Ep Review - Mu Cephei- 'Demo'

Location:Kildare, Ireland

Label:Unsigned

Release Date:August 2013


Lurching forth from a practice space in deepest Kildare(a county known for it's high level of gloom), doom/sludge trio Mu Cephei are intent on raping your ears and poisoning your mind with their own brand of noxious psychedelic doom.Sans a bassist, they  nevertheless manage to conjure up a cacophony of primal low end noise, imbued with a touch of deft melody, that should have fans of slo-mo, hypnotic violence foaming at the mouth(dirty bastards that they are.)

Owing more than a small debt to the horrific mantras of bands like Electric Wizard, Mu Cephei deal in the kind of oppressive, funereal dirges that put one in mind of every kind of drug sickness you can imagine.From the first monolithic rumblings of opener 'ilyushin' , to the closing feedback and phaser  drenched moments of  'Vacuum Phase Transition', the atmosphere created is reminiscent of a particularly bad come down, the kind that invades your every sense of being and stays with you for months afterwards.Front man Rob's vocals, drenched as they are in reverb and buried way down in the mix, are perfectly judged, all clean singing, albeit hidden under as many effects as humanly possible.It's a sound closer to prime Church Of Misery or Icelandic loons Volva than say, Eyehategod, swathes of psyche-tinged misery filtered through a production that is as warm and stripped down as they come, allowing the band's murky sound room to breath.

Even though this is essentially a glorified demo, the quality of what's on offer here pisses all over most 'proper' full length doom releases this year.Give it a few months, ,and maybe a full length ,  and Mu Cephei will no doubt join the likes of Weed Priest and Slomatics in flying the flag for Irish sludge/drone/doom bands.Essential, addictive, evil stuff.

Rating: 8.5/10

For fans of :Electric Wizard, Slomatics, Ufomammut, Weed Priest

Buyit here(name your price download) here:http://mu-cepheidoom.bandcamp.com/album/demo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MuCephei

Album Review - Words That Burn-'PRAEY'

Location:Dundalk, Ireland

Label:Flat Battery Records

Readers of a certain vintage (i.e my vintage, mid twenties, man child), will remember a time when the term nu-metal wasn't necessarily  a dirty word, and while there will never be any doubt that most of  the more mainstream practitioners of the genre were unadulterated horse-shit(Staind, lol), there were also some genuinely brilliant bands( American Head Charge, Downer, early Mudvayne to name just a few) that made some quality music.Well,  turns out I'm not the only one that remembers bands dressing up as pillocks and playing seven string guitars hanging down past their knees, as Dundalk/Carrickmacross quartet Words That Burn have just produced PRAEY,an album that serves as a love letter to the genres heyday,while simultaneously introducing a formidable new talent to the Irish metal scene.

The bands' sound is a hybrid of eclectic songwriting akin to   Angel Dust era Faith No More , industrial  electronics and down tuned, staccato  metallic riffing.Massive,danceable groove-laden riffs in the vein of bands like Static-X( before all the  underage sex scandals of course) blend with skewed piano instrumentals and tortured vocals in a hugely enjoyable miasma of angsty heaviness.Tracks like the hook laden 'So Helpless' deserve to become rock-club mainstays, while slower, more atmospheric numbers like 'Ctrl X' recall the more reflective moments of American Head Charges' The War Of Art. And before all you music snobs start your snickering, before fashion left them behind and drugs took a serious hold, AHC were a fantastic band, deservedly selling shit loads of records, and working with Rick Rubin.


'Dig' is another highlight, the almost rave-y  intro recalling the less turgid moments of Censura.The band clearly  put strong stock in songwriting, and the majority of the songs here are exceptionally well crafted.The band forge a distinct sound, too twisted and schizophrenic for the posturing of the hardcore scene, too clever for the macho knuckle dragging of a lot of the modern metal brigade and possibly too weird and left-field for the alternative  set to appreciate them.Songs like 'Sictember' are indicative of this idiosyncratic approach,a funereal industrial-metal dirge with more than a nod to the work of some bloke called Michael Patton, while the closing title track shows the band are more than  capable of moments of plaintive beauty as well.

A hugely enjoyable listen, and refreshingly free of breakdowns, fringes, crab-core , and other such nonsense.Highly recommended.

Rating: 8/10

For fans of: Mudvayne, American Head Charge, Faith No More, Downer, Spineshank

Listen to/Buy It Here: http://wordsthatburn.bandcamp.com/album/praey

bornagainnihilist@gmail.com

Live Review - Facemelter Music@ The Thomas House, 24-05-13 wi Marabou, Beltbuckle Overdrive and Snowblind

Entering Dublin's Thomas House for tonight's Face Melter extravaganza, it's not readily apparent that there's any kind of metal gig going on at all , at least not straight away.For those unfamiliar with the south inner city venue, it's one that has in the past been home more to rockabilly,punk and trad gigs than ear raping metallic noise, and as we stroll in from the haze of an unusually bright and warm Irish summer evening, we are initially a little puzzled by all the friendly , be-quiffed and tattooed  folk bopping to what sounds like Tiger Army.Directed downstairs by the cheery barman, all becomes a little clearer as soon as we push upon the door, to be greeted by some wicked noise from the evening's openers Snowblind, not to mention an enthusiastic hello from tonight's masters of ceremonies, one Aaron Gaffey of Kerouac fame, who proceeds to stuff Nihilist's pockets and various other orifices with glowsticks and merch til we're nearly weighted down.The vibe tonight is all about cutting loose and having a laugh while listening to some killer bands, and we're definitely game.Cold, frosty pints of lager at the ready, we head for the front . . .

