FORSTELLA FORD

Band: FORSTELLA FORD

Genres: Punk / Rock / Metallic Hardcore / Emo / Screamo / Alternative / Hardcore
Related artists: Tornavalanche, Red Knife Lottery, Cut Teeth, Gifted Children and The Television Personalities.
Country: Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA
Years Active: 1996-2003, 2004-2005
Song: "Asterix Legionaires"
Album: "Insincerity Down to an Artform"
Year: 1999
Label(s): Level Plane Records / The Mountain Collective For Independent Artists, Ltd. / Init Records / First Time Records / Boxcar Records / 404 Records / Scene Police / One Day Savior Recordings / 
This post's artist is from the April 2015 Mix. This is track #5.
You can download: the April Mix#4 right here or get the new May 2015 Mix#5 here.
For fans of: Kill Sadie, Alexisonfire, Kidcrash, Carrion Spring, Leer, Off Minor, You And I, The Assistant, Circle Takes The Square, Honeywell, Capacities, Saetia and Transistor Transistor aka PROPER SCREAMO.

FORSTELLA FORD were an interesting group. Others seem to love the band more than me, most notably because I'm not a fan of the singing. The screaming, especially when coming from two members, is amazing and fits the music so much better in my opinion. In the end the band comes off (to me) as Consumed playing technical/metallic screamo.

I should start with the good stuff, because it's not just good, it's killer. "Asterix Legionaires" is the best song the band ever recorded. Holyyyyyyy fuck. The stop-start and downright cathartic nature of the song brings a full on forest fire freak out to mind...errrrr, at least to mine. The screaming is really high pitched, there's a kickass Off Minor-esque instrumental jazzy jam at 0:58 which eventually leaps to a beautiful fate around 1:24 as the mathy and metallic stranglehold first strikes. Uncommon Ground" is pretty much all screaming, hell yes. This is a prime example of the amazing heights the band reached sticking to their, pardon the marketing term, "competitive advantage" before deviating to more diverse and melodic vocals. The entire song is fantastic with my favourite part beginning at 32 seconds with the really cool ambulance siren sound and aluminum string-click thing that is catchy as fuck. I should also mention "Beauty is in the Eye of the Bestower" because it goes nuts right from the get-go and has strong ties to punk and hardcore...until 1:21 when the keys get involved and things get fucking groovy. In typical FORSTELLA FORD fashion that groove is dismantled and dynamited promptly thereafter at the 2:39-mark.

The intro (aka the first 46 seconds) is flawless in "Tell-Tale Signs and Sure Fire Ways", but like almost every song from 'Quietus' onward, the vocals took a primarily melodic approach which always rubbed me the wrong way. I just don't like his singing voice. But the screams, oh man. And the backup screamer as well. For a tasty morsel be sure to jam as the sweet guitar interplay after 3:30 that is quite reminiscent of Saetia and Caught In The Fall with numerous screamers taking shots at belting out the outro. "Dying on Our Own Terms" showed up on more than one album and has a fair amount of Kill Sadie interplay following the pre-At The Drive In intro. This song has a million parts, many of which were partially recycled (in style) by Alexisonfire on their first album. It's that guitar synchronization with an awkward/jagged solo mixed with palm muted chug riffs. This song in particular has a lot of noise/ambient/drone sections dispersed throughout. It's also pretty long, clocking in at 6:57 (or 6:46 for the demo/original). I swear to fucking god (aka science) that I hear Kyuss in the beginning of "Dashing Hopes" and, finally, at 1:15 the song really gets going and shows signs of brilliance at 1:38 with some unreal screaming The Assistant-style followed by a Circle Takes The Square sounding outro that peaks from 1:58 to the ridiculous, climatic ending.

I'm quite certain that FORSTELLA FORD's final foray in 2003 'Well Versed in Deception' was not a stab at semi-mainstream, but goddamn it just comes across as trying to bridge some kind of fan/genre gap. Perhaps I'm being too hard on the album, but in the end it truly doesn't do anything for me. There's a lot of cleaner singing and I'm not a fan of it, and the production seems a little too clean for my liking. There are some great moments on this record, such as the amazing screamy parts in "I Can Get Away With Anything" (eg. 0:30) and really cool jazzy, instrumental noodling (eg. 1:00). "Indication by Demonstration" is a decent and primarily instrumental jam and the very technical end of "Impulse" show glimmers of hope, but the album is bogged down by a lack of power and emotion. Wait, it's mainly the vocals. Goddammit it.

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DISCOGRAPHY
Click )==>here<==( to download the band's complete discography in mp3 form.

