Metal Army caught up recently with the band HUNG at the annual New England Metal And Hardcore Festival in Worcester, MA. The band had just gotten off stage after playing a tight set early on Day 2 and we all piled into their van to discuss how the band came together, their influences and their debut self titled album, which is out now on ReThink Records/The End Records.
Metal heads tend to be some of the most open minded fans of music I have ever met (except for you elitist hipster fucks). I might not have believed it in my younger days when I was even more cynical than I am now, had you told me about all of the successful sub-genres of metal. Not just because I didn’t think it was possible, but the two guitar band/ lead singer format has been so endearing to music lovers since the inception of rock music. Still, new bands and their little fiefdom’s of fans are coming along every day and people are enthusiastically repping them. More often then not it is more about the way a band combines influences of sub-genres, rather than invents a new one from scratch. Such as the case with New York City’s HUNG, who shows off their considerable talents on their debut album which is on Chris Adler’s (LAMB OF GOD) ReThink Record imprint.
The album opens with the instrumental “Eos” which is highlighted by the interplay of guitar and lead violin. That’s right, lead violin played by the bands’ namesake Lyris Hung (TRANSIBERIAN ORCHESTRA). She is a world renowned performer and classically trained artist who also loves metal. The sweet, mellow tones of the opening track belie the musical storm about to come on. Second track “Desert of Sad” really lifts off and you get an idea of the band’s more fully formed style. Sounds from Swedish melo-death to thrash, to pagan metal all collide and it sounds like a beautiful chaos. Lyris alternates between rhythm guitar-style (chords, riffs) parts bowed on her violin, to cool solo flights where she sounds more like a shred guitarist than anything else. Vocalist Dmitry Kostitsyn’s snarling screams and growls alternately between verses and the mix works in spades. Later on the songs’ chorus he actually sings and adds one more melodic dimension. “Maria” continues the impressive writing with stunning lead lines from both Lyris and guitarist Jon Clark. Clark often plays counter-point lines to the violin parts, so when he does step out for a lead or a harmony line, his work really stands out. Kostitsyn delivers more of his rough hewn vocals and sounds a bit like Helmuth of BELPHEGOR when he wails in his high range. “Progeny” could be termed a full-fledged prog/tech-death work out. It has definite motifs of brutal heaviness and a mellow interlude that are also well developed. One of the reasons all of these shifting styles blend well together is because the band has a secret weapon, a killer rhythm section. Bassist Sam Roon can either hold down the low end or chip in some fine lead runs of his own while drummer Kenny Growhowski adds his unique approach to the mix. Grohowski has an impressive resume in the jazz world, which makes sense when some of the bands parts take on an OPETH/CYNIC type flavor. “Evil Tsar” might be my favorite song on the album. It has straight out speed metal riffs and just bananas lead playing again from Lyris. This is definitely the most fun song and best mosh pit track the band has to offer. Shifting gears yet again with the epic “Left For a New Life” which is sprawling in scope. It definitely has some prog and death metal elements to it, including one of Clark’s better guitar solos. After a mellow interlude of “Inertia”, “Infernal Redeemer” bites back with a funky bassline and a jazzy take on a power-groove tempo. Growhowski’s fills on this song are gonna have drum geeks losing their shit for months after this comes out! “Matter of Blood” starts off with some balladry before veering into the folk metal realm again. The final track “Sediments of War” is another track that encompasses all of the strengths the band has to offer. I feel like they are just scratching the surface of what they are capable of. We will be watching their career with great interest in the coming years.
HUNG: Breaking and blending boundaries all at once.
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.
Beyond the Lightless Sky is a conundrum. On one hand, this sophomore effort from Brooklyn’s Hull is deeper, heavier and more thoughtful than the band’s 2009 debut, which suffered from a severe lack of identity, sinking like a stone upon its initial release.
Yet, there is still something a bit disingenuous about the overall delivery here which makes Hull suspect of attacking this riff-focused metal for all the wrong, hipster reasons. Sincerity and adoration for the source material doesn’t really come through here any more than Hull did on Sole Lord, with the majority of Beyond the Lightless Sky sharing a very similarly soulless and safe sense of execution. While the composition is certainly, as previously mentioned, of a higher conceptual quality, the real roots and, for lack of a better term, ‘balls’ of the band sound a bit castrated in the end; a victim, perhaps of this chosen style’s overexposure.
