Death metal is much
maligned, due mostly to its inherent preoccupation with subject
matter such as; death, suffering, destruction and mayhem..... did I
mention death and suffering? The primary characteristic of Death
metal that sets it apart from other sub-genres are the vocals.
Typically, lead singers will employ a hoarse roaring grunt, sometimes
referred to as death growls, which should never be confused with
vocal fry, a technique used in other forms of black metal. “The
vocal fry register (also known as pulse register, laryngealisation,
pulse phonation, creak, croak, popcorning, glottal fry, glottal
rattle, glottal scrape, or strohbass) is the lowest vocal register
and is produced through a loose glottal closure which will permit air
to bubble through slowly with a popping or rattling sound of a very
low frequency” Though unproven, growled vocals may have been a part
of Viking music.
The difference between the
genres is in the details. What primarily separates Black metal from
Death metal is the former's adherence to ideological Satanism (not
necessarily practical Satanism) Defining the term 'black metal',
Euronymous (a founder and central figure in the Norwegian black metal
scene) said that it applies to any heavy metal band who are theistic
Satanists and write Satanic lyrics. Such extreme ideas repeated by
other scene members, eventually caused it to implode upon itself. Not
all the musicians and fans were mother loving Satan worshipers, many
were bandwagon believers who dropped all pretenses of allegiance to
Beelzebub once the shit hit the fan with a pair of highly publicized
gristly murders involving key figures in the Norwegian black metal
scene.
The entire charade ends with
an emphatic chant of “Who's Walmart is this?” to which the now
frothing associates yell back “My Walmart!” They should just hand
out amphetamine pills at the start of every shift. Wash them down
with those Little Hugs fruit drinks that Walmart sells by the
millions. Not all stores do the cheer anymore, mainly because it
scares the shit out of customers. All in all, Walmart radio isn't
that bad. It's a carefully formatted station that mixes Contemporary
Hit radio with the that old format warhorse, Good Time Oldies....
sprinkled with just enough country music hits to keep the redneck
associates happy. No actual commercials are played, just Walmart ads
and friendly reminders designed to keep associates productive and
focused. Walmart has licensed tons of music since the days of Walmart
Music, so the playlist varies more than that of your average “Hot
mix” station. Plenty of hit songs, lots of Beatles, Stones, classic
rock, classic oldies and what have you.
Do you have any idea how surreal it is
to hear “Sold in a market down in New Orleans, Scarred old slaver
know he's doin' alright, Hear him whip the women just around
midnight” played overhead in a Walmart at 3a.m.? It gives me the
whammy. I still say that the song selections are meant to carry a
subliminal message. The Beatles “Don't Let Me Down” plays at
crunch time, just as associates are struggling to complete their
daily tasks. “When Will I Be Loved” kicks in just after that
(I've been cheated, been mistreated) Paul Revere's “Hungry” comes
on right before the lunch break and The Guess Who's “No Time”
just as the lunch hour comes to a close. Invariably associates will
call in with requests for “Proud Mary” ..... “Workin' for the
man ev'ry night and day and I never lost one minute of sleepin'
worryin' 'bout the way things might have been” or “Working in a
Coalmine”.... “Five o'clock in the mornin' I'm already up and
gone Lord, I'm so tired How long can this go on?”
The city's music scene also
has an inspired progressive side, which we'll be exploring in this
episode. I'm partial to DAMN Union a collective of musicians anchored
by Danny Graves and Aaron Ransbarger, both formerly of The Rawdogs.
Build around jam sessions referred to as The Dona Ana Music Night
Union (DAMN Union) the lineup is fluid. I'm reading this off their
Facebook page... the current touring roster consists of Graves,
Ransbarger, Larry Ramos, Tucker and Andrew Levi Hiller. Other notable
members include: Audra Rogers, Neeshia Macanowicz, Joe Hecker, Mike
Granado, Ben Cantrell, Chuck Drexler. A variable super group of
sorts, especially so when Sean Lucy joins the proceedings. Casting
egos aside for the betterment of music, a collaborative effort that
sparkles like the starry skies of Southern New Mexico.... the results
speak for themselves.
Sean Lucy is the last of the cosmic
cowboys, taking up where Gram Parsons (the original cosmic cowboy)
and legendary troubadour, Townes Van Zandt left off. Michael Murphy,
another singer/songwriter with New Mexico ties describes cosmic
cowboy music as “The cross pollination between Hippie and Cowboy.
Early 70s hippie stuff combined with kind of the red-neck mentality.
Texas accents and Country music” Boy Howdy. DoStuff Media: “This
blonde cowboy hails from Texas, where lots of good things come
from.... and then they stay gone” We'll stake a claim on the
technicolor cowboy, Texas' loss in New Mexico's gain. Sean is a
prolific songwriter with an extensive discography, Eleven albums
starting with “The New Vulgarity” released in 2006 leading up his
two latest releases, “King Clone Creosote” and “Pearl Snaps &
Blunt Wraps”
Pickin' On is a
series of tribute albums recorded by studio musicians in a bluegrass
style. The series logs in at over one hundred albums, running the
gamut from Three Doors Down to Hank Williams Jr. plus everyone and
anyone that you can imagine in between. It's hit or miss. When it's
good, (Van Halen's “Ain't Talking 'Bout Love” or The Offspring's
“Gone Away”) it's really good. The bad stuff amounts to little
more than the bluegrass equivalent of a square peg being forced into
a round hole. “The Pickin' On series isn't alone in this world.
Iron Horse a bluegrass band from Killen, Alabama has perfected the
same formula for turning alt-rock songs into bluegrass tunes. It's
the Sound-a-Like marketing technique of the early 1970s reinvented
for the Americana set. The local tie-in? both Iron Horse and Pickin'
On have covered The Shins, with good results.
