HIGH SPIRITS "You Are Here" LP (2014)

HIGH SPIRITS is just about one of the most unique heavy metal bands hitting it right now, in 2014. To say that they play 80s high energy rock would be a crass understatement, as you would probably say "bah! just another retro act! they come by the dozen". You couldn't be more wrong, as these Chicago swingers, commanded by the Mozart of headbangers, Prof. Chris Black (SUPERCHRIST, DAWNBRINGER, PHARAOH) manage to play no-fills all-chills heavy metal the way it was intended to be played and make it sound like it was played from the heart, not from the costume.

After a series of demos, there came the debut "Another Night" LP (2011), which was just about the best album released in 2011, back to back with swedes GRAVEYARD's "Hisingen Blues". It was the heavy metal dream come true, sounding out of this world all thanks to mastermind Chris B. 

"You Are Here", to put it simply, is just more of the same, but not necessarily in a bad way. It doesn't feel like HIGH SPIRITS are trying to top their own game, they just stick to the formula that made them what they are: harmonic guitars, the superb vocals and the melody in itself. The only thing that makes this album not be better than "Another Night" is that "Another Night" sounded very fresh to me when I first heard it, it had its own sound very well crafted. "You Are Here" is just like that, minus some memorable choruses and melodies, but it really lacks in the fact that it's all been heard before, it doesn't really bring anything new to the table. I really enjoy it but, again, it's more of the same.

I really wished for this album to blow me away like the first one did, but I can't complain, because it still is a very well crafted piece of music, yet it needs a couple of replays for it to get on your good side.

8/10

PERTURBATOR "Dangerous Days" LP (2014)

We here at TZEEEAC love the whole new wave of 80s retro-synth, and with PERTURBATOR having ridden this wave to orgasmic proportions in the past with the beautiful "Terror 404" and the darker "I Am The Night", we all knew that his third record was going to be something of serene beauty. He was even cool enough to answer our dumb questions a while back, so we got you pretty much covered on this subject.

"Dangerous Days" starts out smoothly, with the opening track "Welcome Back" setting the game for us. After that the fortunately titled "Perturbator's Theme" kicks you in the nuts all of the sudden, making sure you feel like you're sinking in your chair from the sheer intensity and perfect synth hooks. There's a couple of songs on this LP that have some relaxing vocals added on them for good measure. Now, I haven't enjoyed this sort of experimentation on PERTURBATOR's behalf in the past (some songs come to mind from "I Am The Night" that really didn't do it for me) but shit, man, the vocals here just bring "Dangerous Days" even closed to the top spot on what will be this year's best album list. They really tie the whole thing together, like mayonnaise on some golden shaworma.

This album really stands out on two levels: hooks and emotions, and I'm going to talk about the latter. The fact that the instrumentals on this album give you so much energy and emotion is just something that really can't be that easily achieved using decades-old keyboards and loopers. Then there's the tracks with the vocals on them that bring about 10% of what DAFT PUNK have been doing since forever with the whole "human/robot" deal, they sound like robots playing synths and vocals, but feel very human alltogether and emotion-y, and I find that really really good.

I've enjoyed PERTURBATOR's early albums so much because they sounded very retro and to a certain small degree, pretty cheesy (songs about Linnea Quigley and Josh Holmes.. you know what I'm talking about), but with "Dangerous Days" this is most certainly not the case. The whole LP is way darker and way more deep and mature compared to his other work (this shit sounds straight out of Pitchfork but it's as accurate as I can say it) and for that I hold this album very very high. The evolution that this artist has come through is about as good as it gets.

9.5/10

Tzeeeac Interview: NEKROFILTH

US scumfucks NEKROFILTH are the driving force in decadent, deprived and delicious death metal music slammed together with some of the uglies punk tunes this side of the sewer. They've finally got around to answering our questions, so get a bucket nearby 'cause this shit's getting nastier by the minute...

