La Dispute-Wildlife

La Dispute is an american emo/punk band. one of the few emo band that I really like. Wildlife is their second full lenght, released in 2011. the music goes from punk to indie rock with sometimes a post-punk feel. The vocals, which are really great, goes from hardcore/emo to spoken words. the guitars and the drumming stay simple and straight to the point so the singing and the atmosphere (poetic, melancholic, passionate) have more space to express.

well, just listen to it and you'll hear what is it about...

Wildlife on Bandcamp

the most recent release, 3 live songs, also on BC

Dephosphorus - Night Sky Transform (2012)

Many people were awaiting this first Dephsphorus LP (called Night Sky Transform and released this august on vinyl by 7 degrees records. Also available as digital download). Because we knew with Axiom in 2011, and more recently with the splits with Wake and with Great falls, that this Greek band offers some high quality extreme metal and has something like a "supplément d'âme". Dephosphorus music escapes labels but I would describe it as a blend of something like Norwegian and French black metal for the main part but with also influences from Slayer (some riffs and some drumming parts), post-hardcore, crustgrind and noise rock. The vocals, going from black/death to powerviolence are great, with diversity and a good rhythm (there are also spoken parts on two songs and a part by Ryan Lipsky from Unearthly trance). Same can be said about the guitar and drumming parts :  quality, diversity and personality. The songs are cleverly crafted and efficiently played. The lyrics, like on the previous records, are different from most metal bands, the issues covered are more "spiritual", about the universe, humanity etc. The progression since Axiom is mostly in the production which clearly improved and in some songs adding more diversity (some slower, atmospheric, "post" parts, the spoken parts, etc,. for ex the song called The Fermi paradox).

I was expecting something very good from Dephosphorus and I'm happy to say that I'm not disappointed.

Listen to it and make your own opinion on their Bandcamp page.

Panos & Thanos from from Dephosphorus answered to a few questions I asked them about Night sky transform, read it below. You can also read this other interview, with the same Panos, that we did in March (going with a review of Axiom, their first record).

-how would you describe the move from Axiom to Night sky transform, for the band and for the music ?

Thanos: To me it’s a natural progression and yet, I know that a lot of people cannot get it. I think the fact that we had to record everything in a small period of time, made it sound more raw and tight and considering it as a whole, it works in the end. We focused this time more in the atmosphere of the songs along with the roughness of the material. As the time goes by we become tighter as a musical trio, so I assume this works well for the transition.

-how was Night sky transform recorded and produced?

Thanos: We recorded in almost 9 days pretty much everything at Northside Studio (http://www.northside.gr) of our friend’s Miltos Schimatariotis. While we didn’t have much time to experiment more with alternate sounds and techniques, the studio had this essential cosy atmosphere which enabled us to work harder, without having to think about the drawbacks. Back at this time I was serving my military service, so it took some time to mix the recording but Miltos did an exceptional job and found the appropriate ‘color’ for the album, so all kudos to him. We financed the recording, mixing and mastering of the album along with the artwork and 7 Degrees Records printed the wax. Production is also who is financing for the album, so I guess that makes us the producers.

-one thing new in Night sky transform is the slower parts with spoken words. Was the purpose to give, with The Fermi paradox, a kind of “breathing space” in the middle of the album and with Aurora to end the album on a mysterious note?

Panos: It’s not something that we plan. It’s the music that takes us there. We’ve been experimenting with clean vocals and spoken words since our early days before any of the “Axiom” songs were written, back when me and Thanos were doing home demos on our own without a drummer.

The way it goes is that when a new song’s music is (semi-) ready, I browse through my notepads and start figuring out which  lyrics and vocal lines will fit. From time to time a clean vocal line will occur in my mind and then I try it out. If it blends well with the music, its dynamics and atmosphere, I hold on to it.

In one instance, for the song “Stargazing & Violence” (our side of the split-7”EP with Great Falls), the clean vocal line and its lyrics were there before I figured out the rest…

Concerning the specific songs that you mention, “The Fermi Paradox” is a song that was written by jamming and being a doomy noise rock track, it is in a different register than the rest of our stuff. So, it was obvious that it needed another approach for its vocals and it was Thanos that sung it.

“Aurora” is the album’s closing track. Even when we first rehearsed it, its ritualistic, mystical atmosphere was there and it inspired me to add some clean vocals additionally to the screams. At that early point we didn’t even know it would close the album, so it fits with  what I described earlier: the music and Dephosphorus’ spirit takes us into places.

-some parts, for ex the beginning of Identifying the encapsulator, reminds me of Slayer (some riffs and drumming), is it an influence for you?

