Natures With No Plagues

Fuck, Wolves! - Und zwischen all unseren Trümmern und Traumgebilden (2011)

2012-02-11T21:17:00.000+01:00

Wow, it has been a while since I wrote anything here and I bet you all thought that this little thing is dead by now. Well, yours truly is pretty much alive, though for the past few weeks only barely. My thesis writing, which is done by the way, consumed most of my time, so that coupled with some additional horrible happenings in my life managed to really drag me from doing anything, least of all writing here. I will try to muster some strength and willpower to write more often from now on, especially since in the second half of February I will be attending some extremely cool gigs, so show reviews will be abundant.

But enough about me, lets talk about "Fuck, Wolves!", a band really loved by your host. The four piece screamo band from Germany grabbed a hold of my liking ever since I heard their demo back in 2008. Additionally, the band really holds a special place in my heart, since they are involved in the first interview done for this blog, if you remember the dual interview I did after reviewing their split with "Chaos is...". In case you missed those, since they were done a long time ago, the interviews are found here and here, while the split review is found here.

To be honest, quite some time has passed since I last listened to this band, but coming back to them now instantly refreshes my thoughts on why I loved them so much back in the day of the demo. They were raw, aggressive and chaotic, going so far to extremes as to sounding like each member is playing without the notion of others, yet they somehow managed to fit in perfectly with one another. The sound was so crunchy and raspy that the shifts in melody came completely unexpected and much more impacting the listener. It took a bit of time to get used to the record quality, but once you get there you really fall in love with their music.

Needless to say, things have changed since then, albeit the band remained to be extremely pleasurable. A definite bridge between this release and the demo was the above mentioned "Chaos is..." split, since they took a bit of a style change and they stick with it even today. "Und zwischen all unseren Trümmern und Traumgebilden" brings us four new songs, one of which is a cover of another band from Germany called "Fargo". The opening song, "Kontraktionsphase", starts with a slow buildup which really succeeds in setting up a certain mood for the rest of the record. The tension builds up a bit after a vocal sample, with a sort of pinnacle of chaos being released past the first minute and a half. Curiously enough, the song goes up and down constantly with aggressive parts being intercepted with slower, more atmospheric melodies. The most interesting thing was that I could hear all sorts of influences the band could potentially have in that one song, ranging from the eerie tones that we can hear from "June Paik" to some early "Danse Macabre" and even "Louise Cyphre". After the, nearly experimental, first track comes "But Habbit Is A Great Deadener" which is a more classic "Fuck, Wolves!", an in your face, chaotic and rending song. The song just rushes past you with its insanely good buzzing sound which really managed to throw me back so close to the days of their first recordings.
The "Fargo" cover, more precisely "Leben macht Hungrig" from their "Zug Um Zug" release in 2009, is excellent. "Fuck, Wolves!" managed to keep the heaviness and the massive, beating riffs, yet they successfully molded the song in their own style. The grand finale comes in the form of "Heute ist auch nur Gestern 2.0", an excellent way to end this 7'', the track being on par with the opening song, with that atmosperic mood-setter which "Fuck, Wolves!" implement so well. This is definitely my favorite song from the release, since it bears something really specific which draws you time and time again to it. The growing tension, bridges and the crescendo of the song have an excellent composition, which at certain moments reminds me of several 90's screamo bands. While the melody keeps waving up and down, the listener is simply being drowned in a certain melancholic atmosphere. The band seems to excel very well at delivering a specific emotion through the speakers, a trait that not many bands can call their own.

As a whole, this release sounds like what "June Paik" would be prior to their demo from 2004. This might not make any sense to the readers, but it is logical in my crazy head. Needless to say, this is by no means a flaw or negative critic, but on the contrary quite a positive thing. "Fuck, Wolves!" continue to grow and after each release they evolve and mature, acquiring a darker and more ambiental trait along the way, which definitely serves them good. I'd like to thank Jens for sending me several copies of this great seven inch for the distro, which has been released by "Moment of Collapse" records in 2011, featuring some pretty rad artwork and design. Definitely check this band out, I guarantee you won't regret!

Via Fondo - Tar (2011)

2012-01-17T15:10:00.000+01:00

Download

Oh wow, it has been a while. Recently, I haven't been checking the blog at all, like I explained in the previous post, but things are going really slow with my thesis. It is an extremely bittersweet thing, since it is interesting to research and write about the subject, but it manages to drain all my will and inspiration to write something other than that. For days now I have been waking up with an enormous wish to post here, so I think that today I finally gave in. Hopefully people managed to be patient and stick around to even notice this.

Either way, I am very happy to begin the year with a passionately loved band by yours truly. Some of you might remember my, rather short and lame, review of the self titled release by "Via Fondo", written way back in the Summer of 2010. You can check it out here, in case you missed it, and see how much my amazement with the band was almost instant and this record just goes to prove that the love was permanent. "Tar" is by no means a recent album, since it came out in 2011, but my paws got it in vinyl format recently and the inspiration to write about it and share it with all of you just exploded. Furthermore, I noticed that the release didn't grab much attention from the audience and that the band in general remained quite underrated, which is a big no no.

The descendants of "Anemone", "Via Fondo", bring us this 7'' release which carries two new songs. In the very same moment when I played the first song, "Hals Over Huvud", the tunes coming from the speakers managed to throw me back to the day when I discovered this band. They still radiate with the thing that succeeded to take my breath away back then, the sheer amount of raw emotions imbued in their music and the tunes themselves sounding passionately. That first track begins with a cold, melancholic soundscape, having a very depressive, yet lively rhythm. It takes time to build up with intensity, keeping you on the edge with rising and falling constantly, until it gets to the middle, where you are met with a peak of their sound. The rushing melody, composed of rending riffs and superb drumming, takes you so fast toward the ending and leaving you stunned. After you are left shivering, the track "Bortvandhet" comes to pick you up with a happier tone, at the beginning at least. This is where I noticed a really interesting feature of this record, a sort of duality which both songs carry. Where the first song was a depressive one turned aggressive, the second track is jolly at first, but morphs into something that one could expect coming from a band like "Raein". Like the first track, "Bortvandhet" just snaps at the middle and takes a whole different course. The joyous intro of the song really lifts you up with its fast tones and singing, but you are remorselessly dropped to the ground on the first corner. The drumming and bass playing are suddenly lowered down, making way for an amazing guitar riff which manages to sculpt a completely new type of sound lasting until the end, dying out in chaos.

I would also like to take a few moments and lines to talk about the artwork and packaging. The lyrics, and thus the majority of the text inside, are written in Swedish and this made me sad. Just kidding, but aside of that, there are song meanings in English, to which I really managed to correlate, so this made me happy. The artwork found inside is really wonderful and it is done by Karl from the band by the way, like on the self titled release I believe. Speaking of his artwork, he also animated a video for one of their songs and you should check it out on their blog, found here, since it is beyond cool.

Thus far, aside of the two records reviewed here, "Via Fondo" is featured on a four way split with "Halal/Hadhari", "Sensor!Sensor!" and "Echo Echo Landscape!" and on a compilation done by "Tokyo Jupiter". It makes my heart fill with joy seeing this band being active and alive after almost two years of work. I honestly hope that nothing will stand in their way when it comes to future recordings and that this review manages to attract more listeners, since they really deserve the attention. Definitely check them out, you will surely enjoy.

2011 blog retrospective

2012-01-05T13:49:00.002+01:00

I have been feeling quite guilty for not providing regular posts and reviews, especially since a lot of bands have sent their material my way and I am honestly really eager to do some writing here. Despite my wish to share all of that with the readers, I have been sabotaged by several real life commitments and I just can't find the time to post things regularly. Currently most of my brain power is focused on writing my final paper for a diploma, something like a thesis, so the amounts of research I need to do and numerous complications with my own perfectionism are devouring my strength to write for something else. It is all not so tough, however, since my focus is also centered on some rather unexpected and beautiful life changing things, so all in all this resulted in the blog being more secondary. As I always say during the drought, I won't let the blog die, this is just a minor setback.
Until I post some up-to-date reviews and whatnot, here is a brief retrospective of the previous year. For 2010 I wrote a really extensive recapitulation of the year, but right now I think it would be hard to grasp everything, so here are some top fives of 2011, not in any particular order.

Top releases of 2011:
- Downfall of Gaia & In The Heart Of Emperors
- Vestiges & Ghaust
- Momentum - Wheeting Occam's Razor
- Light Bearer - Lapsus
- Thou - The Archer and The Owle

Runner-ups are:
- WITTR - Celestial Lineage
- Deafheaven - Roads To Judah

You will notice that there is no "Circle Takes The Square" here...and that is just because it isn't really a release, but rather a preview or something similar. If it was a complete release, it would definitely find its place among my top five.

Top 2011 featured on the blog:
- Todos Caeran & Bears
- Battle of Britain Memorial - The Aftermath of Your Bright Beings
- Raein - Sulla Linea D’orizzonte Rizzonte Tra Questa Mia Vita E Quella Di Tutti
- Flags Raised - Now or Never
- Coloumbian Necktie - Self titled

Top gigs of 2011:
- Nux Vomica, Helltard (Belgrade)
- Year Of No Light (at Fluff Fest)
- Battle of Wolf 359 (at Fluff Fest)
- Nadja, Aidan Baker, Ghone (Novi Sad)
- Downfall of Gaia, Reflections of Internal Rain (Novi Sad)

Top 2011 interviews on the blog:
- Panopticon
- Masakari
- Downfall of Gaia
- Resurrectionists
- Baton Rouge

Most visited posts of 2011:
1. Interview: Panopticon
2. Circle Takes The Square - Decompositions - Vol I. Chapter 1. Rites of Initiation
3. City Cop - The Hope In Forgiving & Giving Up Hope (2011)
4. Battle of Britain Memorial - The Aftermath Of Your Bright Beings (2011)
5. Interview:Downfall of Gaia

If some of you boys and girls are eager to share your top five releases of 2011, definitely leave a comment below, I'd like to read your thoughts.

Interview:Masakari

2011-12-27T13:55:00.000+01:00

It seems that this year is going to be ending in full interview power and I couldn't be more happy about that fact, since this really reminded me how much I enjoy talking to bands and "meeting" new people. In any case, thanks to Luka for connecting me with the amazing "Masakari" and thanks to Joe for answering the questions. Hope to see you guys on the road some day! Definitely check out this interview, it's an excellent read.

1. Hello friends! First, I would like to say thanks for taking your time for this interview. Please, introduce yourselves.

Hey my name is Joe and I play guitar. The rest of the band is Tony (Vocals), Greg (Guitar), Adam (Bass) and Jon (Drums)

2. "Masakari" is a Japanese battle axe as far as I know. Tell me why did you pick that name and is there a specific story behind it?

Honestly, as most bands will probably tell you, we spent a long time trying to come up with a name and we just kind of like how it sounded. Plus it had a cool meaning, and it was an added bonus that is was Japanese because we tend to be Japanese fanatics.

3. Aside of the name, your music is influenced by several Japanese bands. What managed to draw you close to that music in particular?

Cleveland has always had a closeness with the Japanese scene. Every popular band I can think of from Cleveland from "H100s", "9 Shocks Terror" and even "Integrity" had heavy influences from Japanese Hardcore. We just all fell in love with bands like "Death Side", "Gauze", "GISM", "Judgement" and "Bastard" (amongst many others) and haven't stop jamming those records since we first heard them.

4. Next to Japanese hardcore punk, can you tell me which bands and styles inspired you to create music?

Probably most apparent is our influences by American crust/hardcore bands, most importantly "His Hero Is Gone". It is no secret that we craft our sound off of what they were doing. Their records are flawless and we try to take the intensity in their records and filter it through our own creative writing abilities. We aren't that unique and we don't care to be. We try to write music that we would want to listen to. Other influences come from all over the place, but I would have to say that pretty much everything coming out of Germany has a huge personal influence on me. Next to "His Hero Is Gone", I think "Perth Express" has the strongest impact on me. What they did in such a short time is something that will never not impress me.

5. When did the band form and how did the idea to create a project such as "Masakari" arise?

"Masakari" formed in 2006, we originally started writing epic sounding crust. After about 2 years of doing this, and realizing we weren't very good at it, we decided to strip things down, play faster, heavier and write much shorter songs. We scratched all of our material and started fresh with all new songs. 5 of the first 8 songs we wrote formed the first 7".

6. Your most recent release is a split LP with the German band "Alpinist". How did that collaboration occur?

It actually happened rather quickly. The last day of our first European tour, we were hanging out with Timo (Alerta Antifascista) and talking about records/listening to records when he mentioned that we should do a split with "Alpinist". Of course we jumped on the idea because at the time "Alpinist" was on constant repeat for the majority of the band. Originally we didn't think anything would come of it, but about 3 months later we began the planning process...

7. Can you tell me something more about the split itself? And some interesting bits and pieces about your previous releases?

The split represents, to me, the most important material we have written so far. It is the first proper release with Adam on bass, as well as being the record I am most proud of lyrically and musically. I think it really represents a growth we went through as a band. The first 7" is actually a funny story too, because we actually recorded it 2-3 times prior to the recording that can be heard on the record. We just originally couldn't find the sound we wanted. We were extremely meticulous with the recording process and we can't be happier that we decided to do it the way we did.

8. "Masakari" releases always featured some very interesting artwork, so who creates it?

Everything we have released has been created by someone new, and we like it that way. The original 7" was created by "KENNTWOFOUR", the repress of the 7" is a piece of art from Gustave Dore with a drawing
from "Halseycaust" in the insert, the LP is by one of my favorite artists Sugi, the "Sleep//Rot" 7" was designed by myself and the split artwork was drawn by Alex CF. We like that every release looks a bit different but still maintains the dark aspect that our music also has.

9. You have also toured with "Alpinist" recently. What were your impressions about the said tour and are there some plans about doing a European tour with them? Do you enjoy being on the road?

The tour with "Alpinist" could not have been more fun. They are one of the most real and down to earth group of people and we completely connected with them. I wish I could tour with them every time we hit the road. We actually are currently in the process our planning a European tour with them that will begin in July 2012 and end in Augsust! I think being on the road has its disadvantages, but overall I couldn't be happier than when touring. Touring is one of the most exhilarating experiences and I anticipate starting immediately when tour ends.

10. Which was your most memorable "Masakari" show?

That is a hard question, there have been so many, but I think I have to say that playing Maryland Death Fest will probably always come to mind. There is nothing like being on the same bill as so many bands
that are completely amazing, and so many bands that we grew up listening to. It is one of the most well run festivals I have ever seen and I only hope to be able to play again!

11. I noticed that you are dog lovers, loving pit bulls in particular. What is the situation in your hometown when it comes to organized dog fights and is there a discrimination of pit bulls? I am asking since here there is such a situation, the government even wanted to ban the holding of this race of dogs at one instance. I would like to hear your general thoughts about this matter, about dogs, fights and all those bastards that revel in something like that and earn money from it.

Dog fighting doesn't seem to be huge in Cleveland, but I know it happens, what is more common are assholes who think that the dogs are only good as pieces of jewelry. They walk their dogs with gigantic chains and clip their ears, all so their dogs look menacing. We as a band are absolutely disgusted by this. 3 of us own pit bulls and we understand their true nature, which couldn't be farther from the menacing nature in which people like that and the media would like others to believe. As far as bans, the city of Cleveland, where we live, actually recently just revoked any discrimination laws against them. Now we can freely own Pits without dealing with the bullshit laws that just recently existed. However, many cities in America have these laws still and a lot of cities do outright ban them, including a suburb outside of Cleveland, actually about 2 miles from where I live.

12. Back to music subjects, tell me something about your local scene in Cleveland. Are there many active bands and venues, any fanzines? Anything in particular that you love or hate about the scene?

I always have a love/hate relationship with Cleveland. Cleveland's scene is hit or miss, it will have its moments of greatness and then moments of absolute horrific-ness. All in all it is my home and will always be important for me. We have tons of great bands (check out "Grin and Bear It", one of the best fast hardcore bands out there period) and two solid punk venues ("Now That's Class" and "The Tower 2012"), which is a lot more than most cities have so I can't complain.

13. Since you have been touring a fair bit, what are your impressions about diy music on a more global scale? Do you enjoy what the diy bands of today are doing?

I'd have to say that no one knows how to handle DIY punk ethics better than European punks. The treatment of bands, the political ideology, etc.. is just on another level. I can't tell you how much of a relief it is to know that no matter what, every show on tour we will be fed and have a place to stay is just about the greatest thing. In America DIY punk is awesome but still has a little ways to go. Touring Europe really had a positive effect on us, because since we have been modeling the shows we book after them.

14. Tell me something more about your own experiences with diy ethics. Do you find some elements tough on the band and, in contrast, do you consider that the diy approach creates a more intimate relationship between the musician and the music?

DIY purists may not consider us DIY since we released the CD on "Southern Lord" but everything we have ever done has been within the DIY community. We can't exist as a band without that community. We are happier playing small punk houses/venues than big clubs, and while we still have fun playing some big shows here and there our home will always be inside the DIY community.

15. Any thoughts about diy music and the internet? Do you consider the internet being a valuable tool for underground bands? And do you follow some specific blogs or webzines?

The internet is double-edged. It makes it so easy to share our music with the world, and it has helped us reach the people we have reached, and for that we are grateful, but it also makes the music community over-saturated and I think that it causes some people to feel that they can pick and choose what bands to listen to based on superficial reasons, rather than base bands on their music. The internet though has really allowed an exchange of free music globally that we can't be more behind, we have said this time and time again but will continue to say it, we love having people download our music and think that digital music should always be free. For internet sites check out "CVLT Nation", "Crustcake", "Brooklyn Vegan" and "Toxicbreed Funhouse".

16. Time for you to ask something!
What are some Serbian bands that I should be aware of?…and what is the political state of Serbia like, does this infiltrate the punk scene?

I have been asked this first question numerous times before and I always end up listing the same bands, so I guess that makes them really good! My favorite band is definitely "Dazd", which everyone needs to check out, apocalyptic crust/punk at its best. "Reflections of Internal Rain" are also worth the note, playing an extremely fast and melodic crust/hardcore combination. You should also check out "Went", if you are into mellow postrock/acoustic/low-fi music. And definitely the newly risen band from Novi Sad, "Furtive Forest", an emotional hardcore act which just released their first recordings and I managed to miss their gig a few days ago so they probably hate me now. Those bands are active, but there are lots of projects worth the note from the past, like "Ground Zero" and "Unison".
As for the political state of things...I don't really like talking about stuff like that here, you can check my tumblr page for a look at my (a)political opinion of things. But generally, what I consider most disturbing about the state of such things in Serbia is the amount of media manipulation and similar bullshit, which is too subtly influenced by politics. If it weren't for the internet, we would probably be like living in caves. But the sad thing is that the majority has fallen to such manipulations and it actually results in people being overtly stupefied and younger generations turning horrible. There are political aspects that seep through into music and stuff like that does manage to inspire some bands here, but they usually end up being not my cup of tea, so to speak.

17. Aside of "Masakari", are the memebers of the band associated with some other music projects, both past and present?

Yes currently we all have side projects I am also in "Wind of Death", "Little Sister" and "Trespasser", Tony: "Gasmask" and two unnamed projects, Greg is in a new also unnamed project, Jon: "Wind of Death" and both unnamed projects with Tony and Adam is also in "Heartless".

18. Since you are all young in the band, are there some schools or jobs next to music related work? Some hobbies even?

Currently Tony, Jon and myself are pursuing degrees, while Adam works a series of jobs and Greg works full time. Other than working music takes up a lot of time, but I think we all have hobbies that we like to do, for me I love seeing films.

19. The year is almost over. Do you have some music releases which marked this year for you? Or are there any overall favorite records you would like to recommend?

This is coming from me, but my favorite releases this year are Heartless' "Hell is Other People", Ghost's "Opus Eponymous", Alpinist's side of our split, Midnight's "Satanic Royalty", Hungry Lungs' 7" and
Dead in the Dirt's "Fear" 7".

20. In the end, I would like to thank you again for doing this interview! Any final messages for the blog readers?
Can't wait to get to Serbia, and stay in contact!

Interview:Panopticon

2011-12-22T17:02:00.000+01:00

This is probably the interview I was most excited about doing (I guess Luka also shares my thoughts about that) and it finally arrived. Austin took his time with the answers due to his various commitments, but the wait definitely paid off. Excellent interview, definitely check it out, big thanks to Austin once again!

1. Hello Austin, how are you? First I would like to thank you for taking your time and doing this interview. Please, introduce yourself.

Thanks for the interview! My Name is Austin Lunn. I play everything in "Panopticon".

2. When and how did the idea to create "Panopticon" arise? And why that name? As much as I know, it is a prison.

I had just quit a band I had been working with for years and was living with a friend who is a recording engineer (his name is also Austin Lunn...weird huh!) and we had some spare time one day to record, so he recorded me playing some raw black metal. Every now and then we would record songs I wrote and eventually we had enough for an album. I put the album out myself (under a DIY record label we decided to start) with hand screened packaging and xeroxed booklets (the wrong ones were printed...FULL of typos and spelling errors! Ha.) It was just intended to be something for me and my friends, nothing serious...and then it started getting more attention and grew from there.
The name is from Jeremy Bentham's architectural model. I think it is a good metaphor for society. How through the illusions of the media and our own lazy ignorance we police ourselves.

3. Is it hard working as a one man band? Thus far, what have been your experiences concerning that, both good and bad?

No. It is really fun. It is a good way to be creative, to release stress and have a cathartic outlet.I love doing a solo project. It has pushed me to learn recording, learn new instruments, try new things.

4. Tell me something about your local music scene. Is there anything particular that you love or hate about it?

There are a lot of doom bands here at the moment. Generally our scene is pretty small (in regards to metal). I love Louisville just because of the people. I don't really go to shows a lot anymore...I am married with a child on the way, a professional brewer and musician, so my time is pretty eaten up. But when I get the chance to go to gigs, I do enjoy it.

5. And what are your thoughts about this kind of music on a global picture?

I think people take black metal way too seriously. Music is an outlet, not a holy grail or an idol we worship. I don't really even consider "Panopticon" to be a purely black metal band. I would like to think it is just metal, but it has so many stylistic ties to black metal...but that is the point, it isn't about fitting in, it is about creating what you feel and want to hear.

6. For now you have released several albums and a few splits, tell me something more about your work thus far.

I just released a new album "Social Disservices" and I have a new one, "Kentucky", on the way. Both are concept albums about things I care deeply about. It was good to explore them fully and I hope folks enjoy the records.

7. When we talked you mentioned that you are currently working on a new album. I also see that some songs are already done, so when can we expect the album in its final form?

Everything is done, SD is out but "Kentucky" won't be out till Spring.

8. Do you have a circle of people around you who work with you or do you always work alone? As much as I heard, you have guest appearances on your records, even a member of the legendary "Amebix" was present on the last album.

My friends hang out some times while I am working. Some times they will assist in engineering. I like to have guests, usually friends like Jack (from "Seidr"/"Kôlga"/"Giant Kind"), Johan ("Austaras") or Rob (from "Amebix"). I think recording with your friends can be a special thing.

9. Tell me something more about the things that influence the sound and form of "Panopticon"?

"Weakling", "Emperor", early "Dark Throne", "Amebix", "Neurosis", "Death", "Sepultura", "Gorguts", "Hypocrisy", "Opeth", "Katatonia", "Bathory", "Docc watson", "Townes Van Zandt", "Johnny Cash", "Flatt & Scruggs", "Pete Steele" (the bluegrass musician, not the Type o guy), "Tater Tate", "Godspeed You Black Emperor", "The Apple Seed Cast", "Mono", "King's x", "Camel", "Pink Floyd", "Neil Young", "Crass", "My Dying Bride", "Control Denied"...the list goes on and on...

10. On the previous album there are a lot of refferences to the highly influental movie "The Seventh Seal" by Ingmar Bergman. You also have the final scene of the movie tattooed on your arm. Tell me something about your thoughts concerning that movie and how much did Bergman actually influence your work and in what way?

That film is my favorite film. I struggle with mortality and spirituality a lot since my Ol' Man died, and I think Bergman really addressed those issues in a way I can understand. It is an intense film, and the OTSOM album kind of coincides with it.

11. On several photographs I saw that you do ink print screening on wooden boxes for "Panopticon" releases. You also do patches and shirts, so tell me something more about that? How much is this aspect of "Panopticon" important to you, since this way of crafting is slowly dying due to modernization?

I have always been very DIY. I grew up in that scene. I think it provides a personal touch to the band. At this point, the project has gotten past me being able to keep up with the demand, so I do less and less DIY things...but most often, when you get a "Panopticon" shirt, I silk screened it. So that is kinda cool, if it is something you care about. It is nice to make connections with the bands you like. I know I get excited when a record or something has a story or connection behind it.

12. You are also involved in several other music projects, can you tell me something more about that?

"Seidr", my doom band. I have a band with Jack called "Kôlga" and some other projects in the works. I also do session gigs.

13. Aside of music, do you have some other hobbies?

Yeh. I am an avid out doorsman, Fly Fisherman, I like traveling, gardening, brewing beer (but that has become my job, so I guess it isn't a hobby anymore). But mostly I like to spend time with my family.

14. You are an anarchist and a pagan. Could you tell me your thoughts concerning these two ideologies? How did you actually get entwined with these ways of life and what makes them appealing to you?

I think there is a difference between political and spiritual. I have an interest in history. I think there is a lot to learn from the past,and both of those concepts, paganism and anarchism, have a rich history that is at our fingertips. I was exposed to classical anarchism at a young age and the love for liberty and autonomy has always rung in my ears, and as I soul search, various forms of paganism seem to be where I fit in the world. It is personal, intimate and private. It isn't a schtick or a gimmick, it is just an aspect of who I am.

15. I wanted to ask you about the runes and Thor's hammer. Here, the surrounding is a bit conservative when it comes to those things, so if you are seen with those kinds of markings you are immediately tagged as a national socialist. Tell me something about that when it comes to your local environment, is the situation similar or not?

Those are ancient symbols that existed long before any of this political bull shit. I hate the fact that people are assuming that some one who bears those marks is one way or another politically. Spirituality and Politics are two different things. Thor's hammer is a fertility symbol, a symbol of life and strength, not a symbol of hate. The runes brought wisdom to men (according to the lore) and the ability to communicate, divination from the gods...these are things that are a part of an ethnic culture and sacred, not something to just be slapped around for the sake of posturing, right OR left. It is my hope that people will be aware of the power in symbolism and not misuse it.

16. I am always interested in hearing what do my interlocutors listen to in their free time. Which releases in the past year grasped your attention the most? And what are your all time favorites?

"Falls of Rauros", "Blood of the black owl", "Fauna", "Warning", "Townes Van zandt" ,the new "Wolves in the Throne Room", "Death" and "Songs:Ohia" have been my playlist lately.

17. Time for you to ask a question!
What was Carl Sagan's pen name when he wrote about Cannabis usage?

A pretty interesting thing to ask, if I may say so. The pseudonym was "Mr. X", of course.

18. What are your thoughts when it comes to diy music and the internet? Do you have some particular blogs or webzines which you actively follow?

