Measurements of Sound

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”

So did anyone out there actually make it to the very end of my first podcast? Those who did were treated to some next level shit courtesy of Cult of Luna. If you happen to be one of those lucky people and liked what you heard, then you should know about their new DVD Fire Was Born.

It will be available for visual digestion March 23rd and features a full live show recorded in London, along with interviews and music videos for “The Watchtower”, “Leave Me Here” and “Back to Chapel Town”.

Also, good news if you haven’t picked up a copy of their latest full length Eternal Kingdom. Fire Was Born will be included in the next pressing of it as a bonus disk.

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)

In case you didn’t see my top 30 albums of 2007, Baroness rule. But did you also know their guitarist/singer John Dyer Baizley also rules? Specifically he rules in the world of illustration and design.

If you are down with the styles of Pig Destroyer, Skeletonwitch, Torche and of course the above mentioned Baroness, then you likely have seen some of John’s work gracing their album covers.

His unique style makes use of bold colors and lush, detailed illustrations that reveal more details with each viewing. Very original and interesting stuff.

Head over to John’s MySpace page to see more of his work.

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”

I admit it. I like having this Internet thing sitting here, ready to give me whatever I want. It has been an amazing tool for allowing me to discover and access new music. But in some ways I miss how things used to be.

Case in point, the release of Guns N’ Roses Chinese Democracy this month. I should be extremely excited about it. Excited like I was in 1991 waiting for the release of Use Your Illusion I and II. But I’m not. I’m not excited because I know practically everything about Chinese Democracy and have heard most of it before buying it.

Yeah I know, seems like a dumb thing to say. People download entire albums before their release date all the time now. I’ve done it myself. But this time it’s supposed to be different.

I want to count down the months, weeks, days and hours until the release date. I want to rush to the record store on the day the album comes out. I want to have no idea what the artwork will look like until I pick it up. I want to hear it for the first time not knowing what to expect. I don’t need these things for every new album I’m looking forward to. It would just be nice to experience them again occasionally.

But it’s different now and I wouldn’t change things even if I could. The same tool that ruined the experience of buying a new album, also gave me a chance to hear what I may never have had the chance to buy. For all I knew Chinese Democracy never was going to come out. Leave it to Axl Rose to actually do what everyone thought he never would.

So on November 23rd I will know what the artwork for the new Guns N’ Roses album will look like and I will have heard nine of it’s fourteen songs. But I’ll still be there to buy Chinese Democracy the day it comes out. It won’t be the same. But as much as everything has changed, some things about me never will.

For those who care or might even have this on a shitty VHS tape from when it aired on MuchMusic or MTV back in 1988, here’s Guns N’ Roses live at the Ritz in New York:

1. It’s So Easy
2. Mr. Brownstone
3. Out Ta Get Me
4. Sweet Child O’ Mine
5. My Michelle
6. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
7. Welcome to the Jungle
8. Nightrain
9. Paradise City
10. Mama Kin
11. Rocket Queen

Download Guns N’ Roses - Live at the Ritz, New York 1988 (zip-91mb)

My first introduction to Dax Riggs was through the dark Louisiana sludge of Acid Bath. However, it was actually his next band Agents of Oblivion that really caught my attention. Their lush, psychedelic sound may have lacked some of Acid Bath’s heaviness, but it did allow Dax’s unique voice and lyrics to stand front and center. The band’s one and only self-titled album is highly recommended.

Dax’s next project, Deadboy & the Elephantmen expanded even more on the sounds mapped out with Agents of Oblivion. Their first album If This is Hell, Then I’m Lucky was a dark, layered affair that utilized a number of instruments and sounds. While it’s follow-up We Are Night Sky was more stripped down with a focus on guitar, drums and voice.

After announcing any future projects would be put out under his own name, Dax released his first solo album, We Sing of Only Blood or Love in 2007. It continued down the same path explored with We Are Night Sky, only with more of a full band feel.

Do yourself a huge favor and check out all of the above mentioned bands. If you are on this website, then there is something Dax Riggs released you will like. He is a great talent, who has flown under the radar for years and deserves to be heard.

If you like what you hear or are already a fan, here is a recording of one of Dax’s solo shows from February 23, 2008:

1. Intro
2. Stop, I’m Already Dead
3. Dethbryte
4. Dax Don’t Make Sense
5. Wall of Death
6. Living is Suicide
7. 13 Cannot Be Divided
8. Dressed in Smoke
9. Terrors of Nightlife
10. Misadventures of Dope
11. Perfect Dreaming Skull (Partial)
12. Dog Headed Whore
13. Fly on the Eye of the Lamb
14. Night is the Notion
15. Sleeping With the Witch
16. No Train to Stockholm
17. Andy
18. To Hell With the Moon
19. Thing in a Jar
20. If You Go Away
21. Andy’s Drum Set
22. Radiation Blues
23. Skulls

Download Dax Riggs - Live February 23, 2008 (zip-96mb)

It’s official. Montreal’s Trigger Effect rule.

I was out to check out Iron Giant on the weekend, but it was Trigger Effect’s set that totally floored me. Normally my tastes tend to lean toward slow, thick heaviness rather than brute force. But I’ll always have a soft spot for a fast, in your face live show and Trigger Effect brought that big time.

Ceilings were punched, projectiles were thrown and the line between the stage and dance floor was non-existent.

I picked up their full length Dare to Ride the Heliocraft before leaving and guess what? It’s damn near as good as their live show.

Go listen to this band or see them live now.