Tower Defense, Brother Ares, Debonair, Laser Flames on the Great Big News at the Owl Farm 2/8

Here we are again, it's blog time. This installment occurred at the always wonderful despite sketchily located Owl Farm. Seriously, once you get past the gunshots (just like with lightning, count the seconds between when you see muzzle flash and when you hear the bang to see how far away it is!) and the stray dogs (the pair I saw both appeared gravid), it's a great venue usually filled with good people.

I  hope this b&w filter hides my crap photography skills

This night was no different. First up was local trio Tower Defense. First and foremost: I have no idea if they're named after the flash game genre or not. Regardless, husband-and-wife pair Mike and Sarah Shepherd both handle bass duties while drummer Jereme Frey pounds away. According to their facebook page, Tower Defense was started by Mike and Jereme, who have been in a number of other bands including Gentlemen Divers, Bad Feeler, and the venerable Apollo Up!, and Mike's wife Sarah (herself having played in Take The Power Back, an all-female Rage Against the Machine cover band, and Short Ropes) joined to help play covers at a benefit show. "Suddenly," the 'About' section reads, "the music starting being good." I can't help but agree. These three old friends play a style of post-punk that has pop punk sensibilities without being overly saturated with sweetness, and doesn't go as dark as Joy Division. These three each sing at one point or another. The Shepherds ring out some infectious grooves, with Sarah usually on the bottom part and Mike playing the higher strings. Jereme's strong and energetic drums give a dose of power to this band that really adds some punch to the sound. The vocals are sung in a straightforward and melodic manner, with tasty harmonies throughout. The vocals could be considered synecdochic for the entire sound in that they seem to be going for a rather straightforward style without a lot of adornments, and really, they don't need them. These three have a hooky, expressive style without a lot of fuss.
Since they don't seem to have any streams up and running, have a video of a past performance instead:

so far so good

Next up was noise-doom duo Brother Ares. What can I say about these two that has not already been said (by me)? They play a mixture of doom and sludge with screechy dysmelodic, atonal interludes, intros, and outros. Nick Gore pounds the drums and yells full-bodiedly while Blake Conley strums and shreds guitar and yells in a higher and less rough manner. Their riffs are mammoth in weight and pace - you'll find you can take more than one breath during some sustains. Blake's amp, responsible for his gorgeous tone, doesn't have a top because it was found in the trash. Their love for The Body is noticeable in their sound and also because they started out not using microphones. Their preoccupation with warring birds and remaining a two-some is reminiscent of Eagle Twin, whose influence can also be felt in their sound. A few tracks can even get a bit Isis-y (a la "Weight" from Oceanic). This show was great example of Blake and Gore at their best. They even looked like they were having fun. At one point, [a guy from] the audience came up and started screaming into the microphone. I heard from Gore later that he'd talked to [the guy] about doing it before (turns out he did vocals for some other local bands); at the time it kinda looked like he just decided to grab it out of the blue. Regardless of intent it was pretty jarring. Otherwise it was a pretty exemplary set with lots of good strong positive energy flowing. They rounded it out by bringing back one of their favorite covers, Black Flag's "My War." Look for an upcoming split cassette from them as a part of a series by Across Tundras' Tanner Olson, as well as their full-length LP The Aviary as soon as it gets finished mixing and mastering. Til then, stream this:

Third up were the local gentlemen of Debonair. Blake from Brother Ares had talked these guys up to me for a while now, so I was excited to see them. Maybe everyone was; it might have just been my imagination, but the air seemed full of anticipation while these men who appeared stylish, good-natured, and perhaps actually debonair set up. At least two of the members sported well-groomed mustaches after all. Sadly neither of the two bass players had a fuzzy caterpillar-esque upper lip, but I won't hold that against them, as their playing more than compensated. Like, way more. These guys rocked the house and sent all kinds of great vibes through the audience. I have in my notes that these guys have elements of post-hardcore and math rock in their sound with a touch of post-rock, but really these guys have a sound that's all their own.

