Zac's "Double Dose": KEN Mode / ZAYN

KEN mode: Entrench

I hope I am formally introducing some of you to KEN mode, the three piece annihilation machine from Winnipeg, Manitoba (composed of two brothers and a rotating bass player). Historically known for their fusion of noise rock and hardcore KEN mode bring an intensity and overwhelming sense of chaos to the choppin' block (cleaver included). KEN mode are like Converge and Dillinger Escape Plan's younger sibling... bare chest, gnashing teeth, and prepared to spar for for an alpha spot... and definitely not afraid to try something a little sly in the process (very much like their elder kin). KEN mode formed in 1999 and have since released four full length albums, with the fifth, Entrench, dropping yesterday (Tuesday March 19th) via Season of Mist.

Entrench's opening track Counter Culture Complex kick the album off in a very noisey and punk fashion , but not before a few taps on a drum head and a dizzying cello oscillation suprise the senses. The following tracks, and much of the album, stay true to the hardcore / noise foundation. But don't let these adjectives turn you away from Entrench, listen closely and enjoy the glorious loads of resonance and feedback from KEN's latest bassist Andrew LaCour. These three are creative and their injection of sludge leave an impression of experience and knowledge of their craft. Take my favorite track The Terror Pulse for a spin (click play below), and experience the discordant guitar squel and sacrifical tribal wallop with more of those sweaty bass-lines. Entrench continues to ebb and flow between fast paced chaos and slower sludge... even devling into the depths of doom. This finally brings us to our whimsical and relaxing outro Monomyth, which contrasts immensly from Entrench entirely. Here we are absorbed into an airy atmosphere filled with reeling cellos and gently plucked strings. A finish that allows us to catch our breath and speculate. How does a trio of testoterone with the cojones to name themselves KEN (Kill Everyone Now) mode get off finishing an album like that? I haven't a clue and, quite honestly, I couldn't care in the least. All I know is I'm impressed.

Members:

Andrew LaCour - Bass // Backing-Vocals

Jesse Matthewson - Vocals // Guitar

Shane Matthewson - Drums

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ZAYN: Medeia

Some two years ago, inside the confines of Bjelovar, Croatia four persons banded together in search of an experimental purging. Choosing a name and a path, ZAYN came into existance and began their orchestral journey. Avoiding standard musical architecture, ZAYN's instrumental approach mold post-rock into jazz, doom and desert rock. All this variety will certainly overwhelm listener's senses. The musicians also employ minimal repetition, allowing the songs to grow, writhe and transform. This can be strange for any desert, doom or stoner fan... because we happen to like our repetitive RIFFS! That's okay though ZAYN have other ways of captivating the conscious and it all begins with static strumming and some desert rock intensity. ZAYN's debut album Medeia sets off with album opener In love, In anger, In vain. Medeia is based off an ancient Greek tragedy in which the grandaughter of the sun god is abondoned by her bewitched husband and seeks revenge through the slaying of her children and to fleeing to Athens on a firery chariot only to find herself in another sultry situation. Without further SparkNotes, album opener In love... sums up the emotions of a confused and enraged mother all to well. The music flows and corresponds to the story quite well using fast paced hammer on's and plenty of use of heavy and loud moments contrasting with hushed stillness. Each track seems to find moments of doom and loads of Miles Davis-esque timing, making each living moment of Medeia incalcuable. Check out the hodgepodge of genius in my favorite track Motherismus below and if you think you can handle more get over to bandcamp, because our friend's in ZAYN are offering this evolutionary piece of music for FREE!

Members:

Alen Rožman - Drums

Bojan Gatalica - Guitar

Marko Dragičević - Guitar

Miran Kapelac - Bass

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Album Review: Snail - Terminus

Stoner Rock band names are interesting and fun, wouldn’t you say? Most are clever, many are random, few represent any meaningful trait of the band they represent so won’t necessarily be an indication of what lies in wait when you drop the needle on a recently released tie-dye vinyl. But Snail, intentionally or not, is a name that could represent one of the many quality traits of this kick ass stoner band and their latest release “Terminus”, a trait in which this band is steady and constant, relentlessly bringing the power, seething through the long, slow fuse of stoner jams, super fuzzy riffs, powerful, immutable bass tones, and the inexorable staccato pulsations of the drums, leaving behind a trail of gooey bliss, an excrescence of fuzz and saliva. Snail bring it hard, they bring it heavy, they fuzz the crap out of it, and they never let up, never back down, never come up for air until the opponent has been vanquished. Okay, there’s no real opponent other than the end of the album, but the feeling throughout is a deep and groovy endurance test of tripping fuzz, enjoyable from the first note until the bell rings to end the 10th round.

