Boris with Merzbow - "Away From You"

Photo credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9llVjM149U

         Today's track is a bizarre yet oddly calming track created as a collaboration between Japanese Doom Metal/experimental music giants Boris and Japanese noise artist Merzbow. Of the two, I'm only familiar with Boris, and only through friends from college who are huge fans. This was never out of dislike, I just haven't had the time to do the deep dive on them given their massive catalog. Boris has been making music since 1992, with an impressive discography of 26 studio albums, and 14 EPs. Merzbow has been creating music and art since 1979 and has released 342 studio albums and 33 EPs. Needless to say, both institutions are prolific. This track is from the upcoming release 2R012P0 which is expected to drop on December 11th, 2020. 

        

        "Away From You" opens with some percussive noises that sound like clinking cans, clutter being moved around a table or a wind chime made of old food cans. It also closely imitates the sound of several clocks clinking in and out of time with each other. Synth sounds pepper this sound, as do some echoing guitar notes, creating and very organic sound, similar to the sound of the world waking up with the sunrise. A calming bass line starts at ~0:52, and it gives the song an ebb and flow to it. The noise track gets a little more out of sync with the music and more and more sounds are folded in as others start to drop out. 

        As it continues the music continues to grow in depth and complexity while still maintaining this organic, living environment. It's truly captivating. The vocals are gripping and haunting as the lace themselves through all these layers. The music takes a darker turn at ~2:57, and the synth noises grow pointed and unsettling. In this din beautiful tension blossoms in the soundscape adding dynamic moments to this track. The instruments settle back into the calm sounds from earlier, but the synth and noise tracks continue to grow more dissonant and abrasive. While not always the most pleasant thing to listen to, it creates a strong juxtaposition of ideas and sounds that, in this baffling way, works quite well. These two extremes continue to ride out, nearly to the end of the song until the final moment where the clock-like cluttering cans briefly return. 

        This was a truly beautiful track, and worth a listen or two at the very least. I'm not sure if this is a good representation of Boris and Merzbow, but I'm certainly more inclined to listen through their other stuff and their previous collaborations having experienced "Away From You". If you enjoyed what you heard, you can preorder this album here. You can find more info on Boris here, and more info on Merzbow here. 

        Cheers! 

The Devil's Trade - "The Call Of The Iron Peak"

Photo credit: https://www.season-of-mist.com/release/the-call-of-the-iron-peak/

        The Devil's Trade dropped their new album The Call Of The Iron Peak as of August 28th, 2020. They've been featured here on Mainly Tuning Out as various track releases have been dropped, and we're big fans of what we've been hearing. As such, we're going to be looking at the whole album! With a run time of ~46 minutes across 11 tracks, it looks like a solid lineup of music.

        The Devil's Trade is a Doom Folk solo outfit hailing from Budapest, Hungary,  and helmed by Dávid Makó. The music swings from cold winds blasting through empty mountain tops, to soul-crushing wails calling into the night. Featuring guitars, banjos, and some excellent vocal harmonies, this release oozes with bleak emotions.

        

        Track one is titled "The Iron Peak", and it begins with these string-like notes that hang in the air for a brief moment before giving way to a somber and slow electric guitar. With a slight hint of delay on the guitars, the tone is set for this journey and further solidified as Makó's voice starts singing. At ~1:52 the music takes a dissonant turn as Makó sings a dark harmony and then returns to the guitars in the beginning. It's truly amazing how successfully Makó's performance paints an image of a cold mountain, standing against a dark sky, cold, and uncaring. 

        Track two is titled "Dead Sister" and was featured here on a previous post. The added context of the intro carries on the idea that "Dead Sister" is a catalyst moment in the character's journey, a horrible life event that sparks a descent into darkness. It's still hauntingly beautiful. 

