Disc Exchange

Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots

2010-06-15T09:38:00.000-04:00

Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots

It seems that with a band such as Stone Temple Pilots, either you like them or you don't, without much middle ground or indifferent feelings amongst the masses. From the beginning, some have continually dismissed their sound, claiming that they were simply riding on the coattails of Seattle artists including Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains. On the other hand, those of us who have been hooked after hearing Core and those songs that have been subsequently stuck in our heads since 1992 have come to love whatever mix of pop-influenced psychedelic grunge that this somewhat dysfunctional family of four have in store for us with each and every album. After countless breakups, solo projects, drug addictions and rehab stints, 2010 finds the original Stone Temple Pilots back with another great, self-titled rock and roll album. If you love them and what they have done in the past, you're in luck. If you have never cared for their sound, chances are you won't find anything mind-blowing here. This is front to back, start to finish a true Stone Temple Pilots record and a great one at that.

With 2010's self-titled album, there is less of the grunge crunch from Core and a lot more attention placed on melody and pop sensibility as with Purple and Tiny Music. Each song is well written with corresponding guitar hooks and vocal lines that are sure to stick in your head as did Stone Temple Pilots' early material. Scott Weiland's voice is both strong and rich, yet not as powerful as it once was. The album's production relies a great deal on layered vocal lines that are placed in all of the right places where the songs need an extra something to get the point across. Both Robert and Dean Deleo provide world class guitar and bass work, with extremely tasteful playing that lays back in the pocket and provides what is appropriate at the all the right times. Eric Kretz has matured a great deal musically on this record, though he has always been a great drummer indeed. This album finds Kretz playing percussive parts that are much more solid and straight forward than what we have heard from him in the past. The album opens with "Between the Lines", one of the albums more straight ahead tracks that features some of Weiland's best lyrical contributions including the line "even when we used to take drugs" repeated over and over again as if he is referring to his substance-filled past with a smattering of tongue-in-cheek humor. "Take a Load Off" and "Dare If You Dare" feature open, celebratory choruses with Weiland's vocals taking the higher octave and are some of the finest moments musically in the entire career thus far for the Pilots. With a nod to the 1970's influence that has always been at the forefront for this band, "Huckleberry Crumble" sounds a lot like early Aerosmith with a strut that would give any classic rock band a run for its money. The new self-titled album also features some light-hearted pop numbers with "Cinnamon" and "First Kiss on Mars" both of which are full of room to breathe with almost airy writing and production techniques that add to the overall delicate beauty of the songs themselves. On a side note, kudos to the Stone Temple Pilots for including some absolutely gorgeous album art from artist Shepard Fairey that is both simple and tasteful, adding to the overall package itself.

All in all, it's great to see that the four original members in the Stone Temple Pilots have what it takes to do what they always have done after all these years. Whether you love them or hate them, they have proven once again that they are indeed a great rock and roll band, no more and no less. -Andrew Bryant

The Devil's Blood-The Time of No Time Evermore

2010-06-08T09:37:00.000-04:00

he Devil's Blood
The Time of No Time Evermore

Dutch band The Devil's Blood leave nothing up to the imagination as far as what kind of entity that they are. Equally embracing the dark occult rock sounds of bands such as Black Widow and Coven along with the usual doom godfathers including Black Sabbath and Pentagram, The Devil's Blood set out to create music that is vintage and timeless, both beautiful and evil with some of the most infamous live performances to date from any band in either the rock or metal sect complete with blood soaked incantations and heavy riffage. Combining their dark, psychedelic rock with a love for 1950's Gothic horror culture, they have been a constant in the underground music scenes throughout the world for quite some time and have now began to find their way into the hands of more listeners as their material is passed via word of mouth and in a growing number of publications. What seems to appeal most beyond the dark, occult aura of the band itself, is the melding of classic elements from garage, psychedelic and the heavy rock and roll genres, bringing together fans from all across the spectrum.

With The Time of No Time Evermore, the Devil's Blood give it their all with this first full length released in late 2009 in Europe and finally here in the states this year. On this album, the music leans more towards the psychedelic and folk rock elements than before. Still present are the strong Sabbathian riffs, though they are a bit more few and far between than on their previous E.P's. Musically and vocally, The Time of No Time Evermore brings to mind Jethro Tull, Jefferson Airplane, and Heart along with the ever-present influences from the occult rock great of the late 1960's and early 1970's. One strong aspect that sets The Devil's Blood apart from similar artists are the strong and clean female vocals sung by a vocalist known as F. the Mouth of Satan, whose vibrato and tone venture into a form of almost operatic performance at times. The songs themselves are decent rock songs, dealing with both celebratory and despairing subject matter throughout. For me, the strongest song that stands out as a highlight is "Christ or Cocaine", a perfect hybrid of some long-lost Pentagram track and Don Felder's "Heavy Metal (Takin' a Ride)."

The Time of No Time Evermore is perfect for those fans of such bands including Witchcraft, Blood Ceremony, and Black Math Horseman. If you like these dark, throwback sounds, chances are, you won't be disappointed. The Devil's Blood has finally poked its horned head through the thick haze of smoke and is now ready to take on the world with this one. -Andrew Bryant

Hank Williams III-Rebel Within

2010-05-31T09:36:00.000-04:00

Hank Williams III
Rebel Within

Country music today is a crock, with clean living and a pop music slickness that is sure to keep all of the true outlaw greats spinning in their graves. However, there are a handful of artists who are fighting hard to keep the Southern twang and rebel attitude prevalent in their music, with the true spirit of country alive and well as the culture dies slowly with every feathered haircut and auto-tuned vocal track. No surprise due to his genetics, Shelton Hank Williams III is a true outlaw who lives by his own rules, ain't afraid of a good fight, and could drink us all under the table. His newest record, aptly titled Rebel Within, is a return to form for Williams, bringing back more of the Lovesick... and Straight to Hell sound to his music, with more of a vintage production quality that really gives some hoot and holler to his old-time, shit-kicking approach to the craft. III had something to prove with this one, as it is his last on Curb Records, an entity that he has constantly battled over his releases for many years. This fight has fueled his rebel fire with this one making it one of his best, if not his finest indeed.

To say that alcohol has a lot to do with Rebel Within would indeed be an understatement, as it is overflowing with whiskey soaked tales of booze, bootleggers, and debauchery. Opening things up with "Gettin' Drunk and Fallin' Down", one of his more traditional sounding songs, Hank and company keep things steady with this mid-tempo piece that explores the plain-old, good fun had in a night with too much to drink. Both "Rebel Within" and "Tore Up and Loud" bring more of the rowdy, hellbilly feel to the album, combining elements of both honky tonk and heavy metal with each. The title track embraces the act of giving into sin and explores the lighter side of drinking, drugging, nasty lovin', and all imaginable combinations of the three together. "Looking For a Mountain" features some strong Dobro runs from Andy Gibson and tells of the endless struggle in running from the law back into the mountain hollers to avoid getting busted by the authorities yet again. Barring any vivid details, I am almost certain that a great deal of us who have grown up in and around Appalachia, myself included, can identify at least partially with this one. More booze related anthems added to the roster include "Drinkin' Ain't Hard to Do" and "Drinkin' Over Momma", the latter being a slice of comic relief at the end of the album as it describes a distraught family as they mourn the loss of their rambling mother who started "drinkin' at the age of sixty-one." Williams also knows that any good country record has to have a few slow numbers, ones that can really embody the heartache and lonesome nature of the territory. With "Gone But Not Forgotten" and "#5", slow waltz feels accompany the stories of lost love and heroin addicts' lament respectively.
As a proud East Tennessean, I have to say that "Moonshiner's Life" is by far my favorite track overall. This track is raw and moving, with an almost bluegrass feel to it, complete with great fiddle melodies from none other than Billy Contreras, no stranger to the Knoxville music scene. This selection is a tale of the legendary Popcorn Sutton who is the most famous moonshiner in the history of bootlegging, making his living creating some of the strongest concoctions known to man.

Do yourself a favor and let your hair down, throw on your boots and up your horns with this one. Rebel Within is one of those albums that will make you want to drink even more when you have already had enough and is sure to keep you going strong when you are in one of your whiskey moods. Drink, dance, fight or....well you get the point. -Andrew Bryant

Dead Meadow-Three Kings

2010-05-23T09:35:00.000-04:00

Dead Meadow
Three Kings

Dead Meadow is one of those bands that is fine with the way that they have always sounded. They have found what works, mastered these unique psychedelic drones, and have continued to release material that falls into their thick stoner haze as they continue down this path that they have chosen. The majority of fans know exactly what they are getting with each record and would not welcome the idea of Dead Meadow changing anything, exploring new territory, or giving their magical mix any sort of modern twist. Most like these gents just the way they are.

Dead Meadow's seventh outing, Three Kings, is a combination of live concert album, corresponding film (highly reminiscent to Zeppelin's The Song Remains the Same), along with a few new studio tracks added into the mix. With Three Kings, the production is raw, fuzzy, and full of a primitive grit that gives Dead Meadow so much more of an effectiveness in their swirling mix of psychedelic space blues. Like their studio albums, absolutely nothing is overproduced on this live venture, adding even more of a vintage organic feel to the music that is already drenched in the hazy vibes of the late 60's and early 1970's. The live material ranges from all points of their repertoire with each song as strong as the next, despite some being newer material. Dead Meadow gives a stellar performance on each selection, living up to what is delivered on their studio material, at the same time expanding and elaborating when it is needed during the set. Another strong aspect to the live material is the fact that the audience noise has not been edited out at any moment, giving applause and crowd noise throughout. Jason Simon's voice is propelled loud enough to where his soft, almost delicate delivery is not drowned amidst the strong wash of Orange ampage and thundering drum parts.

With the five new studio songs, there is a bit more room to breathe than with previous material. Everything is spread out, almost sparse at times, and without the large wall of sound that usually accompanies most of what Dead Meadow has recorded. The sound is still massive, however much more dynamic for the most part throughout. "That Old Temple" features some phenomenal drum breaks by Stephen McCarty, bringing to mind a bit more Deep Purple and Hendrix influence than before not only on the percussive end of things but also in the vintage riff selections and placement. Another highlight from this new material is "Beyond the Fields We Know" complete with eerie female vocal accompaniment and some of Jason Simon's best guitar work to date.

Three Kings is a great addition to anyone's existing Dead Meadow catalog and also a great introduction to a band that continues to grow in popularity, as they live by their own rules and keep a sound that is extremely lo-fi and vintage. The new material shows great promise in what we have in store for us in the future and the live selections are a testament as to just how great this band is both on record and in a live setting. -Andrew Bryant

Twilight-Monument to Time End

2010-05-15T09:34:00.000-04:00

Twilight
Monument to Time End

When it comes to black metal, most would not consider the United States to be a major force to be reckoned with. Norway simply cannot be matched as far as impact and brute force goes in this extreme sub-genre, yet lately American bands have been growing in leaps and bounds in respect to the innovations within black metal, bringing this often mis-understood and infamous music into the light so to speak and giving a growing fan base a glimpse into this world that is both dark and beautiful. Signed to Southern Lord Records, Twilight is a collective of American black metal musicians who have come together under this moniker, bringing one of the most aggressive sounds to the ever expanding roster of this style in the States.
With their second album, Monument to Time End, core members N. Imperial (Krieg, N.I.L.), Blake Judd (Nachtmystium), and Wrest (Leviathan) bring forth an expanded lineup including Minsk's Sanford Parker, Stravros Giannopoulos from the Atlas Moth, and Aaron Turner who hails from both Isis and Old Man Gloom. If you know anything about any of these individuals' other material, you can pretty much guess what you will be in store for with this particular album. As a whole, the record brings together the classic elements of black metal and adds certain bells and whistles that give Twilight it's unique sound. A great deal of the music gives more atmospheric and even psychedelic twists to the mix, yet still remaining true to the dark and heavy music on the album. Opening track, "The Cryptic Ascension" begins with varied dynamics and a tempo that is far from hectic blast-beats, relying heavily on a strong sense of groove. This opens things up tremendously, as the majority of the album follows suite, concentrating on the dynamic direction of each and every song. The vocals have more of a high rasp to them, which is always a strong asset in my book, avoiding the death-metal growls all together while still conveying plenty of agony and distress. Other highlights include the more straight-ahead black metal sounds of "Convulsions in Wills of Fever" and "Decaying Observer", two of the albums heaviest by far.
Overall, Monument to Time End is a great sophomore effort that is sure to gain Twilight the ground it needs to become one of the most talked about metal records of 2010 as it brings something to the table that will satisfy fans of heavy music ranging from doom, to black metal. Though each and every member has their own full time bands that occupy their time, this album has a strong sense of congruity and harmony that none of these other bands have given me in the past. Twilight has something about it where every thing is in it's right place and thus deserves a place up on the shelf with American black metal behemoths including Wolves in the Throne Room and Aggaloch. -Andrew Bryant

Roky Erickson

2010-05-11T10:13:00.000-04:00

Roky Erickson
True Love Cast Out All Evil
buy album here

There aren't many stories out there that are as tragic and unbelievable as that of Roky Erickson. One of the most influential figures in all of music spanning from a forefather of psychedelia to inspiring rock and metal musicians, Roky is one of those that everyone likes and is ultimately rooting for despite all that has been stacked against him throughout the years. To say that this album has been one of the most anticipated albums for me would indeed be an understatement. I love anything and everything that Roky Erickson ever uttered, from the psychedelic staples of the 13th Floor Elevators to the dark, horror-rock from the 1970's. They are all prime cuts as far as I am concerned and I was always sure that he had more tricks up his sleeve and lots more stories to tell. Well, low and behold the time has come and True Love Cast Out All Evil has lived up to everything that I hoped it would, representing a better life that Erickson has always been destined for and finally receiving.

Produced by Will Sheff of Okkervil River, this album is quite somber at times, but ultimately beautiful and anthemic, celebrating many selections from the catalog of a man who is one of the best and yet forgotten songwriters, musicians, and human beings in the history of rock and roll music. Though I hate to make this comparison, this album is highly reminiscent of all of Johnny Cash's American Recordings with Rick Ruben at the helm. Like the American Recordings, True Love Cast Out All Evil is stripped down and somewhat sparse at times, leaving the focus on Roky and his songs without layering obnoxious orchestrations and wanking guitar solos over the song at hand. As a whole, this album has a strong country feel to it, the majority being acoustic in nature with Erickson's voice not as strong and wailing like it once was. Will Sheff and Okkervil River did great job in creating a lush pallet on which Roky could place his music, evening throwing in several noise sections scattered occasionally to give a nod to his psychedelic past. Opening up with "Devotional Number One", taken from an extremely primitive recording at Rusk Maximum Security Prison for the Criminally Insane, Sheff sets the tone perfectly placing this scratchy track with Roky on a an almost out-of-tune guitar and one of the most sobering moments of any album to date. The album thens skips to the present with "Aint Blues Too Sad" on which Roky delivers one of his most heartfelt lyrics, "Electricity hammered me through my head, until nothing at all is backwards instead." Just hearing him sing this line gives me chills, knowing that he has lived to tell the tale of intense shock therapy and the struggle with schizophrenia every day since. Other highlights include the country waltz feel of "Be and Bring Me Home", the upbeat "Bring Back the Past" on which he speaks of his positive outlook on the future, a new take on the dark classic "John Lawman", and the weeping pedal steel on the album's title track.

