Tag Archives: Music

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Maeth

Some of the best kinds of music ensnare you for a listening experience unlike any other. Pink Floyd. Mastodon. Ozric Tentacles, if you know of them, just to name a few. Minnesota’s Maeth take cues in what makes these three bands world class songwriters, yet are very much their own unique beast, with extra emphasis on the beast. What you’re getting is a progressive metal band that are unafraid to take their music above and beyond tired barriers. The entirety of 2012’s Horse Funeral EP is one song broken into five segments in which the title track here, goes on as much as a flight as the rest of the album. Starting in space almost, sludge mode engages for an impressive show of strength and a surprisingly catchy riff, colliding head on with excellent off-kilter drums. The soundscape is then hushed into a repetition of that riff, supported by a gentle touch of bass before an ethereal flute takes hold of the proceedings. See, progressive music doesn’t get that spiritual sounding nowadays, but these gentlemen can take it there or wherever they please, as their near-leagues below sea level depth is astounding. Maeth aren’t musicians, they’re dreamweavers. Whether that’s a psychedelic tour of space, or a terrifying avalanche solely to crush, they deserve to breach their cult status as one of progressive metal’s most exciting new bands.

The Horse Funeral EP was only the beginning. Please go check out their 2013 album Oceans Into Ashes on their Bandcamp, as it expands the groundwork covered here into a fully-fledged masterpiece.

https://www.facebook.com/MaethBand?fref=ts

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Arms & The Man

Regardless of what you think of hardcore nowadays, it seems needless to say that it’s all rather angry and violent. So when you have bands that take a lighter approach, yet still maintain that exceptional intensity and that unwavering devotion and passion to the craft, it deserves the same spotlight as any other hardcore band before and after. Hitchin’s Arms & The Man, are very much in that bracket. While their repetoire boasted a blazing array of bruising hardcore throwdowns, with an impressive hard rock flair and showmanship, their lyrics, well tales, are far more tongue-in-cheek. I’ll openly admit, at a local music festival I attended around five years ago, one of my fondest memories of that festival was this five piece screaming the immortal words, ‘I punched a wolf in the face, mate.’ Four, five years later, that glorious phrase from signature track Wolfpuncher has emerged in recorded format for the world to hear. Hi-jinx aside, these guys were the real deal. Unflinching, uncompromising, and all with a grin in tow, Arms & The Man serves as a reminder that no matter how seriously you take pride in your work, you gotta step back and laugh sometimes.

Sad fact: These gentlemen split up on my birthday this year, 26th February. Your punching of wolves in the face lives on in my heart. For this song, and occasionally as silly song titles, head on over to their Bandcamp, where you can purchase a couple of EPs and singles they’ve released over the years.

https://www.facebook.com/armsandthemanuk?fref=ts

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NTRSN

There’s a trend of bands or groups taking vowels out of their names, the problem is, it’s getting harder to distinguish if they are words or abbreviations. My guess with this Belgian electronic duo, is I haven’t a clue. All I’m interested in is the blurring between the boundaries of 80’s synth-pop, industrial and some colder, darker electronic ambient compositions. Sadly, the group have split has of 2012 (I’ve had a real morbid obsession with dead or defunct bands recently, fuck), but their music could just as easily score a factory production line as it could an EBM club. Although their murky, gritty synths and basslines prowled the seedy underbelly of the latter 00’s and early 10’s, there’s a satisfying timelessness to the drum machines and keyboard arpeggios. Not to mention, whilst the vocals take upon a harsh tone, it’s not excessively aggressive nor drenched in unnecessary distortion, unlike so many of the genre’s stalwarts. There isn’t an abundance of their material around the internet, but People Like Gods from the 2009 album of the same title, emphasises that perfect reproduction of the synth-pop/cold wave sound, whilst bleeding through shades of that EBM club floorfiller personality that other songs personify better. A true underground gem, this pair of Belgian producers, although gone on to pastures new, had a winning formula on their hands, it just seems a shame it never gained greater exposure.

