Band: Metallica
Album: Death Magnetic
Producer: Rick Rubin!

Believe it- The Four Horsemen have risen from the ashes of peer-to-peer purgatory (see: Lars makes peace with Pirates) and late-career mediocrity (see: the last 4 albums) now fully embracing the unbridled, epic, head-banging Pre Bob Rock (PBR?) era that cemented them as the undisputed Kings of Metal.  Perhaps the recent chainsaw noises of Austin’s The Sword or the ever-heavy Mastodon have awoken this sleeping giant.  Clearly the results ROAR for themselves: Death Magnetic is 80 minutes of relentless, triumphant, punishing, whiskey-chuggin RAWWK!

Lars Ulrich puts all haters six feet deep with his most ferocious performance in 2 decades.  James Hetfield is angry yet melodic, Trujillo breaks necks and steals bikes, and Kirk Hammett drops the bullshit – preferring to trample on graves before masterbating on them.  All i can say is Thank God (or Satan)…I wanna break somethin.

Listen to “All Nightmare Long” from Death Magnetic [See post to listen to audio]

Listen to “My Apocalypse” from Death Magnetic [See post to listen to audio]

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars
I dribble the Source onto my balls while air-drumming to this
- Cabeza

More info:
Metacritic | iTunes | Official Site

You gotta appreciate Beck…always evolving- never making the same record twice, but still always sounding like BECK- that skinny, white, creative, versitile, funky, soulful, scuffed-up goodness. its a defining voice in my generation

He had an amazing run of creativity with Odelay > Mutations > Midnite Vultures > Sea Change…Alas, the next 2 records just couldn’t live up to his Golden Age – though they had their moments…Modern Guilt hits a similar bittersweet mark…and after 2 listens…I like it, but dont love it.

Chappy sent me the album over email- prefacing with a comment that “Beck had phoned-it-in on this one”…not sure i totally agree.

i can dig that 60′s psychedelic vibe…DangerMouse produced. not a huge fan of him. title track is cool.  The best songs on here are the real band tracks/ Chemtrails, Soul of a Man (listen below)
I must say DM’s samples are lacking melody and life in their grooves – as opposed to earlier beck albums- Dust Bros. era- those managed to retain that raw, live-band feel even with shit loads of samples thrown in.

Listen to “Soul of a Man” from Modern Guilt
[See post to listen to audio]

its got 3-4 good songs on it, but overall its lacking that spark that we know beck’s capable of
Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

more info > www.modernguilt.com

cabeza

Denial, denial
Denial, denial
Your ears should be burning
-House of Cards (In Rainbows)

Take that, music industry. This will turn out to be a historical touchstone in the evolution of the record business.
Why Radiohead? Because they have all the ingredients to spearhead this revolution.. They know that their art has value.. and that it lives on its own without the need for a marketing machine or a billboard chart. This is not pop music.

Its the dawn of a new age, where good ideas travel on their own. The internet has evolved to a point where grass roots comminication can trump the boob tube. Hype comes from the streets, to the forums, to the blogosphere, and then to the mainstream. The inherent nature of the process acts as a filter – it weeds out the crap.

Good music is valuable.

What is good music worth to you? I payed what I wanted to pay for this album, no more, no less, and I dont have to share that amount with anyone. Its a concept that parallels many things in life, but one that laughs in the face of our consumer economy. And I commend the band for not publishing the metrics of who payed what.. The amount you pay is a personal decision and it shouldnt be based on guilt or peer pressure. They are fostering a 1 to 1 relationship with their fans, respect.

How is the Music?

In Rainbows is a brilliant album, full of melancholy themes and dark, beautiful melodies. Its not a departure album, but an evolution of their sound, with plenty of new tricks on display. The majority of tracks are stripped down, yet expansive. After 4 listens, nuances have begun to emerge and song lyrics are synching in, even though on the first few listens, they were barely discernable..

What’s the point of instruments
Words are a sawed off shotgun
-Jisaw Falling Into Place

Thom York picks up where he left off on his recent solo album, adding tricked-out electronic beats to the first track, Fifteen Step. Nude is a nice ballad. Video Tape broods with repeating piano plods and ends with York’s delcaration,

No matter what happens now
I won’t be afraid
Because i know today has been
The most perfect day i’ve ever seen

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

-Chappy

!!! (CHK CHK CHK)
Myth Takes
Warp Records 2007
iTunes • website

Taco Rating: 82%
Rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars

The name of the band is !!! (pronounced ‘Chk Chk Chk’ or any three repetitive sounds). They’ve been putting on a serious live show around the Sacramento, CA area since 1996, releasing a slew of 7″ records, and singles- including the Magnetic Fields’ Take Ecstasy With Me in 2005, but they’ve left their fans hangin’ for a proper album release. The various members have since dispersed throughout the US, but they’ve reunited for this long overdue studio project recorded in a big empty house in Nashville.

