The Dillinger Escape Plan – One
Of Us is the Killer
Genre:
Progressive Metal/Metalcore
Early
in the year, it came to light that North Carolinan math-mongers the
Dillinger Escape Plan were slated to sign to Sumerian Records –
y'know, the crabcore label that's currently home to Asking
Alexandria. As much of a double-take as I did at the time, Sumerian
quickly released that they would be producing the new Dillinger
record, One of Us
is the Killer,
in May, ensuring I had something to look forward to after finals last
semester.
TDEP's
thirteen-year resume spans four albums, with Killer
as
the successor to 2010's electrically spastic Option
Paralysis.
Their discography is as full of ups and downs and switch-ups as their
music, with their first two records being the most intensely
unapproachable and mind-melting – everyone knows just how insane
'43% Burnt' is as a song. Then, in 2007, the band put out Ire
Works,
which suddenly toned down the more ridiculous mathrock elements as
the band flirted with a dirty word – accessible.
Killer,
and
its counterpart Option
Paralysis,
see Dillinger striking the happy medium between mathrock explosions
and more traditional progressive lull, with Killer
refining
the formula Option
Paralysis hit
on initially. Killer
starts
off with two more traditional Dillinger-type songs, 'Prancer' and
'When I Lost My Bet' (the second of which has a mind-bending music
video out) before stabilizing into an interplay between clean-studded
choruses and verses and note-heavy breaks.
Perhaps
the most striking example comes on 'Paranoia Shields', which features
vocalist Greg Puciato alternatively singing and screaming, never with
any prompt or hint of what's to come, and an eerie, falsetto-ridden
break erupting into a more metal climax. Puciato is especially
willing to use clean vocals on this album, something that previous
installments (besides Ire
Works)
were a bit too committed to inaccessibility to feature. It's an
interesting addition and gives the band's music more of a prog-like
texture, but fans of TDEP's earlier stuff will more prefer the first
two songs and the aptly-named pair 'CH 375 268 277 ARS' and 'Magic
That I Held You Prisoner' , which goes back and forth suddenly and is
as heavy and spastic as it comes.
That's
not to say the new Dillinger album is all singing and no -oomph –
it's got plenty of nebulous, unstructured riffs to rain down on your
heads, but those elements are a lot more toned down as the album goes
on, as if the band put their foot down after 'When I Lost My Bet' and
committed to making more predictable music. For the most part, it
works well, although Dillinger's skill in playing their older sound
is just as strong as before, and on Killer
becomes
almost tantalizing as the band drops a link to Calculating
Infinity so
seldomly.
But, conversely, having an actually comprehensible riff now and then
doesn't diminish how schizophrenic and balls-out insane the band is.
Even at the least like their old selves, Dillinger are just as
powerful and frantic, but with a whole bunch of other ideas, like the
methodical, plodding 'Crossburner'.
Killer
is
an interesting record that I'm still divided on. There are heaps of
new, interesting ideas contrasted with more old-fashioned Dillinger
insanity, but the problem the band continues to face is how well
those two work together. If the band is going for jarring
instrumentals, Killer
is
far too gentle. If they are looking to ease up a little, it's still
closer to Option
Paralysis'
level of approachability. This is a record that stands squarely at a
crossroad, and whichever road TDEP take it down could work in their
favor.
Notable Songs: 'Prancer', 'Nothing's Funny', 'Paranoia Shields'.
Kylesa – Ultraviolet
Genre: Psychedelic/Sludge Metal
Kylesa, as part of the psychedelia-soaked North Carolina
sludge scene – alongside bands like Baroness, Black Tusk, and
Mastodon – have been slowly but surely modulating their sound as
the years go by into a finely honed, precise balance of murky
obtuseness and scintillating bright lights. Their latest effort,
Ultraviolet, is a continuation of that process, suspending the
listener in layered fields of southern-sunshine and vast space.
