Ok, ok, ok. As promised a few days ago, I decided to give this entire Cynic EP (currently streaming in full on Pitchfork) the opportunity to impress me in the way that the title track failed to do. Spoiler alert: my opinion has actually been down-graded quite a bit. Read on… Continue reading
So in an earlier post I downloaded the title track from the new EP Carbon-Based Anatomy, by Cynic (released yesterday on Season of Mist).
I went on to discuss how that particular song nearly bored me to death. And I promptly deleted it from my downloads library as soon as I’d heard it. But there continues to be a wordwide Cynic-mania of epic proportions… at least based on the number of hits I continue to get on that specific post (which was now nearly a month ago) compared with any of the others I have written since then. So obviously people are really excited about this release for some reason.
Well, you might be interested in knowing that Pitchfork has got a FREE stream of the full album currently online, just click here to check it out.
Simply based on the amount of interest this has been generating, I feel obligated to take a chance on the rest of the album — in case the one advance single that was released is completely non-representative of all the other songs. I highly doubt it, but I will be giving this an apprehensive test-drive later today. And I will share my reactions in a follow-up post sometime this weekend. So stay tuned for that!
In the meantime:
Carbon-Based Anatomy (CD), or (digital download).
Well, Dia de los Muertos (the holiday) has come and gone, so I may be a little tardy making this announcement, but if you haven’t yet taken advantage of this opportunity, it’s still available! So jump on it!
Dia de los Muertos (the band) announced a few days ago that they had put Dia de los Muertos (their 2005 EP) on their website for free download. I just got around to grabbing it this morning, myself, and haven’t gotten around to listening yet, but just based on their album Satánico Dramático, which was released earlier this year, I’d strongly urge you to follow the link at the bottom of this post!
These Los Angeleno purveyors of death-thrash have incorporated a distinctively Latin-flavored groove into their metal sound, complete with Spanish lyrics and occasional classical guitar intros or outros. Their sudamericano-style take on a classic thrashy death metal formula makes for quite an enjoyable listen; you may find yourself wishing every day were the Day of the Dead.
Click here for the Dia de los Muertos (2005 EP) download page.
Bonus!! Click here for the Satánico Dramático (2011 LP) download page.
Dia de los Muertos on Facebook
Find official DDLM merch here
Pittsburgh’s own Molasses Barge is kind of a recent discovery for me. I had become aware of them a while back by virtue of the fact that singer Brian ‘Butch’ Balich is also the frontman for the fucking awesome Pennsylvanian doom band Argus. But, I hadn’t actually heard them until this August when I saw them open up for Pentagram.
In a clear case of truth-in-advertising, Molasses Barge sound just like how something with such a name should sound. The main thing that struck me as I witnessed this sludgey beast in action was the setup drummer Wayne Massey was using. He seemed to have all the drum and cymbal hardware adjusted to the lowest possible height, so that it was all barely above the level of his throne. In this way, he constantly seemed to be hunched over the kit, throwing everything he had into a downward motion as he struck each beat. While it seems this would take a lot out of a person – in fact, before the second song began, Massey had already cast aside the t-shirt he’d begun the set with, and also by this time he was looking as though he might have benefitted from a jug of water like the one Butch was constantly taking swigs from between sections of vocals – nevertheless the technique was very effective in laying down a thundrously driving rhythm underneath the rest of the band.
Guitarists Justin Gizzi and Ken Houser mainly hung off to their respective sides of the stage, out of the spotlight, but their combined crunchy riffs and melodic soloing built a substantial wall of noise that more than made their presence felt. And Butch sort of bounced around the area between the two guitarists,with an imposing presence and also very impressive singing; meanwhile, occupying whatever real estate the vocalist had vacated at any given moment, Amy Bianco sort of meandered through the middle of it all, offering up basslines that similarly filled the empty sonic space between the others.
Of course, I can say all the words in the world describing the show these folks put on, but nothing would help you envision the experience as much as an actual video of the event. Well fortunately, some kind soul recorded the show I saw, and then made it available on Youtube for all who had missed it.
Anyway, now you pretty much know all you need to know, in order to know that you need to get out there and see this band live, as soon as possible! And you are in luck, because over the next few weeks you’ll have not one, but TWO opportunities to do so – as long as you are fortunate enough to be within driving distance of the greater Pittsburgh area. See below for descriptions and details for each of the upcoming shows.
You might also be interested in:
Molasses Barge – Jewels (download)
Argus – Boldly Stride the Doomed (CD | download)
Metal 1st, Metal Maniacs, and Metalhit.com are known for putting out lots of quality compilations that they make available for free download. You’d be doing yourself a great service by signing up for their e-mail list, because since May of this year they have consistently been releasing new collections of decent music each month.
Today marked the release of the next in this monthly series, and it includes material from upcoming releases by Black Tusk and Devil, among others. However, the one that has me the most excited is the inclusion of a song (titled “Son of Satan”) from the forthcoming album Heritage of Satan (due November 9 from Agonia Records) by Czech thrashy-doomy-blackened metal band Root.
The news gets even better, though, because in addition to the free compilation, you also have the opportunity to enter to win a copy of Heritage of Satan when it comes out! Just click here to visit the page where you can snag the download, get added to the mailing list for further updates, and also put your name in for the contest.
So it’s not often I see the interwebs so abuzz over an upcoming release, especially one that doesn’t have the words “Devin” or “Townsend” in the name, as they have been lately for the new EP Carbon-Based Anatomy, by Cynic (due 11/11/11 on Season of Mist).
I just got done listening to the advance sample, the title track — which was made available for free download (here) earlier this week — and I haven’t quit yawning yet. I can’t believe how bent-out-of-shape folks have been about Opeth‘s latest being too un-metal or whatever (stay tuned for a separate post on that whole situation, coming soon), and yet people are somehow all frothing at the mouth for this?
Now, I’m fully aware that I’m too old and out-of-touch to really understand most current musical fads, but here is a band that has been around (off and on) for the past twenty-four years, and reportedly is now considered some sort of “progressive death metal fusion” hybrid (according to the Encyclopaedia Metallum). I don’t really know what this song was, but I feel like I’ve been robbed of the past six-and-a-half minutes of my life. I haven’t heard this much ‘pretty boy’ singing, synthy electronic ambience, and particularly, such an absence of anything metallic, since the last couple Muse albums. I’m pretty sure my wife would adore this, and I don’t mean that in a good way.
Of course, you don’t have to take my word for it (just ask LeVar Burton), so feel free to give it a spin using the link up above, and if by some chance this really floats your boat, you can pre-order the CD here, or pre-order the digital download here.
Valley of Steel 