November 11 - 20 (#316 - 325)

#316) Book of Sand - How Beautiful to Walk Free (2010) 

#317) Wolf Eyes - Black Wing Over the Sand (2007) sick stuff

#318) Fister - Bronsonic: Lethal Overdose Edition (2011) doom.


#319) Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire - Harmonies From Bleeding Mouths (2006)

#320) Psychofagist - Il Secondo Tragico (2009) 


#321) Atavist/Nadja - II: Points at Infinity (2008) drone doom

#322) Author & Punisher - The Painted Army (2005)  

#323) Author & Punisher - Warcry (2007) 

#324) Author & Punisher - Ursus Americanus (2012) 

#325) Bell Witch - Longing (2012)

November 1 - 10 (#306- 315)

#306) Pygmy Lush - Bitter River (2007) 

#307) Red Harvest - Cold Dark Matter (2000) 

#308) Book of Sand - Mourning Star (2012) 

#309) Lifelover - Sjukdom (2011) "narcotic metal"

#310) Wolf Eyes with John Wiese - Collection (2006) collection of out of print eps

#311)  Author & Punisher - Drone Machines (2010) 

 #312) Korperschwache - A Fistful of Nihilism (1996) 

#313) Openwound/Antigama - Blastasfuck split (2004)

#314) Kowloon Walled City - Gambling On the Richter Scale (2009) 

#315) Drudkh - Handful of Stars (2010) 

September 11 - 20 (#255 - 264)

#255) Tenhi - Kauan (1999) 

#256) Billy Crystal Meth - Meth Metal (2008) 

#257 - 259) Text of Light - Metal Box (2006) 

#260) rRope - We Are You There (2012) 

#261) Science Heroes - Transmission Zero Hour (2010) 

#262) P.H.O.B.O.S. - Tectonics (2005) industrial doom

#263) Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire - Songs of Ill Hope and Desperation (2010)

#264) Moss - Sub Templum (2008) occult doom

September 1 - 10 (#245 - 254)

#245) Millions - Gather Scatter (2008)  hardcore from Chicago

#246) SSS - The Dividing Line (2008) 

#247) Deterior - Cleanse (2009) 

#248) Sockeye - Barf On a Globe (1999) 

#249) Tenhi - Airut:aamujen (2004) neofolk from Finland

#250) Vektor - Black Future (2009) 

#251) Artortured - Dimensions of Suffering (2012)  

#252) Atavist - II:Ruined (2007) drone doom

#253) Circle - Miljard (2006) 

#254) The Sound of Animals Fighting - Lover, the Lord Has Left Us (2006) 

August 21 - 31 (#234 - 244)

#234) Pinkish Black - Pinkish Black (2012) 

#235) The Blind Shake - Carmel (2007) 

#236) Death in June - The World That Summer (1986) 

#237) Keuhkot - Toimintatapoja Olioille (2005) 

#238) Captain Ahab - The Great Disappointment (2006) 

#239) 16 Volt - Demography: The Basement Tapes (2000) collection of old tracks and demos

#240) Portugal. The Man - Censored Colors (2008) 

#241) Captain Ahab - The Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (2010) live tracks

#242) Captain Ahab - The Sex Is Next (2004) 

#243) The Phantom Carriage - Late Comers (2005) 

#244) Ramona Falls - Intuit (2009)  

August 11 - 20 (#224 - 233)

#224) Brutal Truth - End Time (2011) 

#225) Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip - Angles (2008) 

#226) Nesseria - Nesseria (2010) blackened hardcore

#227) Nadja - When I See the Sun Always Shines on TV (2009) 

#228) Assault Squad Safety Scissors - The Children Are Our Future and So Are Flying Cars (2007)  

#229) Captain Ahab - After the Rain My Heart Still Dreams (2006) 

#230 - 232) Merzbow - Another Merzbow Records (2010) collects various tracks off splits and comps released between 1991 and 2001

#233) Great Falls - Fontanelle (2010) 

Richard Cheese - The Sunny Side of the Moon

#162) Richard Cheese - The Sunny Side of the Moon (2006)

