Cerebral Metalhead

GO: Midnight/Saviours/Lightning Swords of Death, 5/14/11 @ The Roxy in L.A.

2011-05-09T00:51:00.000-07:00

How about we pretend that it hasn't been five months since I've posted. Agreed? Agreed. Day jobs and paid writing work and girlfriends take precedence. And I've been listening mostly to jazz in my free time, which means that metal has taken a backseat. Gotta admit -- after a few weeks straight of Coltrane, Miles, Monk, Mingus, Bill Evans, Joe Henderson and Brad Mehldau, the new Izegrim and Hyperborean records sound pretty aces. Call it Joni Mitchell syndrome. Ya don't know what you got 'til it's gone. I'm happy metal is back in my life.

More than any record though, I've missed going to metal shows over the last couple months. That's why I'm looking forward to Scion's next free metal matinee, coming up this Saturday at the Roxy in L.A. And also why I'm going to insist that you join me.

Midnight, Saviours and Lightning Swords of Death are all on their "7 Days of Plague" west coast tour. The whole shebang is presented by the good gents at OvrCast and City of Devils but Scion's footing the bill for this particular show (tourmates Archons will sadly not be joining them on stage for this particular stop). It's a perfectly curated lineup, presenting three very different styles that oughta balance out like the ideal imperial IPA, brutally bitter but loaded with the sweet stuff too. Saviours (reviewed here) will provide the riffy hesher fodder. LSOD (reviewed here) will provide the soot-choked atmosphere. If there is a pit (Scion's metal matinees aren't known for 'em) then Midnight will be its genesis. Featuring Jamie Walters of Toxic Holocaust/Nunslaughter fame, Midnight's all off-the-rails blackened punk. All of these guys are road dogs so the sets oughta be tight, or at least loose in that tight way that only a great punk-metal band can do..

As with all Scion shows, this one's free. But you must RSVP here. See you in the pit.

Midnight: myspace.com/athenarsmidnight
Saviours: myspace.com/saviours666
Lightning Swords of Death: myspace.com/lightningswordsofdeath

Nile - Live @ Key Club, 11/16/10

2010-12-29T18:21:00.000-08:00

Nile - "Kafir," live at the Key Club, 11/16/10

Here's my new year's resolution: grow some balls. The cramped quarters of the Key Club's merch area, squeezed in between the men's and ladies' bathroom, almost requires interaction with band members. And despite the many times I had to pee during the L.A. stop of the Nile/Ex Deo/Psycroptic/Keep of Kalessin tour, I didn't work up the nerve to talk to a single musician. I made eye contact with KoK's vocalist Thebon but opted not to tell him how much I loved Armada andKolossus. Nile's Ra-like frontman Karl Sanders (whose last solo album I reviewed here) stood at the Nile table, and while I debated telling him how much I respected his pedagogical commitment to Egyptian mythology vis-a-vis death metal, the best I could manage was purchasing a sweet keychain bottle opener from the merch girl. Karl, just know that I will henceforth dedicate each brew that I open with my Nile opener to Tenenet.

But I come to praise Nile, not to drink with them. The band's riffing has long been some of death metal's most spectacular, weaving in Arabian modes, heave-ho string bends and exotic instrumentation amidst the fingerblur. All the surface uniqueness of Nile's music came across just fine in Nile's second L.A. stop of 2010. Even more impressive, lickety-split songs like "Permitting the Noble Dead to Descend to the Underworld" sounded surprisingly huge -- rounded, air-sucking, supremely heavy. Maybe it was the band's gear. Maybe it was a natural result of the increased emphasis on ass-shaking on their last release, Those Whom the Gods Detest. Whatever the cause, Nile sounded every bit as regal and dominant as the arriving gods that so many of their songs portend.

Nile - "Hittite Dung Incantation," live at the Key Club, 11/16/10

Once a band for guitar worshippers, Nile have emerged as fantastic vocal hookists. "There is no god but god / There is no god!" from "Kafir" is easily 2009's most memorable metal lyric, and barely a song was played at the Key Club that didn't have a shout-along refrain. The entire club sang along with the darkened melody of "Those Whom the Gods Detest"'s chorus, no doubt sympathizing with the song's unrepentant message: "Impenitent / I blaspheme the sacred scrolls / Unwilling to submit / I embrace what Ra hath called profane." Add that alongside "No life 'til leather" to the list of heavy metal's unofficial slogans.

There was a time when I found Nile's deep-throated death growls too hard to stomach. At the Key Club, they were my favorite part of the show. Karl Sanders, Dallas Toler-Wade and live bassist Chris Lollis traded off lows and mids on Gods Detest standout "Hittite Dung Incantation." Death metal tends to focus on the talents of the individual, but there Nile was, snarling three-part gang vocals about warding off demons via dog feces. It was a jarringly powerful experience to hear three men step confidently up to their microphones and simultaneously utter their own take on the same horrid incantation, like a death metal Rashomon with all versions overlapping.

There's nothing surprising about Nile playing everything perfectly. We should expect musical perfection (this is different from technical perfection) from top-tier bands. What separated this show from most death metal shows is the band's freewheeling, confident energy. Full-band fist-pumps were plentiful at the Key Club, as were smiles from the always-affable Sanders. I was most drawn to bassist Lollis (front and center in the above videos), who moved with an impish energy I rarely see onstage. He lunged up and in to his microphone as he growled, holding his bass nearly upright when not crouching low in communion with the heaviness. Lollis and his bandmates are obviously moved by this music, and it helps immeasurably to move me.

********

Nile spend January/February 2011 on tour in Europe. Check the dates here.

Vaulting - "We Are the Cavalry" Video

2010-11-25T10:58:00.000-08:00

So. It's Thanksgiving. The best of us will try to extrapolate some meaning from the holiday, acknowledging the sad truths about its origins (check out this link for some background -- courtesy of Mama Rosenbloom) while setting aside some time to remember how lucky we are to congregate with people we love. The rest of us will walk like tryptophan zombie sheep through an annual cycle, visiting our families out of a combined sense of affection and obligation (the exact proportions depend on the family). We will stuff ourselves, get drunk, talk about nothing in particular, and wake up early the next day to participate in the disgusting communal ritual of "Black Friday." Another year, another Thanksgiving come and gone. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Germany has its own version of Thanksgiving, a religious celebration called Erntedankfest (literally "harvest festival of gratitude" - read more here). As far as I know, the gents in German death/grind act Vaulting didn't intend the song "We Are the Cavalry" to relate to Thanksgiving. But its lyrics -- like many grindcore lyrics -- handily address how easy it is to turn a meaningful process (in this case, being in a band) into something mechanical:

Birdie, sleep well
Far glimpse from hell
Boredom an insecure partner to keep you from death
Rest in your shell
Distant music sounds
Radio, party starts, let's exercise our art
They begin, let us in
Let us go, do our show
We will rock, time to shock
Celebrate, lacerate
Is this honourful?
Staring down, stripped down
Defiled pride
And without a whisper
We are the cavalry

Their video for the song, directed and edited by Vaulting's guitarist Matthias Gathof, captures that same idea: the suffocating, ritualized normalcy of white-collar life is leading us to spiritual suicide. Again, that's an idea that grindcore bands have hammered home since Napalm Death's debut, Scum. What's more interesting about this video is how plain the shots of Vaulting are. Grindcore's full-frontal assault is broken into its constituent parts, set against stark white backdrops. Precisely-picked guitar strings. Quivering snare and kickdrum heads. A mouth, opening wide to scream. These are the mundane details that still remain powerful. These are the rituals for which I remain eternally thankful.

Download or stream Vaulting's excellent Modis Humanis EP at the band's Bandcamp site.

Exhausted Prayer / Dreaming Dead - Fall Into Ruin Tour Begins Tonight

2010-10-20T23:40:00.000-07:00

I'm coming out of semi-hibernation to help spread the word about a West Coast tour that I would see every night had I the time, financial means and ability not to come off as creepy for treating underground metal bands like the Grateful Dead. Exhausted Prayer share provenance (Los Angeles) and a drummer (Mike Caffell) with Dreaming Dead, whose debut Within One (reviewed here) was my favorite record of 2009. They're also two of the more unassumingly thrilling live bands around. No synchronized headbanging or live goat sacrifices, just a sense that you're watching/hearing something special unfold before your eyes/ears.

In Exhausted Prayer's case, it's how they pretzelize familiar black metal tropes into unfamiliar shapes -- sometimes twisty and muscular, sometimes hazy and dissolute. These dudes have finally finished their first album in five years, Worst of All Possible Worlds (previewed here), so chances are they'll be debuting plenty of new stuff.

You also need to see Dreaming Dead's Elizabeth Schall. She's a terrific guitarist with an elegant approach to riffcraft and fluidly melodic soloing style (I often hear her described as Chuck Schuldiner incarnate). And while her femaleness doesn't really have anything to do with her talent, it's tough to ignore that such rarefied death metal chops are coming from a kind of person that isn't normally in a death metal band. The rest of the band plays regally. Dreaming Dead are nearly done with their second album Midnightmares. They just released the video to the new track "Overlord," which they'll undoubtedly be unleashing live.

Go see these bands on tour, and tell them I sent you. They'll probably scratch their heads quizzically and ask if you want to buy a t-shirt.

EXHAUSTED PRAYER / DREAMING DEAD "FALL INTO RUIN" TOUR:

10/21 - The Red Hat - Concord, CA

10/22 - Monstros Pizza - Chico, CA

10/23 - Plan B - Portland, OR

10/24 - Cretin Hop - Spokane, WA

10/25 - Galway Arms - Seattle, WA

10/26 - Le Voyeur - Olympia, WA

10/27 - The Gup - Eugene, OR

10/28 - Burnt Ramen - Richmond, CA

10/29 - On the Y - Sacramento, CA

10/30 - Three Clubs - Los Angeles, CA

D.I.S. - Critical Failure (Deep Six Records, 2010)

2010-08-24T21:50:00.000-07:00

It took me a long time to understand why D.I.S. (Destroyed In Seconds) guitarist Leon del Muerte would ever willingly quit Intronaut. After seeing him play in Phobia and Murder Construct (just signed to Relapse!), I started to understand. And D.I.S.'s debut Critical Failure clinches it: Del Muerte prefers the direct to the oblique, the visceral to the heady. And that means unfiltered death metal, punk, thrash and grind.

"Fake"

Of course, del Muerte is just one-fifth of D.I.S., a band full of old-school punk/metal lifers and lovers. Vocalist Mike Fisher spent the late 80s in the speedcore act No Warning; guitarist Bruce Reeves played in SoCal grind stalwarts Phobia for 15 years; bassist Kent Elmore did time with Reeves in sludge act Mange; drummer Sean Vahle's played with Eat the Living for a decade. D.I.S. play Swedey d-beat and sloppy crossover thrash with the dirty telepathy of a band that's been in the trenches for years and knows what to give a fuck about and what deserves the middle finger.

"Lamentations"

In the former category: power, simplicity, aggression, momentum. In the latter: anything that takes away from the elements of the former. D.I.S.'s version of "stirring the pot" is limited to a brief guitar solo where one of their influences might've left it out, or the occasional blastbeat where, say, Discharge never would. That's just fine when the performances are this ferocious, the songs so varied while still staying firmly within the realm of the old-school. As much as it'll please aging punkers, Critical Failure can't quite be considered a throwback record. It would've been way advanced for the mid-80s. It's destructive now. Or rather...a few seconds from now.

You have very little time to visit D.I.S.'s MySpace page

BUY:

Deep Six Records

Power It Up (Germany)

CHAINMAIL: Drowned Sorrow - Fittings at the Coffin Shop EP (self-released, 2010)

2010-08-13T03:20:00.000-07:00

The CHAINMAIL section reviews bands that were proactive enough to contact me directly. Here at Cerebral Metalhead, initiative is rewarded.

