Category Archives: New Releases

In Case You Missed It: Krampus – Kronos’ Heritage

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Krampus – Kronos’ Heritage (Self-released, 24 August 2011)

Good afternoon, readers.  So how is your day going so far?  Mine’s almost over, but still it seems to be dragging on far too long.  I could sure use a break, and I’d be willing to bet you feel the same.  I’ve decided to take a  folk-metal break, care to join me?

Amazingly, just a few short years ago I had no idea that there existed such a thing as folk metal.  I’ve been a long-time fan of the orchestral and symphonic stuff that sometimes gets incorporated into black or power metal, and any other music that brings together unexpected juxtapositions of style or instrumentation, but for whatever reason, I’d just never really been exposed to the folkier stuff.  Once I did discover it, though, I instantly was knocked off my feet, and ever since then I just can’t get enough.

Today I’m taking a quick look back at the EP Kronos’ Heritage, released last summer by the Udinesi octet Krampus.  Just a quick look, though, because the EP is only three songs, clocking in around twelve minutes.  Following that, I’ll also be glancing ahead, because right now this troop of Italians is busy laboring on their forthcoming debut release for  Noise Art Records, which is due out late this year.

The Krampus, as I understand it, is a scary monster with goat-like features, somewhat like a satyr, which originally came from the pagan folklore of the pre-Christian Alpine lands, but nowadays is thought of as the Christmas demon, serving as a counterpart to Saint Nicholas in many central European countries, and coming around to deal with the naughty children who don’t deserve any gifts.  Similarly, the band that shares its name with this creature seems to be intent on punishing those who have misbehaved, except in a metaphoric sense: here, the “children” represent all of mankind, and the “misdeeds” for which we are to be reprimanded involve polluting and destroying the planet on which we live.

 

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Just Released: No Anchor – Rope/Pussyfootin’ 7-Inch

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No Anchor – Rope/Pussyfootin’ 7-Inch (Self-released, 17 March 2012)

Good morning, readers. It felt like this week was never going to end, but it’s finally Friday! All we need to do is fumble our way through one more day, then the weekend will officially be here. Pretty awesome, huh? Although sometimes even just one eight-hour day still feels like it lasts forever, and besides that, it’s hard to get excited about anything this early in the morning, right?

Well don’t worry, I’ve got something to help you survive one more workday. Go grab a cup of coffee and get your headphones on, and brace yourselves for some grungey noise-rock all the way from Queensland! Brisbane’s No Anchor have just unleashed a brand new 7″ with four songs (three of which are free to download!) over an eight-minute span that should give you just the jolt you need.

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Just Released: Hail Spirit Noir – Pneuma

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Hail Spirit Noir – Pneuma (Code666, 5 March 2012)

(This is the second in a series of two album reviews today, for two very different, yet equally awesome, Central Macedonian bands. To read about Descensus Ad Inferos by Erevos, head in this direction.)

 

Pneuma (πνεύμα, or Spirit in English) is the debut release from Thessalonian duo Hail Spirit Noir, which consists of Haris (synths) and Theoharis Liratzakis (guitar/vocals), both of whom serve in those same roles in the avant-black ensemble Transcending Bizarre?.  HSN has been in existence for about two years now, and much of this time was spent composing the material found on Pneuma, which was then put to tape at Lunatech Studios (near Mount Olympus), rounded out by guest musicians Dim Douvras on bass (who also mixed the recording), Ioannis Giahoudis on drums, and Dimitris Dimitrakopoulos who provided additional vocals.  Acclaimed Swedish engineer Jens Bogren then mastered the final product, and earlier this month Code666 Records made it available worldwide.

At least, that’s what happened according to the record label’s official press release (which also refers to the group’s music as “psychedelic prog black to tear your psyche apart”).  Now, I’m not trying to imply that any of this information is inaccurate in any way.  But having listened to this album pretty much nonstop for several days, I’ve found that what these guys have crafted is so uniquely compelling, I would have been willing to believe it if I had been told there was a bit more to the story of its inception than that.

 

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REPOST: Help Make Iron Atrocity v.2 a Reality!

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Ladies and Gentlemen, one last time I am bringing this to your attention, because this fine organization who is so instrumental in supporting great local music could really use some support from all of you right now. 

