Tuesday, January 25, 2011
New Blog Feature: Music Player!
Hey guys! My blog now has a sidebar music player, so now you not only have to constantly read about my shitty music, you have to listen to it too!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Album Review: The Sawtooth Grin, "Cuddlemonster"
Do you like mindless grindcore fun, with songs about how ravishing the prom queen looks in here brand new dress with her head in your lap and her intestines scattered around your basement? Well this is the album for you! On Cuddlemonster The Sawtooth Grin brew a disgustingly sweet mix of spazztastic grind and crazed technical fury. Not only are the instruments extremely nuts, the vocals are easily just as frantic and deranged. The band is quite incredible when it comes to working as a unit, and they are as rhythmically and technically tight as can be. The guitars are always playing something exciting, from diminished melodies to clean jazzy chords, and the drums always supply interesting (yet not overly showy) beats to help the songs either groove or (most of the time) bulldoze along.
The album begins with NES'esque chromatic melody, before blasting to a frantic stampede of distorted insanity. Halfway through the song the band decides to give you a moment to breath, an all too short moment, before grabbing you by the face and forcing you back underwater as you drown in a flurry of dissonant harmonies. The album is full of these "breather moments," but the band gives you only enough time to gasp for air until bringing back into the undertow. The band knows what makes and breaks grindcore, and makes an effort to make sure that through the all too short 15 minute album span the listener is never once bored. The section halfway through "A Two Minute Lecture" makes you want to get up and dance, and then the band sweeps your feet out from under you and throws you back on the ground; and the funky tom solo in "Please Shit On Me" works in differing from the rest of the song.
One of the greatest aspects of this album is that it is so fun and enjoyable all the way through, and it's evident that the band has as much fun as you. The song names are really humorous, ranging from "Please Shit All Over Me, I Like It" and "Meat Hook Marty and the Pajama Party." The production, although poor, fits the overall atmosphere of the album and everything fits perfectly together in the mix. The vocals never overpower the frenetic guitars, and the drums are always adding the necessary kick in the gut to the band's sound.
At just barely over 15 minutes long, the album never overstays it's welcome and flies by quickly, yet not sudden enough to seem rushed. The band perfected the stupidly fun grindcore formula that so many bands like The Irish Front and See You Next Tuesday just can't seem to get just right. Cuddlemonster is a stupidly fun listen that will have you both headbanging your brains out and dancing like a complete fool. It's a great success both in overall enjoyment and in technical skill, and at only 15 minutes long, stays fresh enough to keep you coming back for more and more.
The album begins with NES'esque chromatic melody, before blasting to a frantic stampede of distorted insanity. Halfway through the song the band decides to give you a moment to breath, an all too short moment, before grabbing you by the face and forcing you back underwater as you drown in a flurry of dissonant harmonies. The album is full of these "breather moments," but the band gives you only enough time to gasp for air until bringing back into the undertow. The band knows what makes and breaks grindcore, and makes an effort to make sure that through the all too short 15 minute album span the listener is never once bored. The section halfway through "A Two Minute Lecture" makes you want to get up and dance, and then the band sweeps your feet out from under you and throws you back on the ground; and the funky tom solo in "Please Shit On Me" works in differing from the rest of the song.
One of the greatest aspects of this album is that it is so fun and enjoyable all the way through, and it's evident that the band has as much fun as you. The song names are really humorous, ranging from "Please Shit All Over Me, I Like It" and "Meat Hook Marty and the Pajama Party." The production, although poor, fits the overall atmosphere of the album and everything fits perfectly together in the mix. The vocals never overpower the frenetic guitars, and the drums are always adding the necessary kick in the gut to the band's sound.
At just barely over 15 minutes long, the album never overstays it's welcome and flies by quickly, yet not sudden enough to seem rushed. The band perfected the stupidly fun grindcore formula that so many bands like The Irish Front and See You Next Tuesday just can't seem to get just right. Cuddlemonster is a stupidly fun listen that will have you both headbanging your brains out and dancing like a complete fool. It's a great success both in overall enjoyment and in technical skill, and at only 15 minutes long, stays fresh enough to keep you coming back for more and more.
Jon Karel Shreds!
