Reviews: An Autumn For Crippled Children, Source, Dr. Colossus, No Possession (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

An Autumn For Crippled Children – As Morning Dawns We Close Our Eyes (Prosthetic Records)

With their previous record coming just a year ago An Autumn For Crippled Children, return with their new record once again combining existentialist lyrical concepts with icy black metal and soaring, atmospheric shoegaze. It makes for an intriguing listen as theirs almost an upbeat nature to the music that is counteracted by the squawking vocals and crushing black metal aggression. In just the first two tracks you can hear that the band have become less rigid in their song construction the opening number having a 80’s Goth flourish while if it weren’t for the ominous choirs, extreme vocals and tremolo picking Of Your Light could be Coldplay. I mean that in the best possible sense, there are melodic guitars and plenty of piano across these 8 tracks, adding a feel of those fishnet nights in dank clubs shouting along to Lucretia My Reflection. 

Although of course this would be followed by some Mayhem. The shoegaze elements set them apart from even other blackgaze bands like Alcest, their vibrancy casting a light on the darker style, mainly sticking with the thump of classic Goth. AAFCC are a very mysterious band, essentially studio based their music as all you can really use to get the measure of them and it seems that the band have tried to incorporate a much wider soundscape on this album, like the band themselves, the music comes with an air of mystery as tracks such as Melancholia would be jarring anywhere else, here it seems perfect. A step up due to the bands insistence of spending longer on each track to link them but also allow them to sit as individual pieces. As Morning Dawns We Close Our Eyes engulfs you with waves of blackgaze, giving you an interesting listen. 7/10

Source - Ethereal Self (Self Released)

The trio of Benjamin Gleason (vocals/guitars/keys), Justin Mirarck (drums) and Jake Demarco (bass) make up Boulder, Colorado band Source. Ethereal Self is their third full length a semi-conceptual record that is about "rejecting the fear-based conditioning" of our lives while "forming a unity between our physical, cosmic and ethereal selves". Heady concepts build on heavy influences, mainly the throbbing rhythmic progressive metal of bands such as Tool, A Perfect Circle and Wheel, tracks such as Origin move into these realms the most the acoustic plucking, jazzy pianos and tabla drumming all sounding like an addition to Lateralus, while Paper Tiger has that twisting, thundering Tool sound as well. Much like Tool they have an otherworldly sound to their music inspired heavily by mediation, philosophy and mindfulness, perhaps making them a little more laid back than Maynard and co. 

However Source's music is anything but, despite Origin being quite a quiet song, the rest of the album skillfully balances the chunky technical heaviness and fluid melodic passages. As they shift between both on The Goddess Death a song that reminds me of Swedish prog superstars Opeth, Pupa filled with a driving groove running through it's 13 minutes. The recording was done completely by the band in their studio, so they were able to make the entire record to their specifications, allowing every nuance to explored from the touches of 8-bit synths, to the walls of organs and twitching electronics on Nakatapurcinalick. Ethereal Self is a record that establishes Source as one of the most promising progressive metal acts of today, this American three piece are certainly ones to watch. 9/10   

Dr. Colossus – I’m A Stupid Moron With A Big Butt And My Butt Smells And I Like To Kiss My Own Butt (Self Released)

If you’re not a fan of The Simpsons then the band name and the title to this record will mean absolutely nothing to you. However if like me you’re a The Simpsons megafan then you’ll want to listen to this second full length from Australian band Dr. Colossus (named after Springfield’s resident Super-Villain). Every song is about The Simpsons, a different episode, with a title or phrase from that episode. Space Coyote for example is about Homer’s Hunter S Thompson trip through a world created by eating a Guatemalan Insanity Pepper. Previously Dr. Colossus have released a record called The Dank and compilation The Death Mountain all of which have The Simpsons themed music. However unlike the dreadful Okilly-Dokilly, Dr.Colossus play in the stoner/doom style meaning that this record sounds a lot like Sleep or The Sword jamming to songs about The Simpsons. 

They manage to cover classic scenarios such as McBain dealing with Mendoza for killing Schoey his partner (Get Mendoza), the tragic character that is Milhouse and the Van Houtens (Thrillho) and of course Treehouse of Horror VI where the advertising mascots come to life on Lard Lad, all of which have grooving stoner and huge psychy doom riffs, the latter even throwing in some lyrics from Sabbath’s Iron Man. Dr. Colossus aren’t a comedy band, despite basing their song writing on the longest running sitcom of all time, the songs are quite serious stoner doom efforts, with The Simpsons elements used instead of traditional tropes such as fantasy, magic and mystery. I’m A Stupid… is a properly good stoner/doom release that also happens to be full of The Simpsons references, it’s like someone literally looked inside my brain! 9/10

No Possession - Third Time's A Charm (Melodic Passion)

Ok journalistic integrity on this one. No Possession started life as No Possession Blues, a blues band who after a few changes took the blues off their name as they changed their sound to more straightforward rock. Third Time's A Charm is a their third album (obviously) and it's a pretty insipid record with boring, done a million times riffs and vocals that vary between off key and unlistenable. The music here is the most basic level of pub rock, the sort of songwriting you'd have from a band featuring your uncle and his mates re-living their youth. The only thing missing is a Stones or Aerosmith cover to top it off. Not even entertaining background music, I suggest stopping at three. 3/10