one else.

It was a great night for thrash in the Washington DC area and all of the bands brought the pure thrash without bringing the pretentiousness and attitude you sometimes find at a live show. Each band seemed to truly feed off of the crowd and they made sure that the crowd knew it through the awesome performances each put on throughout the night. One thing is for sure, I will be looking forward to longer sets from Holy Grail, Municipal Waste, and Exodus in the future. It is too bad this tour has come to an end and more cities won’t be able to witness this awesome spectacle.

Until Later, Peace!

While it may be obvious to any music fan that variety is important on any album, it may not be as obvious that the difference between an exciting album and a monotonous one can be traced to small details. One does not have to use long complex song forms and influences from eight different genres to make an album sound varied; Reign in Blood is pretty much all straightforward no-holds-barred thrashing, but seemingly minor things like tempo differences, changes in feel, and different rhythmic accents keep your attention focused on the music and prevent it from getting boring.

The lack of small differentiating details is where Deathcult’s The Test of Time falls short. The riffs are strong, the performances – all done by sole bandmember Tim Pearson, with a few guest leads from Scott Wright – are tight, the production strikes a good balance between being raw and clear, but everything just feels the same.

Deathcult play blackened thrash/speed metal, similar in nature to Abigail/Gospel of the Horns/Toxic Holocaust. I could draw comparisons to the black ‘n roll sound of later-era Satyricon, but Deathcult manages to be much more convincing in their delivery than Satyricon are. Later Satyricon is just flat-out lame, whereas Deathcult is at its core actually sounds like solid black metal.

The passion for the music is definitely there. Unfortunately, it suffers from a creatively limited palette, leading to an album that could be awesome but is instead same-y and not that interesting. The songs hover around the same tempo and have mostly the same feel throughout, and when your music is straightforward and to-the-point, you need to vary those things more to make the album work.

Most of the lack of variety can be traced to the drumming. Pearson is a rhythmically solid drummer, but outside of a few scattered blast beats and flourishes, every song has the same basic rock beat feel, a problem that is exacerbated by the lack of variety in tempo. Had there been some faster or slower songs, it would have broken up the monotony. Throw in some d-beats or triplet-feel songs, and now you have a much more multifaceted album that is much more interesting to listen to.

And all of these flaws are very, very easy to fix on future material. Tim Pearson can literally just rip drum beats from Discharge, Slayer, and Iron Maiden, and keep the quality of the riffs the same, and the next album will automatically be an improvement over The Test of Time. The base of the material is solid, and some very basic changes could make Deathcult a band to keep an eye on.

February 2010. Myself and two buddies of mine take a nice road trip for a few days to visit a friend in college. I'll spare a lot of details, like how much money I spent, and how odd it is having to go to the college to take a number two because the house had 6 people living there before the three of us showed up and there was only one bathroom, pissing off our female friend because we sat making up names for the breasts on a hot (her, not the food) sandwich maker at a restaurant ("chest meat" was the winner I believe) and instead tell you about the tunes we enjoyed (vaguely, this is a review and I can't waste time or bandwidth).

We jammed Amon Amarth, Helmet (because I'm the driver and I fucking said so!) and Arsis just released Starve For The Devil. Now, over the years my friends and I have all gone fairly separate ways with musical interest. I love metal, all forms of it. My friend got into some softer stuff, but still enjoy "the riff". Arsis though, among some others, is still a band one friend and I still share. We'll occasionally text each other the song titles of Arsis songs IN CAPS FOR FULL EFFECT!!! So when a song of Unwelcome  was posted online, I instantly knew what was coming.

So by now I'm on paragraph three, and I haven't told you much about the album. I haven't told you about how opening title track is a balls out shred machine that sets the tone for the album. I haven't told you the guitar work on 'Choking On Sand' ebbs and flows perfectly, actually bringing down the tempo just a bit in some spots. Or that closing track 'Scornstar' is a perfect ending, to an album of shred guitar, with its horn-raising solo at the end. And you're probably the most upset that I haven't told you how awesome the cover of Cory Hart's 1983 hit song, 'Sunglasses At Night', is and fits perfectly in the album sequencing.

So, I'm sorry for talking about a band that added to the bond I have with a friend, and not their newest album Unwelcome.  I'm sure you'd like it if you check it out when it comes out on Nuclear Blast on April 30. If not that's your call. Just don't be mad at me when YOU DON'T GET MESSAGES IN ALL CAPS FROM YOUR MATE!!!!!!

HAIL!!!!!!

Support bands you love: goto a show, buy a shirt, grab an album.

So Stonemasons who hail from just outside of Belfast grabbed my attention for that very fact, as I live about 25 miles from Belfast and I always like to check out new material from the local music scene when I can. The band is described as Post-Grunge from the Press Release and listening to this 3 track EP Angst & Spiders it’s a fair description of the style.

First two tracks ‘Audiolust’ and ‘Black Widow’ are really good solid songs with a nice groove and great vocals. The songs have a flavour of all the great bands from the grunge genre Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Stone Temple Pilots in particular and yet the band have an unique sound and style of their own. Track three on the EP Angst & Spiders, for me is the weakest of the songs on offer and this is purely due to the fact that it sounds like a cast off track from Kerbdog’s On The Turn Album, which is a favourite album of mine but for Stonemasons it seems a change in style musically and vocally which is different from the first two tracks on the EP.

