Goldblade- The Terror Of Modern Life

photo by Wullie Marr

This year has already treated us to some exceptional and passionate punk adventure through the outstanding new releases from UK Subs and Dirt Box Disco; the legends bringing not only their sound but equally the genre into a startling and exhilarating new peak and the ‘new kids on the block’ showing punk n roll can be a masterful contagion bringing riot and fun into an irresistible union. Now we have the thrilling new Goldblade album which stands somewhere in between the two, the release an exceptional thirteen track brawl which snarls and provokes thoughts and senses whilst unleashing prime punk rock irresistibility. The Manchester band has always challenged and stood tall before injustices and social destructions but The Terror Of Modern Life, their sixth album, just might be the quintet at their most potent and venomous yet, quite possibly their finest hour.

The Overground Records released album is a titan of hooks, riffs, and attitude, a combative riot of energy and passion which leaves a deep mark whilst showing others how to be a potent inciting weapon against complacency and apathy, musically and socially. It opens with the mighty This Is War!, and instantly casts a web of belligerent and carnivorous bass corrosion over the ear. Bassist Keith Curtis immediately owns the senses, the barracuda throaty tone of his bass glaring eye to eye with the listener whilst aggressively seducing and intimidating. As the guitars of Peter Gorgeous and Andy Taylor sculpt out their share of the air with sonic precision and infectious flaming, the compelling canvass is set for vocalist John Robb to prowl and make his, as ever, enjoyably imposing and striking declaration. Complete with grooves and hooks which reap seeds in the same well of virulence as those conjured up by the likes of Buzzcocks and Dead Kennedys, and enslaving rhythmic excellence from Rob Haynes, the track ignites a fierce fire and hunger for the album with ease and makes a shout as one of the best punk songs in a long time.

It also sets a high bar for the rest of the release to emulate yet seemingly it is a simple test as the following Psycho Takes A Holiday and the staggering The Shamen Are Coming show. The first of the pair is a scorch of rock n roll with anthemic enthusiasm and undiluted melodic enterprise, its uncomplicated punk fuelled dance upon the ear as mischievous as it is energetic for two minutes of easy to ride and devour enticement. The second song is another startling highlight, a track which whips the passions up into a frenzy of rabid excitement. As soon as the opening scrub of acidic riffs, soon accompanied by the ever primal bass growl, lay their acerbic touch upon the ear greedy anticipation is sparked and sated impressively by a breath-taking mix of post punk and pure punk alchemy. Like a mix of The Adicts and The Diagram Brothers, the track twists and taunts the ear with scintillating flesh flailing sonic and rhythmic invention. As impacting as it is the scarring is subsequently soothed by the adjoining expression of group vocal harmonies and discord swept melodic caresses. Earlier it was said the opener was the best punk song in a long time, the fusion of all mentioned within The Shamen Are Coming ensures it stands as its equal.

The dub infested Serious Business swaggers in next with a loud whisper of Ruts to its courting, though as with all references they are mere colours to the distinct Goldblade flavour, whilst both We’re All In It Together and Someone Stole My Brain get the job done with straight forward accomplished craft, the first an uncomplicated old school punk bruise and the latter with another predatory tempting with again that delicious carnally bred bass spine making pure persuasion within sinister grooved riffs. With a maniacal hunger to its chorus and a compelling lure to the continual aural bulldozing offered, it is another immense treat which makes its predecessor, sandwiched between two such great songs, seem a little underwhelming despite its open strengths and appeal.

Through the likes of the all impressive Sick / Tired, They Kiss Like Humans, Act Like Machines, and the raw abrasion Guilty the album slips a little but only because of the excellence of the mountainous pinnacles it unearths. These and every song on the release are undeniably stirring and deeply pleasing assaults on the senses and thoughts but a few when placed beside a track like the immense and epidemically hooked The World Is Fucked Up Nowadays just have to take second place on the glory podium. This last song has a breath which leaves distrust and sonic malevolence on the tongue, but spiced up by impossibly tasty grooves which again would have made Shelley and Diggle drool back in the day, it leaves the strongest rapture making play with the emotions.

Completed by another furnace of ardour inducing punk majesty in the brilliant Hey You! Elastic Face, the ever caustic tones of Robb grazing up emotions whilst the barbed discord laced hooks fire up every other aspect of the listener, and the oppressive and threatening title track, a song which is dark, heavy, and intrusive like the world spawning its intent and ripples with essences of The Pack within its merciless consumption, The Terror Of Modern Life is quite brilliant. Simply it is an album which takes band and genre onto an explosive new anarchic plateau whilst fusing vintage punk and new uncompromising creativity into one frighteningly scintillating fury.

www.goldblade.com

10/10

RingMaster 19/05/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

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Fear God – God Bless The World, Not Just America

Continuing their knack at bringing prime punk rock in many guises to the world, Thumper Punk Records have done it again with God Bless The World, Not Just America the debut album from US band Fear God. A faith driven collection of songs which will spark the appetite of any old school punks no matter their beliefs, the album is a stirring and infectious slice of sincere and rowdy punk riots.

