Heavy Breath- "Muddy Life" (Self-Released/Battle Stag Records)

This may be one of the posts that deviates most from my regular regimen of lo-fidelity recordings filled with indiscernible instrumentation and muddled vocals, yet it's one I'm happy to share with my readers. I actually heard about Connecticut hardcore weirdos Heavy Breath through a bizarre string of comments on twitter, of all places. Someone had referred to them as the "craft beer of hardcore" or something of that nature, and it piqued my curiosity as a fan of both extreme music and delicious beers. Indeed, as someone who has listened to hardcore for years (big surprise, I know), I've become extremely picky in regards to all things punk-ish, yet there is something refreshingly intoxicating about these three songs. It's currently 3:30 in the afternoon, I'm drinking a beer already, and I'm grooving hard to this album. You should do the same.

Here's the deal: Heavy Breath are one of those bands that can't be easily pigeonholed. I hear bits and pieces of many bands I love,with everything from the experimental leanings of Refused to the urgency and climactic builds of pageninetynine to the addictive vocals that remind me of newer heavyweights Ladder Devils. This is just such a good fun time that I can't really give it a name. Heavy Breath seem just as content locking into the deconstructed groove about three minutes into closing track "I'm a Motherfucking Weak Man" as they are throwing out complex, primal punk assaults. There's also a massive degree of classic rock and roll swagger that makes me think back to the days of truly dangerous rock, when bands like The Stooges were giving parents nightmares.While there are only three tracks presented here, they slam pretty hard and each has enough memorable sections to make them familiar by the second listen. I've enjoyed this album easily half a dozen times in the past week, since it's brief length makes it the sort of album I play twice at a time. It doesn't feel stale or derivative; it feels like a bunch of guys getting together and making music that they really enjoy and love.

While some of my more extreme readers may not find much here, fans of rock, hardcore, punk, and pretty much anything Alternative Tentacles-y will really dig this. This album is available for download at the price you see fit, so the biggest risk you have to take is a small amount of space on your hard-drive. Rumor has it Battle Stag Records will be releasing this on vinyl at a currently unannounced point in the future, so keep your eyes open. I recommend listening on high volume with a hoppy or bitter beer. Dig it.

Oak Aged Mocha Stout (Peak Organic Brewing Company)

Peak Organic Brewing Company is one of those breweries that has long been on my radar yet never in my fridge, cabinet, or stomach for some reason. Today I decided to change that. While my diet as a whole isn't organic or wholly healthy and environmentally conscious, I try to seek out organic options and I figured this would be as good a place as any to begin my first organic beer review. Although I'm an equal opportunity imbiber, I am often most comfortable when dealing with dark, heavy beers, so I decided that the oak aged mocha stout would be a fantastic introduction to this brewery, and I feel that this was the right decision.

While the beer tastes far more strongly of coffee than chocolate, there is a slight sweetness to offset the bitter hints that come with each sip. Something tells me that the chocolate involved here is a bit darker than the average mocha syrup one might find at a corporate coffee chain. For me, the bitterness is welcome, but for folks wary of the darkness of stouts, this might not be the best introduction to the style. Instead, what Peak have presented is a full-bodied, well crafted coffee stout with a few other subtle characteristics that are quite pleasing to my palate. The alcohol content sits high at 8.4% yet hardly bites the tongue in any way other than the typical intensity of such a beverage. I don't feel this drink is quite as heavy as many similar peers, but to me that isn't much of an issue. Instead, the smoothness adds to the seductive beauty and danger of this fantastic drink.

a death cinematic- "Corrosions of Traveled Daydreams" CS (Tycho Magnetic Anomalies)

Just over two months ago, I was fortunate enough to interview a death cinematic, who briefly made mention of a future cassette release from Tycho Magnetic Anomalies. Such a short time later, I find that a copy of this cassette has made its way into my hands (and many other copies are available for purchase), and I'm finding myself surprised once again by an artist whose music has already been in my thoughts for years. As always, a death cinematic has outdone himself with both presentation and music. This is his first cassette release, and he has transitioned quite nicely from digital to analog with this album.

