Super-groups are not always so super. Most of the time they sound better on paper as an idea rather than once it is executed and later, picked apart. However, one amalgam of talents has come together in a formation that is actually unique and special. Less like a band, more like an avant-garde art collective, CORRECTIONS HOUSE delivers far beyond their actual promise. Bringing together some of the greatest names in the underground of metal, yet some how coalescing the resulting sounds into something really genre defying. CORRECTIONS HOUSE is comprised of MIKE IX WILLIAMS (EYEHATEGOD), SANFORD PARKER (NACHTMYSTIUM), SCOTT KELLY (NEUROSIS), and BRUCE LAMONT (YAKUZA). The live show allows each member to make a mark. After solo sets by each artist they come together for what they are calling an “Worlds End Manifesto”. It is brutal, harrowing and beautiful to watch and feel.
They are currently touring the USA with plans to go over seas to Europe and elsewhere soon. The band has been recording for future releases around everyone’s busy schedule. In the works is a limited edition 7” through Parker and Lamont’s newly-formed label, War Crime Recordings. Further details to be revealed in the coming weeks.
SANFORD PARKER led things off by creating some cool sound-scapes.
BRUCE LAMONT joined him next on the Sax, vocals and added his own weird effects.
MIKE IX WILLIAMS read poems and told some stories from his book “Cancer As a Social Activity”.
SCOTT KELLY joined next and sang two songs from his recent solo outing “The Forgiven Ghost In Me”
By themselves they are giants of heavy music. Together they are CORRECTIONS HOUSE!
MIKE IX.
BRUCE LAMONT.
Review by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes. Live photos by Echoes In The Well.
It wasn’t quite so fun to wake up for this day. I successfully regained full consciousness and thought at around noon following some ill-advised autonomous challenges, all involving this.
This bountiful elixir of joy juice and pure hell is the nectar of Metal Gods, and not to be consumed by anyone less metal than say, Oliver Sykes. I made that mistake, and I am still feeling the aftereffects to this day. As much of a Charon boat ride into my lesser faculties that was, it cannot top the badness of my foolish venture into the Lean Cuisine sweet’n'sour chicken… oh god just thinking of that ruins food for me for 5 minutes at a time.
Anyhow, we were discussing one of the greatest Metal shows this side of the puddle, which turned out to be a real blast(beat) of non-stop heat, boobs, and bathroom sink water. All the merch tables and food stands were set up in all their splendor, but I won’t go into those because I couldn’t go splurging to my heart’s content, and it would make me sad to even talk of all the goodies in store, and instead you’ll have to eat my words. I’m gonna try a reviewing style akin to Redneck From Hell’s, so bear with me if I’m a trendy poser fuck. All pictures used were taken by The Rev from Returntothepit, as if the watermark didn’t make that plain as crumpet.
Up first was CASTAVET, a Melodic Black Metal band not to be confused with some other band of the same name who I’m assuming is Alt. or something. They got atmosphere for months, and I swear it was actually a little chilly inside the Sonar, and I’m not blaming the fanfuckentastic air conditioning. They did what most BM bands do: howl, get laryngitis, keep howling, and blast a bit, though with a lot of influence from Post-Rock/Hardcore song structures. An average set, but I’d suggest looking further into them, as their vocals are something not heard too often in BM, and a bit more on the raspy Sludge side.
NASGHUL followed suit, bringing their hazardous Death Metal/Grindcore mixture from Spain to the ‘Murican table like a barrel of radioactive waste, sloshing it on all nearby.
Deep in concentration, tired, or recovering for a wicked blaze session?
I’m sure I caught something about this being their first ever US appearance, and by ZOROASTER, what better a way to introduce yourself to the unwitting sheeple than to drop in on one of the largest celebrations of heavy music there is? I thoroughly enjoyed their groovy yet unforgivingly abrasive take on the style they play, earning them good points in my book.
Right on the heels of Nasghul were… GHOUL. I swear the promoters and bookers were having a laugh when they made the running order.
Also, dozens of casualties, but more on that later.
Now GHOUL is a band that knows how to make a show into a SHOW. As in they entertain you while doing their thing almost as much as they entertained themselves. Every song had a clever-as-dick introduction, usually with a small skit in which something died, following copious spurts of viscera and crimson life fluid. Is it wrong to be a bit dismayed that I came out with nary but a few spots of blood on my shirt? I’d never seen GHOUL before, but I was happy to realize that their set was very heavy on the Splatterthrash album, which is apparently their most fun, and I’m willing to believe that. Like many of the better sets at MDF, it all seemed over too soon, and all that we had to remember them by was a nagging suspicion that the fat one is the guy from EXHUMED., even though it’s not really true, but I liked to believe it anyway.
Even though I don’t know any words to any TODAY IS THE DAY songs, I’m convinced they’ve scientifically devised their songs to unlock the crazy center in the human brain, thus enabling you to shout along without having even so much as peeked at a word of their tunes. Even without the addition of collective throat flaying, the set was as intense and twisted as the bastards intended.
