Recorded a year ago at Poppodium in Tilberg, NL, Messa’s Live At Roadburn bristles and sparkles with the distinct balance of restrained and unrestrained power. That power is given release and relief incrementally through the four awesome songs taken from 2022’s spectacular album Closer, Suspended, Orphalese, 0=2, and Pilgrim, clocking in at almost 40 minutes. The Italian band’s performance highlight’s their transcendent allure through a great mix that emphasizes frontwoman Sara’s beautifully emotive vocals without sacrificing the rest of the bands’ contributions. In addition to the traditional guitars, bass, and drums, musicians join them on other instruments, including an oud, duduk, saxophone, mandolin, and synthesizers.
Suspended opens the set with the sparse interplay of bass and guitar, and while this sounds like it’s coming right off the board, when Sara starts singing, the grand sense of a live performance comes through. When the initial chords are struck, the volume picks up, but her voice remains the most powerful instrument on the stage, everything else setting down a foundation from which Sara’s singing can soar. Messa’s appeal for me is that sense of withheld intensity, the understanding that every song will gratefully hold you as it rips through the dimensions of expression. Suspended crushes, includes a beautiful spurt of jazzy guitars, and allows that voice to draw new geographies of listening pleasure. Orphalese follows, another slow burner that features guest musicians with slithering sax (or duduk?) lines and string instruments and arrangements that expand the rock and doom palette for a wider world-conscious experience. The song ends after a percussive jam where everything combines in ecstasy, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.
0=2 clocks in at 10 and a half minutes. After 16 minutes of the first two songs, the question is one of attention. If you’re already a fan of Messa, no worries. If this is your introduction to their oeuvre, stay with them. The musicianship is worth it. The acoustic beginning of 0=2, the arrangement of strings and the steady mid-pace of the percussion, with Sara singing atop it all, draws the listener along for the mere pleasure of it. A bit more than halfway through, Sara takes flight as the song breaks down, reforms, picks up the pace, hustles in the saxophone, paves the way for a guitar solo, climbing only to prepare us for the coming descent.
Pilgrim, the final and longest song, starts with the ambience of an oud solo and other sublime sounds. The oud finds the main riff, the guitars, bass, and drums kick in, and once again, here the vocals are the draw, first inward, but with the knowledge now–from experience–that this is all in preparation for explosive flight. Five minutes in, the crushing riffs and slamming drums come like a pay-off. Sara is more sinister here, giving the song a clear distinction from the previous three. It’s a powerful performance that deeply satisfies the fan’s needs, especially if you haven’t been able to catch them live. The last couple of minutes highlight that balance I mentioned previously, the restrained/unrestrained power. What a show! These four crushing songs feel like a full album and there’s never a dull moment. 10/10
Utilitarian - Gaslights (Self Released) [GC]
Reading up a bit before I listen to the new album Gaslights by Utilitarian it is clear to see this isn’t going to be a relaxing walk in the park, they state clearly what they do and don’t believe in, they are strongly pro-choice, pro-community and proactive and they also stand against racism, fascism, homophobia, transphobia and sexism amongst many things and this album is a rallying call to make you sit up, pay attention and join the fight!
It all kicks off in a beautifully chaotic hardcore style with Break Their Teeth which is a rousing and energetic 53 seconds of pure rage and anger that bounds straight into the crusty d-beat beginnings of Hateriarchy that then spews hate and bile in an unrelenting hardcore attack but they also put in a slow and tactical mid-section which rumbles along but never loses any of the rage from earlier and it also has a kick ass solo courtesy of Evile’s Ol Drake, which adds a nice mix to everything and keeps the energy flowing before Pride throw some nice grindcore type vibes into the melting pot before exploding again with more d-beat hardcore mixed nicely with a big old dollop of death metal for good measure!
Utilitarian - Gaslights (Self Released) [GC]
Reading up a bit before I listen to the new album Gaslights by Utilitarian it is clear to see this isn’t going to be a relaxing walk in the park, they state clearly what they do and don’t believe in, they are strongly pro-choice, pro-community and proactive and they also stand against racism, fascism, homophobia, transphobia and sexism amongst many things and this album is a rallying call to make you sit up, pay attention and join the fight!
It all kicks off in a beautifully chaotic hardcore style with Break Their Teeth which is a rousing and energetic 53 seconds of pure rage and anger that bounds straight into the crusty d-beat beginnings of Hateriarchy that then spews hate and bile in an unrelenting hardcore attack but they also put in a slow and tactical mid-section which rumbles along but never loses any of the rage from earlier and it also has a kick ass solo courtesy of Evile’s Ol Drake, which adds a nice mix to everything and keeps the energy flowing before Pride throw some nice grindcore type vibes into the melting pot before exploding again with more d-beat hardcore mixed nicely with a big old dollop of death metal for good measure!
