Ancient Altar: Cosmic Purge/Foie Gras (Transcendental Void Records/Black Voodoo Records) [Paul S]
Ancient Altar is a 3 piece based in Los Angeles. The band have been going since 2013 and have released 2 albums; 2014’s Ancient Altar and 2015’s Dead Earth. This EP contains 2 songs, the title of the Ep being more of a description than a title. First track Cosmic Purge starts with the hugest, heaviest and harshest sludge I’ve heard in quite a while. Massive riffs and very nasty vocals. There’s a colossal groove to it as well. There is a similarity with the band Lycus in the first half of the song. There is a middle section where the song goes into a more classic doom feel with clean vocals and a slight psychedelic edge.
The track goes back to massively extreme sludge again, with a nice melody lead. The song comes to an end unbelievable slowly, which is great! Second track Foie Gras opens in a classic doom feeling with clean vocals that feel a little gothic. The opening couple of minutes sound a little Type O Negative, before the song crashes back into harsh sludge. The track has a middle section that is measured, brooding and quieter. The song comes to an end with another massively heavy sludgy section, great fun.This is a great EP. Although the main sound is heavy as anything sludge, the other lighter, more classic elements give this lots of depth and makes it sound unique. In a field that is full of generic acts, Ancient Altar stand out. 8/10
The Well: Death And Consolation (Self Released) [Paul S]
Based in Austin, Texas The Well are a 3 piece who are on to their third album. Death And Consolation is 3 years since Pagan Science and 5 years since Samsara, so what have The Well been up to since then? Well what we get with The Well’s third album is 9 tracks of fairly classic doom, the main point of reference would be Pentagram, but there are plenty of other influences in classic doom, but Pentagram seems to be the closest. This similarity is in the vocals as well as in the music, the main voice sounds like a cross between Bobby Leibling and Jus Oborn from Electric Wizard.
The album kicks off with Saba, a big bouncy doom track. There the Pentagram influences, but mixed with a tempo that wouldn’t be out of place on Cathedral’s Carnival Bizarre. This track is a great, energy packed blast to start the album with, it also boasts a slightly psychedelic chorus and some nice chanted backing vocals. Raven is a taut rockier track with a strong melody and a driving tempo. Death Song is a more measured affair, it feels like classic doom, with a powerful main riff and some nice bluesy elements. The Eyes Of Fingers features a strong simple riff, psychedelic vocals and a great solo. The song has a relentless feel that I really enjoyed. Next up we get Eyes Of A God, which is more of a strait rock song. The main riffs are in a higher register than most of the material on the album, this is a nice driving track, and an enjoyable change of pace. Act II is back to the heavy doom, de-tuned doomy riffs that are just great. The track has a very good, groove laden section to end. Freedom Above has a soft, minimal opening that feels quite brooding, this part is a little reminiscent of Shrinebuilder.
The big guitars come back in for the last third, which feels very unrelenting and powerful. This Is How is a great little song. Simple, groovy doom, lovely. The album comes to an end with Endless Night, which is a huge piece of psychedelic doom, that is great, powerful and driving, and a great way to end the album. Death And Consolation is a fantastic classic doom album. The main template for this album has been around for many years, however, the other elements (psychedelia, hard rock, groove, etc) gives the album another dimension. The material feels fresh and original, despite the band wearing their influences on their collective sleeves. The main reason this album is so good, is down to simple old fashioned things like great songwriting, and impressive musicianship. The quality on offer here is very high, the songs are all very well crafted. Highly recommended to anyone who likes doom, or interesting hard rock. 8/10
Rob Cottingham: Back Behind The Orchard Tree (Self Released) [Alex]
From the research I’ve done on this album, it appears to be a reworking of Cottingham’s 2002 debut, Behind The Orchard Tree. I have mixed feelings about this kind of release. On the one hand, they can bring to life an artist’s intentions, when they may not have initially had the means to fully realize their vision. On the other, they can feel revisionist and show an unwillingness to stand by past mistakes. Still, that doesn’t necessarily say anything about the quality of the music itself. Quite the opposite rather. Conceptually speaking, the album deals with themes of loss of innocence and growing older, proving relatable and setting a strong emotional standard, for this is a well-trodden road. Back Behind The Orchard Tree gleams with careful songcrafting, complex compositions, and poetic lyricism.
A light lapping of waves, upset by some subtle dissonance and harsh drum patterns sets in, before a distinctively melodic vocal refrain sounds, while looming synths lurk in the background. That contrast of blissfulness with harshness reminds me of Gabriel, or perhaps parts of Pink Floyd's work. Through the contradiction, Cottingham effortlessly expresses the anxieties which come with the pressures of time and obligation. Continuing on this path, Invisible Man deals with the pains of being marginalized from circles or certain ways of life. On its surface, it is a twisted and slightly creepy love song, but the coarse drum beats and swelling instrumentals serve to reveal a much deeper meaning, relating to loneliness and isolation. Phoenix is a delicate acoustic piece, taking a nuanced perspective on reminiscence, its tone being neither despair nor delight. Meanwhile, Catch It If You Can is one of the proggier leaning moments: a variable instrumental, relying on the impressive keyboard and guitar arpeggios to carry the themes of change and unpredictability.
