New Noise Magazine Issue #29

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eath metal legends Obituary have the interstellar knack of picking you up from the depths of nothing and delivering you straight into the pit of absolution. That is, they get after it with such old-school vigor that there’s not much your body can do but absorb the manifestation of pure death metal fury into each and every crevice. Since forming in 1984 as Executioner and transitioning into Obituary in 1988, Tampa’s finest extreme metal outfit has informed, slashed, raged, and carved the lexicon of death metal from here to Saturn. They have two new studio songs out, paired with 11 blistering live tracks on their newest release, Ten Thousand Ways To Die—released Oct. 14 on Relapse Records—and have just wrapped up recording their 10th studio album, due to implode in spring 2017.

time we have ever handed an album off and not been there in the room for the mix, so this is going to be fun and interesting for sure. We’ll work with Joe on a daily basis; he’ll send us mixes as he moves along, and we’ll listen and give him our ideas and opinions and everything.”

“We just finished the new recording a few days ago, and now, it’s in the hands of Joe Cincotta from Full Force Studio,” drummer Don Tardy notes.

“It’ll be produced while we’re on the ‘Battle of the Bays’ European Tour.

Joe’s also our live sound engineer in America, so he’s been with us a long time and really knows what we want and what to do to make this album absolutely crushing. This is the first

Ten Thousand Ways To Die is Obituary’s first live record, and it simply destroys. Capturing the band during their 2015 “Inked in Blood” world tour, the album is a punishing and artful assemblage by a band who have continuously defined originality.

Track after track of doom lulls, thrash culls, and dimensionally scorching visions, the album harnesses the essence and magic of one of the most

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“The new album is extra special, because me and [guitarist] Trevor [Peres] wrote the meat and potatoes of most of the songs, but we added an extra slice this time with Ken Andrews, [lead guitarist since 2012],” Tardy adds. “Ken stepped in and contributed and wrote a couple songs with us, and it really raised the bar and ‘stirred up the Kool-Aid’ quite nicely. I’m still blown away with what we created here and can’t wait to see what the Obituary fans think. Hang on to your ass!”

crucial and important bands in the history of extreme metal. There’s no one like Obituary. Live, the band are simply beyond.

“We’re a ‘live’ band,” Tardy enthusiastically admits. “Always have been. It’s fun writing and recording albums, and good producers can make just about any decent band sound great on a recording, but to be able to throw down live night after night and be tight and nearly flawless—that’s the real challenge. These live songs were recorded while we were on the last U.S. Tour.

We were fortunate enough to have Joe’s full Pro Tools rigs out with us, so we recorded nearly every night and decided to grab a song from each show so fans can hear the sound difference night after night to get an idea how we are on the road. I think it will make it very interesting for the fans that are interested in that aspect. These songs and production are 100 percent real-time. What you hear is the band and Joe mixing on the fly. No triggers, no post editing or mixing—just the rednecks and the crowd,” he laughs.

Obituary exist in the nether region where honesty, pure headbanging, and raw art coalesce. They’re dark yet luminescent, serious but hilarious, and they perpetuate a distinct flavor from the southern breezes of Tampa that

is both perplexing and straight up.

Their specialness and longevity can be attributed to their open and natural tendencies. You can feel their enduring spirit through the music they create: caring, brutal, and perpetually psyched.

“I think my magic, personally, is to not think too much,” Tardy says. “Just have fun and go for it. Trevor and I have been writing songs together for over 30 years, and we never try too hard. We just go with the flow and let the riffs and beats find their way into our brains. It’s not rocket science, and Lord knows we don’t try to write the most technical songs in the world. We just drink a little, burn a little, and jam a little. If something comes out of it, great; if not, there’s always tomorrow—we hope.”

“Music is medication for me and most people,” Tardy concludes. “Life would suck without it—that’s for sure. I love music, all styles of it. There’s a psychedelic element in Obituary, as it moves people in a positive way and allows them to let go, forget about life’s issues for a brief moment, and just enjoy the most moving element on earth: music.”

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FQP shines a light on the joys and heartaches that lie at the intersection of the LGBTQIA+ community and the world of alternative music. While queer representation is often refracted through the prism of normative curiosities and concerns, FQP features queer voices saying whatever they want, however they want. Don’t fear the realness.

FEATURING JULIEN BAKER T

hough her quietly monumental debut for 6131 Records, Sprained Ankle—a collection of nine songs that feel dreamy while soberly confronting hard realities—came out in 2015, 2016 has felt like The Year of Julien Baker. In February, the Memphis singer-songwriter with punk rock roots recorded a haunting Audiotree Live session, then followed it up with widespread touring and a slew of powerful interviews illuminating the same earnestness, introspection, and charm that enraptured fans on her album. Baker is now regarded by many as a de facto representative for several oft-invisibilized identities within the queer community—youth, Southerners, people of faith—but rather than reject what can sometimes become an unfair and dehumanizing burden, she has chosen to accept this calling with wisdom, grace, and an omnipresent self-awareness.

ON WHAT KEEPS HER UP AT NIGHT

Honestly, this interview has been keeping me up as of late. Questions like these make me consider my own responsibility in the world as a person and an artist, which is something I think about and struggle with daily.

I’m extremely aware of the blessings I’ve been afforded, and I want to make sure that I am intentional about having an attitude of humility and gratitude, in hopes that being constantly mindful of those things will enable me to return the good I have received to someone else.

There’s this fear that despite the gifts and privilege I’ve been given, I might squander it by acting selfishly. Most people are familiar with that existential concern that they’re insignificant

or have no influence at all, sure, but I think what troubles me sometimes is thinking that, of whatever small power or influence I may have, I am using it incorrectly. When given the choice between an attitude of resignation or futility and the contrary optimism that inspires us to try, I would want to choose the latter, but sometimes, realizing the practical difficulty of that task can cripple a person if they don’t have perspective. That’s one reason why it’s crucial to me to have a support system of people who remind me that there’s more learning in our mistakes than in our successes and help me welcome obstacles as opportunities to improve.

ON SUPPORT SYSTEMS

Ryan Azada, who I have known and toured with since I was in high school, Cam [Boucher] from Sorority Noise, Brian Vernon of Smith7 [Records], the members of Forrister—each of them act as a tether to reality and offer insight that helps me step outside myself or feel less alone, because they all share in similar anxieties and worries.

That support is vital for anyone. Just recently, in Austin, I went to see Lucy Dacus’ show and ended up in the back of their sprinter van saying, “I’m having an existential crisis,” which sounds insane, but knowing there are people who can empathize with those feelings comforts a person merely by being understood. Even the crew I tour with, James Goodson and Emma Cleek, are perpetually understanding in a way that personifies grace more than any theoretical principle could, and I am thankful for them every day.

ON RADICAL SELF-LOVE

Mary Lambert, a musician and poet I

admire for also being a vocally queer person of faith—and who is also one of my wisest friends—made the observation to me once that love for others has to include self-love, that compassion for the world must have compassion and forgiveness of the self as a prerequisite. That’s something that was so meaningful to me and that I’m still learning. Becoming preoccupied with our own failure or inadequacy prevents us from acknowledging our potential for good. We cannot display mercy or kindness to others that we do not believe we also deserve; we cannot tell others that they are worthy of love we do not allow ourselves. What is more encouraging than a person who appears to have it together and do everything 100 percent right always is a person who is vulnerable enough about challenges to admit them and recognize them as catalysts for growth.

I think that when we address these things to each other, we end up realizing our faults—or what we perceive as faults—are not faults at all, just elements of our humanity. That’s something especially relevant when

discussing marginalized communities and destigmatizing the conversation around mental health, sexuality, gender, or abuse. When there is so much shame and guilt attached by society to those things, having the bravery to be candid about those parts of our identity is a revolutionary action. Existing as a person who is queer or trans or struggling with mental health or a survivor of abuse and having the courage to be vocal about it is itself an act of protest to what is standard, and it’s radically influential to greater social consciousness. Because of that, I believe that the most important way in which we demonstrate love to others has to begin with radical love of self, that empowers one to be fearlessly and unapologetically oneself.

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through the recording,” Donnelly says.

“Mike had recorded our song ‘Blooming’ for a compilation earlier that year, and we were in love with the way he mixed us, so we asked him to try to replicate that. He did a great job making it sound lo-fi and dark, but still clear and crisp.”

The trio—rounded out by bassist Chris Copelin—took their garage-fi, postpunk, post-goth enigma on the road this summer. “Discovering the Holland Project in Reno was amazing,” Donnelly says. “It is such an incredible space that provides an art and music scene for Reno youth with a transparency that is really, really admirable. We especially connected to what they do there because Chaz and I both grew up in semi-isolated desert towns without much of a music community or strong counter culture.

Playing a lunchtime show at the Rock Camp For Girls in Portland, [Oregon], was another favorite part of tour.”

DANCING NOT CRYING- SCULPTURE CLUB

I N T E R V I E W W I T H CHAZ COSTELLO AND MADISON DONNELLY BY TIM ANDERL

When the going gets tough, the tough write albums—and sometimes on those albums, they lament, “I want to be ordinary.” Fortunately, the debut album from Salt Lake City’s Sculpture Club, A Place To Stand, is anything but ordinary.

“Mental health is something that is always present in the lives of people who deal with it,” guitarist and vocalist Chaz Costello says. “So, in that sense, it constantly For creatives, imagination is paramount when producing compelling art. For Earwig frontman Lizard McGee, imagination does the driving, even on a subconscious level. “I began working on Pause for the Jets in 2012,” he says. “I had been keeping a dream journal that cataloged my adventures to save the Multiverse and find the Enigma Guitar.” As a result of his vivid dreams, McGee decided to pen an as-of-yet unfinished novella called “My Own Secret Service,” which “details the origins of Earwig, the early days and our current adventures as we battle to save the Multiverse from a secret society of invading demons who occupy a parallel dimension.”

When he began writing the songs that became Pause for the Jets—which was released Oct. 14 via LFM Records and Anyway Records—he realized they were all inspired by and fit into the storyline of the novella.

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shapes songwriting and the creative process in general. However, we didn’t set out to showcase that with this album; it’s more of an accidental documentation of what was happening in my life over the last few years. It wasn’t until everything was finished and we started putting the track list together that it hit me. I was like, ‘Damn, I can see and hear myself falling apart.’ That may sound melodramatic, but that is kind of what we do as a band: melodrama.”

Storyline aside, in 2017, the Ohiobased outfit will have been producing catchy power-pop for 25 years. Corresponding with their debut releases was the birth of a recent addition to the Earwig lineup. “1992 was the year that James McGee was born,” he adds. “James is my daughter, and she sings and plays keyboards in the current incarnation of Earwig.” McGee also welcomed another collaborator to the fold for a barn-burner duet. “I was a fan of Lydia Loveless’ recent albums,” he says. “When I wrote the song ‘Wasted On You,’ I envisioned it as a duet. Lydia’s was the first voice I heard singing the other part, because I was playing her records at home.”

While the lineup may have seen some changes and additions over the years, the band’s pursuit of power-pop anthems has remained unwavering.

“Earwig has always had a natural

According to drummer Madison Donnelly, Mike Fuchs captured that melodrama perfectly while recording and mixing A Place To Stand, which was released in May via Deli Boy Records & Tapes and Diabolical Records and debuts on vinyl via Cercle Social Records in December.

“Mike comes to our shows all the time and really understood the ‘dance to keep from crying’ vibe we have going on, so we trusted him to help us communicate that

PHOTO: RYAN MILLER

Sculpture Club plan to hit the road again once Donnelly returns from a semester in Sweden where she is studying furniture design. “We are planning a West Coast tour next April that is based around the Out From The Shadows postpunk festival in Portland,” Donnelly shares. “We also have a Midwest, East Coast, and Canadian tour planned for spring 2017 with 20XX in the works.”

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SAVING THE MULTIVERSE- EARWIG

INTERVIEW BY VOCALIST/GUITARIST LIZARD MCGEE BY TIM ANDERL progression,” McGee shares. “Whether that meant members leaving or joining the band, or releasing albums that veered from the norm. The power-pop, guitar orientation of the band is the genre that we feel comfortable with. I write most of the songs on guitar, and I drive the writing and the direction of the band. That is the genre that speaks to me.”

According to McGee, the band are anxious to road test these songs on tour. “We will be touring in 2017, and we’ll hopefully be playing the East Coast and the South,” he says. “We already have shows planned in North Carolina and New York City.”

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Based out of Toronto, Ontario, Dilly Dally are relatively new on the scene, though their history as musicians runs deep. Their two guitarists, Katie Monks and Liz Ball, met as teenagers and have been playing together since high school.

While writing their first full-length, Sore, they lost their drummer, which left them “feeling pretty discouraged,” Monks lets on. However, they pressed on and added Ben Reinhartz on drums, as well as Jimmy Tony on bass. “There was a sense of urgency at that time, like, ‘OK, let’s do this for real now,’” she remembers. With a full lineup settled in, Dilly Dally wrapped up Sore and released it in late 2015 on Partisan records.

“Usually, I just stick my tongue out and go, ‘Blah blah blah blah’ and air-guitar all sloppy. That’s how I tell people what we sound like,” Monks states. It’s important for a band to have a sense of humor about themselves, and Dilly Dally certainly subscribe to that mentality. When asked

what to expect from their next record, Monks ruminates, “Jesus is gonna love our next record.”

Monks says that Toronto gave Dilly Dally a fairly cold reception and that it took “shoving ourselves in the midst of it all until, eventually, people started to understand what we were about.”

Now, with their first LP a year in the rearview, she reflects that on one hand, “all my fantasies have come true, life

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST AWSTEN KNIGHT BY ANNETTE HANSEN While some bands strive to be artistic and prolific, that drive can often result in music that is less than digestible. Waterparks vocalist and guitarist Awsten Knight feels like the music he writes needs to not only satisfy those creative urges, but also

remain highly infectious. For this Houston, Texas, band, there’s no need to forgo catchiness for artistic integrity. When it comes to balancing the hooks and the art, Knight assures, “We’re merging them like a weird mutant baby.”

Baltimore’s progressive pop rockers Megosh are both smooth and edgy.

They showcase bursts of wicked angular technicality equally with bright and radio-friendly interludes. It’s the sort of thing you wouldn’t think would be a workable template. But, for Megosh, the juxtaposition proves to be their inner fire. The band’s first full-length Apostasy, will hit the masses Dec. 16 via Outerloop Records.

of their sound, when finalized, comes across as both honest and original. At times, you want more progression and metal, but the band ceases and summons you to be patient, mindful, and to listen closely: there’s a plan, an exact direction for ascension. “I think we strive for an element that grabs people—it’s not necessarily pop as a style, it’s more like a pop sensibility,” bassist Derv Polimene says.

“Everyone has a hard time describing our sound: the label, our fans, even us as a band. It’s sort of a mesh of things.”

This sort of open construction has produced a unique take. Megosh combine such opposing variables that the whole

PHOTO: DAVID WALLMAN

Dilly Dally’s sound is candy apples and razorblades. Sweet and juicy with a sharp edge of breathy growls. Monks’ singing style lands somewhere in the intersection of The Muffs’ Kim Shattuck, Bully’s Alicia Bognanno, and Hop Along’s Frances Quinlan. The background music to that saccharine grit has a grungy post-punk airy vibe with heavy percussion and beautiful guitar melodies with piercing leads. It’s certainly an unconventional sound.

HOOKS LIKE DAMN!!!- WATERPARKS

“I think the band’s vastly different influences are what makes us unique,” guitarist and vocalist Josh Grosscup notes.

“We didn’t grow up listening to the same bands and have really built our sound around all of our varying personalities and what inspires each of us individually.”

JESUS CHRIST SUPERFAN- DILLY DALLY

Apostasy runs through breezy melodies, Tesseract and Coheed And Cambria-like progressive alt-metal, post-hardcore energy, and a warm and lush quality that is not unlike, say, an “American Idol” performance. Grosscup mentions Maroon 5 and Michael Jackson—along with Protest The Hero and Mars Volta—as bands the group listen to regularly. However, Megosh incorporate that over-produced,

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST KATIE MONKS BY KAYLA GREET is awesome,” but on the other, “this kinda shit can take a toll on your mental health.” Heavy touring helps them remember to find a balance between those two worlds. After finishing up their lengthy U.S. and Canada run this fall, they’re going straight into writing

mode for their sophomore effort, proving that Dilly Dally are a hardworking band who don’t quite live up to their name.

The singer has a lot of faith in the don’tcall-it-pop-punk sound he and fellow members, guitarist Geoff Wigington and drummer Otto Wood, are cultivating. So much faith that Knight dropped out of college to focus on what he really wanted to achieve. “Plan Bs are cool if you’re ready to not succeed at what you want,” Knight expresses. “Especially with something where the odds are kind of against you anyway. For every band that does well, there’s a thousand that are trying.”

eyes,” Knight says. “I don’t think about it too much, because I feel like I’d get weirded out, but it’s been cool.”

For Waterparks, 2016 has been a breakout year. With the release of their third EP, Cluster, in January, a full run on the Vans Warped Tour this summer, performing at the Reading Festival in the U.K. in August, playing opening slots for both Good Charlotte and Sleeping With Sirens, not to mention releasing their debut full-length, Double Dare, on Nov. 4 through Equal Vision Records, the band have had a lot to process in the last year.

“I’m taking it in my face and mouth and

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Not only is Double Dare a milestone on Waterparks’ growing list of accomplishments, but it’s another marker of the band’s progress in really expanding and improving their songwriting. “[Cluster], to me, was us starting to experiment with [different sounds], and with the album, I kind of knew what I was doing and we just put in tons of weird stuff,” Knight describes. “Everything that’s on the album I’m super, super proud of. All the hooks on these [songs] are like ‘damn.’”

With their passion and irresistible lightheartedness, Waterparks have all the tools to take the world by storm. “I’m so ready for [people] to hear [Double Dare], because they’re going to shit on themselves and the world’s going to be caked in shit,” Knight enthuses. “It’s going to be our fault.”

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MARS VOLTA MEETS MAROON 5- MEGOSH

PHOTO: JONATHAN THORPE

INTERVIEW WITH JOSH GROSSCUP AND DERV POLIMENE BY CHRISTOPHER J. HARRINGTON Maroon 5-corporate sound to their advantage, adding a layering dynamic that obeys their commands and fits their overall paradigm. “This album took a long time to write,” Polimene explains. “There’s no filler songs on this thing. Every song really stands as its own thing. We had a super tough time picking the single.”

“It wasn’t the way most people would pick a single,” Grosscup adds. “We picked the single because of the meanings behind it, the feeling, and the message it contained.”

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NEW NOISE 9

When you build something from the ground up, it’s bound to take on a life of its own, to have a compelling and unique identity. Minneapolis’ Alistair Hennessey have spent years crafting a particular identity. With their excellent debut, The House We Grew Up In—out Nov. 18 via No Sleep Records—the band showcase their impressive, if vulnerable, foundation to the world. Despite the frequent bouts of spine-tingling brilliance, Alistair Hennessey aren’t aiming for a modern, pristine impression. Their sound comes straight from a decade ago, influenced by groups like Thrice, As Cities Burn, and Manchester Orchestra. It’s reflective, volatile, and wondrously captivating.

With The House We Grew Up In, the band wanted to delve deeper into their self-reflective streak. Vocalist Jesse Lynch explains, “We tried really hard to be human, raw. The ethos of the

“It started out like a new frontier, and part of it was [that] we used to be a heavier band, so we could be a little more angry,” he continues. “As I age, I get less angry. I start to appreciate life and become more reflective on myself rather than looking outward.”

“That title has become so all-encompassing to so many facets of our lives,” Lynch says of The House We Grew Up In. “It was some words I wrote down, and we thought it could sum up the whole thing in a really complete way. Once we had that, it started to burn itself. Once we gave it a name, it was alive.”

So, what did Lynch discover about himself and the band when writing? “A big part of what I have learned since before

ENJOYING THE RIDE- GOOD FRIEND

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/BASSIST ADAM CARROLL BY JOHN B. MOORE The title of the debut record from Newcastle-by-way-of-Ireland band Good Friend holds a lot of significance. “‘Ride the Storm’ is a phrase that a close friend of ours used to say when things got tough,” vocalist and bassist Adam Carroll says. “He used to have it printed above the door of his bedroom so that For years, it seems as though the term “progressive” has been considered a dirty word in the metal world. It has come to be associated with the djent movement, accompanied by the usage of Axe-Fx and extended range guitars. However, ONI vocalist Jake Oni thinks of the word in a different way, one which seems like a more practical application of the term. The Canadian band’s newest record, Ironshore— out Nov. 25 via Metal Blade Records—is a perfect example of what Oni describes as “a style, not a genre of music.”

“There’s so many ‘progressive’ bands, and they all sound totally different,” he continues. “The only constant is normally odd time signatures, longer songs, and mixing genres using other influences outside of metal. You wouldn’t say Tool or Rush or Between The Buried And Me sounded the same, but they’re all progres-

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LIFE GOES ON- ALISTAIR HENNESSEY

band has always been a means of discovery. Lyrically, it’s always been like a church: you go there to talk about the thing that you don’t really know about.”

he saw it every day and every night when he came home. With the band, we started to adopt it when things got tough, and it really became a banner for us throughout the writing of this album.”

Ride the storm they did, and the result is a stellar punk rock LP that sive.” Oni has a valid point, punctuated

by Ironshore. The record sounds progressive, but it also has elements that make it groove extremely hard. That’s why he identifies “The Only Cure” as his favorite track. “It’s the bounciest song and has so much groove,” he notes. “Oh, and it has [Lamb Of God vocalist] Randy Blythe on it. If you asked me when I was a kid if he’d ever sing on a song for my band, I would have laughed.”

Oni’s fantasy became a reality when producer Josh Wilbur hooked him up with Blythe, who he says also named the record. There’s clear influence from early 2000s metal on Ironshore, as well as from some of the greatest prog band of the new millennium. However, Oni doesn’t spend time thinking about this at length. “‘Barn Burner’ has death metal influences, there’s a song with cool percussion in-

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST JESSE LYNCH BY NICHOLAS SENIOR we started writing the record: life is just going to keep happening. It’s leaving with or without you,” he reflects. “The house that we grew up in, we’re still in it. For us, the band is a good metaphor for that.” The House We Grew Up In is the type of record that is multilayered:

come for the hair-raising post-hardcore, but stay to watch the band lay their souls bare. It’s a haunting listen that grabs the listener and doesn’t let go easily, even after it’s over.

so impressed Red Scare Industries founder Toby Jeg that he offered to put out the record in the U.S. Ride the Storm hits shelves on Nov. 25 via Red Scare and Germany’s Gunner Records. “I have a recollection of meeting Toby before we actually met in an official capacity, but I have known him since my teens,” Carroll says. “I was on the metro in Chicago, and Toby was in the same carriage and pointed out my Lawrence Arms ‘flappy’ tattoo and said, ‘Nice tattoo,’ before exiting the train. I hands down think it was him; he isn’t so sure.”

me, but we had a great tour and kept in touch since.”

The two met again—or possibly for the first time—years later. “We met when my previous band, Under Stars & Gutters, supported The Lawrence Arms on their U.K. and Irish tour, and Toby was tour managing,” Carroll recalls. “We met the guys and Toby in Heathrow Airport.

They came out of the terminal, and we were standing there holding the bumper from the van, as we had crashed on the way in. How they didn’t turn and run then is beyond

PHOTO: JONATHAN THORPE PHOTO: HRISTO SHINDOV

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Good Friend began work on their record even before Red Scare and Gunner were onboard to release it.

