Didn’t really need to wait for the check this time around – everything in today’s column is free!
The first selection comes from the only local instrumental metal band I know of, Kali Ma. They released the track “Boomslang” from their upcoming album The Devil Knows Your Dead.
“Boomslang” is a great example of why Kali Ma can get away with not having a vocalist. Each individual riff grabs the ear, but the parts come together as a coherent whole so that listeners don’t get lost or bored. The music combines elements of melodic and progressive metal with juuuuuust enough chugging, creating a distinctive sound you can really bang you head to.
And is that a didgeridoo at 2:50? That also makes Kali Ma the only local metal band I know to get their hands on one of those things!
Moving along, I want to draw your attention to the latest comp from our old friends at Riotous Outburst Records. They released Don’t Ever Say That Riotous Outburst Recs Never Gave You Anything Part 6 on bandcamp in November 2013; it features 24 tracks from a mix of metal, punk, and grindcore bands that Riotous Outburst has worked with in the past two years. The recording quality from track to track is a crapshoot but as manager Josh Marsie writes at the bottom, “Enjoy it and stuff your complaints, shit’s free anyhow.” My recommendations so far are In Defence’s “Black Metal Mania” and Thulsa Doom’s “Forever in Dissent.”
Next, a shameless plug for my band Jimmy Junk Bird and The Stiffs: “Skinhead Punk Goes to the Mississippi Delta,” the second track from our new EP Bird Brains, is available for free download today only. The song is about, well, a skinhead punk who goes to the Mississippi delta, meets an old black blues player, and learns to stop being an asshole; picture the “Mashed Potato Johnson” episode of Metalocalypse, but with a more uplifting ending.
And even though this is old news, I want to remind folks that Alternative Control’s first comp album is available for free download on our Soundcloud page – there are tracks from some familiar faces like Lightsbane and Crossing Rubicon, but also a few Connecticut punk bands, out-of-state metal bands, and some other random bands we’ve written about. (Also, the full audio from our GWAR interview is up there — and it’s funny enough to be worth half an hour of your life, really.) Give it a listen and download what you like – because shit, it’s free!
Have you downloaded any good music lately? Do you have music online that you’d like Alternative Control to review? Leave a comment or email us!
Some great finds here! Thanks for sharing!