I can’t stop listening to Mighty Joseph. Vast Aire and Karniege throw down together on Empire State, and have created my favorite Hip-Hop album so far this year.
There has been plenty written about Vaste Aire’s chunky chew delivery and talent for double take rhymes, while Karniege brings his own flar to a more traditional bark. The lyrics are straight up bananas, no joke*. Ranging from the home front, “Kidz (N.Y.C.),” to the party scene, “Night Life,” to gangland on “Anything Can Happen?,” these two MC’s rule the scene from behind the wheel, while keeping respected friends in the back seat throughout, with the likes of M.U.R.S, Genesis, and Vordul Mega.
As ridiculous as the lyrics are, the production is what keeps pulling me back. The synth drenched beat on “Legend” opens with a country sample and comes courtesy of master producer Madlib. The vocal samples on “Out the Gate” and “The Dark Ages” light up the place, while creeping piano keys on “Criminal Tales,” lurk in the shadows. On Empire, the sun never sets, and there is nowhere to hide.
It doesn’t really matter which reason you choose to listen to Empire State, just listen to it now! It has not left my rotation since I got a hold of it and I hope more people start to recognize the Mighty Joseph. Bananas.
*My favorite verse is Vast’s closer on “The Dark Ages.”
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tartarus Rising
There is an army forming in Greece. Last year saw Rotting Christ release another strong album, Theogonia (2007), to their catalogue and introduced me to a new sound in Metal. Press releases defined Rotting Christ as “Goth” for their synth use and approach to melody; a dramatic voyage in genre progression since it began with Grindcore. While thematically Rotting Christ can be associated with Black Metal’s tropes of the ancient world, the sound wasn’t nearly as harsh, the melodies and production values were radiant enough to break through the distortion, burning hotter than their Nordic forefathers. What about Viking Metal? While I have to admit I am not a big fan of the sub-genre, along with Folk Metal; the two share a similar relationship to Black Metal in ancestral imagery and progressive attitudes towards established melody? Eh, moving on…
I have been mulling over this ever since I got a chance to listen to Septicflesh’s (previously Septic Flesh) new album Communion. If Theogonia’s melodies stirred up enough heat to break through walls, then Communion has an army to topple them. What everyone will mention about this album is the 80 orchestral and 32 choral members whom were enlisted to back Septicflesh’s epic return. The band had split-up, and after a few years, are back with one of the biggest arrangements for an album that I have ever heard of. When this Titan raises up before you, it is truly something to behold.
The duration of the album is relatively short for such an enormous assembly, but what the album lacks in length, it makes up for by capturing the moment with plenty to spare. The orchestral work deserves repeated listenings, and elevates the melodies to soaring lengths. On the title track their Death Metal roots are expanded on when choral vocals echo after the assault like heat from the flame. Septicflesh has an amazingly diverse background as well, and an explosive attack on “Babel's Gate” shape shifts into some technical breakdowns that flaunt the bands musicianship now long recognized. Like I said earlier, the album is really all about melodies. Sung vocals on “Sunlight Moonlight,” build them like moutians, while booming horns and thunderous drums on "Persepolis,” turn them into avalanches. On Communion, all soldiers are dressed for battle, and arms, sharpened for war.
Metal’s evolution has always been rooted in its international appeal and Greece has been playing an important role for some time, while continuing to harness a distinct sound. Whatever this “Greek” sound is, it’s on par with anything being released in sibling genres, and with more albums like Communion, Septicflesh will remain casting their shadow over the land.
I have been mulling over this ever since I got a chance to listen to Septicflesh’s (previously Septic Flesh) new album Communion. If Theogonia’s melodies stirred up enough heat to break through walls, then Communion has an army to topple them. What everyone will mention about this album is the 80 orchestral and 32 choral members whom were enlisted to back Septicflesh’s epic return. The band had split-up, and after a few years, are back with one of the biggest arrangements for an album that I have ever heard of. When this Titan raises up before you, it is truly something to behold.
The duration of the album is relatively short for such an enormous assembly, but what the album lacks in length, it makes up for by capturing the moment with plenty to spare. The orchestral work deserves repeated listenings, and elevates the melodies to soaring lengths. On the title track their Death Metal roots are expanded on when choral vocals echo after the assault like heat from the flame. Septicflesh has an amazingly diverse background as well, and an explosive attack on “Babel's Gate” shape shifts into some technical breakdowns that flaunt the bands musicianship now long recognized. Like I said earlier, the album is really all about melodies. Sung vocals on “Sunlight Moonlight,” build them like moutians, while booming horns and thunderous drums on "Persepolis,” turn them into avalanches. On Communion, all soldiers are dressed for battle, and arms, sharpened for war.
