Mouthful of Bees - S/T on Afternoon Records

Someone at the D.R.I. show last night saw Chris and I standing next to each other and said "It's like a freakin' Megadeth show out here." Sweet. Someone also told Chris they were sure he was related to Zakk Wylde. He was all, "OK?!?!"


This isn't something I would normally listen to, but I still like it. It's a dreamy record that incorporates lunar acoustic strums and somewhat haunting vocal melodies. They're probably a bit too artsy for me but I'm sure some folks will enjoy this.

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I-70 Series - Demo & Serpentor - Imminent Death EP

Today I am uploading demos from two of my old bands. I-70 Series played from about 2003-05 and Serpentor was active between 2008-09. Sadly, both projects are done for now but we were able to record some demos (bruises and all) which I'd like to share:

I-70 Series Demo
Recorded and mixed in 2005 by Ashley Miller & John Kraft

1. Hey You (With The Teeth)
2. Stab in the Dark
3. The Alarm
4. The Fucked Up
5. Squid Vicious

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Serpentor - Imminent Death EP
Recorded and Mixed by Ben Smith at The Anchor in 2008
1. Manifestation of Ruin
2. Doomsayers
3. Obsidian Death
4. The Samnite
5. Vengeful Tormentor
6. Triumph of the Metal Gods
7. Blood Pile

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a copy of this with the guitar solos. If I can track it down I'll re-post.

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Cloak/Dagger - Lost Art LP on Jade Tree Records

When I listen to some of this new hardcore (read: hawdcore) I feel like I might as well be listening to third-wave ska. To be clear, I am only referring to a very specific type of hardcore that just so happens to have been the most popular kind made in the last decade. Terror has become Less Than Jake, Bane may as well be the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Throwdown is a nightclubbed version of Buck O' Nine and Ten Yard Fight? That's just Mustard Plug wearing football pads. That's right, every hardcore band you like is actually comprised of the same slap happy nerds in suspenders who were in those silly ska/punk bands from the late 90's! What a world.

As we enter a new decade, that particular bandwagon seems to be rolling out of town. I've got just one question- what's next? What sacred ritual will be bastardized now?! I have a feeling it's going to be what people call "80's hardcore"-also known as punk music from the period of time when oxygen was cocaine and money grew on goddamn trees. Southern Californians like Black Flag and the Circle Jerks have been getting a lot of google hits lately because just about every blog author out there compares a new band to one of them. There were other bands like Gang Green and Red Kross with similar sounds but no one cares. In an attempt to spread the word without harming this band's reputation in the future, I am going to try and write the following review without name-dropping (even though they sound a lot like Hot Snakes).


Cloak/Dagger are from Richmond, VA and apparently sound nothing like any band that I've ever heard from there. Their second LP, Lost Art, picks up where their last left off- upbeat, down-stroked tunes with crisp drums and lyrics about punk rock standards like paranoia, booze and girls. The production is a lot cleaner than the last record and the band has definitely tightened up their sound. This is a great new punk band from the South who sound like they'd be really fun to see. They're not coming anywhere near K.C. anytime soon but remember these dudes, and download this record! Then go buy it...IF you like it!

That wasn't too hard. Let's just hope I don't end up listening to this record in ten years and wonder what the hell I was thinking.

