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-Dave Kerman

VISIT US AT ReRUSA.com

This group started out when the musicians’ average age was just 14. Now, at the ripe old age of 23, they’ve released their 4th album, Organic Hallucinosis, which is an astounding feat of Technical Death Metal. One needn’t listen to this album with sympathetic ears regarding their young age, as it simply puts everything else of its kind to shame (with the exception of Trauma, who are a close second). It’s fast and furious, to be sure, but makes perfect compositional sense. Time signatures and time relations are baffling, yet never appropriated for confusion. Often huge, open, multi-tracked, distorted guitar chords approximate strange, sonic spaces worthy of This Heat or Dunaj, but to sped-up and mammoth proportions previously unheard of in any sort of “progressive” music. The recording and mix are both excellent, and there are strange, experimental noises moving about in the mix. On the w hole, it’s a white-knuckler of a listen, and extremely adventurous.

These guys admit that they are compulsive-obsessive nerds, and the brainiac nature of their day jobs and hobbies  (astronomer, quantum physicist, computer programmer etc.) has seeped its way into the music on this album: it is strangely complex, having been picked apart, written and re-written, re-assessed and re-worked before being offered for public perusal. The brilliance, then, is that this album seems “natural” in its complexity, and hasn’t lost one iota of integrity as a result of such scrutiny.  Though some of the ideas are over the top (song titles elucidating the band’s name like, “Pieces of You” and “Gum Under the Table”), overall the concept works intelligently.  The only close musical connection might be The Work’s “Slow Crimes”; at least I suspect appreciators of that album will find much to enjoy in Car Bomb’s approach. But “Centralia” is more complex, fu rious and brutal, having been afforded a quarter of a century’s time to move beyond the virtuosity of yesterday’s post-punk accomplishments.

According to Gaza’s record company, “I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die is an absolutely bleak & terrifying experience… This is some of the most hateful and frightening music that we will probably ever release”. All hype aside, it’s also one of the most artistically successful and forward-thinking technical metal disks available, and can more aptly be described as “artfully brutal”. This band has the maturity to offset their screaming, detuned madness with some absolutely gorgeous passages that unravel exponentially, making the brutal parts both veritable and all the more intense. As well, their breakdowns break down utterly and completely, often into nothingness. Gaza ignores finger-shredding metal techniques, choosing instead to work on an almost corporeal and thoroughly emotional level. Thankfully, this foresight is their creative strength, and they deliver the goods in a confident matter, mostly unparalleled by t heir peers.

CATTLE DECAPITATION - “Karma Bloody Karma”
San Diego, Calif.)  - Deathgrind

One of the fastest and most furious bands around, Cattle Decapitation’s music is a direct outlet for their highly misanthropic views: All members are devout vegetarians and animal rights activists to an almost perversely radical extent. Their album covers are famously grotesque as a means to denigrate the “meat industry”, and the music itself is a veritable slaughterhouse of brutal opposition, though it is composed and performed with much perspicacity, strength and energy. Other topics range from the inequitable distribution of wealth to the complete disgust for humanity’s place in history, arguably making the band Extreme Metal’s most precious voice of modern protest.

MESHUGGAH - “Catch 33”
(Umea, Sweden)  -Math-Thrash

Metalheads will already be familiar with this band, and prog fans may know of bandleader  Fredrik Thordendal from his solo album “Sol Niger Within”, which features Mats & Morgan. In my book this disk is simply the most palatable Thrash/Math-Rock released to date. While most of Meshuggah’s other albums are quite nice, they tend to go somewhat overboard, with insane time relations that can often be musically distracting for all but the most autistic of Poindexters. Here the band calms down a bit, and the music really shines. These great compositions are more succinct and to the point, whilst still unfolding maturely by means of enumeration; And they actually “groove” somewhat, which is a welcome change. This disk was nominated for a Grammy in Sweden – will wonders never cease (?).

TRAUMA - “DetermiNation”
(Gdansk, Poland) - Death Metal

Trauma share a distinct commonality with Decapitated not only by cultural means, but in the ways their influences reveal themselves. Both bands are purebred Polish Death Metal.  Both seem to steer away from of most thrash and grind imperatives. Both offer a clear and precise approach and sound. But, while both bands greatly utilize extraneous noises to add to their sonic landscapes, they do so  to different ends: Where Decapitated’s soundstage seems otherworldly and ethereal, Trauma’s is wholly urban, and tends to remind one of the frantic pace of city life gone amok, with special emphasis on its trials and perils. Their lyrics are harsh realities (as they see them) and are offered in guttural growls of animosity : “Anger in clenched fists, hatred in bloodshot eyes”. There’s nothing pretty about it, nor should there be.

