For those who hold music as dear to their hearts and their being as much as I’m sure you, the reader do, there is nothing quite like that discovery of a new band, perhaps out of nowhere, that captures so much about what you love in music. That feeling of finding a band in their early stages that stays with you, that smashes it out of the park, perhaps on the first try, and that both excites you so much and that you feel may break out in time to come. Ladies and gentleman; Wolf King may just well be that band for you. Continue reading →
Mammoth Grinder is a supergroup of sorts, featuring current and ex-members of bands such as Power Trip, Darkest Hour and Iron Reagan. Let’s just cut to the chase this new record Cosmic Crypt(Relapse), the bands fourth release, is a fast, brutal, no-fucking-nonsense, crusty-edged grind, Death Metal Hardcore Punk rager.Continue reading →
Texan purveyors of blackened crust Wildspeaker release their second full length on Prosthetic Records. A notable departure in the tone of 2015’s Survey the Wreckage (self-released) Spreading Adder has a much sludgier feel. Whilst Survey the Wreckage had a brighter and sharper tone, Spreading Adder is much lower and dirtier and the most obvious change is that vocals are more hidden in the mix, which limits their power.Continue reading →
You ever hear that old adage about experience? The one that smug superiors like to toss around to mask their insecurities. There’s no substitute for experience, I believe it goes. Yeah, well Vallenfyre totally proved that right on their third full-length effort, Fear Those Who Fear Him (Century Media).Continue reading →
Channeling the fierce soul of bands like Anal Cunt, Righteous Pigs, Negative Approach, Tantrum Mantra has come from Los Angeles to destroy you. The side project of Spirit In The Room frontman Dennis R. Sanders, Tantrum Mantra has a new song and video today for their track ‘Guilty Fucker’. You can hear it only at Ghost Cult, below: Continue reading →
Eyehategod’s Mike IX Williams, by Emma Parsons Photography
The metal community is rallying around one of its own, and a legend at that. Mike IX Williams is seeing many bands from the New Orleans scene come together to support his plight to help him get a a life-saving liver transplant as soon as possible. A concert has been booked for this winter to raise more money for the cause. Continue reading →
Noticing Amenra would be doing an acoustic set on Saturday, it brought nothing but confusion since they are well-known for their vigorous, powerful live performances. Acoustic? Singer Colin van Eeckhout even admitted feeling very nervous at the beginning of the set. The band was sat in a circle in the semi-darkness of the stage, only slightly illuminated by beams of light. 013’s brand new main stage felt almost obscenely big for such an intimate setting. However, once they got started, this added a vibe of disconnection from the band that almost gave you a feeling you were watching something you weren’t supposed to see. They managed to find a way to play their 2009’s acoustic EP Afterlife so timid and delicate, that the crowd seemed to be in trance and didn’t wake up until their cover of Tool’s ‘Parabol’, which earned them a deafening applause. For their second set at the Afterburner, they were back to their post-metal selves, screeching, pounding and shredding in exactly the way we know and love them. Leaving us to timidly watch the ripples forming in our beers as if a T-rex came stomping by, while the magic from the night before faded to a distant memory.
Amenra, by Susanne A. Maathuis Photography
An unexpected highlight on the Saturday was Brothers of the Sonic Cloth. Both captivating and furiously loud, their psychedelic visuals and droning music created the perfect setting for a lot of people to hang out on the floor of the main stage and take in the wall of sound the Americans produced. For those of us feeling more awake, progressive space-rockers Astrosoniq, led by a very Rock’n’roll looking singer, gave a more fast-paced performance in the Green Room. Walter, in official terms the artistic director of Roadburn, but in reality the true heart and soul of the festival, brought out his visuals to accompany Astrosoniq’s very psychedelic guitar riffs.
Astroniq, by Susanne A. Maathuis Photography
Roadburn 2014 favorites The Vintage Caravan showed up for a surprise gig at café Cul de Sac on Sunday. Well, I say surprise, but 30 minutes before showtime the venue was absolutely packed with people. There is only one way to actually see a band in Cul de Sac: be hella early. So we found ourselves snuggly between 150 hot and sweaty, hungover fans with no chance of reaching the bar or the toilets in the next hour-and-a-half. But boy, was it WORTH it. The Islandic rockers tried to drill out our hangovers with their heavy bass and guitarist Oskar‘s relentless headbanging let us forget that this was our fourth day at the festival already and we were supposed to be very tired.
The greatest thing about Roadburn must be the diversity of the people you meet. Surrounded by more foreigners than native Dutch, you usually leave the festival a couple of Finnish words wiser than you were before (none of which probably as innocent as they led you to believe). However, I’m not going to lie: people watching is right up there on my list of favorite pastimes, and there really isn’t a better place for it than Roadburn. Mainly because metal shows in themselves are beacons of creative and eccentric people. And Roadburn, well, that is the holy grail of metal shows. Amidst a goldmine of glorious manes and enviously long beards, there seem to be more crust punks than usual (thank you G.I.S.M and Converge) and of course every back patch under the sun.
