We come to you today with two bands, both with their newest releases out on highly respected Deathwish Inc., and these two records could not be more diametrically opposed musically, yet they share a sort-of bond philosophically.

While a hardcore label at heart, Deathwish certainly doesn’t limit itself at all and has an open mind toward what it releases. That’s why, when their promos arrive, I never quite know what to expect. I anticipate the music will be heavy, uncompromising and honest, and lo and behold, it always is. However, their bands all have their own unique personalities, and none of them sound the same. That’s refreshing, and that’s what keeps Deathwish on my short list of labels that, when their records arrive, I make a point to stop what I’m doing and give them a listen. In addition, if you decide you want to be a patron of the label, they have one of the slickest, packed, reasonably priced web shops going, and if you fall in love with one of their bands, there’s no shortage of goods for you to enjoy.

Two of their more recent signings have new music in stores, one of which made one of my favorite records of the first half of 2011. We’ve had a few of those lately, have we not? Metal’s gotten pretty damn interesting the past couple months. The one I refer to here is the debut from San Francisco’s Deafheaven, who can be labeled as atmospheric black metal if you need a quick description, but they do much more than that, and their approach isn’t exactly in line with the rest of their genre. The other is from Touché Amoré, a young, hungry, bleeding-heart band that reminds me a hell of a lot of the groups that preceded the screamo, mainstream hardcore movement of the 2000s. Their music is raw, expressive and not necessarily something that’ll excite an old dude like me, but certainly they have a really bright future ahead of them.

We’ll start with Deafheaven and their debut full-length “Roads to Judah,” which has been in stores for several weeks now and is highly recommended. The band’s profile began to ignite right after the release of their demo last year, one that ripped eyes wide open and drew interest from labels that wanted to sign them. Deathwish was one of them, and while the interest was to do a re-release of the demo, the band instead opted to do the “Roads” record because they already had their vision and wanted to go full steam ahead. A wise choice was made by all it seems, because this album is a gushing, emotional effort that reminds me a bit of Wolves in the Throne Room and Altar of Plagues musically, but lyrically is built on themes of personal reflection and catharsis. So no Satan or blood or bedroom suicides or goats, and we’re thankful for that because that stuff’s overdone. Just from the gorgeous eruption of opener “Violet,” which begins with lucid post-rock before completely igniting, you can feel the heart and soul of this thing, and even if you don’t have the lyrics sheet in front of you, the personal journey being conveyed is obvious and sets up shop inside of you.

“Language Games” starts off sounding a lot more sinister, exploding like a drenching thunderstorm (which is odd as one is brewing as I type this) that may or may not have more dangerous elements. You just have to ride it out and see where you land. All the while, dangerous or not, you still find yourself oddly drawn to the cacophony. “Unrequited” seeps in quietly, with shoegazey arrangements not unlike, say, Explosions in the Sky or MONO, but eventually it rips itself apart, as the black metal lava rises to the surface, drums and cymbals are crushed, and fault lines are ripped asunder. “Tunnel of Trees” is pretty much the opposite, starting off in a whirlwind of hellish pummeling and savage shrieking before melting into a beautiful section of quiet guitar, lightly tapped drums, and tranquility. Even when the decibels return, it’s with a sense of melodic emoting and musical hope, even as the words, “A roaring river of blood, drowning the life out of all that was good,” lets you know that maybe isn’t the case at all. “Roads to Judah” is an infectious, moving, quite personal record that sounds like amends are trying to be made for past digressions, and perhaps the end result isn’t so bright. But that’s just one person’s interpretation, and chances are there will be many dissections. What can’t be disputed is the quality of this album, a collection that gives hope to black metal’s future and indicates that maybe new ideas, ways and means are possible and that the rigid rules are meant to be destroyed. I, for one, and brimming with hope that Deafheaven can redefine black metal as we know it.

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

To buy “Roads to Judah,” go here: http://deathwishinc.com/estore/category/DEAFHEAVEN.html

To check their Shirts and Destroy shop, go here: http://www.shirtsanddestroy.com/deafheaven

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

On the other hand are Touché Amoré, a Los Angeles band that reminds me a lot of early Thursday and their reckless expression (that band’s singer Geoff Rickly released TA’s debut album “… To Beat a Dead Horse” on his vinyl-only Collect, in conjunction with 6131). At times, Touché Amoré appear a little too honest for their own good on “Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me,” a little too unpolished, but that’s also what makes them stand out, so we’ll deal with that contradiction.