FROM A SECOND STORY WINDOW – “Not One Word Has Been Omitted” E.P. (2004)
(Ohio-Pennsylvania, USA) – Progressive Metalcore

Originally issued with the title “The Cassandra Complex” this five-song EP from 2004 is the first commercially available recording by FASSW. As it pre-dates their excellent “Delenda” album by a relatively short span of time, one can site quite a few similarities in style: Lush but bizarre chords, built-up themes bordering on mathrock, sensitive lyrical content and urgent delivery are the band’s norm. The main differences might seem trivial, being mostly song length (these songs are usually a bit longer), a slightly more sinister delivery, and a change of vocalist for the newer record, who can jar the senses equally as much as the one heard here. Still, for my money, “Delenda” is FASSW’s classic to date; but this EP makes an excellent companion, and is, in truth, almost as mighty.

FROM A SECOND STORY WINDOW – “Delenda”
(Ohio-Pennsylvania, USA) – Progressive Metalcore

This is the sophomore release by one of the most interesting American groups in recent years. While on the whole it must be said that this is overall better than their debut EP (“Not One Word Was Omitted”, which in itself was amazing), there is a caveat: Of the 10 songs that comprise this disk, seven are extremely excellent; the remaining three are, for me at least, less interesting and musically out-of-place. But the great ones are more than worth the price of the disk: Six of these songs, “Dark Waters Of Thought”, “A Piece Of History Written in English”, “The Crusher”, “These Lights Above Us”, “Mourning For Morning” and “Soft Green Fields” are my very favorite discoveries so far of 2007, if that’s any indication of my fondness for this album. These are very well composed songs (hey, its even a concept album), arranged meticulously, and played in perfect taste, with only the slightest hint of old school Progressive Rock influence. Besides an inherent sense of urgency and power, somehow - amidst some gloomy subject matter - there is an obvious and monumental sense of uplifting glory in this recording, as if it were able to act as a soundtrack to a modern accounting of the Punic Wars. But, there’s nothing meretricious or overblown here; When it works, which it almost invariably does, it is sublime.

THE ACACIA STRAIN – “The Dead Walk”
(Springfield, Mass.) -  Metalcore

This band is now world-class and famous. But that can’t detract from the fact that this is arguably the very strongest metalcore disk ever recorded, making even their own back catalog seem tame by comparison. Mid tempo songs, beefed-up and tuned-down, are cause for this to be a real brain-bash of a disk. The guitars are as dense as the Baskervilles’ fog, and the drum sound is superb throughout. To boot, every composition here is intelligent, though lyrically harsh, and expertly executed without the need to show off. Some songs in particular are sure to leave most listeners’ jaws dangling: “Pity”, “Burnface”, “Angry Mob Justice” and “Whoa! Shut It Down”  to name a few.  But special mention need be made of, “The Demolishor”, as the instrumental middle section is rhythmically godlike, losing and re-defining the downbeat in a way I’d have never imagined (I kept hitting the r ewind button more than 2 dozen times to fully understand it). An extremely intense recording, highly recommended, that hardly ever lets up.

ED GEIN – “Judas Goats and Dieseleaters”
(Syracuse, New York)  -  Experimental/ Metalcore

Named after Wisconsin’s most notorious serial killer, this band plays a strange and unique gathering of styles:  thrash, punk, sludge, grind, you name it – it all gets thrown into a blender here, blurring any true specific genres, other than “experimental” and “metal”. Hence, there are several greatly varied approaches at play here, all of which are examined quite successfully. The musicianship is top-notch, as are the songs and playing, and their intrepid sense of adventure in the studio pushes everything over the edge. The band seem to have no regard for any sort of rules of engagement musically, and no sense of compunction for the listener. Truly, anything goes, because it’s all about attitude and sound. And both are extreme here to the point where they usually, as a trio, sound like a sextet at minimum.

PSYOPUS Our Puzzling Encounters Considered
(Oklahoma City, Ok.) Grind /Metalcore

Although intensely masterful playing is a prerequisite of the Technical Metal school, none can match the chops and audacity of PsyOpus, especially as performed on this new album, Their music is spastic and unpredictable, made all the more insane by guitarist Chris ArpÕs ability to play perfectly locked-up parts at lightning fast speeds by means of overdubbing as everyone else holds on for dear life in good approximation. These guys FLY through their tunes, and can fit more notes into a 32 sec. song (ÒPlay Some SkynyrdÓ) than any sane band would attribute to a full album. Their material, which flitters and flutters like a hive of angry bees is propelled by some finely crafted drumming and slithering, disturbed shrieking until the composition declares itself ÒfinishedÓ, at which point the band aptly stops on a dime. The precision is truthfully impressive and outstanding, always to the point of astonishment. This disk is a real ac hievement of technique; and the few instances where it is lacking in artisanship are more than made up for by sheer ability.

