Cutthroat Convention - Peeling The Sea (2011)

Band request from London.

Cutthroat Convention come a cross like the bastard

son of Faust and Can crossed with post-hardcore.

Songs verge on the chaotic with a fuzzed violin

taking the place of guitars.

Electronic noise is merged with drums and bass

giving a feel like the most demented Cardiacs track.

Spoken/shouted vocals are spat out but quite low in the mix.

Different and bizarre, these sonic bursts of noise are strangely

addictive with powerful riffs using metal/jazz/punk and

electronica to confound the senses but never for the sake

of being clever.

This is the sound of a band trying to break free from

conventional song structures - this is not for the casual

listener but do not take my word for it - Listen

Free Download from Doubledgescissor Label

Poison Idea - Feel The Darkness (1990)

Been giving this a good blast today.

This is excellent punk/hardcore with a metal

egde mixed with some basic rock'n'roll grooviness

to give the tunes an infectious edge to them.

Vocals range from a snarl to tuneful shouting and

the sublime guitar playing reminds me of Social

Distortion "White Trash" era, with lead breaks

and thrashy riffs driving the songs.

Poison Idea never seemed to be as big as they should

of been but over the last 5 years they have been name

checked a lot more.

Great band, very good album.

Band Info

Daughters - Daughters (2010)

Daughters are a noise rock/mathcore band who play

a compelling mix of frenetic guitars, fast pounding

drums and a singer that sounds very David Yow-like.

The fast fretboard abuse is held together by a very

groove laden bass which is needed in this sonic

stew of abandonment - song structures are thrown

out the window but always manage to come together

before the chaos overwhelms.

This is fast, furious stuff with a whiff of experimentation -

these guys are making music that sounds like the sickness

I have in my mind. Don't take my word for it.

Band Info

Lou Reed & Metallica - Some Thoughts

Just played a web-rip of this album and feel strangely

compelled to put down my thoughts, safe in the knowledge

that because there is no actual album to download from

this post, only 3 people will actually bother to read this!

Reading all the gnashing of teeth and hair pulling over

this release, there appear to be three main points that are

coming up again and again:

1. Metallica have been shit since "Master of Puppets" came out.

I guess that is a matter of opinion but luckily for me this issue

has never caused me to lose any sleep. Hey, "Master" is pretty

good but in 1986 there were many more albums released that

seemed so much better or of more importance to me - and here

is my list:

Sonic Youth - EVOL

Scratch Acid - Just keep Eating

Big Black - Atomizer

Dead Kennedys - Bedtime for Democracy

The Scientists - Weird Love

Poison Idea - Kings of Punk

Butthole Surfers - Rembrant Pussy Horse

Husker Du - Candy Apple Grey

See what I mean?

2. Why are they doing this?

Dunno - take a guess? Bored, respect for each other,

need the cash, huge joke, trying something different?

Everyone will come to their own conclusion.

3. Lou Reed is just mumbling in a monotone voice!

Hah! - welcome to his vocal style of the last 15 years. This

seems to be a common complaint from rabid metal heads

who I can only suppose have never really followed Reed

closely ...... you did not think he would change just to please you?

On to the music itself - it spans 78 minutes which will really give

a casual listener a challenging time (which I am sure was their intention)!

It is what I expected really - Lou narrating over slabs of Metallica backing

music. There are no real solo wig-outs, just solid riffing and chord changes

but there are some suprising ambient passages with picked guitar and droned

strings.

If Lou Reed had released this, using a less famous backing band, he probably

would of been hailed as a "The Fearless Godfather of Punk - taking back heavy

rock'n'roll and giving it his own touch" - for make no mistake, this album is

very clearly a Lou Reed record - and his backing band happen to be Metallica.

If you are still hysterical that Metallica have not made the same album over and

over again for the last 25 years - you probably should not listen to it.

If you can accept that it is a collaboration and will not sound like either of

the participants normal body of work - think about giving it a go.

If you liked some of Reeds earlier works - "New York", the long tracks from

"Ecstacy", "The Raven" - give it a listen.

And so, dear reader, my story comes to its end and it is time for me to say

goodbye without giving my own opinion.

How annoying!

Glenn Branca- The Ascension (1981)

One of the pioneers of the New York art-rock

scene in the early eighties, this is Glenn Branca

using 4 guitar players, bass and drums to create

an album of drones, distorted soundscapes and

tracks that defy normal song structures but still

keep the listener engaged.

It is all very Sonic Youth and indeed, Lee Ronaldo

plays on this, and Thurston Moore had been drafted

in to perform live with Branca as well.

As with Sonic Youth, the songs seem to have their

own musical language that combine seemingly

random burst of noise with passages of beauty.

Band Info

Towers - The Fields (2011)

Band request from Portland, USA.

Towers play impressive Sludge/Stoner and everything

is LOUD! These 5 tracks were recorded live with no

overdubs and from the sound would be an awesome

band to see live.

