H.P. Lovecraft - II (1968)

It's little surprise that the work of H.P. Lovecraft has resonated through metal as much as it has. Preoccupation with otherworldly evil, a whole-hearted willingness to offer point blank depictions of situations meant to dismay anyone with delicate sensibilities, and a concision that can be appreciated by even the most ADD-addled Napalm Death fan. It's a relationship that extends back to the genre's origins (“Behind The Wall Of Sleep” gracing Black Sabbath's first album), and one that has little parallel in any other style.

From what I can gather, however, the first band to lay bare their debt to Lovecraft's work was the California-by-way-of-Chicago band with the rather unsubtle moniker H.P. Lovecraft. The band started as a collaboration between folk session musician George Edwards and classically-trained multi-instrumentalist Dave Michaels, after the owners of Dunwich Records (that's right) suggested the name and morose aesthetic to the members. The band recorded their an eponymous debut album which, while featuring the langorous title track “The White Ship,” was a largely uninspired affair, a melange of fairly standard garage rock and pop psychedelia that was being heavily peddled at the time.

The band relocated to the more hippie-friendly climes of San Francisco in late 1967, and were generally well-received, selling thousands of albums in the Bay Area alone and touring the West Coast heavily. Due to the extensive touring schedule, the band had little time to prepare material for their sophomore release and when it came time to record H.P. Lovecraft II, the band had to rely on studio improvisation, orchestration, and extensive use of trippy sound effects. The resulting album was received far less warmly despite the fact that it demonstrates a band utilizing a variety of strengths to create something that stood apart from the sunnier side of most rock music being produced at the time.

Shame this guy doesn't show up.

Tightly-intertwined vocal harmonies display the two singers' varied backgrounds, songs drop away into eerie sound effects or string sections, brief bits of narration provide a sinister edge. The fact that all the Strawberry Alarm Clock fans of the world didn't get it is a testament to its power. It was an exploration of the soul's darker corners, still psychedelic, but in a way that only occasionally references the flowers and sunshine tropes of the band's contemporaries. Yeah, they sing about love sometimes, and there aren't too many literal references to Lovecraft's literary works, with notable exceptions like “At The Mountains Of Madness,” but the general mood is one of a band reaching for something more unsettling than their contemporaries and succeeding wildly, providing an effective evocation of Lovecraft's writing and a portent of the manner in which his writing would affect similar somber-minded bands for decades to come.

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H.P. Lovecraft - II

Delirium - Zzooouh (1990)

The Netherlands ws rly bumpin in the early 90s. They're overlooked because of (or mistaken for) early Finnish DM heavyweights like Demigod and Demilich and of course the whole Sweden thing, but the Netherlands held their own with Asphyx, Polluted Inheritance, and scores of bands imitating whatever was coming out of Finland and Sweden. Delirium's trade is classic early death/doom in equal measure, evoking Hellhammer, Bolt Thrower, and yeah, Asphyx. The lackluster production, mid-paced tempos, average playing, and guitar 4 beginner riffs will alienate the more myopic metal fans among us; to the discerning consumer, however, the songs speak for themselves, stand out from one another (more than can be said for most DM coming outta the Netherlands these days -- lookin' at you, Hail of Bullets) and combine to create a massively destructive death/doom juggernaut. No face melting here; just demon hordes impaling you slowly on creosote-slicked ship masts. Bonus points for the logo nod to Candlemass. Official certified lost classic status. DL OR DIE.

make em say zzooouh

Divine Empire - Doomed to Inherit (2000)

I came across this thrashy slab of Floridian death at Bookmans about two years ago. I didn't know that it was a Malevolent Creation offshoot. I didn't even know it was death metal, I surmised as such from the cover, but didn't know for sure. I bought it cuz it had a cool cover, which is a pretty good shopping method for death metal. I figured it would be some C grade death from Poland or whatever. While it loaded on my computer it checked it out on Metal Archives, and found out they're made up of ex members of Malevolent Creation. Once I gave it a listen, it turned out it was not C grade death but solid B grade death/thrash.

