Ste's Top 10 of 2011 for B.A.N

10.Opeth -  Heritage

A difficult one to pin down at first, this is one that rewards repeat listens.A move away from the death metal brutality of old into more expansive sonic waters, Heritage  has more in common with the classic prog sound of Emerson Lake and Palmer or King Crimson than say, Emperor, and while the jury might still be out on whether or not this is a good direction for Opeth to take, there's no denying  it's an eminently well crafted album , eclectic but yet still cohesive.

9. Uncle Touchy -  Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Violence

A late enough submission in the year, Uncle Touchy nevertheless impressed with the sheer narcotic violence and grimy fury of  EYEWTKAV, a finger in the eye of modern day punk rock, and a pleasantly unpleasant listen.Taking elements of  bands such as The Jesus Lizard, The Melvins, Tad, and even a little Dillinger Escape Plan, Uncle Touchy are that band your parents forbid you to listen to, the sound of damaged men playing too loud and causing mayhem in the process.In other words, rock and roll at it's finest.

8. Uneven Structure  - Februus

French progressive metallers Uneven Structure gave us all cause to celebrate the rise in influence of the French metal scene with this doozy of a record, combining the mathematically precise riffing of Meshuggah with the atmosphere of bands like Tesseract, and in the process gave the Djent/tech community a new band of heroes to obsess over.Top stuff.

7.Zippo -Maktub

Beguiling, endlessly inventive and yet satisfyingly inventive, this record by Italian prog rockers Zippo captured the imagination in much the same way, for me personally, as Baroness'  Red Album  or even Tool's seminal Lateralus , music as much for the grey matter as the moshpit. Slated to appear at the 2012 Desertfest in London alongside Truckfighters and several others, it seems 2012 may bring some much deserved recognition the way of  these  Pescara noiseniks, fitting when considered in the light of such an accomplished piece of work as Maktub. 

6.Aliases - Safer Than Reality

When UK noisecore legends Sikth split in 2008, many ,including yours truly, pined hard for the demented fury of the Watford sextet , and the online community went into overdrive , creating petitions and the like  to try and entice the band back into action.While it looks as if  a reformation may be some way away, Sikth fans could at least take heart that the band's spirit was being continued on with guitarist Graham 'Pin' Pinney  and the brilliant Aliases. 8 songs packed with feverish invention, technical wizardry , and above all quality songwriting, Safer Than Reality  is a joy from start to finish, a thrilling , no bullshit , bat shit mental record that rewards repeated listens.

 5. Radio For The Daydreamers - Praying For The Be(a)st

Pittsburgh , PA outfit Radio For The Daydreamers  put out one of 2011's most intriguing and unique records in Praying For The Be(a)st,  a warped collection of  menacing sound scapes and experimental, genre bending     pieces that deftly combine elements of electronica, jazz, post rock and others into a fascinating whole.A real 3am ,headphones on sort of album, it might not be the loudest or most accessible record on this list, but it's still well worth your time, fitting more ideas and ambition into single songs than some bands manage their whole careers.

4. I Decline -  Time To Shine

Crashing into Nihilist's inbox , and subsequently our earholes with an album of gloriously OTT, old fashioned heavy metal fury, I Decline combine the melodic values and fist pumping working class ethic of old school hard rock like Thin Lizzy with tar thick stoner rock riffing and irrestistible , arena sized choruses.A favourite with the stoner blogging community on it's release, expect to see more of these guys next year, not least of all on BAN.

3.Luminous Black -Swedish Meadows Of Flaming Monkeys/Cosmic Gnomes/An Ode To Poggie Dillon  

Okay, so I'm cheating a little here, as this isn't really an album as such, but hey,it's my list, and besides, these Co.Kildare, Ireland stoners have produced three Eps worth of quality fuzzed out excellence, everything from riffing monoliths like 'Lateral  Thinking', chilled out , atmospheric groovealongs like 'Meadows Of Kaos' to just straight up weirdness (um,  'Swedish Handjob')is represented here, and they're also a quality live act:support slots in the new year include a set with Shoctopus and Pektop.

2.Sleestak -The Fall Of Altrusia

An absolute monster of a record, The Fall Of Altrusia represented probably the best example of atmospheric post metal last year, with the band's thrilling , emotive noise cutting through a swathe of pretenders and posers to forge their own brutal, unique identity. One of the few records that can legitimately be described as a 'journey', the band's churning maelstrom of noise takes influences from the aforementioned Oakland behemoths, but also contains nods to industrial legends Godflesh and even post punk.Crushing,  bleakly beautiful , and surprisingly addictive,The Fall Of Altrusia  was one of the defining moments of underground metal ,at least for this lowly blog writer.And so on to . . .

1.Mastodon -The Hunter

OK, I know, I know, I've picked the same record as Ed. But before you accuse me of jumping on the bandwagon , let me elucidate.I have been a die hard Mastodon fan for going on eight years, ever since the monstrous Leviathan Blood Mountain, and the monumental power of Crack The Skye make them both modern classics in their own way, powerful , forward thinking metal with a unique identity that elevated the band above the miasma of metal acts, all repeating history and playing it safe by bowing to tradition in the blandest, black clad fashion possible.