I have blogs I like to follow just because they put up new bands I haven't heard yet. But I am not much of a blogger type.

19. At the moment, what are your plans for the future with "Panopticon"?

I have a few splits to prepare for...but honestly, I want to work on "Seidr" for a bit and then maybe record a folk/bluegrass record. So "Panopticon" may chill out for a bit. Who knows!

20. In the end, thank you so much once again, hope you enjoyed the interview. Any final message for the readers?

Thanks to all of ya'll. I appreciate the folks who might see me at a gig and drink a beer with me, or the people who write me letters from the heart, and all the folks who pick up the records and listen to them. Thank you all so much. I appreciate everything you do for me, and I hope I can repay you with music in the years to come.

Thanks again for the interview.

Interview:Resurrectionists

2011-12-16T12:18:00.003+01:00

Finally, the streak of Luka and me having no luck with receiving answers from bands is broken, thanks to this wonderful interview with "Resurrectionists"! Extremely happy that we got the chance talk to Björn and Lars, once again thanks for your time! Hope you boys and girls enjoy the read, it's been a while since the previous interview.

1. First I would like to thank you for accepting to do this interview. Please, introduce yourself and the rest of the band.

We are Björn , Sabine, Nils, Jojo , Lars and with us are most of the time Leia-Mae, Amelie and Jasmin.

2. A bit of a classic opening for the interview, so tell us the story behind the formation of the band.

L: Well , we discussed this a few times now. It seems like Björn had the idea to do another band and since he knew me and Sabine from being in bands together before and actually being in a band at that time with Jojo he just brought everyone together. the funny thing is - no one really know why and how Nils got involved - seems like he heard of it and showed up during the first practises and simply stayed in the band hehe...

3. Why did you choose the name "Resurrectionists" and what does it mean to you as a band?

B: “Resurrectionists” were people, who dug out recently deceased to sell their corpses for medical research. First of all the name sounded appealing to me and it is not too common. Plus nobody came up with a better idea. So you see there isn’t really a deeper meaning behind the name.

4. One can hear a score of genres and different soundscapes in your tunes. How would you describe the music you create and what are you biggest influences?

B: On how I use my voice my influences are more in the death and black metal genre. Basically I would describe us as a punk band or if you need a specification a grindcore band. On a show flyer we were once described as “steamroller”, what suits pretty well I think, hehe.

L: Personally we all have different musical tastes that range from old death metal to mid 90s emo - musically we are influenced mainly by grindcore/powerviolence and emoviolence... We love blast beats, but also this melancholic touch of bands like "Uranus" or "Orchid" and the heaviness of bands like "Buried Inside" or "Planks" to name a more actual one :)

5. Your lyrics are written in German, so tell us something about them. Who usually writes, what are they about and what inspires you the most?

B: Sabine and I are writing all lyrics for "Resurrectionists" and we always try to include English explanations to our records. I would say my lyrics are more general and misanthropic. They tend to be dark and bleak and mostly with a negative outlook. I’m more influenced by literature or just by watching the news than by any other band.

6. You released a demo, an LP and several split records. Tell us a bit more about those releases, did they all have some specific ups and downs as far as recording went? Which one of those are you most fond of?

B: All of our records are somehow special for me, but both songs and sound on the split with "Lich" I like most. You are always happiest with your newest output, right!?

L: This is hard to tell - I really like the 12" because Stefan created this awesome artwork for us. And even though the recordings aren't the best that we have done, the atmosphere of the sound fits pretty well to the rest.

Then again I love the people and music of all our split partners so far and couldn't be happier with the choices we made!

7. The mentioned splits were with "Battle of Wolf 359", "Lich", "Merkit" and "Arse Moreira". How did all of those happen?

L: We have met the "Merkit" guys when they were on tour in Europe the first time and I really admired their passion about what they're doing. They definitely have the heart on the right spot and are working hard to contribute to and enrich the diy-punk scene (now with their new bands, zines and labels). It made perfect sense to me to ask em for a split release... same for "Battle of Wolf 359"... I know Sam and Derek for quite a while now and we're good friends... and it was obvious that we have to split a release with their new band "Lich" as well :)

8. Are you currently working on some new material? In general, what are your plans for the future?

B: I’ve written a small concept on atheism and right now we are writing songs for this. It might be released as a seven inch, but we will see what future brings.

L: We'll be touring with "Thou" for a week in June and play some festivals next year... we'd love to record for a bigger vinyl output, but I m really slow with writing songs at the moment...

9. Some readers probably don't know that you also run a diy label called "React With Protest". Give us some brief info about it, with which bands you worked, records you released thus far, etc.

L: Sabine and I started the label 10 years ago with our friend Fabian as an attempt to support friends and our own bands... the first release was a compilation 12" called "About Life In A Dead World" that featured mainly local bands and bands we were involved in at that time... Up to now we've been part of 60 releases - you can find a list and more infos on www.reactwithprotest.org

10. Similar to question number eight, what are your plans for the label at this point?

L: At the moment the BEAU NAVIRE/ REPUBLIC OF DREAMS split 7" is at press , planned is: TITAN 2x12", LENTIC WATERS / PLANKS split 12" and a new TEMPEST 12" before summer 2012...We just released the HUNGRY LUNGS 7" last week...

11. Being involved with label work and having a band, what are your experiences with diy ethics?

L: It works! We met and still meet a lot of awesome individuals and collectives that make it go on. Sometimes you get the impression that it s a real small core of activists, but then you meet someone else and you realise it's maybe just yourself that circles in the same periphery all the time... If there wouldn't be these three letters involved I'd be just a metalhead with "extreme" political views I guess...

12. "Resurrectionists" features former members of "The Apoplexy Twist Orchestra" and "Arsen AKA König Der Monster". How do those people feel when they compare their involvement with those ex-projects and the current one? Is the process of creating music dramatically different in some way?

B: The process is the same since Lars is the main (or should I say only) composer in "Resurrectionists" as he was in "The Apoplexy Twist Orchestra". The rest is slightly different, because we are older and more experienced now, plus, when we play shows we always travel with Lars and Sabine's kids.

L: It was different with Arsen cause most of the music was written by at least three people but as Björn said already it's not a big difference to T.A.T.O.... since I'm not really the best guitarist I'm pretty happy we found another awesome drummer that can make the shit work ;)

13. Are band members involved in other music projects at the moment? I know that some play in "Ding Dong Dead", but the band went through some changes, correct?

L: Yes . Almost all members of "Ding Dong Dead" are now in "Lentic Waters" and we are sharing the same drummer. I am playing bass in a new band called "Republic of Dreams" with two of the loveliest people in the world... We recorded for a split 7" with "Beau Navire" which should be out in early January.

14. I'm interested about the scene in your hometown. Are there a lot of active bands, zines, venues where gigs take place? Is there anything that you love and/or hate about it?

L: Sabine and I are from the deepest countryside. We don't have a scene at all. The next town with a scene would be Mmünster... The most active band I know from münster is "Alpinist"... These guys are also involved in a concert group that sets up shows in different locations there.

15. Similarly, what do you think about the scene in Germany as a whole? Do you have some favorite bands which you would recommend to the readers?

B: Everything changed a little over the years, but I think the scene is still vital and good. Bands worth checking out are: "Hungry Lungs" (!!!), "Planks" (although I think everybody knows them by now), "Alpinist", "The Gentle Art Of Chokin'", "Republic of Dreams", "Lentic Waters"…

16. Do you have some particular thoughts regarding diy music and the internet? Are you actively following some blogs or webzines?

B: Every now and then I stop by at the “Red and Anarchist Black Metal” blogspot, but not on a regular basis.

L: There s a nice blog about older canadian hardcore/metal/emo bands called howcantheyintendtoheal.wordpress.com that I've been following for some time ...

17. Time for you to ask a question!

What's the diy scene like in Serbia? Recommendations (bands? labels? groups?)

I've been asked this question before and have been bashed by the locals for my answer, since I (and a lot of other people, in fact) am quite bitter about the situation here. The scene is extremely weak, to none existent, in Belgrade at least. Novi Sad, the second biggest city, started building up a really nice scene and I predict some interesting projects bursting from there in the future. Bands which I would recommend are "Dazd" (in my opinion, probably the best band hailing from this soil, killer apocalyptic crust), "Reflections of Internal Rain" (whom you maybe already know), "Went", "Ground Zero", the Novi Sad newborn "Furtive Forest"...to name a few. There are several active zines and I am also considering to turn "Natures With No Plagues" into physical, paper media. I'd also like to point out one group of people doing a zine and booking shows based in Novi Sad, going under the name "Rebuild Collective".

18. Aside of work regarding music, do band members have some other hobbies, jobs/attending schools, sports, etc.?

L: Sabine is also working at an organic store and I'm mainly caring about the label. Björn and Nils are studying and Jojo works with kids at school.

19. Are members of "Resurrectionists" interested or support some kind of activism? Human/animal rights, ecology, etc.?

B: I think all of us are interested in left wing politics including animal rights, etc. to a certain extent, but none of us is an activist.

L: Most of us are part of a bimonthly vegan brunch group that supports different projects through donations... I guess some of us would like to be more active, but through a mixture of being busy and lack of local activist groups that we feel comfortable with it has not happened so far...

20. The year 2011 slowly draws to an end. Which releases left a mark on you this year? And what are your all time favorites?

B: I’m a little lazy now and will just name the bands.

All time favourites: "One Eyed God Prophecy"; "Union of Uranus"; "Chokehold"; "Orchid"; "The Swarm"; "Emperor"; "Dissection"; "Entombed" (early); "Behemoth"; "Neurosis"; "The Cure" + the ones I forgot

2011: "Wolves in the Throne Room"; "Chelsea Wolfe"; "A Storm of Light"; "Tempest"; "Dead in the Dirt"; "The Devil’s Blood; "Anaal nathrakh"; "Rwake" + a few more

L: I got to know and fell in love with "Tempest" this year. Awesome new angry, dark and heavy Canadian band which will tour europe in 2012! "Thou" blew me away at Cry me a River Fest - couldn't stop listening to random stuff of them for weeks. "Veloz", "Hungry Lungs", "Beau Navire", "Lich", "The Gentle Art of Chokin'", "Planks", "Lentic Waters", "Black Cobra", "Zann" are bands I enjoyed over the year as well... plus a bunch that I can t think of right now. Forgive me I'm getting older...

Classic: "One Eyed God Prophecy" - s/t 12", "Jeromes Dream 10"", "Orchid" - Chaos Is Me 12", "Acrid" - all of it, "Chokehold" - Content with Dying 12", "Union of Uranus" - Desaster by Design 12", "Infest" - mankind 7", "Earth Crisis" - Destroy the Machines 12", "Hellnation" - At War with Emo 5"

21. Once again, thank you so much for doing this interview! Do you have a final message for the readers of this blog?

B: Visit: leichenraeuber.blogspot.com there you can find all our records for free download. Thanks for your interest!!

L: Blogs are great - just make sure you give something back if you like it! Go to shows - show support! Keep the underground vital and alive!

Thanks for your interest.

CN Roundhouse Kick & Distinct Cult - Tour update

2011-12-07T17:42:00.000+01:00

Less than three weeks until these two bands hit the road, so get ready. They still need some help with a few dates and some have yet to be absolutely confirmed. Check out the list and see if you can help them out. Dates are as follows:

25.12. – POL – Ruda Slaska @ Adk Berza[http://www.myspace.com/ataksilesia]
26.12. – POL – Lublin @ Tektura [http://www.tektura.wordpress.com/]
27.12. – SK – Need help
28.12. – RO – Cluj Napoca @ La Gazette[http://www.lagazette.ro/]
29.12. – RO – Sibiu @ Bohemian Flow[http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bohemian-Flow-ArtPub/175956317326?sk=info]
30.12. – RO – Brasov @ Ground Zero club [http://www.facebook.com/ground.zero.club]
31.12. – RO – Bukarest @ Underworld [http://www.facebook.com/underworld.ro?sk=info]
01.01. – day off
02.01. – BUL – Plovdiv @ Puzzle [http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rock-Club-Puzzle/129083057220?sk=info]
03.01. – TUR – Istanbul
04.01. – GR - Need Help
05.01. – GR – Athen
06.01. – GR – Volos @ Riot Squat [http://www.riotsquat.wordpress.com/]
07.01. – GR – thessaloniki @ Biologica [http://biologicasquad.blogspot.com/]
08.01. – SER – Novi Sad
09.01. – HU – Ajka
10.01. – AUT – Graz @ Sub [http://subsubsub.at/]
11.01. – CZ – Need help

You can get in touch with "CN Roundhouse Kick" through their site found here and with "Distinct Cult" via their myspace page here. In the meantime, I will most likely review and put their tunes up on the blog, just so you get a quick glimpse at what awaits you on a live show.

Smallish updates

2011-12-05T14:42:00.000+01:00

I really haven't been in the mood for writing these days, since my mind has been preoccupied by some other interesting things, but I'll get back on track in a short while, especially since a number of packages arrived at my door. In the meantime, I took the time to edit some reviews I did at the start of this blog, since I have discovered a lot of typos and pics gone missing. Going to filter the entire blog this way, so it might take some time. Additionally, interview questions have been sent to the band "Resurrectionists", so hopefully that will break the chain of failed interviews I have been faced with in the past couple of months.
Also, just wanted to draw your attention toward a new update on the "Tigersuit Zine" page. Merch has been added as a way to raise some money for the printing of issue number four. Go and check it out and get in touch if you are interested in those cool "Tigersuit" bags!

Battle of Britain Memorial - The Aftermath Of Your Bright Beings (2011)

2011-11-22T13:32:00.001+01:00

http://battleofbritainmemorial.bandcamp.com/

Just a quick note before the actual review, since I forgot to mention it in one of the previous posts. All you boys and girls from bands which have, in the past months, sent me a request for being posted here will be written about, even without the previously mentioned physical consent. I don't want to bother you people now with that and will carry the responsibility if some troubles occur. But, bands which in the meantime have already sent me something via mail, like this band and "The Canyon Observer", will go up front a bit, just not to make them wait. Worry not, no one will be neglected and I am really thankful to everyone interested in being on this blog.

"Battle of Britain Memorial" is a four piece act hailing from Toulouse, France. Initially a trio which came together in April 2009, the band expanded its ranks with one more member in the following October and it became their final setup. The band first appeared to the crowd in May 2010 and their recordings saw the light of day one year later, when in May 2011 they released "The Aftermath Of Your Bright Beings". And yes, once again French music manages to highly impress.
This album is truly a beast which succeeded to trample over me upon the very first listen, lashing out a combination of post rock, post metal and screamo. Packed up with six songs and almost forty minutes of music, the tracks are truly massive and composed in such a way that they completely consume your attention. The thing that really intrigued me at first was the fact that every band member has equal amounts of time under the spotlight and everything seems balanced. When I say this I don't just mean the ability of the listener to hear and enjoy every tone when the entire band plays together, but rather instances when a particular instrument steps up and becomes dominant. The perfect example is the opening track, "Welcome to Rapture", which begins with some eerie and atmospheric guitar playing. Later, when the song progresses a bit, one gets the feeling that the drums become the leading instrument, while at the end you get to hear the bass being alone and carrying the song toward the end. This exhibition of certain aspects of the band is present throughout the album and is perfectly executed, since it doesn't sound forced upon, but rather ultimately flowing. Of course, the same goes for the vocal performance which sometimes literally drags the tunes with a forceful command. Swinging between singing so gentle that it seems more like humming at times and a raspy, violent scream, the pinnacles of the verbal sections are quite powerful. I must admit that I really enjoyed the vocals, since the voice is somehow filled with a lot of tension and emotion, the listener having the feeling like it is about to crack any second. Additionally an interesting thing is the use of audio samples which definitely play an important role in this release, because at times they are pushed so much up front that it seems like they are the fifth member of the band.
"The Aftermath Of Your Bright Beings" is a concept album in its core and the flow of the idea is quite good. There is a certain trait of metamorphosis while you listen, since the overall feel of the album changes from aggressive at the beginning and leaning to a more gentle side toward the end. It is not an actual change of style, but much rather a mood swing. Thanks to this, a specific experimental aspect can be sensed in the music and "Battle of Britain Memorial" makes good use of it. Constant tempo changes, the already mentioned tone domination, shifts in mood and the application of samples really paved the way for a high dose of variation when it comes to song composition. Furthermore, this is all enveloped with some excellent production and sound quality thanks to Jérémie Mazan, guitarist of "Nephalokia".
In the end, what to say other than "check this band out". If you are into some music similar to "Rosetta", "Envy", "Time To Burn" and "Arroyo", but crafted in a style contributed solely to "Battle of Britain Memorial", you will not be disappointed. I'd like to thank Jérémy from "Blue Wave Production", the label/booking/promotion from France, for contacting me and for sending the lovely cd, which sadly suffered some damage thanks to a careless postman. You can get in touch with "BWP" via the label's myspace page here and also visit the band's official website found here, where you can download this release. Enjoy!

Distro update

2011-11-19T12:01:00.000+01:00

Yeah, so these days I am extremely hooked with listening to "Agalloch" and "Nest" and just can't make myself listen to something else that needs to be reviewed. Until then, I updated the distro section with some new stuff. Remember that although the list is in Serbian, feel free to get in touch even if you are from another country and we will work something out. Some new records are yet to be added, so I will update the list again in the following days.

Gig review: Ghone, Aidan Baker, Nadja

2011-11-15T14:04:00.000+01:00

Alright, this is a review of a gig to which I was seriously looking forward to in quite a long time. Usually when my brain has that much time to ponder about an upcoming show, I kinda get myself in an over-hyped mood and my expectations are set really high. What happened a few nights ago managed to blow those expectations to oblivion and amaze me beyond words. This was magnificent.

The event happened last Sunday, more precisely 13 November 2011, yet again in "CK13", Novi Sad. Shows just keep popping up in that town that it seriously makes me consider moving over there, if anything to save money I would usually spend to travel to the city. But going back to reality, after some geek action on a "Werewolf: The Apocalypse" session on Sunday, I set off on the trip around 6 PM, catching the train which was surprisingly not late. To my sadness I was travelling alone, so the time during the ride was spent reading some anarchist material I managed to amass, drinking tea and finally arriving to the station somewhere around 8 PM. The gig was supposed to start in one hour from then, so I took a longish slower walk through the city to reach the venue, though the bone piercing wind outside wasn't that pleasant and it actually made me more tired than the walk itself. Arrived, bought ticket, stood in the corner because I was the only person attending alone and probably looking weird, found a neat place near the very stage and somewhere around 9:30 PM the gig began.
"Ghone", a one man project from Greece was the first to create music that night. All his equipment (and that of "Nadja") was set on a little table on the stage, everything being illuminated by one single small lamp, the rest of the lights above the performer being shut off. The audience was slowly getting quiet and "Ghone" cut through the silence with sharp tribal like drumming, with slow and eerie pauses between the beats. The melody was slowly building up and completely entrancing, the sound further expanded with guitar playing. No, not with a pick or with fingers, but with a drum stick. The entire scene where you see "Ghone" enveloped in darkness and using the guitar almost as a violin, creating the most horrific and weird sound was amazing. That entire part of his set was ultimately chilling and grim, tension constantly building up and the sound getting bigger and bigger. What was truly excellent was the progression of the performance, since that eerie tone was slowly transformed into a mellow, gentle and soothing post rock-like melody. It was unbelievably relaxing after all those weird tunes and "Ghone" took his time to set the audience once again at ease. Yet it was a trap, since after all the beauty we were faced with came the darkness once again and we were smashed with some aggressive sections which served as a crescendo moment to end his performance.
After a small pause and a change of light, Aidan Baker got up on stage, taking his guitar and succeeding in taking the crowd for an extremely interesting ride. Repeatedly striking the strings with his palm, Baker created a soundscape which is really hard to describe, but astounding to behold. Watching and listening as he slowly weaved a complex sound construction with constant changes on the pedal knobs and different ways of stroking the strings, managed to make me imagine scenes from the book "Neuromancer". As if flying through the Sprawl, the mood invoked was, personally for me, somewhere between grim and seemingly hopeful. Like I wrote above, extremely hard to describe, but equally mind twisting at the same time. When the crowd was almost completely enveloped in the sound, Leah Buckareff slowly got on stage. She took the bass and masterfully adapted and melded with the ongoing melody created by Baker and thus "Nadja" was formed.
Up until this point, my enjoyment and general entrancement was at its peak constantly, but from the moment Leah joined the stage, the borders of my perception and amazement were penetrated and definitely acquired new heights. What managed to stun me beyond words was the overall perfect combination of both the audio and visual elements, their entire performance like a theater play rather than a regular concert. The sound was indescribable. As the flight through the Sprawl took an unexpected turn, the audience became faced with an enormous cage of sound, nowhere left to run away from it. The vastness and the gigantic proportions of the tones were constantly increasing, literally as if dozens of atomic bombs were detonated around the venue and a work of art being created around you at the same time. While I was standing there in the front row, everything was shaking, my whole body feeling the sound crawling over me at one point, chest pounding and at the peak of everything my left ear felt a short, slashing pain. Meanwhile, the video performance was astounding. Amid the total chaos of distortion and noise, Leah and Aidan were calm, slow moving and gentle, everything crashing around us yet they remained ultimately serene. Their hands were moving above the pedals on the table and masterfully crafting the sound around us, looking like they were slowly picking fruit rather than creating the explosions attacking the crowd. I have been into drone for some time now and seeing such sound being created live was extremely inspiring. The amount of audio manipulation, the overall skill performed by the musicians and various tricks displayed seemed just unbelievably entertaining and once again, purely inspiring. After their performance, there was so much ovation and cheer from the audience, the venue being full by the way, that both Aidan and Leah went off stage with smiles on their faces.
Reading what I wrote in this review, I can't help but realize how short it is, yet being quite descriptive at the same time. It is simply a result of me experiencing this show as something truly artistic and like nothing I saw before. Thus the review itself is a closer expression of the thoughts brooding in my head, more personal than it is usually the case and far less technical. It was an amazing gig and definitely one that deserves to be in my top 3, simply because everything was perfect. "This is beautiful. This is art."

It's more like a message to you

2011-11-10T19:42:00.001+01:00

As a wise comic book man once said "with great power comes great responsibility" and it seems that the saying can be applied to blog running as well. Looks like this little moth blog acquired quite a fine dose of fame, so to speak, thus recently it has been under the watchful eye of labels and non-band entities. It might sound like a cool thing and it is to some extent, but as the above written quote says, there are some rather unpleasant issues that came along as well.
Namely, in the past few weeks I have received a couple of emails criticizing me for reviewing and posting download links of some bands without the "consent of the respected label", which was quite weird to me. I had to battle my way through things, saying that the bands asked me to review/post them, forwarding emails back and what not, everything being quite frustrating. Luckily after several of those eerie and extremely unpleasant moments and maneuvers I held my ground and the reviews were saved. I seriously don't know what is wrong with the reviews and uploads, maybe those people think that I'm profiting from this in some way and taking glory points away from the people who put out the records with blood, sweat and tears or whatever such nonsense. I'm writing all of these reviews/interviews/tour announcements/everything because I find enjoyment in this and have met a lot of wonderful people through the blog. A bunch of times a band/label would ask me to review them and later not only do they not spread the word about the said review, but much rather fail to even say thanks for the write-up, yet I don't mind, since I'm doing all of this out of pure enjoyment. In fact, the vast majority of everything posted on the blog (something like 90%) was posted per band request and not my own personal pick, which I'm thankful for since I found a lot of amazing bands this way and consider their wish to be here a compliment to my "work". A couple of times I already ranted about blogs and diy and passion and other shit associated with everything in this type of music, which I won't do now since I'd end up writing an enormous wall of text of hate and education and would sound like a pissed off man waving his walking stick and would be just repeating myself.
So, because of all these people who fail to understand the machine that works behind this blog and underground music in general, I'd like to kindly ask all of you something, so that you help me out with not having to battle angry and insulted people in the future. Please, read on:

If you are a solo artist/band/label/whoever and are interested in being reviewed on "Natures With No Plagues", PLEASE send some form of consent toward me, but NOT just in digital format. Send anything, be it a letter asking for a review with a drawing/love letter/band picture/poem/joke/palm print/nude pictures/song tabs (this would be so cool), a cd-r with burned tracks, promo material, real label consent or the actual official release on tape/cd/vinyl/floppy/VHS which you desire to be reviewed, anything as long as I have some "proof" that someone in fact wanted something to be posted up here. Anyone interested can contact me from now on through my email and ask for my address, so that we can further talk about whatever.

I feel completely stupid for having to post this, but I just don't want to have my own experience with spreading my thoughts on digital paper about something I really love get ruined by other bitter people. Lately several bands have actually sent their cds and whatnot toward me on their own right, so I think that setting up these "rules" is nothing out of the ordinary, just making everyone safe, sound and keeping this flowing.
And for those who have been insulted by my review without their respected green light and those infuriated by this post, I recommend listening to this.

Love,
Stefan.

Downfall of Gaia & Vestiges - Winter 2011/2012 USA Tour

2011-11-08T13:04:00.000+01:00

Yes, these two amazing bands are gonna be conquering the States this winter! The whole tour is pretty much sorted out as much as I see, so this is here just to give you a heads up in case you didn't know that they will be playing in your area. Be sure not to miss out on a gig if you have a chance to attend!

27.12. MA/NY - TBA
28.12. Baltimore, MD - The Compound
29.12. Washington, DC - TBA
30.12. Richmond, VA - Strange Matter (w/Balaclava)
31.12. Rock Hill, SC - The Courtroom
01.01. Asheville, NC - The Get Down (w/Autarch)
02.01. Baton Rouge, LA - Here Today Gone Tomorow (w/THOU)
03.01. Austin, TX - The Scoot Inn (w/ Dead to a Dying World)
04.01. Denton, TX - TBA (w/ Dead to a Dying World)
05.01. Nashville, TN - Little Hamilton Collective (w/ Dead to a Dying World, Sky Burial)
06.01. Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Roboto Project (w/Complete Failure)
07.01. NY/NJ - TBA*
08.01. Philadelphia, PA - TBA*
*only Vestiges

Recently I traveled with "Downfall of Gaia" on their Eastern European tour, so check out my reviews of those gigs h e r e, just to prepare your mind to be blown away if you go to a show. Also, I did interviews with both "Vestiges" and "Downfall of Gaia", which you can check out here and here.

The Canyon Observer - Chapter I: The Current Of Her Ocean Brings Me To My Knees (2011)

2011-11-07T13:21:00.001+01:00

Bandcamp

I took a few days to rest from writing, since all those gig reports really took it out of me. It is always strange how even the slightest breaking of the writing schedule can make me extremely lazy, so a couple of days turns into a week. Time to roll up the sleeves and dive into the keyboard.

