Born in Paris in 1959, Patrick Leguidecoq, better known simply as Romane, is a jazz guitarist who plays in the style of Django Reinhardt. He plays in varies band formations, from duo to sextet such as Django Vision and the Roman Acoustic Quartet, and also have many collaborations, from Florin Niculescu with Didier Lockwood, Tchavolo Schmitt, Angelo Debarre to Stochelo Rosenberg. Armed with his trusty Maurice Dupont Selmer-style guitar, Romane creates flowing lines that dazzle with their rapid-fire pace and their sensuous musicality. His arpeggios and runs mix Django’s phrasing with a style that is all his own and Patrick Leguidecoq don’t to stay stuck in a particular style, he plays a sparking, flowing and colorful music shifting easily between styles and genres. Read more Romane – Swing for ninine (2011)
Man Man – Life Fantastic (2011)
Listening the fourth album by Man Man you might actually believe, feel, that life is fantastic. They have a glowing positive vibe, a charming perfume of the 60s with nice twist and turns of the 90s authentic indie sounds. Sometimes they sounds like a happy Tom Waits.
Formed in 2003 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Man Man’s frontman is Honus Honus, and its other members are Pow Pow, Chang Wang, Turkey Moth, and Jefferson, all the band uses pseudonyms. They’re known for their multi instrumental style that centers on the piano playing of lead singer/lyricist Honus Honus accompanied by a wide variety of other instruments played by the rest of the band. While on recordings, Honus usually plays piano, during the live shows he uses a Rhodes Piano or a Nord Electro 3. The rest of the band plays clavinet, Moog Little Phatty, sousaphone, saxophone, trumpet, French horn, flute, bass clarinet, drum set, euphonium, Fender Jazz Bass, Danelectro baritone guitar, xylophone, marimba, melodica and various percussive instruments including pots and pans, toy noise makers, chinese funeral horns, spoons, smashing plates, and fireworks. Read more Man Man – Life Fantastic (2011)
Lisabi – Au Diable Les Bananes (2011)
This year I had a few quite nice surprises from bands from Brazil. Most recently The Campbell Trio, in March I stumbled into MindFlow and The Tape Disaster, and there was a few others as well as I believe Sepultura once again delivered a consistent album again. So, Brazil rules, might be a dangerous place for strangers, but from the safe distance of my living room it’s something quite exciting about the world’s fifth largest country, about Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, the samba and the carnival, the girls and the music.
“Au Diable Les Bananes” migh be downloaded for free from HERE and Lisabi delivering a nice mixture of ska, jazz, punk and indie rock with exotic flavors and perfumes. Mateo Piracas on guitar and vocals, Sebastian Piraces on drums, Gabriel Slenes on trumpet and vocals, Andra Cardoso on bass and vocals, Matheus Fattori on guitars and vocals, and Anderson Kaltner on trombone and percussion delivered a vibrating, pulsing, colorful material. Read more Lisabi – Au Diable Les Bananes (2011)
Diapsiquir – A.N.T.I. (2011)
Formed in 1996 at Paris, France, Diapsiquir are avant-garde black metal with sick, psycho, twisted and intriguing textures, infusions of different musical genres from French chansons to rapcore and industrial, from dark-ambiental to displaced jazz. Considered “controversial french outlaw black metal band known for their decadent activities” and “never resting and fully absorbed in the savage, sexually violent, drug-laden nihilism of french subculture”, A.N.T.I., their third full-length album introduced us in a gloomy, but expressive, contorted and scary universe of sickness and filth. Leave your ridiculous hopes behind, salvation always comes too late. Read more Diapsiquir – A.N.T.I. (2011)
The Black Dahlia Murder – Ritual (2011)
Frontman Trevor Strnad said about “Ritual”, the upcoming fifth studio album, that this is “the most focused Black Dahlia Murder strike of all time.” Scheduled to be released on June 17, 2011 in Europe and June 21 in North America, the 45 minutes of slaughter compressed in 12 tracks are a mixture of pure aggression with consistent death metal marks, intriguingly melodious heavy metal riffs, extreme grindings and brutal vocals on a scale from death to black metal. Formed in 2001 at Waterford, Michigan, their name is derived from the 1947 unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short, often referred to as Black Dahlia. Out of their four studio albums, the latest three charted on the US Billboard 200, with the previous 2009’s “Deflorate” peaking at #43. This is a considerable performance for a death metal combo of this intensity. And fans have nothing to worry, “Ritual” is another intense and grinding collection of extreme, modern metal. Read more The Black Dahlia Murder – Ritual (2011)
Unexpect – Fables of the Sleepless Empire (2011)
Twisted and schizophrenic – perhaps psychosomatic 😀 – Unexpect is exactly what they name suggest to be: expect the unexpected.
Formed at Montreal, Canada in 1996, they delivering since an unique – and quite sick – blend of different music styles, including black metal, death metal, thrash metal, progressive metal, melodic heavy metal, classical music, dark cabaret, opera, medieval music, jazz, funk, electro, ambient, noise, gypsy music, and just name anything you can think of.