I like The Red Chord. A whole lot. So do Long Island's Drowned Sorrow. On their first official EP Fittings at the Coffin Shop, Drowned Sorrow synthesize many of the same metal-, grind- and deathcore elements as THC, but the similarities run deeper than genre signifiers. Both bands respect their listeners enough to keep them pummeled, embodied and slightly off-kilter at all times. Groove is rarely absent from Fittings, and unexpected guitar leads, tempo changes and textures abound. Some songs could use more transitional finesse, but a song like "Deception Waves Hello" invalidates its songwriting seams through sheer burliness. This EP was written for the high-minded pit-o-phile, not the stay-at-home grindcore fan.

"Receiving Presents at a Funeral"

Drowned Sorrow's wildcard is Dan Roberts, a vocalist who never met a trebly tic he wasn't willing to indulge. Roberts has a hardcore bark that would make his NYHC scenesmates proud, an abrasive tenor scream, a weak death metal growl and the occasional mid-song spoken phrase (my favorite of his hardcore Barry White-isms: "Being damned is not an honor / Yet you bring the confetti"). He deploys all of them, always. The constant switching is impressive enough from a technical standpoint and sounds smoothly integrated. It's also more distracting than commanding. For a band whose sound already has so much going on, I don't need any distractions.

Throw a few back (and hear the entire EP) at Drowned Sorrow's MySpace page

BUY:

drownedsorrow.com (CD)

Facebook (MP3)

Ovrcast 5th Anniversary - Friday the 13th in L.A.!

2010-08-11T21:09:00.002-07:00

As the price of a concert heads towards nil, my interest in attending it often heads the same direction. Why would a worthwhile band choose to play a slapped-together free show when they stand to make more money from a door charge at a proper club? And if there's a major sponsor footing the bill, who am I really supporting by attending?

Years before Scion and Converse began investing beaucoup marketing bucks in metal, Martin de Pedro and his Ovrcast Productions were putting together free metal gigs in Los Angeles. And although they could certainly use the money to help fund their nicely-curated label, Martin and Ovrcast have never wavered from their vision of uniting underground bands with underground band-fans, without a mandatory transaction fee between the two.

Thanking Martin in person is one of two reasons to attend Ovrcast's 5th Anniversary show, happening tomorrow at The Blvd. The other is the typically great lineup. Black Cobra (reviewed here) are on tour like 580 days a year, so you know they're well-oiled. Huntress (reviewed here) started out awesome, and they just keep getting better and better with each show. Valdur (reviewed here) and Harassor offer black metal in polar opposite styles, while It's Casual and The Fucking Wrath (reviewed here) poison the evening with punk. Howl are riding off waves of great press for their new album on Relapse, and Lions of Tsavo's unsung last record Firelung slaughters too much ass to mention (or sing about, apparently). Upsilon Acrux (reviewed here) are not metal in any way (or any genre, really), but they make much better use of their two-drum lineup than Kylesa or The Melvins.

So go to The Blvd. tomorrow, pat Martin on the back, rock out and tell me all about it. Because I'm out of town this weekend. And I hate myself for it.

Ehnahre - Alpha/Omega 12" (Fun With Asbestos, 2010)

2010-07-24T16:24:00.000-07:00

My avant-jazz pianist dad told me once that jazz was essentially about instability. All those added 9ths and 13ths, re-voiced chords and unexpected drum accents deconstruct the predictability of a tune, opening up harmonic and rhythmic rabbit holes for the musicians to follow.

He may as well have been talking about Ehnahre, a band of Boston wackos formed by various Kayo Dot defectors. Ehnahre's debut record The Man Closing Up (reviewed here and here) hit the extremes of pretty much every musical binary you can imagine -- slow/fast, soft/loud, rigid/spacious, sonorous/dissonant, composed/improvised -- that it felt like deconstructive exercise as much as a metal record. Brutal death metal is known for its atonality, but few metal bands (Behold...the Arctopus is a notable exception) swear such allegiance to discord that they'll use serialism and to ensure their music's freedom from tonality. Ehnahre took that step.

Ehnahre's two-track Alpha/Omega, limited to just 100 vinyl copies (now sold-out), drifts even further into psychosis than its predecessor. Rhythms are in perpetual flux, melodic repetition and groove are fleeting when they exist at all. The one through line is the psychotic laughter at the end of each phrase of "Leda & the Swan;" other disembodied voices chortle in the background in what must be the oddest gang vocals I've ever heard. The lines between doom, death metal, avant-classical and total abstraction continue to dissolve. The jaw-dropping flexibility and power electronics of new drummer Ricardo Donoso enable his bandmates to unhinge their sound even further.

Alpha/Omega sets two William Butler Yeats poems to music. "Leda and the Swan" recounts Zeus's rape of the maiden Leda, a story that has been interpreted as a creation myth. "The Second Coming" prophesies the apocalypse in the wake of WWI. Violence as both beginning and end -- it's a concept that works in parallel to Ehnahre's music, which destroys conventions and erects new ones with the same spectacularly messy, ugly mass of sound.

Ehnahre will release their next full-length Taming the Cannibals on Crucial Blast in October. Prepare ye.

Rape a swan at Ehnahre's website

BUY:
You can't. Alpha/Omega is sold-out.

Kings Destroy - Kings Destroy EP (self-released, 2010)

2010-06-16T23:29:00.000-07:00

Stoner metal should be played by ugly dudes for ugly dudes. I'm not saying that heterosex can never come into it -- gettin' down to Sky Valley is one of life's great pleasures, and I suppose Electric Wizard's smoking hot second guitarist Liz Buckingham must have found something seductive about the genre when she married bandmate Jus Oborn. Point is, the almighty fuzz riff is best pursued and appreciated when sex is a non-issue, and bliss is the main objective.

Brooklyn's Kings Destroy aren't anything much to look at, and the two songs on their debut 7" aren't much prettier, just a bunch plodding rhythms, Obsessed riffs and Steve Murphy's adenoidal singing voice. There's something really satisfying about how these dual guitars lock so tightly, maybe more tightly than is ideal for music this bong-tastic. Come to think of it, other than the chanted note halfway through "Medusa," the music here isn't all too weedy. Murphy sounds like he's toking the same weed as 1967 Ozzy. The others sound like they gave up drugs years ago. Totally pro performances, and a bright mix from Mike Moebius.

"Old Yeller"

Then again, maybe the riffage is so economical and precisely played because a lot of these guys used to play meaty music in hardcore bands. Guitarists Carl Porcaro and Chris Skowronski were in NYHC legends Killing Time, Murphy was in Uppercut, and the rhythm section did time in Electric Frankenstein and Stanley. Listen hard, and you'll hear hardcore energy, shoehorned into stoner metal strictures. It's a little clean to connect, but these are just Kings Destroy's first two songs. Soak the band in bong resin for a millennium and they'll be considered classic. Or, just give the knobs over to Sanford Parker, as Kings Destroy are doing for their upcoming full-length debut. Same difference.

Commit regicide at Kings Destroy's MySpace page

BUY:

iTunes: "Old Yeller"

iTunes: "Medusa"

Kings Destroy donate a portion of all proceeds to the Brooklyn-based youth basketball team, the On Point Cyclones.

R.I.P. National Sunday Law. Much respect.

2010-06-01T23:05:00.000-07:00

National Sunday Law scream goodbye

Sad news today from Darin Tambascio, the guitarist/vocalist/everything-but-drums-ist of Los Angeles metal duo National Sunday Law:

After playing over 50 shows with some of our favorite bands (Intronaut, Mouth of the Architect, Irepress, Behold...The Arctopus, Dysrhythmia, Exhausted Prayer, Solar Wimp, Hurt Model, Fight Amp and so many more), we are taking a break from National Sunday Law. Due to a dire financial situation and ongoing employment issues, Darin will be moving back to his home state of Maryland in late June. Therefore, the band will be on an indefinite hiatus after two more shows.

This is a major bummer. National Sunday Law were one of my favorite L.A. bands of any stripe. They filled a pretty vital function out here -- heavy enough for the metal crowd, arty enough for the noiseniks, tricksy enough for the prog-heads, NSL could play on almost any bill. And with just two dudes covering a vast sonic spectrum, their shows were always a minor spectacle. Both Darin and drummer Derek Donley were faithful supporters of the scene on both sides of the band/audience divide.

NSL's disbandment is especially disappointing given that they just released a killer new EP, The Fifth Ape, which you can download here for free. The EP showcases the band's balance of meditative mood and eye-bugging heaviness way better than their debut album, La Storia di Cannibali (reviewed here). "Joshua the Anchor" sets washes of analog keyboards buzzing against a ten-ton waltz; "The Darwinian Heart of Darkness" recalls early Isis in the planetary bigness of its riffs; "Last Flight of the Dodo Bird" seems aimed at new vistas, with melodic vocals and elastic bass (courtesy of Intronaut's Joe Lester) striating Tambascio's spidery guitar and Donley's totally money drumming. These guys were going places.

A glimmer of hope amidst the gloominess:

In other news, we're excited to announce that Graviton (our new side project with Sacha Dunable of Intronaut) has finished recording a full length album. We hope to have it available by the fall, around the same time as the new Intronaut record!

Here are some promising snippets of the Graviton recording sessions:

While we all wait for Darin to win a lucrative government oil contract so that National Sunday Law might tour and record again, download the The Fifth Ape EP, hold your breath for the Graviton release, and if you're in the LA area, come out to one of their last two shows. It's been a good run, boys.

Pay Your Respects at National Sunday Law's Final Two Shows (For Now):

June 3rd @ Relax Bar with Salvador, Of The Horizon, Nameless Lights. NSL is on at 9:55pm.

June 7th @ Vacation Vinyl in-store with free Colt 45. 7pm sharp.

National Sunday Law Merch Procurement:

Download The Fifth Ape for free

Buy a copy of The Fifth Ape for not free (soon)

Buy their first album and some sick t-shirts

CHAINMAIL: Huntress - Off With Her Head (self-released, 2010)

2010-06-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

The CHAINMAIL section reviews bands that contacted me directly. Here at Cerebral Metalhead, initiative is rewarded.

As soon as I read about this band on Invisible Oranges, I started encountering them everywhere. They e-mailed me about coverage. They showed up together at a Black Math Horseman gig. They were in line at the free Dark Angel/Arsis show. All of a sudden they're on every backwards-looking metal bill and local blog that we've got. The L.A. metal scene is a concentrated one, and it's easy to make your presence known, especially when you've got an obscenely great-looking lead singer named Tuesdae and the other 4/5 of your band is recognizable from another regularly gigging band (the ripping Professor). Still, the short amount of time it's taken these folks to become regulars on the L.A. metal circuit is pretty impressive.

Listening to Huntress's debut EP Off With Her Head, it's not hard to understand why Huntress would want to hurry the fuck up and get out there. This shit is almost too easy to love. Time-tested NWOBHM riffs with the amber melted away by sparking electricity. Witchy themes and hooks-a-plenty. Galloping rhythms and harmonized Maiden leads, and Tuesdae's double-tracked caterwauling -- not nearly as theatrical as her opera training would suggest, and way more solid than the cynical metal fan might expect given her Playboy pedigree. This is just three tracks, of course, but it shows great portent. It's probably a good thing that Professor went on hiatus a couple weeks ago and Tuesdae's all-star covers band, Chelsea Girls, officially disbanded in April. These five need to shoot for the moon or shoot for nothing. All eyes on Huntress.

Ogle away at Huntress's MySpace page

SEE HUNTRESS LIVE IN L.A.:

June 2 @ King King: with Slough Feg (reviewed here), Gates of Slumber and The Czars Dogs

June 19 @ Echo Curio: with Gypsyhawk

July 3 @ Mountain Bar

GET HUNTRESS STUFF FOR FREE:

Download Huntress's Off With Her Head EP right here.

Download Professor's two tour EPs right here.

Harvey Milk - A Small Turn of Human Kindness (Hydra Head, 2010)

2010-05-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, May 22nd, was the first annual Harvey Milk Day, instituted in California to honor the openly gay San Francisco politician immortalized in the 2008 film Milk. It would have been Milk's 80th birthday were he not assassinated by a close colleague in 1978. One hopes that public schools throughout California will forevermore use the day to commemorate Milk's life and work.