True Love Cast Out All Evil is already at the top of the list for 2010's album of the year and I have to agree with all who have made this claim thus far. I would not dare to say that this is a "comback" record because for so many of us, Roky never went anywhere. Let's just chalk this one up to yet another great record through which many old and new fans alike will rediscover one of the finest musical minds that this world has ever seen. And if anyone deserves anything close to that, that man is most definitely Roky Erickson-Andrew Bryan

Kongh

2010-05-11T10:10:00.000-04:00

Kongh
Shadows of the Shapeless
buy album here

When a description reads, "Six Hundred and sixty six possessed Orange Amps under water," chances are, I will give it a whirl. Kongh, a doom metal outfit hailing from, you guessed it, Sweden formed in 2004 with three individuals from different musical backgrounds with one goal in mind, to be as loud as humanly possible while having as much fun as they could. Simple enough, yet as so many in this genre try hard and fall short, the Swedes seem to have what it takes to bring this music to fruition each and every time. Mark my word, there must be something that Swedish parents feed their children or elements added to the drinking water to give them the ability to make the music that they do. In addition there must be a massive stockpile of vintage Orange Amplifiers in each community center and as each young person chooses to pick up a guitar or bass, they are automatically given some of the best sounding amps in existence with some of the crunchiest, meatiest tone that you will find across the globe. In the past six years, I can't tell you how many Swedish bands have blown me away with some of the best heavy music out there, including Witchcraft, Graveyard, Horisont, and now Kongh whose newest album Shadows of the Shapeless was just released on Seventh Rule Recordings.

As noted above, the three members of Kongh come from a variety of backgrounds and simply want to be big, loud and have fun when making the music that they make. What comes across is a highly intelligent mix of doom, black, and experimental heaviness that keeps things fresh and interesting without boring the listeners with the same-old-same-old drones that so many other similar bands' sounds rely on today. What first jumps out with Shadows of the Shapeless is the great mixture of darkness and light and the corresponding contrasts that are exhibited on this record. This tension and release is especially present in the guitar work of David Johansson in that he has carefully crafted his playing to range from both heavy and distorted to pretty and clean. This dichotomy serves each song extremely well in opening up the arrangements and giving the listener some variance from the expected slow dirge and mammoth assault that comes with most doom metal outfits. Johansson's vocals also vary from being raspy and harsh to more melodious sections that are sung rather than screamed, each being placed in just the right sections as the music needs at the time. This duality of Kongh brings to mind early Neurosis and even Opeth at certain points, bringing both thunderous brutality and beauty into their music as they add dimension to the overall experiences associated with the band itself. Drummer Tomas Salonen is an extremely tasteful player who knows just when to throw a swing feel on a certain section and a primitive pounding on another. Rounding out the rhythm section, bassist Oskar Ryden remains mostly in the lower register, filling the gaps with rumble and thus providing the perfect root bass playing that a trio of this caliber needs.

With only five songs, Shadows of the Shapeless clocks in just below the one hour mark, giving each track the time it needs to be developed without being monotonous and boring. All three members of Kongh perform an integral part in keeping the music structured yet organic, allowing the songs to breathe and gain volume, momentum, and intensity at all points necessary. This gives the entire record a continuous flow that connects all five tracks together as one cohesive piece of music that proves itself as a strong album time and time again. With both their music and direction, Kongh reminds me a great deal of Yob, a heavy American three-piece powerhouse and I would almost bet all my chips on the fact that Yob has had a large influence on this band and their sound. Nothing at all wrong with that though, because you can't get much heavier than the mighty Yob and the impact that they have had on the doom scene.

As a whole, this album is very heavy and great addition to Sweden's stellar roster of metal bands. The only bad thing about this album being so good is the fact that, like most heavy music coming from this particular area of the globe, it might be several years before we can actually see Kongh live. Oh well, until then we can just throw on Shadows of the Shapeless and make our walls shake and windows rattle until the neighbors call the authorities. -Andrew Bryant

Seasick Steve

2010-04-26T10:12:00.000-04:00

Seasick Steve
Man From Another Time
buy album here

Pushing into his seventies, Steve Wold has got a few stories to tell and several notches on his belt that make for some great songs. Known to an affectionate and constantly growing following as Seasick Steve, his colorful mix of narrative country blues and Southern delta twang comes as second nature to a man who has earned his daily bread busking, working as a carnie, and living a rough life, hopping trains and seeing the world through the eyes of what many would deem a drifter. According to Steve, "Hobos are people who move around looking for work, tramps are people who move around but don't look for work, and bums are people who don't move and don't work. I've been all three." Musically, Seasick Steve makes his own instruments, ranging from one and two-stringed guitars to cigar box banjos, records his own albums and writes from those life experiences that only he could have lived, seeing more in two months than most of us will ever see in a lifetime.

His latest album, Man From Another Time features some of best material to date with equal parts blues stomp and his haunting narrative ballads that are sure to give you chills with every listen. Not quite as rowdy as Scott H. Biram, Seasick Steve is pretty much a one-man show that sounds a great deal like Waylon Jennings mixed with the likes of T-Model Ford or Cedel Davis. He takes his time with the songs and lets them open up as they will, never forcing anything and relying heavily on the groove at hand as it determines just which way each will go. What comes through is equal parts Appalachia and Delta, bound to strike a chord within those who love both country and blues music along with everything in between. Joining Steve on several songs on the album is Dan Magnusson on drums, who does an excellent job of keeping things steady and letting Seasick work his mojo magic throughout. Opening things up with "Diddley Bo", a classic feeling track with the Bo Diddley beat that most can identify in their sleep, Steve and Dan set up a strong 3/2 clave rhythm and sing of the simplicity of making your own musical instruments out of everyday items and the fun you'll have while doing this activity. "Big Green and Yellow" follows during which Steve yearns for an old Model 60 John Deer tractor. Magnusson does some of his best percussive work on this song, creating the perfect rickety, mechanic feel of an ambling tractor down a gravel or dirt road. Though his more upbeat songs are catchy as hell, I personally feel that Seasick Steve shines best on those tracks when he is by himself, many of which are heart-felt ballads that tell of his rough life before the music. On Man From Another Time, these songs include "Just Because I Can(CSX)" telling of his joy in being a hobo while traveling in boxcars throughout the South, the drifter's lament in "Dark", and the album's title track exploring just why his audiences listen to his music when they "don't got nothin' better to do." The icing on the cake for this record is an unlisted track at the album's end, a version of Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" on which he duets with Amy Lavere. This cover is absolutely gorgeous and extremely appropriate coming from an individual like Seasick Steve, who has been to this point in his life countless times just like Hank Sr, giving extra meaning behind the lyrics.

A great album and great tool to discover a true American legend who is just getting started at the ripe age of 69, Man From Another Time will most assuredly be one of 2010's best records. For those who love The Reverend Scott H. Biram, The Black Diamond Heavies, and Left Lane Cruiser to those who prefer the more rough cut blues sounds of the likes of Watermelon Slim and C.W. Stoneking, Seasick Steve is sure to fit right in and find a new fan with each listen. -Andrew Bryant

Kongh

2010-04-24T10:10:00.000-04:00

Barn Burner

2010-04-12T09:58:00.001-04:00

Barn Burner
Bangers
buy album here

Straight out of Montreal, screams Barn Burner with their own special blend of high energy stoner rock that is sure to keep you driving fast and partying hard this summer. Their debut album Bangers, released on Metal Blade Records, dropped in mid-February, however has just caught it's second wind with me now that weather is getting warm and sunny. With my research, I kept running into references to Black Sabbath with this release, though I really don't see too many similarities here besides the heavy emphasis that these Canadians place on the riff almighty and the occasional distorted fuzz that accompanies several of the guitar lines throughout. Instead, I find much more common ground between Barn Burner and other stoner rock bands including Fu Manchu, Queens of the Stone Age, Sasquatch, and Sheavy, with influences including Iron Maiden and Thin Lizzy replacing the Sabbath and Blue Cheer in the mix. Their sound is gives things a more alternative rock spin than most in this subgenre, with the "stoner" label being much more implied than in most cases. But don't worry, this album is full of beer drinking, bong smoking, bag of Doritos passing, and rowdy nights of high fives amongst you and your buds. What comes through this thick haze is a great rock and roll band whose aggressive sound could be welcomed in the classic rock, alternative, and stoner metal camps with high praise.

One of the strongest assets working in their favor, is the simple fact that Barn Burner do not take themselves too seriously. They are who they are and make no excuses one way or another. With song titles such as "Fast Women", "Beer Today Bong Tomorrow", and "Half Past Haggard" there is absolutely no doubt as to what these gents are all about and what kind of album this is. The guitar work is quite strong, with dual lead lines that complement each other throughout and serve as the true driving force of the album, propelling each song with hooks and riffs that draw from both the Thrash and NWOBHM pools of influence. Several songs are a bit too similar to one another, thus giving the album a few moments of redundancy at certain points. However, Bangers is a great first impression for a new band to make. Everything is tight and can hold it's own in the highly homogenized stoner rock/metal genre, giving things a fresh dose of fast paced adrenaline to the mix.

Now that the warmth has graced us with its presence, there should be no excuse to crank things up, put the pedal to the metal, and be ready to throw down at the drop of a hat. I would almost bet you anything that the boys in Barn Burner will be doing the same day in and day out. Bangers is sure to keep the blood pumping and the party going to the break of dawn. Cheers! -Andrew Bryant

Acrassicauda

2010-04-05T09:55:00.000-04:00

Acrassicauda
Only the Dead See the End of the War
buy album here

So you think that it's hard to keep a band together these days with constant squabbles and power struggles that feed each other's egos and keep the emotional wells full to the brim with the beginnings of countless angry solo material? Well, try living in a country in which your long hair and concert tees will get you killed and the mere existence of your heavy rock or metal band angers some sects enough to blow you, your family, and your cohorts to bits. And what of the fact that your band might even be lucky enough to play only one show every two years, in secluded locations, most ending in bomb threats or terrorist attacks before your third song is even underway? Acrassicaudia, the Iraqui heavy metal band featured in Heavy Metal from Baghdad, fled from war torn Iraq to Syria, Turkey, and finally have made it to the United States and released their first four-song EP, Only the Dead See the End of the War. Their perseverance, heart, and love for the music itself has guided them through struggles that we could only dream of and gives them a leg up against all other metal bands out there today.

Though this band has had only a handful of shows and is still relatively young to the metal scene in terms of experience and exposure, Acrassicauda proves that they can indeed hold their own in the metal genre and will have a future that will indeed be fruitful, allowing them to create, record, and perform their music live as more individuals gain the knowledge of this band. Produced by Testament's Alex Skolnick, Only the Dead See the End of the War sounds just as you would expect: a mixture of Metallica, Slayer, and at times Alice in Chains. Acrassicauda's sound most definitely shows their influences, yet gives things a new spin that is sure to blossom into a style that is by far their own as time passes. Though a great deal of metal music is constantly subgenred to death, I have say that this band's sound is just plain heavy metal in it's truest form. "Message from Baghdad" opens things up with an aggressive riff and quick tempo that sounds like something out of early 90's camp Metallica and a message that is straight up pissed off. My personal favorite, "Garden of Stones", follows with great double kick drum grooves and chunky guitar rhythms that fall into the pocket and further reinforce the half-time feels that are scattered throughout. One aspect of this track that really stands out among the other three is the strong Middle-Eastern influence that surfaces towards the end of the song with changing chord progressions, added hand percussion, and Iraqi vocals that are clean. The vocals on "Massacre" change things up in being a bit more grunge influenced than the other material on this release, sounding a great deal like early Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains.

If you have seen Heavy Metal in Baghdad or are in any way a fan of heavy music, you should go ahead and grab this album. Though nothing new or ground-breaking, the story and struggle of this band alone is worth giving them a listen. -Andrew Bryant

Drive-By Truckers

2010-04-03T09:50:00.000-04:00

Drive-By Truckers
The Big To-Do
buy album here

With The Big To-Do, I have re-discovered the greatness that I initially found in the Drive-By Truckers. Like the early albums that first caught my ear, this new record finds the guitars bigger than ever, Patterson Hood exhibiting his unique story-telling craft to the utmost extent, and Mike Cooley channeling the Stroker Ace in full effect. What I love most about this record is the fact that it rocks and does so fluidly, with every song placed in just the right spot for maximum complement to the entire piece. This album reminds me of their sound on The Dirty South with every song exploring some darker, more depressing subject matter of the South along with some great stories that could only be told by those who have grown up in this region, hearing the yarns and legends spun by family members, friends, and neighbors.

Opening with "Daddy Learned To Fly" is the perfect way to kick things off with The Big To-Do. This song is big and loud, with an almost celebratory feel, despite it's subject matter of children dealing with their father's death. Both in structure and style, this particular song reminds me a lot of "February 14th" from A Blessing and a Curse in just how massive and positive the chord progressions are, giving listeners a reason to raise their glass and sing along. Another standout as far as Patterson Hood songs go is "Drag the Lake Charlie" with it's scratchy guitar melodies and a chorus that you'll catch yourself humming as you vividly imagine what is going on with this sea of deception, secrets, and an implied murder cover up that only a small Southern town could boast. Mike Cooley, though his songs are a bit more few and far between on this record, chimes in with the wisdom that we have all come to expect from this rough-around-the-edges poet of tough luck and subtle, dry humor. With "Birthday Boy", Cooley brings forth an almost Dire Straights vibe with this one, if Knopfler was a skinny Southern boy from Alabama, telling of money, married men, and unhappy strippers. "Get Downtown" is a true boot-stomper that gives a bit more oomph to the boogie-woogie style of the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis and is thus the most toe-tapping track on the record. As with Brighter Than Creations Dark, The Big To-Do finds Shonna Tucker contributing a few herself, breaking the dirty Southern chain of Hood and Cooley, with "You Got Another" being the standout of the two. This song is a the first somber track of the record, with a higher vocal range than we have heard from Shonna in the past and a swirling Hammond B-3 and Mellotron canvas provided by the Truckers' newest member, Jay Gonzalez. The Big To-Do ends with two slower numbers, including one of Patterson Hood's finest moments that brings back the chills that earlier songs like "The Deeper In" and "Tornadoes" evoked. "The Flying Walendas" is a an absolutely beautiful track that tells the story of a family of acrobats and trapeze artists that were the stars of many of the famous circuit circuses, whose lives were tragically taken when feats went wrong under the big top. This song has a slow, lazy waltz feel and finds the mighty John Neff behind his trusty pedal steel with some of his finest lead lines that almost weep for the subjects at hand.

