REVIEW: Fister & CHRCH - Fister/CHRCH (Split LP)

By: Mark Ambrose

Album Type: Split

Date Released: 17/11/2017

Label: Battleground Records |

Crown & Throne Ltd

Over the course of nearly forty minutes, CHRCH and Fister, employing different sonic palettes and lineups, craft a perfect split for the moment: unholy, polluted, funereal and dismal – a requiem for humanity’s end times that is as beautiful as it is ugly.

“Fister/CHRCH” DD//LP track listing

1. CHRCH – “Temples”

2. Fister – “The Ditch”

The Review

Let’s talk metal review terminology.  Like so many fellow travelers in the trenches of modern heavy music, I find myself having to crack open a thesaurus to praise a new release and not fall upon my tried and true descriptors: punishing, brutal, transcendent, dissonant, complex, or simply “heavy as fuck”.  It’s a problem as old as criticism itself, intensified in a modern context because the aporia between “not listened” and “listened” is practically non-existent; if you have a few minutes and a smart phone you can listen to practically any piece of music ever created.  The role of the blogger or critic or (cringe) “rock journalist”, then is perhaps to magnify the relevant, the underrepresented, or the overlooked – maybe to shout down the pretenders and opportunists – and to still offer some enthusiastic “fuck yeahs” when nothing else will suffice.

So is the latest split from CHRCH and Fister a brutal, transcendent, dissonant, punishing slab of metal?  Fuck yeah it is.  Perhaps more exceptionally, it exemplifies the core sublime element of metal: sustained tension.  Over the course of nearly forty minutes, CHRCH and Fister, employing different sonic palettes and lineups, craft a perfect split for the moment: unholy, polluted, funereal and dismal – a requiem for humanity’s end times that is as beautiful as it is ugly.

Sacramento’s CHRCH are akin to a dual guitar wielding cousin to Bell Witch, painting in the same inverted sacral tones as the rightfully lauded duo.  The reverb heavy guitar and bass intro of their track, “Temples” has similar sonic qualities as the ‘Witch, but when the drums, vocals, and distortion kick in, CHRCH establishes itself as a five-headed beast.  For all the layers of dissonance seething under the surface of “Temples”, there is remarkable harmony between the dual guitars of Chris and Karl, buoyed by the rhythmic interplay of Ben and Adam.  If there was any hope or positivity in the harmonies at work in “Temples”, lead vocalist Eva lays waste with every rasped line and tortured shriek.  A haunting spoken word middle cemented the image of an unholy evangelist in my head, spewing atrocities before sliding into more subdued, but perhaps even more sinister homilies.  The nasty, sludgy closing section amps up the tension – mutating and evolving before collapsing into the same ethereal opening riff.  This return to origins creates a kind of time dilation effect, where 17 minutes seems to have passed in the blink of an eye.  It makes it that much easier to revisit “Temples” and discover new dark alcoves within.

With “The Ditch” Fister offers a mirror image to CHRCH’s harmonies and emotive reverb, screeching into life like a genetic hybrid birthed into a gutter.  Bassist Snarzyk’s vocals are fascinating in the same way watching a hook suspension performance is fascinating: it’s an uncanny glimpse at the human instrument’s capacity for punishment.  Snarzyk traverses every register, from low end growl to high end shriek, absolutely shredding his throat and the listeners’ ears with ever syllable.  The relentless six-minute assault of static and feedback makes Newstead’s tremolo guitar solo a nearly welcome respite, until he too pulls the rug out and pushes the sound back into harsh dissonance.  A long, nearly ambient bridge is a mercy, and amplifies the already unbearable tension.  When Fister launches back in, with Kirk Gatterer’s leviathan drum bashing and the screamed vocals now layered in a demonic choir of anguish, the feeling is nearly existential: there is no escape from the imminent rupture ahead.

Once again, it’s nearly impossible to praise these aural monuments to entropy without offering the same descriptors I give a lot of my favorite listens.  But perhaps it’s because these exceptional groups are pulling out the core anxieties of our present.  From spiritual collapse to relentless violence, CHRCH and Fister are excavating the temples and ditches of the metal underground.  Experienced together, they serve as a perfect soundtrack to our culture of perpetual apocalypse.

