Primordial's latest live album “Live in New York City” encapsulates the passage of time from their inception to the recent live show they captured on audio and video. Primordial seems to have embraced the phrase "you're never too old," as the moment they caught for posterity exists in a suspended state, a timeless realm where age gives way to love for their medium.
Recorded this year at TV Eye, a club in Ridgewood, “Live in New York City” showcases Primordial's resilience and enduring grassroots appeal, which allowed them to cultivate a cult following since their 1991 inception. In all that time they demonstrated a steadfast ability to showcase the Celtic pagan/black metal they helped originate, delivering it with the ferocity consistently exhibited in the studio.
Having balanced black metal, war metal, and Celtic music in their songwriting and temperament, Primordial deepened and enriched their technique of acquainting their audience with their pagan past. The traditional Celtic rhythms and meticulous musicianship are enveloped in controlled rawness and atmosphere, with a passionate intent to connect with the fans who saw their show that evening. The energy this generates has the impression of standing right by the stage while their set is well underway.
On November 7, a video was released to promote the album. Despite being middle-aged and playing for a typical nightclub audience, they show tight clarity combined with the energy of a band of twenty-somethings demonstrating their skill in a much larger venue as they plow through a repertoire taken from “Spirit The Earth Aflame,” “The Gathering Wilderness,” “To The Nameless Dead,” “Redemption At The Puritan's Hand,” “Exile Amongst The Ruins” and “How It Ends.”
For a nightclub show, the sound is boosted to excessive levels. Not exactly grandiose, but made to resonate with the primal, fierce spirit within man. Each track is a grand anthem celebrating warfare and ultimate triumph. Each percussive beat is like the sound of war drums reverberating across the landscape. Each growled vocal is like a battle cry, resonating for everyone to hear. Each bass line is the thunderous sound of horses galloping on the earth.
The guitars are like sharpened swords that could sever your head, only to have it crushed beneath the feet of Celtic warriors. These elements are presented to elicit the most fervent audience reaction. In essence, the energy propelling pagan and Viking metal is reinforced with every ounce of conviction a musician can exert. Combined with the excitement, eagerness and relentless force of a metal show, it makes for an album that mimics the live experience as close as you can get.
Moreover, with Primordial, you gain some understanding of Celtic history and folklore. One example is “To Hell or the Hangman” which narrates the historical tale of Walter Lynch, a notorious character from ancient Ireland. –Dave Wolff
Adunakhor Z., a French vocalist/instrumentalist, has been involved in a number of solo projects since 2006, including Thy Apokalypse, Abfall, Reflecting the Light, Kaamosmasennus, Eternité du Chaos, and Salaman Isku, where he typically lends lead vocals and multiple instruments to create the appropriate atmosphere. This December, he'll be revealing his freshman release for Arbe-Dieu, quite possibly his most extreme vision to date.
Arbe-Dieu is named after a card drawn from the Tarot of Marseille, a deck of cards created in northern Italy in the early fifteenth century, brought to France and Switzerland, and still produced today. This deck's creation also gave rise to the esoteric practice of Tarot readings. The Maison-Dieu card, The Tower, (loosely) represents a startling disruptive revelation and possibly catastrophic transformation that leads to new beginnings, self-discovery, and greater learning.
Adunakhor Z's debut effort for Arbe-Dieu, “Nuit Noire,” is a subjective voyage through this disruptive transformation, making its presence known unexpectedly and without warning and unleashing a full-fledged attack on your senses. Going beyond raw black metal and in the opposite direction of virtuosity and grandiosity, it dives into a primordial, almost animalistic realm pulsating with occult ritualism, carefully planned to reach the core source of mortal uneasiness, dread, and final terror.
To describe this EP as furious and tumultuous is an understatement. As a means of communicating a narrative of violent upheaval and eventual rebirth, they appear to be born of chaos and disorder, radiating chaos and disorder from their moment of conception. Despite the intensity poured through the almost impossibly expedient blast and tremolo picking, a ritualized, ceremonial perception cuts through the bedlam, pulling everything together to communicate a purpose of tearing down and rebuilding again. I read Adunakhor Z. worked on this for three years, which suggests careful planning was made to create the appropriate ambiance.
Considering the musicianship and strong distortion, the material is remarkably clear and gives plenty of intricacies. “Graines De La Folie” begins with a steady, mesmeric industrial vibe, as if setting a tone for the bleak, repetitive emotion that follows, with bass pushing the material from behind and beneath the guitars. The track that follows, “Tourbillon Chaotique,” contains so much blast and so much bottom holding the musicianship up it assume a distinct industrial vibe all its own.
From the Immortal/Burzum-esque triplet feel of “La Vieille Femme Et Le Soleil Pâle” to the slower-paced theme of “Mort Et Renaissance,” there's something about “Nuit Noire” that becomes more concrete and orderly, as if fresh wisdom is emerging from the destruction established before. I can envision what this EP would be like if it was recorded a full-length album, and I can't help but wonder where Adunakhor Z. will go with it. –Dave Wolff
Imagine, if you will, being imprisoned in a computer matrix, with no knowledge of how you arrived there, meeting an AI doppelganger of yourself with whom you’re inexorably drawn until you merge and become one with it. This is what you get from Chain's "New Alcatraz," which fuses organic metal and electro-industrial sounds at the genetic level, spawning a mechanized human-cyborg hybrid to turn loose upon the world.
