Final Conflict "Ashes to Ashes"

Today's album is Final Conflict's Ashes to Ashes.

It comes recommended by Pitchfork: "In 1987, they released their pulverizing debut album, Ashes to Ashes—a venom-soaked takedown of the Reagan years, as well as one of the decade's best crossover releases." Pitchfork also links to this article about the suburban LA punk scene in the early years.

A venom-soaked takedown! Let's check it out.

1. "Apocalypse Now!". Late 80s hardcore at its finest.  The music is surprisingly really tight. A crisp 1:39 of "Apocalypse Now" shouts.

2. "One Answer". A comparison to the Gorilla Biscuits could definitely be made. Gorilla Biscuits, but better at playing instruments.

3. "Private War". Helicopters. Into music. Classic touch! The chorus contains shouts of "Nightmares, Nightmares,Nightmares, WHAT I SEE (I think)". I miss good political punk rock. Are people this fired up anymore? Ends with a few notes of the national anthem.

4. "Crucifixion". Standard hardcore punk song. Guitar solo included. This would have been fun to see live back in the day...I'm mad I completely missed out on this band.

5. "Abolish Police". An anti-police brutality song. Obviously. "We must continue to. FIGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM". I would have had a finger pointed in the air while shouting this one. Then I would have got my head stomped in. Police violence...bad/pit violence...OK!

6. "Shattered Mirror". This one features the first sing along chorus. Nothing wrong with a good sing along.

7. "Burial Service". Just some more thrash punk. Get out your skateboards. "Human nature will destroy us".

8. "What Kind of Future?" I'm from the future, and I'll be happy to tell you about it, Final Conflict. It's more of the same, but a lot more bleak. We need more Final Conflict. Less real conflict.

9. Constant Fear". At 2:59, this is the longest song. "HOW LONG MUST WE SIT IN SILENCE". "TIRED OF LIVING IN FEAR OF OUR NUCLEAR CONFRONTATION." I can rep this. THEY MUST BE DISAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARMED. This might be the best. Punk rock > nuclear warfare. This is taking DIY to a much more profound level.

10. "Political Glory". A sound clip of someone talking about how the economy is getting worse under Ronald Reagan. This stuff is important to remember.

11. "Central America". "TORTURE/NEVER STOOOOOOPS". It's true, unfortunately.

But instead of hearing about torture, let's all talk about pop culture.

12. "Outcasts". A recruitment song. Reaching out to the outcasts. I would have signed up.

13. "Self-Righteous Pigs". I think the song is talking about people not even knowing what people are fighting for. I'm not entirely sure what the song is actually talking about, but I do hear them talking about how the self-righteous pigs just want more power. Again, it's true. Then and now.

14. "The Last Sunrise". A sound sample of "Generic Reagan political speech" repeated over and over. Then it does a sound clip of the evil man of himself saying "Don't Tread on Me'. This band does not like Reagan.

I wish I listened to this when I was younger. Pretty accessible for any skate punk, from any time period I imagine.  It has held up well 27 years later. The Final Conflict was the same then as it is now. And I imagine it will be how it will always be. We go in circles. 

Final Grade: 5 out of 5.

Top Tracks:  You really could listen to any of them. They are all the same. If you don't like the first track, you won't like any of it.

1. Constant Fear
2. Apocalypse Now!
3. Abolish Police

Naglfar "Téras" .

Today's album is Naglfar's Téras.

That cover is intense.

1. "Téras". Swedish black metal. Good vocals, decent backing music. Not any noticeable gimmicks. Naglfar is keeping it real. Cool breakdown part near the end to keep the pit happy. The pit of death, not the mosh pit. At the end, the singer repeatedly wants you to bring out your dead.  I just realized I wasn't even listening to Téras at all. I'm not sure what I was listening to. I'll keep this for now.

1. "Téras". This one is a little slower than what ever I listened to first. The real Téras is somehow more bleak than requests to bring out your dead. Still a good song though.

