Sounds of the Catapult: 2010

donderdag 23 september 2010

Drums Are For Parades - Master

Het Gentse Drums Are For Parades liet zich in 2009 voor het eerst opmerken met de EP ‘Artificial Sacrificial Darkness in the Temple of the Damned’. Tijdens zijn intense liveshows blies het bebaarde triumviraat zijn toehoorders omver met een overrompelende mix van heavy metal, hardcore, punk en noise rock. Nauwelijks een jaar later ligt hun eerste langspeler ‘Master’ in de rekken, opnieuw een stevige muilpeer waarop de groep zijn muzikale grenzen verlegt.

Was ‘Artificial Sacrificial Darkness in the Temple of the Damned’ vooral luid en heftig, dan voegt ‘Master’ een nieuwe dimensie toe aan het verwoestende totaalgeluid van Drums Are For Parades. De instrumentale opener ‘The Law’ grossiert opnieuw in schedeldoorborende gitaarschichten en monumentaal slagwerk, maar wordt aangedikt met een uitgekiend strijkersarrangement dat het nummer laat baden in epische grandeur.

‘The Beast’, met een gastbijdrage van Younes Faltakh (The Hickey Underworld), overgiet gewapend betonnen riffs en frenetieke drums met demonische vocalen en onheilspellende vioolklanken. Het monsterlijk groovende ‘Boy Was In the Death Room’ is behalve een headbanger pur sang tevens een uitgekiend mini-epos waar scheurende gitaren en dissonante strijkers een waar titanengevecht houden. Saxofonist Jorgen Munkeby (Shining) mag dan weer volledig los gehen in het cryptisch getitelde ‘Opium Den Idiot Check’, wat resulteert in een fascinerende crossover tussen doom metal en free jazz.

Met ‘Master’ mag Drums Are For Parades definitief meespelen met de grote jongens: de plaat giet zijn verpulverende metalen furie in gelaagde songstructuren en uitgekiende arrangementen die niet om een dubbele bodem verlegen zitten. Niemand minder dan Chris Goss, frontman van Masters of Reality en algemeen beschouwd als de grondlegger van het stonerrockgenre, is al uitgesproken fan. De verovering van de rest van de wereld kan beginnen.

1. The Law (03:13)
2. I'm Not Who You Think We Are (03:09)
3. The Beast (02:19)
4. Another Kind of Bad (02:29)
5. Boys Was in the Death Room (04:55)
6. Opium Den Idiot Check (03:32)
7. I'm the Princess, You're the Woods (02:56)
8. Gold (02:22)
9. Hello Pedestrian (04:21)
10. A Salesman's Pen (04:02)

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donderdag 26 augustus 2010

Solace - A.D.

There's a moment when anticipation is bested by apathy, and A.D., the long-gestating third full-length by New Jersey's Solace, crossed from one to the other sometime last year. I can't speak for anyone else, but the news that it was finally being released wasn't so much greeted with "Hot damn, it's about time!" as it was "God damn, it's about time."..
Not surprisingly, the blame lays almost entirely with the band (although a modicum falls on Small Stone Records' doorstep, who operated under the mistaken assumption that this opus would be released shortly after signing the group in late 2007 and therefore promoted it in a perpetual cycle of "coming soon"). They are, after all, perennial underdogs in an endless fight against themselves.

Since the group is its own worst enemy - I could easily spend a paragraph or two detailing how adept they are at sabotaging their best interests - that makes the success of A.D. all the more welcome. Sure, it may have taken them seven years and more than the usual share of turnover (bassist Rob Hultz was replaced by Black NASA's Duane Hutter, who was in turn replaced by Hultz; drummer Kenny Lund left the band sometime in 2008, which led to original drummer Keith Ackerman's return), but A.D. sounds like the work of a band that knows exactly what it wants and will stop at nothing to reach that goal.