Although the premise of "New Alcatraz" is somewhat similar to films like "The Terminator," "I, Robot," "Ex Machina," and "The Matrix," it’s far more intricate and personal. It would likely be as` unconventional and incisive as "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" were in their respective eras if it was reimagined as a film. It would be a subject of debate for years to come.
This human-cyborg hybrid, according to the Triad Records, is home to an ancient creature of some sort that has a single-minded, near-pathological urge to exact revenge on humanity for past transgressions. To remind us that we as a species are motivated by a similar, deeply rooted urge that’s part of our psyches from conception, this concept of vengeance is channeled with a raw, spontaneous energy.
When other bands carefully and meticulously take time to establish themselves through their songs, Chain is constantly on the point of overtaking and overwhelming the listener with an instantaneous, demanding shove forward. In less than a quarter hour, you’re assaulted by inexorable waves of sound that seem to converge on you from every direction, piercing your head with a thousand needles hooked to robotic snakelike appendages before erupting from within.
From a distance, you hear what sounds like the beating of an artificial heart powering a huge city—possibly the city shown in Simone Trausi's cover art—as if alerting you to the impending chaos. The album's antihero, probably reborn from this very city, reappears almost immediately after that brief introduction. The powerful electronic sounds and discordant synthesizers telling the story are arranged to create musical rhythm, much like Devo had when they helped redefine new wave.
That was the song "Dark & Bass." Starting with "Bloody Hell/Out of Control," the powerful electronic rhythms are accompanied by guitars, bass, and acoustic percussion. Each song presents the organic elements with greater emphasis, signifying the antihero's personal battle to escape his cybernetic shell. The lyrics, which emphasize his desire to subjugate and subject humanity to his vengeance with greater ferocity, are presented in a harsh, frenzied, manic style.
Chain significantly enhances the connection between traditional music and futuretech, taking the sophisticated violence pioneered by Godflesh, Fear Factory, KMFDM, Pitchshifter, and Skinny Puppy into new stomping grounds. The frenzied intensity of the production and mixing lends all the instruments a bright vitality in addition to thinning the lines between the string and keyboard instruments. –Dave Wolff
Besides being a musician, Marcy Angeles is also a painter, illustrator, author and journalist. Her paintings, which can be seen on her Facebook profile, are as dreamlike as her musical ventures, which are released under a variety of names I'm not sure if the different names are chosen for the sake of mystery or because they reflect the mood she’s in when recording. But from what I've heard, her work fluctuates in terms of gloom and discordant appeal, as if it stems from different sections of her psyche. So far I haven't heard the same theme more than once. Nor have I heard another musician write like her.
Angeles releases this album, titled "ennui." as The Virgin Wash. It's always agreeable when musicians find fresh ways to captivate you and ensnare you in their universe. Angeles does it by keeping her approach simple and putting healthy doses of feminine passion into it. Her range here includes goth, ambient, no wave, industrial noise, and electronic. Despite her wide variety, she does not need to be overly grandiose in her presentation, preferring to communicate her point in a straightforward manner.
On "ennui," The Virgin Wash creates repetitive, minimalist, trance-like progressions, embellishing them with hypnotic, seductive vocals and ethereal background arrangements, occasionally adding percussive pieces composed in other time measures. Guitar, bass, and percussion tracks are sometimes written at odds with one another. These arrangements are only barely perceptible, yet they seem purposefully designed to induce cognitive dissonance. Angeles relies heavily on echo and atmosphere to conjure a fog over chaotic, driven songwriting, giving impressions of a mind that is physically falling apart.
Angeles' vocals have a primitive intensity and eerie ghost-like vibrations significantly contributing to the nightmarish discord created by the instruments. Between her voice and the accompanying music, it feels as if her presence is all around you, encompassing you in its primal yearning. She has been recording since the late 2010s and appears to have mastered the art of conveying her limitless inner darkness. Or is it the ancient essence of Lilith longing for freedom? Something about her voice makes me feel as if her spirit is pushing against the barrier between our world and beyond with all she has.
The most profound use of bleak lightlessness, continuous drone, minimalism, supernaturally translucent vocals, and the psychological disharmony arising as time signatures overlap is in "List of Demands," "Petals of Eternity," "Blood Trust" and "The Performer." The ambient/electronic meeting of the tangible and mystical, visible and obscure, organic and mechanical, on "The Same Spirit," "Make Believe," and "Saccharine Petals" likewise deviates from what you could have anticipated at their outset.
I'm interested in seeing more of Angeles' paintings and reading her published works after listening to this and her earlier releases I wonder how much of her work she has published and how captivating her fiction will turn out to be. –Dave Wolff
As "Niga Denots" is hard to pin down in terms of inspiration, bizarre and unconventional is all I can readily think of. It seems to have been written irrespective of categorization and couldn’t be classified. Just forget what you know about conventional songwriting and allow an experience to sink in like falling asleep after doing acid and having a peculiar dream.