Snowblind in action.

Unfortunately due to various public transport balls ups(well not really balls ups, just Dublin Bus being shit)  and my general lack of direction, we miss about half of Snowblind's set, but what we hear is pretty impressive. Billing themselves as a thrash band, Snowblind are actually a far more eclectic bunch than that tag normally implies.Owing more to bands like Voivod and latter day Entombed than Metallica or Slayer, the young trio forge a sound that's progressive but accessible, managing to fit in some bizarre arrangements and pin-wheeling through time changes like nobody's business.An excellent cover of Metallica's 'Blackened' rounds out an excellent set,one which  marks Snowblind as ones to watch.

---

Snowblind.Melting faces.

Beltbuckler Overdrive are next, and waste no time getting into the party spirit . Frontman Matt Smith is an engaging presence, riling up the crowd and getting down on the floor to get in their faces once or twice, and the band's driving,Southern-flavoured  hard rock is the perfect accompaniment to some beer-doused head banging. The band themselves are , as ever, tight as hell, and blast through their set like men possessed. The highlight, for this Nihilist anyway, is a cover of Kyuss' classic 'Green Machine', drummer Alejandro Cruz nailing every one of Brant Bjork's fills expertly.

Beltbuckle Overdrive:just out of shot, loaded war machine.

And so on to the head-liners. Looking around the tiny basement venue, everyone seems to be wearing a Marabou hoody or shirt, and the anticipation as the Wexford Three-piece take the stage is feverish to say the least.Not at all acquainted with their music,our curiosity is piqued , and we edge a little closer, wondering what all the fuss is about.It takes roughly one song for everything to be cleared up.Marabou are, as they say in my neck of the woods, the business.

Marabou, do they even riff?Yes, yes they do.

Filtering the bellicose energy of  sludge  through a prism of post-hardcore, crust and progressive metal, the band's serrated riffing cuts through a slightly muddy sound mix and rips heads,  with a blend of off kilter aggression and killer hooks.Much like Snowblind, they're a difficult band to pin down, but if you can picture Tool at their most aggressive jamming Nausea tunes while Poison Idea knife-shank The Melvins in the corner, you're halfway there in describing their sound. This is a band that has to be experienced live, and the only complaint we have about their set is it's far too short.Everyone gets involved in the carnage too, with our promoter tonight himself lobbing glow sticks around and leaping off speaker stacks ,while a small but still fairly vicious mosh pit breaks out just in front of us at a few random junctures.In a word:mental.

The rest of the night disappears in an alcoholic haze, but it has to be said, it's been a long time since I enjoyed a gig quite this much.The relaxed atmosphere and friendly vibe is a throwback to the teen years of yours truly, and to gigs organized in church halls and school basements, with the emphasis on the music and having a laugh as opposed to getting just shit faced(though there's plenty of that as well).A cracking night had, and we're eager to see what Facemelter has in store next . . . .

Pictures courtesy of Aaron and Fallon/Facemelter Music Nights.


Stephen.

Check the bands out here:

Snowblind
http://snowblindireland.bandcamp.com/album/demos

Beltbuckle Overdrive

http://www.reverbnation.com/beltbuckleoverdrive?page_view_source=facebook_app

Marabou

http://www.reverbnation.com/maraboumusic?page_view_source=facebook_app

Stephen

bornagainnihilist@gmail.com

Gig Review - The Devin Townsend Project wi Turisas @The Academy DubliNovember 8th 2011

On entering The Academy tonight, and lining up with the black shirted masses for a quick snoop at the merch stand in the front hall, a couple of things start to grab your attention.First off, it's only after opening, and the place is already rammed with punters, so much that security are having to keep order in a quite noticeable way in queues for both tickets and the obligatory tees and assorted tat.Secondly, among said tat, nestled in among the various t-shirts and hoods is an oddly cute, albeit hideously so, puppet of a coffee addicted alien for sale, which various punters possibly old enough to know better are snapping up for a not inconsiderable fifteen beans.Thirdly, there is an atmosphere prevalent tonight more akin to a bunch of ADD scoffing toddlers on Christmas eve than your average boozed up heavy metal crowd.The reason? Just the visitation tonight of a certain bonkers Canadian guitar genius, and his otherworldly minions. .  .

