THE SQUIDLAIR

11/5 Squidlair Vol. 2, Episode 2

2009-11-12T08:22:00.000-08:00

Yeah, yeah yeah...late on posting last week's playlist.

Red House Painters - Make Like Paper
Husker Du - These Important Years
Katatonia - Brave
Ulver - Ostensor Sol Og Vestensor Maane
Vashti Bunyan - Autumn Tears
Musk Ox - Lullaby For Ghosts
Thrushes - Trees (demo)
P.S. Eliot - Like How You Are
Blood Ceremony - Into the Coven

SHOW IS BACK! Squidlair Vol. 2, Episode 1

2009-10-08T10:59:00.000-07:00

This was from two weeks ago, on September 24th. Played a bunch of tunes I jammed while abroad and over the summer. No show tonight as I'm off to see Dinosaur Jr in Washington DC. Expect a show report next week!

Redhouse Painters - Long Distance Runaround
The Zombies - Beechwood Park
Adam Franklin - Sundown
Anne Briggs - The Time Has Come
Agalloch - In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion
Bolt Thrower - Where Next To Conquer
The Doughboys - Countdown
The Doughboys - Happy Home
The Doughboys - Happy Sad Day
The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa - Square Wave
Slowdive - Machine Gun

Interview: Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse

2009-06-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

I know, I know...long time, no post.

Well, I had the great pleasure of catching up with famed death metal bassist Alex Webster when Cannibal Corpse played the University of Anglia in Norwich, UK, where I studied abroad this spring. He proved to be nothing short of an outright gentleman and gave some great responses.

In posting this, I'd like to both thank Andy of Metal Blade Records UK and Alex, as well as apologize to both for taking so damned long to type this up (the interview happened in February).

Enjoy.

Asa: In addition to the gore factor in many Cannibal Corpse songs, there are also lyrics that can be perceived as misogynistic. Misogyny seems pervasive in extreme metal—for example, Devourment have a shirt that reads “SHE SHOULD HAVE SAID YES.” What’s your take?

Alex: Well, we had a lot more of that sort of stuff going on in the early days of the band. It wasn’t to be misogynistic. Chris [Barnes], when he was our lyricist, in the old days of the band, he probably thought that women made better victims for the horror stories that he was writing. Because that’s all our music is—all our lyrics are just horror stories, of course. I think that, at least for us—I can’t speak for any of the other bands, and everybody’s entitled to do what they want—but for us, we have a wide range of victims in our songs. Some are men, some are women…there’s definitely songs written from the point of view of the victim as well.

We definitely are not a misogynist band, but there are definitely songs that if you didn’t know what kind of people we were, you could hear that way.

Among other elements, you personally are known for bass breaks/solos. How did this first come up as an idea? Was this a weird or groundbreaking thing? Normally, many bass players in death metal are buried in the mix…less so now, but….

When we first started out, in addition to death metal, we’d been listening to a lot of proto-death metal stuff. To me, the first two Kreator records are as much death metal as they are proto-thrash. That kinda stuff, with the real fast drums and the tremelo-picked guitars, didn’t really have bass breaks that often. Kreator, Death, old Sodom…but some of the other stuff we listened to that was more hardcore-influenced, the crossover kinda stuff, like SOD or DRI, that stuff had a bunch of bass breaks in it. It’s kinda a signature thing of that kind of music. I think it kinda worked in that way. On “Put Them to Death” on the first record [1990’s Eaten Back to Life] I wrote that riff, and the guys said, “well, why not introduce that as a bass part?” There’s also another part in “Mangled” where the same thing happened.

For the first three records, we did write together a lot more. “Hammer Smashed Face,” same thing. It’s not really a solo, it’s more the bass introducing the part. And that’s something that so many death metal bands did. Morbid Angel did it on the song “Suffocation” [from 1989’s Altars of Madness]. It wasn’t really that common-- just something we did, and we didn’t really think about it all that much.

I was listening to Sadus’ and Autopsy’s first records a lot, and they both had Steve Digiorgio on them. [Sadus’] song “Twisted Face” started with a lot of cool bass stuff. The whole Illusions album had a lot great bass lines on it and the Autopsy record [Severed Survival, 1989] has got really cool bass playing, so those were big influences for sure, especially back then. In general, I just the bass to be an equal instrument to the other instruments. Not overpowering, just equal.

In the past, most Cannibal Corpse album covers have been very explicit. Kill [2006] only had the title on its cover, and Evisceration Plague just has a bunch of zombies. Was this an intentional downplaying of the gore themes?

We like the gore, and there’s gore on the interior of the record. There’s actually a very gory piece of art that’s the centerpiece of Evisceration Plague, but we didn’t put it on the cover. But my favorite piece of art we’ve used for an album might just be the censored version of Gallery of Suicide [1998] where it’s just the outside of a building. It’s all dark and evil…I just like darker, more moody kinds of stuff. I mean, I love the gore, for sure—Butchered at Birth [1991] is probably the best of the gory ones. It and Gallery are both good. We definitely like different types of horror. Like the more realistic and frightening horror like The Shining or maybe the Exorcist, movies like that where it’s more believable because a lot is left to the imagination. We also like horror that’s much more in your face—Evil Dead, that sort of thing, where it’s very obvious and people are being torn apart. We have both kinds of album covers to reflect that.

I mean, if you look at The Wretched Spawn [2004], that was one of our most grotesque covers and that was only a few years ago. We still might have gory covers in the future. The thing about having two pieces of art and having the gory one on the interior is…well, there aren’t too many mom-and-pop record stores left in the United States. A lot are going out of business. They were the places where you could sell uncensored albums. Now it’s at the point where if you make an album with a gory cover, it’s not going to be in one of the big chains or anywhere except online. And as you can imagine, the record company wouldn’t be too happy with an album nobody will sell anywhere. So it’s best if we can find something dark and scary on the outside we’re satisfied with, and also have something gory on the inside where a censor can’t see it. They don’t look too deeply into it.

We had been making censored versions of our records for so long and were tired of doing crappy censored versions with a boring piece of art and no lyrics on the inside. Now we’ve got two pieces of art we’re very satisfied with, all the lyrics, and at least with all the American copies, a free DVD. So both artistically and from a business side of things, it works out well to do it that way. Everyone wins—especially the fans. If there’s one big winner out of the whole illegal downloading thing, it’s them. They’re getting lower prices and more album content.

What do you think sets Evisceration Plague apart from the band’s previous records?

It’s really hard to say because they’re all death metal records. I think Evisceration Plague might have a little more variety than maybe some of the other records. We’ve always gone for variety, though… It’s another Cannibal Corpse album with a whole group of new songs, like every one before it, really. This one has some more dark melody and different rhythyms on it. In general, it’s just hopefully the best version of the kind of death metal we’ve always done. It’s hard to explain…more the kind of thing you have to listen to and decide for yourself if it’s got good variety or not. It’s hard for me to explain without getting overly technical, like, “we use this scale here,” that sort of boring stuff. We tried some different things and tried to keep it well within the boundaries of brutal death metal. That’s all we wanna be. We don’t want anything else in our sound. But I do feel that within the genre’s boundaries, there’s still a lot of room to experiment.

Speaking of which—in a recent interview with the UK’s Zero Tolerance magazine, you discussed what albums defining the death metal genre—Morbid Angel’s Altars of Madness, Immolation’s Dawn of Possession [1991], Death’s Scream Bloody Gore [1987]…but what about more out there, less straightforward death metal bands like, say, Atheist? I know you’re a big fan of [Atheist bass player] Roger Patterson…

I’m a huge fan of Roger and really anyone else who played bass in Atheist, too. But y’know, I don’t think Atheist would consider themselves a 100% pure death metal band. They’re just a great band, and the fact that they might not relate directly to a genre might be something they’re comfortable with. I suspect that’s the case. I think any band that’s going for any sort of progressive or avant-garde take on death metal or any other genre are not particularly concerned with what label they get tagged with.

Have you heard of Virginia’s Cannibis Corpse, and if so what do you think of them?

Yeah! They’re cool! Obviously, they’re goofing around with our band name and song titles, but the music they’re making is actually really good. Despite all the joking and silliness, they’re making music that’s worth listening to. It’s clear that they actually put a lot of time into it.
What would you say is the best-yet-most-underrated CC song you’ve ever written?

There’s a bunch. On our albums, especially in the past five or six, the more catchy songs are the first half, and then the second half is much more obscure, technical kind of stuff. Some of Pat’s songs, like “Hacksaw Decapitation,” get lost in the shuffle, I guess, because we have so many songs, and a lot of people only focus on the album’s first half. I’ve done a bunch I’m really happy with—“Grotesque,” “Sickening Metamorphosis,” “Mutation Of The Cadaver” and on this record “Unnatural” as far songs not as many people get into. There was a lot of time put into every song, though, especially as we got better as players and songwriters.

What’s a great, oldschool Cannibal Corpse tour story?

All these questions are the hardest ones to answer—cool stuff happens, but some of it you just end up forgetting about. But there’s been a lot of good times, and it all comes back to the people you meet. Like the friends you’re hanging out with. Like when we shared a bus with Malevolent Creation back in ’92. Two bands from Buffalo. Can’t think of a particular story that merits retelling here.

In a behind-the-scenes-video for The Wretched Spawn, you mention that you like all sorts of music and often try to think of to integrate it with death metal. What’s a specific song that demonstrates this mix?

You can learn anything you want about music—it’s all going to help your brain better understand music. I think it sparks creativity. With bass playing, there’s a lot of emphasis on having a groove and doing things that are syncopated. A lot of the better bass players like Jaco Pastorius and Rocco Prestia and Gary Willis do killer fingerstyle playing and I’ve been getting more and more into how to use that with Cannibal without it not being death metal. If you have sixteenth notes in a funk song in a happy scale, it sounds like funk. But if you play in a different scale and don’t use ghost notes like funk players do, it can sound like death metal with a killer groove. With the right kind of rhythm, it can sound heavy as fuck. I try to do that on songs like “Monolith” and “Five Nails Through The Neck,”—both have a heavy, sixteenth-note sort of death metal groove thing inspired by the bass playing I’ve studied.

Do you think death metal’s future is bright? What are some newer favorites of yours?

Yeah, I think it’s bright. It’s a music that gets a lot of interest from great musicians. I think if it was simpler, there would be less interest because you’ve got your format and you follow it. With death metal, there’s no real format except for boundaries like sounding evil, playing fast a lot of the time, having guttural vocals—but beyond that, how do you do it differently from other bands in the genre? There’s boundaries, but they’re not always clear. At what point does it sound like thrash or black metal, too? I think it has a bright future because of that openness. You can add to the genre just by being involved. There’s no set tradition. You don’t have to sound like death metal bands 20 years ago.

There’s a lot of good new bands. Necrophagist definitely expanded on the formula. Spawn of Possession did too. Obscura are awesome as well. I don’t see [the genre] ever stopping. Who knows if it’ll ever get truly popular. I mean, I wouldn’t say “who cares?”, because I want to see these hardworking musicians not going home in debt and to some job they hate just because they spent all their money putting gas in the tank. I see it happen to bands that are unbelievably talented.

I think death metal can get popular, because it’s great music, even if the bands aren’t selling that well now, comparatively.
You guys have sold over a million copies, though…

Yeah, but for us, that was over the course of nine or ten albums, counting all the total sales per album. Whereas with a band like System Of A Down—who did something really different, whether you like it or not—sold a couple million records of each album. We’ve come a long way, but there’s still a ways to go.

What are your current favorite records?

Blasphemic Cruelty’s record Devil’s Mayhem. Just got it on tour and it’s killer. More of the oldschool Morbid Angel/Possessed kind of death metal. Also just got the Obscura record and it’s awesome as well. [Bassist] Jeroen Paul Thesseling is amazing—we’re gonna tour with them in the States in the fall. It’s not metal, but I really like that album Art Metal [2008] by Jonas Hellborg. Messhugah’s last one [Obzen, 2008] was good…the new Psycroptic [Ob(Servant), 2008]…oh, the new Deeds of Flesh [Of What’s To Come, 2008]! They’ve always had good bass players, but they have this guy Erlend Caspersen on it and it’s fantastic. Hour of Penance out of Italy—check them out too. Lots of good stuff out there. Anytime I hear someone go “oh, the death metal scene is dead,” I go, “you’re just not paying attention.”

Come to the Sabbath

2009-03-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah it's been a month. My bad.

If you've never heard Mercyful Fate, it's high time we remedied that. It's like Judas Priest doing a horror soundtrack, only a lot more badass than how lame that kinda sounds. The Denner/Shermann guitar duo is among the best in metal, the rhythm section is highly underrated, and King Diamond stands on his own in a vocal capacity. These are fluid, haunting tales of the dark, full of wailing vocal histrionics and distinctive, menacing melody.

I found this awesome bootleg live LP rip from their mid-90s reunion (circa the In The Shadows, I think record) somewhere in my internet wanderings. Enjoy.

Download Here

BEFORE the So-Called "Thrash Revival"

2009-02-17T15:06:00.000-08:00

Fallen Angels are a thrash/death metal quintent hailing from Seattle, and began in 2004, well before everyone and their brother rocked Nike Hi-Tops and jean jackets like it was 1986 all over again. Dudes evenly split their influences between the the '80s heyday of Bay Area and the late '80s/early '90s DM scene.

