Gupta's Top 10 Albums of 2013

List time, list time, list time. It's list time for all the bloggers and actual music critics of the world. And while I don't particularly like lists for their ability to only capture a snapshot of my tastes and opinions, I think they serve a great purpose of bringing great artists and albums into the spotlight, letting people check them out if they normally wouldn't have. This year's music was super exciting for me. A bunch of my favorite bands released albums this year, I discovered a bunch of new artists, and even grew to like a few new genres of music.

For the first time, I'll include a short list of of my honorable mentions for the top 10 list. These albums were freaking sweet, but didn't end up cutting it when it came to fitting into those ten coveted spots. Here are the honorable mentions, in no particular order:

• Yattai - Fast Music Means Love (Grindcore)
• Ghostface Killah - 12 Reasons to Die (Hip-Hop)
• Clutch - Earth Rocker (Rock)
• Hatebreed - The Divinity of Purpose (Hardcore)
• The Ocean - Pelagial (Sludge/ Progressive Metal)
• Gorguts - Coloured Sands (Technical Death Metal)

Enough lollygagging now, here's my top 10 releases from this year!

                                                        #10: Rotten Sound - Species at War

Who doesn't love these Finn grinders? Stepping up the intensity and heaviness from their last release, Cursed (as if we thought that was even possible), Rotten Sound blow minds and speakers with this non-stop grind assault. This release is an EP, not a studio album, but I don't give a shit, it's amazing, so it's going on the list. There isn't much to say about this one. If you dig grindcore, pick this bad boy up.

Listen: Peace

#9: David Maxim Micic - Bilo 3.0

I'm going to copy and paste part of my review here because I'm a lazy asshole.

Bilo 3.0 is the most adventurous of his releases so far. There's still djenty goodness hidden deep in this album, but it's covered in layers and layers of orchestration, choirs, jazz fusion, and a gajillion guest vocalists. David Maxim Micic flexes his song-writing muscles here, and while he's a phenomenal guitarist, I really think his composition skills are streets ahead of his djenty peers.

Listen: The entire thing

#8: Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

This album rounded out my Top 10 Albums of 2013 (So Far) list, and have moved up a few positions for the year end one. Fat beats, dancey grooves, and non-stop 70s worship makeup the meat of this album, and I love it. From club singles to love songs, to instrumental moog synth jams, this album covers a wide breadth of emotions and styles, while still being a consistently fun listen all the way through, every time.

Listen: Lose Yourself to Dance

#7: Weekend Nachos - Still

I'm going to go back to a familiar old equation.

New Weekend Nachos = You're Moshing

Listen: Satan Sucker

#6: Carcass - Surgical Steel

It's been over 15 years since grindcore/ melodic death metal titans and pioneers Carcass have released an album. When I first got wind of Surgical Steel coming out this year, I was really, really skeptical. I thought it was nothing more than a quick cash grab by a bunch of old over-the-hill Brits, but man, was I wrong. Surgical Steel is like Heartwork 2.0 for me. It's uncompromising melodic death metal, and it's 100% authentic Carcass.

Listen: Captive Bolt Pistol

#5: Corsair - Corsair

When I reviewed this album way back in January, I thought it was going to be my album of the year. Midway through the year, Dillinger Escape Plan's One of Us is the Killer bumped this album down to second place. Now poor Corsair has been bumped down to 5th place. Don't get me wrong, I still love this album, but I've noticed I haven't been playing it as much as I used to. It might have moved to my backburner, but it's still a sweet slab of prog rock/ metal. Maybe I'll end up rekindling my love of this album in the coming months.

Listen: Gryphon Wing

#4: Nails - Abandon All Life

This album is an absolute leviathan of an album packed into less than 18 minutes worth of music. You might not think an album that's shorter than an episode of South Park could offer that much, but I'm here to tell you that Abandon All Life offers the one and only thing you need from a Nails record: pure violence. This album is the musical equivalent to beating an entire pub's worth of people to death with your fists.

Listen: The entire thing

#3: Protest the Hero - Volition

This album really blindsided me, because I've never really been a fan of Protest the Hero. I thought their music was just unsolicited wankery, but despite being incredibly technical, Volition plays like a pop album. It's catchy, it's upbeat, and it's tons of fun to toss on and jam out to. I might be a little biased against them, but I think this album is definitely their best work yet.