“Fister/CHRCH” split 12" is available here & here soon

Band info: Fister || Chrch

RIFF REWIND (18/08/2013): Secrets Of The Sky - "To Sail Black Waters"

Three of the band’s six members each contributing with multiple instruments, SECRETS OF THE SKY projects a unique brand of cinematic, cerebral, atmospheric metal with a heavy persuasion towards doom metal and even more blackened influences citing The Ocean, Opeth, Isis, Agalloch and others.

The debut album from this new by this sadly missed act, “To Sail Black Waters”, was recorded over an eight month period with engineer/producer Juan Urteaga (Testament, Machine Head, Cattle Decapitation) at Trident Studios, the massive album boasting SECRETS OF THE SKY’s entirely modern and unique back-bending of elements from a multitude of genres. With up to three guitar tracks, two and three keyboards at a time and a multitude of vocal styles — clean and epic lines against hollow and blackened battle cries and crushing, low-end growls — the band creates huge build-ups and epic movements as expansive as the cosmos.

Today we’re rewinding back 4 years, with our original review of a review of SECRETS OF THE SKY’s phenomenal debut “To Sail Black Waters”, So if you overlooked this band/album, be sure to remedy your error by checking out our review and the record is streaming in full below

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 8/10/2013

Label: Kolony Records

If you are looking for a record that is a little different with elements of multiple sub-genres, give this album a try. Truly accomplished stuff and, yes, mesmerisingly bleak.

“To Sail Black Waters” CD//DD track listing :

1. Winter

2. Decline

3. Sunrise

4. Black Water

The Review:

Epic progressive doom with blackened influences and aspects. So what do you get for your money. You get four tracks- the shortest of which is (7.43) long. This Oakland CA six piece know what to do with the time; each track is expansive, multi-faceted and will hold your interest. It's bleak stuff, which does not sound very Californian. Then again, I suspect much of Oakland isn't exactly how you might imagine/want California to be.

“Winter” comes in over the nine minute mark with a suitably icy sound. Screamed and low vocals trade off while the guitars range from melodic and mellow to positively feral. The production is pleasingly clear and bright- but still raw and grimy enough as to be appropriate.

“Decline” is mesmerising in its bleakness (that kind of sums the whole record, to be fair). It continues and indeed expands on the opener. Clean vocals add a Gothic aspect (think Type O, not The Cure) that is unique and welcome. Keyboards add another layer to the sound as the guitars weave together expertly. This is brilliant stuff. The pace is slow but fluid and the generous 12 minute plus length of the track allows you to really get into this most unusual of sounds. The final 3 minutes plus are even heavier than what goes before and features an excellent riff prior to the track breaking down.

“Sunrise” starts with a lumbering doom riff (backed with an interesting keyboard counterpoint) and thereafter dynamics are used effectively with some truly unpleasant vocals too. Again, there is a definite gothic influence here (to my ears, anyway) and I like it. The opening riff gets returned too; this is not just progressive “throw anything in” writing- the tracks work as pieces of music and structured songs.

“Black Waters” at (11.22) closes the album is impressively expansive style. The intro builds things very nicely as the crystal clear drums crash in with a well worked groove that the bass propels along until the vocals come to the fore. Real heaviness follows with those black metal-esque vocals ripping out of the speakers. The track then twists and turns its way along numerous pathways before stripping away towards the end.

If you are looking for a record that is a little different with elements of multiple sub-genres, give this album a try. Truly accomplished stuff and, yes, mesmerisingly bleak.

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: The Ditch And The Delta - "Hives In Decline"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 12/05/2017

Label: Battleground Records

The Ditch and The Delta’s sound is a killer blend of fret-mangling math rock and stoner doom aggression. They strike a perfect balance between complexity, melody and no-nonsense gnarly heaviness.

“Hives In Decline” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Hives In Mind

2). Fuck On Asphalt

3). Sleeping Dogs

4). Dry Land

5). Till Body Quits

6). Mud

7). Dread Spectacle

The Review:

Salt Lake City Trio The Ditch And The Delta are set to make a lot of people sit up and take notice with new LP “Hives In Decline”.

