Originally published in ‘zine issue #35, 2006
Blessing The Hogs The 12 Gauge Solution
(Goodfellow)
I have heard some bad band names lately, and this ranks high on the list. Blessing the Hogs? Oh, now that’s evil and scary for sure. As far as production, it’s a great job; the group is fronted by a well-known and respected producer, who has done really great work in the past. Musically, however, there is nothing of substance to be found here. Nothing but endless downtuned riffage, double bass drumming, and hardcore yells that all goes nowhere. This CD is just more pollution against our environment. Just imagine the thousands of shitty CDs manufactured each day; it could fill landfills the size of Alaska. Stop the madness. Just ‘cause your fans care, doesn’t mean the other 99.9% of the world’s population has to endure the ill effects of an oversaturated CD market. Do not buy this by any means, or support an industry trying to snatch your hard-earned dollar in exchange for mediocrity digitally pressed onto shiny plastic circles.
(by Adam Perry) ■
Circulus The Lick On the Tip of An Envelope Yet To Be Sent
(Rise Above)
Wow, this is some sort of pagan rock celebration record. I hear the evil lurking behind the happy melodies created by flutes, mandolins, oboes, and other unidentifiable instruments. Visions of a human sacrifice for the god of the high plains come forth as this absolutely wicked disc spins round and round. This could be a great soundtrack to a remake of the classic Christopher Lee film The Wicker Man. Not that it should be remade. However, Circulus are very good at creating an atmosphere of being somewhere in rural England, where the folk have stuck to the old ways of worshipping the sunrise, the sunset, and whatever else the pagans worshipped way back in the day. But all in all, these atavistic hippies probably wouldn’t stand much of a chance against the musicians that existed in the days they wish to return to. A lack of really strong riffs, or songs for that matter, hinders the album. They’re on to something though. Put these guys in a time machine back to 500 a.d. and let them fare with the competition of the day; it would undoubtedly make them a stronger band, worthy of releasing a second album.
(by Adam Perry) ■
Coaxial The Phantom Syndrome
(Gold Standard Laboratories)
First off, Coaxial fucking rules. Now that that’s out of the way, I’ll back up my statement. There’s five tracks on this EP, each one with spacey, drug-influenced beats and soundscapes, with a rapper with a harsh edge rhyming over the top. An important aspect of the recording is the production, which ties it all together. I’m not an expert at this style of material but I can say that I’ve not heard anything quite like it.
(by Editor) ■
The Mighty Nimbus 2005 album
(Threeman)
A good, solid album of southern stoner rock stuff for the undemanding listener. Wait, not southern; these guys are from Minnesota. What do you call this stuff? Suburban pot smokin’ music? Hard riffin’, whiskey drinkin’ Skynrd-Sabbath riot fuck charge music? There, that’s it, I just coined a new term. Now, for the real deal, you all should pick up the Pentagram collection on Relapse Records if you don’t already have it. Now that’s some real car crashin’, coke snortin’, axe swingin’ music for the die hards. What these guys listen to basically. Accept no substitutes!
(by Adam Perry) ■
Sepultura Dante XXI
(SPV)
Being quite curious to see what the Sepuls could pull off after their diminished reputation with the release of their last three albums among discerning metal listeners (that is, other than your Ozzfest devotees), records which I should say I haven’t heard, I’m pleased to see that these Brazilians have delivered a pretty good album. It sounds to be a cross between Chaos A.D. and Roots with more obscureness with the different intros and the direction of the record in general. There’s full-on, catchy rockers as well as faster numbers, with Andreas Kisser’s trademark weirdness on the leads, and the slow burners as well, and in addition Igor Cavalera has demanded some spotlight attention, throwing down plenty of solo drum action. Also the boys haven’t skimped on melody: a few songs feature some nicely done cello and violin work from the sounds of it. There’s not any songs here that compel me to advance to the next track. That’s a good thing. Since to me the last solid album this band released was Chaos A.D., back when they had shaken off looking to Slayer for inspiration but hadn’t yet moved on to Korn, I welcome the sound on this release.
(by Editor) ■
Toxic Holocaust Hell On Earth
(Nuclear War Now!)
This is raw punk with blown out Kreator-style vocals and shredding guitar solos. It’s good. Rumored to be someone from the Pee Tanks solo project. Whoever he is, the guy somehow just nailed it on this release, creating an enjoyable record from start to finish. Was it the Ed Repka cover that sealed the deal? Or that “Send Them To Hell” is one of the best songs ever written? I remain suspicious, as the whole thing seems very calculated, but still recommend the album. Hell, it sells for only $8.99 on CD for 11 songs, so it’s retro right down to the price tag. And I can’t argue with that.
(by Adam Perry) ■
