Behemoth - I Loved You at Your Darkest Counterparts - Private Room Hang-Ten Hangmen - This Is the Boss Klaus - Klaus Marissa Nadler - For My Crimes Behemoth I Loved You at Your Darkest Metal Blade Records I Loved You at Your Darkest is the epitome of the once-dated fear that metal is the devil’s music. But when you’re right, you’re right. For 27 years, Poland’s Behemoth have crafted the anti-christian roots of black metal into unparalleled artform of fear inducing and masterfully composed horrorscapes of sound. At 12 tracks and about 45-minutes long, it’s a record that deserves to be played front and back every time it’s summoned. “Solve” makes Behemoth’s style clear with a haunting warning, as children shout from a ghostly distance and doom-style instrumentation builds with wicked grandeur. “Wolves ov Siberia” follows with a display of range, showcasing blistering drums so sharp that every note feels independent, yet there’s never a moment of silence. After the previously released single “God = Dog” brings its melodic, chaotic disarray of blackened noise, “Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica” delivers the technical skill of humbling guitar solos over a relentless barrage of precise percussion. And while black metal is still certainly the name of the game, Behemoth stretch their dark magic in tracks like “If Crucifixion Was Not Enough…” which would be a no-frills hardcore-punk song if it wasn’t for the iconically dread soaked vocals. I Loved You at Your Darkest is as powerful as it is expertly mixed. In both content and technical sound, it’s bound to be a point of reference for much more diabolic doom to come. Counterparts Private Room New Damage Records • Matty Hume As something of a little brother to Canadian hardcore giants like Alexisonfire, Cancer Bats and Comeback Kid, Hamilton’s Counterparts have done an admirable job of sticking around — despite numerous lineup changes. Private Room is a (really) short collection of B-sides from their previous two albums, but at only three songs and just under 7 minutes, you wonder why they’d bother putting this out as a separate release rather than just hold on for an actual new record. “Monument” kicks off the EP with punishing guitars and brutal doublekick drum patterns. The clear standout in the triple-threat is “Selfishly I Sink,” which has a familiar start but incorporates a few tempo changes in a short time, keeping you on your toes. “We Forgive” shows off the band’s technical skills, balancing heavy elements with some interesting melodic guitar parts during the bridge. And just like that, Private Room is done and gone. Counterparts obviously have the drive and talent to go far in a saturated genre, but Private Room is really just a teaser to hold fans over until the next full-length. For the full dose, go back and check out Counterparts’ latest LP You’re Not You Anymore (2017 New Damage/Pure Noise) and you won’t be disappointed. • Trevor Morelli The Hang-ten Hangmen This Is The Boss Dionysus Records Surf music comes in all shapes and sizes, ranging from the perfect, retro-fied recreation of the early ‘60s master craft to the deconstructed wall of reverb chaos created by new revisionists like Ty Segall. Vancouver’s Hang-Ten Hangmen certainly side with the retro end of the surf spectrum, but their version of recreation is neither perfect nor predictable, which is a good thing. Post-rock ‘n’ roll from the late ‘40 into the ‘60s was full of goodies and the Hangmen know how to cherry pick. Opening up This Is The Boss with “Back Alley Rumble,” they set the scene not so much with a rumble but a beach blanket limbo. You the know one; tiki torches planted on the beach after dark and everyone taking turns trying to lumber their bodies under the bar. Straight after they move into Dick Dale territory with the title track, “This Is The Boss,” with tribal drums pounding, beckoning you to join the party. And party is the real essence of the Hang-ten men as they dip into an irresistible Beach Boy-Chuck Berry reverbdrenched, dance groove. From there on in it cracks wide open. The Hang-Ten Hangmen are a well-versed band who know where to borrow all the right riffs and breakdowns and then reassemble them into a package that is familiar yet entire fresh and fascinating. Churchy-gospel R&B organ mixed with a touch of Clarence Clemon’s sax and Mitch Riders “Devil With Blue Dress,” they move and shake on over to a rum-spice cocktail party layer with multi-coloured leis before taking another detour off to a grad prom in Twin Peaks, winding up at the Forbidden Planet — One helluva lounge livin’ beach lovin’ joyride. • B. Simm Klaus Klaus Simone Records Step into the world of Klaus, an electromagnetic supergroup spun from the tangled wires of some of Quebec’s most beloved and promising musicians. As a member of groups such as Karkwa and Galaxie, François Lafontaine first found common ground with Joe Grass (Patrick Watson) and drummer Samuel Joly