Malevolent Creation is one of my favorite Floridian death metal bands, haven't listened to much of their newer stuff, but fuck me if Retribution don't kick a ton of ass.

Divine Empire may not be Malevolent C back in '92, but then again no one is. Doomed to Inherit is an adequate substitute. Its not as good as the Pepsi to Malevolent's Coke, but it ain't Diet Malevolent Creation either. Divine Empire is a bit thrashier, has some cool melodic leads and some groovy parts. But still, they are never gonna live down their roots in Malevolent Creation.  Jason Blachowicz's vocals are deeper than Brett Hoffman's and a little bit growlier but still he sounds like a human. Lyrically its just as tarded as you would expect a Malevolent Creation offshoot to be. Production is decent, with pretty loud kick drums. 

Bottom line: Doomed to Inherit is some decent and entertaining thrashy death that is able to stand on its own merits. Sure to please, but not to impress

You stay classy, Divine Empire 

Bred and trained to kill, hate begins to grow/No more Mr. Nice Guy, no mercy on your soul

Frozen by Icewinds-Danzig III: How the Gods Kill

Cryptic Winterstroms have enshrouded The North Abyss (Flagstaff) in The Winter of the Ages (about three inches of snow). That means I have to do my legally required "winter" post, as stipulated in the Blogger Terms and Conditions.
I could easily shit out a review of an Immortal, Ulver, Dissection, Old Wainds or almost any other black metal album and fulfill my legal duties. But I'm not gonna do that this year. I'm gonna do a post on the album that most represents cold, freezing and winter to me: Danzig III: How the Gods Kill.

Danzig III doesn't have any songs about winter, coldness or freezing; and its production is quite warm, so why does it make icy shivers run down my back and my hands numb just thinking about it?

For the past two summers I've worked at the campground in the Grand Canyon National Park. I spend most of my time sitting on my ass, taking tourists money and yelling at French "people." It's nice because I get to flirt with hot European chicks and get paid a ton of fuckin money. It sucks because it seems that every hot Euro chick has a faggy Eurotrash boyfriend, I have to talk with fat Americans and French "people".

Last fall I stayed on during the school year and worked weekends at the canyon. Minus "start up costs:" gas, coffee, lunch and Taco Bell, I still had a take home of about $100 a week. The downside? I had to get there. The Grand Canyon is about 75 miles from Flag on US 180 and SR 64, and I figured out I could get from my dorm, gas up and to work in and hour and a half including gassing up and going through the south entrance. That means I was driving at about 80-90mph almost the whole time. At this time my whip was missing a driver's side window. Why didn't I get it fixxxed with the insane $$$ I was earning at the time or with the savings from the summer? Cuz I spent it all on an half stack and a 42" TV and I spent most of my weekly earnings on booze and Mexican food, and I'm a cheap motherfucker.
September and early October weren't so bad, but once it started getting cold round late October it started getting pretty rough. 25°F at 90mph is pretty cold even with the heat cranked in my car; some days I'd have to wait in the office for 30min until my hands were warm enough to type. Couple this with a screaming hangover almost every day and 5 hours of sleep on a good day or 2 hours on a bad one and you got a pretty rough commute.

Where does Danzig III fit in? I can distinctly remember the five cd's I had in the car: Danzig II: Lucifuge, Danzig III, Beheaded-Ominous Bloodline, Kataplexia-Supreme Authority and Thin Lizzy-Jailbreak. Brutal death gets muffled by 90mph wind through the window, I'd listened to Danzig II too many times by the time it started getting cold and I was getting tired of skipping all the crappy tracks on Jailbreak. That meant I was listening to Danzig III a lot, and singing along to keep myself awake. So from now on Danzig III will always be linked with ball shrinking coldness and Icewinds.

