Saturday, June 27, 2009
Well, everyone and his dog is opining on the whole Jacko thing, but I don't have too much to say on the matter, other than it's a sad end to one of the most extraordinary, sad celebrity lives ever. It has yielded some very good writing, though, and the best pieces I've read in the wake of the tragedy are Lisa Marie Presley's shockingly forthright, heartfelt blog post, and the remembrance by the LA Times' Robert Hilburn, which is utterly heartbreaking. And say what you will about the guy, his music from 1979 to 1982 was unfreakindeniable. There was a reason Off the Wall and especially Thriller sold a bazillion records...they were great. "Billie Jean" still cooks, and Eddie Van Halen's solo in "Beat It" is one of the all-time great hard rock shred fests.
Someone on a message board mentioned just how extraordinary a period 1982 to 1984 was for pop music, where you had a collection of music superstars who were so incredibly diverse: Michael Jackson, Madonna, the Police, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Duran Duran, Prince, Def Leppard, ZZ Top. Couple that with hip hop in its nascent stage, the ascent of the music video, and heavy metal's explosion, and it's easy to understand just how special a time it was for music back then, and how fortuitous I was to have begun my obsession with music during that period. Compare the sales numbers from that year to 25 years later, it'll dash any hopes for the future of the music industry.
Out of all the retro-thrash bands that were signed a couple years ago, Southern California's Warbringer seemed like one of the better ones, as their demo EP impressed me in 2007, as did their debut album last year. With their new one, though, they're starting to separate from the aviators-and-high-tops-sportin' pack...stylistically it still adheres faithfully to the thrash template set back in 1984, but throughout Waking Into Nightmares there are little hints of growth, whether it's a catchy melody that sneaks in, or subtle little progressive elements that pop up every so often. If you like the old-timey metal like I do, you should dig this one. My review is here.
Last month I did a little spur of the moment email interview with Simone Simons and Mark Jansen from the Dutch symphonic metal band Epica. Holland has really cornered the market as far as female-fronted melodic metal goes (The Gathering, After Forever, Within Temptation, Stream of Passion, impressive up-and-comers Delain), and Epica has been on a steady rise over the last five years, starting out as a strictly symphonic, operatic band (example), but has been slowly moving into more accessible territory (example), with Simons leading the way, quickly becoming one of the most recognizable female artists in the genre. Despite the fact that symphonic metal places great emphasis on grandiose orchestration, whether it's organic or sampled, few bands get the chance to play a live show with a full orchestra, and Epica recently had a chance to do just that. The end result is The Classical Conspiracy, an one-off performance in Hungary whose balance of classical pieces, popular movie scores, and original material had me rolling my eyes at first, but the concert turns out to be engaging, not to mention very well-executed. Anyway, it's quite a likeable stopgap release before their next album hits stores, and the interview made for a nice little feature piece, which went up at Hellbound.ca yesterday.
Lastly, I've been mulling over my choice for favourite Canadian metal album for an upcoming Canada Day dealy at Hellbound, and I was chatting with Sean Palmerston about how I was extremely picky when it came to Canadian metal from 1984 to 1986 because a) the music was often not up to snuff and b) whatever Canadian metal videos Much Music got their hands on, they played to death just to help to meet the CanCon quota during the Power Hour. From out of the blue Sean mentions Eudoxis, and I immediately thought, oh no. It had been some 23 years since I last thought of that awful band and the equally bad video that Much Music used to air repeatedly. And of course, "Metal Fix" is on YouTube. And idiot that I am, I watched the clip. And let me tell you, that song, that video, that band's image, all of it has not aged well at all. Yeesh. Thank goodness for Voivod.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Argh, where to begin? Might as well start with Iron Maiden's awesome DVD/CD extravaganza Flight 666, which I gleefully reviewed not once, but a couple of times. It's never hard for me to ramble on about my Favourite Band Ever, and man, have they ever put out a quality product this time around. With talented Canadian documentarians Sam Dunn and Scott McFayden tagging along, the band spent the better part of the spring of 2008 embarking on the now-legendary opening leg of their Somewhere Back in Time tour...you know the whole story, the awesome plane piloted by Bruce Dickinson, covering a tour itinerary unlike anything that's been attempted before. They pulled it off with nary a hitch, and the resulting documentary is outstanding, with cool glimpses of the inner workings of the massive tour, interviews with the band and crew, and tons and tons of spine-tingling live footage...however, what Dunn and McFayden are so good at bringing is a fan's perspective, and their ability to relate to and profile Maiden's devoted fans around the world turns out to be the film's best asset. The reactions are the same, from India, to Costa Rica, to Japan, to Canada, we were all just thrilled to have a chance to see these guys play, and even though they can't hit as many locales as they did 25 years ago, they always find a way to reciprocate the fan's loyalty, and Flight 666 is near perfect. My full PopMatters review is here, while a more brief piece can be read here. In addition, last Friday Hellbound ran a cool Maiden Day, in which a bunch of us wrote about our favourite Maiden albums. Live After Death has always been especially close to me, but for a change I decided to do a little piece on 1984's Powerslave, my fave of all their studio albums. So you can go read that here.
I've always had a soft spot for San Francisco's horribly underrated retro-metal masters Slough Feg, but to be honest I was a little apprehensive when it came to their new album, which is just a touch preoccupied with monkeys. All doubts were erased pretty much instantly, as Ape Uprising! turns out to be arguably the best record the veteran band has ever put out. Which is saying something. They've always been equal parts Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, and Iron Maiden, and in the past they've tended to be wildly unfocused, but on the new CD it's definitely not the case...these simians are definitely out for blood this time around, the record highlighted by the thrilling ten minute title track. Anyway, I had a lot of fun listening to and writing about this album, something I think is reflected in the review I wrote for Hellbound. If you like the old-timey metal as much as I do, you need to hear this one.
Also over at Hellbound, my review of the new Voivod album was posted, but I'll wait until my bigger piece at PopMatters is published before I go into further detail here. But it's no secret that I love it. Oh, but I will say how disappointed I am that Voivod won't be playing Saskatchewan on their cross-Canada tour with Down. Boooo.