Damn, this dude is nuts. I really need to listen to The Number Twelve more often, they're so sick!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Album Review: The Carrier, "Blind to What is Right"
Finally, I'm getting around to doing album reviews. Took me long enough, huh? Well, I've decided to introduce my blog's new feature by starting with a new release. This album comes from Boston hardcore juggernauts, The Carrier. The Carrier started off by playing a perfect blend of intense hardcore and intelligent songwriting, leading to critically acclaimed releases such as No Love Can Save Me and One Year Later. This year's release, Blind to What is Right, continues The Carrier's onslaught of brutal intensity.
The album kicks off with the title track, and the band immediately opens floodgates to release a frenetic fury of riffs and snare rolls, exploding with energy. The album continues displaying an aural beatdown, with the guitars spewing chunky distorted riffs mixed with dissonant harmonies. The vocals, supplied by powerhouse Anthony Traniello, also add to the destruction. Screams of pure frustration and hatred fill the mix, dominated by words of frail despair and hopelessness.
As the album progresses, the brutality doesn't let up for a second. The production is extremely crisp and clear, with every instrument and riff (minus bass) prevalent in the mix. Wave after wave of musical attacks pummel the listener into submission. Songs like "In Silence Together" and "Everyone Who I knew and Loved is Gone" force the listener into a circle pit from hell, while "Wash Away My Sins" trudges through a mudslide.
Unfortunately, the album has some very apparent flaws. The onslaught of distorted riffs and pounding drums never takes a breather, and the album suffers for it. The album is constantly filled with passages to mosh to, so much that it eventually becomes stale. By the end of the album, you will have difficulty telling the songs apart from one another. Another flaw with the album is that it's dominated by cliche hardcore songwriting and lyrics, the same you've heard over and over, again and again.
Although a far from perfect album, The Carrier deliver an enjoyable and fierce introduction to 2011. Blind to What is Right is a solid and intense melodic hardcore listen. The band is really good at what they do, and since they are still perfecting their craft, they might yet surprise us with an incredible release in the future.
My Rating: 3.5/5
The album kicks off with the title track, and the band immediately opens floodgates to release a frenetic fury of riffs and snare rolls, exploding with energy. The album continues displaying an aural beatdown, with the guitars spewing chunky distorted riffs mixed with dissonant harmonies. The vocals, supplied by powerhouse Anthony Traniello, also add to the destruction. Screams of pure frustration and hatred fill the mix, dominated by words of frail despair and hopelessness.
As the album progresses, the brutality doesn't let up for a second. The production is extremely crisp and clear, with every instrument and riff (minus bass) prevalent in the mix. Wave after wave of musical attacks pummel the listener into submission. Songs like "In Silence Together" and "Everyone Who I knew and Loved is Gone" force the listener into a circle pit from hell, while "Wash Away My Sins" trudges through a mudslide.
Unfortunately, the album has some very apparent flaws. The onslaught of distorted riffs and pounding drums never takes a breather, and the album suffers for it. The album is constantly filled with passages to mosh to, so much that it eventually becomes stale. By the end of the album, you will have difficulty telling the songs apart from one another. Another flaw with the album is that it's dominated by cliche hardcore songwriting and lyrics, the same you've heard over and over, again and again.
Although a far from perfect album, The Carrier deliver an enjoyable and fierce introduction to 2011. Blind to What is Right is a solid and intense melodic hardcore listen. The band is really good at what they do, and since they are still perfecting their craft, they might yet surprise us with an incredible release in the future.
My Rating: 3.5/5
Friday, January 21, 2011
Distractions
Distractions are a bitch. They keep me from doing things I need to, like completing the first album review feature on my blog. Yeah, I kinda didn't get that done. My bad. Instead, I played Dookie all the way through on drums, and I wrote a killer dubstep song.
Listen here!
Escape is Not the Plan by Reploid18
I promise tonight I'll get on getting that review done. I will!
And tomorrow is my 19th birthday! :D
Listen here!
Escape is Not the Plan by Reploid18
I promise tonight I'll get on getting that review done. I will!
And tomorrow is my 19th birthday! :D
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Blog Updates
So, in order to feel like I'm using my full potential in using this blog, I'm going to be posting a lot more. I'll be posting journals, music (and free links!), rants, and other stuff that lets people know what makes me tick, and what kinds of shit goes through my head haha.
