It’s story time, kids, so go grab a cookie and your favorite blanket. Here goes: As devoted as I am to the heavy metal medium and just about everything it entails, it wasn’t always that way. I lost my way at one point, despite being a large devotee from middle school into my early college years. Once I started DJing at my school radio station, I turned more toward indie and alternative and got caught up in the world just as it was exploding across the rest of the planet. While I still kept my Iron Maiden, Testament, and Metallica (uh, the good albums) stuff nearby, they got less and less play.
But it was a phase. Eventually when I started writing about music, I decided I wanted to start exploring heavier music and the stuff I had kind of missed while I was away. I also was going through something of a mid-20s crisis, and a lot of things were blowing up and changing. My tastes were one of them, and they started to desire something raw, emotional and heavy. But it didn’t go straight to me digging up Darkthrone records or anything. Instead, my path back to extreme metal actually went through post-hardcore first. Bands such as Thursday, Cave In, Thrice, Boysetsfire, the North Atlantic and Glassjaw became more the norm, and I started to come out of the music coma in which I allowed myself to slip.
I don’t listen to a lot of that stuff anymore, and while I have tried to keep up when any of those bands release new material since I have an emotional connection, it’s only occasionally I’ll go back. And when I do, it’s always the groups’ earlier stuff since that’s what helped mold me. Occasionally, newer bands will touch on some of the things that made the post-hardcore style work for me, and that’s always a welcome thing. I felt that twinge when taking on the new split effort “Well Worn” from Caravels and Gifts From Enola. In fact, this thing has me dusting off records from some of the bands I mentioned. So we may be in nostalgia mode in my house for a bit.
Caravels
While the band Caravels, who hail from Nevada, had been introduced to me preliminarily via various web sites and whatnot, I hadn’t immersed myself in much of their music until “Well Worn.” They record for Topshelf Records and pretty much bleed that heart-ripped-through chest ethos so many bands had in the early ’00s. This band would have been a juggernaut a decade ago, changing kids’ lives, helping people identify with their inner turmoil and letting their audience emote along with them. That’s not to suggest they can’t have an impact today, because so much punk and hardcore has been neutered by that Warped Tour, Hot Topic, high-commerce crap that has robbed the scene of its identity. These guys clearly have conviction and passion, and silly song titles aside, everything they do is ink-smeared-journal-page real and raw.
I can’t stop listening to Caravels’ side of the effort. Their music reminds me of the days when I’d drive around in my car, no real destination planned, and just try to find some meaning along with what was emanating from my speakers. Over the course of these three cuts – “Sagan Genesis,” “Beer Pressure” and “Bone Voyage” – this band serves notice that hardcore and post-hardcore don’t have to be so shallow. I could see this band ending up at Deathwish Inc. and having a long, happy run there, because they would fit in so well. I love their energy, and while I can’t imagine going to a hardcore show ever again (I’m old and hate kids acting like ninjas …), I’d like to see what these guys bring live. I’m going to keep enjoying these three cuts, as well as their back catalog I’ve just acquired.
For more on the band, go here: http://caravels.bandcamp.com/
To visit Topshelf, go here: http://topshelfrecords.org/
Gifts From Enola
I got to know Virginia’s Gifts From Enola better this past summer when I reviewed their kick-ass self-titled album for Outburn. It had some of that punchiness you get with the post-hardcore thing, but they also have a keener eye for instrumentation and experimentation, sparking the parts of my brain that love Pelican and ISIS. They also can be emotional and caterwauling, but you get that in equal amounts from their vocals and their compositions. It’s a total package. You might not want to punch out a lamp when hearing them, necessarily, but that’s fine. I think it’s easier to sift through my senses and find a semblance of reason when I hear Gifts From Enola. Their gazey, fiery guitar work allow the synapses to fire, but when they even things out, that’s when I know it’s OK to breathe. It’s a full catharsis.
Gifts From Enola have two cuts on “Well Worn,” both running a few minutes longer than Caravels’ cuts. “Angel Face” is the punchier, more charging of the duo, with manic, yelped vocals, turn-on-a-dime riffs and leads, and a pace that’ll leave you frantic at points but ultimately satisfied when it’s all said and done. “Water Torture” is the dreamier song, though it does have its explosive elements, and it tends to go down more of an indie-charged hardcore avenue after bands such as Slint or Shellac. It’s a loopy, constantly evolving song that dabbles a bit in prog (drawing some At the Drive In moments), and it is an adventurous, surging ride.
“Well Worn” is one of those splits that’s bound to have its many owners picking sides, and it’ll all depend on what approach you prefer. If you want a volcano of emotion to erupt in your living room, you’ll lean toward Caravels. If you want to have something that’ll make you work a little harder to examine what’s going on in your heart, chances are you’ll choose Gifts From Enola. Or you can be like me and embrace this great package as a whole and appreciate these bands for unearthing something I lost: my love for true, passionate post-hardcore, something I feared was extinct.
For more on the band, go here: http://www.giftsfromenola.com/
To buy “Well Worn,” go here: http://www.mylenesheath.com/catalog.html?&Vl=32&Tp=2
For more on the label, go here: http://www.mylenesheath.com/
Meat Mead Metal 