LP Review: "Ambiance" by Ølten

Ambiance

It's nearly time for that most festive of days. It's the one where the lights are out and we let out our inner selves.

This is the holiday where I cower away from people under the cover of darkness. If you guessed Halloween. You nailed it.

Being socially awkward really takes the fun out of social holidays. So instead of dressing up and being visible, let's turn to a great record that you can use for all of your Halloween parties!

The Swiss are quite good at putting out bands and Ølten is no exception. They're a sludgy, Post Toastie Metal band. This record is quite aptly titled.

This record, isn't a traditional slab of songs, is more of a series of moods. Those moods, while never evil, never angry, are ominous. Imagine spending the spooky preamble of a horror film while you're waiting to see the monster for the first time for about forty five minutes.

At first glance, this cover is wrong, but on second...what seemed incorrect earlier has become terrifyingly right.

Release 11/1/18 BANDCAMP FACEBOOK

LP Review: "No More Conqueror" by Cortez

No More Conqueror

Did you watch the Clerks Cartoon show? In the first episode, after the first flowerpot gag, Randall, my personal hero, threw their ropes over the edge of the building.

"When Cortez arrived in the New World, he burned his boats to inspire his men," Randall Graves.

This album, while using the name of the fabled Conquistador also has an anti-conquietador title, so color me a bit confused by that.

No More Conqueror is a hardcore tour de force that punched me square in the intestinal fortitudes.

This Swiss hardcore/mathcore/not quite so grindcore trio come in with all guns blazing. Imagine if someone was put down in a chair, under a bright white light, and then told, we know what you did. Why don't you make it easy on yourself and tell us everything from the very beginning.

This album is precisely the result of the questioning. The only thing...it seems that Cortez feels justified in everything they did and they'll tell you everything. Just sit back and listen.

Release: 11/09/18 BANDCAMP FACEBOOK

LP Review: "I Shall Forgive" by The Erkonauts

I Shall Forgive

It's hard to think of this, but it's true.

There was a time where Faith No More and Infectious Grooves did not exist.

When the only time you were hearing those funky ass bass lines was in...well funk and whatever the hell The Red Hot Chili Peppers are.

Then, this new thing surfaced. You could listen to heavy music with dat funky butt bass. Jason Newsted attempted to add this sort of thing to Metallica, who knows if it ever made it past the editing room.

Infectious Grooves and Faith No More were the beginnings of a new kind of metal. Then bands like White Zombie and Pantera took this idea and made it more mainstream by making it less crazy.

Split LP Review: "Split LP/CD" by Bunkur and Mordor

Split LP/CD

Once more we go into our oft tread fields of Splits.

They've become one of my absolute favorite things to cover if we're being completely honest with each other.

Today though, there was a terrifying thought in my head as I was listening to this album.

Glacially Musical is, frankly, a cheerleader website. It's no secret that we only do positive reviews. My philosophy is that quality music is  not only being made, but being made in abundance.

This labor of love was started when it came to my attention that music was still worth a damn and The Big Four weren't the only ones still making music we all need to hear. It's actually a method of keeping my readership lower than it could be. No one wants to read about positive stuff all the time. So thank you for being here.

At the halfway point of the first side, it occurred to me, oh lord, what if side two totally sucks? Then what do I do?

Album Review: "Astra Symmetry" by Monkey3

The psychedelic slow groove music of Monkey3, isn’t going to generate any mosh pits, yet is still a heavy listen in its own right.  It is exactly the sort of music one would expect from a jam band sonically creating a map of the cosmos. 

Astra Symmetry, the fifth album from the Swiss quartet, is a concept album which attempts to serve as a trippy soundtrack to the zodiac.  Although they have toured Europe extensively and earned the respect of their native continent, this may be the album to finally expand the boundaries of their empire.

EP Review: "Lord Kesseli and The Drums EP" by Lord Kesseli and The Drums

Lord Kesseli and The Drums

There's nothing more annoying to me than being late.

It's been a long time, but an indelible lesson was burned into my brain:

On time is five minutes early.

That's such a great creed to live by, sadly, some of the closest folks in my life don't always adhere to this. It's also very hard going to parties.

When I arrive spot on start time, well before the ???'s that it goes to, there's no one else there yet.

So, it's our wont to review and get the word out on new music at least two or three weeks ahead of time normally, because that's my schedule. This is one that slipped my fingers, but a well worded email reminded about this Swiss Psych Duo's upcoming debut...

Album Review: "I Did Something Bad" by The Erkonauts

I Did Something Bad

When I was in high school, my best friend played bass in a couple bands.

Due to his influence, to me, the bass guitar became something more than just half of the rhythm section, but a genuine instrument capable of adding more to the music than the just that bottom end.

Based on my experience, it really is true that bass players love Rush, Primus, Stu Hamm, and all the rest of those guys.

Knowing Nate like I did helped open my eyes to music in a new and different way.

Even now, I still appreciate some kick ass basslines, but we don't seem to get as many of them as we used to in the free wheelin' 90's when music, metal in particular, was a bit more open and less genre conforming.