SODEN LED BY FOXES... Self-Released. Sludge Metal, Post-Rock. Listening Format: CD Soden are an instrumental Metal trio based in Worcestershire, England. After putting out a couple of well received EPs over the last two years, the band have written, self produced and DIY released this debut full length CD, 'Led By Foxes...' Soden also continue to be a strong force playing live across the UK, and this album very much captures their live essence and sound. One of the most obvious bands to compare Soden to would be US Post-Metal icons Pelican. Not only do Soden bring crushing Doom riffs, but their understanding of dynamics is fantastic. Across the whole of 'Led By Foxes...', Soden take you on a real journey, telling a story without any lyrics. Opener 'Sleep Paralysis' is not only a fantastic live number, but it is such a great mission statement for the band. The song is a real showcase of melodic, twiddly bass licks, that ebb and flow like tidal waves. So much fuzz and atmosphere is created that you begin to wonder how just three players can make such massive, textured sounds. In particular the use of different pedals creates noisy atmospheres, and the tribal influenced drumming gives such a lively sense of rhythm and groove. The technical abilities of the band really shine, with so many exciting fills and transitions. It's the lengthier tracks that win on this album, with the title track having even more irresistible grooves. Some of the shorter tracks like 'Beyond the Mountain' are awesome balls out riff machines, but it is epics like the teasing stop/start 'Oneireophrenia' and fuzz worship finale 'Trip to Pluto' that excite me the most. Soden are a band that make the clean, softer sections count as much as the crushing riffs. The trio sound even better when they are crafting these lengthy journeys of sound that take the listener on a sonic trip of peaks and troughs, louds and quiets. The Worcestershire trio are storytellers of sound and this is a fantastically realised debut effort. Some of the tones expressed are beautiful and the drums snap hard. I'd love them to continue to go even further in the future and make their tracks even longer and more progressive! 8/10.
BORIS DEAR Sargent House. Doom Metal, Drone Metal, Amplifier Worship. Listening Format: Digital & CD Boris are a seminal band from Tokyo, Japan who are celebrating their 25th year of making music together. Boris have a vast discography and are best known for making all kinds of music that is incredibly loud and extreme. The band have experimented in Drone, Doom Metal, Harsh Noise, Electronic Music, Psychedelic Rock and all sorts. Alongside experimental legends such as Earth, Melvins and Sunn O))), Boris are considered to be one of the pioneers of the amplifier worship concept, even naming their 1998 album 'Amplifier Worship', which helped establish such ear destroying sounds. The group's discography is so deep, with many collaborations, that even die hard Boris fans struggle to keep up. It's safe to say though that the band have shied away from super loud Doom and Drone Metal releases over the past decade. Commercial releases such as 'Smile' and 'Noise' experimented with Psyche Rock and Shoegaze. 'Attention Please' was a really interesting left turn into making a dreamy Synth Pop album. Even though this band have always been putting out interesting and experimental music, a large part of their fanbase love it best when this band bring out the crushingly heavy riffs. In all honesty, Boris haven't quite given us that ferocity since their classic 2006 collaboration with Sunn O))), 'Altar'... Until now...!!! 'Dear' opens with a slow, drum rattle, and then just a single, face-melting power chord is struck and left to ring out, at maximum volume. The amp feedback swirls and pierces around your brain as a reverb drenched chanting vocal comes in. Instantly the fans of Boris at their heaviest will light up with a sadistic smile. Across the whole album, Boris dish out some of the slowest, heaviest and most crushing riffs they have ever dealt. The third track 'Absolutego' even name checks their very first album, so you can tell that the band are looking back on themselves for this anniversary occasion. Even though Boris seem to be looking backwards, they still perform with absolute conviction and passion. Other highlights include the monstrous 'The Power', which could easily have fit onto the 'Altar' album. Incredibly slow pounding drums rumble at a funeral pace, as these gorgeous harmonised doom riffs tread very similar chord(s) to Sunn O))). 'Distopia - Vanishing Point' verges into Space Rock over twelve psyched out minutes. The track starts off with hushed and dreamy vocals, as the loud fuzzy guitars escalate gradually. A barrage of Floydian guitar solos in the second half brings an epic sense of drama that works really well. The closing title track 'Dear' sounds like Boris ate Melvin's 'Hag Me' for breakfast and then slowly regurgitated it back up, sounding even slower, louder and more downtuned. 'Dear' ultimately feels like a love-letter to the fans who who have stuck by Boris since their inception. Whilst their experimental works outside of the Metal realm have been very commendable, 'Dear' is absolutely that back to basics, all out Metal album that fans have been waiting for, and they have done it in true style. Boris very much still know their way around a wall of amps and an array of fuzz pedals, and they continue to prove why they are one of the best in the business. 'Dear' is very much the successor to albums such as 'Pink' and 'Altar'. Not only that, it is genuinely one of the heaviest albums of 2017. 8/10.
