Lostprophets - Start Something (2004)

Delving once more into the alterno/nu-metal/screamo/whatever bucket of obscure records I listen to almost on a daily basis (but wait, we’re talking about Lostprophets, so I guess they’re not that obscure after all!), I bring you this sophomore effort of this welsh band, meant for tearing up t-shirts, painting your dog pink, drinking expired milk and wearing your grandma's underpants while you’re running down the street screaming “We are Godzilla, you are Japaaaaaaan!!!”

Basically, this is a very energetic album with the obligatory ballad thrown in here and there and a very cool instrumental outro, but that’s just about it; yet somehow I feel compelled to recommend this to anyone, since it contains songs that remind me of the times when I was a kinder and all I did was sit around playing Need For Speed all day. 

So yeah, for those moments ‘Start Something’ packs a great punch, but if you’re looking for more complicated music, you might as well check out my death-by-doom reviews or whatever. In the meantime, I am Godzilla and you are Japaaaaaaaaan!!!

About ELECTRIC WIZARD

Well, I have descended to talk a little about heavy overlords Electric Wizard's popularity. They have stretched out riffs, some not quite good, some eerie vocals and occult themes.. kind of a deja vu when it comes to metal... But oh they are so awesome, not only for being the best at this shit, but for being the first to do this!

Don't get me wrong, I am an Electric Wizard fan and have been for quite some time, precisely, since I first listened to "Night Of The Shape" back in 2007 and was completely blown away, it was the creepiest shit I have ever heard. And yes, they might actually be the heaviest band I know, and that is something very admirable (No, I don't listen to Sunn O))), thank you very much ). But there's something that bothers me, Electric Wizard have a damn huge fanbase, tens of thousands of people know about EW only on facebook, and I'm cool with the fact that they are popular, but they're not THAT good, seriously. And the thing that bothers me is that most of their fans are silly stoners, that use them the same way we use Pornhub, because it pleasures us in that dirty, dirty way.

For example, "Dopethrone" and "Funerapolis" are EW's most popular songs, they're just an orgy of heavy riffs and whatnot, and both have over one milion views on Youtube, yet this band has waaaay better songs, that are more awesome riffs and creativeness, and less drone-doom-bass-420, but are leeeeesss popular. So it's pretty obvious which kind of fans are dominating here. Let's compare "Funeralopolis" to, say, "Come To The Sabbath" by Mercyful Fate, the latter one has almost as many views (give or take a couple of hundred thousand views, what) and is one of the best heavy metal songs in history, it has all sorts of cool shit, includin maestro King Diamond's amazing vocals, yet the Electric Wizard song is just there so that silly silly stoners can get their kicks... it's a damn shame.

Tl;Dr: No, it's not about the popularity and mainstream-ness, just about quantity of fans over quality of fans.

Samsara Blues Experiment - Live at Rockpalast

While everyone's busy marching around saying Tzeeeac is shutting down, please allow good ol' Jonathan to be the one to bring you the latest industry news, this time involving a band that was already featured in our beloved webzine. But since their good, who am I to deny them?

Back in February, Chester did a show review for these guys (in case you missed it, here’s the link) and now they’ll be releasing an audio record of their live gig at, well, Rockpalast obviously (which is a German music TV show), dated Oct. 2012. And if my oh-so-death-metaller colleague was granted with the honor of seeing them live, I’ll just have to make due with this record here, courtesy of the guys being extra nice and offering us a sneak preview of the album, so we could joyfully crank the volume up to 11 and annoy the hell out of our neighbors!

To keep things short, what we have here is one hour and fourteen minutes of stoner bliss, filled with heavy grooves, a thick desert-ish sound (although somewhat exotic in its own way), followed immediately by an acoustic rendition of the song Singata Mystic Queen, akin to a sweet cherry on top of an already exquisite cake.

The live disc is set for release on the 25’th of April, 2013 (yes, that’s TODAY), so you better keep a close eye on their bandcamp page; meanwhile, here’s the filmed version to quench your thirst for stoner blues experiments.  

Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain (2006)

Possibly the quintessential Marco black metal album, Ashes Against the Grain by Agalloch is a true masterpiece of atmospheric black metal with post-rock and shoegaze elements. I'm 99% sure that Marco would have no trouble at all listening to this and that he might actually enjoy it during a forest trip. After all, the music is as far removed from black metal as possible, with only the tremolo riffs reminding us of its ancient ancestry, as well as the slightly growled vocals, which are more soothing instead of grim and threatening. Also, there are is no obnoxious Satanic imagery to be found here. Only blissful lyrics about nature, mountains, lakes, forest and walking naked through the snow. It's okay, Marco, there's nothing to be afraid of.

I might see them live in about three weeks or so. If I do, I'll be sure to write a long-winded report of that magical evening. Until then, I leave you with their bandcamp page. Shhh... no tears, only dreams now.

O)))

This is it, everyone. The moment I've been expecting all my life. EVERYTHING Sunn O))) have ever released, available on bandcamp. There is nothing else to want. Effective tomorrow, TZEEEAC is shutting down forever*, because I am going to spend the rest of my days secluded inside a cave while listening to all of this stuff. Yes, I'm a huge Sunn O))) fan.

WOULD YOU LIKE A CUP OF DRO))))))NE?



*just kidding

Black Sugar Transmission - The Glamour Pantomime (2013)

We’ve received loads of submissions in the last months, but none as peculiar as this one (from my point of view, at least). They describe themselves as being a ‘’highly destructive electro-rock’’ band, which might sound awesome to you but threatening to your grandfather, even after a life-time of shouting at innocent hippies.

As I was saying, Black Sugar Transmission are an odd bunch. The Glamour Pantomime is a blend between really, really high-pitched electro-sounds (in the spirit of Crystal Castles), alternative rock and Placebo on a fuckton of cocaine. It’s catchy, mesmerizing, colorful and so full of energy that I found myself fist pumping at 3 A.M., enslaved by the hypnotic trance that this album threw me into. And it's not like I wasn't hyper and obnoxious enough already. Thanks a lot, guys.

What's really nice is that you can distinguish the ''machine'' from the ''organic'' - in that you can actually hear some fucking instruments. The ''rock'' element is not there just for the show. The awesome guitar riffs and drums blend perfectly with the electronic rhythms, making for a fast, high-pitched electronic roller coaster that you'll never want to stop. Well, maybe just for their next album. You're not stopping here, right? Right guys? Guys?

So go check them out, and don't you dare speak to us until you do that.

Bandcamp

Facebook

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YVOVM5Ijis

A TZEEEAC INTERVIEW: Kissing Contest

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Austere - To Lay Like Old Ashes (2009)

Today's Marco black metal feature is Austere, a project of the highly prolific Australian musician Tim Yatras. This has got to be one of my favorite black metal albums ever, for several reasons:

• It's atmospheric as fuck. 
• Despite being sometimes labeled as depressive black metal, it's probably some of the most uplifting-sounding black metal you will ever hear. 
• The drumming is super nice, full of various fills that manage to keep things interesting for the whole duration of the rather long tracks. 
• The vocals, man! Creepy, melancholic and uniquely melodic, Tim Yatras' pterodactyl shrieks complement the beautiful music perfectly. 

Sadly, Austere's output was limited to only two full-length albums and a handful of small releases. I will tell you right now, this music is downright addictive and it's perfect night-time listening so, if you crave more of it, allow me to direct you to Germ, Tim Yatras' latest solo project, which is just like Austere, except infused with electronic trance music. It is just as amazing as it sounds. 

http://eisenwald.bandcamp.com/album/to-lay-like-old-ashes

New Wave Of Sleazy Chips (NWOSC)

I never know what to expect from Chio Chips, sometimes they make good shit (Xtreme Wasabi, Salt and Vinegar of even the controversial Mint Chips, which I enjoyed, please don't fire me), but they've had their fair share of stupid stuff (Xtreme Chilli and Xtreme Curry, whose hottness was obliterated by that of the mighty Wasabi). On that note, the Wasabi ones are my favourite chips of all time I guess, not necessarily for the taste, but for actually being fucking spicy and very hard to eat, unlike most "Hot" chips. Pringles have something going on with spiciness too. Now, for our feature presentation:

Translation: "New flavours, irresistible, obey"

Chio Chips Hot Wings

Well, the hot wing ones are quite alright, for starters. The flavour is an ok choice, and the taste is cool too, but there are three problems with this. One, Chio already had the popular Chicken Flavour, which are actually better that this shady (slim?) remake. Two, the package says the're supposed to be "hot", and they are most certainly not. And three, the one thing that bugs me the most with them, and one of the reasons that I am probably not going to buy these a lot, is the fact that once you eat a bag from start to finish all by yourself (you're going to, anyway, I am fond on lonely friday nights, filled with chips and cheap horror flicks or the latest big bucks drama show via the Internet), your finger get fucking covered in that fucking flavour, and, unlike Cheetos or any other bag-food, that shit stays with you for quite some time. No matter how many times you wash your hands, that repulsive chicken wing smell (that's goon on chips, but not on finger tips) sticks, and you have to live with that for a couple of days. Ungh.

Chio Chips Shawarma

23rd July, 34°C, 12:15 PM. Your Motorola 2006 phone wakes you up, it's fucking noon, and outside you can find the highest temperature there can ever be ever. You throw on your best white undershirt, stains included, some colours nobody's ever heard about. Your Dacia 1300 awaits you, grill in the back, 6-packs of Bucegi in the front, official beer of Romania. You pick up as many friends as your 70s Romanian car can hold, so about 7 or 8, and head for the nearest public forest in town. Amazingly, you manage to find a place of unhabited natural paradise, so let's cook some fucking weiners and mici. Sunflower seeds and all, you just can't wait for the meat to cook, and the manele blasting in the background only makes you hungrier. If only there can be something that tastes horribly sleazy and cheap, and can be eaten with mayonnaise. Stop.

What about those 10 bags of Chio Chips Shawarma you just bought last night?

Glorious day, you find yourself and your 7-8 friends stripped naked, fighting like animals for the shawarma chips, clawing at eachother and making unheard-of sounds in the virgin wild. One will survive and win the chips. Hours pass, the ritual continues. No one hears your pack. Victory, you are the one. You are the best. The Day is over. Feast. You have succeded. 

They're not that good though.

La Chinga - La Chinga (2013)

Part of what makes TZEEEAC this great is our email address. Sure, it may not look like much - just your ordinary, run-of-the-mill, somewhat lame Yahoo! virtual postbox. But inside it holds an ever growing number of emails from various bands across the world, sharing their music with us. Most of the time, their music is great. Sometimes, it's weird and confusing. And a select few times, the music we receive is so undeniably awesome that we can't help but feel privileged that its makers have deemed us worthy of spreading it around. This is one of those times.

First of all, I did some googling and I can somewhat confidently state that La Chinga would roughly translate as The Fuck. A ballsy move for sure, naming your band like that, but you know what? These guys have the cojones to pull it off. Hailing from Vancouver - that is, indeed, in Canada, which you all know I think is one of the best exporters of metal on the planet, and I don't mean aluminum railing - and making their fulminating debut in the metal scene, La Chinga are a power trio on a mission: to kick your ass. Fueled by what I can only assume is a strict diet of steak, beer, tequila and strip clubs, these dudes unleash a fucking maelstrom of 70s flavored, honest to Satan rock'n'roll that will stomp you to the ground. Not unlike their Canadian brethren You Handsome Devil, who operate in roughly the same manner.

As soon as you hit the play button, you are smacked dead in the face with an entire arsenal of rock'n'roll weaponry: dirty, overdriven guitar riffs with razor-sharp hooks and some bluesy vibes, lyrics about getting drunk and fucking shit up, tight drumming and some really great wailing vocals, all topped off with a generous serving of sizzling hot guitar solos. There are no weak songs to be found here: every single one of them is a rowdy party anthem that invites yelling and wanton destruction. They even managed to surprise me by sticking a stoner-bluesy rock song reminescent of Kyuss right in the middle of all the craziness, just to keep everyone on their toes. I also have to give them props for the excellent production work: the whole album sounds very professional, despite it being a self-funded, self-released effort.

