ALBUM REVIEW: Let It Die - "The Liar & The Saint"

By: Chris Wilson

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 17/11/2016

Label: Independent

“The Liar & the Saint” can be summed as follows; if you have any kind of interest in grindcore / extreme metal / death metal / hardcore whatever you want to call it, you cannot afford to miss out on this. Don't even debate investing in this. Just get it. This is a Future classic.

 

“The Liar & The Saint” DD//LP track listing:

1). Release

2). One Hundred Days

3). Punish

4). Take All The Heads of The People, And Hang Them Up Before The Lord Against The Sun

5). Dysphoria

6). Oderint Dum Metuant

7). Pathetic

8). Soul Deceiver

9). Choke

10). The Last Monument

11). Heaven And The Eternity Of Tears (Part I)

12). Heaven And The Eternity Of Tears (Part II)

The Review:

So I recently went to see Wormrot. Having been impressed with their recorded output I was looking forward to it, but not expecting much. In the event they handed my ass to me. I now fully understand and appreciate this magnificent force of brutalising destruction and consequently went back to their albums with a newfound appreciation.

It had been a while since I encountered an act which came close to the first time I saw Nasum, or heard Pig Destroyer. It would be unreasonable to expect to see such acts every few years. Two days later I saw Let It Die who pretty much stood up to Wormrot. That I had encountered another act with that same sense of reckless aggression, that understands the need to go all out with no consideration for melody, but instead the focus on pure adrenaline. That an act can be almost mindlessly and needlessly brutal to give you hope for the genre. So I thought it would be advisable to purchase their latest album, “The Liar & The Saint”.

This particular form of grind is interspersed with groove orientated riffs, giving it some much needed variety. Speed and noise is all well and good, but mixing it up proves more effective as displayed to great effect in the appropriately named “Punish”, which features Weekend Nachos John Hoffman, as if further endorsement were needed.

Highlights include “Soul Deceiver” and “Oderint Dum Metuant” which starts with a nice doomy sludge intro before flying off into discordant crust and then a stomping Nasum / Nails hybrid section. The ending is simply aural destruction. Elsewhere there is plenty of dischordant tremolo picking, blast beats, all out noise and general riotousness.

In places it comes across like a death metal inflected Rotten Sound with slight hints of acts such as Nails. The dynamics shift nicely between speeds so it never gets repetitive and the more chunky sections give an oppressive sense of disgust and sludgy nihilism when needed.

“The Liar & the Saint” can be summed as follows; if you have any kind of interest in grindcore / extreme metal / death metal / hardcore whatever you want to call it, you cannot afford to miss out on this. Don't even debate investing in this. Just get it. This is a Future classic.

“The Liar & The Saint” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

Torch Runner - Endless Nothing (Album Review)

Album Type: Full-Length

Date Released: 20/09/2014

Label: Southern Lord

‘Endless Nothing’ CD/DD/LP track list

1). Attrition
2). Bound By Misery
3). Congregation
4). Circuition
5). Godlust
6). Rebirth
7). Calloused Mind
8). Circle Of Shit
9). Wordless
10). Endless Nothing
11). A.L.E.L
12). All We Have
13). Unspoken

Review:

Grindcore is probably the most extreme music around. To the uninitiated it (not unreasonably) sounds like noise, (although that’s kind of the point), with themes ranging from political agenda to, well, killing people and being outright offensive for the sake of it. It is also the genre that gave us the blast beat and shocked everyone when it first emerged 30 years ago advocating speed and distortion above pretty much all else. Over time it has of course evolved and is one of the most critically respected of extreme subgenres, with bands such as Nasum and Rotten Sound being regarded as superstars in their native Sweden and Finland respectively and genre originators Napalm Death still commanding acclaim for each release.

“Endless Nothing” is Torch Runners second LP for Southern Lord following 2012’s “Committed to the ground” and delivers the all out livid rage you would hope for and expect. The music tends to range from the atypical blasts to sinister riffs for which the term “malignant” was surely created, to stamping chunks of heaviness which aim to liquidate your balls.

Opener “Attrition” immediately employs the aforementioned malignancy, making you want to hide from the stereo before going utterly crazy in a wall of blasts. From then on this is pretty typical of the album as a whole. There is a hanging sense of despair in much of the sound – the breaks in speed feel like you’re waiting to be hit by a train rather than taken away from the impact.  There is some straightforward rock riffs to get you onside if the blasting starts to grate as seen at the closing of “Congregation”

The majority of the albums’ songs are no longer than two minutes, blasting away whilst the sludge sections prove a merciful distraction and a bit of a relative respite from the carnage. One exception, “Rebirth” measures a whole 2 minutes 40 seconds, relying on hefty sludge riffing and a generally woeful air. The same can be said for the end of “Calloused mind” with an almost Morbid Angel style riff and some horrific screeching guitar effects to emphasise the point.

