Aborym – Dirty

Listening to Dirty, the new album from Italian industrial metallers Aborym, takes thoughts back to the early days of the genre when Ministry and Godflesh corrosively chewed senses and KMFDM had a true snarl to their sound. It was the time when the genre was at its purest, as generally any style is at its seeding time, and when there was a malevolence and creative spite which arguably has since dispersed over the past decade in the industrial arena. Formed in 1992 the band has continued and explored their origins, combining the essences of the genre from back then with blackened venom and extreme metal savagery. Aborym have set high standards across the years which have inspired and shaped the intent of a wealth of bands and it is with confidence that you can assume Dirty will continue that influence.

Released through Agonia Records, the sixth album from the ignites fires in the passions but as easily quells them at times too, it is an experience of mixed ideas and results but one which is thoroughly captivating and deeply intriguing from start to finish. Like their sound overall, the album unleashes a predatory expanse of what they call “hard-industrial-electro extreme metal”, an unpredictable confrontation which is lingering and at times irresistible. The trio of Fabban (vocals, bass, programming, synth), Paolo Pieri (guitars, keyboards, programming), and Bard Eithun “Faust” (drums), whose past and current invention is found in bands such as Emperor, Hour Of Penance, Mongo Ninja, and Blood Tsunami, take thoughts and senses on an intense and caustically carved journey through black hearted emotive depths and synapse challenging intrusions.

Opening track Irreversible Crisis has a tantalising beckoning to recruit thoughts from the start, its blend of sizzling metallic pulses within a scrappy blistered ambience evoking instant thoughts before the ravaging blackened charge of sonic malevolence consumes the ear. It is a viciously driven persuasion with the vocals of Fabban squalling with serpentine intensity upon the rhythmic bombardment and quarrelsome riffing. It is not long though before the industrial veins move in to shift the emphasis and creative temptation, the vocals seizing a Marilyn Manson like enticement whilst the song itself moves from a black metal like scourge through to an electro industrial wantonness. Imagine Behemoth meets Ministry and Treponen Pal before engaging with Wiseblood and The Amenta and you get an idea of this outstanding track and start.

The following Across the Universe wraps its electro arms tightly around the ear initially before slowly stretching its metal sinews and resonating breath into another intensive provocation. Clean vocals set the narrative up with potent clarity whilst the melodic teasing of the song inspires thoughts before being drenched in a squall of blackened toxin. Though not as immediate in its persuasion as its predecessor, the song is a riveting sonic travelogue through rapacious and magnetic scenery which reveals and persuades more with each subsequent course.

Next up the title track is a filth clad tsunami of nastiness, its erosive breath working silently behind the violent hunger and insidious exploits created by the venomous maelstrom elsewhere. It is the brink of the abyss, its industrially sculpted ferocity a virulently contagious assault with an intensity and energy which is hellacious at best and primal destruction at its most rabid.

Both the scintillating Bleedthrough, a track which infuses a storm of blackened carnivalesque like sounds, diverse essences, and exhausting emotive warfare, and the nightmare that is Raped by Daddy, continue to keep the album on the highest plateau. The second of the two  breeds its deepest agonies  through a magnetic mesh of extreme and electro metal, rhythms chewing on bone whilst the sonic acid scars beside a seductive electronic coaxing. Once at the heart of its distress there is a bottomless pit of emotive torment impacting on every sense, thought, and emotion, making for an experience which is lingering and explosive.

From this point on things do not find the same potency and draw as the first half of the album, though songs like I Don’t Know, even with its dodgy clean vocals at one point, The Factory of Death and closing song The Day the Sun Stopped Shining never find less than full involvement from the mind and attention from the ear for their still inventive and expressive enterprise. Amongst them one more pinnacle does shine through. Helter Skelter Youth is a schizophrenic fire of industrial, avant-garde, and electro devilment, an insatiable fury upon the listener with a thrilling body of epidemically infectious invention.