Still, there's a few influences I think I hear; at some points they remind me of a deranged Slint. I even heard some Filter in there, before they got all unbelievable and wanted you to take their picture and shit (not like they'll remember anyway.). No, Debonair play their own brand of space math rock with two bassists, a guitarist whose vocals remind me a touch of Knoxville's Billy Castro, and an absolutely manic drummer. These guys get to a level of interesting that my notes say is approaching Mike Patton levels. With lyrical content pertaining to safe words and space camp, this disquiescent quartet may seem disingenuous, but their musicality is anything but a joke. Between tremolo-picked segments and at least one incredibly satisfying sludgy bit, I was not disappointed. Until I wrote this review that is: these guys have way too little material on record. Best I can find is some live-recorded audio tracks set to single-picture videos. Until they do me, gentlemen everywhere, and really everyone in the world a favor by recording, sate your Debonairish hunger with this:


Finally, last up was Laser Flames on the Great Big News. Here's a rundown of what I imagine to be the average thought process of a person hearing this band for the first time: "Laser Flames on the... dang these guys have a long name. I heard that one guy is in Rwake though, so I bet they're good. That Stevie chick is pretty cute. This first riff is pretty nice, and now they're... singing country style. Huh. Wasn't expecting that. Not bad though, fits the riff I spose. Nice vocal harmonies. Huh. Country metal? I guess I can dig iHOLY SHIT did that girl just scream? Shit, I just spat a mouthful of PBR all over this guy's patch vest in front of me. Better edge away. But jesus, that was one helluva scream that came out of that woman. And now with shredding and blastbeats to match. What an about-face. And now... damn, those are some tasty doom riffs. I'm gonna need another beer for this."

LFotGBN play a variety of styles from country metal to stoner metal to black metal to jesus how much else do you need to read to know that these guys kick ass? They have no respect for what's kosher in a genre and play what they want. Both guitarists John Judkins (who also plays bass in lovely sludge outfit Rwake, formerly of Today is the Day and Christine) and Stevie Bailey sing and scream in turn or together, all while strumming and shredding and god knows what else to those poor guitars. The rhythm section was just as dynamic, with drummer James Turk (bassist for local black metal outfit Enfold Darkness) and bassist Brian Myers are just as dynamic as Judkins and Bailey, shifting styles and tempos with apparent ease. They make each style and mix of styles their own, tweaking formulas when necessary. Even if you're too ADD to take your adderol properly, these guys keep things fresh and full of enough curveballs to not just hold my attention, but keep me on the edge of my seat in anticipation of what they're going to play next. If you like ever wondered "hey I wonder what black metal and country sounds like" then I think you'll enjoy Laser Flames on the Great Big News. Stream their ep right here, and look for a new record in the near future!


And that's a wrap. Thank you dear readers for bearing with me and being patient as I churn out yet another late blog. With classes coming to a close at the end of this month, hopefully I will soon have more time to spend reviewing come May. Going to try do some new and long overdue album reviews soon in addition to shows. Until then, enjoy this biology fact I learned recently!

"Eagles and boobies exhibit "obligate siblicide," in which the larger chick invariably kills its smaller sibling. For example, of more than 200 records of two-egg clutches followed in the Black Eagle of southern Africa, only one record exists of both chicks surviving to fledging. Obligate siblicide also occurs among pelicans, owls, and cranes. In obligate siblicide, which occurs even when food supplies are abundant, the second egg serves as insurance against loss of the first egg from infertility, predation, or damage, rather than as a means of rearing two chicks."

FUCK YEAH EAGLES FUCK YEAH AMERICA

Black Tar Prophet, Forest of Tygers, Gorgantherron, and the Holy Mountaintop Removers at The End 1/26

And here we are again, it's time for another installment of NashVile! This highly titillating entry takes place at one of the best sounding places in Nashville, The End.