Downtuned, Mastodon-ed riffs…epic Baroness psychedelia and harmonics…the Torche and Matt Pike school of ‘shouting in key.’ All of these elements come together in Hull’s sonic stew, yet this broth remains sour without that all important spice of originality. In this, Hull are severely lacking, and end up getting lost in the ever-growing crowd of bands nipping at each others’ heels, desperate for their own foothold in this exponentially shrinking bit o’ land.
Not even Jarboe can save Beyond the Lightless Sky from being sadly derivative…and more than a little boring.
Monument of Metal: The Very Best of ANVIL (The End Records)
Drummer Robb Reiner painted the cover art work, as seen in ANVIL: The Story of Anvil
Riding high of late, ANVIL has a new retrospective. These have been interesting times for the Ontario, Canada based band since the 2009 documentary ANVIL: The Story of Anvil. They have seen their album worked on in the movie widely released, toured the world at a much more professional and regular clip and released a decent new album in Juggernaut of Justice a few months back. Now comes a deluxe greatest hits package with re-recorded, live or remastered versions. While this is a no brainer purchase for their fan base, will the recent renewed interest help new fans find the band as much more than a novelty? Let’s find out!
The first good move was that the collection is not just from the early days, but celebrates their entire career. The songs were hand picked personally by the band, this is the best representation ever of the group’s history. These tracks are also indicative of the bands versatility of style be it proto-thrash, heavy metal or rock. When This Is Thirteen was re-released by VH1 in conjunction with the film the band re-recorded new updated versions of their classics and some of these like the bands biggest hit “Metal On Metal” sound terrific. The guitars snarl and cut through the speakers with a punch they never had on cassette and you can really here Robb Reiner’s pummeling drum strokes cut right through the din as well. However, if all the band had was one great song this collection wouldn’t be much of a collection now would it? “Winged Assassins” is a killer track from Forged In Fire. Insane riffage and furious sounds with all the touch stones of early thrash/NWOBHM music in place. This is followed by the more recent “666” which is one of the fastest and heaviest anthems the band has ever made. “Thumbhang” is next. The song was first talked about in the film as a forgotten jam and it is really cool to hear it fully realized now. The BLACK SABBATH doom meets classic metal sound here is great, as is Glenn Five’s bass licks. The Steve “Lipps” Kudrow signature lead guitar sound and choice sense of humor are still there after all this time. “School Love” and “Heat Sink” are more in line with the band’s early KISS and IRON MAIDEN fascinations with the latter being the better of the two. Then there is my favorite song by the band “March of The Crabs”. “March….” even as an instrumental is on par with all of the best early thrash anthems and that includes the mighty American Big Four as well. Lipps was ahead of the pack as a lead guitarist for his generation. A powerful and emotional song with excellent riffs and beats. “Plenty of Power” is another riff-fest in the JUDAS PRIEST mold while “Mothra” is another cool old school jam. The updated (1989) version of “Jackhammer” is miles above the original Metal On Metal version, where it was one of the better tracks back then. The title track off of Juggernaut of Justice still hasn’t sold me more since the early summer, but perhaps a stronger choice might have been “Swing Thing” or “When All Hell Breaks Loose”. The rest of the collection ranges from great: “Sins of The Flesh”, “Mad Dog”, “Fire In The Night” and “Park That Truck” to just okay songs like “Bottom Feeder”. Still, if you don’t know the band beyond the film and their “hits”, this is a fine entry point to a deeper listen that will give you insight into music that has sustained for over thirty years.
The recurring theme this year when considering all of my reviews so far is that many bands are breaking boundaries and pushing the envelope of not just what they can do, but what metal can grow to be in the future. This is a very exciting concept for me personally that cuts across every little sub-genre of our musical spectrum. When I hear adventurous, fearless bands just go for the creative jugular it makes me a very happy professional music appreciator. HULL is one of those bands that just gets it and they have been churning out their own brand of crushing music for quite a while now. They birthed this album (literally) over a year and a half and still managed to tour and play shows often keeping their skills sharp. This offering sees the band reaching a new pinnacle of their craft and raising the bar for themselves and everybody else in the process.
