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Here's the second part of A 2nd Opinion with Travis Kostell, which is going to be a regular series. In this one we talk about the Mess Folk single on Hozac, and the Urthquake single on Spooky Tree Records.Travis records constantly and you should check out his latest release, 'Whore's Eggs' on his blog, Choice Grinds.Download it here
To round out the latest Spooky Tree Records releases, Bob Gratis, aka Urthquake has this offering to the world of northeast noise 7", which turns out to be his first release on vinyl...the split with Noise Nomads came after this one.After hearing his side on that split from last week, I knew a little what to expect as this sleeve is really almost misleading. I thought it would (and almost still did) think it would be the usual death metal...all the signs were there....the gothic font...a black and white skull... especially the insert, which has a lengthy obituary about Bob saying he was 'found dead in his garage apartment....apparently from a home-made guillotine device.' I checked around online, and I'm pretty sure this isn't true...but it still has me guessing. This of course influences how I'm listening to it now...like some kind of suicide note. But instead of growling satanic evil, you get on 'Last Known Address' a metronome kick drum machine with a haunting, minimal, no effects electric guitar...which might be a sample, it kind of drifts to and away from the hypnotizing rhythm. It rides along with the beat at times and then slightly veers off path...it's really delicate and is the eerie foundation for the distortion blasts of vocals that are mixed pretty low...sounding like plucked strings with the gain at 11, screechy Marshall stack metal...but there's just a hint of a human voice behind it...I think the bursts of air from words gives it away, but just barely. To have any idea of what he's saying you have to turn to the insert: Last known address / In decline / In demand.The B-Side, ...As well as you should' uses a similar structure...the most basic kick beat and stripped down slight reverb electric, strummed really slowly which is interrupted by massive waves of heavily delayed distortion from another guitar and vocals that match the guitar in texture. It's an interesting way to solve the vocal problem in this genre...I have to admit, most times the words black metal will bias me immediately to expect the growl deep vocals, speed percussion and power chords...and unless you're really in that world daily the nuances of bands techniques are lost on me...what can I say, it's all the same? Urthquake has just battle-axed that idea to pieces. It's just what black metal needs...someone to defy expectations and apply the punk DIY aesthetic to the doom. A Blank Dogification of the metal...one guy in his garage, messing around making guillotines, watching horror movies and messing with a tried and true formula, putting his own bloody fingerprints all over it. Or as the gutter says 'True New Jersey Black Ambient Metal'Get this one from Spooky Tree, who says:Bob T. Roller follows up his 2008 CD compendium with a 7" of true New Jersey satanic suicidal black ambient metal. Urthquake's first vinyl release.
He has a full length from Spooky as well...I wonder where he would go with 70 minutes of available space....
Darrin from Spooky Tree sent me a nice note and their latest batch of singles and I started with this first split from Noise Nomads and Urthquake who just finished touring together not long ago and I missed them at the Cinders Gallery. In doing some research about Noise Nomads I think I found out that Jeff Hartford has something to do with Woods? I know Shepherds is (a) members of Woods....but some poster said they recognized one of the guys from Woods in Noise Nomads...so the internet said it, I believe it.If that's true then that is one talented group of guys driving all kinds of amazing sound...and right in my backyard. It's insane, and I'm a little jealous...the Woodsist label, all the side projects... Silent Barn...it's an entire flowchart scene in and of itself. Whoever they are, Noise Nomads have the A-Side of this vinyl 'Soaked Blanket'. It starts off with really low bit sampled synth keyboard running through a ringtone effect, at least that's what I think anyway, this is really an exercise in trying not to examine the recording too much. The squeals, pitch shifted, homemade electronics bleeps...it's all layered on top of each other. The whole thing is slowed down towards the end, like someone holding their finger on the tape hole...see the old four track is good for something. It seems to all get more chaotic...I keep trying to listen if it's actually true...what parts are repeating...but it's impossible. Like a nightmare in a hong kong toy factory, the room where they product test all the beeping toys for longevity has caught on fire...you can watch it melt through the blast shielded door. Or listen to their last cries on this side thanks to Spooky Tree.The Urthquake side is another solo noise maker, Bob Gratis, with a track 'Intra Muros' this actually has some structure to it, with repeated regular synth sounds, and heavy effected guitar (?) that comes off as cymbals practically. It's an old videogame soundtrack you don't remember, or an 80's martial arts movie training/travelling montage. Like the sleeve, it's a moody, scary day in ancient greece, but eighties style. That era of naivety of new sound. It's a preset on this thing called a synthesiser...it's going to change everything! Everyone's using it!Then the massive explosion and a shattering of glass completely scares everyone in the room...I don't know what the hell that just was, but it sounded like the end of the world. I think our hero just karate chopped a huge crystal castle. I would authentically believe this was created 20+ years ago. Excellent. Great weirdo noise split from Spooky Tree records go get it...more to come...