TITD are a band that is quite literally impossible to label. They’re so experimental that they seem to be actively dodging a definitive genre, running the gamut from Post-Hardcore to pummeling distorted grooves that lack classification to Sludge Metal and beyond, always maintaining the heaviness and distortion necessary to keep it claustrophobic-in-a-locked-closet insane. They’ve also succeeded in making it so that the music drives emotions to critical mass and you are at risk of injury from the tweaking druggies that were out in full force. All-in-all, great goddamn set, and I’m probably not the same person I was when it started.
At this point I took it upon myself to walk outside and peek at MACABRE’s set for a bit. I had attempted to check them out a bit, but I never found them interesting as a whole. After all, how many other Metal bands write about serial killers?
They brand themselves as “Murder Metal”, which from what I have heard is a combination of some freaky Death Metal-ish songwriting, Heavy Metal attitude, and generally not taking themselves seriously. Like, at all. Just look at the photo, the frontman’s wearing a headset to do his vocals! Can anyone say they know of any other Metal band that does this stuff? All the silliness aside, they do have some fun, catchy tunes, and I remember that they played “Elizabeth Bathory”, as if every other Extreme Metal band on the planet hasn’t already done a song about her or even named themselves after the cunt. But again, not taking themselves seriously, I got it.
ARTILLERY are a band tragically unknown over in the states, having suffered the misfortune of coming from Denmark and being a bit too proggy/technical for the Thrashers in Cali. If I understand correctly, they also made MDF their first stateside invasion.
If you’ve listened to them on record and don’t like the vocals, I swear to you they’re a lot better live. More soaring highs rather than the vocalist sounding like he’s questioning himself with every line. The pits were better than I had expected for a band of their type, especially at an Extreme Metal festival where these guys must have ranked third on softest bands after ANVIL and THE DEVIL’S BLOOD respectively. Stand-out performance by the nearly forgotten but still sharp as ever wolves of Thrash, and here’s to hoping they come this way more often.
You can wake my cadaver any time, Mitch.
Grind overlords NAPALM DEATH heralded the blanket of night with their good ol’ fashioned barbed wire fist to the mouth approach of noise for music’s sake. ”God Save The Queen”, these Brits are still packing as much of a punch as they did back in their beginnings, if the songs they played from the new release Utilitarian are anything to go by. One thing I haven’t mentioned up until this point as that Maryland Deathfest seems to thrive on the energy of well-timed circle-pits, and this set seemed to be overflowing with juice, as circles that I swear were at least six people deep were a common occurrence. I had never fully realized just how basic and punky a lot of ND drum patterns are, and I think I’m liking them a lot more because of it. I was hoping they’d bust out their cover of “Nazi Punks Fuck Off”, and by George, they did, and it was massive. In fact, the vitriol contained was so great they could’ve passed it off as an original and I’d have never been able to tell the difference. By the final three songs of the set I was too tired to even stand, so I spent it sitting on the gravel next to the stage, futilely attempting to peer over the shoulders of all the other watchers, but to no avail. It was, despite being so tired I nearly puked (and this was the first time of many, believe it), a phenomenal experience and I’d repeat it weekly, if not just for the exercise.
GODFLESH are a band that I’m sure I’ll never get, as I find their cold, industrial, nihilistic machinations a bit unfriendly on the ears. Yes, this is coming from someone who enjoys OXBOW and thoroughly dug TODAY IS THE DAY. I spent a little time walking in and out of the Sonar, just kind of wanting to nap, and by this time I was too tired to put up with any bands until NASUM, so I attempted to catch some Z’s to UNSANE, which failed miserably because I found them to be quite awful, honestly. If TODAY IS THE DAY were mediocre at their craft, that’s how it would come out. Not willing to stomach this atrocity, I marched outside and sat in the gutter, which was far more comfortable than the audial Judas Cradle that was UNSANE’s yelping and crashing cacophony. I also gave SETHERIAL this treatment, because no matter what era of Black Metal you are from, I absolutely must discredit you for an isolated yell of “SATAAAAAAAAN”. Couple this with silly frowny corpsepaint and the air of total thuper theriouthneth, and I was pretty sure my ragged senses could handle no more.
I somehow managed to snag a good-ish spot in the crowd for headliners NASUM, who played their 20th anniversary show at MDF despite the untimely death of their front man years ago, and bestowed the honor of filling in upon Keijo of ROTTEN SOUND, who if you’ve heard his band and NASUM, you’ll see that there just may be a slight influence. I feel like I really should’ve listened to more NASUM, having mainly exposed myself to “Helvete”. Fortunately, being a Grind band, you’ll be in luck with many songs sounding similar enough to not need to make such distinctions. Some simply have better mosh parts, some are kinda melodic, some are a bit slower and crunchier, yadda yadda yadda. Not to say that NASUM’s not worth checking out, because by all means, do, or you’re a pussy.
You may now Eskimo gas mask kiss the bride.
