Interview with Kerry King of Slayer

I got to speak with Kerry King of Slayer this week and it marks another first on DCHeavyMetal.com. Previously I’ve only interviewed people from the area that this blog covers however when you’re offered an interview with a member of Slayer you accept it! I did try to ask several questions with a local focus though. There was some crackling on the phone and I did my best to reduce that in editing without making the recording sound too choppy. Our entire 10 minute conversation is transcribed below (with links, photos and videos) and you can stream it by clicking the orange play button below or if you want to download the 9.78mb mp3 file you can do that here. As usual my words are in bold.

Kerry King photo by Metal Chris

This is Metal Chris from DCHeavyMetal.com and I’ve got Kerry King, guitar player for the legendary thrash metal band Slayer on the phone with me. Slayer will be playing at the Fillmore Silver Spring this Tuesday, November 19th with opening acts Gojira and 4Arm. Now I’ve heard there’s going to be some sort of old school set list on this tour. What exactly can fans expect from Slayer this Tuesday?

It’s going to be Seasons In The Abyss and prior. It’s pretty fun, [the] set goes by in no time.

So we get to hear some old stuff like “Black Magic” and “Hell Awaits” on there?

Uhhh… yeah. I had to think about that, I’m like ah man. We just played a show in Austin, we played Fun Fun Fun Fest and we had to make our set shorter so I was just trying to remember what’s on the set list. Yeah, it’s really cool. We came up with this idea ’cause we played two nights in LA and they wanted something special for the second night. I came up with this idea and then I realized right away everybody was going to want us to do the old school set. And it’s cool timing. This is the last tour before new music and we’ve never done anything like that before so the timing’s cool, it’s fun to do and people dig it.

Now this will be the first time that Slayer has played in the DC area with the new line up, which includes Gary Holt of Exodus and Paul Bostaph. What have these guys brought to Slayer’s live show?

Well Paul, this is what the third time he’s been in the band. Hopefully he sticks around this time. And Gary, he’s just an old school thrasher like I am so it’s really as close as Slayer can come to not missing a beat, I think, as it could possibly be. It’s just as good as everybody ever wants it to be, you know?

Now you’ve said [in previous interviews] you were talking about going back to the studio I guess with this line up. When exactly are you planning on starting the recording process?

Well you know if you ever read my interviews I’m always the optimist, haha. It just never always pans out but my plan is to be in [the studio] in January. That’s what I want to do. Me and Paul have, I think we’ve demoed like eleven songs and I think there’s parts of fourteen, fifteen that are just mine. We just gotta get a plan set and follow it. But we’ve got way ahead of the game. I’ve got seven songs done lyrically and I’ve never had that many before we hit the studio so it should be, whenever we get in it should be a quick process.

Now Paul Bostaph, since he’s back behind the drum kit here for Slayer and you know on one of the Slayer albums that he was on, Undisputed Attitude, there were a few covers of a famous DC harDCore band, Minor Threat. Is there any chance we’ll hear Slayer play a Minor Threat song for us on Tuesday?

I couldn’t play one if I had to hahahaha. It’s probably been since then that I’ve played those. We might have played some of that stuff on that tour in like ’96 but I would definitely have to go and do some homework.

Do you have any favorite bands from DC?

I don’t really pay attention to where bands come from. I mean it sounds kind of silly when you think about it but I don’t even know who’s from DC. Help me out here.

Well we’ve got you know Pentagram and The Obsessed. We got a lot of old doom bands from here. Pig Destroyer is from here, Darkest Hour and then of course all the old harDCore bands like Minor Threat, Fugazi, Bad Brains.

Yeah Pentagram is one of those painfully obvious names. Cool as shit hahaha.

Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King photo by Metal Chris

Unfortunately Jeff Hanneman who was the other original guitar player for Slayer, he passed away in May of this year. This was a big blow to the metal community as a whole but I’d actually like to know how this affected you personally.