Metal’s evolution has always been rooted in its international appeal and Greece has been playing an important role for some time, while continuing to harness a distinct sound. Whatever this “Greek” sound is, it’s on par with anything being released in sibling genres, and with more albums like Communion, Septicflesh will remain casting their shadow over the land.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Death Cab
So Death Cab for Cutie has a new album coming out, and I’m sure it will be huge, if it isn’t already. I was part of the crowd that saw Death Cab move from an “indie” band to OC acclaim. Does this make them Pop? I have to admit I haven’t listened to Death Cab in a long time, but I want to say the last time I did, it was unfortunately at Starbucks.
So what’s new? You’re looking at it, but is it really any better? I saw Vampire Weekend last summer at a local bar in Eugene, this winter they played SNL. They released their debut album almost a month before, and were already hitting the prime time. I wrote about them, and so did everyone else apparently. Since these things are hit or miss, I am writing about two bands, and hoping for the best.
New Pop bands tease me from all directions these days. The Magistrates are from Essex, and I can’t stop listening to their new song “Make This Work.” This is ridiculous in one sense because they aren’t even with a label. They just have booking information and a band website, but there's something funky in the air. Falsetto vocals cry under pulsing neon keys, and make for Purple Rain anthems that won't quit. Fans of old school greats like Prince and Jamiroquai, not to mention new school names like Jamie Lidell and Hercules and Love Affair, will dig this.
If you dig Melt Banana as much as I do, and want some kick to your pop, I have to confess my affections for Glasgow’s DANANANANAYKROYD. They play “Fight-Pop,” which is basically everything Pop you would expect from Glasgow, infused with spacious breakdowns, and some noisy Hardcore Punk. They're opening for the Japanese noise crew in their hometown late June and are set to release an E.P., Sissy Hits, on Holy Roar earlier that same month. I would love to see them judging from their recorded live samplings, and from experience, I can tell you Melt Banana is unreal.
These two bands don’t deserve being mentioned in the same category. Melt Banana has been putting out splits since the early nineties and these guys have yet to hatch, not to mention fly. It isn’t fair to hope for the best when life is young, triumphs that come after early stumbles should be what leads to fame worthy of praise. Just ask Death Cab.
So what’s new? You’re looking at it, but is it really any better? I saw Vampire Weekend last summer at a local bar in Eugene, this winter they played SNL. They released their debut album almost a month before, and were already hitting the prime time. I wrote about them, and so did everyone else apparently. Since these things are hit or miss, I am writing about two bands, and hoping for the best.
New Pop bands tease me from all directions these days. The Magistrates are from Essex, and I can’t stop listening to their new song “Make This Work.” This is ridiculous in one sense because they aren’t even with a label. They just have booking information and a band website, but there's something funky in the air. Falsetto vocals cry under pulsing neon keys, and make for Purple Rain anthems that won't quit. Fans of old school greats like Prince and Jamiroquai, not to mention new school names like Jamie Lidell and Hercules and Love Affair, will dig this.
If you dig Melt Banana as much as I do, and want some kick to your pop, I have to confess my affections for Glasgow’s DANANANANAYKROYD. They play “Fight-Pop,” which is basically everything Pop you would expect from Glasgow, infused with spacious breakdowns, and some noisy Hardcore Punk. They're opening for the Japanese noise crew in their hometown late June and are set to release an E.P., Sissy Hits, on Holy Roar earlier that same month. I would love to see them judging from their recorded live samplings, and from experience, I can tell you Melt Banana is unreal.
These two bands don’t deserve being mentioned in the same category. Melt Banana has been putting out splits since the early nineties and these guys have yet to hatch, not to mention fly. It isn’t fair to hope for the best when life is young, triumphs that come after early stumbles should be what leads to fame worthy of praise. Just ask Death Cab.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Battle Cry
I have been listening to the new Akrobatik for the past couple weeks, and for a first encounter, I am pretty impressed. Boston isn’t really the first place that comes to mind when you think about Hip-Hop from the Northeast, but Akro holds his own on his newest release, Absolute Value, while boasting battle tactics for the conscience few.
