Interview: Crobot, There Will Be Touring!

In a world of iTunes, The Kardashians, and millennialls with long term memories of approximately eight seconds, Crobot, somehow, still exists.

Their sound, which they just call riff rock, feels timeless because, even though in parts they look and sound like what Stillwater should have been in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, their music has never really existed in any time period of popular music.

Full of riffs, doom, frenetic tenor vocals, and a rhythm section that Mayans could build their pyramids by, Crobot is truly isn't just in a league of their own, it's a sport they created.

Their career won't be made by power brokers getting their material played on MTV (which no longer exists), FM radio (which no longer exists), but by pouring their hearts out on stage before any band that'll accept them on stage.

Crobot has played my city in at least three different venues opening up for at least four different bands since the fateful day they crossed my path and sold me my first piece of new vinyl.

Their names will be made on the road. They've toured with Volbeat, Moorhead, Kill Devil Hill, and countless others. If they miss your town on opening up for someone, don't worry, they'll catch you on the next tour which probably starts the weekend after the one they're on now.

Glacially Musical: Thank you for taking the time out your insanely busy schedule to talk with me.

Crobot: No problem at all! 

EP Review: "I (Songs About Dystopia, Satan, Ghouls, & Marilyn Monroe)" by Sulfur Ensemble

I (For Brevity's Sake)

When my friends and were much younger and learning the geography of the world, Turkey and Hungary always were a big joke to us.

Because people in Hungary should go to Turkey!

We were literally the world's best nine year old comedians as far as I'm concerned. Granted, nowadays comedy has come farther along, like that kid that does impressions. He's amazing.

In 1985 though, children's comedy hadn't reached such dizzying heights.

Turkey is an interesting country and their exports are always greatly appreciated. Turkish Tobacco was something that I have partaken quite a bit of. Hmm, maybe that's the only export that's come to my attention. Oh, hookahs are pretty popular over there too right?

Wait...that's pretty much the same thing.

Concert Photos: L.A. Guns at the Whisky A Go Go, Sunset Strip, July 25, 2014 -photos by Danny Nichols

Phil Lewis, Steve Riley and Michael Grant of L.A. Guns play the famed Whisky A Go Go

Interview: Pseudo/Sentai

There was a time when bands were formed with heroes of insurmountable powers or by the like minded.

The members of Guitar Wolf were raised by wolves and then began to play jet rock'n'roll music.

GWAR is peopled with crazy persons from another part of the galaxy.

Today let's take some time to get to know the members of Pseudo/Sentai who are also super heroes.

Glacially Musical: Let's get to know you guys a little bit. First off, explain the name Pseudo/Sentai for us please.

[RED]: We wanted a name that would capture the idea of a band that’s also a task force, while also relating that the task force is just a bunch of musicians. We’re sort of a task force! The / is like the lightning bolt in the Power Rangers title!

[BLUE]: Not much else to say there.

EP Review: "Chapter 1: Hysterics" by Gus McArthur

Chapter 1: Hysterics

Recently we traveled to Joliet, IL from our home in St. Louis, MO.

Sadly, my attempt to ride the train was thwarted. There was a possibility of not being able to arrive on time, but it all basically worked out.

Which left us with the tried and true: ROAD TRIP!

Before leaving, combos and sodas were acquired, because those are the essential foods for such a journey.

As we moved along Interstate 55, a road coma began to take over me, thankfully, as I sat in the passenger seat.

Then all of a sudden, a semi truck started to merge into our lane and we were then nearly rear ended by an SUV behind us who didn't see the semi. The coma was gone.

Album Review: "Ouroboric Stagnation" by Neurogenic

The vast majority of music is vocal based, meaning the melody and primary focus of a song can be found in the vocal track.  This is not necessarily true in heavy metal, where often the main feature is the guitar riff and the vocals are just another instrument, rather than the focal point of a tune.  This is especially the case in death metal where growled vocals are usually indecipherable, rarely contain melody and are utilized to create atmosphere and emphasis.  

Neurogenic’s album Ouroboric Stagnation is notable for the lack of attention placed on the vocals.  Vocalist Matteo Bazzanella’s tracks are so low in the mix, they seamlessly blend with the instrumental tracks.  Perhaps they are even a bit too low, but I understand the reason.  These tunes are entirely guitar driven, and the guitar tone is masterful.   

LP Review: "Celebrate" by The Big Bend

Celebrate

Surprises are a wonderful thing.

This album came as a surprise to me, it just kind of showed up on my door step. Well, I did some detective work, i.e. searching my inbox, and figured out the mystery!

It's a feel good story is it not?

Anyway, music to me is a purposeful art form. It's not like a painting or even a play in my personal view.

There are different kinds of music for different things. Soft, instrumental music is fantastic for dinner conversation. Wildly progressive instrumental music is not.

Brutal metal is great for video gaming or just getting it done, whatever the it may be. The Blues, well that's just good drinking music.

LP Review: "The Great Dying" by Yeti on Horseback

The Great D ying

So many bands in this world play at about a thousand miles an hour.

In our current era of music, the term speed metal is no longer valid, because most of it is played at breakneck speeds.

Lyrics almost can never be understood either due to sheer speed or demon growls.

Speed of playing is kind of like adding effects to the music. It makes it sound different and better. Take a look at some of Metallica's earlier work and there's quite a lot of very simple riffing, but played faster than anyone ever had before.

