EXPERIMENTAL HIP-HOP TRIFECTA: Clipping / Death Grips / frateleNORD

As you might be aware by now, TZEEEAC has become a filthy hipster-ridden hole on the internet, where the mainstream is pretty much shunned in favor of the underground, the obscure, the hidden and (at times) the occult. We have specific, yet all-encompassing tastes - as long as they fall within the limits of the weird and the heavy. Electronic music? Sure, but it has to be about futuristic robots beheading each other with laser gauntlets in a neon-lit post-apocalyptic urban nightmare. Classic rock? Maybe, but is it sung by a Japanese band whose members can barely speak any English yet insist on writing lyrics in the same language? Industrial? All for it, as long as it's produced using actual industrial machinery (looks like I forgot to write about Author&Punisher and GOG). Pop music? Sounds great, but it has to be weird and noisy, with lyrics that read like Juno's personal diary. 

Hip hop ain't much different - actually, no, it has to be for me to even touch it. There's nothing especially interesting to me about regular gangsta rap or shitty MTV glossy rap. I don't even like Kanye West. No, my favorite hip-hop acts are weird, cutting edge artists that have dedicated their lives to reinventing an entire genre, smashing its tropes and making it fascinating again. Below are 3 of 2014's hip-hop albums which are mandatory listens. Incidentally, these artists are also able to bring Marco and I together for awkward white guy hip-hop dancing, much to the collective embarrassment of anyone around us. TURN DAT SHIT UP.

Clipping have merged two genres which I never imagined would come together: hip-hop and noise. Good news is, they're both expertly done. Under the appearance of a smooth, technically flawless delivery, this dude is spitting out lyrics about chopping hands off, sitting on the porch of your ghetto place shooting motherfuckers for looking at your daughter the wrong way and dancing around in a night club until you're thrown out on the curb. The rapping is then laid out on a nail bed of harsh, abrasive noise, sounds of shattering glass, crashing cars, crumbling bricks and drilling machines. No, I mean it, these dudes have manages to construct hip-hop beats out of random noises and it's the most badass thing ever. They even have one song where the MC raps over a digital alarm clock. You know the noise that has plagued your childhood mornings and possibly even your shitty adulthood? These guys have taken it, subdued it and made it their bitch. They have curb-stomped hip-hop, cut it up and now they're wearing its bloody skin and parading around the hood. Either hide forever or come out in submission, because hip-hop can never be the same again. IT'S CLIPPING BITCH.

Death Grips are the de facto terrorists of the hip-hop scene, blowing up its conventions and mutating it into something gruesome and fascinating to hear. They're big favorites of the TZEEEAC crew since they started out and we were surprised, just like everyone else, when Death Grips dropped another unannounced album earlier this year. I wasn't surprised, though, to find out it's even more fucked up and pushes even more boundaries than their previous efforts. Niggas on the moon is their most schizophrenic album to date. MC Ride's lyrics are as abstract as I've come to expect and he sounds like he's legit mentally ill (in a good way?), and the beats he lays his vocal tracks over are crude concoctions of little bits of noise, static, primitive drum licks and chopped up glitch samples of Bjork's vocals. Yes, that Bjork. She said she's excited that Death Grips decided to use her voice throughout this album and so should you. This is Death Grips at their most creative and they have made sure they will be remembered as such - they have decided to call it quits while they're in their prime. After a short musical career full of publicity stunts, deliberately missing concerts and just generally fucking with their fans every which way, Death Grips disbanding with no warning and literally announcing it via a note on a dirty napkin is so part of their modus operandi that I'm not even upset or disappointed. I was in on it the whole time. I do what my people would.

Finally, here’s one from our own Romanian cesspool, the enigmatic bros known as frateleNORD. They started off as a pretty tame experimental hip-hop duo, albeit with a very recognizable, stream-of-consciousness type lyrical approach. These days, I don’t know what the fuck they’re doing. Their latest album is 33 tracks of hermetic, backstreet philosopher, drug-induced gangsta rap that will throw you off the loop. Simple but effective beats lay the groundwork for Cleg’s abstract, often surreal lyrics that will be forever lost on me. I have no idea what he’s talking about and I’m fine with that. The music is so damn enjoyable, perfectly fit for walking around the city at night, while taxis whiz by you, that I really don’t care that I might not “get it”. For all I know, there is nothing more beneath the surface, so why try digging up meanings that might not even be there? BĂ!

