Asebia was incredible, dark, metallic Scandi-thrash from Denmark.
Installment number two this week is the first No Statik 7". Being that it's on Iron Lung Records, I assume it was posted on a bunch of blogs, but I'm not one to gamble on such things, so here it is. These two tracks comprise the prologue to the band's 12" that was soon after released on Prank Records; one is an exclusive-- the other is an edited version of "We All Die in the End." Members were previously in Look Back and Laugh, Destroy!, and Scrotum Grinder, so you should be able to anticipate the fury that awaits you...
Compilation week was interrupted by life, so we will call this Compilation Series, part II. I've got two or three more in the chamber, but for today we have the classic four-way split between Stapled Shut, Crom, Spazz, and Despise You. The only reason not to post this is that it's probably already all over the download circuit (circus). But that's not good enough for me. The impulse to post this was too strong. So here it is, ripped from the vinyl at 320...
I'm sure you'd much rather have a full-length for your free download, but let's not forget the punkest format ever. Not to mention, a nice split 7" will introduce you to two bands, add focus to your musical life, and make you less lazy. While I can't guarantee that last bit, I can almost guarantee you'll dig at least one of these bands: Acts Of Sedition and/or Surrender. I fear these bands haven't gotten the attention they deserve outside of the Bay Area, and I was floored when I heard these two very different bands making equally powerful and meaningful music on one little disk. AOS was an instant hit for someone like me who was raised on Christ on Parade and Econochrist. Only one track is offered, but in no way is that unsatisfying. Recognizable as their hardcore is, their song writing somehow breathes something invigoratingly new to the field. The same can be said for Surrender, a self-proclaimed peace punk band. Added to the tropes inherent in that label is a bit of that post-whatever of bands like Spitboy and Witchknot. The politics is in your face; the drums are upbeat, while the guitars are spacious and unpredictably frisky at times. The end result leaves a similar impression as the whole record: fury and wildness held in mean check by an equal amount of intelligence.
Some summer vacations are about adventure and getting into trouble; this one is all about R'nR-- drinking it all in and convincing time to go a little bit slower. "First Step" is yet another (the 3rd) Jawbreaker Song of the Week, but it seemed so perfect and mentions two things I associate with leisure time: bikes and coffee (one I would like to do more of, the other less). Beer is not mentioned, but there's plenty of SOTW slots for those kind of songs.
The vast majority of doom metal bores me, but every so often a band of this ilk, with slow grace, will "bore" into me in another way-- under the skin and right to the psyche. Asunder did this with their beautiful 1x1/2 LP, "A Clarion Call." They succeed for me because they structure their compositions like intricately wrought narratives and use heaviness as only one facet of what are ultimately fairly complex songs. More importantly, tracks like "Twilight Amaranthine" are just chilling and beautiful to hear, all the way up to the fourteenth minute(!). It's been a while since I've posted a long, slow one, but "TA" should more than make up for lost time.
Valentine's Day: cheap, manufactured, on-demand romance. Everybody knows it's lame, and no I'm not just bitter because I couldn't find a date or something. As a statement of rebellion, I post this SOTW the day after (okay, I was just the worst combination of busy and lazy) and I've chosen a comical love song. I was thinking about posting some crust song about biological warfare and such, but this song got stuck in my head as it often does. Now I pass this plague of a chorus onto you like that car blasting "Material Girl" that passes you by and ruins your mind for the rest of the day. The only thing Mr. T Experience was more self-conscious about beside their sappy-ness was their humor. Maybe their catchy-ness too which was like a chocolate dipped crack-rock wrapped in a flu virus.
I guess this song first attracted me this week because of the title. My single friends and I are always bitching about our married friends and how "busy" they are. We spend most of our adult lives working and sleeping; then add familial "obligations" into the mix and the extra things that must be done to handle the extra expenses of the little ones (extra work, going back to school...) and, yeah, I can understand being busy; my sympathy and patience goes out to those folks! But then there are the others, married or otherwise, who clutter their lives with so much... intent on living "better" through a concentration and saturation of busy activity. Whatever happened to smelling the roses... reading a book? Maybe I've been reading a little too much Proust lately (yes, I will read the whole fucking thing this time), but ride your bike during rush hour and you'll see that everyone seems to be in a hyper-tense rush to get to the next phase of their day, psychotically and with a disregard sometimes for others' lives. Everything must be canned and packaged for easy and fast preparation, even our information and news. We watch our world from the window of a high-speed train, and wonder how we got to the age we're at so quickly. This folly becomes painfully apparent at times like these, when I realize I've become one of those people. Then I complain of my victimization by life, by my boss, but how much of that stress is self-imposed? Lots to figure out here, but I digress. How about some more Jawbreaker?!
