And now for some good heavy music that defies simple classification. Is it metal? I guess. Heavy metal? (Am I the only one that calls it that anymore?) Punk? Nah- there are not really any theatrics. Hardcore? Not exactly (thanks for your opinion though, Wikipedia), but I bet someone calls this a post-punk band. Maybe even a post-punk hardcore band. Anything is possible.
Whatever it is, I am here for it. I was completely unfamiliar with this band at first. They leaked into my library via a bandmate's recommendation, and then just sat there waiting to be heard. However, after this listening I can say that it certainly passes the time ably, if not always impressively. Yes, I could definitely listen to this endlessly, even if it never turns out to be my favorite band, and no single song is really too distinguishable from any of the others.
The fact that they got signed to Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles, after opening for him and the Melvins, is a big hint that there's something a bit more going on
Whatever it is that makes this band more than just a hardcore band is probably not found in the lyrics though. Despite frequently clever song titles being a hallmark of the group, I understood almost not one word of their screaming. That's a little odd, but the almost-Cookie Monster-type vocals actually fit in quite well with the slamming guitars and brutal drums. The bass has to be called out a bit - it just plays the guitar riff nearly all the time. I was several albums deep before I was ever able to discern a distinct bass line. We will cut the guy some slack though since that's the vocalist and founding member playing bass. So he's busy screaming his head off, and writing stuff...probably booking shows and selling t-shirts too. The cute story is he met the founding drummer in a high school gym class after they noticed each other's homemade punk rock t-shirts in 1998. I saw that story repeated several times online and would love to hear what bands were on the shirts; it was some DC hardcore, apparently, which makes a lot of sense. Rites of Spring? Other than those two founding members on rhythm, there have been ELEVEN different guys playing guitar in this ongoing trio. One of the key guitarists quits to be a financial analyst, and many of the rest are key players from the Pacific Northwest scene. Since it is essentially a power trio, there are a lot of heavy, heavy guitars upfront, so it was surprising to lean it's basically a different guy every time. The riffs are consistently crunchy and delicious, huge. If Seattle Grunge had a baby with D.C. Post-Punk, but then that baby grew up and had another baby with like some violent, inebriated Metal, that baby would be this band.
Although they release a few things between 1999 and 2003 on other labels, for the streaming listener it begins with 2001's aptly-titled Harshing Your Mellow. There's little on the next five albums that isn't set out here already. Yet it is appreciably noisy and sounds great loud, and we all want that at one time or another in our listening lives. I don't know what he's howling about, but the song titles are all either harrowing or hilarious: from "Paul Reubens Theater" to "Steal Your First Born" or "Life in the Noose."
Next, City of Stars (2004), is an album I listened to a fair amount, and it grew on me eventually, yet it's still not a deep appreciation: even hearing the songs over and over, I liked them each time but never came to recognize them. The titles are again often silly, but the singing is not. "I Think I'm a Werewolf," "High and Fighting," and "Afraid of Mountains" all earn at least an appreciated slight pause, but the "Have A Good Time All The Time" gets a special nod from me; it's not just good advice, it's the last line from the Spinal Tap movie, as spoken by their keyboardist. Sure, they do slow down for the 8-minute closer, but it would be deeper into their existence before they really made the most of dynamics. The last song works well, even though it could be an entirely different band. One might recall the schizophrenia of Lard's repertoire, particularly given the Alternative Tentacles connection.
The production and drumming gets notably fancier on later albums. For better or worse? It's kinda a wash. I'm not going to complain about hearing things clearer; it's not like it turned into overproduced cock-rock. The guitarist is new again, but you'd be hard-pressed to notice. This is absolutely NOT punk/hardcore drumming, nor are the production values. The production is so bizarrely (deliberately?) muted, like listening to a really loud show with heavy ear plugs in, but it's a somewhat different sound and it works for this material. The next album, Forging Steel and Laying Stone (2006), has a notable reference to Conan, with "Tower of the Elephant" being one of Conan's first adventure stories--and a song that does a lot in five minutes. Otherwise it's more of the same decent heavy rock on this album and the next, Navigating the Bronze. My joke: it's NOT a concept album about trying to play a gig in the Sunnydale. But you know what is a concept album? Their next album.
After playing with Converge (fuck yea) and Neurosis (OK, I guess), they left Alternative Tentacles to be on the Neurot label, which is basically Neurosis. That's when they released the fairly incredible concept album Jersey Shores in 2008. The vinyl-exclusive version of the cover art is pretty sick
They announce their breakup and play a farewell show before releasing Live to Crush. They might have gone back to Alternative Tentacles. It does seem like they might be broken up for real this time. So when the most recent guitarist and writer mostly responsible for the Jersey Shore stuff leaves the other two decide not to continue. They formed a new band, called Sandrider. And people call it "grunge metal" - on purpose! In 2011- to present! I snuck a listen and I definitely dig it. Sounds like stoner-metal to me.
I hope I haven't damned this band with faint praise. While it's true that few if any individual tracks rise above the muck, I thoroughly and consistently enjoyed listening to the band. I find them refreshingly aggressive, and just abrasive enough. After an evening at home listening to the Avett Brothers with the fam, it was a nice palette cleanse to start the early morning commute with these bashers. It looks hella fun too. I wouldn't have to remember the name or tune of a single song to enjoy this show:
Whatever it is, I am here for it. I was completely unfamiliar with this band at first. They leaked into my library via a bandmate's recommendation, and then just sat there waiting to be heard. However, after this listening I can say that it certainly passes the time ably, if not always impressively. Yes, I could definitely listen to this endlessly, even if it never turns out to be my favorite band, and no single song is really too distinguishable from any of the others.
