In groove we trust

Right, I have partied, I have studied, I have relaxed and I have created pavement pizzas the likes of which dominoes can never deliver and the local council cannot purge. I am back!

So what have I done since I've been gone? I have seen fantastic bands, I have witnessed the rise of yet another irritating yet harmless X factor contestant and I have retained and strengthened my passion in metal.

I have however found that there is one metal genre that keeps recurring in my play lists, one genre whose infectious sounds and ideas have permeated into my own amateurish guitar and drum playing.

However, this genre is not one but several genres. I know sounds bizarre right?!

Sludge metal, groove metal, stoner metal, neo-psychedelic metal, post thrash, alternative metal....

Basically I refer to any form of metal which is predominated by a groove. Unfortunately man's obsession with classifying every aspect of life has also reached into such abstract areas such as music. Trust me I'm a scientist, I make a living classifying shit.

This is not to say that I have lost appreciation in other forms of metal but I seem to be immersing myself with the groove. So I shall attempt over my next articles to introduce you to bands that you've probably never heard of.

I aim to sling you into the depths of sleazy groove, whilst also trying to introduce other genres, which have this proverbial groove. So call it groove, swing, sway, feel or just down right fucking awesome! I hope to broaden your horizons.

So as I go I will also attempt to create my groovy play list, including a wide variety of artists and bringing to you some of their landmark songs.

So I best get thinking for the next article before the weeks over.

Shai-hu-lud masticates slowly on the fruit of knowledge,

Mother Susu..what?!

It's been too long, Unfortunately the slave drivers that run my course have decided to make me carry out experiments in the arctic with the creature from the thing as a lab hand, He's somewhat difficult to work with and has a detestable penchant for Olivier Newton John. So while I have the time I shall write you a little article before another wave of `let's get physical!` hits me like a midget in a burlap sack.
I was sifting through the wide variety of false advertisements for porn and Viagra, it's for my friend you see..., when I cam across a band.
Mother Susurrus are a band from Sweden  Finland (Thanks to Ines Bermudez) who play some bloody good music. The two songs that are available from their website are a heady mix of stoner metal, screaming vocals and white noise which when blended together produce a miasma of groove and cluster headaches.
On first look the band really seem to have a penchant for tongue destroying titles with the listen-able songs being 1. Whoremonger and 2. Apocatastasis. These guys work bloody hard though with both songs clocking in at over 30 minutes combined.
Whoremonger pummels you with white noise before pushing out some very long groovy riffs. The drums and bass bolster the riff whilst throwing in some harmonisation. The vocals are screamed desperately. then the song opens up a bit with some almost rage aginst the machine type frantic block chord strumming. Normally a band would go straight back to the first riff but these guys first cast one of their most grooviest riffs before feeding back into an altered first riff which combines the break with the original riff.
Then silence, This falls back like a thick velvet curtain and simple guitar chords dominate with a beautifully gentle drum part which is very tom heavy. This is all propelled by progressive arpeggios which flow into single soloed notes.
Then single chord strums herald almost chanted gang vocals, then a pulsing build up, which i thought was a little obvious compared to the rest of the song, takes us to a higher dynamic. This breaks like a wave with some tasty drumming and block chords. Chord progressions help motion the song forward through this part.
Then it turns fucking evil! Screamed vocals and harsh wah wah push the listener down a darkly lit corridor which ends in a black room. The original riff comes forcing its way back and this slows to a slow pulse, eventually dying on the pavement, like some rabid dog, pulsating chest collapsing.
This band have some beautiful movements within their songs and to be honest I think they are an epic almost jam type stoner band. I will mention that some predictable song movements let them down a bit. But the inventive drum work and the bloody strong momentum that they keep, even in their slower moments, really makes up for it!
Basically if you're pissed off and want to groove a bit still, seriously give these guys a listen. They don't fall afoul of the mistakes, in my view, of eyehategod, as in being painfully slow and slightly uninventive, but manage to keep and interesting song structure. Basically mix Mastodon with Eyehategod and you're halfway there.
Enjoy it gu.....
Wait I haven't done the second song! Erm.. well if you like the sound of that first song and want to hear the other you'll have to visit their website, being not extremely famous it's only fair you give 'em some hits! It'll only take a Click - website -myspace. Would I recommend them? I'd say they are damn well worth the time!
Well if you like them please spread the word!!
Regards,
Shai Hu Lud....

When in doubt start with the kidneys....

This weeks track of choice is a delightful section of disgustingly visceral death metal- Nile's Eat of the Dead. Without further ado let's get munching!

This track is from their 2007 album- Ithyphallic (which is a reference to an erect penis). The track is a 6.29 minute evil triturate of a track whose low growling guitars, complex drum work and almost vile vocals leave the listener feeling a bit dirty after having listened to it.

