Written in Blood: April 1997
Archived
Gryn
The 16 Stitches EP
Heavy Eleven Records
Okay, Gryn — out with a full-length, dammit! When you hear The 16 Stitches EP, you’re going to be saying the same thing. Track one, “Veto,” has guitars that remind me of the band Indestroy (Remember them?). Track two, “Self-Hate” has more of a Tool feel to it. Tracks three, four and five will round out the EP showcasing the band’s talent and wide range of abilities. Gryn is definitely a band to look out for. For more info, write: Gryn P.O. Box 574 Hays, KS 67601.
Gary Hoey
Bug Alley
Surfdog Records
Gather around, guitarists: Gary Hoey is releasing his latest, Bug Alley. This is mainly an instrumental, but Gary sings on two of the songs. The disc starts off with “Desire.” That track reminds me of David Chastain-meets-Eric Johnson. It’s got the heaviness of Chastain with that single note picking style that Johnson seems to have made so popular. By track three, “Black Magic Woman,” Gary reverts back to his blues/rock style. Track three is one of the covers that there is vocals on, though I couldn’t tell you who originally did it (my knowledge of classic rock wouldn’t fill a thimble). This is a really good disc, but there is something missing. Mr. Hoey doesn’t have the narratives in linear notes that explains what inspiration was for each song. They usually go something like this — “I had a dream one night that I was on a train speeding down a track. I had a cigar in one hand and a snake in the other. Just as the train I was on was about to pass into a tunnel it jumped the track. I remember sitting there watching other trains passing me into the tunnel. One after another…Well, that’s when I woke up and wrote track five, ‘Long Dry Summer.’”
Fueled
In The House Of The Enemy
Energy
Fueled’s In The House Of The Enemy will have you giving thanks for heavy music. From beginning to end, this disc is what it’s all about. Fueled combines crushing guitar rhythms, pulsating looks and samples and a great production to come up with their great sound. The band’s use of electronics and samples adds to the heaviness without being overused. “… and they wonder why we’re fueled with anger.” Check out Fueled with other Energy bands on the Energy Records 1997 sampler. These bands are hot. The sampler has two songs from Fueled, Hanzel and Gretyl, Heavy Water Factory, Sunshine Blind and Bile.
Fledgling Death
Watchmen Records
Upper State NY is the home to Fledgling Death. This band strives to be the “heaviest band in the world,” and I guess in their own way, very well may be (hah, decipher that one). The music is slow and grinding, the guitars are de-tuned, and the vocals have that meat-grinding quality to them. There’s even neat sexually explicit samples right in the songs. Lyrically, well…track one is titled “I’m In Love With A Filthy Whore”…enough said. If you just can’t get enough offensive music into your day, then this is definitely for you. You might have to dig for this one, or, just go to the source: Watchmen Studios P.O. Box 882 Lockport, N.Y. 14095.
Cause For Alarm
Cheaters And The Cheated
Victory
Cause For Alarm, originally formed in 1982, is releasing Cheaters And The Cheated. Well, that’s all I know about hardcore music, so here’s an observation. Now that Victory Records is my good friend, I’m getting exposed to a broader range of hardcore bands. In listening to these bands, I’m realizing how much hardcore has influenced many forms of music, including metal. Slayer’s latest disc is hardcore covers, but it sounds a lot like… Let’s say Reign in Blood. Cause For Alarm’s bio says that the band is staying away from the metal sound that is prevalent in today’s hardcore, but the disc reminds me of old M.O.D. Damn, this whole time I thought I was listening to metal. I guess the hardcore/metal crossover thing has always been there, and probably just makes the two stronger. —Forgach
Read more Written in Blood by John Forgach:
Written in Blood: March 1997
Written in Blood: February 1997
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