Bringing no less than the epic scope and feel to everything they touch, Beyond The Lightless Sky is a concept album for the ages. It’s a story of mysticism and whimsy, of grudges held and self discovery and one that touches me personally and perhaps many who will listen to it. To match this Olympian concept, the band’s three guitar attack pulls from their diverse influences of sludge, doom, thrash, classic rock, crust, prog, d-beat, black metal, orchestral works and other sounds to create this stunning work of art. Peeling the lid off with the eleven-minute boiler plate “Earth From Water” immediately opens with the lurching metal assault. Multiple vocal attacks from guitarist Nick Palmriotto and bassist Sean Dunn work in lock-step unison. Searing guitar riffs from Palmriotto, Drew Mack and Carmine Laietta clash and contrast while beats and distorted bass lines pummel your head. When things slow down to a psychedelic grind, the results are amazing. Textural guitar lines worthy of WIRE or THE SWANS mix with the pure molasses slowness of THE MELVINS, CROWBAR or ISIS. There are also the first of many devil horns worthy guitar solos to be found. And that is just the first half of the first song! For a complete change of pace “Just A Trace of Early Dawn” is a Syd Barrett era PINK FLOYD weird on, full of detuned goodness and restrained tastefulness. The title track is next and it just kills. Sweeping back and forth from a blast beat-ed volcano to a mid-tempo groove, there is really nothing this band can’t do. Jeff Stieber is one of the premiere drummers in modern metal and he gets a tremendous amount of power out of his rather Spartan drum-kit. Once again a droning, hypnotic swirl of riffs just transports your mind and soul away to a better place. “Curling Winds” is another interlude that sets the mood with different guitar motifs and delay effects. Trippy. “Fire Vein” is another dirge that hits the listener over the head for about three short minutes. Then the song undergoes a metamorphosis into a grand doom rock epic. HULL is frequently compared to Remission era MASTODON, but I will go one better and say they are much more aligned with the sounds of BARONESS. Especially all of the guitar orgy stuff going on really calls to mind that band. Another interlude with fine percussion is the mantra like “Wake The Heavens, Reveal the Sun” which seems to have an undercurrent of a Hindu chant in it. Another mini epic is “False Priest” which is probably the best song of the bunch here. The song is ragged, harsh and cool. More of the tag team singing and tight beats punctuate the track. After a third progged out segway in the form of “A Light That Shone Aside from The Sea” brings the closer in “In Death, Truth”. In the guise of this final track, HULL throws out everything in their arsenal including the kitchen sink. This song and this album are going on infinite repeat in my head as of now.
Long-running Chicago act NOVEMBERS DOOM are back from beyond with another expansive dirge-fest for your ears. They have always remained consistent, putting out new albums every few years to the delight their fans. Not content to tread on the same ground over and over, every release has found new sonic elements added and previous ideas examined deeper. Mastermind/artist/singer Paul Kuhr (SUBTERANIAN MASQUERADE/THESE ARE THEY/EM SINFONA) continues to forge ahead exploring new musical avenues in spite of his well documented health issues that would fell a lesser man (Ankylosing Spondylitis). Perhaps this is the source of his alternately anguished and sorrowful lyrical themes. Either way the band has turned in another impressive effort.
Paul Kuhr, recently on tour with NOVEMBERS DOOM. Photo by Return to the Pit.
The album opens up with a single sad violin intro performed by world renowned violinist/singer Rachel Barton Pine (EARTHEN GRAVE). When the thrashy main verse kicks in to “The Dark Host” the track is a grinding headbanger with several clever musical twists and turns that creates a mini-goth epic. Kuhr ‘s death growl to a doom laden croon comes off and on like a light switch and he can switch between the two with great aplomb. Second track “Harvest Scythe” has more thrash riffs, growled vocals and excellent hidden melodic moments found in the guitars. Larry Roberts (DEAD SERENADE/SHADES OF GREY) and Vito Marchese do a fine job of intertwining their parts and adding many colors to the music. The songs have all of the necessary BLACK SABBATH heft, but still maintaining a modern swing and sensibility. Sasha Horn (PALACE TERRACE/THESE ARE THEY) turns in a great performance on the drums with this tasteful power and dynamics. Third cut “What Could Have Been” somewhat like an gentle old madrigal. Kuhr shares the vocal spotlight with the amazing Anneke Van Giersbergen (AGUA DE ANNEKE/THE GATHERNING). Their harmonized duet is a beautiful, soulful and sad detour for the early part of the album. Pine also contributes more outstanding violin work here and makes for a unique and folksy gem. Following cut “Buried” also begins with mellow guitars until Kuhr’s impassioned, gravely howl infests the the track. This leads into a sorrowful death march style song that is slow and satisfying. Kuhr makes great use of his middle total vocal range throughout, sounding his best ever. The two part “Of Age and Origin” cycle follows and is a brilliant display of the bands’ interplay of light and dark musical themes. “Part One: A Violent Day” has the heaviness of an older MASTODON (Kuhr even sounds like Troy Sanders a bit here, or it is the other way around?) all while displaying depth of an AGALLOCH or MY DYING BRIDE. Dan Swano (BLOODBATH/KATATONIA/ NIGHTINGALE) who mixed the album also laid down his legendary voice for this part of the song too. Equal parts phenomenal drumming and wailing twin lead guitars are featured as well. “Part Two: Day of Joy” serves as a somewhat mellower downshift to the earlier brutality. The song calls to mind PINK FLOYD both musically and vocally to great effect and the contemplative lyrics are the best on the entire album. Back to the straight up doom of “Six Sides” we hear even more textured harsh guitar parts, advanced song styles and snarling vocal prowess. Mike Feldman (DEGREDATION) has some standout bass guitar work here as he is able to freelance lead lines and fills while not losing the heart of the song. “Shadow Play” closes out the proceedings with a stunning brooder of a tune that is one half introspective and delicate; the other an apocalyptic gothic beast.