Though not holding on to its full triumph across all its length Dirty is an outstanding album which feeds the appetite for the origins of industrial metal whilst refusing to neglect the experimentation and intensive adventure of the now. Also released with a second CD available only on digipack, double gatefold LP featuring covers of tracks by Iron Maiden, Pink Floyd and Nine Inch Nails, two completely re-arranged and re-recorded tracks older songs and one new track, the album is a must investigate release as a bare minimum for all fans of the genre.

www.facebook.com/aborymofficial

8/10

RingMaster 29/05/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

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Maudlin: A Sign of Time

    Maudlin is band which since forming in 2004 has never taken a step back from investigating and attempting to stretch the realms of psychedelic rock with imagination and startling musical intrigue. The release of their second album shows the band has not lost their adventure or gasp of exploring with inciting intent. A Sign of Time captures the imagination from start to finish whilst inspiring it to interpret its own passage of events within the release. The band challenges and provokes the listener constantly whilst rewarding their attention with a consuming expanse of melodic flames, dramatic rhythms, and muscular intensity. It is a thoroughly compelling release leaving one exhausted but equally invigorated.

The new release finds its roots in debut album Ionesco of 2008 which was based on a tale of a patient in the 1940s who had a transorbital lobotomy performed upon him by Dr Freeman, a man with no formal surgical training who performed in excess of 3,400 procedures and charging only $25 for each. It was a theme as dramatic and powerful lyrically as the sounds which held them and A Sign Of Time is no different. Looking at the same patient, his near death experience, and the emotionally impact of memories which make people who they are, the album is a progressive psychedelic storm of passion and invention smothered by a hallucinogenic atmospheric sea.

The album opens on the mesmeric yet abstract caress of Hours, a track with gentle soothing vocals skirted by whispered uncertainty and a brewing chilled atmosphere. It is a brief breath leading into She Whispers Treason, a senses plundering doom laded spread of intensity and heavy ravenous sounds. Instantly the bass of Yannick Dumarey opens up the darkest hungriest shadows to prowl the glorious melodic flames of guitarists Jasper Bullynck and Kris Vannecke. They both offer exemplary vocal harmonies to coax the listener further into the shadowed depths framed by the words and vocals of Davy De Schrooder. It is a potent and excellently dramatic full opening to the album which immediately triggers visual thoughts and emotions from within the heated fiery skies of the song.

The impacting ambience and textures of Lilith initially lies with a tender rub against the ear before evolving into a rigorous encounter with, as in the first song, the hard and evocative rhythms from drummer Davy Vandenbroecke framing the sonic and melodic colouring painting the canvas of the song. The track leans heavily upon the senses for the fullest of satisfaction before passing them on to the less intense but equally aurally prismatic A Perfect Sky of Black. Once more the impressive bass of Dumarey snarls and intimidates within yet another diversely painted realm of vibrant imagination and rich musical colour. It is a stunning blend of light and dark, fear and reassurance brought with expertise and inspirational grandeur.

The album continues to impress and thrill across its impassioned length with tracks like the exceptional Ride The Second Wave with its smouldering Type O Negative like presence, the totally hypnotic Goddess Of The Flame clad in a persistent gravelly bass groove, melodic fire, and haunting near vocal bedlam, and the sonically and emotionally kaleidoscopic Chasing Shades, immersing the listener in intense and riveting inventive craft.

The album ends on Turn To Seconds, a thirty five second course of static with a slamming dramatic finality to close the equally enthralling tale, it is a powerful end to a towering album. Released on Consouling Sounds, A Sign of Time is destined to be one of the most important albums of the year and Maudlin a band on the lips of most rock fans but especially those who find bands such as Neurosis, Type O Negative, Mastodon, and Pink Floyd are constants in their hearts.

www.facebook.com/MAUDLINrocks

8.5/10

RingMaster 14/02/2013

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Popular Giants: Self Titled

    Whilst arguably not offering anything new in the grand scheme of things the self-titled album from Californian rockers Popular Giants is a quite irresistible riot of rock n roll. Fusing the best varied flavours of punk rock with garage rock and other distinctive flavours, the Los Angeles quartet burst out of the speakers with an energy and hunger which is impossible not to be persuaded and enamoured by. Consisting of thirteen raucous treats of rock music at its dirtiest best the album unleashes a vigorous fun in its boisterous company which you just cannot deny.