The album really caught me by surprise. I hadn’t heard about him at all going into Absolute, but did recognize parts of the album’s entourage. The most obvious attraction was “Put Your Stamp On It,” featuring production by the late J.Dilla and tag-team rhymes with Talib Kweli, but that’s just the beginning of guests that show up. Mr.Lif and Little Brother chip in on “Beast Mode” and “Be Prepared” respectively, even legendary MC Chuck. D throws down some narration on “Kindred” ft Brenna Gethers. Akro boasts, “...check the archives, back in 95” on the title track, and on Absolute, there’s a veteran crew to vouch for him.
Akro’s delivery is loud and in your face, just like his New York neighbors, but it’s the content that hits your from a different angle. He preaches that there is too much conscious Hip-Hop afraid to pull the trigger behind the mic, and too much commercial Hip-Hop selling guns not music, and on one hand I agree, but also have to take issue with the notion of an absolute voice in Hip-Hop. Akro has a style rooted in old school greats like KRS One, which is pretty much impossible to knock, it’s when his attack slows down on the R&B tracks, “Kindred” and “Rain,” that his Absolute Value seems to run out of ammo. The last track, “Back Home To You,” is a dedication to his wife and seems out of place, but I can’t hate, you should stick around anyway for the hidden electro-funk that follows.
Like I said, I can’t hate. The album is full of huge beats and Akro stands tall with them. “Soul Glo,” “Black Hell Breaks Loose” ft. Willie Evans Jr. & Therapy, “If We Can’t Build” ft. Bumpy Knuckles, and the title track rain down like angry fists and capture Akro at his best.
With the big names like Gnarls Barkley dropping this past month, and many to come in still a young year, Absolute Value probably won't claim this year's crown, which is fine by Akro; he’s got blueprints to the castle and stockpiles of dynamite. Check this one out.
The album really caught me by surprise. I hadn’t heard about him at all going into Absolute, but did recognize parts of the album’s entourage. The most obvious attraction was “Put Your Stamp On It,” featuring production by the late J.Dilla and tag-team rhymes with Talib Kweli, but that’s just the beginning of guests that show up. Mr.Lif and Little Brother chip in on “Beast Mode” and “Be Prepared” respectively, even legendary MC Chuck. D throws down some narration on “Kindred” ft Brenna Gethers. Akro boasts, “...check the archives, back in 95” on the title track, and on Absolute, there’s a veteran crew to vouch for him.
Akro’s delivery is loud and in your face, just like his New York neighbors, but it’s the content that hits your from a different angle. He preaches that there is too much conscious Hip-Hop afraid to pull the trigger behind the mic, and too much commercial Hip-Hop selling guns not music, and on one hand I agree, but also have to take issue with the notion of an absolute voice in Hip-Hop. Akro has a style rooted in old school greats like KRS One, which is pretty much impossible to knock, it’s when his attack slows down on the R&B tracks, “Kindred” and “Rain,” that his Absolute Value seems to run out of ammo. The last track, “Back Home To You,” is a dedication to his wife and seems out of place, but I can’t hate, you should stick around anyway for the hidden electro-funk that follows.
Like I said, I can’t hate. The album is full of huge beats and Akro stands tall with them. “Soul Glo,” “Black Hell Breaks Loose” ft. Willie Evans Jr. & Therapy, “If We Can’t Build” ft. Bumpy Knuckles, and the title track rain down like angry fists and capture Akro at his best.
With the big names like Gnarls Barkley dropping this past month, and many to come in still a young year, Absolute Value probably won't claim this year's crown, which is fine by Akro; he’s got blueprints to the castle and stockpiles of dynamite. Check this one out.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Thrash to Death
Back in the nineties Metal was out, Punk was in. Remember when all your friends loved Reel Big Fish, Offspring was on MTV, Infest played 924 Gilman, and NOFX owned the Warped Tour stage? Things have changed.
The truth is that music does not possess this kind of solitude, since genre’s bleed into one another over time, but that is a different path. It’s still safe to say that in recent years Metal has seen a return to power, but it’s only a matter of time before the revolution. Bomb the Music Industry!’s Get Warmer was my favorite Punk album last year, and over the weekend I went searching for early favorites of 08’.
Paint it Black’s New Lexicon caught my attention when I recognized a Kid Dynamite connection. East coast hardcore junkie and Kid Dynamite guitarist, Dan Yemin , is in on the act, this time with vocal duties. The Kid Dynamite sound is there, spewing hardcore that gathers its form in catchy breakdowns, opener “The Ledge” puts this on full display, but that is not all New Lexicon has to offer. On the outro to “We Will Not” Yemin’s posi-ranting “Even when the ship has run aground / Don’t let the bastards get you fuckin’ down!” leads into background keys and dissonant electronic drums. This aspect is used sparingly over all, but on a hardcore album, a little goes a long way.