Late summer/early fall is going to be pretty hectic, concert-wise out here, though...Clutch/Baroness, In Flames/Killswitch Engage/Between the Buried and Me/Protest the Hero (wow), DragonForce/Sonata Arctica (actual power metal in Saskatoon!), Children of Bodom/Black Dahlia Murder. Very nice.
Dirty Projectors are getting a heckuvalotta press as of late thanks to their breakthrough album Bitte Orca...they've always been an interesting band, I liked their very clever re-working of Black Flag a couple years ago, and the new record is quite nice, but there's a track that's such a shimmering blast of pure pop genius, outshining the other eight tracks so badly it's like a roman candle surrounded by birthday sparklers. When I heard "Stillness is the Move", I had to stop everything and pick my jaw up off the floor. Here's a glorious, minimally arranged track that walks a tightrope between electronic, indie, and R&B, a pair of girl singers crooning beautifully, a far cry from the more challenging vocal style of main dude Dave Longstreth. It's an utterly perfect, sublime five and a half minutes, and is currently skyrocketing my little mental list of favourite singles of 2009.
Lastly, to whoever's responsible for this stuff in Canada, legalize Spotify in this country ASAP! You can bet Apple's a bit worried, or at least they should be...this thing could wipe out itunes in no time.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Metal in 2009 got off so such a blazing start that by the time April rolled around and the first wave of stupendous releases started to taper off, it was very hard to get enthusiastic about most of what was coming out. That happens from time to time, you hear a few new releases that are so good, all you want to do is spin them over and over and not waste your time listening to anything that's inferior. But when you write about music, you have to keep your sights set forward, even if it means not being able to find the time to play the stuff you know is killer. It gets to the point where you're hoping like crazy that something will come along to re-ignite the passion for this music you know you have but has been smothered by lame deathcore bands and overbearing Christian metalcore. Some rejoiced upon hearing the new Coalesce album, others went nuts over the fine return to form by Suffocation, but while I think the Coalesce is good but a bit overrated (I don't care how venerable the band is, their arrangements might be brilliant but the hardcore vocals bore me to tears, like a monochrome guy walking amidst a Technicolor landscape) and the Suffocation is their best effort in years, the one new summer album that absolutely blew me away was by a band I wasn't expecting at all.
To me, Goatwhore was always a band that was very easy to like, but not really something that compelled me to become a total fan of. Their hearts were in the right place, they've been improving steadily with each album, and they have a very likeable, blue-collar approach, but aside from the odd track, I needed more of their songs to truly stand out. Enter their fourth album Carving Out the Eyes of God, an exercise in old school metal so punishing, so impeccable, so undeniably fun, that it's not only one of the best metal albums of the year, but the best thing Goatwhore has ever done, hands down. Although they often insert black metal blasting and picking as well as brutal death metal touches, the band has never shied away from the fact that they draw heavily from the early albums by Celtic Frost, Bathory, and Venom. Now, though, the blackened death is toned down considerably in favour of a flat-out, full-on assault of Celtic Frost riffs and tempos that alternate between double-time thrash and wicked mid-tempo grooves. In other words, right up my alley. Front to back, the ten tracks on the album are metal at its purest and simplest...you cannot say you love metal and not go absolutely loopy over this disc. There are always discussions and quarrels about what constitutes "true" metal and "false" metal...Carving Out the Eyes of God is metal in the truest sense, and when it hits stores next week, seek it out at once. You'll be bouncing off the walls in no time.
Anyway, it was when I was listening to the album two weeks ago that I figured the timing was perfect to do my June column about the band, and ten days after my very enjoyable conversation with vocalist Ben Falgoust, the piece has been published today at PopMatters. So go ahead and give it a read for an in-depth look at the album, the band, and the dude.
The Polaris Music Prize Long List was released on Monday, which is basically the first round of nominees, from which the Short List of ten albums will be culled in the next couple weeks. And it was cool to see all five of my choices make the first cut! Granted, my selections were of the Sorta Obvious variety, including Fucked Up (slam dunk for my #1), Handsome Furs (a huge, pleasant surprise at #2), Metric at #4 (say what you will, this is their best album to date), and old reliable (not to mention woefully underrated by Polaris) standbys Junior Boys rounding it out, but try as I did to hear as many new albums as I could, it was clear nothing was going to topple my five choices. At #3, though, was my more esoteric pick, that being Bison B.C....metal bands are always ignored by indie writers, the closest things to metal to make the Long List in the past being Protest the Hero and Cancer Bats, but with Bison B.C. getting enough votes, it marks the first time some real, actual (here comes that word again) TRUE metal has ever been nominated. Quiet earth won't make the short list, but this is still a small but very significant victory for both the band and Canadian metal. As for Long List surprises, the absence of A.C. Newman is a total shocker, the popular and affable Sebastian Grainger didn't make it, and neither did West Coast faves Mother Mother and the critically popular Jenn Grant. Propagandhi was passed over (Fucked Up being the token punk inclusion, I suppose), as was Saskatoon's Pitchfork-approved Deep Dark Woods. Dicey inclusions are the Stills, Patrick Watson, Joel Plaskett (I just don't get that guy's solo stuff at all), and Great Lake Swimmers (who bore me to tears). My short list predictions? I'll say Coeur de Pirate, Fucked Up, Great Lake Swimmers, Japandroids, Junior Boys (they're due), K'naan, One Hundred Dollars (great band), The Ubiquitous Joel Plaskett, Chad van Gaalen, and Women...
