Best Music of 2018

Fuck. I've been sick for a week so this is gonna suck even more than usual. I barely even reached out for lists. I didn't even write any reviews for months. I wouldn't blame you for not reading this blog anymore.

But I got into a new lab this year and now I'm studying bone fractures and burn recovery so that's good and at least gives me a good excuse for not doing more.

Also my band Great Unclean Ones w/ dudes from Brother Ares and Vile Desecration recorded our first demo that's still being mixed so that was good.

Anyway enough moping and dead promises (more writeups next year I swear), here's some lists, somehow presented even more lazily than years past.

Dreamworldz, Wilt (Philly), The Ada Babar Situation (Philly), Eve Maret/Abstract Black/B|_ank 3/20 at the Mouthhole

This show was a little bit outside of my regular repertoire but was still an absolute blast. I've only recently started finding my way into noise pop (if that's even what you could call these groups) backwards though groups like The Body, HEALTH, and BiS Kaidan. Since I'm only starting to get my bearings in this kind of music, enjoy my nearly uncut notes streaming my consciousness during each act:

Dreamworldz - boy band... with 2 girls! Starts out in tent and sleeping bags. Lip synched? Preposterous. 90s pop stylings. Song about their sponsor, Kmart. Chugging contest, 2 liter vs can of diet Dr K. 2 liter gets poured in skull beer bong. Winner gets chikfila gift cards. Huge mess is made. Right into next song. Excellent choreography, and "guitar" (ukulele) skills. Song about being your baby til 80, maybe related to that one book "Love You Forever". Ukulele is smashed.

Wilt (Philly). 3 piece, drums guitar and keys. Is this twee? I have 0 experience. Keys are kinda discordant. Blanket over snare? Only a few drum pads. Dissociative Dresden Dolls? Maddening. Vocals sung/spoken softly. Only 3 strings on guitar. Very sweet! Unnervingly sweet. Deconstructed Cranberries? ANGULAR?? Math rock gaps. Krautrock motorik? Hypnotic in a way that you have to figure out what's happening.

The Ada Babar Situation (Philly). 2 members of Wilt, not sure about other 2 in rhythm section. Some high pitched sounds high enough to be uncomfortable. Disjointed. Like a carousel on cough syrup. "Ghosting a hit" track about holding in smoke, sample of them holding in a bong rip. Polyrhythms? Djent version of pop? Prog pop? Post-punk vaporwave? Definitely interchanging time signatures, 3 and 4 alternating with a 2/4 measure?. Guitar synthesizer with girl singing (speaking? moaning?) samples. Swans on Prozac. Bassists changes shirts during last song, during lots of negative space.

Monstrosity of Eve Maret, JayVe Montgomery (Abstract Black), Will Hicks (B|_ank). Eve has keyboards, a modular synth, macbook pro. JayVe has tenor sax, electronic sax (?), samplers and synths. Will has bass drum, cymbal, synths, drum pads. Contact mic'd plant. Starts off sounding like Space Invaders. Inverse delayed drum beat? Slowly building chaos. JayVe busts out a pocket trumpet!! Improv jam almost has a free jazz feel to it. Chaotic but fluid, though piercing at times. Will adds a snare, now it sounds like psychedelic dark jazz. JayVe busts out the tenor sax and skronks it up a little. Intense but never really gets "harsh". Except somepiercing treble. Will is going full Whiplash. Busts out some metal sticks and smacks the hi hat. Eve starts singing long tones over the noise.

Destructicide, Mortius, Vile Desecration, Steel Bearing Hand (TX) at Springwater 3/11

Destructicide, a new trio from here in Nashville, played a fist pumping energetic blend of death and thrash metal on Sunday night. The solid riffage made a firm foundation for the absolutely sick death growls and hefty but breakneck blastbeats. The sound was tight and impressive, but the guitars were drowned out a good deal of the time, and I can't help but wonder if there wasn't a bassist and/or another guitarist (hell add another 2 and go full Kvelertak) to help fill out the sound. I like what they've got I just want MORE.

I've been meaning to see Mortius for quite some time, and I think I can say they totally meet and blow away all the hype. Between Inferi, Abyss Walker, Abated Mass of Flesh, Chasm of Teeth, and some I know I'm forgetting, it's exciting to see Nashville having its own brood of death metal acts. Out of all these bands, Mortius seems to be the most committed to the traditional style, though they still manage to make me think of a prog-less Necrophagist. They keep things extra fresh by adding in touches of death/doom and even a pinch of funeral doom. Like Destructicide, if you were to give them the "but are the riffs sick?" litmus test, you'd get an "absolutely" response.

Vile Desecration played pure tireless black metal, complete with blastbeats and nonstop shredding. The sound is almost anachronistic, like a 90s black metal band trying to take cues from Bathory and Venom, while still sounding modern, not unlike Destroyer 666. Vile Desecration manages to sound fresh and ferocious while sounding recognizably black metal without sounding outdated.

Steel Bearing Hand from Dallas, TX brought the thunder. These guys play thrash metal, but it's a thrash metal that's girded in death metal and wields black metal like a battleaxe. Steel Bearing Hand are like an Incantation that makes you bust out your best DRI skank moves. If Annihilator decided they wanted to be more like Bolt Thrower, it might sound a bit like this band.

It was great to be back out and at a show again, apologies to everyone whose band I've missed so far this year, I'm still working on making it out more. 

tl;dr Best of 2017

tl;dr best of 2017

Chappy Hull - Gnarwhal

Top 11 albums by bands that start with “P” in 2017

Palberta - Bye Bye Berta

Power trip - Nightmare Logic

Pissed jeans - Why Love Now?

