Horrific - Your Worst Nightmare (2009)

Many will recognize Slasher Dave immediately from his more visible band Acid Witch, a cool mash-up of death, doom and marijuana haze with a heavy lyrical emphasis on the horror genre. However, that wasn't Dave's only ticket to the creature feature, as he put together this very short-lived pet project called Horrific, which dropped an album on Razorback just a little after Witchtanic Hellucinations was unleashed. Your Worst Nightmare is a perfectly appropriate album to populate the basement of that label, a love letter to the camp and sleeze and nostalgia of the horror genre, for folks who loved flicks with really bad monsters, serial killers using signature items like guitars with drills on them, or whatever kept you up late at night watching cable TV throughout the 80s.

The style here is a departure from his mainstay, fueled heavily by rock & roll and barebones late 80s death metal, and yet rarely at all sounding like the Swedish 'death & roll' scene spearheaded by acts like Entombed or Desultory. The death metal element comes directly through the raunchy growls, carrion snarls and a few of the riffing selections that might burst into a tremolo picked passage, a few evil chords or a wailing, unhinged lead, whereas the rest of the material is purely 3-5 chord driven punk or rock rendered a little heavier just by nature of the vocal style and the genre Slasher is used to playing in. Guitars and straightforward, with a functional, sometimes boxy tone to the rhythms. The bass is a bit of a nonentity in the mix, and the drums are your basic rock and roll pace with perhaps a little added splash to support the weight of the vocals, which are overall the most prominent force across the album, matched only by the leads. A little bit of reverb on the growling so it occupies a cavernous plane slightly above the mix of the instruments, and Dave will apply snarls or weirder growling sustains just to give their presence more character.

This record has a lot of spunk to it and it's fairly fun to listen to, but most of the riff construction is entirely too generic. There are exceptions, tunes like "The Ultimate Sacrifyx" and "Orgy of the Bloody Parasites" which had moments that rocked my face off, but I feel like a little more creativity would have gone a long way towards what is otherwise an inoffensive, charming, nostalgic effort. The production seems a little dry, perhaps not due to the isolated instrument tones but just how they're all brought together, and a little more variation and dynamic range to the drums and bass guitar would make it feel more like a raucous stereo attack. The album has a few less riotous moments where the guitars are used to build more mood as in "Metal Cemetary", one of the other better tunes, so it does do the service of avoiding monotony, and the shit kicking punked out parts, as predictable as they seem, don't lack for energy, especially where the leads are applied.

Slasher Dave's head was in the right place here...with cool titles that pay tribute to some great horror cheese, and lyrics that, while almost painfully simple, really stick to the graveyard partying and a paean to playing metal and horror itself, with colorful poetry like 'Zombie fuck freaks attack!' He doesn't dress it all up with a bunch of samples or incidental horror music bits, or tackier synthesizers, not that these are things that couldn't work in conjunction with the stripped down rocking, but this is Guitar Driven 101 metal devoted to partying, killing, and spooking. It's not as good as Acid Witch, and so it makes sense that this project would evaporate while the other persisted, but if you're in the mood for stuff like Ghoul or Frightmare but simpler, it might fit the bill.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10] (absorb the carnage collages)

Toad - Rotten Tide EP (2011)

Sort of how Norway's Kvelertak successfully marries the youthful energy of blazing punk rock to a furious black metal rasp, so too does Arizona's TOAD conjure up a hybrid of burning, jangling rock & roll with occasional tremolo picking passages and a hoarse, tormented front man. The true joy of this Rotten Tide release, however, is the process the band used to record it, with only vintage instruments (from the 60s or 70s) and primitive distortion at hand, straight to an analog. So basically, this is a live recording, yet not a live album, and to that extent, the band sounds phenomenal, to the point that I can easily see how this might become a widespread process that many, many more bands want to get their greedy fingers on, and off their bedroom black metal home recording software.

But do the songs add up to the aural aesthetic? For the most part, though the vocals can often feel a tinge monotonous, the emotional real variation being a shift from the brutal bludgeoning to a more salacious sneer. There are five tracks here, adding up to just over 21 minutes, more or less an EP, and each brings something interesting to the table. "Midnight Hunger" rollicks through a scuffle of dire melodies, mid-paced mutes and tightly coiled thrashing acceleration, while "Pale Nimbus" evokes more of a traditional black metal aesthetic between the crushing chords and bleeding streams of dissonant melody, with a great finale. "Embody the Ghost" builds an eerie, rocking structure, and "Morning Disgust" is more open aired and breathtaking betwixt the big grooves. "Necrophatic Vatican" had an Entombed/Hellacopters thrust about it, at least until the gang shouts at the end, but this was my least favorite here.