Indeed, with Ultraviolet Kylesa have strayed the furthest from
their more abrasive roots, with only the record's intro 'Exhale'
conjuring up memories of Time Will Fuse its Worth. The rest of
the record, especially the closer, is nebulous and weird, with
fuzz-encrusted notes ringing out into oblivion.
Ultraviolet can be likened to a man moving from a run to a
ponderous crawl – 'Exhale' is as rough-and-tumble as sludge comes,
with dissonant vocals and yowling guitars amidst a wall-like
backdrop. By the time the record reaches the halfway mark, however,
it's all but totally transformed, with clean vocals and melodic licks
taking precedence, and by the time Ultraviolet runs its course
it's unrecognizable in texture and in sound.
It's a slow, undeniable, and fascinating direction, with the band
letting their vocals take a backseat to the twin-guitar mastery of
Laura Pleasants and Philip Cope, who twang flawlessly through the
record's eleven songs, surfacing every now and then in an unclean,
more distorted verse to contrast with the elaborate, swelling
soundscapes in between. Oftentimes, the two hypnotically overlap,
such as on the excellent 'Long Gone'.
New to this record is also the band's willingness to actually use
their twin drummers to their full potential – 'Long Gone' features
a doubly-intense drum break as skinpounders Carl McGinley and Eric
Hernandez go all-out in a rhythmic, pounding assault. Previous Kylesa
records floundered a little in the interest department because of a
lack of innovation or distinguishing characteristics, and with
Ultraviolet this trend is thankfully reversed. Every song on
this record could stand on its own as a thrilling, catchy piece of
Kylesa's formidable discography.
I have to mention, of course, the ending three songs, 'Vulture's
Landing', 'Quicksand', and 'Drifting', the last of which is Kylesa's
most experimental and bizarre output yet. Beginning with 'Vulture's
Landing', the band rapidly and unexpectedly slows to more of a crawl
than before, allowing Pleasants' and Cope's guitars to ring out
monumentally against the plodding percussion and weave ethereal
images. It's here where psychedelia runs wild – phasers and fuzz
are set to max, building off of one another into an impressive and
daunting portrait.
Ultraviolet as a whole is far slower than Kylesa's previous
records, instead opting to focus more on instrumentals and allow the
band's musical talent to be on display in all of its impressiveness.
The end result is a far more memorable Kylesa record, with riffs and
melodies sticking in your head and never letting go.
Notable Tracks: 'Grounded', 'Long Gone', 'Drifting'.
Christopher Lee – Charlemagne: the Omens of Death
Genre: FUCKING AWESOME
If ever there were a competition for 'Most Metal Human Being
Alive', my nomination would squarely rest on Christopher Lee – the
British actor who most people know from the Lord of the Rings trilogy
for playing Saruman. What a lot of people don't know is that Lee has
played enough villains to make Vincent Price scared, including the
intensely gory Dracula films of the 60s and Count Dooku in the
admittedly-terrible Star Wars prequel movies. Lee has quite a resume
under his belt as an epic villain, so imagine how excited I got when,
on his ninetieth birthday, Lee announced he was releasing a
heavy metal album, a sequel to the unabashed ridiculousness of
his 2010 By the Sword and the Cross.
Let that sink in for a bit: a 90-year old bearded British actor
renowned for playing villains with a voice low enough to cause
earthquakes has released not one, but two heavy metal albums.
Charlemagne: the Omens of Death is the answer to what every
metal nerd has ever wanted – it's spectacularly camp, but
Lee is too badass to care and try and make it believable. It's an
epic, sprawling tale of Charlemagne's ghost (played by Lee) recalling
a tale from his youth. As would befit the story of a French hero,
this record is absolutely oozing cheese, from the orchestral
crescendo at the start of 'the Portent' as Lee ominously narrates
“these were omens...the omens...of death!” to the 80s pomp and
bombast this record thrusts out in spades.