The solo project of veteran Orange County punk rocker Doug Jutras, the album is the result of its creator making a change in his life and finding a focus to all things through faith. Having struggled and recovered from severe back injuries and the challenges brought by his punk lifestyle from his early teens, Jutras found his clarity in life and wrote the album to hopefully inspire and give hope to others. Taking influences from the likes of Social Distortion, TSOL, The Damned, and Call to Glory, he has brought forth an album which works with the theme of the title whilst unleashing a dozen brawls of punk rock to satisfy the hearts of old school punk fans. As with a great many faith driven releases the constant heart of the album does inspire a little resistance to those with different thoughts and inspirations but God Bless The World, Not Just America does not preach and offers musically plenty to bypass that aspect and for like-minded souls and those open to the ideas and possibilities portrayed, it is a release which is likely to inspire as the artist hopes.

The raw energy of He Forgets rampages through the ear first, the great infectious bassline and thumping riffs a ready and hungry companion to the coarse riffs and catchy vocals. It is punk at its simplest and best offered with extra flair and invention, with especially the bass a magnet for the senses and primal rhythms inside. The great four string lure continues into the following Love God, the instrument and song recalling the early days of The Damned, Suburban Studs, and Circle Jerks. It is an impressive start which hardly fluctuates in quality and appeal as the album continues.

The release offers up some good surprises too amongst the more expected pink bruises starting with What Am I Doing Here, a track with Jutras narrating his thoughts and experiences through spoken word upon an emotive and suggested musical ambience. The song switches to a quick fire onslaught reminding of early Skids and then switches across the rest of the track with skill and pleasing imagination. It is an intriguing and evocative track as is the equally provoking Kelly Testimony. Consisting of a retelling of her life by a female voice over acoustic and again emotive sounds, the song is a tale which shocks and reassures. It is a clever and effective song which all can draw something from whatever their circumstances in the past and now.

Tracks like Devil’s Mark with its Misfits/Dead Kennedys breath and the garage blues lilted Can’t U Be There please and light nostalgic emotions with their uncomplicated and enjoyable sounds but the highest pinnacles come with God Bless the World and Closer He Gets to You. The first is a contagious pop punk graced slice of melodic rock with a female coaxing assisting Jutras which brings essences of Honey Bane to the pop dance of the track whilst the second is a fiery abrasion of harsh riffs and stirring intent offering a mix of Social Distortion and Angelic Upstarts and giving further variation to the album as a whole. This diversity brings a breath of different times and flavours from the genre which is as refreshing as the songs itself and adds to the overwhelming pleasure of the album.

The grazing energy of Dying World is another treat before the album closes what is a pleasing and energising encounter. If good original punk has been in short supply for your ears and heart lately then Fear God is the perfect tonic to restore your faith in punk rock and maybe more besides.

http://www.thumperpunkrecords.com/

RingMaster 09/01/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

 

Zebras: Self Titled

Though it came out midway through 2012 the self-titled album from sonic manipulators Zebras quite simply is an album you need to know about and hear. If like us you are just becoming aware of the band  then see this as the key to infernal rapture and if you already know the magnificence of the release than sit there nodding knowingly as we drool all over this review of one of the mightiest releases of last year.

Formed in 2007, the band from Madison consists of guitarist and vocalist Vincent Presley and synth player Lacey Smith as well as across its years featuring a mix of drummers. Musically the band is wonderfully indescribable merging the insidious aspects of punk, noise rock, post punk, doom, and industrial to name a few spices to their unique sonic infestation. Following on from their EP Parasitic Clones Under The Strong Arm Of The Robotic Machine, the new album is a two sided beast which consists of tracks recorded in 2011 on first side Impending Doom, with drummer Shane Hochstetler of Milwaukee band Call Me Lighting, and on the The Fate of a World Plagued By Soulless Shits side, tracks recorded in 2009 with Shawn Pierce on drums. The release is a breath taking collection of songs which shows the move in sound across the two years covered by the band and the giver of the richest rewards and pleasure.

The first quintet of tracks are those recorded in 2011 and are opened by the towering presence of The Dying Sea. Opening with thunderous beats and caustic guitar rubs the song is a brooding doomy weight loaded with the insidious tones of Presley. It is a venomous bruising encounter with a sludge thick energy which sucks the wind from the lungs and hope from the senses before later flailing the carcass with serpentine sonic lashings.

The stunning start is soon left in the wake of Mighty Bayonet, a snarling ravenous rampage of bulbous rhythms, harsh corrosive electronics, and psyche twisting riffs and guitar abrasion. It is a sprawling acidic aural licking with the vocals, a perpetual psychotic mix of Jello Biafra and Russell Toomey of Innercity Pirates/My Red Cell, a malevolent siren within the brief incessant furnace of intensity. In contrast the following Queeny Gloom Doom is a doom provoked arctic wrap of post punk discord bringing elements of Joy Division and Xmal Deutschland into the antagonistic dance of Alien Sex Fiend or Sex Gang Children. As compelling as it is exhausting the song is a darkly shadowed crawl over the senses and emotions with a deviant sexual whisper to its intimidating breath.

