2013 Chronicle (Year in review) part 4 - Best of March 2013

March 1 - IRON HEARSE (Get in the Hearse) - This UK biker doom power trio has a well-groomed but still sleazy sound and 'Get in the Hearse', their first album in about six years fired on all the right cylinders.  I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of the CD and it's still in the mix here at ye ole homesteade.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "A Slow & Heavy Ride" and "The Ultimate Atomic Man".  Rating 4.5/5

March 4 - BLACK CAPRICORN (Born Under the Capricorn) - This vinyl only release teased me for the better part of the year before I finally got a hold of a copy of the files, thanks to guitarist/vocalist Fabrizio (again, thank you!).  It turns out 'Born Under the Capricorn' was an Italian psychedelic doom highlight with an experimental approach on Side A and some real bashers on Side B.  This album is slowly rising as more and more people catch on to it.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Tropic of Capricorn" and "Double Star Goatfish".  Rating 4.5/5

March 4 - Diesel King (The Grey Man EP)

March 6 - DEATH APE DISCO (Supervolcano) - Not to start a write-up with an oxy moron but Death Ape Disco are one of the more "polished sounding" of the "grunge-revival" bands [my label].  This UK quartet is gifted with sharp riffs and even sharper vocals, discordantly harmonized for maximum efficiency.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Kingdom of Others" and "Death Ape Disco".  Rating 4/5

March 8 - THE MANGLED DEAD (Hate Humans) - This Ice Dragon related project is a filthy Misfits inspired vision of what every white suburban teenager in the land wanted their band to sound like.  Well, these Bostonians actually did it, heavy punk ballads about vampires and other ghouls.  This EP is a brown bag full of fun.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Frankenstein Pays The Rent" and "Mutated Dracula".  Rating 4/5

March 9 - Aniara (Caress of Darkness)

March 12 - Cough / Windhand (Reflection of the Negative)

March 12 - WEREWOLVES IN SIBERIA (The Rising) - The Mangled Dead weren't the only ones slopping shovel-loads of horror sounds on the graveside [see the Paranoid Thoughts section below], this one man horror synth project offers one of the purest visions of throwback horror film inspired music out there.  The reason for this is the man behind the band has a background in metal, not something every horror synth slinger can claim.  Basically, Werewolves in Siberia is no dabbler, the horror is mean and intense.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Destruction" and "Blood Moon".  Rating 4/5

March 16 - Chivo (Cantankerous Rock)

March 16 - Olde Growth (Owl EP)

March 17 - King Goat (Atom)

March 18 - Intronaut (Habitual Levitations)

March 18 - POMBAGIRA (Maleficia Lamiah) - UK duo Pombagira's latest offering is two songs and 40 minutes of psychedelic doom.  Haunting melodies and haunted moods permeate the album which opens up like a kaleidoscope of song ideas while retaining a strong character, both within the new group sound and within each song.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Melficia Lamiah" and "Grave Cardinal".  Rating 4/5

March 22 - DEVIL (Gather the Sinners) - Devil's second full-length record was a triumph for metal, pure and simple, the way it ought to be.  Face ripping riffs, snarling vocals and stomping, crashing drums, this is a guaranteed recipe for head banging and 'Gather the Sinners' is steeped in it.  This is easily a top 5 album from a great year for rock n roll and doom.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Restless Wanderer" and "Ladies of the Night".  Rating 5/5

March 22 - High Priest of Saturn (ST)

March 25 - MOSS (Horrible Night) - Rise Above Records had a busy and highly artistically successful year and for me, it really began with Moss's 'Horrible Night'.  For one thing Olly Pearson did away with the growl and actually sang on this record while the band unleashed some of their older influences to create a satisfying and infinitely more accessible record.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Horrible Nights" and "Dark Lady".  Rating 4/5

