Dirty Crows – Eat It Baby!

Check out the first single and video of our buddies from Dirty Crows. The video was shot by Daniel Carneiro and Luc from El Gore.

We’re looking forward to your album guys!

Their debut will be released at this year’s Food For Your Senses Festival, during which El Gore will be present too and provide you with some stories!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaB0cJQBP5A]

Enter The Void

Director: Gaspar Noé

Stars: Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta, Cyril Roy

“Who else but the French?”

This was my first reaction after watching “Enter The Void” by Gaspar Noé. There was a lot of talk when the movie first came out and a few friends told me about the movie and how cool and great it was and I was eager (kinda) to watch it someday; as I really did not know what the movie was about, except that drugs have an important role in it. Well fuck yeah, a drug movie; something new and completely refreshing, huh?!

There’s Oscar, the main character sitting in his flat in Tokyo, philosophizing about life, death and drugs of course, and after a few moments you dive into Oscar’s drug inflicted nirvana because he smoked asbestos, or what the heck do I know, I’m no drug addict; and what you see in his mind are algae-shaped Winamp-like visualizations.

“FUCK! Not another ‘The Tree Of Life’-like bullshit, oh gosh; NO!”, I was lying in bed and writhing in fear. But it turned out differently than expected. I was relieved that Terrence Malick did not participate on this production.

To resume the story quite shortly, Oscar’s a drug dealer and was separated from his sister, Linda; at a very young age, after their parents died in a brutal car accident.

Eventually he convinced his sister to come and join him to Tokyo, as life down there seems to be carefree. Too bad there’s Oscar’s friend Alex who told him at the police in revenge for having slept with Alex’s mother (former stripper, you would) and after a short chase Oscar gets shot and dies immediately; but his soul floats around Tokyo’s skyline and observes the lifes and destinies of his friends and companions. An oath Oscar took with Linda, as he promised he would never leave her, keeps him from going beyond.

“Enter The Void” attempts to thematize life, death and re-incarnation but fails to convince me. I do not believe in re-incarnation. When you die, your body turns into hummus. Period. There’s no soul that will conquer another body / lifeform whatsoever… but that’s not the movie’s fault if I don’t believe in such sorcery.

The overall darkish atmosphere tries to be over-disturbing with all the neon-lights in Tokyo and the milky-foggish point of vue from Oscar’s soul down to earth is a very tiring experience. Don’t get me wrong; I welcome every director who brings new accents in film making and camera perspectives. But as my former English teacher used to say: “Enough is enough!”. Everything can be overused!

Another point I dislike is the exaggerated perversion and provocation. What’s the point of showing the tragic car accident that killed Oscar’s and Linda’s parents on multiple occasions, with little Linda screaming all her anguish out of her lungs? Why do I have to see how Alex (Oscar’s traitor) sucks dicks to make a living? I mean, you want a tear jerker, Gaspar Noé? Really? Or do you wank at the idea as on how you can shock your audience? This was my opinion after watching the scene with Linda’s abortion and the fetus lying on the kidney dish.

For a minute there, I was expecting a Gang Bros truck coming by with a handful of potent stallions jerking on the fetus and run over it afterwards.

Not because I wanted to see that but because I thought that the movie couldn’t sink any lower…

Movies like this one leave a very bitter aftertaste in my mouth and I cannot say that I liked “Enter The Void”, because I am not into this french over-stylization of violence and perversion. It’s not violence itself in movies that disturbs or disappoints me, but the fact that some directors / filmmakers give more value to shocking scenes than to a flawless / convincing storyline.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRNpSKsBKw8]

Defy The Laws Of Tradition – Till Death Us Part

Defy the Laws of Tradition’s debut Till Death Us Part from 2009 is by far not a typical breakdown-infected, faceless and boring metalcore record like most of ‘em are. Philipp Treiber (guitar/vocals) told me that his father had a big musical influence on him by making him familiar with bands like Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa but also Journey and Boston. Furthermore he stated that he’s very opened towards music, as he listens to a lot of different styles.

I don’t know what the other guys’ views are but you can hear and feel a vast variety of different inspirations. Metalcore, melodic death, thrash and modern hardcore surely are the principal constituents of this fresh and tasty soup. These ingredients at no point overpower the record but, on the contrary, let enough space for other spices from time to time (a bit of punk rock here, a bit of post-rock there). A proverb says that too many cooks spoil the broth. This doesn’t count for Till Death Us Part, cause every note has its right to exist. Every single aspect of the record is integrated and responsible for an heterogeneous and interesting output.

I have written lots of reviews over the past years and if you have followed me, be it my old blog or El Gore, I think it is clear that while listening to or writing about music, I often concentrate on the voice. It’s not the lyrics I am interested in but rather the acoustic color and the authenticity.

For example I am in no way sexist but I can’t listen to female voices in music aside from the beautiful Beth Gibbons from Portishead and Jón Þór „Jónsi“ Birgisson from Sigur Rós.