From the get go, frontman Jeremy Bolm stands out, his vocals not so much a hardcore-laced growl, but more like a dialog-driven shout. He’s talking to us, sounding like he’s reading straight from a journal or a hastily scribbled diatribe he wrote on a napkin or a menu, and clearly he’s a man finding his way through the world, dealing with past pain and transgressions, wading through current ones, sometimes putting too much of himself out there only to get stung in the process. I’d imagine – and please don’t read this as an insult or criticism – the audience for this band, and especially Bolm’s lyrics and approach, will appeal mostly to late teens/early 20s kids who are dealing with the same issues and sometimes just feel like lashing out and screaming into an empty room than taking time to settle down, breathe and figure out the best thing to do. We’ve all been there, and I’m sure some of our readers are still there, so it can be comforting to hear someone else saying – or screaming – the same thoughts that have gone through our own heads. I’d imagine older dudes like me, who just want to sit outside with a fucking iced tea, won’t get as much from this thematically, and I could see some of those folks perhaps being annoyed at such youthful self-torture. How soon we forget those dark, scary, confusing years. They don’t really go away, per se, but the things on which we dwell shift.

As for the music, it’s delivered in a compact package, with 13 songs ticking in a just a little under 21 minutes. That’s a major positive, because had this band gone further with the track listing or tried to drag these songs out longer, they could have had a problem on their hands. Instead, they pace and edit themselves just right, and it never overstays its welcome. They dash through the first four cuts, with opener “~” sounding a bit like early Against Me for its ferocity and unwillingness to conform, and then “Uppers/Downers,” “Crutch” and “Method Act” all blend together like one song, so it’s easy to lose track of where you are if you’re not paying attention. “Wants/Needs” is particularly bleak, with Bolm finding, “You learn a lot about a place when you see it for what it is”; and “Condolences” is built on somber piano, with unsettling ranting over top of it.

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

To buy “Parting the Sea Between Brightness and me,” go here: http://deathwishinc.com/estore/category/TOUCHEAMORE.html

Touché Amoré isn’t really my thing, to be honest. But again, that’s just me, and that’s not to suggest the record isn’t worthwhile (it is). I’m curious to hear where the band goes from here, and they seem to be a group that has serious potential that could become one of Deathwish’s major players. Again, as said, I imagine their audience skews far younger than I am, which obviously is to their benefit as part of my preconditions to going to most shows these days is that there is seating. Touché Amoré wouldn’t be too happy playing to a seated room, I’d imagine. As for Deafheaven, I think I’ve made my point. I’m about to take my daily walk, and that’s what I’m going to listen to while I’m sweating away in 90-degree temperature.  Whatever camp you prefer, you’re not going to be let down when it comes to pure emotion and an album that’ll drain you after spending time listening. That’s really all you can ask for in a world of disposable music from equally disposable bands.

“David Comes to Life” probably won’t be nominated for a Grammy, it won’t be one of those albums you see Best Buy sell for $6.99 and advertise in their circulars, and it probably won’t have any of its songs show up in TV ads, nor will they be played on your favorite late-night TV show (well, except for Greg Gutfeld’s “Red Eye”).

It’s all because the band is called Fucked Up. Is they were called Messed Up, Screwed Up, Fouled Up, or anything else, this Toronto-based punk/hardcore band would be all over the place, not only on the strength of this brand new opus, but on their crushing back catalog that’s both heavy and undeniably catchy. I do realize Cee-Lo Green’s smash hit “Fuck You” is everywhere. That’s because the song was given an alternate version “Forget You” so that it could be played on “Glee” and be in the soundtrack to every paint-by-numbers rom-com that comes out this year. Not so easy for a band called Fucked Up, who definitely would not be welcoming of such changes just to turn a buck.

If you’re not familiar with the band, go find the song “David Comes to Life,” from their full-length debut “Hidden World,” and tell me it isn’t a track that deserves to be trumpeted everywhere. Oh yeah, to be clear, that song isn’t on their new album of the same name. It’s confusing, but then again, so are Fucked Up. Their 18-cut new record is a rock opera, a four-movement story about a light bulb factory worker in 1970s England named David, who falls in love with Veronica, who together band together to fight oppression, only to have Victoria die during a bombing. David feels crushing guilt over losing the love of his life, because he thinks he’s responsible, and we get visits from his ex-girlfriend Vivian and narrator Octavio (who has something of a god complex) to flesh out the tale and eventually lead to David’s revival. It’s not an easy storyline to follow, and my rudimentary summary certainly is as bare bones as they come. Often it’s difficult to understand who’s even speaking to you, especially since hulking frontman Damian Abraham (aka Pink Eyes) handles both male characters, fitting since David and Octavio begin a sort of struggle over the telling of the plot. Cults’ Madeline Follin lends her lovely voice to Veronica, while singer/songwriter Jennifer Castle gives life to Vivian.