March 25 - SHININ' SHADE (Sat-Urn) - This was one of the surprise records of the year for me.  Wasn't sure what to make of it on my initial spin, the record soon found traction with me and I found I couldn't put it down.  This Italian quintet moved through a psychedelic soundscape of doom with excellent vocals from Jane Esther-Collins.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Our Time and Space" and "Over-Sea Nightmares".  Rating 4/5

March 25 - S.I.M.B. (Monday Superblues)

March 26 - VICTOR GRIFFIN'S IN~GRAVED (ST) - I would put this album at or near the top of my list of albums I didn't listen to enough this year, such are the perils of running a full time music webzine, things have to keep moving forward.  But Victor Griffin's authentically old school doom remains a steady if trickly constant at the Paranoid Compound.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Late For an Early Grave" and "Digital Critic".  Rating 4/5

March 30 - Grey Host (Dawn for Vultures)


Best Album From February 2013:
'Gather the Sinners' by DEVIL

Best Song From January 2013:
"Restless Wanderer" by DEVIL

PARANOID Thoughts:

I've been a horror fan my whole life.  I'll remember watching Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), Basket Case (1982) and April Fool's Day (1986) with my twentysomething metalhead uncle for as long as I live.  They really set the stage for a lifelong obsession with the genre.  This year my passion for all things horror was somehow, amazingly doubled or even tripled (I didn't think I had any more passion for horror in me to give!).  It was albums like the ones you'll find on the list below that did it for me.  Doom is the music of horror and nearly any doom metal album has that horror feel, but this year I managed to get into other kinds of horror music, such as the John Carpenter inspired horror synth.  It's an interesting subgenre of electronic music because if it wasn't for horror FILMS, the sounds might not be something you might associate with horror MUSIC.

Abysmal Grief, Moss, Cult of Occult and a whole bevvy  of others might have made this list, but it would have gotten ridiculous.  At its best, doom IS horror, so let's just take that as a given.  However, a number of albums related to doom metal find their way onto the list below for standing out, sounding different and incorporating elements of horror music / lyrics that go above and beyond the call of duty.

As I was thinking about putting this list together late last night / early this morning, I wanted to see if there was anything amazing that I had missed so I did a quick 'horror' tag search on bandcamp and came up with a couple things.  For the most part I found John Carpenter inspired dance / house music which only makes me want to commit horrors of my own, but I did find something that was exactly what I was looking for.  The album is called 'Spookhouse' and it's by a one-man synth tickler by the name of Slasher Dave.  The album would probably be higher on the list if I'd had more than a single day to process it.  Anyway, it's one to look out for ...

Top 10 Horror themed albums from 2013:
1). Head of the Demon - 'ST'
2). NYMF - 'From the Dark'
3). Blizaro - 'Strange Doorways'
4). Werewolves in Siberia - 'The Rising'
5). Oranssi Pazuzu - 'Valonielu'
6). The Mangled Dead - 'Hate Humans'
7). Slasher Dave - 'Spookhouse'
8). Rob - 'Maniac OST'
9). Lazerhawk - 'Skull and Shark'
10). Wolfmen of Mars - 'Universal Madness'
Honorable Mentions: Abysmal Grief - 'Feretri' & Cult of Occult 'Hic Est Domus Diaboli'

Hour of Power 04/27/13 (playlist)

1. Wizard of War (Orchid / Mouths of Madness) 2013
2. Into Her Grave (Vidunder / ST) 2013 ***
3. Kvelertak (Kvelertak / Meir) 2013
4. Vacio (Chinaski) 2013
5. Steak 'Corned Beef Colossus' EP teaser - 2013
6. Goodbye Gemini (Blood Ceremony / The Eldritch Dark) 2013
7. Kingdom of Others (Death Ape Disco / Supervolcano) 2013
8. From the Woods (Black Moth Cult / The Fountain of Tantric Worship) 2013
9. Hand of Lucifer (Doublestone / ST) 2013
10. Secret of the Fox (Half Gramme of Soma / ST) 2013
11. Forever High (Orange Blossom Jam / Mystic Jar of Doom) 2013
12. Hexagon Riders (Ice Dragon / The Burl, The Earth, The Aether) 2010 * 'classic' video *
13. Mirrors (Romannis Mötte) 2013