1. What do you consider to be the worst smelling thing in the universe?

Your mother's cooking.

2. How do you take your krocodil?

After eating your mother's cooking.

3. What is a “degenerate” in your book? What are some influential famous degenerates?

A person with no common decency, and severely lacking in morals. Famous and respectable degenerates would be Charles Bukowski, El Duce, and anyone who likes your mother's cooking.

4. What sound does a volcanic zit make when you pop it? What shades of color would come out of it?

Probably sounds a lot like the first CARCASS album, and would be the same color as your mother's cooking.

5. Name three of your favorite disco acts.

THE BEE GEES, that one KISS record, and GHOST.

6. How does a blind man know when to stop wiping his ass?

Ass wiping is for friggin wimps!

7. I am a superlatively scumbag European tourist planning to travel the US. I like drugs, cheap junkie street hookers and I worship destruction. What cities, streets, places would Nekrofilth recommend me for my decadent pilgrimage?

If you're a fan of this sort of thing, you're in luck. There are many scummy and dirty places in US. Obviously I'd recommend my hometown of Cleveland, but Detroit, MI really takes the cake. There are very few places in the world as depraved and hopeless.

8. I invited this girl over for movie night. I don’t know what movies to pick. Can you recommend me some movies to add some romance? I want to make a good impression here, guys.

I would say Death Wish III, but it's a little sappy. How about Rosemary's Baby? That will keep her from getting any weird ideas.

9. How about a game of pick one and why…

Who hid the roofies?

Jack or Jim? Tequila.

Miller, PBR or Bud?  Moonshine.

AUTOPSY "Shitfun" or ABSCESS "Urine Junkies"? NME "Unholy Death",

Taxi Driver (1976) or Maniac (1980)? Taxi Driver. But both are great.

Tits or Ass? At this point I'll pretty much fuck anything.

10. What can we expect from Nekrofilth in the future?

We are gonna be pressing our second demo “Filling My Blood With Poison...” on LP. Then hopefully doing a US tour and then Europe for a tour with REPUKED this fall. After that we will continue to bum the world out with our retarded music.

NEKROFILTH "Devil's Breath" LP on HellsHeadbanger's Records OUT NOW.

Questions by A. Headcheese.

Art by D. Witchfinder.

VAMPIRE "Vampire" (2014)

VAMPIRE is a swedish death metal trio that is the pure manifestation of the new wave of swedish death metal. This new wave has been both very good hits (REPUGNANT "Epitome Of Darkness", TRIBULATION "The Formulas Of Death") and some misses (MORBUS CHRON "Sweven"), mainly due to people either being way to "true" to their source material, or meaning to take it into strange places, which doesn't always work.

Yet VAMPIRE seem to sound fresh as fuckkkk.

I don't really know what's making them sound so amazingly refreshing in this whole new scene, but it's really a thing of beauty. Simple yet infectious riffs gallore allover this LP, it's like they were born to write this sort of shit. Some songs aren't so memorable, yet the triumphant ones here are really asskickers through and through, like "At Midnight I'll Posses Your Corpse", "The Fen" and "Under The Grudge".

There's really not much to say about this LP. It's a slice of swe-death for you to hold onto until the next best thing. I gotta mention that VAMPIRE have gotten theirselves a place in the Century Media Records roaster, alongside MORBUS CHRON and others, which might be the cause of the semi-polished sound of this record, a thing that does not do it too much justice, but you can get over it if you want to. This is a pretty hiped up band that a lot of people have started to hate because they supposedly aren't doing swedish death metal justice, but I find this type of crap just as justifiable as some bedroom black metaller branding them as "not true enough" for his EMPEROR and GORGOROTH infused tastes.

8.5/10

SATAN'S SATYRS "Die Screaming" LP (2014)

Greetings, Dear One, 'tis we.