The picture above is from the intro to their set, which featured bomb raid sirens, artillery fire, and explosions, with me being unsure if I was looking at animatronic dolls due to their precise movements and their ability to stand absolutely still. By the time they solemnly marched offstage and the Frankenstein sample from which they derived their name came on the speakers, I put my fears to rest, and thus began a whole new breed of worries: Would I survive rabid grind fans partying as hard as possible to a legendary band’s ultimate last show? Well, since I’m writing this now, you have your answer.
Baltimore native and MISERY INDEX front man Jason helped out on vocals for a few songs, and someone whom several people believe is the front man of NAILS also came out for a bit for guest duties. My only counterpoint to this theory is that he was smiling, and the frontman of NAILS never smiles. I do have to take into account, however, the fact that he was onstage with one of his biggest influences aside from probably ENTOMBED, so there’s always that possibility.
A wild Shanelax also appeared
It was a great day, and held good omens for the rest of the weekend, aside from me being a human liquor dispenser just the previous night. Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of Deathfest Ball Z!
I’m sure I have now experienced something like the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca or a trip to Africa. It was hot, dirty, dangerous, and invigorating all the same. You feel like home in that place, even if the road and destination are fraught with potential dangers and complications. Those things don’t matter when you’re at Maryland Deathfest, because if you can simply sit in the parking lot and still have a blast just watching all the interesting people walk by and talk to those who are either tanked, injured, stoned, or just that special kind of crazy. So before I actually delve into the bands that played, since I only had a 3-day pass, I’m gonna ramble about my experiences just being there.
Let me just state for the record that if you’re at all interested in Punk, Metal, Hardcore, or any of their various offshoots, this is a trek you need to make at least once while it’s still happening. Baltimore is a beautiful city, though the people in it are all nutter buggers, so try not to get raped, stabbed, or dragged into the wrong party is all I can say. Get there while it lasts, because while there is a low risk for a murder or serious injury, I’m sure that the non-rock’n'roll folks in Baltimore would love little more than to see crazy bullet belt Satan worshipping spikey brats not crawling around their town one weekend a year. Though I must question how they haven’t wised up to the fact that every year for the last 10 years, there’s been some huge gathering of Rock’n'Roll kids in their town, and still have to ask what we’re doing. I blame it on widespread amnesia and easy access to crack. The further down south you go, the more lit up the adult video stores are, and your chances of running into a legitimate Red Light District, complete with a Hustler Club, increase exponentially. It’s a bit refreshing to see that the sordid underbelly is not quite the underbelly, but exoskeleton of everyday life in this city. With one or two murders a day, a city’s definitely got to show unwary travelers the places they’d like to skirt around.
As for the atmosphere of Baltimore at the time, just seeing so many people in a city at once who at least shared something in common with me was probably one of the most unreal experiences I’ve yet to take in. Just being able to stand outside the Sheraton where I was staying and be able to stumble across gaggles of people who shared musical interest without having to look very far is something that must be seen to be believed. Being only a few blocks away from the epicentre of a common goal of enjoying yourself and some of the finest music to grace this blasted blue ball was a gift that was worth way more than the $150 admission. You had your long-haired Metalheads wearing the usual black shirt and random pants, your Thrashers with the bent back bills, bullet belts and patch jackets, Black Metallers with insane jackets blanketed in Satanic filth, fuzzy Crusties with their dogs and shirts that they seem to have worn down to a fine sheet of bare cotton, dogs left unattended by the aforementioned crusties, old school Metal/Punk dudes that had seen it all since before many of us even learned to draw breath, people that didn’t even appear on the outside to be into metal or punk, a guy in a chicken suit, etcetera etfuckencetera. I really need to go to this more often, it’s just phenomenal how many different crowds come together without the animosity that occurs at your random local gigs.
On Thursday, I simply sat outside the Sonar, nothing more, just drank in all the different people and whatever they were wearing or not wearing. I talked to people from my town, people from Chi-Town, people from all over the damn place, all with their own unique look and feel, all with backstories and unique tastes. From the Mexican punk kids covered in patches from all the spectres of politically dissenting simplicity, to the guys who showed up in little more than a Metal t-shirt and jeans but were still fascinating, to PowerDave, the insaniac of a retro Thrasher, you got a vibrant rainbow of people to hang out with. Watching the front doors of the Sonar never gets tiring, with people flooding in and out constantly, with things to say about every band, be they good or bad. I hear AGALLOCH absolutely killed it, and EYEHATEGOD were no slobs either, having played “Sister Fucker” loud enough to hear clearly from the lot across the street. I’ve heard no reports about the other bands, nor do I care, because if I wasn’t there, I can pretend it never happened and be happier that way.
Post-show parties never failed to bring in some interesting people, whether it was them doing coke, bringing some herbal remedies, or brew fit for kings, it was a nightly sampler of indulgence good for the soul. Be careful, however, to find your limits. I’m going to stay as far back from mine as possible, so as to avoid blacking out and not remembering the wicked dumb things I say the next day and having to clean up after myself alone. Despite a few technicolor hiccups on Wednesday night, all went well in the Bacchanal celebrations of Metal might.
