MetalSucks

Kip has been raving about Seattle’s Akimbo to me pretty much since we met one drunken night at a Mastodon show in the bowels of New Jersey, and with a new album on the way (Jersey Shores, September 23rd on Neurot) and the spate of press releases that accompany said album, I finally decided to give ‘em a shot.

And I like. What I’m hearing is a blend of stoner rock/metal ala Mastodon/Isis/Neurosis, but with an extra emphasis on being bluesy and rocking the fuck out. Like, imagine those bands but way less serious and introspective and way more FUN. A stonier Bronx, if you will.

Check out the new song “Great White Bull” and a collection of older ones on their MySpace page, and let us know what you think.

-VN

Sometimes band suggestions that our readers send us are horrid, and sometimes they’re pretty damn good. Thankfully the recent email from Patrik A. was the latter; Boulder, CO’s Ironhorse are a more technical, focused, and — dare I say — brutal version of Neur-Isis. As someone who constantly finds myself zoning out when listening to both of the aforementioned bands, I can say that Ironhorse’s description of themselves really rings true: “Power and Intensity without losing song structure.” So if you like those bands, and even if not, check out Ironhorse as you have your first sip of Monday morning coffee… it might help shake off the weekend cobwebs.

-VN

[Ironhorse MySpace page]

By and large I think that re-mix albums are a total waste of time; only once in a blue moon does anyone manage to come up with anything interesting (or, at least, more interesting than the original track), so they often seem like cash-ins in the vein of “expanded edition” re-releases.

So I am in no way optimistic that Maynard James Keenan has announced an April 29 release of V is for Viagra: The Vagina Remixes, a remix collection (duh) of the songs from V is for Vagina, last year’s Puscifer album. A lot of the participants on the release will be the usual suspect for this sort of Nine Inch Nails-ish affair – former NIN member Danny Lohner, Dave Ogilvie, Telefon Tel Aviv’s Josh Eustis, etc. – but, oddly enough, Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison will also have a track, as will Aaron Turner from Isis and the infamous ambient force known as Lustmord. Which is actually very encouraging.

In any case, I guess we’ll get to find out if this particular release can rise above the usual remix shenanigans next month.

-AR

North Carolina doom metallers Giant (who recently signed with The End Records) describe themselves as “Down-Tempo” on their MySpace page. If legenadry slow-metallers Crowbar, according to Beavis, make “the kind of music you have on a workout tape if you’re skinny and you wanna get fat,” then Giant makes the kind of music your friend puts on if you’ve been on an all-night coke binge and you just need to mellow the fuck out with some pot. Soothing and brutal at the same time, Giant makes the kind of gloomy, plodding metal that is least conducive to actually getting things done around the house. Kind of like Isis, but doesn’t make my head hurt.

-VN

[Giant on MySpace]

I’m always surprised when folks tell me they’re not so into Isis….yeah, I know-weird, right? How could you not get into that epic, thunderously heavy, totally melodic sound?

I may just write the band Isis in for president when I vote next year…

Saturday Song to Get Stoned To: Isis – “So Did We” (from Panopticon)

-KW