Electric Wizard - Dopethrone

To somewhat paraphrase the legendary Devin Townsend, the sound on this album is as heavy as a really heavy thing. Like, really really heavy; a collapsing neutron star, or some such. Dopethrone is a monument in modern day doom metal; easily one of the albums that re-invigorated the scene and brought new life to the (at the time) fairly stagnant genre, all the while re-setting the benchmark for what heavy music can be. It is fascinating how something so muddy and lo-fi (for lack of a better term) can be so gargantuan.

It is hard to do listening to this album any justice. I suggest the vinyl copy, played on the most expensive sound system you can get access to, to guarantee the best experience. “Funeralopolis”, “I Hate You” and the title track are absolutely fucking huge doses of crushing doom magic, and I struggle to think of better ways to experience an hour or so of complete sonic annihilation. If you’ve somehow never heard Electric Wizard before this is without a doubt the best place to start. A stone cold classic and benchmark of the doom genre.

Faithless - Reverence

I can't tell you how rare it is that I come across the perfect album, and I mean that in the sense of when on a record every single song is flawless; each piece contributing not only to the overall experience, but able to stand its own ground without just being needless filler. Faithless are not a band that I spin all that often anymore, but if I'm in the mood for this style of music, then I can accept no substitute. 

Faithless is a bizarre multi-genre affair mixing the work of the DJ Sister Bliss, producer Rollo (who is Dido's brother) and MC Maxi Jazz. What we get, on Reverence at least, is a strange hybrid of dance, pop and indie. On later records the band's style would become more sparse and less dance-orientated, but Reverence is 90s Britain to the absolute max. The opening title track mixes lazy, smooth hip hop with throbbing techno, whilst "Salva Mea" is a trip in lush, lucid house; "If Lovin' You Is Wrong" is a raunchy, jazzy, almost theatrical pop explosion, and "Dirty Old Man" plays on the tropes of dub reggae in the most subtle way. 

On top of those you've got "Flowerstand Man" with Dido on the lead vocals, the life-lesson of "Baseball Cap" and the now legendary "Insomnia", which catapulted Faithless to the top of the charts upon its release. The fact that "Insomnia" - probably one of the most memorable dance tunes of all time - is such a small part of this album really speaks volumes to the strength of the songwriting on display here. This nearly 9-minute epic is on the same record with ballads such as "Don't Leave" and "Angeline", which should be jarring and fractured, but somehow it all just flows perfectly. The audacity of it all, eh? 

Irregardless of where Faithless went with their sound after this record, I am genuinely strugglingly to think of a stronger debut album from any artist, in any genre.

King Midas Sound - Waiting For You

King Midas Sound is a beautiful collaboration between Roger Robinson, Kiki Hitomi and Kevin Martin, which (I think, correct me if I'm wrong) began life as a track for Kevin's much more wider known project, The Bug. I find it hard to describe and categorize KMS simply because my exploration into this kind of music is incredibly limited (I got here through Godflesh, Techno Animal, etc.), although I can say that this is a incredibly strong and moving record. Revisiting it years later for the purpose of this post has acted as a written reminder to myself to explore these kinds of things more often.

Robinson's soft, bizarrely ethereal vocals are the perfect human accompaniment to Kevin Martin's spaced out dubs, shuffling beats and sparse yet hard-hitting arrangements. Waiting For You walks that perilous tightrope between being chilled out and having a profound message; equal parts dark and light, with finishing flourishes from Hitomi, who would take more of a central vocal role as the project progressed in later years. Waiting For You was released by the excellent Hyperdub.

Burial - Young Death / Nightmarket

Another thing that slipped unrecognised under my nose in 2016 was the new Burial EP. It appears that the urbanism-as-sound mastermind continues to favour the EP format over releasing another full length for us, although there is something beautiful about one of these EPs dropping every so often, offering us a glimpse into the modern, concrete existence of Burial's world through a drizzly, fractured lens.

It may sound a bit frightful if I tell you that I find this 12" to be more of the same, but I promise you that this is just as excellent as anything the elusive producer has ever dropped. This is London put to wax. 10/10. 

Burial - Unholy Sedition

(Revievv Invokked by Griefmonger)

Polish Darkthrone if they were from Manchester. It's good; there’s a nice mix of heavy and tremolo riffs with a production that you can hear, both without sounding polished or like it was recorded in your Nan’s shed. I like it. It’s not afraid to go slow and the vocals are just crossing the line of black from death. There's a fine line. The UK black metal club scene sports a lot of bands who want to be Behemoth, but there is a lot of Darkthrone channeled here, as well as the death metal influence. Track five, "Nothing Awaits", sums it up for me. There be a little bit of Carpathian Forest as well as the influences I aforementioned. 

