New Band To Burn One To-Lowcaster

Well, it's been quite a while since I have done any sort of review for the site. So, I felt today would be a great day to shake off the rust. Yesterday, I was perusing through thee old Bandcamp app and came across a band called Lowcaster. What drew me to the band was the album artwork, which is something that usually does. Without knowing where the band was from, I detected elements of doom, sludge and thrash. I was surprised to learn that the band was from San Francisco, CA. And based on the logo, I thought there might have been some black metal elements as well. Turns out I was wrong. But, one thing is for damn sure, this band is HEAVY! The opening song "Blood Moon" starts off with a southern sludge feel, a la C.O.C. but "The Vapor Sea" is much more than that. The album is a vastitude of kick ass dual guitar shredding, chest-crushing heaviness (the riff on "Dirty War" is enormous, whew!), a hardcore punk attitude, and fist-pumping heavy metal anthems. Awesome stuff!

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Song of the Day-Bedowyn-"Blood of the Fall"

"Blood of the Fall" is the first song from the upcoming release of the same name due out on October 30, 2015. Combining bits of classic metal, doom and thrash, this song gallops into oblivion with thundering ferocity and wanders into the realm of psychedelia at times while staying quite melodic. The vocals are strong and provide the perfect intensity for the song. Also, pretty amazing cover art if I must say. For more information, please check out the following links: Facebook | Bandcamp

Song of the Day-Behold! The Monolith-"Philosopher's Blade"

"Philosopher's Blade" is taken off of the upcoming release "Architects of the Void" due out September 29,2015 digitally and sometime in November/December 2015 on vinyl. Pre-orders are now being taken for both editions on Bandcamp. The song starts off with a tribal drum beat and then explodes into a skull-grinding doomy riff. Once the beyond evil vocal enters that is when all insanity ensues, blatantly deafening your aural cavity and thrashing the shit out of your numbing bones. For more information, please check out the following links: Facebook | Bandcamp

Zac's "Double Dose": Cavern / Vintage Cucumber

 

Cavern: Cavern S/T 

Can you recall the sound of authenticity? For example, the first time you listened to a cassette recording of an early thrash metal band. That raw, very real life sensation that overcame you? Or, for those more contemporary listeners, the initial feeling induced by the grimey sludge growing in Georgia in the early 2000's. That strange progressive combination of swampy grooves and violent thrashing? Well, if you can't then today is going to be a good day for you, because you get another chance to relive that rare moment. This is were we find the beauty of music and its ever evolving, progressing nature which the sonic being cycles, and finally what keeps us coming back for more. What we have here is a Maryland based trio that have hybridized punk, sludge and thrash metal. The band call themselves Cavern and have released their self-titled debut record on February 26th, via Grimoire Records. The opening thunder of the bass and drums on Far Beyond Fields and Evergreens will leave your senses unprepared from the RIFF lashing you are about to endure. Yes, Cavern's RIFFING here is just plain vulgar. If this doesn't remind you of that 1980's thrash vitality, you may very well be hopeless. But then, if you're hopeless this may be the record for you. Now that Cavern has dragged you through their coarse and gritty dirt and your skin is a little tougher, you are weathered and prepared for the storm, and believe me these tracks truly storm the senses. The record is full of relentless RIFFING, a mix of witty percussion and ravaging drum lines, and a three-fold vocal attack. The vocal approach of Cavern is a characteristic worth praising. By employing all three voices, either at the same time or separate times, the songs have an energized and original sound. I really enjoy the muted and buried sound of the vocals in the production, as if the voice is shouting for life through the walls of a sealed room a few doors down. There's a lot to experience here on Cavern's self-titled debut. So, don't be surprised if this one stands the test of time and rears its ugly head come the closing of 2013.

