Nunslaughter ~ Christmassacre (EP) (album review) ... Not your grandmother's music!

Style: death metal
Label: Hells Headbangers
Year: 2005
Home: Ohio

Members: Blood ~ guitar
Chris 213 ~ bass
Don Of The Dead ~ vocals
Jim Sadist ~ drums

 

 

   I reviewed the Christian metal band Leviticus not so long ago, but on Christmassacre you can't get any farther away on the spectrum - religious or musical ... well, that is except for burning a church down & calling the sounds of the flames music & as far as I know only classical composer John Cage has composed with fire. The name of the band, let alone the album, give away everything you need to know about this legendary group that has been around for an amazing 20 years putting out as many albums as Rick Wakeman ... with just as little chart-success. Nunslaughter is famous for their straight ahead metal that's as harsh & raw as you can possibly get with brutal lyrics in spades to match, coming off the tradition set by Burzum & early Mayhem. Surprisingly, the growling lead singer actually allows the lyrics to be heard, always an asset whatever the musical style ... not that you necessarily need to hear or want to hear "oh little town of Deathlehem..." or "Satan is my master". Though, for their benefit, what you can hear are often witty lyrical turns ... cause "Deathlehem" is undoubtedly a witty parody. This is Nunslaughter's only holiday album, or perhaps I should say Ax-mas album, featuring the lost chestnut roasting classics: "Deathlehem," "Unholy Scriptures," "Jewrusalem" & "Unchained Cadaver". You won't find any fancy technical playing here or even guitar solos nor great production values, albeit this is better than some Nunslaughter releases which bring demo quality production to new heights, but this music is so wild, beer laced & fits so much the stereotype of heavy metal that you almost can't help but end up enjoying it. For those of us that listen to metal regularly we're so used to blasphemous lyrics that Nunslaughter barely raises an eyebrow. Anyways, what holiday would be complete without a sing-along of "Unholy Scriptures"?

Powerman 5000 ~ Tonight The Stars Revolt (album review) ... Keep watching the skies!

Style: heavy metal, industrial
Label: Dreamworks
Year: 1999
Home: Boston

Members: Al 3 ~ drums
Dorian 27 ~ bass
DJ Lethal ~ turntables
Spider One ~ vocals
M.33, Adam 12 ~ guitar

Additional: Malachi Throne ~ narrator
Scott Humphrey, Marc LaCorte ~ programming


Guest: Rob Zombie ~ vocals
Ginger Fish ~ piano

 

  I first heard this album from a next door neighbor in college when it first hit the shelves. I was immediately enthralled by it. I'd never heard anything quite like it, with it's quasi-industrial metal & forward driving rhythms that always sounded to be like they were ahead of the beat thus driving it forward, versus the sludge of doom metal I wasn't yet interested in. Further, the campy 1950's science fiction theme of the album (i.e., most apparent in the songs "Tonight The Stars Revolt!," "When Worlds Collide," "Watch The Sky For Me," "System 11:11," "Blast Off To Nowhere," "Super Nova Goes Pop" & "The Son Of X-51") was similar to the surf rock I was then listening to such as Man Or Astro-man?. I was also struck by the dynamic singing ... though listening again after years I can't help but hear the Marilyn Manson similarities. & thus I come to the weakness of the album. At the time I wasn't listening to Marilyn Manson, but now I've heard everything he's done & it's hard not to call this the lost Marilyn Manson non-rated X space album. The fact that they once toured with Manson & feature member Ginger Fish on the album proves the point. Some of the songs are incredibly strong (i.e. "When Worlds Collide," "Good Times Roll," "Nobody's Real" & "Super Nova Goes Pop") & memorable, while others are a bit repetitive & survive only by their campy theme ... oh, but what a great campy theme it is! Unlike some concept albums that are hard to decipher, you never ask yourself what this is about ... as most often nothing but just repeating sci-fi phrases against an industrial metal foundation. Sadly, the weakness of the album discouraged me from investigating them further when they abandoned the sci-fi motif. Lead singer Spider One is the younger brother of shock rocker Rob Zombie so more than a few songs, particularly "Operate, Annihilate", have a very Zombie-esque sound.

Warhammer ~ Towards The Chapter Of Chaos (hits comp) (album review) ... The 1st chapter was a cliff hanger, quite literally it left you hanging!