Metal fans will celebrate in a very different way, with downtrodden sludge guitars and parched soul vocals. In an eerie coincidence, Hydra Head elected to release the A Small Turn of Human Kindness by Athens, Georgia's perversest sludge group, Harvey Milk, just four days before the inaugural Harvey Milk Day. Could someone on the HH staff have a particular affection for the slain gay icon? Cerebral Metalhead has cited evidence of Hydra Head GM Mark Thompson's own homosexuality in the past, but the release date seems more like cosmic serendipity.

Harvey Milk's re-released, eponymous debut, 2010

I used to believe that Harvey Milk, like their frequent comparison partners The Melvins, were in the game of deliberately confounding their audience. Sometimes they were confrontational about it, as with the harsh noise-rock of their shoulda-been debut (aka "Bob Weston Sessions"), finally remastered and give a proper release earlier this year (buy it here). Sometimes they were more guarded about their outré tendencies, as with their two comeback albums, Special Wishes (2006) and Life...The Best Game In Town (2008). And sometimes they would throw in a total curveball, like 1997's boogie-centric The Pleaser. I saw Harvey Milk play at a loft party in 2008, and their tightness was shocking. It was a hastily put together gig, but Harvey Milk played like its members had been staring at each other for 16 years straight. They were that neurotically together.

"I Alone Got Up and Left"

On A Small Turn of Human Kindness, we hear Harvey Milk in sobering, straightforward mode. Doom connotes sorrow and despair. A Small Turn feels like neither. We get only the barest outlines of the story in this song cycle -- pregnancies, tire squeals and gunshots -- but the music is all clear-eyed gravitas, strength in the face of Creston Spiers's hoarse vocals and the band's wide-open guitar moves. Harvey Milk use slow paces and heaviness differently than any other metal band -- not as hypnosis, but to ratchet up tension. Keyboards and harmonized leads in "I Alone Got Up and Left" yield a queasiness that never abates, while a track like "I Know This Is No Place for You" isn't so much sludge metal as really heavy blues music. Harvey Milk let difficult emotions sit with no foil on A Small Turn. They're doing more than just telling us how it feels to be emotionally desiccated. They're making us feel desiccated ourselves. Slap Harvey Milk on the back and then give them a hug.

Be flamboyant as you want to be at Harvey Milk's website

BUY:

Amazon (CD)

Amazon (MP3)

Blue Collar Distro

CHAINMAIL: Locrian - Territories (At War With False Noise / Basses Frequences / Bloodlust / Small Doses, 2010)

2010-05-17T22:26:00.000-07:00

The CHAINMAIL section reviews bands that were proactive enough to contact me directly. Here at Cerebral Metalhead, initiative is rewarded.

Ronnie James Dio is dead. I never really knew him aside from his role as a talking head in VH1 documentaries and his popularization of the metal horns. Yet the more I read, the more samples of his work with Rainbow, Dio and Black Sabbath that I hear, the more real his death becomes. While I wouldn't say that my life feels any different, I do feel more connected to the metal world because of the collective outpouring of mourning. And so I mourn, as well.

The new Locrian album Territories is ideal for this mood. The emotions it inspires are fathoms deep and unnameable. It is everything that Dio's music was not -- fuzzy, oblique, meditative, often static. There will be no holy diving to the synth and bass throb of "Ring Road." Terence Hannum, Mark Solotroff (Bloodyminded), Blake Judd (Nachtmystium) and Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), each of whom contribute emaciated howls to "Procession of Ancestral Brutalism," could learn a few things about enunciation from Dio. This music feels dry and empty, even at its most energetic. Territories is the purgatory that Dio must wait in while his afterlife is determined. Heaven? Hell? Heaven and Hell?

Locrian's last album Drenched Lands soundtracked Chicago's urban dystopia with improvised windscapes and scratchy feedback. Half of Territories thaws out the desolation by setting its improvised electronics against warmly-recorded, Ulver-like black metal storms from Judd, Hannum, Locrian's Andre Foisy and drummer Andrew Scherer (Velnias). "Procession of Ancestral Brutalism," is really inspired black metal, and I hope to hear this expanded band record a whole record like it someday. But the two disparate styles feel frictive, especially when the latter erupts out of nowhere a few minutes in to "The Columnless Arcade." It's too Dio-like, its regal drum patterns and repeated harmonies clenching triumph from the jaws of horror. I am gratified that such bold improvisers as Locrian are taking steps away from their discomfort zone, even more gratified that they're putting Bruce Lamont's saxophone to good use (his layered braying on "Between Barrows" threatens to steal the album). I don't want to be woken from my drone-drenched reverie by blastbeats though. Too much emphasis on rhythm. Give me more organ, more queasiness. Let me mourn for Dio in improvised peace and quiet feedback.

Read as Locrian Blogs from the Land of Decay!

BUY:

At War With False Noise (via PayPal)

Basses Frequences

CHAINMAIL: The March - Dead Ends and Blind Spots EP (self-released, 2009)

2010-05-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

The CHAINMAIL section reviews bands that were proactive enough to contact me directly. Here at Cerebral Metalhead, initiative is rewarded.

Ever notice how it's easier to write metal lyrics in English than it is to communicate normally in English? Exhibit A: French post-metal band The March, whose vocalist Olivier Haese peppered his e-mails to me with minor (and adorable) idiomatic mistakes like "Would someone on your website be interested in making a review of it?" and "I haven't received the receipt that says you've got it well." In contrast, the lyric sheet for The March's debut EP Dead Ends and Blind Spots has a telegraphic pithiness to it that feels like its own dialect. "Perfect lines, artificial edges / Plastic birds, fake water around us" howls vocalist Olivier Haese on "Ancient Seed," before eructating one of The March's many awesome seabeast-themed apocalyptic forecasts: "The giant shell is on its way / Let the beast crawl over the great seawalls / And swallow them all / Now celebrate!"

"Ancient Seed"

The March have also mastered the language of post-metal. Normally I dismiss this stuff as formulaic and one-dimensionally triumphalist, but the drama here feels real. The heavy sections come quickly, like each song's lifesblood instead of its payoff. There's a dryness to the recording that keeps the shimmery clean-tone guitars leaden and creaky. They're dripping in liquid mercury, not fondue cheese. Cymbals crash crunchy and live. Haese's vocals spew electricity. Extra points for the silkscreened package, laden with seahorses. Yes Olivier, I am interested in making a review of your album, and yes, I've got it well.

March on over to The March's Myspace page

BUY:

Dead Ends and Blind Spots (self-released, 2009) is available by mail-order only. E-mail zguidon@hotmail.fr for your copy.

Knu from Knut: Wonder

2010-04-17T17:17:00.000-07:00

Two months of waiting 'til this is out ain't so bad considering I've already waited for 5 years.

So let's say that one of your favorite bands puts out an amazing record in 2005. Here's a standard timeline of events, using the release date as a reference point:

6 months later: stop listening to last record once a day

1.5 years later: actively await news of new record

2 years later: suffer through pointless EP, B-sides, live or remix record

3 years later: forget band ever existed

4 years later: rediscover last record while searching through record collection

5 years later: find out that band broke up two years ago

I was prepared to give up on Knut (one of only two bands that ever convinced me to wear their hoodie), despite my undying reverence for their last record Terraformer (Hydra Head, 2005) and each of their previous Hydra Head releases. That remix album Alter from 2006 did nothing to assuage my slide into apathy. But now it looks like it's time to recalibrate my timeline.

"Descent" (from Bastardiser)

"Kyoto" (from Terraformer)

Hydra Head just announced the June 29th release of Knut's new album Wonder. It's reportedly both "A commentary on the human capacity for creative thought and numinous experience in the face of a violent and oppressive global-market ethos" and "Testament to our will for survival and defiance in times of adversity and crippling doubt." That's a lot of touting for 40 minutes of music, but I guess Knut have had plenty of time to develop creative thoughts about survival and defiance in the interim.

So...is anyone else excited about Wonder?

Click here, here, here and here to check out the progression of that glorious album cover by Aaron Turner.

Listen to a whole bunch of old shit at Knut's MySpace page

BUY:

Blue Collar Distro (available on June 29)

CHAINMAIL: Fuck the Facts - Unnamed EP (self-released, 2010)

2010-04-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

The CHAINMAIL section reviews bands that were proactive enough to contact me directly. Here at Cerebral Metalhead, initiative is rewarded.

Go listen to your Repulsion and early Napalm Death records. Now listen to the new Fuck the Facts Unnamed EP. Lordy, how grindcore has changed. Frequent changeups and breakdowns and beat-flippings keep the 'core as prevalent as the grind, the headspin as prevalent as the gutpunch. Grind isn't just for speedfreaks anymore. This stuff is as impressive for its pure composition as it is for the fury it channels.

Fuck the Facts: ". ."

There's little room for imperfection on Unnamed EP. It's surgical in its savagery. Performances are ship-in-a-bottle-builder precise, instruments cleanly separated. I could never call the group's pixie of death vocalist Mel Mongeon "caged," but here's she's less frontwoman than vocal accompanist. This will change when you see Fuck the Facts live. A Mongeon performance is not conducive to upstaging or forgetting.

"La Tete hors de L'eau"

Fuck the Facts habitually pick at their own bones and reassess their catalog. Founding guitarist Topon Das et. al cobbled together 2008's Disgorge Mexico from jam tapes and riffs dating back to the band's founding, nearly a decade prior; Unnamed EP finds the band re-recording "La Tete Hors De L'eau" from a 2004 split with Sergent Slaughter and "Doghead" from Mullet Fever. I like the idea of a band that's proud enough of its past to incorporate it into its present. Self-sampling, if you will. There are subtle differences between new and old on Unnamed EP, mostly in the more straightforward tonalities and structures of the two re-records, which compare favorably to The Red Chord (Frankensteiny combos of grind, groove, pinch harmonic and roar). It's remarkable how consistent Fuck the Facts are on record, especially considering how prolific they are. Unnamed EP upholds the band's fact-fucking quality.

Unname yourself at Fuck the Facts' MySpace site

BUY:

7" w/free digital download - $6

Download only - $5

Consider Fucking the Facts live:

Apr 23 2010 8:00P The Alex Brantford, Ontario

Apr 24 2010 8:00P Hard Luck Bar Toronto, Ontario

May 14 2010 8:00P CSMA Ithaca, New York

May 15 2010 8:00P Bug Jar Rochester, New York

May 16 2010 8:00P Now That’s Class Cleveland, Ohio

May 17 2010 8:00P Mac’s Bar Lansing, Michigan

May 18 2010 8:00P Reggies Chicago, Illinois

May 19 2010 8:00P Fubar St. Louis, Missouri

May 20 2010 8:00P Conservatory Oklahoma, Oklahoma

May 21 2010 8:00P Renos Dallas, Texas

May 22 2010 8:00P War Legion Amarillo, Texas

May 23 2010 8:00P Red Seven Austin, Texas

May 25 2010 8:00P The Bar New Orleans, Louisiana

May 26 2010 8:00P Firehouse Birmingham, Alabama

May 27 2010 8:00P Hideaway Johnson City, Tennessee

May 28 2010 8:00P Sleep On It Harrisonburg, Virginia

May 29 2010 8:00P MD Deathfest Baltimore, Maryland

Jun 1 2010 8:00P Club Hell Providence, Rhode Island

Jun 18 2010 8:00P Montebello Marina Montebello, Quebec

Jun 19 2010 8:00P Bar Le Magog Sherbrooke, Quebec

Jul 23 2010 8:00P Friendship Cove Montreal, Quebec

Lair of the Minotaur interview

2010-04-13T22:08:00.000-07:00

Nate Olp, Steven Rathbone and Chris Wozniak of Lair of the Minotaur

The new Lair of the Minotaur album is out this week. Those of you who were worried that the Chicago trio were going to drop their Greek mythology shtick will have to go find something else to worry about, because Evil Power sticks it to the Olympian pantheon over and over again with an even more brutish approach than LOTM's last few. Screw that Clash of the Titans abortion. This is the real shit when it comes to Greek god-busting in 2010. I caught up with the band's main man Steven Rathbone for a soon-to-be-published Decibel feature. Here's how the talk went down.

///////////////

You’re at work right now?

Technically, yeah. I work at home.

What do you do other than rock the mic?

I run a business called theGrind-House.com and we sell movie poster t-shirts. The label that’s putting out the new record is kind of like a sister company of the Grind-House. It’s called The Grind-House Records.