Monday, June 15, 2009
Some great news on the Decibel front, at least partially so, as they've begun posting album reviews in their entirety once again. I wish the same could be said for the feature articles, like they used to do, but this is definitely a step in the right direction...Decibel will undoubtedly be the last American metal print mag standing when all's said and done, but to stop developing a big web presence was a big mistake. The Deciblog has held its own very well, but you have to have some of the magazine writing online, at the very least. Anyway, the new issue has been out a while (but I only just got it last week), the one with the rather baffling Suffocation/Ensiferum/Necrophagist cover promoting the Summer Slaughter thing, and along with a feature piece on Daath (whose new album is ace and whose leader Eyal Levi is a mighty cool fella), which you can't read in full, I also have four album write-ups. I tackle the newest by Finland's great Amorphis, who've been on one heck of a roll ever since hiring new lead singer Tomi Joutsen, and whose new record is really, really good, highlighted by the killer single "Silver Bride". Then there's the much-anticipated new one by my beloved The Gathering, in which they emerge after the departure of the incomparable Anneke van Giersbergen with a new singer in former Octavia Sperati frontwoman Silje Wergeland. She does a good job, in fact she's never sounded better, but too many songs slip into sleepy, Pink Floyd style meandering. I don't hate it, but for a band that thrives on reinvention, it feels a little too predictable. Then there's Lazarus A.D., who along with Mantic Ritual is one of the finer thrash metal discoveries of the year so far. Not much to their new record, but it's quite catchy and fun, which is all you ask for when it comes to retro-thrash. I look forward to seeing them open for Bison BC next month. Lastly, there's Old Man's Child, the melodic black metal project by Dimmu Borgir guitarist Galder. It's not much of a departure from what he does with his main band, but what's cool about this project is that we get to hear just how versatile a musician he is, as opposed to playing strictly a supporting role. He's a good vocalist and strong songwriter, and there are times on the new album where his keyboard arrangements actually put his Dimmu bandmate Mustis to shame, smartly eschewing bombast for actual subtlety.
Meanwhile, over at PopMatters, my review of the blisteringly good new album by Agoraphobic Nosebleed appeared late last week. I'm extremely picky when it comes to grindcore, and I'll never hide the fact that the grind bands that interest me the most are the ones that constantly think outside the genre's very limited box, and first and foremost among those artists is guitarist Scott Hull, who has already transcended grindcore with the great Pig Destroyer, and is looking to achieve a similar feat with this long-running side project of his. And it's tremendous, the songs actually go somewhere, the riffs catchy, the lyrics sometimes perceptive and always hilarious, the artwork lavish and vulgar. While other folks are raving about the new Brutal Truth album, in all honesty, I greatly prefer Agorocalypse.
At Hellbound, I reviewed the latest by classical-inspired death metal band Fleshgod Apocalypse. While plenty of folks are raving about the supposed blend of classical and br00tal, I don't think it works at all. It's like oil and water; the band launches into a capable imitation of tech-death dudes Beneath the Massacre, there's a little piano interlude, and then it's back to the shredding and blasting. if you're going to make the Classical Thing a major part of your shtick like these guys have, you've got to combine both sides, and it's just not happening at all. As a technical death piece, it's good, but as a classical/death hybrid, it's a failure.
it was about two years ago when I first heard that Canadian metal veterans Anvil had made a documentary, and since then, it's been fun to watch the old geezers' career slowly snowball from tiny internet buzz on metal boards, to a very successful showing at Sundance in 2008, to some tremendous word of mouth in the fall, to an extended run in 2009, to mainstream magazine spreads, to a glowing review from Roger Ebert, to a whopping 82 score on Metacritic, to snagging the same managers as Metallica, to playing stadiums alongside AC/DC this summer. What a ride it must have been!
Anyway, Anvil! The Story of Anvil finally made it to my city this past weekend, and after such a long wait, it didn't disappoint. You can't make this stuff up...they go from garnering universal praise for their first three albums to working as caterers and contractors 25 years later, and when an Italian fan tells them she's able to book them a tour across Europe, the trip quickly goes from good, to bad, to worse, to utterly catastrophic. Still Lips Kudlow and Robb Reiner keep plugging away, scrounging up the cash to record their thirteenth album and desperately trying to find someone to put the record out. All the while their wives and families wonder just when enough is enough, when they'll realise this dream of theirs is unattainable, and there are times when the pair have their own serious doubts, but they remain defiantly enthusiastic, and the final moments of the film turn out to be triumphant, and rather sweet too. Though I do wonder why they are so bent on getting a major label to put out the album...that's clearly a deluded way to shop your album, especially when there are plenty of metal indie labels who could bite, like Century Media, Nuclear Blast, Cruz Del Sur, etc. At any rate, it's nice to see them putting the album out by themselves, with all the profits going to them. It's funny, though, their website looks like it's straight out of 1995, and you have to wonder if they were advised to keep it looking that hokey, sort of in keeping with the "lovable losers" image that the movie is banking on. Well, whatever works for you, and it sure seems to be working, at long last.
I'm also reminded how my one big regret from my days with Metal Edge was that I wasn't able to do a big piece on the band before it all exploded...all my pitches from early last year were all for naught, unfortunately. But it was great to do a little write-up on Metal on Metal in the Forgotten Classics feature!
Need to know more about Anvil? Try out "Metal on Metal", the title track from their classic 1983 album...I've said it before, if you were a Canadian metal fan in the 1980s, you knew this metal anthem by heart. Then there's the instrumental "March of the Crabs", a brilliant piece which predates the entire American thrash movement and highlights the musical dexterity of this young band...you hear this song and you understand why people like Lars Ulrich, Scott Ian, and Slash speak of Anvil with great admiration. If you want a specific moment where things really started to go bad for Anvil, though, look no further than "Mad Dog", which despite tons of publicity and loads of airtime on Much Music, failed to fuel the sales of 1987's Strength of Steel album. Plus the video is quite silly, kind of making the band look like a joke. Not a bad tune, though.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
It's been a busy week of listening, writing, and interviewing, so there's quite of bit of catching up to do here.
First off, the amazing new record by drone metal dudes Sunn O)))...they're a polarizing band, with some people lavishing praise upon everything they put out, and others not buying into their minimalist shtick at all. Personally, I fully acknowledge that the work of Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson is completely over the top in its pretentiousness, but in Sunn O)))'s case, or in metal in general, being full of yourself isn't exactly a bad thing. I've liked their past albums (I'm talking official full-length CD releases, not including all the special vinyl-only stuff they crank out), especially the pitch black feel of Black One and the superb collaboration with Boris Altar, but I think they've clearly outdone themselves on Monoliths and Dimensions. Not only is this four-track, nearly hour-long album their most ambitious to date, with about three dozen guest musicians contributing, but they step back just enough to let a little subtlety do its work. Sure, we get a track of massive distortion and scaaaary Attila Csihar vocals in "Aghartha" and a cool recycled Celtic Frost riff on the menacing "Hunting & Gathering (Cydonia)", but the surprising "Big Church", with its classy Eyvind Kang arrangement and the prominent use of a women's choir, and especially the shockingly beautiful, 16 minute "Alice" are total revelations. So slowly does Julian Priester's jazz trombone solo start to dominate the latter track, that we feel a thousand miles removed from the evil tones of "Aghartha" 40 minutes earlier. Another year-end contender, one that sounds even better in vinyl (sending writers just the 2xLP promo was an inspired move by the band), and one that will easily rank as my favourite album by this enigmatic band. Read my review for more.
