Review : BURZUM – ‘Umskiptar’

Posted on July 7, 2012 by MetalMattLongo

Burzum – Umskiptar
Release: 2012May21
Label: Byelobog Productions
Rating: 1.5/5

I don’t really know what to say about Varg Vikernes. I’ve written and rewritten this introduction several times, in the hopes of coming up with something insightful to say about the man, but have yet to come up with anything worthwhile. I love him and hate him at the same time. He is both a gift and a curse to the metal world and some of his music is truly breathtaking. He’s been responsible for or at least involved in some of the finest albums put out over the course of the last 20 years. I’m always happy when he puts out something terrible, though, because then I don’t have to feel guilty about supporting the music of, as MetalSucks put it, a “murdering bigot fuckhead”.

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Review : SLEEP – ‘Dopesmoker’

Posted on May 16, 2012 by MetalMattLongo

Sleep – Dopesmoker
Release: 2012May8
Label: Southern Lord
Rating: 5/5

Here it is, folks – the stoners’ most advanced and fleshed-out treatise on… well, everything. It’s the marijuana-smoker’s version of the Bible, Qur’an, Torah, Mahabharata, Tao Te Ching, and why don’t we throw in the Kama Sutra for good measure. Hell, its origins are even shrouded in just as much legend and mystery as any of the texts I mentioned. It sounds like absolutely nothing else on this plane of existence, and it has at last been delivered to us in its full, pure, unadulterated glory as originally envisioned by the band, courtesy of several reunion tours, Greg Anderson of Southern Lord, and engineer Brad Boatright.

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Review : SECRETS OF THE MOON – ‘Seven Bells’

Posted on March 27, 2012 by MetalMattLongo

Secrets of the Moon – Seven Bells
Label: Prophecy Productions
Release Date: 2012Apr10
Rating: 8/10

I’m a fan of long songs. Extra time gives tracks a chance to breathe and really pound their way into your head. Of course, I don’t shun shorter stuff – Napalm Death’s Scum would probably be in my top 10 of all time – but I really feel that the most emotionally meaningful music comes from the bands who are willing to go out and pass the all-powerful 10-minute mark. However, there are plenty of examples where folks just weren’t able to pull off the long song. Lots of Dream Theater material comes to mind (despite the fact that I do love a select sample of their work), as does just about every death metal song that’s exceeded 7 minutes (not a rule of thumb, but shit like the title track from Brain Drill‘s Quantum Catastrophe just makes me lose faith in the productivity of the entire genre).

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Review : EARTH – 'Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II'

Posted on February 29, 2012 by MetalMattLongo

Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II
Label: Southern Lord Recordings
Release Date: 2012Feb14
Rating: 4.5/5

About a year ago, I reviewed Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1, the first two albums by Earth recorded in the same sessions. Over the course of the year, it grew to be one of my favorite records of 2011. To make things even better, part 2 has come just as I was beginning to get antsy for more material. I have no doubt that this will remain near the top of my list as 2012 rolls on.

Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II builds upon its predecessor in the most logical way. The first part ended with its title track, a 20-minute-long, serene jam. The band now expands on this free-form attitude with tracks that sound loosely structured, emerging organically rather than through cold, organized written material. Earth has never sounded more… well, earthy.

Much of the country influence present on the previous albums seems to have taken a back seat to a more traditional drone approach (note: “more traditional” does not necessarily connote “traditional”). The slide appears to have been completely abandoned while pace and volume have both been downplayed significantly. This amounts to the most tranquil record Earth has ever recorded. Make no mistake, though; it still packs a punch.

Structurally, this record is a big, long crescendo. However, it’s not a build-up in the vein of, say, Godspeed You! Black Emperor or any other post-rock band. Instead, Dylan Carlson has allowed the mood to slowly become more intense as time goes on with only minimal increases in volume. Opener “Sigil of Brass” features only clean guitar and some lightly-tapped cymbals for ambience. “His Teeth Did Brightly Shine” proceeds to introduce a second guitar track, bass, and cello. “Multiplicity of Doors” then brings Adrienne Davies, with her drums operating in full force. “The Corascene Dog” builds upon the dark atmosphere with some slightly-overdriven guitar licks, courtesy of Carlson. Wrapping everything up is “The Rakehell”, the only tune on the album with a consistent, clearly-audible riff carrying its way through the entire song. This closer also proves to be one of the best tracks Earth has released in a long time, with beautifully-layered guitars and a lonesome sense of nostalgia; a longing for a simpler time where music was rarely judged for its musicianship, and more for its effect on the listener.

Tapping into the listener’s emotions is just what Earth does best, albeit in an incredibly unorthodox way. Songs move at a dirge-like pace with little distinct composition. Despite this, there is a raw and visceral feeling of bittersweet sadness evoked through the simplicity of the recordings. Dylan Carlson has never felt the need to bombard audiences with overwhelming sensory input. However, the negative space that this austerity creates can override your mind into another state of being altogether.