I'm going to hopefully be posting the first of many album reviews that are soon to come (I originally wanted this to be a full blown music blog, before becoming extremely lazy when it comes to updating and posting), and I want to hopefully get this blog going full speed ahead, baby! I want to hopefully get people interested in the kind of shit I listen to from week to week (if anyone ever does come across it and reads it), and spread my pseudo hipster musical tastes across the web. I'll try and keep the posts varied and fresh (just so every week isn't "DRONE, DRONE, DRONE, MORE DRONE"). I'll be posting stuff from the newest releases, to old school classics, and to some of the stuff that I feel is just too good not to post.
So, come back tomorrow to see if actually delivered on my false promises!
In the meantime, enjoy some Converge!
Fuck yeah, Corgi!
I'm going to hopefully be posting the first of many album reviews that are soon to come (I originally wanted this to be a full blown music blog, before becoming extremely lazy when it comes to updating and posting), and I want to hopefully get this blog going full speed ahead, baby! I want to hopefully get people interested in the kind of shit I listen to from week to week (if anyone ever does come across it and reads it), and spread my pseudo hipster musical tastes across the web. I'll try and keep the posts varied and fresh (just so every week isn't "DRONE, DRONE, DRONE, MORE DRONE"). I'll be posting stuff from the newest releases, to old school classics, and to some of the stuff that I feel is just too good not to post.
So, come back tomorrow to see if actually delivered on my false promises!
In the meantime, enjoy some Converge!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
New Semester Begins!
Hey gang, a new semester at the University of Arizona is well on it's way, and I'm getting back into the groove of things. It's nice walking around the mall again, watching the sorority girls walk down my street, and eating Panda Express in the Union. I'm taking only four classes this semester to focus on raising my GPA and so I can have a pretty easy going spring semester. One class I'm really looking forward to is my Studio Production and Engineering, since it covers a bunch of stuff I want to learn about, like analog vs digital recording.
Being back at the dorm is pretty cool, we switched the room around a bit to keep it fresh, and we borrowed Bryan's Xbox 360 to add to our entertainment. He and Russ are constantly playing Zombies on Black Ops. The fridge is also fully stocked on DP (yeah!).
I'm thinking about also besides a Choon of the Day feature, I'm going to add an Album of the Week feature, where I review an album, and post a mediafire download link at the bottom so you can check it out!
Being back at the dorm is pretty cool, we switched the room around a bit to keep it fresh, and we borrowed Bryan's Xbox 360 to add to our entertainment. He and Russ are constantly playing Zombies on Black Ops. The fridge is also fully stocked on DP (yeah!).
I'm thinking about also besides a Choon of the Day feature, I'm going to add an Album of the Week feature, where I review an album, and post a mediafire download link at the bottom so you can check it out!
Kinnaird's Point Debut EP
Kinnaird's Point, the 2 year long ongoing pop-punk meets post-hardcore project featuring my roommate and I, Matt Carter, finally has some decently recorded material. Last Tuesday, we loaded up our equipment and headed for Loveland Studios, managed by our long time contributor, Nathan. For hours we worked on recording, got In N Out, and had a lot of fun.
We recorded four songs:
* Evan Reminder Forgot to Pay Me Back
* Collision
* You Never Knew
* Feeling This Out (originally written by Carter's old band, Call Me Ishmael)
After lots of redubs, mixing, and layering, we finally had a finished product.
We recorded four songs:
* Evan Reminder Forgot to Pay Me Back
* Collision
* You Never Knew
* Feeling This Out (originally written by Carter's old band, Call Me Ishmael)
After lots of redubs, mixing, and layering, we finally had a finished product.
I gotta say through, the Travis Barker influence on my drumming really came out on this recording haha.
Please check it out! :D
Sunday, January 9, 2011
CHOON OF THE DAY: THE MARS VOLTA, "CYGNUS... VISMUND CYGNUS"
Wow, I haven't posted in like a week. My bad, not that anyone reads this anyway, but I digress. One of my best friends who lives up in the snowy tundras of Flagstaff, Arizona, has been in town the past few weeks and we've been hanging out a lot. I have to thank Jim for getting me into some of my favorite bands, like The Mars Volta, Radiohead, Tool, and the Blood Brothers. Since we started hanging out again, The Volta have been getting more and more listens from me. Hell, I even searched my closet looking for one of my favorite records, Frances the Mute. So I present today's Choon of the Day, the opening track from Frances, "Cygnus... Vismund Cygnus."
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