It is a given that many of us will always be fans of anything and everything that the Drive-By Truckers will ever give us, however there is something about The Big To-Do that could quite possibly be their finest work thus far. Every piece of the puzzle is here on this one and there are absolutely no throw-away tracks in my opinion; each one falling perfectly into place and at just the right time in the grand scheme of things. One of 2010's best already, this one is going to be damn near hard to beat this year. -Andrew Bryant

HIgh on Fire

2010-03-15T09:48:00.000-04:00

High on Fire
Snakes for the Devine
buy album here

Whatever it is, Matt Pike has got it, has had it, and won't lose it anytime soon. This can refer to one of the biggest, nastiest, meatiest, dirtiest guitar sounds in the biz, some of the best songwriting and album construction in both the metal and stoner rock genres, and the ability to front some of the most influential heavy bands over the past two decades. Oh, how we all miss Sleep and thank whomever we align with every night before bed for Holy Mountain and Dopesmoker. As the sad end came to this mammoth of a band, we all wondered what would become of this monster guitarist and vocalist that we had all come to adore. Shortly after, from the dense fog, High on Fire came knocking, punched us in the gut, and rattled our fillings as we were braced ourselves for round two with Matt Pike.

Snakes for the Devine is an extremely aggressive album, throwing away the notion that High on Fire is a stoner metal act in any way. The guitar riffs are fast and brutal, the bass lines are meaty and melodic, and the drums gallop throughout, utilizing double kick drum rudiments as much as humanly possible. This record is angry and epic, almost as if Pike and company are throwing on the armor, taking up the axes, and sprinting into battle with a thirst for blood, delivering violent death to all who fall prey. As he gets older, Matt's voice reminds me of a perfect mix between Lemmy and Mille Petrozza from Kreator.

Produced by Gred Fidelman, the man responsible for recording and mixing Metallica's Death Magnetic and Slayer's World Painted Blood, this album as a whole is much more accessible for most listeners with cleaner guitar tones and vocals that are mixed out in front of the rumble. Thus, Snakes for the Devine could quite possibly serve as High on Fire's bridge into the metal mainstream, increasing their fans and listening population beyond those who are "in the know" and who have been loyal to Matt Pike from the get-go. Not that they are selling out with this one, no sir. However, for those who are used to to what High On Fire has delivered in the past, it might a listen or two to get used to things with the way that they are now. Opening up with the titled track and quite possibly one of the most intense moments for their career, High on Fire leaves stragglers in the dust with a song that is fast, furious, and in your face. The opening guitar line could just as easily come out of a prog metal notehead and threw me for a loop during my first listen. "Frost Hammer" follows and keeps things going with a tempo that parallels those of Motorhead and Venom. With "Ghost Neck", things get a bit faster and throw a bit more thrash metal into the mix, adding yet another dimension to the new sound. For me, the gem contained within Snakes for the Devine is "Bastard Samurai", a slower track which is highly similar to the previous more stoner, doomy material that both early High on Fire and Sleep exhibited. The tempo is almost twice as slow as everything else on the record, giving a breath of fresh air among the speedier numbers, and is just as heavy, if not heavier than the rest of the album.

Hats off to Matt Pike and High on Fire for not giving up on what they love to do and delivering yet another record that will assuredly gain them a more diverse, widespread crowd within the metal community. -Andrew Bryant

Mondo Drag

2010-02-23T09:46:00.000-05:00

Mondo Drag
New Rituals
buy album here

Part psychedelic swirl, part vintage fuzz; Iowa's Mondo Drag is one of the newest additions to the stables at the mighty Alive Records camp, a label that keeps churning out good rock and roll the way it used to sound. The new album from these lads, entitled New Rituals, is a great addition to what Alive already has going for it, adding vintage space rock to the already strong roster of garage and blues artists. With this new record, Mondo Drag has something very interesting things occuring musically as they combine vintage sounds from several genres and morph them into something that is unique in today's rock and roll world. If I had to place them into any sort of category with contemporary artists, I have to admit that they remind me on several occasions of bands including Dead Meadow, Radio Moscow, and at times Swedish proto-metal monsters such as Witchcraft, Graveyard and Horisont but only in some of the heavier groove sections. I wouldn't venture to comparing them to the like of Astra and Litmus, because they are not quite that psychedelic or progressive, however I could see them traveling down these roads in the near future.

New Rituals begins with the title track "New Rituals", starting things off with mid-range drones and accents followed by decrescendos that sound eerily similar to the Who. Suddenly, this track breaks into a fuzzy, analog sounding groove that is driven by John Gamino's vintage organ that gives a strong knod to the likes of the Zombies, Electric Prunes, and Strawberry Alarmclock, at the same time intertwining some atmostpheric breaks and swells that sound a hell of lot like early Pink Floyd. Clocking in at over eight minutes, this song makes a strong statement from the get-go and leaves no secrets as to what kind of beast we'll be dealing with. "Light As a Feather" is a bit more on the heavy end of the spectrum with a bluesy groove and riffs that are in the same vein as Blue Cheer or Shiver, if they were accompanied by the woodwinds and electronic goodies from the classic era of Hawkwind. Mondo Drag break out the acoustics and blues slide work on "Come Through", giving the listener a bit more versatility than most psychedelic/space rock bands care to do these days. "Fade Out" starts out fast and could just as easily been included on a Blue Cheer or even a Jimi Hendrix record, yet trails off into a more spacious territory and improvosational direction. This element of "jam" (though I hate to use that word) is one of Mondo Drag's strongest elements throughout, sounding as though they followed their tangents from time to time and were not afraid to elaborate upon ideas that might have began on whim during the recording process. These improvosational and solo breaks add length to the songs and more of a live feel to the record itself, connecting all of the pieces to the New Rituals puzzle and coming across as a strong work of music.

Mondo Drag is a young band and have indeed made a big statement with this album. Good things can only be in store in their future as they expand their minds and make more of the music that they love. -Andrew Bryant

Patty Griffin-Downtown Church

2010-02-21T11:08:00.000-05:00

Patty Griffin
Downtown Church
buy album here

Downtown Church, the newest album from Patty Griffin, a highly respected artist in the Americana and folk scene, is one of those albums on which you can feel the true emotion with every song. It is without a doubt one of the strongest releases that 2010 has seen across the board. Like other truly great gospel albums that find themselves embraced by both the religious and secular masses, this record is full to the brim with soul, spirituality, and some of the most beautiful music that this year has to offer thus far. Produced by Buddy Miller, the album was recorded in the Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville, giving the entire piece an extremely warm and vibrant feel that remains a constant throughout. Griffin, her slew of special guests, and the tight group of musicians that provide accompaniment all add their own personal touch to this record, the result being a extremely consistent album that will give you chills one minute and make you want to dance, shout and reach for the heavens the next. Patty's performance is top-notch and extremely adaptable, from the quiet, gentle opener "House of Gold" to her soulful wails on tracks like "If I Had My Way." Joining Griffin on this album are some of the most respected names in both the Gospel and Americana music communities including Mike Farris, Regina and Ann McCrary, Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin, Raul Malo, and of course Buddy and Julie Miller.
As a whole, Downtown Church is in the same vein as Krauss and Plant's Raising Sand, sounding extremely similar in many instances throughout and in the overall aura surrounding the music itself. Drummer Jay Bellerose and bassist Dennis Crouch (both Raising Sand alum) provide a large part of this similarity, giving this album a great deal of the primitive swagger and loose, but tasteful boogie that are crucial to the sounds of both records. Highlights for me include the strong spirituals "Death's Got a Warrant" and "Wade In the Water" both of which exhibit the depth and strength of Griffin's phenomenal vocal delivery. The Latin-flavored "Virgen de Guadalupe", a duet with Raul Malo, serves as a change of pace from the rest of the record, adding more into the already eclectic mix of influences. Ending with "All Creatures of Our God and King" is the absolute perfect way to wrap things up with Downtown Church. The soft, beautiful piece features only Patty's voice and simple piano accompaniment, giving the album a simplistic and tastefully emotional end that will remain within the listeners hearts long after the album has ended and put back on the shelf. -Andrew Bryant

Rob Zombie Hellbilly Deluxe 2

2010-02-09T11:06:00.000-05:00

Rob Zombie
Hellbilly Deluxe 2
buy album here

When it comes to Rob Zombie, there are no surprises as far as what you are in store for. So rather than waste your time and my breath rehashing over and over again who he is and what he does, I will get straight to the meat and potatoes of why we are all here: the new album. Throughout the past year, there has been a certain buzz that has surrounded this record and a sense of mystery regarding the release of Hellbilly Deluxe 2 and what exactly it was going to sound like. Well friends, the time has come, the album is hot off the press, and it is more than likely all that you had hoped for and quite possibly more.
Deep down inside, I was hoping: a.) that Rob Zombie and company hadn't changed a bit stylistically speaking, b.) they hadn't abandoned their love of madmen, monsters and the macabre, and c.) they still rocked as hard as they had in the past. I am happy to say that all three of my wishes for this record have come true. From the packaging, to the lyrics, to the sound, this is a Rob Zombie record in the deepest sense, straight to the marrow. The entire record ROCKS, and does so in an extremely heavy fashion. Like his previous material, Rob has carefully placed controversial and horrific samples along with mood music into the mix, presenting great transitions, intros, and outros to the eleven listed tracks. However, though the sound is big, it is much more stripped down than what we have heard before, keeping the layers to a minimum and a strong emphasis placed on the hooks which run rampant throughout. Beginning things with "Jesus Frankenstein" and "Sick Bubble Gum", you've already got enough catchy chorus work that will serve as your ear-worms for the next month. Rob's voice is raspy and his delivery ranges from the demented preacher. to carnival barker, to the weary prophet. John 5 once again proves his wizardry with both taste and technical prowess, adapting to the different styles within the confines of the album and providing just the right rhythm and lead tracks for the melodic direction of a great deal of the material. Piggy D and Tommy C, on bass and drums respectively, add the low end and groove to round out the massive Hellbilly Deluxe 2.
"What?" and "Werewolf, Baby" bring a strong vintage horror and garage rock vibe to the mix, complete with Farfisa organ and chord progressions that could just as easily accompany a 1960's B- Horror movie soundtrack or haunted house score. "Mars Needs Women" begins with an intro that sounds like something that could have come out of the mid-period Zeppelin camp with acoustic 12-string, mandolin, and soft hand percussion accents. This change of pace doesn't last too long however, as the track quickly crashes into a heavy half-time feel with crunchy, distorted wah-wah leads and chanted vocal work. "Werewolf, Baby" features John 5 with nasty slide guitar leads, which sound a great deal like something we would have heard from Raging Slab in the early 90's.
Hats off to you, Mr. Zombie, for another job well done. It seems that with Hellbilly Deluxe 2, he is as strong as ever and still up to the same old shenanigans. I highly doubt that he will be hanging up his boots any time soon. Thus, the masses are happy, all fat and sassy with bellies full of hellbilly goodness and monster mayhem. Amen and goodnight. -Andrew Bryant

Brimstone Howl -Big Deal.(What's He Done Lately?)

2010-01-25T08:17:00.000-05:00

Brimstone Howl
Big Deal. What's He Done Lately?

If you enjoy the raw garage rock sounds of the 1960's, it is your lucky day. From Lincoln, Nebraska and the might Alive records arsenal comes the newest from Brimstone Howl which is sure to tickle your fancy and satisfy your lo-fi cravings for at least a bit.
Brimstone Howl has finally achieved an album production that best suites their sound, venturing far from the magic of the studio, and relying on an extremely lo-fi, "live" feel for their fourth album, Big Deal. What's He Done Lately? Not that previous records have fallen short of the vintage swagger, this one just has the perfect amount of noise, dirt, and squirrely notes that give it the authentic garage rock sound. Along with the low fidelity comes gallons of reverb that could easily pour out of the record itself if held at just the right angle, drenching everything from the vocals to the lead guitar squawls. Musically, this album is more straight forward than previous material, sticking mostly to aggressive, driving tempos that give this Brimstone Howl a much more punk rock edge than before. The song writing follows suite, with simple verse/chorus repetition with short, noisy guitar solos thrown in sporadically for color and kicks.
As far as the music goes for this record, Brimstone Howl exhibits hints of the Ramones, Television, and the Cramps stylistically with the production quality of The Sonics. Most songs on Big Deal... are short, falling just below the three minute mark, thus the album is easy to digest in one listen. Highlights include "Easter at the Lewises", with dirty lead lines screeching from a slide guitar and quirky lyrics that are indeed one of this band's strongest points. "Suicide Blues" sounds like a long lost track from the early Velvet Underground with hypnotic percussion work and simple guitar hooks that you will swear that you've heard before. Not that Brimstone Howl is ripping anyone off, far from it in fact. They have merely done their homework, borrow both vibe and taste from their influences, and are content in sounding the way that they do despite what might be occurring in the world of music. This will assuredly guarantee them a position as one of the most authentic garage rock revival acts today. -Andrew Bryant