Snail are in their second incarnation after succumbing to the dark, frightening, and cliched temptations that seem to always seduce rock bands with the individual prizes of sex and drugs, stealing the heart and soul of the whole, eventually leading to break-up and loss of impulse. But enough time fell victim to the slugtrail of Snail’s artistic driving forces that they were resurrected in 2008, stronger than before with a new bandmate among the lineup. Snail are comprised of singer Mark Johnson, bassist Matt Lynch, drummer Marty Dodson, and guitarist Eric Clausen. They very quickly released the much ballyhooed classic of stoner / fuzz rock, “Blood”, a standard of the genre that weighs in heavy with some of the meatiest rock songs to be found embedded in plastic, or encoded in the ether.

After “Blood”’s success Snail found no laurels to rest upon, instead finding new and heightened inspiration in what they wanted to infuse into their music, working diligently toward their latest release, 2012’s “Terminus”.

“Terminus” offers ten exquisite treasures of sound and art that begin with basic melody and structure, infused with the classic intonations of their favorite metal music, most notably the slow tempo stoner sounds that personify their very essence, but also including psychedelic turns and arc-welding sparks of guitar solo virtuosity, as well as all sorts of interesting snippets of pitch that presumably can’t be heard without an enclosed aural apparatus such as headphones or earbuds. Throughout it all is a virtuoso performance on vocals, delivering an adept and interesting inclusion to the mainstay instruments, always with an undercurrent of class, but often with interesting interludes of deviated deliverance. “Terminus” is mature in structure, telling tales of fantasy and adventure through both music and lyrics, never deviating from the essential strength of a song, but instead using a rock solid base as a launching point for all sorts of cool, interesting additions imbued within and throughout the music.

1. “Recursion” kicks off the album with the trademark slow, steady, deep, dark telling of fantasy and discovery. Vocals and guitar highlight the song, while bass and drums drive it through with aplomb and energy. Musical tidbits of interest are ensconced in the instrumental sections, something lying in wait for that tenth or twelfth time through where familiarity breeds delight in discovering what had not been so obvious on previous renditions.
2. “Galaxies’ Lament” picks up the pace both musically and lyrically, touching upon the essence of the universe with catchy lyrics and insistent guitar work, most notably a quick, raging solo that counteracts the methodical notes of the rhythm work from an adept bass and drum undercurrent.
3. “Matchbook” is a duet of sorts, a sing-song back and forth that accentuates a strong, insistent drum rendition throughout and fuzzed to the max guitars.
4. “Hippy Crack” is fast, insistent, with distorted riffs, quick staccato drums, interesting solo leading into an all out assault of screaming vocals, fading into a finale of quick simplicity. Fun, fast, furious, frenetic, and fantastic.
5. “Burn the Flesh” is a relentless harmony of haunting, slow power, a slow burn of stoner excellence utilizing a variety of  guitar emanations overlaying a long, trippy tale of disaster and woe.
6.”Love Theme From Snail” is a psychedelic guitar solo riff with a heavy stoner groove, a chorus of vocal harmony accentuating solo variations throughout.
7. “Ritual” is an insistent beat, slow, with background vocals in great tone, and using stoner guitar riffs when singing the chorus. It is trippy, moody, and ritualistic, just as its name suggests. Many and varied are the buried little interludes of musical deviations that accentuate the long, slow trek through the longest track on the album.
8. “Circles” relies heavily on the structure and strength of the bass and drumbeat throughout, while overlaying more psychotropic and melodic musical snippets in a trance-like state enhanced with low key vocals.
9. “Try to Make It” continues with the psychedelic bent of the latter half of the album, infusing many interesting sounds in, on, and around the rhythm instrumentation, interspersing moments of power guitar before falling back down the hole and into the ongoing trip.
10. “Terminus” closes out the trippy sounds of the album, riding on a single string before being led into the last of the power sections that is the coda for what has been an interesting and well played collection of original power rock paired with adept and intriguing interludes through ephemeral musings.






