SPLITS: CORTEZ / BORRACHO AND UNRU / PARAMNESIA

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, SHORT BUT SWEET  3 Responses »
Feb 122014
 

Here are some thoughts about two new splits I’d like to recommend, with streaming music for each. They make for quite a contrast.

CORTEZ / BORACHO

My last mention of DC’s Borracho came in connection with a video, which combined a stunning piece of music from the band’s 2011 debut Splitting Sky with a stunning piece of film; since then, Borracho have released several short works and, in 2013, a new album (Oculus). Cortez are from Boston, and this split  was my first exposure to their music. The new split will be a 7″ vinyl from AM Records scheduled for shipping around April 1, and a pre-order of the vinyl will bring you an immediate download of the music on Bandcamp.

Each band contributed one song to the split. Borracho’s “Know My Name” is a real skull-breaker. The riff is king, but a king so soaked in radioactivity that the Geiger counter is going off the scale. It’s ultra-swampy and ultra-groovy, a stoner metal monster with a chorus meant for sing-alongs (except few people will be able to hit Steve Fisher’s gritty highs). Awesome track. Continue reading »

NEW VIDEOS: BORRACHO AND GOJIRA

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  17 Responses »
Jun 302012
 

To start off the weekend right, I have some top-shelf video entertainment for you, from Borracho and . . . those Gallic dudes we may have mentioned once before around here.

BORRACHO

Yesterday, I spied a video that combined two of my favorite things: an epic metal jam and film footage of Mother Nature at her awe-inspiring best. Yes, I used the word “epic”, and I know that means I’ll have to punish myself in some really hurtful way, but goddammit I just can’t talk about “All In Play” without using that grossly-cliched-and-therefore-forbidden word.

“All In Play” is the name of the song around which Richard Bomgren (a Swedish fan of the band who has done other music video work) constructed this video. It appears on Borracho’s June 2011 debut album, Splitting Sky, which I’ve mentioned before in connection with their last video (for “Concentric Circles”).

The song is a long, slow build, filled with thick, ropey riffs — and I’m talking about the kind of cables they use to tie down big ocean-going freighters, thicker than a fat man’s waist — gut churning bass chords, drums that go off like gun shots, and Noah Greenberg’s gritty vocal squall. It’s a soulful, heavy, head-moving piece that’s my favorite song on a very strong album. Continue reading »

BALANCE: BORRACHO, PALLBEARER, AND YES SIR! MISTER MACHINE

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Jun 112012
 

I spent so much goddamned time this past weekend researching and writing today’s ridiculously long post about Facebook that I fell even further behind in doing what I like to do best: finding new metal to feature on this site. So, unfortunately, I don’t have much ready for the site today in the way of music. But I’m not totally empty-handed. I have the following collection of musical goodies, which should provide some balance to the site today.

BORRACHO

Borracho are a band based in Washington, DC, who recently made us aware of a new music video they’ve created for a song called “Concentric Circles”, which is the first single from their June 2011 debut album, Splitting Sky. The video was self-produced by the band, directed by their friend Dicky Southcott, and edited by Kevin Bradley. It’s a combination of the band performing the song live, interspersed with film clips of “destruction, atrocity and mayhem” — the band’s words, but quite accurate.

And on top of that, the band have suggested a drinking game of “Boom!” to be played while watching the vid: Every time you see an explosion, chug a beer. Having seen the video, I’d suggest you get a shitload of beer and be prepared to drink fast.

But frankly, you can have a shitload of fun with this video even without a shitload of beer, because the song is irresistible. It’s a high-energy, heavy-assed, rifftastic blast of stoner/doom that will brighten your day and give you a natural buzz. But wait . . . there’s more! Continue reading »