Radical sludge-metal that’s swamp and heavy and humid. And oh did I mention, amazing? Check them out on tour with other sludge mavens Sourvein.
07/10/2008 Nara Sushi - Richmond, VA w/Sourvein
07/11/2008 Talking Head - Baltimore, MD w/Sourvein
07/12/2008 M Room - Philadelphia, PA w/Sourvein, Gunna Vahm
07/14/2008 The Knitting Factory - New York, NY w/Demiricous, Monstrosity
07/27/2008 Mill Creek Tavern - Philadelphia, PA w/Skeletonwitch
08/16/2008 The Khyber - Philadelphia, PA w/Gridlink, Hayaino Daisuki, ASRA, The Claw
What Laura Says on tour with Dear and the Headlights
July 05 - Knitting Factory LA - Los Angeles, California
July 06 - Chain Reaction - Anaheim, California
July 09 - Sidelines - Modesto, California
July 10 - Tonic Bar - Reno, Nevada
July 11- The Venue - Boise, Idaho
July 12 - Avalon Theater - Salt Lake City, Utah
July 13 - The Marquis Theater - Denver, Colorado
July 25 - Club Congress - Tucson, Arizona
July 26 - Moonlight Lounge - Albuquerque, New Mexico
July 28 - Warehouse Live - Houston, Texas
July 29 - Stubb’s BBQ - Austin, Texas
July 30 - House of Blues - Dallas, Texas
July 31 - White Rabbit - San Antonio, Texas
North Carolina was home to Azazel, one of metal’s underground sensations until their members left and joined such groups as Aria and Between the Buried & Me. Bummer-tron. Their debut EP was released originally by Tribunal Records way back in 2000. The original engineer, whom you’ve probably heard of before, Jamie King found a bunch of their material and remixed it in his studio. Tribunal re-issues it with not only a look back at the original EP “Music for the Ritual Chamber” but also tosses on remixed versions of three of Azazel’s songs that were released on their first demo to create the perfect discography.
After losing members to some of Germany’s finest metal outfits in Deadsoil and Caliban, Six Reasons to Kill regrouped with their twisted and topical opus merely titled “Another Horizon”. Veneers of guitar distortion and sludge fill your guts with crunchy thrash and metalcore sounds. Social issues such as discrimination, racism, human rights, the environment, and other good subject matter are explored on this heady but important album.
While I’m as much of a fan of the Swedish death metal sound as the next guy, the genre is getting plagued by sound-a-likes. Enemy is Us has all the talent and the chops in the world but sound like a replica of stalwarts like At the Gates and Darkest Hour. Push that criticism aside (I mean it’s almost a compliment to be comparable to either one of those great bands), and you have yourself a pretty damn sweet album co-produced by Daniel Bergstrand (In Flames, Soilwork, Meshuggah).
Death metal with a dab of grind and a firm nod to Cannibal Corpse. It sounds great in writing doesn’t it? And guess what, “Human Is as Human Does” delivers! As abrasive as a track off the latest Job for a Cowboy album, Hereafter an Odyssey crushes skulls with dynamic songwriting skills and furious bonecrushing abilities. Progressive death metal mavens Hereafter an Odyssey soar with melodic and cutting undertones and each song is rife with distorted riffs and smashing percussion.
How many metal bands would be brave enough to write an album and call it “Ghetto Angel”? You’d think there’d be some bootilicious bodaciousness on “Ghetto Angel” but instead you just have the perfect butt-fucking down-tuned down-trodden sludgy doom one metal couple could ever ask for. Sourvein features members of Hail! Hornet, Eyehategod, and Buzzoven, and are 100% guaranteed to rock your socks off. Southern styles with crusty vocals that crank the guitar amps up to 11 and never turn off the distortion pedals. Recorded to perfection by Vince Burke (Hail! Hornet, Beaten Back to Pure), swamp metal Sourvein now brings it to the table each and every time out on the circuit. Doesn’t it figure that MTV, would only mention Sourvein amid a Michael Jackson tribute article?
Coffins is Japanese doom metal! Raw and uncanny metal that is very versed in attention deficit disorder anthems, and avoiding them at all fucking costs. Sure “Buried Death” isn’t your Grandma Metal’s cup of tea, but fuck tea when you can have caffeinated alcoholic beverages. The guitar slices and dices with psychedelic ease though Garcia would roll over in his grave a few hundred times if he heard one or two minutes of this album of sludge. Over the course of time, Coffins has really progressed into one of the more influential sounds out there. Toxic swamp metal that was written in urban squalor. Amazing.
Listen to “Under the Stench” [MP3]
Phil Western and Mark Spybey met in the Canuckistani capitol of Vancouver, Ontario while performing with Download, a band that featured ex-Skinny Puppy members (at the time) cEvin Key and Dwayne Goettel. Recorded across the Atlantic Ocean via England and L.A. with file-sharing software, “Beehatch” dissolves quickly from a peaceful ambient piece into a sculpture of noise and dead-space tones. Phil Western’s duties as a DJ and producer amplify his work alongside Spybey, whose own signature sound alongside Dead Voices on Air and Reformed Faction (ex-Zoviet France) have elevated him among one of the electronic underground’s most sought after voice. Tactile tickling sensations of music collage with tight beat loops and crafty synthetics are but one reason that this album liberates the electronic music world from the tired and repetitive.
Awww, it’s so cute that people like 40 Below Summer still play nu-metal. Well at least they got the album title spot on.
