The Obnoxious UK – Horror Movie Matinee

With a title like Horror Movie Matinee, you cannot help expecting a viscerally imposing and furiously bloody proposition unafraid to go where angels fear to tread, and it is fair to say that the new album from UK punkers The Obnoxious UK does not disappoint. Bulging to the point of bursting with fifteen tracks which resourcefully draw on horror punk and psychobilly flavours as well as a thick dose of punk rock from over its most potent ages, band and release makes for one compelling and thoroughly enjoyable punk ‘n’ roll roar.

The Midlands based band began in 2001, and whilst going through a few line-up changes over the years has persistently grown and lured in devoted local attention and support which over recent times has solidly spread, Horror Movie Matinee poised to be the band’s biggest and most potent instigator yet. The release of the video for album track God For A Day really whetted the appetite for the forthcoming full-length, though it turns out it is only one particular spice in the hellacious riot.

Anthemic rhythmic bait is food and drink to these ears and that is exactly how album opener Drinking With The Dead makes its first wave of persuasion. The drums of Fez roll in and along with attitude and catchy tempting, swiftly joined by the raw and similarly magnetic riffs of guitarists Bri and Kimbo. The latter is close behind with his vocals too, potently adding to the infectious incitement of the horror punk escapade. It is not a song with a startling statement of originality yet with its punk tenacity and carnivorous shadows, easily provides a soundtrack for any salacious moonlit and cemetery based jiggery-pokery.

The tremendous start is backed by Walking Dead, another horror punk spawned proposal equipped with spicy hooks and melodic fire, though the blood lust seems restrained, as indeed the song, in presence and effect in comparison to the first and the outstanding Drag Me To Hell which follows. Psychobilly is given a poke this time but equally the track has an old school rock ‘n’ roll blaze to its addictive stomp. The string pulls of bassist Jacko resonate across the song whilst the duller but no less gripping beats only help infuse a great vintage tone to the song. With fiery enterprise from the guitars employed too, the track sets down a lofty plateau for the album which is matched and worried time and time again.

     Loaded Roadkill is one straight away unleashing a potent challenge. Fusing a hard rock and rockabilly tenacity into its punk attitude, the song bounces over and pounds the senses with accomplished vindictiveness and anthemic charm. Already across a quartet of tracks there is a distinct variety on show which continues in the mischievous Elvis Is Dead. Opening with what just could be the final croon of the man before he died, we wish, the track erupts into one of those irresistible old school punk sing-a-longs. It is barely over a minute of unbridled shouting and stomping from band and listener alike, loosening things up ready for the more intensive might of Burn and straight after Cadaver Doll. The first of the two snarls and growls in sound and vocals, Misfits like toning coating the caustic punk heart of the contagious track whilst the second takes the influence of the US protagonists even deeper into its primal instincts and expels an extremely tasty and feisty prowl of horror punk with a dash of Calabrese. It is another of the biggest peaks in the landscape of the already highly thrilling release.

The same kind of recipe igniting the last two songs is a flavoursome essence in God For A Day, though the song has a more volatile punk intensity which reminds a touch of Crashed Out. Veined by a great sonic groove and adventure, the track hits the personal sweet spot before making way for the excellent Time For Change. Think Angelic Upstarts meets 4 Past Midnight yet singular to The Obnoxious UK, and you get a thick idea of the excellent encounter, which in turn has to depart to allow the hard rock sculpted When Angels Fly Away to blaze away. Initially the song is a classic rock like croon but once its switch is flicked, it bursts into sonic flame fuelled by a punk abrasion and heavy rock temperament. It is another strong offering but lacks the same kind of spark as other songs and especially that within 3 Dead Souls which preys on ears right after. Another irresistible parade of dark rhythmic tempting opens up the encounter, soon followed by a melodic and sonic venture just as shadowed and gripping. As the song pulls back slightly on its predation for the vocals, a raw Tiger Army breath adds to the intrigue and invention, entangling with the rest of the track’s rock ‘n’ roll for a hefty slab of virulence.

Through the psychobilly/horror punk washed Ginger Is A Werewolf and the hostile punk ‘n’ roll of Iceman, the album tightens its grip further on ears and emotions. Both are inescapable offerings which ruggedly seduce and intimidate respectively before Amelia brings a little caustic ‘necro’ romance to the mix.

The bonus track of The Cottage Strangler brings the CD to a close, and it is indeed a bonus as the band slips into a ska punk and dub warped treat of a finale. Like the Vox Dolomites meets Ruts and probably more so Ruts DC, the song is pure pleasure.

