Disrupt - Unrest

Hello again my festering little insects, today I bring you something to fit that rage building in your soul at your fellow man. Disrupt's Unrest LP is one of the shining lights of early 90's crust. 30 Fast, brutal and fucking angry songs in a pro-nature anti-human mindset is what you'll find in this slab of musical destruction. The songs are faily simply and straightforward in nature but this is one of those bands that just makes that formula work for them. You wont find much of a d-beat presence on this album either, the band opts to go for the one-two bass snare combo ala 80's hardcore and instead the crustiness comes from the tone and sound of the guitars and bass as well as the lyrical content and gruff as hell male/female vocal delivery. This is in no way a bad thing of course, in fact it gives many of the songs a more aggressive edge due to the speed in which they play, some songs even borderline on powerviolence at points. It's one of those albums that, while by today's standards doesn't offer anything new to the genre, was made at a time when shit like this was still a fresh idea and you can really tell the band is letting their anger and aggression take over the music as opposed to the riffs. Pure passion and hate drive this album, a must listen for fans of the genre. It's a classic and one that definitely deserves all the praise it's gotten.



Human Garbage

Anna O - Self titled

Hello again my Maggots, todays slice of musical enjoyment comes from the pits of France's underground. Anna O is by far one of Frances best kept musical secrets. Claiming two members from the ashes of hardcore/scremo legends Anomie (who are amazing in their own right), Anna O combinds the ferocious female vocal melody of Anomie and sends it through Crust-As-Fuck filter which gives us four down tuned, angry, fast, heavy, duel vocaled crust anthems. The band unfortunatly never actually released anything, the only recordings were made in 1997 for a planned 7" that was eventually scrapped, which is truly disapointing considering the quiality of these four tracks. That and theres also very little information on the band or its members, the track titles were even lost. The only thing everyone seems to agree in knowing is that the members went on to form An-atta, a band that unfortunatly seemed to have shared the same fate with releasing only a split then disbanding, and others went to join various Scremo outfits. Reguardless, this is some damn fine melodic tinged Crust/Hardcore here and it's definatley worth a listen.

P.S. Having trouble getting the html to work properly, just copy and past the link to get a tast of what they sound like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WKL7mdXl8U

Unreleased Potential

O. Children - Self Titled

This dreary morning feels like a post-punk kinda day my Maggots and as such I decided to give you something that, while fitting with the genre, isn't just another Joy Division rip off. O. Children, while obviously taking influence from the post-punk grandaddies, offer up an indie, almost Cure like atmosphere to their songs with each one's main focus being lead singer Tobias O'Kandi's booming deep voice (which is unique in and of itself). Don't let the indie tag I threw in there leave a bad taste in your mouth, these guys have way much more in common with their goth and post punk idols than say the Postal Service or Modest Mouse. Rather, they aren't afraid to be catchy and "poppy" (as much as their sound can allow them anyway) with their songs and one can easily see themselves hearing a few of these songs on the radio. That said, the whole album sounds like a grey rainy morning, complete with keyboards, simple bass-lines and melancholic lyrics. Catchy, dark, and beautiful all at once. Robert Smith would be proud and it's definitely something to check out when your done re-listening to all your Cure and Sisters of Mercy tapes.

I Am The Disco Dancer's Son

Corrosion of Conformity - Self titled

Here I give unto you my Maggots, the legendary C.O.C.'s newest album. This album finds the band without guitarist Pepper Keenan, but to be honest that seems to be a good thing. Without Pepper the band seem to have shifted gears away from their sludgy-southern sound in favor of returning to a more thrash oriented style ala their Animosity album. But for those of you enjoyed Peppers albums with the band (Blind, Deliverance, etc.) there is still a strong groove over the album. Only this time it's more of a doom kind of groove akin to the likes of Sleep/Saint Vitus as opposed to, lets say, Down. The band melds both styles perfectly, with each song containing elements of both so there's no real "Ah, this is there thrash and/or sludgy song" moment (With a few exceptions of course). Hearing another album done just by the classic lineup is a real treat also, and the boys do sound like they are enjoying themselves. It's awesome to hear Mike's vocals as the lead again and while not as angst ridden or ferocious as his younger days (and really, who can blame him?), the man can still sing very well. Here Mike goes the sing rather than shout route and his anger ridden croon comes off extremely well done and fits the mood of the music perfectly. The rest of the band is in top form also, the riffs are tight and the drums do a fantastic job with all the tempo changes. All in all this is just a damn good piece of metal, pick it up and down a few beers while these old timers show the kids how it's done.