“Utopia” they self-released, 1999 debut album, sold quite successfully, while the band market it only through internet and by man to man. Critically acclaimed, “Utopia” drew enough attention which lead to the release of the EP entitled “_We, Invaders” in November 2003 through the Canadian label Galy Records. Next they signed with New York-based The End Records and the band’s second album In a Flesh Aquarium was released in 2006 and they were winners of the 7th annual Independent Music Awards Vox Pop, voted for best Hard Rock/Metal Album “In a Flesh Aquarium”. Read more Unexpect – Fables of the Sleepless Empire (2011)
In Flames – Sounds of a Playground Fading (2011)
And this is the heavily awaited tenth – anniversary number! – album by In Flames, the first album recorded by the band without founding guitarist Jesper Strömblad, who left the band in February last year. Cut to the chase, “Sounds of a Playground Fading” sounds intense, it’s a perfect blending of heavy and technical elements with more melodious, classic and progressive (heavy) metal schemes. They low-tuned heaviness and catchy melodic hooks signature is recognizable, pithy and In Flames is holding steady to the same path they’ve been on for over a decade.
Formed in 1990 as a side project of Ceremonial Oath, the band where that time guitarist Jesper Strömblad played, In Flames gained major popularity and became a trademark for what we call the “Gothenburg style and sound” and managed to remains a good metal band while being also “radio friendly” and one with constantly good selling. Some of the conservative death metal fans probably considered they “sell out”, but In Flames actually never giving up being metal. Read more In Flames – Sounds of a Playground Fading (2011)
Kourgane – Corps De Chasse (2011)
Can’t dig and figure out too much about Kourgane, but I know for sure, they delivering a sick, twisted mixture of contemporary music including explosive spices of noise-rock, post-hardcore, jazz and experimental avant-garde elements. This is future-hardcore. Gloomy, heavy, contorted and restless. This universe was revealed for us by Tool at the beginning of the 90s when almost out of the blue the EP “Opiate” (1992) and their debut album “Undertow” (1993) opened a new doorway to an unexplored path of music expression of anger and twisted thoughts.
Unfortunately they are not willing to share any information in other language than French, and well, my French resume to “merde” – and I don’t wanna sound disrespectful. Frederic Jouanlong – vocals, Jarame Renault – drums, Gilles Lahonda – bariton guitar and Ryan Kernoa – guitar, introduced us in the world of pulsing riffs, pumping drums and shattered feelings. Read more Kourgane – Corps De Chasse (2011)
Bone Dance, Divider Plebeian and Grandstand – Three-​Way Split (2011)
Throatruiner Records from France in a common effort with Mayfly Records from USA tempting us with this 12″ split which will be released on early July. Noisy, contorted, experimental and exciting incursion in the area of modern (or quite post-modern) metal with flavors of avant-garde melt into extreme brutality. Three bands, three songs, different approaches, but all of them bringing to the surface new excitements.
Bone Dance from Boise, Idaho, USA, are nihilists and doesn’t want to be your friend. “Conniver” is a raw, chaotic mixture of hardcore and sludge, expression of pure brutality.
Diveder from Long Island, New York, USA blending the raw punk emergency with filthy hardcore brutality and the result is a modern, groovy, explosive metal. This sounds like the future of hardcore. “Gaia” is already an anthematic track and looking forward to listen into “Halios Geron” as well. Diveder introduce Chris Tzompanakis behind the mic, best known for his work with the influential group Skycamefalling in the early 2000’s.
Plebeian Grandstand from Toulouse, France will ripping off your head and destroy your loudspeakers instantly. Extreme, brutal, noisy and explosive, these guys promised to don’t leave survivors left behind and well, they are not joking. Read more Bone Dance, Divider Plebeian and Grandstand – Three-​Way Split (2011)
Marc Broude – Psychological Warfare (2011)
Reminds me of Ministry, Godflesh, Schnitt Acht, Bail and other contorted oddities from the industrial metal area of noise aggression, Marc Broude comes crushing. Marc Broude (born August 23, 1984) is an American cross-genre composer who started in the Chicago-based noise outfit Panicsville in 2005. He has collaborated with a diverse array of artists and groups including Cock E.S.P., Richard Ramirez and Lasse Marhaug. In 2010 Broude and Tim Lash formed Sick Spider. In 2009 Broude released Rites of Zen, a seventy-two minute dark ambient piece similar to projects like Lull and Lustmord. Working independently of major labels, Marc Broude primarily records for his own label, NoZen Records.
“Psychological Warfare” was originally released in 2006 as a 50 piece limited edition 7†which became out of print and unavailable, it was digitally remixed and re-released in May 2011. Two tracks, “Psychological Warfare” and “God Smacker”, 11:33 minutes containing pumping, grinding, twisted, extreme and noisy, quality industrial metal. Read more Marc Broude – Psychological Warfare (2011)