You wonder if they can keep this level of energy going and keep on being this angry for a full album and with Ethics, you almost feel that they have slowed down and for roughly 30 seconds they do, a slow bass and drum intro is then rudely interrupted with more unbridled savagery. They Fall has a definite death metal sound to start with but once again this doesn’t last long until the furious punk beats take hold of the song and strangles the living daylights out of us but, I think that this song should have been shorter as it feels a bit laboured and drawn out at the end. Profit Warning then kicks away the dust again and is here and gone within 2 minutes of snotty hardcore punk fury.
We hit the halfway mark with Gaslights which has a creeping and ominous opening with a touch of Slayer about it and it rumbles along lead nicely lead by the bass of Toby Gibbons and has a tension building style with some sung/spoken word passages that add more texture but unfortunately by the time they decide to add in some of the punk elements this song has sort of lost me and is just way to long and doesn’t really have enough to keep me fully interested for the full 6 plus minutes. Idiot Legion does once again what has been done once the pace has slowed, it picks the pace right back up and is a nice punchy and dynamic punk track with enough metal thrown in to make the track that little bit more interesting, Maralinga then takes a page directly form the Discharge playbook and rages and growls along with messages about nuclear bombs and how humans suffer through this, which is all well and good but Discharge are the kings of this so if you take the shot it had better hit and it just misses here but, just as I start to drift away a bit.
We hit the halfway mark with Gaslights which has a creeping and ominous opening with a touch of Slayer about it and it rumbles along lead nicely lead by the bass of Toby Gibbons and has a tension building style with some sung/spoken word passages that add more texture but unfortunately by the time they decide to add in some of the punk elements this song has sort of lost me and is just way to long and doesn’t really have enough to keep me fully interested for the full 6 plus minutes. Idiot Legion does once again what has been done once the pace has slowed, it picks the pace right back up and is a nice punchy and dynamic punk track with enough metal thrown in to make the track that little bit more interesting, Maralinga then takes a page directly form the Discharge playbook and rages and growls along with messages about nuclear bombs and how humans suffer through this, which is all well and good but Discharge are the kings of this so if you take the shot it had better hit and it just misses here but, just as I start to drift away a bit.
Gammon Fodder revitalises the flow and has a great groove infused riff and some nice time changes all blended together to create a stormer of a track that sees Amara Wears really shine. Sugar Crash keeps the tempo fast and angry and you can really feel every single word that Jon Crowder is spitting at you and there feels like a genuine hatred for the subject matter, which to be fair has been present throughout. The Weight is a winning mix of metal and hardcore that makes its mark again, Be A Man keeps the hardcore metal streak going and this time justifies another 6 plus minutes of album time then Gaslights (Reprise) unfortunately slows everything right down for 8 minutes and 18 seconds and although you feel that there is something there you just cant help feel this is a misjudged ending.
Overall, there was a lot to take in here. There were loads of different styles and some clearly very important messages and while I liked most of it, I also couldn’t help but feel some of it could have been done a little differently. This is a good listen that I would go back to again to try and fully take it all in properly and undeniably has a sound unlike many other bands about, I fell it just needs a little tweak here and there to take it from good listen to a must listen. 7/10
Olde Throne - In The Land Of Ghosts (Pain Without End Records) [Paul Scoble]
In The Land Of Ghosts is Olde Throne’s second album, coming a year later than the bands first album An Gorta Mór. The New Zealand based band was founded by Harrison Mckenzie, who plays all of the instruments except drums and sings, up until last year Olde Throne was a one man project, but in 2022 Harrison was joined in Olde Throne by Quentin Forster on drums. On Olde Throne’s last album the lyrics were about the horrors of the Irish Famine, In The land Of Ghosts takes Olde Throne on a trip across the Irish Sea to Scotland, with lyrics about Scottish Ghost stories.
Olde Thrones style of music is a mix of savage black metal that sits somewhere between second wave and atmospheric black metal, folk black metal that uses traditional instruments, and is dripping with melody and tunefulness, and a melancholy style of depressive black metal. The different styles fit very well together, I also liked the way the album flows, with the feel slowly changing as the album progresses.
The albums opening track House Of Dun is a good example of the blasting, savage black metal style, the song is mainly blast beats and tremolo picked riffs. The riffs have a lot of melancholy tunefulness and there is a slower and less aggressive section near the end but House Of Dun is mainly about savagely fast and aggressive black metal, the following track Skara Brae has a similar feel, but with some added dissonance.
The first really folky song is the track Isobel. Isobel opens with acoustic guitar and penny whistle (It’s definitely some sort of whistle, I’m assuming it’s a penny whistle, although it might have cost considerably more than a penny) playing a very distinct melody, distorted guitars are added to make a very melodic folk metal.
