The Heavy Medicinal Grand Exposition – Limited Vinyl // CD // DD
Pepper Shaker Records & Headspin Records – released November 1, 2018
Review by Terry “The Ancient” One Cuyler
“Psychedelic Snake Oil”
The Heavy Medicinal Grand Exposition
I.Oddball Sundae (00:00-05:15)
II.The Juggler (05:16-10:08)
III.Introducing… Oxandra Lanceolata (10:09-16:26)
The Talking Juice (16:27-27:31)
Swords For Hire (27:32-31:47)
Never Should Have Left Town With A Whistling Monkey By My Side(31:48-39:29)
2 Encore: A Herbal Miracle (6:02)
Review:
Step right up ladies and gentlemen, so I can tell you about The Heavy Medicinal Grand Exposition by Australia’s Heavy Psych trio Frozen Planet ….1969 made up of Paul Attard & Frank Attard of Mother Mars and Lachlan Paine of Looking Glass who planted the seeds to the band in 2012 in a jam session at the Frank Street Studio, the home of Pepper Shaker Records. Then a little more than a year later the guys got back together and decided to release the recordings as a side project they would call Frozen Planet 1969.
To date, the band has only played a handful of shows. Each show has been uniquely different with the band continuously jamming for thirty to forty minutes. No rehearsal necessary. Every time Frozen Planet 1969 gets together it’s either to record or play live. And it’s All improvised! Although this is a style of creating and playing music that can cause friction it seems to work quite well for Frozen Planet 1969 who has released a total of 6 albums and 2 singles since their 1st “Self Titled” album.
The bands latest offering is on it’s surface a 2 song album which might be disappointing if they were only 3 to 5 minute songs and leave me hoping they were just appetizers for an upcoming album. However as masters of improvisation who love to jam, Frozen Planet 1969‘s album The Heavy Medicinal Grand Exposition is not just two songs. it is in truth a Psychedelic / Acid Rock opera about a traveling medicine show.
In the album description on Bandcamp ‘I’ through ‘VI’ of the title-track serve as the acts of the show. The band takes twists and turns to help guide you through the story, while Doctor Berner, with the help of some colorful characters, are on a quest to sell bottles of his glowing green elixir (which will apparently cure any pain or deliver anyone from evil!). After listening to this I am hooked and want to see one of those rare shows.
Other Projects: The Heavy Crawls
Lucifer Rising
Turnaround
The Red Sterns
Review: While most of us have taken the summer to live life, the way we do, soaking up all of the joys life offers us while taking a break from the ‘every-day’ as it were. Max Tovstyi is the exception to the rule here. Having completed another tour with The Heavy Crawls and their rotating cast of members, he completed his Broken Bricks Studios project, including getting the right building and equipment, and doing most of the work himself. During all of this he had going on, Max was able to complete a series of 12 songs that tend towards a more blues-feel record, complete with faster tempo tracks interwoven with the slower, and Max does it ALL on this album. Previously, he seemed to concentrate on the space-rock type of structure and letting his guitar work speak for itself while sitting at the helm of his creative juggernaut, steering into the world. This time, it is just him, no pretense, no other minds involved so we get PURE Max, claiming responsibility for every nuance and note.
I had been contacted directly by Max to review this solo-outing, the day before it’s release and upon initial listening, I was floored with the simple purity of each track, surprised with the dozen compositions that sound very little like anything I had heard before from…
From the power chord intro of ‘Rising Sun’ through to the phased-out beginning of bonus track ‘So Unfamiliar’ and it’s slow-cascading tempo, there is just so much to ingest here. While ‘Wait Till Tomorrow’ comes out of the gate relatively quick, he slows to a mid-tempo pace that allows him to flex his muscle, including harmonizing alongside himself in the chorus and you can hear some multi-layered soloing as it permeates the air around. ‘Interstellar Girl opens with a jazzy drumline that leads right into some funky 70’s sounding keyboards that follow the pumped-up bass line and is jaunty enough to keep your head moving along, and ‘Feel Like Dying Now’ keeps that feel but is a diatribe in sadness as Max describes what took him there, all frosted in some of his most-personal soloing he has done yet.