Plot confusion aside, the album itself is incredible, uplifting at times, rebellious at others, and always jammed full of both musical and vocal hooks that’ll have these songs burned into your brain by the time the album comes to an end 78 minutes after you hit play. While Fucked Up – their ranks also include lead guitarist Mike Haliechuk (10,000 Marbles), bassist Sandy Miranda (Mustard Gas), guitarist Josh Zucker (Concentration Camp/Gulag), and drummer Jonah Falco (Guinea Beat/Mr. Jo), among other contributors — certainly do have some abrasive moments that’ll remind long-time fans of the band’s past, they also branch out quite a bit here, with dashes of Midwestern rock, prog, and even some sections that remind of the heyday of The Who. That’s quite fitting considering that anthemic tales told by Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend over the years, and their influences can be felt here, whether that was intended or not.

The five-song opening suite is highlighted by “Queen of Hearts,” a kick-ass number that has David and Veronica falling in love, with Abraham and Follin seamlessly trading lines and blending their stories. All the while, David keeps “waiting for another shoe to drop,” which it finally does on the second part, where Veronica dies. Guilt and despair rise up and capture David, the music sounds like awesome classic rock radio fodder on “Running on Nothing” and “Remember My Name,” and the section ends on a sad note, with raspy “Serve Me Right.” The third section finds Octavio taking a larger role in the play, and Vivian also works her way into the scene, with the piece peaking on the glam-punk awesomeness of “Ship of Fools.” The final five-cut section opens with “I Was There,” which has the hard-edged sensibilities of a band like The Foo Fighters, while “The Recursive Girl” mixes punk and classic rock guitar, and closer “Lights Go Up” is the curtain dropper, a song where David realizes, “Ours wasn’t a love for an audience.” It’s a lot to take in, for sure, and a lyric sheet is a necessity to even begin to completely comprehend everything that’s happening here (especially the very meta undertones), but you won’t mind as you’re being captured and stampeded by the music.

Fucked Up may not be a metal band, obviously, but there certainly is some crossover appeal. But whether it’s metal or not is beside the point. I said long ago this blog would go beyond metal’s realms when I felt the need to do so, and shining a light on this excellent album “David Comes to Life” is one of those times. This is just a great album, a landmark-style achievement for this band, and a generational happening. Few bands could pull this off, and even fewer should try it. But Fucked Up are one of those rare entities that are truly special and, when all the other bands of this era who are only here fleetingly finally fade away, this tandem will still be there, fighting and clawing their way to the top of the rubble, apparently “offensive” name be damned.

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

For more on the album (including lyrics), go here: http://www.davidcomestolife.com/

To visit their Wikipedia page, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fucked_Up

To buy the album, go here: http://store.matadorrecords.com/featured/david-comes-to-life

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

If you happen to be anywhere near a record store today – they’re not exactly easy to find, but whatever – you might want to make sure you have room on your credit card or enough funds in your account, because there is a ton of new stuff out. Or just buy it online. It’s easier anyway.

This is one of the better release days of the year so far, with a plethora of interesting albums in a variety of subgenres, so you can come home with a handful of new discs that sound nothing like each other. There’s death metal, black metal, a really bizarre new record from a legendary band, and one hell of a great album from a punk band that might not even be able to get their album into a lot of stores simply because of their name. There’s a lot to get to, so here are some of what’s available today. There’s got to be something you’ll like from this selection.

Black September hails from Chicago, a city that has given us a ton of great metal bands (Nachtmystium, Pelican, Indian, Yakuza), and their brand of death metal is sort of in the same vein as Bolt Thrower, Discharge, and the band we’ll discuss next, with vocalist Jen McMorrow sounding like a woman unafraid to jam her foot into your chest and keep you writhing on the ground as she demonstrates her guttural dominance. The band’s music is violent and devastating, and Prosthetic is giving their debut “The Forbidden Gates of Beyond” expanded reissue treatment. There’s a lot of death metal out there today, and most of it tends to leave little to no impression, but Black September seriously breaks that trend. I’m excited to hear what they do next, but for now, it’s nice to see their debut full-length will reach the wider audience it deserves.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://prostheticrecords.com/?p=2696

Veteran death soldiers Arch Enemy are back with their new disc “Khaos Legions,” a tried-and-true rebellious, rise-up collection for which this band is known. You can say this band has had a pretty notable influence on the extreme metal world, as Angela Gossow is one of the first female vocalists to really break out in a male-dominated field and has led to many others finding success (hence, Black September). There aren’t a whole lot of surprises on this record (out on Century Media), their eighth, but those who just want a solid new Arch Enemy record will be wholly satisfied. Pair this with “The Forbidden Gates of Beyond” and you’ll be assaulted by two of death’s scariest, strongest ladies.