Trying in any way to classify this album would be an affront to originality and creativity. I don't even believe a label for music like this exists, so visual descriptions would be more effective.
Jestamang describes The Ace Of Chase’s acoustic guitar-based work as being like water; more like liquid acid inducing a hypnotic state like serenity and dread. This album sounds composed in a ritual chamber rather than a rehearsal space, removed from the world outside, especially in the songwriting. The acoustic guitars aren't dissonant or in a minor key; it feels the note arrangements aren’t structured in a conventionally logical way. I can't exactly identify it, but the songs are composed in a way that feels different somehow. But somehow, these arrangements always work for the material.
The opening section of "Witch Pit" builds an organic and electronic ambiance of thunder and rain, leading to a picture of watching the storm from inside a dimly lit room as the track unfolds. As I gather, the setting seems austere but there’s an implication; maybe from the somber vocals, the abstract lyrics, the electronic sounding percussion or the spooky background keyboards; of a sinister presence lurking somewhere unseen. Each subsequent track is akin to exploring a different room in the house, as "Niga Denots" grows more eccentric and offbeat each time a new song gets underway.
Transitioning from a haze of somber vocals, electronic tones, and haunting keyboards to mournful chants, from classically tinted harpsichords with nineteenth century Celtic folk melodies to themes too fantastic and magnificent to describe, it offers a far broader range of psychedelic music than what we’re accustomed to. Another distinguishing feature setting this project apart from other psychedelic bands is that the electronic sounds, percussion, and effects evoke the same sensation of water flowing through the acid dream, saturating your mind with strange alien images.
The vocals furthermore have similar qualities as the guitars, sharing characteristics with the guitars and electronics, producing oddly arranged notes and frequently resembling choral voices with a subtle robotic tone. Occasionally, string instruments offer more robust organic themes that enhance the keys and percussion. All this comes together to create an atmosphere something like Pink Floyd, The Doors and Peter Gabriel. However, these are extremely loose comparisons, as this project is not bent on imitating other artists but rather on crafting something unique to itself. –Dave Wolff
"The Son," the new single and promotional video by Upon Shadows is a tribute to Horacio Quiroga (1878–1937), a Uruguayan poet, playwright, and author of short stories. Similar in some aspects to the Spanish painter Francisco Goya, Quiroga's career was rather dark and greatly inspired by real-life terror, depicting unfavorable human circumstances and uncontrollable circumstances.
An admirer of Rudyard Kipling, Guy de Maupassant, and Edgar Allan Poe, Quiroga was captivated by disease, insanity, and torment, frequently exploring mental illness, hallucinations, and particularly the struggle between human beings and nature in his writings. The language Quiroga used in his extensive published work, including "Stories of Love, Madness, and Death," "Jungle Tales," "The Beheaded Hen and Other Stories," "Beyond," and "The Chair of Pain," is described as natural, straightforward, exact, and elaborate. Penned with few adjectives, his work also tended to be somewhat pompous. It should come as no surprise that he would be inspirational on the darker subgenres of metal.
Before this single came out I’d never heard of Quiroga, but listening to it and reading about him made me interested in finding his published writings. After more than two decades of exploring new avenues for their work, they draw from unlooked for sources to create poetic, beautifully worded representation of Quiroga's visions. The surreal, bizarre keyboard section opening "The Son" with its ethereal spoken word passages leads to guitars that provide an ambient and transcendental sound, transporting you right into Quiroga's innermost thoughts.
When the song gets underway it’s more unsettling than the band's previous work, having a similar sound to classic black and gothic metal, but with more dissonance than normal and a sense of stifling that tries to suffocate you beneath the veil that covers everything like a thin mist. The lyrics compel you to think as if you’re reading Poe, Ray Bradbury or Shirley Jackson, the way those writers bring their imaginations to life making you feel you’re part of their worlds.
The video accompanying the song places emphasis on the dualism of man and nature in all its enormous, limitless, unending grandeur. In addition, it features imagery that contrasts man and beast, along with captivating visuals and terrifying images. The impact the band aims to have through all this is nearly indescribable. I've included a link to the track and the video so you can judge for yourself. –Dave Wolff
Format: Digital, CD, 180g black vinyl (EU), orange/red/black vinyl melt (EU, 200 copies), red galaxy vinyl (US, 300 copies)
Label: Metal Blade
Release date: October 24, 2025
Nine Treasures, a shining example of breaking down barriers between genres and cultures, have put a lot of effort into establishing themselves. They’ve performed widely, released singles and full-length albums on a regular basis (including the 2015 live album "Live in Beijing"), and developed a fan base from the ground up. This month, they will release their first US outing. When signing them, Metal Blade took a risk, but the label has always taken chances that paid off, and I have a feeling something special in the works.
I’ve made references to Sam Dunn's "Global Metal" on several occasions in this webzine. He examines the metal industries in several nations throughout the world in this documentary. Dunn reveals how bands based in China, particularly Ritual Day, were drawn to their own brand of metal, closely observing their native music.
