REVIEW: Doomsday Refreshment Committee – Hail To The Freaks…FREE MUSIC!!!

Artist: Doomsday Refreshment Committee
Album: Hail To The Freaks
Label: Digivirus
Website: hailtothefreaks.com or vampirefreaks.com/drc

Ok, so this album is not even close to new. It came out in 2007. But one of the things we strive for at HTP is to promote indie bands, and this one fits the bill perfectly. Not only that, but the album is free! Read on for how you can download the album.

Hail To The Freaks is DRC’s first release, and as such it is raw and unrefined in places, but that is part of it’s charm. The music is a mashup of industrial and goth, and sometimes swings more one way on one song, and the other on the next. Electronic sounds mesh with low and distorted bass, haunting keyboards and deep vocals, all converging to make something at times brutal, at times gothic, but almost always beautiful.

Songs like “Fucked It Away” are industrial to the core, and any fan of the genre should immediately feel at home upon hearing  them. During these songs it brings to mind bands like Nine Inch Nails, KMFDM and Rammstein, but does not copy any of them directly. Instead, it uses heavier guitar riffs and gothic elements to create its own being, living and breathing all on its own, without being a parasite on some other, more popular band.

Then there are songs like “Cry”, which are gothic through and trough. Type O Negative is listed as one of the band’s influences, and you can truly see how that works here. Some might say it is a little too much like Type O, but it is good stuff and well worth a listen.

“Flesh Machine” is one of my favorite songs, partially because it is about zombies. There are lots of songs about vampires out there, but not very many songs about zombies, so I gotta love the originality.

Sometimes the songs get a little bit repetitive, or drag on a little too long, but that doesn’t take too much away from the experience. All in all this is a great effort, and I can’t wait to hear their next album they put out, Crown Of Thorns, which came out in 2008.

As I stated, this album is free to download, and you can get your copy here. If you like it, be sure to pick up the follow up album, Crown Of Thorns. So far these are the only two albums they have put out, but count on HTP to let you know when that changes.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Suggested Tracks: “Cry”, “Flesh Machine”, “I Only Bleed For You”

Track Listing:

1. For You
2. Fucked It Away
3. Spread Your Wings
4. Game Of Pain
5. Flesh Machine
6. Cry
7. Hail To The Freaks
8. Here We Stand
9. I Only Bleed For You
10. Shape Shifter
11. Take It All
12. Robotic Thrust
13. The Shadows
14. When You Cum
15. Wasted Tears

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REVIEW: Rosaline – A Constant North

Artist: Rosaline
Album: A Constant North
Label: Eulogy Recordings
Website: myspace.com/rosaline

(I am reviewing this album as requested by a post in our comments. If you have an album you want us to review, shoot us an email to hitthepit@websiteultra.com and let us know!)

Rosaline is what I would call a punkcore band.  They mix keyboards and jazzy mellow guitar with screaming, grinding riffs and pounding drums. Think of them like Angels And Airwaves meets Killswitch Engage meets Yanni. That’s right, I said Yanni! Combine all this with audio effects, and you get a glimpse of what Rosaline is about. Incidentally, “Rosaline” is an unseen character from Romeo & Juliet, so their name choice may give you a glimpse into how different they are.

First off, the album is a bit short. Nine songs lasting a total of just over 37 minutes. Faithful readers know that I am not a big fan of putting out short cds. Spend another week or two, develop a couple more songs and then finish the album. Don’t rip us off by selling us a half an album at full price. That being said, I will go lenient of Rosaline since they are a new band and just getting momentum going.

Overall their sound is original and works. The angst ridden vocals and melodic bridges are worked to perfection, intertwining to create a fantastically different sound. Their melodies are every bit as satisfying as Angels & Airwaves, and their hardcore roots are just as visceral as bands like Atreyu and Killswitch.

Their flaws come from needles repititions and lengthy artsy interludes. “Pin The Sea To The Wall” has a 42 second “ethereal” guitar riff which is uninspired and pretentious sounding. I get that this is part of their sound, but that is far too long to leave a listener hanging. The riff shows no particular talent or imagination, and a 5 to 10 second bit would have worked far better.

