Posts Tagged ‘cave in’
Friday, September 9th, 2011
One of the best independent metal bands in America, ORWELL is dropping their dynamic new concept album AVOHFASIH in September. It is one of the best albums we have heard this entire year across the spectrum of all heavy music. Metal Army caught up with rhythm guitarist Tim Bradley to get up to speed on the band and the release.
 One of the best concept albums to come along in quite a while.
MAA: Tell us about the concept behind AVOHFASIH?
TB: The record has an overall concept basically about grieving and loss. A few of the other guys in the band and I, plus others close to us have lost some people in the last year. We thought the opportunity of the our record coming out as a good time to address those emotions we had going on. So we set upon doing it as a concept album with the second theme of also being lost at sea. It kind of has two concepts that way (laughs).
MAA: Musically it is a departure from some of your past work. What influenced this change?
TB: The last record we put out that was Endeavors with our old drummer Jim. He was way more of a thrash drummer. That’s what he enjoyed and frankly that’s what we enjoyed at the time as well. Our new drummer Chris came in and he contributed to the writing this time. Jim had as well (when he was in the band), but two different drummers, two records with two different writing styles sounding apart. Also Eric (Bolstad) our other guitarist wrote most of Endeavors himself. AVOHFASIH was more of a joint effort between all of us and not to discredit Eric, because he pulls his weight and then some in the writing process. The concept gave breadth to him an allowed him to explore some other areas of his writing and playing as well.
 ORWELL from La Crosse, WI. Poised for big things...
MAA: Do you think you will perform the album live in its entirety?
TB: All the shows we have planned at this point, we plan on doing the album in full. Anytime we have a forty-five minute set where we are able to play it in full, we will be. That’s the way we wrote it and it is meant to be heard as a complete work so we intend to do that.
MAA: You have some serious die hard fans. Did you worry about alienating them by changing things up a bit with a heady concept album?
TB: I don’t know if you would say worried about it. When we put out Endeavors, the last record we had high hopes for that record. The tour went well. But we got to a point at the end of the tour where everyone is playing a million miles and hour, and we were playing a million miles an hour when you play with only metal bands. We really just wanted to write music and we didn’t necessarily have to be super fast or super technical. I guess we didn’t really worry because outside of our core fans we are still becoming better known and we are looking for new fans anyway. He like how it all played out and I hope people like it.
 Tim Bradley of ORWELL: live and direct!
MAA: Can you talk about that disturbing teaser video for AVOHFASIH? It is uber disturbing!
TB: That’s a clip from a film called Baraka. It’s a band favorite. It’s a total, I don’t want to call it a documentary, but it’s basically a crazy two-hour art film of cultural rituals from all of the world. Everything from modern society and even aboriginal things. We are all fans of that type of films. That scene is particularly such an unnerving scene to watch in the movies. We thought this was the first time people would ever hear our new music in good quality. The clip is really suggestive and fits the music. We thought about what we could do to make it less like just new music and make it more special for our fans. We just kind of threw it together and it was the most activity we’ve ever had on our website in one day. It’s cool to do stuff like that, to surprise people and get people pumped for the band.
MAA: Since Logan Hauser is primarily a brutal singer do you and Eric consciously write more melodic guitar and vocal parts as a contrast to what he does?
TB: I do some more vocals on the record here and there. My stuff is more type of the yelly type of stuff. Logan has such a gravely, guttural voice so I did some vocals to contrast that. Chris (Brissell) did some of that too. Obviously we have the female voices (Danielle Taube and LeAnn Bradley ) on the album as well. We don’t ever want to be the type of band that has clean singing as a crutch to use whenever we need to make something sound pretty. Our concern is we want to accomplish melodic things with our instruments. We want to be able to use it so when we do that with vocals, it can stand out and hold its own ground.
MAA: Who are some of the bands influences collectively?
TB: Straight off the bat for me NEUROSIS has been a huge band. NEUROSIS, ISIS, RED SPARROWS and that whole kind of genre. All of the Hydra Head and Neurot bands has really kind of opened me up as a new way to view metal. Chris had really been in to all of those bands before that and through me and Chris getting in to it, that leaked over to everybody else. Those bands became a source of inspiration since we wanted create something really devastating and heartfelt. Those bands helped us create the framework of trying to do that with our instruments. And we’re all still fans of DARKEST HOUR and the more melodic bands like IN FLAMES. Even ANIMALS AS LEADERS as an instrumental influence. Obviously you can’t hear it directly but AAL is a band that we think has a great sense of melody that is really insane. Other than that Chris is really into RUSH. A lot of us are really into LED ZEPPELIN. MASTODON is a huge influence. I mean I could go on and on for hours because we just listen to so much music, we are all just serious music buffs. This record will really give us the opportunity to really stretch out from here on and do exactly what we want to do and move forward without compromising. Even though our sound is different from our earlier work, you can still tell it is four of the five same guys in the band. As we grow together and continue to create new music it’s only going to get better from here.
MAA: Do you have anything special planned for the release in September?
TB: We are going to release the album free online on our bandcamp. Free to download for anybody. The reason it’s free we want as many people as possible to get the album and hear it. Beyond that we are doing a limited edition pressing of hand numbered, physical copies of the record. For the physical copies we are doing everything ourselves, printing, cutting, folding and everything. It’s going to be a full package with a booklet, artwork and lyrics. We are doing all of the cutting, folding and printing. We’re trying to do everything D.I.Y. and we are doing 300 hundred of these and that is it. We just want everybody to know whoever is willing to make the monetary contribution and buys the physical album this is from us to you. We touched this and we are giving it to you, no matter who you are if you are one of those 300. No middle man or distribution. We are really pumped about that. The packaging itself really gives everybody an insight into the the concept of the album. Some of the themes and theories that go on in the record, the album title spells out the acronym that is in the lyrics. Anybody who wants to dive in and really get the meaning of the record and what we are about as a band will have that opportunity. That is another reason we are self-releasing it, so people will know it is 100% from us to them.
By Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: art, AVOHFASIH, Baraka, bassist Will Strickland, cave in, concept albums, Crack the Skye, DARKEST HOUR and the more melodic bands like IN FLAMES. Even ANIMALS AS LEADERS, DIY, drummer Chris Brissell, Endeavors, guitarist Erik Bolstad, guitarist Tim Bradley, hardcore/death vocals, Intronaut, Isis, Keefy, Lamb of God, Led Zeppelin, machine head, Mastodon, modern metal, neurosis, old-school PANTERA, ORWELL, Pink Floyd, Prog-Rock, RED SPARROWS, Rush, thrash, tool, vocalist Logan Hauser
Posted in Feature Interviews, Interviews | No Comments »
Friday, September 9th, 2011
Rest (Relapse)
In what has been a banner year for Relapse artists, we have a new release from southern sludge-masters RWAKE. In the same way that an island is a mountain that starts at the bottom of the ocean, this band has been defiantly single minded in their craft for more than a decade. Uncompromising and true, the band led by vocalist CT (who among other endeavors is responsible for the upcoming documentary Slow Southern Steel), they have never wavered from their goal: exacting sonic hell on the listener. They have harvested this idea in the past, but never more so totally than on Rest. Despite appearing meager on the surface with only six tracks, the sum of the music proves much greater in its depth and direction.
After the laconic opening of “Souls of The Sky” you might expect a different album if you didn’t know the band better. They have always had a keen feel for dynamics, but it is more pronounced than ever now. Sounding a lot like a neo-classical folk interlude from one of black metals’ finest, the song definitely is a harbinger of things to come. “It Was Beautiful but Now It’s Sour” is dissonant, haunting and much more in line with what fans have come to expect. The driving riffs and beats push the song along and tear out your heartstrings and the soul searing vocals just wail. The key word for this song, this album and hell, the band in general is: patience. They are clearly mature writers who allow songs to unfold in mini-movements, a piece at a time. The nature of a song like “It was Beautiful…” just takes your mind away somewhere else, far from your troubles. I listened to this song three times in a row before I could move on and I listened to entire album again, from the beginning. “An Invisible Thread” is another mini- epic. The band has as much in common with TODAY IS THE DAY and NEUROSIS as they do CAVE IN. A more uptempo crusher in tune with their history, the song has several subtle parts to it that surprise. Guitarists Gravy and Kiffin weave their parts in and out of riffs without stepping on the other. I’m not sure how much of the bass lines Reid Raley laid down before departing earlier this summer for NACHTMYSTIUM, but the work here is solid too. When the track finally slows from manic speed, it still bludgeons with its dark, sinister grooves. Finally giving way to a plodding doom chant, CT just pontificates over the track like a preacher sermonizing his followers. “The Culling” is the longest track on the album and begins with an ominous church bell and an eerie sample of the words “It is later than you think.” as a warning. Plucked and picked guitars and melodies from keys provided by Brittany Fugate help expand the themes. The band has played with longer song structures in the past, but this is the pinnacle in terms of quality. Jeff Morgan’s masterful percussion doesn’t work its way into the song until just shy of the six minute mark and even then, it is very deliberately paced. The song picks up speed as more aggressive guitars and vocals clash, capped off with a very soulful guitar solo. Later on, dueling guitars and dramatic drums give a sense of true catharsis. Another interlude of keys begins with a sample of of Arthur C. Clarke (one of my favorite sci-fi writers ever) talking about human history and the nature of the universe. At the end of the quote the final track “Was Only A Dream” begins and it is sweeping and heavy. As heavy and proggy as MASTODON or THE MELVINS and even shades of the complexities of USX, especially in the form of the somber, gripping end cadences. CT screaming again like a madman spun out of control, his passionate pleas hopefully not falling on deaf ears. The track shudders, rising and falling again and again like a great beast felled, its heart giving way and succumbing to death.
GRADE: A
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: atmospheric themes, black metal, Brittany Fugate on Keys/samples/vocals, cathartic music, cave in, concept albums, doom, drummer Jeff Morgan, epic concepts, ex-bassist Reid Raley, folk, harsh vocals, intricate parts, Keefy, Mastodon, nachtmystium, neurosis, prog, prog masterpieces, Relapse, Rest, Rwake, sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke, sinister grooves, Slow Southern Steel, sludge, soul, southern rock and metal, The Melvins, Today is the Day, usx, vocalist CT, wild guitar solos
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews | No Comments »
Thursday, September 8th, 2011
Tiger Flowers EP (The Path Less Traveled Records)
In case you haven’t gathered this from my millions of random references in my reviews, I am originally from New York City. Thank you very much. I’m also very proud to rep all of my hometown bands from my preferred sub-genre of thrash, to good old NYHC and right on through to the current wave of death and black metal bands currently tearing up the scene (there is actually a scene again-huzzah!). So it was cool to get the debut EP by TIGER FLOWERS to review because I knew a few of those guys back in the day. Or should I say, my old band opened for JOHNNY CAGE IS A FAKE and MY BITTER END in NYC earlier in the last decade. Guys from those bands became TIGER FLOWERS, so named for the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion. Why is any of this relevant to the review? It’s not, but if learned anything from my time in corporate America, it’s the mantra of full disclosure at all times. The skinny is those bands were pretty cool back then, the one track I heard recently on a comp was really good and so the buzz I was hearing on this group seemed warranted.
