Mesmer Machine – ‘Stereo
System Test Record’ (Madroad Recordings/Cathouse Records)
This
has got that late eighties/early nineties psychedelic alt rock sound all over
it. It’s kind of like Jane’s Addiction, Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody
Valentine, Sky Cries Mary and Warrior Soul mixed together, with melodic,
slightly mopey vocals soaked in reverb and lots of guitar effects, and swirling
drones providing the sonic texture. That’s cool up to a point, but it can start
to get boring. Luckily Mesmer Machine isn’t just a one trick pony. The poppy
“Sugarglue” and the hard rocking “Big Lizards” and “Electric Tribe” prevent
things from getting too monotonous. That still leaves us with about 6 downbeat
mid tempo shoe-gazing numbers, though, which is probably a couple too many for
my tastes. Still, ‘Stereo System Test Record’ is a pretty decent album, and
fans of the shoe gazing stuff will probably like it even more than I did. (Bob
Ignizio)
This
is a CD that you will either love or hate...there is NO in between. 'Memento
Mori' is the latest release from Swedish Black-Metal merchants Mordant, and it
has a bargain-basement production that annoys the living hell out of my wife.
Of course, she'd rather gnaw off her ring finger than digest the amount of
Black/Death metal I get to writing for Utter Trash, but that's why yours truly
is the one writing this. Personally, I fall into the "lovin it" portion of the
listening public, but that's because this reminds me of old-old-school Black
Metal, when Possessed was as high-tech as BM got. If you think the metal world
has gone to hell since Cirith Ungol broke up, then this CD is for you. Lead
grunter Bitchfire's vocals are firmly in the Possessed/Jeff Becerra vein, and
the lyrics are delightfully cheesy ("Necrophiliacs From The Darkness of Hell"...ya
gotta love it!). The production is dark and churning, though the guitars could
have stood to have been thicker-sounding. Overall, a killer album to get stoned
to. The Heathen Hippy gives it three and a half inverted crucifixes. (Taliesin
Govannon)
Napalm Death – ‘The Code is
Red…Long Live the Code’ (Century Media)
After having a
little fun last time around with their covers collection ‘Leaders Not Followers
Part 2’, Napalm Death is back with another angry and brutal collection of
originals. And while ‘The Code is Red…’ never lets up on its assault, there’s
still a fair amount of sonic variety. Songs like “All Hail the Great Dawn”,
“Silence is Deafening”, and the title track feature complex arrangements and
tempo changes, while “Right You Are” and “Diplomatic Immunity” are short simple
bursts of pure rage. There’s even a bit of experimental type stuff, most
notably the closing tracks “Morale” and “Our Pain is Their Power” which remind
me a bit of Chrome. Although my promo copy didn’t come with a lyric sheet (and
Barney Greenway isn’t the most easily understandable vocalist), the song titles
make it pretty clear that Napalm Death are still railing against the system.
The musicianship is incredible throughout, and the production is appropriately
raw. Napalm Death were one of the first (if not the first) grindcore/death
metal bands, and with this release they show that they’re still one of the
best. (Bob Ignizio)
Neurotic
was a progressive-rock jam band fronted by local indie guitarist Rick Ray circa
the late 1970's. Now, Rick has released ‘Mazy Craniacs’, the results of one
day's recording in mid-1979. If you are a fan of 70's post-Wishbone Ash
progressive space rock, then this CD is a real find. The band is tight but
loose (a state sought by many but found by only a fortunate few), melodic yet
technical, and overall aurally deep. Most of the offerings are instrumentals
but that's OK...vocals always seem to get in the way in music like this (did
anybody ever listen to bands like Focus for the singing?). Seldom has a
rock band ever incorporated clarinet into a band like these guys do. That
statement sounds odd, doesn't it? Well, that about sums up the
band...delightfully cerebral, precociously precise, and entertainingly obtuse.
