Arson Panda

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard-Murder of the Universe

I’m honestly not even sure where to start with this thing. This group of crazy Aussies has been around for a few years now and I’m just now stumbling on to them. You can just tell by their name that this is going to be some fairly unconventional shit. This kind of just makes what The Black Angels are doing in furtherance of the psyche-rock realm seem downright pedestrian. I’m not saying that this is better than The Black Angels (I love those guys), but it’s just more batshit insane.

Do you like reverb? I mean, SERIOUS reverb? Strange sci-fi lyrical concepts (especially one about a lonely vomiting cyborg who ultimately destroys the universe)? Weird vocal effects? Electronic harmonicas? Strangely sexy and monotone female English narrators that pop in from time to time during the songs? Well, this platter has all that and more. It’s like Stephen Hawking and John Waters decided to start a jam band.

Really, this thing seems like it is only meant for the truly adventurous. There are parts I really enjoyed, but most of the time my reaction was just, “What the fuck is happening right now?” Just the weirdest thing to come out this year.

If you give it a listen and really enjoy it, they are coming to Austin on September 30 at The Mohawk.

3 flip flops out of 5

Ex Eye-Ex Eye

And now for something completely different: a metal group fronted by a sax man! With the advent of Ihsahn incorporating saxophone into his solo releases and Swedish outfit The Shining showcasing it as well, it seems like the sax is starting to be a legitimate instrument within the metal world.

I stumbled upon this new group around a week ago and found myself intrigued, but skeptical when reading the description of them as a post-metal/free jazz inspired extreme metal instrumental group. It was just weird enough for me to take a chance on. The verdict: it totally works! It’s definitely a different take on things, but the manner in which the sax is incorporated into the sound is completely natural sounding.

The lead sax man on this thing is named Colin Stetson and running his name into the Google machine shows that he has performed with quite a few big names in the pop world (Arcade Fire, Bon Iver and Tom Waits to mention a few). It’s hard to describe his style on this album in any other way, but to state that he is totally playing riffs with the sax. The sax really sounds like a guitar in many instances on the record and it plays beautifully off of the actual guitarist in the band. It’s one of those things that you really need to just listen to to truly get the feel of what they are attempting.

This is one of the more different things to come out this year and for that alone I have to give these guys praise. The sound doesn’t quite work all the way through the entire album, but when this thing ultimately comes up in a shuffle of songs, I think it’s going to fit in just fine with your more traditional type metal.

3.5 flip flops out of 5

Municipal Waste-Slime and Punishment

Municipal Waste is a crossover thrash/punk, jokey good time sort of band. They are here to party, drink all of your beer and make you giggle the entire time they are completely trashing your living room. After hearing vocalist Tony Foresta and bassist Land Phil’s side project, Iron Reagan, put out a fun rocking slab of new music earlier this year, my hopes were fairly high that the main gig would also put out a really nice package of new tunes. Sadly, once again, it appears that my high hopes have been dashed.

It really feels like this is a case where the side project is starting to outpace the main gig. Iron Reagan and Municipal Waste play the exact same kind of crossover trash. However, it just feels like the jokey vibe of the Waste is starting to wear a little thin. With song titles such as Shrednecks (sigh), Bourbon Discipline and the title cut, you kind of get the drift of how deep the lyrical bent on this one is going. The album is a total of 14 songs and clocks in at under 30 minutes. Look, I get it. It’s rollicking good time rock n’ roll. But, it just doesn’t stick. It’s like eating cotton candy. Once it’s over, you aren’t satisfied and you just have this nasty sticky sweet residue in your mouth and you’re probably on your way to getting diabetes.

It’s not all bad. There are some really catchy riffs on this thing and if Tom Araya ever decides to retire, Foresta’s angry bark vocals would be a perfect substitute. These guys have talent (see previous review of Iron Reagan’s album from earlier this year). I just think a little more effort could be put in to the songcraft.

2 flip flops out of 5

Goatwhore-Vengeful Ascension

Oh, Goatwhore. I really wish your music would live up to the promise of your name. You truly have my absolute favorite band name in the entire genre. I want to love you guys so much. However, your musical output has just never quite reached that level of quality that would push you guys into the elite in the blackened death metal game.

The new album is solid, but just not spectacular. There are some really nice riffs, but after a couple of listens I can’t really think of any songs that really stood out or any that I’m really clambering to listen to again. It sounds like I’m slagging these guys, but I’m really not trying to. The output of these guys is always consistent. It’s never shitty, but it’s just never great either. They are just one of those bands that is never going to sell out and are going to go straight ahead in their workmanlike manner. There is probably never going to be much of a surprise when it comes to a Goatwhore album. In some respects, that quality is what makes Goatwhore who they are, but in some respects, is also the thing that I believe holds this band back from becoming more than they currently are.