A Turd By Any Other Name and Black Cancer close off the first part of the release, both ingenious brawls of sonic intrusion and imaginative violence. The first is a tower of again greedy energy which rages like a hungry fire across the ear whilst the keys of Smith shoot flares of sonic irreverence and flesh spearing melodic weaponry out from within the engrossing wall of heavy aural malice. The other is a punk soaked slice of infection, a ferocious distorted mix of Dead Kennedys, Buzzcocks, and The Pixies which leaves a drooling grin on face and heart, though to be fair all the tracks on the album do achieve that with ease.

Stepping back a little in the evolution of the band the remaining sextet of songs are those from two years before the previous ones, not that you would know it in regard to quality and excellence. As soon as the best track on the release Field-Noise sets off its sonic alarm and the rampant thumping rhythms assault the ear the strongest rapture is fully engaged. Early Killing Joke fused with Mad Capsule Markets, The Melvins, and again Alien Sex Fiend, is the best way to describe the genius at play here, a moment of sheer brilliance and the best song heard in a long time.

Things are just as stunning through the songs Diablo Bianco with its blood thirsty rhythms and scattergun riffs, The Dirty Dice and its viral melodic wantonness and its devilishly discordant hooks, and Tension. The third of these is an acidulous burn of spiky vocals and sonics within a bedlamic presence of manic invention and sinister energy, oh and quite brilliant. The now entrenched treacherously seductive splendour is continued by the equally sensational Wiener Kids and the closing glory of The Serpent & The Pig, the former a riotous ball of mischief which incorporates all the goodness of Pere Ubu, early XTC, and Cardiacs in a twisted embrace and the latter an invidious bitch slap of bedlamic invention and tribal instinctiveness through the thoughts of one wicked set of minds.

It is the stunning end to a sensational album and one can only drool over what will come next from the band. Zebras have grabbed album of the year honours for 2012 with ease and the hearts of The Ringmaster Review.

Find out why by listening to future podcasts of The Bone Orchard.

http://zebras.bandcamp.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Zebras/143884414675

RingMaster 03/01/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

 

Dead Retinas: Dawn Of The Dead Retinas EP

If you are looking for niceties and sophisticated music to relax to then give UK punks Dead Retinas a wide berth as they only deal in abrasive antagonistic rock n roll which leaves you enflamed in attitude and sonic aggression. Earlier in the year the band impressed with their debut EP Dead Retinas vs. The World, the release a grazing and fiery treat of unbridled infection and invigorating adrenaline driven punk rock, but was a mere teaser for their mighty follow up, Dawn Of The Dead Retinas EP. Their debut left one fuelled by anticipation for what was to come from the Manchester quartet and they have those expectations not only quenched but seeming quite inadequate as an assumption now that the band has unleashed this sensational EP.

The first thing the release does is bring thoughts of The Dickies to mind simply from the titles of their two EPs, the band taking inspiration from movies just as the Americans did early on and both with a mischievous glint in their eyes. Musically though, despite both stirring up the senses with instinctive punk rock, they part company. Whereas the LA band were arguably the first pop punksters, Dead Retinas bitch slap the ear with a sound which is like brawl between Pinhead Gunpowder, Cancer Bats, The Hives, and Dead Kennedys. It is an irresistible brew which offers diversity within a uniform of middle finger defiance and tongue in cheek antagonism. Since forming the band has corrupted stages alongside the likes of Four Short Of A Miracle, Landmarks, Falter, The City Divided, Zsilent Z and many more, and all the time have been emerging as one of the most refreshing and promising punk bands around, the new EP only deepens that acclaim whilst showing the band is evolving and maturing as songwriters and musicians all the time and well on the way to being to the fore of UK punk.

Consisting of three tracks, the EP pounces on the ear drum with venomous spite and aggressive energy through LSD, a track showing invention and psychotic imagination. It is a delicious psyche bruise which twists and turns into a bedlam touching sonic confrontation, an irrepressible captivation from start to finish. The song enters on grazing riffs, predatory bass leers, and thumping beats pounced upon by the coarse squalls of vocalist Sam Hendo. The track soon settles into a ferocious yet restrained form of sonic combat with Sex Pistols hooks from guitarist Jack Thompson latched to his ear scouring riffs and senses gnawing basslines from CJ Smith, the pair with Hendo combining for an anthemic gang shout chorus. It is a great rampage which is elevated further when the track slips into psychedelic tendencies soaked in a classic rock solo which loses sanity turning into a synapse scorching sonic acid. It is a ‘painful’ end which completes an outstanding song, though it is eclipsed by the even greater presence of Just Because You Drink Jack Daniels Doesn’t Mean You’re Rock and Roll.

