Got word from my hard rockin' buddies in Beef Supreme that after releasing two digital EPs, they're looking to do a full length LP on vinyl. From the beginning they've been a DIY grassroots type of band and this time is no different. They're fixin' to get enough pre-orders to pay for the project. You can read more about it at Indiegogo...
http://www.indiegogo.com/project/522101/widget
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm-RgCRkPnc]
Have a dog just like this one, but it would kill my cheap ass turntable to have him spinnin' around on it. My head has been spinnin as well lately, got hit up for lots of reviews in the last week, some pretty good shit too, just don't know where I'm going to get the time. I know this place can seem rather amateurish at times, especially since I like to share my own personal little anecdotes, that don't necessarily have anything to do with the task at hand...MUSIC. Even just on the reviews though, it does take time to put together and then on posts like this one, the Super-Sabado-Gigante variety, I'm puttin bit's and pieces together, off and on, for a month. So long story short expect reviews of some pretty killer stuff in the upcoming weeks, but in the meantime...
My Uncle sent me this joke, and as I've worked for the State of California and the City of Lemon Grove (and even these days my check comes from the State of Kansas and the Feds both), I know this to be true...
A guy goes to the Post Office to apply for a job. The interviewer asks him, "Are you allergic to anything?" He replies, "Yes, caffeine. I can't drink coffee." "OK, have you ever been in the military service?" "Yes," he says, "I was in Iraq for one tour." The interviewer says, "That will give you 5 extra points toward employment." Then he asks, "Are you disabled in any way?" The guy says, "Yes. A bomb exploded near me and I lost both my testicles." The interviewer grimaces and then says, "Okay. You've got enough points for me to hire you right now. Our normal hours are from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. You can start tomorrow at 10:00 am, and plan on starting at 10:00 am every day." The guy is puzzled and asks, "If the work hours are from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, why don't you want me here until 10:00 am?" "This is a government job," the interviewer says . . . . . . . "For the first two hours, we just stand around drinking coffee and scratching our balls. No point in you coming in for that....."
Browsing the web, as I do frequently, ran across this killer, but unfortunately dead blog called The Goddess of Doom. As the name implies, a stoner/doom music site with a neat theme...found all the older Saint Vitus stuff (which can get kind of expensive if you want physical copies) and other bands for your listening pleasure.My Swedish buddy Bjorn's band Pilleemandjoonks, I've posted them a few times around here, have a Soundcloud for some of their most recent stuff...
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/users/16778831" params="" width="100%" height="450" iframe="true" /]
Rob of OYM and early Infest sent me this...
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/60582329" params="" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]
Picked up this magazine/flexi a while back (have another issue that I'll have to post sometime too) and have been meaning to post for some time now. The magazine is killer with all kinds of articles/interviews/etc., the usual fanzine type stuff, but this is just fancier. 4 or 5 of the issues came with flexi's and I'm always down with that. Nothing heart stopping here, just four good bands doing what they do, down around the year 1995. Except for the Mojo tune I doubt this stuff is exclusive to the flexi. Really just felt like posting some Melvins and this was at hand, so here it is.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N--J2w0bpC8]
Happily spinning on my virtual turntable is the almighty Beef Supreme. Did a diddy on them a while back in the form of their S/T digital EP. This time around you get a slightly more polished mix, but with the same driving intesity. In their bio they're described as "a female fronted Monster Magnet, Beef Supreme plays infectious, groove-oriented stoner metal." These guys and gal are my favorite rock n roll, HEAVY metal, stoner what-cha-ma-call-it going on right now...like a breath of fresh air in a smog filled world. If the right guy gives this band a listen, Beef Supreme would become a household name amongst people who have good taste in music and like it with a little balls. I can feel my hair growing, even in the places that have gone bald. It's bands like these that make you really appreciate the three piece, there's no extra bullshit, no guy in the band that the rest of the band is covering for. All three of them add their essential components...fucking rock solid. Niki has a hell of a set of pipes with the ability to really belt out the notes in a Pat Benatar kind of way, but she's also got the meanness of Joan Jett with the ability to play the hell out of the six string. I like how she opts for the more soulful bluesy solos as opposed to endless high speed noodling. Macho takes his four strings and gives a monstrous bottom end to the riffing, while Lou brings it all together with his Bill Ward-esque drumming. I'm really hoping that through blog driven word of mouth the band finds the success they deserve. They have a Facebook, a Twitter and a Soundcloud where you can hear that first EP and this one when it comes out on June 4th. For now, here's a tasty taste (just a short clip though, this shit's not out yet)...
