You Should Be Listening To... Triggerfinger!

B.A.N. was in beautiful snowy London for the weekend to take in a bitta Clutch. The unexpected highlight however was becoming acquainted with the first band of the night and being blown away entirely! B.A.N. says: YOU SHOULD BE LISTENING TO TRIGGERFINGER! When these guys first walked out, very early in the evening, looking a little too dressed up for the occasion, my inclination was to say to myself 'who are these chaps? what's their deal?' Blimey, was I impressed! Triggerfinger very nearly stole the show, which is no small thing to say when Clutch follows. This Belgian hard rock outfit have been knocking around since 1998 and Saturday night was the last night of a three week tour of Britain with Clutch and Thin Lizzy. These guys run a tight ship and frontman Ruben Block has a vocal range that you would not believe! Check 'em out when you can, you won't regret it!

Listen to some tracks here: http://triggerfinger.be/

Edward Gerard Brophy

bornagainnihilist@gmail(dot)com

You Should Be Listening To . .. Songs For The Sleepwalkers!!

Something from the lighter end of the musical spectrum, Songs for the Sleepwalkers is essentially the brainchild of Swedish songwriter Andrea Cacesse, and whose debut full length, 'Our Rehearsed Spontaneous Reactions' is a lovely bit of folk inflected post rock/prog exploration.Mining influences as disparate and different as Nick Cave, Bjork , Elliot Smith and The Beatles, it's a tender, intimate collection of songs, perhaps not the crushing riffola one usually finds on this blog, but worth a listen nonetheless . . .

You Should Be Listening To . . .Cast Iron Crow!

Hailing from Bay Area, San Fran, Cast Iron Crow are a four piece grunge/alt metal band that channel the spirit of  nineties grunge and alternative rock in all it's glory ,from the twisted  rhythmic trickery early Tool to the soulful streetwise sound of Alice In Chains circa 'Facelift' , the band were born after singer Jake Navarra shattered his collar bone twice and was forced to quit guitar and take up crooning instead. Considering most folk might give up altogether  after such a trauma, it's a testament to the band's testicular fortitude and belief in their music that Navarra simply picked up a mic and kept going, and this  hard working  is ethos reflected in the band's no bullshit ,straight up,  hard rock sound.Oh, and it just so happens that Tim Sult, bassist for rock gods Clutch, is a fan.If all that hasn't swayed you, then perhaps you're reading the wrong blog.Play Loud.

For fans of :Alice In Chains, Tool,  Soundgarden, Life Of Agony, Speedking
Listen here: http://www.myspace.com/castironcrow
Stephen O ' Connor
bornagainnihilist@gmail.com

You Should Be Listening To . . Giant Monster Army!

Crashing into the Nihilist inbox with a coarse , bass heavy swagger,Bangor  Giant Monster Army play a  fuzzed up, whacked out garage -stoner crossover  that puts one in mind of  QOTSA 's heaviest  moments .Clattering drums, horny , sweaty hard rock  riffing and  some bottom end bass rumble so nasty it'll leave you with an ear infection of you're not careful, (you slut), GMA recall a time when men were men, amps were orange, and  Simon Cowell was wearing his trousers at a normal height and working as a letter boy in some anonymous EMI office.Music to burn one , and possibly another one to, keep an eye out for these guys crashing in on your collective consciousness sometime next with ear with a debut EP.In the meantime, cast thine ears over the link below for some mucky groove laden goodness . . .

For fans of : QOTSA, Truckfighters, BitterChupChupWeLose, Fu Manchu, Winnebago Deal
Listen/Download here: http://soundcloud.com/giant-monster-army
Stephen O ' Connor
Direct all hate mail here: bornagainnihilist@gmail.com

You Should Be Listening To . . .Backchat!

Well holy sheet, this one's fresher n a drunk before payday folks! Backchat hail from Kiev, Ukraine, and are only active since Autumn 2010, and have only recently hit the studio, to record three tracks of some of the most blistering , piss and vinegar punk metal Nihilist has heard in quite some time. Pitched somewhere between the old school filthy southern thrash groove of Superjoint Ritual , the crusty aggression  of Disfear/Nausea  and the low slung groove of early Motorhead, with the odd nod towards black metal for good measure. The combined din sounds not unlike the more accessible moments of Boston hardcore heroes Converge filtered through the attitude and swagger of  The Bronx, and tempered with the stripped down punky spite of early Dillinger Escape Plan . Hit play.Hit play again.Air drum like a motherfucker, and  then hit play again, cos you love us  that much .. . .