The track is a fusion of psyche, noise, punk rock, and quite magnetic. Immediately the song is confronting the ear with a snarling bass, scything riffs, and the abusive rhythms of drummer Lee O’Connor which never let you off the hook from start to finish, those bass growls of Smith an eager devilish companion. There is a slight bluesy lilt to the guitar as Hendo sets one up for a fall with malevolent chuckles and challenging tones questioning the listener. With additional Dead Kennedys like riffs and the twin barracking of drums and bass the song just ignites rapture for its compelling sounds. With also a mix of Kabul Golf Club shagging Gallows to its breath, the track is a glorious riot of energy and sounds which fires up even greater expectations of the band ahead.

The release is completed by Swarm The Decks, an incendiary merger of enslaving rhythms, raw erosive riffs, and a scrap of vocals from all three vocalists. Like a quarrel with the Beastie Boys and Discharge it is an in your face agitator which without the contagious lures of the other pair still pulls up an equal satisfaction through its combative and challenging intensity.

You always expect and hope a band will improve release by release but Dead Retinas have taken big steps on from what was a strong and vibrant debut with Dawn Of The Dead Retinas. For all punk rock fans the band is a must.

https://www.facebook.com/DeadRetinas

RingMaster 18/12/2012

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

The Duel – Soundtrack To The End Of The World (The Zak Splash Story)

Last year London punk band The Duel set the pulse rate racing with their impressive feast of nostalgic yet completely fresh sounds on the album All Aboard The Crazy Train. Now they return with an adventurous and intriguing release Soundtrack To The End Of The World (The Zak Splash Story), an album no less impressive or captivating. Admittedly it does not have the more instant engagement which marked the previous release, its songs like old friends with a modern outlook, but the new album is arguably a deeper and more expansive creature. It takes its time to seduce and charm the senses, its sounds at times surprising and ideas refreshingly inventive, but the end result is the same, the captivation of the heart with the fullest pleasure given along the way.

Since its beginning in 2001 when vocalist Tara Rez and keyboardist / bassist Andy Theirum linked up, The Duel has gone from strength to strength. From its debut gig supporting the Dead Kennedys, through the supporting of the likes of Buzzcocks, The Vibrators, Vice Squad, Peter Hook, UK Subs, The Slits, Sham 69, and Angelic Upstarts, festival appearances and across its albums Let’s Finish What We Started and Childish Behavior, 2007 and 2009 respectively,plus of course All Aboard The Crazy Train, the band has reaped and incited enthused acclaim and a growing loyal fan base. The new release arguably will have many stepping back a little as its sounds sink in fully but it is imaginable that many will not be fully enamoured by it.

The track simply called Intro immediately lights up the senses, a fiery instrumental with a sharp melodic enterprise and steely attitude which is a delicious treat for the ear. Sounding like a cross between the instrumentals Rondo (The Midgets Revenge) by The Dickies and the Buzzcocks track Late For The Train, the piece is an absorbing and infectious companion and sets one up eagerly for the following song Invincible.

With guitars flashing their sonic sparks and a heavy bass swaying in between, the song lifts off with the vocals of Rez, her tones as pleasing and compelling as ever. The production means the strokes of guitarist Thanos Oscar Pap dominate the sound of the track though not to any real detriment. The vocals and bass of Chris McDougall, as well as the keys of Thierum and drums of Pumpy, are meshed together to create a grazing intensity yet still hold their clarity. It takes a second play to understand how it works but it does, the slightly bruising energy of the song leading the ultimately electric charge.

Less Everyday is the first song to venture away from expectations in sound, whereas its predecessor was a punk cored gem this song has a more teasing new wave caress to its still bristling breath. There is a resonance which appears throughout the album to the vocal sound of Rez offering a warm and mesmeric flavouring. To be honest one did not expect to say this but there is a definite Altered Images feel to this song and other moments later on in the album. It is a great aspect to the sound though, the glowing pop charms aligning easily and skillfully with the bristling attitude driven heart of the band.

The magnetic Fake Like You has the same gait to its swagger whilst sitting between the two, You Can Do It is a rock n roll stroll which flares with tight melodies and belligerence. As these and subsequent songs light up the senses, and the slight surprise at the evolution of sound from the band ebbs away, the pleasure only goes deeper. Songs like the excellent Love Me Do, bringing a brew of Penetration and Animal Alpha to its midst, and the slightly abrasive and raw Splash On You featuring Max Splodge (Splodgenessabounds), ensure the treats keep coming, whilst the closing gem of When The Fire Goes Out is sonic radiance. It burns but soothes the wounds with crafted rays of melodic warmth musically and vocally. Infectious and vibrant with coaxing whispers upon the ear, the track is a delicious smile of post punk invention and pop punk grace.

Going back to the beginning of the album and it is not the track Intro; it opens with Zak Splash Story. A forty minute tale of the fictitious Zak Splash narrated by Max Splodge, the track merges all the songs on the album into the narrative proving the songs work as part of dare one say a ‘punk opera’ or individually, though one suspects the latter is how the majority of eager listens will be made.