Kudos to having one of my favorite albums covers of 2017.

3 flip flops out of 5

Elder-Reflections of a Floating World

Elder is an underground metal band that is kind of hard to categorize. They have elements of stoner, doom, jam band and a dash of post-metal in their sound. They are a band that has just quietly gone about their business over the years and have crafted a very solid discography. Their latest release is damn near as perfect of an album as you are going to find this year.

The latest album is six songs in length and every one of them clocks in at near or over 10 minutes in length. Even though all of the songs are lengthy, none of them ever drag or feel as though they have been padded with unnecessary fluff. Each one keeps the listener’s attention as they meander through their sonic tales.

Elder is one of those bands whose members just seem completely in tune with one another. The interplay between all three instruments are in perfect harmony throughout this album. This is an album that is not going to smash you in the face. Rather, this is one to pull out for the metalhead’s introspective moments.

Check them out when they roll into town on October 20.

5 flip flops out of 5

Dying Fetus-The Wrong One To Fuck With

Image result for dying fetus the wrong one to fuck with

So, this one isn’t going to offend anyone. Not really sure how they got this album title and album cover by the censors, but I guess when your name is Dying Fetus people just tend to let you do what you’re going to do and try not to make eye contact.

Once you get past the grisly imagery, you’ll find a very competent trio of musicians at work here. Dying Fetus combines the über technical death metal with some really tasty hooks and catchy riffs. This distinguishes them from the run of the mill technical death metal group that tend to churn out one indistinguishable song after another. This new album has a lot of extremely strong songs on it. Sadly, the vocals aren’t more clearly presented because these guys are one of the more intellectual death metal bands going. Lyrically, it doesn’t present a very happy picture of how things are going in the world today and this plays right into what I love about metal. Seriously, anyone who knows me will know that a song like “Seething With Disdain” is going to be my feel good hit of the summer. I’m adding that title to the multitude of things that I really need embroidered on a pillow.

I have a feeling that the band’s name and the title of this album are going to keep this one from receiving the recognition it deserves. This is unfortunate because this feels like an important record. Get past your squeamishness and give this thing a listen.

4 flip flops out of 5

Iced Earth-Incorruptible

So, I’ve had quite a love/hate relationship with Iced Earth over the years. On the love side, their early career saw them release some of my favorite metal albums from the 90s. Night of the Stormrider, Burnt Offerings, The Dark Saga and Something Wicked This Way Comes are as strong of a quartet of metal albums released in sequence as any metal band in history has had. Iced Earth is a key counter argument of mine whenever anyone starts bitching and moaning about the 90s not being a good decade for heavy metal. However, on the hate side, their output since the 90s ended have left a lot to be desired. I have a feeling that lead Iced Earthling, guitarist Jon Schaffer, follows in the mold of Dave Mustaine in being someone difficult to work with. Iced Earth has basically been Schaffer and a nameless rabble of singers, guitarists, bassists and drummers over the years. I think the constant turnover of support players has hurt the band’s continuity over the years and has led the resulting products to suffer in terms of quality. It’s not as if the material produced since the year 2000 has been horrible, but there just hasn’t been anything produced as memorable as their earlier output.

So, where does that leave us with 2017’s version of Iced Earth? Well, color me pleasantly fucking impressed. This is album number three for singer Stu Block (ex-Into Eternity) and it really seems like things finally gelled in the studio. This is a really infectious and solid album from start to finish. I still don’t think that Schaffer and crew has reached the heights of their classic albums, but this is definitely a step in the right direction and is light years greater in quality over recent output. Also, it should be noted that new lead guitarist, Jake Dreyer, gets the gold star award for this album. His leads are just tasty and are an outstanding addition to the Iced Earth sound. Keep this dude around, Jon. I think you found a good one.

Overall, it is really good to see these guys back. I hope it portends well for the band finally turning the corner and getting back to what they do well.

4.5 flip flops out of 5

Carach Angren-Dance and Laugh Amongst the Rotten

So, this review is going start out a little icky. Bear with me because I’m trying to illustrate this album as best I can. Imagine if you will that King Diamond, Tim Burton and all of the guys from Dimmu Borgir end up drunkenly making sweet, sweet love to one another. I know. Disgusting, right? I’m sorry. My point is that the hideous love child of the above described coupling is Carach Angren.