The Surgeon
Something cute this time, they don't always have to be foul or gruesome. This guy kinds looks like me when I was younger and a 100+ pounds lighter. Had an all white cat like this one towards the end of my life as drunk. I let it outside one day and it just never came home. Another reason to get drunk I suppose, although the sun or moon shining was a good enough reason. Never understood why people (guys mostly) don't like cats. Yes, different from dogs, but enjoyable in different ways. In a lot of cases it's a macho thing, the same type of guys who have lifted trucks and lots of guns. I have a truck and guns (standard issue here in the bible belt), but I like kitties...and small yappy dogs too.
Still on this Industrial music kick, probably have listened to a 100 bands I hadn't heard of before. So much of it pushes the boundaries of what industrial is/was. The one I keep going back to is Esplendor Geometrico...true, early pioneers of Industrial music in it's purest form. I picked up their 1980-1981 Prehistoric Sounds 3x7" +CD box set recently with their earliest stuff. They released a ton of shit and a lot of it can be listened to/bought at their Bandcamp. Here's the first track off their 1981 "EG-1" cassette...
ESPLENDOR GEOMETRICO - Muerte a escala industrial
Time for the post-punk-math-rock-stoner-asoraus that is Hex Machine, who are self described as "a heavy rock band from Richmond, VA formed in 2004 or 1995 depending on who you ask." I got this 2006 release, their first vinyl, a few years ago, for dirt cheap, because I'd heard they had Dave Witte (of Discordance Axis, Melt Banana, et. al.) on drums. Turns out they have another Mustard Relics alumni in the form of ex-Human Thurma bassist Trevor Thomas, on guitar and vocals. Am-Rep-y and Touch & Go-ish (a common way to describe several bands I have posted) is how I've seen them described. One press release I read for their newest album here stated, "Hex Machine has soldiered on in feigned attempts to contain its angular raging bull on acid approach to the stage with the likes of the Jesus Lizard, Clutch, Harvey Milk, Converge, and Lamb of God." Lamb of God? You know I've never listened to that them...hmmm. "Noise rock" seems to come up too, but that doesn't mean a whole lot to me. Noisey? I guess if you mean that they pack a hell of a lot of music into each tune. There is kind of a dirty feel to them or maybe muddy is a better term. Snotty too, almost taunting, daring you to guess what's around the bend on the next tune. There's a good biography type page at a place called Sonic Bids and they're well represented on the net with a Facebook, Last.fm, MySpace, Bandcamp, Big Cartel, Reverb Nation, and a Blogspot. All in all, worth a listen...
Blueprint To Madness
On Tender Ice
Their newest tune off their 2012 release "Fixator" at Bandcamp...
http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=2493836224/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/
Some live stuff... [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhMUYi6GAgM&w=420&h=315]
Super slooooooooooow round here so let's bring it down a notch...way down a notch. Is there a speed slower than 33 for a turntable? Like Sabbath that was supposed to be at 45 but played at 33. All part of the popular resurgence of 80's Saint Vitus-esque HEAVY, doom, sludge, stoner MOOG rock. High Priest of Saturn (great name!) are a three piece outta Norway...like swimming in crude oil ("La Brea Tar Pits" just popped in my head as a great stoner band name). What makes this band stand out is the female vocals, more like a sirens" song and that fucking organ. You can give them a listen/download at their Bandcamp and they have a Reverbnation too. If you dig their groove then keep those two sites in mind as I imagine if they come up with more tunes, that's where they'll end up. The tunes are 10+ minutes, each, so lot's of music, but JUST two tunes, you know what I'm saying...you know what I'm saying. I got their CDR, and was hoping to cheat fate and get a few extra tunes, but no such luck. This guy here at Revolt of the Apes backs me up on their coolness. Here's those two tunes on my own dime, just in case the Apocalypse comes and Bandcamp/Reverbnation go down...
The Protean Towers
Crawling King Snake