A Perfect Murder – Strength Through Vengeance

A Perfect Murder
Strength Through Vengeance
Victory



Canada’s best Pantera cover band returns to waste everyone's time by molesting Dimebag’s riffs. I don’t remember why I bought this but I remember paying full price for it. The song “Body and Blood” is pretty cool but the rest of this album is a total waste of time. Well, it's not a total waste of time. Lead guitarist Carl Bouchard has serious skills, so that's a bright spot. Another is the song "Time Changes Nothing." It doesn't sounds like Pantera and it's the best song on the record.

Still, you've got to ask, why would you want to listen to a second-rate version of Far Beyond Driven when you could listen to the real thing? You can file Strength Through Vengeance under the category of “not terrible but wholly unoriginal.” If you feel it necessary, then go ahead and drink a maple-tooth grin with A Perfect Murder while they show you their Vulgar Display of Hockey.




A Perfect Murder – Strength Through Vengeance




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25 Ta Life – Strength Through Unity: The Spirit Remains

25 Ta Life
Strength Through Unity: The Spirit Remains
Triple Crown



25 Ta Life is sort of like watching American Idol: once you get past the embarrassment, it’s mildly entertaining. Calling 25 Ta Life average is very polite, if not entirely true. It’s not the best music but the real crime is the wholesale plagiarism of every hardcore band on the East Coast. There’s not one modicum of originality in Rick Healy’s body and his band can barely play. However, Strength Through Unity isn’t a total disaster. “Loyal to the Grave” is the sort of Slayer-influenced metalcore that Walls of Jericho would play a few short years later.

Not too long ago, I read a rumor that Rick Healy is going to front a reunited One Life Crew. I really hope that this is true, but for a reason. When they play Houston, I can videotape it and win the $10,000 from America’s Funniest Home Videos. Remember America, this was my idea first!




25 Ta Life – Strength Through Unity: The Spirit Remains




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Meshuggah – Nothing

Meshuggah
Nothing
Nuclear Blast



Meshuggah has become stranger and stranger ever since the release of the 1995 landmark album Destroy, Erase, Improve. Somewhere between then and 2002, when Nothing was released, the band stopped sounding like Pantera but everyone else started sounding like Meshuggah. In an effort to stay ahead of its imitators, Meshuggah keeps getting weirder with every album.

Since they are one of the most respected bands in metal, the audience keeps faithfully bobbing and weaving along side Meshuggah. Not since early Metallica has the metal public placed this much faith in a band. I know that I’m having trouble describing exactly why Nothing rules so much. I do know that Meshuggah keeps getting weirder without disappointment and that lesser bands keep ripping them off. They are doing something right.




Meshuggah – Nothing




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D.R.I. – Full Speed Ahead

D.R.I.
Full Speed Ahead
Rotten



D.R.I.’s later albums aren’t given the same reverence as the band’s early work, and that’s a shame. The metal/punk public wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss albums like 1995’s Full Speed Ahead if it wasn’t so too-cool-for-school. Fortunately, tunnel vision such as this doesn’t affect the open-minded.

It may not be as fast like Dealing With It but Full Speed Ahead still has D.R.I.’s patented brand of raging thrash. Lyrically, Kurt Brecht is as sharp as ever, tackling the issues of life and death. Brecht even covers the ill-fated Donner Party on "They Don't Care." The album does have some Pantera-sounding riffs but these are not employed in some sort of cheap gimmick or tactic. D.R.I. has had a serious metal influence for years. Again, it may not be as punk as the earlier material but Full Speed Ahead is another solid album in the D.R.I. catalog.





D.R.I. – Full Speed Ahead




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Cold World – Dedicated to Babies Who Came Feet First

Cold World
Dedicated to Babies Who Came Feet First
Deathwish Inc.



Cold World crawled out of Wilkes-Barre, Penn. to show the world of hardcore what’s up. The band accomplishes this and much more on its Deathwish debut Dedicated to Babies Who Came Feet First. Cold World plays hardcore rooted in the East Coast traditions. It’s equal parts Judge and Life of Agony, with a serious hip-hop appreciation, if not an influence.

Dedicated to Babies Who Came Feet First was produced by Biohazard guitarist Billy Graziadei. A strong Biohazard vibe is found throughout the album, particularly on the title track and the song “Do the Knowledge.” Also like Biohazard, Cold World has a strong hip-hop influence but this has become common among East Coast hardcore bands. Hip-hop influences Cold World in the same way that it does Trapped Under Ice. Fans of modern hardcore like Bitter End and Reign Supreme will love this album.



Cold World - Dedicated to Babies Who Came Feet First




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Terror – Lowest of the Low

Terror
Lowest of the Low
Trustkill



Terror is the West Coast hardcore band made up of East Coast hardcore weirdoes from Cleveland and Upstate New York. Terror’s masterpiece LP Lowest of the Low, featuring hardcore “superstar” Todd Jones (ex-Carry On), was originally released on Bridge 9 Records but I have the 2005 reissue from Trustkill Records. Upon its release in 2003, Lowest of the Low was a sensation in the hardcore scene. The record placed Terror at the front of the moshcore pack, where they’ve been ever since.

