The Inarguable on The Fortieth Day /Sshe Retina Stimulants/Terence Hannum

Thanks to Jon at The Inarguable for the kind words about the new release!
http://www.theinarguable.com/2012/04/cassette-roundup-ii-land-of-decay.html

The Inarguable on Rabid Rabbit and Arriver

A huge thanks to Jon at The Inarguable for covering the recent Rabid Rabbit and Arriver LPs and for thinking about aspects of the evolution of BloodLust!

http://www.theinarguable.com/2012/04/from-noise-mecca-to-chicago-underground.html

The Inarguable on The Atlas Moth

The Inarguable has posted a great review of the new album by The Atlas Moth.  My thanks to Jon for the kind inclusion!

The Atlas Moth - "An Ache For The Distance" (2011) [Profound Lore Records]

If you haven't heard of Chicago metal band The Atlas Moth, you've at least heard of frontman Stavros Giannopoulos's legendary moustache, which he sadly shaved off last year. Powerful enough to have its own Facebook Page, press folks, to the dismay of Giannopoulos, would always turn to Stavros's moustache as a "go-to" comment, whether they found enjoyment in his music or not. Of course, now that Stavros's face is shorn, jerks with websites (like myself) can only grasp at the moustache's former glory in order to create some witty introduction, because coming up with some sort of introspective, witty statement that ties into the album has become the next most annoying thing since "In a world..." movie previews. However, facial hair aside, The Atlas Moth's latest offering, the mighty An Ache For The Distance, is one of the most solid metal albums of 2011.

Melding spacey sludge with progressive rock (more Pink Floyd than King Crimson) and a love for psychedelic pop bands, An Ache For The Distance is a refreshing take on the "post-metal" genre about which I complain in at least 30% of my reviews. Unlike previous efforts, this album shows The Atlas Moth toning down the blues influence that encapsulated A Glorified Piece Of Blue-Sky for a more melody-driven, dense trip through massive doom riffs, trippy psychedelia, and spine-tingling triple-guitar harmonies. While this is undoubtedly a doom metal album, it is definitely The Atlas Moth's influence outside of metal that truly makes this album stand out. Take, for example, the bizarre, Jesus Lizard-inspired introduction to "Perpetual Generations" or the constant, atmospheric presence of bands like Deftones or The Flaming Lips, merged tastefully with Giannopoulos's blackened shriek and guitarist David Kush's (what a fitting last name) gruff singing voice. Oh, and Anatomy of Habit/Bloodyminded's Mark Solotroff has a powerful voice cameo on the syrupy "Courage"; it's always wonderful to see musicians within the Chicago scene collaborate with such magnificent results.

After listening to this album nonstop for the past few weeks, I'm convinced that in a few short years we can see The Atlas Moth filling up stadiums, co-headlining tours with Mastodon, and having some sort of major record deal. An Ache For The Distance has that sort of accessibility while still retaining its fresh originality, which is a rare, rare feat in today's music world. This is unlike any other metal out there, and is by far one of the coolest albums I've come across in the few years I've been a self-proclaimed music nerd. This comes out tomorrow, September 20th, on powerhouse label Profound Lore Records, and is deserving of all your money. Be sure to catch these guys on tour throughout September and October with labelmates KEN Mode.

RIP Stavros's moustache.

-Jon

The Inarguable on the Anatomy of Habit LP

The Inarguable has posted the first review of the AoH LP.  Our thanks to Jon Rosenthal for the very positive words!

It was really only a matter of time now. After three years of constant live activity and no studio recordings, Anatomy of Habit is finally releasing their debut album of heavy, experimental doom metal tonight. As I've said in reviews before, I normally don't get too stoked when it comes to "supergroups," but Chicago's Anatomy of Habit is a definite exception, perfectly blending various members of our fair city's experimental music subculture. Not convinced? Well, a band boasting Plague Bringer's Greg Ratajczyk, who has also done studio work with Modest Mouse, on guitar, Animal Law's Blake Edwards on metal percussion, Dylan Posa, formerly of Cheer Accident, on drums, Kenny Rasmussen, formerly of No Funeral, on bass, and fronted by Chicago's most prolific (and best dressed) experimental vocalist and noisemaker Mark Solotroff (chances are you've heard something he's on, trust me) is bound to do something unforgettable, and Anatomy of Habit has definitely succeeded with this first release.

There's definitely a lot into which I've had to sink my teeth when it comes to this massive, two-song LP. From the chiming, gothic-tinged beginnings of "Overcome" to the plodding standalone drums that close "Torch," Anatomy of Habit thrives upon unique genre fusion to create their own peculiar brand of doom metal. Like Joy Division on quaaludes or mid-era Swans taking cues from Sunn O))), Anatomy of Habit takes the listener on a journey through sparse post-punk, layered guitar polyphony, jarring percussion and crushing, discordant doom metal. Channeling the late Ian Curtis, frontman Mark Solotroff's mournful baritone acts as a sort of guide through the malevolent, disturbed music, spouting repetitive, cryptic text. This band's brilliance lies not just with their genre fusion, but with their brilliant arrangements, filling in every blank, silent area, with a different sound, however subtle, to create a full, fulfilling sound, no matter how sparse a section of a song may be.

