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Though Fucked Up, Made Out of Babies vocalist Julie Christmas and the annual free tech-metal comp Mecha Organa are completely unrelated in just about every way, they all concern heavy music and they’ve all got new tunes. So:
In any band, there’s usually one member who’s the driving force behind the group, and carries the other guys: Greg Ginn, Les Claypool, Justin Timberlake… you get the idea. Such is the case with death metal legends Morbid Angel — the whole band essentially stands on the shoulders of one member, but it’s not the one most of you dorks are thinking of. Lettuce be reality, brahs: Pete Sandoval’s drumming is the definition of mediocre (and before you start arguing, remember that trusted, mainstream news outlets such as NPR have recognized me as an authority on metal drumming).
File this under “sacred cow barbecue” if you want, but I’ve finally come to terms with the truth about Morbid Angel: they have their moments, but are held back by Pete Sandoval’s dull, unimaginative playing (and consistently bad drum sounds). I’m not saying Pete is a bad drummer, because he certainly isn’t, but I am saying that his playing is several orders of magnitude behind Trey Azagthoth’s, and that the bad would be approximately 1 zillion times better if they had someone else on drums.
U MAD?? See if you don’t change your mind after the break…
For some reason, internet metal nerds love to talk about drummers, even if they themselves do not play drums. Whether it’s “Who has the fastest double bass/blastbeats?”, “Should I use one bass drum or two?” or “What does Pete Sandoval’s drum throne smell like?”, there are few things more tiresome than the topic of metal drumming. What that in mind, in this post I will put the discussion of this topic to rest forever by conclusively saying all that there is to say about metal drumming. After this post has been published, anyone who still debates these points is as foolish, ignorant and stubborn as people who believe the Earth is flat or that God exists. So if you have anything to say, say it now, because this is it — this is your chance to become part of the moment in which we closed the door on dorky, redundant debates about metal drumming.
This is THE FINAL WORD on metal drumming!!!!
You probably know Century Media for their work with groundbreaking, legendary artists like Stuck Mojo and My Own Victim, but they are also home to lesser-known bands like Lacuna Coil, Arch Enemy, Nevermore, Warbringer, Terror, and deathcore sensations Winds Of Plague and Suicide Silence. In all seriousness, though, I’ve worked with CM in one form or another since the mid-90s, and have nothing but good things to say about the CM crew. In addition to Despise You frontman/ CM warehouse manager Chris Elder, one of the many great people at CM is A&R guy Steve Joh. With the label’s 20th anniversary coming up soon, I figured it would be a great time to catch up with one of the nicest guys in metal and give the label some much-deserved props. Thanks to Steve for his time and help, and thanks to CM for being cool enough to send me promos when I was a teenager with a fanzine back in the day!
Note: I am a fan of both WoP and Suicide Silence. Knowing that they are lightning rods for the (negative) attention of angry metal dorks, I included their names in the headline for this post in hopes of attracting maximum viewership, and therefore giving the most possible publicity to Steve and the bands. Thank you for participating in this exciting social media marketing initiative.
We’ve all been there. Tensions are high in some packed, sweaty venue, sparked by feverish excitement and the potential for violence. These people paid good money to enjoy some type of cathartic release. The frontman for whatever hard-nu-death-crab-metal-core outfit is brazen and demanding. Can you believe this shit? You PAID to be entertained, and this guy is telling YOU what to do! The speech goes something like this: “I want everybody in this room moving! Front to back, side to side, NO ONE STANDS STILL! When this part kicks in, I want total [Insert destructive word here like "chaos," "mayhem," or "bedlam" if you're witty]. If the person next to you isn’t moving, MAKE THEM MOVE!” Than, if the action is not adequate, this screamer/pep rally organizer calls YOU some variation of “pussy” or “faggot” or really anything to make you feel like a soft, womanly bitch of a man in order to get in that pit and kick another grown man in the face, all in the spirit of making this band look like they are awesome. But then something happens, as if the air is sucked out of the room at the moment of impact – when those glorious staccato chugs kick in, the crowd is almost always powerless to its charms regardless of the obvious lack of substance. Like junk food and reality TV, we have a love affair with breakdowns.
