On a regular weekday I cross the square in front of the appartment to see some dirty streetpunk at the Blue Collar Hotel in Eindhoven, one of the prettiest venues around. Canadian bad boys Bishop’s Green are playing and there’s a nice turn out for these gentlemen. The guests of the hotel are surprised by the group of skinhead showing up for this gig, but the atmosphere is good.
The weather is fine, so enjoying a nice lager out on the terrace is no punishment for the waiting guests. They’ve apparently come from far and wide, even from Madrid in Spain, which tells you a bit about the scene itself and the band playing today. This scene is slowly shrinking it seems at times, but is tight and warm, filled with dedication and unfortunately that is often overlooked when discussing the whole Oi! movement. The band itself is remarkably friendly to any visitors, grateful even. But regardless how sweet everyone is, there’s about to be some violence in front of the stage!
Stealers from Rotterdam has been around for a while and has that right raw sound with aggression and energy that fits in with the headliner. The guitars keep up quite the pace and give the sound a feisty bite. Roaring his frustration but clearly enjoying every second of it is frontman Pet. Though some of the visitors are sitting out this one in the sun, the band is definitely up for it and manages to really warm up the mood for the main act. After a short set, we wait for the headliner. These guys have a new record out, titled ‘Street Law’, give it a spin.
It’s a noteworthy fact that Bishop’s Green is a fairly young band. The Canadians have only been playing shows for about five years now, but have earned their places in previous bands. Five years in band years is a lifetime in a way. The grateful attitude of hard working frontman Greg Huff says a lot to why this band is drawing a dedicated crowd. In between songs the bald guy with head tattoo’s is all smiles and hand shakes, but then shoots of a number of short, explosive songs. Lyrically the band deals with the more typical themes for the genre, but this always finds a willing ear with the working class, who’s lives are the themes of the songs. Hell, I find resonance in the music of a band like this just as much.
The sound relies on the staples of the Oi! scene and is pretty much straight forward, though surprisingly melodic and filled with chants and folky elements. There’s a primitive element to the music of the band, which really ignites when the band and audience jointly create that particular atmosphere. Chanting a long and raising fists, this is the interaction that matters. The pumping drumwork of Orville Lancaster is just chugging on to that party, where more beer flies around then gets drunk. Punkrock, the way it was ment to be, without ruffles, bells and nonsense and only the occasional guitar solo by Scott Farquason.
The band doesn’t play that long, but every song is spot on and the crowd gets rather jostled and I suppose fatigued. Heat, beers and a lot of fun. The sound of the band might not be pushing forward the genre, but why change a thing that is working fine. It’s been a good night.
Through some numeric fails by myself, this is the last sounds of the underground in the old form with Astronoid, Monoliths, Vukari & Void Omnia. After this, reviews will appear solo, just one band at the time.
Astronoid – Air Blood Music
source: bandcamp
Don’t confuse these guy with the heavy stoner/doom band from Sweden, this is a different kind of tune. Self described as a band playing dream thrash, Astronoid hails from Groveland in the United States, near the national parks in California. The group takes their inspiration from atmospheric groups like Alcest, Windir and Jesu to create their very own sound. Lofty, open and warm it’s music to immerse in. The art work gives away and predetermines your experience slightly I believe. The air and wind swept rocks give something mountainous and wide to the music. Enough bumbling, lets dig in.
Fast paced with high notes and the occasional lofty bit of blast beats, the band reminds you in a way of Deafheaven with an emo singer on vocals (not in a negative way). Expressive, clean vocals that sound like they could be part of a Yellowcard song. It makes for a strangely accessible bit of music with a continuously soaring, high feeling to it. That actually gives quite some varied tunes, like the minimal start for the gentle intermezzo ‘Violence’, that feels like trickling sound, well dosed and reduced to a minimum to merely support the vocals. The next track offers a full on battery of bombastic music. But it never gets bombastic, it always remains a bit shoegazey, even reminding you of that Angels & Airwaves sound. I know, that might not sound complimentory, but its ment that way still. It’s a magical record, hard to place, but magical anyways.
Monoliths – Monoliths Dry Cough Records
source: bandcamp
Monoliths hails from Nothingham, therefor being from the proximity of whatever earth vein is the cause of all the heavy stuff coming from that part of the world. The band myth is that they started playing and the sound that come forth evolved in a most natural manner, it’s just what it is and played with full conviction without a plan and without premeditation. Remarkable fact is that James Plotkin took care of the mastering (known from Khanate and OLD). It says a lot about the qualities and strength of this young band.
