Over the last few weeks, I’ve been in quite the heavy music mood. I’ve been on the look out for bands that really strike a nerve and low and behold I got an email to check out a band and I’m glad I did. Recently I was introduced to Chicago based Stress Positions and it’s just what I was looking for. Their hardcore punk is infectious and blistering. Their new album, Harsh Reality is 9 songs of no holds barred hardcore punk with an attitude that can hammer nails in. When you listen to the album, not only do you get that classic hardcore punk feel, there are other little twists and turns and surprises to find throughout, which makes it quite the fun listen. Stress Positions new album, Harsh Reality, is set to be released THIS FRIDAY, December 8th on Three One G Records.
As a rabid music fan of multiple genres and styles, I still get excited when I hear a band, album or song that really grabs my attention. There’s something to be said for the way certain bands can pull you in and you are then in for quite a ride. Recently, I finally had the time to check out a band and album that the moment I heard about it really got me interested. The band is Ex Everything and their debut album, Slow Change Will Pull Us Apart is one hell of an album. It’s aggressive, chaotic, heavy and down right pissed off which all this then makes for a cathartic release of thought provoking and compelling music.
Ex Everything is made up of members of Kowloon Walled City, Early Graves and more. While there are tinges of each of the members other bands in this, Ex Everything explores a different side of things by tapping into their inner Fugazi and other similar bands to create a visceral sound that not only grabs your attention with interesting progressions and timings but, also with vocals and lyrics that call for attention. The eight songs on their debut, Slow Change Will Pull Us Apart are armed with a ferociousness that is desperately needed. When you listen to Ex Everything the inner mosh pit in your head goes off and from there, I can’t be responsible for what you do next. I will say this though, an album like this is and at the time of its release was much needed. As I mentioned above there is a catharsis with this album not just lyrically but musically as well. The way the riffs and rhythms shift and pull you in different directions is quite powerful. Not to mention the production by Scott Evans who was able to capture the essence of a band that is quite on fire throughout this impressive debut.
Ex Everything is a band I hope to hear more from. It’s right up my alley of what I enjoy and I have a feeling they’ve only scratched the surface of what they are capable of. There is a volatility to these songs that could ignite a fire and hopefully that fire is within you to fight for what’s right.
It was a couple months back that I first heard the news of an upcoming collaborative album between two quite pulverizing bands in their own right. Full Of Hell and Nothing initially crossed paths in the twenty-tens, sharing the bills of shows and festivals intermittently. Dylan (Full Of Hell) and Nicky (Nothing) kept in touch over the years, and the collaboration naturally followed. Together, they pushed sonic bounds in the middle out of Full of Hell’s abstract and harsh ambience and Nothing’s searing shoegaze tendencies which then stirred up some extreme peaks and valleys inspired by the likes of My Bloody Valentine and latter day Swans. Speaking on the collaboration, “We’ve never done anything like this,” Nicky goes on. “The contrast is huge as we’re putting two extremes together and making them work. We’re just bridging the gap.” The bands all gathered together and notably wrote face-to-face in Ocean City, MD and collaborated in-person as much as possible. Eventually, they entered the studio with GRAMMY® Award-nominated producer and all around badass, Will Putney. The atmosphere contributed to the energy of the record itself. So far, what has been released is pretty damn awesome. It’s volatile yet subdued and the heaviness isn’t overdone in a way that removes the atmosphere both bands are so good at shaping. Their album, When No Birds Sang will be out on December 01, 2023 via Closed Casket Activities.
