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Written by Philip
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Wednesday, 07 October 2009 11:28 |
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Rise Above Records
To some the 1970's are long gone, and happily forgotten as an era of hippies and LSD, among other things. But to anyone who loves music the 1970's is one of the most significant decades (if not THE most significant decade) of the century for music - primarily, rock n roll. Rock n roll wasn't invented in the 70's, but the 70's is when it became adventurous, experimental, interesting, exciting, wild, and completely out-of-this-world awesome. Progressive rock combined the finest elements of various styles of music, art, literature and ideas and expanded the realm of songwriting to something never heard before, while its performers were recognized as serious and able musicians unwilling to settle for playing dumbed down rock, but unwilling to compromise the intensity of their sound. Of the countless bands that made a timeless name for themselves in the 1970's, one of the bands that stands out the most and even invented their own brand of progressive music (spacerock!) was Hawkwind. Now, this review isn't about Hawkwind, but it's about a band that, in every sense, worships Hawkwind and pays them a quality tribute in their sound.
Litmus sometimes sounds exactly like Hawkwind, down to the driving, proto-punk/pre-metal yet spaced out riffs, and the mellotron psychedelia, to the remarkably similar vocals, all taking you on a cosmic voyage with extended jams and spacey rhythms and melodies that serve to either complement or even substitute the effects of LSD on your brain. At other times, they are their own unique machine creating a sound that is in obvious homage to Hawkwind, but brave enough to do new things. |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 10 November 2009 21:44 |
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Read the full review [Litmus - Aurora]
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Luna Mortis - The Absence |
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Written by Liu
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Thursday, 24 September 2009 14:42 |
Century Media
Wisconsin isn't exactly a hot bed of musical talent (their chief export appears to be frostbite), so its surprising that a band like Luna Mortis can rise out of a wasteland. Luna Mortis has concocted a brew of thrash, power and melodic death metal into their cauldron. These guys aren't that dissimilar to Nevermore, except they are fronted by a woman.
Female vocalists in metal many times tend to be a gimmick, a way for a band to call attention to their otherwise worthless music (insert Arch Enemy joke here) but Mary Zimmer is the real deal. She has a great singing voice and her death tones are authentic. She knows what she's doing and how to use it properly.
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Last Updated on Saturday, 26 September 2009 10:50 |
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Read the full review [Luna Mortis - The Absence]
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Moss - Tombs of the Blind Drugged |
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Written by Philip
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Tuesday, 08 September 2009 19:28 |
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Rise Above Records I'd like to say "Now here's a band that needs no introduction..." but I think that's not true. I think it should be true, however, because Moss' form of painfully crushing drone/funeral doom is something to be marveled at and talked about and known about. Moss is a doom/drone band from the UK that creates some of the most nauseatingly heavy, dark, and disgusting music I've ever heard. Take the dark, droning excellence of Sunn O))), the occult, Lovecraftian horror-inspired alternate-universe-inducing greatness of Electric Wizard, and the atmospheric characteristics of the furthest depths of Hell, plus a whole bunch of downers and visions of plagues and death, and you've, more or less, got Moss. Tombs of the Blind Drugged is perhaps the most appropriate title for this EP (how this manages to be labeled an EP while clocking in at 40 minutes is a mystery to me) because it depicts the exact sort of imagery and atmosphere that should accompany this unforgiving musical experience. The cover art helps, too. Guitars are tuned down low enough to rupture your lungs, and each riff is played slow enough and with enough exaggeration and emphasis that each slow second of this album has a towering significance that must be absorbed in full to really feel the tremors of horror that resonate so loudly. Your head must be in this music to fully benefit from its effects.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 08 September 2009 22:17 |
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Read the full review [Moss - Tombs of the Blind Drugged]
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Written by Liu
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Tuesday, 15 September 2009 15:39 |
Relapse
"Any Voivod is better than no Voivod."
The above is the mantra that many Voivod fans have been uttering since the untimely death of band founder Denis "Piggy" D'Amour in 2005. I have a big problem with that statement, namely because as far as I'm concerned, Piggy was Voivod and thus far, the Piggy-less material has been largely a stain to the great Voivod name.
Allow me to state that I consider myself a big Voivod fan. I think that Killing Technology is one of the greatest thrash albums ever conceived, Nothingface is one of the most unsung "progressive" albums ever (or whatever you wanna call it) and can and will discuss at length the merits of The Outer Limits and why it is the best thing the band has ever done. I'm no Johnny-Come-Lately who has discovered the band yesterday.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 15 September 2009 17:02 |
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Read the full review [Voivod - Infini]
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Pest - Rest In Morbid Darkness |
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Written by Philip
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Tuesday, 08 September 2009 18:45 |
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Season of Mist
In their 12 years as black metal juggernauts, Pest have always kept it true. Here, with Rest in Morbid Darkness, they continue to keep it true with the sounds of raw and violent black metal from below the depths of Earth. Having always taken much from the likes of Darkthrone, Bathory, Nifelheim, and other pioneers of this grim, dirty and unpolished form of Scandinavian black metal, Pest have made a name for themselves in the underground and it's their mission to keep it simple, ugly and harsh. This ritualistic killing spree from 2008 has Pest's brand of hateful black metal written, or rather carved, all over it. As soon as the guitars, vocals and drums all strike in 40 seconds into the first track, it's clear this is still the same band, the same black metal warriors not trying to reinvent a genre, but they're keeping the tormented and untamed spirit of black metal alive with guitars that (I know it's cliche' but it is so glaringly true, here) buzz like chainsaws in a subterranean den of beasts. The guitars often find themselves accompanying the drums, it seems, for the blasting can go on for what may seem like a small eternity and overpower what is going on with the guitars. But this is not typical, and often the riffs alone become the focus. The riffs are simple enough to accent the music whenever it needs it, as Necro's roars can carry this music to the level it wishes to reach - bestial, if such a level can be attained or even described. |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 10 September 2009 20:52 |
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Read the full review [Pest - Rest In Morbid Darkness]
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