Short and mean is the name. Ceremony. They're a California power violence unit that have gained attention in the North Bay scene recently. Last year saw them release an E.P., Scared People (2007) that made waves in the Punk underground. They have a full length coming out late summer/early fall on Bridge Nine records entitled The Full Length, which I anticipate will receive tons of hype in the months to come. Their sound has been compared to Crossed Out, lurching riffs that explode into freak-outs, but power violence is Punk in a straight jacket, so freedom to experiment here is really limited. It’s on songs like “Making With The Stale Air” that they manage to capture my attention by balancing the attack with a jittery thrash riff.
In the Metal glory days of the eighties, it was thrash that ruled. Metal and Punk were thrown together, and a movement began* that would solidify America in Rock’s dark arts forever. The truth is that finding good, never mind great, thrash these days is hard to come by. Extremes in contemporary metal have caused thrash to essentially turn into death metal with heavy thrash tendencies, like Year of Desolation, who put out a wicked S/T last year and nailed this style. I ran into a band that does the exact same, just twenty years earlier. Corrupt is a Swedish thrash metal band that play a combo of thrash/death, but in the Kreator/Dark Angel/Slayer vein. It’s grimy and blistering, but those infectious riffs are what kill me in the end. The chorus and guitar solo on “Profits Prevail,” off their E.P. Silence Equals Death (2006), will bring a white-knuckle smile to your face, and remind you of why you still listen to those old Thrash albums over and over. They are slated to release a LP later this year on Blood Harvest records entitled Slavestate Serenades. Corrupt is a really good thrash band that I bet will only get better. Go!
*Sure NWOBHM/First-wave black metal were important too. sure.
The truth is that music does not possess this kind of solitude, since genre’s bleed into one another over time, but that is a different path. It’s still safe to say that in recent years Metal has seen a return to power, but it’s only a matter of time before the revolution. Bomb the Music Industry!’s Get Warmer was my favorite Punk album last year, and over the weekend I went searching for early favorites of 08’.
Paint it Black’s New Lexicon caught my attention when I recognized a Kid Dynamite connection. East coast hardcore junkie and Kid Dynamite guitarist, Dan Yemin , is in on the act, this time with vocal duties. The Kid Dynamite sound is there, spewing hardcore that gathers its form in catchy breakdowns, opener “The Ledge” puts this on full display, but that is not all New Lexicon has to offer. On the outro to “We Will Not” Yemin’s posi-ranting “Even when the ship has run aground / Don’t let the bastards get you fuckin’ down!” leads into background keys and dissonant electronic drums. This aspect is used sparingly over all, but on a hardcore album, a little goes a long way.
Short and mean is the name. Ceremony. They're a California power violence unit that have gained attention in the North Bay scene recently. Last year saw them release an E.P., Scared People (2007) that made waves in the Punk underground. They have a full length coming out late summer/early fall on Bridge Nine records entitled The Full Length, which I anticipate will receive tons of hype in the months to come. Their sound has been compared to Crossed Out, lurching riffs that explode into freak-outs, but power violence is Punk in a straight jacket, so freedom to experiment here is really limited. It’s on songs like “Making With The Stale Air” that they manage to capture my attention by balancing the attack with a jittery thrash riff.
In the Metal glory days of the eighties, it was thrash that ruled. Metal and Punk were thrown together, and a movement began* that would solidify America in Rock’s dark arts forever. The truth is that finding good, never mind great, thrash these days is hard to come by. Extremes in contemporary metal have caused thrash to essentially turn into death metal with heavy thrash tendencies, like Year of Desolation, who put out a wicked S/T last year and nailed this style. I ran into a band that does the exact same, just twenty years earlier. Corrupt is a Swedish thrash metal band that play a combo of thrash/death, but in the Kreator/Dark Angel/Slayer vein. It’s grimy and blistering, but those infectious riffs are what kill me in the end. The chorus and guitar solo on “Profits Prevail,” off their E.P. Silence Equals Death (2006), will bring a white-knuckle smile to your face, and remind you of why you still listen to those old Thrash albums over and over. They are slated to release a LP later this year on Blood Harvest records entitled Slavestate Serenades. Corrupt is a really good thrash band that I bet will only get better. Go!
