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BLANKET SEARCH
(self titled)
Track 01: Torrelli’s Whine
Track 02: Samara
Track 03: Interlude
Track 04: A good day for dying
Track 05: Mario
Track 06: Porn God
Track 07: Center Ring
Track 08: A Biento
The first track,“Torrelli’s Whine” is set the motion with hard-edged guitar, and drums. This is followed up by a subtle chord progression lined with soothing vocals. Which inexorably crescendos and explodes into angst filled screams and wails accompanied with profound, in your face guitar riffs. After listening to this opening track, I found myself suddenly pissed off at everything and loving it. Another featured song on this self-titled CD is “Porn God”. This song in my opinion could very well be the next celebrated anthem in the porn industry. This track features cliché porn guitar rhythms, (that every one has learned to love and embrace). This runs parallel with a funky, slap-bass groove that complements the rap-like vocals. Unexpectedly, you are subdued and smacked upside the head in a way that only BS can deliver it, with melody and intensity.
Kudos to the bass player, he is an invaluable asset in my opinion that contributes to the original sound that BS portrays. The percussion also sets the standards of the sound for Blanket Search.
There are many other songs that are worth listening to on this CD. Unfortunately, my time is limited.
The only downside of this release is that although the quality of the recording is good overall, it lacks the clarity and level that only a mastered mix down can provide. In doing this it would accede the members of BS to truly showcase their talent.
If you enjoy Tool and or similar artists, you will enjoy this self-titled release from Blanket Search. Look for BS performing at a venue near you!
CP
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FREEK
The Reality EP
Track 01: Reality
Track 02: Salt
Track 03: Fisted
Track 04: Reality(Radio Edit)
In recent years there have been a slew of bands attempting to merge
electronic and heavy music, and noone has impressed me until now. The most
prevalent band I can think of is Static-X. Static-X should take notes from
FREEK. After listening to FREEK's Reality EP i realized what the other bands
are doing wrong.The CD kicks off with the title track, Reality. An
industrial sounding verse kicks full-throttle into a chant of "Fucked if I
do, fucked if I don't", a chant that sticks in your head in a way that
leaves you wanting to hear the song again. Track 2, entitled Salt is sure to
bring some crowd participation in their live show with its shout along,
stomping groove. The 3rd track,Fisted is a techno-metal masterptece in my
opinion. A tripped out trance beat leads off the track and is followed by
guitars and ambient sampling. While all the songs would be strong on their
own, the prescence of a full-time sampler/keyboardist adds ear candy to
FREEK's sonic attack. Another refreshing thing FREEK brings to the fold is
guitar solos that don't sound like nails on the blackboard, a trend all too
common in the "new" metal scene. Guitarist/vocalist Chris Pawlowski, lets
you know he can can play without ever sounding like a showoff. The 4th and
final tack is an edited version of Reality, replacing "fucked" with "what".
The only weak point I see in this release is that the vocals could have been
mixed in a little louder, but that doesn't detract much from this overall
excellent release. Be sure to check out FREEK live and support the local
scene. MJK
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AFN
On Deaf Ears
Hometown Records
Track 01: intro
Track 02: still born
Track 03: buried alive
Track 04: fashion show
Track 05: brainslide
Track 06: plain
Track 07: neglect
Track 08: pissed off bastard
Track 09: acrylic
Track 10: the fix
Track 11: spill
Track 12: date rape
Track 13: structure
You want it heavy, AFN's got some shit for you. You want it with some
melodic vocals thrown over some down tuned guitar and bass? AFN's got
whatever "fix" you need. Normally I get turned off on stuff that's
constantly heavy, but AFN's grooves stick in your head and at the end of
their 13-track CD "On Deaf Ears" I hit play again, not satisfied with just
one listen. Singer Mark Anthony's melodic vocals provide and excellent
contrast for the brutal riffs of guitarist Sean Wetmore. AFN works great as
a unit and the tightness comes across on this CD. I was hooked from the the
first song "Still Born". Every song on this release slams, so it's hard to
pick a favorite. They're all different in their own way. My personal faves
are "Fashion Show","Neglect","Still Born", "The Fix","Spill", and the album
closer "Structure". This CD is good from start to finish. If you haven't
heard or seen AFN, this is definitely a band worth checking out.MJK
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Clubber Lang
self titled
Track 01:You Lose
Track 02:Where was your god
Track 03:Slipping away
Track 04:Wake up
Track 05:Vandal Lies
Track 06:Just another day
Track 07:Brighter daze
Track 08:Annoyance
Track 09:New Life
Track 10:Shit for brains
