Bloodlined Calligraphy - Ypsilanti (2006)

Cost: worked out to around 50¢

This was part of a CD lot I bought, which unfortunately was a mixed bag of actual metal and metalcore titles.  As if it wasn't obvious enough from the band photo and layout, generic breakdowncore (it's a bit shocking they're not on Victory Records).  Very surprised the band is on Metal-archives (judging by this, they must have made it in based on an earlier release).  No sense in wasting any more time talking about this.

Living Hell - Oblivion (2009)

Cost: $1.00

Metallic hardcore.  Initially the band name and album title set off my inner metal detector, but I was very disappointed when I saw this was on Eulogy, since that was a clear indicator of -core of some kind.  I sampled a few short soundclips of the album online, which all seemed to be raging HC, which I figured was enough to buy it as trade fodder even if it didn't end up being a keeper.

A sizeable chunk of the album is similar to what I heard.  They get compared to Integrity a lot, which only seems accurate in an extremely vague sense, or if you're pointing to a root Slayer influence in a few riffs.  However, it's not all fast stuff, and when the band slows down, they often shed the HC and veer right into doom/death sounding territory--the intro of the title track wouldn't sound out of place on the first Paradise Lost album.  Sadly, the vocals don't follow suit.

Across Tundras - Dark Songs of the Prairie (2006)

Cost: $1.00

 

I looked this up before buying, and everything online indicated it was going to be some sort of weird sludge/doom--not terribly enticing, but for a dollar, I can check it out.  Even with low expectations, this was disappointing.  Overall it's more like psychedelic post-rock.  The distorted guitar and psychedelic feel occasionally hint at Sabbathy influences, which are often too far removed to make anything on here positively metal.  At times they seem to be going for a bleak atmosphere, but it's largely undermined by the upbeat, rockish riffing and the folksy overtones they put into the music.  This would have been far more interesting with a funeral doom guitar tone and riffing approach.  Speaking of folksy, two songs ("The Old Sexton" and "Aura Lea...") go off completely from the style on the rest of the album into ambient folk/country music territory.  I can see the Western themes making sense as album art or lyrical inspirations, but the way they're integrated into the actual music here comes off as a bit of a tryhard attempt to seem unique.

Indulgence, Inc. - A Tribute To Mötley Crüe (1999)

Cost: $1.00

Had this several years ago and traded it, I think without even listening to it.  I only really really like a relatively small amount of Mötley Crüe songs, and together with the fact that this is a non-metal tribute make it pretty uninteresting, even by Dwell Rec. tribute standards.

Also quite surprised that "Looks That Kill" and "Kickstart My Heart" weren't covered on here...

1. Rewind - Dr. Feelgood

 Downtuned, straight-up cover, and the best track on here due to the strength of the original.  Not sure why the singer does the "Welcome to the Jungle" intro after the solo...

2. Doom Kounty Electric Chair - Too Fast for Love

Punky version, but the faux-Elvis crooned vocals make it sound kinda rockabilly (and also very dumb).

3. Needulhed - Wild Side

Industrial/electronica flavored version.  Not as bad as that sounds.

4. Streetwalkin' Cheetahs - Live Wire

Punk version.  Okay for what it is but given the song I'm disappointed a metal band didn't step up to do it here.

5. Revlon Red - Stick to Your Guns

Okay musically, but there's no way to take this seriously--the prominent cowbell and ridiculously exaggerated effeminate vocals make this seem like a parody version.

6. The Bastards - Come On and Dance

Has sort of a weird Kiss vibe to it (which is a little strange as they don't seem to be a retro-styled band).

7. NC Thirteens - Shout at the Devil

Ska version.  Doesn't translate well.

8. Sinisters - Bastard

I'm divided on whether the vocals work or not.  Sort of freewheeling rock'n'roll/'70s punk cover.

9. Doorslammer - On with the Show

Weak vocals.  Female backing vox, which remind me of both X and of '90s alternative rock.