Ummm… Well you know it just… Untimely death just sucks and it’s the guy that I made music up with for thirty years. That super sucks. He went early. It sucks. Heh, that’s all I can say, it sucks. My guitar tech died the year prior so death has become no stranger to me and you just gotta deal with it. You know I’m not set up to where I can just go away and live in my house and not work ever again. You just pretty much gotta tighten your belt a little bit and get on with life. It’s a horrible thing but we gotta trudge forward.

Now Slayer’s last appearance in the DC area was July of 2012 when Mayhem Fest came to Jiffy Lube Live. I heard a lot of older metal fans complaining that legendary bands like Slayer, Anthrax and Motörhead, that they shouldn’t be opening for a band like Slipknot. What’s your take on that?

You know I understand that perspective and everyone knows I believe that sometimes but whether you’re playing in front of us or behind us– sometimes I even think it’s even harder to play after us so I just go up there, I do my show. I don’t put a lot of thought into the politics of it and say all right we’re done. Now your turn. Have fun buddy.

Now in 2002 Paul Bostaph had just left Slayer and you guys were holding drumming auditions and one of the guys you did an audition with was Kevin Talley who DC area metal heads will know for having played with Dying Fetus and Misery Index for years. There’s video of this that’s gone around on YouTube and other places on the internet for a while. And I was kind of curious what were your thoughts on his performance and is there any reason he didn’t get the job?

He was definitely in the final one or two and I think that was the first time Paul left that we did that. The second time Paul left Dave [Lombardo] came back so we weren’t doing the auditions then. It had to be the first time, probably like ’97 but yeah I remember him playing with us. He was definitely one of my top choices but the guy that we picked just seemed like the better fit.

Washington DC is something of a craft beer town these days and several of our local breweries have metal heads working there and running the places and brewing beer. And with bands like Iron Maiden, Sepultura, Amon Amarth and even locals Pig Destroyer, they’ve all got their own official beers. Have you ever thought about making an official Slayer beer?

I know it’s been brought up and I know we have Slayer wine over in Scandinavia and I don’t really understand exactly what it all takes to get the permit to sell that stuff here. You know that’s not something I worry myself about all day but I’m sure it’s going to be getting world spread. And then there’s been talk of beer, there’s been talk of spirits. You know it’s just gotta get it all thought out and then be presented to us in a way that it’s ready to go. I’m totally into it.

You know I could probably get one of these guys to bring some great local beer backstage if you want on Tuesday.

Oh Gary would be into it. I’m not a beer drinker.

Alright man, what would you rather have some Jäger I guess?

Nah we got plenty of that, hahaha.

There was a recent commercial on ESPN with sports analyst John Clayton wearing a Slayer shirt and I saw you guys recently posted a photo with him backstage I think in Seattle. And apparently he’s actually a really big Slayer fan in real life, it wasn’t just on the commercial.

I know that’s when I found out too. I was like, ah he’s really into us, haha.

That’s pretty cool. So I was wondering do you know any other public figures or celebrities that are Slayer fans that people might not expect?

Oh I’m sure I do. Um… But I mean it’s more like people you’d expect like Josh Barnett the MMA fighter he’s big time into metal. I always see him in the pits actually at my show or anybody else’s show you can always pick Josh Barnett out cause he’s the biggest guy out there.

I don’t think I’d want to be in a mosh pit with him at a Slayer show, hahaha.

He doesn’t have to worry about getting his ass kicked, that’s for sure. So you know that, you know ball players, but that’s kind of obvious you know. Anybody that gets pumped up before they do anything Slayer pumps you up as well as anything you know, gets you fired up.

Yeah it definitely does that.

John Clayton one was definitely crazy. We didn’t know he was coming to the show. We’re warming up and our tour manager says “hey, John from ESPN” and Gary says “John Clayton?” hahaha and he comes in and we’re like “ah man that’s cool” and he had the shirt on that he wore in the commercial. It was rad.