Full Of Hell & Nothing- Spend The Grace:
Full Of Hell & Nothing- Like Stars In The Firmament:
I was recently doing some end of the year clean up and I found a pad of paper that I had jotted down some topic ideas for Audioeclectica. One of the topics was one that I’ve often had discussions about with many friends over the years. Which brings me to this new topic, songs that should be played live. Now, there are a ton of bands and songs that this does apply to. On my list I had quite a few bands and songs on it but, instead of listing all of them at once, I thought showcasing them individually would be way more fun. The first song that I chose to pick is “Black Is The Soul” by Korn from their album, The Serenity Of Suffering. Though this song was released as the third single from the album and has been played about 45 times including their Pandemic Live Stream (according to Setlist.fm), it’s one of those songs of theirs that when you hear it, you immediately think to yourself, why don’t they play this one more often? I remember when this song came on during my first listen to this album and pushed play on it again because, it was that good. The album as a whole is quite good too. This is just my way of putting it out into the universe that the next time I see Korn live, it would be a very awesome thing to hear this one in the set. And this also probably means I’ll have to do an updated Ultimate Set List for Korn.
After one hell of a Summer and Fall tour, Better Lovers have dropped another banger of a song. This one “Two Amongst The Dead,” was written while the band was on the road this summer. This song was performed and fine-tuned on the bands Fall dates, and then immediately tracked in the studio between touring to make sure that fire stayed intact. Speaking on what the song is about singer Greg Puciato said “This song is about saying fuck you to the societal and institutional pressure to fall for ‘me versus you’/’us versus them’ divisional tactics and realizing that we’re stronger when we remember the ways we’re the same, trying to find commonalities instead of differences. Understanding and finding compassion for one another instead of allowing ourselves to be separated and controlled. Brothers and sisters. Pieces of the same consciousness.” This song rips! I remember hearing it a few weeks back when I saw Better Lovers live and this song went off! Strap in for another banger from Better Lovers!
There is something really quite beautiful to the excitement of making music that comes to one naturally and then performing said music to a crowd that devours each and every melody, rhythm and lyric. That’s what I saw and heard last night as I attended Crosses first live show in many years and their first of a three night stay at the Masonic Lodge at the Hollywood Forever Cemetary. The room was packed from the front to the back of eager fans waiting for this night, and at 9:15, Chino and Shaun made their way to the stage and so began the “revival” of Crosses.
For the next hour and thirty plus minutes, I as everyone in the crowd was completely swept away with the goodness that permeated from the stage to the crowd. Playing a majority of songs off their new album, Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete, the moment, the first song “Initiation” started there was no turning back and rightfully so. Chino Moreno sounded on top of his game as he sang his ass off on new songs like “Invisible Hand,” “Ghost Ride (which happens to be a personal favorite off of the new album),” “Found,” “Grace,” “Last Rites,” “Pulseplagg,” “Vivien,” “Sensation,” and “Girls Float + Boys Cry (which features The Cure’s Robert Smith on the album. No, he wasn’ there).” Even when they performed “Big Youth” (which on the album features EL-P. Again, no he was not there), hearing Chino’s flow on that song brought all of us in the crowd back to quite the nostalgic time. And the few older picks they played like “This Is A Trick,” “Telepathy,” “Option,” and “Bitches Brew” which featured Chino’s signature scream that ignited the crowd as they/we all screamed along! This show was something special. Watching Chino just be in his element and letting his more playful side come out is always a good time. Then you have Shaun Lopez, musically guiding everything along with meticulous fashion. The combination of these two is quite the pair. And you can’t forget the history of Deftones and Far so, if you know then you know! The way the set played out was one of those magical ones too. Even with it being just Chino and Shaun up there, it was alive and bombastic (and if/when they add live drums again, oh damn)!
On other thing I loved about this show is the setting. It’s been quite a cool and dark modern gothic vibe for the whole aesthetic and roll out of their new album. Having the first shows back in quite some be held at the Masonic Lodge at the Hollywood Forever Cemetary was quite the way to introduce this new era. The songs, performance, the energy in the room, and the sense that for the hour and 30 plus minutes the craziness of everything in the world just seemed to be on pause while this show swept us away.