Another China-based musician, Askhan, founded Nine Treasures in 2010 with a vision that took what bands had started years before and carried it to its logical extreme. The result was ground breaking albums like "Nine Treasures," "Wisdom Eyes," "Awakening from Dukkha," and the band's most recent, "Seeking the Absolute."
Nine Treasures, whose sound incorporates the balalaika and the horsehead fiddle, (also called the morin khuur), strive to eliminate boundaries between metal, thrash, prog, grunge, and indigenous folk music. Askhan goes a step further by adding throat singing to aggressive vocals. The band challenges our notions about how metal should be composed, demonstrating that folk and metal transcend cultural and national barriers, each influence adding to the vitality of the other.
According to Askhan, the inspiration for "Seeking the Absolute" stems from epiphanies about the options available for innovative musical composition. It draws inspiration from catching those moments, grasping them, and discovering uncharted territory you hadn’t suspected was there, clinging to the thrill and excitement accompanying this epiphany. This new path can occasionally feel like a huge riddle that requires careful thought and investigation to solve. For the listener, the journey he and Nine Treasures discovered is worthwhile.
The album makes it clear it’s not your usual folk metal recording, prominently referencing the logic and technique of traditional Chinese music. It enters a world very different from what we think of as metal. The material is greatly guided by the folk aspects, which provide opportunities to delve into Chinese poetry, mythology, fairy tales, and fables. This also offers chances to explore the depth and profundity of Chinese mysticism; it is made even more captivating by the fact that all of the lyrics are composed and performed in their original tongue.
I frequently perceive some resemblances to traditional Celtic music, which emphasizes how music is essentially global and can transcend all genres, even metal. While guided by the folk aspects, the metal, prog, and grunge elements do more than simply follow. They animate and shine as more than just a counterpoint when given the space to develop in their own unique manner. They can go in new and distinct directions since the folk inspiration and heavier elements become a part of each other, blending together to form a single organism.
The content is further colored by varied ambient passages emerging from this union, and melodic vocals interacting with aggressive vocals. All of this cooperates to produce a pagan tapestry touching you with something inexplicably primordial and beautiful. Something you wouldn’t have expected but something you imagined was always there, waiting to become one with your unconscious. "Seeking the Absolute" is a transcendent album that has to be fully experienced, mind and soul. –Dave Wolff
Recorded in a domain Wolvennest created for themselves without outside interference, "Procession" is a captivating tribute to the passing between our mortal world and what lies beyond. In time for Halloween, it was compiled during recording sessions that happened when the band felt like it. It’s an album people are invited to experience if they’re willing to listen closely to what the band’s work spawned and experience the sonic equivalent of mortality like a bad acid trip unfolding before their minds' eyes.
The band describes "Procession" as a double record that does not distinguish between sides A and B of a conventional album, a ceremony surrounded by an uncompromising atmosphere, and a ceremony to death itself. A cinematic fusion of rock, doom rock, ambient music, black metal, gothic rock, and folk that not only crosses genre boundaries but appeals to a diverse range of listeners. They say that by embracing these differences they’re better able to connect with fans at black metal, stoner rock, and doom rock performances.
"Procession" is the methodically portrayed soundtrack to the demise of humanity as a result of its centuries-long exhibition of shortsighted hubris. It begins with the final glimmer of humanity, gradually fading into gloom, hopelessness, and ultimately emptiness. When discordant black metal tremolo playing, repetitive doom metal progressions, psychedelia inspired overtones electronica-like keyboards, and eerie, eldritch vocals in the goth rock style are combined, these disparate forms of musical expression seem to have always belonged together.
A close approximation could be Mayhem meets Bauhaus in a seedy, out of the way club in the outskirts of the city. Whether you're prepared to accompany them or not, "Procession" transports you along on its story in a soporific and hypnotic manner. Its abrupt drop into nothingness is akin to entering the netherworld, where you are thrown into their perception of what the end of the world actually looks like. All around you, this vision is evoked, giving you the sensation of turning into a living corpse. There are no new beginnings this time, just perpetual darkness.
Frontwoman Shazzula's vocals are particularly evocative and ethereal, carrying the material through its varied inspiration like a phantasm that’s both there and not there. The further you follow the band on their journey into emptiness, the more haunting she becomes. In addition, the operatic guest vocals of Hekte Zaren of the global black metal band Adaestuo's on the ambient tune "Tarantism" provide even more nuance to the desolation presented here. Her voice offers a powerful contrast to the accompanying music, akin to Diamanda Galas' blown-back as a black metal vocalist.
In short, Wolvennest takes you on a sorrowful and timeless journe. The music they compose for "Procession" doesn’t belong to any genre or era, as it reaches a point where time and space itself loses all significance. –Dave Wolff
Originally executed by Zaremachine’s iconic lineup; Mach FoX, Dbot, and Dein Offizier; “Chaos of Man” was first intended to be Zwaremachine’s third full-length. However, the industrial rock likened to Nine Inch Nails. Skinny Puppy and Thrill Kill Kult was more fitting as a new full length for Mach FoX’s and was planned as such after the passing of Dein Offizier and subsequent lineup changes in the Zwaremachine camp.