Songs like “The White City” work far better for me. While it still has a repetitive artsy bit(this time at the end), it is far more talent driven and less life draining. I would still have liked it shortened, but I didn’t hate it as much as I did with “Pin The Sea To The Wall”.  The song starts with a kitchy guitar plucking riff and light, airy vocals which in a flash turn into thrashing guitar and guttural vocal belching. This is where their true artistry shines brightest, as the same guitar plucking riff meshes just as beautifully with the harder bits. I absolutely love the way they are able to mesh these two dichotomies.

I get the feeling the band may look on their instrumental tangents as akin to Grateful Dead’s. For me, it comes across as obnoxious and jarring. I love everything else about this band, and if they could lighten up on those repetitive eternities, they might even be one of my favorite new bands. The rest of their sound has everything they need to be successful: originality, passion, talent, emotion and grit. They are both paradoxical and brilliant, and have gotten my attention.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Suggested Tracks: “White City”, “Brother, We’ll Save You Now”,  “A Silver Meridian”

Track Listing:

1. The New Utah

2. Culture Wars

3. Brother, We’ll Save You Now

4. Pin The Sea To The Wall

5. In True Pisces Fashion

6. The White City

7. Polaris

8. A Silver Meridian

9. Children Of Latitude

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REVIEW: Ventana – “American Survival Guide Vol. 1”

Artist: Ventana
Album: American Survival Guide Vol. 1
Label: Trustkill
Release: October 6, 2009
Website: www.myspace.com/ventanaband

Ventana is a chaotic mashup of genres and influences which mesh together haphazardly, all at once assaulting the senses and leaving you wanting more. Truly artistic, this band defies pigeonholing and labeling, slipping through your fingers as you attempt to classify them.

Involved in Ventana are three of the members of Mushroomhead. St1tch and Danny Bones are in the band, and Steve “Skinny” Felton produced the album (Fans of Mushroomhead don’t despair, however, as their song “Your Soul Is Mine” is featured on the Saw VI soundtrack, due out October 22nd).

Whenever you listen to a new band, your tendencies are to compare them to other bands you are more familiar with. The names that come to mind when you listen to this album are like a hall of fame for metal and industrial: Ministry, Coal Chamber, Korn and Sepultura, to name but a few that come to mind. What Ventana does so skillfully, however, is to mash all these influences, chew them up and spit them back out as something completely their own. They are not copying or even emulating any other band, simply drawing on musicians’ natural influences to develop their own sound.

“Watch Us Burn” is the first song on the album, and it grabs you instantly and won’t let go. Crunchy guitar, guttural vocals, and hauntingly simple keyboards diverge and coalesce in harmonic chaos, waxing and waning and leaving you pumped for more.

For me, the most impressive thing I found on this album was their cover of Gerard McMann’s “Cry Little Sister”. Don’t know who that is? Song not ringing a bell? The alternate title of the song was originally “Theme From The Lost Boys“. That’s right, the vampire cult classic starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim and Corey Feldman. Is it the best song on the album? Hell no, but it is fucking cool as shit.

A kind of rapcore makes an appearance with the song “Stress Related”, and I have to say it was fun. Very reminiscent of Faith No More , yet maintaining continuity with the rest of the album.

This album is visceral, gritty, edgy and brutal. My only complaint is at a few points, the music becomes too chaotic, clashing against each other like fingers on a chalkboard. Well, that and the occasional appearance of cliches. On “The Sad History Of The World”, the line “this is it, this is how we seal our fate” sounded stale, and in “Watch Us Burn” they whisper “ashes to ashes, we all fall down”. Other than these two points, however, I can’t complain all that much. This is a very strong release, and a great album.

Special treat for you: The band has posted a full album preview on myspace, so you can listen before you make up your own mind on whether or not to buy it. Enjoy!

Rating: 8 out of 10

Track Listing:

1. Watch Us Burn

2. Coming Apart

3. Stress Related

4. They Dying Sound

5. The Fallen Idol

6. This Digital World

7. The Sad History Of The World

8. Face To Face

9. Swords

10. Cry Little Sister

11. The Way The World Ends

12. The Defying Sound {Negative Red Remix} *Bonus Song

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REVIEW: The Dreaming – “Etched In Blood”

Artist: The Dreaming

Album: Etched In Blood

Label: BCD Music Group

Website: myspace.com/thedreaming

Remember Stabbing Westward? Well for those of you that do, allow me to introduce you to The Dreaming, frontman Christopher Hall’s new band, and “Etched In Blood” was their first full length album. This is not a new release, but one I thought most people probably hadn’t heard of.

