KISS Destroyer (Mercury / Casablanca) cd 5.00
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Those of you who have been reading our New Arrivals list carefully for the past month know that I (Allan) have embarked upon a quixotic little project, reviewing one old KISS album per list. Why? Dunno. I guess 'cause Kiss rooooooooool. So, so far I've done write ups on two of the more kwestionable Kiss platters of the make up era, the disco inflected (infested?) Dynasty (1979) and the Styx-ish concept album Music From The Elder (1981). Go back and read about 'em if you didn't, we'd be happy to sell a few more of those...any of those. This time 'round, however, I thought it best to feature a maybe more acclaimed, essential Kiss album. I've chosen... Destroyer! From the Bicentennial year of 1976, their fourth studio album, coming after in-concert classic Alive!, Destroyer is one of the biggest Kiss successes ever. In part 'cause of drummer Peter Criss' surprise hit ballad, "Beth". But you're not gonna buy this for "Beth" (probably). You're gonna get it for the heavier fare here, such classics as "Detroit Rock City", remarkably Sabbathy in the riff dep't, and "God Of Thunder", a song Paul wrote for Gene for obvious reasons, of course this album's most heavy metal moment. Catchy, campy party starters like "King Of The Nighttime World", "Shout It Out Loud", "Do You Love Me?" (cowritten with Kim Fowley) are all over the place here too. Along with much studio embellishment both within and between songs, album opener "Detroit Rock City" getting a sound collage intro new to you if you've only heard it on the radio before.
Basically, if someone were to ask us what Kiss sounds like, we'd wouldn't hesitate to reach for Destroyer. The glammy, cartoony '70s kitsch Kiss phenomenon was about as full in effect here as anyplace else. Just check out the larger than life band portrait on the cover. Wouldn't you want that on your lunchbox? And elementary schoolkids' older siblings could appreciate that Kiss was ready to rock hard for respect, capable of competing with the likes of Grand Funk sure enough but also doing battle in the arenas with some of the more metal acts of the era. So, Destroyer: hit ballad, hit rockers, good times all around, what more do you want? And well, heck, if we have to tell you too much about THIS album, maybe Kiss just isn't for you. C'mon nostalgia, do your thing...
MPEG Stream: "God Of Thunder"
MPEG Stream: "Sweet Pain"

KISS Dressed To Kill (Mercury) cd 10.98
All right, gonna wrap up the Kiss reviewing, for a little while anyway. Talkin' this week about not one, but THREE Kiss classics: Hotter Than Hell (1974), Dressed To Kill (1975), and Rock And Roll Over (1976). With these three reviewed, that means we will have covered all the Kiss studio albums up through 1981's Music From The Elder, except the universally loathed Unmasked... which might be for the best. (Crucial albums Alive I and II also remain to be reviewed.)
I don't mean to give any of these three short shrift by doing 'em briefly all together, it's just that lengthy reviews might not really be necessary. So, to begin: Hotter Than Hell, Kiss's second album, followed up their self-titled debut with another strong collection of songs, perhaps chief among them the heavy headbanging groove of Ace's "Parasite" (later covered by Anthrax) and the majestic lecherous lament of Gene's "Goin' Blind" (later covered by the Melvins). Meanwhile, tracks like "Let Me Go, Rock And Roll", "All The Way", and the title track are ones to crank come party-time. Actually the whole record is pretty much a rockin', rollin' barn-burner, aside from the aforementioned dirgey "Goin' Blind", and also album-ender "Strange Ways", whose lyrics and metallic plod have a sinister vibe that could weird out some partygoers. Cool though! Really, nothin' in they way of weak ones here, though maybe Paul's opener "Got To Choose" will be a bit too Bad Company sounding for some. Hotter Than Hell is an accurate album title I've gotta say, though it's too bad it didn't get the production job it deserved.
Next up, Kiss platter number 3, Dressed To Kill. There's a bunch of fairly poppy, finger snapping, boot-stomping hard rockers on here, Kiss again (almost) reminding us of the MC5 circa Back In The USA on opener "Room Service"... The immortal hits from this album include the Stonesy "C'mon And Love Me", mission statement "Rock And Roll All Night" (which you've probably heard a few million times too many), and "She", which lumbers a heckuva lot like BoC's "Godzilla". They go all flowery and acoustic for the first half of one song, but snap out of it in time to kick some ass ("Rock Bottom"). Incipient self-parody may be noticeable here, with groupie-themed lyrics and rock n' roll anthems making soon-to-be predictable appearances, but that's ok, some of my favorite Kiss albums later on are ALL self-parody and none the worse for it.
And then we skip ahead ('cause I've already reviewed the intervening Destroyer) to Rock And Roll Over, which fits in between the big D and Love Gun as their 5th studio album. This one starts off with one of my very favorite Kiss songs EVER, "I Want You", with its deceptively pretty n' sweet melodic intro immediately bursting into godlike amps-on-11, chest-thumping heavy metal riff rock that's about as catchy as it gets. Lyrically, it's the lustful essence of Kiss. But is Paul singing romantically about a longtime love, or rather more sleazily about the blonde in the third row, center, who just caught his eye? Probably the latter. Gene's "Calling Dr. Love" was another hit here, and definitely meant for that blonde... in fact, not just her, but all the willing ladies in the audience, no doubt!
What else? Peter sings an acoustic ballady number that's not too bad, "Hard Luck Woman", likely intended as this album's "Beth" (the sensitive, surprise hit he had on Destroyer, though this time, Paul wrote the song). Otherwise, not too much to say. "Take Me", "Love 'Em And Leave 'Em", "Makin' Love", "Mr. Speed", etc., it's all decent enuff Kiss stuff but nothing really stands out for me. Well, dumbest one "Ladies Room" maybe stands out, but not in a good way. But, dumb or not, Kiss knows what they're doing, and you'll be singing along to lots of Rock And Roll Over before it's over. And besides, it's got "I Want You"!
Ok, with these three albums, maybe that's all the Kiss we'll be reviewing for a while. Whew! But I'll start another series of reviews of another overlooked (by AQ) band, next time...
MPEG Stream: "She"
MPEG Stream: "Rock Bottom"

KISS Dynasty (Casablanca / Mercury) cd 10.98
Ok, we just realized there's not nearly enough KISS reviewed on our website. All that's there really is some weird Russian picture disc 12" versions of the Peter, Paul, Gene and Ace solo albums. Also two of the three multi-dvd volumes of video KISStory. And that's it. Well, I (Allan) am going through a bit of a Kiss phase right now, so I thought I'd start stocking and reviewing some Kiss albums, one at a time. They're cheap enough. And no, I'm not reliving my childhood, it's not a nostalgia thing, actually when I was a kid I wasn't into Kiss at all. I remember looking at elementary school classmates Kiss lunch boxes and thinking, that's meant for kids, it's way too clownish, so I'm not into it... is that the sort of snobbery that led me to work in a record store? just kidding. However, I've come around on Kiss. Now I'm a bit obsessed, and lately have been trying to build up my Kiss collection on (remastered) cd.
This is the most recent one I've acquired, and it wasn't high on my list 'cause usually it's derided as one of the weakest of the Kiss albums from the original makeup era, its 1979 release finding Kiss incorporating some DISCO elements to their music, much to the chagrin of Kiss's hard rocking fanbase. Of course, that almost makes it all the more appropriate for reconsideration in today's pro-disco musical climate. And I was surprised to find out just how much I liked it!
It was the first Kiss studio album to appear after those solo discs, and song-by-song it's striking how such stylistically disparate tracks co-exist, from the four Kiss members, almost as if it was a various artist collection. That's because, while not only do all four original members get songwriting credit (along with some outside helpers), all four get vocal turns as well (which, I think, only also ever happened on its 1977 predecessor Love Gun). There's three songs sung by Paul Stanley, three by Ace Frehley, two by Gene Simmons, and one Peter Criss.
The album starts off with the hit single "I Was Made For Loving You" (written by Stanley, with an assist from producer Vinnie Poncia and song doctor Desmond Childs). It was one of Kiss's biggest hits, actually, and you can see why, but also why diehard fans might have been upset... total, total disco. Stanley really lets loose his inner diva! It's a pretty great song though, even with the smooth cheese factor. Supposedly Stanley wrote it to show how easy it was to write a disco song, though that doesn't explain why he needed those other guys to help with it. We could imagine a banging remix by somebody like Lindstrom being a big hit today!! Love the propulsive disco drumming (not catman Criss, but secret session replacement Anton Fig, as on most of the album). Stanley also came up with another disco-ish cut "Sure Know Something" and the heavier (but still cheesy) "Magic Touch", all of 'em catchy as heck. Gene's "Charisma" is another cool KISS-style (of course) bubblegum hard rock meets disco crossover, with groovy echoey production touches. Definitely a highlight. "X-Ray Eyes" is his other entry here, and it's always nice to hear the distinctive singing of the demonic one. Ace does a cool Stones cover ("2,000 Man") and two originals of his own, including the punkish "Hard Times". His other number "Save Your Love" is pretty garagey too. And then the sole Peter Criss cut, "Dirty Livin'", sorta explains why he wasn't in the band for that much longer.
In some ways, it's all the more awesome, that the same disc featuring the most disco-ish stuff also has total punk rock on it too. I mean seriously, Ace's rough, super shitty, shouty singing on "Hard Times" (as well as the streetwise lyrics about living in the "citay", cutting school to "space our heads out" in the park) is pretty darn punk, especially when you realize it's found on three million selling album that also boasts a super polished, poppy disco hit single!
So, even on one of the most maligned (next to Music From The Elder, perhaps) of the make-up era Kiss platters, I found a lot to like. I've been playing it a lot (ask anybody). Maybe it's time you should give it another chance... or, for the younger of you, a first chance... and like I said, it's cheap! I'll review some more Kiss soon, maybe The Elder, which also actually has its moments too.
MPEG Stream: "Charisma"
MPEG Stream: "Hard Times"
MPEG Stream: "I Was Made For Loving You"

KISS Gene Simmons (Lilith) picture disc lp 19.98
We can't really think of anything that more symbolizes our musical generation than the four Kiss solo records released way back in 1978. Well, okay, maybe if we tried we could think of a few things, BUT C'MON!!! KISS!!! ACE, PAUL, GENE and PETER!! Sure bands do solo records all the time. But it was never more of a production than when the biggest band in the world decided to simultaneously release 4 solo records, each adorned with a killer airbrushed painting of the artist, in full Kiss makeup and backlit with different colors. This was a huge deal when it happened, and while the records didn't sell nearly as well as the worst selling Kiss record, they still became instantly iconic and most folks we know, owned 'em, and listened to 'em and many of those same folks hung the covers on their walls!! Hell, even sludge masters the Melvins did their own version, even going so far as to emulate the original cheesy cover paintings. But now they are available as PICTURE DISCS!!! Holy shit!!! If there was ever a set of records more ripe for picture disc immortalization we sure as shit can't think of any. So the real question is which one to buy. C'mon. As if there was any other answer, ALL OF THEM. Seriously, what kind of doofus would only want one. They are a set. One at a time is okay, but you are gonna NEED all four. They have been on the wall at Aquarius facing the counter since they were released and they look SOOOO badass all in a row. Worth building a little Kiss shelf in your bedroom just to display these beauties for sure!
Gene's record was the biggest surprise. We all expected some serious heaviness from THE DEMON, but instead got Beatlesy jangle, funk and DISCO!! Weird. Maybe the most listened to disc for novelty value. Featured some serious guest star power: Joe Perry from Aerosmith, Bob Seger, Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, Janis Ian and Donna Summer. Woah.
But who cares? You know you need all four!