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Album Review: Asha - "Pleasures of Equality"

The fourteenth endeavor of Asha, and its guitarist Kike Caamaño, is titled “Pleasures of Equality”, an eclectic mix of rock songs that showcases the repertoire of a master guitar journeyman displaying his much traveled and well earned virtuosity on the riffs, chords, and solos of this unclassifiable, totally unique, and immensely enjoyable album.

Caamaño is joined on “Pleasures of Equality” by first time Asha vocalist Jacob Poulsen, whose strong, smooth, and clear vocals perfectly matches the varied and individualistic tracks on this diverse omnibus of rock songs that never tries to fit a standard, or conform to a preconception, but simply manufactures its own sound, borne over two and a half decades of honest effort coupled with innate talent.

When you’ve created thirteen albums over the course of a career and are facing the production of a fourteenth, what better way to kick it off than with the beautiful melodic stylings of . . . your 4 month old child. The very first track, “Newborn”, is an ode to Kike’s baby, in which he is able to structure a pleasant little ditty to accompany the baby’s cute jabber. Not your standard rock tune, and certainly nothing heavy here, just an indicator that Kike is no longer headstrong, as surely he must’ve been twenty years previous, but has instead matured to a point where he has no problem plucking the strings of his guitar simultaneously with those of his heart.

But never fear, the album quickly gets into a fast and fun number, “Welcome to the Lost Parade”, where the vaunted guitar work quickly comes into prominence, playing with energy and verve, deftly producing adept and prodigious riffs and chords that blend perfectly with Jacob’s clear, clean vocals before moving into blistering, almost awe-inspiring solos. This is a rock standard, the type of which fans of stoner rock have come to enjoy and look forward to in their favorite bands

“Here We Come Around” moves through a myriad of guitar riffs, in which Kike plays several different guitar tracks on top of a uniquely structured sing song cadence from Jacob, various quick and fun riffs sprinkled throughout that add a fun and unique spice to the song, while not abandoning the standard solo ensconced within the center.

Next is “How Could You”, beginning with an uptempo cadence, fast and boisterous on the guitar, full of varied and fun riffs that blend together to complement an exceptional vocal performance before entering a spacy but interesting interlude midway through the song, accentuated with a blistering guitar solo before returning briefly to the originally established structure, and then ending with a segue into something completely different but equally enjoyable. Caamaño takes the listener on a definite ride through lots of interesting terrain on this song, and throughout the entire album.

“Come Back (I’m Waiting For You) begins with a solo like introduction of slight distortion and significant length before moving into a few verses of harmonious vocals that are reminiscent of Americana music, interspersed with various renditions of the opening solo. A slight haunting quality to this song pulls slightly at the heartstrings while culminating in a choir-like invocation.

Funky, fun, and fast is the defining characteristic of “Unwritten Obsession”, quickly and deftly throwing out a variety of sounds, tempos, and structures. This song is completely full of a variety of intriguing and amusing sounds.

Another virtuoso guitar performance opens “Stuck In Our Moment”, accompanied by Jacob’s pure, clean vocals that carry you throughout the song in a foot tapping, finger snapping rendition, fun to keep time with, fun to listen to, and fun throughout.

“It Doesn’t Matter” displays some of the best of Jacob’s vocals and some of the heaviest of Kike’s guitar work on this album, never overbearing in any one place, moving in and out of interludes of heavier rock, interspersed with more vocally driven periods.

“The Deep Serenity” begins like a dual guitar blitz from Judas Priest or Deep Purple before dropping into the signature sound of Kike Caamaño, where time structures aren’t necessarily standard, but remain intriguing and fun, accompanied by the brilliant renditions of Jacob, who is amazing in matching his ardent intonations perfectly with Kike’s wonderfully unique and seemingly quirky guitar bonanzas.

A sound reminiscent of many guitar heavy songs from the late seventies is displayed on “Travels”, but briefly and uniquely accompanied by a short interlude of quirky vocal stylings.