The first time I saw them was at Northwest Deathfest 2006, and was actually the first time I heard Pestilence-- they broke out an absolutely ravaging cover of "Out of the Body." I still say that was one of the most powerful, hit-you-in-the-face live sets I've ever seen; the band attribute it to their immense rage at being moved to the second stage at the last minute after another band paid for their mainstage spot.

Their full-length, "Rise From Ashes," was released a few months ago and absolutely rips. Buy it if you like what you here on this oldschool demo, as some of the songs were re-recorded for the album.

Download the 2005 Demo here.

Buy Rise From Ashes here.
MySpace here.

The world needs this like it needs more genocide

2009-02-12T04:38:00.000-08:00

Limp Bizkit reunites? Blink-182 comes out of hiatus? I know there's some bad things going on in the world right now, but what the hell did humanity do to deserve these events?

Movin' Up in the World

2009-02-10T18:11:00.000-08:00

In addition to this blog, I'm now a full-time member of ICDT. Some posts will be on both sites simultaneously; others will not. But anyway, I'm stoked to be onboard. Much thanks to Adam and Trey.

I'll Be Down, I'll Be Around

2009-02-08T19:32:00.000-08:00

When I started listening to Dinosaur Jr a few years nacl, I felt like they were the band I'd needed in high school. Nerdy and reclusive, but also distorted and huge. Their first few records are like the best parts of Neil Young dipped in large vats of guitar effects. This bootleg from 1989, Blue Note, captures the now-reunited classic lineup in solid form not long before frontman J Masicis first gave bass player Lou Barlow the boot. I can only assume it's a soundboard rip because the band is fucking loud live unto today, yet everything's pretty clear here, even J and Lou's vocals.

Download here.

Keep on Movin'

2009-02-02T16:54:00.001-08:00

It was another late night at the library last November and I decided (as I often do) that sustenance must be acquired. I popped over to the student coffee house to satiate my hunger and found it packed to the gills. Onstage, a man with a smooth, smoky voice recited spoken word poetry and it was so beautifully written and performed and completely hooked me in. His words were an alchemical mixture of humor, wisdom, confidence, questions and the kind of visual imagery that immediately crystallizes in one's mind.

His name is K.o.M.plex, aka Mr. Keep On Movin' and he does his shtick all over the states. He's put out two records, the second of which-- Grown Folks Bizness-- I bought from him immediately. I mentioned my blog and asked if I could maybe post a few songs but he just smiled and said, "man, just post whatever you want and do whatever you want." So here you go. A lot of these cuts have instrumental backing and vocal assists from friends and the whole thing is simply a thoroughly enjoyable listen.

Download Grown Folks Bizness here, and check out his MySpace here.

Frost and Fire

2009-02-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

Cirith Ungol were a Californian metal band heavily influenced by fantasy literature-- they took their name from Shelob the spider's mountain passs from Lord of the Rings and every album cover featured artwork initially used for Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné series. The band was steeped in a sound equal parts '70s hard/psych rock, Black Sabbath, and some forward-thinking ideas of their own. Although their debut record Frost and Fire is frequently hailed as the early-metal bees knee's, I much prefer this demo of theirs from 1979 as it features many of the songs that would eventually end up on the album in much rawer form. Also, the final version of the title track didn't have the trippy synth. There's some great guitar work, and Michael Flint's gnarly basstone really grinds it up. But what will truly make or break this demo for the listener are the wails of Tim Baker. By all accounts, the band were hardly popular back in the day, but Aesop from Squidlair pals Cosmic Hearse put it best-- "The term "cult band" here means that nobody gave a fuck when they were around, people even hated them, but now everyone claims to have been on board since the beginning."

So do yourself and the band some justice and lend your ears.

Download HERE.

Slowdive- Live in Oslo 1992

2009-01-21T03:33:00.000-08:00

If posting a crapton of their demos my first ICDT post is of any indication, Slowdive has been on the listening docket quite a bit lately. A truly sublime band.

When they released their second best album Souvlaki in 1993, their label not only delayed its release but also withdrew financial support mid-tour. The band then toured twice more on their own dime. It would be around this time, I'm guessing, that they released this Live in Oslo tape from their 1992 show at the Centrum in order to help with the money end of things. The setlist is solid-- three cuts from Souvlaki, supplemented by older EP and Just for a Day tunes. The song quality is in the B/B+ range-- the only real downsides are the occasional but incredibly brief tech difficulty (maybe once or twice) and the likely drunk guy yelling "I LOVE YOU!" at singer/guitarist Rachel Goswell between songs...and then Rachel eventually calls him out, which is pretty golden.

If you like My Bloody Valentine or any of their followers or just want spacey, relaxing music, check this tape out. And the aforementioned ICDT post, because most of those demos are as fantastic as anything the band released on an album.

Download HERE

"You listen to Chick Corea and play death metal? What?"

2009-01-17T17:25:00.000-08:00

Before they weathered natural disasters, equipment detainment and band member departures and released their seminal 1994 LP Focus, jazzy//technical/progressive death metallers Cynic were a technical thrash/death metal band. A really, really good one.

Many folks can't get down with the fusion/jazz influences and vocoder vocals so prevalent in Focus and their newest, Traced in Air. I personally think they have a lush and substantially refined take on the "Chick-Corea-meets-death metal" concept Atheist arguably started, but anyway, these demos will please anyone who a) likes technical metal, b) hates that "dumb jazz shit" on Focus or c) wants to trace the band's progression literally year-to-year, this post is for you.

I do mean it about the last point. Included in the ZIP file are four demos: '88, '89's Reflections of a Dying World, '90, and '91, which features tracks "The Eagle Nature" and "Uroboric Forms" mostly devoid of the major jazz influences that would come to be on the Focus versions. Paul Masvidal also has a roar on par with Chuck Schuldiner, in my humble opinion (he later ditched this in favor of the vocoder when a doctor warned him throat damage was imminent). He and Jason Gobel's soloing remains totally sweet, and the latter two demos feature the masterful, go-to-90s-tech-death-metal-bassist Tony Choy (also of Atheist and Pestilence) skillfully and tightly holding down some excellent melodic bass lines.

Download the Cynic demos in one tidy package HERE.

The lineups vary a bit on each, so here's a rundown:

1988 Demo:
Jack Kelly - Vocals
Paul Masvidal - Guitar
Mark Van Erp - Bass
Sean Reinert - Drums

Reflections of a Dying World (1989):
Paul Masvidal - Guitar, Vocals
Jason Gobel - Guitar
Mark Van Erp - Bass
Sean Reinert - Drums

1990 and 1991 Demos:
Paul Masvidal - Guitar, Vocals
Jason Gobel - Guitar
Tony Choy - Bass
Sean Reinert - Drums

Adventure metal, you say?

2009-01-14T03:26:00.000-08:00

For once, the "for fans of" tag kinda worked out. As I was flipping through the latest Decibel, I found an add for Scale the Summit, a band of dudes my age who purportedly sounded like "a classy mixture of Cynic and Canvas Solaris with touches of Pelican and latter-day Atheist," according to Unrestrained! magazine. But I'd take it a step further and say the band-- despite their bumper sticker name (Set Your Goals! Go It Alone! Bring Me the Horizon! Stray from the Path! How many metal and hardcore bands have blunt slogans for names?!)-- seamlessly and enjoyable bridge both the early and current eras of progressive metal. A fan of Cynic's Focus or Athiest's Unquestionable Presence could dig on these tunes as much as any of the throng of teens salivating over Between the Buried and Me's Colors record. The guitars weave liquid, swirling melody over the equally hyperactive but nonetheless supportive melodic bass and nuanced, jazzy drumwork. There are also plenty of pensive moments that incorporate the best parts of the overpopulated post-rock/instru-metal movement, making the Pelican comparison plenty accurate as well.

Props dudes! Their album Carving Desert Canyons on the otherwise mediocre label Prosthetic drops February 17th. Have a listen here.

Wu-Tang Killa SQUIDZ! WE GON' SWARM!

2009-01-10T12:08:00.000-08:00

You guessed'er, Chester. I'm yet another whiteboy who really digs the Wu-Tang Clan.

The first time I actually somewhat heard them was through this mashup mixtape done by the mighty Soul4hire. Dude blended a capellas from classic Wu with French electro master Mr. Oizo (who's actually bringin' the dance a few hours away from me in London as I write). Obviously, it'll never touch the RZA's production, but it's an interesting reassembly of material.

Download Shaolin Worm Attack here.

I spent all summer absorbing the masterpiece that is 36 Chambers. When I needed some new shoes not too long ago, I found these for 60 bucks (they feel great). For my recent joint birthday party with my buddy, we covered "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'" with some friends (I did U-God and Inspectah Deck's verses). My buddy Mac just hooked up me up with the following tunes last night-- a boot of an XM Radio special session with Raekwon, GZA, Inspectah Deck, and U-God, back by funk band El Michael's Affair, bustin' classic Wu-bangers. I've only listened to a few of the cuts so far (this isn't my upload), but the version of "Da Mystery" that they do is more than worth the download.

Check dem live joints here.

DF the CH, Episode III

2009-01-09T10:45:00.000-08:00

As I'm finally all set up in my dorm in England, it's time to continue things with yet another little-known gem from the Kitsap County area.

The Humanoids were a bunch of Misfits-obsessed kids from Bainbridge Island, Washington, and were of the same generation as the aforementione Maurice's Little Bastards and Pantophobics. But while MLB were bursting at the seams with unstable lineups and Justin Maurer's endless energy and the Pantophobics were just goofing around, the Humanoids were a seemingly rambunctious lot (and at seperate points actually featured MLB's Sean Roach and Maurer on the drum throne). According to their way-outdated Angelfire site, singer Jakes was evidently known for self-mutilation when they played live, took a hatchet to an old bandmates' family's antique furniture, and was accosed of stealing from another ex-bandmates' brother. It was disappointing to hear that bassist Bradd was into some white power/NS digs at one point-- even reading Varg Vikernes' Vargsmal and taking a lot of influence from it.

But I digress-- the Humanoids were no racist band, and their Blood and Guts Demo is four slabs of complete and total lo-fi Misfits worship, complete with the off-key drawl of Jakes' singing. "Burn in Hell" tells of the narrator's stokage to...burn in hell, while "Line'em Up" preaches the death squad-style execution of everyone from "Baggy pants potheads [and] wanker wiggers" to "politicians with their pants at their feet." You can pretty much guess what "World War 3" is about, and "Slasher" details the life of a serial killer. All in all, hardly groundbreaking material, but a fun listen for anyone into horror punk.

Download here.

Where are they now?
I haven't a clue about the entire band save for Bradd, who along with a woman named Carrie runs Blood and Guts Records, a horror/oi/psychobilly label with a metal sublabel.

We are experiencing technical difficulties-- please stand by.

2009-01-07T07:34:00.000-08:00

I'm now in England, where I'll be studying abroad until June. I don't have internet access yet in my dorm and shit is kinda wack. Please stand by and posting should resume in a week's time or so at most. Hopefully by then the SQUIDCAST will commence! Yes, that's right-- a sweet podcast for your sweet ears full of sweet tunes. KEEP CHECKING BACK HERE!

Black Meddling

2008-12-29T22:31:00.000-08:00

I gotta say it straight: I wasn't as impressed by Nachmystium's Assassins: Black Meddle, Pt 1 as most everyone else was. There are some cool moments, to be sure, but a bunch of the gang vocal choruses annoyingly remind me why I so quickly tired of Children of Bodom years ago. Also, the three-part "Seasick" dealy was an interesting concept, but a saxophone? That instrument can either make (see King Crimson's catalogue) or break (see Thin Lizzy's "Dancing in the Moonlight") a song, and while not as drastic as the latter example I think the instrument's inclusion was a lil' much.

But I digress. I'm especially picky about the black metal-influenced stuff I listen to; the "purer" bands of the genre aren't so much my thing because I can't get down with unprovoked hatred. But Nachtmystium's breakthrough 2006 record Instinct: Decay was totally awesome. Just raw enough in the production department, but not without charred melody, memorable riffing and totally trippy guitar sounds. I went right out and bought it as well as the Eulogy IV EP, which if I recall correctly is where the psychedelic sounds first began to seep in. I unfortunately never got to see them live on that tour, but through some searching I acquired a soundboard rip of their Seattle set while touring with Daughters and Pelican in 2006. FLAC converted to WAV converted to MP3. It was unlabeled so I did what I could-- only a few song remain that way. Enjoy, unless you're some kvlt dude who can't get past the fact that they're not bedroom BM anymore.

DOWNLOAD HERE

WHO ARE YOU AND WHY AM I HERE?

2008-12-27T22:56:00.000-08:00

Void, easily my favorite 80s DC (well, okay, they were from Columbia, MD) hardcore band, were an absolute clusterfuck of sound. John Weiffenbach's screechy delivery flies over a total racket created by the rhythm section of Sean Finnegan and Chris Stover and especially Bubba Dupree's guitar style. Dupree took the noisy tonal standard Greg Ginn established on Damaged and added more angst, heavy metal, and outright sloppiness. Dudes sound like they never played tight even on their best day, and that's the fun of it all.

Highly recommended is their split with the Faith, recently reissued on LP by the one and only Dischord Records. Faith's side can't touch Void's, but is solid nonetheless and features Ian MacKaye's younger brother on bass. The band also had a track featured on Dischord's Flex Your Head comp and released the Condensed Flesh 7"; the latter featured Holocaust content years before Slayer did "Angel of Death."

