NashVile

Best Music of 2018

2018-12-31T21:23:00.001-08:00

Fuck. I've been sick for a week so this is gonna suck even more than usual. I barely even reached out for lists. I didn't even write any reviews for months. I wouldn't blame you for not reading this blog anymore.

But I got into a new lab this year and now I'm studying bone fractures and burn recovery so that's good and at least gives me a good excuse for not doing more.

Also my band Great Unclean Ones w/ dudes from Brother Ares and Vile Desecration recorded our first demo that's still being mixed so that was good.

Anyway enough moping and dead promises (more writeups next year I swear), here's some lists, somehow presented even more lazily than years past.

Spencer Moore (Inferi, Chasm of Teeth, Phobos)

Mikey Owin (Ascent of Everest, Lawndry, Evil Bebos, possibly Boo Dudes)

Waleid Elchaer (Obelisk)

Blake Conley (Droneroom, Dronestore Cowboy, ex-Brother Ares, The Minor Second)

Breeders-all nerve

facs-negative houses

low- double negative

mary lattimore hundreds of days

meg baird + mary Lattimore- ghost forest

lingua ignota- all die

marisa anderson-cloud cover

Daughters-you won’t get what you want

tender mercy- leave little room

hot snakes- Jericho sirens

the body- I have fought against it, but I can’t any longer

body/head-the switch

luna honey-peace will grind you down

loma-s/t

savak- beg your pardon

kurt vile- hold it in

Courtney Barnett-tell me how you really feel

hc mcentire- lionheart

frankie cosmos- vessel

rolling blackouts coastal fever- hope downs

Honorable Mentions:

knife knights- 1 time mirage

Daniel bachman- the morning star

bill frisell- music is

suss- ghost box

jaye jayle- no trail

emma ruth rundle- on dark horses

Dylan Carlson-conquistador

Josh Byrd (Working in Retail, Bosh Jyrd)

Aaron Hortman (Vile Desecration)

Zan Greene (Moru)

Blake Dellinger (Flummox, Unorthodox)

Jody Lester (Bled to Submission, Bee Bong)

Isaiah Rodriguez (Bled to Submission)

Me, Court Reese (Great Unclean Ones, Cøurtney)
3. Death Metal in general.
It was a good year. Bands like Tomb Mold, Innumerable Forms, Extremity, Horrendous, our own Mortius and Inferi boys, Psycroptic, Corpsessed, Outer Heaven, Convulsing, Skinless, Hyperdontia, I think even my old bedfellows Act of Impalement are considered death metal and put out an absolute fucking banger of a debut of an LP.

Perdition Cult by ACT OF IMPALEMENT

2. Messa - Feast for Water
I really thought this was gonna be #1 for months, since it came out in April. These Italians build on their last album by expanding their "scarlet doom" sound's range, from noir jazz a la Bohren and Der Club of Gore to rifftastic doom rock all the way to blastbeats, all perfectly cohesed from one section to the next until you realize just how satisfying this journey of an album has been.

Feast for Water by Messa

1. Entropia - Vacuum
This fucking album, once I started listening I kept having to come back over and over to hear every hidden part. That isn't to say this is technical or progressive, this is pure psychedelic black metal. They start heavy but then they switch to what feels like Krautrock in ways that really make you boogie. The shifting time signatures and increasing of on- and offbeats will fuck with your head even if stone sober. Psychedelic black metal is hard to come by and these Pollocks do it just as well if not better than Oranssi Pazuzu themselves.

Vacuum by Entropia

Honorable Mentions
Valdur - Goat of Iniquity
Kim Petras -Turn Off the Light, Vol. 1
A Forest of Stars - Grave Mounds and Grave Mistakes
Svrm - Лихиї вітри стогнуть без упину
Bonehunter - Children of the Atom
Oxygen Destroyer - Bestial Manifestations of Malevolence and Death
Sofi Tukker - Treehouse
Droneroom - Jesus Year
Bled to Submission - Vermin
Terrible People s/t
The Body - I Have Fought Against It, But I Can’t Any Longer.

Thanks for sticking around. Here's to another year of music.

Dreamworldz, Wilt (Philly), The Ada Babar Situation (Philly), Eve Maret/Abstract Black/B|_ank 3/20 at the Mouthhole

2018-03-21T19:36:00.003-07:00

This show was a little bit outside of my regular repertoire but was still an absolute blast. I've only recently started finding my way into noise pop (if that's even what you could call these groups) backwards though groups like The Body, HEALTH, and BiS Kaidan. Since I'm only starting to get my bearings in this kind of music, enjoy my nearly uncut notes streaming my consciousness during each act:

Dreamworldz - boy band... with 2 girls! Starts out in tent and sleeping bags. Lip synched? Preposterous. 90s pop stylings. Song about their sponsor, Kmart. Chugging contest, 2 liter vs can of diet Dr K. 2 liter gets poured in skull beer bong. Winner gets chikfila gift cards. Huge mess is made. Right into next song. Excellent choreography, and "guitar" (ukulele) skills. Song about being your baby til 80, maybe related to that one book "Love You Forever". Ukulele is smashed.

Wilt (Philly). 3 piece, drums guitar and keys. Is this twee? I have 0 experience. Keys are kinda discordant. Blanket over snare? Only a few drum pads. Dissociative Dresden Dolls? Maddening. Vocals sung/spoken softly. Only 3 strings on guitar. Very sweet! Unnervingly sweet. Deconstructed Cranberries? ANGULAR?? Math rock gaps. Krautrock motorik? Hypnotic in a way that you have to figure out what's happening.

The Ada Babar Situation (Philly). 2 members of Wilt, not sure about other 2 in rhythm section. Some high pitched sounds high enough to be uncomfortable. Disjointed. Like a carousel on cough syrup. "Ghosting a hit" track about holding in smoke, sample of them holding in a bong rip. Polyrhythms? Djent version of pop? Prog pop? Post-punk vaporwave? Definitely interchanging time signatures, 3 and 4 alternating with a 2/4 measure?. Guitar synthesizer with girl singing (speaking? moaning?) samples. Swans on Prozac. Bassists changes shirts during last song, during lots of negative space.

Monstrosity of Eve Maret, JayVe Montgomery (Abstract Black), Will Hicks (B|_ank). Eve has keyboards, a modular synth, macbook pro. JayVe has tenor sax, electronic sax (?), samplers and synths. Will has bass drum, cymbal, synths, drum pads. Contact mic'd plant. Starts off sounding like Space Invaders. Inverse delayed drum beat? Slowly building chaos. JayVe busts out a pocket trumpet!! Improv jam almost has a free jazz feel to it. Chaotic but fluid, though piercing at times. Will adds a snare, now it sounds like psychedelic dark jazz. JayVe busts out the tenor sax and skronks it up a little. Intense but never really gets "harsh". Except somepiercing treble. Will is going full Whiplash. Busts out some metal sticks and smacks the hi hat. Eve starts singing long tones over the noise.

Destructicide, Mortius, Vile Desecration, Steel Bearing Hand (TX) at Springwater 3/11

2018-03-17T14:04:00.001-07:00

Destructicide, a new trio from here in Nashville, played a fist pumping energetic blend of death and thrash metal on Sunday night. The solid riffage made a firm foundation for the absolutely sick death growls and hefty but breakneck blastbeats. The sound was tight and impressive, but the guitars were drowned out a good deal of the time, and I can't help but wonder if there wasn't a bassist and/or another guitarist (hell add another 2 and go full Kvelertak) to help fill out the sound. I like what they've got I just want MORE.

I've been meaning to see Mortius for quite some time, and I think I can say they totally meet and blow away all the hype. Between Inferi, Abyss Walker, Abated Mass of Flesh, Chasm of Teeth, and some I know I'm forgetting, it's exciting to see Nashville having its own brood of death metal acts. Out of all these bands, Mortius seems to be the most committed to the traditional style, though they still manage to make me think of a prog-less Necrophagist. They keep things extra fresh by adding in touches of death/doom and even a pinch of funeral doom. Like Destructicide, if you were to give them the "but are the riffs sick?" litmus test, you'd get an "absolutely" response.

Vile Desecration played pure tireless black metal, complete with blastbeats and nonstop shredding. The sound is almost anachronistic, like a 90s black metal band trying to take cues from Bathory and Venom, while still sounding modern, not unlike Destroyer 666. Vile Desecration manages to sound fresh and ferocious while sounding recognizably black metal without sounding outdated.

Steel Bearing Hand from Dallas, TX brought the thunder. These guys play thrash metal, but it's a thrash metal that's girded in death metal and wields black metal like a battleaxe. Steel Bearing Hand are like an Incantation that makes you bust out your best DRI skank moves. If Annihilator decided they wanted to be more like Bolt Thrower, it might sound a bit like this band.

It was great to be back out and at a show again, apologies to everyone whose band I've missed so far this year, I'm still working on making it out more.

tl;dr Best of 2017

2017-12-30T11:06:00.000-08:00

tl;dr best of 2017

Chappy Hull - Gnarwhal

Top 11 albums by bands that start with “P” in 2017

Palberta - Bye Bye Berta

Power trip - Nightmare Logic

Pissed jeans - Why Love Now?

Pile - A Hairshirt of Purpose

Protomartyr - Relatives in Descent

Palm - Shadow Expert

Palehound - A Place I’ll Always Go

Pallas - Pallas 12”

Primitive man - Caustic

Priests - Nothing Feels Natural

PC Worship - Buried Wish

John Judkins - Laser Flames on the Great Big News, Rwake, Protomen

Mastodon: Emperor of Sand

Loss: Horizonless

Elder: Reflections of a Floating World

Pallbearer: Heartless

Spirit Adrift: Curse of Conception

Julien Baker: Turn Out the Lights

Thundercat: Drunk

Amenra: VI

Mutoid Man: War Moans

Zeal & Ardor: The Devil is Fine

Jay Som: Everybody Works

Run the Jewels: 3

Land of Talk: Life After Youth

Chelsea Wolfe: Hiss Spun

BADBADNOTGOOD: Late Night Tales

Double Ferrari: s/t

Cinemechanica: The Martial Arts

Auric: First and Last

Dan Emery - Thetan and Black Matter Mastering

Top 5 bands that kicked my ass that I never even knew of and was surprised as shit by and stuff, or at the very least just formed recently and impressed me.

5. Tom Violence. Holy shit I love when bands don't stop between songs. Heavy, kind of industrial at times, innovative. I'm down.

4. Bled To Submission. These guys are tight. Symphonic black metal. I'm usually not a fan of synths. They made a believer out of me.

3. Mouth Reader. I know, I am late as fuck on them. Still though I have a soft spot for grimy garage rock. They are grimy as fuck.

2. Voarm. Finally venturing out of TN, RVA's Voarm are the type of occult black metal that made me like that type of music to begin with. Plus they are at least partially from TN, so there's the connection.

1. Benjamin Tod. Benjamin from Lost Dog Street Band branched out on his own this year. His solo album (I Will Rise) is a dark minimalistic journey through depression, addiction, shame, and loneliness. Probably the most moving thing I've listened to this

Kayla Philips - Pulsatile Tinnitus, Bleed The Pigs

Glassjaw - Material Control

Damien Dubrovnik - Great Many Arrows

Primitive Man - Caustic

CHRCH/FISTER – SPLIT

HELL - Sentient Ruin

Chasity Belt - I Used To Spend So Much Time Alone

Triptides - Afterglow

Waleid Elchaer - Obelisk

Unleash the Archers - Apex

Rings of Saturn -Ulta Ulla

Thy Art Is Murder - Dear Desolation

Enslaved- E

Blut Aus Nord- Deas Salutis

Ne Obliviscarus -Urn

Mastodon- emperor of Sand

Black Dahlia Murder-Nightbringers

Persefone -aathma

Mors Principium est- embers of a dying world

Trivium - The Sin and The Sentence

Immolation - Atonement

Duane Johnson - Pinion

Full of Hell - Trumpeting Ecstasy

Artificial Brain - Infrared Horizon

Power Trip - Nightmare Logic

Gatecreeper - Sweltering Madness

Elias MacDonald - Phobos, Cull, Chasm of Teeth, ex-Altar of Complaints

SUPER SLIMEY by Future and Young Thug

Uhhhh new Artificial Brain

Saw You in a Dream by The Japanese House

E by Dove Lady/One by Dove Lady

I still haven’t listened to anything past Sunbather

Sonic Adventure 2 OST

Marvel vs Capcom 2 OST

Random jazz music

Outsider EP by BukuSteez

I finally tried out James Blake this year (lit af)

Stan Richardson II - Skoolgirl, Working In Retail

NOISE + EXPERIMENTAL
Skin Tension – “A Body Collapsing In A Closed Space”
Do you like jazz but need it to be thrown into a sink disposal unit and thrown around like a fork? You need to catch Skin Tension, one of the incredible local experimental improv groups with rotating members. Everyone involved with this project are some of the most creative people I know. Don’t be scared. It’s ok. A Banana Tapes band so just eat that cherry on top.
https://skintension.bandcamp.com/track/a-body-collapsing-in-a-closed-space-2
Street Rat – “Penance”
I can’t recommend this artist enough to fans of harsh noise. I’ve never been to a more engaging show. Using found “instruments” from wherever they’ve been, Miami’s Street Rat will destroy yr fucking mind and yr sensibilities of what can and can’t be done with performance. And on top of all that, they are part of one of my favorite labels, Crass Lips tapes. They are playing at Mouthhole Jan 30th, so I better see yr ass there.
https://streetratlives.bandcamp.com/album/penance
Secret Friends/Flesh Eater – “Contengen / Disjoint” split
Two of the most exciting creators in Nashville right now and their work with Banana Tapes this year has re-kindled my faith in the Nashville music scene. There’s a lot of thought put into these soundscapes and it shows.
https://secretfriendsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/contingent-disjoint
WEIRD PUNK AND POST PUNK
Period Bomb – “Permanently Wet”
Maybe my favorite album that came out this year. I wish I had more words to describe it than weird, goofy, wonky-ass radness, but the words don’t exist so I’m gonna make some up. Wackful insanidriven permafuckcore from one of the best bands in the fucking country today on one of the raddest labels in the goddamn world, Crass Lips. If you haven’t seen this band yet fucking GO! They are almost always on tour.
https://periodbomb.bandcamp.com/album/permanently-wet
Bucket – “Bouquet”
For fans of Fugazi that wanna hear it updated into the modern quirk-ladden vernacular. Bucket’s got what you want.
https://songsmeanalotwhensongsarebought.bandcamp.com/
Tom Violence – “Popular Horror” EP
https://tomviolenceisadream.bandcamp.com/releases
As if being named after a Sonic Youth song wasn’t enough, Tom Violence will destroy you with heavy shoe-gaze tone drones with industrial levels of weight. I don’t even go to the gym anymore. I just move my limbs around at Tom Violence shows and the air is so heavy, I get swole as fuck. One of the best new acts in Nashville.
POP SADNESS + EVERYTHING ELSE
Flesh Eater – “Live at Supra Sound Studios”
If XTC took some ecstasy, had a threesome with Robert Smith and Morrissey then let Devo raise the kid, that kid might sound like Flesh Eater. Another Banana Tapes band that can get you to move ya damn hips in ways you never thought possible.
https://flesheaterband.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-supra-sound-studios
Blaketheman1000 – “Blaketheman1000’s Greatest Hits” and “Tokyo” EP
If you didn’t get to see Blaketheman1000 ever play in Nashville, I am so sorry and have some literature for a support group you can go to. Pop music at it’s finest, these beautiful boys give yr catchy teen-bop side a well-needed scratch all while maintaining drunken confessions at the dive bar levels of honesty and sincerity hidden beneath a carefully crafted crust of humor. Buy the Greatest Hits cassette from Banana Tapes, I listened to it 20 times in a row and it was a straight banger every time.
https://blaketheman1000.bandcamp.com/album/blaketheman1000s-greatest-hits
https://blaketheman1000.bandcamp.com/album/tokyo-ep
Treadles - “Bees are Thieves Too”
I’ve been following this band since 2010 and watching and hearing it’s progression has been a fucking RIDE! KC is a Nashville native living in NOLA now, and all of it bleeds into their music in beautiful cascades of tones, moans, and student loans. One of the best songwriters I have ever met. Please listen, you need it.
https://treadles.bandcamp.com/album/bees-are-thieves-too

Ivan Doerschuk - Lost Dog Street Band, ex- too many to list

Count The Wicked by Mama's Broke

Ethan Rock, guitars and vocals for Act of Impalement and lead guitar for Vile Desecration

In no particular order but I will say the Weregoat album was my favorite.

Weregoat - Pestilential Rites of Infernal Fornication

Antichrist - Sinful Birth

Necrot - Blood Offerings

Clandestine Blaze - City of Slaughter

Possession - Exorkizein

Condor - Unstoppable Power

Undergang - Misanthropologi

Casket - Ghouls of Filth

Urn - The Burning

Jerry Garner - Vile Desecration

1. Possession-Exorkizein

2. Condor- Unstoppable Power

3. Spectral voice- Eroded Corridors of Unbeing

4. Antichrist- sinful birth

5. John Hoyles- Night Flight

6. Violator-the hidden face of death

7. Bonehunter- Sexual Panic Human Machine

8. Necrot- blood offerings

9. Undergang-misantropoligi

10. Occvlta-night without end

11. Clandestine blaze-city of slaughter

12. Gravestone-Rotten Kill

13. Weaponizer- Lawless Age

14. Power trip- Nightmare Logic

15. Urn-The Burning

(editor's note - Jerry and Ethan definitely cheated off of each other.)

Greg Swinehart - Black Tar Prophet

1.Bell Witch -Mirror Reaper

2.Spectral Voice - eroded corridors of unbeing

3.immolation-Atonement

Jody Lester - Bled to Submission, Bee Bong, ex-Flummox

1. The Body and Full of Hell - Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light

2. Converge - The Dusk in Us

3. Full of Hell - Trumpeting Ecstasy

4. Spectral Voice - Eroded Corridors of Unbeing

5. Greywoods - Hellgazer

Andrew Pigue - Mothyards, Ghost of Mars, JNN

Carved Cross - S/T

Obskuritatem - Vampirska Kakofonija

R Beny - Cascade Symmetry

Coarses - Temple Steps

Strictly Synth - E.I. Compilation

Wojtek - Our Judgement

Cosmic Void Ritual - Gateways Through Septic Flesh

J Carter - Iris

Coteries - Consumption

Koufar - When The Last One Leaves

Future DZ - Bongo Hymns

Isaak Pancake - Drums Olo

Black Citadel - Relics of Forgotten Satanist Wisdom

DJ Speedsick - N.Y.S.S.

White Rhino Taxidermy - Baphomet Medusa

Derek Martin - Greywoods

Spencer Moore - Inferi, Phobos, Chasm of Teeth

Infrared Horizon - Artificial Brain
Underneath a Melting Sky - Inanimate Existence
Nightbringers - The Black Dahlia Murder
Caustic - Primitive Man
Galactic Empire - Galactic Empire
Perfect World Creation - Dark Matter Secret
Axis Mundi - Decrepit Birth
Loum/Go Be Forgotten - Krallice
Adversary Omnipotent - Enfold Darkness
What Passes for Survival - Pyrrhon
V: The Inside Scriptures - Aosoth
Without Veil, Nor Self - Entheogen
Eschaton Memoire - Chaos Moon
Red Before Black - Cannibal Corpse
Appalling Ascension - The Ominous Circle
Kingdoms Disdained - Morbid Angel
Finisterre - Der Weg Einer Freiheit
Abreaction - Svart Crown
Dunes - Sutrah
A Stirring in the Noos - John Frum
Here are the EPs I jammed:
Vipassana - Itinerant
Pain Will Define Their Death - Vitriol
Bathos - Aborted
The Grey - Oginalii
Only A Light Remains - Bled to Submission
From The Unforgiving Arms of God - End
Widowmaker - Widowmaker

Chris Click- Greywoods, The Ascent of Everest
Bell Witch- Mirror Reaper
Blut Aus Nord- Dues Salutis Meae
The Bug & Earth- Concrete Desert
Converge-the Dusk in Us
Igorrr- Savage Sinusoid
Metz-Strange Peace
Nine Inch Nails- Add Violence EP
Paradise Lost- Medusa
Perturbator- New Model
Primitive Man- Caustic
Process of Guilt- Black Earth
Queens of the Stone Age- Villains
Statiqbloom- Blue Moon Blood
Throane- Plus une main à mordre

Tyler Bennett - Pamphlet
Boris- Dear
Bell Witch- Mirror Reaper
Elder- Reflections of a Floating World
Pallbearer- Heartless
Zu- Jhator
Oxbow- Thin Black Duke
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard- Murder of the Universe
Wolves in the Throne Room- Thrice Woven

Blake Dellinger - Flummox, Unorthodox
Ford Theatre Reunion - We Have Only Left Earth
Primus - The Desaturating Seven
Stump Tail Dolly - Soundtrack to the Second Civil War
Suffering Hour - In Passing Ascension
Laser Flames on the Great Big News - S/T
Shroud Eater - Strike the Sun
Diablo Swing Orchestra - Pacifisticuffs
Alice Cooper - Paranormal
The Obsessed - Sacred
Morbid Angel - Kingdoms Disdained
Dead Cross - S/T
All Them Witches - Sleeping Through the War
Leon Russell - On a Distant Shore
Electric Wizard - Wizard Bloody Wizard
Mastodon - Emperor of Sand

Aaron Hortman - Vile Desecration
SPECTRAL VOICE
MORBOSIDAD
NEXUL
YOHUALLI
ANTICHRIST (SWED)
UNDERGANG
BONEHUNTER
POSSESSION
CLANDESTINE BLAZE
SACROCURSE
ASCENDED DEAD

J. Weilburg - Chainshot, Alraune, ex- too many to list
Favorite albums of 2017:
Loss - horizonless
Kendrick Lamar - DAMN
Possession - Exorkizein
Uniform - Wake In Fright
Reissues I was stoked on in 2017:
Psychic TV - Allegory And Self
Psychic TV - Pagan Day
Current 93 - Thunder Perfect Mind
Neil Young - Harvest Moon

Blake Conley - The Minor Second, Droneroom, Endless Body, ex-Brother Ares, ex-Cosmic Yawn
Music is not a competition and shouldn’t be ranked as such. Having said that, most played album is most definitely Kendrik’s Damn.
favs-
kendrick lamar- damn
pissed jeans- why love now
brokeback- illinois river valley blues
the bug vs earth- concrete desert
big walnuts yonder- s/t
endless boogie- vibe killer
mountain goats- goths
cloakroom- time well
the national- sleep well beast
six organs of admittance- burning the threshold
shabazz palaces- quazarz: born On A gangster star/ quazarz vs the jealous machines
waxahatchee- out in the storm
alison crutchfield- tourist in this town
bon air- the blue line
courtney barnett & kurt vile- lotta sea lice
pharmakon- contact
twin peaks- music from the limited event series
angel olsen- phases

Court Reese (me!) - ex-Act of Impalement, ex-Cosmic Yawn, Cøurtney, [forthcoming band]
This year was a fucking banner year. I'm still finding absolute gems days before I'm writing this. I kept having to change my top favorites, which is such a good problem to have. Without further ado (okay maybe a little for honorable mentions like Extremely Fucking Dead, Khonsu, Terrifier, Astronoid, Blut Aus Nord, Electric Wizard, Cannibal Corpse, Couch Slut, and Lingua Ignota), on with the top records of 2017!

#3
Mirror Reaper by Bell Witch
Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper
1 track, 83 fucking minutes. My first reaction upon seeing the length was "Jesus shitchrist, they've outDopesmokered Dopesmoker!" But once you get hypnotized you'll hit the hour mark and not realize. An absolutely beautiful, perfectly somber yet heavy memorial to their fallen drummer Adrian Guerra.

#2
Dear by Boris
Boris - Dear
In this 25th anniversary love letter to their fans (hence the title), Boris has come back with a might STAWMP. This album forgoes much of their more experimental material and delivers an absolutely crrrrushing album, but manages to infuse it with quite a bit of beauty with their incomparable vocal harmonies soaring atop the mountain-leveling riffs.