Like I said, our email address is great. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful guys in La Chinga for sharing this with us even before it was officially released. As far as debut albums go, it doesn't get much better than this. Way to go, dudes!

PS: This might not be the last time you hear about La Chinga on our beloved blog...

3rd Ear Experience - Peacock Black (2013)

Well, this is something I thought I’d never see, space rock recorded in the desert!

Simply put, these chaps decided to disconnect themselves from the real world and set up an individual studio in which to document this beast of an album; because at only four tracks that spawn over 75 minutes, this release took me a little while to digest.

At times, it reminded me very much of Causa Sui and their Summer Sessions albums (see the review here); following a similar pattern, 3rd Ear Experience ‘wrote’ their music over the span of just a couple of days, doing so mainly by improvisation. And that, in my humble opinion, is what represents the core of an artist’s imagination: to be able to let yourself go of everything else and just be there for what you really want to achieve is by no means a small feat. 

With regards to the music itself, the four tracks treat the listener from an alternative perspective, as each one seems to represent a movement inside a whole. The first track, The Surface Of Last Scattering, brings out the big guns, being probably the one with the heaviest groove. This is greatly complemented by Peacock Black, second in line and the most chilled-out of the four. One might think that crossing over the twenty two minute mark could get boring, yet I’ve never felt that.

These guys don't seem like boring people, do they?

The other half of the album follows basically in the same fashion, alternating between heavy and slow in the most deft of ways, with light synth touches placed as a background for the instruments. All in all, it’s a release that never disappoints, although in order to fully understand what 3rd Ear Experience accomplished here, one must be completely detached from the world and must leave the album to soak into one’s brain - pretty much what they wanted from us from the start. Personally, I’d recommend listening to this release late at night, just before going to sleep. It actually leaves the impression that you’re in a dry field, stargazing with the best of them. 

With that said and done, we thank the guys once more for providing us with a great listening experience and gladly recommend that you check them out either at cdbaby or iTunes. Meanwhile, here’s a brief excerpt of the title track in order to tickle your music loving senses.

deafheaven - Roads to Judah (2011)

Guys? Hey guys?

I'm getting hella into hipster black metal or, as I like to call it, Marco black metal, because I always imagine that this is the kind of black metal Marco would be able to listen to without hiding under his bed in fear and perhaps even enjoy it. Marco black metal is melodic, emotional, highly atmospheric, it usually has raspy vocals with clean vocals  always being a possibility, it has tons of tremolo-picked riffs and it definitely has some post-rock and shoegaze influences. Marco black metal bands include deafheaven, Agalloch, Wolves in the Throne Room (he even reviewed one of their albums back when we were writing in our native Black Language of Mordor), Fen, Alcest, Liturgy and maybe even these assholes, who didn't even name their band and instead use a black bar as a name.

Expect to see a lot of posts about these bands in the near future and also some stuff about drone metal bands. Shit is about to get real post-modern in here, bitches!

Today we start with the aforementioned deafheaven and their debut album titled Roads to Judah. If you've ever wanted to hear black metal played by people who look like extras for the show Mad Men, this is the band for you and this is their bandcamp page. Look at those fucking hipsters!

Mother Unit - Brain Massage (2010)

Yet another space rock/progressive/psychedelic/whatever album brought to you from the depths of the almighty internets, courtesy of Tzeeeac members delving deep into the underground and searching for quality releases for you minions to listen.

Denying the use of vocals, Mother Unit leaves the music to speak for itself and I’m glad they didn’t choose to overcomplicate things. While they bring nothing new to the table, I found this LP to be more relaxing than ever. For you who enjoy comparisons, Brain Massage sometimes felt strangely related to Ufomammut, although there are no 'visible' similarities between their music. I don't know, maybe it's the electronica underlinings that reminded me of the dubious vocal effects Ufomammut treat their albums with, or maybe just not.

