My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - "Sinister Whisperz" CD

Subtitled "The Wax Trax! Years (1987-1991)", this 13-song collection harkens back to the glory days of this Chicago-based glam/dance/industrial act. And as a tribute to Wax Trax! founding fathers Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher (R.I.P. gentlemen), it's a fitting set, keeping the group's trademark mix of horror/occult themes and kitschy glam-club disco. As it turns out, "Sinister Whisperz" is not as much a compilation as a remix, from the early "And This Is What The Devil Does" or "Do You Fear For Your Child" to the more undeniably classic aggressive club sounds of "The Days Of Swine And Roses" and "Kooler Than Jesus".

And truth be told, TKK founders Marston Daley (aka Buzz McCoy) and Groovie Mann (Frankie Nardiello) have kept just about everything as I remember. Perhaps there are some minor tweaks here and remasterings there, but these cuts are oddly similar to the original tracks. Not that it's a bad thing, but fans expecting a modern mash-up of great Chicago dance cuts apply elsewhere. As a collection of the TKK's best tracks, this one hits the spots perfectly. The only thing missing is "Sex On Wheelz", but that's a minor complaint. Cooler than jesus indeed, this one's a must-get for old-school, die-hard Wax Trax! fans like me. (Rustblade)

TKK website

The Workhorse III - "The Workhorse III" CD

Brash and snotty sounds from a new Philadelphia act who play a raw and reckless sort of rock that isn't quite metal, punk, or sleazy post-grunge grime, but falls somewhere in-between. Vocalist Lisa Flynn has a brazen, snarly swagger that's like a female Iggy Pop, while her band creates a clot of loud post-punk that's messy but melodic. Fans of stuff like the Stooges, Radio Birdman, or the MC5 should appreciate this. "Infect The Masses" is especially vitriolic, and this short, sharp rock fix is catchy in all the right places. Enjoyably rough. (DRP Records)

WorkhorseThreespace

Year Of No Light - "Ausserwelt" CD

From France comes this formidable and majestic post-metal juggernaut which calls to mind the potent tribal nihilism of bands like Isis or Neurosis (sans caveman grunting, thankfully), all the while maintaining a crystalline drone/shoegaze guitar backdrop that could please fans of Mono or Explosions In The Sky. "Ausserwelt" opens with 20 minutes of "Persephone" (in 2 parts), and these crushing instrumentals aptly exhibit the massive, earth-crushing momentum of what must be one of France's most potent bands.

This album only contains 4 tracks, but make no mistake -- it's 48 minutes of carefully-crafted, intense psychedelic-metal that's so stunningly tectonic that YONL must aim to summon primordial beasts from beyond with every reverberating drum laceration and swirling guitar whirlpool. When it all winds down, on the 13-minute "Abbesse", a fleet of ambient sounds gently lulls the beast back to the abyss. An amazing, powerful, and standout release here. I am duly impressed. (Conspiracy Records)

Year Of No Light site

Year Of No Lightspace

Hytest - "Dishing Out The Good Times" CD

Aussie stoner/punk wiseguys Hytest have been active for 6 years, and this debut full-lengther shows them firing on all cylinders. Opening with the raucous "9 Volt", Hytest's speedy, take-no-prisoners approach borrows the raw, loose-nut qualities from punk (think Black Flag), and a dirty, downtuned sludge-rock vibe from precursors like Kyuss. In fact, it seems Hytest have impressed Nick Oliveri (Kyuss/Queens Of The Stone Age/Mondo Generator) well enough to get themselves invited to tour with him, both as opening act and backing band. So that should seal the deal for fans of the aforementioned. The rest of you?

