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Things I Picked up in LA
I recently made a trip to my hometown of Los Angeles and, of course, I came back with a few things.
I bought the first three at Amoeba Records, where I also got extraordinarily ripped off for an old record collection I was selling. (I really miss Aron’s Records…) 4-9 were given to me from a friend at EMI. The last one was waiting in the mail when I came home, courtesy Big Takeover writer Matt Berlyant. (Thank you, Matt!)
Xasthur – To Violate the Oblivious (Moribund)
Xasthur’s fourth album instantly became my favorite, as it best captures the majestic mystery of Burzum’s best work. Malefic’s growling shriek perfectly blends with the wall-of-sound dissonance of the music. Highlights include “Dreams Blacker Than Death,” “Screaming at Forgotten Fears” and the 12-minute epic, “A Gate Through Bloodstained Mirrors,” which conjures the likes of Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Heldon in its abrupt complexity.
Craft – F*** the Universe (Southern Lord)
Craft’s third and most recent album easily ranks up there with the best of The Melvins and Karp – heavy and evil without losing sight of ass-kicking riffs and just plain good songs. Shamaatae from Arckanum provides lyrics on two songs.
Maniac®
Exploitation/Horror fan that I am, I somehow mananged never to see this movie until now. Certainly at its time, it raised the bar for movies of its kind, as the focus was completely on the killer and his inner demons, rather than the victims and their plight/revenge. Joe Spinell should have won an Oscar for his portrayal of “maniac” Frank Zito.
Nachtmystium – Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. 1 (Century)
This DeKalb, Illinois group’s newest record is an amazing collection of songs that combine black metal, extreme metal, the spacerock of Hawkwind and Heldon and even Sun Ra-style avant-garde/free jazz. Very few bands are willing to break boundaries as Nachtmystium have – they deserve a ton of credit for turning their backs on the crotchety metal old guard and doing something truly unique.
Zimmers Hole – When You Were Shouting at the Devil…We Were in League with Satan (Century)
Zimmers Hole can easily be described as the Turbonegro of extreme metal – they have a great sense of humor while remaining serious about their love of music. Imagine if The Dictators had grown up on Iron Maiden and Megadeth instead of The Stooges and MC5. The Heathen, vocalist, sounds like Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson as possessed by the demon in The Exorcist. This album will make you smile and rock out at the same time. Who can ask for more?
Meshuggah – Re-Nothing (Nuclear Blast) & Destroy Erase Improve (Nuclear Blast)
Meshuggah are usually dismissed in metal circles as one-trick-ponies, and perhaps they are, but what a trick! Their songs are composed of staccato guitars that either run counterpoint to the drums or merge in lock-step – or both. Occasional bizarre guitar leads come out of nowhere. This is metal that is as cerebral as it is tough. Re-Nothing is a re-recording of the album, Nothing with 8-string guitars instead of 7-strings. Why? Who cares? It’s heavy!
Keep of Kalessin – Kolossus (Nuclear Blast)
Most black metallers will probably dismiss this album as not being “kvlt” or “tr00” enough, which is a damn shame because this is one solid album. Mostly, it recalls Neurosis in their Souls at Zero/??Through Silver in Blood?? phase. “The Rising Sun” even includes an orchestral interlude. The vocals also sound like a cross between Neurosis’ Scott Kelly and Steve Von Till.
Arsonists Get All the Girls – The Game of Life (Century)
These Santa Cruz, CA weirdos remind me of another oddball extreme metal outfit, killwhitneydead only where killwhitneydead uses samples from movies, Arsonists Get All the Girls have two vocalists who both play keyboards. The songs are incredibly complex, but they never confuse complexity with cool songs. If The Locust were listenable, they’d be this band.
Dark Fortress – Eidolon (Century)
These German black metallers opt for the big sounds of slick production and symphonic flourishes without losing sight of the core tenants of brutal black metal, namely hateful black nastiness. This album is much more in line with the early demos of Emperor than the pretentious crap that came to be known as “symphonic black metal.”
Black Flag – Last Show, 6/27/86, Detroit, MI (N/A)
What can I say? Greg Ginn is my ultimate guitar god. This soundboard recording of Black Flag’s final performance shows the band at the peak of their misunderstood glory. The set list is mostly from In My Head, with a few Loose Nut tracks thrown in. Personally, I love the later Black Flag recordings as much as the early EPs and Damaged, so this is quite an addition to my Flag collection, as it hints to the improvisational paths the band would have taken if Ginn hadn’t quit the band with a phone call a month and a half later.