Boris-Japanese Heavy Rock Hits Volumes 1-3

2010-01-25T08:15:00.000-05:00

Boris
Japanese Heavy Rock Hits Volumes 1-3

Leave it to Boris to release new material that a.)only appears on three different 7 inch vinyl records and b.)shakes things up beyond the boundaries that this heavy Japanese experimental madhouse-of-a-band have reached before. I always preface my Boris recommendations with the advice that you can never judge a book by its cover, especially in the case of the highly unpredictable and eclectic trio of musicians. Boris is not for everyone, but those of us who find something that we love in their music are certainly not alone, as they are one of the most respected and esteemed band on the Southern Lord roster and in all of heavy music for that matter.
Despite the fact that a great deal of their following yearn for a return to their Amplifier Worship days, Boris seems to be focusing their attention elsewhere at the moment, spending more time in the dance clubs rather than the dark, echo and drone chambers. Each 7" has its own personality, the first being a bit more Smile-esque, the second embracing electronica and dance music, and Volume Three leaning in the direction of slower, more atmospheric music. Highlights for me include "8" (volume one, side A) and "and hear nothing" (volume three, side B), both of which being a bit more to form for the band itself and in a similar vein in which they left us at the end of their last record.
As "8" begins, the traditional Boris guitar drone opens the track and is suddenly interrupted by sporadic drums fills, picking up the tempo and setting up the driving beat that propels the song from start to finish. The song is much faster that a lot of Boris material to date and has some very dreamy vocals, similar to a great deal of Takeshi's vocal delivery on Smile including tracks like "My Neighbor Satan." Wata's guitar lead lines are shrill and placed high in the mix, piercing through the thick fuzz tones and bashing percussion set up in the rhythm section. This is a piece of music that gives a nod to where Boris left off on Smile and where they are going in the very near future, though we can never be too certain when it comes to these guys and gal.
Much like "8", "and hear nothing" begins with a slow, drone that has become one of Boris's signature calling cards. This slow, heavy feel remains constant throughout the entirety of the song and matches up perfectly with the dragging tempo of the piece. Takeshi's voice is strong and clean, blending well with the layers of guitar fuzz and percussive accents that make up the majority of the music within. "and hear nothing" could easily have been included on some of the earlier Boris material and collaboration efforts, especially with someone like Michio Kurihara. Much like beginning with "8", finishing things up with this song serves as the perfect bookend to this new collection of material. -Andrew Bryant

Boris Vinyl Review

2010-01-17T18:49:00.002-05:00

Boris
Japanese Heavy Rock Hits Volumes 1-3
Review

Leave it to Boris to release new material that a.)only appears on three different 7 inch vinyl records and b.)shakes things up beyond the boundaries that this heavy Japanese experimental madhouse-of-a-band have reached before. I always preface my Boris recommendations with the advice that you can never judge a book by its cover, especially in the case of the highly unpredictable and eclectic trio of musicians. Boris is not for everyone, but those of us who find something that we love in their music are certainly not alone, as they are one of the most respected and esteemed band on the Southern Lord roster and in all of heavy music for that matter.
Despite the fact that a great deal of their following yearn for a return to their Amplifier Worship days, Boris seems to be focusing their attention elsewhere at the moment, spending more time in the dance clubs rather than the dark, echo and drone chambers. Each 7" has its own personality, the first being a bit more Smile-esque, the second embracing electronica and dance music, and Volume Three leaning in the direction of slower, more atmospheric music. Highlights for me include "8" (volume one, side A) and "and hear nothing" (volume three, side B), both of which being a bit more to form for the band itself and in a similar vein in which they left us at the end of their last record.
As "8" begins, the traditional Boris guitar drone opens the track and is suddenly interrupted by sporadic drums fills, picking up the tempo and setting up the driving beat that propels the song from start to finish. The song is much faster that a lot of Boris material to date and has some very dreamy vocals, similar to a great deal of Takeshi's vocal delivery on Smile including tracks like "My Neighbor Satan." Wata's guitar lead lines are shrill and placed high in the mix, piercing through the thick fuzz tones and bashing percussion set up in the rhythm section. This is a piece of music that gives a nod to where Boris left off on Smile and where they are going in the very near future, though we can never be too certain when it comes to these guys and gal.
Much like "8", "and hear nothing" begins with a slow, drone that has become one of Boris's signature calling cards. This slow, heavy feel remains constant throughout the entirety of the song and matches up perfectly with the dragging tempo of the piece. Takeshi's voice is strong and clean, blending well with the layers of guitar fuzz and percussive accents that make up the majority of the music within. "and hear nothing" could easily have been included on some of the earlier Boris material and collaboration efforts, especially with someone like Michio Kurihara. Much like beginning with "8", finishing things up with this song serves as the perfect bookend to this new collection of material. -Andrew Bryant

Aggrolites Album Review

2010-01-16T17:06:00.000-05:00

Aggrolites
IV
Album Review

In a time when it seems that the shit couldn't hit the fan harder, bills are piling up, and there doesn't seem to be a light at the end of tunnel, it is always nice to find an album that just plain makes you feel good and forget what ails you at that particular moment. In 2009, that album for me was IV, the newest installment from Los Angeles' Aggrolites, released on Tim Armstong's Hellcat Records. This album is a great way to unwind after a stressful day, perfect for a road trip, and just the thing to get the party started or keep it going 'til late in the evening.
IV finds the Aggrolites and their unique blend of upbeat, West coast reggae in the strongest incarnation yet, with even more catchy hooks and songs that keep you moving both inside and out. The Aggrolites themselves dub this music as "dirty reggae", fusing the grit of soul and funk music into the more traditional ska sounds of the early 1960's. As with their previous records, this new album has gained them a legion of new fans from across the board, ranging from enthusiasts of throwback R&B to the punk rock community, as folks get more familiar with the band itself and the music that they have to offer. Musically, the Aggrolites have achieved a tight sound in which each instrument adds just enough to make the sound exactly what it needs to be and in all the right places. The rhythm section has got one of the strongest "one drop" feels to date, keeping things moving at the perfect pace throughout the entire album with strong downbeats and a feeling that is sure to keep the dance floors packed. The guitar work relies heavily on the traditional up/offbeat feel of ska and reggae music, adding tasteful flourishes and solos when the time is right. Vocally, Jesse Wagner could just as easily front a vintage soul outfit, with strong pipes that can bring the dirt and howls at the drop of a hat in just the right places. Last but certainly not least, is keys man Roger Rivas, on Hammond organ and piano, who can melt the hearts with one strong chord blasting out of his Leslie speaker cabinet bringing even more of the soul element into the mix. Highlights include the celebratory, upbeat tracks including "Firecracker", the soulful love songs "By Her Side" and "Precious and Few", and my personal favorite, "Brother Jacob" with phenomenal harmonies from all sides bringing down the house in this more traditional sounding piece.
Feel good and forget your troubles. This album will most definitely help. -Andrew Bryant
.

Black Diamond Heavies

2009-12-07T13:47:00.001-05:00

Black Diamond Heavies
Alive as Fuck
buy the album here

By now, most of you should know who in the hell the Black Diamond Heavies are, being that they are quite possibly one of the biggest and most electrifying forces to be reckoned with on the rock and roll circuit today. They are the messiahs of all that is loud and rowdy as they bring the good news to the masses with their own blend of "punk ass blues", causing heavy alcohol consumption and an ass load of sweat all around the world. As it stands now, the Black Diamond Heavies will be our exclamation point to the 2009 year in music with their latest release, Alive As Fuck.
A strong point for the Heavies has always been the fact that they can pull off live material that far surpasses what they can lay down in the studio. Don't get me wrong, the studio albums are phenomenal, however it would be nearly impossible to recreate what these two, yes I said two, lads can bring forth on a dim lit stage in a smoky bar. The thick sludge of emotion, grit, and soul that spills from their gear out onto the crowd is full of road tested material that blends everything that is good about Muddy Waters, Tom Waits, and Mahalia Jackson if they all joined together with the MC5 backing them up. With two members, the Black Diamond Heavies bring a bigger sound than any other band that boasts five or six members and continue to push the boundaries as far as what a drumkit, Fender Rhodes (run through a Big Muff mind you), and Hammond organ can do. Alive As Fuck is the majority of material from a live show that was recorded on July 24th in Covington, Kentucky at the Covington Masonic Lodge. This album finds the Black Diamond Heavies with their eye on the prize and the pedal to the metal, giving the crowd amped up and energetic versions of songs from both previous studio albums including "White Bitch", "Take a Ride", and "Fever in My Blood." The band sounds tighter than ever, John Wesley Myers' voice is as mean as a pole cat, and the groove seems to be growing into its own beast as Myers and drummer Van Campbell continue to spread the word of what might possibly be the best live band in the world.
Thank God that the Black Diamond Heavies and Alive records have given us an early Christmas gift, making sure that 2009 won't fizzle out but end with a damn punch in the face. Alive As Fuck is the perfect stocking stuffer for those who love blues, punk, and just plain old rock and roll in its rawest form. Try and keep still while listening to this one. My bet is that you won't be able to. -Andrew Bryant

Del McCoury live instore this Friday

2009-11-17T09:16:00.000-05:00

Live in-store Friday, November 20th at noon

Vince Gill says it simply, and maybe best: "I'd rather hear Del McCoury sing ‘Are You Teasing Me' than just about anything." For fifty years, Del's music has defined authenticity for hard core bluegrass fans-count Gill among them-as well as a growing number of fans among those only vaguely familiar with the genre. And while the box set Celebrating 50 Years of Del McCoury, like its distilled companion, By Request provides an opportunity to look back on a unique legacy, it's also one that Del McCoury's rolling past with a wave and a grin and some of the best music he's ever made.

"Del epitomizes the bluegrass musician from the previous era, and also this one," says acclaimed resonator guitarist Jerry Douglas, a member of Alison Krauss + Union Station and producer of several of McCoury's 90s albums. "You can finally make a living playing bluegrass, and a large part of it is because of Del McCoury; he became like the new Bill Monroe..."

Del McCoury will be performing at the Bijou at 8:00pm.

Skeletonwitch-Breathing the Fire

2009-10-28T15:19:00.001-04:00

Skeletonwitch
Breathing the Fire
purchase here

Whenever a curious customer requests something new and exciting from the world of thrash/death/black metal, I always head straight for Skeletonwitch. Each and every time, these individuals are satisfied and join the growing masses who are singing this band's praises and spreading their music like wildfire. Hailing from Athens, Ohio, they are undoubtedly one of the strongest heavy outfits on the market, with a sound that transfers flawlessly from the recorded material to the live setting, creating one of the most outstanding musical experiences that one can find these days. In fact, for romantic weekend getaways, my wife and I opt away from the spa retreats and cozy mountain inns in order to travel to see the mighty Skeletonwitch anywhere and everywhere we can. Trust me, they are just that good.
With their new album, Breathing the Fire, Skeletonwitch brings forth a sound that expands their already massive brutality, at the same time remaining in the same stride that all fans have come to love. Their sound IS brutal, but not too overwhelming. Like the first album, Breathing the Fire is loaded with epic heavy metal that will satisfy fans ranging from Iron Maiden to Venom, to even Gorgoroth. With this record, Skeletonwitch aren't quite thrash, nor are they straight ahead, meat-head death metal or corpse paint-wearing, unholy black metal. They are simply a great, great heavy metal band. Vocalist Chance Garnette delivers both the growls and the throaty rasp that serves as your master of ceremonies during this musical journey. It is grand to hear a vocalist today who can do both well, giving the low rumble without the mind-numbing, Cookie Monster vocals entirely and the higher, faster register without losing all that he is saying. Trust me, the lyrics are meant to be heard on this one. Guitar wise, both Nate "N8 Feet Under" Garnette and Scott "Scunt" Hedrick pull off the double lead lines smoothly and lay tons of meaty, tasteful licks into the mix, keeping those long-haired heads bobbing. Both N8 and Scunt have a great ear for original hooks and appropriate placement, thus this guitar work and harmonies will have you humming these songs for days. The rhythm section brings the horsepower throughout the entire record and is the driving force behind these new songs. Drummer Derrick "Mullet Chad" Nau is a beast, whose double kick drum work ventures far beyond 32nd and 64th notes blast beats, giving a great sense of groove to the low end with tons of half and double times shifts, triplets, and straight 4/4 count single grooves. His tom fills and snare attacks set up the different tempos perfectly and can turn the mood of a song on a dime. Bass wise, Evan "Loosh" Linger reminds me a great deal of a player much like Steve Harris who can and does hold his own with the shredding guitars, while keeping things filled in down below. For me, highlights on this record include the uber epic, "Stand Fight and Die" and dark sounding "Released from the Catacombs" and "Gorge Upon My Soul."
Breathing the Fire is the total package, complete with great and synergistic artwork, lyrics, music, and attitude . From front to back, beginning to end, it is a strong album and another beacon added to the fog of heavy music in the future. Skeletonwitch is just getting started and the world should beware!-Andrew Bryant

Left Lane Cruiser All You Can Eat

2009-10-24T17:12:00.001-04:00

Left Lane Cruiser
All You Can Eat
purchase album here

Left Lane Cruiser is the real deal. They are blues at its best, filth at its finest, with just two men who are evoking enough inner demons to populate an entire circle of hell. Raising a ruckus, punching throats, and blackening eyes all the way from Ft. Wayne Indiana, Left Lane Cruiser makes a bigger and louder racket than most five-man operations, never once sacrificing songwriting or musicianship for the sake of bombasity.
Their third album, All You Can Eat, released on mighty Alive Records, is a great reality check for 2009; a raw, unabashed boogie and boot-stomp feel where everything sounds better when turned up loud, with a glass full of elixir. Deemed as "punk blues" by many, LLC lays it all out on the table from the word go with this release, with some of the most intense, in-your-face, and aggressive music out there today. With guns ablaze, guitarist/vocalist Frederick "Joe" Evans IV and drummer/noise-maker Brenn "Sausage Paw" Beck roll out of the gate with "Crackalacka" featuring squealing, overdriven slide guitar lines and a stuttered, "train" drum beat. Sending it straight to the bayou, "Ol' Fashioned" finds Evans falling back to his trusty old International resonator guitar with the perfect soundtrack for a hot and sticky, front-porch sittin', sweet tea-drinkin' southern Mississippi evening. Another highlight is "Black Lung" which takes a song that is somewhat reminiscent of the early Black Keys work, adds two tons of smoke, grit, and dirt to the mix, and brings forth a sound that is much thicker and heavier than any material that the Keys ever could imagine.
It's always great to see bands like this still releasing great music in a time such as this when laptops and ironic, hipster haircuts are flooding the mainstream of American music. Make no mistake of it, I doubt that you will ever see these boys in girl jeans and pastels, collaborating with Danger Mouse or Justin Timberlake. I suspect that they will keep getting meaner and nastier every time we see them. Thank God for that! -Andrew Bryant

Nathaniel Mayer Why Won't You Let Me Be Black?