GAZA - "East” (2004) E.P.
(Salt Lake City, Utah) - Hardcore/Grind

This is Gaza's first attempt at their disturbed and radical sound. It lays the groundwork for where they would later go with their classic disk, I Don't Care Where I go When I Die. But from the get-go we can hear that Gaza is intent to adamantly break almost every rule it sets for itself as soon as it is established. The title song is a truly bizarre study in dichotomy, where a single shrieking voice is pitted against built-up and multi-tracked ethereal harmonies layered atop a harshly compressed hardcore setting. It's one of the eeriest moments (and greatest) in the history of grind. This is followed by a gorgeous hammer-on guitar duet as a means of repose before the next onslaught. The drums throughout are ruthless and exhausting, the guitars searing and, of course, the vocals over-the-top. This and ÒI DonÕt Care Where I Go When I Die certainly go a long way in an attempt to separate the men from the boys.

SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY – “Parasite”
(Frankinglansenmuth, Michigan)  - Grind Metal

Yow, is this ever brutal ! (and I mean that in the best of ways). Peering beyond the shrieking vocals reveals some of the greatest guitar work in Extreme Metal, and some of the best written songs, too. Here is a case where shredding is not only acceptable, but intrinsic to the nature of the compositions; it eschews the former hardcore notion to eschew virtuosity, making the playing on this disk extremely cutting edge in technical terms. Truth be told, the band started out as a joke, playing a parody of Grindcore, to hyperbolical extremes, simply for fun and amusement. (See that their name is a twisted abbreviation of a vile term for the female anatomy). Quickly though, they realized that they had lifted the bar on what was becoming veritable, and began to take things seriously. The fruit of their labors then is this, their debut – and there’s nothing else like it to date. It’s quite over the top, and perhaps an acquired taste. But for those who can follow, it serves as both a high water mark and a glimpse of where extreme metal can go as a whole in the near future.

CROWPATH– “Son of Sulpher”
(Umea, Sweden) - Mathcore

Crowpath is arguably the best and most far-reaching grind band in Europe. This is their second official album, and goes a long way to solidify the groupÕs reputation as the kings of boisterous, noise-driven, math-tinged madness. When they do manage to calm down a bit, they enter some sludge-rock territory, but offer it up in such a bizarre manner Ð and with such derring do Ð that the grind somehow holds sway. Some terribly strange & eerie slide guitar work (cleverly mixed with Hammond organ !) and an uncannily tuned snare drum (think old-school Brutal Death sound, but with fire alarm bell instead of ride cymbal) leave a lot of frequency room for all of the insanity to roam about unfettered in the mix. Everything is presented in crystal clarity, which is a scary enough thought in itself; But add to that some of the most whacked compositional frameworks imaginable, and youÕve got what I consider to be the penultimate Grindcore classic.

ED GEIN – “It’s A Shame A Family Can Be Torn Apart By Something As Simple As A Pack Of Wild Dogs” (2003) E.P.
(Syracuse, New York) - Experimental/ Metalcore

This is a bit thrashier and singularly focused than “Judas Goats & Dieseleaters”, but no less intense. Whereas their later album is artistically all over the map, this EP sticks a bit more to the band’s hardcore roots, as attention to skill plays a bigger role here than the endeavors of artisanship. Nonetheless, this 1st record was not exactly a product of humble beginnings: The germination of their lyrically crude, political thought came of age on songs like, “The Marlboro Man Is A Douche Bag” and “A Way To Kill Old People”. Later their lyrics would openly challenge white supremacy, George W. Bush, the Catholic Church, etc, showing a nice progression from simply denigrating cigarette smokers and aimless complacency. This is a band that refuses to stand still, and won’t allow the listener any such luxury, either.

PSYOPUS “Ideas Of Reference” (2006)
(Rochester, New York) - Technical Metal

This is the first album by the same sick mob that would bring you “Our Puzzling Encounters Considered” a year later. Really, this is the most learned group in Rock Music today, and the proof is in their many crossover references and pokes at both Jazz and Classical music. The last 2 minutes of the track “The White Light” are just insane, and it gets more ludicrous from there. As is usual, the majority of attention goes to the unorthodox guitar work of Christopher Arp, who is personally amassing legions of minions for his innovations as well as his fret-board speed. His guitar hockets back and forth between the speakers, and the space between is filled by the rest of the group, each a madman of technique in his own right. (One gets the impression that no-one in this band had a life of any kind before they began to play together). But once the listener becomes fully acclimated to all of the vivacious shenanigans, the true intent and excellence of the group begins to unfold, and there is a lot more going on than just speed compositions.