Alright so what’s your favorite Slayer song to play live? You know it really does get people pumped up but what’s your favorite?

Probably “Raining Blood.” There’s so many musical changes in that song and when you hit the opening riff the place just becomes electrified. It’s awesome.

That’s an awesome song. You know I’ve always loved that song too because it sounds like a thunder storm ripping through the area. So here’s another question about music: What’s your favorite new band putting out music right now?

I don’t have one. That’s a question I really struggle with. You know and I’m not really checking out new music right now because when I’m working on new material of our own I don’t listen to things I don’t know so it doesn’t outside influence me. And I know that sounds crazy for a guy that’s been doing this thirty years but I mean your subconscious is a strange thing. You might hear this riff and it ends up in your song kinda. You know even now it’s five, the last ten years I don’t have anybody. I wish I did. Most [of] the stuff I listen to is old.

Kerry King photo by Metal Chris

Alright. You know DC is the seat of political power in the western world. Is there any kind of statement or anything you’d like to say to any of our politicians or about policy here?

Not really. I’m not a big political evangelist type person. I make music, they play with the law.

Alright. The last time you guys came really anywhere near here with the original line up was when you played 1st Mariner Arena [in Baltimore] in 2010 and that’s when you guys were doing [the] complete album Seasons In The Abyss and I think Megadeth was on that and they were doing Rust In Peace as well.

Yeah.

You did Reign In Blood years before that as well and I was wondering are you ever going to do South Of Heaven straight through?

I don’t think so. South Of Heaven‘s got great songs on it but it’s also got a cover on it and even though we sometimes do covers… doing a whole tour… I just don’t think that’s as strong a record as Reign In Blood and Seasons. I think we picked the right two to play. I don’t like “Cleanse The Soul.” I think that’s one of the worst songs we ever made up.

Oh really?

Yeah.

Another thing I was wondering is, I know last year Slayer put out those Christmas sweaters that were so popular. Do you have any other ideas for off the wall Slayer merch coming up?

It always comes up man and I know they’ve got new ones this year because they just made a limited amount last year and they were gone before you could blink an eye which I thought was ironic because I vetoed that to start with. But yeah they’re going to have more this year. They planned on making more so people would be able to get them I know that. They’re always coming out with different shit that we’ve gotta approve. I just approved a coffee mug. I don’t even know where they sell those things but you know the ones you put in your little cup [holder] in the car so they don’t tip over.

Oh yeah like the traveler mug.

Yeah, yeah. If it’s cool I approve it. [If it] sucks I don’t hahaha.

Alright well that’s about all of my questions here. Is there anything else you’d like to say to the fans of DC?

I’m stoked to come to DC man. Always a good show there.

All right man. Well thanks for taking the time to do this with me. This has been a cool experience for me so thanks a lot man.

Cool brother. Come say hello in DC.

I shall. I’ll be up in the photo pit too so I’ll be taking pictures.

Cool.

Well alright man. Have a good one.

November 14, 2013
Categories: Interviews, Thrash Metal . Tags: , , , . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 4 Comments

Gwar ticket give away

Gwar at the 9:30 Club

It’s that time of year again, the weather is getting colder and you’re starting to hear holiday music when you venture out in public. This can only mean one thing: Gwar will be playing at the 9:30 Club soon! Sunday, November 17th to be precise (that’s this Sunday!). I’ve been commanded by my slave master Oderus Urungus to bring more lambs to the slaughter and so one of you (un)lucky DCHM readers will win a pair of tickets to attend this very massacre concert. To enter just leave a comment on this post letting me know which celebrity you’d like to see get the brutal Gwar treatment on stage at the show. At 5pm EST this Friday, November 15th, a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries to win the tickets. Be sure to use a valid email you check regularly so I can contact you if you win. Don’t worry, I won’t add you to any spam lists or sell your info or anything sleazy like that. If I haven’t heard back from the winner in 24 hours another winner will be chosen at random. If you can’t wait to see if you win or the contest is already over when you read this, then you can get tickets from Ticket Fly for $25 here.

