Tag Archives: Scott Evans

Hag – Fear of Man

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Another year, and more juicy low-end horror to get our teeth into. London trio Hag has been around for five years yet Fear of Man (DNAWOT Records) is the band’s debut album – and it’s a hulking, resonant beast of a thing.

The opening title track is a curious amalgam of Black Sabbath and the grungy/post-hardcore infusion peddled by the likes of Kowloon Walled City: vocalist Ian Baigent finding a middle ground between Ozzy Osbourne and the scarring pain of Scott Evans. The ensuing ‘Kingdom O’ and the brutal ‘Trauma Yauma’ set the tone for the rest of the album with a vicious, Stoner-Sludge vibe: a speedier, Melvins-style bluster given a Doc Marten to the arse, with Baigent’s growl reminiscent of Matt Pike. ‘…Yauma’, however, cascades beautifully to a staggered, psych-drenched second movement which shows the band’s invention alongside some endearing rough edges.

A potent production brings every ingredient to the fore, giving the roars of ‘Rainbow Dust’ no little beef whilst forcing huge riffs and Tamas Kiss’s titanic drums through the soul. The High on Fire link grows throughout the album, in particular through the sandpaper groove of ‘Low’, and the slightly ponderous yet fathomless ‘Metal Detector Man’ and ‘White Lion’. The swelling, ferocious riffs and powerful drums prove the overriding influence of the Americans, but a unique English personality allows those variations to shine through and help the band find their own identity.

The intricate, Jazz-tinged structures of the latter tracks, following a ‘stop-go’ format, are augmented by Bluesy leads which, although fleeting, leave their mark and exemplify that nasty charm. The rhythms of the penultimate ‘Beaten at Your Own Game’ pummel the mind whilst leading the senses a merry dance, with Robin Freeman’s bass work utterly ground-shaking. Closer ‘Wrong Bar’, meanwhile, shows both the few flaws and soaring attraction of Hag’s nefarious intent: a slightly limited vocal working alongside crushing power; an occasionally lumbering pace twisted and transformed by sheer oscillating muscle and flowering creativity.

This is an album that will continue to grow, overshadowing any limitations while flinging forward the boundless ammunition in Hag’s arsenal.

 

7.0/10

 

PAUL QUINN


Kowloon Walled City – Grievances

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Despite the fraught hostility coursing through the first two albums from San Francisco Sludge quartet Kowloon Walled City, there was evidence of a Post-hardcore sensibility. It’s no surprise, therefore, to see a heightening of the band’s melody on third album Grievances (Neurot).

Brief flurries of lead are evident from the outset, but so is a slow pace; Ian Miller’s rumbling bass, especially throughout tolling closer ‘Daughters and Sons’; and Scott Evans’ embittered yell. What opener ‘Your Best Years’ misses in urgency and frenetic neurosis, it gains in feeling and an almost unbearable tension: sections where brakes are applied evoke scenes of tethered wild animals straining to be free. The ensuing title track has the same doleful, stone-kicking pace: violent desires suffocated by a Doom-like oppression which leaves every synapse twitching with the harrowing drama of it all. When the explosion occurs at the track’s midway point, it too is sufficiently reined to maximise its powerful statement. Less, here, is more…

It is this skill which Kowloon Walled City possess in buckets: the ability to move further toward the more touching, tortured elements of Touché Amoré without sacrificing their own aggravated, pummelling core. Timing, especially with the introduction of Evans’ vocal, is immaculate and delivered to optimum effect with always a word left out there hanging past the instrumentation: the “Weaknesses…” refrain to ‘Backlit’ is positively chilling. Yet it all feels so organic, a fluid part of the breathing whole.

That anger is occasionally allowed its freedom, within the crashing ire of ‘The Grift’ for example, yet it remains tempered by a complexity of sound: the guilt after lashing out which even the tweak of strings at the track’s coda highlights. This is the embodiment of pure expression: an album depicting a person with so much justified anger, yet is too nice to show it or feels like shit when they do. An album fizzing with pain and frustration yet constantly, feverishly, grasping at its reins for fear of what could happen if let loose. The pregnant ‘True Believer’ epitomises this fragile balance: a squall of pent-up hurt and aggression which flays the skin when the bubble pops.

Grievances is an at times unsettling and traumatic but always potent experience, blowing this year’s closest relative, Black Sheep Wall’s I’m Going to Kill Myself (Season of Mist), from the water by more accurately personalising the rawness and unpredictability of suppressed emotion.

 

8.5/10.0

 

PAUL QUINN


Album Streaming: Minsk – The Crash and The Draw

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Minsk is streaming their new album The Crash & The Draw in its entirety, out April 7, 2015 via Relapse Records, below.