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

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

Don’t want to go into too much detail with this next entry, as we’ll have a fuller piece on this later, but Fucked Up return with their new rock opera “David Comes to Life.” Sure, they’re not metal, but they have punk and hardcore roots that has some crossover appeal, and this is their best record hands down. It runs about 80 minutes and is a concept record about love, loss, rebellion, politics and coming of age, and it is chock full of emotion and hook-laden thunder. Plus, burly frontman Damian Abraham looks like a WWE wrestler and sounds like a guy who’s fronted more than one hardcore DIY matinee, so you can’t help but love him and the rest of this alias-adopting gang. Might need to go to an indie record store to find this simply because of the band’s name.

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

To buy the album, go here:  https://store.matadorrecords.com/

Another record we’ll examine in greater detail later in the week is the astonishing new slab of tech death from Origin. They moved from Relapse to Nuclear Blast for this one, and despite the lineup shifts, they unleash a mind-melting display on “Entity,” the follow-up to 2008’s “Antithesis” and their fifth full-length overall. The Topeka, Kansas, band long has amassed support from critics and fans alike, and it’s not just because they play like human machines and put together records that are bafflingly frightening technique-wise. It’s also because they write awesome songs that make you want to punch yourself in the face, and “Entity” is no different. I imagine this one’s going to make a lot of metal magazines’ and metal blogs’ best-of lists come December.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://store.nuclearblastusa.com/Artist/Origin/11490

The new record from Brooklyn trio Tombs seems like a crucial one for the band. They’ve slowly built a following and certainly have widespread support on the Internet, but it doesn’t seem like they’ve broken out to the masses in the way they should have. If their new record “Path of Totality” doesn’t do the trick, then it just cannot be done, because this is a masterpiece. Their sludgy, hardcore-minded black metal is there in full effect, but it’s their foray into doomier, even dark gothic coloring that really makes this stand out. It sounds like the Mike Hill-led band has been dining heavily on early Celtic Frost when they were writing this album, and it adds yet another element to this already impressive group.  Right now, if you buy the album online from their label Relapse, you get a copy of their first full-length “Winter Hours” for free. Can’t beat that package, and if this is your first experience listening to Tombs, get ready to be blown away.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://shop.relapse.com/store/product.aspx?ProductID=43222

Last but not least … uh, well … is the new record “Illud Divinum Insanus” from legendary Florida death pioneers Morbid Angel, a record that has David Vincent finally returning to the fold for the first time since 1995’s “Domination.” This is one of the most anticipated metal records of 2011, one that has been long awaited and even has become something of a “Chinese Democracy”-style joke, and now that it finally has come to fruition, it has been met with some ridicule. There are electronic elements to the album, almost as if it’s sampling from the ’90s industrial scene, and that has not gone over well with a lot of people. That isn’t what the whole record sounds like, and there are some cuts that are more like the band’s classic days, but it’s a weird album. I won’t say too much more as I’ll let you judge for yourself, but perhaps approach this one with some caution.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://e-shop.season-of-mist.com/en/items/morbid-angel/illud-divinum-insanus-digipak-edition/cd-digipack/27094

These are just a few things you’ll be able to find, and certainly there are plenty of other records available today that might be more your thing (the debut of Cerebral Bore; the debut of punk-flavored hardcore band Touché Amoré, another record we’ll examine more closely very soon). But what we discussed above are some of the most noteworthy on a day where, if money really did grow on trees, most of us would be rampaging record shops with reckless abandon.

So basically tap into your savings, right? You have some show tickets, and surely arm loads of merch, to buy.

The fully fleshed-out Opeth tour obviously is known now (and we had something on that a little earlier today), and now comes word that Nordic progressive black metal band Enslaved also will be hitting North America this fall. Enslaved still is touring in support of their excellent 2010 effort “Axioma Ethica Odini,” and they just put out an EP “The Sleeping Gods,” in conjunction with Scion AV. You can grab that one for free online. Last few times through the States, Enslaved played as support acts to Opeth and then Dimmu Borgir, so it’ll be cool seeing them get top billing.

To find “The Sleeping Gods,” go here: http://www.scionav.com/

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

Joining them on the tour will be Swedish metal band Ghost (not to be confused with the Japanese experimental/psychedelic band Ghost), who finally debuted on U.S. shores at the Maryland Deathfest, as they closed out the festival with what I’m told was a haunting performance. A friend of mine who attended the show said the band stood stoically as their two-minute intro played, and practically no words were spoken by the band until frontman The Ghoul With No Name invited the crowd to join them for the final ritual. They proclaim themselves Satanists, and the Ghoul takes the role as the devil’s pope, but I wonder how much of that is just for show. Their debut “Opus Eponymous” is catchy as hell, and if you didn’t know the thing was supposed to be dripping with evil, you’d think you were just listening to metal and rock’s next big thing. Ah, but there’s so much more behind the mask, is there not?

