A few weeks ago, I talked about demo recordings and how I generally am not up to speed on them. Again, it’s not because I don’t try to get my hands on new things on the horizon, it’s just that with a full-time job, raising a dog, and doing other daily crap, it’s really hard to get as immersed as I’d like to be. So I depend on word of mouth mostly for budding bands that require my attention, and that seems to work out for me. My collection of said recordings actually is growing.

So it’s always awesome when I do get my hands on some early recordings and then watch the band progress. One of the groups I’ve been following pretty steadily since their first recording “The Drear” is Seattle’s awesome doom/death soldiers Anhedonist. The three tracks on my cassette version are damn near running themselves thin because I’ve listened to the thing so many times. The tape would be dead if I had a cassette player in my car. Luckily iPod tracks don’t go bad. But instantly upon hearing the band, I knew they’d be one I’d follow closely as their career progressed, and my enthusiasm blew over when I first started getting press releases on their debut full-length “Netherwards,” released by the always awesome and reliable Dark Descent. Seriously, if you are hungry for some new death and doom and are not sure where to turn, just buy a few random things from DD, and you will not be disappointed.

But back to Anhedonist. Their mangling, ugly transmissions will make you feel filthy and rotting inside. They get into your bones and your blood and infect you with morbidity. The closest comparisons I can come up with for this band are Aldabaran and Mournful Congregation (more in philosophical approach than sound, but there’s certainly a connection), and not so oddly, those bands all completed a West Coast tour together quite recently. Hey, uh, East Coast next time. Thanks.

Basically, you won’t feel enriched as a person or enthusiastic to tackle the day when you’re done listening to Anhedonist and their amazing new record “Netherwards,” and it isn’t fodder for a celebratory get-together with friends. It’s what you use to connect to your inner darkness and depression. The music helps you latch on to your darker side, one that perhaps you try to suppress in order to put a happy face on things but that certainly lingers beneath you. I think it’s far more dangerous not to acknowledge those feelings than to put them on a shelf, so I’ve gotten a lot of cathartic use of Anhedonists’s music. I’m not afraid to admit that sometimes I’m a miserable fuck, and because I spend time with that side of myself, I feel more balanced.

Maybe you will be able to work out some of your inner strife with these dudes (um, and lady) – V.B. (vocals/guitars), K.H. (guitars), Z.S. (drums), D.F. (bass) – and their latest cauldron of hatred and misery. “Netherwards” is but four tracks long, but you can bet you’re going to spend a nice bit of time with each one of them. This is doom after all, and long, sorrowful compositions are commonplace in the genre, but this band doesn’t embrace that idea of the epic just to do it. On each song, you can hear the band working through emotions and making their way musically to a particular thought’s conclusion. These songs sound timed just right, and they’re proof that Anhedonist is one of doom metal’s most important rising bands.

“Saturnine” opens with a long pockets of silence, so don’t go adjusting the volume knob or thinking you got a warped copy. It’s there by design, to slowly draw you into the song that piles muddy thrashing on top of punishing, grinding guitar work. It’s utterly, beautifully brutal, and when the death chimes carry you out, you know you’ve been through a war inside your head. “Estrangement,” as the title indicates, is sad and gloomy, taking up a crushing mid-tempo assault that gets dressed with tortured shrieks and cries of desperation. “Carne Liberatus” is the shortest song on here, but it makes the most of its time by also being the heaviest, most aggressive of all the tracks. There are sinister guitar sections,  growling shrieks courtesy of V.B., and eventually a nice melody buried underneath all the soot to calm you down again. The whole thing ends with the 15-minute epic mauler “Inherent Opprobrium,” a song that tests the limits of what your psyche can handle and also gives you a neat summary of all the things this band does so well. There are clean sections, some furious gallop, some maniacal tirades over excruciatingly slow parts, including V.B. howling, “I’ll never forget your screams,” and the whole thing eventually bleeds out into the fog, leaving you pounded and vulnerable.

I had super-high hopes for this record, and it’s one that I told a lot of people to look out for in the future. I’m pleased that not only have my expectations been met, they’ve been totally blow away. Anhedonist is a band you must hear right now, this very instant, so that you can get in on the bottom floor. They’re a band that will fuel the underground of death and doom metal and are one of the acts I’m the most excited about watching develop. “Netherwards” is wickedly awesome, an album that’s an early contender for best-of honors in 2012.

For more on the band, go here: http://anhedonist.blogspot.com/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.darkdescentrecords.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1807&zenid=lq2ctladsm0134jpjovkf0mba5

For more on the label, go here: http://www.darkdescentrecords.com/

Instead of screwing around with some intro about some other thing that connects to the one thing I’ll discuss today, let’s instead get to the point. The new Acephalix will rip your neck right off your shoulders and cause your unaware skull to bounce and splatter on the floor. Period.