        The third track is titled "III" and has a runtime of ~0:44. It's an odd little track, featuring some guitar work in the background. If feels like a memory trying to take root in one's brain. It segues right into the next track, "No Arrival"

        "No Arrival" has one of my favorite riffs on the album layered with muddy bass notes and a great clean guitar lick. It's sinister and cold, and I love it. Makó starts singing at ~0:33, and the music cuts back to just the clean guitar behind an excellent vocal performance. Honestly, Makó's vocals shine on this track, with a brilliant little moment over skilled guitar work at ~2:18 - 2:48, where it segues into that gripping chorus. This track is a heavy hitter and is definitely worth a listen. 

        Next up is "Expelling Of The Crafty Ape", which is an odd name compared to the rest of the track line up. The vibe created in the first minute is one of mysticism. It's not quite sad, it's not quite evil or dark, it just feels very introspective. What stands out is the power behind Makó's vocals as he belts out the chorus, or highlights portions of the verses. His grasp on dynamic performance is clear on this track, and it's used powerfully. This is not my favorite track on the album, but I doubt I would skip it on a drive while listening to this album. 

        Track six is titled "IIIIIIIIIIII" and appears to be another transitional track, running ~0:35 in length. Coming off the tension of "Expelling Of The Crafty Ape", this feels like waking up from an awful dream, or to a horrible hangover. 

        The next track is "Három Árva" which also has been featured here previously. Három Árva feels more sinister and forlorn within the contest of the full album. Coming off "Expelling Of The Crafty Ape" makes me feel like this story of a man who's lost everything, walking up to the Iron Peak to reckon with his maker, and his memories are haunting him every step of the way. 

        Track eight is titled "Eyes In The Fire". It starts with a fade-in that has a nice change in flavor from the bleak and dire palate of this album, and the verse flirts with this major toned moment now and again which changes up the feeling of this release. It's hard to describe the tone of this track, but it's surprisingly enjoyable. It's echoing and washed in reverb, with an 80's rock vibe, like Tears For Fears meets Simple Minds, but with no synths and a much bleaker tone. "Eyes In The Fire" is a captivating track and paints a really interesting sonic picture especially in the last minute and a half it crescendos into this amazing moment at ~4:26 that's dripping with anger and frustration as Makó yells into the air "eyes in the fire," over and over again. Perhaps these are the eyes of the character's demons facing him as sits on the Iron Peak. 

         There's another transitional track titled "IIIIII" that's more ethereal than it's companions, with some really interesting harmonic choices made. I really like it. This track runs ~1:03 in length. Sonically it's very different than the previous tracks on the album. 

        Track ten is titled "Dreams From The Rot", and it begins quite slowly. It's grim, somber, but in a different way from the previous album. It's hard to pull the exact emotion out. Makó's vocals are different, almost self-reflective, or talking something out even though there's no one there. Suddenly the music jumps up in intensity at ~2:47, and the vocals take on an equally dire intensity before returning to the dreamy stillness of the beginning at ~3:30. We ride this reflective stillness through to the next bout of dire intensity at ~5:40. The music cuts out at ~6:22, and there is silence. Music comes back at ~6:29, but it's quieter, more in the background of the sonic landscape. This was a big narrative moment, the climax of the story, though Makó has done an excellent job of keeping the story just obscure enough to be quite open-ended. This is the longest song on the album with a runtime of 7:41.

        The album ends on track 11, which is the title track of the album, "The Call Of The Iron Peak." This song begins with a bleak banjo melody paired with dark bass notes, and Makó's vocals hanging over them. The banjo work is incredible, painting this grey landscape along which Makó's melodies can bluster against, like the wind trailing around the Iron Peak. This moment is cold and forlorn. Drums join the mix at ~3:25, and Makó's wails slowly fade away into the back of the mix, creating quite a cinematic closing to this album in a truly magical way. 

Photo credit: https://www.facebook.com/TheDevilsTrade/photos/a.711034722301127/4318871671517396/?type=3&theater

        This album is a great example of when the whole is greater than the sum of each part. The tracks we looked at earlier in the year were great on their own, but together, "The Call Of The Iron Peak" paints a rich landscape of woe and sorrow that is truly enjoyable. If you're looking for a unique album to take in, I cannot recommend this one enough, and you can check it out here or at The Devil's Trade's Bandcamp which you can find here. 

The album's out! Let's look at Massive Wagons - "House of Noise"

        As of July 17, 2020, Massive Wagons' album House Of Noise has been released out into the world for the people to take in an enjoy. Mainly Tuning Out checked out the title track earlier in June, and because we enjoyed it so much I wanted to do the deep dive on the album. Featuring a run time of 51 minutes and a healthy 12 tracks, it brings a solid amount of enjoyment. 

        We open with "In It Together" which is an excellent album start. Big sound with some fun chords peppered in and around the riffs. The drums are mixed well, hell all of it is. This has a fun Bar Rock feeling to it while holding onto the punchy punk attitude that holds this song up. The unity vibe to the chorus works well too. Solid track and it doesn't feel like 4 minutes have elapsed when it comes roaring to a close.

        Next up is "Bangin In Your Stereo", which I've been enjoying quite a bit over the last few weeks. It's the perfect blend of AC/DC and Reel Big Fish. Great riffs, bouncy feel, and an arena rock chorus that is easy to yell along to. If you like cruising along in your ride listening to something with your sunglasses on, this is the track for you. A solid follow up for a solid album starter. We're off to a good start. 

        Track three is the title track "House Of Noise," and you can read a deeper dive on that track from our June write up. Having some context gives this song a bit more of a backbone to lean on, and honestly, it's stronger for it. It's not as anthemic as "In It Together" or as "Bangin In Your Stereo", which helps break up the flow of the album. It also feels more honest to an artist's experience as a musician with the added context. It works well. 

        "Freak City" is track four, and the intro is fun! It has a bit of a Van Halen feel to it, and it's a welcomed sound. Great lyrics for the opening too, "Freakin' out, I'm freakin' out. There's a fire in my head and it won't go out. Got a pain in my chest that comes and goes, I've been punched in the face so much it shows." Another catchy sing-a-long chorus that would sit well in the rock chorus pantheon (seriously, it's hard not to sing along to it on my second pass through this album). However, even though there's a Classic Rock vibe to this song, it still very honest and fresh. I'm impressed with Massive Wagons' grasp on balancing homage to their inspirations and influences with their own identity as a band. I bet this song rips in a live setting with that chorus and I'm a big fan of the track as a whole.

        The fifth track is "Hero". I'm not in love with the title, it feels quite bland compared to its previous siblings. However, the track changes up the pace with a smooth and slippery blues riff backed by some crunchy single strummed chords. The verse is sung over a single note bass line that gives it this fat vibe to it. Dynamically, this song work so far. The chorus is a little dull compared to the verse, but it works. I would say I neither love it or hate it. The other unfortunate choice with this song is it's 6 minute run time. That slow and "emotional" solo could have been a tad shorter (unless it was the album closer, that would have been a sweet way to say goodbye). "Hero"'s saving grace is that excellent verse, and its placement in the tracklist works quite well as a change of pace for the album as a whole, though I believe it would have made a better closer along with "Hellescrewya". This track's chorus embraces that classic AC/DC vibe. 

        As we continue into the album we are brought to "Professional Creep" which hits the pedal to the floor as far as pace is concerned. It opens with this speedy tremolo-picked riff and it takes off down the road of rock. While overall the song doesn't wow me I enjoy listening to the music as it plugs along with a serious frenetic speed, quite enjoyable. Don't skip this track, but don't expect it to be your favorite either.

        Track seven is titled "Pressure" and it opens with some huge and spacious chords with a delightful arpeggio riff before it takes off into a slight Pop-Punk feel. It feels weird at first, but it really works for me. Imagine a Classic Rock veteran who decided to start lightly dabble into Punk Rock, but kept the riffs. The words that keep coming to mind as I listen to this album are nostalgic and fresh, which usually are terms that are at odds with each other, but this album has largely threaded that needle with professional precision. I enjoyed this track, especially the moments that employ that cocked-wah pedal sound, delightful stuff, and dutifully done. 

