Holy living fuck, this is awesome. I know the other day I was all, “It’s going to be slow here,” but how could I not share this? This is fucking amazing.
Sure, the opening drags on a little, but I think it sets the stage for the second half of the video nicely. And if you don’t have 9 minutes for Cattle Decapitation, what do you have 9 minutes for? Probably nothing. I really like the distorted video superimposition on the live footage they repurposed for this video. It all blends so seamlessly you’d never know it wasn’t shot together. And the bloodwall/screaming/eyeballs editorial crescendo at 8:21ish? So good.
The Atlas Moth released one of my favorite metal records of last year, so it should come as no surprise that I am posting this first video from An Ache for the Distance for the track “Your Calm Waters.”
The video is kind of…eh. It has moments (some of the underwater stuff looks nice) but is kind of mired in boring metal video tropes and cruddy post production. (The chroma key at the beginning of the video? Wow.) It’s too bad, too, because I really love this song. But I am willing to forgive them this minor misstep on the strength of the record. It is really incredible and any fan of heavy music should seek it out and add it to their collection. I sincerely promise you won’t regret it.
I’ve been having trouble with heavy music lately. Nothing I’ve been hearing has been resonating with me. I listen to this new band, I listen to that new record, but there’s nothing all that exciting. Maybe it’s where my head is, maybe it’s where the industry is, most likely it is a combination of both. Instead I’ve been listening to a lot A LOT of weird house music and drum & bass, which is doing it for me as I walk home or wander through the streets in search of something to fill my time. I haven’t found anything yet. I’ll let you know when I do.
I’d read about these guys Abiotic somewhere and made a note to check them out at some point. Then while perusing Youtubes the other day I clicked on this video and left it opened, unwatched in a tab for a week. The video, unsurprisingly, is pretty fucking stupid, but I kind of dig the song. I could listen to a whole album by these guys. Really though, all it does is make me wish I had the new Pig Destroyer album already. Did you know that Phantom Limb came out in 2007? I know! 5 years ago!
I suppose I’ll bide my time until the new Pig Destroyer with Abiotic, but I’ll do so grudgingly. Maybe, instead, I’ll bide my time with Protest The Hero, Machine Head, and Celeste. Like I’ve been doing for months. Time to put Scurrilous back onto my phone!
I gambled recently and pre-ordered the LP of Christian Mistress’ new album Possession based on some sample tracks I’d heard online. It arrived a week or so ago and it is pretty amazing. I am really into this whole throw-back, female-lead-singer metal thing that’s happening right now. As much as I like me some face-melting grindcore and black metal, sometimes you just want punchy, no bullshit, Sabbath-y riffs with a lady wailing on top. Who doesn’t like that? Bands like Christian Mistress, Blood Ceremony, and Witch Mountain are really scratching an inch for me that I had no idea existed. I am glad, however, that it was called to my attention. Scratch me! That so many of these bands come from the Pacific Northwest can’t be a coincidence either. Time for a roadtrip!
Even the video for this song, the first off their new record, is a throw-back. It looks like it was shot in 16mm black and white reversal, a format all my other film school graduate friends will have fond memories of working with. The song is awesome too. Perhaps not the best example of what singer Christine Davis can do when she’s really pushing her voice (listen to “Black To Gold” instead), the song still serves as a perfect example of what Christian Mistress is about on Possession: riffs, guitar interplay, driving beats, and a powerful female lead. If you don’t like this track, you won’t like the record. But, what’s not to like about this track?
Jesus built my hotrod. It was a love affair. Mostly Jesus and my hotrod.
I love this damn song. It comes from Ministry’s 1991 record Psalm 69, an perfect example of early 90s electro/metal fusion. It totally rules. Enjoy it.
Just a moment ago, I was going to make another joke with the video above: Steve Austin is my favorite classical music composer.
But then I realized I have a little more to write about Today is the Day than just the one liner above. I first encountered Today is the Day in the late 90s around the release of In The Eyes of God. At the time I had no idea what to do with them. They sounded exactly unlike anything I’d ever heard before. I wasn’t even sure if I liked them, but for some reason I was compelled to stick with the album. What started as a punishing wall of noise became a tautly crafted punishing wall of noise. An enjoyably punishing wall of noise. Even now, 13 years on, I have rarely heard an album quite as heavy as In The Eyes of God or a band as heavy as Today is the Day. There are louder bands, there are faster bands, but very few bands as purely brutal as these guys. If we define heaviness (as I have written about before) as the eschewing of melody for rhythmic force, then Today is the Day is shifted far to the rhythmic end of the scale.
If you are a fan of extreme music and you’ve never sat down with Today is the Day, do yourself a favor and do it. You’ll find a rewarding, difficult musical experience that will be so different than what you are used to from most modern heavy music that you’ll come back here and thank me. If you’re not a fan of extreme music, why are you here? You should listen to Today is the Day too.
Do you guys remember the 90s? Do you remember how awesome they were and how much awesome metal was coming out at the time? Yeah, so do I. It was great. Misery Loves Company is one of those bands that if you weren’t in the scene at the time you probably have never heard of, but who, for me, scream 90s. “My Mind Still Speaks” comes from their 1995 self-titled debut and I still think it is awesome. I can’t even tell you how many times I listened to that album. It is so good, but I don’t think you’ll like it now. It sounds real dated, but nostalgia is strong. God damn, even the music video is super 90s.
