Wolves Like Us - Late love

      What happens when you take a bunch of vets from the Norwegian hardcore and metal scene and throw them together in a room? Wolves like us, featuring members of J.R. Ewing, Amulet, Infidels Forever, and Silver, are a force to be reckoned with. Heavily influenced by the likes of Planes Mistaken For Stars and Drive Like Jehu, I would say the easiest comparison might be a heavy metal Hot Water Music! Simple straight forward stuff but absolutely killer! Make with the listening NOW!



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Boris - New Album

      My first experience with Boris was rather dismissive. I had written them off as another shitty oi band, due to the fact that i had confused them with another band with a similar cover. So in the box of forgotten promos it went, not to be seen again for a couple of months. Until one day I had no other listening choices left, so in it went. What blasted forth through my speakers would alter the course of my life, quite literally! Amplifier Worship set me on a course of all things doomed out and sludgy. I was a casual fan before, i was already a fan of Goatsnake, but now i was hooked. Hooked on the style and hooked on Boris. 

      Over the course of their 16 year plus history Boris have never been content to rest on their laurels. With an ungodly amount of full lengths: 23, live albums: 8-10, another 8 albums worth of collaborations and countless singles, ep's, remixes, and touring its hard to imagine them ever having any time off. Not only are they prolific, they're fearless. Often flying in the face of tradition, Boris have a clear mission statement. Our music our way. Each album of Boris' is distinctly different but very much them. From glacial doom to red lined garage rock, they've done it all. Except pop. That is, until now. Enter "New Album". Yes, while I'll agree that it's a little lack luster in the name department, everything else about New Album is polished and shining bright! The downside to this release is that its Japanese only. As some of you know Boris released two full lengths in the U.S. back in may, Heavy Rocks 2011 and Attention Please. New album does share its songs with both it's U.S. counterparts but in much different versions. All I can say is thank god for the Internet! New Album is the most interesting of the bunch. It's perfectly crafted indie pop with danceable beats and eclectic electronic flourishes throughout. While Heavy Rocks 2011 still has awesomeness to it, I would take New album over Attention Please any day. They are to me the fully realized versions of the songs, which makes A.P. sound like the demo session! Anyway, enjoy this! 

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Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis

     
    
         Crooked Little Vein is noir on crack! Warren Ellis, known to most as a preeminent comic book writer (Transmetropolitan, Iron Man-In Extremis) delivered the goods with his first novel. A mystery thriller at heart, Crooked quickly veers off the map and off the planet! Det. Mike Mcgill is a shit magnet. No two ways about it, this guy can't catch a fucking break. He's on his last leg, a broken man, coming to terms with his lot in life. Bam, door swings open and changes his life. Our hero is blasted full throttle into a quest that to most would be labeled absolutely insane. Mike finds himself and a whole lot of weird shit along the way. Warren Ellis paints such a vivid picture of the under-underbelly of America, that you can smell and feel the filth right off the page. Oh and did I mention It's hilarious? Yeah, it is. I don't want to give any of this ride away so go find this book at your local book store and enjoy! If you're a fan of Palahnuik and meth & mescaline flavored jello shooters, this is your book.                                                                                     ...Giant Lizard Bukkake.

VAZ - Dying to Meet You

     Released in 2003 on Gold Standard Labs, Vaz-Dying to Meet You is somewhat of an anomaly.  GSL, after all, was the home of Lightning Bolt, The Locust, and many other spazz oriented bands. Vaz ain't a spazz band. Instead, what they deliver is what could only be described as the sauced up love child of Sonic Youth and Floor. I'm pretty sure Elliott Smith tossed one off in the mix as well. This is some ultra catchy, relatively straight forward rock (for a GSL release). It definitely was not ready for prime time though. Eccentric tunings, heavy riffage, and a sense of abandon run through all of Dying to Meet You's tracks. While this little gem flew under the radar when it was initially released, I hope that I can at least bring it to a few more peoples attention!

Update: Vaz is playing Total Fest X in Montana in August. Had no idea that these guys were active again or had been active. Hopefully this will lead to more shows!

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Bone Awl - Not For Our Feet

      I'm not a massive black metal fan by any stretch, but when I'm in the mood it's perfect. While most of my black metal taste lean to the "NOT CVLT ENOUGH" kind: Krallice, Sailor With Wax Wings, i do love alot of the elder statesmen of the genre: Emperor, Mayhem, Burzum, and Darkthrone. Darkthrone especially  because with them it's pure attitude, punk as fuck this is what you get attitude. We all know the tell-tale signs of a black metal band these days: trebley hyperspeed picked guitar...check, absolutely no bass in the mix....check, super scary clown  corpse paint...check, beyond horrible recording quality...che..uhmm not so much anymore! It's that last point that i am sometimes on the fence about. There are some band that totally benefit from not sounding like they were recorded in a coffee can. And some who would sound ghastly and contrived if the were recorded properly. Where am I going with all of this? I'm not quite sure... Oh yeah, black metal to me should sound threatening. It should sound mysterious. it should sound like it doesn't give a fuck! Ladies and gentlemen: Bone Awl. This meets all of those criteria in spades. They rarely play shows, they release their albums on cassette only, don't do press... it's a wonder anyone knows them. I found out about them through my friend Brandon, who set up shows at Public Assembly in NYC. Anyway, this shit is awesome! They have a very Darkthrone approach but with way more menace! It sounds horrible but in a great way. The vocals are terrifying. This thing hits on all cylinders for me!


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Malady - S/T

      So Malady is a band that I have a lot of love for. Many of you, especially around the D.C. metro area, are familiar with these guys at least in some form. Malady formed from the ashes of Pg.99 and for a short but ultimately brilliant moment left there mark on the world. It seem as soon as they were here, they were gone. Given the combustible history of Pg.99 and all of the bands the members went on to form, its not too shocking. But Malady definitely seemed the shortest lived and definitely my favorite! What was and is funny about all of those bands (City of Caterpillar, Haram, Pygmy Lush, Paper Mache Monster, and Highspeed Changer) is the fact that you can immediately hear Pg.99 in them no matter what the direction. It was their style of playing. It's so distinct and now intrinsically ingrained in the underground music scene here. Like City of Caterpillar's take on a more metal approach and Pygmy Lush's more punk folk take, Malady's Genesis was the indie rock side of things. Still as visceral as Pg.99 was but in a far more delicate way (if that makes any sense) they crafted songs of loss and love...and probably drugs. (i imagine, you still can't understand a damn thing Chris Taylor sings) This to me is the best of the post '99 output and the one I keep going back to time and time again.


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Hooded Menace - Never Cross the Dead

    I have no idea why it has taken me so long to actually listen to this, what I now consider a damned near masterpiece. Hooded Menace spit forth some simply nasty classic death metal infused with good dose of doom. I don't know if its a nostalgia thing but, this hits all the right notes with me. Buzzsaw guitar sound, vocals that are actually kinda frightening, full on drumming assault, an atmosphere of actual menace...check, check, check, and check!   I remember the feeling I had the first time I listened to Incantation and Autopsy, fright! Those records really scarred the shit out of me. There was was a sense that these guys were serious. Like serial killer serious. I get that feeling listening to "Never Cross the Dead". Hooded Menace have done there homework. While paying homage to all those terrifying originators, they remain very distinctly themselves! Listen to this Now!     

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