For more on Ghost, go here: http://www.myspace.com/thebandghost

To buy “Opus Eponymous,” go here: http://www.indiemerchstore.com/b/ghost/

Alcest round out the bill, and they just toured the States last year as headliners. Most of their songs are pretty long, so it’ll be interesting to see how much time they get and how much they can shove into their set. You can check out my review of their reissued/partially re-recorded EP “Le Secret” on this site. Shouldn’t have to scroll too far down to find that. Definitely a band worth checking out.

The dates, courtesy of our friends at Action PR, are below:

September 23       Springfield, VA         Jaxx
September 24       Pittsburgh, PA          Mr. Small’s Theatre
September 25       New York, NY           Gramercy Theatre
September 26       Boston, MA               Middle East (downstairs)
September 28       Quebec City, QC       Imperial de Quebec
September 29       Montreal, QC            Café Campus
September 30       Toronto, ON              Opera House
October 1              Columbus, OH          Outland Live
October 2              Chicago, IL               The Bottom Lounge
October 3              St. Paul, MN              Station 4
October 5              Winnipeg, MB           West End Cultural Centre
October 6              Regina, SK                The Exchange
October 7              Edmonton, AB           The Starlite Room
October 8              Calgary, AB               Dickens Pub
October 10            Vancouver, BC           Rickshaw Theatre
October 11            Seattle, WA                El Corazon
October 12            Portland, OR              Hawthorne Theatre
October 13            San Francisco, CA     Slim’s
October 14            Hollywood, CA           The Troubadour

So here it is, the full listing for the Opeth/Katatonia tour. This tour will be a must-see event. Check the tour poster below.

I’m a lifelong fan of Opeth. Um, meaning Opeth’s lifespan. I’m excited about the September release of their new album “Heritage,” even if that means parting with money that certain parties I don’t exactly support will benefit. Cryptic. Shouldn’t be too hard to figure out who I mean.

Anyway, part of anxiously awaiting the band’s 10^th album is finally getting to see the album art, and it is … interesting? It’s almost awesome. Almost. I like the burning castle, the weird medieval village, the dual devils underground, even most of the tree. It’s the fruit on the tree that makes me chuckle. The band’s heads?! Whose idea was THIS? It makes a pretty cool album cover into something campy and worthy of mocking. I mean, their HEADS?! And do they have to look so damn goofy? Can’t they be dead or bleeding? At least less whimsical? This is death metal after all. Well, here it is…

Their longtime collaborator Travis Smith is responsible for this thing. Maybe I’m making too much of this because at the end of the day, it’s just album art. The music on said album is what really matters, and we’re still waiting for even a few seconds of that. A single/video for “The Devil’s Orchard” is expected soon, so that’ll be our first taste of this thing.

The record is in stores Sept. 20, and there will be special versions available through both the band and their label Roadrunner. Below is the track listing. Note that there are 10 songs, which is few more than we typically get from the band (2008’s “Watershed” had seven cuts, though an expanded version has three bonus tracks). Despite the cover, I’m psyched.

1. Heritage
2. The Devil’s Orchard
3. I Feel the Dark
4. Slither
5. Nepenthe
6. Haxprocess
7. Famine
8. The Lines in My Hand
9. Folklore
10. Marrow of the Earth

Another notable fact is keyboard player Per Wiberg has left the band in a move that sounds amicable. He performed on the record, but reportedly Joakim Svalberg (Yngwie Malmsteen, Glenn Hughes) has been practicing to perform live with the band. He’d join band leader/guitarist/vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt, bassist Martin Mendez, guitarist Fredrik Åkesson, and drummer Martin Axenrot. Opeth’s tour lands in the United States in September, and you can find the tour dates below. Obviously I’m sad the band won’t be hitting Pittsburgh. Let me Mapquest that trip to Columbus …

(UPDATE! Opeth and Katatonia play Mr. Smalls in Pittsburgh on Halloween evening. Should not have spoken so soon…)

Sept. 19: Worcester, MA (Palladium)
Sept. 20: Hartford, CT (Webster Theatre)
Sept. 21-22: New York, NY (Webster Hall)
Sept. 26: Columbus, OH (Newport Music Hall)
Sept. 28: Nashville, TN (Cannery Ballroom)
Sept. 29:  Charlotte, NC (Amos’ Southend)
Oct. 06: Kansas City, MO (Beaumont Club)
Oct. 08: Winnipeg, MB (Garrick Centre)
Oct. 16: Portland, OR (Roseland Theater)
Oct. 21: Pomona, CA (The Fox Theater)
Oct. 25: Denver, CO (Ogden Theater)

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

For the band’s web shop, go here: http://www.omerch.com/

For the band’s label, go here: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/

We often speak here about the oversaturation of genres and how that affects creativity and freshness. Doom and sludge are two subgenres in particular that have overflowed with participants, so much so that today’s next big band is often an afterthought before the sun sets. It can be overwhelming.