Thanos: I can understand the comment, but to me it’s more Arkangel than Slayer! But I can see your point. This song is a combination of Arkangel meets Immolation meets Helmet, so putting everything on the blender you may end up with ‘Identifying the Encapsulator’… Nothing was planned actually, things like that sometimes just happen.

-seems to me that the parts with a “rock” feel, of the noise, post or whatever variety (like in the song Night sky transform), which were already present in Axiom, are now more developed. Do you think it is because more diversity in the songwriting allowed more opportunity for the different musical style you like to shine through the songs?

Thanos: I think it has more to do with the freedom we feel each time we build a song. When we feel it should be like ‘The Fermi Paradox’ or like ‘Aurora’, there is not much to think about it actually. We never spend time thinking if a particular noise rock riff should be there or not. It’s there, so we spend more time to develop it. I think diversity is essential and significant for us, since the music we write is the music we would like to hear from our favorite band, so based on this I spend more time in songwriting with this diversity thing in mind, but without ever letting it being a goal. I think that if it was planned, it would lack this rawness you can feel on the songs.

-looks like you really pay attention to the lyrics and the artwork, as parts of the general atmosphere and meaning you want to push forward with your music. A few words about that?

Panos: Dephosphorus is a concept band. It always was - we started it out as such together with Thanos. The music and the concept/lyrics/aesthetics are intertwined and inseparable. Our ambition is to take you on a trip unlike everything you experienced before, to blow your mind and to excite your imagination. Listen to the music, contemplate the artwork, read the lyrics. Find out if our craft does it for you.

-a few words about the Ryan Lipynsky featuring?

Panos: We’ve been in touch with Ryan for a few years, being early Unearthly Trance enthusiasts and huge Thralldom (R.I.P.) fans. When “Unconscious Excursion” was wrapped up very spontaneously at the studio after only a few takes and without prior rehearsing, it was obvious that it was our way of paying tribute to both bands. In particular, Thanos’ wrote his guitar parts with Ryan’s playing in mind, and he told me straight from the beginning “Dude, it would be cool if we could get Ryan sing on this one”. I was like “Oh man, I wish he would but he’s probably too busy to care doing it”.

After we’ve had the same dialogue for a few times, eventually I thought “Oh fuck it!” and like you French guys say “Qui ne demande rien, n’a rien” (“Whoever demands nothing, gets nothing”). So, I dropped an email to Ryan with the track attached. He got back to me within minutes saying he wanted to do it. And not only he did sing, but he has also plunged into our concept writing the lyrics, and has also played a stellar guitar solo! His contribution has added extra mystical vibes and cosmic aura to the album. All hails to him for that! Make sure you check out his latest works with The Howling Wind and Serpentine Path. Killer stuff!

-now, what is next for Dephosphorus?

Panos: We will release within the next few months both “Night Sky Transform” and “Axiom” on cassette format. We will also consider any interesting offers for CD editions.

On the astral front, we’re working on new, darker material. We have in mind a few different ideas that we want to try out this time. Stay tuned!

-something else to say?

Panos: Thanks so much for the ongoing support through your blogzine, it is appreciated!

“Night Sky Transform” is out on vinyl through 7 Degrees Records. We will have our own copies of the  LP very soon, as well as new t-shirts. You can listen to the full album and buy its digital version via http://dephosphorus.bandcamp.com. If you’re into social notworking, make sure you connect with us at www.facebook.com/dephosphorus.

And never forget: we’re all made out of stardust…

White hex-Heat EP

Heat by the australian duo White hex is the name of a very cold record. Released this year by Avant! records it's 6 songs with a cold melancholic new wave atmosphere filled with good female vocals and great melodic post punk riffs beating with some industrial sounding drums. This is their first record and put them on the list of bands to follow if you like the cold new wave side of post punk. If you also like the wilder and dirtier side of post punk check also Slug guts, the other band of White hex guitarist.

Heat on Bandcamp.

Sakatat-Bir devrim sonu

Bir devrim sonu by turkish grinders Sakatat is a very strong record of puregrindcore the old school way (with a good, not overproduced, production). Its their first full lenght (after seven split) and is a serious contender for the top 5 grind album for 2012. 16 songs, going between 17 sec and 1 min 52, all killer no filler, withreally tight, fast & groovy drumming, good grind screams and crusty grind riffs.

check tour dates, listen, etc on their website :

sakatatgrindcore.com

Cherry choke-A night in the arms of Venus

Cherry choke is an english power trio formed in 2007. A night in the arms of Venus is their second record (released in 2011 on Elektrohasch records). What they play is 60' rock with hard blues / garage/ boogie / psychedelic / acid touches and they do it with taste. Nothing new under the sun but it's a reallly cool record, with musicians mastering their playing (cool riffs and drumming and trippy solos) and songwriting and using it to create some good energy, ambiances and vibes. It's a concept album about a prostitute living in the victorian era and suffering from syphilis. a dark subject but the music's really not a bad trip experience.