Listen: Clarity

#2: The Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us is the Killer

This was my number one pick halfway through the year. Dillinger have quickly become one of my favorite bands, and One of Us is the Killer one of my favorite albums of all time.

The album is a perfect blend of their earlier spastic music with their more modern, easy-to-digest stylings. It really comes out in songs as crazy as "When I lost My Bet" and in songs as catchy as the title track, and how they sound totally different, but flow consistently in the album.

Listen: Prancer



#1: Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels

I really dig a fair share of hip-hop, but I never thought an album in that genre would top any of my year end lists. I'm surprised I haven't actually written a review for this album, but it makes no difference. This album rules. Hard. El-P blends old school boom-bap and modern sci-fi/ electronic styles to make some unforgettable tracks on Run the Jewels. The killer production is matched perfectly with El and Killer Mike bouncing off each other from verse to verse all the way through the album. Lyrically, the album spends most of it's time shouting out brags or listing of a plethora of ways El-P and Killer Mike can beat the shit out of you. There are some socially conscious lyrics sprinkled here and there throughout the album, but they take a back seat to their more violent siblings. This can be a deterrent for people who care a lot about lyrics, but fortunately, I am not one of them.

This list throws away all the scores I've given albums during the year, and doesn't take into account how boundary breaking certain albums are, or how far they push the musical envelope. The slots in this list get filled based on one criteria, and that's how much enjoyment I got out of the album. I can't deny the fact that I've been listening to this album at least one a day since I first heard it. So despite how much people might bitch about not including album X or artist Y on my list, I really fucking loved Run the Jewels, and I wholeheartedly think it deserves the number one spot on my list. Fight me.

Listen: 36" Chain

That's my list for 2013! As per usual, once this list is published, I'll find another album that I feel can boot off some of these from my list. What have been your favorite albums of 2013? Let me know, either down in the comments or on Facebook!

That's all for now, folks! Merry Winter Christmukkahmadanstivus!

-DG

Blastbeat Reviews: David Maxim Micic, Red Fang, MEASURE X UP

More quick reviews before the year is over!

DAVID MAXIM MICIC - BILO 3.0

David Maxim Micic captured my attention a couple years ago when he dropped his instrumental djent/ progressive metal project Bilo for free to the masses. Fast forward two years and two more albums, we have Bilo 3.0, the most adventurous of his releases so far. There's still djenty goodness hidden deep in this album, but it's covered in layers and layers of orchestration, choirs, jazz fusion, and a gajillion guest vocalists. David Maxim Micic flexes his song-writing muscles here, and while he's a phenomenal guitarist, I really think his composition skills are streets ahead of his djenty peers. Overall Score: 4.5/5

RED FANG - Whales and Leeches

I love Red Fang. They're the prefect blend of doomy, fuzzed out stoner rock and high energy, straight-forward, crush-beers-and-bang-your-head metal. Whales and Leeches is a touch darker and heavier than their previous effort, Murder the Mountains, but everything essential to the Red Fang sound is there. Kick-ass dual vocals, monster riffs, and bluesy leads are found all over this album. I'd definitely recommend checking this album out if you're a fan of any sort of stoner, doom, or sludge metal. Personally, I like it but I prefer their previous two albums for their more fun and laid back attitudes. Overall Score: 3/5

MEASURE X UP - DEMO 2013

More from the Halifax hardcore scene! These Maritimers keep sending me promos, I keep loving 'em, and MEASURE X UP's 2013 demo is no different. This is more straight-forward 80's and 90's straightedge hardcore, reminiscent of bands like Minor Threat and Youth of Today. The vocals are absolutely vicious on this demo, and the music matches the singing's intensity to a T (or in their case, an X). Whether you're edge or not, MEASURE X UP's demo is some killer hardcore, and you'd be doing yourself a disservice by not checking it out. Word on the street is they're working on another demo to be dropped soon, and I'm super stoked to hear that once it's out as well. Overall Score: 4/5

In other news, my yearly Top 10 list is going to be posted soon! Until then, satiate yourself on my unsolicited opinions from last year. Also, there's a big announcement coming up which may or may not involve Needs More Noise Gate picking up another writer! Excitement.

That's all for now, folks!

-DG

The Hipsters Have Gone Too Far.