1997 - Forstella Ford 7"EP

1998 - Relics of an Unseen Life cdLP

1999 - Insincerity Down to an Artform cd/12"LP
1999 - Arcebus Vs. Archer 7"EP

2000 - The Assistant split 7"

2001 - Quietus cd/12"LP (stream/donate/buy/download here)
2001 - Life Detecting Coffins split 12"LP (stream/donate/buy/download here)

2003 - Well Versed in Deception cd/12"LP (stream/donate/buy/download here)
2003 - Retrospective: 1997-2000 compilation cdLP (contains everything except Relics, Quietus and Well Versed)

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(1999) FORSTELLA FORD - "Asterix Legionaires" (from 'Insincerity Down to an Artform')

(1999) FORSTELLA FORD - "Uncommon Ground" (from 'Life Detecting Coffins' split)

(2000) FORSTELLA FORD - "Beauty is in the Eye of the Bestower" (from 'The Assistant' split)

(2001) FORSTELLA FORD - "Tell-Tale Signs and Sure-Fire Ways" (from 'Quietus')

(2001) FORSTELLA FORD - "Dashing Hopes" (from 'Quietus')

(2003) FORSTELLA FORD - "I Can Get Away With Anything" (from 'Well Versed in Deception')

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FORSTELLA FORD out of print mp3 discography download / additional links

(download here)

Bandcamp

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ZOZOBRA

Band: ZOZOBRA
Genres: Punk / Space-Rock / Post-Hardcore / Post-Metal / Hardcore / Thrash / Doom / Ambient / Heavy Metal / Noise
Related artists: Cave In, Old Man Gloom, Isis, Palms, Clouds, Kid Kilowatt, King Duane Sunnapee, Doomriders, Goatsnake, Pet Genius, Forensics and New Idea Society.
Country: Boston, Massachusetts USA
Years Active: 2006-present
Song: "Treacherous"
Album: "Bird of Prey"
Year: 2008
Label(s): Brutal Panda Records / Hydra Head Records
This post's artist is from the April 2015 Mix. This is track #7.
You can download: the April Mix#4 right here or get the new May 2015 Mix#5 here.
For fans of: Knut, Old Man Gloom, Botch, The Minor Times, Converge, Isis, Cave In, Mutoid Man, Rosetta, AmenRa, Forensics, Shoto, Engineer, Pelican, Swarm Of The Lotus, Curl Up And Die, Shahman, Gray Ghost, Mare, Finger Of God and Kowloon Walled City.

ZOZOBRA is the brainchild of one Caleb Scofield, known perhaps a fraction or two more for his work in Cave In (bass/vocals) and Old Man Gloom (bass/vocals). This project/band had Caleb doing everything himself (save for drums?????????) on the first record(s??????????) which obviously gave him nearly complete creative control. What does it sound like? Not far from the two aforementioned bands, actually, just further to the aggressive and dark side of them. ZOZOBRA has released three LPs and a single/b-side from the 'Bird of Prey' session. All of them kick serious ass. Let's check them out chronologically.

2007's 'Harmonic Tremors' was the ZOZOBRA debut. I was convinced "Levitate" was Cave In's Stephen Brodsky helping out on vocals only to find out that Caleb croons them out live, too. 'Harmonic Tremors' is, for all general purposes, much slower, melodic, spacey and groovin' than its successors. There are obvious exceptions such as the aptly titled "Kill and Crush" which is...well, crushing. "Invisible Wolves" could have come straight from Old Man Gloom's 'Meditations II' or Isis' 'Panopticon', bassy, sludgy and entrancing. In the end the album careens, stops and starts, has wonders and blunders and was a more than exciting debut release. "The Vast Expanse" is another interesting number worth mentioning, as the bass intro alone could make your basement teeter. The song then shifts into an Egyptian-sounding tribal ghost chant. This chant leads way to the booming chorus that has a peculiar, industrial, almost White Zombie/Nine Inch Nails-esque instrumental section going on.

2008's 'Bird of Prey' is my favourite ZOZOBRA album, as it knew exactly what it was setting out to achieve and did just that. This is a brooding, spacey, epic, hardcore/post-metal record with seething and venomous vocals. "Emanate" mixes Antenna-era Cave In with gutteral bouts of werewolf vocals with an awesome, rolling, nearly eternal bassline. "Treacherous" puts on a screamy/growly vocal clinic. The general song structure and bass sound like very late era Cave In. For a heavy song this also incorporates a strong sense of melodic structure - it's all just really fucking heavy. I'd say this is probably my favourite ZOZOBRA cut. "Sharks That Circle" sounds like a mixture of Cave In and Isis and is one of the few tracks on the album to run with some clean vocals. Also harnessing Caleb's spacey croon is "In Jet Streams". A sick opening palm-muted bass riff is followed by two guitars, the drums and vocals just before 30 seconds. It's like a goddamned volcanic eruption, which. not surprisingly. reminds me of "The Volcano" by Old Man Gloom. "Heavy With Shadows" begins with a very distorted, heavy and punctuating bass riff which culminates at 37 seconds and brings the fucking house down. "Lazer Eyes" has flashes of blinding light from a higher being, only to seep into darkness thereafter with some intimidating post-metal/hardcore and massive metal/rock riffs. Amazing record.

An interesting note here as that the song "Bird of Prey" did not appear on 'Bird of Prey', but was instead tossed on the 'Champions of Sound' 4-way split/comp. It's standard ZOZOBRA fare, which means good.

Considering Caleb does most, if not all, of the heavy vocals on Cave In's last effort 'White Silence' in 2011 this isn't too far off from being the new Cave In record, especially considering how heavy that album was. Without Brodsky it obviously loses some of its luster and grace, but 'Savage Masters' is not going for grace. If anything I think it's going for the complete opposite, pummeling chaos and destruction that brings Converge's 'Jane Doe' to mind. This is blatantly showcased in the first noisy, thrashy track spewing venomous vocals that mist somewhere between Cave In, Converge and Cloud and is appropriately titled "The Cruelest Cut". "Deathless" is easily one of the highlights as it takes those poison vocals and gives them even more fury and disgust. The combination of growls, rhythms and guitar wailing is fantastic. "Born in a Blaze" is my top track on the band's final album with an absolutely booming chorus and frantic, bare verses. This beast could easily have been place on Old Man Gloom's 2013 album of darkness, also known as 'No' as it bears so many similarities to the heavy parts, but as mentioned earlier Cave In's 'White Silence' wouldn't be a stretch either.

