Top 5 2013 by Yannick

2013 has been a very busy and rewarding year for me…especially in the music department. It’s been my first full year at El Gore and I managed to put out forty-seven reviews, which I’m a bit proud of to be honest, since I absolutely love doing what I do. But since the year is almost over, it’s time to compile a list of my top five albums…so here goes!

#5 Scarred – Gaia/Medea (review)

There have been quite a few really solid Luxembourgish releases this year, but to me the five guys from Scarred take the cake with their second full length. If you haven’t listened to this…you, sir or madam, have missed out big time. What are you waiting for? Go!

#4 Devildriver – Winter Kills (review)

Even though DD never really re-invent themselves completely on their biennially released albums…they always manage to suck me in and keep me there for quite a while. Winter Kills is no exception and has thus won a spot in my hall of fame this year.

#3 Stone Sour – House Of Gold & Bones Part 2 (review)

I said it last year…and the same argument is valid this time around: if Corey Taylor is involved in a project, it’s almost guaranteed to land on my list. But in the case of HoGaB Part 2 this is not pure fanboyism but actually appreciation of, arguably, the best Stone Sour album to date.

#2 Counterparts – The Difference Between Hell And Home (review)

These Canadians completely unexpectedly blew me away with their third release with the long name. While I never considered myself a true fan of melodic hardcore, I lost my musical virginity of the genre to a brilliant album, and I highly recommend giving it a go if I were you!

#1 A Day To Remember – Common Courtesy (review)
August Burns Red – Rescue & Restore (review)
Bring Me The Horizon – Sempiternal (review)
Secrets – Fragile Figures (review)

I thought about my number one long and hard. Not only is that what she said, but it’s also applicable to this list. There was just no way for me to choose between any of these four records since I’ve listened to each one at least, not even kidding, one-hundred times before putting down the first letter of my review. That’s how overwhelmed I was by all four individually. If someone held a gun to my head and asked me to choose an overall winner, I’d have to go with Bring Me The Horizon, simply because they put forth the biggest musical change…but I can honestly recommend all four records without a second doubt.

That’s it, folks. I hope you had as much fun reading my reviews as I had writing them and I hope that you enjoy the holidays: drink lots, eat lots and in case you get some cash…keep my list in mind. I’m looking forward to next year, which should see new releases by: Chiodos, Architects, Betraying The Martyrs, Slipknot, Issues and Emarosa! The local front also has two announced releases that I can’t wait to get my hands on; those being of the thrashers Sublind and the space cowboys Cosmogon!

Top 5 2013 by Luc

Yeah, 2013 was a great year, again. I am not talking about movies, because honestly, I went to the cinema only once or twice, mainly because 2013 wasn’t a very interesting movie year for me. Let’s see what 2014 will bring.

For the rest, 2013 rocked. I won’t include any private stuff, even though I could fill a top 100 with all that… but let’s see what else made 2013 so great for me.

#5 My Retro Game/Console Collection upgrade

I have always been interested in the oldschool consoles, arcade coin machines and games. Why? Well, first of all because of my childhood. I had an amazing one and I made the first gaming experiences together with my brothers and friends during this time. Secondly because of the fun factor. It is obvious that gaming graphics get more realistic from console to console but for me, it isn’t about the graphics, it is, as mentioned above, about the fun factor. So, this year I raised my Game Boy, Nintendo and Super Nintendo game collection by visiting flea markets and making good deals on Ebay. I also bought my first Dreamcast (damn, I love it and I have no clue why it flopped back in 1999) and other stuff which I won’t list now. If you are interested in the collection, you should check out my instagram as I post a lot of my stuff there.

#4 Bahnhofskino

If you are into B-Movies, listen to podcasts and understand German, the Bahnhofskino podcast is an absolute must! I discovered it this year and El Gore was already the co-host in one of the episodes. Even though I do not always agree with the hosts, Patrick and Daniel, they do a fantastic, interesting  and competent job. The Bahnhofskino podcast is hebdomadal with a new episode being released every Friday. Go and check them out!

#3 Hotline Miami

Hotline Miami was released in 2012 but I only discovered it this year during my stay in Berlin. What can I say about it? It is perfect! It’s brutal and gory with GTA 2-like graphics, a weird and hypnotic soundtrack (even though I like the in-game music, you should try Mr. Oizo’s Lamb Anger during the game) and a completely fucked-up story. If you like indie games, you know what I am talking about and are probably waiting for the follow-up. If you don’t know the game, check it out.

#2 Crust Punk/Powerviolence

Bands like Discharge, ACxDC, Charles Bronson, Fuck on the Beach, etc. really caught my attention this year. The rawness, power and aggressiveness are incredible!