“We were determined for this album to come out with a label or no label behind it,” Carroll says. “We believed in it and went for it. We worked in bars and in warehouses and raised the money to record it ourselves, and we did. We worked long hours, we lived off pennies, but we got it finished.

Thankfully Toby and Gunner believe in it as much as we do.”

The band would love to tour the U.S. before the end of next year, but there are no concrete plans in place yet. “We have the album release party and a lot of touring throughout the U.K. and Europe,” Carroll says.

“Hopefully, the States too at some stage, and [then], continue writing the next record. So, lots of German craft beer, lots of miles, and lots of smiles.”

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PROGRESSIVE MINDSET- ONI

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST JAKE ONI BY SPENCER SNITIL fluences, there’s stuff almost influenced by classical,” he recounts. “It’s a lot. Like I said, though, that’s my definition of prog.

We don’t want to make the same album twice, and down the line, you might hear something totally different from us.”

ONI’s future looks bright, as a very busy fall will hopefully open doors to great

tours in 2017. They have some serious talent, know exactly where they are, and don’t care what direction they head in.

ONI are a band who will soon wave the progressive metal flag for fans the world over, and rightfully so. They’re well on their way to prog superstardom, as they should be.

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The sorrowful post-punks in Soft Kill have endured a lot in recent years. Especially, frontman Tobias V.H. Years of battling drug addiction, homelessness, and stints in prison took its toll on V.H.’s creative outlet, forcing Soft Kill onto the back burner after their 2011 debut album, An Open Door. After relocating from Portland, Oregon, recruiting new members, and grabbing life by the horns, V.H. and Soft Kill bounced back with 2015’s Heresy. “Due to ups and downs and conflicting emotions towards the music scene, I was pretty much done when I moved back East a couple years ago,” he explains. “Somewhere in that pocket of time, we collectively demoed a good deal of material that didn’t really sound like anything else we’d done before and, at the very least, seemed worth pursuing.”

That’s where Choke—the band’s gloriously haunting new album, released Nov. 4 on Profound Lore—comes in. Choke finds Soft Kill reaching new sonic highs while exploring dark and stormy emotional lows.

Songs like “Frankie,” “Wake Up,” and “On the Inside” conjure infectious and evocative post-punk in the vein of icons like The Cure, Joy Division, and V.H.’s heroes, The Chameleons—whose Mark Burgess guests on the record—executed with Soft Kill’s authentically tortured delivery.

The album also benefits from the band’s new collaborative writing approach.

“I wrote all of Heresy besides ‘Violent Mind,’” V.H. says, “which was our first time writing a song as a band. That opened up the door to [guitarist] Conrad [Vollmer], [synth player] Owen [Glendower], and I collaborating a lot—just jamming at O’s house—and we came up with more than half the album through that process.” As for the band’s dreamy new sound? “The guitar tone is thanks to Fender, Gretsch, and Peavey,” V.H. shares. “We always joked about doing an upbeat pop album as a follow-up to Heresy, and I don’t think we succeeded, but we definitely scratched the surface.”

OPEN AND HONEST- MOVE HOME

INTERVIEW WITH T.J. GADDIS, MAT THEW ELLIS, AND GARY ADKINS BY TIM ANDERL Losing a vocalist can be a blessing or a curse for any band; either it signals their imminent death or it offers them an opportunity for rebirth and redirection. In the case of Columbus, Ohio, emo quintet Move Home, the latter was true. “Bringing T.J. Gaddis

into the fold on vocals has been incredible,” guitarist Matthew Ellis beams. “He stepped in with lyrics [and] melodies we could all get behind.”

You wouldn’t be alone in thinking Delaware death metal barbarians Scorched were birthed in a distant past. They play with a sort of refined darkness that conjures the morbid sounds of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Except, these guys are young. Their first full-length, the horror behemoth, Echoes of Dismemberment—out Nov. 25 on Unspeakable Axe Records—is a crawling nightmare through shifting dimensions of ripping death and doom, complete with John Carpenter-ish interludes. The album plays like the soundtrack to a new Clive Barker film.

Scorched drink from the same death metal fountain of youth as bands like Death, Morbid Angel, Incantation, and Dismember, churning out tempo-twisting, progressive mingling, spine-tingling wickedness. Their form is rigid, and both past and present luminaries inspire their tunneling and eye-splattering patterns. “We’re not old-school, we’re all in our 20s,” Kapa laughs, “but old-school death metal is definitely a huge influence on us. It’s just our preference. There are plenty of new bands that we draw influence from, but depending on whom you talk to, they may be considered oldschool as well.”

“Basically, we all love horror,” vocalist Matt Kapa notes. “From the very beginning, we planned to have horror play a big part in Scorched. Everything from the interludes to the lyrics to the samples—it all just sets that mood. We actually had a few nights of writing lyrics while watching horror films.”

“From the start, he ‘got’ what we were trying to do,” drummer Gary Adkins

Echoes of Dismemberment is a mature work of art. There’s an order and a refined concentration that break through each punishing song, and the album collapses into a riff cacophony filled with intelligent maneuvers and dazzling technicality. It’s painterly and grim, but at the same time, abstract and sunny—a

UPBEAT POP DIRGE- SOFT KILL PHOTO: SAM GHERKE

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST TOBIAS V.H. BY JAMES ALVAREZ Despite their great sonic achievement with Choke, it’s still not all fun and games in Soft Kill land. The dark underbelly of life still manages to infect and inspire V.H., even in this forward-moving chapter of his life. “[Choke’s] title is in reference to my friend, Dominick, hanging himself,” V.H.

reveals. “I played the all-too-stereotypical role of ignoring his calls that day because I was too depressed to deal with someone else’s shit. The record as a whole is just about how fragile we are as people and how quickly the world can collapse around you.”

adds. “I think his melodies fit the songs very well, and his lyrics are insightful, open, and honest. I like how he lays it all out there with the words he writes.”

While the band still deliver the same spring-loaded melodies, mammoth Midwestern emo guitar heroics, and rattling rhythms that they adopted as their calling card early on, the addition of Gaddis on vocals has lent an earnestness and spirituality not present before.

of ‘Palaver’ was born out of a desire for meaningful and fulfilling interactions with others,” Gaddis shares. “No one should be afraid to be open and honest. I’d much rather discuss views on life with someone than whether or not it will rain today.”

With Gaddis at the helm, the band marked their rebirth by recording their Spare Nothing EP—the followup to their 2015 debut album, And So It Begins—with former Hawthorne Heights guitarist Micah Carli at his Popside Studio. “Micah is an incredible talent,” Ellis says. “He has such an amazing ear for our sound [and] songs.

He truly pushes you to get the best take.”

The band have already released a performance video for the EP’s first single, “Palaver,” which was shot in an aircraft hangar in central Ohio. “The idea

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The band released the EP Oct. 7 via the Columbus label, We Want Action, and debuted the record at a show with Hawthorne Heights the same night. “It was a sweaty night of loud guitars and heart-pounding singalongs. Just like every night should be,” Ellis recalls.

While the band have lately been focused on a string of regional weekend runs, they have plans to release a second music video for the song “Completion Providence.” “From there, we plan to enter the studio in early spring to start recording a second EP that is tentatively call Perception/Reality,” Adkins says.

“I think the future [of Move Home] is

looking very bright,” Gaddis concludes. .....

DON'T CALL IT A THROWBACK- SCORCHED

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST MATT KAPA BY CHRISTOPHER J. HARRINGTON death metal album to rage hard to. “Our drummer lives in Ohio and tours most of the year with his other band, Homewrecker,” Kapa explains. “[Guitarist] Steve Fuchs and I wrote most of the riffs over a six-month period until we were able to get together as a full band. We only had a week before the studio to get all the songs structured, so it was a bit of a crunch, but when it’s time to buckle

down, we all seem to have our best ideas.

It forces us to basically live and breathe the material.”

Every breath is fully realized on Echoes of Dismemberment: an album that pulls and extracts your inner mind, juggling it like puddy, violently whipping it around the multiverse, and tossing it into the nexus of horror. So killer.

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NEW NOISE 11

In a world that is so contentious and chaotic, particularly with the impending presidency of Trump, it is easy to get both disheartened and depressed. The Raging Nathans singer and guitarist Josh Goldman—who is also an occasional touring member of The Queers and a full-time member of The Dopamines—understands the importance of maintaining authenticity and a sense of humor during even the darkest days. This modus operandi is apparent in The Raging Nathans’ pop punk output, particularly a recent split 7” with Wonk Unit for Rad Girlfriend Records—the label Goldman runs with his wife, Brandi—and in his boasting about The Nathans, who he says were once voted the second best punk band in Dayton, Ohio, by a local website.

“We recorded the songs [for the split] about a year ago at Popside Studios with Micah Carli,” Goldman recalls. “We brought in Eric Dunn to play the solo

on ‘Minneapolis,’ and he did so well on it that I asked him to join the band and play second guitar. Since then, Eric has moved to Louisville, but he’s a Nathan and we’ll see him soon.” Although untrained ears may hear Guns ‘N Roses in the solo, Goldman objects. “Guns ‘N Roses?” he laughs. “Absolutely not. I mean, I like some GNR albums, but the solo came about because I wanted to have a solo that sounded like ‘I Want To Conquer the World’ by Bad Religion.”

The Raging Nathans and Wonk Unit recently embarked on a 17-day tour, ending at The Fest in Gainesville. “We did a tour with them last year, and we decided we were going to do it again this year,” Goldman says. “It made sense to do a split to sell together on the road. It probably benefited us more than it did them honestly, because Wonk Unit is very popular, and if people wanted the Wonk, then they got The Nathans too.”

Upon returning from FEST, the band

BACK FOR THE FIRST TIME- EXTERMINATORS

INTERVIEW WITH DAN CLARK AND CRIS KIRKWOOD BY JANELLE JONES After 40 years, first wave U.S. punks, Exterminators, released their debut LP, Product of America, on Nov. 25 via Slope Records. All of the songs—save one experimental poetry-noise piece— were reworked from songs found on a 1978 live cassette. “We had no idea

Hope shattered into pieces around Fossil Youth frontman Scottie Noonan as he experienced firsthand the disaster that became the narrative for “Sitting in a Spinning Room.” The song is the middle climax of the band’s debut record, A Glimpse of Self Joy—out Nov. 4 via Take This To Heart Records—and it’s branded with emotion. It sits as the focal point and reimagines all of the record’s themes with its lyrical content. “[The song] is basically the idea of losing a family member and almost nearly doing so,” Noonan comments. “The theme of the album is about falling out of love and finding yourself, [but] we didn’t want the whole album to be that, we wanted a break from that.”

of recording back then, no intention,” vocalist Dan “Johnny Macho” Clark says.

Slope Records were trying to get in touch with Clark to do something with his other iconic band, the Feederz. “Tom [Lopez] started the label,” explains

dealing with anxiety, and establishing a change of pace from anger. It may seem hard to find any optimism laced into a record with such dark lyrical tendencies, but Noonan’s main focus was on loving oneself and figuring out how to do that while in a room locked from the outside—a genuine feeling that nothing will ever work out. Noonan expands on this idea, stating, “Even when you are doing everything the right way, you are always afraid you are going to do something wrong, and it accidentally leads to scenarios where you burn all the bridges on your own inadvertently.”

Fossil Youth’s deep lyrics blend into the mood of the songs perfectly. It’s pop punk but without the upbeat flair, That break ends up highlighting all the utilizing more crafty guitar work than themes on A Glimpse of Self Joy, which standard chord progressions. It’s include: finding peace in loneliness, why the opening song, “Watercolor

12 NEW NOISE

SECOND BEST IN DAYTON- THE RAGING NATHANS

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST JOSH GOLDMAN BY TIM ANDERL continued to work on their next proper LP. “[Drummer] Nick [Hamby] and I are well in to writing our second LP,” Goldman shares. “Nick had a tough year, man: his mom passed, his dad got cancer, and his cousin died of an [overdose] on the anniversary of his mom’s death. The new

record is gonna be pretty heavy, subject matter-wise. I think we are both looking forward to letting some emotions really come out on this one.” He concludes, “Other than that, we plan on going to Europe in June for the first time with this band. Hoping to play Wonk Fest.”

bassist Cris Kirkwood of Meat Puppets fame, “and wanted to have some old Phoenix punk rock.” He says Doug Clark—Dan’s brother and guitarist of the band, who later went on to form Mighty Sphincter—mentioned to Lopez, “‘What about the Exterminators, my old band?’” Kirkwood gushes, “It really came out fun, and that’s the main thing.

Considering how old the songs are and everything, it’s caught in this fun place of pretty experienced musicians and new, raw material—and not stressing over it. […] It was very fun to make, and it shows for sure.”

of a bass player, and Kirkwood was the immediate choice.

With songs like “I Don’t Give a Fuck,” “I Hate You,” and “Just Like Your Mom,” Product of America definitely has that youthful, rebellious feel. “We captured that time period pretty well,” Kirkwood says. For him, the chance to play on the record came when Exterminators called him out of the blue. He had known the guys for roughly 35 years, having grown up in the same general area, and they had become great friends. They were in need

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When Exterminators — originally comprised of Dan and Doug Clark; drummer Don Bolles, later of the Germs; and Rob Ritter, later of The Gun Club and 45 Grave—formed in 1977, punk was basically unknown in Phoenix. “When we first started out, it was really just some creepy kids who really hated the way rock ‘n’ roll was,” Clark explains. “It was hard getting shows. There were no fans to come see us. You’d lose friends.

You couldn’t tell them you were playing punk rock or anything. Nobody knew the Ramones.”

Now, with their first official release, Exterminators have played their first show since 1978 not consisting of— usually hostile—cowboys and bikers as they did in the old days. Clark reiterates, “There were no intentions of anybody liking this. There was nobody to care. The Exterminators’ shows, it was a mission: five or 10 guys against the world.”

.....

BRANDED WITH EMOTION- FOSSIL YOUTH

INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST/VOCALIST SCOTTIE NOONAN BY SEAN GONZALEZ Daydream,” leaves listeners wanting more, digging through the rest of the record to find it. This catchiness is borne out of how Noonan writes. “It has to be perfect from the jump or I resent it,” he explains. “I try to write the leads on my own, so when I bring it to the table, our other guitar player [Hesston Swenn] can

sit down and write these other layers of leads right on top.” This dynamic leaves Fossil Youth’s songs bursting with melodies that shine a light into the darkest spots of ourselves and become A Glimpse of Self Joy.

.....

SACRIFICIO

Germany’s Iron Bonehead Productions and California’s Nuclear War Now! Productions have been pummeling this tainted earth with stellar black metal releases for years. The newest, Sacrificio, celebrate their opportunity with a sinister debut full-length album, Guerra Eterna.

The Spanish trio includes A. Martin on bass, Ángel P. Matesanz on drums, and vocalist Juan C. Deus on guitar. Singing in their native tongue, Sacrificio spread evil over thrashy, unapologetic black metal influenced by the first wave of Hellhammer and Celtic Frost, Venom, and early Bathory. This refreshing approach of adding chunky rhythms and low-end fury to a foundation of caustic misanthropy will be unleashed on Dec. 9.

Deus—who also tackles keys and additional percussion for the band— helps cast some light on Guerra Eterna’s formation. “We have done this album for

WITCHERY

In the sprawling metropolis of Linköping, Sweden, the band Witchery were born 20 years ago, and lo, did the handwringing begin. To the elitists, the self-proclaimed legitimacy police, their gravedigger’s-grin-styled black humor was a caricature of the music they loved—or just simply “not cool enough.”

Thankfully, most fans recognized that Patrik Jensen and his crew of cadaverous cohorts had crafted a sound harkening back to the ‘80s heyday of metal, yet fierce. Modern. With teeth.

And now, Witchery celebrate two decades with In His Infernal Majesty’s Service, out Nov. 25 on Century Media Records. “Yeah, no drama at all, apart from it being sad that schedules clash so much that someone needs to leave the band,” Jensen begins, referring to the departure of longtime drummer Martin Axenrot and vocalist Emperor Magus Caligula earlier in the year.

“Opeth [for whom Axenrot drums] has been very active these last years.

We’ve tried to get rehearsals going for a long time. Sometimes, we manage to make them happen, but often not. The issue has always been out in the open for discussion within the band, since we all want to keep the band moving forward.”

14 NEW NOISE

old black metal veterans, not for retro fans, newcomers, and hipsters,” he asserts.

Deus’ comment distinctly sums up Sacrificio’s approach. The benefit of playing “traditional” black metal— as opposed to newer bands’ more experimental fusion styles—is that it allows for a heftier sound with varied tempos and riffs. Sacrificio take time to write songs that incorporate atmosphere along with time changes and gripping guitar parts. Guerra Eterna’s eight tracks have clear, beefy guitars and pounding drums. These traits counteract the mundane aspects of the monotonous lines found in most black metal.

Sacrificio also closely adhered to the traditions of their early ‘80s forefathers when it came to recording techniques. “[The album] was recorded and mixed in seven days, on tape with ‘60s and ‘70s equipment,” Deus explains. “Mostly live: no cut and paste or sample fake.

We use a pair of Marshall JCM 800 [amps] from the ‘80s, and the drums were pretty old too. We also played some synths and an orchestral timpani and a gong.”

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST JUAN C. DEUS BY HUTCH Those additions to the arsenal add depth and push Sacrificio to write the more complex and interesting sections that adorn each track. The atmosphere is an equal instrument in the aural attack.

Masked in metal helmets, draped with chains, and wielding fiery torches, the faceless warlike bodies that comprise Sacrificio do intend to play live shows.

“We are preparing for future gigs.

Beware!” Deus heeds.

Sacrificio plan to bring their brand of old-school black metal to live audiences regardless of the demographics. Deus summarizes their lyrical content, listing, “We sing about death, war, fall of civilizations or the inexorable barbaric triumph.” This menacing subject matter is delivered within the chaos of the thrashing and brutal chords of Guerra Eterna.

...

“Caligula was to record the new album, but a week into the recording session, he had had to visit his doctor over a problem with his balance,” Jensen continues. “He was told that he had a sudden and sharp decrease in hearing in one of his ears and that this was somehow connected to the problems with his balance. He was to avoid all and any loud environments, both at work and in his spare time. So, unfortunately, Caligula had to leave the band too.”

Yet, like some charred and bloodied phoenix, Witchery have regrouped and emerged from the fire dead, hot, and ready as ever to honor two decades as a band with In His Infernal Majesty’s Service. “We now have Chris Barkensjö on drums and Angus Norder on vocals,” Jensen confirms. “Rehearsals with Chris took off flying, and there was an immediate chemistry there between us.

Angus has a great voice, and after also meeting him in person, we knew we had found our guy.”

From the pounding of opener “Levayathan” to the Lovecraftian “Escape from Dunwich Valley,” In His Infernal Majesty’s Service finds the quintet with fuel to burn, possibly energized by the new blood. “I think Chris [is] a great part of us sounding ‘raw’ again,” Jensen attests. “He has a similar approach to playing as most of us in Witchery, always wanting to push the beat forward in the vein of early AC/DC, Motörhead, etc.

INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST PATRIK JENSEN BY LORD RANDALL Also, when I spoke to [producer] Danne [Bergstrand] about what production sound I had in mind, and I said the drums needed to sound like the drums on Van Halen’s 1984 album, he said with a longing, enthusiastic voice: ‘Wow! A natural drum sound? No one does that anymore. Let’s do it!’ That’s when I knew I had the right guy!”

say I’ve had a sandwich to eat. Would you?” Catching himself, the guitarist pumps the brakes. “Sorry!” he laughs.

“This topic really gets me going. It’ll be the death of good music when everything needs to be so ‘perfect’ in time that all bands could record each other’s albums equally well, because it’s been so utterly depersonalized!”

“We also record live in the studio,” he continues. “A lot of people think tracking the instruments one by one is how you need to record an album, but it’s mainly for the insecure. […] Music is made by playing together. I can eat a slice of bread, then a teaspoon of butter, after that, some cheese, and then finally, a few slices of cucumber, but I still wouldn’t

When asked about the band’s plans, Jensen’s response is as hopeful as a gentleman in Witchery’s can be. “We want to play everywhere in 2017,” he says. “We have a few festivals lined up, but want many more. We have been talking about recording a live album, but we’ll see what will come of that.”

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FROM INDIAN LAKES

This atmosphere helps settle the listener into what Everything Feels Better Now might mean: being in the moment and being okay with it.

“I think we can all agree: everything can’t possibly feel completely better now, so it’s not so much about ridding [yourself of ] the demons, but more about learning to live with them,” muses Joey Vannucchi, vocalist and mastermind behind From Indian Lakes.

There are not many times Vannucchi’s vocals distance themselves from the swirling melodies and progressions, instead fitting naturally into the realm of the entire orchestration. Even when there is a sonic expansion within the instruments, Vannucchi’s voice remains ethereal but entirely present, like on “The Monster.” Vannucchi explains his belief that vocals are the most crucial part to a song, saying, “If I write something and I don’t like it enough, I’ll obsess over it until I’m satisfied. I also really wanted to convey a lot of emotion without cutting any corners by simply getting louder or anything like that, so there were some real challenges.”

The statement is a reflection on the group’s newest record, Everything Feels Better Now, released Oct. 14 via Triple Crown Records. Vannucchi believes everything feeling better to be an impossible exclamation, but admits that the writing experience was soothing, joyous, and urgent, twisting these emotions together into the most diverse and open From Indian Lakes album yet.

Each track has a unique breath to it, equipped with different slithery effects or motifs slathered with rich sonic textures. “I definitely didn’t have any plan with these songs. Once I started gathering different gear and plugging things in, I think the textures started oozing out of the equipment,” Vannucchi explains.

WORM OUROBOROS Worm Ouroboros drummer Aesop Dekker was at the center of one of the biggest stories in American heavy metal this year: the dissolution of legendary black metal outfit Agalloch. He wasn’t a founding member of the band, but Dekker had been their drummer for a decade.

Vannucchi not only continuously pushed his vocal writing abilities, but also his overall ability to lend each song a distinctive presence. With such creativity emanating from the fingertips of the musician, it’s easy to imagine how much complexity and depth there is to find upon every listen of Everything Feels Better Now.

I N T E R V I E W W I T H V O C A L I S T / M U LT I - I N S T R U M E N TA L I S T J O E Y VA N N U C C H I BY S E A N G O N Z A L E Z Yet still, one shining moment on the record is the song that strips itself down and bares itself, naked: “Hello,” which lies in the middle of the album. “I remember feeling like I might never write another song, just feeling so burned out and exhausted creatively. One evening around twilight, that song just came. I had an acoustic guitar and a synthesizer and a mic and it just happened,” Vannucchi recalls.

“It was [producer] Kevin [Augunas] who added the thumping bass synth throughout the song, and I couldn’t believe how it connected all of the dots,” he attests.

Everything Feels Better Now is just that: fastened together to spread comfort, putting life into focus and breathing easily with impossibility out of the way.

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Demonland once again receiving an ambassador from Witchland.

Unlike the lords of Demonland, Worm Ouroboros are not content to remain trapped in a perpetual cycle of battling the same enemies. “I think this batch of songs has us playing with devices that really weren’t part of our palette before: tremolo picking, double bass drumming,” Dekker says of What Graceless Dawn. “It was a joy to explore new territory, and I think the result was some of our strongest work.”

While legions of Agalloch fans around the world still mourn the band’s passing, Dekker—who has played in numerous other bands including Vhöl and Ludicra—doesn’t seem to have wasted much time lamenting his circumstances. His other other band, Worm Ouroboros, for whom Dekker has been drumming for the past seven years, are set to release their third full-length, What Graceless Dawn, on Dec. 2 via Profound Lore.