Horror Movie Matinee is not really troubling boundaries and forging new inventive templates for punk and rock ‘n’ roll but The Obnoxious UK has definitely unleashed a romp which has body and imagination eager, and pleasure oozing from every receptive pore. That alone is one big reason for all punksters to check out band and album.

Horror Movie Matinee is released on Friday March 13^th on STP Records and can be pre-ordered now @ http://www.stprecords.co.uk/page4.htm

The same day sees the album’s launch party the Cottage of Content in Chasetown where The Obnoxious UK will be joined by Dirt Box Disco.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Obnoxious-UK

RingMaster 04/03/2015

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard on Reputation Radio @ http://reputationradio.yooco.org/

 

Jarboe and Helen Money – Self Titled

It is almost frightening how spellbinding the collaboration between Jarboe and Helen Money is on their self-titled album, how immersed into its dark inviting depths and ravenously siren-esque shadows ears, imagination, and simply reality becomes. The release is quite extraordinary, embroiling the listener in a soundscape of harmonic drones and sonic distortion but equally a sinister beauty and psyche engulfing adventure. It should probably be no surprise the impact of the album. When you place the evocative invention, craft, and voice of Swans co-founder and former vocalist Jarboe alongside the creative dark majesty of visionary cellist Helen Money (aka Alison Chesley), something startling was bound to happen, though an understatement in the case of their album.

Neither lady is a stranger to the skills and adventure of collaborating, Jarboe having worked on over 63 projects with the likes of Philip Anselmo, Neurosis, Jim Thirlwell, Merzbow, Bill Laswell, A Perfect Circle, Colin Marston, Cobalt, Cattle Decapitation, Justin K. Broadrick, Jesu…and the list goes on, alongside her 36 solo albums, whilst Helen Money has linked up with artists such as Mono, Anthrax, Russian Circles, Joe Lally and Shellac over time. They are experiences and bold adventures which have added to their own subsequent imaginative creativity, something their album reeks of.

The delicious tones of Money’s cello is the first caress as album opener For My Father embraces ears, its melancholic voice provocatively coaxing senses and thoughts under a just as darkly lit ambience. The heavy emotional air parts just a slither for the instantly magnetic presence of Jarboe, her radiant tones instantly poetic like against the shadows and the crinkling texture of her keys. The track continues its increasingly broadening embrace as both ladies unveil further shafts of melodic light and doom lined expression through their respective skills. The song is simply mesmeric, a golden sunrise of enterprise and melodic temptation but equally a breeding of dark clouds and imposing drama. As expansive a minimalistic proposition you are ever likely to be lost within, certainly outside of the album, there is an immediate immersion into the heart of the release, external light not to be seen and felt again until the album decides.

The following My Enemy My Friend is similarly a swift fascination of noir wrapped radiance; the alluring string plucking of Money tensing the spring for the flight of intensive sonic and emotional exploration. Within seconds the instrumental is resonating through body and thoughts, the lyrical and social nudging of the first track seemingly spreading into the intimidating but seductive breath of its successor. Keys and cello create a labyrinth of haunting and ominous suggestiveness, an incitement the imagination tenaciously casts scenes with whilst emotions bow before the weight of the track’s rousing portentousness. It is meditative and unsettling, and quite riveting, a success matched by the outstanding Hello Mr. Blue.

The almost carnivorous opening of what feels like bestial bass is glorious, something to sell your soul for. Whether it is bass or a brilliant merging of keys and cello which is also possible as repeat listens twist and turn with indecision, it is an enslaving start which only escalates into a kaleidoscope of, well creative alchemy to be honest. The floating harmonies of Jarboe seduce with celestial beauty whilst Money’s cello flirts with darkly centred eyes, every note having a knowing smile to their heavy persuasion. As Jarboe unveils the warmly delivered narrative, the track in contrast becomes a brewing maelstrom of agitation and aggravation, egged on by the contagious rhythmic dance of the piece. Every track already has breached new plateaus and taken the listener into inventively denser and increasingly threatening exploits, and this continues that exhilarating success as its marches towards its controlled but vocally bedlamic closure.

Wired is pretty much what it says on the tin, its presence a fibrous mesh of sounds and sonic intrigue presenting an intensive and feverish climate for ears and a sea of opportunities for the imagination to interpret and develop further, whether through its voracious incitement or the more of a harmonic smoulder it also harbours. There is little time for those thought bred adventures to take long term root though before the intimacy of Truth inspires with its own reflective beauty. Keys and sublimely drifting harmonies soaked in an air of loneliness kiss ears first before Jarboe opens up her vocal heart in a theatre of those continuing initial croons and just as emotive guitar stabs.