Speaking of Sunn O))), the Richard Serra artwork got my attention immediately, or rather the artist's name...I kept thinking, why do I know that name? Then I remembered, he's the sculptor responsible for the wickedly cool Tilted Spheres piece, the massive steel sculpture in Terminal 1 at Toronto's Pearson airport. It always grabs my attention, and I can never pass it without walking through it. So naturally, that inspired the first bit of my Sunn O))) review.
Also up today is my short-ish review of a great new Brooklyn band called Blacklist. A discovery of the always reliable Jon Garrett, Blacklist is 80s goth through and through, but unlike all their hipster peers, they remember that late-80s goth was almost as pompous as metal, and Midnight of the Century brazenly goes for broke with big riffs, big drums, and big choruses, led by standouts like "Still Changes", "Shock in the Hotel Falcon", and ACE single "Flight of the Demoiselles", a song that would have been huge 22 years ago, but will likely be glossed over by indie kids who are unable to appreciate big guitar rock on an unironic level. Bit of a shame, because this is one great new band. But don't listen to the detractors, give this album a listen.
Back in March, I got the new Funeral Mist album Maranatha in the mail, and was absolutely floored by what I heard. Anti-Christian black metal is certainly nothing new, but this project by Marduk vocalist Arioch is so overblown, so malevolent, so mocking in its approach that you can't peel yourself away. Not to mention the riffs are incredible, whether on "Jesus Saves" or the 11 minute jaw-dropper "Blessed Curse", the lyrics turn out to be smarter than your average shtick, and Arioch's vocals have to be heard to be believed. This'll the the Watain of 2009, the one Scandinavian black metal album that will place prominently on the year-end lists of all the mags, just watch. Anyway, my review went up at long last.
Are you visiting Hellbound daily yet? The site's first week went well, the content is solid, and I continue to churn out the reviews. The latest includes a piece on the debut by Toronto deathcore band Starring Janet Leigh, which shows some promise but can't seem to find any hooks or passages that are actually memorable. Much better is the new one by Viking faves Tyr, which not only is as consistent as you'd expect, but is also willing to crank up the tempo now and again. My only gripe is that there are only two songs sung in Faroese...Tyr is always better off when singing in their native language, with this album's "Tróndur í Gøtu" a prime example. Norwegian, Faroese, Icelandic, and Danish all sound AWESOME in metal songs...metal and Vikings go hand in bloody-gloved hand. English, not so much.
I don't normally run out and buy a box set on the day it's released, ideas like that are often good birthday or Christmas suggestions, but with Neil Young's Archives Vol. I, an exception had to be made. Incredible to believe that I first heard of Young's project nearly 18 years ago, but at long last, after innumerable delays, the first installment is actually out. In order to get the full impact of the Archives project, the blu-ray format is clearly the way to go, with its astounding interactive capabilities and many free downloads to come in the future, but seeing that a) I don't have a PS3 and b)
the blu-ray edition costs somewhere in the vicinity of $340, I'm more than happy to go with the considerably more straightforward CD version. Like AMG says, compared to the immersive experience that the blu-ray offers, the eight-disc CD set skims the surface, but that's not to say it's anything but tremendous.
Some folks might be flabbergasted at how Archives doesn't fill out the CDs to capacity, but in addition to the fact that the definitive version is the blu-ray version, the key thing to remember here is that Archives was originally intended to continue where the triple-LP best-of Decade left off. So it's not a complete collection of albums, it's not a complete collection of rarities; it's more like a combination of the two, a way for us to witness firsthand the musical evolution of this Canadian genius. And
the growth we witness on disc one, Early Years (1963-1968) is fascinating. Compared to Bob Dylan, who left Minnesota determined to be a folk troubadour, Young was a pure rock 'n' roller, his Winnipeg-based band the Squires sounding a lot like the Ventures. In fact, when you hear his fuzzed-out lead guitar on "Aurora", recorded in the summer of 1963, though it's a lot tamer, you can hear what
would be his signature electric guitar sound. What's so impressive about this disc is just how good a songwriter Young was at the age of 18. Compare that to, say, Lou Reed's Velvet Underground demos, which sound amateurish, pretentious, and just plain unlistenable at times, Young sounds so well-developed. There are no throwaways, this stuff is actually good. He'd soon start coming up with classic acoustic tunes like "Sugar Mountain", and then he truly starts to come into his own with the songs he wrote and sung on with Buffalo
Springfield. All those essential tracks are there, including a wicked mono version of "Mr. Soul" I had never heard before, with one rarity, "Down, Down, Down", offering a tiny snippet of what would eventually become his Jack Nitzsche-produced masterpiece "Broken Arrow". And after those four years of musical development, we're hit with his
wonderful "I Am a Child", the first time we hear that classic Neil Young voice and arrangement, feeling as comfy and familiar as an old pair of shoes.
The other discs are phenomenal. The remasters of all the album cuts are glorious, while the three live CDs are all excellent. I already has the Fillmore East CD (a blistering recording of Crazy Horse circa 1970), but hadn't gotten the Massey Hall disc when it came out, which was a good move in retrospect, as it was cool to hear that performance for the first time as part as the Archives chronology. Of the eight CDs, it's tough to pick a favourite, but right now, Topanga 3 (1970), which covers the After the Gold Rush period, and North Country (1971-72) from the legendary Harvest sessions are both glorious. So contagious is this wonderful box set that you just want to keep going, starting with the Ditch Trilogy and zipping all the way through the 70s. Here's hoping that a) now that he has his desired format, Young will release Volume II in a much more timely manner, and b) that Time Fades Away will at long last see the light of day once again. In the meantime, though, Vol. I is a slam dunk for best reissue/compilation of 2009. Although it's a bit suspicious how we Canadians have been gouged for 25% more than the US catalogue price, when the loony is only about 9% cheaper than the UD dollar. Ah well, it's still easily worth it.