AND AT #1 IT'S
The Assassination of Julius Caesar by Ulver
Ulver - The Assassination of Julius Caesar
HAHAHA I DID IT AGAIN FUCKERS I PUT A POP ALBUM AT THE TOP but fr tho hear me out, this thing is pop as it should be, catchy but nowhere near shallow. They even threaten to go entirely off the rails at the end of a few tracks. If you look beyond the dance grooves and Garm's soulful croons (and oh can he croon), the lyrics are absolutely insane, referencing specific dates and addresses, one of which was where the Black House, the Satanic temple of Anton Lavey, once stood. All together the lyrics connect modern and historical events in a way that I still haven't explored all the way down (it's a deep rabbit hole) but they seem to saying that history repeats itself, that certain ideas permeate modern society ever since its inception in the Roman Empire. This subtle, hidden depth within a pop candy coating is why this album is my top for 20WAIT. Did you hear something? Is that

Hardy Boyz Matt GIF from Hardyboyz GIFs

THE HELDY BOYS??
Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light by The Body &amp; Full of Hell
Bah Gawd, The Body and Full of Hell's collab Ascending a Mountin of Heavy Light was one of the best things this year by far! They pushed my expectations right out the door! Going from their noise doom meets noisy grindcore sounds to this, with hip-hop and even dance beats while keeping if not upping the ferocity blew me the fuck away. Like, if their previous collab was Goku and Vegeta battling whomstever separately, this album is their goddamn fusion dance. It answers my question of "what would joy with the power of blind fury sound like?" They answer it with the first scream: this record is bliss erupted. And that's why it's this year's best alWAIT WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING NOW

Undertaker Scary GIF from Undertaker GIFs

MY GOD IT'S THE PRIMITIVE MAN HIMSELF
Caustic by Primitive Man
JEsus. Caustic is so heavy I couldn't understand it the first time I listened, and I still don't think I comprehend it entirely. This this is unfathomably heavy. Blending noise, doom, blastbeats all together to create an unbelievably crushing album. This album does away with any mysticism or demon worship and draws from the heaviness of poverty and of racism, and knowing that in today's world, there is no escape, that the struggle just to stay alive often isn't enough. This defenestration (god i love that word, look it up if you don't know it) of fantasies or escapism in favor of the bleakest possible portrayal of reality lends such unflinching heaviness to this record, which is why it's the real
>.>
<.<
top album of 2017.

WWE Ric Flair GIF from Wwe GIFs

2017 local shows recap

2017-12-07T16:00:00.000-08:00

Ugh looking at all the shows that happened this year and all the shows I didn't make it to fills me with sadness and regret. But what is done is done, let's look at the awesome shows I did make it to! In mostly chronological order, these are most of the shows with at least one or two local bands on the bill I saw this year:

Nordjevel (Nor), Imperial Triumphant (NY), Sivad, Oubliette: Good god this night was insane. Oubliette from Murfreesboro (featuring members of Battle Path and Enfold Darkness) eerily lit the place up with their grandiose melodic black metal epic waltz styling. Imperial Triumphant were almost as free jazz metal as those Pyrrhon psychos but with a much heavier dose of black metal majesty. The golden masks and black hoods were a nice touch. Nordjevel brought the true Norwegian black metal sound all the way to Nashville in full corpsepaint. At the height of their set, going full speed with body-butchering blastbeats, these guys were untouchable. Sivad from Memphis definitely gave them a run for their money though, complete with DIY spiked gauntlets, a big ass hunting knife, barb wired wrapped around the mic stand, candelabra, and skull and tibia. Their sound definitely lived up to the theatrics, these vile fiends were absolutely relentless.

Malevich (Atl), Pinion, Vile Desecration, Ghost Of Mars: This night was so rad, I finally got to see both Ghost of Mars and ~~Opinion~~ Pinion. Ghost of Mars were an absolutely entrancing fusion between members of Sovereign and Mothyards/JNN. Their sound perfectly matched their name, emitting riffs that sound like they were picked up from human martian explorers long since dead. Pinion sounds like throwing elbows you never knew you had. Social unrest, pervasive discontent, and furor over power structures are the oozes that drip from Pinion's metallic hardcore shockwaves. Malevich absolutely floored me with their energy. This show was at Blackbird Tattoo and these guys filled the whole place. Jesus I don't think I've ever seen a band with this much conspicuous energy; these guys moved throughout the whole space, no place was safe from getting run into. At one point the guitarist was piggybacking onto one of the guitarists while screaming himself hoarse while the drummer stood up and headbutted a cymbal. I think he headbutted the rest of his kit throughout the night, goddamn. As for Vile Desecration, I love these boys so much it could be considered a conflict of interest. Best black metal riffs in the whole goddamn state, if not the whole South. Unfuckwithable.

Dendera Bloodbath, Bonemagic, JNN/J.Carter collab set, Pure Land, Owen Ni: I need to make it to more shows. I really do. Making it to this one made me purely lucky. Dendera Bloodbath busted out at least one Kaoss Pad mini and layered vocals over top of it. Suddenly from out of a suitcase she produced - I still don't know what the fuck it was. It was like one of those lights you hang from from an open car hood while tinkering, but it had like a bullet shell casing around it? And it sounded like it revved like a fucking motor! And inside the suitcase it looked like she might have had some big springs attached to different sides. Boy when she used that engine bullet wand on those springs, it made a rumble like an engine the size of a god. Bonemagic was an absolute treat. Using a box covered in switches and arcade buttons and a few other devices, he started out harsh but then pulled out a lightbulb and fucking screamed into it. At one point he was shouting over what could have almost been vaporwave instrumentals, like The Body had just drank a SeaWorld of lean. JNN/J. Carter's set felt abstract as hell (wires everywhere!) but incredibly compelling. Tbh it was hard to keep up with what I was hearing for a good bit what I was able to parse was absolutely delicious. Pure Land's drones were as pure as the name implies. Like standing in a desert in the winter when the external temperature matches your body and the lines between begin to disappear. Owen Ni was the most straightforward bleep bloop act of the night. He was clearly competent and even talented, but his style of techno just felt tame by contrast in regards to the at times completely wild offerings of the other acts.

Antichrist (Swe), Act of Impalement, Shill: God bless BlackBird Tattoo, they put on some fully kickass shows. Shill were a brand new act from members of Act of Impalement and Fucked Ethos (and a few more I'm forgetting). PUNK AS FUCK. Raw, oldschool, elemental punk.You cannot stand still listening to this band, even if you don't jump into a moshpit you gotta pogo or just flail or SOMETHING. Act of Impalement were a GREAT band before their LEADER and STAR BASSIST had to leave for college or something and went on to make the MONUMENTAL blog called NashVile. It's really awesome to hear these guys hone and tighten their sound while still somehow just getting heavier, nastier, and crushing...er. Antichrist is what I wish with all my heart what Slayer could have been. Blissful thrash with almost black metal vocals? Like a Swedish Vektor. Like Shill, these guys made it impossible to stand still, but with 200 proof Thrash Metal riffs.

Couch Slut (NYC), Yautja, Watcher: Watcher's brand of hardcore-muddled noise rock keeps me guessing in the best ways. Listening to these guys is like trying fight a 3-armed dude, you never know how you're gonna get hit but each punch hits hard. If you're reading this, y'all already know what Yautja are all about. If you're not reading this, Yautja are the band that make me so goddamn proud to be involved in Nashville heavy music that you can brag on to people from out of state. Too hardcore for metal, too metal for hardcore, these guys grind better than anyone else. Couch Slut brought their noise rock disguised as sludge and shoved it ferociously in your face. If you ever thought feminism couldn't be aggressive or threatening, Couch Slut forcibly peel your eyeballs open to the harsh realities women face every day, in such a way that you cannot help but be compelled.

Moon Tooth, Husbandry, Sheep Shifter, Itinerant: Hoo boy I thought I was prepared for this show but I was mistaken. I came out for my boy Braden in Itinerant, whose dreamy brand of Djent did not disappoint. Captivating and engaging, these guys get my "hey this is almost as good as Cloudkicker" seal of approval. Why was Sheep Shifter on this bill? I have no idea but god they were fun as hell. To call them noise rock or post-hardcore doesn't really seem to capture them fully, they make an out of control rock and roll style all their own. The singer was all over the goddamn place, even upside down on the drums at one point. Husbandry were a dark horse for me, I was very pleasantly surprised at these Brooklynites' mix of heavy prog instrumentals acting as a foundation for their singer's almost soulful singing, offering a package similar to the voodoo Clorange used to do so well. Moon Tooth are my favorite prog band I saw this year. Mixing elements from every other style of rock, metal, and hardcore, this band is a beautiful stone soup of styles. Their dedicated clean vocalist soars over top of fierce string tapping and boogieing riffs. Tasty like Mastodon or even Between the Buried and Me but with a sort of playful giddiness.

FUCK that's so many words. Did you read all of them? I probably didn't once I get them out of my head. Again, apologies to all the bands and beautiful wonderful people I didn't get to see play, but as we end this year and begin the next, I'm going to try even harder to make it to more shows and then actually write about them! I wouldn't do this unless I love it, and all the fucking awesome sounds Nashville has to offer. Look for NashVile to hopefully getting back into writing regular articles again.

In the meantime, look for the one article I've managed to put out each year, our Albums Of The Year list, coming soon!

Laser Flames on the Great Big News s/t review

2017-12-01T16:11:00.004-08:00

EVEN MORE ANTICIPATED THAN DUKE NUKEM FOREVER OR THE HD REMAKE OF WHICHEVER ZELDA IS NEXT, NASHVILE IS BACK! Maybe. Lots has been happening since I was making regular updates. I've been involved in a band or two, moved, taken the GRE twice, and have been in a blissful committed relationship with 3 beautiful Dungeons and Dragons groups. So is this NashVile's return for good? Who knows? I was given a review copy of this album and finally felt up to the task of putting pen to paper after battling worsening depression for a good while. Hell, I've barely been to a fraction of the number of shows I've attended in years past. But maybe a change of scenery and interesting future prospects (grad school? what the shit?) have done me good. I'll try to cover some shows I saw this summer soon, and another AOTY list as well. ANYWAY enough ado, on with the show!

What do Carrie Underwood and Laser Flames on the Great Big News have in common? I’ll get to the answer somewhere in here, hold on to your butts. Let me pull back first and give this release some context. With this album, Laser Flames on the Great Big News have FINALLY put out their debut after 4 years of being stuck in production/distribution.

At the time this record was recorded, Nashville was in the midst of experimenting with adding a touch of twang to heaviness. Bands like Hellbender (whose bassist/trombonist/etc. Mikey Allred engineered, mixed, and recorded this album) were mixing in windy plains-feeling acoustic intervals between big fat doom riffs, while Across Tundras took Neil Young and Townes Van Zandt into Earth’s deeper territories. Even Clorange had Carrie Acree’s dulcet sung melodies mixed in with Black Sabbath tones. Hearing this record finally come out, I can’t help but think about these bands and the sounds of those couple years.

All this to say Laser Flames have a very interesting relationship with time. They have a sound that feels couched in times of cowboys and the West, but also harkens to the future, or maybe a future that has come to pass. The intro track sets the scene of what feels like Blade Runner but as a spaghetti western. This mixture of styles is rife through the whole album, as Clutch-inspired riffs morph to and from acoustic crooning between potent guitar and vocal duet John Judkins (Protomen, Rwake) and Stevie Bailey. Their gorgeous vocal interplay goes a long way to separate this outfit from similar outfits. They go from doing their best Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner impression to screaming like black metal banshees, especially at the end of the floridly manic Beloved.

Okay since this is my review you’re gonna have to deal with a little bit of interpretation on my part. Just so we’re clear. This record is dense enough that some interpretation is required regardless. The lyrics in this thing can be as puzzling as they can be intriguing. It seems at times to be talking about what life was like out in the country, back before country could ever be confused with pop. What it was like when all you had was each other and how hard it could be, how hard love could be. Like Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats”, this album is destructive and violent all in the name of love. (Okay I answered that first question, you can go home now)

But Jesus there’s so much more to this album than just “shit dog life and love were hard out in the country and they’re still hard today/the heavy and the twang are all part of the same whole”. There is a whole David Yow-ish section in Open, Dead, and Doomed that doesn’t have any lyrics listed except for the ones screamed at the end, and it’s talking about dead people but they’re not people and they were moving through the walls?

The mixture of clean and screamed vocals (some of the screamed vocals are super fucking subtle) along with shifting time signatures and drums that shift effortlessly from simple to blastbeats (did I mention that their drummer is James Turk from ENFOLD FUCKING DARKNESS?) really solidify the actually pretty confusing overall style of this release. But this isn’t confusing like a Pollock 1000 piece puzzle. With each listen, a little bit more can be heard and put together. But you don’t even have to if you don’t want to, that’s the fantastic part about this record, even if you just give it a background listen the overall sound and feel are awesome enough to give you pause and make you pay attention. The fact is, though you could attempt to paint them with a broad brush like “Melvins/Torche with a twang”, it really doesn’t do them justice. Laser Flames include so many different disparate styles on this release and make them work together as few others have dared, and they succeed wildly. The emotional spectrum contained in these tracks is enormous, and rewards with each listen. The feeling of this album is not like many if any other, and after 4 years of languishing in the dark, it is a joy for this record to finally be available.

Self-Titled by Laser Flames on the Great Big News

2016 Oh Christ

2016-12-23T22:02:00.000-08:00

Lots of bad things happened in 2016. But you don't need this blog to tell you that, you probably already know it. So let's skip to all the good things that happened this year, namely all the absolutely fantastic music that came this year, brought to you by some of Nashville's finest artists. Thanks to everyone who contributed!

Chris Click- Greywoods

In no order

Iggy Pop- Post Pop Depression

Inter Arma- Paradise Gallows

John Carpenter- Lost Themes II

Helms Alee- Stillicide

Trap Them- Crown Feral

True Widow- AVVOLGERE

A Tribe Called Quest- We Got it From Here

White Lung- Paradise

Throane-Derrière-nous, la lumiere

Descendents- Hypercaffium Spazzinate

Metz- Eraser EP

Psalm Zero- Stranger to Violence

Ultha- Pain Cleanses Every Doubt

Derek Martin - Greywoods

Autolux - PUSSY'S DEAD

B Boys - No Worry No Mind

Blood Incantation - Starspawn

Bolzer - Hero

Dead Congregation - Sombre Doom EP

Deathspell Omega - The Synarchy of Molten Bones

Gatecreeper - Sonoran Deprevation

GOST - Non Paradisi

Helms Alee - Stillicide

Inter Arma - Paradise Gallows

Holy Sons - In The Garden

Jim James - Eternally Even

Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered

King Dude - Sex

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity

Legowelt - Laundromat Of Your Mind

The Lion's Daughter - Existence Is Horror

Perturbator - The Uncanny Valley

Porches - Pool

Trap Them - Crown Feral

True Widow - AVVOLGERE

Wormrot – Voices

Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression

OVERLOOKED Local Bands that killed it last year:

Watcher

Forest of Tygers

Sheep Shifter

Holy Mountaintop Removers

Seawitch

Rifft

Black Tar Prophet

Act of Impalement

Cannomen

Ascent of Everest

Commoner

Battlepath

The Jag

Thetan

Erin Rae & The Meanwhiles

Greg Swinehart – Black Tar Prophet

Dark Funeral-where shadows forever reign

Archgoat-the apocalyptic triumphator

Cult of Luna with Julie Christmas-Mariner

Asphalt Graves-The New Primitive

Destroyer 666-Wildfire

I think Archgoat was 2015. Can't remember

Top local release Holy Mountaintop removers

Michael Mikey Owin - Ascent of Everest, Lawndry, Boo Dudes, Aborticide

Best albums: Batushka, Goat, Bowie.

Best in show: Mikey

John Judkins -The Protomen, Seafood Hotline, Laser Flames, Rwake

Spirit Adrift - Chained to Oblivion

Kvelertak - Nattesferd

Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop - Love Letter For Fire

Neurosis - Fires Within Fires

Cass McCombs - Mangy Love

Opeth - Sorceress

Holy Mountain Top Removers - The Ones Disappearing You

Gorguts - Pleiades' Dust

Virus - Memento Collider

40 Watt Sun - Wider Than The Sky

Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

Netherlands - Audubon

Family - Future History

Danimal Cannon - Lunaria

Sumac - What One Becomes

Metallica - Hardwired...

William Tyler - Modern Country

Margaret Glaspy - Emotions and Math

Deftones - Gore

Charles Bradley – Changes

Stan Richardson II - Skoolgirl

Omni - "Deluxe"

Butthole - "Butthole"

https://buttholeband.bandcamp.com/album/butthole

Free Pizza - "Berlin, DE"

People Zoo - "People Zoo"

Spencer Moore - Phobos, Chasm of Teeth, Animality

Meshuggah - The Violent Sleep of Reason

Sumac - What One Becomes

Ulcerate - Shrines of Paralysis

Obscura - Akroasis

Car Bomb - Meta

Aborted - Retrogore

Zhrine - Unortheta

Khemmis - Hunted

Fallujah - Dreamless

Revocation - Great Is Our Sin

Barishi - Blood From the Lion's Mouth

Wayfarer - Old Souls

Virvum - Illuminance

Vermin Womb - Decline

Mithras - On Strange Loops

Mikey Allred – Holy Mountaintop Removers, head honcho at Dark Art Audio

Let’s just go with “Bowie tho”

Jim and Rachel Valosik – Forest of Tygers

Top 5 records:

Ustalost - Spoor of Vipers

Anicon - Exegeses

Meshuggah - The Violent Sleep of Reason

The Body - No One Deserves Happiness

Pyrolatrous - EP

Top 5 Nashville Live Performances:

Die Choking

Pyrrhon

Meshuggah

Shellac

Hivelords

Top 5 2016 Movies:

Southbound

Baskin

The Witch

Train to Busan

Neon Demon

Blake Dellinger - Flummox

The Claypool/Lennon Delirium - Monolith of Phobos

Opeth - Sorceress

Beardfish - 4626 Comfortzone

Howling Giant - Black Hole Space Wizard

Black Sabbath - The End

Elias MacDonald - Ex-Altar of Complaints, Chasm of Teeth, Phobos, Cull

Car Bomb - Meta

Meshuggah - Violent Sleep of Reason

Dysrhytmia - The Veil of Control

Gorguts - Pleiades' Dust

Esperanza Spalding - Emily's D+Evolution

Jace of Two-9 - Jace tape

Lil Uzi Vert - Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World

Lil Uzi Vert/Gucci Mane - 1017 vs. The World

TTNG - Disappointment Island

Plebeian Grandstand - False Highs, True Lows

Guerrilla Toss - Eraser Stargazer

Full of Hell/The Body - One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache

Tigran Hamasyan and other dudes - Atmosphères

Piss Vortex - Future Cancer

Knife Hits - Eris

Watcher - به پایان رسید

Palm - Audiotree live session

Yautja - Audiotree live session

Scotty Rockwell - Viva La Rockwell

Deathspell Omega - The Synarchy of Molten Bones

Ulcerate - Shrines of Paralysis

Blake Edward Conley- lucy stoner, the minor second, droneroom

no order coz music is not a competition (though clipping, tacocat, and blonde redhead were the two albums i listened to the most, so do with that what you will)

tacocat- lost time

mount moriah- how to dance

autolux- pussy's dead

matmos- ultimate care II

horseback- dead ringers

licht-akiyama trios- tomorrow outside tomorrow

jim o'rourke/fennesz- it's hard for me to say i'm sorry

william tyler- modern country

jenks miller and rose cross NC- blues from WHAT

heron oblivion- s/t

the gotobeds- blood//sugar//secs/traffic

clipping- splendor and misery

true widow- avvolgere

the body- no one deserves happiness

papa m- highway songs

white lung- paradise

savak- best of luck in future endeavors

e- e

honourable mention

steve gunn- eyes on the line

tribe called quest- we got it from here...thank you 4 your service

blood orange- freetown sound

minor victories- s/t

body/head- no waves

angel olsen- my woman

reissues-

tad- god's balls/salt lick/8-way santa

blonde redhead- masculin feminin

mike watt- ring spiel '95

personal bias favs-

ladyshark- monsters

cøurtney- when this flesh is not enough

new cowboy builders- pentre alexandra deaths head orpheans

coordinated suicides- false pleasure

Josh Cochran – Billy Castro

My Top 5 Albums of 2016

1. Ustalost - The Spoor of Vipers

2. Cough - Still They Pray

3. Deftones - Gore

4. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

5. The Body - No One Deserves Happiness

Other Releases I Enjoyed (In No Particular Order)

Krallice - Hyperion

Nails - You Will Never Be One Of Us

Day Wave - Headcase/Hard To Read

Anicon - Exegeses

Death Grips - Bottomless Pit

Pallbearer - Fear and Fury

Ghost - Popestar

Khemmis - Hunted
Conan - Revengeance

Elias MacDonald - Ex-Altar of Complaints, Chasm of Teeth, Phobos, Cull

Car Bomb - Meta

Meshuggah - Violent Sleep of Reason

Dysrhytmia - The Veil of Control

Gorguts - Pleiades' Dust

Esperanza Spalding - Emily's D+Evolution

Jace of Two-9 - Jace tape

Lil Uzi Vert - Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World

Lil Uzi Vert/Gucci Mane - 1017 vs. The World

TTNG - Disappointment Island

Plebeian Grandstand - False Highs, True Lows

Guerrilla Toss - Eraser Stargazer

Full of Hell/The Body - One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache

Tigran Hamasyan and other dudes - Atmosphères

Piss Vortex - Future Cancer

Knife Hits - Eris

Watcher - به پایان رسید

Palm - Audiotree live session

Yautja - Audiotree live session

Scotty Rockwell - Viva La Rockwell

Deathspell Omega - The Synarchy of Molten Bones
Ulcerate - Shrines of Paralysis

-->

ME: #3

Als Tier ist der Mensch nichts by UNRU

This record just did everything right for me. Black metal, doom, bits of drone, perfect. It came out in March and I think I've nearly worn the record out already. Side A ends in a locked groove of a drone so perfect it took me 5 minutes the first time I listened to realized it was at the end. #2

Värähtelijä by Oranssi Pazuzu I fell in love with this Finnish psychedelic black metal band since I heard their first record. This is one of the few albums that I wish I could have wiped from my memory so I could hear it for the first time again. Odd, strange, hypnotic, with what one would traditionally consider to be black metal only showing up to highlight the most intense moments, but the overall effect is like no other albums from this or any other year. #1 No One Deserves Happiness by the body

By adding dance-y beats and emphasized the female vocals/choir on some the tracks, The Body have made the most intense, oppressive pop music ever to be released. The Body are doing heavy music unlike anyone else, which has earned them my top spot this year.

2015 and its beautiful music, as told by its beautiful musicians

2016-01-01T22:48:00.000-08:00

Another year come and gone! This one was busy for me in and out of the music world, I wrote a couple reviews for Cvlt Nation in the spring, I continued playing bass with my heavy shoegaze/post-rock trio Cosmic Yawn, I screamed about the gods of Chaos in Great Unclean Ones (coming soon), and I wrote FREE BITCH on my stomach as I screamed a Lady Gaga cover into a mic’d warhorn with Cøurtney. Outside of music, I played some sweet video games and then got hired on as a Research Assistant in a lab. But enough ado, here are the lists of top albums from some of Nashville’s finest:

Mikey Owins (Boo Dudes, Ascent of Everest)

Golden Xtrx magick pens

Title Fight - Hyperview

Astrobrite - Deluxer

Cloakroom - Further Out

Greywoods - Infinite Nothing

Idle Bloom - Some Paranoia

Cheatahs - EPs/Mythologies

Supercrush EPs

John Carpenter - Lost themes

Chain of Flowers - S/T

Chasm of Teeth - You Will Lose Everything

Yautja - Songs of Lament

Kraftwerk at the Ryman

DJ Ichabod

Barnie Sandlers

Edgy Egyptian Memes

Stan Richardson (Skoolgirl)

Sun hotel - Rational Expectations

Taylor & the Puffs - Knifer

Linear Downfall - Sufferland

I believe Sun Hotel's Rational expectations (their final album) is the best album by what I consider to be one of the best bands I've heard that started since the late 2000s. Best album of the year. Listen to it. Then listen to it again 5 more times and you will finally be able to fully appreciate the masterpiece that it is.

