New Year, New Motivation

Wow, I really fell off the map for a few months there. I blame college football and hanging out with my friends...and sometimes beer.


Anyway, I'm back now and will be posting regular reviews and op-eds again. Hopefully I didn't lose all 12 of you that check this page from time to time.

Review: Black Tusk - Set The Dial

I was at a bit of a loss for albums this week, so I went hunting around and found the new album by Savannah, GA’s Black Tusk. After my previous comments on sludge metal, I was assuming this was going to be a very repetitive review of my previous article. What I got listening to this album was an up-tempo and very enjoyable CD. The 3-piece really rips out a good power trio structure for the songs. It reminds me of a more classic rock style mixed with the new sludge metal. The vocals are screamed or spoken, but the music is twangy at times, then punchy and driving at others. I can appreciate the solid drumming used on this album because it really holds everything together. Maybe I was too quick to place my judgment on sludge metal; this album may be something you want to hear.

Ana Kefr

Here's some video I shot on Friday for Ana Kefr.

Review: Skeletonwitch - Forever Abomination

Forever Abomination is the fourth full-length release from Ohio’s Skeletonwitch. This album is just metal fun all the way around. It’s a cool mix of thrash and black metal while not taking away from either style too much. The drumming is pounding and driving. The guitarists shred some really great solos and provide lots of chunky rhythm parts to make you want to move. The vocals from singer Chance Garnette are deep and brutal, with occasional raspy screams and low-end death vocals. I really enjoyed this CD front to back, so if you are looking for something to provide a little face-melting, this should be your next purchase.

Review: Jeffrey Nothing - The New Psychodalia

This is the first solo release from Jeffrey Nothing, one of the vocalists from the band Mushroomhead. After listening to Mushroomhead for years, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this album, so I decided to enter this with a clean slate and see what happened. The first thing to note: this is definitely not as heavy as Mushroomhead gets. Jeffrey is responsible for the clean vocals in the band, so this makes sense. The album seems to flow through different tempos and ideas that could probably never be fully expressed in his other band. I find myself drawing comparisons to Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson when I listen to this, but those comparisons craft their ideas much better. This just feels too stripped down and lacking some pieces that would make the songs whole. It feels like there are holes in parts and the feeling that is trying to be achieved never has the possibility of fully surfacing. It’s an interesting listen, but I don’t see myself going back for any seconds on this one.  

Review: Suffokate - Return To Despair

California’s Suffokate have a new album out already (it came out last week…I didn’t have a chance to get to it). This album is a great mix of thrashy metal and hardcore breakdowns. Normally this would not work great together and would lean too far to one genre, and from hearing some of their previous work, Suffokate did lean harder toward hardcore. This album does a much better job of infusing the metal and thrash elements in with the previous hardcore-heavy model to create a very catchy album to hear. The vocals switch between a high rasp and a brutal growl, but it fits well with the brutality going on behind it. I sit here listening to the album, catching myself nodding my head and tapping my foot. Yeah, it’s heavy and brutal, but it’s putting a good smile on my face, and that’s what I look for in music. This is definitely one to check out.

Review: Rwake - Rest

I decided to check out another band I’ve never listened to, but seem to always see their name. I mean, a name like Rwake grabs your attention, or at least mine. Hailing from Little Rock, AR, this sludge metal outfit has been at it since 1996. After a 4 year wait, Rwake returns with the new album Rest. As I listen to this album, it reminds me of why I don’t ever listen to sludge metal. I can’t deny that the music is good. Many of the songs I like on this album, but as the term sludge implies, they are just a slow tempo. It’s like listening to a vinyl on a slower speed. The vocals are a mix of talking and screaming. The lyrics are decent, but I’m not a fan of the delivery. If you are a fan of sludge metal, you will really enjoy this album. I’m going to move on to something a little faster.

Thursday: Jon Hole's Pit

I apologize in advance: Jon sent me this last week, and I was on vacation and had no access to a computer to get this done. I also might have been hung over, but I admit to nothing and since none of you were there, you can't prove it. But anyway, sorry.
--Treph
_________________________

Being at a loss for words is a VERY unusual thing for me, but I've been noticing that as life rolls on, especially the last year or so, it seems to happen a little too much. Is it old age? Stress? Life in general? I’d love to really imagine that it was just old age, but that's probably not it. It's a combination of everything, life plus stress plus everything. My body is on a slow decline and all I seem to be able to do is only put it through the ringer more and more. As far as being at a loss for words, exhaustion doesn't help a whole lot. Restoring a fragmented mind is only accomplished with rest. Rest is not easily accomplished when the mind is racing a million miles an hour and there's a broken heart threatening to choke you. What the fuck does any of this have to do with music you ask? Well kids, it's like this...Music = Life. Cheesy? Possibly, but so true. As I write this nonsense up I am blasting the new Molotov Solution Insurrection record. The brutality and aggressive nature of it actually seems to calm me. People ask me a lot how I can stand to listen to stuff that's just beyond brutal or filled with nothing but a seemingly endless barrage of screamed vocals. It’s easy: 90% of everything else out annoys me. Stuff that normally calms others (Interpol, Sublime, etc.) actually pisses me off. I really can’t explain it. It's not these bands lack talent or anything, it's just the nature of their music aggravates me. I found out ages ago that music, heavy music in general, was what my soul seemed to need to feed off of. It started with hearing Helloween back in the 7th grade, then graduated to Judas Priest and Metallica until finally the sounds of the mighty Pantera emerged. Not only could this heavy as balls, groove laden music pump me up and energize me, it would actually help me sleep. Yes, it's true. I would fall asleep to A Vulgar Display Of Power on repeat. This is something my brothers and I have talked about periodically throughout the years. We've actually had people tell us that they ‘outgrew’ metal and hardcore. Outgrew? Seriously? Amazing. We came to the conclusion that it is something that's within you. Either you like it, understand it and love it, or you don't. This kind of goes back to an earlier rant I had about people not being aware of the music that surrounds them. It's actually pretty stupid. I can see broadening your musical tastes, but to say you outgrew a certain genre is just ridiculous. You may not have an understanding of newer stuff but to denounce it all? Incomprehensible. As you can tell by this point, I'm not at a loss for words here anymore, am I? Why? Music. Without music around me I think I would snap and kill. Yeah. Go fuck yourself.