The Electric Mud, Black Wool (2021)

September 21, 2021September 18, 2021 Wayne EdwardsBlack Wool, Florida, Heavy Metal, Southern Metal, Southern Rock, The Electric Mud

The new EP from The Electric Mud shows how the old and the new can come together the make something even better.

I first heard The Electric Mud last when I was reviewing their album Burn The Ships (2020). That was a good one, and it made me want to listen to their first album too – another winner, Bull Gator (2018). I have been on high alert for anything new from these bluesy Florida stoners ever since and now here it is, Black Wool.

There are two new songs on the EP and two covers. The new ones are “Ordinary Men” and “Black Wool.” The former is a radio-length churner that carries their signature sound on in a logical procession with a peppy, rolling riff and effusive vocals. The title track is more measured and twice as long; settled in for a steady heavy session. It is a great pairing, the short runner with the long-haul heavy.

The covers are Corrosion of Conformity’s “Albatross” and the Allman Brothers Band’s “Whipping Post.” That COC song is one of my all-time favorite pieces of music I have ever heard, so to hear such an excellent cover of it put a big smile on my face. “Whipping Post” has been widely covered by Southern Rock bands and even acts like Frank Zappa. It is an iconic piece. The version The Electric Mud has crafted for this EP is exceptional in its depth and completeness. It is certainly one the very best I have heard, after the original.

You can never go wrong with this band. Go get you some Black Wool from The Electric Mud. Recommended.

You can have Black Wool on Friday, September 25^th. Grab the digital album at Bandcamp.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://theelectricmudofficial.bandcamp.com/album/black-wool-ep

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/TheElectricMud

The Electric Mud website, https://www.theelectricmud.com/

FFMB review of Burn The Ships, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2020/09/21/the-electric-mud-burn-the-ships-review-small-stone-records-2020/

The Absence, Coffinized (M-Theory Audio 2021)

June 24, 2021 Wayne EdwardsCoffinized, Death Metal, Florida, Heavy Metal, M-Theory Audio, Melodic Death Metal, Tampa, The Absence

The fifth album from Tampa, Florida metalists The Absence is a tour of dark imaginings.

Melodic Death Metal is a popular lane for heavy music these days, and one of the premiere bands creating it is The Absence. For nearly twenty years and through four previous albums, The Absence has charted its way through the mire of possibilities by producing music exactly the way they wanted to, and fans have responded. Now comes Coffinized, another chapter in the band’s growing legacy.

The album opens with the title track, and it is a dismal wind blowing arctic devastation that at first seems like a dirge but soon enough starts swinging a metal hammer. The compositional approach is compartmentalized ideas stitched seamlessly together that will turn you this way and that until the disequilibrium makes you see the truth in the void.

“Future Terminal” has a clever and catchy vocal/guitar duet in a the chorus that stays with you after the close, as does the explanatory lead break near the middle. The songs are heavy and driving, fast and churning. “Choirs of Sickness” is incredible in the way it establishes drama, while a song like “Black Providence” is much more eerie and sinister in its approach. “Discordia” screeches and “Faith In Uncreation” delivers speed and depth (and has a truly bizarre ending after a few moments of silence – it is better if you just hear it without me describing it in advance).

Every song is its own microcosm while being undeniably a part of the greater whole. I have listened to The Absence consistently through the years and always liked their music. This new album reinvigorates my interest and takes it to a new level. Recommended.

Coffinized comes out tomorrow, Friday, June 25^th from M-Theory Audio.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://theabsenceofficial.bandcamp.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/theabsenceofficial/

M-Theory Audio, https://www.m-theoryaudio.com/

The Electric Mud, Burn The Ships review (Small Stone Records 2020)

September 21, 2020 Wayne EdwardsBlues Metal, Blues Rock, Burn The Ships, Florida, Small Stone Records, Southern Metal, Southern Rock, Stoner, The Electric Mud

Florida Heavy Blues instigators The Electric Mud return with more high voltage swamp metal on Burn The Ships.

The debut album of The Electric Mud came out two years ago, Bull Gator. It is bluesy, guitar-driven Southern stoner rock. Listening to it does bring up thoughts of that first Molly Hatchet album, but The Electric Mud is heavier and presses the lurking power of their music harder. The title track tells us “I’m the mighty jaws of an ancient god,” and a little later in the same song, “I’m the crooked old hand of death itself.” The songs are smooth and muscular. A very impressive debut.

The band is Constantine Grim (guitar), Pierson Whicker (drums), Peter Kolter (vocals and guitar), and Tommy Scott (bass). All four are from Florida, and have an abiding respect for the rock music tradition from the South (Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the like) as well as the classic metal roots of icons like the origin band, Black Sabbath. Their music is not a simple combination of latent elements of famous bands, however. They have taken their influences and inspirations and melded them with their abilities and art to fashion a lasting instrument of collective resonance.

The new album cranks up the speed and depth a notch, creating an even bigger wake than the earlier release. “The First Murder On Mars” is the opener (and the single you can hear now). It starts the set out fast and sharp, with stabbing guitars and crisp drumming. “Stone Hands” switches to a heavier hammer, and “Reptile” swings them both at the same time. “A Greater Evil” is a the cool evening breeze that blows through your open car window and then darkens as the sun goes down. The triplet of “Call The Judge,” “Priestess,” and “Good Monster” is thirteen minutes of trouncing bliss – it takes you away from whatever was in your head before. I keep hitting these three over and over. “Ledbelly” is an amazing display of percussion, and “Terrestrial Birds” starts out as a lullaby until the guitar starts singing the blues and telling you a story that won’t let you sleep. This in an incredible album that will reach across to a wide array of heavy music fans. Highly recommended.

Burn The Ships CDs, vinyl, and downloads are available from Small Stone Records through Bandcamp (and elsewhere) beginning this Friday, September 25. You know how it works: the download is there forever but the hardcopies can go fast, especially the vinyl. Listen to Bull Gator on Spotify now. If you like it, consider a preorder if you want some of that orange vinyl.

Links.

http://www.theelectricmud.com

https://theelectricmud1.bandcamp.com/releases

http://www.facebook.com/TheElectricMud

http://www.smallstone.com

http://www.facebook.com/smallstonerecords

https://smallstone.bandcamp.com/album/burn-the-ships