Mike Adams is a prominent US tattoo artist who specializes on traditional, old school American-style tattoos. Through his solid work, he plays an important role in the current comeback of the traditional style. His work points to the origins of American tattoo with no particular 'modern' twist, thus preserving this glorious form of skin art!
Sailor themes, eagles, girl faces, animals (pumas, horses etc) with classic colors are all part of Adams's old school American feel. This style brings us back to a time when tattoos had a deviant nature and a life-long meaning to those who got them!
Hard Times (probably taking their name from the classic Cro-Mags song) is a hard as fuck, old school heavy hardcore band from Huntignton WA, USA. This band brings back the hateful mosh sound that was prominent in the late 90s and early 00s and let me tell you... Hard Times has a lot of spite to spit right in the face of every non-believer.
If you like hardcore guitars accompanied by an punishing use of double bass drumming and hip hop busts, then this is for you. The vocals are 100% hardcore and so full of rage. We are not talking about another weak-ass, wannabe hardcore hipster frontman here, but a guy that will spit his rage no matter what. This is real, hateful hardcore for pissed off people and if you know what's good for you, you will get into Hard Times right now. Fuck.
I believe that is positive to push the
boundaries and create something that has your signature on it, not only in
music but in everything. Deafheaven are obviously trying to do that. Most of
the people characterize their music as black metal, however I think that its
more complex and I would like to make some comments about that. Ok, I agree
that the drumming and the vocals as well as their sound in general will bring to
your mind Norwegian forests and landscapes covered in snow. On the other hand
though, when I cleared my mind and focused on the actual riffing and melodies I
see a bigger connection to post-rock-metal than in black metal. And this is the
controversial and the interesting part somehow. Their music teases your mind
and throws it from wildness and roughness to tranquility, leaving you enough
space to think wonder and get lost. One friend asked me what kind of music do
Deafheven play and my answer was “It’s like Red Sparrows played 10 times
faster. Include some torn vocals and now you got a hint”!
Their first official release, called Roads
to Judah, contains four tracks only but with duration that approaches 40
minutes. The first song starts with an intro-part that lasts about 5 minutes
and it is walking entirely on post-rock paths. Atmospheric, sweet melodies
with a visible intention to put you in quite a relaxing mode. But when the noise starts, I don’t see many changes on the actual riffing and melodies. As
I said before, the difference is in the drumming which becomes faster (in a black metal
motive clearly) and in that someone is yelling blackly at a microphone. The first time I
heard a pure black metal riff on the album was on the beginning of the second
track and from this part on, riffs like that appear occasionally on the album. Clearly
Norwegian influenced black metal at the style of Darkthrone and the “epic” and “winter”
aesthetics of early Immortal. The fun part starts when the mixing of these two
styles becomes more intense. So as the album goes on, we see an intention of
combining black metal and post not only by separating one song in several parts,
but in including post/alternative riffs while having their “black metal face”
and visa versa. If someone pays some attention to the third and the fourth track
I think he/she can also figure that out.
Concluding, I have to admit that I was not
entirely fascinated by Roads of Judah, but I definitely found a reason to
appreciate it, pay some more attention to it and place it in my music
collection. Something is missing in order to make this album more exceptional.
I believe that the main reason is that on the “black part” they are missing the
black metal feeling and they maybe lack of capability to play this style of
music. Increasing speed, buzzsawing on the guitar and putting some black metal vocals
does not automatically mean that you have a black metal band or that you are
playing black metal. I think that they are doing much better when they put
their post uniform on and that is maybe why they cannot easily take it off. However,
one certain thing about the album is that it gives a 100% travelling feeling. You will find
yourself walking in landscapes, getting lost in forests and you will visualize lakes
and colorful horizons. And that is definitely an accomplishment and something
not so easy for a band to achieve with their music. Plus, it has its own identity!
Deafheaven
have a lot of potential and I think I‘ll bet my money on them.
Hell fucking yes! What we have here is a very unique concoction of dark hardcore/metal for people who don't like their hardcore termed as 'posi'. Fans who are not afraid to step into lesser trodden paths of bleak musical landscapes, better gather round to witness what this brutal band from Greece is doing. Right now, it is unforgettably carving its name on the bleak musical territory we call dark hardcore.
We have actually had the chance of following I Want You Dead since the beginning (check here and here), but this 7" ep exceeds all expectations created before; the band has truly reached its highest so far peak, with a totally crushing, thick and surprisingly catchy sound. Elements and influences are drawn from all over the fucking place, primarily black metal (the true BM sound, not today's hipster shit), crust and old school hardcore. All this is encoffinated within the overall Holy Terror badge that many want to obtain but just can't. At times slow and sludgy, at times fast as fuck, IWYD deliver four blasts of negative hardcore energy that definitely won't go unnoticed in today's timid hardcore scene. These four tracks land on your head mercilessly, reminding the new jacks how hardcore rightfully blends with metal to create some of the most heavy, provoking, negative music ever made.
The production is really heavy and well-layered, with the guitars creating an interesting and unholy web of nastiness, while the distorted bass is ever present throughout the whole ep. Every painful drum hit can be heard clearly -- even the noisy cymbal action which accompanies a lot of the slow, moshy parts. Finally, the vocals fill everything with their one dimensional but also very thick and scorching effect. What you hear is four dudes giving it their all, creating passionate and aggressive music that grabs the listener and doesn't let go until the record is over.
I can't imagine what's next for IWYD. Probably a well-deserved record contract with one of more established hardcore labels out there, as well as more touring around Europe and elsewhere. This noise unit shall produce a lot more bleak music, artwork and words! Good fucking stuff.
Mathcore has become a term that tends to scare a lot of people off. Important as it is to try and forget labels, mathcore is another genre of hardcore: pissed off, direct music with an understandable message. Bands which go under the mathcore moniker should have the intensity and straight forward attitude to justify the 'core' part of the term, and - luckily - this is what Burn Everything do. They give you the complete chaotic hardcore experience and then some. They may have the weird song titles and intricate song structures, but they sure deliver that relentless blow of intellectual heaviness.
This complex and technical metal/hardcore band from Rochester (NY, USA) has just released an ep containing 6 songs which will require your undivided attention and a few repeated listens in order to "get it". However, it is worth the effort. While you can initially enjoy the album for its heaviness and awesome drumming, it will inevitably grow on you and will become a more easy to listen and approachable record. This tends to be the deal with all good mathcore and technical/progressive hardcore in general: you enjoy the aesthetics while the essence creeps in.
The good thing with Burn Everything is that the singer has a nice and direct hardcore approach, his presence being the common thread throughout this recording. It wouldn't be so with another heavy hardcore vocalist and I am glad that this band cleverly avoided this pitfall. If they had a bit more catchiness to their overall sound, this could be a band to read about on next year's Metal Hammer or Terrorizer. For the time being, however, these guys stay deeply rooted in the hardcore tradition of creating a underground sound that will astound but will more likely than not stay outside the hype. Nevertheless, these guys could pull it off if they wanted. I am eager to see what they are going to do next.