I watched the Criterion edition of Jean-Luc Godard's Pierrot Le Fou the other night, and while the film is at times a little too smug for its own good, a little scene like this one would come along and crack me up. They might be in a gangster hideout with guns all over the place and a dead body in the other room, but that doesn't stop Anna Karina from singing a cute little chanson tune to Jean-Paul Belmondo. And if that wasn't enough, long after the movie was over I couldn't get this song out of my head.
Lastly, this literal interpretation of Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" is the funniest musical YouTube parody I've seen since the infamous Trivium "twigadee" clip.
Monday, June 1, 2009
One can never have too many freelance opportunities, and I'm very proud to be a part of the brand-new Hellbound.ca, a brand-spankin' new, Canadian-based metal webzine. As I mentioned earlier this year, the unfortunate demise of three long-running, major metal print mags, Metal Edge, Metal Maniacs, and Unrestrained! left a huge hole as far as metal coverage goes. From a Canadian perspective, it's an especially dark time, as the tragic passing of our bud Adrian Bromley forced the abrupt end to Unrestrained!, while Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles is now reduced to a limp web presence where the message board is read a whole lot more than the actual main page and reviews. Someone had to pick up the slack, and that's where Hellbound comes in, as Sean Palmerston has enlisted the services of the Canadian alumni of the aforementioned three magazines, including my fellow Decibel scribe Kevin Stewart-Panko, Laura Wiebe-Taylor, Laina Dawes, Tate Bengtson, and yours truly, with more to come, so you can guarantee we'll be working hard not only to cover as much metal as we possibly can, but to also serve up plenty of good writing to boot. So bookmark it, RSS it, whatever, just make sure you make Hellbound one of your daily reads.
As it so happens, my first Hellbound piece appears today, in the form of a review of the swanky debut album by Toronto's Cauldron. One of the better discoveries from Earache's Heavy Metal Killers compilation from early this year (along with Sweden's Portrait), these guys clearly know a thing or two about classic heavy metal from right around 1984, when Banzai and Attic were the go-to labels for Canadian metalhead teens. It's a corny thing to say, but hearing something like "Chained up in Chains" totally takes me back to that era...heavy, but also incessantly hooky. As much as I enjoy the album, the clincher for me was the cover of Black 'N Blue's 1984 tune "Chains Around Heaven"...a faithful, note-for-note rendition, it encapsulates perfectly what Cauldron is all about. Old school all the way: fist pumping instead of moshing, racy album covers instead of garish depictions of violence, studded wristbands instead of overpriced hoodies, genuine songwriting skill instead of repetitive deathcore shredding. In other words, a total breath of fresh air compared to a lot of today's metal.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
When Black Sabbath's Mk III lineup reunited in 2007 (in case you're living under a rock, that's Iommi, Butler, Dio, and Appice), they looked and sounded so energized, that you just knew that if they could channel that energy into making a new album, the results would be great. Well, at least we hoped it would be the case, anyway. Fact is, the new Heaven and Hell album is awfully disappointing. it doesn't help, either, that the album's first single "Bible Black" turned out to be so good...aside from that one moment of inspiration, the rest of The Devil You Know absolutely pales in comparison, stuck in a horrible rut of plodding tempos, half-baked ideas, and some of Ronnie's dumbest lyrics to date. "Eating the Cannibals" just makes me cringe. Terrible. Anyway, if you need more convincing, go ahead and give my review a read. Then go listen to the new Candlemass album, and brace yourself for some top-notch, old-timey doom metal.
I've been revisiting Sabbath's 1983 album Born Again a lot lately, which has curiously never been released on CD in North America. Critically reviled when it first came out, it ushered in a very strange era for Sabbath, in which band members came and went at a Spinal Tap-esque rate, but this in retrospect was a mighty fine last hurrah, Ian Gillan stepping in nicely after the acrimonious split with Dio the year previous. It's not without its inconsistencies, but I'll go out on a limb and say that Side One, even though it consists of only three songs and two ambient pieces, it's as good a side as the band pulled off since Sabotage. "Trashed" is a rampaging opener (never mind the bizarre keyboards) infused with Gillan's trademark humour, "Disturbing the Priest" boasts an undeniably wicked, uncharacteristically atonal riff by Iommi that boggles the mid to this day, predating Sonic Youth. And oh my, if "Zero the Hero" isn't the most gloriously HEAVY heavy metal song ever. That song has been haunting me since 1985, it's so murky and unsettling, the mix so soupy, that guitar/bass groove during the verses slithering and lurching at the same time, a dead-on perfect encapsulation of menace, Iommi's great baroque masterpiece. The Gillan era was short-lived (watch this hilarious clip of Gillan reminiscing), as he'd quickly bolt back to Deep Purple to record the masterpiece Perfect Strangers, but Born Again went on to show surprising legs over the years, gaining a wider audience that could see with more clarity than we did in the mid-80s when the band was a walking joke. It's an album that begs for the re-release treatment...here's hoping the Sabbath camp eventually does so.
If you ask me, British rock music between 1991 and 1996 was one of the greatest eras in the history of popular music, and my new favourite song, "Rhubarb and Custard" by the all-girl band Poppy and the Jezebels dives into those old sounds with relish. Like the Stone Roses, it boasts a contagious dance beat with swirling psychedelic touches flitting about. Like early Blur, the band relies so heavy on their English affectations to the point of nearly sounding exaggerated (can you find a title more English than "Rhubarb and Custard"?). Like Belle and Sebastian and Camera Obscura, the song is hopelessly twee, but never cloyingly so. And like Sleeper frontwoman Louise Wener, singer Molly Kingsley can barely carry a tune, with that kind of oddly flat voice that can make certain singers so darn endearing. If you were a 90s Britpop nerd like I was (and still am), you'll dig this track, no question. Besides, with a title like that, how can I not love this song? I love custard, and I looooove rhubarb. My song of the summer right here.
