Vinyl Review: "Paws of a Bear" by Sofia Talvik

Paws of a Bear

Presently, on twitter, I'm describing every single thing that I'm doing as totally metal.

Cases in point:

Burning yourself whilst cooking breakfast is totally metal.

Watching your daughter's hockey team play Sharks and Minnows is totally metal.

So, naturally, reviewing Swedish/Americana singer/songwriters is totally metal.

This is one of the things that still routinely confuses me about what I do and the vinyl column. Glacially Musical is 95% totally metal, or more, but for some reason, my vinyl submissions are not metal more often than not.

What's nice about that is my readers get to see a bigger peak inside what I enjoy and other musical items that might not flow down their streams.

Classic Spins with Max Ternebring, Bottom End Lord of The Riven

The Riven

The Riven has just dropped their stunning debut record, The Riven. If you've got 80 Swedish Kroners just jangling around in your pocket, or whatever those Kroners normally do, hit up the BANDCAMP, but if you're feeling a bit more adventurous, you can get it on sweet vinyl HERE.

Getting it on the sweet vinyl will cost you a few extra Kroners, but in the end, what's a few kroners more right? Or if you're looking a slightly less adventurous purchase....

There's always AMAZON.

Now, we could spend hours fighting each other over what way to purchase this album is the best way, but $17.99 (+tax and no shipping) is a better price than 129 Swedish Korners.

But in the mean, time, Max Ternebring told me all about what classic records he's into.

DLP Review: "Shem Ha Mephorash" by Mephorash

Shem Ha Mephorash

There was a time in the United States when being a metalhead marked you for death.

Perhaps I'm overselling it just a touch, but we were singled out and reviled. The PMRC was some lovely social conservatism that came out of the Satanic Panic.

And if there's one thing we love in the USA, it's a good panic.

This record here, our double record, takes many of the things we were told back in the day as pejoratives and mixes up in the blackness.

Sweden's Mephorash is third wave black metal personified for me. They've got this wonderful symphonic feeling to them as well.

It's especially pronounced by the epic long tracks. The finale clocks in past fifteen minutes. So all the metal is so dumb stereotypes and even the Black Metallers can't play stereotypes are all cast to the wayside. It's progressive. It's expansive.

It's the perfect example of why we shouldn't listen to anyone who doesn't listen to metal.

RELEASE 4/18/19 BANDCAMP FACEBOOK

LP Review: "Hymns For The Hollow" by Leach

Hymns For The Hollow

It might be well past time to add a slight separation to the Thrash Metallers.

Looking at the Big Four: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax., and see the one who's a little different than the others?

Somehow, Anthrax's vocal style has become more associated with Thrash to me than the others and it's less than pleasing to me.

Leach has thrown their lot in with Slayer and Co. The vocals are shouted, grunted, and forced out with reckless abandon and a complete disregard for melody.

It's significantly refreshing because, well, thrash can be very dry. So how does a band give a new take on one of the eldest heavy metal subgenres?

Instead of vocal melody and musicality, there's a strong focus on the riffs and the interplay therein. Looking back at the works of the elders, there's strong riffing, but little time is spent with the instruments working in concert, at least in the beginning.

In a time when I shy away from any music bearing the word thrash, Leach has made me a believer again.

RELEASE 1/18/19 BANDCAMP FACEBOOK

EP Stream: "Hot" by Stew

Well, in case you haven't noticed, we're now ankle deep into FALL BACK, or as I call it, the greatest 8 weeks of the calendar year, because most of my commute is in the dark.

If you're complaining about that, think about what our good friends in Sweden are dealing with right now. It's almost all dark over there. Me, I'm envious.

In the meantime, let's talk about "Hot" by Stew. If you're into that old time groove that doesn't specifically ape a particular artist so much that the singer says so on the record...

You may wish to check this out. You'll dig on it like a bowl of oatmeal.

Check out their FACEBOOK if you're not convinced.

LP Review: "Stridshymner Og Dodssalmer" by Sjukdom

Stridshymner Og Dodssalmer

If you've ever wondered how albums are chosen for review, it's kind of like this. There are labels, bands, and PR Firms that have priority.

Typically it's because they've passed along great music in the past. One of those eye popping labels is the venerated Osmose Productions from France.

So, they're getting ready to release Sjukdom's latest album, Stridshymner Og Dodssalmer.

Because of they are and what they've done, I've come to expect a high standard of them and their artists. Seven years after their formation, Sjukdom is releasing their debut record.

It starts off with a comforting water fall of traditional black metal. For the most part, that's what this album is, traditional black metal. Or at least, what I think of as such, but the thing that makes this record great isn't its strict adherence to a heavy metal subgenre.

The willingness of the band to leave the oft-tread path to create a black metal song all in their own style with, shall we call it, bits of flair to liven up the old girl as it were. The one thing about this album though, as it's wholly in Swedish, who knows if the vocals are intelligible!