Behold Myth Takes!!!Now make a random one-syllable sound and repeat 3 times…now continue reading…

Each of the 10 tracks on Myth Takes is built upon a serious GROOVE. The basslines are usually synthetic, and always PHAT- that’s what first drew me into this record. They approach song somposition with a raw, cut&paste attitude (think Dust Brothers/Beck). Tracks bob & weave from new-wavey vocal workouts to riff-rock-funk live instrumentation to extended, bubbly headphone trips. Check out the sick clavinet groove on Yadnus (below). Vocalist Nic Offer does his best workingman’s whiteboy Prince meets a straight-outta 1983 new wave/indie-rock croon, and it suits the vibe perfectly.

For those needing a more biased interpretation of !!!’s sound – their website lists these flavors: “Post-punk bass patterns, spaghetti western guitars, African polyrhythms, spaced out disco and vintage Philly soul…”

Bassist Justin Van Der Volgen produced the record, and probably deserves the credit for sculpting the live jams into Myth takes’ overall sound. There’s some impressive DUBBED out mixing and generally thick and buttery grooves. leave it to the Bass Player- that’s what I always say…Here’s what Justin said: “Really, all we want to do is play. If we could jam together forever without stopping, we probably would. We’re dedicated to chasing that elusive groove”. Fuck yeah. UH! UH! UH!

Instrumental Dissent
by The Motet (2006)
Rating: 3.9 out of 5 stars
The latest release from the Motet IS VERY GOOD. Imagine if Fela Kuti and Weather Report recorded a jam session full of tag-team grooves, then Thievery Corporation remixed the whole thing, complete with trancy dancefloor bombs a DJ-style song transitions. Then, have a modern day jam-band learn the CD note-for note and play it back with a trump-tight but organic energy only possible with in-the-moment performance. that’s close to the sound. Very impressive junk and you can tell they that successfully merges their already trademark sound of Afro/latin/Jazz fusion with some trippy shape-shifting electronic textures. The track “Anew’ reminds me of an AIR tune with its bleeby resonating synths over sweet rhodes piano comps. Its the kinda sound that could easily fit them in with the other post-rockers like Tortoise or the Album Leaf. But a chill-out record this IS NOT. This is a party record, full of bumpin grooves and disco basslines. Im not saying these guys don’t jam. They are master improvisseurs. But I will say the Motet approaches the electronica flavors a bit differently than other jam-acts that’ve gone in a similar direction. Its well worth a listen for fans of anything from fusion to jamtronica to indie-electro to latin-groove stuff like Ozomatli. Dig in!

1. Afro Disco Beat [See post to listen to audio]

2. Anew [See post to listen to audio]

Just in from Grady at The Flamingo Cantina – Colorado’s the MOTET will stop through Austin this Saturday for a 2 set show at the Flam Can in support of their new disc Instrumental Dissent, their first ATX appearance in at least a couple years. The Motet is hot off the heels of a Halloween tour in which they performed a Madonna tribute set complete with costumes and halter-wearing front-woman vocalist. If you remember a few years back, they did a similar tribute show dedicated to PRINCE. Shit was hot!…the TacoTown Execs plan on walking over to this show immediately after the My Morning Jacket show at Stubb’s, which is also a MUST SEE PERFORMANCE. I had a chance to absorb this new CD and here’s my thoughts.

The Slip is a trio of Brad Barr on Guitar and most vocals, his bro Andrew on drums, and Marc Friedman on bass.. they all met in Boston around the Berkeley music scene, coming to notoriety with a jazzy-jammy-scofield-esque sound that has since broadened into more of a song-based repetoire with poignant vocals and creative rhythms and melodies. my first live experience with them was back in 98′ at Lucy’s on 6th st. – their first time to austin and it was an epic barnburner of a show to a packed crowd.. they did well to prove themselves to the ATX early on and it has allowed them to come back here and play to good size crowds over the years..

Eisenhower is their first real studio effort since 2002′s “Angels Come on Time,” an album that received plenty of acclaim. I personally loved it for its songs.. they have a knack for catchy and quirky tunes that stick with you in a personal way.. though Barr’s voice isnt always accessible, it definitely grows on you after a few listens..when start to digest his great melodic ideas..

