Angry Metal Guy

Trillion Red // Two Tongues EP
Rating: 3.0/5.0 – Gollum is puking.
Label: Unsigned
Websites: www.trillionred.com | www.myspace.com/trillionred
Release Date(s): February 2011

When a band states that they make “truly unique music“ or something to that effect, I’m always skeptical. Most of the time it just means that it a) sucks ass or b) isn’t “unique” at all, but just more of the same. Trillion Red, however, really do have a sound of their own, and it doesn’t suck. While you could just throw them on the huge pile of Neurosis copycats, it really wouldn’t do them  justice, because there’s more to their music. It has the typical ingredients of atmospheric sludge – the down-tuned guitars, the huge riffs, the minimalistic drumming, the synths – and, unfortunately, boring and sometimes awkward ambient sections.

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The Atlas Moth – A Glorified Piece of Blue-Sky
Rating: 3.5/5.0 – A mix of sounds that works very well, but doesn’t stand out for me..
Label: Candlelight
Website: theatlasmoth.com
Release Date(s): EU: 21.09.2009 | USA: 10.6.2009

Sludge, and many variations thereof, have definitely been working their way into the “mainstream” consciousness of heavy metal guys for a long time.   Bands like Neurosis, Isis and all of their clones have permeated the hard skin of heavy metal, giving it something rawer, weirder and that makes heavy happen through slowness more than through technical insanity.  The Atlas Moth follows in that vein very much, blending sludge, southern groove and what sounds to me like a very Cult of Luna, Neurosis hardcore approach that is sure to please the fans of this style.

A Glorified Piece of Blue-Sky isn’t the worlds greatest piece of sludge art or anything, but they have managed to make a sound that I don’t find even remotely compelling 99% of the time, and add something to it that I really have to appreciate.  One thing that does it for me is the production of the album, which sounds like these guys are grooving in a big dark cave somewhere.  This, combined with the fact that The Atlas Moth takes their sweet-ass time getting anywhere at all with their tracks, gives this record an ambience that shouldn’t be overlooked.  In an era of pristine clean production, A Glorified Piece of Blue-Sky is a wittily titled dissertation on the understanding of groove, ambience and heaviness in the epoch of triggers and sterility.

Of course, aspects of that ambience I could do away with.  Fun space noises?  Over-rated and boring.  But the tracks themselves are well-crafted, highly convincing and there is an emotional weight which seems to overlay this record in a way that a lot of bands are missing—it’s something that I think goes missing a lot in metal.  In some ways, despite the fact that these guys don’t really sound like it, they have a big of My Dying Bride buried deep down there or something.  Another important thing that stands out about this record is how brutally heavy it is at times, despite being technically very simplistic.  I have commented in the past, and to people personally, that a lot of metal doesn’t feel like it has an edge anymore.  Certain projects sound like something middle-age women who appreciate such stellar artists like Michael Bolton would fall in love with.  The Atlas Moth does not suffer from this fatal flaw.  The sound is huge, raw and heavy, with a wide range of vocals and a thick punching low end.

There is a major drawback for me, and that’s that the songs don’t seem to stick.  Despite being heavy, groovy and ambient, there are only a few moments on this album that really stand out for me.  The rest of it feels, honestly, like I could be listening to the same song on every track.  Is it one big 50 minute song that I’m listening to?  This is an unfortunate weakness that a lot of sludge has for me.  While there are some cool things and I appreciate the ambience, it works better as background music than it does as something I feel like actively istening to.   That said, I think this album will definitely go over well with fans of the genre.  While it’s not terribly dynamic, in my opinion, it definitely offers something more than a lot of the shit I’ve heard in the genre.

These last couple weeks have been pretty crazy for this Angry Metal Guy.  I’ve moved south from the fair city of Umeå, to the much bigger (and arguably fairer) city of Uppsala.  While I miss Norrland, I do have to say that I’m quite enjoying certain aspects of the student culture in the city of Uppsala.   I haven’t had a lot of music time, but here’s some of what I’ve been listening to in the last week.

Weekly suggestion: Guilt Machine – On This Perfect Day — Yeah, this record was seriously solid and I strongly suggest you pick it up.

The Black Dahlia Murder – Deflorate — Oh, this is good.  I wasn’t super impressed with Nocturnal, so I’m pleased.  Watch for a review coming soon.
Gwyllion – The Edge of All I Know — Definitely heard better, but a pretty alright record.  Good vocals.
Insomnium - Across the Dark — Watch for this review.  Out on the 7th of September in Europe.
Isis – Wavering Radiant — These guys are ridiculously overrated.
Havok – Burn — See the review.  Great fucking riffs.
Amorphis – Skyforger — Best album of 2009?  So far.
Anaal Nathrakh – The Constellation of the Black Widow — \m/
Propagandhi – Supporting Caste — It ain’t the glory days, but these guys are still the smartest political band around.
Marduk – Rom 5:12 — I’m getting psyched for the new record, are you?
Falkenbach – Ok Nefna Tysvar Ty — Excellent viking/folk metal record.. addictive melodies.
The Dear Hunter – Act III: Life and Death — Excellent.
Amon Amarth – Live in Bochum 30/12/08 — Seriously, worth buying the reissue for this live record.