If you’ve never seen Gwar live before then get ready for a truly religious experience! Our alien masters are known for putting on the goriest live show in the universe and you’ll be covered in blood, bile and worse by the time it’s over, a truly epic baptism by mosh pit. But before Gwar even dominates the 9:30 Club stage there will be sets by other bands as well. Iron Reagan is a crossover/punk band with Tony Foresta (Municipal Waste vocalist), Landphil Hall (Municipal Waste, Cannabis Corpse) and Ryan Parrish (ex-Darkest Hour drummer) and they’re going to shred your faces off! Starting off the festivities is the aptly named A Band Of Orcs. If you’ve ever wondered what it would sound like if monstrous orcs from Lord Of The Rings formed a metal band then get there early to find out. These guys are more Tolkien than Gorgoroth! Still not sure if you should go? Then check out these awesome music videos by the bands playing the show as you think up your entry!

November 11, 2013
Categories: Contests, Nightclub 9:30 . Tags: , , , , , . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 49 Comments

Review of Evolution by Primitivity

Band: Primitivity
Album: Evolution
Release Date: 16 October 2013
Buy from CD Baby (digital) for $9.99: Here

Cover of Evolution by Primitivity

Did you know the DC area has its own heavy metal cello based group? You may not be familiar with Primitivity since they, at least so far, haven’t played many of the venues we tend to find metal bands at. They just released an album of originals that is, well, I’ll let DCHM writer Tal’s review speak for us on this. You can also check out her personal blog here, which includes a review of a recent Primitivity concert she attended. And as always there’s a couple songs you can stream at the bottom of this post so give the band a listen as you read the following review.

Primitivity, a quartet of three cellists and a percussionist led by Loren Westbrook-Fritts, debuted three years ago with Plays Megadeth for Cello – an obvious nod to Apocalyptica’s Plays Metallica by Four Cellos. Primitivity’s new album, Evolution, which is made up entirely of original compositions, demonstrates that this group of University of Maryland grads is far from a copy of that pioneering cello rock band. On Evolution, Primitivity blends the flavors of heavy metal and classical cello music in a way that is all their own, and will appeal to metal heads and classical music fans alike.

When I first heard Primitivity’s music, I was immediately struck by how guitar-like the sound was. The first thing I heard, through a sample track on their website, were the opening “riffs” of “Sacrifice” and then “Primitivity,” and that was just what they sounded like – guitar riffs. “Sacrifice” starts off with some energetic, slightly thrashy riffs, that you can just figure out are cellos if you really think about it. “Primitivity” begins with hammering NWOBHM-ish riffs – and then about half a minute in a clean cello melody comes in, giving the music the feel of symphonic metal.

I was hooked right away by the cello “guitar riffs”, but as I listened to the rest of the album, I realized that Primitivity uses their cellos to imitate all sorts of guitar sounds. Not just riffs – there are also shreddy solos, complete with distortion and “guitar squeals,” eked out by driving the cello to the very top of its range and pizzicato segments that sound very like acoustic guitar (pizzicato notes are plucked with the fingers). I had the opportunity to see the band live at their CD release show on October 16 at the Mansion at Strathmore, and in a live environment they sounded more like cellos – but even live, the lowest parts still sounded surprisingly like bass guitar riffs.

Not only that, but the trio of cellos backed up by drums manages to recreate pretty much the whole sound of metal music, up to and including “vocals.” Primitivity is purely instrumental, with no vocals, yet in many songs the cello parts (that is, the parts that actually sound like cello) play the role of vocals. This is quite appropriate, considering that the cello is considered the instrument that most closely mimics the human voice. I first noticed it in the song “Forgiven” – when the drums, the melody and the background parts all came together at the climax of the song, it suddenly sounded like a rock ballad with the lead cello delivering the anguished vocals. There are a few other songs where I had this impression, too, most notably “Transcendence,” where the leading cello seems to sing over a chugging “bass.”