Also Sharks' Teeth/Somebodyparts (split) - Jaundiced Views (it's a cassette and digital) Former local somebodyparts and sun hotel frontman Sharks' Teeth comes an incredible collaboration

Knifer is the best weird pop rock record you've never heard. Taylor Hollingsworth is a genius and he's completely unaware of it. Highlights "Knifer" "Saturday Cartoons" and "No Dad" no physical copies which is a goddamn crime but hey at least it's on Spotify.

Taylor Carpenter (Bleed the Pigs, Mother Adam, Deaf Kid)

As far as Nashville goes, Yautja put out one of the best records of the year with Songs of Lament. They also put out a very cool split with Fórn. They are one of the most crushingly relentless bands I have ever listened to. Act of Impalement is another one of my favorite bands in Nashville. They released a demo and their split with Forest of Tygers this year. I never get tired of seeing them live. Last but certainly not least, Synecdoche is definitely one of the coolest bands in Nashville. They put out an EP this year that is killer. Synecdoche also runs Nostromo, which is where they started putting on house shows this year. All of the money from Nostromo shows goes right into the pockets of touring bands, which is how it should be in my opinion. Another DIY space called Drkmttr also opened up this year. All of the shows that I’ve played at Nostromo and Drkmttr have had a great turnout. This was a great year for music in Nashville.

That being said, here’s what stood out to me this year:

Act of Impalement - Split w/ Forest of Tygers

Axis - Show Your Greed

Chon - Grow

Cult Leader - Lightless Walk

Deafheaven - New Bermuda

High on Fire - Luminiferous

Loma Prieta - Self Portrait

Mew - +-

xRepentancex - The Sickness of Eden

Synecdoche - Carry Your Head

Toe - Hear You

Torche - Restarter

Yautja - Songs of Lament

Nicky Schmidt (Van Hägar, Spoon Thief)

Favorite albums of 2015.

Between switching jobs, career paths, and cities, i havent had a lto of time to sit and listen to as much new music as ive wanted to, so my list will be short. These are the best albums I've heard this year.

Call of the Void - Ageless

Hailing from Denver, formerly known as Iron Horse before being signed to Relapse and having to change their name. this is a rare breed of heaviness that trascends genres in a very original, "not trying too hard" sort of way. I think a lot of heavy music is hard to really pin down and explain to people. and that's what draws me to it.

The guitar and bass playing, the riffs, the insanely powerful drumming, the vocals: every aspect of this band is as tight as it could be. see them live or buy their LP, you wont be disappointed.

https://callofthevoid303.bandcamp.com/album/ageless

Bummer - Spank

BUMMER from KC have been at it for a long while for a bunch of young dudes. with a few short EPs under their belt, theyve been taking their time really working out their own sound. They are a rare band that sounds heavy and fucking huge on Record, and then blows that record out of the fucking water live. They tour a lot and are some of the nicest young men you'll ever meet.

Their new EP Spank is fuckin amazing start to finish. for fans of Melvins, Waxeater, Vestibule, Wrangler Brutes, SST.

https://bummerkc.bandcamp.com/

Fight Amplification - Constantly off

Slow, Heavy, Punk rock. With songs all clocking in under 4 minutes. Even with slow music i dont have the attention span for 9 minute long songs. Really tight players doing something that could be labels stoner metal if they through the word "bong" in a title somewhere.

https://fightamp.bandcamp.com/album/constantly-off

La Armada - Crisis

Last but not least (told you it'd be short) is La armada's Crisis EP. This band makes me care about Hardcore again. one of the most interesting albums ive heard in years. It technically came out in 2014 but i didn't hear it until this year. sue me its on my list.

https://armadahardcore.bandcamp.com/album/crisis-ep

Jazzi Bay Mowery (Van Hägar)

New albums for the year that were too good:

Well, first I've got to mention this band Burn/Ward and their Black Friday Demo. I had never heard of this band until just this September. Since we've moved to Richmond from Nashville (I know, I'm not local anymore and I'm cheating by being on this list of people with opinions) we've seen them twice, and I just want to see this band play every day. Totally crushing powerviolence, super tight. They make me get that big, dumb involuntary grin on my face every time, and this demo is amazing.

Another RVA band that makes me make stupid faces is Caust. I might be a little biased because these guys are some of my favorite people ever, but they legitimately blow me away every time I see them. If you find yourself in the mood for some brutal screamo/emoviolence that makes you drool -and may or may not be sassy?- listen to Anatomy and Dissection that came out this April, and then proceed to binge-listen to the rest of their stuff.

Ex-Breathers from Tallahassee also put out a fucking killer record this year, called Past Tense. They never seem to disappoint, live or on recordings, and it's all totally unique, never the same. Whoever said that you can't do anything new or different with a hardcore punk band is a fucking idiot.

Of course on the Nashville local docket is everyone's favorite short-short sporting SillyBoy duo, Gnarwhal with Shinerboy. This record is beautiful, and it feels like we've been waiting forever to get it. For how long I've known these two, this album makes me get a little misty when I hear it, because you can really tell how much they've both grown as musicians. And people, really, but on top of that it's dedicated to a dear departed true Nashville original and one-of-a-kind artist and friend, Dylan Pitman, who took the picture on the album's cover, which gets me more than a little misty.

One of my favorite fastcore/powerviolence/experimental mindfuck bands that jumps back and forth from a million genres with not only ease but dumbfounding sucess (kind of like Nashville weather! Don't like it? Wait 30 seconds.), Violent Opposition from California, has put out an immense amount of material this year. Basically all of it is for splits with other bands like Mindboil, Embryonic Devourment, and, ahem, Van Hagar. Listening to all of it takes about 10 minutes, but if you're like me, you keep playing it over and over saying "Wait, what the fuck did I just hear?".

Grin and Bear It, powerviolence kings of Cleveland, put out a few tracks this year for splits with Gods America and MDFL, and I've just been listening to them on repeat with my head in my hands, contemplating giving up on music. As those who know me well or those who for some reason ever watched me during shows instead of the bands playing at the Owl Farm would know, I have a nasty little habit of tearing up or full on crying like a baby whenever I see a really good powerviolence or grindcore band play. There just happen to be multiple videos of Grin and Bear It playing at venues I've run in Nashville (taken by Jesse Mowery, the show recording master) with me standing just within view, losing my shit and literally crying for more. Go listen to this band right now.

Finally, I have to list Thetan, the elusive Nashville powerviolence two-piece that pleases my little southern heart and powerviolence fetish simultaneously. Thetan is unstoppable, and Dan and Chad are constantly cranking out better and better material -and quickly. Take your pick of their split with Bleed the Pigs, Who Will Protect Us//Relief pt2, or (the admittedly not-so-quick release) the 4-way split with Stubborn Father, Altar of Complaints, and SeeK. They're all great, but the latter is specifically notable because it has been very, VERY long awaited and shows off two Nashville locals -Thetan, obiously, and Alter of Complaints, a sadly defunct screamo "super group"- and two Japanese bands: SeeK and Stubborn Father. Snatch a copy up if you get the chance, because it's a small run and there's lot of people waiting for this record for a while, not to mention its truly an fantastic record that I highly recommend (if that means anything).

Jesse Mowery (Van Hägar, Altar of Complaints)

When I first was asked to write about my favorite releases of 2015 I thought it would be easy. Then I started going through what I liked that was released this year and realized there was a ton of stuff I had to list, so to not take up too much space or time I'll just mostly put a short description with a link to where you can listen to it. The past few years I've been mostly listening to post-hardcore/real screamo/emoviolence, so don't be surprised as to how much of what I list is that, but there's so much going on all over the world they all sound different, so if you don't like one band I put down don't let that deter you from checking out others, because while the genre tags may be the same the sounds are very varied.

Hurt Ensemble "Still"- Post-hardcore/post-rock from Providence, RI https://hurtensemble.bandcamp.com/

Maths "The Fires Courting The Sea"- Chaotic Hardcore/emoviolence from UK (don't know where exactly) https://maths.bandcamp.com/album/the-fires-courting-the-sea

Burn/Ward "Black Friday Demo 2015"- Grindcore/powerviolence from Richmond, VA https://burnward.bandcamp.com/album/black-friday-demo-2015

Envy "Atheist's Cornea"- Japan's longest running forward thinking hardcore band's first album in 5 years encompasses the different sounds of their entire career, from melodic hardcore to beautiful post-rock, Envy's influence worldwide shows more and more each year https://envy.bandcamp.com/album/atheist-s-cornea

Sed Non Satiata/Carrion Spring split- Sed Non Satiata hail from France and deliver more of their signature beautiful post-hardcore, while Carrion Spring from Portland, OR further their dark mathy screamo sound. Both bands have some wonderful guitar work going on. https://adagio830-records.bandcamp.com/album/split-sed-non-satiata-carrion-spring

Greyscale "Limn Everything"- I've been listening to and playing shows with these dudes from Memphis, TN for quite a few years now, and every time I see them they have changed in some way, always moving forward with their sound. This album has way more ambiance to it than previous releases, yet is more technical at the same time, with the guitar playing reminding me of Hot Cross. https://greyscaletn.bandcamp.com/album/limn-everything

Tropical Ice Land "C"- emoviolence from Torello, Spain. Silly name, great chaotic stuff https://tropicaliceland.bandcamp.com/album/c

New Grass "Fake Drums"- New Grass is a one man mathy hardcore/screamo project based out of Philly now, and like the name of the ep suggests, he uses programmed drums. Somehow the music comes across as very organic and complete though. If you are a fan of Capsule I highly recommend you check this out, I'm waiting for more from this guy. https://newgrassrock.bandcamp.com/releases

Ravin "Ravin II"- Ravin are from Perpignan, France and play some great spastic melodic hardcore/screamo. Their ep last year was one of my favorites, and while they've changed vocalists and don't have the blackened overtones of the previous, this is still a beautiful chaotic release. A great extension of the French screamo sound https://ravin.bandcamp.com/album/ravin-ii

Ostraca "Deathless"- Richmond, Va's Ostraca used to be called Kilgore trout until one of the guitarists left the band last year. This is their first release since then, and lacking a member hasn't stopped them from progressing their sound. There is definitely a strong June Paik influence, but they aren't ripping them off in any way either. Very dark, depressing chaotic emoviolence https://ostraca.bandcamp.com/album/deathless

People's Temple Project/Мятеж split- I may be a little biased towards this, as I played bass in the touring version of Мятеж, but I love both of these bands. People's Temple Project are from Long Island, NY and play a version of screamo that is very 90's influenced without sounding rehashed or dated, ffo Indian Summer, Shotmaker, Amber Inn. Мятеж is a collaborative project between Chris Story from Portland, OR, who played in a bunch of bands in the 90's like Makara, The Anasazi, Jenny Piccolo, and Yaphet Kotto, and David Norman from Hamilton, Ontario, who runs one of my favorite labels Zeguma Beach Records. Chris does all of the music and David does vocals. The music varies from chaotic emoviolence to more post-rocky ambient depressing jams. https://akashitacorporation.bandcamp.com/album/peoples-temple-project-mrtex

Tentacles "Ambivalence"- stunning grind/emoviolence from San Antonio, TX, super crushing and brutal. https://reactwithprotest.bandcamp.com/album/tentacles-ambivalence

Republic Of Dreams/Autarkeia split- Republic Of Dreams are from different parts of Germany and have all been in other amazing German bands like Louise Cyphre, Apoplexy Twist Orchestra, Tristan Tzara, and Ressurectionists, plus their bassist Lars runs the amazing label React With Protest. They deliver 5 tracks of chaos reminiscent of Jerome's Dream and Louise Cyphre. Autarkeia are from Ft. Lauderdale, FL and play 90's influenced screamo. They have one track but it is easily one of their darkest and heaviest yet. The drummer Nevin also runs IFB records and has one of the best distros I've ever seen. https://reactwithprotest.bandcamp.com/album/republic-of-dreams-autarkeia-split-7

Anodes/Laika split- Both bands reside in St. Louis, MO, and while both can be called screamo they have different sounds and approaches. Anodes are one of my favorite active bands, and while there are plently of bands that get compared to Envy they are one of a few that I would actually compare to them, as I kinda hold Envy in pretty high regards. Their sound is more depressing though, there are no glimpses of light in their music. Laika are more mathy and urgent sounding, but still very dark and depressing too. This is their first and will probably their only release with 2 guitars, as the 2nd guitar player left the band I believe. While very spastic and chaotic, there are many groovy and even jazzy parts in their songs. https://anodes.bandcamp.com/album/split-12-w-laika

Via Fondo "Efter, Utan Under"- Sweden has been at the forefront of extreme music for years now, but only really in the past 5 years has there been surge of screamo/post-hardcore bands coming out. That being said, there is very much a Swedish screamo sound, and Via Fondo are helping push that sound a lot. Very beautiful dissonant melodies that are crushing at the same time, with a lot of delayed guitar parts as well and very driving drums. https://zegemabeachrecords.bandcamp.com/album/efter-utan-under

Now onto some stuff from Nashville:

Gnarwhal "Shinerboy"- I waited so long for this to come out, and it was totally worth it. I've known these dudes since their first show, and they've only gotten better and better. A lot of this material was written in a short time, as they used to be a 4 piece, but 2 of them quit when they already had a tour booked with the Catalyst, so I think they maybe played once as a 2 piece before going on tour. Having less members hasn't limited their music, it's in fact enhanced it and given it freedom to grow into something unique. I really can't think of many bands to compare them to, maybe a mix of Tiny Hawks and A Flower Kollapsed? I dunno, they rule and are amazing live, and I can't wait to hear where they go next on their music journey. I'm so happy they are touring a lot and that a label picked this up, because they are some hard working mofos. https://gnarwhal.bandcamp.com/album/shinerboy

Yautja "Songs Of Lament"- Tyler from Gnarwhal also plays in the mighty Yautja. Anyone who's seen them will agree they are one of the best metal bands out right now. There's a reason why bands like Cult Leader and Inter Arma are taking them on tours and that their first LP with Forcefield records is on it's 3rd pressing already. You can't pigeonhole this band and say they sound like this or that band, you can only kinda guess who their influences are. With each release they move metal forward, a world that often holds itself back. https://yautja.bandcamp.com/album/songs-of-lament

Mother Adam "I"- The term metalcore, like screamo, tends to carry some negative weight to most people who haven't really looked into it or only know more mainstream examples of the music. Mother Adam resides more in the world of Botch and Coalesce, but with plenty of blast beats and some blackened overtones. Yes, there are breakdowns and chug parts, but they manage to do them in a way that's not cheesy or macho. https://motheradam.bandcamp.com/

Nouveau "All Narrows Unsutured"- Although they are based in Chicago now, I still think of Nouveau as a Nashville band cos, well that's how I know them. Zach moved up to Chicago, where the drummer Michael is going to school, so they could focus on their music more. They got a consistent bassist up there, which shows in the writing. The music is still in the realm of real screamo, but you can hear the influence of Tera Melos, and even parts that remind me of bands like June of 44. There is a big maturation between their first album and this, and I can't wait to hear more from them. https://nouveauhonks.bandcamp.com/album/all-narrows-unsutured

Lastly, Thetan has put out 3 releases this year and had a release show for all of them on the same day. Dan has always been a major force in the local Nashville scene, playing in bands like Moral Decay, Sanctions, and Karoshi, plus recording and mastering bands, and now doing plates and etchings for vinyl for people all over. Thetan have their own sound, frantic bass/drum powerviolence mixed with elements of almost all other extreme music genres. Check out their 3 releases, especially the 4 way split, which maybe I'm biased because one my bands Altar of Complaints is on it, but the other 2 bands from Japan Seek and Stubborn Father both rule. https://thetan.bandcamp.com/

Well I ended up going against what I originally said and didn't keep it short, and I know I forgot some stuff, and I know there's some stuff I haven't heard that should probably be on this list, but I've already spent too much time on this and am tired of starting at a screen.

Keith Chandler (Lucy Stoner, Oceanray, grand vizier of Sweet Sounds Records)

best shows that i saw in nashville all happened at mouthhole or phat bites.

best shows were mission of burma, faith no more, hum, death grips,

best local bands i saw were pelvis lesly, cosmic yawn, the chewers, fragments of god

but by far and large the best thing about the year was all the good shit that went down with sweet sounds records and the mouthole and all the cool bands and people we met and got to hang with

our little personal community, us seeing that burroughs doc at belcourt (highlight of the year for sure); everyone going to the shows and being around; all the good pot we smoked...

that stuff.

Another of the best concerts was seeing some jazz band play A Love Supreme in it's entirety. It was an all Coltrane night but the best part was it was in the historic Fisk Chapel. That was a fuckin' smokin' set.

Spencer Moore (Chasm of Teeth, Animality, Phobos)

Intronaut - dank titties prog metal to make love to, Cattle - dank titties death metal to make you hate humanity, Chon - dank titties prog rock to make you love everybody, Hate Eternal - dank titties death metal to kill people to, Maruta - dank titties grind to make you want to punch a hole in the wall, Der Weg - dank titties black metal to make you feel sad and cold, Four Year Strong - dank titties pop punk/hardcore that makes you want to sing and get better at guitar, Dahlia - dank titties melodeath that's perfect for beer drinking and weed smoking, Cult Leader - dank titties angry, hate-filled tunes, Torche - dank titties sludgey happy summer jams, Arkaik - dank titties groovy tech death, Abiotic - ^see above description, A Loathing Requiem - dank titties technical and melodic death metal by the mastermind of Inferi, Abhorrent - dank titties brutal slammin' nasty dissonant death metal, Mgla - dank titties atmospheric black metal to make you want to wear corpse paint and hang out in the woods, Baroness - dank titties metal-but-not-metal-psychedelic-rock jams that will stick in your head and never leave. So in short, 2015 was pretty dank titties.

Elias MacDonald (Chasm of Teeth, Altar of Complaints, Phobos)

Grievances - Kowloon Walled City

Grow - CHON

SKINNYBONETHUGGIN - Scotty Rockwell

Summertime '06 - Vince Staples

Watcher/Sallow split

EP - Jr. Clooney

I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside - Earl Sweatshirt

For Christ Sake - ThouxandbandFauni

New Bermuda - Deafheaven

Year of the Savage - Robb Banks

The Direction of Last Things - Intronaut

Songs of Lament - Yautja

Greater Than - Basecamp

Shinerboy - Gnarwhal

Live From the East - Chris Travis

Freewave EP - Lucki Eck$

Pipe Dreams - Chico

Stain EP/Wet Twat - ICYTWAT

No More Thotties - UnoTheActivist

Wan Lovey - silkmoney

+ - (plus minus) - Mew

Kayhan Vaziri (Yautja, Coliseum)

http://youtu.be/Nzl6IX3AR7Y

Tyler Coburn (Yautja, Gnarwhal, Alraune)

Records i really really enjoyed this year: Palm - Trading Basics

Palm - Trading Basics

Pile - You’re Better Than This

Kowloon Walled City - Grievances

My Disco - Severe

Stove - Is Stupider

Voice Coils - Heaven’s Sense

Torche - Restarter

Bjork - Vulnicura

Ex-breathers - Past Tense

Viet Cong - Viet Cong

Krill - A Distant Fist Unclenching

Pissgrave - Suicide Euphoria

Krallice - Ygg huur

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly

records i missed last year that i got way into this year:

Baring Teeth - Ghost Chorus Among Old Ruins

Mitski - Bury Me At Makeout Creek

Total Control - Typical System

Emptiness - Nothing but the Whole

Blonde Redhead – Barragan

Ethan Rock (Act of Impalement, Vile Desecration)
Archgoat – The Apocalyptic Triumphator

Noisem – Blossoming Decay

Genocide Pact – Forged Through Domination

All Hell – The Red Sect

Hellish - Theurgist

John Judkins (Laser Flames on the Great Big News, Rwake, Protomen)

What I listened to the most this year:

Vhol: Deeper Than the Sky

Royal Thunder: Crooked Doors

Tribulation: Children of the Night

Elder: Lore

The Sword: High Country

Jason Isbell: Something More Than Free

Torche: Restarter

Mutoid Man: Bleeder

Kurt Vile: B’lieve I’m Goin Down

High On Fire: Luminiferous

Natalie Prass: s/t

2014 releases but I listened to the shit outta these this year:

Zebulon Pike: Nostalgia for the Unreal

Yautja: Songs of Descent

Sturgill Simpson: Metamodern Sounds in Country Music

James McMurtry: Complicated Game

Derek Martin (Greywoods)

Albums I was really into this year:

Gold - No Image

Metz - II

Desolate Shrine - The Heart of the Netherworld

Disappears - Irreal

Ex Breathers - Past Tense

The Growlers - Gay Thoughts EP

Hivelords - Tapered Limbs of a Human Star

King Dude - Songs of Flesh and Blood - In the Key of Light

Sumac - The Deal

Yonatan Gat - Director

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress

Forn - The Departure of Consciousness

Nightfell - Darkness Evermore

Leviathan - Scar Sighted

Joey Bada$$ - B4.DA.$$

Alabama Shakes - Sound and Color

Chon - Grow

Grime - Circle of Molesters

Jesse Weilburg (Alraune, Chainshot, Sky Burial)

This list has no order or genre specifically, all albums had constant rotation in my life in 2015

Black Twilight Circle - Desert Dances and Serpent Sermons

Blaze Of Perdition - Near Death Revelations

Rixe - Coups & Blessures 7"

Deiphago - Into The Eye Of Satan

L.O.T.I.O.N. - Digital Control And Man's Obsolescence

Skepticism - Ordeal

Ysengrin/Black Grail Split - Nigrum Nigrius Nigro

Creeping - Revenant

Twin Shadow - Eclipse

Jeff Hyde (Lark's Tongue)

1. Alabama Shakes: Sound and Color

2. Disappears: Irreal

3. Tame impala: Currents

4. The Thing: Shake!

5. Kowloon Walled City: Grievances

6. White Manna: Pan

7. Ryley Walker: Primrose Green

8. Blown Out: Jet Black Hallucinations

9. Jane Weaver: The Silver Globe

10. Lubomyr Melnyk: Rivers and Streams

Chris Frey (Tijuana Goat Ride)

Sumac ~ The Deal

Fight Amp ~ Constantly Off

Kowloon Walled City ~ Grievances

Cherubs ~ 2 Yfynyty

He Whose Ox Is Gored ~ The Camel, The Lion, The Child

Motherfucker ~ Confetti

KEN mode ~ Success

Cloakroom ~ Further Out

Muted Man ~ Bleeder

And So I Watch You From Afar ~ Heirs

Chelsea Wolfe ~ Abyss

Wild Throne ~ Harvest of Darkness

my disco-severe

Blake Dellinger (Flummox)

My favorite record of the year has to be Fable Cry's "We'll Show You Where the Monsters Are." I listened to this album on repeat so many times without getting tired of it. Whenever I try to describe this band in short, I say they are kind of like if Danny Elfman and Ian Anderson had a rock band together. Yet they are so much more. The instruments utilized on this album that manage to weave together and blend together so elegantly boggles my mind as a musician. Anyone can take something from this album - everyone from the most hardened metal elitist to the least musically educated teenybopper. Close runner ups for my favorite record of the include the new albums from High on Fire, Faith No More, Ghost, & Opposite Box.

Lauren Strange (Lauren Strange and the Pretty Killers)

10) Runners in the Nerved World – The Sidekicks

9) FROOT - Marina & the Diamonds

8) Kintsugi – Death Cab for Cutie

7) American Spring – Anti-Flag

6) Fear and Saturday Night – Ryan Bingham

5) Zipper Down – Eagles of Death Metal

4) Ghost Notes – Veruca Salt

3) Petals - Darlia

2) Sorry – Meg Myers

1) Kicking Every Day – All Dogs

Josh Cochran (Billy Castro)

Top 5 of 2015

1. Deafheaven - New Bermuda

2. Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower

3. Beach House - Depression Cherry

4. Baroness - Purple

5. Weedeater - Goliathan

Honorable Mention:

False - Untitled

Disappointment of the Year:

Modest Mouse - Strangers To Ourselves

T.G. Olsen (Across Tundras)

Dave Rawlings Machine "Nashville Obsolete"

Natalie Prass "S/T"

Florence + The Machine "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful"

Lana Del Rey "Honeymoon"

City and Colour "If I Should Go Before You"

Fuzz "II" and live @ The Waiting Room

Dorthia Cottrell "S/T"

Tame Impala "Currents"

Dungen "Allas Sak"

Graveyard "Innocence and Decadence"

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats "Night Creeper"

Chappy Hull (Gnarwhal, Davega Bike, Rusty Shackleford)

No particular order. If there is an album I missed on here, I obviously forgot.

