HEAR: GOIJIRA - L’Enfant Sauvage

Gojira - L’Enfant Sauvage

Despite my jaded view of the musicindustry current, I was excited to get this record. The French metal outfit, Gojira,recently won a “Revolver Magazine” award, so I figured I’d hate it forsure. But in efforts to seek out great music, you gotta give stuff a listen despite what horrible rumors you've heard.

L’Enfant Sauvage explodes with unique thrashing riffsthat grab your attention and then moves into large soundscapes. Seeping withplenty melody and metal riffs to keep it interesting, Gojira corners the marketwith juxtapositions, turning unique riffs to solid straight-up chuggers,placing bazaar next to familiar and balancing beautiful parts to jagged.

 

Gojira’s forte is their craftsmanship of arrangement.It’s actually quite masterful and clearly the point of their passion. The songsare rollercoasters that bring you along for the highs, drops and centrifugalturn outs. The riffery is pretty excellent as well, some that rip like a semiautomatic while others are a nice fat sawed-off shotgun taking out agathering of zombies.

The skeptic in me did find parts annoying. While some vocals are pretty awesome, others are emotionless bits of robotic soundbites. At times the record becomes, what I call, ‘dance-metal’,influenced by on industrial  masters like Ministryand NIN, though here they are more deriviative than exceptional. Luckily it’s not verylong until another good bit of rock comes along.

The major upside to this LP is that everytrack a goodone, unique, and offers something out of the ordinary. Born in Winter startswith, dare I say, a Leonard Cohen-esque vocal that bends into a large metalanthem. The Fall has a vocal reminiscent of Alice in Chains Layne Staley. Giftof guilt, Pain is a Master and This Emptiness (a bonus Track) are inspiring enoughthat all otherwise awkward parts are quickly forgiven and replaced by catchylingering riffs and large melodies.

Gojira is not your typical metal for that and love it. Ilike that there are parts of this record that not everybody's going to like equally.It's not cookie-cutter. It's weird yet familiar. I like that it’s not amonotonous record with 12 of the same songs, only than A&R chumps dig that. WhileI don’t always love every morsel, these French guys are taking risks and that Idig!

The biggest dissappointment is that I don't like the way it ends.After a pretty grand album, it just stops. But maybe that’s what I don’t like.

Don’t stop Gojira! Don’t stop. \m/-s

 

Sabotage!

Black Sabbath : Sabotage

 

In honor that Sabbath is coming to town!:


 It's no mystery, I love Sabbath. But what can a peon like me say about the almighty Black Sabbath. I have so many favorite Sabbath records it would be impossible to pick out one. The three I reach for most are Sabbotage, Vol. 4 and Black Sabbath. One of my four t-shirts on this tour is hand made blurry Vol 4 t-shirt made by Laurie Es(Higher Octane, Lynette Skynyrd). I stole it from my ex-boyfriend.

A few years back(like 15+), Laurie asked BOTTOM to play a Sabbath tribute to be held on a Good Friday in Wheaton Maryland. We said, "Sure. a SabbathFest sounds cool. We love Sabbath, all BOTTOM jams end in Sweet Leaf, should be great fun." For the christian high holiday, we choose 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' and 'Fairies Wear Boots'. Holy god Damn, No brainer? my ass! You never really know how far away from Sabbath you really are till you really try to play Sabbath.

So what else can a yout' rocker like myself say about Sabbath? Only a god like Iommi could play like that missing parts of his fingers and: Why didn't he ever get something better than that rubber stub prosthetic? That said, since I'm listening to "Symptom of the Universe" right now, I'll declare it as my favorite Sabbath tune, no it's the Writ. No..snowblind, no....wicked world, no…Spiral Architect, no... the Wizzard....wait.... All I know is that I can't stand that song "Changes" and "I'm going Insane" makes my skin crawl. Some A&R guy must have had a gun up to their heads for those two. See, even Sabbath were mortals!

Sabotage!

"Hole in the Sky"

"Don't Start (Too Late)" (instrumental)

"Symptom of the Universe" (sins favorite san song!!)

"Megalomania"

 

Side two

"The Thrill of It All"

"Supertzar" (instrumental with vocalising choir)

"Am I Going Insane (Horrible Radio)"

"The Writ"

GEAR: Heavenly Headphones from Hell!

iWave Foldable Headphones

Hello my glam lovin’ Death Metal Rockers!

Wanna put a lil’ Heaven in your Hell, a lil’ add sparkle to your doom, some style to your function. These Foldable Headphones by iWave are dazzled out in Swarovski crystals AND way too bling for any respectable crusty-dirtcore-street-kid. But who wants to be a dirt core street crusty, anyway?