 1. Rape Me (Nirvana)
 2. People = Shit (Slipknot)
 3. Baby Got Back (Sir Mix-A-Lot)
 4. Girls, Girls, Girls (Motley Crue)
 5. Closer (NIN)
 6. Bust A Move (Young MC)
 7. Down With the Sickness (Disturbed)
 8. Sunday Bloody Sunday (U2)
 9. Freak On a Leash (Korn)
 10. Nookie (Limp Bizkit)
 11. Another Brick In the Wall (Pink Floyd)
 12. Rock the Casbah (The Clash)
 13. Fight For Your Right (The Beastie Boys)
 14. Hot For Teacher (Van Halen)
 15. Gin and Juice (Snoop Dogg)
 16. Come Out and Play (Offspring)
 17. Badd (Ying Yang Twins)
 18. Creep (Radiohead)

Richard Cheese, along with his band Lounge Against the Machine, takes songs from a wide variety of bands, some good, a lot bad, and turns them (or "swankifies" them as he says...somewhere i think) into amazing lounge jams
this album claims that it's a "best of" but that's kind of misleading. 4 of the tracks ("Bust a Move", "Freak on a Leash", "Another Brick In the Wall" and "Badd") are brand new and 7 tracks ("Rape Me", "Closer", "Nookie", "Fight For Your Right", "Gin and Juice", "Come Out and Play" and "Creep") are full band re-recordings of older tracks, so only 7 tracks on here are available on the previously released albums.
the re-recorded tracks are off the first album, Richard Cheese  Lounge Against the Machine, which featured all synthesized instruments. the full band makes a huge difference and the tracks sound great. 
this is one of the few times i'd recommend a "best of" for both new and old fans.

04/24/12: Serengeti - Dennehy (2006)

04/24/12: Serengeti - Dennehy (2006)

1. Critters
2. In's and Out's
3. Feeding
4. I Don't Know
5. Dennehy
6. iPod
7. Lineage
8. Meth
9. Love You But
10. Don't Talk To Jueles
11. Derek
12. Go Paint
13. New Dodge
14. Derek In Paris
15. The Neeg
16. Ozzie Guillen
17. New Dodge (Remix)

     I listened to a good amount of Serengeti now, and this seemed to be an important release in his career due to the fact that he debuted his character Kenny Dennis on this album. Kenny Dennis is the middle aged Chicago Rapper that I mentioned earlier. This album is really rad and tells a rough story of multiple characters including Dennis, Derek, and the Emo Kid. The beats are nothing oiut of the ordinary and very entertaining. What sets this album apart from a normal hip hop record is the fact that his characters are incredibly strange, nowhere near as good of rappers as Serengeti himself and they rap about incredibly off key topics like Brats, being emo, missing iPods, and Meth sales. Good album that is completely worth a listen, but not what Serengeti intended this album to be. I will cover that in the next entry with the "rerelease" of Dennehy. (115)

The Paper Chase - Now You Are One Of Us

Come Hell Or High Water This Sick World Will Know I Was Here

#133) The Paper Chase - Now You Are One Of Us (2006)

 1. It's Out There and It's Gonna Get You
 2. We Know Where You Sleep
 3. The Kids Will Grow Up To Be Assholes
 4. Wait Until I Get My Hands On You
 5. You Will Never Take Me Alive
 6. Delivered In A Firm Unyielding Way Lingering For Just A Bit Too Long To Communicate The Message "I Own You"
 7. The Most Important Part of Your Body
 8. What's So Amazing About Grace
 9. You're One of Them, Aren't You?
 10. The Song Will Eat Itself
 11. ...And All the Candy You Can Eat
 12. All Manner Of Pox Or Canker
 13. At the Other End of the Leash
 14. We Will Make You One of Us
 15. The House Is Alive and the House Is Hungry

this is Paper Chase's 4th full length. there's not really a lot to say about it that i didn't say in my post about their last album God Bless Your Black Heart. the music is full of beautiful melodies and jagged guitars and noise, they continue to have strange sampley "instrumental" tracks and Congleton's lyrics remain as dark and sarcastic as ever. in fact, overall this is probably their darkest album yet. the cover art and the inside of the booklet (which reminds me of John Doe's notebooks in Se7en) also lend a kind of creepy, mysterious vibe to the darkness. another strange and amazing album from Congleton and Co.