"The Canyon Observer" is a quintet coming from Slovenia, bearing sounds ranging from post metal to sludge and a slight touch of post rock. There isn't much information about this five piece online aside of the rich gig list they have behind them, playing with bands like "Russian Circles", "Rosetta" and "City of Ships". The thing that enraged me was the fact that they actually had a show in Belgrade some time ago, but of course I didn't know about that, retarded "promoters" from this city striking again. Anyway, the first blog post the band made hails from February this year, so I presume that the formation of the project occurred some time prior to that. This release, however, came out in October and it is the first recorded material of the band.
"The Current Of Her Ocean Brings Me To My Knees" brings us four songs with roughly half an hour of music, so get ready for some long and epic tracks. At times when bands have those six plus minute songs, tracks often bear repetitive tones to fill the void and max the length, but the first thing that I noticed while listening to "The Canyon Observer" was the amount of various sounds implemented per title. Something new is constantly happening in a given song, be it a sudden melody shift, a vibrating gentle guitar section or just outright aggressive mayhem, most of the times without any riff or part being repeated. Only the final track, "My Will", drags along an incredibly massive and reckless repeating sound, but it serves its purpose so well, creating a really heavy sludge atmosphere which the listener dares not to question.
The thing that I really enjoyed with this band is the clash of those violent and soothing parts. There is even a third element floating around, a sort of atmospheric trait which acts as a bridge between the above mentioned sections. It is extremely enjoyable how you are being bounced between the three moody areas, especially since you witness that audio evolution and buildup. The first track, "The Lingering Scent Of Her Divinity", is a perfect example of the harmony and shifting nature of the band's music and just a perfect intro into the album. The slow and mellow buildup at the start of the song takes its time to grow, with tribal-like drumming, a superb background bass line and some elegant guitar playing. But past the second minute, the music suddenly changes and crashes down onto you, with the addition of the vocal leading the collapse in the form of something between a scream and a growl. Once the short explosion of aggression ends, the atmospherics reach their peak, with even the vocal being transformed into a singing one. Until the end of the song you are being thrown between those various mood changes and that trait is omnipresent and persistent even with the rest of the tracks. If I were to quote some of their possible music inspiration, I'd say that there is some quite heavy "Isis" influence being heard in their tunes, which I consider to be an enormous plus, being able to recognize that. Of course, the cool thing is that they managed to carve their way and create something that is solemnly contributed to them alone.
All in all, I really enjoyed this first chapter of the story which "The Canyon Observer" wants to tell. There is quite a lot of potential being heard in their music and I definitely look forward to hearing something more from them. Hopefully they will come to Serbia again for a show and maybe even do a big tour over the rest of Europe, so keep your eyes open. You can get in touch with the band through their tumblr page found here. Be sure to check their page out since it has both the gig dates and some pretty sweet live footage. Enjoy!

Gig review: 12xu, Old Growth

2011-10-31T18:17:00.000+01:00

Wow, quite a lot of gig reviews this month. Indeed, this was a month full of great concerts and some I will even fail to write about, that being the "Went" show I attended a few days ago. Thought about writing some words for that gig, but I was completely wrecked that night and basically fell sick due to a weakened immune system, so my time was spent in pain, despite the band kicking in its usual fashion. I'm basically still in bed and recovering, so I'll keep even this review short, but I just had to mark it on the blog in any way possible since the bands definitely deserve it.

The gig took place on last Tuesday, namely 25 October 2011, in good old "CK13", Novi Sad. Initially this was supposed to be a house show set up in a practice room by my friend Vuk, but once the local guys from Novi Sad heard "12xu" they were so infatuated with their music that they decided to back him up and organize the gig in a proper venue. I, of course, was happy to see the band play wherever, but I was thrilled that they are booked in one of the best venues in Serbia after all. I won't be talking about the venue here again, since I recently covered how awesome it is in the "Downfall of Gaia" gig review, found some lines bellow this post. Once again the venue proved to be a flawless place to host a gig, yet the only thing that was lacking in contrast to the "Gaia" show was the number of people. There was not a lot of time to promote the show properly due to the sudden change of plans, plus it was a working day, so in the end there were twenty something people, if I recall well. In any case, my friend and I arrived an hour or so earlier, yet the time flowed fast ever since I threw my gaze onto the distro brought by the bands, resulting in insane amounts of drooling, staring, touching and generally pondering about what to buy from the amazing batch of records. If my wallet was deep enough, I seriously think that I would just purchase the whole damn box filled with vinyl. In the end, a hard decision had to be made, so after the gig I walked out with two "Daitro" records...which was kinda funny since I had my "Daitro" shirt on and a button as well, so I looked like a complete fanboy. Not that I ain't!
Onto the show itself, "12xu" jumped up on stage first, grasped their instruments and took the audience for an amazing ride. Their whole set was just an enormous emotional bomb being detonated with wave after wave of extremely melodic and passionate tunes flooding over the venue. Ever since I first heard their material from the "Single Series" I tried to imagine what would their show look like, because the tunes seemed to be overtly driving and fast, rushing so much that your brain needs some time to figure out what just happened. Needless to say, the trio made out of ex-"Daitro"/ex-"The Flying Worker!" members completely overcame my expectations and put an unbreakable seal on my love for their music. They mostly played songs from their newly released LP, which I am yet to take a listen to at home, so sadly I can't accurately comment about which songs were played. Additionally, since my brain was ultimately stunned I can hardly recall which songs from the "Single Series" were included in the set, but as much as I remember "Oregon, Place Du Pont" and "Des Voix Qui Reasonnent" were performed. It was just so incredible witnessing them live and being completely carried away by the music, so much that once their audio claws stopped slashing I realized that my mind was so relaxed that it didn't pay attention to details. At one point Julien was even complaining and making fun on his own account about how his throat hurts and can't properly sing, but to me everything seemed beyond perfect. In the end, the band wanted to get off stage, but the amount of cheering just didn't want to let them go so easily, so we got a bonus song. All in all, amazing performance, one which I will definitely remember fondly.
After "12xu" it was time for "Old Growth" to leave an impression on the audience...and they carved the most positive of marks. To be honest, I briefly took a listen to them back in May when the tour was announced, so I didn't have any particular thoughts about their music and last Tuesday I wasn't aware in the slightest of ways how much I would be shaken for my lack of an opinion. So the three guys got up on stage and after some pretty sweet jokes, about woodland rain perfume and how the crowd is composed of the prettiest people they ever saw, the jam began. It all started in a slower fashion, mid tempo tunes with a sound of old rock and some interesting vocal performance, yet I needed some time to adjust my ears to something slower than the storm which was following "12xu". As their set progressed, their music somehow evolved, getting a bit heavier and faster, at times reminding me of a rock version of some of "Kylessa" work, roughly said. Their songs were extremely long, bearing several repetitive tones, yet being highly complex and detail oriented. I was standing there in front of the stage and literally enjoying and analyzing their tunes at the same time and simply providing that ability to the listener is an unbelievable merit of the band. As I mentioned above, I didn't listen much to the band prior to the gig and the song names are unknown to me, but it is remarkable how specific riffs and track sections got stuck in my head, being highly impacting and inspiring in the moments when I heard them live. I was trying to find some of their albums online, but aside of their splits with other bands my search proved futile...shame on me for not buying their records. In any case, the entire set was purely entertaining and just a huge enjoyment to watch. The last song was worth the note, since the guitar player played it without one string which previously broke. After the show when I was raiding the distro, my friend and I talked to him and he additionally said that he was way out of tune as well, so the song was horrible. In my opinion, the entire set was beyond great despite the technical difficulty, especially in the end when they managed to pull out a good song in face of various issues. The dude was so friendly and being overtly surprised that we came from another city just to see them play and in the process making fun of my shirt in front of Julien, which was additionally funny because of the bought records. In any case, I said how impressed I am with their music, so now I really hope this review reaches the eyes of "Old Growth" somehow.
All in all, great night and an amazing gig. I was really happy that I met some new nice people and also grabbing some time to talk to Julien again, to whom I previously had the privilege to talk to after the "Daitro" concert in Belgrade in 2008 and the "Baton Rouge" interview...which means he should definitely come back with "Baton Rouge" so that I can say I saw all his bands! And bring back "12xu" and "Old Growth" again, this show sparked an enormous wish to see these bands play again some day. Thank you all for a lovely show!

Gig review: Downfall of Gaia Eastern European Tour 2011, day four

2011-10-29T15:55:00.003+02:00

20 October, day four - Sofia, Bulgaria

Here we are at the final day of my tagging along to the tour of "Downfall of Gaia" and it revolved in not a really glorious fashion, for me personally at least. I had high expectation for the gig itself, which was scheduled in the capital city of Bulgaria and luckily everything happened as I thought it would, though there were some problems along the way, both personal and technical, resulting in me attending the gig in an overall bad mood.
The caterpillar mode managed to fail me during the night, since my cocoon was constantly penetrated by the freezing air floating around the room, thus my sleeping hours were cut short. As a result I was at least looking forward to a revitalizing warm shower in the home of our host, though the splash of the cold water from the seemingly full water boiler managed to make me regret ever entering the bathroom. Spending one millisecond in the wretched tub, packing my stuff and the rest of the guys getting ready as well, we went to "Bingo" once again to pack the equipment in the van, during which the band received a massive amount of cash from last night's show, a glorious sum formed out of one digit...glorious in contrast to the three digit of euros needed to enter the country in the first place. Complete fail. In the process of filling the van, we found out that "Rosa Parks" have also confirmed that they will play and I was so excited about that, since I missed their shows a couple of times when they played in Serbia. Packing up everything and running away from the venue as fast as we could, Lucas, Bjorn and I went to the supermarket in search for some food, though we quickly decided that we should in fact nom the pizza once again. After I managed to randomly impress and cause laughter from a bunch of passerby girls with my English skills, we hunted down the pizza and met up with the rest of the group and hit the road. Soon enough we set our roots onto a gas station yet again and devoured the food and once more being approached by several insects, though no screaming and panic this time.
The road through Macedonia toward the Bulgarian border was fast and smooth, accompanied by listening to some tunes in the van and looking at the outside scenery. At the border there was no big trouble, but still I needed to act with my Serbian speaking skills. For some reason I feared that they might not let me enter the country, but to my surprise the border patrol was actually....happy and surprised in a positive fashion that a dude from Serbia is travelling with a bunch of Germans. Thanks to the fun factor the time on the border crossing was minimal and painless, so we were on the open road again very soon, once again enjoying the lovely landscape found in Bulgaria. Due to the outside entertainment provided by nature, the ride seemed short and we arrived to the venue quite quickly. But once we arrived, the curse of Kumanovo struck once again, this time attacking the van itself in the form of the back door being stuck closed and unable to be opened. The fact making the whole situation worse was that the show would start a bit earlier, due to three bands playing and a sound check was scheduled prior to the gig as well. Time was short and the door was stubborn. The van's insurance company was called and it took first one dude, then two dudes and two hours to fix the stupid lock. In the meantime, the seats inside the vehicle were butchered so that the massive equipment would be dragged out. Add to that a "minor" incident where a box of records was almost run down by one idiot driving by in a car and you have the whole scenario for a frustrating pre-show catastrophe. During all these trials, I hanged out with my travelling companions from this Summer's trips, the dudes from "Tigersuit" zine, as well as meeting some more people who happen to accidentally know about my blog and enjoy it!
The gig took place in club "The Box", quite a modern and neat little place. Going through narrow and low ceiling staircase, you enter a sort of balcony which hangs above a big gig room where a small stage is set, in front of which there is a dance floor of sorts and to the right a raised up platform with tables and chairs. There is not a lot of light present and the overall ambient is quite nice and comfortable. Despite the problems which occurred, the gig started on time and all was well. "Rosa Parks" played first and they absolutely blew me away in a completely unexpected fashion. Back in the day when I was still involved with the previous music blog, I posted their EP which was filled with mellow, dreamy post rock melodies sculpted into long tracks. The storm of sound that was unleashed from their instruments in "The Box" caught me by surprise since it proved to be like nothing I expected to hear. Extremely fast songs bursting with unexpected spasm like riffs, exploding track sections and occasional screaming without the use of microphones, all enveloped with in epic proportions associated with post rock, managed to leave me completely speechless. There was just a nonstop pounding on their instruments and an amazing display of dancing and body movement on stage, going so well with the speeding music that was flooding the room. The impact hit of the sound was really inspiring, making your body feel the desire to just jump around and go with the flow of the music. Sadly, the band played only half of their usual set because of the lack of time, but they succeeded in leaving the biggest of positive marks on me and putting an impressed look on my face. I don't know which songs were performed, since I only listened to the above mentioned EP and it was actually hazy in my memory even on that night. After their set I just had to approach one of the members and just congratulate on a wonderful show. We talked a bit and I even had the guts to ask them whether they would be interested in doing an interview, the bravery spewing from the fact that they also know about my blog! What is wrong with you people?!?! (serious ego boosts for me) In any case, they seemed overtly surprised with the offer and I guess we should definitely talk more over email, so maybe one day you get to read about them here. All in all, a flawless performance and I really hope that I will grab a chance and see them once again in the future.
After "Rosa Parks", a local Bulgarian band named "Expectations" got up on stage. I have heard a lot about them previously, though I never got a chance to take a listen. In any case, what I saw that night in Sofia was really impressive and entertaining. A melodic, emotionally charged hardcore swinging between mid and fast tempo, at times having some slightly metallic riffs, the band had quite a turbulent performance. I'll be honest and say that their music isn't one hundred percent my cup of tea, since I don't enjoy those slower hardcore sections a lot, but their overall performance was extremely high quality and their tunes carry strong potential. Those violent outbursts really throw a nasty punch and the crowd seemed to constantly respond in a similar fashion. The funny thing was that, despite me being generally impressed by the band, the locals and the band itself stated that this was definitely not their top show and that they weren't quite happy with the performance, which definitely sparked a wish in me to see them again. The only thing that did get on my nerves was the crap being spewed from the singer between songs, which was somewhat edgy and pointless. Lesson to the wise, don't say things just for the sake of talking. Aside of that, worth the note was that Hannes was extremely impressed with "Expectations", which he told me during the show in a very infatuated way.
"Downfall of Gaia" was the last to conquer the stage that night of course and finally they got a chance to shine after the gig last night. The Sofia show was on par with the one from Novi Sad, though the latter one I personally enjoyed more. They had an ultimately clean sound provided by the venue, so the entire tale they told through the performed melded songs flowed in a magnificent fashion. Gentle, soothing and highly melancholic in the slower sections, yet world shattering and emotionally powerful during the aggressive moments, the crowd got to see and hear the band in all its beauty. The audience was weird a bit to me, since I somehow find moshing to "Downfall of Gaia"...unnecessary to say the least. From my standing point as a listener, their music manages to hit and play an extremely deep personal chord in the bottom of one's being, which results in just experiencing the tunes in your own mind and emotion, rather than expressing it outright through body movement. Still, those are just my demented thoughts and as I said the crowd had a different way to show their amazement and enjoyment. An absolutely stunning and perfect performance, plus I was really glad that the band itself was happy with the audience and everything happening that night.
After the show it was sadly time to say farewell to my four day family, since I was about to depart on my own path, so after a group hug and goodbyes I left the club. I have to admit that I felt completely mellow in those last moments, since I really felt bonded with all of them, simply because they are all unbelievably nice people and I am proud to call each of them a friend. I'd like to thank them all for accepting an outsider into their van and home, in the process making me feel like we already know each other for years and not experiencing a single moment of awkwardness. Thanks for all the shared food, toothpaste, all the scheisse and fun times, cool talks and retarded yet amazing humor, just everything. Hope to see you all once again some day, junge, but until then.....macheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

Gig review: Downfall of Gaia Eastern European Tour 2011, day three

2011-10-28T01:03:00.001+02:00

19 October, day three - Kumanovo, Macedonia

Oh boy...so here we come to the black sheep of the tour, or at least of the four days which I have spent next to the band. There are so many things that went wrong on this day that in the end there was nothing else to do other then make as much jokes about it as possible and somehow cloud and scare away the unbelievable amount of crap. Scheisse junge, but for now we will take it one step at a time...
The day started in a perfect fashion, getting up early to Bjorn's lovely wake up message, realizing that my hair looks insane due to falling asleep while it was wet from the shower (not so perfect), having a lovely breakfast in the courtyard of "CK13" and packing up everything on time. After we said our goodbyes to our great hosts of the day/night, the road was well under our tires. The path led us through a part of my hometown, so I tried to be entertaining and offered some random facts about Belgrade as we drove by. Our drive through Serbia seemed quite fast and easy, despite it actually demanding quite a lot of time to reach Kumanovo, simply put just smooth sailing.
But then troubles flew in on the wings of a wasp! ("OH MY GOD!") Jokes aside, the following event could be considered a funny introduction to the real issues of the day. So, while nomming some food on yet another parking lot of a gas station, a small swarm of wasps started creeping up on our ajvar. Once the numbers started reaching critical mass and several people began running away, we entered the van...yet one of Gaia's little flying fiends followed us inside. Thus que some screaming and more laughing tears from yours truly thanks to Hannes and the upper quote hailing from him. The wasp felt overtly not amused and flew away, thus the bold travelers continued their journey.
And then came the border. At first, we were just held there and pinned down in the van, since the border control was busy raping the brains and nerves of the vehicle owner in front of us, so it seemed that some troubles will be looming ahead. The wait took extremely long, yet your dear writer was struck by a more internal problematic, that being the vast sea of pee rising inside of my body and reaching alarming levels quite fast. While my struggle took epic proportions, the others sat there and waited patiently, except for Lucas who went to check the green card or whatever the name of that thing is. A lightning bolt struck the van in the moment when he returned and told us the price of the damned piece of paper, the number bearing three digits of euros! Once the money was vomited out of the pockets, the border patrol took notice of us. Of course, the morons didn't speak a word of English and decided not to use their manners, if they have them at all, and insult us on their native language, not knowing yet that a person from Serbia is travelling with the Germans. Macedonian and Serbian are quite similar, so one of the "junkies" understood what they were saying. They didn't bug us that much, so we were granted passage quickly, only to get to another border crossing. This time I had to jump out and use my verbal skills and clear the way, luckily I was successful.
Soon enough we were in Kumanovo, receiving a text message that the organizer will be late to meet up with us. I was preoccupied with just finding a place to relieve my body of the ever increasing liquids, so I didn't pay much notice to the text. Once I calmed down, three of us decided to hunt for some food, though we were faced with a hard task of finding something vegetarian in the nearby area. Close to the parking lot there was a pizza place, with corpses on them, so it took all my talking skills to explain that we want some food without meat on it. Shortly after, the giant 5 euro pizza was ours!
Que some more waiting for the organizer to show up and once he finally arrived, we got to the venue, which was basically around the corner from where we were parked. In a nutshell, the place is awful. If you remember my description of the "Bigz" venue in Belgrade, found here, something similar could be applied here...just, minus the cool horror factor and plus the place looking like a crack house. Completely dirty and crumbling interior, a sexy "backstage" filled with garbage and lack of lights to provide some surprise rape. Yes, total fail. The backstage held a treasury with some food provided by our host, noodles with noodles, and at that specific moment I wished that god exists so that I can thank him for blessing my gut with the previously devoured pizza. After that lovely welcome, our dealings with the host were cut, since he crawled to the other room and decided to take a nap on the floor... The entire experience left all of us baffled and it managed to invoke a certain rage inside of me, much like the one shown in the above linked review concerning the host. It seemed that the dude simply forgot that he booked a show (genius) or that he just didn't care. In any case, we decided to fill our time with watching a funny dubbed episode of "Star Trek" and just ponder about what to do if no one shows up. At a certain point around 10 PM only a guy and a girl were present and it seemed that they would be the audience for the night. Luckily some more people showed up later, so the gig started a few minutes after 11 PM to still a low number of people, slightly more than in Backa Topola.
The sound of the venue was awful and unbelievable amounts of crunchiness and chaotic crackles managed to stick to the sound of "Downfall of Gaia". Despite the sabotage, they succeeded in pulling out a good show, yet not as powerful as they could otherwise and this gig made me really appreciate the fact that the band's recordings have such a superb sound quality. There isn't much that could be said about this gig, since I already saw a better performance by them and the overall bad day left a stronger mark in my brain. As I said, despite playing in a horrible environment, their set was good and powerful, although the venue itself took away a large part of the enjoyment. The slower song parts were amazing in the standard fashion of the band, but once aggressive sections took the stage the point and impact would be weaker since you are left with just a huge wall of sound crashing over your head, not having that emotion wrenching merit. If I haven't seen them before, I would definitely be mind blown though. That being said, the crowd was happy and satisfied, actually being the first audience which I didn't have to inspire for an encore ovation.
Once the show was over and we packed the equipment, the group was taken to the organizers home for rest, though the curse of the day extended to night as well for me, resulting in not so abundant sleep time.

Gig review: Downfall of Gaia Eastern European Tour 2011, day two

2011-10-27T15:52:00.001+02:00

18 October, day two - Novi Sad, Serbia

Being wrapped in sheets like a caterpillar and near the core of the source of warmth provided a really good night sleep. "Panta Rhei" was an excellent place to crash and in the morning it managed to get everyone up and running quickly. Morning rituals were done, some of us even washing their hair with cold water despite the existence of a warm batch ("C" is "H" and "H" is "C", isn't that obvious, backwards universe?) and pretty soon we started packing up the equipment into the van. I was given the task to help with packing the merch and I succeeded in not breaking/burning/destroying anything in the process. Once everything was done and we said our goodbyes to the owner of the club and the cuddliest dog on the planet, we went to hit the road.
There was a quick stop at a nearby supermarket and when the first gas station was in sight the parking lot was ours! What followed was a beautiful vegan feast on the sunny concrete and more proof of how much sharing food with people can be astonishingly bonding. After lots of coffee, bread, ajvar and all sorts of delicious food, the open road was hit again...though only for a short while, since the van was stopped by the forces of law and chaos. Of course the high IQ policemen had no knowledge of English, thus I had to quickly jump out of the van and try to save the day. Luckily, they weren't being overtly hostile, so after a confession from one of them that "he can understand everything, except a nose piercing", we were free to continue the journey to Novi Sad. Largely uneventful, except for an instance when I laughed so hard that I started crying (you sexy Bjorn you) the trip was fast and short, thus we pretty much arrived to the venue earlier than expected. We were greeted by Aleksandar, drummer of "Reflections of Internal Rain" and my look-alike brother from another mother, a running joke connected to us in the Novi Sad scene. I was quite surprised and happy to see him, finally being able to talk in person a bit and spend some time together, so the van was closed fast and we set off to guide our German guests through the city.
After a long walk toward the Petrovaradin fortress and surrounding area, we returned to the heart of the city to grab some delicious food from Dule, singer of "Reflections of Internal Rain" who had a perfect fitting job of feeding the travelers. He pretty much managed to make me want to eat the plate itself due to the inexpressibly delicious food, so a quick note to all worldwide bands: if you have a tour over Europe, drop by to Novi Sad if only just to taste Dule's dishes! The band and the rest of the tour companions seemed to be tired and sleepy, so I took the task of washing the dishes and give them a chance to chill out a bit. Later, equipment was set and a sound check performed at around 7 PM, which I had the privilege to attend and offer my ear skills.
Some notes concerning the venue, since I now realized that I haven't mentioned it so far. The hanging out, eating, sleeping and the gig itself took place in "CK13", the famous Youth Center in Novi Sad. I have talked about this venue in some previous gig reviews, but it has been a while since my last visit and as much as I saw the venue changed a lot, in the most positive of ways. Even in the past, this gig space was one of my favorites in Serbia and I was extremely glad to see it evolve even further. This time I got to see the "backstage", as well as the small library connected to the gig room, which is filled with some alternative/underground books and zines, the kitchen and the sleeping quarters/offices which are nested a floor higher. The entire venue provides a really comfortable feel to the visitor, since it is somehow secluded from the rest of the city, despite it being in the heart of it and literally offers you with everything you need. As for the actual gig room, it managed to impress me a lot, radiating with the most clean and excellent sound during the show.
In any case, prior to the concert and during the show, I had the chance to meet up and talk to some friends from Novi Sad, as well as meeting the good friend and colleague on the blog, Luka, with whom I haven't talked in person for more than a year. I also grabbed the chance to get to know some new nice people along the way, especially the youngsters of the scene. Haha, it was so funny when dear old friend Vuk addressed me as "the screamo god of Serbia" and promoting my blog in the process. In any case, I was extremely glad to see new faces, especially younger ones, being interested into the whole underground music, since in Belgrade it is somewhat stagnant and dying.
So, after a lot of social mingling and just having a good time, the gig started, "Reflections of Internal Rain" breaking the murmur of the audience, since sadly "Furtive Forest" couldn't play that night. Most of you know by now that this band is one of the most loved Serbian acts by yours truly and it was a real pleasure seeing them live once again. They recently returned from a tour with "Birds In Row" and I was amazed with how much energy and strength they managed to bring back. The stage was constantly bursting with movement and jumping and dancing around, their music even driving the audience maximally, which was quite cool since I remember the Novi Sad crowd being not much into expressing body movement before. Their set featured the majority of tracks from their latest release, "Answers" and some older songs such as "Resurrection", "My Promise" and "Sunset of the End". I'll be honest here, of course, and repeat myself that the new songs didn't manage to completely impress me, as much as the "Last Flood" material did. Those songs are absolutely top notch and make me really proud that the band hails from these parts, though they didn't grab my attention that much. I really settled down to this band being a bit depressive and with a slightly melancholic, yet aggressive and direct tone, which somewhat changed on the new recordings. "Answers" provides a lot of experimental sounds and extreme amounts of melodic and twisted tones, which I am not yet used to hear under their name. Guess I just need more time, right? All in all, their set was excellent to behold, most importantly because of the amount of passion which materialized in front of your eyes while you look at them and it is really beautiful to see the band being so alive and kicking after all these years.
"Downfall of Gaia" came up next and managed to blow my brains away. I thought that the Backa Topola show was astounding, but this gig just left me stunned and shaking. The venue and its clear sound and acoustic came to aid the band, morphing their tunes into a incredibly strong thunderstorm of tones and emotion. Songs which were performed were the same as on the previous gig, but the sheer experience was increased a tenfold in the most positive of ways. Every drop of emotion that could have possibly been present when the songs were written was transferred to the crowd in the purest of forms, an impact hit that simply can't be forgotten. From the very opening sound and all until the end, I was standing as if on needles from the intensity of the music wrapping around me. The switch between "Prolog" and "Odium" was so powerful for instance, that it made me literally confused at what to do with myself at the given time, creating a wish to just meld myself with the sound and somehow aid it. Their entire set was such a pleasure to watch and it was definitely the best show for me in the duration of these four days. I was so happy with the reaction of the audience as well, everyone just sticking around and being entranced with the soundscape, releasing the deserved ovations toward the band after each song. In the end, the crowd cheered, but went silent quickly and it was so funny how after my initial screaming of the word "more" the audience rippled with more claps and yells, resulting in us getting one additional song.
All around, this was an amazing show, both for the audience and the band. I was really happy that the band was satisfied with everything and it is so nice that they went away with a great experience in their hearts. After the gig, we hanged out around the venue, grabbed the chance to talk to some more friends of mine and FINALLY grasped the chance to get a "Reflections of Internal Rain" shirt and once again being faced with the joke of Aleksandar and me being twins. The funniest thing was that Toni from "Downfall of Gaia" reminds me of Aleksandar, who also agreed on the fact when I told him, so now we are actually triplets! Later, the weary travelers went upstairs into the resting quarters where the possibility to finally take a shower emerged. Caterpillar mode again ensued and a night filled with rest.