Chic, sleak and sparklier than Hell, fashionable music fiends, glam rockers and lovers of shiny bobbles alike can stream their favorite itunes while getting’ their bling on. I personally don them to accessorize my uniform ‘blacks’ while cranking out doom metal though they have crystal clear sound quality that’s precise enough for the studio.  

Metal horns held high for iWave‘s heavenly headphones!
\m/
-s

Use your Royalty Checks: iWave DJ Foldable Headphones ($2500). For additional information, visit Iwaveaudio.com.
Using your Per Diem:  skullcandy: Aviators ($70)

BØTTØM mixing day: hug myself all the time

Awesome evening at the studio mastering the next BØTTØM long player.

Hear : Monster Magnet - Spine of God

Feelin' nostalgic today: album du jour

Monster Magnet -Spine of God

"You don't yank on the spine of God. You get what you give, you know what I mean!"

Bottom Rocks: THE PORNOGRAPHER'S DAUGHTER

My BOTTOM boys are off to LA for their music run in The Pornographer's Daughter. I was hoping to join them, but I'll be part of the next run in San Francisco coming up in July.

Until then, Break a leg, boys! Proud of you!

++ THE PORNOGRAPHER'S DAUGHTER ++

A ONE WOMAN SHOW

by Liberty Bradford-Mitchell, Daughter of Art Mithcll

 

Kevin Hardicus and Kevn Swartz create and perform a live stage score composition for The Pornographer's Daughter a thought provoking, multi-media, live experience.

 

Thursday, March 14 to Sunday, March 17 @ 8:00PM

ELECTRIC LODGE PERFORMING ART CENTER

146 Electric Ave, Los Angeles, CA

310.823.0710

 

Things I am THANKFULL for!

It's Thanksgiving week and I'm feeling Thankful for many things.  My family, my bandmates, my friends, tunes, life, good food n' awesome drink! Holidays makes me feel nostalgic, so here are a couple of my favorite classic spins:

Monster Magnet - Spine of God.
There are three things in life, the world above, the world below and the area being pulled in both directions. "You don't yank on the Spine of God", yeah----but the bull god sure knows how tug on god's benevolence long enough to con him out of some unearthly tunes. Satanic gypsy, poet, doper, sex fiend, mythical anti-Christ, savior, high school burn out, Wyndorf paints pictures so clearly you can reach right into your stereo and touch the frayed KISS patch on his army coat, while exhaling a huge bong hit. The lyrics, melodies, riffs, and rhythms are too perfect, it makes me wonder if god, the devil and dave wyndorf are all the same being. It's too good, too evil, and too human all at once.
Kyuss - ...and the Circus Leaves Town - Blues for a Red Sun - Sky Valley
There really aren't words to describe how I feel about Kyuss. Kyuss is magic. Kyuss is a
classic. Brant Bjork is one of this decades most innovative rock drummers, Josh Homme the master of the stoner riff, Scott Reeder/Nick Oliveri both wizards du bass guitar and groove, and John Gracia- well the most emotional singer in rock'n'roll. Kyuss is one of those phenomenon where the whole IS greater than equal measured parts. Don't get me wrong, I dig all their side projects: Queens of a Stone Age, Unida, and FuManchu, Desert Sessions. But Kyuss is where it's at, its the real Royal Gem. Their ethereal lush desert rock sound has influenced more bands than I can count, mine included. I remember the first time I heard Kyuss, I sat pinned to my stereo for hours, finger to the rewind button, trying to figure out what this j. homme character was doing. Turned out to be the simplest shit ever, but that's the beauty. Stoner bands far and wide have listened to it, eaten it, digested it, regurgitated it, desperately trying to emulate it, but they're never be another Kyuss. The Queen is dead, boys.....Long live KYUSS, Long Live Kyuss!
Pantera : Vulgar Display of Power I don't know what I love more about this record, the painful riffs, the iller singer or the picture of the guy getting beat to shit on the cover. "Are there no standards anymore?" screams Phil in the pre-chours of Walk and after the hairs on my arms lay back down, I gotta say Pantera is the standard for hard, brutal, and in your fuckin' face, boy! I dig it. I'd love to have Phil Anselmo's voice, but Nila reminds me then I'd have to shave and facial hair ain't pretty on a girl. Oh well, but a girl can dream, can't she? Someday, I might get to meet Phil and maybe together we could bread some snake-eyed, god-sized offspring. I've been told he looks like Jim Morrison pre-bathtub these days, but who cares I'd be glad to take him on and whip his ass in shape.