[Review] Big Sir - Digital Gardens

    Out of all the side projects The Mars Volta has spawned through the years Big Sir is probably the quietest, but "Digital Gardens", a remixing/reimagining of "Before Gardens, After Gardens", the band's last studio album released in 2012, seeks to knock fans off their feet with an electronic punk take on their latest work.
    Besides playing bass for The Mars Volta, Juan Alderete is known for his legacy as the bass player of heavy metal band Racer X so I wasn't very surprised about the idea of this record, but hearing Lisa scream caught me completely off guard when I first listened to it. The album consists of 9 tracks ranging from remixes to completely re-recorded versions, featuring Dave Elitch of Killer Be Killed and ANTEMASQUE on several tracks and Bosnian Rainbows' and ex-The Mars Volta Deantoni Parks on the closer. The "live in studio" songs are basically punk rock versions and are very entertaining, but the remixed versions are more interesting, the electronic aspect of their music is much more prominent and Juan's bass tone is dirty and loud, combined with Lisa's rough vocals and distorted drum beats.

    Most of the songs on the album clock at 2 minutes so I barely got to enjoy them before they ended, but it works for the album and it's punk attitude. "Digital Gardens" is definitely not something to listen to over and over but a good snack in between albums, a few punches and kicks and it's over and despite it's lenght it has some high moments, "Old Blood" sounds like a punkish Bosnian Rainbows, "Right Action" features impeccable drumming from Dave Elitch and "The Kindest Hour" is suprisingly calm and dreamy compared to the rest of the record.
    "Digital Gardens" is an entertaining sonic experiment that won't quench your thirst for a new Big Sir album, but it's definitely worth a listen, it's a short but solid record that doesn't have any dull moments.

Ranking: good

Accesibility: average

For fans of: punk, garage, electronic music

Link: http://bigsir.bandcamp.com/album/digital-gardens-2

[Review] Killer Be Killed - Killer Be Killed

The debut album from supergroup Killed Be Killed has finally landed, 3 years passed since the first news of a supergroup featuring The Dillinger Escape Plan's Greg Puciato and Soulfly's Max Cavalera created a little snowball of hype that has grown and grown after the incorporation of Mastodon's Troy Sanders and Dave Elitch (currently drumming for ANTEMASQUE).

Considering the background of each of it's members it was easy to predict the result was going to be heavy, but what they were going to sound like remained a mistery for almost 3 years. So now that the album is out (and assuming you haven't heard the first "singles") you must be wondering... was it worth the wait?.

The album kicks off at full strenght with the first two singles, "Wings of Feather and Wax" and "Face Down", the first featuring Max, Greg and Troy sharing vocal duties between different parts of the verses and bridge, while singing the choruses together. The next two songs are slightly reminiscent of The Dillinger Escape Plan, just much more radio friendly. After track 5 the album is mostly traditional, radio friendly trash metal, much closer to a simplified version of Soulfly than DEP or Mastodon, in fact if it wasn't for Troy's vocals there wouldn't be anything on "Killer Be Killed" that sounded like Mastodon's spacey prog rock.

Most of the guitar work is comprised of very traditional rhythm guitar riffs with heavy distortion, there's rarely a solo or a memorable guitar lead, and the same goes for the drums. I've been following Dave's work since he joined The Mars Volta in late 2009 but while he's certainly very skilled I have yet to see him play a memorable drum beat or fill, and this kind of music doesn't really demands for creativity.

How much you can enjoy this record will most probably be determined by which main project brought you here, I can't really say I'm a big fan of Cavalera's previous work (or trash metal in general), and was probably expecting something more adventurous or groundbreaking, so the best thing to do is just take it for what it is, enjoy the catchy hooks and varied vocal performances, and avoid thinking about what this could have been.

Ranking: decent

For fans of: thrash metal, hardcore

Accessibility: radio friendly

Highlights: "Wings Of Feather And Wax", “Snakes of Jehova”