With any style of music that sees its ranks swell to such a dramatic degree, two things can keep new artists, and old ones who have watched their initial originality turn into a trend, from disappearing into the background: passion and creativity. Those two elements typically lead me on my way into what bands I discard after writing about their records (even if I like what I heard musically) and what bands become part of my regular rotation. Ever since their debut EP, Dark Castle’s music has stuck with me despite their having to compete with so many faces. Their impact was immediate with their “Flight of the Pegasus” debut, and their first full-length album “Spirited Migration” capitalized on that initial potential and made them one of metal’s most promising acts.

Now comes their second album and with it a move from At a Loss to Profound Lore. There had been rumblings that what the world would hear on their sophomore disc “Surrender to All Life Beyond Form” would signal changes compositionally and a bit of a departure from what they’d already committed to history. For one, they rely more on Eastern musical styles and scales to construct the music heard here, and there’s a deeper concentration on psychedelic guitar effects, which at first felt a little bit repetitive since they’re used so much but eventually helped me understand the overall personality of the record. Also, Stevie Floyd’s vocals are still crushing for the most part, but she pulls back more than ever before, sometimes sounding a bit like Kylesa’s Laura Pleasants. These alterations are what help make “Surrender” such in interesting, introspective, emotional and unexpected listen, and one that, at least for me, puts it into contention for metal album of the year. If you read other reviews (as I have), you will know I largely stand alone on this line of thinking. To each his or her own, but the more I listened to this album, the more I realized I was perhaps getting ready to champion one of the year’s most misunderstood and underappreciated albums. Not that that’s ever bothered me before.

The album is fairly short at just under 34 minutes, but it also feels just about right. I always dug those thrash albums from the ’80s that were about this length because they got in, made their point, and got back out. So less is more here. Also, unlike many other doom acts, Dark Castle’s songs aren’t epics, with the longest cut being the trippy, damaged, tortured “Heavy Eyes” at 5:59. It always feels like the band makes the best of the time they use and they don’t ramble on endlessly.

The title cut opens the collection as Dark Castle – Floyd is joined by drummer/multi-instrumentalist Rob Shaffer, though they get help from Sanford Parker (Nachtmystium, Minsk), Blake Judd (also Nachtmystium), Nate Hall (U.S. Christmas) and Mike Scheidt (YOB) – immediately launch into muddy thrashing, driving feedback and Floyd’s monstrous growls. “Slave Into Absence” is in the same vein, as is “Seeing Through Time,” where the vocals take on more of a talking/shouting tone. “I Hear Wind” is vicious, with prog and drone undertones, with a lead guitar line that snakes over top and slips back under the wreckage. Where the band really throws caution to the wind is in their less-conventional approach to some of the other tracks. “Spirit Ritual” sounds like the band is in a trance, with noise rushing, bells chiming and Scheidt’s nasal chanting trying to grab ghosts from other dimensions, while “To Hide Is the Die” is where Parker really makes his mark, letting his keys lap over a more mid-tempo track that ends with Floyd advising, “Look not behind your eye.”

As noted, this has not been a universally embraced record. I think some people expected (wanted?) “Spirited Migration 2,” and if that’s the case, why even bother? Just listen to that record if you like it so much. Dark Castle clearly have their dreams concentrated on higher planes – musically, spiritually, and philosophically – plus the passion and creativity is here in spades. Just reading the lyrics to the album lets you know you’re not getting what most come to expect from the doom, sludge genre, though they do match the psychedelic shell. It can be difficult to separate ourselves from a band’s past catalog when taking on a new album, and sometimes that’s OK. Like, as much as I like Amon Amarth, I don’t really hold them to forward progress. I know what I’m getting. Dark Castle are a different beast, and it seems they’re getting knocked around for expanding their minds. Well, not here. “Surrender to All Life Beyond Form” did take some time to sink in for me, but now that it has, I’ve listened with regularity, which has gotten in the way a bit of other albums I need to review. But that’s a good thing because, with so much music in my queue, having one stand out so noticeably is a joy.

I can’t wait to hear what the band does next, and I can only imagine what they might sound like in five years. But why rush it? “Surrender” is such a giving, adventurous, satisfying album, that I think I’ll relish what I have now because this duo makes their next sojourn into space and time.

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

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

To buy “Surrender to All Life Beyond Form,” go here: http://www.profoundlorerecords.com//index.php?option=com_ezcatalog&task=detail&id=752&Itemid=99999999

It seems a little premature to be discussing Christmas, and as we on the East Coast are being roasted to death, it seems like the furthest thing from the mind.