Having heard the single off of this LP about two monts prior to its release, I said "Gee wiz, the greatest band since sliced bread sure has changed their sound a little. The vocals are clearly different and the production is a bit more polished. Excuse me while I grab the bits of my dick off the floor, it seems to have exploded while I was auditioning this." The single ruled, but not in a particularly Satan's Satyrs way, it was a bit different to what we were used to hearing from them, so the main question was: "Would they be able to pull it off?".

You bet your sweet ass.

When the album was uploaded to the Internet here and I finally got to listen to it, I found it to be... just so good. Like, everything you could ever want from a promising band's sophomore record: even better riffs, even better songwriting and experimenting with all sorts of vibes. I can't stress enough on how good the riffs are on this LP, they just keen delivering and delivering from the minute you drop the needle. And the vocals are just something very unique here, and by that I mean that you either learn to love the hell out of them, or they are a dealbreaker for you (yet so far I haven't heard anyone complain). Claythanas is just one of the most talented musicians out there and a personal hero for me. If my band is ever going places, it's going to be stepping on the steps of Satan's Satyrs, which means getting well-known in the underground by means of stupefying riffage, great songwriting and no-trend vintage vibes.

The only thing this album lacks a little for me is the cover art. I love the skeleton thing, but given the music we're dealing with here and the always-awesome previous SS artworks, this one could have used a little more sass in my opinion. Still, watch out freaks and fiends, we're dealing with one of the best albums of 2014.

9.5/10

ACID WITCH/NUNSLAUGHTER "Spooky" EP (2014)

It's just meaningless by now to say that I've been waiting for this single to arrive in the mail like Torquemada awaiting the Inquisition. This material is like the Half Life 3 of music to me, except this one actually exists right now, at the moment you are reading this. I've been so anxious to write about ACID WITCH on Tzeeeac since forever, noting the fact that I've loved every second of degraded doom/death metal ever since Witchtanic Hellucination came out in 2008 (I was 10 years old at the time), it just completely blew my head apart and changed the way I view death metal and music in general forever. It set the bar so high that only 5% of the bands I listen to manage to even headbutt that bar.

This being said, after three years of silence, ACID WITCH return with two new songs, in conspiracy with death metal maniacs NUNSLAUGHTER. How are they you ask? Exactly as I imagined them: completely familiar yet so fucking surprising. A witchfinder general's wettest dream.

SIDE DOOM

ACID WITCH open up the A side with "Evil", your classic doomdeath anthem, drenched in malicious keyboards and dicksnapping solos. Closer to the monumental first LP than the sophomore (which is good), it's a wild ride in rewind, slow yet deadly, mossy and infectious metal melody.

NUNSLAUGHTER go out of their league and puncture this vinyl with the slow number "Spooky Tails", and boy does it bring home the bacon. Heavy riffs, drums that sound like they've been pulled straight out of a boggling marsh and an attitude to match.

SIDE DEATH

NUNSLAUGHTER make their mark on this split with "A Sordid Past", a death metal song soufle, just what you'd expect from the Clevelanders, except for the lyrics that, instead of focusing on evil, satan etc, sing a bluesy ballad of death. Pretty spooky.

At this moment I would like all the people who don't listen to REPULSION to close the browser.

ACID WITCH just take every fragment of disbelief I ever had in them and stomp on it with leather clad boots. They play a fast, deathmetal/punk song, "Fiends Of Old" with their classic keyboard and solo hooks, and it's about the best thing you'll ever hear. Ever. A fist in the face of every ACID WITCH fan, a fist that reads:

Stealing pieces of the dead

Cause that's how Helga lost her head

Eating acid melts my head

As I listen to "Season of the Dead"

Rotten clothes make my rash grow

Got a bad case of impetigo...

10/10

Tzeeeac Interview: OHMWAR

Hailing from Anytown, Canada, raised on hardcore punk and industrial fumes, high voltage musicians OHMWAR have agreed to do an interview on the likes of their forthcoming 1st LP, Henry Rollins, baseball and how if feels to be cool. They're the motherfucking bee's motherfucking knees, so make way!