It is hard with words to present the drama and emotive intensity which comes with every bewitching track and the pair’s creative ingenuity which unrelentingly and deeply works away once breaching ears, but easy to enthuse over the ever evolving experiences which re-invent themselves in sound and visceral adventure with every listen. The closing Every Confidence is a perfect example. We can only hint at the tempestuous nature and climate which seeds from and descends on the senses and psyche after an initial gentle mesmeric croon of sound, but rigorously recommend its rapacious hunger to stretch not only the listener and their emotions, but the creative emprise bred by the artists pushing their instrumental and vocal limits.

It is a challenge and success which applies to the whole of the album. It is an astonishing encounter, a scourge of everything bland and predictable in modern music which goes beyond being something merely to listen to. You feel and almost taste the dynamic and intensive atmospheres of the tracks, you breath the drama and emotional intensity of the sounds and their inspiration, and ultimately it is a journey provided by Jarboe and Helen Money which you take and will never be the same again after.

Jarboe and Helen Money’s album is available now via Aurora Borealis as a black vinyl LP, on CD and digitally.

http://www.thelivingjarboe.com/     http://helenmoney.com/

RingMaster 04/03/2015

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard on Reputation Radio @ http://reputationradio.yooco.org/

 

 

Louis Ramos – Under The Mortar

It is proudly raw, it is old school DIY, and similarly bullish in nature but most of all though Under The Mortar, the new EP from US musician Louis Ramos is an unapologetically enjoyable and abrasing, not forgetting bracing proposition. In many ways there is no surprise at the potency of the release, as Ramos has frequently lit our and numerous other’s ears and imaginations through his band The Amputees. The New York hailing band he created and drives, has persistently offered magnetic slices of inventive garage punk, whilst his songs more often than not have sculpted a tenacious mix of infectiousness and intrusive voracity, generally coloured by his own guitar enterprise. Now he has done it again, though in a primal offering which is his most intensive challenge on the listener yet but equally one of the most fascinating.

Consisting of eight songs which delve into various strains of punk and fierce rock, Under The Mortar opens with its title track and swiftly has electronic rhythms jabbing ears and attention into action before the sonic coaxing of the guitars catch melodically alight. There is a spiciness to the emerging acidic infectiousness and restrained but magnetic grooving which emerges within the song and vocally Ramos uses a warm texture in his delivery which tempers and works with the more abrasive textures well. Like a noise rock interpretation of The Pixies with an underlying pop punk catchiness, the song provides a strong and enjoyable start to the release.

The following Killing Spree is simply one minute and a handful of seconds of unbridled punk rock, a sound closer to Ramos’ exploits with The Amputees and virulently addictive. It is also a potent lyrical swipe which impacts as potently as the busy fury of sound. Its brief but pungent ferocity pushes the EP up another step which is backed by the outstanding Cruel Lip. Think Melvins and Sonic Youth in an industrial sonic blender and you get a sense of the excellent song. Melodically seductive at certain moments and psychotically warped in other times, the track hits the sweet spot whilst ‘punishing’ agreeable senses with its sonic rabidity.

It is fair to say that Get Off My Dick is not as romantic as it sounds, but is a hostile threat of defiance and guitar sculpted ravishment. The track though never goes for the jugular, its gait even paced yet confronting as the fingers of Ramos lure out some insidiously appealing and scarring hooks and sounds from his guitar. It is also another offering which has ears and thoughts absorbed before handing its hold over to the furious protagonist that is Trepanation Nation. Hardcore seeded in many ways, the song brawls with and bawls at the senses and thoughts, but again has a certain reign on its assault compared to the earlier Killing Spree.

The senses get a real testing with Gods And Devils, a song where Ramos vocally croons with impressive radiance but within a sonically tempestuous smog of sound. The guitar offers a raw misting which smothers ears and psyche yet within its caustic touch the vocals and a melodic expression simply blossom. It is an intriguing and compelling offering, like Frank Black engulfed in a harsh winter of sound. Its striking blend of textures is somewhat emulated in the more hard/classic rock balladry of Trophies. It does not have the same immediate potency as its predecessor but over time grows to become another enthralling part of Under The Mortar.

The closing Little Jimmy is an acoustic serenade with a Bolan-esque lure to the vocals and provocative lyrics looking at amongst things, the social apathy to war. The less intensive track musically on the release, it makes up for it emotionally and makes a great end to an attention grabbing encounter.

Certainly Under The Mortar will not make a comfortable playmate for some but for uncompromising and unashamedly imposing punk/rock ‘n’ roll which makes additional demands, it is easy to recommend checking out. The EP takes us back to the days of unpolished, bedroom recorded punk demos; just one more reason to take a punt on Louis Ramos.