Acid Mothers Temple and the Cosmic Inferno - Starless and Bible Black Sabbath

#119) Acid Mothers Temple and the Cosmic Inferno - Starless and Bible Black Sabbath (2006)

 1. Starless and Bible Black Sabbath
 2. Woman From a Hell


Acid Mothers Temple is a strange and confusing band to talk about. it's basically a collective. there are about 8 or 9 bands that are all "Acid Mothers Something Or Other" and they all play different styles. i've heard a couple albums by the Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso UFO iteration but had no idea of the scope of this band until now. AMT and the Cosmic Inferno combines the free form psychedelic rock of what i heard from the Melting UFO collective with a kind of stoner doom vibe. the first track is 34:30 and starts off with some really mellow riffs and guitar noodling but around the 9 minute mark the tempo kicks up and becomes this noisy psych doom jam that lasts for around 7 minutes before slowing back down into the beginning riff with more noisy guitar soloing over it. i would guess that all the soloing is free form as it's pretty noisy, chaotic stuff but i could be wrong. the 2nd track is a more streamlined 6 minutes of high speed metal. it's still got the noisy psych feel but it also feels more structured.
they're both really cool tracks that show 2 different sides of the band. hopefully i'll be able to track down more of the various AMT releases.

Monarch! - Dead Men Tell No Tales

Sailing Over A Sea Of Flames, Onward Towards A Sea Of Blood

97) Monarch! - Dead Men Tell No Tales (2007)

Speak of the Sea (2006)

 1. We Are the Music Makers (long version)
 2. Speak of the Devil, Speak of the Sea
 3. Dead Men Tell No Tales (Spoken Version)

No Song Can Drown Out 1000 Dying Screams

Die Tonight (2007)

 1. Winter Bride
 2. Swan Song

Monarch is from Bayonne, France and Dead Men Tell No Tales is a 2 disc reissue of their out of print 2nd and 3rd albums. they play some fucking crushing, glacial doom and have an awesome singer.

Speak of the Sea was originally limited to 666 copies. 

Die Tonight was also limited to 666 copies and continues in the blackened feedback/riff slab footsteps of the previous album. 

this shit is minimal, dark and slooooooow and it just jumped to the top of my favorite records list.

03/21/12: Volcano! - Beautiful Seizure (2006)

03/21/12: Volcano! - Beautiful Seizure (2006)

1. Kalamazoo
2. Easy Does It
3. Fire Fire
4. $40,000 Plus Interest
5. Larchmontt's Arrival
6. La Lluvia
7. Red and White Bells
8. Apple or a Gun
9. Frozen in Escape
10. Before the Suburbs
11. Hello Explosion
12. Pulling My Face In and Out of Distortion, I Blink Too Much

     Volcano! is a band I discovered during this project when oksentaminen made the end of January's theme "Local Bands". Still is probably one of my favorite discoveries of the project. I reviewed their second full-length Paperwork and it blew me away. This is their first and only other full-length so far. This album was also really good, but I need to give it a couple more listens. In comparison to Paperwork, Beautiful Seizure is a bit more avant-garde, art rock, and experimental. Paperwork was all of those things as well but at a different ratio. I really enjoyed this album, there was a lot more noisey parts and erratic electronic and off timed moments, but there's still the crazy catchy rockin out moments as well. I really love this singer. He jumps around so much from crazy and almost growling to parts that are almost opera like. He sings back and forth between English and Spanish. The only thing negative I feel the need to say is that I wish the production quality was a little nicer, but its still pretty good for a first release. (081)

03/08/12: Fucked Up - Hidden World (2006)

03/08/12: Fucked Up - Hidden World (2006)

