...And Then Comes Lividity (1990)

Holy bat shit biscuits! It's been a while since I have graced the mighty IllCon halls with my presence. My deepest of apologies! Scheiße! This month has flown by. Really it has. A lot, I mean A LOT of shit has gone down in the last month: finals, The Legendary Boonville Beerfest, family memorials, visiting my old man, random drunken excursions in the City, brewing adult beverages, and getting back on air... 

Yes, you heard correctly! I recently got accepted into the ranks of local pirate-radio station 99.9 FM HFRA! I am now a genuine pirate it appears and I intend to sail the seas of cheese without abandon. It has been several years since I have been on air. Some of those out there may remember my stint at KHSU-FM (90.5) here in Arcata and if so, you'll remember the ridiculousness of that endeavor: staying up Friday night, consuming massive amounts of coffee and snickers bars, cueing up my show, hitting the air waves at 3am Saturday morning, and then making the arduous journey back "home" at the break of dawn only to officially go to bed at 7:30am and waking up at 1pm for band practice... Ah! Those were the days! How I miss them (minus the 3am part). Nothing is set in stone yet for when my show will be but it will undoubtedly be great. I intend to play a little bit of everything, focusing mainly on metal, classic rock, and the occasional blues album or two. Barring that I can figure out how to, I will try to set up a podcast or record it somehow so y'all can listen for yourselves. Seeing as my last time on air via IllCon Radio was a drunken disaster, I have some redeeming to do on my end... So stay tuned, and don't touch that dial!

In other news, I've been drinking a fair amount. I have tried many a new brew in the past month including my own, which is still fermenting, and I'll have a couple posts coming soon in relation to brew-reviews, hopefully... Also, there's several shows coming up! Namely, Shelby and Co. are making a return to E-town for a show and the bros from MIASMIC are opening! APOCRYPHON slayed the last time they were up here so I'm definitely looking forward to this show. Last I checked, MIASMIC's CD was still at Amoeba Records in SF, and I've been told it was at the store in Los Angeles as well. So go pick yourself up a copy of their debut or contact the band directly.
Also, legendary stalwarts LOCUST FURNACE are opening for PHALGERON this Friday, June 22nd. LOCUST FURNACE are pretty reliable. They have been around for the better part of 15 years now and I'm told they have new material (for once!). PHALGERON were solid the last time I saw them play here. So if you're in the Humboldt area this Friday, you can check them out alongside MADHAMMER (another local band) at the 'Lil Red Lion in Eureka...
Lastly, I recently got a email from MediaFire saying that one of the files I have uploaded via the site has been pulled due to copyright issues. The file "Almost Heathen.zip" has been suspended. Sorry for the inconvenience but I'm glad a few hundred of you out there got the chance to check it out before they pulled it. It took me years to locate a copy of it in replacement for my original and my intentions with my contributions here at IllCon are simply to give readers the chance to hear new and rare tunes. I do not intend to violate any applicable laws nor try to attract the wrong kind of attention. I'm still not sure on all the details but I may have to begin posting more obscure, less-available stuff on here...

So as a token of my apologies, and with the aforementioned, I present you with this somewhat rare slab of maggot-infested metempsukhosis (or whatever that is).

Enjoy! 

Download

Buy

Metallum / Last.FM

Live Report! SPELL OF BLOOD tour: Sacrament Ov Impurity, Blood Etchings, Miasmic, and Vellum at the Lil Red Lion, Eureka CA

Holy shit! I'm still recovering from this show, I think. Thursday night's gig at the Lil Red Lion in Eureka, CA (Cobras' favorite town!) was friggin' awesome! And that isn't the booze talking! Yet... It is rare to see a show up here in the Arcata/Eureka area of this caliber. I mean we'll get maybe one or two of these bands but not all four! Here in Humboldt County I've witnessed a few heavyweights pass through on their way to SF or Portland while on tour, namely Embryonic Devourment, Vile, Decrepit Birth, High On Fire, WITTR, Vektor, Nachtmystium, Earth, Skeletonwitch among others. We even have a few metal bands here that are of worthy note: Locust Furnace, Miasmic, Ash Borer, Cerebrate, Unholy Crucifix, and Sadistic Hallucinations but to get a tour coming through here - or any metal band to play for that matter - is amazing to say the least! The bands that played Thursday weren't necessarily huge but they each have their own following and deserve mentioning.

