Iron Witch / The Atrocity Exhibit split

Well, you know it's got to be special to reanimate Thee Claw. fresh off the presses, a joint (no pun intended) release from British underground heavyweights Iron Witch and The Atrocity Exhibit, released in conjunction with Dead Chemist Records and Witch Hunter Records.
Two slabs of prime British sludge.  So what do we have?

Unfortunately, I managed to miss Iron Witch on their recent jaunt around these isles with the godfathers of heavy, Crowbar, and it's a real shame because they have matured so much since the I reviewed their 2011 ep Single Malt, and considering they are local lads I am still yet to witness them live.
Their work rate is phenomenal and they have honed their craft whilst touring with some of the real heavy hitters out there, doing it properly by getting in the van and getting a sweat on in some real shitholes.
Their track on this split is a tortured riff beast, the unquestionable sheer emotion of the lyrics spat out by Chris over some tremendous, glacial riffing from Sam and Dan.  As ever, Will's powerful stick work locks in tightly with the almost third guitar sounding bass of Rick, propelling the whole thing forward at a Grief-like pace.  Iron Witch are the hardest working band in the country, who are carving out their own style and sound, and it's great to see their name falling into every day parlance amongst sludge fans.

The Atrocity Exhibit come from a more grind-oriented angle, attacking their side with a seething brutality that builds from a wall of feedback with the sound of a heart stopping sampled over the top, into an evil sounding riff, as if the two bands have got together first to have a heaviest riff competition.
The Northampton three-piece really strip their sound back on this, a really primitive sounding track that confines the listener thanks in no small part to the massive production on this track from Ian Boult.  When it starts to pick up pace, with some pounding drums from Danny Curtis, it's a pummeling that leads into a section with some punishing, stop-start dynamics. Ending with a bang after some sustained feedback, this is my first exposure to The Atrocity Exhibit and has got me wanting more.

Available from:
http://deadchemists.bigcartel.com/
http://witchhunterrecords.bigcartel.com/

Go see:
http://ironwitch.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/theatrocityexhibit

Best of 2013

2013 has been a bit of a mixed bag, outside of Thee Claw.
There's been a number of issues that have affected me in my personal life, meaning that after a pretty strong start to the year, things kind of petered out a little bit towards the middle and latter parts of the year, being unemployed for about six months meant that any plans we had to get to festivals (including Brofest - still gutted about that) were put on ice, but at least I managed to make it along to see Sabbath with Ozzy, who did not disappoint!
There are other things that quite frankly don't need to be brought up on here, if you know me, you'll understand why Thee Claw, which is a labour of love for me, had to take a back seat for a while.

Anyway! There were numerous release that I have enjoyed immensely this year, the best of which are in a big, long, unordered list below.

To everyone I dealt with via this website over the past 12 months, keep it up, you're the best.
 Here's to a boss 2014 - hope to see some of you out and about over the course of it!

Bölzer - Aura
Satanic Dystopia - Double Denim Shotgun Massacre 
The Jeffrey Uppercut – Live Hard
Beastwars – Blood Becomes Fire
Opium Lord - The Calendrical Cycle - Prologue:The Healer 
 Master - The Witchhunt
Crypt Lurker - Baneful Magic, Death Worship and Necromancy Rites Archaic 
Pestilence - Obsideo 
Dashwood (EP)
Darkthrone - Underground Resistance 
Wraiths - S/T EP
Ghold - Galactic Hiss 
Uzala - Tales of Blood and Fire
Artillery - Legions
Black Magician - The Pursuivant 
Motörhead - Aftershock 
Altar of Plagues - Teethed Glory and Injury 
Cathedral - The Last Spire 
Seagraves - Weight of the World 
Iron Hearse – Get in the Hearse 
Suicidal Tendencies - 13 
Gurt/Limb - Split 
Black Sabbath - 13 
Suffocation - Pinnacle of Bedlam 
Electric Taurus - Veneralia 
Trouble - The Distortion Field 
 Portal - Vexovoid 
 Complete Failure - The Art Gospel of Aggravated Assault 
Koresh – Chump 
Manilla Road - Mysterium 
Sodom - Epitome of Torture 
Biche – EP 
Deicide - In the Minds of Evil

Iron Witch - Hangover Suicide

Released next month, Iron Witch's new 7" Hangover Suicide (Endtyme Records) sees the five piece back in the studio after treading the boards pretty much everywhere and nailing their sound.