**CDs are available for a limited time at Grimoire Records bandcamp page.**

Members: 

Nick - Bass // Vocals 

Steve - Drums // Vocals 

Zach - Guitar // Vocals

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Vintage Cucumber: Jup's Chillout Lounge Style 

Guten Morgen... or Good Morning. I think it's time to change the pace here at the Double Dose. So, lets cut the head banging, stretch out and forget we have limbs. This second shot is a sole-devised sonic experiment full of fuzzy and warm psychedelia sure enough to leave you levitating. Our maestro and master of ceremonies is Johannes Schulz, the lone mind that conveys the Vintage Cucumber cosmic orchestra. This one man extravaganza has released a handful of albums within the past year, but today we are going to focus on one particular release entitled Jup's Chillout Lounge Style. So remember, this half of the 'Dose is for quiet and peaceful reflection. Let's lose track of time. Jup's... begins with a with a repetitive female spoken line wishing us all a Good Morning in German. The track flows into an elegantly strummed Eastern sounding instrumental, similar to a sitar, while a crash of a gong is buried deep in the back of the mix. This sounds as though it would cause chaos, but in actuality the depth that the sound is buried makes for a comforting heart-beat. If you're looking for a good way to zone out, Guten Morgen is the ideal way to start. The albums sways in and out of a this shoegaze style of drone and psychedelia for approximately fifty minutes. Here and there you will find snippets of vocal passages or laughter, but for the most part Vintage Cucumber's music will obscure you in a warm haze. Sound like a trip you're interested in taking? Great! Just head over to the Vintage Cucumber bandcamp page for Jup's Chillout Lounge Style along with a plethora of other releases.

Members: 

Johannes Schulz - Guitar // Bass // Drums // Synth // Fiddle // Effects

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Sunday Sludge: Full Zenith

My jaw's been left on the ground a few times as I scratch my head wondering where bands come up with this shit. I gave up on guitar when my mom told me dinner was ready, but I spent countless hours in my room preparing for an interview that nobody would ever read. I'd talk about touring, brush aside compliments, and spend the bulk of my time highlighting influences. The list was endless, and to this day I can still hear myself saying stupid shit like "Believe it or not, I spent my formative years nursing Old Milwaukee with the jazz monks of some town you've probably never heard of." What a fucking asshole.

But when a band honors their influences and uses them to construct an entirely fresh bouillabaisse breed of metal, I'm hooked. Louisville's Full Zenith aren't gonna let you in on the secret. With their Demo 2013, you'll wonder if you should step aside to observe or just let the train rock you square. Equal parts heavy and heady, these cats tear apart sludge and doom riffs with more than a few thumps in the night and no intention of checking blind spots. When the tempos shift and you're left holding your dick, don't pretend that you knew it would happen.

Tentative but never at-all cautionary, Into The All Seeing Eye's slow entrance is flattened by the slow dirge of bulldozed rhythms. Scorched-earth repetition is shoved aside by lightning-round thrashes wrapped in a hybrid of Fistula's Corey Bing and Refused's Dennis Lyxzén. But the distant "fade into darkness" is more inviting than demanding. Sounds crazy, eh? It is. Drums coddle you, draw you into a corridor, and slip a burlap sack over your face to carry out this opener's true intention. The meters never quite match up, and you never quite get over how awesome it sounds.

If violent immediacy has ever been appropriately laid to tape, The Final Chapter is the result. The track abruptly snags the e-brake and stomps the upper-level, digging through closets and peering out rear-windows. Thick-rolling heaviness is, I suppose, a defining trait... But the good cop/band cop vibe is more likely a good trip/bad trip contemplation. Dual vocals are examined in brilliant juxtaposition and the thumps in the night won't quell your paranoia. Question their motives if you can find the time, but Full Zenith won't wait for your dust to settle.