KISS Hotter Than Hell (Mercury) cd 10.98
All right, gonna wrap up the Kiss reviewing, for a little while anyway. Talkin' this week about not one, but THREE Kiss classics: Hotter Than Hell (1974), Dressed To Kill (1975), and Rock And Roll Over (1976). With these three reviewed, that means we will have covered all the Kiss studio albums up through 1981's Music From The Elder, except the universally loathed Unmasked... which might be for the best. (Crucial albums Alive I and II also remain to be reviewed.)
I don't mean to give any of these three short shrift by doing 'em briefly all together, it's just that lengthy reviews might not really be necessary. So, to begin: Hotter Than Hell, Kiss's second album, followed up their self-titled debut with another strong collection of songs, perhaps chief among them the heavy headbanging groove of Ace's "Parasite" (later covered by Anthrax) and the majestic lecherous lament of Gene's "Goin' Blind" (later covered by the Melvins). Meanwhile, tracks like "Let Me Go, Rock And Roll", "All The Way", and the title track are ones to crank come party-time. Actually the whole record is pretty much a rockin', rollin' barn-burner, aside from the aforementioned dirgey "Goin' Blind", and also album-ender "Strange Ways", whose lyrics and metallic plod have a sinister vibe that could weird out some partygoers. Cool though! Really, nothin' in they way of weak ones here, though maybe Paul's opener "Got To Choose" will be a bit too Bad Company sounding for some. Hotter Than Hell is an accurate album title I've gotta say, though it's too bad it didn't get the production job it deserved.
Next up, Kiss platter number 3, Dressed To Kill. There's a bunch of fairly poppy, finger snapping, boot-stomping hard rockers on here, Kiss again (almost) reminding us of the MC5 circa Back In The USA on opener "Room Service"... The immortal hits from this album include the Stonesy "C'mon And Love Me", mission statement "Rock And Roll All Night" (which you've probably heard a few million times too many), and "She", which lumbers a heckuva lot like BoC's "Godzilla". They go all flowery and acoustic for the first half of one song, but snap out of it in time to kick some ass ("Rock Bottom"). Incipient self-parody may be noticeable here, with groupie-themed lyrics and rock n' roll anthems making soon-to-be predictable appearances, but that's ok, some of my favorite Kiss albums later on are ALL self-parody and none the worse for it.
And then we skip ahead ('cause I've already reviewed the intervening Destroyer) to Rock And Roll Over, which fits in between the big D and Love Gun as their 5th studio album. This one starts off with one of my very favorite Kiss songs EVER, "I Want You", with its deceptively pretty n' sweet melodic intro immediately bursting into godlike amps-on-11, chest-thumping heavy metal riff rock that's about as catchy as it gets. Lyrically, it's the lustful essence of Kiss. But is Paul singing romantically about a longtime love, or rather more sleazily about the blonde in the third row, center, who just caught his eye? Probably the latter. Gene's "Calling Dr. Love" was another hit here, and definitely meant for that blonde... in fact, not just her, but all the willing ladies in the audience, no doubt!
What else? Peter sings an acoustic ballady number that's not too bad, "Hard Luck Woman", likely intended as this album's "Beth" (the sensitive, surprise hit he had on Destroyer, though this time, Paul wrote the song). Otherwise, not too much to say. "Take Me", "Love 'Em And Leave 'Em", "Makin' Love", "Mr. Speed", etc., it's all decent enuff Kiss stuff but nothing really stands out for me. Well, dumbest one "Ladies Room" maybe stands out, but not in a good way. But, dumb or not, Kiss knows what they're doing, and you'll be singing along to lots of Rock And Roll Over before it's over. And besides, it's got "I Want You"!
Ok, with these three albums, maybe that's all the Kiss we'll be reviewing for a while. Whew! But I'll start another series of reviews of another overlooked (by AQ) band, next time...
MPEG Stream: "Parasite"
MPEG Stream: "Watchin' You"

KISS Kissology: The Ultimate Collection - Vol. 2 1978-1991 (VH1 Classic) 3dvd 40.00
Finally, volume two in what seems to be an ongoing series of amazing archival dvd releases from "the hottest band in the world", Kiss, and as awesome as this set is, and it is, we're sort of hoping it's the last, cuz it spans the years 1978 to 1991, and by then, Kiss was a whole different, way less appealing proposition. Obviously, EVERY Kiss fanatic is absolutely gonna NEED this (and at least a few of us here would count ourselves as such), but only the truly diehard (and dare we say, ummm... misguided) will make it all the way to disc 3, as that's the way later stuff, but up until then it's a total blast. It's probably best to just give a run down of all the amazing stuff included, beginning with:
1979's Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park! Worth the price of admission alone for this legendary made for TV movie, presented here, on dvd for the first time, with the slightly altered title (not sure why) of Kiss In Attack Of The Phantoms. Maybe the altered title is due to the fact that it now includes additional and alternate Kiss concert footage as well as music from the various members' solo albums. Huh? But who cares?! What a prime slice of killer hard rock history. Filmed at Magic Mountain in Valencia California, the band take on a mad inventor who has created a legion of robotic phantoms who kidnap patrons of the park with the ultimate goal of destroying Kiss or stealing their secret amulets or something. Most notable for the fact that this was the first time most of us had ever seen Kiss -not- rocking on stage, sitting, talking, and hanging out and hamming it up BIG TIME. We get to hear Ace Frehley's maniacal laugh, observe Paul Stanley's queen-y swish, and Gene Simmons barely speaks at all, mostly delivering his lines in an overdubbed monster roar/growl. But the band look amazing, and are goofy and funny and engaging, the live performances are killer. Made us feel like we were 9 years old again...
Also on the first disc, the band are interviewed by a very grumpy Edwin Newman on the short lived show Land Of Hype And Glory, with some cool interviews and some amazing live footage. And then disc one finishes off with a bang, featuring an excerpt of the band on The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder. It's a crime that it's only an excerpt. Super funny and animated, Ace Frehley is on fire (and seriously wasted) cackling like a madman, sparring with Snyder, the whole band collapsing into uproarious laughter every few minutes, in jokes and barbs flying every which way, so casual and relaxed and super fun, they break for commercial and never come back... arrrghhh!!! Hopefully the rest will be included in a future Snyder/Tomorrow Show dvd release.
Disc two starts off pretty rough, with the music video for "Shandi" from 1980, remember that song? Neither do we. But it's brutal, Night Ranger ballady pap, with the super cheesy eighties style video, bad, but still kinda fun. Next up a CNN interview with Peter Criss after leaving the band, And for some reason, he keeps his face hidden the whole time, as he discusses his future plans and his frustrations after writing a number one smash for Kiss ("Beth"). Then some amazing outtakes as the band attempt to film a promo for their upcoming trip to Australia, and to introduce new drummer Eric Carr. The band blow take after take, mainly because Frehley seems to be utterly wasted. Pretty funny stuff though. After that some killer footage of Kiss live on German TV doing two more random songs ("She's So European" and "Talk To Me") and then an amazing documentary about the band's first trip down under. Streets mobbed with Aussie youths in full Kiss makeup, and much like in the first volume, various public officials greeting the band with open arms. The rest of the disc is mostly live stuff, a long set in Australia in 1980, lots of hits, including the band doing some of our favorite tracks from Ace's solo record (the only truly great solo record of the four).
Then a real treat (well, sort of) for the truly obsessed. A three song live performance of tracks form Kiss's concept record The Elder!!! The band have really short hair, and the songs are bizarre and proggy, but The Elder truly is weirdly cool for being one of the most hated Kiss discs. Finally, the band kick ass on a killer lip synched version of one of their better later songs "I Love It Loud", featuring new guitarist Vinnie Vincent.
Disc three is the weak link, but there are still some moments worth checking out. Mostly live footage, the best of it being the band performing in front of a huge crowd in Rio, doing some old Kiss classics, cuz up next is the legendary MTV special where the band were shown without makeup for the very first time. Hosted by MTV veejay J.J. Jackson, the show begins by showing awesome glamor shots of each member in full makeup, then dissolving to the haggard pasty makeupless dudes -behind- the masks. I remember even back in the day it being fairly anticlimactic. But seeing it again immediately transported us back to the living room of our childhood homes, Cheetos in one hand, coke in the other, DYING to find out what Kiss REALLY LOOKED LIKE. The rest of the disc is mostly live stuff, some pretty good, the band sans makeup, some awesome moments, the giant tank drum riser, some problematically glam costumes, and some really bad songs. There's a brief clip of the MTV news segment where it was announced that drummer Eric Carr had died from cancer at the age of 41. Still really sad. And it finishes off with the video for maybe one of the cheesiest Kiss songs ever, "God Gave Rock And Roll To You"....
Beautifully packaged as before, massive multi panel fold out dvd digipak style cover, with killer photos, a reproduction of a ticket to see Kiss And The Phantom Of The Park, a bonus dvd featuring Kiss live at Budokan in Japan on the Crazy Nights tour (of interest only to the most fanatic of the Kiss Army, like our friend Josh maybe...) and a huge booklet, with liner notes, and photos, and anecdotes regarding each segment, including our favorite, a bit about Eric Carr's original makeup before he became the Fox, when he was some sort of bird, with a ruffled feathered jumpsuit, padded in the front like a penguin and a yellow beak painted on his face! Wish there were photos of that.
According to the booklet, volume three is coming soon, which would cover 1992 and beyond it would seem, although it's hard to imagine that being very interesting, but at least they could include footage from 11 farewell tours, and 5 or 6 last-tours-ever as well as 3 more unmaskings and 2 re-make-upings... but whatever, this volume and the first are absolutely well worth owning.
Now we're gonna go make some popcorn, and watch Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park for about the millionth time....

KISS Love Gun (Mercury / Casablanca) cd 10.98
Hopefully there's a bunch of you out there (at least 2 or 3), who have been eagerly waiting to read this Aquarius New Arrivals list mainly to find out which old KISS album Allan's gonna gush about now...
Last list, it was Destroyer. A classic. And before that, I talked up Dynasty and Music From The Elder, two rather more problematic yet still cool Kiss releases. This time, as you're already aware, I'm writing about 1977's Love Gun. Their 7th album overall. Released more or less in the midst of their pop culture superstardom (comic books, lunch pails, TV movies, platinum-shipping albums, record breaking concert attendance) it displays both their true rock n' roll charisma, and juvenile cheesiness too. This is entertainment, not high art, y'know? And furthermore, the thing is, despite Love Gun's Frank Frazetta styled cover painting, Kiss wasn't ever really a "heavy metal" band. They dabbled, and certainly had a hand in forging some of the tropes of the genre (corpsepaint, perhaps?), but first and foremost, Kiss was a moneymaking pop group on the hard rock side of things. So, while they DO have some heavy faves in their songbook, like ferinstance Love Gun's title track (which sounds a lot like W.A.S.P. later on, Blackie Lawless owing something to Paul Stanley in the vocal dep't.) you have to appreciate 'em for being, ultimately, a pop group, looking for hits how ever they could find 'em. And yet always, keeping it Kiss. Which means, sometimes corny, always catchy.
Uptempo opener "I Stole Your Love", shrieked by Paul Stanley, has an underlying high-energy urgency that maybe for a moment could remind one of the MC5 (Kiss must have been fans, cf. "Detroit Rock City"). Up next, "Christine Sixteen" is a bubblegum jailbait fantasy, the sort of subject matter that they leeringly specialize in so often. It's a Gene Simmons tune, as is the following one, "I Got Love For Sale" (hey, that's convenient, since mine just got stolen... hey wait a second). The album's first real surprise comes next, with the raw, rockin' "Shock Me", a number written and sung by Ace Frehley (actually the first ever time the guitarist did lead vocals on a Kiss album), his amateur-hour vox getting over on cheeky chutzpah alone - when he sings "Put on your black leather" you've gotta smile. Next, two Stanley tracks back to back, "Tomorrow and Tonight" and the aforementioned "Love Gun". Then drummer Peter "Beth" Criss, gets a tune in too, "Hooligan", this time neither a ballad nor a hit. Following that, there's two more from Simmons. "Almost Human" is a heavy groover that could only be sung so convincingly, with (extra-length) tongue-in-cheek, by someone of his demonic appearance and persona. And "Plaster Caster" finds Gene singing about what he knows best, groupies... Finally, "Then She Kissed Me" wraps things up with Paul Stanley at his campiest, doing a swoonsome cover of an old Phil Spector girl group tune (originally titled "Then He Kissed Me" when sung by The Crystals). Cheesy, but charming. And again, not altogether metal...
Kiss definitely delivers here, Love Gun firing many more hits than misses, nothing getting in the way of the (mostly) hard rock, (always) pop product. Keep It Simple Stupid apparently as much their motto as is alternate apocryphal acronym explanation Knights In Satan's Service.
MPEG Stream: "I Stole Your Love"
MPEG Stream: "Shock Me"
MPEG Stream: "Almost Human"

