Archive for the ‘heavy metal’ Category
Ancient VVisdom – A Godlike Inferno
It’s not very often that I hear an album that grabs me by the throat with one hand and slaps me around with the other. The forthcoming release by Austin, TX’s Ancient VVisdom (yes, that is with 2 Vs) does just that. I was fortunate enough to get a promo copy of the CD from the band and have been listening to it a lot in the last couple of days.
I first heard the record a week ago riding around with their bassist and I just sat in his van tripping out a bit. Trying to describe this band’s sound is not so easy. It’s metal, but not what most would typify as metal. My first thought when hearing them was mid-era Bathory with much better vocals and a lot less drum work. Bathory’s “One Rode To Asa Bay” was the first thing that popped to mind. That’s not a bad thing as I liked some of the more melodic Bathory stuff. This album is very mellow…but heavy.
But this is still a bit different. Nice clean vocals, acoustic guitar backed by electric more in the background for enhancement. Drums are minimal, more used for percussive effect and not necessarily for just “playing the beat”. All of the songs are catchy and very memorable. Nathan Opposition’s (f. of Integrity) vocals fit perfectly. The album conjures a little early Pink Floyd as well and to a lesser extent and surely unintentionally I hear some of the atmospheric tones used on Tiamat’s Wildhoney album, which was hugely influenced by early Pink Floyd as well.
The one rub for a lot of people may be the overtly satanic content of the lyrics. You won’t miss it when listening to it as it’s right there. For me personally, I’m indifferent to lyrics by most bands. If it sounds good it sounds good…and this sounds good.
I’m attaching a song that they posted on YouTube but it will not be on the June 7, 2011 release on Shine Box Recordings. It will at least give you an idea of what’s in store. Highlights for me are the songs Alter Reality, Necessary Evil, Lost Civilization and World of Flesh, especially the 2nd half of that song. The riff is just wonderful!
All I can say from here is buy it when it comes out. It gets a 10/10 from me.
Pentagram – Last Rites
The new Pentagram came out today! I had pre-ordered it a few days ago and right when I got up this morning, I fired up my PC and let the download start. All total today I’ve got 4 listens into it including letting it play while I am writing this and feel that it’s enough to give it a proper review.
I’ve got to say that I didn’t really care for any of the Pentagram stuff after Victor Griffin’s departure from the band in 1994 (no offense to Joe Hasselvander), it just was missing something special…and obviously it was VG’s guitar playing. He’s got a great style that is just right for Bobby’s vocal stylings.
I had heard 2 songs from the album already and had already acquainted myself with them pretty well in the last week or 2; those songs being Call The Man and 8. Both tracks have a great feel to them and sort of show a “mature” sound to the band. This album seems to be a little more melodic than albums past. Bobby’s voice sounds great…nice and strong. Clean living has certainly given his voice some power again. The song Into The Ground has some good vocal harmonies that I assume are Bobby’s. Having downloaded the album, I have no liner notes to check. That’s one drawback of going all digital these days. Victor’s signature sound is all over this album. His solos are great as expected.
The songs 8 and Windmills and Chimes really show a new side to their music that I hadn’t heard before. They are a little more progressive and not so typical stoner/doom like they get classified as. Windmills and Chimes (remake) is really quite a beautiful song and one of my favorites on the album for sure. The song American Dream sounds similar to 8 when it starts but quickly goes in a different direction. Walk In Blue Light (remake from First Daze Here) and Nothing Left really sound like they could have been used on Relentless or Day of Reckoning. Great classic sounding Pentagram! I have to admit that the only song that hasn’t grabbed me yet is Death In 1st Person. It’s not a bad song at all, but just doesn’t hook me in like the rest of the album.
The only negative thing I can say about the album is in the production. It’s a wee tad muddy and Bobby seems a little too low in the mix…but that’s just my opinion. Otherwise I think it’s an awesome return to form by the band.
In general, it sounds like Bobby and Victor had fun making this record. It’s got really good energy and positive vibes to it and I can undoubtedly say that if you have ever even remotely liked this band, you’ll like this album.
8.5/10 if I was forced to put a number on it.
*UPDATE* – I didn’t realize until yesterday (4/13/11) that most of the tracks on here are remakes. While I am a little disappointed, the album still deserves the rating I gave it. BUY IT! Don’t download illegally.
Track Listing:
1. Treat Me Right
2. Call The Man
3. Into The Ground
4. 8
5. Everything’s Turning To Night
6. Windmills And Chimes
7. American Dream
8. Walk In Blue Light
9. Horseman
10. Death In 1st Person
11. Nothing Left
12. All Your Sins – Reprise
Yours truly and Bobby before their first of 2 shows at SxSW 2011.
