Torche - Meanderthal (2008)

Most likely due its lack of accessibility, metal doesn't get a whole lot of attention on this blog. Of course we don't just dismiss it as a universally insignificant genre like some ignorant, pompous fruitcakes, but there are a lot of great metal bands making great albums out there that deserve some attention. Which brings me to Torche, a nice little sludge outfit from Miami. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term 'sludge' in music, it's a kind of jacked-up grunge. It's also highly accessible. If you're issue with metal is the hideous vocals or the overly fast-paced rhythm, then here's your fix.

Meanderthal, Torche's second album, follows the trend set by their self-titled debut (and later EPs) as being a fast-paced record with short tracks for the bulk of the album followed by a more lengthy songs towards the end of the record. Opening track 'Triumph of Venus' opens with a bang, as a metal album should, with heavily distorted guitars and banging drums. An intense instrumental, it does well to grab the attention of the listener. For metal-wary listeners this might not be an instant favorite, but it's only 1:44 and the album takes a much different tone with the following track 'Grenades', a much slower-paced song with melodic guitars and vocals to match. And this becomes an ongoing theme for the album, varying tempos from song to song, which works well because the songs are so short. And the longer songs on the album tend to combine the fast-paced nature of the shorter songs with long solos or bridges, which should be a pleaser for the more metal-oriented fans.

Do you like Grunge? If so, then you might like Torche. Do you like 'Stoner rock' like kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age? If so, then you might like Torche. Do you like metal? If so, then you very well might like Torche. And if you aren't a fan of the typical metal vocalist, well this might just be all the more sweeter.

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The Heads - Under The Stress Of A Headlong Dive (2006)

Straddling Stooges-inspired fury and droning, Hawkwind-esque deep space exploration, the Heads churn out a psych-punk maelstrom that answers the rhetorical question “What would Sonic Youth sound like if it sported a massive set of hairy balls?” The Heads bash out careening, catchy heaviness on “Earth/Sun,” the conga-driven “pass, the void” and “Your Monkey Is My Master,” Factor in some loopy, mind-warping psychedelic interludes and a couple of thoroughly engaging extended freakouts (the nearly 20-minute epic “Stodgy” and “Creating in the Eternal New Is Always Heavy”) and you have a quality album that stands on its own.


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Boris - Akuma no Uta (2003)

Boris is a brutal delicacy, that rare concoction that does all things for all people. If everyone knew it and consumed it in extremis, though, it would stop being a delicacy, right? Oh well, everyone else's loss. _Akuma No Uta_ is a drop-dead masterpiece, from the punishing drone of the opener to the gong-inititiated reprise of the intro on the last song, the title track (translated as "The Evil Song.") They can do it all and just about better than all the competition:
--Sludge? I don't hear anyone who can blend a blaring punk melody with sludge in such a truly sickly-sweet manner as Boris does on their upbeat tracks;
--Drone? To say the least, but that doesn't stop them from rocking like mad when they choose to push their own boundaries.
--Psychedelic? Believe me, when you turn _Akuma No Uta_ up as loud as you need to, there are few more mind-and-body-altering experience than this one (really your body churns!!!);
--Punk? Yeah . . . we can call this band punk as fuck. To those who like their music in boxes and think that punk as fuck means the latest Exploited retread, well, Boris is too punk for you. For the rest of us, Boris may be the band who can cash in on the late, great Refused's promise of _The Shape of Punk to Come_. Like the Refused, Boris takes any style and makes it their own in their awe-inspiring music machine (minus the jazziness of the Nordic screamers, but plus the sludge, drone, psychedelia, etc. . . .). Also like the Refused, Boris are forward-looking, taking the listener on a gleeful death ride that leaves you absolutely free. It doesn't get more punk than that, kids.
When you take into account that Boris are Japanese and rock harder and better than pretty much any of us in the Anglo world, it's clear to see where our eyes should be turning to discover where the future of rock lay. I realize that I've talked them up more than I've reviewed the songs, but words can hardly describe. I'll just say that it compares 100% favorably with their newest opus _Pink_, just more succinct. Oh, did I mention they play their instruments to within an inch of their literal existences? (I don't think I've heard an amp abused as much as on _Akuma No Uta_). Wata is one wicked, original, and visceral guitarist. I could go on and on, but I'm just gonna let you buy this album; wait for it to come in the mail; put it on your stereo's highest setting (jack up the bass!!!); and feel your perception, and hence your life, change.

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Current 93 - Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain (2009)

Through his musical project, Current 93, David Tibet has become known over the years for his visionary songs of the apocalypse. Perhaps inspired by his split-EP with Om, Tibet has embraced a much heavier sound than his previous work, echoing both the genres of doom metal and stoner metal. This new direction that Tibet has taken his band in has also created their most unique, unpredictable, and powerful release yet. Tibet sings of Aleph (an Adam-like character), murder, and destruction as a huge cast of musicians and vocalists create a backdrop worthy of his vision.

The lineup for this album proves to be one of the best yet for the band . Layers and layers of guitars, feedback, and distorted vocals play while Bill Breeze’s viola and John Contreras’ cello sound almost regal amidst the grinding fuzz that the rest of the group are pouring out. Doom metal riffs and face-melting blasts of guitar solos take center stage later in the album. This is probably the first time I've felt like air guitaring to a Current 93 song. Intense, exhausting, and filled with emotion, Tibet proves his genius once again with Aleph.

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