Metal Army spent some time chatting it up with PRONG front man Tommy Victor regarding the bands’ new album Carved Into Stone (Longbranch Records/SPV). Tommy is never one to hold back on any topic, so he candidly shared his feelings about the band, recording, past successes and failures, other notable projects and people he’s worked with and a look back his career.
MAA: Please tell us about the making of Carved Into Stone.
TV: It was a long process. It started about two years ago writing the material, maybe even longer than that. I had some stuff on my computer I was fooling around with out of the initial five songs I started with, maybe one little part made it on to the record. Tony (Campos) came in and we did a couple of tours together, we were writing on the road together at Motel 6′s or what have you. Then we made a demo with Alexi (Rodriguez). We got up to fourteen songs and then up to twenty-five songs and more demos. We did a last pre- production demo before we did the actual recording, kicked a whole bunch of songs out, rearranged somethings in the last ten days before we went in the studio with Steve Evetts. We knocked out twelve basic tracks, eleven made the record. From twenty-five songs completely written down to eleven on the album! In the studio everything was done on the grid, like it was done back in the 90′s where we just played it live, all the basic tracks. It wasn’t a computer record at all. There’s no samples, no drum replacement, no quantizing, no cut and paste on any of it. It was just preformed. That’s what was so grueling for me. I was working on MINISTRY records where you’d lay a riff down and they’d cut and paste it a couple of times, ya know and bam bam! That why people have been doing since people started using Pro Tools and digital technology. Steve had me play every little thing, it was all dialed in precisely, the solos were designed, there was no improvisation. Same thing with the vocals, they’re completely doubled exactly and harmonies done without the use of Melodyne, etc.
MAA: What’s it like working with Steve Evetts?
TV: He’s an extremely hard worker and I needed someone like that to kick me in the behind because I’m getting older and stuck in my ways and he directed me to be more clear with the vocals and that was one of the big main reasons we got him for the work he’s done. I was really impressed with the vocal sound and the way he was able to get great performances. At first I thought he was a lot of using technology to do it but he was like ‘No! I get the guys to sing this stuff, the way it is’. I was like ‘Oh wow! Ok he’ll take a crappy singer and make him sound golden. I’m not saying I’m a crappy, but I needed work and he was great on that aspect of things. I knew he could get the guitar sounds and drums and the actual sounds together. Until we actually got in there I didn’t know how he was doing it. Everything was done outside the box. The only difference between then and back in the 90s was its on a hard drive rather then tape. Other then that everything was external and done really pure. Having a little bit of engineering experience, I really appreciated that. We talked about that right before we went in. He’s done like ninety records and his repertoire is unbelievable. We needed somebody broad based. He’s worked on THE CURE to THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN it’s just a broad base of that. He’s unbelievable. He’s a genius all business it was strict work. I’m not saying it wasn’t fun, but it was really hard, strict work.
PRONG in 2012: Alexi, Tony and Tommy.
MAA: You have been critical of your own output at times. How does this new album stack up to the history of PRONG?
TV: I thinks its one of the best ones, I mean it doesn’t have the cutting edge impact that Cleansing did where we were going in a new direction for heavy music in general. It isn’t anything ground breaking, but I think it’s up there in the quality of songs are up there with the best we’ve ever done. That was important for me. I wouldn’t know where to start to try to break any ground anymore, it seems like everything’s been done. So with that in mind, it was a matter of just getting the best songs we could possibly put together in reflection of the previous PRONG records, without going off in a complete different direction like we did with Scorpio Rising for instance. Where I think it failed, it wasn’t the right time. We didn’t work at it as hard. I just had a batch of songs I was just fooling around with. This wasn’t like that. This was much more intense. We put the work in and let the chips fall where they may. I feel this is one of the most hard working efforts I’ve ever done as far as PRONG goes. As far as anything really.
MAA: Carved In Stone has a lot more thrash feeling and a lot more lead guitar playing on it. Was that a conscious decision?
TV: It was conscious decision. I felt if the solos meant something or were designed properly, that was something I had the energy to work on. I was never been the kinda guy that practices and sits around figuring stuff out. It’s just been when I’m forced to do that like learning like with either MINISTRY: Mike Scaccia’s guitar parts or in DANZIG: with Glenn, John Christ and Todd Youth’s parts. I felt my chops got better. So I was able to do some solos that weren’t a bunch of noise or something that was completely off the cuff. I didn’t wanna do that. We had the option to design some solos that were precise that are actually part of the song, again. I wanted it to be a guitar record and a song record, rather then relying on haphazard routes like loops or other things to get more dynamics.
MAA: Between your work in DANZIG and MINISTRY would you say one or either have a reverse influence back to your work in PRONG?
TV: Not at all! PRONG is a completely different entity, it’s its own mindset. I don’t really listen to a hell of a lot of stuff. It all comes from the heart, really. I’m not out there scouring the charts or delving into countless hardcore metal records to find influences, I don’t have he energy to do that. I’m not being a snob, I just don’t have the time and energy to do that. I don’t want to do that or bring in any other project I’m involved in. I worked on the last two DANZIG records and Glenn has his own way of arranging stuff. Then with Al, I mentioned with his process, is highly computer oriented and I didn’t wanna do that either.