“So Ends the End” again is structured in the unique way that Kike plays his songs, cramming lots of short but enjoyable guitar snippets throughout, demonstrating a wide array of sounds, from fast, clear, and high solo work to heavy, dense, thick, and loud distortion and fuzz.

The album ends with “Afterlife”, which starts slow and sweet with a simple acoustic pluck accompanied by a bongo like sound, and then the strings of long ago movie soundtracks. When the vocals are engaged then are displayed Poulsen’s most heartfelt and powerful production on this compilation. A psychedelic like feel permeates throughout, building slowly, growing louder, but remaining simple and pure in the instruments played before closing out with a simple, clear pluck on an acoustic instrument.

Kike Caamaño is able to do much with his guitar, combining the best of innate talent, years of experience, a knack for creating interesting and often unique music, and a clear desire to play and perform, having fun, sharing in the enjoyment of what he can do, what it evokes, how it makes the time spent listening to these unique and wonderful songs time very well spent. Here is not the standard stoner rock, doom, or sludge fare, and with only a sprinkling of the psychedelic, but Caamaño is a virtuoso with his chosen instrument, well worth getting to know in the intimate settings of “Pleasures of Equality”


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Album Review: Black Space Riders-"Light is the New Black"

Black Space Riders-"Light is the New Black"

Band Members:
JE – vocals, guitars
SLI – guitar
SAQ – bass
CRIP – drums

Recorded in Oldenburg, Germany

Germany has long been a hotbed of metal music, both in delivering some of the heaviest, hottest, most hellacious bands to ever distribute metal masterpieces to the masses, and in a massive fan base of appreciative metal heads whose appetite for loud, raunchy, disturbing music has sustained heavy, raunchy acts both in the U.S. and in Deutschland, as well, I’m sure, in countries all across the European continent where pretty much all forms of metal can be heard oozing through the uninsulated crevices of closed club doors in the dark, cold hours, or blasting into the murky night sky straight up from jam packed auditoriums in waves and crescendos of massive and familiar distortion.

This wonderful, fertile environment from where a heavy, dark side of music springs forth, a band by the name of Black Space Riders has emerged, laying down a sound filled with the telltale signs of distortion, volume, fuzz, up tempo, down tempo, blazing solos, driving, thumping bass and rhythm, and amplified attitude, combined often with forays into tripping, primal psychedelic interludes, all progressing forward in an unrelenting onslaught of emotional experience and heavy vibe.

But it doesn’t end there. The thing that most bands of ability are able to achieve, whether it’s easy or not I can’t say, is the music, the sound, the energy. There are hundreds of motivated rockers out there creating and playing thousands of alluring pieces that slide into genres of doom, sludge, fuzz, psychedelic, stoner, and other niches created for their unique deliveries of metal music, and Black Space Riders are among the very best of those. They are adept and athletic in the songs they play, emanating power in the handling of tautly tuned cables and slender wooden cudgels, crafting a sound that is unique not in the sense of high art, but in the coming together of the myriad pieces of what these four German gentlemen have produced with vision, energy, enthusiasm, and, if these songs are any indication, joy. In other words, they have created songs that work well, that sound clean and tight while being fuzzed and raucous, that you know are special because they sound like what you’ve been waiting to hear.

And still there’s more. Adding to the sound, the wonderfully crafted and delivered instrumental pieces are vocals that don’t just fit, don’t just work, but embellish and transcend the music, flavoring the songs with an additional dispatch of a satisfactory experience.

To top it all off are the songs themselves, their craft and structure, their rare and exciting capsules of near perfection. Plainly said, they are wonderful melodies filled with riffs, solos, and hooks, with occasional trips into psychedelic interludes, or forays of hard driving sections of unique delivery. These melodies are fine and unique, the type of songs that make an album and its creator memorable for decades due to the fact that they are what it’s all about, they deliver the experience we anticipate when first playing the record, they move you by reaching that primal core again and again.

Black Space Riders deliver with “Light is the New Black”, their second album, the first part of that beautiful experience of stoner/fuzz/psychedelic rock by delivering some of the best crafted songs around, songs that allow the listener to deliver the final piece of the experience, which is the enjoyment and relishment of this wonderful collection of songs.



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