In the two tracks on offer, you can get a real feel for how hard they've been working, rising far above all the NOLA-wannabees out there into a really filthy, whirling sludge machine.
Starting off with Death was the Colour and it's trademark IW riff, the tide sucks you in before, at about two and a half minutes, another crushing riff takes over (at this point, check out Will's drumming!).
There's a definite Black Flag feel about the music here, and working with Bri Doom at the legendary 1 in 12 studios has helped bring the band into a more in-your-face sound than ever before.

The second track, Hangover Suicide, is a pummelling beast of a track, the rhythm section of Rick and Will clicking together with Dan and Sam's guitar work painting a very bleak picture indeed; especially around halfway through where there is a Vitus-style crunch riff on the go.
Hovering over the lot and weaving his way through the destruction, Chris's harsh vocals probably benefit most to these ears from working with Bri Doom, they sound so clear, in a Dixie Dave Collins type way.

The single is available on 7” vinyl(limited to 350 copies) which are hand-numbered, with an A3 poster designed by the band,a digital download card (with an unreleased bonus track entitled ‘The Last of Nothing’) and a sticker.
Don't hang about.

Also, Iron Witch play the WPC Winter Warmer Show in Brixton on the 3rd of February, which will unfortunately be their last appearance with guitarists Sam and Dan; however, I hear they have practised with new members so hopefully the juggernaut ain't gonna stop anytime soon!

Iron Witch:
Facebook
Twitter
Bandcamp

Endtyme Records:
Facebook
Website
Twitter

Tree of Sores in wax release on ALERTA ANTIFASCISTA

Claw favourites TREE OF SORES are set to release their, well, basically their back catalogue on vinyl through Germany's ALERTA ANTIFASCISTA. This contains the recent full length "A Cry of Despair" and the debut on one 12".

PRE-ORDER! SHIPPING AT 15th DECEMBER!!! 
Starting out with crushing guitars and abrasive vocals a pounding rhythm soon is established leading to some haunting guitar work it sets the tone for more to follow. 
Tree of Sores must really be commended for the quality of this release. 
Every member excels to provide the listener with a stunning listening experience. 
 "A Cry Of Despair" takes a more subtle turn around the ten minute mark. 
A delicate riff builds with chiming momentum giving way to a brooding passage of density and euphoric greatness . Free of vocals, the music carries the song while maintaining the flow . 
It gives way to more atmospheric moments before gathering in pace again. Ending in brutal fashion with pummelling drums and layers of guitar, eventually fading out in drones of feedback and effects overall its an outstanding accomplishment Tree Of Sores can be proud of. 
This Release also contains almost the whole first EP (one song is missing) on the B-Side and a A2-Poster (size: 17x24inch)!!!

Booze Blues

Baitin’ The Trap Records Presents…
Iron Witch
‘Single Malt’
1. A .45 To Pay The Rent - 4:33
2. Single Malt - 5:06
3. Booze Blues - 4:10
4. Jailhouse - 3:50
5. The Cruelty Of Mankind - 7:02
Running time – 25 minutes
Release date: February 2013
Format: LP
Cat #: BTTR002

We already reviewed this bad boy back last July and we said it was boss, so you should get yourself along to sort out grabbing a copy now it is being reissued on vinyl.
Buy or Die!

baitingthetraprecords@gmail.com
iron.witch@hotmail.com
www.facebook.com/baitinthetraprecords
www.facebook.com/ironwitch1977                                

Out there, out Now, in the name of Speckmann's beard!