Gig review: Downfall of Gaia Eastern European Tour 2011, day one

2011-10-23T21:51:00.004+02:00

This Friday night I returned home from four days spent with "Downfall of Gaia", who were on their two week long tour over Eastern Europe. I actually don't know how detailed (or not) this review will be, since this is the first time I followed a band for a number of consecutive days and not only did a lot of things happen, but also there are quite a few personal elements that occurred. Spending several days with the same bunch of amazing people, sharing food, laughter, mischief, sleepless nights and everything in between really manages to bind a group of individuals. So I'll just go with the flow of my own thoughts and write what first comes to mind.

17 October, day one - Backa Topola, Serbia

My journey began with a three and a half hour drive by train to the town of Backa Topola, located in the far northern regions of Serbia. The train arrived somewhere around five o'clock to the town, which meant that I was destined to wander around alone and kill several hours prior to meeting the guys from the band and actually have some company. Since I never went to Backa Topola before, I armed myself with a map and once I arrived, a trek to find the venue ensued. The town, with its low population and generally countryside feel, was quite eerie due to the fact that while I was walking to the show space I haven't encountered a single person, nor was any store open or light turned on in the surrounding houses. A distant echo of barking dogs followed my wake and the overall weather which was really gloomy made this whole experience like that out of a horror movie. After a good half an hour of walking in the cold scenery I finally reached the venue, hanging out a bit outside with a dude from Subotica whom I met in front of the place and soon the owner let us in.
The venue in question is called "Panta Rhei" and from the moment I saw the exterior it grabbed my interest completely. On first glance the red brick-made building seems like a combination of a medieval house, mountain home and a church, with walls decorated with stone columns of sorts and windows which seem to be erect from the house, making it have a peculiar looking shape. The interior extends the medieval feel, with tight, dark corridors, high walls and a lot of woodwork. There are several wooden benches and tables inside, as well as a brick bar, a small stage which was used only for the drum set and even an inside balcony looking down from the upper floors. I had a lot of time to analyze the design of the place, since I spent my time in the company of people who were speaking in Hungarian, the town being so close to the border with Hungary that the languages meld with one another. Aside of the design, my attention was focused to the unbelievably cute dog of the owner, which was just sitting next to me and demanding to be played with. The moment you I would retract my hand from petting her, she would immediately push her snout under my hand and desire more attention. Animals > humans.
Eventually, "Downfall of Gaia" arrived, along with their driver, Lucas, who is actually the bass player of the German band "Finisterre" and Bjorn, one more friend of theirs, the self proclaimed "useless tour guy". (hope I spelled your names right guys!) In any case, I searched for Dominik and/or Peter first, since they are the ones with whom I exchanged most of my mails. After some mingling with them, getting introduced and me generally being completely retarded and not being able to speak English correctly due to shyness and excitement (fanboy alert!), I was asked to join them for diner and a round of drinks. It was totally amazing how nicely I was accepted by the entire group, especially since no one except Peter and Dominik knew I would be joining them in the days to come. Through those first couple of conversations prior to the gig and me finding out that this little blog of mine is actually way more popular than I thought it was, I realized how we all click well together and how overtly nice these people are. These four days were bound to be great.
After some cynical jokes, serious discussions and getting to know each other better, the gig was about to start. There was an extremely low number of people, somewhere around seven not counting the three of us following the band on tour, due to both this being a small town and the fact that the gig was on a working day. Luckily the organizer "warned" the band that this will likely be the case, so it was not a bad surprise for them. The venue got quiet while the band was setting up and soon the silence was broken with the sound of “Prolog”, the intro song of “Epos”. The eerie tone crept around the people present in the darkness filled, cold complex, building up with the chilling guitar playing and finally exploding when the tunes melded with the song “Odium”. That tone metamorphosis between the songs is brilliant when witnessed live, thanks to the soundscape which constantly increases with tension and strength. What was once just a creepy, yet gentle tune in front of you now stands as a massive, unstopable behemoth eager to pick you up and continually smash you to the ground. I never reviewed “Epos” and will be completely honest here and say that prior to the tour my liking of the said release was not that strong. The demo recordings were an amazing neocrust creation packed with aggressive beats clashing with melancholic sections, an overall great release. By chance I failed to listen to their “Tour EP”, so the transition from short bursting songs of the demo to the brooding and epic tunes on “Epos” was quite a shift for me. There was a seeming lack of violent chrescendoes and the slower sections appeared to be too long on the latter album which made me not really like it that much at first. Witnessing “Epos” being performed live changed my feelings for it, literally skyrocketing and sealing my love for it. My initial dislike was probably due to my loved neocrust band being turned into an epic, dark post-rockish project all of a sudden, but thinking about it now that metamorphosis is simply magnificent. “Downfall of Gaia” managed to break out of its ordinary crust coocoon and come out as an astounding and unique band which offers a superb story to tell. The amount of passion and emotions they succeeded in transfering toward me through their music for the duration of the tour is something that I will seriously never forget.
In any case, after the amazing “Odium”, which in the course of the tour turned out to be one of my favorite songs by the band, “Zerfall” continued to attack the venue. Once the ten minute monster was finished, the two songs from the split with “In The Hearts Of Emperors” were played. It was so enjoyable to see and hear the band play songs which always meld into one another, giving you the feeling that the tracks are actually crafted into one gigantic song. As the band continually radiated with tunes, the “crowd” offered some movement, though it was overtly...strange, to say the least. There was some dancing around, one girl even trampling over Peter’s mircophone and not giving a fuck about it in the process, yet the audience was generally silent when a particular song would end, which left the venue filled with some awkward silence. The end of the set was the stupidest thing ever, since the band started leaving their instruments and everyone in the venue was just standing there, Bjorn and me exchanging some confused stares and offering claps, me yelling “more” and trying to flame up some thanks from the people present. Luckily, we woke up the crowd and a bonus song was played, that being “Silere”.
After the excellent set, the gig was over and we moved to a table and shared some more drinks and talks about some pretty interesting stuff. It was cool to see the guys, especially Toni and Lucas, being intrigued by some problems and general situation in Serbia, talking about Fascism, Nazism and all those retarded extreme social movements and other idiotic problems plaguing the system, plus having Hannes telling the epic tale of how he chose art over social activity. Deep in the night, we moved into the sleeping quarters. I set off completely hardcore on the trip and not bringing a sleeping bag, which I soon realized I couldn’t do without, yet luckily the owner of the venue was prepared even for tards like me and provided me with a warm matress and sheets. Crawling inside the room designed for sleeping and huddling around the heater, dreams followed soon, ending my first day of the tour.

Downfall of Gaia Eastern European Tour (2011)

2011-10-08T17:05:00.000+02:00

Yes, next Friday is the start of a fifteen day long tour of "Downfall of Gaia", the amazing epic crust band from Germany. This is here in case you haven't heard anything about the tour thus far, so hopefully they are playing in your town or close by and you can attend a show. I'll have the pleasure of travelling with them for four dates, so maybe I get to see some of you on the road!
In case you missed it, I did an interview with "Downfall of Gaia" some months ago which you can check out here. For all your other needs, check out the band's website found here.

Ruined Tongues and Colombian Necktie

2011-10-07T14:54:00.000+02:00

Got to admit that my writing energy is being drained by another project I have going at the moment, plus I am doing the world a favor by raising five cute little kittens and being their mom is a full time job. Since the furry critters are asleep now, I thought about merging two review requests into one, especially since both these bands asked to be hosted on the blog and later they did a split together. Don't be fooled though, this seemingly cool idea is just present to mask my inability to write properly these days. Read at your own risk.

Ruined Tongue - All Of My Bad Habits 7'' (2011)

http://ruinedtongue.bandcamp.com

First in line is "Ruined Tongue", a five piece band coming from Las Vegas which brings along some quite demented and wild tunes. The dudes got together in 2009 and after a lineup change, a demo and a split with "Residuals" here we are today. I still haven't listened to those recordings, but this 7'' was enough for me to get interested, start writing and promise to check those tunes out as well. This record bursts with seemingly typical hardcore punk, but along the way you notice a really weird twist. A combination of extremely eerie lyrics, raving vocal performance and crazy melodies promises to provide you with an intriguing ten something minutes, which is the duration of the five songs present on this release. Staying true to their description on Last.fm, "All Of My Bad Habits" catches you in a whirlwind of sound, leaving your brain boggled in its wake.

The thing that initially caught my attention is the vocal, more specifically the lyrics. All written words on this release are short and simple, yet really bizarre. I don't know if it's just me, but the words managed to spark quite a gloomy mood. It is probably the way the texts are written, since in essence they aren't anything spectacular, it is just that they are overtly direct and without anything holding them back. Completely in your face and the lyrics manage to create a great melancholy filled image whilst you listen. I think that just quoting a part of "Daylight Wastings" will be enough as a preview: "I live my life like a piece of shit, running through bowels of our youth". What further adds to the overall atmosphere is the vocal performance itself, since the singer sounds like a raving maniac. Once again, it is nothing spectacular or revolutionary, just a scream, bit it is the way he howls and wails, combined with the above mentioned lyrics that make this excellent. At this point you realize how this band is great at sculpting an amazing song with typical tools, since this simple/effective clause applies to the instruments as well. The riffs are flowing excellently, but are cut with unexpected outbursts of violence or nutty sections. A good example is the opening song, "Son of a Biker/Ghost Rider", which is slowly building up only to explode in the last couple of seconds in a completely unexpected fashion.

This album was really a neat surprise and I really enjoyed it. Needless to say this release is actually old news, since this year has been quite productive for "Ruined Tongue", the band releasing a live album recorded in "Texas Toast Haus" and a split with "Colombian Necktie", about which you will read in a few moments. In the meantime, follow the band and get in touch via their website found here. One last important note, the band is collaborating with three labels, those being "Reckless Minds Collective", "Radical Friends" and "Irish VooDoo Records".

Colombian Necktie - Self Titled (2011)

http://colombiannecktie.bandcamp.com

Yet another band from Las Vegas, "Colombian Necktie" is a quintet or much rather a sextet if you include Tim, the band's "spiritual advisor". Much like their mates from "Ruined Tongue", this band is also signed to "Irish VooDoo Records" and "RMC", through which they plan to release three upcoming splits (one of which is the split at the bottom of this post). Prior to this self titled record, the band has yet one more split release behind them, done with "Pariah" from Southern California. You can take a listen to those tracks on the band's bandcamp page, which I am also yet to do.
The self titled recording brings us five songs with roughly eighteen minutes of tunes, during which "Colombian Necktie" manages to lash out some truly excellent metallic hardcore punk. I was reading some tidbits about the band online and several times they were compared to acts such as "Converge" and "His Hero Is Gone" and I can definitely say that they rise up to those names. Their influences are easily recognized, with a trace of technical playing and some start-stop rhythms of "Converge" and the dirty, unpolished aggression of "His Hero Is Gone", though the band successfully transforms the sound into something rightfully theirs. These eighteen minutes are full of constant violent pounding on the ears, with a minor break in the form of the piano song "Lirit", the aggression taking various shapes. The sound is constantly morphing, one second you have a fluid, melancholic tune and the other second a massive breakdown-like beat which pummels upon you...after which a sluggish tune crawls away and finally turns into an almost gentle harmony. The songs have great twists and turns and really keep the listener under tension and eager for more.

One great addition to all this mayhem is the very production of the release. As I said before, the tracks seem as if not polished, thus you have a constant crunchy sound which goes perfectly with this kind of music, since it gives the instruments a deep, menacing growl. I really had the pleasure to just sit and listen to a specific instrument, being amazed at how I can easily discern every part of the band, despite the chaos of the songs. This extremely added to the overall enjoyment, since you can find some really interesting melodies inside...or just forget about the philosophical stuff and let yourself loose side by side with the aggression unleashed by "Colombian Necktie". Get in touch with the band through their facebook page found here and thank them for an amazing release.

Ruined Tongue & Colombian Necktie - Split 7'' (2011)

This seven inch split, which you can listen to on the above posted bandcamp pages, came out this July. It features four songs, two per band, and I have to say that both names continue doing what they do best.

The two tracks from "Ruined Tongue" come rushing in with that cool eerie style which they imprinted so well in my mind. Their songs dedicated to this split are more punkish in comparison to their "All Of My Bad Habits" and the tracks are both shorter than two minutes. Additionally, I think that here there is a bigger accent on the clash of melody tempos and much less on that unexpectedness trait which their previous release had. Both songs start fast, but moving toward the end they get dramatically slower and dragging. In any case, if you enjoyed the above posted release, you are bound to like their side of the split for sure.

As for "Colombian Necktie" side, their songs are much longer, not just compared to the "Ruined Tongue" side, but to their self titled release as well. Like their split mates, they pretty much remained good at what they do, so if you liked the previous recording you will like this one as well. However, the two songs present here bear much less tension and sudden melody shifts, those being replaced by either flowing and greatly melded melodies (like in the song "Gemini part 1") or the constant effort of producing as much noise as possible (song "I can feel everything......"). Where the former song is in the vein of their self titled release production wise, the latter song took the crunchiness on a whole new level and we have just a giant buzzing wall of sound in front of us.

Either way we get to hear some slight changes in sound and cool details from both bands, which makes this split quite interesting. Both bands are pretty much active today and I am really eager to hear more from both projects, hopefully they will continue pumping out releases like they did so far. Check them out, you won't regret. Enjoy!

Alenah - Mitt Waterloo (2011)

2011-09-29T22:06:00.002+02:00

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It has been an extremely long, tiring day and I'm finally at home, surrounded by my cats and ready to relax myself with putting some words online. Usually, I post stuff on the blog in the morning hours while drinking coffee, but this one seems like a good night snack.

You should all be well introduced to "Alenah" by now, since this is a band that has been featured on this blog quite a long time ago, actually during its early days when I wasn't acting all smart and writing a wall of text per every post. Yes, this Swedish quintet is still going strong and when Oscar from the band wrote to me about posting this single I immediately went back to check out my review of their previous release, "Sotiga Liljor I Seine". And damn, was that a shitty "review"...yet the dudes enjoyed it, so big hugs for the shown thankfulness. Usually I'd say "yay go back and check it out", but this time you might as well skip it. But what the heck, you might just check it out for the band's sake, so head along and read it here.
Anyways as I mentioned above, "Alenah" prepared for us a single which came out this April. Consisting of two songs, this release really reminded me how good and underrated this band really is. Prior to taking a listen to the single now, I re-listened to their first recording and it once again managed to spark that certain amazement from yours truly. The release was fast, aggressive and rushing past you in a crazy whirlwind of sound, making you want to either break something due to the adrenalin surge or just scream along to the songs. It had a superbly clean sound which the members used to show us just how technical they can be, even amid total chaos. As for "Mitt Waterloo", the quality, uniqueness and the technical aspect were transferred from their predecessor. The thing that is somewhat different is the introduction of the slightly different style of composition. While the second song on the release, "Ett Dödsdatum Satt", provides the well known speedy melody and rushing riffs of "Alenah", the first song bears new traits. Named after the release itself, "Mitt Waterloo" starts out with a slow muted guitar and sounds which you can hardly make out, going between a distant scream and scratchy distortion. Soon it all goes nuts and explodes with insanely catchy riffs and that amazing vocal performance which I enjoy so much. The song goes fast and furious with everything from pounding melodies and pack screaming, until it reaches the middle when tone drops and the vocal is left alone. Explosion again. Vocal alone again. Explosion again and after that, the same melody returns back, but this time somehow stretched and slower, in the end going so far as to becoming completely sluggish and acquires a really melancholic tone while the vocal remains aggressive.
Maybe it's just me thinking way too much about the music I listen to, but this seems like a bit of an experimentation moment on the band's side. Which I fully approve, since it sounds great, especially because it caught me completely off guard due to the fact that they left an impression in my head of a "fast" band with their previous release, the song "Vindspel" being a sort of signature track for me. Of course, they had slower sections, but I guess that they were overshadowed with the other more "in your face" tones or samples and didn't have enough space to leave an impact. "Mitt Waterloo" really managed to mark its presence with a certain emotion and mood, at the same time continuing what the band was known for and somewhat providing a bit of an evolution in the process.
I haven't heard from the dudes since April (NOTE: because you didn't reply to them, idiot), but as much as good old Last.fm says they had a gig recently, meaning they are still very much alive and kicking. The guys in the band are still young and the band itself is quite fresh, thus it would be amazing to see their future work and see what more they can throw at us. In the meantime, check them out and enjoy!

Moths are not what they seem

2011-09-27T23:13:00.000+02:00

I planned to do some more reviews until September comes to an end, which I will do in fact, but probably less then I expected. This post is just here to clarify why, since I just wanted you all to know that I'm not sitting at home with crossed arms, but working for the blog in full gear!
So, as I said, yesterday and today were supposed to be dedicated to writing a review, but good friend Luka struck me once again with a fine batch of bands interested in doing an interview for "Natures With No Plagues". Thus, questions were produced massively and in the end two were sent, while one is still being written. The amazing black metal/shoegaze/call it how you wish quintet "Deafheaven" already received their questions, as did the the well known hc/crust band "Masakari". At the moment, the interview getting its final touches is for "Homunculi", up and coming post rock/black metal project from Brazil. We also spoke to two more bands, though we are yet to begin writing for them, one being the crust/sludge/doom from Sweden "Agrimonia" and while the other is "Nux Vomica", a band already featured on this blog in a gig review.
On top of all that, I am still waiting for answers from "Owls Are Not What They Seem" and "Gattaca", about whom you can read in my Fluff Fest reports, as well as from "Panopticon" and "Thou". These latter two I doubt will ever see the light of day on this blog, because several months have passed since the questions were sent. But hey it is quite understandable, due to the fact that Austin is a busy family man and "Thou" pumps out new releases like crazy, I think those guys don't sleep! I was really looking forward to those, but there is much more to be done anyway and who knows, maybe one day.
Also, there will be (hopefully) a lot of gig reports in October. As you can see on my Last.fm page in the events list, I am gonna try and attend a fine number of shows, some of which are beyond the borders of Serbia and it should be a pretty interesting month. I am reluctant to write about the names which I will see live, since I am becoming really superstitious, because every time I post too early that I will go to a gig I end up not going. Yes, I am that crazy.
So there you have it, some of the plans in a nutshell. Tomorrow or the day after I will write a release review and hopefully Friday is going to see one as well. Until then, stay tuned!

Means To An End - Winter Demo (2011)

2011-09-24T13:19:00.000+02:00

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Woke up early in the morning today only to realize that all of my plans for the day got cancelled by other people. So the unexpected free time should be put to good use and to try and deplete my inbox which is boiling with submissions.

For several months now I have been on an extremely addictive dose of some older screamo projects from the end of the 90's and the first quarter of 2000's, more specifically bands like "Mihai Edrisch", "Orchid" and "Jeromes Dream". Listening to them, one really realizes how those bands had a certain something that sets them miles apart from today's screamo. Here and there you get to hear a brief glimpse of influence from those legendary names, but usually it doesn't get further than that. Well, "Means To An End" is one of these bands that has a strong potential of resurrecting some of that old spirit.
The five piece chaotic screamo from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania recorded this demo in the early months of 2011 and thus far this is their first released material. This project features members of "Masochrist" and "Old Accusers", which I am yet to take a listen to so I will skip talking much about that. But speaking of the above mentioned old spirit, "Means To An End" harbors a very strong taste and influence from "Orchid", at least in my ears. Amid the overall chaos, vocal and instrumental whirlwind, at times I managed to grasp something that managed to awake a certain feel of nostalgia which I connect to some already mentioned bands. I won't write much about this tidbit, since it is in fact just an "influence", so in the meantime just listen for yourself and I will mention what I have on this regard in the closing words.
Getting a bit more technical with the actual music, the "Winter Demo" brings us four tracks with somewhere around eighteen minutes of tunes. In that time, quite a lot of stuff is thrown into your lap and I personally found enjoyment in every second of it. The opening track, "The Day We've Been Dreading For So Long Is Finally Upon Us", specifically took my breath away and I actually ended up playing just that song several times in a row. We are greeted with a chaotic start, buzzing guitars distorting and crashing around the place, the bass following with its deep growl in the same pace, the drums pounding their way through all the craziness and the vocal, of course, being in the form of a raspy, stretched out scream nearly melding with the other instruments. It's all fun and games until you reach the middle of the song which really made me go "wow". Tempo suddenly drops and everything takes on a new dimension, slowly building up toward yet another explosion. This slower mid part really flung me back into the beginning of the 2000 when it comes to screamo. The guitar acquired a clear and gentle, yet somewhat saddening tone, while the bass is heard here and there, like it is hiding behind the guitar, while the drums perform a droning background melody. Tension builds up a bit more as the distorted strings hit again, still slow, with the clean tones crawling through at times. And at last it all explodes again, this time with multiple screams, all leading into an amazing end.
As you can see, quite a more detailed description for just one song, but honestly, "Means To An End" really made me ponder a bit more about their songs then usual. And like I said, they throw at you a lot of things and one just keeps discovering more aspects of their tunes with each listen. I just noticed, for instance, how this pack screaming in the second song is damn amazing. All in all, for a demo this is really great and it definitely sparks interest about their future work, especially since it will probably carry a lot better sound quality and cleaner sound. These recordings aren't bad, mind you, but you can actually sense that this is a demo, if you know what I mean. In the course of listening this release, I also noticed how the band is still experimenting with their sound, since for example you have two songs that are longer than your usual song (longer than four minutes), while the other two are quite short (less then 2 minutes or a few seconds above that) and are actually "untitled". Not only that, but the latter songs also have a different playing style, grabbing some mathy traits, having some riffs that reminded me of bands such as "Merchant Ships", though far less...twinkly. (NOTE: no, I don't call such bands "twinkle daddies", thank you very much, just that word seems quite descriptive for certain riffs) Additionally, those two songs don't have that specific melancholic or slightly depressed/angry mood like the first two tracks, so there is a big style gap in the middle of the demo.
With everything being written thus far, "Means To An End" is a very interesting band. I have nothing but praise to say about the fact that they managed to invoke the nostalgic feel in my chest, especially since those words are rare on this blog, despite me always trying to shine a light on whatever it is a certain band does best. The older screamo style is just an influence on this project apparently, but the potential they glimpsed at us is truly great and my sincere recommendations are that the band should definitely fully embrace this. They also showed potential for a completely different branch of this genre, standing shoulder to shoulder with the previously recommended one. All in all, whichever way they decide to go, their metamorphosis will absolutely be intriguing to behold. Until then, check them out for yourselves and get in touch with them on their blog found here or facebook page found here. Enjoy!

Taste The Void - In Search For Light (2011)

2011-09-19T11:48:00.000+02:00

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Wow, it seems that time flies even when you are not having fun. Quite a horrid period for your host on a personal level, so in a blink of an eye I realized that more than a week has passed since my last post. The low post counter drives me nuts, so I'll try and be more active after this entry.

"Taste The Void" is a quartet coming from Nantes, France. It has been quite a lot of time since I have had the privilege to be introduced to a French band and I was really excited about hearing this. Most of my readers know how much I praise this country for its screamo projects, but this time we have a post metal/hardcore band on our hands, showing how much the land has various tricks up its sleeve. Ok, I got a bit philosophical with this paragraph, but the excuse for such mumbling is that you really can't find a lot of info about this project, other than that it is a four piece and that they have just this release behind their backs, which came out on 2 February 2011. The mere fact that it is a French project should be enough to get you interested, trust me on that.
Getting a bit to the point, this release, named "In Search For Light", brings us two songs which combine into a fifteen minute giant. After a few seconds of distorted, scratching sounds greeting you at the beginning, you immediately realize how enormous this monster really is. The riffs are sluggish, yet extremely powerful, while the drums provide a persistent beating on all your senses, slightly reminding me of "Time To Burn" or "In The Final Analysis". If you listened to those bands then you will know how much chaotic and massive their sound is. Of course, everything is accompanied by quite a grim and sort of depressive tone, which pretty much justifies the name of the band. At times the mood is splashed with some very slow and gentle parts, harboring quite a lot of melancholy within.
The things I wrote thus far don't sound quite revolutionary when it comes to the genre "Taste The Void" is associated with. This may sound like a flaw, but hey, why would it be? The merits of this band are found in their skill to sculpt the genre in their own visage, which they managed to do quite well and in a lot of different ways. First of all, there is interesting variation when it comes to the vocal performance. Starting out as a screamed, raspy vocal, the voice morphs in the course of the songs into gentle and quite clean singing. Other times however, it becomes a near humming like sound, which is very interesting, since it provides a unbelievable amount of contrast to the music. For instance in the first song, the first time you get to hear that soothing singing the music keeps the dark and brooding tone, which actually makes quite an eerie atmosphere.
Aside of the vocal, the very music itself is extremely interesting. Despite the fact that it clings to the, I'll use the brutal word, "cliches" of the genres, it provides a score of unique details. One of the aces really sprout out of the songs and hit me in the head, that being the fact that amid all of the chaos there is a specific repetitive tone which connects everything together. This is somehow omnipresent for the duration of a specific track and it kinda gives a flowing feel to the tunes. The existence of something like that is a very good composition move, since the songs in general provide a lot of variation in the form of tempo changes, different riffs and rapid mood shifts, so if there was nothing holding all of this together we would have an entirely different tag for this band.
Usually when it comes to bands like this I need to find myself in a specific mood to be able to listen, but thanks to the flowing yet sluggish shifting melodies of "Taste The Void", the band managed to completely grasp my attention without any personal adjustments. They definitely succeed in tickling your interest with the initial entry into your player and that is quite a rare trait. Overall, I enjoyed this release a lot and would really like to see some more work from these four dudes. My sincere recommendations go to all of you to take a listen to this band, since I absolutely stand by the statement that you won't regret it. In case you want to throw just a glance, you can check them out on their facebook page here or on their bandcamp page here. The bandcamp profile also contains a video of their live performance, so be sure to drop by and view it. Also, the posted download link in this review is courtesy of the band. Enjoy!

Mala In Se - Mala In Se (2011)

2011-09-11T12:23:00.000+02:00

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These past few days I completely melted my brain with various black metal bands and found myself in need of some new stuff completely out of the norm. Plus, I haven't written a release review in quite a long time, so this seemed like a good excuse to get back on track.

