Tag Archives: Cancer Bats

Kylesa, Cancer Bats, Scorpion Child To Appear On Black Sabbath Tribute

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Cleopatra Records are reportedly preparing a Black Sabbath tribute album for a 2015 release. An image was shared on Kylesa’s Facebook page, and the track listing is as follows:

Wo Fat – “The Warning“
Stoned Jesus – “The Writ“
Death Hawks – “Hand Of Doom“
House Of Broken Promises – “Lady Evil“
Scorpion Child – “Hole In The Sky“
Mos Generator – “Dirty Women“
Machuca – “Planet Caravan“
Ulver – “Solitude“
Cancer Bats – “Into The Void“
Witch Mountain – “Sleeping Village“
Solace – “Electric Funeral“
Pentagram – “Tomorrow’s Dream“
Kylesa – “Paranoid“
Bloody Hammers – “Changes“

cleopatra sabbath

More information on the release is expected soon.


Krokodil – Nachash

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For the past few months UK based riff lords Krokodil have been making all sort of headlines, most involving people referring to them as “Slipknot’s new bassist’s other band”, which is completely unjustified and harsh as it is hardly judging the band on its own merits. With all the coverage, the eyes of the metal world are on Krokodil as they prepare to unleash their debut album Nachash (Spinefarm) so it’s a very good thing that the album is rather bloody brilliant.

The band, which contains members from a menagerie of great British bands such as Cry For Silence,  Sikth, Gallows and of course the mighty A, as well as now Iowa’s own metal behemoth Slipknot, Krokodil sound like a well oiled riff making machine and from the sounds of Nachash the machine has been working overtime on this release.  With a heavy dose of Mastodon in its veins, Krokodil are a groove juggernaut that pummels all in its path with its three guitarists of fury, a decision that usually over complicates the material but in this case triples up the guitar tracks, like Helmet making it sound as heavy as a ten ton rhino that’s thinking of gaining a few pounds.

With a formula that blends groove based riffage with a later day Cancer Bats bounce and groove is a fantastic mix which keeps up the pace till the bitter end, this on top of the high quality production of the album which makes it sound colossal.  If the album does have a mild weakness it is that the vocals are a tiny bit one dimensional, the hardcore barks work well with the up tempo nature of the albums and work perfectly on the second track ‘Skin of The Earth’, but can come across as one note when the album gets into its final few tracks.

Overall, Nachash is a quality release from a band who deserve a lot more credit for their musical output and certainly do not deserve to be known simply as that other band with someone from Slipknot in, they’re not a DJ Starscream or Dirty Little Rabbits. As for this being the bands’ debut album, hopefully there will be even better to come from the band in the future, but for now Nachash is a cracking start to their career.  Its high tempo, riffy and most importantly contains quality throughout.

 

9.0/10

Krokodil on Facebook

 

DAN O’BRIEN

 


In Love Your Mother – The Great Ape Project

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The bizarre name doesn’t even begin to do justice to this nutty, inventive Swiss trio. The savage undercurrent of debut album The Great Ape Project (Dr. Music) from In Love Your Mother is constantly tripped up by a multitude of time changes and noodling lead nuances, with myriad genres cropping up in-between. The jazz inflections of ‘We’re Gonna Dance Till Everyone Is Naked And Fallen Apart’ (see?!) and ‘Wish Me An Ocean Part 1’ are infested by weird, complex structures, and a bounding groove similar to Cancer Bats with the former seeing soft and deliciously harmonic vocals decorating its later moments.

The album is an eighteen-track embodiment of schizophrenic madness, clocking in at just over half an hour. The fourteen-second ‘The Great Ape Project Part 1’ is a narration on helium reminiscent of the intro to Funkadelic‘s ‘Red Hot Mama’, and is indicative of the band’s apparent intent to get in quick, give a couple of sharp jabs to the head, get out, a couple of combinations then out again. It’s Dillinger meets Beefheart, a constant sweep of rhythm taking hold and veering around like an intricate rollercoaster; the unsettling piano of ‘Drop The Back Of The Line’ preceding the mad furrow of ‘Signs Of A Real Life’, governed by ‘core vocals and changes between plummeting groove and threatening slower passages. ‘Inhale’ is pure August Burns Red, the brutal metalcore broken by sharp shards of electric melody, whilst the eponymous track introduces an Eastern flavour, a syncopated rhythm preceding a roared descent into insanity.

And here’s the thing; despite the seeming devotion to Theatre of the Absurd there’s an underlying pathos here, especially in the latter tracks, manifested in the painful, bitter ‘The Hedgehog’ and the rustic feel of the closing Outro. There’s also a paradoxical element of flow to the music, occasionally sending the whole to the edge of novelty but retaining enough bruising violence, continuity and musical ability to highlight potential genius. You’ll ponder this album’s worth and the band’s longevity for some time after experiencing this but the curiosity and bounce is fresh, and will create a maniacal grin across most metal chops.

 

7.0/10

In Love Your Mother on Facebook

 

PAUL QUINN


Colombian Necktie – Twilight Upon Us

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When you stick the word ‘core’ as a suffix to a particular genre tag, many over the age of thirty tend to roll our eyes and dismiss the forthcoming sound as generic, derivative pap. This sophomore effort from self-styled Los Angeles ‘sludgecore’ quintet Colombian Necktie does unfortunately commence in that fashion. Twilight Upon Us (Self-Released) starts with a slow, heavy crunch, soon ripped apart by a tinny, death style production and an irritating, unwavering high pitched scour from front man Scott Werren which resembles the unflinching pitch of Oli Sykes. The initial time changes tend to cheapen the sound initially also, especially for the low end fraternity led into the ‘sludge’ element of their description.

Bizarrely, the thing begins to actually grow on you. The filthy undercurrent accompanies a quickening of the pace in many of the tracks, introducing a hardcore element reminiscent of Raging Speedhorn or Cancer Bats in its sound and intensity, and lending a variation which sharpens the album’s somewhat formulaic edges. ‘Sleepwalking’ and ‘Ready to Burn’ see post-hardcore flecks paint the ripping savagery with pastel colours whilst drummer Ben Brinckerhoff, arguably the unsung star of this show, constantly introduces deft changes which paradoxically pummel the brain.

The vast majority of tracks here remain below the four minute mark, short sharp shocks which don’t outlast their welcome. Only closer ‘Kevin’s Song’, a track dedicated to a sadly departed friend and founder band member, bucks this trend, a brutally funky and ambient workout with elements of “post” guitars and Spaghetti Western-style centre, slowing to the coda with truly crushing yet emotive sound. In truth the low-end purists will find little to keep them hooked in here, but it’s a worthy set and one which will find those with open minds tapping their toes at the very least.

7.0/10

Colombian Necktie on Facebook

 

PAUL QUINN