Neurosis, by Susanne A. Maathuis Photography
Neurosis, by Susanne A. Maathuis Photography
Neurosis, by Susanne A. Maathuis Photography
One of the most spotted patches this year was obviously Neurosis. You’d think that playing two ’30th Anniversary’ sets would bring about its problems. After all, having a thirty-year spanning discography to choose from can’t be easy. Remarkably enough Neurosis managed to represent each and every one of their records during their shows, right back to their 1985 hardcore punk debut Pain of Mind. It is astounding to see how much they have grown and changed over the years, before they settled into their skin of a contemporary hurricane of genres, set to a baseline of doom. When the final tones of 1999’s ‘The Doorway’ sounded at the Afterburner, it left us with nothing but goosebumps, hands sore from clapping and a profound sense that 366 days are way too many to wait until the next Roadburn.
Castle Freak are a simple death metal group, but they do a nice job setting themselves apart from the rest of the genre with their Human Hive EP (Self Released). While fun is a word you normally wouldn’t associate with a genre like death metal, this EP has an undeniable sense of enjoyment. From the sampling, which includes horror quotes and scattered Extreme Champion Wrestling commentary, to the breakneck pace of the music, it’s just a great time.
Vocalist Andrew Gigan manages to not sound generic, with a hardcore punk styled delivery spicing up his vocals. Combined with absolutely insane drumming done by former Noisem member Sebastian Phillips and shredding guitars courtesy of both Gigan and Zak Carter, this EP has plenty to appreciate from a technical standpoint.
However, there are sore spots on this EP. The first is the overuse of samples on the release. Every single track uses them, often right at the start of the song. Samples aren’t a bad thing, but some just seemed unnecessary. I can understand them starting the release as it set the chaotic mood, or the use of air raid sirens in the middle of ‘Toxic Winds’ to build atmosphere, but there is just too many samples on this EP and it overall soils the experience. Another gripe about this EP is the lack of much new material. Two tracks are rerecorded versions of songs off the bands previous two releases, and another is a cover of a classic death metal track from Impetigo. This leaves only two new songs on the EP. Admittedly the redone tracks sound miles ahead of the previous versions, but it still is kind of a bummer that only two of the five tracks on this release are new.
Overall, despite my complaints with this release, I can’t help but recommend this band to all death metal fans. The overuse of samples is more than worth sitting through for the insane talent on showcase, as this really is some of the most memorable death metal I’ve heard in a while. If nothing else, everyone should just give ‘Toxic Winds’ a listen as it’s 3 minutes of metal excellence, and the only time on the EP where bassist Ben Anft really gets a chance to shine and isn’t simply lost in the madness. It is the standout track on this release, and shows exactly how good this band can be.
On a Saturday night in London, all hell can break loose at a hardcore show. And of course, you want it to. The pure joyful chaos of the pit, bands running around stage, the pit punchers, and the inevitable pile-nos with sweaty hands clasping the microphone to bark those lines than mean so much to so many. Coming off The Persistence Tour in January, Terror also had a brief run of headline shows as well, and why we were in London tonight. Terror remains one of the longest running, most consistent punk bands and still touring to packed clubs on the reg. On this night front man Scott Vogel (also of World Be Free) owned the stage, as usual. Their recent album, 2015s The 25th Hour (Victory/Century Media) was an instant classic for the band. Proving they still have a lot in the tank, they are already working on the follow-up release. Direct support band Wisdom In Chains are one of the unsung heroes of East Coast Hardcore. Their brutal riffs and stage presence don’t tell the full story of their great story telling, intellectual writing. Of course like Terror, they are fierce in a live setting. Twitching Tongues arrived to make noise the last few years and set everyone on notice about the aggression and smarts this band has. Unafraid to be deeply ensconced in HxC ways, but flying their metal flag with pride; if there was a band rightfully earning the tag “the next Nails”, it is them. Front man Colin Young is one of the best right now, commanding a crowd like few else. Weymouth UK upstarts Ironed Out, with their twin vocal attack opened the how. Thanks to Jessica Lotti Photography for capturing this insanity on stage and in the crowd for Ghost Cult.
Neill Jameson of Krieg is one of the more fascinating people you will ever come across. Outspoken, articulate, philosophical, funny, and mild-mannered could all describe the man based on meeting him say, if you bumped into him at the bookstore or record shop. However, anyone witnessing him perform or create music, has a very different image in their mind. As one of the most important figures in the USBM scene, he clearly is more about “the work” and not about the accolades. In an exclusive interview with Ghost Cult’sHillarie Jason, Neill discusses some changes going on in his life, the next Krieg album due in 2016, his thoughts on coping with mental illness, and other topics.
Neill recently moved to Virginia from southern New Jersey, and we opened things up by discussing how that is affecting the creation of a next Krieg album.
“Virginia is a nice change from Jersey in a lot of ways but mostly it’s just been a much needed change in my life that I’m hoping continues to stay positive. Plus I’m fortunate to live in a city that has a good music scene so there’s always something to look forward to.”
