Monday 7 January 2019

2018 in review

As it turns out, this is Cacophemisms' 100th post. The 99th post was published two years ago. Even though enthusiasm for the blog has clearly faded, I decided not to shut it down entirely, just in case I ever felt the urge to tap out some words again.

And here we are, at the end of 2018, a year in which humanity's abject failings spilled out in a constant stream with a seemingly unending viscous, splattering thud. Going into specifics about the state of the world is utterly pointless here because (if anyone actually even reads this) doing so would only trigger the emotional reactions and ideological prejudices that self interested politicians, businesses and advertisers exploit in us daily by curating meaningless, incendiary rhetoric (lies) that we are all too willing to propagate every time we slide our grubby fingers across our touch screens. The public sphere has been reduced to a place of hysterical screaming, where uninformed opinions and degrading insults are ubiquitous. Too often we succumb to the addictive compulsion to be heard, even if we have nothing meaningful to say, rather than exercise the patience and effort required to listen, learn or understand.

But that's not what this is about. This blog started as a way for a few friends to share thoughts, impressions and tips about the music we love. In that spirit, it's the music that provided me with inspiration and an escape from the bombardment of human self defeat and wasted potential throughout 2018 that has driven me to finally log back in and type up some reflections.

So here goes...

Sleep. There was a palpable air of excitement in the text messages and emails that shot around the morning The Sciences was released by stealth, and that communal buzz made the experience of listening to the album all the more enjoyable. It was powerful and mesmerising upon first contact, and the details that subsequently became clearer ensured its impact over time. In particular, I got a huge kick out of Jason Roeder's cymbals in "Marijuanaut's Theme", the gradual building of the gargantuan end section in "Giza Butler", and the way "The Botanist" leads hypnotically to the disorienting realisation that the album is over. Of course, Matt Pike's solos were searing. And if that wasn't enough, Pike further cemented his ever growing legend with both a toe amputation and the release of High on Fire's blistering, raucous Electric Messiah.

While nothing here is presented in any particular order, I need to mention Brainoil early. Singularity to Extinction was exactly the short, sharp, ripping onslaught of sludgy death metal/punk I was hoping for. Its grim ruminations on the incursion of technology into our lives were delivered with pure savagery and some of the sickest riffs I heard all year. Tragedy sparked a similar reaction with the welcome release of their Fury EP, which saw them (and their pick slides) returning to faster, shorter songs and delivering their trademark blazing, bombastic d-beat with a slightly more anthemic bent.

I have been surprised that The Thundering Heard: Songs of Hoof and Horn by Eagle Twin has been fairly absent from other year end lists and pieces, because it utterly blew me away. The sheer stupefying heaviness of the music produced by this unique duo ought to suffice, but the songs on this album were crafted brilliantly, churning with overblown melodrama and suspense, and providing more accessibility (see: fun; groove) in the immediately propulsive, earth shattering rhythms than those on earlier albums.

I tend to think of Sumac as another band that, even more so than Eagle Twin, is creating something genuinely new and inspiring in heavy music that subverts and renders irrelevant many old tropes and cliches. This was exemplified on the challenging but engaging Love in Shadow, which built on 2016's What One Becomes by traveling more freely, intuitively and dynamically between quiet, focused experimentation and torrential volume and intensity.

There was a huge amount of superb doom, sludge and related music released in 2018. Vile Creature really stood out with Cast of Static and Smoke, an epic album based on a dystopian short story that was written by the band and provided with the LP, and which was also made available as an audiobook with its own separate score. Windhand delivered their highly engrossing, soulful take on the genre once again with Eternal Return, which offered a slightly lighter mood than previous albums.

Italy's Messa wove captivating jazz instrumentation into the rumbling, melodic Feast for Water, which was fantastic. And Sentiment by Un was an album of vast and varied funeral doom with well considered changes and progressions that kept things interesting throughout.

