2013 Chronicle (Year in review) part 6 - Best of May 2013

May 1 - Geezer (Gage EP)

May 2 - Ten Foot Wizard (ST)

May 3 - Procession (To Reap Heavens Apart)

May 7 - APE MACHINE (Mangled By the Machine) - By this point in the year, the Ripple Music machine was really rolling and it was impossible not to get mangled by it.  If this album was just a hefty stoner record of no inconsiderable girth, it would be notable simply for how good it is.  But that it was recorded in a single take, front to back with no pauses between songs, makes it an essential listen.  Original review here.  Get it here.  Highlights include: "Gun You Down" and "Angry Man".  Rating 5/5

May 10 - MAGISTER TEMPLI (Lucifer Leviathan Logos) - Old school metal combined with doom and occult / esoteric references set the foundation for this Norwegian quintet.  This was one of the more satisfying and memorable albums of the style released in 2013.  Anyway, it`s hard to go wrong with that mix of influences, Magister Templi concocted a killer potion indeed here.  Original review here.  Get it here.  Highlights include: "Master of the Temple" and "The Innsmouth Look".  Rating 4/5

May 10 - SHALLOW GRAVE (ST) - This Auckland quartet released one of the most addictive albums of the year.  It was brutal, sludgy and doomy with droney passages which played out like time spent tied to a chair in a shed or basement waiting for the next round of torture to begin.  This album is a rare combination of dark and aggressive.  Get it here.  Highlights include: "Chemical Fog" and "Nameless Chants".  Rating 4.5/5

May 12 - MAMMOTH STORM (Demo 2013) - This apocalyptically heavy trio must have emerged from deep inside a snow filled caldera.  One day Mammoth Storm and Salem's Pot are going to tickle fight to see who is Sweden's heaviest band.  All us mortals the world over will be destroyed in their convulsive jocularity.  No happy endings here, just mass.  Original review here.  Get it here.  Highlights include: "Volcanic Winter" and "Ancient Apocalypse".  Rating 5/5

May 14 - KADAVAR (Abra Kadavar) - German retro rockin' trio Kadavar's rise was a meteoric one.  Within the space of a single year the band went from one that few outside their home territory knew about to releasing a six song album with polyrhythmic structures to being signed by Nuclear Blast and releasing a streamlined straight up hard rock record and becoming everybody's favorite buzz band.  Original review here.  Get it here.  Highlights include: "Fire" and "Doomsday Machine".  Rating 4.5/5

May 14 - UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS (Mind Control) - UK quartet Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats (named after a band former Cactus vocalist Rusty Day formed shortly before his murder) came out of their shell this year, conducting interviews and releasing promo group shots at the behest of their new label Rise Above Records.  They also made their live debut at the Roadburn Festival (!!! [that's some venue for a debut performance]) and later toured the UK with no lesser personages than Black Sabbath themselves.  Most importantly they released their third album and all-important follow-up to 2011's terrific 'Blood Lust' which had scored the band significant underground buzz.  As always of course, opinions were split on the creative success of the record with the majority falling victim to the album's deadly charisma.  Original review here.  Get it here.  Highlights include: "Mt. Abraxas" and "Mind Crawler".  Rating 4.5/5

May 15 - CULTURA TRES (Rezando Al Miedo) - South American sludge heroes Cultura Tres had a great year, signing to Devouter Records in late 2012, then successfully touring Europe shortly before releasing this terrific album.  Hooky, heavy & haunting, the album took Alice in Chains style harmonies and dragged them through the sludge.  'Rezando al Miedo' was one if the great albums and one of the great creative leaps forward for any band this year.  Original review here.  Get it here.  Highlights include: "La Ley Del Dolor" and "Hole In Your Head".  Rating 4.5/5

May 15 - Kings Destroy (A Time of Hunting)

May 17 - Evangelist (Doominicanes)

May 21 - A Pale Horse Named Death (Lay My Soul To Waste)

May 21 - ROTE MARE (The Invocation & The Kingdom) - It's not easy hearing someone pour their guts out on record but when the net results are an airtight split and a stellar pair of full-length albums it becomes a little easier to handle.  Sifting through the entrails reveals gem upon gem and any stretching of creativity expands to new heights, never thinning out.  Traditional doom never sounded so passionate.  Original review here.  Get it here.  Highlights include: "Suicidal Slayer" and "The Thief".  Rating 4.5/5