‘From The Blues To The Funk’ sounds like something lifted directly out of Mississippi mud and by the time you have reached the three minute mark, the funk has overtaken the bass and the ‘funk’ is all over the place, replete with some sassy horn work for good measure. ‘Yesterday’s Blues’ is more traditional in arrangement and delivery but still containing his heart on his sleeve, much like the token ‘heartstrings-puller’ delivery of ‘You Have To Make Up Your Mind’ that includes some female back-up vocals to compliment the chorus here.
‘Show Me The Way’ maintains this feel and does not disappoint while tracks like ‘World Of Sin’ give you something to chew-on with the lush mix that manages to convey a little of the previously mentioned space-rock’ feel and still feeling heavy as fuck, where ‘You Know That I Know’ is one of the faster tracks offered and keeps it moving as much as any other from this album. ‘Show Me The Way’ sums up the rest of the record in keeping with that standard 3/4 time sig that is so prevalent with the blues overall.
The one that stands out and away from the others on this in I didn’t just want, I NEEDED to listen to this one over and over, that being the title track ‘Mesmerize’ with what can only be described as fuzzed-out, punch you in your chest hard rock brought perfectly into this century by Max’ own hand. The structure/arrangement/delivery is flawless and FOR ME, is the best I have heard from Max to this point.
Having watched this all develop has been fascinating and I can only hope for more, including a tour to the USA. Get it if you haven’t already, share it with ALL that surround you and when all else fails, keep it LOUD!!
Line Up: Gergely (Greg) Kovács (vocals) Zoltán Bereczki (guitar, vocals) András Makay (guitar) Márton Veress (drums) Sándor Szabó (bass)
Tracklist: Waste Crossed Desertdrive The Emptiest Leech Castaways Rediscover Queen of The Dirt
Review: Hello once again my fellow tasters. Here at Taste Nation LLC – A Music Consortium we strive to bring fans and musicians of all genres together. To do that we scour the internet and our local music scenes for music submissions by fans and bands from around the world. One of our most recent submissions comes from a band called Red Swamp.
After downloading the band’s 2nd album Desertdrive and adjusting the sound settings to rock, I got an earful of ‘Hell Yeah!’ Wanting to know more about the band I went to their Facebook page were I learned the band hails from Hungary’s capitol city Budapest and the names of the members and little else. I could have just went with that and this review would just be a short blurb about some Hungarian metal band but the music sounded to good to let my review be a blurb. So I decided to contact them and ask them a bit about their band as I am not at all familiar with the Eastern European metal scene.
Formed in 2015 by its 3 founding members vocalist Gergely (Greg) Kovács, guitarist // vocalist Zoltán Bereczki, and bassist Sándor Szabó, Red Swamp seemingly hit the ground running when they entered the music scene. With little more than a 3 song EP that they circulated throughout the stoner/sludge/doom music blogs and pages, they earned rave reviews. It was these earlier releases that lead to Red Swamp being 1 of 500 applicants in 5 general categories, accepted into the Talentometer (one of Hungary’s biggest musical talent competitions cultivated by the A38 Ship concert venue) and winning 1st place. With their prizes, Red Swamp hit the open road Headlining their own “Support the Habit” tour and opening for local and international bands where they played sold out shows with Karma to Burn, Clutch, and Sons of Morpheus. They have also played Hungary’s Rockmarathon twice and EFOTT where they got the audience so nuts they turned the joint into a huge mud hole. All of which resulted in the release of their debut album Tiszassippi on September 21st 2016.
After touring the Hell out of their album Tiszassippi in Hungary and Austria, Red Swamp sought to keep the momentum and went right back into song writing mode for their Sophomore album Desertdriveand recruited Márton Veress(formerly of Pokolgép Hungary’s biggest metal bandand ex member of Chris Amott’sArmageddon, and now member of Aelonia, which is Jake Pitt of the Black Veil Brides project.) Whew!!…Now got all that out of the way I can tell you what this means to the band and their latest offering. Unlike Tiszassippi which created the basis around Red Swamp, Márton Veress’ skill has allowed the band to polish and refine its overall sound.
Tiszassippi was mastered by maestro Jens Borgen of Fascination Studios who is best known for his work with At The Gates, Soilwork, and Arch Enemy. Tiszassippi is the result of Red Swamps evolution as a band in the 1st year in which they developed their sound which swift current beneath a sludgy surface resulting in something that sounds akin to heavy southern rock. Thus the album title that combines the names of Hungary’s and the United State’s Mississippi rivers.