#1 The El Gore Zine

It was always a personal dream to release a zine, and together with my El Gore mates and the help of other friends, we finally managed to release the first copies of the first El Gore Zine edition.
By the way, if you are interested in a copy, just drop us a message on:
Twitter
Facebook
or write us a mail: elgore1(at)hotmail(dot)com

I wish everyone a happy new year and we’ll see each other in 2014!

Top 5 2013 by Eric

#5 Grand Theft Auto

This game brought back my motivation to play videogames. Oh, and Trevor is my homeboy!

#4 Weekend Nachos – Still (review)

Nothing says fuck homophobia and all you little dipshits like this little gem!

# 3 Kelvin’s goal vs Benfica

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ_Hp-l5Tyw]

Destroying your rival team’s title aspirations during injury time is priceless. I am a football freak and you guys got to deal with it.

#2 Jagwar Ma – Howlin (review)

If this is the new kind of indie music, I’m sold!

#1 Jon Hopkins – Immunity

Epic. Brilliant. Glorious. Best electronic masterpiece in ages!

Top 5 2013 by Denis

Another music year is going to end soon, and so I sat down and looked back at my personal highlights this year. I must say that it is a pretty hard task to choose 5 out of many good contributions, so in case you miss beauties like Motorpsycho‘s last progressive masterpiece or Serj Tankian‘s jazz experiment, let me say that those where great moments this year, but there are five other albums that occupy a slightly stronger place in my musical part of the brain.

Have a nice 2014!

 

#5 Clutch – Earth Rocker (review)

Muscle cars and cigarettes, that’s how spring 2013 started off! Clutch found a way to put lady groove in a perfect stoner rock dress; an album that still keeps the pace going in December!

#4 Fights And Fires – We Could All Be Dead Tomorrow (review)

In March, Fights and Fires released their second album and proved that they still have many things to say, or let’s say shout! Danceable post hardcore mixed with 90s elements and delivered in a cleaner production than the debut. The perfect soundtrack for Wrestlemania!

#3 The Majestic Unicorns From Hell – Valde Purgamentum (review)

“Holy fuck” where the first words that came to our dear Yannick’s head during the first listen of this instrumental metal brawl, and I guess he shared those thoughts with many others. One of those albums that will keep you awake during dark winter days.

#2 Queens of The Stone Age – … Like Clockwork (review)

QOTSA, once again, redefined their way of creating rock music, without losing the typical elements. The result: another great album from the men around mastermind Josh Homme. A band that is immune against boredom, although personally, I miss the harder days.

#1 Deap Vally – Sistrionix (review)

 

Two women, one guitar, one drumkit and one hell of a sound. This is not only my personal surprise but also my record of the year. Why? Because there is gospel, because there is soul, because there is rock and, above all, because it sounds authentic, a characteristic that is critically endangered in so-called modern rock music.

Top 5 2013 by Anna

#5 Like Lovers – Former Selves (review)

Emo is not dead. Thanks for clearing that up, Mr. Kerscher.

#4 Cargo (review)

A zombie short film that caught me off guard.

#3 Mambo – Bertier (review)

I get the impression that there were a lot of awesome mathy releases this year. There are three that I know of: the second TTNG (outstanding), Delta Sleep (good) and Mambo (very good), and three is a proud number when it comes to solid math rock, at least in my book. It’s an incredibly difficult musical style to master, and I have tremendous respect even for those who try and don’t fail spectacularly. So hats off to Mambo for creating a super fun record that won’t leave my iPod for an extended while.

#2 Sweetheart Come (docommentary)

The best thing to emerge from Luxembourg in a long, long time.

#1 MWTE – Attraction to Light (review)

Make no mistake, this list doesn’t reflect my actual highlights of 2013. First because my true highlights don’t have anything to do with music or film, and second because the majority of my favourite releases this year were not reviewed on El Gore. Attraction to Light, however, would have made it on my actual “best of ’13” list. I had been eagerly awaiting its production since the beginning of the year, and when I finally received the finished product, it felt genuinely rewarding. MWTE revived my love for electronica as a genre, and that secured them a place in my heart.

First Blood

Every single movie fan has probably seen First Blood (1982) aka Rambo at least once in their life. Personally speaking, First Blood is one of these films which has been on my to-watch list for ages and which, either because of lack of time or because of lack of interest, I saw now for the first time at the age of 28.

As there is not much to say about the movie this review will be a rather short one. Basically, the film is about an ex-green beret, physically and psychologically marked by Vietnam war, who goes on a GTA-like rampage in and around a small American town after he was mobbed and maltreated by the local police.

The movie is fantastic. I even claim that it is the best 80’s action movie I have seen until now but, to be honest, I had one problem with the movie, or let’s rather say with the main character. I am not sure if it was on purpose or not but I never really felt any sympathy for the reticent anti-hero, John Rambo.