To describe the music of these three musicians as monolithic would be the biggest understatement you could make. The collossal riffs are like a force of nature, smashing through everything with its might. Two tracks are presented, of which the first is ‘Perpetual Moon’. A scorching, distortion riddled session of gargantuan guitar work and earth shaking drums. It really is just riffs and pounding, endlessly all the way to the end times. ‘The Omnipresence of Emptiness’ is even more reminiscent of the high and mighty Sleep with its stretched out sound and meanderings. The hypnotic endless repetition is switched to a new speed at just the right time. It’s amazing to see how well the band manages to pull the right stuff out of their big wizard hats to sound menacing and dark. What an overwhelming debut.
Vukari – Divination Bindrune Recordings
The band Vukari hails from Illinois’ Chicago and has been around for a few years. This is their second full length in their obscure and very own branch of black metal with dense atmospheres. The group likes adressing conceptual issues in their music, which is an interesting and fresh take on the genre. In the ranks we find plenty of musical experience. Most notably drummer Mike DeStefano, who has been working live with Abigail Williams. For the rest it’s a background in all sort of genres like deathcore (I Killed Everyone), thrash (Eternal Vomit) and stoner (Horseburner). All that seems to fade when this band is gathered to make their own sound.
The band plays a sound that can really only be described as what it is. Atmospheric black metal, but the pace is rather intense on most of the songs. There’s some dense postrock inspiration audible in the repetitive sound of these guys, remniscent of the more loud groups as if Russian Circles meets Altar of Plagues or such. At some points when the rolling heavy rhythm section is really being synced with the gruff vocals of Marek Cimochowicz one can almost feel the Isis vibe of heavy post metallic thunder. Peaking is what the band does on ‘Sovereignity Through Extreme Tyranny’, the guttural, decaying vocals and the down pour of melancholic guitar riffing offers a truly majestic experience. Grand and spun out, this song is I think the best representative of Vukaria’s sound, which is deeply atmospheric, warm and as foggy as the cover featuring a man on a boat in the mist. It matches and feels like a complete package. Dream away with this.
Void Omnia – Dying Light Vendetta Records
Void Omnia is a relatively young black metal band from Oakland in the United States with ties to various bands, most notably the massive sounding Tombs. Other bands that members have been active in are slightly lesser known Infinite Waste, Apocryphon, MutilationRites and many more. Most succesfull one could say, has been their bass player Justin Ennis who was in Tombs and MR. The bleak sounding band has released their first full length now and its a tough bit of music. I was mostly attracted to it thanks to it’s indecipherable logo, which was a bit different to me. Also the cover with a priest-like figure facing cosmic chaos is intriguing and captivating instantly, speaking to something in the unconscious I suppose, about Elder gods?
The cover is done by Glenn Schonn. It’s that chaotic vision, that allows you to really enter the realm of madness that is the sound of Void Omnia.’Remanence of a Ghost Haunt’ starts of with a rapid pace and blistering guitar work, though the rhythms feel almost folky (though on a different kind of drugs). Screeched vocals and a dense, technical mixture of instruments offers a layered cake of flavors for the listener. It’s sometimes almost Dragonforce like, how the blast beats and relentless speed combine, but then it settles down a bit to speak of mountainous landscapes with an uncanny intensity. The frantic pace of the record and sudden stop-go moments, like on the hatchet like ‘Singularity’ are a bit much and even though the band shows its technical prowess, it’s an exhausting listening experience, but rewarding.
I’ve been looking forward to seeing the band GY!BE for pretty much years. Ever since my class mate Geertjan introduced me to them in my first year at uni. I was pretty much hooked on the band instantly and their label Constellation Records. I wouldn’t say I’m a devout fan, but I was a bit nervous in 013, while waiting for the band to start.
It was the ‘Dead Flag Blues’ that got me into this band. A song with the most harrowing spoken part I’ve ever heard.
We’re trapped in the belly of this horrible machine
And the machine is bleeding to death..
Then the band fell apart, but like any group that has so much to say, these guys didn’t stick to their hiatus forever and took a break of about 8 years only to return completely reinvented and reinvigorated with ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!’ The sound is now much heavier and bass driven, but still pretty much the best band in whatever you want to call the genre out there.