(Special thanks to Aaron Pepelis of Return to the Pit for the photo usage.)
By now we all know about ANVIL via their hard luck film Anvil! The Story of Anvil. The film helped improve their profile among mainstream fans and help refresh them to old school ones. It was a rough film to watch if you ever tried to make a career go of it in rock or metal (like I did) and showed the guys who just needed a chance to improve on their former glory. Well the film was a smash success and has opened (or reopened) a lot of doors for them. The promise of the movie was that given the chance to make a proper new album with everything in place to promote it they would come through big. Well the chance to answer the bell is here on their first album of new music since the movie in Juggernaut of Justice.
Still going strong.
The album opens up with the title track and it’s a definite rocker despite some lyrical cheese. Still, the band sounds vibrant and exciting in an early 80′s JUDAS PRIEST kind of way. Produced by Bob Marlette (OZZY OSBOURNE/ALICE COOPER) the record has the big riffs, humorous and intelligent lyrics, wicked guitar playing and pounding drums that have always been the currency of the band. Guitarist/singer Steve “Lipps” Kudrow and drummer Robb Reiner still deliver strong, bow-worthy performances. Second track “When Hell Breaks Loose” is a little more my style with a real uptempo, old-school feel and groove. This song also has awesome lyrics and vocals by Lipps, who also kills on the guitar solo too. Slow Sabbath-ian jams have always been a secret weapon of the band and tracks like “New Orleans Voodoo” shine brightly. Extra props to Glenn Five’s unsung, weighty bass tone which gives extra power to the tune. They come right back to the fast thrashy stuff with “On Fire”, the hilarious “Fucken Eh” and “Turn it Up” and in terms of top to bottom songwriting quality this is the best release the band has put together in a while. ANVIL knows who they are and what the fans want from them which is their best asset sometimes. They stay within their hard rock/proto-metal arena and mine that for as much musical gold as possible and don’t try to be something they are not. Other tracks like “This Ride” and “Running” have the marching metal stomp many wannabe neo-thrash bands have yet to conquer. I am also partial to “Conspiracy” (more cowbell!), “Paranormal” and the ripping instrumental “Swing Thing” (think MOTORHEAD meets BENNY GOODMAN) that closes the album. I would rather hear these guys, a band whose cassette I had in high school, do their best to be true to themselves rather than hear the one hundredth pack of noobs fail big time at ripping them off. Long live ANVIL!
So, my fine friends over at MetalSucks have put together quite the treat for all you metal heads out there. I have long praised the NYC metal scene on this very site. Even before I moved to the city last year, I’ve been very enchanted by local bands like CASTEVET, EAST OF THE WALL, MADE OUT OF BABIES, BLACK ANVIL and more. Now for all of you who don’t live here and get to experience these bands first hand, MetalSucks has put together ‘NYC Sucks’ – a completely free compilation that will allow you to experience some of NYC’s finest bands!
1. East of the Wall, “The Ladder”
2. Made out of Babies, “Invisible Ink”
3. Tiger Flowers, “Cuts”
4. Black Anvil, “The Evil of All Roots”
5. Naam, “Frosted Tread”
6. Batillus, “The Children of the Night Make Their Music”
7. Meek is Murder, “Sundowners” (demo)
8. The Binary Code, “Encircled”
9. Castevet, “Stones”
10. Hung, “Desert of Sad”
11. Wizardry, “The Falconer”
12. Pyrrhon, “King of All Tears”
13. Mutant Supremacy, “Epitaph”
14. Incendiary, “Victory in Defeat”