Of course, given that Worm Ouroboros are essentially making chamber music with a decidedly doom-laden bent, some high fantasy elements such as death, violence, and redemption are bound to creep in. For instance, What Graceless Dawn is named after a lyric from the track “Broken Movements,” which reads: “What graceless dawn has ripped your earth apart?”

This sort of “the king is dead, long live the king” dedication to making and releasing music is kind of fitting, given the fantasy novel with which Worm Ouroboros shares their name. “The Worm Ouroboros”—written by Eric Rücker Eddison and published in 1922—begins with the lords of Demonland receiving an ambassador from Witchland. The novel details the ensuing war between them, which is won by Demonland. When they realize they have no enemies left to fight, they pray to the gods to restore the pre-war world, and— spoilers!—the novel ends with the lords of

“Dawn is associated with hope and life, new beginnings,” vocalist and guitarist Jessica Way says, “but what happens when the savior you’ve been waiting for turns out to be malicious? The thing you’ve hoped for turns ill? We felt the line fit with the theme of the whole record.” She elaborates, “All of the songs are themed around our own innate potential for self-destruction, dark desires, failure, the pain we inflict on ourselves and others, the tension between what we ache to be and who we are.”

16 NEW NOISE

PHOTO: JOE CALIXTO

INTERVIEW WITH JESSICA WAY AND AESOP DEKKER BY MIKE GAWORECKI The album is bookended by opener “Day” and closer “Night,” which Way explains was a choice meant to be symbolic of different aspects of the self. “[Those two songs] tell of an ill-fated love between Daylight and Nighttime, whose yearning to reach for each other ultimately destroys the object of their desires in a futile, ever-repeating cycle,” she says.

It’s hard not to see the themes of What Graceless Dawn reflected in the fact that Dekker immediately moved on from the loss of Agalloch to embark on a new chapter in the life of Worm Ouroboros. “Personally, I only wanted us to make a better Worm Ouroboros album,” he says. “For me, the surprise is always in how meticulous and talented [bassist and vocalist]

Lorraine [Rath] and Jessica are. Not that I didn’t know that, but in the studio setting, I am always reminded what gifted players and songwriters they are as I hear the material really take shape.”

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ALBEZ DUZ

In the pantheon of extreme metal, Germany has certainly made a name for itself as a major exporter. One subgenre they aren’t as well known for is doom, but don’t be fooled: they know how to bring the bummer in a major way. Berlin’s Albez Duz are a fine example. The band initially started out as a side project, and have since morphed into their own unique kind of monster.

Ever since the band initially formed, Albez Duz have been in a constant state of evolution, both member-wise and sound-wise. This is never more evident than on their third album, Wings of Tzinacan, a colossal meshing of gothic doom metal and Sabbathian groove released by Listenable Records on Oct. 28.

After releasing their 2014 effort, The Coming of Mictlan, the band wasted no time whatsoever in beginning work on Wings of Tzinacan. Though their songwriting process is a bit unorthodox, it clearly works wonders! “The writing process began immediately. We were

AUROCH

Vancouver, British Columbia’s Auroch emerged from their thrash chrysalis in 2008. Over the past eight years, they’ve become an avant-garde blackened death machine, and Mute Books—issued through Profound Lore Records on Oct. 21—is their third assault on conventions, both musical and spiritual. Inhale the smoke of the altar with drummer Zack “Z.C.” Chandler.

When did the seeds of what would bloom into the black, shining flower that is Mute Books begin to germinate? “We started writing the album at the end of 2014, shortly after the release of Taman Shud,” Chandler begins. “I wouldn’t describe this cycle as being smooth. There was a long setback due to injury. However, this provided us with ample time to thoroughly refresh and hone in on our desired sound, which resulted in more concise—some would say ‘mature’— songwriting.”

Concise. With each of Auroch’s trinity of full-lengths topping out at around a half-hour, the case may be made for the

18 NEW NOISE

recording demos for about a year,” vocalist Alfonso Brito states. “Writing songs has always been kind of a trance.

Sometimes, it takes effect in a certain way, and the next day, it sounds totally different. Bringing Wings of Tzinacan to life was a long state of trance mixed with some moments of sobriety.”

In addition to the album’s badass title, it has an equally badass lyrical theme, which was conjured in a similarly hypnotic fashion. “We were sure we wanted to talk about the old Mexican mystic once again, but we didn’t know how,” Brito explains. “As the songs were taking shape, there was a different perspective from The Coming of Mictlan.

We were representing a different deity this time, somebody who comes from the deepest underworld and flies in the highest spheres of the sky, somebody who can cut your silver cord of life or who can bring you back to the world of the living. We were talking about Tzinacan and this album represents his journey.”

Even though the band’s music and lyrics are written in a mystical fashion, the writing and recording process still presented its standard hurdles.

“There were some minor details where

Canadian triumvirate’s worship of the short, sharp shock. “Quality over quantity,” the drummer agrees. “There’s something to be said for 30 minutes of quality music over 30 minutes of quality with 15 minutes of filler that some may or may not enjoy. Mute Books is a collection of the best songs we had written during 2014–2016. If a song written during that time doesn’t mesh with the general atmosphere or just simply isn’t up to snuff, it’s probably better left out than included to fill space.”

That doesn’t leave much room for improvisation in the writing phase, then? “Not a ton,” Chandler admits. “Obviously, the occasional part is an impulsive decision that happens to be good, but for the most part, we’re more ‘trial and error’ writers.” Through that trial and error is born Mute Books, a heady, swirling—yet no less riff-laden—paean to worlds beyond the darkness, to the darkness within the soul. From the near-fractal morphing between dirge and frantic inverted chaos of its opener, “Billowing Vervain,” to the incendiary finale “Cup of Hemlock,” Mute Books is Auroch at their pinnacle— one we hope they continue to surpass.

Of “Billowing Vervain,” Chandler reveals, “[It] was the song that took us the

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST ALFONSO BRITO BY BRANDON RINGO we had the sound in mind, but I think that changed quite a bit at the end,” Brito says. “We were lucky, because everything matched well. The biggest challenge was to convince ourselves to a point where we all were completely satisfied with the whole album. We were sure we didn’t want fillers; every single song and every single detail has a reason to be.”

Whenever bands delve into their subject matter the way Albez Duz do, familiarity with the subject matter is a bit of a prerequisite. Brito and the rest

of the band bring more than enough knowledge to the table. “Everything comes from the teachings of my ancestors mixed with the life experiences and philosophy of us three,” he explains.

“Everything has a magical flow, because [guitarist] Julia [Neuman] is an anthropologist whose knowledge is focused on the Mesoamerican cultures, and [drummer and founder] Eugen [‘Impurus’ Herbst]’s Germanic knowledge brings order to the whole thing, so everything makes sense.”

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PHOTO: MAX MONTESI

INTERVIEW WITH DRUMMER ZACK "Z.C." CHANDLER BY LORD RANDALL longest to finish, and the lyrics came dead last. While [guitarist and vocalist Sebastian] ‘Seb’ [Montesi] handled the lyrics for this album, I can say that the song deals with a stream of consciousness-style visualization of the classic Greco-Roman figureheads and their nightside embodiments. The lyrics play out in reverse of the happenings of the song, as the vervain smoke is pulled back in to the censer.”

As the incense of this particular inquiry returns from whence it came, what future shows and happenings are in store

in the world of Auroch? Chandler concludes, “We’ve been lucky to be received positively everywhere we’ve played so far. Overall, Europe might be a more enchanting host, but we’ve always been treated great throughout North America. As far as the next few months go, we are playing Messe des Morts in Montreal [in] November, and shortly after that, we have our CD release show in Vancouver.”

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ENEMIES

Few band breakup causes are more common than “personal differences.”

Creative conflict often gets the better of band members, leading to underlying tensions that eventually give way to collapse. Few bands are open to discussing the details of their split with the media, and even fewer announce they’re breaking up on the same day they announce a new record.

Then again, most bands aren’t like Enemies. After nearly a decade together, the Kilcoole, Ireland-based ambient rock four-piece were faced with a decision to either make a run at being a full-time band or call it a day.

Meanwhile, longstanding interpersonal issues fractured the foundation of their relationship. They opted to end the band to save their friendships while putting out their final LP, Valuables, on Dec. 9 via Topshelf Records.

By breaking up, they likely saved their record from staying unfinished. The next step was to break the news to Topshelf.

Enemies were understandably nervous; after all, who would release a record with no tour support? To make matters more

GONE IS GONE Gone Is Gone are a “supergroup,” but they had much humbler beginnings than that term might suggest. In fact, they didn’t begin as a band at all. The nucleus of Gone Is Gone is Tony Hajjar—drummer for At The Drive-In—and composer and multi-instrumentalist Mike Zarin, who have worked together on everything from video game soundtracks like “Splinter Cell: Blacklist” to movie trailers for “Inception” and “X-Men: Apocalypse.”

Hajjar and Zarin brought in guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen—best known for his work with Queens Of The Stone Age—to contribute to some of the pieces they’d been working on and realized they might have a proper band on their hands. Van Leeuwen in turn enlisted Mastodon bassist and vocalist Troy Sanders, and the group officially achieved super status. A self-titled EP arrived in July, and now—perhaps surprisingly, given that Gone Is Gone’s members have fairly active day jobs—a debut full-length has been announced. Titled Echolocation, the album is due out on Jan. 6 via Rise Records and Black Dune Records.

20 NEW NOISE

stressful, label owner Kevin Duquette was scheduled to stay at bassist Mark O’Brien’s house while touring Europe with labelmates, Rat Boys. The first piece of news Duquette received upon arrival was that the band were breaking up.

It’d be easy to assume he freaked out.

However, Duquette didn’t flinch. Instead, he told the band the label still wanted to put out the record, giving them the faith needed to see the album through.

“He couldn’t be too annoyed,” O’Brien laughs. “He was a guest in my house, so I had him right where I needed him.”

That support wasn’t taken for granted.

With Topshelf fully behind them and the weight of commercial expectations lifted, the Enemies were free to write exactly the record they wanted. Through a long process of isolating and building from ideas recorded during improvised practice sessions, they arrived at a sound they felt honestly represented them.

The result is a record that feels focused and confident, fearlessly breaking down barriers between post-rock and pure pop sensibilities. The technical chops present on the band’s first two records—2010’s We’ve Been Talking and 2013’s Embark, Embrace—are still present on their final outing. Valuables is also their most accessible release, weaving indie rock melodicism with complex rhythms while

PHOTO: ALAN SNODGRASS

INTERVIEW WITH BASSIST MARK O'BRIEN BY BEN SAILER stepping outside the post-rock tropes they’re commonly associated with.

that this album was really valuable and that we needed to finish this thing.”

The record’s title is an inadvertent statement on the record’s importance to the band and its members’ importance to one another. While recording ideas, anything that sounded good went into a Dropbox folder labeled “valuables.”

Later on, that title would take on a different meaning. “When the band fell apart, we found ourselves revisiting this ‘valuables’ folder and realizing what was in there was truly valuable,” O’Brien says. “It was this realization that our friendships were valuable to us, but also

Valuables is a fitting swan song. The decisions Enemies made personally, professionally, and creatively took a rare level of courage and maturity.

And if the band had to end to save its members—and their record—at the very least, they’re going out on a high note.

“I think we’ve really gotten to a place of wonderful musical originality now, but it definitely came at a price,” O’Brien says. “But, all good art should have that process. I don’t think it should be easy.”

.....

The EP took all of the influences you’d expect from members of Mastodon, At The Drive-In, and Queens Of The Stone Age—metal, post-hardcore, punk—and embellished them with some unexpected flourishes, like haunting post-rock atmosphere, occasional industrial overtones, and even some power balladry. So, what can fans expect from the band’s first long player? “The EP was the seedling for the sound of Gone Is Gone,” Zarin says. “Echolocation is a growth [and] maturation of the Gone Is Gone sound.”

In other words, expect to hear a diversity of sounds and textures. “We all write our music, adding something unique to each song,” Zarin adds. “It’s a very synergistic creative relationship between the four of us.” Gone Is Gone are not trying to pin down a specific sound so much as explore the myriad possibilities available to them as a collective. When the group first convened, Zarin says, “We bonded over creating without limitations and exploring new paths.”

Indeed, throughout the new album, there’s a sense that Gone Is Gone are searching for something, however ineffable that something might be.

“We felt [the title] Echolocation best encompassed the subject matter of the record, and the song ‘Echolocation’

INTERVIEW WITH MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST MIKE ZARIN BY MIKE GAWORECKI is the culmination of everything on the record,” Zarin says. “‘Where are we? Where are we going? What is the important focal point in life and this world we’re in?’ There is no one lyrical theme, but much of the record deals with subjects we can all relate to. All that we write draws from personal experience, but we piece it together in a way that is visual and open for interpretation.”

The band’s music practically begs to be experienced in a live setting, but Zarin says Gone Is Gone fans might have to wait a bit for their chance to see the band on tour. “Though you will see us play,

shows are only a small piece of what Gone is Gone actually is,” he notes. “Gone Is Gone is designed to live beyond the stage and within other environments, should it be games, immersive experiences, film, and beyond. This will exist in both traditional and nontraditional arenas.

We started Gone Is Gone as a musical project like nothing the four of us have done before. We are really excited by the process and for all that we have to come.”

.....

DEVILMENT

“It’s two fingers up to everyone, you know?” Dani Filth—known for his work in Cradle Of Filth—says about his side project, Devilment. “Here’s the second record. We got this far, and it takes it away from that aura that it was just a vanity project; it’s an actual proper band.” After their 2014 debut, The Great and Secret Show, Filth and company made sure to assert that they were not just a fluke. Their second studio album, Devilment II: The Mephisto Waltzes—out Nov. 11 via Nuclear Blast—proves just that.

What makes Devilment special is their knack for utilizing multiple genres of metal and combining them with catchy, pop-influenced melodies. Not that the album is pretty—with its deranged, poetic lyrics and gnashing riffs—it’s just infectiously melodic, enhancing the darker parts of the record. “Underneath the layers and analogies and poetry, etc., it’s based on human emotions, really,” Filth explains. “At first glance, you have things like injustice and criminality and infatuation and psychosis and

MARIO LALLI What the hell does a young kid do when they’re stuck in an isolated desert town, jamming regularly with friends, and harboring frustration and boredom from the lack of local music opportunities?

They develop their own scene and create their own opportunities by any means necessary.

Mario “Boomer” Lalli was that kid. He did all of that back in the late 1980s and is still going strong in 2016 with a heavy touring schedule and new releases from his bands Fatso Jetson—Idle Hands, out via Heavy Psych Sounds on Oct. 7 and a split 7” with Dutch surf-stoners del-Toros, out via Shattered Platter on Nov. 25—and Yawning Man, who released Historical Graffiti via Lay Bare Recordings in August. When asked about his career as a musician, Lalli is forthright. “This is something I do; I don’t even know if I would call this a career of some sort,” he states. “Looking back, I’ve been fortunate with what opportunities have come from it and the people involved. It’s something I don’t take for granted.”

22 NEW NOISE

retribution and jealousy, all these bad depressive emotions.” But, these lightless, gloom-driven songs are also cathartic, helping listeners overcome the shadows.

Filth’s careful attention to the grim lyrics helps solidify Devilment’s songs as more than just “metal.” The simple “Hitchcock Blonde” is rather accessible with its bouncing drum patterns, dancing synths, and pensive lyrics, which namecheck 10 of Alfred Hitchcock’s actresses.

Filth states, “As a lyricist, if you can get something like that to work, you kind of go, ‘Yes, that’s great.’ You spent the whole song trying to get across the point, where you could do it by just utilizing people’s names—which I rarely do, but I was quite pleased with that.”

Where Filth’s lyrics really shine are in the deep analogies. “JudasStein” combines the biblical character Judas and Frankenstein. “The song is just about relating to that character,” Filth says, “someone who is a magnet—a shitmagnet, basically. A magnet for all the worldly sins.” Filth asserts that without Judas, “there would be no resurrection, no redemption of the human soul, the human spirit, and humanity in general.

It’s a necessary evil. He probably didn’t

His involvement in Southern California’s low desert hard rock scene has made him a revered figure in the underground heavy music world. Lalli plays bass alongside guitarist Gary Arce as the original—and ongoing—members of the psychedelic instrumental rock band, Yawning Man. He trades his bass for a guitar and microphone alongside his son and second guitarist Dino Lalli, bassist and cousin Larry Lalli, and drummer Tony Tornay in the hardcharging Fatso Jetson. Lalli has written and performed songs for Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme’s Desert Sessions project and opened his area’s first ever rock club, the short-lived Rhythm & Brews in Indio, California.

Lalli was also the organizer of the notorious generator parties that occurred in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s in the desert canyons, which are still discussed like folklore amongst fans. “I never thought or imagined that those gatherings would blow up like it has now; it’s crazy,” he reflects. “We did them with lineups that were mainly from the Los Angeles area that were weird jammer-type groups at first. Later on, we started hooking up with more known area names like Unsound and a few with Kyuss.”

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/LYRICIST DANI FILTH BY SEAN GONZALEZ want to be that character, and in the end, he ended up hanging himself in the potter’s field.” Filth continues, “Frankenstein is this creature that is made to suffer the injustices of the world. He didn’t want to be made; he was created and then discarded.”

There’s even room for love songs within Devilment II: The Mephisto Waltzes.

“Dea Della Morte” was based on the individual on the album’s cover. “The woman on the album cover is in the process of dancing, like a dance of death almost, like a sinister waltz,” Filth

comments. “Dea Della Morte” is derived from the ambience present in the song: a strange, exotic tarantella that plays out like a drug-induced fairytale. “[The song] is about infatuation and love for this dark character, this sort of fairytale romance. Whether it’s bad or not, it’s still got a positive message for it, because in the end, it is a love story,” Filth clarifies. This metaphor encompasses Devilment’s music: easy to love, yet dark and full of twisted ideas that make feeling empty feel quite pleasant.

.....

INTERVIEW BY MAT THEW HUTCHISON While Yawning Man have their own extensive history, Fatso Jetson keeps Lalli busiest with their deep back catalog and extensive tours across Europe and parts of the U.S. For 22 years, their core lineup has remained intact. To what does Lalli attribute this? “Me and the guys in Fatso emphasize our friendship with each other before anything,” he explains. “It’s important to us and has helped us continue.” When asked about how he manages to balance his projects with being a working man and a father, he responds in kind. “My son is in the band,” he laughs. “Solves that! And my

work is flexible with me. All of us have families, jobs, and other stuff happening within our own lives. We keep this going ‘cause it allows us to continue on with what we’re good at and be in the same room making it happen.”

So, here lies a brief, but deserving profile on one of the hardest working and humblest practitioners of the riff. Don’t miss out on Yawning Man’s Historical Graffiti and Fatso Jetson’s Idle Hands, plus their upcoming split with del-Toros.

Pick them up and play them loud!

.....

ARMAGEDDON

As the old saying goes, “You can never go home again.” Don’t tell that to Swedish tech-death innovators Armageddon. In the spring of 1997, they released their debut full-length Crossing the Rubicon, an album that shone and glistened brightly and masterfully during an incredibly transitional time in the world of extreme metal.

Now, to celebrate the album’s milestone 20th anniversary, the band—led by former Arch Enemy shredsmith Christopher Amott—released Crossing the Rubicon – Revisited. Out since Oct. 14 on Listenable Records, the redux is a newly recorded and breathtakingly sharp recreation of their extreme metal masterpiece.

The genesis that led the band to create Crossing the Rubicon – Revisited is very similar to these songs’ origin 20 years ago. “The idea was this: The original album never got a proper release, and the record label who put it out are now out of business but still own the rights,” Amott explains. “I always thought the songs and ideas on this album are great and would

CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX The haunting detachment is what sticks in your heart. You can’t quite put your finger on its origin, but you can feel it peeling away. Toward a distant space, from a human being or an advanced thought, gradually it stretches lengthwise and widthwise: exacting and blind. U.K.’s Crippled Black Phoenix—an avant-garde rock band led by the multiinstrumentalist Justin Greaves—tugs ever so abstractly away from a strange and long center. Their music is not oval, but rather, far-reaching and never returning. The band’s newest record, the heavy and deep behemoth, Bronze—out Nov. 4 on Season Of Mist—is a dark and meaningful trip. It succeeds as a vision and a dream.

“I try to let the music guide me,” notes Greaves when discussing his writing process. “It may sound cliché, but I’m basically following the song, and I’m not in any hurry to get to the end. For the creative mind, I think it’s important to feel free, whether it’s painting, sculpture, music, or film. When you drop ‘trying’ to make something, all your influences forge together in a natural way, and that’s when you really start creating.”

24 NEW NOISE

benefit from a revamped production.

Adding to this, the current Armageddon lineup is the best ever. So, with putting all this together, it felt like the natural thing to do.”

For Amott, the easiest part of the process was already having the blueprint of the songs laid out. “Of course, it was a little easier,” he confirms, “being as the songs were already written, but it still takes a lot of time and effort in the studio to get it the way you want it.” The hard part? Trying to outshred his younger self. “It was hard to top some of the guitar solos on the original, they are pretty insane! Pretty good for a 19-year-old kid,” he chuckles.

When comparing and contrasting the actual recording processes for each album, the two main dissimilarities were time, comfort, and technology. “It was a lot different actually,” Amott notes.

“Back then, we did all the tracks with very little preparation in two weeks at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg; it was a little rushed. This time, I did it mostly out of my home studio. An important difference is that we recorded the drums to a click track, so the overall feel is much tighter and more solid. The original album is cool in its own way, with a lot of push and pull tempo changes, but we

Bronze sparkles through valleys of varying growth. Darkness and futurism carries the Tangerine Dream-like opener, “Dead Imperial Bastard.” A distant homage to grunge-inspired flannel metal rages on “Deviant Burials.”

Expanded optimism, electronic escapism, and pure progression leads “Champions of Disturbance (Pt. 1 & 2),” and a sort of homage to ‘70s proto-prog bubbles its way through the visionary Joe Walsh cover, “Turn To Stone.”

Layers dip and dance in a steep alchemy throughout the psychedelic workout, a record with a plethora of musicians attached to it. Greaves may be the conductor, but he’s the first to welcome individualistic expression.

“I write the meat and potatoes of all the songs and believe in maintaining a specific focus, but I try to do it without being a fascist, you know?” Greaves laughs. “I’ll write a section for Daisy [Chapman] on the piano, but she’ll play it her own way. I’ll never control how someone plays a certain piece.

The lyrics are all written by Daniel [Änghede]; he’s a lot more eloquent and poetic than me. I’ll give him the song titles and a little background of the story and some of the main thoughts, and then, he’ll get inside them, feel them out, and come up with his thing.”

Greaves drummed with the sludge,

INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST CHRISTOPHER AMOTT BY BRANDON RINGO didn’t want to attempt to recreate that.

We just wanted to do something that was fresh and exciting for us.”

While Armageddon are obviously excited at how the revisitation of their classic album has turned out, nothing can lessen their reverence for the original Crossing the Rubicon. “I’m still pretty impressed [by] how the first album came together,” Amott enthuses.

“I’m proud to have participated in such an experimental metal record. There is recorder, violin, and a bunch of different percussion instruments. Also, a drum

solo, a bass solo, and conceptual lyrics.

Not bad at all for [a] creative effort.”

Even better than the band’s elation over the new version is the fact that they’ve avoided the typical trolling reactions from the internet, which is a major accomplishment. “As far as the fans’ reaction goes, there were a few comments from people wondering what the difference would be and how it could be made better, but I haven’t heard anything bad since it’s been released,” Amott concludes. “The reception seems positive overall.”

.....