Watcher/Sallow Split – My favorite two Nashville bands on one burned CD I listen to constantly in my car!?! Hell yeah

Spencer Radcliffe – Looking in – Got this for free on a whim and it really blows me away how much I like it. The production is really great and different along with the downright catchiness of the songs

Ava Luna – Infinite House – After I saw this band for the second time in two days at SXSW I knew this album would be my favorite of the year and it is. I love playing this for people.

Yautja – Songs of Lament – lol, duh.

Kowloon Walled City – Grievances – This band only gets better and better. The tones.

Swings – Detergent Hymns – Said I wouldn’t put any EIS records on here but the loophole is Swings also put out this album this year and it is a true rocker. One of the best bands to see live also.

Bully – Feels Like – Awesome to see Nashville bands really get out there. So catchy.

Sheep Shifter – Triple 7” Split Release – Another of my favorite local bands doing a really sick idea for a release with awesome etchings done by Black Matter Mastering

Edhochuli – Dream Warriors – One of my favorite bands with their best recording to date. These songs got the riffs.

All Exploding In Sound Releases – Didn’t want the entire list to be all Exploding in Sound releases so I put them all as one even though these releases were most of what I listened to this year. Love all the records Palm, Pile, Krill, Ex-Breathers, Woozy, Stove, and so many more.

Blake Conley (Cosmic Yawn, Little Paws, Lucy Stoner, Spoon Thief, Brother Ares)

*kurt vile- b'lieve i'm going down

*battles- la di da di

*waxahatchee- ivy trip

*colleen green- i wanna grow up

*algiers- s/t

*chelsea wolfe- abyss

*sleater-kinney- no cities to love

*theesatisfaction- earthee

*body/thou- you, whom i've always hated

*body/krieg- body/krieg

*mountain goats- beat the champ

*courtney barnett-sometimes i sit and think and sometimes i just sit

*built to spill- untether the moon

*speedy ortiz- foil deer

*metz- II

*goatsnake- black age blues

*eleventh dream day- works for tomorrow

*low- ones and sixes

*lana del rey- honeymoon

*wolf eyes- i am a problem: mind in pieces

*locrian- infinite disolusion

*spandrels- i hate songs and people

*sunn O)))- kannon

*disappears- irreal

*daughn gibson- carnation

*no joy- more faithful

*my disco- severe

Reissues-

sun city girls- torch of the mystics

okkerville river- black sheep boy

sonny sharrock- ask the ages

Dan Emery (Thetan)
Lord I'm a dummy. And a late one on top of that. Okay here is my list for the shoehorning. Top (Nashville) records of 2015... Sea Witch-Behold The Ancients LP- 2015 brought the return of one of Nashville's loudest, heaviest bands. This band was nearly lost to time. Only to sneak in through the back door early this year. This LP is 4 monolithic crushing fucking beasts. BETRAYAL is an unholy racket that takes me back to drinking in Centennial Park in 2006 and hearing them clear as day playing in the Springwater. They were seriously the loudest shit ever. Asschapel-Unearthed 1999 Demo- Asschapel has been my top favorite Nashville hardcore/thrash band for about 15 years. Their shows were the most chaotic. Their albums still stand the test of time. This late 90s demo only saw the light of day in the form of a handful of cassettes at the turn of the century. Remastered by some doofus, and unleashed back into the world earlier this year. Fuck. Act Of Impalement/Forest Of Tygers- Split 7"- AOI are the torchbearers of old school death metal perfection. Songs about war and death delivered with the right amount of crusty griminess. On the flip FOT come with a more polished sound that falls somewhere between shoegaze and black metal, but doesn't stick to any predisposed genre. The video for their song on this record is the best music video I have seen in years. Bleed The Pigs- Mind And Matter EP- BTP is one of my favorite bands to come out of Nashville in recent years. Lyrically they have some of the most on point things to say, and their live shows deliver those messages profoundly. With every new batch of songs, they reinvent themselves in the most menacing way. Yautja- Songs Of Lament EP- Yautja have been cementing their path in the metallic hardcore genre for a few years now. Everything new they record completely blows away their previous material, and NOTHING they have ever done can be perceived as sophomoric. They are in my opinion, Nashville hardcore's crown gem. I look forward to seeing how they top this record.

Jody Lester (Flummox)

15) Stoned Jesus - The Harvest
Doompunk
Stoned Jesus done gone and gotten pissed off. As one of the bands that got me into doom/sludge metal, I always hold Stoned Jesus in high regard. While this record is VERY different from their previous ones, it shows them becoming more unique. While they do add in VERY strong punk elements, they bring in tracks like Rituals of the Sun to remind you that they can doom with the best of 'em. Love the evolution that these guys made here.

14) High On Fire - Luminiferous
Thrashy Sludge Metal
Steal beating myself in the head for not seeing these guys live. Riff God, Matt Pike shows his more aggressive side with this record. Moshy riffs all over the place that are still just expertly crafted. Great music for getting in a bar fight.

13) Look What I Did - Zanzibar Pt 3
Mathcore Rock Opera
The third Nashville band to make it on this list, Look What I Did are quite possibly my favourite local band ever and with this record they've outdone themselves. Dizzying riff writing and extremely experimental passages from start to finish. As soon as they start going one way, they head the next and even keeps me guessing on repeat listens. And then every once in a while, they sprinkle in a nice bit of catchy to make sure you're still paying attention.

12) Baroness - Purple
Pretty Sludge
If this record had came out earlier in the year, it would probably be higher, but as it stands it's still an astounding sludge rock record with beautifully constructed riffs and extremely catchy choruses. I find my self singing "Shock Me" more than once every day as well as few other choruses throughout this record. While the vocals play a big part, don't let me take anything away from the fantastic riff-writing

11) Leviathan - Scar Sighted
Ultraviolent Black Metal with extra Violence
This is the most hateful, disgusting black metal record I've heard in a long time. Filthy riffs from start to finish with gruesome vocals and not even the faintest hint of a positive emotion. The slight hints of death metal and even bits of what sounds like power violence at times really keep this record varied enough to keep my interest from start to finish.

10) Torche - Restarter
Sludgey, Poppy, Fun Metal
One of my favourite bands ever, Torche pulls out yet another record that sets it apart. Arguably Torche's heaviest record to date (with extra-pummeling tracks like Annihilation Affair and Barrier Hammer), Torche still maintains their hooky, poppy sound to create a really solid mixture of the two. Also, seeing these tracks performed live (which if you haven't seen Torche before, fucking do so) moved this album up my list.

9) Panopticon - Autumn Eternal
American Black Metal
Consistently my favourite American black metal project, Panopticon also incorporates elements of American folk/bluegrass to create this atmosphere that I can only equate to being tortured by a crazed mountain man at the bottom of a coal mine or trudging along the snowcapped Appalachian Mountains in winter after slaughtering a black bear in defense. This album is dark, but with a sense of beauty. Even with it, you can still see the terror behind it. Aaaaaah I love this record.

8) Ghost - Meliora
Satanic Scooby Doo Chase Music
My favourite Ghost record to date FOR SURE, and their heaviest. Some of these riffs just gallivant their way through to set up an almost warm and inviting atmosphere, some of them stop to pummel you just to remind you this is a metal record. Evil, evil music with a poppy edge. I'll be singing these songs for years to come.

7) Faith No More - Sol Invictus
Alternative/Experimental Metal
THE MIGHTY RETURN!!!!! After almost 20 years a band that I continuously cite as one of my biggest influences returns and they returned in a HUGE way. While Angel Dust is still my favourite of theirs, this is right up there with it. Never losing one ounce of their experimental nature, but still having catchy hooks, Faith No More have crafted a truly memorable record.

6) Fable Cry - We'll Show You Where The Monsters Are
Theatrical Scamp Rock
More Nashville natives making the list! These fine ladies and gentlemen have crafted one of the most unique records I've heard in years. Between the lyrics, instrumentation, and overall delivery, they craft this "world" with each song that you can really feel yourself in. You can almost smell the dank atmosphere and feel your feet sinking into a steaming bog in songs like Fancy Dancing. Also, they're total sweethearts and if you don't buy this record you're doing yourself a disservice.

5) Death Grips - Jenny Death/The Powers That B
Experimental Hip-Hop
What can I say about these guys that hasn't been said already. One of the most inventive bands of all time puts out the second half to a mind-numbing double album that has some of the craziest electronics I've ever heard, not to mention one of my favourite drummers ever behind the kit (Zach Hill), this album encompasses everything that fans love about Death Grips while not feeling rehashed.

4) Battle Path - Ambedo
Blackened Doom Metal
Nashville natives that I've had the pleasure of sharing the stage with a few times this year. These guys crafted together a dark, dank record that fills the air with atmosphere so thick you can cut it with the knife and then shatters through it with a pummeling blast beat section or really heavy doom riff. This record will always keep you guessing and it makes it a pleasure to listen to from start to finish

3) Indian Handcrafts - Creeps
Sludgy Rock N Roll
This is the stankiest, drivin'-fast-with-windows-downingest, keg-standingest, bar-fightin'est record I've heard all year! The dynamic duo bring forth some ferocious riffs mixed in with nice, catchy choruses mixed in to give it just the right ammount of accessibility. While they do wear their Melvins influence on their sleeve (They even covered Night Goat when I saw them), Indian Handcrafts manages to set themselves apart from the pack without alienating Sludge fans. I recommend listening to this album while driving down a long country road with the windows down in a 60's muscle car, or slamming brews and playing Mad Max.

2) Cattle Decapitation - Anthropocene Extinction
Death Metal/Deathgrind
This album begins beating you to a pulp from the first guitar chord and doesn't stop until it ends. Some of the best musicianship I've ever heard in a death metal band that never comes off as them just showing off. Each riff and fill is so precisely placed while still keeping intensity. A mind-bending death metal record that continues to blow my mind with every listen

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
1) Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
Hip-Hop
Not only is this my favourite album of the year, it's a serious contender for my favourite hip-hop record of all time. Kendrick's lyricism is top notch and the instrumentals are extremely varied and always bring something different to the table. This album deserves every bit of praise it has received. If you haven't listened to it yet, you're really missing out.

ALSO, mentioning the new SikTh EP, Opacities. Would easily be in my Top 5 if it was a full album

Aaron Hortman (Vile Desecration)

1. Bonehunter - Evil Triumphs Again 2. Archgoat - The Apocalyptic Triumphator 3. Gruesome - Savage Land 4.Mgla - Excerises in Futility 5. Deathhammer - Evil Power 6. Satanic Warmaster - Fimbulwinter (Even though it was released in Nov. 2014, the vinyl wasn't released until spring of 15 so I'm including it) 7. Plutonian Shore - Sphere of Geburah 8. Clandestine Blaze - New Golgotha Rising 9. Abominator - Evil Proclaimed 10. Perversor - Anticosmocrator 2015 was a great year. 2016 will not be a disappointment I'm sure. The nashville scene is growing, and every band in the area should strive to be as good as Act of Impalement. 696 bestial hails. Diehards only.

Court Reese (Cosmic Yawn, Cøurtney, Great Unclean Ones, the dang author of this blog)

Runner up

High on Fire - Luminiferous

High on Fire kill it. This is their 7^th album, and instead of being burned out, between this and the last record, De Vermiis Mysteriis, HoF feel full of momentum, like a great lumbering leviathan charging at full speed. Matt Pike and company seem to be aiming for the spot that Metallica seemed to hold at their apex, that of the most solid, most central to the core example of what modern metal could sound like. Hell, Greg Fidelman even produced their album Snakes for the Divine right after producing Death Magnetic (and later Lulu.). If someone asked me what a good representation of modern metal was, I would show them this record.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yeb9a4nuC6Y

Album of the year (~~cop-out~~ Tie)

Dragged Into Sunlight/Gnaw Their Tongues - N.V

Where High on Fire’s latest is a fantastic example of what metal at its core can be, this collaborative effort from some of the already darkest metal makers on their own represents what metal can be at its most extreme fringes. Swinging from breakneck blastbeat black metal to wholly crushing doom metal all the while coated in noise like falling ash, N.V. puts on a showcase of pushing the limits of extreme music while still remaining recognizably metal. The only time this album relents sonically is to allow weight of a different kind to pervade by including audio samples taken from people talking about how they strangled someone with their bare hands until their hands hurt, or how if you’re going to shoot someone, don’t stop until they hit the ground.

https://draggedintosunlight-official.bandcamp.com/

Susanne Sundfør – Ten Love Songs

Oh god not again, another album of the year that isn’t metal, or even heavy? I thought we were done with this after last year’s stretch. Sorry folks, but this album has stuck with me all year since it was released in February. Don’t be fooled by the name however, the same weight carried in the subject matter of the samples in N.V mentioned above carry over here. Despite the Euro beats and synthy flavor of most of these songs, Susanne has herself come out and said that this episode is about violence. This is especially evident by the very last track on the album, “Insects”, when out of a solid dance beat come the lyrics “And we’re having fun/Don’t make a sound/Don’t tell anyone/That we’re having fun”. Each song shows off a different flavor and nearly each one pulls me in like no other pop song ever has.
https://vimeo.com/119639355

OK FINE WE CAN HAVE AN END OF 2014 LIST GOD

2015-01-01T14:12:00.000-08:00

YES HERE WE ARE AGAIN YOU THOUGHT WE WERE DEAD AND MAYBE WE WERE BUT NOW WE ARE BACK AGAIN but yeah this one is late too no surprises there really.

By all accounts, 2014 was balls-out insane, starting with #SochiProblems and ending with #ICantBreathe. Personally, The first half of the year consisted of somehow managing to snag a Biology degree (cue Final Fantasy victory music) and the rest of the year was spent working nights. 2014 was an amazing year in heavy noisy music, and without further ado, here are the year's best from the local scene's finest musicians that responded to emails and/or posted a list on facebook that I am summarily pirating here:

Michael Kadnar (Downfall of Gaia, Black Table) -

Alaskan - Despair, Erosion, Loss

Bastard Sapling - Instinct is Forever

Bereft - Lost Ages

Bird Eater - Dead Mothers Make the Sun Set

Coffinworm - IV.I.VIII

Cult Leader - Nothing for Us Here

The Great Old Ones - Tekeli-Li

Gridlink - Longhena

Hexis / Primitive Man - 10” Split

Hush - Unexist

Implore - Black Kneel

Indian - From All Purity

Mutilation Rites - Harbinger

Sonance - Blackflower

Tempel - On The Steps of The Temple

Torchrunner - Endless Nothing

Trap Them - Blissfucker

Woods of Desolation - As The Stars

Yellow Eyes - Stillicide

Yob - Clearing the Path to Ascend

Chris Click (Greywoods, Evil Bebos) -

Full Lengths:

Alraune- the process of immolation

Blut aus Nord- memoria vetusta iii

Coffinworm-iv.i.viii

Indian- from all purity

Yob- clearing the path to ascend

EPs and splits:

Barghest/ False split

Fister/ Primitive Man split

Forest of Tygers-bruises

Recluse- Black Famine

Wolvhammer/ Krieg split

Yellow Eyes- the desert mourns

Jeff Hyde (Lark's Tongue) -

1.Damien Jurado: Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son

2.Sun Kil Moon: Benji

3.Fire! Orchestra: Enter

4.Dama/Libra: Claw

5.Timbre Timber: Hot Dreams

6.Yob: Clearing the Path to Ascend

7.Beck: Morning Phase

8.Hookworms: The Hum

9.Weed: Deserve

10.Neneh Cherry: Blank Project

11.Inter Arma: The Cavern

12.Maggie Bjorklund: Shaken

13.The Amazing Snakeheads: Amphetamine Ballads

14.The Bad Plus: The Rite of Spring

15.Black Bombaim: Far Out

16.Angel Olsen: Burn Your Fire for No Witness

17.Nothing: Guilty of Everything

Reissue: Dollface: Lights the Pilot/ Corvette Summer

Blake Edward Conley (Brother Ares, Spoon Thief Cosmic Yawn (shameless plug)) -

clipping

lana

sun kil moon

carla

earth

dama/libra

jenny lewis

horseback

trophy wife

il sogno del marinaio

swans

the body

angel olson

sherbert

broughton's rules

local-

boo dudes

forest of tygers

fragments of god

skoolgirl

sheep bella tine

p*ssed jeans

afghan whigs

HM-

ex hex

mogwai

afghan whigs

nothing

death grips

shabazz palaces

d'angelo

lark's tongue

(editor's note: smh)

Rachel and Jim Valosik (Forest of Tygers) -

Bands that released our favorite records in 2014:

Botanist

Yellow Eyes

Baptists

Tombs

Bastard Sapling

Generation of Vipers

Artificial Brain

Young and In the Way

Lord Mantis

Yautja

Dead In The Manger

Run The Jewels

Mutilation Rites

Decapitated

Panopticon

Anicon

Favorite Movies of 2014:

Proxy

Oculus

Enemy

The Sacrament

Interstellar

A Field In England

Afflicted

Neighbors

Noah

Blue Ruin

Under The Skin

Food of 2014:

Pho

Josh Cochran (Billy Castro) -

Best New Artist - Bog Oak for their EP, which is A Treatise On Resurrection and the Afterlife.

1. Dude Incredible - Shellac

2. Too Bright - Perfume Genius

3. Once More 'Round The Sun - Mastodon

4. Foundations of Burden - Pallbearer

5. Sonic Highways - Foo Fighters

Pleasant Surprise of the Year: El Pintor - Interpol

Disappointment of the Year: Time to Die - Electric Wizard

Christopher Frey (Tijuana Goat Ride) -

Young Widows- Easy Pain

Generation of Vipers- Coffin Wisdom

The Austerity Program- Beyond Calculation

Helms Alee- Sleepwalking Sailors

Godflesh- A World Lit Only By Fire

Ex Hex- Rips

Swans- To Be Kind

Rodan- Fifteen Quiet Years (technically a '13 release, but I don't care!)

United Nations- The Next Four Years

WHORES- Jumping Someone Else's Train (single)

Greg Swinehart

Top 5 metal albums

1. Misery Index - The Killing Gods

2. Indian - From all Purity
3. Lord Mantis - Death Mask
4. Bongripper- Miserable
5. Chigger - Stupid Motherfucker

Top strains of weed

Green crack

Chocolope
Zombie
White rhino (wax)
Cheese

Mikey Owyn (Ascent of Everest, Boo Dudes)
Boo Dudes #1 forever

Kayhan Vaziri (Coliseum, Yautja, Choking on Ash) -

As for me, I listened to a lot of great and a few awful records, but probably missed more than I heard. As such, I'm just going to go with a top 3 this year.

#3: Lord Mantis' "Death Mask"

Death Mask by LORD MANTIS

This album just fires on all cylinders for me. It does fast right, it does slow right, and it mixes it up perfectly with an unexpected robot voice and perhaps even more unexpected melodic lines rounding out this powerful album. Even as a whole the album has a fantastic package feel, and is satisfying to the last putrid drop.

#2: Couch Slut's "My Life as a Woman"

My Life as a Woman by Couch Slut

2014 has been a year of incredible social exposition if not outright change. After a number of events, 2014 was the year I started to call myself a feminist. This album goes a long way in making the listener really feel the horrific reality many women face today in modern America, if not all over the world. I defy you to listen to the track "Rape Kit" without saying "holy shit" or "oh my fucking god". Also hella NSFW art, so much so that I'm still waiting on my copy because printer's have backed out of printing the artwork.

#1 Clipping's "CLPPNG"

ZOMG THAT'S RIGHT IT'S A HIP HIP ALBUM BITCHES BETCHA DIDNT SEE THAT COMING "BUT WAIT THIS IS A METAL REVIEW SITE WHAT THE FUCKSHIT ARE YOU DOING" THIS ALBUM IS 100% HOOD ASS NOISE HIP HOP BITCHES IT IS UNBELIEVABLE IT IS SO GOOD I CAN'T STOP YELLING THEY HAVE A SONG BASED AROUND A GODDAMN ALARM CLOCK THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THIS RECORD IT IS THE BEST DAMN THING RELEASED IN 2014 AND EVEN THE VINYL RECORD HAS A SICK ASS SPLATTER PATTERN YOU CAN ONLY SEE IF YOU HOLD IT UP TO THE LIGHT

AIGHT WE DONE TIL NEXT YEAR PEACE OUT

2013 was a year that had music

2013-12-31T19:28:00.000-08:00

Another year has come and gone, and all sorts of crazy shit happened. For me personally, I took on the hardest year of schooling I've ever had and managed to come away without any Cs, I studied gibbons at the zoo and salamander DNA in a lab, I was elected secretary of my college's biology club, and I joined, recorded with, and was booted from Act of Impalement because I was too busy with school.

More to the point though, 2013 was an incredible year for extreme music both locally and globally. Without further ado, here are the lists from local artists, as well as my own at the bottom.

Blake of Brother Ares and Buddhist Pill:
Brokeback- Brokeback and the Black Rock: Doug Mccombs of Tortoise brings his long standing project back as a tight lean 'rock' band, providing tasteful desert soundtrack vibes.

Disappears-Era/Kone: Another year, another Disappears album or two. This is the first album/single with new drummer Noah Leger who replaced Steve Shelley. This change results in a smooth left turn from the more almost pop leanings of Pre-Language into the heavy PiL influenced dub drone found initially on Kone and then expanded on Era.

True Widow-Circumambulation: True Widow's new album provides the heavy intent of later period earth (along with a nice over driven twang guitar tone) coupled with the slow haze of distant reverberated vocals primarily by gtrist Dan "D.H." Phillips, but also by bassist Nicole Estill. The effect is particularly powerful when the pair harmonize, creating this comforting resigned sigh that melds with the mellow fuzz music perfectly.

Il Sogno Del Marinaio-La Busta Gialla: Mike Watt (Minutemen/fIREHOSE) travels to Italy to tour/make a recording w/ 2 musicians he has never recorded/performed together with and knocked out an incredible album Feature a potent mix of avant-garde textures, almost cinematic arrangements and classic Watt style basslines.

Queens of the Stone Age-...Like Clockwork: Josh Homme returns after a near death experience with a decidedly slower and sadder sound. A larger reliance on synths, piano and homme's bruised falsetto provides a somber landscape, but this allows room for the one thing that tends to be missing from the bands prior albums: genuine emotion.

Savages-Silence Yourself: English band Savages debut presents a decidedly influenced by the past (80s post punk in particular) but with a borderline visceral passion that most modern music is sorely lacking.

Speedy Ortiz-Major Arcana: Speedy Ortiz, in addition to taking their name from one of my favorite comic books Love & Rockets, take their sound from some of my favourite records by artists like Chavez, Jawbox and Helium. It's a decidedly college rock 90s affair going on here presented with a youthful energy that makes their material feel fresh rather than a nostalgia trip.

Justin Timberlake- 20/20 Experience volume 1: Poor reviews have kept me away from indulging Vol 2, but the first half of this series is an incredible mix of electro minimalist beats, soul influence, falsetto vocals and this great decision to have nearly every song devolve at the back end into a remix of itself.

Death Grips-Government Plates: Death Grips slip in at the last second with another self-released album featuring the messed up synths, blasts of noise and aggressive raps.

Wooden Wand- Blood Oaths of the New Blues/WWIV -James Toth (full disclosure, i consider mr toth a good friend) returns with one of his finest releases in the form of Blood Oaths. This record features vaguely psychedelic textures and overtones, along w/ the bizarre but ultimately empowering move of having no snare on the album and some of his most affecting melodies and lyrics. WWIV is his attempt to live out (and succeed) his Crazy Horse fantasies w/ spiraling guitar lines and heavy stomps.

Joseph Allred/Graceless/Hellbender-Honey Voiced/Mandorla Vally/Vicera/Monumental Failure/Second Sight: (Full disclosure again-Joseph Allred is a close friend in addition to being the other half of Buddhist Pill) Joseph Allred spent the year releasing music of all types- the often joyful, always heartfelt folk influenced releases under his solo name, the bleak drone atmospheres as Graceless (aided by Matt Johnson) and the powerful heady rock of Hellbender (RIP). Each release showcases the innovative guitar and arrangement ideas he's capable of coupled with his ability to adapt to the players involved while still exuding his own spiritual influence.

Body/Head- Coming Apart: Kim Gordon and Bill Nace team up for loose sprawling improvised album consisting solely of their individual guitars and Gordon's voice.