Style: black metal, doom metal
Label: Nuclear Blast
Year: 2003
Home: Germany

Members: Necros II ~ bass/guitar
Volker "Iron Lung" Frerich ~ vocals
Rolf Meyn ~ drums

 

 

 

  Warhammer is a German tribute band to the short lived single album Swiss band Hellhammer, the precursor to Celtic Frost, except they aren't like other tribute bands in the fact that they don't play Hellhammer songs ... but, that's the only thing they don't do, as the lyrics, sound, feeling & even album art is all Hellhammer. This 'hits' compilation includes alternate versions & rehearsals of songs that cover their '97 demo tape through their first official release the next year up to their 4th release in 2002. I'll confess to not being familiar with Hellhammer or their music, but in the years of this compilation Warhammer was the dirge side of doom metal through slow riffs that are more at home with early Black Sabbath than modern guitar blistering black metal that verges on speed metal too often. Personally, I'll take this any day. As for the vocals, one of the more unique features of the band, they sound like someone in the middle of gagging & throwing up or something out of the pit of a dark Catholic tomb in the Middle Ages. The production quality varies on a few tracks, but on one hand perfectly matches the raw darkness of the music. Like a lot of black/death metal, such as Nunslaughter or Burzum, you won't find the music cluttered with a lot of fancy guitar solos. This is music meant to pull out the inner demon through hypnotic straight-forward riffs ... not the inner dancer through fancy power metal finger tapping. This is beastly & dirty by being unflashy & not trying too hard. Metallica only wish they were this dark but they try too hard. Albeit, if you like Metallica's Kill 'Em All, outside of the singing, then you'll probably like this ... but that was while Metallica wasn't trying too hard.

Jet Jagger ~ Sitting In The Sun (EP) (live) (album review) ... Sunglasses & batteries not included!

Style: hard rock, reggae, classic rock
Label: self-released
Year: 2009
Home: Las Vegas

Members: Michael ~ vocals/guitar
Greg Pinachos ~ drums/b. vocals
Aldo Santana ~ bass/b. vocals

 

  

  The song titles clue the listener in to the music inspiring this trio: "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man," "Greater Depression," "Wax Lips," "Jet Jagger Rasta," "Hollow," "Boxy Lady," "Woot," "My Sweet Thing" & Nirvana's "Love Buzz". Besides the obvious grunge & Hendrix (i.e. "Boxy Lady" is an instrumental variation of "Foxy Lady"), one might also pull up the Stones, Bob Marley & maybe even George Harrison & the Allman Brothers Band. Even if the references aren't all musically accurate, I'm sure Jet Jagger wouldn't mind the comparison. Albeit, their live version of "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" does indeed sound like the Yardbirds playing in an obscure Liverpool club circa 1960 with a Muddy Waters-esque rhythm on a chunky sounding guitar. While "Greater Depression" with a more psychedelic feel is the Yardbirds after Jeff Beck showed up ... whiny guitar solo included. While "Hollow" could be early Who or or any number of early blues-inspired British bands. Albeit, it might be the poor quality of the live recording that helps them sound like they are recording in 1960, but the rhythms they play are unmistakably rooted across the ocean & across time. I can only hope that the next time they go into the studio they don't overdub & tweak their songs to the max, like every other band, to eventually sound like every other band, losing the individualism that comes through on their live recordings. Their eclectic mix of throw-back styles, which even includes a bit of hot Rasta reggae, is far from what anyone else is doing & it's enjoyable to listen to. Being in a band, today, is a lot more than just playing music. It's getting noticed, getting gigs, recording, touring, composing, finding an individual sound, etc. Music? That's almost trivial. But, think back to the origins of Velvet Underground, when Pickwick Records songwriter Lou Reed met up with avant-garde musician John Cale to find out how far they could take sound. They just wanted a place to play & maybe make some cash to pay the rent. Everything else was secondary. Childhood friends Lennon & McCartney didn't come together with a game plan of their music career. While Charlie Watts joined the Stones cause there were more opportunities to play than in a jazz band. & what happens when we listen back to the early recordings of these bands? A feeling of excitement because we're seeing young musicians doing what they want to do before the smog of business got into the room. I get the same feeling from Jet Jagger as I do when I listen to the earliest Stones recordings - youthful energy, excitement, passion & creativity. Jet Jagger is a young band in Vegas that just wants to play music & according to their myspace photo album will play anywhere space is available - even in the road!. The Beatles performed on a rooftop. There's something endearing peeking in on this almost naïve creative energy.

