BURNING LOVE - SONGS FOR BURNING LOVERS

With October looming its foliage-rotted, bark-covered claws at us, we must once again take shelter in the caves lit only by the screen glow of our computers.  Luckily, before the cold winds brought the hard rain, on September 21st I had the chance to see Nails hop on board a show with Burning Love at The Shop in PGH.  This unexpected lineup was a pleasant surprise, especially since the two were set to play a show in Vermont about a week later.  Though the Nails review will be saved until another post, for now I'm getting in to a tractor trailor of kickass with wild-cards, Burning Love.

From the onset, Toronto-based Burning Love thrust out jack-knifing riffs and pave-pounding beats that reminded me of speeding into a twilight horizon.  This three-year-old, five man powerhouse features the roaring vocals of Chris Coholan, former singer of the now defunct Cursed.  I was definitely impressed by Coholan's stage presence; taking charge and reminding people that live shows are for passion and movement, not silent elitism and self-consciousness.

 
Their first full-length on Deranged Records, SONGS FOR BURNING LOVERS, is like getting into the Duke's General Lee with Lemmy and flipping a coin to see who drops the cinder block on the gas pedal.  Clips of vintage race car collisions flash by as one is sonically tossed side-to-side, cruising through melodies that recall the self-destructive swagger of the Stooges.  The mix is heavy on the vocals and guitars, while drums and cymbals cascade in the background.  In general, it's fast, crunchy, and rich, though it could benefit from bringing up the bass.  If you're a fan of Doomriders and Cursed, then you'll definitely want to check out this album.  As always, if you really dig it, support the band and buy it...don't be cheap.

Whiplashing Good Traxxx:

- Don't Ever Change -

- Gain -

- Miserable Sound -

- High Speed Wired -

- Alien vs. Creditor -

- Morning After Party -

Burning Love

Myspace

Download - MediaFire

I GOT TROUBLE IN MIND,
DREKULA

WORMROT / I ABHOR SPLIT 2010

Thanks to Grind and Punishment's awesome review of Abuse, I was shoved head-first into the madness that is WORMROT.  Hailing from Singapore, and on tour in the USA for the first time, I had the distinct pleasure to catch these grind-warriors at the 31st Street Pub in PGH on September 8th.  Bringing the noise without reserve, these guys were absurdly fast, tight, and ruthless, and really friendly in person... HOTDOG, you can't go wrong!

So, while at the show, I naturally picked up their most recent release which happened to be a split with I Abhor.  To say the least, this is a 2010 grind gem; both bands drop heaping layers of face-shredding intensity that results in 11 minutes of straight brain damage.  For a more detailed review, check out Sunyata's blog, but if you're like me and like to dive in head-first and blind, then download and grind away.  Wormrot is STILL on tour in the US, so if you see they're coming through your town, throw them a goddamn grind-parade!

Myspace

Download - MediaFire

INFERNAL HAILZ,

DREKULA

MOSE GIGANTICUS - GIFT HORSE

Now, you might be saying, "Mose Giganticus?  What the hell is that?", but allow me to convert this band's sound into an image:

Atop a dark-clouded mountain top, Thor is pounding on an enormous synth while shooting vibrating lightning bolts out of his eyes as every word he shouts is accompanied by the shattering of tall obsidian columns that were holding up burning piles of skulls that were Thor's back-up singers.

If you can wrap your mind around this, then you can definitely dig Mose Giganticus's third full-length album Gift Horse, their debut record on Relapse Records.  I had the chance to see these guys on August 27th at the Garfield Artworks, and they delivered with deadly precision.  Their blend of synths and sludgy metal riffs combined with ethereal melodies and pounding drums coalesce and mutate to extend audio-tentacles that make resisting uncontrolled head-banging futile.  Personally I was never particular to synths being used in metal, but this was just too good to pass up. My eyes have been open, and now I must pass on the gospel.

Myspace

[MediaFire link removed - send msg if desired]

Most supreme traxxx for the horse-rider: 

Last Resort

The Left Path

Days of Yore

White Horse

The Seventh Seal

INFERNAL HAILZ,

DREKULA

P.S. Check out their video for The Left Path below... it's eerily realistic of the current plight of live-shows, i.e. lame hipsters.