The band was formed in 2011 by guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Christopher Peacock with the intent of getting back to playing the old school punk he grew up upon. With the addition of guitarist/vocalist John Fortin, bassist Francis Cyan, and drummer Mike Criddell to the ranks, the sound of the band found its own natural evolution to the bruising, insatiable, and varied sounds which light up this impressive album from start to finish. The four members found an instant and shared vision on how songs and their music should find their most powerful and dynamic stature as well as on how they would sound to escape the ‘sterile’ digital prevalence of today. The band recorded their album using a Stevens two –inch analog tape machine from the seventies to produce the ‘fat steamroller sound of Popular Giants live’, and in fact the machine was the exact same one Pink Floyd used on The Wall.

As soon as the immediate contagion of Pretty Life sets in to start the album off, there is a sense of something exciting in the winds, the release soon proving that right with ease with every one of its infectious seconds. The opener lights up the ear with bulging rhythms and coaxing riffs whilst the vocals of Peacock top the riot with expression and passion. With essences of Foo Fighters and Living End to its irresistible anthem, the song flicks all the switches of satisfaction and full pleasure to begin one thrilling cruise down their sonic highway.

So Happy sends the infection up another level with its delicious teasing beckoning within a stormy energy, the song a punk/rock incitement recalling spices of Nirvana and Offspring in a new tasty recipe all Popular Giants. The following On The Road is just the same though for the Seattle trio loud whispers swap an Everclear loud hint for the ear from within another bounty of compelling riffs, teasing hooks, and ear rapping beats.

Song by song the passion and balls of the band fire up their imaginative party, the likes of We Want Your Soul with a Buzzcocks scented hook and pop punk harmonies, the garage rock/grunge coated Devil I Ain’t Done, and the barging old school punk bite It’s Not Your Fault, leaving a warm glow on the heart and a ripe greedy demand for much more. The third of the these songs barely musters 30 seconds in length but in its snapping snarl leaves a giant rapture, a song in all ways seventies punk bands would be proud of.

Amongst nothing but real highs across the whole release the loftiest pinnacles come in the second half of the album starting with the excellent Trepidation. With Fortin taking the lead vocally, the track bristles with the agitation and contagion of Bad Religion across its drive of provocative riffs and jabbing rhythms. It is an addiction forming song backed up with equal potency by the stunning I’m Not The One. With a heavier muscular intensity and force to its predatory stance, the track melds a rich mix of garage rock and punk with a Heartbreakers breath to its fiery voice. It is an instinctive squall for the passions to latch on to and be inspired by, a song which calls to the heart.

The cover of the Turbonegro track Get It On is a very decent encounter with a great punk rawness to its roar whilst its successor Antibody is a delicious attitude spitting poke with a New York Dolls swagger and Richard Hell snarl. It also has a ‘nasty’ Pistols groove which lights the deepest fires and a barrage of riffing that demands and receives willing attention.

With plenty more great tracks including another cover, this time of Unsatisfied by The Godfathers, this is an album which feeds all the wants of a punk rock album with accomplished excellence. Ok it is not going to break down new walls for you to play behind but it is hard to remember too many punk releases recently offering this much energy and fun to unite with.

https://www.facebook.com/PopularGiants

8/10

Ringmaster 02/02/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Ellis Ashbrook: Meridia

When an album leaves one feeling good inside you know it has to have something special about it. Such is the case with Meridia from US rock band Ellis Ashbrook. The release, the third album from the band, is a mesmeric collection of swirling and heated songs which captivate with ease and infectious imagination. It is an instant friend to the ear and an eager perpetrator of heartfelt delights with its irresistible weaves of invention and passionate melodic enterprise. A series of varied peaks without any lows in between Meridia is simply one enormous pleasure.