First up though are  euro festival staples Turisas( 7/10), plying their fun  , if ever so slightly overcooked folk metal wares in front of an extremely appreciative crowd.It's a nice warm up , and very much appropriate to the party vibe going on here tonight, with the band all shit eating grins and synchronised headbanging, their Lord Of The Rings meets NWOBHM tunes getting the crowd clapping , moshing and singing early on.The highlight , as always, is their bizarrely addictive cover of   German 1970's disco fiends Boney M's hit 'Rasputin'.However, a feeling of repetition, not to mention frontman  Mathias Nygard 's bizarre, rambling attempts at crowd banter, detract from an otherwise enjoyable support set.

Warming up a predominantly metal crowd with a mix tape of nineties pop hits normally would go down like a paternity suit at a Bieber family BBQ.Broadcasting said mix tape with interludes from your foul mouthed mascot, in this case the aforementioned coffee loving space lord Ziltoid,here incarnated as a potty mouth DJ, might be viewed as equally out of place in other circumstances.However, this is no ordinary heavy metal show, and,  as the photoshopped images of master of ceremonies Devin Townsend in various iconic poses(Mona Lisa,Star Wars, you name it) shows, tonight is as much about partying and having a laugh as it is about having your ears raped by some of the best progressive metal songs ever written .

And when the man himself finally hits the stage with the bombastic double header of 'ZTO' and 'By Your Command', excitement levels reach fever pitch, and it seems that no one's more excited than Mr Mental himself, Mr Devin Townsend.Putting 99 per cent of metal frontmen to absolute shame, Dev stomps, snarls,prowls , gurns and of course shreds like no one on earth, all the  while displaying the vocal talents that caught the eyes and ears of a certain Steve Vai all those years ago.In between songs, he's the perfect mixture of rabble rousing crowd pleaser, lurid and sharp stand up comedian, and charming host, simultaneously revelling in and ripping the piss out of the usual rock cliches.

The set itself ain't bad either, in fact, it's a superbly paced cocktail of a large portion of Townsend's repertoire , taking in , to name just a few, the epic stomp of 'Truth', the furious rock and roll of 'Bat Devil', the ethereal beauty of 'Supercrush', and the outrageously warped battery of 'Juular'.'Life' is every bit as wonderful and uplifting as it is on record, with Townsend gleefully proclaiming his own love of life to the baying crowd during, a lovely sentiment given the great man's self confessed battle with bi-polar disorder, while the crushing 'Regulator' steamrolls the audience into slavering submission.The spacey, sinister and sublime 'Disruptr' meanwhile , is as menacing and sensual as it is on record, his bandmembers acquitting themselves  excellently, and even the usually dire Academy PA rises to the occasion somewhat, and the sound is mostly decent, with a couple of minor mix problems, and the usual problems with high end.

A blistering encore of 'lighter moment' 'Deep Peace'  pretty much seals tonight's emotional high, while closer 'Bend It Like Bender' , complete with(a very organised) mini stage invasion, sends us out into the brisk November night as a bunch of grinning, slobbering idiots, eager for more, and still reeling from the aural beating we've just endured.Demented, hilarious, and brilliant, it's been an exhilarating ride,and one which you should sample should it come a travelling to your town sometime . . .

 Rating:10/10

Stephen O ' Connor
bornagainnihilist@gmail.com

You Should Be Listening To . . Luminous Black!

We here at Born Again Nihilist read a lot of band bios and the like in the course of our  shuffling round  our daily filthy business, and suffice to say, some could do with a bit of jazzing up.After all, while you may indeed  practice eight hours a day in yer mum's garden shed, and list off a ream of influences from Slayer to Liberace, it sometimes does no harm to jazz things up and embellish your band history a bit.For example, take this , er, left field effort from excellent Kildare, Ireland stoner trio Luminous Black:

"Fed up with hanging around in people's back yards, porches and front gardens, the 3 cosmic gnomes, known collectively as Luminous Black, decided to find the once fabled planet of Gēnomos. having scavenged parts for a ship they set out with some of their close friends and personal trainers to find their lost homeworld . . . now they are out in space, all alone, without a home . . "


It is this tongue in cheek approach, along with some seriously groovy , fuzzed out hard rock tunes that marks LB out as something a little bit special.After all, who could seriously dislike a band with  songs  with such wonderfully off the wall titles like 'Swedish Handjob', or the fantastically silly 'Cosmic Gnomes'.Don't be fooled though, these dudes can rock like motherfuckers, and in their heavy as iron boots bluesy stoner rock one can be reminded of everything from early Clutch, to Kyuss, to Orange Goblin and Monster Magnet, with a diversity and subtlety in their songwriting that rewards repeat listens indefinitely.Why not catch this particular six legged riff machine now, before all the cool kids are doing it. . ..

For fans of :Kyuss, Clutch, Monster Magnet, Fu Manchu, Orange Goblin
Listen here: http://www.reverbnation.com/luminousblack
Stephen O ' Connor
bornagainnihilist@gmail(dot)com