So without going into a long, laborious and detailed account of the show, I will simply post some brief info on each band. You can check them out further on your own.

FYI: Currently Sacrament Ov Impurity and Blood Etchings are wrapping up their tour tomorrow at the SUB-Mission in SF. No they're not these guys... and no, they're not these guys either, but they're solid musicians and if you like going to shows at smaller venues and you happen to be in SF tomorrow evening, I would recommend checking them out.

So first things first, MIASMIC rules. Period. They spawned from the ashes of an old band I used to be in up here, morphing from an embryo of mixed ideas into a formidable juggernaut. I don't have a link to download any of their material yet but plan to do a proper review of them soon enough! In the mean time go check them out, befriend them on Facebook, and immerse yourself in the Redwood Darkness that is MIASMIC!

Facebook / Metallum

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VELLUM hail from the LA area and are good friends of Miasmic. They are an obscure band with little info out there on them but they have solid intentions. Rumor has it that they literally drove up from LA to Eureka just to support Miasmic - apparently is was their first gig even! Talk about dedication! Having recently lost their drummer, Iishtok from Miasmic filled in on the kit despite literally only having a week or two to learn their material... Despite this and time constraints, it was an epic set! Hopefully we'll be hearing more of them soon!

Facebook

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BLOOD ETCHINGS were interesting. They were menacing. A bit rough around the edges perhaps. They were engaging enough to hold my interest at least. They had a bit of an attitude that I could have done without but they had several worthy songs. They label themselves as "Black Baroque Metal". Definitely had a black/death vibe going at times but shit, at that point the last gin & tonic I had been drinking began to catch up to me so my account is a bit fuzzy.

Facebook

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SACRAMENT OV IMPURITY stole the show. Simple as that. They recently lost their bassist/vocalist. I had the opportunity to purchase and download their debut two weeks ago prior to the show so I was already familiar with their material. There were subtle differences, especially where the bass should have been and the change of vocals but they held it down. They played a solid set to a small but solid crowd. Despite not understanding a single word she was saying, Naphula was one hell of an intimidating vocalist - and that is coming from a vocalist! (she was pretty hot also but that may have been the booze talking)

Metallum / Facebook

Official Website

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As mentioned, Blood Etchings and Sacrament Ov Impurity are wrapping up their tour tomorrow in SF. If you live in or near the City, I recommend going and checking it out.

...for those curious, I am compiling a list of songs from these bands and others as a mix of sorts for y'all in which I plan to feature in a subsequent post at a later date...

Hemlock - Funeral Mask (1997)

Last week I did a post that consisted of a "mix-tape" of sorts for y'all. Actually it was more of a "digital-mix" but nonetheless the premise remains the same. The mix featured USBM bands and within it I had a song from the obscure and occult band, HEMLOCK. Not much info is out there on the band and their material isn't exactly easy to acquire, so I thought it would be appropriate to feature the band.

HEMLOCK hailed from New York, NY and surfaced in 1992 as the "second wave of Black Metal" that emerged from Norway began to make headlines. Funeral Mask was released in the year 1997. HEMLOCK split up shortly after their second full-length release in 1999 titled Lust for Fire. Supposedly, they had ties with the Norwegian scene. I'm not sure to what extent their ties were but I remember reading that one of the members in the band's earlier days was in contact with Euronymous. They subsequently landed a deal with Head Not Found Records which was owned by Metalion of Slayer Magazine fame. So the connection was significant enough apparently.