The album was produced by the band and Sanford Parker (Twilight, Voivod, Eyehategod, Yob etc.), mixed by Parker and mastered by Collin Jordan (Eyehategod, Indian, Wovenhand, Voivod etc.) with additional vocal tracking by Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City, Old Man Gloom, Floor etc.) and further tracking, editing, and mixing by Kevin Rendleman and Aaron Austin.

The band has upcoming European tour dates which can be found here.


Minsk Streaming “When The Walls Fell”

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Midwest avant sound voyagers Minsk is streaming “When The Walls Fell,” off their new album The Crash & The Draw, out via Relapse Records in North America on April 7th, 2015, April 3rd, 2015 in Germany, Benelux and Finland and April 6th, 2015 in the UK and rest of the world here.

The Crash & The Draw was captured by the band alongside Sanford Parker (Twilight, Voivod, Eyehategod, Yob etc.), mixed by Parker and MINSK at Hypercube and mastered by Collin Jordan (Eyehategod, Indian, Wovenhand, Voivod etc.) at The Boiler Room with additional vocal tracking by Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City, Old Man Gloom, Floor etc.) at Antisleep Audio and further tracking, editing, and mixing by Kevin Rendleman at Trash Rocket Audio and Aaron Austin at We Know Who You Are.

The band has booked a string of April European dates.

Apr 09: Roadburn Festival – Tilburg (NL)
Apr 10: Doom Over Leipzig – Leipzig (DE)
Apr 11: Hafenklang – Hamburg (DE)
Apr 12: Cassiopeia – Berlin (DE)
Apr 13: Hydrozagadka – Warsaw (PL)
Apr 14: 007 – Prague (CZ)
Apr 15: P.M.K. – Innsbruck (AU)
Apr 16: Feierwerk – Munchen (DE)
Apr 17: Freakout – Bologna (IT)
Apr 18: Lo Fi Club – SoloMacello Fest – Milano (IT)
Apr 19: Le Romandie – Lausanne (CH)
Apr 20: Escape B – Paris (FR)
Apr 21: La Scene Michelet – Nantes (FR)
Apr 22: La Peniche – Lille (FR)
Apr 23: FZW – Dortmund (DE)
Apr 24: Desertfest – London (UK)
Apr 25: Kavka – Antwerp (BE)

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Minsk Streaming “The Way Is Through”

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Minsk is streaming „The Way Is Through“, off of their forthcoming album The Crash & The Draw, out via Relapse Records in North America on April 7th, 2015, April 3rd, 2015 in Germany, Benelux and Finland and April 6th, 2015 in the UK and rest of the world here.

The Crash & The Draw was captured by the band alongside Sanford Parker (Twilight, Voivod, Eyehategod, Yob etc.), mixed by Parker and Minsk at Hypercube and mastered by Collin Jordan (Eyehategod, Indian, Wovenhand, Voivod etc.) at The Boiler Room with additional vocal tracking by Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City, Old Man Gloom, Floor etc.) at Antisleep Audio and further tracking, editing, and mixing by Kevin Rendleman at Trash Rocket Audio and Aaron Austin at We Know Who You Are.

In related news, Minsk will bring their sonic rituals to the stages of Europe next month commencing with an appearance at this year’s Roadburn Fest with additional live ceremonies to be announced in the months to come.

MINSK:
Apr 09: Roadburn Festival – Tilburg (NL)
Apr 10: Doom Over Leipzig – Leipzig (DE)
Apr 11: Hafenklang – Hamburg (DE)
Apr 12: Cassiopeia – Berlin (DE)
Apr 13: Hydrozagadka – Warsaw (PL)
Apr 14: 007 – Prague (CZ)
Apr 15: P.M.K. – Innsbruck (AU)
Apr 16: Feierwerk – Munchen (DE)
Apr 17: Freakout – Bologna (IT)
Apr 18: Lo Fi Club – SoloMacello Fest – Milano (IT)
Apr 19: Le Romandie – Lausanne (CH)
Apr 20: Escape B – Paris (FR)
Apr 21: La Scene Michelet – Nantes (FR)
Apr 22: La Peniche – Lille (FR)
Apr 23: FZW – Dortmund (DE)
Apr 24: Desertfest – London (UK)
Apr 25: Kavka – Antwerp (BE)

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Minsk Streaming Sample Of “To The Garish Remembrance Of Failure”

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Minsk is streaming a sample of “To The Garish Remembrance Of Failure” here or SoundCloud here. This is off their forthcoming album The Crash & The Draw, out April 7th, 2015, April 3rd, 2015 in Germany, Benelux and Finland and April 6th, 2015 in the UK and rest of the world via Relapse Records.

