Nobody,
and I mean nobody, can growl like Chris Barnes. That's why the best Cannibal
Corpse albums are the ones he was on, and also why Six Feet Under continues to
be a trend setter in modern death metal. This is a band at the top of their
game, with a musicianship and maturity rarely seen in most death metal acts.
Speed is forsaken for sheer bone-crunching heaviness, and the riffs are crunchy
and damn tasty! A standout is "Amerika The Brutal", an uncharacteristically
political statement for a death band. Chris has a cousin in Iraq, however, and
this made the issue of blood for oil hit home for him. Other great songs
include "When Skin Turns Blue", "Murdered in the Basement", and my nominee for
Song Most Likely To Curdle One's Sperm, "My Hatred". Best of all, this CD comes
with a free DVD that features an extensive interview (actually more of an
extended weed-drenched monologue) with Chris Barnes, as well as a weblink, tons
of rehearsal footage documenting the recording of the album, and a
mini-documentary on the band and the Florida death-metal scene. All that for
just $15! The Heathen Hippy says check it out. (Taliesin Govannon)
Narnack Records is one of
the most promising upcoming labels. They've given us some pretty cool acts like
The Fall, Lil' Pocket Knife, and The Coachwhips. Here, they have put together a
collection of underground acts to worship the kings of noise rock, Sonic Youth.
Racebannon get major distortion with their version of "Death Valley 69", a song
which actually appears twice on the compilation (the other version by Saicobab).
Racebannon manage to capture perfectly the essence of SY. Another interesting
take is the Elf Power cover of "Kotton Krown". Their sitar induced, lo-fi noise
fest, makes for a cool listen. The highlight would be the version of "Little
Trouble Girl", by a band called Rapider Than Horsepower. Their orchestrated take
is a welcome change from the rest of the noise on this record. Of course, noise
is kind of the point, right? This collection is definately cool to check out if
you are a big fan of Sonic Youth, otherwise it sort of all blends together.
(Eddie Fleisher)
In the world of electronic
music, sometimes music can blend together, and unless you are someone who is
into it, you might not know one thing from the next. Fuzzy Box records is a
unique label who has put together a mix of very interesting artists for their
"Fuzzy Boombox Vol. 1". Track 2 comes to us from Deitrich Shoenemann in a song
called "Tricks Wasted". It's a glitchy track, but the beat is more house than
anything. The song winds you in and out of what feels like a ride through the
subway in the rain. The last part might seem odd, but a lot of songs on this
record really evoke some weird imagery. Track 4 is by E*vax and is called
"Storm Window". This song's bassline is killer and the beat is crisp, with it's
brushy-snare feel. I'd look for more in the future from this artist. Track 12
is from an act called Instruction Shuttle. They bring us a song titled "Look".
It's a very abstract track that mixes water noises and other bleeps into an
ambient rant that will keep the technical geeks very happy. Honestly, in all 17
tracks, not one of them is really bad at all. It's a pretty cohesive record.
I'd check it out if I were you, and I'd look for anything that Fuzzy Box has to
offer. (Eddie Fleisher)
Various Artists - ‘Spin the Bottle - The Songs of Kiss’ (Koch
Entertainment)
There's a glut of tribute
albums out right now, but this one stands apart because I've actually heard of
the artists who contributed. ‘Spin The Bottle’ is a polished production,
featuring Dee Snider (“Detroit Rock City”), Styx's Tommy Shaw (“Love Gun”), and
Kip Winger (“I Want You”). My personal favorite track, however, has GOT to be
the immortal Lemmy Kilmister from Motorhead singing "Shout It Out Loud".
Instead of full bands playing together, this album features singers working with
studio musicians. Because of that, I think some vitality is missing from the
songs. Even when the studio musician is someone like Jennifer Batten, who plays
on "Shout It Out Loud", it still lacks the spontaneity of a group of seasoned
musicians who know each other and have played countless gigs over the years.
