1. Pentagram – Last Rites (Metal Blade)
The triumphant return of the DMV’s doom metal heroes. Bobby Liebling sounds more impassioned and maniacal than ever, and his voice sends shivers through your spine and seems to herald the end of the world, while also announcing new beginnings. Victor Griffin’s guitar tone is thick, muscular, simply unparalleled.
2. Lumerians - Transmalinnia (Knitting Factory)
You put the needle down on Side A to hear the smokin', near-perfect groove of the first jam, "Burning Mirrors" and you say to yourself, "okay, this is some pretty great rock 'n' roll." But is that all they are? Soon enough, however, you'll be at a loss for words to describe the sound. On paper, Lumerians might just be a psych-rock band from Oakland, but the swirling organ, jam-rock percussion, and dissonant bliss will have you thinking they could also be spiritual gurus guiding you on their own unique path to Zen enlightenment. Trust me, you will fall in love with the oblique dreamy melodies that float through the transcendental echoes.
P.S. I have no clue why the youtube user chose to use that cartoon for the video, but I linked to it because "Atlanta Brook" is hands down my favorite song on the record.
3. SubRosa – No Help for the Mighty Ones (Profound Lore)
If Salt Lake City doomsters SubRosa had chosen to merely be a four-piece stoner metal band with just guitar, bass, and drums, they would probably still be on my top 10. The guitar tone—I mean, damn! It’s heavy in a way that redefines heaviness itself when it blends seamlessly with the fuzzy sludge of the bass. However, they’ve also added violin to create a unique chamber-metal sound that expresses utter despair and melancholy more vividly than most heavy metal is capable of doing. Lead vocalist Kim Pack is joined by guitarist Sarah Pendleton and violinist Rebecca Vernon , creating lush harmonies that sound as if the songs were being sung by a mother who cradles you in her arms while the world decays around you.
4. Richard Pinhas & Merzbow – Rhizome (Cuneiform)
If Salt Lake City doomsters SubRosa had chosen to merely be a four-piece stoner metal band with just guitar, bass, and drums, they would probably still be on my top 10. The guitar tone—I mean, damn! It’s heavy in a way that redefines heaviness itself when it blends seamlessly with the fuzzy sludge of the bass. However, they’ve also added violin to create a unique chamber-metal sound that expresses utter despair and melancholy more vividly than most heavy metal is capable of doing. Lead vocalist Kim Pack is joined by guitarist Sarah Pendleton and violinist Rebecca Vernon , creating lush harmonies that sound as if the songs were being sung by a mother who cradles you in her arms while the world decays around you.
4. Richard Pinhas & Merzbow – Rhizome (Cuneiform)
“Beautiful” usually isn’t a word that can be used to describe a recording involving Japan’s noise icon Masami Akita a.k.a. Merzbow. (I’d say he’s as synonymous with noise as Miles Davis is to jazz.) However, his latest collaboration with French guitarist Richard Pinhas is just that—entrancing, scintillating beauty; rippling waves of feedback, hovering tones, juxtaposed with jarring swirls of electronic insanity. It’s intelligent experimental music, without being pedantically cerebral. I would even consider this a good gateway to avant-garde/ambient/drone/whatever (“bladerunnercore” as we call it at the zoo) for the uninitiated listener.
Check it out, buy it: http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/bandshtml/pinhas.html
5. Mind As Prison – Maryland Grindcore EP (Blastcat / TLAL)
GRINDCORE. The word provokes one of three reactions—“what the hell is that?” “I’ve heard that crusty-looking kid with bellicose band t-shirts mention it…” or, “FUCK YES I LOVE GRINDCORE!” Punk rock and heavy metal have had a complicated and incestuous relationship over the years, spawning many hybrids. Grindcore is the latest and by far the fastest, most brutal (…yes, most cathartic) bastard child of punk ‘n’ metal. The 7” 45rpm format is perfect for it, because it’s often quite a challenge to hold a listener’s attention span with so many blastbeats and lightspeed riffing. Some stubborn old-school grinders insist that no one has done the full-length format better than Napalm Death’s second LP From Enslavement To Obliteration. In any case, the debut 7” from Maryland’s Mind as Prison, featuring present and former members of Magrudergrind, A Warm Gun, and Lotus Fucker, is a relentless assault on the ears. The songs are short—crisp and straight the point. Guitar tone: sludgy, full, excellent low-end. There’s slight hints of 90s death metal that reminds me of Defecation, an early Napalm Death side-project. Otherwise, it reminds me of all sorts of excellent grindcore standard-bearers from this century, including Insect Warfare, Chainsaw to the Face, and Unholy Grave.