I love physical media as much as the next guy. Maybe a bit more. Or less. I don't know actually. Point being, I love collecting CDs, DVDs, and records. I think it's cool that even though we're in the era of digital media, physical formats are making a comeback. I find there's some extra fun and enjoyment that comes with laying down an old Minor Threat record and hearing the soft crackling before the music starts, and the act of having to get up and flip the record over before you can listen to the next half of the album. This kind of stuff, even though it started before my time and seems a bit disingenuous for someone my age to do, helps me enjoy my music a little bit more. It makes my music a real, tangible thing, and I love that.

I have hipsters to thank for this. I know, everyone hates hipsters, and I do too most of the time. But without hipsters bringing records back into the mainstream, I never would have started collecting. I didn't even know people still pressed records until a couple years ago, but I blame that on my own ignorance. Now though, hipsters have gone too far. Records and cassettes are fine and dandy, because most people who want to buy them have inherited old record players or cassette decks from their parents to play them with. If not, you can just mosey on down to your local thrift store or electronics shop and pick one up for real cheap.

But this. This is too much for me to handle.

No, that's not some rad 90's educational video game. That's music. Music on a god damned floppy disk. Why would anybody in their right minds collect music on a 3.5" floppy disk? I mean, I guess storage isn't an issue. The biggest 3.5" disks held like 200 to 250 MB. Just looking around, a 320 kbps version of Converge's newest album takes up less than 100 MB of space. But just having music on that medium seems to be so ridiculous, it has to be either a joke or a gimmick. It's not a gag, though. There are entire record labels dedicated to music on floppy disks. Nobody owns a computer that can play floppy disks anymore, you certainly can't buy a new one, and I don't think I've seen a computer that old show up in a thrift store ever. If you do for some reason have a computer old enough to play floppy disks that still works, you've also got to somehow explain to your friends that come over as to why you have a 1995 HP desktop sitting on the shelf on your living room.

It doesn't make sense to my why bands would want to record albums on floppy disks either. I understand that the medium is analog, which is nice, but records and cassettes are analog formats, too. Unless you press your album on multiple formats, only releasing your shit on a floppy seems to put your fans in kind of a shitty situation. What's the point of making music if you toss it onto formats that only a handful of your fans can actually listen to? Again, if it were a gimmick, I'd be cool with it. I probably wouldn't pick up an Agoraphobic Nosebleed 3.5" floppy (J. Randall would go straightedge before he did something as stupid as release music on a floppy for money) if they pumped them out for shits and giggles anyways, but I'd be more accepting of the medium if it were just a joke.

Maybe 3.5" floppy disks are the future. Maybe I'm just a grumpy fuck. What do you guys think of this? Are floppy disks cool? Is it a medium you would buy your music on? Do you want to hang those hipsters by their own cashmere scarfs? Let me know, I'm genuinely interested to hear what different people think of this trend.

At least people aren't releasing music on VHS tapes or anything.

-DG

Blastbeat Reviews: Protest the Hero, Exivious, Snakes Get Bad Press

Time to rapid fire off some quick reviews. My to-listen list for this year's records is on the order of dozens, so there might be a fair few of these quick reviews before the year is up. Up on the chopping block today are prog-metalcore dudes Protest the Hero, Exivious, a jazz-fusion metal(?) supergroup featuring members and ex-members of Cynic, Textures, Dodecahedron, and Pestilence, and Aussie underground spastic hardcore group Snakes Get Bad Press. Let's get the ball rolling!

PROTEST THE HERO - VOLITION

I've never being a huge Protest the Hero fan (even feeling lukewarm about one of their most highly praised albums, Fortress), but everyone and their mothers has been telling me to get my ass in gear and check out Volition, their newest album. I put it off long enough, but when I finally got around to listening to it, man, I wish I had checked it out sooner.

Volition is an absolute banger of an album, dishing out massive songs in the usual spastic and super-technical vein we're used to, but focusing more on making the songs catchy as hell than just wowing people with how well they can sweep pick in 27/16 time. The songs are all real fast, and super high energy, making this album feel more like a super proggy pop album than a metal record. After a year of pissed off grindcore and doomy sludgy metal, it's nice to have a record that's so much fun to listen to. Score: 4.5/5

EXIVIOUS - LIMINAL

I love Cynic, and in 2009 when I discovered ex-guitarist and ex-bassist Tymon and Robin's jazz-metal-fusion project called Exivious, I was pumped. Their self-titled debut was absolutely awesome, and I'm super happy to see they were able to crowdfund their second album to completion.