DESPISED ICON – “The Ills Of Modern Man” (2007)   
(Montreal, Quebec)  -  Deathcore

This is probably the most “normal” of the lot, with easily discernable nods to popular Death Metal: growls, pig squeals, bree’s and inhales courtesy of vocalist Alex Erian, and some simply awe-inspiring blast beat drumming by Alex Pelletier. The guitar work shines, the compositions are extremely great and the production is clean and powerful. But where this disk really makes its mark is in the group’s ability to expand upon the language of modern Metal whilst adhering to certain “rules” of the genre in an attempt to fuse many disparate elements with respect. The music on this disk seems to bluntly ignore the fact that it’s only mildly ground-breaking by going out of its way to be heartily earth-shattering (few players in the field have chops this audacious and admirable). All things considered, the outcome is one of the very hottest Deathcore albums ever made, despite the fact that the band need barely break a swea t to play this well.

DESTROYER DESTROYER “Littered With Arrows” (2007)
(Umea, Sweden) - Mathcore

This is a HIGHLY energetic band, whose compositions are astoundingly complex. But they differ from say, PsyOpus, in that instead of being offered in a heady, learned way, these guys crunch away at the brain relentlessly with a down-and-dirty flavor. Rhythms are constantly shifting throughout, slithering around in the listener’s cortex like eels, daring one to hold on for dear life whilst trying to keep up with them. Special kudos go to bassist Dallas Niles, as his Goliath presence acts like an anchor, holding the band’s completely bizarre framework in place: often the drums are semi free-form, entering and exiting the patterns precisely and at will, and the guitars offer filigrees and unexpected attacks within the measures and counts. And the screeching vocals are amongst the most successful and un-nerving ever in this school of music. Three songs from this disk are remakes from their debut (which is difficult to find now, but also excellent); However, the versions here sound more immediate, brutal and confounding. Along with old hands Crowpath and relative newcomers Gaza, Destroyer Destroyer are at the vanguard of Metal’s new, mind-f#*ck approach, but they are more complex than the former, and even more intense than the latter. Personally, I expect this will be the best Metal release of 2007.

You are on our mailing list because either you have previously ordered CDs from us, or have signed up. This letter is designed to keep you informed about our new releases, and special goings-on. If for any reason you wish not to continue receiving our newsletter, please click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this page.
-Dave Kerman

VISIT US AT ReRUSA.com

NEW RELEASES FROM ReR and MORE:

Blast: Sift Equally at home with the discipline of composition and the tightrope of improvisation Blast have evolved a fluid, pointillistic, unfathomable but transparent musical language that seamlessly integrates - over very short durations - highly complex writing and very free ranging improvisation, allowing the two languages to merge and combine into a new kind of logical exposition that makes sense but can't be reverse-engineered into its component parts.

Heiner Goebbels The Italian ConcertoWith Chris Cutler, The Icarus Ensemble, Sira and Boubacar Djebate, Johannes Bauer, Tiziano Popoli, Jocelyn B. Smith and the Orchestra of the Teatro Popoli, Bologna, conducted by Yoichi Sugiyama, this is a rare release from one of the pioneers of contemporary cross-platform composition. Working with montage, superposition and elements of different musical languages, Heiner sidesteps genre to concentrate on the material.

Gareth Williams of This Heat: Flaming Tunes When Gareth Williams died on Christmas Eve 2001 at the age of 48, the world lost a huge personality and a unique creative talent, yet little is known of his work outside of the legendary group This Heat. With this first official release on Compact Disc of Williams's solo and collaborative works from 1985, Life and Living Records take the first steps to correcting this imbalance. "Flaming Tunes" was recorded by Gareth Williams and Mary Currie with input from a variety of contributors including fellow This Heat member Charles Bullen, long term collaborators Martin Harrison and Rick Wilson, Mick Hobbs and others.

Honsinger & Simonini: Call Me Us Cellist Honsinger and pre-existing media manipulist Simonini with a piece that falls between radio art, music theatre and... and what? A highly unusual performance in 10 parts that deploys its materials sparingly and intelligently and, through a combination of skill, spontaneity and ambiguity, arrives at something seemingly too controlled and precise to be improvised, but too complex and wilful to have been composed.

You are on our mailing list because either you have previously ordered CDs from us, or have signed up. This letter is designed to keep you informed about our new releases, and special goings-on. If for any reason you wish not to continue receiving our newsletter, please click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this page.
-Dave Kerman

VISIT US AT ReRUSA.com

NEW RELEASES FROM ReR:

In the winter months of 1977-1978, philosopher, pianist and bandleader Sun Ra was in Italy. The Italian tour resulted in releases on Sun Ra's own Saturn label, all of which have long been out of print and all but impossible to find. With the re-release of DISCO 3000 one of the most celebrated of these elusive Saturn gems is once more available.