OLD - Lo Flux Tube (1991)

Every once in a while I feel the need to delve deep into the past. Mainly to see if records I used to love still hold up today. My latest foray led me back to this gem. I'm not sure if I really grasped OLD when I was initially introduced to them back in the day, but I knew I liked it a lot. And by god it is still way ahead of the curve! For the uninitiated, OLD aka Old Lady Drivers was the brainchild of James Plotkin. You may know him from such musical mastery's as Khlyst, Jodis, Phantomsmasher, remix and mastering maestro, oh and KHANATE! James formed OLD out of the ashes of his original grindcore act Regurgitate (yep, them too!) in 1987. Having a desire to move in a more experimental direction Mr. Plotkin recruited Alan Dubin (yep, that one!) and OLD was born. With Alan on vocals and James on guitar and programming they released Old Lady Drivers in 1988. Their tongue in cheek proto-digi-grind wasn't too far from what Regurgitate had been doing. It wasn't until the release of their second album Lo Flux Tube that OLD took a big left turn on to the"avant" highway. Did I mention John Zorn plays sax on this album? Infusing way more electronics than it's predecessor, Lo Flux Tube was a quantum leap forward. To describe the sound produced by these guys would be an exercise in futility. Complex, challenging, grinding, and unsettling , are just few choice words that come to mind upon listening. One thing is sure, Lo Flux is superbly weird. Like the Melvins, OLD were years ahead of the curve. While tonally its a wee bit dated, Compositionally this album sounds as fresh and forward think as anything out there now. 

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Buy It:

Sadly it is out of print, but you can find a few physical copies here:

Amazon.com

Planks - Funeral Mouth (2012)

I had an incredibly difficult time trying to figure out how to express my thoughts on Planks. After giving Funeral Mouth (their third and most recent offering) a couple of spins, I was sure that this record was something special. The only problem is how do I describe a band like this and do them justice. Well, I'm just gonna go for it. Planks' sound, on the surface, is steeped in familiar territory. The post-metal/post-whatever tag immediately jumps out, but there's so much more. Hailing from Germany, Planks have been refining their assault on listeners for a while now. Rooted in D-beat hardcore initially, Funeral Mouth finds them incorporating a more sinister aesthetic in to their already somber songcraft, which ain't a bad thing. Their Facebook page states " if Darkthrone jammed together with Isis covering Cure songs". That's not a bad description, but not all encompassing or fair to the band. First off, unlike Isis, Planks knows how to write a riff. Secondly, they do not over stay their welcome with any one particular part. Everything sounds exactly as long as it should be. Thirdly, Darkthrone, while they have my utmost respect, cant touch these guys! I have no complaints about the Cure comparison. There is, overall, a real sense of urgency and threat in this music as well as beauty. And just when you think you got 'em pegged, the crusty comes roaring back, over a strait up black metal part no less. I cant find anything that confirms it, but I swear that's Dwid from Integrity singing on "Weak and Shapeless". All of this together make for a truly awesome listening experience. What makes Planks stand apart is, they have managed to take the familiar and craft it in to something wholly original. Year end contender here. 

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Physical

Eagle Twin- The Feather Tipped The Serpent's Scale (2012)

Many years ago Rob introduced me to a band out of Salt Lake City, Utah called Iceburn. Iceburn (later known as the Iceburn Collective) began as a hardcore band with progressive rock, metallic, jazz and even some classical elements. Iceburn's music constantly evolved throughout their career. Much of their later output had more in common with Ornette Coleman than it did with their Revelation Records peers. Iceburn went through approximately a billion lineup changes, but the driving force and sole constant member was guitarist/vocalist Gentry Densley. You may also be familiar with that name from Ascend, Densley's doom project with Greg Anderson. In 2007 Densley founded Eagle Twin with drummer Tyler Smith. Eagle Twin flew under my radar until last year when I finally heard The Unkindness of Crows. It's a fine album, but holy shitballs, The Feather Tipped The Serpent's Scale is like a Gatling gun turning those unkind crows into chunks of carrion and blood mist. Densley's tone is pretty much unrivaled in doom metal these days. His riffs and the grooves he creates with Smith could go toe-to-to with Sleep, Goatsnake and Yob at their absolute best. I will say I've never been big on this style of vocals in doom, but everything else is so goddamn righteous I'm more than willing to give them a pass. Strong contender for album of the year.