The ever impressive Yob is still love, and the magnificent Our Raw Heart cannot be forgotten. For all the album's grandiosity, which we have come to expect from Yob, it was also quite direct, particularly in more aggressive tracks like "The Screen" and "Original Face". I read an interview somewhere, in which Mike Scheidt talked about the different approach he had to take to his vocals on this album after his prolonged hospitalisation. That really comes through, but provides some new aspects for long time fans to enjoy.

Thou owned the middle part of the year, releasing two splits (with The Hirs Collective and the excellent Ragana), three EPs and the towering Magus LP. These releases all added something new and exciting to this vital, prolific band's disproportionately large body of work, and further proved that they will not be limited by the oppressively heavy sludge they have mastered. But to avoid repeating the large amount of coverage they received during the year, I'll just say that, as always, I'm looking forward to whatever they do next.

Singapore's Marijannah offered up an awesome dose of psychedelic stoner/'70s rock in the form of Till Marijannah, which featured some very catchy guitar lines within its melodic loudness. In a similar vein, Earthless dialled down the extended jams for more standard song structures and imbued them with Isaiah Mitchell's affecting voice on Black Heaven, with great results.

Graveyard brought the boogie woogie rock in fine style with Peace, which I thought was their best album since Hisingen Blues. Fu Manchu nailed what they do best with Clone of the Universe, and pulled out a special treat with the 21 minute "Il Mostro Atomico", a joyride featuring Alex Lifeson from Rush.

Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats put out one of their most immediately enjoyable albums to date, with Wasteland. The main riff in "Shockwave City" is gold. And Khemmis, whose modern interpretation of classic metal honours the doom and prog rock of yore, dazzled with the further refinement and evolution of their craft evident on Desolation.

Moving into faster territory, Trappist's Ancient Brewing Tactics had me grinning from ear to ear with it's absolutely killer craft beer themed power violence. And Racetraitor returned to unleash livid protest and social commentary through slicing, shredding hardcore with touches of noise and ambience on 2042.

Although it would not be hard to dismiss Anal Trump as a gimmick, they actually produced an incredibly fun and solid 11 minute grind platter with The First 100 Songs, which I actually think might have pissed off both Individual-1 and Seth Putnam if they had ever heard it.

Death metal's resurgent popularity seemed to grow like a festering boil in 2018. Among the great albums that came out, Shelby Lermo's one-two punch of Coffin Birth by Extremity and Cosmovore by Ulthar hit me hardest. Where the former bludgeoned with unforgiving, straightforward hooks that had me involuntarily headbanging in my lounge room, the latter was an unhinged beast of Lovecraftian madness and confusion that held me fixated on the wild horror it portrayed.

Another standout was Punishment in Flesh, the first full length from Innumerable Forms. The album carefully meted out its breaks in pace from the slower, crawling, tense kind of death that dominates the band's approach. When it did, for example in "Re-Contaminated", the impact was monstrous.

I don't give hip hop as much attention these days as I once did, but as soon as I stumbled upon the news that Edan was back, teaming up with Homeboy Sandman on Humble Pi, I was sold. Edan has always operated on another plane, and hearing his idiosyncratic, off-kilter take on classic hip hop again, with tracks like "#NeverUseTheInternetAgain", was magic. Another highlight came from the mighty Dr. Octagon, with Moosebumps: An Exploration Into Modern Day Horripilation; a banger that saw Kool Keith and Dan the Automator revive that inimitable demented, sleazy, medical horror vibe with valuable input from the likes of Kid Koala, Del and Gary Holt.

A quick note on a couple of albums that don't really fit stylistically with anything mentioned above. Even though it clearly does contain metal elements, the strengths of Zeal & Ardor's Stranger Fruit lay at least as much in its powerful gospel/soul heart and its highly infectious pop sensibilities. While it lacked some of the irresistible raw, earthy quality of 2017's Devil is Fine, I thought Stranger Fruit was a step up overall, with the disparate musical styles contributing more cohesively to the extremely well crafted songs. And Melody's Echo Chamber provided a very welcome surprise with the fantastically quirky album, Bon Voyage. Melody's eclectic psychedelic dream pop is hard to pin down for all its unknowable twists, turns and occasional blasts of squealing fuzz, but I found it very easy to get caught up in her colourful, otherworldly trip.