Become Death holds a true sludge cadence at times, sandwiched between thrashy hardcore and weird, delightful fuzz. Bass growls on a Melvins-motivated chimney-sniff, tapering alongside guitars on burnt fingers and splitting with a fuzzed-out spiel. Faulty wires fire at billowing clouds, but the return of warm fuzz is enough to make your night. It may be too short, you'd say. But think on every song you've ever loved. Aren't they ALL too short? And I don't wanna draw-out parallels to 80's bay-area pioneers, but Suspended Disbelief is just that fucking awesome. Exodus-on-ludes, Testament-on-barbs, shit... it's slow, choppy, and your jacket's gonna reek. The churn lifts and thrash returns to dominance on abandoned patterns. But exercise patience; you didn't think Full Zenith had a little drone in 'em? The slurred spill of sludge melds with an Om-ish chant to warp out on UHF television.

What many present as daunting is actually incredibly refreshing on Full Zenith's watch. The jostling wakes you, but the struggle to breathe is equally jarring. Meld 80's thrash with the gigantic, drawn-out riffs of Sleep and you're presented with a challenge; how can the two marry? How does a four-track demo capture a quarter-century of metal's influence with no schlock, no fluff, and no biting criticism? I'm not sure, but Full Zenith fucking do it. Perhaps *ahem* variations on a theme are exactly what metal needs. But we fucking knew that! So when so many managed to screw it up, how did Full Zenith manage to fucking nail it?

Free download at bandcamp!

Bandcamp

Zac's "Double Dose": Into The Storm / Lion Splicer

Into The Storm: Captains 

Into The Storm... The East coast knows all too well what going into the storm is like. Curious and uncertain about what will or will not happen and in the worst case scenario picking up the pieces of the storms destruction. Into The Storm is a fitting name for this experimental hardcore metal quartet from Seattle, honestly the singular term storm sums up the music's direction extremely well. Playing in between the boundaries Into The Storm leap from over-powering noise into harmonious metal then ambient droning and back again. One thing is for sure, the sound is always, "Something in the range of heavy." Now if you're in the mood to see a beard grow uncontrollably and decimate all in its path, push play on on the video for K'nuckles below and then get over to bandcamp to get your own copy of Captains!

 

Members: 

Brant Kay - Bass 

James Reeves - Drums 

Oliver Reeves - Vocals 

Matthew Jahn - Guitars

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Lion Splicer: Holiday in Dystopia 

It's so very easy to judge a book by its cover. We all are guilty of it. At first glance Lion Splicer and their full length debut Holiday in Dystopia we find a hilarious name and typical 'wanna-be' 80's thrash artwork. Dig a little deeper and we discover its a couple brothers doing the DIY thing in NYC. Wow, this is going to be a joke... right? Wrong. Lion Splicer is an honest and creative force in the metal and rock world. Good thing they came to Heavy Planet. Basing their sound in thrash metal Lion Splicer also incorporate acoustic, blues, jazz, and progressive signatures throughout Holiday... The album is a good mix of instrumentals and lyric focused songs. The production has a fitting lo-fi early thrash vibe and some of the riffs would have a nineteen year old Dave Mustaine kicking holes in the Splice brother's amps and throwing beer cans thinkin' they stole some of his riffs... Oh yeah, and I'm pretty sure I heard a kazoo in there somewhere. Download Holiday in Dystopia now at bandcamp. There is no excuse, its FREE!

 

Members: 

Danny Splice - Drums // Swagger 

Max Splice - Guitars // Bass // Vocals

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Sunday Sludge: Fistula - "Northern Aggression"

Jesus jumped-up Christ, where do I start? Cleveland's sludge-thrash royals Fistula have strung together (strung out?) a catalog of violent, unapologetic releases oozing utter scorn for all things ridiculously mainstream and vanilla. Sunday is the day of rest? Well, Fistula are thrust into today's Sunday Sludge streetlight to issue a fat fucking middle finger with Northern Aggression, a seven-track skull-fuck that's certain to satiate their loyals and frighten everyone else into submission.

This nineteen-minute smoker is to-the-point and unrelenting, using every second to provide sharp contrast to a metal countryside fraught with caution. Fistula unflinchingly burn through convention on equal parts thrash, sludge, and narcissism with diatribes on drug use, hopelessness, and an embrace of sucking stones on the other side of the tracks. Fistula aren't trying to make you feel good. Hell, they're not even trying to make themselves feel good. But they won't let anyone ignore the ugliness unfolding in the backyard.