Opening up with “Cuts” the band shows an immediate take no prisoners approach to song craft. After about a minute of lonely, angular guitar notes the track explodes into waves of dissonant, gut-wrenching tones. With a flair for the avant-garde and the extremely pissed vocals of front man Jesse Madre. Combining the best post-hardcore of CAVE IN and an almost grindcore sensibility of unbridled rage makes the song really powerful. “Last Horse” is another punishing song with many creative twists and turns. Similar to THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, you have a band deftly able to genre blend and bend discordant anti-melodies to their will. There is a lucid moment a third of the way through the track where it gets trippy and somber for a moment, showing the stripes of a band that has been around the block once or twice. Psychedelic guitar effects warp the reality of the song in a nod to BOTCH and take it to an unexpected plateau. When Madre implores “it’s do or die, it’s do or die” you don’t doubt his convictions for a second. “The Weight” has a familiar feeling to it with an urgent take on a jazzed out drum riff and another spastic chord progression from Dean. Will chimes in some excellent distorted bass punctuated by more great drumming. “Drag”, which is the song I already knew is just killer. Obtuse riffs and brutal beats full of cultivated sickness ring out. The song has several movements like a sick little symphony, changing stylistic directions many times. At about nine minutes long, it feels as grandiose as its intent to alarm and enlighten the listener all at once. This music is beautifully chaotic and fully unpretentious; made by guys that obviously love music and value artistry. I can’t wait for the full length.
 We'll be following TIGER FLOWERS career with great interest. GRADE: A
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: anti-melodies, Avant Garde, BOTCH, cave in, deathmetal, dissonant chords, front man Jesse Madre, Jazz, JOHNNY CAGE IS A FAKE, Keefy, MY BITTER END, Noise Rock, NYC metal, post hardcore, prog, psychedelic, the dillinger escape plan, The Path Less Traveled Records, Tiger Flowers, Tiger Flowers EP, true artists
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
Personally, I think FUN FUN FUN FEST is one of the most impressive lineups each year. They do their part to give fans from all walks of life a stage that showcases really great artists. It also creates an easier experience for those of us in relationships to attend. Everyone knows that if your girlfriend’s not into metal, it’s hard to drag her to something like Wacken festival — 3 days of nothing but metal. However, you can take her to Fun Fun Fun Fest to see LYKKE LI and PASSION PIT while you rock out to SLAYER and EYEHATEGOD.
The lineup for FUN FUN FUN is eclectic, to say the least. It features a whose-who of musicians (and comedians) that line the pages of your favorite magazines and blogs. It’s an ‘it’ show at it’s best. Fun Fun Fun will feature some of the coolest performances of the year so I think that you should go ahead and request off November 4, 5 & 6 so you can get your ass to the fest!
I’ve included the entire list of performers (by stage) in case you are interested in more than just metal. However, if you only care about metal, skip ahead to the Black Stage to see if your favorite band is playing this year.
Also, let’s weigh in on playing this kind of festival. Does it make you “less metal” to play a show with acts like Passion Pit, Tyler the Creator and Donald Glover (son of Danny Glover)? Or is it just an overall fun event? Thoughts?
ORANGE STAGE
Passion Pit • Lykke Li • M83 • Blonde Redhead • GIRLS • HUM • Clap Your Hands Say Yeah • Okkervil River • Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears • Architecture in Helsinki • Ted Leo & The Pharmacists • Heartless Bastards • Tune-Yards • Ra Ra Riot • Tinariwen • Radio Dept • Cold Cave • We Were Promised Jetpacks • Mates of State • The Joy Formidable • Cloud Nothings • The Boxer Rebellion • Asobi Seksu • Keep Shelly In Athens • Le Butcherettes • Jim Ward (Sparta/At The Drive-In) • Joe Lally (Fugazi) • Future Islands • Crooks • Lemuria • TV Torso • Manejo Beto
BLACK STAGE
Slayer • Danzig Legacy (Danzig/Samhain/Danzig & Doyle Perform Misfits) • The Damned • Hot Snakes • Murder City Devils • Kid Dynamite• Boris • Cave In • Negative Approach • D-Generation • Eyehategod • Russian Circles • Thee Oh Sees • Zero Boys • Paint It Black • Trash Talk • Youth Brigade • No Bunny • Davilla 666 • Bane • Earth Crisis • Graveyard • Doomriders • Ceremony • From Ashes to Rise • World Inferno/Friendship Society • Total Control (Member of Eddie Current Suppression Ring) • Death Grips • Touche Amore • Defeater • Mind Spiders • OBN III • Shapes Have Fangs • Schmillion • Thieves
BLUE STAGE
Public Enemy • Major Lazer • Odd Future (OFWGKTA) • Diplo • Flying Lotus • Neon Indian • Four Tet • Spank Rock • Dan Deacon • Cecil Otter & Swiss Andy present: WUGAZI • Childish Gambino • Budos Band • Rakim • Del The Funky Homosapien • Big Freedia • YACHT • Baths • MNDR • Austra • Dengue Fever • Black Milk • DJ Franki Chan • Ocote Soul Sounds • Auto Body • Bird Peterson • Brandt Brauer Fricke • Picture Plane • T-Bird and The Breaks • Cecil Otter (Doomtree) • G-side • Speak • Purity Ring • DJ Car Stereo (Wars) • B.L.A.C.K.I.E. • Fat Tony
YELLOW STAGE
Henry Rollins • Reggie Watts • Brian Posehn • Upright Citizens Brigade • Turquoise Jeep • Donald Glover • Ali Wong • Anarchy Championship Wrestling • Neal Brennan (Co-creator of Chappelle Show/Half Baked) • Best Fwends • Matt Bearden • Brody Stevens • Captured By Robots • Kenny “K-Strass” Strasser Yo-Yo Extravaganza • Whamcity Comedy Set • Louis Katz • Chris Trew • Veggie Hot Dog Eating Contest • JT Habersaat + the Altercation Punk Comedy Tour
Tags: Blonde Redhead, Boris, Brian Posehn, cave in, comedy, Danzig, earth crisis, Eyehategod, FFF Fest, Four Tet, From Ashes Rise, fun fun fun fest, hardcore, henry rollins, hip hop, indie, metal, Neon Indian, Odd Future, OFWGKTA, pop, slayer, Turquoise Jeep
Posted in The Bunker, Tours and Festivals | No Comments »
Monday, August 8th, 2011
AVOHFASIH (Self-Released)
I was fortunate enough to preview a copy of the new album the from Midwest metal up and comers ORWELL. Having heard so many game changing records put out this year from both underground and mainstream artists, this one surely belongs on all of the “best of” lists so far. The band has stepped away from the thrash, modern metal and hardcore influences of their last album Endevors to set themselves apart from the pack. By blending together the highest order of artistry with a myriad of metal styles the band has created something amazing. Complex song structures and changing time signatures fit into a puzzle that is challenging and enjoyable to listen to. In creating this record the band has put its name on the heavy music map of 2011 and I suspect we will be hearing from them for a long time to come.