So yeah, sick band. I hope they put out some more stuff, especially considering Brodsky is hard into the equally amazing Mutoid Man.

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DISCOGRAPHY
Click )==>here<==( to download the band's complete discography in mp3 form.

2007 - Harmonic Tremors cd/12"LP

2008 - Bird of Prey cd/12"LP
2008 - Champions of Sound 2x7" compilation (contributed "Bird of Prey")

2013 - Saveage Masters 12"LP

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(2007) ZOZOBRA - "Invisible Wolves" (from 'Harmonic Tremors')

(2007) ZOZOBRA - "Kill and Crush" (from 'Harmonic Tremors')

(2007) ZOZOBRA - "Levitate" (from 'Harmonic Tremors')

(2008) ZOZOBRA - "Treacherous" (from 'Bird of Prey')

(2008) ZOZOBRA - "In Jet Streams" (from 'Bird of Prey')

(2008) ZOZOBRA - "Heavy With Shadows" (from 'Bird of Prey')

(2008) ZOZOBRA - "Bird of Prey" (from 'Champions of Sound' comp)

(2013) ZOZOBRA - "Born in a Blaze" (from 'Savage Masters')

(2013) ZOZOBRA - "Deathless" (from 'Savage Masters')

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ZOZOBRA mp3 discography download / Additional Links

(download here)

Facebook

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*** ENDAMORI double-post premiere extravabandza POST #500 ***

Band: ENDAMORI

Genres: Punk / Post-Rock / Post-Hardcore / Post-Metal / Screamo / Hardcore / Thrash / Ambient / Crust / Emo-violence aka "Progressive Apocalyptic/Hardcore/Screamo Violence"
Related artists: Dolcim and Cease Upon The Capitol.
Country: Nashville, Tennessee USA
Years Active: 2011-2014
Song: "Nameless"
Album: "Big Machine split"
Year: 2015
Label(s): Zegema Beach Records / sleepinghouse Records
This post's artist is from the April 2015 Mix. This is track #1.
You can download: the April Mix#4 right here or get the new May 2015 Mix#5 here.
For fans of: Joshua Fit For Battle, Truman, Dolcim, Kaospilot, Tel Fyr, Zozobra, Old Man Gloom, Buried Inside, Loma Prieta, June Paik, Cease Upon The Capitol, Nionde Plagan, Youth Novel, Ten Thousand Leagues, Dispensing Of False Halos, Rayleigh, OsoLuna, Neil Perry, Battle Of Wolf 359, Off Minor, Jiyuna, Storm The Bastille, Welcome The Plague Year, Guidelines, Back When and Locktender aka PROPER SCREAMO.

Featuring members from insanely influential bands Cease Upon The Capitol, Dolcim and Hammers, ENDAMORI juxtapose deep, cavernous post-hardcore/chaos (think a darker Joshua Fit For Battle, or Rayleigh) jaggedly cut with the opposing soft, clean and beautiful Off Minor/Neil Perry-esque instrumentals. If you are wondering if the music sounds as good as the bands just mentioned, simply listen to this new song premiere and squash any doubt. This shit is fucking amazing. When I came to the realization that I was the only person releasing the band's final three songs I nearly shat myself because these it's some of the best material I've heard in years. Let me explain track by track.

"Shredder" was originally released on the fourth Zampler ("Flip Six Three Hole") and was chosen because it is most representative of every amazing part that is ENDAMORI. The song is all over the place in the first minute alone, touching on thrashy screamo, dirty yet playful and jazzy riffs, as well as rolling buildups that all culminate just after the 1-minute mark with a ridiculous display of melodic, layered breakdowns that abruptly end and venture into post-hardcore/post-rock territory like Milanku or Amber. The second minute has another fantastic section of dense grooves intertwined with driving guitars and commanding screams which eventually fades into the outro. Fucking. Insane. Song.

"Nameless" is today's track premiere and is a noisy, heavy and crushing romp that begins with a frenzy of drums. The Dolcim experiences shine in once everyone else joins in the racket and the listener is pummeled for nearly 30 seconds before a dual vocal breakdown (see Tel Fyr) takes hold and pushes the song into the next section that screams Joshua Fit For Battle. At 1:10 the band delves into their arsenal to bring out their competitive advantage of clean, driving, Level Plane screamo (see Neil Perry, Joshua Fit For Battle and Storm The Bastille) that hits home like a mofo at 1:46 and continues to float uphill until 2:30 when a swirling, apocalyptic tornado touches down and rips the song apart. At 3:11 the track begins to come full circle and explodes/shatters only to ooze slowly back together (T-1000, I'm looking at you) with sludgy, menacing breakdowns and a closing wall of feedback.

"Genessee" is the track that won't be released until the release of the split, which should be in late May/early June of this year (2015). It's the closer of a nearly flawless EP so you better bet it's stellar. Surprisingly it's the shortest song here, clocking in at 3:41, so ENDAMORI waste no time bludgeoning the listener over the head with relentless aural assaults. There's even a little jazzy/Psyopus sounding part at around one minute. There's also numerous screamers in this song that I'm a huge sucker for going back and forth, thereby completely saturating the sound. Of course there are the little soft bits but they are extremely short and used as very brief transitions or are thrown in to accentuate a subsequent massive moment.

