Funeral Rain Press Corps

Genres: Doom, Sludge
Label: Anthropic Records

One of my favorite labels has sent me a shiny new record! And it’s on transparent green vinyl! And it’s a fucking MONSTER of a record too!

Needless to say, I was pretty stoked to give this a spin, even on my asshole of a record player that doesn’t seem to want to send sound to the speakers properly. And for some reason, maybe because it understood the awesomeness of the vinyl, the speakers were sounding great. Thank you record player. Thank you.

Now, on to the review!

Side A is Philly’s Sadgiqacea, facestomping their way through two tracks (“The Great Divide”, “Avianizer”). Doom as doom can doom, these guys are so fucking awesome. I thought their older tracks on Bandcamp were great, but these two songs throw those into the mud. If you’re into stuff like Five Will Die, Black Tusk, Fight Amp, Bison B.C., and the Side B band Grass, you should check these guys out. If you don’t know what I’m talking about when I mention those bands, think of an angry Black Sabbath with Henry Rollins getting punched in the face by Justin Broadrick as the vocalist. 10 out of 10.

Side B is another Philly doom as fuck band, who continue to kick the shit out of their listeners and amps after Sadgiqacea leave off, who they also follow in the same vein musically. I feel sorry for stages and moshers that these guys play for, because if this is indicative of all their stuff (my first time hearing Grass), they destroy shit. Bleeding ears, noses, and knuckles all around. 10 out of 10.

Math should be obvious here. 10 out of 10.

Sadgiqacea on Facebook.
Grass on Facebook.

Genre: Black Metal, Depressive Black Metal, Post Metal, Post Rock, Shoegaze
Labels: ATMF

The crushing beauty of shoegaze and post metal combined with the savagery of raw black metal make up the first track off of Everything, “Forever Never Fails”. It’s like a year of pure urgent emotion turned into a five minute and thirteen second long song. And it alone is worth the money for the album.

“Formlessness” comes next, with very My Bloody Valentine sounding music and Sargeist/Craft vocals. If this doesn’t get your heart moving, you’re probably dead. It differs from “Forever Never Fails” primarily in the bass work, lending it less of an urgency and more of a solemnity. Oddly enough, it is also exactly five minutes and thirteen seconds long.

“Absence of Contrast” contrasts nicely with “Formlessness”, it’s piano lines and bass setting off a nice throb to inhale opium to. “We All Fall” takes a more post rock feel despite the savagery of the vocals. Spoken words make an appearance as well, an interesting and nice change up. “Nothing/Everything” takes a more depressive black metal via shoegaze feel. The keyboard work here is exemplary, taking more of a lead then a coloring overlay.

“Her Dress as a Poem, Her Death as the Night” flows with a deep melancholy, deep bass carrying you through an ocean of keys with waves of guitar crushing you down, under. This is utter depression in musical form, and it’s beautiful and cathartic, another song worthy of being worth the album’s price. I just wish it was longer.

“I am the Veil” would feel like an indie rock song if it weren’t for the key drones in the back and the blackened vocals. The keys come forward as pianos and make it even less indie rock and more post metal/depressive black. “Cold Spring” is totally the opposite, going straight for post metal/shoegaze from the start, a heart stopping vocal performance that upon repeat listens continually drags you through varying emotional states.

Despite “Cold Spring” being a great song, the final track “Rain” trumps it easily, and is one of the best songs on the album. Guitar feedback and keyboards blend over a slower, higher pitched bass line, with sung vocals making a brief appearance. The song as a whole has a feeling of a triumphant ending, which it is for the album. Wonderful.

As a whole, Everything is a gorgeous album that takes the listener through many parts of the emotional spectrum. There is joy here, there is sadness, there is anger, and there is even love. But it all takes on a melancholic darkness that is hard to shake off after listening. I highly recommend getting this, especially if you’re a fan of My Bloody Valentine, Autumn’s Grey Solace, Jesu, Darkthrone, The Cure, or Cry.

10 out of 10.

An Autumn for Crippled Children on Facebook.

Genre: Shoegaze
Label: Hydra Head Records

I grabbed Jesu’s Silver E.P. on a whim one day. I’ve heard tons of great things about the band, and Justin Broadrick in general, and the CD was a 2 for $30 at HMV, so I grabbed it. And wow, I’m so glad I did, and so is my wife.
The album reminds us of My Bloody Valentine, which is a very good thing, as both of us are huge fans of MBV. I thought it would have been a much harder listen, but apparently the two albums that came before this one were, with Broadrick taking a more poppy approach this time.
The songs have a simplistic bass riff, with swirling guitars that are distorted and heavy, but the true weight comes from Justin’s voice. He’s a great singer, and he really knows how to use what he has for maximum effect. The lengths of the songs themselves are all six and a half minutes or longer, with “Wolves” at 8:27, but like good, well written longer songs, they don’t feel overwhelming or begin to drag on.
I’d recommend this gorgeous E.P. for fans of Broadrick’s other work (Godflesh, Final, Napalm Death), shoegaze fans, and fans of Pelican, Isis, Cult of Luna, etc., as well as fans of Nine Inch Nail’s The Fragile album. There are definitely elements inside of the song “Wolves” that remind me strongly of The Fragile.
9.5 out of 10.

Jesu Official Site