Trustkill’s version of Lowest of the Low is stuffed with bonus tracks. It has Terror’s side of the split EP with Ringworm and a cover version of Dag Nasty’s “Can I Say.” More importantly, the Lowest of the Low reissue contains an entire live set of Terror in Tokyo. From the sound of it, the show was insane that night. Plus, the live set is full of Vogel-isms. If you’ve never heard Terror before, imagine a less metal but way meaner version of Hatebreed. It’s cool stuff if you’re into that sort of thing.




Terror – Lowest of the Low




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Darkest Hour – Undoing Ruin

Darkest Hour
Undoing Ruin
Victory



Already a big-deal metalcore band, Darkest Hour eclipsed all expectations with Undoing Ruin. How did an already good band get better? They added lead guitarist Kris Norris. Since Undoing Ruin’s release, Norris has been recognized as one of the best lead guitarists in all of rock music. This is the album where he made his name.

I don’t want to attribute all of the band’s success to Norris. As previously mentioned, Darkest Hour was already a good band but Norris was the missing piece that took them from good to great. “Convalescence” was a hit on Headbanger’s Ball; though it’s not like that means what it used to mean. Forget the hits. “This Will Outlive Us” is one of Darkest Hour’s best songs on any album, with any guitarist. If you didn’t dig the band’s past material, now is the time to give them a second chance. Undoing Ruin is head-and-shoulders better than Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation or anything before.




Darkest Hour – Undoing Ruin



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Fun Lovin’ Criminals – Come Find Yourself

Fun Lovin’ Criminals
Come Find Yourself
Capitol



It’s been a brutality overload around here lately, so it’s time to clear the palate. I always root for the underdog and the Fun Lovin’ Criminals, theoretically, should have been big but it never happened. The band is best known for their 1996 surprise MTV hit “Scooby Snacks” but Fun Lovin’ Criminals is a one-hit-wonder in the same that Jimi Hendrix and Faith No More are, technically, one-hit-wonders.

As a completed work, Come Find Yourself is a reminder of what rap could have been, had the genre not collectively chose to chase pop music’s easy money. Fun Lovin’ Criminals is a band in league with the best actual hip-hop bands, like The Roots and the Beastie Boys. These Tarantino-obsessed New Yorkers played a blues/jazz/rock hybrid and sang about life in the big city. In another life, Fun Lovin’ Criminals would have easily fit in with the Delta Blues or Chicago Electric Blues scenes. Get Come Find Yourself and challenge your notice of what hip-hop is.




Fun Lovin’ Criminals – Come Find Yourself




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Enemy Soil/Desperate Corruption – split EP

Enemy Soil/Desperate Corruption
Split EP
Bovine



As previously reported on No Funeral, Enemy Soil rules. Japan’s Desperate Corruption came along for the ride on this 7”; which was released on the much-missed, grind/crust/power violence Bovine Records. Enemy Soil plays three tracks of smash-the-state, drum-machine grind. Desperate Corruption is a Japanese grind band, so you know they’re weird. This is nine minutes of intense grind hatred.




Enemy Soil/Desperate Corruption – split EP




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Unearth - The Oncoming Storm

Unearth
The Oncoming Storm
Metal Blade



This is my favorite Unearth album, performed by my favorite Unearth line-up. The core of the band has always been guitarists Ken Susi and Buzz McGrath and vocalist Trevor Phillips. Similar to the core members of the Black Dahlia Murder, the above-mentioned guys pretty much are Unearth but The Oncoming Storm features the amazing drumming of Mike Justain. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, Justain was in The Red Chord prior to Unearth and later joined Trap Them. Between those three bands, Justain has played on three of what I consider to be this decade’s best albums, but we'll hear more about that later this year.

For all the industry accolades and mainstream success Unearth has found this decade, that’s not what impresses me about them. First, they made one of this decade’s best albums, as mentioned earlier. Second, the rest of the Unearth discography is nothing to sneeze at. Finally, Unearth is clearly the most influential band of what’s known as the New Wave of American Metal. Unearth set the standard for this decade’s metalcore and they’re a huge inspiration to the deathcore bands. In short, Unearth is a band whose legacy will stand the test of time.









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Bill Hicks- Dangerous

Bill Hicks
Dangerous
Ryko Disc



Here’s more genius from the Bayou City Prophet Bill Hicks. On Dangerous, Hicks gets REAL on everybody. Nowhere else will you hear a pro-smoking rant this passionate or convincing. Hicks let’s MTV have it on “I Love my Job.” Reagan, flag-burning-as-a-smokescreen and advertising (and tons of others) get broken-off by Hicks. You’re going to love his take on the drug war.