And finally, back to home with some releases by Australian artists that were among my favourites of the year. Wherever you are, support your local bands (just don't be a parochial moron about it)!

First up, Encircling Sea left a massive mark with Hearken, retaining the strengths of their atmospheric, black metal inflected doom within thematically focused, riff driven compositions that were truly devastating. Mournful Congregation's The Incubus of Karma demonstrated why the band is such a dominant force in funeral doom, soaring majestically on transcendent guitar lines. And on Abomination, Divide and Dissolve used avant-garde influences and minimalist doom/drone to deliver an unflinching yet artful attack upon Australia's continued oppression of Indigenous people.

A slew of outstanding records came from bands featuring various Melbourne punk and indie veterans. Geld unleashed some awesome noise drenched d-beat fury with Perfect Texture. Infinite Void left a catchy, moody farewell statement of their spacious, melodic post punk on Endless Waves. Power belted out their rough and ready brand of punk'n'roll on Turned On. Harmony built further upon their gently dissonant, bare, multiple vocal approach with the emotionally stirring Double Negative. And Tropical Fuck Storm got joyously weird and sardonic with the unpredictable, noisy art rock of A Laughing Death in Meatspace.

The mysterious Portal tore open another interdimensional mindwarp of obscure, experimental death metal with Ion, an album that really ensnared me after I saw the band perform at Dark Mofo in Hobart and was left in dumbfounded awe, scratching my head trying to understand how the hell they do it. And last, but by no means least, I am putting this post to rest right here in Canberra, with a nod to Witchskull and their second LP, Coven's Will. The record's rousing metallic riff worship seethed with hunger and rolled straight ahead with unshakeable intent. The band consistently sparked enthusiastic reactions when they let fly with this new material on stage, so here's hoping they get to take it further afield soon.

That's it. Thanks for reading. Good luck in 2019.

LxP

Saturday 31 December 2016

Cacophemisms' 2016 lists

Unkle K


In no particular order...

Neurosis - Fires Within Fires
16 - Lifespan of a Moth
Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Arc
Backslider - Motherfucker
Slomatics - Future Echo Returns
Fistula - Longing for Infection
The Ruiner - S/T
Black Mountain - IV
Voivod - Post Society
Looking Glass - Volume 4
With the Dead - S/T (2015)
Chthe'ilist - Le Dernier Crépuscule
Holy Serpent - Temples
The Wounded Kings - Visions in Bone
Beastmaker - Lusus Naturae
Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard - Y Proffwyd Dwyll
Cobalt - Slow Forever
Wadge - The End of Ethnology

Would have liked to listen more to the following bands' releases: Darkthrone, Weekend Nachos, Magrudergrind, Khemmis, Hornss, Poseidon, Salem's Pot, Moon Coven, Blood Incantation, Hymn, Cowardice.
___

LxP


1. Sumac - What One Becomes
With a sharpened focus in their deconstructive approach to colossal heaviness and nerve wracking tension, Sumac incorporated more drive, momentum and, well, groove on What One Becomes than they did on 2015’s The Deal. The result is a stunning album that moves like tectonic plates shifting and grinding with nature’s unpredictable rhythms. Mountains slowly collapse under prolonged, oppressive dirges, with Aaron Turner’s voice the sound of rock being crushed to dust. Elsewhere, unexpected earthquakes of furious guitar and shattering drums eventually subside to provide glimpses of the tranquillity that follows devastation. And then the tremors start again.

2. Martyrdöd - List
There isn’t much better in life than music that slaps you hard across the face and demands your attention. The first time I played Martyrdöd’s List, it mercilessly set my ears ablaze and my blood surging. I loved its predecessor, Elddop but this strips away the emotional baggage that album carried and shreds with pure, direct intent. Scorching d-beat, face-melting leads and those instantly recognisable dry, scarred, howling vocals all charge full steam ahead. “Dromtid” provides one minute’s respite to catch your breath, but really, I wish this album didn’t stop at all.