AVOHFASIH is a concept album in the greatest tradition of classic rock and modern metal with each song laid out like a chapter in a book. Think of any PINK FLOYD album or MASTODON’s recent masterwork Crack The Skye as a frame of reference, but more heavy and less psychedelic sounding. The are many overarching themes lyrically and musically for the listener to discover and explore, but mainly the album is about coping with the devastation of loss. “In Tides, I Wake” builds up like a volcano readying to blow. The tension is built through layers of emotional, heavy riffs and vocals until it boils over with intensity and into a cathartic release. Somehow the dissonant chords and screams come together to create a beautiful chaos in the style of NEUROSIS, CAVE IN or ISIS. Creative use delay effects on guitars wring out all of the ethos of the track and make you feel it resonate inside of you. “In Crude, I Remain”, follows and is not far off from the best work of INTRONAUT. Front man Logan Hauser’s harsh delivery has the qualities of great death metal, but still delivers the lyrical and emotional impact without melody. Terrific cascading guitar lines rain down on your ears from the fingers of Tim Bradley and Erik Bolstad. The guitar solo is also amazing and lifts the track to a special level. The classical acoustic breakdown in the middle of the song transports the mind away for a second before another melodic solo part comes in. Brilliant. The harmonized guitar lines are epic sounding too. When the track kicks into overdrive half way through it sounds like MACHINE HEAD or DEVILDRIVER on crack before delving back into prog territory. “In Depths, I Sink” and its bookend “From Depths, I Rise” are immense cuts with a lot of twists and turns for the ear and brain. The former starts off like a house on fire sounding like the bastard child of old-school PANTERA with LAMB OF GOD as their drunken father. Just a gritty, riff heavy affair that makes you bang your head and throw the horns up high. Again, Hauser’s scathing double tracked vocal armada blasts away and you really feel his anguish and dismay. The followup begins with gentle strings and the enchanting voices of Danielle Taube and LeAnn Bradley who are guests. Quickly the song breaks down into an insistent brash guitar chug and more choice lead vocals. The nautical sounding beat provided by drummer Chris Brissell carries the track and his intricate stick work is standout overall. “In Dust, I Stand” is an uplifting dirge fueled rocker and at almost ten minutes is a workout to behold. Bassist Will Strickland also steps out a little more on this track with his sinewy, low-end walking runs holding it down big time. Culminating in the final expansive track “A New Awakening” the album comes to a momentous close with they dynamic touch reminiscent of a TOOL or KYLESA song. Military snare drums and chiming guitars give way to bombastic chords that have a near symphonic quality. The light and dark aspects of the music flow timelessly together in the mix. Wailing, droning duel guitar solos punctuate the tune and again Hauser’s caustic scream from within his very soul dominates. ORWELL plays tasteful, aggressive music for the modern fan that is both very heavy and heady as well.
 ORWELL: They're smart enough, hard enough, cool enough and gosh darn it people will love them! GRADE: A
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: AVOHFASIH, bassist Will Strickland, cave in, concept albums, Crack the Skye, drummer Chris Brissell, guest vocalists Danielle Taube and LeAnn Bradley, guitarist Erik Bolstad, guitarist Tim Bradley, hardcore/death vocals, Intronaut, Isis, Keefy, kylesa, Lamb of God, machine head, Mastodon, modern metal, neurosis, old-school PANTERA, ORWELL, Pink Floyd, Prog-Rock, tool, vocalist Logan Hauser
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews | 2 Comments »
Monday, June 27th, 2011
White Silence (Hydra Head)
CAVE IN is a band that everybody should have at least one record by, if not all of them. Since forming in 1995 they have helped shape the undercurrent of several styles of music and cast a long shadow of influence on many bands, especially in metal and hardcore. After going on hiatus in 2006 they stormed back a few years ago with the stunning EP Planets of Old. Promising a new full length for some time now, expectations are exceedingly high. That being said, this is a band that has never let your intrepid professional music appreciator down before. From the Aaron Turner (ISIS) artwork down to every note on the album, White Silence is a winner.