2009-09-21T09:12:00.001-04:00

Nathaniel Mayer
Why Won't You Let Me Be Black?
purchase album

If I was a bettin' man, I could make a wager that most lovers of R&B music haven't the slightest notion as to who Nathaniel Mayer is. A cult icon and legend in the garage and soul communities around his home in Detroit, Mayer's biggest break came in 1962 at the age of 18 with "Village of Love." With a gritty,gravel throated voice and a raucous stage presence, his name remained in the underground rock and soul scenes throughout the country, only occasionally releasing an album on small, obscure record labels. As he reached his sixties, Mayer began to make more music and tour more frequently, eventually signing a record deal with Alive Records, a perfect fit for his eclectic sound and appeal. Before his death in 2008, Mayer and many of the Alive alumni, including members of Outrageous Cherry, The Black Keys, and the Dirtbombs, booked two sessions that would indeed be has last. Alive released the first of these installments, Why Don't You Give it To Me?, in 2007 and now has given us the second.
Like the first session, Why Won't You Let Me Be Black? is not crisp, clean, or polished. This session captured exactly what Nathaniel Mayer was all about: the moment and the emotion. The production for Why Won't You Let Me Be Black? is extremely lo-fi with rough edges, giving this album a laid back, improvisational sound. The contributing musicians match the grit and sass that literally drenches every syllable that emits from Nathaniel Mayer's mouth, making this album a statement in raw emotion where what you hear is what you get. When his voice wains and stretches to finish a line or hit a certain note, it strikes a chord deep within and you know exactly what is on his mind and in his heart at that particular moment. Musically, things are sparse and never overpower Mayer's vocal delivery. The right touches are added in just the right places whether it be simplistic percussive rhythms or an almost out-of-tune upright piano, exhibiting the strength and quality of musicians on hand. On a more somber note, knowing that this will be the last we will hear from Nathaniel Mayer makes this album even more of an emotional blast than it already is. -Andrew Bryant

09.09.09

2009-09-10T09:14:00.001-04:00

Mindy Smith-Stupid Love

2009-08-12T14:04:00.004-04:00

you can purchase it here
or come visit us live and in person
at
2615 Chapman Hwy

come see Copeland for free

2009-07-20T09:31:00.003-04:00

Saturday July 25th at 3 pm Copeland will be playing a live acoustic set in the store!
Come on down and meet the band

Astra The Weirding

2009-07-15T08:51:00.001-04:00

Astra
The Weirding
purchase album here

Every year there is a record that comes out of nowhere that absolutely floors me. Several years ago it was Witchcraft with their self-titled monster, resurrecting the classic Black Sabbath and early Pentagram sound and last year it was fellow Swedes, Graveyard doing nearly the same thing with even longer hair and an artillery of Orange amplifiers. With artists such as these, I was almost sure that anything I was going to go mad for in the future would indeed be from Europe, where musicians seem to do things the way they did when rock and roll was at the top of its game in the late 60's and early 70's. However, this year you can raise the flags, blare the trumpets, and bang a gong because 2009's discovery is actually from the good ol' United States of America. Hailing from the west coast of course (San Diego to be exact), Astra with their debut, The Weirding on Rise Above Records has taken listeners by storm and sent everyone into a frenzy to get their hands on a copy of this album. In fact, if you are at all curious at the end of this review, you should call and reserve your copy, because as soon as a shipment comes in, they are long gone by the end of the day.
Labeling Asta's sound as vintage would indeed be an understatement. Unlike a great deal of the bands out there that exhibit a retro vibe, Astra makes their own distinct music and doesn't borrow too heavily from any of their diverse range of influences, which include Meddle-era Pink Floyd, early Genesis, and King Crimson, all cloaked in the darkness of the Black, both Sabbath and Widow. Recorded and produced by the band themselves in their own Black Widow Studios in the Autumn of 2008, this album is arranged absolutely beautifully and evokes the rich instumental tone and song craft that only could have been captured by Astra in their own element. With five members all of the same mindset, Astra brings forth a sound that ventures far beyond the typical effect-laiden guitars, bombastic drums, and organ swells, complete with Moog electronics, Arp Odyssey synthesizers, mellotron, flute. and echeplex. The opening track, "The Rising of the Black Sun" serves as more of an intro of sorts and sets the tone of the album with windchimes, cymbal screams and scrapes, flute trills, and various guitar drones that build and expand into a creshendo that results in a driving tempo complete with a frantic rhythm section underneath soaring guitar harmonies and thick layers of synthesizer. Following is the title track to the album, which clocks in at over fifteeen minutes and is arguably the strongest song on the record. Both Richard Vaughan and Conor Riley's vocals harmonize perfectly overtop of the big, but never overpowering wall of instruments and sound eerily close to the tambor of David Gilmore and Rick Wright on Pink Floyd's epic, "Echoes", mixed at times with just a smidgen of Ozzy Osbourne's vocals circa Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Other highlights include "The River Under" which sounds as though it could have been plucked from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and the seventeen minute instrumental beast "Ouroboros", also known as the bastard child of King Crimson, Goblin, and Zombi.
What is most impressive with this paticular album is the strong attention that was paid to the detail and dynamics of the songs themselves, never getting too out control and leaving the space in between the cracks in order to keep the instrumentation from getting too busy. At the same time, Astra does an incredible job at keeping things fresh and avoiding redundantcy which is of immense importance on this album that falls just short of the eighty, yes 80, minute mark. Though a long record, it flows together perfectly and can hold the listener's attention through its entirety. The Weirding is without a doubt one of the strongest records for 2009 and a great introduction to Astra, a band that is no doubt just getting started. -Andrew Bryant

Dead Weather

2009-07-13T08:32:00.001-04:00

the Dead Weather Listening Party!!

Tuesday July 14th - Noon
Free Pizza and Sodas!!

Jack White's most recent project, the Dead Weather's story began when another of White's groups, the Raconteurs, was completeing a US tour with the Kills. White was ailing from bronchitis, so Kills singer Alison Mosshart sang most of his songs. After the tour ended,White and Mosshart enlisted Raconteurs bassist, Jack Lawrence, and Queens of the Stone Age guitarist, Dean Fertita, and the Dead Weather was born...

After releasing two very successful vinyl singles the Dead Weather's debut album Horehound is due out next week. Come see what all the fuss is about next Tuesday, July 14 at Noon. The Disc Exchange will provide some refreshments so come spend your lunch hour with us and sample Horehound, from the Dead Weather. Horehound will of course be ON SALE...

Brian Olive

2009-07-13T08:30:00.001-04:00

Brian Olive
Brian Olive
purchase here

Brian Olive's solo debut, released on the all-mighty Alive Records, is a warm, fuzzy adventure in the world of vintage, psychedelic soul. Part Memphis rhythm and blues, part British psychedelia from the Nuggets era of the 1960's, this album is the perfect complement to your summer merriment. Recorded and mixed by Brian himself on analog tape, this album screams a throwback sound along the lines of such artists today as A Band of Bees and The Blue Van. This album sounds so vintage that I can almost guarantee you that, like myself, you will have to keep checking the production and release dates to make sure that you haven't stumbled upon some long lost gem from yesterday. Olive sings, plays a multitude of instruments (guitar, keys, and saxophones to be exact), and drowns it all in thick, syrupy reverb that alleviates any of the modern era from seeping through. Joining him on this musical kaleidoscope are a revered group of musicians including Jared McKinley and Craig Fox of the Greenhornes, Mike Weinel of the Heartless Bastards, and Dan Allaire of the Brian Jonestown Massacre.
Opening the album with "Ida Red", Olive and company leave absolutely no wonder as to what kind of album that we are in store for; fuzzy vocals, background harmonies, and acoustic guitar rhythm lines that are eerily similar to the banjo attack of the Monks. Following suit, Brian brings several other mid-tempo garage numbers to the table including "The Day is Coming" and "Killing Stone." Shaking things up a bit, Olive and company add some blistering soul numbers to the pot with the Beale Street beat of "Strealin" and the open, celebratory choruses of "Jubilee Line" that could have graced the Stax label many years ago. Though one of the softer selections on the album, "Echoing Light" is the icing on the cake. The slow, acoustic subtleties, wind chimes, and percussive brush work make me want to fire up the tiki-torches and sip on some umbrella drinks out in the garden. What more could we ask for in a summer time album? -Andrew Bryant

Sunn O)))

2009-06-18T10:57:00.001-04:00

Sunn 0)))
Monoliths and Dimensions
Purchase album here

When it comes to Sunn 0))), we usually know what we are getting even before the first notes of the albums transpire. These kings of black-cloaked drone play heavy music and do so in two fashions, very slow and extremely loud. On nearly every recording, Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley unleash a sub-sonic attack on the eardrums with notes so low that we, as mere mortals, never knew they existed, that is until the fillings in our back molars rattle loose and our heads throb from the reverberation. Though not every one's cup of tea, Sunn 0))) has developed a very strong following that spans across the spectrum from lovers of heavy rock and metal, to noise, to experimental jazz nerds.
With their new album and seventh release, Monoliths and Dimensions, Anderson and O'Malley expand the Sunn 0))) sound and add more dimensions to the overall picture with the addition of strings, brass, and vocal arrangements. Not that they are changing much about their sound or getting soft on us however, because this is most definitely a Sunn 0))) album in all its glory, complete with a massive sound and dark overtones. Opening the album up in great form, "Agartha" features the classic Anderson and O'Malley calling card: down-tuned chords that seem to last for an eternity and are best consumed at an extremely high volume setting. This foreboding tale of the legendary city that lies at the Earth's core, features Hungarian vocalist Attila Csihar with a primal monologue that seems to be evoking some sort of prophecy from the old world that will open a direct vortex to this Land of the Living Gods. Csihar, who has worked with such black metal greats as Tormentor and Mayhem, brings forth a guttural and damn right creepy vocal performance throughout the entire album that makes Vincent Price seem like a Sunday school teacher and is highly appropriate for the dark imagery being painted by both Anderson and O'Malley. "Big Church" could easily be a long lost gem straight out of the Omen or 2001: A Space Odessy soundtrack repertoire, and features Earth's Dylan Carlson on guitar, a Viennese women's choir, and composer Eyvid Kang with brass and string arrangements, all of which add their own crucial layer to the mix. Despite several guests on this album, Kang seems to have the biggest contribution, with his string and brass work that sets Monoliths and Dimensions apart from the rest of the Sunn 0))) catalog.
This album is both brutal and beautiful; heavy as hell and scary as shit. It is the perfect accompaniment for a stormy night, a dark drive in the country, and a night alone with only candles burning. A word to the wise, however: when listening to Monoliths and Dimensions, don't let your mind play tricks on you, for it is only an album and the sounds you are hearing emit only from your speakers. Or do they? -Andrew Bryant

Scott H Biram

2009-06-08T10:26:00.001-04:00

Scott H. Biram
Something's Wrong/Lost Forever
purchase here

The Reverend Scott H. Biram can do no wrong in my book. Like any good parishioner, I will follow the good Reverend's lead in all things, from consuming my communion of whiskey and biscuits, not taking shit off of anyone who comes my way, and knowing that the good Lord, Jesus loves me just the way that I am. Like most who take Biram's word as the gospel, any and everything that he has released musically stands the test of time and constantly remains at an arm-length, ready to be consumed when and wherever the spirit moves me. Something's Wrong/Lost Forever, the newest testament in the gospel of Scott H. Biram, is just what the doctor ordered, the best of both worlds, conjuring the bombastic boot-stomp and the drunken heartbreak in all of us.
At face value, what is most impressive for a mere passerby is that, like everything he does, Scott pretty much handles it all on this album, from writing, to singing, engineering, producing, stomping, and hollering. This indeed makes the album all his own, the exact portrait that he wishes to convey in the exact way he wants, whether it be slapping us in the face or lending a friendly ear and warm glass of bourbon. Something's Wrong/Lost Forever is a much more laid back Scott Biram than what we have seen in the recent past, almost returning to the days of Preachin' and Hollerin'. Not that he has gone soft on us, no sir. It's just that there seems to be much more of an emphasis placed on the craft of songwriting, along with his overall grit and raw emotion. These songs include the laid back "Still Drunk, Still Crazy, Still Blue" and "Wildside" on which Biram seems to be channeling more of a Hank Williams feel than ever with more twang and drawl than you can shake a stick at. These tracks are plumb pretty at times, sad at others, and make you want to drown your sorrows at the bottom of the bottle. Once the sacrament has been consumed, there are plenty of rowdy moments on the album to get the blood flowing a bit faster, including "Judgement Day" where Biram preaches the gospel in his own twisted way and "I Feel Good" on which Van Campbell and John Wesley Myers of the Black Diamond Heavies add their own flair and burn the whole damn barn down in the process. Ending the album in the absolute perfect manner, Scott H. Biram shows his true blues and gospel roots and raises the spirits by giving an a capella rendition of Leadbelly's "Go Down Ol' Hannah", showing more soul than most R&B singers combined.
All in all, another great album by the man, the myth, the legend that is known as Scott H. Biram. His music brings together blues, rock, gospel, all in a punkass manner that appeals to an extremely broad variety of individuals, that are ever growing in number and variety even as we speak. I see this new album as propelling him into the league in which he belongs, especially in the circles that hold Hank Williams III in such a high regard. And make no mistake about it, Scott H. Biram is most definitely an outlaw whose music goes far above and beyond reflecting just that. - Andrew Bryant

Trainwreck Riders

2009-06-01T10:23:00.000-04:00

Trainwreck Riders
The Perch
purchase here

From the get-go, I thought that I had the Trainwreck Riders pegged. With the descriptors of country and rock, I was sure that they were going to be a more modern version of a Parsons Burrito Byrds conglomerate, yet I couldn't have been more wrong. Hearing their music for the first time threw me an instant curve ball, probably because I was expecting to hear upbeat shuffles with quirky pedal steel lines and instead was dished out a serving that was a bit more rock than roll. Hailing from San Francisco, the Trainwreck Riders consist of vocalist and guitarist Pete Frauenfelder, Andrew Kerwin on drums, and his brother Steve on lead guitar and vocals.
For the most part, this album is a modern cowpunk record that brings to mind obvious influences from this genre including the Meat Puppets and the Mekons. Part rock, but never over the top, the Trainwreck Riders are a pretty safe, middle-of-the-road bet that never gets too out of control on the volume and tempo end of things. Not a face-melter at all mind you, The Perch, though chocked full of momentary lapses with Dobro, lap steel, and fiddle, can best be described as an alternative country rock album with a sound that is highly similar to that of Built to Spill and Modest Mouse. Highlights include"Don't You Know", a track with an extremely laid back tempo that could seamlessly be added to any Modest Mouse record and "Chug Along", a soft, acoustic song complete with resonator guitar, brushes on the snare drum, and a warm, summer evening feel that makes you just want to put your feet up on the back porch and watch the sun go down.
Though not what I expected at first, the Trainwreck Riders have delivered an album that is perfect for the warm weather that is upon us. The Perch is yet another point chalked up in the plus column for Alive Records and I am sure that we will more from the Trainwreck boys hopefully soon.-Andrew Bryant

