Circle of Dust - Machines Of Our Disgrace

If all you want for Christmas is not to listen to Mariah's mind numbing rectal discharges but hear some ass ripping industrial metal and electronic music, with some of the most satisfyingly crisp production you're likely to hear for a while, then Circle Of Dust going to be for you.

Producer/artist Klayton, who some may know from his work with multi-genre project Celldweller, is back creating under the pseudonym Circle Of Dust, who he has released 4 other albums as, the last one being twenty years ago!

I have to say I'm not familiar with his previous work as Circle of Dust, but after hearing this album I intend to be and am at the same time disappointed in myself.

Machines Of Our Disgrace

From the start of the first track, Re-Engage, onwards I was drawn in by a stunning quality of sound which is carried through the entire album. I took the opportunity on a long drive down to London, to preview a couple of tracks to my pal, who is an electronic music producer himself, to gauge just how good it is. He was wax a lyrical about the what he heard. My belief that this is brilliant work was confirmed.

In songs like title track Machines of Our Disgrace and Contagion, Klayton displays a flair for amalgamating catchy riffs, elements of classic metal sound, quality use of samples and electronics and song composition that holds the listener. This mix of skills creates intrigue and genuine moments of "holy shit this is brilliant"!

Then with racks such as Embracing Entropy (featuring Celldweller), alt_Human and Hive Mind Klayton introduces a more outright industrial style.

Embracing Entropy and Hive Mind, amongst others on the album, have a splattering of poppy hooks and a glorious tinge of 80's electronics, whilst never losing an alternative edge. alt_Human is peppered with industrial soundscapes and is full of edgy ambiance. As a fan of electronic music, outside of my metal fandom, these tracks tick a lot of boxes for me.

One of the biggest highlights for me is the track Humanarchy, which is an aggressive gem. Mixing growling vocals and the machine gun double bass with industrial noise, juxtaposed by a melodic, catchy vocal chorus it's a great all round performance. Neurachem balances bravely on the edge of metal and electronica which would normally irritate the tits off of me but this doesn't which is helped in no small part by a groove aspect that is impossible not to enjoy.

Conclusion

This album covers so much ground, including industrial metal, electronica, classic metal, pop and incorporates some fantastic voice samples, which along with the incredible production, culminates in a seriously good release. Klayton shows off an undeniable multitude of talents in terms of song writing, multi-instrumental-ism and production. It will please industrial metal fans as well as fans of multiple genres.

On release this will be going up on my genius production shelf alongside Ils - Bohemia and Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium.

Score 4.8/5

Follow Circle Of Dust: Facebook/Twitter

Pre order on Bandcamp  or on FiXT (Both Worldwide). 

King Minos - The Minos Touch

In Greek mythology King Minos, the first King of Crete, was a bit of a grim bugger. In life, he made made King Aegus choose 7 young boys and 7 young girls to send to a labrynth to be devoured by a Minotaur every 9 years. In death, he was judge of the dead. He could often be seen with a snake attached to his pecker via it's teeth. 

All in all a gruesome, hard bastard. So basically, King Minos is a FUCKING GREAT name for a metal band. I think it was either that or 'pecker snake', and the UK based thrashy trio made the right choice......just. 

The opener, Destroy By The Use Of Violence, has a vocal performance with growl and grit. Musically its busy and interesting with some nice touches with the bass and drum stabs. There is a brilliant seamless transition between deep heavyness and high end melody on guitar. The track has a definite groove element and at points also took me back to Diabolos era Slayer, an album which holds many great memories for me. 

Get All The Knives doesnt hang about in giving you a shot to the jugular. This tracks grinds and pounds relentlessly and repetitively which accentuates the first breakdown when it hits and adds to it's effectiveness. Towards the end of the track it again slows, this time creating a chilly, menacing feel, added to by the evil laugh seeing he track out!

As soon as Eschaton begins you can tell this is going to be musically excellent. Heavy and choppier than a pork cut, with chaotic but tight drumming, this is intense. The vocal is abrasive at first but you soon adjust. Melodic elements of the guitar work and the way the vocal cuts through remind me again of Slayer. This is not their only similarity with the behemoths of thrash, as they're not afraid to take on things that are high on the political and worldwide agenda lyrically. For me, they saved the best 'til last.