2. "Pale Horse". This starts off more in your face than the first track. After the intro, there's a gasp of air and then it somehow gets faster. So, the origin of the name is kind of cool:

The name Naglfar is derived from Norse mythology; Naglfar is the ship made of dead men's nails that will carry the giants and forces of chaos across the sea to the battle of Ragnarök.

3. "III: Death Dimension Phantasma". You can detect elements of thrash. You don't really need to be a metal detective to see this. It is fast. Cool guitars when the song breaks down later on. Everything fits well on this album. This ship made of dead men's nails is sailing to a prosperous land. 

4. "The Monolith". A song about a rock I guess. Slower, doesn't stand out. Unlike a single rock standing on its own for all eternity. There is a cool breakdown vocal explosion halfway through. The song gets better after this.

5. "An Extension Of His Arm and Will". Tempo is brought back up. This is a good thing.

6. "Bring Out Your Dead". This was probably the song I listened to first and thought was the first song. Here's a copy and paste from what I wrote up there:  Good vocals, decent backing music. Not any noticeable gimmicks. Naglfar is keeping it real. Cool breakdown part near the end to keep the pit happy. The pit of death, not the mosh pit. At the end, the singer repeatedly wants you to bring out your dead.

Here's a blog about the Naglfar (ship, not the band).

7. "Come Perdition". Still just thinking about a ship of dead men's nails. I guess that's why they needed you to bring out your dead.

8. "Invoc(H)ate". I see what they did there. The songs have blended into each other at this point. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it might have benefited from a little bit of variety. The songs are thrashish, with a hint of fantasy epicness. Lots of speed, great vocals, and a predictable breakdown at some point of each song. "Invoke. HATE" chants at the end.

9. "The Dying Flame of Existence". The epic conclusion. Existence is barely holding on. I'm not sure if the band is celebrating this or regretting it. I imagine the former. The ship will sail on undoubtedly. With more nails to use so it will get more powerful.

Solid, but not great album. It does inspire me to get into Norse mythology.

Grade: 3 out of 5 decapitated goats.

Top Songs:

1. Pale Horse
2. III: Death Dimension Phantasma
3. An Extension Of His Arm and Will

Lantlôs ".Neon"

Today's album is Lantlôs' .Neon. It was a random Spotify selection, so I have no idea what to expect.  Internet searches call it post-black metal, but I'm not entirely sure what that means. German wiki helps a little, "Lantlôs is a deitsche Black Metal und Post-Rock Gruppn".

1. "Minusmensch". Subtle intro. Indie-rock Joan of Arc-ish style music. That changes abruptly when the vocals start. Intense, screaming vocals over melodic guitars. Joan of Arc set on fire? Similar to Deafheaven, but darker. The music simmers down as it broadcasts fuzzy radio that erupts back into the metal. This song is cool. I think I'll call it art metal.

2. "These Nights Were Ours". Another quiet intro. Broken up by thrash. Guitars hammering away at octaves, drums doing what it can to keep up. Urgent vocals that fade out as the song builds. A breakdown brings the vocals back.

3. "Pulse/Surreal". Uh-oh, singing on this one. The first two tracks allow for a little interlude, but hopefully it doesn't last the whole track. At two minutes, order is restored as the screams continue. At 4:06, the screams explode. This ends up being a solid song, despite the nervous moments at the beginning. Lantlôs gets the benefit of the doubt from here on out.

4. "Neige De Mars". More melodic octaves. Stops immediately two minutes in, only to break out into another scream.

5. "Coma". More of the same.

6. "Neon". Seems like a regular instrumental track, until it reaches the halfway point, when it slows down so a recording of a lady talking can start to play. I'm not sure what she is saying.

This album is pretty great, although it could have benefited from a little variety. The album kind of blends into one big song. Still, it's worth a listen.

Grade: 4 out of 5 decapitated goats

Top Tracks: 

1. Minusmensch
2. These Nights Were Ours
3. Pulse/Surreal

Woods of Ypres "Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light

Today's album is Woods of Ypres' Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light.