*** special thanks to Captain Beyond Zen for this video

Death Ape Disco - Supervolcano (album review)

Cover artwork by Greig Clifford

Along with Enos, March the Desert, Anacondas, Sea Bastard and King Goat, Death Ape Disco are among a terrific crop of newer bands from a burgeoning underground scene in Brighton, a seaside town on the south end of England.  The diversity of styles on display in this group of bands gives evidence of the fertility of the local scene.  Each of the bands listed above is as different sounding as they are excellent.  Among the most outstanding and the most unique of these bands is Death Ape Disco who play a high energy, grunge-crusted brand of rock n roll characterized by discordant vocal harmonies a la 'Facelift' era Alice in Chains.  Their debut album, 'Supervolcano' was released in early March and is deserving of some wider attention and acclaim.

The first thing you notice, is the clean production sound and sharp performances on the record.  'Supervolcano' gets off to a rolling start with three quick, high energy, fast paced tracks, then crests the top of the hill on "Grinding Down the Sun" and there are no brakes.  Closing track "Mars" hits the NOX and the listener is convinced that this album can and will blast off into outer space.

Death Ape Disco's use of high harmonies is often striking, the chords they hit upon are momentous and bold, they are the runway from which the album takes off.  One part Beach Boys, one part Alice in Chains, one part Black Crowes, but distinctly Death Ape.  By the time "Grinding Down The Sun" plays out, it's clear that this is the band's signature, these complex harmonies take over the entire affair, before arriving at the band's eponymous track, which is dominated by close harmonies.  Vocalist Rob Rainford is joined by guitarist Kit Brice to amazing effect, providing an unholy amount of momentum to the affair.  It's a tricky balancing act to have to pull off, especially live, which is why, I suspect, the technique isn't often used by underground bands.  When a band gets it right, it's impressive and terrific.  When they fall a bit wide of the mark, the sound can veer towards ... Nickelback territory.  Fortunately, this band gets it right far more often than not.

Photo taken from melodic-hardrock.com

Not to be overshadowed by the vocals however, instruments actually do play a part here.  Riffs are fast-paced, drums deliver groove by the ton and the band has plenty of stomp despite their tendency to sprint.  Sometimes the guitar work has the tendency to wind and twist like the roots of a tree pushing through pavement, a few more solos would be welcome and one gets the feeling twin headed string tickling monster Brice and Boulstridge have a few great ones in them, but the lack of solos does little to diminish the power and spectacle of the album as a whole.  Mostly the songs are too tightly structured to allow for such flights of pyrotechnic fancy.  On a similar note, drum fills are kept largely to the beginnings of tracks rather than interspersed throughout.  The fact that the band can tightly structure their songs however speaks quite well of their craftsmanship.

At the end of the day, 'Supervolcano' is a terrific hard rock album infused with more than a touch of grunge and southern metal in the C.O.C., B.L.S. vein.  It will surely get the blood pumping through that mangy old corpse and I would recommend this album to anyone with even a passing interest in rock music from the nineties and beyond.

Highlights include: "Kingdom of Others" and "Death Ape Disco"

Rating: 4/5

Total Run Time: 34:10

Rob Rainford - vocals
Kit Brice - guitar, vocals
James Boulstridge - guitar
Sam Curtis - monkeybass
Harry Lehane - drums

From: Brighton, UK

Genre: Hard Rock, Stoner, Grunge, Southern Metal

Reminds me of: Alice in Chains, Fen, Mexicoma, VolumeFeeder

Release Date: March 6, 2013

Suggested listening activity for fellow non-stoners: Get in your shopping cart and roll down from the very top of the hill.  Pick up whatever mangled limbs remain, push cart back up to the top of the hill.  Repeat.

Better Review:
Stoner Hive

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