"Mala In Se" is a trio hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio, presumably formed in 2010. I say presumably, since on some places the year 2010 is found as a release year of this album, while on others you will find the year 2011. In the email I received from "Phratry Records" the spring of this year is mentioned as the official release date, so we'll go along with that. In any case, "mala in se" is a phrase in Latin which means "evil in itself" or "offenses against conscience". Once you take a listen to this album you realize how much the name actually suits the band, since the name implies the existence of multiple layers of something (in this case evil if you take it literally, but we will get to that as well). Namely, the band whips out a completely weird mutation of noise, mathrock /core, psychedelic and quite a few other tidbits as well. The instrumental section and overall style of song composition is absolutely hard to define, since there are a ton of genres, tempos and layers of sound flying around. For example, the intro song named "Time lapse photography of decomposing animals" starts off with spasmic, pounding and rushing drums which are accompanied by extremely distorted and chaotic strings. After a few seconds of smashing into your brain, the aggressiveness calms down, followed with some howling of the strings, only for everything to explode again in the next instance, but this time with a bit of a sludge-like tone. Things shift between this and the rushing drums from the beginning, yet somewhere at the middle of the song we are greeted with a section that reminded me of something that could most likely crawl from a "Meshuggah" song. One other great example is the song "Devil Dung". The intro is an eerie sound made by the guitar, but it is soon broken by some overtly technical playing, later transformed into a fast metal-like beast. Tempo drops drastically moments after and it lasts for a while until everything acquires a post metal/sludge tone. Yet, once all the behemoth smashing is over, the ending is executed in an extremely minimalistic fashion and just trails off. As you can see, there are really multiple layers per song, but everything is tied together with a sort of unifying undertone that keeps it all tight and orderly. Be it a certain instrument, a repetitive vocal performance or something else, there is always one element keeping a specific track from being lost in utter chaos. Tempo and melody changes are almost omnipresent, yet you always feel as though everything is in order and there are no stray tones.
Speaking of vocal performance, they definitely deserve some special credits as well. Both string players contribute with their voices and the cool thing is that even here some contrasts and different layers are present. On one side you have a screaming/yelling vocal, while on the other there is a sort of half whine, half shrieking one. This not only provides the above mentioned contrast, but also the combination is unique and quite interesting, not to mention how chilling it is especially when the vocals are followed by some gruesome riffs. The vocals justify the name of the band as well, since they speak of animal cruelty, environmentalism and similar subjects, the evil I mentioned in the beginning. However, it is here where I have a complaint, though it is not a real complaint per se, and that is the band not posting their lyrics on their bandcamp page (which is found here, by the way). What little notion I managed to grab from their words was kinda tough and seeing as though the lyrics are in theme of the rest of the band, posting them online would definitely make things much more enjoyable. So yeah, not really a flaw, just a minor suggestion, if anyone from the band reads this.
All in all, I am really impressed by "Mala In Se". Not every band can manage to throw at you such a bomb filled with chaos and succeed in taming it. This trio has a specific talent with that and I am honestly looking forward to hearing some future work from them. Until then, definitely check out their self titled release, you won't regret it! Download link is provided by "Phratry Records". Enjoy!

Gig review: La Dispute, Touche Amore, Death Is Not So Glamorous, Dance Or Die!!!, Wasted Struggle, Libido Wins

2011-09-06T11:59:00.000+02:00

Ouch, an unexpected amount of days passed between posts, simply because I am completely stuck with listening to a handful of bands, among which are "Wolves In The Throne Room" and "Nadja", so I just couldn't make my mind think and write about anything else. I was also, kinda desperately, waiting for four expected interviews to arrive, but since they still haven't arrived I guess it is time to write something here. Like the previous gig review, this will be more of a comment of sorts, since I already reviewed "La Dispute" and "Touche Amore" in the Fluff Fest report...and more than a month has passed since the gig, so my thoughts about it are already fading a bit.

In any case, the show was held on Monday, 1 August 2011, in a venue called "Dürer Kert" in Budapest. The location of the place is very cool, since it is close to a huge park through which we walked prior to the gig, so from my perspective it seemed as if it is quite secluded from the rest of the city. The complex where the venue is found is quite a big one, composed out of an indoor bar and a sort of cafe, an outdoor bar/cafe as well with a lot of benches, swings and generally a lot of room for hanging out. And of course, the big room where the gig was held. The room was in constant darkness, except for the stage lights, so I kinda failed to pay attention to the design of the place. What did attract my attention immediately when "Libido Wins" started playing was that the sound was horrible, but I will get to that a bit later.
So yeah, first band started playing, but I wasn't actually present in the room, instead diving my nose into the distro section which was placed in a long corridor outside of the gig space. After some drooling and in the end picking up a "pg.99/Reactor No.7" split and some other sweetness, we went inside the venue to see "Wasted Struggle" playing, completely missing out on the first band. Generally speaking, the band wasn't really to my liking, since the vocal constantly seemed out of place. The drummer however, was a total enjoyment to watch, since he has a very interesting style of playing and the drums themselves really jump out from the rest of the band, in a positive way of course. While the drums proved to be a solid and enjoyable piece, the other elements of the band seemed overtly chaotic and in disarray. In defense of the band I have to mention the sound issue here. The sound bouncing around the venue was extremely obnoxious, the volume being too loud which resulted in the listener unable to hear everything due to the crunchiness and general dispersion of the sound throughout the room. It really took me some time to get used to the audio mayhem and this experience is actually a good reminder to bring ear plugs to gigs in the future.
"Dance Or Die!!!" was up next and I was extremely happy that I will get to see them. In case you are not familiar with the band, I did a review of their release some time ago, so if you missed that one definitely check it out. It is quite short, since it is from the early days of the blog when I wasn't such a "wiseass know-it-all", so take a quick read to get the general picture of the band. The review is found here. Anyways, the band managed to live up to my expectations as a hyper, insane and maniacal entity, simply devastating the crowd during their set. All the chaos and unexpectedness from the recordings is perfectly reflected during their show and the feeling is increased a tenfold with added aggression and the visual part of the performance. As much as I was impressed with them, later I heard from my Hungarian host that the band prefers not having a stage under their feet and at times randomly running into the crowd with their instruments while still playing, so this definitely sparked some more interest about seeing them again. It is really worth mentioning that "Dance Or Die!!!" provided an excellent show despite the awful sound of the venue, bending the chaos and the raspy sound to their will. A totally crazy band, which by the way released two splits, one being a tape with "The Balls Of Justice" and the other a seven inch split with "PFA". You can check out those on their bandcamp page, found here.
"Death Is Not So Glamorous" was next, though I am not a big fan of their music, so I opted to spend some time with my friends outside. After some hanging out, we got inside to find neat spots to listen to "La Dispute". I have to say that I enjoyed the band here more than on Fluff Fest, since, as I mentioned in the festival report, I consider them not really being an open air festival material, instead excelling at a show with a small number of people. And as expected, the atmosphere was great and the overall connection between the band and the audience was on a much more intimate level than when I previously saw them live. There was a lot of energy flowing around from both sides and it was a real enjoyment being a part of that. The song selection was almost copied from the one on Fluff Fest, with the addition of "Said The King To The River" as an encore song and one new song from their upcoming release. I don't know what else to say, since I pretty much covered it all on the festival report. The same goes for "Touche Amore" who were really great, but with an even wilder atmosphere, more stage diving, singalongs and rapid movement in the crowd. And it was finally great to witness everyone screaming the lyrics of "Honest Sleep" and being able to participate in that as well, since on Fluff it was just one dude next to me who knew the words...which was ultimately retarded. All in all, it was a great gig and I was extremely happy to be able to see "Dance Or Die!!!", who are definitely a personal highlight, since I already saw the main bands before. The only downside was the sound of the venue, but hey, you can't have it all.

CN Roundhouse Kick & Distinct Cult - Winter 2011/2012 Euro Tour

2011-09-02T11:46:00.001+02:00

Today I wanted to write about something else, but receiving this yesterday made me change priorities a bit. Some time ago I also received a review request from "CN Roundhouse Kick", though I am yet to write about them, so until then this tour announcement will be posted. Winter is still far away, yet these two bands plan to set up everything as soon as possible and on time. Four shows are already booked and here is their basic tour schedule:

25.12. - Ruda Slaska, Poland @ Adk Berza
26.12. - Lublin, Poland @ Tektura
27.12. - Slovakia
28.12. - Cluj Napoca, Romania @ La Gazette
29.12. - Romania
30.12. - Romania
31.12. - Romania
01.01. - Day off or somewhere in Bulgaria
02.01. - Greece
03.01. - Greece
04.01. - Greece
05.01. - Greece
06.01. - Bulgaria
07.01. - Kumanovo, Macedonia @ Kc Bingo
08.01. - Serbia
09.01. - Hungary
10.01. - Czech republic

A pretty long tour and a lot of shows to be booked, so if you are interested in helping the bands out or just wish to give them a contact for booking, feel free to do so via the following mail:
cn-rhk AT web DOT de

Also, until I get to write about the bands, you can check them out on their websites, "CN Roundhouse Kick" found here and "Distinct Cult" found here.

Gig review: After Fluff Matinee - Round 5

2011-08-28T13:29:00.000+02:00

Still being bothered by the exam a bit, plus actually not spending a lot of time by the computer these days. I took my time to finally write down questions for some long planned interviews and write some non-blog life depending reports, so all these bits and pieces really took away the time to commit to the blog. Yet, here is one more gig review from my July/August trip, the After Fluff Matinee show.

This won't be an actual review however, since by this time I really managed to charge my batteries as far as shows go, if you know what I mean, and drained all my energy so I was quite tired at the time. Since my travel companions wanted to go to this show, I just took the time to hang out and pay less attention to the show, especially since I am not the biggest fan of the lineup (prior to the show, at least). So in any case, this is more just a brief comment about the show and less a review, writing just to mark the show as visited and provide you with a short read.

The gig was held on Monday, 25 July 2011, in "007" club in Prague. The club is located a bit out of the center of the city, so it was a longish walk there and back for my friends and me, yet it is quite cool that the venue is kinda secluded. "007" is a rather small venue, but with just enough space for everyone to feel comfortable. It is a basement like construction, since it is located underground, with a very nicely designed interior. Passing by the wardrobe, the extremely small stageless stage is located to the right with a rather limited space for the crowd, but again enough for everyone to fit inside, and on the left there is a bar, a lot of places to sit and a bands distro section. One other great thing not actually connected to the venue itself, but nice nevertheless, is a lawn located just outside of the entrance where everyone was laying around, hanging out and just having a good time.

Most of the time during the gig I just circulated with my endless tour companion between the gig space below and the lawn outside, eating some delicious pizza from the bar, drinking and talking. We actually did go inside to see each of the bands, but my focus on music was not in abundance. On top of me generally being tired, I haven't listened to these bands before, except for "Beyond Pink", so the much needed concentration was not present a lot. In any case, the first band that managed to grab my attention a fair bit is definitely "Unveil", who had an excellent performance. The four piece hardcore from Switzerland took me by surprise with their wild aggressive set and they were the first band that night that I watched entirely. Quite an enjoyment to witness live, since not only are their tunes very strong and striking, but watching their energy on stage is a real view to behold. Some time after them, it was time for "Beyond Pink". I failed to see them at Fluff Fest, since I was eager to grab a good spot for "Swing Kids" at the time and luckily I knew that I will be seeing them on this show, so it was not a problem. Of course, I say "luckily" since their show was extremely interesting. The girl quintet provided a very dynamic, fast and crazy performance which in the end actually featured a cover of a song by Beyonce. Quite an amazing cover I might add! There was a lot of dancing on both the side of the audience and the band and it seemed that the atmosphere and excitement was just building up throughout the entire day, the pinnacle of everything being the "Unrestrained" performance. This was the last show of their final European tour, so everything went completely nuts once they took the stage. I was absolutely carried away by the entire atmosphere, from all the rapid movement through the venue while "Unrestrained" played to the amazing performance by the band and the sheer amount of passion and energy radiating from the stage. Usually I don't listen to this type of hardcore, but these guys managed to blow me away completely. Unbelievably emotional set with the venue being fully packed while they were up. Their songs had short pauses which Ryan filled with talking with the crowd and sharing some of the thoughts of "Unrestrained" and this created an even more intimate atmosphere. I was really touched by the whole set somehow and enjoyed every second of it, in the end just going to Ryan after the show and shaking his hand and just saying praises about his band. The funny thing was that the day after this gig my friends and I went to a picnic where a lot of people from Fluff fest came, Ryan being there as well and me not realizing it was him haha.

All in all, it was an interesting day, had a lot of fun and these few bands really sparked a lot of enjoyment. Really glad I saw "Unrestrained", definitely a band worth the note. The dudes from "Tigersuit" zine, with whom I actually traveled with a lot, did an interview with them and "Beyond Pink", so keep your eyes open for that!

Circle Takes The Square - Decompositions - Vol I. Chapter 1. Rites of Initiation (2011)

2011-08-23T13:01:00.000+02:00

http://ctts.bandcamp.com/

Just a quick update on this nigh cataclysmic event, in case someone missed the news. After seven years of waiting, of rumors, of people losing hope that they will ever hear something from this band again, of some (undeserved) internet hate, the new material from "Circle Takes The Square" has finally grasped the light of day. Four new, incredible songs are being streamed on the band's bandcamp page, while the physical release will be out in November. Until the entire release is out I will hold my thoughts for myself, but the important thing is that I consider this a release worthy of its predecessor. No words for now, just listen.

Troubled Coast - Letters (2011)

2011-08-20T13:23:00.000+02:00

Download

A few days of pause with writing due to me preparing my final exam, yet there are still two more shows from my trip to be reviewed. In the meantime, once again I decided to splash a band between gig related posts, simply because all the band submissions are beginning to pile up a lot. And additionally, the fact that this band really caught my attention immediately once I listened to it this morning, so an extreme urge to share it exploded in my head.

"Troubled Coast" is a quartet from East San Francisco Bay Area, California. This melodic/post hardcore act has been active from the year 2009, yet despite their young age as a band they have been constantly active and pumping out releases. The initial year of their birth saw the release of their 10'' LP named "100 Miles From Home" which came out on "Creator-Destructor Records" in December. Only a few months later they returned to the studio and recorded "Vagabonds EP" which was self-released. Finally, in late 2010 the band entered the rehearsal room once again and by March 2011 this, latest, album was recorded and released.
As you can see, quite a turbulent and productive band history. Judging by Cory, guitarist of "Troubled Coast" and the dude who contacted me about a possible review, the band went through sound metamorphosis with each new album during which they added a more melodic tone to their music and adding additional layers of harmonies and depth that set them apart from being just a standard hardcore project. Sadly I didn't listen to their pre-"Letters" material, but listening to this album now really makes me want to check out their previous work.
So, what is it that you actually get to hear on "Letters"? Imagine a combination of pop punkish melodies from a band such as "Title Fight" and song structures like we can hear on "Touche Amore" releases, having the lyrical concepts of "La Dispute" yet with a more aggressive approach of "Verse". And this is all just talking in a nutshell. The cool thing however is that while listening to "Troubled Coast" you can witness just a glimpse of these influences, since most of the time the band sounds overtly different and unique. Additionally, this album is quite hard to grasp and describe in its entirety, since it is packed with songs that are various in style even to one another. It is enough to listen to a couple of tracks and you very well become aware of the fact that you will need to go over and over throughout the whole release to experience it fully. So for example, the opening track named "Amends" is a sort of buildup song featuring some coarse vocals and pack screaming, which melds toward the second song titled "Wolf Republic", which keeps swinging between being melodic and aggressive with the vocal calming down and becoming more of a half screamed, half spoken one. Both of these are less then two minutes in length, so "Breathing" kicks in and introduces a longer type of song and an even further change in the vocal which now becomes gentle and almost whisper like. So as I said, during the course of only a few tracks you get to hear that the band likes to experiment with their songs a lot. Throughout the entire album, featuring thirty eight minutes of music by the way, the song structures are complex and diverse without a single song being similar to another one. "Letters" even includes some guest appearances which manage to spice up the album even further.
As I have only a handful of bands within these genres, "Troubled Coast" came as a welcome addition to the basket and quite an entertaining one. My wish to share this release as soon as possible probably crippled this review a bit, since I am certain that I would actually need a few days of listening to have a solid critique opinion about it and point out all the highlights, which are abundant believe me. But one thing is for certain and that is that I really enjoy this album and it will grow on me even further in those upcoming days. Definitely check these guys out and judging by their performance thus far we are most likely for more surprises in the future. Enjoy!

Festival report: Fluff Fest 2011, day three

2011-08-15T12:14:00.001+02:00

24 July, day three

Yet another town trip and a slight delay made us late to catch "Gattaca", luckily we just missed the first song and soon found ourselves a place quite near the stage. Even while we were approaching the main stage it became obvious that we are in for an amazing show. The five piece crust band from the Czech Republic provided just an extremely powerful and epic sound, with an overall feeling of melancholy perfectly radiating from both their tunes and stage movements. I have been in love with their ex-bands, namely "Dakhma" and "Lakme", because of that specific dark and grim tone, but "Gattaca" managed to take it to a whole new level and seeing them play live took that experience even further. "Damokluv Mec", "Ve jmenu pokroku", "Chceme zpet svuj cas" (those songs being from their split with "Clamant") and all other tracks from their set had a superb clean sound and were just a flawless performance overall. I was definitely eager to hear them, but they managed to impress me even beyond my expectations. There is a very good video of their Fluff Fest show on youtube, so go ahead and check it out! Also, I will be doing an interview with "Gattaca" as soon as I grab time to write down the questions, but expect it soon.
Another band from the Czech Republic was up next in the tent, though sadly I did not pay much attention during their performance. "Esazlesa" played inside while I was outside talking to a friend, so both of us just threw a glimpse or two here and there. The post rock/screamo quartet had a truly massive sound which could be strongly felt even that far from the stage and they managed to make me enjoy those periodic moments when I was actually listening. I remember that I caught only the song "Zivoty" in the fullest and the quality of the sound was as if playing a recording, but with much more power and energy. Some of my companions that had their full attention toward the band inside said that it was a really great performance and I must agree with them, despite not witnessing the whole show.
From then on up until 6pm I just walked around and hanged out with people, saving all my energy and enthusiasm for "Raein" on the main stage. When the time finally arrived and they got up on stage, all chaos broke loose with energy and passion just exploding from the stage and the crowd. There is really no need for me to explain in detail the amount of euphoria while the legendary Italian screamo act performed, especially since most of the time during their show I felt completely entranced, as if my brain switched off and my body moved on its own. A clear example of your mind being completely blown away. Not only were the people in front of the stage crazed, but the stage itself had constant movement, both from stage divers and from the band members themselves who were a real enjoyment to watch, just shining with emotions. The audience was granted many songs from their latest record, including one of my favorite songs named "Raein rumore. tre", yet they spiced up the set list with other older incredible pieces such as "The King Is Dead", "On Air" and of course "Tigersuit". Wave after wave of sound just kept hitting the crowd, all building up to a climax intense ending and it was just a spectacular show. As I said, no need for details, bands like these you just have to witness to believe and experience for yourself, simply incredible.
Last band I paid my full attention to on this year's Fluff Festival was none other than "Rosetta", who were up next after "Raein". Okay, this is really strange to write about, simply because I don't know what to say. First to get things out of way, I really love "Rosetta" and enjoy them at home quite much. During their live performance they had the most clean and spectacular sound which was absolutely incredible. But aside of that, there was not much to it, since the overall experience seemed as though I was listening to them at home but with extremely powerful speakers. Maybe I was expecting too much from them or something, but to me their performance seemed somewhat blank and monotone. They failed to grasp my attention entirely and I was more fascinated to watch one of my friends on the ground who became one with the universe while "Rosetta" was playing. So, aside of me not having the "wow" experience, they did manage to provide a good show due to the above mentioned sound quality. They opened up with probably my favorite song from "Wake Lift" named "Red In Tooth And Claw", and later throwing songs like "Release", "Revolve" and if I remember "Renew" as well, all leading up to a great ending in the form of "A Determinism Of Morality". That last song is the only one that managed to see body movement and the screaming of lyrics from me, since the ending was quite epic. All in all, great performance, but somewhat lacking some aspects.

And that is it, my complete experience from Fluff Fest. Amazing bands, an opportunity to hang out with people I was so eager to meet, drooling distros and exquisite food, real enjoyment every step of the way. Several bands I missed due to various factors and we had some troubles along the way, but overall I had the best time ever during these three days. I'd like to say thanks to the organizers and everyone else involved for keeping such an amazing festival alive (especially to the food makers who actually keep us alive), to all the bands for their performances and shared passion. Special thanks and hellos to my travel companions for all the shared mischief/good times, to Lada, Melisa, Botond, Vuk, Zule, Luka, Gabrielius, Joost, Stephan (and his mate who's name I forgot because I suck), Mister Paan and all other wonderful people I managed to meet and hangout with and to Dabar for turning this into a trip of a lifetime. See you all next year!

Festival report: Fluff Fest 2011, day two

2011-08-13T14:00:00.000+02:00

23 July, day two

After an unbelievable night filled with many ups, downs and remarkable twists of having nowhere to sleep, meeting people and finally sleeping in a car, the second day of the festival began and the lineup was just amazing. A trip to the town and some complications along the way halted us a bit, so we were really running late and hearing "Lemuria" playing in the distance. Felt bad about missing them, but then again I don't love them that much to feel sorry about it. Luckily we got just in time to settle up at a nice spot and get ready for "Trainwreck". To say that I was extremely impatient about hearing them live would be an understatement. The weirdest thing personally was the fact that I started listening to them not long before the actual Fluff Fest, yet I began enjoying their music so much that the desire to feel their tunes live increased extremely dramatically and fast. Their sound was as predicted, abnormally rushing and destructive, yet precise and passionate. The moment they started playing I just became so euphoric and excited that I have some memory gaps when it comes to their set. Some songs I can't remember, thought the pinacle of the set, pinacle for me at least, I can recall every minor detail about. "Piano Gigante" was the track I was most eager to hear and when it was announced near the end of the set, I felt like I was going to explode. And there comes the only "problem" concerning their show, that being the completely dead crowd. People were zombified, just mildly swinging their heads even at the very front of the stage, while I was the only maniac who wanted to dance and jump and scream the damned lyrics. I somewhat felt sorry for the band, since they got a really low amount of feedback even despite the fact that they were exceptionally good. Luckily, the band seemed happy doing their thing, getting on stage and blowing brains away with their music. Overall, excellent show.
After a minor break spent in front of the stage, "Battle Of Wolf 359" arrived and killed the audience without remorse. From the very first day I heard their tunes I fell in love with what they do, since there was something overtly unique about their sound and general mood which was invoked while listening. Their performance on Fluff Fest just skyrocketed and ultimately sealed my adoration for them, since the band managed to exceed all my expectations, taking their instruments and just smashing at the people in front of them without stopping. If I remember well from all the excitement, songs like "Apostasy", "In Search of Gaia", "Martyr O.D." were played and all of them sounding absolutely perfect. That above mentioned uniqueness and mood can be literally touched during their live performances and that is what blew my mind away the most. My favorite song was also played, namely "Cyberdine", and it is actually during this track that the crowd went completely insane and a sudden circle pit started. I was caught in the very middle of it and it was probably my first circle pit in ages, which was made all the more special because of the accompanying tunes. The audience finally became alive and the whole enjoyment was additionally increased thanks to all the movement during the band's performance. Definitely one of the best acts on this year's festival, unbelievably glad I had the privilege to see them live.
After some roaming through distros and food venues, we got back to the main stage to brace for impact with "Year Of No Light". Ok, with this band I have a very strange relationship. Back in the day of their release named "Nord", I was listening to them quite a lot, yet somehow as time passed by I nearly forgot about them, not even being aware that "Ausserwelt" came out in the meantime. I was, of course, quite happy when they were announced for this year's Fluff, yet I didn't know what to expect and was somewhat nervous prior to their appearance.As it turns out, they got up on stage and succeeded in completely stunning me. During their entire performance I was in a trance-like state, just soaking up every possible note floating from the stage. The sound they created was enormous, an unbelievably gigantic monster unleashed upon all senses. I was standing somewhere at the center of the audience and I clearly remember my whole body vibrating from the massive sound just hitting every inch of skin. The basses and double drumming were so powerful that the insides of my stomach pulsed. Their entire act was highly artistic since it was both an audio and visual spectacle. Each song the band members exchanged places on the keyboards, while the two set of drums and their players were extremely interesting to watch with their identical rapid movements. The string players were slow and at certain instances even not moving as if time stopped for them, which went extremely well with the sluggish pace of the beastly tones. Even the very climate obeyed, as the wind blew making the trees move and the Sun went away behind the clouds on several occasions during crescendo moments in songs, a glimpse of a grim mood following the tunes. I can't quite recall the songs played, but I presume they played the entire "Ausserwelt". Thinking about it now, I presume it is safe to say that "Year Of No Light" definitely snatches away the title of the best performer on this festival, simply because they surprised me on every possible level. Simply beyond amazing.
Taking a few moments to brace myself after their show ended, I realized I have to hurry up and catch "Reka", since their show already started in the tent. Sadly I managed to catch only a glimpse of their gig, maybe one and a half song or something like that, since "Year Of No Light" played a bit longer than expected. I don't even know which songs I heard, most probably from their latest release "III", but I can tell you that they were excellent. I never listened to them a lot at home and have only a vague notion of how they actually sound like, but they really managed to punch me in the face to pay more attention in the future. They had a powerful and overtly chaotic sound, quite different from what I thought I would witness. There were a few lineup changes as far as I hear, actually important ones since they have a new singer now, so the sound mutation was to be expected I guess. Those brief moments created by the Russians were very interesting and I feel really sorry for not catching their entire set.
After their show, I passed over to hear "Punch" on the main stage, but didn't quite feel impressed enough to stay long, which was actually rather disappointing. I love their recordings and enjoy listening to them, but live they were not really to my liking. The vocal somehow sounded way above the rest of the instruments, at least from the point where I was standing, and I really didn't have enough strength to listen to them a lot.
A long break ensued later, since there was nothing interesting going on for me. Even ended up completely alone without my friends at one point, so I randomly strolled through the festival space. Finally I moved to the tent stage, since I thought that "Beyond Pink" were next, but I was wrong. This was probably the best mistake turned golden situation, since instead I saw "Glasses" play. Prior to the fest I didn't listen to their tunes, so when they got up stage I decided to stick around, especially since I was still alone at this point. Oh shit, this was so good! With the first sound rolling over the tent from the stage, the crowd just exploded and didn't cease in activity until the very end. "Glasses" simply provided a nonstop audio beating and they had no intention to stop for a single second. Even the band mimicked the audience with constant stage movement, waving their instruments and jumping around. There is something in their tunes just driving you to go completely nuts and smash something. I feel sorry for not being able to provide the songs they played in this review since I didn't know the titles back then, but trust me when I say it is extremely unimportant. No matter the song selection, the band just ripped and provided one of the most intense shows I have seen thus far.
Some chilling out afterwards and being reunited with one dear companion of mine and later the rest of them, it was finally time for the last of the great three bands of the day on the main stage, "Blue Note" or better known under their original name "Swing Kids". Before their performance I talked to a lot of my friends and everyone had extremely high expectations for them. And yes, the band came up and kept sweeping everyone from their feet throughout the entire set. The screamo legends from San Diego made the whole stage just radiate with their spasm-like riffs and chaotic melodies, while staying cold and somewhat "professional" themselves. A lot of people criticized the behavior of the band during their performance, especially that of the singer who was exceptionally distant from the audience and appearing somewhat egocentric. In my head it was not really a flaw, since that provocative stance and glow of "we are a cult band" really added a certain flavor to the entire show which you don't get to see often. It was somehow special in a weird sort of way and I have to say that I enjoyed that visual part of their performance as well. As for the songs, all of their well known songs were played, like "El Camino Car Crash", "Blue Note", "Warsaw", "43 seconds", which had an unbelievably euphoric ending, and of course "Intro To Photography". Every track sounded perfect and all those choking tones were increased a tenfold during their act, managing to go along with all my expectations and even going above them. A perfect ending to a day packed with superb bands, this was tense.