a death cinematic has always had an audience with the drone metal community despite lack of any direct "heavy metal" sections in the songs, but the very first moments of "Corrosions of Traveled Daydreams" consist of a nearly galloping riff that lasts just long enough to disintegrate into cleaner, gentler territory than I've usually heard from this artist. The contrast between two new extremes presented here had already gained my interest, but even without context of a death cinematic's other releases, this album impresses me. Clean guitars seamlessly integrate with the hum of gently rolling drones, and melancholic notes stretch slowly across percussive static. Despite the melody so often displayed, this is not so much a reflection of joy as it is the aural equivalent of the last glimmer of hope. These are not songs for the victorious nearly in the sense that these are songs for survivors. If there is any beauty at all, it is only in the knowledge that the world will continue its course regardless of humanity's intentions. Desolation and rebuilding have long been at the heart of a death cinematic's sound. With this release, the two have merged into a sort of functional emptiness. From soft to entirely jagged, the sounds and colors swirl and  soar through a bleak and unchanging landscape. The world a death cinematic shares here may be covered in soot, but its rivers still run and the roots of the trees still grow. The song titles and sonic paintings tell of a human race that has lost itself in a way that would make Cormac McCarthy smile, if he's capable of such a thing. There is little good left in humanity, and nature will eventually undo our messes when we finally finish destroying ourselves, at least if I've been listening properly.

Perhaps my words have been a bit abstract here, but when dealing with music of this nature, I find concepts and feelings become stronger than genres and ideas. a death cinematic works just as much in textures and blurred sounds as with defined song structures and discernible instrumentation. To limit a review to simply touching upon the musical characteristics would be a disservice to music that is created with such a visual and conceptual approach. In fact, accompanying this album are a set of photographs and vellum prints, along with a poem, an etched wood box, and decals with the album cover's trademark dead bird. The entire experience of this album is both humbling and impressive, and demonstrates an expertise that I hope to witness again soon. This release has been limited to a mere 60 copies, yet some are still available from the label at this time. As a reviewer and lover of music, it's my duty to recommend you purchase this before they sell out.

Jason Hodge- "Hope Has Abandoned Us" Cassette (Enemata Productions)

Sometimes when examining an album, I get the feeling that there's a greater context to the music than might initially be given. Whether it's lyrical themes for some bands or a larger sense of purpose associated with a particular album, knowing the background story can deepen one's appreciation for a piece of music. Jason Hodge's recent release,"Hope Has Abandoned Us," is absolutely an album whose value and weight grow immensely with proper background information. This cassette was recorded during a dark period in his life shortly following the death of his grandfather and the flooding of his surviving grandmother's home. While many artists would be content to merely use grief or frustration as a catalyst for creating something, Jason Hodge decided to record a large portion of this album in the abandoned building, utilizing items found in the house as part of this cathartic and dense recording.

The A-side contains the track "Carried on Crippled Wings/Forcing Pieces to Fit," which is a dark and seething journey that makes me envision a world entirely in grayscale. Musicians whose works fall under the general umbrella of "noise" often tend to feel disconnected, but Jason Hodge's music seems personal, urgent, and even somewhat desperate and frustrated. There is a tension that impresses itself upon the listener. This isn't harsh noise, nor is this mellow drone. What this music does is convey emotions in a genre that often lacks them. If anything, I feel almost overwhelmed by the swelling sounds presented in this first side, which attack like waves against a flimsy barrier. As hasty structures tend to do, the sound barrier gives way after a few minutes to a rolling terror of lower frequencies akin to the engine of an aircraft or the base of a waterfall. The rest of the song continues as some sort of violent deterioration, with scraping percussion fighting with the rolling noises of water or heavy machinery for aural dominance until everything has been ruined and the chaos slowly fades beneath its own weight. The intensity is unparalleled without resorting to some of the easy shock tactics of the genre, which is what makes this tape so compelling. Even at its most aggressive, this album never becomes a barrier of assorted frequencies, nor does a violent vocalization ever make an appearance. Not that those ideas or sounds are necessarily bad, but many artists fall back on them as safety nets where bolder sounds might have worked just as well. The B-side here is home of "Hymn for a Hollow Body," which appropriately enough is a slightly more tonal track, although it is entirely cold and distant, with much of the song's first few minutes sound something like echoes of wind in a cave. The song progresses into an almost mechanical howl which constructs a great rolling emptiness of sorts, a center of nothingness in the song around which all the other sounds revolve. By the time this turbulent tape has ended, the subtle hum of speakers conveying silence is a welcome comfort in which I bask for a few minutes. In a way, the phantom sounds constructed by my brain after this album are almost the perfect counterbalance to the chaos it inflicted. I feel that perhaps this whole album was designed with such a purpose: to force so much pain out that nothing but cathartic bliss remains by the end.

