Short Attention Span Record Reviews, Nov 24 Vol. II

THE LOUDER STUFF

BODY COUNT – Merciless
Probably their heaviest album to date, with Slayer-like carpet-bombings (“The Purge”) alternating with Biohazard grooves. Lots of guests, from Cannibal Corpse’s Corpsegrinder to David Fucking Gilmour. (8)

DOEDSMAGHIRD – Omniverse Consciousness
You can probably guess by the band’s name that this is a Vicotnik project and it’s as close to Dodheimsgard as it can possibly get, probably a little bit closer to “666 International” than to “Black Medium Current”. Of course you can’t really do something really close to “666 International” without Aldrahn, but it’s a good try. (7)

HUMAN IMPACT – Gone Dark
A supergroup of sorts consisting of 90’s noise rock heroes once again remind us how fucking good Cop Shoot Cop and Unsane used to be. (8)

MARILYN MANSON – One Assassination Under God, Chapter 1
He might have turned out to be an asshole but he still has great tunes. (8)

OPETH – The Last Will And Testament
Akerfeldt’s heaviest album in a long time, this will take you back to the days of “Wateshed” since the death growls make a welcome reappearance. It’s also technically perfect and has plenty of hooks, what more would you want from an Opeth album? (8)

SOLSTAFIR – Hin Helga Kvöl
Veteran Icelanders hold on to the post-rock/prog tendencies of their previous couple of albums, combining them with a couple of detours into Kvelertak black ‘n’ roll territory, and to a large extent they succeed. The guy’s voice is still an acquired taste. (8)


THE OTHER STUFF

FATHER JOHN MISTY – Mahashmashana
Another excursion into 70’s soft rock (abundant Harry Nilsson, Elton John, and George Harrison reference points) with wry lyrics full of existential dread by one of the best songwriters working today. (8)

MEROPE – Vėjula
The selling point for this is that Bjork likes them, which is the kind of endorsement that would normally get me running for the hills. But I decided to listen to this album anyway and it’s not that bad, at least not if you’re into new age, healing crystals, yoga, alternative medicine etc. (7)

ONE TRUE PAIRING – Endless Rain
Members of Lankum and Percolator help out on Tom Murphy’s (ex-Wild Beasts) sophomore album which is a dark but hopeful left turn into folk-ish psychedelia. It’s also great. (8)

SILKROAD ENSEMBLE WITH RHIANNON GIDDENS – American Railroad
Non-profit organization promoting cross-cultural collaboration, founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma and now led by Giddens as Artistic Director, puts together ensemble celebrating the immigrant communities that built the Transcontinental Railroad, with musical influences from each. Interesting and wonderful. (8)

SILVERLITES – Silverlites
Supergroup featuring REM’s Peter Buck, Black Crowe Rich Robinson, Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees/Mad Season), and a guy called Joseph Arthur. It’s obvious this is Martin’s brainchild because you can just hear Lanegan or Staley singing these. Looks good on paper and it’s satisfyingly jangly, but somewhat lacks in hooks. (7)