On a less complex and more stripped down note, Hero deals with the subject of depression and uncertainty, told from the perspective of a friend trying to comfort another. Although more multi-layered in style, All We’ve Done describes similar themes, later giving way to an exhilarated lead solo. As far as the original album is concerned, Find Me was the last track. Personally, I think it works excellently to tie all the dispersed themes and motifs together. We begin on a bluesy, morose saxophone solo, before more of that strong, melodic harshness which I mentioned earlier, works its way back into the fold. Lyrically, the song describes feeling abandon and loss, as we are painted a picture of one who has become ‘intoxicated by alcohol and money, no liberation from the ties and ropes’. We are gradually led to a towering crescendo, which shows horns, guitars, and drums, working in tandem to create a rich and vivid sound.
In this version of the album, we finish on Out Of Time, a synth-led the song, with something of a pop/prog idea. Although it is one of the things differentiating the album from the original, I’ve chosen to treat it in the same way as I would treat any bonus track. It is not a particularly necessary addition, and the experience already feels complete, without the addition of another anthem to supplement the themes. That said, Back Behind The Orchard Tree is a beautiful album, exploring a theme which, while oft repeated, is here executed with a lot of care and meaning. 8/10
PUP: Morbid Stuff (Rise Records) [Alex]
Although PUP’s name means Pathetic Use Of Potential, they have certainly been making a name for themselves in recent years. Make no mistake, they are still very much ‘underground cult status’, yet both Morbid Stuff and The Dream Is Over, have garnered some incredibly positive feedback, especially from the blogosphere. So what better time to give my two cents on their acerbic yet dark brand of alternative? First of all, the title doesn’t lie, the ideas behind this album are bleak. Far from being dour though, everything is soaked in a sneeringly sarcastic wit, which mocks our desire to be miserable and pessimistic about everything, not ignoring the irony. Stefan Babcock doesn’t want your pity, he wants you to see comprehend the graveness of his situation and see the funny side anyway. Such is the consistency of the self-deprecation that you never know whether to laugh or cry.
‘I got stuck on death and dying and obsessive thoughts that won’t let up’ Babcock mourns on Morbid Stuff, against instrumentals which are upbeat and reminiscent of glam rock. Kids’ reads like a diatribe where our frontman mocks his lack of ability to be subtle, reciting in on particularly accurate line ‘I’m drifting on a dark and empty sea of nothing, it doesn’t feel bad, and it feels like nothing at all’. Free At Last acts as a full-throttled punk anthem, bluntly lamenting having a lack of direction, the nihilistic lack of sympathy becoming ashamedly hilarious, as we hear the yell ‘You’ve been drinking? Well of course I have’. Although, observant listeners will notice that many of these lines appear addressed at someone else. Exactly who isn’t made clear – a friend? An ex-lover? A fictional embodiment of our (protagonists?) imagination? - Whoever they are, they’re not taken too favourably, as the next song is titled, See You At Your Funeral. Aside from its downbeat title, the theatrical anthem discusses the struggle of balancing optimism and negativity, skipping between moments of joyful desperation: ‘I take up meditation’ to sections of utter nihilism: ‘I hope the world explodes, I hope that we all die, we can watch the highlights in hell. I hope they’re televised’. Constantly, we return to that personal element, as refrains in the vein of ‘you’ll find someone, and you’ll try, but you won’t’, stress the dire effects of experiencing a lack of human association. A more relevant point here is that while Morbid Stuff masks are themes in depreciative humour, it’s a deeply serious piece.
Let’s take a step back for a moment though, and look at the musical directions themselves. For one, as you may well expect, it’s quite a dissonant array of influences. The record champions its low-fi production, as a means to carry the notions of recklessness and confusion, yet assembles ideas from glam, to metal to hardcore punk to convey its messages. Take Scorpion Hill as an example – beginning as a humble acoustic track, we are soon subdued by a wave of melody and rhythm, in a way reminiscent of rock operas. Bloody Mary, Kate, and Ashley takes on something of a dirty dancehall vibe, the darker tone, perfectly complementing the masochism soaked absurdity of the lyrical content. On a different note, Full Blown Meltdown is an exaltation of anger and frustration, emotions which bleed into both the music and wordplay. Whatever influence PUP are exploring, they do so with sincerity and candour!
As I said when I was reviewing the La Dispute album a few weeks ago, misunderstanding depression is not something you want to do in music. Now, taking a comical look at it can be a risk as well, but when done right, it can emphasise the maddening, absurd or even miserable aspects of mental illness. Morbid Stuff achieves this by taking the listener through the strange and outlandish aspects of feeling unimportant, and striving to entertain a positive message. True, it’s a nihilistic album, yet instead of dragging you to hell, it will simply make you gaze straight into its jaws, as it unashamedly declares ‘I’ve been having some pretty dark thoughts, I don’t like them a lot’. 7/10
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