We absolutely love Doomentia Records, and we also have an awful awful lot of time for a certain Mr Paul Speckmann, so we would urge you all to get over to their website and check out the reissue of "On the Seventh Day God Created... Master" (on CD and blue/black vinyl!) which comes in a cracking package containing a 7" EP too (the '91 Demo!) only €18!

And, proving that nostalgia is not the only thing on their minds, they have released the latest MASTER album "The New Elite" (only black vinyl left, collectors) the punky "new" sound of Master continues on this one.

Also over there they have the ABOMINATION demos from '88-'89 on vinyl (RED WAX!) which is has an altogether nastier more street feel than MASTER.

Beastwars - S/T LP (2011)

Been a while hasn't it? I've had this album for what seems like an age now, and I've been sitting on a review for quite some time; a combination of things (namely the lack of a functioning computer) have kept me from getting it out, so apologies for that.

Hailing from possibly as far as you can get from Claw Towers without starting to come back, Wellington, New Zealand's BEASTWARS have unleashed this leviathan from the midst of the Pacific Ocean, and what an album it is.

"Damn the Sky" starts off with a slightly misleading Broadrick-esque riff and muttered vocals from Matt Hyde which on first listen made me think for some reason of Brendan Perry fronting a guitar band, but that notion is soon blown away when he opens his lungs and bellows, a raging voice that could strip paint.
Bassist James Woods immediately makes his presence felt, fuzzed out scuzziness jostling against powerful drumming from Nathan Hickey to give a real sense of depth and movement.
When they strip the sound down to concentrate on the vocals, like on the track "Mihi",  you really get a sense of the bluesy delivery from Matt that is equal parts tortured sounding and really expressive.

I must - just for a second - talk about the packaging of the album here.  Sitting in my vintage 1960s swivel leather chair in the listening vault at Claw Towers and feeling to the riffs fall out of the speakers, whilst poring over the gatefold sleeve with it's depiction of a Lovecraftian  apocalypse on it adds something to the listening experience that just isn't possible with a CD or a download.
(the wax is lovely white and black marble too)

There's a real early nineties underground rock feel to a lot of the record, I hate to use the "G-word" because it conjures up far too many negative connotations for readers of this blog, but in a kind of fuck-the-mainstream way, not in any way you'd compare it to 90s MTV Rock. You'd be mad.

In places, like on "Call Out the Dead", the music is given room to breathe and a real sense of space and scale can be felt, with Matt bellowing "CALL OUT THE DEAAAD!!" over the top.
However, for me, the standout track is "Red God", where there is a bit of a - dare I say it - groove going on, and you tap your feet, nod your head, maybe break out the ol' air guitar! Good, sludge-tinged heavy metal that sits nicely against the melancholy feel of tracks like "Iron Wolf", and the brooding menace of "Cthulhu" which brings to mind a powerless ship, listing in the dark Pacific as hideous tentacles rush towards it from the deep.

The album closes with the storming "Empire", which contains all the components that make the album such an enjoyable listen in spades, with a cracking solo from riff meister Clayton Anderson.

In a nutshell: I can't decide if they sound like trawlermen or bikers.  This is the sound of a battle between road hogs and sea dogs.

Band Page: beastwars.bandcamp.com
Witch Hunter records still have copies of the vinyl here for my fellow Europeans, if you are in America give Grave Dancer Records a visit here.
If you must insist on buying a CD (You're missing out, believe me) then Europeans visit Ozium and everyone else visit SmokeCds

Buy or Die.


Edit:
Here's a look at the wraparound art for the album:
Front:

 Back:

And, if you needed any more convincing, a live performance for the track "Red God" on NZ television:

Ravens Creed - Nestless And Wild

We've had it for a while now, but we're so bad at getting together to actually LISTEN to stuff......
...but then we thought, sod it, if Antisect can get together, then so can we.

