“Attention Please” is the seventeenth studio album by Boris, released simultaneously with “Heavy Rocks” and it shows the darker, more emotional side of the band. Four tracks, “Party Boy”, “Hope”, “Les Paul Custom ’86” and “Spoon” are different versions of songs from “New Album”, while “Aileron” are a short cut version from “Heavy Rocks”. Also a version of “Tokyo Wonder Land” was previously released on the “Golden Dance Classics” split release with 9dw.
“Attention Please” is the first album on which all vocals are sung by lead guitarist, Wata and features her intimate, multifaceted vocal style. While Boris are widely known for their ability to breach styles and stretch sonic boundaries of all that is heavy, psychedelic and drone music, “Attention Please” are more airy, ambiental-like, cinematic, unexpectedly clean and sparking, but still pretty dark and exploring. Read more Boris – Attention Please (2011)
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Boris – Heavy Rocks (2011)
After “New Album” released on March 16, 2011, Boris are back with the promised two new records, “Heavy Rocks” and “Attention Please”. “Riot Sugar” kick off heavily as it we probably expected while Boris declared that they try to redefine “heavy” and the new “Heavy Rocks” has the same name and cover style as their album released in 2002, although the cover now is purple instead of orange. “Leak -Truth, yesnoyesnoye” sounds a little bit more mysterious and liquid, although the guitar remains heavy and some cutting edge riffs maintain the pulse and once again Boris managed to merged into one their rock and their experimental sides. “GALAXIANS” explode like a punk-rock anthem to twist into some noisy garage rock tune with some heavy metal riffs. It’s (another) crazy stuff, so it’s absolutely Boris. Read more Boris – Heavy Rocks (2011)
Like Rats From A Sinking Ship – We Get Along Like A House On Fire (2011)
Like Rats From A Sinking Ship blow out of blue and burst onto the Norwegian hardcore scene back in 2008 with their debut EP entitled “SXY SXY GSW”. The trio became soon one of the most popular underground act of Norway, so, the album “We Got Along Like A House On Fire” is highly expected and raise high expectations.
LRFASS spent the autumn of 2010 in the studio with producer Alex Newport who put his signature on the products of bands such At The Drive-in, Melvins, System Of A Down, Sepultura, The Mars Volta, Death Cab For Cutie, The Locust, Two Gallants, 65daysofstatic, etc, and the new album sounds as it should. This is a contorted blending of hardcore and experimental, post metal, technical, fast and noisy passages are twisted into gloomy and spacy turns or grinding, doom-like moments. The sound it’s raw, unpolished and crushing, it keeps an alive breathing, live approach. Read more Like Rats From A Sinking Ship – We Get Along Like A House On Fire (2011)
Tera Melos – Echo On The Hills Of Knebworth (2011)
Let’s say this from the beginning: this is not “something” easy to digest to the Billboard like music consumers. Actually, Tera Melos after finished tracking for “Patagonian Rats”, they previous record released in 2010, at the hangar in Sacramento, had some additional studio time and decided to record a live, improvised piece for… fun. “Echo On The Hills Of Knebworth” is a 51 minutes track, a stream of conscious, weird, messed up playing, freakout, improvised piece.
Tera Melos have developed a cult-like fan base around the United States. The band was formed in 2004 in Sacramento, California, after the breakup of Nick Reinhart and Nathan Latona’s former band No Regard. They teamed up with Jeff Worms and Vince Rogers. Jeff Worms, left the band in 2007 and as a trio they embarked on their first national tour with The Fall of Troy, Portugal. The Man and Damiera. Read more Tera Melos – Echo On The Hills Of Knebworth (2011)
16Volt – Beating Dead Horses (2011)
I stumbled into a handful of incredible industrial bands at the beginning of the 90s thanks to Cleopatra Records and two of their compilations, collections of cover songs, I guess it was an AC/DC tribute and another one with The Cure songs. Later I had listen also some nice Smashing Pumpkins, Siouxsie and the Banshees, New Order, The Sisters of Mercy, Pink Floyd, Guns N’ Roses, Dead Can Dance and Skinny Puppy tribute/cover albums. Well, through that records I discovered bands such 16Volt, Razed in Black, Spahn Ranch, Sheep on Drugs, Electric Hellfire Club and so on.