Bubba Dupree supposedly resides in Seattle, while Sean Finnegan worked on the set of The Wire until his unfortunate death of a heart attack last year.

I've acquired two boots of Void's violent live sets. The first is a bootleg 7" rip of a set from the 9:30 Club in DC in February 1983, and the second is titled "Live?" and has no other information. Both are of solid quality and worth the time of anyone into hardcore punk and/or crossover.

Download HERE

Forced Entry re-up

2008-12-17T12:03:00.000-08:00

Because of upload malfunction last time, I get the sense the handful who actually read this page never got to acquire Forced Entry's fantastic record As Above, So Below. FE were a killer technical thrash metal trio from Seattle, and I originally did a writeup about them (along with crucial video footage) here.

FORCED ENTRY- AS ABOVE, SO BELOW (1992)

Happy Birthday/RIP Chuck Schuldiner

2008-12-13T22:05:00.000-08:00

I first started checking Death out towards the end of high school, when I heard they really advanced from the formula of traditional death metal-- a musical genre I shyed away from at the time-- and added melody, technicality and lyrical depth. So I started with The Sound of Perseverance and more or less worked my way back through the catalog. I can't say I'm as diehard a Death fan as I am Coroner or Opeth or other bands, but I have immense respect for Chuck's advancing the death metal template, his guitar styles and techniques, and the introspection he brought to his songwriting.

Had he not died of complications from a brain tumor, Chuck would have been 41 on December 13, 2008. In his honor, I will spread the awesome via this fantastic crowd bootleg from the Symbolic tour. The Engrish in the title is great...gotta love Japanese fans!

Download Death- Symphonic Technicalogy HERE

Happy Birthday to/from Me

2008-12-09T00:02:00.000-08:00

Today I finally turn 21. Most folks my age are all "HELLZ YES, BOOZIN TIME LOL," which is just fine. Me, I'm just happy I can go home to the Seattle area and not worry about an awesome show being 21+.

But anyway, I want to give anyone who reads this damn thing some gifts.

First, some amazingly relaxing atmospheres courtesy of Emancipator. Dude is my age and created this impeccable trip-hop record all in the comfort of his studio apartment. Everything you hear-- save a few vocal guests-- is programmed, built, or played by him. Dude just got this record released in Japan, but not the US and told me last year to "share it with your friends." Sure thing. It's called Soon It Will Be Cold Enough, and you can download it here.

Next up, one of my favorite metal boots I have-- the first Celtic Frost show in the USA, circa 1986, on the Tragic Serenades tour for To Mega Therion. Nice and rawly recorded, and you get to hear "Inner Sanctum" before they ever laid it to tape for Into the Pandemonium. I was personally really bummed to hear the Frost had broken up again, but can't say I was surprised. Volatile personalities nonwithstanding, they'll always be in the annals of heaviness...and this live tape sure shows why. Check it out here, and be sure to "UNGH!" along with Tom.

I love you all. Be well.

Musical Versatility Reigns Supreme

2008-12-05T13:42:00.000-08:00

I've been a sizeable fan of Agalloch for a few years now. Beyond the music, they seem like interesting individuals as well-- among other things, Don teaches English at the University of Washington, John brews obscure wines, and Jason plays in a new project called Indelible. Their new EP, Introduction, is up for free download and is described as being trip-hop influenced of bands as varied as Ulver and Portishead. I still need to give it another listen, but it's certainly an entirely different direction from Agalloch.

DOWNLOAD HERE!
Myspace HERE.

In Honor of This Month

2008-12-02T22:06:00.000-08:00

I offer you one of the mightiest December songs ever written. Of course, that's not exactly heavy competition given the only other December song I can think of is "My December" by Linkin Park, but it's common knowledge that LP fellate and far less common knowledge that Only Living Witness are fucking incredible. Here's, um..."December," from their second reunion show this summer in Boston.

PS: You can buy their 2-album CD set for as little as five measly dollars. Do it. You can't lose, I guarantee it.

Season Finale- 11/2/08 Playlist

2008-12-02T17:45:00.000-08:00

A huge round of thanks to whoever's listened/supported the show, or harassed me.

More details about the future of the show while I'm abroad next semester will be detailed in a future post.

Zombi- Challenger Deep
Etro Anime- Either Way
Swervedriver- Deep Seat
Doughboys- I Won't Write You a Letter (Live)
Doughboys- You Don't Know Me (Live)
Doughboys- I Remember (Live)
Vanilla Fudge- Ticket to Ride (originally recorded by the Beatles)
Puma Run- Sometimes Lincoln Connor...
Agalloch- The Wilderness

UPDATE

2008-12-01T21:30:00.000-08:00

Yeah, the damned Third Eye Blind song is more or less a dumb joke.
Happy belated Turkey Day.
Tomorrow night's show will be the last of this year/school year in live radio form. I'll be abroad next semester in Norwich, UK and will be doing the show as a podcast. Be ready, be stoked.
My friend Hilary just printed up an awesome zine that contains fantastic, deeply personal writing. It's worth your attention and donation. Shoot her a message.
I spent 50-odd USD on the Only Living Witness 2xLP set. It's got new artwork and design and is only available here. Shipping alone costs more than the records do initially...ridiculous. But I mean, it's limited to 500 copies, so.....
If you want a download blog that caters to wide tastes like this blog tries to, you owe it to yourself to check out the knowledgable gents at icoulddietomorrow. Great commentary, great records.

How the Mighty Have Fallen

2008-11-20T11:31:00.000-08:00

Dear Stephan & co.,

I am now convinced that Arion Salazar didn't leave Third Eye Blind due to drug problems so much as your tremendously shitty songwriting.

How could you go from the amazing, powerful pop songwriting of the self-titled to this abortion of an attempt at poignancy? Some fan took the liberty of making a video as watered-down and juvenile as the song's lyrics.

In case Squidlair readers didn't catch the eye-opening lyrical content, some industrious soul actually took time to endure the entire song and transcribe them here.

You're not real to me any longer, dudes. You're worse than non-dairy creamer. You're fucking Splenda.

Thanks to my buddy Quinn for the tip.

Squidlair Radio Playlist 11/18/08

2008-11-18T17:22:00.000-08:00

Two cuts from two of the most killer Scandinavian progressive bands today, some oldschool Seattle thrash, a spoken word poem, and what the Smashing Pumpkins should have fucking played on their anniversary tour.

Enslaved- Ground
Opeth- Burden
Forced Entry- Never a Know But the No
K.O.M.PLEX- At Stardust
Smashing Pumpkins- Soma
Smashing Pumpkins- Geek U.S.A.
Smashing Pumpkins- Silverfuck
Smashing Pumpkins- Muzzle

Triple Shot Weekend Review

2008-11-16T20:38:00.000-08:00

This weekend's happenings were both awesome and highly relevant to the interests of the Squidlair.

Friday
I went cityside to Baltimore's Landmark Theater. Apparently these theaters are a chain, but I'd never have been able to tell. The place was well-kept and offered an open bar in addition to the usual assortment of overpriced candy and soda. What film was I there to see? Only the best and latest by Bruce Campbell-- My Name Is Bruce. Watch the trailer below if you're going to question the awesome.

And the film itself was indeed killer. Nothing like the B-movie actor's B-movie actor riffing on himself and his career. But to make matters even more sweet, Bruce gave a short Q&A afterwards to the audience in the theater (he's touring the country with the movie in tow).

Bruce: Okay, we're gonna play a little game here. I'm going to turn my back, and you get to yell your least-favorite movie I've been in.
Dude in Audience: ALIEN APOCALYPSE!
Bruce: Every damn show, there's some asshole who says that. Now look (digs through wallet)...if I gave you, say, three bucks...would that be enough to wash the memory away?
Dude: YES!
Bruce hands three bucks to security guy, who relays it to Dude. Crowd cheers.

It was amazing to see Bruce both onscreen kicking ass and making fun of himself and then in person making fun of the audience. Sure, he was a little dickish...but if you had to deal with the fanbase he does on an all-too-frequent basis, you would too.

Saturday
The oft-mentioned Celebrated Summer Records is not only a fantastic record shop, but also an occasional DIY venue. Saturday, they hosted Japan's own Mind of Asian-- four adorable girls thrashing their way through lightspeed hardcore punk. Local sXe dudes Mindset opened-- good energy, but not so much my thing-- as did New York's folk-pop-punks Unwelcome Guests, who were played very tightly.
...did I mention Mind of Asian were adorable?

Sunday
Mad props to Goucher's Max L and Miriam C for booking Baltimore's own Wham City to perform their spectacular adapted-for-the-stage rendition of Jurassic Park, They Should All Be Destroyed, at Goucher.

DIY lighting, MIDI sound, a bazillion costume changes, a long-haired white guy playing Samuel L. Jackson and simultaneous consumption of raw meat and eggs combine to form an earth-shatteringly fantastic and funny homebrew production. Not even a lame fire alarm and the subsequent (and brief) mass exodus of the audience and cast could stop the troupe from putting on an enthralling show. It was also their last, and dedicated to Michael Crichton.

The Unextinguishably Awesome

2008-11-13T18:00:00.000-08:00

Forced Entry were a sweet three-piece technical thrash band from Seattle. I always heard their name dropped by locals and on the occasional message board, and only just checked them out. These guys positively rip and in a multitude of different ways.

Their second and final full-length, 1992's As Above, So Below opens with "Bone Crackin' Fever." Song titles aren't exactly a strength of the band, but riffs sure are- and Brett Hull punctuates his with awesome pick scrapes and noise, years before any other bands would utilize such techniques. Often times, bassist's Tony Benjamins' raspy shouts are kinda reminiscent of Darren Travis of Sadus. "Macrocosm, Microcosm" has a funky sort of opening and has one of those late-80s disorienting thrash music videos shot both locally and in what seem to be the beautiful mountains of the Northwest. Lots of sweet pick squeal parts there too.

Then comes a real treat: "Never a Know But the No." This tune slows stuff down a bit, but possesses all the ominous steadiness that made tunes like Metallica's "One" and any oldschool Alice In Chains song so powerful. Coincidentally, Layne Stayley guests in the video. Cheggit.

Yet for a band that can write a deeper tune like that one, Forced Entry were never a band to deny their immature impulses. For proof, look no further than "We're D*cks" and "How We Spent Our Summer Vacation," two songs that, in this listener's humble opinion, offset an otherwise concrete slab of metallic goodness. The technicality here is nicely executed: Benjamins and Collin Mattson are a solid rhythm team, and Hull knows when to properly slow down, speed up, add odd noises into his riffs or tear off solos with equal parts melody and raggedness.

To top all the awesome off, this album is out of print! You know what that means-- download right here and give'er a listen! Reccomended to fans of anything thrash metal.

EDIT: My upload got taken down, so I'll patch this up shortly. Sit tight.

FORCED ENTRY- AS ABOVE, SO BELOW (1992)

Nicholas Cage's Wicker Man: A Thriller for the Ages

2008-11-12T20:18:00.000-08:00

I challenge-- nay, defy you-- to find a more ridiculous, badly-paced and outright frighteningly bad film made in the past five years than this one.

Cinematic brilliance. Nothin' but.

Tales of Scorched Ears

2008-11-12T17:25:00.000-08:00

As I've previously stated many a time, the Smashing Pumpkins are a big-time favorite here at the Squidlair. I was substantially disenchanted with the Zeitgeist record and felt no need to see them live; it wouldn't be the same, after all, and most of my favorite non-single tunes would be ignored.

For the most part, this was true...but then Billy announced the 20th Anniversary Tour and the inclusion of older songs and I was fucking pumped. So much so that I paid around seventy bucks to see them play DAR Constitution Hall in DC for the first of their two nights there. I'd heard rumors of a sketchy setlist, but crossed my fingers anyways...to no end. Read on.

DAR was a beautfiul venue. Nice and rustic on the outside, elegant and technologically up-to-date on the inside.

The Pumpkins took the stage with Billy coming on last, wearing a lengthy skirt (not so odd) and a shiny gold sungoddess headpiece and chestplate. They sang some bullshit song, then went into "Tarantula," which actually came off okay live. Up next was "G.L.O.W.," a ditty penned for Guitar Hero III. It was so unremarkable I don't even remember it.

But then-- then they broke out "Siva" and I was momentarily appeased. One of my favorite guitar solos ever. Ripped. Back to crapsville from there with "Eye" from the Lost Highway OST.

And then, everything changed. I heard the live keyboardist playing a familiar melody and realized that Billy, Jimmy and the expendables they roll with were busting out "Mayonaise" and I couldn't believe it. Blew me away. I almost teared up.

The highlights end there, readers. Let's fasttrack this bullshit: an acoustic set in which the band convened on the front of the stage with a small piano, acoustic guitars and a streamlined drum kit for a mere three songs; obscure covers; a rushed-to-hell "Today" and "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" puncuated by the "The Beginning is the End is the Beginning, " which I hate so much I mixed up the "beginning"s and "end"s in the title while typing; an initial closing jam of Pink Floyd's "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" which, while a good tune, is not what you want to hear on an anniversary tour (especially when it spans 15 minutes); and finally, an encore of "We Only Come Out at Night"...on kazoos. The final final song was Jimmy and Billy mugging to the audience and mocking anyone's sellout suppositions by mentioning their practicing 48 different songs for two nights worth of music, instead of all "hits."