Music? Sounds like Danzig, and III is my favorite. If you like him, you already have the album; if you don't like him then you aren't gonna download it.

kinda like a dog w/ seven pupils in its eye/kinda like a madness that refuses to subside

Title Fight 2011: JGD vs. Judge Shredd

VERSUS

The other day, JGD and Judge Shredd came to blows over the merits of Suffocation's 1991 classic Effigy of the Forgotten versus Beheaded's lesser-known Ominous Bloodline. In order to help these gents bury the hatchet once and for all, as IllCon Director of Quality Control, I sanctioned an independentanalysis of the two records. Fortuitously, they lend themselves nicely to comparison. Each peddle a similar vein of technical slam, Beheaded with a decidedly grindy approach and Suffocation with a jazzy one, both have 9 tracks, both fall just shy of the 40 minute mark, etc. So we have our baseline; next we need a rubric. In order to drill down to elements that account for the major genre identifiers, after careful review I selected five criteria: musicianship, production, songs, slamz, and intangibles. Each criterion carries a maximum score of 5. This process enabled me to fairly pit a veritable slam classic against the underdog, a relatively obscure album that earned the Judge's unqualified recommendation: no small praise, mind you.

Before you get started, go grab the Beheaded from the Judge's post.

Now here is Effigy of the Forgotten in case you left yr copy in the car.

Now let's get it.

MUSICIANSHIP - Suffocation 5, Beheaded 3
Both bands posses top-notch rhythmic chug and an uncanny knack for propelling songs with strategic time changes, but Suffocation took this category easily. The solos, flecked with jazz, chromatic scales, and non-Western lines, allow Effigy to tower over Ominous. Throw in tons of whammy dives and pinched harmonics and you've got a recipe for a classic. Ominous' solos on the other hand come off as somewhat limp and were hurt by the fact that they sound like they are played on the same ultra-down-tuned guitars that carry the rhythm. Everything sounds like it was played on the G string which gives it this weird chopped and screwed aspect (that sounds awesome on paper but it's not really). Plus, the drumming. Yeah, they can both play 600 BPM but I'm pretty sure they didn't have drum triggers in '91.

PRODUCTION - Suffocation 4, Beheaded 3

This was comparing apples to oranges. If you're into warm bass tones, chunky drums, analog tape hiss, fat cables, etc., you're voting one way. If you're into the sonic equivalent of crisp lettuce filtered through a hard disk, you're voting another. You can prolly reckon which side I fall on. The Beheaded album has this sort of deathcore sheen that I can't stomach but that could be a matter of personal preference. I'm not about to introduce an argument about analog vs. digital because then the real nerds will come out the woodwork. But I will agree with The Judge about the drum tone: total weirdness (two snares?) that adds heft to each song and kind of rules. They actually got a point just for the drum sound.

SONGS - Suffocation 5, Beheaded 5
I gotta hand it to Beheaded here, they come through with some boss tracks. Tons of variety, interesting time changes, identifiably proggy read of brutal DM, each track is equipped with a good, solid structure and plan. Track-for-track, Beheaded matches Suffocation's impeccable ability to make a fairly proscriptive genre compelling.

SLAMZ - Suffocation 4, Beheaded 5

Before yr all WTF DUDE this was a controlled scientific study so it's a FACT. Please hold your questions for the end. This victory was enabled by the aforementioned drum tone and, indeed, learning at the left hand of the genre masters, Suffocation. This was a controversial category because, overall, Ominous Bloodline slams harder. HOWEVER, the slamingest track on Effigy, "Infecting the Crypt," slams harder than the slamingest track on Ominous Bloodline, "Rooted in Profundity."

INTAGIBLES - TIE
+1 to Beheaded for being from Malta. There is something to be said for conjuring abstract, abrasive DM in the Mediterranean vs. doing your thing in Long Island. +1 to Suffo for overall weirdness (jazz scales, eastern melodies), ideas, and variety. +1 to Beheaded for getting the job done with just 4 commandbros instead of 5. +1 to Suffo for artwork.

FINAL SCORE: Suffocation 20, Beheaded 18

In conclusion, Mullen and co. FTW. However, Beheaded is nipping at their heals with a solid effort. A classic, maybe not, but definitely worth your attention. That score is way closer than what I predicted going into this experiment. So kiss and make up, JGD and Judge Shredd, you're both winners.