Festival report: Fluff Fest 2011, day one

2011-08-12T13:59:00.000+02:00

Everyone has heard about the amazing Fluff Festival, so I think there is no need for any special introductions or talks. Due to the fact that this was my first visit to the fest, I'll just take a line or two to write about the very place of the happening and we can move on to the bands. Located at the well known Rokycany Airfield, the fest and the camp circling it take up a huge space on the vast green field between a woodland area and the nearby town. In contrast to the extremely big and actually almost endless camp space, the festival spot is small, but packed with distros, a movie tent, smaller stage tent, eating place and the main stage itself. All in all, just the perfect place for an event such as this and it really is a nice sight to behold and the organization is great.

As I already mentioned in the previous gig review, my friends and I decided to skip the actual pre-Fluff gig and go to the "Anchor" show in Prague, thus our first day in Rokycany was on the 22nd. Strolling through the forest with a bit slower pace and taking our time to leave our bags and everything, we came a bit late to the fest, the sounds of "Hopeless" greeting us as we arrived. I wasn't that much interested to hear them play, except for the song "Warehouse" and it was really funny how once we stepped into the festival space the song started playing. After some running and witnessing the most important part of the lyrics ("Getting fucked in the warehouse out of sight") next to one very peculiar person, a small number of my friends and me decided to roam the distros instead of sticking around. We took it slow and spent a lot of time on that endeavor, also skipping "50 Lions" in the process.
So after ravaging, or much likely being ravaged by, the distros came the first band we actually watched fully on Fluff and it wasn't even on the main stage, but in the tent. Extremely chaotic and maniacal tunes drew us closer to the stage and in the next thirty minutes I watched and listened with pure amazement. Allow me to introduce "Nikki Louder". Forget everything you heard about their recordings, forget your experiences with them at home, this Slovenian trio is ready to rip your brains apart during live performances. Spasmic, choking and sometimes rending riffs, massive drum explosions and insane bass lines followed by all sorts of howls coming through the microphone, the sheer amount of noise and ear devastation coming from just three members is unbelievable. During their set it was extremely hard to think of anything else, since they are relentless and unpredictable with their tunes. I actually didn't catch the beginning of their performance and we didn't have a printed out time schedule, so I didn't know the name of the band until the very end. I approached the bass player and shamefully asked for their name, so when he said "Nikki Louder" my jaw rolled to the floor. Prior to the trip I took a listen to their tunes and they were intriguing, yes, but they can't be compared to their live manifestation. This was easily one of my favorite performances on this Fluff Fest, so if you ever get a chance to see them play live, do so, you are in for a remarkable surprise.
A break followed in the tent, so we strolled down through the distros again, still coming no way near the main stage which in my humble opinion had the weakest lineup on the first date in the three festival days. After half an hour "Owls Are Not What They Seem" started playing in the tent. I was really looking forward to seeing them live, since the moment I heard their tunes at home I immediately fell in love. This four piece screamo outfit from the Czech Republic managed to break free from the generally dark sound coming from the country and bring an interesting melodic and mellow creation. Their self-titled EP brought six songs bearing a high influence from some French screamo bands, packed with great nonstop pace changing songs and a peculiar vocal performance. And to my great pleasure, their set was as expected, just pure enjoyment to watch. Yet again we didn't know the name of the band, but once the first song started ringing through the tent I immediately recognized their music, since it has a strong dose of uniqueness within. It was planned for me to do an interview with the guys from the band after the show, but my brains were completely blown away, so that we talked and decided to do the interview online and you can expect that in the near future. All in all, amazing band and an even better performance.
We walked around again after "Owls..." finished, went to grab something to eat and overall nothing worth the note happened for us until 7pm when "Touche Amore" started playing on the main stage. I'll be completely honest with this one. Bunch of people are infatuated with them, bunch of people utterly hate them and personally I am found somewhere between the two. I enjoy some of their recordings, yet I had no real expectations due to previously watching a number of their live footage and each time they failed to impress. And to stay completely honest, they managed to really surprise me with their performance. Their songs seemed as a perfect copy of their recordings, just a great flow of sound coming from the stage followed by an energetic act and even constant singalongs and stage dives by the crowd. "Pathfinder", "Home Away From Here", the two tracks from the "La Dispute" split and of course, one of my favorite pieces, "Honest Sleep" are just some of the songs which flooded over the audience during their 45 minute set. Definitely entertaining to watch and listen, I'm somewhat glad that they managed to shake off my thoughts that they aren't so appealing live.
More food was needed, some more walking and hanging out with some people I was so eager to meet for the first time and after all that it was time to see "La Dispute", yet again on the main. Some of the people following my ramblings on this blog know my thoughts about this band, but for the sake of those who don't I will just repeat myself. "Vancouver" blew me away once I first heard it and I still love that release very much, but all their later work, excluding the "Touche Amore" split", is a bit too mellow and "artsy" for my taste. I have some songs I enjoy on "Somewhere at the....." album, but still their first release is a personal favorite and I disapprove of their later work. Of course, their set on Fluff didn't see a single song from "Vancouver", instead the band focusing on "Somewhere..." and the above mentioned split release. So songs like "Andria", "Damaged Goods, "Sad Prayers For Guilty Bodies" and "Bury Your Flame" were played, luckily the last two songs being tracks I like. Their performance was actually quite entertaining, since they sounded perfectly, as if listening to their music at home, a completely clear sound and no fumbles along the way. Although providing an excellent performance, I have to spill some of my thoughts about it, since I had a theory of sorts and it was proven correct. Thanks to the high amount of emotions, mellowness and general intimacy within their music, I was certain that the atmosphere wouldn't be so great during their performance and I was right. "La Dispute" is definitely not an open air festival band, much rather excelling at a smaller venue where the contact and interaction with the audience can be greater and more direct, which as I said proved correct when I saw them in Budapest for the second time. But more about that in another gig review which will follow shortly. All in all, their set was great, but nothing overtly surprising.

Animal Skins

2011-08-08T12:17:00.000+02:00

http://animalskins.bandcamp.com/

I thought about writing the next gig review, actually a festival report from Fluff, but pondered that maybe it is better not to slam you all with yet another wall of text and add some interesting tunes in between to spice it all up. Plus, I am really infatuated by everything that I experienced on the said festival, so I really want to be in an inspired mood while writing about it. But enough about that, time for you to be introduced to an exquisite band.

"Animal Skins" is a quintet from Boise, Idaho, and that is probably the most information you are going to dig up about the band on first glance on the web. Thus far, the five piece has released two extended plays, the first one coming out on 25 January 2011. Named "A EP", the release brought five songs with sixteen something minutes of very interesting tunes. Just to note, despite their bandcamp page showing only four songs, five tracks are available once downloaded. Anyways, the thing you get to hear is a noise spiced mid tempo hardcore mixed with some psychedelic bits and pieces. Sounds weird and maybe randomly put together, but the thing that matters is that "A EP" is an extremely entertaining release and it provided much enjoyment for yours truly. While you listen to the songs, you get this interesting feeling as if sitting on needles, since the tunes hover in mid tempo, as mentioned before, yet at times start reaching toward a more faster speed though never getting too pissed off and wild. Basically you feel as though everything is about to go insane, but it never does, this really mustering a lot of tension while listening and it was exceptionally cool. Having two guitars in the band, most of the times one provides repetitive, but extremely catchy riffs, while the other is responsible for some noisy creations. The listener is constantly thrown between the two, with drums and bass providing just ambient support. Other times however, all instruments blend really well together and form just a massive noise amalgam and you just sense the beating upon your ears. The vocal performance is a complete contrast to the rest of the band, since it is just a constant raspy scream with almost no change in sound. This is not a flaw however, since it creates the whirlwind effect, as if the vocal is just the only solid thing while the rest of the happenings are pure chaos and constant change. Rare are bands that manage to pull this off effectively and luckily "Animal Skins" jumps in that boat.
Following "A EP", July 2011 saw the release of "B EP" and a lot of changes for the band came in its wake. This time we are faced with four songs grasping us for almost twenty minutes and immediately we notice a drastic shift in their performance. First of all, the instruments became much more crunchy and noisy, which I love so much. Not only did the overall sound started being quite deeper, but the bass and drums don't provide just background tones anymore, this time I feel that they are also thrown into the spotlight on equal terms as the rest. The second thing almost instantly poking your ears is the change of style "Animal Skins" took. No longer slow going and psychedelic, now they carry a gloomy noise imbued hardcore. It was absolutely stunning listening to both releases in a row, expecting something similar and akin to the first one, yet being just completely slammed to the ground and beaten up by fast riffs filled with dread and sluggish behemoths waiting around the corner. The change in style took me by so much surprise that "B EP" just flew by me and left me pondering what the fuck just happened to my speakers.
The ultimate thing about "Animal Skins" is actually the fact that both of their releases are standing shoulder to shoulder with one another, both providing something highly interesting in their own way and right. Their evolution is really a sight to behold and I sincerely hope they won't stop with "B EP", since they certainly show what they are capable of as musicians and should definitely continue exploring their abilities. I honestly urge everyone to give them a try, listening to both of their records in one breath. You can get in touch with the band members over on their facebook page here. Enjoy!

Gig review: Anchor, No Guts No Glory, No Omega, Stay Hungry, Col-lapse

2011-08-05T14:28:00.003+02:00

The arrival of my friends and me to Prague was welcomed by raindrops and some pretty dark weather. That very day, namely 21 July, I realized that instead of going to the actual pre-Fluff gig in Rokycany we will see "Anchor" play in Prague. To be completely honest, I was excited for both gigs in the same amount since the bands playing on those gigs were completely unknown to me. Of course, I have heard of "Anchor" before, but never actually took a listen to them and this gig came as a great way to correct that mistake. Due to the fact that I haven't listened to a single band prior to this gig, expect this review to be a short one since I'm relying on only a vague memory of what happened, despite the amount of fun I had on the concert.

So as I mentioned above, the show took place on 21 July 2011 in "Cafe Na Pul Cesty", Prague. Literally everything about that venue is amazing, from location and design to the very sound it managed to provide. The cafe is located in a park of sorts quite near the train station, so we needed no more then ten minutes to find the place. It is a small and enjoyable structure, with only a single floor and a longish porch surrounding it. Inside there are a couple of tables and a bar, while the walls are covered with big windows so everything is quite light filled. Well, as much light as it could be mustered from the brooding weather outside. Speaking of the weather, I heard that this was supposed to be an open air show, the band playing on the porch outside the venue, but sadly the climate sabotaged that idea. The dude who organized the gig expressed his concern about whether everyone will manage to get into the cafe due to its size and the number of expected people. It turned out to be quite great, the venue fully packed and a lot of people hanging outside, having fun despite the rain and constantly circulating through the cafe and the porch.
In any case, we arrived way to early, so some tea/coffee/non-alcoholic bear later the show started, "No Guts No Glory" producing the first live music sounds that day. The five piece melodic hardcore/punk band from France managed to provide an outstanding performance and completely grasp my attention. Their set was fast and explosive, the songs just speeding through the venue with their catchy melodies and great singalongs. I remember my head constantly swinging back and forth, since the tunes really send an impulse toward you to keep constantly moving and dancing. Even now as I listen to their recordings at home the wish to just surrender yourself to the sound is present. It saddens me thought that I can't recall which songs were played, so their part of the review must rely on these few words in order to get your attention and influence you to take a listen to "No Guts No Glory". You can get in touch with the band on their myspace page found here.
Following them, "Col-lapse" played. The outfit from Barcelona is composed of ex members of "Cinder", meaning they are bound to be heard about before. Their performance I didn't follow visually, since we decided to spend some time in front of the venue, catching some fresh air and getting a bit wet from the persistent rain. The cool thing was that the music could be perfectly heard even outside, giving me a chance to at least enjoy the audio manifestation of the band. Also found in the melodic hardcore/punk waters, "Col-lapse" could be easily compared to the first playing band, being a sort of rougher version of "No Guts No Glory". Maybe a stupid comparison, since I spend a low amount of time in that specific genre, so to save my reviewer reputation I will mention that "Col-lapse" has been compared to bands such as "Embrace" and "Dag Nasty", by others at least. In any case, I enjoyed their sound and they are definitely worth a listen, which you can do on their bandcamp page here.
After "Col-lapse", "No Omega" hit the venue. And when I say hit the venue, I mean completely devastate and annihilate. Following those melodic tunes produced by the previous two bands, the monster that is "No Omega" fell heavy on the audience with their thundering and massive sound which went perfectly with the dark climate hovering over Prague. The quartet hailing from Sweden managed to absolutely blow me away with their music, walking on the line between an immensely depressive form of hardcore, post metal and at times even crust. This combination of genres provided an excellent live experience since you get to be utterly slowed down by some sluggish, almost sludge, tones and in the next second you are faced with an extremely fast, beating and trampling tone. "Ravens Fair" and "The Design" are definitely signature songs for this band since they show you exactly what this band is capable of. Be sure not to miss out on this project, absolutely worth keeping an eye out for. Check them out on their myspace page here and their facebook page here.
"Stay Hungry" was up next, yet we decided not to stay hungry and go outside to grab something to eat. Whilst nomming and filling our bellies with some vegan food, the band played inside. Yet another project coming from Sweden, "Stay Hungry" brought with them the sounds of straight edge hardcore. Sad to say that this band caught the least amount of attention from yours truly, simply because I never enjoyed this type of music. This doesn't mean they aren't good of course, since as much as I saw they managed to make the crowd go wild with a lot of dancing, stage diving and everything in between.
Last, but definitely not least, "Anchor" took the stage and succeeded in punching me in the face for not listening to them earlier. From the second their set started and all up until the very end and final tone, "Anchor" sent so much energy and power throughout the venue, making the audience go completely nuts. Stage diving, moshing, dancing, singalongs and an overall positive vibe pulsing through the cafe during their performance. I was standing way back in the gig space and had an excellent view of everything going on, a real sight to behold. It was funny how I was standing back there and thinking about how I want to go climb up at the bar and stage dive from there. The very second I decided to do that, one girl got up and jumped in the same fashion I imagined and actually almost slipping on some drink on the bar. This made me laugh so much that I actually forgot to do it later. In any case, "Anchor" were just relentless with the amount of amazing tunes and pure passion they radiated toward the people in the venue, their performance being quite a surprise and a huge highlight of the entire gig, in the end leaving me with a wish to go say hi to some of the members and grabbing a piece of their merch. If you made the same mistake as I did, definitely check them out and don't let them slip from your ears. They will be touring with "Trial" and "Run With The Hunted" over Europe in a few months, so try to grab them if you can. Check out "Anchor" on their bandcamp page found here.
Overall, an extremely fun gig with great people and atmosphere, featuring some pretty interesting and inspiring bands. Stay tuned for more reports from my trips, gonna write more in a day or two.

Endless tourlife

2011-07-18T14:03:00.000+02:00

This month has been extremely scarce with posts and although I didn't initially planned for it to be like that, sadly it is. I've had a lot of things that sabotaged my writing for July, some ups and some downs, though the majority is made out of quite positive events and energy. The main reason that the post count for this month will be stuck at three (with this post four) is that I will be away from home for two-something weeks. As I write this my room has scattered stuff on the floor which I need to pack and set off to hit the road later this evening. Yeah, finally my gig plans blossomed, since the previous ideas about seeing "Raein", "The Black Dahlia Murder" and "Parkway Drive " have failed miserably. This roadtrip is happening simply because this time I have the best and most wonderful travel companion on the planet, thus the planning was extremely easy and actually fun to do.
In any case, we will be catching the most epic gig, featuring "Neurosis", "Amenra" and Ufomammut" tomorrow evening in Vienna, followed by "Mono", "The Red Sparrows" and "Circle of Light" the day after, if we feel up to it actually. All gigs concerning Fluff fest will follow afterwards (both pre/post Fluff gigs and Fluff fest itself) and some other shows in Czech Republic, which are somewhat optional. On the way home there will be a gig with "La Dispute", "Touche Amore", "Death Is Not So Glamorous", "Libido Wins", "Dance or Die!!!" and "Wasted Struggle" in Budapest.
So the point of this post is that you boys and girls should expect a lot of material for the blog and not get worried about it being in hibernation until August. There will be show reviews, I'll also try to catch some interviews, some of which are already arranged and some if I muster enough balls to talk to people (shy me, yeah) and I'll be writing a sort of roadtrip journal and stuff like that. Hopefully the blog will be having various content in the next month, but until then expect no updates. If I grab some interwebz time at a certain point I might update my Tumblr page about what is going on. That is all for now from your humble host, see you in August or on the road!

Love,
Stefan xmoonxhowlerx

Innards - Tracing (2010)

2011-07-10T16:34:00.000+02:00

Download

I don't know what is the situation with the weather in your hometown, but here it is unbearably hot. I've been stuck at home for a couple of days, brain completely fried and without the slightest wish to go outside. The warmth totally kills the inspiration to do anything and it really took all my strength to write down this review. Luckily for my tormented grey cells, this band is already well known to the readers, or at least it should be, so I won't be writing a huge wall of text, since by now we all know how much this band kicks ass.

Yes boys and girls, "Innards" are back to shake you up from the monotony of daily life. I already wrote about this band and their previous release and you should definitely read that writeup here if you missed it by any chance. In case you couldn't care less about reading some old stuff, quick introduction for the band follows. Four amazing dudes playing some double amazing screamo, simple as that. The "four guys crying from Texas", as they are referred to on Last.fm, are again hitting me through the speakers and totally managing to solidify all the things I wrote previously about them. "Tracing" was just the perfect medicine for rising me up from the zombie like state I found myself in due to the weather and even succeeding in exceeding my expectations. The thing that initially grasped my adoration for them was the amount of different sounds, moods and techniques present in their tunes. Due to the fact that this release is longer than the previous one and the fact that they continued with the audio diversity, this ride is extremely thrilling and simply adventurous, the listener thrown into a whirlwind of sound. We are faced with some Australian screamo rending riffs, yet mixed up with some French epic spice a la "Daitro". The general feel of the music is constantly changing as we hear aggression to mellow mood swings akin to melodies we get to experience in songs from "William Bonney" and "Midwest Pen Pals", but with a unique twist. There is also an omnipresent clash of indie like guitar playing with some math start stop techniques and even some subtle post rockish buildups, the tone just bouncing from chaotic to gentle and back again.
Having so much various things on display for the listener can be a bad thing at times due to the fact that the release as a whole could sound not so coexistent, like the songs are just randomly thrown together into a package. "Innards" however have an uncanny ability to tame that wild beast so well and sculpt a damn fine release. All nine songs on "Tracing" fit perfectly together and flow very nicely. This was the thing that I was very intrigued to hear, whether or not the band will succeed in doing the thing they so masterfully did with the previous recording. And as I already said, not only did they shine again with the same light as before, but managed to take it on a new level of sorts and it provided much happiness and enjoyment for yours truly. There are certain melodies that really hit the spot and just completely melt me away, for instance the entire song "Clean Cut, Rough Trade" is literally a work of art composed of a fine number of the styles and traits this band is known for, "Hard To Swallow" with it's amazing ending sequence and so on. With so much going on you are bound to come back to this release numerous times, but enjoying it always.
I've been contacted about this release back in March (yes, shame on me for being so late with posting band submissions), "Tracing" in fact released the previous December, and luckily the band remains to be alive and kicking even today. They recently released a split with "мища", which you can take a listen to on their bandcamp page here, and as much as I saw on their facebook page, found here, there are some talks about a split being recorded with "Adobe Homes", which gave my brain a boner to say the least. All in all, if you haven't figured out by now, you should absolutely, most definitely check out "Innards" and keep a close eye on them. This is just one of those bands that is most likely never going to cease surprising and it would be a shame to miss out on them.

Deer In The Headlights & Dispro - Autumn 2011 Euro Tour

2011-07-07T13:51:00.004+02:00

Today I saw the news that "Deer In The Headlights" will hit the road this Autumn for a massive Euro tour. This crusty hardcore quartet from Bosnia will join forces with the Croatian band "Dispro", the bands already having a rough tour plan in mind. Dates are as follows:

21.10.friday - Graz - TBA

22.10.saturday - Bratislava - need help!!!

23.10.sunday - Praha - need help!!!

24.10.monday - Krakow - TBA

25.10.tuesday - Warsaw - need help!!!

26.10.wednesday - Wroclaw - need help!!!

27.10.thursday - Berlin - TBA

28.10.friday - Hannover - need help!!!

29.10.saturday - Munster - need help!!!

30.10.sunday - Amsterdam - need help!!!

31.10.monday - Gent - need help!!!

01.11.tuesday - Paris - TBA

02.11.wednesday - Strasbourg - need help!!!

03.11.thursday - Munich - need help!!!

04.11.friday - Vienna - need help!!!

05.11.saturday - Budapest - need help!!!

06.11.sunday - Zagreb - TBA

They need help to solidify all of the dates, so if you have any info for them and are willing to help them out, send them an email on the following address:

deerintheheadlightshc AT gmail DOT com

Since these bands didn't have coverage on this blog, you can check out "Deer In The Headlights" on their bandcamp here, while "Dispro" can be found on their myspace page here.

Gig review: The United Sons Of Toil, Joe 4, The Schtrebers

2011-07-03T17:25:00.002+02:00

Despite the utter fatigue that I feel this morning due to lack of sleep, I decided I want to write this review while still under extreme impressions from last night's gig. All six hours (yes, six) which were somehow connected to the concert in my case were full of various happenings, ups and downs, so I recon it is best to write about all that while everything is still fresh. But first gotta grab a cup of tea, this is gonna be long.

The show was held yesterday, 2 July 2011, in a place called "Bigz". It is worth mentioning that the place is not actually a venue or not just a venue, if you please. "Bigz" is a well known printing factory hailing from the Yugoslavian era, a gigantic building which, although still somewhat operational, is crumbling and could very well be a setting for a horror movie. Dead halls connected with dark corridors, obscure writings on the walls and sealed doors greet you as you pass through the structure. As I said, part of it is still a printing plant and a place for some small production shops and things, but there is also a part dedicated to music. There are several studios and rooms suitable for shows, so in one such room the gig was held in. When I say "room" I literally mean that, since the "venue" was not larger than the room from which I am writing this. Basically, the place looks like a living room, with even two big chairs and a coffee table in one corner, windows on one side which give the view of Belgrade's skyline, some interesting artwork on one other wall and of course, the most important thing, no stage.
Yes, I know, everything sounds cool, fine and dandy, but it is far from the truth. The first and most irritating thing is actually the person (or persons) responsible for organizing this gig. This show was not advertised anywhere and if it weren't for my correspondence with Russel and Josip, the dudes from "TUSOT" and "Joe 4" respectively, I wouldn't even know the time of the gig, much less the fact that there will be a gig at all. It seems that the gig was just spread over to friends of those who organized it which is quite pointless (read: STUPID) and I can only hope that my creation of this event over on Last.fm and my writings on this blog managed to attract some additional people as well. So anyways, I was told that the gig might start at 10 PM, thus me and a friend decided to get together at around nine something. Needless to say, so began a long streak of fails for us that night, since public transport continues to be a pain in the side and I was brutally late. I was bitching a lot about that, since I was eager to catch the whole show, yet eventually through some unknown forces we managed to get almost in time. But hey, why let things go so smooth, right? I already mentioned that "Bigz" was a huge complex and in fact I never went to gigs there, so my friend led the way. We went up to the eight floor, peaked inside what looks like a cafe and saw drums and other instruments on the ground. Victory for us, so we rushed inside. The place looked wicked good, since it was in fact a terrace under an open sky and the two of us were literally drooling from happiness that it will be an open air gig. So we ordered some drinks, chilled out, enjoyed ourselves....until 11 PM when the first band got up on "stage". "What the fuck, I didn't hear a saxophone in the recordings when I was reviewing the two bands we came to see." Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we missed the venue and actually attended some jam session thing with some local bands, gasp! We were both laughing and bitching at the same time, so we ran outside and started looking for the right place. Luckily, we ended up on the sixth floor where the real gig is going to happen and, again luckily, it still hasn't started.
Although I was happy that things are late, later it became a bit irritating, since the wait prolonged itself until almost past midnight. So long in fact, that we had the time go down stairs, get back up and later greet a newly arrived friend. In any case, once the gig actually began, a local band took the stage. Yes, there was even local support, which of course we didn't know about thanks to our competent organizer. In fact I didn't even catch the name of the band, thus the dots in the title of this review. The good thing in the sea of irritation was that the band actually blew me away. The instrumental noisy rock trio provided an amazing half an hour performance, their tunes just rushing through the venue. I find it really hard to write about their songs, since I didn't listen to them before and the things that I heard last night are vaguely in my memory since I was watching and listening with pure amazement. The tunes were extremely fast and melodic, a superb mix of flowing riffs and thundering crescendos which are switching under the spotlight in turns. At times when I listen to instrumental projects I consider that some of them could actually benefit with an addition of the vocals, but this band just stands strong without that, that being a very strong merit in my mind. Definitely a great performance and I hope I get to see this band again and actually talk to some of the members, which I failed to do last night.

EDIT: The band is called "The Schtrebers" and you can check them out on their facebook page here.

After a small break, "Joe 4" kicked off, "Pigman" ripping through the previous murmur of the audience which filled the venue. I was amazed at how the sound was actually clean in the gig space and how much their tunes held even more energy and aggression than on the recordings. Part of that energy and enthusiasm was radiated from the band members themselves, especially the guitarist/vocalist who was moving around constantly. But sadly, the shit had to hit the fan. First, the microphones didn't work properly and throughout their performance "Joe 4" literally didn't have a mic. Josip was doing his best to try and pull out the much needed force to get heard, but to no avail. You could see the frustration on the faces of the members and I felt really sorry for the shitty equipment they were given. The amazing thing however was that while "Neuro", "Postman" and "Johnny" shook the room, I realized how stunning they sound, despite lacking the vocal which is definitely an important part of this band. Despite the technical difficulties, "Joe 4" managed to provide a devastatingly strong punch to the ears and every millisecond of it was completely enjoyable. That start-stop behemoth which is present in their tunes is really unleashed when you witness them play live and it just stomps at you without remorse. The power and impact their recordings had on me were increased a tenfold during their live performance and it is a pity that the crowd was not able to experience the entire band as it should. I was really looking forward to screaming some of their lyrics, but at least my throat was saved this way. When the dust around the microphone trouble settled, the bass player started having problems with the amplifier, if I understood correctly, so their performance was cut short and ended without a warning.
Again there was a pause while "The United Sons Of Toil" set up their gear and while they were getting everything ready I really feared that they might as well be sabotaged, much like "Joe 4" was. Luckily, they weren't and generally their part of the gig went smooth. The microphone level could have been a bit higher in my opinion, but anything is better than the troubles shown in the previous performance. In any case, like "Joe 4", "TUSOT" completely blew me away with everything they threw at the audience. Exceptional sound, visually energetic, radiating passion and simply crunching you with the sheer amount of noise they produce. The band slammed the crowd with songs such as "The Irish Problem", "State-Sponsored Terrorism" and of course the promised song "Sword of Damocles", which chewed its way into my heart even further. It was amazing how this song isn't the only one that stood out from the rest, but much rather the entire performance was outstanding and quite an impressive sight to behold. The pauses between songs were almost nonexistent, so their act just flowed over the crowd as one giant song. This nonstop playing was so amazing to witness as the band just kept rending and beating their instruments. Their act lasted for a good half an hour, maybe even a bit more, and it all ended around 2 AM.
Being both impressed and somewhat saddened with everything I saw and heard, I approached Russel and Josip to say hi and chat a bit, moments later being introduced to the rest of "TUSOT" as well, the dudes being probably the friendliest bunch of people I met in quite a while. Now, I usually don't like ranting about negative shit, but while talking to Josip I realized some additional troubles concerning the whole gig and organization and it pissed me off so much that I really can't hold my breath about it. I stood there and felt completely ashamed of being part of this so called "diy" scene in Belgrade. I won't go into detail about all of that, but it seems to me that some people here still have much to learn about what it means to "do it yourself". I would much rather not have a band play in my town than have them come and be treated like shit. You people need to get it into your head that it is not about glory points and being cool, much rather devote your time to it and do it fucking right. If these bands can put their hearts, energy and resources into what they do then the least you can do is make that one fucking day they spend as your guests an enjoyable and memorable one. These are not some superstars or whatever, this is all friendship and if you treat your friends this way as well you are a damn idiot.
All in all, maybe this review is not the peak of my writing and I'm sorry if this is the case, but the bottom line is that I have nothing but praise for the three bands last night. I'd like to thank "Joe 4" and "The United Sons Of Toil" with all my heart for coming here and providing us with a show to remember. I only hope that they had a great time as well and that one day they will come again under some better circumstances. THANK YOU!