 Four riders from the past bring a new musical apocalypse. Opening up with a quirky and fun album intro/title track, this album has all of the sonic touch points you want from the band. When it finally kicks off fully, explosive guitars and neat double-kick drums have a feeling not unlike the opening of a horror movie soundtrack. “Serpents” is the first full and proper song and is an apocalyptic rendering of post-metal fury. As always the band is as versed in musical history as they are innovative and groundbreaking. The aggressive, climbing riffs and sick beats have an almost d-beat/post-hardcore sound to them. Guitarist/ vocalist extraordinaire Stephen Brodsky (PET GENIUS/ NEW IDEA SOCIETY) leads the charge as usual. This album is even more evidence of his well established greatness. One of the real masterpieces of the album is “Sing My Loves”. Waves upon waves of tortured six-string noise and crushing riffs climax with more shifting heavy/soft singing. The harmonized central lick repeats over and over like a mantra infesting your earpiece like roaches. Mark my words, this song will be a future classic. The manic “Vicious Circles” sounds like it could be a lost NEUROSIS or CONVERGE out-take. The beats from drummer John-Robert Connors are his chock full of his typical poly-rhythmic goodness and insane fills from hell. There is a march-type quality to the main riff that will have aficionados head banging yes in agreement with every note. There is also a preposterous amount of guitar wankery (in a good way) going on that will have nerds freaking out badly. “Centered” is full of raucous energy and righteous screaming fury. “Summit Fever” returns to the weight and riffage we crave from the band’s best work and is a cathartic listening experience as well. Monster licks and great melody lines will fill your ears to overflowing. Adam McGrath’s (CLOUDS) guitar work and occasional keyboard flirtations are also very high on the quality scale to match Brodsky’s. “Heartbreaks, Earthquakes” is another mini-epic and inside just about three minutes, is both brief and touching. Mellifluous pop melodies that have more akin to THE BEACH BOYS and ELO will certainly lighten the heart of the most darkened metal soul or cynical hardcore kid. “Iron Decibels” has the band is up to its old tricks of couching the brilliant, yet subtle gems of lyrical context into a standard presentation. The song has a certain aspect of THE CULT (in the vocals) meets FRANK ZAPPA meets THE PIXIES meets DAVID BOWIE vibe that just blew me away within the first thirty seconds. As usual the split of the lead vocals between Brodsky and bassist Caleb Scofield (OLD MAN GLOOM /ZOZOBRA) is impeccable and one of the highlights throughout. The closer “Reanimation” is their approximation of THE BEATLES via PETER GABRIEL’s early solo era material combined with some MY BLOODY VALENTINE weirdness tossed in for good measure. Meditative, delicate and disturbingly beautiful; the song juxtaposes mellow sounds with more off-center lyrical turns. The tricky thing about this band is they can reference so many musical paths, yet never feel like they are copying. They only add these cues as reference points for the listener while building truly original pieces. CAVE IN is the band that modern metal bands, active rock bands and even college radio kiddies aspire to be, but usually fall short of along the way.
GRADE: A
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: Aaron Turner, alternative rock, bassist Caleb Scofield, cave in, CLOUDS, Converge, David Bowie, drummer John-Robert Connors, ELO, experimental, FRANK ZAPPA meets THE PIXIES, guitarist/keyboardist Adam McGrath, hardcore, Hydra Head Records, Ian Astbury, Isis, Keefy, metal, mini-epics, my bloody valentine, neurosis, OLD MAN GLOOM, PET GENIUS, PETER GABRIEL, Planets of Old, post metal, Stephen Bordsky, THE BEACH BOYS, THE BEATLES, the cult, White Silence, ZOZOBRA
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews | 1 Comment »
Friday, May 27th, 2011
House of Blues, Boston MA
After seeing them basically do everything short of blow up the stage last fall on the awesome BlackDiamondSkye tour I knew I wanted to see THE DEFTONES headline tour this spring. I have seen them captivate arenas for years and they seem to have always made big music for big moments. By comparison I first saw THE DILINGER ESCAPE PLAN on a little stage at a metal festival in New Jersey in 1999. Over the many other occasions I have seen them they have never failed to light it up as a live proposition be it a small club or larger hall. The thought of seeing the two of them together was really exciting since both bands have their own fan base, vision and operate outside what the “norm” is for most metal bands today. Let alone two bands with a modicum of mainstream success. They don’t care what other bands or critics say about them, they just follow their muse and you have to respect that even if you are not a fan.
 Walking on stage with the house lights up the but the stage dark made them seem like heroes, but TDEP is above the antics of most typical bands. “Farewell, Mona Lisa” blows up like powder keg after three gentle chords and pretty much set the tone for their entire set. Top flight musicianship and a manic performance that saw the band jumping off amps, kicking apart drum kits and in general causing themselves potential bodily harm every second. This band is truly the soundtrack to the apocalypse, even if it is your personal one. “Milk Lizard” was next and was totally sick. I can’t really say enough kinds words about the performance of Greg Puciato. They guy is a beast vocally with the most versatile pipes in the game this side of Mike Patton or Krysta Cameron. With almost a gospel singers soulfulness, insane animal noises and hardcore growls can only scratch the surface of what he can do. Tearing through songs like “Panasonic Youth” and “Chinese Whispers” you get a feel for what a tight and professional unit these guys are collectively. They always walk a tight-rope of out of control, train about to fall off the tracks, but never do. Billy Rymer is just insane on the kit dropping hardcore, prog and deathmetal passages with the intensity of a pissed of teenager and the poise of a maestro. Guitarists Ben Weinman and Jeff Tuttle nearly destroy themselves in the process of getting what they need out of their axes. “Gold Teeth On a Bum” is another sick ass song with plenty of twists and turns like doom version of CAVE IN. Great bass work on this track by Liam Wilson. “Black Bubblegum” is one of the best pop songs you will ever hear played by a band this heavy and weird. Yup, I said pop song. Deal with it. Next came “Sunshine the Werewolf” with its manic SUN-RA meets math rock stylings. It just proves there is no style this band can touch or warp to fit their mood. Careening toward the end of their set like a slow-motion train wreck full of awesome they closed with “43% Burnt” and promptly destroyed their gear in the process of jamming the the rave up/burn out.
