As you probably already know, “name your price” means even downloaded for free and Kosmograd delivering their self-titled debut album through their Bandcamp page in these circumstances, so go for it.
Kevin, Phil, Todd, Yegor are from Toronto, Canada and their debut album consist of five epic post-metal tracks, the shortest one is “Cheeseburger Picnic” with it’s shy three minutes while “The Owl” takes you on a eleven minutes trip. Kosmograd combines heavy and sludge metal elements into a spacy, sometimes cinematic, sometimes progressive and psychedelic soundscape, shifting between different moods and grooves smoothly. Imagine Hawkwind playing Iron Maiden or vice versa. Eventually somewhere in the outer space. Read more Kosmograd – Self-titled (2011)
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Eyeswithoutaface – Monotoneoteny (2011)
A self-titled EP from 2010, their debut album, “Monotoneoteny” released this year in May and a remix album, “Tone Debris”, released this month, all three for free, can grab them from the band’s Bandcamp Page. Their music is a sick blending of Nine Inch Nails with sludge metal, some twisted modern psychedelia and criminal, pitched, black metal growling. Pretty rough mixture in deed, but definitively creative and quite original. So, these guys from Toronto have no connection with Billy Idol, but eventually with the 1960s film of Georges Franju, “Les yeux sans visage”. Definitively “must have” category and not only because it’s free, but they are brilliant. Read more Eyeswithoutaface – Monotoneoteny (2011)
Radiohead – TKOL RMX 1234567 (2011)
Radiohead gone to Ibizia? Surprisingly obsessive, minimal and gloomy, “The King of Limbs”, the eighth studio album by Radiohead now got a remix “brother”, the two-CD of “TKOL RMX 1234567″ which compiles a series of seven 12” vinyl singles/EPs, also released as digital downloads from the band’s website in both MP3 and WAV file types.
Dense and tense, “TKOL RMX 1234567” is not a friendlier version of some of the gloomy songs of “The King of Limbs” as some might expected, there are no dubstep, techno, house or euro-trance remixes, but quite gentle and full of consideration reassembles of the original tracks. I actually expected something more creative and less ambiental. Most of these 19 bands involved in this project seems to be quite intimidated by Radiohead and the appetite for experimentation with these songs seems to be reduced to simply apply their usual sonic tricks to the songs, eventually changing some rhythmic schemes and adding some additional sonic layers, but staying in the same weird and minimalist approach as the originals.
While I’m still not quite comfortable with “The King of Limbs”, this remix album only raise few more questions. Read more Radiohead – TKOL RMX 1234567 (2011)
Puscifer – Conditions Of My Parole (2011)
I wonder if Keenan and his bodies will ever again find the resources to put together another Tool album? When back in ’95 Keenan describes Puscifer as a series of musical ideas he did not have an opportunity to explore with Tool or A Perfect Circle, but “Telling Ghosts”, “Toma” and few other moments, for instance, might quite fit onto a Tool album. Although “Conditions Of My Parole”, is a quite colorful trip between Tool, A Perfect Circle, Puscifer and a few other influences from Radiohead to The Smashing Pumpkins, juggling between trip hop and industrial metal, defines genres, merging sounds and delivering – once again – something quite different and unique.
This time Keenan and his long list of contributors including Mat Mitchell, Tim Alexander, Jonny Polonski, Danny Lohner, Josh Eustis, Gil & Rani Sharone, Jeff Freidl, Matt McJunkins, Lustmord, Laura Milligan, Carina Round, Jackie Harris, Paul Greenberg, Micah Player, Juliette Commagere, Mike King, Ainjel Emme, Meats Meier, Evil Joe Baressi, Trey Gunn, Milla Jovovich, Lisa Germano, Tim Cadiente, Ford Englerth, Jeffrey Brooks, Micah, Eddie McClintock, Joe Nagy, Satan’s Muse, and more, delivered a quite dark and tensioned album. Read more Puscifer – Conditions Of My Parole (2011)
Nothing – The New Psychodalia (2011)
Born Jeffrey Lewis Hetrick, infamous for being the vocalist for the alternative/industrial metal band Mushroomhead, but also some other Cleveland-based metal bands such as Purgatory in the mid 80s and later Hatrix, Jeff Hatrix also known as Jeffrey Nothing, is one day away from the official release of his first solo album under the moniker Nothing through Suburban Noize Records. In 2008, Jeffrey announced he will release a solo album titled “The New Psychodahlia” and due to Mushroomheads hectic recording and touring schedule, the album was written over a four year period. The 13 tracks written, shows a quite diverse, colorful collection of songs from alternative to classic metal sounds and from rock to industrial, Nothing throw in his own blender of sounds and styles many different influences and approaches to bring to life his own little monster. “I feel it’s a sort of Sepultura meets Alice in Chains, meets Acid Bath” – said Jeffrey Nothing and with each song listened from the album other and other names are popping up. “Psychodalia” for instance sound like Down, “Burial” is a haunting track where post-grunge and goth rock influences collide while “Deathbed Masquerade” reveals some of their industrial roots. But “Mnemerator” might fits right in onto a Tom Waits or Primus album. And every and each song deliver another taste and surprise. Read more Nothing – The New Psychodalia (2011)
