Stop Making Speeches

So, how is this new thing different than the old thing you may ask?

Well, mostly, the level of effort is lower... In that I'm not putting a whole lot of thought into what I'm writing about anymore. I just listen to whatever I feel like, jot down the band names as they pop up on my iPod or Spotify or wherever, and at the end of the day I sit down with a cup of tea and write a few words about whatever I listened to.

It feels good so far... Loose. Relaxed. Not thinking too hard. Not trying to "keep up" or impress anyone. Just going with my gut. That feels like the right direction to be heading in.

Plus, a neat byproduct of this experiment is: You can kind of see the some of the weird threads and tangents my brain goes off on. Like, where listening to one thing will make me think "oh yeah, I should pull out this other sort of similar thing I haven't heard in a while."

Like how listening to Black Army Jacket for the first time in a long time reminded me of Ulcer and Disassociate who I also hadn't listened to in ages.

I dunno, for me those weird little tangents and memories and mental connections are a huge part of this whole "love of music" thing... Bands that remind me of other bands, albums that remind me of people, places, road trips, shows I've played, old friends, etc. etc.

It's cool to take a second and notice shit like that.

-

Boss Keloid - Rush/ Yes/ Brand X meets Devin Townsend/ SYL meets the pulverizing low end of something like Neurosis or Knut? I have no idea how they made this insane clash of styles work so seamlessly but it's probably my favorite album of the year so far.

-

Black Army Jacket - NYC powerviolence/ grind legends.

-

Ulcer - Face-peeling crust/ grind/ powerviolence from 90's MA. Think Disrupt sped up to nearly twice normal speed and fronted by a guy who sounds like he's being murdered with a goddamn boxcutter.

-

Disassociate - Blooooood in my eyyyyeeeeeeeesssssss!!!!

-

Rebreather - Bass heavy swamp-sludge from Ohio. The moments of spaced out melody that pop up over the course of these tracks kinda make Rebreather sound like the somewhat unlikely spawn of Buzzov*en and Hum.

I seem to remember this band being a big deal around the time this CD came out, but I guess their "next big thing" status never came through because nowadays you can get most of their stuff pretty cheap on discogs.

-

Leigon of Andromeda - Like. An. Automated. Assembly. Line. That. Just. Endlessly. Welds. Together. Mortician. Riffs. Senseless. Mindless. Inhuman. Fucking. Obliteration.

-

Thy Catafalque - Progged-the-fuck-out black metal from Hungary. Has some pretty cool moments that incorporate swirling Tangerine Dream style synths and Pink Floyd/ Deep Purple organ into their blackened churn... I haven't delved all that deep into their back catalogue, but so far I've thoroughly enjoyed everything I've heard by them, especially Geometria and the newest one.

-

Silentist - Sometimes, I just wanna start a band that sounds like this song all the fucking time. One of my favorite tunes EVER. So goddamn menacing. Lumbering dead-eyed endtime cult dirge.

-

Khoma - Three members of Cult of Luna and a couple dudes from bands I'm not as familiar with doing the heavy riffs + mellow vocals thing. I was listening to this album at work on the day I met my wife so it has a special place in my heart. Doesn't feel like it's been that long but our sixteen year anniversary is this Tuesday.

-

Qrixkuor - I gotta be honest, I barely even make an effort to keep up with dissonant black/ death/ war metal anymore... The bandwagon is hopelessly overcrowded, full of elitist battle-vest-cosplay dopes, and I honestly don't have the time, energy, or reserves of give a fuck it would take to sift the wheat from all the chaff.

All that said, Qrixkuor are fucking killer... One of those bands that pushes so hard on the framework of what a "song" should sound like that they wind up sounding like they beamed in from another dimension.

-

Tombs - This came out last year and I knew it had come out, but then I never picked it up and just kind of forgot it existed until like a week ago. Oof. My bad. 

Awesome as always. Especially "Once Falls the Guillotine" and "Man Behind the Sun."

-