Because By the Sword and the Cross featured Rhapsody of Fire
so much, it had a pretty obvious symphonic lilt to it, which added to
the epic silliness that Lee was undoubtedly looking for. With the
Omens of Death, that element has been replaced with a more
traditionally “heavy metal” sound to things – you'll hear no
flutes and horns on this record; instead, brace yourself for fairly
standard riffment and melody. It's a small change, but a regrettable
one in that this record loses the goofily obvious self-awareness it
had on By the Sword and the Cross. That's not say The Omens
of Death is totally serious – let's be serious, that would be
impossible – you've still got plenty of cheering soldiers and a
whole host of vocalists stars to tell a colorful story of
Charlemagne's succession, and one look at the album art dispels the
concept that this record is meant to be taken seriously.
The centerpiece of the record is, understandably, Lee, who sings his
heart out with enough panache that he could be half his age. It's
clear how much fun everyone was having when they made this record,
and even though it's hackneyed in its approach to music – long,
fast guitar solos after each and every development on 'The Siege' are
the name of the game – it's a rollicking, surprisingly historically
accurate account of European history following the formation of the
Carolingan Empire (seriously, wikipedia that shit). To The Omens
of Death's record, it manages to make a fairly uninteresting
history lesson into a lot of fun, with stirring vocals – Lee has
one hell of a voice – and equally triumphant instrumentals.
And while the lyrics are so packed with drama that you can hardly
keep yourself from gasping, they do stumble a bit as the sentences
ramble, with everyone trying to cram as much fantastic imagery into
the lyrics as possible.
With the Omens of Death, Lee and his cast of supporting
artists show that not only do they understand every heavy metal
cliche in the book, but that they're more than willing to exploit
them and jam as many as possible into a fairly short record. All
that's missing from this epic sojourn of an album are dragons and
werewolves to transform this nerd dream into a nerd wet dream.
Notable Tracks: 'The Siege', 'Massacre of the Saxons', 'Let Legend
Mark Me as the King'.
ASG – Blood Drive
Genre: Stoner Rock
With sunshine and heat dripping from every twang, ASG
returned to the fray this year with their first full length after
2007's superb Win Us Over. Blood Drive sees the band
both explore and mature, abandoning the pop-soaked cheer of Win Us
Over for a more methodical, expansive approach that's easily
apparent from the striking difference in introductions between the
two records – while Win Us Over opened with the distorted,
harmonic-studded 'Right Before Death', Blood Drive cautiously
pokes its head around the corner with the slower, layered 'Avalanche'
as Jason Shi croons 'All the gods are crazy, can't you see'?
The band has quite a colorful, diverse history, forming in 2000
initially as fairly nondescript Fu Manchu worship before gradually
reaching equilibrium in 2005 with Feeling Good is Good Enough,
perfecting that in 2007, and then vanishing for six years. In that
time, though, ASG have gone from southern frill to jaded, as Blood
Drive is a profoundly darker record than previous outings – not
just instrumentally, but lyrically it's just not a very happy album.
Sure, you've got the good ol' pentatonic licks and catchy hooks the
band have always had, but new to this album is the sense that
something is amiss – as though the band are keeping a secret that's
tearing them apart and giving every impression otherwise. And with
vocalist Jason Shi intoning 'Got a long list of foes, and a shorter
list of friends...' on the title track, this feeling is magnified.
It's a slower record than anything the band has put out so far, with
the band utterly shedding any sense of familiarity they had on the
album's second half. And while the anthemic element is still there,
and in many cases magnified with Blood Drive's slower tempo,
ASG's transformation in many ways is total. There's a whole host of
new elements and developments in this record, the altered mood aside.
Shi shies (god that alliteration) away from screaming, and the few
incidences of unclean vocals on the record immediately make you perk
up. Secondly is the novel introduction of acoustic guitar, with
'Children's Music' opening with effervescent dual acoustic melodies.
ASG have already cemented themselves as a band willing to constantly
change, so in lots of ways this evolution shouldn't be surprising –
but the interest factor in Blood Drive isn't only “oh look
ASG sound totally different”, it's “holy crap this new ASG sound
is good.” It's a very precise, methodical sound that is
difficult to point out why it's as infectious as it is. If Win
Us Over was a beer-soaked July cookout, Blood Drive is the
hungover next morning – it was as predictable a turn as any, but
how exactly that turn would manifest was a matter of debate,
and with Blood Drive ASG cement their legacy as a band willing
to dive headfirst into something they may not know and come out doing
it right. This is a highly recommended record.
