EP Shakedown: Manhammer - Above The New Frontier

Manhammer is a hard band to get a hold of. It was damn near impossible for me to find any real information on this group, with only YouTube and porn sites popping up with most of my searches. I ended up having to turn to the SludgeSwamp, as they had at least a link to the band's MySpace. I also found another band called ManHammer, and a 'Future Site For Manhammer,' so maybe I did find them after all. I think the first focus of this band should be to raise themselves up from the dirge that a search of Manhammer pulls up. Your web identity is everything, and if people can't find you you're losing some potential fans.

EP Shakedown: The Helldozers - My Anger

The Helldozers are a southern stoner/sludge act, who have been nice enough to release their debut EP, My Anger, for free off of their website (both in MP3 and FLAC for those huge music nerds out there). Their style is slightly reminiscent of early Down, with a heavy groove sound with some rough (but understandable) vocals. For someone who isn't wholly on the guttural style of singing, as I've stated many times before, it took me a little bit to get on board with it all, but by the end of the first track off of the EP I was happily engaged.

The release begins with "My Anger" which may or may not be live, there are live sounds but you never know nowadays whether or not they aren't added in. The song takes a while to take off, or perhaps it was the time needed for me to get used to their style (see above), but either way it ends strong and is easily enjoyable. The following song, "I'am What I'am," has a really catchy chorus and some good music to go along with it, but sounds like something is missing from the equation. "Seven Seas," the following song, is a really groove-metal, circa 1990-era thrash. It's quick and heavy, but not so frantic as the 80s thrash was, more mature and tuned down for effect. A really good end of the first half of the record.

Weekly Dose of Prog: VYGR - Hypersleep

VYGR is a new band that has been getting a lot of press of late; and while I discovered that they are a bit light on the progressive aspect, several other reviewers hailed their style of music as very much progressive in nature. This is what led to the group being this week's 'Weekly Dose of Prog,' but whichever way you look at it, I'm glad I got a chance to hear Hypersleep.

You see, while VYGR (pronounced Voyager) have progressive tendencies, they really fall more into the post-metal aspect of the genre. The songs have a tendency of being long and drawn-out (not a complaint), mixing in sludge and doom for good measure. This is the style of sludge I like by the way, the vocals are growly but semi-understandable and go with the music very well. It's not like the growing trend of pointless screaming and incomprehensible growls that have become so popular nowadays. It reminds me of Baroness, only less prog and much more doom-oriented.

5 Quick Album Reviews

I've recently joined the family over at Ripple Music. They've been nice enough to send me some music for review (as well as connect me with the JPT Scare Band, who sent me a shirt and their entire discography, way to go there guys!), and a new outlet to gain some readers. If you haven't had a chance to check them out, I strongly suggest you do so, they review pretty much anything, from old to new, and any range of rock/metal. It's a lot more varied then The Guide is, so if you have eclectic tastes like me, there is bound to be something interesting there for you to enjoy.

Thinning The Herd - Oceans Rise
As a group that describes themselves as a "soulful brew of grunge-fueled, blues-driven, stoner-infused rock," their self-description hits the nail on the head pretty solidly. The songs off of Thinning The Herd initially strike me as a mix of early-era Clutch and the alternative/post-grunge of Alice In Chains. Even though Oceans Rise drift away from that original analysis, it is this thought that continuously pops up throughout the album. Overall the album is tuned-down, making it all sound very dark and oppressive, probably more so then the lyrics would normally have come across as, but I have to think that this is the purpose. Songs that do pop-up ahead of the group, do so because of their more melodic tendencies. An underlying theme to the music (at least to me) is a semi-garage and/or noise rock fuzz and overexposure of the instruments and vocals. Songs like the title track, "Defiler," "Binge," and "My Wake," all have more in the whole 'musical' department, a little more groove, a little more tune. If you find yourself forlorn at the end of the 90s grunge/alt-metal era then definitely check out Thinning The Herd, you will not be disappointed.

New Band: The Might Could

Also seen on Heavy Planet:

Whenever a great band breaks up, the members splinter off and create a plethora of really good follow-ups. Some of these off-shoots aren't as good as the original, others are par with it, and some exemplify the musicianship of the members of the original sound. The day that Alabama Thunderpussy broke up (about a month after I discovered them) was a sad day for stoner metal fans the world over. Sense then we've all been waiting, and wanting to hear what new project would be summoned from that corpse. A group with that much skill and potential could never go quietly into the night, there had to be more. That being said; from the ashes of Alabama Thunderpussy I present: The Might Could!