It's like this. "Girl In Black" is a under 2-minutes of blisteringly fierce heaviness with a melody that gets under the skin. "Goodbye" begins with a rockabilly-style riff before launching into another blistering speed attack. Yet the melody underneath the thick-as-molasses guitars is undeniably pop-oriented, and in a good way. "Abolisher" begins as a ramshackle spitball of immense riffage and high-octane speed riot vocal throttling, and doesn't let go at all. It's just massive. "Dishing Out The Good Times" is jammed with smoking heavy rock sounds with plenty of good times indeed. My only complaint is that these 11 songs are over within 28 minutes. Kick-ass heavy rock for speed freaks, this! I like. (Impedance Records)

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Shonen Knife - "Live At Mohawk Place 2009" DVD

Possibly the best-known (and most beloved) Japanese rock act on these shores, this Osaka-based trio have, for 25 years now, cornered the market on cute garage pop-punk. Yes, the 3 ladies of Shonen Knife sing songs about jellybeans, giant kitties, banana chips, and how much they love chocobars. It may sound silly, but it's somehow endearing, and not forced or childish. And as cute as Shonen Knife may be, they prove that they have the musical chops to match. Imagine a collision of the Ramones with the Monkees, add some Hello Kitty, and you shouldn't be far off the mark. Shonen Knife's catchy, melodic, and energetic tunes are full of spunkiness and upbeat vibes. They are simply adorable, and their heavier songs kick ass, too. This live DVD was filmed in Buffalo on the band's 2009 tour, and shows a small but enthusiastic audience soaking in Osaka's favorite daughters' energy and infectious charm. It's well-filmed, the band were on fire, and this one should please just about anyone. I am left more a fan now than before, if that tells you anything!
(Good Charamel Recordsvia MVD Visual)


Shonen Knife site

"Inbred Redneck Vampires (aka "Bloodsucking Redneck Vampires")" DVD (director: Joe Sherlock)

This ultra low-budget horror-comedy is, thankfully, as tongue-in-cheek as the title blatantly proclaims. It won't go down as a classic in anyone's book, but it is chock-full of tacky dialogue, snappy one-liners, flat acting, and tasteless redneck jokes. Yes, there are bean-eating fart contests, window peeping, tripe-eating, beer drinking, strip pokering, cat-shit eating, and shotgun-toting moments strewn throughout this one, alongside the usual genre staples (extravagantly over-the-top gore and some rampant breastiness). The storyline, you ask? Well, I say, "Does it matter"? Let's just say that a sexy vampiress mistakenly chooses a deep-Southern hillbilly backwoods town called Backwash to start a vampire colony. Soon, the kinfolk are infected, and all manner of wacky hijinks ensue, as you can imagine. Bad accents, bad vampire teeth, and buckets of blood.

I admire the tenacity it took to realize this film, but it seems to go on far too long. Maybe more editing would've made this one a mite more palatable. Kudos to the diminutive Cletus (played by Bill Bradford), who steals the show and is easily the most convincing and charismatic of the actors. If good, ultra-trashy B-movie fun is your thing, look into "Inbred Redneck Vampires". I'll stick with "Redneck Zombies" myself. (SRS Cinema
via MVD Visual)

A Forest Of Stars - "Opportunistic Thieves Of Spring" CD

This English quintet get really liberal with their black metal inspirations, and they are gifted a rare treasure missing in at least 99% of the scene -- a sense of humor! The band's website is a beautifully artistic recreation of a 19th century "Gentleman's Club", complete with books the visitor can "leaf" though, moveable desk props, and Daguerreotypes of the band members as they "were" in 1890. Certainly refreshing in a sea of "too dark for thou" corpse-painted po-faces.

That said, musically, A Forest Of Stars don't refer to that era at all. They exhibit the screeching speed riffs and unintelligible vocal roar of the usual black metal, but the addition of flutes, strings, and symphonic elements is a welcome addition. "Sorrow's Impetus" opens with a maelstrom of harsh black metal and swirling psychedelia - a mix that works quite well. "Summertide's Approach" could be a medieval Tool or Isis, even, if either of those bands utilized violins or flutes in their respective lexicons. "Thunder's Cannonade" churns with a doomy seriousness, and the moody "Starfire's Memory" falls away to reveal a darkened soundtrack of thunder and cavernous noises. The closer, "Delay's Progression", begins as a light synthesizer soundtrack before sharpening the blade and ramping it up to a 16-minute progressive-metal epic. Solid and bewildering work here, melding genres almost as wildly as a Mike Patton-related project. (Transcendental Creations)

A Forest Of Stars site

A Forestspace