Cherry choke on Myspace

Cara neir / Ramlord split

This Cara neir / Ramlord split show a different side of two among the best crust / black metal bands of the moment (last year Cara neir's Stagnant perceptions and Ramlord's Stench of fallacy are must haves). The three Cara neir songs offers a more melodic / post-rock approach of their music (this was present in their earlier record but not as much as here) and so does Ramlord with their ten minute song on this split. We'll see what Ramlord will do next, but we already know that Cara neir, on their new Sublimation therapy EP opted for a really harder and faster powerviolence like evolution.

I highly recommend these two bands and this split.

discover it on Bandcamp

Mudbath-Red desert orgy EP

Mudbath comes from Avignon (France) and is a promising new band in the doom scene. They have all the big Sabbath inspired heavy riffs, some nice guitar solos, sludge like shrieking vocals here and there, the cool grooves with a slow tempo drumming and some heavy basslines that we actualy can distinguish (something I like!) and a good production (by Mouffi aka Mathieu Croux, guitarist in Verdun). They released this summer their first record with the EP Red desert orgy with which in three songs and twenty minutes they lay down some good foundations for the future. A new band to follow.

check their EP on Bandcamp

and read this interview I did by mail with their bassist Marco (in french for the moment, maybe translated later if I find the time) :

-petite présentation du groupe et de sa musique pour commencer ?

Marco (basse) : Le groupe s’est formé à Avignon durant l’été 2011 sous l’impulsion de nos guitaristes, Flo et Mika. Nos premières répètes sonnaient très « stoner » mais on a rapidement abandonné le côté chaloupé du genre pour composer des morceaux plus lourds et gras. Maintenant, on évolue dans une veine sludge/doom très affirmée, comme en témoigne les trois morceaux de notre premier EP, « Red Desert Orgy ».

-quelques mots sur votre première sortie Red desert orgy ? la composition, l’enregistrement, la prod, etc.. ?

Flo et Mika, toujours eux, ont composé la quasi-intégralité de ce premier disque. Ils ont apporté les riffs et les plans en répét’ et on a peaufiné le tout ensemble. On a choisi d’enregistrer « Red Desert Orgy » avec Mouffi de Verdun car c’est lui qui était aux manettes de l’enregistrement du premier EP de Verdun, « The Cosmic Escape Of Admiral Masuka ». On a adoré le son de ce disque, on souhaitait vraiment travailler avec lui et le résultat est à la hauteur de nos espérances, il a su saisir nos envies et supporter notre faible quotient intellectuel.

-je suppose, qu’en plus du plaisir de faire le disque, l’idée est de vous faire connaître pour trouver des dates de concert, vous prévoyiez une tournée ?

On devrait tourner en France du 3 au 11 novembre. Deux dates sont déjà confirmées : le 8 à Rouen et le 9 à Paris. À côté de ça, on fera quelques dates dans le Sud dès le mois d’octobre. On cherche à écumer un maximum de scènes, de caves, d’espaces autogérés, etc., tant que nos emplois du temps respectifs le permettront.

-vous faisiez déjà de la musique avant Mudbath ? Comment vous en êtes venu à ce genre de musique ?

On faisait déjà de la musique, mais pas du sludge ni de doom. Moi-même, Félix (chant) et Mika (guitare) jouons encore dans un groupe de stoner-punk, Worcester, et on a tous fait partie d’une ribambelle de groupes, allant de l’electro-punk au death metal. Difficile d’expliquer la manière dont on s’est retrouvés à faire du sludge/doom. Une envie commune de lourdeur exacerbée est l’un des facteurs les plus évidents, au même titre que notre présence en tant que spectateurs au Yell Fest #1 – ça nous a motivés dans l’idée d’avoir un groupe « massif ». Pour la petite histoire, on était à l’affiche du Yell Fest #2 !

-il y  a une scène metal / rock à Avignon ?

C’est très compliqué de jouer à Avignon car il n’y a pas de lieux adaptés à ce style de musique, mais il y a des bons groupes : The Real Mac Coy, Sobornost, Malhabile, Sanair, Pasteur Guy, Worcester et Pay Me Robber sont de parfaits exemples.