Set List:
Farewell, Mona Lisa
Milk Lizard
Panasonic Youth
Chinese Whispers
Room Full of Eyes
Gold Teeth on a Bum
Black Bubblegum
Sunshine The Werewolf
43% Burnt
It was almost time for THE DEFTONES to take the stage. With a similar set up to last fall’s tour, they had a skate ramp/riser for singer Chino Moreno to jump on and off of. A giant plain white curtain hung behind the stage as lights projected on it for the backdrop. The first image to appear was the owl from the cover of Diamond Eyes and the band came on stage playing the titular track. Sounding sharp and full of energy the crowd moshed along to the most aggro track the band has put out in a while. As usual Chino was his usual spastic self, bouncing all over the stage, but fully on point vocally. Following this up with “Rocket Skates” once again this proves to be a potent show starter. They ought to keep the set that way for a while longer. Moreno has one of the most unique and enduring voices ever to play heavy music. Next up would be the one two punch of oldies “”Birthmark” and “Engine No.9” both songs have great driving grooves and some excellent playing by the entire band. Next to Chino, Stephan Carpenter is quite the contrast as a performer. Sure he bops around in place a little with his ginormous mane of hair. But he is more focused on rocking his custom 8-String guitars than moving all around and losing his groove. He was also definitely “herbally enhanced” most of the show too. For a band that has certainly been out of the box most of the time musically the sure can write songs as catchy as they are heavy. “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” is both of those things and had everybody dancing and singing along. “My Own Summer” followed next and had everyone in the room amped and feeling the huge, monster riffs and singing loudly. Once again Sergio Vega (QUICKSAND) holds down the bass and backing vocals in place of Chi Cheng who is still in recovery from his 2008 accident (check out www.oneloveforchi.com). Drummer Abe Cunningham just slammed the kit on this song especially. He is great at pushing the beats and his fills are sick. I’m not sure it is possible he can still be considered underrated after all this time, but he is always great live.
 www.oneloveforchi.com At this point the band veered from their more typical set list and down shifted the energy somewhat with “Digital Bath” this saw Chino strap on a guitar for the first time of many on this night. He is a fairly decent guitar player for a guy known mainly as a singer. He is one of the few frontmen I have ever seen that really tries to engage with the crowd on a one to one level as if the show is a private performance for one. Even when planted in front of a mic stand. These more low-key cuts that have a greater depth of dynamic range more than the straight bashers you hear DJ/Keyboardist Frank Delgado shine through a lot more clearly in the mix. It was also at this point in the show the band started slipping in jams like “Knife Party”, “Korea” and “Cherry Waves”. All three tracks were pleasant surprises and great to hear those seldom heard songs live. Typical hits like “Hexagram” “Minerva” and seriously heavy versions of “Bloody Cape” and “You’ve Seen the Butcher” were played in the second half of the set as well. “Change (In the House of Flies)” was also played to the glee of the many females in the crowd. It occurred to me that mellower songs they played like “Change..” are as close to baby making music as our scene gets. Some eggs were surely dropping on this night!
As the set hit the hour and half mark and twentieth song you only knew the show was winding down by the clock, not by the energy of the band. Chino especially really a tireless performer who gives his all to the crowd every night. He kept saying how much he loved playing in Boston which was nice. Then he was joined on the riser by Greg Puciato and the two of them sang together on “Passenger”. The track was simply amazing with Puciato covering Maynard James Kennan’s (TOOL/A PERFECT CIRCLE/PUSCIFER) parts as close as he possibly could. I wasn’t sure anything could top that and I felt that might have been it for the night, but the band came out for their encore as if by design. Chino sent out “Root” for Chi and they just killed it with Vega covering the memorable bass parts of Cheng once again. As a band they play hard the entire night, but their older material really brings out something special in them. “Nosebleed” was next with its great riff and beats. Once again it’s good to hear so many jams in the setlist from Adrenalin .“7 Words” closed out the set and pulled the plug on a long night of good music. One funny thing about the last song was that I’m pretty sure Chino sang the chorus of Katy Perry’s “Firework” (don’t ask how I know this) in his freestyle rap part at the end of the song. He was laughing his ass off that people even caught it. It goes to show after twenty years as a band they still have a good sense of humor considering all they’ve been through.
Set List:
Diamond Eyes
Rocket Skates
Birthmark
Engine No. 9
Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
My Own Summer (Shove It)
Digital Bath
Knife Party
Korea
Hexagram
Minerva
Bloody Cape
You’ve Seen the Butcher
Sextape
Prince
Cherry Waves
Feiticera
Elite
Change (In the House of Flies)
Passenger (with Greg Puciato)
Encore:
Root
Nosebleed
7 Words
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: "Passenger", bassist Liam Wilson, cave in, Chi Cheng, Chino Moreno, DJ/Keyboardist Frank Delgado, Drummer Abe Cunningham, drummer Billy Rymer, greg puciato, guitarists Ben Weinman and Jeff Tuttle, House of Blues Boston, Katy Perry, Krysta Cameron, Maynard James Keenan, Mike Patton, Sergio Vega QUICKSAND, Stephan Carpenter, SUN-RA meets math rock, THE DEFTONES, the dillinger escape plan, tool, www.oneloveforchi.org, “Firework”
Posted in Live Show Reviews, Reviews | No Comments »
Friday, April 22nd, 2011
My favorite philosopher Friedrich Wilheim Nietzsche once said “The errors of great men are venerable because they are more fruitful than the truths of little men”. Nietzsche had a way of making a basic concept carry gargantuan weight in relation to its context. This this same concept applies to the band KEN MODE and their brand of avant garde metal. Touring behind their excellent release Venerable (Profound Lore) I had the chance to catch the band in the intimate setting of O’Brien Pub in Allston, MA. It was a bitter cold mid-week evening show, but I was pleased to see a decent crowd of the Boston area’s finest metal fans out to see them.
As far as the openers were concerned, the lineup on this night featured some of the areas top flight bands in a scene crowded with talent. LUNGLUST brings the abrasive hardcore and thrash with out of the box riffs and textures that put them on the level with the headliner. Their songs are short bursts of aggression that really get a room moving too. MOONS is a post-hardcore band that flips styles and genres like a switch. They are heavy in moments and heady in others which I really liked such as their set closer “Cavalcade of Stars”. The last opening band was LIVVER who plays an angular, noise-core style that owe a lot to Boston-area legends CAVE IN and CONVERGE. All of these bands should be on your radar for up and coming underground bands in 2011.
