Gasp - Drome Triler of Puzzle Zoo People

to the handful of you who actually maintain interest in this blog: i do apologize for the wait and commend you for your patience. hopefully i'll be back to doing this on  the regular now that my life is (a little) less crazy. onto the monotonous ramblings!

gasp (pretty sure they preferred lowercase spelling, as i do, but sometimes it's capitalized for the sake of consistency and organizing...) was a noisy, atmospheric project which, without being formulaic, played spazzy powerviolence and/or heavy sludge. though only active for a brief period in the late 90's, the band appears to have had a lasting impact on other artists that are trying to push the limits of what punk rock can and should consist of. listening to this release in particular calls to mind the efforts made by bands like REFUSED, who seamlessly tied together an album that contained an array of styles, sound clips and samples, varying dynamics, etc. in a definitive and cohesive manner. in short, it shatters people's perceptions and expectations, and one can only hope it does so for the better.

in terms of the way it sounds, i'd put it much more on par with something like if GRIEF were to perform a live album underwater while tripping and forcing all the majestic sea creatures who come in contact with the sound waves/acid to get hella existential...which is just kind of what i envision rather than what it objectively sounds like. maybe i'd describe it as "bubbly" in this sense. if it helps, i'd also say the vocals remind me a lot of the later CHARLES BRONSON releases, and that the record was put out by Slap-a-Ham. no? alright. you should probably just listen to it for yourselves. it's really cool and miserable and stuff. i highly recommend listening to it alone on the subway or on rainy, introspective nights. you'll probably discover (if you haven't already) that a lot of things are "wrong" with you, but that's why we're "here" in the first place, isn't it? ANSWER ME.

instead of over-hyping it or going into useless details i'll let it speak for itself, as it has done so quietly for the last decade or so.

personal favorites include: Silk Orbita, Sky Flowers Through Horse Eggs, Auroren, and Trippy Dead Zone.

last.fm in the post's link, myspace here.

Coffinworm - When All Became None

...and from the bowels of hell (aka Indianapolis), COFFINWORM has arisen. probably the most exciting new act the midwest has to offer.

they play a blackened-yet-stoner-friendly style of mid-tempo sludge. metallic, grim, and satanic. "my insurrection versus your ressurection". death obsession. "putrid breath of life, how i hate you". elements of grindcore set them apart from a lot of what's going on in sludge and black-whatever right now (i.e. the whole post-rock craze). specifically, they utilize the high/low vocalization; the former being very scratchy and audible, and the latter being deep, guttural and muddy. similarly, the employ a fair amount of thrashing on the drums during certain riffs, but this is usually in accordance with the tremelo (read: blackened) guitar riffs. uniqueness aside, the attention paid to this record is mostly due to the fact that these guys just do what they're doing extremely well.

a mere 6 song LP with tracks spanning from six to eight minutes in length, When All Became None is not by any means an extensive work, but similar to SEVEN SISTERS OF SLEEP, it may be the perfect duration for a band that's just beginning to make their mark on the scene and heading out on tour in the near future. with no obligatory intro(s)/outro(s)/interludes, swelling feedback, or long droning bridges/soundscapes - at least none lasting for more than 20 seconds - COFFINWORM hits the ground running and doesn't let up until the last deafening note. again, i would liken it to grind in this aspect, or at least a more "punk" side of sludge.

one of the coolest things about this release is how transparent it is. what i mean is that nothing is lost or overpowered in the mixing. nothing is notably driving anything else (aside from the tightness of the rhythm section), nothing is drowned out or made indistinguishable. i would anticipate that seeing them live (which i plan on doing August 20th @ Bottom Lounge!) would either match the sound of the record or exceed it. there is no studio magic holding this album together, and there won't be a box full of pedals necessary to replicate the pervasive gloom and doom. COFFINWORM is just simply a really good band, as a band.

personal favs: Blood Born Doom, Spitting in Infinity's Asshole, *The Sadistic Rites of Count Tabernacula.
*rager.

dudes are all over: myspace, bloggin', world-renowned facebook, and a link to their own website has been included in this post's title. kablaam.

SONS AND DAUGHTERS [AND GENDER VARIANTS] OF SATAN, COME TO ME.

Drainland - And So Our Troubles Began

once again, i will attempt to describe an irreducible band in one simple post. i apologize in advance. Drainland are, for starters, "5 angry people that live in Ireland who keep getting compared to crust and metalcore bands [they] don’t listen to" - last.fm. i would say it's more along the lines of dark hardcore, sludge, noisy doom metal, and a pinch of post-rock thrown into a blender. but who's to say that's objectively any more accurate or helpful? i've only very recently been turned on to this band, and i regret having not immediately checked them out. (i've gotten over the habit of completely neglecting bands with what i feel to be terrible names, but that in turn has made bands with names that aren't great but don't outright suck be able to fall by the proverbial wayside. (longest parenthetical ever.)). to be honest, i came for the cover art, but i stayed for the substantially unique jams.

i can't honestly say that the record is cohesive, or that Drainland has developed a new sound that is all-their-own, but it's kind of interesting in that sense. it's more of a challenging listen than a lot of bands who have a very well set and defined brand of music and simply follow that script. and while there is an "atmospheric" (for lack of a better term) presence throughout, no two tracks bleed together/become indistinguishable. maybe it's because i'm not up on my Irish punk/crust/sludge, but there's something about this band that strikes me as different. while trying to sum up their sound for my pal Brendan (new KRANG 12" coming soon, whaaat?), i could only manage to say "it's kinda like CURSED, but...not at all...".