Why did you decide to go the self-released route with this record?

Our contract was up with Southern Lord. We had them behind us with distribution and whatnot. We just wanted to take it in our own hands. It’s kind of in the original spirit of the band. We got signed with them (Southern Lord) early. When we first signed the demo had only been out for six months. And so it’s something we always wanted to do, and I thought it was the right time, and it was the right record, and so far the response has been really great.

Is there much of a difference in making this record as an independent band distributed by a larger label as opposed to going straight through Southern Lord? Or have you not noticed that much in terms of what you have to do on a day to day basis?

It’s definitely a little more hands-on as far as the label aspect of it, but the approach with this record is exactly the same. I mean if this record would have come out on Southern Lord, it’d be the exact same record, you know? It is a different aspect of trying to act as a salesman a little bit more for your record. I think that’s something that I find a little bit hard to do. It’s one thing to write and record an album and make music. It’s another thing to go like “Aw, you gotta check out this band! They’re fuckin’ awesome!” Like, do what labels do. Which is sell a band.

I imagine you taking off your Conan helmet and instead of saying “I’m going to destroy you!” saying “Will you please buy my record?”

That’s also where some help comes in handy. My good friend Josh Diebel is partnering with us on this label. He used to own Alleysweeper Records back in the mid-90s, and they put out some of the old Tribes of Neurot stuff, and solo Justin Broadrick stuff, and Mick Harris – experimental, ambient/noise stuff. So he has a little more experience with the label when it comes to sales and that kind of thing. It definitely helps to have someone else doing that and not the guy from a band.

Let’s talk about the new record a little bit. Evil Power has a much simpler, more straightforward vibe than the last one. Did you try to strip it down for this record?

Yeah! The storyline is a continuation of the storyline from War Metal Battle Master (reviewed here), which was about Ares. If anyone doesn’t know, our stuff is about Greek mythology. So it was about him becoming a god. And it was also about this period of peace ending, and this period of – it was sort of a violent period, where men became very violent. And so the music – it’s also about celebration, about the celebration after a big victory, a bloody victory. That was the overlying theme behind this record. To create a record that was celebratory, kind of like a party record. When I started thinking about that, I had some older stuff I had worked on, that was working out real well with this. And it’s basically we wanted to make a really kickass record could put on at a party. The kind of stuff you would listen to – Judas Priest, Motorhead, that type of thing and that type of vibe. And it’s also about drunk-driving as well.

Really! Tell me how drunk driving fits in to the equation.

Well, it kind harkens back to when I first started driving, growing up in Detroit. We didn’t really have much to do, and that’s all we did, drink and drive. Listen to music. I definitely look back fondly on those times now. Don’t want anyone to get a DUI, but… ::laughs:: it’s one of those records that’s good to put on if you’ve had a few and you’re driving real fast on the freeway.

Got it. So it’s more of a throwback to those heady days of driving under the influence than a recommendation that your listeners do the same.

::laughs:: That’s right. You’re just begging for a DUI if you buy this record.

That’s a subliminal message you don’t want to record backwards on your album.

And then there’s the overlying story of the Greek mythology, and there’s a lot of movement in the marauding type thing, with these bands of soldiers, so there’s also that. The marauding type element to it, you and your friends get in a car and jammin’ some tunes. Havin’ a good time, going somewhere or whatever.

I was going to ask if, after four albums of Greek mythology, you were starting to see some sort of overarching allegory in your music, or a connection to modern living. And I guess that would be it.

Yeah. That’s pretty much it right there. I dunno if we would ever make it out that all of the songs are about partying and getting pussy, but…::laughs::

A lot of them are! So the War Metal Battle Master DVD (reviewed here) was one of the most over-the-top blood and tits fests I’ve ever seen. Do you have something similar planned for Evil Power?

Actually I’m supposed to see the final edit of the video tonight. The Deciblog is doing the premiere at the end of the month.

What song is it for?

It’s for the song “Evil Power.” And yes, this video makes the last one look like crap. It’s gonna blow people away. The artistic element is way over the top, the blood and the gore and everything else is tenfold. I’m really happy. I promised myself that we wouldn’t do a video for this album. ::laughs::

Was it just for financial reasons?

It was such a headache. That War Metal Battle Master – it took like a year to put that together. It was like, a lot of time. And it was cool, and it did its job, it created a buzz for the record, and a lot of people saw it and a lot of people really enjoyed it, and it was fun to make, but when I started thinking about doing something like that again, I was like “aw man! I don’t wanna like, unless I have some HUGE budget.” But we started talking with Ryan Oliver, who directed it. He had done some of the special effects for the War Metal Battle Master video. And he lives here in town in Chicago. And we just started talking, and one thing lead to another, led to another, led to another. Next thing we know the scope of this thing just grew tenfold. Yeah, I’m real pleased. But yeah, it’s insane.

Are you using the same actresses that played the Keres in the last one?

No. This is a different story. There is a minotaur, and it’s basically what goes down in the lair of the minotaur. It follows the storyline, the myth of virgins would be brought to the lair of the minotaur to be sacrificed, and that’s what you see! ::laughs:: It’s brutal. It’s fuckin’ unbelievable.

It’s just concentrating on that part? It’s not Theseus coming in and saving the day?

No.

It’s just the sacrifice of the virgins.

Theseus doesn’t come in on this version. I mean it’s a two-minute song. So of course we’d love to keep adding all this stuff but it’s a shorter song. I think it fits well with the song, and it fits well with the album. We have definitely one-upped the last one so I’m happy about that. I don’t feel like we’re putting out a lesser video. It’s definitely…MORE.

What makes the Grecian war concept more badass than what Nile’s doing with Egyptian mythology, or what Unleashed is doing with Norse mythology?

I am personally just attracted to it for the D&D aspect. I grew up playing D&D, and Greek mythology was sewn into the game. And so that’s how I got into it, along with old Ray Harryhausen movies like Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans, Sinbad and all that type of stuff, and then I started reading early on the Aeneid and some of these early writings, and it’s just something I’ve always been into. As far as metal lyrics go, it’s perfect. It’s filled with lore, and monsters, and death and fuckin’ horrible shit. And it expands on themes…some of these stories are as old as man. You can’t really trace how far. Half of these stories weren’t written down until around 1 BC or something. And so that also interests me too, the lore aspect of these stories, sown and told down through the ages. When it comes to metal lyrics, there’re a lot of bands doing stuff about Satan, and so with that ground being so well covered, we figured the Greek mythology angle would be perfect for us. I had the name of the band first before I started writing any of the lyrics, so it was grown out of that. When I first started writing lyrics, I was like “Oh, we’ll just kinda roll with this.”

So that concept was always with you. As soon as you had the name Lair of the Minotaur, did you know that you would forever be writing lyrics about Greek mythology?

Heh…yeah. I remember the look of dismay when I tried to tell the rest of the band.

I can’t imagine this band singing about anything else. But what do you think? If you ever moved on from Greek mythology, are there other themes that you’re interested in exploring?

Probably not with this band. I’ll robably keep (Lair of the Minotaur) along these lines. There’s just such a well of stories. I’ll make up stuff, too. I’ll use some of the characters and just make up stories as well. So that’s fun too.

Why do you think that American metal bands so rarely engage American mythology? Yeah there’s not as much history, but it’s always been interesting to me that usually when you hear about a band working with lore, it’s Scandinavian lore, or pagan lore, or Greek or Egyptian lore.

Right. All we have is Christianity.

Well you know, there’re the myths of the west, there’s Paul Bunyan, there’s Native American lore they can work with.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a band using Native American lore in metal. Probably in types of world music. But yeah, I’m not really sure what bands’ lyrics are about these days. I don’t really have much of a clue.

There’s a lot of consciously retro metal going around these days. Do you consider yourself aligned with that at all?

No. I’m kinda in a bubble and I don’t really listen to a lot of new bands. When you hear Lair of the Minotaur sounding the way it is, it doesn’t sound that way to be cool or retro, it sounds that way because that’s the kind of music I listen to, and that’s the kind of music I want to write. As far as any kind of scene, we’ve always existed outside of any scene. Even as being part of Southern Lord, we were never really sounded like any of the bands on Southern Lord. It seems like there are little cliques of bands that for together, and kinda sound similar, from the same region. We’re friends with plenty of the bands around here but I wouldn’t say that we sound in any way in the same vein.

At the same time you’ve got this other band 7000 Dying Rats (reviewed here), which is totally different and also going for something completely different than most grind bands. Let’s talk about that. It’s basically a satirical grind band. Would you say that humor is an important part of Lair of the Minotaur as well?

I tell you what. I grew up listening to metal, laughing and having a good time with my friends. And most of these bands that try to portray an image of being really serious, when you meet them, they are just as goofy as me and you. And so there’s never been a big façade or anything that we try to pull to try to be super serious. But at the same time, the music is serious to me. The way I’m singing, the song names, the albums, the reason it’s so over the top is to cut the wheat from the chaff. The impetus for doing that was that there are so many bands that would take little elements of metal but you could tell that they still thought of metal as cheesy. There’s that popular kind of misconception about all those shitty glam bands from the 80s, that that is what metal is. Or when they have the “Top 40 Metal Videos of the 1980s” on VH1, and it’s all Poison and all that. And so I think there’s a generation now that think some aspects of it are cheesy, whether it be Dio, or that type of thing, the sword and sorcery type of thing. Spinal Tap made fun of it as well. But to people that grew up listening to metal, that’s what metal was. Metal was fantasy, and sword and sorcery, and monsters and Satan and having a good time. And so that’s a big part of why we do what we do. It’s to draw a line in the sand and just have something that’s so over the top metal that if you don’t like it, you should move on.

You’re saying Lair of the Minotaur forces you to address why you listen to metal to begin with?

Right. In some ways. It depends on the listener, you know. When people grew up.

I started listening to metal way after you did, so to me the Dio stuff seems silly, but it’s something I embrace as part of metal’s history. And an essential part of its development, too! Even without the fantasy theme, getting up there on stage and brutalizing a crowd is a form of escape, you know? So why not match that with lyrics, too?

Right, right. That’s what it’s supposed to be. Slayer, Celtic Frost, so many of these old bands wrote fantasy-type lyrics.

General Diaboloical Slaughter from Usurper guests on a track, yeah?

He’s a good friend. And we actually wanted to get him out o n the last record, and he wasn’t able to. So we made sure this time we got him out, and laid down some shit.

Which track is he on?

He’s on four or five of the tracks. Just backup stuff.

Tell me about the switcheroo between bassists DJ Barraca and Nate Olp. How and when did that come about?

That came about two years ago actually. Our original bassist DJ – his wife had gotten pregnant, and he was not going to be nailed to doing this nonsense. And Nate from Demiricous – we’re good friends with those guys, we’ve played with ‘em several times down in Indianapolis –he was the first person I called, and he’s a super awesome dude, and we’re happy to have him in the band.

So he’s a full-time member now?

Yes.

So he’ll be touring with you whenever you come out.

Yes.

A lot of people accused Demiricous of sounding exactly like Slayer. But I don’t care. Slayer’s great! Demiricous write amazing riffs!

Kerry King loves them, too.

That’s enough for me.

Nate has actually hung out with Kerry before. He’s a huge fan of the band.

So tell me about Sanford Parker. Obviously he’s all over the place these days, especially for Chicago bands. You’ve used him for pretty much every record that you’ve put out. What works so well about him and the Lair of the Minotaur aesthetic?

He has a really good ear and he’s really easy to work with. We’ve recorded everything so far with him. And he’s one of the very few people that I will actually take suggestions from concerning a song.

You mean the writing itself?

You know what I mean. Effects on the vocals, that type of thing. He’s got a nice little setup over there (at Volume Recording). He’s moved into a larger spot than where he was originally recording us. And it’s really comfortable. Nice, big place. I consider him a fourth member when we’re in the studio.

Has he ever suggested adding keyboards or anything beyond your normal band setup?

I mean all the keyboard stuff is stuff that I’ve done. It’s not so much changes in the songs, as much as little studio things. Doubling up parts of vocals, that type of thing.