Pile - A Hairshirt of Purpose

Protomartyr - Relatives in Descent

Palm - Shadow Expert

Palehound - A Place I’ll Always Go

Pallas - Pallas 12”

Primitive man - Caustic

Priests - Nothing Feels Natural

PC Worship - Buried Wish

John Judkins - Laser Flames on the Great Big News, Rwake, Protomen

Mastodon: Emperor of Sand

Loss: Horizonless

Elder: Reflections of a Floating World

Pallbearer: Heartless

Spirit Adrift: Curse of Conception

Julien Baker: Turn Out the Lights

Thundercat: Drunk

Amenra: VI

Mutoid Man: War Moans

Zeal & Ardor: The Devil is Fine

Jay Som: Everybody Works

Run the Jewels: 3

Land of Talk: Life After Youth

Chelsea Wolfe: Hiss Spun

BADBADNOTGOOD: Late Night Tales

Double Ferrari: s/t

Cinemechanica: The Martial Arts

Auric: First and Last

2017 local shows recap

Ugh looking at all the shows that happened this year and all the shows I didn't make it to fills me with sadness and regret. But what is done is done, let's look at the awesome shows I did make it to! In mostly chronological order, these are most of the shows with at least one or two local bands on the bill I saw this year:

Nordjevel (Nor), Imperial Triumphant (NY), Sivad, Oubliette: Good god this night was insane. Oubliette from Murfreesboro (featuring members of Battle Path and Enfold Darkness) eerily lit the place up with their grandiose melodic black metal epic waltz styling. Imperial Triumphant were almost as free jazz metal as those Pyrrhon psychos but with a much heavier dose of black metal majesty. The golden masks and black hoods were a nice touch. Nordjevel brought the true Norwegian black metal sound all the way to Nashville in full corpsepaint. At the height of their set, going full speed with body-butchering blastbeats, these guys were untouchable. Sivad from Memphis definitely gave them a run for their money though, complete with DIY spiked gauntlets, a big ass hunting knife, barb wired wrapped around the mic stand, candelabra, and skull and tibia. Their sound definitely lived up to the theatrics, these vile fiends were absolutely relentless.

Malevich (Atl), Pinion, Vile Desecration, Ghost Of Mars: This night was so rad, I finally got to see both Ghost of Mars and Opinion Pinion. Ghost of Mars were an absolutely entrancing fusion between members of Sovereign and Mothyards/JNN. Their sound perfectly matched their name, emitting riffs that sound like they were picked up from human martian explorers long since dead. Pinion  sounds like throwing elbows you never knew you had. Social unrest, pervasive discontent, and furor over power structures are the oozes that drip from Pinion's metallic hardcore shockwaves. Malevich absolutely floored me with their energy. This show was at Blackbird Tattoo and these guys filled the whole place. Jesus I don't think I've ever seen a band with this much conspicuous energy; these guys moved throughout the whole space, no place was safe from getting run into. At one point the guitarist was piggybacking onto one of the guitarists while screaming himself hoarse while the drummer stood up and headbutted a cymbal. I think he headbutted the rest of his kit throughout the night, goddamn. As for Vile Desecration, I love these boys so much it could be considered a conflict of interest. Best black metal riffs in the whole goddamn state, if not the whole South. Unfuckwithable.

Dendera Bloodbath, Bonemagic, JNN/J.Carter collab set, Pure Land, Owen Ni: I need to make it to more shows. I really do. Making it to this one made me purely lucky. Dendera Bloodbath busted out at least one Kaoss Pad mini and layered vocals over top of it. Suddenly from out of a suitcase she produced - I still don't know what the fuck it was. It was like one of those lights you hang from from an open car hood while tinkering, but it had like a bullet shell casing around it? And it sounded like it revved like a fucking motor! And inside the suitcase it looked like she might have had some big springs attached to different sides. Boy when she used that engine bullet wand on those springs, it made a rumble like an engine the size of a god. Bonemagic was an absolute treat. Using a box covered in switches and arcade buttons and a few other devices, he started out harsh but then pulled out a lightbulb and fucking screamed into it. At one point he was shouting over what could have almost been vaporwave instrumentals, like The Body had just drank a SeaWorld of lean. JNN/J. Carter's set felt abstract as hell (wires everywhere!) but incredibly compelling. Tbh it was hard to keep up with what I was hearing for a good bit what I was able to parse was absolutely delicious. Pure Land's drones were as pure as the name implies. Like standing in a desert in the winter when the external temperature matches your body and the lines between begin to disappear. Owen Ni was the most straightforward bleep bloop act of the night. He was clearly competent and even talented, but his style of techno just felt tame by contrast in regards to the at times completely wild offerings of the other acts.

Antichrist (Swe), Act of Impalement, Shill: God bless BlackBird Tattoo, they put on some fully kickass shows. Shill were a brand new act from members of Act of Impalement and Fucked Ethos (and a few more I'm forgetting). PUNK AS FUCK. Raw, oldschool, elemental punk.You cannot stand still listening to this band, even if you don't jump into a moshpit you gotta pogo or just flail or SOMETHING. Act of Impalement were a GREAT band before their LEADER and STAR BASSIST had to leave for college or something and went on to make the MONUMENTAL blog called NashVile. It's really awesome to hear these guys hone and tighten their sound while still somehow just getting heavier, nastier, and crushing...er. Antichrist is what I wish with all my heart what Slayer could have been. Blissful thrash with almost black metal vocals? Like a Swedish Vektor. Like Shill, these guys made it impossible to stand still, but with 200 proof Thrash Metal riffs.

Couch Slut (NYC), Yautja, Watcher: Watcher's brand of hardcore-muddled noise rock keeps me guessing in the best ways. Listening to these guys is like trying fight a 3-armed dude, you never know how you're gonna get hit but each punch hits hard. If you're reading this, y'all already know what Yautja are all about. If you're not reading this, Yautja are the band that make me so goddamn proud to be involved in Nashville heavy music that you can brag on to people from out of state. Too hardcore for metal, too metal for hardcore, these guys grind better than anyone else. Couch Slut brought their noise rock disguised as sludge and shoved it ferociously in your face. If you ever thought feminism couldn't be aggressive or threatening, Couch Slut forcibly peel your eyeballs open to the harsh realities women face every day, in such a way that you cannot help but be compelled.