That stuff still holds up today, but how often can you hear a band that plays slower than the old lady in a hat driving in the left hand lane when you're late for work who keeps it interesting?

Concert Review: Guns N' Roses Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City June 29, 2016 and Soldier Field Chicago July 1, 2016. -photos and words by Danny Nichols

The days of rock bands filling stadiums appears to be coming to an end.  Without the power of terrestrial radio to filter a limited selection of music to the ears of the masses, it is difficult to imagine how new super groups will be created.  The list of rock bands who could still command the attention of over 60,000 fans a night is limited to Iron Maiden, the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Paul McCartney, maybe Bruce Springsteen, and now Guns N' Roses.

All of these bands are at the tail end of their careers with no heir apparent.  This is a shame.  Although I am grateful to live in a world where small bands can find a stage and a niche market, and while concert attendance should not be a barometer of a band's quality, I think there is a place in the world for for the energy and environment of a packed stadium all listening to the same music.

You can have a great concert experience without fireworks during the encore, but they sure don't hurt.

Interview: AL Yeti Bones of Gypsy Chief Goliath Talks Music, Beer, and Fatherhood

AL Yeti Bones (center)

Sometimes you get these emails and all of a sudden your interest is piqued.

Let me tell you, as a Grade F Flunkie in the music business, I'm privy to all sorts of emails that we receive here at the 33,576,222nd most popular website in the world.

Some of them are expected, X band has a new record, Y band has a new video, Z band is going on tour.

Then you get Gypsy Chief Goliath is going on tour and releasing a beer called Black Samra(IPA). At this point, my natural curiosity took over, as this particular beer is not readily available here in St. Louis, but as a former beer blogger... I had to get the scoop.

Glacially Musical: Let's get to know you guys a little bit. Where do you look for inspiration?

LP Review: "Longing For Infection" by Fistula

Longing For Infection

Let's take a moment to talk about something.

Personal pain.

Pain and anger go hand in hand, which is part of what makes it such fertile territory for loud and aggressive music.

When someone is in pain, they are stronger, they are weaker, and they seek survival at all costs.

Anger is similar to that. There are a great many examples in the history of man, both written and oral, of people using their anger and pain to affect great change.

Whether or not the results are a net positive or negative is something best left to the annals of history on a case by case basis. In the USA right now, we are seeing great pain and great anger. There is a reaction happening to both.

Interview: Sascha Latman of Winterhorde

On May 3, 2016, Glacially Musical reviewed the new Winterhorde album "Maestro", which is an absolute masterpiece of symphonic black metal.  It was a privelege to be able to follow up the review with an interview of Winterhorde's bassist, composer and lyricist Sascha Latman.

Danny Nichols of Glacially Musical: I think the Israeli metal scene is much more extensive and has produced so many more great metal bands than many American metal fans realize.

How has forming in Israel contributed to the sound of Winterhorde?

Sasha Latman of Winterhorde:  Hello Danny! Actually forming in Israel didn’t contribute that much to our sound, because most of us are immigrants from post-Soviet republics. 

We carry our culture and musical influences from the areas of our origins. Be it Ukraine or Belarus, the Soviet musical roots are still deep within us. 

We had always a different sounding from the other  Israeli metal bands. Moreover, we were inspired mostly by European metal scene, which is recognized with its melodic approach.  

LP Review: "Welcome To The Graveyard" by Castle

Welcome To The Graveyard

Art in and of itself is an expression.

Learning a song on guitar recently, it was evident that the players were breaking the rules of the song in order to spice it up.

Learning what the rules is very important to being able to break them effectively.

The song in particular was a 12 Bar Blues Standard that, in this arrangement had some little fills tossed in between measures, effectively creating a song that was more than 12 bars.

So, was this song still a Blues song? Those little melody breaks were far more appropriate in metal than they were blues. Beyond that, the song was original recorded by a man and his guitar, but here I was listening to a 12 piece band performing it. Is it still the same song?

LP Review: "Biolith" by Third Ion

Biolith

In the history of music there have been about one quintillion super groups, and most of them kind of suck.

Even Velvet Revolver kind of sucked, apart from some beautiful tracks here and there.

When bands are peopled with members of other bands, what makes this transition so hard?

Well, personally speaking, it could be attributed to stars of bands going into other bands and not being able to make their mark. Again, Velvet Revolver comes to mind. Slash didn't make his mark as Slash on those records.

Well certainly there  has to be a panacea for this poison. Groups like Cream have shown us the way. When several members of bands get together, each player has to be able to make their statement in the songs.

LP Review: "Yeth Hound" by Tyfon's Doom

Yeth Hound

In 1977 Ace Frehley and Peter Criss told Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley that they felt musically confined in Kiss and were going to quit the band and release solo albums.

How many times in the course of musical history has someone in a band gone solo thinking they could do it all themselves only to fall flat on their face?

For every one Ozzy Osbourne there are about 200 Ace Frehleys, and this coming from a huge Kiss/Ace Frehley fan.

What irks the most about solo records is that most of the time, they are not solo albums, but bands being named after the singer. Ozzy Osbourne's original "solo" band was the work of four people, but that's not what it ended up being.

Another solo success story would be King Diamond, successful in that he at least kept up the same levels of popularity outside of Mercyful Fate as he did inside of it.