Obituary ~ Dead (live) (album review) ... Here lies music!

Style: death metal, live, black metal, metal
Label: Roadrunner
Year: 1998
Home: Florida

Members: John Tardy ~ vocals
Donald Tardy ~ drums
Trevor Peres ~ rhythm guitar
Frank Watkins ~ bass
Allen West ~ lead guitar

 

  For me, live albums are about showing a different side to a band, with the hope that they sound different on stage than in the studio & maybe even better. The stage is where a band gets to reinterpret their own music. The Doors & the Grateful Dead are prime examples of this as they are both almost completely different bands onstage. Then there's other bands that don't sound better & shouldn't release live albums & some singers can't sing well without the assistance of a computer. The stage theoretically allows the true sound of a band to shine without all the overdubs & studio gimmickry. Some bands have extra musicians hidden behind stacked amps to not worry about this, while the more creative, such as Led Zeppelin, rework the music to suite the venue with no camouflage. I'm going to take a leap & say that Florida death metal pioneers Obituary sound so much like a different band that this live album rates far superior above any of their studio releases I've heard. The songs seem to breathe better here than in the setting of over-production. Also, their individuality shines better on stage where the loose setting allows an reckless energy to come through. Obituary brought death metal to new mature highs, continuing the banner flung up by Death & Napalm Death & carried on by Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Malevolent Creation & more. I've always felt too many of the aforementioned death bands aimed for sheer speed exercises in dexterity & forgot that metal forefathers Black Sabbath was considered heavy not for speed but for some often rather slow tempos & lots of variation in emotional texture. Speed walks the line between darkness & just plain speed. Obituary has the ability to bring everything together from the darkest dirge to the fastest fingers with even some great cover art thrown in. They paid attention to their teachers. Dead is a great introduction to the band. These are your teachers, death metalheads. Pay attention, class, if you want to play death metal & not have a pre-mature obituary written to your musical career.

Mr Bungle ~ Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny (EP) (album review) ... Raging war against the holidays!

Style: death metal, experimental metal, speed metal
Label: self-released
Year: 1986
Home: California

Members: Mike Patton ~ vocals/bongos/whistles/bass
Trevor Dunn ~ bass/kazoo/b. vocals/guitar
Trey Spruance ~ guitar/b. vocals
Jed Watts ~ drums/harmonica/b. vocals
Theo Lengyel ~ sax
Martin Fosnaugh ~ jew's harp

 

This is first of four self-produced demo albums Mr. Bungle put out before finally being picked up by a major label in 1991. This quasi-obscurity shows the strong death & speed metal roots of this under-appreciated band. Though, hints of unconventionality already seep through, something the band would become famous for & develop further in later years, through interesting arrangements, instrumentation & vocal variation. 'Hypocrites' has a hard-core ska bridge with chorus vocals, while opener 'Grizzly Adams' is an odd 2 guitar instrumental that sounds like the soundtrack to a B budget horror movie & 'Evil Satan' is an almost laughable poseur's funk metal ode to Satan. It's always interesting to see a band in their primary stages. This album, the title famously reflective of when it was recorded, also features shouting vocals of Mike Patton who later fronted Faith No More. His work with FNM is much better. The highlight of this album for me is really the song titles: 'Anarchy Up Your Ass' & 'Spreading The Thighs Of Death'. Poetry! Pure Bungled poetry!

Magic Black Pumas ~ Sticky Confection (EP) (album review) ... Pour some sugar on me taken literally!

