The free CDs that come with magazines such as Rock Sound, Metal Hammer, Kerrang! Etc are usually very hit and miss. Thankfully, I’ve scored more home runs than own goals (this makes no sense) with them, although they aren’t all without their faults. For example, Kerrang! Make the obvious faux pas in constantly rotating the same 15 bands on every CD they give away (Aiden, Bullet For My Valentine, My Chemical Romance, etc.) and always include the most predictable and obvious tracks. I remember this “punk’ compilation they gave away once - it made me want to take a hammer to the face of whoever compiled that piece of un-imaginable shite.

Metal Hammer sometimes hit the mark, but with the plethora of black metal that exists out there, it soon blends into one meaningless dirge of who can wank a guitar off quicker, whilst someone tries to vomit up his pancreas and gargle battery acid at the same time.

The Rock Sound CDs do the most justice really, being a more all-round magazine, they would - not content to pigeonhole its audience with “kiddie-metal’ (Kerrang!) or repetitive dirge (Metal Hammer) it encompasses a wide array of bands like the wings of a roc (a giant, mythical bird for those of you saying ‘wuuuh?’).

Therefore, this new feature will examine my findings from this month’s Sound Check CD. Read on…

Madina Lake - Again and Again

For the love of Christ, a foul ball straight away. Lowest common denominator pop rock that becomes the new definition to the words “this is fucking appalling.’

New Found Glory - The Promise

Dashboard frontman Chris Carrabba joins NFG on this offering, but you can barely tell. A pop-punk cover of “The Promise‘ featured at the end of ‘nothing happens for 90 minutes’ movie, Napoleon Dynamite. Proof that the original should not be tampered with.

Tombs - Hallways of the Always

The vocals (which are reminiscent of someone being murdered) are somewhat lost beneath the layers of rippling sound, but this is a groovy-slab of metal and the best track so far.

Blacktusk - End of Days

10 points for the name and song title alone. Duelling vocals in the form of harsh throaty roars and high screams, backed by colossal riffage and low-end bass howls - stunning.

Bison - Wartime

Black Flag- inspired hardcore rock and roll that seems to have an air of Fu Manchu about it and the party nature of Municipal Waste. Great fast-slow dynamics and gang-chant vocals in the song’s breakdown.

Black Mountain - Stormy High

A wailing choir, backing some nice competent rock, that morphs into floatly keyboard atmospherics and warm, rich vocals - think Neil Young, but a bit heavier (no, not in weight.)

Foxy Shazam! - Red Cape Diver

Innuendo? Probably. Piano-led rock bonkers from Foxy Shazam - boisterous in some places and pretty average in others compared to the stuff on their debut, but still miles better than Madina sodding Lake.

Stolen Babies - Awful Fall

Fellow KIF writer Jason will probably love Stolen Babies; their quirky, electronic-Dresden Dolls metal is right up his street, even on the wailing out of control bit at the end. However, it left me cold and frankly bored to tears.

God Fires Man - Dark

Sounding similar to his former band Instruction, Arty Shephard’s mob deliver a fine slice of passionate, gritty rock that shows his serious and spiteful side still exists. Promising stuff from a band who are half of hardcore-homos, Gay For Johnny Depp!

The Don Ramos Players - All Cats Are Grey

Ex-TwoFold and Howard’s Alias men form Don Ramos, coming across as a more powerful and anthemic Hot Water Music. Fast, noisy and throaty punk rock - just what the UK scene needs! My cat wasn’t grey though, he was brown with black bits.

Shipwreck A.D. - Ascent

Bridge 9 sounding hardcore that literally does nothing for me. Whilst it contains many competent areas traditionally associated with this genre, it falls flatter than a witch’s tit.

Charlottefield - Snakes

Charlottefield obviously went to the Jehu school of guitar-twiddling as exhibited on ‘Snakes.’ Lurching, post-punk fury that delights and surprises the listener. Recommended.