The only problem I would envisage is holding the band together long enough to make an impact on the local scene. I have seen and heard really great local bands that don’t seem to get the recognition they deserve due to the limited opportunities for really good venues in such a small place, coupled with the fact that playing the same venues over and over again can cause saturation. It’s a hard balance to strike but if Stonemasons can achieve this then they could be one to watch as the quality of the songs is very good and another easter egg that I have found whilst doing reviews for Ech(((o)))es and Dust that would previously have escaped me.

As previously stated above I think this is a strong EP and I would hope the band can record a full album of material as I definitely would be interested in hearing more material as all three guys seem to be multi-instrumentalists, so the scope for material should be no problem. I will also be keeping a look out for the band on the live scene to see how they fare. All in all Angst & Spiders is a good 3 track EP from a great young band that deserves a listen and leaves me wanting to hear more.

There must be something about Canada that just makes bands hone their craft. Most if not all the bands from Canada that I listen to are all great at what they do. Even if I don’t like what I may hear, I've really never been able to say they didn't do a good job. So listening to Orchid’s Curse’s newest album Words is really a chance to hear a band that’s the cream of the crop at what they do. And what they do is pretty simple: FUCKING ROCK!!

From the urgent openings of ‘Baptismalpractice’ to the downright epic-as-all-get-out middle minutes of ‘If We’re Divine’ and all the way over to the nut-smasher that is ‘Through the Hourglass’, this album is full of hooks. I've found myself humming the guitar solo from ‘His Servants’ while reading. (Not really all that easy once you hear the lead guitar.) I tap the beat of the manic bridge on ‘For Those Who Grovel’ on my coffee cup now and then. I scream along with ‘Lie to Live the Lie’ in my truck in-between swearing at traffic. This album is just laced with hook after hook. Whether it be a classic metal riff, a psyched out interval or just a standard heavy rock n’ roll beat; the album is catchier than an STD on 2-for-1 night at a brothel.

The album cover should just look like this instead:

Alas, I must be truthful: This review is entirely late. Very late to be honest. I owe a great deal of apology to the boys in Orchid’s Curse, as well as lead singer Josh Hogan. I asked to review the album because I loved what I heard, and then got busy/got a nasty case of writer's block. On one hand I’m sure they may understand. On the other, I slipped up. So I only hope that this message rings out loud and clear: The five men that make up Orchid’s Curse have made one hell of an album. The years they've spent together most definitely show, the songwriting is seamless and never at all feels forced. And they know how to make a song or two stick with you, which is truly the test of song.

You can check out this album on the band website or Bandcamp page and through Diminished Fifth (d5) Records. Do these hard working guys a solid and check out this album. A purchase you will not regret…unless you don’t like singing while you yell at traffic. Support artists and bands you love, go grab this album.

HAIL!!!!!!

Yeah, you giggled a bit when you read the title of this record. No? Well, you rolled your eyes at least, right? No? Pohlsmoker. Still nothing? Well, I don't really want to hang out with you anymore. You're completely devoid of a sense of humor and might as well be walking around without a heart. For those of you who did happen to chuckle, let's go over here and talk for a moment.

Pohl is a guitar and drum duo hailing from Bristol, U.K. They have a sense of humor and play fuzzed-out, octave-based grunge, stoner, doom, alt-rock, and hardcore influenced noise rock. Sounds like a lot is happening on Pohlsmoker... and it's true, but the two (Will Pearce and Jamie Thompson) keep things tightly focused no matter what. The music is quite playful considering the extremely serious nature of the record, as evidenced in song titles such as 'Fuckboots,' 'Candyass,' and 'Forward The Joke.' Vocals range from quite clean and melodic to a crackling indie yelp. A perfect fit for the spazzed-out, off-kilter music.

Pohl are masters of their respective instruments. No joke. Every song on the Pohlsmoker EP is infectious. Or catchy. Or some other hip buzzword used to describe music as "instantly likable." The production is top-notch and sounds huge for a two-piece band. Latch Manghat at Rollin' Rex Studios deserves some credit for making Pohl's first studio effort one to remember. Fans of Big Business, Death From Above 1979, and Black Cobra will most likely dig this release. Pohlsmoker is available to buy on CD from Future Noise Records and on cassette from Tartarus Records.

Do just what they insist you do on their Facebook page: "Follow the world's least photogenic band on their meteoric rise to obscurity."

Later. And thanks for your time, funny person.

Ara is a band that consists of a chunk of fellow Milwaukee, Wisconsin band Northless. That’s it as far as the other band comparison goes. Different band, few other members, music probably shouldn’t be the same. That’s why they’re different bands. Lecture over. Let’s proceed…

Ara plays a blend of “technical” death metal. It’s not that other bands that are just death metal don’t play technical music; it’s just the way the songs are written and performed/ the “genre games” syndrome. The mix throughout The Blessed Sleep showcases all the participating member’s abilities. The screamed throat sounds good, the bass is a bit jazzy, guitars crunch and the drums tumble. The opening blast beats on ‘Entitled Ascension’ give way to a dizzying guitar display that doesn’t stop. The title track is an epic affair that has hills and valleys, all leading to a frantic ending that is executed perfectly. Closer ‘Abyssal Banishment’ follows suit with the rest of the album: Well played by completely competent and obviously able musicians.

What’s missing from this EP is “hooks”. While I cannot at all say the music itself is bad, because its not, there just weren’t any parts of songs that came back and caught my attention. This is an EP, so I am honestly waiting to see what a full-length could bring. I like the entire sound of the album, and you may too. You can head over to the band’s Bandcamp page and give it listen, and for $5, it’s a good purchase. Support artists and bands you love.

HAIL!!