Soundtrack To The End Of The World is a credible piece of imagination with its tracks nothing less than satisfying and enthralling. The Duel has been to the fore of UK punk for the past few years and shows no signs of leaving their position to anyone else as the album proves.

https://www.facebook.com/thedueluk

RingMaster 28/09/2012

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

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Interview with Paile from Beastmilk

A release which ‘…swamps the ear and senses with an unrelenting intensity, a shadowed energetic breath and doom coloured melodic mesmerism’ was how we described the excellent Use Your Deluge EP from Finnish post punk band Beastmilk . The four track release is an outstanding feast of self proclaimed apocalyptic post punk which unrelentingly grabs hold from the very beginning and grips and twists tighter as it consumes the ear persistently. With pleasure we had the chance to find out more about the band and release thanks to bassist Paile taking time out to answer a few questions.

Hi Paile and welcome to The Ringmaster Review

Firstly for those new to the band could you simply introduce yourselves?

Hello, and thank you. If fluids in general feel intriguing to you, our music should be to your liking. Please have a sip and a listen!

We have to ask about the band name, Beastmilk. It inspires many thoughts and images not all healthy haha but what are its seeds?

The contaminated seed is of our fathers and other homosexual men. And one should never belittle the value of taste. All beasts produce liquid substances of varying density and color.

Tell us about the beginning of the band and how you all met?

It was cold, very cold. Much snow. And very dark. Paile wanted to play drums in a band, so Goatspeed invited him to a cellar to play some songs he’d written. They needed a bottom end to it all and called bassist Arino, asking if he’d like to come and play some punk music. Arino showed up, and on that instant, White Stains on Black Tape was recorded. Goatspeed knew Kvohst from before, and the vocals were recorded later that same night when the quartet met each other for the first time.

There is already a strong history musically to the members of the band I believe?

We must all be winners then.

How would you describe your music from the inside?

Inside it’s always throbbing, between the gushes. We try not to get stuck in there too long, one tends to lose perspective that way.

The press release to your new release states the intent of the band was to bring forth music that was a mixture of various acts like The Cure, Misfits, and Dead Kennedys. Listening to your music though one feels there are many more influences and inspirations which have spiced your style and music?

In a clever way we copy other people’s music and disguise it as our own original creation. We are also inspired by female sweat. Licking armpits can be very educating.

Maybe it was our ears but we heard a definite eighties UK post punk flavouring reminding of the likes of Joy Division, Leitmotiv and Crispy Ambulance. Coincidence or do you have a heart for those sounds too?

Our sound is calculated and constructed artificially using advanced machinery. We’ve all stepped outside our comfort zones for this band, and that’s where all the tension and the flavours are coming from.

The release we mentioned is your stunning Use Your Deluge EP, four songs which for us swamps the ear and senses with an unrelenting intensity and doom coloured melodic mesmerism for the fullest aural addiction.

Thank you kindly! We trust in the vibe that seems to arise by itself when the four of us are put in a tiny space for a limited time. There is always present a balance of sceptical curiosity for what the guys will play, and yet the outcome always sounds smashing.

Tell us about the songs on the EP, what inspired them and were they written specifically for the release?

The songs are always written quite quickly, and specifically for the upcoming release. At least Ms. Chapman and A.O. Spare should feel particularly honoured this time.

Do songs emerge in the songwriting from one person or is a full band contribution throughout?

It’s always interesting to listen back to the original demos and drafts of Goatspeed after a song has been recorded in the studio. They appear to go through a natural metamorphosis. The demos usually get their specific feel and direction once Kvohst has written the vocals. Then everything crystallizes when Paile and Arino build up the backbeat.

When reviewing the EP, we talked about the track Children of the Atom Bomb which we loved by the way, as the perfect example of ‘repetition when used right and with thought is irresistible,’ In hindsight though we still know it to be true, we were wondering how you guys think about the repetition comment, if you see the song using that too quite as much as our ears do?

Never thought of it that way. Repetition in thought and in practice is a fine thing.

Use Your Deluge was only released as a 7” vinyl. An old school return we love and endorse but do you think you are restricting yourselves in the spreading of your sounds and presence by no CD release?

We love the sound of vinyl (and cassette). Do people still buy CD’s?

Was this always the intention to do a vinyl physical release?

The vinyl comes with a download code as well. But somehow things tend to exist a little more when they take physical shape, like seed and eggs.

In the studio did the way you were releasing the material make any impact on how you recorded the songs?

Not so much. Red Majesty is quite long in comparison, so it had to be paired with a shorter one.

The songs on the EP have a delicious and powerful raw edge to them leading us to wonder if you recorded them like a live cut.

We’re very quick in the studio. It all comes down to the communication between Goatspeed and Paile. They look each other passionately in the eyes until the tension gets unbearable. That’s when the main arrangements just seem to appear. Then we add the bass and the vocals and some additional overdubs. It’s not live, but we leave a lot of room for spontaneous solutions and unobstructed expression.