So standing rather close to the stage I enjoyed the opening tunes of K/G/D, a noise musician, normally active with his act Total Life or Growing. The warm drones feel very natural and organic, only slightly deviating when the musician twits and turns some knobs. It’s a performance of only half an hour, but a very welcome start for a show filled with similar sounds. You don’t need to much appetizer before a band like GY!BE.
In a circle or semi-circle in a way, the band slowly emerges and starts on their opening tune ‘Hope Drone’, which swells with every addition to a full orchestration. This is Godspeed You! Black Emperor at their best, creating music that keeps you tense and excited throughout the listening experience. Obviously there’s no rock’n’roll banter, there’s just the music and the audience. Without skipping a note, the band continues on with ‘Mladic’, the opener of their return album with strange eastern elements woven into it. The band doesn’t even break their stride and continues ever onward.
The set is a mixture of songs from the last two records, which are just way more heavy and driven, leaving the postrock staples behind a bit. Sure, the repetition is still an essential element to the music of the Canadian group, but it’s changed with its time and that’s the best thing in this case. New song ‘Buildings’ specially dragged me along with its majestic visuals of towering sky scrapers and mild build-ups with warm tones.
As a desert a bit of the old back catalogue is played with ‘Blaise Bailey Finnegan III’, which stands apart on every level from the rest of the set. It shows the huge difference in sound between the band then and now. But still, they tower over anyone else in this genre.
Eindhoven Rockcity has been enriched by the addition of a new label, titled Auf Der Axe Records. The label instantly dropped its first release, which is no other than TheDwarves’ ‘How To Win Friends And Influence People’ on cassette. You can order this… now!
Auf Der Axe Records is founded by TOm Auf Der Axe, who has been a passionate blogger, roadie and music lover for years. You can still read his old blog on the new website, though its in Dutch, and find out stuff about the earlier Eindhoven Rockcity scene.
Tom is known for playing, apart from the pen, the drums in Heretic. He used to be active in Misfits tribute band Devilöck and for example Fuzzlord, but like any drummer probably a legion of other bands. Another of his passions is the Dutch Chili Festival, which takes away quite some time as well. There was still room for a label though.
Starting a label has little to do with the profits of it and more with making some sweet stuff, which is the best motivation for anything. The first cassette is out, but keep your eyes on the website for future releases.
Follow Auf Der Axe Records on Facebook and order that cassette on the website!
The Chepang is a tribe in Nepal. The subtleties of the situation there are way to dense to get into, though, but suffice to say that they are considered the lower class in a a segmented society. It’s similar to the Indian caste system and connected to many issues related to the position of individuals in society. The band has widely adressed that case in this article by Kim Kelly from Noisey. The band shares members with Sangharsha.
The style the band proclaims to play, they call ‘immigrindcore’. Its a light-hearted play on the origin of the band and the place where they’re at. From New York, the Nepalese immigrants have unleashed this piece of ferocious grindcore onto the world. The record was recorded by Kevin Bernstein (Margrudergrind, Mutilation Rites) and mastered by Brad Boatright in Audiosiege Studio’s (you know him from recordings of CorrosionofConformity, Nails, Beastmilk, Obituary, Yob and more).
Grindcore is a political vehicle and has always been such, so the choice for this as the sound of their dissent is a righteous one. The sound on the record, which is spiced up with some samples in Nepalase speaking (I have to assume as much), is fierce and filled with the typical bumpy beats on the opener ‘Kathe-Man-Du’, which may make it sound light-hearted, untill the roaring vocals start beating away at your eardrums.
‘Lahti Charge’ is like a home made bomb with grind, powerviolence and hardcore elements. The production is so tight, that this record is very listenable and not plagued by the distorted hazy sound you hear on this sort of records often. Not that this doesn’t have its charm, but these are guys with a mission, who want to reach an audience. A more toned down track, like ‘Chepang Basti’ offers a long intro that feels a bit like some of the work from BlackFlag. Perphaps a great comparison to the open ended display of fury from these guys.
Maybe I’m just too excited about this record, but it’s utterly devastating with high-speed blasts, thick sludge like parts and punkrock swagger. Though the lyrics are in Nepalese, a short lyric is displayed in English, like on the untitled track: “”Cash rules everything around me, Welcome to the third world order”. This record is one of the purest, most freely made and brutal bits of music out there. This, I believe, is the spirit of punk coming back witha vengeance.