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Buy it:
LP/CD (Southern Lord)
Digital (Amazon)

Serpentine Path - S/T (2012)

Defying all of Pat's expectations, I have returned! To the two people who actually read this blog regularly, you have my most sincere apologies. It seems I was stricken with a severe case of apathecrastination. I nearly lost the battle folks. As the mountain of releases piled higher, my resolve sunk even lower. Alas I was able to break free from my self imposed exile and string enough words together to form somewhat coherent sentences. So on with the show. 

I've been a fan of Ryan Lipynsky for quite some time. Having had the pleasure of working at Tower records for a considerable amount of time, I was inundated with with promos regularly. Unearthly Trance was one that slid across my desk and it floored me. Ever since I've followed Mr. Lipynsky's career closely. He doesn't make bad records. From Unearthly's off kilter doom to The Howling Wind's maniacal black metal, and Pollution's experimental take on hardcore, Ryan has proven himself a indispensable part of the extreme music community. Following the demise of Unearthly Trance earlier this year, we were all left wondering if there would be another to fill the void. Well we have an answer. Serpentine Path. Not only is all of Unearthly Trance in it, but so is Tim Bagshaw, founding member of Electric Wizard and Ramesses! Update: Stephen Flam of Winter has now been added as their second guitarist! That's a whole lot of awesome. Serpentine Path deliver the goods. This is straight-a-head death doom at its max. Tim Bagshaw's monolithic riffs repeat in hypnotic fashion creating their own gravitational field while Ryan's vocals drag you to the depths of the abyss, crushing song after crushing song. This is an all meat and potatoes release, nothing wasted on frilly little garnishes, just the fucking heavy thank you. Listen loud. Listen now.

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Physical

Psudoku- Space Grind (2011)

Rob keeps telling me that a) he's not dead and b) he's going to post something eventually. I don't believe him on either account.

Trondheim, Norway's Psudoku is the brainchild of Papirmøllen, who is also the man behind the anarcho-grindcore assault that is Parlamentarisk Sodomi (who happen to have cartoon dicks on most of their record covers, but I digress). However, unlike the hardcore-rooted Parlamentarisk Sodomi, Psudoku isn't so much rooted in anything, more like blasting through intergalactic space at a pace approaching the speed of light. There's only one thing I've ever heard that sounds even remotely similar to Space Grind and that is East West Blast Test. Yeah, when I compare a band to one featuring two of my musical idols (Dave Witte and Chris Dodge) that's a pretty gnarly endorsement. If you've heard the East West Blast Test records you should have some idea what to expect, completely weird, avant-garde, perhaps even jazz-influence grindcore. But, no offence to two of my favorite musicians, this album blows both of theirs out of the water. Why? The goddamn riffs. I don't want to call the guitar work on this album "riffage" or "shredding" as either would be an insult. The guitar work on this album is riff-craft. It's a fucking work of art. It's some of the most precise grindcore riffing I've heard since The Inalienable Dreamless. Oh, and Scott Hull should watch out, because Papirmøllen is looking to usurp the throne as the best drum programmer in grind.

One of my favorite grindcore records ever. Don't sleep on it.

SNORT SPACE DUST

Buy it here:
Digital (Amazon)
LP

Vinyl Fetish: Whirr / Anne - Split 2x7" Pre-order

Run For Cover Records just opened up pre-orders for a split release between two of the finer shoegazey bands in the States right now, both of whom are coming off strong full-length debuts. Each band does two brand new tracks. Limited to 500 total copies on 2x7" with a gatefold jacket and an etched d-side, 200 on white/black a-side/b-side split and 300 on white/black 2/3 split (not entirely what 2/3 split means, I guess it's not a half/half deal like a usual two color split?). Do it up.

Pre-order it here.