First up was low end assailants Black Tar Prophet. Prior to this show, guitarist Mark Owen had said in a facebook post on the band page that he would be returning this year. I spoke to drummer turned bassist Greg Swinehart before the show and he told me that there was some strife, and that he'd just had enough of him, so Mark was out. Thus, the band remained a twosome. Playing a three-string bass, Greg belted out some gut-rearranging stoner doom grooves while drummer Erik Dever  banged away on drums, even throwing in a (still rather slow) blastbeat on a new song. Greg had some new cabs which had intense power. These guys are really going for the groove of Om and the crunch of Bongripper while trying to approach the volume levels of Sunn O))). Punishing to the uninitiated, these guys aim to make you feel their music as much as hear it. Listen to their split with Crawl from Atlanta:

Also, creepy x-ed out mannequin heads.

Second was Forest of Tygers. Brand new band, very first show! Featuring the talents of Jim Valosik of Nashville-native band Serotonin on guitar and vocals, his wife Rachel Valosik on drums, and Niki Carolan of Tijuana Goat Ride on noisy keyboard and vocals. Stylistically, they blew me away. The guitars were beautiful and flowing at times while violent and aggressive at others. A looping pedal was utilized some; at a few points, a riff was recorded and looped so that tasty licks could be played on top. The looper in conjunction with a pedal that sent differently effected signals to different amps really gave a lot of depth not usually found in trios. Supporting all of this depth was drummer Rachel. At first glance, I didn't notice much about her, aside from her Young and in the Way shirt, which should have been a tip-off because once she started playing my jaw hit the floor. These guys borrow a little from hardcore, black metal, post-hardcore, sludge, post-metal, and D-beat, and this girl can handle them all. Her runs and blastbeats had me impressed. Riding on top of all this are the vocals of Niki Carolan, whose screams rounded out the sound well. I wanted her to make use of the noisy keyboard, I could barely make it out, but that's my only complaint on an otherwise auspicious beginning. Check out the performance for yourself:





Third up was Gorgantherron. These guys are from Evansville, IN and play some pretty righteous stoner metal. According to their facebook description they're actually chimps sent into space in 1968 but after being evolved and trained in the ways of black and doom metal by the Andromedian race of Gorgantherrons, they returned to Earth to warn us of our selfish ways. You seriously need to read it, I laughed pretty hard. Sonically though, their sound is heavy but also nice and round and warm. It's got a great, lumbering-yet-groovy sound that's reminiscent of the greats like Sleep and Black Sabbath. The vocals were especially reminiscent of Sleep, namely on the mighty epic Dopesmoker. Great fuzzy riffs galore. Give 'em a listen, and make sure to see if you can find their photo of them in their astronaut suits:


Last up was newcomers Holy Mountaintop Removers. Borrowing members from local country-doom jammers Hellbender, this trio took jams to the next level. They started out playing as fast as they could, and nowhere near in sync. They came together for some bluesy fuzzed out rock, but at one point the drummer (who's actually a guitar player in Hellbender) was hitting cymbal with a maraca and tambourine. When not playing in free jazz mode, the bass kept time in pulsing fashion, but things got droney when the bassist switched to synthesizer. He mashed the keys as everyone else delved into chaos, but once retreating from madness, those same keys were put to good droning, melodic use. As for the guitars, that guy could shred with the best of them, but he also busted out some toe-tapping melodies when everyone's decided that yeah okay we can play together sometimes. Overall, these guys were a fantastic and even inspiring example of what free jazz and doom rock could sound like together, and I'm excited to see what they do next. I'd post some of their stuff here, but there's nothing to post! No links or nothing. Only thing left to do is get out and go to one of these shows. So do it!

Another show post come and gone. Look for my upcoming writeup of 3 post-hardcore bands and one black/doom band at a house show soon!