 Among 2011's best so far... Finally it was time for KEN MODE to take over. They set their own gear up fairly quickly and the crowd filled in the tiny area in front of the stage, shoulder to shoulder. As they launched into “Obeying The Iron Will” they let loose the mania! The spastic textural guitar parts blended with the the driving rhythmic pulse to create a cool tension. Frontman Jesse Matthewson looks like an evil version of Lemmy in his cowboy hat and his histrionic growling barks compliment the music perfectly. The song has a brief interlude where new member Therese Lanz (MARES OF THRACE) lays down a sick bass fill or two before the song builds back to crushing levels. “Extending Common Courtesy Throughout The Evening” was next and was just full of molten musical chaos that will remind you of the more uptempo tracks of ISIS or TORCHE. From this point on they played songs off the new album and the band seems focused on mining this new material. The song also showcases Jesse’s brother Shane on drums. His relentless, heavy hitting style and his technical, but not overcomplicated parts are sure to earn him high regard as the bands’ profile rises. Lanz is also a force on the bass with her fine playing, monstrous tone and .130 gauge (tuned low to A#) bass strings loosening fillings and bowels all night.
Changing gears a bit with “The Irate Lumberjack” they slowed things down a bit into a swampy groove to begin with. Over the next few minutes the mantra of the words “Progress requires my hands and mind to move” builds as the swirling riffs and hypnotic drums pummel you until you can barely stand it. The ebb and flow of their dynamics are impressive and show the mark of a veteran band. The single off their new record “Book of Muscle” came next. Heavy and in your face, the song is a chunky little masterpiece. If a cut like this can’t renew your faith in rock and metal than you are more cynical than I am and far beyond help. “Never Was” closed out the all too slender set with an eight-minute grinding dirge against organized religion. This is my kind of song from my kind of band.
Set List:
Obeying The Iron Will
Extending Common Courtesy
The Irate Lumberjack
Book of Muscle
Never Was
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: Allston MA, avant garde metal, cave in, Converge, drummer Shane Matthewson, Friedrich Wilheim Nietzsche, Isis, KEN Mode, lemmy, LIVVER, LUNGLUST, Mares of Thrace, MOONS, O'Brien's Pub, profound lore, Terese Lanz, Torche, Venerable, vocalist/guitarist Jesse Matthewson
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Monday, March 7th, 2011
Darker Handcraft (Prosthetic Records)
Many of us who write about music can’t help but be fans at heart sometimes. After all if you didn’t love music in the first place, why write about it? Some of us (like me) went to journalism school for where they taught us about truth and objectivity in the same breath as they said it was all going out the window in favor of corporate owned, packaged reality. Years later when we went on to write for zines, blogs sites (like Metal Army) or the occasional good old magazine we attempted to be objective through the filter of our experiences and tastes, just like we were taught. While we should try to base our opinion on concrete knowledge and refined ears, hopefully our feelings are not getting in the way of the facts. Once in a while a band comes along like sodium pentothal and on sheer talent alone makes you gush about how you feel about said band, the current music scene and even wax poetic about the future of it all. Although a rarity, sometimes the critics and the crowds are in synchronicity. Once in a while a label gets it right and pushes a rising band onward to greatness. For this writer at this moment, that label is Prosthetic Records and that band is TRAP THEM.
 Be afraid. Be very afraid. The hotly anticipated Darker Handcraft album is thirty one minutes of the most brutal, aggressive and at the same time thoughtful music I have ever listened to. Combining their amalgam of death metal, crust punk, noise and avant garde influences, the band has birthed a masterpiece that will surely rank high on my end of year list. From the first savage notes of “ Damage Prose” the controlled chaos of the record blew me away. Ryan McKenny’s coarse screams highlight the bleak rage of the song. You can’t help but hear him and feel the desperation and fury he feels. The train off its tracks tempo calls to mind a cross between classic REFUSED, early ENTOMBED and the car chase scene from The French Connection. Not a ramshackle affair, just breakneck in mode as the band stops and starts riffs on a dime like a machine. “Slumcult and Gather” has one of the best progressions on a record full of thrashers and is sure to get any pit going hard. Chris Maggio just batters the drums on this track and throughout the album. I love Kurt Ballou’s (CONVERGE) production on this and with the crusty sound of the guitars, the drums are still nice and loud in the mix. blending well. The next track “Every Walk A Quarantine” starts with an amazing riff before melting down into a bleeding chug of doom. Guitarist Brian Izzi has a definite Ben Weinman thing going on in his playing, but he innovates as much as he tributes or borrows too. Raucous, rocking and ready to fight, every song just makes you wanna punch someone. Bassist Stephan LaCour holds down the low end and steps out to shine at times.
It’s not all fast fun and games though as tracks like “Evictionaries” and “Sordid Earnings” have the proper amount of Sabbath-y doom and gloom to satisfy any old-school head. Meanwhile other tracks like “All by the Constant Vulse”, “The Facts” and “Manic in the Grips” are just straight up thrashy, dirty and raw sounding. “Manic…” is really a remarkable track and perhaps one of the best on here. The grindcore influenced “Sovereign Through the Pines” has more great vocal work and beats for days plus it ends with a monster of a riff. The MELVINS/CAVE IN vibe of the last two tracks can’t be understated. Both “Drag The Wounds Eternal” and “Scar Align” have broad thematic movements and unfold like science experiments, but also have epic atmospheric moments usually found on black metal records. After listening to this record over and over for the better part of two days my only complaint is I wish it was longer. As in double the length with more songs. That is always the mark of a great record.