Two words: PUNK ROCK. This self titled release from Clubber Lang is punk at its best. Normally i dont listen to punk that much, but i've been listening to this cd about 2 or 3 times a day since ive gotten it. This disc is full of catchy punk riffs and upbeat tempos. Plus theres a few guitar solos which add a nice touch.The recording quality is excellent. The first song "you lose" is a great introduction to the album. Some of my personal favorites are: Vandal Lies, Brighter daze, Annoyance, Shit For Brains, and New Life. Every song on here is great. If your into punk you'll love Clubber Lang. If your into good music,and fun times you'll love them too. Make sure to catch Clubber Lang at a venue near you.-DJ
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Shattered SoulKilling For Re-creation
Track 01:Unblessed
Track 02:Zhar
Track 03:HammerHead
Track 04:Fused The 2nd Evil
Track 05:Copycat
Track 06:of A Sick Beating
Track 07:Rain
Track 08:Snit Kore
This release by Shattered Soul is 100 percent metal. In this album, Shattered Soul combines thrash,black,death,and speed metal elements for an all out metal attack.If you're into pounding double bass drums,speed riffs,pick harmonics,solos,and evil sounding vocals, this is for you. The first 6 songs are brutal as fuck. Then comes a peaceful track entitled"rain" which is a bass solo with sounds of rain and thunder in the backround. But the madness returns one more time for the final track "snit kore."
Overall i think this a great album. Long live metal! -DJ
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Reconciled Hate
(Demo Version)
Track 1: Sheep
Track 2: Your Grasp
Track 3: Black Days
Track 4: The Quest For Pain
Track 5: Heroes
Track 6: Lowest Kind
If you don’t get like Death Metal, this is not the CD for you. But if you enjoy in your face power with brutal vocals to match then Reconciled Hate is the band for you.
“Sheep” starts out with grinding guitar rhythm followed up with brutal vocals that are reminiscent of old Suffocation. Followed up by “Your Grasp”,” Black Days” and “The Quest for Pain” all following the same path of pain and suffering. “Heroes” in my opinion is the best track on this self-release that hooks your bleeding ears from beginning with its strategically formatted rhythms and percussions that leave you satisfied with your quench for “Death” for the day.
However, the recording of the Reconciled Hate’s (Demo Version) is a very poor representation of the band, in hind site of their live performance, which I have seen in the past. If after listening to this CD does not make you a believer in the destruction that Reconciled Hate has to offer, a live show is the way to go. I myself can’t wait to hear a studio release of “RH” material in the future. In a “professional” recording atmosphere, Reconciled Hate will truly shine giving their fans their true talent and potential being a force to be reckoned with here and outside of Pittsburgh, PA.
CP
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1-13-01 @MIT
Show Review
blanket search,Clubber Lang
From what i understand there was originally suposed to be a couple more bands but it ended up just being Clubber Lang and blanket search.Clubber Lang played first. For those of you who don't know who Clubber Lang is, they are a punk band(see Cd review above) They had to fill a long set, so they played about 18 songs. They Played all the songs off the cd,some new songs, and a few NOFX covers. They even did a cover the Cheers TV Theme song! Punk style of course. This band has alot of energy. The crowd is really into them. They closed with one of their newer songs "napkins". (Fact: the song napkins was named by blanket search at a coolpeppers show, because the crowd were throwing napkins at clubber lang while they played)So the Clubber Lang fans made sure to keep up the tradition and threw stacks of napkins at them while they played. Next was blanket search.They opened up with the terminator 2 music as an nice little intro. They played a bunch of songs of their cd. They played a couple Tool songs such as "Eulogy" and "sober" plus a deftones cover of "root" Outta all the bands i hear that cover Tool and Deftones, bs by far does them the best. During Eulogy a friend of the band comes running up to the stage with a huge dildo in his hand waving it in the air. So the next song was everyone's fav bs song "Porn God".During Porn God singer mike kramer pick up the enormous dildo and starts swinging it in the air while he sings. Then during the guitar bridge mike starts beating the dildo off the ground! It was the funniest thing ive ever seen. It just goes to show you never know what kind of goofy things will happen at a blanket search/clubber lang show. Overall it was a great show for only being two bands. i had a fun ass time. these my thoghts. im out-DJ
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1-27-01 @MIT
Show Review
Forced Under,Self Inflicted,Outbreak,WhoreActs,By Any Means Necessary
