Clouds Taste Satanic-Your Doom Has Come

Kinda Like Music Inc.
2015

Last year Brooklyn, New York's Clouds Taste Satanic treated us to the excellent "To Sleep Beyond The Earth". A devilishly delicious combination of doom metal and post-rock, "To Sleep Beyond The Earth" proved to be a fantastic debut outing for this skilled instrumental act and it was justifiably meet with high-praise from critics and fans. Now Clouds Taste Satanic (Because...you know...why not?) are back for round two with the forthcoming "Your Doom Has Come". It drops in September and this wicked slab of heavy (and once more quite versatile!) post-rock/doom metal builds on the foundation of album number two while adding in a few more twists and turns! Formed in 2013, Clouds Taste Satanic has steadily improved with each passing year, but this new album really finds the four-piece making the leap from the side-show to the evening's main event! Once likened to Sleep and other similar-themed stoner rock/doom metal bands, Clouds Taste Satanic has developed a key sound and it's one that should be experienced by stoners and doomsters alike. You can find out more about this quartet by heading here.

Clouds Taste Satanic-To Sleep Beyond The Earth

Self-Release/Independent
2014

Well, I feel like a dick. I realize that's not much of a way to open a review, but seeing as this was released back in July and I just stumbled upon it in my email this past weekend its a reasonable enough response on my part. Better late than never I suppose. Although it's got to be said that when it comes to this New York instrumental band the cooler months of October, November and December do seem to offer up more suitable environments when listening to a modern day doom metal band with a "post rock" past like Clouds Taste Satanic. And while I can't be entirely sure about the name of this Brooklyn band (seeing as I've never had the experience of tasting clouds for myself!) I will say that the title of this band's first full-length LP is all the more fitting given the fact that Clouds Taste Satanic wears it's influences on it's sleeves! "To Sleep Beyond The Earth" is a debut album where the love of Earth and Sleep is but the first step taken in this band's personal journey towards self-discovery with some Sunn O))) and those "post rock" roots acting as stimulants for these passionate performers! Said performers include Steve Scavuzzo and David Weintraub on guitars with Sean Bay (bass) & Christy Davis (drums) rounding out this party. Music-wise you can expect to find yourself  transfixed by the cold stare of Clouds Taste Satanic with the album "To Sleep Beyond The Earth" methodically creeping and crawling towards the listener with outstretched skeletal hands of doom. All told it's 45 minutes of stretched-out soul crushing material, but as they often say slow and steady wins the race. Made up of "To Sleep Beyond the Earth (Parts I & II)" and "To Sleep Beyond The Earth (Parts III & IV)" this is one of the ultra rare instrumental albums that actually seems to work better without vocals muddying up the mix. Available as a digital download at the link below, with Kinda Like Music handling the  vinyl and CD versions of the excellent "To Sleep Beyond The Earth", the debut full-length from Clouds Taste Satanic is sinister sexy and should be viewed as a must-have for fans of Earth and Sleep!

http://cloudstastesatanic.bandcamp.com/releases

Disparager-Timeless, Ageless

Self-Release
2014

Only a year old now, Brooklyn, New York’s Disparager offer up their first studio piece with "Timeless, Ageless". The band's debut EP was produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Jay Maas (Defeater, Bane, H2O, American Nightmare, Polar Bear) and for a relatively new project the musicians involved here (Chris AhKao – guitar, vocals, bass and Peter Meluso – drums) did a rock-steady job of capturing their post-hardcore/ post-metal (and post-rock if you really want to be technical about it!) sound on tape. Opening number "Picture" only has a run-time of 3:26 and yet this (post-metal/progressive metal) heavy rock track covers so much ground that you'd swear that it was originally meant to provide a lifetime's worth of rocking out! From there the band serves up as much metallic fury as humanly possible (presented here in blood red color via post-Black Sabbath riffs and time-signatures that would seem to reflect a certain for knowledge of  heavily experimental bands such as Tool, Neurosis, Isis and even Fugazi ) while taking a detour on a number like "Gratitude" in order to take in the sights and sounds of groups like Mastodon, Deftones, The Mars Volta, Sevendust, Nothingface and Thrice. Frontman Chris AhKao is at his best though on a track like "R.I.P. Bill Hicks" as here (over-top of hardened, slick & sick as fuck, post-Refused guitar rock) his wicked as shit voice takes on a greater sense of urgency. It's almost as if he seems to want to shout down the crumbling word that surrounds him while he's simultaneously being tossed about by wave after wave of  people and their frustrating state of apathy! As Chris himself explains it Disparager's music is meant to showcase a "refusal to settle, to compromise, to live any other life than that inspired by unwavering intent, self-expression and integrity." To that end Chris and the band, which is pictured below in it's full live and in living color line-up, hit the nail on the top of the head PERFECTLY. And by perfectly one should also mention that it means by way of post-hardcore/post-metal ass kicking! Just when you think that you've got the band pegged though they pull out the acoustic guitars on "At Least I Still Have Bon Iver", a number that is perfectly self-described as "half folk song, half crushing mix of Isis and Slayer". Where did that come from? Other then from out of nowhere I mean! It's different, but in the sense that it's a different example of this group's devastating assault on the senses! And in the end that's what this little display of sonic post-rock and roll/post metal is all about-assaulting the senses! What a damn fine state that proves to me...

L-R:  Chris AhKao (guitar, vocals), Jason Kim (guitar), Peter Meluso (drums), Sri Rao (bass) – Photo credit:  Merissa Blitz

http://disparager.bandcamp.com/releases 

Tommy Wallach-I Meant It To Be Sweet

Rude Fox Records
2014

The apt-titled "I Meant It To Be Sweet" (besides being an intricate sugary delight) is the outstanding sophomore release from Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/writer Tommy Wallach. Following in the footsteps of a 2008 self-titled EP, "I Meant It To Be Sweet" (a wonderfully expressive quirky/alt.pop album that was at play this entire pat weekend) features contributions from the likes of (engineer and producer) Giulio Carmassi, Ben Davis (Cuddle Magic), Jeremy Gustin (Albert Hammond Jr., etc.) and Lizzy Loeb (daughter of Jazz guitarist Chuck Loeb). On any other day I'd call a release like this avant-garde (hints of pop, jazz, emo and theatrical music swirl around this release like a dizzying whirlpool!), but today I'm just going to call this a quaint excursion into pop rock territory where the rules (if there are to be any) are always open to imagination/interpretation! And that is one afternoon journey (which stretched into a full-length weekend thanks to repeated listens!) worth taking if you're into highly-intellectual, thoughtful and imaginative music with soulful reassurance! Surely "I Meant It To Be Sweet" won't be for everyone (for one thing it isn't going about things with a mindset of being mainstream!), but for those who do decided to invest in an album like this the payoff will be worthwhile!