The world seems to be on the brink these days. Trump may become the next president of the United States and other peroxide blonde men are rallying the masses. Lemmy and Bowie passed away and there’s some people who actually believe the world is a flat disk again. Luckily, Henry Rollins is here to pierce the bullshit with words like daggers and razorsharp humor on a thursday night in the Effenaar in Eindhoven.
The spoken word shows of Henry Rollins are a phenomenon on their own. Not many rock’n’roll personalities compare to Rollins on a roll on the stage with a microphone and the audience. After and during his time as frontman of S.O.A. and the legendary BlackFlag, the singer started developing his solo-act. After the end of Rollins Band, years later, he ended up with a show that could last for hours and it’s pretty much what Rollins is known for these days. Many have tried to follow his tracks on this, such as Danko Jones, Jello Biafra and even Billy Milano, but there’s only one Henry Rollins.
Picture by Brendy Wijdeven
When Rollins gets started, his act is like a two hour train ride, not much will be able to stop it. He discusses life and what he has to say about the state of the world as it is right now. After putting out some outlines for his story, he gets started on subjects like America, herd mentality, the individual and his passion for music obviously. He touches upon the topic of Trump very briefly, which is surprising if you consider his endless rants on the topic of president George W. Bush. We move on to the next topic at high speed and soon everyone’s nailed to their seats.
Beautiful anecdotes follow about David Bowie, also known as ‘The Bow’ and the intense love for the music of the man. When Henry speaks about ‘Hunky Dory’ with passion, I think everyone must have felt that for a moment. Ofcourse Motorheads Lemmy follows as well, stories relayed with love and humor for the man. Henry is getting a bit more personal in many of his stories and tells a lot about his experiences and adventures. Not just the funny bits, but also things that matter, like his eco-holiday in Ecuador. A story about sexing enguins on a mountain of poop is compared to Amsterdam, which is always a succes in Eindhoven (and is an adequate description of the Dutch capital).
For two hours, the aging alternative icon knows how to enchant the audience with funny, hard and amazing stories, often told without nuance, direct and forceful. You can agree with his views or not. If you don’t, you probably were not at the show in the first place, but the beauty is that you leave the show refreshed and filled with new views on the world. That may be the most beautiful thing an artist can offer to you.
Thanks ever so much for the pictures to Brendy Wijdeven
A while ago I wrote this article about the increased presence of gimmicks in the heavy metal world. Not trying to diss any band or be negative about it, I discussed the prominence of bands like Ghost, Babymetal and SteelPanther.
The original article can be found here and I found out it even got to reddit for some discussion. Reading those responses, knowing that they might not be all friendly, I did realise I might have not fully made my point there and unfortunately may have come across as a genre purist. I am in a way for the sake of argument used to genre terms, but in the end its all about the music. Gimmick and purism are two extremes on a very wide scale and in some ways don’t even have to conflict.
Gimmicks
If we look at a band like Ghost, specially after their epic record ‘Meliora’ have shown that while maintaining the gimmick or show element, they are able to produce fabulous music. Interestingly, this coincides with a tuned down version of their stage presentation. There’s a bit more performance, but a little less ‘stuff’.
But what was that concern about ‘Gimmicks’ then? The concern I tried to voice is that some bands are gaining popularity only by the fact that they do something weird. Now, this is nothing new in the metal world. The whole black metal genre seems to revolve around that gimmick. Bands like the Misfits or Slipknot and even Black Sabbath added a mystique to their music by adding that element of showmanship to the band. There are band who push a bit further on that and the gimmick becomes their selling point.
When is something a gimmick? Probably when it is the first thing you have to say about your band, you probably are overdoing exactly that part. If your description starts with something that is not the music, the focus is on the wrong end of the stick. From a music purist point of view. Does that mean gimmicks are evil? Ofcourse not, it’s just whatever purpose you have with your music. For example, Hevisaurus is aiming their music at children.
A gimmick doesn’t mean it dininishes the band, a band like Ghost or Slipknot can hold its own with or without the gimmick. It’s sadly not just good music that comes out of the woodwork.
Antithesis
Luckily, things have a tendency to work themselves out. Glamrock and grunge prompted their own back to basic movement in the shape of the hard rock’n’roll movement that started out in the mid nineties and had a good run till halfway the noughties with bands like Audioslave and Velvet Revolver. A bit later followed Scandinavian bands like Gluecifer and The Hellacopters and now Danko Jones keeps the flame alive. It’s a movement back to something pure, where the stage outfit and decoration is not that wild.