1. Crusades
2. David Comes to Life
3. Invisible Leader
4. Carried Out to the Sea
5. Baiting the Public
6. Fate of Fates
7. Two Snakes
8. Hidden World
9. Manqueller Man
10. Blaze of Glory
11. Triumph of Life
12. Jacobs Ladder
13. Vivian Girls

     I reviewed "The Chemistry of Common Life" by Fucked Up earlier in this project and it did not disappoint. "Hidden World" is their first full-length but they released a long steady stream of 7" singles and E.P.s before this. I picked up a couple compilations of their many early releases and will be reviewing them later. After flipping through some of their earlier tracks I half-expected that "Hidden World" would be drastically different and not nearly as interesting as their later releases. I was very wrong.
     Fucked Up now accounts for 3 of my favorite "hardcore" records of all time. As with their other albums, it is epic in length for a hardcore punk album at over 70 minutes. That's whats so amazing about their music; They vary their style and throw enough musical surprises at you that the songs never get boring. There is more of a straightforward punk and hardcore feel to some of these songs than on the later record's more anthem rock feel but that is to be expected from their first album. They were just starting to shed and manipulate what was expected from their music scene. This album surprised me with musical devices like a small string interlude or a whistle solo.
     The album's lyrics are quite religious but it was just to fit with the theme of the real world vs the hidden world. The lyrics are ridiculously poetic and I only say ridiculously because of the juxtaposition of these lyrics being sung by a hardcore singer. The music is unique and familiar at the same time. the lyrics are awesome and intense and this album is a great listen. You need to check out all 3 of their full-lengths because they are all spectacular. (068)

Pentagram - First Daze Here/First Daze Here Too

I Only See The Graveyard Dancer Who Lead Me Down Into The Abyss

#59a) Pentagram - First Daze Here (2001)

 1. Forever My Queen
 2. When the Screams Come
 3. Walk in the Blue Light
 4. Starlady
 5. Lazylady
 6. Review Your Choices
 7. Hurricane
 8. Livin' in a Ram's Head
 9. Earth Flight
 10. 20 Buck Spin
 11. Be Forewarned
 12. Last Days Here

59b) First Daze Here Too (2006)

 Disc 1

 1. Wheel of Fortune
 2. When the Screams Come
 3. Under My Thumb
 4. Smokescreen
 5. Teaser
 6. Little Games
 7. Much Too Young to Know
 
Disc 2

 1. Virgin Death
 2. Yes I Do
 3. Ask No More
 4. Man
 5. Be Forewarned
 6. Catwalk
 7. Die In Your Sleep
 8. Frustration
 9. Target
 10. Everything's Turning to Night
 11. Take Me Away
 12. Nightmare Gown
 13. Cartwheel
 14. Cat & Mouse
 15. Show 'em How


theme time again, this time adam_biedermann got to choose and he went with 70s. at first i thought "cool, that'll finally get me to listen to some Pentagram" a band that i've been meaning to check out for a while now. however my enthusiasm was quickly curbed when i discovered that though Pentagram formed in '71 and released a few singles, they didn't actually release a full length until 1985. curses... luckily Relapse came to my rescue with this 3 disc collection of recordings spanning '71 to '76, which covers what many consider the "classic" line-up of the band, Bobby Liebling on vocals, Vincent McAllister on guitar, Greg Mayne on bass and Geof O'Keefe on drums. these discs contain some of the 7" tracks as well as a bunch of demos and practice space recordings, or warehouse recordings as the band refers to them.

Pentagram was formed in '71 by Bobby and Geof who were both unhappy with their current bands. over the next 5 years the band entered the studio several times, wrote nearly 80 original songs, broke up and reunited without ever getting a contract or any real mainstream recognition. it's a shame because this is some great old school metal, the first wave when metal bands still had big fuzzy blues riffs and big fuzzy hair. these guys were basically America's lesser known version of Black Sabbath who, along with Blue Cheer, are cited as big influences on the band. in this collection of early stuff you can hear the band kind of bounce between more traditional 70s hard rock and that early metal sound. 