Wayne Hancock-Viper of Melody

2009-05-06T09:35:00.001-04:00

Wayne Hancock
Viper of Melody
purchase here

Like any good Southerner, there are a few things that I have no shame in taking a shine to. One being whiskey, the second is wearing cowboy boots year round, and the third is good country music. I am not talking about CMT, Nashville FM, or pop country. I am talking about the real deal country music that makes you want to throw on your cowboy hat and Sunday finest, grab your gal and head to the nearest honky tonk for a night of cold beer, two-stepping, and everything in between. Thank God there are still a few good souls still making a racket that has the twang, attitude, and gumption to still be considered true country music, artists who are keeping the sound and genre alive for those of us who prefer things the way they once were. A legend in the alternative world of country and rockabilly music, if there is such a thing, is Wayne "The Train" Hancock keeps the true country spirit alive with others including Hank Williams III. Hancock's newest album, Viper of Melody, is indeed some of the sweetest sounding music this year that will keep the toes tapping and glasses full.
Described as the "world's finest purveyor of juke joint swing", the album proves that he is indeed just that. This album swings its ass off and would it damn near impossible for anyone to sit still during a listen, especially in a juke joint. Vipers of Melody is the perfect backdrop for sitting belly up to the bar in dim lit room, illuminated only by the neon beer signs and swirling jukebox lights, and enjoying only the finest of frosty beverages with your best gal or gals. The music on this album is not "outlaw country" per say, but most definitely the music of outlaws. This music swings, Texas swings that is, and is not jazz by any stretch of the imagination. Mix in the perfect amount of blues and rockabilly influence and there you have the noise of The Train. If I had to sum up Hancock's sound with Viper's of Melody, I would have to say it sounds like Hank Williams Sr. fronting a paired down version of Bob Wills' Texas Playboys. The Train's voice has the perfect amount of twang and old-time grit to bring to mind the aforementioned godfather in country music in addition to other legends including Jimmie Rogers. Every song on Vipers of Melody except one was penned by Hancock himself and further proves his greatness in the songwriting arena. These are songs of good times and bad, heartbreak and hell-raising all bundled into one package that is surely to be one of 2009's greatest releases. Highlights for me include the boogie-woogie of "Jump the Blues" and "Freight Train Boogie", and the weeping steel lines and heartbreak of Jimmy Campbell's "Midnight Stars and You."
Do yourself a favor and get this record. -Andrew Bryant

Radio Moscow-Brain Cycles

2009-05-04T12:26:00.001-04:00

Radio Moscow
Brain Cycles
purchase this album here

Ah, remember a day when rock and roll was in its prime and just plain sounded the way it should; a day when guitars weighed a ton, hair was long, and the amps had knobs that were as big as pie plates. This was a day when you could still hear the hiss of the 2 inch tape on albums and bands could venture to the heavy end of the spectrum and not scare off the good spirited masses who were merely looking for a new album to throw on the turntables, space out, and expand both their mind and musical pallets. Fortunately for us, there are still musicians out there who abide by these creeds of the late 60's and early 70's, and could easily be considered contemporaries of their heroes, keeping great rock and roll alive in a world in which the majority of popular music has gone to shit. Hailing from Ames, Iowa of all places, Radio Moscow is one of these bands that does things right, from playing through vintage gear and joining forces with Alive Records, a label that can do no wrong in my book. Their newest album out of the oven, Brain Cycles, is a step above their 2007 debut with a greater confidence in both song-writing and musicianship.
I might be beating a dead horse by comparing Radio Moscow to Hendrix, however there is no denying the obvious influence that this music has on this album, from the guitar leads, tones, and effect choices. At the same time, Brain Cycles reminds me a great deal of other behemoths from back in the day including Cream, Blue Cheer, and the Groundhogs. Front man and guitarist Parker Griggs comes from a school of thought in which fuzz and wah are kings and the guitars are loud. Its a good thing too, because this young man has massive chops and an ear for the way rock and roll songs should be written. Chalk another one up in Griggs' column for his percussive work on the album, playing all of the drum parts himself. This leads me to the question, what can't he play? No kidding, there are hundreds of artists out there that would kill to have drum sounds like this, part Mitch Mitchell, part Carmine Appice. On the low end of things, Zach Anderson's bass lines are prime, tasteful, and in the pocket, perfectly complementing the guitar and drum work at hand. Brain Cycles is all about the driving riffs and psychedelic swells that will make the brain swim, swirl with an Are You Experienced? production quality. In fact I would almost require it to ingest Brain Cycles via a great pair of headphones.
Let's raise our glasses once again to Alive Records for bringing another of this year's best to the listeners. And most definitely hats off to the Radio Moscow boys for tapping into something that was in or added to the water back in the days when rock and roll was all about throwing on the cans, lighting some incense, and freeing ones mind. -Andrew Bryan

you wanted digital downloads

2009-05-01T10:33:00.001-04:00

we got 'em

Black Math Horseman

2009-04-22T10:33:00.003-04:00

Black Math Horseman
Wyllt
purchase this album here

As a fan of all that is considered throwback, psychedelic, doom, and stoner metal and just about everything in between, I usually jump at the chance to give a listen to anything that certain record labels have to offer. These aforementioned labels include Rise Above, Candlelight, MeteorCity, and most recently, Tee Pee Records. I have always loved the majority of the Tee Pee artist roster: everyone from Alive to Witch, Sleep, Entrance, and of course Graveyard, whose debut was my album of the year for 2008. Lately, it seems that Tee Pee, along with Alive Records, has had the golden touch, producing some of the best rock and roll that the world has to offer including Los Angeles quartet, Black Math Horseman who just released their debut album, Wyllt, joining elements of doom, psychedelic, and space rock in a dark cloak amongst a heavy haze.
Wyllt gets started with an extremely relaxed pace, with "Tyrant", an opening track that would be the perfect sound accompaniment for an opium den. All kidding aside, this song makes your head swim and your innards feel all warm with a hypnotic groove and guitars that swirl, swell, and snake around the droney, smokey vocals of frontwoman and bassist Sera Timms, who sounds to me at times like a melding of young Grace Slick and the clean vocals of Kylesa's Laura Pleasants. In many ways, Black Math Horseman reminds me of a much more laid back, doomier Kylesa in that they have a strong, but not cliche female voice leading the charge, they both can freak out psychedelically without getting too monotonous or obnoxious, and they pay close attention to the dynamics of their songs at hand, making the album flow for an easy listen. For the majority of the album, the pace remains constant, never straying too much from their calm, but massive sound. This sound is achieved by maintaining riff-oriented grooves established by Timms' bass and the heavy, almost tribal drumming of Sasha Popvic, joined together with the layered and dynmaic guitar work of Bryan Tulao and Ian Berry. This music is extremely delicate and beautiful at times, transending into tritone-based, Sabbath-influenced doom riffs, and returning back to the drones and swells that eventually dwindle to nothing.
Many, including myself, are having a difficult time categorizing Black Math Horseman. Are they psychelic rock? Are they doom metal? Whatever the case may be, they have achieved a highly distintive and addictive sound that caught the ears at Tee Pee records, the concert-goers at the 2009 South by Southwest Music Conference, and soon the world. -Andrew Bryant

Wolves in the Throne Room

2009-04-20T08:37:00.005-04:00

Wolves in the Throne Room
The Black Cascade
buy the album here

I can't really put my finger on what draws me to the music of Wolves in the Throne Room. Never being a huge fan of black metal, I was always reluctant to give them a shot, expecting to hear the same old chaotic shrieks and chest-rumbling blast beats regurgitated over and over again. What I found, however. was an extremely intelligent and enlightened band that goes above and beyond the traditional black metal subgenre, reach into their strong eco-spiritual belief system for direction and influence, in addition to bringing prominent elements of experimental and ambient music into the mix as well. Their music is beautiful and captivating, dark and heavy, and puts the listener in an almost trance-like state with some of the most unique music that is being released today. In my mind, they are as much like Mogwai, the Grails, and Red Sparrows as they are Burzum and Gorgoroth, appealing to vast amounts of eclectic music lovers across the boards.

With The Black Cascade, Wolves in the Throne Room are delivering the music that they have always desired to, very heavy and at the same time beautiful. Unlike their previous releases, Diadem of 12 Stars, Two Hunters, and even the Malevolent Grain EP, this album puts a great deal of the atmospheric experimentation on the back burner and is much more heavy and aggressive. Not saying that The Black Cascade isn't gorgeous, far from it in fact. Part of this great beauty lies in the primitive, minimalistic approach that the Wolves take with their sound throughout the entire album. There are no obnoxious guitar solos or machine-gun triggers blasting through double kick drum attacks in this music, rather it is layered and extremely organic, all of the different parts joining together for the overall sound as a whole. The four tracks making up the album that clocks in just over fifty minutes, are meant to be listened to as a whole and make it damn near impossible to decipher when one song ends and the others begin. The album is extremely dynamic, not getting as ambient as Two Hunters and Diadem of 12 Stars, however still maintaining the balance between the light and dark within the sound. Interspersed amongst the musical elements of the album are samples of nature including rain in the Pacific forests and the ringing of what sounds to me like temple bells or Tibetan prayer bowls. The Black Cascade sounds as though dark mountains, caves, streams, and forests that surround the commune on which Wolves in the Throne Room make their home are actually more responsible for this music than the players themselves.

If the earth were to speak, if the trees had a language, and if the elements communicated freely, these are the sounds that they would make. And I am sure that Wolves in the Throne Room wouldn't have it any other way.
-Andrew Bryant

Record Store Day at the Disc Exchange

2009-04-19T16:34:00.002-04:00

WILCO

2009-04-17T06:30:00.000-04:00

They will be at the store signing copies of their latest DVD Ashes of American Flags

for all the details check out the store site here

RECORD STORE DAY!

2009-04-09T13:35:00.003-04:00

Saturday April 18th from 9am to 9pm come on down and support your local record store!!
We'll have prizes, giveaways, sales, exclusive new releases and live music for most the the day
Sweet P's BBQ & the Copa Cabana will be on hand selling food and a quick thanks to Rik's Music and Backline Pro for providing the backline for the day!

here's what we have planned so far

12pm Van Eaton
1 pm Greg Koonz
2 pm Wilco - Ashes of American Flags DVD Screening with prize pack give
aways
3:30 pm Rockwells
4:30 pm Wild Sweet Orange
5:30 pm Tenderhooks
6:30 pm John Paul Keith
7:30 pm Cuttthroat Shamrock

Check out the store site for some more information

Heavy Hands Review

2009-04-07T16:18:00.001-04:00

Heavy Hands

Smoke Signals

Album Review

Heavy Hands snuck up and bit me on the ass. They came out of nowhere; I had no idea of who in the hell they were and had heard none of their music. I was intrigued merely by their name and unique album artwork, so I dug a little deeper and found one of 2008's strongest psychedelic releases flying under the radar. Signed to Drag City's Language of Stone Records, Heavy Hands are New York City, neo-psychedelic three piece that look backwards toward early 70's progressive rock and 1960's garage and psychedelia for their sound and inspiration.

In some circles and on several reviews they are cited as being partially a stoner rock/stoner metal band, however I have to go ahead and disagree. Don't get me wrong, a great deal of this record is made of of distorted riffs and heavy drones, yet doesn't line up in my mind at all with what is considered stoner metal. After listening to the record several times in its entirety, I can see where the attribute of "stoner" anything would come to mind. This album makes you feel a little fuzzy in the head and hazy in the vision department just by listening. Who am I kidding, you can almost hear the bongs ripping in the background. The best way I can describe the sound of this record is The Stooges meets Black Sabbath. There is definitely something about Heavy Hands that reminds me a bit of Dead Meadow, however things are amped up a great deal, more emphasis is placed on the groove element of the rhythm section, and the vocals pushed higher in the mix. The music itself turns out to be very conducive to the personal exploration of one's headspace. In a nutshell, this means that Smoke Signals is an extremely hypnotic album that you can easily get lost in. Highlights include "From Stonehenge", a heavily percussive trance-like track and "Can't See Through", that could just have easily been taken from the outtakes of Funhouse.

Good album. Not life-altering, but a great debut and way to get things going for Heavy Hands nonetheless.-Andrew Bryant

Scott Miller release party!

2009-04-07T13:32:00.003-04:00

He will be performing in conjunction with the release of his latest album

For Crying Out Loud
Monday April 13th at 7.30 pm
2615 Chapman Hwy
Knoxville TN

Henry's Funeral Shoe

2009-04-07T08:28:00.002-04:00

Henry's Funeral Shoe
Everything's For Sale

By now, the whole two-piece rock phenomenon doesn't pack the punch that it once did. It has been proven time and time again that two musicians can bring enough to the table to suffice for a full band sound and folks aren't as easily blown away as they once were. Therefore, bands that choose to go this route are forced to put a hell of a lot more blood, sweat, and tears into songwriting and musicianship just to stand out in the crowd. Like most other two-piece rock outfits in the Alive Records arsenal, Henry's Funeral Shoe remain deeply rooted in the blues rock traditions, at the same time bringing something refreshing and new to the genre with a great ear for hook-laden songwriting and tremendous musical talent.

In a nutshell, these Welsh rockers are not as gritty and don't kick you in the teeth as do several of their Alive brethren including the Black Diamond Heavies and Left Lane Cruiser. They fall more along the lines of early Black Keys, if the Black Keys grew up listening to a lot more of the Who and other British powerhouses. With Everything's For Sale, Henry's Funeral Shoe keeps things simple, with a large emphasis placed on the melody of the guitar riffs themselves and the tones used by guitarist/vocalist Aled Clifford. The guitar work is warm, fuzzy at times, and heavily steeped in the blues, reminiscent of early Peter Green and Marc Ford. Vocally, Aled Clifford sounds a great deal similar to the late, great Shannon Hoon and even a smidgen like Jon Spencer from time to time. Aled's younger brother, Brennig fills the percussive duties that are very heavy on the tom-toms and kick drum, which thickens the low end of things for the overall mix of the album itself. Highlights for me include, "Down the Line" and "Stranger Dig" that bring a Southern, delta blues feel in the mix, complete with mean slide guitar work that would bring a smile to John Lee Hooker's face. Another standout track is "It's a Long Way" which is much darker than their other material on the album, reminding me somewhat of a Morphine tune. Everything's For Sale winds down in the end with "Mary's Song", a beautiful, acoustic number complemented with light harmonica and brush work on the snare drum.