So yeah, holy fucking shit. ENDAMORI will be your new favourite band if you like that older, heavy, metallic screamo with the soft, jazzy bits. Check out their first self-titled EP that was originally on cd out of 100. It's got 6 tracks of similar music, just a little less epic and crazy. There have been discussions of a posthumous discography 12"LP in the near future with both the EP and the split material. I'll keep you updated at http://www.zegemabeachrecords.com

At an undetermined time in the future there will be and ENDAMORI documentary that Sean (drums/vocals/Cease Upon The Capitol, Dolcim) is in the midst of. He just got back from teaching in South Korea and while he was there worked on "Marble City", another documentary focusing on skateboarding in Korea, which was released there but has yet to make it's way outside of the country but is in the process of doing so, I'm told.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2012 - Endamori cdEP (stream/donate/download here)

2015 - Big Machine split cassetteLP (order in May at http://www.zegemabeachrecords.com)

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(2015) ENDAMORI - "Shredder" (from 'Big Machine' split cassette)

(2015) ENDAMORI - "Nameless" (from 'Big Machine' split cassette)

(2012) ENDAMORI - "Elder-Kin" (from 'Endamori')

(2012) ENDAMORI - "Harbinger" (from 'Endamori')

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ENDAMORI additional links

Bandcamp

Facebook

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*** URAGANO double-post song premiere extravabandza POST #499 ***

Band: URAGANO

Genres: Punk / Post-Rock / Post-Hardcore / Post-Metal / Emo / Screamo / Hardcore / Drone / Ambient / Noise / Skramz
Related artists: ?.
Country: Sanremo ITALY
Years Active: 2013-present
Song: "Vomito"
Album: "New EP"
Year: 2015
Label(s): Zegema Beach Records and a bunch more that'll take too long to name...like 30.
This post's artist is from the April 2015 Mix. This is track #6.
You can download: the April Mix#4 right here or get the new May 2015 Mix#5 here.
For fans of: Envy, Deadseraphim, Ampere, Trapdoor Fucking Exit, JR Ewing, Apollo 18, Colonia, Quiet Lakes, Mono, Pelican, Back When, Tephra, Descubriendo A Mr. Mime, Rye Coalition, Viva Belgrado, La Parade, Transistor Transistor, Isis, Amanda Woodward, Gantz, OsoLuna and Zozobra aka PROPER SCREAMO.

URAGANO strikes a delicate balance between dirty, gritty screamo/hardcore and massive, intricate and layered post-rock/post-metal. Bassy and spacey, screamy and dreamy. That was fun to write.

Here is a review of the upcoming LP that has not been released, save for the opening track which is premiering today on this blog post. "Vomito" opens the new record, which is a good song and very representative of the other four songs to come. It wastes no time bringing in the quickest section first which leads to a bass and guitar rock and roll frenzy that could be old Rye Coalition or Transistor Transistor. I was hesitant to use this as the premiere song for this post because I was more partial to "Occhi" but after repeat listens I sang to the same tune as the band's initial request. In the end I think the screamy vocal patterns are my favourite tool in this song's bag, but the guitar romps are a close second.

The second track, "Inferno", is a very melodic affair that could be likened to La Parade and OsoLuna especially with the softer instrumental sections after 1:25 all the way until 2:35 or so when the hardcore breakdown stomps in.

As mentioned above "Occhi" is my favourite song on here. It's part of a one-two punch with tracks three and four. Right off the bat we are met with classic Italian screamy hardcore such as La Quiete but less mathy and a little grittier on the screams. At 30 seconds there is a sick bass romp with whirring guitars that climax at the 1-minute mark as guitar solos and passionate screaming. A drum roll at 1:55 bleeds into a feedback laden outro aka the spillover intro for "America" which jumps right into the thick of it with Trapdoor Fucking Exit-esque dirty/screamy post-punk/hardcore. The second half of this song is a little different than the previous half and song before as it incorporates a broader influence that may or may not include Back When and Pelican and delivers a heavy instrumental punch, which is certainly not the only time we are pummeled in such a fashion on this record.

The closing track titled "Gabbiani" is the lone, long song clocking in at 9:06. The whirring and droning mix quite cohesively with the epic, brooding, instrumental post-rock/post-hardcore/post-metal, especially at 2:30. Just over halfway through the band breaks from the distorted and aggressive material and turn instead to Amanda Woodward and Gantz as possible influences with vocals that drift in for a brief moment. The closing three minutes is more post-hardcore/metal stuff in the vein of Envy Tephra, Isis and Zozobra.

I helped release URAGANO's first EP on a split cd with Gli Altri in the early days of Zegema Beach Records. The split material was okay but certainly showed promise. That promise has been fulfilled with the new release that I unfortunately could not fund due to lack of...well, funds. The opening song on the split cd is "Amy" and they waste no time showing that 9 minute songs are easy. Two minutes into the jagged and uncomfortable intro the vocals kick in and pick up to some rolling thunder at about 5:30 that drags itself though some sludgy muck and is joined by gang screaming at 7:20 which begins the slowdown to a droning, feedback laden . "L'Interludio" plays some cool tricks with the headphones and is a bit of a circus mindfuck. Luckily it's only 54 seconds long. The final track is "238 Chilometri" and is the most digestable of the three songs. Within the first minute we are met with caveman drums, ? and wretched screaming. By the second minute we are floating around the stars and before the third even begins we are punking out again. Then there's the sound manipulation and huge bass and...well, you get the idea. There's bound to be something you like and they really tie it together well and therefore I don't lose interest.