Notable Songs: 'Blues for Bama', 'Stargazin'', 'Mourning of the
Earth'.
Blood Ceremony – The Eldritch Dark
Genre: Psychedelic Rock (“Occult Rock”)
In 1969, a fairly cringe-worthy English rock band called
Coven put out their first record, entitled Withcraft Destroy Minds
and Reaps Souls, which was quickly and totally forgotten, their
countrymen in Black Sabbath reaping the majority of the fame.
However, Coven's contribution to metal was far more subtle – not
only are they the first band noted for overtly satanic themes, but
Coven coined potentially the most well-known metal one-liner ever:
“Hail Satan!”
And even as Coven disappeared into the aether, their
aesthetic influence permeated what would come to be heavy metal.
Recently, bands like the Devil's Blood, Ghost BC, and Jex Thoth have
appeared as part of a 70s revival coined 'occult rock' for its
mixture of psychedelic rock and 70s influence. Canada's contribution
to this fledgling scene come in the form of Blood Ceremony – a
female-fronted act from Toronto who recently put out their newest and
most memorable record, the Eldritch Dark.
It's difficult to describe Blood Ceremony's music, because
even while there's enough blues-y Sabbath worship, frontwoman Alia
O'Brien's proficiency as a flutist allows her to interject plenty of
folk-like rhythm during the Eldritch Dark's numerous breaks.
Perhaps most uniquely, her flutework plays with the riffs of
guitarist Sean Kennedy, lending Blood Ceremony's music a unique lilt
that, even as it struggles with staying unique, makes it quickly
identifiable (beyond O'Brien's vocals, of course).
The Eldritch Dark struggles with the same problems that have
plagued the record since their 2008 self-titled, namely that it's
interesting for about two songs before it runs its gamut of tricks
and resorts to repeating them. I saw the band open for Kylesa back in
June, and they were at their best when they were whipping the crowd
into a frenzy with the Eldritch Dark's more classic
rock-styled songs – people started getting beer halfway through
'Lord Summerisle', easily the record's worst, and returned to the pit
for more punishment.
Blood Ceremony are good at telling a story, and most of the songs on
Eldritch Dark weave occult, nerdy yarns that satisfy every
metal fan's inner Crowley. This is where the band's folk-ier side of
things starts to shine, because O'Brien's prose is a little
heavy-handed for good ol' fashioned heavy metal, and when you've got
a fiddle or a flute to transport you into the music, it feels less
like Blood Ceremony are putting two things at odds with one another
and more like the lyrics and instrumentals fit.
The Eldritch Dark is oodles ahead of Blood Ceremony's
previous work, but the band's choice to eschew psychedelics for folk
elements nevertheless makes it less interesting for me than bands
like Jex Thoth. If you're a fan of their previous work, you'll
definitely enjoy this record, but otherwise tread cautiously. It's an
interesting ride you may come away from feeling empty from.
Notable Tracks: 'Witchwood', 'Ballad of the Weird Sisters', 'Drawing
Down the Moon'.
Indricothere – II
Genre: Progressive/Technical Metal
I have mixed feelings about extreme metal from New York –
on the one hand, you have the pretentious stupidity of Liturgy, but
on the other hand, the various projects surrounding the intensely
technical, borderline difficult-to-listen-to Behold! The Arctopus are
often quite interesting, if equally spastic outings. Colin Marston,
BTA's guitarist (who, incidentally, played bass on Gorguts' Colored
Sands this past year) has been involved heavily in other
progressive projects in the Tristate Area, including Krallice and
Dysrhythmia, but his solo project Indricothere was notable this year
in that Marston put out two records in the span of six months
– the first, II, being more traditional progressive metal,
while the second, XI being a bizarre, lengthy ambient album.
