In
the grindcore arena few bands stand out as something other than the typical
fanfare of blood, death, gore, and demented medical atrocities. There is,
however, a branch off the good ol' grind tree where more than butchery is a hot
topic. Bands like Nasum, Excruciating Terror, and Disassociate---these bands
bring horror to where it really stands, the political arena. Benumb sits
comfortably on this branch as well. "By Means Of Upheaval", their 3rd full
release, shows the band continuing where ‘Withering Strands of Hope’ left off
but with the vocals more directly yelling (not screaming---YELLING!!!) in your
face. You can literally feel the breath from Pete's throat slapping your face a
good, sharp wind. Songs like "Medicated Into Submission", "Guilty of Which you
Accuse", "Breathing Life Into Predestined Failure", "Regurgitation Of the
Bacteria Which Threatens the Present State of Self", and "Free Trade, Global
Slavery" leave your cheeks red with veins ready to burst. Ok, that's a corny
description, but you get the idea. This is a great mix of grind with death
metal extremism so far one of the best releases of 2003. IN MY HUMBLE
OPINIONNNNNNNNN!!!! (Michael Salamone)
‘Damnation
and a Day’ is Cradle of Filth’s major label debut. While I know for some that
automatically means “sellout”, I don’t really care what label a band is on as
long as the resulting album kicks ass. Thankfully, not unlike Slayer (and very
few others), Cradle seems to have escaped form the underground with their sound
uncompromised. For those unfamiliar, lead vocalist Dani Filth either screeches
like a banshee or makes sinister utterances in his basso speaking voice.
Melodic female vocals add flavor on occasion, and the guitar work is reminiscent
of Iron Maiden with lots of emphasis on harmony. Gothic keyboard parts and
aggressive drumming complete the band’s sound. Of course this time around
Cradle had a little more money to spend on production, so they’ve also utilized
an orchestra and a chorus to nice effect on a few songs. ‘Damnation…’ also
continues the trend of the band’s last few albums of making Dani’s vocals a
little more understandable. The concept for the album seems to be a musical
adaptation of Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’, perfect fodder for Dani’s “word
plagues”. Lead off single ‘Babylon A.D’ is about as commercial as Cradle ever
gets, and other noteworthy tracks include “The Promise of Fever” and “Serpent
Tongue”. Much to my wife’s displeasure, I’ve been listening to this
constantly. (Bob Ignizio)
Dirty Three – ‘She Has No
Strings, Apollo’ (Touch & Go)
Dirty
Three have used the ocean imagery of guitarist Mick Turner’s paintings on many
of their releases, and seafaring is perhaps the most apt metaphor for the type
of music that they produce. Generally the Dirty Three traverse long, calm
stretches of sea building up from slightly choppy waters to full blown
turbulence sending a man or two overboard until the ship can right itself
floating calmly to shore. On ‘She Has No Strings, Apollo’ they chart a new
course, one that is perhaps a little more unpredictable than previous endeavors
but ultimately more rewarding. Mick Turner’s guitar work stands out on this
album more so than on any other release. Instead of providing a steady backdrop
to Warren Ellis’ violin Turner changes things up dramatically on this record,
amping the guitar quite a bit more than on any past release. The sad violin is
still the centerpiece of the band, but they play around with the rhythms a
little bit more on this one, implementing some unpredictable song structures.
As always, Jim White’s amazing percussion work stands out. The addition of
piano and organ along with some overdubbed violin provide a more lush sound.
Dirty Three has backed up Nick Cave and Cat Power’s Chan Marshall in the past.