I have the new EP and wish I could post more than just the one song, but that means you should be extra excited. URAGANO has come a hell of a long way in one year so I'm pumped like a Reebok tongue about their future bangers! Oh, and check out this sick full set with the new LP being played!

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DISCOGRAPHY

2013 - Uragano EP I cdEP(stream/donate/download here)
2013 - Uragano single (stream/donate/download here)

2014 - Making Waves 4-way split (w/Chuck Bass, Fiesta Bizarra and Urugai) (stream here)

2014 - Gli Altri split cdLP (buy here)
2014 - Soundcage compilation (stream/donate/download here)

2015 - EP (this hasn't been released yet)

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(2015) URAGANO - "Vomito" (from 'New EP')

(2014) URAGANO - "238 Chilometri" (from 'Gli Altri' split cd)

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URAGANO additional links

Bandcamp

Facebook

URAGANO / GLI ALTRI - split cd (buy here)

ridiculous live set captured on video (on youtube here)

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VADE

Band: VADE

Genres: Punk / Post-Rock / Sass / Post-Hardcore / Emo / Screamo
Related artists: The Blood Brothers, Jaguar Love, Soiled Doves, The Vogue, Past Lives, Neon Blonde, The Gossip and champagne, champagne.
Country: Seattle, USA
Years Active: 1997-1999
Song: "Bridget Bardot"
Album: "Jough Dawn Baker split"
Year: 1999
Label(s): Henry's Finest Recordings / World Of Hurt Records / Edema
This post's artist is from the April 2015 Mix. This is track #10.
You can download: the April Mix#4 right here or get the new May 2015 Mix#5 here.
For fans of: The Explosion, Yaphet Kotto, The Blood Brothers, Jeer At Rome, These Arms Are Snakes, Rye Coalition, Indian Summer, Francis Brady, Navio Forge, Current, Kill Sadie, Since By Man, September and Die Princess Die aka PROPER SCREAMO.

There's something about VADE that screams The Blood Brothers meets The Explosion. I know those bands are not similar, but if you take very early Johnny Whitney vocals (The Blood Brothers/this band) and dispersed it over instrumentals of mid-90s emo/screamy hardcore such as Yaphet Kotto or Jeer At Rome then you already have an excellent idea as to what this band sounds like. Just listen to "Baltimore"'s intro to hear what I'm talking about.

The band's 1999 'split with Jough Dawn Baker they went from young lads bringing some interesting things to the table to injecting some seriously engaging and genre-shattering punk/emo/post-hardcore/sass-rock. "Bridget Bardot" is the penultimate VADE song in my opinion, as it has this creepy vibe with spoken word that slowly trickles to the sarcastically spat lyrics such as "Silence is a funny fellow. It's an easel of nothing but blank cold and disappointment," just after the two-minute mark and it's one hell of a chorus that could be found on a Francis Brady song. Another killer tune from the split is "Jupiter, Beyond the Infinite" that reminds me most of The Blood Brothers early material (their self-titled 7" in particular) with a heavy, sassy dose of Rye Coalition. "Winter Recovery System" would have been the best song on 'Saturn' had it been released on said 7". Alas it was not and is therefore the weakest song on this particular release. Even so, it's worth a listen and is the most aggressive track overall. This release in particular is smarmy, indecent, awkward and fucking amazing.

Both songs on 'Saturn' are whinier and about six and half minutes each. For the first two minutes "Red Cloud Demise" sounds like Nirvana. The rest of the song branches off from here and could be likened to bands like September or other early emo stuff after the 2:20-mark. The intro for "Baltimore" is so Yaphet Kotto on instrumentals I find myself confused and amused upon each listen. It's a dreary and haunting episode that sounds like a horror movie in the woods mixed with a crippling mental illness, but is never chaotic or screamy, it's just unnerving. It sprinkles some nice vocals from Hannah Blilie that compliment the melodies quite well. I like this 7" but the split is far superior. Jon (aka the man) just sent me the demo so I've updated the mp3 download with the entire discography. Grab the discography in download below.

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DISCOGRAPHY
Click )==>here<==( to download the band's complete discography in mp3 form.

1997 - Demo cassetteEP
1997 - Saturn 7"EP

1999 - Jough Dawn Baker split 12"LP

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(1999) VADE - "Bridget Bardot" (from 'Jough Dawn Baker' split)

(1999) VADE - "Jupiter, Beyond the Infinite" (from 'Jough Dawn Baker' split)

(1997) VADE - "Red Cloud's Demise" (from 'Saturn')

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VADE out of print mp3 discography download / additional links

(download here)

LastFM

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PANTHERS

Band: PANTHERS

Genres: Punk / Rock / Post-Hardcore / Garage Rock / Sass Rock
Related artists: Orchid, Ritual Mess, Violent Bullshit, The Red Scare and Pitchblende.
Country: New York City, New York USA
Years Active: 2000-2008
Song: "It's Not the Heat It's the Humidity"
Album: "Let's Get Serious"
Year: 2003
Label(s): Dim Mak / Vice Records / Troubleman Unlimited / City Slang / Permanent Vacation / Insound 7" Box Series / DFA
This post's artist is from the April 2015 Mix. This is track #9.
You can download: the April Mix#4 right here or get the new May 2015 Mix#5 here.
For fans of: Teenage Swoon, Creepozoidz, Meth And Goats, Daniel Striped Tiger, Wolves, Aim Of Conrad, Rye Coalition, Death From Above 1979, Big Dick, Hugs, (the) International Noise Conspiracy and Orchid.