The fact that they got signed to Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles, after opening for him and the Melvins, is a big hint that there's something a bit more going on
Whatever it is that makes this band more than just a hardcore band is probably not found in the lyrics though. Despite frequently clever song titles being a hallmark of the group, I understood almost not one word of their screaming. That's a little odd, but the almost-Cookie Monster-type vocals actually fit in quite well with the slamming guitars and brutal drums. The bass has to be called out a bit - it just plays the guitar riff nearly all the time. I was several albums deep before I was ever able to discern a distinct bass line. We will cut the guy some slack though since that's the vocalist and founding member playing bass. So he's busy screaming his head off, and writing stuff...probably booking shows and selling t-shirts too. The cute story is he met the founding drummer in a high school gym class after they noticed each other's homemade punk rock t-shirts in 1998. I saw that story repeated several times online and would love to hear what bands were on the shirts; it was some DC hardcore, apparently, which makes a lot of sense. Rites of Spring? Other than those two founding members on rhythm, there have been ELEVEN different guys playing guitar in this ongoing trio. One of the key guitarists quits to be a financial analyst, and many of the rest are key players from the Pacific Northwest scene. Since it is essentially a power trio, there are a lot of heavy, heavy guitars upfront, so it was surprising to lean it's basically a different guy every time. The riffs are consistently crunchy and delicious, huge. If Seattle Grunge had a baby with D.C. Post-Punk, but then that baby grew up and had another baby with like some violent, inebriated Metal, that baby would be this band.
Although they release a few things between 1999 and 2003 on other labels, for the streaming listener it begins with 2001's aptly-titled Harshing Your Mellow. There's little on the next five albums that isn't set out here already. Yet it is appreciably noisy and sounds great loud, and we all want that at one time or another in our listening lives. I don't know what he's howling about, but the song titles are all either harrowing or hilarious: from "Paul Reubens Theater" to "Steal Your First Born" or "Life in the Noose."
Next, City of Stars (2004), is an album I listened to a fair amount, and it grew on me eventually, yet it's still not a deep appreciation: even hearing the songs over and over, I liked them each time but never came to recognize them. The titles are again often silly, but the singing is not. "I Think I'm a Werewolf," "High and Fighting," and "Afraid of Mountains" all earn at least an appreciated slight pause, but the "Have A Good Time All The Time" gets a special nod from me; it's not just good advice, it's the last line from the Spinal Tap movie, as spoken by their keyboardist. Sure, they do slow down for the 8-minute closer, but it would be deeper into their existence before they really made the most of dynamics. The last song works well, even though it could be an entirely different band. One might recall the schizophrenia of Lard's repertoire, particularly given the Alternative Tentacles connection.
The production and drumming gets notably fancier on later albums. For better or worse? It's kinda a wash. I'm not going to complain about hearing things clearer; it's not like it turned into overproduced cock-rock. The guitarist is new again, but you'd be hard-pressed to notice. This is absolutely NOT punk/hardcore drumming, nor are the production values. The production is so bizarrely (deliberately?) muted, like listening to a really loud show with heavy ear plugs in, but it's a somewhat different sound and it works for this material. The next album, Forging Steel and Laying Stone (2006), has a notable reference to Conan, with "Tower of the Elephant" being one of Conan's first adventure stories--and a song that does a lot in five minutes. Otherwise it's more of the same decent heavy rock on this album and the next, Navigating the Bronze. My joke: it's NOT a concept album about trying to play a gig in the Sunnydale. But you know what is a concept album? Their next album.
After playing with Converge (fuck yea) and Neurosis (OK, I guess), they left Alternative Tentacles to be on the Neurot label, which is basically Neurosis. That's when they released the fairly incredible concept album Jersey Shores in 2008. The vinyl-exclusive version of the cover art is pretty sick
Maybe I just have a soft spot for concepts albums, but this one really seems to kick it up a notch for these guys. It's a bit like heavy metal prog rock at times, and that's to say nothing of the story they are telling. I don't want to spoil it for everyone, but the scariest bit is how far inland the killer shark gets by swimming up little streams. Yes, it's a true story, from New Jersey. I enjoyed this album the most and am grateful for having discovered it.
They announce their breakup and play a farewell show before releasing Live to Crush. They might have gone back to Alternative Tentacles. It does seem like they might be broken up for real this time. So when the most recent guitarist and writer mostly responsible for the Jersey Shore stuff leaves the other two decide not to continue. They formed a new band, called Sandrider. And people call it "grunge metal" - on purpose! In 2011- to present! I snuck a listen and I definitely dig it. Sounds like stoner-metal to me.
I hope I haven't damned this band with faint praise. While it's true that few if any individual tracks rise above the muck, I thoroughly and consistently enjoyed listening to the band. I find them refreshingly aggressive, and just abrasive enough. After an evening at home listening to the Avett Brothers with the fam, it was a nice palette cleanse to start the early morning commute with these bashers. It looks hella fun too. I wouldn't have to remember the name or tune of a single song to enjoy this show:
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BONUS INTERNET PLAGIARISM
According to Merriam-Webster.....
(hey, at least I didn't start the essay that way)
Definition of akimbo
1: having the hand on the hip and the elbow turned outward
2: set in a bent positiona tailor sitting with legs akimbo