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Mookie's Mix

I made my friend Mookie a mix cd for his birthday. I haven't given it to him yet but I thought I'd write a mini-review. The tracks are:
1. Unsane - Scrape
Remember this band? Maybe not, but this single used to be on MTV in the late 90's. The video is comprised entirely of dudes wiping out and totally harshing all the buzz everywhere. This song is good.
2. Melvins - Hog Leg
From the Eggnog EP- Which is their second best in my opinion. I've been listening to this band every day for months. I have started a cover band with John Navarre and Alex Moss and we've been practicing. We're trying to set up a show soon!
3. Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood
Darkness descends. I got really into this album back in October.
4. Black Elk - Toggle
A band I discovered this year while looking at Jesus Lizard Reunion fliers. They were one of their openers. This song is from their s/t LP on Crucial Blast.
5. Bruce McCulloch - Heroin Pig
You may recognize this Kid in the Hall as Cabbage Head or Cancer Boy but this is from a solo venture. I'm happy those dudes have a new show that sounds dark and awesome. Too bad we don't live in Canada.
6. Geronimo - Facepeeler
This is one side of a series of splits that the band Young Widows did. I do not know who Geronimo is, but it sounds like David Yow fucking up a drum machine. I haven't been able to find any more information about this band, but this song is a doozy. If you like feeling scared and weird, you'll like this.
7. Shellac & David Yow - Bodies
These guys got together a while back and played a show as the Sex Pistols. I wish I could have been there.
8. Henry Rollins - Twas The Night Before Christmas
King of the Weenies, Henry Garfield re-imagines this holiday classic with a bit of a macabre twist. Unfortunately, as with most things Rollins, when he wants to make something good he completely falls short. His idea of 'edgy' is adding a lazy jazz bass line with police sirens mixed behind his spoken work track. I put this on here for Mookie because he'll like it, but I really don't think anyone else should listen to it.
9. Kowloon Walled City - Diabetic Feet
This is the best Sludge/Metal band I heard about in '09. Alex told me about them and all I can say it it's just plain good. They have one of the most interesting names I've seen in a while, they've got a sense of humor ('More Like the Shit Factory') and the tones are packed to the brim with doom, just the way I like 'em. They have two albums out on Wordclock records.
10. Tom Waits - Tom Tales
You've heard it before, but this man is a genius. This is from his new live record and it's 30 minutes of stage banter. Waits drops several eggs of knowledge about varying things such as vultures, Oklahoma and their crazy laws ("you can't eat some place that is also on fire"), graveyard shifts and drinking ("The piano is only on beer and wine now"). These facts are drooled out by Waits while screwing around on piano giving me the image of an old drunk man spouting wisdom in a dark living room to no one while a black cat dances across the keys. It's Tom Waits. He's a genius. "I read this today: One out of every ten men is important. Then I went back because I read it wrong. It said One out of every ten men is impotent. So what are ya, important or impotent? I guess that's all there is."

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Der Todesking - s/t 7" at 33rpm on Self-Released Records

Winter was coming, but now the bastard is here. There are too many inches of snow outside right now to get things done so I've decided to try an experiment. I wanted to write a review for my friends in Der Todesking but I couldn't decide how to do it in an unbiased way. I've also heard all of the songs on their new 7" (being released Jan. 30th!) repeatedly because the band practices in my basement. I had to figure out a way to somehow make this band, comprised of some of my best friends and whose growth I have had a lot of exposure to sound new to me. So I decided to see what it sounded like at 33rpm and not only was Der Todesking's moody nature intensified and their punk knob tweaked, but holy shit was it amazing. My first thoughts were that Flipper and Black Sabbath were Tom Waits' backing band in a shipwreck somewhere and somehow it was being transmitted through my home stereo system. As the first side finished and I flipped the record there was a brief moment of silence, but I did not let it linger too long, delving back into the murk, sinking into the doldrums and taking my place amongst the Mer-heshers now gathering on the ship's deck. As the heshers beat a seahorse to death I began to inhale water and yearned for fresh air. As the record ended, I frantically paddled to the surface. As soon as oxygen filled my lungs I realized why this band wrote their songs faster- you could drown in all that sludge. That's not to say it isn't a blast to jump into the swamp every now and again, though. Go to the Record Bar on Jan. 30th at 6PM and see Der Todesking's record release show! Get this 7" because it's awesome. Also playing are local dudes Weird Wounds and Sucked Dry who probably also sound great at the bottom of the ocean.

Wildildlife - Six LP on Crucial Blast Records

Whoops, took a year and a few months off. We'll start again with regular updates from now on. Right now I am listening to this record, Six by a band called Wildildlife from Seattle.


This record caters to a lot of crowds, one of which may or may not be everyone at Burning Man, but as I trudge through the muddy sheets of molasses on the floor and walls of this thing I can feel a consistent warmth throughout. The band sticks to slow grooves spread out to produce epic songs (13 and 18 minutes+) mixed with strange noise interludes that make one conjure up images of Buffalo Bill and his creepy well or maybe a not-so scary Slingblade mumbling' in a booth at McDonalds. Basically, though, it's a rock record, a slow burn with intent to thrill. Good luck getting the album cover out of your nightmares.