The Brooklyn based quartet of John Barber (vocals, lead guitar), Natalie Lowe (vocals, keys), Jonathan Granoff (bass), and Alex Major (drums, electronic percussion), draw in influences across multi genres to create a rock sound rippling with diversity and shimmering beauty. It is feisty when it needs to be and as funky as your hips could dream of and the overall blend is a perpetually engaging and fresh pleasure for the senses. With two previously well received albums behind them in their self titled debut of 2006 and Assemblage in 2008, Ellis Ashbrook has taken their sound to a new level with their latest album to be reflected in the what one expects will be even greater acclaim going its way.

The album immediately infuses emotions with full enthusiasm through opening track Accelerator. With a dawning electronic breath the song unfolds its arms to envelope the senses with a mighty indie pop feast of elegance. From the initial voice of Lowe there is an immediate Blondie lilt to the song before it evolves into a more rock orientated flow as the vocals and excellent guitar of Barber join the party. Electronic bursts and spotlights of sound keep things wonderfully warm and casual alongside the firmer thrust of the song which by this point and as it approaches its climax ripples essences of Oingo Boingo.

Second song Slide takes no time in showing the variety of the album and music of Ellis Ashbrook in general.  A pacing melodic tease split with sharp guitar play and surges of muscle the song is a hypnotic fusion of Alice In Chains/Nirvana and classic rock brought with a breath of psychedelic warmth. Again vocally the song radiates infection and class whilst musically the band turns contagion into an art form.

As the album continues to envelope the senses songs like the jazz funk flight of magic which is Cat Song, the brilliant hypnotic tropical treat Peripheral Declination, and the crystalline shimmering No Please, Don’t Watch, leave the heart desperate for more. Peripheral Declination is especially irresistible and a rival to the opening pair for best song on the album, its magnetic Mike Patton crossed with Beck craft impossible to stay away from.

As mentioned there are varied heights of excellence on the album but there is never a time the album leaves one merely satisfied, songs like Climax, the folk rock gem Unbreakable, and the emotive Bottomfeeder, leading thoughts and emotions on a sensual experience as rewarding as the more boisterous and irrepressible tracks elsewhere. As Meridia progresses its air evolves from an urgent and energised beginning into a mellower and more passionate atmospheric ambience especially over the latter six or so tracks, though it still offers plenty of stirring bursts as in the closer 22 to compliment and invigorate the pulsating beauty and impressive songwriting.

Taking extras spices found in the likes of Talking Heads, Led Zeppelin, The Smashing Pumpkins, Ween, and Pink Floyd to name a few, Ellis Ashbrook manipulates them into their own unique sound to offer something which is as we said at the start rather special. Meridia is a gift for the ear, time to treat yourselves.

http://www.ellisashbrook.com/

Ringmaster 30/06/2012

Copyright RingMaster : myfreecopyright

 

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Interview with Lukas Paulsen of Lonely Kamel

Norwegian blues/stoner band Lonely Kamel released one of the year’s more impressive and undeniable raucously fun albums in their third album Dust Devil. Bursting with gloriously heavy grooves, oppressive heaviness, treacle thick melodies, and wonderfully consuming blues/sludge metal/ doom sounds; the album is an essential listen for all rock fans. Taking time out to chat with us we asked vocalist/guitarist Thomas Brenna and guitarist Lukas Paulsen about the album and Lonely Kamel the band.

Hello and welcome to The RingMaster Review.

For those yet to discover your sounds could you introduce the band members and tell us about the band. How did you all meet and come to the point of forming Lonely Kamel?

Stian and Thomas worked together in a bar in town. Both eager record collectors. After making a club concept called Klubb Pudding playing all kinds of hard bluesy rock they decided to start a band playing groovy and hard shit. The indie pop/rock “genre” was starting to get really big in Norway at the time and they hated it. Thomas had been writing a few songs, and after a little while with another drummer and a couple of strange guitar players and two live gigs, Lonely Kamel was offered a spot as opening act for Orange Goblin at a bigger venue in town. We had 5 songs ready (including Pentagram’s “Forever my queen”) so we called this guy called Lukas if he wanted to join us as a lead guitarist two weeks before the show. He had been playing in more progressive kind of metal bands earlier, but we knew he had the love for that hard and heavy bluesy music and it worked out great. A couple of months later our first drummer left town with his family and we needed a new one. Someone told us to call this guy (Espen) who had just left another band. I knew he was a fantastic drummer and we jammed out for a couple of hours. There was no doubt, he fit perfectly both as a person and musician. That was 3 and a half years ago and we love hanging out together making music. Good times!