Enabler - La Fin Absolute du Monde (2014)

Gonna keep this very short because I'm busy tonight, but I've been jamming this every day this week and it's the shit. Basically, Milwaukee's Enabler play a vitriolic blend of hardcore punk and grindcore with some pretty obvious nods to thrash metal here and there - and they somehow manage to make it sound fresh and exciting. La Fin Absolute du Monde is the latest album in their already impressive discography and it strikes the perfect balance between melody, groove and heaviness. It's fast, violent, majorly pissed-off, dissonant and will splatter your brains across the wall with its sheer aggression. Perfect match between puke-your-guts-out vocals and brilliant guitar work, with some oddly restrained drumming. If New Life doesn't have you ripping your clothes off, destroying your fucking room in anger, going to your local government branch and just starting to punch everyone there, you are dead inside.

SHOW REVIEW: Sam Evans Band

Following a time frame that included sore muscles, a rather self induced back injury, fever, inability to speak properly due to an inflicted laziness of the vocal chords, I somehow managed to crawl into a local pub (during one of my better days) and attend a show ran by these fine gentlemen here. 

Apparently it wasn't their first time in Romania, as they've previously recorded a record on our beloved wonderlands and even given it a romanian title. What music they play, you ask? Well, as themselves describe it, it's a mix-up with elements taken from Jazz, Soul, Blues and Reggae. They sometimes play acoustic, sometimes electric, but it seems to me that no matter what the style, their songs sound just as great.

That's because they're the type of people that were simply born to write and perform music and while they share very young ages, their souls are unmistakingly old (and I say that in a good way). The music is passionate and delicate at the same time, technically proficient, with actual (and great) lyrics, and most of all they can relate to the crowd. I don't know exactly if Sam's voice was affected that night, but he had that raspy tone only a two-pack-of-cigars-per-day-smoker-twenty-years-down-the-line could have, which suited the compositions immensely. And dare I say, they have one song that I bet Sting himself would wish he'd have written: it's called 'How we should be loved', it's found on their CD's and they also played it live (I couldn't find it on Youtube, but it's present on their official page).

What I can give you are two of the better suited audio recordings out there and you can hear for yourselves what the gig is about, or you can switch directly to http://samevansmusic.co.uk/ for some high fidelity stuff (and I highly recommend you look up 'How we should be loved').

P.S: One could not leave their show without purchasing not one, not two, but four of their CD's! Great stuff guys, hope to hear from you again next year, and hope you don't mind that I stole one of your pictures for this review :). 

Other useful links for you all:

Sam Evans Band - Facebook Page

Sam Evans - Youtube Channel

HIGH SPIRITS "You Are Here" LP (2014)

HIGH SPIRITS is just about one of the most unique heavy metal bands hitting it right now, in 2014. To say that they play 80s high energy rock would be a crass understatement, as you would probably say "bah! just another retro act! they come by the dozen". You couldn't be more wrong, as these Chicago swingers, commanded by the Mozart of headbangers, Prof. Chris Black (SUPERCHRIST, DAWNBRINGER, PHARAOH) manage to play no-fills all-chills heavy metal the way it was intended to be played and make it sound like it was played from the heart, not from the costume.

After a series of demos, there came the debut "Another Night" LP (2011), which was just about the best album released in 2011, back to back with swedes GRAVEYARD's "Hisingen Blues". It was the heavy metal dream come true, sounding out of this world all thanks to mastermind Chris B. 

"You Are Here", to put it simply, is just more of the same, but not necessarily in a bad way. It doesn't feel like HIGH SPIRITS are trying to top their own game, they just stick to the formula that made them what they are: harmonic guitars, the superb vocals and the melody in itself. The only thing that makes this album not be better than "Another Night" is that "Another Night" sounded very fresh to me when I first heard it, it had its own sound very well crafted. "You Are Here" is just like that, minus some memorable choruses and melodies, but it really lacks in the fact that it's all been heard before, it doesn't really bring anything new to the table. I really enjoy it but, again, it's more of the same.

I really wished for this album to blow me away like the first one did, but I can't complain, because it still is a very well crafted piece of music, yet it needs a couple of replays for it to get on your good side.

8/10

HAVE NO FEAR OF THE DEVIL: King Dude - Fear (2014)

"Folk singer turned rock'n'roll for Lucifer"

For the first time since I've been listening to his music, I feel the above description, which can be found on his Bandcamp page, finally suits King Dude's style like a studded leather glove. I don't necessarily mean the last bit - His Dudeness has always been all about holding hands with the Devil. But Fear is the album which finally unlocks the real rock'n'roll in his music.