3. Khemmis - Hunted
While their debut, Absolution was a good record, Hunted is a great record that sees Khemmis truly hit their stride. It weaves together swathes of doom, metal, rock and prog so smoothly that it’s difficult not to slip and fall headfirst into its vast world of fantasy, adventure and introspection. Nothing feels out of place as the songs advance; purposefully crawling, galloping and soaring on an epic and varied journey through the album. And the best thing is that even as it transports and mesmerises, Hunted also pounds with headbanging triumph.

4. Neurosis - Fires Within Fires
What is left to say about Neurosis, an unstoppable force renowned for rending hearts and minds with the elemental power it wields? Fires Within Fires is, for the most part, warm and familiar. But it also exemplifies Neurosis’ ongoing determination to dig deeper and uncover new aspects of their particular form of expression. Approaches to vocal melody and harmony shine through, especially in “Reach”; some riffs seem to invite more than destroy, such as in “Broken Ground”; and Noah Landis’ noise manipulation washes over everything with persistence and nuance.

5. Ghoul - Dungeon Bastards
Crawling from the sewers of Creepsylvania to once more wreak crossover thrash/death pantomime havoc, Ghoul lured untold legions of numbskulls into their drunken shout-alongs with speedy riffs, searing leads, utterly sick, gut-punching drums and…a board game. And in the ridiculous world we’re faced with, why the fuck wouldn’t we follow a gang of bloodstained sack-wearing cannibals into battle against the tyranny of all our Commandant Dobrunkums? Even if the Omicron Bomb holocaust is inevitable, at least we’ll go out partying.

6. Hammers of Misfortune - Dead Revolution
One of the albums I have listened to most throughout the year, Dead Revolution is compelling from end to end. A high octane prog-metal rollercoaster drawing on everything from Genesis and Deep Purple to Scorpions and Queensryche, it offsets cosmic organ and multi-part vocal harmonies with proto-thrash riffing and stabbing drum fills. I love that a band featuring members of Vhol and Vastum drops into Morricone-style horn pathos (“Here Comes the Sky”) and closes with a brooding traditional previously performed by Bob Dylan (“Days of ‘49”). But for mine, the title track is the highlight, and a great jump off point if anyone out there needs convincing.

7. Bloodiest - S/T
After continuing to listen to this album since reviewing it in June, my perspective on what makes it interesting changed. I hadn’t really focused on the importance of repetition and the sheer distance between the instruments in the recording. Sparse, simple interwoven phrases played by each instrument collectively make the overall mood chilling, allowing small changes to have a huge effect. And the propulsive strength of the rhythms underpinning the music is critical. They don’t seem to have turned that many heads, but Bloodiest are still echoing in mine.

8. Wormrot - Voices
Raging, thrashing, punky grindcore belted out by Singapore’s finest. Having only picked up Voices late in the year, I’m still getting a massive kick out of exploring its details. Throughout Wormrot’s aim-for-the-face attack, maniacal twists and sharp turns are wedged in with suffocating precision. But this is far from an exercise solely in blastbeat carnage. The 20 tracks are diverse and expand Wormrot’s sound into areas of greater melody and more tempered pace. Time will tell whether those elements leave an enduring impression, but for now I’m going to spin it again.

9. Helms Alee - Stillicide
Helms Alee have a unique ability to make grandiose, monumental music that retains an urgent, sweaty jam room vibe. Kick-and-tom-heavy war drum patterns drive Stillicide, with unshakeable, churning, distorted bass providing ballast. Guitars drenched in delay usually tinker and drift overhead, alongside the voices, to create atmosphere. But when they all drop down to join the rhythm section, a roaring monster wakes. Less wild and erratic than Weatherhead, more engaging than Sleepwalking Sailors, Stillicide is a superb chapter in the Helms Alee story.

10. John Carpenter - Lost Themes II
I picked up both 2015’s Lost Themes and its 2016 sequel on a recommendation fairly late in the year and have been absorbing both albums simultaneously; so this one’s a bit of a wildcard. But regardless of which of the albums I play, my reaction is the same. There is something magical about hearing music by John Carpenter - who along with Goblin lit a torch carried by the likes of Zombi, Perturbator and others - because even though it's comparatively barer and cleaner, it’s still engrossing, evocative and unsettling. Recommended comic book pairings: Saga or Black Science.

