Katatonia - Night is the New Day

Night is the New Day offers up a round, dense and intelligent mix of metal, strings and entrancing harmony. On past albums, Jonas’ voice could come across as weak and lackluster. For Night is the New Day, his vocals are powerful and convincing throughout. Though he maintains a whimsical quality, he conveys the emotional quality of his lyrics with clarity and strength.

Instrumentally, Night is the New Day is rich and vibrant. Each of the tracks is carefully orchestrated and the harmonies add a brilliant quality to the dark message offered up. Rather than being overpowering, the guitars blend nicely with the string instrumentation found throughout the album.

Katatonia created an all-around album that will appeal to fans of music whether they enjoy metal or not. Night is the New Day is definitely one of the best albums released in 2009 and should find its way on to any music lover’s end-of-year shopping list.

Get a copy of Night is the New Day here

The 69 Eyes on Stage

The crowd was a sea of black leather and lace adorned fans, albeit a slightly smaller crowd than I expected. Still, energy was high as the band caressed their way through a setlist of old and new tracks which included Brandon Lee, Lost Boys, Gothic Girl, Never Say Die, Dance D’Amore, Betty Blue as well as the title track of their latest album, Back in Blood. It was not as long a show as I expected but the crowd enjoyed every minute of it, enticing the band back to perform a 3 song encore before the leather clad, sweat soaked Finns retired for the evening.

A few of the band members signed autographs and took photos with fans outside by the bus post show before hightailing it to Toronto hotspot The Bovine for an after party. Did I mention the Bovine has a stripper pole? It does. One of the boys hopped up there and gave it a go, quite a sight to see.

Karen’s full gallery and original writeup can be found here.

Peter Steele - Cleveland, OH

Peter was on his game, sounding better than ever, flanked as always by Kenny who tore away riff after riff, singing and working both sides of the stage. Johnny was all smiles blasting beats high atop his drum riser and Scott held his own well throughout the gig. It seems he has a handle on what he is doing as I did not notice any glitches throughout the performance. When it was all over with the band made their way to the house lobby where they signed autographs and greeted fans for around an hour. They worked their way through a long line of fans until everyone who had waited had a chance to meet the band. Not bad in a day and age when many bands charge fans VIP ticket prices for such a priveldge…guess they aren’t total Dicks after all.

Photo © and courtesy of Karen Fader McBride

View full gallery at KindredPhotography.com.

Renee Cooper

Official statement from Alfa Matrix regarding murdercase of Carly Ryan

It’s with great horror that Zombie Girl and Alfa Matrix learned that the tragic death of 15-year old Carly Ryan, brutally murdered in 2007, has been linked with Zombie Girl’s “Blood Brains & Rock ‘N’ Roll” album in an article in the UK newspaper The Daily Mail which was published on Monday, October 19th 2009.

Both Zombie Girl members Renee Cooper and Sebastian R. Komor were shocked to learn that their band and material has been used in reference to young girls posing in a provocative way on social websites. Renee Cooper: “I am shocked, horrified and saddened that a young girl and a fan of Zombie Girl was murdered. My heart goes out to her family and friends. This is a terrible thing. I am just in shock right now. The music and image that I portray on stage is an act. It is not who I am. This is
not what the music is about.” Ryan was murdered by a fictitious teenager called Brandon – a father and his son who are now accused of murdering her.

Alfa Matrix and the band want to stress that they do not promote this kind of online behaviour nor does the band or the label promote violence via the music of the Canadian based electro dance act Zombie Girl. The band can in no way be held responsible for other people’s actions. Sebastian R. Komor: “I want to send my regards to the family and friends of Carly Ryan. May she be in a place where she found peace. I strongly dislike having my music brought up in something as horrible as murder. And have never promoted violence of any kind, whether to humans or animals. Zombie Girl is fictional and just a fun project dealing with the topics of the living dead and all that. To have my music mentioned in a case like this really bothers me. Music is the only thing in the world still making people happy, get together and dance. Rest in peace Carly Ryan, I’m so sorry someone did this to you.”