Have you spent endless nights hoping upon hope that the members of Orchid would start a sassy, post-hardcore, garage-rock band? You have?!?!?! Well shit, this may or may not be a little late but PANTHERS did just that. With Jayson Green starting PANTHERS after the Orchid breakup he lays down some foot-stamping, tongue in cheek vocals that pick up right where the 'Gatefold' LP finished off. Almost all of the screaming has been chucked out the window but the urgency, passion and sexually-driven lyrics still comes across full force. Now, I don't necessarily love all of the band's material (as the first album 'Are You Down??' doesn't have any songs that I love - but is very indicative of the sound the band is known for), but when they hit the mark they are fucking spot on. I personally find that PANTHERS' sophomore effort 'Let's Get Serious' is their best and most consistent work. So, let's start there.

"Thank Me With Your Hands" is the opener and it's fucking stellar. Think the (International) Noise Conspiracy mixed with Orchid's softer material and you've basically already heard the song. At the 1-minute mark the guitars really kick in with a few biting tongue lashes. "It's Not the Heat, It's the Humility" is the second song and it takes the opener to a new level, with some licks that are so rock they border on surf solos (see 0:28 and 1:18). It's easily is one of the strongest tracks by the band and was the song that I used for the mp3 blog mix last month. If you check only one song make it this. Amazing stuff that ends up reminding me of Wolves and Rye Coalition. Directly following the first two tracks is my third favourite "Post-Fascist Fantasies" which has some really great guitar work (big surprise, eh?), driving drums and seething vocals. The little solo dealy at 33 seconds is awesome and continues through when the vocals are added - it's probably the coolest part of the song, although the ending "yeah"s are pretty darn engaging.

2004's 'Things are Strange' begins with "Legally Tender" and its strength is ultimately the album's demise as this song is too strong when compared to the rest of record, with "Stroke My Genius" being the lone exception that comes close. 2007's 'The Trick' has only one song that gets my blood pumping and that's "Uncertainly". This gem begins with a sweet, subtle 70s rock riff buried in the verses which leads to the best crazy yelling/screaming parts since Orchid at around 50 seconds and again at 1:15 right up until the end. Dag, yo. I wish they had more songs like this.

I've posted the four primary releases here so if you dig the embeds nab those sassy songs and get your sex drive ready.

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DISCOGRAPHY
Click )==>here<==( to download the band's (almost) complete discography in mp3 form.

2002 - Are You Down?? cd/12"LP

2003 - Let's Get Serious cd/12"EP
2003 - Japanther vs. Panthers - Seven Inch Lovers 7"EP (anybody have this?)

2004 - Things are Strange cd/2x12"LP
2004 - Thanks for the Simulacra cd/12"single (pretty much a remix)
2004 - Insound 7" Box Series Volume One (Sons And Daughters split) 7"

2007 - The Trick cdLP

2008 - Goblin City 12"EP (basically just remixes)

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(2007) PANTHERS - "Uncertainly" (from 'The Trick')

(2003) PANTHERS - "It's Not the Heat, It's the Humility" (from 'Let's Get Serious')

(2003) PANTHERS - "Thank You With Your Hands" (from 'Let's Get Serious')

(2003) PANTHERS - "Post-Fascist Fantasies" (from 'Let's Get Serious')

(2004) PANTHERS - "Legally Tender" (from 'Things are Strange')

(2002) PANTHERS - "Are You Down?" (from 'Are You Down??')

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PANTHERS out of print mp3 discography (at least, the majority of it) download

(download here)

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*** LOCKTENDER / FOXMOULDER / SHAHMAN / WOODLOUSE / RESPIRE live show review ***

On April 4th, 2015 I made the trek to Toronto from Hamilton (a measly one hour) with a buddy of mine and caught the entire five-band bill. This really was a stacked line-up at Soybomb that did not disappoint - plus I got to chill with a bunch of amazing people, especially the Locktender fellas. You can click here to watch all 18 videos including the unveiling of Foxmoulder's split 12" material which was fucking explosive, as well as new material by Respire, Woodlouse and the almighty Locktender.

*** CLICK HERE to watch all 18 live videos ***





First up was RESPIRE, whose four-song demo EP floored me. Jam it here. From what I gathered, everyone who hadn't already seen the band was thoroughly impressed. One of the band members even told me that it was their best show. They played two new songs that showcase unreal drumming, three guitars and a trumpet as well as Egin's versatile scream. They also busted out "Nihil", this fans personal favourite. Beautiful interludes, soundscapes, layers, cresendos, atmosphere and straight up chaos. The band would be amazing without the trumpet, but with it are something truly unique and remarkable. They will be recording an LP this year that Zegema Beach Records will be spearheading. Based on the live stuff I've heard this will probably be in my top 20 of 2015.

