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Monthly Archive for November, 2009

Karcius – Episodes (Unicorn Digital, 2008)

Published by Assaf Vestin on November 30, 2009 in Reviews. Tags: , , , , .

Karcius from Quebec, Canada have so far released 3 instrumental albums, all of them quite eclectic with regards to the styles played in the various pieces the comprise them. With Episodes, I hear a band that has developed, and for lack of a better word, matured; they are more delicate and precise in their way of delivering their instrumental pieces, more refined than before. They are still as varied as before, conjuring up different styles and playing in a dynamic fashion.  Continue reading ‘Karcius – Episodes (Unicorn Digital, 2008)’

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The Antikaroshi – Crushed Neocons (Exile On Mainstream Records, 2009)

Published by Assaf Vestin on November 29, 2009 in Reviews. Tags: , , .

I came with good intentions. I heard some of the music from this band Antikaroshi on their myspace and was intrigued enough to follow through to review the promo of their album, Crushed Neocons. And as with every (or most) promos, there comes a small press release with it and I’m used to the hype and exaggerating comments, but the pseudo-philosophical, patronizing and annoying notes that came with this turned me off somewhat.

This all was left behind when I listened to the album. Continue reading ‘The Antikaroshi – Crushed Neocons (Exile On Mainstream Records, 2009)’

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The Autumn Project – This We Take With Us (Zu Records, 2009)

Published by Assaf Vestin on November 28, 2009 in Reviews. Tags: , .

Where have I heard this before? It sounds familiar; wide epic guitar riffs with a nice touch of keyboards to enhance the richness of sound, escalating swirling theme, reaching a peak. I’ve heard this in the works of Godspeed You Black Emperor! And Explosions In The Sky. But much like I love the works of Sparrows Sing and Swarm, who are what some may call clones (of Godspeed You Black Emperor that is), I find this work by The Autumn Project to be somewhat derivative (if not more in tracks 1 and 2), but very well executed and also pure joy to listen to. Continue reading ‘The Autumn Project – This We Take With Us (Zu Records, 2009)’

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Ehnahre – The Man Closing Up (Sound Devastation, 2008)

Published by Assaf Vestin on November 27, 2009 in Reviews. Tags: , .

With Ehnahre being composed of musicians who played in Kayo Dot, the expectations are high for fans of the latter band. I was definitely intrigued and curious to hear what direction and style would be taken by this lineup.

A crude sounding mixture of sludge, doom, black metal and experimental/ atmospheric/ ambient metal a-la Kayo Dot (first two albums) and Pan.Thy,Monium, greets (or rather assaults) the listener in this first release by this Boston based band.

Whatever it is that they are attempting (stating atonality/12-tone serialism as the basis for their music as well as freely improvising), they manage to capture quite a captivating essence that while influenced from their “relatives” Kayo Dot, is distant enough to achieve a sound of their own. While it is interesting to understand the basis of bands composition process and style I am not adequately learned on these matters and shall leave it for others to analyze (though I can certainly hear and understand their approach).

Continue reading ‘Ehnahre – The Man Closing Up (Sound Devastation, 2008)’

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Slon – Antenne (Valeot Records, 2009)

Published by Assaf Vestin on November 26, 2009 in Reviews. Tags: , , .

From Valeot Records comes the first full-length album by Slon. This band has a link to a previous review I wrote, and that is Alexandr Vatagin who plays bass here. Vatagin also plays in other bands as well as having his solo output, of which his album Shards I have previously featured.

An instrumental affair, Slon’s music is in an ever-changing mode. Situated musically in what is being termed post-rock (and to a lesser extent in the so-called math-rock), the band doesn’t follow the school of long developing atmospheric streaks of sound, but rather to a more succinct, Caspian-like mode (or perhaps a less meandering Explosions In The Sky), where the bottom line is brought forth quite quickly, and is then altered to explore another route, alternative ways to develop the theme presented. Continue reading ‘Slon – Antenne (Valeot Records, 2009)’

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Dethroned Emperor #24 (Killing it oldschool with Crucifist, Die Hard and Whiplash)

Published by Josh Haun on November 19, 2009 in Columns. Tags: , , , , , , , .