The first riff of the title track rips through the calm introductory drone like Keelhaul blazing through High On Fire’s backline. This sets the tone for the rest of this exhilarating album. The Ditch and The Delta’s sound is a killer blend of fret-mangling math rock and stoner doom aggression. They strike a perfect balance between complexity, melody and no-nonsense gnarly heaviness.

“Fuck On Asphalt” channels the epic sludge of early Baroness and Kylesa to fine effect. The mid-section where the band provide slow motion backing to twin searing guitar solos particularly highlights the genius at work here. It should sound like an overcrowded mess but somehow all these disparate elements are brought together in seamless fashion.

“Dry Land” provides some mid-album riff respite with a short, quiet instrumental complete with slide guitar flourishes that add a weird but cool country edge. The second half of the album then roars into life with “Till Body Quits” and “Mud”. Both tracks see the band widen their sonic spectrum to include more spidery guitar lines, melodic tapping and hints of the Hydrahead School of metallic hardcore.

The record closes with “Dread Spectacle” where The Ditch and The Delta add a healthy dose of Neurosis style cathartic doom into the mix. When the track breaks down to sparse guitar and Kory Quist’s weary vocals it recalls Scott Kelly at his ragged best.

“Hives In Decline” sees The Ditch and The Delta takes a number of well-worn influences and breathe new life into them to create an addictive blast of intelligent sludge. An essential purchase for all riff aficionados.

“Hives In Mind” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

TRACK PREMIERE: Salt Lake City's The Ditch & The Delta unleash their unique blend of mathematical progressive sludge on new track "F**k On Asphalt"

Often trying to find the right words to describe something in the most appropriate way, can often be the most difficult thing, particularly when those things make you feel happy or excited, indeed the same could be said for things that make you feel like crap, sometimes the words “that was awesome” or “I feel like crap” just doesn’t quite cut it, because it doesn’t explain the true meaning of the experience.  Our views about things are subjective of course, personal to that individual, but when it comes to music, particularly hearing a killer band destroy your senses with a powerful riff, the same problems apply, words sometime just don’t cut and for  Salt Lake City’s The Ditch and The Delta, my words just won’t do this band justice, save to say that the first thing that comes to mind is that they are perhaps my greatest new discovery of the year so far and their mixture of mathematically progressive Neurosis infused sludge, is a breathtakingly fresh heavy infusion of all the best elements of many of your favourite bands, moulded into something genuinely exceptional and unique.  Hope that did you justice guys!!

The Ditch and The Delta will undoubtedly be a new name on the lips of many, but with the imminent release of debut album “Hives In Decline” that is set to change. Armed with their own unique brand of sludgy/noise/doom and love of the “Big Riff”, The Ditch And The Delta implement different tunings, and modal centres, which in turn has enabled them to avoid many of the usual doom trappings of excessive feedback, static harmony, and pentatonic riffs and in doing so they have created one of the finest debuts I have heard for many years. 

Set for release via Battleground Records on May 12^th “Hives In Decline” was engineered by Andy Patterson of Subrosa and is certain to propel this band to the next level, alongside fellow Utahan’s such Cult Leader and the aforementioned Subrosa. So with the release date but a few weeks away, we’re stoked to be able to debut the second track from the album entitled “Fuck on Asphalt” below which which features several guitar solos by Gentry Densley from Eagle Twin and Iceburn.  You can pre-order/buy the album here

In addition to the stream, we have a double helping of The Ditch And The Detla, as we welcome guitarist/vocalist Elliot Secrist to take us through their top 5 influences. It’s time to turn the volume all the way up to 11,  because “It’s one louder, isn’t it?” So ill hand over to Elliot to talk you through his picks

Elliot: Rather than list some obvious influences, we decided to list stuff that we listen to that is not metal. Every review we have received, lists a bunch of bands that we do listen to, and there are way too many, over a lifetime of listening to hardcore and metal, to list. Many of the influences are obvious, so here are some not so obvious ones. My (Elliot) bands that sparked tectonic shifts in my musical thinking are not going to be the same ones for Kory, and Charles.