Oh and by the way, if a girl with curly hair from last night is reading this, drop a line, one of my friends is eager to talk to you :D And of course, special cheers to my other friend who stated that this was her best night out, despite moaning occasionally about having to walk XY kilometers so that we could get back home :)

City Cop - August 2011 USA tour

2011-06-29T13:06:00.001+02:00

I got a little lazy these days as far as posting goes, since I can't make myself listen to some new tunes simply because my room is being raped by "Cult Of Luna" for three straight days. Anyways, the good fellas from "City Cop" asked me to post their tour dates, thus keeping the blog alive.
On a bit more serious note, "City Cop" will hit the road in the first half of August throughout the Southern United States. They already have a set up plan and some dates, but they could still use some help. The dates are as follows:

August 5- South Bend, Indiana with "PESSOA"
August 6- Louisville, Kentucky
August 7- Knoxville, Tennessee
August 8- TBA, Mississippi with "Les Doux", "Shark Bait"
August 9- Tallahassee, Florida
August 10- Orlando, Florida with "City of Ifa"
August 11- need help (south carolina/georgia area)

August 12- Fletcher, North Carolina with "Issachar"
August 13- need help (baltimore area)

August 14- Pittsburgh, PA

If you have some info or can directly help the band out, contact them via their email address:
citycoptheband AT gmail DOT com

Also be sure to check out the bands that will be playing alongside "City Cop" since I posted their page links above, some amazing stuff going on I must say.

City Cop - The Hope In Forgiving & Giving Up Hope (2011)

2011-06-23T15:11:00.006+02:00

http://citycop.bandcamp.com/

Summer quietly crawled and is already here with it's heat for some time now, but it seems that it is getting more vicious with each passing day. I can barely think amidst this barely breathable air, but cold drinks and a great record just may succeed in providing a sanctuary from the outside.

"City Cop" is a four piece screamo act hailing from Ashtabula, Ohio. This little jewel of a release has been around from the beginning of January and once I took a listen to it I was really surprised that the band has a low number of listeners, according to Last.fm at least. A dear friend of mine told me that this is a strong contender for screamo album of the year, a definite top three material and I honestly have to completely agree with him.
The whole "City Cop" story begins at an unknown time, since either my investigation skills suck or the band didn't put that information online, when two friends started writing some acoustic tunes. Some time later they were joined by two more dudes, in the process adding more and more layers of different sounds and coming with this amazing final product. What we got in the end is screamo imbued with acoustics and sometimes indie, sometimes mathy melodies. Seeing as how screamo is obviously one of my favorite genres and additionally adding to that my profound love for acoustic tunes due to the work of my own band, this type of fusion really hit a certain soft spot for me. Aside of my vulnerability for these sounds, this release by itself is quite capable of entangling you into its grip in a very subtle manner. The album begins with "X", a chaotic and rending melody screeching toward you from the speakers accompanied by clean and somewhat gentle screaming. One could say a seemingly typical skramz opening, but masterfully done nevertheless and it is in fact what is coming after that which is even more grasping. The violent sounds drop and transform into an almost background like music, while the vocal also suffers mutation and turns into a mellow talking voice, bearing a likeness to that of "Koji", "La Dispute" and even "Thursday". Those few seconds of gentle sounds are again broken by the chaos from the beginning and this up and down shifts in pace and aggression continue throughout the song. Initially I thought that "X" could prove as a perfect example of what "City Cop" is able to perform, but I was grievously mistaken. In fact, the whole album provides you with various angles and maneuvers as you delve through it, as if you are reading a story and "X" was just an introduction. For instance, "Ode to Bula/Flight Lessons" gives you a more melancholic and bittersweet twist in tunes and words, as well as a bit more epicness, since it is the longest song. In contrast, the "Free Bird Part II" shines with a more driving and optimistic energy, ending in an extremely passionate way, while after that you are get to hear track four, "Humanity Is Sinking", a very pissed off and angry song showing some misanthropy in it's wake.
Once you listen to the whole record and the entire story unravels, you feel a strong need to take a listen to it again simply because the initial listen can't provide much understanding about it due to the fact that the album is quite vast in both length and detail. On first glance it does seem long because it features ten songs, but once you start listening the journey seems doubled. This is thanks to two things, one being the amount of different melodies and playing styles incorporated inside, the other being the vocal and lyrics which really provide a storytelling trait to "City Cop". The lyrics are quite amusing and written in a great fashion, but the audio manifestation of the words is just amazing. Be it screaming or talking or singing, whichever the form, the vocal performance flames up your interest as much as the instruments do. Many are instances when you completely focus on either the vocal or the instruments, since both parts of the band shine exceptionally well and it is a shame to give this band just a shallow listen. This is one of those projects to which you come back to time and time again, every time discovering something new.
As I said at the beginning of this review, I definitely agree with my friend that this is one of the best releases this year thus far. And once again, I am really surprised with the low listener count and honestly hope that this writeup will somehow aid the band and attract more people to it. In any case I highly recommend to all of you to give this band a try, you are bound to like it and all I can say in the end is that I really hope we see more of "City Cop" in the future. Enjoy!

[Fan the Flames] Records - YOUWRETCH & Lord Green

2011-06-19T16:32:00.000+02:00

Today is promotion day and this time we have "Fan the Flames Records" on the platter. The label hails from Minnesota, Minneapolis and is of course an independent one. Born in 2011, "Fan the Flames" is still a very young record label, having only these two releases under their belt, but that fact is not to be underestimated simply because the records deliver a serious punch to the ears. Before I review the bands, I'd just like to point out a fact which I read on the label's facebook page, which you can find here, and that is that only recycled material is used for packaging, quite a cool and useful thing if you ask me. So without further ado, let me introduce you to "YOUWRETCH" and "Lord Green".

YOUWRETCH - YOUWRETCH (2011)

Download

Coming from "Fan The Flames" neighborhood, "YOUWRETCH" is a quintet formed in Winter 2009 and hitting the scene with shows in Summer 2010. The very beginning of 2011 saw the release of this debut EP through collaboration work between "Fan The Flames" and "Forward!" Records.

In any case, the sound of "YOUWRETCH" has been described as "ambient hardcore punk" and upon listening to the EP I can definitely say that the genre tag is well justified. When I saw the list of tracks and the duration of the release, four songs with somewhere around nine minutes of music, I thought that this will be quite fast and chaotic. Believe me when I say that it is in fact like that, but there is also something unique here that doesn't dip this band into the plain hardcore punk bucket. First of all, despite the songs being rapid and short, they possess buildups of sorts which are highly diverse per track. For instance, there is a post rock/sludge-ish intro to the "The Rider", while "Failure and Worship" has a near "Electric Wizard" on speed like beginning. This was a really interesting composition maneuver by the band, since they throw at you fast and explosive outbursts of sound, but each with its own little twists, making you feel like you are listening to more songs than there actually are on this EP. Also, there are many interesting things happening in the songs apart from their intros, with many crescendo like moments, sudden tempo and volume drops, rushing and pounding hardcore riffs, all actually contributing in such a way that there is really an atmospheric trait to their music. Everything is molded very well into one whole, so despite all these various ups and downs in the tracks the flow is excellent, thus you listen to the EP in literally one breath.

As for the very sound and the quality of this release, nothing to say but praise. This is just one of those records when every tone is where it should be and nothing is astray. The sound has some crunchiness and a buzzing, brooding trait, so sometimes you have to concentrate a bit to discern guitar and bass playing, but here it simply didn't bother me. This is probably due to the fact that the EP just grabs your attention instantly and takes you for a turbulent ride and there is no getting off the roller-coaster until the damned trip is over. I would, however, like to praise the vocal a bit, since at times it reminds me of the vocalist of "Fall of Efrafa" and I have "Efrafa" raping my speakers these last couple of days almost nonstop. Basically, Jordan, the vocalist of "YOUWRETCH" has a raw, coarse scream and it goes exceptionally well with the instrumental section.

Overall, I really enjoyed this EP and it came as a very nice surprise. Currently the band is writing songs for an upcoming full length and I am very eager to hear in which direction they will take their music. The EP definitely has an experimental notion to it and it was great to listen to what the band is capable of creating. So until their next release sees the light of day, you can check out "YOUWRETCH" on their bandcamp page here or get in touch via their facebook page here.

Lord Green - Last Demo (2011)

Download

Here is another band under the care of "Fan the Flames", though this one is rooted in Quad Cities, Illinois. There is not much information on the web about this trio, other than the fact that this is actually a re-release of their demo and it came out in February 2011. Ok without anything left for me to say in the introduction, let us get right to the point.

Wow, just wow! Much like to "YOUWRETCH", the amount of amazement came as a great surprise, so officially this day is an excellent one, two completely stunning bands discovered in less than an hour. In any case, "Last Demo" packs eight songs into thirty minutes of tunes, quite a long release as you can see. It comes natural actually, since they play a combination of stoner, hardcore and even some psychedelic rock on top of it all. The way you are introduced to this amalgam of genres is just superb, coming in the form of the song "Spitting Blood (Resuscitation)" which I first heard on their website found here, the song actually not featured on "Last Demo". It starts off with a stoner like tune, quite slow and dragging, the guitar playing with the distortion, the bass kicking the groove a bit and some background drumming to spice it all up. So you sit there and just chill out for the first minute of the song and then in the moment when you just completely relax everything picks up the pace, the screaming ensues, shit goes completely nuts and you are just shaken up with speedy, rending hardcore riffs. And once the hurricane of sound passes right by, you are left listening to some amazing instrumental parts, the band providing near improvised tunes and you feel like in the midst of a storm. This type of unexpectedness in their tunes is almost omnipresent and for the duration of this near half an hour trip you literally never know with what you will be faced next. The skill of the band when it comes to song composition is just excellent and it takes you quite a lot of listens to actually remember songs, simply because they have a very turbulent soundscape.

The fact that we are dealing with a trio here really adds certain compliments to "Lord Green", since they manage to create quite a lot of chaos and energy coming from only the basic band instruments. Much like "YOUWRETCH", they also have a certain dose of buzzing sounds and distortion filled tones, so the sound gets splashed around you in all directions. A similar thing is happening to the vocal, which is extremely raspy and chaotic, so it fits with the rest of the band in a great way. The recording quality is perfect and that "splash" effect of the sound is superbly captured.

Needless to say, I enjoyed "Lord Green" as much as the previous band and I can already sense that it will be spinning in my player a lot in the future. I am unaware what the band is up to recently, but as much as I see on their official page they have a show coming up which means they are still alive and kicking. Definitely looking forward to hearing more of their work, there is some heavy felt potential here. Until then you can also get in touch with them via their myspace page found here.

Raein - Sulla Linea D’orizzonte Rizzonte Tra Questa Mia Vita E Quella Di Tutti (2011)

2011-06-17T14:10:00.000+02:00

http://www.raein.eu/

No need for any introductions, just head over to their official site and download. I didn't want to upload the album myself, simply because there is a little donate button on the "Raein" site and judging by my first impressions of the album, they definitely deserve something back for offering this amazing album for free. Enjoy Italy's finest!

I Have A Live Journal...

2011-06-16T18:47:00.000+02:00

...well, not exactly, I just found the "Tunes For Bears To Dance To" song to be an appropriate title for this post. So in truth I was completely bored out of my skull today and instead of doing something useful I opened a tumblr page. Yeah. Guess it is time to see what all the hype is about. But seriously, myspace became completely useless and I don't check it out anymore, twitter also seems kinda pointless and there seems to be a growing trend that bands open up either blogspot or tumblr pages, so I guess I want to cover both platforms for band updates. In any case, that page won't be solely dedicated to "Natures With No Plagues", rather it will contain random shit I do/read/watch/listen/etc. Of course, I will write updates concerning the blog and all. It is scarce with content for the moment, but you are all welcome to check it out here.

I'll take this chance to also update you boys and girls regarding some future interviews Luka and me are going to work on. The questions have already been sent to Austin from "Panopticon" and we are eagerly expecting his reply. In preparation is an interview with the great new band "Homunculi", a post rock/black metal project containing members off "Motim", as well as an interview with the legendary crust/doom band "Agrimonia". In any case a lot of interesting stuff is coming up, so stay tuned.

Flags Raised - Now Or Never (2011)

2011-06-14T13:10:00.000+02:00

Download

This review was written a few days ago during some heavy rainfall, so this cover above depicted the view from my window quite fairly. For some reason I forgot to actually post this and didn't check the blog to notice that a post is missing, so here it is now despite the fact that the weather outside is rather nice now.

"Flags Raised" is a quintet hailing from Glasgow which formed sometime in early 2010. Thus far this has been their only release, coming out on 15 January 2011. Although they have just a single album under their belt it is quite enough to make the listener fall in love with their tunes and see what these young lads are capable of. Personally speaking, I only truly enjoy a few handpicked hardcore bands and I have to say that "Flags Raised" are going to be a worthy addition to the group. Usually I need some time to digest bands like this, so to speak, since most of the times I find them kinda blank during the initial listen. Here however, I instantly liked their tunes ever since I took a listen on their bandcamp page (which you can find here by the way).
So, what is going on here making the band so special? First of all, the thing that grabbed my attention almost instantly is the vocal. Thinking about it now, the vocal performance is really hard to explain, since I really consider it a unique one. A coarse, raspy voice with an extremely deep tone, walking on the triple border between screaming, talking and reciting. Nick's performance is filled with tension, simply because of the fact that while you listen you don't know whether he is going to burst into a scream or will a sort of sing along ensue or will you just be left with that tense feeling of unexpectedness until the end. I consider this vocal variety quite an important merit, especially in hardcore, simply because it breaks the usual flat line copy/paste flaw which a lot of the bands in the genre possess.
The above mentioned variety in sound also extends on the instrument section and it is definitely worth a praise. Literally speaking, "Flags Raised" throw a sonic time bomb in your lap and every tick of the clock is maddening, in the most positive of ways. Much like the vocal, the song composition is quite complex with a lot of twists and changes in pace and melody, so once again you don't know what you will get to hear around the corner in a particular song. No matter the speed of the songs, each and every second on "Now Or Never" is extremely charged with passion and the sounds throw a formidable punch to the listener and simply urge you to listen with the volume turned up to its maximum. My absolute favorite is the final track of the release, "It's Not Getting Any Easier", the song being a perfect example of all the great things this band has to offer. "Flags Raised" have a very powerful sound which completely swallows you and you have a feeling that you are listening to more people playing, rather than just five dudes. The instruments go well with the vocal in the sense that they also harbor a very deep tone and I had a feeling that the bass is much louder than usual, which was quite entertaining to hear. No wonder the cover of their album looks the way it does, since the music really has a darkish atmosphere hovering above it. At times hardcore bands which have that grim tone to their music also incorporate a sludge or crust edge to spice up and extend that brooding feeling, but here they stayed within the boundaries of their mother genre and it definitely sounds great. While we are at the subject of what it all sounds like, it is worth mentioning some possible influences of the band. Despite me considering that they have a lot of things that are unique solely to them, "Flags Raised" remind me at times of a crude and more raw version of "Touche Amore" and also bands like "Crime in Stereo" and "American Nightmare".
And what to say in the end, other than that I really hope that "Flags Raised" are a band that will stick around and provide the world with more music to enjoy. I look forward to hearing something more from them and will definitely keep an eye out for them. You can get in touch with them via their facebook page found here. So what are you waiting for, stop reading and start downloading!

The United Sons of Toil & Joe 4

2011-06-09T17:03:00.001+02:00

By now most of you have probably checked out how great these two bands are, thanks to the post concerning their upcoming European tour. Seeing as how I never actually got to write something about their music, now seems to be the perfect time to correct that mistake, since the tour starts in a matter of days. So sit tight and brace yourselves, the second part of June and the beginning of July are going to be a blast.

The United Sons of Toil

http://music.unitedsonsoftoil.com/

"The United Sons of Toil" are a trio hailing from Madison, Wisconsin, "the epicenter of class struggle". The seeds of the band were sown back in 2006, while their initial release named "Hope Is Not A Strategy" saw the light of day in 2007. Thus far they released two more records, "Until Lions Have Their Historians, Tales Of The Hunt Shall Always Glorify The Hunter" from 2008 and their newest album from 2011 "When The Revolution Comes, Everything Will Be Beautiful". This five year lifespan provided the band enough time to solidify what is it they exactly want to accomplish with their music and the way they wish their message to be reflected onto the audience. The band found its place nested in the noisy math rock genre of the 90's splashed with some 80's hardcore, with words delving into social criticism and various political themes.

Now I have to be completely honest and say that I really don't have a lot of overtly politically themed bands in my book. This is simply because of the fact that thus far I didn't find any such band to be musically pleasing as much as the very idea of what a certain band wants to achieve is interesting. Namely, the majority of politically inspired bands I came across are so dedicated to simply putting their message out in any way they can and in that process the music and the final product end up being extremely low quality, a strong message being transmitted via weak transistor. "The United Sons of Toil" managed to beat this fact, having an impulsive and powerful ideology entwined with superb melodies and an amazing playing style to back it up. First of all, their recordings are extremely clean and top notch, paving a solid road on which you can enjoy every aspect of both words and tunes. Second, despite the fact that they are rooted in math rock and hardcore, a lot of the times you can feel how much the band members actually like to play with the sound they create, not just being trapped in close quarters. Some of their songs are quite long, with epic buildups and shattering climaxes, taking on several traits from post metal/post rock genres. Other times however, their tracks can be shorter, more aggressive and rushing, the band manipulating with noise and spasm like start stop rhythms. Thanks to the fact that both Bill and Russell are contributing to the vocals, you also don't know whether you will get to hear just one of them or both their voices melded down into one or even a sort of call and response from both of them, be it through singing, screaming or talking.

I have to admit that I took a thorough listen to their newest record and only glimpsed on their past two releases, simply because I was eager to post something for the band as soon as possible. Needless to say that I will definitely take more time to study this project, since "When The Revolution Comes, Everything Will Be Beautiful" completely blew me away. There is just so much to be heard on this release and literally every song is enjoyable in its own right. My personal favorite is "Sword of Democles" which definitely stands out from the rest due to the fact that light is cast on everything this band is about, their message, their talent and their passion. So hopefully if someone from the band reads this they will remember to play that song in Belgrade!:) In any case, nothing but praise for this amazing trio, definitely don't miss out on their gig if they come to play in your town or somewhere near you.

Joe 4

http://joe4.bandcamp.com/

Next up we have good friends of "The United Sons of Toil", the band "Joe 4" coming from Croatia. Initially, the band was formed under the name "Gulag" as a quartet in Zagreb 2008. Eventually near the end of 2009 they became a trio and changed the name into the one under which they are known today. Also at the time, the band released their first ever EP which featured four tracks and is solely a digital release. This year will see their first physical release, a ten inch vinyl that will be promoted through concerts and of course this June Europe tour.

Similarly to their tour pals, "Joe 4" dug their roots deep into the noise imbued math rock of the 90's, though with a different approach. The first thing that grasped my attention was the vocal performance. Upon hearing the first song on their "Enola Gay" EP, the track named "Pigman", you have a sense that the vocal is somehow quite distinct from the instrumental section. Where the instruments are constantly changing the melodies they produce, the vocal is stagnant, a flat-lined half-screamed coarse voice with haiku like lyrics which bare a strong sense of cynicism and rebellion. One would think that this sort of relationship between the vocal and the instruments doesn't really go well, but I found it extremely to my liking. Experiencing the aggressive and tormented voice holding its ground, not flinching for a second in a maelstrom of strings and drums is a simply superb feeling and this style of creativity is something I am really looking forward to seeing live.

As I said, where the vocal is one sided, the rest of the band is in nonstop evolution through each and every song. "Joe 4" really has talent when it comes to creating and playing start stop rhythms, a second of silence quickly broken with a brutal outburst of sound. The drums form a sort of centerpiece to the instrumental section, since they are a true epitome of the start stop style and they provide a strong punch to the listener even in the course of slower songs. The bass and guitar are somehow floating around the drums and the vocal, an ever changing swirl of sound, ranging from mere background tones, punkish riffs and near atmospheric mood setters.

"Johnny" is the song that perfectly reflects all of these contrasts and bonds within the band and I definitely consider it to be their masterpiece. If one would ask me which song represents "Joe 4" best, it would be this song, since it perfectly shows what the band is capable of. A perfect amalgam of choking tunes, which at times remind me of the much loved band "Wolves", and the almost relaxing dreamy melody which is building up toward stunning floating riffs near the end. "Joe 4" is definitely a band full of unexpected contrasts and internal clashes, but their ability to tame all of that into a coexistent whole is what makes them a great band.

In the end, I would like to honestly recommend both of these bands to everyone and to once again remind you of their tour plan. Even if you don't grab time to take a listen prior to a show, go and see them live, I am certain that they will manage to entertain you to the fullest. See you there!

June 15    Wednesday    Zagreb    Tvornica Mala
June 16    Thursday    Rijeka    Place
June 17    Friday    Ljubljana    Menza Pri Koritu
June 18    Saturday    Verzuolo IT    Oxygen Studios
June 19    Sunday    Nice    Tapas La Movida
June 20    Monday    Paris    Le Café de Paris
June 21    Tuesday    Amsterdam    ADM Bar
June 22    Wednesday    Leiden    Sub071
June 23    Thursday    Hamburg    Hafenklang
June 24    Friday    Neu Tramm    Raum 2
June 25    Saturday    Berlin    Hausprojekt Scherer 8
June 26    Sunday    Ansbach    13Eins
June 27    Monday    Prague    Club 007 Strahov
June 28    Tuesday    Leipzig    Zoro
June 29    Wednesday    Vienna    Replugged
June 30    Thursday    Sarajevo    FIS Kultura
July 01    Friday    Donji Miholjac    Katakomba
July 02    Saturday    Belgrade    Bigz
July 03    Sunday    Novi Sad    Route 66

Juliet

2011-06-07T13:43:00.000+02:00

http://juliet.bandcamp.com

Ah, finally the time has come to get my writersuit on, have a cup of coffee (yes, drinking extremely hot coffee in the midst of this sickening hot weather is great for inciting delirium) and sit back to take a listen to some new music with my cat. She is actually sitting next to the speakers at the moment and since we have similar taste in tunes I guess that it is enough to signal a writeup full of praise.

"Juliet" is a four piece noisy emo band coming from Arizona. I've been contacted by Keegan from the band about posting their "Christmas Island" EP back in February and due to my sloth-like speed of posting they also managed to pull out a split with "Blackwater" in the meantime. I'll be talking about the EP first and then later reflect a bit on the split, since at first listen it seemed that there was a slight change of sound going on.
In any case, "Christmas Islands" came out in February, featuring four amazing songs with around fourteen minutes of tunes. I have to be honest that at first I thought that I will have a hard time writing about this due to my somewhat strange music mood in which I find myself recently. My previous month was grasped with melodic or acoustic tunes and in a moment I thought that I kinda lost touch when it comes to chaotic or noise music. Lucky for me, "Juliet" managed to sweep me of my feet and cast me back into the neglected turbulent sea. The opener of the EP is a song called "Atlanta" and believe me when I say that it was instant love. As previously stated, they whip out some pretty sweet noisy emo tunes toward the listener, completely charged with passion and a certain mood which is dragged along with the music. What was personally very peculiar for me when it comes to this song is the thing that initially attracted me toward it and it is the lyrics. Usually, I first take a focus on the instruments or more likely the band as a whole, but this is probably the first time when I had a feeling like I am just listening to the words and nothing else. Maybe because I am in a touchy-feely sort of mood and the lyrics really remind me of a "certain someone", but in any case I consider this as a very important and big merit of the band, since they definitely succeeded in invoking something new in me. The vocal itself is great, walking the fine line between singing and plain talking, though it has an excellent tone like the voice is about to crack and the singer will just drop to the floor and start crying which is nothing short of perfect if you ask me.
Once I turned my attention to the instruments I realized how amazing they are and how great they are entwined with the vocal. The sound which they create has a stunning flow to it and no matter how much they change melodies in the course of a song or how much chaos they create it all seems so nicely packed into a great whole. "Aly Goola" is a perfect example of this. It has a fast paced rhythm at the beginning, a beautiful melody reminding me of some 90's emo tunes, but then everything takes a slower turn, becoming mellow and gentle, going so far to the point where we hear whistling from the band members. So basically, from fast to slow pace, but still it drives you so nicely that it just washes over you in a single wave. It is quite hard to explain, but I definitely have a great feeling while listening to their tunes, sort of like listening to one big song other than four.
The split with "Blackwater" came out in May and it brought two more songs from "Juliet" to see the light of day. I wanted to leave some space to talk about this split, because I think that there are some new layers to their sound present here. In contrast to the EP, it seems that the band went a tiny bit further into the noise area, since their sound became somewhat more crunchy while still keeping all their traits from the previous release. The guitar playing was also pushed to the front and now it is not completely melded down with the rest of the band. Now it is not just contributing to the background noise, but much rather it takes a great role in supplying some interesting melodic parts like in the song "Dead Teens". As you can see, these are just slight changes, but it is definitely cool to hear a band slowly evolve in this fashion...or maybe I just get into my music a bit too much.
It took me some time to think of possible references and influences the band might be associated with, but nothing seems to cut it. They remind me of a lot of other projects, but they still have an extremely strong sense of uniqueness, so you always ultimately fail when trying to tag them. The closes thing I came up with was "Die, Empreor, Die" and "Boats Against the Current" mixed with "Japandroids" for a noisy garage edge. Sounds weird, huh? It probably does, but trust me when I say that this is definitely something you shouldn't miss.