May 24 - Steak (Corned Beef Colossus)

May 24 - Vidunder (ST)

May 27 - BLOOD CEREMONY (The Eldritch Dark) - Canadian quartet Blood Ceremony's much anticipated third album came out of left field with a folk / doom tidal wave of top notch storytelling with more than ample memorable moments to match.  A decidedly more colorful record than their previous effort 'Living With The Ancients', 'The Eldritch Dark' has been a mainstay in my Top 10 records of the year since its release.  Original review here.  Get it here.  Highlights include: "Goodbye Gemini" and "Witchwood".  Rating 4.5/5

May 28 - Age of Taurus (Desperate Souls of Tortured Times)

May 28 - ALICE IN CHAINS (The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here) - Alice in Chains's second album since their 2009 resurrection was simply more of what you've come to expect from the grungy legends.  It's a great album, full of hooks and harmonies, big metal poses and faux cowboy ballads.  The thing I like about it most is that it exists.  Original review here.  Get it here.  Highlights include: "Stone" and "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here".  Rating 4.5/5

May 30 - Witches of God (The Blood of Others)


Best Album From April 2013:
'The Eldritch Dark' by BLOOD CEREMONY

Best Song From April 2013:
"Mind Crawler" by UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS

PARANOID Thoughts:

And the award for record label of the year goes to: Rise Above Records.  Forget that the label is currently embroiled in a minor controversy with all-world label signees Electric Wizard, 2013 ought to be remembered for the consistently high quality of the label's output.  Everything the label released was awesome and each album that came out seemed to be better than the last.  Any one of the albums listed below would have been at or near the top of any other label's best releases list for the year, the fact that label head honcho Lee Dorrian managed to rush them all out the door in the space of a single year makes you wonder whether the anti-trust lawyers won't be coming after him some day soon.

Top 10 Rise Above Records released albums from 2013:
1). Iron Man - 'South of the Earth'
2). Blood Ceremony - 'The Eldritch Dark'
3). Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - 'Mind Control'
4). Horisont - 'Time Warriors'
5). Cathedral - 'The Last Spire'
6). Moss - 'Horrible Night'
7). Church of Misery - 'Thy Kingdom Scum'
8). Age of Taurus - 'Desperate Souls of Tortured Times'
9). The Hidden Masters - 'Of This & Other Worlds'
10). Purson - 'The Circle & the Blue Door'
Last year's winner: Small Stone Records.

Hour of Power 09/14/13 (playlist)

1. The Hunter (Black Rainbows / Holy Moon EP) 2013
2. Black Core (NYMF / From the Dark) 2013
3. Voices (Alice in Chains / The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here) 2013
4. Monkey City (General / Where Are Your Gods Now) 2012
5. Truckfighters 'The Chairman' EP Teaser 2013
6. This Train Won't Stop [live @ The Vogue 08/11/13] (Devil To Pay / Fate Is Your Muse) 2013
7. The Mangled Dead [live @ Radio Downstairs 08/30/13] 2013
8. Death is Another Word ... (Earthen Grave / ST) 2013
9. The End of Time (Moonbow / The End of Time) 2013
10. Blades of Grass (The Dirty Streets / Blades of Grass) 2013
11. Cloud 9 (Motordrone / ST) 2013
12. Never Liked You (Luder / Adelphophagia) 2013
13. The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret (Queens of the Stone Age / Rated R) 2000 'classic clip'

Hour of Power 09/07/13 (playlist)

1. Waiting for Saturn (Bison, Bison / ST) 2012
2. The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (Alice in Chains / The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here) 2013
3. What's Haunting You (Bloody Hammers / Spiritual Relics) 2013
4. Wash His Bones (Dead River / ST EP) 2013
5. Glanshammar (Steak / Corned Beef Colossus) 2013
6. Halfway There (Soundgarden / King Animal) 2012
7. Ain't No Sunshine (Black Label Society / Unblackened) 2013
8. Solitude (Black Capricorn / single) 2013
9. Lucifer Takes the Crown (NYMF / From the Dark) 2013
10. Blues Pills 'Devil Man' EP Trailer 2013
11. Devil Man (Blues Pills / Devil Man EP) 2013
12. Searching [live] (Three Seasons / Understand the World) 2012
13. Shadow of the Season (Screaming Trees / Sweet Oblivion) 1992 'classic video'