Alfa Matrix and Zombie Girl wish to express their sincere condolances to the family of Carly Ryan.

Photo from Zombie Girl page on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/zombiegirlonline
Note: Photo is not of Carly Ryan out of respect for Carly and her family.

RevCo: Sex-o Olympic-o

Though KMFDM is still producing solid music, Trent has essentially called it quits and Ministry closed up shop making it seem that an era we knew was coming to an end. Lamentation for the comatose state of Industrial rock must have been heard by these miscreants because this is the magic bullet aimed straight for your ear hole.

There isn’t a filler track on Sex-o Olympic-o. Opening with Hookerbot 3000 and pummeling the listener with killer sounds and lyrics, this album is an all-out assault on everything you might hold sacred in your life and we like it that way. Thanks, Al and Co., you made our day.

Get Sex-o Olympic-o on Amazon

Music Source: Purchased from Amazon MP3.

Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions

Ten years after the release of the Grimm Robe Demos, Sunn O))) (spelled just so) continues to redefine the landscape of drone and sludge metal. With guitars tuned to ridiculous lows like dropped-C or lower, the music is likely to be felt as much as heard.

Monoliths & Dimensions blends the sounds of bass-toned distorted guitar and elements like choirs and horns.  Comprised of a mere four tracks, Monoliths & Dimensions runs almost an hour in length.  Each song is a distinct sound scape moving from the sludgy guitars and deep vocals of Aghartha to the strangely beautiful blend of feedback, jangling guitar lines, strings and horns of Alice.

Anyone looking for an atmospheric escape from the electronic sounds of new industrial, but not looking for another Projekt shoegaze album, Monoliths & Dimensions will provide just the right aural adventure.

Legion Within - Mouth of Madness

It has been said that Legion Within represents the last of a breed of Gothic rockers.  This may be true, but if they are the last, they are doing it in style.

Legion Within produced a smart, historically relevant album, paying homage to their musical ancestry and building in new, interesting ways.  Mouth of Madness opens with a blistering synth-laden rock/dance tune.  Unlike many current Goth-family groups, Mouth of Madness isn’t simply a collection of ten tracks that sound identical.  Legion Within is clearly comfortable with a wide variety of styles from Goth Rock and synth-punk to industrial and pure, old fashioned Goth-brand punk.

For the discerning Goth, Legion Within will please the palette and darken the soul.  For a scene newcomer, Legion Within is the perfect gateway drug leading to use and abuse of the best in historically Goth and dark music going back to the beginnings of the movement.  Energetic, honest and powerful, Mouth of Madness is probably the best Goth album to hit the market in the past decade.

Visit Legion Within on the web: www.LegionWithin.com

Hellbone - Pollinctor

Pollinctor is a strong first effort for the Swiss Industrial group, Hellbone.  The CD shows their influences range across industrial and electronic groups from the past 20 or more years.  The album demonstrates skill in sonic experimentation similar to Die Form mixed with Fantomas and has the robust punch of Skinny Puppy.

Though the album is good as a whole, some individual tracks, when taken out of context, are not as strong.  Pollinctor must be appreciated, in its entirety, as a work of art.  Without the other tracks to provide an aural history, certain songs lose their momentum and become rambling noise as intricacies disappear into distorted and gritty haze.

Largely instrumental, Pollinctor has a few, sparsely scattered lyrics which are mostly used as texture rather than to add meaning. Due to the nature of the music, those people who are looking for something to sing along with may be disappointed. Pollinctor is not a dance floor album either, that is to say, some of the songs have a rhythm that would be easy to dance to, but holistically, the CD is atmospheric.

In short, if you are a fan of industrial and have a tendency to augment your listening sessions with Fantomas and or any other late-catalog Mike Patton disc, Pollinctor will be a joy to the ears.

