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

Happy New Year, you pecking geeks. There’s not much going on at the end of the year, and not much going on in the beginning of the year either. At least we’re out of the doldrums of the reissue cycle, although there have been some that are cool.
Hailing from Portland, OR, LORD DYING release Poisoned Altars on Relapse. It’s produced by Joel Grind, who is normally known for having immense thrashy chops. I was curious to see what he’d do with a sludgy/doomy style band, and the overall result is great.  The guitars have a killer buzzsaw sound, which really lends to an overall clarity, and a kind of old-school type of vibe.  To simply pigeonhole this as sludge or doom is completely unfair, and while it definitely has that “vibe,” it certainly shifts and moves, and is downright mid-tempo at times, verging on the edge of “rock” without ever losing any nastiness. This is no bearded (although they do have beards) fuzzed-out Orange amplifier type of sludge, but more precise and gruff.  7 Fucking Pecks.

Wow, I’m really not too sure what to think of this. SATAN’S HOST is releasing a double album entitled Pre-Dating God Parts 1 & 2. Or, I guess I am sure what to make of this: this is that sorta perfect storm of “cult metal,” and by that I mean the overall feel of this is outdated, so “cult” it is.  This falls neatly between, like, early thrash and proto-black metal, coming across as a slightly more evil Grim Reaper (they do cover “See You in Hell” on one of these).  Calling this bad isn’t really fair, as it’s not bad, just immensely forgettable and uninspired.  So, this is like a little of the ’80s trad metal style; you know, the one where a ton of bands played this style and then were forgotten about? Yeah, that one, with a bit of early black metal thrown in. I dunno, not my perch really. I’m not going to hate on this, but recommending it is pretty hard, too. 3 Fucking Pecks.

So, sometimes I review a band just based off of their name, and ladies and gentleman, I give you SERIOUS BLACK. CLEARLY, someone’s kid was watching Harry Potter, heard the name and decided that this would make a GREAT band name… and they were wrong. But now onto the music. Yuck. I mean, this is just not my thing. The band’s a virtual who’s-who of the European power metal scene, and if any of you beak geeks know me, you know I am super not into that.  This is your typical power metal fare: soaring vocals, a couple of anthems, some string orchestration, a little middle eastern keys here and there. So, if you like this stuff, As Daylight Breaks will not disappoint your bland sensibilities in boring power metal. 2 Fucking Pecks.

That’s it for now. Hopefully I’ll be a little less cranky next time. Squawk!