Girth – ‘The Sweetness of Rejection’
(self released)
Miss
that early nineties industrial metal sound exemplified by bands like Pantera,
Prong White Zombie and ‘Psalm 69’ period Ministry? Then you’ll want to get
yourself a copy of Girth’s ‘The Sweetness of Rejection’ right away. Not only do
these guys get the sound down, they do it well. This particular subgenre of
metal is all about simple heavy rhythmic riffing, so there’s often a tendency
for bands of to essentially write an album that sounds like ten takes on the
same song. Girth thankfully avoid that trap. Partly that’s because they aren’t
afraid to incorporate some other influences (notably some more straight forward
hardcore elements, especially in the vocals), but also because they actually
write some interesting riffs instead of just pounding out the “E” chords. The
band also understands the importance of dynamics, and aren’t afraid to have a
few quiet moments here and there. The production is professional sounding, the
band is tight, the songs have actual hooks and stand out individually, and
thankfully the vocals are good, too. Lead guitar is minimal, but what’s here is
good and tasteful. Original? No, but then what is these days? Although if
you’re gonna’ be influenced by Pantera, you probably should avoid titling a song
“Broken”, even if it is a great track. If you’re a fan of this style head on
over to
http://www.girthmusic.com and order a copy.
(Bob Ignizio)
Don’t drop
this on the ol’ CD player expecting some sort of roots rock or even psychobilly.
Hillbilly Nightmare are a lot closer to Nashville Pussy, Zeke, Motorhead, Guns N
Roses and Circus of Power than they are to Reverend Horton Heat or even The
Supersuckers. This is a thick, heavy, skull crusher of a rock album, chock full
of dirty metal tinged riffs and ragged but catchy vocal lines. Good music for
drinking, fighting, and driving irresponsibly. Producer Lance Eichler gets a
great loud sound without sacrificing clarity. I like this kind of music, and
Hillbilly Nightmare play it well. The only thing holding me back from a full on
rave review is the songwriting. It isn’t bad but tends to be a bit typical of
this style. In other words, like a lot of bands these days, Hillbilly Nightmare
captures a particular sound really well, but it’s not anything unique. That
bothers my more intellectual side, but the part of me that just wants to rock
doesn’t really give a shit. To cut to the chase, if you like the bands I
compared Hillbilly Nightmare to and are looking for more of the same, you’ll
want to pick this up. (Bob Ignizio)
This
is some pretty solid bluesy garage psyche. Kind of reminds me of Mudhoney with
a less abrasive vocalist. The album definitely gets trippy at times, almost
veering into stoner/acid rock territory, but the band avoids the extended
jamming associated with those genres with only a few songs breaking the three
minute mark. With eleven tracks, the album still clocks in at just barely over
30 minutes. That might seem stingy to those who have grown up in the era of
CDs, but since there’s no filler on here it’s more than enough for me. While
most of the songs are rockin’ rave-ups (the stand out of this sort being
“Revolution Summer”), the band thankfully varies their tempo and intensity on a
few numbers, even including an organ-heavy ballad in “Lights Down Low” and a
mournful a cappella gospel number in “No More My Lord”. The hooks, while
definitely there, aren’t the sort of cheap and easy sing alongs that grab the
listener right away, so maybe with time I’ll come to appreciate this even more.