And so to The Hunter , the band's most divisive, and most controversial release yet. The most accessible Mastodon record yet, it split fans,and prompted accusations of 'selling out', the band were 'girlfriend metal', 'hipsters', and so on, all from a metal community that still allows crimes like Manowar to go unpunished. And yet,it's also the band's best reviewed album , reaping praise even from those not from a heavy music background.And it's not hard to see why.A lean , mean, monster , and more of a hard rock record this time out, The Hunter  took Mastodon's progressive instincts, and welded them to 13 of the most beguiling, balls out rock songs this year.Sure, there were moments of heaviness , in the monolithic 'Black Tongue', or the riffing juggernaut of 'Spectrelight' ,but there was also moments on this album where even the most open minded of Mastodon fans might have ventured to scratch their heads and wonder about where the band were taking this.The weirdness of 'Creature Lives'.The QOTSA-alike groover 'Curl Of The Burl' and the joyous , almost pop punk of 'Blasteroids'.But after a few listens, it all made sense, and one thing about The Hunter, perhaps even more so than any other Mastodon record, is the emphasis on songwriting, the band not wasting a note .There is no fat here, no bullshit, only great tunes.The only thing now is where do the band go from here?Rest assured that BAN , and indeed this humble writer, will be only too happy to find out.In one word.Awesome.

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  

Gig Review, Luminous Black and Kerouac @ The Pint, Dublin, 26/08/'11

“No, seriously we’re done, we’re gonna fuck off now.”

So we wander into The Pint on Eden Quay at 5 past 8 and hear sound check noises that fool us into thinking the gig had already begun. This was meant to be ‘Last Show On Earth’ with ‘Luminous Black’ and ‘Kerouac’, but after a chat with Kerouac front man, Aaron, we learn that Last Show On Earth won’t be playing tonight. So we get ourselves a delightfully priced pint of 3.50 Fosters, hang up our pants and sit down for a while.


Addendum: As it turns out, we were wrong. Last Show On Earth did indeed play this night and like eejits we left the gig before Last Show On Earth's performance. Apologies to the band from B.A.N. and we'll catch you another time to make it up to you!


'Last Show on Earth'
Listen here: http://www.reverbnation.com/lastshowonearth


Kerouac.
The sheer energy that this band brings to their performance is unbelievable, it’s enough to rival any straightedge hardcore band (go see Converge to be blown away by the unhinged energy of 34 year old singer Jacob Bannon!).


Kerouac waste no time and lay straight into their fiery set. Aaron, guitarist and singer possessing a natural ferocity to his voice that would make Liam Cormier jealous. Add to this, the unmistakable bite of a humbucker equipped Stratocaster and you’ve already got a damn powerful sound in the making.


They keep the stage for a good ten song set. I cannot say for certain who the band’s major influences are but I’m going to venture a guess at Deftones for one. Their material has a very 90’s sound about it, which is actually quite refreshing to hear if you’re in and around my age (whatever that may be), certainly the sharp guitar tones echo Deftones, albeit on a 6 string guitar. The band has tremendous dynamic control, shifting from hard to soft, clean to dirty and intense to subtle with ease. All three members also have beards, which is always the first sign of a good rock band (this hypothesis was proven to be scientific fact after Red Fang’s performance at Hellfest this year). Bassist, Keith, has himself a mighty beard indeed: a lengthy fellow that would be even more fitting if Keith worked on a 19th century whaling ship.


The band mix it up with their song writing with tracks ranging from short and angry, such as third song ‘Hail The Fire’, to protracted and complex, the only common thing being the 100% energy either way. Drummer, Richie, gives his cymbals no rest, certainly towards the end of the set which was shorter than expected because Richie managed to break through the skin of the bass drum!


Forth song in, Aaron breaks out some serious vocal gymnastics that wouldn’t go amiss in Iwrestledabearonce. His wandering left leg is something to behold too! Kerouac are a band that demands the end of the night, the drunken hours, the stage of the night where people loose their nut, this is one band to catch at a headlining gig! Having said that, they did not disappoint playing first this night.


Kerouac
Rating: 8/10
For Fans of: Deftones, Alexisonfire, maybe even Biffy Clyro.
Listen here: http://www.kerouac.ie/ 


Luminous Black.
Unfortunately, I only caught the names of a handful of Kerouac songs. The very opposite is true of Luminous Black, bassist and singer Rob always makes a point of getting the names across loud and clear.


Bass drum replaced, LB open their set with the instrumental ‘Meadows of Kaos’, a favourite amongst those who know LB. The oddly sweet track descends into molten metal to lead it out, guitarist Rob putting active pickups to work shattering the calm. Followed closely by ‘Lateral Thinking’, after which bassist Rob announces, “No, seriously we’re done, we’re gonna fuck off now.”


Good thing it was only a fib or else we wouldn’t have got to enjoy their cover of Kyuss tune ‘Supa Scoopa and the Mighty Scoop’. Can’t go wrong with a Kyuss cover! This one displays the lead weight sound the band is capable of producing. Rob’s bass looks like an early 80’s sports car and sounds like one too and after standing front row for the night, my ringing ears can testify that drummer, John’s snare needs no amplification! A true hard hitting metal drummer, the slick sporadic double kicker work during ‘Cosmic Gnomes’ demands your attention.


LB break out a few newer tunes tonight with the galloping ‘Pot Jockey’ and to end the night, another fan favourite is brought out, ‘Bum Trip’. This cruising riff riding track is preceded by Rob giving us a definition of a ‘rusty trombone’! All things considered, quality set! The only let down tonight was the absence of Last Show On Earth, we’ll have to catch them another time.


Luminous Black
Rating: 8/10
For Fans of: Kyuss, Orange Goblin, mid 70’s Black Sabbath.
Listen here: http://www.reverbnation.com/luminousblack 

Edward Gerard Brophy for Born Again Nihilist, 2011.
bornagainnihilist@gmail(dot)com

Gig Review , Luminous Black at Dimestore, Sweeney's, Dublin 02/06/11

Upon entering Sweeney's, formally La Cirk, we seek the bar to freshen our mouths and spirits and are greeted by a pleasant middle-aged gent, lets call him 'Zed', with whom we enjoyed a brief moment's worth of conversation.

“You here for the heavy metal? Ah, my brother used to be into it, y'know, and I never really got it at the time. But y'know, as I got older I sort of (shakes his fist and mimics head-banging), y'know...”

Our drinks arrived in front of us and Stephen brought this back and forth to an exciting climax when, with fire in his belly and steam on his voice, he readily replied; “Sure, Rush are, what, 30 years old now? And they just sold out the 02. Show me a band from X-factor that will be able to do that in 30 years". We later deduced that this man was probably a taxi driver.

After sitting down at a table quiz and realising we were at the wrong part of the venue, we made our way upstairs and awaited the band's arrival on stage.

Luminous Black, after a quick sound check and a moment's banter with the crowd, launch into 'Bum Trip'. A rolling stomper of a track driven along by an expansive riff, something that Tony Iommi would have been glad to use on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Excellent choice for an opener.

Second round, LB glide their way effortlessly into 'Meadows of Kaos', the first of what would be three instrumental tracks the band brought to their set, a brave move for any band. After the gig, in conversation with bespectacled guitar player Rob Moore, we discovered that the band began with the intention of being and instrumental three piece but the  bass player couldn't keep away from the mic.

By this early stage, drummer John Quill, or 'Sweaty McBallballs' as bass player Rob called him, has already brought some welcome energy to the mix with the aid of the loudest snare I have heard in some time! Just the kind of drummer a power trio demands.

Getting into the swing of things now, the band break out 'Cosmic Gnomes', a metal monster that demonstrates that the term 'gallop' need not only apply to Iron Maiden riffs. Guitarist Rob (yes there are two Robs involved here) is as chilled a guitar player as you'll ever see, letting the lazy right hand go to town on the riffs, never missing a note and milking a short list of BOSS pedals at his feet for all they're worth.

Coming up behind this was  the wonderfully titled 'Swedish Handjob', which in it's own way has to be the weirdest song I have heard lately. A delicious mash-up of cheeky lead guitar and funky bass lines. This track's apparent poppiness is thoroughly undermined by a certain eeriness about it, confirmed in it's final minutes by the introduction of a lengthy heavy riff that sees the song through to it's end. Rob O'Connell shows us here that the swagger of his bass playing can equal that of his vocal and pin-stripe trousers.

All of the above come into play when (bassist) Rob begins 'Blood Red Blues'. And true to it's name, this is a good old-fashioned bit of bluesy filth underpinned by a sluggish descending riff in, you guessed it, the blues scale! Rob (guitarist this time) gives us a few seconds of feedback before laying on the fuzz thick and creamy to join in with a creatively fleshed out take on the riff, utilising some fascinating chord ideas to great effect. Almost makes me think of the unforgiving thick sound Kyuss achieved on 'Blues For The Red Sun'. “How many times can you say 'blues' in one paragraph Ed?” That's it for now, thank you, I think I'll get down to wrapping this one up.

This is a band that I would recommend to a very wide range of tastes, all the heavy riffing a metal fan would need, all the variety and melodic mystery that a prog fan demands and even blues rock enthusiasts will be satisfied to boot. As I have already alluded to, this a power trio exercising that very power. Like our friend the taxi driver earlier in the night, we were offered some more pub philosophy on our way out, courtesy of a small woman who's hair was curiously 20 years younger than her face.

“You know yourself, when you see a band and when they're shit they're shit and that's it and when they're great they're fuckin' great and that's it, and they were great!”

Hardly Nietzsche but she certainly wasn't wrong! She also mentioned something about rehab which I failed to catch but I'm sure it was of little matter. All things considered, an excellent fuckin' show, and we'll be keeping a keen eye on Luminous Black and their future activities. Well done also to Sweeney Mongrel's, who's own beer was a welcome addition to the atmosphere. Much like Fosters but with a slight citrussy after taste. . .

 By Edward Gerard Brophy
for Bornagainnihilist 2011