Oh, hey guys? 48 songs doesn't mean shit if most of it is rushed "greatest hits," anything from Adore or the aforementioned soundtracks, or just general subpar songs. Whether you sold out or not is irrelevant when you're fucking stuck up. Thanks for "Mayonaise," though.

Holy poop! LIVE DOUGHBOYS BOOTLEGS!

2008-11-10T12:03:00.000-08:00

I was poking around the blogosphere last night when I should've been writing a short paper on semiotics. My search terms? The Doughboys, of course! I ran across JimmyButtons' blog post about two live recordings he had up for download in September 2007. My jaw dropped. Bootlegs of the Canuck pop-punk greats DID exist! But then I frowned when I found the MediaFire links were dead.

So I quickly shot Jimmy an email and he, generous dude that he is, re-upped them immediately. Yay internets! Yay Doughboys! Yay portable recording devices!

Both are from 90-91ish-- so most likely the Happy Accidents lineup. I'm listening to the NYC boot right now and it's nothing short of fantastic! Check out the updated blog post with download links here and give Jimmy some hearty thanks! I know I am.

Squidlair Radio Playlist 11/4/08

2008-11-10T09:38:00.000-08:00

Election Special- political songs! Yay Obama!

The Nils- Wicked Politician
Rage Against the Machine- Take the Power Back
Public Enemy- Fear of a Black Planet
Corrosion of Conformity- It Is That Way
Slayer- Mandatory Suicide
Megadeth- Tornado of Souls
Neil Young- Southern Man
Refused- Liberation Frequency
Soundgarden- Into the Void (originally recorded by Black Sabbath)

Squidlair Radio Playlist 10/28/08- Halloween/Spooky Music Special

2008-11-01T15:51:00.000-07:00

Tried to mix it up a bit, but ended up with a lot more metal than usual! Not a bad thing. The idea was to have music that sounded scary, but wasn't necessarily Halloween-themed.
Goblin- L'Alba Dei Morti Viventi
Schoolyard Heroes- Curse of the Werewolf
Opeth- Demon of the Fall
The Misfits- Teenagers from Mars
The Misfits- Skulls
Thrushes- Halloween
Mercyful Fate- A Dangerous Meeting
Black Sabbath- Into the Void
Iron Maiden- Children of the Damned
Comus- Diana
Watain- Underneath the Cenotaph

Squidlair Radio Playist 10/14/08: Pop-punk night!

2008-10-14T17:22:00.000-07:00

Stuff I've been wanting to play for a while now. Thanks to the Bainbridge kids for getting me into Jawbreaker.

Descendents- Myage
Descendents- Suburban Home
Descendents- I'm the One
All- She's My Ex
All- Long Distance
Asexuals- Ego Trip
The Doughboys- Tradition
The Doughboys- No Way
The Doughboys- Tearin' Away
Jawbreaker- Want
Jawbreaker- Incomplete
The Ergs- It'll Be OK
The Ergs- Songs About Miles Davis
Deep Sleep- Checkout
Mega City Four- Callous
Clorox Girls- Vietnam
Clorox Girls- Don't Take Your Life
Clorox Girls- Animal Eyes (originally recorded by The Defenders and also covered by Maurice's Little Bastards)

Squidlair Radio Playlist 10/7/08 + Update

2008-10-10T10:16:00.000-07:00

Melancholy autumnal metal mix! Thanks to my boys Crusty Chris and Grant for stopping in.

Opeth- Benighted
Alice in Chains- Rotten Apple
Agalloch- She Painted Fire Across the Skyline
The Morningside- The Wind
Katatonia- Day

I really want to update this page more, but struggling to find stuff I can post that isn't radio updates. Oh well. Thanks to any and all who read/listen...and please, COMMENT!

Interview with Mike Browning of NOCTURNUS

2008-10-01T09:41:00.000-07:00

Nocturnus were a band I'd heard about for some time, but only got around to investigating this summer thanks to their constant mention in the almighty Metal Inquisition. Thanks Lucho Metales, Awakening, Gene Hoglan's Balls and Sergeant D.

In summary of their awesomeness, I will say this: there are plenty of raw, shredding 90s Florida death metal bands, but how many had a full-time keyboardist, a singing drummer and songs that opened with lyrics like "ENTER THE DROIDS"?

Nocturnus had all these things, and sweet cover art by the immortal Dan Seagrave. A weird cyborg dude using some gizmo to unlock something. Hence the album being titled The Key.

As sci-fi and death metal are two of my favorite things, my curiosity was more then piqued. I also wanted to pick Mike's brain about his purported backstabbing by the other four members in the early 90s. Quite an interesting story.

True to the words of my buddy Steve Flynn, Mike was a class act dude and gave thorough, honest answers.

Please note: This interview and others will be appearing a zine some friends and I are doing at some point this year. More details as they arrive. Without any further ado...

How did you first grow interested in metal music? What was your first memory of discovering death metal?
Well, I was into metal way before there was even anything called death metal! Of course my first stuff was Black Sabbath and then I heard Angelwitch, Venom and Mercyful Fate and that was it, I knew what I wanted to do!

At what point did you decide to sing in addition to your drum duties? Was Morbid Angel the first band you did this in?
Yes, Morbid Angel was actually the first band I was ever in. We went through a few singers in Morbid Angel and it got to the point where I just said “fuck, let me try singing.” And since Trey and I pretty much wrote all the lyrics together, I thought it couldn’t hurt to try singing since I actually understand and am really into what the lyrics are about.

Did you and Chris Reifert from Autopsy ever swap tips?
A long time ago we wrote back and forth a few times, but I have never actually met him in person. He was always a very cool guy though.

How difficult was singing and drumming simultaneously, initially? Whenever singing/playing an instrument, rhythmic consistency is a given, but drums seem to be a very cardiovascularly demanding instrument.
Well I have been doing it so long it’s just kind of natural now for me, but using a headphone mic actually makes it a lot easier. Once I really get a good memorization of the lyrics to where I don’t have to think about what I am singing, then I can really get into just becoming the song instead of playing it!

In your interview with the now-famous Hard ‘n’ Heavy magazine Grindcore special video, your drumkit looks rather large; how many pieces were in it? Is it the same today?
That was a huge drum set that I had back then, two kicks and eight toms including the floor tom. That was one of the reasons why Earache had wanted Nocturnus to have a frontman because live all you could see was a big drum set and a voice coming from behind it. But now I use a vintage 1970’s Ludwig clear Vistalite kit with double bass and just four toms. But the drums are clear, so you can actually see me now right through my kit.

In Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore, you claim that David Vincent copied your vocal style and improved upon it. Where did your style come from?
Well, it’s quite obvious when you hear the way Gayvid Vincent sings on Altars (of Madness, Morbid Angel’s 1989 debut) as compared to Blessed (Are the Sick, 1991) that he was trying to sing like what I did on Abominations (of Desolation, Morbid’s scrapped first album) in 1986. I would say that my vocals were similar to chanting and a lot of chanting is done along with drumming, so it actually fits quite well. But I really got my style from chanting spells from The Necronomicon.

Conceptually, how was Nocturnus conceived? There were occult/anti-religious elements, but also heavy doses of sci-fi storytelling. Where did the idea to add the sci-fi themes come from? Where any authors of particular influence?
I came up with the name in 1987 after the band Incubus that I was in split up. I had wanted to do a band all about the occult. Something similar to Morbid Angel, but still different from that too. The science fiction parts of Nocturnus were really more of Mike Davis’ influence. The first Nocturnus demo was mainly occult and satanic subjects as far as the lyrics, and that was before Davis had even joined the band. So when the lineup changed and we did The Science of Horror demo, it was more of a mixture of science fiction and the occult. I am definitely into science fiction stuff myself, but it wasn’t much of an influence on what I did musically. When Davis had some cool ideas, we decided to blend the two together and do some songs about it. I would say some of my favorite science fiction authors are Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Isaac Asimov and generally the older sci-fi authors like them.

At what point was the decision made to include keyboards in the band’s music?
Well, we really only wanted to have some keyboard intros for the next demo, but when we brought the keyboard player in to hear the intros that he was working on for us, we tried using him in a few parts of the songs and it worked quite well, so we decided to make him a band member.

What exactly is the cyborg creature unlocking on the cover of The Key?
He is actually the human that is talked about in a couple of the songs like “Droid Sector,” “Destroying The Manger” and “Empire of The Sands.” He is in a cyborg suit to keep himself alive after the Andromeda Strain virus plagued the Earth. He is sitting in his time machine and he is holding the key that he discovered in the aliens’ ship. The Key itself is the thing that makes the time machine function, so he can go back in time and destroy Jesus and take over the Earth.

The Grindcrusher tour with Napalm Death and Godflesh sounds like it was massive– any particular memories? Were you on good terms with the Morbid guys?
Morbid Angel was not on the Grindcrusher Tour, it was only Napalm Death, Godflesh and Nocturnus. (Whoops- ed.) But yeah the tour was an awesome tour and ever since I have remained really good friends with the Napalm guys! As far as Morbid Angel, I don’t really get along with them, they have those I-am-better-than-you rock star attitudes, which I hate anyway!

Before recording Thresholds in 1992, Nocturnus inducted a full-time vocalist, Dan Izzo. Why was this decision made?
It was first something that the record company Earache thought would be a good idea so that the band would have a frontman and a focal point since I was behind a big drum kit and the other guys in the band barely moved around on stage. It was something I was definitely against doing but everyone else in the band thought it would be a great idea. And as history shows it was not a good idea at all as Thresholds sold only about a third of what The Key did. When we toured for Thresholds, every night people were asking why I wasn’t singing anymore, which caused even more tension in the band. The fact that I was right and should have stayed as the singer was probably why they felt they needed to get rid of me completely so that pressure for me to be the singer again was not there anymore. As you can see, the band only lasted less than 6 months after they fired me and was dropped by Earache and broke up.

Was “Subterranean Infiltrator” about Snake from the Metal Gear video game series? Mike Davis’ (guitar) Wikipedia page suggests it was.
I don’t even think Metal Gear was even invented in 1991 when that song was written (Actually, the first Metal Gear came out in 1987. --ed.) I only contributed to a very small amount of the lyrics on Thresholds, so where Davis got that idea I am not really sure. By then, my only involvement in Nocturnus was playing the drums.

The initially dissolution of the Nocturnus lineup was due to legal action by Louis Panzer (keyboards), Sean McNenney (guitar) and Davis. What was your experience? How and why did it all happen? Is there still bad blood today?
Louis Panzer was the reason Nocturnus failed the first time and again when they tried to reunite in 2000. He destroyed Nocturnus with his jealousy. He wanted to run the band, and you see where that got him! It was all Lou’s idea to go behind my back and steal and trademark the Nocturnus name that I created. The others just sort of followed him. I still talk to Davis occasionally, and we have even jammed a few times, but he doesn’t want to play in a band ever again since even he was burned by Panzer, McNenney and Emo Mowery. I don’t care how much money they offer me-- I will not ever play in any band with Lou or Sean. For me, it’s a matter of what I believe in, not how much money I can make.

This fall, you are touring Europe as Nocturnus. How are you legally able to do this? How does your newer band, After Death, compare to what you were doing in Nocturnus?
Yes, my band After Death will be touring Europe for 13 shows in October and we are going as Nocturnus. The promoter’s lawyers have found a legal loophole that says that a name trademarked in the US is only good in the US, so in Europe I can use the name Nocturnus. We are only playing songs from The Key, where I wrote most if not all of the lyrics and helped work on the music of every song off that album. We will also be playing a few of the old Morbid Angel songs that I did the same with off of Abominations of Desolation. I was only credited for a few of the lyrics on Abominations, but really it was just Trey and I who put that whole record together, so I think I should be able to play and have some claim as to the amount of creativity, work and effort I put into both of those bands.
To me, After Death is the synthesis of all of my former projects and bands all rolled into one, with even more new elements added as well.

You practice and study the occult. What spiritual ideas and elements do you specifically follow?
The occult is huge a huge spectrum that I don’t think I will ever be done learning and adding in elements as to what I do with it. When I was very young-- around 14-- I began with witchcraft and Satanism and then was introduced to The Necronomicon, but I never stopped there. I just kept reading and collecting books and material and branching out further and further on occult subjects like Crowleyism, Kaballah, Tarot, Egyptian, Sumerian and Babylonian magick and Left Hand Path studies. For me, there is always something that I am reading and learning so that I will never follow any one thing. I will just take everything I have learned and add it to my own system that works for me!

Thanks for your time! Anything you’d like to say in closing?
Just thanks to everyone that has supported what I have done through all these years, and I hope that everyone will come out and see this tour in October and check out After Death!

Nocturnus MySpace
Official After Death MySpace

Squidlair Radio Playlist 9/30/08

2008-09-30T17:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight was a night for relaxing music. I was pleasantly surprised when my boy Quinn stopped by the studio tonight. It gets a little tepid doing a radio show on your own when you can't have witty conversation, y'know? Thanks, buddy.

Atomica- One Day in New York City
Etro Anime- Adonis
Massive Attack- Inertia Creeps
Bobb Trimble- Premonitions- The Fantasy
Nick Drake- Place to Be
Camel- Song Within a Song
Pink Floyd- A Pillow of Winds
Ulver- Solitude (originally recorded by Black Sabbath)
Only Living Witness- Hank Crane

Next week: Autumnal songs!

