Category — Recommended Listening

If you’ve listened to the previous two installments of Measurements of Sound, you may have noticed that I tend to put lots of time into the sequence, mixing and overall mood of tracks that have been chosen. Not this time. Rather than try to cover lots of ground with the artists and genres featured in Volume 03, I’ve decided to give you a solid dose in the face of black metal.

I’m no purist when it comes to my black metal - so KVLT police go somewhere else. But if you’re open minded, interested in expanding your sonic palate, or already grim, give this a listen and let me know what you think.

Measurements of Sound - Volume 03 Track Listing:

00:00:00 Deathspell Omega – “First Prayer”
00:05:15 Watain – “Legions of the Black Light”
00:13:18 Marduk – “Funeral Dawn”
00:19:10 V.E.G.A. – “Beton #1”
00:22:22 Krallice – “Timehusk”
00:28:28 Winterfylleth – “The Ghost of Heritage”
00:33:54 Leviathan – “What Fresh Hell”
00:38:19 Liturgy – “Untitled 4”
00:40:38 Culted – “Social Control”
00:45:28 Ludicra – “Dead City”
00:51:43 Urgehal – “Risus Sardonius”
00:56:53 Nachtmystium – “Your True Enemy”
01:01:07 Funeral Mist – “Sun of Hope”
01:06:31 Altar of Plagues – “Earth: As A Furnace”

Measurements of Sound - Volume 03 (MP3 - 01:20:42)

I’m still bummed about Cursed going tits up. However, I’m pretty psyched about Burning Love, the new band fronted by former Cursed singer Chris Colohan.

Word is they laid down the tacks for their first album with Ian Blurton in early January. Can’t wait to hear the results of that. In the meantime, check out their April 2009 demo below.

1. Intro/Lives of the Saints
2. Alien vs. Creditor
3. Money Shots
4. I Don’t Like You (Battalion of Saints)
5. Burning Love

Burning Love - 2009 Demo

Around the end of December I always hear the odd complaint about the lack of good music released over the past twelve months. But as each year passes, that thought never seems to enter my head. Sure, there were a couple of clunkers in 2009 – the Dead Weather and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, I’m looking at you. But overall I’ve been more than impressed by what my ears have digested, sometimes even pleasantly surprised. Hello Goatwhore!

However it was rather hard to commit to my favorite album of the year. When Baroness’ Blue Record was released mid-October, I was pretty confident that we had a winner. Each subtle flourish hinted at on 2007’s Red Album paired up with something new, humped it and gave birth to something even more exciting. Pretty much everything I was hoping for. But there was one problem. A week later Converge released Axe to Fall.

As Baroness did on Blue Record, Converge also explored new sonic territory. But experimentation wasn’t what sold me. Simply put, Converge are a fine tuned killing machine on Axe to Fall. Track after track they destroy everything, burn it and feed the ashes to your children. Well, maybe not. But it sure as hell feels like something must be getting fucked up somewhere when these songs are pounding out of my speakers.

Converge made a perfect album. It’s as simple as that and when something is that obvious, you give credit where credit is due.

1. Converge – Axe to Fall
2. Baroness – Blue Record
3. Goes Cube – Another Day Has Passed
4. Ancestors – Of Sound Mind
5. Goatwhore – Carving Out the Eyes of God
6. Mastodon – Crack the Skye
7. Wolfmother – Cosmic Egg
8. The_Network - Bishop Kent Manning
9. Buried Inside – Spoils of Failure
10. Cobalt – Gin
11. Coalesce – OX
12. Javelina – Beasts Among Sheep
13. Doomriders – Darkness Come Alive
14. Obscura – Cosmogenesis
15. Them Crooked Vultures – Self Titled
16. Isis – Wavering Radiant
17. Naam – Self Titled
18. Pissed Jeans – King of Jeans
19. Iron Age – The Sleeping Eye
20. Culted - Below the Thunders of the Upper Deep

I love it when one of my favourite bands sneaks up on me with a new album. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was playing Baroness’ Red Album nonstop. However I just found out that on October 13th they will unleash the Blue Record.

As usual John Baizley’s stunning artwork will grace the cover (see above). The new track “Bullhead’s Psalm/The Sweetest Curse” is streaming on their MySpace profile now.

As if their upcoming collaboration with A Storm of Light wasn’t enough, I just found out that Nadja are about to crush us a little more. On April 28th the Toronto duo will release an album of covers titled When I See the Sun Always Shines on TV.