I’ve got one more question. And this one is killing me, because it’s about lunch time out here. You’ve got your own Kuma’s Corner burger with caramelized onions, pancetta, brie and bourbon-soaked pears. I’m assuming you’ve eaten it a few times?

Yeah, it’s pretty good.

Do you ever feel this weird auto-cannibalistic lust when you’re eating your own burger?

::laughs:: Yeah it’s crazy. I guess it’s the best-selling burger there. And still to this day, probably twice a week I’ll get a drunken e-mail from someone going “Dude! I just ate your burger!”

“You taste great!”

It’s funny. When I’m there, I can hear people ordering it behind me, and I cringe.

There’s really nothing that metal about pears. But I guess you’re soaking them in bourbon before you put ‘em on there.

I saw just recently one of the shows from the Food Network. And some guy went there, and they prepared the burger and he ate it, on the show. Some blonde guy that has the show and runs around and sees all these food places. That was weird as well.

It’s a pretty dubious distinction to add to your press pack, you know? That you have the best-selling burger at Kuma’s Corner in Chicago?

Have you ever been?

No, I haven’t been to Chicago in years. But I need to go. It’s a mecca for metal definitely, but I’ve been hearing so much about the burgers over there. It’s like a hangout spot for the Chicago metal crowd, right?

Yeah. It’s become very popular, so sometimes it’s a little unbearable. There’re a lot of people there. But all the food’s really good. They have this killer mac ‘n cheese. It’ll blow your mind.

Steve, you’re making me salivate. Is there anything else you want to say about Evil Power?

No, I think it speaks for itself. Personally it’s my favorite of our albums. I’m stoked for it to come out.

///////////////

Enter the Lair of the Minotaur at the band's website

BUY Evil Power:

The Grind-House Records

See Lair of the Minotaur live:

4/16/2010 Melody Inn - Indianapolis, IN w/ Coffinworm

4/17/2010 Peabody's - Cleveland, OH w/ Solopsist

4/18/2010 Sonar - Baltimore, MD w/ Revolta, Wolfnuke

4/19/2010 M Room - Philadelphia, PA w/ Ludicra, Tombs, Krallice

4/21/2010 The Charleston - Brooklyn, NY w/ The Binary Code, Elks

4/22/2010 Velvet Lounge - Washington DC w/ Ol Scratch, Admiral Browning

4/23/2010 Broadway Joe's - Buffalo, NY w/ Cattle Decapitation, Gaza

4/24/2010 The Summit - Columbus, OH w/ Fools Crown

CHAINMAIL: Karloff - Bled Dry (Midwestern Decline, 2010)

2010-04-12T23:47:00.000-07:00

The CHAINMAIL section reviews bands that were proactive enough to contact me directly. Here at Cerebral Metalhead, initiative is rewarded.

I love the idea of a hardworking local hardcore band with few ambitions beyond playing some gigs, releasing a few records and staying passionate about its music. Hardcore is nothing without passion. That's definitely Karloff, a four-piece group of straight edge DIYers out of Ft. Wayne, Indiana. When last we visited the band, they were recording 12-minute EPs of drum machine punk and Joy Division and Suicidal Tendencies covers. Things have changed for the better. Karloff now have a beast of a drummer in a dude named Austin, and a cool command over hardcore's groove-to-grind continuum that keeps the gears shifting, the songs short and the rage undiluted.

"Desolation"

"Faithless"

Fault the clunky production job all you want -- Karloff's resolve still shines through, whatever style they attempt. The bristling fastcore of "Desolation" is all in-the-red energy and bowel-loosening bass breaks; "Bled Dry" track compacts a Crowbar album into 2 and a half minutes. With its snarled soliloquies, gang-chanted title phrase and d-beat midsection, "Faithless" might be the most traditional hardcore song on the album. Also traditional: Karloff spit their anger with no filter or compunction: "I believe nothing that you speak/I care nothing for what you believe/Spew my curses/I spit my rage/Your bribes of an empty paradise/Cannot sway my fucking disdain/Fuck you." Fuck me indeed. By the end of this record's 12 minutes, I'm starting to believe that I deserve the hatred.

Stream all of Bled Dry at Karloff's MySpace page

BUY:

BigCartel.com

Interpunk.com

Midwestern Decline

CHAINMAIL: Peopleperson - The Kids Are All Done For (Fictionband Mechanics, 2009)

2010-04-11T16:36:00.000-07:00

The CHAINMAIL section reviews bands that were proactive enough to contact me directly. Here at Cerebral Metalhead, initiative is rewarded.

You are reading a review of an album by the retardedly prolific Darryl Robbins and his band Peopleperson. This is one of at least four albums that Peopleperson released in '09. By the time you finish reading this review he will likely have put out another one. What sort of person is Robbins? This is how he introduced himself to me:

"I too am a cerebral metalhead. I make music, not necessarily metal, but a bit may come through. Thought you might like. If not, whatever. Thanks for the time spent reading this riveting email of mine."

Short and to the point. He doesn't have time to spend on elaboration; gotta record that music. Words are stumbling blocks for this band. Peopleperson have no use for words.

"Rainman on the Silver Mountain"

"The Hinderer"

For a man of such pithy messaging, Robbins sure is discursive with his compositions. There's as much rockabilly and surf guitar twang as there is blastbeating and riffage on The Kids Are All Done For. In fact, way more of it. But I don't hear the work of a Mr. Bungle biter, mashing up genres with no business hanging out for the sake of juxtaposition. I hear a guy who's striving for something new, trying to find the commonalities between Liturgy and Link Wray (two of the band's top MySpace friends). And strangely, it works. Substitute a distorted guitar tone and a bit of dissonance, and you've got the same smeary guitar texture of Deathspell Omega and Glorior Belli. I like this stuff. Maybe you will too. If not, whatever.

BUY:

Fictionband Mechanics website (just $6.99)

Find out if you're a people person at Peopleperson's MySpace page

CHAINMAIL: Batillus - Beard Destroyer Tour EP (self-released, 2009)

2010-04-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

The CHAINMAIL section reviews bands that were proactive enough to contact me directly. Here at Cerebral Metalhead, initiative is rewarded.

An upside-down photo of the Beard Destroyer Tour EP

Courtesy of the ESEF Industries Blog

Why aren’t there more instrumental doom bands? Simple. Shit’s boring. Great as it feels to have a riff crumble on top of you, slow metal gets old real fast without some human presence to bring us outta plodlandia. On their self-titled debut EP, Batillus crawled outta the Brooklyn muck with some ho-hum doom bashing. Twasn’t bad so much as overly workmanlike, nice for a toke (or so I’m told) and occasionally a vigorous headbang but lacking in any defining features that might inspire a second traversal of its 10-minute bummer sessions.

Batillus - "Beyond the River (excerpt)"

Batillus drafted Fade Kainer, from Inswarm and Jarboe’s band, to add vocals, synths and samples on their second eponymous EP. What a difference a growl makes. Now there’s a ring-wraith diffusing its howls over the trippy thunder on “The Division,”a skeleton riding side-saddle atop the bumpy end of “Beyond the River.”Batillus’s guitars sound hungrier, Geoff Summers’s sturdy drumming more flagellant. The songs here rumble forward like medieval war machines with a dangerous sense of momentum. And Fade’s choked keyboard atmosphere adds the perfect amount of humidity for the growth of doom fungi. It’s a snappy Electric Wizard homage that Batillus have on their hands. Moshless tour with Naam, Samothrace and Laudanum, por favor.

BUY:
EP 2 is currently sold out. All the material will appear on a 12” split set for release in 2010

Slow yer heartbeat to a crawl at Batillus's MySpace page!

Cynic - Live @ House of Blues West Hollywood, 1/17/10

2010-04-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

Crappy video of Cynic playing "Nunc Fluens" --> "The Space For This"

@ House of Blues, West Hollywood, 1/17/10

God wants me to write this review. Two months after I promised Cynic frontman Paul Masvidal that I'd cover the L.A. date of the band's tour with Between the Buried and Me, Devin Townsend Project and Scale the Summit, I ran into this almost-as-belated review of the same show by my Metalsucks bro Anso DF. Then two weeks later, the first edition of Masvidal's new "Metta Mind Journal" column appeared on Metalsucks. Look, I'm four nights deep into Passover. I'm sensitive to plagues. So when God sends a hailstorm of Cynic references my way, it is my duty to read the hieroglyphics on the wall and "Let my review go," to paraphrase Moses.

Kenny G also wants me to write this review. The Prince of Pap was right in front of me in the ticket line on that rainy Sunday night in West Hollywood. "My 16-year-old loves all of these bands," quoth Mr. G, "but he could shred any of them into the ground." Uhuh. Of one thing I can be sure: whether you loathe or go into fantods over this tour's lineup, there wasn't a single member of any of the bands on the bill that didn't have total mastery over his instrument [much like Mr. G has total mastery over his hair (Seriously, it's like he's wearing extensions made of lasagna noodles)].

If my tone's irreverent, it's only because this show was laughably good. Especially the meat of the prog-metal sandwich, Devin Townsend Project and Cynic (the only two full sets I saw). I love all those Strapping Young Lad records because they've got so much personality. Now I love Devin Townsend because he isn't afraid to promulgate said personality, even if he comes off as the doofus that he most assuredly is. In between his god-heavy musical devastations, often in bewildering major keys, the bald-pated, suit-clad Devy announced such unironicisms as "Don't be afraid to be the nerd that you truly are!" and "I may look like a fool, but I'm a hippie at least!" The dude sings magnificently, cracks the sky with his guitar solos, and smiles the whole time -- this wasn't a band playing, it was a factory of light and love. Of the many strangenesses presented that evening, how a band this jubilant could be so gravitationally intense was one of the strangest (only Torche can touch them in that regard). New favorite live band.

Cynic offered complementary joys. I overheard an audience dude saying "I like their first album, but the new one is gay." I laughed at how inadvertently spot-on he was. Cynic's masterful last album Traced In Air felt free-flowing and contoured, compared to the jagged masculine thrust of most death metal. It's tantric sex to death metal's doggystyle. The live show was no different. Their energy was introspective instead of projective; Masvidal's guitar solos came as offerings, and Sean Reinert's drumming, refreshingly free of blastbeats, tapped into some internal continuum that flowed through the entire set, and probably beyond. This is the only live metal band that can play soundbytes from spiritualist Eckhart Tolle over the PA, then engage its audience in an impromptu yoga session, and leave an entire sold-out venue's worth of metalheads more endeared to them than before. No new material, not even "Wheels Within Wheels," which they "rolled out" elsewhere on this tour. But I have a feeling that Traced In Air will be remembered as their finest achievement, and I'm lucky enough to have seen them twice in support of the album. 'Twas remarkable how emotionally diffuse the two songs they played from Focus sounded in comparison.

Good as Between the Buried And Me are, and gawd can those boys play (and play, and play), their neverending series of riff forests and melodic clearings felt like several steps backward from the clarity and elegance of the last two bands. They've definitely improved as a live band over the years, but they've also learned to equate increased compacted songwriting with progress, and I've taken the opposite route. Could this be the true meaning of the title of their most recent album The Great Misdirect? Maybe. I left about three songs in to their set, and it felt like I could have been one song or ten songs in. In retrospect, I probably should have stayed in case Kenny G was a surprise guest on their encore. Damn my impatience!

CHAINMAIL: From Exile - Monolith (self-released, 2009)

2010-02-28T18:15:00.000-08:00

The CHAINMAIL section reviews bands that were proactive enough to contact me directly. Here at Cerebral Metalhead, initiative is rewarded.

How this unknown, unsigned studio project helmed by Atlanta resident Eric Guenther secured the production talents of Daath's Eyal Levi and journeyman drummer Kevin Talley (Dying Fetus, The Red Chord, Black Dahlia Murder, Decrepit Birth) is anyone's guess. So here's my guess: the band's talent is too obvious and massive to be ignored by anyone that hears 'em, labels be damned. Listen here for prog-metal without pretense, a huge album that packs a two-disc Dream Theater album's worth of musical fireworks and superior writing into its meager 32 minutes.