The show started of with two bands on the road from Altoona(By Any Means Necessary and WhoreActs). They split a 45 min set. By Any Means Necessary played a great hardcore set. They even did a cover of Blood For Blood's"Wasted Youth Crew". they wasted no time in between songs. If your a fan of hardcore yopu should definetly check these guys out. Whoreacts was next. They were pretty heavy, and their guitarist has a great scream. The best part is they have a cello player! It goes well with the rest of the music. In the middle of their set the cello player puts away her instrument and grabs a mic to do vocals. Next was Outbreak. They had the best crowd response in my opinion. the pit was great. They have kind of an old school metal feel. Their lead guitarist' solos were amazing.They did a good cover of sepultura's "Territory". They also did a great Fear Factory cover. Self Inflicted took the stage next. I seen these guys at the PBA fest back in October. They impressed me then and again this time.They played brutal metalcore. They have great stage presence, very energetic. They did a great cover of slayer's "angel of death". There guitarist also does some impressive leads. Next came the band i was looking forward to the most:Forced Under. I heard good things about them and they were right. I've never seen or heard anything like em. The music is hard to describe, its heavy and very musical. There singer is the best frontman i've seen in a while. He kinda does little spoken word intros to songs then just goes nuts! Its hard to describe, like i said ive never seen or heard anything like em. It was very entertaining. They are definetly headed in the right direction. I can't wait to see em again.Overall it was one of the best shows i've been to in a while. im out-DJ
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2-11-01 @The Brass Factory
Show Review
Broken Free,Decree,Simple Lies,Jumbo,Forced Under
First up was Broken Free. It was my first time seein them. They have a pretty good live show. Their music is a mix between old school metal and hardcore, at least thats the impression i got from them. Their drummer is very impressive. They all had good stage presence, especially their vocalist and bassist. Next up was decree, i was fuckin blown away by these guys. They are brutal death/metal core. there singer has some amazing low growls and some high piercing screams. Plus amazing stage presence, he was doing flips on stage. He went completely nuts. Next was Simple Lies. They were like technical metalcore, very fast. I enjoyed em alot. They had some good breakdowns too. Next was the band i was there to see Forced Under. The power went out during the first song, but returned shortly, and they just picked it up from the begining. They were as intense as always, sounded real tight.One thing i noticed this forced under show that i didnt last time was,alot of their songs have build ups, like, it will be heavy then you can feel the tension in the music building up, then it just gets crazy as fuck. It is hard to describe forced under.All you need to know is they fuckin rule and you have to see them live. Next was JUMBO. i had the privielge of seeing them the night before at the mr.roboto project. I just found out about these guys but they have been around awhile. They are really different but in a good way. Their singer has a crazy scream and some wicked dreads. This band has alot of talent. On the one song their singer does some extra percussion while he screams.very cool. All the bands ruled. The only thing that sucked was there were about 30 people there the whole night, and some people left after the band they went to see was done. And that sucks. I think outta respect you should stick around to see the other bands. especially the one who set up the show, you might like em. These are just my thoughts. im out-DJ
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2
WhoreActs
(Self Titled)
Track 01: Caligula
Track 02: Fuck Ya Up
Track 03: Trench Mouth
Track 04: Hog pie
Track 05: Liquid Lunch
Track 06: Force Of Habit
Track 07: Anxiety
Track 08: Depression
Track 09: Four Inch (RIP)
Track 10: Dead Watch
Track 11: Grey Domain
Track 12: Knowmeansyes
Track 13: Social Maggot
The first track “Caligula” starts out this self-titled release with grinding chords reminiscent of old Obituary (“Slowly We Rot”) and then explodes into a unexpected up tempo which sends your brain into a frenzy with its fast beat and in your face screams. Letting you know that they aren’t fucking around. “Fuck ya up” the next track, does just that, with a sound that any Napalm Death fan (off of “Scum”) would appreciate, 46 seconds of pain, coming your way on that one. The next song that really caught my ear was “Hog Pie” This one has a nice punk groove that slowly cascades into a nice grind. The next few songs “Liquid Lunch”, “Force Of Habit” and “Anxiety” are all delivered to you at 100 miles an hour with fast 32 note snare hits and wailing screams making sure that they have your full attention at all times. The last song I got to check out, which was the last track off of this self-titled disk, was entitled “Social Maggot”. This song in my opinion represents WhoreActs as a whole, the best. It has a nice blend of Grind, Punk and Old School. Overall, this is a must buy for anyone that is an avid listener of “Underground Music”. No mainstream here. So, if you like the grinding sounds of Obituary accompanied with screams reminiscent of “The Accused and Blood Feast”, look no further WhoreActs is here.
CP
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