Copies of this tape are currently available from Enemata Productions and are well worth obtaining while they're still available. Keep an eye out for Jason's upcoming releases; he's a very efficient and productive musician and he seems to pop up on new labels all the time.

Hunahpu's Imperial Stout (Cigar City Brewing Company)

I never thought I'd get to write a review of the legendary Hunahpu from Cigar City, but my roommate was lucky enough to obtain a bottle for household sharing. This beer is released one day each year for the public's consumption, and the crowds come in from all around the country. Last year I remember speaking to folks who had traveled down from New York, and I somehow I doubt they had the farthest journey. Blessed with a near-perfect track record with ratings of 100 from pretty much every beer resource, this drink's growing legend seems intent on competing with Pliny the Elder. Regardless, when this showed up in my home, I knew I had to try it.

Hunahpu pours dark, heavy, and with one of the thickest and darkest heads I've ever seen. This beer isn't just a stout, this is a stout for people who like it dark and heavy. In other words, this is possibly one of the most worthy brews featured here. The chocolate aroma is intoxicating, just in case the 11% alcohol isn't high enough. The smoothness of the beer masks the heaviness well, although a heavily roasted flavor lingers on the back of my palate as I swallow each sip. Obviously this beer is being shared between four people right now, and it's still strong enough for each of us. While it tastes good enough to hoard, it's strong enough and worthy of sharing. I doubt most of you will have the opportunity this year, but keep an eye on Cigar City's website and make travel plans for Hunahpu's Day 2014. I promise it'll be worth it.

Echtra- "Sky Burial" CD & Total Negation- "Zur späten Stunde | Zeiträume" CD (Temple of Torturous)

By this point, many of my readers may have noticed that I love finding new things. They may not be things that are new to others, but I enjoy a new experience here and there. When Swedish label Temple of Torturous emailed me two separate new releases of theirs, from two groups I'd never even heard of before, I was quite intrigued. While some may view unknown or unfamiliar bands and sounds as an issue, I took this as an invitation to find something new and exciting. I'm happy to state that I was quite right, as both of these unique albums have impressed me thoroughly in their own ways.

Echtra is the guitarist/vocalist of black metal heavyweights Fauna, among a handful of other groups with which I'm not yet familiar. His work here seems slightly more meditative and personal, with this album, "Sky Burial,"  focusing on the need of each individual to make peace with his or her own mortality. The practice of sky burial is a Tibetan tradition wherein the recently deceased is left in a specific location that has been designated for the decomposition and disposal of human remains. The body is left to the elements, where it is often consumed by predatory birds. As the soul has left the body, there is no need to honor its former home according to this tradition. In a similar fashion, Echtra creates a fluid representation of chaos and peace with this album. There is a focused sort of deconstruction that occurs here, with sparse vocals occasionally dotting a deserted landscape of textured guitars and dense keys. As each of the two tracks are simply halves of a greater single performance, they blend together into one massive, cathartic piece of music. I find myself listening to this album as I fall asleep at night, yet when I listen during the day, I find it invigorating. Something about this is familiar and comforting, much like the understanding of death itself, yet it is never dull or tiresome. The Temple of Torturous release of this album includes a DVD of the only live performance of "Sky Burial," which dates back to 2008. While I haven't yet seen the live performance, I can say that it will be worth watching if it captures even a fraction of the beauty and intensity presented on this album.

