Heavy Metal Textbooks

SMORGASBORD

Here are a few albums I've been listening to and want to share

KADAVAR: For The Dead Travel Fast

Germany's Kadavar are back and have returned to a more ominous, evil type of sound and feel, with the same kind of quality we have become accustomed to from these hard rock virtuosos.

Here's my favorite track, "Evil Forces":

And here's a video for the song "Demons In My Mind":  It opens with a guitar sound that immediately reminds me of Dixie Witch's song "Saving Grace".  The video has a Duna Jam look to it.  Good old-fashioned 1970's inspired rock, no matter how you slice it:

DESERT SESSIONS: Vols. 11 & 12

Josh Homme has been making mix tapes of music with his friends and acquaintances since 1997, and they are called Desert Sessions because they are recorded in the desert in Joshua Tree, California.  The sessions are released in groups of two (which together are generally the length of a single album), and have included quite a range of guest artists over the years.  This latest installment, volumes 11 and 12, are titled "Arrivederci Despair" and "Tightwads & Nitwits & Critics & Heels", respectively and include Les Claypool and Billy Gibbons among many other guest artists.

This one's pretty interesting:  Lyrics and vocals by Billy Gibbons (and Jake Shears), bass by Les Claypool and guitar by Josh.  It's called "Move Together":

Here's the tune with the official video, "Crucifire":

STRAYS: TIME | DEATH | VOID | DREAM

I reviewed Strays' last album here and loved it, so I picked this one up on principle and was surprised to hear how different it is.  This one has really gone in a Dylan Carlson's Earth sort of direction.  It is meant to be played in its entirety without skipping tracks, and really takes you through a gamut of ominous moods and atmospheres, ranging from aggressively raunchy to spacey and brooding.  Definitely worth your while, but this will not appeal to everyone due to the time investment required to fully appreciate what's been done here.  

Now after saying the whole album should be listened to, cover to cover, here's the longest track, entitled "War Is God".  It has the most variety of all the tracks on the album. 

CLOUDS TASTE SATANIC: SECOND SIGHT

Clouds Taste Satanic has released their second album of the year.  Each contains only two tracks, combining for over forty minutes of heavy-duty, brain-melting instrumental creative goodness.  Here's another album that will be overlooked by many due to the length of time investment required, but this band truly sets themselves apart from the pack when it comes to instrumental hard rock.  

Check out the title track, "Second Sight" if you dare:

Did you ever know a kid in school who would have gotten picked on because of his name if he wasn't so tough?  Well Clouds Taste Satanic would be a really stupid name for a bad band but this Brooklyn based band is so good at what they do that they've made the name cool.

Didn't get to post last weekend, so wanted to make up for it with a meaty one.  

Hope you found something you like!

-ULTRA