Twisted Sister/Under The Blade/Secret Records/1982 Album Review

  Twisted  Sister  where  a  band  from  New  York  that  where  really  big  in  the  80's  hair  metal  days  and  on  this  recording  they  had  a  more  harder  metal  sound  than  what  was  presented  on  later  recordings  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  1982  album  "Under  The  Blade"  which  was  released  by  Secret  Records.

  A  very  hard  and  heavy  80's  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  with  some  vocals  that  are  very  rough  yet  melodic  sounding  all  at  the  same  time  and  the  music  goes  into  a  more  faster  direction  and  has  a  NWOBHM  feeling  but  mixed  in  with  a  more  commercialized  American  sound  and  the  guitar  solos  are  in  a  more  hard  rock/heavy  metal  direction.

  On  some  of  the  later t racks  you  can  hear  some  punk  rock  influences  being  added  into  the  bands  musical  sound  and  all  of  the  songs  on  this  album  are  more  metal  sounding  than  their  later  albums  where  they  went  for  a  more  mainstream  direction  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  this  recording  sound  very powerful  and  as  the  album  progresses  you  can  hear  some  of  their  earlier  hair  metal  style  that  became  a  more  dominant  force  on  the  later  albums  and  the  last  track  also  displays  elements  of  blues  rock.

  On  this  album  Twisted  Sister  showed  a  more  metal  sound  on  this  recording  and  they  sounded  a  lot  better  with  this  direction  than  the  one  that  made  them  famous,  the  production  sounded  very  rough  and  heavy  for  the  time  it  was  recorded  and  the  lyrics  cover  everyday  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  was  great  sounding  album  from  Twisted  Sister  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this b and,  you  probably  already  own  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "What  You  Donn't  Know  Cannot  Hurt  You"  "Sin  After  Sin"  "Destroyer"  and  "Under  the  Blade".  8  out  of  10.

    

The Throbs/The Language Of Thieves And Vagabonds/DGR/1991 Album Review

  The  Throbs  where  a  band  from  new  York  that  played  a  very  sleazy  form  of  hard  rock/hair  metal  with  a  touch  of  punk  rock  and  blues  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  1991  album  "The  ALnguage  Of  thieves  And  Vagabonds"  which  was  released  by  DGR.

  Exotic  sounding  scales  and  acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  album   before  getting  more  distorted  and  the  music  starts  going  for  a  more  harder  direction  along  with  some  melodic  vocals  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  become  a huge  part  of  the  bands  musical  style.

  There  is  a  good  mixture  of  clean  and  hard  parts  throughout  the  album  and  the  later  tracks  see  the  band  adding  blues  and  punk  rock  into  their  hair  metal  sound  along  with  some  psychedelic  sounding  organs  being  added  onto  the  album  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  you  can  hear  a  bit  of  rockabilly  and  50's  rock'n'roll  elements  in  their  musical  style.

  Some  of  the  later  tracks  show  a  slight  symphonic  element  which  was  a  very  rare  thing  for  this  genre  and  on  some  of  the  alter  tracks  the  acoustic  guitar  makes  a  return  on  some  of  the  songs  and  the  band  also  adds  in  a  couple  of  ballads  while  the  main  focus  remains  on  a  more  hard  rock  orientated  sound.

  The  Throbs  really  stood  out  in  their  time  while  the  music  was  rooted  in  the  hair  metal  genre  the b and  focused  more  on  an  old  rock  sound  and  the  band  broke  up  and  where  dropped  shortly  after  this  album  came  out  and  have  been  forgotten  all  these  years,  the  production  sound s very  professional  and  the  lyrics  cover  everyday  themes.

  In  my  opinion  The  Throbs  where  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sleaze  rock,  blues,  punk  and  hair  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Underground"  "It's  Not  the  End  Of  The  World"  "Ocen  Of  Love"  and  "Strange  Behaviour".  8  out  of  10.