Release: 10/26/18 PreOrder Facebook

Video: "Mater Tenebris" by Blood of Serpents

In 2012, Fredrik Nilsson and Kristian Rouppe formed a partnership that would last until the present day. Most likely, you're thinking that six years isn't all that long, but it's a lot harder that many might think.

What they're dropping on us now is a load of Swedish black metal. If you're close to the edge, you might want to back off a little bit.

Find yourself in this cool black and white performance video. Tell them what you think on FACEBOOK but check out the full length, available now, on BANDCAMP.

Video: "A drowning voice" by DÖDSRIT

Hey parents out there, let me know if you know these feels. My daughter is a one up queen.

If you tell a story, the same thing happened to her. It's really irritating and I'm trying to curtail this habit because, coming from a one upper like myself, I know how people react to that. In the end, people don't like that.

They want to be heard and right now, here's a band from Sweden that needs to be heard. We're going to ignore their tensupmanship here. You know there's melo deat, doom/death/black/grind?

Well, DÖDSRIT has taken the game to a brand new level. They're the world's first crust punk, d-beat, screamo, atmospheric, sludge, etc. cult group.

Check it out below. 

LP Review: "Fringe" by Lurk

Fringe

There is just a time and a place for soul crushing doom metal.

That time is anytime. That place is any god damned place that has speakers. In previous epochs, doom metal, atmospheric metal, and avant garde metal would've been of little interest to me.

But over the years the avant garde metal set has largely coagulated into the doom metal sub-genre.

Lurk, for my money, has all of the hallmarks of what makes this music great. It's not just heavy, but dense. It's not just varied, but Lurk are likely suffering from multiple personality disorder.

Any fool with a guitar can go out and make an atmospheric doom metal record, but it takes a forward thinking band who's not sure if they're instrumental or not, to make a truly captivating doom album.

That's what Lurk have done...once they set their hooks in, you'll likely never leave the fringe again.

Release: 8/4/18 FACEBOOK ORDER

LP Review: "Blue Haze" by Iron Lamb

Blue Haze

There's a dollar store movie theater in St. Louis Metro and we saw Deadpool 2 there. My buddy hadn't been there in a number of years and I told him, be prepared to see the theater that time forgot.

In that particular case, honestly, it was throwing shade on the place. Hey, I go to the dollar show kind of frequently, but the place could be a little bit nicer.

In some instances though, that can be a great compliment. Iron Lamb is a band out of Sweden. I've said it before and I'm not ashamed to repeat myself, Sweden has a brilliant, blooming Acid Rock Scene.

Iron Lamb fits right in with some of those amazing bands over there and it appears that The Sign Records has chosen to snatch them all up and deliver their dulcet tones all across the world. As it's always what's old is new again, there's been a great outpouring of love for current retro bands.

What sets Iron Lamb apart from their contemporaries is their ability to sound like they came out of 1977 without sounding like anything you've ever heard from 1977.

Release: 10/26/18 FACEBOOK ORDER (coming soon)

LP Review: "Fredagsmys" by Vanhelga

Fredagsmys

Recently I was told that I must not really enjoy any new music because I said that it's better to not hear things I've heard before.

Simply put this guy thinks that there's no new music, nothing original anymore. It's probably best for me to point him towards Vanhelga.

It's a Doom Metal band with some black metal leanings all wrapped up in Swedish Pop Music Box.

It makes a lot more sense to just think that than it does to type it admittedly...

Fredagsmys does something many albums fail to do, but so many movies and hockey games succeed at so admirably. This album is an emotional roller coaster from first not to last.

Is it strange for doom metal records to have uplifting sections? Because this one has it. I probably should've put SPOILER ALERT there, but I didn't.

The morose arpeggios and the thick power chords intermingle with the vocal stylings that are seemingly ever evolving. From each song to the next, it was hard to know what to expect..and that's what grabs me so hard.

06/29/18 Osmose Productions FACEBOOK ORDER

"Heirs of Sisyphus" by Gutter Instinct

Heirs of Sisyphus

You may recall Gutter Instinct's debut record, Age of Fanatics.

It's possible you've forgotten, because it has been a few years since we discussed that record.

To catch you back up to speed. They're a death metal band from the other side of the Atlantic where everything is pretty cold all of the time.

Gutter Instinct seems to be bolder and stronger than they were a few years back.

Their primal urge seems to countermand their gutter instinct as it were.

Many extreme bands, some of them on quite popular farewell tours at present, are comfortable making the same albums over and over. The Swedes from Helsingborg have chosen a different path and they've made a spectacular follow up album.

Now let's see what they've got to say about the matter shall we?

LP Review: "Wrath of the Wilds" by Wormlight

Wrath of the Wilds

When considering metal convention and cliche, is there any subgenre that's so indebted to these things than black metal?

Black Metal is full of interesting tropes that are brought out again and again by new and different acts trying to recapture the magic of what once was.

Even the facepaint is oft used. The same faces will appear in different bands. Honestly, I don't know if that's an homage or a heist.