There is now less than one day remaining in this fundraising campaign.  If you have been waiting until the last minute, THIS IS IT.  Don’t put it off until tomorrow (Friday), because the deadline is 5am tomorrow morning.  As of the time I am posting this, they have only raised approximately HALF of their original goal.  That leaves less than twenty-four hours to make up the other half!

For those unfamiliar with exactly how Kickstarter works, you don’t need to worry if maybe you don’t get paid until tomorrow and you’ve been trying to wait until then to send in your donation.  This is just a pledge, you aren’t paying anything yet, until after the deadline has passed.

Note: If the pledge drive doesn’t meet its goal before the deadline, it will fail, no money will change hands at all, and the terrorists will have won.  We can’t let that happen.

So get to clicking: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/240758996/iron-atrocity-v2, and show your support for local music.  Please, if you have anything to spare — $10, $5, even $1 — it all adds up.  But do it now, there is no more time to put it off any longer.

Thank you.
—Valley of Steel

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(previously posted on 15 February, 2012):

You might remember I talked about this project before — back in November I posted about some upcoming Molasses Barge shows which included a benefit show in Decmeber to support the Iron Atrocity v.2 compilation.

If you don’t remember, Iron Atrocity is a digital download (available free by visiting www.ironatrocity.com) or CD compilation (I do not know if any copies are still available, but it was given out for free at shows associated with Innervenus or any of the bands on the CD) which highlights some of the best in Pittsburgh-area metal music today.

Well, the second compilation in the series is currently in the works, and the folks at Innervenus are trying to raise a little extra capital to get this thing off the ground…
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Just Released: Melvins – The Bulls & the Bees (Free Download!)

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Melvins – The Bulls & the Bees (13 March 2012, Scion A/V)

I’ve just got two things to say: first, there is a new Melvins EP, and second, it’s absolutely free to download. Really, that should be all you need to hear.

The generous people who run Scion A/V have done it again, putting out a handful of songs by an incredible band for no cost or obligation at all. I still don’t know what they get out of it (I’ve grabbed a copy of each one of their free releases so far, but I’d still never be caught dead behind the wheel of one of their ugly-ass cars!), but I sure am thankful they keep on doing what they’re doing.

This time, as you can see, they are featuring a five-song collection by the Melvins, who surely need no introduction to anybody reading this. But just in case you just immigrated to this planet from Pluto, or you have been in a coma since Ronald Reagan’s first term as U.S. president, let me bring you up to speed. These guys almost single-handedly invented sludge, grunge, and stoner metal. At the very least, they were highly influential in the genesis of each of those styles, and have been consistently churning out quality tunes for almost three whole decades.

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Now Hear This! Preview Some New Material by Author & Punisher

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Do you remember back in the day when the word “industrial” as a descriptive term for music was actually meant literally?  Back before any snotty little kid with a drum machine could just dial up some digital distortion in Garageband, puke out some techno dance tracks onto his MacBook, and think he’s the next Trent Reznor?

Meet Tristan Shone, the San Diegan mechanical engineer who is otherwise known as Author & Punisher.  In case you hadn’t guessed, those little doodads and whatsits he’s holding in the photo above are not some newfangled kind of XBox controllers or something.  No, Tristan has manufactured himself a virtual army of mechanical and robotic devices whose sole purpose is to make a cacophony of industrial noises. Literally.

 

 

With a few releases already under his utility toolbelt, this one-man noise factory has got a brand new album Ursus Americanus slated to be released by Seventh Rule Recordings on 24 April, 2012.  However, as the kind folks at Catharsis PR have brought to my attention, you can have the opportunity to catch a sneak peek at a couple tracks from that record right now!

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Just Released: Pharaoh – Bury the Light

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Pharaoh – Bury the Light (6 March 2012, Cruz del Sur Music)

Good evening, Readers. How’s it going? I’d like to take a quick poll, if you don’t mind. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when someone says “power metal”? Is your first impulse to run away screaming? It wouldn’t surprise me much if that were the case, because that would be the reaction of many people — including myself, sometimes.

Why is that? Well, because somewhere along the line power metal got its name blemished pretty badly in the eyes of most listeners. Somehow the genre got associated with bands who, when they heard “Run to the Hills” for the first time, fell in love with the lightning-speed galloping part towards the end, but thought the song would be better if they had cut out all the stuff that builds the tension up to that point, and creates dynamic contrast, and holds the listener’s attention. Bands whose favorite album of all time is Rising Force, but they never realized that their turntable was switched to 78 RPM instead of 33-1/3.