Now I'm not a usually a huge fan of noisy, incoherent, under-produced metal, especially when it comes to black metal. It took me a few listens to really get into this album. The production is rough, true, but not entirely shit. The vocals are grating and often indecipherable at times; upon introduction, they were just annoying enough to almost quit listening all together, however I found myself getting used to them. The guitar work and drumming are what kept my attention though. I can't begin to describe this album as it is all over the place in parts and where some of the songs would normally be an immediate turnoff for me due to the vocals, they throw in a riff or drum fill or change in the rhythm that kept me interested. This album carries with it all the early hallmarks of black metal but elements of punk and thrash are also heard, and even doom if I dare say (check out the title track).

All of this makes for a highly volatile, rough, misanthropic sound. Just when you have come to terms with what this band is trying to convey or conjure up and are beginning to enjoy it, they take it from you, chew it up, and spit it back in your face all the while smashing your head in.

While it took some listening to - after many, many beers of course - I came to appreciate Funeral Mask and it's raw, dirty production. I feel the reviews for this album by others are somewhat inaccurate. In my opinion, this is a highly underrated album and a worthy listen for anyone remotely into black metal that came from the United States. If anything, this is truly a worthy listen. If this caught the interest of Norway's best back in the early '90s, this surely will appeal to those interested in a sound and a time that has since passed.

Tracks that stand out: Way Of The Wolf, Necrofuck, Loyal To Evil, and Funeral Mask.

Listen first
or
Purchase here


Metallum / Last.FM

ADDENDUM: As DoomUnicorn pointed out, which I apparently forgot to mention, this band features members that are/were/have been in other more prominent bands such as Nuclear Assault, Brutal Truth, Exumer, Dim Mak, and Incantation to name a few.

BACK IN BLACK (a rebellion of sorts)

Dude! Back in Black?! Micro-brew in a can?! Hell yeah! Now that's metal! The name is obviously taken from the song of the same title and while the Aussie heavy weight rockers themselves (AC/DC) may not be considered exactly "metal", shit man this beer’s name is more than appropriate for times like these - it is the Solstice after all (the longest night of the year)!

Those who live in the City (i.e. San Francisco) will undoubtedly be familiar with this particular type of beer since its brewed by 21st Amendment Brewery which is located in SF off 2nd Street. The beer itself comes in metal not glass. Yes good aluminum cans -- not your weak, shit-lined aluminum cans that you usually get from Oly, Coors, Miller, or Pabst -- so as to withstand some heavy drinking (I've inadvertently dropped a can or two and they have survived to tell the story).
Good beer in good cans = good drinking! Right?
(In my professional opinion, all beer should come in cans but that's probably just the hippie in me talking)

According to 21^st Amendment, Back In Black is “inspired by Paul Revere's midnight ride, we rebelled against the British style IPA, embraced the more aggressive American version and then recast it in bold, brave, defiant black. Our Black IPA is a Declaration of Independence from the tyranny of the expected... Brewed like an American IPA but with the addition of rich, dark malts, this beer has all the flavor and hop character you expect with a smooth, mellow finish.”

Huh? Say what? Hold on let me get another beer...

Basically Back In Black is a "black IPA". It's an American-styled IPA that has been brewed with traditional top fermenting ale yeast and hopped with Columbus hops, brewed with Rahr Pale, Crystal, Munich, and De-bittered Black malts; it has been dry-hopped with Centennial and Simcoe hops thus resulting in 65 IBUS. Its alcohol content is 6.8% by volume, so it’s still drinkable but low enough that a six-pack of it won’t get you entirely hammed. Basically it’s black in color, tastes like a hoppy stout but with the consistency of an IPA or pale ale and is more epic than that bier stein that your grandpa gave you last Christmas, sort of like this one here:

(I have a sudden urge to put on some Sacred Steel for some odd reason)

So why am I doing a post on beer you ask? Well I did do a brief post on a couple tasty and well-known beers not too long ago but it was centered around the music namely. To me, beer and music go hand in hand. Also now that I'm officially on "winter break" laziness has settled in and I couldn't come up with anything better to write about.

No, I'm kidding of course! Well, OK. Sort of...