Everything seems to seem better when interpreted through Lego, and this "performance" of Metallica's "Whiplash" is no exception. So awesome, from the perfectly timed drumming, to the pyro, to the synchronized headbanging, to the killer guitar solo, to the crowdsurfing dude. Perfect.
Speaking of snappy pop rock sung by girls, the Sounds' new single "No One Sleeps When I'm Awake" is a classy slice of 80s style pop, as those likable Swedes are wont to do.
Monday, May 25, 2009
My latest column appeared last week, and I think it's a good one, as I profile the great french band Amesoeurs. I'd been waiting eagerly for their debut full-length since late 2007, as my introduction to Alcest (my favourite album of that year) led me to explore the other musical projects of singer/songwriter Neige. While Alcest tends to focus on themes of innocence and nature against a blackened shoegaze backdrop, his band Amesoeurs is almost the complete opposite, focusing more on arrangements that mine the bleaker side of post punk (Joy Division, Chameleons, Virgin Prunes three huge influences) and lyrics centred around our increasingly urbanized world. And the self-titled new album doesn't disappoint one bit...I've been listening to it since february and have yet to tire of its classy blend of darkwave and black metal. The harsher tracks like "Trouble" and "Recueillement" are fantastic, but the album is truly at its best when Neige steps aside and lets bassist Audrey Sylvain take over on lead vocals, and as I say in my Decibel review, her dreamy singing reminds me a lot of the great dreampop/shoegaze sirens that used to dominate the roster of 4AD twenty years ago. It's bleak, it's sombre, but it's also drop-dead gorgeous at times ("La Reine Trayeuse" always gets me), a lock for my year-end top ten. Anyway, I interviewed both Neige and guitarist Fursy Teyssier and came away with plenty of outstanding responses, so give the piece a read, they're interesting, insightful guys.
Ironically, in a column where I write at length about one of the coolest bands of 2009, I completely wipe away any semblance of Metal Cred I still had (if at all) in the sidebar. Yes, it's true, I like IWRESTLEDABEARONCE. They're without a doubt the most polarizing metal band to come our way in quite some time, and it doesn't take long to figure out why so many people absolutely hate them. They play an ADD-riddled mess of electro, grindcore, jazz fusion, and metal. They have a ridiculous habit of inserting arbitrary pop culture references in their arrangements and their song titles. They scored one of 2008's most inexplicable sleeper hits with "Tastes Like Kevin Bacon", which in turn started a bidding war between labels, with Century Media ultimately emerging victorious, which led to a groundswell of hype well before the band's first album was even recorded. And to cap it all off, heaven forbid, they look like scene kids, and not like a metal band at all. I heard their debut EP last year, and while it didn't exactly blow me away (its lack of focus often distracting), there were parts that had me mildly impressed, namely the insane guitar chops and the surprising range of vocalist Krysta Cameron. It's All Happening, though, was quite impressive. The eclecticism is still there, but it's been harnessed enough to let the hooks emerge, whether it's a hardcore riff, discordant passage, or catchy vocal melody (as on "You Ain't No Family" and "The Cat's Pajamas"). Above all, it's fun, I've been listening to it a lot these last three weeks and get a real kick out of it. That said, I've seen a few video interviews with them, and they seem too preoccupied with being funny, which is incredibly annoying, so I'm curious as to whether these kids can actually give an actual, serious interview, or if they're complete frauds who just lucked out with a chaotic yet compelling album. For now, I just give them credit for at least attempting to set themselves apart from the rest of the young sound-alike deathcore hacks out there, which in my opinion is far more painful to listen to.
Shifting gears completely, it was sad to read the news of Jay Bennett's passing on Sunday night. I'm not going to be one of those dummies who pompously declares that Bennett was what made Wilco great, but but I will say that it's not much of a coincidence that after he left following the making of the undeniable classic Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco's music has been on a swift decline ever since. The dude's multi-instrumental prowess brought an intangible to Wilco that they could never replace, something you can hear on a track like "Pot Kettle Black", which Idolator points out that Bennett contributed feedback, electric guitars, mellotrons, synth, B-Bender electric guitars, and manual keyboard effects.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Three new albums have been reviewed for PopMatters, and all three, for the most part anyway, are well worth checking out. The one iffy title is the latest by the chronically inconsistent yet confoundingly likable Lacuna Coil. They've been taking a fair bit of heat for 'Americanizing' their sound after helping popularize early-2000s goth metal, but as I say in my review, and always have been saying, no matter how many Big Dumb Nu Metal Riffs they bring in, the hooks almost always redeem the songs. But how does Shallow Life compare to 2006's Karmacode, you might be wondering? Well, it's a lot more streamlined and pop-oriented, with Linkin Park producer Don Gilmore playing a significant role, clearly aimed at modern rock instead of mere metal, as evidenced by such tracks as "I Won't Tell You", "I Like It", "Not Enough", and the grower of a lead single "Spellbound". Whether you prefer this album or the last one depends solely on what you like in your guitar rock...Karmacode was heavier, but the hooks on the new CD are slicker and well-developed, and both Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro sound stronger than they ever have. However, why the band continues to give the flat-voiced Ferro just as much lead vocal time as the infinitely more talented Scabbia remains the most frustrating aspect of this band. Of course there are the ubiquitous hiccups, as the middle of Shallow Life bogs down, but overall it holds up decently. Sure, their metal cred is nonexistent by now, but if they don't care, why should we? Besides, I'll take Lacuna Coil over Disturbed or Linkin Park in a heartbeat.
Last year I had the pleasure of meeting Norwegian singer-songwriter Hanne Hukkelberg and being treated to a mind-bogglingly powerful, intimate little concert at Propeller Studios in Oslo. When I heard her songs, they defied description, falling somewhere between Jon Brion, Kurt Weill, the Pixies, and adorable Icelanders Mum, the instrumentation eclectic but very tastefully arranged, with Hukkelberg's affable, unpretentious, almost playful voice drawing us in. Since then, her first two albums have gotten the chance to settle in nicely, preparing me for her new one, which is absolutely her finest work yet. The formula is similar on Blood From a Stone, stark yet warm, with cool found objects serving as percussion, but the songs themselves are a little more extroverted, some even bearing a rote rock format, with nearly every track coming with an undercurrent of doom that threatens to sweep us under. It's an extraordinary album, and my full review is here.