And of course, I can’t leave out the drumming. The band wouldn’t sound metal without it, after all. The percussion is nothing super fancy, leaving the spotlight of complexity on the cellos, but it does give the music the familiar rhythm and kick of metal, and is delivered crisply and energetically. I’ve heard it said that percussion is the backbone of a metal band, and that’s what the drummer creates here – a solid backbone for the cellos to build on.

Without a doubt, my favorite song on Evolution is “Convergence.” It begins with a heavy intro of moderately paced riffs, which quiet momentarily as a lovely melody begins. Soon the riffs start up again, and the fusion of riffs and melody will touch the heart of anyone who enjoys sorrowful melodic metal. Aggressive riffs occasionally come to the fore only to yield the stage to the melody again, and then about midway through they come together in a perfect fusion of heaviness and beauty that gives me chills. After that guitar sounds take over for a bit, with what sounds like twin lead “guitars” and then a short shreddy “solo” before the melody soars over the riffs again. I catch myself playing air guitar, laugh and start playing air cello instead.

As a fan of guitar (and cello) riffs, I most enjoyed the energetic, riffy parts of the other songs as well. The rocking, guitar-like intro to “Primitivity” was one of the things that first drew me to the band. Then a sweeping cello melody soars over the riffs, the smoothness and vivacity of the melody contrasting with the moderate staccato marching of the lower riffs. (Staccato notes are short, fast, percussive notes made with the bow.) The first song on the album, “Sacrifice,” also has a strong guitar-riff sound, which is almost thrashy; the melody actually falls in the background to the riffs for most of the song. The way the cellos mimic the sound of electric guitars in these first two songs is pretty amazing; there are parts where if you didn’t know better, you might actually think there was a bass guitar riffing away with a cello playing the melody. “Psycho Logic” and the short, intro-like “Overdrive” right before it are probably the most energetic and metallic songs on the album, with some more rocking riffs in “Overdrive” and very heavy, almost thrashy riffs opening “Psycho Logic.” “Psycho Logic” is carried by a jaunty cello melody, but features a lot of, shall we say, weirdness, in keeping with its name – frantic high-pitched “shredding,” very dark and harsh grinding moments that sound impossible for an acoustic instrument to produce – along with ever faster takes on the melody and some furious “bass” riffing. It’s undoubtedly the most powerful metallic song on the album. “Revival” also gets furious near the end, although the beginning is very classical-sounding, with pizzicato that sounds almost like acoustic guitar, a flowing melody and a background of short but obviously cello-sounding notes backing it up. The drums and the “riffs” don’t come in until nearly two minutes in, when the background starts to pick up a bit of distorted, heavy sound. Three quarters through the song, it suddenly changes character entirely, with racing riffs and a feverish melody that dissolves into scratchy high-pitched sounds, to end on a fast note. “Emergence” also features some solid riffing, although the cello sound shines through even in the lower notes for most of the song. It also has a very sweet melody that soars over the infectious momentum of the riffs, and sometimes takes a backseat to more complex guitar-like work, including some shreddy moments.