  

Badlands/Self Titled/Atlantic Records/1989 Album Review

  Badlands  where  a  band  from  Los  Angeles,  California  that  played  a  mixture  of  blues,  hard  rock  and  mainstream  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  classic  self  titled  1989  album.

  A  blues  metal  riff  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  vocals  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  music  takes  the  heaviness of  the  radio  friendly  80's  metal  and  mixes  it  with  70's  classic/blues  rock  and  they also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  guitar  solos  and  leads  into  their  musical  sound.

  In  certain  sections  of  the  recording  the  music  speeds  up  a  bit  while  the  main  focus  is  on  more  mid  paced  or  slow  riffing  and  after  awhile  more  traditional  hair  metal  songs  are  added  onto  the  album  while  there  is  still  a  great  amount  of  blues  orientated  track  and  after  awhile  acoustic  guitars  and  an  instrumental are  added  onto  the  album.

  As  the  album  progresses  acoustic  guitars  also  found  their  way  onto  some  of  the  regular  tracks  along  with  a  couple  of  power  ballads  before  returning  back  to  a  harder  direction  on  the  following  tracks  as  well  as  adding  clean  playing  and  acoustic  guitars  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  after  a  few  metal  orientated  tracks  the  album  returns  back  to  the  blues  direction  on  the  earlier  songs  and  they  also  bring  a  brief  use  of  psychedelic  organs  on  one  of  the  alter  tracks  and  mix  it  in  with  the  hard  blues  metal  sound.  

  Badlands  where  an  underrated  band  for  their  time  and  they  had  a  big  label  and  talented  musicians  as  well  as  having  a  minor  success  in  the  80's  but  they  came  during  the  last  years  of  the  hair  metal  trend  and  where  kind  of  lost  in  the  mix  but  their  mixture  of  blues,  hard  rock  and  metal  sounded  a  lot  better  than  a  lot  of  the  bands  of  that  era,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  real  life  themes  with  a  touch  of  darkness.

  In  my  opinion  this  was  a  very  great  sounding  album  from  Badlands  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band  you  probably  already  own  this  album, but  if  a  younger  person  wants  to  hear  some  of  the  more  forgotten  bands  of  this  era,  they  should  check  this  band  out.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dreams  In  The  Dark"  "Streets  Cry  Freedom"  "Devil's  Stomp"  and  "Ball  And  Chain".  8  out  of  10.      

Minot/Equal/Opposite/Golden Antenna Records/2014 CD Review

  Minot  are  a  band  from  the  United  States  that  plays  an  instrumental  mixture  of  experimental,  post  rock  and  melodic  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Equal/Opposite"  which  was  released  by  Golden  Antenna  Records.

  Melodic  post  rock  style  guitars  and  drum  beats  start  off  the  album  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  the  bass  guitars  start  making  a  powerful  presence  in  the  album  and  the  music  also  starts  to  get  a  little  bit  heavier  and  the  music  is  in  mostly  an  improv  style  jam  direction  along  with  a  few  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  There  is  a  good  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  throughout  the  recording  and  as  the  album  progresses  you  can  hear  spoken  word  samples  and  elements  of  kraut  rock,  psychedelic  and  ambient  being  added  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  you  can  hear  tribal  style  beats  coming  out  of  the  drums  at  times.

  Minot  bring  in  a  lot  of  different  styles  into  their  musical  style  taking  the  heaviness  of  early  Fugazi  and  other  Dischord  bands  of   the  early  80's  Washington  D.C  scene  and  taking  away  the  vocals  and  replacing  them  with  elements  of  krautrock,  psychedelic,  post  and  indie  rock  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  and  the  productions  sounds  very  professional.

  In  my  opinion  Minot  are  a  very  great  sounding  instrumental  post  rock  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Left  hand  Of  Darkness"  "The  Horizon  Problem"  and  "White  Castle  Doctrine".  8  out  of  10.  

Telepathy/12 Areas/Devouter Records/2014 CD Review

  Telepathy  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  an  instrumental  and  progressive  mixture  of  sludge  and  post  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "!2  Areas"  which  was  released  by  Devouter  Records.