Here is the full track listing for When I See the Sun Always Shines on TV:

1. Only Shallow (My Bloody Valentine)
2. Pea (Codeine)
3. No Cure For The Lonely (Swans)
4. Dead Skin Mask (Slayer)
5. The Sun Always Shines On TV (A-Ha)
6. Needle In The Hay (Elliott Smith)
7. Long Dark Twenties (Kids in the Hall)
8. Faith (The Cure)

Nadja - “Dead Skin Mask” (Slayer)

When I was in grade eight my friend Jason bought a Guns N’ Roses bootleg that had a really shitty recording of a live show, along with a couple of unreleased demos. I got a dub of it and played that sucker frontwards, backwards and sideways. I’m not kidding. Somehow the tape got all twisted around and the only way it would play is in reverse.

Here’s a copy of “Shadow of Your Love” from that bootleg. I can pretty much guarantee will not get chewed up in your walkman and will only play in one direction.

Guns N’ Roses - “Shadow of Your Love”

Did you know Buried Inside have a new album coming out? Well now you do. Spoils of Failure drops on March 3rd in the North Americas.

So far things are looking good. Our comrades over at Decibel have given the album a solid 9 out of 10 in this month’s issue. Check out a new track on their MySpace page or head over to Relapse to find out about pre-ordering the CD or double vinyl.

Oh, and did I mention it was produced by Kurt Ballou?

Yeah I know; this is a little late. Usually I’m all over this kind of thing. But I needed a little extra time to process everything I’ve heard this year.

Apparently in 2008 I really loved bands that are down with the classic Amphetamine Reptile styles. Anyone who worships the pounding rhythms and distortion of Unsane or the spazzed out noise of the Jesus Lizard will be my BFFF. So it’s no surprise that sitting at numero uno is a band that would be right at home on AmpRep.

I discovered Black Elk just this past year via their 2006 self titled release and immediately kicked myself for not checking them out sooner. So it goes without saying that when they dropped Always a Six Never a Nine this fall, I was all over it. It has been making sweet love to my iPod ever since.

Naturally I would say everything below is worth checking out. So do yourself a favor and head over to their MySpace pages and have a listen. It shouldn’t hurt that much.

1. Black Elk – Always a Six Never a Nine
2. Farflung – A Wound in Eternity
3. 5ive – Hesperus
4. Black Mountain – In the Future
5. Ufomammut – Idolum
6. Fight Amp – Hungry for Nothing
7. Humanfly – II
8. Nachtmystium – Assassins: Black Meddle Part 1
9. These Arms Are Snakes – Tail Swallower & Dove
10. Javelina - Javelina
11. Zozobra – Bird of Prey
12. Torche – Meanderthal
13. Genghis Tron – Board Up the House
14. Blood Ceremony – Blood Ceremony
15. Portishead – Third
16. Coffins – Buried Death
17. Cursed – III
18. Akimbo – Jersey Shores
19. The Bug – London Zoo
20. Jex Thoth - Jex Thoth

It’s that time of year again. Measurements of Sound Volume 02 is ready for your ears to digest.

After a giving you a couple minutes to ease into things, the intense-o-meter is cranked to 11 courtesy of a double dose of Weedeater. Over the next 30 minutes or so things level off as you are shot into space to time travel for a while. Don’t worry though; you will eventually be brought back to earth by the psychedelic doom styles of Holland’s Toner Low.

Turn up the bass and lift with your legs. This one is heavy.

Measurements of Sound - Volume 02 Track Listing:

00:00:00 Ahab - “Of the Monstrous Pictures of Whales”
00:01:46 Weedeater - “God Luck & Good Speed/Wizard Fight”
00:08:30 Zozobra - “In Jetstreams”
00:11:43 Kylesa - “Outro”
00:12:29 Fight Amp - “Bound & Hagged”
00:16:46 Black Elk - “My Lil’”
00:19:14 DJ Spooky Vs. Scanner - “Edison”
00:20:07 Confiner - “Albuquerque”
00:27:21 Rosetta - “Clavius”
00:39:40 Enemymine - “I’ve Got the Ice in Me”
00:42:05 5ive -”Shark Dreams”
00:59:28 Ufomammut - “Ammonia”
01:06:10 35007 - “20 09″
01:16:06 Farflung - “Silver Shrooms”
01:21:31 Giant Squid - “Eating Machine”
01:22:26 Ocoai - “Breatherman”
01:33:44 Toner Low - “We Will Conquer”

Measurements of Sound - Volume 02 (MP3 - 01:48:00)

Just in case you didn’t already know, the Eagles of Death Metal have a new album out. You better go gets it now. Shaking of the ass is optional.

Also, does anyone else remember when they sounded like this?

Eagles of Death Metal - “The Gosso King of Crater Lake”