BONUS :-O

Since we're sharing our fav brutal DM albums from weird Eurozone nations, I present you with 1997's Union Carbide by the Czech Republic's Garbage Disposal. This album rips on all fronts: slamz, skillz, songz, intangiblez. Vocals take the Demilich/Wormed approach you've been getting a lot of here at IllCon lately and add a hypnotic dimension. Bass work is rad and the overall highlight on the album, which is unusual in metal. When they bring the bass to the front of the mix they drape it in this Alice in Chains chorus effect which makes me nostalgic for the mid-90s. A couple tracks fall into a Coffins-esque death/doom plod which provides relief from all the face-pummeling slam. I dunno, just download the feckin' thing, yiz cunt.

Garbage Disposal - Union Carbide

In the Woods... the Forgotten Woods

It's official! The rainy season has begun here on the North Coast of California. Harvest season has now evolved into trimming season. Expect periodic showers leading to constant rain, mostly gray skies, rare sun, cold wind, and bitchy people complaining about the weather for the next 7 months. Oh joy!
Yes folks, the days of moderately warm temperatures during the day and cool yet tolerable temperatures during the night have come to pass. Shit, even I woke up this morning freezing my ass off! In fact, turning on the heater this morning set off the smoke alarm! Of course, it doesn't help that there's a god-damned smoke alarm in every friggin' room of this apartment. There's even one in the garage down below! WTF?! Silly landlords...

Well, shit on a shingle!
So much for going outside today I guess.

As a result of this dismal weather and in part due to procrastinating working on an assignment for one of my classes (I have had a serious case of 'senioritis' as of late), I have stumbled across an old, rare gem (or two) that I often overlook. Apparently I have been rediscovering these "gems" recently, beginning with this and this. I also blame alcohol for my lack of motivation to do what I should be doing (which is studying of course) as opposed to digging through old albums and giving them a spin or two. Seemingly, this has been a regular occurrence of mine as of late. Shit, I really must have a bad case of senioritis...

Forgotten Woods' As The Wolves Gather is as crucial to the Norwegian Black Metal scene as is Mayhem's Deathcrush or Emperor's In the Nightside Eclipse, in my opinion at least (you can argue with me later as I don't feel like arguing with you about it at the moment).
Upon finishing listening to As The Wolves Gather, I wandered off the beaten track and began listening to another rare gem, In The Woods... Heart of the Ages. Both bands are relatively obscure to most, especially in the U.S., and both provide a unique glimpse into an often overlooked part of the Norwegian Black Metal scene when bands such as Mayhem, Immortal, and Emperor were pushing the boundaries and becoming more extreme in their song writing. Yes, they both have a noticeable Burzum influence but they
also possess something entirely different. Fans of early Enslaved, Borknagar, and Ulver take note! Both albums came out in 1994 and 1995 respectively and provide a refreshing and experimental approach to the then floundering black metal scene. Both are a breath of fresh air in light of the drama that encapsulated much of Norway and Sweden during the early to mid-90s. To me, black metal doesn't necessarily have to be intense or evil sounding. It can still have atmosphere and life without losing its grim and dark appeal aesthetically. For example, look at early Satyricon, Arcturus, and Ulver...

I know some of you out there probably have heard either one or both of these albums but in the event that you have not, I encourage you to check them out if you have not done so already. As a result of all this dismal, cold, wet weather we are experiencing, and since going out for a walk in the woods is not really an option at present, these two releases are a fitting listen!

Download Here
Buy Here and Here

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Metallum/Last.FM

TIAMAT - SUMERIAN CRY (1990)

Believe it or not, there was a time when TIAMAT was relevant. It was a time before this:



Or this:



Just to dispel any unnecessary speculation, that time was 1990. The relevant album in question was indeed their Swedeath opus Sumerian Cry, which, for the record (no pun intended) was the first full-length to be recorded at Sunlight Studios in Stockholm (Left Hand Path, No Canonization, and Dark Recollections were all recorded there in the following four months). So believe it or not, this horrible band was once really good and actually kind of important in the overall history of Swedish Death Metal. Weird, right?

Maybe we'll talk about Treblinka at some point, too. Maybe not.

Download HERE
Purchase HERE

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