II thunders into being with a more
focused, intense idea of what it wants to do, and while it's still
riffs on riffs on riffs, there's a lot more cohesion to the distorted
mess than there was in 2007 – in fact, II's songs stand by
themselves fairly well, and it's almost catchy music – a change
indeed from the ridiculousness of Behold! The Arctopus and the
self-titled.
I've described II to friends as 'djent without AxeFX', and I
stand by that definition fully – there's the technical complexity
of bands like Structures and Sikth but, (1) Indricothere are totally
instrumental, and (2) the guitar tone isn't as soulless and gimmick-y
as other djent bands. Marston actually has quite a few genre-bending
ideas, including blast-beat ridden blackened passages and thrash-y
triplets that flare up just as quickly as they vanish totally.
There's a near indefatigable load of riffs on this album, and while
II is still a highly technical record, the wankery is turned
down just enough that riffs get stuck in your head – which is
commendable because I need at least a little structure in my music.
In any case, it all falls apart on the last track 'IX', which
features more tempo changes and ideas than you thought possible on a
single 7-minute song.
I'm a bit reluctant to call this 'progressive metal' because in a
lot of ways it's just too extreme to show any sort of 'progress'
beyond mainstream metal. It's not like Indricothere decided to start
off with Metallica and work their way up – II is 100%
technicality everywhere, with riffs layering upon each other into a
twitching wall of sound on 'X'. It's definitely not for everyone, but
if you appreciate technicality it's quite a fun listen.
Notable Tracks: 'VI', 'VIII', 'X'.
Sleeping in Gethsemane – When the Landscape is Quiet
Again
Genre: Post-Rock/Progressive Metal
Sleeping in Gethsemane have been one of my favorite
underground post-rock bands for quite some time, acting as the
perfect balance between Russian Circles' arcane musical weaves and
Pelican's lumbering, jolly outlook. Like the two, SIG are a purely
instrumental band, opting for a scant few gang cheers now and then
and instead letting their instrumental prowess speak for them.
Hailing from North Dakota, the band has been putting out material
since 2007's excellent The Great White North – whose epic
post-rock breaks mixed with progressive eccentricities made it out to
be both unique and refreshing to anyone who enjoys riff-heavy
post-metal.
Sadly, SIG disbanded earlier this year after putting out the stellar
When the Landscape is Quiet Again, which cements the band's
swan song in a burst of frenzied riffwork and lush textures and
colors. 'The Brave' is the record's epic debut,
and never quite lets the pace up for its three minute duration.
Nevertheless, it's massive enough to span whole landscapes as the
three-piece hammers away relentlessly. 'Earth is For the Living', on
the other hand, slows down and allows itself a lengthy atmospheric
wandering before the heaviness returns.
When the Landscape is Quiet Again, like previous SIG outings,
is impressive in that it never feels like the band is running out of
ideas – each song on this record has a very clear, defined
beginning, middle, and end, and goes out of its way to make the
transitions between all of them as smooth as possible. But what makes
their final record different than previous outings is that SIG
clearly took a much more metal approach to this album than before,
and it shows up in the frenetic energy that infects both this
record's first half and the listener. The climax on 'the Madness of
Men' is absolutely spectacular as the guitarwork passionately echoes
into the song's finish.
For a record about quiet, SIG pack quite a punch on this record, but
it never approaches the aloof, distant sound that lots of more
punishing post-metal has in spades. SIG's musical embrace is warm and
inviting, with comforting, catchy hooks and riffs to put a smile on
your face and get you to start banging your head. The band have
always been good at mixing technical and atmospheric elements
together, and while neither is ever overpowering, it's clear that if
the band let one take precedence they'd be amazing at it. Part of
what makes SIG's music so unique and engaging for me is that there
isn't really anything that quite sounds like it – Russian Circles
comes close, but the distant artistry of the music keeps it from
having SIG's warmth and fun.
The record itself follows a rise-and-fall pattern, beginning off
quick and heavy before subsiding into the melancholic, bittersweet
ending pair 'Leitmotif de Mort' and the aptly-named 'Swan Song'.