When I first heard Red Swamp I was in a bit of a conundrum. I found myself asking How do a bunch of musicians from Hungary sound so Southern Fried? Of course after a bit of thought I recalled the British Blues Rock scene of the late 60’s and 70’s and came upon my answer. Influenced by many different bands, Red Swamp seems to have taken a sort of VOLBEAT type of approach to Desertdrive by concentrating on catchier hooks and clear vocals backed up by harsh vocals rather than slam the listener with ten tons of sludge. While the band may attribute quite a bit of this to their new drummer I believe the addition of his skill and presence to the line-up is a huge confidence booster because it allows them to get the exact sound they want.
All in all I’d say Red Swamp did one Hell of a job. From getting their album recorded under Hungary’s acclaimed Hunnia Records, to getting the support of Hungary’s National Cultural Foundation, and the sponsorship of the Hanfoglaló music program that they used to record Desertdrive. Red Swamp’s own guitarist Zoli Bereczki mixed and mastered the album. I love all of the 8 songs on this album but, my favorite is ‘Waste’ and its music video which is a damn good introduction to the band for us Yanks here in America. All one has to do is watch it to see why its climbing the rock video charts in Hungary.
Among my other favorites are the albums title track ‘Desertdrive’ which feels sort of like a tip of the hat to VOLBEAT with Márton Veress’s bouncy drums Greg’s Anthem vocal hook “You had every piece of me except the one” backed up by Zoli’s leads and harsh vocals. While Red Swamp calls itself stoner/sludge; track ‘Castaways’ treats the listener to some thrashing guitar breakdown combined with Sándor Szabó’s rolling bass. This is an album that is definitely worth getting on CD or vinyl and a band I would love to see come to the States. Show Red Swamp your love and support! If you are an American Band Promoter or somebody that can make this happen, drop them a line and tell them you were sent by The Ancient One!
Holy Roar Records / Black Bow Records – released April 27, 2018
Reviewed by Zachary “+Norway+” Turner
Lineup: Paul Swarbrick | Guitar
Alex Hurst | Vocals and Guitar
Ste Arands | Drums and Percussion
Matthew Milne | Keyboards
Liam Pendlebury-Green | Bass
Boss Keloid are a Progressive/Groove Metal band from Wigan, UK and have been active since 2010. For me this release held a lot of mystery when I first received it. Looking at the cover I was not expecting what I got. I thought the album was going to be either an Art Rock or a Power Pop record. (and boy was I in for a shock when I started listening to the album.)
As with most prog bands, tempo is played with and changes a bunch. The first track is a great example of that. The band likes to play with different genres as well. A good chunk of the album is Metal while hints and parts of other’s types of music are overlaid and played in between parts of the songs.
The titles to these songs are in some fantasy like language and I cannot seem to find a translation or where they came from.
The vocalist has a pretty good range, if I wasn’t paying as much attention I would think there were at least two singers. At a few moments he reminds me of David from Disturbed, but with more range. The band hold their own as a unit; no one seems to be trying to outdo the other.
Three of the tracks are over 7 minutes long and the others are both 5 minutes long, with and while listening I never got bored or tired. The band go all over the musical board and, even though it sometimes gets a little messy (in terms of meshing genres, like in the beginning of Tarku Shavel) it never sounds bad.
Overarching album review:
Here is where I’d break down each track and give a brief synopsis of each. For this album I feel it will get redundant after the second track; so instead I will give a highlights version.
Boss Keloid sound great and, for the most part, blend elements of rock, world, progressive, and metal together really well. The lyrics are interesting and the delivery is executed good as well. The playing by the band never seems to be sloppy. Every song seems to be a part of one bigger song or jam session(s). Alternatively the album sounds like it is one big song. So no song in particular sticks out to me. That is not a bad thing or a dig at the band. This album sounds great and is a solid album.
If you enjoy more soundscape-y albums with progressive music, heavy rock and well written lyrics you should check out Boss Keloid and “Melted on the Inch”! Top Year End Contender!
Tracklist: Another Plane (8:35)
Stellar Gate Drive (5:41)
The Tree and the Serpent (6:01)
B Oscillation (6:59)
Diesel Breath (7:35)
Priestess of Misery (6:24)
Half a Man (4:07)
Om Shaantih (6:00)
Review:
Sergeant Thunderhoof is a group of unsung metal heroes from England specializing in stoner metal. In May of 2018 following a successful kickstarter campaign, Sergeant Thunderhoof have graced us with their third full-length album Terra Solus and I am happy to say that it does not disappoint.
