October Reviews

Narrows – Narrows [EP]

LABEL: Deathwish, Inc.

WEBSITE: Deathwish Estore

TRY IF YOU LIKE: Botch, metalcore, These Arms Are Snakes

[LISTEN]

Dave Verellen from metalcore legends Botch is actually screaming again?  The dude from These Arms Are Snakes is rocking with him?  Where the hell do I sign up?  Knowing the members, the album is pretty much what you’d expect: well-played metalcore with a few experimentations to keep from sounding stale, all led by Verellen’s unmistakable vocals.  While “The Touch Test” meanders a bit, the EP as a whole clocks in under 10:00 and provides a glimpse at the genius to come.  If you’ve been missing Botch as much as I have, Narrows is more than capable of filling that void.

RATING:

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Gojira – The Way Of All Flesh

LABEL: Prosthetic Records

WEBSITE: www.gojira-music.com

TRY IF YOU LIKE: Opeth, hippie metal, France

[LISTEN]

Gojira continue to do what they do best with their latest: play killer fucking death/prog-metal laced with heavy-handed social commentary.  2005’s From Mars To Sirius tackled mankind’s careless ecological destruction and this album makes the logical progression to our relationship with death.  Everything about this album slays: the epic breakdowns on “Esoteric Surgery”; the amazing start/stop rhythm of “Toxic Garbage Island” being two particular highlights.  My only complaint?  The weird tech/industrial vibe of “A Sight To Behold” really takes the listener out of the record, though not enough to derail this unstoppable death metal ride.

RATING:

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Burst – Lazarus Bird

LABEL: Relapse Records

WEBSITE: www.burst.nu

TRY IF YOU LIKE: Opeth, prog-metal, horrible English vocals

[LISTEN]

Burst is a hard band to figure out: they started their careers as screamo with hints of metalcore.  Then came 2003’s Prey On Life and a slight diversion into ISIS-lite post-metal.  Origo, their “breakthrough album”, was more of the same, with a tendency to rely heavily on atmospherics.  So, what does Burst decide to do with their latest release?  Become a fucking prog-metal band, complete with time-signature changes and track times stretching to the 10-minute mark.  The result?  A scattershot record with hints of genius that suffers from lack of focus.  An interesting ride, but nothing life-changing in the end.

RATING:

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Intronaut – Prehistoricisms

LABEL: Century Media Distribution

WEBSITE: INTROBLOG

TRY IF YOU LIKE: King Crimson, talented musicianship, prog-metal

[LISTEN]

While Burst seem to be treading new ground simply to cast off the critical shackles of their past releases, Intronaut have continued to build upon their small foundation (2 EPs and 1 full-length to their name) and evolve into the prog-metal juggernaut heard on Prehistoricisms.  It’s absolutely refreshing to hear an album spotlight the individual talents of each band member, with bassist Joe Lester and drummer Danny Walker shining the brightest.  While the last 13-minute track is excessive and unnecessary, Prehistoricisms is yet another 2008 release with Album Of The Year potential and another solid release for such a young band.

RATING:

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The Foot Fist Way

[BUY IT]

While I have 100 words per review, I only need to two to fully sum up The Foot Fist Way: fucking hilarious.  While Danny McBride is gaining fame for his small roles in Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder, this low-budget indie truly showcases his comedy skills.  The plot, concerning an unsuccessful Tae Kwon Do instructor and his failing marriage, is simply a stage for McBride’s hysterical brand of low-key improv.  If you dig Will Ferrell and/or Napoleon Dynamite (before it became a “Vote For Pedro” marketing whore), you’ll find the film highly quotable and worth repeated viewings.

RATING:

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Chuck Klosterman – Downtown Owl: A Novel

[BUY IT]

I’m a huge Chuck Klosterman fan; have been for years.  I even bought his CKIV, his collection of previously printed essays and rants even though I’d read the majority of them.  Downtown Owl marks his first completed fiction novel, and it reads exactly like his nonfiction: pop culture-heavy, with deep thoughts about superficial ideas.  Loosely following three narrators (a female schoolteacher, a senior football quarterback, and a retired man) living in a podunk Nebraska town during the mid-1980s, the book tends to drift and lull between chapters but still remain entertaining.  I’m only halfway through, so we’ll see how it turns out.

RATING:

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The Orange Box

[BUY IT]

My lil’ bro is still crashing at La Casa Danger, so I’ve been playing his XBOX 360 for my next-gen gaming fix.  After beating Bioshock (creepy, well-written survival horror with a rushed shitty ending), I’m now playing The Orange Box (which collects Half-Life 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2 for under $30).  Portal is addictive and incredibly original, albeit too short; Half-Life is graphically stunning but repetitive; unfortunately, I don’t have XBOX Live so I can’t play Team Fortress (and have no idea why it’s not available for offline multiplayer).  Still, one hell of a value.

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