MAA: Where do you get your lyrical inspirations from?
TV: I think its in personal troubles and a way of coping. I try to find a way to deal with emotions. Then I have opinions too, so its a combination of those two things. There’s also some strict writing on this album, which is more like story lines. Like with the single, “Revenge Best Served Cold”, that is something completely outside. The title track also has a universal element to it where I feel there’s an external power that enables PRONG to still survive. Some outside force that is from the future, from the present and the past. Something paranormal. Then you get the angry ones like list of grievances. Then you have a song like “State of Rebellion”. I have a close friend who’s always talking politics with me. I try to leave these type of things to my songs a little bit. But when I’m hanging out or something I just don’t wanna hear about it. Let’s just ‘watch the game’ and shut the fuck up!’ That’s what that’s all about. I’m over it, ya know? I’m old school. I was brought up to never talk politics or religion with people. I’ve learned the hard way not to do that. (laughs) It’s not necessary.
Know your history.
MAA: Looking back did you know at the time that Beg To Differ and Prove You Wrong were going to influence so many other bands?
TV: For years I didn’t really see that. People have been saying that for a long time, its mainly people in the press. We’ve toured with younger bands, I don’t wanna name names, but the attitude we got was ‘Who the fuck are you guys?’ I mean completely unfamiliar with PRONG and didn’t like us. I almost feel like I’ve gotten more of that attitude out there then any congratulations. But on a personal side, I had to re-investigate the early PRONG records recently and I listened to Beg to Differ. I haven’t heard it in years! I was like ‘oh my god!’ How did this thing come about? It’s bizarre to me. I don’t know how that really came together like that. It’s like that song “Carved Into Stone”. It was something outside myself made that happen. I have not a clue! I wasn’t even really playing guitar that long when PRONG did that record. Its bizarre to me the things that go down. It wasn’t even calculated. On a personal level, I’m happy with the discography, but it’s not like I go down the street and people are ‘Oh Tommy!” I don’t hear it that much. It’s mainly press people, but other bands, they either don’t recognize it or they don’t know. If anything about the past, like when I was forced to re-investigate Beg To Differ, I just kinda of zap it into the void. Like anything in the past, I think everyone needs to do that, its like a personal psycho-therapy in a way. It’s all good. I don’t have any bitterness towards anything, maybe at one time I did. It’s been so worn out, I just have a different attitude about that stuff.
I am fairly certain that about 70% of my reviews this year have been from super-groups. Some of them were in face super and some were okay. Some were not. Tossing their hat in the ring like The Avengers is BEREFT who’s members certainly live up to the superlatives part, at least on paper. Sacha Dunable (INTRONAUT/GRAVITON), Derek Donley (NATION SUNDAY LAW/GRAVITON), Charles Elliott (ABYSMAL DAWN) and Derek Rydquist (ex-THE FACELESS) have come together to make a unique concept record to say the least. This impactful, experimental Los Angeles-based doom project is all about two different ancient death rituals. It turns out the music is as heavy as the subject matter.
With sounds rising from the hum of guitars and amps to the roaring first droning notes of “Corpse Flower”, this album is going to be a different listening experience to be sure. Feedback flows in like a police siren while harsh, slow riffs mete out their punishment. Donley’s powerful drumming call to mind the funerary rites of a lost world and he is more subtle and sneak than you average skins masher today. The opening dirge gives way to second track “The Mentality of the Inanimate”. There are some otherworldly deep growls from Elliott who handles most of the lead vocals on the album with strong contributions from the rest of the band. The BLACK SABBATH influence is apparent, but there are some other little twists and turns in the music as well. “Withered Efflorescence” continues the theme of grave matters and dire music to match. There isn’t much variation from song to song, but I think that was the purpose of the album actually. Patience is the key for this band. On this cut there are some cool gang vocals with different styled voices (Dunable and Rydquist?) that really add to the track. Rydquist is solid as the bassist as well. There are some interesting guitar motifs that come in and out of the track too. These part extend these six and seven minutes songs into epic feeling songs. “The Coldest Orchestra” has some psychedelic sounds in the opening before returning to the harshness and sludge of the other tracks. This track has a bit of a Buzz Osbourne of THE MELVINS quality to it that I rather enjoyed. “A Cruel Mirage” is full of weirdness and just gnarly low vocals. “Ethereal Dispersal” is the most interesting track on the album in that it breaks up the monotony a bit with some interesting acoustic guitars. It still has a heft to it and some cool backing drone/delay guitars as well. Then it shifts NEUROSIS style into more dynamic crushing riffs and slow waves of beats. The closing cut, 0“…And You are But a Thought” is pretty trippy too. If you are not into doom, sludge and more out-of-the-box type albums, this is likely not music you will run too. On the other hand, I think loyal fans of the sub-genre will find a lot of cool sounds and songs to latch on to.
