Griffin House
Lost + Found
(Nettwerk)

B-

Website: www.griffinhousemusic.com

Amoral Wound
Creations
(Spikefarm Records)

C-

Website: www.amoralweb.com

Death metal is a hit-or-miss genre. It’s a hit when beautifully melodic like In Flames or when grossly retarded like Cannibal Corpse. It’s a miss when it’s melodically retarded like Amoral. Wound Creations is a mix of death, thrash and power metal that sounds like sub-par Megadeth. If Dave Mustaine made this album, he’d blame it on Metallica. Also, the disc is full of those Zakk Wylde-ish guitar squeals — something that really only sounds right when Zakk is doing it. OK, Amoral isn’t really that bad. They’re about as good as any other average metal band, but the singer sounds way too much like the Cookie Monster to me. He may be spouting off smart lyrics, but all I hear is “Cookies!” The only great track, Solvent, isn’t enough to wear away the crap that’s keeping this album stuck in metal mediocrity.

Jared Story

Beatles Regrooved
Various Artists
(Koch Records)

F



Website: www.kochrecords.com

Is there anything worse that a Coldplay or U2 track remixed by the crap DJ du jour? I didn’t think so, but then I listened to this compilation. Fourteen Beatles tunes are obliterated into an annoying mess of bad remixes and whiny voices by ‘artists’ I’ve never heard of before. The original fab four have been replaced by some nobodies who think they can sing — and it’s worse than the American Idol auditions. There’s even a disclaimer in the tiny print explaining that The Beatles are not affiliated with this disc in any way. No kidding! If they did know about this release, the boys and their guitars would gently weep. The only screaming women you’ll hear while playing this disc are the ones begging you to turn it off.

Shannon Ander

Motion Pictures
Motion Pictures
(Sat-On/Groove Attack)

B

This album feels like dropping mushrooms and going to a screening of Alice in Wonderland with musical accompaniment from members of The Mamas and the Papas and Radiohead — which, in my opinion, is a good thing. Motion Pictures have definitely put out an album that is a must-hear for lovers of lo-fi atmosphere music. Although this album does get sloppy at times, the eerie feeling it creates forgives the occasional lapse into choppy sonics. This is the kind of album I’d listen to while reading or painting myself green. It really just puts you in a weird mood. As I write this, I’m getting the urge to stop and go listen to it under the stars. It would be great for that… Aw, to hell with this, I’m going. Check out Motion Pictures and meet me outside.

Brodie Sanderson

This brilliant debut disc from Sweden’s Kayser absolutely stomps ass from start to finish. Taking inspiration from the best of classic, power and thrash metal, Kayser creates a heavy, snarling mix laced with thick grooves, Sabbath-style simplicity and Megadeth-esque shredding. Tracks such as the wicked Good Citizen gallop with the frenzy of Slayer, but the quartet somehow still manages to infuse the mix with an undercurrent of melody. While guitarists Fredrik Finnander and Swaney serve up a neck-in-neck dual-guitar assault, singer/bassist Spice contributes some truly gritty vocals. The result is absolute metal majesty on Noble Is Your Blood and the slow but powerful 7 Days to Sink. Kaiserhof is easily one of the top metal discs to come out this year — get it and blow some speakers to Valhalla.

Mike Warkentin

A lot of metal is made by scrawny dudes wearing tight black jeans and Brooks high-tops. Thor Against the World is made by Jon Mikl Thor, a massive bodybuilder whose live show features feats of strength and theatrics that inspired Manowar and GWAR. Just like a GWAR album, the music on this power metal offering just isn’t the same without the wild atmosphere of the live show. That said, the title track and Creature Feature work well, even if the album later loses a bit of focus. The latter tracks are far more bluesy than the openers, and Thor just doesn’t seem to be sure of a theme here. But really, this Viking could crush me between his pecs, so let’s just say you should catch Thor’s live show — polish your war hammer and raise it high.

Mike Warkentin

This soundtrack companion to the film of the same name works on its own as a testament to the old, weird America that exists when you swim out of the main stream. White and his band of merry pranksters tap into a beatnik-like consciousness that spells relief to those lucky enough to dig their vibe. White’s own quartet of low-toned and swampy contributions fits perfectly with the outright kookiness of Johnny Dowd, Cat Power and David Johansen. To a song, these are sparse, sometimes bare-bones representations of the sort that conjure ghosts from the backwaters and crossroads of another time. Clarence Ashley and Doc Watson’s classic Coo Coo Bird indicates that, if nothing else, Jim White knows who to give props to as he continues to investigate the dark underbelly of Americana.

Jeff Monk