The Atmospheric/Ambient styling of Jarboe, formerly of the band Swans would perform at a new club called Santo’s Party House in NYC this weekend and I was there to observe and report on what would transpire. The interesting night also found me catching the bands Cult Of Youth and Bloody Panda, one a Celtic Rock act while the other was Doom Metal crushing. Jarboe was continuing to support her latest album “Mahakali” and should you want to learn and see more about the show, just keep on scrolling.
Artist: Jarboe
Venue: Santos Party House (New York, NY)
Opener: Bloody Panda, Cult Of Youth
Date: 2009
Label: The End Records
Having been left curious and scratching my head just a bit after hearing the two Jarboe CD’s that I’m in possession of, I had to admit that there was enough of a feeling of intrigue in my musical mind to find me open enough to catch her doing her thing in concert. It’s been documented that the singers “J2” CD left me wanting but I had enjoyed enough of its follow up “Mahakali” to find myself at a place called Santos Party House this evening. The interest level arose quite a bit when the prospect of examining a new venue would also be a part of the musical treats this evening and as I arrived at the oddly named venue down on Lafayette Street I realized that it was right around the corner from a favorite restaurant of mine – Nha Trang. For those who are not too clear on Jarboe or what it is she does, well, she is formerly the singer for a band called Swans which was considered a leading Post Punk band. Here is how the event went down this evening.
Continue reading Jarboe @ Santos Party House (6/27/2009) →
Artist: Still Life Decay
Title: “Storm and Stress”
Label: Unsigned
Release Date: 2004
Genre: Industrial/Gothic
Rating: Very Good
Still Life Decay is a band that I met at some dark NYC club gathering and after this encounter I could only say that they are as serious about their music as anyone could be. The scene of Industrial and Gothic music has a different audience than that of your standard Metal crowd yet as I listened to this album entitled “Storm and Stress” I felt it was safe to say that Metal fans would appreciate a lot of what is going on in the recording. Powerful riffs over throbbing drum patterns all laced with interesting samples and electronic themes make the feel very intense and above it all their singer Fade screams, growls and whispers to whatever degree the track merits. His delivery is solid and surely sets up a lot of the mood in this very deep recording. Fade not only handles the duties on the microphone but also makes sure that all of the necessary programming involved is just right for the music. This allows the band to bring you deeper into their world and make it an experience you will not soon forget. They also must know the right people as they are joined by Fear Factory’s Burton C. Bell on the track “Detach” which is among my favorites. “Align” was also a repeat listen for me as it brought a little bit of a Nine Inch Nails feel to the piece and I based it more for the creative samplings and steady electronics than a direct copy of NIN. I had felt that “Resuscitate” was a number that appealed to me most as a Metal listener and with that decided that there was a little bit of everything in this band that makes investigation into them a good thing to do. It’s a journey into despair and agony that you will most likely not recover from very easily.
Continue reading “Storm and Stress” by Still Life Decay →
Where Heavy Music & Pop Culture Collide