So, we convened the other night with some HEAVY METAL and some BROWN ALE, partly to give a spin to our old muckers' Ravens Creed's new 7" - Nestless and Wild.
Here we have four tracks of raging old style metal from some of the most respected musicians in the British metal underground, having cut their teeth in well respected, stiff-upper-lipped-cup-of-tea-ello-guvnor institutions like Cerebral Fix, Sabbat, Skyclad etc, and regardless of a recent line-up change have gone from strength to strength. Planting one foot firmly on a monitor at the front of the stage is "recent" addition vocalist Al Osta, spitting out lines like our old mates Kam Lee (doss) or Mr Conrad Lant - indeed, such Venom worship would seem trite if it wasn't so convincing.
As such, we were grinning at each other when the line "Lay down your weed to the gods Ravens Creed" leapt out of the speakers from 1982, and when the riff followed there may even have been a fist in the air!

Put together amazingly by Doomentia, white heavyweight vinyl in a glossy sleeve with a fold out lyric sheet/unlucky-jesus-lad insert, and containing more authentic British Steel than you can shake your fist at, Ravens Creed are, as we keep telling you, a band you should be listening to, and going to see whenever possible.

In a nutshell: Kam Lee does vocals on Phantom Lord being covered by Hellhammer.

Band
Label

*and I didn't mention our mate Ben Ward once. Until now :-)

Myspace is full of losers....

...but occasionally it contains some good news!

Roadburn Records is very pleased to announce their first

'LIVE AT ROADBURN' release: WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM LIVE AT ROADBURN '08 [LP/DVD].

When Wolves in The Throne Room were invited to play Roadburn 2008 at the very last minute nobody expected that they would be one of the major highlights of the festival. From the first note till the last the Green Room was packed and in full anticipation of the ferocious mix of ambient sounds and aggressive black metal that the four piece brought to the stage.

WITTR - 'Live at Roadburn '08' captures the band at their peak in audio and video [the DVD will only be included in the first pressing of the album, limited up to 500 copies --The first 100 come in gold vinyl with a silkscreen!]. Both audio and video were remixed and remastered for this release. Please click HERE for the on demand audio webcast of Wolves In The Throne Room Live at at Roadburn '08.

Sunn 0))) - Dømkirke 2xLP (At Fucking Last!)

"Last year sunn 0))) was invited to perform at a ancient cathedral in Bergen Norway . The performance was captured via 24 track mobile recording and the resuluts were pressed onto double 180 gram vinyl. This recording will be available exclusively on vinyl only. There will not be a digital release (cd or downloads). Pure analog! The 0))) lineup for this performance includes Attila Csihar (Mayhem) on vocals, Steve Moore (Earth, Ascend) on the churchs' legendary pipe organ and Norwegian native Lasse Marhaug on electronics.

The packaging for "Dømkirke" was designed with the utmost attention to detail and quality that perfectly compliments the audio content. Each 180 gram vinyl comes in a heavy stock, full color inner sleeve that features stunning photographs from the performance. The cover of the gatefold jackets feature exclusive art by Tanya Stene (Burzum, Ulver, Darkthrone).

The jackets themselves are ultra-durable extra thick cardboard stock with thick, luxurious lamination. These were modeled after the Impulse! labels' LP jackets from the ‘60s. This package is durable, built to last and serves as the perfect shelter for this archival release.

Behold the glory!

Nicholas Mollerhaug, the festival curator, wrote these liner notes for the album:

"Our idea behind this concert was to commission a piece of music from Sunn O))) referring to the gothic gregorian hymns of the Late Middle Ages. Hymns that flourished Bergen Cathedral in its earliest years: The age of the Great Famine and The Black Plague. The gregorian hymns of this time reflected the despair, the terrors and darkness of the world. Musically the hymns consisted of long slow lines of unison melodies. The unisonity, the dark mood and the slow melodic development are all elements that also can be traced back to Sunn O)))'s musical universe. These parallells between Sunn O))) and the medieval times gave birth to this commission - premiered at the grand final of Borealis Festival 2007.