*Sure NWOBHM/First-wave black metal were important too. sure.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Old Growth
The new Christine Fellows finally arrived last week and it’s spindly arms have entangled me back and over again. No one writes songs like she does. There have been comparisons to the Mountain Goats (John Darnielle), and I see why. They both have a dense lyrical style and an instrumental approach that leans towards the singer-songwriter warmth, instead of freak-folk obscurity that’s all the rage. More than any of these comparisons could say, the two belong in an elite group of lyricists out there. That is what their albums are all about, and it’s what I knew Nevertheless would be about. Ever so spindly, I am caught in a new place.
Nevertheless is a burgeoning adventure, spilling out of the house and into the spring overgrowth. Christine’s previous release, Paper Anniversary (2006), was a handful of diamonds, as brilliant as they were precious. Nevertheless is dramatically fleshed out in comparison, saturating in the spaces previously left hollow. Broad strings arrangements, backing choral vocals, and newly prominent drums have Christine and friends painting in the details. “What Makes the Cherry Red” is a montage at dawn, brimming over with droplets of percussion, wild strings, fluttering piano, and chirping birds. On “Yours, And With Ever Grateful Wonder” the song eventually digresses to the sound of a typewriter and spoken lyrics. She captures the opposing direction on the title track; with one of her most pop structured pieces to date. This time the songwriting has turned into a splendor all it’s own.
The lyrics are nothing less. Nevertheless is a phrase adaptation from author Marianne Moore. In the liner notes it reads that the title song and “What Are Years?” are responses to poems written by Moore, and she also references W.B. Yeats in “The Spinster’s Almanac.” The poetry penned here is breath taking, and quieter moments on the album, like “To A Prize Bird,” give her tender voice a chance to be alone with the words.
While most songs, in true Fellows form, don’t break the three-minute mark, they reveal a powerful new depth. Nevertheless showcases Christine Fellows as one of music’s lyrical heroines, wielding spells and new light. Destined to be one of this year’s best.
Nevertheless is a burgeoning adventure, spilling out of the house and into the spring overgrowth. Christine’s previous release, Paper Anniversary (2006), was a handful of diamonds, as brilliant as they were precious. Nevertheless is dramatically fleshed out in comparison, saturating in the spaces previously left hollow. Broad strings arrangements, backing choral vocals, and newly prominent drums have Christine and friends painting in the details. “What Makes the Cherry Red” is a montage at dawn, brimming over with droplets of percussion, wild strings, fluttering piano, and chirping birds. On “Yours, And With Ever Grateful Wonder” the song eventually digresses to the sound of a typewriter and spoken lyrics. She captures the opposing direction on the title track; with one of her most pop structured pieces to date. This time the songwriting has turned into a splendor all it’s own.
The lyrics are nothing less. Nevertheless is a phrase adaptation from author Marianne Moore. In the liner notes it reads that the title song and “What Are Years?” are responses to poems written by Moore, and she also references W.B. Yeats in “The Spinster’s Almanac.” The poetry penned here is breath taking, and quieter moments on the album, like “To A Prize Bird,” give her tender voice a chance to be alone with the words.
While most songs, in true Fellows form, don’t break the three-minute mark, they reveal a powerful new depth. Nevertheless showcases Christine Fellows as one of music’s lyrical heroines, wielding spells and new light. Destined to be one of this year’s best.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Epic in Concert
Last spring some friends from Portland invited me to hang at a local concert in Eugene. They had some friends who were traveling down the coast on tour, opening up for a band called Loom. True to college form, I ended up taking the opportunity to avoid my schoolwork in favor of a show and drinks with friends. I sadly missed most of openers, including their friends, but I did get to see all of Loom’s set. They came off like a band that was either five years behind the scene, or five ahead. I was given quick rundown of what to expect, At The Drive-In post-hardcore intensity with a violin that brings to mind Cursive’s instrumental formula. What got left out were the skirmishing math breakdowns that pass through briefly, then disappear behind an angry mob of chorus. By the end of the show, I had joined into the crowd.
The night only got better. My friends picked me a Loom T-shirt and E.P., Angler (2006), as well as the record label, Exigent, sampler mix, The Colors of Sound Breathing V. 1. I gave the sampler a listen and really liked two bands, Gaza and Sweet Jesus. Sweet Jesus has release just a S/T, two song EP, and I have not heard any noise about future recordings or happenings, which is sad because they played a badass hybrid of punk spazz and metal sludge. Gaza has gained some attention and have released an EP, East (2004), and an LP on Black Market Activities, I Don’t Care Where I Go When I Die (2006), to solid reviews. The bands lyrics are whimsical, citing American Idol's Ryan Seacrest amongst others. In the end though, the lyrics are unintelligible, like most extreme metal vocals since the late eighties. Debating over the lyrical strengths is dwarfed by the intensity of the vocal performance, and Gaza's are nasty. What makes them stand out is that they demonstrate little concern for a specific genre convention; the guy is just trying to heave his lungs from his chest. The bands sound is a Math/Grindcore combo, somewhere between Botch and Meshuggah. The guitar work and grind-wall are bound by some chunky time signatures that stomp all over each other. In the broad world of metalcore, I can see these guys getting some love from the Dillinger/Converge pack that’s ready to step outside and go on the prowl.