Chelsea Light Moving- S/T: Thurston Moore teams up with an excellent crew of musicians (John Maloney of Sunburned Hand of the Man, Keith Wood of Hush Arbors and Samara Lubelski) to provide a raucous mix of turborat abetted punk fury, blasts of pure noise and tender odes to the 60s beat writers.

Across Tundras- Electric Relics: Tanner Olson aided by Casey Perry and Mikey Allred (Hellbender) releases what may be his best and most thoroughly enjoyable album yet. Combining sly winks to classic rock, Tundras typical Crazy Horse stomp and lovely psychedelic overtones for an album that is both heavy and heartfelt.

Ensemble Pearl- Stephen O'malley of Sunn O))) teams up w/ Michio Kurihara of Ghost, Boris drummer Atsuo, and William Herzog from Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter for an epic sparse tour through Hex era Earth coupled w/ that unique for of psychedelia found only in Japan

Honorable mentions-

Locrian- Return to Annihilation
Kanye West- Yeezus
Dillinger Escape Plan- One of us is the Killer
Beast in the Field- The Sacred Above The Sacred Below
Chelsea Wolfe- Pain is Beauty
Obits- Bed & Bugs
Joanna Gruesome- Weird Sister
Palms- S/t
Lee Ranaldo and the Dust- Last Night on Earth
Windhand- Soma
deafheaven-Sunbather
Tim Hecker- Virgins
Inter Arma- Sky Burial
Los Melvins- Tres Cabrones
Endless Boogie- Long Island

Eps-
The Body-Master We Perish
Shroudeater- Dead Ends

Reissues-
Come- Eleven:Eleven
Breeders- Last Splash
Rilo Kiley- Rkives

EDIT: Derp, forgot the list from Josh from Billy Castro until just now.
Black Sabbath - 13
13 is a comeback album in the truest sense of the phrase. I usually hate using the term "return to form," but Black Sabbath have created, well, a Black Sabbath album. This marks the first time since 1978 that Ozzy Osbourne has sung on a full-length studio album with the band. Geezer Butler also makes his return, making this his first full-length studio Sabbath album since 1994. What makes this release even more remarkable is that guitarist Tony Iommi was able to play on it despite undergoing cancer treatment. Slow, bluesy Iommi doom riffs and thick, commanding Butler basslines dominate this release, while Ozzy does just what he should: sing within his range about doom, gloom, death, and destruction. Guest session drummer Brad Wilk (of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave) is a worthy replacement for original lineup member Bill Ward, who is absent due to contractual issues. Wilk is unable to capture some of that Bill Ward magic, as he seems a bit too tight at times and is unable to replicate Ward's ability to play just tight enough to keep it together but just loose enough to leave room for weird (in the best sense of the term) drum fills. Even so, his playing on this album is just what the band needed. Lead single "God is Dead" is a classic Black Sabbath song capturing the often present Sabbath conflict between light and darkness, faith and disbelief, hatred and love. The album does have a few filler tracks, but the majority of these tunes are worthy of the Ozzy-led Black Sabbath catalogue. "End of the Beginning" reminds one of the heavy, slow, ominous main riff from "Black Sabbath," while "Zeitgeist" is a deserving follow-up to "Planet Caravan." Even the bonus tracks are worth a listen, especially for Sabbath completists. Where many modern albums released by bands from the 60's and 70's are embarrassing attempts to reaffirm and replicate past succeses, 13 is an album that an old acid rock fan can enjoy just as much as a young fan of modern doom/sludge. It's a must-listen for any fan of heavy music in general, but especially those who truly respect Black Sabbath's seat atop the music world as the grandfathers of heavy metal.

Deafheaven - Sunbather
Call them what you will: black metal, post-rock, ambient metal, shoegaze, post-metal. Whatever they are, Deafheaven are really, really good. With Sunbather, the band's second full-length studio release, they've created their first (and hopefull not last) masterpiece. It flows better and hits harder than its predecessor, Roads to Judah, and gives modern, American black metal an album it can be proud of. The song-writing duo of founding members George Clarke (vocals) and Kerry McCoy (guitars) are deserving of the high praise this album has received from virtually every music writer who has reviewed it. Mixing elements of several genres can often feel forced, as if a band is attempting to piece together two (or more) opposing pieces of a musical puzzle. With Sunbather, the heavy and the soft, the quiet and the loud, the blazzingly fast and the beautifully quiet meld together to form a near-perfect blend of astoundingly emotional modern black metal. Where contemporaries Liturgy delve more into the avant-garde and, depending on one's opinion, the pretentious, Sunbather feels genuine and lacks the hipsterisms many music listeners dislike about modern, underground metal that is often enjoyed by those who predominantly listen to various forms of indie rock. The album as a whole is spectacular, but if one must choose a highlight, it has to be "Vertigo" the album's longest track at 14 minutes, 37 seconds. This track best exemplifies the above-mentioned mastery of melding genres and musical elements, giving Sunbather it's most powerful, chillingly beautiful composition. If Deafheaven continues to create music of this caliber, it is safe to say that they will go down as one of modern metal's preeminent acts.

Ghost - Infestissumam
With the release of their second full-length (and first for a major label), Ghost have created perhaps the most fun album of the year. Ghost take their tongue-in-cheek, Satanic approach seriously, and if you're in on the joke (or maybe even if you aren't), they're one of the most entertaining and original bands around right now. Since their first album ended with the birth of the Antichrist, the band have chosen for this one to continue with his life and rule of Earth. It can be said that their first release pounded harder, cut deeper, and was perhaps a bit more riff-oriented. The difference with this release is the focus on variety, including synths that are often more prone to lead than accompany and fantastic use of choir vocals. Ghost have also written their most complete and catchy tune to date in "Year Zero," a song signaling the Antichrist's rise to power over all nations. Ridiculous, right? That's what makes it so much fun. Also of note is that Papa Emeritus II is listed as the band's new vocalist but sounds just like the first Papa Emeritus. Reminds me of the Landfill situation on Beerfest (yes, a strange reference to make on a review of a metal album, but similar nevertheless). Basically, this is a fun one to recommend to anyone who enjoys irony, heavy music that isn't necessarily heavy, and music that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Casey Perry (Across Tundras)
15 records of 2013

1. Hellbender - Second Sight
2. Mammatus - Heady Mental
3. Inter Arma - Sky Burial
4. Oranssi Pazuzu - Valonielu
5. Neurosis - Honor Found in Decay
6. Joseph Allred - Mandorla Valley
7. Big Star - Nothing Can Hurt Me (soundtrack)
8. Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - Mind Control
9. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Psychedelic Pill
10. Big Business - Battlefeilds Forever
11. Wooden Wand & The World War IV
12. Sandrider - Godhead
13. Pinkish Black - Razed to the Ground
14. Nirvana - In Utero 2013 Albini Mix
15. Mazzy Star - Seasons of Your Day

Bob Brinkman (Bridesmaid)
Nashville Biscuit House rules, everything else in the world is terrible. Some one tried to trade a pistol for our band trailer in the parking lot of the 'Walmart Neighborhood Market' up the street from there. Have a happy 2014 everyone!

Jeff Hyde (Lark's Tongue)
1. Mark Kozelek and Jimmy Lavalle: Perils From the Sea
2. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Push the Sky Away
3. True Widow: Circumambulation
4. Windhand: Soma
5. Tindersticks: Across Six Leap Years
6. The Limiñanas: Costa Blanca
7. Brokeback: Brokeback and the Black Rock
8. The Icarus Line: Slave Vows
9. Deafheaven: Sunbather
10. Dead Meadow: Warble Womb
EP: Moin ST
Reissue: Robert Wyatt: ‘68

Tanner Olson (Across Tundras)
Mazzy Star "Seasons Of Your Day"
Justin Timberlake "The 20/20 Experience - The Complete Experience"
Hellbender "Second Sight"
Joseph Allred "Viscera" & "Honeyvoiced"
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats "Mind Control"
Cass McCombs "Big Wheel and Others"
Wooden Wand "Blood Oaths of the New Blues" & "Wooden Wand & the World War IV"
Cian Nugent and the Cosmos "Born With the Caul"
SubRosa "More Constant Than the Gods"
My Bloody Valentine "m b v"
Daniel Bachman "Jesus I'm a Sinner"
Kurt Vile "Wakin On A Pretty Daze"
12 South Farmers Market - Nashville, TN
Tealixir "Dr Marigold" Kombucha
Noble Springs Dairy "Pimento Chevre"
Bagel Face Bakery "Everything Bagel"
Hiking with Sadie & Odin @ Beaman Park - Nashville, TN
Rolling a tire down a hill with David, Annabelle, Evelynn - Plattsmouth, NE
Across Tundras & Hellbender @ Black Butte Center For Railroad Culture - Weed, CA
Recording Brother Ares "Amplifier As God" @ Ramble Hill Farm - Goodlettsville, TN
Recording Across Tundras "Electric Relics" @ Ramble Hill Farm - Goodlettsville, TN
4th of July party w/ Bitter Resolve, Across Tundras, Holy Mountaintop Removers, Graceless, Joseph Allred @ Ramble Hill Farm - Goodlettsville, TN
Graveyard live @ Exit/In - Nashville, TN
Grails live @ The End - Nashville, TN

Forest of Tygers:
Botanist - IV: Mandragora
Loss Of Self - Twelve Minutes
Yellow Eyes - Hammer Of Night
Castevet - Obsidian
Enabler (MKE) - Flies
Corrections House - Last City Zero
Oathbreaker - Eros Anteros
Altar Of Plagues - Teethed Glory & Injury
The Body - Christs, Redeemers
Baptists - Bushcraft
All Pigs Must Die - Nothing Violates This Nature
Cloudkicker - Subsume
Death Grips - Government Plates
Occultist - Death Sigils
Woe - Withdrawl
Stomach Earth - Stomach Earth
Vhol - Vhol
Ulcerate - Vermis
Zozobra - Savage Masters
Nails - Abandon All Life

Top 5 restaurants on the West side:
Kien Giang
NY Pie
Angel Restaurant
M.L. Rose (beer only)
Bobby's Dairy Dip

Top live Nashville acts:
Tijuana Goat Ride
Sky Burial
Choking on Ash
War Bong
Act of Impalement
Cannomen
Thelma and the Sleaze
Alraune

the coolest dudes ever, Black Table:
1. Jardin de la Croix- 187 steps across the universe
2. Vattnet Viskar - Sky Swallower
3. Astronoid - Stargazer
4. So Hideous - Last poem/ First light
5. Distances - Ages
6. Meek is Murder - Everything is awesome, Nothing matters
7. East of the Wall - Redaction Artifacts
8. The Ocean - Pelagial
9. Dillinger Escape Plan - One of us is the Killer
10. Russian Circles - Memorial

Connor (Pissbath, Vacant Future)
Kirai - 7"
Proxy - Police Car 7"
Clown - 2nd LP
Rotten UK - ticket To Hell 7"
Kremlin - drunk in the gulag LP
Asile - 12"
Switchblade demo
horrific disturbing demo
vacant future demo
Pissbath demo 2 and 3

Trey (Pissbath, Vacant Future, Haldol, a ton more)

Tres hombres by zz. Fuck every other record by anyone

Melissa (Pissbath)

Mikey Owyn (Fragments of God)

Best album of 2013: mbv. Best local album of 2013: Fragments of God.

Zack (Act of Impalement, War Bong)
Top Shows:
1. Gasmask Terror
2. Noisem
3. Nunhex
4. Windhand
5. Primitive Man

Ethan (Act of Impalement, War Bong)
Top Shows:
1. Nunhex
2. Weedeater
3. Noisem
4. Terveet Kadet
5. Danzig

In keeping with last year's list, I've decided to just post a list of fantastic records I've heard this year, with a runner up and champion. Keep in mind that just because an album isn't on the list doesn't necessarily mean I dislike it; sometimes it just means I didn't ever get a chance to give it a full listen, like with this year's Cult of Luna album.

In any case, this year, I dug the following:

Pray for Teeth -From The Dry Edge Of The Shore
Windhand - Soma
Windhand/Cough split - Reflection o the Negative
KEN Mode - Entrench
Gorguts - Colored Sands
Mamiffer with Circle - Enharmonic Intervals
Vacant Future - Demo
Lumbar - The First and Last Days of Unwelcome

True Widow - Circumambulation
In Fidelity - Demo

Primitive Man - Scorn

Alraune - Demo

Hellbender - Second Sight

Across Tundras - Elecric Relics

Panopticon/Vestiges split

Conan/Bongripper split

Van Hägar/Profane Command split

Low to the Earth/Choking on Ash split

Noothgrush/Coffins split (holy shit so many good splits this year)

Paysage D'Hiver - Das Tor

Vuyvr - Eiskalt

Deafheaven - Sunbather

Shroud Eater - Dead Ends EP

Fell Voices - Regnum Saturni

Light Bearer - Silver Tongue

Inter Arma - Sky Burial

The Body - Master, We Perish EP

The Body - Christs, Redeemers

Nails - Abandon All Life

Batillus - Concrete Sustain

██████ - Demo

Oranssi Pazuzu - Valonielu
Cove - Pig God EP

RUNNER UP

Locrian - Return to Annihilation

For a long time, I scratched my head about this band. They were drone doom metal to be sure, but felt more suffocating than crushing like many other drone doom bands. With this release however, I was excited to find that Locrian had branched out into very new and almost upbeat territories. The first track, "Eternal Return" blossoms with synths you could almost dance to, but the screams let you know that there's still a metal edge. The album itself works best as a whole, with a near perfect pace and balance between relaxed and intense moments. The album ends with an incredibly powerful second half, complete with a 15-minute closer track that lulls you into thinking it's over, until suddenly... I won't spoil it. Listen to it yourself if you haven't already.

Return To Annihilation by Locrian

AND THE BEST GODDAMN ALBUM IN 2013 GOES TO

KAYO DOT - HUBARDO

What really sets both this album and the runner up from the rest of the releases this year is this: to me, both albums demonstrated what you could do with metal, but also stretch it to its limits. Locrian's is almost so pretty you could call it post-gaze or shoe-rock or something. With this Kayo Dot release though, it brought back some of the metal their last few releases had lacked, and it really brings strength to this album. But oh lawd, the metal is just the beginning on this 3 LP, 100 minute+ album. We got choirs, we got saxophone, we got flute, we got some sort of marimba, and probably more I don't even know, and clean vocals and high and low vocals... This thing spans so many genres and so much of the beautiful Toby Driver's career, even harkening back to his days in Maudlin of the Well.(!) But the amazing thing really is how well it all flows together; the composition-work is incredible. I think it might even be a concept album or at least thematically related?

When my friend Brandon who transcribes guitar solos on youtube for fun/school and I got to see Kayo Dot perform at the End, we both agreed that every single member of the band was a goddamn genius. Decide for yourself with the pitiful amount of songs they have streaming on their bandcamp, but for me, Hubardo is the hands-down Album of the year.

Hubardo by Kayo Dot

NashVile: now with more birdcalls!

2013-07-12T09:58:00.002-07:00

For all one of you who's been waiting with bated breath at what I'm going to post next, I'm tremendously sorry for not keeping up with this blog. I've become very busy with DNA research this summer at Belmont, and I've somehow managed to join Act of Impalement on bass.

In lieu of trying to write up whole blog posts for each show that end up incredibly late, I've decided to make a NashVile twitter account so I can promote all these fantastic local bands on the fly. I'll still try to write up full reviews when I can, but when I can't, I'll post blurbs on twitter.

Follow me here: https://twitter.com/Nash_Vile
Edit: Look what I can make! Here's account itself, in action:
Tweets by @Nash_Vile

Sun Wheel, Motherplant, Black Tar Prophet, Holy Mountain Top Removers at Springwater (+Shroud Eater)

2013-06-09T14:57:00.001-07:00

After a quite pregnant pause, it is time to give birth to some much-delayed show reviews! I think, for my own sake, ~~I'm going to group the past shows I've seen by month (which means that May is going to end up the disproportionately large triplet due to that week of shows I attended.~~). Fuck it, I'll just do it one show at a time. It's easier to read and write this way. ~~Enough with the weird birth jokes though,~~ let's get these writeups going!

I considered not writing anything up the last show I saw in February due to the headlining band not really needing any press from me. The trio that is Shroud Eater has begun to blow up enough to be covered by legitimate metal news sites. I changed my mind when I heard their new release however. Everybody needs to hear it. If Matt Pike was secretly two women and a Scott Ian lookalike in disguise, that would be awesome. Also it would sound kind of like this.
Dead Ends by Shroud Eater

ooh and I just learned about this "jump break" thing, I guess you have to click on the link headline if you want to read about ~~the other shows in March~~ the bands listed in the header. Unless you've already clicked. I'm not sure how it works yet.

The first show I saw in March, on 3/2, was in everybody's favorite dive bar, Springwater. The place was surprisingly full. Also, for these month-encompassing write-ups, I'm essentially going to be transcribing my notes that I hopefully took for each show. For this show, my notes tell me that first up was Sun Wheel. The notes go on to say that it was instrumental, and reminiscent of Black Sabbath. I came in during some sweep-picking, but the song after was booming doom. I also appeared to have written "Fast part with some chugging. Emotional part, with a wood block. Serenade wtf?" I wish I could remember this show better to comment, but I'll just let your imagination fill it in. There was also some tremolo riffing, with some serious bass speed chops going on. The next song had a complicated riff that sounded a lot like Wolfmother's song "Woman". Nice usage of the wah pedal here and there. Pretty groovy overall, might benefit from vocals though. Have a taste:

Upload your music for free at ReverbNation.com

Next up was a band I'd been anticipating for over a year, even if I didn't know it at the time. Y'see, I met Motherplant vocalist Clutch Coomer at the Hail!Hornet show at the Muse early in 2012, where he and his Kentucky entourage were generous enough to share their intoxicants with my friends and I. I'd kept up with him on facebook, so I was pretty excited to learn that his band was coming to play in town. To quote my notes: "Oh lordy. Heavy ass stoner doom. Black Sabbath, Sleep, Electric Wizard, and definitely Cough can all be heard in their lumbering din. You lose all sense of time during their songs." These guys have some unbelievable riffs, and long enough songs to where you can really get lost in them. With members from Kentucky groups like Seidr (gorgeous funeral doom with members of KY black metallers Wheels Within Wheels and Panopticon) and Below, it's no wonder these guys kick so much ass. Check out their demo here, and prepare get swallowed in mammoth riffs.
LSDemo by Motherplant

Next up was the always-thundrous local doom duo Black Tar Prophet. Greg and Erik were as heavy as ever, with one member of Motherplant remarking to me after the show (after Clutch and I discussed the finer points of getting cheese in one's beard) that Greg's bass rig was as loud as their whole band's setup. Greg got a big new speaker cabinet for this show (as he is wont to do for many shows), but this cab was big enough to elicit a nausea warning. Erik confirmed this after the show, saying that he definitely felt it. So you heard it here first all you bulimic doom fans, BTP is going to be your absolute favorite group! Just make sure you get in nice and close at the shows. If you can't make it to a show, just play this as loud as you can.
Black Tar Prophet / Crawl by Black Tar Prophet

Last up was what-the-fuck-am-I-listening-to trio Holy Mountain Top Removers. If you haven't read about them already, they're comprised of half of local psychedelic country doomers Hellbender, but totally not what you'd expect. Their set is quite chaotic, almost akin to free jazz, but I'm not sure they all stay in the same key at the same time. Regardless, it makes for a mesmerizingly chaotic performance, and you never know what to expect, including floor tom gravity blasts, and switches from bass guitar to droney synth. When they're not banging about in seeming randomness, they sometimes settle into what seems to be bluesy rock with a dash of sludge. You can listen to their bandcamp here below, but it really isn't very reflective of their live style.
Fuck It Like The Wind by Holy Mountain Top Removers

Again, apologies for the long delay in writeups, things have been busy and stressful. More to come soon. Also, I did have pictures of this show, but my phone decided it was a good idea to corrupt 6 month's worth of pictures and videos at the end of April.

So since I've started this trend of ending these things with some neat science stuff, here's something interesting I found recently:

"Bagheera kiplingi is a species of jumping spider found in parts of Central America. This spider is unique in that it is the only known spider to have a herbivorous diet. The spider who was named after the panther in the jungle book usually inhabits trees of the genus Acacia where it eats the fat rich nubs off the tips of the leaves on the tree (they also consume nectar)."

May 4-10 full res picture and video uploads

2013-05-11T23:29:00.002-07:00

Just a forewarning, the sound quality on the videos is terrible.

EDIT: Added a jump break so those running MS-DOS don't crash and burn when loading the main page. Click something nearby to see the videos.

5/4 Owl Farm - Cheap Art (ATL), Fucked Ethos, Van Hagar, Profane Command
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?p2d1f9z3t15yl95

Fucked Ethos

Profane Command

5/5 Owl Farm - Dead in the Dirt (ATL), Cove, Yautja, Guide
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?16axfn9qp72qgk8

Cove

5/6 Owl Farm - Gasmask Terrör (FRA), Youth Avoiders (FRA), Life Trap, Pissbath, Vacant Future
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?hm9ean8r5g5r1tf

Youth Avoiders

Gasmask Terrör

5/7 Owl Farm -Low to the Earth (SC), Choking on Ash, Thetan, Act of Impalement
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?srori378ge6hilb

Act of Impalement

5/8 Cirith Ungol - Low to the Earth (SC), Child Brides, Vacant Future
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?x5grubmert1ibxu

5/9 Owl Farm - State Poison (FRA), Thetan, Pissbath
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?u8vky4el18r10ve

Pissbath

Thetan

State Poison

5/10 Hymen House - Direct Effect (FL), Ex-Breathers (FL), Van Hagar, Fenris, Rusty Shackleford
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?9ue48fwjqy3l9zc

Rusty Shackleford

Halmos' Full-Length LP "Exist" Review

2013-04-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

Between the Boston bombing and West, Texas explosion, we're living in rather tumultuous times. When things get chaotic, it's nice to have some consistency, some familiar things, and things that are comfortable. The strong and still growing doom metal scene in Atlanta is full of sounds to help you calm down, slow down, and chill out, and Halmos' new album is a definite example of this. Their new album Exist delivers a solid, consistent, and plenty heavy effort that builds and expands upon their first EP, Vicious Cycle (which was one of my first reviews.)
Since the EP was released, the former duo has expanded into a quartet, adding Melanie Maher on bass and Casey Yarbrough on guitar number two. Both new members partake in vocal duties as well, meaning that everybody in Halmos gets to have his or her say at some point.

The vocals on songs that were brought over from the Vicious Cycle EP still focus on guitarist Corey Briley's straightforward speak-shout style for a good bit. However, the explosion of variety in the vocal styles since the EP serves as a testament to how important interesting vocals are, and how they can add a lot of intrigue and even depth to a band's sound. The clean singing in tracks "Outcry" and "Datura" stand out to me, and sometimes can get stuck in my head for hours. They just fit their underlying groove so well, and contrast nicely with the spoken and rougher vocals. The rougher vocals feel stronger in this release as well, and add yet another vocal variety.

Beneath the vocals thrums the heart of a doom metal beast. What Vicious Cycle hinted at has been realized in the form of fully fleshed out riffs. These Georgians worship at the same riff-hewn altar as doom behemoths Sleep, Conan, Acid King, Electric Wizard, and Black Sabbath. Everything is drenched in fuzz and distortion afforded by the ridiculous amount of Orange amps these guys have. The addition of Melanie Maher's bass playing adds much needed low-end support, and Casey Yarborough injects a freshness and versatility that sets the tracks new for the LP apart. The pacing is good, and shifts to fit the context of each song; nothing feels overly fast or slow. I could see myself jamming Exist while cruising down the highway with the windows down on an 80° summer day, while pumping my fist in time with the anthemic stylings.

This picture of their amps alone should

tell you how rad this album is

All together, Halmos plays slow and heavy, with a lot of groove and a lot to say. In their interview with Sludgelord, Corey talks about how the album is broken down into 3 parts, based on the givens of existence. Tracks 1-3 are about "Meaninglessness and Existential Isolation", 4-6 touch on "Freedom and Its Attendant Responsibility", and 7-9 focus on "The Inevitability of Death." Substantial topics in doom and stoner metal? I guess it's more likely than you think. This only adds to the intrigue of the album, and elevates it to a thought-provoking level not normally associated with this sort of music.