Zwaremachine is currently on the 2025 The Machine Comes Alive Tour while founding member Mach FoX is talking with such webzines as Peek-A-Boo-Magazine and Asphyxium regarding both of his projects. A track entitled "Biteback" was launched as a promotional single on September 5; if its focus on lyrics and musical depth is any indication, "Chaos of Man" is likely to be well-received by deejays and clubgoers.
Similarly to Mach FoX's earlier works, "Chaos of Man" serves as the auditory counterpart to obscure nightclubs from the 1990s, prior to their displacement. These nightclubs, which seemed somewhat disreputable and slightly dilapidated at first glance, possessed a unique dark and enigmatic charm all their own.
This album expresses similar dualities, one of them being mechanized overtones pushed forward by living heartbeats. Guitars rich in atmosphere, a prominent fuzz-heavy bass line, ambient keyboards, and waves upon waves of programmed percussion produce an organic and electronic balance, subtly referencing 70s funk and R&B, 80s new wave a la Duran Duran and gothic post-punk a la Samhain. All this contributes to a darkly catchy, somewhat radio-friendly experience that envelops the listener.
Repetitive lyrics complement repetitive progressions, degenerating the album to a relentlessly consistent and animalistic essence throughout the seven tracks, intensifying the distinction between the organic and the technical as the lead vocals maintain malevolent overtones. The guitars and lead guitars sound generated from the electronic/industrial backgrounds, animating those backgrounds with strange shades of color.
Though the songs exhibit repetitive qualities, an array of samples and additional vocals in songs like "Death Wish List" maintain nuanced vibrancy, intensifying to where they resonate with the essence of conscious beings or self-aware artificial intelligence in the form of a flesh and blood woman with endless energy to dance to the pulsating rhythms.
I envision “Chaos of Man” revitalizing and energizing any goth or techno club where the deejay presents it to the patrons. I could even see this energy spilling out onto the street at its heights of intensity. –Dave Wolff
Band: John Lennon & Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band with Elephant’s Memory, The Lower East Side
Location: New York City
Country: USA
Genre: Agitpop
Box Set: Power to the People
Format: Deluxe Box Set, 9 CDs, 3 Blu-Ray discs; also Digital album, vinyl.
Label: Capitol/UMe
Release date: October 10, 2024
The John Lennon and Yoko Ono box set, “Power To The People,” is not just a remix of the 1972 album, “Sometime In New York City,” but of a period of time and a state of mind. It covers John and Yoko’s early New York City era, when the most non-violent political activism could only really be achieved through sonic bombardment. The Deluxe Box Set is a full-frontal attack at 123 tracks over 12 discs on the Super Deluxe Editions. It also contains many true surprises. One is a very clearly mixed jam between John and protest songwriter Phil Ochs.
No pop star had ever gone more activist than John Lennon did in his extremely busy post-Beatle years. Before leaving England, Lennon returned his MBE, spent time in bed for peace, defended the British underground magazine, Oz, and supported civil rights activist Michael X. Upon landing in New York, the Lennons performed at rallies and benefits, and continued to put often unpopular political issues to song, writing pieces defending the prisoners at Attica State, and Angela Davis. The Lennons were always finding new ways to condemn not only war, but the machinery that makes war, including very human manufacturers. John didn’t know he would pay the price of getting on the Nixon enemies list, but took on issues, in song and action, no artist would celebrate in full at the time. At the time of its release, “Sometime In New York City” was the least successful of any of Lennon’s albums.
Produced by Sean Ono Lennon, the collection does not include a full run of the original “Sometime In New York City.” The order of the songs has changed, and the album is a reimagining of Ultimate Mixes, called “New York City.” There is nothing of the Phil Spector production here. Sean knocks down the Wall of Sound, stripping tracks, isolating parts, and pushing the bare bones of the performances. One of the great things about this is Sean has a fetish for his father’s guitar playing, and John is at both his manic and controlled best in this period, finger-wise. Lennon was also stripped from having to play with the Beatles, and rips or soothes the strings. listen to the funky riffs in “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” the remix. In “Cold Turkey,” the live afternoon show, Lennon’s guitar playing is brilliantly impudent.
“Some Time in New York City” was recorded primarily at New York’s Record Plant Studios. The Lennons were backed by New York City band Elephant’s Memory, which consisted of Adam Ippolito (keyboards), Gary Van Scyoc (bass), Richard Frank Jr. (drums), Wayne “Tex” Gabriel (guitar), Stan Bronstein (saxophone), plus drummer Jim Keltner. This is also the lineup for the two August 30, 1972 shows.
The box set focuses heavily on the One To One Concert at Madison Square Garden benefitting the Willowbrook State School on Staten Island. The set includes not only the two performances, but rehearsals, and jams, along with the work on the 1972 album, “Sometime In New York City.” The album is secondary. Lennon didn’t have much time to rehearse the band for the show, so the performances are tightly arranged, by the musicians are very loose. The Lennons are particularly raw. John is at his most naked, singing deeply personal songs with a newly freed voice, and an aggressively propulsive guitar. Ono’s voice has always been compared to an instrument, and you can hear the similarities to amplified guitar runs in her delivery. The One To One concert was explored in Kevin MacDonald’s documentary “One To One: John & Yoko” that will hit HBO Max later this fall.