Maybe grunge and stoner offered that to metal, but somehow the whole flamboyance seems to fly high and in a clickbait-culture of juicy headlines there seems to be little room for bands that offer something simple and pure. Although… that is the music press. There’s an amazing amount of bands that have been getting back to something pure. Ironically, the band I started my original article with was Deafheaven. In a way, apart from that slick album cover of ‘Sunbather’, that is a purist band. Even stripping the characteristics of the genre from the music. You see similar things happen. So the whole focus on aesthetic will even out.
The future of heavy metal
So the real concern isn’t really the gimmick itself, but the way its lifted up to be the focus point for any journalism. If we talk about a band, the look and gimmick can’t be the point of focus. If that is the thing we talk about, two things may be wrong.
The band is musically uninteresting.
The journalist doesn’t have a clue.
Now, point one is really not so bad, because we recognise a boring band anyways as listeners and it just becomes ‘that commercial crap’. The point with metal journalism might be worrying, specially if the main sources for our music-info are just spitting out uninformed, politically correct garbage news, that puts people of the bands that should get some attention. I’m not telling you to love Deafheaven or whatever the new kid on the block is, but the press is surely not helping with some weird conservative hatred to anything new or blankly ignoring it. If Metal Hammer, Kerrang and the like writes page full about the weird mystique of a band, but forgets their music, then that’s the problem. Not to blame any specific media though, a site like Noisey really offers great stuff… and sometimes garbage. Same goes for most, but I think that’s more the writers.
But the problem is also the first, the lack of exploration of the fans. The overflow of information and the unfortunate side-effects of social media make it hard to find anything new or appreciate music solely on our own experience. We probably see some judgement pop up in our timeline and then just drop it.
So let’s keep exploring and listen to good music. Everything should be ok. I mean, Kiss was also kick-ass regardless of the make-up, right?
Short note on some of the accusations. Yes, I love my genre classifications. No, I don’t resort records in the shops from some priviligy point of view, just that I can’t handle disorder.
Cover image: Powerwolf, source press photo/Facebook band Though Cheesy as hell, probably not the worst out there.
Some very black sounds from the underground with Terra Tenebrosa, Thrawsunblat, Sacrilegium and the strange Kayo Dot. Enjoy listening to some new tunes.
Terra Tenebrosa – The Reverses Debemur Morti Productions
source: bandcamp
The band Terra Tenebrosa with its mysterious, unknown members, started out as an emotion evoking art project, never having the intent to play live. That is what singer ‘The Cuckoo’ said during an interview. The band plays music that is often described as black metal, which apparently pisses them off to no limit. Terra Tenebrosa combines various musical elements into an eclectic maelstrom of aural chaos, that probably lies close to the black metal genre on sound and aesthetic, but it’s really not the same thing. I know, admittedly, very little of their work. I found the records this far hard to get into but rewarding at the same time. I like to listen to music before I fall asleep, but this is definitely a nightmarish record for that.
The roots of the band can be traced to Swedish post-hardcore group Breach and with that knowledge I know better where the sound comes from. Atmospheric, overwhelming and battering you with all its got. The industrial banging on ‘Makoria’, the deformed vocals and the maddening rhythms filled with Skinny Puppy-esque dread and tension are putting the band in the field of the more avantgardistic elements of the black metal genre (Nihill anyone?). It’s more that pounding, mechanized bit rhythm section that gives Terra Tenebrosa its unnerving, intense sound, there’s hardly any traditional black metal elements to be heard amidst the cauldron of chaos, maniacal singing and samples/effects. It was announced ofcourse that the sound of Terra Tenebrosa would be more fast and heavy, but also ugly sounding. The dissonant, uncontrolled sound, together with the ghoulish gibbered vocals is definitely hideous in its majesty. Its a completely different and harrowing record, that you need to check out.
Thrawsunblat – Metachthonia Ignifera Records
source: bandcamp
Once jokingly referred to as an anagram for Narwal Butts, the band from Canada has a name that immediately captures attention. It’s a bit of a bastardization of the words ‘thrash and blast’, like the band feels they bastardize European metal. Regardles, Thrawsunblat is a force on its own to be reckoned with, blending black metal with folk and melodic elements. There’s a bit of a Dungeons & Dragons like atmosphere to the album and its artwork, but without the cheesiness of ready-to-consume fantasy. The band is with ‘Metachthonia’ arriving at their third full length and definitely scoring points. Where the black metal scene seems to be moving towards a more avant-garde mode, this harks back to its earlier exponents of nature worshipping melancholy.