Dangerous features many of the jokes that Dennis Leary would later (allegedly) steal, often word-for-word. This is sort of unrelated but not really. Anyway, Lewis Black can suck it. Mr. Yale Drama School has been ripping of Hicks for over a decade. You want reality? This is as real as it gets.




Bill Hicks – Dangerous




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Pelican - The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw

Pelican
The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw
Hydra Head Records



by DC the Medic

Getting people to listen to instrumental music is like getting people to watch The Wire. They'll acknowledge that it's good and has its merits but, when you play it for them, you literally can see their eyes glaze over. I suppose, without lyrics to relate to or a singer to identify with, the music is forced to speak for itself. Appreciating this style of music requires a certain amount of effort on the listener's part which, unfortunately, most people are unwilling to put forth.

This is ironic, considering the amount of time people spend with earbuds in their ears. You would think a better appreciation for music would naturally develop. Maybe iPods are just another extension of the corporate idea of music as interchangeable background noise [It is. -BNF]. Then again, maybe I just hang out with the wrong people. After all, Austin isn't what it used to be.

As for the record, The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw is great. The blessing and curse of instrumental music is that the music must be cohesive and expressive enough to stand on its own. There are no shortcuts to accomplish this. Luckily, these dudes can play. The songs have rich atmospherics and sweeping movements that build momentum as the songs and album progress; and these guys can get heavy. Pelican originates from Chicago and they have a strong Midwestern element to their sound. I don't know why weirdos make the best music, or for that matter why so many weirdos come from the Midwest, but they just do. I can definitely hear equal parts Shiner and Isis in Pelican's sound, but the band takes these and many other elements to create something all their own.

I don't intend to merely stick the label "instrumental" on these guys and leave it at that. The joy of this band is that they defy any kind of classification. Their music is just music, and any other description or meaning, much like this album's title, is solely up to your own interpretation.




Pelican - The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw




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Scissorfight - Mantrapping for Sport and Profit

Scissorfight
Mantrapping for Sport and Profit
Tortuga

" If you believe nothing can be done for the dumb except kindness, because it’s biology (the bell-curve model); if you believe capitalist oppressors have ruined the dumb because they are bad people (the neo-Marxist model); if you believe dumbness reflects depraved moral fiber (the Calvinist model); or that it’s nature’s way of disqualifying boobies from the reproduction sweepstakes (the Darwinian model); or nature’s way of providing someone to clean your toilet (the pragmatic elitist model); or that it’s evidence of bad karma (the Buddhist model); if you believe any of the various explanations given for the position of the dumb in the social order we have, then you will be forced to concur that a vast bureaucracy is indeed necessary to address the dumb. Otherwise they would murder us in our beds.

" The shocking possibility that dumb people don’t exist in sufficient numbers to warrant the careers devoted to tending to them will seem incredible to you. Yet that is my proposition: Mass dumbness first had to be imagined; it isn’t real."

- John Taylor Gatto, The Underground History of American Education


Yeah, in place of a regular review, I really want you guys to check out author and former NYC teacher John Taylor Gatto's book The Underground History of American Education. You can read it online for free. Here. Please read this. Also, Scisorfight kicks ass.







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Entombed – Clandestine

Entombed
Clandestine
Earache



Swedish Death Metal rules and I have proof: Entombed’s Clandestine. Clandestine is one of the greatest Earache releases, amongst some serious competition. Entombed’s influence can be felt in modern bands like Cursed and Trap Them, to mention just a few.

Clandestine was the last pure death metal album by Entombed and its recording was an ordeal. Johnny Dordevic is listed as the vocalist, although the vocals were actually done by Nicke Andersson and Uffe Cederlund. The songs were so technical and complex, many of them were never played live. Still, in spite of its “flaws” (we should all be so flawed), Clandestine stands as a powerful work in the annals of death metal. "Sinner Bleed" is one of the toughest songs ever written. My copy is the 1995 reissue, so you get two bonus tracks; "Dusk" and "Shreds of Flesh." You should have this already so, if you don’t, get it now!




Entombed - Clandestine




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A Life Once Lost – Hunter

A Life Once Lost
Hunter
Ferret



I’ve owned Hunter for about three years now (mine is the deluxe edition with the DVD) and A Life Once Lost's odd syncopations on this album still throw me for a loop. Similarly, drummer Justin Graves plays like a maniac. Hunter’s Rob Caggiano/Scrap 60 production is very slick and a bit much at times. Still, that’s a minor complaint about an otherwise solid album. What’s cool is that Hunter is a very heavy record that hardly has any mosh riffs. The record doesn’t seem to swing in that direction. I like “Needle Man” a lot. It reminds me of Pantera, in a good way. I also like the lead playing. It reminds me of Botch and, in some spots, Snapcase.

Do scene kids still care about A Life Once Lost? Probably not. That was the big turn-off for me with this band back then which, in retrospect, was silly. A Life Once Lost is a killer metalcore band that treads in Lamb of God/Meshuggah territory. That works for me and I’m left wondering why I didn’t get into this band before Hunter.




A Life Once Lost – Hunter




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