Vasudeva – No Clearance

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The ambient and lo-fi intro to the new Vasudeva record, No Clearance, gives way to a whirl of feedback before diving into the Minus the Bear-style instrumental rock of “Take Away”. It’s given to all of the positive aspects of the sort of danceable post-rock and at its outset avoids the pitfalls given to this. The clean production highlights agile guitar lines over the top of a very solid rhythm section. The track hints at the kind of soaring highs the band are capable of. The “Whatever, bye” at the end of the track is a nice touch.

Always Riled Up: Protest Music For A New Era, Part 3 – Interview with Cherine Amr of Massive Scar Era

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Cherine Amr and her band, Massive Scar Era, have been highlighted a few times in major media outlets in recent years. Most of this coverage has focused on two events: the emergence of a female-fronted metal band in Egypt in the wake of the Arab Spring – a wave of protests and popular uprisings across the Middle East during 2011 – or the recent denial of entry to the United States this past month when they were expecting to make it to play at SXSW (more on the specifics of this event are below). The band’s music, as you’ll read, became sort of secondary to these current event-based stories.

We Totally Missed Cranial’s Dark Towers / Bright Lights And That Is Not OK

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We fucked up, guys. Last year, we wrote a post telling you to listen to Cranial and even ended it by saying we look forward to their full length release. Then, that release came and went on January of this year and we were completely and utterly silent. No excuses; we missed it and we suck. Thing is, it’s not only our obligation to our promise that’s dragging me down here. It’s the fact that this album is goddamn immense and every single fan of crushing post metal out there needs to hear this. Dark Towers / Bright Lights is a masterclass in how to write this kind of music and cements Cranial is one of the best proponents of this style currently walking. Let’s remedy our silence and jump right in, shall we?

Hey! Listen to Terrifier!

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Terrifier probably won’t surprise you. Mostly because their new album is called Weapons of Thrash Destruction. Just like they promised, it’s thrash metal — and thrash done just the way I like it. It’s not overly macho (well, for the most part. See: “Drunk as Fuck”), and it’s got a refreshing sense of humor (see: the beginning of “Skitzoid Embolism”). But mostly, I like sick riffs and crazy solos. And this album has more than your average thrash record.