Squidlair Radio Playlist 9/23/08

2008-09-23T18:46:00.000-07:00

A solid start to my solo career, I think.

Husker Du- Flip Your Wig
Jason Clackley- I'm Ready
Neil Young- Southern Man
Wu-Tang Clan- Da Mystery of Chessboxin'
Quicksand- Lie and Wait
Dinosaur Jr- Mick
Doughboys- Shine
The Nils- River of Sadness
Jex Thoth- The Banishment
Nocturnus- Droid Sector
M83- Moonchild
Nick Drake- Pink Moon

RADIO SHOW!

2008-09-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

This blog will now be linked to an internet radio show I'll be doing until mid-December at the end of the semester. It's every Tuesday from 7-8 PM EST at www.goucher-radio.net OR through iTunes. For the latter, select Radio, then College Radio, and finally Goucher Student Radio.

STOKED!

Sorry about the lack of stuff- DF the CH, Episode II

2008-09-08T11:51:00.000-07:00

I was abroad in Israel for most of August and am only just now settling into my first real week of school. I've been jonesing to post this release for some time-- certainly one of the most crucial records to ever come out of Bainbridge Island, Washington, along with the Rickets' back catalog and perhaps the Humanoids' sole demo. Yes, this is the mighty MLB/Pantophobics split CD entitled Rock 'n' Roll Will Never Diet Soda.

At the time of release I was twelve years old and knew approximately nothing about music; instead of investigating the local scene, I was content to listen to mainstream rock radio, where crap like Korn were all the rage. I first heard about the Pantophobics from Justin Morgan, their drummer, who was an upperclassman at my middle school/high school. One hell of a funny guy, and one hell of a drummer; his bandmates Zach Lewis (guitar/vocals and also bass with MLB) and Ed Morales (bass/oi oi ois) were no slouches in performing the band's lackadaisacal indie rock, but even on the split's shoestring recording quality one thing is remarkably clear: Justin is fuckin' slamming the skins.

MLB were Maurice's Little Bastards. I first heard them when Justin popped their debut CD Greatest Hits into the computer next to mine in the school library one afternoon and told me that "you haven't heard punk until you've heard these guys." Seeing as how, at that point, my closest experience to punk was Green Day, he was right on. They open this album with what sounds like both bands emulating idle crowd chatter, puncuated by singer Justin Maurer intoning, "Welcome to Winslow, Baaaaainbridge Islannnd." From there, it's nine songs of off-the-wall lo-fi hardcore punk that sounds a whole lot like the Germs only with thumpy cardboard drums and lyrics about "[finding] a safe haven from my teenage anguish and hormonal induced deception" ("Ridin' On Out") and "endless proliferation of selfish materialism" ("Neon Brigade"). I really wish I'd been able to stay long enough at the Teen Center to see them play one spring Friday night, but my parents insisted on picking me up for dinner....MLB were known for their wild live set, and for Justin getting naked mid-song and remaining so for the duration of the set. Shucks...

Meanwhile, I did get to see a set by the mediocre Criminy and the totally awesome Pantophobics. They played a bunch of tunes from the split and their first song ever, a cover of Weezer's "The Sweater Song." For my first show ever, it was pretty awesome and so is their set of songs on the CD. The tunes are solid for what they are, but Justin's aforementioned powerhouse drumming really breathes life into everything. Zach's drawl has its own sort of catchiness, I suppose.

This album is quite clearly a work of friends having a blast together in the crummy studios they cut the songs in–– the bands' musical styles are quite disparate, to say the least. But this is one of those records that, for the better, sounds a lot like high school. Enjoy.

Maurice's Little Bastards/The Pantophobics- Rock 'n' Roll Will Never Diet Soda

Where are they now?
Justin Morgan is a bigtime cyclist and did some European circuits or something. He worked at the local bakery for a time. I thin he also might be in community college or the U of Washington now.
Zach Lewis went to college, if I recall correctly, after all the dudes graduated in 2002. His younger stepsister Leah was in Bainbridge punk band Bad Otis (featuring future Kalakala, Degania, and Helen Killers members), who named themselves after a Pantophobics song of the same name from this very record.
Ed Morales I have no idea about, and that's sort of fitting.
Justin Maurer moved to Portland and formed the Clorox Girls. After roughly ten million rhythym section changes, he's moved the band to London. I had the great pleasure of meeting him at a birthday show the band played on Bainbridge in July 2006. As everyone had said prior, he was about the nicest person ever and gave me an old 7" MLB recorded with their buddies the Shutups.
Sean "the" Roach, who drummed for MLB for a time and on this album, now lives in England as well and plays in Mayday Lewis.
I don't know anything about the MLB guitarist at the time, "Dequine" Fletcher.

Oh My Thoth

2008-08-02T13:05:00.001-07:00

I've been terrible about posting consistently, and being abroad for three weeks with no personal computer as of this coming Wednesday won't help much. As such, I'm posting as much content as I can muster.

Jex Thoth, formerly Totem, are a female-fronted doom metal band with who, beyond the Black Sabbath influence, incorporate a lot of '70s psychedelic spookiness into their sound. In addition to the slightly lo-fi production, certain songs are tastefully caked with macabre keyboard melodies, adding to the already enveloping atmosphere. Plenty of folky bits, too.

These sounds could get any fan of heavier rock or metal tunes stoked, but what rams everything home for a heady-heavy grand slam are the gorgeous, haunting vocal melodies emanating from the masterful throat of Jex Thoth herself.

Let's cut to the chase: I got my hands on their new debut self titled full-length album and listened to it four times in one day. It's that fantastic.

A dude on Youtube claims to have literally found this clip from a strange, occult UK movie on TV, hit record, and played Jex Thoth's "The Banishment" over it...and it's creepy and fun in the way old horror movies can be.

Jex Thoth MySpace

Coroner Rarities

2008-08-02T00:51:00.000-07:00

I have spoken so many words and written so many paragraphs about this brilliant trio since I discovered them years ago. Hailing from Switzerland, guitarist Tommy Vetterli and drummer "Marquis" Marky Edelmann teched for Celtic Frost on the Tragic Serenades tour in 1986, then joined up with bassist/vocalist Ron Royce to create some of the most criminally underrated technical thrash metal ever. Perhaps even more impressive than their abilities on their respective instruments was their consistent ability to keep their voice intact. Their first effort, R.I.P., shredded and ripped neoclassically with little restraint. Their last, Grin, was full of eerieness and groovy riffs. But every song from every record sounded like Coroner, no questions asked. Tommy's riffs, Ron's snarl, Marky's rock-solid rhythmic base and strange lyrics remain distinctive even today.

So I have three gems to offer the handful of people checking this place out.

Death Cult Demo (1986)
At the time, the three dudes were unsure about Ron taking vocal duties full-time, and turned to Celtic Frost's Tom G. Warrior. This thing shreds in ways only an '80s 4-track thrash demo can, and Tom keeps his trademark vocal style firm. UNGH! This has been bootlegged on CD with two additional later-era tracks from Noise Records' Doomsday News compilations, "Hate, Fire, Blood" and "Arrogance in Uniform." Both these comps (Doomsday News and Doomsday News II, respectively) can be found for cheap and are worth getting, and here at the Squidlair we keep it tr00...so you're gonna have to stick with the four-track original version.

Coroner- Death Cult Demo

1989 Radio Broadcast

This was performed on presumably Swiss radio after 1987's R.I.P. and 1988's Punishment for Decadence, but before 1989's No More Color. Be forewarned, the volume varies randomly at parts, as does quality (albeit briefly). Nonetheless, Coroner put on a great performance and for some damn reason perform that shit novelty of Hendrix cover at the end ("Purple Haze").

Coroner- 1989 Radio Broadcast

The Unknown- Unreleased Tracks 1985-95

During their European farewell tour in 1996, the band distributed this cassette to fans. It's an interesting little collection of knick-knacks; most of the cuts are ambient, experimental stuff. Not amazing, but a good listen to be sure. The extra-special part is the Grin-era live set tacked onto the end...they bust out "Golden Cashmeere Sleeper"! This tape is truly indicative of the band's expanisve pallet and creative ability.

Coroner- The Unknown

Doughboys, Part II: Crush is Fucking AWESOME

2008-07-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

Isn't it awesome when two things you love go together great? I was hanging out with Adam Franklin from Swervedriver between soundcheck and showtime in downtown Seattle and when the Doughboys came up in conversation, he immediately revealed that only was John Kastner a good friend, but also a guitar tech for the Swervies when they played Coachella this past spring. Small world. Apparently both bands gigged together some back in the day...what I wouldn't give to have been born a decade earlier...

Crush arrived while I was still at college. Appropriately, the CD was in fact crushed, the case cracked and the lower-right corner of the case broken off. Dismayed, I gave the seller some neutral feedback and threw the album on.

Holy shit.

Better than Home Again? It's sure as shit in the same league, at the very, very least. But here, most of the band's hardcore elements are completely stripped away. In their place? Pop. Outright, catchy-as-hell vocal harmonies even more accessible than on previous records. Polished guitar tone with just enough messiness in the playing to keep things loose and fun. This is a special record, and not like Home Again; Crush is a rare record: incredibly commercial, but entirely guilt-free. The Husker Du-influenced "honest" sound of Kastner and company's vocals are hardly gone, but soaked in just enough sugar.

There's not a bad song on the record. "Shine" kicks it off with a riff that, well, shines like the summer sun. The energy has nowhere to go but up on the chorus of "Melt"-- its soaring guitars beautifully juxtaposed with the slightly subdued but still active bass fuzztone of Peter Arsenault during the verses. "Disposable" briefly takes things down a notch with a tale of a girl who's "drunk again/on Listerine" and who's "just a toothpaste cap/falling down my bathroom sink." Another phenomal chorus. "Fix Me" explodes with a riff that hits you face first. It's also ripe for photogenic slo-mo headbanging in pop-punk. Don't take my word for it, watch below.

Note John singing the prechorus just before returning to headbanging.

You get all this awesome in just the first four tracks. There's still 2/3 of an album's worth of awesome left.

So go to eBay, sort through the dollar bins and find this record. It can easily be had for under five bucks.

I'll post a song or two soon, check back.

Their Presence is Unquestionable

2008-07-12T01:10:00.000-07:00

Atheist were a Floridian technical death metal band and one of the first to incorporate jazz elements into their sound. Their first record, Piece of Time, was a ragin' disc of death/thrash and a very promising debut. The band really came into their own, however, on 1991's Unquestionable Presence. The only traditional death metal element present was Kelly Shaefer's rasp-- but even then, he was one of the more intelligible extreme vocalists of the era. Shaefer and Rand Burkey's guitars clashed over or played with the insane bass style of Tony Choy (who recorded the lines written by original, amazingly promising bassist Roger Patterson, the unfortunate victim of a tour van crash) and the jazzy, almost melodic drumming style of Steve Flynn.

The band reunited and played a whole bunch of festival appearances throughout 2006 and 2007. I was very fortunate to meet, see, and hang out with the guys (including live guitarists Sonny Carson and Chris Baker, filling due to Shaefer's carpal tunnel and Burkey's legal troubles) at their first US show in 13 years for Baltimore's 2006 Auditory Assault Fest. Great guys, amazing set, and overall one of the best nights of my life.

The interview I did with Steve, Kelly and Tony was first published in my school's newspaper, but as of this week it's been published in the fine, long-running metal/punk/grind zine Disposable Underground, written by Richard Johnson of grind 'n' rollers Drugs of Faith. Every single issue he's ever written can be downloaded in PDF form and is worth your attention if you're into any sort of extreme music. Back in the day, he did quality interviews with Carcass, Discordance Axis, Napalm Death, Gorguts, and a bazillion more. Richard will also send you a copy of the zine free of charge, should you want a print copy.

Back to my interview, though-- it's not my best piece, writing-wise. With that said, however, the band's answers are quite awesome and quite thorough. Have a read through some of Richard's stuff, too– he's a great journalist.

If you're scratching your head wondering what the hell jazz and death metal sound like when they're mixed, try their classic "An Incarnation's Dream" on for size.

Atheist- An Incarnation's Dream

Star Wars Can Be Mixed With Goddamn Near Anything And Still Rule

2008-07-12T01:06:00.000-07:00

DF the CH, Episode I

2008-06-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first part of DF the CH, where I'll be posting free tunes from a local band (most likely defunct) from or around Kitsap County, the area of Washington State I grew up in. I was no music scene figurehead-– just another stoked attendee. A lot of my favorite memories of senior year were at shows on Bainbridge or in Bremerton.

And at most of these was Valley of the Dinosaurs, truly a one-of-a-kind outfit. Four dudes from Bremerton who'd been in a plethora of bands before; their sound was the ultimate rarity: one that was simultaneously unique but wore its influences on its sleeves. Fugazi, Pink Floyd, the Allman Brothers, and At the Drive-In were only a few groups the band cites on their Myspace page.

Jason Clackley and Dustin "Mangina" Mangini were the only two members who stayed in Valley from start to finish. Jason's onstage conviction and hyperactive jumping reminded me of D. Boon, but his voice was 100% reminiscent of bluesy classic rock singers. Call it whatever, but I call it soul- and Jason had it in spades. Dustin was and is skinny as can be– but his boney form belied an incredible energy all his own.