So we can end the review there, right? Sure, if you’d like. That about sums up everything you need to know about the San Francisco-based death/crust band’s sophomore album “Deathless Master.” It’s relentless and violent, maniacal and ferocious, and it’ll do serious bodily damage to you. I don’t mean that in a literal sense, you know? Some people bitch throughout the Internet that it’s stupid to say a record will physically harm you. Whatever, man. Start your own web site. As far as we’re concerned, this album will, indeed, kill you mentally. And maybe your family. And your neighbors. They’re probably assholes anyway.

Acephalix has been dropping the metallic lumber since forming in 2007. They pushed out some demo recordings, eventually delivered their first full-length “Aporia” in 2010, and then grabbed the attention of the masters over at Southern Lord, who released their 2011 demo “Interminable Night” as part of their underground series. Shortly afterward, Southern Lord officially signed the band to the label, and now we’re met with “Deathless Master,” an album that totally ups the ante. Oh, another thing that it does is carries over some of the filthy death metal 3/4 of these guys spill out in Vastum, whose debut was one of our Top 40 favorite records of last year. By the way, new Vastum album is on the works. Totally excited over here.

But Acephalix is our topic for now, and their sheer violent will makes them perfect stablemates for other volcanic Southern Lord acts such as Nails, the Secret,  and Black Breath. They don’t really share the same sound — they’re at least close to what Black Breath do — but when you put on this record, you’ll be overtaken by their force. They sound hungry, mean, and focused, and they also have steadily improved as a band from last full-length to this one. You even can hear the progress from “Interminable Night,” as this band steers closer and closer to a filthy death metal sound exclusively.

The Acephalix dudes — Dan on vocals, Kyle on guitar, Luca on bass, Dave Benson on drums — let the shit hit the fan immediately on “Bastard Self,” a burly, chugging slab of death that has a nice melody line tucked beneath all the madness. The title cut gets a little grindy and works in some Slayer-style guitar histrionics, and eventually some weird-o, monotone warbling slips into the fury. “Tomb of Our Fathers” ruptures with double-kick drum firing, lurching vocals, and some sharp guitar work that worship at the altar of Entombed; “On Wings…:” is doomy and punk-flavored, and it makes me chuckle a little because it sounds to me like they’re yelling “old witch!” over the chorus; “Blood of Desire” has machine-gun drumming and sludgy, muddy terrain; and lengthy (for them) closer “The Hunger” also is grounded largely in doom and gloom, though it does pack some serious punishment as well.

Acephalix continues Southern Lord’s effort to build a new level of great young bands on top of their foundation of groups such as Sunn 0))), Earth, Wolves in the Throne Room, and Pelican. This is one of their mightiest newcomers, and Acephalix should be keeping things interesting and convulsive for some time to come.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.acephalix.com/

To buy the album (pre-order will be up soon), go here: http://www.southernlord.com/store.php

For more on the label, go here: http://www.southernlord.com/

I love reissues. Actually, let me back up a bit. I love sensible reissues. I’m not terribly down with putting out some expanded version of a record that just came out a year ago just to do a cash grab. Victory Records is notorious for this, and considering the average age of their audience is like 12, there’s no sense in it. The idea’s just really mean.

But a true reissue project, such as Metal Blade’s efforts to reintroduce and repackage works from Amon Amarth (the tacked-on live goodies were worth the price of admission) and Primordial, as well as Relapse’s Death stuff and Earache’s recent Carcass project, are fun, help new fans catch up, and give older listeners a better version of what they already own. Along with some new stuff to make parting with your money a worthy cause. Those types of things I generally eat up, and I am pining for reissued versions of the old Testament and Overkill albums so that I can update those aging discs that don’t exactly come to life if I put them into my car stereo. I have to turn it up to about 40 to get any firepower.

So this all leads us into an effort from The End Record to get some of Opeth’s works back into circulation again. Through their acquisition of the Music for Nations catalog (a purchase that got us fresh versions of stuff from Witchery, Lost Horizon and Firebird, among others), we get a renewed look at some of the band’s work from early in this century, when they really hit a creative stride and put out some mesmerizing, challenging work. In that collection is an expanded version of one of the progressive death metal band’s finest albums ever, and one of the best pieces of work in the history of the genre.

Now, depending on what’s included in your personal Opeth collection, you might not require every piece of this new wave of product. But if you weren’t tuned into the band yet in this era or just never got your hands on some of these albums, this is a great time to do it. And not to sound all salesman and all, but The End has an awesome package (seen above) where you can get all of these pieces together, along with a vinyl bag. We’ll include that link at the end because you might want to get on that.

The highlight of this project is a gorgeous new version of “Blackwater Park,” often cited as the band’s best record (I would agree, though I also love “Orchid” a great deal). It was Opeth’s first-ever North American release (came out in February 2001) and marked the band’s first collaboration with Steve Wilson of Porcupine Tree. It’s a gorgeous, sprawling masterpiece that marks the apex of the band’s fusion of death metal, prog rock and ’70s-style folk rock. The band has put out some excellent music since then, but they’ve never quite captured the magic of this incredible album. Along with the music is a case-bound digipak, a 28-page, full-color booklet, and a bonus DVD. Even if you have this album, getting this “legacy edition” is worth spending the money all over again. I’m thrilled to have this new version on my shelf. As weird as this may sound, I’ll treasure it.