Although it is still somewhat constrained by sticking to music that was created as a two-piece, Halmos' style has become much fuller, fleshed-out, and maybe even more fully realized on this album. The addition of the new vocals adds welcomed contrast to the original style, and the added bass and guitar give this record the thump that Halmos deserved. As I see it though, these guys and girl are on the upswing: this album is just an appetizer for what I think Halmos can do. If they're headed where I think they're headed, their next album will fucking blow doors down. Not that this album is a slouch by any means, it's a damn good stoner anthem worth your time and money. But Halmos, they're just getting started.
8.3/10

The biggest noticeable change is Travis Anderson's hair. What was once a pinhead afro has transformed into an intimidating yet glorious peacock's mane as fuzzy as their sound. Awesome.

To see for yourself, stream it here while you still can!

EXIST by HALMOS

Up next, look for the regular allotment of show reviews, but especially look for some Black Tar Prophet reviews that have been way, way overdue.

Tower Defense, Brother Ares, Debonair, Laser Flames on the Great Big News at the Owl Farm 2/8

2013-04-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

Here we are again, it's blog time. This installment occurred at the always wonderful despite sketchily located Owl Farm. Seriously, once you get past the gunshots (just like with lightning, count the seconds between when you see muzzle flash and when you hear the bang to see how far away it is!) and the stray dogs (the pair I saw both appeared gravid), it's a great venue usually filled with good people.

I hope this b&w filter hides my crap photography skills

This night was no different. First up was local trio Tower Defense. First and foremost: I have no idea if they're named after the flash game genre or not. Regardless, husband-and-wife pair Mike and Sarah Shepherd both handle bass duties while drummer Jereme Frey pounds away. According to their facebook page, Tower Defense was started by Mike and Jereme, who have been in a number of other bands including Gentlemen Divers, Bad Feeler, and the venerable Apollo Up!, and Mike's wife Sarah (herself having played in Take The Power Back, an all-female Rage Against the Machine cover band, and Short Ropes) joined to help play covers at a benefit show. "Suddenly," the 'About' section reads, "the music starting being good." I can't help but agree. These three old friends play a style of post-punk that has pop punk sensibilities without being overly saturated with sweetness, and doesn't go as dark as Joy Division. These three each sing at one point or another. The Shepherds ring out some infectious grooves, with Sarah usually on the bottom part and Mike playing the higher strings. Jereme's strong and energetic drums give a dose of power to this band that really adds some punch to the sound. The vocals are sung in a straightforward and melodic manner, with tasty harmonies throughout. The vocals could be considered synecdochic for the entire sound in that they seem to be going for a rather straightforward style without a lot of adornments, and really, they don't need them. These three have a hooky, expressive style without a lot of fuss.
Since they don't seem to have any streams up and running, have a video of a past performance instead:

so far so good

Next up was noise-doom duo Brother Ares. What can I say about these two that has not already been said (by me)? They play a mixture of doom and sludge with screechy dysmelodic, atonal interludes, intros, and outros. Nick Gore pounds the drums and yells full-bodiedly while Blake Conley strums and shreds guitar and yells in a higher and less rough manner. Their riffs are mammoth in weight and pace - you'll find you can take more than one breath during some sustains. Blake's amp, responsible for his gorgeous tone, doesn't have a top because it was found in the trash. Their love for The Body is noticeable in their sound and also because they started out not using microphones. Their preoccupation with warring birds and remaining a two-some is reminiscent of Eagle Twin, whose influence can also be felt in their sound. A few tracks can even get a bit Isis-y (a la "Weight" from Oceanic). This show was great example of Blake and Gore at their best. They even looked like they were having fun. At one point, [a guy from] the audience came up and started screaming into the microphone. I heard from Gore later that he'd talked to [the guy] about doing it before (turns out he did vocals for some other local bands); at the time it kinda looked like he just decided to grab it out of the blue. Regardless of intent it was pretty jarring. Otherwise it was a pretty exemplary set with lots of good strong positive energy flowing. They rounded it out by bringing back one of their favorite covers, Black Flag's "My War." Look for an upcoming split cassette from them as a part of a series by Across Tundras' Tanner Olson, as well as their full-length LP The Aviary as soon as it gets finished mixing and mastering. Til then, stream this:
Doomeagle of the Apocalypse (Devourer of Worlds outake version) by Brother Ares

Third up were the local gentlemen of Debonair. Blake from Brother Ares had talked these guys up to me for a while now, so I was excited to see them. Maybe everyone was; it might have just been my imagination, but the air seemed full of anticipation while these men who appeared stylish, good-natured, and perhaps actually debonair set up. At least two of the members sported well-groomed mustaches after all. Sadly neither of the two bass players had a fuzzy caterpillar-esque upper lip, but I won't hold that against them, as their playing more than compensated. Like, way more. These guys rocked the house and sent all kinds of great vibes through the audience. I have in my notes that these guys have elements of post-hardcore and math rock in their sound with a touch of post-rock, but really these guys have a sound that's all their own.

Still, there's a few influences I think I hear; at some points they remind me of a deranged Slint. I even heard some Filter in there, before they got all unbelievable and wanted you to take their picture and shit (not like they'll remember anyway.). No, Debonair play their own brand of space math rock with two bassists, a guitarist whose vocals remind me a touch of Knoxville's Billy Castro, and an absolutely manic drummer. These guys get to a level of interesting that my notes say is approaching Mike Patton levels. With lyrical content pertaining to safe words and space camp, this disquiescent quartet may seem disingenuous, but their musicality is anything but a joke. Between tremolo-picked segments and at least one incredibly satisfying sludgy bit, I was not disappointed. Until I wrote this review that is: these guys have way too little material on record. Best I can find is some live-recorded audio tracks set to single-picture videos. Until they do me, gentlemen everywhere, and really everyone in the world a favor by recording, sate your Debonairish hunger with this:

Finally, last up was Laser Flames on the Great Big News. Here's a rundown of what I imagine to be the average thought process of a person hearing this band for the first time: "Laser Flames on the... dang these guys have a long name. I heard that one guy is in Rwake though, so I bet they're good. That Stevie chick is pretty cute. This first riff is pretty nice, and now they're... singing country style. Huh. Wasn't expecting that. Not bad though, fits the riff I spose. Nice vocal harmonies. Huh. Country metal? I guess I can dig iHOLY SHIT did that girl just scream? Shit, I just spat a mouthful of PBR all over this guy's patch vest in front of me. Better edge away. But jesus, that was one helluva scream that came out of that woman. And now with shredding and blastbeats to match. What an about-face. And now... damn, those are some tasty doom riffs. I'm gonna need another beer for this."

LFotGBN play a variety of styles from country metal to stoner metal to black metal to jesus how much else do you need to read to know that these guys kick ass? They have no respect for what's kosher in a genre and play what they want. Both guitarists John Judkins (who also plays bass in lovely sludge outfit Rwake, formerly of Today is the Day and Christine) and Stevie Bailey sing and scream in turn or together, all while strumming and shredding and god knows what else to those poor guitars. The rhythm section was just as dynamic, with drummer James Turk (bassist for local black metal outfit Enfold Darkness) and bassist Brian Myers are just as dynamic as Judkins and Bailey, shifting styles and tempos with apparent ease. They make each style and mix of styles their own, tweaking formulas when necessary. Even if you're too ADD to take your adderol properly, these guys keep things fresh and full of enough curveballs to not just hold my attention, but keep me on the edge of my seat in anticipation of what they're going to play next. If you like ever wondered "hey I wonder what black metal and country sounds like" then I think you'll enjoy Laser Flames on the Great Big News. Stream their ep right here, and look for a new record in the near future!
Lambs to the Slaughter by Laser Flames on the Great Big News

And that's a wrap. Thank you dear readers for bearing with me and being patient as I churn out yet another late blog. With classes coming to a close at the end of this month, hopefully I will soon have more time to spend reviewing come May. Going to try do some new and long overdue album reviews soon in addition to shows. Until then, enjoy this biology fact I learned recently!

"Eagles and boobies exhibit "obligate siblicide," in which the larger chick invariably kills its smaller sibling. For example, of more than 200 records of two-egg clutches followed in the Black Eagle of southern Africa, only one record exists of both chicks surviving to fledging. Obligate siblicide also occurs among pelicans, owls, and cranes. In obligate siblicide, which occurs even when food supplies are abundant, the second egg serves as insurance against loss of the first egg from infertility, predation, or damage, rather than as a means of rearing two chicks."

FUCK YEAH EAGLES FUCK YEAH AMERICA

Act of Impalement; Anodes; Regret, The Informer; Altar of Complaints at the Hymen House 2/2

2013-03-19T15:53:00.000-07:00

Update! Jesse Mowery has been kind enough to post the videos for these performances on Youtube. Check out the performances beneath each review!

Ah the Hymen House. Every time I come, it's like hanging out with friends, and then all of a sudden awesome bands are playing. Everybody is laid back, and there's never any unnecessary bullshit or drama. Posters of shows past coat the walls, and there's even a shrine to a stranger in the music room. Out of all the venues I've been to in Nashville so far, this one feels the coziest. Perfect for the show tonight, which consisted of three (mostly) post-hardcore bands and one "war doom" group.

That war doom group was Act of Impalement. Back when I first started this blog back in January of last year, I was inspired by Brother Ares' sonic power and obscurity to start writing. While I was at this show, I was approached by a trio of amigos who asked my friend and I, "do you guys like Electric Wizard?" and smoked us out. As it turns out, two of those dudes would go on to form a band of their own called Act of Impalement, and I am happy to report that these guys rule (and not just for guitarist Ethan's apt Varg impression). They were the only band I missed at the exhausting Bobbarroo show last year, so I was excited to finally see them perform. Talking to Zack and Ethan before the show, they labeled their sound as "War Doom", a mixture of war metal (which itself is, according to Kim Kelly, "a blasphemous, violent black/death metal hybrid so extremely fast, raw, and chaotic that it often borders upon grind") with doom metal, whose definition I'm hoping you already know. These two blend the two styles fairly seamlessly, winding up with varying tempo and drumming, rough and raw guitar tone, and a low growl (though I would associate it more with black metal than death). With only two members, these guys don't have a whole lot of extra bells and whistles. What they do have are some absolutely killer doom and black metal riffs. Despite their professed inebriation (or maybe due in part to it), as soon as they started playing, they got right in sync and in the zone. Moving from lumbering doom passages to sprinting black metal with surprising efficacy, these two weave together extreme metal in earnest. With song titles like "My Warhorse Awaits" and "Now Your God Has Fallen", it's not hard to figure out what their agenda is. Churches beware. Look for their debut album coming soon, as well as a side project with Erik of Black Tar Prophet called either Wolf Pope, Vomit Wolf, or War Bong also coming soon. Check out their awesome meh-fi demos here:
Necromancer's Theme by Act of Impalement

After AoI was when the post-hardcore began. When I was growing up and beginning to explore metal, my only exposure to post-hardcore was horribly whiny groups that were even lamer than the "modern hardcore" bands of the time. I thought that post-hardcore, and to an extent, hardcore as a whole was about skinny jeans and feathered hair. Thus, my exposure to good post-hardcore has been severely delayed, so my knowledge on the subject hasn't quite caught up to my knowledge of metal (of which I still have volumes to go), but shows like this one are a powerful example to what amazing post-hardcore sounds like. I'd even go as far as to say that this was the best post-hardcore show I've ever been to, and St. Louis artists Anodes are a big part of that. I didn't hear much about them beforehand, but I was impressed by their performance. They blend heaviness with a sense of soul-baring personal truth by shout-speaking emotionally during the soft parts, and then not holding anything back during the loud and heavy segments. Bassist Katie Brown would often hold the melody while guitarists Sean Survant and AJ Hofstetter would scream and play delicious flowing harmonies over top. Very epic stuff reminiscent of Rosetta and one of my current favorite groups, Light Bearer. Stream their recently released album here, and make sure to pick it up on vinyl if you've got the rupees. (Apologies for lack of picture, none came out well)
anodes by ANODES


greatest picture I have ever taken

Third up was Regret, The Informer from my old stomping grounds, Kansas City. I have in my show notes that these guys are "Post-hardcore with great bassist foundation under wonky and evil shoegaze." Damn, there must have been some good shit at this show, because in listening to their 7" "Less Than Three" that I got, I don't hear much shoegaze at all. Regardless, these guys were really energetic and interesting, with sometimes melodic sometimes noisy guitar shredding, and a thrumming bass that held everything together. The vocals were shouted in almost a D.R.I or Kowloon Walled City style, and even screamed at some points. At some points, I'd say they were heavy enough to border on post-metal (ambient sludge for the purists). Really fantastic and varied stuff, I was not disappointed. It's also worth nothing that these guys have some of the most clever and humorous lyrics I've read, lyrics like "you can hold my hand but you can never hold my heart/ stay the fuck away from me/ baby, i'm a work of art/ you can never hold my heart" (from "Good Morning Drug" off the aforementioned 7"). Check it out for yourself right here, right now.
less than three by Regret, The Informer

guys wrong way

we're over here guys

Last up was some new voodoo from right here in Nashville, Altar of Complaints. I'd been looking forward to seeing this new band since Jesse Mowery's other band Dawn broke up. I'm happy to report that these guys absolutely kick ass. Vocals are shouted and screamed over noodlesome, flowery, and even spacy guitars. These guys are all over the place, but in the best way possible. Elias MacDonald from local death metal band Axis (and others) provided the low-end foundation with some gorgeous 6-string caressing, and said "fuck mics" and screamed without one. The drums were really powerful, especially considering how "pretty" the guitars could be at time. These guys managed to bring together some pretty unlike parts into a surprisingly cohesive package, especially considering how unseriously these guys apparently take themselves. From their facebook page description, "...we don't consider this to be a band but more of an on going experiment in having fun and not taking ourselves too serious. Cause let's face it, our music isn't saving the world from shit. And we are fine with that. You want enlightenment?, go see Deepak Chopra and LSD." Sounds pretty apt. To experience their delightful musical dickery, stream their newly album album aquí:

"...Altar of Complaints..."-A Sea Of Decency With Some Swells Of Greatness by Alter Of Complaints
Jesse was too busy playing to record himself, so there's no live video of this performance that I could find. So instead, have this video of AoC ~~chortling about tambourines~~ recording at Black Matter Mastering:

Another one in the books. Next on the docket, a show with a few multiple-bass bands, and one without! In the meantime, if you need me, I'm going to be working up to doing DNA work on these guys this summer:

Black Tar Prophet, Forest of Tygers, Gorgantherron, and the Holy Mountaintop Removers at The End 1/26

2013-03-05T23:37:00.001-08:00

And here we are again, it's time for another installment of NashVile! This highly titillating entry takes place at one of the best sounding places in Nashville, The End.

First up was low end assailants Black Tar Prophet. Prior to this show, guitarist Mark Owen had said in a facebook post on the band page that he would be returning this year. I spoke to drummer turned bassist Greg Swinehart before the show and he told me that there was some strife, and that he'd just had enough of him, so Mark was out. Thus, the band remained a twosome. Playing a three-string bass, Greg belted out some gut-rearranging stoner doom grooves while drummer Erik Dever banged away on drums, even throwing in a (still rather slow) blastbeat on a new song. Greg had some new cabs which had intense power. These guys are really going for the groove of Om and the crunch of Bongripper while trying to approach the volume levels of Sunn O))). Punishing to the uninitiated, these guys aim to make you feel their music as much as hear it. Listen to their split with Crawl from Atlanta:
Black Tar Prophet / Crawl by Black Tar Prophet

Also, creepy x-ed out mannequin heads.

Second was Forest of Tygers. Brand new band, very first show! Featuring the talents of Jim Valosik of Nashville-native band Serotonin on guitar and vocals, his wife Rachel Valosik on drums, and Niki Carolan of Tijuana Goat Ride on noisy keyboard and vocals. Stylistically, they blew me away. The guitars were beautiful and flowing at times while violent and aggressive at others. A looping pedal was utilized some; at a few points, a riff was recorded and looped so that tasty licks could be played on top. The looper in conjunction with a pedal that sent differently effected signals to different amps really gave a lot of depth not usually found in trios. Supporting all of this depth was drummer Rachel. At first glance, I didn't notice much about her, aside from her Young and in the Way shirt, which should have been a tip-off because once she started playing my jaw hit the floor. These guys borrow a little from hardcore, black metal, post-hardcore, sludge, post-metal, and D-beat, and this girl can handle them all. Her runs and blastbeats had me impressed. Riding on top of all this are the vocals of Niki Carolan, whose screams rounded out the sound well. I wanted her to make use of the noisy keyboard, I could barely make it out, but that's my only complaint on an otherwise auspicious beginning. Check out the performance for yourself:

Third up was Gorgantherron. These guys are from Evansville, IN and play some pretty righteous stoner metal. According to their facebook description they're actually chimps sent into space in 1968 but after being evolved and trained in the ways of black and doom metal by the Andromedian race of Gorgantherrons, they returned to Earth to warn us of our selfish ways. You seriously need to read it, I laughed pretty hard. Sonically though, their sound is heavy but also nice and round and warm. It's got a great, lumbering-yet-groovy sound that's reminiscent of the greats like Sleep and Black Sabbath. The vocals were especially reminiscent of Sleep, namely on the mighty epic Dopesmoker. Great fuzzy riffs galore. Give 'em a listen, and make sure to see if you can find their photo of them in their astronaut suits:
Gorgantherron EP by Gorgantherron

Last up was newcomers Holy Mountaintop Removers. Borrowing members from local country-doom jammers Hellbender, this trio took jams to the next level. They started out playing as fast as they could, and nowhere near in sync. They came together for some bluesy fuzzed out rock, but at one point the drummer (who's actually a guitar player in Hellbender) was hitting cymbal with a maraca and tambourine. When not playing in free jazz mode, the bass kept time in pulsing fashion, but things got droney when the bassist switched to synthesizer. He mashed the keys as everyone else delved into chaos, but once retreating from madness, those same keys were put to good droning, melodic use. As for the guitars, that guy could shred with the best of them, but he also busted out some toe-tapping melodies when everyone's decided that yeah okay we can play together sometimes. Overall, these guys were a fantastic and even inspiring example of what free jazz and doom rock could sound like together, and I'm excited to see what they do next. I'd post some of their stuff here, but there's nothing to post! No links or nothing. Only thing left to do is get out and go to one of these shows. So do it!

Another show post come and gone. Look for my upcoming writeup of 3 post-hardcore bands and one black/doom band at a house show soon!

In Fidelity, Pissbath, Choking on Ash, Good Luck Varsity, Pray For Teeth, Cerce, Out of Time at the Owl Farm on 1/14

2013-02-24T12:56:00.001-08:00

If you think that's a lot of bands, then you're absolutely right. 7 bands on a Monday night. No way I was going to miss it though, I'd been looking forward to seeing Cerce since one of my best friends/worst roommates showed them to me a year before. I wanted to see them so bad that I offered to pay the booking fee to bring them to Cafe Coco, but Chase Wilson of the Owl Farm crew beat me to the punch. Thank goodness, since I have absolutely zero experience in putting together or promoting shows, and would probably just ruin everything. So thanks Chase and everybody else at the Owl Farm, even if it was a lot of bands for one night it was still a hell of a show.

Anyway, let's get to the bands. First up was In Fidelity. These guys are local metallic hardcore heavy hitters who played either with no breaks and great transitions or one long song. Personally I hope it's the latter, but only because I adore extra long songs a la Dopesmoker and Absolutego. These guys had put on a really high energy show, with a lot of movement from every member. Vocalist Cooper Pemelton seemed especially restless, exploring the stage space in a manic pace back and forth, never really finding a spot to settle down in. This was possibly due to nausea, as he vomited more than once after the performance. Other members of the band assured me that this was an occurrence that happened somewhat regularly, and that I shouldn't be alarmed. His actual vocals were passionate and earnest, as though he was verbalizing his own personal tales of hardships and outrages, and how fed up he was about them. The rest of the band sonically supports this attitude very well, pondering the grievances during more subdued portions and lashing out during more aggressive passages. To me they have a varied hardcore sound, with bits of metallic hardcore somewhat similar to earlier Converge, D-beat, and even a touch of sludge here and there. They even have some tasty post-metal moments, with soft parts building and crescendoing into heavier phrases. Overall, really infectious stuff that'll get your blood pumping. Check out their split with Chained on local label Spaghetti Spaghetti Records here, and look for their EP These Things I Can't Forget on the same label soon.
Chained/In Fidelity Split by Chained/In Fidelity

Next us was Murfreesboro shredders Pissbath. These guys are fucking rough! Screaming and distortion galore. This shit is not for pussies. These Avalon House kids play their punk/hardcore music as distorted as they can (almost to the point of harsh noise at some points), and screamer Melissa Hurley holds nothing back. Some might be turned off by it, but my absolute favorite part of these guys is when they play so furiously that they start to come apart ever so slightly, as if their desire to be fucking raw and agressive takes precedence over the need to be bolt-tight. Their sound is tearing at the seams, and that's the way they like it. Talking to the band afterwards, they said that they were supposed to play the show with a bass player, but he ended up going to Florida, and despite saying that he'd make it back in time he was absent for the show. Bassist or no, these guys rocked. Check out their demo on guitarist and Avalon House aficionado's label/distro Primitive Prison:
Pissbath - Demo II by Primitive Prison

Third up was what's quickly becoming one of my favorite local groups Choking on Ash. Featuring members of local crushers Yautja, Sacaea, Sky Burial, and a plethora of other Little Hamilton/Owl Farm-related bands, this group punishes in way that makes you beg for more. Ever since I heard their demo (below), I've been impressed with their work. It would be easy to just label this group stoner metal/sludge with screamed vocals, but to do so would miss some of the nuances that make this group great. Kayhan's guitars are sludgy enough, but the breakneck fast parts show that he's not resting on his laurels one bit. And what great tone! Like wearing a sharkskin condom with the rough side on the inside. I'm not sure it's represented enough in their demo recording, but the bass was really driving and even intricate at some parts at this show. I was impressed, I hope it comes through clearly whenever they put out an official release. Story's vocals - just, goddamn. Could they be considered black metal? I'd say they're pretty close. They definitely add another layer and texture which just fleshes out the band that much more. Drummer Ivan is a scene veteran and a beast at drums. Whether it's a beat every other second or frantic blasts, seems like he runs the gamut in this band. Check out their demo right here:
2012 Demo by Choking On Ash

Fourth up was the first touring group, Good Luck Varsity, all the way from Detroit. If you're scratching your head and thinking "well that doesn't sound like a very hardcore name" then you're absolutely right. These guys are a pop-punk/post-hardcore group from Detroit. Seeing as they were the middlemost band of the night, I can't help but wonder if they were meant to be an intermission of sorts, seeing as most people went outside to imbibe their drink or drug of choice when they started playing. Sonically they're outside of my area of expertise, but once I got past the fact that they weren't heavy I didn't mind them. They were certainly competent, and had some pretty good vocal harmonies. Guitars were rather noodly and the bass was groovy. I relished the occasional scream. Someone lamented the fact that one guitarist was also using a laptop and the bass play was using a wireless pickup system, but I don't give enough of a fuck to be bothered by shit like that. I'm more bothered by the fact that these guys were playing this show at all. I wouldn't say that I wish I hadn't seen them, I just wish it wasn't at an overbooked show. Regardless, they still deserve a listen. Check them out:

MTNS by Good Luck Varsity

Band number five was Pray for Teeth from Pittsburgh, PA. Their facebook page genre is listed as "No genres no masters", so I'm going to attempt to describe without using genre labels for as long as I can. It can be like charades! I give you clues, and you can call out the genre while you read. THREE WORDS. RHYMES WITH: Claymore Sheath. SOUNDS LIKE: Lumberjacks lamenting fallen forests. Echoes of unrest clamoring off of canyon walls. Feedback; ambient yet crunchy guitars and throaty yells. Pulsing bass and pounding drums. But enough with the poetry and shit. Sorry guys, I held off for this long, but I gotta throw around some genres. Still, these guys really don't fall into one specific group, so none of these monikers goes all the way in describing them, but here goes: I heard elements of post-metal (ambient sludge, if you're a purist) a la Isis and Rosetta, doom metal and sludge, hardcore, and even black metal, both atmospheric and regular flavors. I was especially impressed with Neal Dudash's vocals, whose hardcore shouts were almost powerful enough to be considered black metal screams. Watch this video ~~about hot sauce~~ of them recording material for their 7", streamable below the video and look for the vinyl copy coming out on It's A Trap! and Moshtache Records, as well as Root of All Evil Collective.