There is a tendency to follow a lot of the grind template of raging blasts into  grooves section – although there is some variety; “Bound by misery” could almost be Will Haven in parts, and by the time  “Circle of shit” ( pretty much a prog rock track at 4 minutes 21 seconds) lumbers into view it provides some truly uncomfortable listening with vocals literally drowning under the feedback and production generally mixed to all out distortion resulting in being thoroughly unpleasant which, of course is why you go to bands such as Torch Runner in the first place. Other comparisons have been drawn to bands such as Enabler and Nails and whilst I feel they are more at the absolute grind end of the spectrum they are pushing the current sound rather than insisting on being purist and only taking influence from side A of Napalm Death’s ‘Scum’.

The vocals are utterly pissed off and generally wretched, and although not necessarily original “Endless Nothing” is convincing enough to be worth your time. There’s no room for free form Jazz soloing or experimentation but then that’s not what this music is designed for. What it does do is provide absolute noise, vitriol and spiteful brutality. If you’re into this kind of thing it does exactly what you want it to. Only 22 minutes long it’s something you survive more than enjoy. Let’s hope there’s more.

 

FFO: Pig Destroyer, Nails, Nasum, Eyehategod

Words by: Chris Wilson

You can pick up a copy here and in Europe here

For more information:

Bandcamp | Facebook | Label

Ladder Devils - Clean Hands (Album Review)

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 04/11/2014

Label: Brutal Panda Records

‘Clean Hands’ DD/LP track listing:

1). Remember the Tooth

2). Midnight Eyes

3). Scabby

4). Hunt For Life

5). The Combine

6). Nameless, Faceless

7). Feeling is Natural

8. Land of Beauty

9). Eye of the Mundane

10). Dumb Jokes

Bio:

Philadelphia, PA noise rock quartet Ladder Devils make their long awaited return with Clean Hands, the first proper full-length for the band.  Featuring former members of hardcore heroes The Minor Times, the group previously released a series of EPs and splits with Helms Alee, Kowloon Walled City and Fight Amp, leading up to the recording of this album  With tighter song writing and cleaner production, the band mix the punk urgency of Nirvana with the sonic experimentation of The Pixies to create a sound that is all their own.  Fans of post-hardcore, noise rock, grunge and loud indie rock will surely embrace the rattling sounds of Ladder Devils.

Recorded at Gradwell House Studios in Haddon Heights, NJ by Steve Poponi (Fight Amp) in the winter of 2013/2014

Ladder Devils are:

Eric Haag | Guitar/Vocals

Matt Leo | Bass/Vocals

Timothy Leo | Guitar

Mike Howard | Drums

Review:

Taken at face value, Ladder Devils fall somewhere between Unsane, Ken Mode and the more experimental edge of Botch, ‘Clean Hands’, their latest, offers an original take on the already well explored genre of noise rock / Am Rep worship.

At first, there doesn’t appear to be much to distinguish them from Unsane as they share a similar discordant and bass driven style. The guitar and bass often divert from each other before combining for the more aggressive segments, whilst the vocals have an almost sarcastic tone to them which remind me of Jesse Matthewson of KEN mode. It’s competent, professional, but just seems to be little more than a copy of their influences.

Once this album starts to sink  in however, there are some key differences; where  Unsane rely heavily on the blues and KEN mode on technical metal to define their sound, Ladder Devils incorporate an almost garage band / rock n roll vibe. Imagine if The Bronx were noise rock but they had to sedate their front man. The ending of ‘Midnight Eyes’ for example builds to a break that could (kind of) be The Hives and yet from nowhere a hypnotic guitar line fades in, adding a completely unexpected atmosphere and what was an excellent noise rock song takes on a completely new angle. It emphasises they have their own identity and this is the first of a number of unexpected, but welcome musical shifts.

Tracks such as ‘Scabby’ provide some thunderous aggression, ‘Hunt for life’ even reminds me of In Utero era Nirvana, and ‘Feeling is Natural’ relies on stomping riffs  before spinning into uncomfortably aggressive psychedelia. For me, it never feels like they are leaping genres, rather they are cohesively bringing these elements to define their own sound. They clearly know exactly what they want to achieve and despite the sometimes disparate influences (pretty sure there is a Piano and some female backing vocals in ‘Land of Beauty’) it never loses focus. The album closes with the dirge like ‘Dumb Jokes’, combining elastic riffing with a despairing narrative of “I’ve got a joke for you, I have a joke for you too” which plays out to the albums end. It’s a downbeat and unpredictable ending on a surprising album that has everything you want from this genre and a lot you wouldn’t expect.

