Funeral Rain Press Corps

Genres: Death Metal, Progressive Grindcore
Label: Relapse Records

FTF have been a favorite of mine for a long time, as readers of this site may well know. When I was given the opportunity to download and review the new album from the PR company, I was stoked. So yeah, I downloaded the promo, listened to it a couple times, and loved it. But never had the actual time to get my thoughts on it down. Then last night I was in HMV and ended up grabbing a copy of the album. So now that I have the physical version I’m making the time to review it properly.

This is definitely one of the strangest FTF albums so far. It has the grinding of previous albums Stigmata High Five and Disgorge Mexico, but it blends in more of the death metal influence that was very obvious on the Unnamed 7″. Absent are the slower, pretty parts that hearken back to 80′s thrash (especially Metallica) that were featured on Disgorge Mexico. The songs seem longer too, and in continuing with FTF traditions, there is a long song that is almost seven-and-a-half minutes long (“Census Blank”). This song also has a guy doing vocals on it, but due to the awesome amounts of liner notes for the album I have no idea who is doing them. Probably one of the guys in the band.

The second-longest song brings in another FTF tradition, a song in French! “95″ is the tune, and it’s a really fast, angry sounding track that makes me want to mosh like crazy, especially during the guitar solo. This one is a good example of the strangeness of the album too: it’s got a slower riff that really strikes me as a Black Sabbath worship riff. Totally doomy with a touch of psychrock going on.

These little sections are peppered all over the album, riffs that just are not typical grindcore or death metal, but bringing in other genres that influence the men and lady of FTF. And the way that they work with the more typical Fuck the Facts sound is amazing!

In the end, Die Miserable is a sweet album, and definitely should be looked at for those that are into Pig Destroyer, Buried Inside, Gigan, Napalm Death, and Nasum.

8.5 out of 10.

Fuck the Facts on Facebook.

Genre: Blackened Death Metal

Label: Vendlus Records

Arkhum is a band from Eugene, Oregon (yes, the one mentioned in that Sublime song… do you have any idea how many times I’ve been asked by out of staters about that shit?) that has been gaining notoriety at the same rate your mom’s throat gains scar tissue thanks to their chaotic live shows and ability to fervently release demo after demo after live video after single after EP after demo, etc… in five years!

I can say this with 100% certainty: the vocals WILL divide. They do this thing were they trick you into thinking that they’re decent brutal death metal growls, but as soon as you get comfortable they sink into what I’ve always hypothesized would happen if you gargled with raw sewage.

The guitars on the other hand are a mind blowing balancing act of Gigan-ish wankery, just right Wolves In The Throne Room inspired riffs and brain melting solos! Though, after a few tracks, it all does start to get a little old (it took me about five tracks before I wanted to listen to something else the first time through). The only thing that I can say is flawless is album closer Expendable Biomass. Take everything I complained about thus far and rotate it one hundred and eighty degrees! It’s five minutes and thirty three seconds of “YES! BANG YOUR FUCKING SKULL UNTIL SOME OF THAT SWEET GRAY SOUP OOZES OUT!”

On top of that, there is one other thing that nobody can object to and that’s the lyrics (look ‘em up because there is no fucking way you”l be able to understand them if you just jump right in). When you’re songs are about mechanical microorganisms, R’lyeh, or if you even mention the Ptolemaic System in passing, my inner sci-fi/sci-non-fi geek goes berserk! Arkhum has made a fan, right here.

Overall: Anno Universum may not be for everybody. Hell, it almost wasn’t ever for me! But, if you give it a chance and do in fact find something here that gets your blood flowing, it’s a satisfying ride through some cosmic what the fuck.

7/10

Arkhum On ReverbNation

Arkhum On Facebook

Genre: Progressive/Technical Death Metal

Label: Willowtip Records

In the ever expanding world of metal, few bands polarize audiences like Gigan and their ilk. The sweep picking, uber-technical, organized cacophony machines.  Revered for their technical prowess. Hated for their pretentiousness. I’m a student of the later school. Sure you can play, but mind bending guitar work doesn’t solely make a band worth listening to. Is Gigan going to be the band to change my mind about these technical wangers? Read on and find out.

During the course of Quasi-Hallucinogenic Sonic Landscapes, I had a handful of reoccurring thoughts:

1) This band in no reminds me of any sort of kaiju.

2) This band is 83% unfathomable guitar wizardry.

and 3) I CAN’T FUCKING BANG MY HEAD TO THIS!!!

So I guess the answer to my earlier question is “no”. I mean, I can see the appeal on some level. The songs are fast, furious and full of conscience altering guitar work and off time drums. But that’s it. The vocals (as mentioned in other reviews) are generic death metal vocals. Think George Fisher in Kill and subtract all of the notoriety. If that’s all you really care about or if you have the stomach for a band that’s praised for their advancements yet has all of their mediocre traits just glossed over, then you’re probably gonna love this album regardless of any review you read. But for those of you who have higher standards for your metal (then you probably wouldn’t be anywhere near this website), then you’re gonna be left high and dry.

Overall: This band honestly doesn’t need to exist. The guitarist should just splinter off and just do a solo project of him making spanking material for all the Guitar Center picks that love this shit.

4/10

Gigan On MySpace

Genres: Progressive Death Metal, Technical Death Metal
Label: Willowtip

In the span of forty-five minutes and forty-one seconds Gigan not only push their own envelope, but the envelopes of pretty much all of technical and progressive death metal bands.
A mindblowing (fuck bending, it’s outright gone) adventure through the cosmos as only these Chicago natives can do, Quasi-Hallucinogenic Sonic Landscapes is perfect for many reasons, most notably that you can hear it in the background, driving, or you can listen to it, with headphones and a darkened room. It’s not a one-way road with Gigan, it’s a multi-lane highway of listening choices.
It’s also perfect because it’s just a solid fucking album. Sure, it’s prog and tech, but it’s also got songs in it, which is what ultimately makes or breaks an album. If you have no songs, just a bunch of wankery, that’s all you have. If you, like Gigan, have songs, you have albums, fans, and the thing that keeps you in the music business, sales.
Which brings me to my final point. This is gonna be on colored vinyl, as well as CD. So don’t be an ass, and buy this album. I ordered the vinyl before I even heard the promo tracks.
10 out of 10.

Gigan on Facebook.
Gigan on Myspace.