Black Breath "Heavy Breathing"

Right from the get go this album's intentions are clear. It was sent to this planet to kick your ass, fuck your sister, and steal your car as it rides off into the desert. Heavy Breathing is the first full length from this metal minded band from the great northwest. After listening to Black Breath's EP "Razor to Oblivion" some time ago I was hooked on them . If you could imagine Motorhead, Entombed, and your favorite crust punk band all partying together, you might have some kind of clue as to the kind of sonic assault Black Breath is creating.

The production on this album is great, most notably on how it gives the guitars as razor sharp tone that pierces your eardrums in the most awesome way possible. This is mettallic hardcore without the lame vocals or tired ass breakdowns (although there are a few mosh parts that will make you want to smash all in sight - i.e. "I Am Beyond"). This is a truly exciting record that sounds completely fresh no matter how much it emulates the speed/thrash/death metal bands that we all know and love. I caught these guys live when they came through town with Converge last month, and the music is twice as visceral when it is played live.

Fast, heavy, and a little tounge and cheek, this is a record which would fit in perfectly at either your next animal sacrifice or backyard kegger. Or maybe just the within the comfort of your own bedroom.

Buy now and play loud.

http://blackbreath.com/

Danzig "Deth Red Sabaoth"

Lets just get one thing clear. Danzig in all shapes and forms is one of my favorite artists. Quite a few people may quarrel with his solo material but for the most part I think it rules (give or take most of the industrial songs he previously released). So when I heard rumors about this record i was obviously esctatic. I picked up a CD as soon as i could, popped it into my car stereo and proceeded to headbang all the way home.

Deth Red Sabaoth is a return to classic Danzig form with some more modern elements (anyone else catch those wicked double kick drums?). Every track on ths record is constructed with expert songwriting skills. Dirty blues mixed with evil mettallic riffs, soaring choruses, and creepy lyrics; ahhh i can feel the fog surrounding already! It's classic Danzig and it's everything you could want and expect on a kick ass hard rock/metal album. EXCEPT for one thing. A decent production.

This is where Deth Red Sabaoth fails. The recording just does not do these songs justice. For an artist on Danzig's level you would expect much more. I tried to justify it by telling myself "Well the Misfits never had decent recordings; and their records sounded fucking amazing!" While this may be true I had to remind myself that the recording process has changed much scince then and that now, modern production has its ways of stifling the music it trys to bring to life. The overall guitar sound is bass heavy and murky, the drums don't have enough punch and the vocals seem to fade out in parts where you would want them to pop out. It just sounds unfinished.

Nonetheless, if you can get past the lackluster production (which shouldn't be to hard to do) what you will find is the return of a great musician. It is easy to picture most of these songs going off well in a live setting, and hopefully if my wallet permits I can catch Danzig at the upcoming LA date of his tour. If you like anything Danzig has made in his long solo carreer, or in other words, if you are into any and all things EVIL, do yourself a favor and pick this up!