There's plenty of cocky panache, but there's also reflective, melodic
passages evocative of a snowy winter dawn. There's something on this
record for everyone, and it's in that regard that SIG's final outing
shines so brightly. I said the same thing about Black Pyramid's
Adversarial and I'll say it about When the Landscape is
Quiet Again – this is a thoroughly satisfying listen;
every note, riff, and drum fill from the insane precision and
intensity of drummer Shane Heilman feels as though it was meant to go
exactly where it fits in this record. There are no bad
surprises on this record, and every passing minute left me excited
for what was going to come next. There are no frivolities or
pretentious tangents – SIG went into this with a guitarist, a
bassist, a drummer, oodles of talent, and came out with an amazing
record, and as 'Swan Song' fades out ponderously, I can't help but
wish there was more.
Notable Songs: 'The Brave', 'the Madness of Men', 'Letimotif de
Mort'.
Orchid – The Mouths of
Madness
Genre: Stoner/Doom Metal
Orchid (not to be confused with the seminal screamo band of
the same name) like Black Sabbath. Like, they really like
Black Sabbath. As part of the 70s revival movement that's sweeping
doom metal at the moment, Orchid have had an eye for the occult and
an ear for Ozzy since 2007. They landed on my radar after 2011's
Capricorn – a sprawling odyssey with enough doom and gloom
to distinguish them from the pack. Orchid's music speaks to the inner
Sabbath fan in all of us, but that's where comparisons to the
legendary Brits end. Their influences aside, Orchid stand on their
own – and the Mouths of Madness is testament to how good
that is by itself.
The Mouths of Madness is an interesting album for a variety
of reasons – namely, it approaches the 70s formula for heavy metal
with a modern perspective, which result in plenty of delicious
anachronisms that make listening to this record that much more
addictive. Missing the blues elements that Judas Priest and Slayer
did away with in the 80s? Orchid bring it back full force – far
more than 70s pioneers like Hawkwind and Zeppelin ever dabbled in. Or
perhaps you dig the riffwork of Mr. Iommi (well, who doesn't)? Orchid
throw a bone your way with that too – the Mouths of Madness
features plenty of rambling solos that echo Iommi's darkened
sonic rituals.
'Silent One', for example, starts off with the most palpable Sabbath
influence I've heard in a while, but has just enough modern
metal-isms to make it undeniably Orchid – and ultimately answers
the question of what Black Sabbath would sound like if they'd taken
more leafs out of Zeppelin's book. For all I can compare Orchid and
Sabbath, the former's anthemic pieces, which echo the Sword's epic
take on metal, puts them in a category by themselves – which is
good! Because no one likes a ripoff.
Orchid have never been a band to throw psychedelics in your face,
which plenty of revival bands and 'occult rock' bands are more than
content to do. The Mouths of Madness features them in a much
more muted role, serving to heighten the band's solos or to add to a
climax, as they do on the title song. It's an interesting addition
that I'm all in favor of, because instead of disengaging as the weird
hues take hold, you're instead sucked in to the catchy riffwork and
stylings the band is more than willing to put on display.
The Mouths of Madness is, in a word, heavy metal the way I
like it – heavy, occult, and with just enough blues licks to really
get stuck in your head. It's not the most stable trip, however, with
the band quickly veering into uninteresting after the spectacular
first track, only to make a triumphant return on 'Mountains of
Steel', and the excellent 'Wizard of War', which was released as an
EP a few years ago. Ultimately, though, the most glaring problem on
The Mouths of Madness isn't the talent or the ideas, it's all
in the execution. This is an album that doesn't really go anywhere.
It sits in one small corner and doesn't really branch out at all –
a problem that was absent on Capricorn. The band have ideas,
but don't know how to pull them off, and that's what leads to the
record's downfall – their good ideas, when the band chooses to
expound on them, are genuinely excellent, but Orchid don't expound on
them very often.
