the random verdicts

I usually post these in my journal on last.fm, but I need more content for this blog. . .so yeah, the random verdicts. . .

these will very often be pretty short. . .
I'm not the guy from Grind and Punishment. He's way better at this than me(read it, it's AWESOME).

anyway, here's some stuff I heard. . .


Jucifer - Throned in Blood
let me find out. . . . .
I can't remember the name of the song I heard some years ago before, but it sounded like Veruca Salt and I thought it was forgettable. . . though, I probably would've eaten it up when I was 17. I was at Maryland Death Fest again, and they were playing, and I checked them out on a whim.
um, what?!?!?!?!?
They were smashing shit, it was amazing. I was told most of what they played was on the new record, so I got that, and the one before it.
This album, is brutal abrasive downtuned sludge all the way through. On other albums, they'll go from crazy brutal shit, to what Magic Dirt used to sound like before they got all poppy. Not here. Fitting for the subject matter (war), eh? There's one acoustic song at the very end. Perfect closer I think.
meet your new fan.
9/10

Circle of Dead Children – Psalm of the Grand Destroyer
After mishaps the level of Soilent Green, CODC return with their first album in 7 years to show all the little kiddies how it's done. This is the only band in the country that should be allowed to use pig squeals anymore (seriously, Joe should go to the studio one of these little kid bands are recording in and regulate). Prepare for the best production of all the CODC records. Zero Comfort Margin got me into this band, and it sounded like they didn’t even have a bass player (which is fine, if you don’t have a bass player. . .but CODC do). On this, you hear everything, and it’s heavy as balls. It's also got the best drumming of all the CODC albums. I really hope it's not another 7 years.
9/10

Celeste - Morte(s) Nee(s)
Already?!?!?! They just had that killer album last year, and here they come again already with a new EP. It sounds twice as dark as misanthrope(s), and not just because they tuned lower again. When you hit track 5, it’s more crushing than anything last record. It’s slow, and bleak and just really fucking doomy. . .even if the riffing is still a little black metal in nature (Celeste are succeeding at the sound Dark Funeral has been trying to do for years and failing). This dirge continues into the next track where vocals finally come in, and OH MY GOD, FADES OUT! Then the 13 minute closer hits you like a tank, and runs you over, and then backs up over you, and then runs over you again and continues doing this for half the song. Then, when they’re sure they’ve completely squashed you like a bug, they get out of the truck and they hang around and brood over your flattened body (complete with violins) for the other half of the song.
None more black.
. . .no seriously, I need to emphasize how bleak this album is. It makes Grief sound like posicore. This band is like suicidal black metal mixed with funeral doom.
The lyrics are all in French, but the emotion is evident in this music.
9/10

Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire - Songs of Ill Hope and Desperation
CTFF play music which exemplifies blind rage. That was incredibly evident on "Alpha. . .". They have somehow turned up the blind rage on this fittingly titled record. It sounds just as heavy as last album. . .except the drums. They're pretty light in comparison. Everything else is crushing. The vocals sound like two people screaming at you at once. . .and that guy was always one of the most pissed sounding vocalists of the last couple years. The production probably won't stop the ignorant little kids from lumping this band in with "deathcore" . . .or at least, what the next Robinson album might've sounded like had that not been an April Fools prank by Debello(the guitars can be very Robinson-ish). . . .but the slow sludgy parts might. "recession" is the best song. The whole record is dark as fuck, but when they pause after the intro and kick back in harsher than before, you might not be sure what hit you. I think it's the only song that comes close to equaling a track like "crystalis" or "velveteen walls" from the last one. It keeps on hitting you though. You only get two breaks really, the slower part in "made of coal", and the almost quiet part in the very last song "remove the light". This is one of the few albums to come out that I think truly captures the vibe of this year (which is becoming worse than the last). It's not posi. I said it before, this is an aptly titled record.
8/10

Harvey Milk - A Small Turn Of Kindness
I just heard this band for the first time this year, when "self titled" came out. I'd been hearing about them, but just hadn't thought to check them out. Then they got on that Converge tour, so I gave them a listen and quite liked it. They've been around FOREVER though. I'm way behind, I've only heard this one, "self titled" and "my love. . ". I don't know shit. Just saying. Anyway, this is their 7th album. It's is one of those albums you buy just to read the lyrics. I'm sitting here the whole time like "what is he talking about?". I managed to pick out choice lines, and suffice to say (to paraphrase the great Steve Albini) this is a sad fuckin' song. It's slow, dramatic and doomy as fuck. It tells a story that I cannot wait to read along with in it's entirety. I hear people who've known about this band forever saying this is a little disappointing, but I just got into them and it's my favorite. Sue me. It might have something to do with the fact that when I first listened to it I was sick as dog, and it fit my mood exactly, but I've recovered somewhat and it's still my favorite.
10/10

Admiral Angry – A Fire to Burn Down the World
A Fire. . . is simply a masterclass in OUCH.
Mr. Krauss left us this doozy, to blow our minds.
and he shall continue to blow our minds forever more.
Rest in Power
10/10



that's all for now.
new random tape, and MDF review coming up next.
It's pretty funny I'm posting reviews of metal albums, but have barely any metal random tapes.
That's just what i've dorked out on more than anything else. . .hm hm.