INTERVIEW MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST/FOUNDER JUSTIN GREAVES BY CHRISTOPHER J. HARRINGTON doom, and crust punk legions, Iron Monkey and Electric Wizard, and has been a heavyweight in the extreme music scene for decades. Season Of Mist’s signing of Cripple Black Phoenix seems appropriate and destined. The label is known to be accessible and friendly toward its bands—a real workingman’s sort of establishment—and Greaves has been highly enthused.

“The label is really cool. I’d much rather work with people I respect, which is the case here,” he says. “With [label founder] Michael [Berberian], I can pick up the phone and call him, and he’ll talk to you

about anything. It’s a great relationship.

I’ve worked with labels that won’t even talk to you if you’re not a band that’s way up on the hierarchy. It’s a whole different system with Season Of Mist.”

And it’s a whole different system with Cripple Black Phoenix: a band steeped in melody, honest fusion, and shadows of perplexing doom. Bronze flies through the infinite sky, sparking and mysterious: a weighty and purposeful record.

.....

TERRY MALTS

Terry Malts are a three-piece group based in Los Angeles by way of San Francisco. Guitarist Corey Cunningham and bassist Phil Benson started The Cosmos together back in 2001, which eventually morphed into a second band, Magic Bullets, with current drummer Nathan Sweatt. They continued in that fashion until, as Cunningham puts it, “We hit a low in 2009 where everybody left the band except for Phil, Nathan, and myself. We were paying for a practice space, so we figured we should go in and goof around.” That arrangement became Terry Malts, who released their third record, Lost at the Party, via Slumberland Records on Oct. 14.

“We really loved Henry’s Dress, The Jesus And Mary Chain, and the Ramones, so we tried to blend those sounds,” Cunningham remembers. After years of playing together and drawing from the same well of influences, Terry Malts have succeeded in this goal.

Cunningham reflects that while Magic Bullets operated as more of a reaction to the influx of garage rock that was

TONY MOLINA In 2014, Slumberland Records reissued Tony Molina’s 2013 release, Dissed and Dismissed, which showcases the singer-songwriter’s penchant for lo-fi power-pop heroics. Although the songs were brief—as was the overall runtime of the endeavor—Dissed and Dismissed was the kind of record that remained a blissful memory long after it ended.

On his latest EP, Confront the Truth— also available now via Slumberland— the West Bay guitarist offers a much different, but equally dazzling, experience. While …Dismissed was loaded with buzzing guitars, Molina’s latest leans more toward his earlier work with Ovens: gentle acoustic balladry.

“I wasn’t trying to accomplish anything; I basically just recorded a bunch of songs over the course of a year and used the ones I liked best for the EP,” Molina admits. “They happened to all be the more acoustic-based ones.

I think most of the heavier, electric guitar songs didn’t even get mixed. I probably recorded between 30 and 40 songs over the course of a year, and the

26 NEW NOISE

prevalent in San Francisco at the time, “Terry Malts was meant to be the fun and loud part of that same melodic spectrum Magic Bullets was working from.” Once they simplified their approach, it just clicked.

Following in the footsteps of post-punk and shoegaze bands, Terry Malts have a thick layer of fuzz covering each song.

Warm, rich guitar tones ring out over slick percussion and lead vocals that come awfully close to passing for Ian Curtis.

“We get that Joy Division comparison a lot,” Cunningham shares, though he stresses that “there has never been a moment where we were stuck on a song and said, ‘What would Joy Division do?’”

Instead, he says they’re more concerned with leaning toward the pop and noise of bands like Buzzcocks and Henry’s Dress.

“We like the intense, romantic, and poppy stuff,” Cunningham says.

After their second full-length, 2013’s Nobody Realizes This Is Nowhere, the band moved to Los Angeles in stages, with Cunningham making the change first and Benson only living there during the writing process. The distance didn’t put much added strain on the band, but rather, made them focus more than when they all conveniently lived in the

eight on this 7” are the ones that stood out the most to me.”

INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST COREY CUNNINGHAM BY KAYLA GREET same area. “The most notable effect the distance had on our writing process was that it made us really appreciate the time together,” Cunningham reflects.

“If we had the chance to work on demos together and shape the songs into something, we made the most of it.”

However, they still made time to experiment. The first track on Lost at the Party, “Used To Be,” sets the tone for the entire record with this unique sound that becomes an earworm of a melody. Cunningham reveals that it was created by taking their original guitar

demo, compressing it, and then layering it with more guitar in the studio. When the record was done, they created the final mix with producer Monte Vallier who “played the cassette through an old boombox and put microphones in his kitchen to pick up the playback,” he remarks.

“We really wanted to open up the playbook on this new album,” Cunningham concludes. “The themes of disillusion and romance gone wrong or gone right are always there, the aural appearance is what changes.”

.....

PHOTO: JOE CALIXTO

“I wanted to record songs that were more in the style of my band, Ovens, who had a lot of acoustic-based stuff,” Molina adds.

“One of the songs on the new record is an old Ovens song from nine or 10 years ago.”

Moreover, Molina reveals that the change in his approach may have been driven more by misplaced gear. “I also might have not had the Crate [amps] at the house,” he notes. “It was probably in someone’s practice space somewhere, so all I could do was practice guitar on an acoustic at home. I have a cheap nylon string [guitar] at home and don’t actually know where my other gear is at the moment. Last I heard, it was all in my friend Morgan’s car.”

However the recent change in presentation occurred, the songs present on the EP are no happy accident. They’re gentle and emotional—perhaps the most carefully crafted of Molina’s career—and the production is pristine, due in part to the involvement of producer Jack Shirley. “[I recorded with] Jack at Atomic Garden in 650, [Palo Alto],” he says. “He’s an extremely talented, patient person and a

INTERVIEW BY TIM ANDERL good friend of mine. He recorded it and mastered it, and basically mixed it himself as well. He’s also from West Bay, and I remember seeing his bands way back in 1999 at the old YWCA in Palo Alto when I was 14, so he’s basically family.”

Although Molina is touring, he says not to expect him to lean heavily on this material during his live set. “It will be a regular band setup, and there will be some riffing, as I don’t think acoustic music translates live very much for me,” he says. “That shit is best for the studio or in the house. Leaving the

house with an acoustic guitar is embarrassing.”

What else lies ahead in terms of his songwriting? Molina isn’t willing to pigeonhole what it will or should be. “I don’t think anyone should expect anything from me, because I don’t record music with the intentions of releasing it to the public,” he admits. “It’s just something I’ve always done on my own weird terms. But, I do want to focus more on becoming a sick ass drummer. So, expect some sick ass blasting on the next one.”

.....

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DANIEL POE

I

t has taken seven years, but it’s finally here: Two Tongues Two, the sophomore brainchild of brilliant frontmen Chris Conley of Saves The Day and Max Bemis of Say Anything. Bemis grew up inspired by Conley, obsessing over 1999’s Through Being Cool right up until—and to this day—joining Saves The Day on their anniversary tour. The perpetually youthful Conley found a revival in Bemis’ music, a fresh spark that eventually led the men to form Two Tongues. This time around, Conley and Bemis chose to forego including anyone else in the creative process, bringing it back a garage, two mics, and two voices.

Speaking with the men separately gives great insight into their deep well of mutual admiration.

Strengths and weaknesses are revealed, all in love.

28 NEW NOISE

CONLEY ON BEMIS: “His songwriting is so far out of the box. He has ideas that are just off the wall. That was refreshing when I first encountered his music. I just really like him as a person. He’s a powerful presence to be around, and he’s always very supportive and encouraging. Sometimes, you meet those people who are just an advocate, a friend, a fan of what you do, and a confidant all in one. Max is just one of those guys. Whatever he’s got matches whatever I’ve got.”

BEMIS ON CONLEY: “As a bandmate, he’s very driven by pure, untainted, ethically sound motivations at all times. It’s not about him; he wants a song to be the best thing possible, so he gets extremely excited or disappointed, but it all comes from a place of wanting the best for the band at

all times. It’s really inspiring to be around. I have a muddied brain. I have a lot of weird quirks and ticks.

I’m just drawn to someone who is just so pure. He can do anything; he’s a musical genius. He’s really underrated in that regard. As a musician, it’s pretty incredible to watch him play guitar and watch him put together essentially what is music theory, but without so much of the formality of it. It’s beyond raw talent.”

“He’s been like a big brother to me.

I think I learned that he’s a flawed human being like me. He’s so smart and kind and cool that it’s easy to relegate that type of person to being a Christ-like figure. He’s constantly reminding me that he’s just like me. I think anyone who has hung out with him would tell you that he exudes a Buddha vibe. ‘Is this guy

on another planet? Has he figured out something I haven’t?’ Now that we’ve been friends for 10 years, I know it’s just his perspective. Of all people, I know he’ll stress that we’re all the same people on the same level.”

It’s clear that Bemis and Conley feed off each other. Two Tongues Two—which was released Oct. 14 through Equal Vision Records—is an expression in creative freedom and compromising collaboration.

It’s the best of both worlds, with an angel vs. demon dynamic, both in style and in theme. Here’s hoping that their third LP is less than seven years away.

.....

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ANCIIENTS

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CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX

ESBEN AND THE WITCH

“[CBP] have artfully balanced progressive rock, doom metal, post-rock, ambient music, and Victorian influences in a way that defies categorization. "

A stunning and poignant album of dark post-rock that finds a home in the shadows between the light and the dark.

Bronze

Older Terrors

Mass Grave

Failure, Subside

DEPARTE

SHAPE OF DESPAIR

An ugly and violent exercise in total extremity at the crossroads where hardcore, grindcore and death metal collide. Recorded by Taylor Young of NAILS

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Alone in the Mist

I

n this day and age, stories about black metal bands scorching their way across Norway and leaving a trail of burnt churches, corpse paint, and blood spatter in their wake have gone the way of Woodstock’s brown acid, CBGB’s hardcore matinees, and Poison’s hairspray. Though these tales of lore may have been relegated to the land of genre tropes, what if we told you that not only is the cult still alive, it is far more violent, sexy, and evil

than you ever imagined? In a small town in Norway, not far from Oslo, underground black metal enigmas, Sons Of Balaur, have recently broken their 15-year silence to release Tenebris Deos, their debut album. The first official release in the band’s two-decades-long history dropped via Season Of Mist on Oct. 14.

Until the release of a graphic novel called “Realm of the Damned,” the only people to ever own any of Sons Of

Balaur’s records or witness their live rituals were followers of the Cult Of Balaur, an intensely secretive group that exists in the deepest forests and back alleys of the Norwegian landscape. They stay purposely hidden due to their penchant for church-burning, massive orgies, and blood rituals in the name of Balaur, the mysterious and horrifying vampire they worship.

Cooperation from prospective audiences is of little consequence to Tomas and company. “It matters not about acceptance, as that implies a choice,” he coldly proclaims. “There is no free will here, no taste or fad.

Balaur has risen and darkness is upon you all, so were there a question of choice, it would be a simple one: join or die.”

While the release of the band’s debut album 20 years after their formation may seem a bit belated, according to vocalist Tomas [last name redacted for legal reasons], the album’s creation represents the triumphant culmination of one epic quest—and the genesis of one far more nefarious in nature. “It all stemmed from my time of self-inflicted exile in Eastern Europe, searching for the final piece of the puzzle to bring about the rebirth of our unholy Lord Balaur,” Tomas explains. “Once acquired, I contacted the rest of the band with instructions, and we met at a secret location in Norway to finally see if the legend was true. It was, he is risen, and in this new endarkened age, we now unleash his gospel of blood and orgiastic violence upon an unsuspecting world.”

There have been many documentaries and novels made about the controversial church burnings and murders that brought fame to bands like Burzum, Mayhem, and Emperor, but Sons Of Balaur’s link to the scene has been stricken from history. “It’s no surprise, as even back then, we largely hated everyone,” he admits.

“Fakers with big talk about burning religion and anti-human behavior, only to run and hide the moment the police turned up. If you’re a disciple of Balaur, there is nothing to fear from worldly rules and ‘authority.’ Balaur is the one ‘trve’ Lord, and we are his skalds. Everything else is inconsequential.”

While their methods aren’t exactly what you’d call normal, the band have devoted their entire lives to serving their sanguinary deity, and that is all that matters. “From the moment I discovered the ancient scriptures, I knew my mortal life now had purpose,” Tomas enthuses. “From then on, Sons Of Balaur became a reality in my mind, a musical conduit for our great Lord’s will. So, to clarify, I didn’t exist in my current form before that time, ergo, that time doesn’t exist for me and is not worth talking about.”

As Tenebris Deos is released and the world is exposed to its bloody gospel, one question remains: how many American venues will Sons Of Balaur be banned from due to their gore-filled bacchanalias? “As I stated before, there is no choice, there are no plans, only Balaur’s will,” Tomas gruffly reiterates. “His gospel of blood is the word, and we exist to perform his bidding, so with that in mind, I can only conclude the live shows becoming more extreme. How else would you properly instruct a pure and complacent people on these new endarkened times? I am sure some will try to ban us, some will even try to hurt us, but we are prepared for all.”

“The soldiers of Balaur are coming.

Our army grows with every day that passes. You can’t stop the inevitable.”

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PHOTOGRAPH

Y BY ALAN SN

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ODGRASS

T

hough it was never officially discussed among the band’s members, 2011’s Moscow Penny Ante could have very likely been Dead To Me’s swan song. “We didn’t really ‘decide to get back together’ so much as we never broke up,” says bassist and vocalist Tyson “Chicken” Annicharico, a founding member of the brilliant San Francisco-based punk band.

“I was struggling with my sobriety and having a really hard time staying clean. Things got pretty terrible, and I wasn’t really talking to any of my friends and family.”

has always been about working through what’s going on in my life.

After I had a little over a year clean, I was ready to go record new songs.

I didn’t want to rush it right after getting clean when I only had a few months; I’ve done that before and

“For me, being creative and writing music is always about making a new beginning.”

Despite the downward spiral he was facing, the band never got together to talk about ending things.

“There was never a thought like, ‘We don’t want to [be a] band anymore.’ In fact, it was the opposite,” Chicken says. “We all really wanted to keep going, but I was nonfunctional with my using, so it wasn’t an option. The other guys in the band were just waiting for me it didn’t work. I had to provide myto get myself together. It took a few self a solid sober foundation before years unfortunately.” doing Dead To Me stuff. For me, being creative and writing music After his harrowing experience is always about making a new bewith opiates and alcohol, Chicken ginning.” is now clean and sober. As a result, Dead To Me are back with a The three tracks that made it new three-song 7”, I Wanna Die in onto the EP were ones Chicken Los Angeles, available through Fat had been working on for a while.

Wreck Chords since October. The “Those are songs I’ve had laying songs are an amazing testament around for a minute that I really to the band, who come across as wanted to get recorded,” he notes. recharged and having something “My sobriety has actually been to prove. insanely good for my creative productivity. I write every day and am Chicken’s recovery thus far has constantly working on new music. been anything but quick and easy. We recorded them in late July of After bottoming out on opiates this year.” and alcohol, he had to go through withdrawal from both. “That The record also marks the first time sucked,” he says. “Playing music Chicken has served as producer

for a Dead To Me record. “It was so much fun,” he says of the process. “I have a pretty clear idea of how I want things to sound and am always trying to get better at how to make that happen in the studio.

I’ve been working with an engineer named Ian MacGregor who is an actual professional, and he kind of babysits me and translates my nontechnical way of describing a sound into actual engineer/producer talk.

He is an amazingly talented dude, so it’s a huge help.”

I Wanna Die in Los Angeles is likely not the last project for which Chicken will get a producer credit, as he feels he can offer bands a crucial outsider’s ear to their music.

“A lot of bands—especially punk bands—think that they can just show up and bang out 20 songs in three days, because they did that once at their buddy’s home studio,” he says. “Which is neat, I guess, but it shows in the recording. I also hear a lot of punk bands that are in, like, straightforward three- or four-chord mid-tempo punk bands that spend, like, 30 or 40 grand at a studio with name recognition, and I have no idea why. There’s an in-between for bands, and I’d like to make affordable recordings that sound great—not slick—more common in punk.”

Dead To Me are already gearing up for their next LP, with recording set to begin at the end of December or beginning of January.

the very end of a few-years-long drug and alcohol binge, basically,” he explains. “I wouldn’t attribute it exclusively to my using opiates.

I see my using as a poor attempt at treating underlying depression issues. Getting high gives me very temporary relief from the depression, but it actually causes even more depressive emotional states, so it’s a vicious cycle that’s pretty hard to get out of. Something had to give, and it did.”

Above all, Chicken stresses the importance of seeking help. “There’s an increasing amount of options for people suffering with drug and alcohol addiction, as well as help for people dealing with mental health issues,” he notes. “For better or worse, it’s quite rare for someone not to know of at least one person who is dealing with or has dealt with one of the two.”

“If you have a friend or family member who you can trust and you feel safe talking to, mention it to them and ask for support,” he urges. “If you’re reading this and don’t know anyone, now you do, because I have been in your shoes and will gladly help. You can track me down on Twitter @deadtomesf or email the band at deadtomesf@gmail. com, and I’ll help you find support in your area.”

.....

This new EP is proof that Chicken and Dead To Me have come a long way and overcome a lot in the past few years. Along with dealing with his addiction, Chicken also had a mental breakdown to contend with. “My psychotic break was at

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOE CALIXTO

“The whole record was written at such a volatile time in my life that everything cuts really deep when we listen to it,” vocalist and guitarist Tanner Jones of Florida’s You Blew It! comments on their new record, Abendrot. The album was released Nov. 11 via Triple Crown Records.

A closer look at the German word “abendrot” reveals its definition to be the reddish hues and afterglow of a sunset, but a loosely translated synonym unveils what the entire record is truly based around: a transition. Just as the sun loses its place in the sky when succumbing to the eventual cycle of a day, You Blew It!’s members are confronting change.

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“It’s either post-college or near post-college for all of us,” Jones states. “That slow dread, that slow realization that you should be an adult. Society says you should be an adult, but you realize you don’t feel that way.”

With that gradual evolution comes the instability that lent itself so well to the writing process of Abendrot. “Epaulette” opens the record, with Jones using the shoulder piece to symbolize his grandpa. It’s reflective, honest, and a touching way to open up. From there, Jones questions everything else about where to belong, burning with feelings of uncertainty and anxious ticks. “I don’t feel like myself or anyone else,” the singer mourns on the next track.

Later on, listeners find Jones repeating, “There’s got to be something wrong with me,” on “Arrowhead.”

You Blew It! have explored this subject matter before, but sonically, it’s a different painting this time around. Abendrot is special within You Blew It!’s catalog because it sounds more expansive. “It’s less about writing things that you can hear through a blown P.A. in a basement, and it’s more about writing things that are a little more intricate, that lends itself to artfulness a little bit more,” Jones explains. “Not that punk isn’t art, because it absolutely is. Sometimes, you want to do things that challenge you a bit more, that are not in your nature.”

The band worked with producer Evan Weiss—of fellow punctuation enthusiasts, Into It. Over It.—to explore new ways to create what is their own. That’s where a song like “Minorwye” really shines; it’s as dark as the few hours before the sunrise, but without any resolve. There’s a constant build to something, but it is never fully realized. In that way, it uncovers the depth of You Blew It!, who succeeded in overhauling this record to make it interesting to listen

to front to back. It is only one chapter of a larger overarching story.

Abendrot digs past the idea of a simple transition, really focusing on every aspect that comes along with the entire process: emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually. “Autotheology” is at the center of the track list, circulating around the lyric, “When God dies, I’ll skip the funeral.” It’s a fictional, more vengeful Job becoming frustrated at all that is changing around him, as if there was no light left in the world.

You Blew It! end the record with a piano-heavy beauty of a track named “Kerning.” It is all the more fitting because the band took a different approach to writing the song. The lyrics were written first, not taking on an already established mood from the music, but forming one to match the space Jones and the rest of You Blew It! already found themselves in—ultimately harnessing a creativity that is as bright as the morning sunlight.

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W

ith decades of experience under their belts, Berkeley, California’s Mr. T Experience are easily a household name in the family of pop punk. That being said, it’s been 12 years since the band’s last release, Yesterday’s Rules. In the interim, frontman Frank Portman has been hard at work in the world of young adult fiction. Often heralded for his intelligent lyricism, Portman adopted the moniker of Dr. Frank early in his musical career. Now, with the release of his third novel, he’s truly lived up to the nickname. “King Dork Approximately” is the 2014 sequel to his first book, 2006’s “King Dork,” and Portman has coupled the work with a new Mr. T Experience record of the same name.

After Yesterday’s Rules was met with middling success, Portman came to the realization that, as he puts it, “the music business finally collapsed.” He goes on to say that “previously, we would do a record, slowly disintegrate during the subsequent tour, and reintegrate to do it all over again a year later. Our records never sold a huge amount, but zero is even less than that.” So, when a longtime fan turned literary agent reached out to him with a book deal, he took the opportunity to venture into a completely different medium.

“Writing a novel was the furthest thing from my mind till I had actually done it,” Portman confesses. Up to this point, he had a true knack for songwriting, but an entire book was a different story. Portman reflects that the agent’s “pitch was: if I could write a book with the same sensibility as some of the songs, he could probably sell it.” Figuring that his role in music was on

36 NEW NOISE

a decline, he continues that he “had nothing to lose and gave it a shot. It worked, to my total amazement.” After the success of “King Dork,” Portman penned a follow-up in 2009 entitled “Andromeda Klein,” which takes place in the same universe, but follows different characters.

"AS I’VE SAID MANY TIMES BEFORE, ROCK ‘N’ ROLL IS TEENAGED MUSIC IF IT’S ANYTHING AT ALL..."

Luckily, Portman has not completely hung up his music career. Alongside writing his new YA novel—which follows “King Dork” main character Tom Henderson through a series of bands he forms with his best friend—he has also been hard at work on new songs. So much so that the sequel was released tangentially with a digital album telling the story of the “King Dork” world he has built. “As I’ve said many times before, rock ‘n’ roll is teenaged music if it’s anything at all, and many of my songs were accordingly written in a voice of adolescent disaffection, confusion, [and]

grievance,” Portman muses.

He continues to say that “it was no great leap, conceptually, to adapt this voice to narrative fiction.”

The songs remain just vague enough that they will be enjoyable for those who haven’t read the novels, but fans of the books will certainly get more out of them. Portman notes, “The songs were written along with the narrative, and they really did mutually influence and inform each other as they were being constructed.” Falling neatly in line with the characters of both “King Dork” books and Mr. T Experience records, Portman assures that you don’t need backstory to fully get the songs. “All you gotta do is dance—or just sit there staring apathetically,” he says. “Whatever your personal style may be.”

Ironically, diving into authorship to distance himself from the sinking ship of music, he found marrying the two was the happy medium he’d been searching for. With the release of the “King Dork

Approximately” novel and record, Portman considered an audio book version that included pertinent songs. Ultimately, he decided that “every time you add an element that must be included, you increase the complexity and the unlikelihood that it will come off, but that’s not a reason not to try.”

Circling back to Portman’s roots, a physical copy of the album is slated for release in April of 2017 on Sounds Radical records. Portman reunited Mr. T Experience for these tracks and relates, “I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed playing and recording, and the whole band really thrived on the new sense of purpose and energy.” The band are playing select dates in the U.S., which can be found on Sounds Radical’s site. When considering if his main character, Tom Henderson, would like the record, he reveals, “There are things about this record he would like quite a bit. That said, he would have hated my band.

He’s far too much of a snob to give the time of day to ‘pop punk.’” .....