  Sound  effects  and  drones  start  off  the  album  and  after  a  minute  heavy  guitars  find  their  way  into  the  music  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  for  a  more  heavy  and  melodic  sludge/post  metal  direction  as  well  as  throwing  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  at  times  while  the  main  focus  is  on  slow  and  mid  paced  parts.

  There  are  no  vocals  anywhere  on  the  album  with  the  music  being  all  instrumental  and  the  guitar  leads  that  they  use  are  in   a  melodic  post  rock  direction  and  the  guitar  riffing  uses  a  great  amount  of  melody  while  also  being  very  heavy  all  at  the  same  time  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  music  starts  adding  soft  and  clean  playing  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  which  also  adds  a  more  progressive  feeling  to  the  bands  musical  sound  and  on  some  of  the  songs  the  bass  guitars  bring  a  very  powerful  sound  to  the  recording.

  Telepathy  create  a  very  slow  and  heavy  sound  that  takes  the  heaviness  of  sludge  and  the melody  of  post  metal  which  they  also  mix  with  progressive  and  indie  rock  to  create  a  sound  their  own  and  they  never  use  vocals  and  it  leads  to  an  instrumental  atmosphere  and  the  production  sounds  very  professional.

  In  my  opinion  Telepathy  are  a  very  great  sounding  instrumental  and  progressive  mixture  of  sludge  and  post  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Saccade"  "Sleepwalker"  and  "To  Kiss  the  Ocean's  Floor".  8  out  of  10.  

Clouds Taste Satanic Interview

 

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

 

Clouds Taste Satanic (CTS) is a doom metal band from Brooklyn, New York made up of Steve Scavuzzo (Guitar), Christy Davis (Drums), David Weintraub (Guitar) and Sean Bay (Bass).  We’ve been together for about two years as CTS but the band members played together in different configurations for many years.  We have always been into metal but really started getting into doom and stoner seriously about 4 years ago, then made the conscious decision that musically, that is what we wanted to do exclusively and put CTS together.

 

2.Recently you have released you first album, how would you describe your musical sound?

 

Straight doom metal.  Slow, heavy riffs and long songs.  We have some quieter interludes for the sake of dynamics but try to keep them on the ominous side.  We are an instrumental band so there are no lyrics to convey any themes but that just drives us to make the music as intense as possible and to convey a sense of evil in the songs we write and perform.

 

3.What are some of the concepts and images you bring out with your musical sound?

 

The satanic elements are the more obvious but in general we try to convey the concept of darkness as something that should be embraced rather than avoided.  The world in general is dark and rather than seek to avoid that side of life, one should welcome it and explore it.

 

4.The album had no vocals and it consisted of one track, are you planning on using vocals or writing shorter songs in the future or do you choose to remain instrumental?

 

We have no plans to add vocals to our music but we would never say never to anything. In general, we are very picky about the vocals we hear in other people’s music and an annoying vocalist and/or the lyrics they put forth can ruin an otherwise amazing song.  If we found someone whose voice complemented our music and his or her lyrics were compelling and had something profound to say, we would consider it.   As for shorter songs, we have been writing several for the next record but we find the entire concept of song lengths to be utterly irrelevant.   Song lengths only matter to people who have short attention spans or seek to maximize the profit potential of a song.  We have no interest in either.  Our only constraints song length wise are the physical limitations of a side of vinyl.

 

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Clouds taste Satanic'?

 

To us, Clouds Taste Satanic means that Satan and evil can be found everywhere and any one of your senses can access the concept of Satan.  The name was inspired by a Flaming Lips record called Clouds Taste Metallic, which is one of our favorites.  We wanted a name that conveyed the concept of Satan and accurately reflected the music without being obvious or clichéd.  When we found the cover art that depicted Satan in a cloud, everything came together. 