Honourable mentions:


Aesop Rock - The Impossible Kid
Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Arc
Black Mountain - IV
Blood Incantation - Starspawn
Deny the Cross - Alpha Ghoul
Dispossessed - Insurgency
Horse Lords - Interventions
Looking Glass - Volume 4
The Nation Blue - Black
SubRosa - For This We Fought the Battle of Ages
___

DB2K

Hierophant - Mass Grave
Deathspell Omega - The Synarchy of Molten Bones
Vermin Womb - Decline
Our Place of Worship is Silence - The Embodiment of Hate
Krypts - Remnants of Expansion
Blood Incantation - Starspawn
Magrudergrind - II
Fistula - Longing for Infection
Fange - Purge
Sex Prisoner - Tannhäuser Gate
___

JJ

1. Looking Glass - Volume 4
2. The Ruiner - S/T
3. Holy Serpent - Temples
4. Elephant Tree - S/T
5. The Levitation Hex - Cohesion
6. Die Antwoord - Suck on This
7. King - Reclaim the Darkness
8. Blood Incantation - Starspawn
9. Conan - Revengeance
10. Sinister Haze - Laid Low in the Dust of Death
___

Brad K

1. Inverloch - Distance | Collapsed
2. Wadge - The End of Ethnology
3. Blarghstrad - S/T
4. Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Arc
5. Darkthrone - Arctic Thunder
6. Self Harm - Hektik Kaos Demo - One to watch in 2017.
7. Backslider - Motherfucker
8. Fistula - Longing for Infection
9. Oniku - Bokujou
10. Chthe'ilist - Le Dernier Crépuscule
11. Cliteater - From Enslavement to Clitoration - Mostly coz it's funny.
___

Geoff

1. Blood Incantation - Starspawn
2. Katatonia - The Fall of Hearts
3. Chthe'ilist - Le Dernier Crépuscule
4. Cultes Des Ghoules - Coven, or Evil Ways Instead of Love
5. Perfume - Cosmic Explorer
6. Inverloch - Distance | Collapsed
7. Perturbator - The Uncanny Valley
8. Wadge - The End of Ethnology
9. Spire - Entropy
10. The Ruiner - S/T
___

Monday 27 June 2016

Bloodiest - S/T / Burlap - Burnout King

I obviously haven't posted in a long time (not that anyone except the bots would notice), but here are mini-reviews of two releases that have left very different, but strong impressions in recent months.

Bloodiest - S/T
The music on Bloodiest's self-titled LP takes form from the shadows, and by the time you notice it standing before you, it has lulled you into sinister hypnosis. Subtle drops of sound echo through vast chasms that bring Horseback's heady, misty landscapes to mind. Restrained, disarming guitar riffs and basslines cut from Tool's cloth wind their way in and out of the picture, gaining dominance as they are propelled gradually toward crescendos by compositions that patiently inhale and exhale with increasing malice. The building, claustrophobic tension does not break easily, however, making it much more impactful when the drums and throat are unleashed, for example, to finish "Broken Teeth". Still, it's not entirely surprising to learn from articles elsewhere that Bloodiest do not consider their music to be primarily metal. The ambient sensibility of Dead Can Dance comes through as much as more obvious comparisons like The Atlas Moth or Yob, making this music fascinating, absorbing and oddly unsettling.

Listen here.

Burlap - Burnout King
Sydney's Burlap sound like they're right on the edge of collapse. Burnout King is dirty, depraved, deranged, self-destructive noise rock done right. Hugely oppressive bass, possibly being played lying down in the corner of a room, eyes rolled right back, is forced conscious by the lethargic but insistent pounding of drums. Miserable, antagonistic guitar lines torment at will from a little further away. Everything keeps falling further behind everything else and discordance is thrown around like monkey shit. Spiteful rants about disaffection and isolation are grunted and snarled a-la David Yow and Pissed Jeans, but driven deeper into bitter self-deprecation by rabid, throat-shredding bellowing. And thankfully, notwithstanding all of the cliched garbage I have just written in the lines above, Burlap manage to pull all of it off sounding original and surprisingly dynamic. A snorter of a record.

