Although I have a whole lot of new releases waiting there to be listen and eventually to get a review at the bottom line, still, there are many treasures left undiscovered from the previous year. Blue Stahli are definitively one of them and released on March 2, 2011, this self-titled album it’s the first not only instrumental album by the artist, but the second under the Blue Stahli moniker.
We’ve got 10 tracks, 43 minutes of ravishing fury and sensual emotions. Blue Stahli managed to merged anthematic rock hooks with smoothly cinematic sensitivity and epic electronic sound. Aggressive riffing, melodic hooks, bloody screams and contorted electronic layers are working in perfect harmony here to create the most efficient construction of gothic punk with industrial metal outfit. Probably most of the people will think of Nine Inch Nails and well, there are some obvious similarities, but still, this is something quite different. And highly addictive. Read more Blue Stahli – Blue Stahli (2011)
Life and Living
Monthly Archives: January 2012
Red- _ -box – Think Out Of The Box (2012)
Free download, contorted dubstep, worth to give it a try. So, go and grab it – from the Sostanze Records web page.
We’ve got 6 tracks, an excellent mixture of noisy electronics and subtle experimental sounds, a monstrous clash between the raging and wobbling dubstep basses and the more gentle, smoothly layered progressive trance taste like passages and soundscapes.
This is electronic music, but it’s absolutely brutal and have a quite destructive rock vibe. “Deathmatch” definitively may pull your head off. And it’s not the only explosive moment, “If I Die Growl Growl Growl” will blow up your speakers instantly. This may not be rock, but it’s definitively rocking pretty hard. Read more Red- _ -box – Think Out Of The Box (2012)
Enter Shikari – A Flash Flood Of Colour (2012)
The merging of metalcore and dubstep was kind of predictable and unavoidable evolution of the scene. Low frequency oscillations, the wobble bass and some crushing riffs and screaming vocals make a quite destructive pair and definitively fits the taste of the new generation. But there’s at least one question left. Those kids who are willing to set the city on fire only to steal a pair of sneakers and eventually a flat screen TV, are gonna pay for all that music the industry kindly delivering, or they gonna download – steal – it? And honestly, most of this music deserves nothing than to be downloaded.
Although I have my (musical) roots back in hardcore, but I also appreciate the quality dubstep too, so, I think this musical collision could bring to the surface quite exciting results, I still did not heard some outstanding results. America had his best shot by Korn, but not even the almighty Skrillex and a whole army of appreciated nowadays producers could save the lack of inspiration from “The Path Of Totality” and hide it under the massive sound. So, let’s see what the Brits managed to delivered on their third album… Read more Enter Shikari – A Flash Flood Of Colour (2012)
Kayo Dot – Gamma Knife (2012)
Kayo Dot, the brainchild of Toby Driver is a quite different musical project then most of the nowadays trendy runners. It’s an everchanging mixture of rock, jazz, metal and avant-garde elements, it’s definitively not a common, usual, easy to label and listen kind of music. But it’s much more alive.
A partial live recording with overdubs added in the studio, they delivered 25 minutes of their usually unusual music, this time kind of saxophone fueled noise metal, a quite contorted trip, eventually with the exception of the title track which it’s an almost classical track with chamber and (possible) Gregorian aromas and offers a chill exit for the listener. Read more Kayo Dot – Gamma Knife (2012)
Field Frequency
Yesterday, Friday 13, was a quite odd day. But after all I managed to get over it. Just to face another task today. 😀
The Weekly Brief is an on-going program to source specific, high-quality music for Indaba‘s non-exclusive licensing catalog.
In this inaugural edition of their weekly commissions, they’re reaching out to the artists of Indaba to compose an adrenaline-fueled score for this snowboarding footage. I delivered a quick, noisy one for this one, kind of clash between Black Sabbath and Ministry… Check it out, hope you enjoy it. 😉 Read more Field Frequency
Elizabeth – Demo, Free Download
Free stuffs are best stuffs for most of us, I know. Candies for suckers. 😀 And Matthias Jungbluth of Throatruiner Records all the time serve us some goodies. So, I’m gonna spread and share his message, still, just remember, artists and some independent labels as Throatruiner Records deserves all our support and don’t forget: art needs not only inspiration, but financing, support too.