(Taliesin Govannon)
Nobody,
and I mean nobody, can growl like Chris Barnes. That's why the best Cannibal
Corpse albums are the ones he was on, and also why Six Feet Under continues to
be a trend setter in modern death metal. This is a band at the top of their
game, with a musicianship and maturity rarely seen in most death metal acts.
Speed is forsaken for sheer bone-crunching heaviness, and the riffs are crunchy
and damn tasty! A standout is "Amerika The Brutal", an uncharacteristically
political statement for a death band. Chris has a cousin in Iraq, however, and
this made the issue of blood for oil hit home for him. Other great songs
include "When Skin Turns Blue", "Murdered in the Basement", and my nominee for
Song Most Likely To Curdle One's Sperm, "My Hatred". Best of all, this CD comes
with a free DVD that features an extensive interview (actually more of an
extended weed-drenched monologue) with Chris Barnes, as well as a weblink, tons
of rehearsal footage documenting the recording of the album, and a
mini-documentary on the band and the Florida death-metal scene. All that for
just $15! The Heathen Hippy says check it out. (Taliesin Govannon)
Narnack Records is one of
the most promising upcoming labels. They've given us some pretty cool acts like
The Fall, Lil' Pocket Knife, and The Coachwhips. Here, they have put together a
collection of underground acts to worship the kings of noise rock, Sonic Youth.
Racebannon get major distortion with their version of "Death Valley 69", a song
which actually appears twice on the compilation (the other version by Saicobab).
Racebannon manage to capture perfectly the essence of SY. Another interesting
take is the Elf Power cover of "Kotton Krown". Their sitar induced, lo-fi noise
fest, makes for a cool listen. The highlight would be the version of "Little
Trouble Girl", by a band called Rapider Than Horsepower. Their orchestrated take
is a welcome change from the rest of the noise on this record. Of course, noise
is kind of the point, right? This collection is definately cool to check out if
you are a big fan of Sonic Youth, otherwise it sort of all blends together.
(Eddie Fleisher)
In the world of electronic
music, sometimes music can blend together, and unless you are someone who is
into it, you might not know one thing from the next. Fuzzy Box records is a
unique label who has put together a mix of very interesting artists for their
"Fuzzy Boombox Vol. 1". Track 2 comes to us from Deitrich Shoenemann in a song
called "Tricks Wasted". It's a glitchy track, but the beat is more house than
anything. The song winds you in and out of what feels like a ride through the
subway in the rain. The last part might seem odd, but a lot of songs on this
record really evoke some weird imagery. Track 4 is by E*vax and is called
"Storm Window". This song's bassline is killer and the beat is crisp, with it's
brushy-snare feel. I'd look for more in the future from this artist. Track 12
is from an act called Instruction Shuttle. They bring us a song titled "Look".
It's a very abstract track that mixes water noises and other bleeps into an
ambient rant that will keep the technical geeks very happy. Honestly, in all 17
tracks, not one of them is really bad at all. It's a pretty cohesive record.
I'd check it out if I were you, and I'd look for anything that Fuzzy Box has to
offer. (Eddie Fleisher)
There's a glut of tribute
albums out right now, but this one stands apart because I've actually heard of
the artists who contributed. ‘Spin The Bottle’ is a polished production,
featuring Dee Snider (“Detroit Rock City”), Styx's Tommy Shaw (“Love Gun”), and
Kip Winger (“I Want You”). My personal favorite track, however, has GOT to be
the immortal Lemmy Kilmister from Motorhead singing "Shout It Out Loud".
Instead of full bands playing together, this album features singers working with
studio musicians. Because of that, I think some vitality is missing from the
songs. Even when the studio musician is someone like Jennifer Batten, who plays
on "Shout It Out Loud", it still lacks the spontaneity of a group of seasoned
musicians who know each other and have played countless gigs over the years.
(Taliesin Govannon)