10. Libertine - 10 Seconds to Love

Punk version, quite Rancid sounding.

11. Tuuli - Girls, Girls, Girls

Fine musically.  I realize it's done on purpose, but the female main vox are way too sugary-sounding (the all-female version of the chorus is fun, though).  I have no idea why, but they threw a Jerky Boys quote into the song!

12. B-Movie Rats - Knock Em' Dead, Kid

Kinda punky but pretty straight up musically.  The highness to the vocals is kind of odd, like the singer is trying to go outside of a comfortable range to emulate Vince Neil more.

13. Dementia - Starry Eyes

Heavy guitar tone.  The gruff, semi-shouted vox give it sort of a HC feel.

Dead Man's Hand - The Combination (2009)

Cost: $2.00

This was cheap and on Agonia so I grabbed it without giving it much thought, although I was kind of expecting death'n'roll, probably due to the style of the band logo.  Death/thrash in the basic vein of Carnal Forge, Dew-Scented, all The Haunted-type bands, you get the picture.  No real need for more of that kind of stuff, but since these guys don't make any real missteps--they're not overly modern/groovy nor overly melodic DM influenced--this wasn't bad for a two buck disc.

Enfold Darkness - Our Cursed Rapture (2009)

Cost: $2.00

Most of the time I find modern hype stickers on metal albums to be a silly waste of printing.  They're often filled with laughable hyperbole, they offer ridiculous sound comparisons based in marketing and not in reality, and they quote reviews, ratings, and people I don't care about.  Here, the sticker mentions Cradle of Filth and The Black Dahlia Murder, which is surprisingly spot-on in terms of the vocals (the music, not so much).  

The overall vocal style and range quite literally scream CoF--high and exaggerated raspy main vocals (with accompanying screams), deep DM-style backing vocals, and a couple cases of those gothic narration/deep-voiced spoken word vox.  The main vocals aren't always as piercing or as consistently high and shrieky as Dani, and that's where the TBDM comparison comes in, the Nocturnal album specifically.  I realize those vocal comparisons bring to mind all sorts of negative associations, including with me, and while I probably would have preferred vocals that weren't so high, they're tolerable.

The music itself is blackened modern melodic death metal--not necessarily a description to be terribly excited about, but I can't stress how much the excellent guitarwork carries this album.   There are lots of tasty leads, and the dual harmonies are some of the most interesting I've heard in recent extreme metal.

Candiria

These have been sitting in the "to be listened to eventually" pile for quite some time.  I never actually heard the band before (that I can recall--due to the name similarity I used to mentally associate them with the Relapse band Candiru) but may as well throw these on and give them a fair shot.

Post-listen spoiler alert: they suck.

Candiria - The Process of Self.Development (1999)

Cost: $1.00

This CD is for trade.

A prescient warning of unfortunate musical trends to come.  I know the band is still going, but this album could easily sit among contemporary stuff as avant-garde -core or jazz-influenced mathcore.  I remember a big fuss (both pro and con) being made about the rap influences here, so I was half-expecting something like Stuck Mojo.  The core (pun intended) of the music is relatively standard -core--perhaps with throatier vox--but of course with all sorts of disparate elements added to the mix.  On paper, with rap sections, pure jazz instrumental parts, trumpet, a bagpipe outro to one song, etc., it sounds way more chaotic and experimental than it actually ends up being.  Due to the fusion aspects, I can see where comparisons might be made to Mr. Bungle or some of the jazzier stuff on Ipecac, but this completely lacks the fun and zany atmosphere.  Also, the album isolates and compartmentalizes some of the influences it brings in.  There are entire rap tracks and entire jazz instrumental tracks (given the history of the band members, keep in mind it's not just a jazzy rhythm or jazzy bassline like you might find on a DM or prog. metal album--this has pure instrumental jazz sections).  So ironically, rather than hating all of the fusion elements from a purist standpoint, I thought the jazz parts and mellow instrumental tracks were well-played and completely overshadowed the rather boring -core part of the music.  But since I'm not combing bargain bins for jazz discs, this ended up being pretty uninteresting.

