For Those About to Squawk: Waldo’s Pecks of the Week

Wow, my beak is stuffed up. Who knew a parrot could get seasonal allergies? Finally we’re getting some traction here…
MISERY INDEX are releasing The Killing Gods, their first for Season of Mist, and I gotta say: it’s pecking great.  In their amalgam of punk, grind, death, crust and doom lies, well, more of the same. However, this doesn’t feel like a by-the-numbers MI record.  Not to say that this is a huge step away here, but you’re not going to get gothy industrial death, and that’s a good thing. MI are reliable; they know what they can accomplish, and accomplish it with a ferocious intensity.  Most reviews I’ve read seem to point out the oddness of a Gregorian chant at the beginning of the title track, but to me this seems like a beak tease, as drummer Adam Jarvis goes for the jugular with a fill that kicks into the brutality. The production has given the band a little more breadth than on previous records, and songwriting-wise, this is just as pissed off and angry as ever. Kudos to Jason Netherton for mixing his vocals up a little bit, too. 9 Fucking Pecks

I’m not let down this week. EYEHATEGOD release their eponymous record on Housecore. You know when a band gets back together and then they put out a crappy record? Well, this ain’t that.  After 14 years, EHG are back with a bang, and it shows. Featuring drummer Joey LaCaze’s last recordings (R.I.P.), this is your New Orleans sludge/groove/drug-fuckery that you’d expect out of an EHG record. Bluesy, heavy, Sabbathy riffs give way to punk Flag-style vitriol, and Mike Williams’ snarl is as loathsome as ever.  The production here by Billy Anderson, while not as nasty as Take as Needed for Pain or Dopesick, is thick, clear and to the point. This is an earnest record by a band that has seen some tragedy, and while it’s not the barnburner that the previous albums were, this shows a group comfortable in its own skin. 8 Fucking Pecks.

On the same page of me not hating stuff, CUTTHROATS 9 are back at it. Released on Reptilian/Lamb Unlimited and featuring Chris Spencer from Unsane fame, Dissent is a nasty little piece of noise rock. For those not in the know of either band, this is pseudo-industrial, groovy, heavy, uh, noise rock? That’s kind of a stupid thing to say, but I will say that this is the best CT9 record, and definitely better than any of the later Unsane records. There is a looseness here that doesn’t really shine through on the Unsane records, and the slide guitar sounds more like a slide through gravel. Apparently they are back at it again, so do yourself a favor and pick this up. Holy Beak, I’m into this.  8 Fucking Pecks.