Album Review : High on Fire - De Vermis Mysteriis

From the plains of the deepest hash-induced journey to the unseen, to the unsightly poison of ancient and forbidden battlefields, the band treading deepest into the true guts of hazy mind-wrenching sludgei-ness since the late 90s, High on fire returned this year with followup to their stunning 2010 affair Snakes For the Divine. The record that rose from the ashes of the people crippled by the afformentioned riff-fest was built for those not pleased with its predecessor's cleaner production. De Vermis Mysteriis, is the newest effort in HoF's warpath of barrel chested riff affairs. Sporting a titular reference to H.P Lovecraft, and a back story regarding Jesus' hypothetical twin brother / time travel, as well as production values courtesy of metal juggernaut Kurt Ballou- this record takes on more of Blessed Black Wings' territory with ferocious uptempo monstrosities and a bare bass heavy production style. And it's freaking LOUD. I know. I blasted it out my 600w PA system in my old apartment complex. Needless to say I'm no longer allowed residence there ... Thats what I call METAL!

1. "Serums of Liao" - Right off the bat with the Lovecraft references, the album opens on a twisting surreal tirade of classic HoF riffs and battering-ram status drums. The vicious throbbing verse riffs are adorned by a major sounding chorus with Matt Pike roaring out deranged throaty beastliness all the way through. A quick triplet feel dominates the tune. Spicy!

2. "Bloody Knuckles" - This is the track bleeds upfront with spaced out well placed burning before launching into the fury that evokes some of the energy captured on Snakes. It's dirty, it's mean sounding, and its percussive. The song romps on before getting to a frantic-solo. Than comes the thrash, the band is showing their Slaytanic colors here- and it's damn good - Des Kensel's drums are tight as the anus of a pissed off monkey. Brutality!

3."Fertile Green" - The first sigle released. Tribal war drums herald the of pillaging your town, your home, and your females. Than it gets angry - pounding out snare hits on all 4 beats hardcore style with swirling cavities where the lyrics reside. The most violent tribute to the pot plant you've heard in a long while- this one pounds out before coming to an anthemic pulsing bridge instructing the sacred rituals of cannabis to commence. It continues with aggressive thrash style rhythms until the end.

4. "Madness of An Architect"- A lurking doom tribulation - this one evokes the really early stuff with lo-fi guitar squeeling to summon the beast from under Pike's nails. Remember The Art of Self-Defense? So do I and so do they. This one screams till the end with slow pungent exercises that are sure to keep that head bobbing in place. 

5. "Samsara"- The oddball instrumental. A bit of wailing with help from Kurt. Fun, short and intriguing but it's on the filler end of things compared to the instrumentals we were handed on Death is this Communion.

6. "Spiritual Rites" - Deathy and assertive - This one compares to other pounding HoF tunes. Quick and terrifying - tremolo picked lines are this song. One of the faster tunes on the record, definitely for you Slayer fans reading.

7. "King of Days" - This is where i'm biased. MY FAVORITE TUNE on this record. Matt's terrifying melodic vocals fit in perfectly over a destructive and bewildering doom riff. Hallowing howls and reverb'd guitars act as hooks in-between lines and evoke the death march. The Chorus uses tense low end to round it out and interspliced easily-hummed guitar lines hit before going back into the main riff. This tune features a ferocious bass solo from Jeff Matz by the end before roaring into a tribal harmonized guitar finale. A meteoric and awesome display of the band's songwriting prowess- evoking the likes of "Bastard Samurai" and "10,000 years."

8."De Vermis Mysteriis" - The namesake and another more focused sludge tune. This one is another where Des shines and just pours syncopated tribal drumbeats over everything. Pay close attention to the rhythmic exchanges between instrumentalists in this one.

9. "Romulus and Remus"- A hefty war elephant. A poisonous riff fills this tune with Rome's founding referenced lyrically - also sporting one of Matt's more melodic and well-phrased solos. He experiments with his toggle switch as well as his general Iommi-inspired wailing and keeps the pace of the solo till the end.

10."Warhorn" - A stark depiction of the Civil war complete with dissonatant haunting wallops to the mouth. This one experiments with more space as Pike plays sparsely through choruses. Still writhing with slow almost bongzilla-inspired clout, HoF trudges out with a clean and slow ending.

This album is a mixed bag. It's got that same vivacious production quality we've seen them gravitate towards in the past as well as some new tricks. It approaches sludgier territory with some of the tracks, fast paced, whirring, and jarring tunes that just mess with your senses. Personally I love the more doom influenced tracks, but this band definitely has something for everyone. Damn shame they were out of commission do to rehabilitation this summer- but i'm sure the minute Pike gets out, some serious face-ripping will occur.

Top albums of 2012? Most likely!

Instruction Manual for the Apocalypse? Possibly

Guaranteed to make your unaccustomed-to-metal-girlfriend shit bricks? 100 Percent.

High on Fire is 

Matthew Pike - Guitars/Vocals

Jeff Matz - Bass

Des Kencel - Drums

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Album Review : Major Kong - Doom for the Black Sun

An instrumental trio straight out of Poland birthed from the remnants of Fifty Foot Woman, Major Kong struck back sans-vocalist and took off with an EP entitled "Orogenesis.:" They then followed up with a full length in March entitled "Doom for the Black Sun." 

