ALBUM REVIEW: Drouth, “Excerpts From a Dread Liturgy”

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 31/07/2020

Label: Translation Loss Records

“Excerpts From a Dread Liturgy” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). A Drowning in Sunlight

2). An Apiarist

3). O Time Thy Pyramids – An Unfinished Nigthmare

4). A Repulsive Act Shrouded in Flesh

5). A Crown of Asphodels

The Review:

Portland's Drouth offer up five tracks of black metal on this sharp and dark release. As noted in previous reviews, I'm no afficianado of the black metal genre and my listening tends to be a little restricted to the classics of 25+ years ago or to a couple of modern bands (Winterfylleth in particular).

However, I know a band I like when I hear it and I very much like this. Over the course of five tracks and around forty minutes, Drouth delivery convincing blasts, darkness and atmosphere. Have a listen to the opener “A Drowning in Sunlight” and see if you agree. For me, this is straight ahead black metal with a few individualistic ingredients.

The time changes are solid, the riffs are melodic in places and vicious in others, vocally the band are almost similar to At The Gates, as opposed to other many black metal vocalists, while the sound is not pro-toolsed beyond reason and stands as a coherent capturing of the band's raw sound.

As the album progresses, it's notably extreme and melodic by turn (like much black metal, to my ears) and the brutality of “An Apiarist” stands counterpoint to the cloying darkness of “O Time Thy Pyramids…” and so on.

By the time the album finishes with the excellent “A Crown of Asphodels”, any listener will have made up their mind about the band and the record. For me, this is good black metal done well- it stands apart from much of the genre due to the professional manner of delivery and utterly committed performances of the band members. If you are looking for some black metal, this will do it for you.

“Excerpts From a Dread Liturgy” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

INTERVIEW & TRACK PREMIERE: End Christian deliver a masterful dose of electronic pop music

Dante Torrieri (c)

End Christian’s “Energy and Strength” was one of my favorite unclassifiable or “outlier” records of last year.  On the surface, you’d assume you were looking at a metal supergroup, with members from Brutal Truth, Fad Nauseum, Starkweather, and Hex Inverter all making contributions.  But you’d be dead wrong.  A multi-genre sojourn through electronic, hardcore, goth and industrial experimentation, it was original and oddly moving.  

On May 25^th, the loose collective drops their 2^nd album, “Bach Part One”, an even more dramatic step away from metal expectations.  Despite some killer guitar work and key contributions from modern metal legends, it is a masterful slice of electronic pop music.  Founder and key member Christian McKenna took the time to speak with me about the project’s foundations, the collaborative process on the new record, live performances, and the wealth of material coming from End Christian in the future.  We also have the honor of debuting one of my favorite tracks of the record, “Great Escapes”, featuring featuring Justin Broadrick of Godflesh/Jesu.  “Bach Part One” is available for preorder at here

Christian can you tell us a little about your musical background and your story of the genesis of the End Christian project?

CM: I’ve been playing in a bunch of bands over the years.  Usually a more traditional band-type setting… 4-5 guys where we met with some frequency to keep a set sharp and to be ready in case something came along.  I felt kind of stagnant with doing things that way and just rehashing things over and over again in order to stay sharp for some kind of performance.  I got fried from doing gigs and wanted to pull back on that and focus on writing a bit more.  I wanted to blow up the way I was doing stuff.

I’ve been able to play with great musicians over the years, but I felt like I was stagnating a bit.  I wanted to be a bit more spontaneous with my writing and try some ideas I hadn’t gotten the chance to try before.

On “Energy and Strength” you worked with Richard Hoak, Gillian Dreadful and Vincent Rosa.  How do they figure into End Christian as it exists on the new record?  How structured is it as a key core of musicians?

I think I did a bit of a disservice to those people by saying that those people were in the band before I even asked if they’d be in the band.  I was fortunate enough that when I reached out, everyone was in!  A band I played with, Hex Inverter, had played a show with Starkweather a year or two ago, and I remember Vincent had come up and commented that he dug what we were doing.  I made a mental note that maybe I’d have the opportunity to work with him.  And then I reached out to other bass players who fell through, but when I got back to Vincent, he was willing.

I had done some stuff with Rich in the past.  I made it clear to him that, even though he played drums on the first record, I was coming at him more for his openness.  He has another project called Peacemaker that’s kind of an ambient, noise, jazz freakout stuff, and I was thinking more of THAT kind of stuff, but I’d never specified that.  When we first got together he’d focused on drums.  On this record, he doesn’t play drums at all.  He does some soundscape type stuff and he wrote lyrics to “Anywhere with You”, which I think is a beautiful song.  He sings the lead on that one, and does some background vocals.  That’s some of the stuff from his wheelhouse I wanted to integrate into what we were doing.