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACKI VITETTA

M

uch has been made in the music industry about Radkey’s ages. Sure, the Missouri-based band of brothers aren’t all old enough to legally drink, but it feels like so much of the praise thrown at the trio carries a patronizing caveat: “this is good because they’re so young.” Fuck that!

Radkey’s throwback punk rock is awesome, and Delicious Rock Noise—out since Nov. 11 via Another Century Records—is perfectly named.

Radke explains, “because if we were going to get signed to a new deal, we didn’t want our old album—which we worked really, really hard on—to just go to those few people it went to.

It’d be really nice for people’s first taste of us to be our first album. It was our nightmare for it to die, so we’re really stoked to give it the life we feel it deserves.”

the work in store for them now that they have a bigger stage.

“It’s just as exciting, and that’s what’s crazy,” Radke shares.

“We’re doing what we really do, and we feel really lucky to have been able to keep doing it. Now, getting with this label, we’ve never had the experience of a mid-major kind of deal, so we’re going to be able to get more exposure and some real shows and get out there more.

Success hasn’t gone to the It’s really kind of blowing our brothers’ heads; they stop to minds.” think about how fortunate they are all the time. “We think about By playing a retro style of how we were just jamming in fuzz-laden punk, the band are our shitty great room upstairs able to tune into an overall feel in the beginning six years ago,” that hasn’t existed in a long Radke says. “Now, we’re doing time: seriously great rock that things that we’ve dreamed of doesn’t take itself too seriousdoing. It’s taken a long time, but it’s really cool and feels crazy all the time. It’s taken quite a while. The first few years were just playing whatever, but as it’s gone on, we’ve been able to get more of a following in different cities, which is cool. It’s taken a while, but it’s pretty insane.”

This family band of three homeschooled brothers grew up together in the middle of nowhere, bonding over a love of their dad’s record collection and, of course, video games.

Radkey craft sharp, stunningly effective, hooky rock ‘n’ roll that recalls the Misfits, Ramones, Detroit garage rock, and noise rock, all with a strong hooky sensibility. It’d be false to call this pop punk—“Feed My Brain” is closer to Red Fang than MxPx—but hot damn, good luck not having these cho- Radkey truly have a unique ruses and guitar riffs stuck in Frankensteined sound, a monyour head for days. ster mash of different decades of rock. How did the band come This is why Another Century up with their sound? Having intelligently picked up the band access to their dad’s extensive and offered to rerelease their music collection helped. Raddebut, 2015’s Dark Black Make- ke explains, “We listened to a up, as Delicious Rock Noise, ton of ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s music. adding two excellent comic We had a lot of dad’s music to book-themed bonus tracks, a listen to, and before we wrote cover of The Lemons’ “Marvel” the album, we wanted to listen and the “Teen Titans (Theme).” to tons of music, so we made Most bands would be bummed this Spotify playlist that was so about pushing a rerelease, but many hours long of crazy ‘70s, in case it’s not already clear, ‘80s, and ‘90s music. We lisRadkey aren’t like most bands. tened to it constantly while we They do everything together, were writing, so somewhere in including pausing their Friday our heads is that style. We just video game session to discuss studied it, and all kinds of shit their past and future, (this just came out from the kind of much older writer is very jeal- music we put ourselves in for a ous of their Friday afternoon!). couple months.”

“That’s the thing, we’re actually Radkey are truly relishing their really excited,” bassist Isaiah opportunities and excited for

40 NEW NOISE

ly. It is present throughout Delicious Rock Noise, and it’s evident when talking with the band that the Radke brothers couldn’t be enjoying their lives more right now. Their sonic joy is infectious and will make watching Radkey’s ascension that much more enjoyable.

The band embark upon their first U.S. headliner in November and December with The Fame Riot, just after Delicious Rock Noise is released, so make sure to catch a show near you.

Radkey have the talent and drive to be the next great punk rock band, and if they make some people smile along the way, that’s pretty great too.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACKI VITETTA

42 NEW NOISE

T

here’s a simple reason why old-school Swedish-style death metal still works, and it’s not just that the HM-2 guitar pedal is awesome—though it most definitely is. The style is one of the purest ways to proffer gloriously heavy, riffy musical punishment. Arizona’s Gatecreeper split the difference between the genre’s forefathers, a more modern Entombedcore sound, and creeping death/doom. Their debut record, Sonoran Depravation—out now via Relapse Records—is both a love letter to the band’s influences and a furiously fun reminder of how to effectively channel the past and still sound fresh.

Gatecreeper take their craft seriously, and that extends to lovingly poring over the best ways to pair old-school death metal with classic death metal cover art. Adam Burke’s colorful style is the perfect choice for the art of Sonoran Depravation. Vocalist Chase Mason explains, “We take the visual stuff for the band really seriously. It’s really important. I think that gets lost a little bit with everything being so easily accessible [online] and disposable. We wanted to make every part of the album something that was memorable and stuck out.”

“We looked for a long time, because we knew we wanted to have a classic colorful album cover,” he continues, “and we wanted it to be an actual painting, something that you could get lost in, something that was

really vivid. We didn’t want to go with somebody who had done a bunch of other bands’ records.

We went with Adam Burke; we really lucked out. We gave him some direction and some references with other album covers.”

The intense color are the focal point. “We were specific on the colors,” Mason notes. “In Arizona, we have some pretty crazy sunsets where it looks like there’s a fire in the sky. That’s what we wanted to do: a fucked up desert,” he laughs.

Mason is not your typical vocalist, viewing his part in the band as a complement rather than a central focus. “For me, I like it to be more about the riffs, [let] that be the focus,” he says. “The vocals are more where they are needed. I try to put it in there and phrase it very tactfully. For me, I’m a huge music nerd, but I’m not a big lyrics guy. Some of my favorite bands and albums, I don’t know the lyrics,” he admits, laughing, “so, the lyrics are the last thing when it comes to the song. We didn’t print the lyrics on the album package to drive that point home.”

It’s a good thing Sonoran Depravation contains some of the freshest, filthiest riffs of 2016. Gatecreeper are a band on the rise, because they know what they do best: each song is trimmed of anything other than Grade A riffs. The record is a time capsule for how to make an older style sound reinvigorated decades later.

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lead guitarist Ben Weinman of Dissociation’s anxiety-ridden creative process.

T

he Dillinger Escape Plan were more than just a band. For the past two decades, they’ve existed as the wildest musical force on the planet: a group of technically proficient players and DIY acrobats who’ve challenged listeners and enraptured audiences around the world. Their music—a potent amalgam of punk, metal, jazz, prog, and sorcery— has been admired and imitated, but never duplicated. Their often death-defying concerts cemented their status as the most electrifying live act around, and their name became a line of demarcation in the world of extreme music, synonymous with

danger and creative freedom.

Sadly, like all good things, the fabled Dillinger Escape Plan story has come to an end. In typical Dillinger fashion, they’ve decided to go out with a bang, dropping their explosive sixth and final full-length album, Dissociation, this past October on their very own Party Smasher Inc. For their last trick, these Jersey-bred sandbox magicians pulled out all the stops, crafting a stunning album that perfectly encapsulates the many twists and turns of the band’s storied career. “These albums are really hard to make. They take a lot out of us—of me particularly,”

Weinman started The Dillinger Escape Plan in 1997. Over the years—and throughout their many lineup changes, legal woes, and injuries—Weinman has served as the band’s primary songwriter and field marshal. The brilliant and jarring playing style that Weinman and Dillinger cofounder and former drummer Chris Pennie pioneered during the waning days of the 20th century completely reshaped the world of extreme music forever. To the untrained ear, it was noise. Critics and metal fiends around the globe called it “mathcore.” From now on, the keepers of posterity will just call it: Dillinger. “I’ve never wanted to be the most technical guitar player or know the most scales or play the fastest or any of that. I just always wanted to make great music,” Weinman says proudly.

“We were kids back then, when we started,” he says, recalling the early days when he and Pennie destroyed their instruments crafting the band’s legendary Morse code-style assault. “What his drumming inspired in me and what my playing inspired in him is what created what people say is the ‘Dillinger sound’ or whatever.” This unique sound has evolved into a multifaceted language of sorts over the years thanks to the work of Weinman’s longstanding brothers in arms, vocalist and chaos-bringer Greg Puciato, bass master extraordinaire Liam Wilson, and polyrhythmic drum phenom Billy Rymer. Their once strictly brash and atonal attack on the senses has morphed into a stunning anything-goes sonic free-for-all, rife with insane grooves, pop hooks, and omnipresent technical wizardry.

This gloriously diverse Dillinger sound has never been more prominent than on their final LP. At times, Dissociation harkens back to the frenzy of Dillinger’s manic 1999 debut, Calculating Infinity. Songs

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like “Honeysuckle” and “Low Feels Blvd” rage like the Clinton years. Suddenly, the tide turns with tracks like “Symptom of Terminal Illness” and “Nothing to Forget” boasting the gargantuan hooks and haunting melodies first introduced on Miss Machine in 2004 and later perfected on Option Paralysis in 2010. 2013’s One of Us Is the Killer felt like the first truly synthesized Dillinger Escape Plan album, on which the band’s crazy shred and uber infectious tendencies bled into each other seamlessly. Dissociation continues down this evolutionary path, leaving fans with Dillinger 6.0.: their fully realized final form. Dillinger have been dodging bullets like Neo for the past 16 years, and now, with Dissociation as their swan song, they’re stopping them in midair.

“I think that was kind of part of realizing that we had sort of come through everything we needed to come through with this band, that this was the final chapter,” Weinman says of their decision to disband after the Dissociation tour cycle concludes next year. “It’s so weird living your life kind of standing still in a way,” he explains.

“Like, people think it sounds ridiculous saying that touring around the world and creating music is standing still, but in a way, it’s like this cycle, suspended time. I was coming to that realization, thinking that question: ‘Where are you going to be in five years?’ Every time I’ve asked myself that, it’s pretty much the same place. Different album, tour, couple more injuries or something, you know?

It was kind of weird to think I don’t really see an end to this anywhere.”

Don’t mistake Weinman’s reasoning for disdain or unhappiness within Dillinger. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. “Everything is great,” he says assuredly. “We’re really happy with the music, and our shows are great, but instead of thinking everything is great we should keep going, it kind of did the opposite for the first time. I

“43% Burnt”: Calculating Infinity: 1999 The riff that launched a million pile-ons. This is the song that best encapsulates the mania of Dillinger’s early years. From the madcap circus guitars, pummeling drums, and enough stops and changes to keep NASA guessing to ear-splitting vocals and the most iconic intro/outro riff of the millennium, “43% Burnt” is mandatory listening for all aspiring Dillinger scholars.

“Sunshine the Werewolf”: Miss Machine: 2004 The band’s unofficial closing song—used to end most of their concerts over the last decade—“Sunshine the Werewolf” is epic in every sense of the word. A minute and a half of technical savagery gives way to a calm before the storm interlude, then launches into the band’s most froth-inducing breakdown. If you ever set foot in a Dillinger show and heard this song’s chief declaration of “Destroyer!” that meant you were about to enter a world of sweaty, flying bodies.

thought maybe we should control this, because it has to end sometime. Why don’t we take control of it and have some intention and meaning to it?”

“I think, at first, it seemed scary,” he shares. “Like, why would you mess something up that works? We started discussing it more and more, thinking about the alternatives which would be, ‘Why don’t we just do this forever? Why don’t we slow down and do it whenever we want to do it?’ and it just wasn’t as cool. It was kind of pussy shit to be honest with you. This is the art statement. This is making sure Dillinger has a legacy that is considered honorable and respectable. There’s a beginning and an end. It’s a piece of work that you can look at.”

Dissociation successfully bookends The Dillinger Escape Plan’s stellar discography and assures their place in the an-

nals of music. This final record is The Dillinger Escape Plan leaving everything on the table.

For a band who have shed so much blood and sweat and broken so many bones with their fans over the years, that’s saying something. Dillinger have never sounded more feral than on Dissociation’s opening rager, “Limerent Death.” Conversely, they’ve never been as earnest or vulnerable as they are on the album’s closing title track, on which Puciato struggles with “finding a way to die alone.”

“Milk Lizard”: Ire Works: 2007 Dillinger will go down as some of the great pioneers of extreme, underground music, but they could have just as easily been one of the biggest rock radio bands of the ‘00s. “Milk Lizard” showcases the band’s uncanny rock ‘n’ roll sensibilities, complete with swinging horn section and the catchiest chorus you’ll ever hear.

“Room Full of Eyes”: Option Paralysis: 2010 Renowned for their spasm-inducing technical jams, the highlight of “Room Full of Eyes” is when Dillinger slow things down to a sexy, doomy crawl at the halfway point. From breakneck to foot-stomping, and featuring one of the band’s most gargantuan riffs and Puciato’s crazy falsetto, “Room Full of Eyes” is easily one of the band’s best.

“One of Us Is the Killer”: One of Us Is the Killer: 2013 The pinnacle of the band’s ingenious melodic songwriting. This near-perfect pop song is light years removed from the frenzy of their debut album, but still rocking enough to sway listeners. “One of Us Is the Killer” remains unmistakably Dillinger.

With this final offering, it seems that the clock has finally wound down for The Dillinger Escape Plan. The kings are dead; long live the kings. What lies ahead for extreme music now? Who knows? One thing that is certain, Dillinger have set the example: do it fucking live, or don’t do it at all.

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NEW NOISE 47

I

t’s a Wednesday night in the Grand Ballroom of New York City’s famous Webster Hall. The lights in the venue dim just enough to leave the stage illuminated by the three massive monitors broadcasting an array of sporadic images. As the intro to the new track “Carry On” rings out, Memphis May Fire vocalist Matty Mullins climbs onto a platform center stage. He is highly composed and incredibly well dressed in a dark button-down tunic, grey-wash pants, and snazzy shoes, which are strikingly juxtaposed with his bellowed screams that blow away even some of the band’s best recordings.

“We always give it everything we’ve got,” Mullins says several days before the New York show. “It doesn’t matter if there’re five people or 5,000 people. We’re always going to get up to give the best show that we can.” At this time, Memphis May Fire are promoting their fifth full-length record, This Light I Hold, on a North American co-headlining tour with labelmates The Devil Wears Prada. While the album wouldn’t be out through Rise Records until Oct. 28, the band had decided to jumpstart their tour a few weeks early, busting out live versions of the singles “Carry On,” “This Light I Hold,” and the yet-to-be-released, “Sever the Ties.”

Though the Southern hopecore group from Texas have hinted at heading toward a more commercial rock vibe, there is no lag in the ferocity and energy presented on stage. The djent may be a little less focal, but the intricacies in the guitar and drums wonderfully take charge. “As we get older and our music

starts to change, just overall, our future outlook on things start to change,” Mullins explains. “[We wanted] to explore something different and see what the band was capable of. And if we were to be one of those crossover bands that went from Warped Tour to active rock, we would be stoked and hope that our fans would come with us.” He adds, “I’m singing a lot more on this album, and I really love that aspect, but it still sounds like a Memphis record. And that’s what matters.”

vocals,” Mullins continues.

“He’s going to help me until the day I die, but the guys wanted to do the instrumentals with Matt Good. The dude is amazing. We respect him so much.

We toured with his band, [From First To Last], back in the day, so we decided to do the record with him shortly after he did a record with The Word Alive. […] I think he’s got a really fresh perspective in production, and it’s really cool having someone that’s not kind of jaded and gotten into their groove of putting bands through the same thing they Singing and intricate yet radio do every record. Matt’s really friendly riffs may be the key fresh.” players on This Light I Hold, but there are still some heavy, From the recording studio to intense moments that harken the concert hall, it is clear that back to Memphis May Fire’s Mullins and his band have put earlier days, like opening 150 percent into This Light I banger “Out of It” or the title Hold. “I try to just be as hontrack featuring Papa Roach est and as transparent about vocalist Jacoby Shaddix. “Ev- the scenes in life that I’m in,” erything about this record is a Mullins says. “A lot of these progression from our previous songs are so specifically about discography,” Mullins notes, my own day-to-day life situa“in quality of songwriting, in tion, but what’s so incredible quality of sound, in quality of about music is that as soon as lyrics, everything. It’s just a you release that to the public, progression, so we’re really it becomes everybody’s situahappy with it.” tion and so many people relate to it. That’s why I’ve always For the first time in their ca- felt that God is doing somereer, Memphis May Fire took thing so much bigger through several months off of their rig- our band [by] allowing us to orous touring schedule to both play music. I feel like God has write and record the album, His hand in this band, and greatly benefitting the overall He is using us for something evolution of their sound and much bigger. When you can composition. “When you’re put out a song specifically writing on the road, it is so about you and have so many hard to find inspiration,” Mul- people relate to it and find lins admits. “There’s so much hope in it, I mean, it’s just—I that’s a distraction from be- don’t know, it’s just incrediing creative and fully in your ble. It’s a miracle. But yeah, zone.” Luckily, with the time the overall message of this reoff, Memphis May Fire were cord is going to continue to be able to come up with one of hope. Hope is what I want to their most diverse releases to share and my main focus for date, working with both new being in this band.” ..... and old producers to bring it all together. “I always work with Cameron [Mizell] on my

PHOTO: REID HAITHCOCK

“Code Orange is forever.”

It’s the daring mantra from the Pittsburgh-based band’s stellar third album and Roadrunner Records debut. It’s also a bold statement of intent, one that the group formerly known as Code Orange Kids aims to back up with their new offering. Forever—out Jan. 17—takes everything that made Code Orange’s experimental metallic hardcore so invigorating on their 2014 sophomore release, I Am King, and amplifies it. Here, they are a bigger, meaner, and much more focused band. Forever is a stunning listening experience: heavier, more progressive, and dripping with sonic vitriol and passion. Code Orange are insatiably hungry. If it’s not already clear, they aren’t kids anymore.

Drummer and vocalist Jami Morgan uses neat metaphors to explain the difference between Forever and I Am King. “I feel [like] when we wrote the last record, there was a really specific idea: to rebuild the house of what the band was,” he begins. “That record was simple

in a lot of ways, not because that’s all we were capable of doing, but because that’s kinda what I feel it needed to boil down to, to kind of gather people into our world in a way we couldn’t do previously.”

“Almost immediately after I Am King, Forever started circling in our heads,” he expands. “Now that we’ve built this foundation and people understand what we are and what we’re about, there’s different aspects to it. This one is where we can really decorate, really show the different sides of what we know how to do. I feel like this one is focused and has a lot of dynamics, but it’s also extremely pissed, which was a big part of what we needed it to sound like. In my mind, it takes these different things you stick in this stew, and it makes it fit together. That was the hardest part of writing: getting it all together to fit into this puzzle.”

Code Orange offer a truly multifaceted experience. There is much more to them than ferocious songs, and it all stems from

the band taking total control over every aspect of the Code Orange world. Morgan expounds, “The visual component is why we changed our name and vibe a little bit. I wanted that to be a focus.

After we did the first record with Deathwish [Inc.], I just started thinking about, ‘What are the bands that I love, that everyone really remembers and sees in a certain light—what do they have in common?’ They have their specific vibe, visuals, and aesthetic, and we knew as soon as we did the first record [that] we wanted to continue with that. Part of why we wanted to sign to Roadrunner was because there were a lot of bands in the ‘90s on the label that had that strong visual aesthetic there.

I feel like that’s so gone from everything now. I don’t want to be some band where it’s about who we are personally or what we’re doing every day. I want to be in a band that people can look at in a more grandiose way—not in an arrogant way, but that they can look at and appreciate the whole picture.”

Delving into the aesthetics of Forever’s art, Morgan adds, “The themes of the record determine the color I want to go with.

There’s a line from the chorus in ‘Ugly’ that says, ‘Green is the color of power and greed / But now blood red is all I can see.’ This record is a lot more about pain and revenge, while the last record was more about power and selfworth. I knew this record needed to be a lot darker, but it’s not pitch black all the time; we really wanted there to be a lot of dynamics, a lot of shades of black, grey, and red.” This color scheme is present in everything from their current t-shirt designs to their music video for the album’s title track.

If I Am King is the ascension into sovereignty, then Forever is a reaction to having that power. “Before we even wrote the lyrics, I wrote something like, ‘I am King… forever,’ but with many more words,” Morgan laughs. “It was very intentional, and that’s where I started writing all the lyrics from, that idea. People have different ideas

PHOTO: TIM SEMEGA

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PHOTO: TIM SEMEGA

of what coming into power means, but to us, we had a band no one cared about. Then, people started caring, mainly because we wrote a record about people caring. [Forever] is not only about what we want to do with that, but it’s about the reaction we got—positive and negative—from people we know.

It’s about all the things that came from [I Am King].”

Code Orange have definitely been surrounded by hype and high expectations, and that certainly hasn’t changed as they prepare to release their first major label record. However, Morgan states that the band put themselves through the mental ringer, so outside pressure doesn’t faze them. “The way it started was—we started the band when we were 14 years old, and we had a bunch of ideas. We come from a town where no bands get hyped in that way, ever, especially in hardcore. People around us were really supportive as we grew. When we really started going down this road, from I Am King on, it has been conceptualized. We want this all to string together and build off of what we’ve done in the past.”

“I just see the same old fucking bands on these magazines and the same old bands on everything, and it’s time for a regime change...”

“This band doesn’t have the ability to make a record just to make a record,” he continues. “I feel there’s so much effort, thought, time—we think about this shit so much. We live and breathe and fucking bleed thinking about this shit on every fucking level. We have created every single shirt we’ve ever released. When we did this Roadrunner thing, we created every single promotional poster and sticker. It’s not because I think we’re the best; we just have a really particular voice. There’s just too much fucking passion and chips on our shoulders that I think everything is gonna matter. That doesn’t mean it’ll all be good,” he adds with a chuckle.

With all that intensity, does Morgan ever need a break? “Yeah, it makes me absolutely batshit psychotic,” he laughs. “I was reading the thing we did on Rolling Stone [for the premiere of ‘Forever’], and I was like, ‘Holy shit,

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I’m psychotic.’ This band is just who we are as a group of people, and it’s who I am in my mind all the fucking time. I really can’t escape it. [Bassist] Joe [Goldman] and I have gotten into Jujitsu for the past couple years, and that’s helped a lot. It’s helped to relieve a lot of my anxiety. It just gives us a whole different world to live in sometimes. It’s tough to try to control every aspect of the Code Orange thing, and it feels good to escape that for a bit.”

For Morgan, it’s all about perspective and lifelong friendship; that’s how Code Orange keep going. “We are, first of all, best friends till death in blood; we’re family in so many ways. I tour with a lot of other bands, and it’s not like that with them,” he admits. “That’s what sets us apart. We’re willing to do anything to make our goals happen. It’s not about being in a band or getting paid on tour. It’s about getting across what we’re trying to get across.”

“Code Orange represents what’s coming to a lot of these bands who have been around for a long time,” he continues. “It’s been the same bands on top for the past 20 years.

We play these festivals, and it’s often deserved for those top bands, but it just makes me sad, because where are those bands that are going to take their spots? They don’t exist. I’m not saying we’re going to be that, but we’re coming for all of it. I feel like we represent a new breed of band that doesn’t come around all the time. It’s not in an arrogant way, I just really feel that. If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t be putting my everything in this. I just see the same old fucking bands on these magazines and the same old bands on everything, and it’s time for a change; there’s got to be a regime change. The appreciation for all those bands’ runs is great, but we are set on carving our own way.”

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NEW NOISE 53

W

ill Salazar is sounding a bit weary the day after the 2016 U.S. presidential election. “I’m feeling disappointed today,” says Salazar, the lead singer and guitarist of Houston, Texas, punk band Fenix TX. “I’m feeling disappointed in my country. I had high hopes. I thought there were more people who thought like I did. It sounds selfish, but it’s true.”