GRADE: A+
Tags: bassist Stephan LaCour, Ben Weinman, cave in, Converge, Crust punk, Darker Handcraft, Death Metal, drummer Chris Maggio, Entombed, guitarist Brian Izzi, influences, noise and avant garde, Prosthetic Records, REFUSED, The French Connection, The Melvins, Trap Them, vocalist Ryan McKenney
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Thursday, January 13th, 2011
2011 looks like it will be one of the most exciting years for heavy music in recent memory. No, we’re not expecting albums from the likes of Slayer or Metallica like we were back in ’09 ,but we do have an incredible lineup of records on the way! Here are my Top 20 Most Anticipated for 2011:
20. Cave In – ‘White Silence’ (Hydra Head)
19. Amon – ‘Liar in the Wait’ (Season of Mist): What can I say, it will certainly be interesting to see just what the Hoffman bros have been up to since they left Deicide. Plus, I have to believe that this release will trigger some kind of public feud between Amon and Deicide, which I’m always a fan of…
18. Autopsy – ‘Macabre Eternal’ (Peaceville)
17. Gallhammer – TBA (Peaceville) – One of the bands that ushered in the new breed of blackened crust punk. These girls are one of the best exports in Japanese history… and, yeah, I’m looking right at you Playstation…
16. Loss – ‘Despond’ (Profound Lore)
15. Backstabber Incorporated – ‘MIA’ (Deathwish) – For those who don’t know who this is, fuck off… This is the band that ultimately led to Trap Them. Now, Brian and Ryan are no longer in the fold, but the band was always fun so I’m excited to see what they’re bringing now!
14. Pig Destroyer – TBA (Relapse)
13. Gorgoroth – TBA (Regain) – One of the best Norwegian black metal bands of all time. Sure, they’ve been overshadowed by a metric shit ton of controversy over the last few years and kicked everyone out of the band at times, but they still manage to pull it together and make sick, visceral records. Going to be awesome!
12. TesseracT – ‘One’ (Century Media)
11. Owen Hart – ‘Earth Control’ (Vitriol) – This band has started to get some heat on them but they’re still relatively unknown. However, 2011 is going to change that. Clever, harsh and hailing from the great metal state of Washington, Owen Hart are going to bash your fucking brains in this year!
10. Disma – TBA (Profound Lore)
9. Primate – ‘Pull Back A Stump’ (Scion A/V) – What really needs to be said other than this is Kevin Sharp (Brutal Truth) and Bill Kelliher (Mastodon). It sounds like a mash-up of their two bands and I’m beyond excited to hear the full outcome of their work together.
8. Altar of Plagues – ‘Mammal’ (Profound Lore)
7. Wolvhammer – TBA (Profound Lore) – One of my favorite new bands from last year is back with a vengeance. Seriously, go back and listen to ‘Black Marketeers of World War III’ and tell me that your mind isn’t blown. The band is incredible and hopefully going to be on display for a much bigger audience thanks to their association with Profound Lore.
6. Crowbar – ‘Sever the Wicked Hand’ (E1)
5. Dragged Into Sunlight – ‘Hatred For Mankind’ (Prosthetic) – This record would’ve been higher if it wasn’t a re-release. Not to say that you shouldn’t check it out, but I got this record a while back when it was originally released in the UK. Now the band has teamed up with Prosthetic and this nasty Eyehategod-meets-Godflesh masterpiece will finally be available in the states. It’s truly a sick and disturbing look at just how dark metal can be! Please bring them over here to tour NOW!
4. Krallice – TBA (Profound Lore) – Krallice has quietly become a household name in the world of extreme metal. They took over the hipsters and then the underground and I think most people would agree that they are one of the best American purveyors of Black Metal these days. ‘Dimensional Bleedthrough’ was a huge breakthrough for them and got them a lot of attention, this will be the record that pushes them over the top!
3. Nachtmystium – TBA (Century Media) – Everyone knows why Nachtmystium made the list. Simply put, everything the band has touched over the last 5+ years has been stunning and brilliant. This will be no different. Although, hipsters may want to take notice that master mind Blake Judd says this record will be a raw, old school black metal record. Not for the faint of heart!
2. KEN mode – ‘Venerable’ (Profound Lore) – KEN mode (short for Kill Everyone Now mode, thanks Henry Rollins) is one of the coolest bands in the scene right now. Borrowing the best moments from noise rock and incorporating them within a massive avalanche of hardcore animosity, KEN mode has made a brilliant new offering. Plus, ‘Venerable’ was produced by Kurt Ballou (of Converge) and added Mares of Thrace ass-kicker Therese Lanz to the fold…. This will be a breakout record!
1. TRAP THEM – ‘Darker Handcraft’ (Prosthetic) – Easy choice for me. This is simply the best band working in modern metal these days. Effortlessly combining black metal, hardcore, Wolverine Blues-esque death metal and grind into one of the darkest (yet accessible) sounds of the 2000s. Trap Them has taken the throne as the new kings of the underground. I’ve been lucky enough to hear ‘Darker Handcraft’ and it’s easily the best thing the band has ever done. It’s vicious, blazing and all the while it maintains a sense of groove and catchiness. This is the album to beat in 2011!
Tags: Altar of Plagues, Amon, Autopsy, Backstabbers Incorporated, Bill Kelliher, Brutal Truth, cave in, Century Media, Crowbar, Darker Handcraft, deathwish, Despond, Disma, Dragged Into Sunlight, E1, Earth Control, Gallhammer, Gorgoroth, Hatred For Mankind, Hydra Head, KEN Mode, Kevin Sharp, Krallice, Liar in the Wait, Loss, Macabre Eternal, Mammal, Mares of Thrace, Mastodon, MIA, nachtmystium, One, Owen Hart, peaceville, pig destroyer, Primate, profound lore, Prosthetic, Pull Back A Stump, regain records, Relapse, scion, Scion A/V, season of mist, Sever the Wicked Hand, Tesseract, Trap Them, Venerable, Vitriol, White Silence, Wolvhammer
Posted in Album Reviews, I Spy Metal, Reviews, The Bunker, Top 10 Lists | 1 Comment »
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