Recorded almost exclusively in The Prairie State, The Crash & The Draw was captured by the band alongside Sanford Parker (Twilight, Voivod, Eyehategod, Yob etc.) at Earth Analog in Tolono, mixed by Parker and Minsk at Hypercube in Chicago and mastered by Collin Jordan (Eyehategod, Indian, Wovenhand, Voivod etc.) at The Boiler Room in Chicago with additional vocal tracking by Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City. Old Man Gloom, Floor etc.) at Antisleep Audio in Oakland, California and further tracking, editing, and mixing by Kevin Rendleman at Trash Rocket Audio and Aaron Austin at We Know Who You Are, both in Peoria. The record includes the striking cover creation of Orion Landau (Yob, Inter Arma, Red Fang etc.), a reinterpretation of original artwork by contributing artist, Corinne Reid.

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Minsk Streaming The Crash and The Draw Album Trailer

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Midwest sound exhibitionists Minsk will be releasing their new album The Crash & The Draw in North America on April 7th, 2015, April 3rd, 2015 in Germany, Benelux and Finland and April 6th, 2015 in the UK and rest of the world via Relapse Records. View an album trailer here.

Recorded almost exclusively in The Prairie State, The Crash & The Draw was captured by the band alongside Sanford Parker (Twilight, Voivod, Eyehategod, Yob etc.) at Earth Analog in Tolono, mixed by Parker and MINSK at Hypercube in Chicago and mastered by Collin Jordan (Eyehategod, Indian, Wovenhand, Voivod etc.) at The Boiler Room in Chicago with additional vocal tracking by Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City. Old Man Gloom, Floor etc.) at Antisleep Audio in Oakland, California and further tracking, editing, and mixing by Kevin Rendleman at Trash Rocket Audio and Aaron Austin at We Know Who You Are, both in Peoria. An instant contender for one of the most forward-thinking metal records of the year,each cascading movement is a crucial sonic passage through dark and light. At once crushing, hallucinatory and at times, spiritually illuminating, tracks ebb and flow with a pastoral elegance and tangible urgency. Only furthering the record’s captivating allure, The Crash & The Draw is a thematic continuation of the group’s long-standing attraction to alchemical and esoteric ideologies, with marked nods toward the thought and writings of perennial inspiration, Kahlil Gibran, and the espoused words of Hermes Trismegistus, the fabled author of the Corpus Hermeticum and other sacred texts and serves as a fitting audio soundscapade for those souls devoted to the manifestations of Neurosis, Rwake, Yob, Isis and the like.

minsk the crash and the draw

Comments the band of their latest output:

“We are so thrilled to be able to finally share this next chapter. Much time has passed. New lines have formed on faces and hands. And new faces have emerged. The spirit arose once again, and the call was answered, with every ounce of will, and care, and attention as was available. There is still much to be discovered. We thank you for your interest, for your attention. There is no currency as valuable.”

Scattered between the sleepy city of Peoria and metropolis of Chicago and drawing inspiration from a remote Belarusian city that has been burned to the ground only to be rebuilt like a phoenix rising from its own ashes, MINSK has been cultivating sonic exploration and alchemical outpourings since 2002. Rooted in the post-metal landscape that brought forth visionaries like Neurosis and Isis, with their latest offering, The Crash & The Draw, MINSK step out of the shadows of the giants of their genre to create a psychedelic blend of melodic, trance-inducing heaviness.

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Minsk Releasing The Crash & The Draw In April

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Minsk is releasing their first new studio album in six years, The Crash & The Draw via Relapse Records in North America on April 7th, 2015, April 3rd, 2015 in Germany, Benelux and Finland and April 6th, 2015 in the UK and rest of the world.

Recorded almost exclusively in The Prairie State, The Crash & The Draw was captured by the band alongside Sanford Parker (Twilight, Voivod, Eyehategod, Yob etc.) at Earth Analog in Tolono, mixed by Parker and MINSK at Hypercube in Chicago and mastered by Collin Jordan (Eyehategod, Indian, Wovenhand, Voivod etc.) at The Boiler Room in Chicago with additional vocal tracking by Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City, Old Man Gloom, Floor etc.) at Antisleep Audio in Oakland, California and further tracking, editing, and mixing by Kevin Rendleman at Trash Rocket Audio and Aaron Austin at We Know Who You Are, both in Peoria. The record includes the striking cover creation of Orion Landau (Yob, Inter Arma, Red Fang etc.).

minsk the crash and the draw

The Crash & The Draw Track Listing:
1. To The Initiate
2. Within And Without
3. Onward Procession I. These Longest Of Days
4. Onward Procession II. The Soil Calls
5. Onward Procession III. The Blue Hour
6. Onward Procession IV. Return, The Heir
7. Conjunction
8. The Way Is Through
9. To You There Is No End
10. To The Garish Remembrance Of Failure
11. When The Walls Fell

MINSK:
Aaron Austin – guitar, vocals
Christopher Bennett – guitar, vocals
Zachary Livingston – bass, vocals
Timothy Mead – vocals, keyboards
Kevin Rendleman – drums

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