That song, “Anywhere with You”, is particularly affecting.  I wouldn’t have figured that the guy who plays drums on the key Brutal Truth records would have created that.

Right on! That’s what’s beautiful to me about it.  It’s a simple lyric.  It isn’t vague or anything.  It’s not deceptive, it’s just a love song he’s singing to his wife.  It’s very vulnerable!  Alap and I were sitting at the board and the song started from a loop I’d created from “Owner of a Lonely Heart” by Yes.  We manipulated it a bit and Alap had thrown down some beats.  Rich was sitting real quiet in the background and he popped up and said “I think I have something!” And that song came out of nowhere and I was just blown away.  We threw on some harmony vocals and tweaks but it was pretty close to what he originally laid down there.

I know you’re a progressive rock fan, and it’s funny to hear this and compare it with the often forgotten, 80s synth driven era of a lot of those bands – Genesis, King Crimson, even Rush.  How do those influences play out for End Christian?

A lot of people are always like, “I only like the Peter Gabriel Genesis” and I like that stuff too, but I like the stuff in the 80s!  I think that it doesn’t get enough recognition with bands later – like Radiohead, I think that’s where that stuff came from.  And that stuff, King Crimson and Genesis and Yes, that holds up really well for me still.  The same way that Black Flag and Minutemen records hold up.  That all sounds relevant when I listen to it now.

What is the story behind the title, Bach Part One?

Originally the record was supposed to be a double album.  Alap engineered and produced on “Energy and Strength”, but he got really involved on this one.  He co-wrote maybe 75% of this one, and got really waist deep in it and is a member of the band for this one.  When we were going back we had tracked around 20 songs, and when we were sequencing everything out, he talked me out of releasing a double album.  Which is not a terrible idea because I know attention spans are limited, so we’re releasing in two parts.  “Part Two” will be released at a later date.  We have about four albums worth of stuff right now recorded and a couple other records we’ll start recording in the fall.

You have a lot of people stepping in for guest roles in this: Justin Broadrick from Godflesh and Jesu, Kevin Hufnagel from Gorguts, Andrew Southard from Giant Squid, Mike Hill from Tombs, Sheena Powell who I hadn’t heard of before but I can absolutely see why you’d want her to contribute to the record after hearing her vocals.  Can you tell me what the process is of approaching these people and saying “Hey I want you on an electronic pop record!”

I don’t think I directly said “Hey let’s do an electronic pop record.” *laughs* I’m half kidding. Kevin I know from working at Relapse and we’ve known each other a long time.  He’s only on this record for one track but he’s all over the next record playing baritone ukulele.  Almost as a percussive instrument along with 808s.  Alap has me convinced that the 808 is the new riff.  I’m almost of the mentality that guitar is dead, and the space and room between 808 hits on these records are letting listeners connect the dots by themselves.

Has there been any talk about performing in a live setting?

We had a rehearsal last week actually!  We got together last weekend for like the first End Christian practice ever with the mindframe that we were trying to work on a set.  We do want to play some shows and celebrate all the different records that we’re making.  When we got together over the weekend we only tried material from “Energy and Strength” since it was the only stuff three or four of us had gotten into a room and tried to jam together.  It’s not going to sound exactly like the record but that’s pretty cool.  Rich had the idea to maybe do a live record since Ballinger and a few of the other songs are true to the spirit of the writing but sound a lot different.

 “Great Escapes” (premiere above), one of my favorites, was a spooky track but almost had a sensual feeling – like a late 80s, early 90s R&B track.  It wouldn’t be out of place as a Sade track.

I’m a huge Sade fan!  I’ve been a huge Sade fan.  You made my fucking life with that *laughs*.  I can’t believe you said that.  I’ve been on a huge Sade kick.

I had some keyboards and lyrics and Alap had some electronic stuff.  I reached out to Justin and wanted him to finish mixing the song.  He talked about going for a Jesu type vibe and turned it into a kind of mood piece.  I can’t say we were trying to do a Sade thing at the time but I’ll take it as a compliment!  And his guitar at the end is abrupt and kind of ambient but you can tell it’s Justin.  He definitely left his mark.

When you said sensual – Alap and I, joking around, said we wanted to be playing music for women and not dudes with beards and wallet chains.

What’s the plans for the rest of 2018 and 2019?

“Bach Part One” is coming out in May.  We have a series of vinyl coming out on Alap’s label, Internet and Weed.  It’s kind of a new world for me but those will have some songs with a capella versions and maybe some instrumental versions for DJs to use.  Then we’ll finish up the other record with the baritone uke.  We’re talking with some other labels now and I think that one will come out in the fall.  It’s weird that we’re talking about this Bach record now but I can’t wait to NOT talk about it again.  I think in the fall we’re going to record another zigzag from some of these things.  A kind of doomy, noisy record, with Vince doing what he’s known for and Rich doing drums again, and do it as a power trio.  And then a string of shows in the fall to celebrate the release of all this music.  We just gotta figure out how to play it.