For those of you unfamiliar with King Dude, his music could be described as dark folk and it's mostly just him, an acoustic guitar, lots of  reverb and unsettling lyrics dealing with the occult and feelings best left seeping in some deep corner of the soul. His latest album sees King Dude trade his acoustic guitar for an electric in more than one occasion and there's no denying that this is the loudest and noisiest his music has ever been. The groove factor is also turned way up on Fear and many songs, like Demon Caller Number 9 or Bottomless Pit, will make you feel like doing the boogie in a graveyard at midnight, dancing with witches and skeletons under the pale moon light. Other times, the music is strangely hip and radio-friendly, like on the beautiful and melancholic Never Run, a sentimental ode for the girl that's always there, no matter what. That's no surprise, as King Dude was always really good at conjuring fantastic, imaginary love stories (Barbara Anne from the Burning Daylight album is a great example, a love declaration set in a dark and gothic Wild West). The song which would satisfy the Devil's desire to headbang the most is definitely Fear Is All You Know, a menacing and electrifying piece that opens up the album on a threatening note and which ends up being one of the highlights of Fear and probably one of my favorite songs from His Royal Dudeness entire career. I probably shouldn't forget to mention that his voice is as gorgeous as ever, able to go from bitter rasps to loving whispers and always able to convey emotions and, more often than not, a weird feeling of dread and unease.

Barbara Anne, Lucifer Is the Light of the World, Jesus in the Courtyard and River of Gold will always be my favorite songs from this stellar singer and composer, but I'm happy that Fear has turned out to be such a good album, even though it feels different from his previous work. It goes through many different moods, from menacing to pretty (woah, I forgot to mention Maria, another excellent song from this album) to loving to depressing to eerie, but it manages to be a coherent and entertaining experience and a worthy addition to King Dude's solid discography.

With light,

Chester

POST #666: Lord Mantis - Death Mask (2014)

EY KIDS WASSUP?

I’m briefly back from the corporate trenches (it’s brutal out there) and, seeing as it’s been more than a month since I’ve written something on here, I figured I’d do well and contribute to the festering pit that TZEEEAC has become. I’m having a really hard time mustering enough energy and motivation to write here on a regular basis, but one post every once in a while is doable, especially as I’ve amassed a pretty hefty backlog of stuff I wanna share and talk about.

Also, this momentary return to form happens to be the 666th post on TZEEEAC, so I thought “hey, what better way to celebrate this milestone than with some fucking horrible death metal album that will creep everyone and their dog out?”

Thus I give you Lord Mantis. A relatively new death metal outfit bred in the sewers of Chicago that have gained quite a bit of accolades for their efforts, especially 2012’s Pervertor. This year, they have returned with their third album, Death Mask, and a lot of people seemed to have lost their shit about the cover art, mainly because there’s a dong on it. The artist responsible for this nasty painting is none other than Wrest aka Jef Whitehead aka that dude from Leviathan and more importantly Lurker of Chalice. It’s pretty cool, I guess, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the cover art on Pervertor, penned by the mighty Justin Bartlett aka VBERKVLT and which featured deformed creatures feasting on the remains of some sort of crucified Jesus-like abomination. Not sure why I just typed this entire thing, but you should definitely check out Justin Bartlett’s stellar work. Do so while also listening to Lurker of Chalice and now we’re in business.

As for the music itself, Death Mask is a really weird beast and the best I can describe it is a filthy, gooey mixture of death metal, oozing sludge and earth-shaking drone with a hefty dose of doom metal and some odd bits of noise and industrial-type stuff thrown in. Most of the time, the riffs are fuzzy, very repetitive, pummeling as fuck and drowned in reverb. The drumming feels like being run over by stampeding mammoths and the vocals are some of the most infected, distorted and vile snarls I have heard on an album this year. The songs are long enough to allow these combined elements to reach their full potential and effects and a complete listen of Death Mask will leave you feeling weakened and disgusted. Album closer Three Crosses brings in some – dare I say? – beautiful guitar leads, but the most fun I’ve had with this opus lies in the first three tracks, which caused me much dismay and also made me wonder if maybe Lord Mantis are pioneering a new genre of music situated at the crossroads between drone, noise and death metal. Body Choke is especially brutal – it feels like being choked and stomped on for nearly 9 minutes with no respite. Love every minute of it.

Not sure yet if this album will make my end-of-the-year list (although I’m convinced many online publications will have a rightful spot for it on their lists), but you should definitely check it out because it is one of the more unique-sounding death metal albums I’ve encountered recently and it’s oppressive enough to remind you of the first time you listened to Wormphlegm.

Year of No Light - Tocsin (2013)

Year of No Light struck a particular personal chord for me with their previous release Ausserwelt. Their unique blend of sludge, doom and post rock, all held together by a drone background and layers upon layers of dueling guitars, that album was a different kind monster (especially the first half). 

The same formula is kept on Tocsin, with zero vocals and two drum sets as distinctive marks from these french lads, however its a slower, more brooding journey than Ausserwelt ever was. Tracks such as 'Desolation' and 'Stella Rectrix' serve the listener from a meditative point rather than anything else metal related and while all the elements are there to form a great album, I simply can't shake the feeling that they held back on the melodies somehow. Dare I say it, Tocsin feels like the second installment of a triptych, serving a higher purpose than it originally lets out. 