‘Clean hands’ then, is excellent, focused, inventive, disdainful. With its creative path separating them from the many others of their ilk, this album gets better with each listen.  It’s quite easy to imagine this becoming a classic in its own right and if there is any justice they will become an influence to others.  Awesome. Get it. Now,

8/10.

For fans of: Unsane / Botch / KEN mode

Words by: Chris Wilson

You can pick up a copy here

For more information:

http://www.ladderdevils.com
https://www.facebook.com/ladderdevils
https://www.ladderdevils.bandcamp.com
www.brutalpandarecords.com

Slipknot - .5: The Gray Chapter (Album Review)

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 21/10/2014

Label: Roadrunner Records

“.5: The Gray Chapter CD/DD/LP track listing:

1). XIX

2). Sarcastrophe

3). Aov

4). The Devil In I

5). Killpop

6). Skeptic

7). Lech

8). Goodbye

9). Nomadic

10). The One That Kills the Least

11). Custer

12). Be Prepared For Hell

13). The Negative One

14). If Rain Is What You Want

The Band:

(#8) Corey Taylor | vocals

(#7) Mick Thomson | guitars, bass

(#6) Shawn "Clown" Crahan | percussion, backing vocals

(#5) Craig "133" Jones | sampling, keyboards

(#4) Jim Root | guitars, bass

(#3) Chris Fehn | percussion, backing vocals

(#0) Sid Wilson | turntables

Review:

Slipknot has always been a band that divides opinion; legitimate extreme metal band or a pop act masquerading as one, appealing to angst ridden teens? The debate has raged for years, but there’s no doubt, they are here to say. 

In 1999 the successful “metal” bands were inexplicably trying to be Puff Daddy (Hedpe, Limp Bizkit), New Romantic (Orgy), and let’s not even discuss the abomination that was Coal Chamber (just rubbish). It was Korn who unleashed this tidal wave of shit, the remnants of whose musical sewage, reminds me of those oil covered birds you see on the news, after some oil disaster or another.

So, when Slipknot’s debut came out – It really did bring extreme metal back to the mainstream. Brutal – death / thrash infused riffs based on pure aggression and in Joey Jordison, a world class drummer who could match Dave Lombardo.  Slipknot were a band who could actually PLAY and in fairness to them, put on a hell of a stage show.  Indeed, they ended the extreme metal draught that ended after the heyday of Pantera and Sepultura; they were NOT, to be fair, without merit.

So here we are, fifteen years later, with “.5: The Gray Chapter”. Much has been written about the death of Bassist Paul Gray and the departure of drummer Joey Jordison and their contributions (the two of them wrote Iowa alone) and whether they can operate without them.  So, is this album as good as Slipknot fans could hope for? Everything is in place; fast technical riffs, double bass pedals and some TRULY monumental breakdowns (the mid section of “Skeptic” onwards is literally one of the best things I’ve heard this year.)

The previously under used electronics even form the basis for some of the songs here, as found on “Goodbye” and “Killpop”, the latter of which has a great chorus which refrains from becoming predictable and descends into a barrage of almost Dillinger esque drumming by the end. Undoubtedly, a lot of effort has been put into this album for sure, everything is very precise, and the harmonies work well and are in places unsettling, Corey Taylor’s voice the most aggressive since “Iowa”.

This release is the first with new members (maybe / maybe not Jay Weinberg and Cry for Silence / Krokodil guitarist Alessandro Venturella) who fit in perfectly. The former is not as good as Jordison who had far more authority in his playing, and I feel he added much more power to their sound, but that being said the album does not suffer as a result. He does an admirable job of filling in and adds some interesting off beats and cymbal work whilst keeping within Jordison’s framework. The other guys, er, do stuff in the background somewhere I think. This is easily better than the last album and I cannot imagine Slipknot fans being disappointed in the slightest.

Now for the downsides, for every element of extremity, there have always been counterpoints to this band. For every double bass pedal avalanche, an auto tuned chorus, for every blast, an almost nursery rhyme style chant, for every inhuman roar, a tune blatantly made for radio.  At first the riffs and the heaviness ARE impressive. Corey Taylor’s vocals sound much more vicious than ten years ago and they clearly feel they have a point to prove. The first couple of listens took me aback in places, but even then I knew what my reservations were going to be and was proved right.

For me the polished production and attempts to mimic how feral they actually sounded when they first came out are almost like unconvincing replicas, polished by Pro Tools. This kind of music is supposed to be hideous and aggressive, not polished and clean

Another problem is the switch between being extreme and throwing in a section you can imagine someone’s dad dancing to. The track “Custer” – starts off at such a blistering pace it’s almost overwhelming.  Unfortunately it  drops down to an angst style mumble from Corey, before breaking into a lowest common denominator Chorus of “Cut Cut Cut me up and Fuck Fuck Fuck me up” which screams of Goth kids trying to upset their parents. The addition of a siren when the drums break to half time actually make me think of a Clown (yes yes) turning up in his car at the circus. It’s actually laughable and almost embarrassing.   And the tempo of the verse riff to “The Negative One” reminds me of The Proclaimers “I would walk 500 Miles.” A friend of mine commented on how one track could run for Christmas number one, although unsure which, it’s not a good indication!