This month I decided to check back in after not hearing much from the label. While Gaza has moved on to bigger things and Sweet Jesus hasn’t really moved at all, I was happy to see a new band making a their presence felt. Exigent is based in Salt Lake City but has recently moved into Portland and signed a band called Diesto. Isle of Marauder is Diesto’s first release with Exigent is some of the best doom metal I have run across this year. While Neurosis has been the genre’s bulldozer since the early nineties, bands like Isis and Pelican have brought progressive doom to the surface from the underground and are headliners of a recent trend in American metal, and now with Marauder, Diesto have begun carved their name in landscape. Their approach, in an already crowded room, grabs your attention almost immediately by scraping against the hammer throw with some Industrial-style production. It’s still heavy as hell, but rings coarse when compared to dominant codes in the scene. On their band MySpace page they list "soul" as an genre influence. You can hear it, if anywhere, in the guitar solos strangely enough. The band also shows an early affinity for rock dynamics, like on “Monarch,” when instead of just rolling down a long treaded path, a seven minute march charges ahead into fist-throwing punk glory. The epic closer "Black Water" ceeps in with leading guitars, punishes for over ten minutes, then has the guitars return only to put the album to rest. Isle of Marauder is doom metal churned out of a junkyard crusher, and for Diesto, a very promising start. Check these guys out.
The night only got better. My friends picked me a Loom T-shirt and E.P., Angler (2006), as well as the record label, Exigent, sampler mix, The Colors of Sound Breathing V. 1. I gave the sampler a listen and really liked two bands, Gaza and Sweet Jesus. Sweet Jesus has release just a S/T, two song EP, and I have not heard any noise about future recordings or happenings, which is sad because they played a badass hybrid of punk spazz and metal sludge. Gaza has gained some attention and have released an EP, East (2004), and an LP on Black Market Activities, I Don’t Care Where I Go When I Die (2006), to solid reviews. The bands lyrics are whimsical, citing American Idol's Ryan Seacrest amongst others. In the end though, the lyrics are unintelligible, like most extreme metal vocals since the late eighties. Debating over the lyrical strengths is dwarfed by the intensity of the vocal performance, and Gaza's are nasty. What makes them stand out is that they demonstrate little concern for a specific genre convention; the guy is just trying to heave his lungs from his chest. The bands sound is a Math/Grindcore combo, somewhere between Botch and Meshuggah. The guitar work and grind-wall are bound by some chunky time signatures that stomp all over each other. In the broad world of metalcore, I can see these guys getting some love from the Dillinger/Converge pack that’s ready to step outside and go on the prowl.
This month I decided to check back in after not hearing much from the label. While Gaza has moved on to bigger things and Sweet Jesus hasn’t really moved at all, I was happy to see a new band making a their presence felt. Exigent is based in Salt Lake City but has recently moved into Portland and signed a band called Diesto. Isle of Marauder is Diesto’s first release with Exigent is some of the best doom metal I have run across this year. While Neurosis has been the genre’s bulldozer since the early nineties, bands like Isis and Pelican have brought progressive doom to the surface from the underground and are headliners of a recent trend in American metal, and now with Marauder, Diesto have begun carved their name in landscape. Their approach, in an already crowded room, grabs your attention almost immediately by scraping against the hammer throw with some Industrial-style production. It’s still heavy as hell, but rings coarse when compared to dominant codes in the scene. On their band MySpace page they list "soul" as an genre influence. You can hear it, if anywhere, in the guitar solos strangely enough. The band also shows an early affinity for rock dynamics, like on “Monarch,” when instead of just rolling down a long treaded path, a seven minute march charges ahead into fist-throwing punk glory. The epic closer "Black Water" ceeps in with leading guitars, punishes for over ten minutes, then has the guitars return only to put the album to rest. Isle of Marauder is doom metal churned out of a junkyard crusher, and for Diesto, a very promising start. Check these guys out.
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