Moon Tooth, Husbandry, Sheep Shifter, Itinerant: Hoo boy I thought I was prepared for this show but I was mistaken. I came out for my boy Braden in Itinerant, whose dreamy brand of Djent did not disappoint. Captivating and engaging, these guys get my "hey this is almost as good as Cloudkicker" seal of approval. Why was Sheep Shifter on this bill? I have no idea but god they were fun as hell. To call them noise rock or post-hardcore doesn't really seem to capture them fully, they make an out of control rock and roll style all their own. The singer was all over the goddamn place, even upside down on the drums at one point. Husbandry were a dark horse for me, I was very pleasantly surprised at these Brooklynites' mix of heavy prog instrumentals acting as a foundation for their singer's almost soulful singing, offering a package similar to the voodoo Clorange used to do so well. Moon Tooth are my favorite prog band I saw this year. Mixing elements from every other style of rock, metal, and hardcore, this band is a beautiful stone soup of styles. Their dedicated clean vocalist soars over top of fierce string tapping and boogieing riffs. Tasty like Mastodon or even Between the Buried and Me but with a sort of playful giddiness.

FUCK that's so many words. Did you read all of them? I probably didn't once I get them out of my head. Again, apologies to all the bands and beautiful wonderful people I didn't get to see play, but as we end this year and begin the next, I'm going to try even harder to make it to more shows and then actually write about them! I wouldn't do this unless I love it, and all the fucking awesome sounds Nashville has to offer. Look for NashVile to hopefully getting back into writing regular articles again.

In the meantime, look for the one article I've managed to put out each year, our Albums Of The Year list, coming soon!

Laser Flames on the Great Big News s/t review

EVEN MORE ANTICIPATED THAN DUKE NUKEM FOREVER OR THE HD REMAKE OF WHICHEVER ZELDA IS NEXT, NASHVILE IS BACK! Maybe. Lots has been happening since I was making regular updates. I've been involved in a band or two, moved, taken the GRE twice, and have been in a blissful committed relationship with 3 beautiful Dungeons and Dragons groups. So is this NashVile's return for good? Who knows? I was given a review copy of this album and finally felt up to the task of putting pen to paper after battling worsening depression for a good while. Hell, I've barely been to a fraction of the number of shows I've attended in years past. But maybe a change of scenery and interesting future prospects (grad school? what the shit?) have done me good. I'll try to cover some shows I saw this summer soon, and another AOTY list as well. ANYWAY enough ado, on with the show!

What do Carrie Underwood and Laser Flames on the Great Big News have in common? I’ll get to the answer somewhere in here, hold on to your butts. Let me pull back first and give this release some context. With this album, Laser Flames on the Great Big News have FINALLY put out their debut after 4 years of being stuck in production/distribution.

At the time this record was recorded, Nashville was in the midst of experimenting with adding a touch of twang to heaviness. Bands like Hellbender (whose bassist/trombonist/etc. Mikey Allred engineered, mixed, and recorded this album) were mixing in windy plains-feeling acoustic intervals between big fat doom riffs, while Across Tundras took Neil Young and Townes Van Zandt into Earth’s deeper territories. Even Clorange had Carrie Acree’s dulcet sung melodies mixed in with Black Sabbath tones. Hearing this record finally come out, I can’t help but think about these bands and the sounds of those couple years.

    All this to say Laser Flames have a very interesting relationship with time. They have a sound that feels couched in times of cowboys and the West, but also harkens to the future, or maybe a future that has come to pass. The intro track sets the scene of what feels like Blade Runner but as a spaghetti western. This mixture of styles is rife through the whole album, as Clutch-inspired riffs morph to and from acoustic crooning between potent guitar and vocal duet John Judkins (Protomen, Rwake) and Stevie Bailey. Their gorgeous vocal interplay goes a long way to separate this outfit from similar outfits. They go from doing their best Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner impression to screaming like black metal banshees, especially at the end of the floridly manic Beloved.

2016 Oh Christ

Lots of bad things happened in 2016. But you don't need this blog to tell you that, you probably already know it. So let's skip to all the good things that happened this year, namely all the absolutely fantastic music that came this year, brought to you by some of Nashville's finest artists. Thanks to everyone who contributed!

Chris Click- Greywoods

In no order

Iggy Pop- Post Pop Depression

Inter Arma- Paradise Gallows

John Carpenter- Lost Themes II

Helms Alee- Stillicide

Trap Them- Crown Feral

True Widow- AVVOLGERE

A Tribe Called Quest- We Got it From Here

White Lung- Paradise

Throane-Derrière-nous, la lumiere

Descendents- Hypercaffium Spazzinate

Metz- Eraser EP

Psalm Zero- Stranger to Violence

Ultha- Pain Cleanses Every Doubt

Derek Martin - Greywoods

Autolux - PUSSY'S DEAD

B Boys - No Worry No Mind

Blood Incantation - Starspawn

Bolzer - Hero

Dead Congregation - Sombre Doom EP

Deathspell Omega - The Synarchy of Molten Bones

Gatecreeper - Sonoran Deprevation

GOST - Non Paradisi

Helms Alee - Stillicide

Inter Arma - Paradise Gallows

Holy Sons - In The Garden

Jim James - Eternally Even

Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered

King Dude - Sex

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity

Legowelt - Laundromat Of Your Mind

The Lion's Daughter - Existence Is Horror

Perturbator - The Uncanny Valley

Porches - Pool

Trap Them - Crown Feral

True Widow - AVVOLGERE

Wormrot – Voices 

Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression

OVERLOOKED Local Bands that killed it last year:

Watcher

Forest of Tygers

Sheep Shifter

Holy Mountaintop Removers

Seawitch

Rifft

Black Tar Prophet

Act of Impalement

Cannomen

Ascent of Everest

Commoner

Battlepath

The Jag

Thetan

Erin Rae & The Meanwhiles

Greg Swinehart – Black Tar Prophet

Dark Funeral-where shadows forever reign

Archgoat-the apocalyptic triumphator

Cult of Luna with Julie Christmas-Mariner

Asphalt Graves-The New Primitive

Destroyer 666-Wildfire

I think Archgoat was 2015. Can't remember 

Top local release Holy Mountaintop removers

Michael Mikey Owin - Ascent of Everest, Lawndry, Boo Dudes, Aborticide

Best albums: Batushka, Goat, Bowie.