If those words pique your interest, then definitely give this CD a listen. If
you'd rather volunteer for a firing squad than go to a Yes concert, then you'll
probably give it a pass. I, personally, dug it. The Heathen Hippy gives it
three and a half hits of acid. (Taliesin Govannon)
This
has got that late eighties/early nineties psychedelic alt rock sound all over
it. It’s kind of like Jane’s Addiction, Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody
Valentine, Sky Cries Mary and Warrior Soul mixed together, with melodic,
slightly mopey vocals soaked in reverb and lots of guitar effects, and swirling
drones providing the sonic texture. That’s cool up to a point, but it can start
to get boring. Luckily Mesmer Machine isn’t just a one trick pony. The poppy
“Sugarglue” and the hard rocking “Big Lizards” and “Electric Tribe” prevent
things from getting too monotonous. That still leaves us with about 6 downbeat
mid tempo shoe-gazing numbers, though, which is probably a couple too many for
my tastes. Still, ‘Stereo System Test Record’ is a pretty decent album, and
fans of the shoe gazing stuff will probably like it even more than I did. (Bob
Ignizio)
This
is a CD that you will either love or hate...there is NO in between. 'Memento
Mori' is the latest release from Swedish Black-Metal merchants Mordant, and it
has a bargain-basement production that annoys the living hell out of my wife.
Of course, she'd rather gnaw off her ring finger than digest the amount of
Black/Death metal I get to writing for Utter Trash, but that's why yours truly
is the one writing this. Personally, I fall into the "lovin it" portion of the
listening public, but that's because this reminds me of old-old-school Black
Metal, when Possessed was as high-tech as BM got. If you think the metal world
has gone to hell since Cirith Ungol broke up, then this CD is for you. Lead
grunter Bitchfire's vocals are firmly in the Possessed/Jeff Becerra vein, and
the lyrics are delightfully cheesy ("Necrophiliacs From The Darkness of Hell"...ya
gotta love it!). The production is dark and churning, though the guitars could
have stood to have been thicker-sounding. Overall, a killer album to get stoned
to. The Heathen Hippy gives it three and a half inverted crucifixes. (Taliesin
Govannon)
After having a
little fun last time around with their covers collection ‘Leaders Not Followers
Part 2’, Napalm Death is back with another angry and brutal collection of
originals. And while ‘The Code is Red…’ never lets up on its assault, there’s
still a fair amount of sonic variety. Songs like “All Hail the Great Dawn”,
“Silence is Deafening”, and the title track feature complex arrangements and
tempo changes, while “Right You Are” and “Diplomatic Immunity” are short simple
bursts of pure rage. There’s even a bit of experimental type stuff, most
notably the closing tracks “Morale” and “Our Pain is Their Power” which remind
me a bit of Chrome. Although my promo copy didn’t come with a lyric sheet (and
Barney Greenway isn’t the most easily understandable vocalist), the song titles
make it pretty clear that Napalm Death are still railing against the system.
The musicianship is incredible throughout, and the production is appropriately
raw. Napalm Death were one of the first (if not the first) grindcore/death
metal bands, and with this release they show that they’re still one of the
best. (Bob Ignizio)
Neurotic
was a progressive-rock jam band fronted by local indie guitarist Rick Ray circa
the late 1970's. Now, Rick has released ‘Mazy Craniacs’, the results of one
day's recording in mid-1979. If you are a fan of 70's post-Wishbone Ash
progressive space rock, then this CD is a real find. The band is tight but
loose (a state sought by many but found by only a fortunate few), melodic yet
technical, and overall aurally deep. Most of the offerings are instrumentals
but that's OK...vocals always seem to get in the way in music like this (did
anybody ever listen to bands like Focus for the singing?). Seldom has a
rock band ever incorporated clarinet into a band like these guys do. That
statement sounds odd, doesn't it? Well, that about sums up the
band...delightfully cerebral, precociously precise, and entertainingly obtuse.
If those words pique your interest, then definitely give this CD a listen. If
you'd rather volunteer for a firing squad than go to a Yes concert, then you'll
probably give it a pass. I, personally, dug it. The Heathen Hippy gives it
three and a half hits of acid. (Taliesin Govannon)