Still, while I can’t quite bring myself to give this a full-on rave, it’s way
better than average for the genre. (Bob Ignizio)
Isle of View – ‘Gentle Firefly
Radio’ (Undecided Records)
Isle
of View are a run of the mill punk rock band. That isn't to say I didn't enjoy
some of the songs, but overall it's nothing you haven't heard. The opener
("Fall Asleep And Die") is full of some pretty cliché lyrics, like "If you wanna
take me home, and I'm alone, tell 'em I'm stoned". Not very inventive. The
singer, Tim Tucker, has a pretty decent voice, and the rest of the band can play
too. It's really not that they aren't talented, it's just there's like 5 million
others like them. The jacket design, however, is very unique, and from it, I
wouldn't have expected such typical music. I'd say give these guys time to find
themselves. (Eddie Fleisher)
Miss
that early nineties industrial metal sound exemplified by bands like Pantera,
Prong White Zombie and ‘Psalm 69’ period Ministry? Then you’ll want to get
yourself a copy of Girth’s ‘The Sweetness of Rejection’ right away. Not only do
these guys get the sound down, they do it well. This particular subgenre of
metal is all about simple heavy rhythmic riffing, so there’s often a tendency
for bands of to essentially write an album that sounds like ten takes on the
same song. Girth thankfully avoid that trap. Partly that’s because they aren’t
afraid to incorporate some other influences (notably some more straight forward
hardcore elements, especially in the vocals), but also because they actually
write some interesting riffs instead of just pounding out the “E” chords. The
band also understands the importance of dynamics, and aren’t afraid to have a
few quiet moments here and there. The production is professional sounding, the
band is tight, the songs have actual hooks and stand out individually, and
thankfully the vocals are good, too. Lead guitar is minimal, but what’s here is
good and tasteful. Original? No, but then what is these days? Although if
you’re gonna’ be influenced by Pantera, you probably should avoid titling a song
“Broken”, even if it is a great track. If you’re a fan of this style head on
over to
Don’t drop
this on the ol’ CD player expecting some sort of roots rock or even psychobilly.
Hillbilly Nightmare are a lot closer to Nashville Pussy, Zeke, Motorhead, Guns N
Roses and Circus of Power than they are to Reverend Horton Heat or even The
Supersuckers. This is a thick, heavy, skull crusher of a rock album, chock full
of dirty metal tinged riffs and ragged but catchy vocal lines. Good music for
drinking, fighting, and driving irresponsibly. Producer Lance Eichler gets a
great loud sound without sacrificing clarity. I like this kind of music, and
Hillbilly Nightmare play it well. The only thing holding me back from a full on
rave review is the songwriting. It isn’t bad but tends to be a bit typical of
this style. In other words, like a lot of bands these days, Hillbilly Nightmare
captures a particular sound really well, but it’s not anything unique. That
bothers my more intellectual side, but the part of me that just wants to rock
doesn’t really give a shit. To cut to the chase, if you like the bands I
compared Hillbilly Nightmare to and are looking for more of the same, you’ll
want to pick this up. (Bob Ignizio) 
This
is some pretty solid bluesy garage psyche. Kind of reminds me of Mudhoney with
a less abrasive vocalist. The album definitely gets trippy at times, almost
veering into stoner/acid rock territory, but the band avoids the extended
jamming associated with those genres with only a few songs breaking the three
minute mark. With eleven tracks, the album still clocks in at just barely over
30 minutes. That might seem stingy to those who have grown up in the era of
CDs, but since there’s no filler on here it’s more than enough for me. While
most of the songs are rockin’ rave-ups (the stand out of this sort being
“Revolution Summer”), the band thankfully varies their tempo and intensity on a
few numbers, even including an organ-heavy ballad in “Lights Down Low” and a
mournful a cappella gospel number in “No More My Lord”. The hooks, while
definitely there, aren’t the sort of cheap and easy sing alongs that grab the
listener right away, so maybe with time I’ll come to appreciate this even more.
Still, while I can’t quite bring myself to give this a full-on rave, it’s way
better than average for the genre. (Bob Ignizio)
Isle
of View are a run of the mill punk rock band. That isn't to say I didn't enjoy
some of the songs, but overall it's nothing you haven't heard. The opener
("Fall Asleep And Die") is full of some pretty cliché lyrics, like "If you wanna
take me home, and I'm alone, tell 'em I'm stoned". Not very inventive. The
singer, Tim Tucker, has a pretty decent voice, and the rest of the band can play
too. It's really not that they aren't talented, it's just there's like 5 million
others like them. The jacket design, however, is very unique, and from it, I
wouldn't have expected such typical music. I'd say give these guys time to find
themselves. (Eddie Fleisher)