Rotten Tide isn't bad at all. I like the imagery being conjured through both the band's choice in tonal structure and the cover art. They're doing something interesting, even if there are still a few kinks to shake out. I mentioned the vocals, and also the riffs themselves are about 50/50 on fire or dull. I'm not sure just how often I would listen to this, but if the band wa able to produce a full length using the same style but a greater dynamic range within the songwriting itself, with some more charisma to drive the lyrics down your eardrums, then I think Toad (aka Take Over and Destroy) would be worth getting excited over.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://takeoveranddestroy.bandcamp.com/

Blood Cult - We Are the Cult of the Plains (2010)

Proof that there is always something you haven't heard, even when you fancy that you've actually heard everything, Blood Cult is a band out of Illinois with well over a dozen demos under their belts, a good number of compilations, a few splits, and one previous full-length album, We Who Walk Behind the Rows, which was released half a decade ago. However, this new album, We Are the Cult of the Plains, is only my first exposure to their rather unique formula. You see, Blood Cult is not just the average black metal artist, despite their rather obvious title. They incorporate punk, rock and roll, hillbilly, bluegrass, and even a twang of aggro-surf and country rock into their grim facade. The results are mixed, and by no means do I feel the band has yet perfected its eclectic aural Frankenstein, but they are certainly one of the more intriguing sounds to emerge in a USBM landscape hell starved for fresh ideas.

The songs here are quite varied, and Blood Cult often focuses on one genre more than another, but there are numerous examples where they've adapted the perfect blend of their constituent influences. "Lusi Ceriales" is like a long, jamming grunge piece with some snarled vocals, nigh on endless guitar wailing and a constant, mesmerizing clean guitar that rings off through most of the song's 8+ minutes. "My Forest Home" transforms from raw but melodic necro black metal to some drudging rock and roll with a dark, almost surf line cascading beneath. "Seeds" is another of the band's mixtures of atmospheric black metal, harsh rasping vocals, bluesy shredding and bloodied stream of melody, with glorious, plodding bass lines and more of the band's penchant for just jamming off on the lead guitar (perhaps too long). "Illinoisan Alter" is like line dancing for lunatics, Wild West black country folk that seems the perfect fixin' for a fight, a horrific hoedown, Satanic gunmen at the Golden Dawn, casting curses at one another while the bullets fly. I honestly didn't know whether to laugh or cry, it's so entertaining. There are some cool, shorter songs here too like the sludgy, depressive black punk rock & roll of "We Came Back" or the more eerie, 'proper' black metal time warping of "Necromance".

It does feel like the band could use a little more fine tuning. For example, a few of the guitar lines just rattle on and on, with very few interesting variations. Their more metallic riffs are clearly the forte, and when they go off jamming on some of the longer tunes (like "Lusi Ceriales"), you do feel a longing for something more interesting to occur. In fact, the shorter tracks on this album are simply the best you'll hear, even if they're more conventional than fare like "Illinoisan Alter". No problem with the vocals, and I really love the production of the album, which is pretty raw and honest, as if this might have been the first black metal record put out by SSI back in the day, a mix of old Screaming Trees, Descendants, and Burzum.

We Are the Cult of the Plains is quite unique, at least to my ears, and it fascinates me to think of the possibilities of the entire realm of American indie rock, folk, country and punk being manipulated and bastardized into raw black metal. Blood Cult are well ahead of the curve here, and should they ever muster up just the right amount of killer riffing and writing to balance out their obvious wealth of idea, they could become a dominating force here in the US. This is a really good record, and very fun to listen through, but I have the feeling they can do more. And, for the love of all that is unholy, please keep this cover artists, because that is goddamn sweet looking.

Highlights: My Forest Home, We Came Back, Necromance, Cult of the Olains, Never Said Goodbye

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

http://www.myspace.com/redneckblackmetal

Entombed - Black Juju EP (1999)

The Black Juju EP was a one-off release through the coveted Man's Ruin records, known for putting out a lot of the critical stoner rock and punk artists that helped that style flourish once again in the 90s. Like the Wreckage EP from two years before, it primarily consists of cover tunes, and in fact, if you purchase the CD version, you actually get the four Wreckage cover tunes as an added bonus. The difference is that the covers you'll find on Black Juju are all pretty good, and some of the better that the band have collected in their many years, and the one original here is also good.

"Mesmerization Eclipse" is a cover from L.A.'s cult rockers Captain Beyond, and the constant, blues grooving is a tight fit for where Entombed were at in the mid to late 90s, that is to say, this band was a direct influence on the Swedes and it makes a little sense to pay them tribute on a recording. Much of the track consists of the same two rhythms, but there is a little jamming and a nicely slicing lead, and the mix of the song places it firmly in space rock territory, where it belongs. "Vices by Proxy" is the Entombed original, a burning rocker lavished in some wailing leads and a surging, cruel punk undercurrent. In particular I like the chugging breakdown, with Petrov's vocal pattern really digging in and playing off the beat.

