Guilty Connector - Beats, Noise, and Life.

imagine you come to find yourself dazed, in the middle of what appears to be an ever-expanding field of corn. you're lying on your back and with each subtle movement, the sun flickers directly into your eyes. you spot a black bird, and then another, and another, and another, until the sky slowly (yet frantically) becomes a sea. their wings wave to the beat of an alarm that sounds violently inside your stomach, but to your ears is faint and possibly delusional. a thought; the birds are either pulling a capsule over your perceived world behind them, or your body is not registering its own decision to stand.

the stalks that surround you begin to rust, and a piercing sound rings incessantly. just then, what you can only imagine to be a railroad spike is driven straight through the center of your skull. almost immediately after the shattering impact, you experience a euphoric moment of serenity as it seems the same black sea that covered the sky begins to run like tar over your brain. the clarity isn't fleeting, but is still complicated by the painful sound of ill-fitting gears struggling to rotate.

is industry coming or going? what part do i now play in this event? can i move (with intention)? do i care to change a thing? the sea is everywhere, and you are no longer able to discern whether you are the lonesome vessel or the rapidly flowing force sent to swallow it whole. you come to realize that your/the world's cyclical gestures and any semblance of pattern has been broken, and everything - including your own sense of self - is ripped to shreds and dispersed in every imaginable direction. you explode, but only to find your (true) self set in permanent motion and everything is experienced in singular moments. whether or not they are remembered is theoretically questionable, but you don't think to wonder. you're moving.

...that's what the opening track, "New York Shibaki Terror Conversation" is like. have fun with the other thirty minutes.

last.fm, Planet Mu Records, myspace in the title.

MOTIONLESS.

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.

CTTS - Decompositions Vol I, Chapter I: Rites of Initiation

i don't have to say anything, do i? well, just to be sure: this is the new CIRCLE TAKES THE FUCKING SQUARE EP. as far as i understand, it will be the first quarter of their upcoming full-length. i don't even have words for how excited i am. it WILL be the best album of the year.

the only words i can muster are, "holy shit, this is heavy". i'm in awe. may be over-hyping it for some of you, but idgaf. Way of Ever-Branching Paths and The Ancestral Other Side are just phenomenally amazing. that's right. double adjective. head-spinning. lots of depth.

BANDCAMP IN THE TITLE, SUCKERS.

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.

Shards - Self-Titled LP

for those of you already familiar with North Carolina's SHARDS, you may have noticed that i've rotated the artwork 90 degrees right. i don't care how the LP is packaged; it really, really looks like a face, and having it sideways bugs the shit out of me.

anyway, a lot of people have been describing this new project as "dark" yet "melodic" punk. i can't say this is far from the truth (what else is new?), but i also feel that there's much room for elaboration. gritty, almost snotty vocals are probably the most notable aspect of the band. hooks and melodies? not really an option without harmonies or repeated one-liners/group vocals, in my opinion. catchy? yeah, i'll agree with that. last.fm claims that the band, "reach[es] back to punk’s pre-hardcore days", bringing to mind early TSOL. i'll agree with that too.

SHARDS goes for an almost SST Records (BLACK FLAG, HUSKER DU, etc.) style sound, and they do a pretty good job of it, considering it is 2011. heavy, crunchy bass is the most driving force underneath the layered vocals (which i must reiterate is definitely the most prominent force on this album), with a nearly absent bass drum and fairly weak snare drum hits. the guitar, however, is not nearly as fuzzy or distorted as these "pre-hardcore" punk pioneers. there are also no ridiculous solos or bends. the riffs they play are pretty rock-and-roll, but in a very subtle way.

because the record goes by so fast and there aren't many stand-out tracks, i'm going to go ahead and cut this one short. i must say, though, that for as underwhelming as i found it at first, this release has made more than its fair share of appearances on my last.fm charts. something about it keeps me coming back, and i'm sure they'd be quite a bit of fun to see live. i am very curious to see if they are able to spawn more bands with this interesting take on an old-school sound. perhaps some sort of unforeseen revival? i don't know. the point is: this is a solid piece of work, and there are definitely not enough people turned on to it. hence, my rants.

check out their myspace (linked in the post title) to hear these jams for yourself. it's not for everyone, i understand, but i think it's pretty cool stuff. and who doesn't like cool stuff?!

the songs i like better than some others: Bleach, Lycanthropic Discomfort, DMT, Self-Medication.

THE NEXT ONE WILL BE BETTER.

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...