Locus Noir- Shadow Sun

 Hey, ain't you lucky! Two posts in one day. Amazing!

So, one style that I have always had a very love/hate relationship with is Gothic Metal. I love Type O Negative and some other bands but the style seemed, in the 2000's, to morph into what I call "Sad Bastard Metal" (to paraphrase Nick Cave). It lost what made it darkly triumphant and just became people whining about stuff and I've never been a huge fan of that. 

So here comes Locus Noir. This is a band that comes from the singer, Ben DMN, of Sybreed... who I know almost nothing about with the exception that they made some waves 10-15 years ago. The lead singer formed this project to reclaim the "spirit of 90's Gothic Metal". Well, I AM a fan of 90's Gothic Metal so let's see if he succeeded.

Actually I would say so. Locus Noir released two singles, one with Ben Christo (for those of you playing the home game, the guitarist of Sisters of Mercy). I rather enjoyed both songs. I played them pretty often. But listening to the record those are probably the weakest songs. The album bounces with keyboard driven darkness over metal guitars and clashing drums.  Ben's voice definitely has that low tone you want in a good Gothic singer but his voice has texture and character all its own. The keyboards set the right atmosphere and the guitars chug enough to remind the listener they are listening to a metal album. Even the Lady Gaga, "Marry the Night", works well and sets the pace for triumph in darkness as opposed to crying about stuff all the time. There are themes of tragedy, of course. They are just dealt with in a manner of more defiance than sadness, which I prefer. All in all an effort I have already revisited a few times since it was released in February. 

Highlights: Shadow Sun, She Haunts the Night and Death, that Elusive Mistress. While these are the best songs on the record the whole thing is worth the price of admission even the two bonus tracks (one of which is the cover I mentioned). So go on and check them out especially if you're a fan of Type O Negative, early Moonspell and Dreadful Shadows. 

Live Report: Weedeater and Conan.

 So I dd not, in fact, get that review out. Oh, well, that's life. But Anyway we move forward.


I haven't been to a small club show in forever. We're taking pre- Covid. This is mostly for logistics reasons and has nothing to do with the virus. 


Well, I heard Weedeater was coming around and we all know I love my Southern sludge, so off my girl and I went to see this massive bill of 4 bands. Pretty good value for the ticket price. 

Ah, but were they any good? That is a great question, dear reader, so let's get into it. 


Bigfoot- I have never heard of these guys in my life. Apparently they've been around for over a decade and I find it hard to believe I have NEVER crossed paths with 'em but here we are. I was skeptical because I've heard them referred to as a "stoner rock" band and, I'll be honest, most modern stoner rock bores me to tears. Well, I shouldn't have worried. These guys kicked serious ass. Their music was loud and wild. The lead singer looked a little like Charles Manson and gave off a threatening and yet charismatic aura. You couldn't help following him and his antics. The music is definitely heavy southern tinged hard rock and they were a lot of fun live. Even working in a medley of "Bang Your Head(Metal Health)" and "Peaches" [Yes, the song by the Presidents of the United States of America] that completely worked. This was a great way to start off the evening and one of the better openers I've ever seen. 

Telekentic Yeti- So when I said I don't really like stoner rock, I'm talking about bands like Telekinetic Yeti. These guys are great musicians but I get pretty bored with the same Hawkwind-isms over and over and every song being about pot. I grew up on the beginnings of stoner rock (I.e Monster Magnet, Kyuss, etc.) and they didn't make getting high their entire personality. But I digress. Live they weren't bad. The lead singer wasn't the most charismatic but he ably fronted the band. The drummer did do something interesting by positioning his drum kit to the side so you could see his whole body. He was pretty fun to watch. Musically they were best when they locked into a heavy groove which didn't happen nearly enough. Look, if you like this style of music you could do a lot worse than checking out Telekinetic Yeti live.