1. "Lightning & Snow". Starts pleasant enough. Melodic guitars. "There was a flash of lightning, followed by snow". Damn lightning snows. There is a weird chorus part that sounds like it's sung by the singer of the Crash Test Dummies. That sounds pretty awkward. Not a fan of this first track.

2. "Death Is Not An Exit". More Crash Test Dummies vocals. I'm nervous now about this choice for the album of the day. I think this song is about how humanity was nothing 4000 years ago and how we'll be nothing again in the future. Nope, not feeling this at all. "Wooooo-oh-ohhhhhh, death isssssss not an exxxit".

3. "Keeper Of The Ledger". Better vocals open this track. More of a growl. I think one of the lyrics in this was "Nature is the business after all". Keep the Crash Test Dummies guy on the sideline for this one please. I wonder if it's actually the same guy. A quick Wikipedia search shows that the only similarity, besides the sound of some of the vocals, is that both bands are from Canada. Wikipedia also shows that the singer of Woods of Ypres died in a car accident in 2011. I'll stop the CTD comparison at this point, because this revelation actually kind of bums me out.   RIP David Gold. I'm not a huge fan of your band, but it's still pretty cool all the time you put into it. 

4. "Traveling Alone". Wikipedia calls Woods of Ypres a "blackened doom metal band". I'm not hearing it. It's pretty straight forward corny rock, with tinges of metal. It's not good at all. I think the song is about how there is no god. 

5. "Adora Vivos". Guitars start off pretty messy. Lyrics kick in: "A moment of silence/But not one moment more/The dead are to be forgotten/We are here to be...ADORED". I have no idea what's going on in these Woods of Ypres. I think this is knocking sermons, which I'm ok with, but the execution is just so bad. The metal vocals kick in halfway through the song to save it. If they stick to the growl, I think they would have been a lot better to listen to. "We shouldn't worship the dead".

6. "Silver". Balladish*. Not good. "When you're silver, you never combust/When you're silver, the truth always hurts". 

*After skimming for my review before posting, I have no idea what I meant to type here. "Balladish"? Not sure, but it's staying.

7. "Career Suicide (Is Not Real Suicide)". True.

8. "Modern Life Architecture". So bland I'm sure. At 7 minutes 22 seconds, I guess Woods of Ypres have a lot of thoughts on the subject. I have no interest in paying attention to this song, but it turns out the history of Ypres is pretty significant. Pretty big World War I battle site. Here are the ruins of Ypres from 1919, which suggest a need for modern life architecture:

9. "Kiss My Ashes (Goodbye)". Ugh. The song is somehow worse than the title of the track.

10. "Finality". I'm lost.

11. "Alternate Ending". This could have ended like 10 songs ago. The alternate is an alternate for a reason.

This was bad.

Grade: 1 out of 5 decapitated goats.

Top Tracks:

1. Keeper of the Ledger

2. Adora Vivos

3. 

Blood Ceremony "The Eldritch Dark".

Today's album is Blood Ceremony's The Eldritch Dark.

1. "Witchwood". 70s rock vibe. Church organ. Female vocals singing, "Black magic has risen in Witchwood". Makes me want to buy a motorcycle with a sidecar. Josh Taylor made me review Blood Ceremony today. He also said that if I review it, I will need to mention that the band now follows him on Twitter. Shameless plug. I'd add his twitter name, but I don't know it. You can just follow him on Instagram for now. Halfway through this song, it breaks down completely into some stoner riffs. Pretty good...and wiiiiiiiiiitchy. Killer flute solo. Here's a picture that Josh made for the band. Enough talking about Josh now. He is an evil human. The band is good, if you like Witchrock. 70s witchrock from the now times. And they are Canadian.

2. "Goodbye Gemini". Flute intro. Subtle bass. Witch seduction? Picks up into a nice jingle jangle. This would go well with a 90s skate video. Preferably a part by Marc Johnson or Jamie Thomas. Goodbye Gemini, let me hypnotize you with my flute solos. Nice little guitar solo at the end balanced with the mighty flute.