Also up is my piece on the new covers album by the insanely prodigious Toronto drone duo Nadja. Covers albums rarely if ever work, but this one does, very well at times in fact. Most of the song selections are very obvious (My Bloody Valentine, Swans, Codeine), but it's the surprises that end up being the most rewarding tracks, from Elliott Smith's "Needle in the hay", to the Cure's "Faith", to Slayer's "Dead Skin Mask", to the masterful reading of a-ha's "The Sun Always Shines on TV". I actually wrote about this album for the special issue of Decibel that I mentioned a short while back, and although I prefer that review to this one, give either a read and try the album out, you might be surprised. I know I was.
I have some interesting piece in this month's issue of Decibel, as well. First up is my piece on the underrated progressive thrash band Believer, whose new album is not only their first since the early-90s, but turns out to be a very worthy comeback effort, one well worth seeking out. Oh, and that makes it two times in a couple months I've interviewed guitarist/vocalist Kurt Bachmann...he's a really nice guy, a pleasure to talk to. In addition, I have a shorter article on Italian progressive black metal band JANVS, whose recent album floored me a few months ago, a record good enough to qualify for my 2008 metal albums list, had I been savvy enough to hear it on time. At any rate, it's a great album, and band leader Vinctor is an interesting fella. Review-wise, I only have two appearing for some reason: first, the excellent first (and last) album by France's Amesoeurs, which is one of my most-played albums of the year so far, and secondly, the debut album by Swedish retro-metalers Portrait, which those who grew up with old school early-80s, Banzai Records metal like I did, will totally appreciate. Two KILLER, not to mention completely OPPOSITE albums that you really must hear.
It's hard to believe that the release of Neil Young's Archives Vol. 1 is actually imminent after all these years, but it's happening, and we can now sample one of the discs here. It's enough to make me wish I had a blu-ray player, but as long as I have the CDs and accompanying book, I'll be more than happy. This set is going to be incredible.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
It can happen when you least expect it, you do so much music writing and listening to new tunes, especially a lot of mediocre ones, that the passion for new music suddenly dissipates. After such a strong start to 2009, April started to stagnate really quickly for yours truly, with not very many new albums even coming close to the good stuff that had appeared during the first quarter of the year. When this rut sets in, I always find myself looking for that one moment to reignite the spark, and while things have definitely been on the upswing as of late with the new albums by Camera Obscura, Isis, and Hanne Hukkelberg (more on her in my next post), I just knew that if there was one great chance to bring the fun back, it was Paganfest.
I love going to metal shows, but lately no matter how good the bands, it's started to feel a little like a chore, with ugly venues, unforgiving concrete floors, and crowds that were more angry than exuberant, and a couple weeks ago I said to a bud, "I just want to smile at a metal show again." Well, enter the lovable yoiking Finnish humppa kings Korpiklaani, headliners of the second (hopefully) annual Paganfest tour. Witnessing the pagan metal phenomenon while traveling with the 2008 tour was a revelation, and this year's lineup was so good that I would have really regretted missing out, so when a scheduled visit to Edmonton coincided with the date of the show, it was perfect timing. As it turns out, this was one long show that didn't feel long at all.
I was quite shocked to learn at about 5:30 that the first band band, American pirate metalers Swashbuckle, was going on at 6:15, which probably has something to do with the weird location of the Starlite Room, which is right next to a seniors' high-rise. So there must have been a curfew or something, because that's just a completely bizarre time to start a raucous, beer-fueled show. I was nowhere near ready to go, and I wasn't overly excited about the band anyway (first, I think Alestorm is a much better pirate metal band, and also I was a little annoyed that they were chosen to replace Eluveitie, who would have really rounded out an incredible bill). So by the time I'd made my way downtown and found a parking spot, Montreal band Blackguard was well into their set. I've been a fan of the band going back to their days when they were called Profugus Mortis, their first album really blowing me away back in early 2007, so it was nice to finally see them live, even if it was only three songs. I think I prefer the early stuff with the original violin player as opposed to the synths they use now, but still, their blend of black metal and folk metal was cool in a predictable, Ensiferum kind of way, the set capped off with soon-to-be signature song "This Round's on Me". Oh, and their drummer Justine is quite incredible.