Henry's Funeral Shoe is a band that I have been hearing about for a while and this debut was damn sure worth the wait in the end. A band couldn't ask for a better sound than what was achieved on Everything's For Sale and I feel that they are only hitting the tip of the iceberg with this one. I am sure that Henry's Funeral Shoe and Alive Records have great things planned for us in the future and all we can do now is sit on our asses and wait patiently. -Andrew Bryant

Kylesa

2009-03-31T14:28:00.002-04:00

Kylesa
Static Tensions

I can't lie to you, it took me seeing them in a live setting to fully appreciate and enjoy the music of Kylesa. I took a chance and decided to see a live show and was hooked instantaneously with their massive sound and high energy, both of which I felt were missing from their records. Not that their first three releases were bad, I just never could quite grasp what they were trying to do. I liked what I was hearing, but it never floored me and I always thought that it could easily be so much better with just a little tweaking. With their fourth and newest album, Static Tensions, this Savannah, Georgia five piece have remedied this, evoking the gods of thunder with one of the best releases for 2009 thus far and is right on par with what they deliver live.

As with their previous material, it is extremely difficult to pinpoint what kind of music Kylesa can be categorized as. Part experimental, part sludge, part psychedelic stoner metal; they are big, loud, and full of piss and vinegar. It is heavy music at its finest, with massive amounts of percussion(having two, yes two stellar drummers), heavy guitar work, and brutal vocals from two very distinct vocalists. The album gets things started out just right with "Scapegoat", with a thunderous groove established by drummers, Carl McGinley and Eric Hernandez. Now is a great time to praise to these hitters of the skins, who provide the driving force behind the entire album, with effective poly-rhythmic play and tribal unison sessions which makes this album one of the best by far in terms of percussive work. Guitarist/vocalist and founder Phillip Cope lay down a heavy pallet of fuzzy guitar noise and chunky riffage that thickens the stew and adds more to the overall power of the album itself. Guitarist/vocalist Laura Pleasants puts most men in the metal world to shame with her guitar work, perfect tone choices, and lead lines that pour out of her Les Paul GoldTop and snake through the thick, meaty wall of heaviness that is barreling out of control, full-throttle for the majority of the album. Laura's vocals range from full-on growls to clean tonal vocals that are treated almost like another instrument in the mix. Cope's vocals are a bit more one dimensional and gruff, providing a great contrast with the others on the record. Like a lot of great heavy albums, all of the tracks bleed into one another and listens better as a whole than broken up into parts. Highlights include "Said and Done" and "Unknown Awareness" with a lead guitar line that will worm its way through your ear and ring in your head for days after.

If you like heavy music, you will like this record. Something for everyone, from speed freaks to lovers of psychedelic post rock. Kylesa has truly found itself with Static Tensions, therefore things are looking great for their future. -Andrew Bryant

you can purchase the album here

SUPERDRAG!

2009-03-13T08:22:00.003-04:00

We have the new album for sale today plus swing by this afternoon from 6-7 for a meet & great with the band.

Zombi-Spirit Animal

2009-03-09T14:26:00.001-04:00

Zombi
Spirit Animal
Album Review
purchase it here

I am not going to beat around the bush, Zombi is weird and I would not prefer them any other way. Fueled to by two creative minds from Pittsburgh, influenced by the music of Goblin and the horror movie soundtracks from John Carpenter films, Zombi brings forth some of the greatest neo-progressive, cinematic space rock that continues to mesmerize metal heads, movie geeks, and music lovers from all across the spectrum and bring them back thirsty for more. Zombi was always a guilty pleasure for me, but lately I have met so many individuals who are literally mad about this music, loving every minute of its synth soundscapes and poly-rhythmic percussive work. What I love most about Zombi, is they love what they do and are consistent in the music they make. With their third full length, Spirit Animal, they bring music that is intense, beautiful, and could easy be used for a suspense/horror film circa 1981.

With Spirit Animal, Zombi is both bombastic and intricate, exhibiting obvious influences far beyond the Goblin/John Carpenter dichotomy, ranging from Tangerine Dream, Yes, and even a hint or two of early Gabriel-era Genesis. Compared to the rest of their catalogue, Spirit Animal sprinkles a bit more space/prog rock into the mix, still remaining true to the overall cinematic effect of the music itself. This album mixes together the perfect goulash of atmospheric swell and dramatic contrasts, progressive rhythms and dark cheesiness that would tickle the fancy of any prog/metal head, horror movie buff, and stereotypical music weirdo like myself. The opening track, which also serves as the title track is very large and almost regal sounding, as if it were announcing the arrival of something gargantuan, for instance the large, stampeding bull elephant as depicted on the front panel of the album. The record moves on to tracks that are much more progressive, some sounding close to the accompaniment to a long-lost video game of the 1980's. Most of all, what Zombi and Spirit Animal are is a breath of fresh air; something new and different in a day where most music sounds the same and a reminder of how things once were in the worlds of music and horror cinema.

-Andrew Bryant

The Urges Review

2009-02-26T20:23:00.000-05:00

The Urges
Psych Ward
Review

Throwback rock and roll seems to be pretty popular these days. Like most folks who enjoy rock and roll the way it used to be, I am sucker for a good band that sounds as though they could have been around back in the 1960's and 70's. In the case of The Urges, I am still trying to figure out if they really are a modern band, and not some long-lost Nugget from the 60's garage era. Both the band's look, sound, and production quality looks and sounds absolutely nothing like anything that has been around in the past 40 years. Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, The Urges are Little Steven Van Zant's newest endorsement and are very deserving of his praise.

The Urges' Psych Ward is what it is: a great rock and roll record in its purest form. These young Dubliners aren't trying to be ground-breaking and innovative with this release and thus makes it an even stronger album. With twelve tracks, Psych Ward clocks in at 35 minutes, with most songs under the three and four minute marks. The one exception is "The 13th Floor", a slower, more psychedelic song that tips the hat to the 13th Floor Elevators, which almost reaches five minutes. The album opens up with with a bonus track, a raucous version of "Jenny Jenny" which would make the Sonics mighty proud. Another highlight is "The Urges Theme", which adds some surf-rock to the mix.

For those who want a great, consistent garage rock album that could have easily been released in the mid-sixties, The Urges are a safe bet. Loud and rowdy garage punk at its finest. -AB

Black Diamond Heavies Review

2009-02-26T20:21:00.000-05:00

Black Diamond Heavies

A Touch of Someone Else's Class

Review

There is something about the Black Diamond Heavies that commands attention. This two-piece monster, hailing from Chattanooga, TN/Louisville, KY, brings with it one of the biggest sounds out there, mixing together a concoction that is equal-parts blues, soul, punk, gospel, and gritty rock and roll. Together, John Myers and Van Campbell as the Heavies meld their musical influences into something that sounds like Tom Waits and Middy Waters presiding over a junkyard revival with a communion of corn liquor and razor blades. Their second album, A Touch of Someone Else's Class, tones things down just a smidgen bringing a more "Memphis meets Detroit" record. The music will still make your heart pound and the sweat pour, but will make the ass shake a bit more than their previous album. Not taking anything away from either, both are very unique and offer a different side of the Heavies, yet still maintaining their highly distinctive sound.

Released on Alive Records and produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, A Touch of Someone Else's Class, finds the Black Diamond Heavies embracing the soul end of the spectrum, with an album that grooves more and is not as bombastic as the previous. However, as with all of the Heavies' material, the sound is loud and overdriven and the music seems like it could break loose and get out-of-control at any moment. With the opening track, a rawkus version of Tina Turner's "Nutbush City", kicks the album into high gear. The Heavies also pay homage to several of their other influences with covers of T-Model Ford's "Take a Ride" and Nina Simone's "Oh, Sinnerman" which is one of the strongest points of the album, a very sparse track with an infectious eighth-note pulsation from John's keys. His voice is as gritty as ever on this album and his keyboard work includes more B-3 and upright piano along with his trusty old Fender Rhodes. Campbell's drums sound huge and thunderous as always and provide the perfect grooves and pallets for the songs to build upon. Other highlights include "Bidin' My Time", a slower reminiscent song in which Myers' voice melds into that of a heart-felt crooner and "Happy Hour", a piano-bar boogie that is the perfect end to the album that makes you want to raise your glass, hoot, and holler.

Alive records and the Black Diamond Heavies have done it again with some of the best material to date in 2008. The music is raw and the sound is bigger than most bands with twice as members as the Heavies. Anyone who is in awe of two-piece bands such as The White Stripes and The Black Keys need to give a listen to anything the Black Diamond Heavies have to offer.-Andrew Bryant

Top 10 CDs for the week

2009-02-23T08:22:00.002-05:00

of 2-16-2009
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
Kings of Leon Only By the Night
Morrissey Years of Refusal
Young Jeezy Recession
Red Innocence & Instinct
Beirut March of the Zapotec
Hollywood Undead Swan Songs
Redistilled 25 Years of Knoxville
Fray Fray
Dark Was The Night (Red Hot Compilation)

Crickettes!

2009-02-20T09:12:00.002-05:00

we've got them back in stock sour cream & onion, bacon & salt 'n vinegar flavors

Elder Album Review

2009-02-16T20:34:00.000-05:00

Elder

Elder

Album Review

Anyone who knows me well enough will tell you that I am indeed a sucker for heavy, throwback music. If its sounds like something that would have been blasted through a Laney or Orange stack in the 1970's amidst a thick, smoky haze, I will more than likely enjoy it. Most recently, I discovered Elder, a three-piece from Fairhaven, Massachusetts, whose self-titled debut was just released on Meteor City Records, the official in-house label of StonerRock.com. Unlike many new found gems of late, this album does not sound note-for-note like something from the founding fathers of heavy metal that blasted the ears of the late 60's and early 70's. Instead, Elder adopts the tones and basic riff structure of these behemoths of yesterday, gives their own spin on the music, and makes it much, much heavier. This album breathes more early Sleep than Sabbath and is your quintessential stoner/sludge/doom metal hybrid along the lines of Electric Wizard. However, if you are looking for a new take on the whole stoner rock sound, don't expect to get that out of Elder. They do what they do and do it well I might add, sticking to everything that is attributed to this sound from almost any band in the subgenre. Each song clocks in above the seven-minute mark, with the entire album flowing together as a whole much stronger than if you looked at each song individually. Thus, it is extremely hard to pick out a favorite or highlight track from the five song album that weighs in at over 40 minutes of music.

Musically, the album is thick and meaty with heavy riffs that are well established throughout, often taking presidence over the lyrical and vocal elements within. The tempos range from slow to medium pace, often changing course several times during the album's extremely long tracks. Their rhythms are pretty simple and add to overall sludge feel of a great deal of the music, with a heavy emphasis on the crashed ride cymbal patterns and distorted bass lines that you almost feel more than hear a great deal of the time. Elder uses a production quality that is not over the top at all, keeping things loose and almost lo-fi at times, and seems to have recorded a great deal of this live in studio with minimal overdubs. Added layers of sparse keyboard work, acoustic/classical guitar, and fuzz harmonies add another dimension to the music and the sound of the album, broadening the horizons beyond your traditional three piece fare. Some of the sections in which the organ is featured brings to mind an almost Type O Negative feel, which might sound strange in this stoner arena, but honestly works quite well. Vocally, Elder pulls off a mid-range dirge, sounding similar to Al Cisneros of Sleep and, at times, Lemmy from Motorhead. The vocals are sparsely placed and take the backseat to the heavy riffs and massive weight of the music itself, as is the case in most stoner rock/metal endeavors.

Elder's self-titled debut is a great addition to the collection of anyone who enjoys great heavy music, whether it be rock or metal. They stay within the boundaries of what makes a great heavy, hazy release and are beginning to earn a place at the table with other greats in this circle. Again, no new territory is covered with this release, but who are we kidding? Those who try to stretch the boundaries too much are cast out and thrown to the curb for the Metal Gods to devour. -Andrew Bryant

the Features

2009-02-14T10:12:00.003-05:00

Start your evening out right
Come see the Features play tonight at 5 pm
2615 Chapman Hwy

What is your favorite romantic film?

2009-02-14T09:51:00.000-05:00

Dirty Dancing
The Notebook
Casablanca
Notting Hill
When Harry Met Sally
An Affair to Remember
Titanic
let us know what your favorite is!

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T08:27:00.005-05:00

stop in for those last minute gifts. We have a great selection of romantic movies on DVD, music to set the mood and love rats everyone needs a love rat for Valentine's Day!

Brimstone Howl Album Review

2009-02-08T15:17:00.002-05:00

Brimstone Howl

We Came in Peace

Album Review

Lincoln, Nebraska four-piece, Brimstone Howl might just be "an ass scratch away from the truth." Their fuzz/reverb laden goulash of punk, garage rock, and blues just might be part of the answer to the lame state of affairs in the mainstream of American rock and roll today. Produced by Detroit's Jim Diamond and released on Alive Records, who seem to have the golden touch in my book, We Came in Peace is a Frankenstein album if you will, a mixture of several different and eclectic musical influences from the days when rock and roll still meant something and had a larger place in society. We could just have easily seen the Brimstone boys sharing the stage in the CBGB heyday with the Voidoids and Television, but no one is criticizing or complaining. Hell, better late than never.

With this high energy record, Brimstone Howl seems to be living by the Viv Savage mantra: "Have a good time, all the time." This album starts things out with a full throttle, keeping it wide open for the majority with up-tempo, out of control songs that flow together like a Ramones concert using quick transitions and similar chord progressions. You hardly get a chance to catch your breath as one track ends, when the next one comes barreling out of the gate, kicking you while you are down. Make no mistake however, this is not strictly a punk rock band or album. The sound is more of an amped up Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins on speed, with a hint of garage psychedelia and dirty blues. Vocalist John Ziegler reminds me of a mixture between Richard Hell, Tom Verlaine, and Lux Interior (R.I.P.) of the Cramps, with a bit more of a blues swagger at times. The guitars, along with vocals and everything else at one time or another, is drenched in reverb, keeping things echoing at every moment on the album and adding to overall vintage feel. The tones are fuzzy and dirty, with thick rhythms and soaring lead lines that whine and snake in and out of each verse and chorus. Rhythmically, drummer Calvin Retzlaff is the driving force throughout the entire album, with his four on the floor and fast eighth-note snare and floor-tom grooves. Apart from the music itself, the lyrics really caught my attention and are indeed in the spirit of great rock and roll. I mean, how can you go wrong with lines like, "Said the big red rooster to the mother hen- I'm back the shit again." Probably my favorite passage comes in "The World Will Never Know", a psychedelic narrative that sounds similar to the early work of the Electric Prunes, and states, "Her mother gave me a red glare of millennial loathing, so I gave her one arrogant finger. And I covered her porch in gravel. That made the correct impression." Come on now, how much more rock and roll can we get? For me, it is not the fast paced, make-you-sweat songs that stick out, though they are mighty fine indeed. Personally, I feel that the songs that stretch the influential boundaries take the cake and make the record much stronger indeed. These include the aforementioned "The World Will Never Know" and the psychedelic blues in "Easy to Dream" and "Obliterator." What comes to mind first with "Easy to Dream" is the Velvet Underground in the heroin years, complete with a hypnotic eighth-note feel among the sleigh bells, piano, and tom-toms and guitar lines that fall in and out of tune and tempo. "Obliterator" seems to channel a big Canned Heat influence with mainly spoken, sometimes howled lyrics that could easily be a personal take on Conrad's Heart of Darkness. No shit, this track is like John Lee Hooker speaking of his own "blood rituals of the Congo land" and is just the kind of color and spice that gives this album its cherry on top.