He stops to think about it more.

“It’s sad that our country is so divided right now [that] we have a buffoon in office,” he says.

But it’s not all bad. Salazar is also feeling optimistic. In September,

Fenix TX released their first material in 15 years in the form of a new EP aptly titled CRE.EP—available via Cyber Tracks—and they’re also working on a full-length that could come out next spring. “We’re putting out some songs that have been hanging around the locker and seeing what happens,” he says. “Each one of those songs on the EP were recorded at different times and in different studios with different engineers. But, we are making more music. I want to release something with more of a cohesive feel to it.”

Last year, a scary health incident inadvertently became the catalyst for reuniting the band. “I had a stroke,” Salazar shares. “When that happened, I got a call from

each of the guys in the band, and they all told me, ‘Dude, we need get together.’ We did and all had a great time hanging out. It snowballed into something resulting in this EP, and it feels good.”

That blessing in disguise led to playing music together, which led to more shows, which were followed by the creativity fans are witnessing today. Thankfully, Salazar says the stroke hasn’t affected his playing too much. “I think for the first month afterward, I couldn’t use my left hand the same way, but that came back.

I’m feeling good.”

Back in 2005, Fenix TX ended their music on a high note with Lechuza, but Salazar says it was a dark time for the band. “[Breaking up] wasn’t something I wanted to do, but the other guys were just fed up with how things were going,” he explains. “We weren’t getting along; we weren’t having fun anymore. Playing shows started to feel like a job and not a passion. We all

wanted make music still, we just didn’t want to do it with each other. But, it wasn’t a falling out where we hated each other. I’m glad we’re making music again.”

“It was pretty tough,” he adds. “I had just got married, I just bought a house, and my job wasn’t there anymore. I wanted to keep writing, I wanted to keep playing, so I started Denver Harbor.”

Fenix TX broke up while recording the anticipated follow-up to Lechuza. One of the remnants of those recordings is the solid “Church and State,” which is on the new EP. Salazar says they’ve since broken bread and made amends. This time around, he says, they feel more secure and more mature as a band.

“These days, we’re FaceTiming the kids after a show or are sober enough to do an interview and drive the van,” he laughs. “We’ve definitely changed and grown. Responsibility is no longer a backseat to partying. It feels like everybody is on the same page as far as our goals and ambitions go. I’m really happy we’re all making music again.”

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54 NEW NOISE

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V

enom’s 1982 album, Black Metal, may have given the extreme metal subgenre its very name, but black metal hasn’t exactly been one of the main exports of the U.K.’s metal scene in the decades since. Now, that’s beginning to change thanks to bands like Caïna, Fen, Saor, and Wodensthrone—who, sadly, announced their breakup this year.

But perhaps no one has done more to pioneer the new wave of British black metal than Manchester, England’s Winterfylleth.

The band’s latest, The Dark Hereafter, came out on Sept. 30 via Candlelight and Spinefarm Records and will almost certainly serve to solidify Winterfylleth’s status as the standard-bearer of British black metal. The five songs on the album are as chilling as anything birthed in the icy expanses of Norway— including the cover of “Capitel I: I Troldskog Faren Vild,” the opening track from Ulver’s 1995 debut, Bergtatt—but also delve into post-rock soundscapes and atmosphere even more deeply than Winterfylleth’s four previous records.

“As the album title suggests, we were looking for a darker,

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more aggressive sound this time around, and I think we succeeded on the whole,” bassist Nick Wallwork says. “Obviously, we didn’t want to deviate too much from the established template—we’re not the biggest fans of bands that totally flip the style of what they are doing from one record to the next—so, I think it still has a lot in common with the last record.”

Winterfylleth recorded The Dark Hereafter at Skyhammer Studios with Chris Fielding, who also produced their last three records, accounting for the obvious similarities in tone. The band explore some new sounds on the album too, most notably on the track “Green Cathedral,” with its slower tempo, more drawn out passages, dramatic mid-song key change, and use of both choirs and synths to create additional atmosphere. “We look at [The Dark Hereafter] as more of an expansion of the sound rather than a reinvention of it,” Wallwork says.

There’s also that Ulver cover, which sees the band utilizing clean vocals for the first time.

“We wanted to remain faithful to the original as much as we could, so the idea of covering this with our traditional extreme vocal delivery was thrown out of the

window pretty early on,” Wallwork attests. “This allowed us to play with vocal melodies and harmonies a lot more than ever before with a fully sung lyric as opposed to chants or whatever.”

The band translated the title and lyrics into English from their original Danish based on a recent translation provided by Ulver in their Trolsk Sortmetall 1993– 1997 box set, which is why the song is called “Led Astray in the Forest Dark” on The Dark Hereafter. However, from the first notes of the memorable opening riff, there’s no doubt what you’re listening to. “We spent a lot of time trying to [make] the music as faithful an homage as we could. We’re very pleased with the final result,” Wallwork says.

While much of black metal looks back to the pagan past or focuses on Satanism and religion, Winterfylleth are more interested in taking a look at the current state of the world on their new LP. Lyrically, the album comes from a place that is rooted in the band members’ outlooks as citizens of a former colonial superpower.

“The Dark Hereafter discusses how our greedy, power hungry governmental decision-making has led to a forceful reaction

from the places we have invaded, bombed, or otherwise tried to control over the years,” Wallwork says. “The actual ‘Dark Hereafter’ in this instance is the impact of terrorism on our societies, and that of social upheaval and of displacement in the populations of many countries our governments have invaded, as a result.”

This decidedly dark worldview is reflected in the artwork as well as the songwriting, Wallwork adds.

The album art utilizes a much darker palette than 2014’s The Divination of Antiquity, which he describes as “very bright, stark, and vibrant.” That’s why the songs are darker and heavier on The Dark Hereafter too. “It is very much a reflection on the state of the world as we see it now, which can be viewed as a very dark, unsettled place to be,” he explains.

As for Winterfylleth’s role in leading the resurgence of black metal in merry old England, Wallwork says that they’re “very happy to be part of what is a very vibrant scene. We’re happy and proud to say that we are an English black metal band, a term that 15 years ago was maybe not seen in such a positive light.”

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G

erman/American sludgy black metallers, Downfall Of Gaia, didn’t shy away from big ideas when it came time to write the follow-up to their 2014 album, Aeon Unveils the Thrones of Decay. “Atrophy is a concept record, a story told about the constant dialogue between life and death in which each and every one is caught day by day, where life itself became the Sisyphean masterpiece,” vocalist and guitarist Dominik Goncalves dos Reis says.

“The plot of the record is a dark ride from birth to death.” Atrophy drops Nov. 11 via Metal Blade Records “I have to admit that negativity is always the driving force when it comes to writing lyrics,” he says of his dark muse for the album. “At least for me. My words are always inspired by

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stuff that’s going on in my head, stuff that is happening around in my personal environment, stuff that has an impact on me. A lot of stuff happened in the recent months, so it just made sense to write down those words.”

While Atrophy’s concept is lofty, Downfall Of Gaia decided to streamline the music. “This record is definitely our straightest release so far. It has a lot of melodies, but still harsh and ‘in your face,’” Goncalves dos Reis says “Of course, you are always connected the most to your newest release, but I think all of us grew as musicians and the songs are way more structured.”

and drummer Michael Kadnar— took a different approach to their songwriting. “The writing process for this record has been a bit different as for the previous ones,” Goncalves dos Reis explains. “For the albums before, it always happened like this: [former guitarist] Peter Wolff and me prepared songs [and] demos at home, all of us got together in the rehearsal room, the both of us showed what they had, and we started to work on those songs. For the writing process of Aeon Unveils the Thrones of Decay, Mike flew over to Germany, and we spent two weeks in March 2014 and two weeks in April 2014 in the rehearsal room.

Lots of hours, doing nothing else.”

When it came time to record the new album, the band—also featuring bassist and vocalist Anton Lisovoj, new guitarist Marco Mazzola,

For Atrophy, Downfall Of Gaia switched up this process quite a bit. “This time, there was no Peter, no second guitar player,” Goncalves

dos Reis continues. “We didn’t want to lose a lot of time, so we decided to start with the songwriting and have a look for a new guitar player as a sideline. So, this is the first time we wrote a whole album at home and had almost everything done before we even met. I wrote and recorded the songs at home, sent them over to Mike, we exchanged ideas about the rhythm, and he added and programmed the drums. Of course, a few things changed in the rehearsal room, but the main skeleton was written before. Fortunately, nowadays, it has become super easy to interact via the good old internet.”

The proof is in the final product: Atrophy is one raging slice of epic black metal that burns with a dark emotional energy.

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P

hilly-based five-piece The Superweaks have managed to take a wildly eclectic group of influences—everything from Thin Lizzy to Weezer—and wrap it in their own original sound for a fuzzed out collection of pop ditties that manage to sound vaguely familiar and fresh at the same time.

Nowhere is that more obvious than on their latest full-length, Better Heavens.

Released Nov. 4 on Lame-O Records, the LP is their strongest to date and one that’s bound to draw even more attention to the group who, over the past few years, have toured with everyone from Brand New to The Get Up Kids.

“It’s actually really important to us that we do get along with who we’re [touring] with,” vocalist and guitarist Chris “Doc Bag” Baglivo says. “Whenever we go on tour, we like to invite the other bands into our lives and cook meals together. Especially on our level—where we’re not staying in nice hotels or making much money—it’s important to foster camaraderie and have a good time. Touring for a living is hard, but it’s definitely easier when everyone you’re traveling with is a friend.”

That generosity even includes helping the occasional animal they bump into on the road. “When we toured with The Obsessives and Heart Attack Man, we all rescued a stray dog and banded together to bathe and feed the pup during a show, and that experience will always stay with me,” Baglivo says. “To this day, we all still talk to each other in a group chat that we made on that tour. When

we toured with Reggie And The Full Effect and The Get Up Kids, we’d take turns putting on a turkey costume and dancing onstage with [Reggie And The Full Effect mastermind] James [Dewees] and his backing band, Pentimento. That’s what touring is about: we’re all after the same noble goal of putting ourselves out there and entertaining, and the music community should be a huge family that supports each other in the pursuit of that.”

Thanks to plenty of touring—as well as a conscious effort on The Superweaks’ part—the new record sounds a little different from their earlier offerings.

“We intentionally approached recording Better Heavens with a different process,” Baglivo says. “Previously, we’d include cameos from many of our friends, contributing different parts on Bad Year and The World Is a Terrible Place and I Hate Myself and Want To Die, but this time, we wanted to capture only our live band in action. We recorded most of this album live in our studio, Big Mama’s Recording in North Philly, and only overdubbed what we considered vital additions to the tunes.”

as a musician. All of the art featured on this record was painted by Corey at different stages of his life, and the title Better Heavens was suggested by him before he passed. I miss Corey every day, and what I want more than anything is to make sure his contributions are heard. We want this record to carry on his legacy.”

As The Superweaks gear up to support Better Heavens on a winter tour that will take them all over the U.S.

and Europe, they still have a number of big projects coming up. “Literally a bunch of secret stuff that I can’t tell you about,” Baglivo says. “All I can say for now is we’ll be releasing more music, playing more shows, and doing an interactive release down the line where you can do something more while you’re listening to our music. I refuse to divulge more than that fundamental tantalizing component. Let your imagination run wild.”

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Another major absence is bassist Corey Bernard, who passed away earlier this year. “It’s been difficult processing his passing, and every step forward we take with the record and music videos hurts,” Baglivo discloses. “But, after everything he put into this album and this band, we would never consider stopping. He put all of his available energy into making this record, and we want it out there as a testament to who he was

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I

INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST/VOCALIST LORENZO “LOLLO” GULMINELLI BY KIT BROWN

n a year that’s already been filled with amazing albums for fans of both grindcore and death metal, Italy’s Hierophant are here to show the world that there’s still plenty to get excited about at the end of 2016. With their incredible fusion of all things extreme, Hierophant have returned with 10 tracks that can only be described as an auditory assault. Whether it’s their heavy reliance on immediacy in the songwriting, their love of crust punk, or their allegiance to organic recording methods, Mass Grave—out Nov. 4 via Season Of Mist—will test the endurance of even the staunchest heavy metal fans.

Guitarist and vocalist Lorenzo “Lollo” Gulminelli says, “I consider this record a rush of pure, blind anger more than any other previous records. Mass Grave definitely helped me to express all the emotions I constantly feel in my life.”

With songs like the blistering “Forever Crucified” and the doom-laden title track, the group are more than

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capable of seamlessly blending multiple styles, all while delivering an incredibly nihilistic message. “We’re surrounded by injustices, we’re killing ourselves with our own hands,” Gulminelli says.

“Sometimes, it looks like we’re living in a state of non-return. The world is falling apart day by day in front of us, and behind all this crap, there’s just humanity’s madness.

That’s what really influenced us and the music we play.”

What separates this latest album from their previous records is the band’s increasing inclusion of the ‘90s death metal aesthetic, both in terms of production and the songs themselves. “We started walking this path to being more extreme with [2014’s] Peste already, mixing crusty vibes we had with some death metal,” Gulminelli says.

“With this new one, there was just one goal: playing music that we like to play in the way we like to play.

Extreme music. No bullshit, no compromises, no emotions.”

Mass Grave’s massive production quality is due in part to the work of Taylor Young, who is also a member of extreme metal juggernauts like Nails and Twitching Tongues.

His mutual love of old-school tones and minimalist approaches to production have helped push this album to greater heights. “We got in touch with him two years ago when he mixed Peste,” Gulminelli says. “After that, we thought that collaborating with him for this new production would have been cool, and it was great and totally smooth indeed. Taylor is the best dude to work and hang out with. He’s very professional, and he perfectly knows what he does.”

Though Young’s own bands have a very identifiable sound, they did not play a role in shaping Mass Grave.

“We reached the recording studio with a very precise and clear idea of what we wanted and how this record should have been. In terms of extreme music, we’re very related with Taylor and his personal pref-

erences, more than any of his musical projects helped the good result of this record,” Gulminelli says. “He did a really great job with us.”

Don’t expect any studio tricks or flashy production techniques either. “I’ve always been fascinated from old-school music productions where what you played is what you recorded,” Gulminelli says. “We’re a live band, and I’d feel embarrassed to record something that I cannot play live in the same way.” While it’s not clear whether Hierophant will be doing any extensive touring in support of Mass Grave, the band seem determined to keep spreading their apocalyptic message. “We just want to promote our music to as many people as possible,” he concludes. “That’s all we really care about.”

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AGGRONAUTIX INTERVIEW WITH FOUNDER CLINT WEILER BY JANELLE JONES

“I like taking fucked up things and making them into cute things. But not too cute,” Aggronautix founder Clint Weiler says. For those unfamiliar, Aggronautix is a brand of (mostly) punk and hardcore “Throbbleheads,” started by Weiler about seven years ago. Weiler—the director of marketing and publicity for MVD Distribution—is a huge fan of punk and wanted to make some designer toys honoring the musical art form. After some indepth research, he decided to go the Bobblehead route, calling his creations Throbbleheads. “Just to fuck with the name and kinda make it my own,” he explains.

The first figure he put out was the “1991 era” GG Allin, replete with “the bald head, the jock strap,” Weiler says. “I worked closely with his brother, Merle, on everything, so everything was the way it should be.” Since then, many of the Aggronautix creations have sold out. They normally do limited runs of 500 to 2,000, and have offered a few different Allin Throbbleheads during that time: a different “Extra Filthy Bloody” version of the aforementioned original and one representing his look from 1989. Is he a personal favorite? “Not necessarily,” Weiler admits. “His image just lends

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itself well to an action figure type of thing.” Weiler says he tries to create Throbbleheads of people who “have pretty unmistakable looks and cool characteristics.”

Some that have made the cut are D.O.A.’s Joey Shithead, Descendents’ Milo Aukerman (twice!), Mudhoney’s Mark Arm, Meatmen’s Tesco Vee, The Damned’s Captain Sensible, and the Minutemen’s Mike Watt.

Every Throbblehead is legal, Weiler is quick to note. “They all come with contracts and they’re all appropriately licensed,” he says, adding, “I contact the man-

agement or the band itself, or in any changes need to be made. some cases, the estate and work Finally, the figure is painted and, according to Weiler, “If any deit out that way.” cals need to be applied for patchAfter it’s determined that some- es or tattoos, that gets put on, and one’s likeness will be recreated, that’s the third round of proofWeiler goes to an artist, like il- ing.” He concludes, “every step of lustrator Craig Holloway, who the way, I work with the artist on will do a sketch of the front and getting it the way they want it.” side of the subject after he’s been provided with photo references Weiler mentions that, in a typical and instructions about how the year, he normally likes to get five figure should be posed. Then, Throbbleheads out. This year, those sketches are shown to the however, “For whatever reason, artist or their management, and once I started to do all the differtweaks are made if necessary. ent other branding things like the After that stage, the prototype Rue Morgue RIPpers, [a collabogoes to a sculptor, and again, it ration with Rue Morgue Magais shown to management in case zine to put out a Vincent Price figure], I wasn’t able to meet that, so right now, I have a bunch of them ready to go, but a few of them are taking a while to get the proofing completed.”

The one Aggronautix Throbblehead that was created this year was modeled after FEAR’s iconic frontman, Lee Ving, limited to 1,000 units and available since September. “I fell way short this year, but I don’t put that much pressure on myself,” Weiler says.

“It’s intended to be a fun thing and not taken too seriously. But, at the same time, you wanna create something that is a very good representation of the artist.”

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items evoke that illustrate an incredible and deeply honest account. Pulling up at the rear of the book are short essays and Q&As with Marr, White, Joan Jett, and others, each shedding a particularly reverent light on Pop.

interviewer and Kugelberg also chiming in—they went through all of it chronologically over two days. Gold is the perfect choice to lead this conversation, but of his own contributions to the writing, he says, “Out of 10 hours of talking, I’m talking maybe 20 minutes—the rest is Iggy.”

I

n his essay for “Total Chaos: The Story of The Stooges / As Told by Iggy Pop,” Johnny Marr says: “What does it mean to be Iggy Pop, five decades of being ‘the wildest man in rock’? Rockstar, musician, songwriter, and craftsman. Philosopher, professional, James Osterberg.” “Total Chaos” is a 350-page coffee-table book detailing the oral history of Iggy Pop And The Stooges as told by Pop himself, published

by Jack White’s Third Man Books and out on Nov. 29. Very soon into it, the reader realizes another Iggy Pop characteristic: he is someone with near perfect recall.

Rock music memorabilia collectors, Jeff Gold and Johan Kugelberg, pooled together selections from their formidable Iggy Pop and Stooges archives, picked 100 pieces, made prints of them, and took them to Pop in his Florida home.

Armed with a question for each piece—with Gold as the primary

“I went there knowing he was a great raconteur and storyteller and that he had a good handle on trivia I’d asked him about before,” Gold continues, referring back to when he interviewed Pop for “101 Essential Rock Records.”

“But, I was completely unprepared for how much he remembered. Instead of trying to lengthen his answers, I had to keep cutting him off because of time, which was a really weird position to be in.”

The collected items—all of which are included in “Total Chaos,” alongside many, many more—range from handbills to posters, recording contracts, reviews, and pictures, but it’s the stories these

“No,” Gold says when asked if it took a lot of convincing to get Pop to participate. “Iggy had been thinking about The Stooges a lot. I was a known commodity.

He liked the book I’d done and the books [Kugelberg] had done, and he was probably feeling like it was a good time to do it.

Iggy’s 69 years old and this is the biggest year of his career. He’s had the highest charting record, a Stooges movie, this book, and the most successful tour. It’s crazy fantastic.”

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A

warning: leafing through the revised edition of Ramón Oscuro Martos’ “…

And Justice for Art: Stories About Heavy Metal Album Covers”—co-published by Dark Canvas and Martos himself— may make you feel old. Not Saxon’s Biff Byford old, mind you, but like part of the upper-middle tier of the metal generation who came of age in the era when album purchases depended at least partway on album cover art. Sometimes, you tanked, but sometimes, you scored big time. It was the luck of the draw, kiddos. The only way you could hear what a band sounded like pre-purchase was if one of your friends had a dubbed copy of their record—likely fourth generation, sent through the mail from a country you’d have to consult an encyclopedia to find on a map.

To this end—and since the first edition was snapped up quickstyle—the revised edition of “…And Justice for Art” is a treasure trove of memories for metal geriatrics. Wanna know the story behind Iron Maiden’s Somewhere in Time cover? Death’s iconic Scream Bloody Gore imagery? The book also features just enough newer blood in the form of Lamb Of God, Cattle Decapitation, and the like to make it a worthwhile investment for the younger recruits.

Martos has said he did not want to print more of the first edition when he had the opportunity to include new material. He sought to honor the original version of the book and compares the new release to the special edition of a film, replete with bonus features.

With the spotlight shone on over 400 albums interspersed with 100-plus reflections from both the bands and artists involved, “…And Justice for Art” deserves this revision. It joins “Choosing Death” and “Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult” as books worthy of display on your coffee tables and sacrificial altars—and just in time for Christmas!

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“As far as genres go, we’ve had a wide spectrum, all of the same wheelhouse though,” Metzger says.

“Punk, indie, hardcore, emo kind of stuff. We’ve had singer-songwriters come in, more of the folky, acoustic stuff too. We’re kind of spread out a bit. We do seek out bands who are doing stuff, more active bands, just a little more active than local scene bands.”

In 2017, Little Elephant will reveal more events, ideas, and exclusives they have up their sleeves, but for now, they’re just excited to be putting their hard work into physical form—and maybe see a monetary return on it. Each band records around three songs during their liv-

H

ailing from Toledo, Ohio, friends Rob Courtney and Brian Gross-Bias—later joined by Mark Metzger—set out on a journey to record bands they loved in their living room. YouTube has been a perfect outlet to release live footage of these bands, but now, the guys are taking the next step: cutting these sessions into vinyl by hand.

Feeling the pressure between their day jobs and wanting to push Little Elephant to full-time status, the guys put their normal lives on hold to move forward with their vinyl project. Teaming up with bands like Jeff Rosenstock, Expire, Modern Baseball, PEARS, Laura Stevenson, Such Gold, Frameworks, and Pinegrove, the trio launched their store on Oct. 12. Little Elephant will drop 10 to 15 new sessions every week until the end of the year.

“These two guys started Little Elephant as an audio studio, and when I joined, that’s when all of the YouTube videos came along,” Metzger says. “That was the majority of what the company was. All of the YouTube sessions are one take; it’s all live. We started gaining momentum through the YouTube channel.

We’re taking the live sessions and pressing the audio onto records.”

With tens of thousands of views on their channel, Little Elephant have over 17,000 YouTube subscribers and have had around 100 bands in their living room over the last couple of years. Needless to say, they were

64 NEW NOISE

ready to take the plunge into recording long ago. Bands on their way to or from Columbus, Cleveland, Toledo, or Detroit stop in to play. Ryan McKenna of Sorority Noise says he recommends “Lil E” to bands because “the atmosphere truly allows for the best product for all.” “[Courtney] and the whole gang foster an extremely laid back environment, which makes the whole experience roll along without stress,” McKenna says. “Since our first time there, they’ve been great friends and housed us more times than I can count, so it’s easy to say it’s pretty much the best time.”

From here on out, every band recorded at Little Elephant will get their session on vinyl. The rig the dudes have set up allows them to etch blank records with those sweet, sweet jams in real time— meaning, they’re handmade as hell. As soon as an order is in, the process begins: Courtney lays the blank wax on the custom-made thingymabobber that makes the record, while Metzger screen prints the jackets and stamps the letters himself. Each customer “will be buying something that took a significant amount of time to make,” Metzger notes, so the guys aren’t skimping on quality. A high-end lathe that cuts each record individually. While a regular pressed record is made quickly and in bulk, Little Elephant’s cutting process takes as long as the song, so real time means real time.

ing room session at Little Elephant, and while it was creatively rewarding to put them up on YouTube, doing this gig full-time takes money.

