World-class violinist. Fashion icon. Famously bipolar. Vegetarian turned vegan. Identifies herself as asexual, freak for some, idol for others, Emilie Autumn is one artist you may love or you may hate, but definitively hard to stay indifferent. And even further, listing – and living – through “F.L.A.G.” – her third installment – you may love one song and hate the next one while this is another tumultuous journey from glossy cabaret to Industrial chaos, from burlesque to Glam Rock and back to psychotic Steampunk, while she often labels her music and style as “Victoriandustrial”.
Her vocal work has been compared to Tori Amos and Kate Bush, while her music encompasses a wide range of styles, it was labeled “new age chamber music, trip-hop baroque, and experimental space pop”, as well as “cabaret, electronic, symphonic, new age, and rock & roll”. Things did not changed with “F.L.A.G.”, Emilie cry one moment and laugh the next one and the music follows her ever changing flow of mood. Not an easy walk through a sunny park Sunday at the noon, but a dark, fractured, fever burned trip on the wild side. For real and for delusion. Read more Emilie Autumn – Fight Like A Girl (2012)
Reviews
Feuerzeug – Dead Wahines and Tsunamis (2012)
A band called “Lighter”? C’mon!! But digging into it, they sounds much interesting then most of the nowadays delivered, fancy-labeled, “post” whatever, obligatory Metalcore bands. Feuerzeug reminds me mostly of the Ricky Warwick leaded Scottish The Almighty, band formed in the late 1980’s and rose to fame mostly in the mid 1990’s with albums such “Powertrippin'” and “Crank”. True, probably Rick was most famous because he was formerly married to MTV’s Headbangers Ball presenter Vanessa Warwick.
So, Feuerzeug sounds pretty much like The Almighty, eventually more contemporarily, but still classy and with roots back to the American Stoner Rock tradition and adding some tasty post-Grunge. But this isn’t an American band, but another stainless delivery from Switzerland. Imagine Godsmack crashing into the tour bus of Kyuss, merging Grunge energy with Stoner Rock hardness and we’ve get pretty close to what Feuerzeug sounds like. And actually this is a pretty groovy and addictive material, classy and quality Rock. Read more Feuerzeug – Dead Wahines and Tsunamis (2012)
Soul Sacrifice – Carpe Mortem (2012)
I’m not a regular Death Metal consumer, but I spotted out Soul Sacrifice because they are a Turkish band and on one hand I enjoyed my time spent in Turkey, just as I love several extremely creative Turkish bands such as maNga and Duman. So, I expected that Soul Sacrifice will introduce more Oriental/Turkish inflections, aromas, at least on the level of Nervecell, or even more. Unfortunately, it’s not the case, “Cape Mortem” is a honest, heavy, but almost classical Metal album with solid Death Metal roots and a groovy mixture of complex and melodious, brutal and technical elements.
If you like the modern Swedish Death Metal sound trademarked by bands such as In Flames and Soilwork, Soul Sacrifice it’s definitively speaking your language.
Soul Sacrifice is a four-piece Turkish Metal band from Istanbul and it was formed back in 1997. In 2003 they solidify their current line up and two years later they record and release their full length debut album, “Stranded Hate”. Read more Soul Sacrifice – Carpe Mortem (2012)
Hellyeah – Band Of Brothers (2012)
Hellyeah it’s not a copy and probably not even a replacement, but still, it’s the best and most genuine substitute for Pantera we can ever get, a true and hard-ass band of brothers! We have here the former Pantera and Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul, the Damageplan bassist Bob Zilla, the Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell, and from Mudvayne we’ve got lead vocalist Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbett. If this isn’t a Heavy Metal supergroup, don’t know what might be. This is their third installment and probably their most ass-kicker, headbanger delivery so far. Read more Hellyeah – Band Of Brothers (2012)
Laibach – Monumental Retro-Avant-Garde, Live at Tate Modern (2012)
On the 14th April 2012, Laibach presented a unique show at the prestigious Tate Modern Turbine Hall, with an overview of their history, from 1980 to the future, with music from their latest release, the “Iron Sky” soundtrack. This historical event has been recorded and is now available to order as a double CD Limited Edition or download released by Mute and Abbey Road Live Here Now.
Laibach is history. The Slovenian avant-garde music group was formed on June 1, 1980 in Trbovlje, Slovenia, at the time SFR Yugoslavia. They represents the music wing of the Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK) art collective, of which they was founding members in 1984. The name “Laibach” is the German name for Slovenia’s capital city, Ljubljana.