Swiss ELIZABETH (hardcore/crust in the vein of Rise And Fall, Converge, The Hope Conspiracy,with ex-NOSTROMO vocalist) has entered the studio to record their debut EP “When Vultures Land”. A 12″ vinyl release is planned for march via Throatruiner Records and I For Us, and their first home-recorded EP is still available for free download here : http://ezbth.bandcamp.com. Read more Elizabeth – Demo, Free Download
Grand Central – 01, EP (2011)
New name on the scene, no background infos, no nothing about them, so, what could I did, google them, obviously. Google “Grand Central – 01” and you will got THIS. A not so succeeded snap-shot of the Grand Central Terminal in NYC. Tried a different approach and find out that there’s a Brit cover band running under the same name and “providing the best live music from 60s to present day for your wedding, party, corporate events”… S*it! And there are also “The Grand Central Band” from New Zealand, formed in 1997… I hate “my job” (sometimes), I hate Google – but I would be disposable to merry his daughter eventually 😀 -, I hate the internet, I hate you and everybody else. Still, I love punk’n’roll, something performed and perfected to master by Lemmy Kilmister and his Motörmotherfuckinghead. And this 4 track EP delivered by the French Grand Central consist of that kind of Read more Grand Central – 01, EP (2011)
Hexis – XI (2012)
Two words: death and destruction. I think back in ’86-’87 when I first listen to Kreator’s “Endless Pain” and “Pleasure to Kill” I had that murderous feeling. Back then it was something terrible and shocking, nowadays nothing’s shocking anymore, still, Hexis delivers some brutally good mixture of extreme metal. Slow, doom and black metal grinding moments are ripped away by killer massacres of grindcore and hardcore intensity.
I wasn’t able to dig out too many infos about this Copenhagen (Denmark) based band formed in the beginning of 2010, but it seems they already has released a bunch of different records and toured Europe a few times in countries like Sweden, Germany, Holland, France, Switzerland, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic together with bands like Celeste, The Secret and This Gift Is A Curse. Read more Hexis – XI (2012)
The Atomic Bomb Audition – How to Dismantle a U2 (2012)
The key to this is – as they defined their own music -: “psychedlic soundtracks for films that don’t exist”. Under this funny and cleverly inspired album title they offer a collection of enclosed materials which represents all phases of the band, digging back till 2006 and the “Eleven Theatres” era. Also got the cover of “Laura’s Theme” from the famous “Twin Peaks” soundtrack which fits right in in the atmosphere and vibe of this release and reflects quite precisely the (mainly) gloomy and ghosty style of the band.
Released on 1st January 2012, and free of charge (“name your price”) on their Bandcamp page, this is a nice gift and a great opportunity to get know this band and their music. Read more The Atomic Bomb Audition – How to Dismantle a U2 (2012)
Echancrure – Paysage. Octobre. (2011)
This is a dream. Or a trip through some sonic landscapes colored by hopes, dreams, fears, nightmares and eventually some kind of desperate searching and self-searching, ultimately a need for communication and definitively a gloomy, but quite spiritual way to express feelings. And once again, in a world more and more isolated and alienated, feelings and communication are so goddamn rare. This might be a movie without imagines, or just simply a passage to a kind of intimate, hidden place where our ghosts are dancing in some soulful ritual fire. Symbolism melt into mystery, grotesque and vivid melancholy collide into one and the result are eight “Untitled” tracks which overcome and defied genres.
“Yours for free”, or “Pay as much as you want” is the best way to spread this kind of experimental, gloomy, “unfriendly” music. Read more Echancrure – Paysage. Octobre. (2011)