The Might Could's debut, self-titled, LP continues the general themes of Alabama Thunderpussy's music, it's gritty southern stoner, with a bit of gabled vocals - which took a bit for me to get used to - more akin to Fulton Hill then Open Fire. The songs are all groove-laden, heavily doom-influenced, and are guaranteed to melt your face. Of course amongst all this there is still a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor, especially in the song titles "The Night They Shoot Ol' Dixie Down," an obvious play off of The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," and the following "I Don't Even Like Pantera Anymore," I'd like to say there is a story about Pantera in there somewhere, but it's one of their more screamy songs, and they only lyrics I can make out are the title line in the chorus.

5 Quick Negative Album Reviews

Even though I listen to so much music, the quality overall is pretty damn stellar. Only a handful of albums and artists ever raise my ire. Because of this, I'm grouping what little I didn't like together. It makes it easier for me, and I hope, for you.

Mahatma - Gilgamesh

Pretty much every time I listen to an instrumental band - of any genre - I always draw reference to the Cloudkicker article I wrote a while back and the good and bad with instrumental bands. I really need to write a stand-alone article about this subject, but until then just know that Mahatma embodies what is bad with the instrumental genre. The majority of their songs on Gilgamesh are droning, repetitive doom songs, with the same rhythm repeated seemingly endlessly for eight or nine minutes. The opening track “Blood On Uruk” is a perfect example; when I was listening to this song, I mistakenly thought I had chosen the first track from the Under The Sun album, Man of Sorrow (which will get a review here soon). While I thought it was “Stride” (the first track off Man of Sorrow) I was ok with it, because it sounded like the intro for a movie, when the hero is walking up a road with the credits spliced in. I figured it to be an intro piece, and the fact that it was that repetitive and dull didn't matter, because soon the good music would chime in. Eventually I figured out it was Mahatma I was listening to, and my expectation that the album would get better was cast aside. The disc did not get any more interesting when it moved to the second track, and most of the album fell into this, dull and repetitive, category. The only two songs that stood out in any way were “Enkidu's End” and “Find The Sacred Herb.” The former was a good rock song, it was energetic and had several different melodies and styles, while the latter was more akin to the rest of the album, but it had some sweet grinding guitars, just simple chugging throughout, but it made the whole picture work. The rest of the disk, just throw it away, or use it for background noise for TV or movies, when you just need some filler while the characters talk or drive or something.

Awesome Websites: Tooting Bizarre

Found this one through my blog connections, TootingBizarre.org is a British record label's website, but this is no ordinary record label. You see this one gives all of the music they have away... for free! They have fourteen acts and thirty one albums/EPs for you to enjoy. The groups span a bunch of genres, from doom and post-metal, to folk and hip-hop. There is a little for everyone, so why not give it a look?

Now, I did scoop some artists up, but I haven't had a chance to listen to them at all yet, but the artists available include:

50ft Panda - Stoner/sludge/prog (3 Albums)

Diefenbaker - Folk/neofolk duo (4 Albums)

Mayors of Miyazaki -Math rock/hardcore (2 Albums)

Montana Pete -Punk/funk (3 Albums)

Olid - Prog/Doom supergroup from members of 50ft Panda, Mayors of Miyazaki, and Thumpermonkey Lives! (1 Album)

Part Rocket -Instrumental post-rock - I tried downloading this one but for some reason it wouldn't work for me, but give it a try (4 Albums)

Shinju - Pop or something, didn't give this one too much attention (1 Album)

Stonasaurus - Underground Hip-Hop (1 Album)

The Device - Techno/electronica (3 Albums)

The Doghouse Riley Band - Garage rock with humor (1 Album)

Thumpermonkey -Prog/experimental. Solo act before Thumpermonkey Lives! (2 Albums)

Thumpermonkey Lives! -Post-metal, prog, sludge, etc (2 Albums)

Todger -  Prog-stoner (3 Albums)

Tooting Bizarre - A live album of acts that are apart of TootingBizarre.org (1 Album)

 

Just sharing the love.

Melvins To Play Every Friday In January

According to mxdwn.com, the legendary sludge act (the) Melvins will be playing a weekly show, every Friday of January. Each week they will be playing a different set of albums, in their entirety.

The playlist as I know it:

January 7:  Colossus of Destiny, Lysol and Eggnog
January 14: Most of their 1983 line-up will be present (King Buzzo, Dale Crover and Mike Dillard–Crover will most likely be playing bass).  Houdini
January 21: Melvins “Lite” line-up featuring only Buzzo and Crover; Bullhead
January 28: Full line-up; Stoner Witch

So if you happen to be living in Los Angeles, or are near enough to travel there (or want to cough out some dough), stop by Club Spaceland and hear the legends perform!