Style: hard rock, post-grunge
Label: self-released
Year: 2010
Home: St. Paul, Minnesota

Members: John Chandler ~ guitar
Tony Crispigna ~ vocals/guitar
Rick Franzen ~ bass/vocals
Kris Godfrey ~ drums

 

 

 

  Trying to describe a band can get very difficult. Trying to describe Sticky Confection leaves me tongue-tied to find the right word or the right band to compare the Magic Black Pumas to. There's a little of this & a little of that, something old & something new & they rock out with a feel that's not so brash as it is groovy. The end. That's it. You want details? Check out their myspace. The Count Basie Big Band was famous for it's "Basie Beat", which was where the entire rhythm section played the same thing to create this powerful rhythmic beat behind the melody line. The MBP have their own approach to the Basie Beat. A strong melodic beat goes through their songs with each instrument not trying so much for it's own interpretation to the melody but all echoing & playing around each other to create one big moving beat & one big sound with little variations appearing, such as a guitar solo or break. I recently watched a Sondheim birthday tribute at Lincoln Center with the NY Philharmonic Orchestra. One of the most noticeable things about Sondheim's arrangements is how the melody line will bounce around to different instruments allowing the texture of the melody to change even when the notes basically don't. The MBP have a similar approach in that while all the instruments are creating that big 'Puma Beat' at times the guitar will soften to make way for the vocals or or the bass or drums will put a roll into the texture, but the beat & melody always remains. Strong base-line, variable drumming, upbeat driving patterns with a groovy bounce at times - that's the simple way of describing the MBP. Comparing them to jazz & Broadway, however distant they are from those forms, is the difficult approach but the best I'm able to muster. "No Visible Scars" is a particular highlight of the EP, though I'll confess that the lyrics are sometimes a bit abstract with words seemingly put together for their sound & ambiance than making sense.

Damn Glad ~ Not For Nothing (album review) ... You'll be damn glad you heard this band!

Style: hard rock, alternative
Label: Damn Glad
Year: 2009
Home: New York City/New Jersey

Members: Matt Kurzban ~ vocals/guitars
Jeff Baker ~ drums
Jeff Kalber ~ bass/b. vocals
Jonny K. ~ guitars/b. vocals

 

 

   The first thing one notices about Damn Glad is unquestionably the singing. There's great singers, bad singers, adequate singers & then sometimes you get an interesting & recognizable singer - in this case it's also a good singer. A singer like Matt Kurzban really changes the sound of the band with his distinctive croon, like Jon Anderson to Yes or Geddy Lee to Rush. Partly what makes him so great is there's no screaming, growling or falsetto but old fashioned singing with a tone that doesn't sound forced or unnatural! Someone who sings natural, such as Louis Armstrong, can often be a far better & stronger singers than some with all the vocals tricks & magical range. As for what's being sung ... I always like music you suddenly find yourself singing along to. "One Good Reason" was the first of a few tracks I found this occurring to ... actually, banging my head too. If I'm moving & singing to the music - at my desk with headphones on & a spouse watching - we're off to good relationship. This band doesn't necessarily aim for pyrotechnics but a real solid sound of songs radio friendly but still a little raw that include a range of music styles under a hard rock/alternative banner. It's often by the book arrangements, but considering so many bands throw away the book & become unlistenable this is not a detriment. Every track is a little different too, so there's a whole range here really opening up the doors of a potential fan base while showing the musical abilities & influences of the band. I found Damn Glad to also have a particularly strong grasp on rockin' power ballads, that didn't turn saccharine or cheesy, though can just as easily rock out a la Alice In Chains & Kiss. This is a band I'm putting on my "to see in concert" list! Oh & these guys have their own intricate website too. If you're a serious band get your own website, even a small free one. Myspace is so cliché & makes everyone look the same, albeit it's easy to read, & I hate seeing bands with nothing else but Myspace. If you're only giving your web presence that much energy - & Myspace takes hardly any energy no matter what you do to it - how serious are you taking your music? & before you ask, my two websites I pay for & built myself from a white screen with the opening page taking 8 hours to perfect & I maintain them myself, so I'm no hypocrite. I care about my look ... & I'm damn glad other people do to!

Leviticus ~ Sta Och Titta Pa (EP) (album review) ... The strongest power is god!

Style: hard rock, Sweden
Label: self-released
Year: 1982
Home: Sweden

Members: Kjell Andersson ~ drums
Björn Stigsson ~ guitars/keyboards
Håkan Andersson ~ bass/vocals

 

 

 

  Those knowledgeable of Christian metal history will probably recognize this band due to their 1985 breakthrough release The Strongest Power, as they are considering one the few Swedish Christian metal bands - they're the first I've ever heard of - & one of the earliest Christian metal bands here or there. This is their debut EP, coming before their famed English Christian releases, which sadly have become more collector's items than legendary albums. Even though it's entirely in Swedish, I feel, having heard their later work, this is one of their best. New wave-esque washes of synthesizers layered against a hard rock drum & bass rhythm highlight the 4 tracks with occasional distorted guitar parts that at times has a very 70's rock feel. The only fault is that the guitars & keyboards never are heard at the same time. Most of the time this is obvious but not distracting. If anything it's interesting because it shows a band imitating what they sound like on stage, compared to what the studio can make them sound like. We've all seen bands on stage that are but shells of their studio sound so it's an interesting change of direction.