With Norway more renowned for its death and black metal bands and sounds did you find an eager reception for your varied rock sound or is there a hidden world the rest of Europe has yet to discover in Oslo and beyond?

We are somewhat of a Lonely Kamel in Oslo. The rock scene which was really good in Oslo and Norway ten years ago kind of disappeared and is slowly crawling back towards the surface after ten years of bullshit indie pop and Hip hop/R&B. We can feel a bigger buzz these days, times are changing again, but we still do the same thing, producing classic hard rock. Looks like the kids are getting back into the classic hard rock again listening to Zeppelin, Sabbath and are starting up bands inspired by bands like that. Yeah, we have had an eager and overwhelming reception in Europe, but there is nothing like a big scene for our music in Norway. There are all these crappy indie-bands that media makes a big hype around. So we decided not to bother trying to make it in Norway. There are a few good bands down our alley though, like Brutus and… hmmm… probably a couple more.

As mentioned your music is spiced with a fine array of flavours, classic hard rock, stoner rock, blues, a touch of sludge etc, what are the major influences that have formed your music?

We listen to a great variety of music, but the stuff we are jammin’ around most of the time is hard rock, stoner and blues. All of us have favourites in other genres as well, and since we just like to make good songs we add whatever we find suitable for the song. Then later somebody says: hey, it sounds like southern rock or sludge or whatever. Well, that’s fine with us. Call it what you will, the song remains the same. To name a few bands that we love: Mountain, Free, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Blue Cheer, Pink Floyd… yea and a lot of other more unknown stuff as well like Black Cat bones, Leaf Hound, Night Sun, Dust and so on. A lot of people are telling us that we sound more American on this album and want to know the inspiration. The fact is that we are more inspired by the British heavy blues era (68-72). Leaf Hound, Peter Green, Groundhogs etc. It is really inspiring to watch those bands play. Great musicians and some great songs which make us wanna play and make new songs.

You have just released your third album Dust Devil via Napalm Records your first for them. Has this link up brought any changes to how you approached this release? 

Maybe unconsciously. But we didn’t make any changes to please the label or anything. Most of the music was already there. The recording process was fast and raw, the way we like it. Prime goal was to capture the energy we have live. And we are a bit heavier and primitive live than for example the sound on our second record. But all this things were something we talked about before we ever talked with Napalm. We wanted to make a darker album catching more of the heaviness than the previous two. I think we progress as musicians and songwriters on every album and already we got a couple of new ones ready…

There seems a deeper American feel to the music of Dust Devil is that fair to say?

Yes it’s fair to say ’cause anyone can have their own opinion of our music. But we didn’t go out and buy a lot of American records to inspire us to get a certain sound. We just play hard rock. We listen to the same shit as we’ve done for many years, and the process of writing Dust Devil was pretty much the same as Blues For The Dead. We gather in the rehearsal room and if someone has an idea or a song we try it out. As mentioned earlier the British heavy blues is one inspiration, but also the American scene, not special for this album. Often the songs start off more as an American early blues sounding idea, but that changes when the band comes together. For me (Thomas) especially when I write songs I like to keep it stripped down to a simple but catchy riff. Sometimes we just keep it that way and sometimes we build on it. Nothing new for this album, I always loved guys like Son House, Muddy and that honest music.

Since your debut album in 2008 how has the band as a whole and your music evolved would you say?

We’ve evolved in many ways. We know each other better as musicians, we are more skilled musicians. That opens up new doors when it comes to writing music. And sometimes it’s like: hey let’s go down this dark road and see what happens. Or maybe we are in the mood of stripping a song down and make no attempt at making it original. Just try to capture a certain vibe.

Dust Devil is wonderfully varied, each song having its own flavour whether with a heavy blues feel , or stoner essence to name a couple. Do you intentionally spice songs this way or do they find their own identity as they become more solid?