Short of a Cheech and Chong audio sample, there's nothing lighthearted presented on Northern Aggression. Screeching, jarring feedback introduces more than half these tracks, while the dense sludge filth can hardly remain safe from murky, uptempo brutality. The belly-up thrash of Sobriety is Overrated provides only a glory-hole glimpse of what lies ahead, leading into loosened-string creepiness on The Fang. Low-flung dirt clods marry Corey Bing's chiding vocals, leaving listeners unsure of whether the music or lyrics remain the band's more abrasive element.

Fistula find a groove on Black Sunday and The Spider, both drenched with thick rhythm and drowned in torrid bass threads. Brief and in full-embrace of waking up in puddles, the black-noise thrash provides an incredibly refreshing juxtapose to the matted stompers we've come to expect on these autumn Sundays. Harmful Situation's assertion of "This is our world, you fuckin' get what you get" sounds more honest than anything you've heard in these weeks leading up to election day. There's a swing-state campaign slogan, eh? Put Fistula in office and at least they won't lie and tell you things will get better.

You'll imagine the choppy, mid-tempo Light Bulb Smoker to be the disc's comfort zone, finding middle ground between push and relent. Well, the track builds to a slick drag of your sorry ass through a thicket of thorny spurs, perfectly balancing the ups and downs, the quick to the slow. Fuck, man... You're not even being dragged through the mud anymore. You've been dragged into a bloody fucking murder mess, mid-stroke. Molting and re-emerging a sludge-metal titan, the slow burning sample accompaniments craft the album's highlight, and Fistula again assert their dominance over Midwest metal malevolence.

Aggression, as the album's title suggests, oozes through every moment of this gritty gnasher. Hit the e-brake all you want, but Fistula's in full control. The plod balances the shred, and the fury lines every note with napalm. The tempo shifts may suggest a bi-polar, manic, borderline personality glitch, but anyone familiar with this band will hardly raise a red flag. That sleeping giant you poked with a stick never woke up. Instead, Fistula again showed up with no warning. Your skin is bubbling, your left eye is gone, and you're drooling as you sift through the soil looking for loose teeth. Oh, stop it. You're embarrassing yourself.

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New Band To Burn One To-Les Guenilles

The "New Band To Burn One To" today is Les Guenilles.

Bio:

"The band was formed in 2008 by David and Francois. They splitted both of they're own bands to form Les Guenilles which means The Rags in french. Their sound is described like a mix of stoner, punk and thrash. They've been compared to The Melvins, Trigger Effects, etc. They released their first EP (5 songs) in 2009. Their first album, Aucun Album, was released in 2010 which contains 11 songs. Produced by Pierre Girard (Malajube, Beast, Karkwa), Aucun Album appeared on the top 40 list of the best canadian albums of 2010 by Bande a Part, Radio-Canada (CBC). Les Guenilles shared the stage with bands like Burning Brides, The Pack AD, Priestess, Bison BC, The Sainte-Catherines and lots more. Lots of people claim that they're the loudest french band in the whole province of Quebec."

The band:

Simon Gauthier: bass

David Guilbault: guitar, vocals
Jonathan Bigras: drums
Francois Gagnon: guitar, vocals


When I think of Canada, I immediately think of two things, Rush and hockey. As I was listening to Les Guenilles the first thing I though was this does not sound anything like Rush and second, this would be the perfect soundtrack to a hockey game. Stoner/Thrash with a punk mentallity. Fast, furious, and blood-soaked. So go grab yourself a Molsen, turn on a hockey game and let the fun begin. Go to the band's Bandcamp site to stream the album for free, if you like it buy it! Word of caution. Everything is in French, but rock 'n roll is the universal language, right. You guys are gonna love this shit!




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