With all that said, should you be interested in this release, you may want to also direct your attention to the aforementioned Ausserwelt. I'll leave a sample from each, just in case I've left you undecided about these guys.

Tristania - Darkest White (2013)

Following last week's trend of 'albums that I didn't quite got to listen to', time has come for the latest LP from Gothic doomsters Tristania to take the spotlight (more than a year after its actual release).  And while myself, just as other metalheads around, suffered from cringed induced nausea after hearing their 2010 Rubicon, I was also 'fortunate' enough to hear them live at that time and realized that passing judgement at such a point in their career would be unprofessional to say the least. As such, I decided to wait for a second album in their newly found formula.

And I'm glad I did, as 'Darkest White' finds the band in a more relaxed posture, each member having settled comfortably in their role, with productive ideas being put 'pen to paper' and actual metal songs being recorded, rather than chugga-chugga riffs with pop vocals thrown over them at random. Mariangela's voice sounds appropriate to the whole ensemble now and they did right in balancing correctly the three types of vocals present on this album (male harsh, male clean and female clean). Hell, there are even some songs where Mariangela doesn't even appear and this says much about the effort put in to create a coherent album rather than relying on her image to generate sells.

With this said, what we get is an LP comprised of eleven focused songs that range from 'good' to 'tastefully delicious' to 'damn it that chorus just rocks!' to 'holy shit dat headbanging riff!'. While not a masterpiece by any definition, 'Darkest White' is a turning point for the new and modern age Tristania crew, one that starts in full force and gradually gets better up until the ending moments. Which, in turn, makes me eager to hear what they will come up with during the following years.

Desiderii Marginis - Procession (2012)

I'm starting to catch up with albums I've put off for quite a while now and first to go is Procession, the 'latest' (since it's already two years old now) offering from my favorite ambient artist, Johan Levin. If you're not familiar with the project, here's a review of one of his previous albums I did sometime ago. Take it with a pinch of salt.

'Procession' is, by right, quickly identifiable for anybody who has listened to DM before. and I'm happy to report that the style portrayed here is somewhat closer to the first released albums. The sound is somber, without any apparent hooks or bravados, yet it works well as the core structure is retained to electronic instruments only, throwing way any and all real life similarities one might think of (well, aside from the title track with its infectious melody). It will simply drone, buzz and churn away in an off-beat key, always leaving room for more.

And that's why I like it as much as any of Johan's previous efforts, even if it might not equal them in complexion or originality.

BLUNTLUST: Tumbleweed Dealer - Western Horror (2014)

Where do you go when you've been shot in the stomach and vultures are already circling your soon-to-be corpse? Where do you hide from the Southern Reaper, who rides upon his skeletal steed, with a scythe in one hand and a shotgun in the other? How much peyote is too much? And how much exactly does an ounce of tumbleweed cost?

Fear not, for the Tumbleweed Dealer has returned stronger and more baked than ever to answer all of these questions. At the border between the Wild West and drug-induced psychedelia stands Seb Painchaud and his gang of ghoulish cowboys, all bearing arms, pipes and enough weed to make Al Cisneros sense a disturbance in the smoke. Western Horror is the band's second album, released just today, and, if you know what's good for you, you have awaited this album with trembling hands and heavy breathing. Was it worth the wait?

HELL YEAH BITCH!

Tumbleweed Dealer might have just perfected a new genre of music that I have decided to call country-doom, even though it reeks of many other delicious flavors. There's a lot of late-Earth influence going on here, as Seb Painchaud conjures an intricate weaving of shamanistic, Wild West-tinged riffing with some bluesy hues and tons of melody, complimented by some insanely groovy bass work and simple yet atmospheric drumming. I sort of knew what to expect, as I have listened to their previous work A LOT. Hitting play on the album's opener, aptly named Bluntlust, has managed to blow me away. The entire song exudes summer vibes through every note and you think you're in for a fun ride, but things quickly take a turn for the sinister with Slow Walk Through A Ghost Town. From that point on, Western Horror constantly changes gears and alternates between moods, but one thing remains constant: the band's penchant for creating mesmerizing tunes that could be the soundtrack to a spaghetti Western horror movies about skeletal cowboys and ghastly rancheros. Repetition and various motives are used with confidence and grace and, by the time the album was over, I realized I ended up loving this band even more.

Tumbleweed Dealer is like the bastard son of Earth - they sucked on Dr. Dylan Carlson's tit enough to get a taste of the country drone they have professed in their recent years, but then they broke into daddy's medicine cabinet, took a few sips of whatever they could find in there, grabbed the family shotgun and went out to terrorize the West. Western Horror is their best work yet and one of the most exciting albums to come out in 2014 so far. Lock'n load!