“Lamentations” also gets a great new repackaging, as the DVD and double-disc version of their live performance at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in September of 2003 is combined as one for the first time. It mostly covers the terrain they traveled on the dual “Damnation” (played in its entirety) and “Deliverance” albums, along with some nuggets from “Blackwater.” Both the DVD and CDs sound incredible, though some of the camera work on the DVD is a little wacky. But that’s no big deal, really. Plus, if you’ve never experienced the band live, you get the treat of Mikael Akerfeldt’s weird stage ramblings that sound half-gentleman, half-smart ass. He’s so low key and unassuming, it’s comical. There also is a documentary of the making of the “Damnation” and “Deliverance” records that also is pretty interesting to watch and gives you a better understanding of how these records came to be. Speaking of which …

The reissues of “Deliverance” and “Damnation” don’t differ at all from the versions that were released in 2002 and 2003 respectively. “Deliverance” is one of Opeth’s heaviest records ever, and there are points of savagery the band has come nowhere near matching since then. That’s not a criticism, mind you, just an observation that this record was the band’s decibel tipping point. But as usual, the band colors the chaos with some cleaner passages, some acoustics, and a ton of atmosphere. This album also holds a special place in my heart because it was the first Opeth album I really fell in love with, and I worked backward from there almost instantly.

“Damnation,” at least in 2003, was the oddest record the band ever released. A companion piece to “Deliverance,” this was an album full of moody ballads and mid-tempo pieces, with zero strains of death metal. It was a new look at the band, one that actually hinted to what was ahead (put this alongside “Heritage,” and you can see the path clearly). It also features some of Akerfeldt’s most soulful vocal work and some truly haunting music that would prove just how talented and flexible these guys are as musicians. And let’s face it, this is an album Opeth naturally had been progressing toward for years, and to hear it come out in its glory had to be cathartic both for the band and its listeners, who have embraced Opeth’s many colors and nuances throughout the years.

All of this also comes out at a very strategic time, when Opeth are launching a North American tour alongside Mastodon and Ghost, one of the year’s most anticipated adventures. If you don’t own any of these pieces, definitely put some money aside and grab these next week because they’re well worth your time. Opeth is one of death metal’s greatest treasures, and all four of these documents are all the proof you need to back up that assertion.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.opeth.com/home/

To buy the entire bundle, go here: http://www.theomegaorder.com/OPETH-4CD-Reissue-FREE-Bag?sc=16&category=398342

For more on the label, go here: http://theendrecords.com/

Metal has its share of bizarre concept albums. Queensrÿche’s “Operation: Mindcrime” is a classic example, as is Iron Maiden’s mythological tale “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.” You have Mastodon’s classic “Leviathan” and not-as-classic “Crack the Skye.” You have King Diamond’s “Abigail” and … just about every one of his other albums. Basically, there are a lot of tales that have been told in metal history, and most of them are pretty wacky.

But no matter how hard a concept may be to wrap your brain around, perhaps you haven’t seen and heard anything yet until you tackle the new album from High on Fire called “De Vermis Mysteriis.” This one’s hard to grasp conceptually. Musically, no problem at all. The Kurt Ballou-produced demolition created by HoF crushers vocalist/guitarist Matt Pike, bassist Jeff Katz, and drum god Des Kensel is massive and thoroughly satisfying, one of their most crushing effort since 2005’s “Blessed Black Wings.” The story? I hate to do this because it feels lazy to me, but here’s what Pike had to say about the record’s storyline. Pay attention now because he refuses to reiterate beyond this initial telling.

The album’s title (translation: The Mysteries of the Worm) is a nod to a fictional grimoire conceived by the late, great Psycho author Robert Blochin and later incorporated into horror master H.P. Lovecraft’s renowned Cthulu Mythos. “It’s a concept record, a little bit,” Pike offers. “I got this idea about Jesus Christ and the Immaculate Conception: What if Jesus had a twin who died at birth to give Jesus his life? And then what if the twin became a time traveler right then? He lives his life only going forward until he finds this scroll from an ancient Chinese alchemist who derived a serum out of the black lotus—which is actually in Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories—and then he starts traveling back in time. He can see the past through his ancestors’ eyes, but his enemies can kill him if they kill the ancestor that he’s seeing through at the time. Basically, he keeps waking up in other people’s bodies at bad times. It’s kinda like that old TV show Quantum Leap. Kurt actually pointed that out to me after I told him the idea. But whatever—time travel is a killer concept.”

You got all that? It’s pretty out there, and considering the band’s notoriety at participating in and inspiring bong-related activities, an idea like this surely had to have been a product of a cloud of smoke. So follow along the best you can on this journey, and as strange, mystifying, scary, and trippy as it all may seem, as noted, the music will get you there. Lots of people complained about the production value of 2010’s “Snakes for the Divine,” namely how Kensel’s drums were treated, but it only takes the first few seconds of this seventh High on Fire album to let you know the skins are going to get the shit pounded out of them, and you’ll hear every strike. This is the heaviest, beastliest album from the band yet, and they sound downright ferocious telling this story.