My Ruin - Ready For Blood

Dreadful vocals - I’m sorry but this is barely listenable. It’s like one of those really 5th rate metal bands you hear in pubs that do Pantera covers for half their set and claim to be ‘really unique.’ Urgh. Nice guitar solo though.

Lavotchkin - Cholera

Superbly pissed-off noise merchants Lavotchkin tear through 83 seconds or pure rage without stopping for breath. Essential, if you dig Converge, Johnny Truant, being killed in alleyways.

Volition - Do What Thou Wilt

High-end shrieks that meld with gargling burps, backed up by plodding backwards sounding math-metal ends this Sound Check CD in a less than positive light. One for the serial killers!

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Links

(See throughout the article, I’m not writing them out again.)

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By Ross Macdonald

Band - Atmosphere
Album - Strictly Leakage
Release - December 2007 (or whenever you decide to download it!)
Sounds like - image the ‘Twist and Shout’ scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, crossed with something from ‘You Got Served.’ Yeah, that. (Actually, that sounds really wrong.)

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For me, Atmosphere have always come across as a very morose and pessimistic act. Beneath their layers of sampled beats, tripped-out keyboard loops and confrontational attitude exists a wholly negative attitude that stems from the deeply personal lyrics of vocalist Slug (Sean Daley.) Emo-rap? Nope; Atmosphere speak about more conscious and social issues through their music - sure, they reference the fairer sex quite frequently, but they take into account other issues such as religion, war and politics (even though these influences may not be that clear to begin with, they still exist.)

“Strictly Leakage‘ is a free-self release by the band for their fans to help them blow away the winter “doldrums‘ (their exact words) with the emphasis on making a record that is more party-orientated, and one that shies away slightly from their original sound. However, it still maintains heavy doses of sarcasm and bitterness, but at a more subtle level.

On ‘Little Math You‘ Slug exposes my lack of hip hop knowledge almost immediately, stating quite plainly, “they no nothing about hip hop, suburban fucks…” (cheers dude) - although it soon becomes clear that the listener isn’t the one being berrated, but a young chap named Matthew (geddit?) who Slug builds up as some big rap star, before tearing the poor kid down with quick-fire lyrical diatribe.

‘Things That Hate Us‘ references alcoholism immediately with the line “this is for those who drink malt liquor, put the poison in your body just to pass out quicker,” before launching into a tirade about the heart-attack capabilities of McScummo’s foods, unprotected sex, using dirty needles - you name it…if it’s evil and corrupt, Atmosphere pretty much have it covered in about 2 minutes and 55 seconds.
‘Get It To Get Her‘ draws elements of old-school funk, complete with the looped brass backing and sporadic bass notes that intertwine well with Slug’s quick fire rap, giving the whole thing a kind of mutated Red Hot Chilli Peppers (no, come back!!!!!!!) meets Spank Rock. Sort of. Ah, fuck it I don’t know; it just sounds damn good, ok??

‘Domestic Dog‘ talks about picking up women at supermarkets as opposed to at bars, with both the title and lyrical content drawing away from Atmosphere’s social commentary vibe - opting for a more ‘comedy’ soundtrack, which unfortunately, falls slightly flat - but the Goldie Lookin’ Chain fans will love it.

Those of you that crave mad ’scratchin’ skillz’ will fall in love with the first minute of ‘The Old Style‘, which destroys all the weak-ass DJ moves as featured in “every nu-metal band from 2001″ in one foul Monty Python sized foot.

Closing track ‘Roads to Ritches‘ strongly reminds me of punk/rap crossover supergroup Transplants (not in vocals, thank god but in instrumentation) right down to the over-used piano loops, gangland ‘whooohhooaaaas’ in the background and the deliciously infectious drumbeat (once again, DJ Plain Bill provides some epic scratch work, nice!)

All in all, this is a competent release from the duo, that shows off their relentless music creating nature, (Atmosphere must be one of the most prolific hip hop artists; except for 2Pac who, has still released more records than anyone else in the world - proving that not even death can stop the party) as well as their ability to pen really strong tracks and excellent beats. Recommended listening, plus it’s free so there’s no real excuse, unless you hate this genre.