I'm Still Finding Feathers In My Hair 7" by Pray For Teeth
Band six was the moment we'd all been waiting for, the heavyweight championship fight we'd all come to see. In this corner, all the way from Boston/Philadelphia, weighing in at a gaunt 650 pounds collectively (that's an average of 130 lbs per band member for those of you who preprogrammed the answers into your TI-83 before tests), coming off of a 12-show winning streak, CERCE!! As I mentioned in the beginning, a friend of mine showed me these guys' bandcamp page, and I was intrigued. So much pink, but yet these guys had a wicked sound. Not much in the way of releases though... until they put up their self-titled 7". Lordy, this thing was a monster, and I wasn't the only one who thought so. On even the most contrary music forums, I saw a pretty strong positive response to this release, some even citing it as one of the best releases of last year. You can imagine my excitement at getting to see them play. And I was not disappointed. Raucous and explosive, they fuse an abrasive mass of sludge, hardcore, and powerviolence into an earthquake of musical transgression. The place was electric when they played, everyone in the crowd receiving the energy which the band put out with every pugilistic riff. Once they began playing it was like going over the top of the first mountain of the biggest roller coaster at the park: all you could do was hold on to this ride hurtling around tight corners at breakneck speeds, and you knew that any signs of softening or slowing would only lead to bigger hills and more violent lurches. These guys shifted and accelerated like a hawk battling a falcon in midair, and deceptively pink-haired Becca Cadalzo had screams match. Her vocals, which are something of a focal point for this band, something that makes them stand out, were just as enthralling live as on record, screeching and crying out while guitars writhed and pounced beneath. As a total package, these guys succeed in earnestly expressing some pretty powerful emotion without sounding histrionic or patronizing. I can't tell you how excited I am that I got a hold of one of the last original pressings of their 7".

All together now: LET ME PUT THIS BODY TO REST

Before I link to their music and tell you to buy it, there's one issue that plagued this show that I think bears mentioning. Throughout the show, there was one girl who seemed way more animated than anyone else in the crowd. Hardcore dancing around, singing along with lyrics she may or may not have known, throwing her arms about. I'm not here to hate on any of that, hardcore shows are a great time to do whatever the fuck you want to music, including moshing and whatever else you feel. What's not okay is when you get so fucked up and out of control that you fucking PUNCH BECCA FROM CERCE IN THE FACE DURING THEIR SET. I apologized to Becca after the show for it, after she said she felt like an asshole for pointing the girl out for punching her in the face. Hardcore shows are rough, violent expressions are okay, but not if you're interfering with the band that you and everyone else paid to see.

In any case, Cerce put on a killer show despite encroachment, and you should buy their stuff.
Their 7" first pressing is pretty scarce, but a few of the 2nd pressing with Solidarity Recordings might be left. Look for their split with Stresscase coming soon on Mayfly Records soon! Till then, stream:
Cerce by Cerce

Last band of the night! I'm getting tired just typing this up. Band #7 was, ironically, Out of Time. Fighting out of St Louis, MO, these bruisers played meaty hardcore with a sludgy punch that hits you right in the gut. Vocals are shouted in the vein of oldschool hardcore punk, and fit the style perfectly. The drums were especially punchy live, and complemented the overall sound very well. A lot of people probably left after Cerce, but I'm glad I decided to stick around. These guys exemplify what solid, no-bullshit-all-pit hardcore should sound like. But don't take my word for it, find out for yourself:
Scene of the Crime Split 7" by Out of Time

Whew! Another review under my belt. If you see any mistakes or things I left out, please contact me or leave a comment. In the meantime, I'm going back to studying biology like this:

TG Olson, Poor Faulkner, and Brother Ares at Betty's Bar and Grill

2013-02-03T20:16:00.000-08:00

Hello again boys and girls, it's time for another show writeup! Got a good tale for you with this one. Let me start with Betty's. I'd heard from Brother Ares' guitarist Blake that this place had a history of being a place where all sorts of weird groups would perform, even a few noise artists. I had this confirmed by a cool guy in my English class that I talked to about Merzbow; he said that Betty's attracted all kinds of different acts. I was rather disappointed then, when I walked in only to find it was just a crappy little beer bar with just a spot on the floor next to a pool table for bands to play in. It reminded me of a slightly larger Dino's, another shabby beer bar in Nashville where I saw Windhand play. To add insult to injury, the place was out of Yuengling Black & Tan! Most disappointing were the people, but more on that later.

First up was Across Tundras' frontman and mastermind T.G. Olson. Mr. Olson had an interesting setup going on, with an electric guitar lying horizontally on a guitar case with a metal slide laying on the frets while he played an amplified acoustic guitar. He played in an interesting, earnest, and involving style, with a lot of droning on the lower strings on the acoustic while he played what I am going to describe as flow and mellow yet ponderous campfire songs, songs you'd hear out on the prairie after being out on the trail for months. Really engaging stuff. I loved the supplementary noise created by the horizontal guitar.

However, the highlight of the night absolutely had to be when Tanner got into a random encounter with a wild drunk woman. She really wasn't as mild as she was rather drunk (a feat at a beer bar), not very attractive, and tipsily dancing to drone. The best part though was that with each dance moves, her jeans would slip down every so slightly. So at one point, this woman is getting down and comes right up in front of Tanner, and when she turns around he can't hold it together. To his credit he kept the song going, but his (and everyone else watching's) failure to stifle laughter was just enough to throw him off just for one hilarious moment. He finished his set out, and promptly said "man, I was look at four inches of buttcrack." Absolutely made the whole night worth it. Sadly I was not quick enough on the draw to capture photographic evidence, and I thought the startle and scare off the creature, so you'll have to take my word for it. But believe you me, it was probably one of the funniest thing I've seen at one of these shows. For more music and less buttcrack, have a stream:
Ruined Temple Blues by T.G. Olson

Next up was Joey from Hellbender's solo project Poor Faulkner. Joey's guitarwork in Hellbender is pretty great. Grooving, driving, dynamic, technically skilled and even thoughtful. His solo style, while a little less groove-oriented, is still fantastic. He played both 6 and 12 string guitars with a dexterity and mastery that was a pleasure to watch. He strummed each guitar almost like a banjo at time, complete with a pick on nearly every finger. Sonically it was ebullient, flowing, and quite hypnotic, with just a hint of twang. I was fully drawn in, my trance only being broken by the inattentive bargoers who didn't seem to care in the slightest. Another black mark for Betty's. As soon as any of his music gets put online, you can bet that I'm going to post it here. EDIT: Here it is!
Cal Logsdon by Poor Faulkner

Blake, hamming it up

Last up was a duo that I have almost spent too much time talking about, Brother Ares. I'm proud to say that I have completed these guys' ritual and finally heard the last song from their upcoming album The Aviary that I hadn't heard yet, the mighty title track itself. Holy shit guys, from what I've seen, this album is going to kick ass. The band members described this track as a rather loose jam before the show, but they pulled it off spectacularly. They ripped through the rest of their (relatively short) setlist and had a damn good show all around. Really full of vigor and dare I say it, zazz. They knew the crowd didn't give a fuck, so they countered by giving no fucks of their own and played how they wanted to play. And it ruled. They ended up clearing the bar of the regulars, but who gives a shit, They didn't pay any cover. Fuck 'em. If they didn't like it, their loss, to each his own, etc. Look for their upcoming split with Knoxville weird doomers Billy Castro, their aforementioned full-length LP The Aviary, and possibly even a split with T.G. Olson/Across Tundras.

Hellbender was slated to play last, but some of the members weren't feeling up to it, so they said "fuck it." In most cases I would be frowning my hardest, but in these circumstances I can't blame them. If you had to not play a show, I'd say this was the one to cancel on. I'd just seen them play with Rwake at the Exit/In (complete with random synth-effect player who may or may not have been tripping his balls off), and it's not like I'm not going to see them again in the near future. Look for a new full-length album to come out in the near future(!!!), and stream some of their krautrockier stuff right here to tide you over until then.
Pyre Tapes Volume V: "Direct Lunar Exploration" by Hellbender

Look for my review of In Fidelity, Pissbath, Choking on Ash, Good Luck Varsity, Pray for Teeth, Cerce, and Out of Time's show at the Owl Farm as soon as I get some time away from studying crap like this:

Best Crap from 2012

2013-01-16T22:42:00.000-08:00

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen! It's time for another episode of NASH•VILE! Tonight's episode is the tardiest episode yet!
Audience: "HOW LATE IS IT?!?!"
I was supposed to be released a whole YEAR ago! BAZINGA!
*Audience dies laughing, chuckling and chortling without stop. In fact, it is so funny that they cannot stop. Comedic asphyxia soon results. Audience literally dies laughing.*

Anyway, this article is [mostly] geared towards local artists' favorite albums of this past year, and was gathered entirely with the help of Blake from Brother Ares. So without further ado, here's the list, complete with links to full album streams when available:

Erik (Black Tar Prophet)
The Christpunchers - Music Make Me Murder
Wolfbrigade - Damned
Black Breath - Sentenced to Life
Neurosis - Honor Found in Decay
High on Fire - De Vermis Mysteriis
Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II

Zack (Act of Impalement)
1. Pallbearer - Sorrow and Extinction
2. High on Fire - De Vermis Mysteriis
3. Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, m.A.A.d city
4. Pilgrim - Misery Wizard
5. Off - Off!

Bobby (NeuroticFox, Kit Fistu)-
1 Meshuggah - Koloss
2 Down - Purple ep
3 Baroness - Green & yellow
4 Om - Advaitic songs
5 Soliam - S/t ep
6 Axis - Echo
7 Act of Impalement - demo
8 Yautja/Enabler - split
9 Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction
10 Contortionist - Intrinsic

Blake (Brother Ares)
Horseback - Halfblood: Jenks Miller delivers music that on paper makes no sense. Combining hex era earth w/ some nice droney borderline krautrock and then add straight up black metal vocals on top, but in execution creates an album that is both hypnotic and unnerving.

disappears - pre language: disappears gain Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth for this release (and then subsequently lose him after the touring cycle). his influence moves the band into a less claustrophobic, more almost danceable direction. all the key disappears elements are there-fuzzy, delayed and tremoloed guitars, echoed vox, and propulsive bass but a new spaciousness is added creating an album that breathes where previous albums smothered (both preferable directions).

trophy wife - sing what scares you: trophy wife (the Philadelphia trophy wife) are one of my favourite discoveries of the past couple of years. They combine riot girl passion w/ heavy sonic toneage...the results are similar to maybe hum meets Sleater Kinney. This album has a lot more vocal interplay between both members and the energy and strength they put behind their music is nothing short of inspiring.

Earth-Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II: Earth return with the other half of their angels of darkness sessions. This part of the session is a lot looser, more improvised and its a moving experience. the instruments (guitar, cello, bass and drums) stretch out and embrace each other in a beautiful slow waltz.

Billy Castro - make love like war: I've already said a lot about billy castro in my prior interview w/ them, needless to say, this is a unique and powerful listen.

Om - Adviadic songs: om return this year w/ an album even more indebted to new member Emil Amos. Om take the sounds that were always sort of implied in their music and then choose to execute them, utilizing guest musicians on exotic instruments (special nod goes to Rob A. A. Lowe who also tours with them and provides invaluable and incredible assistance in reproducing the extra noise live) the band transcends from a drone metal band to a psychedelic world music band.

Locrian - the clearing/final epoch, bless them that curse you (collaboration w/ mamiffer), new dominions (collaboration w/ horseback): Locrian make blackened horror dronescapes that are both compelling and absolutely terrifying. and they are apparently incredible collaborators as their releases with Mamiffer and Horseback were equally epic and disorienting as the cd issue (released on vinyl last year ) of their latest album 'the clearing' which was combined w/ various outtakes on 'final epoch'.

Swans - The Seer: two discs, 2 hours of the most exhausting powerful band out there. it's better to experience this album than to try to describe it.

Death Grips - no love deep web (nsfw album cover), the money store: death grips make some empowering scary music, minimalist synth beats along w/ one of the angriest mc's ive ever heard, death grips unleashed 2 releases this year-the more accessible 'the money store' and the middle finger to their label 'no love deep web' both essential listening for yr 2012.

Sun Araw/Congos/M. Geddes Gengras - Frkwys 9: psychedelic dub artist sun araw and his pal M. Geddes travel to jamaica to record w/ legendary reggae vocal group and unleash a heady washed out spiritual album full of spacey textures and moving vocals.

Black Bananas - rad times xpress IV: party album of the year. royal trux/rtx's jennifer herrema renames her band and turns out a bizarre album combining 'one nation under a groove' era funkadelic with trashy 80s textures and hair metal guitar solos for a groove filled trash compactor jam album.

Black Table - sentinel: black table from nyc create a powerhouse mix of black metal, post hardcore and even some powerfully technical moments. and nice guys to boot.

Assembly of Light Choir - s/t: the choir best known for creating some incredibly moving moments w/ one of my favourite bands, the body, release their debut. layers of beautiful harmonies envelop you and guest appearance from members of daughters and the body show how easy their sound can work from straight up gospel into soundtrack of the apocalypse.

Metz - s/t: metz provide a heavy fuzzed out dose of powerful 90s rock. Echoed out jazzmaster through a rat pedal, thick up front bass, pouring drums and echoed out drums provide one exhilerating listen!

Deftones - Koi no Yokan: the deftones return combining the renewed vigor of diamond etes w/ some of the more experimental indie rock textures exhibited on saturday night wrist.

Evens - the odds: the evens also return after a 6 year hiatus to deliver more driving baritone and drum songs that are both catchy, political and passionate.

honourable mentions: pallbearer- Sorrow and Extinction; bosse de nagge- III, vattnet viskar - s/t, saint vitus - lillie f-65, mountain goats - transcendental youth

Ethan (Act of Impalement)
5. Profane Commando: Vandor EP
4. Nak'ay split with Chronic Demise
3. Skeletonwitch, Havok, Early Graves, Black Tusk @ the End
2. Hour of 13: 333
1. Napalm Death, Exhumed, Municipal Waste, Speedwolf @ Exit/In

Eric (Crawl (GA))
Alunah – “White Hoarhound”
September 3, 2012
[PsycheDOOMelic Records]
Now THIS, is how you do an album! Every little moment of White Hoarhound is excellent, from tone to structure, vocals to production. I was really impressed when I first heard it and had to listen to them again and again to just take it in.

Neurosis – “Honor Found in Decay”
October 30, 2012
[Neurot Recordings]
There are not enough words to describe this album, or band for that matter. There tends to be more of the Von Till side seeping in here, but that’s fine by me. Truly and honestly an amazing album.

Sons of Tonatiuh – “Parade of Sorrows”
June 11, 2012
This is some super-charged anger laden doom! From beginning to end this release is amazing, and it’s great to hear them branching out with some singing thrown in there at times. Doom with crusty punk aspects and great riffs!

Iron Witch – “Post Vegas Blues” 7”
May 27, 2012
[Thirty Days of Night Records]
Crusty bluesy and flat out ballsy! These UK lads know how to play some NOLA styled sludge. Loved this release cause it really shows how they are growing as a band and as musicians. Slow and sludge covered, with well executed breaks of blues based riffs. These thick and grainy guitars, solid drumming and gut wrenching vocals mix together for an amazing 7” slab.

Saint Vitus – “lillie f-65”
May 22, 2012
[Season of Mist]
I loved being able to hear something new from these longtime doomsters. Loved the production and thought the songs were well written from beginning to end.

Tree of Sores – “A Cry of Despair”
May 3. 2012
[Witch Hunter Records]
This album, for me, was a great journey into Blackened Atmosphere. Everything about this epic 27+ minute track just fell into place. The slow building veil of ambience is torn away into a blackened cold place most fear to tread. Very well structured and the diversity of moments to be heavy and when to kick it back really make this a great!

Greg (Black Tar Prophet)
"Well i can't give a top ten of anything. I can say Green Crack was the best pot i smoked this year. The worst was some shit from a cook at a kitchen. I'd say my favorite movie I watched this year was "Monkey Shines" which is not from 2012. Music, I have no clue. I listened to alot of Barn Owl, Bongripper, OM, Ufommamut, Omega Massiff, Dirge, Battle Of Mice, and Minsk. I don't know what albums but they kicked ass."

Tanner (Across Tundras)
Ty Segall Band "Slaughterhouse"
Graveyard live @ Exit/In
Hellbender live @ everywhere
Poor Faulkner @ everywhere
Chris Colson live @ Rozz Tox
Beach House "Bloom"
Soundgarden "King Animal"
Harry Taussig "Fate Is Only Twice"
Hexvessel "No Holier Temple"
Swans "The Seer"
Mark Lanegan Band "Blues Funeral"

As for me, it's been a hard decision, but here's a few good ones:
Light Bearer/Northless - Split

Wildernessking - The Writing of Gods in the Sand

Sleep - Dopesmoker [re-release]
High on Fire - De Vermis Mysteriis
Om - Advaitic songs
Old Man Gloom - NO
Heccra - White Eagle
Eagle Twin - The Feather Tipped the Serpent's Scale
Panopticon - Kentucky
Menace Ruine - Alight in Ashes
Pig Destroyer - Book Burner
Cerce - 7"
Chrome Waves - s/t EP
Nachtmystium - Silencing Machine
A Forest of Stars - A Shadowplay for Yesterdays
Wreck and Reference - No Youth
Black Table - Sentinel

RUNNER UP: Horseback/ Pyramids - A Throne Without a King /Pyramids and Mamiffer - split: There's some confusion over whether or not the release date of the former is actually in 2012 or not, so I've just gone ahead and lumped these two together. Both Horseback's and Mamiffer's contributions are some of the best, if not the very best releases I've heard from either artist. Beyond each them however, Pyramids' individual tracks and also their collaboration with Horseback are some of the most innovative and enigmatic pieces of music I've heard to date. The use of interesting instruments (I've never heard rolling/spinning glass bottles sound so musical) deftly woven into more traditional metal instrumentation impresses me at every turn. I anticipate each new Pyramids release with bated breath.

WINRAR: Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind. At the time I saw Converge play live, they hadn't pressed AWLWLB onto vinyl yet, and at the time I'm writing this, it still hasn't been released yet. Amazon has March 5th set as the vinyl release date. And you know what? This record is worth the wait. I've been listening to the full youtube stream linked above so many times that it should have worn out long ago. With their latest release, Converge has managed to put out a record that is heavy, aggressive, technical, but at the same time extremely varied and emotive, even to the point of melancholy at some points. The title track is especially moving, which is incredible considering that it's still a badass hardcore track. From start to finish, this album keeps you on your toes, but involves you in a way that very, very few similar albums can. Until Converge comes out with something that puts it to shame, I'm going to consider this album a masterpiece, and definitely worthy of the title of best album of 2012.

Tijuana Goat Ride, Brother Ares, Dawn, and Black Table (NY/NJ) at the Hymen House

2012-12-18T21:31:00.001-08:00

Ah yes folks, it's time for another show review! This show took place at the thoughtfully-named Hymen House, which is named for the street upon which it sits: Heiman street. Longtime NashVile readers will recall that this is the very same household in which I interviewed band members from a plethora of different bands, including Brother Ares and Dawn. Coming back again was a delight. In the few times that I've been there, the Hymen house has been full of fun and interesting people. It's cozy, and the walls are covered in fliers from shows past. There's also a wall featuring a shrine to a complete stranger, including pictures and some of her graded papers. But enough about the venue, let's get to the bands.

First up are local bangers Tijuana Goat Ride. This band contains members of former Nashville gut-rumblers Seawitch, whom you should definitely check out. But do that later. Read about TGR now, because they kick ass. Sonically, they're thick and heavy and loud and just everything nice. They have kind of a stoner sludge sound, but they're not satisfied to stay at a crawling pace all the time like most stoner-y, sludgy bands. These guys mix in angular if not downright technical runs in with meaty riffs, all while effusive drummer Chris Fox hammers away. These guys have a fantastic mix of galloping fast and thundering slow parts, all while keeping a head-nodding groove. And have I mentioned Niki Carolan's vocals yet? This girl can scream! It's somewhere between a hardcore scream and a black metal shriek, but regardless, it's effective. Bassist Christopher Frey throws some cleaner vocals into the mix, strengthening the stoner metal aspect of the music. Check out some show footage here:

Next up was Brother Ares. Sheesh, for the amount of press I give these guys you'd think I'd be at least band girlfriend by now. But really, these guys end up playing with a lot of cool dudes, and guitarist/vocalist Blake Conley always invites me to the shows, so how can I refuse? Anyway, on this night, they were as good as ever. It felt like a shorter setlist, until I remembered how long a single song is. Blake's octaver pedal and his three different distortion pedals give a really full, powerful tone to his guitar (especially the TurboRAT pedal) that you wouldn't always expect from a two-piece group. I also don't mention drummer Nick Gore's vocals enough: they're quite powerful, and really what blew me away the first time I saw them. When he's at full power, it's a quite impressive thing to behold. Watch all 32 minutes of their set here, including their fucked-up-in-a-good-way cover of Black Flag's "My War":

Band number 3 of the night was Black Table from the border of New York and New Jersey. I scratched my head at the name too until I saw these guys perform. Holy shit, they are awesome, and a delight to hang out with, to boot! I had a wonderful conversation with vocalist and guitarist Mers (pronounced like "nurse") Sumida about human evolutionary divergence, quantum physics, favorite pyschedelic experiences, and Hawaiian ladyboys. Quite a treat. As far as their music goes, Black Table is a smorgasboard of heaviness. They take cues from post-metal ("ambient sludge" for genre purists) and black metal, as well as sludge metal and hardcore. They even throw in a death metal-style chug or two. Guitar duty is split between Mers and Ryan Fleming; one usually shreds while the other plays in a more legato style. Drummer Mike Kadnar is a beast, and has the handlebar 'stache to prove it. I didn't get a chance to talk much to bassist Matt Mellon, but this doesn't diminish his playing one bit: this guy is fantastic, and his 6-string bass adds a really interesting, almost Intronaut-esque quality to the sound. The overall sound itself is surprisingly deep and intricate. These guys keep you interested throughout, adding nuances here and there and switching things up before you can even think of getting bored. Some parts reminded me of Isis, others, the indomitable Deathspell omega. I kept wondering what profoundly awesome shit they would play next, and they never failed to deliver. Check out concert footage below.

In addition, without a doubt one of the coolest things these guys have is their "Deepwell" package. It's a CD that contains a 22-minute ambient track, but with what's essentially a séance kit included. I'm not going to say all what's inside, but it's definitely worth tracking down and getting your own copy. I tried the ritual myself and found it to be pretty wild. To tide you over until you find your own copy, check out their brand-spanking new EP "Sentinel." It's absolutely, positively worth the price of $Name-your-price, only so cheap for a limited time. Stream it right here:
Sentinel by Black Table

Last up was Nashville hardcore staple Dawn. This group features Ivan Doerschuk and Jordan House of Sky Burial and Alraune (among others) on drums and bass, respectively, and Jesse Mowery of Altar of Complaints and Nut Collector (among others). They kicked ass when I saw them at the Owl Farm, and they kicked just as much ass on this night too. Combining elements of hardcore, mathcore, sludge, powerviolence, d-beat, grindcore, and maybe even a whiff of black metal, this trio rains down an onslaught of intense music. The screams are strong and visceral, but also somewhat enticing. The drums were really punchy and tight. The use of feedback fits the style perfectly. Overall, these guys have a really restless style, with a sense of urgency felt throughout. This music gets your blood pumping. Since Jesse Mowery was manning the video camera during the show (credit goes to him for all the videos posted here), I don't have any footage from their set (sorry), so here's a stream from their last release.
Burning Bridges by Dawn

Black Tar Prophet, Crawl (GA), Brother Ares, Sovereign at Springwater 12/8/12

2012-12-12T21:45:00.002-08:00

Alright, now that this semester's ass has been properly kicked (3.7 GPA for the term, bitches!), it's time to get back into the swing of things and actually post some updates.

