Sh*t That Comes Out Today: May 20, 2014
Put on your loincloths and other pre-civilization outerwear — and mount this week’s STCOT Time Machine. Each selection below is reminiscent of a pre-metal past (oh the horror), whether by influence or by style. Maybe this is fashionable in this day and age, or maybe we’re getting tired of the same horsefeathery blastbeat-me-into-oblivion tirades day after day. Or maybe we all just want some nice gentle music every once in a goddamn while!
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Castle
Under Siege (Prosthetic)
On a playlist with: Saint Vitus, Cathedral, Count Raven
Listen Under Siege full stream (here)
Sometimes what rocks you a little rocks you the most: Like Ghost, the Castle ethos seems to contradict the music’s tonal mood. Darker themes and qualities get peppered with upbeat riffs and more melodic vocal elements. And in the end, I’m not head-over-heels for Under Siege, but it shows that you can be heavy and raw without having to scream about it!
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Rob Zombie
The Zombie Horror Picture Show DVD (Universal)
On a playlist with: Powerman 5000, Static-X, Icicle In The Peehole
Watch The Zombie Horror Picture Show trailer (here)
I bet a decent amount of us actually listened to Rob Zombie at one point. But once a monger of grime and horror breaks this far out onto the stage — uh, one backed with a thousand tons of TNT pyrotechnics and jumbo-trons — then we’re no longer “celebrating” grime and horror. And look at me give two-point-five fucks about some chicks flashing their ta-tas. That’s all well and fine, but if Mr. Zombie wants to sell something, he should remember what “being campy” means and get the hell back to this.
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Blood And Sun
White Storms Fall (Pesanta Urfolk)
On a playlist with: Tusmörke
Listen White Storms Fall full stream (here)
You can’t really sum up White Storms Fall without words like “folk” and “progressive” and “drunken bar music” and “ambient.” But then again, these words do no justice, even in combination. But White Storms Fall is neither brilliant nor shite. It just is. And I’m happy with that, because sometimes it’s nice to sit and stare at the sunset instead of being shot into it at a million MPH.
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Tusmörke
Riset Bak Speilet (Svart)
On a playlist with: Blood And Sun
Listen Riset Bak Speilet full stream (here)
Now take Blood And Sun (above) and add a bit of bluesy classic rock. It makes an interesting, light mix. I do swear that some of the vocals remind me of The Beatles, and some of the guitar/musical elements of Led Zeppelin. Typically I don’t latch positively onto these types of influences, but I’m shocked about how well they’re integrated. Riset Bak Speilet gets weird (e.g. the last half of “Gamle Aker Kirke”), and then I begin to wonder whether I’m even listening to metal anymore. What a delicious feeling, actually.
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Goodtime Boys
Rain (Bridge Nine)
On a playlist with: La Dispute, Touche Amore, Departures
Listen “Moral Decay” (here) Rain full stream (here)
In heavy music, much rests on pace. The way the beat moves forward — in elephant marches or in nimble steps — can make or break a jam. Rain is paced so beautifully that it’s difficult at points to appreciate its other positives, of which there are plenty. No doubt that this is a progressive hardcore album, but nothing boils over as too ambient, far-fetched, or post. In that sense it stays absolutely real and forward and edible, and, goddammit, if I jerk this album off any more it’s gonna have to get a restraining order against me. So be it.
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Infirmary / Aetherium Mors
Split (Bindrune/Eihwaz)
On a playlist with: Bolt Thrower, Sinister, Dissection
Listen Infirmary / Aetherium Mors split (here)
Okay, so I get one exception from my introductory comments about gentle music. But the throwback bit still applies here: You get old-school death along with darkened thrash! Two jams in one! It reminds me of the Grindhouse film combo: Robert Rodriquez’s Planet Terror and Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof. The first one bites and grabs at you, trying to rip your skin off and bathe you in Listerine. The second thrills you with get-up-and-go tits-and-cars action. Too bad this split doesn’t come with hilarious spoofy movie trailers in between.
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OTHER SHIT THAT COMES OUT TODAY
Aggravator Populace Destructor (Mulligore) listen listen
California Breed California Breed (Frontiers) listen listen
» Comet Control Comet Control (Tee Pee) listen listen
Dealey Plaza Provoke The Human (We Are Triumphant) listen
Drapsnatt Hymner Till Undergangen reissue (Nordvis) listen
Embrace Of Disharmony Humananke (My Kingdom) listen
Gravecrusher Morbid Black Oath EP (Xtreem) listen
Hades Archer/Slaughtbbath Circus of Abominations/Antichristos Thanatos split (Iron Bonehead) listen
Hell Trilogy vinyl box (Pesanta Urfolk)
Infernal Curse The End Upon Us EP (Iron Bonehead) listen
Intestinal Disgorge Let Them In (self-released) listen
¤ Konkeror The Abysmal Horizons (Lacerated Enemy) listen
» Landskap I vinyl (Iron Bonehead) listen
Meliah Rage Warrior (Metal On Metal) listen
Mortalicum Tears From The Grave (Metal On Metal) listen
Outrage We The Dead (Metal On Metal) listen
Rubicon Cross Rubicon Cross (Ingrooves) listen
Test Of Time A Place Beyond (Bridge Nine) listen
Timo Tolkki’s Avalon Angels Of The Apocalypse (Frontiers) listen
Various Seattle Noise: Volume 1 (AVR/Good to Die) listen
» Verberis Vastitas (Iron Bonehead) listen
Witches Of Doom Obey (Sliptrick) listen
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