All in all, a great album. Great band. I have seen them live (and under very difficult circumstances) deep in the valleys of South Wales and they nailed their set. CD is a nice cardboard gatefold; cool grey and black (fuck you Xerox), with cryptic artwork. I would have liked a lyric sheet, but that is always my bugbear.  Go listen to the music, buy the t-shirt, fuck the girlfriends. Cool band.

Released by UKEM Records.

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody

(I don't have a cover with my copy, but here's a cover anyway, because I'm too good to you. Happy new year!)As ridiculous as this sounds, this 7" will always hold a special place in my record collection. I've been putting off writing this post for years, mainly due to Lines In Wax evolving away from just speaking about my physical vinyl records, but also due to not really being able to face writing about Queen; a band that, for the most part, I absolutely fucking despise. Realistically though, owning this 7" has absolutely nothing to do with Queen at all. 

The reason I have this 7" is because when I was a nipper my parents used to drink at a bar that was basically in the attic of the local leisure centre. My dad worked at the centre for many years and sometimes I would get taken along to said nights out. I will always remember the bar's jukebox; a bizarre, circular affair that seemed pretty rare as far as jukebox shapes go. I used to like watching the records as they were taken from the stacks by the machine and played on the platter. 

Many, many years later when I would work at the centre myself for a few years, I was surprised to see the jukebox as it was wheeled from storage. We were due to move premises and we had to empty the building of absolutely everything. My colleagues got into the habit of plugging in the machine whilst on shifts and enjoying the shaky, crackly tunes as if it was 1992 all over again.  I made many inquiries into what the fate of the jukebox was to be, and if it was somehow possible that I could purchase the jukebox for myself. The manager at the time told me that it was going to be taken for refurbishment and sold on to specialists for a profit. Sad, but I could live with that.

This is the version I own, sans cover, as explained. I just can't be bothered to dig it out and take a picture of it. This isn't LIW circa 2012!

A few months later I was finishing up a shift at the centre. I was dragging two black bags of rubbish out to the bins, and after I opened the fire doors, I looked up to see a sight that made my heart sink. In the skip where all the junk from the move had been thrown, was the jukebox, face up. Two builders who had been working on the new centre had pried the face off the thing and it was in pieces. To add insult to injury, they were stood over the broken machine, harvesting the 7" records and flinging them across the river like frisbees. I was shaking with rage, but I managed to run over and save a bag-full of soaking wet 7"s (I must have looked a right nutter), most of which were damaged beyond any reasonable use. The three that survived and that I still have to this day include this copy of "Bohemian Rhapsody", "O Carolina" by Shaggy and Iron Maiden featuring Mr. Bean (yes! lol) covering Alice Cooper's "Elected". 

Popular Culture tells me that Bohemian Rhapsody is one of Queen's most well known tunes. Personally, I fucking hate it, especially when people try to drunk-sing their way through it. But, I will never get rid of this single. 

Not a review as such, but a bit of Lines In Wax backstory as a change of pace. Normal service returns tomorrow!

Cradle Of Filth - Dusk... And Her Embrace - The Original Sin

Well, first things first, this is something that I never, ever thought I would end up hearing. This was one of the painful parts of the early Cradle Of Filth lore; a massive causality of the ever-shifting line ups and legal battles. Personally, in my mind, probably due to always being disillusioned by the production styles on both Dusk... and it's follow up, Cruelty And The Beast, I concocted the thought that this original shelved version of Dusk... would be like some extended session of the Vempire recordings. I figured, as they offered Vempire up only to fulfill contractual obligations, that those songs offered so hastily were from these sessions (crazy how that last-minute, half-arsed release is one of the bands best). So, the rest of it was sitting out there on a shelf somewhere, just waiting...

I wasn't entirely right in my assumption. The production here is a lot rawer, and is easily the most notable difference. This original recording of Dusk... lends a lot more to the sound of Principles Of Evil Made Flesh (only much faster) than anything that it would become on the re-recorded version that came out in 1996. The second thing that's mostly different is the vocals. They are a lot less "effected" and again sit more towards the original black metal style rather than the super high-pitch squawks that would become Dani's trademark.

I'm not sure what kind of devilish pact the band have entered into to twist Cacophonous' arm into releasing this finally, but 2016 being the 20th anniversary of the original Dusk... cannot be a coincidence. I'm super stoked to have finally heard this, and although this release will offer nothing new to more recent fans of the band, it is the most interesting and valuable of the "cash in" releases the band have done as of late (the extortionate Total Fucking Darkness repress, that awful orchestral record, etc. etc.).

This is a piece of metal history and it's release into the world, for monetary gain or no, can only be a good thing in the long run, although it does destroy some of the mystery of the early Cradle lore in the process.

Here's a YouTube link to the whole album, although I doubt that this will be online for long.