For album number eight since leaving SEPULTURA, Max Cavalera has continued to expand on his vast musical legacy. To his credit, just like his first notable group, every album has been different from the last while retaining what can be called his signature tribal metal sound. Some of their albums are more hardcore flavored, others have been more focused on world music and more recently he has guided the band back to his thrash roots. All of these elements are at play and added to the mix are a heavy influence of classic death and black metal for the first time in this band. Although not a wild stretch for Max and company to pull off, the new sound and direction has invigorated their sound and helped to make Enslaved one of their finest efforts to date.
“Resistance” kicks things off with a punishing double kick drum part and frenetic riffs. The main lick sounds kind of like an alarm of sorts, announcing the musical terror that is to come. The first track is short and to the point like some of the original SOULFLY and it works. Very punk meets death metal feeling. The single “World Scum” alternates between grindcore-esque blast-beats and Max’s trademark stomping chorus parts. The song is full of rage, but not without melody and the co-production by Max and Chris “Zeuss” Harris let’s everything shine. “World Scum” was apparently the first song Max wrote with new drummer David Kinkade (ex-BORKNAGAR) and this sets up the vibe for the album with brutal guitar parts of sick death and black metal inspired beats. Adding to the ill sound of the song is Travis Ryan of CATLE DECAPITATION on guest vocals. He is a good match for Max’s sound and makes the track even better. “Intervention” is another furious paced track with more of the great lyrical and vocal work Max is known for. The slowed down ending of the track just crushes. Fortifying the band is the addition of bassist Tony Campos (STATIC-X, PRONG, MINISTRY, ASENSINO). Tony adds a lot of low end heft that the band relies on. He is especially valuable on the most brutal passages since he has a great picking hand for speedy riffs.”Gladiator” is another top track made for mosh pits and screaming along to at a show. The vocals are again top notch and sound fierce as ever. “Legions” is a old-school feeling track that could have been from the Arise-era. Lead guitarist Mark Rizzo shreds all over the place and provides plenty of melody against the grinding chords. Lyrically and philosophically Max sounds anguished by trying to cling to his spirituality in the face of organized religion. Without being too preachy he is able to drive his point home to the listener. “American Steel” is a bit more on the experimental side with some chilled out elements, but still has that crunch you want to hear most of the way through. “Redemption Of Man By God” continues the religious theme and features strong guest vocals by DEZ FAFARA (DEVILDRIVER/COALCHAMBER). When Dez and Max trade off lines with each other it sounds like pure, evil magic. “Treachery” might be the most brutal track on the album and is one of my favorites by far. Insane battle drums, sick guitars, black metal motifs and some inventive grooves that inspire a lot of headbanging. The middle section of the song could fool people into thinking they picked up a spacey sounding MASTODON album for even more added texture. “Plata O Plomo” is an amalgam of thrash, power groove, flamenco guitar, and even some melo-death lead guitars. There is also a rap en Español vocal by Campos that is excellent. Other top tracks include “Slave” (the Berimbau is back!) “Chains”, “Revengeance” which features Richie, Zyon and Igor Cavalera Jr. and the latest chapter in the bands’ eponymous beautiful instrumentals, “Soulfly VIII”. SOULFLY has managed to condense the soul of their entire history into these vibrant, rebellious songs while still pushing boundaries of what heavy music can be.
Max Cavalera leads the charge on one the best SOULFLY records yet.
DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN are hard at work on a new album and are supposedly plotting a lot of touring for 2012 right now, which I’m obviously quite excited for. However, to keep you happy, the band has unveiled a new recording online so you can check out their cover of the NIRVANA classic, “Territorial Pissings”. This is part of the NIRVANA tribute compilation that Kerrang Magazine has released to celebrate the anniversary of NIRVANA’s classic ‘Nevermind’ album!
As a member of NOTHINGFACE Bill Gaal burst on the scene in the mid 1990s and left a lasting impression. A terrific songwriter and producer in his own right, Bill has branched out since the band called it a day and now fronts his own group in the project IN FOR THE KILL. Metal Army caught up with him to see what he is up to and what fans can expect from his new album and other ventures.
MAA: Please tell us about the progress of your second record with IN FOR THE KILL.
BG: Things are just about to wrap up with the new album. Of the 13 songs that were recorded, 10 made it onto the album. The other 3 will probably be released at another time. I started mixing the album today, should have everything wrapped up by the end of September. The artwork is almost finalized, just some last minute details to work out. The songs on this record are a bit more complex than the last one, so everything has taken a bit longer to finish than I originally anticipated.
These days Bill is a comfortable behind the board as he is center stage.
MAA: Will IN FOR THE KILL always be a revolving door of musicians?
BG: That was always the plan, to keep making these records with all of my friends and favorite musicians. I like the different dynamic that it introduces to each recording. It also allows me to capture a moment in time with each album, kind of a time capsule of who I was hanging with at those points in my life. That being said, there is always the chance that the perfect lineup could come together and the band stays that way for a while. I wouldn’t ruin a great band for no good reason!
MAA: Do you have any trepidation being the front man of this band as opposed to the just the bassist or guitar player?