Is the release just a teaser for something more substantial in the near future or is there going to be a wait ahead for our impatient ears

Yes

I believe you have ‘real’ lives alongside Beastmilk, how does this impact on the band if at all?

Unfortunately you are mistaken, we do not have ‘real’ lives alongside Beastmilk. Beastmilk is everywhere

Is there a live side to Beastmilk, I ask as it was hard to find any dates upcoming or recent for you.

We are currently in the process of booking festival gigs for summer 2013. So dig out your aprons and buckets and get ready for some milking!

What does come next for you and as a band?

What does come next for us and as a band?

Thank you for sparing time to talk with us.

Thank you for showing interest and for the nice compliments!

Would you like to end with a final thought?

We hope not to have any final thoughts yet.

Read the review of Use Your Deluge EP @ http://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/beastmilk-use-your-deluge-ep/

The Ringmaster Review 03/08/2012

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

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Mighty High: Legalize Tre Bags

With enough references to and celebration of weed to make The Kottonmouth Kings appear like The Osmonds the eagerly awaited second album from Brooklyn rockers Mighty High is let loose June 12^th through Ripple Music. Fully mischievous, completely fired up and an unbridled dust bowl of sonic rampage and energetic guitar infestation, Legalize Tre Bags leaves thrilled and welcomingly assaulted. It carries no pretence, it is what it is and the band does not give two flying nuns on a day trip to a candle factory what anyone thinks. Most of all it is insatiable rock n roll, a posse of exuberant songs set on senses rustling.

Legalize Tre Bags follows up 2008 debut album …In Drug City which with the following Drops A Deuce 7″ single in 2009 and a 7” split with Stone Axe gathered strong acclaim. The release also marks the tenth anniversary of Mighty High and sees the quartet of Woody (vocals, guitar), Kevin Overdose (lead guitar), LaBatts Santoro (bass, vocals), and Jesse D’Stills (drums) as able as ever to raise hell and live high and vice versa as they return with an album sure to incite further shouts and puffs of praise.

With the title referencing the once available $3 bag that could be scored at all the best dope spots in the Bronx, Legalize Tre Bags hits the sweet spot from the off with I Don’t Wanna Listen To Yes, a Ramones toned ear puncturing of punk rock. With barely enough time to take a breath it splatters the senses with attitude drenched rock n roll to wake up and ignite attention for the excellent following Mooche. With a hypnotic bassline the track roughs up the ear with a Beastie Boys meets Black Flag attack punctured with scorched veins of classic metal to add extra electrified heat to its mesmeric swagger.

The great start is continued with the stoner fuelled The Ram, its smoked cloud of scuzzed guitars and enveloping energy an all pervading mesmeric wrap lighting up more than the senses. It is a track like many on the album which in its simplicity still twists and turns to great and infectious effect. There is nothing trying to open new musical doors or set down unique markers within song and album as a whole, but Mighty High still stand relatively alone with their irrepressible and carefree sounds.

With tracks like the outstanding contagious Tokin’ N Strokin’, a song about the life and death of David Carradine, and Southern rock saunter Cheep Beer, Dirt Weed the album ignites the urge to become one with the release in any way one feels fit. Add the Dead Kennedys like Drug War and the tour of all 5 boroughs of New York City with Come On! I’m Holdin’, not to mention the slightly schizophrenic Chemical Warpigs and there is nothing but fun and good times to be have each and every minute of the release. The last of these songs brings a Motorhead, Suicidal Tendencies, and Sabbath like mesh into a psychedelic blistering of the synapses.

Legalize Tre Bags is a raucous feast of punk, weed, and middle finger attitude, most of all it is a deeply satisfying slab of rousing rock n roll. It offers nothing particularly new nor tries to inspire an unexpected awe but it is still one of the most fun and gratifying albums out this year. Mighty High are lighting up with an aural invitation to share.

RingMaster 07/06/2012

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Anti-Macassar – Empty

From the unmentioned depths of darker Devon there is something begin to stir and setting greedy eyes on the rest of the UK. This predatory beast of attitude, beer, and aggravation comes in the undiscovered shape of punk rock band Anti-Macassar. Their apparent secrecy is now though becoming under threat as more and more find out about their album Empty, a festering pleasure of rock, punk, and blues brought with an urgency and original punk heart.

Empty is a joy, and though slightly inconsistent and at times seemingly unsure which fuel to load individual songs up with, it is persistently compulsive and consistently very satisfying. Consisting of Mike Hill (vocals, rhythm guitar), Benny Joy (lead guitar, backing vocals), Garry Dewis (bass), and Andy Higgins (drums, backing vocals), the quartet create music which has no need for or desire to charm and comes with an insatiable appetite to rile up all and sundry in emotion and heart. It is honest fun music, a blend of punk, rock, and garage punk, with an occasional splash of psychedelic blues flavouring to spice things up. It is also perfectly nostalgic revisiting seventies punk and rock with an instinctive surety.