I always get scared when I discover a band and then think that they may have broken up in the meantime, but luckily "Juliet" is still alive and kicking. They have a gig lined up for 9th July along with "Joyce Manor", "Rumspringer" and "Come On Die Young", so if any of you lucky boys and girls can go to their show, just rush over there and dance like crazy, no second thoughts allowed.
Oh and by the way, my cat is still hanging out here and she definitely gives a seal of approval on this fine quartet.

Utter silence is fragile...

2011-06-04T12:22:00.000+02:00

...so it is time to break it!
I've been away from the blog and everything else for that matter due to a job I was completely consumed with. Luckily, it is done and although I'm very proud of myself for completing it, I simply couldn't wait for it to get done since it was a real killer. In any case, I'm free now and finally it is time to focus on the project I love the most, since I really neglected it in the past months.

So let me just give a little preview of what will be coming in the future. First of all, many thanks to all bands who have sent their submissions and continue to do so! It really means a lot to me that people are interested in seeing their projects here. I'm sorry for me delaying so many reviews and I will certainly get to every band that has sent me any piece of material. Most projects you already know by now, but they are all great and I really have a wish to share my thoughts about them on the blog.

Aside of regular band promotion, it seems that the blog will see a lot of gig reviews in the future. I have a lot of shows which I will try to attend and if all goes well there will be much to write about. First comes a two day trip to Croatia for a "The Black Dahlia Murder" show, followed by "Raein" the next day. I know that "TBDM" isn't really NWNP material, but they are quite loved by yours truly and I'm really expecting a great show so most likely I'll be writing some words for it. Similarly, I'll be seeing "Parkway Drive" on the "EXIT" festival, so you can expect that as well. And of course, most importantly I will try to visit "Fluff fest" which has a completely mind blowing program this year. I'd also like to do some live interviews there, but since I'm a shy little man don't get your hopes up too much.

Speaking of interviews, when I finish writing this pointless post, I'm going to write questions for an interview with the amazing "Panopticon". I always forget how great that project is and it is thanks to Luka's initiative that this interview will be done. We also sent an e-mail to "Deafheaven", but we are still waiting for a reply from the band. The "Thou" interview I really don't know what to think about...maybe it is best to forget it, so if it does come up it will be a real surprise. In any case, "Panopticon" is the only certain interview coming up, but I will probably think of some more along the way.

Those are some plans in a nutshell and hopefully I have tickled your interest a bit. I'll take a few days to get my shit straight (GET REST) and then I'm ready to kick this off as it should be done!

Gig review: Went, Cannot

2011-05-25T00:03:00.007+02:00

I'm kinda late with this gig review, but I was extremely looking forward to writing some words for it. To be honest, I didn't plan to write about it actually, but after the show the urge to manifest my feelings on paper (monitor?) was just overabundant.

So, the gig took place a few days ago, namely on Thursday 19th May at KC "Grad" (Cultural center "City"). One other reviewed show was held at this venue, "Analena"/"36 Daggers" (found here by the way), though I just realized that I didn't quite talk about the very gig place in that writeup. Not much to say actually, it is quite a small venue, but with great sound and a high number of happenings. This is probably my favorite gig place at the moment, simply because it has enough space for the crowd and most importantly the acoustics of the club are good, so literally any type of music can be performed here and not get flawed by the venue, which tends to happen in Belgrade occasionally.
Anyways, the gig was about to start 10 PM sharp and I was panicking and bitching constantly due to the fact that both of my friends and myself were running late, being sabotaged by the stupid public transport which all but died that night. By some cosmic force or something the show was running late, so we got there just in time. "Went" was the first to kick off and I must say that they are the reason why I'm doing this review. I already wrote about two of their shows (their solo gig found here and the amazing gig with "Radio Burroughs" and "Petethepiratesquid" here) and most of you who read this blog already know my feelings about them. But every time I see them live I simply get blown away and it comes as such a wonderful surprise that this is "just" a local band. They have absolutely beautiful sets which really manage to invoke various emotions in the crowd. One minute they calm you down with gentle acoustic sounds, but after that they just pick you up with a frantic and pounding tune, ranging from something post rockish to garage/indie. "Went" just keeps bouncing you all over the room and personally I enjoy every second of it. I was extremely happy that I got to hear "Out", since it definitely is my favorite song (and thus the bitching about being late, since I knew this would be the second song played). Saying that it is just favorite is a serious understatement, that song is really a masterpiece and it is enough to say that the song alone got over 80 plays in my charts on "Last.fm" in the past seven days. Overall, I was melting in the front row during their part of the show and I really hope that "Went" manages to go out and see the world a bit, since it would be a real shame for a band of this caliber to stay on the "local" level.
After a short break, "Cannot" got on stage. I already heard this band in the same venue actually, in November last year when they had a promotion of their album called "3:33". I have to come clean regarding this four piece, this generally isn't my cup of tea as far as listening at home is concerned. This review won't be bashing this band however, since "Cannot" is a force to be reckoned with when witnessed live. For some reason, my thoughts are that the recordings didn't manage to fully grasp some traits which make this band good, so I will focus my critique on their live performance. They play a combination of grunge and alternative rock with a neat female vocal which gives the band a certain something. There is a lot of chaos going on in their music with quite a lot of shifts in melody, but a constant heavy and technical sound. In contrast to the bashing tones coming from the instruments, the vocal gives a soothing layer to everything. Of course, the vocal also has vast variations in singing/screaming style, so it really manages to create a full circle of sound, with equal parts of gentleness and aggression. In any case, they pulled off a very entertaining show both the first time when I saw them playing and now. They are quite talented musicians and I would really like to see them blossom even further.
Since this last part of the review is definitely written in a retarded manner I highly recommend that you check out "Cannot" on their website here. The site is still under construction, but you can head there and download "3:33", since it is completely free.

Old Growth & 12XU - European October tour 2011

2011-05-18T16:21:00.006+02:00

YES! These two amazing bands plan to tour over Europe this October and it is going to be pretty sweet! Julien from 12XU sent me an e-mail with an early rough plan, but since none of the dates are for certain he asked me not to post them up just yet. So for now I just want to let you all now that this is cooking up in the meantime. The important thing is that they plan to cover quite a lot of ground and if you are interested in helping them out or whatever feel free to contact Julien via the band e-mail:
weare12xu AT gmail DOT com

I'll be posting the dates once the tour plan becomes a bit solid, so stay tuned. Hurry up October!

Gig review: Nux Vomica, Helltard

2011-05-15T20:31:00.010+02:00

This was supposed to be written and posted yesterday, but I was under so many impressions and emotions about this gig that I just couldn't sit down and scrabble some words for a review. Yes, I was so blown away by what I saw and heard that I really needed to take some time and recollect everything appropriately.

The concert took place two days ago on Friday 13th (evil date for a crust gig, fuck yeah) in the "small club" of "Akademija" ("Academy"). I already mentioned this club when I wrote the review for the "Went" gig, so you should be familiar with it and my feelings for it (if you didn't check out that writeup, you can check it here). I'll repeat myself a bit as far as the club is concerned, since I really hate the place for its bad sound and horrible acoustics. When I remember the "Went" gig, the very venue crippled the band quite much and I was hoping that the same won't happen to this show. Luckily it was the exact opposite, but I'll get to that later.
Anyways, me and my mates got at the club somewhere around 10 PM, on time just in case it actually starts on time. Unfortunately, the gig was extremely late, beginning around 11:30 or something like that, I can't quite remember since I was just dying to get inside. Once we got in and managed to grab a fine spot amidst a fair number of people present at the show, "Helltard" kicked off. I was talking a bit with my brother and his mates at the time, so I sadly didn't pay much attention to the band (yeah, I know, I suck at local band support sometimes), but from what I managed to hear they play a combination of thrashy grindcore and punk. Quite frantic and fast tunes within extremely short songs, so their part of the gig wasn't very long. Their music was interesting, though I think that I wouldn't really enjoy them at home if you know what I mean. Needless to say, they were good live, despite attracting some audience hate with random jokes between songs. Don't do that shit guys, just rend next time. You can check their tunes out on their myspace page found here.

When "Helltard" finished, I grabbed the chance and went to the distro section and drooled a bit before actually buying a shirt and the 2x LP "Asleep in the Ashes" from "Nux Vomica". I'll say it now, if you love their tunes definitely buy their merch! The design of the shirt is great (and yes, my cat already succeeded in destroying a part of it). But oh my, the "Asleep in the Ashes"... whole different meaning of the word "awesome". Beautiful artwork, colored vinyl, great package, just amazing. So, as I said, support the band, they really do an excellent jobwith their releases, you'll be doing yourself a huge favor!

But back to the gig... After a short pause, "Nux Vomica" took their instruments and literally killed the audience. I have to say it right away, this is the best concert I have ever watched and listened, without a single doubt. Up until this Friday, the "In Flames" gig I attended was my number one show, but now it definitely shares the first place with "Nux Vomica", simply because both shows struck me in two quite different ways. "In Flames" performed superbly and the show was full of energy, me and my friends just dancing, jumping, screaming, moshing and making fools of ourselves constantly for the duration of the gig, a really beautiful memory in my mind. But with "Nux Vomica" it is completely the other way around. They managed to impact hit me so hard and I just remained pinned down in one place, totally stunned and in a catatonic state. I was just standing there amidst everyone and just stared and absorbed every visual and audio stimulation coming from the band. Somehow, even the venue obeyed and aided their music, since the sound was so powerful and chaotic, but every instrument remained decipherable. Never before did I attend a show where the band succeeded in creating such a massive sound, you literally feel swallowed by it. Everyone was so close to the stage, since the club is small, so the sound just bounces off of you, as if you can feel it materialize on your skin. This all probably sounds like a load of bull to the readers, but I still can't believe nor explain what I experienced that night. Even now while writing this and looking back to the show I get shivers at how amazing it was. Every second of their performance was just perfect, full of energy and radiating with passion. The ambient went along well with the music, since there was a minimum amount of light, everything was dark, so the movement on stage was visually entertaining.
Their repertoire contained two of my favorite songs, "All The Clocks Have Different Times" and "Room Silencer", amongst many others. I thought that those two will be the peak of the show for me, but the band surpassed even those expectations with "Walk Through The Ashes". The song itself is an epic piece with a clash of gentle and highly aggressive tones, but the way it was performed live... completely outstanding. With the additional drums being played by the singer, they created such a monster sound, every note just stomping you to the ground and this was definitely the climax of the show. Each song just furiously pounded toward the audience and witnessing that was sensational, the sound engulfing everything in its path.

I guess that this amount of flattery on the band's account is quite enough for you to realize that this really is the BEST fucking show. It was my initial thought to provide a more technical, rather than emotional, review yet somehow I'm unable to do that due to me still not being able to believe that I witnessed something like this. I was so frantic after the show, that I had to approach the singer and tell him in person how much I was impressed. Even this amount of praise seems to little to express my feelings for "Nux Vomica", they completely sealed my liking for their work with this performance.
In the end, let this review be a reminder for all of you who follow "Natures With No Plagues", if you ever get a chance to see this band play live, just go. Don't think about it, just go. This will be a truly loved memory and I sincerely hope that I will get to see them again sometime in the future.

Move the Island - June 2011 USA tour

2011-05-11T10:01:00.001+02:00

A band recently added to Natures With No Plagues list of favorites, "Move the Island", will be striking from their hometown going toward Chicago and the surrounding area in June. Here is the list of planned dates:

6/01: Chattanooga, tn - anarchitca w/gravebound
6/02: East Tennessee -
6/03: Lexington, ky -
6/04: Louisville, ky - cahoots w/waxeater, alcohol party, anwar sadat 21+
6/05: Indianapolis, bloomington or michigan city, in -
6/06: Chicago, il -
6/07: Springfield, il -
6/08: St. Louis, mo - cranky yellow w/harco
6/09: Carbondale, il - the litter box
6/10: Nashville, tn -

A pretty sweet plan, but as you can see they still need help. If you can help out or know someone who could, please get in touch with me in any way or send the band an email via:
movetheisland AT deceasiveproductions DOT com

If, by any chance, you missed the writeup I did for "Move the Island" EP you can check it out here.

Todos Caerán & Bears - Split 10'' (2011)

2011-05-09T19:05:00.002+02:00

Download

This post was initially planned to be a gig review for "Birds in Row", but I masterfully failed to go to that show, so it's back to the drawing board for now. However expect a gig writeup soon, since I will be going to both "Nux Vomica" and "Jeniferever" shows, really looking forward to attend those and write about them. Until then, brace yourself for an amazing ten inch.

The split I'm gonna write about is old by now and you all probably know about it already. Despite that I really want to write some words for it, since James from "Todos" asked me to do so and I also have a wish to try and attract more people to this record. That being said, you can realize that I really fell in love with this release. I have heard of "Todos Caeran" before and I wrote about their EP already (if you missed it, it is found here), expecting this to be equally good, but it completely struck me with my guard down. Ok, got carried away now, lets take it step by step.

"Bears" are first in line on this split, opening up with the song "A Boy in Paris". To be completely honest, I have bumped into their name a lot of times in the past, but I never really got to the point where I would sit down and listen. The very moment their song started pouring through my speakers I realized how much of a mistake I made for not giving them a chance earlier. They manage to create a certain mood in the listener with their tunes, which I really can't define quite yet. It keeps swinging me between some completely depressive and dark state to...I don't know, somewhat hopeful. That probably sounds stupid, but their music does put you into a specific place and I love it when you just can't put your finger on it. Also, the cool thing here is that "Bears" somehow bend time so to speak, since their three something minute songs actually sounds more epic and you feel like they last something like five or six minutes.
Ok, I think most of you stopped reading this by now, so those of you who have the energy to stick around until the end I'll try to sound more reasonable. Describing the very sound of "Bears" is a tough job, but I would try and say that you should imagine a mix of "Wolves" and "Captain, Your Ship Is Sinking!". Yes, two quite amazing bands and "Bears" seem to hold their own. Influenced by them or not, they really have a unique sound and excellent playing skills. Composition is superb, with quite a lot of interesting melody shifts, tempo changes and peculiar play stiles. I'm really glad to hear a band of this caliber come out of Australia, since at times the "down under" screamo gets bashed by people saying their bands sound way too copy/paste between one another. Complete nonsense if you ask me, so I would really like to see someone have something to say about this being a "typical" band. The only thing that I consider to be a small flaw is the vocal. The vocal performance is great, don't get me wrong, it is that I would just like to hear its volume increase more. Maybe the band wanted to blend the vocals more with the rest of the instruments, but I think that it should be a bit more above the rest, like on the "Todos" side of the split.

Speaking of which, "Todos Caeran" open their side of the split with "Aspirations". As I wrote above, I love this band ever since I heard their EP last year, but this just blew me away. I was expecting some improvements or whatever, but I really couldn't imagine that they advanced so much. First of all, their music is much more aggressive and a lot heavier on the listener than the EP. The very recording is a lot more better than on their previous release and that really puts their music on a whole new level. It is much louder and the sound is clear, so despite all the chaos bashing around, you get to hear everything. I literally spent more than half an hour repeating their two songs just to focus on every instrument present. Their style of composition really changed as well and I love how they gave all members of the band a certain part of a song where only that one member comes in the spotlight. For instance, you have a moment in "Aspirations" where the guitar literally steps up and performs some quite epic playing. Also, I remember that the first thing that drew me toward "Todos Caeran" was the vocal. Luckily, it didn't deteriorate in quality, the amazing raspy screaming even evolved a bit to be much better. As I mentioned already, it sounds a bit above the rest of the band and it just splashes a lot of chaos into their music.

Not really satisfied with what I wrote about this split, probably because I got my brain all twisted with how good the split is. In any case, like this review or not, you should absolutely check out this release and keep an eye on these two bands. You can check out and get in touch with Bears via their myspace here, though I am not sure how often they update their page, and with Todos Caeran also via myspace here. Enjoy!

Reflections Of Internal Rain - June 2011 Euro Tour

2011-05-06T13:04:00.000+02:00

Quick post regarding the tour of my most loved band from Serbia. They will be hitting the road this summer in June and they still need some help to set up a few more shows. Below is a tour poster, so check out the dates. If you can help them out anyway you can contact them via myspace here, facebook here, tumblr here or just leave me a message and I will forward it.

Interview:Ghostlimb

2011-04-30T13:18:00.015+02:00

April seems to be interview month for this blog. Either way, extremely proud to present to you the interview with "Ghostlimb" done by Luka and myself. I definitely have to say thanks to Justin who managed to answer the questions in the blink of an eye. Hope you enjoy the read!

1. First and foremost, thank you for taking your time for this interview. We'll take it the old fashion way, so please introduce yourself and the rest of "Ghostlimb".

My name is Justin, I sing and play guitar in "Ghostlimb". We are a three piece, Neal plays bass and does vocals as well and Alex Tenaj plays drums.

2. How did you all get together to form a band? And always an interesting question, why "Ghostlimb"?

We have played together in other bands before or were just friends. I met NEal in 2006, "Ghostlimb" was originally just guitar and drums, but then he joined the band and filled it out, and really compliments the sound because he is not a bass player, but a guitar player playing bass. There is a marked difference, haha. Alex and I were in the band Dangers together, and he quit last year and joined ghostlimb. The concept behind the name is funny to me, it is the idea that when you have a severed limb, you can still feel it. In an old Cursive song, there is a reference to a ghostlimb as an unbelical cord, thus everyone is missing something in their lives due to their separation from something at birth. What a mess.

3. 2006 saw your first self titled release, followed by "Bearing And Distance" in 2008 and 2011 finally got "Infrastructure". Tell me something more about those three releases, were they somehow similar in creation process or did they have their own unique ups and downs?

Each record has been a different writing process, the first stuff I did all myself, because it was just drums and guitar, but as time went on Neal and I started writing a lot more together and it kind of solidified the sound we have now. The new record was super easy, and was written and recorded in about 2 months, which is super gratifying. Things are smooth now, and it is essentially, whatever we feel like playing.

4. Each of your albums has one song with only a number for a name ("Six", "Seven", "Eight"). Any particluar reason behind that?

Originally on the first record "Six" was the sixth song we wrote. But "Seven" on "Bearing and Distance" refers to November 7th, the date here we had elections and voting that particular year. So that would be known in more of the context of American politics. "Eight" refers to Proposition 8 here in california seeking to ban gay marriage, so they have a corresponding theme, even though the ideas are different.

5. Between these releases "Ghostlimb" has been extensively touring. Any particular show or part of the world you are most fond of? Somewhere you'd ike to go back to?

Europe is always fun, but I really like southeast Asia and Japan. I would also like to get back to Australia with "Ghostlimb" and see how we fare there.

6. What are your thoughts about the state of this kind of music worldwide? Due to doing a lot of shows all around the world I guess you got first row tickets to peek into various types of music scenes.

I am glad that the music industry as a whole is crumbling. DIY and cooperative networks of people playing music and doing productive things have always existed, although it is a lot easier now with the internet. I think the world DIY scene is alive and kicking, and it has done a lot for us in the past, I try to put back as much as I can into it to help other people or bands as well.

7. While we are at it, could you explain how do you feel about your local underground music scene? Is there anything specific that you hate or love about it?

Los Angeles is strange right now for music. Venues come and go within a year usually and although 10 years ago it was arguably the biggest hardcore scene in the country, it gets difficult getting things going here these days. That being said, the people that are doing stuff help out a lot of people and really do bring shows and bands together, but I will it wasnt such a hassle to start or run a venue or show spot. Thanks LA.

8. Does it further inspire you to keep the band going once you see how your music inspires the audience during live shows?

People tend to react strangely to "Ghostlimb". Since there is no free hand singer, I think they may not know what to do or might feel strange, but I like that the shows are different than "Graf Orlock" or "Dangers" sets, and it has a different kind of intrinsic value for me when we play tight and did well, whether or not people are watching at all.

9. Aside of the mentioned releases, you were also on a split with "Fischer" and a fourway with "Zann", "Trainwreck" and "Perth Express". How did those happen?

I have known "Zann" for a long time and people in that band have set up all three of our Euro tours as well as released the "Ghostlimb" records on vinyl in Europe. We also know "Trainwreck" and "Perth Express" so it was a cool thing to do with people from the other side of the world we are friends with. Always nice to have a split record with friends.

10. You have been going strong for a fair number of years now, how do you guys feel about where "Ghostlimb" is now when compared to from where it started? Was everything like you initially planned?

I can honestly say that I am much more into the band and where it is going now than I ever have been. The stuff we have been writing and this new record is more in the direction I have always wanted to go than anything. So I a, real happy to get out there and play a lot of new songs and hit some new places. I wasnt unhappy about the band before, I just feel like the 3 of us click in such a way that we can achieve whatever we want.

11. Thus far, what have been your experiences concerning diy, both good ones and bad ones?

Mostly good ones. Every now and then people rip you off or whatever, but that is how it goes dealing with people, period.

12. What are your thoughts when it comes to diy music and internet? Do you actually follow some webzines or blogs?

I try to pay attention to what is going on and certain message boards bring stuff up I probably wouldn't have seen on my own. There arent though particular ones I frequent. Give me some suggestions!

Stefan: Basically I would suggest any blog from my "Friends and partners" list, all are being run by extremely friendly people and are quite interesting to follow. There are probably a bunch more blogs worth mentioning, but lack of time prevents me from exploring as much as I should.

13. Do you think that the diy note makes this kind of music more heartfelt and passionate compared to "mainstream" projects?

I don't know. I feel this way about the things I am into and have done, but there can be just as much fronting in a small band as a larger one. When you are in a huge band though, a lot more of what your band is about is out of your hands, with labels and managers and all that. So i think that perhaps it is more genuine doing it yourself and staying tre to whatever you set forth, out of the hands of backstabbers, etc.

14. Do you have some plans for the future as a band?

I would like to go as far as possible with this band, make some more records, play some shows, meet more people, and travel more. We will see how much of that we can do.

15. Time for you to ask a question!
Where do you live and what is the scene like there?

I'm from Belgrade, Serbia. There are a lot of bands here from various genres, one can surely find something here that can please his or her music taste. The only problem here is that we definitely need more shows, most of the time it's a sort of "dry season" when it comes to gigs.

16. You are also a member of the band "Graf Orlock". How do you feel about that project when compared to "Ghostlimb"? Do different things inspire you when it comes to writing music for it?

I feel like they are very different things. They focus on different ideas and the songs in "Ghostlimb" more accurately reflect what we are into, like history, theory, and things of that sort. So in this way, there is a different sort of gratification with both, and the fact that they are two different sides of what I want to do.

17. Are there any more musical projects in which "Ghostlimb" members are involved?

Yes, the label that is connected to us is called "Vitriol" and I run that. Neal is in another band called "Forming" who are very awesome, and I am in the bands, "Graf Orlock", "Dangers" and "Buyer's Remorse".

18. Aside of band and music related work, do you guys have some other hobbies?

Lots of dork stuff. Neal is into landscape architecture, Alex is into geography, and I am into history.

19. Are you involved/interested in any form of activism, be it animal/human rights, ecology, politics, ...?

We are all either vegetarian or vegan and try to have some idea about the way money is spent and how our real voting with cash effects things. Our politics fall a lot in line together, but it is difficult to write it all out. We are interested in autonomy and cooperative enterprises.

20. What have been your favorite releases in 2011 thus far? And what about some overall favorites?

I like the "Owen Hart" record, and the new "Graveyard" record "Hinsingen Blues", it is super 70s. Also the new "Obits" record, real rock and roll called "Standard, Moody, and Poor".

21. Once again, thank you so much for doing this interview, hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. Any final message for the readers?

Write what you want to read, play what you want to hear.
Thanks

Fuck, Wolves! & Sarg - Summer Tour 2011 updates

2011-04-28T12:42:00.002+02:00

For all those interested, here are some updates regarding "Fuck, Wolves!" and their upcoming tour with "Sarg".
The band took a small pause with playing since January, but a few days ago they had a rehearsal and all is fine and well. Sadly their "Euro tour" changed into just a "Summer Tour", so here are the planned dates:

07.07. - Darmstadt, Oetinger Villa
08.07. - Hamburg, TBC
09.07. - Berlin, Scherer8
10.07. - Leipzig, TBC
11.07. - Erlangen, Jugendhaus
12.07. - Germany / Austria / Switzerland (help)
13.07. - Germany / Austria / Switzerland / France (help)
14.07. - Landau, Fatal
15.07. - Liège (Belgium), Carlo Levi
16.07. - Wiesbaden, Kreativfabrik
17.07. - Kaiserslautern, Basement

Some of these shows will also feature the great French band "Theme of Laura".
If you can help them with the dates they still need, feel free to get in touch via their myspace here or their facebook here. Or just send me an email/shout/whatever and I will forward your message. Either way, help will be highly appreciated.

Move the Island - EP (2010)

2011-04-25T12:45:00.000+02:00

Download

This month has been extremely scarce with posts for various reasons. At the moment I acquired two writing jobs, one already in motion, one waiting to start next month and just the preparations for those are really draining my energy for writing. Since I'll keep the blog running of course, you should probably expect more interviews and a bit shorter than usual reviews. But enough rants, let's get this one going.

"Move the Island" is a hardcore/punk band coming from Birmingham, Alabama. This four track EP was recorded in November 2010 and as much as their blog (found here) suggests they immediately went onto writing and recording some new stuff for a full length. There are just a few posts over there and for a second I thought the band stopped existing, but luckily they have several shows in line, so all is well.
So, what do you get in this neat little EP? The majority of sounds in the four songs present here are surprisingly, for this genre, mid tempo. I was actually expecting to hear some maniacal rampage or something similarly wild, but was actually greeted with an easy going record. Don't get me wrong though, this is not a flaw at all, the tunes are very well composed with a lot of shifts in melody and the band is exceptionally well presenting its skill and talent. In the sea of mid tempo playing, there are some faster peaks and it is quite interesting how they literally spice up a song. Thanks to great recording, the sound is completely superb and you can hear everything. At times I was literally forgetting a currently playing song as a whole and was just focusing on a particular instrument. I was very surprised with how well you get to hear the bass and how good the lines actually are.
It's all good and nice, but what does it sound like? Yeah, this question was bugging me during my initial listening, since I really couldn't put my finger on it, a definite seal of uniqueness for this band. In the end, I kinda managed to find some similar projects, but thinking about it now I don't know if it will make sense. "Move the Island" swings on the line of "Bright Calm Blue", creating a bit more punk version of "Asymmetry Set" and at times morphing slower bits and pieces of "La Dispute" into more hardcore. Lyrics are also written in such a manor, bouncing between social criticism and emotional dilemmas. Don't take my words for granted though, it sounds strange, but it makes perfect sense in my crazy mind.
But forgetting influences and all that for a second, the fact that you should take for granted is to just take a listen to this band. I was stupid enough to really delay listening to them just to be in the right mood, yet once I took a listen I realized that I would love their music despite the moment I initially listened to them. So don't make the same mistake as I did and just check them out. If you are not into downloading music at the moment, you can take a listen to "Move the Island" on their bandcamp page found here. Enjoy!