1. The one band that Charles (Drums) did say he wanted listed is the anarcho hardcore band Catharsis. Their drummer is Alexei Rodriguez. He has been in so many bands but most notable Prong, 3 inches of Blood, Trial, Walls of Jericho. Musically they are thrashy, and have a healthy dose of dbeat. Their themes are all about living authentically at any cost, the passion for life, and resistance to ways of life that are only to serve masters.

Here are two of their best “Obsession”

And their swan song “Arsonist’s Prayer”

The others are staples that we have either listened to forever and continue to inspire, or are stuff we listen to on tour. When playing metal every night with a bunch of metal bands, we tend to avoid listening to metal in the van.

2. One of our first tour listens that we put on every time we go out is Townes Van Zandt. He is the songwriter’s songwriter. In our opinion the best of sad bastard country. Its hard to pick any one album. On the top would probably be his album “Our Mother the Mountain”. He has happy and uplifting songs but he also captures misery and hopelessness unlike any metal band trying to be dark.

“Nothin”

3. Kory’s definite non metal/tour pick is Gucci Mane. Sometimes you just need some shitty trap rap.

“Trap House 3”

4. Is the Utah band Iceburn. Their whole discography is awesome. Starts out super heavy and then gets progressively more exploratory to free jazz orchestra’s to just noise. It is Southern Lord Recording artist Eagle Twin’s Gentry Densley’s brain child. Iceburn has a new extremely heavy album much like their early work coming out sometime in the near future, on Southern Lord. I’ve probably listened to this band 1000’s of times.

1992 “Fall”

1996 “Sphinx (Part II)” This one is a long one and you need to listen to the whole album to get it all. Start at minute 15:00 to get to the coolest ending and riffs ever.

5. Silo (Denmark) is one of the most unique mysterious bands I have ever heard. There really is not a lot of info out there on them. From the first minute heard I knew this was going to be something I listen to on repeat. Mindblowing but minimal at the same time. Their sound has some stuff in common to Portishead and Massive Attack in its mood, but that is where similarities end. The first album I heard of them is called “Alloy”. Its electronic music but done with real sampled instruments. So soothing that once they finally change the pattern you forget where it even happened. Poly rhythm masters. Ten years after “Alloy” they released one of the heaviest non metal records I have heard. If you want ideas for poly rhythms/beat chopping or new ways to sound heavy without traditional guitar tones listen to “Work”. This band is simply on their own playing field.

From “Alloy” 

From “Work”

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Rozamov - "This Mortal Road"

By: Andre Almaraz

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 03/03/2017

Label: Battleground Records

 “This Mortal Road” a monolithic behemoth which starts off with a lumbering, pounding rhythm summoned straight from the bowels of hell and does not let up its sonic assault for albums duration. 

“This Mortal Road” CS//CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). This Mortal Road

2). Wind Scopion

3). Serpent Cult

4). Swallowed and Lost

5). Inhumation

The Review:

Rozamov is a band who I’ve been following for several years now, ever since I had seen them play a small club in Chicago back in July of 2013. They made an impression on me then that still holds my interest into the present day and I am pleased to have the opportunity to review their newest offering. Up for review is their fourth recording, yet first full length album, “This Mortal Road,” which was just recently released on March 3rd, 2017.

    

 The album begins with the title track; a monolithic behemoth which starts off with a lumbering, pounding rhythm summoned straight from the bowels of hell and does not let up its sonic assault for almost eleven minutes. The blunt force trauma of the opening riff is eventually slightly offset by some clean vocals, giving the opening segment a very haunting and melancholy feel. The tune is primarily instrumental, but as that thundering opening riff returns toward the end of the song after an introverted and sullen sounding period in the middle, this time they choose to scorch over the top of it with aggressive, shouted vocals, giving it a completely different, more venomous feel the second time around. The second track, “Wind Scorpion,” keeps the lava flowing freely as the scorching vocals chime in right from the top and all the way through this one. This song gives a small ray of hope to the overall bleak landscape by way of a meaningful, expressive guitar solo near the end; a very nice touch. 