The song opens with slow long bended notes which are punctuated by the drummers marksmanship like strokes. This is fractured by some bloody colon collapsing double bass drum playing. The fast bass drum is melded into the song nicely by the slow steady beat of the cymbals and snare as well as the ever present and ominous string bending.

After you have reinserted your cervical vertebrae into your head you realise that the song has broken free from the tight time constraint and softened into a more propulsive guitar rhythm. This transition is so expertly crafted that it sounds as if very little has changed, yet the bass drum and guitar parts have become more manageable. Then Eat of the dead is grafted onto your ear drums as the vocals are snarled into your ear.

As a drummer this is almost an infuriating song as the drummer (George Kollias) is completely destroying his drum kit in a way I could never hope to even match! The rhythms cycle nicely along and the structure is well tailored and this is an example of how blast beating can effectively be incorporated into songs along with more conventional drumming.

The breakdown in this song is characterised by a very low drum part and a very fast tremolo picking section. This all falls away into a sort of breakdown within a breakdown. The guitar part here is wonderfully flowing and it has these mesmerising guitar parts which use broken chords to create a wavering sound. Then one of the most delightfully unnerving vocal passages ensues, sounding like the bastard offspring of a Tibetan monk, Barry White and a death metal vocalist, basically its brutal.

I'm not always a fan of overly complex songs, which often boil down to abject wankery. The song echoes into the blackness with the repetition of Eat of the Dead in death growl/gang vocal style.

So what do we have here? Basically if your in a foul mood and feel like the worlds got a fucking problem with you listen to this track.

After all-

`The highest fulfillment of man, is to become food for the crawling things, that burrow and slither in human flesh`

He's got his head in the Clouds and his feet up my arse...

It's always been a struggle for me, trying to find new bands with a distinctive sounds who aren't boring. Today's song of choice, is from a band who I still haven't really made my mind up on, they are like Golden Syrup (similar to maple syrup for you transatlantic readers). They are fairly heavy and bring a thick and rich sound to the musical table but after a couple of mouthfuls you get a bit full.

Devil Sold His Soul (DSHS) are a ambient metalcore band from England. Metalcore is a much disputed genre, as a new kid on the block, like nu metal before it, it is therefore disliked as soon as it becomes popular. I'm gonna have write something about metalcore..... but that's for another time.

Anyway, these guys have released 5 albums and today's musical trenche, Clouds, is from their first album- Darkness Prevails. Now I'm not gonna say go and buy this instantly (surely an instant musical indictment) as the album, while good, has me confused as to where I stand. I certainly don't hate them but I'm not sure if their album long song concept is really something I can gel with. What I mean is that each song is designed, on the album, to flow into the next one, like some sort of conjoined twin, and create a musical journey throughout a sordid landscape similar to the feel of the film The Hills Have Eyes (Oh dear god the remakes are piss poor). A stark dramatic and very forlorn landscape is conjured populated with dead tress and cracked earth.

While the imagery is incredibly effective it does bring about the question, do I really want to be listening to something this bleak for about 20 minutes? At this particular point in time, no...

Perhaps it would be easier if I reviewed this song.

Right, the song Clouds opens with this band's trademark simply chord rhythms, a rich sample and guitar led affair which culminates in the harsh strained introduction of the vocalist. It's fantastically emotional but after a minute or so of atmospheric guitar work the music drops behind and the break comes, whose soft guitar part effervesces sweetly forward to suddenly be cast aside in storm of white water guitar pulsing.

The minute the guitars change to a different rhythm the audience is led to believe that things are suddenly going to burst away from the pattern and an absolutely monumental shit storm is about to hit us, however I am still faced with another wall of pounding guitars, not necessarily in a good way.

So is it all bad then? Not necessarily, I'd definitely put them on at 4 am when I'm just drinking coffee with my mates, but would it build me up to being in a frenzy of mosh filled enjoyment? No.

So really this band truly is an atmospheric band, they want to keep people in a certain emotional state of metallic tranquility. My major praise is the well integrated samples. I feel, personally, when metal bands integrate samples into their music, they lose a certain energy. They seem to either use them to play what would otherwise be the guitar riff (In Flames) of they use it to basically provide irritating incidental bollocks (Enter Shite-kari).

The samples are effectively used to integrate the soundscape with the listener and to possibly try and take some of the edge off the guitars, allowing it to remain a atmospheric band. My major criticism is that the distinct lack of rhythmic and melodic dynamism leads to a quickly tiring musical experience.

So where are we? We have a band here that is very atmospheric and can combine a fantastic set of samples with rich and solid wall of sound. They cannot however carefully construct a riff that would bring these together and help move the song forward. In the end this band, whilst very good, lacks a drive, a motion. The songs while able to create a fantastic image fail to let that image progress and grow. Thus without a dynamic or a lyrical or a tempo or even a rhythmic journey we are left stranded in this desert waiting for someone to pick us up.

Listen to it, absorb it but don't dwell otherwise you may become lobotomised....