Not as immediately accessible as the "Fuck you, we're not dead" salvo that was The Black Black, AD is almost recklessly dense, a labyrinth display of everything Solace has to offer (by comparison, The Black Black's three originals perfectly exemplified the best of what the band brought to the table). Even when comparing the final mastered version of opener "The Disillusioned Prophet" against its rough mix from last year, there's so much going on within that track's seven minutes and three seconds, it's practically a new song. We're talking layers upon layers of guitar, countered by an equally absurd amount of vocals.

But here's the catch - despite the obvious studio-centric slant and their penchant for adding more to more, A.D. never topples under the weight of the band's grand aspirations. The songs, whether the Hessian metal aggression of "Disillusioned Prophet" and "The Immortal, the Dead and the Nothing," the more traditional doom of "Za Gamman" and "The Eyes of the Vulture," or the breakneck hardcore of "Skull of the Head of a Man" (a lesser companion to "Cement Stitches," but still a vicious throat puncher), are decidedly and distinctly Solace. They've always been credited as being as guitarists' band, and while there are plenty of riffs and solos (and hey, even more solos) to back up that assertion, that's not giving enough credit to singer Jason, who manages to justify the entirety of his extended time in the studio with the vocal line that kicks in around two minutes and 45 seconds into "Down South Dog." Moments like that - and there are plenty of them throughout the album - are what elevates Solace above the fray. There's an unmistakable talent for composition displayed on A.D., one that more often than not transcends the genre and serves as a benchmark of quality songwriting. Every song isn't exceptional (for example, the main riff to "Borrowed Immunity" is a bit too clunky), but every song has a praise worth moment (the ending to "Borrowed Immunity" makes up for its shortcomings).

It may have taken too damn long for A.D. to see the light of day, but there's no denying it delivers everything you'd expect from a Solace album and then some. It is the sum of everything we've heard from them multiplied by the promise of what they can be. Highly recommended.

01 - The Disillusioned Prophet
02 - The Immortal, The Dead and The No
03 - Six Year Trainwreck
04 - Za Gamman
05 - Borrowed Immunity
06 - Down South Dog
07 - The Eyes of The Vulture
08 - The Skull of The Head of a Man
09 - From Below

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Lagwagon - Live In A Dive

This cd has some of the best lagwagon stuff ever made. Just simple and fun punkrock. They put 22 songs on the cd so you get a lot for your money compared to most cds. If you've never had a lagwagon cd and want a good sample of all their best stuff this is what you would want to listen to.

"Alien 8" – 3:08
"Violins" – 2:43
"Messengers" – 2:29
"Never Stops" – 3:41
"Sick" – 2:53
"Island Of Shame" – 2:30
"Give It Back" – 2:43
"Making Friends" – 2:54
"After You My Friend" – 2:26
"Razor Burn" – 2:45
"Falling Apart" – 3:04
"Sleep" – 3:07
"Mister Bap" – 0:40 (previously unreleased)
"Beer Goggles" – 3:36
"The Chemist" – 3:02 (previously unreleased)
"Coconut" – 1:57 (previously unreleased)
"May 16th" – 3:03
"Bombs Away" – 3:43
"Back One Out" – 3:03
"Burn" – 3:33
"Coffee And Cigarettes" – 2:57
"Stokin' The Neighbors" – 3:16

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QOTSA - Rated R (10 year anniversary edition, disc 2)

Amazing that this all time classic is already 10 years old. I don't think this album needs much of an introduction anymore, as every self-respecting rock fan should have this one at home.

But for this 10th anniversary, the album was rereleased with some extra goodies on a second disc: all B-sides + a previously unreleased live performance at Reading 2000.

Download link for this interesting second disc here below!!!

And happy birthday!!!

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Gallows - Grey Brittain

When Frank Carter speaks, screams and sings, he doesn’t bullshit. With his band, Gallows, the heavily tattooed geezer has spent the past few years in a spin of magazine hype, critical acclaim and blistering live performances (sometimes with all but the drummer ending up in the crowd). Their debut, 2006’s Orchestra of Wolves, may have placed the band’s foot in the door of international hardcore, but it’s now time for the band’s sophomore, Grey Britain, to kick the door down and trash everything in sight. This is no second album slump by any stretch of the imagination. Grey Britain takes every positive attribute one associates with Gallows as a band, broadens its horizons and establishes a full progression upon it – literally to the point that it’s scary.