Avoid dodgy-quality uploads by getting Spotify and streaming in HQ (no, I'm not getting paid to say that, Spotify is a fucking life saver).

Necrosis - Catatonic Psychosis

There are a lot of bands that have been called Necrosis. This particular Necrosis (the second Necrosis that I know personally, although that first Necrosis was spelt Nekkrosis, not Necrosis) are listed as the 15th registered instance of the name Necrosis on Discogs. They hail from the Bristol area and play straight up brutal death metal. Their guitarist Jason also plays in Kraanium, so there is an inevitable slam feel to the groovier riffs when they present themselves, but Necrosis is an exercise in speed and brutality, rather than in the chug and the slam (and the inevitable ensuing hammers).

I might be wrong here because I'm an idiot but I believe that Catatonic Psychosis is the band's debut EP, containing five tracks of brutality to massage your innards into a lovely bloody pulp. It is recorded well, and packs a hell of a punch, but isn't too over-produced and still has an edge of grime, which is something that is very important I think, especially in death metal; it's easy to lose your way in immense studio trickery. I've seen it befall bands many a time; polished-to-fuck records, but messy, useless live shows, where the gimmick and effects don't translate over, and the triggers sound like someone stamping on empty milk cartons.

Thankfully none of that tomfoolery is present on Catatonic Psychosis, which is a strong offering from the UK death metal scene. I really hope these guys work on an album sometime.

Conjurer - I

I asked to review this recently; jumping at the chance to do so (frankly, I'm just so happy to finally hear studio material by Conjurer). I can be quite wary of being asked to review things, or of bands that "farm out" reviews, because usually, if you have to ask for something to be written about, then it's going to be shite, but this is something incredibly special.  

Conjurer have been gigging maniacally for a while now, and I think it's safe to say this debut is hotly anticipated. We (Judas Cradle) shared a bill with these guys for our second ever gig, but we had to leave because some piece of shit power metal band were trying to fight us over broken equipment (the venue actually broke it, not us. Safe to say we never received an apology). Luckily the same tour came to my "local" a few days later, sans tubbo power metal, so I was able to actually watch these guys, and I still stand by the statement that Conjurer are the best band to have ever played that venue. Ever. They totally blew me away, and every other band off the bill (no offence intended, of course).

I is no different. 

Short version: Conjurer are fucking class. 

Long version: I simply floors the competition, and as far as decent debuts go, this is off the fucking chart. Conjurer have their own sound so it's hard to break them down into a string of dropped names to fill out a review (a staple of my writing style hahaha) but if I had to (and I will!) try and piece a picture together outta existing artists I'd say they are like some mad-scientist mix between Converge, Gojira and Neurosis, with a very Anathema-esque over-arching melodic edge; weeping guitar leads meeting crushing heaviness and droning doomery. Raspy, tortured back up vocals act as a foil to the gravel-throated roars of frontman Dan Nightingale.

Favourite track: The closing number, "Frail". All four tracks are beyond strong, but the way this brooding epic culminates never fails to rip my head off; those blasts just coming from fucking nowhere, and the riff is just perfect. It feels like all the misery and torment from every second of each tune previous to this has been building up to this final explosion. 

Listen and love! (FYI There are some awesome Conjurer t-shirt designs on the go at the moment, and this fucker just dropped on CD and vinyl thanks to Holy Roar.)

Benediction - Grind Bastard

I've caught Benediction live a few times (with Dave Hunt on vocals) and they have always killed it, so in my recent hunt for new tunes I decided it was probably time that I check out a studio recording by the band. They've got a pretty long and eventful career, so I wasn't sure where to start, but the name of this record just jumped right out at me (I wonder why...). I'm not entirely sure what any of this has to do with grindcore (edit: nothing at all) but breaktime rolled around at work, so I trekked over to the nearest Subway and sat there eating a rip-off elongated sandwich, whilst this fed my mind...

On first listen I thought that Barney Greenway from Napalm Death was on this, but a swift Google search revealed that it is actually Dave Ingram, although Barney has provided vocals for this band in times past! Not a coincidence, no doubt. Benediction seem to bridge together thrash and death metal into a mix of their own, creating a mid-paced but interesting concoction that is downtuned and growly yet not boring and repetitive. The little things make this record; the songs are not mind-numbingly technical but the sneaky, gorgeous drum fills are fantastic, and the riffs float with nuance despite their chuggy heavyness.

I'm a bit late to the party but I will be looking for my Benediction records in the future.

If you've got Spotify, you can stream it here: 

Ramleh - 31/5/1962 - 1982

What I usually associate with Ramleh is an unstoppable barrage of power electronics and barked vocal eruptions. Which is exactly what we’ve got here. This does not disappoint. Catching them live with Godflesh a few years ago literally (and physically) blew me away. I am, however, pleasantly surprised by the static, choppy, experimental nature of how 31/5/1962 – 1982 starts off, which leads into a much more digestible forty minutes or so than the more Vomir-like facebash of powerful noise walls. What is on play here seems like more fun experimentation with delays, loops, basic distortions and pulsating rhythms, until the vocals kick in and destroy everything, at least. 