The last track, From The Source - Into The Mind, is the one that grabbed my attention initially, being a little off-key compared to the rest of the album, focusing more on the groove side than anything else. It's trippy, chilled out and somewhat instantly gratifying. 

But enough of my ramblings. I'll just link to the first track and you can take it from there.

P.S: This review was brought to you by a wireless network connection aptly titled 'Your Mother' and written during an ad-hoc filming session in a local pub. How cool am I?

3 More Things That I hate About Music

3. Self Titled Albums

Examples: Wolfmother, Interpol, The Libertines, basically every fucking upcoming band since music is a thing.

I’ve been bitching about since forever, but I never got the chance to get into the itsy-bitsy details that infuriate me about this cursed phenomenon.

Well, ‘’infuriate’’ is a strong word, ‘’frustrate’’ might be more appropriate. No, it infuriates me.  Or does it frustrate me? See what this shit is doing to me? I can even tell how the hell I feel about it, because, coincidentally, I enjoy the majority of self-titled albums I’ve listened so far. And when I realize that the people who release self-titled albums are the ones whose music is refreshing, original and fully enjoyable, I wonder why they didn’t take a 5 minute break from cocaine and hookers to think about a proper name for their album. It’s really infuristrating.

2. Farewell tours

Examples: Everybody.

Let’s say an old, overly-plasticized and boring hag who happens to be one of the world’s most important pop-stars falls into the stinky pit of irrelevance and decides to retire from music and focus on other careers, like being in the jury of a major singing competition that only idiots care about.  Knowing that her audience is comprised of middle-aged people and their children who are forced to listen to her music by their parents because THIS IS THE REAL MUSIC, NOT THE RUBBISH YOU KIDS ARE LISTENING TO NOWADAYS, she needs to go out with a boom. Those plastic surgeries ain’t cheap, ya know. So what’s the solution?

Why, a farewell tour, of course. Multiple ones. That span over the course of a few years. It’s OK to cash-in on people’s sadness ‘cause you’re totally not going to do it again! 

There’s nothing more obscene and cynical in the world than farewell tours. Please, stop doing this if you’re not planning to overdose on cocaine at the end of it.

In case you’re wondering who’s the lovely lady I was reffering to, it’s Steven Tyler.

1. Pitchfork Media

Examples: Pitchfork Media

First of all, check this out. See anything wrong with it?

Yep, there’s no need to rush to your local ophthalmologist. I didn't provide you with a link, because that review has been removed from their website. It was a 0.0/10 rating given to Zaireeka, a decent album released by The Flaming Lips in 1997.  For an internet publication that focuses on independent music and underrated bands, they’re pretty keen on publicity stunts and shifting to whatever’s ‘’hip’’ these days.  They praise style over substance, subjective criticism over objective analysis, an artist’s public persona and ‘’integrity’’ over his music, and articles filled with cheap sarcasm, snobbish remarks and dumb one liners over actual reviews. How this website managed to become so popular is beyond my knowledge.  

Oh, right. By giving favorable ratings only to certain acts in order to bolster its influence when said bands become popular.  Riiiiiight. And by removing old reviews from their website in order to keep up with the changing trends in music. And by being a bunch of boring, hypocritical farts that thrive on controversy, preach on what's ''cool''/''uncool'', and setting the stage for the next generation of hipsters. 

Great job, guys. Thousands of years after you turn into dust and your existence will be forgotten, our cyborg descendants will laugh their fucking asses off at the mere sight of a bas-relief showing a bunch of skinny 20-something losers tearing each other to pieces because they all like the same band.

An Autumn for Crippled Children - Only the Ocean Knows (2012)

Emotional and atmospheric post-black metal/shoegaze with banshee vocals, hypnotic drumming, sharp guitar riffs and some really cool synth work - An Autumn for Crippled Children have hit me right in the feels with this album. It's pretty much perfect and warrants thousands of repeated listens. 39 minutes of harsh sounds and pure bliss which will guide you through an amazing journey. I suppose it's somewhat similar to Austere, just with shorter songs and slightly dirtier vocals. Hipster black metal? For sure, but it sounds great and I have no trouble recommending this to everyone interested in this sort of music.

