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)
experimental
Geskia! – Alien (2011)
This is an open invitation to a trip into the unknown. A mysterious space filled with broken beats, sparking textures and unidentified noises. Geskia!’s concept is to reproduce the life around him, to reflect the connections between him and others, and to manifest his perspective about the world musically. Merging downbeat and trip hop structures with industrial noises and meditative textures, sparking harmonies, Geskia! build an exciting universe with beautiful moving pictures, unexpected turns and blinding highlights. Geskia! have an absolute positive vibe, it’s warm, full of energy and flowing groove, this electronic music seems very breathing and alive. Geskia! try to reach out and communicate in his own, particular way, he gives expression to his feelings and expect feedback. Read more Geskia! – Alien (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)
Shining – VII Fodd Forlorare (2011)
It’s pity and annoying, there are a band named Shining from Norway formed at Oslo in 1999 and this band from Halmstad, Sweden formed in 1996 by Niklas Kvarforth, also involved in the bands Skitliv, Diabolicum, Den Saakaldte, Funeral Dirge and Bethlehem. I love them both, Jørgen Munkeby shake my world last year with the incredible album “Blackjazz” which forged jazz, industrial and black metal, while Niklas Kvarforth keep on surprising us with his intense blending of black metal and incorporated elements of doom metal and post/modern metal textures. Two creative Scandinavian bands sharing the same name still may be confusing for some…
“VII Fodd Forlorare” set to be released by Spinefarm Records on May 25, 2011 consist in six gloomy but beautiful and intense new songs and it’s obviously the band’s seventh album. Taking on a more experimental path, Shining remains an intense and extreme metal act, some acoustic and experimental/psychedelic passages bringing more color and excitement to this new material. Read more Shining – VII Fodd Forlorare (2011)
Atari Teenage Riot – Is This Hyperreal (2011)
ATR’s early releases – which included songs like “Hetzjagd Auf Nazis!”/“Hunt Down the Nazis!” – were surrounded by controversy in Germany. Highly political, they fused anarchist and anti-Nazi views with punk vocals and the emerging techno sound which was ravishing new back than at the beginning of the 90s. The three Berliners – Alec Empire, Hanin Elias and MC Carl Crack taken their name from a Portuguese Joe song Teenage Riot from the Teen-age Riot album with the word Atari added, as an Atari ST computer was used to create compositions.
They signing to Phonogram Records, a major European label, in 1993 the band received an unusually large financial advance which they duplicitously used to set up their own record label: Digital Hardcore Recordings (DHR) and in the best tradidion of any anarchist and punk band, they never delivered a commercially viable demo to Phonogram. Read more Atari Teenage Riot – Is This Hyperreal (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)
Parachute Pulse – Kingdom (2011)
Something smooth and free to download. Check out the Asiluum Arts site and download “Kingdom”, the debut solo effort of Ana Roman from Bucharest. This is like a dream without sleeping, a soundtrack with ever changing movie, the film that you imagine there. Ana has been an active part of the Asiluum creative group, she worked previously with artist such Discordless and Nightpray, but this release meant to bring her out from the shadow and put her in the spotlight. 11 tracks, one collaboration with Res Es (Åžerban Ilicevici of Semiosis) and another remix by Liar. Field recordings, mysterious and shady noises, some haunting vocal arrangements and shattered harmonies, flowing ambiental layers and broken clock rhythms makes this trip colored and chill. Sometimes strange and slippery, other moments warm, relaxing and friendly, ambiental, trippy and cinematic, this is a nice and smooth journey. Read more Parachute Pulse – Kingdom (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)
Valerian Swing – A Sailor Lost Around The Earth (2011)
This is a soulful, explosive, flowing, ever-changing, complex and elaborate instrumental album. I actually hesitate to say instrumental rock album because Valerian Swing are far beyond any particular label and box, this is metal, rock, even jazz sometimes, eventually contemporary heavy music. Many times technicality kill the soul of the music, but this is not the case of Valerian Swing, extremely complex themes, impressive breaks, twists and turns make their music dynamic, but without loosing anything from its sensivity and expression. Incredible depths, incisive riffs, colorful lyricism, different moods and tones are revealed by this extremely young, but very talented trio from Correggio, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Formed in 2002 by Stefano Villani, David Ferretti and Alan Ferioli, only one year later including of Johnatan and Davide on vocals they recorded their first five track EP which gained excellent reviews and it was followed by explosive live shows around northern Italy, sharing the stage with established Italian underground bands. Read more Valerian Swing – A Sailor Lost Around The Earth (2011)