Overall, there was a lot to take in here. There were loads of different styles and some clearly very important messages and while I liked most of it, I also couldn’t help but feel some of it could have been done a little differently. This is a good listen that I would go back to again to try and fully take it all in properly and undeniably has a sound unlike many other bands about, I fell it just needs a little tweak here and there to take it from good listen to a must listen. 7/10
Olde Throne - In The Land Of Ghosts (Pain Without End Records) [Paul Scoble]
In The Land Of Ghosts is Olde Throne’s second album, coming a year later than the bands first album An Gorta Mór. The New Zealand based band was founded by Harrison Mckenzie, who plays all of the instruments except drums and sings, up until last year Olde Throne was a one man project, but in 2022 Harrison was joined in Olde Throne by Quentin Forster on drums. On Olde Throne’s last album the lyrics were about the horrors of the Irish Famine, In The land Of Ghosts takes Olde Throne on a trip across the Irish Sea to Scotland, with lyrics about Scottish Ghost stories.
Olde Thrones style of music is a mix of savage black metal that sits somewhere between second wave and atmospheric black metal, folk black metal that uses traditional instruments, and is dripping with melody and tunefulness, and a melancholy style of depressive black metal. The different styles fit very well together, I also liked the way the album flows, with the feel slowly changing as the album progresses.
The albums opening track House Of Dun is a good example of the blasting, savage black metal style, the song is mainly blast beats and tremolo picked riffs. The riffs have a lot of melancholy tunefulness and there is a slower and less aggressive section near the end but House Of Dun is mainly about savagely fast and aggressive black metal, the following track Skara Brae has a similar feel, but with some added dissonance.
The first really folky song is the track Isobel. Isobel opens with acoustic guitar and penny whistle (It’s definitely some sort of whistle, I’m assuming it’s a penny whistle, although it might have cost considerably more than a penny) playing a very distinct melody, distorted guitars are added to make a very melodic folk metal.
The song does have a section that is blasting and aggressive nearer the end, but after a few bars the whistle returns for a savage and beautifully melodic end. The Cliffs Of Culzean is another folk infused song, but this time it features an instrument that sounds like bagpipes (which would be appropriate for the subject matter) playing a simple but very effective tune, the track drops into folky balck metal for a faster section before slowing down again for a softer and very folk ending.
In the second half of the album the feel starts to move towards depressive black metal. The three tracks that follow The Cliffs Of Culzean all have a this depressive feeling to them. Dantulm is mid-paced depressive black metal with melancholy tremolo picked riffs and a mournful melody lead that I thought was a little reminiscent of Nordicwinter.
In the second half of the album the feel starts to move towards depressive black metal. The three tracks that follow The Cliffs Of Culzean all have a this depressive feeling to them. Dantulm is mid-paced depressive black metal with melancholy tremolo picked riffs and a mournful melody lead that I thought was a little reminiscent of Nordicwinter.
Greyfriars Kirkyard is more aggressive and blasting, but is still full of sadness. The song has slower and heavier sections and a very sad melody lead. The final of this trilogy is the track Killiecrankie, which is slow and deeply mournful. There is a flute melody that will break your heart, everything about this song is affecting. There is a little similarity to band None, which if you know None, should give you an idea of how good this song is.
The album comes to an end with the track An Torr. This takes the album on one last turn with a return to the aggressive and blasting black metal we encountered nearer the beginning of the album. The song is full of driving riffs that are powerful and savage.
In The Land Of Ghosts is a stunning album. It is full of really great tunes that stick in your head, I have been humming the melodies from this album for most of the two weeks I have been listening to it. It only took two or three listens before they had wormed their way into my brain, and I couldn’t stop singing along. The flow of the album is very good, from savage through folky and tuneful into depressive musical misery and then back to the savage blasting to end, the album is quite a journey to be taken on. This is a really enjoyable album, and feels more mature than a band on only their second album should sound. A beautifully folky and affecting piece of extreme metal. 8/10
Fatso Jetson & Dali's Llama - Legends Of The Desert: Volume 3 (Desert Records) [Rich Piva]
I think I have reviewed Fatso Jetson material more than any other band for this fine blog, and every time I do it’s pretty obvious how I feel about the legendary and one of the first desert rock bands. Now, Desert Records brings us Volume Three in their Legends Of The Desert series, teaming our heroes in FJ with another legendary and influential band in that same scene, Dali’s Llama. Both California bands started in the early to mid-90s and are the lesser-known pioneers of the genre. Teaming them up for this Kickstarter generated split LP is a stroke of genius. I love a good split LP (see my reviews of every Ripple Music one) and this one does not disappoint, offering up four tracks each from these killer bands and shows why they have been so influential in the scene so many love to this day.