If the above quote hasn’t entirely assisted you in grasping Grey Britain’s concept, you’ll be swiftly be pointed in the right direction the second Carter cracks open his lips and commences his tirade. “We have no fear! We have no pity! We hate you! We hate this city!”, he sneers cynically on “London is the Reason”, before chanting those very words in gang vocals. The lyrics continue in a similarly anarchic tone throughout the record, centralising around the demise of the world around us (in particular, the band’s native U.K.). “We are the rats and we run this town”, explains Carter in “London…”s opening lyrics, before commanding “If the horses don’t drink, drown them in the water” on “The Vulture (Acts I & II)” and “Drag your crosses through the ground!” on “Death Voices” (which itself alludes to the coming of the Four Horsemen). The role that Frank’s lyrics plays in Grey Britain appears to be one of a ringleader, calling to arms anyone who is revolted by the way things are. One could even argue that Grey Britain stands as the first aggressively political record of the post-Bush era. There’s certainly enough lyrically to support such a statement.

The rest of the band sound just as merciless and volatile through their instruments, without resorting entirely to down-tuned chugging, or even lapsing into the generic “aggressive white boy” guitar and drums attack that plagues so much hardcore that strives for legitimacy. Everything from the duelling guitar licks of Steph Carter and Lags Barnard to Lee Barratt’s tight, militant drumming emphasises the lyrical convictions and statements. Take the chameleonic shift from Act I to Act II of “The Vulture” as a prime example. The former introduces itself with echoing acoustic guitar and Frank quietly (and – shockingly enough – very capably) singing the disturbing lyrics. The latter completely transforms into a chaotic, distorted thrash, with the vocals becoming tortured, desperate screams. The lyrics remain the same in both acts, but the emotions conveyed could not vary any further.

Whilst the band is as solid as ever, it’s the little musical differences in comparison to Orchestra of Wolves that boosts the record’s soundscape. From the sinister intro of “The Riverbank” to the sweeping outro of “Crucif*cks”, the album’s underbelly is spattered with subtle, haunting orchestration, piano-led interludes and sounds that could have been taken from any London backstreet (siren wails, pig squeals, muted screams etc) that add to the album’s bleakness in a daringly theatrical fashion. It may not seem noteworthy, but in the context of Grey Britain it amalgamates the sound of the album with its daunting themes and concept.

Gallows, as a band, have become less raw (which some may see as a drawback), but have become far more cohesive and focused in the process- which is, really, difficult to see as anything but beneficial. The quintet has established a persona that doesn’t give a shit about you, your government or NME’s cool list. This is an apocalyptic, relentless and uncompromising portrayal of where we stand in the world, and just what's gone wrong. No gimmicks, no transparency, no Obama coattails- just straight up hardcore punk with a new sense of purpose.

The Riverbank
London Is The Reason
Leeches
Black Eyes
I Dread The Night
Death Voices
The Vulture (Acts I & II)
The Riverbed
The Great Forgiver
Graves
Queensberry Rules
Misery
Crucifucks

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vrijdag 9 juli 2010

The Hickey Underworld - s/t

Debut album from an excellent Belgian band, formed in 2005 and named after a track by legends Nation Of Ulysses, The Hickey Underworld sound more Scandanavian than European with regards to their metallic tinged brand of punk rock. All sharp edges and gritty guitar fuzz, unexpectedly morish melodies roll out from dark, bass-filled corners, their less-is-more, uncluttered dynamic allowing each song space to develop with truly explosive results. Lyrically astute, this band manage to capture real emotion without emo posturing. It’s raw, it’s dark, it’s honest and ultimately, it’s weirdly fucking beautiful.

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