3. "Lord Summerisle". Nice, calm intro. Male/female lyrics about the seasons. Makes me think of this (but a lot of things make me think of this):

4. "Ballad of the Weird Sisters". Good song title. Irish folk song rhythm to the vocals. A good tune to sing along to with a pint of something. Ridiculous flute breakdown in this one. This stuff is good.

5. "The Eldritch Dark". Rocking organ intro. This band is doing their own thing. This band of witches. I checked wiki for Eldritch and came across this:

6. "Drawing Down the Moon". A song about walking through a garden. Walking through a garden with an organ of course. I imagine there will be a flute too. I spaced out a little bit too much on it.

7. "Faunus". A trembling bass. A blast of flute. More rock. Still pretty great. The vibe makes me think of nag champa. It also makes me think of my 1974 Plymouth Duster that I had in high school. There was a mysterious liquid that always appeared in the back seat, passenger side. We called it the Swamp Ooze. It was possibly just rain water, but it always had a tint of mold. You better call shotgun when riding in that car, or else you'll be stuck in the swamp. Regardless of where you sat though, we were going to Rock Fantasy. To buy Blood Ceremony albums before they existed.

8. "The Magician". Song about a magician I think. A cool musical spell seems to be cast at the end of the track.

Solid album. More stoner witch rock than metal, but that's fine.

Grade: 5 out of 5 decapitated goats.

Top Tracks: 

1. Ballad of the Weird Sisters

2. Witchwood

3. Goodbye Gemini

Impetuous Ritual "Unholy Congregation of Hypocritical Ambivalence"

Today's album is from Australia, because, well, it's time.

It is Impetuous Ritual's Unholy Congregation of Hypocritical Ambivalence.

1. "Verboten Genesis". Fog guitars and the slow sound of someone marching. Ends abruptly into blast beats and fuzz. Vocals are guttural. Very guttural. If your throat is located in the hell section of your body. More fuzz. The fuzz drowns everything else out. Ridiculous guitar solo does what it can against the fuzz. It loses.

2. "Venality in Worship". More bleak stuff. This stuff is dark. Another frantic guitar solo. I wonder if they practice in remote caves. I don't think any neighborhood, or studio, would allow for this to occur anywhere near civilization.

3. "Sentient Aberrations". This is actually terrifying. This time the vocals somehow out fuzz the fuzz. At one point, death takes a break to burp or something. Kind of weird, not really sure what the scream sound was, but it was out of place. It happens at the end of the track too.

4. "Despair". 9 minute song, going to need some coffee. Not that you really need caffeine to listen to this stuff. A little bit of a slower intro to this one. This must be their "ballad". The vocals contain a lot of throat clearing. Halfway through the song, there's a pause, interrupted by an end to the ballad. The new onslaught is tamer than the first three tracks. Maybe this is their experimental track.

5. "Inservitude of Asynchronous Duality". Skeptical of the choice for the song name. More fuzz/wind guitars. Weird screams in this one. It almost sounded like a guitar. Oh man, this is a torture song. And now the guitar is meant to sound like a chainsaw. This should be great, but I'm not digging it.

6. "Womb of Acrimony". Still kind of mad about the last song. Here's a picture of the blood moon that was a result of the lunar eclipse last night:

7. "Metastasis". This one blends in perfectly with "Womb of Acrimony". Kind of cool swirling guitars. A crazy gong is hit every once in a while. It works, surprisingly. 

8. "Abhorrent Paragon". More blasts. This album has saved itself. I thought it was going to get lost somewhere in the middle. Still real dark, real fuzzy. There's something about parts of the vocals I don't like. The deep stuff is fine, but every once in a while, there is a louder burst of vocals that just doesn't sound like anything. It's like a throat clear or something, but it just doesn't work with the rest of what is going on. 

9. "Blight". 14 minute track, that basically seems to serve as a recap of what just went on in the eight tracks that preceded it.