The melancholic notes of string instruments immediately sets the tone on opening track ‘Fires That Light The Earth’. The launch of the guitar riffs is like illuminating the cavernous soundscape the band is offering. I can detect a little bit of Ensiferium riffing here, but a very often mentioned band in comparison to these guys is also Woods of Ypres. Wavery, emotional guitar sounds, slow trickling intermissions and then blasts of the distorted form, it all helps to evoke a particular sentiment in the music. The harmony between vocal bursts and the guitars are also praiseworthy, because they offer a cohesive, clear listening experience. With its swooping riffs and thumping folk rhythms complementing eachother and setting up a remarkably dreamy record full of storytelling. This may contain a lot of black and melodic death influences, but this album is about beauty, not the ugly. A magical experience all in all with a hint of nostalgia.
Sacrilegium – Anima Lucifera Pagan Records
Once upon a time there was the Polish wave of black metal, which spawned the likes of Mgla and Behemoth. During its heyday, the scene was rich with interesting and renewing bands, using the poverty of the country as just one more element in the fuel of their primal rage. Creativity is usually born from the lack of means and many bands took that direction, also Sacrilegium. It’s been a long time waiting for their return to form with a new album. In fact that took 20 years for the band to get back together and make some music. Being from the north of Poland, the band has always stayed a bit of to the side in relation to the rest of the scene. A strong individualism combined with a sound that really captures the wave of the genre at the time, this band is one of the true originals.
There’s a sense of the sacral in the sound that lists the bleak black metal of Sacrilegium, eerie synths and calming tones suggest the soothing environment of a church or cathedral. That all ends when the blast beats are unleashed. What you get then is dirty old school black metal with a nasty bite to them and gurgling vocals. The sound is that truly ghoulish one, you rarely hear anymore. Hoarse barks and wet growls to a backdrop of lamenting tones and overly present synths. The rhythm is hard to hear through the frontal sounds of guitar, singing and the synths and sound a bit too mechnaic for my liking. The amount of effects is used quite liberal, which might give the band a bit of a retro vibe to the days when synth driven black metal was a thing. On the other hand, the unpolished, gritty sound gives it an even more way back feel. I think its a pleasant record that pays homage to the old underground, though not pushing the genre forwards.
Kayo Dot – Plastic House on Base of Sky The Flenser
source: Bandcamp
In a time where black metal listeners seem to all get their hands on the Perturbator records, finding this new Kayo Dot album moving in a similar direction of synth wavey goodness is not that surprising. The avant-garde band from Boston in the United States is a bit of an anomaly within the metal realms and for sure they’ve only further expanded their scope of weirdness on this new work. No ripping tuitar solo’s, no blast beats, this is a band exploring musical realms without regard for trivial things like style and genre as hampering effects on their creativity. Finding its origins in the band maudlin of the Well, the avant-gardistic tendencies are strong in this one.
Cold synths and bleak music, those are terms that best captivate what this offering of Kayo Dot is. Five tracks with lengths that are not friendly to the radio (nor do they have a moment where you could cut them off really), tell the tale with minimal means. Bare synths and percussion offer a much more densely composed kind of songwriting, expressing a lot with little. Many eerie passages and etheral chords fill the tracks. Personally, I sometimes feel the sound of this record is a bit too bare and lost its organic feeling, but that is aptly replaced by something of the mind, emotional and pure. Sometimes the melancholic vocals seem to clash with the sounds, creating a peculiar sort of chaos. An example of this is the song ‘All the pain in All the Wide World’. You can sense a bit of Depeche Mode and Suicide in the music of Kayo Dot on this record, but taking that also one step further in a way. It makes for an intriguing listen on which musical areas hold no sway.
All good things must end, so also the ‘Sounds of the Underground’ section, which has reached it’s 50th edition with PONI, Nytt Land, Infernal Diatribe and Ancient Altar.
From here on I probably will produce single reviews. Way to many releases I’ve covered just deserve their own article. For these four goes the same, but I wanted to create a mix of different, interesting sounds. Enjoy listening to these and keep checking the site for more!
source: bandcamp
PONI- Nou Nee Self released/Barreuh
Though it’s summer, these are the rainy days. Grey and sad and for that you should check out the music of PONI. This one man formation from the south of the Netherlands brings a sort of jangly pop noir in lo-fi quality with strange samples and ambient sounds filling up its sound. Inspiration is drawn from folk and slowcore music from the nineties and early noughties. The sound is described as a diary witht he lock open, leaving it there for you to read along if you want. It seems like a fitting description for the sound of PONI I think. Oh, the name is short for ‘Person of No Importance’.