Candiria needs no introduction, but even those familiar with the band might not know that guitarist John LaMacchia is one of the most hard-working men in underground metal. In addition to his work with Candiria — who are releasing Toying With the Insanities Volumes 1 and 2 this September — LaMacchia runs Rising Pulse Records, the label that will be releasing the aforementioned new Candiria albums. He’s also a member of Spylacopa together with members of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Isis and Made out of Babies, and and he’s co-writing and producing a solo album with Julie Christmas of the latter. In a phone conversation earlier this month, I chatted with John about the new Candiria sets, the aforementioned side projects (which are only the tip of the iceberg), the current status of Candiria, and some local bands he digs. Our chat, after the jump.
I’ve really been enjoying Frank Godla’s “Frank’s Favorite Drummers” series on Metal Injection over the past few weeks; I’ve gotten to see live footage of some of my own favorite drummers and I’ve also learned about incredibly skilled skinsmen I’d never heard of before. Today’s entry focuses on Kenneth Schalk of Candiria, a man who proves that you really only need a 4-piece kit to kick fucking ass on the drums. Mike Portnoy’s 10,765-piece monster? Psssshhh.
-VN
Thanks to Metal Injection for buying me whiskey last night and for reminding me how cool Candiria were/are. Sure, there are some cringe-worthy rap moments in this song, but it’s not like they were following a trend — they created the trend. And mixed in with all the other genre-pushing elements of their music, it makes a whole lot more sense what Candiria were trying to do: something different. I’d love to see these guys do a show in a small club in Brooklyn some time soon; how ’bout it, guys?
-VN
A couple of months back I published an article declaring that Spylacopa, the new supergroup featuring John LaMacchia (Candiria), Jeff Caxide (Isis), Greg Puciato (The Dillinger Escape Plan) and Julie Christmas (Made Out of Babies / Battle of Mice), was sounding surprisingly tame for a band whose members usually spit such intense venom. Now I eat my words.
If I told you there were a new supergroup on the block that includes John LaMacchia (Candiria), Jeff Caxide (Isis), Greg Puciato (The Dillinger Escape Plan) and Julie Christmas (Made Out of Babies / Battle of Mice), you’d think the result would be some kind of furious explosion of heavy, right?
Lest we forget that once upon a time the genre we now scornfully refer to as “nu metal” was actually a pretty innovative idea, there’s always Candiria to remind us. Like Faith No More, New York’s Candiria often get blamed for what a million copycats did so wrong but they did so, so right: combining elements of heavy, rhythmic metal riffing with hip hop-influenced vocals and jazz and funk musical undertones.
Two members of Candiria are back after a long hiatus (Candiria’s last release came out in 2004) with a brand new project, Hope Kills Fear. Vocalist Carley Coma and drummer Ken Schalk are currently recording new material with producer Mike Barile (E Town Concrete, Candiria, 40 Below Summer). From the two tracks currently streaming on the band’s MySpace page one thing is clear: these guys are content to put their nu-metal / hip-hop past aside and forge ahead in a decidedly more straight-up metal direction, more consistent with late-era Candiria like the above track from their final album.
The resut is an alt-metal powerhouse that’s immediately harder hitting and better than the hordes of mediocre alt-metal bands on the radio waves these days (we’re looking at you, Breaking Benjamin). Thankfully Coma and co. have not hopped on the metalcore bandwagon, nor have they hopped on any bandwagon, really. Big, wall-of-sound guitars and undeniable hooks mix well with swirling, atmospheric guitars and dense vocal layering. Definitely one to watch out for in 2008 — release date TBA.
-VN
[Hope Kills Fear on MySpace]
[Candiria on MySpace]
(above photo by Tony Behar)