It’s no wonder most people turn their noses up at the thought of this genre, when its most visible representatives are a bunch of over-the-top, ultra-cheeserrific fuckwads whose primary goal seems to be to constantly outdo themselves in terms of speed and wankery, much more than giving any thought to making good quality music.

Of course, this stereotype didn’t just spring into existence overnight; there have been bands that have incorporated cheesy schtick into their repetoires (whether intentionally or not) for decades. It’s almost as if everyone had forgotten it was possible to put together a group of talented musicians and play music that strikes a balance between heavy and powerful but also emotional and melodic; and to tackle lyrical territory that is epic and grand but not corny and overblown. Almost.

A certain group of Philadelphian gentlemen (who, by the way, come from the eastern side of my home state – just a few hundred miles from here) who call themselves Pharaoh haven’t forgotten. And just one listen to their newest album (their fourth full-length, and fifth release overall, dating back nearly ten years) Bury the Light, which is on Cruz del Sur and was released just last week in North America, is all it will take to ensure you don’t forget, either.

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Just Released: Invader – Self-Titled

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Invader – Invader (6 March 2012, Innervenus Music)

Hey!  What are you doing tonight?  If you are anywhere within driving distance of the Southside of Pittsburgh today, cancel those plans now.  You are going to need to get yourself down to The Smiling Moose bar, where they are throwing  a CD release party you will absolutely not want to miss.  More details on that later; first let’s talk about this relatively new (founded in 2009) local band Invader and why you’ll definitely want to check out their self-titled album that has just been released by Innervenus.

Invader first came to my attention when their song “Plow City U.S.A.” was included on the Pittsburgh-area metal compilation Iron Atrocity v.1 (I can’t imagine any reason why you wouldn’t have a copy of it yet, since it’s awesome, and also free to download, but JUST IN CASE, you can grab it from here).  Then, I saw word around town that the band was putting a new record out this week; the official press release had two main points that really caught my eye: first, it listed similar artists “Nicki Minaj, Lady GaGa and The Grateful Dead,” and went on to say the five members of the band’s “goal is to play music that they themselves wanted to hear.”  Now, clearly that first part was a joke, but I did really appreciate the second quotation, because too often people just try to latch onto whatever current trend is out there, instead of playing what is genuine, and I think it really manifests in the sound a band produces.

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The “Signmeto” Unsigned Band of the Week: The Jack Antonio Project

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Well, it’s time once again for the “Signmeto” Unsigned Band of the Week feature, that thing where I talk about a band who has written to me on the “Sign Me to Roadrunner Records” website, looking for reviews of their music.  I listen to it, write about it, and share it with you.  Ready?  Here we go.

“ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT, SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS, IRREVERENT, MISUNDERSTOOD, COMEDY MUSIC!”

That’s how Jack Antonio of The Jack Antonio Project identifies himself.  He goes on to describe this “comedy music” as being “raw and simplistic and almost ‘bad’ on purpose to capture your attention,” with “the humour of Frank Zappa, the bizarreness of Captain Beefheart, the simplicity in songwriting of Daniel Johnston, the leftist politics of Jello Biafra and the voice a mixture of Doctor John and Tom Waits.”

This project was formed last October, in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, by a Canadian gentleman operating under the eponymic pseudonym.  During the intervening months, the concept has expanded from being a single singer/songwriter to working with a full backing band; at the end of February an EP was officially released, and is now available for purchase — stay tuned for further details on that, later in this review. Continue reading →

Out Today: Mondrian Oak – Aeon

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Mondrian Oak – Aeon (27 February 2012, Eibon Records)

Okay, stop right there. Before you read another word (and before I write any more) we need to get one thing out of the way immediately. Do you have a short attention span? Do people often refer to you as impatient? Has your mind already begun wandering away from this post, two or three sentences ago? If you answered “yes” to any of these (or if you didn’t answer at all because you lost track of the questions), there’s a chance this might not be for you. You may prefer to do some reading elsewhere this evening, and come back to visit me tomorrow. I’ll miss you, but I can understand.

For those who are still here, though, I’ve got quite a special treat in store for you tonight. Mondrian Oak, the instrumental post-metal (heavy emphasis on the “post”) quartet from Ancona, Italy, have put together their second album, called Aeon, and it’s available on CD right now from Aural Music‘s sub-label Eibon Records. It’s pretty fucking incredible, and you’ll have the opportunity to hear the whole thing before you go buy it.

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