KISS Music From The Elder (Mercury / Casablanca) cd 10.98
I (Allan) have been going through a bit of a Kiss phase lately, as you already know if you saw my write-up of Dynasty last list. In that review, I said we needed more Kiss records on our website and I'd be trying to review a Kiss klassic every few weeks, as long as I continue on my current Kiss kick... I also suggested (threatened?) that the next one I'd review would be Music From The Elder, one of the least-popular Kiss albums ever. They didn't even tour for it. But it's also one of the strangest Kiss albums ever, and thus makes a perfect subject for review on the AQ site. It's also, I just found out, one of Andee's faves. So, here we go...
I'd been warily curious about this oddball album for a long time before finally picking it up. Why? Well, 'cause 1981's Music From The Elder was Kiss's misguided attempt at prog. That's right, Kiss doing a concept (koncept?) album! Or an imaginary soundtrack. That sort of thing. It was either Gene Simmons' or producer Bob Ezrin's brilliant idea, with Paul Stanley all for it too, though apparently Ace Frehley wasn't that into it (new drummer Eric Carr didn't get a vote). Commercially speaking, they should have listened to Ace, as The Elder stiffed sales-wise. And it's doubtful that The Elder earned Kiss any critical respect, either, though that's probably what they were hoping would happen. To be taken seriously as musicians... though why a band essentially famous for wearing clown makeup thought that would ever happen is of course a mystery!
As you might expect, plenty of The Elder is pretentious, with soundtracky, synthy orchestrated interludes, and a narrative that's on the murky side. Something about a immortal order of do-gooders finding and training a boy to become a champion against encroaching evil? There's a table and a rose and an odyssey and a character named Morpheus and some other stuff too. However, despite all that dodginess, it's also got some worthy songs on it that have been unfairly underrated and overlooked in the Kiss canon. Several of them, strangely enough, co-written by none other than Lou Reed! Fact. Though they don't sound much like The Velvet Underground...
It also includes one of Kiss's most medieval, metallic tracks up to that point in time, the galloping glory that is "The Oath". Paul Stanley breaks out the falsetto for that one, and it's simultaneously flowery and kick-ass. Kiss sounds a bit like fellow New Yorkers Manowar here, and maybe were responding to the rise of the NWOBHM.
Elsewhere, they're more like Styx, doing the pomp rock thing pretty well on such mellower, melodic cuts as "Only You", "Under The Rose", and the gentle lament "A World Without Heroes". I can see how fans would have found some of this even less acceptably Kiss-like than the disco-inflected Dynasty... but these tracks are growers.
Gene's plodding groover "Mr. Blackwell" (written with Reed) is another highlight. I'd love to hear the Melvins cover this one, I can practically hear it in my imagination. Meanwhile, Ace fans will be happy to hear from the Spaceman on the jaunty-sounding yet lyrically doomy "Dark Light" (wherein, despite his misgivings about this whole Elder idea, he contributes both his charmingly unpolished vocal stylings as well as some speedy guitar soling). The other track for which Ace gets a writing credit, "Escape From The Island" (what island?), is a crunching instrumental notable for his guitar solo as well.
And last but not least, album-ender "I" is definitely a decent Kiss anthem, uplifting & chest-beating ("I believe in me/I believe is something more than you can understand/Yes I believe in me"), with a cinematic voiceover dropped in to tie it to the "story line" of The Elder.
So, this is the album to get if you want to hear Kiss doing something a bit different. True, not many people did, but that doesn't mean it was all bad; in fact, it's much better than I expected. I've been spinning this quite a bit, actually. Consider it a contrarian cult classic. Its very failure as "Kiss product" really makes it all the more affecting emotionally, humanizing this oft-cartoony band somehow. And it's not like you've heard these songs a million times before, either. Hmmm... if I know AQ customers, chances are good that this will turn out to be our best selling Kiss title, by virtue of its very unpopularity everywhere else!
But, next time, I'll review something with actual hits on it, something less unusual/more essential, for those of you who don't have ANY Kiss in your kollection...
MPEG Stream: "The Oath"
MPEG Stream: "Mr. Blackwell"
MPEG Stream: "Only You"

KISS Paul Stanley (Lilith) picture disc lp 19.98
We can't really think of anything that more symbolizes our musical generation than the four Kiss solo records released way back in 1978. Well, okay, maybe if we tried we could think of a few things, BUT C'MON!!! KISS!!! ACE, PAUL, GENE and PETER!! Sure bands do solo records all the time. But it was never more of a production than when the biggest band in the world decided to simultaneously release 4 solo records, each adorned with a killer airbrushed painting of the artist, in full Kiss makeup and backlit with different colors. This was a huge deal when it happened, and while the records didn't sell nearly as well as the worst selling Kiss record, they still became instantly iconic and most folks we know, owned 'em, and listened to 'em and many of those same folks hung the covers on their walls!! Hell, even sludge masters the Melvins did their own version, even going so far as to emulate the original cheesy cover paintings. But now they are available as PICTURE DISCS!!! Holy shit!!! If there was ever a set of records more ripe for picture disc immortalization we sure as shit can't think of any. So the real question is which one to buy. C'mon. As if there was any other answer, ALL OF THEM. Seriously, what kind of doofus would only want one. They are a set. One at a time is okay, but you are gonna NEED all four. They have been on the wall at Aquarius facing the counter since they were released and they look SOOOO badass all in a row. Worth building a little Kiss shelf in your bedroom just to display these beauties for sure!
Paul's record sounded the most like a straight up Kiss record since he was the principal songwriter anyway. While it lacked the spark of a lot of the Kiss material it was still pretty decent. Hard rocking and catchy. Also featured legendary drummer Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Rod Stewart, King Kobra, Blue Murder!) on the skins!
But who cares? You know you need all four!

KISS Peter Criss (Lilith) picture disc lp 19.98
We can't really think of anything that more symbolizes our musical generation than the four Kiss solo records released way back in 1978. Well, okay, maybe if we tried we could think of a few things, BUT C'MON!!! KISS!!! ACE, PAUL, GENE and PETER!! Sure bands do solo records all the time. But it was never more of a production than when the biggest band in the world decided to simultaneously release 4 solo records, each adorned with a killer airbrushed painting of the artist, in full Kiss makeup and backlit with different colors. This was a huge deal when it happened, and while the records didn't sell nearly as well as the worst selling Kiss record, they still became instantly iconic and most folks we know, owned 'em, and listened to 'em and many of those same folks hung the covers on their walls!! Hell, even sludge masters the Melvins did their own version, even going so far as to emulate the original cheesy cover paintings. But now they are available as PICTURE DISCS!!! Holy shit!!! If there was ever a set of records more ripe for picture disc immortalization we sure as shit can't think of any. So the real question is which one to buy. C'mon. As if there was any other answer, ALL OF THEM. Seriously, what kind of doofus would only want one. They are a set. One at a time is okay, but you are gonna NEED all four. They have been on the wall at Aquarius facing the counter since they were released and they look SOOOO badass all in a row. Worth building a little Kiss shelf in your bedroom just to display these beauties for sure!
Peter's record was considered by pretty much everybody to be the worst of the bunch. Some of us tried extra hard to like it, cuz, c'mon he was the DRUMMER. Of Kiss!!!! Peter leaned more toward the ballad end of the spectrum which should have boded well since most of his Kiss contributions were ballads, and were also some of the band's biggest hits! But his solo record, even in the ballad department tended to be a bit, well, weak. There are definite moments. And there might have been a minor hit or two, but mostly this disc exists to complete the set. And who cares anyway? You know you need all four!

KISS Rock And Roll Over (Mercury) cd 10.98
All right, gonna wrap up the Kiss reviewing, for a little while anyway. Talkin' this week about not one, but THREE Kiss classics: Hotter Than Hell (1974), Dressed To Kill (1975), and Rock And Roll Over (1976). With these three reviewed, that means we will have covered all the Kiss studio albums up through 1981's Music From The Elder, except the universally loathed Unmasked... which might be for the best. (Crucial albums Alive I and II also remain to be reviewed.)
I don't mean to give any of these three short shrift by doing 'em briefly all together, it's just that lengthy reviews might not really be necessary. So, to begin: Hotter Than Hell, Kiss's second album, followed up their self-titled debut with another strong collection of songs, perhaps chief among them the heavy headbanging groove of Ace's "Parasite" (later covered by Anthrax) and the majestic lecherous lament of Gene's "Goin' Blind" (later covered by the Melvins). Meanwhile, tracks like "Let Me Go, Rock And Roll", "All The Way", and the title track are ones to crank come party-time. Actually the whole record is pretty much a rockin', rollin' barn-burner, aside from the aforementioned dirgey "Goin' Blind", and also album-ender "Strange Ways", whose lyrics and metallic plod have a sinister vibe that could weird out some partygoers. Cool though! Really, nothin' in they way of weak ones here, though maybe Paul's opener "Got To Choose" will be a bit too Bad Company sounding for some. Hotter Than Hell is an accurate album title I've gotta say, though it's too bad it didn't get the production job it deserved.
Next up, Kiss platter number 3, Dressed To Kill. There's a bunch of fairly poppy, finger snapping, boot-stomping hard rockers on here, Kiss again (almost) reminding us of the MC5 circa Back In The USA on opener "Room Service"... The immortal hits from this album include the Stonesy "C'mon And Love Me", mission statement "Rock And Roll All Night" (which you've probably heard a few million times too many), and "She", which lumbers a heckuva lot like BoC's "Godzilla". They go all flowery and acoustic for the first half of one song, but snap out of it in time to kick some ass ("Rock Bottom"). Incipient self-parody may be noticeable here, with groupie-themed lyrics and rock n' roll anthems making soon-to-be predictable appearances, but that's ok, some of my favorite Kiss albums later on are ALL self-parody and none the worse for it.
And then we skip ahead ('cause I've already reviewed the intervening Destroyer) to Rock And Roll Over, which fits in between the big D and Love Gun as their 5th studio album. This one starts off with one of my very favorite Kiss songs EVER, "I Want You", with its deceptively pretty n' sweet melodic intro immediately bursting into godlike amps-on-11, chest-thumping heavy metal riff rock that's about as catchy as it gets. Lyrically, it's the lustful essence of Kiss. But is Paul singing romantically about a longtime love, or rather more sleazily about the blonde in the third row, center, who just caught his eye? Probably the latter. Gene's "Calling Dr. Love" was another hit here, and definitely meant for that blonde... in fact, not just her, but all the willing ladies in the audience, no doubt!
What else? Peter sings an acoustic ballady number that's not too bad, "Hard Luck Woman", likely intended as this album's "Beth" (the sensitive, surprise hit he had on Destroyer, though this time, Paul wrote the song). Otherwise, not too much to say. "Take Me", "Love 'Em And Leave 'Em", "Makin' Love", "Mr. Speed", etc., it's all decent enuff Kiss stuff but nothing really stands out for me. Well, dumbest one "Ladies Room" maybe stands out, but not in a good way. But, dumb or not, Kiss knows what they're doing, and you'll be singing along to lots of Rock And Roll Over before it's over. And besides, it's got "I Want You"!
Ok, with these three albums, maybe that's all the Kiss we'll be reviewing for a while. Whew! But I'll start another series of reviews of another overlooked (by AQ) band, next time...
MPEG Stream: "I Want You"
MPEG Stream: "Take Me"