All of the collections are illuminating. The studio jam sessions capture the immediacy of the album and live show preparations, a peak into John’s 1975 album, “Rock ‘N’ Roll,” and insight into the music the band wanted to play for fun. Live Jam consists of two discs of remixed live performances, adding to what was available on the 1972 Live Jam LP from “Sometime In New York City.” “Cold Turkey” and “Don’t Worry Kyoko” from the 1969 Peace and Love for Christmas UNICEF Benefit at The Lyceum Ballroom features George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Klaus Voormann among the band. The Lennons’ entire 1971 jam with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention at The Fillmore East is included. The set is mixed very clearly, but not completely. Background vocals from Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (Flo & Eddie) are dropped, which is a shame. Flo and Eddie complemented Ono’s performance well.
The Live Jam 2 disc continues the live mixes starting with John and Yoko’s The Plastic Ono Band including musician David Peel and The Lower East Side on December 10, 1971, at the John Sinclair Freedom Rally at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. It includes the first live performance of “Attica State,” along with “The Luck Of The Irish,” “Sisters, O Sisters,” and “John Sinclair.” It is followed by John and Yoko’s December 17, 1971 benefit at the Apollo Theatre for the families of victims of the riot at the Attica State Correction Facility. The disc also includes John and Yoko’s TV performances on “The David Frost Show” (with Plastic Ono Band) and at the “Jerry Lewis Muscular Telethon” (with Elephant’s Memory).
The Home Jam disc of 33 acoustic demos, and home recordings from 1971, are fascinating studies of Lennon’s relationship with the acoustic guitar. From the oldies John covers, to the experiments to be turned into song, Lennon’s guitar works is innovative and adventurous. The four tracks recorded with protest singer Phil Ochs are historically eye opening, and reveal Lennon as the eternal student. Being new to protest songwriting, Lennon invited Ochs over to learn the finer points of making a point. The audio captures Ochs’ explanations, and Lennon’s rapt interest, as well as the obvious fun he was having. Occasionally praising specific changes, Lennon uses his National steel guitar to bring tasteful slide runs and subtle respect to the accompaniment over Ochs’ performances.
The packaging is elegant. The lenticular cover of John and Yoko’s faces on the Deluxe Edition is marvelous art. The set comes with 9 CDs and 3 Blu-Ray audio discs. It contains a 204-page hardback book designed and edited by Simon Hilton, a newspaper print poster, sticker sheets and a VIP envelope containing replica concert tickets, backstage and after-show passes.
Arriving at an important political juncture, “Power to the People” could be a potent weapon for the musical left, but is incomplete. The discs are a wealth of never-before-heard, previously unreleased tracks, demos, home recordings, jam sessions, and live cuts. But, the most distressing thing about the box set is what is completely omitted from the set. At the Oct. 7 listening party, photographer Bob Gruen remembered the title on the boxed reels being labeled “’Woman is the of the World’, the word was left out, it was so offensive,” and thinking, “that will never get airplay.” The Lennon/Ono female oppression lament may very well be dated, offensive, and crude, but it is a necessary message becoming timelier by the minute. While the box set is entitled “Power to the People,” the song only appears as introductions to the One to One Concert performance. It’s still worth the listen, even without being left wanting more. All Power to the People. -Tony Sokol
POWER TO THE PEOPLE
SUPER DELUXE EDITION 9CD/3BR/BOOK BOXED SET
9 CDs ⋆ 3 HD AUDIO BLU-RAY DISCS ⋆ LENTICULAR COVER
103 TRACKS ⋆ HD STEREO ⋆ HD 5.1 SURROUND ⋆ DOLBY ATMOS
What struck me most about The D.O.O.D. is how tightly they blend thrash, hardcore, nu metal, industrial, and classical music. They do this with an unyielding energy propelling their musicianship forward. There’s just enough enraged chaos on "Dissonance" to convey their perspectives on the state of the world, and their determination to effect positive change amidst the corruption you encounter daily. If the world is what we make it, the transformations this band could inspire would be unstoppable if given even half a chance.
"Dissonance" is an intensely caustic album that echoes Testament, Destruction, Pantera, and metal-hardcore bands like All Out War and Integrity. It grinds into your consciousness like sandpaper coated in corrosive material, with songs crafted to shatter the heedless disinterest enveloping John Q. Public and his community. All from the perspective of someone who perceives the truth behind what news commentators would prefer you to accept. This is delivered with such profound conviction it may leave you feeling discontent with mainstream news and inspire you to ask more questions.
The proficient delivery of the material, especially in its guitar solos and its classical influence, along with the band’s precision, distinguishes "Dissonance" from merely being a noise fest offering little more than an aggressive assault that lashes out at you. This is not to say the Howard Beale ("Network") like sentiment isn’t a fitting counterpoint to the musicianship. The songwriting possesses a unique ability to persuade you to take the band seriously as they urge you to take your thoughts seriously rather than with superficial acknowledgment.
