Krokofant – Krokofant (2014)

Krokofant - Krokofant (2014)

Krokofant - Krokofant (2014) Kongsberg, a town located at the southern end of the traditional region of Numedal, is perhaps best known for being the home of Norway’s major defence contractor, Kongsberg Gruppen, formerly Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk. Two of its well known products were the Kongsberg Colt and the Krag-Jørgensen rifle. The latter was adopted in the late 19th century as the standard army rifle in Denmark, Norway and U.S.A.
Notable, since 1964, the town has hosted Kongsberg Jazzfestival, an annual international jazz festival where prominent world acts such as BB King, Diana Krall, Ornette Coleman, Joshua Redman and John Scofield have played in recent years.
Also, Kongsberg it’s the home of some prominent artists such as Morten Harket – the lead singer of A-ha; jazz pianist Morten Qvenild; jazz guitarist Ivar Grydeland and pianist Håkon Austbø – among many others. And while Oslo it’s proud of Shining, now Kongsberg have this murderous trio called Krokofant. Krokofant?
What can we expect from a band named after a bizarre mixture between crocodile and elephant? Definitively good stuffs! Read more Krokofant – Krokofant (2014)

John 5 – Careful With That Axe (2014)

John 5 - Careful With That Axe (2014)

John 5 - Careful With That Axe (2014) Little wicked John is back and although he’s not playing with the matches, he’s guitar it’s on fire! I thought it’s his guitar, but just like that it might be an axe or a rifle as well – after all we’re living some strange and violent times!
Definitively John 5 is one of the most virtuoso and versatile guitarist of the modern rock/metal scene and he had a major contribution to the body of work of some influential artists such as Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie. “Careful With That Axe” it’s a guitar album, he’s sixth solo album following “The Art of Malice” released 4 years ago, but it’s a quality and enjoyable throughout album consist of 9 songs plus intro. Complex and technical guitar solos and chain-saw riffs are both deadly weapons in the arsenal of John 5. The music it’s a vivid mixture of neo-classical virtuoso moments with Malmsteen and Satriani resonances and wicked, heavy guitar riffs.
While “Flight Of The Vulcan Kelly” reminded me of “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Rimsky-Korsakov, the very next “Jerry’s Breakdown” it’s a bluegrass/country flavored acoustic rundown. You never know with John 5 what’s coming up next and that it’s truly wonderful! Read more John 5 – Careful With That Axe (2014)

Liars – Mess (2014)

Liars – Mess (2014)

Liars – Mess (2014) Dance-punk? In the good old days when punk (rock) actually meant something, I mean more then a dress code or a hair style, dance-punk would be an insult or a blasphemy, but those days are long gone and the whole idea was diluted and our perception distorted. There is no more ideology, no moral concepts and generally, no content, substance in the music – and arts – generally.
But Liars it’s a completely different story!
If their previous album, “WIXIW” released in 2012 was a clear move into the electronic/synthetic area of the music, while some critics consider it the “most accessible album to date” by the band. “Mess” bring the experiments and sounds of its predecessor right up to the dancefloor. So, this is dance-punk, but in a very good sense.
And maybe this is not the album of the year – although I love it throughout -, the almost title track of the record, “Mess On A Mission” it’s so far, the song, the anthem of the year. Once you heard it, you can not get rid of it and you will have to sing/scream along: “Facts are fact and fiction’s fiction… A mess on a mission, Mess on a mission!!” Read more Liars – Mess (2014)

Dog Fashion Disco – Sweet Nothings (2014)

Dog Fashion Disco - Sweet Nothings (2014)

Dog Fashion Disco - Sweet Nothings (2014) Originally named Hug The Retard, Dog Fashion Disco was formed in 1995 by Todd Smith, Greg Combs, and John Ensminger in Rockville, Maryland. Tod, Greg and John were high school colleagues. Combining many different music styles from the 70’s psychedelic, through jazz to heavy metal and circus music, Dog Fashion Disco was categorized as avant-garde metal band being heavily influenced by Mike Patton’s Mr. Bungle. The band’s lyrical content is often highly esoteric and satirical, with constant tongue-in-cheek references to the occult, drug use, and other oddities.
Their first two albums were self released and low budget products. The first – “Erotic Massage” (1997) – was funded by a loan taken out by drummer John Ensminger. The second self-released album was titled “Experiments In Alchemy” and released in 1998. While the first album was Read more Dog Fashion Disco – Sweet Nothings (2014)

Gli Putridissimi and Panzanellas – Comete, split album (2014)

Gli Putridissimi and Panzanellas - Comete, Split album 2014

Gli Putridissimi and Panzanellas - Comete, Split album 2014 Lepers production from Itali it’s a free net label, we share weird music for free since 2005. They promote them self as the best free net label and it might be quite possible. But what I’m absolutely sure is that I love both Gli Putridissimi and Panzanellas and the positive madness they dislocate and spread around.
Gli Putridissimi it’s an experimental project from Bari which combines black metal with jazz. Hard not to love the rough insanity they deliver. But – for some probably surprisingly -, they manage to bring to the surface also memorable melodies and some pretty addictive grooves. They have a kind of friendly acid/psychedelia/space rock vibe from the 70’s mixed with modern grooves and non-conformity. We’ve got Read more Gli Putridissimi and Panzanellas – Comete, split album (2014)

No Sugga’

Brushvox - No Sugga'

Brushvox - No Sugga' Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose – also known as dextrose, fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose. Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose.
Sugars are found in the tissues of most plants, but are only present in sufficient concentrations for efficient extraction in sugarcane and sugar beet. Sugarcane is any of several species of giant grass in the genus Saccharum that have been cultivated in tropical climates in South Asia and Southeast Asia since ancient times.
The world produced about 168 million tonnes of sugar in 2011. The average person consumes Read more No Sugga’

Venetian Snares – My Love Is A Bulldozer (2014)

Venetian Snares – My Love Is A Bulldozer (2014) Aaron Funk, better known as Venetian Snares had reinvented breakcore and set the stage for many other artists such as UndaCova, Xanopticon, Enduser and Datach’i.
He debuted on a record label in 1999 with the EP “Greg Hates Car Culture” released on History of the Future. Prior to this, he self-released material on cassette tapes as early as 1992. Funk was quite prolific, releasing sometimes up to eight recordings per year, for different labels including: History of the Future, Isolate/DySLeXiC ResPonSe, Addict, Zod, Distort, Sublight, Low-Res, Planet Mu and Hymen.
He is making electronic music often in odd and numbered time signatures (mostly 7/4) and combining different sounds and styles from IDM to trip-hop and dark ambient with twisted off, intense breakcore beats. Read more Venetian Snares – My Love Is A Bulldozer (2014)

John Frusciante – Enclosure (2014)

John Frusciante - Enclosure (2014)

John Frusciante - Enclosure (2014) If Syd Barrett would still be around and doing records, probably he would play the things John Frusciante play. A brilliant, but sometimes disturbing game of motions and emotions beyond the horizon we generally dare to explore. Sometimes there is no line between madness and genius.
Drum’n’bass inspired drums, unleashed guitar solos and an always changing ambiance of space-rock and indie electronic music it’s the world that Frusciante build up and share with us.
“Enclosure, upon its completion, was the record which represented the achievement of all the musical goals I had been aiming at for the previous 5 years. It was recorded simultaneously with Black Knights’ Medieval Chamber, and as different as the two albums appear to be, they represent one investigative creative thought process. What I learned from one fed directly into the other. Enclosure is presently my last word on the musical statement which began with PBX” – said Frusciante. Read more John Frusciante – Enclosure (2014)

John Zorn – Psychomagia (2014)

John Zorn – Psychomagia (2014)

John Zorn – Psychomagia (2014) “Psychomagia” is the new album by the fabulous quartet of Abraxas, the follow up of the 2012’s “Abraxas: Book of Angels Volume 19”, the debut album by led by Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz performing compositions from John Zorn’s second Masada book, “The Book of Angels”.
Now they perform a complex new suite of music written expressly for them by Downtown alchemist John Zorn in the same vivid manner of tribal rock. Drawing inspiration from the magical writings of Giordano Bruno, Alejandro Jodorowski and others, Zorn has written a bold collection of compositions that challenging the musicians and exploring the limits.
This new volume in Zorn’s mystic series matches the intensity and power of Moonchild, PainKiller and Naked City. Fans will devour it, but also those who are sometimes scared away bt Zorn’s abstract (astral?) journeys, may try and enjoy “Psychomagia”. Read more John Zorn – Psychomagia (2014)

Animals As Leaders – The Joy Of Motion (2014)

Animals As Leaders - The Joy Of Motion (2014) It is the third album by instrumental progressive (metal) group Animals as Leaders, introducing new drummer Matt Garstka along guitarists Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes. Three years after “Weightless” the band sound fresh and feels explosive. Wicked riffs, complex rhythmic structures and build-up, nice harmonic breakdowns and surprising turns are all part of their arsenal. Although I like jazz and instrumental jazz albums, I generally don’t like instrumental rock albums. Animals As Leaders have the creativity and intensity to capture my attention and it’s always a pleasure to take the ride through their albums. Song by song they build-up vivid, unexpected spaces and the mixture of sounds and styles their perform it’s outside the box, above genres. Between the subtle shades of “Air Chrysalis” and the heavy tones of “Tooth And Claw”, Animals As Leaders mix and merge Read more Animals As Leaders – The Joy Of Motion (2014)