Stylistically, Terra Solus is about what would be expected of them, boasting a heavy yet melodic variety of stoner metal tinged with a healthy dosage of psychedelia. The album begins with tribal drums and a huge guitar riff in “Another Plane”. Eventually, the vocals enter, showing a marked improvement over their previous album, Ride of the Hoof. On Terra Solus, the melodic vocals of Dan Flitcroft are clearer, crisper, and more confident, showing great maturation of their band.
The production is also much cleaner, resulting in a great sound quality. Each instrument is heard with crystal clarity throughout the whole album and it is a joy to listen to. In addition, Terra Solus is sequenced fantastically- it’s almost as though the album has a complete story arc.
The album also has insane solos and riffs to spare. Guitarist Mark Sayer is really playing his instrument for all it’s worth. There are a ton of great guitar parts straight out of the gate, and the band’s rhythm section gives every song on the album a fantastic groundwork.
All in all, Terra Solus is an absolute killer of an album from beginning to end. It has groove and attitude to spare, and it’s a crime that three albums in Sergeant Thunderhoof still hasn’t gained a foothold. I highly recommend that you check out this album and Sergeant Thunderhoof’s entire backlog if you’re interested in Stoner Metal. Now if only there was a time machine in order to go back and “back” the Kickstarter project…
Lineup: Russel Clark (Vocals)
Christos Athanasias (Guitar)
Nicolas Dumont (Bass)
Andy Alkemade (Drums)
Tracklist: Promised Land 04:53
Black Widow 03:53
Raging Bull 03:21
Killing Time 04:31
Love Enemy 03:56
You & Me 03:58
Lazarus 05:43
Little Birdy Told Me 04:10
The Fire 06:24
Review:
The Ugly Kings are a Rock band from Melbourne, Australia. I’ll let the band explain themselves further; “[we] offer a stripped down but powerful injection of energy and emotion to the modern rock scene [by] formulating what can only be described as ‘Power Blues’ [with] memorable beats, thunderous bass lines and an electrifying barrage of bluesy ‘grit’ riffs tied with raw and emotive vocals.”
Darkness Is My Home is the first full length album by the band. (The previous releases being a E.P. of sorts, Of Sins, and a single, Promised Land, which is the same as the version on this release but has a b-side that is not on this album.)
Overall the band’s sound is a mix of early Classic Rock and are heavily inspired by Blues Rock. The perfect descriptor tag for the album is Doom Blues with Rock flair. In a way this album sounds like you can chop up and mix it up and make different songs each time. At the same time I like that it sounds that it was recorded in one take in a converted garage to studio.
Track-by-track: (Briefly)
Promised Land: I found a quote from the band on the song; “‘Promised Land is about the false promises that are preached to us by the charlatans of our society (politicians, big business, etc…). It’s about the pipe dream they sell us to keep us in servitude to the 1%, to keep us slaves to the dollar and material things. There is nothing at the top of the ladder, except another ladder. The Promised Land isn’t the destination we get sold, it’s inside of us.”
The band also have a beautifully shot video for the track too.
Black Widow: This is the 2nd hardest rocking track on the album. There is a bunch of back and forth in the tempo. It is also what I imagine the cover art comes from. (That and for Love Enemy)
Raging Bull: This is the hardest rocking track on the album. The riffs on this song sounds so familiar and I can’t think of what it is from.
Killing Time: Watch the music video for this track HERE
Love Enemy: This is a slower and more blues filled track. They sit on the riff while Russell is delivering the vocals. This track also feels like it could be a 2nd part to Black Widow.
You & Me: This is where the title of the album comes from. This is another slow track.
Lazarus: This track is a cover of David Bowie’sLazarus from his swan song album “Blackstar” and the band manage to make it their own while keeping the original close at hand.
Little Birdy Told Me: Kind of feels like Love Enemy.