For fans of : The Bronx, Converge , Immortal, Disfear, Motorhead, Bison BC
Listen here: http://www.reverbnation.com/backchat
Free Download Link :  http://deletemp3in24hours.com/pub2/metal/Backchat_-_2011_-_Backchat_EP_neformat.com.ua.rar
http://backchatmetal.blogspot.com/
 Stephen O ' Connor
bornagainnihilist@gmail.com

You Should Be Listening To... Yawning Man

The products of the American Desert scene never fail to surprise me. Consider the situation: a scene comprised of young American and Mexican hardcore punk fans, hanging out in the desert, playing gigs, famously powered by generators, and indulging the psychoactives, and out of that came the cult legends Kyuss; the unexpected popularity of QOTSA; revivals in places as far flung as The Netherlands, and so on. But perhaps the most surprising and one of the most beautiful was the little known Yawning Man. Coming to my attention by way of Aussie instrumental noisyists, Hotel Wrecking City Traders, Yawning Man's  album Rock Formations has since become one of those records, along with Mastodon's The Hunter and an unabridged audio book of Moby Dick, that lately I just haven't been able to stay away from! Think Hank Marvin meets Kyuss on a pleasant late summer morning and they get stoned in good humour and jam, the result is sweetly seductive to the ear. Check out this lengthy praise from desert icon Brant Bjork speaking in 2002 (despite forming in 1986 and recording over 30 tracks, no records were released until 2005):

"Yawning Man was the sickest desert band of all time. You’d just be up there in the desert, everybody’d just be hanging, partying. And they’d show up in their van and just, mellow, drag out their shit and set up right about the time the sun was goin’ down, set up the generators, sometimes they’d just go up there and drink beers and barbecue. Sometimes it would be a scene; sometimes it would be very intimate. It was very casual and loose and everybody would like, while they’re playing, everyone would just lounge around. They were kinda like a house band. It wasn’t militant like Black Flag. It was very drugged, very stone-y, it was very mystical. Everyone’s just tripping, and they’re just playing away, for hours. Oh, they’re the GREATEST band I’ve ever seen."

Now that the stage has been set, enjoy my personal favourite, Perpetual Oyster and after that, particularly if you're a Kyuss fan, listen to Catamaran and see if you hear anything familiar...(hint hint, Kyuss covered the song!)

Edward Gerard Brophy
bornagainnihilist@gmail(DOT)com.

You Should Be Listening to . . . BitterChupChupWeLose

OK , so they might have possibly one of the silliest band names in history , but don't let that discourage you from checking out this great French sludge outfit.Playing stripped down, bass heavy rock with an old school hardcore punk swagger,and the odd experimental twist ,  the band's sound is pleasingly raw, rough and ready,with shades of bands such as Oxbow and latter day Killing Joke  peppering their tar thick riffing.The band's latest 'St 10"' is free to stream and download from their Bandcamp site now, and is definitely worth a listen for those who prefer their sludge to come from the garage rather than the recording studio.

For fans of : (Electric Frankenstein,early Torche Black Cobra, Unsane, Black Flag)
Listen here: http://bccwl.bandcamp.com/
Stephen O ' Connor
bornagainnihilist@gmail.com

You Should Be Listening To... Cultura Tres

A recommendation came our way from Vania Yosifova, of Facebook fame, to check out this band from Venezuela. If you're looking for some new doom based sludge to enjoy, Vania is the one to ask, and sure enough, she was right on the money with this one! This band are currently enjoying a nice bit of success, their recently released LP "El Mal Del Bien" having been well received around the doom community, and it is one to check out, an immense DIY effort if ever you've heard one! So, if you find yourself in one of those inexplicable moods for long drawn out intros, dissonant chords that could frighten a bishop and vocals angrier than a 4 year old who's been given socks for X-mas, then check out Cultura Tres! Keep a keen eye on the Heavy Psych Stoner Doom Rock facebook group for all that you could want in contemporary heaviness, and cheers again to Vania for the introduction.

YOU SHOULD BE LISTENING TO CULTURA TRES

Edward Gerard Brophy,

bornagainnihilist@gmail(dot)com

You Should Be Listening To . .. Druganaut!

Read that band name back.Go on.Just say it to yourself aloud even, and tell me that is not one of the best names for a stoner band ever conceived.Indeed, it seems that Druganaut's entire modus operandi revolves around certain substances that they shouldn't be even thinking of using, the little rascals.If you don't believe me, check out the band's bio on their Facebook page:

"Some bastards out there are on the march to ruin by experimenting with every cheap drug a cheap and nasty city like Newcastle upon Tyne has to offer. Other fools try and dampen the tedium of living in this fucking ugly city by playing in a loud and nasty metal band. The bastards in Druganaut are doing both. Formed at the bottom of a little and empty plastic bag out of the ashes of an over flowing ashtray. Druganaut have scraped their dirty knees on new lows looking for new distractions from the increasingly idiotic imbeceles that dwell in the city that surrounds. These guys play the blues for anyone who likes their blues to be brown and burning in a tea spoon. Metal for folk who want their metal to crumble from the heat of a lighter into a joint. Djent for people who want their djent to fuck right the fuck off and never return the fuck back. The best stoner rock that Newcastle has to offer is here my friends. Come catch it before they all od and die" . . .