To put it in the feminine hygiene product vernacular, Monolith is a "heavy flow" kind of album. Less a collection of songs than a continuous suite of big bang music, most of Monolith sweeps across the shred-to-stomp continuum with plenty of luxurious solos from Levi and his Daath bandmate Emil Werstler for the rubbernecking (ed. - each of them contribute just one solo, though all the lead guitarwork is first-rate). There's fleet melodic death riffage that'll leave the soul julienned and imperial marches that mimic planet formation. Processed melodic vocals are tacked on to a few tracks as afterthoughts, and they're the only letdown here (only album I've heard that work the semi-robot vox well is Cynic's Traced In Air). Otherwise Monolith is a totally inspired, cohesive work, and proof that not all progressive metal has to be over-the-top in concept or execution to instill me with pride in my long-haired, scale-savvy brethren.

Learn about smooshing two of the same prepositions together from From Exile's website

BUY:

From Exile website

v/a - They Don't Know Unless You Tell Them (FSS, 2010)

2010-02-02T08:17:00.000-08:00

Taken to their logical limits, the tremolo guitars and slipstream drumming of black metal become so fast that they cease to function as rhythm and instead become pure drones. Buzz and beat as two forms of background noise. In that context, it's not so hard to draw a line between black metal and ambient/noise recordings. Even before Burzum obliterated the boundary between black metal and ambient aesthetics, the music coming out of Norway's second wave of black metal declared the sizzling atmosphere of its lo-fi recordings as nearly as important as the music itself.

For the past two years, Flingco Sound System has curated a roster that suggests ambient music and black metal are two parasitic vines, sucking off each other for the benefit of absolutely nobody. Now the label generously offers a 90-minute compilation of exclusive tracks from FSS artists and others whose work FSS admires, titled They Don't Know Unless You Tell Them. It's a wide-ranging beast of a comp, and there's something for everybody -- the noiseniks get the harsh soundscapes of Buer's "Dogwomb" and Grief No Absolution's "Befalling the End of One's Own Harpoon;" open-minded black metalheads will dig Hamsoken's hell-howling "Acrid Desire" and the surprisingly straightforward, and unsurprisingly awesome, crunch of "Mephitic Celebrator" by Wrnlrd (whose Oneiromantical War is reviewed here); No Anchor and Dead Meat both offer darkened, drugged-out rock music with proper human vocals. And there's oodles in between. It's not so much a "listen all the way through and love every minute of it" kind of comp as a "wow, I never realized how well this disparate shit could hang together" kind of comp.

They Don't Know Unless You Tell Them also comes with an amazing digital booklet in the form of two-sided, printable pdf playing cards. Each artist on the comp contribute visuals and the whole shebang was framed in designs by Wrnlrd (see the comp's cover above).

Download They Don't Know Unless You Tell Them:
MP3 format (237.8 MB)

Wav format (466.23 MB)

Liner notes

In other Flingco news, the label's released a curious lil' device called the Black Box:

This evil little battery-operated fucker is loaded with eerie loops from FSS artists Wrnlrd, Cristal, Haptic and also a spoken word piece from Annie Feldmeier Adams. My sense is that any good reason you'd have to buy this is a very, very private one. Perhaps it would make a good Valentine's Day gift for that special someone who hates you?

Buy the Black Box in its analog form for $15 here.

For those with digital proclitivites and an iPhone, purchase it as an iPhone app for $2.99 here.

Visit the Flingco Sound System website

Orphaned Land interview

2010-01-28T19:45:00.000-08:00

It was nigh-impossible to schedule a time to talk with Orphaned Land's lead singer Kobi Farhi, what with the 10-hour time difference between Los Angeles and the band's home base of Israel. Eventually we settled on 10am on a Sunday morning (8pm Jerusalem time) for our interview. While I was still rubbing the sleep from my eyes, Farhi spoke with the articulate loquaciousness of a guy who's done a lot of explaining over the years. Orphaned Land is certainly an anomaly -- a world-class progressive death metal band from a region that doesn't produce much metal at all (and, as Farhi explains, is often opposed to it), a band of Jews with a huge Muslim fanbase, a sextet of outspoken Israelis without a political agenda to push. Farhi was promoting Orphaned Land's new album, The Neverending Way of ORWarriOR, set for a US release of February 9 via Century Media. It's a big album full of big ideas, conceptually and musically. Farhi conveys the vastness of Orphaned Land's visions in his remarks.

An abridged version of this interview can be found in Decibel issue 65 (Fear Factory cover). Click here for an abridged version of the abridged version.

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Orphaned Land is known for taking its sweet time in between records. Why the long wait since Mabool and the Ararat EP?

I guess it’s a combination of a few things. I should say that the first thing is that our music is very complex, very layered and if you take the new album, it’s a three-chapter story reaching a total of 78 minutes long. So the amount of information inside of that album -- we could easily make three albums out of it. We do let everybody wait, but then we give them, let’s say, something to eat for a few years.

This is who we are. We can definitely write more catchy songs, more poppy kind of songs, and that would take us a shorter time. But that’s not what we’re all about. We are very much devoted and faithful to what we do. We take good care of it, and it’s a huge responsibility. Some people and record companies say that we take too long, and they are right -- from a commercial point of view, it’s not really good. But this is who we are. We always try to go as fast as we can, and it takes time. This is the first reason.

The second reason is that living in our region was never easy. We always have to struggle a lot in order to keep the band alive. Because most of us also have other day jobs, and we have to struggle with a lot of things. Everything in terms of normal living here is very stressing, and all the time there is a war, there is a threat, you read about a nuclear weapon, this is just the routine here, since we were born. I guess it is sad, a little bit. We cannot be fully concentrated on creation. On the other hand, it’s also one of the most inspiring places. So I don’t think a band like Orphaned Land can emerge from a place which is not the Middle East. So it’s a two-way conflict between the two. But I guess these are the main two reasons. The complexity of the album and the fact that we live here in the Middle East. And not like in Europe, where things are much easier in terms of society.

Americans, and westerners in general, have a pretty skewed vision of what happens in Israel and the Middle East. As an Israeli artist with a worldwide audience, do you ever feel pressure to use Orphaned Land as a platform for “explaining” or “translating” the Middle East for the West?

I wish the government of my country would adopt Orphaned Land harder than they are. Because Israel is always struggling to explain its bad image towards the news and the press. And I think that Orphaned Land is some kind of good news coming out of Israel, being very caring, very peaceful messengers of harmony and synergy between cultures and religions. So for us, it’s fun to tell our story everywhere. The fact that we have a huge Arab fanbase – it’s a miracle in itself. Everybody is familiar with the Israeli-Arab conflict. But you actually have to live here in this region in order to understand how bizarre it is that an Israeli band has thousands of Arab followers. It doesn’t make any sense. I mean, it sounds very hallucinative (sic), and not very connected with reality.

The fact that the music has succeeded to do it – succeeded where politicians failed – and the fact that it is actually happening, and some of them even have tattoos of the band – this is a story that we wish to tell. It’s a story of hope. The most amazing thing is that it’s not a new age, white or “shanty-banty” band that is doing it. We’re a metal band, at the end of the day. Which is an added value to the whole thing, I think.

I’ve never heard that term “shanty-banty” before.

Well, “shanty-banty” is slang for…you know Indian music which is very Shanti and peaceful? Spreading the message of love and harmony?

Okay, so it’s sort of “head in the clouds."

We do have a very peaceful and spiritual message, but at the end of the day, this is a metal band. I’m screaming this message into a microphone with growls. And this is the amazing thing, I think. That a metal band has succeeded. I don’t want to sound like I’m very proud, or megalomaniacal. But I truly think that this is more successful than any other style in our region, that’s succeeded to unite Arabs and Jews altogether.

Would you say that it’s the mere act of combining so many of these different musical styles that gives it that impression of unity? Or is there something in your lyrics where you’re addressing situations politically, in a very direct way?

I would say both. Of course the music is definitely synergy between cultures, and if a Middle Eastern guy or an Israeli or an Arab will go to Ozzfest or to the USA and he will hook up with some local US metalheads, he can definitely pull the CD of Orphaned Land and play it, and say “This is a metal country. This is coming from my region, and reflecting inspirations from my region and my culture, as well.” Because we are Jewish, and we are Israeli, but it doesn’t say anything on a political term. We are not politicians. We don’t take any side. We are actually sick of this circle of bloodshed and war that never ends. Even 18 years ago, we sang the same songs, the same messages. So we’re pretty sure that people here are trapped in some kind of magic circle of killing each other, and confusement (sic), and raising their children to even hate more, fight more. And you can see the outcome by the development of mass destruction weapons, and stuff like that. And every once in a while, yeah, we kill each other once again.

Orphaned Land is a completely different thing. And I think both the music and the lyrics, what we say in interviews – in all channels and platforms of the band, we always say we don’t take a stand. Because we should stop doing it and really understand that everybody is the same. And it’s okay that if someone else is different than you. You shouldn’t avoid yourself from hooking up with them. It would be interesting for every culture to learn about the other culture. And I think that if I lived that way, I’m a very rich man. Because I have friends from so many countries. I get to eat so many kinds of food from so many variations of cuisine. The languages, the music, the instruments that they play. The way they dress. All these things. If I don’t avoid them, if I’m not afraid of them, I’m becoming a rich man.

And this is our music. When you listen to our music, you can definitely see that from a musical level, it is heaven on earth. And we wish that people will live that way. I mean, you shouldn’t give up your culture. It’s okay. I’m Jewish, I’m Israeli, I like it. But being a Jew and an Israeli doesn’t necessarily have to mean that I hate Arabs, or that I want to kill them, or that I want to steal from them their land, or that they’re my enemy. I don’t want to agree to that. And every day that it’s going on, I see that it’s actually working. I get shitloads of feedback from Arabs, despite my being an Israeli. This is definitely the proof of it.

We published a photo on our Facebook fan page, and it was simply amazing. It was like comment after comment. The first comment was by a guy named Muhammad. The next comment was by a guy named Yossi, which is an Israeli name. The next was from, I dunno, Jonathan. And you see a Muslim, a Jew, a Christian, just writing one after another, “Wow.” “Unbelievable.“ “Amazing.” Peace to the Middle East. No politics whatsoever, and they don’t even fight with each other. It’s amazing, you know? It’s definitely like a miracle.

You approach religion in a very, very different way than your average metal band. Obviously as you’ve said, you’re a band of Jews, and you don’t make a big deal about it. Your music tends to engage the stories and traditions of the Abrahamic religions – Islam, Judaism, Christianity -- and not in a critical way. Do you see the place for organized religion in the traditionally anti-Judeo-Christian metal world?

Well first of all I must just say, because people sometimes tend to confuse. We are not a “white metal” band, the way the metalheads tend to call it. We don’t preach, we’re not missionaries, we don’t say to people “Go to pray to god, go to church.” This is not what Orphaned Land is about.

No, of course. I think you engage Middle Eastern and biblical mythologies in the same way that Unleashed or Amon Amarth deal with Viking mythology.

Yeah, yeah. We definitely use mythology, but we like to (blur) the line between the white and the black, between God and the Satan. So on one hand we use religion, on the other hand I can growl, and really connect myself into black metal elements. Everything is okay. We call it “tango between God and Satan.” So it’s just important to say that Orphaned Land is not any kind of religious or orthodox metal band. We just use religion the same as we use growls, or electric guitars, or many ancient instruments. It’s just one of the motives.

On a conceptual level, I have a lot of criticism to religion. I do believe in god, at the end of the day, but I do think that monotheism, and what it was supposed to bring to the world, and the fact that the three Abrahamic religions are just killing each other for decades, not to mention that they do it in the name of god, is one of the most ridiculous things that I’ve ever heard in my life. I mean you want to do it? Go ahead and do it. But why do you do it in the name of God? Who is the god that told you to do it? I don’t know this kind of god. This is definitely not the god that created this world – the trees, the birds, and the love and our ability to bring children into the world. This is not this god. You’re not doing anything on his behalf. And I’m speaking to all religions. If it’s inquisition, if it’s the Jew thinking he’s the chosen one, the Muslim thinking he has to fight with the Jihad against the whole world.

