Todd Manning Archives - Page 9 of 9

SHORT BUT SWEET: MONTE LUNA — “THE HOUND”

Oct 212016

(Todd Manning provides this review of a debut EP by the Texas band Monte Luna.)

Austin, Texas duo Monte Luna have just released their debut two-song demo on Bandcamp at the name-your-price level, and it would be best if you didn’t sleep on this one. Mixing equal parts Doom, Sludge, and Dark Psychedelic vibes, they create an atmosphere of tasteful heaviness, full of subtle menace.

“Father Arbitor” kicks things off with bits of noise swirling around while a sample invokes the dark spirits overseeing the material. James Cl’s guitar is distant and striking, heavy but not overtly so. The gravity of the track comes from Phil Hook’s immense beats, slow and tectonic. The vocals sound like they blew in on the wind, ghosts creeping at the edge of the campfire. While it would be mistake to say this isn’t heavy, atmosphere seems to take center stage. Continue reading »

CAR BOMB: “META”

Album Reviews 2 Responses »

Sep 192016

(Todd Manning is the author of this review for Meta, the new third album by New York’s Car Bomb.)

I’ll admit it, I was disappointed with the direction Dillinger Escape Plan took starting with their third full-length Miss Machine. That’s not meant to disparage the band or their later work — it’s actually quite good and I’m sure they don’t need my approval anyway. But, the promise of sheer chaos was so strong with Under the Running Board and Calculating Infinity that I bought into the premise hook, line, and sinker. And honestly, some of the group’s more recent work had headed back to their original direction, which was a pretty awesome turn of events. But what I want to talk about is the third full-length coming from New York-based mad men Car Bomb.

Car Bomb have always embraced the chaos and confusion and have taken that original Dillinger-inspired blueprint to new and unforeseen depths of madness. Their latest release Meta sees them further explore their sound, continuing to add more dimensions and explore greater ranges of dynamics. These qualities are fleshed out well by the production work of Gojira’s Joe Duplantier, who also contributes vocals to the track “The Oppressor”. Continue reading »

KVLTHAMMER: “OATH”

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Aug 092016

(T0dd Manning prepared this review of the new album by Indiana’s Kvlthammer.)

Extreme Metal nowadays draws from such an amazingly diverse range of influences that one would be forgiven for forgetting its essential roots in pure Rock and Roll fury, but there are always bands there to remind us of the vitality of the stripped-down approach. Indianapolis-based maniacs Kvlthammer are one such act and their latest opus Oath is a powerful statement of straight-for-the-throat Metal that any self-respecting Metalhead would do well not to pass by.

Album opener “Don’t Try” lays down the framework quite nicely with its mash-up of Motörhead and Discharge, with sprinklings of Sludge and tons of nice twin-guitar work. From there, each track touches upon so many classic elements while establishing its own niche at the same time. One might spot moments of Celtic Frost butting up against Venom and Kill’em All-era Metallica, and occasionally more current bands such as Goatwhore, Craft, and Darkthrone exert their influence as well. Continue reading »

SOME HARDCORE…

Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 1 Response »

Aug 022016

(NCS contributor Todd Manning returns to NCS with these recommendations of recent hardcore releases and reissues.)

If Black Metal has staked its claim to the heart of winter, maybe Hardcore, Punk, and Grind should do the same for the dead of summer. This latest batch of releases does nothing if not invoke the atmosphere of furnace-like basement shows and all the blood, sweat, and beer that comes along with the territory. As Metal labels seem to take a breather from their first-quarter release schedules, their feral counterparts are here to take up the slack.

G.L.O.S.S.

And perhaps you’ve heard of this first act, seeing as how they’ve been receiving quite a bit of attention. The second release from G.L.O.S.S., Trans Day of Revenge, is an exhibition of absolutely unhinged Hardcore Punk, seething with the type of anger and outrage that is the lifeblood of the genre. There is a loose ferocity to their sound that places a premium on emotion over precision, but in this case that’s definitely a good thing. Focused on LGBT issues, their focus is laser-sharp and timely and should not be slept on. This release as well as the first demo are both available on Bandcamp at the name-your-price level. Continue reading »

A DARK DESCENT / UNSPEAKABLE AXE ROUND-UP: PHOBOCOSM, GHOULGOTHA, SEWERCIDE, SHEIDIM

Album Reviews 7 Responses »

Jun 132016

(In this post Todd Manning provides brief reviews of new releases by Dark Descent and Unspeakable Axe.)

Death might just be the overarching theme of 2016, but the tandem of Dark Descent Records and their sub-imprint Unspeakable Axe are certainly spinning this in their favor by releasing a continuous string of remarkable Death Metal albums. While I have already had the opportunity to talk about new albums from the likes of Ripper, Nucleus, and Hemotoxin, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to gush about a few more albums from the label.

PHOBOCOSM

First up is the new album from Montreal-based Phobocosm. Bringer of Drought is the follow-up to their impressive debut Deprived and is nothing short of astonishing. Despite the label’s reputation as being at the forefront of the New Wave of Old School Death Metal, none of these bands seems to be unoriginal or regressive in such a way that causes them to lack their own identity. This is perhaps best illustrated by Phobocosm, who seem to marry the epic feel of classic Neurosis to the Death Metal/Doom hybrid of Inverloch and Disembowelment. Continue reading »

POWER ELECTRONICS AND NOISE-LIKE OBJECTS (NO. 3)

Album Reviews No Responses »

May 302016

(Todd Manning — formerly known as Allen Griffin — brings us a third installment of his series on power electronics and harsh noise releases. The first two can be found here and here.)

Another transmission broadcast from the burning skyline at the end of the world, this time the filth bubbling up from the underground and that’s probably how it should be. Some of this filth is pretty thought-provoking, but that’s probably also how it should be. When you stare into that abyss, that abyss might stick a rusty butter knife in your grey matter and start stirring some shit around.

SWOLLEN ORGANS

First up is the new Annihilvs Power Electronix debut of NYC’s Swollen Organs. Noise in general has often delved into all sorts of extreme sexual behaviors for inspiration, and Swollen Organs does so as well, but on a more meta-level. Continue reading »

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