In a way, there’s something raw and direct to the sound of PONI. It’s flowing along easily, without much pressure. Every little slip and squeek is still part of the recordings, the uneven moments, the little cracks in the voice, the natural expression is a big part of what you get to listen to when you check out the music of PONI. Every track is a numbered follow up titled ‘Nou Nee’, which means as much as “Well, no…”. When the artist sings, its mournful and with an uncanny remorse. It sounds tired, weary and tells stories that only a man can tell that has seen the world in all its failings. It makes for a damn good listen.
Ancient Altar – Dead Earth Black Voodoo Records
source: bandcamp
For those who are looking for a good slice of doomy sludge, look no further than Ancient Altar. This is not about the first of their endeavors, but already the second album the group from LA has unleashed upon the world. Clocking just over 40 minutes, this record is rather intriguing much thanks to its peculiar cover. This features a bit of a blended version of Humpty Dumpty and a factory, eyeing you with glee in the middle of a barren, apocalyptic landscape.
The sound of the band is something between Eyehategod, Neurosis and all of that jamming with Bongripper. But with that comes an abbundance of Sabbathesque riffing, So that’s what you get on ‘Leader, Liar’, where the riff feels like it could have been one of Tony Iommi’s. But that is the thing with this band, it’s all about that riff and the repetition. That’s good and quite catchy too. I love the switch to that more sludge sound with barked, harsh vocals to shake things up a bit in between. That’s how it works with any doom band really, adding those elements to the repetition that keep things spicy enough. The chanting on ‘Void’ is another example where the band pulls that off brilliantly. This is, in my humble opinion, exactly how a doom band should sound at this point in time.
Nytt Land – Sköpun: Songs from the Elder Edda Sulphur Flowers
source: bandcamp
Sometimes in strange regions of the world, it appears that ancient Nordic blood creeps up in the veins of some people and they start doing something exceptional. I don’t mean this in any white supremacist way by the way, just that the urge to take the inspiration of the old Scandinavians and turn it into some expression. Kalachinsk lies to the east in Russia, near the Kazakh border and the city of Omsk. Far removed from the Nordic Fjords, but there the group NyttLand formed and started making neofolk in that tradition inspired by the Elder Edda. Combining ambient, neofolk and more into a trip back into history to misty coasts and forgotten traditions.
A low sounding horn is blown and leaves a continuous call over which the vocals are chanted in a way you’ll find in soundtracks of Lord of The Rings and such, sounding even a bit like Sinead O’Connor. Songs then explode into folky experiences, with maybe more Celtic elements than you’d expect. Though the attempt at Nordic sounds is clear, even from the use of the language, it may be so that the group has allowed other influences in a bit, but overal the shamanistic, experience remains and mysticism goes instead of any sort of poppy aspirations on this album. Sung in old Icelandic, you are even more baffled probably that this comes from a strange corner of Russia and is made with such an eye for the tradition and great production, but it is. Let these people take you away to foggy realms of dragon ships and Valhallan bravery.
Infernal Diatribe – Videha Mukti Transcending Obscurity India
source: bandcamp
The Transcending Obscurity is one hell of a proof that metal is a global thing, delivering music under a global banner and an Indian (and surrounding nations) one, the label delivers quality and delicacies for those who like their metal… different. The band hails from Calcutta and this record is their debut EP. There’s little information to be found on previous endeavours of the bandmembers, but there is a bit about the influences which ranges from the founding fathers like Bathory to current day heavy weights like Gorgoroth. Dark Funeral and Watain. Maybe the middle is the band closest to the sound of these Indian evil sounding musicians.
There’s a clear focus on atmosphere and the spirtual elements of black metal in the sound of this band thanks to the slow and threatening progressions that open up the songs and allow them to stretch out that far. Much tremolo guitarwork, but combined with heavy and slow doomy rhythms. The fascinating thing is that the band somehow mixed in some Indian spices into the fabric of their music, thematically and I have the idea there’s also something in the music itself that makes it sound so different from other bands. Maybe the focus on repetition and moments where strange rhythms take over is exemplary of that. It feels like this band might offfer some tantalizing new sounds in the future!