6. The Lickets – Here (on Earth) (Int’l Corp)
Check it out, buy it: http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/bandshtml/pinhas.html
5. Mind As Prison – Maryland Grindcore EP (Blastcat / TLAL)
GRINDCORE. The word provokes one of three reactions—“what the hell is that?” “I’ve heard that crusty-looking kid with bellicose band t-shirts mention it…” or, “FUCK YES I LOVE GRINDCORE!” Punk rock and heavy metal have had a complicated and incestuous relationship over the years, spawning many hybrids. Grindcore is the latest and by far the fastest, most brutal (…yes, most cathartic) bastard child of punk ‘n’ metal. The 7” 45rpm format is perfect for it, because it’s often quite a challenge to hold a listener’s attention span with so many blastbeats and lightspeed riffing. Some stubborn old-school grinders insist that no one has done the full-length format better than Napalm Death’s second LP From Enslavement To Obliteration. In any case, the debut 7” from Maryland’s Mind as Prison, featuring present and former members of Magrudergrind, A Warm Gun, and Lotus Fucker, is a relentless assault on the ears. The songs are short—crisp and straight the point. Guitar tone: sludgy, full, excellent low-end. There’s slight hints of 90s death metal that reminds me of Defecation, an early Napalm Death side-project. Otherwise, it reminds me of all sorts of excellent grindcore standard-bearers from this century, including Insect Warfare, Chainsaw to the Face, and Unholy Grave.
6. The Lickets – Here (on Earth) (Int’l Corp)
Local favorites—sweet, friendly people; and they’ve performed at KZSU numerous times. Each record they’ve released so far is a flawless opus of beautiful sound—I almost hesitate to classify it as music rather than just sound, because it’s a sonic experience that defies semantic categories. Gorgeous washes of harp, guitar, synth, and bowed strings swirl around in ethereal echoes. Crepuscular bliss. Yes.
Listen to the whole dang thing and buy it: http://internationalco.bandcamp.com/album/here-on-earth
7. Premonition 13 – 13 (Volcom)
WINO! A resounding triumph for Scott “Wino” Weinrich, famed singer and/or guitarist of various influential doom metal acts (The Obsessed, Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand, etc). It’s refreshing to hear him constantly expanding his musical boundaries in the same year that he returns to his roots, so to speak, by also reuniting with Saint Vitus and singing their crowd favorites at festivals and shows all over the world. However, his new band shows the next step in his unique take on a doom-metal/punk/blues hybrid that we can simply call heavy music. There are some progressive aspects in the songs, particularly the longer ones that explore droning, Sabbath-metal stylings, while other songs are quite drastically different—“Deranged Rock ‘n’ Roller” is the most notable example, a sleazy bar-rock anthem that would sound perfect with some Motorhead and PBR.
8. Brain Fruit – 1.1 (Debacle)
Listen to the whole dang thing and buy it: http://internationalco.bandcamp.com/album/here-on-earth
7. Premonition 13 – 13 (Volcom)
WINO! A resounding triumph for Scott “Wino” Weinrich, famed singer and/or guitarist of various influential doom metal acts (The Obsessed, Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand, etc). It’s refreshing to hear him constantly expanding his musical boundaries in the same year that he returns to his roots, so to speak, by also reuniting with Saint Vitus and singing their crowd favorites at festivals and shows all over the world. However, his new band shows the next step in his unique take on a doom-metal/punk/blues hybrid that we can simply call heavy music. There are some progressive aspects in the songs, particularly the longer ones that explore droning, Sabbath-metal stylings, while other songs are quite drastically different—“Deranged Rock ‘n’ Roller” is the most notable example, a sleazy bar-rock anthem that would sound perfect with some Motorhead and PBR.
8. Brain Fruit – 1.1 (Debacle)
Wonderfully retro Kraut-techno from Seattle. It’s often hard to believe that this is from 2011—it totally reminds me of discovering Kraftwerk’s Trans Europe Express in my dad’s record collection. In his review for KZSU, Your Imaginary Friend used the term “hip-shakin’” at least twice, and I can see why. While none of these songs will get you up off your chair and bustin’ a move (never mind that I personally never feel compelled to dance at all, regardless of the music), there’s a subtle groove in the beats, on the songs that do have beats. The ambient songs, however, don’t feel like interludes; each track flows seamlessly into the next, forming a cohesive, delicious whole.
Listen, purchase: http://debaclerecords.bandcamp.com/album/11
9. Tinariwen – Tassili (Anti)
North African blues that would make John Lee Hooker, Ali Farka Touré, and Missisippi John Hurt proud. This is their first record to feature guest musicians (including—gasp!—some dude singing lyrics in English), but they retain their authentic, heartfelt sound. These nomads chant over sparse acoustic riffs in a soulful style that evokes the barren, tumultuous Sahara that they call home.
10. Burmese – Lun Yurn (Ugexplode)
Bay Area noisecore that is absolutely ballistic and insane in the best way possible. The two drummers and two bassists are just bashing and screaming away like there’s no tomorrow, but they do it with a relentless determination that is persuasive enough to make you think there really is no tomorrow. Also, the bonus track on the CD is a full 45 minutes of noise-rock mania. Awesome.
Listen, purchase: http://debaclerecords.bandcamp.com/album/11
9. Tinariwen – Tassili (Anti)
North African blues that would make John Lee Hooker, Ali Farka Touré, and Missisippi John Hurt proud. This is their first record to feature guest musicians (including—gasp!—some dude singing lyrics in English), but they retain their authentic, heartfelt sound. These nomads chant over sparse acoustic riffs in a soulful style that evokes the barren, tumultuous Sahara that they call home.
10. Burmese – Lun Yurn (Ugexplode)
Bay Area noisecore that is absolutely ballistic and insane in the best way possible. The two drummers and two bassists are just bashing and screaming away like there’s no tomorrow, but they do it with a relentless determination that is persuasive enough to make you think there really is no tomorrow. Also, the bonus track on the CD is a full 45 minutes of noise-rock mania. Awesome.