BG: I’m naturally a pretty confident person, so fronting a band was never really much of an issue for me. I love communicating with an audience and playing these songs. The thing that took a while to get used to was that the audience does not go ape shit crazy and beat the hell out of each other like they did at NOTHINGFACE shows. People actually listen to the songs. It was difficult to tell if anyone was even digging the stuff at first, until after the shows, when I got a chance to talk to fans and hang out. Its a different crowd, this is a Rock band, not Metal, so people are coming to the shows for different reasons. I did do a couple of shows just as a front man, no guitar, and that was a little weird. But overall, it’s been a really natural transition for me. IN FOR THE KILL is not the first band I have fronted, there was KINGDOM OF SNAKES and LOVERS REVOLT as well, so at this point I’ve been fronting my own bands for about 8 years.
NOTHINGFACE in better, stranger times.
MAA: You must be stoked to work with Chris Houck again. What does Chris bring to the table that other drummers don’t have?
BG: It was great to work with Chris again, it had been a lot of years since we had done anything together. Chris and I grew up together and spent most afternoons after school just jamming for hours and hours, and then later on, started NOTHINGFACE. Chris brings a lot of groove and swing, which is always interesting when your talking about heavy music. The music that I had written for this album was definitely influenced by the music that Chris and I grew up listening to in the ’70′s, so that allowed us and I to approach this record with a very different approach than any of the music that we had ever worked on before. Chris has a focus and attention to detail that really comes through in the drum parts that he writes. His playing really brought these songs to another level.
MAA: Is it feasible for you to ever bring IN FOR THE KILL on the road?
BG: I would love to take IN FOR THE KILL out on the road, but only if it makes sense. I’m busy most of the time with my production work, which doesn’t really give me a lot of free time to go out on tour. But if the right tour came around, I would definitely put together a touring version of the band, like I did in 2006, and get out there and play some shows. If the demand is there to see the band, I’ll make it happen!
MAA: What is going on with your various projects like your record label and your production work?
BG: Right now, my main focus is my production work (other than finishing up the IFTK album). I work with developing artists, whether its songwriting, production, or just engineering on projects for other producers I work with. I’ve also been mixing a few project lately, finished up some mixes for WEEZER a few months ago and just did a mix for Matt Sorum’s new project. I’m also mixing the new IN FOR THE KILL album as we speak.
BG: The label side of my company, S6 Records, is still in development. At this time I’m just using it to release my own material. At some point in the future, I will begin to release other artists as well.
An essential album for 90s metal fans. Killer songs, great playing and nothing "nu" about it.
MAA: Will we ever see NOTHINGFACE reunite again?
BG: I hope so. I’d love to do another record with the guys, but it’s difficult to get everyone in the same room these days. Schedules are always conflicting, and we seem to always manage to piss each other off right when things are getting interesting. Tom (Maxwell) and I have been talking about doing an album, something really heavy, when he gets a break from HELLYEAH, but that will be down the road a little bit.
For more info on IN FOR THE KILL and Bill Gaal check out their ReverbNation page.
JUNIUS and ROSETTA are two of the more dynamic and creative bands around these days. Both have a unique vision, abundant artistry and plenty of potential to reach wider audiences. I have seen both bands live and they translate all of these qualities into some stunning music and amazing live performances too. Containing just a track from each band and at almost ten minutes per piece, this is a taste of what is on the horizon for each group. This is just a small sample since both bands also have new music on the way with JUNIUS releasing their next full length in October and ROSETTA is also planning new music for 2012. Both groups continue to shatter expectations on the tracks contained here.
I have followed JUNIUS for quite a while being that they are local to Boston. Their music is always strong, but more so here than ever before. Of course it all begins with the lynch-pin, Joesph E. Martinez. What he does with just a few notes and a ton of dusky emotions could turn the toughest guy into a shallow puddle in no time. “A Dark Day With Night” is a masterpiece of song craft. Building slowly from a somber droning wail into a tidal wave of energy, the track is pure cathartic bliss. Easing in gingerly with soft keys and just a few ominous notes before kicking off in earnest as an expansive, moody flight. The heartbeat like cadence is hypnotic and cool bass lines and syncopated drums laying a back drop. Melodies bob and weave along with droning guitars. Martinez tops it off with his haunting vocalizing that gives me chills. He is a remarkable singer with a lot of character, great range and also one of the finest technicians I have heard lately. I love the ground the band has covered in the past, but if this is where they are going then people are going to have to forget what they know about JUNIUS.
On “TMA-3” ROSETTA does what they always do, turn conventional ideas about heavy music inside out. Grandiose would only begin to describe the bands approach to everything they touch and this song is no different. Milky guitar notes provided by Matthew Weed flow out like a river slowly forming the base of a musical mantra. Over the first half of the song the band builds this element slowly and patiently, showing great maturity. Bruce McMurtrie Jr. in particular stands out with his great drumming and sense of dramatics. Tiny flourishes and subtle accents punctuate the simmering beats with a real sense of gravity. Mellifluous bass lines stalk guitar parts like a bad boyfriend who was dumped. As usual front man Michael Armine is the at the forefront of this demented synergy with his vocals and keyboards work. As the song charges towards completion, it morphs several times only hinting at the cataclysmic ending to come. It rocks when it is supposed to rock and almost makes you forget the chilled out introduction. As thunderous drums and machine gun riffs brutally close things out, you get a feeling of relief as Armine’s screamed harshness unburdens his soul. Even when they have an chance to fully let loose on a riff, they do so in an atypical way, mindful to never overplay. The austere conclusion, like the entire song is just par for the course with a band that is in total control at all times.