Hour of Power 07/27/13 (playlist)

1. Waiting (Caravan of Whores / Road to Kurti) 2012
2. Never Live Again (Ancient VVisdom / Deathlike) 2013
3. Truth Untold (Black Tusk / Tend No Wounds) 2013
4. The Glove (Fen / Of Losing Interest) 2013
5. Medium (Zato Krev / The Bat, The Wheel And A Long Road To Nowhere) 2012
6. Windhand 'Soma' Album Trailer
7. The Duke [of Supernature] (Monster Magnet / Last Patrol) 2013
8. Voices (Alice in Chains / The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here) 2013
9. The Atomic Mother (Beneath Oblivion / From Man To Dust) 2011
10. Follow the Rats (Peacemaker / Cult .45) 2013
11. Enslaved in the Icy Tundra (Desert Storm / Horizontal Life) 2013
12. Revolution Is My Name (Pantera / Reinventing the Steel) 2000 'classic video'

Hour of Power 06/29/13 (playlist)

1. We Are The Worm (Behold! The Monolith / Defender, Redeemist) 2012
2. Moonchild (Venomous Maximus / Beg Upon the Light) 2012
3. Hang The Witch (Space Witch / The Alchemy Paradox EP) 2013
4. Nameless Cults (Wo Fat / Cyclopean Riffs split w/ Egypt) 2013
5. Scorpion Child's Shaun Avants' influences interview
6. In Vino Veritas (Cult of Occult / Hic Est Domus Diaboli) 2013
7. Rooster (Alice in Chains / Dirt) 1992 'classic video'
8. Halv King (Behold! The Monolith / Defender, Redeemist) 2012

Alice in Chains - The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (album review)

Cover artwork by Ryan Clark.

Is it ever a bold choice for an artist not to change?  I pretty much heard this album in my head before I ever actually heard it with my ears, thinking about it and imagining how it would sound all year.  And really, my head was pretty accurate.  Is this a bad thing?  When a well established band ... nay, a legendary band drops the record that everyone was expecting, does that make it a disappointment.  I get the feeling that Alice in Chains will only lose fans with this record as those who were hoping for some kind of change in the band's sound will be ultimately let down.  Or, worst of all, apathy begins to set in.  You won't be getting that from me though, this was the album that I wanted to hear.  Does that make me a dinosaur?  If it does, then the Devil must have put me here.

To their credit, the band doesn't hide the fact that they haven't changed much.  Jerry Cantrell has said as much, "I don't think you'll be surprised by anything you hear. ... It's us."  I remember being disappointed by the band's self titled album that came out in late '95, otherwise known by fans as 'Tripod'.  It was a little too Alice in Chains, seemingly cynically so, if you know what I mean.  Songs like "Grind" and "Again" were a little too on the nose as they say, which nowadays are two of my favorites from the band, now that I've mellowed considerably with age.  But at the time it really sounded a little too much like everything else they'd ever done and a little over the top with their sound to boot.  In other words, the album was seemingly a cynical cash grab for a bunch of drugged out losers.  Those were the ignorant impressions of a fourteen year old.  I turned my back on the band for years, until the box set 'Music Bank' came out.  That's what kind of impact a band not changing, growing or updating can have on an impressionable youngster.

Fortunately, these days, most Alice in Chains fans are just like me: older, fatter and uglier, with less fight in them.

And anyway, why does a band need to constantly re-invent the wheel anyway?  Alice in Chains have had an established sound now for over twenty years, one that's near and dear to the hearts of millions.  Jerry Cantrell and company have nothing left to prove to the world, they do what they do, which has always been unique to begin with.  A confident band just does what it does and lets the bodies fall where they may.

And fall they do.  "Stone", "Hollow", "Phantom Limb", "Pretty Done", "Voices" and "Lab Monkey" all have the potential to fully enter the realm of all-time fan favorites for the very same reason that they may alienate casual fans.  Because they are all very much Alice in Chains.  Bold strides are rarely taken on this album, but still, I'm reminded of Argus' album title 'Boldly Stride the Doomed'.

"Voices" is a standout track, which is sure to be a single.  Cantrell seems to always have at least one of his signature power ballads or acoustic hits on every album, from "Down in a Hole" to "Heaven Beside You" to "Your Decision" and now "Voices", which may be the best of this bunch.  We'll see.  "Down in a Hole" and "Heaven Beside You" are undeniable classics, but give it time, "Voices" will settle in at or near the top.  It's catchy from the opening line "Who am I? / Is this me?" It gets caught in the head like ... well, like peanut butter on the brain.