 

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

 

Our best show took place several months ago in New York City.  There are so many elements that need to come together in order to make a show special.  The right venue, the right crowd, the right night, the right sound system, how everyone is playing on that particular night.  It doesn’t always come together the way you hope or expect but on that night everything worked.  As for the show itself, we are not show people.  We are musicians.  We prefer to use lights and movie projections on a screen behind the band (and sometimes on the band) to visualize the musical mood we are trying to convey on stage.  You can see some of our visuals on YouTube.  I believe Electric Wizard does this as well.

 

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?

 

We are focused on playing out locally for the moment because we are working on new material and would like to start recording the next record in the coming months.  There is a strong metal community in Brooklyn and clubs that welcome the music.  After the next record comes out, we plan on touring.

 

8.The album came out on Kinda Like Music, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

 

Kinda Like Music is a local Brooklyn label that has somewhat eclectic tastes and releases music from various genres.  This is their first doom record.

 

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of doom metal?

 

Overwhelmingly positive.  We have been contacted by people all over the world who have downloaded the album and just this week CD’s were purchased by fans from Australia, France, Italy and Romania.  We have been blown away by the support of the doom and metal community.

 

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

 

Slowly evolving but with roots firmly planted in doom.

 

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

 

The two major influences for CTS were Sleep and Earth, hence the title of the record.  I don’t know if you would consider either of those bands doom but they are without a doubt the foundation of CTS.  We have a broad interest in music but when you get fixated on something, it’s hard to let go so lately we’ve been listening to High On Fire, Kyuss, Sunn O))), Pelican, Off!, Yob, Boris, Ufomammut and White Hills along with classics like Slayer, The Stooges, AC/DC and of course Black Sabbath.

 

12.How would you describe your views on Satanism and Occultism?

 

It’s fair to say that we have more than a passing interest in Satanism and Occultism but speaking for myself, I have a real problem with any organized religion.  I find the concept of Satan and the mythology that surrounds the occult fascinating and thoroughly entertaining but would probably stop short of actually practicing the dark arts.

 

13.What are some of your non-musical interests?

 

Aside from the usual drinking and recreational drug use, we all tend to be somewhat exercise orientated (those two can go together, despite what some might think) with members who are into kickboxing, rock climbing, various martial arts and swimming. 

 

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

The record should be out on vinyl in the coming months.  We say that not as a sales pitch but because we take the art form seriously and believe that the resurgence in vinyl has come about because the average person can now see what the metal community has known all along.  That a vinyl record and the sleeve it comes in are works of art that should be appreciated and valued along with the music they hold.  We are not Luddites and appreciate the convenience of CD’s and Downloads.  We just really love vinyl.

Wild Witch/Burning Chains/Inferno Records/2014 EP Review

  Wild  Witch  are  a  band  from  Brazil  that  plays  a  very  classic  and  traditional  form  of  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "Burning  Chains"  which  was  released  by  Inferno  Records.

  A  NWOBHM  style  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  hard  rock/metal  style  guitar  leads  and  solos  which  leads  up  to melodic  female  vocals  becoming  a  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  the music  is  in  the  early  80's  direction  as  well  as utilizing  some  back  up  shouts  at  times  and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  The  old  school  retro  metal  vibe  continues  throughout  all  4  of  the  tracks  that  are  present  on  this  ep  and  the  singer  brings  back  memories  of  some  of  the more  aggressive  female  metal  vocalist  of  the  early  80's  and  the  music  is  so  heavily  rooted  in  that  era  that  this  could  off  easily  been  released  in  that  era  and  the  last  track  is  a  cover  of  Tokyo  Blade's  "Rock  Me  TO  The  Limit:"..

  Wild  Witch  go  back  to  a  time  where  heavy  metal  was  just  heavy  metal  and  there  where  no  other  sub  genres  and  the  band  has  nothing  modern  in  their  sound  and  they  stick  to  a  pure  form  of  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  history,  mythology  and  fantasy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Wild  Witch  are  a  very  great  sounding  traditional  heavy  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Trail  Of  Bones"  and  "Witchripper".  8  out  of  10.