Travelling with last year's Paganfest tour, everyone kept telling me how great Moonsorrow, Primordial, and Korpiklaani all were live (by the way, it was great to say hi to a couple of the guys in the crew who remembered me from last year's tour), and their descriptions were dead-on. Moonsorrow was quite workmanlike during their 45 minute, five-song set, but after starting out sounding rather thin, things came together very nicely, the set highlighted by the epic (and do these Finns know a thing or two about sounding epic) "Jotunheim". I recall reading about how they had only one guitarist when they played in Toronto and Montreal, so it was very cool to see them with a full band lineup a few weeks later A very good set when all was said and done, and the night was only just getting started. The set list:
Raunioilla
Kylän Päässä
Jotunheim
Pakanajuhla
Sankaritarina
Primordial's last two albums were incredible leaps forward after a long period of musical evolution, and although I was aware of the Irish band's sterling reputation as a live act, I didn't exactly know just how good they'd turn out to be. No, make that great. Vocalist Nemtheanga is a dude I admire a lot, his lyrics are always thoughtful, his editorials always eloquent, and he's got one heck of a voice. But wow, does that tall fella ever cut a striking figure onstage. His shorn head covered in creepy corpse paint, he strode onstage in a big black trenchcoat, his combat boots giving him a decidedly militant look, and from the second he declared, "We are Primordial from the Republic of Ireland,", the venue was his, as he sung, bellowed, roared, gesticulated, and commanded over the audience. It was a revelation, he's as powerful a metal frontman as I have ever seen, and the 45 minute set was thrilling to witness, highlighted by "Empire Falls" and the downright gorgeous "The Coffin Ships", two of my favourite songs of theirs. This is one band I would love to see again and again. Here's hoping we get a new album soon. The set list:
Empire Falls
Gods to the Godless
As Rome Burns
Sons of the Morrigan
The Coffin Ships
Heathen Tribes
A lot of folks tend to think that metal music should be only centered around doom and gloom, but I beg to differ. The first time I heard Korpiklaani, back in 2005, I loved it instantly. The music celebrated the band's Finnish heritage and the band tastefully incorporated native instrumentation, but above all else, they clearly knew how to have fun, given such booze-fueled anthems as "Happy Little Boozer", "Wooden Pints", "Let's Drink", and the aptly named "Beer Beer". Their devotion to Finnish humppa, which itself is derived from German polka, makes their style of music quite nerdy (what with the accordion, fiddle, flutes, and who knows what else), not to mention a bit off-putting to some more extreme metal fans, but I find it impossible to dislike, and although the band churns out albums at an annual rate, each sounding just like the last one, it's a shtick that never gets old. And it was very nice to see I wasn't the only one who thought that way, as the floor quickly filled up with revelers. This was one show where there was no negativity among the crowd, it was very, very energetic but happy and respectful, completely devoid of thuggish behaviour. Just a great vibe of positivity, reflected in the faces of the band, led by the diminutive, dreadlocked, hobbit-looking guitarist/singer Jonne Järvelä, who, in addition to resembling a younger version of the band's forest-dwelling mascot, was all smiles, bouncing around, jigging unashamedly. At first the mix was a bit dicey, but a couple songs in the accordion and violin were easy to hear in the mix, which, thankfully, was loud but not loud enough to destroy my hearing (I'd forgotten to bring my good earplugs). It was cool to see this band is unafraid to perform instrumentals, as they played around four or so, but the folks were there for the alcohol songs, which the band all dutifully delivered, including the new single "Vodka", off their upcoming album which I am eagerly anticipating. "Happy Little Boozer" was my fave, but "Beer Beer" got the craziest response, the booze literally flowing during that tune, the pit a gleefully bizarre combination of moshing and dancing. They're the metal equivalent of a pub band, the epitome of pure joy, the perfect capper to a night that saw metal music become fun again, instead of being merely a chore. Happy little, happy little, happy little boozer, happy little, happy little, happy little boozer... The set list:
Journey Man
Korpiklaani
Cottages And Saunas
Viima
Tuli Kokko
Vodka
Pellonpekko
Paljon On Koskessa Kiviä
Pine Woods
Wooden Pints
Happy Little Boozer
Hunting Song
Beer Beer
Encore:
Let's Drink
Tervaskanto
Friday, May 8, 2009
Deadline week's always busy, but this month's was particularly crazy. It certainly didn't help things that I had unwittingly volunteered to review what would turn out to be one of the worst metal albums of the year. Want a hint? The band's name rhymes with Smuicide Smilence. That's exactly the kind of garbage that just kills your enthusiasm for new music, but you're stuck spinning it over and over to try and get a handle on it enough to write a lucid, well-informed review. Well, with this album, I thought enough is enough. Sometimes you just have to toss 'being nice' out the window. But anyway, more on that in a couple months when the review appears in Decibel. On to some housekeeping before I head out west for a few days.
In the meantime, the reviews just keep piling over at PopMatters. First and foremost, the amazing new slab by post metal icons Isis, which has been blowing me away for the past three months. I've always admired this band, but to be honest, I never really felt a true emotional connection to their music until this one. You're probably thinking, is this dude saying what I think he's saying? Basically, yes...this could be, in my own blaspheming opinion anyway, Isis's best album to date. Like I mentioned back in February, Wavering Radiant is all about song dynamics instead of that same old ebb and flow they relied so heavily on in past years, there's more texture, more fluidity, stronger melodies, better production. An enthralling, beautiful album that is slowly turning into (here we go again) one of the year's best albums.
Also appearing at PopMatters is my piece on the new CD by Victoria's indie darlings Immaculate Machine. At first I was a little put off by a) the album's rather odd musical direction and b) the noticeable absence of Kathryn Calder on lead vocals, but its relaxed, comfortable vibe (it was recorded in guitarist Brooke Gallupe's parents' house, apparently) grew on me pretty quickly. Although I still prefer the more polished indie pop of their last album, there's no denying that it's a fun, lively, surprisingly eclectic little record, definitely a much better than average indie disc. But you might want to try before you buy.
Back in March I spent an absolutely crazy couple days writing six full reviews for a special free issue of decibel that was put out last month on Record Store Day, including Karl Sanders of Nile, Hull, Goes Cube, Nadja, Reign Supreme, and Thick as Blood. Out of all those albums, my favourite was the debut by Brooklyn's Hull, who fit somewhere between the bruising sounds of Neurosis and the more economic style of Tombs. The album shows a ton of potential, they show a lot of musical versatility, and they also boast a total of four different lead singers, which adds a cool bit of diversity. The little Decibel issue turned out to be real cool, complete with a wicked sampler CD (no Hull, though), but if you never got out to Record Store Day (nobody in Saskatoon participated, much to my shock, but then again, it's always Record Store Day in my goofy insular little world), the boys in Hull have posted my review on their MySpace page. So head over there, read my review, and give a listen to their tunes posted there. If you miss the sludgy riffs of early Mastodon, you will really dig these guys, I think.
One other quick note, the new album by Canada's beloved metal legends Voivod is really, really good. I've been listening to it for the past week, and was initially finding it to be a much darker album than 2006's exuberant Katorz, but when I talked to drummer Michel "Away" Langevin on Wednesday he interestingly enough explained how he sees it as the total opposite, how Katorz was a difficult, depressing album for him (coming months after guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour passed away) and how Infini actually feels like a rather sunny record to him. It's all about perspective, something I found fascinating enough to base my Decibel story on, so watch for that one in July. Well, I think July. Anyhoo, Infini is a ripping good album, and I'm especially enjoying three tracks right now, the slow, menacing "Destroy After Reading", the punkish "Global Warning", and the awesome album closer "Volcano", which doesn't hide its Discharge/Motorhead influence one bit. The album's out in June, but you can sample "Earthache" and the aforementioned "Global Warning" here.