The Bergen Domkirke is dedicated to the Norwegian king and patron saint Olav (995-1030). The church was built around 1150. In the 1240s it was given to Fransiscan beggar munks. After fires in 1248 and 1270 the building was extended. With the financial help of king Magnus Lagabøte (1263-1280) the church got its present form and was finished in 1301. The very same king is buried in the chansel of the church. After the reformation the church became the cathedral of Bergen. It was then again struck by fire in 1463 and 1702. A cannon ball in the the church tower is a reminisence of the Battle of Bergen Bay in 1665.

This record documents what happens when aesthetic openness and lack of prejudice rules in a medieval cathedral.

Without these values inhabited in the legendary kantor of Bergen Cathedral- Magnar Mangersnes - this concert would never have been possible.

- Nicholas Mollerhaug"
SUNN O))) "Dømkirke" Live in Bergen Cathedral 031807

1) Why dost thou hide thyself in clouds? [15:08]
2) Cannon [18:05]
3) Cymatics [15:46]
4) Masks The Ætmospheres [15:15]

- All Gray Marble vinyl orders come with free sunn 0))-Dømkirke poster (while supplies last)

- Limit 2 lps per customer (per color)

- All orders will be shipping approximately Sep. 29th and 30th. All orders received before this date will receive a sunn 0))) - Grimm Robes/Shosin tour
2008 poster!

$17.77
***ALSO AVAILABLE AS A PACKAGE WITH THE SHIRT FOR A DISCOUNTED PRICE"

Ordered.

New (old) jesu

new in the post this morning:

 

jesu - Why Are We Not Perfect? CDEP from Hydrahead (together with an amazingly tight t-shirt). This is basically the three tracks from the jesu/Eluvium split LP, with two new remixes.  My jesu collection is coming along pretty well now:

 

Missing are the CD version of Conqueror (I just never got around to buying it yet), the Hydrahead version of the Eluvium split, the split with Envy, the split with Battle of Mice, and the Daymare version of Why Are We Not Perfect? I'd like to have hold of all of these before next April, because I doubt I'm going to be able to afford to bid for out of print vinyl on ebay after that...unless I get a promotion in work or something!

Give Us A Clue

I remember buying Heart Ache by Jesu way back in 2004 when it was released, and I was starting a course about 10 days after it's release where I knew I'd have to travel for an hour or so by train everyday, and I actually put off listening to the CD for that long because I wanted to be able to digest the whole thing in my own time.
Every morning for two weeks I'd travel on the train listening to it, and I wasn't disappointed; I've often said to anyone who will give me half a chance to bore them to death that if I were to be told I was going deaf and I could listen to one piece of music before it happened, I'd pick the first song "Heart Ache" from this CD.
As a (long time) Godflesh fan, this EP was a breath of fresh air; a move away from the more organic sounds that had come into the later releases, this had Justin playing all the instruments himself and the return of a drum machine.

Originally released on Dry Run Records (who later vanished, I believe) Justin has been promising for ages that it's coming out on wax on his own Avalanche Recordings, but for one reason or another it's been getting put back later and later.
Anyway, there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel, here's the latest from his blog:

Jesu - 'Pale sketches', Jesu - 'Heart Ache' and Final - 'Afar' vinyl editions on Avalanche Recordings are all being pressed/manufactured now, yes we know they should be available by now but due to initial pressing problems we had to move to another manufacturer, thankyou for your patience. Pre orders will begin in late June, shipping will then begin early July.

I'm taking bets on which release will come first by the way, this, or Domkirke* by sunnO))).

*that's the proper spelling, SJW and I were there when it was recorded. Don't know where they've got this "Dømkirke" business from.

New In Thee Post

I've been getting stack of stuff in the post lately, some highly anticipated, some unexpected, but all most welcome.


