below are the results of a three way collision of Vodak guitarist Bendy, some bottles of wine and a stack of CDs sent by a metal promotor.
12:22am
First candidate for iTunes importing: Satyricon. Hearing My War with Black Metal drums. "The House of Lords" mentioned in the first song, as though it might be something other than the stuffy upper house of Parliament.
12:26am
Okay, nice lopsided riffs taking the edge off an evening of toddler 'n' tween candied-mango-fueled meltdowns. Too much double kick drums, tho'.
12:31am
"Black Crow on a Tombstone" with it's wicked thrash lights my candle, mama, too hard to etc. Not sure the rest will grow on me though. But in it goes.
Next up: a proggy looking band called Diagonal
12:39am
Liner notes quote "Sniffing Glue" fanzine on the DIY ethic. Pro: photo looks like German hippies from 1974, and they have a clarinet. Con: shortest song is 5:32. Here goes
12:44am
Whooshy wind-of-the-unicorn's-wings synths and general krautiness made the first 3 minutes good, but then the vocals came in. Not so good. Roxy Music horns are working though.
12:45am
They sing "Don't tell the sun how to rise it may fall from the sky"
12:47am
Track 1: 6 minutes down, 5 to go. We're in the Mazarek organ jam. And I'm still listening.
12:49am
skipping to the next bit, where pasty-norther-Euro idea of a Latin rhythm come it. With phasers on the drums. Good, but do I need to hear it again?
12:53am
Rest of the songs get fussy and too tight. Will import that first one ("Semi Permeable Membrane") and if it shows proper party loyalty, will consider recalling the other counter-revolutionaries back from the gulag.
12:55am
Next band. Unearth: back cover looks like Hank Rollins attacked by a Francis Bacon painting
12:57am
If I text 66555 I can get some of these diddly-wangers on mi cell!
1:01am
Backward ballcap metal: I look at the back and it was recorded in Grafton, MA. I thought I sensed chowder monkeys! Song three, "Crow Killer" does not kill Satyrions "Black Crow on a Tombstone"
1:02am
They sing "Real pain with your blood"
My prescription: stop string tapping so much.
1:03am
I am trapped in Daddy's Junky Music. Hitting eject.
1:05am
Dead Man: Swedish acoustic stoners, I am told
1:10am
On the gatefold, they stare longingly through a dusty window. Back cover has dandelion thingies blowing in the wind. First song ends with bongos. Second song is a Bo Diddly. Need more wine to properly assess.
1:27am
"As I watch the yearning winds dance with all the trees / gradually my mind comes to ease". This is mellow, but like so many Swedish bands really likable. I'm getting Mike Gira/Angels of Light vibe to the music: soft but intense. "I Must be Blind" has a southern rock vibe.
Which reminds me: over Xmas, talked to jam-rock friend who's band is playing the middle of the bill on the Lynyrd Skynyrd cruise in a few days. Someone should make a "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" documentary about that scene. Skynrd, 38 Special, Marshall Tucker, Molly Hatchet, all on a cruise boat.
My weird uncle went on a cruise, and impressed upon me with how he paid a crewmember at the start to keep a bucket of cold Busch lights ever-full in his state room. I know that my weird uncle doesn't drink much. I wonder what possessed him to do this "bribe".
Dead Man just switched to either speaking Swedish or backwards masking. I really like this!
1:33am
"Rest in Peace" Van Morrison's Swiss Amry Knife cutting up his fingers trying to get the resin out of his bong. YAW!
1:36am
Then the gongs come in!
1:38am
gratuitous Arabic scales and tablas!
1:40am
Now flutes, all the same 9 minute song. Fucking fuckheads Diagonal need to take a lesson from these guys.
1:51am
Last one tonight: Serpentcult. RIYL Celtic Frost and Sleep. I do.
1:56am
Girl vocalist or girly man vocals? One-sheet says vocalist is Michelle Nocon. But from Belguim. Aren't all Belgians, male or female named Michelle? Myspace reveals: a girl.
2:06am
Title track "Weight of Light" is decent doom: sort of like Iron Maiden slowed way down with Bruce's vocal sped up to a higher register. Good enough to listen more. Next track threatens to "awaken the kraken" but as someone who supports marine scientists in the dayjob, I know we really should be befriending the cephalopods, our even-more-spineless but intelligent brethren.
2:20am
"Arkanum" has a nice gothy grind. And it gives away to the even more grinding "Red Dawn" which has a High on Fire thing going on. This is low, low, low in the valley. Lord, we don't need another mountain. There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb. There are oceans and rivers enough to cross, enough to last till the end of time. What the world needs now is another song with a High on Fire thing going on.
For those of you playing along at home, you can hear some of the tracks observed above, at:
http://www.myspace.com/satyriconbm
http://www.myspace.com/diagonalband
http://www.myspace.com/unearth
http://www.myspace.com/deadmansweden
http://www.serpentcult.be/
Special thanks goes out to Charles Shaw Vinyards. Or as I like to call it, Chuck Taylor's Cab.