Best in show: Mikey

John Judkins -The Protomen, Seafood Hotline, Laser Flames, Rwake

Spirit Adrift - Chained to Oblivion

Kvelertak - Nattesferd

Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop - Love Letter For Fire

Neurosis - Fires Within Fires

Cass McCombs - Mangy Love

Opeth - Sorceress

Holy Mountain Top Removers - The Ones     Disappearing You

Gorguts - Pleiades' Dust

Virus - Memento Collider

40 Watt Sun - Wider Than The Sky

Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

Netherlands - Audubon

Family - Future History

Danimal Cannon - Lunaria

Sumac - What One Becomes

Metallica - Hardwired...

William Tyler - Modern Country

Margaret Glaspy - Emotions and Math

Deftones - Gore

Charles Bradley – Changes

Stan Richardson II - Skoolgirl

Omni - "Deluxe"

Butthole - "Butthole"

https://buttholeband.bandcamp.com/album/butthole

Free Pizza - "Berlin, DE"

People Zoo - "People Zoo"

Spencer Moore - Phobos, Chasm of Teeth, Animality

Meshuggah - The Violent Sleep of Reason

Sumac - What One Becomes

Ulcerate - Shrines of Paralysis

Obscura - Akroasis

Car Bomb - Meta

Aborted - Retrogore

Zhrine - Unortheta

Khemmis - Hunted

Fallujah - Dreamless

Revocation - Great Is Our Sin

Barishi - Blood From the Lion's Mouth

Wayfarer - Old Souls

Virvum - Illuminance

Vermin Womb - Decline

Mithras - On Strange Loops

Mikey Allred – Holy Mountaintop Removers, head honcho at Dark Art Audio

Let’s just go with “Bowie tho”

Jim and Rachel Valosik – Forest of Tygers

Top 5 records:

Ustalost - Spoor of Vipers

Anicon - Exegeses

Meshuggah - The Violent Sleep of Reason

The Body - No One Deserves Happiness

Pyrolatrous - EP

Top 5 Nashville Live Performances:

Die Choking

Pyrrhon

Meshuggah

Shellac

Hivelords

Top 5 2016 Movies:

Southbound

Baskin

The Witch

Train to Busan

Neon Demon

Blake Dellinger - Flummox

The Claypool/Lennon Delirium - Monolith of Phobos

Opeth - Sorceress

Beardfish - 4626 Comfortzone

Howling Giant - Black Hole Space Wizard

Black Sabbath - The End

Elias MacDonald - Ex-Altar of Complaints, Chasm of Teeth, Phobos, Cull

Car Bomb - Meta

Meshuggah - Violent Sleep of Reason

Dysrhytmia - The Veil of Control

Gorguts - Pleiades' Dust

Esperanza Spalding - Emily's D+Evolution

Jace of Two-9 - Jace tape

Lil Uzi Vert - Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World

Lil Uzi Vert/Gucci Mane - 1017 vs. The World

TTNG - Disappointment Island

Plebeian Grandstand - False Highs, True Lows

Guerrilla Toss - Eraser Stargazer

Full of Hell/The Body - One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache

Tigran Hamasyan and other dudes - Atmosphères

Piss Vortex - Future Cancer

Knife Hits - Eris

Watcher - به پایان رسید

Palm - Audiotree live session

Yautja - Audiotree live session

Scotty Rockwell - Viva La Rockwell

Deathspell Omega - The Synarchy of Molten Bones

Ulcerate - Shrines of Paralysis

Blake Edward Conley- lucy stoner, the minor second, droneroom

no order coz music is not a competition (though clipping, tacocat, and blonde redhead were the two albums i listened to the most, so do with that what you will)

tacocat- lost time

mount moriah- how to dance

autolux- pussy's dead

matmos- ultimate care II

horseback- dead ringers

licht-akiyama trios- tomorrow outside tomorrow

jim o'rourke/fennesz- it's hard for me to say i'm sorry

william tyler- modern country

jenks miller and rose cross NC- blues from WHAT

heron oblivion- s/t

the gotobeds- blood//sugar//secs/traffic

clipping- splendor and misery

true widow- avvolgere

the body- no one deserves happiness

papa m- highway songs

white lung- paradise

savak- best of luck in future endeavors

e- e

honourable mention

steve gunn- eyes on the line

tribe called quest- we got it from here...thank you 4 your service

blood orange- freetown sound

minor victories- s/t

body/head- no waves

angel olsen- my woman

reissues-

tad- god's balls/salt lick/8-way santa

blonde redhead- masculin feminin

mike watt- ring spiel '95

personal bias favs-

ladyshark- monsters

cøurtney- when this flesh is not enough

new cowboy builders- pentre alexandra deaths head orpheans

coordinated suicides- false pleasure

Josh Cochran – Billy Castro

My Top 5 Albums of 2016

1. Ustalost - The Spoor of Vipers

2. Cough - Still They Pray

3. Deftones - Gore

4. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

5. The Body - No One Deserves Happiness

Other Releases I Enjoyed (In No Particular Order)

Krallice - Hyperion

Nails - You Will Never Be One Of Us

Day Wave - Headcase/Hard To Read

Anicon - Exegeses

Death Grips - Bottomless Pit

Pallbearer - Fear and Fury

Ghost - Popestar

Khemmis - Hunted
Conan - Revengeance

Elias MacDonald - Ex-Altar of Complaints, Chasm of Teeth, Phobos, Cull

Car Bomb - Meta

Meshuggah - Violent Sleep of Reason

Dysrhytmia - The Veil of Control

Gorguts - Pleiades' Dust

Esperanza Spalding - Emily's D+Evolution

Jace of Two-9 - Jace tape

Lil Uzi Vert - Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World

Lil Uzi Vert/Gucci Mane - 1017 vs. The World

TTNG - Disappointment Island

Plebeian Grandstand - False Highs, True Lows

Guerrilla Toss - Eraser Stargazer

Full of Hell/The Body - One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache

Tigran Hamasyan and other dudes - Atmosphères

Piss Vortex - Future Cancer

Knife Hits - Eris

Watcher - به پایان رسید

Palm - Audiotree live session

Yautja - Audiotree live session

Scotty Rockwell - Viva La Rockwell

Deathspell Omega - The Synarchy of Molten Bones
Ulcerate - Shrines of Paralysis

-->

ME: #3

This record just did everything right for me. Black metal, doom, bits of drone, perfect. It came out in March and I think I've nearly worn the record out already. Side A ends in a locked groove of a drone so perfect it took me 5 minutes the first time I listened to realized it was at the end. #2

I fell in love with this Finnish psychedelic black metal band since I heard their first record. This is one of the few albums that I wish I could have wiped from my memory so I could hear it for the first time again. Odd, strange, hypnotic, with what one would traditionally consider to be black metal only showing up to highlight the most intense moments, but the overall effect is like no other albums from this or any other year.  #1

By adding dance-y beats and emphasized the female vocals/choir on some the tracks, The Body have made the most intense, oppressive pop music ever to be released. The Body are doing heavy music unlike anyone else, which has earned them my top spot this year.

2015 and its beautiful music, as told by its beautiful musicians

Another year come and gone! This one was busy for me in and out of the music world, I wrote a couple reviews for Cvlt Nation in the spring, I continued playing bass with my heavy shoegaze/post-rock trio Cosmic Yawn, I screamed about the gods of Chaos in Great Unclean Ones (coming soon), and I wrote FREE BITCH on my stomach as I screamed a Lady Gaga cover into a mic’d warhorn with Cøurtney. Outside of music, I played some sweet video games and then got hired on as a Research Assistant in a lab. But enough ado, here are the lists of top albums from some of Nashville’s finest:

OK FINE WE CAN HAVE AN END OF 2014 LIST GOD

YES HERE WE ARE AGAIN YOU THOUGHT WE WERE DEAD AND MAYBE WE WERE BUT NOW WE ARE BACK AGAIN but yeah this one is late too no surprises there really. 

By all accounts, 2014 was balls-out insane, starting with #SochiProblems and ending with #ICantBreathe. Personally, The first half of the year consisted of somehow managing to snag a Biology degree (cue Final Fantasy victory music) and the rest of the year was spent working nights. 2014 was an amazing year in heavy noisy music, and without further ado, here are the year's best from the local scene's finest musicians that responded to emails and/or posted a list on facebook that I am summarily pirating here:

2013 was a year that had music

Another year has come and gone, and all sorts of crazy shit happened. For me personally, I took on the hardest year of schooling I've ever had and managed to come away without any Cs, I studied gibbons at the zoo and salamander DNA in a lab, I was elected secretary of my college's biology club, and I joined, recorded with, and was booted from Act of Impalement because I was too busy with school.

More to the point though, 2013 was an incredible year for extreme music both locally and globally. Without further ado, here are the lists from local artists, as well as my own at the bottom.

NashVile: now with more birdcalls!

For all one of you who's been waiting with bated breath at what I'm going to post next, I'm tremendously sorry for not keeping up with this blog. I've become very busy with DNA research this summer at Belmont, and I've somehow managed to join Act of Impalement on bass.

In lieu of trying to write up whole blog posts for each show that end up incredibly late, I've decided to make a NashVile twitter account so I can promote all these fantastic local bands on the fly. I'll still try to write up full reviews when I can, but when I can't, I'll post blurbs on twitter.

Follow me here: https://twitter.com/Nash_Vile
Edit: Look what I can make! Here's account itself, in action:
Tweets by @Nash_Vile

Sun Wheel, Motherplant, Black Tar Prophet, Holy Mountain Top Removers at Springwater (+Shroud Eater)

After a quite pregnant pause, it is time to give birth to some much-delayed show reviews! I think, for my own sake, I'm going to group the past shows I've seen by month (which means that May is going to end up the disproportionately large triplet due to that week of shows I attended.). Fuck it, I'll just do it one show at a time. It's easier to read and write this way. Enough with the weird birth jokes though, let's get these writeups going!

I considered not writing anything up the last show I saw in February due to the headlining band not really needing any press from me. The trio that is Shroud Eater has begun to blow up enough to be covered by legitimate metal news sites. I changed my mind when I heard their new release however. Everybody needs to hear it. If Matt Pike was secretly two women and a Scott Ian lookalike in disguise, that would be awesome. Also it would sound kind of like this.


ooh and I just learned about this "jump break" thing, I guess you have to click on the link headline if you want to read about the other shows in March the bands listed in the header. Unless you've already clicked. I'm not sure how it works yet.

May 4-10 full res picture and video uploads

Just a forewarning, the sound quality on the videos is terrible.


EDIT: Added a jump break so those running MS-DOS don't crash and burn when loading the main page. Click something nearby to see the videos.

Halmos' Full-Length LP "Exist" Review

Between the Boston bombing and West, Texas explosion, we're living in rather tumultuous times. When things get chaotic, it's nice to have some consistency, some familiar things, and things that are comfortable. The strong and still growing doom metal scene in Atlanta is full of sounds to help you calm down, slow down, and chill out, and Halmos' new album is a definite example of this. Their new album Exist delivers a solid, consistent, and plenty heavy effort that builds and expands upon their first EP, Vicious Cycle (which was one of my first reviews.)
Since the EP was released, the former duo has expanded into a quartet, adding Melanie Maher on bass and Casey Yarbrough on guitar number two. Both new members partake in vocal duties as well, meaning that everybody in Halmos gets to have his or her say at some point.