Patience is key with this album; with two songs each orbiting the 17-minute mark, every listen yields some new texture or layer that went completely unnoticed before. In a way, Anatomy of Habit is the closest I've ever heard a band get to achieving the massive sound of Swans's Children of God, and yet it is entirely different and unique in it's own right. Brilliantly melding the wide array of influence between its band members, Anatomy of Habit is by far worth the sum of its parts. An astoundingly powerful and unique album, definitely deserving of your attention.

-Jon

The Inarguable on Anatomy of Habit

Here is a review of our last show, with thanks to Jon Rosenthal/The Inarguable, for the very kind words and the enthusiasm! The original article has the AoH video that was posted earlier, along with clips of Metz and Iceage:

http://www.theinarguable.com/2011/08/live-review-metz-anatomy-of-habit-and.html

Sunday, August 28, 2011 

LIVE REVIEW: Metz, Anatomy of Habit and Iceage at the Empty Bottle; August 6, 2011

So, as after parties go, choosing this concert as an official Lollapalooza after party was definitely a poor decision. To have a bunch of people who normally aren't concert goers go from seeing Lady GaGa, Noah and the Whale, and the Foo Fighters to a noisy hardcore and doom show could only spell for disaster and, at times, it did. No, I don't mean to criticize the Empty Bottle, who put on some of the best shows of all genres in Chicago, for making this decision, as the show happened to be scheduled the same weekend as Lollapalooza and was a means of getting people to attend and make them money (shut up, they're a business and need to survive), but I can't help but feel like this show was a little...tainted by what was mostly an uninterested, already drunk crowd. Yes, some of these bands have qualities that could very well appeal to most of the crowd that came straight from Lollapalooza, but at the same time Iceage did play an apartment show the night before. Show promotion is a peculiar beast. I definitely enjoyed the show, though.

METZ

For some odd reason I hadn't shuffled through Canadian noise rock trio Metz's discography before this show, but I immediately went to their Bandcamp upon returning home to download their (free) music. Following in the footsteps of Sonic Youth's "no wave" days in which they frequently shared the stage with Lydia Lunch, Metz's abrasive, aggressive noise rock was definitely an experience. Their reckless disregard for volume and tone breaks the mold set by most modern noise rock bands who would never think of going beyond a "4" or a "5" on their amplifier's volume knob for fear of damaging their precious, boutique speakers. Destructive, fun, and featuring a bass player who has the uncanny looks of a younger Bruce Campbell (think Evil Dead, not Burn Notice), and you have a newer noise rock band that I actually like. Neat.

ANATOMY OF HABIT

After four years of hearing about their spectacular live shows I finally got to see Anatomy of Habit. A supergroup of the Chicago underground, featuring members of Plague Bringer, Cheer Accident, Vertoren, No Funeral and the infamous Bloodyminded, Anatomy of Habit "sped things up" a bit via crushing the audience with a distinct mix of death rock, noise, mid-80s industrial and all-encompassing doom metal. Utilizing bizarre, deep tonalities, found-object percussion, odd rhythm metrics and menacing vocals from one Mark Solotroff, Chicago's busiest experimental artist, Anatomy of Habit acts as the middle ground between early Swans, Joy Division, and Einsturzende Neubauten. Solely playing two songs ("Radiate and Receive" (in the video) and "Torch"), Anatomy of Habit's presence was undeniable and set apart from the rest of this lineup. Expect their debut album later next month.

ICEAGE (or is it Ice Age? It always varies)

Ever since I saw the crude video these young Danes made for their song "New Brigade" back in October or November, I knew I had to see Iceage live. Bringing punk back to the days where it was a bunch of snotty kids (frontman Elias brandishes X's on his hands for being underage in a bar), Iceage's apathetic, noisy approach to hardcore punk is a harsh reminder as to what punk has become - controlled by bigger record labels, completely lacking any of the anger or feeling that earlier bands held. Everything was exactly as I had hoped, out-of-tune guitars, various band members falling in and out of time, and, of course, Elias's aggressive but careless vocal style; this is punk rock. Having been caught up in the energy of the moment, I stopped filming and ended up in what ended up being a rather pitiful mosh pit. The venue might have been packed to the brim, but everyone seemed far too interested in getting smashed than enjoying the music they paid to see. The biggest bummer was some ass wearing a red shirt and a braided, thin mustache (ugh), who found the need to clear the area in front of the stage and grab at Elias or his microphone. At one point, during the epic singalong chorus of the closer "You're Blessed," Elias ended up punching said jerk in the chest, culminating in a "fuck you" before he leaped from the stage and left. People suck, but Iceage's set was definitely something to be hold and should be thought of as a paradigm of sorts for punk bands to come. Stop caring so much and start playing.

-Jon

Anatomy of Habit video from Iceage show

Anatomy of Habit "Radiate and Recede" - Live - August 7, 2011 - The Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL. Video courtesy of Jon Rosenthal/The Inarguable