Transcending Obscurity Records – releases June 22, 2018
Terry “The Ancient One” Cuyler
“Lending an Ear to the Mouth of Madness”
Not very long ago I was feeling a nice mellow after listening to some outstanding stoner rock however that soon changed after I received and listened to a pre-release of a debut album by Portugal’s black metal band GAEREA called “Unsettling Whispers”. Though they conceal their identities from the world at large behind black masks with occult symbols, GAEREA do not fail in making their intentions known. In the statement on their Bandcamp page they say to their audience: “Let’s make one thing clear. We need to stress the fact that our era is lost in a huge void of numbness. We are here to bring and present you what your system could not solve by itself. We’ll cover the daylight with ashes and smash the massive skull that’s blocking your brain and will to evolve.” – We’re GAEREA –
I can’t say with certainty when GAEREA began their quest to lead our world that is lost in a void of numbness to its ultimate destruction or evolution. But after a bit of research I learned many in the black metal underground began taking notice of GAEREA after the released it’s S/T debut EP on the Italian label Everlasting Spew Records in 2016 earning a small but loyal cult following and positive reviews in the black metal web-a-zines and blogs. Presenting themselves as a musical adversary GAEREA spits Narcissism, Self Destruction, Misanthropy, Mental Numbness creating an image of humanity at its worst through their music which it’s audience will hopefully be inspired to NOT become.
With a “Self Titled” debut EP out in MP3, CD, and Vinyl format, appearances around Portugal, and Spain and a boatload of reviews, GAEREA signed on with Transcending Obscurity Records and began work on their debut Full Length which is set for release June 22, 2018. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Miguel Tereso. With much better production, GAEREA has managed to put more focus into the artistic aspect their music deserves. While I felt the angst and venomous bile in their “S/T” EP, pushing the play button and listening to Unsettling Whispers was like lending an ear to the mouth of madness. Though I could only pick out a few of the words because the vocalist uses some hardcore vocal techniques that are spat out in a feral growl, I could definitely feel the musics intent and emotion he is trying to convey which I think were best represented in these “SELECT” standouts!
Svn– Beginning with an eerie oscillating sound that moves into pained ghostly whispers, ‘Svn’ feels like walking up to the very gates of hell and seeing a glimpse of what is in store as the build up begins and then let loose with a maelstrom of melodies, blast beats, and bellicose harsh vocals that lead into ‘Absent’.
Absent – What I managed to pick up from this is its about a person that discovers a loved one dead by their own hand. Throughout the song I hear the guitarist playing with a melodic tremolo picking technique and the drummers blast beats lending the bitter disrepair in the vocals creating a vision of somebody smashing their house up and setting themselves ablaze.
Whispers – What impressed me most about this song were the buzz saw riff, and jackrabbit fast blast beats that fooled me into thinking the song was nearly over as the tempo slowed only to pick right back up again before ending in a furious crescendo.
Lifeless Immortality – While GAEREA definitely uses some Hardcore elements in their music. They also have a melodic feel that shows up in ‘Lifeless Immortality’ using techniques on the guitar and bass that would work just as well on a violin or cello.
“Unsettling Whispers” will be available on Jun 22 in MP3, Vinyl, and CD on June 22. This is definitely an album to pick up. You can pre-order it on Bandcamp at the above link and buy a T-Shirt.
Tracklist: Rise Of Beesus 07:31
6ft Under Box 03:55
Stonerslam 03:16
Waltzer 03:38
Kusa 06:53
Zenza 03:26
Sonic Doom/Stoner Youth 06:21
Mata La Vergüenza 04:41
Beesus In Dope 07:40
…And 02:28
Review:
BEESUS are a rock band from Rome, Italy. This album is a strange mix of 90’s influences like; Grunge/Alternative Metal and Stoner Rock and even some Doom Metal. They have their guitar’s gain almost all the way up, making them buzz… Kind of like a bee.
You can hear the influence of a band they name in the first word and last word title of their seventh song, Sonic Youth. The album is a strange mix of Alice in Chains, John Corabi led Motley Crue, Sonic Youth, and Hobo Magic. Which doesn’t sound like it would sound good or work but here it really does.
Track-by-Track:
Rise Of Beesus 07:31 – The album starts with feedback, buzzing, and distant moaning. Then suddenly the rise begins. “I saw the prophet, who called his name, by a strange language I’ve never, never heard”. The world of the song becomes darker and soon the almost chant of “He’s here” makes it even stranger.
6ft Under Box 03:55 – The crunchy beginning sets up the atmosphere of this song. The vocals and music almost sound like it is coming from a box, there is no reverb, and even the vocals seem dry and crushed. The tracks builds to a neck breaking Shout out loud lyrics “6 Feet Under Box” which is accompanied with a powerful Riff that would knockout Mike Tyson in his heyday with its strength and power!