The album bulges with thirteen tracks all hungry to rile up the senses and cause maximum mischief with varying levels of spite. Coarse and caustic, the slices of rock badger and assault with no barrier to their purpose and lyrical intentions and each is primed to grab the fullest reaction it can instigate from its recipient. As mentioned the album has a small inconsistency across its length but with more peaks than dips, and these lesser moments still a riotous pleasure for the ear, it is hard to be too critical on a release treating one to a beer soaked and aggression veined party as good as Empty.

The title track opens things up and feels an odd choice to strike the first blow with. The song is a hypnotic prowling crawl through the ear with sharp melodic guitars and a blues tinged tone coating every note. It is seemingly nothing more than enjoyable but before one knows it the track has craftily captivated the senses, its psychedelic wash as mesmeric as a scorched sunset. It is slightly overlong but never loses its grip on the ear and by its end shows the band is not prone to the obvious and predictable in any aspect of their music.

     Anti-Macassar throw up a storm of addictive riffs and greedy hooks next with the angry punk driven Kill Ya. Vengeance driven and expressing the thoughts and heart of more than a few, the track is an infectious stomp with hungry riffs soaked in a southern drawl. It plays like UK Subs meets The Meteors and is an immediate pull with its infectious chorus and unbridled vehemence.

Tracks like the taunting nasty Man Friday offering a mix of Crisis and Art Attacks with a blistering rock solo piercing its heart and Come With Me, a Leyton Buzzards/The Outcasts slab of wanton dirty anthemic joy keeps things continually combative and energised. Further along songs such as Falling Down and Black Is Back keep the attack and punk call loud and forceful too. The first a bare and distressed scuzzed feast of simplistic power recalling Spizz Oil and Dangerous Girls whilst the second swaggers with a grooved garage rock surety complete with sing-a-long chorus and sharp guitars.

These mentioned tracks alone make the album much more than a release to smile at and move on from but with the addition of its two best tracks it easily becomes a must check out. Ignorance Is Bliss saunters in with alcohol swigging riffs and near frenzied energy. Complete with an addictive riff for the chorus which would not look out of place on a Dead Kennedys track the song leads the ear on a boisterous and ravenous crawl whilst fiery melodic guitars and solo spark rapture within the senses.

This impressive track is soon swept aside by the mighty presence of 6ft Locust. The track is proving to be the fan favourite and it is not hard to see why, it is perfect punk rock. With a provocative vocal delivery over teasing riffs and scarred melodies the song is as infectious as they come. Throughout it punches and coaxes the senses in equal measure and once it throws in a Buzzcocks proud melodic hook as contagious as they come the song elevates to classic. With elements of The Adicts and Angelic Upstarts to its blood the song makes the album worth a punt all on its own but backed by an array of other feisty treats Anti-Macassar shows that Empty is no hollow pleasure.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Anti-Macassar/204777576222328

RingMaster 05/06/2012

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Sexcrement: Sloppy Seconds

The groove veined slab of debauchery in the shape of Sloppy Seconds from death metal band Sexcrement has to be one of the most addictive and irresistible slabs of extreme metal this year. With lustful saliva dripping from every syllable and wanton sexual tension coating every eager riff and intimidating rhythm the album takes filth fuelled infestation to another level. Within its welcoming blackened seedy walls depravity and penetrative sexy grooves alongside commanding and thunderous rock n roll aggression make insatiable bed fellows. Their union a salacious feast for the senses and an album which leaves nothing but a drooling enthused need to be molested by it again and again.

Released via Comatose Music the album is the second from the Boston, Massachusetts band following up Genitales From The Porno Potty from 2007. Though placed as death metal the 2005 formed band offers much more, their sound brought with a sure technical essence and those delicious unforgettable grooves. With influences of the likes of Broken Hope, Gorguts, Scattered Remnants and Skinless, the band took no time in making their mark with the Whiskey Tits demo and the sharing of stages with the likes of Cryptopsy, Suffocation, Cattle Decapitation, Dehumanized, Anal Blast, Goatwhore, Mutilated, and plenty more. Their debut album saw Sexcrement as one of the leaders of offensive and raunchy metal and the recipient of unbridled acclaim. Sloppy Seconds returns with the same mindset, the same disgusting debauchery, but with even more contagious grooves and not to be denied energy.

The opening Heard It Through The Rape Vine takes a firm grip from the off with a persistently tightening destructive groove like a sonic lasso around the ear. The guitar of Evan Duplessis whether thrusting riffs with direct accuracy or twisting the senses with his precise melodic manipulations is unerring whilst bassist Blue Spinazola and drummer Devon Hunt prowl and assault respectively with bestial intensity. The spiteful wretched delivery of vocalist Adam Mason finishes off the perversity with extra brutal fingering to make a song and subsequent album which one easily opens ears, heart, and legs for.

