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A few more recent releases.
What a difference a little fuzz does. Traditional jazz guitarists are known for their dull, sinusoidal sound, but add full distortion and the jazz chords become surprisingly hard to recognise because the notes are so much harder to hear out individually. Here I think they throw in some minor ninths or minor seconds in their harmonies. Compelling album anyway.
Only those brief interleaved off-genre riffs and guitar sounds betray them: half a measure of rock-n-roll here, a fraction of a second of ... something that ought not be there. Since it's generally slow I suppose it must be called sludge, doom or stoner or something, and those inserts are so short, so few and far between that I wonder, why not some more, without taking it to the excesses of Naked City. Apparently enough to serve as an excuse for the experimental label, anyway.
If the Residents were a metal band, they might sound like this at their worst moments. The comparison actually isn't justified. (If you need us to explain the joke, you are the joke, as these blokes say.) Features spoken stories about witches, in German.
One man, one cello, voice, and duble kick drum, that ought to do. There is no particular reason why he would remind of his compatriot Jean Louis Costes, apart from their equally wild punk attitude.
Two member band, one of whom must have one of the longest ever artist names, unless it is meant as a title, which I shall refrain from repeating here. Go look it up yourself. The comb filter reverb with high wet level works its wonders on a background layer of lowpass filtered snare drum and other instruments. We are in the back of a long room, mostly empty, with the muppet desperados far away on stage and hidden by a smoke machine. I wouldn't mind having the alien vocals up front in the mix. The titles witness a keen interest in goats, clever and amusing animals, no doubt. The longish title track ends with a grayish foggy outro of the kind usually reserved for intros, all other tracks keep to normal pop length.
Short songs prefaced by ... scums, I suppose, vocals sounding as something going down the drain, opaque walls of grinding guitar.
More songs to help you pass your clinical pathology exam, these here froth, boil, blow underwater bubbles, squeek like whales. Exemplary foley work.
Vocal duo between a demented gnome and an almost tone-deaf ogre, cavernous sound as if recorded from a room next door. No matter how spontaneous, live, and amateurish it sounds, there is no doubt it's the result of deliberate choices.
Hold on a bit. Why not an acapella version since the tounge twisting and throat tickling easily compares to the best of the lettrists or dada sound poetry? Only three tracks so far, they need to do moar. The demo is more articulated and original than the promo.
The album begins as metal, not bad nor really something one remembers. Then comes three bonus tracks with a whole new twist, synth and ambient. The last track in particular stands out with its excellent mix and slow flow through a landscape.
The spatial left-right jump cut typical of metal mixing might as well be experienced as a jump in depth by aligning your listening position with the speakers. Try it for yourself, rebrand left and right channels as near and distant. This was something I discovered while listening to this project Trout. Fast, technical, virtuoso, and sometimes jazzy with a clean guitar sound. But, of course, one may wonder, what's the point of playing like a precision robot when you are in fact human? And also, why not take the step beyond humanly performable music while you're at it? Regardless, this is a short, intense, and brilliant album.
The compelling open sound, not compressed into soundsausage, has been almost forgotten. Maybe it's just because this is a demo that it hasn't been mastered by a steam roller. The playing also has some unforced ease that is missing in many bands who try to be fast, tight & visceral.
How do you tell it's progressive? Fast, inhumanly precise timing (so, whence their band name?), sharp corners. This would still be cool if played on didgeridoo and banjo. I hope someone does.
Education is a sorely missing topic in most metal bands, but this act fills the void with a short EP. Some bizarre sound montages and concentrated miniatures.
As the title says, this is the gate of eternal suffering and death. The demo, however, doesn't last forever, only for too long. The undistorted guitar parts are exploring an alternative tuning, don't know which one, and the distorted parts are trying to induce a hearing loss. There's also some vocals somewhere there, and even drums although well hidden. Three truly disgusting tracks, and something to learn from in mixing: you don't have to have audible drums!
Harmonies and violin chops like another Vivaldi in the hands of Yngwie Malmsteen, well, this artist does put the label neoclassical on his metal for a good reason. An easily enjoyable album, not too serious and on the verge of kitsch, it brings back the 80's to the present.
Swirling and itching riffs in complex overlayered arrangements and grunts with a distinctly Brazilian feel. One could almost get lost in the thicket.
Razor sharp guitars and muffled, thundering drums played with the freedom of a Ringo Starr, somehow reminiscent of some early metal before things became extreme. Guitar solos are kept brief, they are like glimpses into a rodeo with all tricks the mad horse has learnt to do. The vocals are just comprehensible, but don't worry, they're unpitched. Compelling album in every way, full of catchy tunes.
Watch this space for updates, I might add more reviews.