While the title parallels a certain famous band from the california desert's famous record, the album pours on a heaping load of delicious cannabuttery flavor all its own.

The band brings a big stirfry of the regular doom catalog. With dinosaur sized riffs and down right disgusting grooves,  Major Kong creates a unique amalgam of what one could only describe as Bongzilla doing steamroller hits with Earthless - and deciding to record the ensuing jam.

The album hits it off with sampled occult themed audio, than the bludgeoning begins.The opener "IDDQD" echoes ferocious Electric Wizard-isms before splashing into a wailing solo. This track than plows into a major section laden with envelope filtered drones that plow into more modal tinged riffage. The song trills with timbres one could liken to Rosetta or Tombs- thick, crushing, and atmospheric - yet still burning.

The next tune, "The Swamp Altar" traverses into a dominant blues territory, first engaging us with clean pickin' before launching thru distortion laden splendor. This track oozes Church Of Misery style mischief, bludgeoning the listener with another zesty solo and breaching into vicious southern style metal. The title in this case is undoubtedly telling- a listen to for any fan of obnoxiously loud swamp metal (think Down or Weedeater.)

Enter "Primordial Gas Clouds." Damn. before bursting into diminished/chromatic minor doomliness, the band lays down a thick semi swung drum groove. This one really brings to mind HoF's "The Art of Self Defense" riffwise before splitting into pentatonic tinged guitar wankery. Recommended for anyone who's into Matt Pike!

"Acid Transmission"- exactly as one would expect. A long wobbly, warbly, woofy bit. it once again starts with an eerie sample before spitting itself back into gear. The middle section has the same vibe as any Clutch solo (due to similar effects processing) and thus kind of brings to mind the aforementioned band's 2nd album. The tune eventually divulges into dissonant squelches, spitting you right back out ...

...to "Witches On My Land." Once again opening with a freaky battered woman's sample, this tune pours on the doom syrup with another dose of Sleep-tinged riffs. Slow and low - the track fits perfectly in with the rest of the tunes- only suffering from a repeated key and similarity to the prior songs. Thematically however, the tune is in line with everything else going on thus far.

The last track is seriously straight out of Bongzilla's riff vault. Wicked, steady, and straight ahead- "Demolition Whale" plods forward at the continued bewitched stoner pace. Interestingly the tune in 3/4 offers  a little time variation. When the tune eeks out with atmospheric flanged effects it's pretty clear what's going on here with this Polish power trio.

A band very well-versed on the fundamentals of stoner rock this should be an great listen for any Weedian. The only thing the album suffers from is length- the band gets a little bogged down from evoking prior riffs as the songs progress- however- that is not to say that the listening experience is unenjoyable. This band definitely has promising horizons and a clear understanding of who their audience is. I hope we get more nuggets of these guys in the future!

"Witches On My Land" and  "The Swamp Altar"previously appeared on "Orogenesis"

Major Kong is:

Dominic Stachyra- Bass

Pawel Zmarlak - Drums

Michal Skula- Guitars

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Album Of The Day-Kalas-"Self-Titled" (2006)

The Album Of The Day is the self-titled 2006 release from Kalas.



Review:

Although they claim to be no mere "side project," it's hard to figure out just when Kalas members Matt Pike (of High on Fire and Sleep legend), Andy Branton (Econochrist), and Paul Kott (Cruevo) will find time away from their other musical concerns to, say, go on tour -- but then again, few side projects manage to deliver such a distinct-sounding and well-realized debut album as this one. Yes, Kalas clearly rely on the guiding footprints of Neurosis for inspiration (not surprising given their Bay Area origins), devising a similar sense of foreboding minor-key mystery with their songs' deep dynamic contrasts. Representative examples like "Monuments to Ruins," "Things Done and Undone," and "Mother's Tears" utilize mournful, gently plucked melodies to set up bone-crushing riffs (and vice versa) -- but then subtract any notion of Neurosis' industrial/electronic tendencies and shirk the mid-2000s obsession with epic song lengths in exchange for leaner songwriting. The resulting material is therefore not only far more organic in nature but, when coupled with the band's carefully thought-out arrangements, almost helps render these nine tracks into one fluid tapestry from start to finish, like movements of a single 50-minute piece of music. Also worth noting is that Pike only picks up his Les Paul for one number, the album highlight "Frozen Sun," elsewhere stepping out as band frontman for the first time in his career. Granted, he'll never be a Freddie Mercury, but longtime followers won't fail to recognize the unprecedented emotional range displayed by his unholy howls, nor the impressive caliber of his lyrics. These find him conjuring up wildly vivid fantasy imagery throughout -- even when tackling real-world issues like the war in Iraq ("Media Screws") and heroin addiction ("Pleasurable Prison") -- a feat most recently accomplished by the Hidden Hand's Wino, but not many others. Together with the evocative music that supports them, the lyrics help to imbue Kalas' debut with a surprisingly fresh musical outlook, so here's hoping this group really doesn't become a one-off side project. (Eduardo Rivadavia, AMG)

Track Listing:

01. Monuments to Ruins
02. Frozen Sun
03. Godpills
04. Media Screws
05. Things Done and Undone
06. Mother's Tears
07. Pleasurable Prison
08. Due Time
09. Voyager

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