So yeah, opener “Serums of Liao” just explodes, with a trudging assault that sounds like Motorhead poking a wasp nest. That leads to the earth-quaking “Bloody Knuckle” and its Slayer-like thrash approach that gets just a little bit of swagger to go along with it. “Fertile Green” also gets a blistering lead-in by Kensel, so if the point hadn’t been made yet that this is a record for drum fetishists, then this will make that loud and bloody clear. “Madness of an Architect” changes up the tempo a little bit, with some drone and more of a stoner gallop like Pike’s earlier days with Sleep (oh, “Dopesmoker” reissue, coming soon). The song also gets Southern-style treatment and even more doom piled on top for good measure. “Spiritual Rites” is as aggressive and speedy as High on Fire ever have played, and the title track is burly and a bit more basic. “King of Days” is absolutely pulverizing but also feels a lot different from what we come to expect from this band. There’s more of a mid-tempo, and at times vintage Metallica aura to it, and it has some of Pike’s gutsiest vocals. Oh, and a bones-to-dust outro from Kensel, your album MVP. The one song that may cause your head to tilt a bit is raw, stripped-back closer “Warhorn,” where Pike’s gurgling, mucous-smeared vocals take center stage and are as naked as ever. It sounds weird at first, but that’s because you’re used to hearing him howl over teeth-shattering decibels. So let yourself adjust, and you won’t be sorry.

High on Fire is one of metal’s loudest, sweatiest, meanest, nastiest bands, and their output has been nothing short of consistent. Now they can add “intellectually challenging” to their resume with this new album. It’s an astonishing listen, one that sounds best on the highest volume you can achieve. This a platter that only should solidify, if not swell, the band’s following.

For more on the band, go here: http://highonfire.net/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.amazon.com/De-Vermis-Mysteriis-High-Fire/dp/B007ADKQFE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333421062&sr=8-1

For more on the label, go here: http://www.eonemetal.com/

Do you hate bands that take forever to put out new material, leave you hanging for years, rarely hit your hometown for a show? If so, there’s no way possible you could have an issue with legendary British heavy metal warriors Iron Maiden, who put out a new package for their fans every 10 minutes or so.

That’s only a slight exaggeration. One of the most frequently read entries on our site is the look at the band’s “From Fear to Eternity: The Best of 1990-2010,” a double-disc compilation of the last 20 years of Maiden tracks. That was only a half year ago. The release was a tad on the excessive and unnecessary side, but if you’re a dork like me, you bought it anyway. That’s how completists and unabashed fans do things. Even if we don’t really need it, we grab it anyway. Now, less than a year later, we have yet another Iron Maiden collection that’ll be separating the band’s disciples from their money.

In stores is a new two-CD and two-DVD package “En Vivo!” a live package showcasing the band’s stop in Santiago, Chile, April 10, 2011, on their tour to support their last studio album “The Final Frontier.” That’s right, another live package. Put this one alongside all-time classic “Live After Death,” “Donnington Live 2002,” “Another Live One,” “Another Dead One,” “Rock in Rio,” “Flight 666,” and I’m sure I’m forgetting some. These guys love putting out live documents, and in their defense, they’re an absolute must-see band in concert, a group that every heavy metal fan should make a point to see at least once. I have taken people to see Maiden before who had no interest in the band or in heavy metal, and they walked away converted. They’re a force to behold. But do we need so many live albums?

That question aside, we have to judge these releases on their importance relevancy, and quality, and in the case of “En Vivo!” it’s a stunner. The fact that these guys in their 50s and 60s – frontman Bruce Dicksinson, bassist Steve Harris, guitarists Adrian Smith, Dave Murray, and Janick Gers, drummer Nicko McBrain, and live synth player Michael Kenney — can withstand such demanding tour schedules, still put out quality albums, and absolutely dominate live is practically a thumb to the eye of science. It should be impossible, but Maiden consistently prove it’s not. The 17 tracks spread over these two CDs sound tremendous, and unlike some of their past concert collections, they left in some of the warts. To boot, dynamic singer Dickinson cites “Two Minutes to Midnight” as being from 1982, when it was actually on 1984’s “Powerslave.” Also at one point on “The Evil That Men Do,” he flubs a line, but he recovers nicely and forges on. Those easily could have been edited, but they left them in, and the whole thing is better for it. I like that their human side comes through.

The set is heavily concentrated on newer material, especially the “Frontier” album. That should be expected as Maiden long have insisted they won’t be a nostalgia act and want to tour to support new music. If you have a problem with that, they obviously have enough other live albums to satisfy you. If you want to hear how their modern-era songs work live, check out openers “Satellite 15” and “The Final Frontier,” songs that seem they’d be more fitting in the middle of a set, but whatever; “El Dorado,” where Dickinson’s charisma spills over; “The Talisman,” that is glorious on the stage; and “Coming Home,” a song that’s a little mushy on record but punchier here. They also dip back into “The Wicker Man” and “Blood Brothers” from 2000’s kick-ass “Brave New World,” as well as the title cut from “Dance of Death.” We get nothing from “A Matter of Life and Death,” which I find odd. Maybe next time.