How did OHMWAR get started?
I had a concept for a band and a bunch of tunes that I wanted to record. I hadn't played drums in years and had no interest in it so I put an ad up looking for a drummer. I got one single reply months later from Andy (former drummer) so we started talking and it turned out we knew a lot of the same people and came from the same punk rock background. We jammed a few times, got along really well and realized it was good shit. At the time he was working with Derek (bass) who I had played in a long running band with years ago so D came by and that's pretty much it. Andy moved and Chad took his place a couple of years ago.

What is the deal with the "Be An Electrician!" symbol?
Just some nonsense shit that looks cool with vague associations to the lyrical content. Basically something to make people say "What's the deal with that?"

What about the OHMWAR name, what's that all about?
Pretty much the same as the above question. I had a fairly solid concept in place for the first bunch of lyrics but that ran its course and the name stuck around. The original concept revolved around sound wars and a secret source of power that had been passed on undiscovered by all but a few, all taking place in some weird paranoid noisish/pulpy alternate world.

Who do you hail as your biggest influences?
Rush and baseball.

Don't you ever get tired from being such a cool band?
No.

How did the split with SATAN'S SATYRS come to be?

I got the SS demo tape when it came out and it really blew my head. I went to play it for a friend and I accidentally hit record on the tape player and taped over a bit of the first song. I emailed Clay to see if i could get another copy and we started talking about Black Flag other fucked up experimental music and movies we were both into. They then became underground famous so I decided to ride their coattails into sweet sweet jetsetting stardom. Still waiting on that.

Describe your live performances using some BLACK FLAG lyrics.
"I Love You."

Any chances of a European trip for you guys?
It's unlikely but who knows? We're old and broke.

Tell us about the forthcoming debut LP.
It's called BROKEN ARMS DANCE WITH BLACK FEET. Twelve songs, 6 per side. 45 RPM. Along with the songs we have really amazing artwork for the cover and insert done by colombian madman Juan Y Diego. His drawings are as much a part of this project as the music and lyrics. Check out some of his stuff here. The pressing place managed to fuck it up 4 times. The most recent one which we got today had a totally different band on Side B so that has been frustrating.

Plans for the near and far away future?
We're jamming on Wednesday. The music for our next album is written. We'll arrange that and I'll write the lyrics. If money and time permit I hope that will be out around this time next year.

What sound does an "Eisenstein" make?
Just tune down and bang the octave.

BANG THE OCTAVE HERE.

BLACK MAGIC "Wizard's Spell" (2014)

The way I see it, there's two ways to play heavy metal in the year of our Lord, 2014: you either want to go all out on looking like you just came out of '83 and be the coolest band this side of Missouri, or focus on actually sounding like the bands you worship for a change. That's the difference between BLACK MAGIC and, let's say, a group like WHITE WIZZARD. Only one of these bad boys forgot that they're not a retro act and have made a solemn pledge to play heavy metal like "it used to be played". No need for that, heavy metal is timeless.

That's where BLACK MAGIC actually shines through. They play something new to your ears, yet so familiar you don't know what's happening. The vocals, the twin guitars, the pounding bass and drums have all settled inside your head since you first heard "Killers" or "Sad Wings Of Destiny", yet only now do you look at them from the outside, and see the whole ansamble: no bullshit heavy metal. No trends. No mosh. No core. No Bullshit. Straight to the point. You've heard it before, now you hear it again and it's just the greatest thing in the world again and again and again.

The cover art and occult themes just seem to be additions to the gift that keeps on giving that this album is. "Mandatory" listen for fans not of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Mercyful Fate, Oz etc. but of top notch metal, fun, magick and fast, fruitful riffage.

Bands like BLACK MAGIC still bring hope as to where metal stands today.

9/10