What I spent my hard earned cash on recently.
Napalm Death – Time Waits for No Slave
I was avoiding this album. Napalm Death’s endless procession of ferocity without subtlety is all very entertaining, but it gets a bit tiring after a while. Coupled with the fact that the metal press always seems to laud every album with similar levels of semi-deserved praise (perhaps to emphasize to the kids – who probably don’t care – how the old geezers can show the younguns how it’s done) means that I view every ND album with a little suspicion. Perhaps ND should have named this album ‘The little press who cried wolf’ as it is a minor revelation. ND have opened up their sound to melodic and thrashy flourishes just enough to give their sound a dynamic punch without compromising their brutal legacy.
Between the Buried and Me – The Great Misdirect
This is how imagin BTBAM songwriting sessions to go:
“Dudes, we topped ourselves this time, that one clocks in at 12 minutes and we don’t repeat a single bar!”
“Yeah, we totally own, like this great 70’s prog band I’ve been listening to [substitute any obscure 70 prog]“
“Who the fuck are they? I’ve never heard of them, why didn’t you mention them before?”
“I only just discovered them when on my weekly charity shop spree”
“Shit shit shit! So basically what your saying is that in all of the songs we’ve ever recorded we’ve referenced every other prog band that ever existed and made them shit hard with death metal and stuff, but not this lot. Shit. We’re going to look like real idiots!”
“Maybe we should rewrite the new album and reference them in all the new tracks, it’ll make them longer too.”
“Fuck yeah! And we can throw in some Jonny Cash sounding shit as well then folks will know we listen to stuff other than prog.”
“Yeah! How clever are we?!”
“Dude, fuck yeah! We are the SHIT!”
The Great Misdirect is too ponderous for its own good. There are some good moments, but it exudes self-satisfaction. BTBAM need to learn the meaning of the words subtlety and restraint, as they are the cornerstones of good art. Not nearly as essential as they and everyone else seems to think they are. All fanny and no craic.
Krallice – Dimensional Bleedthrough
Krallice should have named this album Genre Bleedthrough. Generally blugeoned into the Black Metal pigeonhole, Krallice are in reality something else entirely. Adopting BM’s buzzsaw ferocity Krallice fashion something that’s subtly melodic, complex and deeply textured – it sounds like BM, but it doesn’t feel like BM. There’s plenty for prog/post/black metal and even hardcore fans here to get their teeth into, and at its best (as with the title track) sounds like state of the art modern metal. However, Dimensional Bleedthrough’s tendency meander in directionlessly and the tracks’ tendency to outstay their welcome makes it hard to really stay tuned for the whole thing.
Keelhaul – Keelhaul’s Triumphant Return to Obscurity
Keelhaul are the missing (or perhaps obscured) link between Pelican and Baroness. Unfortunately it lacks the character of the first and creativity of the second. Not that this should put you off, they’re two tough acts to beat, and if you’re a fan of either there’s a lot to love about this album.
Eagle Twin – The Unkindness of Crows
Eagle Twin’s stripped down and improvisational doom takes the drone of early Earth and minimalist tendencies of Om and fashions them into a gnarled, grimy epic. Gentry Densley’s hoarse growl and arid rattling guitar guide us on a gothic journey that’s often abstract, ocassionally melodic and always unsettling. Sometimes bordering on the oppressive blackness of Sunn O))) others taking almost melodic turns (as on the outstanding Soundgarden evoking Murder of…) It takes a a fair few listens to get your head around this, but it’s a rewarding journey.