His bloody head was a vision of Cephalic Carnage...

So my little cherubs of the metallic waste land, another song shall be brought onto thee!

While at the moment I'm mainly going through bands most of you have heard, yes I am still in exam period give me a break, I shall not skimp on the musical analysis!

Today's portion of ferrous goodness comes from a strange band- Cephalic Carnage. A band whose strange grindcore tinged experimentation have earned a great deal of respect, even though I'm not always sure what they are doing ...

Anyways, todays helping is delivered (in 30 minutes or less or your money back) from their delightful album- Anomalies! Released in 2005, this album was an interesting mix of softly woven introductions, heavy as shit blasting and bloody fine guitar mastery!

The song of my personal interest was one which the twisted Mr. Layzell pointed me onto towards- Piece Maker. This song is very juicy. Meaty riffs fall out of the record like a rump steak and mean drum parts roll the meat into the mincer for your ears to masticate.

The songs main riff is a simple sludgy repeating pattern of doubles, this makes up the introduction and the verses. The introduction, which is similar in effect to Seemless' Parody, begins with the main riff quietly played and a nice bouncy pentatonic based introduction solo, all with a lovely vinyl-esqe buzz to it. The solo guitar works in and out of the riff then suddenly- BAM! A fucking explosion erupts and the screamed vocals create a thick sound reminiscent of an engine, minus the muffler.

The chorus rushes forward like a severed artery, throwing out thick chunks of groove. Basically this song is a groove metal masterclass, including time and tempo changes with plenty of lovely syncopation to boot.

The drums and guitar all just mince up nicely, it is my kind of music to headbang to. The song expertly shifts from stoner/sludge to a low tuned, slow, grinding death sledge. This change of feel, is almost complete, deep grunts and slow evil guitar sounds are a complete contrast to the earlier parts of the song. However they expertly retain that groove, that bounce and manage to keep the main guitar theme trundling along.

This is one of those songs whose heaviness is created not through fast, insane guitar riffage, but through low, relentless and generally mean sounding atmospheric groove, just like some of the original Black Sabbath songs.

If I would, could you?

Greetings and salutations! Today is the beginning of a new era, well decade. So aside from getting extraordinarily drunk, I have made a little promise, It'll be tricky. For every week I shall post a review of a single song.

Well, here we go...

Todays song is one which should hopefully bring your new year in smoothly, while it be not a face melting cacophony of death metal guitar mastery, it is a lyrical pleasure- Would? by Alice in Chains, specifically the version on their unplugged album.

Alice in Chains is often cited as a grunge basic, a band that if you want to get grunge you should check out. While I can detect the lovely tones of grunge, I would say the band in fact surpasses the genre with a metallic hint. They are a band whose dirty guitars and vocals are skillfully layered onto a bed of bizarre time signatures and a thin sheet of inner turmoil. Alice in Chains are indeed a band to listen to.

The band second album Dirt (1992) is where one can find the original version of this song, however it was chosen for their set when they appeared on MTV's Unplugged show in 1996. The performance had all the original members, except for their original bassist Mike Starr who left after they released Dirt to be replaced by Mike Inez who plays bass guitar in this version.

A shame and a rare wonder, as this is the last performance that the lead singer Layne Staley would give, as soon after he died of a mixed drug overdose.

Now that you have the bands background let us move swiftly onto this song. A live performance on MTV's Unplugged requires performers to perform `acoustic` sets, unless you are Kurt Cobain- then you get an amp. The song was originally written as a tribute towards the late lead singer of a band called Mother Love Bone, Andrew Wood who died of a heroine overdose. It is also a defense of his actions. Here it is the 10th in a 13 track set which can be almost considered a unique best of, of the band.

It opens with a very brooding bass line which is complimented by the drummer (Sean Kinney), whose tight use of the snare and choked high hat help build tension for Staley's vocals to rest upon. Guitars here are merely help to fill the space in the bass line. The vocals are brilliantly harmonised by the lead guitarist (Jerry Cantrell).

Suddenly the drums open up and the guitars chime, almost covering the bass, whilst the vocals softly emote the listener. Dynamically the differences between the verse and chorus are delightful, signposting clearly where we are in the song. The bass overall is the driving force in this song, however the guitar and drums are the instruments that indicate segment changes.

The lyrics are well worth reading, they are heartfelt and the delivery in this version is very choking. lines such as;

`What does friend mean to you?

A word so wrongfully abused.`

The dynamics of Staley's voice drift from soft cooing to strangled cries of frustration at a society that doesn't know him but judges nevertheless. It is a very honest song and it really captures the frustration of a person whose private life has been torn open and presented to the masses for a fondue party. The song ends with a jarring series of staccato slashes, non of this cheap, let's fade out shit here.

In short a performance of a band who are their tightest and are not afraid to wear their hearts on their sleeves- sound soppy? Well prove me wrong!

Shai-Hu-Lud passes out with his Jager...