Weekend Nachos – Still

Tower of Rome once stated “We put the fun in funeral”. Guess this could be the best description for the biggest surprise coming from Illinois, best known for its catchy and original name Weekend Nachos and their newest gem Still. Just like putting fun into funeral; this band manages a difficult duty unlike any other; which is to sound serious and tough like the toughest hardcore act ever without losing focus on fun and not taking themselves too seriously; which is simply amazing and a fresh breeze for the tired listener’s ears.

Describing the musical style with genres is bullshit in this case; this is more than powerviolence. Take old school hardcore, mix it with a punk attitude (duuuh), give it some crust and grind influences, add a lot of anger (20 tons of pissed emotions are just fine) and voila, there you go.

The opener Sickened No More is the most amazing track to start a brand new listening experience. It knocks one out from the first second to the last, giving you not enough time to breathe or to realize what is going on. So does No Idols And No Heroes, guitars on 11 out of 10 and drumsets on the verge of destruction. This goes on for 12 tracks straight, a total 21 minutes of madness and anger.

This might be Weekend Nachos strongest point, speed and roughness. Just like a bastard child from Slayer and Terror that’s got this “childish” punk attitude that couldn’t make one happier. It’s just too hard to catalog or describe this band’s sound; one has to hear it in order to understand the extent aggressiveness and I just leave it right here with this video clip. Happy listening.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3PFaZtif_8]

Miami Connection

Last week I finally found some time to watch a movie and while I was thinking about what to watch I came across the Miami Connection trailer. I loved it and still do. There is a 80s rock band (with a pretty front woman) playing, there are motorcycle ninjas, gang fights, there is fire, cocaine and even some gore. You can’t go wrong with that, right? Well, you can. As much as I love the trailer and the fantastic movie poster, the movie is absolutely disastrous in its entirety.

Miami Connection (1987) is an indie martial arts film which was ignored and basically remained unseen for years, until Drafthouse Films decided to restore the movie in 2012 in order to give it a release.

Writer, producer and co-director Y.K. Kim, who is a taekwondo martial artist, clearly had no idea what he was doing and neither did the rest of his team. Film director Richard Park discovered Y.K. Kim when he was on a Korean talk show to promote a book about taekwondo. Park thought it was a good idea to convince a man who had no previous experience in the field to bring to life one of his storylines, and that’s how Miami Connection was born.

So, as I said, it’s painfully obvious that Y.K. Kim has no cinematographic knowledge or skill at all. The story is confusing as is (“A martial arts rock band goes up against a band of motorcycle ninjas who have tightened their grip on Florida’s narcotics trade“???), but on top of that, there are too many superfluous subplots which don’t add anything to the movie. The chronological order of the scenes is all over the place, there is no structure behind it. The whole movie is like a trailer: it doesn’t want to reveal too much about the actual plot, which is obviously suboptimal for a feature length film.

All in all, what I took away from this viewing experience was, once again, that the term “cult film” can be misleading. Many people don’t understand that even trash films can be inspirational and worthy of respect. Miami Connection, however, does not fit the bill.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpZu69OB2KM]

Order Of The Oceans – A Departure


Order Of The Oceans are a relatively young band, both in terms of existence and average age of the band members, from Luxembourg who started out as a deathcore band in 2010 and have since moved into a hardcore direction. Their debut album A Departure is going to be released on the 29th of this month and I’m here to give you my two cents about it.

I’ll get my only criticism out of the way first: the thing that struck me about those nine tracks is that the production-value varies greatly, ranging from solid and clearly distinguishable instruments on a few songs to a hard-to-listen-to mishmash on the rest. Since I’m a fan of massive productions, that did bother me at first but once I looked beyond it, I was actually treated to an enjoyable experience. But enough of the bad, let’s get to the good stuff!

The song palette is surprisingly diverse and features your typical hardcore sound with a touch of melodic parts, some heavier songs which have more aggressive riffs and growls and last but definitely not least the, in my opinion, fantastic ballad Commitment. The song is a simple but effective piano track with heartfelt screams on top…it sounds banal on paper but it conveys its message perfectly.

Speaking of messages: the lyrics are a focal point of the band, since they want to address their every-day issues with love, respect and loss. While not every line is of Shakespearean grandeur, their point gets across and I’m convinced that more than just one listener out there will manage to identify with the words during these thirty-five minutes. To spice things up a bit further, the vocal department is supported by Mike Rodrigues of Falling Promises on two songs!