Hearing the dense, heavy songs on display - if this is

the material they have having only formed last year,

I cannot wait for the next release.

The atmospherics and pacing of the songs are a

masterclass in how to create crushing heaviness

without retreading the genres cliches.

This reminds me of the Melvins at their most rifflicious

and savage best - give these guys a Listen

Below are links including free download from Bandcamp

Here is their press release:

We formed in 2010 in Portland Oregon, the band consists of Rick Duncan (Bass/Vocals) Max Rees (Guitar) Darryl Swan (Drums)
We just finished recording our first album "The Fields", our bassist owns Electro Motel (recording studio) in Portland Oregon. We recorded this live (no overdubs) all of it is analog on 1'' tape. Rick Duncan (our bassist/vocalist) recorded and mastered the entire album. We started playing live recently and have shows booked here in Portland in the coming months. We are on Reverbnation at http://www.reverbnation.com/towerspdx, facebook at www.facebook.com/towerspdx, and bandcamp at www.towerspdx.bandcamp.com

Kösmonaut - Emanations (2011)

Band request from Texas.

Kösmonaut is a one man project and his bandcamp

tags read: Berlin, Drone, Ambient Dance, Dark

Electronic.

This is pretty different to what I would normally

post but I like it and so will review but be warned -

(Sorry Patrick!), I know next to nothing to this genre

and so, can only use out of date references!

Rhythm is the touchstone to these tracks. Heavy use

of arpeggiators and sequencers in the tones and drums

give a trance like feel to the repeated motifs.

Like early Kraftwerk, the beats latch in your brain and

when the treated drones and rich textures float across

the songs, I am reminded of a faster Tangerine Dream.

Many years ago I used to listen to "Goa Trance" - there

was some interesting stuff released and this is not a

million miles away from it.

If you want a change from down-tuned guitars, give

this a listen.

Download free tracks & buy other albums from Bandcamp

Le Scrimmie - Dromomania (2011)

Band request from Italy.

Below is their press release:

The Italian duo "Le Scimmie" was born in the colorful

spring of 2007 in Vasto, a seaside town in central Italy.

The ideas of the project are: guitar, drums, minimal

power, raw sound.

In the winter of 2007 they recorded their first ep

that gets excellent support from the Italian press

called "L'Origine Ep"

2008: the band reached the final at one of major

Italian music festival called "Italia Wave" and remains

on tour for about a year.

After a year of silence, in January 2011, Le Scimmie

released their first album entitled "Dromomania".

In April 2011 also published the first official video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E3D_FMTnac

official myspace: www.myspace.com/lescimmie

I would class this as instrumental Stoner but pretty

much on the heavy side with some Doom overtones.

Plenty of down-tuned riffs with the guitar on full

blown distortion setting - those riffs just get powered

over and over bringing an almost unstoppable groove

to them.

There is some really good stuff here - I think their next

release will be even better.

Facebook page

The Gun Club - Fire Of Love (1981)

Swamp Blues.

Voodoo Sex Beat.

Heroin Rock'n'Roll.

Link removed by Mediafire - thanks!

Gaytheist - Pentagrams Are Super! (2011)

Band request from Portland, USA.

Gaytheist - good or bad band name? Hard for me

to judge as I used to be in Ruptured Dog but it made

me laugh and god knows that is hard these days!

The music far outweighs any preconceptions you

may have though.

There are rumbling bass lines that would not

sound out of place on a Jesus Lizard record,

adding depth to the abrasive guitar riffs that

put the rock into this heavy punk sound.

Tuneful but aggressive at the same time, the songs

are short sharp shocks that leave you wanting to

play them again.

The guitar playing dips in and out of math and noise rock

which meshes with the cleanish sarcastic vocals that are

perfect for the sardonic and slightly strange lyrics.

Going all old school for a second, some of the leads and

solos remind me of early Damned or Dead Kennedys -

which of course I love!

This is a highly recommended listen.

They are also good guys, the album and an EP

are available from Bandcamp for only $1.00 -Buy

Forks of Ivory - Forks of Ivory (2011)

A drummer and a guitar player - Black Keys meet

Lightning Bolt?

Not Forks of Ivory - this is a far different animal.

Powerful sludge mixed with post-metal on these

mainly instrumental tracks and the aggressively

distorted guitars veer into noise-rock volumes.

Taking the riffs of early Mastodon and the dense

sound of Neurosis, they mix up with awesome

results which bring to mind Generation of Vipers.

This is a very accomplished debut.

And being great guys, pay what you want from Bandcamp

Mongoloid Village - Folly (2011)

Drawing from the Melvins brand of sludged out

riffs and heavy doomy stoner, Mongoloid Village

seems a scary place to spend the night.

With a crushing sonic tone, the songs are thick

and heavy and leave an ominous feeling hanging

in the air.

Add elements of noise rock to the mix and the results

never fail to please.

On my first play, I was quite impressed but soon realised

that I kept going back to play again. This is a grower and

well worth a listen.

Buy from Bandcamp