KLLU - "UpsideDownCrossRoads" album

This downtempo ambient/dark dub release comes from members of Chicago grindcore/dub act Drug Honkey. And though it's a much more subtle direction from these guys, it remains equally as engrossing. Beginning with the ominous horror dub-hop of "Approach", this album would do well as an alternate score to the compelling FX TV series "American Horror Story". 

"Dead, Like Me", is a more laid-back affair, like if The Orb made sounds for a haunted house. "Keep Us Forever" is a sly, foggy dub tune with plenty of otherworldly reverb going on, whereas the blackened bass-hop of "Beliefs In Hate" features Eraldo Bernocchi (of Sigillum S, SIMM, and Bill Laswell collaborator). The all-too brief (31-minutes) album closes with the sinister "Impossible Dark", which is 8 minutes of atmospheric terror. Perfect.

Points of reference? How about Coil, Scorn, the early soundscapes of classic Skinny Puppy, or Lustmord. A superlative release in every way, and I hope it makes it to CD or vinyl soon. (self-released)

KLLU bandcamp

Drug Honkey - "Ghost In The Fire" CD

Chicago underground noise leviathan Drug Honkey have been away for a few years, but "Ghost In The Fire" reinstates their place among the finest, darkest, and heaviest acts around. Combining the dirtiest aspects of grindcore, sludgy doom metal, noise, and hints of dub, Drug Honkey's music is the soundtrack to a horrible drug trip, or a walk through a back alley littered with junkies, spent needles, foul odors, and possibly a corpse (or aborted fetus) or two. This is decidedly NOT "feel-good" music.

Right off the bat, "Order Of The Solar Temple" opens with nary a flicker of hope. It's a monolithic attack of sizzlingly shrill feedback, plodding, thick drumming, and agonized, gutteral growls from Honkey Head (aka Paul Gillis). "Dead Days (Heroin III)" is another slow-burn cruncher, while "Five Years Up" is an ominous slow lurker, with tripped-out psychedelic vocal effects alongside dub reverberations and sludgy guitar. "Out Of My Mind" could be "Cop"-era SWANS on a bad heroin trip.

A faithful cover of Scorn's "Twitcher" appears later in the disc, and shows a deeper dark dub & bass vibe, while "Saturate/Annihilate" ends it all with a chaotic clot of vomited vocals and layered noise/grind . As with previous Drug Honkey releases, this one stunned me and had me addicted immediately. Amazing! (Diabolical Conquest Recordings)

Drug Honkey bandcamp

Drug Honkeyspace

Drug Honkeybook

Drug Honkey - "Death Dub" CD

I've been a big fan of these Chicago boys for some time. Suffice to say, if you like music that is mean, ugly, greasy, and hateful - here's something that may float your boat. Drug Honkey (great name) create a twisted and subversive collision of noise, grindcore, and heavy electronic dub that transcends any certain genre.

On this, their third monumental slab of ugliness, Drug Honkey sucker-punch you with tracks like 'Communion'. See for yourself - it's heavy and dense as any death metal or industrial noise act, but even more disjointed and dirty, even. I mean that in a good way. Brutal? Most certainly. But whereas other acts may use speed to convey aggression, Drug Honkey are a slow, deliberate, plodding punch to the gut. Imagine if Flipper has a bastard love child with (early) Napalm Death, then did a threesome with the freeform dub madness of Kevin Martin's God. Insidious, dark, and feral, Drug Honkey has your number. Lock your doors - I wouldn't trust these chaps with the pets! Hah! (Drug Honkey)