Turnstile - Step 2 Rhythm

Turnstile
Step 2 Rhythm
Reaper Records

I had trouble getting motivated to write this one. Another day in front of the laptop with The Office flickering in the back while I contemplate my approach to Step 2 Rhythm by Baltimore's Turnstile. I fret and I worry because Turnstile is affecting one of my favorite bands, TRAPPED UNDER ICE. I've been a big fan ever since the Stay Cold EP and I even got to interview those guys back in the day. Trapped Under Ice is the "little band in my back pocket"; a personal favorite about which I feel protective.

Believe it or not, this whole Turnstile thing has to do with Trapped Under Ice's hiatus. The Powers That Be are going to try to break Turnstile into the big time in 2014. Vinyl on Reaper; CD and digital on a yet-to-be-named mid-major. The drummer of Trapped Under Ice is the frontman in Turnstile. All other TUI members are on the Turnstile staff as tour manager, merch manager, road manager, brand manager; everyone's a manager. It looks good on the old 1099 to say manager.

Within the next 12 months, we'll see if this crazy stunt works or not. In the meantime, let's take a look past the marketing scheme and examine the actual music.

I'm happy to report that Turnstile may be on to something with this "let's break into the big time" angle. You can afford to be ambitious when you've got songs like this to back up all the talk. Step 2 Rhythm is filled with elements of modern East Coast hardcore with tons of MADBALL-style breakdowns and an influence that is equal parts BAD BRAINS, QUICKSAND, (the non-moronic moments of) BIOHAZARD, and DAG NASTY. The band's secret weapon is a level of musicianship that is far superior to any of its contemporaries.

Turnstile is the real deal and Step 2 Rhythm is the preview to a potentially game-changing debut LP. KORN was at a crossroads like this after recording its four-song demo with Ross Robinson back in 1993. Both Korn then and Turnstile now are legit scene bands coming up like everyone else but then they both discovered oil wells. They made music that met its genre conventions but was undeniably catchy and accessible. This is a good problem to have.

So, is Turnstile trying to sell out? By definition, maybe, but I'm not going to fault the band for shooting for the Moon. Is Turnstile going to be the next BLINK-182? The band has a better shot at it than most. Is 2014 going to be a big year for Turnstile regardless what happens? Definitely. Can we all take comfort in the fact that, if this Turnstile thing bombs hard, at least Trapped Under Ice will be back in 2015? Yes, but it would be a phyrrhic victory.







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Destined for Greatness

Trapped Under Ice
Secrets of the World
Reaper



Although Secrets of the World isn’t one of those perfect, earth-shattering albums, it is a very good album by a young band that has made amazing strides in its two-year existence. Fresh off of this summer’s 10 for 10 Tour, (alongside Madball, Poison the Well, Bane, and many others) Trapped Under Ice delivers, on its first LP, exactly the kind of hardcore record the world needs right now; one that’s actually a hardcore record and not a metal record.

Trapped Under Ice should be commended for being able to sit in a tight groove on a song without descending into Pantera territory. The band doesn’t rely on cheap, gimmicky breakdowns to convey any mosh-itude. It’s just ignorant East Coast heaviness. While describing this band to Casey from Yatagarasu, I said that Trapped Under Ice sounds like what would have happened had Biohazard been a Dischord band from D.C. I stand by this statement.

Long-time No Funeral readers know that I don’t give much credence to lyrics. I think that great lyricists in shitty bands should quit those bands and get into the poetry game. That said, Justice did a great job on the lyrics to Secrets of the World. He speaks of topics as varied as the economy, Baltimore, relationships, friendship, and the modern condition without ever coming across as preachy or condescending. Of course, after interviewing Justice last year, I know what a witty and intelligent person he is, so I expected nothing less.

I’ve long supported Trapped Under Ice and I’m a fan of their music but I took of the “fan glasses” when reviewing this record. As awesome as Secrets of the World is, the record feels slightly under-cooked. The groove in the middle of “TUI” only lasts four bars. The riff rules too much for it to end so quickly. Don’t get me wrong, this is one of the best hardcore albums of 2009 but, in situations like the above, it seems as though they were rushing to get the album released.

Again, this is one of the best hardcore albums of the year and I assure you that it will turn up in the year-end Top 10 list. However, if we’re giving out grades for these things, this is an A-. It’s almost great and Trapped Under Ice is destined for greatness. I patiently await the day when they release a record on par with Damaged by Black Flag – which will happen and soon.






Trapped Under Ice – Secrets of the World





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RE-UP: Trapped Under Ice - 2007 Demo

Trapped Under Ice
2007 Demo



Here's the fixed link for the too-pissed-to-live debut from Baltimore's Trapped Under Ice. Get it now if you missed out the first time.