You chosen few who read this column (and my writing in general) on a regular basis might think that I have a tendency to contradict myself.  On one hand, I praise many bands who invoke the evil, cryptic tones of elder bands such as Celtic Frost and Venom, while on the other criticizing bands for half-heartedly regressing to/replicating the sounds of extreme metal’s infancy.  I guess you could say I’m of two minds about the whole “nu oldschool” phenomenon that seems to be seeping into every nook and cranny of the modern metal scene.  I’m all for bands who can take the crusty, decrepit tones of Hellhammer or Incantation and use them as a foundation for something all their own, but I’m not too psyched about insincere riff and image recycling (see: just about every modern thrash band) or ripping off Swedish death metal circa 1990 wholesale from guitar tone down to album art.  Thanks, but I already own albums by Entombed, Dismember and Exodus to listen to, and I’ll always reach for the real thing over a subpar replica.

However, there are some bands out there getting it right, and they deserve praise for being able take extreme metal’s primordial ooze and mold it for their own twisted purposes.  One such group of malignant souls is Crucifist, featuring Mr. Oldschool himself Dan Lilker (Brutal Truth, Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, SOD, need I go on) on bass guitar as well as members of East Coast doomsters Orodruin. Their first album, Demon Haunted World, might seem a bit out place on Profound Lore’s typically more avantgarde roster, but what it does have in common with PL’s other releases is a high level of quality. Unlike the dime-a-dozen bands out there trying to straight-up ape Apocalyptic Raids or Left Hand Path, Crucifist cull their sound from eldritch death and black metal, but also throw in thrash, doom, NWOBHM and even some hints of crusty d-beat in order to whip up something that’s much more than a carbon copy.

Continue reading ‘Dethroned Emperor #24 (Killing it oldschool with Crucifist, Die Hard and Whiplash)’

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Interview: FINNEYERKES

Published by Josh Haun on November 17, 2009 in Interviews. Tags: , , , , .

Sometimes, trying to get a band/artist nailed down for an interview can be akin to pulling teeth.  It can literally involve weeks or even months of myspace messaging and playing “e-mail tag” just to get a few basic questions answered.  Luckily, this was not the case with Alabama-based ambient/electronic/spoken-word duo Matt Finney and Randy Yerkes, aka Finneyerkes.  After receiving an e-mail from Matt, I was pleasantly surprised to check out Finneyerkes’ music and discover a sort of dark, dreamy, narcotic beat poetry, like Lustmord collaborating with the late William S. Burroughs in a smokey dive bar.  Finding that the twosome were more than eager to answer my queries, the following interrogation was conducted via e-mail.

Sonic Frontiers: For those who might not be familiar, tell our readers a little bit about how you two met and formed Finneyerkes.

Finneyerkes: we met in high school in an environmental science class. we sat next to each other and bonded over our love for growing absurd facial hair, modest mouse, and the electric six. our friendship was cemented after matt when to to randy and his brothers band, Franklin and the Neato’s, first basement show. randy moved away shortly after that but we kept in touch for a while through AIM, email, and myspace. the formation of Finneyerkes came when randy was recording his first Moosejaw album Glada. it was mostly him doing ambient/electronica with samples thrown in. matt approached randy with the idea of recording some of his poems that he had been writing and using them as vocals for the songs. we stuck with the idea and here we are.

Continue reading ‘Interview: FINNEYERKES’

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Pelican – What We All Come to Need (Southern Lord, 2009)

Published by Josh Haun on November 17, 2009 in Reviews. Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Many (this writer included) believed Pelican had come dangerously close to losing the plot completely with 2007’s disappointing City of Echoes, an album which saw the band largely curtail the expansive atmospherics, textures, and riffy qualities they had seemingly mastered on previous full lengths Australasia and The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw. City of Echoes felt like Pelican’s attempt at making a straightforward rock record (or perhaps an extremely concise post rock record), willfully denying their strengths in an effort to break into new territory, but ultimately failing to create anything as compelling as their acclaimed prior works.  Fortunately, the band has learned from their missteps and crafted What We All Come to Need, an album that successfully combines the rock sensibilities displayed on City of Echoes with the heaviness and heady soundscapes of their back catalogue.

Continue reading ‘Pelican – What We All Come to Need (Southern Lord, 2009)’

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Interview with Osada Vida (Poland)

Published by Assaf Vestin on November 13, 2009 in Interviews. Tags: , , .

Polish progressive rock/metal band Osada Vida have been around since 1997 and have been making their name more familiar in recent years with their two last concept albums, Three Seats Behind A Triangle (2006) and The Body Parts Party (2008).