Conclusion

This is a musically excellent release, all instruments in crushingly heavy tandem, creating a dirty, thrashy, grinding, bowel adjusting noise.

The vocals, shared between all three members, are at times Serj Tankian, at times Tom Araya and at times Max Cavalera! Abrasive on the first listen, but once you adjust to the tones you realise their almost another instrument adding to the heavyness.

A good EP offering some sound song writing and raw energy. I think theres scope for some great music from these guys and I'm looking forward to hearing it.....

Score 3.8/5

Get it here

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Written by Jonny Radley

Cloud - Rebringing the Doom

Instrumental Doom bringers Cloud are back with a new release, which goes by he name of Indeterminate. I was a fan of the self titled EP, as you will see here, especially the triumph that was the track Grim Reefer so was eager to hear this new offering...

Indeterminate

Indeterminate opens with thunder and rain and resonant guitar. It's a reworking of 'Unpolished' from their incredible first EP and what a rework  it is. The pitter patter of rain seems to slowly develop into drum before the heavyness smacks you in the face. But this isn't ur, it generates speed with an awesome riff making it impossible not to head bang like a lunatic. Stunningly fulfilling in heavyness, incredible ambience throughout and lovely blues laden solos, this is living up to everything I hoped it would be.

Relapse fades in, slow and heavy with before breaking into a chugging wall of distortion and hangover like fuzziness with a satisfying hint of groove make the track more and more listenable as it develops.

Desert Weed was a make or break moment for me. A track with lyrical content, provided by Gabriel Ravera of Mephistofeles. I love that Cloud, up till now, produced great instrumental music so was dubious about this. Any doubt was soon cast aside when hearing the Ozzy style tone of Ravera complemented by a well written track. Cloud are clearly not limited in their writing ability and Ravera puts in a performance that has made his band the next in my search list. The instrumental interlude comes in and transports me back to early Sabbath, before Ravera sees us out with his last contribution.

Otherworldly takes is back home to instrumental land, with a track that shows some development from the original EP with pleasing licks and touches which add an understated element to the track.

Yggdrasil, the last track, opens with bluesy, groovy intent which continues to a breakdown of epic proportions. It eventually builds its way back, layer by layer, to being the heavy blues groove that controls your ears so hypnotically at the beginning. It sees us out by becoming bludgeoningly slow and heavy, with some great drumming fills.

Conclusion

Another great effort from Cloud and if instrumental doom is your thing then this album is a must. Its shows a steady progression the self titled EP in terms of song writing and a nice, and more importantly not out of place, surprise with the vocal track. Another success for Cloud.

Score 3.8/5

You can (and should) get this now on Bandcamp

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Author: Jonny Radley

Gravehuffer - Your Fault

Crust is a term I seemed to have missed on my musical journey. And no I don't mean the best, most tasty slice of bread, or the strange gritty stuff you find when picking your belly button. I mean the musical genre!  Whislt this is the case, the style is very familiar, a dirty bastard offspring of extreme metal, hardcore, anarchic punk with a sprinkle of New Wave Of British Heavy Metal.

Gravehuffer are a self described 'Crusty Metal' band from Joplin, Missouri we received the upcoming release of their album 'Your Fault' to review.

Your Fault 

Opening with what sounds to me like the sounds of someone enterering a graveyard, digging a grave and then using it for an unsuspecting victim , you kind of get the idea of the kind of imigary the band are about. Gravehuffer (the first track) flits between slower chugged out riffs, thrashy melodic lines, blasted out extreme metal and even groove all of which sound pretty awesome.

Of Fish And Men, Dead Peace and Death Caprice definately show a more 'punk' ethic approach, having hallmarks of classic punk delivery musically and vocally whilst remaining very heavy and aggresive. This is Crust through and through and I think will be a treat for fans of the specific genre.

The main riff in Kill for Sport is so good, it is made to move to and forms the highlight of a decent track. But the winner on awesome riffage all the way through has to be he monumental Destroyer Of Worlds. Great riffs, heavy as a an Anchor in the temple and an awesome breakdown. This for me is the most complete track on the album.

Destroyer Of Worlds is closely followed by Worms Of God with its heavy mechanical riff and psychotic short guitar solo towards the end and Prince With A Thousand Enemies which is full of thrash intent, as two more highlights on the album for me.