What You Despise Is What You've Become

Christian Death - Only Theater of Pain

Sorry for the gap in posting my little Maggots, been busy as of late. Regardless let us continue our journey into the darkest corners of music with tonight's juicy morsel. I give you the album that pretty much laid down the guidelines for any and all Death Rock to follow. Regardless of what you think of Christian Death in their later years, little can argue the fact that this album captures the Death Rock feel and attitude to a T. You'll find both slow, menacing gothic ballads and plenty of mid-paced Death Rock riffs to get those dead bodies moving on the dance floor. The sound on this album is altogether mournful, painful, and oh so wonderfully depressive. Front man Rozz Williams is a god amoung the gothic sub-culture and on this album one can hear why so many revere him so much. His vocals are both crooning and downright borderline whiny but, amazingly, the man makes this work perfectly. The lyrics on this album are mainly anti-religious, but if you know anything about his upbringing, this comes as no surprise as this album was basically a response and rebellion to his parents religious ways. Yet, instead of sounding like some fifteen-year old basement virgin who hates his parents, Rozz's despairing vocals comes off as naturally as a man who is truly, deeply depressed and alone. He seems to let his emotions guide the flow of his voice rather than try and match it to the progression of say the bass or guitars, adding another layer of eerie atmosphere. Now that isen't to say that either of those departments (and drums for that matter) are laking, far from it. The drummer, George Belange, dose a great job of bringing both a fusion of punk rock and a bit of tribal style playing to the record, while Bassist James McGearty does Peter Hook proud by filling the album with melancholic yet catchy as hell bass riffs (Romeo's Distress is a perfect example). And then theres the guitars, done by none other than punk legend Rikk Agnew. If that name means nothing to you then I'll sit here and wait while you pop in the Adolescents' blue album and the first two D.I. albums.

Back? Good. Now we can continue with everyone on the same page.

The guitars on this album are exactly what goth guitars should be. Complimentary but not over-bearing but also not so ambient that it simply sounds as if someone is plucking single notes far in the back ground. Mr. Agnew definitely has the right feel for what he is doing, and it shows. Bringing his past punk experience to the table, Rikk bangs out Simple, eerie chords that ring out over a creepy, almost surf style distortion. They are solos, but they do nothing but add to the album as they are very tastefully done and are not drawn out in some attempt to show off the guitarist. The main ingredient on this album is undeniably the voice of Rozz but the band itself makes a perfect gothic soundtrack to show it off. Pick this up, burn a black candle and be prepared to bleed a bit for the grandaddy of death rock albums.

Mysterium Iniquitatis

Clubroot - Self Titled 2009

I have something a little different then whats been posted so far for my little Maggots today. I give you all Clubroot's self titled album from 2009, a magnificent example of dubstep that doesn't sound like robots fucking on cocaine. Yes instead of say some Skrillex inspired hyperactive "Mosh-step" nonsense, Clubroot delivers the goods with some calm, spacy and sometimes down-right eerie ambient dubstep tracks. I can't overstate how well these tracks work as nightly listening material, each track give off this feeling of wandering in a grey fog in the woods, or walking the concrete jungle of a city at night, not particularly lost but with no intentional direction either. I'm sure a few of us know that feeling quite well. As I said the tracks are more along the ambient side, with the dubstep influencing coming from the pace and pattern of the drum beats as opposed to the loud booming bass its usually affiliated with. That's right, there are no bass drops to be found here, but to be honest that's a very good thing. Instead be prepared to sit back and slam that plunger full of musical heroine into your veins as Clubroot demonstrates what it truly means to "Dub" electronically.

Low Pressure Zone

Candlemass - Death Magic Doom

Got a guest post for my little Maggots, from fellow miscreant of the night "Beardo"


A bold and upbeat riff, reminiscent of the best aspects of NWOBHM and Sabbathian doom, thunders from the speakers, and the keening voice of Rob Lowe gives the call to the doomy faithful to come and partake:
“If I ever die, I'm begging you, please come with me
We're gonna groove, into the blue
All the parasites, oh just leave them, pigs can't fly
There's no tomorrow, no regrets, no goodbyes”
“If I Ever Die” is Leif Edling’s proclamation that Lowe’s contribution on “King of the Grey Islands” was no one off replacement, and the evolution of style was here to stay and reign, leaving behind one particularly afro’d pig.
For anyone who cares what the music actually sounds like, departing from band politics, what we have is Candlemass taking their gloomy and medieval styled doom and consciously beefing up the riffing, by turns recalling chuggy mid-paced thrash and moments that suggest an influence from more recent developments in the sludge scene. The result is a lively, headbanging performance. All of this, of course, is topped by Lowe’s sneers and wails, which to bring to mind a desperate and denim-clad drunk, rather than a pompous friar.
All the same, this is by no means a full break from the Candlemass that was. The yellowed and papery pictograph of the cover gives the impression of aged paper, giving what is held within an air of age, tradition, an apostolic succession of the mastery of the secrets of doom. Lowe-era Candlemass is the inheritor and developer of previous efforts, and a damn fine job of it they do. Highly recommended. - Beardo

Death, Magic, Doom.