Seriously though, this time around I figured I’d try something new on y'all. I wanted to share with you something that I enjoy – in the holiday spirit, of course. Plus, this beer rules and I have been drinking massive amounts of it recently and I think you should too! (I’m the Devourer of Spirits after all, so I must live up to my name I guess).
See, I'm all about this can-revolution that's been sweeping the micro-brew world recently. I think glass bottles are inefficient and using recycled aluminum is much more cost-effective than recycled glass bottles. More breweries should be looking into this option in my opinion... More on this another time perhaps.
Anyways, Back In Black is a great beer! I highly recommend it. It's got the best of both worlds (Stout meets IPA) and it gets you hammered! Incredible, I must say...
I realize that this beer may not be for everyone but 21st Amendment has other ales that they can also, and many other breweries are picking up the idea as well. It's almost like a rebellion of sorts!

In the spirit of rebellion, in which this beer was supposedly made, there’s nothing like listening to some dark, grim, incoherent, rebellious American Black Metal while downing a couple of these tasty brews on the eve of the Winter Solstice. So on that note, and in the spirit of keeping things traditional music-wise here at IllCon, I’ll share with you a link to some of the music I’ve been supposedly listening to while I have been rambling on here. Yes, I put together a mix of mp3s for y'all to enjoy. Lucky you!
(I guess this is my Christmas present to all of you but whatever you do, please don't call it a "mixtape" - that would just be unforgivable):

Judas Iscariot - Heaven In Flames
Nachtmystium - My Vengeance
Leviathan - Summoning Lupine
Valdur - Wound Fires In The Afterlife
Elk - Blood Under Stone
Unholy Crucifix - Desecration Priest
Miasmic - Gravemoss
Xasthur - Keeper of Sharpened Blades (And Ominous Fates)
Ash Borer - Untitled (Fell Voices/Ash Borer split)
Fog - By This Axe We Rule
Krieg - Sick Winds Stir The Cold Dawn
Weakling - No One Can Be Called As A Man While He'll Die
Nightbringer - Upturning the Seventh Chalice
Blackgoat - The Black Goat
Hemlock - Loyal To Evil
(NOTE: All of these bands can be found on Encyclopaedia Metallum
and via their respective websites)

Cheers!

For more info on Back In Black and 21st Amendment Brewery's other ales, check out their website at:
http://21st-amendment.com/

Contact your local distributor to see if they can carry their beer
(if we can get it here in bum-fuck-egypt-Humboldt County, you'll likely be able too)
or if you're visiting SF, stop by the brewery itself!

Remember to drink responsibly!

Oh, and Happy Holidays and such!
(or Holidaze if you prefer)

Mutilation Rites-Demo 2011

Yeah, so Shelbro already told you that your nuts would probably explode and your head would fall off your neck and you'd probably want to bone the whole band if you ever saw these guys. I'll atest (testies) to this wholeheartedly. Any lesser known band that comes in from out of town and puts Dispirit to shame is A-1 sauce in my book. The sauce to my steak. Not to mention they have the baddest ass female bass player EVER. (Nooooo, it's not me.) Anyways, they came, they destroyed my apartment,my liver and self respect but left me this demo. It's pretty much the only thing I have left in this life. Please enjoy, and yes you are fucktarded for not seeing them on tour. Woops.

DESTROY YOUR LIVER, IT IS EVIL

Dreaming Dead

You may have read about these guys on City of Devils (here and here) or maybe you remember something Cosmo wrote over at his Pulitzer worthy fanzine (maybe here or here). Or if you don't read, maybe you have a bro who's lookin out and dropped some DreamyD into a flash drive when you guys were exchanging four gigs of obscure blackened death metal the other day. Or, maybe I'm that bro.






Dreaming Dead evolved out of a band called Manslaughter (terrible name, right?) and shares members with Exhausted Prayer (an LA based NWOABM band you will learn more about in a future post). Guitars and vocals are handled by Elizabeth Schall and the band just added another female guitar shredder to the line up which is a totally unfair monopoly on local talent. They have a new album coming out this year and I'm expecting some extra tasty blackened death metal with a lot of melody, a lot of absurd blasting and a ton of harmonized leads. And even though I know they just added the second guitar in order to keep up with another certain female fronted LA metal band I wont name (cough, cough) I can't stay mad at them. Dreaming Dead is easily one of my favorite bands to share a stage with and I'm genuinely stoked about their new record. Here's the first one, it'll keep you warm till the new one gets here.