2009’s People Like Gods and 2011’s Hardlines are available at most select online retailers, in a noticeably expensive physical format or digital mp3.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/NTRSN/428006670669438?fref=ts

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Beast Make Bomb

Very few bands I’ve listened to make me ask the question: Are they an indie band, or a punk band? Or even a very loud pop band? Actually Beast Make Bomb are the only band that’ve made me ask those questions. Defunct as of three years ago, the two guys and two gals responsible for this dose of sugar-charged, punk-injected indie pop hailing from four different cities in the States, were an underground sensation. Much of their output revolved around a fuzz-saturated guitar freight train, that could compare with many of garage rock’s greats, but they could also pen killer pop melodies, and even sweet but never saccharine ballads to showcase their multi-faceted abilities. Rough It Out, from free-to-download EP Sourpuss, is an upbeat rocket about failing to confess your love that has pace, a contagious chorus and searing hot guitar work to boot in just three and a half minutes that will leaving you smiling ear-to-ear. Beast Make Bomb could turn the struggles of teen life into a wonderland of positivity, punctuated with unforgettable melodies and the world, for what they didn’t know about this band, is worse off without them.

Sourpuss, as well as numerous other EPs and songs can be found on their Bandcamp page, either for a small fee or for nothing at all.

https://www.facebook.com/BeastMakeBomb?fref=ts

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Devil May Care

It must take some tremendous display of strength to form a band over 15 years ago, and yet still maintain the drive to create music after reanimating a project that long ago. But Greece’s Devil May Care have done just that, blending an enthralling pot-pourri of progressive metal with a kick of stoner and sludge, even some post-rock flavours at times. Sial, the first track from their Hallowed EP is a glorious warzone, bathed in an inferno, narrated by crunching hard guitars, a methodical drum attack, some luscious harmonies to illustrate an air of tragedy and atmospherics to heighten that emotion, all encompassed in a rollercoaster of riffs. Their musicianship states a great case for audio-visual storytelling, and that it doesn’t necessarily need to be indulgent, with some, but not all of their recorded output only just poking the five minute mark. The best part is, they openly admit they make music for the enjoyment of it, a sentiment some people should take note of. Their bite-size bursts of encapsulating metal are a joy to digest, and if it takes 15 years to formulate these masterstrokes, the mind boggles at what’s next in store.

The Hallowed EP and Meridian EP are available on the band’s Bandcamp page for a small fee. That’s the Greek band, not the German one, just be sure. I have no idea if the German band are any good.

https://www.facebook.com/officialdevilmaycare?fref=ts

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International Diamond Thieves

Active for over two years, but incredibly accomplished in just that short space of time before disappearing off the face of the earth, London’s International Diamond Thieves wrote a playbook filled with rap-rock hooks, unflinching punk ideology and memorable dancefloor grooves. Their charisma, energy and in some respects eclecticism, could’ve seen them fit right at home at the top of the London live scene, and their presence was already making ripples in mainland Europe. Take How It Is for example. Sure, there isn’t an abundance of their material floating around, but this implements a bridge between rap, reggae and ska punk in such a perfectly polished, ass-shaking fashion, it makes it near unbelievable that this band was only two years old. There’s a beautiful, infectious simplicity in the guitar, a thumping drum beat you can move to and a chorus with a message that Rage Against The Machine would be proud of. Long story short, their musicianship crawls with as many earworms, as does soil in the ground and whilst short-lived, this five piece’s name feels justified, whilst lifting many individual elements, they undoubtedly shined brightly in their performance.