And so there is a (personal) diminutive negative aspect of the record. The guys could have used this sleazy, corny melodic, clean voice a bit less. Not because the voice is bad in itself or because it doesn’t fit but because the screams, shouts and growls are so energetic and aggressive that I want more. I know that this mixture of clean singing and shouting/screaming is an identifying feature of the metalcore subgenre but I don’t like this element because a lot of power and aggressiveness is being lost. Altogether that’s my problem and not something I don’t like about the band, but something I don’t like about the genre.

As my roots lay in the oldschool and primitive Black Metal, I am not a person who likes talking and writing about the technical skills of a band. So I will also cut it short for Till Death Us Part. To be concrete, I don’t give a damn fuck about techniques. Confucius already said: “Malmsteen has a lot of skills and he is able to play 1000 notes per second but David Gilmour plays him against “The Wall” with one single bending.” Why? Because Gilmour feels what he plays. And that’s exactly what I thought while listening to Till Death Us Part. Don’t get me wrong, Defy the Laws of Tradition, in everything they do, maintain the high standard. More important is, that the band is authentic, honest and play with heart. Good music is felt music and these guys definitely feel what they play. Kudos for that!

To conclude I have to say that the playtime of the record may be a bit too long. Always remember guys that it is far better when a listener really likes the music but wished that the record, concert or whatever was a bit longer instead of getting bored with the time because you keep on playing and playing.

You should give these guys a try and I am really looking forward to their new longplayer.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0JhUYT8DeE]

Lost In Pain – Lost In Pain

To start off with, this album combines everything a classic metal fan desires. Fast riffs, melodies, dramatic solos and jackhammer-drums. It’s remarkable that this work was realised by four very young musicians.

I know, it often annoys bands to be compared to others in those music reviews, but as Lost in Pain don’t hide the fact: you can find Metallica’s influences in many dark corners of this metal performance.

The good things about this should be apparent: classic metal in a fresh robe, all combined with fast drumming (Lars Ulrich could cut a slice) and even with a homage to James Hetfield himself by inserting the typical “-ah” suffix at the end of some words. The lead voice in general is very characterising for this band, floating somewhere between old Hetfield and Tim McIlrath. Yep, that was another comparison that had to be done.

You can choose whether you like or don’t like the drift to, let’s call it a “Load/ReLoad” stage of this album. Sometimes the punk parts rein this wild horse’s power, which leads to a little down toward the middle of the debut LP. All in all, it offers a wide range of hearing experiences, between pop choruses and thrash riffs, although personally I could go without some of the more popish sections. Until the End of Time would be a good example, merging from a ballad to a brutal speed part to an epic classic double solo.

The metalcore and punk parts are important on the one hand, because Lost in Pain don’t want to be just a cover band and they indeed never risk to drift into this. On the other hand, they also slow down the suggested pace from the first track Sick and Tired, which is a brilliant opener after the melodic intro.

Of course, Lost in Pain’s debut often sounds a bit raw due to the variety described above. What counts in the end is that there are four youngsters who play music that was popular like 10 years before they were born, but they do it enthusiastically and in a fresh-faced style.

Recommendations: Sick and Tired, Until the End of Time, Lost in Pain 2
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTlRmCo__Tw]

Le Cabaret Sauvage – Qwak


A very different sound experience reaches us from the Luxembourgish combo of Le Cabaret Sauvage.

Just like a walk through the artist’s quarter in Paris, there are lots of different alleys with many different street performers to discover. Be it Chanson, Hip-Hop, Rock, Progressive, Songwriting, Indie, Funk, Jazz, everything is bundled in this album during which you can doubtlessly enjoy your coffee while wiggling your bum on the chair. Despite the varieties, all those different artists you’re going to meet never produce complete confusion.

Every time the feeling of monotony arises, be it due to the popish and funky construction or the smooth vocals, there will always be a prog or funky rock riff, or a guitar solo. Nicely placed by changes of tempo, they enlighten the alley you are walking trough. That solos apparently indicate that this guitarist is one of those guys that give their instruments girl names and have sexual intercourse with them.

Even if the boys sometimes stray through what you may call “standard French Pop”, I always found the melodies kind of catchy. Not to forget the climaxes, which coincide with my personal taste considering progressive music. Choose your side.

The vocals give their very own charm to the whole work, although Le Cabaret Sauvage would perfectly work without any singing at all. Pulsing percussions, trumpets and a groovy bass and drum play round out a many-faceted and modern French night.

As already mentioned, this is a very alternative way of making music for a group of young artists from Luxembourg. Cheeky, fresh, advisable!

Recommendations: Mr Stress, Ce n’est que le dééébut!, Qualibri.

PS: thumbs up for the even more enterprising newer stuff I could witness during the last live performance.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcWkdEr829w]