KISS s/t (Mercury / Casablanca) cd 10.98
"Whooohoooo, yeah!" Allan's kavalcade of Kiss reviews kontinues. Here's maybe where I should have started, which is where Kiss started, with their 1974 self-titled debut... at the time, record buyers who weren't already hip to the styles of the NYC glam scene were probably puzzled when they saw this album's cover. Why were these guys wearing that stupid makeup? Turns out Kiss were cleverer than people thought. From the get-go, they were aiming to be the "biggest band in the land", with this album being an important first step along the way, and then some.
There's ten tracks here. And y'know what? We bet in 2023, on their umpteenhundreth reunion tour, a blind, geriatric Kiss will still be playing a bunch of them. Likewise, any Kiss "best of" would have trouble not including, like, half this album. "Firehouse", "Cold Gin" (written by happy alky Ace of course), "Strutter", "Deuce", "Black Diamond", "Firehouse", "100,000 Years".... killer Kiss classics all of 'em. Harvey Milk covered "Deuce", you may recall, on Live Pleaser, and Kiss was definitely an influence on The Pleaser itself. Meanwhile, the Melvins too are of course mega Kiss fans, and already on this album you can hear some parallels: the slower and slower, lower and lower outro to "Black Diamond" could be them, and even the brief bouncy instrumental "Love Theme From Kiss" has a Melvins-y hook, though they'd play it considerably heavier.
But forget about Harvey Milk and the Melvins, ever consider Kiss's parallels with their heroes, the Beatles? A four piece band, the two main songwriters and vocalists on bass and rhythm guitar, but everyone (eventually even the drummer) writing -and- singing songs. And they all sang backup, with vocal harmonies and all. And take a look at the album cover again - looks a little bit like Meet The Beatles, which was apparently their intent. Of course, Kiss weren't the Beatles, so if they were gonna become the biggest band in the land (which they pretty much did, for a while) they had to make up the difference, with, well, makeup - and a loud n' proud stage show, pure glammy spectacle unmatched by any other band. And they got in on the ground floor of the up and coming heavy metal genre. Though Kiss can't be considered as a heavy metal band entirely... maybe the first pop, bubblegum metal band? They certainly weren't as heavy or serious as Black Sabbath. They rocked, all right, but on this album sounded more like Grand Funk Railroad, Aerosmith, or the James Gang (check out "Firehouse", Ace busts out some Joe Walsh sounding guitar licks on that one fer sure). Elsewhere on this debut, they hark back to rollicking '50s rock ("Nothing To Loose" and goofy cover "Kissin' Time", the latter of which also reminds us of the Beach Boys, it's sorta Kiss's "Surfin' USA"). Which is kool too, but they coulda left the latter off and it wouldn't have hurt the album any. All in all, a fine debut, standing the test of time as one of their best albums, full of some of their rawest rockers - and thus good place to start, if you haven't already!
Ok, so this is my fifth Kiss review in this series, and eventually the lesson of these reviews should be... you want 'em all. Maybe I'll stop after a half-dozen Kiss reviews and turn to essentials from other classic bands we haven't given enough attention to, like maybe Queen or Thin Lizzy or Uriah Heep...
MPEG Stream: "Deuce"
MPEG Stream: "100,000 Years"

KISS-OPOLY The Game That Lets You Rock And Roll All Night! (Late For The Sky) boardgame 25.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
You know you want it. THE HOTTEST BAND IN THE WORLD!! Well, er...anyway, it's KISS monopoly, how cool is that? As much as it pains us to give any more money to the Kiss business concern, this game is pretty awesome. Instead of little metal cars and boots, you get Gene's bass, Gene's boot, a bag of money (obviously), Paul's Kiss fireman's hat, the Kiss Army logo, and a guitar (hard to tell if it's Paul's or Ace's). And the board is totally redone too with the railroads replaced by the four solo albums (although Music From The Elder is conspicuously absent), the jail space is replaced by the SOLD OUT SHOW: Standing In Line space and the "properties" are all albums and singles and action figures and of course the pinball machine. Then the cards are things like breaking a string on Starchild's guitar, getting singed by Gene's firebreathing, winning second place in a Girls Of Kiss beauty pageant and of course getting inducted into the Kiss Army. Not sure how fun it is to actually play (we haven't cracked one open yet), but boy will this make your dusty old game shelf a whole lot cooler!

KIX Midnight Dynamite (Atlantic) cd 11.98
Kicks ass is more like it! Super catchy high energy hard pop. This is their third record, from 1985 and is the perfect blend of Cheap Trick's pop hooks and AC/DC's heavy groove. Allan and Andee both love this band. In fact, if you buy this record and love it, we will have no problem ordering you their other three records, all amazing. Oh yeah, Allan wants me to make sure you realize we aren't joking. Because we aren't.

KIX s/t (Atlantic) cd 11.98
Look, people, we really weren't kidding about how much we (Andee and Allan to be precise) love Kix! The response to our listing of their Midnite Dynamite on the last AQ-list was less-than-overwhelming (although Brian at WFMU did email to let us know that his covers band does a Kix song--way to go Brian!), so we're trying again. This is Kix's first album, from 1981, and it is also quite representative of their blend of Cheap Trick and AC/DC (no Def Leppard-ish ballads to be found on this one, although they're good at those too). Someone, anyone, take a chance, take our word on it and order one. A great hard pop record with even some new-wavish moments (it being 1981 and all). Don't you wanna rock? C'mon!

KLABAUTAMANN Der Ort (Heavy Horses) cd 17.98
Finally back in stock. This amazing chunk of post rock-ed black metal brilliance!! Here's our review from when we first had this in:
A while back we reviewed a killer disc from a German band called Woburn House, who traffic in a killer blend of repetitive hypno rock a la Dutch outfit Gore, but blended with a heaping dose of mathy post rock, a combo that totally kicked our asses. But then we discovered that there was in fact blacker side to Woburn another project by some of the same members called Klabautamann, who were supposed to be a super weird black metal band!! This we had to hear. So after some internet sleuthing, we got in touch with the band and managed to get a bunch of the Klabautamann debut cd Der Ort, and if anything, it's even cooler, and WAY WAY weirder than we would have ever hoped.
Take the first track, it begins like most black metal songs, with a buzzing insectoid riff, which explodes into some epic blackened riffing, we love it already, but then suddenly, the guitars drop out, and leave a skeletal post rock jam, lilting clean guitars, but with blasting double kick drums and growled demonic vocals, a weird combo for sure, but so good. Then the song transforms into some mathy metallic breakdown, before blissing out into some dreamy melodic drift, before bursting back into full on black blast again. And that's just the first track.
The second track begins with acoustic guitars and drums, a dreamy strum and pound that could easily be some weird indie rock band, the vocals kick in, a sort of sing song monotone, with little melodic curlicues underneath, until the song lurches into some complex stop start groove, with wild octopoidal drumming and little bursts of squiggly guitar leads. After a gorgeous classical breakdown, the drums kick in, a blazing blast beat accompanying this lovely finger picked guitar, another bizarre juxtaposition that sounds amazing.
The next track is a dense tangled black angular workout, all impossibly convoluted Voivod-ish riffs over furious drumming, before again breaking into a weird loping post rock jam, punctuated by brief bursts of blazing blackness.
It's hard to explain exactly what's going on, but whatever it is, it's awesome. Every track is dense with riffs and parts, gorgeous clean sections are butted up against filthy frosty blackness, acoustic guitars routinely jam alongside metallic blast beats, crazy complicated riffs are chopped into stuttery fragments, and rearranged around mathy rhythms...
Then there's the final track, a total out of the blue mind blower, a nine minute epic, that is still sort of black metal, but also sounds like Tool or Coheed And Cambria, chugging riffs, wailing vocals, both male and female, all tangled up in killer harmonies, the whole thing shoegazey and kind of emo and super poppy, the guitar weaving elaborate textures, but it's the vocals, so weird and cool, it almost has us wishing the whole record had singing like this. So unexpected and so goddamn great.
After the recently reviewed Lifelover, probably our most listened to new 'black metal' disc for sure!
MPEG Stream: "Der Ort"
MPEG Stream: "Forlorn Sea"
MPEG Stream: "Winternacht"

KLABAUTAMANN Merkur (The End) cd 13.98
Third full length from these German post-black metallers, long time favorites around here, which of course means a new Klabautamann record is always a cause for celebration, as is any record by any band related to this ever shifting collective, who play in a bunch of different outfits, including other aQ faves like Woburn House, and Island. But Klabautamann is probably the 'blackest' of the bunch, the guitars buzzy, the vocals harsh and hellish, the drums furious, but that's really where the resemblance to typical black metal ends, take the first song, exploding out of the gate with a loping mathy post metal groove, a bit Slinty, all wound tight, gnarled rapid fire guitar chug, wild drumming, when suddenly, the song shifts and the band are locked into some sort of prog / folk thing, with spidery guitars, and polka like rhythms, which gives way to a dreamy waltzy folk breakdown, but peppered with brief dynamic bursts of metallic crunch, only to slip right back into the opening churn and chug.
The next track is another woozy, doom flecked bit of black lope, but it changes constantly, at its fiercest reminding us of classic Satyricon, but at it's least metal, reminding us of some sort of avant prog pop. Which is the cool thing about Klabautamann, the fact that they're constantly flitting back and forth between the two, but in such a away that it sound totally natural and organic. The songs, as convoluted and complex as they are, seem to flow perfectly, slipping from grim raw blackness, to weird pretty pop in the blink of an eye, often finding some way to meld the two in transition. The playing here is incredible, dexterous, nimble, frenzied and freaking fast, super prog, only in so much as the parts are intricate, and there's so many of them, without digging too deep, this is definitely easy to enjoy as just a super varied black metal record, the band do tend to return to blasting buzzing blackness, but there's so much going on, that to try and enjoy it on just that one level would be a waste, Merkur, much like the records before it, is a lush, layered complex black prog beast, one best enjoyed slowly, immersing yourself in every nuance, from the harsh and heavy to the ethereal and delicate. Amazing stuff.
MPEG Stream: "Unter Baumen"
MPEG Stream: "When I Long For Life"
MPEG Stream: "Merkur"

KLABAUTAMANN Negeder Mand / Tuvstarr (Heavy Horses) 7" picture disc 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ultra limited seven inch picture disc from these German black metallers. But Klabautamann aren't at all your typical black metal group, beginning with the fact that most of them also do time in metallic math rockers Woburn House, who we raved about on a past list. And that math rock pedigree definitely finds its way into the sound of Klabautamann. As always there's plenty of growling demon-vox, blasting beats, and buzzing riffage, but more than half the time is spent in various non-metal forms, from blissed out dreamy folk interludes, to simple slowcore crawls, to weird angular prog workouts. And even in full blasting metal mode, the sound is anything but typical, the buzzing and blasting is infused with haunting melancholy melodies, ultra catchy hooks, weird burbling underwater bass, but all deftly wrapped up in the curious freaked out, gloriously demented black-post-math-metal-whatever that is Klabautamann.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES, each copy hand numbered, packaged with a cover/sheet of liner notes with the credits and lyrics, and the picture disc is an eye popping full color illustration of dancing gnomes and faeries on one side, a sleeping witch, curled up with here staff and bugle and mysterious book of spells on the other. The best part is the 7" also comes with a cd-r with the tracks from the single, so you can throw those right on your iPod and hang that single on your wall right where it belongs...