Sounds

Listen to ‘The Things That Hate Us‘ on the player below!

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Links

Atmosphere
Rhymesayers
Album Download

I love Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s the definitive action film - always immitated but never bettered. I had to make some dubious reference to the 1981 archaeologist-fest for this feature. The quote in the title is taken from one of the most famous scenes where young Satipo, one of Indy’s guides, begs him to throw the idol across the gap, in return for Indy’s whip. Needless to say, he leaves Dr. Jones to die, only to become impaled on several very sharp spikes moments later. I guess he got the point.

What does this have to do with music though? Well, Seattle ‘Indy’ (heh) types Throw Me The Statue seem to share a tenuous link to the Harrison Ford vehicle, if only in their bizarre name and not their music or message.

Seattle’s Throw Me The Statue is the project of Scott Reitherman, with fellow musicians Aaron Goldman, Will Cone, Joe Syverson and Jarred Grimes. Their sound is somewhat far removed from the usual cacophony of noise we usually listen to on Keep It Fast - combining intricate keyboard loops, electronic drum beats as well as elements of techno. Throw Me The Statue are a disjointed but fascinating musical project. The vocals range from a flat spoken-word attack that then develops into a melodramatic croon. Those familiar with the music of

Germany’s About, will see the subtle comparisons between these two artists. The delicate electro-pop both make is one, the withering, oddly-pitched vocals being another. Unlike About, Throw Me The Statue steer clear of the layers of warped feedback that the German favours, adopting a more ramshackle, summery outlook. Throw Me The Statue have taken the stencil for making “unadulterated, catchy pop music’ and smacked it clean out of the park, like a batsman eager to prove his worth.

It’s a shame that these guys are possibly restricted to the blogsphere world, as tracks like the glitchy 90’s rock stomp of ‘Yucatan Gold‘ and ‘Lolita‘ draw comparisons to the heady days of spry guitar licks and buoyant drum beats. The perfect soundtrack to summer (here’s hoping we get one this year!)

Currently, Throw Me The Statue are doing several dates in America through January-March time. They re-release the album ‘Moonbeams‘ on Feb19th on Secret Canadian Records (a slightly tweaked version on the album they released through Baskerville Hill Records back in April last year.)

Sounds

To listen to ‘Lolita‘ by Throw Me The Statue, click on the player below.

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Links

Throw Me The Myspace
Secretly Canadian

No that isn’t a typo, although I can tell it’s annoying you. The elusive ‘j’ in Wooden Shjips name hangs like a badly pasted piece of wallpaper, always sliding into your vision. I’m guessing the band pronounce their name as ‘Shhh jips’ but that does seem a bit ‘wuuuuuhh??’ so just stick to ’ships’ and pretend that the rogue ‘j’ doesn’t exist, like those 3 Star Wars prequels, Terminator 3, Alien 3, etc…..

Wooden Shjips are a four piece from San Francisco. Their sound is a transfixing mix of fuzzed-out, psychedelic rock, with nods towards traditional rock ‘n’ roll in places and sprawling drone-like textures in others. Much like my first experiences of listening to SunnO))), Wooden Shjips is a strange one. At first, it feels like someone is trying to invade your mind, whilst simultaneously scaring the shit out of you.

Not afraid to mix things up, on ‘Shrinking Moon for You’ the ‘Shjips start off with a traditional rock-stomping opener, that gradually sprawls out of control, much like a badly repaired rollercoaster and before you know it, the feedback drenched ending has bored its way into your soul. Erik ‘Ripley’ Johnson’s vocals are one of a blissful dream-like quality, oozing in and out of reality, blurring beneath the distorted sound the band have created. Basically, if you like dabbling in the odd illegal narcotic, then listening to this band would be the perfect soundtrack. But don’t blame me if you start seeing tap-dancing pink hippos and fez-wearing dogs playing Backgammon.

