You Sound Very Much Alive, Sir
Dead Confederate have wedged their way into a genre that doesn’t really have many followers or compatriots. Grunge country-rock could come close; maybe heavy alt-country? All kinds of bands come to mind when shooting for comparisons. We know they loved Pink Floyd and most likely Sabbath in their youth, but growing up in Georgia results in a starting point with acoustic guitars and bearded roots rock. My Morning Jacket always comes up and so does Nirvana; lead singer and guitarist Hardy Morris does seem to echo Kurt Cobain at some heavier moments. Yet Dead Confederate seem unconcerned with fitting in and with their sophomore LP, Sugar, they position themselves as pioneers of a new sound. Read more…
By Bill Chenevert Posted in Reviews Dead Confederate.
Keep on Screamin’, Lady
The Melvins are a wonder. They’ve been at if for over 20 years and with The Bride Screamed Murder, their 20th LP (or so), they’ve given us one of the best of their discography. These guys don’t usually do staid and steady; they take detours and experiment. On 2009’s Chicken Switch they recruited friends to remix their brand of sludgy, chunky metal and it was turned into nearly unlistenable noise. Here they return to form with new originals and an epic cover of The Who’s “My Generation.” Read more…
By Bill Chenevert Posted in High Fidelity, Reviews The Melvins
Sharp as Hell
In Pitchfork’s 8.5-rated review of Converge’s Axe to Fall, Cosmo Lee compares the Boston quartet to pretty much the biggest punk band of our time, Black Flag. He even likens singer Jacob Bannan’s imagery on the covers of Jane Doe and You Fail Me to Black Flag’s bars. So whether they’re intentionally going for it, Converge have done well in achieving influence, acclaim, and success in the hardcore metal market. There’s a reason this album is their most commercially successful effort to date: it bowls people over with their talent. Read more…
By Bill Chenevert Posted in Reviews Converge
The Hardest Natural Material Known to Man
Deftones are hailed as being in a league of their own, and after a thorough runthrough of Diamond Eyes, one can hear why. Nobody else does quite what they do. In a relatively tiresome genre, with other bands fading into obscurity or just plain falling short of a quality product, the Sacramento quintet keep rising to the top. Read more…
By Bill Chenevert Posted in Reviews Deftones
Lords and Masters of the Kill-Core and Horror Punk Domain
GWAR’s been at it for a while now; just about 26 years of outlandish sci-fi costumes, gory stage antics and hardcore thrash metal punk rock to back it up. It’s not for everyone, but it is definitely for some. Sometimes, there’s nothing more boring than a bunch of long-haired white men screaming at the top of their lungs and slamming on instruments to whip an angst-ridden male audience into a vicious moshpit. Tiresome, to say the least. Do something different! Provoke! Be imaginative! Wear the craziest damn costumes you could possibly come up with and simulate decapitations and trot out political figures to destroy! If nothing can be said about GWAR’s longevity or their records, what CAN be said is that they are far from boring. Read more…
By Bill Chenevert Posted in Reviews GWAR
This Apple Isn’t So Sweet
Sometimes, the darkest moments in life turn out to be a turning point towards something pretty great. Tragedy can stimulate creativity. John Petkovic found this out for himself after his mom died. He headed east and found himself on the Vermont doorstep of his friend Dave Sweetapple. Sweetapple called his friend J. Mascis to jam and the musical sparks started flying. Before you know it, you have another rock supergroup on your hands; Mascis (vocals/guitar) is well known as the front man of Dinosaur Jr., Petkovic (vocals/guitar) comes from Cobra Verde and Guided by Voices, and Sweetapple (bass) plays with stoner rock band Witch. When you mix it all together you get a metallic, hard-rocking and cathartic record with legs on Love & Desparation. Read more…
By Bill Chenevert Posted in Reviews Dave Sweetapple, Dinosaur Jr., J Mascis, John Petkovic, Sweet Apple, Witch
A Cock Called Zep, a Hen Named Sabbath
Listening to a Wolfmother record really feels like stepping into a time machine. Their brand of gritty rock is reminiscent of another era, and not just sounds of the 1970s like AC/DC, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin. They also sound like Soundgarden, Yes, Rush, and to bring us up to the new millennium they call on The White Stripes and Queens of the Stone Age. That’s not to say they don’t have their own sound, it’s just heavily influenced by all of the above. With their self-titled debut in 2006, the Australian trio established themselves as a force with which to be reckoned. Still, that eponymous effort doesn’t feel as original as their latest album Cosmic Egg. Read more…
By Bill Chenevert Posted in Reviews Wolfmother
Thrash is an Available Option, Too
The Dillinger Escape Plan’s fourth album, Option Paralysis, is a stunner for sure. Most metalheads have been raving about this record as not only their best yet but an effective blend of the successful sounds and techniques from previous records, namely 1999’s Calculating Infinity and 2007’s Ire Works. While the band has seen countless lineup changes, original guitarist Ben Weimann is the glue holding together this mathcore metal band from Morris Plains, N.J. Hardcore metal worshipers will rejoice with DEP’s newest and longest opus of stylish, progged-out screamo. Read more…
By Bill Chenevert Posted in High Fidelity, Reviews The Dillinger Escape Plan
Beats Make Doom Sound Fun
It’s all about the rhythm with These New Puritans. Head honcho Jack Barnett, responsible for songwriting, vocals, and production, claims Wu-Tang Clan as a hearty influence on his band’s sound. Good thing New York’s grimiest hip-hop titans made their way across the ocean, as the beats presented on These New Puritans’ second LP Hidden are merciless. In fact, Barnett (whose twin brother, George, provides live drumming) has said he intends there to be refrains in his records, both individually and as a discography. And if there’s one refrain it’s percussion, both synthetic and physical. Read more…
By Bill Chenevert Posted in Reviews These New Puritans
Western Australia : Prog Metal :: Seattle : Grunge
This is a big deal record for metalheads. Western Australia has produced a few bands that have become staples in the prog metal genre, namely Cog and The Butterfly Effect. But with Sound Awake, Karnivool have emerged as the ones to watch. Their previous LP, Themata, was released almost five years ago and this 2009 full-length clocking in at 72 minutes puts them solidly in the upper echelon of progressive nu-metal. Read more…
By Bill Chenevert Posted in Reviews Karnivool