These songs alternate with slower songs, which I did not dig as much at first, but they started to grow on me as I listened to them more closely. Even these slower songs have energy – they feature riffy backgrounds and shreddy solos, intense climaxes and lovely melodies. “Ascend,” a song which Loren described at the show as an attempt at “simple” songwriting, is dominated by long sweeping cello notes. It keeps my attention more with the catchy riffs in the background and some thin, high sounds that eventually resolve into a short “solo,” however. “Forgiven” starts out very slow, with an almost synthy sound that is encouraged by the distant, minimal drums. Long, sad notes eventually give way to an achingly beautiful melody, and finally about two minutes in the “guitar riffs” and drums pick up. Finally things come together in the climax where I noticed the leading cello delivering the “vocal line.” Unfortunately, this energy is quickly dropped for a quiet, slow take on the melody over distant drums; fortunately, the quiet interlude is quickly ended by a “solo” and then the song intensifies again. “Transcendence,” as the slowest song on the album, is sort of a shock after the fast and energetic “Psycho Logic.” But it’s not all long flowing notes – there’s some pizzicato and “bass guitar” notes as well, which add texture and intensity. Like in “Forgiven,” things eventually come together and the cello delivers emotional “vocals” while the “bass” chugs away in the background and the drums keep slow but insistent time. This time the intensity is not dropped but keeps going until a crescendo near the end. The album also closes on a slow note with “Prayer,” which the band played “acoustic” when I saw them live. I didn’t understand what they meant by that at first – weren’t all the instruments acoustic anyway? But I think what they did was to turn off their speakers and distortion, and let the cellos speak for themselves, à la chamber music. Unlike the other slow songs, this one is devoid of any riffing in the background, and the percussion is restrained to some barely audible thumps, metallic clicks and some sort of shaker. It’s a beautiful and relaxing end to the album, and although I found my attention wandering a bit, the frequent changes in tempo and intensity drew me back.

I was very impressed by the album. It’s remarkably heavy and metal, while at the same time not losing sight of the essence of the cello. This band is not as aggressive as Apocalyptica – when I saw Primitivity live, I didn’t experience that terror of them destroying their instruments that Apocalyptica’s take on Metallica inspires in me – but Loren Westbrook-Fritts and Primitivity capture the sound and the spirit of heavy metal in a way that’s more in tune with the classical background of the cello. They don’t just use the cello to mimic the sounds of electric-guitar-based heavy metal, but create a mix of classical and heavy metal, using the natural sound of the cello, the ability of the cello to mimic the guitar as well as the voice, and the unique sounds somewhere in between to express themselves in an unusual way that is both headbang-worthy heavy and classically beautiful.

November 7, 2013
Categories: Album Reviews, Local Band Info, Washington DC / Maryland / Virginia Metal Scene . Tags: , , , . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 2 Comments

High On Fire Ticket Give Away

High On Fire

High On Fire headlines a killer line up at the Rock & Roll Hotel on Tuesday, November 12th and because DCHeavyMetal.com loves getting people out to great shows like this one we’re giving away a pair of tickets to the show! To enter just tell me which band playing the show you want to see most, and why, by leaving a comment on this very post. At 5pm EST this Friday, November 8th, a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries to win the tickets. Be sure to use a valid email you check regularly so I can contact you if you win. Don’t worry, I won’t add you to any spam lists or sell your info or anything sleazy like that. If I haven’t heard back from the winner in 24 hours another winner will be chosen at random. If you can’t wait to see if you win or the contest is already over when you read this, then you can get tickets from Ticket Fly for $20 here. Now a bit more info on the bands.

Oakland’s High On Fire was started by guitarist Matt Pike shortly after the break up of his previous band, the legendary doom band Sleep. Don’t think High On Fire is all doom and gloom though, their sound is more high energy with catchy sludge riffs. Also on tour is Kvelertak, a favorite band of mine that blurs the lines between punk, black metal and rock and roll. Plus they put on one of the wildest shows you’ll ever see. Kvelertak is from Norway and their song lyrics are all in their native tongue but it doesn’t matter if you know what they’re saying or not because they bring killer riff after killer riff! Music is the universal language after all. Opening up this leg of the tour will be the Doomriders. This Boston based band is led by Nate Newton (also of Converge and Old Man Gloom) and they really shred. You may be noticing something tying all these bands together: they all play some sweet riffage! This show is going to be crazy and there is literally nowhere else better to be on a cold Tuesday in November. Now check out these awesome tunes by the bands below and let me know which one you’re most excited to see at this show.