The End

Band info: facebook

FOR THOSE ABOOT TO ROCK: Riffs of Canada with Wake [Calgary, Alberta]

By: Mark Tremblay

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 23/02/2018

Label: Translation Loss

“Misery Rites” is a standout contemporary extreme metal record one of the most punishing heavy music albums of the year so far.

“Misery Rites” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Exhumation

2). Misery Rites

3). Embers

4). Rot

5). Paradigm Rot

6). Exile

7). Rumination

8). Bitter Winter

9). Burial Ground

The Review:

Canada’s most complex grindcore band returns with “Misery Rites”. Taking a lot of what the band had previously done on “Sowing the Seeds of a Worthless Tomorrow”, and further pushing elements of black and death metal. The album is one of the most punishing heavy music albums of the year so far.

From the very start, the record opens on a different path. The sludge riffs on “Exhumation” would make Primitive Man proud. In true grind fashion, however, the album is still full of blast-beats. They are interspersed with moments of dissonant death metal riffage; “Paradigm Lost” and “Exile” utilize this structure in a way that make the heaviest moments stand out. This band really excels at building peaks and valleys in its music for the listener.

Drummer Josh Bueckert really stands out on this record. The drum patterns create a lot of surprising twists and turns. The continual motion on tracks like “Burial Ground” showcase a variety in drum patterns rarely heard in heavy music. “Misery Rites” is a standout contemporary extreme metal record that sees this band moving further into other forms of heavy music, and finding their unique sound

“Misery Rites” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Wormwood - "Mooncurse"

By: Ernesto Aguilar


Album Type: Full length
Date Released: 20/10/2017

Label: Translation Loss Records

Wormwood's performance on "Mooncurse" is doom in the purest sense. Purposeful pacing and incredibly weighty riffs aplenty.  As you make your way to "Passage of Fire," Wormwood's greatest traits are on full display: an impeccable grasp of timing, dark musical sequences and undefeatable heaviness

 

"Mooncurse" CD//DD//LP track listing

1. Infinite Darkness

2. The Undesirables

3. Forlorn

4. Mooncurse

5. Parasitic Twin

6. Burn the Psychic Vision

7. Passage of Fire

The Review:

Terms like 'supergroup' are so overused that it is near impossible to truly quantify it with anything real. Shouldn't bands from which players come from reach a particular echelon, sales threshold or, well, something? So when a fantastic band like Boston's Wormwood gets the term hung on it, one has to resist the meaninglessness of the phrase, and instead focus on its gifts.

In the case of Wormwood, those gifts come from both intense chemistry and superlative musicianship. Drummer Chris Bevilacqua and guitarist Chris Pupecki, previously known from local act Doomriders, offered up Wormwood's self-titled debut EP in 2014. The heaviness of that premiere was so warmly received that hopes rose for Wormwood's return. Three years and two new members – Mike Gowell, previously of Phantom Glue, on guitar and Greg Weeks, previously of Red Chord, on bass – later, and Wormwood strikes back, with the 's' word bandied about, and an impressive new album, "Mooncurse," to show for it.

When it was a duo, the band was particularly effective at setting a claustrophobic mood through distortion, rhythm and harrowing effects. Now as a quartet, Wormwood redoubles this commitment by making even richer sounds in this regard. Wormwood touches down with "Infinite Darkness," whose haunting strings set up what becomes quickly a throttling opening cut. Into "The Undesirables," previewed for this album, you hear a prime example of how much larger Wormwood sound with its extra hands and more much more penetrating approach. The pacing of this song and lyrics make it a standout. Meanwhile, "Forlorn," which follows it, a striking instance of a change up that does not sound out of place or confusing; cresting slowly, the song's guitar assault comes in fits and starts, at first with an almost folk-style chord progression into a much more rapacious attack.

Wormwood's performance on "Mooncurse" is doom in the purest sense. Even its fastest playing is in the spirit of some of the best offerings this year. Purposeful pacing and incredibly weighty riffs aplenty. A song like "Burn the Psychic Vision" is such a great listen because it is well arranged, with drums and bass that luxuriously creep through your mind's eye. The new double guitar lineup adds depth to this cut, as well as to entries such as "Parasitic Twin" and the title track. As you make your way to "Passage of Fire," Wormwood's greatest traits are on full display: an impeccable grasp of timing, dark musical sequences and undefeatable heaviness. Whether you subscribe to the supergroup tag or not, Wormwood lives up to the road it cut in its debut, and then some, with a full-length to be appreciated.