-c’est quoi les disques qui vous ont bien plu ces derniers temps ?

Rien de bien doom pour ma part : « Tumeur » de Mon Autre Groupe, « Lions will no longer be kings » de Café Flesh et « Bad Influences » de Chalk Talk.

-vous composez déjà pour un prochain disque ? On doit s’attendre à une évolution dans quel sens ?

On a déjà plusieurs morceaux sous le coude, dont certains assurément plus extrêmes que ceux que l’ont peut trouver sur l’EP. On enregistrera un nouveau disque en 2013, c’est certain.

-vous voudriez trouver un label ou plutôt continuer DIY ?

On est en train de chercher un label car c’est difficile de proposer un bel objet disque quand t’es en autoprod’. On aimerait sortir nos morceaux en vinyle et pour ça on doit trouver une écurie ! Cela dit, on a quand même fait presser une bonne brouette de CDs qu’on vendra lors de nos prochains concerts.

-d’autres projets ?

 Boire.

-quelque chose à ajouter  pour finir?

Merci à toi pour tes questions ! N’hésitez pas à télécharger et partager notre premier EP (disponible là : http://mudbath.bandcamp.com) et suivre notre actualité sur Facebook, on devrait pas mal vadrouiller avant le mois de février 2013. Ah, et notre guitariste Mika collectionne les photos de prolapsus, il sera ravi si vous lui en lancez pendant nos concerts.

 

Scott.H.Biram-Bad ingredients

Holidays soon over and Bad ingredients, latest record by Scott.H.Biram is welcome to prepare for the daily grind...the ingredients may be bad (or maybe because they are!) but the result is really good. I really dig Scott.H.Biram because his one man garage-blues/americana feels so sincere and is such a cool soundtrack and companion for the ups and downs of daily life. Bad ingredients from 2011 is maybe not my favourite SHB records but its still far from a disapointment and I really enjoy it.

check the official http://www.scottbiram.com/

Cellgraft - st(2012)

I have a good news and a bad news. The good one is that the mighty Cellgraft are releasing a new, self titled, record. The bad news is that it will be the last because the band calls its quits...

it's a sad news for me bcause Cellgraft was one of the favourite grind bands. Deception schematics for exemple, which they released last year is really a must have. but all their records are really good. including the last one. myabe its production is not as huge as in Deception schematics, but the songs are really strong, still super heavy, with crazy blast beats, punk cavalcades and a massive groove.

you can listen to it on Bandcamp

and read this interview I did recently with them in march on the occasion of the Blasting days review of Deception schematics.

Revengeance-John Q citizen

Revengeance is a new band from Lisboa, Portugal, they released in march a tape called John Q citizen and also a split tape with Tinnitus, which are both really good. John Q citizen is 11 tracks, less than 15 minutes of punk hardcore / powerviolence. The songs are as catchy as they are pissed off. the vocal man/woman duo is also a really strong point for the band, adding a lot to the dynamics of the song. this band is really a cool fresh newcommer in the hardcore / PV scene.

you can listen to it on Bandcamp (check also the songs on the split with Tinnitus).

ÖfÖ AM-The beast within 

 ÖfÖ AM comes form Montpellier (south of France). It is an instrumental trio playing their own kind of heavy rock. Each musical pieces (I can't say songs!) is written as a soundtrack for a story or a fictious movie (B movie, western, SF, horror, stuff like that). They know how to bring groove, melodies and dynamics into their music and makes a good use of the cool riffing. Last year they released their first full lenght record (after a demo and a split with Karma to burn) called The beast within. The record has enough diversity to maintain our attention on every tracks, each one developing its own atmosphere (you'll find desert rock grooves, rock'n'roll, a bit of trash, and some psychedelia). It's a really cool record and I recommend it.

you can stream and download it freely on their Bandcamp page

I catched their bassist Chris at the Mojomatic to ask him a few questions about the band. Read it below (it's in french until I translate it...) :

Peux-tu retracer l’histoire du groupe ?

Nico (à la batterie) et moi (Chris à la basse) on est potes depuis 95 et faisons de la musique ensemble depuis 97-98. Plus tard, après mon retour du Turkménistan ou je bossais, on a de nouveau formé un groupe, pop-punk. En 2007 on monte un nouveau groupe qui deviendra Ofoam (Nico joue encore à l’époque dans Superbeatniks), on a fait un set de reprise pour le Samynaire (un fête avec des concerts sur la plage pour l’anniversaire d’un certain Samy). Ça nous a donné envie de continuer et de faire des compos. Antoine rejoint le groupe à la guitare en 2008. Et deux mois après son arrivée on sort le premier EP du groupe.  