while performing in support of French-Canadian pop singer Marie-Pierre Arthur. Soon the three troubadours forged a plan to start their own musical project and Klaus was born; a 21st century digital boy of a band that takes your vital signs with smooth synths, down tempo beats and a mildly disaffected vocal delivery. Presenting a sleek, streamlined and intuitive application of drum machine and disco keys, the threesome glories in walking the line between the capricious and the considered. This pink and mint pairing is the perfect colour scheme for their eponymous debut on Simone Records, home to rising stars Hubert Lenoir, Camaromance and Ariane Moffatt. The laissez-faire womb of Grass’s recording studio allowed Klaus to explore any weird idea or melodic impulse that came to mind and that unimpeded sense of adventure comes through loud and clear on the ten pop-rock vignettes, they’ve compiled for their introductory release. Shining like wet pavement, the opening track “Neon” signals that you are in for a fun yet refined listening experience. The sway of “Fever” opens the glovebox and pulls out a roadmap of your romantic past, while the skittering playfulness of “Blue Telephone” dials into their White Denim side. Just when you’re getting comfortable with the dreamy pace, Klaus pulls off your sleeping-mask and commands you to check out the sonic scenery. It’s a rare treat when a band knows when to play it shy and when to turn up the sparkle and the threesome achieves that balance with their exotic “Dirty Water” and polyphonic “Pitbull.” It’s hard not to lose yourself in the roller coaster bass movements and digital dashes that run like fault lines through “The Aluminoid.” Meanwhile, the unpredictable “Bad Religion” finds Klaus freefalling through Bowie’s universe, until “Le rêve” parts the curtains and reveals the soft-spoken pursuit of “Natural Design” that lies at the core of Klaus’s being. • Christine Leonard Marissa Nadler For My Crimes Bella Union/Sacred Bones Marissa Nadler’s new album represents a beautiful and intricate inner conflict that many listeners can relate to — love isn’t always enough to keep people together. Soulful, deep and intimate, the lyrical quality of the record does nothing short of sweep you away. And overall, Nadler’s southern-gothic style delivers a fitting soul for her story. Angel Olsen accompanies Nadler in openinger “For My Crimes,” setting a ghostly, nostalgic tone that’s woven into each song that follows. Other contributions to the record include vocals from Sharon Van Etten and Kristin Kontrol, Patty Schemel (Hole, Juliette and the Licks) on drums, Mary Lattimore on harp and Janel Leppin on strings. The album artwork suitably adds to the incredibly personal nature of the record as Nadler chose to use one of her original oil paintings for the first time. For my Crimes is vulnerability at its very best. • Sarah Allan Nazareth Tattooed On My Brain Frontiers Music Nazareth’s place in the classic rock canon has never quite been clear. Sure, they have a handful of hits to their name — “Hair of the Dog,” “This Flight Tonight” and “Love Hurts” immediately come to mind — but they’re also a band largely built on their ability to punch-up other people’s songs. The Scottish hard rockers have never hit the heights of peers like AC/DC, The Rolling Stones or The Who, but instead seem destined to play the dreaded casino circuit until their time runs out. Think about it: lots of kids know Back in Black, Dark Side of the Moon or London Calling, but how many youngsters in <strong>2018</strong> can name a Nazareth album? Tattooed On My Brain marks an entirely different stage in the band’s trajectory. It’s their first album without founding member and lead singer Dan McCafferty (who left the group in 2013), with new recruit Carl Sentance taking over vocal duties. The result is an album that’s part Thin Lizzy, part Steel Dragon (watch the 2001 movie Rockstar if you don’t get that reference) and all parts fun. First single “Pole to Pole” takes a standard 12-bar blues rhythm, adds stutter and builds to an anthemic, shrieking chorus. “State of Emergency” jumps out of the gate with a speedy harmonic riff similar to the one heard on Wolfmother’s “Woman”, while title track “Tattooed On My Brain” bounces and bops like a Ramones jam. Later tracks “Silent Symphony,” “Crazy Molly” and “You Call Me” keep the tempo light and catchy, but you can’t help but continue to hear clear influence from other classic rock artists like Aerosmith, Faith No More and Bon Jovi. Just as they’ve always done, Nazareth takes rock elements from the past and makes them their own on Tattooed On My Brain. And, as strange as it feels to admit, they’ve actually delivered us an album full of big, dumb hair metal jams that’s worth listening to — one that will please Sabbath and Spinal Tap fans alike. • Trevor Morelli 28 <strong>October</strong> <strong>2018</strong>
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