5 Quick Album Reviews

I could have easily spun most of these off into a stand-alone review (as you'll notice in the overall length of the articles), but I am a busy guy, with a lot of music to listen to yet.

Wino - Adrift

Simply amazing. Best way to describe the legendary Wino's second solo release, as it has become one of my favorites for all year. It's a far change from what the master of all thing doom has ever previously released, coming off as more classic rock then doom or heavy metal. Adrift is a mostly acoustic album, with only the occasional electric guitar solo stopping it from being fully acoustic. These songs are not really metal, and the disc comes off with a very classic rock (circa-1975) feel. Think some good ol' Deep Purple or perhaps some Zeppelin to get what I mean. There are a couple of covers thrown in (Motorhead and Savoy Brown), something I was not expecting, but for the most part it is Wino at his core. I love his gruff voice, his abrupt singing style, and of course his amazing guitar-work. It's amazing what the man can do with an acoustic guitar, usually not something that one would expect to hear truly amazing work from, but Wino delivers! This album is another that I wish I hadn't waited so long in hearing, and it makes me want to go back through this amazing musician's history and re-listen (or listen for the first time) to his entire discography. It is that good.

New Band: Clagg

Also seen on Heavy Planet:

After my review of Cough's new album, Ritual Abuse, I decided to follow the sludge theme and continue on to Clagg. This one will be short and sweet, because everything that I said about Cough can be said about Clagg. Lord of The Deep is another foray into the sludge/doom style that I don't really like. The music is amazing - some of the best doom I've heard in a while - but the vocals are horrible. While Cough was a mix of growly and high-pitched and whiny, Clagg is all growl. And this is something that I cannot partake nor overlook.

New Band: Cough

Also seen on Heavy Planet:

Prior to listening to Cough's new album, Ritual Abuse, I was very excited. Every review of this album was amazing, heralding one of the best doom record of the year. How this was on par with the greatness of Electric Wizard (which is a band I've never gotten into before, so I guess that should have been my clue). Needless to say I looked forward to listening to these tracks - enough to do so completely sober (as I'd begun the disc a couple times drunk and decide I wanted to be in z clear state of mind) - and was confused by the end.

The good about Ritual Abuse, and it's a big good, is the music. This is doom metal; the drudging guitars the slow and heavy drum beats the essence of death and despair, this is all I love about the genre. It really is a throw back to the classic days of doom. Tag all the necessary comparisons musically to Pentagram, Sabbath, and the rest, and it all fits like a glove.

New Band: The Assorted Dax Riggs Projects

While not technically 100% brand new, I just finished listening to Dax Riggs' complete discography and I really liked what I heard, in all forms. Riggs was the singer in a number of bands, from the sludge-gods Acid Bath, to the more stoner rock groups, Agents of Oblivion and Deadboy And The Elephantmen, and now he works on his solo work, with more of an acoustic/alternative sound, but the dark elements of his past work are ever present. (Side note, I don't get why Agents of Oblivion and Deadboy And The Elephantment have official websites - if only very basic and outdated - but Acid Bath and Dax Riggs himself only have MySpace's... interesting)

Acid Bath is legendary in most metal circles, and it is interesting to see the varied groups that enjoy their music. I've met people who don't usually listen to metal that have heard - and listen - to Acid Bath, on the other end I have met metalhead fans of all genres - be it death, doom, or progressive - who have shown interest in the themes or music of the group. It's actually kind of amusing.
Anyway, Acid Bath blended the sounds of doom and hardcore, with all sorts of sounds in-between. With such an eclectic collection of sounds, it's amazing how much of an underground following they have collected, even now almost 15 years after their break-up, hell I had never heard of them more then 5 years ago. That is some staying power. It could have been the artwork from their first album, When The Kite String Pops, known for hosting a picture that the serial killer John Wayne Gacy painted while in prison on death row. It's those kind of touches (and the population's focus on morbidity) that I think helped the band stay in the underground mindset for so long.
After one more release, Paegan Terrorism Tactics, the group broke-up following the death of bassist Audie Pitre (killed by a drunk driver), and the members all split off to form their own groups of all metal genres; ranging from the sludge Crowbar, and Goatwhore, the doom Vual, and the black metal (with two bassists and no guitars) Shrum. Dax Riggs choose to go in a different direction, to the stoner rock project Agents of Oblivion.