The vocals on songs that were brought over from the Vicious Cycle EP still focus on guitarist Corey Briley's straightforward speak-shout style for a good bit. However, the explosion of variety in the vocal styles since the EP serves as a testament to how important interesting vocals are, and how they can add a lot of intrigue and even depth to a band's sound. The clean singing in tracks "Outcry" and "Datura" stand out to me, and sometimes can get stuck in my head for hours. They just fit their underlying groove so well, and contrast nicely with the spoken and rougher vocals. The rougher vocals feel stronger in this release as well, and add yet another vocal variety.

Beneath the vocals thrums the heart of a doom metal beast. What Vicious Cycle hinted at has been realized in the form of fully fleshed out riffs. These Georgians worship at the same riff-hewn altar as doom behemoths Sleep, Conan, Acid King, Electric Wizard, and Black Sabbath. Everything is drenched in fuzz and distortion afforded by the ridiculous amount of Orange amps these guys have. The addition of Melanie Maher's bass playing adds much needed low-end support, and Casey Yarborough injects a freshness and versatility that sets the tracks new for the LP apart. The pacing is good, and shifts to fit the context of each song; nothing feels overly fast or slow. I could see myself jamming Exist while cruising down the highway with the windows down on an 80° summer day, while pumping my fist in time with the anthemic stylings.

This picture of their amps alone should

tell you how rad this album is

All together, Halmos plays slow and heavy, with a lot of groove and a lot to say. In their interview with Sludgelord, Corey talks about how the album is broken down into 3 parts, based on the givens of existence. Tracks 1-3 are about "Meaninglessness and Existential Isolation", 4-6 touch on "Freedom and Its Attendant Responsibility", and 7-9 focus on "The Inevitability of Death." Substantial topics in doom and stoner metal? I guess it's more likely than you think. This only adds to the intrigue of the album, and elevates it to a thought-provoking level not normally associated with this sort of music.

Although it is still somewhat constrained by sticking to music that was created as a two-piece, Halmos' style has become much fuller, fleshed-out, and maybe even more fully realized on this album. The addition of the new vocals adds welcomed contrast to the original style, and the added bass and guitar give this record the thump that Halmos deserved. As I see it though, these guys and girl are on the upswing: this album is just an appetizer for what I think Halmos can do. If they're headed where I think they're headed, their next album will fucking blow doors down. Not that this album is a slouch by any means, it's a damn good stoner anthem worth your time and money. But Halmos, they're just getting started.
8.3/10

The biggest noticeable change is Travis Anderson's hair. What was once a pinhead afro has transformed into an intimidating yet glorious peacock's mane as fuzzy as their sound. Awesome.

To see for yourself, stream it here while you still can!

Up next, look for the regular allotment of show reviews, but especially look for some Black Tar Prophet reviews that have been way, way overdue.

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

Act of Impalement; Anodes; Regret, The Informer; Altar of Complaints at the Hymen House 2/2

Update! Jesse Mowery has been kind enough to post the videos for these performances on Youtube. Check out the performances beneath each review!

Ah the Hymen House. Every time I come, it's like hanging out with friends, and then all of a sudden awesome bands are playing. Everybody is laid back, and there's never any unnecessary bullshit or drama. Posters of shows past coat the walls, and there's even a shrine to a stranger in the music room. Out of all the venues I've been to in Nashville so far, this one feels the coziest. Perfect for the show tonight, which consisted of three (mostly) post-hardcore bands and one "war doom" group.

That war doom group was Act of Impalement. Back when I first started this blog back in January of last year, I was inspired by Brother Ares' sonic power and obscurity to start writing. While I was at this show, I was approached by a trio of  amigos who asked my friend and I, "do you guys like Electric Wizard?" and smoked us out. As it turns out, two of those dudes would go on to form a band of their own called Act of Impalement, and I am happy to report that these guys rule (and not just for guitarist Ethan's apt Varg impression). They were the only band I missed at the exhausting Bobbarroo show last year, so I was excited to finally see them perform. Talking to Zack and Ethan before the show, they labeled their sound as "War Doom", a mixture of war metal (which itself is, according to Kim Kelly, "a blasphemous, violent black/death metal hybrid so extremely fast, raw, and chaotic that it often borders upon grind") with doom metal, whose definition I'm hoping you already know. These two blend the two styles fairly seamlessly, winding up with varying tempo and drumming, rough and raw guitar tone, and a low growl (though I would associate it more with black metal than death). With only two members, these guys don't have a whole lot of extra bells and whistles. What they do have are some absolutely killer doom and black metal riffs. Despite their professed inebriation (or maybe due in part to it), as soon as they started playing, they got right in sync and in the zone. Moving from lumbering doom passages to sprinting black metal with surprising efficacy, these two weave together extreme metal in earnest. With song titles like "My Warhorse Awaits" and "Now Your God Has Fallen", it's not hard to figure out what their agenda is. Churches beware. Look for their debut album coming soon, as well as a side project with Erik of Black Tar Prophet called either Wolf Pope, Vomit Wolf, or War Bong also coming soon. Check out their awesome meh-fi demos here:



After AoI was when the post-hardcore began. When I was growing up and beginning to explore metal, my only exposure to post-hardcore was horribly whiny groups that were even lamer than the "modern hardcore" bands of the time. I thought that post-hardcore, and to an extent, hardcore as a whole was about skinny jeans and feathered hair. Thus, my exposure to good post-hardcore has been severely delayed, so my knowledge on the subject hasn't quite caught up to my knowledge of metal (of which I still have volumes to go), but shows like this one are a powerful example to what amazing post-hardcore sounds like. I'd even go as far as to say that this was the best post-hardcore show I've ever been to, and St. Louis artists Anodes are a big part of that. I didn't hear much about them beforehand, but I was impressed by their performance. They blend heaviness with a sense of soul-baring personal truth by shout-speaking emotionally during the soft parts, and then not holding anything back during the loud and heavy segments. Bassist Katie Brown would often hold the melody while guitarists Sean Survant and AJ Hofstetter would scream and play delicious flowing harmonies over top. Very epic stuff reminiscent of Rosetta and one of my current favorite groups, Light Bearer. Stream their recently released album here, and make sure to pick it up on vinyl if you've got the rupees. (Apologies for lack of picture, none came out well)