Don’t worry: the bands also get a cut from their session.

“We were just spending so much time [on it for free], even just during the session and then all of the post work to get the final YouTube version,” Metzger says. “We didn’t see anything after it went up either; it got pretty exhausting. There are similar channels like Daytrotter and Audiotree that sell their sessions digitally. Rather than following in those footsteps, we took it to another place. None of those places are doing what we’re doing.”

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ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

JEFFREY CHEUNG “Comfortable In Your Own Skin”

by F. Amanda Tugade

son of color who doesn’t resonate with a lot of mainstream gay culture.”

grandradio@gmail.com—as long as you are not a bigot.”

That freedom and desire to carve out space are locked within Cheung’s pieces, and they have become an extension of Unity Press, a small California-based publishing press that he began with his partner, Gabriel Ramirez. “It started as a name to publish my own zines under, but has slowly grown over the years,” Cheung says. “A lot of artists that I admire also happen to be some of my close friends and people in the community, and doing Unity Press has given me an opportunity to distribute and show their work. We make zines, artist books, prints, and sometimes do cassette tapes with Lower Grand Radio.”

Staying true to the name, Cheung’s Unity Press comes from a personal effort to both bring people together and then, keep them together. It has become a bridge, and while Cheung is still taking the time to discover what it can do for the communities, he knows the direction that it is going. Unity Press is growing, changing, and exploring. “Unity Press will continue to control the planet and expand indefinitely,” he says.

“We publish zines all the time, but not all the time,” Cheung teases. “You can find our products at Barnes & Noble in the finance section.”

When asked what message he hopes others take away from the press, he comes up with a short list of bullet points: “There is no limit. You are the boss.

Barnes & Noble. Venti Caramel Macchiato. Achieve your dream. Unity Press, taking over your world.”

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Lower Grand Radio—a DIY online radio stream—offers a platform for people to showcase a variety of eclectic music genres. The show’s director is Alex Shen, Cheung’s longtime friend and bandmate in Meat Market. “We are good friends and spend a lot of time together in several music projects,” Cheung says. “The partnership between Unity Press and Lower Grand Radio only seemed natural.” When it comes to highlighting new artists, he keeps it even simpler, with only one condition: “Do you want a radio show? You can have one! Contact lower-

J

effrey Cheung’s artwork centers on finding comfort in companionship. His paintings and ink prints feature outlines of naked men who are often depicted in pairs, threesomes, or groups of four. A closer look at his collection reveals that these bodies are not chiseled to a T; they are round and fleshy with stomachs that bulge and inner thighs that stick together. The focus is less on their physical appearance and more on their interaction.

Some couples are cuddling, their legs and arms intertwined. Their lips never interlock. Others are a bit more playful, with their hands softly placed above their partners’ private parts. At times, Cheung’s characters can be seen bending over, sitting on or standing next to a toilet bowl, reaching for something or someone, kneeling or grabbing. In all, these men have a wide smile or a smirk on their faces. That aspect alone makes

viewers feel like they have been let in on a secret. It is as if these men forgot to close the bedroom door all the way, leaving just a little space for someone else to peep through. They’re not waiting to get caught in the act, but if they were, it doesn’t change the fact that they still look—that they are—comfortable.

“I wish I could tell you why I do what I do, but I am still trying to figure that out myself,” the Oakland native says of his pieces. “Someone recently asked me if it was the same character interacting with themself, and I thought that was very interesting, because I had never really thought about it as being the same person. But, depending on the piece, I think it could be interpreted as the same person or different people. I don’t really see myself in the character most of the time, though; I think they come from fantasies, observations, and also my own personal experiences and feelings as a queer per-

NEW NOISE 65

COMPILATIONS EXTERMINATION VOL. 3 COMPILATION: FLATSPOT RECORDS

Guitarist Ricky Singh of Backtrack and Manipulate collects the top hardcore bands on his Flatspot Label. Flatspot delivers exclusive blazing hardcore tracks to rabid, anxious fans. New tracks by Terror, Piece By Piece, Disgrace, Countdown, Manipulate, Friend Or Foe, D.C. Disorder, Higher Power, and Take Offense scorch speakers with crunching hardcore. Powerful riffs and searing anger bleed from each track. Grab this on black, white, or silver splatter vinyl and limited run cassette. Sweet long sleeve shirts with each band listed on the sleeves and the record’s ominous black and white cover on the chest are available as well. Extermination drops Nov. 11.

SPLITS COLISEUM / DOOMRIDERS: NOT OF THIS WORLD: MAGIC BULLET RECORDS

The evil-mongers over at Magic Bullet resurrect two gems from the catacombs. In 2005, Coliseum frontman Ryan Patterson—among other hardcore legends—self-released this dual-sided record with Doomriders to publicly worship the Satanic Elvis himself, Danzig. Doomriders cover “Possession” while Coliseum savagely rip through “Am I Demon.” Magic Bullet unleash this sacrilegious reissue with a new homage to the Danzig skull, via artist Florian Bertmer. Magic Bullet reissue Not of this World on Nov. 18 on black, white, and clear 7” vinyl..

GHOULGOTHA / RUIN: “CHURNING IN VERTEBRAES / BECOMING DISEASE”: BLOOD HARVEST RECORDS

On Dec. 16, Blood Harvest gives us 10-plus minutes of old-school death metal. While some bands harness the crisp tech clarity, Ghoulgotha and Ruins crush with rough brutality. In the spirit of the old U.S. legends like Deicide, Obituary, and Autopsy, Ghoulgotha write a mesmerizing track, “Churning in Vertebraes,” that builds and claws through itself to pummel forward. Ruin burn slower but still thrash about with vitriol and vinegar on “Becoming Disease.” The soured sentiment echoes the atmosphere of rancor and revenge provided by thick riffs. Coarse guitars and punishing double bass drums revel in treacherous sensations. The exclusive tracks grace 120 copies on black vinyl, 50 on clear, 50 on grey, and 30 on yellow

ABIGAIL / LUSTRUM: TOO WILD FOR THE CROWD: ETERNAL DEATH RECORDS

The evil-mongers over at Magic Bullet resurrect two gems from the catacombs. In 2005, Coliseum frontman Ryan Patterson—among other hardcore legends—self-released this dual-sided record with Doomriders to publicly worship the Satanic Elvis himself, Danzig. Doomriders cover “Possession” while Coliseum savagely rip through “Am I Demon.” Magic Bullet unleash this sacrilegious reissue with a new homage to the Danzig skull, via artist Florian Bertmer. Magic Bullet reissue Not of this World on Nov. 18 on black, white, and clear 7” vinyl..

LUSTRUM / ALCOHOLIC RITES: DRUNK AND IN CHARGE: ETERNAL DEATH RECORDS Also out Nov. 25 from Eternal Death—who have released recent hits from Bog Of The Infidel, Haxen, and Circle Of Salt—the Drunk and In Charge 7” solidifies that Ecuador’s Alcoholic Rites’ belligerent booze-drenched Satanic metal will sever heads from necks in headbanging mayhem. Their two offerings are paired with two Lustrum tracks. Crushing since 2002, with multiple albums on Iron Bonehead, Alcoholic Rites stayed sober just long enough to lay these gritty tracks down on limited white vinyl.

66 NEW NOISE

REISSUES

SLEEP: THE CLARITY: SOUTHERN LORD

Since their bitter demise—with the record industry, not each other—Sleep have harvested an ardent fan base and deserved lore. In 2014, they released one track after their 16-year, um… sleep, though that dormancy had been broken by a bevy of blistering live shows. Their sole recording in the last two years was The Clarity for Adult Swim Singles. Bassist and vocalist Al Cisneros (OM), guitarist and vocalist Matt Pike (High On Fire), and drummer Jason Roeder (Neurosis) tapped Neurosis’ Noah Landis to record. The Clarity was released digitally and available on limited vinyl at live shows. Out of print since, Southern Lord finally blesses the earth with a 180-gram 12” vinyl edition. The flipside manifests an etching by David V. D’Andrea—of Samaritan Press—and it will be housed in a heavyweight picture discstyle sleeve, silkscreened with the Sleep logo. Preorders go up soon for the February 2017 release.

EXCEL: THE JOKE’S ON YOU: SOUTHERN LORD

Two years ago, Southern Lord reacquainted the metal world with these ‘80s Cali thrash bruisers via their four-color re-pressing of Split Image, Excel’s first album in 1987 for Suicidal Records and Caroline Records. With Venice peers Suicidal Tendencies and No Mercy, Excel played ripping thrash crossover in the vein of New York bros Crumbsuckers and Oakland’s Attitude Adjustment. The Joke’s On You from 1989 saw Excel garner attention from punks, metalheads, hardcore dudes, and skate rats everywhere. The members were steeped in skate culture, riding with Christian Hosoi, Eric Dressen, and Tony Alva. The Southern Lord reissue is remastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Poison Idea, Integrity, Nails). The original 12 tracks—plus “Blaze Some Hate,” initially a 12” single via Caroline—came out Nov. 18 on black and opaque purple vinyl alongside a new line of shirts from Southern Lord.

AFTER THE FALL: RECOLLECTION: BIRD ATTACK RECORDS

From the cold streets of upstate New York, Albany’s After The Fall have remastered band and fan favorites extracted from Eradication, Fort Orange, Everything, Collar City, and FETD. In the ‘00s, After The Fall peddled catchy, speedy punk; Recollection embraces 17 of those confrontational, angry tracks, out Oct. 28 on Bird Attack. After The Fall are simply looking back, as this is no summary of their existence. In the last two years, the band have toured California and Mexico with 88 Fingers Louie, Pennywise, Face To Face, and long-term punk heroes, Anti-Flag and Propagandhi. After The Fall blend snarling punk and sharp metallic riffs to deliver a decade of convincing allegiance.

SWIRLIES: BLONDER TONGUE AUDIO BATON: TAANG! RECORDS

Taang! Records boasted an eclectic roster in the ‘90s: home to Slapshot and Sam Black Church, reissues of DYS, SSD, and Poison Idea, and introducing the world to Lemonheads and Spacemen 3. Then, there were Swirlies, now touting a vinyl reissue of their long out-of-print Blonder Tongue Audio Baton LP. Swirlies formed in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the summer of 1990.

The band were lauded in the U.S. psych-rock genre known as shoegaze, alongside Lilys, Velocity Girl, Blonde Redhead, and more. In 1992, the band signed to Taang! Blonder Tongue Audio Baton was recently ranked number 11 on Pitchfork’s 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time. Limited quantities of a special edition of the LP are available as of Nov. 25. All this ruckus illuminates the return of the band as they prepare for tour dates and more upcoming releases.

BONUS PICKS BY THOMAS PIZZOLA

SHEER MAG: COMPILATION LP: WILSUNS RC

Sheer Mag have been garnering all kinds of attention and accolades for their soulful, lo-fi take on punk rock. This compilation LP collects their highly praised 7”s recorded between 2014 and 2016 onto one LP, sequenced chronologically so you can hear how the band have developed from their earliest days into their current sound. This is all in preparation for the band’s forthcoming debut full-length, which will hit sometime in 2017. The Compilation LP—out via Wilsuns RC at the end of November—is perfect for the longtime fan or the newbie. You’ll want to hear this.

SOGGY: SOGGY: OUTER BATTERY

Sheer Mag have been garnering all kinds of attention and accolades for their soulful, lo-fi take on punk rock. This compilation LP collects their highly praised 7”s recorded between 2014 and 2016 onto one LP, sequenced chronologically so you can hear how the band have developed from their earliest days into their current sound. This is all in preparation for the band’s forthcoming debut full-length, which will hit sometime in 2017. The Compilation LP—out via Wilsuns RC at the end of November—is perfect for the longtime fan or the newbie. You’ll want to hear this.

NEW NOISE 67

REMNANTS: DARK PASSAGE: IMMINENT FREQUENCIES

SERPENT CROWN: INCANTATIONS OF VENGEANCE: SELF-RELEASED

Somewhere in a distant galaxy, alien vessels line up for cargo and transmission repairs before voyaging beyond. The scene is fuzzy, strange, and can’t quite be interpreted by human eyes. We can hear it, though. Remnants’ Dark Passage—a sinister and ambient portal of a cassette—seems to have recorded the above-mentioned alien convention on tape. Full of layers of pure translucence, demanding your attention, your calm, and eventually, your disorder, the album is split into two parts, “Pt. I” and “Pt. II.” Released through the experimental New York City cassette label, Imminent Frequencies, the album works wonders as a sort of dark galactic field recording.

If you listen close, you can hear the shattered screams of those distant aliens at work.

AUTUMN POOL: BALM IN THE NIGHT AIR: AUGHT \ VOID The meeting place of underground compositional ambiance and drifting skies of trance is where the oneman noise and soundscape project, Autumn Pool, rests its interior essence. You can imagine drifting through the cornfields of Iowa onto the empty “Field of Dreams” baseball diamond, your memory an echelon of lush vertebrae, drifting so peacefully and still. “Balm in the Night Air” takes you places known and unknown: across Jupiter’s moons, through the Earth’s interior zones, and into the fourth dimension. Released through the Halifax, Nova Scotia, label Aught \ Void, this is a cassette for the dreamers and the extraterrestrial alike.

68 NEW NOISE

The Oakland-based darkened thrash bruisers, Serpent Crown, cut into the earth with a conviction and power that is real and classic. Their newest slab of organic destruction, Incantations of Vengeance, has a natural and underground frequency to it that bends fluidly with a steep progression. Vocalist and guitarist Dara Santhai rages through tasteful anthems with a deft and unique fury.

Her layers of magical, psychedelic guitar solos abound around each varying and punishing edge. This cassette is a vision, released in a pure and bold red color, with an unmistakably gloomy and cultish album cover. Once you have it in your hands, you feel the power: a lighting rod from the underground.

VARIOUS ARTISTS: SKULLCRUSHERS COMPILATION: RELATIVITY

CERTIFIED CLASSIC Nothing in the universe that can compare to the grand musical awakening that unlocks your soul to the infinite abyss: the moment where you exist eternally, repeatedly, and purely. When I, by chance, came across the bewildering,

exotic, and altogether astonishing cassette, Skullcrushers, sometime in the mid ‘90s, my world was never the same. A compilation tape featuring Exodus, Nuclear Assault, Prong, Death, Voivod, Celtic Frost, Obituary, Corrosion Of Conformity, Suicidal Tendencies, and Megadeth, this specific analog masterpiece was like a gift from some ancient and wise interplanetary being. I hadn’t heard of most of these bands, and the sheer amount of thrash, death, grind, and hardcore that flowed from it and pummeled me endlessly was nothing short of a miracle. There’s my life before Skullcrushers, and there’s my life after Skullcrushers. It opened so many portals, so many new dimensions. I broke my friend’s couch slamming to Exodus’ “The Toxic Waltz” and never felt so alive. I pop this thing in and still lose my mind to it to this day. Eternal.

EAR WAX RECORD SHOP INTERVIEW WITH OWNER ROB CLEVELAND

BY TOM WHITCOMB

I

f you take a walk down State Street in Madison, Wisconsin, you’re liable to find at least a couple—if not all—of the following things: idealistic college kids, burned-out old hippies, suburbanites in for a day trip, and local residents just trying to dodge the other three and get where they need to go.

For the burgeoning punk and metal community in the city, that place is Ear Wax Record Shop.

Situated just off State on W Gilman Street, Ear Wax has been open since 1996—a fact that still makes store owner Rob Cleveland shake his head in disbelief. “I have no idea, honestly,” he says, laughing. “I have people come in from bigger markets like L.A. or New York or whatever, like ‘We don’t have anything like this here!’ Like, you’ve got 20 million people, and you don’t have one guy who wants to do a heavy metal or punk shop?”

To hear Cleveland tell it, it actually makes a lot of sense. At just over 250,000 people, Madison is not a small town by any means, but it’s not a big city either. Its punk and metal scene is even smaller. But, Madison—which is also home to the University of Wisconsin—isn’t like other cities: it’s a countercultural mecca, where the ‘60s never ended, and they probably never will.

Cleveland credits Ear Wax’s success to this, saying, “It’s more of an art-based town, with the university and the government and students who just stick around, whether they graduate or not. So, I think it isn’t a normal city, just in terms of demographics and dynamics.”

within the city, which has fostered atypical metal and punk bands like the incognito pop punks, Masked Intruder, and stoner metal legends, Bongzilla—who released two compilation albums on Ear Wax’s inhouse label, Barbarian Records. You can find these local favorites, along with pretty much everything else one would file under “heavy,” on Ear Wax’s shelves.

Making excellent use of the shop’s limited space, Cleveland has lined the walls with posters, t-shirts, coffee mugs, and a dizzying array of records and CDs. “I still sell a lot of heavy metal CDs, but in terms of punk or hardcore, the sales of CDs just aren’t there anymore,” he admits. It’s the sale of vinyl from which Cleveland is finding most of his success. “We do real well in January and February with tax returns,” he quips, “but album prices are so expensive these days anyway that you can rack up 100 dollars with four records.”

For the past two decades, Cleveland has been a neutral observer to countless Madison bands who have come and gone, watching the scene change and grow from behind the counter at Ear Wax. As for his own shop’s fate, he’d rather leave the next 20 years open-ended. “My lease is up in a couple years,” he laments, “and I could see just being like, ‘You’re not renewing my lease? Well, I’m having a big sale!’ But, at the same time, I don’t want to do that, because I feel a sense of responsibility to the scene.”

“Honestly, I just enjoy doing this,” he concludes. “I had no idea it would last this long.”

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That permeating weirdness has led to a small but close-knit scene

NEW NOISE 69

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACKI VITETTA BAND: DANGERS

EA MUEHE

PHY BY CHELS

PHOTOGRA

BY DAN OZZI

F

or David Kelling—Culture Abuse’s primary songwriter—the road to the band’s debut album, Peach, was hard-fought. Over the course of writing it, he watched a couple of friends pass away, tended to a mother in the hospital, and got priced out of The Mission in San Francisco by yuppies gentrifying the area, which forced him to live in the band’s practice space where five people shared a 15-by-15-foot room with no windows. This was all on top of having cerebral palsy, by the way.

The frustration, helplessness, and grief that fueled Peach’s

writing led Kelling to the ultimate conclusion behind it, a theme found in every one of its 10 songs: “Do whatever the fuck.” It’s not with defeat or gloom that he conveys this attitude. Instead, the album is about living on your own terms, about facing life’s unending obstacles with a shrug, and about enjoying every minute of it.

This sense of optimistic nihilism bleeds through immediately on Peach’s opening track, “Chinatown,” as Kelling sings, “Gotta gotta gotta live the way you wanna / Gotta gotta gotta be the way you’re gonna.” It

continues through the record’s standout crusher, “Dream On,” with the chorus: “Wish your life was a beautiful life, but dream on.” There is bleak hopefulness lurking around every corner, with lines like “I just wanna get by if that’s all right” and “There’s no future, but I don’t mind.”

Onstage, Kelling is the living embodiment of this attitude, as he engages in banter between songs that ranges between playfulness and downright silliness.

But, when the drumsticks click and the thick guitar tone kicks in, he transforms into an absolute monster on the microphone—or, rather, microphones, grabbing anything he can find

that will amplify his guttural growls. With a camera perpetually tied around his neck, thumping against his stomach as he bounces up and down, you can see pure catharsis pour out of him in every single breath.

It’s a joyous defiance of the tethers of life.

Released April 8 via 6131 Records, Peach is the record the world needed in this incredibly dark year. The album is life in a nutshell: a horrible mess that you make the best of, because what the fuck else can you do?

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NEW NOISE 71

ANDY SHAUF

O'BROTHER

PHOTOGRAPHY BY tJACKI VITETTA

O

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST TANNER MERRITT

’Brother’s third full-length is their most decorative yet.

Endless Light is the type of record that perfectly captures everything about the Atlanta band, weaving through thick and heavy guitar parts into glittery, expansive moments with such ease.

Standout tracks like “Your Move” and “Bloodlines” set the tone with explosive choruses bolstered by both the instrumentation and Tanner Merritt’s vocals. Sonically, O’Brother act as a vacuum in the audible mixing space, making it full and rich, sucking up empty space with beautiful movements and detonating riffs. The song “Complicated End Times” utilizes growling bass notes with otherwise soft progressions, setting up a sonically dissonant journey that erupts into a massive ending.

the past. I think it is the first time that I have finished a record and felt like it was an accurate representation of what we are as a band live.” Merritt and company set about writing the record song by song, weaving it together to create a gracious flow.

Times like this see O’Brother standing in the spotlight, shining with their brilliant orchestrations. Merritt comments about Endless Light, “Every step of the way, we approached this one truer to ourselves, more than we have in

Endless Light was released on Triple Crown Records back in March, and has proudly stood as one of 2016’s most distinctive listening experiences in heavy music.

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O’Brother’s ability to naturally mesh heavy and light, dark and bright continuously is astounding. It really takes listeners aback to witness such dissonance combined with such ambient beauty, like on “I Am (Become Death),” which fits together a very stony, heavy verse with a spacious chorus. Merritt comments on the part, “Musically, when it opens up to that [chorus] the first time, I think it is one of my favorite moments of the record.”

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY DWAYNE LARSON

M

INTERVIEW WITH MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST/VOCALIST ANDY SHAUF

aking a record is a considerable art. Making a record that has as many pieces holding it together as Andy Shauf’s The Party is quite a masterpiece. Each track is filled with memorable melodious motifs that are strung together by a variety of instruments. Within the opening moments of “The Magician,” one can hear the bouncing pianos, the dancing strings, the bellowing bass, the strummed guitar, and it all fits.

Nothing is out of place or overwhelming, allowing for Shauf’s airy vocal presence to fit into the jigsaw puzzle of instruments.

The album centers thematically around a character in a party scenario. “I was going to a lot of bars, and that party theme kept popping up in situations,” Shauf says. “I came up with this character and took his hand. He’s in about three or four songs. That’s how I was able tie things together, mostly through him and the party theme, I guess.”

What Shauf was able to do with these situations was transform them into gorgeous tunes that are

weighted with familiarity. Upon each listen, there is a new wave of emotions to uncover and a new instrumental presence to take in, all while being brought back to the comfortable arms of Shauf.

Album closer, “Martha Sways,” is centralized upon two people dancing in a living room. Shauf renders these two characters with the drunken end-of-the-night feelings many people can recognize, embrace, and find themselves wrapped up in.

The Party was released via AntiRecords on May 20.

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F

or Modern Baseball fans, there is never enough Modern Baseball—and if there was too much, we would never believe you. For those who aren’t familiar with the Philly sad boys of pop punk’s side projects, there is enough music coming from these dudes to go around. From almost perfectly replicated MoBo sounds to grungier, folk vibes, the guys have molded each project to perfection.

This has also proved to be the busiest year for their main gig, from supporting Brand New and the legendary Descendents on tour to releasing their newest record, Holy Ghost, on May 13 via Run For Cover Records.

Steady Hands are the grungier stepbrothers of Modern Baseball: not related in the slightest except that they share parents. Full of gritty acoustic guitar breaks and true punk vocals from MoBo drummer Sean Huber— accompanied by guitarists and vocalists Jake Ewald and William Lindsay, guitarist Evan Moorehead, bassist George Legatos, drummer Richie Straub, and Andrew Kirnan on keys—Steady Hands sound like Frank Turner and a bottle of

whiskey had a baby. Their 2015 release, Tropical Depression, via Lame-O Records was both catchy and melancholy, hitting the sweet spot between upbeat and overcast.