Stonerslam 03:16 – The reverb is back and with a grove. We are told; “so stand up crowd and start to dance, because your fears are near the end” even though we are barley into the album and song giving a somewhat false sense of ease but soon we are told to; “Create and destroy, well, you can, at Stonerslam” and to; “stand up sisters, stand up brothers, all together, altogether, stand up people, stand up now, and all together let’s start to dance” ending in feedback into
Waltzer 03:38 – This song is a heavy groove too and as the song progresses he tells us repeatedly; “I’m not enough fool, to be your slave, I’m not enough freak, to know your faith/to like our pain, ‘Cause I won’t be lost, I won’t be sold” and finally “I won’t be yours”
Kusa 06:53 – This is a heavy track in more ways than one… The lyrics, like; “Your choosing wrong ways, won’t take you so far away, (it always seems so easy), meanwhile she’s falling down” and musically, there is a constant bass plucking that is on the edge of being too distorted plodding along under the whole track. There are also little sound effects like breathing and a higher pitched note in the distance.
Kusa is Japanese for Grass or Herb. 草
Beesus is currently Touring Europe!
Zenza 03:26 – I’ll quote the singer on what this track is “uncontrolled madness” It sounds like everyone is just jamming away and rocking out. The way that the vocals are; main on the left (and a little on the right) and a second vocal joining on the right (and sometimes on the left) This track is just a wild ride.
“Zenza is just a name of a guy we know” says the band.
Sonic Doom/Stoner Youth 06:21 – This title shows what a few of the influences are for the band and album; Sonic Youth, Doom, and Stoner. The track mixes those three well; There is a sense of doom,there is the sound of stoner rock, and an influence of the musical stylings of Sonic Youth. (Stoner and Doom take the most focus though.
Mata La Vergüenza 04:41 – This is one of, if not the, most metal tracks on the album. Well the song is bookended by the two most metal parts on the album. In the middle it goes slow while the vocalist says that; “We only have to forgive the blame we only have to play this game, we only have to kill the shame” and finally “now we need to find some better place”
Spanish for Kills The Shame
Beesus In Dope 07:40 – This track sounds like a very strange mix of Black Sabbath and Alice in Chains. There is a slow and heavy groove and little lyrics. “Some drifting life, no time for dying, 4 single men, one single soul, We’re in dope, Forget your pain, trust in her powers, let her get inside, your body and mind, We’re in dope”
…And 02:28 – Is another crazy track that is a weird bonus track that sounds like a nightmare soundscape with yelled vocals and a late Nirvana song with heaver instruments.
Final Thoughts:
Even though most of the influences are from the 90s Beesus has made a modern sounding record. Could that be because everything is recorded so cleanly without compression?
This album is definitely a rise, and it is a great first album. Pick it up HERE
Tracklist: Intro 0:12
El Dude 3:34
Dubblegum Boom Metla 4:47
Nuña y Freña 9:25
Reichl 3:24
I Don’t Wanna Be 3:37
Junk Around 3:55
Beaux 9:56
Outro 0:14
Review:
Earlier this year the band made a Pledge Music page to promote and raise money for there second album. It is now closed (of course) and, luckily, reached 101% of its goal. It had some interesting options like, a cover song of your choice, a in your house performance, and an executive producer credit. Sadly the website doesn’t tell you how much of each option was bought so I can’t tell you what got bought the most. But anyway to the review…
Beesus’ second album has more of a venom and late 80s grunge, noise rock feel. The production and playing on this album has tightened up. There is also a more punk feel and the fuzz is still present but is toned down.
For a couple of songs the band have introduced a vocoder. It makes it’s entrance in “I Don’t Wanna Be” and it’s exit is “Beaux”.
The “Intro” and “Outro” are a strange mix of keys and maybe a garage door opening.
“El Dude” starts with a lot of noise and a solid bass riff. It also sounds like it could be the first part to a later track (I Don’t Wanna Be).
“Dubblegum Boom Metla” has four movements the first part which is medium passed and has a repeating riff and speeds up as it gets to the the second which is faster and then it speeds up and suddenly slows to the background screaming and slow churning fuzzy guitars. It then speeds up again, back to the second pace, but only briefly and then it fades out.