Throw the symphonic black metal stylings of Dimmu Borgir, the darkly comedic imagery of Tim Burton (think Corpse Bride or Beetlejuice) and the nightmarish storytelling and makeup of King Diamond into a blender and the resulting smoothie is Dance and Laugh Amongst the Rotten.

Carach Angren are a pretty good gateway drug into the world of black metal. Musically, they aren’t so extreme as to scare away your average metal listener and their warped fairy tales could pique the interest of fans of horror movies/novels. The latest tale involves a young girl screwing around with a Ouija board. Spoiler: it doesn’t go well for her. Overall, this is a very enjoyable album and should provide good fodder for the live show.

4 flip flops out of 5

Iron Maiden and Ghost at AT&T Center, San Antonio, June 24, 2017

This is the band that started it. I’m sure I would have made it down the metal rabbit hole without them, but these guys are the band, more than any other, that made me into the rabid metal dork that I am today.

A friend that attended this show with me asked how many times had I seen Maiden live? It turns out that this was show #10 that I’ve seen them. You’d think by now that the experience would start to fade a bit. Not a chance. Every single time I’ve seen these guys, they deliver each and every time. I can definitively say that even if you aren’t a fan of Maiden or of metal in general that you should see these guys do their thing in a live setting. It’s a spectacle and well worth the price of admission. Hell, just seeing a 58-year-old Bruce Dickinson running around and jumping like a 20-year-old for nearly two hours and still retaining the powerful air raid siren vocals is worth the price of admission. Seriously, this group of 60 year olds make most of their younger peers look staid and tired by comparison.

The past couple of tours I’ve seen Maiden perform have been retrospective tours that have recreated classic stage shows of the past (Powerslave and Seventh Son) and have been more of a run down of classic songs from those respective time periods. This is the first proper album tour I’ve seen in a few years. It was cool to see them focus of The Book of Souls heavily since that was a pretty solid album and I haven’t seen any of those songs performed live. The title cut and The Red and the Black were definite highlights of the new songs. The Mayan themed stage set up and various Eddies popping up throughout the set were fun. For the rest of the set, Maiden seemed to hit most of their classic albums. Wrathchild, Children of the Damned, Wasted Years, The Trooper, Powerslave, and The Number of the Beast all made appearances.

Just a great night. There’s no telling how much longer they are still going to be doing this live. Steve Harris says he feels they still have at least one more album in them. Drummer Nicko McBrain just turned 65 recently and has remarked that he doesn’t see himself being able to perform up to this level once he gets into his 70s. The point being: don’t miss them when you get a chance. They are still producing at a high level, but the time is running short.

Also, mention must be made of opener, Ghost. I’ve been a fan of these guys and their live show is always campy and fun. However, a little bit of the shine has been taken off these guys with the firing of the original lineup of Nameless Ghouls by frontman Papa Emeritus/Tobias Forge. Lawsuits being filed amongst band mates are never a good look and it is sad when the financial side of things can encroach on band chemistry. I have to say that I wasn’t overly impressed by the new lineup of Ghouls. The past incarnation of the band held a very stoic stage presence that just seemed to lend to the overall nature of the band’s gimmick. The new group of guys/girl were a little too bouncy and animated for my tastes. I don’t know. I’m probably being nitpicky. The band still sounded good. I’m sure the news of Papa’s behavior is probably coloring my view of the band at this point.

Sadly, I have no footage to share from this show. Our seats were next to one of the aisles and my attempts to film just kept being interrupted by a steady stream of people heading to their seats or heading out to get refreshments. I just gave up after a couple of attempts.

Suffocation-…Of the Dark Light

This is not going to be an album for your recreational metal fans. This is for the hardcore rivet heads. Fuck your melody. Fuck your feelings. This is a sledgehammer and it is aimed right at your forehead.

Suffocation is one of the stalwarts of the New York technical death metal scene. 2017 has already seen their brethren Immolation release an album this year. So it seems appropriate that we get a Suffocation album as well.

I really hate saying anything bad about these guys because they have been slogging it through the underground trenches for so long, but this latest release just seems a little flat. Technically, it is exactly what you would expect from these guys. It is fast and brutal and just complex as metal can get. The musicians here are not screwing around and their technical chops are just at the pinnacle of what can be done with their respective instruments. However, after two full listens, I still can’t say that any of the songs contained on here have stuck in my head at all. There is a lot of this kind of music being produced these days and, personally, there has to be more than sheer technical prowess to really grab my attention. It just seems like the band is kind of going through the motions and the result is a bit of a paint-by-numbers procession. I’m not even sure I can articulate exactly what this album is missing, but there is something holding this one back. I really don’t see this album being included on many best of year lists in December.

3 flip flops out of 5