Dark and atmospheric, slow and fearful, heavy and mysterious, Dirge comes on a long way of explorations and experiments, started from industrial roots they grow into the sludge/doom area of experimental/avant-garde metal, incorporate both classic rock instruments and samplers/machines into their own flavored dark metal fulfilled with progressive rock and cinematic elements.
If something actually is dark and heavy, definitively Dirge is. Merging classic approaches with modern structures, sounds and elements, they delivering their own epic, tortured and contorted metal, absolutely heavy and dark as a starless night. Still, their music contains melodies, quite musical themes which gave them a mysterious sparkling. Gave to the guys from Crowbar some old Pink Floyd themes to jam with and you’re almost there where Dirge starts their path of exploration and creation. Read more Dirge – Elysian Magnetic Fields (2011)
6h33 – Orphan of Good Manners (2011)
The way out is through… together in sickness and filth… as long as somebody can really explain me what “weirdo” means, what is actually sick or filthy. It’s quite small chances to let myself tied up as it’s just don’t seems an option to torture somebody for my own pleasure, but that really don’t make me healthier as those who doing this kind of “kinky” stuffs are not by default sicker then me. Still, there’s always a first time for everything and… never say never because as a joke of life, when you refuse something it will comes down on you crushing. Differences make us unique, and right or wrong is just a matter of perception.
And 6:33 is quite an unique and intense blending of music including metal rawness, electro/jazz/funk vibe, industrial shapes, darkwave and pop like melodies and… maladies and… lot of healthy sickness. So, where did you put those handcuffs and that whip? Read more 6h33 – Orphan of Good Manners (2011)
Hidden Number – Human_Error (2011)
I’m an idiot and well, I’m the first to admit it, but do you ever think of yourself as a Pavlov’s dog? Work from 9 to 6 – quite a slavery -, been attracted by a particular type of man or woman, eat the same type of shit and drink the same kind of beer – or whatever, watch the same TV channels and listen the same kind of music… If this is not the case of conditioning, I don’t know what it is. And our world getting grayer and grayer each and every day by eliminate the alternatives and everything comes down to be black or white. Or zeros and ones. Fucking spooky. But we’re tired and bored because we don’t see the third option. And well, talking bout numbers, there’s always a third option. And a forth, and so on. Hidden numbers…
And human errors.
Dean Swanson and his Hidden Number is a good opportunity to break the chain and listening something else which will do not fit in the boxes, you can stick labels to it. Well, only if there’s something human still left in you and you didn’t become completely a Pavlov’s dog… Read more Hidden Number – Human_Error (2011)
Die Krupps and Nitzer Ebb – Join In The Rhythm Of Machines (2011)
Die Krupps celebrate 30 years (1981-2011) of “True Work” by a joint European tour with Nitzer Ebb. This is a limited CD and it has been sold exclusively during the “Join In The Rhythm of Machines tour” at the merchandising booth. The CD contains two Nitzer Ebb and two Die Krupps tracks, each re-arranged by the other band. Die Krupps re-worked “On The Road” and “Blood Money” while Nitzer Ebb delivered their versions for “High Tech Low Life” and “To The Hilt”.
Good to remember there were bands doing this three decades ago, good to listen some good-old fashioned EBM/industrial, absolutely classy and with style and taste. And well, pretty good to see them still pumping alive and surprisingly – or not – sometimes they are fresher than many of nowadays “born dead” products… Read more Die Krupps and Nitzer Ebb – Join In The Rhythm Of Machines (2011)
Breathe Carolina – Hell Is What You Make It (2011)
I’ve been listening lately hundreds of emocore/matchcore/metalcore releases, Breathe Carolina is an opportunity – chance, or don’t matter which other word I use, it would sound anyway odd – to get a perspective about the “other side” of this emo-whatever-core genre, they use rarely rock/metal inserts and only to color their rave/dance/electro-pop music patterns while their songs still preserves some emo roots. Their impressive resume already boasts music cues on NBC’s Monday Night Football, The Jay Leno Show and MTV’s The Hills/The City, a slot in Alternative Press’ Most Anticipated Albums 2011, and 60,000 copies sold in the U.S. alone of their hit album “Hello Fascination”. With this third full-length release they aim to the superstardom status and in a world where millions seriously believe that Britney Spears is talented, well, everything is still possible.