The Prodigy ~ The Fat Of The Land (album review) ... Feeding the firestarter!

Style: electronica, hard rock, techno
Label: Warner Brothers
Year: 1997
Home: England

Members: Keith Flint, Maxim Reality – vocals
Liam Howlett ~ keyboards

Additional: Jim Davies ~ guitar
Shahin Badar ~ b. vocals

Guests: Skin, Saffron, Crispian Mills, Kool Keith ~ b. vocals
Matt Cameron ~ drums
Tom Morello ~ guitar

The Prodigy may not be rock or metal band, but the hits that brought them to top slots on MTV are some of the heaviest & doomiest dance beats out there. The Fat Of The Land is the climax of their commercial success & the only time they would sound so heavy before returning to the fog of dance floor music. 'Breathe' could have been something by Rammstein or any number of techno-metal bands that combine DJ's with pounding guitars. It rocks as hard as anything metal, let alone being incredibly memorable, alongside fellow chart-toppers 'Diesel Power' & 'Firestarter.' Anthrax helped bring in funk metal with no tarnishing to their career. The Prodigy could have been the leaders in dancefloor metal or techno-metal ... sadly this wasn't the case or their intention& The Fat Of The Land leaves listeners with but a taste of new future musical directions for the creative headbanger. But, as proof of the potential, Matt Cameron of Soundgarden & Pearl Jam & Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine & Audioslave make appearances on the album. Sampling, shouted hip-hop-esque controversial lyrics, heavy beats, hypnotic music beds - it's all here for the inspiring. Albeit, many metalheads won't give this a second ... or first listen, though it was a popular album on rock radio ... but the seeds were laid in the techno world to inspire the metal world ... it's almost like when Johnny Cash played Nine Inch Nails or Shania Twain crossed into the rock world ... well, or maybe not.

Captain Clegg & The Night Creatures ~ Rob Zombie Presents (album review) ... Getting your retro punk surf shock shit on!

Style: shock rock, psychobilly, country, honky-tonk
Label: Stag Records
Year: 2009
Home: n/a

Members: Captain Cushing Clegg, Jr. ~ vocals/guitar
Lord Victor Ward ~ bass
Baron Lansing Wounds ~ drums
Mr. Black ~ pedal steel guitar

 

 

We all know what to expect from Rob Zombie. A 1950's-esque horror movie themed zombie attack against a bed of gimmicky 'monster' rhythms! So, what can we expect from a band with his name on the album? Very similar. Very ... in the sense that this is Johnny Cash-esque rockabilly & country dobro with monster themes & a dance beat. It's as gimmick & tongue-in-cheek as Rob is on his own solo work, if not a bit more as he's in the producer's chair this time. & it's just as well-done & enjoyable. It may not be metal, but as it's by a metal guy it slips through the cracks. It's definitely music off the beaten path ... & riding the "Transylvanian Terror Train" down the road. The song titles say it all, along with "Train" is: "Zombie A Go-Go", "Dr. Demon & The Robot Girl," "Headless Hip Shakin' Honey," "Macon County Morgue," "Day Of The Dead," "Creeps For Cushing," "Redneck Vixen From Outerspace," "2 Headed Teenage Transplant" & the song that summarizes the album: "Honky Tonk Halloween". It's so catchy that it's shocking that nobody has done this before. Will you listen to this album a second time? If you're a rockabilly, country or bluegrass fan you actually just might. This would be a good album for a Halloween party that pretty much anyone will enjoy. & it even has a little bit of go-go thrown in for good party measure! & if you want to know why you haven't heard of this band before, this is a fictional band that organically grew out of the soundtrack of Zombie's Halloween II, as he needed a band for one of the scenes. This is the outcome of too much creativity. But, somehow, Rob always seems to make good music from what might come across as silly in anyone else's hands.