Conan- So ,I have to be honest, I've never got the appeal of Conan. Yes, I love doom and sludge and, on paper, they would seem to be up my alley but there's just something missing. I call Conan "Adult Swim" metal. It feels pretty irony- heavy rather than sincere and I'm never sure if they're just pulling some massive Andy Kaufman- style joke on metalheads. But,hey, what do I know? I went ahead and gave them a shot as I've never seen them live before. Maybe they could convince me of their worth? Yeah, that wasn't in the cards. Their set was one of the most boring sets I've ever witnessed.  I mean they were slow and heavy and all but the guitarist had set up his rig in such a way that you couldn't hear what was happening and the guitar was just constantly feedbacking even through the songs. No riffs were audible and it made his attempt to play a solo laughable. To be fair, No one else really seemed to care since a large mosh pit (???) opened up in the crowd. Also the band had no charisma at all and they felt like they were each playing a different show.   It was just very bland in my opinion. Also moshing to Conan is crazy work, as the kids these days say. 

Weedeater- This is my second time seeing Weedeater as I saw them in the 2000's at a small club show. They were very good again. They were successfully low and heavy but I somehow heard and felt every riff (maybe Conan should take note). Dixie was hilarious as he was squinting and vibrating like a lunatic. He opened to show by saying "We are Weedeater from Wilmington, NC; welcome to band practice." You knew what you were getting into; They played their great cover of "Give Me Back My bullets" as well which the crowd screamed over the band. The guitarist and the drummer also ably interacted with the audience but the real star was Dixie with his twitching, jumping around and wild bass playing. It was a lot of fun that, rightly, started up a huge mosh pit. Weedeater is a great band that I suggest seeing live often as well as listen to all their records. If they tour near you, go check them out.

Honestly, Bigfoot was the best live band out of the four and I look forward to seeing them again the most. Anyway, thank you reading and I'll be back with another record review in the next few days.

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men...

 Welp, no second review this week. I got pretty sick and am still recovering.


I'm pretty sure you'll get 2 reviews Next Week, with one coming out Monday. 

Thanks for reading and stay tuned more is definitely coming from this little blog.

Seethe Griever- Nausea; Ad Nauseam

 I actually meant to get this up last week but, again, life gets in the way. So, you should get 2 reviews this week. Hooray for you! Anyway onto the review.

"Listen to Grief". 

This is listed on the band's Bandcamp page in the bio. An exhortation, if you will. But also an obvious statement of intent. and possibly even a threat. 

I discovered Sludgecore in 1993 but had no idea what I was listening to until 1994 when I picked up "Grief- Come To Grief". Now, I'm aware none of the bands  really wanted the label. That tends to be the way with innovators but I think its one of the few times a reviewer labeled a style of music independent of bands desires correctly. These bands were obviously heavier than what most were calling "Doom" at the time and, unlike Death/doom, were also clearly more influenced by hardcore than they were by metal. 

When I listened to "Come To Grief", I instantly fell in love. I dove headfirst into this world of dark, slow and depressive music with no hesitation. I was ravenously devouring anything released by Slap-a-Ham, Theologian and Pessimiser records, especially Pessimiser. That was my most favorite label at the time. I never really looked back with the exception of "Sludge" losing all the dark and heavy parts but that was later.

This brings us to this EP.  It was released last year but I am only now hearing it. And, man, does this project LOVE Grief. That's not a knock on it at all. It does a great job of capturing mid 90's sludge. The 11 minute opener, Nausea; Ad Nauseam, slowly rolls over you like a Sherman tank, all nastiness and ill intent. "He Was Still Teething" opens with a harrowing sample of a girl describing nearly skinning herself while cutting then plods into a slow, brutal track whose title implies horrific possibilities. "Hunted Down" shows a slightly experimental side in the sense that the vocalist uses clean vocals, which work very well on that track, that sometimes duet with the growl normally employed and musically is probably the fastest paced track on the EP, though I would hesitate to even call it "mid- paced".