Some more haunting melodies here to usher you into to the fall. Dimlaia got compared to Neurosis, etc. a lot, but I suspect that was due to a lack of any truly similar band to compare them to. In addition to the creeping pace of their music, Dimlaia's sound is defined by gorgeously tenuous guitar lines that seem to break apart at a mere gust of wind, and which afterward reconverge only to crumble again. It only takes a listen or two to know that this cycle is carefully orchestrated, although it gives the impression of randomness or improvisation. Overlaying the arrangements is an ambient shroud of autumnal melancholia, which should be ventured cautiously by those prone to moodiness. The band also avoids the trap many heavy bands these days fall in of getting too indulgent with their song lengths. "Hide The Sun" is an excellent example, packing in an epic's worth of power into a mere three minutes, and allowing the music to do most of the communicating.
As autumn drops down on us, we initiate a series of Songs Of The Week in tune with this time of dimming light. I wanted to save this one, the darkest, for the cusp of winter. But I've always discouraged listening to really depressing music during that season, and I just snapped out of one of those the-world-fuckin-sucks kind of moods, so this one is perfect for today. The spotlight this week is on The Gault's "The Shore Becomes The Enemy." Few bands have succeeded in making pure human despair so palatable, or in the case of this composition, sublimely beautiful. Having connections to black metal legends, Weakling, the BM card must be pulled, but it's the gothy, progressive aspects of this band that drive the ship. Be patient. At 12 1/2 half minutes, this journey is a far cry from the punk blasts our attention spans crave. But despair of this purity takes time and a careful hand to evoke.
I didn't quite make this one on time for split week, but it's my blog, so I can do what I want! You should probably have this one already, and if you do you know that these two bands live up to their reputations. This was one of the first releases Crow did after reuniting, throwing down a Crucifix cover and a thrashy original that will eviscerate your very being. Artimus Pyle, while keeping a somewhat low profile, have knocked out tons of quality releases over the years, and here shatter all your hopes for a better world with three jabs of down-tuned, dream-smashing, hardcore drear. If it's not a classic already, it might as well be. Mangrove and Prank handled this one, but I doubt you can still get a copy from either. The latter might be good place to stock up on other releases by both bands, though.
It looks like we're embarking on another split week. This time, I'm posting whatever I want, regardless of how many times it's been posted or whether or not the tracks have been compiled on a discography. Yes, a true celebration of a truly punk format. When it comes to punk as fuck splits, it's hard to shake a stick at Filth and Submachine's manifesto of drunkenness and punkness, "This Is Why We Are The Drunks." These bands need no intro and no disclaimer-- listen and let the debauchery begin! Full scans, 320 kbps vinyl rips, bla bla...
I don't hear about Econochrist too often these days. I suspect it might be because their music has been widely available-- I guess it takes scarcity to boost a band's popularity sometimes. Regardless, Econochrist are one of the top 10 bands I could never live without. Their discography is just gripping from beginning to end (even their melodic "Arkansas" era stuff has its charm). To avoid rolling dice to choose a favorite, I present the first track I ever heard from the band, in the form I heard it in: "Withdrawal" ripped directly from the "Vinyl Retentive" comp.
This Song Of The Week was inspired by a cheezy happenstance. It's the second time whereby the i-pod has reminded me of the urgent need to revisit a band. Crucifix was one of the best things the later Cold War produced. Cross the streams of the paranoid aesthetic of Discharge and Crass with the raw music theory of early DC bands and we arrive somewhere near this band's power. "Dehumanization" is pure greatness from start to finish, so I present the first track "Annihilation" to solve the dilemma of choosing only one.
Here's that A Light In The Attic LP I was talking about. All twelve rippers are so much better realized than the ones on the previous post; each one a mesmerizing, frenetic haze of grey chaos. Lots more twisted discord this time around, for maximum ambiance. This isn't for everyone, but I goddamn love it!
What would happen if members of Yaphet Kotto and Suicide Nation got together? Besides an excellent split 7", the answer would also include A Light In The Attic. Silverstein reference aside, LITA was an impressive, ephemeral musical event that fused the respective emotion and metallic brutalism of both bands, the congealed result of which sounded like neither. Now, I'll admit, their tracks on this split LP are not exactly their crowning achievement. I suggest approaching them as preparation for the Takaru tracks, or for the much superior ones that appear on their own LP (shall I post that tomorrow?). The Takaru tracks are indeed fine examples of what this band could do. If you're one who finds some qualities of "screamo" redeeming, but prefer some metal chutzpah (balls) placed heavily in the mix, you'll appreciate Takaru immensely. I want to say they have connections to Burial Year, but I lost track. This is a blog, though, so if you know more about Takaru or this supposedly rare split, you should try commenting. You'll feel good about it afterward. Trust me.