The initial rhythym section was undoubtedly the most locked in– Gavin Temeyer on drums and Kevin Trent on bass. Gavin, in contrast with Dustin and Jason, seemed to have a very concentrated idea of power and focus. Kevin, meanwhile, was the master of melodic interplay. His lines would at the very least differ ever so slightly from whatever Dustin and Jason were playing and it would all just work.

This original lineup released a self-titled EP recorded with Tony Reed of famed locals Mos Generator in 2005.

Every track holds its own; the mix is warm and clear right from the howling feedback briefly preceding the album's opening. "Truffle Shuffle" shifts from a woah-ohhhh verse into a contemplative section about "truffle shuffl[ing] through the seasons" where Jason warns not to "stray from one emotion." "Hey Sonic! Lay Off the Lightspeed" hits you next like a one-two punch and was a catalyst for circle pits countless times. "Mind in An Icebox" is perhaps the one song of theirs I don't think I ever heard live, but that's a damn shame; its swaying, waning riffs pause to give a bluesy guitar harmony break. "March" packs an urgent verse and a guitar harmonics call-and-response in before Jason belts "I TRY MY BEST TO REALIZE!" prompting a frantic break only to slide into a bluesy soft section and then right back to a frantic peak and then back to the soft again. "Time Until Death" was a tremendous slow-burner
with an intense, instantly apparent melancholy never lost, no matter the dynamic shift. The Thin Lizzy part is fantastic.

But what brings me back to every great Valley set I ever saw is "Stop and Go Traffic," the penultimate Jason-ditching-the-mic-and-everyone-piles-up-to-get-it song. The chorus- consisting solely of the lyric "Where do I reside"- was a moment of mass catharsis every time. The speed-along verse was also a great circle pit. In February of senior year, Valley played the Bainbridge Teen Center and the tiny space couldn't contain the madness. Jason broke a string after a song or two, and the band soldered on as a one-guitar ensemble. Kids were zooming around the room, careening into chairs-- my friend Nick even crowd surfed despite the low ceiling. When the band– coaxed by an anxious crowd– played this tune (which at that point they were entirely tired of) at their final Bainbridge show at the Blood Barn in August 2007, Jason ended it collapsed in an exhausted heap on the floor.

You can and should buy the EP on the band's Myspace.

While Kevin Trent was definitely a bass player who knew his role, he eventually left due to a difference of direction. According to Dustin, he "he wanted a more striaghtforward vibe, and Jason and I were trying to be "weirder" and write darker, less catchy stuff." So they brought in Desi, Dustin's younger brother, who was a capable player in his own right but played in much more supportive style suited for the band's subsequent material. VotD Mark II released a sole song on what was initially going to be a split tour 7" but ended up being a 3" mini-CD with Bainbridge's Helen Killers. "Seas of Change was a midway point– a similar catchiness to the first EP's material, but raw and meandering enough to hint at what would come. It was limited to only 50 copies and screened by Nick and Peter from the Helen Killers.

Valley of the Dinosaurs- Seas of Change

Gavin eventually quit as well for reasons I can't recall. Eventually good friend Justin Gallego (simultaneously in The Helen Killers and eventually Degania) joined and brought a new energy to the drumkit. Gavin was clean and relatively smooth, but Justin was a fury all his own and he hit hard. Some drummers make funny faces when concentrated, but Justin was one of the few I've seen who look genuinely emotional when playing, showing either an open-mouthed daze or a stoked smile, he enjoyed every second of performing live music.

The addition of Justin made everything huge, dynamic and cathartic about the band that much more so on their second and final self-titled EP, released in the summer of 2007. I don't know how many copies were produced, but by August they were all gone-- Desi was nice enough to give me the digipak case, hand-stenciled by Tony Wolfe.

This EP was undoubtedly in my top records of 2007 and as such I wrote a review of it for my college's newspaper-- only to have it cut at the last minute before publishing by the copy editor. But here tis:

Few songs released in 2007 were more raw, passionate and genuine at once than this Bremerton, WA-based quartet’s final release. Jason Clackley's voice– whether embodying aggravated rasp, classic rock soul or a melodic croon– soars above careening guitars and powerhouse drumming. Opening with a quiet minute of humming amps and softly picked guitars, the EP quickly erupts with “Sun is Dying.” “You wake up in the morning, with the sunshine and deaths/ a hollow absence in a dream.” belts Clackley, “A selfish hopefulness and a mindset/An argument transparent at the seam.” Cathartic in nature and breathtaking in execution, his lyrics’ heartbreaking sincerity clash with the upbeat tones of the instruments beneath, ramming themselves further into your ears without ever even touching contrived depression or the pigeonholing “emo” term so much music gets labeled as in this day and age. When the finale of “How to Die Completely” hits its last minute, the band climbs a mountainous crescendo only to switch to a slow trudge. Emoting every word, Clackley wails “And I woke up/In my heart of despair,” and there’s no doubt he’s telling the truth.

No other band sounds like Valley. Since they support their music being spread, and are unfortunately broken up, I've posted the EP in its entirety online. So long as you have enough of a connection speed, there's quite literally no excuse to avoid downloading it. Record labels today are so prone to putting out a record and proudly stating, "FOR FANS OF" and naming Pantera or some equivalently broadly influential group that gives no indication of how said record will sound. Valley of the Dinosaurs are simply for fans of music.

Valley of the Dinosaurs- 2007 s/t EP

Where'd they go to?
Jason has a fantastic solo project and his music is worth your ears and dinero. He also drums in the folkier Like Claws! and sings in The Flex.
Dustin is never in just one band. He plays guitar for Sunset Riders (hardcore punk) and fronts President Kennedy is Assassinated (sludgy and heavy).
Justin plays in both Degania and Kalakala when the other members are home from school on break. He also runs Young Summer Records (also see the blog on my bloglist) and is doing great things releasing DIY records for friends' bands.
I don't know what the hell Desi, Kevin or Gavin are up to.

Vinyl Treasures

2008-05-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

As the title suggests, what follows are some of my more valuable favorites I've picked out from my LPs. I don't have the most massive collection, but I'm really excited about what I do have. I collect records, but I wouldn't really call myself a "collector" per se because I don't spend massive amounts of money on a single record. As such most of the prized gems from my collection aren't the rarest things out there.

Here are some that have a special place in my heart and/or ears.

My Coroner Collection

A fantastic Swiss technical/progressive thrash metal trio that will surely merit a post of their own on the Squidlair someday. The so-so Noise Records mixing sounds better on these than the remaster CDs I have...Ron Royce's fantastic bass playing comes through quite clearly. I managed to score these from eBay at solid prices; aside from Grin, none ran over 18 bucks.

Top row: 1987's R.I.P.; 1988's Punishment for Decadence (European version with original cover); 1988's Punishment for Decadence (American version with the cover the label put on it...which is cool nonetheless. Skeleton playing a bone with a violin bow! Jimmy Page would be proud.)
Middle row: 1989's No More Color; 1989 maxi-single clear vinyl 12" of "Die By My Hand"/"Tunnel of Pain," both from No More Color; and 1993's Grin, which is the most I've ever spent on a record at $40. I would've never had a chance had I not mentioned on the Atheist forum that I'd give my pinky for it. A few days later, a French guy emailed me about his auctioning off his copy and I pounced. Thanks, Adbhuta.
Bottom row: 1991 "Divine Step (Conspectu Mortis)"/"I Want You" 7" from Mental Vortex; 1988 "Purple Haze"/"Masked Jackal" 7" from the Punishment for Decadence era. Their Beatles cover is monstrous, but their Hendrix cover sucks.

Anyone have a copy of Mental Vortex with the original inners (including the poster) intact? Sell it to me.

My Bloody Valentine- Loveless (2008 Aural Exploits Repress)

As previously established, I love MBV. I also love the color red, and and colored vinyl. This is contains all of the above and is number 390 out of 1000. Sounds gorgeous and looks it, too.

Heresy- Face Up to It! (First Canadian pressing)

Heresy are another band I have Tony Pence to thank for getting me interested in. The band were a bunch of Birmingham lads who, along with Napalm Death, ushered in a new era of speed in extreme music. I bought this after buying the reissue of it. Despite the sound differences (the reissue sounds as good as they could make this lo-fi album), this was a fantasic investment. The original pressing contains a little folded sheet not only containing lyrics but also singer/lyricist John's explanations of his songs. He's quite articulate; grindcore, while a genre I often dig, isn't really known for profound thought, but he has a lot of good things to say about a lot of different issues.

According to bassist Kalv, they licensed this record to be pressed in Canada at the same time they pressed it in the UK– and the guy heading up the operation never got back to the band after going ahead with the whole shebang and only sent them a few copies.

Iron Maiden- Live After Death

Iron Maiden need no introduction. This was the first album I ever bought on vinyl, and is basically the best live metal album ever. It has some great tour photos in the inner sleeves, and seeing Derek Riggs art in LP format is like watching your favorite epic movie in IMAX. I'm seeing Maiden this Monday night, and they'll be playing a setlist very similar to this one. Can't wait.

Smashing Pumpkins- Siamese Dream (First pressing)

Tied with Coroner's Grin for the most I've ever spent on a record at forty bucks, also from Tony at Celebrated Summer Records. The current reissues are on orange as well, but not marble orange as both LPs here are. So delicious is the shade of orange that I think of it as something more along the lines of "Siamese Dreamsicle."

Ali Akbar Khan- Ragas of India
I don't know if this is rare or not, but I have an unconditional love of Indian classical music. This was found and bought along with a whole bunch of other stuff for very little at a Rotary auction last year. Khan is/was a very accomplished sarod player and this one-raga-per-side record is very soothing.

Oh, and it has bewbs on the cover. Bonus.

The Doughboys- Home Again
I have also established my love for the Doughboys. The LP of Home Again unfortunately doesn't feature a lyrics sleeve, but the mix sounds much less cramped than the CD version while retaining the sloppy charm.

Nektar
L to R: 1976's Recycled, 1973's Remember the Future, and 1972's A Tab in the Ocean.

Nektar are a fantastically funky prog band with all my favorite textures from that time period- Mellotron, Rickenbacker bass, crooned vocals....I need to throw these on again. My favorite is probably Remember, which is about a blind boy meeting an alien.

Comus- First Utterance (2002 Earmark Records Reissue)
Yes, a repress. This alone was thirty dollars well spent, as it goes for more on eBay and the original will set you back 200, easy.

Comus are a band that will mess with your head, to understate the matter entirely. When I first checked out this album art, my first thought was something along the lines of, wow...will I end up like the guy on the cover?

Then I listened and the answer was a resounding "YES." Let's put on our imagination helms and envision the following: it's 1969. The Moody Blues and Jethro Tull are somehow touring together and, while in transit over a large body of water, crash land on a deserted island in the middle of the open ocean. Scrounging what basic acoustic instruments they could find from the wreckage (the Mellotron is gone, man), they quickly go insane from the solitude and manage to record the results.

That's what First Utterance is like.

Kaveret- Poogy Tales
Last summer, my good friend Alex and I dug through my parents' box of records, which had until that time resided in our garage. Among the mass of LPs we pulled was this- a thinly-packaged white sleeve with a hobo playing hacky sack and a lot of Hebrew letters on it. Alex insisted we play it, and while initially reluctant I finally put it on the turntable. As the music seeped out of the speakers, we were astonished. This wasn't good. It was great. Joyous, wonderfully psychedelic sounds familiar to us from the other '60s and '70s rock we listened to...only this was in Hebrew! It was beautiful and exotic and genuinely happy music.

Turns out my mother had bought the album some thirty plus years ago, when she had worked on a Kibbutz in Israel. Kaveret were huge at the time and she even saw them live.

Apparently this has been reissued on CD. I can't recommend it enough.

EXCLUSIVE Interview with Adam Franklin of SWERVEDRIVER

2008-05-13T13:49:00.001-07:00

If you haven't heard of Swervedriver but dig bands like Dinosaur Jr, Soundgarden, and pre-suckage Smashing Pumpkins, you're entirely missing out. The band has returned from indefinite hiatus after some ten years.

I was lucky enough to get in touch with singer/guitarist Adam Franklin and even luckier when said he was down with answering a few questions.

-When I listen to Raise, I hear a lot of Dinosaur Jr worship going on. You guys really work the guitar effects (wah pedals especially) and your vocals are buried. Any accuracy to this perception? And why is your singing so low in the mix?

Dinosaur were a big influence around the time of You're Living All Over Me and Bug, for sure. I don't really know why the vocals were so low but I certainly wasn't that confident with the vocals at the time plus it was also perhaps a prevailing stylistic trend at the time.

-Did you receive any vocal training between Raise and Mezcal Head? The production mixes your voice much better and it carries a lot of melody as well.

Actually I did have one singing lesson that may have been around that time. She was an opera singer and she had a picture of her with Pavarotti on her piano and she had at one time given lessons to Johnny Rotten. At the start of the lesson she got me to reach for my lowest and highest notes and then said "right. I guarantee that in an hour you will be singing 2 notes higher and 3 lower - and she was right.

-What role did effects play in songwriting? Were any riffs written with a given effect in mind, or were they added as an afterthought?

I think it's true to say that sometimes you find a sound and base a song around that sound but you of course have to find a killer melody to use it with.

-For that matter, let's say you're exiled to a desert isle with just your Jazzmaster, your amp and your choice of ONE effect. Which do you choose and why?

Vox Cry Baby wah wah pedal to express my blues at being exiled on a desert island.