Standout tracks: Pollinctor and Tronxumbiltium

Check out Hellbone at Hellbone.com

MAV Enter cover

This is a CD that I could almost get into. I gave it two good, solid listens all the way through. I listened to all seven tracks and I tried to like it. The mood is kind of spooky, that’s good. The music is somewhat reminiscent of older Darkwave stuff and that’s good too. Somewhere between track two and track whichever, I got bored.

Through the doom, gloom, mist and moonlight on this album, there is something kind of mundane about the whole thing. It’s not horrible, but it isn’t anything to write home about. It would make for a good cool-down soundtrack at a cub but it will likely be little more than background music while one shuffles through CDs looking for that old Die Form disc that made them weep blood.

This CD is simply listenable and serves as a reminder of music that had been. It serves as a passable effort by a band that is working to recall the dark sounds of yesteryear but it falls short of being an exciting new take on an old style. This is simply a retread of music that was done better before.

Nine Inch Nails on stage

Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction are on tour together for, most likely, the first time in two decades. Back in 1989, when Pretty Hate Machine was released, nobody could have imagined the wild success that Nine Inch Nails would have had. Today Trent Reznor’s project is hailed as one of the most influential musical visions of our time.

According to Trent, this year marks the twentieth anniversary of Pretty Hate Machine and this inspired him to contact Jane’s Addiction about pulling together a tour. This appears the be the source of the NIN/JA tour. After this announcement, Tom Morello’s new project Street Sweeper Social Club was recruited and they hit the road.

Street Sweeper Social Club w/ Trent Reznor

The opening act for all NIN/JA specific shows is Street Sweeper Social Club unless noted otherwise on the various tour sites.  If you are a fan of Rage Against the Machine, you will enjoy SSSC.  They are fronted by rapper Boots Riley of The Coup and music is inspired by Tom Morello’s unique sound.  The highlight of the SSSC show, for all Nine Inch Nails fans, is certainly when Trent hits the stage for their closing song.  Though Street Sweeper Social Club is encouraging social awareness, which is positive, the sound and stage show are little more than a Rage Against the Machine retread.

Nine Inch Nails on stage

Nine Inch Nails is second on stage.  Though Trent stated that the set order was to ensure that he could watch one of his favorite bands play, it is most likely the order is historic since Nine Inch Nails was asked to open for Jane’s Addiction when they toured together originally.

Nine Inch Nails - Ripe with Decay

Order aside, Nine Inch Nail’s stage show is exciting and high energy. The lights blend with the stage antics well. Emotional songs are met with dim lights and waterfall effects while light set the stage ablaze during louder songs.  The transition in sound and feel from loud and grating to soft and emotional is solid and the light show is evocative.  Nine Inch Nails clearly deserves their reputation as a strong live act.

Trent Reznor walking across the stage

Trent doesn’t make any mention during the show, but the Nine Inch Nails portion of the tour is called “Wave Goodbye.”  This may be in reference to a post that Trent made on NIN.com stating that he is looking to “take a break.”  Nine Inch Nails fans should probably take note and buy tickets to catch this show as there is no promise that Trent and Co. will be making the rounds again any time soon.

Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro

Jane’s Addiction hits the stage last and, in San Diego, CA, they opened with their psychedelic opus Three Days from the album Ritual De Lo Habitual, setting the tone for the rest of the set.  Though they played several of their radio hits, Jane’s Addiction focused more on a psychedelic mix of long guitar solos and lasers against the fog.  More of the show seemed to focus on the light show than any stage performance from the band.  Perry performed in his typical, self-important manner, acting as if the crowd knew or cared about the band’s catalogue of obscure b-side tracks.  After a great lead up by Nine Inch Nails, Jane’s Addiction felt more like a letdown than an explosive close.

Jane's Addition Light Show

All photographs taken by Chris Stead.