Stabbing Westward’s self-titled final album was much lighter fair than they had previously presented, and The Dreaming is a natural progression from that. The industrial sound is all but gone, replaced by a more gothic rock vibe.

The Dreaming is: Christopher Hall-Vocals, Jinxx-Guitar, Carlton-Guitar, Brent Ashley-Bass and Johnny Haro on drums.

Hall’s vocals continue to be top notch. The same quality of vocals you came to love with Stabbing Westward continue through The Dreaming. Song’s like “Let It Burn” and “Ugly” have great melodic vocals and angst-ridden choruses, feeding any SW fan’s need, if not quite as satisfyingly as one would like.

Some of the tracks can be pedantic and repetitive. Their biggest single off the album, “Sticks and Stones” is a prime example of it. Its a cutesy line for a chorus, but it is repeated over and over, drilling into your brain like a mind-control leach from “Wrath Of Khan”. Thankfully not all their tracks are like this, and overall it is a great creative effort.

Songs like “Become Like You” and “Ugly” have the same angst ridden, rebellious overtones we have come to expect from Hall, whatever band he is in. In many ways, this album is a  coming home for SW fans, yet still manages to be new and creative. They do a very good cover of Real Life‘s “Send Me An Angel” as a hidden track, although it doesn’t bring anything new to the song.

All in all, this is a very good album. It has just a touch of the old mixed with a lot of new to form something thoroughly enjoyable. I predict good things for the dreaming. “Ugly”, previously titled “Beautiful”, was even featured on the Elektra soundtrack(the album, not the score). Who knew? The band is currently working on a new album, and word on the street is it will have a more electronic element to it. Could this be a hearken back to the more industrial sound of old? Only time will tell, but count on Hit The Pit to keep you informed!

Rating: 7 out of 10

Recommended Tracks: “Bleed”, “Disconnected”, “What Do You Want From Me”

Track Listing:

1. Dead To Me

2. Bullet

3. Ugly

4. Let It Burn

5. Sticks & Stones

6. Bleed

7. Become Like You

8. Disconnected

9. Eating Me Alive

10. What Do You Want From Me

11. Make It Go Away

12. Send Me An Angel(Hidden Track)

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GWAR Is Still Kicking Ass

Remember GWAR? You know, the alien invaders who sing about injecting dinosaur eggs with crack and the ensuing chaos once it hatches? Well, I hadn’t thought about them in years, but they are still alive and going strong. In fact, their latest album, Lust In Space debuted at number 96 on the Billboard Top 200, marking their highest ranking to date. Apparently, GWAR’s lead singer Oderus Orungus even appeared on a light night Fox News show called Red Eye. Not once, but six times!

The band consists of :

Lead Singer: Oderus Orungus

Guitars: Balsac The Jaws Of Death and Flatus Maximus

Drums: Jizmak Da Gusha

Bass: Beefcake The Mighty

GWAR’s funny style of metal is truly original, and their videos and concerts are absolute entertainment: Full costumes, fake blood and gore abound. I remember some of my friends from about 10 years ago never bought band videos, but would buy any GWAR videos the day they came out.

If you haven’t heard them before, give them a chance. Here is a video for their hit “Crack In The Egg” to whet your appetite. Enjoy.

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OVERTIME: The Bronze Radio Return

Hey gang! I was supposed to go out and see The Bronze Radio Return tonight in Harvard Square. My long time friend Jamie Roberts from Big Machine Media asked me to go see The Bronze Radio return tonight. Granted they are not a metal, punk, and hardcore band, but more as a way to get introduced some swell chaps from Hartford CT, whom are amazing talented.

Thanks to my father sharing his Swine Flu with me, I am sitting in PJ on my couch with my dog sweating and talking like I smoked 18 pounds of hash! Needless to say, I can;t make it out and spread my germs. But what I can do is to shine the spotlight on a very cool coffee shop type band. They are the perfect band to sip coffee and make breakfast to on a Sunday morning. Yes! Even I can;t listen to Hatebreed and Cannibal Corpse every second. So with that, here is your chance to expand your musical horizons! Enjoy and thanks to the Big Machine gals for being wonderful and understanding!

