Released on September 27, 2011, “Cosmogon”, on Division Records, the third album by Swiss metal outfit Unfold came after a gap of eight years.
Alain – guitars & keys, Bastien – bass, Danek – vocals, Elie – guitars & keys, Laurent – drums, and Simon – guitars & keys delivered a dark and raw mix of slow grinding crust/doom/sludge like vibes with cutting edge and explosive riffs, hurricane like metal butcheries. Combining classic metal themes and modern sounds, twisted solutions, sometimes scremo like vocals, subtle elector-acoustic passages with post-grunge after taste and merciless grindings, they create their distinctive, own blended metal, and open the gates of an unheard universe.
38 minutes, 6 tracks, Unfold express anger, despair, suffering, and delivered the darkest future-metal. Read more Unfold – Cosmogon (2011)
Reviews
Misfits – The Devil’s Rain (2011)
Misfits was founded in 1977 by singer and songwriter Glenn Danzig and the band disbanded in 1983 when Danzig went on to form Samhain and then Danzig. During this period, bassist Jerry Only was the only consistent members along Danzing, they released several EPs and singles and the albums “Walk Among Us” (1982) and “Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood” (1983), both considered touchstones of the early 1980s hardcore punk movement.
The success of Danzig’s post-Misfits’ work led to interest in his past work, and several high-profile rock bands professed fondness for the Misfits. Most notably, Metallica covered the Misfits songs “Last Caress” and “Green Hell” on “The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited” in 1987, and Guns N’ Roses covered “Attitude” on “The Spaghetti Incident?” in 1993. Several albums of reissued and previously unreleased Misfits material were issued between 1985 and 1987, the first being the compilation album “Legacy of Brutality” in 1985 which included many of the songs from the unreleased “Static Age” album. Danzig overdubbed many of the album’s instrument tracks in order to avoid having to pay royalties to the other former band members.
After a series of legal battles with Danzig, Only and Doyle (born Paul Caiafa) – the younger brother of the Misfits bassist who featured as guitarist of the band since 1980 – in 1995 the parties reached an out-of-court settlement that allowed Only and Doyle to record and perform as the Misfits, sharing merchandising rights with Danzig. Read more Misfits – The Devil’s Rain (2011)
As We Draw, Euglena, Hexis – 3​-Way Split (2011)
Encouraging free download, releasing classic vinyls and spreading real underground metal and alternatives for the mainstream crap, Throatruiner Records from France seems to be a nowadays Don Quijote of the music industry. One of these days I was thinking about my old record collection, I really miss now the scratches and the warm sound of the vinyls, I miss the big covers and the touch of the paper, I miss the good times they represent at least symbolically. The good times of the music when music was more about music and less about business and industry. I fucking hate the plastic cases, the cellophane coating as I hate the folders on my hard drive and the mp3s. Everything is so plastic and so tasteless.
What I’m saying is that the effort of Throatruiner Records and other-likes worth some respect and recognition. Their new 3-Way split is once again available to listen, free download or buy at their Bandcamp page, but I think both – bands and label – deserves some remuneration. Read more As We Draw, Euglena, Hexis – 3​-Way Split (2011)
Blink-182 – Neighborhoods (2011)
Vacation is over, time to wake up the neighborhoods. After a four-year hiatus this is their first album of new material in eight year. Two tragedies regarding the band – the death of the band’s frequent producer Jerry Finn by a cerebral hemorrhage on August 21, 2008 and a plane crash survived only by drummer Travis Barker and Adam Goldstein, better known as DJ AM – bring the band members together and they managed to work out their issues and reunite in 2008. “Neighborhoods” is the first Blink-182 album produced by the band members without the help of an outside record producer. And Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker did a great job.
Released on September 27, 2011 through DGC Records and Interscope Records, the sixth studio album by Blink-182 is another great collection of pop punk anthems. Maybe some of their new songs have a darker vibe, but still, this is so 101% Californian punk. Read more Blink-182 – Neighborhoods (2011)
Mastodon – The Hunter (2011)
Developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, heavy metal, a genre of rock music was declared dead and buried since in each and every decade. Formed in 1999, in Atlanta, Georgia, Mastodon with roots back in blues rock and psychedelic rock, with raw sludge riffs and powerful post-grunge flavors, delivering complex, multi-layered songs, but also memorable and cutting riffs, merging progressive elements with pure rock energy, prove once again that the heavy metal in its purest essence remains strong and fresh, capable of reinventing itself. Mastodon managed to sound classy and traditional being modern and creative, looking further.