Listen here.

LxP

Wednesday 13 April 2016

Unkle K's Bands of the Week

Chthe'ilist
Quebec’s Chthe’ilist have released an absolute monster of an album with Le Dernier Crépuscule. I’m not really fussed with death metal these days, would rather listen to the original masters. But Chthe’ilist have given me that feeling I got when Nile’s Among the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka first came out. The comparisons to Finnish masters Demilich are warranted but Chthe’ilist bring a lot more to the table. The vocals are a great mix of styles and I particularly like the Alien/Predator style. The production is perfect, adding a murky fog to the whole experience. I can’t recommend this enough, especially for those who like me have fallen out of love with death metal.
Bandcamp

Clouds Taste Satanic
I don’t know much about this band, only discovered them recently on Bandcamp and was instantly attracted to the name. What we have here is instrumental stoner doom from Brooklyn. Epic riffs that stick in your memory. There is a large number of reviews on their page that give a lot better description than I ever could.
Bandcamp

Gig of the Week
The Levitation Hex (Cohesion album launch), Red Bee and Imperilment
Friday 15 April at Transit Bar

From the Facebook event page:
Scissor Kick Champs and BMA Magazine proudly present... 

The Levitation Hex "Cohesion" Album launch in Canberra!
With special guests RED BEE and Imperilment.
 

A few years in the making and The Levitation Hex are ready to release their second offering COHESION. The album sees the band start to create their own sound and is a slight departure from the sound and style of the debut. The band decided to use no synthesisers but only Organ and Mellotron to add some tasty slices to the tracks. The album has an upbeat rock attitude and enough metal to keep everyone head banging. Sprinkles of 70s prog and 60s psychedelia are evident through the mesh of traditional heavy metal, hard rock and thrash metal. Cohesion is released April 15th in Australia www.levitationhex.net and the 6th of May in Europe through High Roller records. www.hrrecords.de.

Lying somewhere between the fuzzy borders of punk, hard rock, prog and metal, RED BEE is Daniel Silk (vocalist/guitarist), Jim Silk (bassist) and Ian Dunn (drummer). Quick to dispense with formulaic rhythms and time signatures, RED BEE creates every one of their songs differently. An incredibly tight live band, RED BEE is explosive, atmospheric and energetic; they blow the minds of their audiences and leave them with sore neck muscles the next morning. 

Imperilment are a 5 piece metal band from Canberra, Australia. They have been working tirelessly over the last few years to release their debut EP which is out now. Their sound is based around melodic, progressive groove metal with vocals that range from aggressive screams to clean, skin tingling melodies much like Jesse Leech of Killswitch Engage. With fast passed, technical riffs and complicated yet groovy drum compositions, Imperilment have developed a voice of their own and really make their mark in the Australian metal community.

Tickets are available now from http://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/event/the-levitation-hex-cohesion-album-launch/83434.

Finally, check out www.secretdevilzine.com for band videos.

Unkle K

Playlist: Unkle K
1. Looking Glass - Volume 4
2. Clouds Taste Satanic - Your Doom Has Come
3. Camel of Doom - Terrestrial
4. Rush - 2112
5. Chthe’ilist - Le Dernier Crépuscule

Playlist: LxP
1. Eight Bells - Landless
2. Burlap - Burnout King
3. Northless - Cold Migration
4. Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Arc
5. Looking Glass - Volume 4
6. Magrudergrind - II
7. Black Mountain - IV
8. The Shrine - Rare Breed
9. Zombi - Shape Shift
10. Black Sabbath - Mob Rules

Tuesday 1 March 2016

This week's gigs

Wednesday 2 March at Transit Bar
GBH, The VeeBees and Urge to Kill

Thursday 3 March at The Basement
Xibalba, Reactions, Honest Crooks, Panic Burst and Hatecrime
LxP