MELVINS A WALK WITH LOVE & DEATH Ipecac Recordings. Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, Hard Rock, Sound Collage, Original Score. Listening Format: Digital.
Melvins have been incredibly prolific in the last few years. Two albums in 2013 (one was a cover album), two albums in 2014 (one was King Buzzo's solo album), two albums in 2016... Offshoot project Crystal Fairy have already released a quality album earlier this year too! At this point, Melvins announcing a double album seems like some kind of threat! 'A Walk With Love & Death' very much presents both sides of the Melvins coin in one release. The 'Death' disc is that classic Melvin's Sludge Rock sound. Whilst the 'Love' disc is a return to the experimental side of Melvins that made 'Electroretard' and collaborated with Lustmord. Truly a release for the die hard Melvins connoisseur! DEATH It's probably safe to say that Melvins have softened up their sound a little bit this decade *takes cover from a pelting of rotten fruit*. But seriously, Melvins' recent output has been closer to a Hard Rock sound, even if there are still some classy doomy riffs on show. King Buzzo hasn't quite given us a ferocious scream or a haggard, crushing deathblow of a riff that abuses stereo speakers lately, such as displayed on their seminal 1993 album 'Houdini'. But what Melvins' have done well is to keep releasing interesting stuff. Their run of albums on Ipecac hasn't always been gold, but have been full of varying sounds, line-up changes and lots of collaborative efforts. Considering they are releasing material at a yearly rate, their creative flow certainly hasn't diminished.
The 'Death' disc of this double album is such a fun and breezy listen. I wouldn't quite consider it Metal, although stand out 'Euthanasia' has a slow and heavy riff that could slay a woolly mammoth. Sounding like classic 90s Melvins (this song has been knocking around live sets for a long time now). But most of this album is much more in the Rock terrirory. Standout track 'Sober-dellic' has a Blues Rock stomp to it that seems to be challenging 70s ZZ-Top. Lead single 'What's Wrong With You?' beautifully channels their 90s Grunge/Sub Pop roots. This track sounds like the Beach Boys, Nirvana and Bubblegum Pop all mixed into a blender. The vocal harmonies sound so immediate and ear grabbing on this track. The vocal harmonies shine really well on the crunchy riff rocker 'Flaming Creature' too, another huge track. Ultimately the 'Death' disc is just so much fun. Melvins' have been trying to create more immediate, catchy and fun songs for a few years now and it sounds like they are getting better and better at it. They still totally inject them with that Melvins quirk and sense of humour. LOVE
On the tails side of the coin we have the 'Love' disc. It's been a while since the more controversial and experimental side of Melvins has been let loose but here we have it. 'Love' is an original score for a short film directed by Jesse Nieminen, also called A Walk With Love & Death. I've not seen the film yet, but judging from the score I imagine it to be a very surreal, arty collage film perhaps? The 'Love' disc is not a film score in the traditional sense. It is basically a series of noisy sound collages with field recordings, spoken word samples (presumably from the film) and little to no structure. Each track noodles about seemingly randomly, with the occasional pulsing electronics, banging drums, scatty guitars. All the tracks here sound like they are completely improvised in the studio and sound very lo-fi and barely mixed or mastered. It definitely harkens back to their 1994 sound collage album 'Prick'. I honestly really struggled to sit through this disc. It just... It's not good. The sound of Melvins messing around with instruments in their rehearsal room with no rhyme or reason might appeal to a small quota of Noise fans or Melvins die hards, but in reality, this is not enjoyable to listen to. It sounds like the band churned it out in an afternoon and barely looked back on it. It also has absolutely no connection to the impressive 'Death' disc in terms of sound, style or thematic content. I did not take away anything memorable or enjoyable from this disc, and I quickly want to forget I ever heard it. CONCLUSION These two albums really deserved to be released separately because they don't have any logical connection to each other. 'Death' is one of the best Melvins releases of this decade, and 'Love' might be the worst thing they have ever put out. If 'Love' had just been billed as a "bonus disc" I could have let it slide. But this package is not only being marketed as a double album, but priced as such too. And sadly, as much as I enjoyed the 'Death' disc, it isn't worth shelling out that extra buck (although the album packaging is superb). The 'Love' disc is something you will not want to listen to more than once... Ever! I'm going to leave this at a 6/10 (but in reality think of it as an 8/10 & a 2/10)
*Note: At least it lives up to the title. Feels like they got the 'Love' & 'Death' titles the wrong way around though?