Candiria - 300 Percent Density (2001)

Cost: 50¢

 This CD is for trade. 

This is far more angry and NYHC sounding than the previous album, so I immediately liked it even less.  The fusion influences seem more directly integrated into the music, and have also been changed up a bit.  There's more of an emphasis on rap and hip-hop influence and rap-like vocals, and while there are still jazz influences, there are no longer any dedicated jazz tracks.  There are also more world/tribal music and ambient influences.  Yet again, an instrumental piece outshined everything else.  There's a hidden track at the end that uses ambient guitar and bongos to create a very dreamy soundscape that makes me feel like I'm on a tropical island staring at clouds.  It's not the main focus of their music and not what I'm looking for when I buy music though, so no reason to keep this.

Just from a few minutes of poking around online, it's embarassing how often this band is called metal--without any extra descriptors, no less--and by people who should probably know better.  I'm not sure if it's just sheer ignorance, or a lazy way out of trying to describe the band's multifaceted sound.

Dead World - The Machine (1993)

Cost: 99¢

Surprised how long it took for a cheap copy of this to show up.  Personally, I find The Machine less interesting than the debut, which mixed death metal and strong Godflesh influences.  This throws out the death metal elements and is more standard industrial metal fare--very percussion heavy (now using a drum machine) and with distorted spoken/whispered vocals.  Not really my thing, but I prefer the weird and atmospheric vibe this gives off to the stereotypically mechanical and angry industrial acts.  Even the layout (factories and bridges) and the lyrics (social commentary) fit more with a bleak industrial theme than the usual bio-mechanical schtick.

One element that did survive from the first album is the inclusion of ambient tracks, although there they existed as short interludes.  Here two sizeable tracks are dedicated to sample-laden ambient.

Wonderfully, "Blood Everywhere" contains audio samples of James Vance (of Judas Priest trial fame).

Darkside - Masquerade (1999)

Cost: $1.00

Impossible not to have high hopes when you find something in the bargain bin with Judas Priest in the thanks list ("for the influence") as well as W.A.S.P. and Lizzy Borden.  It's okay overall compared to some of the dollar disc garbage I come across, but it's far from the traditional HM I was hoping for.  It's in the 90s style of contemporary HM, with downtuned guitars and lots of groovy riffs.  Obviously for me, the less modern influences, the better, but here they aren't overboard enough to make me instantly hate it.  Also, this is just straightforward '90s heavy metal.  No thrash parts.  No power metal influence.  No forays into non-metal stuff either.  Metal-archives calls them "progressive heavy metal"--perhaps some isolated bits here and there, and there's a short bass solo track, but I think any sort of progressive tag is a huge misnomer.

One of the biggest strikes against the disc is the vocal performance.  The guy uses an inoffensive midrange and isn't bad per se, but the first time I listened to the CD, the vocals began to annoy me more and more, and I couldn't immediately pinpoint why.  First, they're monotonous.  The vocal cadence sounds similar in most of the songs, and beyond some sparingly used growly backing vox and gang choruses, there's not much variety.  They do a cover of "Jenny" (yep, the 867-5309 song),  and it's sung in the same style and flat tone as the rest of the CD.  It's played pretty straight-up as a metal version, but the growling chorus vox suggest some tongue-in-cheekiness.

There are also some corny vocal mannerisms which seem more fitting for a hard rock or alternative rock vocalist.   He's fond of extending the very ends of vocal lines for emphasis--either drawing them out, repeating them, or throwing a "yeah" in there, like Hetfield.  Wouldn't be hard to build a drinking game around it.  Unfortunately his vocals still come off as monotonous and fairly uncharismatic, and coupled with some of the groovy riffs, I think this makes the music seem more inclined towards '90s trend stuff than it actually is.