And it is, if you’re talking about the holiday. If, instead, you’re thinking about the Appalachia-inspired, psychedelic band U.S. Christmas, then it is not too early to spread tidings of joy. After their excellent 2010 album “Run Thick in the Night” dropped and demolished listeners, we get a follow-up already with “The Valley Path,” an effort that philosophically carries on the last album’s spirit but does so in a completely different way. Unlike last time around, when we got 13 tracks, “The Valley Path” has but one, yet it takes about 40 minutes to run its course. It’s an interesting idea that has been tackled before by bands such as Sleep, Pussygutt and Jethro Tull and countless others, and if done right, it can be a worthy project. If not, it’s a pointless throwaway of an effort. Luckily for USX, this works in spades.

The band has been fairly prolific in their nine years together. Having formed in Marion, N.C., in the summer of 2002, the band wasted no time getting music into the world by way of two CD-R recordings – “Bad Heart Bull” in 2005 and “Salt the Wound” in 2006 on a Russian label (which is baffling on so many levels), before landing at Neurot for a 12-inch and 2008’s “Eat the Low Dogs.” All the while, the Nate Hall-led band adopted a working attitude, touring relentlessly and playing their music anywhere they could find an audience. All the while, respect grew, their oddball name became more recognizable, and their sixth effort had a sense of anticipation behind it after what they accomplished on “Run Thick.”

While USX – Hall, Matt Johnson (synth, guitars, sound), BJ Graves (drums), Justin Whitlow (drums, experimental sounds), Josh Holt (bass, drones), Meghan Mulhearn (violin) —  have a base in metal, with their sometimes doomy sound and relation with Neurot, their audience certainly shouldn’t be limited to that. Fans of Southern rock, classic rock, country (real country not the current pop-country crop), psychedelic rock, and atmospheric ambiance should find something to like here. You even could say someone who likes classical music but has interest in rock also might be well-served here because of how this album is put together. As mentioned, “The Valley Path” is one song. But even though it is, it feels like five or six songs fixed together seamlessly. The composition rises and falls, so much so that if they wanted to break this album up into passages, they could have. But it also probably would have gone against the philosophy of the record and its idea of being one piece that isn’t supposed to be digested in parts. It really wouldn’t make as much sense that way.

The songs starts feeling fairly sinister, with slurry doom and Hall warning, “There is a time for wicked illusion.” This part slithers along and sets up the story, and even though it fades after several minutes, it returns at about the 28-minute mark. The song bleeds into a more raucous mid-section, where the Southern traits show, making friends with those who feast on Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Bros., with Mulhearn’s string work simmering and conjuring up souls. Her expression and playing reminds me a lot of Jackie Perez Gratz’s cello work, and she’s the star of the middle of the record. We revisit the path’s introductory sequence before the finale sets into place, firing headlong into dreamy slide guitar and a rush of atmosphere that remind me of some of Pink Floyd’s headier work. The scenes fade into chirps, almost as if it’s trying to slip back into the woods. It’s like a 40-minute movie, really.

The first time I took on “The Valley Path,” I sat stunned. It’s such an adventurous piece of music, and any worry I had over taking on a one-song album dissipated. I immediately listened to it again, and a few times on my daily walks, I’ve indulged in the record as it seemed to match perfectly what I was seeing as I was enveloped in canopies of leaves and trees and the psychological comfort of my simple suburb. In fact, on one of my walks, a thunderstorm was brewing and casting a pall over the streets in front of me, yet that seemed to open up some of the darkness on the record. I’ve listened on long drives, in parking lots as I waited for my wife to get off a bus, as I worked. It fits everywhere, and it always seems to open up my mind and help me achieve deeper thinking. I already was a fan of the band, but “The Valley Path” just endeared me to U.S. Christmas even more so. This is the type of album very few bands could make work at all, and the fact that USX do it so well, so dramatically, just goes to show how valuable they are.

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

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

To buy “The Valley Path,” go here: http://www.bluecollardistro.com/neurotrecordings/categories.php?cPath=1030_1031_1149

Also, while delayed a bit, tomorrow will feature a visit with a record that is a heavy favorite for my metal album of the year. I got held up a bit because my wife and I took a trip to celebrate our anniversary, and I didn’t have nearly enough time to write. That’s a good thing.

You ever liked one of those bands that you really couldn’t explain to people why you enjoy their music and why that person should try to give the group a shot? I was always that way with Japanese blackened crust doom band Gallhammer.

They never came off as a band that was particularly interested in being the best sounding or best produced or even the best musicians, not that these ladies were slouches by any means. It always seemed like they plugged in and just went for it, scars and warts be damned. That was always what kind of appealed to me more than anything, that they were so raw and so flawed, yet when you heard their music, it had a brutal honesty and a dark shadow that was both sinister and attractive. And perhaps because they weren’t virtuosos, they always came up with interesting concepts. Their second full-length “Ill Innocence” is a really good album, one that really stepped up from their 2004 debt full-length “Gloomy Nights” and even set itself far apart from their 2007 compilation “The Dawn Of…,” the collection that introduced me to the band for the first time.