All in all, I’d say that OOTO have made a respectable first step into the recorded music scene and that they will take quite a few more steps, if they can improve on the little kinks that are present on this debut album. More information can be found on the band’s Facebook page and a first impression can be found below. Also, if you like what you hear, be sure to head to the Rockhal Café in Esch-Belval this Friday, since that’s where the release show will be!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruS8LPJSlZE]

Mindpatrol – Downfall Theatre

Today I have the pleasure of reviewing one of the most ambitious musical projects that I’ve seen in a long time: Mindpatrol, a Luxembourgish quintet who tell a, albeit slightly cliché, complete story on their debut record Downfall Theatre. While the idea of a concept album is nothing new, the storytelling devices that the band uses are something I have never witnessed in this particular magnitude. Let me further explain:

Instead of settling for one specific genre, the band has a wide range of different metal sub-genres…and when I say wide I actually mean a (almost) complete palette! Each of the eleven songs has a completely different feel to it, and the four spoken-word interludes also range from dreamy to creepy. The album starts with a ballad and just when you think that the guys have settled for melodic power metal, you get slapped in the face by heavy riffs on the next song…this mutates into a pure neo-thrash-metal explosion two songs later, only to switch to death metal and end with black metal. I guess you get the idea? Madness. I love it.

While you might think that all this experimentation could result in poor songwriting…that is absolutely not the case. Mindpatrol understand the genres they play and the ingenious musicianship allows them to portray them most adequately. I’d say that music aficionados will definitely recognize their inspirations, but nothing seems like a cheap copy-paste, which is another point in favor of this entire record. The production, which was all done in-house, is also at a truly enjoyable level and even the most minute details have been fleshed-out.

After reading all that, you might ask yourself how many singers the band has, in order to accompany the music…the answer is quite short: one. Luc Francois, who is arguably the mastermind behind the band, decided that being a writer, walking beer keg and internet troll was not enough…so he decided to pick up the mic. I’ll keep it brief and just say that he nailed all the different singing styles…well, almost. His clean vocals, which are predominant in the first half of these sixty-two minutes, are not quite near the likes of the best vocalists out there but I’m very convinced that with further training he will reach great heights. However, his screams, growls and screeches are more than just redeeming; they blew me away, that’s for sure. The only real critique I just can’t get around mentioning is that, especially in the spoken-word passages, his accent is quite heavy.

To sum things up, I’d say that this record is not to be missed by anyone since there is literally something for everyone on here. The fact that the band decided to release the whole thing for free on Thursday makes that even more true. For those of you who understand German, I should mention that there will be a tie-in book to the album, which further elaborates the story. Check the band’s Facebook page for further news and updates and listen to the song below!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv-gpc7rM7Y]

10 Silly German Movie Title Translations

In English: “The Satan chicks from Titfield.”

Seeing as the month of November has been somewhat stressful so far for us movie people, we’ve been sticking to top lists for a majority of the month and today won’t be an exception. For this Film Friday, we decided to compile a list with films which have ridiculous German translations. From unnecessary racial slurs and vulgarity to just plain senseless strings of words, we’ve seen everything. We tried to exclude porn films for the most part because it’s already widely known that they excel at silly titles, but there are a few soft porn/erotic flicks on the list… not nearly as many as you’d think, however. Enjoy reading this one as much as we did researching it!

#10 Deine Muschi wird um Gnade winseln (Animali metropolitani)
In English: “Your pussy will beg for forgiveness.”

#9 Sie bumste nur einen Sommer (Passaporto segnalato)
In English: “She screwed for one summer only.”

#8 Grunz – schmatz – grunz… am Anfang war das Ei (Grunt)
In English: “Grunt – smack – grunt… at the beginning, there was the egg.”

#7 Cash – Die unaufhaltsame Karriere des Gefreiten Arsch (Whiffs)
In English: “Cash – The unstoppable career of the freed ass.”

#6 Ihre Brüste wackelten im Todestakt (Passi di morte perduti nel buio, English title: Death steps in the dark)
In English: “Her breasts jiggled in step with death.”

#5 Nachts, wenn die Leichen schreien (The Devil’s Rain)
In English: “At night when the corpses scream.”

#4 Im Fummelschuppen von Buffy-County (Southern Comforts)
In English: “In the grope-shed of Buffy County.”

#3 Schlitzauge sei wachsam (Shui quan guai zhao, English title: Sleeping Fist)
In English: “Chink, beware.”

#2 Es kracht, es zischt, zu seh’n ist nischt (Now You See Him, Now You Don’t)
In English: “It bangs, it sizzles, there’s nothing to see.”