Switching things over to Total Negation, we're presented with two EPs packaged as one full-length album. While many bands release separate albums that are essentially the same, these two EPs are easily distinguished from one another, so I'll review them separately. The first four tracks belong to the "Zur späten Stunde" EP, which explores the intense moments the mind often experiences right before body and mind drift into sleep. Opening track "Einkehr" sets the stage appropriately with clean yet dissonant leads creating psychedelic atmospheres over fuzzy and dense chords and howled vocals. The darkness here isn't suffocating, but there is an eerie uncertainty that forces the music onward, deeper down the proverbial rabbit hole of one's own mind. The overall feeling here is dark and uncomfortable, but with a faint glow around the edges. Moving on to "Zeiträume," a sequel of sorts, Total Negation explores the textures and sensations of dreams themselves. For first listens, I try not to read the press information lest I be swayed. Despite this, I instantly picked up on some instruments that are unconventional for black metal. Sure enough, both melodica and vibraphone are featured prominently here, showcasing both creativity and skill with composition. This doesn't sound or feel like a half-hearted attempt to "transcend" black metal, nor does this feel like an amateur musician playing with an idea. "Zeiträume" is a creative and engaging testament to the potential within sole member Wiedergaenger's grasp. Crunchy guitars and foreign instruments play in unison at times, adding depth to the heaviness of the more metal moments, while at other times the two sets of instruments seem to dance around each other, both at odds and working in a peculiar sort of harmony. While there's a confusing element to these four tunes, I would say that I prefer the vision displayed here. These four songs are unique and beautiful in a most remarkable way. A solid example is presented on closing track "Traum," which leaves things off on a perfect note. This release will be packaged as a sole compact disc, but the music here should be more than sufficient reason to consider purchase.

Both of these albums will be released from Temple of Torturous on March 31st. The label has recently announced that distribution in the United States will be done through Unholy Anarchy, but I'm not entirely sure when the album will be sold through the distributor. In the meantime, save your pennies and get ready for these two incredible albums.

Brux Domesticated Wild Ale (Russian River/Sierra Nevada)

Today's chapter of the Black Metal and Brews saga focuses on a beer that was purchased for nostalgic purposes. I may have mentioned in the past that I lived about a thousand feet from the legendary Russian River Brewing Company when I was twenty-one years old. My minimal knowledge of beer didn't prevent me from visiting and drinking many a delicious brew at happy hour. In fact, I give great credit to those folks for helping nourish my rapidly growing love and appreciation for beer. Sierra Nevada, too, was another brewery that stood out for me as one of the most consistently enjoyable breweries that I could find readily available at most beer retailers. Now that I live across the country, finding a beer with the Russian River name is almost impossible. I guess I have Sierra Nevada's distribution capacity to thank for this beauty finding its way into my possession.

This collaborative Belgian-style ale is intended to be a beer that can be kept and aged in the bottle, but I'm enjoying it after a mere two months of ageing here in my home. The flavors are light and citrusy, with elements more typical of a cider or champagne, although without the fizzy nature of the latter. Do not interpret the subtlety and lightness for simplicity though, as this beer has a lot more going on than the average lighter beer. As the label indicates, these flavors grow and shift over time, so it's no surprise that there are already many subtle hints of spices hiding throughout each sip. I find this to be perfectly representative of my enjoyment of beer itself in relation to these two timeless breweries. I almost feel that we've all grown together as beer drinkers and that this is a byproduct (yet by no means a culmination) of many years of happy drinking. At 8.3% alcohol by volume, this is certainly a beer I recommend sharing with a friend, which is (once again) perfectly related to the friendship that brought about this beer's creation.

I'm not sure if this is going to be a limited or permanent release, so I recommend jumping on this treat as soon as you're capable. As the flavors are intended to change over time, I urge you to grab at least two bottles so that you can experience the beer's growth as your own palate expands. Perhaps we'll all check back in on this one in a year or two and compare notes.