It’s good to hear something happening out of Paraguay. Fuzzkrank are a stoner/fuzz rock band out of the country’s capital, Asunción. Slow, plodding, powerful and Sabbath-y in vibe, so you know it’s stoner-riffic. I’ll be quite curious to see how this band develops.
Metal
[Music] Napalm Death – Mentally Murdered
This record was my first introduction to grindcore. Napalm Death were brutal and fast, and meticulously precise, and this record caught them at the beginning of the peak of their powers. Truly brutal listening.
[Music] Twenty Sixty Six and Then – Winter
Fine, heavy, expansive Krautrock from one of the better German bands of the era, 2066 (Twenty Sixty Six) and Then.
[Video] Калевала (Kalevala) – Лучшую Спою Вам Песню
Though I have an absolute loathing for metal, I really try to cut those who try to mix culture and folklore into their music. Football chants mar the the actual singing taking place in this song, tarnish what might have been quite a good ditty. On the plus side, though I find neo-paganism to be a repugnant fraud, it’s good to see that these kids are maintaining the tradition of metal existing solely to annoy parents until they have to pay their own bills.
If this sort of thing appeals to you (yes, I admit that the singer is pleasant to look at and the bagpipes in some of their songs is a very nice touch), then check out Kalevala’s website here. Better yet, go read the original, which inspired the name.
[Sample] Thou – Heathen
Amazing noisy sludge from Louisiana, Thou seem to be keeping to a trend of quasi-religious metal band names. They’re impressive at any rate.
[Sample] Various Artists – Prima Giedi
Cold Dark Matter Records taps into the one thing I respect about this new Doom Metal scene – they exhibit raw power. Every track on this compilation is a bruiser. I think I’ll have a lot of fun exploring this label!
[Video] Transmetal – Infierno De Dante – Vive Latino 2007
I have to admit that I hate mose of what constitutes what is called ‘thrash metal’. It is boring, repetitive in a lame way, and the vocals tend to sound like the Cookie Monster suffering from a bad bout of diarrhea.
This, however, struck me as being a bit different.
My friend, Mark, who has been trading notes on music with me for over two decades, insisted that I hear this band. Knowing I had nothing to lose, I figured, “Sure, why not?” Transmetal is impressive. A lot of racket, but it seems focused, and very intense. Apparently, they also cover Motörhead, which wins big points from me.
A band to look out for.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 