Hexxus - Tunguska

By Ulla Roschat. In the year 1908 in the Siberian taiga near the Stony Tunguska River a huge explosion destroyed a vast area of forest land. The cause for the explosion which is known as The Tunguska event isn't completely clarified to this day. Was it a mid-air disruption of a superbolide, volcanic activity, an alien spaceship?

By Ulla Roschat


In the year 1908 in the Siberian taiga near the Stony Tunguska River a huge explosion destroyed a vast area of forest land. The cause for the explosion which is known as The Tunguska event isn't completely clarified to this day. Was it a mid-air disruption of a superbolide, volcanic activity, an alien spaceship? .. Or was it possibly Hexxus, the demonic evil character of the FernGully movie, the destructor of forest who feeds off human pollution such as smoke, slime and sludge, the shapeless black apparition, the toxic blob, constantly morphing and oozing an oil like substance?

I don't know, if the name of the three piece band from Alabama refers to this character, or the title of their debut album to the Tunguska event, what I do know is that it sounds like exactly that... an evil destructive hateful demon, vandalizing and burning the forest, occasional explosions included, killing all nature's life, fueled by human poison.

Hexxus'(the band's) weapon is five songs of southern Sludge Doom infused with Post Metal elements.

The opening song "Andromeda" starts off droning, heavy and slow and then excellently builds up a deeply textured wall of thundering sound. Different layers added one by one with a great sense of creating suspense and progression, and the song merges from the slow burning southern vibe into a Post Metal, almost shoegazey feel, easily. The song sets the basic tone and mood for the album, still each song has its own distinct character.

All three members contribute their vocals and it works very well, but in the second song "The Great Migration" this 'trinity' is pure bliss. Together with the Post Metal style guitars it creates a dynamic flow, momentum and movement. The guitar leads, though, have a weirdly psychedelic touch, and again, the vocals complement them perfectly.

More weirdness is introduced in "Cross Bearer". A melody, slightly chaotic and hobbling along, builds a wonderful sense of dramatic eerie suspense. And the faster "Extinct is Instinct" shines with a guitar solo that should sound out of place, but somehow does not.

The last song "Tunguska" sounds like Hexxus (the demon) is triumphantly and almost jauntily looking back at what he has accomplished - complete destruction, leaving a wasteland. But halfway through the song his mood changes, he isn't satisfied, he still hungers for more destruction and begins to roam the place. Again here, the vocal trinity is brilliantly used and the most exciting heavy riffs meet melodies of a somber beauty.

Tunguska is oppressively heavy, caustic, evil and abrasive. At the same time it is thoughtfully composed with a progressive attitude, a great variety and multiple layers. It is massive not only by its sound but by the depth of its construction.

And like Hexxus (the demon) I hunger for more of this aural destruction.

The song "The Great Migration" is featured on The Wicked Lady Show 123.

Fuath - I

By Hera Vidal. There have been moments when you inherently don’t believe that a musician has more music in him than what he is currently making, so when they announce that there is a new project in line, you have to assume that it sounds a lot like their main band.

By Hera Vidal

Artwork by Luciana Nedelea

There have been moments when you inherently don’t believe that a musician has more music in him than what he is currently making, so when they announce that there is a new project in line, you have to assume that it sounds a lot like their main band. However, that’s when you get proven wrong and you have to reconcile how two entirely different things came from the same person.

It’s early in the year but you’ve set the bar high for black metal in 2016. I’m a big fan of Saor as well and this is an equally great album despite being much colder and darker. How long have you wanted to make this type of album?

Thanks. I’ve been wanting to make an album like this for years but I’ve usually focused on more folk-inspired stuff over the years. Every winter I dig out my black metal CD’s and get inspired to write something darker and colder

From Cultured Vultures.

Atmospheric black metal is what I consider to be a big hit-or-miss. When done correctly, it can transcend the listener away from their reality, leading them to just appreciate the music, regardless of the lyrics. However, if done incorrectly, you get a mess of lyrics and music that just doesn’t seem to work at all. It doesn’t distract you from anything, and you listen to it, hoping that you can find something else. There is another problem one has to consider, and it’s that atmospheric black metal can get boring rather quickly. There are so many repetitive aspects to it that, in the end, you can start counting how many beats it takes to get to the next cymbal strike. In short, lack of reconciling lyrics and music and repetitiveness can kill an album.

However, this album, although on the repetitive side, can definitely stand on its own, especially when speaking of its creator. Fuath is the side project of Andy Marshall, the man behind the Celtic-sounding black metal band, Saor. If you have not heard Saor’s music, then listen to me when I say that Fuath sounds nothing like Saor. Fuath is colder, darker, and it sounds like black metal, down to the blast beats and the aggressive drumming. However, comparing both projects does not do each other justice, so we will focus on Fuath from this point onward.