Gravehuffer, genre wise, cover a lot of ground on this album and Chains Around You kind of brings this all together in one track. It nicely reminds you of what you've just heard through the last 10 tracks rounding the album off nicely.

Conclusion

Kudos has to go to Gravehuffers drummer, who gives a powerful performance throughout. Also some of the riffs on display are simply brilliant. I can't see it being anything other than a hit amongst fans of Crust, Extreme Metal even Thrash and whilst not all to my personal taste had enough to keep me listening and wanting to hear what was next. I for one will be following these guys as a fan from now on.

Score 4/5

You will be able PreOrder the album soon via Swamp Metal Records so get following Gravehuffer on Facebook and Twitter and have a spin of this when it comes out on these formats;

Floodhounds - 'Look What You Started' Review

Who used to play Pro Evo - sorry, PES - 2009?

It was probably the last in the series before the FIFA games really took over as the definite standard bearer for football sims. I played it quite a lot for a while and on hearing opener, and lead single, A&E I was immediately taken back to one or two of the Indie tracks from the in-game playlist. Whether that's a good thing or not is largely up to the listener's personal taste but it is immediately clear that while there is a large audience for this sort of retro-ish indie, this band is ready to be heard by it. One gets the feeling this song did not take a lot of work to get from original inception to finished piece. That's not to say it comes across as a quick throwaway track, rather that it is the product of a band who know what they're doing and it all comes together rather seamlessly.

All the above continues with State of Mind. It was only after listening to the EP a couple of times that I looked up the band to get some background (a deliberate decision so as to not have any preconceptions going into it). No surprise at all, at that point, to find out that these guys hail from Sheffield. There's a familiar sound routed in Sheffield Indie that is most apparent in this second track. I've heard quite a lot of this going way back to the early/mid 'noughties' (I hate that term but it will have to suffice) to varying standards. Over the years a lot of bands have tried to recreate the sounds of the likes of Futureheads or The Fratellis or Razorlight or whatever Indie trend they like at a given time and it sounds forced. Others naturally produce material that just fits the genre they slot into. I'd say Floodhounds come under the latter category.

If this EP were a live set then track 3 - The Fear - would be the point at which an audience would begin to get involved. It's a little change in direction to a fun, short, punchy effort with a jaunty rhythm. There's still time for an instrumental, a voice and drum breakdown and a guitar solo to finish, meaning it is compact and complete.

I don't know if a lot of thought went into the order of the tracklisting but I think Floodhounds have got it exactly right. Soulmates to Cellmates follows with an enjoyable hook and although it is again short and follows a similar structure, it has a different sound and acts as an appropriate bridge into...

End of the Road, which is a real head-bopper with a bit of a rock edge. It's easy to imagine that in a live setup, it could really take off here and there is a textbook use of instrumental breakdown and build-up into final chorus. The most exciting number on the EP.

Greatest Mistake is a bona fide closer - appropriately stripped back to begin with, bursting to life for the first chorus, dropping back and picking up again before a series of movements into a quiet semi-chorus finish. Throughout, the bass and guitar complement each other, taking turns in adding little flourishes and the lyrics are philosophical, akin to the old adage 'It's better to regret something you have done than something you haven't' as it is proclaimed 'the greatest mistake is to make none at all'.

It would also be a mistake to dismiss this as a set of run-of-the-mill indie songs. It's actually quite an achievement to get the variety Floodhounds have within the confines of a recognisable, coherent genre. The fact that I have rarely mentioned specific vocal, bass, guitar or drum parts is also testament to the unit - the whole EP portrays a togetherness that enhances the whole rather than draws attention to anyone vying for the limelight. Competency over showboating, substance over inappropriate stylising.

After first listen I thought this EP was decent. Second time round I became more positive and as the songs have become more familiar it's fair to say I quite like them.

Score: 3.5/5

Floodhounds are:

Jack Flynn -Guitars/Vocals

Rhys Owen - Bass/Vocals
Lauren Greaves - Drums

EP: Look What You Started, out now and available on iTunes and Spotify

Tracklist:

A&E

State Of Mind

The Fear

Soulmates To Cellmates

End Of The Road

Greatest Mistake

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Written by:  Magz aka Bint McLinsky

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