A Humble Question

Does anyone have photos of the Dillinger Escape Plan show at the Middle East in Cambridge, MA on Dec. 18? I saw lots of folks taking pictures, but I don't see anything online.

Ancient Paeons to Worlds Lost

Alethes - Aletheia
There's not much information on this Washington state duo's debut album on Glass Throat Recordings besides that 1) they're from Washington state and 2) instrumentation is simply acoustic guitar, strings and percussion (not drums, but percussion - it literally sounds like beating on logs). Rather than rehash what other reviews have stated, I'll simply listed a series of moods and feelings evoked by the album and end with a witty similie.
Earthy
Ethereal
Disturbing
Ancient
Beautiful
Hypnotic
Engaging
Rhythmic
Haunting
Sacred
Evil
Makes Steve Von Till sound like John Denver

Gamma Ray Burst to the Face

The Dillinger Escape Plan -- Ire Works
For a band who are praised for its unpredictable nature, and don't-give-a-fuck attitude, DEP sure do seem to attract a lot of negative attention for being unpredictable and not giving a fuck. "Why don't they make another Calculating Infinity?" cries the Dillinger "faithful," and like a band concerned only with making only the most intense, relevant music they humanly can, DEP soldier on, following their own muse and blowing the doors off expectations (unless that expectation is the same album over and over again).

Accurately describing a Dillinger record is difficult, but for those who have never heard the group (are you out there?), I'll do my best: A huge variety of tones playing a huge variety melodies and textures, performed by men as violently and emotionally as possible spanning speeds ranging from "headspinningly breakneak" to "atmospherically slow." How else to describe an album that encompasses such technical barnstormers as "Fix Your Face" and "Lurch" as well as melodic, catchy, but equally complex compositions like "Black Bubblegum" and the simply outstanding "Milk Lizard"? How else to reconcile the hyperspeed blur of Calculating with the oddball electronics of Irony is a Dead Scene? These guys have fucking talent - regardless of who happens to be in the line-up

So is it any good? For the all the talk about selling out and the gossip and the petty bullshit, there is only one relevant question about Ire Works: Does it deliver the goods? The answer is a resounding "YES."

Heavy

Electric Wizard - Witchcult Today
Electric Wizard was the undisputed "Heaviest Band in the Universe." Crushing releases like Dopethrone and Let Us Prey made sure that this title remained theirs. No one riffed harder, slower, or was more stoned. But then something happpened. The band's legendary weed intake caused the band to fall apart. But all was not lost! Electric Wizard reformed and then tripped over its own enthusiasm and gave the world the decent, if completely forgettable, We Live. Now, two years later, the Wizard have dusted off their denim jackets and devil-shaped bongs and gave us the proper follow up to Let Us Prey. With the exception of the (gasp) sung vocals, this album could actually sit quite comfortably between DT and LUP. It sounds that much like the Wizard of old.

The riffs lie somewhere between Black Sabbath and Hawkwind, and the addition of sung, albeit highly distorted, vocals and occassional use of organs enhance the damaged, 70's vibe running through the album.

No, it's not Dopethrone pt. II, which may annoy change-fearing, internet whiners, but Witchcult stands as the most consistant and enjoyable Electric Wizard album yet. The title remains in competent hands.

Utterly Heavy

High On Fire - Death is This Communion
The new High On Fire totally crushes. The song-writing is great, and the production is better than ever. Imagine the last album without the utterly tiring-to-listen-to, midrange-y, Steve Albini production with catchier songs and heavier, more dynamic riffs.
Matt Pike sings like three Lemmys, so when there's some vocal melody it sounds kind of weird, but it works and gives the songs a lot of power.
There are also a few short instrumentals (one of which is all percussion) which gives some respite between the proper songs and highlights some different elements of the band. Highly recommended.
They played live the other night at the Middle East, but I was at school and missed them.

The new Baroness is pretty great too, but I haven't given it a close enough listen to review it properly. It sounds different from the EPs, but still pretty cool; much more of a Southern vibe going on.

Amateur Mixology

I love cocktails. Specifically I like old cocktails like Manhattans, and Martinis with gin and vermouth in them. I also like to come up with my own. Here's a few for you to try in your own home!