“Nuña y Freña” is somewhat of a throwback to their first album kind of like “Kusa”.
“Reichl” is the roughest and noisiest of the main tracks. “Take the cure, my man” is repeated many times throughout the song. Sonic Youth will definitely approve!
“I Don’t Wanna” be is a mix of stoner, punk, and a few moments of rapid, almost rapped vocals. This is the first track with the vocoder. It is in the background emphasizing some of the vocals.
“Junk Around” has the most affects added to it. Strangely enough it is also the most punk of the tracks. There is “You’ll succumb to me.” and “On your knees” are the phrases for this song.
In “Beaux”, the vocoder returns. It is more prominent. This song is also the slowest, and longest, on the album. Has a well executed sludgy feel to it.
Final Thoughts:
“Sgt. Beesus and the lonely ass Gangbang!” is definitely an improvement on their first album and I am excited to hear some of those cover songs if anyone bought that perk.
Original Tracklist: Intro 00:32
Down And Outer 03:36
Trip Down Memory Lane 01:11
Drugged Up Dolls 02:19
Sex Devil 05:50
The Doped Up Devil 04:05
Satanola 03:48
Perversion For Profit 03:28
You Are The Prettiest Pill 04:06
Did You Know? 03:11
Low 05:38
Control 03:19
You Had This Coming 03:49
Outro 01:13
Nothing Song (Bonus Track) 03:30
Re-release Tracklist: Intro 00:33
Down And Outer 03:19
Drugged Up Dolls 04:40
Sex Devil 06:01
Satanola 03:48
Perversion For Profit 03:19
Intermission 01:31
Nothing Song 03:29
You Are The Prettiest Pill 06:53
Low 05:51
Did You Know? 03:08
Devil’s Advocate 03:16
Stoned 05:17
The Doped Up Devil’s with Sexual Grooves (Re-Release)
Review:
I’ll let his Facebook bio explain: “Bad Monster Black is a project formed by King Jeremy The Wicked (Jeremy Vibbert). “Bad Monster Black: The Doped Up Devils With Sexual Grooves” EP was released late 2014 and did not fit the KJTW catalog, it was something different, it had swing, punch, and an undeniable groove that broke away from the thrash metal criteria. So shortly after releasing the EP, it was re-released under the name Bad Monster Black, and eventually taken off of the KJTW Discography. Thus, making Bad Monster Black the new home of the experimentation with swinging riffs, overloaded guitars, and a tongue in cheek attitude that makes the music even more fun to listen to. This isn’t music you’d take home for your family to listen to, and that’s how it’s intended.”
The sound of Bad Monster Black’s music is very 90’s; it is very reminiscent of the music of Puscifer, Marilyn Manson,White Zombie and even Rob Zombie’s solo work. Even though those influences are very prevalent Jeremy found a way to make it not sound too dated. Both releases have different track-listings and have a couple of different songs on each.
That being said I’ll make a somewhat in depth look on the tracks that are same (and what has changed on the remaster.) On the tracks that are different I’ll say what each of them do to make the release different.
Almost all of the tracks stay except; Trip Down Memory Lane, The Doped Up Devil, Control, You Had This Coming, and Outro (on the original release) and on the re-release; Intermission, Devil’s Advocate, and Stoned. These tracks are either new (in the case of the re-release) or taken out (original) the only track is the Intermission which is a shorter version of The Doped Up Devil.
The tracks that stay almost the same; Intro, Drugged Up Dolls, Sex Devil, Satanola, Nothing Song, You Are The Prettiest Pill, Did You Know, Low. What did change was samples and some of the production. Overall there was less use of samples in the remaster and, in a way, that makes sense for the update to fit the Bad Monster Black catalog since the focus changed to more sleazy Rock. Intro, Did You Know and Low did not change at all, or not enough that change the experience. Satanola is a standout that would fit nicely into any Puscifer album.
There are only two original tracks that are different, Down and Outer and Perversion for Profit. For the remaster the guitar solos were replaced by slower guitar parts and dirtier production.
“The Doped Up Devils with Sexual Grooves” – (Original 2014)
The original release is more of a current sounding album than the remaster and is a heavier/more metal than it as well. As I stated before; the main differences between them is that on the remaster the recording is less clean and more fuzzed out for that dirty 90s feel and the guitar solos that are in the original are changed to fit the dirty sound so the sound isn’t as muddy and has less of a touch of Metal. The sleaze is upgraded for a more solid Sleaze Rock feel. If you like music that is dark, sleazy, has hints of blues, lots of fuzz, Rob Zombie-ish (and at times Tonetta-ish in the remaster) this band and its’ albums are for you.