GRADE: A
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
EDITOR NOTE: Rarely do we let the same record be reviewed twice but this JUNIUS/ROSETTA split has mindfucked me so hard that I just want to show you what two of our reviewers have to say. This is an incredible opus of metal music and you need to check this shit out immediately!
This poster derived from the Avenger album artwork is by Brooke Kent. (www.brookekent.com)
Life on the road for a band is full of highs and lows. The unpredictable nature of the business of music interferes with the process of making art accessible to many. This is a sad reality for all touring bands, except for a precious few. Perspective is what you need to survive. You can look no further than the band TOTIMOSHI who has been around awhile, opened for some huge bands like THE MELVINS, MASTODON, NEUROSIS and ISIS and have a great new album out, Avenger (At A Loss). O’Brien club, just outside of Boston was less than full tonight which was kind of disappointing. The band however, appreciated those who did come out and didn’t let it affect them at all which was professional and cool. I was hoping to snag the split 7” the band has out with THE MELVINS, but alas they didn’t have it yet.
Darryl Sheppard is BLACKWOLFGOAT!
After hanging out a bit and chatting with some local scene folks, the bands started to play. The first band I caught was experimental noise-rock outfit LEAGUES. Fronted by the enchanting Deb Nicholson, the band ran through some obtuse songs that were high-minded, idealistic art pieces as much as they were songs. The crowd was digging it and the band seem to give that energy right back to the fans which was cool. Next up was solo guitar act BLACKWOLFGOAT. BLACKWOLFGOAT is the brainchild of guitarist Darryl Sheppard (MILLIGRAM/HACKMAN) who gets up there with just a guitar, an array of effects and one solitary amp. He crafts interesting rhythm and drone effects with his delay and sampling pedals and then plays beats, counter melodies and other riffs built on top of that foundation. The results are trippy and cool his choice of notes and licks is quite clever. Some of the loops become just insanely hypnotic over the course of time, sucking you in to the musical vortex. Bravo!
TOTIMOSHI rips it up live in Boston.
Finally it was time for TOTIMOSHI to hit the stage. They set up quickly and the fans that were in the house packed into the front for the headliners. The band readied for a musical war of the senses. Opening with the title track from their new album, they definitely set it off big time. Propulsive beats dropped from drummer Chris Fugitt like a thunderclap as Tony Aguilar’s guitar tone stabbed at our ears. The grooving jam just filled up the room and crushed. “The Seeing Eye” was next and was also really impressive. Between Aguilar’s fuzzed out riffs and singer/bassist Meg Castellanos thick as a brick basslines, the song is head-nodding good time. Aguilar is one of the more underrated front men rocking stages today. In addition to his terrific guitar skills, he is a fine singer and really connects with the crowd to put across his lyrical poetry. The stop-start riffs that end the song were lock-tight, showing what a veteran group with chops like these can do. Another Castellanos bass heavy track is “Calling All Curs” was next. A classic sounding funky instrumental, it is a jam full of swagger and bounce not unlike LED ZEPPELIN’s “The Crunge”. Fugitt in particular really killed and he was playing a cool looking see-through red drum kit that resonated throughout the tiny club. He also chips in some vocals here and there. Next up were “Ladron” and “Dance of Snakes”. “Ladron” begins as a trippy BLACK SABBATH or CREAM stoner jam, but quickly shifts in the verse to a semi-tone poem vibe. Later on it boils over into a full-fledged stomping rock anthem. “Dance of Snakes” is another husky rocker with a great breakdown and a super heavy ending. Just real music, delivered from the heart which is hard to come by these days. “Mainline” has a bit more in common with jazz music in terms of angular beats and phrasing, but winds up as a bluesy dirge. Aguilar’s passionate wail gives a feeling of imminent doom. As they sailed through the rest of the set with little stage banter, they chose to keep the focus on the music. “Viva Zapata” recalls some of the more interesting early SOUNDGARDEN songs when they were a lot more experimental. Aguilar in particular has a bit of Kim Thayil in his vibrato and chord voicings that really gets to me. “Gnat” was my favorite song of the set with its atmospheric build up all the way through to its rave-up ending. After robust versions of “The Fool” and “Opus” the band ran through an amazing cover version of “Are You Experienced”. Aguilar just slayed on the guitar solos and his whammy bar action is really admirable. They closed the triumphant set with “Waning Divine”, easily one of the best and hardest songs the band has ever written. It is equal parts ethereal, PINK FLOYD meditation and also a furious doom masterpiece all together. TOTIMOSHI is a band that really tries to create something special with their music so check em out if they come to your town.