It’s a shame as there is a lot that IS good about this album, and about this band, but at the same time it is flawed with elements that I personally can’t get on board with. If you want genuine Death Metal, go and listen to the new Revocation album, or Cannibal Corpse. If you want huge grooves and blasting, Nails. And if you want claustrophobia, Paranoia and general negativity, Celeste do it better.  Maybe I’m just being a cynical old man, grumbling over his obscure underground bands and  - to an extent that is true, but it just seems like an  approximation of other music that is done so much better elsewhere. Seriously kids, listen to the old man in the corner here.

That all being said you can guarantee that they will sell billions on this one. Slipknot fans are definitely not going to be disappointed – they have taken some musical chances and I can see some of the choruses becoming long established metal classics in the future for sure, and if my possibly unjustified gripes do not ring true for you, then I’m sure you will find a lot to enjoy about it.

Its 6/10 album for me, but then again I’m a miserable old bastard.

Words by: Chris Wilson

You can purchase this record everywhere now

For more information:

http://www.slipknot1.com/

https://www.facebook.com/slipknot

https://twitter.com/slipknot

The Art Of Burning Water - Living Is For Giving, Dying Is For Getting (Album Review)

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 20/10/2014

Label: Riot Season

‘Living Is For Giving, Dying Is For Getting’ CD/DD/LP track listing:

1. No Day Is Tragedy Free
2. You Get What You're Given
3. Happiness Always Ends In Tears
4. At The Hands Of Them
5. Feast Of Testicles
6. Snake State Nausea
7. It Will All Make Sense When We're Dead
8. December 14th 1990 (Sadness Begins)
9. Great British Hope Destroyer
10. How To Be A Worrier

Bio:

Noise was made and dance halls emptied. Tears were shed and sorrow was aplenty. Laughter filled the vans and the smoke filled our lungs. With tinnitus to unite us, only we can make failure fun. Beats and noise strength in the face of some grim and harsh times. Intestinal fortitude tenfold. We'd make Mr. Balboa proud

The Band:

MIKE | Drums and P.M.A
KUNAL | Sub noize
GRIEF | High noise and throat

Review:

I’m not entirely sure how or why I thought The Art of Burning Water were some kind of quirky indie band, until I came across them a few years back. Since this point, I have come to associate them with bands such as Palehorse and the Afternoon Gentleman, and whilst different to the utter misery of the former and raging grind of the latter, they are definitely pushing their own kind of extremity.

Which brings us nicely to their latest; ‘Living is for giving, Dying is For Getting.’ After a brief sample ‘No Day Is Tragedy Free’ drags itself along in reluctant malice with white noise screams searing over the top and then, without warning they blast into the hyper punk of ‘You get what you’re given.’ It’s pretty clear that accessibility is not much of a priority, there is no feeling that they are making music for anyone other than themselves and as a result they go wherever they please and make a brutal but intelligent racket in the process.

Sonically they fall somewhere between Knut and various grind / noisecore bands, although there are some (relatively) straight up and memorable riffs  to be found in the likes of ‘At the hands of them.’ and ‘It will all make sense when we’re dead’, which makes a good contrast and holds your attention without becoming monotonous.  There is some interesting times signatures and clever flips in rhythm in the middle of “It will all make sense when we’re dead” and genuinely sinister chord progressions in “Snake state nausea” add variety and make for a listen that seems more progressive and intriguing on each listen.

At the time of writing there are still new elements coming to light which highlight how much thought has been put into the record.  The playing is impeccable, well planned and clearly they are all masters of their respective instruments.

The vocals are never anything less than all out fury and desperation. Serving almost as the proverbial nails down the board in the background, it’s as if they are there purely to be unpleasant for the sake of it (which by the way is meant as a compliment).  The riffs and aforementioned dynamics and technical changes carry the overall sound and for me are what form the songs, rather than relying on standard structure / verse / chorus.

If you’re looking for pure nihilism and fury and an example of a band pushing themselves to the extreme, with no regard for others opinion and with the intention of making a hideous racket, then look no further. At 20 minutes long it’s a little brief, but needs to be no longer. This is a crushing work of utter despondency which I can’t recommend enough.

Reference points; - Knut, Ken Mode, Eyehategod

7/10

Words by: Chris Wilson

You can pick up a copy here

For more information:

http://artofburningwater.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Art-of-burning-water/199317980081118