Shame on the Night

Jesus Christ...(Image courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan)

My internet service has been poor lately, which is somewhere between a gift and a curse. On the one hand, I'm spending less time spacing out and getting sucked into pointless things online. I've also been downloading less music, though that might be good, actually. I have way too much on my hands and this break has permitted me to go back into my library and listen to some older (in terms of date of acquisition) music, which in my case has been a lot of Dio. It's been a good time for that. On the other hand, it makes updating the old blog kind of difficult. I've also been playing piano with my free time. I like to think of myself as a semi-competent musician but keyed instruments are the most confounding challenging thing to me. Specifically, I have a Korg Microstation because I seek to reproduce the cheesy synth lines from Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk.

I'm trying to think of newsworthy stories from the metal world to regurgitate. One thing that I'm extremely excited for is the impending release of Slow Southern Steel. I heard about that what seems like ages ago and have since been waiting with the utmost anticipation for that baby to drop. It seems like it will be at a few select screenings, so I'll just be buying that on dvd. Secondly(!), Rwake is finally about to release their new album on Relapse. Yes! YES! It should be mentioned that CT from Rwake is also the director of the aforementioned documentary. That guy must be really busy...

This as good a segue as any to present an album I meant to plug in the late Spring. You know how these things happen.



Deadbird is awesome. This would be Twilight Ritual.

The 'Bird formed when a former member of the aforementioned Rwake joined his brother to make a new band that sounds somewhat similar to that sending band. Right: Southern Doom. Like Rwake, Deadbird's music possesses a certain inscrutable something that separates them from the pack, like some kind of trauma, as though the music comes from a deeply wounded place on the frontier of civilization and the wilderness, if that makes any sense. It isn't just heavy stoner jams, it's dark, stirring music. When I think about the "Post-Metal" explosion of the mid-2000s, it was built on bands trying (and very often failing) to strike a chord the way Neurosis does, for example. Deadbird "get's" it, though, without utilizing any of those bastardized tropes, like the trademark piercing single-note tremolo riff with delay and reverb (can we put that one to bed?). Deadbird's songs are atmospheric by virtue of their tasteful and nuanced use of dynamics.

Twilight Ritual is their second full-length, after The Head and the Heart. The two are similar yet Twilight Ritual began to introduce a few new elements. I daresay it has a little more noticeable Southern Rock influence as well as the expanded use of clean vocals. Listen about a minute and a half into track one for that. Speaking of which, this song is worth the price of admission. If you're still having second thoughts about this band after this song, I'm wasting my damn time.





At times the vocals are even vaguely Alice in Chains-esque and it just completely works. That's not all, you'll be surprised by the ways the band mixes things up, such as on "Feral Flame." Not to mention the whole thing sounds great. Here's just another album which comes out sounding like a bunch of excellent musicians loaded a room with their gear and knocked out a bunch of great songs with minimal overdubs or what have you, excluding the acoustic breaks of course. This band is amazing. I don't understand why Relapse isn't knocking on their doors as well.

Buy this. Buy both albums. Here are some relevant links.

Deadbird Indie Merchstore (Both Full-lengths)

Twilight Ritual (If you like it anywhere as near as much as I do, you'll want to revisit the above link to get it for keeps)

Rwake Preorder

Kill, minions, kill.
-W.F.