#1 Die fröhlichen Holzfäller der nickenden Fichten (Le journal érotique d’un bûcheron)
In English: “The jolly lumberjacks of the nodding spruces.”

We don’t know about you, but some of these have made their way on our to-(hate-)watch lists. If you have any additions, feel free to share!

Close Your Eyes – Line In The Sand


When I rediscovered Close Your Eyes‘ second record earlier this year and subsequently fell in love it, I looked up what the band was up to these days and found out that they were recording a new album, but with a new singer. Now, especially since the vocals played a huge part in me adoring Empty Hands And Heavy Hearts as much as I do, I was quite worried. But as I always say: change doesn’t always have to be bad, even for a change-fearing person as myself. Line In The Sand is proof for that.

The band has taken a step back from the melodic hardcore that defined its predecessor and gone back to the pop-punk-ish metalcore that was We Will Overcome, their debut release. While that style dominates on most of these fifteen songs there are some nice surprises like the hard rock-ish Frame And Glass or the bonecrusher that is Skeletons. These few deviations guarantee a non-repetitive experience, which is a definite plus.

On the instrumental side there is not much to say…it’s all flawlessly performed and demonstrates the songwriting that the band has perfected over the past three years quite nicely. A handful of riffs did, however, completely blow me away…because they simply didn’t follow the rest of the set-up of the songs they were in. The drums are, due to the style change, a bit more straight-forward than before but absolutely fitting.

Onto the big elephant in the room: the vocals. To be brief: the new bloke, Sam Ryder Robinson, does not fill the shoes that were left behind by his predecessor…he throws them away and wears his own, which is a definite plus. Let me explain: it’s always aggravating when a band specifically looks for a singer that sounds exactly like what they had before, since it prevents them from growing as a band, in my opinion, and it’s mostly fan-service. Such is not the case on LITS because, even though they have a similar timbre, the new clean vocals are more melodic and just better fleshed out. The other upside in the vocal department is that the backing growls by the bassist are more prominent.

All in all, I’d say that, objectively speaking, this third release is Close Your Eyes‘ strongest output. I have listened to it quite often so far and I suspect that I will do so in the future, however I’d say that their melodic hardcore stuff struck more of a long-time chord for me personally. I recommend making up your own mind which style of the band you prefer. You can do so by listening to the song below and check the band’s Facebook page. Have fun!

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

Delta Sleep – Management

The Canterbury-based boys and girl of Delta Sleep were in Luxembourg with Mambo, another stellar math rock band, last month, and we decided to feature them because they deserve it. They released their second EP Management back in May. It sounds very mathy and slightly emo with a pinch of post-hardcore added to the mix (the latter element can be attributed to the singer’s occasional screaming, but also the fast tempo throughout most of the EP.)

The problem with math rock is that its complex rhythmical structures can all too easily result in an overkill, and that’s what I was worried about when I first heard the opener. 16:40 AM is chock-full with turns, surprises and constant changes of pace and vocal style that leave your head spinning through 5:56 minutes. While the song is intelligent enough to be exciting instead of overbearing, it does tread dangerously close to the edge, and I’m not crazy about it. I would probably enjoy it more if the band had cut it short by 1 minute, or taken drastic measures by taking away 3 to cram all of that energy into a different song altogether. (It goes without saying that my opinion must be taken with a grain of salt, especially seeing as most critics and fans view 16:40 AM as the undisputed highlight on Management.)

But then they made a wonderful choice by using a toned-down interlude followed by a much neater math gem entitled Jesus Bill! to let the listener recover, and I found that 16:40 AM is an integral part of the collection. The frenzy of the opener is an ideal way to set the energy for the EP and bring out the magic of the remaining songs.

Moving on to Camp Adventure, the fourth and most subdued track. It is lovely and relaxing to listen to in its acoustic simplicity, so much that the groovy Dustbusters, my personal favourite, jerks you out of your trance again. It comes with a great bassline and unravels beautifully over 6 minutes and 37 seconds.

So Say We All, the grand finale, starts out slightly American Football-style with melancholic vocals and soothing picking on the electric guitar, transforms into a full-on, raw math rock/post-hardcore monster halfway through, and finally fizzles out smoothly again. I love it. It does what the final track is supposed to do: leave you euphoric and in the clouds.

Delta Sleep has fantastic technical skills and very forward-thinking ideas. With Management, they managed (lazy pun intended) to create a fun 6-track collection that will incite feet-tapping and head-bobbing, but that’ll also have you stare pensively off in the distance. Visit their official Tumblr for more information and find a link to their Bandcamp below.