The third track, “Serpent Cult,” would have been perfect for the soundtrack of the original Conan The Barbarian motion picture as its serpentine riffs are the sonic equivalent of slithering through the barren desert sands and across hot rocks as you bake in the midday sun. The vocals accompany almost every riff in this one, again employing both clean and aggressive variants, and they all sound phenomenal as always. The fourth track, “Swallowed And Lost,” is a short piano piece set to a backdrop of blowing winds and ominous spoken word echoed out to almost unintelligible proportions with some low end rumble and noise thrown in for good measure. At just under two minutes in length, the piece serves as a brief intermission from all the downtrodden misery before they cast you right back into the depths of their devoted and dire devices, devoid of life, which brings us to the closing track….

 “Inhumation” is the longest song on the recording at a massive eleven and a half minutes from start to finish. This mournful canticle is a true testament to what Rozamov truly is, and wraps the album up nicely as they close the final chapter to leave us stranded in this desolate desert world which they’ve created. The final four and a half minutes of the song slow to a suffocating crawl, as you feel your breath slipping away until finally, we have transitioned through to breach the land of the dead. 

Rozamov has always had a signature sound and the production on this particular release is a perfect storm of low end boomed down into oblivion and high end elevated to laser precision which compliments their song writing style perfectly. The music is extremely expressive and “This Mortal Road” is a collection of darkened dirges that make the perfect soundtrack to accommodate the reminiscence of painful personal memories and thoughts of loved ones who are no longer with us in this dimension. The band is a tightly honed three piece unit of power and complexity which is currently on tour in promotion of this new album, and I highly recommend you witness their live show any time you are able. 

“This Mortal Road” is available digitally here and on CS//CD//LP vinyl here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

‘To Austin and Beyond’ Godhunter – vs – Destroyer of Light ‘Endsville’ Tour Diary: Leg three: Day 19 – 25

 By: Jake Brazelton & Keegan Kjeldsen

Day 19 - Philadelphia, PA) (Jake from Godhunter): We drove the long way around New York City to try and avoid the traffic which meant we drove around two and a half hours through New Jersey. During that entire time in Jersey we didn't pass by a single god damn rest stop. We didn't have the appropriate bottles to pee in so we waited all the way to Pennsylvania before we were finally able to stop. With empty bladders we drove down to South Philly for Oppressive Fest at Kung Fu Necktie. After unloading the gear, we went and got some cheesesteaks for dinner because that is what you do when visiting Philadelphia. They were delicious and had a pickle bar. A fucking pickle bar. How cool is that? After my vegan cheesesteak with grilled onions and cheese whiz, we got back down to the venue just as Dirtbag started the fest with their brand of Kentucky doom. The Endsville crew closed out the 7 band fest which held some highlights like the death-doom of Fin'amor and the grindcore brutality of Total Fucking Destruction. I'm glad no one broke into our van tonight.

Day 20 – Baltimore) (Keegan from Destroyer of Light): After another all-nighter, we crashed at a friend's house, then woke up at an amazingly late hour and hustled over to the Pratt Street Ale House to try Oliver Brewing Co.'s new, dark ale: Destroyer of Light. This is something of a milestone for me, since beer and heavy metal are two things of supreme importance in my life and at this point I've somehow combined them. The beer was heavy and delicious, and afterwards we headed down to The Depot for that night's show. Some very sexy artwork was up on the walls, and At The Graves put on a one-man show that absolutely crushed - very few artists can pull off the one-man band, and this performance was solid. After a very loud couple of sets in a very small bar, we loaded out in one of the smelliest alleys of tour. The smells of each city seem to be competing for 'worst thing a nose can experience'. Nevertheless, Baltimore treated us very well, and the next day's drive prompted an early night.

Day 21 - Greenville, SC) (Jake from Godhunter): Well, the inevitable happened. As much as I tried to prevent it, I got sick. Being on the road for three weeks has punched my immune system right in the balls. But that didn't stop Greenville from being fucking awesome. We rolled up to the Thomas Creek Brewery and we instantly knew this shit was going to be awesome. We didn't set up in some bar section of this place, fuck no. The spot where the bands were playing was in the actual BREWERY, right in from of some actual equipment. After drinking some high quality beer (yes I was drinking while sick, wanna fight about it?) I got myself a good spot to catch Wvrm bring the sludge grind to the good folks of Greenville. Endville played next and I tried my best to make sure my voice didn't go out while playing. Waft came up and closed the night and those dudes played probably one of my all time favorite sets I have seen so far on this tour. I'm not sure how to describe these dudes other than bad ass. While talking with the Waft drummer Zach I found out that we both share a love for the Dragonlance books. Who knew there were so many nerds who like metal?