This album simmers with a sense of disillusionment regarding complacency witnessed daily, suggesting the band is approaching their breaking point. The accumulated frustration and fury here is enough to cause you to reconsider your world view. To realize what you believed was in your best interest was simply misdirection. As the album unfolds, its tone appears to deteriorate, suggesting that complacency isn’t diminishing but becoming increasingly evident, culminating in a tragic conclusion something like Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four."
The world is changing and gone are the days of passive resistance. It’s possible that bands like The D.O.O.D. are elevating thrash and hardcore to new heights, not merely getting in your face but delivering a powerful blow akin to a sledgehammer in their attempts to provoke thought. To leave an indelible mark on you, so you at least express your thoughts on recent developments that seem nonsensical to you. It is important to note that the intention is not to cause offense or provoke anger, but rather to elevate you from mediocrity. Sometimes a proactive approach is preferable. –Dave Wolff
Format: Digital album, first edition CD, cassette, limited edition deluxe black cassette (10 copies), test print CD (limited to 1 per person)
Label: Independent
Release date: October 31, 2024
Notorium’s "Unkillable" evokes memories of John Carpenter’s 1994 film "In the Mouth of Madness," where horror enthusiasts reading Sutter Cane’s novels become possessed by his writing, engaging in arbitrary, irrational acts of homicide. Does life imitate art, or is it a story within a story? Ask the Notorium fans who were unfortunate enough to be at their show the evening a serial killer who was also a corpse showed up and went to work. In a similar situation to the film, the killer remains at large and citizens are advised to stay home locking their doors and windows.
In the tradition of Iron Maiden’s infamous Eddie and the spirit of Hellhammer (“Ready for Slaughter”), Slayer (“Criminally Insane”), Exodus (“Strike of the Beast”), Kreator (“Pleasure to Kill”), Overkill (“Overkill”) and Destruction (“Mad Butcher”), Notorium’s debut recording is the tale of a young man resurrected to live his unfulfilled mortal desires for wanton violence, unfettered by constraints of humanity and legal boundaries. It’s set to vintage Southern California thrash infused with classic hardcore and groove, fully invigorated and energized to animate the songs.
Without delving into reasons or motivations, the narrative presents the Killer Cadaver as having emerged from the afterlife to commence his spree en route to the nightclub, and subsequently at the show, where he can presumably find sufficient human souls to satisfy his thirst for blood. If these songs are meant to comprise a concept, having fulfilled his cravings to claim souls alongside him, you could conclude that Killer Cadaver makes his way back to the underworld and perpetual damnation.
Characterized by rapid tempos and unyielding intensity, the guitar progressions shift between precise, machine gun-like rhythms and intricately crafted breakdowns. Certain note progressions bear a striking resemblance to 1980s German thrash, seamlessly integrated with the hardcore and groove, plus the 1970s hard rock that initially inspired Metallica and Megadeth. This and production by Michael and Julian Perge imparts as vital a quality as thrash was in its inception. The solid drum tracks particularly contain enough echo to make room for some different bass sounds.
Perhaps a narrative as intense and passionate as this one does not require an explanation regarding its main character. Nevertheless, I would appreciate some background information on the Killer Cadaver if the band opts to pursue this concept further. Was he merely deranged in life, or is he in search of some form of retribution? In addition to this, Notorium has selected to cover "Terminator", a track that was originally performed by the US band ArnoCorps for their 2009 EP "Ballsy". –Dave Wolff
Drawing inspiration from the lasting influence established by Black Sabbath, Trouble, and The Obsessed, the New York doom metal band Castle Rat gives the genre a massive push forward with a conceptual twist usually associated with traditional heavy metal. The band crafts a world of occult fantasy lore reminiscent of the Robert E. Howard/Roy Thomas sword and sorcery themes that captivated power metal fans in the eighties.
Their 2024 debut album, titled "Into the Realm," has been described as a cautious journey into this mythology. It demonstrated promise through its direct heaviness and the world it portrayed, referred to as The Realm. From the enchanting beings dwelling in The Realm to the personas the band created to represent it onstage, "Into the Realm" distinguished itself with the haunting, alluring vocals of Riley Pinkerton, aka The Rat Queen.
Relatively rare in doom metal, Pinkerton’s approach was more likened to Stevie Nicks and Ann Wilson in the seventies. She showcased an uncanny ability to sing like an angel and scream like a banshee while the band (Franco Vittore, The Count, Charley Ruddell: The Plague Doctor, and Josh Strmic, The Druid) evoked classic rock artists like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jethro Tull, and could sound quite ominous when they chose to.
The band truly began to find their identity recording "The Bestiary" with Randall Dunn and entrusting mixing responsibilities to Jonathan Nuñez. This collaboration offers a more theatrical exploration of The Realm, crafting a narrative with a wider variety of supernatural entities. With improved production, confident songwriting, and a sound that boasts greater depth and atmosphere, "The Bestiary" shows Castle Rat advancing towards a full realization of their vision.