How It Is, as well as two other tracks, 5.5 and Strange World, are available as free downloads from the band’s Soundcloud page, as well as How It Is can be downloaded right here, just click the arrow in the top right hand corner of the Soundcloud player.

https://www.facebook.com/internationaldiamondthieves?fref=ts

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American Wrestlers

Chances are that you’ll probably have never heard of Manchester’s Working For A Nuclear Free City. So the name Gary McClure will mean even less to you if you haven’t. The gentleman in question is half responsible for the former name, and entirely responsible for the latter. What was successful in WFANFC was its air of nostalgia, invoked in its many distinct song styles, leaving behind an eclectic catalogue of killer songwriting, atmosphere and endearing little oddities that sounded like they could’ve been from many different time periods of history. American Wrestlers has a spirit which is very similar. Recorded on an eight-track and on his wife’s guitar and keyboard, Gary McClure has distilled the essence of WFANFC into a stripped back indie-pop masterpiece, that sounds like its been around since the 60’s, rather than April of this year. The soulful, heartfelt There’s No One Crying Over Me Either, with its catchy keyboard hook, dated but fitting drum machine beat and soaring guitar solo is a sure fire contender to be one of my favourite songs released this year and the hype surrounding the self-titled album is rightful to propel its status as one of the best releases likely to be out this year. One of the best examples of timelessness currently going.

American Wrestlers’ debut album can be purchased through Fat Possum Records’ website, or via most respectable music retailers.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/American-Wrestlers/708356615903007?fref=ts

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Access To Arasaka

Some artists leave you hanging on what could’ve been, if they’d just persevered a little longer. Seeming absent since 2013 and on the brink of seeping into mainstream acceptance, Access To Arasaka was an atmospheric electronic project of New York producer Robert Lioy, that combined dark, brooding soundscapes with glitch and IDM elements that could score a dystopian future with absolute ease. While his later works are murkier of sorts, Jody from his debut album Oppidan has somewhat of an element of purity, hard to explain within the context of electronic music. Whilst swirling through a smog of beautiful harmonics, programming spasms and contorts before picking up into an acid thrash-style breakbeat pace and settling at a wave of synthetic chatter between machines. Whilst not as ‘organic sounding’ as some electronic music produced out there, Access To Arasaka nails an emotional depth that it’s difficult to pinpoint, and earned him much respect from the electronic community in the process. Hopefully he’ll resurface one day, but his music has surely reinforced his prowess as an incredible producer.

The track featured, Jody, can be downloaded for free right here. 2012’s Geosnychron, 2011’s Orbitus, 2010’s void(); and 2009’s Oppidan can all be purchased via Tympanik Audio’s Bandcamp page, or physically and digitally via most respectable music retailers.

https://www.facebook.com/accesstoarasaka?fref=ts

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Lightsabres

Admit it. From the album artwork and the font style alone, you’re probably expecting some kind of death metal or similarly edgy dark guitar orientated music right? I mean, any album cover with a skull still brandishing a head of hair, set against a entagled, near illegible font, gives a morose impression of the music to come, yes? Actually, not even close. While the imagery is somewhat misleading, what you’re actually getting is the mastermind of Swedish one man, self-confessed ‘stoner punk’ outfit John Strömshed a.k.a. Lightsabres. This is in essence is punk rock done correctly, at its absolute rawest, most low fidelity, recorded in a garage best. You couldn’t get a purer listening experience if you tried. It encapsulates everything about the original outbreak in the 70’s, the attitude, the killer guitar playing, the fuck-you vocals… Just with one man instead of four of them, and distributed in bite-size chunks that leave you craving for so much more. Spitting Blood may not be ground-breaking, but everything you could ever want from punk you can find right here and there is true excellence in this underground gem.

As luck would have it, tracks from his new album Beheaded went live on this day, it’s sounding slower and murkier, but still nice to listen to. The full album is now out, so yeah, that in addition to Spitting Blood and first album Demons are all up on his Bandcamp, in either digital or vinyl format. The vinyl supply is limited so hurry. Additional merch is also available via his webstore.

https://www.facebook.com/lightsabres?fref=ts