Day 22 – Atlanta) (Keegan from Destroyer of Light): We're always glad to return to Atlanta, the home of our good friend Dwayne of Order of the Owl. It's always a rager, and this time we played in The Basement, which is literally the basement of the bar and grill upstairs. There were weird vibes however.. a 'prison transport' police vehicle, with its blue lights flashing, pulled up and just sat in the parking lot of the venue for about a half hour. Weird, and totally a buzz-kill. Finally, they left... only to return about twenty minutes later to do the same thing. If you're carrying a prisoner, maybe you wouldn't want to, you know, stop for long periods of time? I don't know. What I do know is that it freaked us out, but local duo, Day Old Man, got our heart-rates back to normal with their glittery shirts and stylish doom. After a doomed show in the underworld from Endsville, Canopy closed things out with their instrumental sludge. Also, Buffalo Bleu Cheese Nachos? Who know that was a thing.

Day 23 - Little Rock, AR) (Jake from Godhunter): I love pizza just like every other real American so tonight was very special to me. We got to play a pizza joint in Little Rock that provided the bands with free pizzas. Each band got two pizzas apiece and since I don't eat meat, I essentially got an entire pizza to myself. Since we are getting close to the end of this adventure, I am pretty fucking broke at this point which made the free pizza taste that much better. We got some free beer too which made everything extra sweet. We were treated to the prog doom of Construction of Light before Apothecary came on stage. Those dudes sounded like Pallbearer except the singer had a better voice. We wrapped up this show with full stomachs and high spirits, nights like this near the end of a long run are much appreciated.

Day 24 - New Orleans) (Keegan from Destroyer of Light): The penultimate date of tour felt like it came way too quick. Tour feels like it flies by - and yet at the same time, when you think about some of the first dates of tour when you start to get to the end, they feel like they could have been months ago. You're more often in the present moment on tour, since you're constantly moving, changing scenery, and don't really know what you're getting into from one day to the next. This fucks with your perception of time, since we're so used to dwelling the past or in the future all the time. In any case, it was a strange feeling to know that reality was right around the corner, a night's drive away, back in Austin - home. We met up with Old & Ill and Thunderkief, the outstanding guys behind Worshiper cabs, who were just beginning their tour. It was great to see our homies (though some bastard had robbed them the night before, in Austin of all places), but we didn't let that get us down, and a band of friends and comrades pretty much doomed the Saturn Bar into oblivion. Our friends from NOLA, Solid Giant, finished the night off with their nasty, transgressive sludge - unfortunately, locals in Space Cadavre had a run-in with the cops before the show and couldn't make it, reminding us that we were in New Orleans. Once upon a time, you could smoke inside and drink outside in New Orleans, but apparently a new law has banned smoking in bars. The times are a'changin', even here. Ah well. At least you can still drink outside.

Day 25 - Austin, TX) (Jake from Godhunter): This is it. The final night of the Endville assault on the U.S. The worst part about tonight was that both of our end-of-tour-pranks ended up falling through. Destroyer of Light ended up parking on the street corner so we couldn't mummify their van with toilet paper AND all the crickets we bought died before we could dump them in their merch boxes. The night was started out by Ass who play an old school sounding style of thrash punk that set the tone for the night. One of the coolest things about these dudes is their bass player Matt makes pedals for his company Idiotbox, which David and I have been using for years now. It was cool as fuck to finally meet this dude. Destroyer of Light played a memorable final set for this tour and then we came up and gave it everything we had left. Mala Suerte closed out the night and the party wound down to a close. We had an absolute blast hanging with the DoL dudes for these past few weeks and I can't fucking wait to hit the road again.

(Keegan from Destroyer of Light): Tour's been good to us, as it always has, but only because of the community of friends, fans, bookers, fellow musicians and really everyone else who is willing to help us out while we're out and about. So long for now, 'Murica. We'll be hittin' the highway again, don't you worry.

Band info: Godhunter Facebook| DOL Facebook