Japanese Torture Comedy Hour - Volatage Monster

Earth Sized Microwave

#51) Japanese Torture Comedy Hour - Volatage Monster (2006)


 1. Total Memory Loss
 2. Explosions in Ward 6
 3. Black Mathematics
 4. Pollination
 5. Earth Sized Microwave
 6. Prowler in the Yard
 7. Atmospheres

so here's another Scott Hull project. he describes it as a hybrid of noisecore and power electronics. i couldn't really find a lot of info about this project and searching for something with the words "japanese torture" in it leads to a lot of strange results (Japanese Enema Torture?). i do know that this project features Hull, his Agoraphobic Nosebleed bandmate Jay Randall, Chris Leamy, Andrew Kokes and Chris Carlson.  if you dig harsh electronics then check this stuff out.

Plague Bringer - As The Ghosts Collect, The Corpses Rest

We Should Not Be Permitted This Quiet Privilege Of Breathing

#47) Plague Bringer - As The Ghosts Collect, The Corpses Rest (2006)

 1. Burn Ward Whore
 2. Hope and Slow Murder
 3. No Such Nothing
 4. Halo Trauma
 5. The Somnambulist
 6. Splinters Through a Straw
 7. Impaled Faith

Plague Bringer are a 2 man drum machine grind band (e-grind, digigrind, cybergrind, whatever...) from Chicago and this is their first record. this a band who's name i had heard a few times and had meant to check out but never got around to. 
though they use a drum machine, this album isn't so much Genghis Tron as it is some blistering death/grind with a touch of experimentation. there are a lot of great riffs on this record and the drum programming is really well done. overall, i prefered Life Songs but this was still a really solid album and a great debut. even though they haven't released a record since Life Songs (they did release a single in 2010) i'm really hoping to hear from these guys again.

02/10/12: Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist (2006)

02/10/12: Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist (2006)

1. Hole in the Earth
2. Rapture
3. Beware
4. Cherry Waves
5. Mein (feat Serj Tankian)
6. U, U, D, D, L, R, L, R, A, B, Select, Start
7. Xerces
8. Rats!Rats!Rats!
9. Pink Cellphone
10. Combat
11. Kimdracula
12. Riviére

     I have an on-again off-again relationship with the Deftones. I really like Chino's voice and a tend to like some of their music. I can usually find a jam or 2 on any Deftones album but the only album of theirs I ever really fell in love with was "White Pony" which is of course the most different of them all. They came out with their self titled record after White Pony and it had a couple tracks that really blew me away but the rest of the album was "meh". I have had "Saturday Night Wrist for awhile but I never did more than flip through a few tracks here and there. Well it ends up I was missing out on one of their best albums.
     I don't know what it is. It seemed like a more focused effort but I did some reading and it seemed to be quite the opposite. It was their first album away from their long time producer Terry Date. There were tensions within the band as well as tension between Chino and the New Producer Bob Ezrin. Chino was also dealing with a drug problem, going through a divorce and working on his side project Team Sleep. He apparently considered walking away from the band after this album but all of the negativity brought one of their best efforts.
     It is a moody and atmospheric album overall but it definitely touches all of the Deftones bases of the past. There are super heavy parts, super catchy parts, echoey howling parts, electronic parts. Great album and one of my new favorites by them. I'm sure I'll find more reasons to listen to Chino sing throughout this project. (041)

Igorrr - Poisson Soluble

Mastication Numérique

 

#41) Igorrr - Poisson Soluble (2006)
 1. Petit Prélude Périmé
 2. Mastication Numérique
 3. Tartine De Contrebasse
 4. Pizza Aux Narines
 5. Dixit Dominus
 6. Sueur De Caniche
 7. Dieu Est-Il Un Être?
 8. Sorbet Aux Ongles
 9. GroDJi (Featuring Indian Sonic)
 10. Ganapati (Featuring Indian Sonic)
 11. Remix Bleed
 12. Valse En-Décomposition (Raoul Sinier Recomposition)
 13. Melting Nails (Rotator Redux)