Under The Mortar is available now @ http://louisramos.bandcamp.com/album/under-the-mortar

https://www.facebook.com/louis.ramos.1804   https://www.facebook.com/theamputees

RingMaster 04/03/2015

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

 

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard on Reputation Radio @ http://reputationradio.yooco.org/

 

 

 

Foetal Juice & Human Landfill Split

Picture the scene, you are lying naked on a cold floor, your entrails being clawed from your thrashing body as surrounding bones are ground into the merciless surface under you. Despite the assault all you can think about is the swinging hypnotic light accentuating the visceral portrait. That is what listening to UK extreme metallers Foetal Juice is like, a savaging violation of the senses equipped with a bewitching of contagious grooving and irritable hooks. Further proof comes in the new split release from Grindscene Records which lines up the Bury quartet with the equally mercilessly vicious and equally magnetic US band Human Landfill. Unleashing six tracks of grind and death metal inhospitality; the EP is a mouth-watering intrusion which just gets under the skin.

Since forming in 2005, Foetal Juice has been an increasingly potent and striking protagonist on the British extreme metal scene. An early demo was followed by their self-titled debut EP which certainly nudged attention their way, though it is fair to say that it was A Split Worse Than Death, which saw the band share its twenty one tracks with Basement Torture Killings, Decimation, Zombified, and Nailed, and certainly their Big Trouble in little Vagina EP, both in 2013, which sparked new intensive interest in the band. Live too the band has been earning an increasing reputation and acclaim, shows with the likes of Entombed, Wormrot, Exhumed, The Rotted, and tours with acts such as Desecration, Basement Torture Killings, and Zombified only pushing the band into broader spotlights. Now they have this new split to twist up British metal and listener’s psyche, which they do with devilish efficiency and craft.

Their first track is recent single Albert Grindstein, a gem of an incitement whose video upon its solo release gained 30,000 views in a handful of weeks. A sonic lure and beats keen to escape their leash make the first trespass of the ears, their bait swiftly ripped apart for vitriolic grooves and thunderous rhythms to descend ravenously on the senses. It is a gripping assault, the raw vocal squalls being driven by caustic venom whilst guitars cast an inescapable web of acidic grooves and predatory hooks. Behind the bloodlust there is that swing hinted at in the opening of this piece, its swagger as prevalent and persuasive as the individual textures which collude to exploit the listener’s weakest points. It is a treat of a track matched swiftly by Blue Waffle. In some ways this is an evil, more brutal scourge of sound and intent, but again it has that contagiousness which rich grind and death metal thrives on to express deeper and further reaching aspects. It is also more bestial in presence, a bear like smothering which voraciously barks rather than gutturally growls vocally, but devours wholly all the same.

The band’s final offering is Tumour Has It, and it is more of the corrosive same just in an individually appealing and intimidating guise. Grooves and twisted rhythmic assaults create the irresistible canvas over which vocals spill every fluid ounce of their rancor and hate. As the previous pair, the song is sheer creative spite and virulent temptation for any grind and extreme metal enthusiast.

There is much less to reveal about Ohio band Human Landfill as background, though they appear to be a duo consisting of guitarist/bassist Larry Brown and vocalist/drummer Shawn Slusarek, the latter also a member of death metallers Necrophagia. Again they bring death metal and grindcore into a flavoursome brawl, as evidenced on the split, before which a single and well-received debut EP, The Dead Are Not Silent has been tucked into their antagonistic belts.

   Acid Vat Descent is their opening play and instantly there is a raw intensity to their sound and song compared to that of Foetal Juice, you could almost say a sombre nature to its outpouring of malice. The song has a few strings to its violent bow though; darker grooves and a great scarring blend of vocals bringing the unpredictability and adventure always needed. The song seems to lose more inhibitions as it explores its addictive qualities and though the flame of a solo does not quite work for personal tastes and the fade out frustrates, the track is a great introduction to the band.

Their other pair of tempests similarly stirs up appetite and increasing enjoyment, Corpse Wine first providing a torrent of primal riffs and sonic acidity within an evolving gait of rhythmic predation. Whereas Foetal Juice’s tracks seem to instantly ignite the passions and hunger, Human Landfill takes a slower but persistently persuasive route to, certainly on the EP, breach the same kind of success. Their second song is a compelling offer but soon overshadowed by the outstanding Dirty Bomb Euthanization. All the hints of uniqueness and manic agitation in design and delivery found in the first two songs come to full life on their third, the track at times a tsunami of lethal beats roared on by vocal rapacity and in other moments a twisting temptation which bares all the wiles of a demonic temptress.