greatest picture I have ever taken

Third up was Regret, The Informer from my old stomping grounds, Kansas City. I have in my show notes that these guys are "Post-hardcore with great bassist foundation under wonky and evil shoegaze." Damn, there must have been some good shit at this show, because in listening to their 7" "Less Than Three" that I got, I don't hear much shoegaze at all. Regardless, these guys were really energetic and interesting, with sometimes melodic sometimes noisy guitar shredding, and a thrumming bass that held everything together. The vocals were shouted in almost a D.R.I or Kowloon Walled City style, and even screamed at some points. At some points, I'd say they were heavy enough to border on post-metal (ambient sludge for the purists). Really fantastic and varied stuff, I was not disappointed. It's also worth nothing that these guys have some of the most clever and humorous lyrics I've read, lyrics like "you can hold my hand but you can never hold my heart/ stay the fuck away from me/ baby, i'm a work of art/ you can never hold my heart" (from "Good Morning Drug" off the aforementioned 7"). Check it out for yourself right here, right now.

guys wrong way

we're over here guys

Last up was some new voodoo from right here in Nashville, Altar of Complaints. I'd been looking forward to seeing this new band since Jesse Mowery's other band Dawn broke up. I'm happy to report that these guys absolutely kick ass. Vocals are shouted and screamed over noodlesome, flowery, and even spacy guitars. These guys are all over the place, but in the best way possible. Elias MacDonald from local death metal band Axis (and others) provided the low-end foundation with some gorgeous 6-string caressing, and said "fuck mics" and screamed without one. The drums were really powerful, especially considering how "pretty" the guitars could be at time. These guys managed to bring together some pretty unlike parts into a surprisingly cohesive package, especially considering how unseriously these guys apparently take themselves. From their facebook page description, "...we don't consider this to be a band but more of an on going experiment in having fun and not taking ourselves too serious. Cause let's face it, our music isn't saving the world from shit. And we are fine with that. You want enlightenment?, go see Deepak Chopra and LSD." Sounds pretty apt. To experience their delightful musical dickery, stream their newly album album aquí:


Jesse was too busy playing to record himself, so there's no live video of this performance that I could find. So instead, have this video of AoC chortling about tambourines recording at Black Matter Mastering:


Another one in the books. Next on the docket, a show with a few multiple-bass bands, and one without! In the meantime, if you need me, I'm going to be working up to doing DNA work on these guys this summer:

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!

In Fidelity, Pissbath, Choking on Ash, Good Luck Varsity, Pray For Teeth, Cerce, Out of Time at the Owl Farm on 1/14

If you think that's a lot of bands, then you're absolutely right. 7 bands on a Monday night. No way I was going to miss it though, I'd been looking forward to seeing Cerce since one of my best friends/worst roommates showed them to me a year before. I wanted to see them so bad that I offered to pay the booking fee to bring them to Cafe Coco, but Chase Wilson of the Owl Farm crew beat me to the punch. Thank goodness, since I have absolutely zero experience in putting together or promoting shows, and would probably just ruin everything. So thanks Chase and everybody else at the Owl Farm, even if it was a lot of bands for one night it was still a hell of a show.

Anyway, let's get to the bands. First up was In Fidelity. These guys are local metallic hardcore heavy hitters who played either with no breaks and great transitions or one long song. Personally I hope it's the latter, but only because I adore extra long songs a la Dopesmoker and Absolutego. These guys had put on a really high energy show, with a lot of movement from every member. Vocalist Cooper Pemelton seemed especially restless, exploring the stage space in a manic pace back and forth, never really finding a spot to settle down in. This was possibly due to nausea, as he vomited more than once after the performance. Other members of the band assured me that this was an occurrence that happened somewhat regularly, and that I shouldn't be alarmed. His actual vocals were passionate and earnest, as though he was verbalizing his own personal tales of hardships and outrages, and how fed up he was about them. The rest of the band sonically supports this attitude very well, pondering the grievances during more subdued portions and lashing out during more aggressive passages. To me they have a varied hardcore sound, with bits of metallic hardcore somewhat similar to earlier  Converge, D-beat, and even a touch of sludge here and there. They even have some tasty post-metal moments, with soft parts building and crescendoing into heavier phrases. Overall, really infectious stuff that'll get your blood pumping. Check out their split with Chained on local label Spaghetti Spaghetti Records here, and look for their EP These Things I Can't Forget on the same label soon.

Next us was Murfreesboro shredders Pissbath. These guys are fucking rough! Screaming and  distortion galore. This shit is not for pussies. These Avalon House kids play their punk/hardcore music as distorted as they can (almost to the point of harsh noise at some points), and screamer Melissa Hurley holds nothing back. Some might be turned off by it, but my absolute favorite part of these guys is when they play so furiously that they start to come apart ever so slightly, as if their desire to be fucking raw and agressive takes precedence over the need to be bolt-tight. Their sound is tearing at the seams, and that's the way they like it. Talking to the band afterwards, they said that they were supposed to play the show with a bass player, but he ended up going to Florida, and despite saying that he'd make it back in time he was absent for the show. Bassist or no, these guys rocked. Check out their demo on guitarist and Avalon House aficionado's label/distro Primitive Prison:

Third up was what's quickly becoming one of my favorite local groups Choking on Ash. Featuring members of local crushers Yautja, Sacaea, Sky Burial, and a plethora of other Little Hamilton/Owl Farm-related bands, this group punishes in way that makes you beg for more. Ever since I heard their demo (below), I've been impressed with their work. It would be easy to just label this group stoner metal/sludge with screamed vocals, but to do so would miss some of the nuances that make this group great. Kayhan's guitars are sludgy enough, but the breakneck fast parts show that he's not resting on his laurels one bit. And what great tone! Like wearing a sharkskin condom with the rough side on the inside. I'm not sure it's represented enough in their demo recording, but the bass was really driving and even intricate at some parts at this show. I was impressed, I hope it comes through clearly whenever they put out an official release. Story's vocals - just, goddamn. Could they be considered black metal? I'd say they're pretty close. They definitely add another layer and texture which just fleshes out the band that much more. Drummer Ivan is a scene veteran and a beast at drums. Whether it's a beat every other second or frantic blasts, seems like he runs the gamut in this band. Check out their demo right here:

Fourth up was the first touring group, Good Luck Varsity, all the way from Detroit. If you're scratching your head and thinking "well that doesn't sound like a very hardcore name" then you're absolutely right. These guys are a pop-punk/post-hardcore group from Detroit. Seeing as they were the middlemost band of the night, I can't help but wonder if they were meant to be an intermission of sorts, seeing as most people went outside to imbibe their drink or drug of choice when they started playing. Sonically they're outside of my area of expertise, but once I got past the fact that they weren't heavy I didn't mind them. They were certainly competent, and had some pretty good vocal harmonies. Guitars were rather noodly and the bass was groovy. I relished the occasional scream. Someone lamented the fact that one guitarist was also using a laptop and the bass play was using a wireless pickup system, but I don't give enough of a fuck to be bothered by shit like that. I'm more bothered by the fact that these guys were playing this show at all. I wouldn't say that I wish I hadn't seen them, I just wish it wasn't at an overbooked show. Regardless, they still deserve a listen. Check them out:

Band number five was Pray for Teeth from Pittsburgh, PA. Their facebook page genre is listed as "No genres no masters", so I'm going to attempt to describe without using genre labels for as long as I can. It can be like charades! I give you clues, and you can call out the genre while you read. THREE WORDS. RHYMES WITH: Claymore Sheath. SOUNDS LIKE: Lumberjacks lamenting fallen forests. Echoes of unrest clamoring off of canyon walls. Feedback; ambient yet crunchy guitars and throaty yells. Pulsing bass and pounding drums. But enough with the poetry and shit. Sorry guys, I held off for this long, but I gotta throw around some genres. Still, these guys really don't fall into one specific group, so none of these monikers goes all the way in describing them, but here goes: I heard elements of post-metal (ambient sludge, if you're a purist) a la Isis and Rosetta, doom metal and sludge, hardcore, and even black metal, both atmospheric and regular flavors. I was especially impressed with Neal Dudash's vocals, whose hardcore shouts were almost powerful enough to be considered black metal screams. Watch this video about hot sauce of them recording material for their 7", streamable below the video and look for the vinyl copy coming out on It's A Trap! and Moshtache Records, as well as Root of All Evil Collective.



Band six was the moment we'd all been waiting for, the heavyweight championship fight we'd all come to see. In this corner, all the way from Boston/Philadelphia, weighing in at a gaunt 650 pounds collectively (that's an average of 130 lbs per band member for those of you who preprogrammed the answers into your TI-83 before tests), coming off of a 12-show winning streak, CERCE!! As I mentioned in the beginning, a friend of mine showed me these guys' bandcamp page, and I was intrigued. So much pink, but yet these guys had a wicked sound. Not much in the way of releases though... until they put up their self-titled 7". Lordy, this thing was a monster, and I wasn't the only one who thought so. On even the most contrary music forums, I saw a pretty strong positive response to this release, some even citing it as one of the best releases of last year. You can imagine my excitement at getting to see them play. And I was not disappointed. Raucous and explosive, they fuse an abrasive mass of sludge, hardcore, and powerviolence into an earthquake of musical transgression. The place was electric when they played, everyone in the crowd receiving the energy which the band put out with every pugilistic riff.  Once they began playing it was like going over the top of the first mountain of the biggest roller coaster at the park: all you could do was hold on to this ride hurtling around tight corners at breakneck speeds, and you knew that any signs of softening or slowing would only lead to bigger hills and more violent lurches. These guys shifted and accelerated like a hawk battling a falcon in midair, and deceptively pink-haired Becca Cadalzo had screams match. Her vocals, which are something of a focal point for this band, something that makes them stand out, were just as enthralling live as on record, screeching and crying out while guitars writhed and pounced beneath. As a total package, these guys succeed in earnestly expressing some pretty powerful emotion without sounding histrionic or patronizing. I can't tell you how excited I am that I got a hold of one of the last original pressings of their 7".

All together now: LET ME PUT THIS BODY TO REST

Before I link to their music and tell you to buy it, there's one issue that plagued this show that I think bears mentioning. Throughout the show, there was one girl who seemed way more animated than anyone else in the crowd. Hardcore dancing around, singing along with lyrics she may or may not have known, throwing her arms about. I'm not here to hate on any of that, hardcore shows are a great time to do whatever the fuck you want to music, including moshing and whatever else you feel. What's not okay is when you get so fucked up and out of control that you fucking PUNCH BECCA FROM CERCE IN THE FACE DURING THEIR SET. I apologized to Becca after the show for it, after she said she felt like an asshole for pointing the girl out for punching her in the face. Hardcore shows are rough, violent expressions are okay, but not if you're interfering with the band that you and everyone else paid to see.

In any case, Cerce put on a killer show despite encroachment, and you should buy their stuff.
Their 7" first pressing is pretty scarce, but a few of the 2nd pressing with Solidarity Recordings might be left. Look for their split with Stresscase coming soon on Mayfly Records soon! Till then, stream:


Last band of the night! I'm getting tired just typing this up. Band #7 was, ironically, Out of Time. Fighting out of St Louis, MO, these bruisers played meaty hardcore with a sludgy punch that hits you right in the gut. Vocals are shouted in the vein of oldschool hardcore punk, and fit the style perfectly. The drums were especially punchy live, and complemented the overall sound very well. A lot of people probably left after Cerce, but I'm glad I decided to stick around. These guys exemplify what solid, no-bullshit-all-pit hardcore should sound like. But don't take my word for it, find out for yourself:


Whew! Another review under my belt. If you see any mistakes or things I left out, please contact me or leave a comment. In the meantime, I'm going back to studying biology like this: