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Nate Newton is a fucking genius. Literally, I celebrate the man's entire catalogue. The Virginia-based Channel was not only one of the most underrated Hardcore bands of the 1990's, but they were the crucial missing piece between the early '90's Boston scene and the late '90's Hydrahead sound. Cave In's early e.p.'s are rife with a heavy Channel influence. Next, Jesuit was just fucking insane. They were hands down one of the top three heaviest and loudest bands I ever saw. Believe it or not, the headache they gave me put Neurosis to shame, and Jesuit only played for 25 minutes. The Channel 7"s and the Jesuit 7" on Hydrahead are still on pretty heavy rotation in my apartment. Nate's time with Converge need not even be commented on, since any avid reader will understand what reverence Frigid Ember gives to Converge. Collectively, they are our favorite Hardcore or Metal band, period. Okay, stepping off Nate's nuts for a second, I have to say that I was sleeping on Doomriders until the promo package from Deathwish arrived in my mailbox. I knew from the cover art that I would be totally psyched on this. From the opening seconds I realized that I haven't heard such a balls out rock album in years. Doomriders blend elements of melodic metal (At the Gates, Carcass) and punk (Gang Green, Bad Brains, Motörhead), and stoner metal (Kyuss, Eyehategod). There are fast, riffy parts mixed in with a lot of galloping and low blues based riffs that seem written to rip a bong to. There are some expected metal clichés, but there are many atypical harmonies and changes. The force and conviction that these songs are played with really overshadow any negative comments that could be made about this record. The kinetic effect of the musicianship gives new meaning to the phrase "I've got blisters on me fingers", literally the record is constantly in motion. I would take this over the last fifteen years of Slayer and Iron Maiden combined. Reviewed by: Chris Bock |
