LP Review: The Golden Veil by MAKE

It has been over three years since North Carolina’s connoisseurs of fine doom/metal/prog/psych MAKE delivered a statement of intent with their debut record Trephine blowing all expectations and hopes away with immense destructive doom metal that shook the earth’s crust. Now with their follow up full length, the three-piece have taken all of the metal infused demonic riffs, deathly vocals, and utterly sublime post-metal glacial sound-scapes, and crafted them into a thing of eternal beauty.

The Golden Veil opens with the gloriously titled ‘I Was Sitting Quietly, Peeling Back My Skin’ which menacingly awakens the record into life as it plays on a collection of distorted sounds and alien motions before parting to acoustically lead you towards the death chant of the gut-wrenchingly heavy ‘Breathe’ in all of its layered percussion-led, death vocals, guitar-crushing savagery. The tracks highlights how MAKE have grown as a band and become an all round heavier beast, at times suffocatingly so, but then their beauty shows in a track such as the gentle psychedelic progressive ‘The Immortal’ with stunning clean vocals swaying in the wind. Comparisons are understandably drawn with the likes of Isis, but MAKE aren’t copyists; they’ve taken their post-metal sound and created a very concise record, turning drawn out meandering numbers into shorter songs, enhancing their impact, turning up the brutality, and the beauty that lies within.  

The record continues in much the same vein, never letting you rest of notions of solitude or comfort, while songs such as ‘The Absurdist’ or ‘The Architect’ draw you in to their soul, what you find their is blackened embers floating away, laughing as they’ve pummelled your expectant body, one gentle guitar pluck after one crushing blow after one playful trippy heavy psych tone after another demonic scream at a time.

What Scott Endres, Spencer Lee, and Matt Stevenson have created here is quite extraordinary in its polar opposite assaults of space drifting laid-back beauty, and soul crushing heavy doom metal, blended perfectly together.  Where a lot of bands always fail to live up to their debut record, MAKE are one of those bands that every other musician envies, an band that rather than chase the flame of their early offerings, instead build, grow, and learn from everything they do, push themselves out of their boundaries and comfort zones, to strive to improve and make the best record that they can. If The Golden Veil is going to prove to be the peak of the band’s output then it is a fitting testament, but if they are going to keep improving, holy shit are we in for the greatest record ever made next time. 

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Wiht - Harrowing of The North EP Review

This is one you don't see often, a real "zombie" EP- a newer record from a group recently folded with some bonus material!Wiht was a delicious little doom outfit which toured with everyone from Orange Goblin to Yob. A distinctly dark and texture rich record originally released as a 2 track album, this particular incarnation includes a 3rd, unreleased, bonus (End of the Reign)

1. "The Harrowing of the North"- 8 movements sonically depicting William the Conqueror's conquest of northern england. Excellent. This track is texturally magnificent, a range of ambient textures slowly mesh into winding and blistering distorted behemoths. Delayed contours shifting into beastly waltzes of doom, conjured sounds in 3/4 are pachyderm heavy. Swirling chorused/delayed shoegazing occurs in wild swirls until death-marches before turning into swaying ambient piano and beautiful layered synthesis. This great slow wave of death fades into a Pike-worthy battle command. The thing to note is how much time this band takes to really build each part, nothing feels rushed, but it sways in such an even manner - it's not long for the sake of being long, the intent is clear: it does not drag!

2."Orderic Vitalis"- Opened with down right disgusting bass-tones, the piece launches straight into a demonic sounding minor riff, the tension curls into eerie reverbed guitar lines that whisper and act as atmosphere as the bass drones. The band continues to flirt with lush reverb and delay, stopping in-between to place perfectly accented distorted riffs. A large canvas is drawn upon which the bass pounds the listener as long delayed guitars pierce through the foreground. The flirtation with a 6/8 polyrhythm occurs and the groove divides and freaks the listener. The guitar is both a mix of shoegazing fuzz and doomed out low-end in the tone department. A continuous build of ominous tension from the guitars whirls into delayed and reverbed-weirdness and grain until collapsing into a symphony of sine-waves and simple synthesis acting as a beautiful counterpoint to the range of contrast created prior.

3."End of the Reign"- Heralded by whispering ambient textures, thunder rumbles, industry, whistling wind-like feedback, and altered piano, the tune surges into a pounding d-beat style rhythm, before catapulting itself into a distorted sabbathian-romp. Sweltering into echoing, post-rockish guitar, the piece swells into a harmonized pentatonic gripping classic-rock inspired chord progression. The psychedelic echoed guitar is inescapable and gloriously wet. An excellent unearthed track.

For those of you interested, this trippy gem of a record has been reissued with the bonus track by Devouter Records here. 

The record is streaming on SoundCloud here

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New Band To Burn One To: GIZA

HEAVY PLANET presents...GIZA!