Trapped Under Ice - 2007 Demo



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Top 10 of 2008

No Funeral
Top Ten of 2008
“The Hate in 0-8”

Here it is: the stuff that you should have bought/downloaded/shoplifted over the course of the past 12 months. Bravo to those who did. Dissenting opinion? Leave a comment. Friendly discussion is always encouraged. Enjoy the (mostly) MediaFire links. Happy New Year!


Number 10:

Burnt Cross
Carcass of Humanity
Punks before Profits



Burnt Cross emerged, this year, as the band that set the standard for modern peace punk: subdued, solemn, and poetic. Check out the original review here.

Burnt Cross – Carcass of Humanity


Number 9:

Metallica
Death Magnetic
Warner Bros.



No, it doesn’t sound like the old stuff. Yes, it is lame that they mixed it with the “ear buds” in mind. Yes, this record is brutal. No, Death Magnetic does not suck.

Metallica (apparently has some issue with downloading) – Death Magnetic


Number 8:

Overcast
Reborn to Kill Again
Metal Blade



I like the way that Bill Bates, of KPFT’s Ejacula show, described this album: After years of selling out, the ding-dongs from the who-know-who bands finally got their shit together and reformed their cool band.

I agree. What you have here is a weird compilation of Overcast material. Several re-recorded older songs, including much of Fight Ambition to Kill, and a few new numbers. Most children of the 90s jizzed over this one.

Overcast - Fight Ambition to Kill


Number 7:

Arson Anthem
Debut EP
Housecore



After his much-maligned detours during and after Hurricane Katrina, Mike Williams (EyeHateGod) crashed with one Phillip “Anton Crowley” Anselmo, where they got drunk and listened to old punk vinyl. Eventually, Hank III and Collin Yeo got in on the act and the rest is Arson Anthem. Their debut EP, recorded in Houston and released on Anselmo’s Housecore label, is 80s style hardcore that lands somewhere between Poison Idea and Negative Approach. It’s desperate and pissed.

Arson Anthem - Debut EP


Number 6:

No Talk
Invade Iran
AG82



KGBeasley (ex-Insect Warfare) dumps the grind, links up with Josh Psycho Wolf and Tom of Montrose in order to produce some of the sleaziest, drunken leather-punk Houston has ever seen. Must be seen and heard to be believed. Counter-culture Nazi!

No Talk – Invade Iran


Number 5:

Book of Black Earth
Horoskopus
Prosthetic



Blackened death metal played by deranged Seattle maniacs. Lyrically, Horoskopus discusses the astrological origins of Christianity. Musically, it’s keyboard-drenched heaviness by ex-members of Teen Cthulhu and Skarp. They’re on tour this spring with Cattle Decapitation.

Book of Black Earth – Horoskopus


Number 4:

Trapped Under Ice
Stay Cold
Reaper Hardcore



Everything you need to know about Trapped Under Ice can be found in my interview with them. Seriously, go see this band 10Jan09 in San Antonio, when they play with Full Blown Chaos.

Trapped Under Ice – Stay Cold


Number 3:

Gojira
The Way of All Flesh
Prosthetic



The new Gojira is an example of the bar being raised for all metal bands, like Lamb of God’s New American Gospel and Fear Factory’s Soul of the New Machine did years before. This album is becoming a classic before our eyes. Plus, it is some kind of heavy (very heavy, the best kind).

Gojira – The Way of New Flesh


Number 2:

Trap Them
Seizures in Barren Praise
Deathwish Inc.



Trap Them has never heard of the sophomore slump and Seizures in Barren Praise has reached a new level of ferocity with their second LP. It’s the heaviness of Swedish death metal with the bleak prospects of American crust. Grim shit, indeed. Maybe it is Entombed for the new-school, but who cares? Prepare to be killed.

Trap Them – Seizures in Barren Praise


Number 1:

Cursed
III: Architects of Troubled Sleep
Goodfellow



The long-awaited third LP from this decade’s greatest hardcore band turned out to be the band’s unfortunate swansong. Cursed chose to disband after an incident in Europe. The will leave as one of the very few bands that, simply, did not release any crap. III: Architects of Troubled Sleep is possibly their best album (think II) and features my single favorite song by the band, “Friends in the Music Business.” Cursed will be missed.

Cursed – III: Architects of Troubled Sleep

Trapped Under Ice interview

Here's an interview with Baltimore bruisers Trapped Under Ice. This interview was conducted by e-mail with vocalist Justice Tripp. Their 2007 demo is available at the end of the review. Check these guys out when they open for Full Blown Chaos at the Rock Bottom Tattoo Bar in San Antonio on 10Jan09.