16Volt reminded me of Ministry and it’s the project created by Eric Powell and Mike Peoples in 1988 and “Beating Dead Horses” is the eight studio album of the band. There is still few reminiscences of the Ministry sound like EBM/industrial sound, but 16Volt developed their own sound and unique approach. “Beating Dead Horses” is actually an absolutely beautiful album. Read more 16Volt – Beating Dead Horses (2011)
Devin Townsend Project – Deconstruction (2011)
I was fascinated by the talent of Devin back in 1993 when he appeared as the vocalist on Vai’s “Sex & Religion” – so far one of the best albums of this Zappa discovered eccentric guitar-hero. But Devin (born May 5, 1972 – Happy Birthday!!!) picked up the banjo when he was five and began playing guitar when he was 12, started his own extreme metal band called Strapping Young Lad, played with The Wildhearts, also in a project called IR8 where Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica) featured on vocals and bass, Devin on guitar and Tom Hunting of Exodus on drums, made many appearances as guest on different albums – Punky Broaster, Front Line Assembly, James Murphy, Stuck Mojo, Unit:187, Zimmers Hole, Skinny Puppy, Paradise Lost, Soilwork, Lamb of God, Gwar, etc, – and released several solo albums beside he’s one of the very appreciated producers now days. We may say, Devin is extremely creative and busy. Read more Devin Townsend Project – Deconstruction (2011)
Polkadot Cadaver – Sex Offender (2011)
This may be one of the best albums of 2011 already and I became fan instantly and unconditionally. If this Spanish/Portuguese sound like “Polkadot Cadaver” don’t sound familiar, Dog Fashion Disco should ring the bell. Actually, “Sex Offender” is their second album, their debut album, Purgatory Dance Party, was released in November, 2007. When Baltimore based Alt-Metal act Dog Fashion Disco came to an end in 2007, it wasn’t the end of front man Todd Smith, guitarist Jasan Stepp Guitar and drummer John Ensminger musical output, they just get sick of living the vagabond lifestyle that a touring metal band requires, so they decided to start a (more) studio band. And Polkadot Cadaver seems to be the perfect form to unleash their schizophrenic musical madness. “Sex Offender” is extremely colorful and intense, full of great songs. Read more Polkadot Cadaver – Sex Offender (2011)
Anorak – Sick (2011)
And once again, there’s a band named Anorak from Spain, another band called Anoraks from Ireland and at my third shot I founded what I’ve been looking for, Anorak from France. Really guys, get a grip, it’s absolutely no use to kick off from making noise and ending up in the court yard! On the other hand I can understand that playing music it’s much more exciting than talking legal issues with some lawyers, but still…
“Sick” is a noisy, contorted, experimental post-metal material, intense and crushing, cutting edge guitar riffs, raw vocals, balanced and colorful drums, heavy bulldozer like themes and technical shifts, turns, twists are gonna run through to you like a racing car. Still, they have some interesting, psychedelic left-over themes, quieter moments which make their music much more exciting. The eight tracks of “Sick” are an intense, shaking experience. Read more Anorak – Sick (2011)
The Phantom Carriage – New Thing (2011)
Throatruiner Records have a nice, fan-friendly approach by making most of their products accessible for free-download. I just wanna say this, on one hand the legal – or not – free downloads helps to spread and popularize the music and the new bands mainly, but on the other hand, every and each free download makes the artist lives one grade harder and one drop bitterer. So, I’m just telling you, support your favorite artists in any way you can, please share this album as much as you can, give them as much as you can. You may not realize how much that matters. The underground and the new artists deserves at least this much. Otherwise in a few years we may left exclusively with the plastic stuffs offered by the big corporated shitheads. Fuck. I had to say that. Thanks.
The Phantom Carriage are an extreme, but excitingly experimenting band combining different genres from black metal to jazz. “New Thing” is gloomy, intense and exciting, so don’t let yourself scared away by the very first impression. Read more The Phantom Carriage – New Thing (2011)
Otep – Atavist (2011)
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“Drunk on the Blood of Saints” will rip your head off before you know it and all the 12 new songs from “Avavist” are intense and unforgiving bulldozers of modern Metal, even “quieter” songs like “We Dream Like Lions” will smash you into the ground. Read more Otep – Atavist (2011)