"Black Juju" is like a deeper, darker take on the Alice Cooper original, and by far the best cover Entombed had done by this point, superior to their KISS, Twisted Sister or Dwarves covers. I really love the original, and I really love this version, with its thumping tribal percussion and keening wall of guitars, sharpened against countless hippie skulls. Heavy shit. "Sentimental Funeral" is a cover of Hey on Glue's bluesy, balls-out rocker, perfect for skulking about any local waterhole with an axe and a pack of cigarettes, trying to figure out who or what to take out your ex-wife frustrations against. I'll be honest, I know nothing about the original or the band that wrote it, but the song is fun enough, with some swaggering Sabbath-like doom in there.

And, of course, if you own the CD, you have the cool covers ala Twisted Sister and the Dwarves, and the rather bland renditions of Bob Dylan and Jerry's Kids. But the real value, if any, is the material new to this EP. Once again, I must re-iterate that you can have ALL of these cover songs, and many more, if you purchase the Sons of Satan Praise the Lord compilation, which was obviously not available back when this released. That release is a far greater value than all of the constituent EPs, singles and b-sides that comprise it, however, you won't find "Vices by Proxy" there, so Black Juju still retains at least a little of its value.

Verdict: Indifference [5/10]

http://www.entombed.org/

Entombed - Wreckage EP (1997)

You could read it in the cover image before ever hearing a sound: Entombed loved the newfound 'success' their rock leanings had veered them towards, and with each release after Wolverine Blues, they would venture further into this territory. The problem was, most of their actual success had come from word of mouth buzz about their older albums, when they were a death metal band (up to and including Wolverine Blues, a fascinating fusion of the two expressions), and many initiates were flocking to their gigs to hear "Bitter Loss", "But Life Goes On", and "Stranger Aeons", not to hear a bunch of brutal graveyard grinders perform rock and roll music (best left to their associates The Hellacopters). Still, Entombed deserves a little credit for not entirely abandoning their roots, and at least To Ride, To Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth was loyal to Wolverine Blues, if not the amazing debut or almost as worthy Clandestine.

Now, I'm not trying to come off as someone who opposes change, for there are certainly a number of bands who have successfully incorporated the more mainline rock style into their extreme influences. In fact, I wouldn't say Entombed failed. Their whole schtick about washed out Americana, dirty southern rock & roll joined to aggressive hardcore, grind, punk and death was a novelty, and got them some attention, but this period of the band's career was simply not as promising as their first three albums, and those will always receive the most critical acclaim. The Wreckage EP was the teaser release for To Ride, To Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth, and like Hollowman before it, it features one album track and then a bunch of material unique to it (though I warn you, they're all cover songs). But the value really rests upon your collector status or your fondness for the band's middle years, neither of which I possess.

"Wreckage" is a pretty familiar sounding tune, because it doesn't fall far from the tree that was Wolverine Blues. A bigger, stereo production, blazing guitars with little groovy tails like rock & roll comets, and a screwy breakdown where the band drops out, probably drops acid, and trips their way back into the meaty rhythm chords. Honestly, it's not all bad, and if you've seen become a fan of The Hellacopters, or say, Turbonegro, it will probably appeal to you. Interestingly, this is the final track on the full-length. And it's also represented here with the "Wreckage (Indy Cart Larceny Remix)", which feels like a "Jesus Built My Hot Rod" take on the track, extending it out with cheesy techno rhythms. Not the worst remix out there, by a long shot, but I could have lived without it.

After this, we get a cover of Twisted Sister's "Tear It Loose", one of many Entombed would choose over the ensuing years to solidify their rock cred. It's fun, it's edgy, and given the full Swedish treatment, with thick guitars that seem even more vibrant than the original. "Lost" is a cover of punks Jerry's Kids, and it creates a crashing melancholy through the big guitars and roughshod drumming, but the riff itself is simply not that interesting, no matter how much frilly violent Swedish tone you pump into it. With the "The Ballad of Hollis Brown", Entombed do about as much justice as they can to a Bob Dylan track, but again, the original is pretty fucking dull, and the riffs here consist of only a few boring notes. If it's the lyrics you seek, well, you won't make them out here more than the original. Following and finalizing the EP, a cover of the Dwarves' "Satan", a numbing organ into a fast paced, rugged take on an already kickass little slice of grunge and punk, with Lars channeling a little Glenn Danzig into his howling.

Do you want to hear Entombed performing a set of diverse covers from hard rock, punk and bluegrass influences? Well, some of these are alright, in particular the Twisted Sister and Dwarves numbers, but aside from this, I simply cannot find much to recommend in this release. The techno remix of the title track is lame if not horrible, the title track appears on the album, and the other covers are kind of a bore. Entombed circa 1994-1999 is a period which I gladly tend to skip past, as it produced very little of note, and I wasn't really on board again until Uprising, which I admit did get my goose. If you really liked their more rock oriented albums in 1997 and 1998, and you seek more of the same, this is for you. HOWEVER, it should be noted that the four cover tracks here ARE in fact reprinted on the 2002 compilation Sons of Satan Praise the Lord, with a lot more. They're also reprinted on the CD version of the Black Juju EP. In my opinion, it would be better to gather them up there than try and track this release down.

Verdict: Fail [4/10] (will our bad luck ever turn)

http://www.entombed.org/