I don't really know what to think of the album. It's definitely doom. I'm just not sure if it's good doom or bad doom. I didn't love it or hate it, I guess. I'll listen again another time, and maybe it'll sink in.

Grade: 3 out of 5 decapitated goats (although it is possible hundreds of goats were sacrificed in the making of this album).

Top Tracks:

1. Metastasis

2. Verboten Genesis

3. Venality in Worship

Son of Aurelius "The Farthest Reaches"

Today's album is Son Of Aurelius's The Farthest Reaches.

1. "Mercy for Today". The music on this is insane. The guitars are running up and down scales, matching the vocals. There are two vocals. High pitched and low pitched. Death and deather. With the exceptions of the drums and the vocals, the music doesn't scream metal. It is kind of just doing its own thing in the background. There is a guitar solo near the end of this one. It's not a guitar solo for the hell of it, it actually works. I'm not a fan of guitar solos, but this one fits perfectly. Good start.

2. "Let Them Hate and Fear". This song starts off with manic instructions from the deep growler. The music is great again. These guys seem to know what they are doing. Ridiculous double bass. Ridiculous guitars. Ridiculous vocals. 2 for 2. Dillinger Escape Plan-ish, but better. Candiria also comes to mind.

3. "The Farthest Reaches". I just went to the Son of Aurelius facebook page, and it says "Technical Death Metal". That description fits. In unrelated news, I started rewatching that TV show Lost.

4. "Olympus is Forgotten". 80s symphony intro. Into all out war. It worked. I didn't think it was going to be a song, just some sort of space-filler. This is an album I'd like to figure out the lyrics too. Jazz guitar over witchman vocals. Man, then they do some crazy guitar gymnastics that slows down into fazed out vocals. Another good track.

5. "Facing the Gorgon". According to Wikipedia, a gorgon is a female creature. The name is derived from the ancient Greek word for "dreadful". Crazy folksy guitar solos in this one. In between metal blasts from hell. Here's a cool cover photo for a British horror film starring Christopher Lee, among others. Never seen the movie.

6. "Pandora's Burden". Didn't really pay attention to the song because I was checking out The Gorgon. It's available on Netflix (disc-only) as a double feature with Scream of Fear. I bumped it up in the queue, so I'll let you know how it is.

7. "A Champion Reborn".  More of the same. Seizure-inducing guitars. Matching drums. Kind of an epic guitar solo. Not a fan of the use of epic there, or really anywhere, but this one kind of has an arena death battle, or climbing a big mountain feel to it. Makes sense for a champion being reborn.

8. "Myocardial Infarction". That means heart attack. The music may be trying to cause one. The muscians may experience this one if they ever played this album in its entirety.

9. "The Calm". More 80s cinema inspired music. This one has an 80s-ish guitar riff. It seems to fit on the album as an intermission. I think everyone needed a break for a minute. 

10. "A Good Death". Opens with a bass solo. As any good death should? Intermission is definitely over. 

11. "The First, the Serpent". This song makes me think of this article. Here's a website of a study that looks to "Advance knowledge of trench and hadal ecosystems, informing stewardship of the deep ocean."

12. "They Have Fallen". This has a majestic feel to it. Short song that feeds right into the next track.

13. "Slaughter the Immortals". The title sums this song up pretty perfectly. It's not a good day to be an immortal. Will anyone survive the battle?

14. "Throne of Broken Gods". Guitars sound like lasers at one point. I'm not sure if it's a continued onslaught of the immortals, or the Gods are striking back. This is an album that needs to be listened to in its entirety. 

15. "Feast of Feminine Flesh". This album has blended into something out of Total Recall/Blade Runner. I'm not sure if that's what they were going for, but it works. 

16. "Divine Are Slain". I guess the mortals won. But what did they win?

Grade: 5 out of 5 decapitated goats

Top Tracks:

1. Mercy for Today

2. Let Them Hate and Fear

3. A Good Death

This album is great.