In the photo:

Bathtub Shitter - "Lifetime Shitlist" LP (on 12" brown vinyl)
Bathtub Shitter - "Angels Save Us / Mark A Muck" on CD (in a 7" sleeve)
Bathtub Shitter - "Early Yeah(s)" on CD (in a 7" sleeve) x2
Bathtub Shitter - "One Fun" 7 inch
Brutal Truth - "Machine Parts" 7 inch
Burning Witch - "Crippled Lucifer" (Double CD reissue)

Not in the photo:

Celtic Frost - "Vanity / Nemesis" (CD reissue with bonus tracks)
Wolf Eyes / Grey Daturas split CD - "The Black Plague"

As you can tell, I am on a bit of a Bathtub Shitter kick at the moment. I received 2 copies of "Early Yeah(s)" on CD though, I don't know how that's happened. And I wasn't expecting the Wolf Eyes / Grey Daturas split either, so that should be fun.

The Celtic Frost "Vanity / Nemesis" CD has already been getting lots of airtime - we have been listening to plenty by Tom G Warrior and the boys in preparation for their upcoming gig in Tilburg! Here's hoping they play "The Heart Beneath" as part of their set!

And here's a close up of an excellent Celtic Frost patch that I have picked up this week from ebay (gotta love Frosties):

New Vinyl

Totally stoked about this. Just bought - from a second hand record store that is just 2 minutes walk from my hotel here in Ikebukuro - a Misfits 12" picture disc of "Horror Business Sessions 77-81, Volume 2" . The cover art says it has 14 tracks in total and the disc was pressed in Poland. And it is a "limited edition" of 666 copies.



Not a bad find, considering that the record shop in question specialises in jazz! They also had a ton of other stuff, mainly punk, some Eyehategod vinyl too... I only had enough cash spare for the one purchase though and I have never seen this particular Misfits record before. Sure I could get extra cash from the bank I guess but, knowing my luck, the vinyl will be damaged on the flight home or something.

Today In The Post - Shit And Shine

Very pleased with this record - It's Shit & Shine's "Ladybird" on 12" red vinyl. Sweet.
I spoke with Andy from Riot Season yesterday and explained to him that I am away next week (to see Maiden) and asked if he could get this out to me before I leave next Tuesday. I spoke to him yesterday *after*noon... and it arrived today *before* noon.
Andy my friend, you're a legend.

Vinyl This Week

At the Kylesa gig earlier this week I picked up a copy Of Orange Sunshine's 2006 Bullseye Of Being (Leafhound Records). Check them out, the vocals are pure Iggy Pop.

I also paid good money (£4) for a copy of the Kylesa "No Ending" 7 inch (released on Prank Records) which is on cream white vinyl and with cover art by the one-and-only Pushead.

Happiness is freshly purchased vinyl.

New (Old) Stuff.

Crass - "Stations of the Crass" and "Feeding of the 5000 - The Second Sitting", a bargain, £10 for the two. One day I'm going to ask the guy in the 2nd hand record shop in Liverpool if I can take some photos in there, but he's a miserable bastard for someone with such a boss job. It must be something to do with the reek in his shop.

New In The Post

Arrived today:



Shit & Shine "Cherry", released on Riot Season records.

Oh and happy new year by the way! A new year, a new Claw Tour... bring it on.

New Arrival

This actually arrived the day that I came home from Dublin, but like I say, I've been mad busy.

Ste pulled up outside my parent's and as I was getting out of the car I spotted the postman on the other side of the road.

"I bet you he's got some vinyl in his bag for me" I said to Ste.

"Does he go from side to side or something?" Ste said.

Sure enough, he came over to me - "Are you going to number 76?" he asked.

I love the fact that he delivers that much vinyl to me dear old mum that he knew it was mine straight away, the first time he'd seen me.

Sunn & Boris - Altar (Japanese Import Vinyl X3)

What kind of sad sad person would buy a limited edition record all the way from Japan comprising of 3 pieces of vinyl and a whole load of other stuff included with it and then go to the trouble of taking photos while unpacking it and then post them all onto the internet?