Moved to Atlanta from Victor, New York, drummer Brann Dailor and guitarist Bill Kelliher teamed up with bassist/singer Troy Sanders and guitarist/singer Brent Hinds and formed the band in late 1999. They recorded their first demo in 2000, which featured the band’s first lead singer, Eric Saner on vocals, but he left the band for personal reasons after just a couple of months and Troy Sanders take over most of the vocal duties. Read more Mastodon – The Hunter (2011)
WormZ – Introduction To The System (2011)
Something’s going on in Italy lately, this year I stumble into lot of good stuffs from the peninsula in all kind of genres from rock to harsh electro. WormZ are a duo from Milan and “Introduction To The System” is their most recent production consist of 9 noisy and pumping tracks.
Riko – programming, production, mastering and voice, and Drago – synth, guitar and voice juggling between hard harsh electro noises and classic EBM and techno sounds delivering a crushy and crunchy mixture of intense and high-energy music which definitively sets the clubs on fire.
Harddance, powernoise, name and label it as you please, this is an excellent and explosive mixture of sounds and genres. Read more WormZ – Introduction To The System (2011)
Wednesday 13 – Calling All Corpses (2011)
“I Wanna Be… Cremated”. Sounds familiar? Well, if you’re into punk rock and The Ramones means something for you, it should.
Joseph Poole, better known as Wednesday 13 and mainly famous for his role as the frontman of the Murderdolls, are delivering his new solo material and it sounds exactly as the perfect blending of The Ramones and Alice Cooper. Horror punk? Eventually a twist of Misfits is mandatory and always part of the formula, but don’t take those horror things too seriously, this is dirty, good-old rock and roll and even the fake blood was replaced with humor. Just like “sedated” with “cremated”. 😀 Anyway, at the end we all gonna die, don’t really matter if we were good little boys and girls and avoided downloading this or that, isn’t it? Don’t looking for trouble: mp3 to mp3 and dust to dust! 😆 Read more Wednesday 13 – Calling All Corpses (2011)
XMRV – Disimmunized (2011)
Absolutely sick! Lasting only one minute, “Noodles” clarify at least this aspect. Xenotropic murine leukemia virus (XMRV) – is a gammaretrovirus that was first described in 2006. Initial reports linked the virus to prostate cancer, and later to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), but these were followed by a large number of studies in which no association was found. It has not been established that XMRV can infect humans, nor has it been demonstrated that XMRV is associated with or causes human disease. Numerous researchers have suggested that XMRV detection may result from contamination of clinical specimens and laboratory reagents with mouse retroviruses or related nucleic acids. I told you it’s sick!
A clash of nationalities, cultures, quite different tastes and musical influences and backgrounds, XMRV blending through their own creative filter hardcore, thrash metal, grunge, noise, punk, jazz, Latin music and delivering a killer sonic cocktail which will definitively knock you down. Are you ready for a punch directly in your immune system? Read more XMRV – Disimmunized (2011)
Sebastian Bach – Kicking & Screaming (2011)
Bach is back. 43 years old, eventually heavier with a few pounds or “just” wiser, but still and stubbornly wild. Skid Row had sold 20 million albums worldwide in the beginning of the 90s and Bach was one of my favorite singers along Mike Patton and Devin Townsend (mainly for his brilliant vocal performance from Vai’s “Sex & Religion”). Bach was kicked out of the band in 1996 when he booked a show where Skid Row would have opened for KISS while the other band members told Bach that Skid Row was too big to be an opening act. Ironically enough, four years later, Skid Row was one of the opening acts for the 2000 Kiss Farewell Tour with new lead vocalist Johnny Solinger. About a future reunion with his formal band Bach recently said: he’s not “youth gone wild” any more.
Well, fortunately “Kicking & Screaming” sounds pretty wild and Bach seems to be the same energy full heavy metal singer who he ever was. Read more Sebastian Bach – Kicking & Screaming (2011)
The Duke Spirit – Bruiser (2011)
Alternative rock. It might sound boring, but The Duke Spirit seems to find their own way to blending the sound of the alternative noise rock/garage bands both with psychedelia and rock and roll and as bonus they also added a smooth taste of R&B, soul and Motown. The result is something like a scratchy and raw collision between The White Stripes and Blondie. Old obsessions dies slowly, still, almost every woman singer wants to be the next Debbie Harry or dreaming about becoming the next Alison Mosshart. And well, Liela Moss actually do a great job.
“Bruiser” is simultaneously honey and dust, raw rock and bitter-sweet melancholy. Read more The Duke Spirit – Bruiser (2011)