If you want some classics, they’re here too. They’re pace-changers more than pillars of the set, but at least non-daring fans got a nice dose of aforementioned “Midnight” and “Evil”; anthemic “The Trooper” and “Number of the Beast”; early era throwbacks “Iron Maiden” and “Running Free,” their long-time set closer; and a haunting version of “Hallowed Be Thy Name.” Anyone bitching they didn’t do enough classics should have caught them on the “Somewhere Back in Time” tour, or see them this summer when they dig back into their past again.

If you buy the DVD version, you also get an 88-minute documentary “Behind the Beast” that gives you an in-depth look at the band, as well as the “Satellite 15 … The Final Frontier” promotional video and a making-of segment.

So while it may seem like another way for Maiden to make money off their faithful, it’s way more than that. It’s an excellent concert album that finds a band in its late stages but sounding as fresh and spry as ever. We all should wish to be this active and energetic when we’re their age, and this is a true victory for one of metal’s greatest bands of all time. Yes, this live set is worth your money, and played back to back with “Live After Death,” you can take a thorough trip through the Iron Maiden’s amazing history.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.ironmaiden.com/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.ironmaiden.com/envivo/

Did you ever have some weird realization that just kind of pops into your head, uninvited, that makes you wonder what other bizarre things are rolling around in your head? I just had one of those the other day. Here goes: I never have seen a pelican in real life. That kind of made me sad because I’ve been to beaches plenty of times, and you’d think I would have run into one at some point. But no. We’ve yet to cross paths.

I guess that thought wasn’t entirely random because it came to me when I was pulling my thoughts together on “Ataraxia/Taraxis,” the new EP from Chicago-based post-metal institution Pelican. I also have yet to see the band live, and it would be really strange that if I saw both these fellows and that damn bird on the same day. Not sure where I’d go from there. But enough about the bird and more about this new four-track outing from a band that’s been silent since releasing 2009’s “What We All Come to Need.” That album was noteworthy not only because it marked another milestone of progression for the band, but also because it was the first release for their new label home Southern Lord (they had spent years with Hydra Head). But then they seemed to fade into the distance.

Luckily for us listeners, that break in the action is over with this new offering, a really neat, appetizer-like effort that sort of gives you a glimpse into all the things this band does really well. All four tracks have their own identities and stand apart from the other songs, but as a whole, they make quite the cohesive unit. Each cut is like a new chapter, with its own story tell and arc to stretch into the next piece. It also is one of the most pleasing, exhilarating Pelican releases in their entire catalog, and I find myself listening to this thing over and over again. It helps when I’m battling my way to work, watching assholes clog the passing lane as I choke back my rage. It evens me out nicely. I’ve also indulged quite a bit when tearing through piles of proofreading work. It keeps my brain working hard.

Another new element for the band is that, while Chicago is their recognized center point, the dudes live in separate cites, which has to change the songwriting dynamic. Yet the Pelican members — guitarists Trevor de Brauw and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec, bassist Bryan Herweg, drummer Larry Herweg — manage to make this arrangement work wonderfully. The music sounds re-invigorated (not that they ever grew stale or anything), and it seems like the band has a new sense of purpose and a fire re-kindled in their bellies (um, or their throats).

The EP kicks off with “Ataraxia,” as guitars swoop in unassumingly, almost sounding like a plane you can hear approaching in the distance. But as that craft gets closer to you, the intensity and power becomes more obvious and prevalent. That takes us into “Lathe Biosas,” one of the band’s burlier, thornier songs in some time, with rugged guitar lines and a nice rhythm section crashing and bashing to set a pulverizing foundation. “Parasite Colony” is a bit more stoner-doom in its complexion, as the guitar work sounds sleepy (though not lazy) and chilled out, bringing you back down emotionally for the closer “Taraxis.” That song plays more with acoustics, shakers and serenity, though it does have its moments where it threatens to spill over and mangle you. It’s a perfect way to cap off your emotions and remind you why you fell in love with this band in the first place. It’s also a nice re-entry point if you’ve been away from Pelican for a while.

Pelican already are one of post-metal’s and instrumental rock’s best, most noteworthy bands, and each time out, they give us something entirely different to ponder. As a longtime fan of the band, I’m thrilled just to have the band back with new music, and it’s a plus that their new sounds are so rich and rewarding. Now if only I can get into a room with these guys and experience their power live. Well, that and toss fish to a same-named bird on a pier, a winged friend that’s alluded me my entire life.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.facebook.com/pelicansong

To buy the album, go here: http://www.southernlord.com/store.php?dept=MCH

For more on the label, go here: http://www.southernlord.com/

I’m sure you know folks whose whole life is work. They basically do nothing else. They’re always slaving away at their craft, trying to do something new and different, pushing themselves to achieve newer, crazier levels of productivity. Those people are just wired differently.

