DVNE – Asheran Review

That’s some artwork, eh? The music more than lives up to it too.

Forgive the solipsism but it’s been a very long time since I have been as excited about a band as I am about DVNE.

It’s even more thrilling that DVNE are sludge-inspired band that have picked up the baton dropped in the desert dust many moons ago by personal favourites Baroness (and to a lesser extent Mastodon and Kylesa et al) and run off in the kind of direction I wish their forebears had set their sights upon.

This blog and metal blogging in general is dead, the occasional fragrant wisp escaping from its beautiful corpse. It’s kinda sad but it’s OK. Things decay and feed what comes next. I get most of my new metal from Shreddit these days and that’s where I was gifted DVNE on the weekly recommendations thread. A wondrous serendipity.

Their new record is so damn fantastic, I dusted off my blogging trousers and set to document its dazzling brilliance.

Sacrilege – Behind The Realms of Madness

Bagsy the stud on the right. The similarity looks-wise to early Napalm Death is unnerving.

How the hell did I overlook these grotty thrash-punk geniuses? They were even from my home town of Birmingham, UK. Admittedly I was still in short trousers when Sacrilege put out their crossover debut but sweet fucking Jesus, how can I not know about a band whose alumni played for greats such as Napalm Death, Benediction, The Damned and… uh.., Morrisey, ah well you can’t win ’em all I guess.

In 1985 they put out a record that combined the best of Discharge, Crass, and the sloppier end of thrash (think Venom or Possessed) for a truly British take on crossover. The ace in the hole though was Tam’s singular vocals. She truly is the queen of crusty thrash vox: snotty, anguished but supremely listenable.

They also had an interesting lyrical approach, melding your typical crusty socio-political rants (think Napalm Death style) but wrapping them in Lord of the Rings worship. Pretty crazy for the time, huh.

Fire up the 2015 Relapse reissue that has great sound and adds another 7 tracks to the original wham-bam-thank-you-mam 6 and enjoy some chunky, memorable riffs, crusty beats and unique vocals. My fave track is probably Death’s Door.

 

Oozing Wound

Does a band name get any better than that?

I have been  checking Spotify every bloody day for their new album but it has yet to drop worse luck.

Those cunts though know how to rip. If you are unfamiliar with their ripitude, try their first opus.

Second album also rocks

Zack de la Rocha – Digging for Windows

It takes a couple of listens to hit home but when it does, my goodness me. ZDLR has learned how to rap at some point in the past whatever. This shit sizzles.

The beats are degraded and nasty… just how I like them. The thought of a whole album of El-P beats and Z raps makes me tumescent to say the least.

Oh and by the way, I may have been away for three years but I never went anywhere…

Phildel – The Disappearance of the Girl

Nice hat

Pop loves the female voice and so do I. Yet so many modern ladies of pop, even at its outer fringes, are just so dull, dull, dull. Powerful pipes but no feeling.

I tend to binge on female vocalists (not like that, ahem) and my latest addiction is Phildel and her debut The Disappearance of the Girl.

Yes, there are clear nods to Kate Bush (Beside You, whose gorgeous piano lines evoke Yann Tiersen) and Bat for Lashes at her most spectral (Union Stone).