Liminal is like Exivious 2.0. The album is even more diverse, flows more beautifully, and sounds crystal clear. The boys build amazing soundscapes and textures (get it?) with their music as usual, with some great solos from all instruments, written or improvised. There are some bits on this record that are total surprises, keeping Liminal from being too much like Exivious, but honestly, I listen to so little of this jazz fusiony stuff that even more of the same is fine by me. This is an album made by musicians for musicians, but I wouldn't be surprised if just about anybody picked this up and enjoyed it. Score: 4/5

SNAKES GET BAD PRESS - RESIDUES

I've barely been exposed to the Australian hardcore scene. Other than bands like Fat Guy Wears Mystic Wolf Shirt, Jackals, and these dudes, there isn't much else I've heard hailing from down under. Snakes Get Bad Press follow their Aussie brethren by taking things in the spastic/ mathcore direction, working dissonance, shifting time signatures, and odd song structures into their music like nobody's business.

Obvious comparisons that come to mind are bands like Dillinger Escape Plan and The Chariot, but I hear a bit of Converge in the music, and just a touch of Pig Destroyer in the vocals.

Residues came out on Art As Catharsis Records on September 20th, and can be streamed over on the label's Bandcamp page. Check Snakes out on Facebook, too! Score: 4/5

That's all for now, folks!

-DG

EP Review: bluebird - "bluebird"

We're diving back into old territory with this review: underground Halifax hardcore bands. I've already written about post-hardcore bros The Wides, crust punkers Napalm Raid, and Converge worshippers Barlow, so I've already got a pretty optimistic outlook on the area's hardcore and punk scene. Newest to the list of Eastern Canadian bands I've dealt with is bluebird, another band of The Wides' bassist Keegan Goodspeed.

To me, these dudes sound heavy in a different way. There's no crushing guitars, no blastbeats. It's not what they're playing that makes them so heavy, it's how they're playing it. bluebird is one of those bands that bring on a sort of catharsis through their music. They beat the shit out of their instruments, scream their hearts out, and you can feel it. bluebird is an emotional EP, raw and loose in its execution, showcasing some really rough around the edges production, and showcasing some solid songwriting and riff-making to boot. It gives off a bleak and melancholic vibe without sounding like a bunch of kids whining and complaining about things. It strikes a nice balance between strength and fragility that way.

The music is pretty consistent across the 6 tracks, trudging along with midpaced songs full of melodic guitars and grooving basslines and drums. The album picks up for a less-than-a-minute long track titled "made up ends" and the noisier and proggier "please leave" before slowing back down partway through the closer ""on eulogies you'll have to write"". There are some interesting parts among the songs, most notably for me are the very first echoing notes of "outlook" (the record's opener) which sets the melancholic tone of the rest of the album, and the closing song, which shows off some really nice riffs and some pretty moving chord progressions, reminding me of sludge legends Baroness for some reason. I'm not sure why, but anything that reminds me of Baroness is always a good thing in my books.

On a Playlist With:

Overall Score: 3.5/5

bluebird is a really solid hardcore/ post-hardcore EP. It's raw; it's emotional. You can tell it was made with passion. bluebird dish out equal parts chaos and melody with their debut release, and honestly, I enjoy it more and more each listen.

This EP came out on October 31st, 2013. bluebird have a Bandcamp page, where this EP is available digitally at a pay-what-you-can price. If you're interested in more Halifax hardcore, check out Keegan's other, other band, Botfly.

That's all for now, folks!

-DG

Album Review: Weekend Nachos - "Still"

I'm generally a pretty happy, laid-back dude.  I don't punch walls or get in peoples' faces when I get frustrated and I don't throw my phone across the room when it doesn't work. I can't remember the last time I raised my voice at someone out of anger or frustration. I just don't get angry. Well that's not true. There's a handful of things in this world that make me angry.

Weekend Nachos is one of them.

The Nachos are a Chicago based hardcore/ powerviolence band who specialize in being the aural equivalent of beating someone to death with your fists. No, not the usual description of this band is so heavy it feels like you're being punched in the face. Weekend Nachos are hate incarnate. I don't care if you're the god damn Dalai Lama, Still will turn you into the fucking Incredible Hulk. Once the opening D-beats start pounding and the first chord rings, everything you see turns red, and you lose control of your limbs, sending them wildly off in every direction, creating a zone of destruction around you. In short, everything can be summed up by this simple equation:

New Weekend Nachos = You're Moshing

Still is by far my favorite Weekend Nachos release that I've heard so far. I've only heard three of their studio albums so far (the other two being Unforgivable, and Worthless), but this album is definitely a reason for me to actively start digging through their back catalogue of EPs and compilation tracks. I really dug their 2011 effort Worthless, but I found something lacking from it. This record is what Worthless should have been. It's just as punishing, but the boys cut the fat here, making sure every track is somewhat unique and keeping things rolling at a breakneck speed.