Bio:

“I just fell in love with a forty-five (rpm record) been kept alive in a box over 30 years old,” sings 24-year-old Chris Henderson, the front man of the Hartford, CT, band BRONZE RADIO RETURN. This lyric, from their full-length debut album, OLD TIME SPEAKER, begins to paint the picture that enables your understanding of the group and their music. Like listening to old Bluesmen on your iPod Touch, BRONZE RADIO RETURN is about the juxtaposition of the old and the new. The love for these old records is a mutual feeling shared by the band members, who attribute their sound to the music that came long before their childhoods.

The serious nature of the band members’ musicianship led them to study their craft for their higher education. They met playing throughout CT and NY in various permutations through mutual friends. The way they modernize this traditional American style of music is what makes them truly unique. “We each offer a different spin on the music we play,” offers Henderson, who professes great appreciation for Ben Harper and Muddy Waters. “That’s really how we found our unique sound. Everyone has a voice and adds to it.” Bandmates Struble and Griffith cite Stevie Wonder, while Tanen is moved by the modern-day Stone Temple Pilots’ tight bass groove. CCR and Stevie Ray Vaughn light Fetkowitz’s fire, and Warner rounds it out with a push from Tom Petty.

Producer, Doug Derryberry (Bruce Hornsby, Ben Folds Five) discovered BRONZE RADIO RETURN’s considerable talents at a NYC show and produced their first EP. More recently, the Northeastern band’s collaboration with Midwestern producer/multi-instrumentalist Chad Copelin brought them to a Southern studio and resulted in the creation of a ten-song album. OLD TIME SPEAKER has brought the band’s sound to a whole new place, and the band has made it their mission to experience as much of this country as possible, hitting the road for incredibly long stretches to share their music with as many as possible.

Myspace Records brought BRONZE RADIO RETURN into their stable of ‘Friends and Family’ – the best unsigned bands on the popular portal. Exemplified by tracks like “Pullin’ on the Reins,” “Strawberry Hill,” and “Wolves,” OLD TIME SPEAKER has what it takes to please lovers of all kinds of Rock & Roll.

Henderson concludes, “Ultimately, we want to make people move when they hear our music.” With their non-stop touring, get ready for BRONZE RADIO RETURN to ‘move’ into your town soon! .

“Music and talent this good is well worth supporting”
– Bill Clifford – The Hartford Advocate

“It really surpassed my expectations!…To their credit, there’s no one band I hear influencing them, which is a good thing for them!”
– Eric Danton – Hartford Courant / FOX 61

“I’m going to have to post a disclaimer with this myspace link. You won’t be able to stop listening to BRR’s music once you’ve started. You have been warned”
– Alexes Spencer – Music 27:6

“…and catchy songs from the band’s new LP, “Old Time Speaker,” wouldn’t sound out of place on Top 40 radio.”
– The Morning Call

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UPDATE: Listen To 3 New Megadeth – “Endgame” Songs & Clips Of The Whole Thing

Personally, these newbies sound like classic Megadeth! Although, I still think the “Head Crusher” name is silly! What do you think? Comments?

End Game

Head Crusher

Bodies

Clips

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Between The Buried and Me brings you new videos from William Control, Sister Sin, & Funeral For A Friend.

It is raining in the Boston area, and TV is boring the crap out of me. So here is some new music coming out from Victory Records.The hosts are the incredibly talented Between The Buried And Me.

Also, not familiar with Between The Buried And Me? Watch this brilliant video and keep an eye peeled for the new album called “The Great Misdirect” coming out on October 27th. Here is the official “early” track listing:

“The Great Misdirect”

1. Mirrors
2. Obfuscation
3. Disease, Injury, Madness
4. Fossil Genera – A Feed from Cloud Mountain
5. Desert of Song
6. Swim to the Moon

Enjoy the video!

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South Park VS Trivium

For fans of South Park and Trivium:

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Video: Shadows Fall – Still I Rise

Killer! If this video is any indication of things to come, we could be getting geared up to hear the finest work to date from Shadows Fall.

Review will be posted as soon as I get my grubby paws on “Retribution”. It is out on September 15th if you are keeping score. I will try to get the review up prior!

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