Listen…to ‘The Soft Machine’
[See post to listen to audio]

where the previous album’s shortcomings may have been a certain lack of continuity and consistency, “Eisenhower” definitely overcomes that issue, striking the listener as a full experience from front to back.. they got a badass producer by the name of Matthew Ellard (elliot smith, billy bragg, wilco, morphine..) to produce this time around and it shows.. the sound quality and textures are very nice.. and it definitely has a small amount of the Wilco vibe to it… especially the track “Mouthwing Bite”, other songs like ‘the Soft Machine’ have a nice vintage vibe, reminding me of something George Harrison might have done..I like that every track has a clear sense of emotion conveyed in the music.. the vocals are the best theyve had on an album yet.. I am guessing that Matt Ellard helped Brad focus on staying in his most effective vocal range.
alot of the tunes on the album have been road-tested for years. the opening track ‘Children of December’ is consise and powerful and having heard it live a few times, I could tell that they did a good job distilling it down to its most important essences and delivering the most true to the song version possible. ‘Even Rats’ is another one that fits this distinction.. well played and full of interesting texture and melody. The band are all pretty much virtuosos on their instruments.. they can play anything and I think its cool that they have shifted their focus away from soloing and more towards evocative playing that supports the songs..
Ive listened thru the album twice now and I can tell its definitely (as most great albums are) one of those that get better the more you hear it. I am pleased with the production quality of the tunes.. the sound is warm, organic, and clear as a bell.. the drum tones are especially nice..

I’ve been following the slip for a while.. and i’ve patiently tagged along on their musical journey thru Jazz/funk beginnings to world beat to pop to indie rock and most points in between. They’ve not always been consistently badass, but they have been steady source of inspiration for their willingness to reinvent themselves and break new ground.. they are true artists, not afraid to express themselves in original and ambitious ways., requiring the listener to give the same kind of effort back when they listen to truly enjoy and experience their music. if you’re new to the Slip, I urge you to give these guys a try.. buy this new album and give it a few focused listens..theres plenty of live stuff online if you want to explore from there, but this album is a great introduction that i’m sure will get them some new devotees..
my rating:
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

[genre: metal, progressive rock]
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
If you’re a hard-core metal-head you’ve undoubtedly already sacrificed small mammals to the gods of Mastodon. But if Like ME, you’re into all-types of music, but have been estranged from the genre by an endless stream of Screemo noise and New-metal ear-trash of recent years- this is your chance. Crawl out from beneath your indie-stuffed hard-drives, kneel at the alter and slash thine wrists! All plebeians shall bleed! The kings have returned! behold! MASTODON!

listen:

[See post to listen to audio]

Blood Mountain is the 3rd full-length from Atlanta’s MASTODON. The first thing you’ll notice is the drummer Brann Dailon, who must be on meth, or a combination of uppers- he just pulverizes the kit, albeit with serious virtuosity, throughout the hour or so of this EPIC album. You’ll catch the vibes of early Metallica, as well as the prog giants old and new like King Crimson and the Mars Volta (singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala makes an appearance, though he totally melts into the Shred-Sludge so you’d never know it was him). The album flows effortlessly through 12 tracks, most of which don’t crack the 4 minute mark- but you’ll swear you’ve been on 1 long psychedelic vision-quest. Plenty of tasty, shire-esque acoustic moments balance out the pummeling metal riffery, and the experimental segue-ways are anything but filler, they’re pure headphone bliss, seriously dense, multilayered textures of buzz and sizzle.

Josh Homme lends vocal talents to “Colony of Birchmen” the most straight-ahead ROCKIN track, that is until about half -way through when the wheels of syncopation grind to a stand-still, then rotate backwards, only to jerk back into the straight dope riff.

“This Mortal Soil” begins slowly with reverbed out pickin layered over harmonized leads, then busts the devil’s groove. This track sounds like if Tears for Fears ate mushrooms then stumbled onto Pantera’s stage. this is GOOD SHIT. The whole album just burns with creativity and metal goodness. Also worth mentioning: “Sleeping Giant” and the instrumental “Bladecatcher”.

FUCK “knew-Metal”. This shit is fresh, listen-able, punishing, grating, soothing, angry, story-telling, EPIC metal. Sabbath on Crack-meets-Rush-meets-CLUTCH. Fucking Awesome. If you love hard rock, and you used to be into metal but haven’t heard anything worth a shit in the last 5-10 years, Mastodon just may be the band that leads you back. Highly recommended.