Aaron Turner seems like one of those people. When he and his ISIS bandmates shut down their long-running, heavily influential band, surely no one would have complained had he gone into hiding, perhaps ensconced himself entirely at the goings-on at Hydra Head Records, and took a well-deserved break. But yeah, he isn’t wired that way. There was a handful of ISIS live recordings to get out, then there was a new Mamiffer full-length and then the band’s joint effort with Locrian (we already gushed like a baby over that thing), a tour with Old Man Gloom, and I’m pretty sure there’s something I’m leaving out of that picture. So, it only makes sense that Turner would come at us with a new band.

Split Cranium might surprise you, if you don’t know any better. While Turner is known for headspace-expanding, atmospheric, brilliant compositions, that’s certainly not all he’s got. The band’s debut offering sounds like Turner letting loose and blowing off some steam. It sounds like he and his bandmates are having a blast playing these punk-flavored, crusty death-tinged, D-beat assaulted tracks. He and his crew — Jussi Lehtisalo (Circle, Phantom Overlord), Jukka Kroger, Samae Koskinen (Steel Mammoth) — crafted something that was the product of loose creative sessions gone monstrous, and the band sounds like one that, in a live setting, could set fire to the place and leave everyone a heaping mass of flesh. Eh, sorry Great White. Actually, these jams probably are equally as cathartic for Lehtisalo, whose Circle can be as perplexing as any band out there.

This 8-track, 25-minute album wastes no time grabbing you by the back of the head and forcing you into their pit of madness. “Little Brother” opens things just right, with a speed-punk assault, Turner’s menacing growls, and a pace that’ll make you dizzy. That leads the way into “Tiny Me,” a song that has some pretty sweet guitar riffs and that boasts classic punk attitude; “The Crevice Within,” a heavy hardcore-influenced cut that blasts past you before you know what even happened; “Sceptres to Rust,” a song that acts like it’s going to be some weird ambient interlude before it blows up halfway through; and “Black Binding Plague” and “Yellow Mountain,” that both sound like a head nod and lit-cigarette-thrown-into-the-audience tribute to Motorhead.

As great as the band’s fury is, the two most interesting cuts come when they space things out and let the smoke really fester. “Blossoms From Boils” lasts nearly five minutes and is highlighted by some tasty Southern rock guitar licks that get swampy and nasty. All the while, Turner howls away like he’s trying to exorcise demons from his throat. It’s a bad-ass song that you could unleash in front of your cheap-beer-swilling, redneck neighbors without instigating fist-i-cuffs (unless the song got them that fired up). Closer “Retrace the Circle” clocks in at more than eight minutes, and there are pockets of cleaner vocals, some riff repetition that induces trances, the whole thing threatening to succumb to static, and then the glory kicking back in full force to whip your ass on its way out.

Maybe one day Turner will take a damn break already and soak in what he’s accomplished. Or perhaps he’s just not that type of guy and always will be in creative mode. Whatever he does, we’ll check it out. Hopefully his future will contain more from Split Cranium, his most riotous project yet.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.facebook.com/SplitCranium

To buy the album, go here: http://www.bluecollardistro.com/hydrahead/categories.php?cPath=4

For more on the label, go here: http://www.hydrahead.com/

In heavy music, extreme metal, whatever you want to call the thing, it’s getting increasingly more difficult to be entirely original. Everything’s been done, often to death, and it’s really tough to surprise someone with something that’s never been heard before. That’s because everything’s been heard before. So for a new band trying to make a mark in a section flooded with sub-genres and participants, what’s the solution? How about just being good at what you do?

Chicago’s Beak, a new quartet made up of some members of post-rock outfit The Timeout Drawer, won’t dazzle you with new bells and whistles. Their sound is similar to what bands such as ISIS, Neurosis, Pelican (musically, of course), and the early era of screamo bands (before that genre turned to Hot Topic shit) have done for years. They have some post-metal dreaming, muddy doom, some prog, some death, and what have you. Plenty of other bands have tried this same formula, so much so that enduring new groups with these same ideas is growing tiresome. But Beak are different because they sound great and have a very real passion you practically can reach out and touch. They’re emotionally rewarding to hear, and you can tell they mean it. I’ve listened to their debut “Eyrie” plenty of times already and have yet to grow tired of it at all. That’s saying something considering how much stuff I sift through in order to find suitable music for this site.

Also, from the band’s bio, it sounds like this gathering also was built on philosophical togetherness. They claim their creation process involved, “No meat. No cars. No television. Group cooking and eating. Days without electricity.” And so on and so on. It sounds like setting up a communal setting and making sure everyone was in tune with the message was just as important as creating something heavy as hell. Perhaps that is a primary reason why these songs sound so tight, interlaced, and spiritual (not in a religious sense). It wasn’t just four guys in a room trying to make noise and out-heavy everyone else.