        In the 8th slot is "The Curry Song", which I had a little bit of apprehension about when I scanned through the track titles as I sat down to listen to this album. Historically, for this particular listener, songs that are titled "The ____ Song," have never done it for me. For example, "The Wanton Song" by Led Zeppelin is meh at best, "The Nile Song" by Pink Floyd is blase (even if it was punk rock Pink Floyd, which was still pretty cool), "The Death Song" by Marilyn Manson is a low point for Mason's career, and "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song" by the Flaming Lips is a hard listening experience at best. 

        All that being said, I enjoyed this song more than I care to admit. A song about takeaway curry, while very UK, is strangely and oddly good. I yearn for a good takeaway curry place in my piece of the States. Sure, I will not tell you it's the best song on the album, but compared to the plethora of "The ___ Song"'s that exist in this world, I'd pick this one first and it's definitely not worth skipping. The riffs are solid, and the overall performance is well done. 

        Ringing in at the ninth slot is "Glorious". The intro doesn't gel as well as previous songs. It seems like a song honoring various friends and fans they've interacted with over the years. This is a cool concept, but it doesn't provide the listener with an investment in the "why should we care?" department. Perhaps this would better serve as something like a Patreon tier reward? I don't know, but this song doesn't do much for me. Regardless, good on them for shouting out some love to their fans and friends. 

        The 10th track comes back with some pumping rock. It's titled "Sad Sad Song," and I get an early Dropkick Murphy's/Street Dogs vibe, and it's working for me. Lyrically it seems to be a call back to the challenges that memory glosses over when looking back to the "good ol' days" and the struggle of coping with the now. After "Glorious" and "The Curry Song" this song is a welcomed return to the earlier vibe of the album. The ending of this song has a pretty epic vibe to it, with a classic vocals-over-a-musical-fadeout moment that is enjoyable. 

        Track 11 is titled "Hellescrewya" and it starts with a fade-in, bells, and prayer-like vocals before kicking in a guitar solo about 15 seconds in. Another verse is sung over a solo bass and percussion with palm-muted guitars joining in at the second half of the verse. This formula works for this band. The chorus is reaching for another anthemic chorus. While not un-enjoyable, this song feels like it's reaching for several different paths to take and not quite hitting them. Lyrically it feels like an FU to haters with "Hellescrewya" being a playoff of Hallelujah, even calling out at one point that they're "trying their best not to swear". At the end of the track, they do land the epic chorus outro which is welcomed.

        The last track, "Matter Of Time" starts with drumsticks counting off the beat and ushering in a slow jam over a solo. It works okay, although I'm initially worried by the 8 minute run time on this song. At about three minutes in I realize I have a lot to say about this song, and I'll simply leave it at I'm not enjoying it. The sluggish nature of the tempo doesn't sync up well with the overall pace of this album and it's quite jarring. The change to a quicker tempo at 6:13 really helped this song and I wish it had been here this whole time. Vocally this new section also feels much stronger. More of this, please! Honestly, I would have put this track earlier in the album and closed with "Hellescrewya" or "Hero", with a preference for "Hellescrewya". Long story short, this song could have been 3-4 minutes made up of the 2nd half and it would have been so much more enjoyable. 

        So, that's the album! Overall my thoughts and feelings about this album are hugely positive! I think if Massive Wagons took a lesson from the Death Metal scene and sought out an "All Killer - No Filler" approach they'd only get better. As a listener, I'd rather have 30 minutes of [expletive] amazing music than 50+ minutes of some killer music and some blah music. Most of this album isn't blah either, mostly just "Matter Of Time" and only the first half of that song too. Favorite tracks are definitely "Freak City", "Bangin' In Your Stereo", and "In It Together". I wish they had spaced out the killer tracks on the first half of the album through the whole product because they opened with such force that the back half couldn't sustain the energy. Tracks 1-4 are grade A top choice Rock! Track six on is a little hit or miss, but largely worth the time, at least in this listener's opinion.

        House Of Noise is worth a listen, and I predict it will propel this band into the mainstream even more. It has some flaws, but it has some bangers too. You can pick up your copy here. Let me know if you agree! And if you don't, let me know why! If you can make me an argument in defense of "Hero" and "Matter Of Time," I'd love to hear it.