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

Craft beer from New Belgium/The Lost Abbey, Victory, and Schlenkerla!

Craft beer is all over...it can now be found in just about every mainstream grocery store, as well as specialty shops, and even fine restaurants. Here are some of my more recent findings, with reviews ranging from 1(awful) to 5 (awesome). Anything rated a 3 or better is a solid, worthy brew that should be tried by anyone with a passing interest in the craft brewing scene. You never know when you just might find your new favorite taste!

NEW BELGIUM / THE LOST ABBEY - LIPS OF FAITH - BRETT BEER - 4.0

Brett is short for Brettanomyces, a type of yeast that's cherished in some European-styled ales, and tends to create odd and fruity (sometimes sour) characteristics in beer. This collaboration between craft beer innovators New Belgium and San Marcos specialty microbrewers The Lost Abbey is (not surprisingly), a Belgian-inspired saison ale.

It appears cloudy yellow-opaque upon pouring, with a thick and attractive head of fine, white carbonation. Lovely loopy chain-link style lacing. Nose is fruity and funky. I get both wild berries and citrus tones. Quite enticing! Taste is nicely fruity up front, even hinting at some pineapple. Body is heavy, though, and the Soriachi hops add to the tangy quality. I quite liked this one.

VICTORY - FESTBIER - 3.5

Always been a big fan of Victory (of Downington, PA)'s beers, and this Oktoberfest-styled ale is another good one.

Pours a nice, rich amber, with a thick and attractive off-white head. I didn't get any lace, though... Nose is grainy and malty. I get caramel/toffee, with a tinge of fruitiness. Points for complexity with aroma! Flavor is rich and malty, with a hint of toasty grain malts and a light, fruity hop finish. This is a subtle, well-crafted, and complex, but easy-drinking beer. Impressive!

AECHT SCHLENKERLA - MARZEN - 5.0

Ah, these special little bottles from Bamberg, Germany are a treat, and have no peers, from either side of the Atlantic. There are American-made "smoke beers", but nothing compares to this brewery's legendary works. I see bottles of Schlenkerla for anywhere from $4.29 to $5.29 in shops in my Midwestern area, but they're distributed into most states, so look around, ya dingus!

Dark caramel-brown in color, with a thick head of off-white bubbles. Alas, the only lace is a thin line above the ring. Nose is spectacular! Deeply woody, like a campfire embers and cured meat. Some say bacon, and that's not too far off. Taste is definitely woody-smoky, with a tinge of sweet malts underneath, just enough around the edges to add some balance. This is a tasty, drinkable, and positively a unique experience that any serious beer advocate needs to try.

"Tight" DVD (director: Shaun Donnelly)

This faux-documentary highlights a "band" (called Tight) formed entirely by current and former porn stars. Managed by Charlie Sheen "goddess" Bree Olson (who, by the way, is one of the worst actresses here), these 4 girls strike out as rockers, and this reality-TV-style documentary presents their tour of mostly small bars and back alley dives.

Along the way, we get to see sexy backstage antics (sometimes with male fans taking part), onstage music (not likely to get these girls a recording contract anytime soon), plenty of catty interviews, and in-band fighting. It's all very voyeuristic, staged, and...somehow, oddly alluring. Perhaps this is the epitome of "trash cinema", and although I can't endorse anything here as essential or truly worthwhile, I found it all a good bit of guilty pleasure. (Wild Eye Releasing / MVD Visual)

Dogfish Head & Miles Davis "Bitches Brew" - The Experience

Note that this is a vintage 2010 bottle, aged approximately 2 years! Cheers and prost to Sir Greg O'Leary for kindly picking up this cherished bottle for Goatsden!

Pours a pitch-black, with a thick head of fine dark tan carbonation. Lace is ornate, with a lovely, spider web/lattice design.

Nose consists mostly of dark fruit -- I get figs, raisins, and some bittersweet chocolate.

Taste is sweet at front of palate -- perhaps the honey infusion? What follows is a smooth mix of roasty malts and dark fruit, with a hint of chocolate, as inferred by the aroma.

The finish pulls up slightly sweet, again. This is a delicious brew, with a surprisingly sessionable character, despite the heavy alcohol presence. Nice!

While I sipped on this exquisite beer, I soaked in the audio experience. Miles Davis' original "Bitches Brew" double-album, released originally in 1970, is a renowned and heralded masterpiece of jazz-rock fusion. But stretching the boundaries of what was considered "jazz" was nothing new for the iconoclastic Davis, who risked all releasing this unclassifiable extended set.  

Perhaps one of Davis' best-loved recordings, this album marks a point where Davis moves well beyond his jazz background and embraces sounds as disparate as funk, rock, and out-there world musics. The 27-minute title track throws down some seriously psychedelic grooves! "Spanish Key" rolls with a metronomic Krautrock-styled tempo, referencing legendary German experimenters Can. Or did they reference Miles Davis?

"BItches Brew", the album, is a landmark piece of work from a visionary artist unafraid to experiment. "Bitches Brew", the beer, is a delicious work from a brewery equally as unafraid to experiment and fuse genres and cultures. Kudos to both for a job well-done!

Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales

Miles Davis official site

Northcore - "Desatero" CD

The premiere full-length from this UK-based duo opens with the atmospheric and mysterious "Looking Glass", which combines a whimsical electronic melody with the sparse spoken words of members Jana Tillotson and Carl Gibbons. From there, the upbeat prog-synth "Jupiter" recalls the German sequencer melodies of Tangerine Dream. "Nocturne" uses Middle Eastern vocals to good effect alongside dubby electro textures. "Green Fridge" is icy ambient electronica ala Biosphere before erupting into a clubby techno beast, while the closer, "Min Ros" is a traditional Swedish song with lovely vocals by Maja Eriksson and a misty ambient backdrop.

"Desatero" isn't an ambient album, nor is it a techno album. It does, however, mix up those styles with elements of ethnic music, classic sequencer sounds, and plenty of unusual found sources. It's a stylishly confounding and surprising mix that works well. (Spotted Peccary)

Northcore site

Late Summer Beer Roundup

There isn't really a season for beer, but there are seasonal beers. As Summer nears it's end, here are a few more to take note of. 

My ratings are on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being crap and 5 being godlike. But don't take my word on it. Try them all yourself! And always keep it indie.

ALEXANDER KEITH'S NOVA SCOTIA STYLE LAGER (St. Louis, MO) - 2

Reviewed this one before, and I liked it better then. Pours a clean yellow-amber, with a modest foam and delicate lace. Malty sweet on the nose, kinda corny, even. Not a great start. The taste is sweet, with a caramel-honey vibe. There's no complexity whatsoever here, and I found this one-dimensional, off-balance, and needing to be fine-tuned. No, thanks.

VICTORY SUMMER LOVE (Downington, PA) - 4.5

This nice, clean, golden ale immediately invites with a rich head of fine white foam and spotty lace on the glass. The aroma? crisp and delightful, with plenty of fresh citrus hops and even a trace of fruit. I get more of the hoppiness in the taste, but this one isn't bitter or harsh at all. There seems to be hints of citrus and even apricot in there. A delicious and palate-pleasing summer brew with tons of nuance and flavor, all the while remaining light and drinkable. Winner!

RIVERTOWN HOP BOMBER PALE ALE (Lockland, OH) - 4

This attractive pale ale pours a clean amber in my glass, with a thick head of bone-white foam. Decent spoke-style lacing. Olfactory-pleasing, with touches of pine and orange. The taste is mild, but distinctive and full of character. I get some citrus hops notes up front, with mostly orange peel, followed up with a malty backbone that smoothes out the hops and suppresses the bitterness. This one's a sturdy, well-balanced, and very enjoyable ale.

BODDINGTON'S PUB ALE (Luton, England) 1.0

This "draughtflow system" pint can pours with a huge head of quickly-dissipating bubbles and no lace. The nose is sweet and even a bit toast-like. Flavor is mild all the way, and even watery. I'll give it points for being "creamy" and "smooth", yes, but this beer has little character or body. Thin and uninteresting, this is one to avoid.

"Pure Canadian Horror" (aka "Extreme Canadian Horror") DVD

This 5-film set (on one disc, no less) has more to offer than expected, luckily, especially as it took 7+ hours to sift through it all!  In truth, there are some decent and imaginative indie flicks here.

"Abolition" (director: Mike Kiasson) begins the set, and holds up with some well-done cinematography. The story revolves around a troubled man named Joshua who, as it turns out, is both a prophet and a murderer. This one features a charismatic and memorable appearance by horror legend Reggie Bannister ("Phantasm"), which helps the cause, too. The movie seems to drag a bit, but I give it credit for having some subtlety and direction.

"Aegri Somnia" (director: James Rewucki) is a Lynch/Aranofsky-inspired art/horror film that follows a reclusive loner named Edgar whose social anxieties lead him into madness and ultimately to face his own personal "demons". It's another technically well-done film with some fine cinematography and a keen, artful visual sense.

"Long Pigs" (director: Chris Power) is a faux-documentary whereas a pair of young filmmakers are granted access to record the daily activities of a cannibalistic serial killer. There's plenty of grisly gore here, and some entertaining moments of black comedy.

"I Heart Doomsday" (director: Patrick Downing) comes close to suckness, but pulls through with an unusual charm. This is a weird little story of a nerdy, backward, and megalomaniacal "scientist" who invents of robotic version of himself to woo a beautiful woman (the stunning Christine Ghawi). The plan backfires as she falls for the robot. Sound silly? It is, as are the dirt-cheap effects and sets. But beyond the superficial aspects, this movie has heart, and with bigger production values, it could be a winner.

Finally, there's "Werewolf Fever" (director: Brian Singleton), which drops the bomb altogether. This tongue-in-cheek splatstick is set in a small-town Kingburger fast food restaurant, where a late-night delivery is interrupted by a bad case of lycanthropy. Trouble is, "Werewolf Fever" isn't amusing, only tedious. This is plainly a bad movie.

So, horror in Canada is pretty alive and kicking. There are some fun (albeit raw) moments here, so die-hard horror aficionados will surely find something of value. (R Squared Films)