Trapped Under Ice




JUSTICE(in bold,vocals) klipa(gutar),sam(guitar),ben(drums),jared(bass)


No Funeral: The Stay Cold EP has an interesting fusion of styles. I hear a mix of NYHC and harDCcore, but there are guitar leads and rock-and-roll riffs too. The combination totally works. What is the band’s songwriting process? Are you trying to stay within genre guidelines, trying to blur them, or are you simply playing the music you create?


Justice: No guidelines really. When we decided to start this band, one standard we made was to never strive for one sound or limit ourselves from anything that we wanted to try. We're all big fans of hardcore, but also we take a lot of inspiration from outside of hardcore music.


No Funeral: I saw the video for “Soul Vice/Reality Unfolds” on You Tube and I really enjoyed it. How did the video come together? How did you hook up with director Kenny Savercool? He did a great job.



Justice: Kenny is a good friend of ours. A few of us use to play in a straight edge band called nickxfury with kenny singing. He's gone to school for film, and has always included us as actors in all his films, so it wasn't unnatural for him to do a project with us. We wanted the video to be simple and hardcore. We're currently working on a music video for "street lights" from the Stay Cold ep. Its going to be be ridiculous.


No Funeral: The vocal delivery on Stay Cold has a hip-hop cadence (of sorts). It’s similar to what Biohazard used to do, but way more subtle. It doesn’t sound hip-hop influenced at all. To what do you attribute this aspect of your music?


Justice: Influence from a few baltimore hardcore bands, like stout and next step up. Hip hop has had a lot of influence on punk rock, especially in the baltimore area.




No Funeral: I understand that Baltimore hardcore stalwart Next Step Up is a major influence on Trapped Under Ice. Please explain the importance of Next Step Up to you and why all the new jacks in Houston should check them out?


Justice: Next Step Up is an amazing hardcore band that did a lot for Baltimore. Without Next Step Up, I'm sure we would sound like a completely different band, if we were at all a band. (Those) Dudes were the realist of their time and continue to live hardcore lifestyles to this day. They had a message that they truly lived, and a lot of which they still live out years and years later. Too many bands today selling shit they cant live up to.


No Funeral: For a city of its size, Baltimore doesn’t have as many bands as you would think. Does Baltimore have a problem with bands moving to D.C., like Houston has a problem with bands moving to Austin?




Justice: Not that I know of, at all. Baltimore is a fairly small city with a decent amount of bands coming out of it. Maybe some of the bands coming out the city aren't exactly appealling to the majority of kids involved at this period. For example, I'm sure most people know bands like Ruiner, Pulling Teeth, Slumlords, and a few others, but bands like Stout, Harsh Truth, Dead End Boys, Surroundings, Alarmed etc... have been doing there thing for a few years now, like A LOT of years. Also, we've got a lot of new bands coming up; check out Brick, Blind the Thief, and Bad Habit. Lots of shitting going on right now.





No Funeral: I’ve been a fan of The Wire since its inception and I’m now fascinated with comparing and contrasting the show to the real city. As a Baltimore City native, what’s your take on the show? Is it good or bad for the city’s image?


Justice: I'm sure it doesn't help the city's image, but its true shit. The city is almost everything the show portrays it to be, but in reality you got a lot of that shit going on everywhere. The whole worlds fucked up. I'm not too into the show, only because I've seldomly had the chance to watch it. I just got cable for the first time in like 3-4 years, so I'm going to check it out some more when I get the chance.


No Funeral: If I’m not mistaken (and if I am, please correct me), you’re first show in Houston was opening for Terror and The Warriors earlier this year at Walter’s. What did you think of the H-town experience?


Justice: It was our H-town first. It was a good experience. We met a lot of cool new people. It was an interesting night to say the least. Legitimately one of the top 3 craziest nights on a two-month tour. I can't wait to make it back.


No Funeral: What’s the next step in the evolution of Trapped Under Ice? Any new releases? Is there an LP on the horizon?



Justice: We just released a split with our good friends from england, Dirty Money. A full US in January to promote that. A new bass player, his name is jared and he's already brought a lot to the band. He's a perfect fit for the band in every way, I'm excited to get out and tour with him. We're currently writting for an LP to be released early '09 on Reaper Records. We've put a lot of time into it so far and will continue to do so until we are completely happy with what we have as a final product. Before and after that is out, we have a lot of plans for touring to promote it; US, Europe, and hopefully Japan and Australia.


No Funeral: When will you be hitting the road again? More importantly, when will you be coming back to Texas?


Justice: In January, we've got a few Texas dates lined up. Like I said, to promote for the split, Dirty Money will be with us, also Full Blown Chaos and Reign Supreme. It will definitely be a good time. Let's make Bitter End play those dates!




Trapped Under Ice 2007 Demo:


http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=8cd64f554003e6bf91b20cc0d07ba4d2e00ae9d59dda047b