Crosses Set List:
01) Inititation 02) This Is A Trick 03) Vivien 04) Found 05) Ghost Ride 06) Pleasure 07) ThHolyGhost 08) Sensation 09) Grace 10) Bitches Brew 11) Pulseplagg 12) Holier 13) Invisible Hand 14) Girls Float + Boys Cry 15) Last Rites 16) Big Youth
What a good way to start the week. Today, The Smile, the band featuring Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, and former Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner) have announced their second album. Wall of Eyes, the follow-up to their superbly eclectic and quite spelendid 2022 debut, A Light for Attracting Attention, is due out January 26 via XL Recordings. This new album sees the band working Sam Petts-Davies instead of longtime producer/collaborator Nigel Godrich. The video for “Wall Of Eyes” was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Inherent Vice, Magnolia, etc). If you haven’t heard The Smile yet, I recommend it. There’s bits of Radiohead in it but, it’s more jazzy, funky, and quite fun. I look forward to their album being one of the first of 2024 that I listen to!
One of my good friends just went to the annual Dia De Los Deftones festival. It looked like a pretty solid show especially with Knocked Loose and Rile playing alongside Deftones. After the show was over my buddy sent me some video of some songs and I naturally looked up the set list. It was nice to see some rarities played though the majority of the set was a lot of the usual suspects. Not that there’s anything wrong with those, sometimes, it would just be nice to switch it up. Which brings me to my next Ultimate Set List, an updated Deftones set. This one is pretty damn good if I say so myself.
Guideline 1: What line up of the band would it be
Guideline 2: Where would you want to see the show
Guideline 3: maximum 25 songs (In order of how the set should go)
Lineup: Chino Moreno, Abe Cunningham, Frank Delgado, Stephen Carpenter, Chi Cheng
Venue: Fonda- Los Angeles
01) Engine No. 9 02) Elite 03) Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away) 04) Good Morning Beautiful 05) Diamond Eyes 06) Kim Dracula 07) Digital Bath 08) Risk 09) When Girls Telephone Boys 10) Swerve City 11) Around The Fur 12) Rocket Skates 13) Radiant City 14) Cherry Waves 15) You’ve Seen The Butcher 16) Lhabia 17) RX Queen 18) Entombed 19) My Own Summer (Shove It) 20) Change (In The House Of Flies) ENCORE: 21) Hole In The Earth 22) Knife Party 23) Rickets 24) Minus Blindfold 25) Pink Maggit (with “Back To School”)
I’m a couple weeks removed from seeing the mighty Baroness live. That show was one of the best ones I’ve seen all year. The time leading up and afterwards put me in a rather fun mood of listening to various Baroness albums and songs. Due to that, I thought I’d put together an Ultimate Set List for my dream Baroness show.
Guideline 1: What line up of the band would it be
Guideline 2: Where would you want to see the show
Guideline 3: maximum 25 songs (In order of how the set should go)
Lineup: John Baizley, Gina Gleason, Sebastian Thomson, Nick Jost
Venue: The Bellwether or Fonda
Set List:
01) Morningstar 02) The Sweetest Curse 03) March To The Sea 04) Last Word 05) Try To Disappear 06) Front Toward Enemy 07) Jake Leg 08) Choir 09) Chlorine & Wine 10) Cocainium 11) Tourniquet 12) Magnolia 13) Seasons 14) A Horse Called Golgotha 15) Beneath The Rose 16) Anodyne 17) Under The Wheel 18) Borderlines 19) If I Have To Wake Up (Would You Stop The Rain) 20) Shine 21) The Gnashing 22) I’m Already Gone 23) Take My Bones Away Encore: 24) Shock Me 25) Isak
Today is Bandcamp Friday (when they wave their fee for 24 hours) and why not showcase some great bands and their albums/singles that are out now! Check out these bands and show them some support! There’s a ton of great bands and albums on this list. Take some time and discover something new! Enjoy! If I missed your band, let me know and I’ll add it to the list!