Igorrr is a 1 man project consisting of Gautier Serre and Poisson Soluble (Soluble Fish) is his first record. i first heard Igorrr a couple years ago when i randomly downloaded his 2nd album Moisissure (Mold) off the Acroplane records site and was instantly hooked. unfortunately at the time Poisson Soluble was only available on vinyl and i was not set up for that. luckily last year Ad Noiseam released a 2 disc set that included Poisson and Moisissure on cd, which i believe is the first time they were widely available in that format. don't know why it's taken me so long to listen to but whatever.

this is some crazy music. i don't even know how to describe what he does here in a manner that will truly convey how bizarre and brilliant Igorrr is. glitchy baroque breakcore metal? these tracks weave so effortlessly through genres that it's amazing. instead of me struggling to describe this just do yourself a favor and go to Acroplane's site and download a copy of Moisissure , it's free (legally of course) and you won't regret it. 

Pink Razors

I've Never Been So Happy To Not Belong Anywhere

#32a) Pink Razors - Scene Suicide (2005)

 1. Fine Food
 2. Dear Jurisprudence
 3. Do You Wanna Go To Maymont? (Coupleskate)
 4. Blackout Detective
 5. Totally Nautical, Dude
 6. Pour It Straight Onto My Brain
 7. Dogs In Headlocks
 8. Burglarized!

i decided to start February off with something a little lighter and more straightforward. enter Pink Razors, some good old fashioned pop punk. not radio bullshit punk but unpretentious, fun, sing along punk.
Scene Suicide is their debut album. according to the label's website the band features member's of Stop It!!. this album also continues my streak of listening to albums that Scott Hull has mastered but nothing that Hull has played on.
like i said before, these guys play straight up old school pop punk. nothing fancy or post anything about it. at times it reminded me of Screeching Weasel bands like that. the 8 songs on this album fly by in 12 minutes and that's the way it should be. the lyrics are sarcastic and the riffs are simple but solid. definitely a rad album.

#32b) Pink Razors - Waiting to Wash Up (2006)

 1. Disapproval Rating
 2. Bigger Boat
 3. The New Justice (I Wanna Be)
 4. Sew It Seams
 5. Comfortably Dumb
 6. Sincerity Is So Pretentious
 7. Get Out of the Shower (You're Already Washed Up)
 8. Up a Lazy River
 9. Spring Fevers
 10. Summer Colds
 11. Dischord, Datchord
 12. Prince of the Land of Stench
 13. If We Can't Sit at the Table (Then Let's Knock the Fucking Legs Off)
 14. Pinch a Penny, Grab a Dollar
 15. Self-Pity Begot Self-Importance

so since Scene Suicide was so short i figured i'd listen to their full length as well. 15 tracks and 22 minutes later i still think this is a rad band. there's not a lot to say about this album that's different from what i had to say about the other one. other than the fact that their songwriting got a little tighter there's nothing drastically different between these 2 releases. and in this case that's a good thing.

Windmills by the Ocean - Windmills by the Ocean

 Blood On Our Souls

#21) Windmills by the Ocean - Windmills by the Ocean (2006)

 1. Undecided
 2. Blasphemy
 3. I Try
 4. Disintegrating
 5. Blood On Our Souls   

yet another random buy. i didn't know anything about these guys going in and i still don't know much. really the biggest bit of info i found is that the guitarist in this band is also the guitarist for Isis and Red Sparowes.
this was recorded in 2003 but not released until 06, i couldn't find any info as to why though. Encyclopaedia Metallum has these guys listed as "Instrumental Atmospheric Sludge Metal". as for the track list, i've seen it listed the way i have and as having all the tracks listed as "Untitled", i'm not sure which is correct, there's no track listing at all with the cd so i'm just gonna go with this.
while this album didn't really have anything new or mind blowing going on i did enjoy it. the songs were well crafted and they had a kind of trancy repetitive feel to them that i really liked. it should also be taken into account that in 2003 there probably wasn't such an over saturation of "post" bands doing this sort of thing, maybe if i would've heard it back then it would have seemed fresher. regardless, it was a solid listen and i'll likely pick up their 2nd album.