Merkaba - Ancient Relics (2012)

It's been a while since we've had some weird electronic music here and I've recently gotten way back into ambient, drone and psytrance thanks to the amazing Weed Temple blog, which you should all follow religiously. So, there's no putrid death metal or post-black-shoegaze music for today. Sorry, guys.

Instead, today is all about Merkaba, a mysterious electronic outfit from Australia who play some of the most insanely catchy and fascinating music I've ever heard. The tags from their bandcamp page read 'psytrance', 'progressive' and 'techno' and the music definitely sounds that way. You've got a weird mix of tribal atmospherics, futuristic sound effects, pulsating dance grooves and New Age-y feelings, along with some whispered female vocals. How does it all sound? AMAZING. It's trippy as hell but supremely danceable and it practically hypnotizes you into moving your head in time with the beat. The production is crystal clear and shiny and there's definitely some sick bass lines in here. Also, the songs are over 10 minutes long and constantly shift gears. Boredom be damned!

So what the hell are you still doing reading this? Shut off your blinds, turn on the disco ball and the neon lights, take off your socks, grab some glow sticks, crank the volume all the way to 11 and start blasting this while dancing furiously to all these delicious trance beats. THE TECHNOVIKING COMMANDS IT!

Edenbridge - Sunrise in Eden (2000)

If there ever was a genre to be called Indian Metal, this debut album from Austrian metalheads Edenbridge would rank as Nr.1, forever holding its own on a self-made throne of fire and ice, ruling over all mortals and crushing anything and anyone who may dare to fight it. And it does so with a unique blend of power metal arrangements, clear as an angel female vocals and some very eccentric yet clever use of folk instruments.

You see, I’m very picky when it comes to power metal, since many a band tend to overdo their songs just for the sake of pretentiousness. Sunrise in Eden, however, has none of these flaws. It has flow, magnitude, excellent soloing and keeps at all times a great sense of direction. You won’t find any bad songs here, just a very good mix of old-school-meets-new-school-metal delivery and that’s simply enough for me to come back to it and give it a spin once every few months.

I strongly recommend you should do the same.

Darkthrone - The Underground Resistance (2013)

I'm not entirely sure every item on my list of anticipated albums of 2013 will actually be released in 2013 - there's no info about the new Arctic Monkeys album :((( - but either way, the albums I was chomping at the bit for are slowly trickling down the pipe. February saw the release of Darkthrone's new album and, as always, people were praising it left and right. As per usual, I preferred to let the waters settle before digging in and having a feel for it myself.

It's not my favorite.

The Underground Resistance is yet another step on the Norwegian duo's own carved path of incorporating various influences into their music. The last years saw them infuse their music with punk-ish, Venom-ish, speed metal-ish vibes, and it was great. I loved the shit out of Circle the Wagons. This time around, Fenriz and Nocturno Culto went for a more traditional, heavy metal-inspired sound, bringing back fond memories of Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol and Bathory.

Word.

Unfortunately, memories alone were not enough to fight the utter boredom instilled by the second half of the album. While it starts out really promising, delivering some sweet dinosaur metal worship and plenty of clean vocals - Valkyrie is my favorite track by far - it gradually loses steam until the anti-climax called Leave No Cross Unturned hits you like a pillow thrown by an old man with its 13 minutes of boring, repetitive riffs that go absolutely nowhere. The disappointment that settled in my soul upon the ending of said track was akin to the one I felt that day I tried to be br00tal, but my mom didn't let me. The lack of any memorable riffs or any memorable anything, for that matter - except, again, for Valkyrie - is what will forever deter me from listening to this album ever again. There's simply nothing here to grab my attention.

And of course, I know. This is Darkthrone. These guys are living legends. You can't say anything bad about them, lest you anger the legions of trve metal warriors and get trampled under a thousand black combat boots for your insolence. With this in mind, I can agree that The Underground Resistance is an alright album, but it's definitely not the jewel of the crown.

Because of how dull it is.

*runs away*