I is the project’s debut album, and it reminds me of old-school black metal, with a modern twist. The most striking thing about this album, outside of how short it is—it’s four tracks long—is how dark and cold it sounds, and it doesn’t hold anything back. Everything about this album is asking the listener to forget everything, and just listen to the music. This is an album that must be enjoyed by yourself, and you have to zone out in order to take it all in. Ironically enough, “fuath” is Gaelic for “hatred”, which is a story in it of itself. This album is meant to be listened to in the winter; it evokes snow and darkness. Looking at the cover art also seems to evoke that image. However, what evokes that hatred is the contempt for other people, for love, for humanity. You have to be by yourself to fully immerse into the atmosphere the album creates, which means you have to dissociate in order to appreciate it. By the end of it, you are so into it that you forget that the album stopped, and you have to replay it in order to appreciate it once more.

All in all, this album shows promise to further expand its tonalities. It’s dark, heavy, and there is something quite romantic in what it evokes. It definitely stands on its own and creates an atmosphere that doesn’t shatter when the tracks change. Just sit back, relax, and get ready to enjoy an album that brings everything to the table.

Prominent tracks: “The Oracle”, “Spirit of the North”

From the Graveyard Shift - Hip-hop for Metal Fans

By Professor D. Grover the XIIIth. Greetings and salutations, friends. It is I, your most humble Professor, returned from the sleepless land inhabited by those so blessed (or cursed, depending on where you stand) to have a newborn child while also working the graveyard shift. I was given a special task, one that may seem at odds with the very mission of this particular blog

By Professor D. Grover the XIIIth.

Greetings and salutations, friends. It is I, your most humble Professor, returned from the sleepless land inhabited by those so blessed (or cursed, depending on where you stand) to have a newborn child while also working the graveyard shift. I was given a special task, one that may seem at odds with the very mission of this particular blog, but bear with me. You see, I have been enlisted to provide to you, fans of metal music, with a handful of hip-hop artists that might appeal to your sensibilities, a goal I hope I will have achieved by the end of this missive. Let us begin.


[Note: This article originally started with a look at Death Grips' classic mixtape Exmilitary. It is no longer available on Bandcamp, so we go straight to the second artist]

It’s hard to mention Death Grips and not mention clipping., as both groups have a basis in noise and feature distinctive frontmen. However, the difference between the two groups couldn’t be more pronounced. Where Death Grips are the hip-hop equivalent of a brick to the head thanks to MC Ride’s blunt style, clipping. are more of a surgical scalpel to the throat thanks to Daveed Diggs’ razor-quick flow and street life lyrics. (If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Diggs won a Tony over the summer for his role in the smash-hit musical Hamilton.) Musically, clipping. are as experimental as Death Grips, but take their experimentations in a different direction, from the straight harsh noise of Midcity to the more varied, industrial CLPPNG. The group has released the brilliant Wriggle EP already this year and are following it up with the dystopian sci-fi concept album Splendor & Misery, which was released Sept. 9 and is an utterly brilliant new direction for the trio.

This was a difficult choice, because I very nearly went with the entirety of Minneapolis’ Doomtree rap crew, rather than settling on a single member. The five rappers and two beatmakers that comprise the group have released several collaborative albums, and although each member brings something different to the table, they work incredibly well as a single unit. However, I felt the need to focus on a single member of the group, and ultimately the choice came down to P.O.S or Dessa, and P.O.S won by the barest margin, in large part due to the influence of his punk background, something that bleeds through into his music. His wry sense of humor and nimble delivery suit his anarchic, intelligent lyrics perfectly, allowing him to match up with a number of different musical styles.

First, a confession: this slot was originally going to be occupied by El-P (whom you may best know as half of Run The Jewels), but unfortunately, his solo work isn’t on Bandcamp aside from a few demos and b-sides, so I had to find another pick. Fortunately, there’s a ton of great rappers out there, and so finding a replacement was simple. Tonedeff was a logical choice due to his versatility, as the man raps, sings, produces, and makes his own beats. His most recent release, Polymer, is the culmination of several years of work spanning three EPs, each of which represent a different aspect of his style. These three EPs are joined by a fourth set of tracks to create a full album showcasing his many talents. And then there’s perhaps the most distinctive element to Tonedeff’s style, the sheer speed and smoothness of his flow, which reaches some dizzying heights (see "Crispy", which sees him hitting 14 syllables per second while still maintaining recognizable lyrics).

Cover art by Alex Pardee

I conclude with my favorite rapper of all time, the incomparable Aesop Rock. Aes possesses a highly distinctive voice that pairs with the most verbose, adventurous sense of lyricism that hip-hop has ever seen to create something wholly unique. To put it quite simply, there is no one like him in all of music, and if you can find it within you to pierce the massive wall of words that the man throws at you on every track, you will find something truly special. There are few rappers who can even keep pace with him (most notable is Rob Sonic, Aes’ collaborator on the Hail Mary Mallon albums and one of the few artists out there who can nearly match him phrase for phrase while bringing a similar gift for lyrical non-sequiturs), and any track that features him as a guest is immediately elevated. His most recent album, 2016’s The Impossible Kid, is his most personal and intensely emotional album, laying out his life like only Aesop can. It is at this point in the year my favorite album of 2016, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Other artists of note that are worth checking out:
Busdriver
MC Frontalot
Dessa
Astronautalis
Sage Francis
Del The Funky Homosapien
Jesse Dangerously
Watsky
Rob Sonic
Prof
More Or Les
Open Mike Eagle