OK, I know, its GOT to get better. There’s not too much I found this week, so I guess I’ll get into it.
Nux Vomica releases the oh-so-crusty Nux Vomica (self-titled, for those of you that aren’t that quick on the uptake) on Relapse. Calling this just crust would be a little unfair, sure there are elements of Dystopia and His Hero Is gone, but there’s also elements of melodic death, doom and punk. Throw in a dose of middle-era Neurosis and you’ve got Nux Vomica. The production here really lends to the overall sound; it’s not muddy, and it’s got some sack to it. This whole presentation comes across well, and doesn’t ever feel like a band that’s just mixing in genres to keep it interesting or prove that they can play. Even though they are firmly rooted in the metal and punk veins, check out the melodic passages in “Reeling.” Even things like this don’t detract from the overall feeling of the album, and it never loses cohesiveness. I’m preening digging it. 7 Fucking Pecks.
Wow, I’d never heard Mass Infection before, and I’m glad it did. For I Am Genocide is an undiscovered death metal gem. Maybe I wasn’t expecting much, being previously unaware, but this brutal slab of death is perching cool. There’s brutality here for sure, but also technical parts that don’t seem wonky or masturbatory. Think Grecian (is that a genre?) death metal with a little Hate Eternal thrown in. The riff, my beak… the riffs, they move, they shift, never digging in too hard where it becomes repetitive. This seems to be a concept record of sorts, or maybe there’s some underlying theme, but to me that theme is brutality, violence and nihilism. Cool. 6 Fucking Pecks.
Well, I need more words, so… Various Artists, Ronnie James Dio: This Is Your Life . I really don’t tend to like this sort of thing here, and this isn’t the exception. I was wondering when something like this would come out and, well, it has. Aside from the ridiculous cover, there are different artists covering RJD songs, closed out at the end with RJD himself. How do I even get into this? The Metallica track is pretty lame; the Tenacious D track is executed better than you think it would be, but is only worth a listen or two. The Killswitch cover of “Holy Diver” probably has RJD spinning in his grave more times than that meatspin site. That’s not to say this is utterly worthless, although I wouldn’t spend my hard-earned seeds on this. Motorhead’s version of “Starstruck” is cool, Doro doing “Egypt (The Chains Are On)” is pretty cool, and the Halford and band version of “Man on the Silver Mountain” is great. So, uh, yeah, not my perching spot at all. If you want lame versions of great songs, by all means, by my guest. The bonus here is that it was assembled by Wendy Dio and the proceeds do go to Dio’s cancer charity. 3 Fucking Pecks.
