A big week in the year of the grind; Brutal Truth, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, and Graf Orlock

Posted in News with tags , , , , , on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 by Ryan Buege

I’m just going to get this out of the way quick, and that’s they way it should be. Any of my friends of the grind would have my head this week if I failed to mention the legendary amount of super high quality grindcore hitting the streets today. Seriously, you might not believe me, but when grindcore purists (..is there such a thing?) are reminiscing about the glory days of their genre in 25 or 30 years, it wouldn’t be strange for them to think back on April 14, 2009 vividly with fond recollection.

The most prominent release from the realm of grindcore this week comes from Brutal Truth, who are back for their first full-length album in over 10 years – and they sound about a million times more intense (and relevant!) than most of the “reunions” taking place in the world of music these days. The band is now hosting a high quality stream of their new album, Evolution Through Revolution, over at EvolutionThroughRevolution.info. Though I’m pretty sure I’ve already said this in a previous post, I’ll say it again; even from the stream you can tell, the tones are sounding absolutely devastating on this one. Almost 20 years after they started playing sick and twisted grindcore, Brutal Fucking Truth is back to show that they are actually still the sickest kids and they’ve gots 20 new tracks of riffs and pure chaos to prove it.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed‘s Agorapocalypse is one of the most exciting grindcore releases I think I’ve ever heard. Admittedly I had easily grown tired of ANB’s cybergrind in the past, but had to go pick this one up yesterday as soon as I could after weening myself on the “Agorapocalypse Now” track that they posted online last month. Scott Hull and co. begin the album with “Agorapocalypse Now”, a song which jumps right in the middle of the battlefield with a grunt and a blood-curdling squeal before breaking free into blastbeat driven madness. Agorapocalypse is an album that still festers with the unhinged madness that ANB is known for, but this time around the insanisty is anchored to a devastating, steamrolling groove that continues to build and bang beneath the guitar thrash and vocal onslaught. Hull and his trio of vocalists have outdone themselves on this one, with an grind that sounds so fresh and thus appropriate for an introduction at this time of year (Spring, duh!). Stream it here and hear for yourself!

And finally, but no less awesomely (grm? whatevs) the cinema grind masters in Graf Orlock have returned to officially unveil their new album of ferocious, grating,  thrash and grind. Destination Time Today is the band’s third release in a trilogy of grindcore albums that have already shown the band to be carrying the torche of angry grindcore into the future as high as anyone. The band tends towards noise rock a bit more than their strictly-metal brethren in BT and ANB, but their blastbeats are no less brutal and their riffs no less headband inducing. It’s a great thing when you can literally feel the blood, sweat, and emotion reverbrating from an album, and I can feel it from every second of this album.

So there you have it, friends, your week in grindcore! Now click some links, get these albums, and start headbanging because grindcore is reinventing itself in 2009!

Welcome To Wild Style Wednesdays at Mind Inversion

Posted in Wildstyle Wednesdays with tags , , , , , on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 by Tim Althaus

wildstyle

This is an idea that I have been thinking about for the last month or so. Wild Style  is a “throw back” if you will, and a classic that will never be forgotten in Hip-Hop. What I want to do every Wednesday here at Mind Inversion is review an album that in my opinion is a classic, or rather an album I will never forget. In another note all of the albums that I review are going to have been released before 2008. I hope you guys enjoy my weekly column, and if you have any comments please feel free to leave them.

Continue reading

Illogic Has Diabolic Fun With Slug, Aesop & Zerostar

Posted in Downloads, Media with tags , , , , , on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 by Tim Althaus

illogic03 Hearing this track takes me back to the “Hold Mine” days. There is nothing like hearing Illogic, Aesop Rock & Slug together again. As the homie Shake said over at 2Dopeboyz, it would be incredible for Blueprint and Eyedea to jump on the wagon for an Orphanage reunion. This track is pretty much lights out on every verse. Zerostar is an emcee from Ohio who is an artist on Weightless Recordings. He spits a raw verse, and I wouldn’t be suprised to be hearing big things from him in the future.

Make sure you go out an get Illogic’s new album Diabolical Fun which is out now via Weightless.

Download: Illogic, “Diabolical Fun” (Remix) Featuring Aesop Rock, Slug & Zerostar

Chali 2na & Talib Kweli “Lock Shit Down”

Posted in Audio, Media with tags , , on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 by Tim Althaus

chaliHere’s a new one from Jurassic 5 front man Chali 2na. This joint, “Lock Shit Down”, features the always legendary Talib Kweli. Succinctly put, it features two legendary emcees over a dope beat. You do the math yourself. Shout outs to 2Dopeboyz for having this one up. Look out for the 2na Fish’s solo effort Fish Outta Water due out sometime in the future.

MP3: Chali 2na, “Lock Shit Down” Featuring Talib Kweli

Stones Throw x Ed Banger = Pure Insanity

Posted in Media, Video with tags , , , , , , , , on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 by Tim Althaus

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Here is some awesome video footage from the recent tour that Stones Throw and Ed Banger have embarked on. Each of the labels brought out some of their new talent and toured the fine continent of Europe. Stones Throw brought James Pants, Mayer Hawthorne, Dam Funk & label owner (as well as bomb ass DJ) Peanut Butter Wolf. Who was repping for Ed Banger you might ask? DJ Mehdi, Busy P (also known as Pedro Winter (Ed Banger Label owner)) & DSL is the answer. If you watch the video, you can tell that every one of these shows looks like a non-stop party. I wish I could say that I was fortunate to be in Europe and see these two labels team up. No dissapointments here. Make sure you have your dancing shoes on because after watching this one you may have the urge to get down.

Concert Recap & Video: Dredg, Torche, From Monument To Masses @ the Varsity Theater

Posted in Concert Reviews with tags , , , , , , , , on Monday, April 13, 2009 by Ryan Buege

Every so often, the entertainment opportunities in this city really put you into some tough spots, and the choices I had to make last Friday (April 10, 2009) were some of the hardest I’ve had to make in a while. Throughout the week I wrestled between going to one of several shows on 4/10, and in the end I decided to attend  the return to the Twin Cities for the progressive rockers in Dredg at the Varsity Theater in Dinkytown featuring highly acclaimed support from the likes of Torche and From Monument to Masses (forgoing the Acid Mother’s Temple set at 7th St. Entry as well as several other local shows that would have definitely been worthy of attendance). Luckily, the open-minded acts playing at the Varsity weren’t short to impress.

I hadn’t seen Dredg in nearly 4 years before their performance on Friday (since Rockstar Mayhem), and despite spending nearly a year off the road, the Dredg live at the Varsity Theaterband was on point that night and ready to impress their ecelectic audience. With everyone from heavily bearded metalheads to formally dressed females in attendance, Dredg had to know that their opening acts and their dynamic catalog would be sure to attract a such a undefinable mix of people – which probably is why the band chose to spend fair amounts of time playing songs from all of their albums, including several songs from their forthcoming album The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion. Songs from the recent Catch Without Arms and El Cielo were sounding more impassioned and intimate this time around, and against the back drop of the Varsity their performance was even grander. Even Leitmotif got acknowledged with a performance of “Yatahaze” (video below) that ended with the band proclaiming, “whoa that felt good! We need to do that more often.” Throughout their performance, the entire crowd often sang above the band, and as anyone there would likely agree, we all agreed it was an amazing return.

Honestly, Torche was the band that I came to see, and even as a trio they’re still as massive as you might imagine. The band’s melodic stoner metal was perhaps a little heavier than most fans at the show had expected, but for those in attendance who knew what was up, the show was incredibly intense. Mostly playing songs from their recent instant-classic Meanderthal, the band charged through an energetic set of free-spirited doom rock that theatrically transitioned between mammoth sludge, doom-pop, noise rock, and good old fashioned heavy metal jams. By the time the band left the stage, their set surely won over more than a few people.

From Monument to Masses opened the show, supporting their recent On Little Known Frequencies album. Like Torche, FMTM is a trio that sounds much larger than you’d expect; the post-rock they play is a swirling, entrancing, heavy style of psych-rock that is layered with samples, effects, and multiple instruments by all three members as they push the unrelenting crescendos further and further.  More like GY!BE than EITS, From Monument to Masses introduced the night with a beautiful, authentic, organic presentation that had all fans of the guitar quietly attentive.

To cap off the coverage of the show, we are lucky enough to present you with a whole mess of media we captured that night. We’ve got over 40 photos, video from Dredg (“Yatahaze”, “Same Ol’ Road”, and “Bug Eyes”) and Torche, so there’s no reason to stop reading now! Sit back, relax, and enjoy the rest of our recap of the stellar Friday night show at the Varsity…

VIDEO: Dredg, “Yatahaze”, (live at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, MN 4/10/09)

Dredg live at the Varsity Theater(Dredg)

Dredg live at the Varsity Theater(Dredg)

Dredg live at the Varsity Theater(Dredg)

Dredg live at the Varsity Theater(Dredg)

Dredg live at the Varsity Theater(Dredg)

VIDEO: Torche, (live at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, MN 4/10/09)

Torche live at the Varsity Theater(Torche)

Torche live at the Varsity Theater(Torche)

Torche live at the Varsity Theater(Torche)

Torche live at the Varsity Theater(Torche)

From Monument to Masses live at the Varsity Theater(From Monument to Masses)

From Monument to Masses live at the Varsity Theater(From Monument to Masses)

From Monument to Masses live at the Varsity Theater(From Monument to Masses)

VIDEO: Dredg, “Same Ol’ Road” (live at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, MN 4/10/09)

Like always, keep reading because we’ve got many more awesome photos from this show after the jump (and even another video from Dredg’s set for their song “Bug Eyes”!). Just click the link… Continue reading

Modest Mouse prep 7″ for Record Store Day and rare B-Side surfaces amongst cumulative EP

Posted in Audio, Downloads, Music News, News with tags , , , , , on Monday, April 13, 2009 by Erik Burg

Record Store Day is fast approaching (April 18th) and with that comes some new Modest Mouse material. As my love for this band has grown over the past year or so I’ve dug further back into their catalogue and also anticipated their upcoming releases as well. News that they had did a video Directed by Heath Ledger was beyond interesting, and now their series of four vinyl singles sparked my interest as well. 

modestmouse

The first of the four single series is slated to be released on Record Store Day, as I mentioned, and will be packaged in a nice three panel sleeve with accompanied orange 7″. The two tracks featured will be “Satellite Skin” (which the band performed on Letterman and you can see here) and also “Guilty Cocker Spaniels.” 

The order in which the other vinyls will pour out has yet to be determined, but all four of them are part a cumulative effort that will lead to an eight track EP entitled No One’s First And You’re Next in August. So it’s all part of a cumulative effort that will eventually make me spend a lot more money than I should, but will be an awesome keepsake for die-hards. If your record player is broken though, the first of the 7″s will be released digitally on April 21st. 

An MP3 has surfaced as well of one of the tracks listed later on in the sequence. “I’ve Got It All (most)” is an interesting choice, it was originally released with Good News digitally as a bonus track but was very quickly removed by the band and has been hard to find ever since. But alas, I Guess I’m Floating was lucky enough to snag it when It came out and now you’re all lucky enough that they he re-posted it.  It’s an awesome cut too, and hearing it for the first time is getting me crazy excited for the EP. Sounds a lot like everything on Good News and it’s a mystery why it wasn’t included on the album, but at least it’s finally getting an official release on the less. 

MP3: Modest Mouse – “I’ve Got It All (most)”

No One’s First And You’re Next track listing:

1. Autumn Beds 2. Guilty Cocker Spaniel 
3. History 4. I’ve Got It All (most) 
5. King Rat 6. Satellite Skin 
7. Tie The Lake Down 8. The Whale Song

Sunday Metal Minute: Fear Factory, “Self Bias Resistor (live at Brisbane in 1997)”

Posted in Sunday Metalhead Minute with tags , , , , , , on Sunday, April 12, 2009 by Ryan Buege

Anyone who’s followed Dino Cazares in the press in his post-Fear Factory days knows how much he loved to talk shit about his former bandmates. In the interviews he’s given for Divine Heresy, he’s taken pretty much every opportunity possible to deride Burton C. Bell and company for tarnishing the name of the influential industrial death/groove metal band that his riffs had played such a fundamental role in establishing – which is why it was so unbelievable to read that Dino and Bell and reunited in a new music group this week. Though the pair’s new band has yet to announce their name, they have revealed that they will be joined by current Fear Factory bassist Byron Stroud and legendary drummer Gene Hoglan (Dethklok, Strapping Young Lad, Dark Angel, Death, Testament) for a number of shows this summer as well as on the recording of a studio album. Either way, I’m very happy to see these two have made up; the feud always seemed juvenile and pointless to me, and Fear Factory’s landmark albums contained some of the best melodic metal songs of the 1990s. For now, I leave you with this AWESOME live video with from the band’s earliest years, long before their feud; the pro-shot song is “Self Bias Resistor”, taken from the band’s third album, Demanufacture.

VIDEO: Fear Factory, “Self Bias Resistor (live at Brisbane, AUS in 1997)

Northern Outpost Ep. 8, The Nina! The Pinta! perform and get interviewed

Posted in Video with tags , , , , , on Sunday, April 12, 2009 by Ryan Buege

The final episode of the debut season from the local Twin Cities-oriented music TV show Northern Outpost is now online, and for this week’s episode they’re in the Owl Recording Studio in Uptown dishing the dirt with The Nina! The Pinta!, a post-hardcore band that I was fortunate enough to personally see last Wednesday at Fucked Up’s Triple Rock show. Among the other bands that opened for F’d Up’s immense set, The Nina! The Pinta!’s punchy, abrasive, post-hardcore clearly stood out. Contrasted against the other openers lo-fi punk, TNTP’s the sounds muscular set were as catchy and danceable as they were dissonant and pissed off. On this episode of Northern Outpost, we get to hear some of their rock n roll and get introduced to the faces behind the music as they talk about how they fit into the local scene, what kinds of shows they find themselves playing, and the band’s motivation continue to play punk rock in front of the local bar crowds. Watch it all unfold below!

Also, if you haven’t heard, Northern Outpost has planned a first season benefit show featuring some of the band’s they’ve featured which will take place at the Hexagon Bar next Saturday at 9pm.  For this completely FREE show, The Absent Arch, Bouncer Fighter, Andy Elwell, and The Yoleus will play live sets while videos from throughout the season are broadcast on the white screen between sets. And for those of you who can’t get enough of these bands, there’ll be DVDs for purchase available at the show;  please click the flyer for complete info.

The Crinn plan to enter Signature Tone Studios to record Nuclear Blast debut in May

Posted in Video with tags , , , , , , , , , , on Sunday, April 12, 2009 by Ryan Buege

St Paul’s  technical/jazz metal wizards in The Crinn, recent signees to the prestigious international Nuclear Blast metal label, have checked in with a new update from the rehearsal space where they’re working to prepare their forthcoming NB-label debut Dreaming Saturn. As the guys said in a post at their blog, it’s been quite a while since they’ve “posted anything & played anywhere”, but just because we haven’t heard many new songs doesn’t mean The Crinn isn’t hard at work. They’ve finally finished the writing stage and are now ready to move to recording. The guys will move their operation to Signature Tone Studios in Minneapolis on May 15th to begin tracking with Adam Tucker with Zack Ohren at Castle Ultimate in Oakland, CA doing the mixing and Alan Douches at West West Side in New York doing the mastering. While we’re waiting until October 9th (the official release date) to get our hands on the album, the band was kind enough to post several videos from their writing sessions to give us a taste. We’ve posted the most recent one below for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Vodpod videos no longer available.,/p>