KLABAUTAMANN Our Journey Through The Woods (Vendlus) cd 15.98
REPRESSED! Now on Vendlus, formerly self-released. Here's our review from back on list #266 when we first raved about Our Journey...
Second disc from this mysterious blackened outfit, that just so happens to feature members of AQ faves Woburn House, a modern metallic post rock combo, who knocked our socks off with their recent Message To Ourselves Outside The Dreaming Machine record on UK label Paradigms. Where Woburn house took math rock and metallized it, creating a sound much more akin to some unlikely blend of Shellac and Gore, in Klabautamann, they take the buzzing blur of black metal, and add all sorts of melody and strange convoluted arrangements.
The record opens with the crunch of winter footsteps and glistening arpeggiated guitars, a lilting swoonsome introduction to the record proper, which erupts out of the gates as track two lurches into black aktion, manic drumming, buzzing crusty riffage and growled demonic vocals. But that's where any resemblance to traditional black metal ends. The songs buzz and thrash and pound, but it's so much more melodic, with cool little Iron Maiden-y guitar harmonies, strange mathy breakdowns, all sorts of strange guitar parts lurking around and under the main riff, lots of jangle and shimmer, even at its fiercest, there always seems to be some sort of sweet melody lurking underneath. The riffs too are much more rock than black metal, giving the record another strange twist. Lots of parts even sound like a blackened Treepeople, with multiple guitar lines all tangled up into gorgeous melodic knots. So cool and so weird. Could very well be the perfect gateway black metal band for folks who may have been a bit shy about taking the plunge into the dark side. And for the rest of you, whose musical souls are already tainted, this is strange and twisted, mathy, melodic, buzzy and blackened heaven!
MPEG Stream: "Walking Through Twilight"
MPEG Stream: "Der Nock"
MPEG Stream: "Trolldance"

KLABAUTAMANN The Old Chamber (Zeitgeister) cd 14.98
The Old Chamber is the latest from these oddly monikered German post black metallers who have been long time faves, along with the various other bands like Woburn House, Island, and Valborg, who all seem to share members, and definitely share an distinctive aesthetic. The new Woburn House is reviewed elsewhere on this week's list, and while that group seems to be moving further away from metal, Klabautamann seem to be doing precisely the opposite, infusing their sound with a healthy dose of classic old school black metal. Just check out the opener, a pounding melodic blackened dirge, depressive and minor key, but melodic enough that it could be Khold or Katatonia, but then the vocals change everything, a sick, glass gargling raspy black croak, which makes for a strange combo, the music lilting and loping, the vocals venomous and hateful, but it works. Even stranger is when the band's post black metal proclivities shine through, like when the song shifts gears, and gets sort of soaring and proggy, chuggy and mathy, only to slip right back into that melodic lumber, adding some melancholic guitar leads to boot.
The second track "Bog Spawn" finds the sound shifting more toward the sound we remember, a little bit Slinty, but still super heavy, spidery melodies, descending arpeggios, all sort of woozy and sea sick sounding, minus the vocals, it could be some heavy math rock band, the vocals just give it a little bit of black grimnity. On past records, it seemed like the sounds were separate and distinctive, pretty post rocky parts would collide with blasting crusty blackness, and then back again, but it seems like on The Old Chamber, while the overall shift seems to be toward a sound more melodic, it also sounds like those two halves of Klabautamann's sound have been fused into something pretty fantastic. The melodic side definitely seems to hold sway, but it wouldn't sound as good as it does without the grim black energy underneath. Needless to say, this is the sort of avant heaviness and melodic blackness, that we can never get enough of, and while we loved their last record Merkur, we're beginning to think we like this one even more. And along with the Woburn House, we've barely been able to bring ourselves to listen to anything else.
MPEG Stream: "Mary's Abbey"
MPEG Stream: "Bog Spawn"
MPEG Stream: "Dead Marshes"
MPEG Stream: "The Crown Of The Wild"

KLANGMUTATIONEN Schwarshagel (Utech) cd 14.98
"Organic free metal from Malaysia" is what we had heard about Klangmutationen. Wow, really? Utech doesn't provide much information at all about this band, other than to describe them as a "mystery" (how helpful), and compare their music to the work of outside '70s free improv artists from Europe (the FMP label) and Japan (Masayuki Takayangi, Kaoru Abe). We're also told that this mysterious group hails from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Do we believe it? Maybe. We'd like to.
Certainly their music has a dark, strange vibe - literally, vibrations - cycles of low-end droning, sounding like giant metal springs being vibrated... or more likely, electric guitars, detuned. Strings/springs flapping loosely, arcing with electricity. Weird and atmospheric. Like Harry Bertoia meets Caspar Brotzmann!?
That's the first track (2:19) and part of the second into which it flows (25:05). But before long, the lengthy track two develops a serious case of screaming, saxophone/flute/clarinet skree, definitely giving some skronked-out substance to those free jazz comparisons. It's pretty intense and extreme, right on for those into Rudolph Grey's Blue Humans, John Zorn's Painkiller, Peter Brotzmann, Charles Gayle, Arthur Doyle, Albert Ayler, cats like that... yet it's definitely not, y'know, jazz. More like "jazz" for fans of SUNNO))) and Aufgehoben... or drone music for fans of Borbetomagus. Dense and distorted, this is the sound of plunging into the abyss, with a witches' chorus of reed-squealing cacophony as company.
The third track, clocking in at 19:42, is almost as much of a juggernaut. More whale-call feedback guitar grind, murk and moodiness. And then this disc comes to a close with the brief (1:58), relatively quiet caresses of fourth, final track. An eerie, wispy coda that could be the soundtrack music heard as a landing party from TV's Star Trek beams down to some strange, oddly lit world... and they should be glad they don't have to face whatever alien threats the album's earlier tracks would provide cues for!
Curious stuff, this Klangmutationen. Heavy too. We're enjoying repeat spins of this disc, and also should mention we have another release of theirs, yet to be reviewed - an LP on the Holy Mountain label (which affiliation in itself is a recommendation).
MPEG Stream: "track 1"
MPEG Stream: "track 2"

KLANGMUTATIONEN Weibe Messe (Holy Mountain) lp 14.98

KLV Niin Musta On Maa (Emissary Records) cd+T-shirt 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yet another bit of doomy weirdness from Reverend Bizarre's S.A. Hynninen, aka Albert Witchfinder, whose recent Puritan doomdirgedrone project received aQ Record Of The Week honors, and while we extolled the overall freakiness and what-the-fuckness of The Puritan, it ain't got nothing on KLV, a band that Albert was in prior to Reverend Bizarre, circa 1992-1998. Reverend Bizarre drummer Earl Of Void was also a member. This cd had been out for some years now but after listing The Puritan, and also even more recently Albert's Opium Warlords project, we figured it would be a good idea to review this also, and were lucky enough to find a supplier that had a few copies (that strangely enough, come with T-shirts too!).
KLV stands for Kehitysvammaisen Lapsen Vanhemmat, which is Finnish for "parents of a deficient child', and the sound is meant to be classic gothic doom, but filtered through Hynninen's cracked sonic lens it comes out as anything but. This is no My Dying Bride or Paradise Lost, instead it's a confusional sort of doom pop, with long stretches of electronic flecked dreaminess, fluttering flutes, male / female vocal harmonies, whirring keyboards, jangly clean guitars, and yea, some lumbering gloomy doom. But this is not the crushing slow motion tarpit dirge of The Puritan, or even the classic Sabbathy crunch of Reverend Bizarre, instead, the sound is sort of stripped down, the vocals deep and dramatic, even at its heaviest, the sound is still surprisingly melodic, and weirdly poppy, of the 13 tracks, there are 4 or 5 extended proper doom jams, while the rest of the record, consists of shorter, stranger, poppier and more abstract mini-epics.
The opener, sets the tone, sounding a bit like a doom Aavikko, clean guitar strum, burbling bass, deep crooning, lovely harmonies, flutes, and a super poppy main hook, and a sort of post rocky final portion that segues directly into the first 'doom' track, a somber, smoldering bit of slowcore, again quite melodic and way more pop than metal.
After a few brief bits of haunting ambience and a flurry of hysterical howling and laughter comes the organ driven "Kannel Karhun Morsiamesta" that almost sounds like Circle at their most dramatic, slow and cabaret, before busting out into a super rocking jam, but not so rocking that it's not wrapped in full on flutes, culminating in the almost Renaissance Faire sounding last couple minutes. Wow.
And so it goes. Slipping from doom pop, to lumbering doom, to low slung, baritone voiced doomjazz, to grinding super distorted crunch, bookended by jangle and croon that sounds a bit like Beat Happening, to Doorsy psychedelic groove, to Bohren-like dimly lit minimal creep, to skeletal space rock, to Sabbathy pound, to slow, epic mournful dooooooom, it's definitely all over the map, but something manages to keep things cohesive, or at least somewhat cohesive. And we joked in a past review about KLV / Puritan / Opium Warlords / Rev Bizarre mainman Hynninen being Jussi from Circle's long lost brother, but never has this seemed sonically so likely as it does here, on Niin Musta On Maa, which means, of course, doomlords, and Finnish hypnorock weirdos will both find plenty to dig here...
While they last, for some unknown to us reason, each disc comes with a free KLV T-shirt! You can specify in the comments section what size you want (Large or Extra Large are the two choices), and we will try to accommodate, but eventually we'll be down to just one size and you'll just get whatever we have left. And once this batch of cds is sold, the T-shirts will be gone for good.
MPEG Stream: "L.R."
MPEG Stream: "Kevatuni"
MPEG Stream: "Mooses Ja Kolibri"
MPEG Stream: "Kannel Karhun Morsiamesta"

KNELT ROTE Trespass (Nuclear War Now!) cd 9.98
NOW ON CD!!! The first record we've reviewed from these Portland crushers (who count a member of aQ faves L'Acephale among their ranks), whose sound has changed dramatically over the last 4 years and 3 full lengths, having started life as something much more noisy and chaotic, initially some sort of twisted power electronic / grindcore combo, their sound blackened considerably, their music growing more and more dense and darkly metallic, arriving here, at Trespass, where they have essentially made the transition to full on black metal band, but what makes these guys so good, and this record so compelling, is that it's informed by that transformation, for all the black buzz, and gnarled riffing, there are gouts of grinding fury, or weird stretches of processed vocals sounding like a symphony of gurgles. In some ways they're like a more punk rock Deathspell Omega, they have a similarly dense sound, and a similar knack for creating lush blackened crush from multiple layers of droned out guitars, tangled riffage, and impossibly chaotic drumming.
Even at their blackest, their punk roots show through, whether it's a barrage of squealing pick slides, or some serious punked out D-beat pound, the guttural vocals more death metal, but again, it just adds another cool element to their already wildly hybridized sound. Relentless and furious, the production MASSIVE, the sound epic and crushingly brutal, downtuned and HEAVY, the tracks occasionally splintering into droned out doom, or blurry stretches of rumble and thrum, or crumbling industrial blurscapes, but just as often exploding into wild gouts of metalpunk chaos, before slipping right back into another blast of grinding blackbuzz churn.
MPEG Stream: "Usurpation"
MPEG Stream: "Hunger"
MPEG Stream: "Identical"

KNELT ROTE Trespass (Nuclear War Now!) lp 14.98
First record we've reviewed from these Portland crushers (who count a member of aQ faves L'Acephale among their ranks), whose sound has changed dramatically over the last 4 years and 3 full lengths, having started life as something much more noisy and chaotic, initially some sort of twisted power electronic / grindcore combo, their sound blackened considerably, their music growing more and more dense and darkly metallic, arriving here, at Tresspass, where they have essentially made the transition to full on black metal band, but what makes these guys so good, and this record so compelling, is that it's informed by that transformation, for all the black buzz, and gnarled riffing, there are gouts of grinding fury, or weird stretches of processed vocals sounding like a symphony of gurgles. In some ways they're like a more punk rock Deathspell Omega, they have a similarly dense sound, and a similar knack for creating lush blackened crush from multiple layers of droned out guitars, tangled riffage, and impossibly chaotic drumming.
Even at their blackest, their punk roots show through, whether it's a barrage of squealing pick slides, or some serious punked out D-beat pound, the guttural vocals more death metal, but again, it just adds another cool element to their already wildly hybridized sound. Relentless and furious, the production MASSIVE, the sound epic and crushingly brutal, downtuned and HEAVY, the tracks occasionally splintering into droned out doom, or blurry stretches of rumble and thrum, or crumbling industrial blurscapes, but just as often exploding into wild gouts of metalpunk chaos, before slipping right back into another blast of grinding blackbuzz churn.
Super swank gatefold sleeves, with printed cardstock insert.
MPEG Stream: "Usurpation"
MPEG Stream: "Hunger"
MPEG Stream: "Identical"

