spring '07 Reviews by Tom Denney

	Lesbian "Power Hoer " ep Another fantastic band from Seattle, what's going on in that town. An epic blend of black metal and stony jamz. Changing like scenery out a tour van window. Sometimes mellow and rolling, then Sabbath riffs masked in trippy doom sludgetastic ambience. TOTALLY CATCHY stuff, like goo it gets all stuck in your head, much like Pelican can, except they break the monotony with evil shrill vocals, and way out solos. But total metal solos, expressing really thought out dynamics and excellent technical abilities. I like a band that knows how to make really trippy sounds devastating! I'm confused why all the songs are so long, they can easily have a fourteen song album, but I guess the metal thing to do is just make 4 songs that are a journey through powerful musical places. Highly enjoyable listen, especially "Loadbath". Great live too.Holy Mountain Records
	I am The Thorn "You Are the Lamb" Sort of a super group, most importantly containing members of Skarp and Grievous. A bit of a weird twist on some faster hardcore, but with deep echoing metal vocals. A couple of the songs are very doomy, especially "Crawling over them" Which builds to an epic stony jam where Artist Aaron Edge screams "You are slaves to masters you'll never see"...So true! Good Fellow Records
	Beneath the Frozen Soil/Negative Reaction split Very happy to hear Beneath the Frozen Soil,totally moistened vocals and recording. It opens with the lines "Your flesh, a prison for the soul...set it free". That sort of macabre transcendental thinking always gets me. This self ascribed dirty blackened doom trades all upbeat jammyness for slow death marches of dire nature. The Negative Reaction half, though well recorded, is hardly above third grade. More goofy than anything, I would call it party doom, you know, where it doesn't matter what your listening to as long as its heavy. The drums are cool, but the song writing is akin to mongoloids mixing up their favorite Celtic Frost and Metallica riffs, disgracefully adorned with probably the worst attempt at soloing I have ever heard. I can just see past-prime Kenny Bones rolling head first into the drumset, then asking everyone if they thought it was cool of him to pull off such an "Insane" stunt. A rare release, only 1000 printed, doom collectory engages. Total Rust
	Kylesa - "Time will Fuse its worth" I believe I can safely call Kylesa the hardest working band in the sludge crust sceene. Endless worldwide touring, taking short breaks only to record new tunes before the next tour. I don't think they even sleep. I have no idea how or when they write all these new crushing tunes. This is the third full length for the Savannah based sludge team, atop a shit load of ep's and splits along the way. Time will fuse is bouncy, and a bit brighter than their other stuff. This band is growing, and certainly on no short supply of new and innovative riffs, coupled with jamy fx driven radness that is consistently inventive yet distinctly their own. This band is going to continue propagating their sonic indulgences, much like the Pink Floyd of Post-Punk, and with that most likely create a whole new thing. For this record, choice cuts like "The Warning" and "Motion and Presence" are merely a fraction of what makes this rising, perhaps even hip collection of devastating sonic battle songs and war cries a must have for your ever growing Kylesa collection. Prosthetic
	"For the Sick" Eyehategod Tribute -compilation Where to start on this, the booklet opens with a most appropriate quote from the singer of Pantera that says it best. For the most part, a terrible collection of atrocities which vaguely remind me of some Eyehategod. TERRIBLE RECORDING on ALLOT of the songs. MUCH MUCH worse than even the worst Eyehategod demo. It almost seems disrespectful what was allowed to get by on this comp. I mean, was this even mastered???What are the guys at Labrynth Sound doing? They must have had potatoes in their ears to let some of this crap fly. This two disc set easily could have been widled into rare an interesting must haves that could never be duplicated. You see, despite some of the appauling excuses for submissions to an Eyehategod cover album, there are some genius tracks like Bloody Panda's interpretation of "Anxiety Hangover" In which the band uses its own insane twist on the altar of doom by incorporating organs and multiple vocal straining's. Its more like an epic church orgy in praise of the most devastating of Jimmy Bower-Power riffs. This is how it should be. IF your going to worship at the altar of the dudes who ...pretty much invented all this shit, you better bring a suitable sacrifice that is worthy. A couple other must haves are legends in their own Reich of grind goddom, Brutal Truth pay their respects with full blast beat destruction of "Sister Fuck er". It seems like most of this comp were mediocre bands clamoring to get their names on this thing just for metal street cred. So I'm Sorry to bands like If He Dies he dies and Triac, but someone forgot to tell you to bring your A game, or someone forgot to cut the B strain. In all, a great idea, paying some respect where it is due, unfortunately allot of it is just simply unlistenable for the serious doom hound. Your going to have to own this regardless, it is of course your obligation to pick this up, lucky for you, there are some great easter eggs in the basket from names you would recognize if you can wade through the shit. The hidden track in which Mike Williams calls out Rwake on national radio is classic! Emetic Records
	Mourning Dawn self titled lp A really cool mix of funeral doom and black metal.This french attack holds my interest the most at its grimey attempt at nordic black metal. It is executed well, but it lacks punch, kind of predictable, very Burzumy just without any balls. Also wierdo interludes of missplaced classic piano and sample bank keyboards make for a generally uninteresting and unecessary atmosphere that you often need to fast forward through to get to the good stuff. Total Rust Music
	Geghis Tron - "Dead Mountain Moth" lp Call it a guilty pleasure, but I have always had a softspot for synths and drum programming. THIS IS A DEVESTATING combination of grindcore and 80s style dance with amazing sonic in between. Really quite ingenius when you think its just a guitarist and a synth player together making all these sounds alongside seperate singer. I have the worst kind of hard on for this band. This is doomy as hell at some parts, then breaks into to some insane Converge style destroyathons, then makes a quick turn to Depeche Mode, but just long enough to get you hooked in, so you have to listen over and over again to the amazing change ups. The vocals are just as sick as they can be too. None of that singing or stoopid tuff guy jazz, this is all brutalisms, somehow not overdone and with some bizzarre inovations. Just enough medicine to keep grandma doomcicle in her death bed. This cd is a must have for sure! Crucial Blast
	Cephalic Carnage "Digital Carnage" This is Rev Fetus's special remix of Cephalic Carnage, presented as a gift to them. A remarkable reanimation of Cephalic in a bizarre and twisted fun house of polysounds on algorhythmic reconstruction the end result to which is complete devestation. This extreme rarity is limited to only 100 copies. Available ONLY available through VOMIT CORE RECORDS- now clamour to find your copy.
	Rice Cracker "At Dawn " Another of the Rev Fetus's special delights. Take one persons brain, sautaee gently over fresh mashed fetus with a bit of random fungi and you have this 20 minute seperation of physical and astral self. The ambient project of Kevin Fetus and Rabid Nancy. Once more, an extreme rarity with its limmited run of only 100 copies. Available ONLY available through VOMIT CORE RECORDS- now clamour to find your copy.

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