Oaken Throne
In a cocktail shaker, combine with ice:
2oz of Applejack
1oz sweet vermouth
several dashes of Angosturra bitters
Stir and strain into a Collins glass;
top with cold apple cider

Kingslayer
In a cocktail shaker, combine with ice:
1.5oz of rye whiskey
.5oz of Campari
.5oz of dry vermouth
a dash each of orange and Angosturra bitters
stir and strain into a cocktail glass or an old fashioned glass with fresh ice

enjoy!

Too much money/too much rock

I was in the Apple store last weekend and observed a man purchasing 5 (five) iPhones. The cashier was initially both confused and oddly excited by this transaction (do they work on commission? I would tend to doubt it, but what do I know?). Why do I mention this? I just thought it was sort of a weird thing and I figured I'd mention it.

Turbonegro was awesome on Monday by the way. Every song they have is a crazy sing-a-long, so it's pretty hard to make a bad set. They played all my favorites anyway (barring one, off the new album). They played their asses off, and had hilarious between-song banter involving using the city of Boston and its historical and political figures to create amazingly strained attempts to segue between songs. Crowd turn-out and response was impressive for a Monday night as well. All the low-rise jeans, American-flag chaps, sailor caps, and sweat you could ask for, really.

Brass Knuckles and a Two by Four

OK, so I did not get my Alethes CD that I ordered a week or two ago, because it is out of stock (along with a CD of 60's French girl pop I also ordered). The store believes they will come back though, so lets all cross our fingers REAL HARD.

In other news, I'm going to see Turbonegro this coming Monday night (I actually have to run out of class and jump in a cab to take me to Allston to make the show). I am very excited for this show. Their new album Retox might be the rock record of the year. Derivitive and innovative in all the best ways. Terrorizer gave it a pretty lackluster review, but I think in terms of pure songcraft, it's the best album they've ever done. Most of the songs are a super-catchy hybrid of punk and 70's glam rock (with some Motley Crue/GnR-isms for good measure) with lyrics that were likely judged "too stupid for AC/DC." In the last several months (or since whenever it came out), it is the album I've probably listened to the most. Rocktastic!

Bang Bang

I saw "Shoot 'Em Up" last night. There's a lot I could say, but I'm afraid it would give too much away. Suffice to say, the film is very, uh, creative.

This film makes "Face/Off" look like a documentary. It is fucking awesome!

Sumer is a 'cumen in

...or out in this case, since fall is rolling on it. I watched the Wicker Man last night; the original, not the silly Nicholas Cage remake. It was kind of a weird film, and not particularly scary. I also wasn't sure who I was supposed to be rooting for. I'm not Christian (or anything for that matter), so the idea of some weird, heathen isle is actually pretty appealing, plus the protagonist is kind of an obnoxious dick the whole time - yelling at people for singing songs, shoving Jesus down everyone's throats, etc.

It was hard to tell if the film was just dated, I was coming from the "wrong" perspective, or the fact that I basically knew the plot ahead of time, that made the film less enjoyable. It's a very pretty film, and all the actors are really good, it was just a bit plodding.

On the other hand, it got me worked up to light a candle and listen to the Agalloch record I got the other day and have been too busy to listen to. The Mantle is a great fusion of pagan, nature-worshipping lyrics and sounds (wind, snow, etc.), folky, but extremely grim, melodies and textures, and metal. They are from Washington state and are way more convincing in their heathen-ness than most of the Scandinavian bands that tread similar ground. Like old Emperor or new Enslaved mixed with Death in June/Der Blutharsch - awesome!

Speaking of ultra-grim, folky, heathen music, I just ordered the record from Alethes from Aquarius records which I should hopefully get sometime next week (barring stocking issues), which I am really excited about.

Plug for Me: My project HARSCH has some songs up here which you might enjoy. Two of the songs I just put up a couple weeks ago, so it's some fresh goodness!

Fresh start

Hello friends, family, stalkers, FBI crawlers, etc.
This is my new blog-thing. I was having billing issues with the one at Typepad so I cancelled the account. Unfortunately, this means everything was lost - but we're talking ephemeral garbage anyway so whatever. I'm going to narrow the focus of this outing to mostly music reviews and similar thoughts. This will allow me to make smaller, more frequent updates as I buy CDs (which I do very often) and don't otherwise have time collect my thoughts due to my absurd schedule. I may wander into "real life" territory if something exciting comes up, but otherwise it's just my thoughts on music, art, and *maybe* the law...

hailz,
BCB