KNIGHTS OF THE NEW CRUSADE My God Is Alive! Sorry About Yours! (Crusade Now) cd 11.98

KNUT Bastardiser (Hydra Head) cd 13.98
This record has been out for a while in Europe, but is only now being released in the U.S. by the folks at Hydrahead. Knut (pronounced like newt, not like nut) are a punishing metal core powerhouse from Switzerland, who play heavy downtuned midtempo metal (with a hardcore edge). Relentless and totally crushing, with the chug-chug and guttural howl of Sepultura and the tribal and percussive workouts of Neurosis. The songs have a weird indie rock vibe to them (as far as structure and arrangement), as if Knut were an indie rock band that heeded Andee and Allan's advice, and just went ahead and played metal.
RealAudio clip: "Crawling On All Fours"

KNUT Challenger (Hydra Head) cd 14.98
Switzerland hasn't exactly been known for their metallic output. You could probably count all the great Swiss metal bands on one hand (Celtic Frost, Coroner, uhhhh...Krokus....uh) but when they do metal, man do they do it right. This is album number two from Swiss metallers Knut (pronounced 'newt' not 'nut') and it's easily their best record yet. A crushing blend of super heavy post rock, screaming metalcore, crusty downtuned Neurosis-ish sludge and droning riffs that stretch into hypnotic loops while huge, pounding drums and agonised vocals are splattered throughout. Lots of stop/start song structures, extreme dynamics and intense aggression. Fans of Neurosis, Sepultura, and metalcore in general will be blown away. One of Andee's new favorites!
RealAudio clip: "Whacked Out"
RealAudio clip: "El Nino"
RealAudio clip: "Neon Gide"

KNUT Leftovers (Ronald Reagan Records) cd 12.98

KNUT Terraformer (Hydra Head ) cd 13.98

KNUT untitled (Hydra Head) cd 10.98
Knut are an intense Swiss metalcore band from Switzerland that seem to have found the perfect home on Hydra Head, their sound having much in common with Isis, Old Man Gloom and the like. This is their newest e.p. and teaser for their upcoming full length. Knut combine huge downtuned riffs, roaring vocals, pounding percussion all with a decidedly non-metal, almost indie rock feel to them. Makes the songs more interesting and infinitely more listenable. Dynamic and heavy but kind of melodic at the same time. Think Neurosis, Sepultura, Deadguy, Kiss It Goodbye. Big favorites around here! Allan and Andee like to think of Knut as one of those 'heavy indie rock bands' that heeded Andee and Allan's advice, and just went ahead and played metal. Great.
RealAudio clip: "Dissolve"

KNUT Wonder (Hydra Head) cd 14.98
It's been a while since we've heard from Swiss heavies Knut, who we've always loved, their sound a head caving hybrid of mathy crush and epic post metal majesty, they were exploring Neurosis / Isis slow burn big blowout metallic post rock territory long before it became the flavor du jour. But the real appeal was that they could craft these expansive dirgescapes and then explode into noise rock freakouts, or super complex mathy grooves, and if anything, on Wonder, it sounds like Knut have moved way further into mathy noise rock territory, which we're actually pretty psyched about, heck, the world has enough long songs that build slowly into epic metallic heaviness, and yeah, okay, maybe the world has enough gnarled grinding math metal juggernauts, but we think not.
And Knut are indeed masters, putting most other heavies to shame, really in the space of a single song. "Leet" explodes in a frenzy of churning riffage and pounding chaotic drumming, bellowed vox, a deft chugging stuttering lurching start stop convoluted mathy workout, but infused with little bits of melody, some super cool, weirdly obtuse breakdowns, a relentless math metal freeforall that practically out-Don-Caballero-s Don Cab themselves.
There are a few tracks, where the bands reel in their insane time signatures and frenzied riffing, letting their sound ooze and sprawl, droning and buzzing, where they unfurl epic brooding heaviness, much like the above mentioned post metal, but even those moments are peppered with little mathy bursts, little gnarled and convoluted twists, there are a few interludes too, more sort of droned out guitar ambience, before they finish off with the 8+ minute "Wonder/Daily Grind", the first half of which is a gorgeously lysergic dronescape of layered slow motion chords and thick psychedelic guitar smolder, it does eventually lurch into some lumbering chug and pound, but just as quickly it slips back into some minimal ambient buzz and drone.
Some seriously awesome heaviness.
MPEG Stream: "Leet"
MPEG Stream: "Damned Extroverts"
MPEG Stream: "Ultralight Backpacking"

KOHOUTEK Expansive Headache (Music Fellowship) cd 15.98

KOLP The Covered Pure Permanance (Temple Of Torturous) cd 12.98

KOLP The Outside (Temple Of Torturous) cd 14.98
The Outside is the second full length from this Hungarian black metal duo, who initially kick things off with some pretty fierce, but ultimately straight forward black buzz. It's a sound we seem to never tire of, so a wall of furious fast picked guitars, and furious blastbeats like this definitely still pushes all our BM buttons, but there's a lot more going on here than straight black buzz. In fact that opening salvo barely lasts two minutes before the sound splinters into a weird doomy crawl, with some sick, raspy vokills, before launching into a churning midtempo, almost post rocky sounding lope, fuzzed out bass, spare driving drumming, the guitars offering up little bits of melodic filigree here and there, but ultimately the band lock into some seriously tranced out mesmer, before finally returning to another stretch of epic buzzing blackness.
The rest of the record delivers a series of buzzing epics, heavy on the creeping atmosphere, the core still being a raw blasting black metal, but with much of the group's time spent locked into downtuned dirges, and doomy lumbers, the guitars spiraling into woozy tangled harmonies, clouds of chiming harmonics over the motorik rhythms, at times sounding like some blackened strain of hypnorock (check out "Drowning"), and when the the black metal does kick in, it's fierce and majestic, soaring and utterly epic, sometimes, though, the band drops out, and those tell tale buzzing guitars begin to build momentum, but then instead of bursting into blasting blackness, the drums emerge as a doomy slow-mo pound, creating a weird sort of blackbuzz/doomdirge hybrid. And so it goes, the sound shifting from blackened churn, to furious buzzing frenzy, from surprisingly minimal melodic blackened gloomrock (a la Khold), to raw black buzz and back again.
Super striking, black and white, digipak style packaging too.
MPEG Stream: "There Was No Place To Hide"
MPEG Stream: "The Initial State"
MPEG Stream: "Drowning"
MPEG Stream: "Completion"
MPEG Stream: "The Outside"

KONGH Shadows Of The Shapeless (Trust No One) cd 21.00

KONGH Sole Creation (Agonia Records) cd 16.98
Latest clutch of epic psychedelic doom heaviness from these Swedes, four sprawling tracks that shift easily from chugging, churning riffiness, to soaring, super melodic heaviness, the sound epic, the production massive, The roots of their sound obviously reach back to Neurosis and Isis, and beyond to classic old school doom, but with the clean vocal choruses, the majestic melodies, makes much of this have an almost Soundgarden / Alice In Chains vibe, which is not a bad thing at all, just means that for every sprawl of roiling, downtuned dirgery, there's some serious hookage and a chorus most non-doom bands would kill for. And sure, the vocals often slip into death metal growls and glass gargling rasps, on "Tamed Brute" in fact, the sound slows to a crushing creep, maybe the heaviest point on the record, the sort of tarpit sludge groove that we can't resist, but on the title track, there's lots more melody, even some cool stretches of cool loping post rock, with chiming melodies, tribal drumming, squalls of feedback, and again, those soaring vox, makes for something super psychedelic and sorta trance-y. And the main riff, while definitely doomy, is also a killer, especially when the two guitar harmonize, totally epic, and then when the stomp boxes are stomped, and the song proper kicks in, it's a crusher for sure.
The second half of the record finds the band doing more of that heavy/poppy mix and match, with some almost Agents Of Oblivion style slithery swagger, wedded to some seriously chugging doom, and more grinding chug. The last track is a slow burn, slow build epic, the first half all spaced out and ethereal, softly psychedelic, shuffling drums under spidery distorted melodies, and fuzzed out bass rumble, it's not until about halfway through that things kick off, and again, we're getting a huge AoO vibe, which we love! Surprisingly soulful and emotional doom-ed heaviness, that slips once again into some tripped out psych-doom drift, before building to a finale that's like a more doomy Godspeed, all swirling distorted shoegaze guitar, detuned metallic chug, tribal drum bombast, all gradually fading into a haze of gauze-y distortion, and blissed out psychedelic shimmer.
MPEG Stream: "Soul Creation"
MPEG Stream: "Tamed Brute"

KONGH Sole Creation (Agonia Records) lp 22.00
Latest clutch of epic psychedelic doom heaviness from these Swedes, four sprawling tracks that shift easily from chugging, churning riffiness, to soaring, super melodic heaviness, the sound epic, the production massive, The roots of their sound obviously reach back to Neurosis and Isis, and beyond to classic old school doom, but with the clean vocal choruses, the majestic melodies, makes much of this have an almost Soundgarden / Alice In Chains vibe, which is not a bad thing at all, just means that for every sprawl of roiling, downtuned dirgery, there's some serious hookage and a chorus most non-doom bands would kill for. And sure, the vocals often slip into death metal growls and glass gargling rasps, on "Tamed Brute" in fact, the sound slows to a crushing creep, maybe the heaviest point on the record, the sort of tarpit sludge groove that we can't resist, but on the title track, there's lots more melody, even some cool stretches of cool loping post rock, with chiming melodies, tribal drumming, squalls of feedback, and again, those soaring vox, makes for something super psychedelic and sorta trance-y. And the main riff, while definitely doomy, is also a killer, especially when the two guitar harmonize, totally epic, and then when the stomp boxes are stomped, and the song proper kicks in, it's a crusher for sure.
The second half of the record finds the band doing more of that heavy/poppy mix and match, with some almost Agents Of Oblivion style slithery swagger, wedded to some seriously chugging doom, and more grinding chug. The last track is a slow burn, slow build epic, the first half all spaced out and ethereal, softly psychedelic, shuffling drums under spidery distorted melodies, and fuzzed out bass rumble, it's not until about halfway through that things kick off, and again, we're getting a huge AoO vibe, which we love! Surprisingly soulful and emotional doom-ed heaviness, that slips once again into some tripped out psych-doom drift, before building to a finale that's like a more doomy Godspeed, all swirling distorted shoegaze guitar, detuned metallic chug, tribal drum bombast, all gradually fading into a haze of gauze-y distortion, and blissed out psychedelic shimmer.
MPEG Stream: "Soul Creation"
MPEG Stream: "Tamed Brute"

KOROVAKILL Waterhells (Red Stream) cd 13.98
After a long absence, here's a new, third album from these former Napalm Records recording artists, the sometimes very weird Austrian black metal outfit Korova, now rechristened Korovakill. They've always been one of our favorites, playing unclassifiable epic metal with baroque keyboards and downright bizarre male and female vocals (too silly for some, it must be said) that on their first album even reminded us of the Sun City Girls! The album after that dabbled in electronica, ending up even stranger than some of Arcturus' experiments, but with this disc they rely on more standard, blasting black metal techniques, making for probably their most "accessible" release, but definitely still one for fans of the weird in black metal, along the lines of the aforementioned Arcturus, Borknagar, Enslaved, etc. We haven't had this disc long enough to fully comprehend the watery concept at play here, but "Waterhells" seems to refer to a mythology of the sea that ties together the songs (interesting subject matter for a band from the Alps).
RealAudio clip: "Into The Underwhirls"