There's a fair amount of breakdowns and mosh sections on Still, but it's nowhere near as many as Worthless had. Just about every song in Worthless had a breakdown in the same spot which did nothing but gum up the works, and then there was that two minutes of solid piercing feedback right in the middle of the album. I had no idea what that was for (experimentation? I'll have none of that in my ignorant moshcore, thank you very much), but I'm glad Weekend Nachos have moved back to the tried and true method of beating the ever loving fuck out of their instruments and recording the noises that come out. The songs seem to flow organically on Still, getting grindy as hell when you want to circle pit at mach speeds, and getting balls-crushingly heavy and slow right when you feel like stomping on the ground throwing your arms around pretending you're a dinosaur.

On a Playlist With: Nails, Magrudergrind, (old) Doomriders

Overall Score: 4.5/5

Still is angry. Still is mean. Still makes you want to kick old grannies in the face and burn down playgrounds. Weekend Nachos hit it out of the park with this thing. If you're into hardcore or powerviolence, you've got to listen to this album.

Eat Taco Bell, hail Weekend Nachos.

Still came out on November 8th, 2013 on Relapse Records. Decibel is streaming the entire god damn thing, so you have no excuse not to listen to this right now.

That's all for now, folks!

-DG

Album Review: Grind-O-Matic - "Flower Power"

Everyone shut up. I know I've been gone for a while. School is happening (that reminds me, I have robotics and signal processing labs to do, fuck), I've started recording a project with a friend, and I'm now writing for the online zine Cinema Terrible. I only have so many hours in a day, so I'm trying my best to balance not failing my courses, keeping creative content rolling on weekdays, and feeding my borderline alcoholism on weekends.

As many of you regular readers know, the French grind scene is fucking nuts right now. Tons of wicked bands are surfacing and pumping out rad EPs and albums like no tomorrow. If you want a taste of the French scene, check out the compilation In Grindo Veritas released by Kaotoxin Records, and Grindhouse: Vol. 1 put out by your's truly. I recently got a CD in the mail all the way from France of Grind-O-Matic's newest album, Flower Power.

GOM have been around for ten years now, and have been steadily releasing music for nine of them. They hail from Paris, France and have shredded onstage with bands like Cloud Rat, Chiens, and Yattai over the years. I really don't have much of a bio for them, so I'm going to jump right into the album.

First thing's first. This album is fast and loud. The album might churn through 20 tracks in just under 40 minutes (mid paced for grindcore standards, for those of you who don't know),  but this band can play blisteringly fast. I usually tap along to the drumming of my music with pens and pencils in hand, but sometimes here I can barely keep up. Don't get hung up on speed here, though. Unlike mechanical speed demons Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Grind-O-Matic blends a nice amount of mid-paced and slower chaotic dissonance into the fray to break up all the grind. Majority of this album sounds like a cross between Nasum, Gridlink, and early Dillinger Escape Plan to me. Sometimes, all three influences come together into a giant clusterfuck of sound that makes me stop whatever I'm doing and audibly say "holy fuck". Paired with the band's great choice of samples before and after songs, the band sets the bleak and twisted tone of the album.

Speaking of tone, I really have to commend these guys for the themes presented here. Flower Power is a testament to how much we've fucked up the Earth in all our years of greed as a society. It's nothing that hasn't been done before, especially by grindcore bands, but the atmosphere crafted by the music, samples, lyrics, and artwork is definitely more striking than a majority of other socially conscious bands out there.

On A Playlist With: Nasum, Discordance Axis, (early) Pig Destroyer

Overall Score: 4/5

Flower Power is a grindcore album with some real substance behind it. All the power and perversion of the French grind you love, mixed with some awesome chaotic guitar and drum playing and top notch sampling makes Grind-O-Matic a winner in my books.

Flower Power came out on Grind-O-Records on September 13th, 2013. You can listen to it here, and you can check the band out on Facebook and Reverb Nation.

That's all for now, folks!

-DG