Either way.

It's as if there's this straight and narrow path that delineates black metal from all other forms of music. Should it walk the edge and make a misstep that drops a single, fur covered boot into the snow....is it still black metal?

LP Review: "The GBG Sessions" by Hypnos

The GBG Sessions

McDonalds strives to make sure all of their food tastes the same no matter which store you go to, and they also strive to underpay their employees.

Well, that's not a bad idea, the same taste not the contributing to wage slavery bit....

But I prefer places that actually make their food rather than thawing and heating things up.

To that end, those restaurants are great. There's this Indian restaurant we go to and I always try to get something different. I know the general flavor of the dish, but not precisely what it's going to be.

The Sign Records is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to eat. Their menu isn't limited. They seem to be cooking up new meals and desserts constantly.

LP Review: "Madness Is Too Pure" by MaidaVale

Madness Is Too Pure

Years ago, when St. Louis was soaked in both kinds of beer, Budweiser and Bud Light, some friends and I were into craft beer.

In the Fall, there was The Microfest that benefited Lift For Life Gym and we always attended. My first year, they had a Fosters booth.

Now, this was back in my 20's and we could drink back then. By the time we hit up that table, we were all gassed and passed and sassed. I took a sip, and spat it out.

Then I realized...did I really hate this beer that much, or was I just being funny? Another sip of this foul liquid was imbibed.

Shockingly, it was just that bad and again, it was spat out onto the cold cold concrete as the wailing cover band played Stevie Ray Vaughan's Pride and Joy....

LP Review: "Black Soil" by Apathy Noir

Black Soil

In St. Louis we have been dealing with a painful cold snap.

For the vast majority of us here, this type of cold is unfathomable, unthinkable, and unlivable.

For me, I just add a hoodie to my great coat ensemble and get going. My car warms up fast enough. There's an electric blanket on my seat.

Waking up in the mornings and seeing minus temperatures (in Fahrenheit no Celsius) can take us aback.

That kind of cold permeates the day. We've had precious little snow during this time, but the just cold is a bit worse here. The world is grey. The skies are grey. Our faces are sallow. The whole of our existences revolves around the cold. This is made doubly bad when your furnace goes kaputsky....

LP Review: "När Isarna Sjunger" by Oblivious

När Isarna Sjunger

It's time to move past the paltry notions we have about language.

It's time to ignore that Bill Skarsgård said that most younger Swedes can speak English as well as Swedish.

Skarsgård also really made me want to visit Sweden more than I originally had wanted to. He made it seem like I wouldn't be killed in the fjords, but who knows what's accurate.

Before digging into När Isarna Sjunger, by Oblivious, consider that there are scores of thousands of millions of fans of American and English bands who don't speak English.

So, put yourself into the mode that music is the universal language and that the spoken word is a truly inelegant thing that barely can convey that snow is cold. Now that you're ready...let's dig in.

The Swedes have really gotten into classic 70's rock and blues in recent years.

LP Review: "Still Innocence" by LUSTRE

Still Innocence

Yesterday, as in the day before this was written, your friend and humble narrator took in his very first session of massage therapy.

You see, there's this pain in my neck that's been going on for some time and it's long past due to be fixed.

Naturally, this was a singular experience for me, but as it was the first time having done it....obviously...

In this stage of my life, I'm attempting to improve the quality of my life. Go to the physician more. Get my physical and mental problems cared for.

So, that was the reason for this session. My neck was creating immense pains shooting down to my fingers. It was scary. So, in the little room, they attempted to play some relaxing sounds in order to quiet my mind and allow relaxation.

LP Review: "No Stars Upon The Bridge" by Hallatar

No Stars Upon The Bridge

The prevailing though in my mind is that there's someone missing from my life.

My cousin died about two years ago now. My facebook "memories" have all sorts of statuses about him.

So, there's certainly a melancholy that's coming over me today and Hallatar have entered in and are drawing me to that time.

The best music, in my humble opinion, is something that will grab you by the scruff of the neck and hurtle you backwards in time...or perhaps forwards.

Then without noticing it, your mind is reliving a moment in your life. It's almost as if you're Sam Beckett from Quantum Leap...but it's within your own lifetime. I suppose, the proper science fiction analogy is About Time.

LP Review: "The Rabbit Hole" by The Great Discord

The Rabbit Hole

A common trope in comedic movies, shows, etc is to have a character deliver bad news in a funny way, because then maybe it won't seem so bad.

In Robin Hood: Men In Tights, Roger Rees's Sheriff of Nottingham delivered the news to Richard Lewis's Prince John that he and his men were defeated by Robin Hood and his Merry Men.

For Prince John, the news was still terrible and the blow was not softened at all.

When it comes to music, the vast majority of music dealing with dark stuff is fairly morose or extreme. Blues is the king of the minor keys. Metal is often so angry that the subject matter, no matter what it is, cannot be broached by a civilian listener. This raises the question, can dark subject matter be dealt with in easier listening music?