-Do you consider Swervedriver a shoegaze band? You guys hailed from the same area, if I recall, and were on Creation and had a lot of influences different from that of, say, Curve or Slowdive.

No. There are certainly some stylistic similarities with those bands, no denying, and particularly on that first album, with the vocals down in the mix etc as you mentioned before, but really Swervedriver has always been more of a rock band.

-Most shoegaze music is often characterized as “druggy.” Would you say Swervedriver’s music qualifies as such? Did drugs play any role in songwriting?

I always say that you probably ought to 'road test' your music to see if it sounds cool on drugs (always better if it does!) and Jimmy was always on 'headphone duty' making sure that the stoners minds' would be blown the requisite amount by some apocalyptic panning.

-What do you think of the influx of new, younger bands labeling themselves shoegaze?

To be honest it puts me off if a MySpace band has 'shogaze' listed as its genre but I suppose it's a valid description at this stage. I think there are cool bands from all ends of the spectrum that take elements of said genre, whether it's Lali Puna or Dead Meadow. The band Film School seem to be doing the right kind of thing - taking the influence and leading it somewhere new.

-What was your lyrical approach? Many of the tunes seem to be about relationships. Any truth to this, or am I completely off-base?

They possibly are - even some of the songs that sound like they're about driving are about pining for something else, like a new place to live or a new person to hang out with. "She's Beside Herself" and "Out" are undeniably about relationships and "For Seeking Heat" is probably the only song purely about speed on the road.

-Were you genuinely feeling murderous in the events inspiring "Last Train to Satansville," or is that just artistic license?

Artistic license - better to write about it than carry out the act! Besides I don't and will probably never own a gun.
-For the love of all things decent, will you PLEASE include "Never Lose That Feeling" in the tour setlist?

Maybe.

-Tomas Lindberg of seminal Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates has gone on record saying he adores you guys, especially the Raise album. Are you a closet At the Gates fan? Would you ever consider letting Tomas get up onstage and bark over "Son of Mustang Ford" if you guys played Gothenburg?

I must admit I wasn't aware of At the Gates until you mentioned them but I just checked their MySpace page and Tomas is welcome anytime. I think.

-What’s your favorite song you wrote for Swervedriver, and what is one you have an affinity for that no fan ever gushes over?

"Maelstrom" is a song that I love but no-one else in the band is crazy about ...but that's okay because I guess I can play it with my Bolts of Melody [Adam's solo album] band! I also like "93 Million Miles From The Sun," which is a re-write of "Harry & Maggie."

-Whatever happened to the studio you guys won after the Geffen lawsuit fiasco?

You mean the studio that we built from Geffen advance money? I wish we really had won it! The band Ash nearly bought it but in the end we closed it down.

-What inspired the band's reunion?

The time was simply right.

-What are the top 5 records you're listening to right now?

Serge Gainsborg - Les Annee Psychedeliques
Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blue
Scott Walker - Boy Child 67-70
The Still Out - Crystallised
The Darjeeling Limited - OST

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Asa is a Shitty Musician

2008-05-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

It's true, but that won't stop me from doing a post about the song I did for my Computer Music class this semester. If it sounds rushed, it is. I was asked to write program notes for when it was played live at the culmination concert, and they are as follows:

“You Have Only Now” was composed during the late winter/early spring months of 2008 by Asa E. While he considers himself a bassist before a guitarist, he had a few riffs kicking around that were written on the latter instrument and attempted to assemble them in a cohesive, song-like manner, adding in odds and ends where necessary. While he attempts to not to rip off his direct influences, he’s quite open about the fact that My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless, Jesu’s Silver, Opeth’s Still Life and Dinosaur Jr’s You’re Living All Over Me albums were all in rather heavy rotation at the time of writing, and hopes that some of the elements come through.

If my underconfident guitar solo (the only time I feel like I've played EXACTLY what I wanted to) doesn't SCREAM J Mascis worship, I don't know what will. Aside from dyeing my hair silver, of course. And yes, the rhythm's off at points and the opening Opethy strum part is totally tempoless. I never said I was good. But as simple and/or lackluster as the piece is, it's the first song I "composed" on my own–guitar, bass, and even that minimal drum loop.

I didn't really say what the song was about because I don't really know. I wanted the wall-of-sound guitar stuff to emote a hazey, euphoric sort of feeling. Don't know if that came through.

For those who haven't stopped reading and/or care about technical crap, the song is in D standard tuning. I ran a Fender Mexi-Strat through my Sansamp Para Driver DI preamp pedal for the initial distortion sound, then added amp simulation, reverb, and some chorus in Logic 7. The bass tracks were written and cut entirely in one night on a borrowed Ibanez SRX300 4-string run straight into the board and EQ'd in postproduction. The drum loop was an impatiently-produced thing based on a pattern from Logic 7's built-in Ultrabeat drum machine. Finally, the glassy synth string melody over the intro was added at the last minute via a Logic Softsynth MIDI patch triggered by a two-octave MIDI controller the studio had by the board.

And with all this said, I give you the mediocrely-titled "You Have Only Now."

Pumping ze Iron und Pumping ze Muzik

2008-05-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

Perhaps one of the only times I've made any sort huge resolution in my life was this past winter break. I realized that my class schedule had very open mid-days and I would use the time to hit the gym five days a week and put the days of inconsistent exercise behind me.

And somehow, I've been doing great with it. It's a great rush and clears my head after a long day. With that said, I would never be able to keep it all going without the continuous soundtrack of tunes running in my iPod. What follows is what I listen to to get my heart rate up and ze muscles flexing.

The Elliptical Conundrum

The cardio portion of my workout routine is the elliptical, which is a real convenience for people like me who want to run comfortably instead of actually doing the real thing. What's necessary for me personally, soundtrack-wise, is a set of songs nice and fast but not outrageously so. Slayer's "Angel of Death" still winds me every time I try it. In addition, because I do cardio all five days of the week, I usually want to do a different album day-to-day to break things up.

Quo Vadis- Defiant Imagination
Canadian tech-death metal? Hells yes! Also features the tasteful-but-talented basslines of one Mr. Steve Digiorgio, fretless metal bass master. It's as if they sat him down and said "Okay dude, you know what we're aboot...play some stuff like you did on Individual Thought Patterns." This record never truly lets up from start to finish, right from the locked-in military march of "Silence Calls the Storm."

Quo Vadis- Silence Calls The Storm

Morbid Angel- Covenant
The opening of this record, "Rapture," will have you thinking two things. One, Pete Sandoval is a blast beat machine. Two, I can't believe something this heavy was released by a subsidiary of Sony. This record kills me every time I run...but in a sort of good way. Also, punk kids would hate death metal a lot less if they threw on "Angel of Poison," which basically sounds like downtuned oldschool hardcore with David Vincent's usual rasp.

Morbid Angel- Rapture

Watchtower- Control and Resistance
Forget Dream Theater, forget Queensryche...these dudes are the quintessential progressive metal band. They very audibly sound about ten times as technically accomplished as both the aforementioned groups and with only a fraction of the inevitable '80s cheese factor. Imagine a band with throatshredding falsetto frontman, a bassplayer who was genetically engineered from the DNA of Geddy Lee and Steve Harris, a guitarist who sounds like a cyborg Eddie Van Halen and a drummer who keeps it all together, that would be these guys. Alan Tecchio replaced Jason McMaster on vocals on this album and while more palatable, they still might be a turn0ff to some. Famous shredder Ron Jarzombek (recently seen in instrumental tech trio Blotted Science) has some weird guitar tones on here but also some reallllly strange scales. And Doug effin' Keyser? The most jaw-dropping bass player ever. I've heard plenty of ridiculous metal bassists –take Rainer from Pavor for example– but I've never heard anyone pull off lines, fills, and solos like Keyser does with the power he has. Not only are his fingers plucking at lightspeed, but they're plucking hard. Anyways, this record is full of over-the-top, frenetic, technical greatness and is simultaneously painful to run to because the riffs are usually dependent on individual melodies as opposed to chords, ultimately giving your ears a lot less to "lock in" to and forcing you to listen to every last note. If you like it, then BUY IT.

Stratovarius- Infinite
Power metal is a picky genre for me. What sets Strato apart is the cheesy and fun songwriting and life-affirming lyrics on this record. Throw on "Hunting High and Low" and get past the tongue-in-cheek factor and get pumped when Timo Kotipelto belts "There is no one that I can't outrun." That sums it up.

Stratovarius- Hunting High and Low

Strength Training Tunes
I usually go for stuff that has great heaviness but doesn't get too fast-- midtempo is preferable.

And as such it's only appropriate that I begin with Only Living Witness' Prone Mortal Form album. I've switched my routine up a bit, but I used to do the entirety of my strength training to this. There's nothing like a nice set on the leg press to the steady chug of the title track. Jonah Jenkins' voice alone will motivate you. It also helps that he's a fantastic lyricist. "Slug" is great to do bicep curls to, and "Root" is ideal for the bench press. While the follow up-record, Innocents, doesn't have the same darkness nor lyrical verbosity, there's some great and accesible tracks that also deliver a driving energy: "No Eden," "Deed's Pride," "Strata," and "Downpour" among others. Century Media released a two-disc set of both albums, remastered with additional material. It can be had for about 14 bucks and is more than worth your time and coinage.

Only Living Witness- Downpour

Quicksand- Slip
Quicksand are like Tool minus the pretension and mixed heavily with Fugazi and Helmet. A seminal post-hardcore record full of stomping rhythms and melodic bass breaks and vocals that nicely toe the line of aggressive and catchy. I seem to find myself throwing this one on when I'm doing bent-over rows.

Quicksand- Fazer

That, or
Soundgarden- Badmotorfinger
Overshadowed by the overrated phenomenon that is Nevermind (and I say this as a Seattlite), Badmotorfinger is simply the best "mainstream" rock record to come out of 1990s Seattle. It also proves, along with Alice In Chains' greatest moments, that grunge is a bullshit term. When did Pearl Jam ever sound anything like these guys? When did Kurt and company, for that matter? The lyrics are often absurd, there's out-of-nowhere sax usage, there's a love song, and there's some downright bizarre riffs. Hardly your standard 1990s hard rock fare.

I digress. This record is loud, metallic, and positively balls-out. Try doing a nice, long set of slow ab crunches to "Jesus Christ Pose." Burns, don't it? Yessir, just like Chris Cornell's vocals do in your ears. In a good way.

Soundgarden- Room A Thousand Years Wide

You Don't Know Them

2008-04-29T20:36:00.000-07:00

But they still rule.

This post is about the Doughboys.

Before I delve into sentimental "what the record means to me" waxing and a summary of their career, I want to give a shoutout to mah boy Tony Pence at Celebrated Summer Records. His recommendations never disappoint.

A few months ago I had a jonesin' in me. I'd been playing Husker Du's Warehouse: Songs and Stories record now and again ever since I'd found it on cassette last summer, and couldn't get enough of the Descendents' classic Milo Goes to College. Something inside me was thirsty for punk-based music imbued with melody–and not in the manner of Green Day-Blink-182 crap I'd been subjected to all of middle school.

So I walk into Celebrated Summer one fine Friday and try to explain to Tony the sort of sound I'm looking for. He hardly hesitated before whipping out the Doughboys' second record, 1988's Home Again, on CD and popped it in. It wasn't as intense as the sound I'd wanted to hear, but the conglomeration of the music and the imagery in the jacket completely sold me. In the former department, the lo-fi production grabbed me immediately (in a good way) and everything about the tunes seemed to simply sound honest. In the latter, I opened the sleeve to see pictures of guitarist/lead singer John Kastner doing an insane jump with his Les Paul outstretched. Other guitarist/singer John Cummins was in mid-headbang. Brock Pytel was sweating his ass off on the drums and John Bondhead, crouched with his bass, almost looked like Mike from COC did in the mid-80s. I couldn't help but feel the hair length kinship, even though the dudes' dos were in crusty dreads. To top it all off, they all sang lead in every damn song. Sweet.

I bought Home Again on the spot and I'm still listening to it all the way through these days. Right from the disc's opening seconds, "Buying Time" has you jumping stokedly up and down. There is a whimsical, nonchalant youth about the album that seems to revel in its state of semi-slackerdom. "I don't care/if I never sleep again," sings Kastner on "Never Sleep." "I don't care/if this highway never ends." The record closes with the sole tune Bondhead penned, the ballad "She Doesn't Live There Anymore," a downright charming jam with soft acoustic plucking underneath the usual wash of flanged-as-hell distorted electric guitars. It also features a fantastic simile in the description of the girl Bondhead focuses on: "She had hair just like the wheat in Colorado/and every time we pass those fields I have to wonder/because they're waving there just for me/I can't wait to get back home again and leave."

After purchasing the previous album Whatever (1987) on vinyl and having it mailed home to Seattle (I have no turntable out here at school), I downloaded the album digitally for further investigation. A solid batch of tunes, to be sure. There's certainly more intensity as most of the
record melds a blazing hardcore punk sound with the pop that would eventually become more prominent down the line. Amusingly, the video for "You're Related" reminds me of '90s Nickelodeon. Pssst...click here to check the record out.

As of today, I've got their third record, 1990's Happy Accidents, headed my way on purple vinyl. I'm substantially stoked but haven't been able to find it online yet. With that said, if the songs are a tenth as awesome as they are in this live footage from what I believe to be the tour for the same album in Florida circa 1991, color me excited.