FCC OK
Try 2, 3, 5

01. Sigil of Brass
02. His Teeth Did Brightly Shine
03. Multiplicity of Doors
04. The Corascene Dog
05. The Rakehell

~Willie Strausser

Review : CANNABIS CORPSE – "Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise"

Posted on September 12, 2011 by MetalMattLongo

Cannabis Corpse – Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise
Release: 2011Jul12 (US)
Label: Tank Crimes
Rating: 4/5

Since it’s infancy in the late ’80s, death metal has undergone myriad mutations and has changed from easily-defined to a broad generalization. The days of using the term to identify bands like Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Deicide and Obituary are gone for the most part. The genre has expanded in such a way that you cannot just describe a death metal band as such. This saddens me. While I wasn’t around to go see the classic “old school” bands perform in basements and dive bars, I have a tremendous appreciation for their gritty style which is, for the most part, dead. In the last few years, every one of the bands I mentioned above have released albums and not a single one properly embodies the trailblazers. The end of the classic style appears imminent.

However, just when you thought that deathcore had taken over, enter Virginia’s Cannabis Corpse. These masters of marijuana bring to the table the most true-to-form, original strain since the days of Legion and Tomb of the Mutilated. With their third full-length, Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise, Cannabis Corpse has cemented their place as one of the premier death metal bands on the scene today and they do it with no frills or trendy terms to identify their style.

Beneath The Grow Lights is fun, fast, catchy, and forces you to bang your head and mosh. However, I think my favorite part of this album is the production quality mixed with their old school approach. I never thought I would hear the speed and attitude of Butchered at Birth with the production of a 2011 metal recording. I always thought that if someone remastered or re-recorded one of the classic death metal albums and gave it a contemporary makeover, it would end up sounding really lousy, but Cannabis Corpse has proved me wrong. Maybe Cannabis Corpse can get Scott Burns to produce/mix their next album but that may be TOO good!

It seems the best way to describe an album like this is “a breath of fresh air”, but considering their name and leitmotif, “a rip of milky smoke” feels more appropriate. If you are a fan of headbangin’, rowdy death metal, this album is sure to please. [Weed helps, too. ~Ed.]

01. Visions from the Dankside
02. Lunatic of Pot’s Creation
03. Blame it on Bud
04. Chapel of Bowls
05. Dead by Bong
06. Immortal Pipes
07. Blaze of Torment
08. Sworn to the Bag
09. Where the Kind Lives
10. Gateways to Inhalation
11. Slave to the Chron
12. Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise

~Cole Dougherty

Review : BLACK COBRA – "Invernal"

Posted on September 12, 2011 by MetalMattLongo

Black Cobra – Invernal
Release: 2011Oct11 (US)
Label: Southern Lord
Rating: 4.5/5

A large portion of my yesterday was spent listening to ‘Black’ bands: Black Cobra started off, followed by Black Sabbath, Black September, The Black Dahlia Murder, BlackWolfGoat, Brainoil (perhaps black in color?), and Book of Black Earth. Everything except Sabbath felt awash in samey-ness, but I wanted to return to Black Cobra, since I really liked Chronomega. Once again, we have another album that’s helped by headphones. This isn’t to say the album has weak riffs or anything; quite the contrary, Invernal is muscular, relentless, and aggressively driving.

Like the car chase sequence in Bullitt.

I’ve compared Black Cobra with Big Business in the past, and I’ll do it again. Just as Chronomega felt like the logical progression from Here Come the Waterworks, that progress furthers fuels Invernal. They switched from producer Billy Anderson to Kurt Ballou—both notable noisemongers. And while I can’t exactly pinpoint distinct differences between the two, it’s good to hear this band seek new ways to develop their stripped-down delivery. The key is to sound full yet complicated, accentuate the chaos, and direct the listener through the din.

A Google image search for "full yet complicated" yielded only this curiosity.

Together for a decade now, guitarist/vocalist Jason Landrian and drummer Rafael Martinez have churned out four full-length albums of increasing sophistication: two for At a Loss Recordings, and this marks the second for Southern Lord. Black Cobra now seem sonically closer to recent tourmates High on Fire. Besides the riff-building influence, they have taken badass lyric-writing cues as well, and built the album’s theme around post-apocalyptic Antarctic expeditions, inspired by explorer Ernest Shackleton. I feel like I can use “epic” here without sounding like a jackass…plus I’ve always had a high standard for that word. And speaking of words, Invernal = awesome. It’s actually defined as something like “wintry”, but because of the subject matter, it’s stronger interpreted as “without spring”. Since I’ve spoken with Rafa about their last album, maybe we can discuss the inner meanings of this one, too.

Oh, and on one last random note, every time “Abyss” starts, I think of “Wishlist” by Pearl Jam.

[jwplayer config="Custom Player" mediaid="7542"]

01. Avalanche
02. Somnae Tenebrae
03. Corrosion Fields
04. The Crimson Blade
05. Beyond
06. Erebus Dawn
07. Abyss
08. Obliteration

~MetalMattLongo

Mind Over Metal

Thinking Heavier Since 2005

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