However, their work needs no vocalist. Ellis’ violin is as capable of evoking
mood as even the most heartbreaking Nick Cave lyric. It may not be music for
the good times, but who the hell is having those these days. ‘She Has No
Strings, Apollo’ is the perfect soundtrack to your terminal depression. (Dave
Ignizio)
This
is the 15th release (so the bio says) by U.K. punk legends The Exploited and I
have to say it's pretty damn kickass! The Exploited have been doing the punk
rock thing for more than 20 years and have not once failed to deliver the real
thing. The title track starts the skank pit off, and the following 4 songs keep
up the same pace. "There Is No Point" changes things up a bit, but after that
the mayhem keeps a-comin'. A few things to note on the downside: Titles like
"Holiday in The Sun" and "Noize Annoys" have been used before, by the Sex
Pistols and The Buzzcocks respectively. There’s also the overuse of the line
"fucking liars", the cheesy intro to "Chaos is my Life", and a couple moments of
commercialism (notably the MTV-ish "Was It Me"). Other than that, this is one
very solid, very powerful release. Newer punk bands, who really aren't punk,
need to give this a good listen and take note of how it’s done. (Michael
Salamone)
In
the grindcore arena few bands stand out as something other than the typical
fanfare of blood, death, gore, and demented medical atrocities. There is,
however, a branch off the good ol' grind tree where more than butchery is a hot
topic. Bands like Nasum, Excruciating Terror, and Disassociate---these bands
bring horror to where it really stands, the political arena. Benumb sits
comfortably on this branch as well. "By Means Of Upheaval", their 3rd full
release, shows the band continuing where ‘Withering Strands of Hope’ left off
but with the vocals more directly yelling (not screaming---YELLING!!!) in your
face. You can literally feel the breath from Pete's throat slapping your face a
good, sharp wind. Songs like "Medicated Into Submission", "Guilty of Which you
Accuse", "Breathing Life Into Predestined Failure", "Regurgitation Of the
Bacteria Which Threatens the Present State of Self", and "Free Trade, Global
Slavery" leave your cheeks red with veins ready to burst. Ok, that's a corny
description, but you get the idea. This is a great mix of grind with death
metal extremism so far one of the best releases of 2003. IN MY HUMBLE
OPINIONNNNNNNNN!!!! (Michael Salamone)
‘Damnation
and a Day’ is Cradle of Filth’s major label debut. While I know for some that
automatically means “sellout”, I don’t really care what label a band is on as
long as the resulting album kicks ass. Thankfully, not unlike Slayer (and very
few others), Cradle seems to have escaped form the underground with their sound
uncompromised. For those unfamiliar, lead vocalist Dani Filth either screeches
like a banshee or makes sinister utterances in his basso speaking voice.
Melodic female vocals add flavor on occasion, and the guitar work is reminiscent
of Iron Maiden with lots of emphasis on harmony. Gothic keyboard parts and
aggressive drumming complete the band’s sound. Of course this time around
Cradle had a little more money to spend on production, so they’ve also utilized
an orchestra and a chorus to nice effect on a few songs. ‘Damnation…’ also
continues the trend of the band’s last few albums of making Dani’s vocals a
little more understandable. The concept for the album seems to be a musical
adaptation of Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’, perfect fodder for Dani’s “word
plagues”. Lead off single ‘Babylon A.D’ is about as commercial as Cradle ever
gets, and other noteworthy tracks include “The Promise of Fever” and “Serpent
Tongue”. Much to my wife’s displeasure, I’ve been listening to this
constantly. (Bob Ignizio)
Dirty
Three have used the ocean imagery of guitarist Mick Turner’s paintings on many
of their releases, and seafaring is perhaps the most apt metaphor for the type
of music that they produce. Generally the Dirty Three traverse long, calm
stretches of sea building up from slightly choppy waters to full blown
turbulence sending a man or two overboard until the ship can right itself
floating calmly to shore. On ‘She Has No Strings, Apollo’ they chart a new
course, one that is perhaps a little more unpredictable than previous endeavors
but ultimately more rewarding. Mick Turner’s guitar work stands out on this
album more so than on any other release. Instead of providing a steady backdrop
to Warren Ellis’ violin Turner changes things up dramatically on this record,
amping the guitar quite a bit more than on any past release. The sad violin is
still the centerpiece of the band, but they play around with the rhythms a
little bit more on this one, implementing some unpredictable song structures.
As always, Jim White’s amazing percussion work stands out. The addition of
piano and organ along with some overdubbed violin provide a more lush sound.
Dirty Three has backed up Nick Cave and Cat Power’s Chan Marshall in the past.
However, their work needs no vocalist. Ellis’ violin is as capable of evoking
mood as even the most heartbreaking Nick Cave lyric. It may not be music for
the good times, but who the hell is having those these days. ‘She Has No
Strings, Apollo’ is the perfect soundtrack to your terminal depression. (Dave
Ignizio)
This
is the 15th release (so the bio says) by U.K. punk legends The Exploited and I
have to say it's pretty damn kickass! The Exploited have been doing the punk
rock thing for more than 20 years and have not once failed to deliver the real
thing. The title track starts the skank pit off, and the following 4 songs keep
up the same pace. "There Is No Point" changes things up a bit, but after that
the mayhem keeps a-comin'. A few things to note on the downside: Titles like
"Holiday in The Sun" and "Noize Annoys" have been used before, by the Sex
Pistols and The Buzzcocks respectively. There’s also the overuse of the line
"fucking liars", the cheesy intro to "Chaos is my Life", and a couple moments of
commercialism (notably the MTV-ish "Was It Me"). Other than that, this is one
very solid, very powerful release. Newer punk bands, who really aren't punk,
need to give this a good listen and take note of how it’s done. (Michael
Salamone)