BAND BIO:

Giza was formed in March of 2012 by Steve Becker, Trent McIntyre, and Richard Burkett with the goal of writing loud and massive instrumental music. In May of 2012 Giza recorded 6 songs with Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Isis, Minus the Bear) which will be self released in January of 2013. Giza is currently playing shows in the Pacific Northwest.

THOUGHTS:
"I have been on this huge instrumental band kick as of late, so when I received this band the other day it sent my adrenalin soaring. The music represented on this debut full-length from Seattle's Giza is a moody, dark and desolate journey paralleled by the cloudy and rainy climate of the Pacific Northwest. The heaviness continuously explodes amidst meandering tempos, down-tuned guitars and crushing aural pleasantry. There are no guitar acrobatics or soaring vocals to be heard, just what I would call heavy as fuck chill-out music. My favorite track "Hour of the Bullfight" is introduced by the mellow intro of "Interlude", once the intro subsides, a heavy aura surrounds you with monsterous tones and savage drum fills. The playing is tight, the production is stellar and the sound is massive, combine that with some sweet album artwork and "Future Rains" by Giza comes out a winner. I highly recommend this shit for anyone jonesing for some post-apocalyptic instrumental sludge metal."
For fans of Mastodon, Isis, Russian Circles and Minus the Bear

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Sunday Sludge: Vultures At Arms Reach - "дикари"

Does post-metal really exist? The sea of labels for metal bands has become as vast as the landscape of metal itself. Styles marry and there you have it: a new label. A new genre. The labels are helpful, sure. But when a band BECOMES that label, that band's in trouble. On the other hand, shedding that tag is gonna require evolution without departure. So now you're really in a sticky spot, Ponch. A sophomore offering could be called the most important in an artist's catalog. It can't be the same nine songs we heard eighteen months ago, but it had better not be a total bust-up sellout.

Santa Cruz's Vultures At Arms Reach first caught our attention last summer with +)))((()))((()))((()))-, a heady, surprisingly forward-thinking three-track introduction to a band that hit the heavy from every angle. It was futile to seek a flaw within those 25 minutes, which now places the band under the added pressure of delivering another seamless effort with дикари, their second three-track release in just fifteen months. While adhering to dark atmospheres and post-metal sludge middle-fingers to conventions, the album also showcases a band evolving and sharpening the foundation they've already established.

дикари is less noise than its predecessor, and I can't write this sentence without making "noise" sound like a four-letter word (I love the noise). There's still an ominous grumble, a thought-provoking spook; but there's a confident aggression in these songs that you can't practice. The shoe-gaze has become a steel-toed boot-stare, and the melancholic death rattle of Tsar Bomba, the album's opening track, is juxtaposed with the grinding stop/start skull crush of Savages' choppy, stuttered closing.

That's not to trivialize what lies between those moments. Tsar Bomba buzzes with echo and swirling chants as Brian Rucker's drums circle with ravenous lure. The eerie, pinpoint sadness melts into a broader sound, picking up nicely where +)))((()))((()))((()))- left off and could likely have progressed. Still thick without being abrasive, VAAR have maintained that ability to snag inside your mind and set up camp for days, relishing the haunt. As a self-injuring cutter would argue, the pain of these cuts is what allows relief. Sounds strange, sure; but Travis Howe's guitar takes the blame here, slicing or buzzing or doing whatever the fuck he commands.

Thicker and murkier is The Lions Den, though Howe's guitars still can't stop their racing thoughts. Growing shrill and countering the dirge amazingly, a tin-drum pounding tags along to maintain an even parity. Gabe House's keys are neither too big nor small, filling a gap that listeners didn't even know existed. Listeners can enjoy a stroll through brilliant pacing under a structure that is EXACTLY why this band sounds as amazing as they do. The buzzing grind may mask the songwriting, but the need for traditional composure is still non-existent. If only every listener could exercise the patience and non-presumptuousness a band like VAAR requires...

Savages won't let VAAR be mistakenly labeled "inaccessible" or "pretentious," however. The low drag and slow plod seem to observe without interfering, and there's a detectable pattern carried out through Nate Kotila's sludge-bass patience. Howe sputters and coos on guitar, those blanketed atmospheres are drilled and sprayed with drum assaults, and the robot-clone vocal leads straight into grind. Luckily for all of us, there's no shaking the pensive, troubled ambiance. Is that their bread and butter? Well, that's difficult to say. With this many arrows in their quiver, you could argue the band pull equally from all emotions.