Photo by Johnny Buzzerio.

The truth is, the band already changed gears on 2009's 'Black Gives Way To Blue', which was an excellent album.  'The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here' is better.  It was a change that was signaled by Cantrell's epic sophomore solo effort 'Degradation Trip'.  In truth TDPDH becomes the perfect marriage of old and new styles.  And maybe I'm just projecting here a little bit, but the band themselves sound more comfortable on their second post-Staley album.  There was a tension, during interviews especially, for BGWTB.  Once again, the band seem comfortable in their own skins.  It's great to see.

Maybe it's not too convincing for a stoner / doom reviewer not to mind a band repeating itself.  After all, this stoner / doom genre was built on bands droning on a single, simplistic riff for upwards of eight minutes.  But really, this is coming from an Alice in Chains fan.  I was a fan of this band LONG, long, long, long before I'd ever heard of Doom Metal or Stoner Rock for that matter.  I can't help it if I'm happy with the band giving me exactly what I want, which is a straight up no bullshit all-new Alice in Chains album.

Highlights include: "Stone" and "Voices"

Rating: 4.5/5


Tracklist:
1). Hollow (5:43)
2). Pretty Done (4:36)
3). Stone (4:23)
4). Voices (5:43)
5). The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (6:39)
6). Lab Monkey (5:58)
7). Low Ceiling (5:15)
8). Breath on a Window (5:20)
9). Scalpel (5:21)
10). Phantom Limb (7:08)
11). Hung on a Hook (5:35)
12). Choke (5:44)
Total Run Time: 40:51

Jerry Cantrell - Guitar, Vocals
Sean Kinney - Drums
Mike Inez - Bass
William DuVall - Vocals

From: Seattle, Washington

Genre: Hard Rock, Metal, Grunge, Sludge

Reminds me of: 'Alice in Chains', 'Black Gives Way To Blue', 'Degradation Trip'

Release Date: May 28, 2013

Alice in Chains on facebook
Alice in Chains on Wikipedia
Official website

GET IT HERE (digital)

Hour of Power 04/20/13 (playlist)

1. Stone (Alice in Chains / The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here) 2013
2. Greyblackfalconhawk (Ice Dragon / Greyblackfalconhawk) 2012
3. Kings Highway [live] (Scorpion Child) 2013
4. Together Again - Black Sabbath promo clip 2013
5. God is Dead? (Black Sabbath / 13) 2013
6. Unspoken (Kylesa / Ultraviolet) 2013
7. ... And Death Rides With Us (Temptations Wings / Legends of the Tusk) 2013
8. Brother Death (Zodiac / ST) 2013
9. Keyhole / Inner Saturn (Shinin' Shade / SAT-URN) 2013
10. Wheeling Dervish (Romero / Take the Potion) 2013
11. Closer (Traveling Circle / Escape From Black Cloud) 2012

Alice in Chains "Stone" Lyric Video Premiere

Look what came in the old electronic mailbag today kiddies:
 
The lyric video for "Stone" makes its world premiere on Vevo today. Check it out. 
And stay tuned for the official video for "Stone," coming soon.

Alice In Chains Twenty-Three

If you haven't seen the unofficial Alice in Chains documentary, Alice in Chains Twenty-Three, the film that received a prestigious honorable mention at the Inland Film Festival, you can see it here now. 

Hour of Power 04/13/13 (playlist)

1. Brother Bishop (Church of Misery / Thy Kingdom Scum) 2013
2. Mortified (Mexicoma / Supervoid EP) 2012
3. Cocaine Wizard Woman (Las Cruces / Dusk) 2010
4. Vessel of Astaroth (Iron Hearse / Get in the Hearse) 2013
5. Alice in Chains 23 mockumentary 2013
6. The Mouths of Madness (Orchid / The Mouths of Madness) 2013
7. Vulture's Landing (Kylesa / Ultraviolet) 2013
8. Master of the Temple (Magister Templi / Lucifer Leviathan Logos) 2013
9. Caul of Time (Beastwars / Blood Becomes Fire) 2013
10. So Heavy, So Slow (S.I.M.B. / Monday Superblues) 2013
11. Корм (Feed) (Electricjezus / Грязь поколений (Mud of Generations) 2013