The band’s first work was a multimedia project called “Rdeči revirji” (“Red District”), but the performance was banned even before its opening due to its “improper and irresponsible” usage of Malevich’s black crosses as symbols on the posters. The first live appearance and an exhibition entitled “Žrtve letalske nesreće” (“Victims of an Air Accindent”) the group had in January 1982 at the Ljubljana club FV, followed by some now legendary performances in Belgrade and Zagreb. At that point, the group’s musical style was characterized by the critics as “Industrial Rock”, and Read more Laibach – Monumental Retro-Avant-Garde, Live at Tate Modern (2012)
Karnak Seti – In Harmonic Entropy (2012)
Metaaaal!! Straight, powerful, merging the modern sound with classic, traditional approach, emerging from the exotic Madeira Island in Portugal, Karnak Seti present themselves as a solid, modern and persevering metal act.
With 10 years existence several releases, including the thriving full length “Scars of your decay” of 2009 distributed worldwide by the British Casket Music, “In Harmonic Entropy” is the band sophomore and looking further album including 9 killer Metal tracks.
For this album the band worked with renowned producer Daniel Cardoso at the UltrasoundStudios Braga. The process of composition of “In Harmonic Entropy” started in mid-2010, and the band splitting time between the promotion of the album “Scars of Your Decay” and writing the new material. The recording session took place during two weeks in April 2011. The cover of the album is the artwork of Ana Gomes. Read more Karnak Seti – In Harmonic Entropy (2012)
Atomik Clocks – Magdan in Charleroi (2011)
Literally mind-blowing Funk, some pumping Punk energy and pounding Rock attitude, Atomik Clocks delivering a quite refreshing mixture of Jazz, Funk and Rock, merging the spirit of free, improvised music with the power and weight of experimental spiced, Progressive Rock, eventually reminds me of Morphine.
“Magdan in Charleroi”, their first full-length release is available as digital download for only €3 on their official Bandcamp page, and definitively it worth every single penny of it!!
We’ve got 10 groovy, sometimes pretty Psychedelic taste-like, experimental, but not pointlessly abstract songs, an exciting mixture of styles and approaches, the saxophone playing the main role, but the killer funky bass is equally present while the drums offers the solid bases for these sonic jams. Read more Atomik Clocks – Magdan in Charleroi (2011)
Abandon All Ships – Infamous (2012)
Ten tracks, 32:41 minutes, the sophomore album by the Canadian Abandon All Ships are a tumultuous merging of electronic layers and grinding Hardcore raging. Labeled “Metalcore”, Post-Hardcore, incorporating Trance and even Electro-Pop elements, this new type of Metal targeting a new generation of teenagers lost between Facebook and escapades down in the club with fake IDs. I do not mean to be Infamous, but no sneakers, no cry!!
The music is dark, furious, noisy and more heavy then electronic, the Trance inspired breakdowns, breathing pauses are only accentuate the violence and explosion of the contorted, heavy parts.
While the opening Read more Abandon All Ships – Infamous (2012)
Serj Tankian – Harakiri (2012)
Although to put together a Rock album seems a quite simple thing, to be honest, it’s been a while since I didn’t heard a good Rock album. Maybe because everybody pretend to be somebody else, maybe because music isn’t art anymore, but business and industry, or because everything became patterned, excessively target oriented, predictable and plastic taste-like. Tankian – once again – seems to put his thoughts and his soul on the table, while he’s completely cut off any ties to any particular genre, style and expectations and focused on the music and his message. “Harakiri” isn’t a “complicated” album, but a honest one. And “Harakiri” isn’t a classic Rock album in its pure conservative sense, but a colorful, tripping, searching and experimenting material, each and every song have its own soul and style while all together is absolutely and unmistakably Serj Tankian. Read more Serj Tankian – Harakiri (2012)
Rockman – Search and Destroy, EP (2012)
Contorted and blunt, Rockman’s “Serach & Destroy” gonna melt down your loudspeakers and assassinate your neighbors, before set on fire the dance floor down at the club.
R. A. Navarro, aka Rockman, is a producer originally from Colombia. Rockman composes on software and hardware both vintage and new, performing his own sounds and recording his own voice for each piece while avoiding a pigeonholed sonic aesthetic. He explains: “My music is a fusion of Drum & Bass, Dubstep, Electro House, and 8-bit/Chiptunes. I can go from 174 bpm to 140 bpm with a smooth transition in just one song” – while he’s principal influences are: Aphex Twin, Shigeru Miyamoto, Prodigy, Koji Kondo and Autechre. Read more Rockman – Search and Destroy, EP (2012)