I often have an idea in my head while making a song like I wanna make a really hard song. I try to make a suitable riff. Sometimes it turns into something completely different. I think we wanna make all kinds of rock, we don’t wanna limit ourselves. It’s like no matter what the songs sounds like in the beginning, the way it’s build up etc you can always hear the lonely kamel in the finished product. (Thomas)

How does the songwriting process happen?

Usually Thomas or Lukas get an idea, a riff or a complete song or two which they bring to the rehearsal. if the song is almost finished it’s only details, but if it’s just a riff or two we work together trying out different things developing the song. As an example when I (Thomas) wrote “Evil Man” I wrote it as a slow, doomy and dark song. Recorded it on the 8-track and kept it for a couple of years before I discovered it again and tried to play it in a different way. It worked out pretty good so I wanted the guys to listen to it. They liked the changes to it and we stuck with it. Sometimes we just start to jam in a key and Thomas starts to sing something and before you know it you’re on your way making a new song.

What influences your song’s themes predominantly?

Lyrics are written by Thomas. inspiration is found everywhere, but mostly things going on around me (Thomas) in my daily routine. Sometimes it’s about getting high or drunk, sometimes it’s about a girl and sometimes I get depressed in the winter which makes you see the world from a darker place. It’s not like we live on the streets and everything is hopeless. So I don’t feel that urge to write only about dark times. It’s about having fun and make the listeners feel the same. I almost always write the lyrics after making the melody because I like the lyrics to have that same feeling as the melody. On this album specifically the lyrics are a little darker. I got a friend who struggled with psychosis and experienced the Devil more than one time. Songs like Seventh Son and Blues for the Dead are inspired by that. And all this shit going on around the world with hunger, terror and stuff makes it easier to write “angry” songs and lyrics. But there is also room for humour and fun and we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Too many bands think the need to walk around with pout faces and be angry to look tuff. We wanna show people we have fun and want people to feel good listening to our music. I think the next album gonna make people wanna drink more and make more love, ha ha!

You are just coming off a tour how did that go?

The tour was fuckin’ amazing. We travelled with 3 other bands and we came along really well with all of them. There were absolutely no problems. A lot of people showed up on our shows, we drank lots of good beer from different countries, met tons of nice people and yeah… on a scale from 1 to 10 it was 11.

Did any one particular show stand out?

All shows were cool. The one in Berlin was one of the highlights. The place was packed, mosh pit and crowd surfing, it was a Friday night and we played really well. It was our 15th gig in 15 days and we were pretty tired and Thomas got the flu, but the crowd just lifted us up to one of our career highlights. We got booked for some festivals and stuff as well that night so that night stood out among all the other great nights on that tour.

Have you found any one country in particular more eager for your music?

Our main arena has been Germany. That’s where we’ve played most of our gigs, and our booking agency is located there. Things have gone really fast for us. We haven’t had the time to play in all the countries we wanna play in. Central Europe has been good in general.

Any places you have yet to experience that you have a yearning to take your sounds to?

Oh yes! UK, Portugal, Spain and lots of other places. South America, US of A, Japan. We just got started, we wanna play everywhere. Playing live is what it’s all about. That’s when you meet people and connect with your fans.

What are the favoured sounds that travel around with you when touring?

Lukas:  Free – Free me, Moonshine, I’m a mover.

Thomas: Fleetwood Mac “Then play on” for every mood, Motörhead or ZZ Top to get fired up for a show. Early Pink Floyd to relax or leave the planet for a while!

What is next for Lonely Kamel?

Everything!  Hopefully this is the beginning of something beautiful. Right now we gonna stay up north for a couple of months making new songs, go fishing and look forward to next year. Hopefully there will be a tour with festivals and stuff from march/April 2012.

Many thanks for taking time to talk with us, would you like to leave us with a last thought or comment?

Blues, grooves and a bottle of booze!  that will get you a long way….and come see our show!

 

Read the Dust Devil review @ http://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/lonely-kamel-dust-devil/

RingMaster 02/12/2011

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