With the exception of a handful of genuinely amazing riffs, the
Mouths of Madness sounds almost identical to the Sword – maybe
it's a bit less nerdy, but it's just not a very interesting record.
It's difficult to mess up stoner metal, but on the Mouths of
Madness Orchid have somehow found a way to make what should sound
awesome and fun fairly redundant. It's decent, and rarely stops being
anything but that. There really isn't much else to say.
Notable Songs: 'The Mouths of Madness', 'Leaving It All Behind',
'Wizard of War'.
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats – Mind Control
Genre: Stoner Metal
As I finish up this month's albums, I can't help but notice
that this year was quite bounteous for stoner fans – Black Sabbath,
Jex Thoth, Windhand...we've truly been blessed by the powers that be.
In any case, the shadowy British stoner collective of Uncle Acid and
the Deadbeats released their third fuzzy opus this past May in the
form of Mind Control – a monumental, delectably slow
collection of anachronisms. From the band's name to their vintage
album covers, Uncle Acid and co. are fairly obvious in their love of
the 70s, but unlike their compatriots in Orchid, Uncle Acid's music
has always been about putting heavy first, imitation second. 'Mt.
Abraxas' is as quintessentially heavy metal as a song can be – it's
heavy and slow, but with just enough flourish and pomp to pull ahead
of the flock.
Mind Control takes cues from more than just heavy metal,
though, and while previous outing Blood Lust featured a
healthy cock-rock influence in the form of falsetto vocals, Mind
Control instead draws from the present to add what some might
even consider a drone element to lots of their songs as a simple riff
flares against a scant background, as in the aforementioned 'Mt.
Abraxas'. Otherwise, the jamming blues of 'Mind Crawler' or 'Evil
Love' are the band's best yet, mixing the pentatonic fervor of bands
like Pentagram and Blue Oyster Cult with the band's own spellbinding
and present-based thinking.
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats have always been one of the best bands
in the retro-metal movement at fusing the nascent characteristics of
heavy metal with modern techniques and approaches to songwriting.
This is an album that's both catchy and deep, and as the instruments
ring against the warm, whispering backdrop of distortion, the first
thing that comes to mind is that for a band as modern as these lads,
they've got a spectacular grasp on heavy metal's ins and outs – but
instead of inflating the stereotypes humorously like Christopher Lee,
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats turn them into something different –
and it's that hint of familiar-and-yet-distant that makes Mind
Control such an enjoyable album.
It's nothing new to the band's repertoire, but that doesn't mean
it's not commendable. I, for one, was almost disappointed when
'Poison Apple' came to a close as Uncle Acid's fantastic-sounding
guitar solo faded out into another catchy riff and the excellently
psychedelic 'Desert Ceremony'. Mind Control , at points, goes
considerably slower than anything the band has put out previously and
this ultimately works out in the band's favor, allowing their massive
sound to breathe and stretch as rambling solos fly out effervescently
against the methodical, plodding beat. New to this album is the
addition of a rhythm guitarist – fellow axeslinger Yotam Rubinger
adds to the scope of the record by allowing his guitar and Uncle
Acid's to play off of one another or work together, whether it's by
doubling the attack of the riff on 'Evil Love' or by trading space in
'Poison Apple'.
But what's potentially the biggest talking point for this record is
the pair of bizarre, overly psychedelic Beatle-worship songs 'Death
Valley Blues' and 'Follow the Leader' which come out of nowhere and,
while welcome, are totally unexpected. 'Follow the Leader' especially
has the band completely eschewing heavy metal in lieu of pure flower
power. When you get over the fact that the band actually does it
quite well, its rambling nooks and crannies offer up some of the
record's biggest moments.
To conclude, this is an excellent trip through retro-metal done
right, and as the band takes its time, molding the elements of what
made previous Deadbeats outings so memorable, it certainly shows. For
those who enjoy traditional doom in all of its myriad forms, Mind
Control is not an album to be missed.
Notable Tracks: 'Mount Abraxas', 'Poison Apple', 'Devil's Work'.
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