“Stepped Up And Scratched”, the hard-electro remix album by Asking Alexandria, I thought is the border of rave/emocore mixture, Breathe Carolina prove me I was wrong, they bring less guitars and noisy explosions, but focusing more on dance and pop themes and raving synthesizers and samplers. Read more Breathe Carolina – Hell Is What You Make It (2011)
Seed From The Geisha – Talk peace to the wolf (2011)
“It all began with a seed… and the seed had become flesh…” Quite American rock, balanced between post-grunge and alternative metal, a mixture of emotions and youthful rage. Seed From The Geisha are made by the gathering of five Parisian musicians after they left their own projects to join together and at the crossroad of different influences they find their own flavored blending of rock and metal. “Talk peace to the wolf” was recorded at Sainte Marthe Studios during May 2009 and the album was released by M & O Music on March 28, 2011. Read more Seed From The Geisha – Talk peace to the wolf (2011)
Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving – Deaden The Fields (2011)
This one comes from Australia and it’s a creative, breathing mixture of rock/post-rock elements with progressive and space-rock music and avant-garde jazz experiments while the space between is filled up with noises, intelligently built in electronica and cinematic soundscapes. Very fresh, unpredictable, colourful, flowing and ever changing.
“TToL emerged from the shadows of the Australian live scene with the release of their 2008 EP,Tiny Fragments and 2009 split EP with Sydney’s sleepmakeswaves. While their EPs attracted attention from
reviewers and punters alike, it’s as an intense and fiercely engaging live act that TToL have built their reputation in Australia. Through dozens of local headline shows,and supporting touring acts such as Australian prog heavywieghts Karnivool and Canadian doom lords Nadja in 2010, TToL have demanded attention and amassed a loyal following. Read more Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving – Deaden The Fields (2011)
3 Doors Down – Time Of My Life (2011)
In store on July 19, the fifth studio album by 3 Doors Down, reserves no surprises. Designed for the Billboard, it probably will reach the Top Ten as all their four previous albums did. Up to date the band sold over 16 million albums worldwide.
Their debut album, “The Better Life”, in 2000 was the 11th-best-selling album of the year and was certified 6x platinum in the United States. Their second album, “Away from the Sun”, in 2002 continued the band’s success; it debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 chart and went multi-platinum in the United States like its predecessor. The band followed it up by extensive touring for two years before releasing their third album, “Seventeen Days”, in 2005. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum within its first month of release. Their fourth, self-titled album, “3 Doors Down”, also debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Some may say their selling is in decline lately, but we have to consider that the whole world economy is in a huge recessions.
On the other hand, all this so called post-grunge generation delivering mainly the same kind of cliches and pretty boring music record after record, but still they sell enough to staying on the top, so, I really don’t get it: what is wrong with this picture? Read more 3 Doors Down – Time Of My Life (2011)
John Zorn – Enigmata (2011)
Pour les connaisseurs. Strictly. Madness in pure essence, in small, but deadly doses. Under the moniker of John Zorn, Trevor Dunn – Electric 5-string bass (Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, Trevor Dunn’s Trio-Convulsant, Secret Chiefs 3, The Rob Price Quartet, Shelley Burgon, Zorn, etc) and Marc Ribot – electric guitar (impossible to enumerate… Tom Waits, John Zorn, David Sylvian, Jack McDuff, Wilson Pickett, The Lounge Lizards, Arto Lindsay, T-Bone Burnett, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Cibo Matto, Elysian Fields, Sam Phillips, Elvis Costello, David Poe, Allen Ginsberg, Foetus, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Susana Baca, The Black Keys, Stan Ridgway, Vinicio Capossela, Alain Bashung, Lyenn, Hector Zazou, McCoy Tyner, Elton John, Madeline Peyroux, Marianne Faithfull, Leonid Fedorov, Tonio K, Andres Calamaro and many others, but also involved in a couple of projects as well) take us down on the path of compositions versus improvisations, in a tenebrous and tumultuous world of avant-garde (jazz) music. Read more John Zorn – Enigmata (2011)
Intensus – Intensus (2011)
This is the one-man project from Knife the Glitter/Burden/Normal Love/Inzinzac/Gun Muffs/(and a few more), drummer Eli Litwin, but featuring some brilliant guest stars: Between The Buried And Me’s Tommy Rogers, Chris Alfano of East Of The Wall/Postman Syndrome, Robert Meadows of A Life Once Lost, Jesse Korman of The Number Twelve Looks Like You, Jerry Jones of Trophy Scars, Travis Weinand of Burden/Tetsuo, Evan Moore of Gypsy Wig/Birth Screams and Ruston Grosse.
Eli Litwin was born in 1983 in Morristown, NJ. He began playing drums at the age of 9 and started his first rock band at age 11. Through high school he continued to play in a variety of rock bands as well as the high school jazz band. Eli chose to attend the Esther Boyer College of Music at Temple University where he studied drum set with Erik Johnson. Since graduating with his Bachelors of Music in Jazz Performance, Eli has remained in Philadelphia to pursue music on both the performing and teaching ends. Though his area of expertise began largely in metal, Eli has gained significant experience playing in jazz, rock & avant-garde idioms as well. Read more Intensus – Intensus (2011)