Bravo to Brimstone Howl for doing something different and giving us more of the rock that we all once loved. Do yourself a favor, if you love old rock and roll, garage, punk, and the blues, lend this band your ear and definitely check out anything that Alive Records has to offer. They do things right in the way it used to sound back when rock and roll was much stronger. One can only hope that bands like Brimstone Howl and entities like the good folks at Alive will keep it going to hopefully see things come full circle. It is about damned time. -AB

because nothing says Valentine's day

2009-02-07T15:23:00.003-05:00

quite like a love rat...

Antony & The Johnsons

2009-02-03T18:27:00.001-05:00

performing live at the Big Ears Festival this weekend in Knoxville
Live at the Bijou on Saturday February 7th enter to win tickets here

Serpent Throne

2009-02-03T15:25:00.003-05:00

Serpent Throne

The Battle of Old Crow

It seems almost cliche to attribute a band as sounding like Black Sabbath, especially if you listen to half of the bands that I do. However, it is nearly impossible to critique the sounds of new doom/stoner rock and metal bands such as Witchcraft, Electric Wizard, Blood Ceremony, and Graveyard without drawing some sort of comparison to Sabbath and other pioneers in the field including Pentagram, Coven, and Black Widow. What first grabbed my attention with this small new release of last week (1/27/09) was the large sticker on the front of the album reading, "For fans of Black Sabbath and early Scorpions." Hmm, sounded just like my cup of tea. The name Serpent Throne didn't hurt matters either, so I decided to give it a listen. What I found with Serpent Throne was one of the most authentic sounds and approaches to the whole 1970's revival with no vocals whatsoever and some of the best guitar work that would give founding fathers among the likes of Tony Iommi and Richie Blackmore a run for their money.

The tones on this record are what first hit me like a ton of bricks. This Philadelphia four piece has done their homework, kept things simple, and might really be on to something. I don't miss vocals at all and feel that this instrumental format really gives the listener the freedom to draw their own conclusion with the album. Unlike many other similar bands today, I hear more than just heavy drones and slow tempos on this record. With this album, much like their debut soundtrack to Ride Satan Ride, Serpent Throne focuses as much on the 70's boogie element as they do the heavy blues riffs. I hear much more than just Sabbath on this record, though there is no denying the strong influence that they have on the sound, especially in the guitar work. Both Demian Fenton and Don Argott, are monster players and have honed their guitar tones to complement each other in the all instrumental format here. Neither overplays and each gives exactly what is needed to make things sound big and thick, at the same time making the lead lines harmonize well and soar over top of the songs' main riffs. Apart from the obvious love of Black Sabbath, I also hear a great deal of Deep Purple, Leafhound, and Cactus coming through especially in the rhythm section. Drummer Sean-Paul Fenton and bassist Colin Smith keep things loose on the low end and keep the record moving throughout with a great pocket feel that is never rushed or forced. Unlike most records, it is nearly impossible to pick a favorite track and, to be honest with you, it is hard to notice when one track ends and the other begins. Not a bad thing per say, but I find myself getting lost in the record and not looking up until the album has concluded. The whole thing flows together near perfectly, with a great attention to dynamics and tempos.

Like their first album, this record would make a great soundtrack to a 70's biker/outlaw film and would be the a perfect companion to riding a motorcycle across the desert in the middle of the night. So let your hair down, crank your chopper, and load your bongs. All in all, this record sounds like stepping back into 1973. -AB

Bruccce!

2009-01-28T14:10:00.003-05:00

the Boss is back with Working on a Dream

need Lucero tickets?

2009-01-28T09:10:00.001-05:00

check out the DE store site and purchase some here.
The show is February 21st at Barley's!

Ben Nichols

2009-01-26T09:39:00.000-05:00

Ben Nichols

The Last Pale Light in the West

find the album here

Part Springsteen, part Steve Earle, part punk-rock country troubadour, Ben Nichols has always represented something that lies deep within all of us, whether it be heartbreak, angst, or reminiscence, and puts it to music and lyrics in a way that makes you say, "hell yes, I have been there." With Lucero, his whiskey soaked tales of love, loss, and everything in between have become a staple in the musical favorites category of an eclectic group of music enthusiasts, mixing rowdy rock and roll with heart-wrenching elements of country music, giving them a kick in the teeth and a light for their Marlboro Red. Nichols' writing comes from first-hand experiences and that is one of the biggest factors in the success of his song writing. These songs are extremely believable and after hearing his delivery on record and at live shows, you feel as though you have indeed lived them yourself. Every Lucero record is unique in its own right, yet still maintains the overall synergy of the band itself. Though their new record is slated for later in the year, those of us who have come to love this Memphis band were thrilled to find out that Ben Nichols' solo release, The Last Pale Light in the West, is some of the first great music that 2009 is going to offer.

Ben took a different direction with this eight song album, putting aside his personal narratives and basing the entire record on Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, a.k.a. Evening Redness in the West, one of the most violent and controversial novels in all of literature. With his voice gruff and borderline gravely, Nichols is the perfect narrator of this dark tale from one of the most famous Southern Gothic novelists of all time. For this mini-album, Ben strips things down to the bare bones, with the majority of the work being from his acoustic guitar and vocals. For depth and color, he employees Rick Steff (Cat Power, live touring Lucero member) on accordion and piano and Todd Beene (Glossary) on peal steel and electric guitar. This musical sparsity creates the ideal pallet on which the story is told, each track illuminating a different character from the novel and the personal story that they have to tell. The struggle between good and evil, as it is in the novel, is one of the main aspects to this release, both in the tone and subject matter of the songs. The opening and title track of the album begins with a stuttered acoustic guitar line and whole-note piano chords as the pedal steel literally weeps. Beginning with this was the right move, as it is some of Nichols best lyrical work to date. With passages like, "And I ask for no redemption, in this cold and barren place; still I see a faint reflection, and so by it, guide my way," he strips things down to the meat and potatoes of the situations at hand, accurately describing what he desires with little to no fluff. The seven songs following each focus on an important character to the novel itself, with lyrics and tones that exemplify their corresponding personalities and storyline. "The Kid" tells of the main character, who was born in Tennessee in the mid-19th century and seeks more in life, as he travels west and joins a group of bloodthirsty mercenaries who are devoted to a life of slaughtering Indians, Mexicans, and everyone else in their path. The music of this track features a heavy emphasis on the accordion and piano, giving the song a sea-faring feel, which symbolizes the travel and adventure surrounding the life of the protagonist. For me, "Chambers" is probably the most Lucero sounding song on the record, with similar structures to some of my favorites including "The War" and "She Wakes when She Dreams." The closing track to the album, "The Judge" is an instrumental piece depicting the antagonist of the novel and arguably one of the most evil characters in all of literature. This track is extremely dynamic, tense, and ominous, with drones, swells, and chordal contrast that give an auditory life to this character who embodies everything that is vile and malevolent.

Though only eight songs long, The Last Pale Light in the West, is a masterpiece and the perfect representation of the literary greatness of one of Knoxville's most famous transplanted-sons. Ben Nichols really makes this Western-of-sorts come alive with his music and song writing, creating a great listen for those who are Lucero fans, and fans of rock and country music in general. If this is any indication of what we have in store from the new Lucero release, I am sure that we are in for one hell of a record. But make no mistake of it, The Last Pale Light in the West holds its own among those full band releases and is a great solo effort from one of the best song-writers in the business. -AB

Drive-by Truckers

2009-01-21T10:03:00.002-05:00

want to see them at the Valarium on January 29? Try to win tickets here

Hacienda

2009-01-21T09:33:00.001-05:00

Hacienda

Loud is the Night

It seems that as of late, there are countless artists that are chasing after that throwback sound from the 1960's. Some have got the market cornered on sounding authentic, keeping true to the ways of their forefathers in respect to production and song craft. A handful of these artists do an excellent job and keep the music fresh, while others seem to get bogged down in trying to sound too vintage and sacrifice songwriting and the overall flow of the album. Hailing from south central Texas, Hacienda is one of the very few bands who sound as though they truly could have been transplanted straight from the 60's pop/rock/garage scene, write hooks that you can swear that you've heard before, and deliver some of the best vocal harmonies that hold their own with today's releases and the music from way back when.

What sparked my interest first about Hacienda, before even giving it a listen, was that this album was produced by none other than Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys) and was released on Alive Records, both of which were responsible for two of my favorite albums in 2008, The Black Diamond Heavies and Buffalo Killers. However, the album is nothing like what I expected it to be. Unlike the Heavies and Killers, Loud is the Night is laid back and delicate, full of vintage pop sounds that are indeed groove oriented, but never over-driven or distorted. The album's production sounds as authentic as the songs themselves, leaving everything open and airy, relying heavily on the layers of acoustic instruments and background vocals that are carefully placed far back in the mix, just as it would have been done in 1965. The record is mixed somewhat quiet, bringing the album that low fidelity sound that is a must in achieving what they do. The opening track, "She's Got a Hold on Me", grabs your ear with a stellar fuzz-bass tone that sets things up and is the perfect way to kick things off for Hacienda. Though the album is steeped in Beach Boys style influence throughout, this one gives things a nod to the early Kings of Leon sound with a bit of the power pop feel similar to that of the Velvet Crush. Changing gears, Hacienda follows up with "Angela", that could easily be a long-lost Zombies gem, complete with distant oohs and ahhs that complement that lead vocals. This aspect of the band is, in my opinion, one of their strongest selling points. Of course, being comprised of all brothers and one cousin really brings the tight vocal harmonies to the table, as it is almost always the case that family members sing best together.

This album has been flying under the radar and often, as in my case, gets overshadowed by the other releases from Alive Records that are a bit rowdier. Loud is the Night is anything but loud, and that in itself sets Hacienda apart from other artists that look towards the 60's for influence. They embrace the subtleties of the music rather the raw grit, focusing heavily on the layers of vocal harmonies and complementary instrumental parts, creating a sound that is light and relaxed. A perfect listen and new discovery for those who enjoy rock and pop from the 1960's and those who have embraced the sound of newer artists, such as The Strokes and the Redwalls. -AB
preview some tracks and buy it here

Marc Ford

2009-01-12T13:28:00.001-05:00

Marc Ford
Neptune Blues Club

My Lord, does guitar playing get any better than Marc Ford? Now, I know that many of you are asking yourselves right now, "who in the hell is this Marc Ford?" Well sir, he is the man with one of the best guitar tones that your ears will ever be graced with and is one of the most tasteful players to date, on any end of the spectrum. Some might remember his long stint with the Black Crowes (lead guitars on Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, Amorica, and Three Snakes and One Charm), others might remember him from his early days in Burning Tree, and some might have seen him briefly with Ben Harper. Marc is doing his own thing now and has never sounded stronger. His newest album, The Neptune Blues Club does not disappoint, bringing elements to the table that will satisfy the pallet of any rock/blues fan and absolutely any lover of great guitar work.

Don't get the wrong idea about Marc, he isn't a noodler. He can get more feeling and emotion out of two or three bends and slide licks that others can't even come close to with all their tapping and thousand-note-per-minute runs. Like everything else Marc Ford has released, I am immediately impressed with the songwriting and vocals that he has, sounding a bit like Bob Dylan at times, Tom Petty at others. Aside from being a Jedi with his guitar, Marc is a pretty darn good front man and crafter of albums to boot. The Neptine Blues Club, released on Blues Bureau International is far from a straight-up blues record. However, it is Marc's most bluesy release to date, mixing some funk and Stonesy sounding material into the mix that stretches beyond the traditional 12-bar progressions. Highlights for me include "Go Too Soon", a bar-room boogie-woogie number which could easily have been a track from a Stevie Ray Vaughn record and "Don't Get Me Killed", a down right dirty song that has some nasty slide guitar trading licks with a over driven harmonica.

Whether you are a lover of old rock and roll or the blues, you will undoubtedly love the newest release from Marc Ford. The Neptune Blues Club has got it all, complete with dirt, soul, and little of everything else in between. As always, Ford delivers some of the best guitar work from any release in 2008 with this one and makes the horizon look a bit brighter for those of us believe that rock and roll should stay what it is, or rather what it used to be .
--
Andrew Bryant
-Garage Deluxe
"Southern Pentecostal Junkyard Boogie"

Best sellers for 2008

2009-01-06T11:18:00.003-05:00

check them out here and you can also check out some employee favorites here

did you watch Charlie Brown last night?

2008-11-26T07:34:00.003-05:00

if you missed it drop by the store today and pick up the dvd you can watch it tomorrow with the family!

Top 10 CDs for the week

2008-11-24T08:41:00.000-05:00

each and every week our top 50 is on sale in the store and here is the top 10 from last week
Nickelback "Dark Horse"
Mudvayne "New Game"
Beyonce "I Am Sasha Fierce"
T.I. "Paper Trail"
AC/DC "Black Ice"
Taylor Swift "Fearless"
Zac Brown Band "Foundation"
Kayne West "808S & Heartbreak"
T-Pain "THR33 Ringz"
Sammy Hagar "Cosmic Universal Fashion"

cold this morning?

2008-11-21T08:35:00.000-05:00

we have hats & gloves to keep you warm...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2008-11-19T13:14:00.000-05:00

more and more everyday!
Come on down and fill those stockings at the Disc Exchange!

get a jump on christmas

2008-11-12T10:45:00.000-05:00

we have a great selection of television shows on DVD in store now at incredible prices!
From ER, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Carnivale to Dallas, Oz & Entourage
come on down to the store and check it out! Quantities are limited

mark your calendars!

2008-11-10T19:19:00.000-05:00

looks like Record Store Day is slated for April 18, 2009!
We'll be looking for some bands to play if you are interested please let us know!

Beth Stevens

2008-11-07T09:57:00.000-05:00

live today at noon recording artist Beth Stevens will be performing live!
we wil laso have free pizza & drinks