It is an impressive end to an excellent union of two of the world’s exciting emerging bands. Foetal Juice is a bit of a known prospect already to be fair and has only enhanced and pushed on again their thrilling presence whilst the relatively unknown Human Landfill, until now, have surprised and only highly impressed. So there we have it, another fine split all metal fans should explore.

The Foetal Juice & Human Landfill Split is available via Grindscene Records now @ http://grindscenerecords.bigcartel.com/product/foetal-juice-human-landfill-split-pre-order

https://www.facebook.com/FoetalJuice

RingMaster 05/03/2015

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard on Reputation Radio @ http://reputationradio.yooco.org/

 

 

Offal / Zombie Cookbook – Split 7” EP

 

There is a certain individual sickness to the visceral charms of Brazil’s most prominent and inventive extreme metal bands, an insidiousness which seems to coat riffs, grooves, and indeed songs. That sickness is a creeping toxin flavouring the new split release from Offal and Zombie Cookbook too; a poisonous and malevolent offering which worms under the skin with infectious temptation. It is not a release which actually startles, not initially anyway, but over time emerges as a visceral sonic assassin to which imagination and emotions become playthings. A swift and lethal scourge of the senses from two bands which are potently emerging on the broader extreme metal scene, the 7” split comes courtesy of a label, Black Hole Productions, which is no stranger to unleashing underground treats from band such as Lymphatic Phlegm, Xxx Maniak, Haemorrhage, and Gruesome Stuff Relish.

Offal is first up on the release, a quartet from Curitiba consisting of vocalist André Luiz, guitarist Tersis Zonato, bassist João Carlos Ongaro, and drummer Igor Thomaz. To the release of their well-received self-titled debut album in 2006, the band has added a second full-length and a string of splits with bands such as Bowel Fetus, Anatomia, Decrepitaph, and Mausoleum, all helping to increase their reputation and stature in the underground. References to Autopsy and Carcass have been cast over their sound, and as opener Dementia Trash. The Cult Of The Low-budget Cin devours ears it is something to agree with yet only slightly flavours the band’s voracious sound. Riffs are an immediate scrub of aggression in the song, swiftly backed by the thunderous and turbulent assault of rhythms. Lorded over by the dark coated cavernously toned growls of Luiz, the track is a mix of predacious stalking and rabid intent. It is a rather compelling proposition gaining greater strength of persuasion across its length, imposing sonically and in success as its narrative courts the craft and blood-fests of cinematic gore/cult b-movie movie pioneers like Herschell Gordon Lewis, Ed Wood, and Roger Corman.

A great incitement for ears and imagination, the band’s second proposal Spinal Extractions Fiend For Blood is a more savage and irritable, no make that violent encounter, and just as highly palatable even at its mere 45 seconds. It hangs around enough to get the teeth into and to ignite a healthy appetite but is too short to get as much satisfaction out of it as wished, though that want is soon fed impressively by Zombie Cookbook.

The band’s name and indeed that of its members, in vocalist Dr. Stink, guitarists Horace Bones and Ed The Dead, bassist Purgy, and drummer Dr Freudstein, alone provide colourful and mischievous bait, a lure instantly backed by their first track Motel Hell. There is thrash bred ferocity to the charge and hostility of the song, energy and creative adventure which is as psychotic as it is groove infectious. The vocals equally have a character and captivating rabidity to them which only ignites ears and enjoyment, bringing a chunk of the originality which revolves within an accomplished if familiar template of sound.

Its voracious appetite and body only gets more deviously addictive and magnetic over time, much as that of its successor Eredità Maledetta. The first of the band’s two songs ends on a great finale of pure unbridled thrash contagion, a sonic tirade plainly contrasted by the demonic seeded entrance of the second, though it does not take long for the track to expel a spiteful breath and leap into its own ravenous destructive tempest. It also is much shorter than its companion, but does offer two minutes of furious extreme metal combat to reinforce a greedy appetite as sparked by the EP to explore the band, something which applies to Offal also.

It is hard to suggest you will hear anything dramatically new on the split but with undeniably impressive songs both bands make invigorating additions to the full underground arena of extreme metal. Both Offal and Zombie Cookbook could be looking at infiltrating the broadest spotlights sometime soon too, especially if they continue uncaging beasts like those on their shared offering.

The 7” Split EP is available now via Black Hole Productions @ https://blackholeprods.bandcamp.com/album/split-7ep

http://www.offalgore.com/       http://www.zombiecookbook.com.br/

RingMaster 05/03/2015

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard on Reputation Radio @ http://reputationradio.yooco.org/