FFO: Isis, Sinking Steps Rising Eyes and Old Soul

Bandcamp

Second was WOODLOUSE from Kitchener/Waterloo Ontario and they were really impressive. I saw them a few months back and enjoyed the set, but not nearly as much as this. The band permeated the room with angry, sludgy and caustic punk/post-hardcore/doom. On guitar is Justin from Congratulations and previously New Wings and he brings some massive bombshells of riffs that include some sludgy-ass breakdowns, grunge and the occasional wail. On vocals is Jesse who also injects some serious anger and frustration into his screams, yells, yowls and bellows. Very cool stuff.

FFO: His Hero Is Gone, BOAK and Cursed

No Link :(

SHAHMAN took the floor/ramp next and the two-piece from Toronto had almost everyone swaying along in a distorted, dense and hazy fog that oozed from the speakers. This set was entirely made up of the band's softer material as was obviously planned as I always see the band change guitars when they switch from soft to hard - and tonight they only had a single guitar with them. The entrancing parts really pick up as can be witnessed by getting to about 3:15 in video #1 at which point you will hear some beautiful, desperate crooning before the band slides into an Old Man Gloom-esque country-metal fusion that is stunning. Post-hardcore/noise/drone/shoegaze hybrid? Sure, why not.

FFO: Old Man Gloom, Zozobra and Jesu

Bandcamp

FOXMOULDER. I'm tellin' ya. Their upcoming split 12" is going to be insane. These 5 new songs are easily their best work. Darryl really helps solidify the band's sound as the new drummer and makes the chaotic cohesion denser than previous material. They played 6 new songs (5 of which I've recorded on video, but you can see the other song "Tempest Ill" in the last 3 Foxmoulder live show reviews) and a few old ones such as "Tesslyn", "Ascend" and "Havelock". "New Song 2" and "New Song 5" were especially fantastic with the band going bananas at the end of "New Song 3". Man, I'm salivating just waiting to hear these recordings. Be sure to check out videos #2-6 to hear pretty much the entire new split.

FFO: Beau Navire, Loma Prieta and Reversal Of Man

Bandcamp

To close the evening...errrr, morning, LOCKTENDER took to the stage...errrr, skate ramp, and proceeded to destroy the room with four songs of, well, I don't think massive is a big enough word. Seriously, their presence and power are tangible as well as palpable during their live sets. This was perfectly summed up in one showgoer's flat question following the set, "What the fuck just happened?". As per Egin's eager request last time through Toronto, the band opened with "Seventeen" and had a large number of fans belting out the lyrics along with Nick and Andrew, particularly the ending with "these hands will lift you up". Twas a thing of beauty. The band played a new jam second which showcases some interesting clean, chorded guitars amidst a flurry of drums and Takaru-esque urgency. There's also an extended vocal part by Jason on bass. LOCKTENDER ended with a quick one-two punch of the shotgun blast that is "The Thinker" immediately followed by the extensive and epic "Man With the Broken Nose". Excellent set, as per usual.

FFO: Light Bearer, Isis and Envy

Bandcamp

EPHEMERA

Band: EPHEMERA

Genres: Punk / Rock / Post-Hardcore / Emo / Screamo / Ambient / Skramz
Related artists: Heart On My Sleeve, Rainmaker, Via Fondo, Vi Som Alskade Varandra Sa Mycket, iisole, Feeble, Suffocate For Fuck Sake, Totem Skin, Sore Eyelids, Shirokuma, Anemone, Trembling Hands and Coma Regalia.
Country: Sweden/World
Years Active: 2014-present
Song: "Stormen - We´ll find comfort in the waves"
Album: "Ephemera"
Year: 2015
Label(s): Middle Man and others, someone please inform me
This post's artist is from the April 2015 Mix. This is track #12.
You can download: the April Mix#4 right here or get the new May 2015 Mix#5 here.
For fans of: State Faults, Heart On My Sleeve, Rainmaker, Young Mountain, Via Fondo, Vi Som Alskade Varandra Sa Mycket, Careless, Shirokuma and Raein aka PROPER SCREAMO.

The first time I checked out the opening track on EPHEMERA's self titled EP I heard Arvid (who screams for Vi Som Alskade Varandra Sa Mycket) and knew that this was right up my alley. Harnessing ridiculous talent from all over the world, Gabriel Bergman Lahovary and his friends concocted the three song EP by adding writing/adding each member's contribution and then passing it along to the next person. This enabled the writing process to clearly permeate across the plains of group-think consciousness and gave each member a definitive and unique spin on the creative input.

"Stormen - We´ll find comfort in the waves" begins with Arvid's very distinguishable cries right as the song begins and it never really lets up over the six minutes afterwards. The vocals jump back and forth between the members which include Mattias (Suffocate For Fuck Sake) and Henrik (Totem Skin). The instrumentals are a whirlwind of dreamy/chaotic screamo that very, very obviously are from Europe - Sweden in particular. With my boy Karl from Via Fondo on guitar, it's a not a big surprise as to why. This is my favourite song by EPHEMERA and lucky for us, they've made a music video for it that you can watch here and I've also embedded it below. "Des cicatrices et des cernes" showcases a lot more of Johan (Trembling Hands) and Vivien (Rainmaker) on vocals, at least from what I can hear, and also includes Shawn Decker (Coma Regalia) on drums and is the shortest of all the tracks. At times the hoarse screaming is reminiscent of Snapcase with "Darkness Within" which is my second favourite of the three and finds a subtle balance between the beauty of the track 1 and the aggression of track 2. The back and forth vocals here are amazing and this song reminds me of Vi Som Alskade Varandra Sa Mycket and State Faults.