"Mooncurse" is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

TRACK PREMIERE: Forfeit life to Wormwood and yield to their bludgeoning new track "The Undesirables"

Rewind almost 3 years and a couple of old friends got together to make a heavy depressing/empowering racket. Formed by Chris Pupecki perhaps better known as guitarist in Doomriders and their original drummer Chris Bevilacqua, these Boston natives debuted their self titled EP, via PATAC Records/ Magic Bullet Records, 5 tracks that were driven by a bestial, hard-hitting mid-tempo grind and a distinctly unpolished, ugly, and bottomless bass rumble, the discordant ooze of guitars with effect-laden sludge atmospherics that consistently unsettled you with brutally effective tritonal dissonance before spacing you out with smooth doomed slow jam riffs.  

WORMWOOD's debut was a  sonic nightmare from, a dark, psychedelic journey of fuzzed out doom metal and stoner-dirge riffs that shattered all pre-conceptions… WORMWOOD pours out of your stereo like a plague of carrion insects and  make no mistake the pedigree of this band is mouth watering, with members of Phantom Glue and The Red Chord rounding off this quartet.  Now following 3 years in the wilderness,  on October 20^th 2017, WORMWOOD will issue their debut full length “Mooncurse” on Translation Loss Records, arguably the best underground label on the scene today and we recently caught up with the band to get the low down on new record. 

"It's less standard "doom" this time around and now has elements of sludge, some psychedelic moments, guitar harmonies, quieter pretty parts and even a couple noise rock moments. All in all though I feel it blends together nicely without sounding like a patchwork of genres and it still retains the darkness, anger and bite of our original release, just maybe more interesting ear candy happening now."

"It does have an apocalyptic feel or a feel of isolation/rejection/depression that tends to come up lyrically as well as sonically. I truly believe playing heavy music is the greatest therapy in the world, and so for me, all the darkest stuff in the recesses of my mind seems to come up and kind of release while I play and I always feel better afterwards...for a little while at least."

With a release date set for 20/10/2017, a new label and preorders for the record already open (here), you can get your first taste of the new record with an exclusive stream of the track “The Undesirables” below, which is unapologetically crushing. We hope you dig it. Forfeit life to WORMWOOD

Live Rituals

Direct support for ALL PIGS MUST DIE
10/19 - Saint Vitus, NY
10/20 - Great Scott, Allston, MA

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW & FULL STREAM: Ledge - "Cold Hard Concrete"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 25/08/ 2017

Label: Translation Loss Records

“Cold Hard Concrete" is that uneasy masterpiece you will value even more by year's end.

"Cold Hard Concrete" CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Through Your Skull

2. Blacked Out

3. You Know Who You Are

4. Stalk Your Enemies

5. Disappearing God

6. Fuck Yourself

7. Last Shred of Hope

8. Condemned

The Review:

Metal music has had, over the years, many solo projects, intentional or less so as the bands lived on. Sometimes these projects can be quite divine, because they carry forward an artist's unique musical vision. Other times, you wonder how much it can be a self-indulgent endeavor or vanity plate weighed down by one musician's inability to work with others or compromise for the sake of art. Who of us has not witnessed a flabby presentation or two?

When it comes to Ledge, though, the debut full-length is much more of the former rather than the latter.

Ledge has been a prolific act so far, with a demo and a split LP with the band Disrotted both released within the last year. John Hoffman's one-man extreme music escapade merges doom, hardcore and traditional death metal in an eight-song package that convincingly stands out from the crowd. Much of that distinction is simply due to Hoffman's style. He's held the microphone for the likes of hardcore outfit Spine and grindcore act Weekend Nachos. In fact, Hoffman's body of work has always been quite original, with black metal and punk influences throughout. When you check out these previous performers, you will notice immediately Hoffman's copious contributions. Ledge is seemingly an outgrowth of the sort of creative output that requires enough room to put it all out there. This time around, Hoffman is the boss of everything, covering bass, drums and vocals. The result is a bruising musical trip certain to exceed your hopes for this stylish premiere.

On top of Hoffman's on-mic performance, "Cold Hard Concrete" stands out for a few different reasons. His arrangement of this full-length, sans extra musicians, is well done and pairs tracks stunningly. For instance, "Blacked Out" rampages at you from the start, only to grind to a sludge, then seguing powerfully into "You Know Who You Are." Hoffman's ravenous lyrics on "Stalk Your Enemies" find fellow travelers in the themes that come up in "Disappearing God." As you reach the doom-laden "Last Shred of Hope" and the doom/death metal-tinged closing song, "Condemned," it is hard not to appreciate how Hoffman composed cuts to build on moods. Bass and drums set the apprehensive body from whence Hoffman's words lash out. "Cold Hard Concrete" is that uneasy masterpiece you will value even more by year's end.  Check out the album in full below.  

"Cold Hard Concrete" is available here

Band info: bandcamp