Poet, writer, actor and musician, Saul Williams, graduated in acting and philosophy, comes back with his fourth studio album and the same colorful, vibrating and intense mixture of hip hop with noisy – industrialized – electronic and spices of Afro beats and tribal and rapping vocals. Saul Williams sounds distinguishing even for the alternative hip hop scene, he’s a strong character with attitude and he’s one of the most vocal critic of the so-called War on Terrorism.
I love the genius “The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!” from 2007 produced by Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) and “Volcanic Sunlight” is more powerful and intense album even than his previous works. Read more Saul Williams – Volcanic Sunlight (2011)
Reviews
Snowman – Absence (2011)
Even after 2008 Snowman relocated to London from Perth, Western Australia, they still kept that ancient, mystic, native Australian perfume in their music and “Hyena” have that hypnotizing brightness which floating around in gentle circles and ties you down smoothly. It’s simply beautiful and have a discrete charm and powerful magnetism. Diving deeper into “Absence” we will discover a multi-dimensional world made of subtle synthesizer layers, tribal percussion and drums, discrete guitars and amplifier feedback, and mysterious vocals. Sometimes everything seems pretty strange or untouchable and distant, but it’s vibrating and addictive. It’s a mixture of World music, Psychedelic and Ambiental music, soundtrack like music for a movie eventually played backward, back to a forgotten, obscure or even vanished universe from the dawn of the times. Read more Snowman – Absence (2011)
And So I Watch You From Afar – Gangs (2011)
“Gang” is the second full-length studio album by instrumental rock band And So I Watch You From Afar, from Belfast, Northern Ireland. After releasing their self-titled debut album in 2009 the band had toured the UK as well as in support of High On Fire, Crippled Black Phoenix, 65daysofstatic and Yourcodenameis:milo, Clutch, Oceansize, Envy, Trash Talk and Them Crooked Vultures and getting noticed by UK and European media. Consists of Rory Friers and Tony Wright on guitars, Johnny Adger on bass and Chris Wee on drums, And So I Watch You From Afar plays a colorful and dynamic Rock, Celtic sounds like themes are blended with groovy Rock themes, pulsing riffs and melodious themes are shifting each other quickly, and rapid passages are followed by nice and quiet breaks. Read more And So I Watch You From Afar – Gangs (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)
Silverstein – Rescue (2011)
I discovered Silverstein back in 2009 when they released their previous album “A Shipwreck in the Sand”, a colorful, intense, modern Metal album. The Canadian band formed in 2000 at Burlington, Ontario, have been navigated from Emo to Screamo and while those labels seems uncomfortable and commercially more and more unproductive, they switched to the much generous Post-hardcore. Well, as I said “A Shipwreck in the Sand” was a powerful and very inspired release and the first concept album by the band. Meanwhile the band moved to a new home, Hopeless Records and “Rescue” marks their first album release for the new label and maybe they were under some pressure… Read more Silverstein – Rescue (2011)
Abraham – An Eye On The Universe (2011)
Formally known as Le Baron Vampire, Abraham was formed in 2007 around members of metal acts Kruger and Nabokoff. Abraham is a post-hardcore quintet from Lausanne, Switzerland and they recently singed to Pelagic Records and making their debut with this dark and heavy album called “An Eye On the Universe”. Abrasive and heavy, tenebrous and cloudy, Abraham bring to the surface a contorted universe, they shifting from dark and intense moments to mysterious and spacier passages, but maintaining permanently the tension, the gloomy atmosphere. Shreds of light sometimes comes through the cracks of the crushing themes they construct and that brings color and interesting shades into their music. Read more Abraham – An Eye On The Universe (2011)
Charts And Maps – Dead Horse (2011)
Charts and Maps is an instrumental progressive rock project from Los Angeles, CA. consists of: Daniel Melancon – drums, John Taylor – guitar, Jasper Crane – bass, Jay Watford – guitar and Mike Allison – saxophone and they are involved in other bands as Danger Bees, Random Patterns, Semiconscious Gloria and Pride of Kenya. Nominated their influences in bands such as Battles, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Deerhoof, Tortoise, Yes and Danger Bees. Their music is a nice blending of Jazz and Progressive Rock, including a large variety of shades and colors in a nice, dynamic pulse. Actually it’s pretty hard to balancing on this thin line between Progressive Rock and Jazz, but Charts And Maps managed to keep a positive groove and the equation of their roots and influences are mixed perfectly and Charts and Maps create their own colorful universe. Read more Charts And Maps – Dead Horse (2011)
Joe McPhee Survival Unit III – Syncronicity (2011)
The trouble with the so-called avant-garde music is mainly that most of the experiences were already being made in the 60s and 70s. Blowing mindlessly and senselessly your saxophone it doesn’t surprise anybody anymore and plenty of others did it before not once. Well, McPhee is one of those old guys who were there in the 60s as well just like he’s exploring the borders of the free jazz relentless now days. So, McPhee is a true survival literally. Survival Unit III made of Joe McPhee – alto saxophone and pocket trumpet, Fred Lonberg-Holm – cello and electronics and Michael Zerang – drums are trying once again to rendering some order into the chaos, to make sense in a contorted world that sometimes seems senseless. It’s a hard job, difficult task and mysterious are the ways, isn’t it? Read more Joe McPhee Survival Unit III – Syncronicity (2011)
KMFDM – WTF?! (2011)
It’s been two years since the release of “Blitz” and KMFDM are back now with their seventeenth studio album released yesterday, on April 26. It’s true, meanwhile KMFDM released two compilation albums, “Würst” and “Greatest Shit”. Since Tim Sköld (formerly of Shotgun Messiah) left in 2003 to join Marilyn Manson (he left Manson in 2008 and formed Doctor Midnight & The Mercy Cult alongside Hank von Helvete), he still had contributed to KMFDM – “Skold vs. KMFDM” released in 2009, completed entirely over the Internet – and since Sascha Konietzko and Lucia Cifarelli moved to Hamburg, Germany, it will be the first release entirely without any contribution from Tim. Steve White and Jules Hodgson played guitars and Andy Selway the drums, completing the curent line-up of the band. “What the Fuck?!” still remains fresh, pulsing, intense and exciting. KMFDM is one of the few of this genre of Industrial Metal and Rock/EBM blending which avoiding successfully to repeat them self and becoming boring. Read more KMFDM – WTF?! (2011)
ODC – One Dead City (2011)
Poland have a solid tradition of revolt and resistance and its include a tradition of underground and Punk movement as well. ODC from Szczecin, Zachodniopomorskie, Poland, continuing this tradition, Gruby – vocals, Beben – drums, Zaraz – bass, Waldek and Greg – guitars, after the debut EP from January (free download from Bandcamp!) , now in March released their debut album consist of 14 short, incisive Punk Rock songs with some nice acoustic breaks and ingenious dynamic shifts. This is not brain surgery, this is Punk Rock, but One Dead City managed to write a couple of great songs, they have good riffs, pumping bass and “jump around” rhythms, and the acoustic moments giving them an original taste. If you dig a little bit on their MySpace page you will find links to Mediafire.com to download their full album as well, so it may be a good opportunity to listen and get know them. Read more ODC – One Dead City (2011)