Tijuana Goat Ride, Brother Ares, Dawn, and Black Table (NY/NJ) at the Hymen House

Ah yes folks, it's time for another show review! This show took place at the thoughtfully-named Hymen House, which is named for the street upon which it sits: Heiman street. Longtime NashVile readers will recall that this is the very same household in which I interviewed band members from a plethora of different bands, including Brother Ares and Dawn. Coming back again was a delight. In the few times that I've been there, the Hymen house has been full of fun and interesting people. It's cozy, and the walls are covered in fliers from shows past. There's also a wall featuring a shrine to a complete stranger, including pictures and some of her graded papers. But enough about the venue, let's get to the bands.

First up are local bangers Tijuana Goat Ride. This band contains members of former Nashville gut-rumblers Seawitch, whom you should definitely check out. But do that later. Read about TGR now, because they kick ass. Sonically, they're thick and heavy and loud and just everything nice. They have kind of a stoner sludge sound, but they're not satisfied to stay at a crawling pace all the time like most stoner-y, sludgy bands. These guys mix in angular if not downright technical runs in with meaty riffs, all while effusive drummer Chris Fox hammers away. These guys have a fantastic mix of galloping fast and thundering slow parts, all while keeping a head-nodding groove. And have I mentioned Niki Carolan's vocals yet? This girl can scream! It's somewhere between a hardcore scream and a black metal shriek, but regardless, it's effective. Bassist Christopher Frey throws some cleaner vocals into the mix, strengthening the stoner metal aspect of the music. Check out some show footage here:



Next up was Brother Ares. Sheesh, for the amount of press I give these guys you'd think I'd be at least band girlfriend by now. But really, these guys end up playing with a lot of cool dudes, and guitarist/vocalist Blake Conley always invites me to the shows, so how can I refuse? Anyway, on this night, they were as good as ever. It felt like a shorter setlist, until I remembered how long a single song is. Blake's octaver pedal and his three different distortion pedals give a really full, powerful tone to his guitar (especially the TurboRAT pedal) that you wouldn't always expect from a two-piece group. I also don't mention drummer Nick Gore's vocals enough: they're quite powerful, and really what blew me away the first time I saw them. When he's at full power, it's a quite impressive thing to behold. Watch all 32 minutes of their set here, including their fucked-up-in-a-good-way cover of Black Flag's "My War":



Band number 3 of the night was Black Table from the border of New York and New Jersey. I scratched my head at the name too until I saw these guys perform. Holy shit, they are awesome, and a delight to hang out with, to boot! I had a wonderful conversation with vocalist and guitarist Mers (pronounced like "nurse") Sumida about human evolutionary divergence, quantum physics, favorite pyschedelic experiences, and Hawaiian ladyboys. Quite a treat. As far as their music goes, Black Table is a smorgasboard of heaviness. They take cues from post-metal ("ambient sludge" for genre purists) and black metal, as well as sludge metal and hardcore. They even throw in a death metal-style chug or two. Guitar duty is split between Mers and Ryan Fleming; one usually shreds while the other plays in a more legato style. Drummer Mike Kadnar is a beast, and has the handlebar 'stache to prove it. I didn't get a chance to talk much to bassist Matt Mellon, but this doesn't diminish his playing one bit: this guy is fantastic, and his 6-string bass adds a really interesting, almost Intronaut-esque quality to the sound. The overall sound itself is surprisingly deep and intricate. These guys keep you interested throughout, adding nuances here and there and switching things up before you can even think of getting bored. Some parts reminded me of Isis, others, the indomitable Deathspell omega. I kept wondering what profoundly awesome shit they would play next, and they never failed to deliver. Check out concert footage below.