HERE

M.S. on B.A.

Manslaughter Sharkwater on Bay Area:

Ok, so first there was this dude that was like, "I was born in San Francisco- I'm "S.F. on S.F!" And then there was this other dude that was like, "Nuh uh!!! I know what's up". But truth be told they are total complete poseurs. I mean, what's the world coming to when two straight edgers who are totally not straight suggest music for the wasted masses? Don't get your manties in a bunch boys, I'm not saying, I'm just saying...

(Cobras: front and center. Seanford: front and left)

Just fucking with you guys, you know you're two of my faves.


Let's get some coverage from Oakland to SF, Manslaughter style, shall we? These are all bands I've been seeing around a lot lately, and am totally digging in one way or another. I really think there's something here for everyone. It's like a bag of tropical skittles...pick out those green ones you like, or try one of those crazy yellow ones, who knows...you might like it.


FIRST UP:

ELK:

I feel like I've seen these guys grow their first pubic hair, you know? They were all little satan spawned metal babies at first, and now they have hit puberty and their balls are probably dropping and full blown MANTLERS are growing out of their chests or something who knows. Whatever is going on, its working.(I guess when you chug your own pee and are in a band named Elk you grow Mantlers out of your chest)

A BM outfit from Oakland, these dudes are crushing. They have these really cool slower stony parts and then blasted out epic parts. The first few times I saw them the transition between the two major parts weren't quite melding together easily...I think whoever wasn't toking the reef previously must have given in to peer pressure and blazed, because now that shit is tight AND stony.They have an album coming out sometime in the fall I think, and I'm totally there.



Elk at Tidal Wave July 25th, 2010

Here's a split they did with Carrion in 2008 featured on Hell Crust, he knows what's up. I'm not too into Carrion, unless you want to fall asleep faster than if you took two valium's and...took two valium's and...

Elk on Hell Crust: HERE

FLOOD:

Flood was mentioned by IC bro Gooniestorm, and I'm so fucking stoked you mentioned them, dude. I saw these guys with the next two bands.
Named after the Boris epic, this is their debut album, "Native". Dang. I'm listening to "Water" right now. It's like some evil bongzilla god rose up from the boiling magma of the earth's center to join forces with water to create a wall of fog that will encompass your mind for the full duration of this 45 minute ride. It's deep, it's heavy, it's riff laden, it's everything doom and sludge and stoner.Sure, there might be only 4 songs, but even the super long ones pushing 20 minutes still hold my attentio.......what was I saying?

FLOOD: Native-HERE

Vastum

Vastum is the newest band to acquire the lovely Leila Abdul-Rauf formerly of Saros and more recently of Hammers of Misfortune. (Man, is she a busy chick.) So you already know it's gonna be good, right? Well, so far all Vastum has recorded is a 3 song demo on bandcamp, but I highly recommend giving up your precious 4 LOKO money for the day to support these guys so they can put out that album they started recording in April.

Their sound is somewhat similar to that "Oakland" death/crust/punk that'll make you feel like an angst ridden, pit thrashing, mean ass, pimply-faced son of a bitch; however Vastum is totally chugging and blindingly BRUTAL.


Vastum Corpus EP on Bandcamp: HERE

Vastum at Tidal Wave July 25th, 2010

PIGS:

Do you think they are....Furries???

Another Oakland band, Pigs features a member or two of the Fleshies. They describe themselves as "hyphy-thrash-doom-boogie". Nice. I don't have anything free here for you guys, as the drummer Brian constructed his own studio in his live/work warehouse, recorded and mastered every song, and he and the band hand printed every single LP sleeve. That's a lot of love, and love like that doesn't come cheap. I mean, look at this fucking LP.