Beak is comprised of vocalist/guitarist John Slusher, guitarist Andy Bosnak, bassist/vocalist Jason Goldberg, and drummer Chris Eichenseer, and their first recording is conceptual in nature, focusing on decaying societies and empires, ruin, and time moving forward as the past crumbles. You certainly can hear all of that in their volcanic compositions, and producer Neil Strauch (who has worked with decidedly non-metal, yet still quite challenging acts such as Sage Francis and Bonnie Prince Billy) really captured the tension and tumult perfectly. The sound often comes off like it’s holding so much force, it’s ready to snap, and that gives the album a dangerous, quaking feel like the earth’s crust is going to burst. That’s a nice touch.

“Angry Mother of Bones” opens the door and completely detonates upon impact, with very throaty vocals from Slusher, some spacey keys, and a melody line that, at times, sounds like Metallica’s “To Live Is to Die.” “Hands Collide” spits static and has more of a hardcore approach, with punchiness and eventually some sci-fi atmospherics. “Men at Arms” takes a tumble through some Western terrain, eventually melting into lava and triggering some massive explosiveness. “Billions of Eyes” sets into a muddy groove, and Slusher and Goldberg go back and forth trading diatribes. Both forces push each other into corners, and it makes the thing that much more combative when the other guy fights his way out. Closer “The Weight and Time” is chugging and mangled, furious and fighting, leaving you a gasping mess. It also leaves you wanting more, but we must wait for that. And who knows what kind of duress these guys will make themselves endure before they get there?

I’m curious to hear how Beak evolve over the years and if they can maintain the intensity of “Eyrie.” They show a lot of promise, and as noted, they don’t get bogged down by sub-genre trappings. They rise above them and make these familiar strains work in their favor. This first salvo certainly rips a hole in your defenses, and if they keep this up, they could be a post-metal go-to band in no time.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.beakmusic.com/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.amazon.com/Eyrie/dp/B007N2SXZ2/ref=sr_1_12?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1332861586&sr=1-12

For more on the label, go here:http://www.someoddpilotrecords.com/

When someone comes up with a unique idea, it is expected that people will catch on and copy that idea to death. That results in each copy being less and less special and typically waters down the concept. Then you end up resenting those who were responsible for said movement for spawning the garbage that followed. Sorry, Pearl Jam. You didn’t mean to give way to Creed. Same to you Anthrax/Public Enemy. It was a cool idea, and then we got nu-metal, the worst era in metal history.

So now that we’re neck deep in this Djent thing, and wow, does it suck. See, the style is one of those things that if you practice the palm mute deal enough, you can make the noises happen at home. But that doesn’t mean you’re making interesting or good music. So really, don’t blame Meshuggah for all of this shit, because surely they didn’t intend for this thing to devolve into the hundreds of bands that are marring the sound they had a giant hand in crafting. Truth is, for all the imitators out there, no one does it better than Meshuggah. I’d say that, while that’s an opinion, it’s pretty close to a fact.

The Swedes have been making mind-bending, head-titling metal for more than two decades now, debuting with 1991’s “Contradictions Collapse” and making standard-bearer albums such as heavily influential “Destroy Erase Improve,” “Chaosphere” and “Catch 33,” an album so complicated the fellows were hard-pressed to recreate the songs live. Yeah. They definitely have a signature sound, and you always know it’s Meshuggah when you hear them. That includes lead barker Jens Kidman, the lover of wacky faces whose stream-of-consciousness delivery always seems loose yet forceful. No matter what Meshuggah do from record to record, they always maintain that identity even if some of the backgrounds are slightly different.

Same goes for the band’s new, seventh record “Koloss,” the follow-up to 2008’s “obZen” and another new step for the group. See, they keep wrinkling your brain like you’d expect, but for the first time ever, they pull back on the madness and make things a little more streamlined. Don’t get me wrong, they didn’t exactly do a “Black Album” thing like Metallica did. They haven’t lost their balls, their intensity or their focus, and trust me, this isn’t a pop album or something. A listener new to the machine still will be perplexed and have to take some time to figure out what’s going on. For those who have been along for their journey, you’ll find the easiest Meshuggah record to digest and figure out ever. That’s certainly not a bad thing, and if anything, it proves how adaptable they are.

The record opens with “I Am Colossus,” a hammering first salvo that rips right into you, with Kidman howling, “I decide your fate!” as guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Marten Hagstrom pull together riffs that are equally muddy and spacey. “The Demon’s Name” has a tech death aura, with pulsating drumming from Tomas Haake, and some of the out-there guitar soloing gives the song a bit of a sci-fi bend. “Behind the Sun” lets in some jazz influences, and I swear I hear horns in the background. Maybe that’s just an audio illusion. “Swarm” opens like one, with a frantic pace, a punishing assault, and some cartoon-like string histrionics that remind you the guys can still boil your senses when the need arises. “Demiurge” has some weird things going on beneath, with oddball noises and some gothic melodies, but it also fully levels you when you least expect it. Closer “The Last Vigil” is a floating, heady instrumental that’s eerie and calming at points. It’s a nice breather as the record draws to its conclusion. The only song that doesn’t really do it for me is “Marrow,” a groove-heavy cut that goes a little too close to nu-metal territory. But that’s one minor chink in otherwise sturdy armor.