In addition, without a doubt one of the coolest things these guys have is their "Deepwell" package. It's a CD that contains a 22-minute ambient track, but with what's essentially a séance kit included. I'm not going to say all what's inside, but it's definitely worth tracking down and getting your own copy. I tried the ritual myself and found it to be pretty wild. To tide you over until you find your own copy, check out their brand-spanking new EP "Sentinel." It's absolutely, positively worth the price of $Name-your-price, only so cheap for a limited time. Stream it right here:


Last up was Nashville hardcore staple Dawn. This group features Ivan Doerschuk and Jordan House of Sky Burial and Alraune (among others) on drums and bass, respectively, and Jesse Mowery of Altar of Complaints and Nut Collector (among others). They kicked ass when I saw them at the Owl Farm, and they kicked just as much ass on this night too. Combining elements of hardcore, mathcore, sludge, powerviolence, d-beat, grindcore, and maybe even a whiff of black metal, this trio rains down an onslaught of intense music. The screams are strong and visceral, but also somewhat enticing. The drums were really punchy and tight. The use of feedback fits the style perfectly. Overall, these guys have a really restless style, with a sense of urgency felt throughout. This music gets your blood pumping. Since Jesse Mowery was manning the video camera during the show (credit goes to him for all the videos posted here), I don't have any footage from their set (sorry), so here's a stream from their last release.

Bobbaroo 2012 at the Rebel Bass

This was the second of 3 shows in a 5 day period. Hopefully I'll get to #3 someday, seeing as I'm already 10 days behind on this one... such is the life of a procrastinator. And really, can you blame me? Genetics class is fucking hard! Well, not that hard, but it sure does eat time. If you want to see what I've been squandering my time with, watch this movie I helped make for class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2HdCvIXZtk

Anyway, Bobbaroo was fantastic. The lineup consisted of Act of Impalement, Cannabisis, Flummox, Scott Fernandez, Kit Fistu, Soliam, and Axis. There were things to drink and smoke all over the place. The whole night was just a hazy blast.

First up was Act of Impalement. And wouldn't you know it, I fucking missed them. For all 1 of you that's been keeping up with this blog since the beginning, at the very first show I covered, I met a couple dudes that were badass. Me, my friend Caleb, and these other guys were the only ones hanging out before the show, so we met. We talked about Electric Wizard and one of the guys, Ethan, did a stellar impression of Varg talking about cornflakes. Most importantly though, they smoked Caleb and I out, like true gentlemen. What does all this have to do with Act of Impalement? It turns out that they're the same guys! So you'll understand that I'm inexorably disappointed that I missed them. No matter, I'll just have to catch them with Brother Ares, Joey from Hellbender's Poor Faulkner, and dark horse First Baptist at Springwater on the 24th. Until then, I'll just have to satisfy myself with their bandcamp.



Next up, and really the first band I saw was Cannabisis. Don't let their name fool you, even if these guys are potheads their music definitely doesn't have any "stoner" genre tags. These guys were fast, heavy, and mean. Lots of black metal, with a touch of metallic hardcore. The drums were great, really meaty and fast. Guitars were tremolo picked most of the time, and had a great mean edge to them, really visceral. Even the bassist, who looked pretty mild-mannered, was on top of his game, and fit the music better than I expected. In such a tiny venue (the Rebel Bass is just Harrison "Bobby" Fox's apartment with bands stuffed into it). I still can't believe this was these guys' first show. I absolute, positively cannot wait to hear more from these guys. If I could find somewhere to stream their shit I would, but at this point, all you can really do is take my word for it, hope, and wait.



Next was the artists formerly known as The Fallopian Dudes, Flummox! These guys remind of early Electric Wizard and Cathedral, if they had said "hey guys, were not playing nearly enough notes!" I could almost go as far as to call them Technical Doom metal. I see you scratching your head there at the computer, asking yourself "wait, what the fuck? Technical doom metal? How the fuck does that even make sense?" I'd be asking myself the same question if I hadn't seen Flummox embody it. The tempos themselves weren't necessarily fast, but these guys were definitely playing complicated stuff. When he's not tapping all over his six-string bass, Blake is belting out vocals that aren't entirely unlike those of the guy who sings "Ballroom Blitz." Their style is definitely groovy, but just a little too busy for my tastes. Still, darn good stuff. Check it out for yourself.