KORPBLOD Vardens Fard (Nordvis) cd 13.98

KORPERSCHWACHE Evil Walks (Crucial Blast) cd 13.98
The first appearance on the aQ list by these Texas based guitarnoise terrorists, was a recent collaboration with Irish doomdronedirge outfit To Blacken The Pages, but this is the first proper record of theirs we've managed to get enough of to list. And it's a doozy.
Previously a one man band, and previously more of an oozing blacknoise Skullflower psychguitar buzz drone dirge freakout-fit, the band has expanded to a duo (unless the new member is just the drum machine), either way, the sound has definitely shifted gears, less abstract, less noisy, and more industrial, with proper songs; a lurching, lumbering, downtuned chunk of miserable abject slo-mo heaviness. The programmed beats minimal and robotic, the guitars murky and crusty, the vocals a super reverbed and heavily effected demonic croak, the songs, creeping and crawling, haunting and harrowing, shades of the Swans, Godflesh of course, the label compare their sound to Loop crossed with Abruptum, and we can definitely here that in places.
The sound is way less caustic than in the past, and more psychedelic and hypnotic, "Ouroboros: First Lesson", for all its croaked vocals and grim guitar buzz, locks into a looped mesmer and gets downright psychedelic, like Spacemen 3 covered by some basement black metal band, it's pretty bad ass. And a bunch of the tracks follow a similar path, building to a lurching groove and then getting all spaced out hypnorock. Then there's tracks like "The City Of Lost Girls", that are downright pretty, the guitars smoldering, laced with piano, mournful and melancholy, drifty and droney and dreamlike. And even in the harsher jams, hidden amidst all that crunch and pound and howl are strange melodies, unlikely hooks, gorgeous textures, all woven into a dense industrial tinged, blackened psychedelia, that will most likely have lots of you scrambling for all those Korperschwache releases you missed.
Includes a link for a download to a companion record, featuring early/alternate versions and a handful of unreleased tracks.
MPEG Stream: "There Is A Certain Smell Attractive To Wolves"
MPEG Stream: "Ouroboros: First Lesson"
MPEG Stream: "The Rearing Elephant"

KOSMOS s/t (The End) cd 12.98
Kosmos is the new group from Michel Langevin (aka Voivod's drummer Away!) deeply inspired by '70s instrumental space prog and vintage sci-fi movies. For the most part it's a cleanly executed journey, but occasionally treads along -- but never into -- the aggressive, thrashy outer limits of Voivod. Even then, Kosmos' wild guitar and keyboard acrobatics maintain a defined trajectory. Kosmos are at their best when exploring cosmic (natch), cermonial-sounding, krautrock-inspired instrumental vistas... they even do a track called "Krautrock" (no, not a cover of the Faust song). That stuff should appeal to fans of Zombi, ferinstance. Unfortunately there's a few less successful tracks marred by vocals, the band rockin' out for fans of some less hip prog styles of the past... groovy, grungey prog Quebecois isn't totally our thing. So you might hit 'skip' on a track or two, but this definitely has its moments.
MPEG Stream: "Psycho"
MPEG Stream: "Indu Kush"

KOWLOON WALLED CITY Container Ships (Sea Of Droids Music) cd 10.98
This recent Record Of The Week is now available on cd, housed in swank, letter pressed mini sleeves - and for all you cd folks out there, it is in fact Record Of The Week again!
Full length number two from these SF heavies, and while they haven't sacrificed any of their Teutonic crush, or noise rock heft, they do display a surprisingly melodic side on Container Ships, a soft white sonic underbelly that was hinted at on their recent split 7" with Thou, on which they covered a Low track, and it feels like much of the sensibilities that not only drove that choice, but determined what they did with it as well, are all over Container Ships. And while nothing here is quite as darkly delicate, the band do definitely dial back the heaviness, letting the sounds linger, letting clean guitars spread out and set the mood, and when the hammer does fall, the sound this time around is much more crisp and lush, even when the guitars are downtuned, churning and chugging, they ring out, the sounds reverberant and rich. The debt to the Unsane and Helmet no longer so obvious, at least not all the time. On the opener, which might be the prettiest song here, the band offer up their own sort of slowcore minimal math rock / noise rock sprawl, subtly nuanced, and super melodic, another big change on display here is frontman Scott Evans' vocals, which have transformed from a gruff bark, to a serious croon, still rough around the edges, but way more emotive and the perfect match for the band's ever developing sound.
But fear not, get an earful of the second track, "50's Dad", which is all loping, chugging noise rock crush, Evan's vocals higher than on past record, which definitely changes the vibe throughout, and makes even the heaviest tracks here, less of a knuckledragging vibe, and more of an emo edge, which again totally suits them, especially when the band lock into a weird loping groove, and Evans sings himself ragged, his voice rough and raw and impassioned. Not to mention the burst of tangled psychedelic guitar leads that are wrapped around the middle of the track.
The guys have been busting their asses for years now, and we always sort of wondered why they weren't huge, but goddamn if this record doesn't change all that nothing will.
The whole record is a sort of push and pull between the muscled mathy noise rock of the early records, and this desire to make beautiful music, even if it's dark, mean, ugly, hard and heavy beautiful music, which this most certainly is, and it's that balance that makes this record, and these guys so good. The title track here is a dirgey doomy drag, the chords ringing out, the vocals carrying all the melodic weight, and transforming a dirgey chugfest into something epic and intense, the song revealing a grasp and mastery of dynamics that was most definitely underutilized on past records, but gets a serious workout here.
"Cornerstone" is about as poppy as these guys get, and again, they not only mange to pull it off, they also make it this hook heavy noise-pop fit seamlessly into the way heavier rest of the record, not to mention demonstrating another element the band have in their arsenal but obviously choose to employ very judiciously. The record finishes off with the 9 minute epic "You Don't Have Cancer", which again reveals their slowcore proclivities, and demonstrates their ability to subsume that sound into their own, the resulting hybrid another sprawling, gut wrenchingly emotional, crushingly heavy, surprisingly melodic epic, that would, and does, put most other heavy bands to shame.
MPEG Stream: "The Pressure Keeps Me Alive"
MPEG Stream: "50's Dad"
MPEG Stream: "Beef Cattle"
MPEG Stream: "You Don't Have Cancer"

KOWLOON WALLED CITY Container Ships (Brutal Panda) lp 16.98
Full length number two from these SF heavies, and while they haven't sacrificed any of their Teutonic crush, or noise rock heft, they do display a surprisingly melodic side on Container Ships, a soft white sonic underbelly that was hinted at on their recent split 7" with Thou, on which they covered a Low track, and it feels like much of the sensibilities that not only drove that choice, but determined what they did with it as well, are all over Container Ships. And while nothing here is quite as darkly delicate, the band do definitely dial back the heaviness, letting the sounds linger, letting clean guitars spread out and set the mood, and when the hammer does fall, the sound this time around is much more crisp and lush, even when the guitars are downtuned, churning and chugging, they ring out, the sounds reverberant and rich. The debt to the Unsane and Helmet no longer so obvious, at least not all the time. On the opener, which might be the prettiest song here, the band offer up their own sort of slowcore minimal math rock / noise rock sprawl, subtly nuanced, and super melodic, another big change on display here is frontman Scott Evans' vocals, which have transformed from a gruff bark, to a serious croon, still rough around the edges, but way more emotive and the perfect match for the band's ever developing sound.
But fear not, get an earful of the second track, "50's Dad", which is all loping, chugging noise rock crush, Evan's vocals higher than on past record, which definitely changes the vibe throughout, and makes even the heaviest tracks here, less of a knuckledragging vibe, and more of an emo edge, which again totally suits them, especially when the band lock into a weird loping groove, and Evans sings himself ragged, his voice rough and raw and impassioned. Not to mention the burst of tangled psychedelic guitar leads that are wrapped around the middle of the track.
The guys have been busting their asses for years now, and we always sort of wondered why they weren't huge, but goddamn if this record doesn't change all that nothing will.
The whole record is a sort of push and pull between the muscled mathy noise rock of the early records, and this desire to make beautiful music, even if it's dark, mean, ugly, hard and heavy beautiful music, which this most certainly is, and it's that balance that makes this record, and these guys so good. The title track here is a dirgey doomy drag, the chords ringing out, the vocals carrying all the melodic weight, and transforming a dirgey chugfest into something epic and intense, the song revealing a grasp and mastery of dynamics that was most definitely underutilized on past records, but gets a serious workout here.
"Cornerstone" is about as poppy as these guys get, and again, they not only mange to pull it off, they also make it this hook heavy noise-pop fit seamlessly into the way heavier rest of the record, not to mention demonstrating another element the band have in their arsenal but obviously choose to employ very judiciously. The record finishes off with the 9 minute epic "You Don't Have Cancer", which again reveals their slowcore proclivities, and demonstrates their ability to subsume that sound into their own, the resulting hybrid another sprawling, gut wrenchingly emotional, crushingly heavy, surprisingly melodic epic, that would, and does, put most other heavy bands to shame.
MPEG Stream: "The Pressure Keeps Me Alive"
MPEG Stream: "50's Dad"
MPEG Stream: "Beef Cattle"
MPEG Stream: "You Don't Have Cancer"

KOWLOON WALLED CITY Gambling On The Richter Scale (The Perpetual Motion Machine) cd 8.98
Now on cd! Packaged in super sweet, hand screened origami style sleeves...
More and more every day we miss that brief period in the nineties when rock music was heavy, and noisy, and LOUD. Not necessarily metal, although to some ears it probably sounded like metal. It was more about BIG riffs, lumbering tempos, huge pounding drums, throat shredding vox. Think: Unsane, Halo Of Flies, Today Is The Day, Tad, Killdozer, Tar, Helmet, Lubricated Goat, Karp, Unwound, we could go on and on, but you understand what we're talking about.
There are very few modern bands who can channel the same sort of sonic energy without being retro, and typically, the heavier they are, the more they get lumped in with some metal subsect. But goddamn if there doesn't seem to be a bit of a modern noise rock scene brewing, bands popping up here and there, pushing all those noise rock buttons, and totally hitting the spot.
Which brings us to local boys Kowloon Walled City, whose recent Turk Street ep knocked us on our asses with it's noise rock / doom sludge hybrid. Weirdly enough, with this here debut full length, Gambling On The Richter Scale, the band somehow sound WAY heavier, but at the same time way less metal. Tapping into the rich noise rock history, and creating a disc that's both intense and punishing, melodic and heavy, and yeah, still a bit metallic here and there..
Opener "Annandale" is a churning hook filled noise rock jam, with big guitars, some killer melodies, harsh vox, wild dense drumming, some awesomely soaring high guitar parts, as well as the occasional burst of super melodic almost indie rock, before lurching back into the chug and crush. The sound definitely veers closer to a band like Torche or Floor than Neurosis or Eyehategod.
The second track though totally reminds us of the Unsane, with its roiling distorted bass, looped churning riffage, and weirdly mathy arrangement, some cool dynamics and some stop / starts that definitely had us in math rock heaven. But even here, the band inject some clean guitars, and some downright pretty melody before getting all aggro again.
It's a pretty relentless record, but thankfully KWC mix it up, changing up tempos, letting the drums breath here and there, giving riffs space to ring out and decay once in a while, stretching out into spaced out slowmo ambient drifts, pulling tracks apart into almost groovy sounding doomy dirges, slipping in plenty of subtle pop, heavy hooks galore. The title track is a monster, beginning with some clean guitar strum, minor key and tense, before lurching into a fierce chugging plod, with some Maideny guitar harmonies, plenty of palm muted guitar throb, an impossibly heavy downtuned chorus, and subtle melody mixed in throughout.
The record finishes off with the 6+ minute "More Like The Shit Factory", a sprawling slowjam, the guitars droning out in long streaks, peppered with bursts of downtuned crunch, the drums never really kicking in, the guitars all intertwined and layered, beating against each other, a cloud of swirling overtones, while the vocals howl, the drums sporadically pound, eventually everything dropping out entirely, leaving just a blown out psychedelic dual guitar drone, which crumbles and gradually fades out over the last minute, although. we'd have been perfectly happy had they let those guitars drone endlessly and fill up the rest of the record. Next time maybe.
So yeah, if you're in the market for some heavy, catchy as fuck, NOISE ROCK, okay, maybe call it metal, then Gambling On The Richter Scale is IT, and by the sounds of this record, they probably destroy live. On that same label that that brought us Catalyst, another bad ass noise rock band well worth checking out.
MPEG Stream: "Annandale"
MPEG Stream: "Diabetic Feet"
MPEG Stream: "More Like The Shit Factory"