vocals consist of decipherable yells which can, depending on the song, have a screamo-ish wave to them or reach bellowing depths. it's pretty neat. the drums are all quite punchy, with the exception of the popping metallic snare. cymbals - particularly the ride - are very well balanced and bright, of which the latter is typically unusual when it comes to heavy stuff. also neat. the bass is also hella metallic but has that crusty-distorted factor. fuzzy, but not sloppy. guitars have almost a black metal quality about them, in that it sounds like many of the riffs were recorded in barren caves and abandoned alleyways. in addition to the constant riffing, the guitars also create a lot of indiscernible noise, which serves both hi and lo end purposes. it's all just very, very neat.

favorite tracks: Jellyfish, Sominal Hex, Weakness, Luxophage.

i'm really tired, so i apologize once again for this half-ass review. but i do sincerely suggest you people check these guys out either on myspace, facebook, tumblr, or bandcamp (linked in post title). these dudes know how to utilize the web.

GIMME GIMME MELATONIN.

Seven Sisters of Sleep - Self-Titled LP

"tune low, get high" probably sums this album up better than the widely circulated description "sludge for people with short attention spans". granted, both are accurate, but there's so much more to Seven Sisters of Sleep than sludge. this is one of the few full-lengths in recent history that can be appreciated beyond the tracks contained within. this record, with its incredible gatefold artwork, consistency, uniqueness, dope (pun slightly intended) lyrics, etc. is simply an experience that the listener is actively engaged in. the fact that it's only 8 tracks at just under 20 minutes in length makes it all the more impressive.

tons of melodic feedback allow the songs to flow together nicely, and also gives you a chance to let your brain catch up with your ears. distorted, gruff vocals work in collaboration with the rhythm section nicely, whether intentionally or not is irrelevant. the cymbals are probably one of the biggest overall record highlights. maybe it was an effort in microphone placement or equalizing or something, but they actually stand out without having to be whipped as hard as possible. the rich tones they produce help keep an overall mellow vibe even with SSOS is hammering your soul with satanic, anti-capitalist hardcore. yes, i did just use the words "mellow" and "vibe" in succession. no, i do not regret it.

while describing their sound in more detail with a handful of local punx, i found myself viscerally making the following oversimplification: "it's somewhere between COUGH and early BLACK SABBATH, but with more rage and sometimes way faster". so yeah, to further oversimplify: heavy metal guitar riffs, crust punk bass, gritty wailing vocals, drums that slash your face.

standout tracks, in my humble opinion, include: Tide is Rising, CCEC, and Follow the Serpent. this may only be for the fact that they're the most pissed off sounding ones, but i stand by it. honorable mention also goes to Passed Out Standing, mainly for using a guitar riff that gets stuck in my head for at least an hour a day. Swamp also has some sweet lyrics. most of their songs can be streamed on youtube with footage from The Holy Mountain and weird shit like that. so that's cool. i wish i could spend more time talking about how special i think this band is/will be, but i think for the time being this album speaks for itself. another gem dropped by the folks at A389 Records. click this posts' link to access their website and check out all of their sweet merch that's probably all limited and shit like that. otherwise, you can dig them via facebook, like 'em, and build the hype so that they may exceed it in the future.

till next time...

Full of Hell - The Inevitable Fear of Existence

not an impressive band name, i know, but the music they write and - perhaps most importantly - the intensity with which they perform is incredible. brutal, grindy, shrieky, unstable, sludgy, chaotic, pukey, tortured, noisy, just plain fucking pissed. the only band i can readily compare them to is MAGRUDERGRIND, but that's really only in terms of the high-end vocal work and the occasional blastbeat on FoH's end. aside from this 7", which i find to be their best work yet (both in terms of song-writing and production), they have: a split with GOLDUST, a demo EP entitled Savages, and a few random demo tracks floating around. a full-length is also being pressed soon and will be released by A389 Recordings some time in August.

The Inevitable Fear of Existence kicks off with a beautifully simplistic guitar riff (reminiscent of TRAGEDY), which is soon accompanied by bass drum kicks and cymbal crashes powerful enough to make a whale's head explode. get it? because they use sonar. anyway, they hammer out the intro, let the notes hang, and then "Lead Tongue" just punishes you with relentless thrashy blastbeats, only to break back down and get super pissed, grunt, and bring the destruction right back for the last 15 seconds or so. it's honestly a damn near perfect song. from here, the album definitely falls more "into place", shall we say, as the band demonstrates that they can in fact play a consistent beat and groove for a minute. the thrashy drums and lyrics in "Black Iron" rule. trust me. and i don't mean thrashy like 80's crossover hit the drums light but fast DRI style or anything. i mean it sounds like this dude is just flailing his appendages at the kit as violently as he can while still maintaining a tight beat. rules rules rules. next there's "Horus" which features some nice double bass work and some stoner-inspired riffage. but then they end the 7" with a title track. this one is more of a doomy sludge song with hallway effect vocals. honestly kinda makes me think of DYSTOPIA because of how tortured and miserable everything sounds. its excellent. i cannot fucking wait for their upcoming LP.

*Random Disclaimer - the reason why i'm not being as creative or descriptive as far as this band/release goes is because i've just been too damn excited about them. all i can do is play them for people and be like, "see?! it's just fucking, like. FUCK!". so i apologize that this review or whatever is basically just saying that using a lot more words.

i don't really know what else to say about this band. they're fucking furious. and if i were to start my ideal band, it would sound pretty fucking close to this. they're in the middle of a huge US tour RIGHT NOW so check out their facebook, bandcamp, and all that good stuff. also if you catch them on tour, buy me their merch. one of everything. then email me and i'll send you my address. kthanks.

this is what you'll have to reckon with. enjoy.