My 16th - PHOENIX BODIES didn't burn bright enough, says I

WELCOME TO (((((OPEN mind SATURATED brain)))))'s sixteenth official post! The MP3 mix for May is linked from May 1st's post.

This post's artist is from the April 2013 Mix, this is track #29:

I first heard PHOENIX BODIES back in 2004 on the Microwave 2x7" compilation (which is one of the best comps ever) with their song, 'Enlarge Your Penis'. This song perfectly captures everything that made them great. First off, it has great lyrics, which are sarcastic, more biting and downright better than 99% of other lyrics out there.

My wife and I were extremely lucky and saw them play in Cleveland back in 2008, and Derek was nice enough to have 'Old Balls' dedicated to us (as we had driven from Canada). That last sentence was serious and sarcastic at the same time.

Here's a quick list of some other fantastic song titles:
Cock Ocean - A Timeless Destination (with a chorus of "all I wanted was some water")
I Guarantee You're A Pile of Shit
This Place Is A Fucking Dump
You've Been Hamburgled
Goddamn Pyramid Building Aliens

They initially had 2 vocalists, the super high-pitched screamy guy and the hoarse yelling of the lower-end singer - which balanced beautifully, in a metal kind of way, I suppose. The guitars are very schizophrenic and jump from groovin', quick paced clean and bouncing stuff to heavy and distorted breakdowns. The drumming is insane, double-bass blast beats. There is no bassist.

PHOENIX BODIES is a beast all their own, but sound like a loosely assembled mix of some basic and dirty punk moments, the styles of Discordance Axis, Jeromes Dream, Botch and features most of the members of Mara'akate, another very underappreciated early screamo act. PHOENIX BODIES are masters at hurling a whirlwind of noise together so perfectly that it seamlessly flows from insane noodling to massive breakdowns - all of which are ridiculously catchy. To help you understand the complexity and amazingness of PHOENIX BODIES, I have devised a new plan for this blog. Check the link below.

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LINK TO MY BRAIN

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2003 - demo

2003 - Compilation > The Microwave Said to the Pacemaker 2x7" (contributed 'Enlarge Your Penis')

2003 - Split cd/EP" w/Enkephalin

2004 - Split 7" w/Raein

2004 - Split 7" w/The Dream Is Dead

2004 - Split 7" w/Tranny of Shaw

2004 - Split 7" w/Shikari

2006 - Raise the Bullshit Flag cd/LP (the band's crowning achievement, unfortunately, they lost their 2nd guitarist and singer following the release, so their drummer took over 50% of the vocal duties and they got a new drummer and a new guitarist, but everything they released afterwards just wasn't the same)

2007 - Too Much Information cd/dvd (a basic compendium of earlier work, plus some live footage - a great buy considering getting a hold of the early stuff is very difficult, and there's no way I'm parting with any of mine)

2008 - Cobra Commander 7"

2009 - Split 7" w/La Quiete

2009 - Split 10" EP w/He Who Corrupts

The band has since broken off into Brighter Arrows and Birdbrain.
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PHOENIX BODIES - Enlarge Your Penis (link to audio on youtube)

PHOENIX BODIES - Lawn of Decadence (link to audio on youtube)

PHOENIX BODIES - Resonance of the Strom Thurmond Death Rattle