As I said, this captures what was happening musically in the mid 90's as far as "sludge" goes but, while the love for Grief is obvious I think they have a path that may show them doing their own thing. Specifically in the vocal choices in the final track, which I think is my favorite.  They have a new recording coming out in June so we can all look forward to the horror and misery.

Highlights: Hunted Down but, again, the whole recording is great if you're into the sludgecore sound. Highly recommended from this here blog. Check them out and, indeed, LISTEN TO GRIEF!


https://seethegrieverdoom.bandcamp.com/

Singe- Sin, Waste and Decay

 See, I told you there'd be a new review this week.


So, I really like metal/rock that finds a way to combine ferocity with a dark and threatening atmosphere of some kind. It's actually pretty hard to find but when I was young it was  pretty normal. From Acid Bath to Alice In Chains to Karma to Burn's first record you usually found it somewhere in music. I include Scissorfight in that list as well.  But it's been harder to come by recently. 

Enter new band Singe. I discovered these guys randomly on Spotify and decided to listen to this EP. Its a powerful display of atmospheric rage infused underground heaviness. From the aggressive stomp of "Settling Scores" to the noise rock/grunge sounding power of "Horsie" through the psychedelic horror of "Dusk". It all ends in the poisonous rhythm of "Lucky Strike" which comes after a spoken word interlude "VI I IV" which sounds like it would easily fit into an underground horror flick. 

This EP pulls together all the good parts of sludgecore, grunge and nu-metal. The music is well written and effortlessly flows from wild insane rage to creeping psychedelia not unlike all of the bands I mentioned in the first paragraph, The drums pound in the right moments. Guitar riffs easily move from heavy crunch to barely controlled acoustic parts. The bass perfectly compliments this formula by sinuously slithering between the drums and guitars. The lead singer has tons of charisma and can  summon absolute rage in one moment and in the next moment shatter your expectations with true tortured vulnerability.  Like the rest of the band, he is capable of combining moods and textures to compliment the songwriting for the needs of the song. 

Considering this is a debut EP and they only really released 2 other songs as "demos", this is an incredibly strong debut.  I first heard it about a week ago and have listened to it most days since. I can't see not listening to it often in the near future and believe it will be in my plays for years to come, not unlike the bands mentioned in the first paragraph. 

Standout tracks are: Dusk and Lucky Strike but the whole EP is very good, so you should definitely check them out of your a fan of any of the releases I mentioned earlier. I hope Singe do very well and get popular in hard rock and Heavy Metal circles. They deserve success and I look forward to more from this talented young band, Anyway, check them out.

https://singect.bandcamp.com/album/sin-waste-decay

...And We're back!

 "Guess who's back... Back again... Yes, he's back... Tell a friend."


Hello there fellow heads of metal,


    Well, it has been a while, hasn't it? I know, ya missed me. Welp, I'm an adult and things do get in the way sometimes. I'll be 50 years old next year. Dang, I didn't think I'd make it. 

    Honestly, most of the reason for the silence is that I've not had a lot to say about the heavier ends of rock music recently and have actually been pretty disappointed the last 8 years. Yes, I still keep up with releases and still listen to new music but most of it is from already well established bands who have strong song writing formulas. Most of the new stuff hasn't felt as vital to me, or, at least, not really worth my expounding upon.   

    Well, you might have guessed that may have changed a little. So this week we start up the reviews again. I have 3 releases I know I'll be talking about here and all of them are worth highlighting.  There are also a few fairly historic shows coming to my area that I will be going to see and will review them here. A new fire has been lit under my ass as it were, at least for the time being. Hell, there may even be an interview or two. We'll see.

    I know its been a while and I know a lot of my readers may not come back. I hope you do come back to read my thoughts on this music. I have missed doing this and hope to rebuild where I left off. 

    So, anyway, thanks for reading and be on the lookout for a new review this week and more thereafter. I hope you guys have a great day and keep rocking!