The following Chemical Handcuffs dives deeper and even more effectively with outstanding bass work from Spinazola throbbing with vengeance throughout the deviancy accosting the senses. In some ways the band reminds of the Dead Kennedys with their riffs, and grooves, not in sound but the way once they have infiltrated they are there for life in memory and heart and applies across the whole album.

The outstanding and arguably best track Well Hungover with its insistent hornet powered groove, the equal swarming infestation Heels Up, and the irrepressible psychotic Trucker Bombed, all ignite deeper and more lustful devouring from the ear. The third of these is a barely controlled slice of mayhem bringing threatening behaviour, sounds, and excitement of the most dubious borne for the fullest pleasure. The track commands full attention throughout and with a video accompanying it starring Scream Queen Linnea Quigley (Return of the Living Dead, Silent Night Deadly Night); the song is destined for classic status.

With obvious humour powering every idea, note, and song premise the great thing about Sexcrement is they never teeter on the edge of joke or novelty band. Their tracks are excellently structured and offer music of the highest order. It is not demanding but nor is it throwaway in any degree. Sloppy Seconds is completed by further impressive tracks in Assisted Living Lapdance, Obestiality, and Ride Johnny Ride, all songs which though they do not quite live up to what came before still leave nothing but chuckling satisfaction. The album is outstanding and one to leave you crushed, shell shocked, and mischievously grinning from ear to ear.

RingMaster 03/06/2012

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Beastmilk – Use Your Deluge EP

As the four songs making up the Use Your Deluge EP from Finnish post punk band Beastmilk  consume  and  permeate every pore it is impossible not to be taken back to the time when their sound first was seeded and spread its icy fingers and stark shadows. Comparisons placed upon the band include the likes of early Misfits, Dead Kennedys, and Danzig but as the far too brief a release took over the ear the trip back to the sounds of bands like Joy Division and even more so Leitmotiv and Crispy Ambulance was unmissable. Whether mere coincidence or actual flavours that influenced the quartet the EP ignited distinct passions assumed lost to time, feelings resurrected with freshness of the now. Simply Use Your Deluge is outstanding.

Beastmilk was formed in 2010 by British vocalist/songwriter Mathew McNerney, better known as Kvohst. Already renowned from his work with and in bands such as Code, Void, and Dødheimsgard, he pulled in friends guitarist Goatspeed, bassist Paile, and Arino on drums for the band. According to their press release they were to bring forth music that was a mixture of various acts like The Cure, Misfits, and Dead Kennedys. This they have achieved though there are many more and maybe more prominent flavours that stands out in their sound.

Released through Svart Records and following on from acclaimed self released two song demo White Stains on Black Tape, the band and the EP unleash their self proclaimed apocalyptic post punk upon the world with a deeply intrusive and satisfying contagion. The release swamps the ear and senses with an unrelenting intensity, a shadowed energetic breath and doom coloured melodic mesmerism. From the first compulsive consuming note to the last Use Your Deluge leaves one breathless and blackened, the need to immerse even longer in the thick smog of aural mass an addiction.

The EP opens with Void Mother, the track instantly swamping the ear with a dirty atmosphere and scuzzed guitars. As the dust settles the hypnotic bass and leading rhythms seize control of the ear allowing the guitar to roughen up the senses whilst the vocals of Kvohst sway and draw attention like a cobra, smooth and magnetic but full of power and intent. The track is very Danzig like with splashes of Play Dead and drips of Type O Negative added for taste. Aggressive and attentive the track is a stunning opener soon to be eclipsed by the following glorious track.

Children of the Atom Bomb picks up the already elevated reins of the release like a possessed entity. It rampages with a sure and controlled pace whilst delving into every pore with its consumption of black melodies and exhausting atmosphere. Reminding deeply of Leitmotive and their Caress + Curse EP, the track and its successor are overwhelmingly infectious. There is simplicity in the construct of lyrics and music that makes it so easy to be part of and impossible to resist being so. Repetition when used right and with thought is irresistible, a word that perfectly covers the Use Your Deluge EP as a whole.

The equally brilliant Forever Animal stalks and paces incessantly, another song that denies escape from its devouring rhythms and cold sirenesque pull. The bass conjures up riffs which are definitely as inspirational as those the Dead Kennedys excelled in and the comparison is understandable.

The mountainous closing Red Majesty is a prowling less eager track though no less impressive. When it raises its temperature it rages like a fire to then sit back and assess the damage with melodic glee and acidic smirking hooks. It is a venomous track and the one where you feel its aggressive energy blistering every vein the most. The droned resonance of the vocals of Kvohst is immense throughout the release and especially here bring a stunning companion and contrast to the coarse and caustic sounds around him.

Use Your Deluge is a classic with the fact it is only a foursome of great songs running barely fourteen minutes the negative. The need for and exasperation at not having more is overwhelming by the end, something hopefully that will be remedied in the near future. Released as a 7” vinyl only Beastmilk has given a true must have release, arguably the first of the year and sure to be just the first of many from them.

www.facebook.com/Beastmilk

RingMaster 22/05/2012

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