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Warning! If you’re the sort of person who gets particularly light-headed, or gets queasy easily, I’d steer clear of Wooden Shjips (or at least, play them quietly) as their sound can be quite an intense shock to the system. (After a re-think, I have come to the conclusion that Wooden Shjips, do not make the listener queasy - having only 5 hours sleep, a bad cough and a headache makes you queasy and extremely pissed off.)

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The band have just recently released a 7″ on Sub Pop records, which can be bought here and their debut full length can be bought from Midhaven Distributors . More bits and pieces can be found on Aquarius records.

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Sounds

To listen to ‘Losin’ Time‘ click below!

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Links

Wooden Shjips Website
Wooden Myspace
Label

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By Ross Macdonald

After trawling the ‘net for information on emo-rock types, Renee Heartfelt (featured here, in a very weepy article written by me) I recently discovered a new band featuring vocalist/guitarist Pete Appleby, named Memorial. With the 3 other members of the ‘Heartfelt crew concentrating on their Cloak/Dagger (scrappy, angular punk rock) musical project, re-creating Renee MK.2 seems to be the plan for Mr. Appleby.

Memorial’s sound is somewhere in the realms of sounding like ‘emo when it was good‘ and not the overly polished, watered-down, haircut fuckwits that plague the covers of Kerrang! these days. Obviously, I’m going to make the apparent Rival Schools ’sound-a-like’ due to the band’s crunching guitar riffs as well as Appleby’s distinctive vocal talents, which remind me of Walter Schreifels to a certain extent (albeit ever-so-more melodramatic and crestfallen.) Two tracks are up on their myspace player and a non-acoustic version of the track ‘Spades‘ is on the Flightplan Myspace page.

From the looks of things, FlightPlan records have only been established recently, so they only have a small discography, mainly consisting of three pop-punk orientated bands, each with their own twist on the genre and Memorial could be the start of an expanding profile for the small label.

As far as releases go, according to their myspace, Memorial plan to release their LP as two EPs, one as a 7″ and the other as digital downloads (it always amazes me when bands do this, make it deliberately awkward for you to obtain their tracks, ah well, it’s a bit of fun I suppose, or a right headache if you don’t know what the hell vinyl is.) Also, they appear to be part of a three-way split with Elemae and Belgium’s Soon, which is to be released on Enginee Records. See here!

So, if you fancy some headstrong, powerful emotion rock music, that still sounds a little young, but has plenty of room for progression, then check these guys out, you won’t be disappointed. Links below.

Links

Memorial Myspace
Engine Records
FlightPlan Records

It’s only been 5 days, but already this New Year brings sad news to the music world. Charlotte-based rockers Hopesfall, have officially thrown their instruments on the bonfire and split. To me, this is hardly surprising. The band have had more line up changes than I’ve had rejections from members of the opposite sex, and after the departure of founding guitarist Josh Brigham during the release of ‘Magnetic North‘ (the band’s 3rd album), no original members remained since their inception in 1998.

Die-hard fans often stated that the band was ‘officially dead’ after the departure of half the band and the release of ‘A-Types‘ their critically acclaimed 2nd album (a radical departure from the screaming bile-fest that was ‘The Satalite Years‘.)

According to punknews.org, the band had fallen out with their label, Trustkill Records (apparently not the reason for the break up.) The split is supposedly a ‘long story’ one which the band feels they shouldn’t go into, even though numerous line up changes and tour commitment problems all possibly had an effect on the band’s future.

An unmastered version of a song left off of ‘Magnetic North‘ called ‘Saskatchewan‘ can be downloaded from their myspace. It has not been approved by Trustkill. (Actually, the untitled B-Side on the player sounds much better!)

For me, the split is sad news; Hopesfall were a band I had followed since discovering them 5 years ago, and ‘Magnetic North‘ was one of my albums of 2007. Here’s to new beginnings guys. *Raises glass*.

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Video

Live version of one of Hopesfall’s most famous tracks, ‘The Bending‘ enjoy, but please don’t windmill me in the face.

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Links

Hopesfall Myspace
Official Site
Trustkill

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Ross Macdonald

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Source - punknews.org