November 4, 2013
Categories: Contests, Rock And Roll Hotel, Sludge Metal . Tags: , , , , , . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 28 Comments

Metal Show Of The Week: Pelican

Who? Pelican
When? Saturday, November 2nd
Where? DC9 (map)
How much? $15 cash at the door or on Ticket Fly

I won’t lie, there’s a ton of great shows coming up in the next week (and beyond) on the DCHM upcoming concert calendar. Dying Fetus/Exhumed, Watain/In Solitude, Orange Goblin, Finntroll… but this week’s pick for metal show of the week goes to a gig that’s a bit more obscure. Chicago’s Pelican is headlining a show at DC9 (right by the 9:30 Club, Velvet Lounge, etc…) this Saturday, November 2nd, and if you don’t know who they are you should check come them out. They’re an instrumental band and they’re not particularly brutal by any means. In fact they’re often labeled as post rock, though they did play at Maryland Deathfest back in May. They’re not overly soft like some instrumental bands though, they’ve got some big riffs in there and they really jam out live. They just put out a new album, Forever Becoming, this month and I’m pretty excited to hear them play some material off of it, particularly the song Deny The Absolute.

Pelican isn’t the only band worth seeing on this bill though. Coliseum is from Kentucky’s punk scene though they’re not your typical punk band. Their songs are actually really well put together with riffs that are very catchy. When I saw Coliseum play a Deathfest after show back in May they were super energetic on stage and they should be a perfect warm up set before Pelican. Coliseum will also be selling tour posters for that look like this so bring a few extra bucks to snag one (or some other merch). There’s also a local punk band called Highway Cross opening the show. I’ll be honest, I’d never heard of them before but they remind me of Fugazi some. You can check them out here and be sure to listen to the tracks I’ve posted by Pelican and Coliseum below as well. I hope to see some of you at the show, it should be a lot of fun!

October 31, 2013
Categories: DC9, Metal Show Of The Week, Sludge Metal . Tags: , , , . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

Review of Akris’s Self-Titled Album

Band: Akris
Album: Akris
Release Date: 24 September 2013
Record Label: Domestic Genocide Records
Buy from Bandcamp (digital) for $9.99: Here
Buy from Blue Collar Distro (CD) for $9.99: Here

Cover of s/t Akris release

DCHM album reviewer Grimy Grant gives us another album review, this time for the self titled release by Northern Virginia natives Akris. Usually I embed a couple of songs for you to listen to at the end of the post but the only place I’ve been able to find their music streaming is here at the Obelisk where you can stream the entire album. Try opening it in another tab and give it a listen while you read Grimy Grant’s review below.

Blasting their intense bass riffs out of Frederick, Virginia, Akris has released a full-length for 2013 named after themselves: Akris. Helena Goldberg performs the bass and vocals – you can see her on the Akris band page giving the mic due punishment. What comes through the headphones in this album is a bit of Burning Witch via riot grrrl – a kind of noisy, punk-y, jazz-y rock that “creates an avalanche of bass and drums, with a layer of celestial noise on top” (from their own bio). Metal Archives lists them as stoner/sludge metal but I feel that they strive for way more than just that. The fact that they have different “multi-instrumentalist[s] and noise provocateur[s]” in addition to a drummer, Sam Lohman, is a testament to their striving to be more than just drum-and-bass sludge metal. As further proof of their eclectic roots, they are listed under their Bandcamp as “noise rock”, “hardcore punk”, and “blues”, all of which are comparable to Akris’ sound but also different.

As cool as that may be, the experimental, compositional music of this album was hard for me to enjoy. Akris leaves a weird taste in my mouth – not a bad taste, just weird enough to not make me want to go back too often. The sound of Akris to me comes off as if they rushed the release of the album, resulting in a lot of technical glitches. “Fighter Pilot”, the opening track, starts with about 5 seconds of dead space followed by some confusing bass notes that changed the pace of the song several times. It may have been intentional but comes off as amatuer. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – at times in the album I enjoyed the fuzziness of the songs – but it does cause some songs to leave a funky taste in the mouth.