A definite light into Huber’s soul—as he is usually lost in the background—are the Billy Bragg influences that shine in Tropical Depression. Showing Huber’s disdain for the Florida wandering, he writes, “When the tropical depression was written on the bathroom wall / Well, I’ve been on the road far too long.” The lyric shows a honkytonk sense of touring in which all that glitters isn’t gold.

A definite “sad as fuck” staple for anyone who enjoys some twang with their punk and Jim Beam.

Steady Hands and Lame-O are set to drop Rude Boys of Bar Rock on Dec. 9, and it’s safe to say it is highly anticipated.

On Sept. 30, Ewald released his debut solo record, Welcome, via Lame-O Records under the moniker Slaughter Beach, Dog. Shifting from the perspective of MoBo, Ewald based all of these songs on characters who live together in the fictional town of

Slaughter Beach—but you never know, maybe one day there could be a brutal Slaughter Beach town. In the opening track, “Mallrat SemiAnnual,” Ewald makes listeners believe they really know these people—and maybe they do: “It’s way too late for this and Andy needs a ride home / He’s standing at the back door dancing circles around his cell phone / Stand up straight, walk her way, and say hello.” The record is emo with shoegaze and folk aspects, like on “Politics of Grooming” where an egg shaker is used as percussion and “Bed Fest,” which features a guitar with an almost banjo-like filter.

As for Modern Baseball themselves, Holy Ghost holds together fragility, humility, and acceptance. After You’re Gonna Miss It All in 2014, guitarist and vocalist Brendan Lukens went to rehab for manic depression, alcoholism, addiction, and self-mutilation, all of which the band are highly vocal about in their advocacy for destigmatizing mental health issues. There is a light at the end of the sad-as-fuck tunnel, and MoBo have shown a smile in Holy Ghost. The first half was written

by Ewald and the second half by

Lukens, garnering comparisons to Outkast’s Speakerboxxx / The Love Below. Unlike the hip hop duo, the emo dudes of MoBo write about their own experiences with tragedy and not so much love, but closeness. Ewald’s contribution offers feelings of grief from the loss of his grandfather, distance from home, and coming from a familial line of ministers. Holy Ghost is a feat in itself considering all of the shit the band have gone through in their personal lives, and it’s a testament to their closeness as friends, bandmates, and listeners.

Modern Baseball, Steady Hands and Slaughter Beach, Dog have received much-needed praise for their hard work, sweat, and tears. These dudes have exposed their beaten, battered, and emotional souls to their fans. It’s no wonder why we cheer so loud for their deepest lyrics and heaviest screams: they come from the depths of their—and our—darkest times. They are a true emo band with more to offer than just songs about puppy love and getting drunk with buddies. If 2016 is any indication, there’s much more to come from the guys who make up Modern Baseball.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG JACOBS

NEW NOISE 73

IN MEMORIAM This year has kind of sucked. Between a tumultuous presidential election, numerous deaths, and general disarray, it has been a year to remember—or forget. Let’s try to end things on a high note. Fans around the world said goodbye to some of their favorite musicians in 2016, so it only seems appropriate to dedicate some time to listening to these artists and remembering why they are so beloved.

1980 – JANUARY 2016

Leaving behind his partner, two children, numerous bandmates, and innumerable friends, Rob McAllister was certainly a well-loved man. He was the former guitarist for Iron Chic, a member of several other bands—including Capital, The Reformation, and Secret Lives—and an all-around big deal in the Long Island scene. When McAllister passed away from unknown causes at the age of 36, stories were gathered from friends and loved ones to paint a picture of a man who lit up the room. McAllister was known for creating friendly chaos, an atmosphere full of laughs, drinks, and plenty of hijinks, all in the name of good fun. He will be dearly missed. “If I can ask one thing when I am dead / Would you lay me down by the river bed? / Let me wash away / Let it take me back from where I came.” –Tyler Gibson

1947 – JANUARY 2016

David Bowie embraced femininity and challenged what it meant to be manly despite the risks associated with defying gendered norms.

He ended up having a decades-long career filled with many hits—as well as some flops. With so many songs to choose from, more than a few of the good ones fell through the cracks. “Width of a Circle” is one of those songs. It is the opening track on Bowie’s third studio album, The Man Who Sold the World, from 1970. Considering Bowie’s huge success with 1969’s Space Oddity, this album did surprisingly poorly. He hadn’t yet established himself as a brilliant musician, so this album fell by the wayside, only to be appreciated by fans later on. –Kriston McConnell

1958 – APRIL 2016

No one will be forgetting Prince any time soon. His androgynous persona combined with his overtly sexual songs made fans of all ages and genders swoon. There’s no doubt he had an incredibly successful career and a laundry list of mega hits. A song that may have been missed by casual fans is the innuendo-laden “Tick Tick Bang.”

Much like some of Prince’s other hits, this song disguises its sexual innuendos with fast-paced, synth-heavy beats. It is taken from his 1990 album, Graffiti Bridge, which also serves as the soundtrack for his film of the same name. –Kriston McConnell

74 NEW NOISE

1961 – MAY 2016

On May 7, founding member of Government Issue and seminal hardcore punk musician, John Stabb, passed away after a long battle with cancer. Stabb formed Government Issue in 1980 and helped set the standard for the Maryland/D.C. hardcore sound with the famed Legless Bull EP. While many Dischord-era bands broke up after a few years, Government Issue continued through 1989. They were also one of the first hardcore bands to reach beyond hardcore, incorporating psychedelia, new wave, and even goth into their music.

The band reunited several times in the 2010s, and Stabb continued playing music right up to the night before his admission into the hospital. Stabb helped create an entire genre, and then, in the subsequent years, showed how “genre” is not necessarily a set of rules to be enforced. Truly, Stabb changed the face of hardcore punk. –John Gentile

1978 – JULY 2016

Erik Petersen—founder of iconic Philadelphia band, Mischief Brew—passed away far too soon. To be fair, if Erik had passed away at age 300, it would’ve still been too soon. I had the pleasure of interviewing Erik many times, and when talking to him, you could tell that he was a special individual. Erik was quiet, humble, and sensitive, though that mischievous smile of his would flash every so often and communicate something far deeper than words could ever express. I would always playfully chide him, demanding that he acknowledge his own greatness. He would always demur or change the topic. Now I realize that Erik was so humble because his amazing recordings speak for themselves. Erik was titan, as well as a model person: creative, kind, and unfathomably clever. If only we could all strive for his level of excellence and humanity. Erik Petersen—there will never be another. –John Gentile

1987- AUGUST 2016

Tom Searle is one of the younger individuals on this list of mostly classic artists, but he deserves a mention nonetheless. He was the guitarist for the U.K. metalcore outfit, Architects, before passing away after a three-year battle with cancer. The band have only been active since 2004, but they have made a lasting impact on the alternative music scene. Architects have plenty of quality songs to choose from, so it’s difficult to choose just one. However, it seems appropriate to close out the year with “Youth Is Wasted on the Young,” taken from their 2014 album, Lost Forever // Lost Together. “When I reach the end, will I beg for more? / Will I look back? Or step through the door / I stand beneath a monolith / Do you ever feel like you won’t be missed?” –Kriston McConnell

1934 – NOVEMBER 2016

On Oct. 21, at 82-years-old, Leonard Cohen released his final musical ruminations in the form of You Want It Darker. Seventeen days later, he died. He had already calmly assured the world that he was ready. To fans, it appeared he always had been. While the prolific Canadian renaissance man may have displayed a certain morbid panache, his fatalistic fixation on life and death, faith and sin, and isolation and connection was rarely steeped in cold resignation or hot self-destruction. Rather, he seemed warm and centered, an elegant sage who assured that it’s not about how long you live, but how you live and who you love along the way. In these darkening times, as we claw through the ashes of our culture searching for meaning, Cohen is still our man. –Kelley O’Death

NEW NOISE 75

READ:

“TRANNY: CONFESSIONS OF PUNK ROCK’S MOST INFAMOUS ANARCHIST SELLOUT”

BY LAURA JANE GRACE WITH DAN OZZI

LISTEN:

LOVE IS A DRAG REISSUE FROM MODERN HARMONY

For over 50 years, a mystery has burned like a dim ember in the shadows of queer music history. In 1962, an enigmatic LP entitled Love Is a Drag appeared, seemingly out of thin air. No artist or producer were listed, merely a coded disclaimer: “For Adults Only, Sultry Stylings by a Most Unusual Vocalist.” When JD Doyle—an archivist of queer music and history—stumbled upon the record, he was taken with its contents: 12 classic love songs, sung by a man to other men.

He played the songs on his Queer Music Heritage radio show for decades before Hollywood photographer Murray Garrett finally reached out to bring their surreptitious origin to light. He revealed that the voice Doyle had celebrated for years belonged to straight Big Band singer Gene Howard, who had teamed up with Edison International Records producer Jack Ames to recreate a

76 NEW NOISE

Greenwich Village performance Garrett once witnessed, in which serious love ballads replaced the froth and camp that defined most of the era’s gay acts. Together, they brought Love Is a Drag to life through the faux imprint, Lace Records, and the record received acclaim from heavy-hitters such as Frank Sinatra, Liberace, and Bob Hope.

Howard’s deep, resonant voice and alternately swinging and swooning sensibilities saunter through renditions of George and Ira Gershwin’s “The Man I Love” and bluesy “Show Boat” ballad, “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man,” transporting modern listeners back to a sweetly transgressive moment in time. Now being reissued by Modern Harmony on gold vinyl, Love Is a Drag is a most fascinating relic.

A cliché, sure, but a true one: Against Me! frontwoman Laura Jane Grace needs no introduction. Her band’s Sept. 16 release, Shapeshift With Me—released via their own label, Total Treble—is a heartstring-busting record that builds upon the groundwork laid by 2014 revelation, Transgender Dysphoria Blues.

But, for the real diehards out there, the must-have gem of 2016 will be her memoir, out Nov. 15 through Hachette Book Group.

says. “For large pockets of Americans, this was the first year in which they were confronted with transgender issues and actually had to think about them. So, to be working with a major publisher on a book that largely dealt with these issues felt like a huge responsibility. Laura and I took great care in laying out the feelings she had over gender confusion for readers as plainly as we could, so that anyone could pick the book up and understand.”

“It was a fortuitous stroke of luck that Laura Jane and I worked on a book called ‘TRANNY’ over the same year in which North Carolina passed their discriminatory HB2 law, stripping transgender people of their protection under the law, and in which Caitlyn Jenner accepted the Arthur Ashe Courage Award,” coauthor Dan Ozzi

“Ultimately, I doubt the asshole you went to high school with who posts on Facebook about not wanting his daughter in the same bathroom as ‘some pervert who dresses like a woman’ is going to read it,” he admits, “but maybe, years from now, his daughter will, and she’ll understand.”

WATCH:

JUDAS PRIEST’S “BATTLE CRY” LIVE ALBUM/DVD/BLU-RAY—AND RETURN TO THE STUDIO! Despite all the pomp and circumstance—and leather—metal has not always been the friendliest community for queer folks. In a 1998 MTV interview, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford challenged fans’ perceptions of sexuality and masculinity by coming out as gay. While those sporting black bandanas in their back pockets likely shrugged and said, “No shit,” the metal community at large was shook. Luckily, they didn’t stay shook for long. Halford’s openness combined with his fans’ unconditional support played their part in paving the way for today’s far more inclusive metal scene, which boasts the monstrous talents of artists like Otep Shamaya, Life Of Agony’s Mina Caputo, and even more polarizing figures like former Gorgoroth vocalist Gaahl.

However, speaking of Halford’s legacy only in past tense is a sin. Priest ain’t dead yet, having returned to the boards this year to craft their 18th studio album, set for release in early 2017. To tide fans over in the meantime, Priest released “Battle Cry” on CD, DVD, and Blu-ray via Epic Records on March 25, a live showcase of their 2015 performance at Wacken Open Air in Germany while touring in support of 2014’s still-surprisingly-kickass Redeemer of Souls. Despite having reigned as metal gods for almost half a century, the band crush the set, with Halford providing enough costume changes and eye-popping stage antics to rival a season finale of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” A must-have for all Priest fans, not just those of us who have used “But Rob Halford…” as a trump card to avoid getting hate-crimed.

REFLECT:

PHOTOGRAPHY BY REID HAITHCOCK

THE RISE AND RESIGNATION OF G.L.O.S.S. For those of you who missed it—all three of you—the Olympia, Washington, political hardcore band, G.L.O.S.S.—or Girls Living Outside Society’s Shit— massively shifted the discourse of the scene with their five-song demo in January of 2015; their five-song 7” follow-up, Trans Day of Revenge, in June of 2016; their decision not to sign with Epitaph Records in early September; and their seemingly sudden disbanding in late September. Probably too much has already been said about all of the milestones in their short career, but one important facet of their story has been largely overlooked: G.L.O.S.S.’s eventual fate was very likely our fault.

We, the press, and we, the members of the scene, were wanton contributors to the band being damned if they did and damned if they didn’t, lionizing, demonizing, and generally othering them at every turn.

Alongside the overtly transphobic, misogynistic, and transmisogynistic detractors, others dismissed G.L.O.S.S. as a “gimmick band” merely exploiting their identities for fame and profit. Apparently, identity-specific political punk songs are only valid if they’re penned by Standard Issue Punks™ whose identities are normalized as the default and, thus, rendered invisible to many in the scene. These individuals tore down the band’s musical prowess as often as they did the legitimacy of their politics, finally proving that musical taste and human experience are definitively objective, goddamnit before—one can only assume—high-fiving one another.

On the other side of the fence, there were fans and critics who pedestalized G.L.O.S.S., prioritizing their political importance over their humanity or subjective artistic merit. These individuals insisted that everyone revere the band uncritically and on principle, often following up their ultimatums by attempting to dictate the terms on which others could engage with their musical output. They further fanned the flames of sensationalism by wielding “bigot!” as a handy cudgel against anyone who deigned to dislike or disregard the band’s work for legitimate reasons such as musical taste.

This intense polarization created a new subclass of complainers, who were neither decriers nor disciples at the outset, but who eventually grew suspicious of the band’s omnipresence. It has become de rigueur to believe that only that which is important to you personally is worthy of discussion, so many of these emboldened skeptics began a campaign to discredit the band as “attention whores” and “manipulators,” both “deceptive” and “inauthentic”—with the free square, that’s basically transmisogyny bingo—who sought to belie a perceived lack of talent and influence by orchestrating the media circus that surrounded them.

The media—which, last time we checked, was not controlled by a shadow council of scheming queers, femmes, and trans folks—chugged along in the background, happily exploiting the whole fracas with varying levels of magnanimity.

In essence, G.L.O.S.S. the band encountered the same double standard in music that G.L.O.S.S. the people— and so many others—encounter in life: they were not allowed to exist without justification. Punk records decrying broken systems and violently opposing harmful ideologies are released every day to little scrutiny. Public and private announcements intended to dispel rumors and keep fans informed rarely gar-

ner much criticism. A band breaking up for the betterment of their members is usually not seen as a political betrayal. Nothing G.L.O.S.S. could have done differently would have changed the outcome of their short tenure, because they weren’t the problem. We were. And we will continue to be until we learn from our mistakes, make amends, and strive to recognize and respect one another’s humanity.

ACT:

GOD EMPEROR TRUMP Fuck this. Fuck them. You are not overreacting. Don’t stop resisting.

Don’t stop working. Take care of yourself. Watch out for each other.

Don’t give up. We love you. We need you.

NEW NOISE 77

While the literal and figurative pet project started as low-key fun, it was Rosen’s next decision that helped launch the company into a new stratosphere. “That was when my partner/boyfriend Derek [Morse] asked if he could get involved to help grow the business and put a new spin on pet apparel that hadn’t been done before,” she recalls. “I was very skeptical about the business getting much bigger, but he got collars up on eBay and Amazon as well, and we put up a whole new website. He started pushing things on social media and, within a year of him helping me, we now sell in a week what I used to sell in a year, almost all of which are still sewn by me. Fortunately, I bought an old industrial walking foot sewing machine at the beginning of the year to make the collars with now.”

Like so many business ventures that start as labors of love, making badass dog collars is a job with plenty of rewards, but it can also be very time-consuming. “It can take me anywhere from five minutes to 30 minutes to make a collar, depending on the style and type,” Rosen explains. “My life is basically now working my day job in pathology, going home, walking the dogs, eating, and then sewing the rest of the evening so I don’t get behind.

Hopefully, one day, I can start cutting down on my day job!”

H

ave you ever spent countless hours pondering what to get your dog for Christmas or their birthday since they already have more toys and bones than they could ever chew? Me either. But if you have, Caninus Collars can now help your doggo outwardly channel their inner badass! What could be better than a custom-made Terror collar to show the world that your little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel may look like an angel, but isn’t afraid of raising a little hell in the pit?

If the name Caninus sounds familiar to you, that’s because the company was started by Rachel Rosen, former Most Precious Blood and Indecision guitarist/bassist and mother to the late Budgie and Basil (R.I.P.), vocalists of the world’s first—and probably only— canine-fronted death metal band,

with which the company shares its name.

For Rosen, the idea for Caninus Collars arose thanks to an awesomely DIY version of supply meeting demand. “It was around 2008 that I started to first make collars. I was tired of the same dog collar designs that I always saw and wanted some cool collars for my dogs,” she explains. “I’ve known how to sew and use a sewing machine since I was young, just not that well, but I had a friend who I was in school with at the time who knew how to sew better than me, and I asked her if she could help me figure out how to sew a dog collar. We found the basic materials at Jo-Ann fabrics, we took apart one of my dog’s current collars, and we were on our way. After making collars for my own dogs and friends, I thought it would be fun to start selling them, so I opened my Etsy store back in 2008.”

While the company’s custom-made collars and leashes are cool enough on their own, Caninus also offers a line of band-licensed collars. “Derek came up with the idea. For the last few years, he kept telling me I should do band dog collars, and I always just sort of shrugged off the idea thinking that no one would really be interested in that and that someone must already be doing that,” Rosen admits. “But, after some research, we found out no one really was. When Derek talked to some people we knew in bands about the idea, they all thought it was great, so I figured why not try it with one of my own bands first and bands that we actually know.”

Though the selection for band collars may be small right now, Caninus will be unveiling more new designs in the coming months, including at least one heavy metal icon. “We just put out Misfits dog collars,” Rosen says, “[and] we’ve been in the works to make Sick Of It All collars since the spring.” Rosen then concludes, “After that is Judas Priest. Then, we have some more bands in the works. At this point, we have knocked out about 90 percent of our wish list for bands.”

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pointed to the bullet hole behind its ear—it was a slug. I was responsible for it now. I took the knife off of my belt and approached the body with hesitation. I knew what I had to do, and I was regretting even entering the woods. “Your kill, your responsibility” was what I was taught.

I had to roll up my sleeves and “clean” the deer in order to bring it home. I’ll leave those details out for our sensitive readers…

W

e got into the woods around 5 a.m. My grandfather dropped us off at the end of the railroad tracks and waited in the car. He was getting too old to go into the forest, but he wasn’t too old to sit in the car with a rifle on his lap. My dad slung the gun over his shoulder and told me to trace his exact footprints in the snow while walking the railroad tracks. It was icy, and there was a 15-foot drop into the icy, rushing river below. My Dad knew just where to step; he was familiar with these tracks, because he built them—literally—when he was 18 years old and working on the railroad. With knives in both of our belts, we scurried down an incline and disappeared into the tree line before sunrise.

“Hunting is just about going for a walk in the woods and connecting with nature,” he said.

We walked for hours. Around noon, we broke for lunch and we went over all of the operations of the rifle so he knew I understood its mechanics and respected its power.

As I held the gun, he kept saying, “Make sure you see the horns, and be extra sure it’s a deer.” With that, he gave me the gun and told me I was in charge now—I was 12 years old.

If the walk had been treacherous up to this point, I had no idea what lay ahead. I was a big, fat boy at that age, but this gun still weighed over 10 pounds and was half the length of my body. I carried it through the mountainside in a brutally cold and wet snowfall. Around 4 p.m., we had

stopped at a ridge to take a break when I saw three deer eating grass through the tree branches about 40 yards away.

as we waited in silence for about 20 minutes. I could tell my dad was nervous—he never stays quiet for that long.

“Are you positive it’s deer?” he asked.

We approached an area that was riddled with buckshot lodged into the tree trunks. I found the trail of blood in the white snow. It was really dark and resembled a murder scene on one of those forensics shows on TV. My dad’s face dropped, and he turned to me with the most serious look I had ever seen him give me. “Are you 100 percent positive that you shot at a deer?”

“Yes. Positive.”

He nervously nodded his head and gave the go-ahead. I took the safety off the gun and put the deer in my sights, closed my eyes and pulled the trigger. The noise shattered the deep silence of the forest. The gun kicked me back half a foot, and I had to hold on with all my strength to keep from dropping it. The deer scattered, and my dad grabbed the gun and fired off two more rounds.

My heart was pounding. I’d never experienced such adrenaline in my life. I began running down the ridge, but my dad grabbed me by the collar and yanked me back up.

“Now, we wait.”

“But they’re gonna get away!”

“You just tried to kill a wild animal.

If one is dying and you come up on it, it’s gonna attack you and defend itself.”

I was completely sobered. Up until he said that, I was running on a mixture of adrenaline and naiveté.

The euphoric headrush evaporated, and the reality of the situation really hit me: I just tried to kill a living, breathing animal. And now, I had to go down there and finish the job. My stomach sunk deeper and deeper with every passing moment

I nodded my head, but at this point, he was starting to make me second-guess my judgment. My mind was racing, and I couldn’t think straight. We had followed the trail of blood about 25 feet around some thickly settled trees when we saw the blood streaking down the length of a tree trunk. At the foot of the tree was a female deer, motionless on the ground. “Well, there it is,” he said. “Congratulations.”

All of the excitement I had reserved for this occasion couldn’t be found.

I stood more still than the deer I had just killed. My dad picked up her head, and her tongue limply hung out the side of her mouth—a sure sign of clean kill. I began to tremble. “Are you sure it was me who killed it? You shot twice too!

Maybe you hit her.”

“Bullshit! I loaded the gun with a slug bullet first, then the buckshot.

It’s yours.”

He pulled up the deer’s head and

We started back down the mountain. I had a tough time dragging the deer through the woods down the steep incline. We had walked for many miles, so by the time we got close to the truck, it was pitch black and the body had begun to stiffen.

My father refused to help. He said it was my responsibility. “If you’re man enough to kill it, you’re man enough to take it out of the woods.”

When we finally made it back to the railroad tracks, we realized we were in a different place than where we originally crossed. There was a four-foot deep river between the truck and us. This was the only point at which my dad helped with the deer. He slung it over his shoulders and I held the gun above my head as we waded through the ice cold water in the dark.

I had never seen my grandfather move as quickly as when he hopped out of that truck at the sight of me dragging a deer behind me. He couldn’t believe it. “In over a century of men hunting in our family, you are the youngest to take home a deer. You should be proud of yourself.”

I did feel a strange and conflicted sense of pride. I had finally become a man in the eyes of my family. I was now one of “the boys” who got to leave the house in the early morning before the wives woke up, then sip coffees from Dunkin Donuts drive-thrus while the rest of the world was sleeping. I was a hunter now: a man of responsibility. Then, I looked at the deer, dead in the back of the Chevy, tongue hanging out— all I could think about was how this was the first permanent thing I had ever done in my life. I began crying.

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