I listened to Black River Bluesman & Bad Mood Hudson directly after I heard Bo Molasses - apparently something I did in great error. You see You've Put Your Voodoo On Me was so amazing (see below) and Double Headed Trouble was so average that the differences were elevated to a near impossible degree. Double Headed is a decent album, heavy in the blues (more traditional then modern) that I know some people would dig, but my mind compared it to Bo Molasses (unintentionally of course) and that just wouldn't do. I probably need to give this one another try.
Bo Molasses - You've Put Your Voodoo On MeSomething is odd about this one, but I love it! Bo Molasses is not metal (even though the cover art may seem so), instead dark blues/American folk which I find really appealing for some reason. I was going to review You've Put Your Voodoo On Me, but I had a really hard time struggling to write more then "It was good and bluesy....and good" So here's this mini-review. Pick it up at their BandCamp for only $5! Can't beat that.
Bungalow Bums - Body In The Trunk
So-so southern rock. There were a few really good moments, but most didn't go anywhere substantial. I was on a southern stoner bender and Bungalow Bums just didn't live up to their cohorts in the genre. But Body In The Trunk has some bitchin' artwork though.
Confused Little Girl - Southern Gentlemen
Confused Little Girl (odd name) is some damn good southern stoner - something fans of the genre would love. Southern Gentlemen reminds me a bit of Alabama Thunderpussy's last album, just not as groove oriented.
After my Lecherous Gaze EP review, I wanted to hear something else by them, so I decided on this split between three very talented bands. I don't really want to go into each band but trust me, I'm going to be paying much more attention to each in the near future.
Flatfoot 56 - Waves of War
There may be a reason why Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys are the two best-known Celtic folk rock bands within the US. I think it's because that overall they are some of the best (classic Pogues is up there too). Waves of War is the first album by Flatfoot 56 I've heard, and while it is ok and enjoyable, they fall into the same hole as several of Dropkick Murphys' albums do (which the newest deftly avoided): there is too much punk and not enough folk. The folk songs are great but the punk songs either sound too 'poppy' or cross into the hardcore range a bit. Not my cup o' tea.
God Ox - Abyssal Gigantism
God Ox is some damn good semi-sludge stoner metal. I say 'semi-sludge' because while Abyssal Gigantism does contain some sludge themes, the vocals aren't nearly as screamed/guttural as most sludge is. Translation: sludge for people like me. While I would have liked to have heard some more melodic sections - there are long segments of nothing but pounding drums and wining guitar - all in all a great debut release.
Probably my favorite Honcho release, Burning In Water, Drowning In Fire is way more groovy then their most recent release, Battle of Wits (which I also reviewed), which is what I like in my stoner. Still not my favorite band, but I am beginning to see the appeal to this band.
Hypnos 69 Discography
Hypnos 69 puts out some interesting progressive music, that straddles both heaviness (between rock and metal) and era (70s eclectic prog and the more modern version). I would have to equate it to is Dream Theater and Yes decided to work together to release some music - a hard picture to imagine huh?
This is what I imagine hell to sound like. Not death, or black metal or anything, but this sort of wailing, semi-rhythmless noise music. Parts of Resurrection of The Horned Gods were enjoyable, and nothing on the album was bad outright, it just was weird - really weird. I don't know if I'd ever listen through it all again, but there are a couple of songs that could make a playlist or two. Mostly the slower semi-acoustic ones; they reminded me of Dax Riggs' dark acoustic metal. I'll probably pick up Nick Watt's followup,
Rogue Vessel - Supra Ordani (EP)
What drew me to Rogue Vessel was the album artwork, it is kind of neat (I like math and whatnot). When it came to their music... it was so-so. A couple of decent tracks and a couple that I could easily have skipped. The biggest problem I had with Supra Ordani was the vocals, you just couldn't hear them. I don't know if it was the intent, but the vocals were drowned out by the guitars, that and they were very poorly produced. At several sections it seemed like the singer should not be singing, the notes were too off.
It's thrash, through and through. Skull Hammer spends some time within several of the sub-genres of thrash; the 80s 'classic' sound, the more modern era, and some (slightly) slowed-down groove tracks. I'm not big into thrash, but I enjoyed Pay It In Blood, at least a little
SubRosa - No Help For The Mighty One
SubRosa is a post-metal band that vaguely reminded me of Blood Ceremony, mostly the more straight-forward bits and the female vocals. I enjoyed the songs that made the most sense (read: straight-forward), but then the ugly head of post-metal reared its ugly head, and the rest was too spacy for my tastes. Still, I'm edging into this genre, and No Help For The Mighty Ones wasn't a bad way to go.
Various Artists - British Tech-Metal Compilation: Volume 1
A free compilation offered free on BandCamp, I didn't know what Tech-Metal was so I decided to give it a try. Turns out it's the mixing of progressive metal and NWOAHM that seems to be popular now. Prog with screamy voices, it's ok, a few bands I could stand to hear again, but for the most part not something I'd ever go back to again.
2 comments:
SubRosa - I bought the album last month but have had "issues" getting into it. I don't think it's bad, I just don't like it that much.
Hypnos 69 - I find them to be a very good psychedelic rock band, and I refer mostly to their last two albums, which have taken on a somewhat different route than the ones before and in my opinion, a better route. The last one was among my faves of 2010 releases and gorgeous artwork.
I'll check out Flatfoot 56 and God Ox, thanks.r
Post-Metal and I have a love/hate relationship; some of it is great and some is horrible. Most of it I let flow in the background of something I'm reading or doing.
I definitely liked the newest Hypnos 69 the most, but each of their albums is very different then the others so it's hard to judge.
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