I’m usually a very peaceful man, and I don’t tend to judge people, don’t tend to prefer any culture than the other. But I do have a problem with people that they are sure that they are holding the absolute truth in their hands. And they have to force you to believe that. And it doesn’t matter what you say, or what you have to say, or what your beliefs are. They don’t want to listen to you. These are the people that I’m afraid of the most. It’s extreme people. It could be from any kind. It could be neo-Nazis, it could be Muslims, it could be Jews. It could be Christians. It doesn’t matter. It could be the guy that listens to jazz music, and thinks that the only music that exists is jazz. I have a problem with these kinds of people because they are not willing to listen to me, to my points of view.

Tell me how this idea integrates with the concept behind the new album, The Neverending Way of ORWarriOR. There was definitely a guiding concept behind it, right?

Yeah. The concept is the basic thought that the spirit and inner forces are sleeping. And every one of the listeners of the album is actually the Warrior of Light himself. We truly believe that we create our own reality by our choices. We truly believe that this is not some kind of a god above us that is shaping the world to be the way it is. This is all in our hands, and we are responsible for it. And we shouldn’t be dependent or put the responsibility on some other mighty force. And the purpose of the album is actually to awaken this warrior that is within each and every one of us. This was also one of the themes of the last album. Are you familiar with the album Mabool?

Yeah, I’ve listened to it. I understand it’s about the Flood, yes?

Yeah well Mabool was about the mythological flood in a way, but we created new heroes. So we made up the flood according to Orphaned Land. And the three heroes in the spiritual level, they were some kind of a soul that was divided into three. And that transformed itself into planet earth as a Jew, a Christian and a Muslim. They were all spread out to a different culture of the Abrahamic religions, but at the end of the day they were from the same source, the same soul. And the new album speaks about the same thing. When your warrior is awakened, you can see that everything is connected to one. You can see that “Yeah okay, the guy is a Muslim.” And “Yeah okay, I’m different.” But we are not different at all.

Our head is so full of media bullshit and political manipulation because the people tend to react and to believe like they were sheep. And people always need some kind of a shepherd, and people always tend to believe the one that has charisma, the one that knows how to manipulate them. So they brainwash our minds. It could be with TV commercials, it could be with kids eating McDonalds. It could be with Jews hating Muslims, and Muslims hating Jews. The Warrior of Light, the one that we are trying to awake, he definitely knows to see what is right and what is wrong. He definitely knows to see when he is being manipulated, and when he is trapped in a circle of never ending evil. This is something that we are trying to awaken simply by music and lyrics. And the hero for the album, the Warrior of Light actually believes in himself. This is not some kind of messiah that would come through the sky with, I dunno…a ring of fiery pegasuses or something like that. Each and every one of us is the small Messiah of its on life. And if you would look at our life, most people live in desperation and sadness and disappointment. They are being betrayed. They don’t really understand this world, and why we’re living here, and how come things happen the way they happen.

It’s interesting, you couch so many of your songs in religions themes. I remember hearing the phrase “Crown of thorns” a few times. And then just the notion of the Warrior of Light…I immediately jumped to Jesus, who I know is often called the Prince of Light.

We use it all the time, motives from this religion in our lyrics. We can also say in one of our songs, “Father thou art here in heaven, they kingdom cry.” We changed it to “cry” instead of “come.” And we always like to play with these texts. Because we do like to touch these religious themes, but we don’t have anything against religion in terms of the religion which came to bring us morality. Religion in basic came to bring us morality, and to teach us how to be better human beings. So this is what we are trying maybe to teach -- the way we see religion. And we use this motive so that we will be able to speak to all people from all kinds. It could be a Christian, it could be a non-Christian. We think they are all our brothers, so we like to use it. It’s very sad to say but, religions are having a terrible failure in delivering what they were supposed to deliver.

Tell me a little bit about the research that went in to the story and lyrics on the album.

I think that we wanted to get more personal this time. As I told you in the previous album, it was the Flood story. And we had the heroes, which were as I said the Muslim, the Christian and the Jew, but it was all about the Flood story and whatever goes around it. And in this album we wanted to be more personal, to approach each and every one of the listeners in a personal way. So that they will listen to it, and they will know that this is truly about themselves. This is like the good friend that came to talk to you about your inner self, how much he believes in you. How much power he knows that you have within yourself, and you should get yourself aware of it.

So we really wanted to make it more personal. And this is why we’ve focused it on the hero himself. And since this is such a strong, hard and long journey, to reach this understanding and knowledge, we made this album very long, and we called it The Neverending Way of ORWarriOR. ‘Cuz it’s a huge struggle. I see my parents, I see the people over here, they are living in the same loop, over and over and over again. And it’s hard to me to see it, because it’s like…you suddenly awake yourself, and you see that everyone is sleeping. And you succeed to live good, and you succeed to laugh, and you enjoy life, but you see everyone around you is suffering, and you want to help them. I don’t think we are gonna bring salvation to the world or anything like that. But I definitely think that we can be a good friend that can bring some hope and relief to people. And this is what I think music and art is all about.

That’s a beautiful idea. Was there a process that you went through looking through texts, or researching specific story elements as you were putting together the story for ORWarriOR?

I would say that I tend to meet some people that they are awakened warriors of light. But it’s not really a specific story that I read or…people get to think that maybe we speak about Jesus, which is not true. I mean I do tend to look like Jesus in these photos, or in general. But being serious now, everybody back then looked liked that. And Jesus was the only icon that remained famous. I don’t wanna offend no-one, and I truly appreciate Jesus, and even connect with his ideas, and messages. He was definitely a warrior of light at the time, and I definitely think they crucified him for it. I have a lot of fights with my orthodox Jewish friends, that they are not willing to listen to anything about Jesus. Because for Jews, Jesus is a false messiah in a way. But it’s really a mixture of so many things, and nothing in particular. This is definitely reflecting our life in the Middle East, and take every story of life that we know and we try to enlighten the listener. Not being influenced by any specific story like the previous album which was influenced by the Flood story. This is a very personal – our own kind of story that we created here.

I wanted to talk about the recording of the album itself for a bit. This is the first time you’ve had Steve Wilson as producer. What would you say he brought to the new album and the recording process?

Well first of all, the guy is a genius. And we’re very big fans of what he does. We’re fans of the guy in terms of music, but also on a personal level he is so down to earth, and very humble. Such a nice guy. And he really is an inspiration, by all means. We were privileged to work with him, or maybe to be the second band he chose to work with after Opeth. Another great band. So definitely amazing. He’s not forcing his ideas upon us. Orphaned Land is very busy the way it is, already. We pretty much know who we are and what we want, and we just need some kind of an added value. We don’t need to become something else. Sometimes producers come and they turn you into a completely different thing than what you are. And this is not the case here. We just needed to upgrade. And it’s some kind of small touches, or keyboard sounds, or the way he mixed, the way we gave him the sources and the way he mixed it and the way it sounds now…everybody that listens to the album that knows our previous albums says that this is like Orphaned Land 2.0. A new version of Orphaned Land. And this is Steven I think.

On a musical level of course, we also upgraded ourselves as musicians. We always develop, and play better as the time goes by. But in terms of style and putting sonically everything together, Steven really did a tremendous job, and he really knows how to understand progressive music. We were privileged to work with him. I mean, I’m a fan of the guy. I was at his house, I even met his mom. It was amazing for me as a fan to work with the guy and to bring him in as an added value. The fact that he is even playing on the album was great.

I was listening to Mabool and ORWarriOR back to back yesterday. You’re still the same band – it’s still Orphaned Land playing this. But it’s brighter, more colorful, texturally and sonically.

I think, if I could go back, I would definitely bring Steven on all of our albums. I am happy with them the way they are. I really like Mabool, and it had some kind of success, and people really liked and dig it. But I think that if I remix it some day, I’ll definitely ask Steven to remix it and even bring it to a higher level than we brought it ourselves. Because he definitely knows how to do it. When you listen to a Porcupine Tree album, it always sounds so genius, you know? Even in terms of sound. They are one of the most beloved progressive bands around today. And yeah, I listened to the album and I really like it. Even some stuff in there in the mixing that - I don’t hear it in metal albums, the way he did it. He put some phasing elements in my vocals, but not in an extreme way. It’s like there and it’s not there. He did some really genius stuff in there. When I listened to the final mixes, I was completely blown away. Some parts were much higher than I expected or imagined in my mind.

There’s such a diversity of sounds on this album, and really that’s part of who Orphaned Land is. But I wonder about the composition process. Is there a backbone of guitars or backbone of the song, and then stuff just gets layered on top? Or do you always consider it as a whole from the beginning?

You remember at the beginning of the interview you asked me about why does it take us so long? What I’ll answer now is also a part of it. We never write a song actually. We’re not songwriters. The way we compose our music is like this. First of all we find a meaning – the story, the concept that we want to speak about. Then we collect material. Now this material, usually it’s not songs, it’s just riffs. It could be an acoustic guitar riff, or a distortion pedal riff, it could be like an ancient instrument riff – we always write music in all those instruments. And all of us are doing it. Even if I’m not playing, sometimes something is playing in my head. And I go to Yossi, our guitarist, and I record myself singing it, and we transform it into an instrument.

So we collect this material, and then according to the story, according to the storyboard, the chapters, the scenes and the way the story goes, we start to put the guitar riffs together like a puzzle. Imagine that you have an amount of, I dunno, 100 guitar riffs, because you probably notice our songs begin at one point, then it continues to number three, then number five, eight to ten, and it ends completely in a different context. We barely repeat ourselves. We take this huge amount of riffs, and we start to put them as a puzzle. For example, the album speaks about the warrior. So we look for this heroic guitar riff. Or if it speaks about the warrior being sad, or wounded and broken, and betrayed, we look for this sad acoustic guitar part that we wrote, and we start to build it like a puzzle. On one hand, it’s fascinating, because you don’t even know yourself the picture of your album while you’re composing it. Because you’re busy with the puzzle. You cannot see the picture until you finish. I wasn’t able to see or to understand our album until I got the final mixes. And it’s a very scary process, a very painful process, because it’s a lot like…walking in the dark. It’s like playing a puzzle, you know? It’s very hard, because you try to put it here, you try to put it there. You go to 100 places until you find the right place for one guitar riff. On the other hand, I don’t know any other band that works like that, and I think this is why people can say that our music is unique and different and very complex, and rich, and layered. So this is actually the way we compose. I wonder if we could do it otherwise. I don’t know.

I want to try to do some other things in the future, maybe. Just to try and be more, maybe…maybe we’ll do one album that will be more easygoing. I dunno. Don’t take my word for it.

The first single you’re releasing and the first track on the album, “Sapari,” is an adaptation of a Yemenite folk song, right?

Well yeah. Originally this is a synagogue song actually.
Oh, like piyyut.
Yeah, it’s piyyut. It was written in the 17th century by a Yemenite poet named Assad Ben Amram. And our female singer, Shlomit, she’s originally a Yemenite Jew, and we simply fell in love with everything that she sings from their piyyut. It’s such a fascinating thing – the Yemenite Jews, they were amazing by all means because they kept and preserved the Jewish language in a perfect way. They came after 2000 years of being exiled, and they speak Hebrew the same way that Jews were speaking 2000 years ago. So this song is a fascinating conversation between a poet and his spirit. You could say that it’s commercial…it’s more commercial and catchy than the other songs on the album. It repeats itself, and it’s very uplifting.
You talked about how your process is very different from the standard process of most bands. You and probably Moonspell were the first two bands to incorporate Middle Eastern or Arabic bands into metal. But now there’s a whole lot of them – Nile, Absu, Melechesh, Arkan. Do you feel some kind of kinship to those bands? Or resonate at all with the surge of folk-metal bands coming out of Europe?

Well definitely if you ask me where I put my next bet, I think that the Middle Eastern metal is the next thing. Folk metal which comes from Scandinavia or Finland or stuff like that already made their thing, and everybody’s familiar with that. And I think that this is the time that people are looking for something interesting because they are circulating and recycling themselves all the time. And I think that metal with a Middle Eastern flavor is definitely the next thing. I definitely think that it’s the time for the Middle Eastern metal to take over. And even though we’ve been around for 18 years now, I think that -- now taking into consideration – I don’t know if you’re familiar with Sam Dunn’s Global Metal documentary?
I haven’t seen it but I know you were featured in it, right?