The awesomeness of “Ill Innocence” (I happen to be listening to that as I write this) seemed to indicate the band was onto bigger and better things as they improved as a unit and sunk their teeth even deeper into the doom muck. So it was with great anticipation that I met their third effort “The End,” released by Peaceville, though ultimately it is bitter disappointment with which I’m left. I’m kind of at a loss with what they came up with for this record, so much so that I kept listening and listening, hoping the overall picture would dawn on me and I’d feel a fool for not realizing it in the first place. Well, that actually did happen, but it didn’t have the positive effect I expected. Instead, I walked away feeling like this album was a garage demo by a brand new band that accidentally got labeled as the new Gallhammer. It’s a big letdown, and weirdly enough, it’s pretty grating at times.

Not sure what effect this had creatively on the songwriting, but since “Ill Innocence,” guitarist Mika Penetrator left the band, leaving Gallhammer as a duo of Vivian Slaughter (bass, vocals) and drummer Risa Reaper, who gets a far bigger role here with her own vocals, one of the fatal flaws of this album. Just toggling between songs from “Ill Innocence” and “The End,” there’s a noticeable difference. The new album is a huge downgrade musically, making me wonder just how pivotal Penetrator was to this band, and at times, the compositions are repetitive and just way, way too long. There’s a lack of focus and glut of interesting ideas. “Ill Innocence” even jumped around a bit, adding some post-rock and indie atmosphere, which broke up some of the monotony and let the thing breathe a bit, but that’s completely absent from “The End.”

One of the biggest mistakes the band made was not bringing in a guitar player to replace Penetrator. It’s not that you can’t do a bass-drum duo, but you better be able to do it right, because it can get awfully boring if not. This record proves that. Slaughter’s bass work is fine, and it has a grimy, vicious edge that serves the slow-driving, sludgy material just fine. But it’s not enough to keep these songs from wearing out their welcome. Perhaps if they knew where to cut these songs short, they would have been better served, but that didn’t happen. Four minutes instead of eight minutes or 10 minutes or 12 minutes would have done a world of good. There’s nothing wrong with the opening title track, as it’s a total mammoth, but it could have used a few minutes trimmed from it. Even “Rubbish CG202” is vicious and blinding, easily registering as the best cut on this disc. It’s just a ripper. And then the train just runs off the tracks on “Aberration,” where Reaper takes her very, very unpleasant turn as co-vocalist. Now, Reaper has done some vocals before, but considering she was singing on fuller, more realized songs, and she only was a partial contributor, she didn’t stick out like a sore thumb. Wow, does she ever here. I really just want her to stop doing this. Her voice is annoying, and she often sounds like a 5-year-old, chirping away with whatever nonsense she’s spewing. These things are precious when you actually are 5 years old, but not when you’re an adult, singing over songs you expect people to buy. This was a bad, bad, bad idea. I hope they do away with this on the next record.

The next three songs crawl ever so slowly along, with hardly anything worth keeping, and again, Reaper’s voice keeps insulting your senses and goodwill. Only closer “108=7/T-NA” (no idea what the hell that means) somewhat saves the record, as Slaughter’s freak jazz saxophone blasts over the mountain of mud, proving they do have some good ideas in there, but they’re few and far between.

Had this album occurred four or five years ago, I wouldn’t nearly be as baffled or as let down. If this was a band with little experience, you could chalk up these gaffes to that and tell them to learn from where they went astray. But this is record three, and they’ve been around far too long to have come up with something as substandard at “The End.” I’m certain there are garage bands that have been together a quarter of the time these two have that could come up with something far better than this. I always thought Gallhammer would be one of those bands that would be long misunderstood, who people like me would have to righteously defend to the naysayers, but underneath it all they would be releasing groundbreaking records that influenced other bands. Then again, it’s possible I was wrong. Maybe they peaked on “Ill Innocence” and never will reach that height ever again. There isn’t anything on “The End” that makes me hopeful for their fourth album, though I’ll certainly give it a try since I do like their back catalog. But they’ve got to find a guitarist, they’ve got to write better songs, and Reaper needs to keep her mouth closed for the most part and concentrate on scrambling our brains with her drumming.

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

To buy “The End,” go here: http://www.burningshed.com/store/peaceville/product/261/2777/

We have some exciting things brewing next week, including a look at U.S. Christmas’ new one-track, nearly 40-minute new album, as well as piece on a record that I think could be my metal album of the year. And let’s just say my review is going to differ greatly from one that ran on another, well-known web site. Have fun.