Split LP Reivew: "Rope Enough For Two" by Dayglo Mourning/Bludy Gyres

Rope Enough For Two

Recently, both Dayglo Mourning and Bludy Gyers spoke with me about various things, but today it's time to consider their music.

For starters, Rope Enough For Two is a split LP which is one of my personal favorite things. From a dollars perspective, it's a great value. An EP on vinyl and an LP usually cost the same. So, double your fun and get two bands.

Dayglo Mourning has an amazing name. It doesn't really describe the band. It evokes a jokey quality to me, and they're straight doom. This is the kind of doom metal that's so dirty, you can smell it.

Our unhappy friends, have three tracks over side one of the record. Now, it'd be improper to claim any sort of amazing renaissance of doom metal here. There's no revolution. They create an atmosphere. Which, when it comes to doom, what else is there to want?

The vocals are semi-shouted. The guitars have more fuzz than my cats. Then, there's the pacing. It's just slow enough to be plodding. This is the doom metal we're looking for.

Bludy Gyres takes a different path on their side of the Split. Instead of a three pack of songs, they chose to grind out one epic seventeen minute track.

It takes about five minutes for the song to get truly started. It starts with a low level explosion into some solo-ish guitar. It's gritty and never self-indulgent. Imagine Warning, but almost twice as long, and with way more of the band being involved.

The riff is a wobbly, reverby, swerve. If you try to move along to it, you'll probably get dizzy and hit your head on your desk. I'm not saying that happened to me, but still.

Then there's the crunchy chunks nestled in between the vocals and the swerve. But don't worry, that's the just beginning. Check it out.

RELEASE 12/7/18 BANDCAMP

Road Warriors with Hitman

Hitman

Let's talk to those good boys from Nova Scotia, Hitman, one more time.

Did you check out their thumpin' good EP, The Offering yet?

If not, Bandcamp's got you covered right HERE. It's even for sale in Canadian Dollars. How exotic. For the low price of a fiver and a toonie, you can have this traditional heavy metal to spin to your heart's content.

In the meantime though, let's find out what they're like on the road....

1. What's the right length for a tour?

There’s definitely no rule written in stone, but for us, we usually try to stick to a few weeks. As a band we are usually sleeping on someone's floor or in the van so it does get pretty hard on us. We save hotels for days off when we are absolutely beat from the road, so luxury is pretty rare, assuming you would call 4 guys splitting 2 double beds in a hotel room luxury.

LP Review: "Abyss Between The Stars" by Ursa

Abyss Between The Stars

We've got one to slide in here for you because things didn't go like they were supposed to have gone.

Today Ursa is taking us back to the time before thrash. Back when Heavy Metal was still somewhat new and everybody wondered if it was going to make it.

If you think the days of Ronnie James Dio singing about tigers stripes on dragons while waiting in line at the post office was the golden age of metal, let me introduce you to my new friends, Ursa.

Now, keep in mind that this record is more like Iron Maiden in spirit, though far closer to Black Sabbath in execution. So... it would be appropriate to say that Abyss Between The Stars is a progressive stoner metal album that features all of the Dungeons & Dragons references you could ever want.

It's fiercely psychedelic and stompingly groovin. The drums tend to be just behind the beat giving the songs the tense feeling of a stalling car. You may wish for them to hit the gas, but no matter how late for work you are...you'll just have to ride behind them.

RELEASE 11/2/18 ORDER FACEBOOK

Hometown Tales with Unholy Baptism

Unholy Baptism

It's time to check back in with Unholy Baptism.

They're riding high on having released Volume I:The Bonds of Servitude and they did their own damned selves.

If you want to make music, that's about the best way to get it done your way.

The pair live in the State of Arizona and apart from things like the Coyotes, Suns, and the Arizona (FKA Phoenix, earlier St. Louis Cardinals, nee: Chicago Cardinals), there's very little going on in that state I can tell you anything about.

So let's get it from the horse's unholy mouth, Mantus of Unholy Baptism.

GM: St. Louis City is my hometown. I've lived here for most of my life in and around the city. Where are you from?

LP Review: "Hadal Ascending" by Ichor

Hadal Ascending

There's a lot of talk out there by old farts who're long divorced from the actual music scene, Gene Simmons, who want to say rock is dead.

Well, he's old and wrong.

In the world I live in, there's more new music than could ever make it into my world. The vast majority of it though, isn't kitsch  music for the masses.

The music I find attractive in 2018 is new. Take Ichor for example. They're death metal right?

In 1992, Death Metal had hard and fast rules. Your drummer had to be basically a force fed automaton pounding out surgical beats. The guitars had to be fast. And blastbeats. No matter what. Blastbeats.

Of course, Ichor has all of these things, but they don't stop there. Why should a band's expression stop at an imaginary, though clearly delineated place? Hadal Ascending won't convince anyone who's not already among us, but they'll entertain many a metalhead who's grown tired of well worn formula.

Release 12/7/18 PREORDER FACEBOOK

Vinyloscopy with The Risk! Podcast's Kevin Allison

Kevin Allison

Before we get into it, yes, this is the same Kevin Allison who was on MTV's The State.

