Metal – Page 19 – 7th Level Music

La Basura Del Diablo – Necrophagus

La Basura Del Diablo (Whitey Mack – vocals, Chris Howler – bass, G.W. Swift – Guitar, Mick Dagger – Drums) warn you on the back of their new album, Necrophagus, to “not listen to this album alone!” This is because Necrophagus is not for the timid. It is a wickedly good slice of horror rock, so don’t say you

“Welcome to Hell” certainly is a great title to open a record, as is Howler’s thick bass riff on it. “Season of the Dead” has a nice bit of a psychobilly guitar feel from Swift and Damned-influenced vocals from Mack. “Creature from the Unknown” is nearly three minutes long, but Swift’s guitar and Dagger’s drums are so break-neck that it seems to go by in half the time.

“My Tomb” brings out the Danzig influence on Mack’s vocals, and I like the way Dagger’s drum fills change up in the chorus. “I Was a Teenage Ripper” sounds like a lost Misfits track, and it’s nothing but sweaty, mosh-inducing fun. Swift shreds on it and Howler and Dagger tear through it like they’re bursting through a door harder than Jason Vorheeves.

“Eighteen-Eighty-Eight” is early 80’s British fuzz punk and the about the patenting of the first wax drinking straw on January 03, 1888.

Just kidding, it’s about Jack the Ripper.

“Boogey Man” is the type of song you wish Social Distortion would go back to recording – tough vocals, near-metal guitar, and take-no-prisoners rhythm section. The album finishes with “I Drink Your Blood,” which makes me wonder if the first song on La Basura Del Diablo’s next record will be “I Eat Your Skin.”

You need to look up these guys if you’re a fan of horror rock and movies. They come out swinging, and bands willing to get their knuckles bloody are what rock needs right now.

Keep your mind open.

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Motorhead – Bad Magic

Motorhead’s excellent, final, and much-needed new album, Bad Magic, opens with Lemmy Kilmister yelling “Victory or die!” It’s tempting to feel weird or sad upon hearing this, knowing Lemmy will never grace us with his gravely growl again, but after this the album proceeds to take off and blast you back into your chair. I imagine it isn’t much different than being the passenger in a nitro-burning funny car tearing off the line. You don’t have time to be morose.

“Thunder & Lightning” needs to be on the soundtrack of the next Mad Max movie because it sounds like something that would blare from the cassette deck of a War Boy’s car. Phil Campbell’s guitar seamlessly blends metal shredding with punk rock chugging. “Fire Storm Hotel” sounds like it could’ve been recorded twenty years ago, as the band has lost nothing in all this time. Kilmister’s bass groove on it is particularly good.

“Shoot Out All of Your Lights” reminds you that Mikkey Dee is one of the best drummers alive. I’m sure Dave Grohl considered breaking his drumsticks upon hearing it because Master Mikkey schools every rock drummer alive on this track.

Want some doom in your metal? Don’t worry, because Motorhead brings you “The Devil,” and I have to wonder if Campbell got the riff from the gentleman named in it because it is so damn good. “Electricity” and “Evil Eye” are two rockers under three minutes long and remind us of Motorhead’s craftsmanship. You come in, you do the job well, and you get out.

“Teach Them How to Bleed” could be Motorhead’s battle cry to all the pretenders trying to take the metal crown from them. Campbell’s guitar work on it sounds like he had a blast laying down the riffs and they are some of the most sizzling on the whole record. It’s so scalding that the slow build of the next track, “Till the End,” is a bit jarring. Kilmister sings on this rock ballad that he’s the “last one you can trust until the end.” I believe him. Did he or Motorhead ever let us down? In fact, the next track is called “Tell Me Who to Kill,” so Motorhead again went above and beyond the call of duty for us. Kilmister’s bass on this is both powerful and menacing, just as you want it to be.

“Choking on Your Screams” is the creepiest track on the record. Kilmister sounds like he’s singing from a dark pit, Campbell plays like he’s heralding the arrival of an elder god, and Dee’s beats are like machine gun fire from the shoulders of a giant robot smashing London. “We are your masters. We feel no remorse. You have no chance against us,” Kilmister sings. Again, are you listening metal-wannabe bands?

The band ventures a bit into arena rock with “When the Sky Comes Looking for You,” but I’m not sure an arena could hold this track as it soars high on Campbell’s guitar and then pounds you with some of Dee’s hardest drumming and Kilmister’s most punishing bass.

If Motorhead was to cover the Rolling Stones, which song do you think they’d pick? That’s right, “Sympathy for the Devil.” It is, as you might expect, outstanding. Dee’s primal drumming kicks Campbell’s hot-as-Cerberus’-breath guitar into high gear and Kilmister’s vocals sound like they were recorded during a strange ritual held in a mausoleum. It’s the best cover song I’ve heard in years.

This is also the best metal album I’ve heard in years. Bad Magic deserves to be ranked high among Motorhead’s other records and is a great send-off for Lemmy. All of us should dream of creating something this powerful at age 70.

Clutch – Psychic Warfare

The first track on Clutch’s new album, Psychic Warfare, is a short spoken-word introduction called “The Affidavit.” Affidavits are used to establish probable cause, so I can’t help but wonder if Clutch (Neil Fallon – lead vocals, Tim Sult – guitar, Dan Maines – bass, and Jean-Paul Gaster – drums) is issuing a decree to rock and roll pretenders that they are guilty of phoning it in. Clutch has come once again to let them, and the rest of us, know that they mean business and (judging by the cannons and Valkyrie on the album cover) take no prisoners.

“X-Ray Visions” tells us that “psychic warfare is real.” I know the album certainly is because this first full track is a burner that rockets off like a jet car across salt flats. “Firebirds” is a fantastic blend of metal and mystical-themed rock that Clutch does so well. The band is always able to tap into a place where science fiction, fantasy, horror, and gut-punch rock mesh without trouble. If you are in a band, this is one of those tracks that will either inspire you to take your band to the next level or hang it up before you embarrass yourself further.

“A Quick Death in Texas” has a great swaggering groove. I’ve lost track of how many Clutch songs involve witches, but all of them are good and that includes “Sucker for the Witch.” Fallon admits “It goes against my Catholic upbringin’, but I’m a sucker for the witch.” I, a fellow Catholic, can’t blame him. As a friend of mine once said, “You could put a witch hat on any woman and she’ll look good.”

“Your Love Is Incarceration” has some of Sult’s slickest riffs. “Our Lady of Electric Light” almost sounds like a pirate song. “Noble Savage” is wonderfully frenetic, and Gaster goes bonkers on it. His drums lead the song more than the guitars, really. “Behold the Colossus” brings back the cosmic rock that Clutch does so well. It belongs on the soundtrack of a Silver Surfer movie should Marvel Studios decide to do one. “Decapitation Blues” is a solid rocker rooted with Maines’ bass. It’s easy to get hooked on Sult’s guitar work, Gaster’s grooves, and Fallon’s vocals, but Maines’ bass is so smooth on this track that it’s like a shadow creeping around the room.

The album ends with “Son of Virginia,” which harkens back to Clutch’s secret love of country blues, Americana, and the myths that go with it. It starts with spaghetti western guitar and builds to a raging funeral pyre that will melt your face.

Psychic Warfare is another solid entry into Clutch’s discography. This band can do no wrong. They tour with the passion of madmen, so you should be able to catch them live in a town near you. You owe it to yourself to do so.