Unfortunately I post reviews on here to rarely, but yesterday I went to a show which I hardly could not write about. I’ve been a Black Flag fan for a long time and apart from the recent abominations (sorry Mr. Ginn) I’ve got it all on vinyl proudly presented on my shelves.
So when this band comes around, minus the black, I need to cover this. Together with T.S.O.L. the band is playing in Hasselt tonight. Flag is Dez Cadena, Keith Morris, Bill Stevenson, Stephen Egerton and the almighty Chuck Dukowski. Of the five only Egerton was not an orignal Black Flag member. Flag is not allowed to call itself ‘Black Flag’ due to Gregg Ginn claiming all the rights, plus the guys claim that they’re just not that good anymore.
All that’s missing is Henry Rollins, but Milo Auckerman is hanging out with the band today. But regardless, there’s more on the bill.
For example, opener Cheap Drugs. The group hails from Antwerp/Ghent and plays old fashioned hardcore punk with a notable rattling, driven energy of a band barely containing the fury in itself. It’s early days, so the group seems to realize pretty clearly that the crowd is not going to go down with their music yet, but they to their credit keep the pace high and energetic. The group has an album out for a while now, titled ‘Angst’ and it demonstrates their sound, which is sitting somewhere in between the classic hardore like Black Flag and Minor Threat and the slightly later European wave, it’s a good show and like any good hardcore show not too long.
Cheap Drugs (source facebook band)
A lot stranger is the high pitched screaming that greets you when you enter to see Cocaïne Piss. Their sound is much more lose, wild even and putting to the front their lady vocalist who seems to have little boundaries. Dashing over the stage in a mad dance, she finally decides to go see the fans and scream in their faces, dance with them and roll on the floor. All the while madly screaming the lyrics of ‘Cosmic Bullshit’ or ‘Sex Weirdos’, the last two singles by the group. It’s a swirling storm of, as the band says, glittershitstorm, but so cool and entertaining. Love this band!
Cocaïne Piss (photo from band Facebook)
Since T.S.O.L. is running late, the old boys from Flag are warming up tonight, as they say it. The band launches into a long set full of classics and truth be told they sound as energetic and frantic as ever. Keith Morris spits words out with venom, while the rest of the band works hard to keep the pace high. The crowd bursts into action and sings along to classics like ‘Fix Me’, ‘Wasted’ and ‘Police Story’. Notable is Dez Cadena, who has just has recovered from a battle with cancer. He’s here and clearly loving it.
Central on the stage is the ever energetic Chuck Dukowski, stomping his feet and slapping his bass with the same energy he always had. It’s a pleasure to see these guys at work and loving it. Towards the end, Dez takes over on vocals for a while, so Keith can take a break. Surely, the band launches into the all time favorites like ‘Rise Above’ and ‘Nervous Breakdown’ to close of with ‘Louie Louie’. It’s by then a sweaty mess in front of the stage. Due to the late arrival of the other headliner, the band comes back to jam some more. It’s just icing on the cake.
Flag IIII (photo from every press release)
I’ve not been aware of T.S.O.L. for long, but I did know their frontman Jack Grisham, who strikes an imposing figure on stage at first. It’s soon though, that you notice that he’s a warm hearted frontman with a lot of wit and fun. The band puts out some great jams, which are largely carried by the rhythm section. Grisham sounds like a mixture of Jello Biafra and Bruce Dickinson. He sounds like a strong and convincing figure. The music is infused with a certain rock’n’roll swagger, distinguishing the band from later acts in the punk/hardcore scene and cementing their unique sound. It’s music to dance to!
We checked out a bunch of their songs, but due to the late hour we had to turn back home early. It’s great to see bands like this touring as hard as they do. Respect for those guys and specially for Jack Grisham and his boys, since theyir trip here must not have been a nice one. It proves that making hardcore for a life time is not for the money, but for the love of the music.
Photo’s all by the bands themselves, I just borrowed them from Facebook. Sadly I am unable to make decent photo’s with my phone.
The sound relies on the staples of the Oi! scene and is pretty much straight forward, though surprisingly melodic and filled with chants and folky elements. There’s a primitive element to the music of the band, which really ignites when the band and audience jointly create that particular atmosphere. Chanting a long and raising fists, this is the interaction that matters. The pumping drumwork of Orville Lancaster is just chugging on to that party, where more beer flies around then gets drunk. Punkrock, the way it was ment to be, without ruffles, bells and nonsense and only the occasional guitar solo by Scott Farquason.