The similarities to classic rock on "Into the Realm" are more deeply integrated into their songwriting. There’s also a stronger inspiration from traditional heavy metal, particularly Rainbow and Dio. "Wizard: Crystal Heart", "Siren: The Pull of Promise", "Crystal Cave: Enshrined", "Serpent: Coiled Figure" and "Dragon: Lord of the Sky", embody the beings they're penned about, animating the storyline like a skillfully written novel or a thoughtfully produced film, prioritizing depth and substance.
Pinkerton's vocal performance has significantly improved with the music. As you listen to her voice, you can imagine her engagement with the other characters on record and on stage as she demonstrates increased confidence, a more haunting, ethereal quality, heightened seduction and greater harmony with the songwriting (observe the gradual buildup to "Wolf I: Tooth & Blade" in "Phoenix I: Ardent" and the exquisitely performed chants of "Summoning Spell" and "Sun Song").
Castle Rat is investing more time and effort into developing their ideas on "The Bestiary", evolving their concept into a substantial work that aims to make a significant impact on the doom metal genre as a whole. –Dave Wolff
Lineup:
Riley Pinkerton (The Rat Queen): Lead vocals, guitar
From the full length ViennaVault (Vol.1), released October 31, 2020
In 1981, a horror anthology produced in Britain, “The Monster Club”, was made featurjng Vincent Price and John Carradine. It was directed by Roy Ward Baker and drew inspiration from the writings of British author R. Chetwynd-Hayes. It was intentionally campy, providing an entertaining perspective on British horror both in print and on screen, featuring subtle inside jokes and creative investigations into the lineage of monsters.
“The Monster Club” failed to resonate with both audiences and critics aboveground, yet since its release it’s had what can loosely be described as a cult audience. A graphic novel adaptation was released in The Monster Club magazine, and two issues of Halls of Horror in 1983. The soundtrack prominently included a track by The Viewers titled “Monsters Rule OK!”. As the movie was released in the early eighties, the song was greatly influenced by punk, with noticeable ska elements introduced through the use of saxophones.
The Viennagram remembers and pays homage to Roy Ward Baker’s film and its accompanying soundtrack by transforming The Viewers’ vision into a blend of ambient, progressive rock, horror punk, psychedelic rock, gothic rock, and new wave, all while maintaining a commercially appealing edge. It's not that easy to classify the approach taken with this cover, but it does expose its commercial aspect to the chilling originality that Bauhaus and Samhain introduced to punk, goth, and horror punk long ago.
The revival of those moods is paired with entertaining, campy vocals that remind you to have a good time at this monster club. By substituting the saxophone with various keyboard sounds, incorporating a robust heavy drum presence, adding choir-like vocals in the chorus, and including background screams during the keyboard solo, they create a theme both dark and uplifting, inviting listeners to join the fun. If “The Monster Club” is ever remade, this cover should be included in the soundtrack. –Dave Wolff
"Never Give In" may not be the first to capture the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic or the frustration with the current political climate in the U.S., but it stands out for its ambition. It embodies the resilient spirit that metal has always represented and continues to represent. It showcases a commitment to not be silenced and to carve out one’s own journey despite adversity, particularly now when this message is more relevant than ever.
Today is the Day’s fourteenth album is a two-part conceptual project created by founding member Steve Austin. He initiated this endeavor after establishing his own label SuperNova Records as a means to cope with the significant impact Covid had on him. This label also includes the re-release of his band's back catalogue in partnership with The Orchard/Sony.
Prior to engaging with this recording, the song titles themselves imply a bleak view of dystopian societies and oppressed populations, further detailed in the lyrics Austin crafted for each track. Rather than merely listing society's woes, this serves as a representation of what those in authority are constructing for us, with the aspiration that we can extricate ourselves from this morass and eventually improve our circumstances, as we’ve managed to do on a few occasions.
"Never Give In" serves as the initial segment of this narrative; the follow-up segment is scheduled for release next year. If you immerse yourself in these nine tracks, they’ll be more than enough to generate anticipation for the next chapter. But be forewarned: this is not a hopeful portrayal of the current state of the world. It contains vivid depictions of spiraling staircases of animosity, solitude, self-loathing, and mental conflict.
The repetitive nature of the vocals and verses, with elements of thrash, goth rock, grunge, electronica, industrial, jazz and doom rock, combined with mesmerizing ambient tones, contribute to the bleak subject matter. Additional vocal effects, including whispers, agonized cries of anguish, harsh electronic backing vocals, and monotone speeches, contribute a range of tormented thoughts and emotions as impactful as the diverse musical influences.
The distinctions among the tracks create a disjointed album characterized by unpredictability, which piqued my curiosity about how they intend to advance this narrative on their next album. What will the extent of their musical range be, and will the tone of the lyrics maintain the same level of angst and nihilism as it does here? I’m eager to see the extent to which they’ll exercise this much creative license with the resources they possess, or compound on it. –Dave Wolff
Lineup:
Steve Austin: Guitar, vocals, electronics, Moog Sub37
Colin Frecknall: Drums and percussion
Tom Jack: Bass
Guest muscians:
Dave Brenner of Gridfailure: Vocals and keys on “Secret Police”