First, a quick recap/apology. After venturing out to the Owl Farm on a Thursday and then going to Bobbaroo on the Saturday afterwards, I went to see Brother Ares, Clorange, Bell Witch, and Loss at The End the Monday after. I'm sorry I didn't get a full writeup done, but after seeing 14 bands/3 shows in 5 days, my brain was worn out. I told it to come up with something clever and interesting to write, and it came back with "meh." So here's a quick recap:
-Brother Ares ruled. More on these guys later.
-Clorange have a new lineup! Drummer Colin is now in an instrumental prog group Montezuma Fire Machine, whom you should definitely check out. I'm not sure what happened with the other guitarist or bassist, but things seem amicable between former and current band members from what I can tell. New bassist Brian Jones fits the bill nicely, and drummer Derek Martin (formerly of Whitechapel, interestingly enough) rounds out the sound. Stream their brand new album Instinct here, and be sure to pick up hard copy at a show. The artwork looks rad.
-Bell Witch are a pair of bros with the most ridiculous dreadlocks I have ever seen. The bassist's are ankle-length. The duo play some incredibly heavy doom metal, with the drummer growling into the mic while the bassist fingered his 6-string bass. Check out their brand new record here.
-Loss are local heavyweight death doomers. These guys are starting to blow up huge; they're even playing Maryland Deathfest next year. I know bassist Jon Anderson better as "Ichabod" from his days as a local DJ on his late-night metal radio show "Out Ov the Coffin." Guy has good taste, and though I'm not 100% sold on funeral doom, they killed it. Stream their stuff here.

Finally! Glad I got that off my chest. Now on to the reviews of the current show. First off, let me say for how shitty it is, Springwater can actually be kind of cozy. It's a bit smaller than a lot of venues, but I actually happen to like that about it, especially for doom: with a smaller area, you get more of a "crushing" effect from the low end. This is especially important for the first act of the night, Black Tar Prophet. These guys have had a bit of a shakeup as well. Erik from doomigos Archrduid was recruited to play drums in September, and guitarist Mark left the band midway through October, though he has recently posted online that he will be coming back in 2013. This left Greg on a (3-string) bass (complete with new pickups made by Alex from Clorange), Erik on drums, and an impressive speaker setup.

These guys are becoming a staple of Nashville doom. Despite musical chairs on who plays what, they've somehow managed to retain the same simple but effective grooving and crushing recipe for no frills, no bullshit doom metal. The rumble from the pair of shoulder-high was definitely palpable; I felt it in in my skin as much as my ears. They played slow and loose, sounding like Electric Wizard, Sleep, Om, and even High on Fire stripped down to the the most basic level. Elemental doom metal: doom in its quintessence. Doom straight, no chaser. Skeletal doom. If you're sick of reading these crappy descriptions, listen for yourself right here!
Note To Nod (side 1) by Black Tar Prophet

Crawl are newcomers from Atlanta, GA. And when I say "new" I mean they've been in other bands, but they just played their first show at the end of November. You wouldn't know it from their playing though, as these guys kick ass.

Bassist Tyler Akers made it hard to get a clear picture


HOLD STILL DAMMIT

Sonically, they hit you like a vat of warm gravy. Their sound oozes over you and you love every goopy minute of it. Eric Crowe's guitar sounds like chewing gravel, and Tyler's bass playing is the asphalt chaser, all while keeping the molasses-choked groove alive. Interesting story about the bass position, they were having trouble finding a someone to fill the spot. After not having much luck, they asked me, but I gratefully declined since I'm still working on my undergraduate degree and not ready to move to Atlanta. I'm not sure how many bass players they went through, I heard they at one point had an ex-member of Malevolent Creation (!!), they settled on Tyler Akers. What a good choice! This guy can not only play, but his bobbing and weaving and nearly hitting me in the face with his headstock adds a lot of stage presence to the band. Eric's main vocal style is similar to Mastodon's or Black Tusk's, and really fits the style. There were times that he went for a higher pitched scream that I thought sounded a bit pinched and maybe a little forced at first, but didn't bother me overly much. Their overall sound was fantastic, but I especially liked the two closer tunes "Pilldust" and "Nigredo." Pray to your doom gods that they record and release these, because they were fucking epic. These southern sludgeateers have a bright future ahead of them, especially the near future: their split with Black Tar Prophet is available for pre-order! In the meantime, stream their demo right here.
Crawl by Crawl
Third up was my friends Brother Ares. What can I say about these guys that I haven't said already? They rule. And I'm not the only one who thinks so. Prior to the show, a bouncer for the bar named Stefan (Stephan? Sorry for any misspellings!) was telling me about how much of a tone expert Blake is, and how these guys really aren't like anybody else in the area. I couldn't agree more. Whether its grunge, sludge, doom metal, or even noise, this two-piece (who are staunch on their two-piece-hood, so don't even try to join) do it like nobody else. If you're looking for doom with intrigue, atonal/feedacking solos, and lots of bird metaphors, then you'll love Brother Ares.

Check out their last release below, and look for an upcoming full-length release "The Aviary" as well as a split with Knoxvillers Billy Castro!
Devourer of Worlds by Brother Ares

Last up was Sovereign from Murfreesboro. I met some old partiers from Kentucky when I went to see Hail!Hornet back in the spring, and one of the guys I met was Jimmy from the Kentucky Sovereign. Just to be clear, this Sovereign is not that Sovereign. That Sovereign covers Five Finger Death Punch. This Sovereign kicks ass.

Sovereign: brought to you by smoking!

End of set drum upending shenanigans!

Blake from Brother Ares nudged me during their set and said that these guys sounded like Kyuss worship at its finest. That definitely rings true, but these guys have a bit more of a sludge and even hardcore edge than Kyuss. This comes as no surprise, seeing as most if not all of the members live in one of the craziest houses in Murfreesboro, Avalon. In my only venture to the 'Boro, I went to Avalon at a friend's behest. I had no idea what I was getting into. That house show looked like something out of a music video. The place was packed, and everyone was getting their drink and their smoke on. The bands themselves were nuts, with names like Bottletosser, Actual Nuns, and Haldol. In the middle of one of Haldol song, all of a sudden the mosh pit just fucking swarmed this big muscular guy, and got him to leave the house. Someone was talking to him, I'm not sure what they said but the whole time the big guy's eyes were bugged out huge. The police eventually came by and just said to the guy that if all the people at the party wanted him to leave, that he'd better leave. It turns out that the guy had called singer and guitarist Renan Tormin from this band the N-word, which is silly considering isn't even black, he's South American. Anyway, sorry for the digression, I've just been looking for a reason to post that story for months.

In any case, these guys are rad. They draw inspiration from sonic titans such as Electric Wizard, Orange Goblin, and Weedeater, but it felt like they added a touch of skater punk into the mix to give the sound its own flavor. The vocals were mostly shouted and screams, but a few cleaner-voiced parts added some tasty variety to the mix. A lot of it was a bit more uptempo than I usually expect when this much fuzz is coming from the cabs, but these guys do it well, with madman Austin Kimpel banging away on drums, mostly while being egged on by bassist Josh Scott. Overall, really great stoner metal with hardcore influences. Would see again, in a heartbeat.
Check out their album released in August.
Deathly Fusion by Sovereign
At last, blog post complete! Look for a "Best-of" list from some esteemed members of the local metal community coming in the next few weeks!

Bobbaroo 2012 at the Rebel Bass

2012-11-01T23:20:00.000-07:00

This was the second of 3 shows in a 5 day period. Hopefully I'll get to #3 someday, seeing as I'm already 10 days behind on this one... such is the life of a procrastinator. And really, can you blame me? Genetics class is fucking hard! Well, not that hard, but it sure does eat time. If you want to see what I've been squandering my time with, watch this movie I helped make for class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2HdCvIXZtk

Anyway, Bobbaroo was fantastic. The lineup consisted of Act of Impalement, Cannabisis, Flummox, Scott Fernandez, Kit Fistu, Soliam, and Axis. There were things to drink and smoke all over the place. The whole night was just a hazy blast.

First up was Act of Impalement. And wouldn't you know it, I fucking missed them. For all 1 of you that's been keeping up with this blog since the beginning, at the very first show I covered, I met a couple dudes that were badass. Me, my friend Caleb, and these other guys were the only ones hanging out before the show, so we met. We talked about Electric Wizard and one of the guys, Ethan, did a stellar impression of Varg talking about cornflakes. Most importantly though, they smoked Caleb and I out, like true gentlemen. What does all this have to do with Act of Impalement? It turns out that they're the same guys! So you'll understand that I'm inexorably disappointed that I missed them. No matter, I'll just have to catch them with Brother Ares, Joey from Hellbender's Poor Faulkner, and dark horse First Baptist at Springwater on the 24th. Until then, I'll just have to satisfy myself with their bandcamp.

Desecration of Yggdrasil by Act of Impalement

Next up, and really the first band I saw was Cannabisis. Don't let their name fool you, even if these guys are potheads their music definitely doesn't have any "stoner" genre tags. These guys were fast, heavy, and mean. Lots of black metal, with a touch of metallic hardcore. The drums were great, really meaty and fast. Guitars were tremolo picked most of the time, and had a great mean edge to them, really visceral. Even the bassist, who looked pretty mild-mannered, was on top of his game, and fit the music better than I expected. In such a tiny venue (the Rebel Bass is just Harrison "Bobby" Fox's apartment with bands stuffed into it). I still can't believe this was these guys' first show. I absolute, positively cannot wait to hear more from these guys. If I could find somewhere to stream their shit I would, but at this point, all you can really do is take my word for it, hope, and wait.

Next was the artists formerly known as The Fallopian Dudes, Flummox! These guys remind of early Electric Wizard and Cathedral, if they had said "hey guys, were not playing nearly enough notes!" I could almost go as far as to call them Technical Doom metal. I see you scratching your head there at the computer, asking yourself "wait, what the fuck? Technical doom metal? How the fuck does that even make sense?" I'd be asking myself the same question if I hadn't seen Flummox embody it. The tempos themselves weren't necessarily fast, but these guys were definitely playing complicated stuff. When he's not tapping all over his six-string bass, Blake is belting out vocals that aren't entirely unlike those of the guy who sings "Ballroom Blitz." Their style is definitely groovy, but just a little too busy for my tastes. Still, darn good stuff. Check it out for yourself.
The MindrapE.P. by Flummox

LOOK AT THIS FUCKING
THING

Next up was Scott Fernandez. These guys have a lot of balls using this name, which is taken from a norseman who murdered his whole town, and didn't even seed his torrents. What a monster. Nah, I'm just fucking with you. Scott Fernandez is one of the coolest, most wrongly modest and humble guys I have ever met. Talking to him outside, he made it seem like he never practiced, and just jammed for fun. But holy shit, once he got a bass in his hands, I knew all of his words about not being that great were the filthiest of lies. This man is a goddamn prodigy. He was impressive on a 4-string bass, and then HOLY MOTHER OF GOD WHAT IS THAT BEHEMOTH WITH 12 STRINGS. His fingers moved over it like water over a rock, like moths to a candle, like bees telling each other where to find pollen. I was all at once infinitely jealous, mad, and sad that I could probably never play that well, but mostly just completely enraptured. This guy. Just, this fucking guy. Watch this video for just a glimpse of what went on.

After Scott, on what I heard was something of a last-minute whim was ~~Kid Fister~~ Kit Fistu. This was the apartment owner Bobby Fox's own band, and as it was also a [belated] celebration of his birthday, Bobby looked like he was having the best time out of anybody. Almost everyone was red-eyed, rosy-cheeked, or both. We were all ready. With Brian Laws on drums and Jef (who played guitar Kit Fistu when I saw them at the Muse) on bass, this trio was fun. I'm not saying that as an at least, as in "at least they were fun". These guys kicked ass and were fun. Jef seemed especially animated, even running out into what little crowd there was. Elias from Axis came up and screamed into the mic with Bobby for a few songs. The amount of fun these guys were having made up for lack of anything else they could have had. This stream probably isn't representative of their sound as a whole, since they've been through so many iterations, but it's worth posting just to give a glimpse.

Next up was Soliam. These guys had been talked up by nearly everyone at the gig, so I was curious to see what they were like. I know I'm gonna get flack for this, but aside from interesting bits here and there, they really weren't my thing. They were definitely good at what they did, but it was just too much raw technicality and breakdowns, without much else that I heard. They just lacked enough depth for me to really sink my teeth into. I gave them a shot, I was up banging my head along with everybody else, but that's all they made me do. And they were very good at it, I definitely banged my head hard. But I'm just not that big of a fan of this type of technical or progressive death metal. Sorry guys. I liked the softer, more dynamic bits and the singing, but the rest just didn't suit my tastes. What do you think? Have I gone full retard this time? Listen for yourself.
Demo 2012 by Soliam

The last band of the night was Axis. By the time these guys are going on, it's 2 AM, my phone has died (hence the lack of pictures here and for Soliam), and I'm in a nice comfy leather chair. One thing leads to another, and I've started to doze. This is no slight against Axis, these guys kicked fucking ass. But after 5 bands in 7 hours, I was absolutely out of it. What I was awake for was stellar. Spencer on drums absolutely killed it; I'm sure I heard a drum riff straight out of Cryptopsy's catalogue. That alone should tell you how much ass these guys kick. But that's just the baseline. Elias (also in Intoxicated Male) takes care of bass duties while Austin shreds on guitar; both string players scream and growl when moved to do so by Satan. The vocals were just right for the music. I can't quite put my finger on it, but though these guys are progressive death metal, I vibe with their style much more than that of Soliam's. It just clicks with me much better. If someone can figure it out, I would love to know what it is about these guys' sound that clicks with me so much more. Until then, I'm just going to keep following my gut instincts and call it like I see it. Er, hear it. Hear it for your own damn self here:
Demo by Axis

Whew! Just writing all of this out has made my brain tired. I'd say it was a very successful Bobbaroo. I mean, Bobby got drunk and had a great time, and that's the important part. Look for my review of Brother Ares, Clorange, Bell Witch, and Loss at The End, next!

Alraune, Thetan, Dawn, 16, and Tombs at the Owl Farm

2012-10-24T10:14:00.001-07:00

On Thursday, October 18th, I went and saw Alraune, Thetan, Dawn, 16, and Tombs at the Owl Farm. The Owl Farm is a new venue that opened up this summer out in northeast Nashville. It's meant on some level to be a successor to the Little Hamilton, which shut down not too long ago. I was never fortunate enough to make it out to Little Hamilton, so I was excited to see some of the bands associated with that scene, since they tended not to play too many other places around town.

On a metascriptive note, I've decided to change how I review live shows by deleting one element: the number out of 10 at the end. They just feel too slapped on there, too arbitrary, and too extraneous. I'd like to give 9s to every local band I ever see, because so many of them are so talented, but if everybody gets a 9, what's the point? Too often people look to the numbers to glean how I feel about a band, and that's not representative at all. So no more numbers, unless any of you feel strongly about them.

Anyway, first up at this show was Alraune. These guys feature members of Sky Burial, Yautja, Gnarwhal, Vesicus, etc., and they kick ass. These guys played fast heavy black metal. Really great, interesting stuff, with the bassist and both guitar players each contributing on vocals. I thought that the bassist (Jesse from Sky Burial, I think) had the strongest vocals out of all three. They had some cleaner and softer parts to break up the mountains of metal; the best quieter moment came at the end, when it really had an impact. My only complaint is the same one I'm starting to have with most local bands is the fact that they're vocals were often lost in the mix, and though I could see their mouths grimacing, I could barely hear their darkened cries. Also, I'm not sure if this was the venue or what, but the guitars sounded a little murky. This is a smaller complaint though; aside from these two minor issues, these guys were great. I'd put up a streaming thing right here, but these guys must be too kvlt for any of that nonsense. I can't find a single thing. So get your ass to a show of theirs, because these guys are good.
Update: streaming things!
2-Track Demo Album Preview by ALRAUNE

Next up was Thetan. Despite being a two-piece that consists of a drummer and a bass, these guys sound nothing like Om. If Alraune was murky in a detracting way, then Thetan was murky in just the right way. Bassist/screamer Dan Emery's wall of amps rumbled your guts at high speed. It's almost like these two tried the full band experience, got sick of it, and said "FUCK IT we can do this just the two of us!" And they absolutely can. The energy put forth by Dan was incredible. He wailed on that bass like it was a dog that had just chewed up his favorite slippers. Drummer Chad L'Plattenier is no slouch either; he kept up with Dan the whole way. Together, these two make you want to raise your fist and bang your head as fast as you can. Until the slow parts, that is. The heavy, sludgey bits were absolutely satisfying. These guys played through with zero banter, zero talking to the crowd, as if their sole focus was on playing and absolutely nothing else. There was no jokes, no bullshit, just fucking awesome fast and heavy music. And they don't give a shit about money. Their merch sign said "7" for $3, shirts for $I don't care." These guys are all badass and no bullshit. If you like Tusk or Trap Them, you'll love Thetan.
Welcome to Whine Country by Thetan
Next up was Dawn. When I did the interviews at the Hymen house in February Jesse Mowery talked about his band Dawn (albeit after my phone had stopped recording the interview), and the guys and girls from Fenris said they were an amazing supergroup of some of the best players in Nashville, so you'll imagine my excitement at getting to see them play. They feature Jesse on guitar/vocals, Jordan House (of Sky Burial and also played guitar earlier in Alraune) on bass, and Ivan Doerschuk (also of Sky Burial... christ, is this the supergroup or is Sky Burial?) on drums. Their sound is definitely hardcore, but it's not always straightforward. They'll be rocking along at a quick tempo, then throw an interesting time signature into the mix. Something to interrupt your headbangery and make you listen closer. The vocals were great, nice and intense. These guys are relentless, barely giving you time to think or breathe while they erupt dynamic, hard-hitting riffs. When they do slow down for a brief bit, your body will move with it whether you want to or not. Sludge interludes like theirs make me cream my pants. If you like Converge, High on Fire, or any metallic hardcore band, you will adore Dawn. I know I do.
Burning Bridges by Dawn
Now it was time for the "big name" bands. 16 was up first. I'd heard about these guys a few years ago and I enjoyed what I heard, so I was looking forward to seeing them. They put one a pretty damn good show. Their vocalist was fairly animated, though I had trouble hearing him very well. The guitarist had a sweet setup, with a stack of amps behind him, and a big Orange cab off to left that he send a drier output to. He would often send a signal to only the far amp, and then send it to both to make big hits even bigger and meatier. Their riffs were slow, fuzzed out, and heavy. Really good stuff, apart from my douche-o-meter going off for a split second when Tyler from Alraune (and also Gnarwhal) came to help the vocalist with the PA system, and said vocalist backed away and said "Guess it's his PA guys..." to which Tyler gave a pretty good "What the fuck?" face. Still, a little blemish isn't enough to discolor this review. These guys have been sludging it up for many years, and they know what they're doing at this point. Crunchy, heavy stuff.
Deep Cuts From Dark Clouds by 16

The last band of the night was Tombs. I'd heard a little bit of their stuff before, and everyone was pretty gaga over their album last year, but when I went to check them out I was pretty turned off by their 'Gossamer' video. Still, I thought I'd give them another chance, and even if they suck, all the other bands would be sweet. Man, what a difference a show can make! These guys were absolutely stunning. They were just so heavy and fast and just everything I could've hoped for. Much more black metal than that awful Gossamer video, and I loved every minute of it. The vocals were sick, and the tremolo-picked guitars lined up with the drums more precisely than maybe any band I have seen live. Now that I think about it, this was my first black metal show! I hope they're all this awesome, and fine-tuned. I had to borrow money from friends to get it, but there was no way I was going home without their Path of Totality LP. Stream it for yourself right here, and see what all this fuss is about. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Path of Totality by Tombs

Feels good to be writing again. Sorry for the lack of pictures; the ones I took before my phone died didn't come out at all. Look for my reviews of Bobbaroo (7 bands!!), and Loss/Bell Witch/Clorange/Brother Ares at the End coming soon!

Catching up

2012-10-21T16:05:00.000-07:00

So you might have noticed that I haven't put up a new article for a few months. What can I say but holy crap I have been busy! Who'd have thought that it actually takes time to do well in school? A thousand apologies to all bands I've seen and not officially reviewed. My memory is hazy due to the time between now and then, but here's a vague recollection of the shows that I've seen and haven't had a chance to properly review. Because of such fog in my memories, I don't feel like I can give numerical reviews (which I'm lukewarm on anyhow) out, so these will just be writeups.

All Them Witches, Across Tundras, and Windhand at Dino's on August 20th
This was my first time at Dino's, which to me seemed to just be a burger and bar joint with some space in the corner where somebody said "Hey Dino! What should we use the corner for?" "I don't know... how bout a band or two?" So basically the space is tiny. I've been to house shows with more room. Not only was it small, but the acoustics were pretty poor as well. It may have just been shitty PA systems, but vocals were scant with all three bands. Despite these blemishes, each band gave pretty great performances.

All Them Witches

All Them Witches are a local stoner rock outfit with a more serious, almost earnest soulful edge. I was reminded of Asteroid and Kyuss a bit when listening to their sound. Definitely worth checking out.

Second up was Windhand. These guys are from Richmond VA, and feature Parker Chandler of Cough on bass, so you'll understand that I felt like an absolute ass-kisser wearing my Cough shirt to this show. Their tone was amazing, like getting sucked down into a tar pit by the balls. Just, so thick and gooey. My skin vibrated during their entire set. They also lit some incense, which was a nice touch. The only downside to their set was that despite how much my brain tried to imagine hearing it, I could not hear the girl singing at all, despite being less than five feet away from her. Her voice sets Windhand apart from other similar sludge/doom acts, so it was a bit of a disappointment not to hear her. Still, the rest of the band was unbelievably heavy, so it wasn't a total loss.

Last up was Across Tundras. I first saw Across Tundras with a much different lineup 2 years ago, so it was a treat to see them again. This time though, Tanner had recruited Mikey and Joey from Hellbender to play guitar and bass, respectively. Despite the subpar acoustics, they played a kickass show, and Tanner was nice enough to give me a Sage LP, so look for that review in the future.

Biipiigwan, Sons of Tonatiuh, Brother Ares, and T.G. Olson at Springwater on August 31st
Oh Springwater... You are terrible but I love you for it. On this night, Across Tundras' leading man TG Olson played a solo acoustic set, which included one of my favorite Across Tundras jam Stone Crazy Horse. The rest of the set he played what I can only describe as droney campfire songs with a solemn attitude. It was mesmerizing.

Sons of Tonatiuh

Sons of Tonatiuh (pronounced "Tahn-ah-tea-ah") are a fantastic crusty sludge trio from Atlanta. These guys rock. Their sound is rough and serrated, and their hardcore vocals are exactly what's called for. Their 7" was worth every penny of the $3 I paid for it.


Biipiigwan

Biipiigwan are death sludge from all the way up in Ottawa, Canada. I hope Springwater was luxurious enough for them... Their sound, like Sons of Tonatiuh is pretty much just straight forward no bullshit heavy shit. When I talked to him afterwards, singer Musqwaunquot Rice said that most of their music was about Ojibwe ideas and theology. I picked up their LP God's Hooks and I'm very glad I did.

Mi hermanos Brother Ares played a killer set as well, and may have even debuted a new song. I think they did. I can't remember. Regardless, even Blake and Gore described this show as one of their best ones, and no one knows better than they do.

Hull, Hellbender, and All Them Witches at Springwater on September 1st
This was my second time seeing All Them Witches, and essentially the reason why I'm bothering to write this terribly long catch-up article in the first place. These guys kick ass, and deserved to be written about. So I apologize deeply to you men in All Them Witches with your stylish hair and dapper facial hair, I shall give you a full review next time I see you. Your music is groovy and enticing and you deserve a far larger audience than what you have.

Hellbender! These guys rule. Not only are they probably the best local band, but such nice guys. It's always a treat to see their shows, because hanging out with Mikey and Joey is just as much of a treat as their set itself. Their set that night was as great as ever, and I was left grinning.

Hull (no, not that crappy Courtney Love band) are a band from Brooklyn who aren't the easiest to describe. They have some crunch like sludge, their vocals are similar to Old Man Gloom's Aaron Turner's finest bark, and they aren't afraid to melt your face with a solo or two. If it were up to me, I'd just call it Triumph Metal. Their music, to me, seems to express a notion of fighting hard in whatever battle you may be embroiled in, but precisely at the moment when the battle has turned in your favor. It felt like the moment when you've caught the football, the game's almost over, and you realize that you are going to score the winning touchdown. That moment of realized victory is what Hull feels like.