Bad Monster Black (King Jeremy The Wicked) is a prolific writer and pumps out high quality music on a regular basis. To use Mr. Wicked’s own words about this album and his process, “This is a re-release from the 2014 version. The reason? This band is all DIY, Which means about 90% of the time it’s all trial and error.” So Support!!!
Download the original HERE and the Re-release HERE
P.S. to King Jeremy the Wicked, if you would like to do an interview about this album please contact me.
Ufomammut is:
Poia – Guitars and FX
Urlo – Bass, vocals, FX and synths
Vita – Drummer
Ciccio – Soundlord
Lu – visuals
Previous Releases:
– Godlike Snake – full length cd/lp – Beard of Stars – 2000
– Snailking – full length cd – The Music Cartel – 2004
– Lucifer Songs – full length cd/dvd lp/dvd – Rocketrecs/Supernatural Cat – 2005
– Idolum – full length cd – 2lp+cd – Supernatutal Cat – 2008
– Snailking – full lenght double vinyl – Supernatural Cat – 2009
– EVE – full lenght cd – LP+cd+dvd – Supernatural Cat – 2010
– ORO – cd – LP+dvd – LP – Neurot Recordings / Supernatural Cat – 2012
– ECATE – full length cd – LP + dvd – Neurot Recordings – Supernatural Cat – 2015
Review:
Hey doomsters this is the Ancient One and I’ve just returned from yet another odyssey through the cyberscape traveling the ethereal soundwaves. While traveling I learned through fellow music heads Italian wizards of heavy psych / stoner / doom Ufomammut have released a new album entitled “8”. Wanting to know more I wasted no time in getting a early preview but I unfortunately failed you. While I wanted to let you know about it before its September 22nd release date to give you all time to get your pre-orders in I was unable to because personal issues got in my way.
For those who are unfamiliar with them, Ufomammut (pronounced- ufomam’mut) is a heavy psych / stoner / doom band hailing from Italy. Going strong since 1999 “Ufomammut” was formed by Poia (guitarist, synth, and sound effects), Urlo (bass guitar, synth, sound effects and vocals), and Vito (drums) With 7 albums to date the bands upcoming album was released on the “Neurot Recordings label on September 22nd and is the bands 8th album, thus its title “8”.
As in past albums “Ufomammut” fearlessly experiments with sound and music. But what makes “8” unique is the method in which it was recorded. Seeking to give the listener the experience of listening to them live Ufomammut recorded the instruments in live studio sessions. And this painstaking process that has resulted in an amazing album.
Opening with “BABEL,” stoner doom Wizards Ufomammut begin weaving their auditory spell using a language all can understand. While I’d like to tell you which songs I liked most I really can’t. Every time I took time to look at the title of the song playing it broke my trance. So instead I will tell you what I enjoyed about “8” as a whole.
Unlike some music in which you feel like a spectator watching or listening to the metal gods on high, “8” envelopes you making you feel like you are part of the music. Listening to the fuzzed out guitar, drums, bass, droning chants, and psychedelic sound effects had me feeling like I was part of some strange musical mystery cult. “8” is best listened to in full and if you don’t have a decent stereo I recommend listening with headphones.
Helping them launch their latest album on September 22nd the “Malleus Art Collective” unveiled it’s “A Malleusdelic Art Trip Into Ufomammut exhibition” at the release party held at the Santeria Social Club (Milan, Italy) on September 22nd.
AVAILABLE NOW (Here) https://www.malleusdelic.com/store/index.php… – “The Art of Ufomammut” is a graphic journey by Malleus through 18 years of UFOMAMMUT. We wanted to put together almost all the designs we created during these years for Ufomammut, from the first album covers to the last silkscreen posters, from the Limited Edition vinyls to the t-shirt designs. 96 pages – softcover.
Like many Ufomammut fans,I would have loved to go to the release party or to one of their European dates following it. But since I can’t get to Europe I can console myself with the fact Ufomammut will also be appearing at the Maryland Deathfest in Baltimore, Maryland next year May 24th – 27th, 2018. Highly Recommend!!