It does eventually meander into the dangerous, volatile territory of barked vocal blurs and mental sheets of noise attacks with the self-titled track, “Ramleh” and also “Deathtoll”, but on “Throatsuck” for example, the vocals are used in a much more atmospheric approach, almost like another "instrument", if you could call it that. Despairing shit. 

An apparent power electronics classic, dodgy album art or no. 

Electric Wizard - Come My Fanatics

(Words by Richard Lewis, Doomfinder General)

Electric Wizard are... well you should all know who Electric Wizard are. In a just world every person alive should know who Electric Wizard are. If not, go and listen to the song at the bottom of the post, I'll wait...

Come My Fanatics is Electric Wizard's (Electric Wizard Electric Wizard Electric Wizard Electric Wizard) second album but it's the one where they really find their sound. More heaviness, more fuzz, more drugs, more horror movie samples and buckets of misanthropic psychedelia; the whole thing is just wonderful. There are so many good points about this album that it's hard to name them all. From the main riff on "Return Trip" (which I think is in with a shout of being the heaviest thing ever) to the amazing bassy psych of "Solarian 13", and everything in between. Words don't do it justice, so just go and listen to it instead.

Abaddon Incarnate - Nadir

Abaddon Incarnate are a blasting, vicious-as-fuck death metal influenced grindcore band from Ireland that have been going for almost 25 years. Nadir is their second album from way back in 2001, although it still sounds as fresh and vital as anything, and could have been recorded last month for all I know. I love it when this happens; it surely is no easy feat to create a recording that comes across as almost timeless, whether the intention was purposeful or not. 

Nadir sounds to me a bit like the polished-era Nasum stuff meeting the crazier later-career Brutal Truth material. The high vocals are particularly scathing, and even though overuse would numb their effect somewhat, I keep waiting for them to burst through the mix a bit more than they actually do. Never mind! Technically, everybody is on top of their game here (I've seen these guys live too, and the experience more than cemented this fact) and the production is fresh and clear, making Nadir a fairly accessible grindcore record without losing any of it's feral bite. 

Well worth a goosey.

Shoot The Bastard - Demo 2012

This is one of my favourite grind-related things of 2012. Everything about this thing is just perfect; the production, the balance and the over-all vibe is amazing. Shoot The Bastard are a fast, punky grindcore act that features members of boozing grind unit The Afternoon Gentlemen. STB are most definitely more "to the point" though, with a stripped-down affair of super-fast hardcore goodness. Imagine Crass on amphetamines crossed with, I dunno...Unseen Terror or something. That's a pretty far-out comparison for such a simple, no-nonsense sound, but fuck it.

I caught these guys supporting Weekend Nachos at some crazy grind/hardcore all-dayer in the now sadly-defunct Croft venue in Bristol, and that's where I picked up this demo for £2. Best £2 I ever spent, I think (and that's coming from someone who's bought a lot of bottles of Estrella). I award Shoot The Bastard bonus points for the cover art. Whilst I don't think wetting up Cameron with hot lead would solve any of the country's problems it would be extremely funny to see, because obviously, he is just a dummy stuffed with used bank notes; a capitalist puppet on a series of invisible strings. Yes. Time to stop writing now. Enjoy the music!

By the way, I also made this whilst editing the photos for this post, although I have no idea why I did it. Looks cool though, I guess.

Let It Die - Let It Die

I first saw these guys by chance when I went up to Bristol to catch Weekend Nachos. Little did I know until a few days before that the show was an all dayer, filled to the brim with some of the best fuckin' grindcore bands the UK has to offer right now. Despite the fact that I had completed the Ultimate Burger challenge (I won't go into it) pre-gig and was in a state of too-much-protein-lethargy for the entire day, I had one hell of a blast and got turned on to so many new bands. I guess it got me right back into grind! It was the kick that I needed, the reminder that the underground was still alive somewhere and I was just too blind to see it.

 

So when I heard that this 7" was coming out on a collaboration featuring the excellent Dead Chemists Records I nearly shit a brick in excitement. Gutted for the band that this didn't end up coming out on Southern Lord, but it sure as hell made it easier (and cheaper) for me to get a copy right here in the UK! This spins at 45 so it doesn't last very long, but it doesn't need to; it's punchy and in your face and gets it's point across quickly. The production is great, echoing the band's extremely tight live sound a thousandfold on record. This totally doesn't sound like a 3 piece.

 

Out on Dead Chemists, Church of Fuck and Moshtache Records on pinky/purple waxxx.