Yeah. We were featured in it and the guy was exploring bands in some unconventional countries. So he was visiting Indonesia, Dubai, Israel, Japan, places like that. And I think that the people in the metal scene are thirsting for something new and something fresh. And we’re definitely the answer for it. And you know the author Mark LeVine, he wrote the book called Heavy Metal Islam. It’s a great story. So you can see that buy these documentaries, by the book of Mark, this is definitely something that is growing beneath the surface. And I think it is the time for it to explode.
There’s that Heavy Metal in Baghdad documentary about that band Acrassicauda. That actually did extremely well.
That’s right. We were even on a TV series of Al-Jazeera. If you Google “Orphaned Land,” you will be able to see Orphaned Land on a series called Playlist of Al-Jazeera. And they explore also some bands from the Middle East, and Jordan and Dubai. So this is definitely a growing thing. I think the internet is a big help over here. Because these Arab countries, they are not democracies. And I don’t think that metal is actually not allowed over there in many ways. I know about an Egyptian fan of Orphaned Land that was thrown into jail for six months because authorities found in his house a song by Orphaned Land where we used a part from the Koran. In a very respectful way, by the way. But the guy was thrown to jail. And this is what’s scary to me, when I told you that I’m scared by people that don’t want to listen. Because they didn’t even check it. The band. What words that they used. The guy actually was blamed for blasphemy and words of Satan. And he didn’t! And even if he did, then he didn’t hurt anyone, so what do you care? This is a completely new definition of the word “underground scene.” The way you and me don’t even know it. But I do think that the internet is doing its job and making everything more accessible. You can reach, you can download music. I don’t think we would have had this huge success with Arabs without the internet. It would have been very like an underground band.
It’s interesting to me that you were doing the job of the internet long before the internet existed. Where attempting this cross-cultural, almost globalized sound. Now it’s a lot easier to come by for the exact reasons that you’ve expressed. Do you feel like the intent behind what Orphaned Land is doing has changed now that it’s so much easier to get eyeballs and to get ears on what you’re doing?

Well yeah, I definitely feel that it’s a lot easier today. Having so many people on Facebook and MySpace, you’re able to communicate with your friends from your home computer, you know? And you know that if we go back like to the year 2000…so the band was not active in those days, and we had a lot of issues between us, and the band was not really successful, and we had to deal with a lot of things. So the band was in some kind of a coma. And after six years of nothing, it was the year 2000, when the internet actually arrived in some places that were not familiar with it yet, I get to check my e-mail this evening. And I open my e-mail, and I see a mail – I started to get some e-mails back then from some Arab guys, like from Syria and Egypt. But it was just a few you know? Here and there. And one evening I opened the e-mail box, and I see a mail from a Jordanian guy, and I see a video file attached. So I open the file, and I start to watch the file, and I hear Orphaned Land’s music in the background. I don’t see a face, but the camera is filming his hand, and he’s like pulling up the sleeve from his shirt, and I see that he has an Orphaned Land tattoo.
Now the guy is Jordanian, and I was Israeli. Back then, this band is in a coma. And right there, in this moment, I understood that something is happening here, and it’s going to get bigger. And being with Orphaned Land, doing what we do, is definitely our mission, our contribution to this region. I don’t know what else I can do to help this region. And definitely I’m helping it much more with my band. And this was the breaking point where personally I understood that I had to take the band from the coma, and to direct it again to being active. So the Israeli Orphaned Land can even say that coming back to life was mainly because of Arabs. I even met the guy. We had a concert in Turkey and I met him. And when we speak to each other, we call each other brother, you know? We don’t even call each other by name. We call each other brother because we are awakened. We know that this is complete bullshit between politicians. And we are awakened. We cannot fall for this.
That’s a fantastic story, Kobi. That almost deserves its own feature.

Yeah you know I have to be honest with you…I tell them the story, and then I tell them if I’m okay with the guy… “listen, I know it’s not up to you, it’s up to the editors, but seriously, between you and me, don’t you think you should give me the front cover?” I mean what else can you do, put Metallica or Slayer again, only this time they’ll be, I dunno, drink the other beer, or holding the other guitar? I mean be brave. And have some courage and break this paradigm of repeating yourself all the time. This is what I’m trying to say. I appreciate any kind of exposure that we get. But I definitely think that this is a story that has to be told loud. Because it’s a metal band that succeeds to create friendships out of enemies. And it’s interesting, and it’s amazing, and it’s a miracle. So yeah…who’s your editor? ::laughs::
Most progressive metal fans can identify some of the rock/metal influences in Orphaned Land’s sound. What music from outside the metal world is most inspiring to the band, and helps in framing your music?

This is really so much, Etan. So many. You know it could be Italian opera by Puccini, it could be Arabian music. We simply admire – I can say that when it’s right, it’s right. If you go through my CD collection, then you will hear music and musicians from all over the world. It could be even a goa trance. It could be classic music, Pakistani music, Indian music. Really, anything.
Was there anything you were listening to more than anything else during the recording process?

I do have my own personal favorite poet, which is Leonard Cohen. He is definitely my mentor and my favorite one.
You’ve been meaning to record songs of his, right? Did you consider one for this album?

We wanted to cover “First We Take Manhattan” by Leonard Cohen but then we decided not to do it because we didn’t have the time. We decided to delay it. But I do admire the guy so much, the way that he writes, and his songs. He is definitely my all-time favorite. I also like Depeche Mode very much, which is some kind of 80s new wave poppy style. And of course I love metal, Israeli artists, Arabian singers, really everything. You name it.

How would you characterize the Israeli metal scene? Is there a supportive network of bands and fans? Or has it been difficult being isolated from the rest of the metal world?
Well, I think living in such an intense place such as Israel makes the metal fans to be one of the best fans around. A lot of the bands that are playing from Europe or the USA always said that the Israeli crowd kick ass. Because they’re very much screaming singing along, hand-clapping, jumping, these things we do – and follow you. This is like their 15 minutes of freedom in this world, in this very harsh reality. And I think that the scene here is great. We have bands of all kinds, from black metal to thrash metal, doom metal and even folk metal. Everything is here by local bands. Yeah, everyone is supporting each other. There are some things that are missing. There were some failures of organizing some metal festivals in the past, the organizers stole the money at the end of the day. So there are some shit going on, but yeah, the scene here is well-developed, and great. Every years hundreds of people are going to Wacken open air in Germany. We have metal pubs over here, some radio stations playing metal. We have a metal shop over here completely devoted to metal music.
Wow, you barely have any of those out in Los Angeles, where I am. There are a couple that have sprung up in the last couple years, but it’s amazing to me to find in such a farflung place a whole shop devoted just to metal.
The one that runs it is Uri from my band. He’s my bass guitar player. He’s not the owner, but he’s the one that runs the shop. People are buying CDs there. They come there to buy tickets to shows. Nevermore was here recently, and they did a signing session over there, and more than 100 people came.
Do most of the bands that develop a large following in Israel end up signing with Israeli labels, or do they end up signing overseas?

I would say that 80 percent of these bands are actually ending splitting up, because of going to the army. Imagine you being a metalhead with your long hair, and then at the age of 18, you have to cut it all off, and then go to the army for three years. So tours are out of the question, not to mention free time to meet each other and to rehearse and everything. So a lot of the bands are splitting up, a lot of them are there to work or to cooperate with bands after the army. Some of the bands that do survive are getting signed -- could be by an Israeli label, some of them could even get signed by foreign label. We had one band that was even signed with Roadrunner for one album, but then Roadrunner didn’t want to continue with them. But these things are happening. I’ve known the scene in the last maybe 20 years, and this is the best situation in terms of bands getting signed. Some of them are really getting signed by indie labels. But then again, it’s abroad, and it’s cool, you know? We also started with a French label (called) Holy Records, which is an indie label. So it’s a good starting point, and maybe the bigger labels will notice you later.
You seem to have some success with Century Media, which is among the biggest indies in the world.

Yeah. Century Media is nothing but great. I really like them. The people here, both in the European and American office, are really great, and behind the band, and really believe in us. And even the owner of the label – I’m really in touch with everyone over there. We are all believing in the same purpose, that Orphaned Land is unique, that we should push it. And they are really behind us. I really appreciate them for that. Hopefully they are for the others bands. You sign with a label, and you can always hear shit. Because you cannot make everyone happy. Some bands are pissed off, some bands are happy. I’m on the happy side. Maybe it’s my attitude. I don’t know. But I really love the guys.
It’s probably a little bit of both. It’s sort of a strange prospect for a label to get behind a band that records an album every four or five years, and has maybe a bigger potential audience than your average metal band, just because of all the styles you do, but it’s still a weird style of music that you’re making, no bones about it. It’s not immediately bankable.

You know that photo that we did, that controversial photo, where the Jews are praying like Muslims and the Muslims are holding siddurs like they’re Jewish…and I’m like the Jesus with Magdalene in the middle? Originally, it was the idea of the owner of Century Media. I mean I had my A&R in both the US and the German office. I know the owner of Century Media, we met a couple times. But I’m not supposed to be in touch with him. And then at one night on Friday evening, I get a phone call from the guy. And he says “Hey, it’s Oliver from Century Media.” The guy’s like the owner of the company, calling me out of the blue, and telling me “Listen, it strikes me like lightning. Because you’re so different, and you’re so strange, and your music is so unique. And we should try to reflect this in a visual aspect as well.” And he was completely right, and we really developed this idea, made it for the first time, the band is transformed on a visual level a bit of our music.
Are you going to tour in the Jesus costume?

During the show I’m doing these things that related to Jesus, with the stand of the microphone, you know? Our show is really like a religious celebration at the end of the day. But a metal celebration. Some friend came to me after our show in Israel one time and said, “Do you know what your show is?” And I said to him “no, you tell me.” And he said “Your show is the synagogue for the metalheads.” And this is definitely it. And when we play in Turkey, it’s like the mosque for the metalheads. That’s the way it is you know? But it’s very important to explain, because some people – I saw some reactions of American people that saw the photo. You really need to get to the bottom of it in order to understand what we wanted to say, the purpose of it. Why did we do it? Because if you don’t get to the bottom of it, it could appear to be like a parody, or just something which is ridiculous. It’s a utopia. It’s something that we really wish to have in our region. Try to put yourself in our shoes, living in a place where the three Abrahamic regions, believing in the same god and killing each other for decade after decade after decade. So this is being ridiculous. And having our picture is being artistic. That’s the way we see it.
Do you have touring plans yet?

We do, and Steve (Joh, from Century Media) in the U.S. is also looking for some cool things. But yeah, we’re looking for opportunities to play to the right audience. The one that will like our music at the end of the day. It will happen. With the help of Steven and Century Media, it will happen in 2010 for sure.
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Visit Orphaned Land on the web

CHAINMAIL: Moroghor - Darkness... (self-released, 2009)

2010-01-25T22:59:00.000-08:00

The CHAINMAIL section reviews bands that were proactive enough to contact me directly. Here at Cerebral Metalhead, initiative is rewarded.

Instru-metal band Moroghor exists perpetually in between the verses of Slayer’s “Dead Skin Mask” and those sections in later Pink Floyd songs where a slashing guitar chord burns out a slow vamp and David Gilmour tattoos heroic solos over it. Throw in some 70s sci-fi synths for extra headfuck. It’s a unique sound, neither depressive enough to qualify as doom proper nor quite loopy enough for a trip down LSD flashback lane.

Guitarist/synth player Ndehatl explains in an e-mail that “Our music started out as sort of psychedelic black-ish metal, and recently took a turn into black/drone/doom in our 2nd album….not sure where we’ll go next. Don’t really care. We’ll end up wherever we end up.” You can sense the indecision on Darkness… As infrequently as we get to hear major-key, modal doom ("Taijitu”), the metal textures tend towards the static. Zombi-fied synthy textures help, but Moroghor’s songs never resolve into anything – they’re mostly endless slow-motion space trudges. Let’s get these guys a vocalist or license Darkness… for a low-budget sci-fi soundtrack, pronto.

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Pfffttt. Moroghor are kind enough to post their entire discography for free download right here.