Pourquoi le choix de l’instrumental ? Vous avez essayé avec du chant ?

Au départ on ne savait pas vraiment quelle serait l’orientation de notre musique. Sur le premier concert de reprise on avait des chanteurs. Mais par la suite les chanteurs qui devaient répéter avec nous ne venaient pas aux répét’, ni les suivants. Donc on a essayé de continuer sans chanteurs et le résultat nous a convenus. Ça laisse plus de place aux instrus et aux mélodies. Par contre on est ouvert à des collaborations, avec chanteurs, claviers, ou autres.

Est-ce que tu peux revenir sur la sortie de votre dernier disque ?

Pour « The beast within » on a choisi de tout faire nous même (sauf pour la pochette), avec les sous des concerts, le matos qu’on nous a prêté, et on a enregistré dans la maison du guitariste. Au départ c’était une démo mais finalement on a loué le studio du Subsonic pour faire un mixage. Au final on est très satisfait du résultat. On a eu d’ailleurs de nombreuses remarques positives sur la qualité du son du disque.

3 jours après sa sortie une version promo du disque a été mis par quelqu’un en téléchargement sur internet avec une qualité pourrie. Du coup on a choisi de mettre la bonne version en téléchargement libre sur Bandcamp pour que les gens l’écoutent avec la bonne qualité de son.

La pochette a été faite par un allemand du nom de Alexander Von Wieding, qui nous avait contactés pour acheter un de nos disques. Il se trouve qu’il réalise des pochettes de disques. Après le split avec Karma to burn, il nous a proposé de nous faire un logo, celui qu’on utilise. Par la même occasion on a sympathisé par internet.  Et à noël j’ai eu la bonne surprise de trouver dans ma boîte à lettre le dessin qu’on a utilisé pour la pochette de « The beast within » et qu’il m’avait envoyé. Il avait créé pour Karma to burn un sorte de mascotte (un gus à corne) et je lui avais proposé de faire pareil pour Ofoam, un personnage que la musique rends bestial (cf la pochette et le titre de The beast within). Nico avait un ancien groupe du nom de Tarentula megafucker (avec des mecs de Marvin et Superbeatniks) alors on a pensé à la thématique tentaculaire.

Quand vous composez vous abordez un peu les morceaux comme des « bandes son » fictives non ?

Oui tout à fait. Quand on compose le nouveau morceau se développe autour d’un thème qu’un membre du groupe propose et qui sert ensuite de fil rouge. Genre telle scène de Carpenter, une histoire de zombies dans l’espace qui attaquent des cowboys, des trucs western, série B etc,. On a des fois essayé de composer chacun de notre côté mais ça n’a jamais fonctionné, donc on compose toujours à trois, ensemble.

On aimerait bien que notre musique soit utilisée pour des films mais ça ne s’est pas encore fait. Des boîtes comme Trauma par exemple avec qui nous aimerions collaborer ne sont pas faciles à contacter…on avait écrit à toutes les écoles de ciné en France pour proposer que leurs élèves qui seraient intéressés utilisent notre musique mais on a jamais eu d’autres réponses que des formulaires pour s’inscrire dans une des écoles…

Depuis vous avez des nouveaux morceaux ? Ça va dans quel sens ?

Depuis le dernier disque on est dans une période plus calme. Le batteur a eu des jumeaux…on a quand même un peu tourné avec lui et avec un autre batteur. On s ‘est aussi remis à répéter. C’est plus compliqué mais on est super motivé, on a vraiment beaucoup d’envie d’un nouveau disque. On rêve à une sorte d’ « opéra-rock » un disque construit autour d’un fil conducteur, comme une vraie BO de film.

Vous avez fait un split avec Karma To Burn, avec quel autre groupe vous voudriez faire un autre split ou une tournée si vous pouviez choisir n’importe lequel ?

Je dirais Unsane, le groupe le plus cool du monde ! On a d’ailleurs joué avec eux le mois dernier à la Dynomo à Toulouse (ils jouaient avec Cody Willimas de Big business/ Melvins à la batterie). Sinon je pense à Café flesh. Je ne comprends d’ailleurs pas pourquoi ces mecs, qui sont très bons, n’ont pas plus de succès.

Pour l’instant on a prévu un split avec le groupe anglais Theworldonfire avec qui ont a échangé des dates et qui sont des potes. Ils ne jouent pas le même genre de musique que nous, ils sont plus emo HC/pop, mais c’est très bien fait.             L’idée ça serait que chaque groupe joue un morceau à lui et reprenne le morceau de l’autre groupe.