The four Fatso Jetson tracks are all excellent and pretty chill for these guys, all with the signature Fatso feel, with it’s Cali/Desert guitar work and for this release some super clean production that sounds excellent. Desert legend Sean Wheeler helps out the band on Angels Flight, which is the standout track of the four offered here. Two of the four are killer instrumentals that are executed perfectly, while the last of their four, One Of Seven, is the perfect representation of why the band is still relevant today.
I was not even sure Dali's Llama was still active, so to get four tracks from them was another win for sure. But right off the bat you get a killer riff with their first offering, Coyotes In The Graveyard and we are off. I love their unique vocals of DL, and they are on full display here. Oh, and that solo. Rarified has a nice riff and some killer low-end bass driving it, for that trip across the desert feel these guys are known for and has a very cool banjo interlude about halfway through, until it kicks back into full on stoner/desert mode. The difference in the two offerings is the DL tracks are not holding back on the heavy, which is evident on the track Lizards with its riffs, chunkiness, and sweet solo. Hypnotic Wind is probably my favorite track, with a more of a chill stoner vibe and swirling guitars and a killer final two minutes that includes some serious cowbell.
Any new material from either band should feel like a gift at this point in their careers, but when the songs are excellent it makes it even more special. Four songs each seems like a teaser, but we should take what we should get when bands that we owe so much to like Fatso Jetson and Dali's Llama offer up more great songs from their already legendary discographies. If I had to pick, the Dali's Llama tracks were a bit better, but why pick when you can have them both. There could not be a better pairing for the title of this series, kudos to Desert Records and all those who backed the Kickstarter, me included. 8/10
The album comes to an end with the track An Torr. This takes the album on one last turn with a return to the aggressive and blasting black metal we encountered nearer the beginning of the album. The song is full of driving riffs that are powerful and savage.
In The Land Of Ghosts is a stunning album. It is full of really great tunes that stick in your head, I have been humming the melodies from this album for most of the two weeks I have been listening to it. It only took two or three listens before they had wormed their way into my brain, and I couldn’t stop singing along. The flow of the album is very good, from savage through folky and tuneful into depressive musical misery and then back to the savage blasting to end, the album is quite a journey to be taken on. This is a really enjoyable album, and feels more mature than a band on only their second album should sound. A beautifully folky and affecting piece of extreme metal. 8/10
Fatso Jetson & Dali's Llama - Legends Of The Desert: Volume 3 (Desert Records) [Rich Piva]
I think I have reviewed Fatso Jetson material more than any other band for this fine blog, and every time I do it’s pretty obvious how I feel about the legendary and one of the first desert rock bands. Now, Desert Records brings us Volume Three in their Legends Of The Desert series, teaming our heroes in FJ with another legendary and influential band in that same scene, Dali’s Llama. Both California bands started in the early to mid-90s and are the lesser-known pioneers of the genre. Teaming them up for this Kickstarter generated split LP is a stroke of genius. I love a good split LP (see my reviews of every Ripple Music one) and this one does not disappoint, offering up four tracks each from these killer bands and shows why they have been so influential in the scene so many love to this day.
The four Fatso Jetson tracks are all excellent and pretty chill for these guys, all with the signature Fatso feel, with it’s Cali/Desert guitar work and for this release some super clean production that sounds excellent. Desert legend Sean Wheeler helps out the band on Angels Flight, which is the standout track of the four offered here. Two of the four are killer instrumentals that are executed perfectly, while the last of their four, One Of Seven, is the perfect representation of why the band is still relevant today.
I was not even sure Dali's Llama was still active, so to get four tracks from them was another win for sure. But right off the bat you get a killer riff with their first offering, Coyotes In The Graveyard and we are off. I love their unique vocals of DL, and they are on full display here. Oh, and that solo. Rarified has a nice riff and some killer low-end bass driving it, for that trip across the desert feel these guys are known for and has a very cool banjo interlude about halfway through, until it kicks back into full on stoner/desert mode. The difference in the two offerings is the DL tracks are not holding back on the heavy, which is evident on the track Lizards with its riffs, chunkiness, and sweet solo. Hypnotic Wind is probably my favorite track, with a more of a chill stoner vibe and swirling guitars and a killer final two minutes that includes some serious cowbell.
Any new material from either band should feel like a gift at this point in their careers, but when the songs are excellent it makes it even more special. Four songs each seems like a teaser, but we should take what we should get when bands that we owe so much to like Fatso Jetson and Dali's Llama offer up more great songs from their already legendary discographies. If I had to pick, the Dali's Llama tracks were a bit better, but why pick when you can have them both. There could not be a better pairing for the title of this series, kudos to Desert Records and all those who backed the Kickstarter, me included. 8/10
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