The fuzzy, clunky bass is a kind of ode to punk and riot grrrl music. I mention riot grrrl only because Goldberg’s vocals remind me of Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna a bit. It also resonates similarly to Kylesa’s guitarist-singer Laura Pleasants. Goldberg’s voice alternates between lullaby-like harmonies and screaming on all of the tracks. Even so, while it sounds heavy – very heavy, in fact – the guitar riffs tend to be repetitive by the third or fourth track. Akris does better overall in the vocals department. Goldberg’s voice stays with me after every song as a beautiful but deadly thing, both harsh and melodic. In “Fighter Pilot”, after the bass settles down and her voice comes through clearer, it makes the song enjoyable, or at least easier to wrap my brain around.

Akris definitely does the job right for a sludge band by being utterly depressing despite having some rough edges. Every song, while ignoring the context, is a bummer. There’s a fascination with the spiritual and other-worldly going on, too. An example of this is in the track “Row of Lights”. Goldberg sings of how she “Went to the mountain/ To find my escape” which resulted in her looking into the sky and the moving stars. The imagery fits more with a sludge song and I liked the bass breakdowns despite it being a bit similar to the other songs. As in much of the album, there is a balance between the fierceness of Goldberg’s voice and the slowness of the bass. “Row of Lights” keeps that crazy funeral march of bass and drums just enough to keep my heart from racing too much. “Riverbed” creates a funeral bass riff coupled with a dual harmony from Goldberg. It’s a kind of darkened farewell song talking about how her “heart is broken, beneath the riverbed” followed by Goldberg screaming “what happened to us?/ Why?” in a kind of frustrated cry to the dark river she’s beneath. Despite the clunky bass it has a way of blotting out any happiness in the room and drives home its message. The unusual harmony and composition pay off in these songs well.

The flipside of the experimental noise is that it sometimes hurts the songs. The following song after “Riverbed”, “Vomit Within” has disjointed harmony along with some stranger lyrics that I wasn’t able to make too much sense of: “There is a place inside my head/ That opens up when I am dead” followed by mentions of a shadowy figure. Piecing together how the lyrics of this song play with the rest of the “Vomit Within” caused some head scratching. Is the opening and the “shadow” that Goldberg sings about what we’re vomiting into? The metal name of the song just clashes too much with the sweet singing for it to make sense for me. It’s also hard to follow at about four minutes into the song when a male voice joins her (possibly a member of Admiral Browning) and the song gets weirder and more disharmonious. I love weird stuff, don’t get me wrong, but this just rubbed me the wrong way. All the parts were there for a great song like in “Riverbed” but they just didn’t pace well and it sounds unfinished.

Akris would be a great live band and I’d love to see them perform. In the studio, there is too much thumping, rusty Sunn amp bass distracting me from the rest of the songs. There are moments I found myself nodding to the rhythm though, and I feel that the technical glitches would go forgiven in a live setting, particularly in a DIY venue. At Hole in the Sky, Corpse Fortress, or Girl Cave there were some great bands that took the experimental route. At those shows I remember descending into each house’s basement, someone turning the lights off, and hearing some blasting, out of this world noise. Those are happy memories and I feel transported to those basements when I listen to Akris. I don’t remember anyone, including me, caring about glitches or the content of songs – it was more about the moment. Time has made me a grown-ass man now so maybe that’s my problem with this (feel free to digi-hurl old man jokes/rotten tomatoes at my Twitter handle @jgrantd – I don’t get a lot of traffic on Twitter as it is). Akris aims at a higher goal of doing something compositional and creative with their work – something that I gather from their band bio on their page. While it’s hard to get into at times I still like how they are trying something new. And Akris should be commended for their bravery in doing the unusual without being afraid of occasionally sounding off.

October 29, 2013
Categories: Album Reviews, Local Band Info, Sludge Metal, Stoner, Washington DC / Maryland / Virginia Metal Scene . Tags: , , , . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 1 Comment

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