Truthfully, when it's all said and done there's a bit of each band listed in the "related acts" section so that's what it sounds like. An amalgamation of greatness, if you will. Wait, I just did. They're a supergroup that makes super music, but it's no Hot Cross as they will always hold that title for me.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2015 - Ephemera 7"EP (steam/donate/download here)

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(2015) EPHEMERA - "Stormen - We´ll find comfort in the waves" (from 'Ephemera') official music video

(2015) EPHEMERA - "Darkness Within" (from 'Ephemera')

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EPHEMERA additional links

Bandcamp

Facebook

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THIS TOWN NEEDS GUNS

Band: THIS TOWN NEEDS GUNS (aka TTNG)

Genres: Punk / Rock / Emo / Alternative / Shoegaze / Indie Rock / Prog-Rock / Math Rock / Twinkle / Pop
Related artists: ?.
Country: Oxford UNITED KINGDOM
Years Active: 2004-present
Song: "Badger"
Album: "Animals"
Year: 2008
Label(s): Self Released / Big Scary Monsters / Yellow Ghost Records / Sargent House / Stiff Slack / Faux Discx / Klee
This post's artist is from the April 2015 Mix. This is track #4.
You can download: the April Mix#4 right here or get the new May 2015 Mix#5 here.
For fans of: No Knife, Maps And Atlases, Piglet, Waxwing, Roy, The Exploration, Riddle Of Steel, The Advantage, Mewithoutyou, Anthony Green, Native, Sore Eyelids and Criteria.

I remember a few years back when THIS TOWN NEEDS GUNS (now shittily changed to the acronym TTNG) released a new album and although I was excited, the time between 'Animals' and '13.0.0.0.0.''was a long one and further magnified by the change in vocalists. Even better than the bands noodley, mathy, twinkly guitar-work were those perfectly tuned vocal chords that dripped with emotion (and talent). I also checked out the self-titled album before 'Animals' which was alright but the hooks didn't flip me out of the pond (I'm a fish in this analogy...I think?). Therefore I will only discuss the nearly immaculate record that is 'Animals'.

"Badger" is the penultimate THIS TOWN NEEDS GUNS track. The brooding nature seemingly dilutes but is actually creating an epoxy that is triggered at the 2:11-mark as the slow motion explosion begins that leads to those unreal vocals that radiate out just before and after 3 minutes. Honestly this song is breathtaking and the other tracks feel like branch-offs of "Badger" but that's probably more because that song massages my earholes.

That being said, I should mention that "Chinchilla", "Baboon", "Lemur", "Panda", "Pig", "Dog", "Rabbit" and "Zebra" are all fantastic. That's 9:13 in terms of the ratio amazingness:total songs. "Chinchilla" is pretty soothing after a pretty driving beginning and flourishing vocals at 2:25. "Pig" features lush falsetto vocals by Stuart that sway perfectly with slow, The Exploration-esque twinkling emo guitar. "Baboon" boasts some really intricate guitar interplay that has a seething, dark and evil side to it - the way a forest does at night in the pitch black. Outshining the shadowy nature is the beautiful stop/start instrumentals and syrupy crooning that light up the song enough to make it extremely accessible and a banger to boot. "Panda", "Lemur" and "Dog" are much more relaxed and rolling while "Rabbit" injects a cloudy yet danceable haze into the album right before the closer "Zebra" which is a very cool xylophone and strings arrangement with vocals deep enough they could be Stuart chanting. Such a killer album. Reminds me of South Korea where I was for two and a half years when I first got this cd. Hi Sarah!

It should also be noted that the 2011 7" 'Adventure, Stamina and Anger' featured Stuart Smith on vocals directly before his departure from the band, so that is worth checking out here because it's really, really good. Like, seriously fucking amazing. Check it!

That was a weird review.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2006 - Hippy Jam Fest cd/7"EP (got it? post it please!)

2007 - Cats And Cats And Cats split cdLP (got it? post it please!)

2008 - This Town Needs Guns cd/12"LP (stream/buy here)
2008 - Animals cd/12"LP (stream/buy here)

2009 - Live Acoustics single (stream/buy here)

2011 - Adventure, Stamina and Anger 7" (stream/buy here)

2013 - 13.0.0.0.0. cd/12"LP (stream/buy here)

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(2011) THIS TOWN NEEDS GUNS - "Mnspector Iorse" (from 'Adventure, Stamina and Anger')

(2011) THIS TOWN NEEDS GUNS - "Adventure, Stamina and Anger" (from 'Adventure, Stamina and Anger')

(2008) THIS TOWN NEEDS GUNS - "Badger" (from 'Animals')

(2008) THIS TOWN NEEDS GUNS - "Pig" (from 'Animals')

(2008) THIS TOWN NEEDS GUNS - "Baboon" (from 'Animals')

(2008) THIS TOWN NEEDS GUNS - "Rabbit" (from 'Animals')

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THIS TOWN NEEDS GUNS "good" mp3 discography download / additional links

(download here)

Bandcamp

Facebook

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