November 2009 sees the band’s new album, Uninvited Dreams, being released through Metal Mind Productions. In light of this, bassist Lukasz Lisiak and drummer Adam Podzimski have answered some questions regarding the band, its past albums and the new release.

1) For those unfamiliar with Osada Vida, can you give us a brief background of the band? How did it come to be? Your musical influences?

AP: Osada Vida was set up in 1997. Lukasz and I created the band in 1997 as a trio. The members of our band had changed several times and the same was with our music. In the year 2000 we recorded our first demo album “Moment krytyczny” (The Critical Moment). Since then we have recorded two more albums: “W drodze na ksi??yc” in 2002 and “Osada Vida” in 2004. Our music was changing, developing you can hear it on our previous albums. But the year 2005 was very crucial to our band. We invited the new guitarist – Bartek Bereska – and released an album “Three Seats Behind a Triangle”(2006). We try to find an inspiration in every good piece of music. No matter if it’s pop, jazz, metal or even classical music.

LL: Together with Adam, we wished to play our favourites’ music: Rush, King Crimson, Camel, early Porcupine Tree, Talk Talk and a stuff from 4 AD. We never chose any style or never called it a give name. We simply wished to play the music, which we felt, we loved, enjoyed and we wanted to listen to.
Continue reading ‘Interview with Osada Vida (Poland)’

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Alexandr Vatagin – Shards (Valeot Records, 2009)

Published by Assaf Vestin on November 8, 2009 in Reviews. Tags: , , , , .

The first time I heard of Alexandr Vatagin was through his work in the Austrian band Tupolev, whose album, Memories Of Björn Bolssen, I reviewed favourably.

Here Alexandr presents his second solo release, a short album (a mini-album, or even an EP). A toned down album, quite quiet, but filled with noises, sounds, a mélange of intricate beeps and squeaks, street sound sampling and him playing on various instruments. The result is a surreal journey, a soundtrack of sorts, that has a variety of effects, such as creep you out (third track, “As we cross the cherrytrees”), mellow you down (track 4, “Like shards of broken glass”), but always in need of a vigilant and attentive ears. Continue reading ‘Alexandr Vatagin – Shards (Valeot Records, 2009)’

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Rhys Marsh And The Autumn Ghost – Dulcima (Termo Records, 2009)

Published by Assaf Vestin on November 7, 2009 in Reviews.

I listen to a variety of musical styles and types. Sometimes I need my hard, heavy and brutal fix of music, sometimes a complicated and challenging type and sometimes quiet, soothing and emotional. There are more kinds and modes but you get the idea. Why am I mentioning this? Read on.

Recently I’ve learned about an Englishman, residing in Norway, that released his second album through Termo Records, label established and ran by Jacob Holm0Lupo of White Willow and The Opium Cartel; this label also released the superb symph-prog/”retro-prog” second album by Wobbler earlier this year.

Coming back to Rhys Marsh, since Termo was releasing his material I should check it out. What I found out is that the music on this album entitled Dulcima fits well a mood of relaxing, moments of serenity and rest.

Everything spells melancholy on this album, from the black digipack, to the song names, lyrics and the vocals that sing them and most importantly, the music itself. Continue reading ‘Rhys Marsh And The Autumn Ghost – Dulcima (Termo Records, 2009)’

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Portal – Swarth (Profound Lore, 2009)

Published by Josh Haun on November 2, 2009 in Reviews. Tags: , , , , .

In 2009, death metal is showing its age more than ever. A large number of bands have regressed to the sounds of the genre’s infancy, rendering themselves instantly obsolete due to the fact that we already have classic death metal albums to listen to, we don’t need new bands making a slew of inferior copies. Furthermore, much (if not all) of the shock value that bands like Entombed, Carcass, Cannibal Corpse and Deicide brought to the table has long since become commonplace. Death metal is no longer the scary, threatening genre it once was, populated as it is with bands more interested in aping records that came out 20 years ago than forging ahead into any unexplored, darker territories.

Enter Australia’s Portal, possibly the only band out there today that makes death metal sound truly terrifying and otherworldly. With their latest album Swarth, the quintet has solidified their frightening sound, which exists on the very fringes of the style. Try to imagine death metal being played somewhere in the far reaches of space by a band consisting of Lovecraft’s Great Old Ones, with Cthulhu himself manning the vocals, and you’ll start to get an idea of how dementedly alien Portal’s music sounds to mortal ears. Continue reading ‘Portal – Swarth (Profound Lore, 2009)’

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