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

So much not thrilling going on this week. I dunno, maybe my beak is sore from all of this typing, I have a (ahem) hunt-and-peck approach to typing, you know…

BLOODBATH are releasing Grand Morbid Funeral; get your HM-2 pedals a-ready for the stompin’. It harkens back to the so-called glory days of early death metal, in this case the more Swedish/Sunlight Sound era. This record doesn’t feature Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt, and offers Nick Holmes from Paradise Lost on vocals instead. Aside from this (can you tell I had no transition there?), the band really has lost no steam since 2008’s The Fathomless Mastery. But we’re not here for all of that, are we? GMF is just, well, really old-school, Bloodbath is more or less a project really allows the band to experiment a little, and they don’t, but sticking to a formula in this case isn’t a bad thing. That being said, Bloodbath don’t follow a blueprint necessarily, as it can’t be said that this sounds like their previous releases. This is “heavy, organic, raw, sludgy death metal,” says their press release, and it doesn’t miss the mark. The songs here are pretty well-crafted, and I gotta say, although I’m not the HUGEST Bloodbath fan, this is pretty ripping and I’m pecking digging it. 7 Fucking Pecks.

OLD MAN GLOOM are putting out Ape of God, but all of the promos that have been going around have been proven to be false to avoid leaks, so I’m not sure what to review, so I’ll just post this.

Zaius_1

Dr. Zaius is an “Ape of God.” Get it?

SSS come at us with Limp.Gasp.Collapse, and while I’m normally a fan of these guys, I’m having a hard time finding this one in my ear holes all of the time. This crossover act has short bursts of speed mixed in with the occasional mosh riffs. This is normally right in my cage (wheelhouse); I just find this one a little trite. The vocals seem off (energy-wise) and the guitars don’t really have enough bite. You know when thrash bands get to like their third or fourth record, and the record isn’t bad, but just like a little stale? It sounds like that. The riffs are good, but I think the production lends to a bit of sterility that I wish wasn’t here. Not to say that this sucks, because it doesn’t; just wish the production lended to having more life. 4 Fucking Pecks.

VENGEANCE RISING, Released Upon the Earth reissue. UGH. (Formerly) Christian “grindcore.” Grindcore being a VERY loose term here. FURTHER proof you can be old-school and STILL suck. 1 Fucking Peck.