Hour of Power 01/12/13 (playlist)

Highlights from the week of 01/06/13 - 01/12/13

1. Earth Rocker (Clutch - Earth Rocker) 2013
2. Soul Scour (Balam - ST) 2012
3. Hollow (Alice in Chains - single) 2013
4. The Soul's Midnight (Ice Dragon - single) 2013
5. White Hoarhound (Alunah - White Hoarhound) 2012
6. Navigating on the Seas of Dementia (A Very Old Ghost Behind The Farm - split w/ Wheelfall) 2012
7. Fusion (John Gallow [of Blizaro]) 2013
8. Deep Waters (Dryasdust - ST Demo) 2012
9. The Color Out of Space (From Beyond - The Color Out of Space EP) 2012

In Case You Missed It 12/30/12 (News)

As was expected, it wasn't a major week for news and music releases, what with the holidays and all, folks around the world were busy with friends, family, loved ones, horned deities, etc.  But there was still enough news and music to keep me occupied, out of trouble and off the streets ...

ITEM! Chiliomodi, Greece super stoners 1000MODS are back with a new 10" EP called 'Valley of Sand'.  Side A features the sprawling 17 minute title track while side B houses a trio of live cuts: "7 Flies", "Navy in Alice" and "Track Me" from their amazing 'Super Van Vacation' album.  There are 500 copies available from The Lab records.  You can order your copy or download the 4 song EP here on the 1000mods bandcamp page.

ITEM! If you haven't heard it by now, there is a fan madde video up of the new ALICE IN CHAINS song (so happy with the sequence of those last six words).  The song is called "Hollow" and if this author be so bold as to opine, it may be the heaviest and darkest we've heard the band since 'Dirt'.  The full song was streamed on the band's website on the 18, but the song won't be officially released until January 8.  They're already playing it on the radio so it should be overplayed and pretty much lifeless before that day comes, but for now.  Listen to the video below:



ITEM! Newport, Rhode Island's very own doom machine, BALAM is rolling once again.  The band has been writing a lot of new material lately and as a special Christmas gift, they've allowed us outsiders a glimpse into what they're up to.  It's an unmastered song without vocals that will be a part of a new project to be released sometime in 2013.  You can hear the untitled new song here on bandcamp.

ITEM! Italian doom stalwart Steve Sylvester and DEATH SS released a new single on the 21st called "The Darkest Night".  It's the title track from their forth-coming 8th studio album due out in March 2013.  The CD single was limited to 666 copies and sold out within 48 hours so there's still quite some appetite for the Godfathers of Italian doom.  You can download the song on itunes, check out the band's official website or laze about right here and watch the video below:



ITEM! You may recall a couple weeks ago, the Chad Davis (Hour of 13, Chains, Witchcoven, etc.) involved band THE SABBATHIAN were looking for a new vocalist to replace Jess of Jess & The Ancient Ones.  Well, they've found her.  From the band:

"The Sabbathian is proud to welcome the talents of Norwegian vocalist Anette Uvass Gulbrandsen. The voice she possesses is a masterful mix of pitch-perfect strength and etherial chiors, something that adds an amazing element to The Sabbathian. We will be posting a rough mix track from the forthcoming release on Svart Records very soon."

Congratulations Anette!

Hour of Power 12/22/12 (playlist)

Highlights from the week of 12/16/12 - 12/22/12

1. Greet Death (Destroyer of Light / ST) 2012 Brand New Video!!
2. Hollow (Alice in Chains / TBA) 2013 Brand New Song!!
3. Snowblind (Black Sabbath / Vol. 4) 1972
4. Secular Haze (Ghost / Infestissumam) 2013 Brand New Song!!
5. Twin Obscenities (Spider Kitten / Cougar Club) 2013
6. Time Out For Time In (Them / Time Out! Time In For Them) 1968
7. Moon Queen (Lord Fowl / Moon Queen) 2012
8. Perfect Monkey (Cube / ST) 2012
9. Drawing Flies (Soundgarden / Badmotorfinger) 1991
10. vier (Mount Fuji / ST) 2012
11. Desert Sun (The Shooters / Planet of the Black Sun) 2012
12. No Better No Worse (Manfred Mann / Mighty Garvey) 1968
13. We Want The Night (Slow Heart / Dead Friends and Angry Lovers) 2012 Brand New Song from the guys in Ice Dragon!!!