JUST LOOK AT IT

BUY IT

This is what Razorcake said about this band, I know I couldn't have said it any better.

..."You've heard of magic carpet rides? Well imagine a magic bulldozer ride for you and your friends through the post-apocalyptic Bay Area while the sky glows red and there's pieces of miscellaneous bridges floating around everywhere. It tingled corners of my mind that are very rarely reached. Now Pigs is definitely heavy. And the metal was in full effect for their entire set. But before I throw out some heavy metal references, I want to make clear that this band has been put through the purest, most high-grade DIY punk rock filter imaginable. East Bay warehouse livin', beer vending machine drinkin', duct tape for everything, generator shows under freeway overpasses, listening to the Germs like nothing else, all that good stuff."

EXTRA BONER FEATURE:

PIGS on myspace: HERE

Well, boys and girls, that's it for this edition of M.S. on B.A. Stay tuned for more of your Bay Area metal fix, and feel free to make suggestions. And I will feel free to completely ignore them.

NWOABM from the NW

Someone requested some Lesbian the other day and I'm down with requests. I'm actually going to ask you guys for a few things pretty soon (actually, before I forget, HELM, can you post a link to a Xerxes album?).

Anyway, NWOABM from the NW. Doomy redwood BM for rainy days and all night drives. A super solid record.



LESBROS

(they have a relatively new split with Ocean that's out right now. a 12 min song from each band. pick it up somewhere if record stores still exist where you live)

SF on SF - SAROS

I’ll often do this thing where I get really excited about a new (or contemporary) record and I want all of you guys to check it out but then I feel bad just putting it up because it’s readily available for purchase and the sale would actually benefit the band. SO, what I do instead is post something the band put out a few years ago, like a demo or an EP or something, and then I use that as leverage to encourage you to check out the NEW record (which I strongly, strongly recommend purchasing). I think I did that with that Blackholicus, Dark Black, Lighting Swords of Death, ect. I guess I kind of did that with Christian Mistress too (man, I really spoil you guys). Anyway, I’m doing it again. This time, as the first part of an ongoing series.

SF on SF

First up, SAROS.

It’s raining in LA right now and it’s making me miss my hometown. It’s also making me flip out over this band called SAROS. Their new record (the one I want you to buy) is available here from Profound Lore and the label describes it thusly:

“Featuring members from revered acts as BASTARD NOISE, Amber Asylum (mastermind Kris Force also makes a guest appearance on “Acrid Plains”, along with Saros also being known as Amber Asylum’s sister metal band), and the legendary Weakling, Saros meld influences that can be reflected with such genres as extreme progressive metal (later era DEATH), traditional epic metal (“…And Justice For All” era METALLICA), aristocratic metal (Hammers Of Misfortune), with a splash of Ludicra-esque black metal, chamber music (Amber Asylum), along with the neo folk sensibilities found within artists like DEATH IN JUNE and AGALLOCH.”

Lets unpack that real quick:

Progressive Metal
Traditional Epic Metal
Aristocratic Metal
Ludicra-esque Black Metal
Neo-Folk

Now while that may in fact be an incredibly accurate (if not overly detailed) description of SAROS, I pause at this genre known as “Ludicra-esque Black Metal”. The term they are looking for, although they may not know it, is NWOABM (not NHWOBHM) which stands for New Wave of American Black Metal.

What makes a NWOABM band a NWOABM band? We’ll besides being both NEW (contemporary) and from AMERICA (typically the west coast), it helps to combine in some way a little aristocracy, a little neo-folk sensibility, a slight leaning towards the epic, an inclining for the progressive and a strong base of frosty, grim, Black Metal. Other NWOABM bands would include Wolves in the Throne Room, Lesbian, Embers, of course Ludicra and of course SAROS. There are hundreds of others, all of which I’m sure will soon be labeled as such as my bros Cosmo and Scott continue to popularize the naming of this new genre on my behalf.

Anyway, SAROS owns. Here is their EP from 2006. They put out a new record last year, as I’ve mentioned, and it owns as well. You should own it too.