Been jamming on this one quite a bit recently. Barghest is a black metal band from Baton Rouge, LA, featuring current Thou guitarist Matthew Thudium and former Thou drummer Terry Gulino. For some reason people have been comparing this album to Burzum's early/mid output. I don't see it. Perhaps it's just because I'm not that big on Burzum (politics aside, his music just doesn't do for me what it does for so many). Personally, I would compare it to Weakling. Granted, Barghest is a bit more straightforward than Weakling (no proggy bits to be found here), but in terms of epic, tremolo-picked riffs and soaring leads that make you want to put on your best scowl and throw up your claws, Untitled is one of the few albums I've heard that can rival Dead As Dreams.
I will warn you that the production is pretty raw. I know it's intentional and part of the whole black metal aesthetic, but it's just about the only thing keeping me from crowning this album of the year. There is some really awesome guitar work on this album that kinda gets lost in the wash. Headphones and a sharp ear recommended.
Barghest on last.fm
Unfortunately, "Hellish Entrancement" wasn't up on YouTube, that song is the jam. This one is great too. Warning though, whoever upped this video had a really shitty quality MP3 of the song. The production on this album isn't great, but it isn't nearly as bad as this video would lead you to believe.
Get it here. Sorry for the Megaupload link, but this was the only 320kbps rip I could find.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The Weakerthans- Reunion Tour (2007)
Wow. I can't believe this album is almost 4 years old (it will be next month). The first time I heard The Weakerthans I was 14 or 15. I hated it. I checked it out since I knew the former bassist from Propagandhi was in the band. It reminded me of the wimpy pop-punk songs that John K. Samson was responsible for on Propagandhi's Less Talk, More Rock. I didn't listen to The Weakerthans for a few years. But, for some reason, when I was 18 or so The Weakerthans clicked, I guess I was more open to wimpy pop-punk at that point. Since then they've been one of my favorite bands and my most listened to band according to last.fm (and those wimpy Propagandhi songs are now my favorites on that album).
Reunion Tour, The Weakerthans 4th and most recent album is one of the best albums I have ever heard. It shouldn't really have come as a surprise when this album immediately vaulted into position as my favorite Weakerthans album, over the course of their previous 3 albums The Weakerthans had been improving as a band in every facet imaginable and Reunion Tour didn't deviate from that path. Musically it's similar to their past output, indie/pop-punk with a bit of country twang and folksiness thrown in the mix. However, Reunion Tour adds a lush density that none of its predecessors quite had. I won't say it's a headphones album since it's equally, if not more so, a fantastic album to sing along to, but if you were to listen to it with your nicest pair of cans you'd be pleasantly surprised.
The music is only half the attraction of Reunion Tour though, John K. Samson is the other half. Is he a good singer? Not particularly, though he has much improved from his early Propagandhi days where he was objectively bad. Lyrically, he's one of the best ever. The only other person who competes with Samson for best lyricist ever is John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats. Each song is written from the perspective of a different character and the lyrics are extraordinarily literate, witty, insightful and the wordplay is brilliant.
Not liking this album could very well be grounds for ending our friendship.
The Weakerthans on last.fm
Get it here.
Reunion Tour, The Weakerthans 4th and most recent album is one of the best albums I have ever heard. It shouldn't really have come as a surprise when this album immediately vaulted into position as my favorite Weakerthans album, over the course of their previous 3 albums The Weakerthans had been improving as a band in every facet imaginable and Reunion Tour didn't deviate from that path. Musically it's similar to their past output, indie/pop-punk with a bit of country twang and folksiness thrown in the mix. However, Reunion Tour adds a lush density that none of its predecessors quite had. I won't say it's a headphones album since it's equally, if not more so, a fantastic album to sing along to, but if you were to listen to it with your nicest pair of cans you'd be pleasantly surprised.
The music is only half the attraction of Reunion Tour though, John K. Samson is the other half. Is he a good singer? Not particularly, though he has much improved from his early Propagandhi days where he was objectively bad. Lyrically, he's one of the best ever. The only other person who competes with Samson for best lyricist ever is John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats. Each song is written from the perspective of a different character and the lyrics are extraordinarily literate, witty, insightful and the wordplay is brilliant.
Not liking this album could very well be grounds for ending our friendship.
The Weakerthans on last.fm
Get it here.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Crucifix- Dehumanization (1983)
I realized I haven't posted much (if any) punk rock on here. Since I've been on a huge late 70's/early 80's punk/hardcore kick recently I'm going to post some.
There are few records that meant more to me than Dehumanization when I was in midde/high school. Though Crucifix never received the same recognition as their San Francisco peers The Dead Kennedys and Millions of Dead Cops, this album is generally recognized as a a classic, though the words "underrated" and "overlooked" are frequently used in same sentence. Politically and aesthetically Crucifix were in league with the English peace punk scene and bands like Crass and Flux of Pink Indians (this album was released by Corpus Christi, an offshoot of Crass Records). Musically they were Discharge on amphetamines, combining d-beat with the blistering speed of early hardcore bands such as Black Flag and Bad Brains. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Discharge, but this record rips way harder than any of their output. Check it out.
Crucifix on last.fm
Get it here.
There are few records that meant more to me than Dehumanization when I was in midde/high school. Though Crucifix never received the same recognition as their San Francisco peers The Dead Kennedys and Millions of Dead Cops, this album is generally recognized as a a classic, though the words "underrated" and "overlooked" are frequently used in same sentence. Politically and aesthetically Crucifix were in league with the English peace punk scene and bands like Crass and Flux of Pink Indians (this album was released by Corpus Christi, an offshoot of Crass Records). Musically they were Discharge on amphetamines, combining d-beat with the blistering speed of early hardcore bands such as Black Flag and Bad Brains. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Discharge, but this record rips way harder than any of their output. Check it out.
Crucifix on last.fm
Get it here.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Disma- Towards The Megalith (2011)
....and we're back. Since I don't think anybody really reads this, here's another death metal album!
Profound Lore hits it out of the park yet again with this release. Those of you who are familiar with Incantation's Onward to Golgotha might recognize the vocal stylings of one Craig Pillard on this album. I shouldn't really have to describe what Disma sound like now that you know they have a former member of Incatation, but just in case you aren't listening to Onward to Golgotha on a weekly basis like you should be, Disma play death metal. Slow, ugly, heavy as fuck death metal. I've seen the term "old-school death metal" used to describe Disma, however I'm starting to think that anything that isn't overly technical and wanky automatically get's labeled as such. So fuck it. It's death metal, it crushes, go get it. (Also, I have no idea what the hell is going on, but there has been a ton of awesome death metal released this year.)
Disma on last.fm
Get it here.
Profound Lore hits it out of the park yet again with this release. Those of you who are familiar with Incantation's Onward to Golgotha might recognize the vocal stylings of one Craig Pillard on this album. I shouldn't really have to describe what Disma sound like now that you know they have a former member of Incatation, but just in case you aren't listening to Onward to Golgotha on a weekly basis like you should be, Disma play death metal. Slow, ugly, heavy as fuck death metal. I've seen the term "old-school death metal" used to describe Disma, however I'm starting to think that anything that isn't overly technical and wanky automatically get's labeled as such. So fuck it. It's death metal, it crushes, go get it. (Also, I have no idea what the hell is going on, but there has been a ton of awesome death metal released this year.)
Disma on last.fm
Get it here.
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