Serpent Throne
White Summer*Black Winter
I like a lot of instrumental bands but I’ve always found it difficult to find quality instrumental rock bands that didn’t write their stuff to sound like they were writing around having a singer. Philadelphia’s Serpent Throne satisfies my instrumental craving perfectly.
I met the two guitarists, Demian Fenton and Don Argott, at the premier for the movie Last Days Here during the SxSW 2011 Film and Music Festival. You can read my review of their movie here. They are the guys behind the production/direction of the movie and in talking with Demian after the flick, he mentioned that he was in a band and I had forgotten about it until a few days after seeing the movie as I was wrapped up in a lot of SxSW activities.
Since then I have been spinning their stuff practically non-stop. Metal has a lot of sub-genres and these guys would typically be classified in the stoner rock and doom categories. To call them Black Sabbath worship is too easy. Pretty much all metal bands worship Sabbath whether they know it or not. Serpent Throne take it to a bit of a different level in my opinion. They use lots great dual guitar harmonies that are reminiscent of Thin Lizzy in places. I hear hints of Trouble (S/T LP era) in there as well, intended or not. There are some cool hints of 70s Scorpions as well as Uriah Heep and Wishbone Ash. Maybe some Cactus too. It’s a nice blend of great rock and metal without sounding like they are just ripping off all of the classic bands.
I think it’s pretty tough for an instrumental band of this genre to continue to write stuff and keep it interesting and Serpent Throne has done that
The Battle of Old Crow
with all 3 of their albums: Ride Satan Ride (2007), The Battle of Old Crow (2009) and White Summer*Black Winter (2010). I highly recommend picking up all of their stuff. Battle of Old Crow and White Summer*Black Winter are available for download from Amazon and iTunes. I had to buy the CD for Ride Satan Ride and convert it to MP3 myself as it’s not available for legal download.
Hopefully I’ll catch these guys live sometime, even if it means heading to Philly for it. Would be cool to have them hit Austin for a show sometime. I think they’d do well here, especially if they were in on a SxSW gig. So, nice work, guys! Hope all good things come out of Last Days Here as well.
Concert Review – Naam 3/18/11 SxSW
I first caught Naam last year when they were on the bill with Voi Vod at SxSW 2010 and instantly became a fan. Their breed of space rock, stoner rock, metal, psyche rock or whatever other monikers you want to give it really set well with me.
A month or 2 ago they stated that there would be no showing at SxSW 2011 because of management issues or something but ultimately they got it done and ended up doing a few shows around town. I was able to catch the one at Headhunters on Friday. They were on the back patio which is tiny and I was one of the last folks in the door…and that put my fat ass right in front of the band. A little too close from a band’s perspective in my opinion but having everyone in their faces didn’t seem to matter at all. They pushed through their set with intensity and the crowd really liked them a lot. They were loud, heavy, solid.
Naam does it right. They are tight and I really like the way they do their vocals by enhancing them with a lot of chorus, delay and reverb. It fits with their music perfectly. I’m especially impressed with John Bundy’s bass playing. That guy works his Fender Precision bass like a $9 hooker.
Can’t wait to see them again!
You can buy their stuff on iTunes or via All That is Heavy.
Concert Review – Danava 3/17/11 SxSW
It’s not very often that I hear/see a band that makes my jaw hit the floor and makes me want to run around and tell every person that I know to check them out. That’s what Portland’s Danava did for me this year at the SxSW music festival. I had never heard of this band until a few days before the festival when viewing the showcase at Valhalla that also featured Christian Mistress and Zoroaster, 2 other bands that I like a lot. I didn’t get a chance to listen to them before the show so I went into this cold.
Dang! These guys kicked into a 70s style jam fest that hit me right in the nuts. When i say “jam” I don’t mean like some hippie jam band improv type of thing, this music was well-thought out riff-oriented hard rock. I heard elements of a lot of my favorite bands like Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash, Hawkwind, Allman Brothers, White Witch, Thin Lizzy and even more modern 70s worship style ala Witchcraft.
One of their defining attributes is their riffing style. Lots of movement all over the fretboard with the 2 guitarists playing some great melodies. Add in the bassist playing the same riffs behind them and it’s pretty badass to watch and hear. He’s really a damn fine bassist in general. It’s great to see a band that obviously rehearses a lot. They’ve been on the road quite a bit over the last few years as well and that has a tendency to tighten a band up as well. Mix in the clean vocals (very early Ozzy-era Sabbath/Bobby Liebling) and you’ve got a great mix.
After their set I was looking for some merch to buy but they didn’t have it handy. Fortunately their music is on iTunes and I downloaded their entire catalog a few hours after seeing them (3AM!). I was happy to catch them again a few nights later for free for a quick set. Just great. Period.
Highly recommended!
The Metal Files 
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