Meshuggah easily could have floated on Djent’s choppy waves and simply capitalized on the movement they set into motion. But they don’t do things that way. They pushed themselves by dialing things back. They got back to basics, though their basics are light years ahead of everyone else’s. “Koloss” is a super-solid collection that’s as fun to hear as anything they’ve put out since the close of last century. But that doesn’t mean you should get comfortable with this sound. They’ll likely blow the whole thing up next time and do something completely different. But you’ll still know it’s Meshuggah.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.meshuggah.net/

To buy the album, go here: http://store.nuclearblastusa.com/Search/meshuggah

For more on the label, go here: http://www.nuclearblastusa.com/en/

Portal ... Cynic ... whatever

We all waited long enough for prog-death pioneers Cynic to follow up their epic, highly influential 1993 debut “Focus.” The band disintegrated before they had a chance to do a proper sequel, and it seemed that they would be lost to the sands of time.

And then they came back. About 12 years after the band disintegrated in 1994, they announced some reunion shows and even played new bits live during their 2006-07 road jaunt, pieces that eventually would become important building blocks of their stunning 2008 comeback album “Traced in Air.” That album found the band drifting further away from their death metal roots and adopting more spacey, prog-rock tendencies. From that point, the band just kept giving, and giving, and giving. A 2010 EP “Re-Traced,” comprised of reconfigured, musically transformed versions of some “Traced” cuts, landed in our laps, and a year later, another EP of new music called “Carbon Based Anatomy” dropped. Both efforts offered a glimpse into where Cynic would evolve next and are worthy additions to your collections.

Now comes a pretty big one. See, once Cynic fell by the wayside, some of its members, namely singer/guitarist Paul Masvidal, drummer Sean Reinert and guitarist Jason Gobel, teamed up with bassist Chris Kringel and vocalist Aruna Abrams to form a new band called Portal. Uh, not to be confused with the death metal terrorists from Down Under. They recorded some material together, but the project never really got off the ground. Yet the work they did set in motion where Portal would go musically once they reformed. And it got Cynic fans all worked up because they wanted to get their hands on the music, which wasn’t exactly widely distributed.

So here it is, “The Portal Tapes,” an album misleadingly released under the Cynic moniker even though it technically isn’t a Cynic album. Understand? Season of Mist has a limited release of the collection ready to go, with 5,000 committed to CD and just 1,000 to vinyl. Those who haven’t heard this collection to this point might be surprised just how different the music sounds from what the Cynic members had done before this, and it might even shock some that what they’ll get here is so … soft. In fact, the band members made associations with Dead Can Dance and My Bloody Valentine, though I don’t hear a hell of a lot in the latter. It’s more like modern Cynic with all the barbs removed. You can hear Dream Theater, Steely Dan and Porcupine Tree at moments as well.

I don’t mind softer music, and although this is a site dedicated to metal, I listen to a lot of other stuff, including as lot of folk and old country. So I’m not afraid if something doesn’t rock out. But I can’t really get into a lot of what’s on here, and I love Dead Can Dance and everything Cynic has ever done. The music is really dated, which isn’t surprising or a criticism, and hearing it now, it’s just a little hard for me to get into with enthusiasm. Abrams has a lovely, breathy voice, and had this band made it into circulation at the time it was recorded, she might have become a household name. The music is prog-dork country in a lot of spots, damn near adult contemporary in others. Again, not criticizing, but it’s not a sound that does a whole lot for me. Maybe you’ll feel differently.

There’s a lot of soupy, spacey stuff on here and, as noted, it’s pretty gentle. That’s fine, really, because things that should be cosmic – “Endless Endeavors”; “Cosmos,” especially with the line, “I want to be closer to higher beings”; “Circle” – are the best songs on this collection. “Karma’s Plight” is interesting and has some New Wave flourishes, and Masvidal actually takes lead vocals on that one; and “Costumed in Grace” is proggy and docile, which works pretty well. The rest I can’t embrace. “Crawl Alone” sounds like a late-era Sting song as it seems to try to be a pop hit breakout; “Mirror Child” is R&B-flavored, but not really in an engaging way; “Road to You” would be passable if it weren’t for the clunky lyrics; and closer “Not the Same” is adult-contempo land and never really goes anywhere exciting.

Again, this is just how I feel about this thing. I’m sure other people will be more open to what these artists do on this album. Clearly everyone here is a commendable player, but I don’t think these songs quite measure up to the potential. I’ll probably end up parting with cash for this simply because I’m a Cynic completest, but I don’t see it being played very often at all. When it comes to anything called Portal, I’ll take the band fronted by the guy wearing the cuckoo clock.

For more on Cynic, go here: http://www.cyniconline.com/

For more on their Portal years, go here: http://www.cynicalsphere.com/portal.html

To buy the album, go here: http://e-shop.season-of-mist.com/en/items/cynic/the-portal-tapes/cd-digipack/30341

For more on the label, go here: http://www.season-of-mist.com/