“Having a different place to work through ideas always helps. I have a lot of different places I haven’t explored yet but I’m able to take long walks that ease my mind and let me think through the ideas I want to convey with this next record, both sonically and lyrically.”
Krieg, by Hillarie Jason
The forthcoming new Krieg album, entitled Guilt is due in 2016. It promisesthe progression of Krieg’s growth from Transient (Candlelight), which was definitely a different animal sonically than Isolationist (also Candlelight) was. So should we assume that Guilt will be just as different? “Yeah, we’re going to get together to start putting it together after the new year. There’s been less time between the two so I imagine there’s going to be more similarities between those two than there was between Isolationist and Transient. But I’m more inspired this time around by hardcore and crust than even the last one so there’s probably going to be a strong emphasis on that, without the shitty tough guy posturing.”
Speaking of shitty tough guys, Neill has commentated on the foibles of such men in the metal scene in his occasional op-ed series for Decibel Magazine. He was equally praised and condemned by keyboard warriors regarding his past observations on bigotry, chauvinism, and elitism in metal. We asked how he dealt with the praise and backlash:
“I’m happy to have some kind of platform to speak out about stupidity in general, be it about stupid shit like horse masks and chicken costumes or the heavier stuff I’ve dealt with the last few columns. I’m also very used to people talking shit about me on the internet so this isn’t anything new nor will it be something that goes away. So I don’t particularly care one way or the other. I’m not interested in being a social justice warrior nor do I think censorship in case someone’s fucking feelings get hurt is a good idea. I’m all in favor of freedom of speech and expression but I’m also aware those come with consequences, an idea not a lot of these dry dicks hollering at me while their mothers are upstairs drinking away the memory of having a failure of a child can seem to grasp. But I’ve spent long enough being a shithead myself so now’s my chance to atone a bit I guess.”
Neill has been candid about his struggles with mental illness publicly and in past interviews. So much so that it may have paved the way for a public discussion in the music community on these topics, since a lot of heavy music imagery and lyrics focuses on madness. We asked what, if anything if the underground music community can do to break the stigmas attached to mental illness, bipolar disorder, etc.?
“Odd you bring that up right now. Yesterday I made the decision after five years off to go back on meds to treat my bi-polar depression and anxiety. I was going to try to use my writing to document the experience and try to follow in a lot of people’s footsteps and keep the dialogue about mental illness in music and art in general open and flowing. There’s less of a stigma to it now than ten years ago, but also everyone’s doctor has them on something for shit they probably don’t even need treatment for and that’s what kept me from being on them for so long, it had stopped making a difference and I felt the whole thing was a fucking sham, I still do for the most part, but I’m also at a place in my life where I know I need help otherwise I’m going to fucking ruin things for myself which I almost did when I did Blue Miasma and again after The Isolationist and I want to see if exploring this will somehow be beneficial to myself and maybe others through sharing the experience.”
Neil is well known for a slew of collaborative projects and split releases. We wondered if it’s easier to run your own band with no interference: “I don’t just have myself to think about anymore, that’s a big part of it. A lot of people who suffer from these conditions aren’t aware how it affects those close to them, I have been aware for a long time and that’s where the “guilt complex” comes in but it’s been recently that I’ve decided it’s not a cycle I want to keep reliving. It doesn’t add to my “creativity” or anything positive.”
“The collaborations I do have each been so entirely different that I focus on them more as a way to learn new methods and techniques from other artists and how to incorporate them into my own music. So they’re entirely different experiences to me so I can’t say if one is necessarily easier than the other.”
Krieg, by Hillarie Jason
On working with working with Thurston Moore (in Twilight):
“One of the most valuable learning experiences I’ve ever had. Plus he’s such an open and excited collaborator that it made what we were doing all the more vivid and dynamic. I would love for the chance to work with him again on something.”
“As opposed to other previous Twilight members, two in particular, who just dialed it in and sat back to collect praise and whatever money was available.”
Krieg, by Hillarie Jason
Krieg recently left Candlelight Records and signed with Profound Lore Records: “Jef Whitehead brought up that we were about to be released from our Candlelight contract to Chris Bruni and it went from there. I’ve had contact with Chris since he wrote for Metal Maniacs and I’m a big fan of some of the bands on his label, and also just how he has built an empire with his own two hands in the image of exactly how he wants it to go. I look forward to causing the label to lose a lot of money and respect worldwide with this next record.”
In general Neill has had a fairly prolific couple of years. What is his regular creative process like or does he prefer to work project to project?
“It’s sporadic. For most of this year I barely picked up a guitar or wrote any lyrics. Other times it’s like I can’t turn it off. I don’t know what causes this to happen, it’s like the seasons change. It’s always been like this.”
“I could sit and force it but you can tell when I do that. I’d rather just let it come naturally.”
Commenting further on the release date: “Sometime next year. Same with the split with Integrity. The split’s been recorded for about a year and is the best song we’ve ever recorded and the general basis for the next record so they tie in nicely with each other.”