There may be some people who claim that First Blood is an (attempt at an) anti-war movie about an American hero who gets completely lost in the real world after the atrocities he experienced during war. That the traumatized John Rambo actually is the real victim (of the brutalized American war-past) and that his excessive brutality is actually his personal form of dealing with problems, just as he learnt it from war. First Blood then can be seen as a film about a mentally broken hero prisoner of war whose mind is still confined in it and who is not able to handle his traumatizing experiences.

I am not sure if I can agree with the above or if the movie simply is nothing more than a perfect example of a well-staged, brutal and thrilling action movie with great dialogues, lots of explosions, guns and gore. In the end I really don’t give a damn because Rambo is entertaining, a classic which set new standards and if you, just like me, are one of the few people who haven’t seen it, you should do it. Rambo is without question one of the best popcorn movies I have ever seen. A must!

Kill The Innocent – Ayahuasca


This is going to be my last review of the year 2013, and I’m happy to say right off the bat that I’m ending it on a very high note, because the first EP Ayahuasca by the relatively new Luxembourgish band Kill The Innocent is quite a tasty experience. So let’s dive right into it!

Generally speaking, the quintet plays deathcore but the music is slightly more multifarious than that and doesn’t stick to the genre all the time, which makes the six tracks by far more enjoyable than a lot of attempts by other bands.

In the instrumental department I’m not quite sure what convinces me more: the guitars or the drums. The latter are chock-full with blast beats and double bass work that ranges from balls to the walls speed to various patterns, all while being interlaced with several delicious fills. The guitars on the other hand have potential to leave you open-mouthed from the heaviness and technicality: finest shredding followed by speedy tapping with an extra serving of melodic solo is exactly what you’ll find during these twenty-seven minutes.

I’m quite sure that there is not a sentence, or a variation of it, that I have used as often this year as the following: the singer is killing it. But don’t blame me for that…since, in all seriousness, the vocals are marvelously well-done. Not only do the screams sound truly evil and the screeches come across as totally vicious, but the clear enunciation puts the cherry on the cake.

In closing, I want to say that KTI definitely took me off-guard because I have been mostly disappointed by local bands that tried to wander in this particular genre but due to its flawless execution and crisp production, Ayahuasca made me forget all about that. As a matter of fact, I’d even say that Kill The Innocent are my personal Luxembourgish newcomer of the year and that I’m quite positive that they will amount to great things in the future. Visit the band’s Facebook page and be sure to listen to the song below. If you like what you are hearing, head on over to Kulturfabrik in Esch this Saturday, where they will release their EP at the seventh edition of the Bang Your Head Festival!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opagIoNGxww]

Like Lovers – Fire

“No Strings Attached!”, this could have been the alternative title for Like Lovers’ newest EP Fire. The mastermind behind this little gem, Jan Kerscher seems to write music with an unattainable ease, which makes every aspiring musician / songwriter burst in utter jealousy; and I’m not even exaggerating. Recording 2 EPs within one year whilst simultaneously producing / recording bands in his studio is something that deserves my biggest respect and I guess this guy enjoys doing several full-time jobs at the same time.

The opener “Easy” is an easy-listening indie pop piece that gets you from the first second on with its catchy guitar riff and edgy structure, something completely different from the atmospheric opening track “Again” on this year’s first EP Former Selves. Speaking of no strings being attached, this was the first thing that came to my mind when I first heard Easy; as the song funnily reminded me of The Beatles’ approach in songwriting after they left their boyband image behind and started experimenting on a new sound and attitude, with no coercion or preconception of what could be wrong or right. The only right thing to do is start jamming and to me Easy obviously is a track that started as a guitar jam.

Luckily though, this short EP does not get boring in terms of songwriting, as the next track Satellite could not be more different from the first track, which is a good thing. Variety is a must in singer / songwriter music and Satellite is the proof of how it has to be done. What begins with an acoustic guitar and Jan singing about the desire of love (which could easily drift into a sticky kitsch love song) turns into a decently impulsive groove combined with a memorable vocal melody. Satellite could be the key track of this EP if it wasn’t for the next track Fire, which definitely is my favorite song. The fragile, almost minimalistic structure of the song, the dreamy vocals and the chimes are backed with 2 pumping drum tracks offering the right balance between atmosphere and dynamic.

The last track Nowhere is the most driving track with its rhythmic bass line and would almost suit for dancing. Again, the chorus melody is pure catchiness that is topped with the berzerk sounding guitar at the end, making it a very pleasing pop song and I have to admit that I am positively surprised by this EP. Writing music is an unthankful task demanding perfection once you decide to do it seriously. Jan breathes music and he’s got what it takes to write and produce memorable and enjoyable music. I jokingly ask myself if he’s got something to hide under all his talent, be it a reading disability or maybe an irrational fear of complicated mathematical tasks; because he’s brilliant and devoted at everything he does so there must be something he’s not good at. Maybe football?

You can get the EP on Bandcamp for free, but I would appreciate if you would pay for it! As I already mentioned several times before, independent artists do not live of love and air alone. Thank you!