Kowloon Walled City - Gambling on the Richter Scale (2009)

Here is a doosy of a record. I have mentioned this before, but I have been upping the par on my heavy music dosage and this record definitely fits the bill. Added bonus, they toke their name after a city within a city in China that at one point had the most dense population within a given small space. Look it up, it is rather wacky.

Gamlbing on the Richter Scale is almost as though Neurosis, Unsane, and Helmet had one hell of a baby. This is a low-end, rhythm driven band bent on pummelling you with their music. Super heavy sludge metal drenched in the most precise tones. Added bonus, the vocals, though lacking in production, aren't the usual guttural or shrill scream this music tends to have. Instead going with a raspy yell to accompany the music. Listen to "Diabetic Feet", and try to not have your mind decimated by tones. If you are looking for one band doing this sound right, look no further.

1. Annandale
2. Diabetic Feet
3. Clockwork
4. Sleep Debt
5. Paper Houses
6. Gambling on the Richter Scale
7. Bone Loss
8. More like Shit Factory

Heavy stuff, dude.

Anne - Dream Punx (2011)

I'll be the first to admit that I know very little about shoegaze. Aside from the pinnacle bands of the late 80's/early 90's, most of it is out the window for me. Besides, it seems that these days shoegaze, or even dream pop, has quickly become an over saturated genre, everyone and their brother doing their best to emulate My Bloody Valentine. I could really do without all that posturing or arguing over the merits of the production quality of a given work. I'll just take Ride over any of that.

That being said, I have thrown Anne's aptly titled Dream Punx, into several playlists and have enjoyed most of what I have heard. At this current moment of vegetation I can't necessarily point out what songs I like/dislike, but there are some great songs among the mix. It ranges from deriving MBV's soaring hooks, to Chapterhouse's melodic meandering. Either way, is it the best record in the world, no. But it is a refreshing take on the genre.

Tracks:

1. All Your Time
2. Virginal Plight
3. Thrush
4. Lower Faiths
5. Tarvantovaara
6. Get It How You Live
7. Perfect Teeth
8. Summer Babies
9. Punk Bike

Nothing clever here....

Old Man Gloom - Christmas (2004)

Let it be known, I am the king of procrastination. While further putting of grad school letters of intent, I am trying to breathe some life back into the blog. My loss is your gain. Lately I have found my musical tastes have had a strong influence of heavy music, albeit doom, stoner, and black metal to really heavy hardcore. This probably has something to do with the band that I am, which also prescribes to that cornucopia of genres. It has been rather gratifying, introducing my palate to new bands, such as Bone Awl, Midnight, and revisiting older bands.

One such band would be the veritable supergroup/conglomeration/collective, Old Man Gloom. Not only have Old Man Gloom's members done time in several bigger aggressive bands, but they have this wonderfully mysterious philosophy that surrounds the band. The mysticism only furthers the wonderfully weird music, pushing it into a realm that surpasses the genres in blends.

Christmas was their last studio full length the band recorded, and probably their best. I was sold on this band the first time I heard "Gift", the opening track. It is a sludgy mess of a song that has a weird primeval acoustic/chanting opening. The sonic power emitted from song once the primitive intro explodes into the main part of the song is incredible, pure sonic weight here. And it doesn't let up from there, in between ambient and very creepy interludes are more songs that bend genres and exert their weight on your ears. "Valhalla" is another great track, starting as a heavy hardcore/sludge song only to transform into an instrumental that sounds like it is being played by norse gods. That is seriously the only way I could describe that ending riff.

Old Man Gloom is apparently still a band/institution. Still hell bent on spreading their evil all over the world, though the beast has been silent, aside from reissues, since 2004. If you enjoy any sort of heavy, aggressive music, you will enjoy this record. Spread the gloom.

Tracks:

1. Gift
2. Skullstorm
3. Something for the Mrs.
4. Sleeping with Snakes
5. Lukeness Monster
6. 'Tis Better to Receive
7. Accord-O-Matic
8. The Volcano
9. Close Your Eyes, Roll Back Into Your Head
10. Girth and Greed
11. Sonic Dust
12. Valhalla
13. Christmas Eve parts I, II, & III (alt Version)

This is a gift.

Pedro the Lion was fucking heavy.

Literally and figuratively, folks. Just skip to around 5:20 in this video for a monster of a breakdown. Dude had his tones and sonic weight covered to a T.


In other news, your regular scheduled programming shall be returning very soon. Holidays and getting grad school applications ready has been time tasking, along with work. Soon my friends, soon.