LOOK AT THIS FUCKING
THING 

Next up was Scott Fernandez. These guys have a lot of balls using this name, which is taken from a norseman who murdered his whole town, and didn't even seed his torrents. What a monster. Nah, I'm just fucking with you. Scott Fernandez is one of the coolest, most wrongly modest and humble guys I have ever met. Talking to him outside, he made it seem like he never practiced, and just jammed for fun. But holy shit, once he got a bass in his hands, I knew all of his words about not being that great were the filthiest of lies. This man is a goddamn prodigy. He was impressive on a 4-string bass, and then HOLY MOTHER OF GOD WHAT IS THAT BEHEMOTH WITH 12 STRINGS. His fingers moved over it like water over a rock, like moths to a candle, like bees telling each other where to find pollen. I was all at once infinitely jealous, mad, and sad that I could probably never play that well, but mostly just completely enraptured. This guy. Just, this fucking guy. Watch this video for just a glimpse of what went on.




After Scott, on what I heard was something of a last-minute whim was Kid Fister Kit Fistu. This was the apartment owner Bobby Fox's own band, and as it was also a [belated] celebration of his birthday, Bobby looked like he was having the best time out of anybody. Almost everyone was red-eyed, rosy-cheeked, or both. We were all ready. With Brian Laws on drums and Jef (who played guitar Kit Fistu when I saw them at the Muse) on bass, this trio was fun. I'm not saying that as an at least, as in "at least they were fun". These guys kicked ass and were fun. Jef seemed especially animated, even running out into what little crowd there was. Elias from Axis came up and screamed into the mic with Bobby for a few songs. The amount of fun these guys were having made up for lack of anything else they could have had. This stream probably isn't representative of their sound as a whole, since they've been through so many iterations, but it's worth posting just to give a glimpse.



Next up was Soliam. These guys had been talked up by nearly everyone at the gig, so I was curious to see what they were like. I know I'm gonna get flack for this, but aside from interesting bits here and there, they really weren't my thing. They were definitely good at what they did, but it was just too much raw technicality and breakdowns, without much else that I heard. They just lacked enough depth for me to really sink my teeth into. I gave them a shot, I was up banging my head along with everybody else, but that's all they made me do. And they were very good at it, I definitely banged my head hard. But I'm just not that big of a fan of this type of technical or progressive death metal. Sorry guys. I liked the softer, more dynamic bits and the singing, but the rest just didn't suit my tastes. What do you think? Have I gone full retard this time? Listen for yourself.


The last band of the night was Axis. By the time these guys are going on, it's 2 AM, my phone has died (hence the lack of pictures here and for Soliam), and I'm in a nice comfy leather chair. One thing leads to another, and I've started to doze. This is no slight against Axis, these guys kicked fucking ass. But after 5 bands in 7 hours, I was absolutely out of it. What I was awake for was stellar. Spencer on drums absolutely killed it; I'm sure I heard a drum riff straight out of Cryptopsy's catalogue. That alone should tell you how much ass these guys kick. But that's just the baseline. Elias (also in Intoxicated Male) takes care of bass duties while Austin shreds on guitar; both string players scream and growl when moved to do so by Satan. The vocals were just right for the music. I can't quite put my finger on it, but though these guys are progressive death metal, I vibe with their style much more than that of Soliam's. It just clicks with me much better. If someone can figure it out, I would love to know what it is about these guys' sound that clicks with me so much more. Until then, I'm just going to keep following my gut instincts and call it like I see it. Er, hear it. Hear it for your own damn self here:


Whew! Just writing all of this out has made my brain tired. I'd say it was a very successful Bobbaroo. I mean, Bobby got drunk and had a great time, and that's the important part. Look for my review of Brother Ares, Clorange, Bell Witch, and Loss at The End, next!