Can't argue with that we reckon, especially not when the resulting din sounds as joyfully pissed off and concrete fuckin' heavy as these boyos.Imagine Crowbar , COC, Grand Magus  and Iron Monkey meeting after a night or three on a serious Buckfast and soapbar binge and knocking ten shades of shite out of each other and you'll start to get the gist of Druganaut's down tempo , bluesy racket.This is ugly music for ugly times, and you should be getting your hit as quick as you can before it's too late . . .

For fans of :Crowbar, Orange Goblin, COC,good BLS ,Two Tales Of Woe
Listen to the EP 'Shake Your Bones' @ http://soundcloud.com/druganaut-band/sets/shake-your-bones-1/

Stephen O ' Connor, Born Again Nihilist
bornagainnihilist@gmail(dot)com

You Should Be Listening to... The Hidden Hand

Many of us who enjoy the heavy stonerrific side of music are bound to discover certain bands. Black Sabbath is an obvious one, and leading on from that there may be Saint Vitus, and from there you get into the depths of DOOM. However, from Vitus we may find out a little about a man known as 'WINO', Scott 'Wino' Weinrich. Before long you come to learn of the myriad of bands that he has led, including The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, and most recently Premonition 13. But it's one of his lesser known acts that I want to turn you onto today, a band that in my opinion the man produced his best work; THE HIDDEN HAND. The final line-up was comprised of Wino on guitar and vocals, Bruce Falkinburg on bass and shared vox and Matt Moulis on drums. Moulis, unfortunately never got the chance to commit anything to record as the band split in 2007. Here's standout track, 'Desensitized', with Dave Hennessey on drums, from 2004 full-length 'Mother Teacher Destroyer'.

The band were surprisingly explosive live. Here they are in their prime performing the southern tinged 'Majestic Presence' from their final record 'The Resurrection of Whiskey Foote', and followed by oldie and fan favourite from their first full-length, 2003's 'Divine Propaganda'; 'Sunblood'.

YOU SHOULD BE LISTENING TO THE HIDDEN HAND

Edward Gerard Brophy,
bornagainnihilist@gmail(dot)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  

You Should be Listening to... Baroness

In a perfect world, Baroness would need no introduction, but, circumstances as imperfect as they are, this simply brilliant band are still lurking just north of the underground. Formed in Georgia, the current hotbed of progressive sludge (Kylesa, Damad and Mastodon, to name a few), in 2003 and coming from hardcore stock, the band are carving a path all their own with their impressive blend of prog-metal dexterity with sludge dirt and weight, the whole thing mixed with melodic elements of post-hardcore. The result is a sound that was captured on their first full-length record, the perfection of 2007's 'The Red Album'. If you haven't heard this record, fuck me, you are missing out!!! If you ignore every other recommendation Nihilist makes, please! for the sake of your mental health, heed this one! Here's a live taste of personal favourite 'Isak'. 

YOU SHOULD BE LISTENING TO BARONESS

Edward Gerard Brophy,

bornagainnihilist@gmail(dot)com

You Should Be Listening to... Kylesa!

Nihilist loves nothing more than that special time when you listen to an album, knowing little about it and it turns out to be simply whopper! All 2 of us here at Nihilist enjoyed that abstract pleasure in 2009 with the release of Kylesa's 'Static Tensions'. This post-sludge piece of wonderfulness features twin drummers, twin guitars and a production to die for (excuse the drama, I just sat through an entire Sex in the City). I'll avoid saying much about the fact that there's a girl in the band, admittedly a rarity in the sludge world, anyway, Steve can tell you all about guitarist and singer Laura Pleasants. Ask him about when we were at Kyuss Lives and he missed Laura dancing in the wings with Electric Wizard's Liz Buckingham!

You Should Be Listening To... Kylesa!

Edward Gerard Brophy,
bornagainnihilist@gmail(dot)com

You Should Be Listening To... Taint!

It may come as a surprise to the world and the greater universe that we at Nihilist are not always as creative as we seem. Our clever name, for example, is not our own invention, it comes from a Welsh band called 'Taint', who were the subject of our very first post. The Song "Born Again Nihilist" to be specific. The band unfortunately announced their split, after 16 years, in 2010. Guitarist and vocalist, Jimbob Issac, just contacted B.A.N to say cheers for the review of their record 'Secrets and Lies' and "props to your blog name...". So, to celebrate, this edition of 'You Should Be Listening To...' features:

TAINT

Edward Gerard Brophy,

bornagainnihilist@gmail(dot)com

You Should Be Listening To . . .Yakuza!

Formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1999, Yakuza play music that can only be described as , well, mental.A deft blend of progressive metal, jazz, hardcore, sludge and world music elements, the band's sound is impossible to categorise, but is nevertheless essential listening for anyone who likes their music to come from the left field of what is considered 'heavy'.Imagine if 'Roots' era Sepultura were force fed magic mushrooms, and made learn jazz standards, while John Zorn and The Dillinger Escape Plan dropped acid with At-The Drive In and   Minsk in the corner, and you might have an idea of the band's bizarre crossover sound.Go seek em out, before they find ya, and unleash some of that famed mob vengeance on your unworthy asses . .  .

For fans of :The Dillinger Escape Plan, Mike Patton, Stinking Lizaveta
Listen here: http://www.myspace.com/yakuza

You Should Be Listening To... Soundgarden!

The Devil Says...

Really, most of us don't need to be told. The TV play of 'Black Hole Son' over the past few years have kept Soundgarden in the collective consciousness well beyond their years of hiatus. But let's talk more about old Jack Endino era Soundgarden, and the masterful record that solidified them as a cut above the rest in the Seattle scene. The recent reunion after 12 years apart has given us rather little to go on, a wait til 2012 for a new record, although this blogger rather likes the new track 'Black Rain'. Never-the less, we will still have to wait until next year before we can decide if they are back to form. Old Soundgarden kicks ass, no question about it!

Edward says, You Should Listen to B.A.N.

You Should Be Listening To... Neurosis!

It is the most rare and precious thing to find a band that has consistently done there own thing, without a care for what people think. One of the first, and still the most potent band for Nihilist in this respect is Neurosis. It's been a long long time since anyone tried to lump in Neurosis with the Hardcore Punk scene of their youth, no badness to hardcore intended. But they went above and beyond, embracing the ethic that punk means making whatever damn music you want, more than any other band. To illustrate the point, here's is the now infamous live video for Locust Star, featuring THAT SCREAM!

B.A.N SAYS, YOU SHOULD BE LISTENING TO NEUROSIS!!!

Edward...

You Should Be Listening To . . .Tunguska Mammoth!

Have to give props to the wicked Stonerobixx (read  it at http://stonerobixxx.blogspot.com/) for turning me onto this absolutely cracking band.Hailing from Montreal, Quebec in French Canada, TM play groove laden sludge metal much in the vein of  a proggier, more complex Bison B.C, with shades of everything from Chaos A.D era Sepultura to a more stripped down  Red Album- era Baroness, with a pleasingly old school heavy metal feel that compliments their doom laden lyrical imagery perfectly.If they've any sense, Roadrunner'll be snapping these guys up and lashing them out on tour with some much bigger names inside a couple of years .  . if they've any sense . . .

Listen here: http://tunguskamammoth.bandcamp.com/

You Should Be Listening To . . .The Whirlings!!

Hailing from L'Aquila , Italy, The Whirlings are a four piece psychedelic rock outfit in the most classic sense , with a clear love of Pink Floyd, Frijid Pink,  and Sabbath, along with the proto hard rock sound made famous(ish) by bands such as Blue Cheer. Simply put, it's perfect summer music for those who like their rock on the spacey , analogue-delayed side of things, with a perfect retro production that lends the EP a wonderfully warm and fuzzed up feel.Check em out here http://www.myspace.com/thewhirlings

Stephen O' Connor , Born Again Nihilist

You Should Be Listening To... High on Fire

Today we're enjoying some High on Fire, Matt Pike's post-Sleep band that took its crafted stoner sound and introduced more traditional metal influence, resulting in a speedier sound that's unfathomably heavy! Most of the time Pike's guitars sound like concrete; hard, dry and thick as fuck. High on Fire have been at it about 10 years now and their influence is beginning to show itself, check out this from 'Let The Night Roar' for the proof. And it looks as if I'm not the only one thinking this:
http://stonerobixxx.blogspot.com/2010/01/let-night-roar-let-night-roar-2008.html

High on Fire are a band to catch NOW, and I say that because I love the band and I am afraid that they might be past their prime. Their last album, 'Snakes For The Divine', was a little disappointing I thought. The band seemed to be going for a standard metal production which really does not suit their loose, raw sound. It's not bad but it doesn't hold up next to their older work, some of which you can here now!

Or for something more comparable to 'Let The Night Roar', check this one (play loud!)

Edward