Their next full-length, 1993's Crush, marked a change to a predominantly powerpop sound. "Shine" was evidently a Top 40 hit while I was still in preschool. After this record, Cummins was the latest casualty of the band's semi-frequent lineup changes (the rhythm section from Home Again was long gone) and was replaced by Mega City Four's Darren "Wiz" Brown, who unfortunately passed away due to a blood clot in his brain on December 6th, 2006. According to Tony, the record is still good–better, even– than the band's early material. It can be found for a dollar darn near everywhere...so don't be a moron like yours truly and pay $5.50 for it.

At this time the band was signed to A&M. They put out Turn Me On in 1996 and broke up after touring as the opening act for the Offspring. Their La Muejere demo was reissued in 2003, and I've seen a rare live German tour 7" from the Home Again days on eBay. This band is worth your money.

And now, the band/their crew talk about their cocks backstage.

Top Five Records

2008-04-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

In no order.

The Who- Who's Next

The rock record I was raised on. Can't say I've heard too many of their other records front-to-back, but I can say with full confidence Who's Next never loses its powerful stride. Everyone knows the so-often-mistitled opener "Baba O'Reilly," and the delightful commentary of "Won't Get Fooled Again," but there's hardly a subpar cut here. "Love Ain't for Keepin'"? "Going Mobile"? "My Wife"? I can't really articulate the sentimentality I feel listening to this album, remembering a time when (if you can imagine) I wasn't really into music and the Who's rock and roll swagger just seemed to reach out and grab me. As an aside, how amazing a bass player is John Entwhistle?

My father was fortunate enough to see the Who many times (including once with me in 2002) over the years and, if I recall correctly, saw them on the tour for this very record at Anaheim Stadium in 1971. So many audience members were jumping that the foundations of the stadium were shaking– and the promoter had to stop the show and tell everyone to knock it off. A pretty awesome experience, I'm sure, but nothing to the time where Dad saw Cream for three dollars...

Third Eye Blind- Third Eye Blind

A confession: When in elementary school, the only music I really followed was Radio Disney and its respective catalog of teenybopper bullshit. But the summer following fifth grade brought a drastic change in my radio dial. It was now set to Star 101.5, home to much more 'adult' pop.

Perhaps it was the melodies or the catchy lyrics, but Third Eye Blind intrigued me. This was way back in 1999, where despite being out for a whole two years their self-titled album's holy triumvirate of singles–"Semi-Charmed Life," "Jumper," and "How's It Going to Be"–were still in HUGE rotation on commercial radio. I didn't have much of an allowance at the time but I bought the album rather quickly.

My attention span had some troubles in my youth and it was no different in regard to music or academia. As such, I would put the CD in my lil' stereo/alarm clock combo and only listen to the singles. It seems entirely stupid now, but in those days of prepubescent anxiousness all of the songs sandwiched in between just seemed like fluff.

Fast forward to 2003. I was a freshman in high school and my copy of 3EB's album was gone somehow. My newfound friend and I somehow got to talking about how we both had a soft spot for it and after he hooked up a burned copy I listened to it all the way through and was blown away.

Simply put, 3EB may be pop...but it's pop of a different caliber entirely. The musicianship is top-notch; Stephan Jenkins may be sporadic in his live vocal capacity but there are some truly special moments on this record. The one that really comes to mind is the chorus in "God of Wine." "A sadness I can't erase," he sings, and then, going to vulnerable higher pitch that sounds more wounded than like a castrata, "all alone/on your face." Chills, man. Arreon Salazar is one hell of a bass player too, lurking subtley beneath the surface for those not too keen on keeping an ear out for low-end dynamism. Listen to "Narcolepsy"- in addition to having some pretty odd lyrics, the bass is practically spastic countermelody is astounding given the musical genre.

Perhaps it was my relative innocence at the time, but the adult world of relationship Stephan's lyrics discussed made me desperate to grow up and date women. "I Want You" was his rather intimate (to say the least) solo piece, a tale of honest-to-God lust that somehow didn't seem to objectify like, say, a mainstream hip-hop song might. "An open invitation to the dance/Happenstance from the vibe that we're in/No apology because my oath is genuine/And the mystery of your rhythm is so feminine." BAM! SEXY!

I hadn't even had a girlfriend yet at the time (and wouldn't for a while...) but wanted to feel these feelings somehow. The lust of "I Want You," the melancholy of "How's It Gonna Be," the rivalry of "London," the alcoholic wreckage of "God of Wine." To this day, however, what really stands out to me is "Motorcycle Drive-By," with its gently-plucked acoustic intro (and liberal bass melodies, holy wow). Lyrically, it's also fantastic. I crushed pretty to hard to the following verse once: "Visions of you on a motorcycle drive-by/The cigarette ash flies in your eyes and you don't mind/You smile/And say the world it doesn't fit with you, I don't believe you/You're so serene." BAM! SEXY!

My Bloody Valentine- Loveless
At the risk of sounding like a Pitchfork reviewer, I'll still maintain that the first time you hear Loveless is an experience in and of itself. Maybe you're curious; maybe you hate it; but ultimately your ears get stretched in one way or another.

I'd only heard their name tossed around until freshman year of college, where a friend did a presentation on the song "Sometimes," which was also featured on the Lost in Translation OST. I was enveloped from the moment he hit play. The guitar sounds weren't so different from parts of the Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream album, but drew me even more into the aural world contained within the song (and when I later bought it, the record).

So I went right out and bought Loveless. I then went months during which hardly a day passed where it wasn't listened to in its entirety.

As the band never once printed lyrics and used the oft-buried-in-the-mix vocals as more of a melody instrument, personal meaning plays a serious role in how these songs are interpreted by the listener. I was in love for the first time when I first bought this, and it became a somewhat distant soundtrack to that time of my life.

Loveless manages to balance a consistent but varying set of tunes. Perhaps “When You Sleep” could be considered the song on the record to touch straightforward pop structure, but was offset by the whalesong of “Touched” and the strange dreampop/noise/dancehall combo of “Soon.” The entire record (save for “Touched”) was the brainchild of guitarist/vocalist/band leader Kevin Shields, who toiled for endless sleep-deprived nights to coax enveloping, swooping distortion from his Fender Jazzmaster by recording through multiple overdriven amplifiers simultaneously and carefully bending the guitar’s tremolo arm down in pitch as he strummed chords in various open tunings. Second guitarist/vocalist Bilinda Butcher played no instruments on Loveless, but her soothing, cooing whisper-singing is the sonic equivalent of kiss on the cheek. Her modest beauty and simple-yet-beyond-attractive dancing in the video for “Soon” only cements her sheer natural beauty...what a fox. The proof is in the Youtube link below.

Smashing Pumpkins- Siamese Dream

In the aforementioned "judging-by-singles-only" phase, I always overlooked Siamese Dream because I thought Mellon Collie was going to be better. But then it was always too expensive and I always passed on buying it.

While on a family trip to Arizona, my cousin Chad, a substantial musical authority himself, mentioned that not only was Siamese Dream fantastic, but that it also featured "Mayonaise," which was "the best song they ever wrote." This is absolute truth. After purchasing Siamese Dream in the 10th grade, that song was an anthem for rainy days and not wanting to wake up– although my teenage life was not one tenth as miserable as the song is lyrically.

"Mayonaise" simply has all of the Pumpkins' strongest elements in one composition. The intro and outro are beautiful, acoustic guitar duets. Billy's vocals alter from his audience-dividing nasal tone to his gentle, whispery voice at the bridge. The solo rips too. A non-single track that's better than any single.

But the singles were good, too. "Today," is perhaps the best-disguised suicide song of the past few decades. "Cherub Rock," with its commentary on the rock business, is a bit interesting to look in retrospect given the Pumpkins' present state. "Rocket" always reminds me of a beautiful summer day. I think it's the guitar tone.

"Disarm" is kinda lame when compared to the others, really. Not the best but also not the worst song they ever did.

Like Loveless, this is an album of amazing texture. What continually fascinates me is that Billy Corgan and Kevin Shields had completely different ways of getting similarly emotive guitar atmospheres. Shields claims there are never more than three guitar tracks in his songs, but it's well-known that Billy went into an overdub frenzy on Siamese Dream- "Soma" alone has over sixty guitar tracks.

"Soma" also heads off three straight songs of awesome. It builds from a tranquilly picked fade-in intro as Billy narrates a tale of a relationship disintegrating (from both sides!), then builds into the huge, wailing crescendo with that nasal shout of his (which somehow completely works on this record). Then it's right into the cathartic, slash-and-burn "Geek U.S.A." which rips off some of the best solos ever put to tape, as well as some of Billy's best and most emotionally-charged-yet-quite-poetic lyrics. Finally, its explosive end leads us right into the acoustic dawning of "Mayonaise"'s intro. Three brilliant works all in a row. Even the songs afterward are good; "Spaceboy" is about Billy's brother and "Luna" is a cute love ditty.

Siamese Dream is quintessential rock 'n' roll for my generation, and moreso than anything that Cobain guy ever cut in the studio. It's also the most I've ever spent on a record- forty bucks for the first-pressing, second-run orange marble vinyl 2XLP.

Iron Maiden- Powerslave
How can words describe the first time you hear Powerslave? Especially when it's your first metal record ever? Here goes.

I was a on a bus on the way to Ashland, Oregon, for a school trip. I was twelve. Sitting next to me was Ben, a newfound friend a year younger. His older brother had gotten him into old punk and metal and he was wearing a denim jacket covered in patches and pins.

We both had cassette players– him for his homemade mixtapes, and me for my Bar Mitzvah reading I should've been listening to. Ben handed me a tape marked with our destination.
"What is it?"
"Iron Maiden."

I'd only heard the name before and had no clue what to expect. So I popped it in. Then "Aces High" happened. A catchy little guitar harmony riff hinted at something better coming...and it did! This band seemed to amplify everything I loved about the little classic rock I listened to before then– melodic guitar parts, huge vocals and an overall sense that the musicians were over the top. It was a such a rush that I had no idea how to react save for smile with eyes bugged out in amazement.

Once I scrounged up the money and did some research, I bought Powerslave, which "Aces High" opens. Frankly, it's surprising the CD still works for how many times it's been played. While some of the record could be considered "filler," it's still great metal songcraft and musicianship nonetheless. "Flash of the Blade" and "The Duellists" may lack the lyrical grandiosity of the album's better-known tracks, but they certainly make up for it in riffage. Steve Harris was my first hero as a bass player, and I still can't get enough of how Dave Murray and Adrian Smith harmonize and trade off. Fuck that Janick guy...Maiden never needed three guitars.

But what really makes Powerslave is the sheer epic might contained within the speed rush of "Aces High," the doomsday-invoking "Two Minutes to Midnight" (possibly one of the worst music videos ever), the Egyptian groove and orgasmic instrumental section of the title track and the towering poetic might of the fifteen-minute closer "Rime of the Ancient Mariner."

The fact that Maiden is doing a "retro" setlist consisting mostly of Powerslave material on their summer 2008 tour is fantastic...even for a 77-dollar ticket.

Most folks start metal with Paranoid. That ended up being my second record. I'd still heartily recommend this to anyone just getting into the genre.

How Do I Shot Nerf Gun?

2008-04-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

If you don't go to school with me and have talked with me about my college experience so far, you've probably heard about where my money goes. In the following order, it's something like this:
1) Records
2) Food
3) Nerf guns

Every semester at Goucher, we play Humans vs. Zombies, a game of nerf war/tag that's spread to many other campuses and national fame and is this weekend's cover story in the Washington Post Magazine. Go watch the awesome audio/slideshow report by photojournalist Alexey Tolchinsky, then read a very accurate article by journalist Laura Wexler here. You'll need to register to read Laura's article, but it's worth it. Both she and Alexey were "embedded reporters" last fall when we played and were both professional, humorous people. I'm actually in a rather serious-looking opening slide, but had trouble screencapping it. So here's yours truly looking nerdy with the Zombie Horde and repping a Voivod shirt...

Also in this photo: Niles at his sketchiest, Ben looking at his newly-damaged thumb (from running into a glass-covered fire extinguisher) and Erika/Mama Zombie likely giving a pep talk. (Photo credit: Alexey Tolchinsky)

BONUS: This Friday was zombie field day, where a sort of "survival" gladiator game was played. Grab some Nerf guns and socks, hop in the ring, and see how long you can last. It's been once again reinforced that I'm a terrible shot, but oh well...I think these pictures still entertain. Adam fared better. Photos by Melissa Tillery.

Asa: "STAND STRONG AND SHOOT FOR THE FACE!"
Adam: "Mmmf."

Lunging forward while shooting: entirely uncalled for.

I should probably be looking up at this point.

Grand Opening

2008-04-11T00:07:00.000-07:00

A Bit of a Confession
I caved in again and did it. I usually hate these things–they just seem to be a narcississm vehicle for most anyone starting a blog NOT dedicated to a political purpose or, better yet, downloading out-of-print or rare albums.

But frankly I need an outlet/excuse to write every day and impose musical recommendation
upon the masses. I'll be posting download links for stuff, too...but please not I won't be uploading anything I link to. Coming in the next few days:
-My top five records
-An album review and a download link
-Some graphics for this here Squid Lair

Why Does Asa Nickname Himself That Weird Nickname?
I don't really know. I've always liked the color red. Squids are pretty cool creatures. The "Redwood" part came in as a height joke. I guess the rest is (rather unimportant) history.