About 2 and a half years ago, I was sitting on a plane to San Francisco reading The Union of the State by Corey Stulce. It told the story of well, The State. At the end, it started talking about what the cast members did after the show ended. Allison ended up starting a podcast called Risk!. I'd never been much for podcasts and had never subscribed to one, but I figured, let's listen.

Well, we're a couple years on, and I've not missed an episode since then and I've read the Risk! Book as well. If you think This American Life is great, but it needs more...we'll call it  uncensored spice...then Risk! is probably right up your alley. Check it out on all the podcast apps.

Recently, Allison made mention of buying a turntable and we spoke briefly about his setup and such. It then occurred to me, let's find out more. The Vinyloscopy column has had loads of metal dudes giving us the what for, but now let's find out from someone who's new to all of this.

So, let's jump right in.

Full Album Stream: "To" by Totenmesse

Please indulge me just a little bit. This isn't something I normally get into here at Glacially Musical, but Totenmesse is allowing us the opportunity.

That means it's time to seize the day and bring our readers something pretty cool. On 11/2/18, Pagan Records is releasing Totenmesse's debut record, To, on digital, CD, and sweet vinyl.

Listen to the whole album below. It's some dark, doomy, black metal that doesn't sound like the run of the mill from any of those genres.

While you're digging this record, you can preorder the disc HERE.

Bookin It with Curtis Dewar

Curtis Dewar

Brand New Column! 

The recurring column interviews are some of the most fun for me because we get to learn about the insides of our subjects and see more about them than just dude plays riffages!

The albums reviewed here are written, recorded, and performed by human beings who have lives and fears and what nots.

So I attempt to encourage you to get to know the human beings behind the corpse paint and Flying V guitars.

To kick off the Book Column, we're starting off with Curtis Shawn Dewar, of Dewar PR. If you want to hear about cool music or if you're a band check the man's FACEBOOK.

1. I try to read at least two books per month, and mostly fail, what's your goal and reality?

I try to do a book a week but usually average 2-3 per month including audio books. If we're talking *just* reading the book and not listening average goes way lower.

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

Vinyl Review: "Wants You Dead" by Junkpile Jimmy

Wants You Dead

Have you ever heard of this place called California?

Apparently over one sixth of the United States's population lives in this elbow shaped land mass on the West Coast. This state abuts the Pacific Ocean and the State of Nevada.

Talk about Scylla and Charybdis am I right?

If you were to ask someone who's not a USA citizen, or someone West of Los Angeles, what the defining feature of California is you'd probably get an answer along the lines of warm sun and Hollywood.

For me, the defining jewel of Cali is the Bay Area, what with the Metallica, the the Janis Joplin, The Winterland, and the eternal fall and all, but I'm slightly odd or I'm going slightly mad...either way.

Back to Hollywood....

Video: "Mas Alla del Hiperboreo" by AstorVoltaires

Last month, Post-Rocker(s?) AstorVoltaires released their first album in five years on Slow Burn Records, La Quintaesencia de Júpiter.

It's a little abnormal for me to return to something from a minute ago, but this one. There must have been a cosmic reason for checking this one out.

This track is neither heavy nor crushing. One would be hard pressed to even say there are riffs. It's a piece of music that's a little bit different and it speaks to me in a way that's hard to pin down.

Check out the song and tell AstroVoltaires what you think on FACEBOOK.

LP Review: "Mesa" by Abyssous

Mesa

In 2018, Lo-Fi recording is no longer a necessity for those bands on the lower end of the pay scale spectrum. It's now a choice of sounds.

And there are times when nothing else would improve upon a song than a gritty, almost rusty, sound.

Abyssous's sophomore LP, is a smoldering campfire of black metal. It's the single blade of fire in a pitch black evening.

It's the heavy metal acid trip that leaves you warm and loved. Unfortunately, an album that's wholly like that grows dull and cold.

Abyssous understands the concept that is album dynamics. Most of the record is ethereal black metal, but then there are forays out of the atmosphere and back to terra firma. It also appears that from time to time, the guitar player was even lucky enough to win some of the arguments... Listen well, oh, not even that well really, and you'll see why.

Mesa is another album in the long line of black metal records that warmed me up to the genre. Sit down and roast a marshmellow.

RELEASE 11/1/18 BANDCAMP FACEBOOK

Stream: "Medicine Man" by Absolutely Not

It's been over a year since we've heard from Chicago's punk rockers, Absolutely Not.

This particular track, has long been a live staple for Absolutely Not and it was released on cassette back in the before time. A few years later, they've resurfaced the song and overhauled it. New recording and a new release.

Check it out below. Click HERE to pick up their last record.

Hometown Tales with Jezebel Slade

Jezebel Slade

Do you recall me talking to Jezebel Slade about Food and Touring?

Until such point that I get that new record, it's going to be more of this because their last record, again, under the name Van Halst, was an amazing piece of metal.

It was the kind of metal that rocks the marrow of your bones and can turn your milk sour.

Their new record was to be entitled Jezebel Slade, and it apparently was strong enough to not only alter their direction, but transmogrify the band into that character.

This album is currently highly anticipated by Glacially Musical at least and it's expected to crush the predecessor.

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