дикари stands on its own as an incredible step forward for a band that had already found not only their balls but also themselves. Their not stepping out of their realm, they're expanding it. And why would we expect anything else? Every track they've recorded has expanded, whether we're talking about expanding depths of sonic haze or simply one listener's own expanding interest. Vultures At Arms Reach are swimming upstream against a current that so often only wants a sea of automatons on either side of the stereo. They're earning their stripes by not only thinking, but by expecting the same from audiences. They're not gonna insult your intelligence by playing something you've already heard. But they're not gonna leave you holding your dick, either.

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ISIS: Entire New Album Available For Streaming

"Wavering Radiant", the fifth full-length album from ISIS, the innovative Los Angeles-by-way-of-Boston-based band, is available for streaming in its entirety on the group's MySpace page.

"Wavering Radiant" is scheduled for release on May 5 via Ipecac Recordings. The CD, produced by Joe Baressi (TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE), will receive a limited-edition vinyl release on April 21. TOOL's Adam Jones contributed guitar to two songs from the LP.

"Wavering Radiant" track listing:

01. Hall Of The Dead
02. Ghost Key
03. Hand Of The Host
04. Wavering Radiant
05. Stone To Wake A Serpent
06. 20 Minutes / 40 Years
07. Threshold of Transformation

FPE-TV's posted behind-the-scenes footage (see below) from the recording sessions for "Wavering Radiant".

Having been on the forefront of the progressive metal scene for over a decade now, ISIS has managed to pump out landmark records like a well-oiled machine, each one more unique and daring then the last. Routinely changing the genre's landscape, the group produced destructive, incendiary riffs on their debut, explored the sprawling, vast unknown via 2004's "Oceanic" and discordant, rhythmic textures on "The Absence of Truth". Enter "Wavering Radiant". Their first full-length in over two years, it marks yet another push towards the unexplored; solidifying a career in adaptation and transformation. Acting as the culmination of twelve years spent unleashing backbreaking riff-age and sonic explorations of light and dark, "Radiant" sees the colossal five-some moving beyond the visible spectrum of rock and the realm of the uninspired. Blissfully melodic, frighteningly dense; the album is an epic conflict between worlds of beauty and the darkest of demons. A monster of epic proportions, its seven tracks clock in at a total of 54 minutes. The shortest number (also the album's title cut) stays under two minutes, while its longest reaches 11 minutes. Less tracks then they are portions, they are better described as subsections to one massive piece. After just one listen, it's clear that "Radiant" is the sum of years of experimentation, varying influences and the organic infusion of their multiple personalities (band members are featured in a slew of successful side-projects).

Pre-order CD Now!

ISIS: New Song Available For Download

ISIS, the innovative Los Angeles-by-way-of-Boston-based band, will release its fifth full-length album, "Wavering Radiant", on May 5 via Ipecac Recordings. The CD, produced by Joe Baressi (TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE), will receive a limited-edition vinyl release on April 21. TOOL's Adam Jones contributed guitar to two songs from the LP.

"Wavering Radiant" track listing:

01. Hall Of The Dead
02. Ghost Key
03. Hand Of The Host
04. Wavering Radiant
05. Stone To Wake A Serpent
06. 20 Minutes / 40 Years
07. Threshold of Transformation

The song "20 Minutes / 40 Years" is available for free download as an MP3 audio file at this location.

ISIS' "Wavering Radiant" Track Listing & Cover Art Revealed

ISIS, the Los Angeles by way of Boston quintet, will release their fifth full-length album, Wavering Radiant, on May 5 via Ipecac Recordings.

The album, recorded over the late Summer and Fall of 2008 in Los Angeles, was produced by Joe Barresi (Queens Of The Stone Age, Melvins) and will also see a vinyl release on Apr. 21.

Aaron Turner recently discussed the new album with Billboard, saying "This is a better sonic representation of what the band actually sounds like. In the past I think some of the recordings were a little too clean in their final form. There was something about the energy that seemed to be lacking. It seems to feel more like us than anything else has."

"I feel a sense of completion with this record that I've never felt before,” Aaron Harris adds. “We spent more time creating this record than we have with any other, and I feel in my heart that this record is in many ways our best."



Cover art was once again created by Turner.

The track listing for Wavering Radiant is:

01. Hall Of The Dead
02. Ghost Key
03. Hand Of The Host
04. Wavering Radiant
05. Stone To Wake A Serpent
06. 20 Minutes / 40 Years
07. Threshold of Transformation


ISIS is currently planning extensive worldwide touring behind Wavering Radiant with more details to be announced shortly.

ISIS: New Album Title, Release Date Announced

ISIS, the innovative Los Angeles-by-way-of-Boston-based band, has set a May 5 release date for its much-anticipated new album, "Wavering Radiant" (Ipecac Recordings). The CD, produced by Joe Baressi (TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE), will receive a limited-edition vinyl release on April 21. TOOL's Adam Jones contributed guitar to two songs from the LP.

Video footage from the recording sessions for the new CD can be viewed below.