KOWLOON WALLED CITY Gambling On The Richter Scale (The Perpetual Motion Machine) lp 10.98
More and more every day we miss that brief period in the nineties when rock music was heavy, and noisy, and LOUD. Not necessarily metal, although to some ears it probably sounded like metal. It was more about BIG riffs, lumbering tempos, huge pounding drums, throat shredding vox. Think: Unsane, Halo Of Flies, Today Is The Day, Tad, Killdozer, Tar, Helmet, Lubricated Goat, Karp, Unwound, we could go on and on, but you understand what we're talking about.
There are very few modern bands who can channel the same sort of sonic energy without being retro, and typically, the heavier they are, the more they get lumped in with some metal subsect. But goddamn if there doesn't seem to be a bit of a modern noise rock scene brewing, bands popping up here and there, pushing all those noise rock buttons, and totally hitting the spot.
Which brings us to local boys Kowloon Walled City, whose recent Turk Street ep knocked us on our asses with it's noise rock / doom sludge hybrid. Weirdly enough, with this here debut full length, Gambling On The Richter Scale, the band somehow sound WAY heavier, but at the same time way less metal. Tapping into the rich noise rock history, and creating a disc that's both intense and punishing, melodic and heavy, and yeah, still a bit metallic here and there..
Opener "Annandale" is a churning hook filled noise rock jam, with big guitars, some killer melodies, harsh vox, wild dense drumming, some awesomely soaring high guitar parts, as well as the occasional burst of super melodic almost indie rock, before lurching back into the chug and crush. The sound definitely veers closer to a band like Torche or Floor than Neurosis or Eyehategod.
The second track though totally reminds us of the Unsane, with its roiling distorted bass, looped churning riffage, and weirdly mathy arrangement, some cool dynamics and some stop / starts that definitely had us in math rock heaven. But even here, the band inject some clean guitars, and some downright pretty melody before getting all aggro again.
It's a pretty relentless record, but thankfully KWC mix it up, changing up tempos, letting the drums breath here and there, giving riffs space to ring out and decay once in a while, stretching out into spaced out slowmo ambient drifts, pulling tracks apart into almost groovy sounding doomy dirges, slipping in plenty of subtle pop, heavy hooks galore. The title track is a monster, beginning with some clean guitar strum, minor key and tense, before lurching into a fierce chugging plod, with some Maideny guitar harmonies, plenty of palm muted guitar throb, an impossibly heavy downtuned chorus, and subtle melody mixed in throughout.
The record finishes off with the 6+ minute "More Like The Shit Factory", a sprawling slowjam, the guitars droning out in long streaks, peppered with bursts of downtuned crunch, the drums never really kicking in, the guitars all intertwined and layered, beating against each other, a cloud of swirling overtones, while the vocals howl, the drums sporadically pound, eventually everything dropping out entirely, leaving just a blown out psychedelic dual guitar drone, which crumbles and gradually fades out over the last minute, although. we'd have been perfectly happy had they let those guitars drone endlessly and fill up the rest of the record. Next time maybe.
So yeah, if you're in the market for some heavy, catchy as fuck, NOISE ROCK, okay, maybe call it metal, then Gambling On The Richter Scale is IT, and by the sounds of this record, they probably destroy live. On that same label that that brought us Catalyst, another bad ass noise rock band well worth checking out.

MPEG Stream: "Annandale"
MPEG Stream: "Diabetic Feet"
MPEG Stream: "More Like The Shit Factory"

KOWLOON WALLED CITY Turk Street (self-released) 10" 11.98
Pretty much every metalhead in SF went to see Carcass at the Grand Ballroom the other night (in fact, we were joking that a well placed incendiary device could have wiped out the entire scene in one fell swoop). And yeah, of course Carcass destroyed, but the very same night, all the way across town, a band called Kowloon Walled City were faced with the daunting task of laying waste to a room not exactly full of the few metalheads who for whatever reason were not at the Carcass show.
And listening to this, the debut release from this SF foursome, we'd be hard pressed to say that the folks at Carcass, ourselves included, didn't miss out on something serious. Thankfully, unlike Carcass, KWC are a going concern, so we'll get another chance, but until then, get a load of this five song ep, of fierce, furious, crushing heaviness. Think Unsane, old Helmet, the Melvins, Buzzov-en, Neurosis of course, this is some seriously heavy shit. The guitars massive and downtuned, a relentless sea of roiling chug and churn, the drums dense and pounding, the vocals a throat shredding howl. The AmRep vibe is all over these songs, the sound incredibly thick and corrosive, the rhythms alternatingly pounding and lurching, most often settling into a lumbering almost-groove, the melodies buried amidst the crunch and rumble, sometimes surfacing as the band slips into something more dynamic, letting the guitars moan and keen, the drums getting all spacious, sheets of Eyehategod style feedback, a weirdly doomy sort of abstract sludge, before slipping back into a furious grinding metallic crush. Pretty fucking excellent, and definitely has us looking forward to finally seeing what we missed that fateful night.
The vinyl is limited to 300 copies, and is pressed on cool swirled red and black vinyl. The cd-r is limited to 100 copies, packaged in super nice, silkscreened cardstock style sleeves with a printed insert, each one hand numbered.
MPEG Stream: "Another Corporate Takeover"
MPEG Stream: "Turk, Taylor, and Jones"

KOWLOON WALLED CITY Turk Street (Howling Mine / Feast Of Tentacles) 10" 11.98
Finally repressed and available again (on black and red swirled vinyl), the crushing debut from these local heavies, here's our review from when we first listed this way back in 2008:
Pretty much every metalhead in SF went to see Carcass at the Grand Ballroom the other night (in fact, we were joking that a well placed incendiary device could have wiped out the entire scene in one fell swoop). And yeah, of course Carcass destroyed, but the very same night, all the way across town, a band called Kowloon Walled City were faced with the daunting task of laying waste to a room not exactly full of the few metalheads who for whatever reason were not at the Carcass show.
And listening to this, the debut release from this SF foursome, we'd be hard pressed to say that the folks at Carcass, ourselves included, didn't miss out on something serious. Thankfully, unlike Carcass, KWC are a going concern, so we'll get another chance, but until then, get a load of this five song ep, of fierce, furious, crushing heaviness. Think Unsane, old Helmet, the Melvins, Buzzov-en, Neurosis of course, this is some seriously heavy shit. The guitars massive and downtuned, a relentless sea of roiling chug and churn, the drums dense and pounding, the vocals a throat shredding howl. The AmRep vibe is all over these songs, the sound incredibly thick and corrosive, the rhythms alternatingly pounding and lurching, most often settling into a lumbering almost-groove, the melodies buried amidst the crunch and rumble, sometimes surfacing as the band slips into something more dynamic, letting the guitars moan and keen, the drums getting all spacious, sheets of Eyehategod style feedback, a weirdly doomy sort of abstract sludge, before slipping back into a furious grinding metallic crush. Pretty fucking excellent, and definitely has us looking forward to finally seeing what we missed that fateful night.
MPEG Stream: "Another Corporate Takeover"
MPEG Stream: "Turk, Taylor, and Jones"

KOWLOON WALLED CITY Turk Street (self-released) cd-r 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Pretty much every metalhead in SF went to see Carcass at the Grand Ballroom the other night (in fact, we were joking that a well placed incendiary device could have wiped out the entire scene in one fell swoop). And yeah, of course Carcass destroyed, but the very same night, all the way across town, a band called Kowloon Walled City were faced with the daunting task of laying waste to a room not exactly full of the few metalheads who for whatever reason were not at the Carcass show.
And listening to this, the debut release from this SF foursome, we'd be hard pressed to say that the folks at Carcass, ourselves included, didn't miss out on something serious. Thankfully, unlike Carcass, KWC are a going concern, so we'll get another chance, but until then, get a load of this five song ep, of fierce, furious, crushing heaviness. Think Unsane, old Helmet, the Melvins, Buzzov-en, Neurosis of course, this is some seriously heavy shit. The guitars massive and downtuned, a relentless sea of roiling chug and churn, the drums dense and pounding, the vocals a throat shredding howl. The AmRep vibe is all over these songs, the sound incredibly thick and corrosive, the rhythms alternatingly pounding and lurching, most often settling into a lumbering almost-groove, the melodies buried amidst the crunch and rumble, sometimes surfacing as the band slips into something more dynamic, letting the guitars moan and keen, the drums getting all spacious, sheets of Eyehategod style feedback, a weirdly doomy sort of abstract sludge, before slipping back into a furious grinding metallic crush. Pretty fucking excellent, and definitely has us looking forward to finally seeing what we missed that fateful night.
The vinyl is limited to 300 copies, and is pressed on cool swirled red and black vinyl. The cd-r is limited to 100 copies, packaged in super nice, silkscreened cardstock style sleeves with a printed insert, each one hand numbered.
MPEG Stream: "Another Corporate Takeover"
MPEG Stream: "Turk, Taylor, and Jones"

KOWLOON WALLED CITY / FIGHT AMP / LADDER DEVILS Lose Lose Lose (Brutal Panda) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Killer 3 way vinyl split of extreme heaviness, starting off with SF's own Kowloon Walled City, who by now really have to be one of the best and one of the most criminally under-hyped heavy bands in the city, super brutal and intense, their sound dense and crushing and epic, equal parts modern metal and old school AmRep style noise rock, a hybrid few can pull off as well as these guys, yet outside of a select few, it seems these guys have yet to be discovered by the world at large, but with every record, it seems like they can't remain a secret much longer.
And here they bring the noise (rock) big time, their first track a lurching stop/start mini-epic, the guitars corrosive and downtuned and THICK, driven by some seriously kick ass thumping drum damage, the vocals a frenzied (but still melodic) yowl, the arrangement strange and super dynamic, the whole thing hooky as hell, one of those tracks that had it come out in 1997 as a single it would probably be one of your most treasured 7"s. Their second track is totally different, reigning in that wanton bash and crush for something a bit more low slung and brooding, a weird sort of Neurosis / Killing Joke hybrid, super melodic, dark and moody, but with no shortage of extreme sonic crush.
We had never heard (or heard of) Ladder Devils before, but they're a pretty good match for KWC, they too have a sort of noise rock thing going on, their take a bit more punky and grungy, still hyper rhythmic and heavy as fuck, but way more loose, some awesomely howled vocals, thick syrupy low end, chugging guitars, hooky riffs, both tracks rule, even recorded evoking wild and sweaty live cub destroying chaos. Definitely psyched to hear more.
And finally Jersey metallic post rock sludgelords Fight Amp, who are only now making their first appearance on the aQ site, even though a few of us have been fans for a while. Fight Amp have a sound not all that far removed from folks like Baroness, Kylesa and the like, a sort of Southern sludge via slow brooding Neur-Isis style heaviness, and their two tracks here offer up a seriously heavy heaping helping of just that, churning and thick and epic, a little groovy, WAY downtuned, a little mathy and proggy too, giving it a sort of Voivod feel, albeit quite a bit more crusty and sludgey, but it's a pretty killer combo, and again, a pretty perfect match for both Ladder Devils and Kowloon Walled City...
Killer packaging too, a thick PVC style jacket, hand silkscreened, housing a printed folded sleeve, the back half of the sleeve cut away to reveal the clear vinyl and the printed images beneath it. LIMITED TO 300 COPIES!