I will without
the least bit of hesitation, admit to crying whenever I hear either
Fast Heart Mart or The Handsome Family's original version of “My
Sister's Tiny Hands” It's a song that fucks with my emotions. “We
came in this world together, legs wrapped around each other. My cheek
against my sister's, we were born like tangled vines” We all know
the feeling of having someone ripped from us. Such pain being the
vehicle that drives this heart rendering tale of sorrow and
vengeance. “Every creature casts a shadow, under the sun's golden
fingers” Makes ya' wanna grab a sharpened stick and start killing
snakes. Fast Heart Mart (Martin Stamper) having completed a series of
concerts in Germany and Finland, is still based in San Diego, with
his most recent performances taking place at Hardly Strictly
Bluegrass held in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.
It took ten years for
Kyroburn to drop their first album “Enigmatic Existence” on
the Continental Entertainment label in 2005. Recorded at Krank
Studios in El Paso, produced by Eddy Garcia (Pissing Razors, he also
produced the 6-track N-Cyde demo for the band. Which included a cover
of the Simple Minds, Don't You Forget About Me) “Enigmatic
Existence” is triumph of crisp, clean production, strong,
muscular instrumental performances, and the barking vocals of Todd
Brashear. While the exact parameters of this organically appealing
sound have been explored before (Fear Factory, Strapping Young Lad)
It doesn't detract from the album's overall appeal. Kryoburn
carefully culled their influences from the very best of the alt-metal
rockers from that period with highly effective results.
AllMusic's take: “This 2005 release is generally decent, at least if one enjoys a big dose of crushing brutality. Not every artist who comes along is obligated to be groundbreaking or innovative” Kyroburn wasn't having any of that “trendsetter” bullshit and once they dropped the hammer on their audience, it's not likely that anyone had any fucks to give about innovation. It's nothing but a party ya'll. Whatever momentum Kyroburn may have garnered after “Enigmatic Existence” quickly dissipated as the band suffered a number of setbacks including a round of personnel changes which left them pondering their own enigmatic existence. “When artists who wear their influences on their sleeves, function as followers rather than leaders, the question becomes, Are they good followers?”
AllMusic's take: “This 2005 release is generally decent, at least if one enjoys a big dose of crushing brutality. Not every artist who comes along is obligated to be groundbreaking or innovative” Kyroburn wasn't having any of that “trendsetter” bullshit and once they dropped the hammer on their audience, it's not likely that anyone had any fucks to give about innovation. It's nothing but a party ya'll. Whatever momentum Kyroburn may have garnered after “Enigmatic Existence” quickly dissipated as the band suffered a number of setbacks including a round of personnel changes which left them pondering their own enigmatic existence. “When artists who wear their influences on their sleeves, function as followers rather than leaders, the question becomes, Are they good followers?”
Behold Boar Worship's oozing
sludge emanating from anguished speakers already tortured beyond
repair by repeated plays of Inappropriate Necessity. For those who
love sludgy stoner rock, Boar Worship is the musical equivalent of
comfort food. A relentless static charged sound so dense and heavy
that you could cut through it with a knife. This experimental doom
outfit was formed in Albuquerque (2009) relocated to Oakland, Ca. and
is currently based in Denver, Co. The release of their debut album
“The Decline and Fall of the Christian Empire” in 2009 introduced
us to their droning rock of ages and a Brahman inspired dogma
designed to lift the curtain to those seeking enlightenment. I'm
reading between the lines, but hear me out anyway. “Pro Death” an
ep released in 2012 touches on the rejection of lower worship by the
militant faiths as a way of explaining why they have conquered and
kept a permanent dominion over the world's god fearing masses.
This search for profound spiritualism
culminated with the release of “Boar Worship” in 2015. “The
interior truths, the divine secrets, the real way of salvation are
known only to a few. The great majority of men, being timid and
ignorant are concerned mainly in propitiating the powerful and
malignant influences by which they fancy themselves to be surrounded”
The supremely dominant principle of modern times is that the world is
on a course of continual evolution... though the current political
climate in our nation leads one to think that Devo got it right,
devolution not evolution is our destiny. As we gear up for the coming
apocalypse, my soundtrack of choice for end of the world warfare
shall be this beastly sound. Beats Wagner’s “Ritt der Walküren”
every single time. “Boar Worship” is not for the weak-kneed or
faint of heart. If you suffer from delicate sensibilities or are
easily offended just stick with Slipknot or some other equally
cartoonish band
Many have tried to compose a complete
history of Albuquerque's music scene and many have failed. The
downfall of most music scribes attempting this is that they fail to
grasp the complex nature and immense depth and variety within the
Duke City's local music scene. A little over a year ago I took on
this challenge and set out to write as complete a history of
'Burque's garage / punk / soul beat scene in the 1960s as has ever
been written.... I'm leaving it up to you to determine whether I
failed or not. While not on the scale of Doctor Zhivago, it is of
epic proportions. The size of which led my older sister (a retired
librarian and school marm) to say that there were too many words.
Well, powder my fuse. Imagine that, a librarian complaining about too
many written words.
When writing pertains to historical
facts, leaving something out for the sake of brevity is akin to
writing a history of the Civil War and ignoring The battle of
Gettysburg. If there's anything that I've learned from years of
reading Rolling Stone, Creem, Goldmine, Bomp and Trouser Press, it's
that pertinent facts such as recording labels, session players,
release dates etc. are the holy grail for a music completist. Leave
them out at the risk of killing your music nerd street cred. I blame
Twitter for this aversion to reading. That social networking service
favored by none other than Donald Trump has conditioned users to
peruse snippets of text enhanced with emojis. Anything longer than a
single line of text is too fucking long. Shortened attention spans,
the bane of writers. Fuck Twitter.