Magazine – No Thyself (2011)
Listening “No Thyself” it’s like a time capsule, a trip back to the late 70s, early 80s. And surprisingly, Magazine sounds fresh, this post-punk mixture with psychedelia still sounds authentically, have the right vibe and that particular glowing, deep groove. Once again, when everybody sweat to be more futuristic, more avant-garde and post-everything and post-whatever, the returning pioneers proves that some good ideas are more meaningful that the sophisticated sound, all the digital shit and eventually some fancy producer. I’m some freak nostalgic? Maybe, but I don’t really think so. I’m just sick of everybody sounds just the same. Sick of all those post, alternative and so-called core – actually fake plastics the industry lately delivered. Magazine are kind of dinosaur? Possibly, but while it seems we lost the direction, we might need them now more than ever. Read more Magazine – No Thyself (2011)
Skinny Puppy – HanDover (2011)
From the classy industrial area slipping to the post-industrial and more cinematic, dark electronic segment of music, Skinny Puppy, the pioneer Canadian band, remains one of the leading motors of the genre. Al Jourgensen of Ministry was part of the band back in 1989, also Bill Leeb of Front Line Assembly, Noise Unit, etc as many other famous figures contributed to this band since their formation in 1982 and till now. The band almost disbanded in 1995 when drugs and internal conflicts and ultimately death strikes the band which moved from the safety of Vancouver to the temptations of Malibu, but they managed to regroup after a five year gap and since 2000 Nivek Ogre (vocals) and cEvin Key (synthesizer, guitar, bass guitar, drums) reunited and performed live extensively.
Mark Walk (keyboards, synthesizer, guitar) joined in 2003 and in 2004 they released the ninth studio album entitled “The Greater Wrong of the Right”, followed in 2007 by the album “Mythmaker”. “HanDover”, the upcoming eleventh studio album of the band will be officially released on October 25, 2011 in the United States and an October 28, 2011 in Europe. Read more Skinny Puppy – HanDover (2011)
Eyes Front North – EP (2011)
Hard to stick a label to them, the French band Eyes Front North delivered on their debut EP a gloomy and extremely diversified mixture of metal blended through their own filter and blue colored. From classic, Venom taste like black metal to the brutal riffing of thrash/nu grinding Sepultura and from hardcore like raging to contorted match metal and post-rock, these guys took the literal sense of crossover (and back, and through again), they take inspiration from different roots and (sub) genres and it seems that they targeted the elimination of any musical and stylistically boundaries, but staying metal. Future metal? Well, the future sounds dark, cutting and distorted, but definitively worth a trip into it under the guidance of Eyes Front North. Read more Eyes Front North – EP (2011)
Pop Will Eat Itself – New Noise Designed by a Sadist (2011)
I wrote about PWEI just a few weeks back, reminding of their album “Dos Dedos Mis Amigos” and announcing the good news: on 3rd October 2011, after a 17 years gap, PWEI will release their sixth studio album entitled “New Noise Designed By A Sadist”. And time’s up, here we go again. 11 tracks, the guys sounds fresh and still kicking like two decades ago and they bring us a little bit of chaos & mayhem, some old-school (cool 🙂 ) noises and anti-plastic anthems. It feels like yesterday, but it’s so now and eventually looking into the future.
In few words: they are back to business! Dig out your dancing shoes, grab your air guitar and bang your head: you’re so wasted! Read more Pop Will Eat Itself – New Noise Designed by a Sadist (2011)
Steven Wilson – Grace For Drowning (2011)
Steven John Wilson is a self-taught, yet twice Grammy nominated producer, audio engineer, guitar and keyboard player, playing other instruments as and where required, including bass guitar, concert harp, hammer dulcimer and flute. He is involved in many bands and projects such as Altamont, Karma, No-Man, Incredible Expanding Mindfuck, Bass Communion, Blackfield and not at least he is best known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. Wilson appears on several other albums by artist such as Mick Karn, Indigo Falls, Fish, Marillion, Richard Barbieri, Anja Garbarek, Opeth, Yoko Ono, Dream Theater, Jordan Rudess, Orphaned Land, Anathema among many others as musician, sound engineer or producer.
“Grace For Drowning” is Wilson’s second solo album released on September 26th, by Kscope Records. The special edition of the album is going to release on Blu-Ray video disc with the music playing in 5.1 surround sound and accompanying visuals and videos for each track, making it the first-ever rock album released primarily as a Blu-Ray video disc.
The album features contributions by artist such as Nic France on drums, Steve Hackett, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Nick Beggs and Trey Gunn on guitar, Theo Travis and Jordan Rudess, and some jazz musicians. Touring members will include Marco Minnemann on drums, Nick Beggs on bass, Aziz Ibrahim on guitar, Gary Husband on keyboards, and Theo Travis on flute and saxophone. Read more Steven Wilson – Grace For Drowning (2011)
