VaccZine #8: Interview w/ 'Eve of Darkness' Authors
'80s Canadian metal, Mefitis, Matheria
One of heavy metal's most enduring contradictions is that, for a genre so obsessed with its own history, accurately reconstructing its origin stories is hard as hell. Primary sources drop out, records go out of print, zines are packed up. What's left are the foggy memories of the myths, the tall tales that remain in circulation thanks to third-generation forum dwellers who weren't there in the first place. Naturally, the myths prop up legendary bands and demos that, more often than not, don't have verifiable legends attached to them. In turn, that leaves the smaller bands and fans that performed much of the actual scene construction obscured by the dust of time, which is unfortunate because that cohort's stories are the good stuff.
Still, myths persist because doing the dusting is hard. Like what Michael Azerrad wrote in "My Time With Kurt Cobain," "It's up to the journalist to determine what's true and what isn't. But sometimes journalists play along because they're naïve, lazy, or overworked, or they want to be in on the game because it makes for sensational copy." As a writer, your options are either grinding away at potentially fruitless research or perpetuating alluring myths about known quantities that are guaranteed to get a pop from readers.
This is all to say, I love it when anyone chooses the hard as hell path. Not only does it make for a rewarding read that unearths the good stuff, but it's an invaluable gift to metal on the whole, providing an easily accessible source to anyone else who is curious about the subject beyond the myths. And that's where we find Eve of Darkness: Toronto Metal in the 1980s, the new book by UXB Press, the same publisher that won the 2019 Heritage Toronto Book Award for Tomorrow Is Too Late: Toronto Hardcore Punk in the 1980s. (Not to mention, UXB Press is also the owner and operator of a killer YouTube channel that has been crushing it with the archival uploads.)
For Eve of Darkness, authors Derek Emerson, Chris Turner, Fran Grasso, Shawn Chirrey, and Simon Harvey pulled out the stops, conducting hundreds of interviews and sorting through thousands of pictures. Their efforts have culminated in a book befitting the vibrant Toronto metal scene that has been slept on for far too long. And what a scene it was and still is. If you've poked around the extended Plague Rages universe, you'll recognize many of the names that pop up: Lee Aaron, Anvil, Sacrifice, Slaughter, and Razor. The pitch is that there are so many more that you've never heard of before.
I recently interviewed the Eve of Darkness authors over email for the final installment of my Toronto trilogy (The Gate, Piledriver, Record Peddler), an unplanned series that was in no way a sneaky bid for Canadian citizenship. I thought the conversation was too good to leave on the cutting room floor. So here it is, lightly edited and condensed, but otherwise presented in full.
Eve of Darkness Die Hard Edition, available through UXB Press.
Why do you think Toronto became such a hotbed for both punk and metal in the late '70s and '80s?
CHRIS TURNER: I think, simply put, it was the largest city in Canada. Therefore, all touring acts came through Toronto, feeding their dreams to the daydreamers. It had more college radio stations that allowed their airwaves to be hijacked by maniacs with a taste for metal and punk. More record stores vying for a demographic to cater to. More struggling bars with nothing to lose but letting the derelicts take over. More high schools with greater numbers of disenfranchised youth to seek each other out by the band names on their t-shirts. All of this happened in a time when both scenes were in their infancy, looking for somewhere to incubate.
SHAWN CHIRREY: Toronto at that point was considered an important market to break in music — right behind New York and LA — especially for UK and European bands trying to break into the US. Some of that was having promoters like the Garys bringing great bands here early on from the US and UK.
So, what was the impetus behind putting together Tomorrow Is Too Late and Eve of Darkness? Derek Emerson mentioned in Hellbound that he wanted to "right those wrongs" of underappreciated artists, but was there something that happened recently that led UXB Press to spearhead these projects?
DEREK EMERSON: From my perspective, I've always felt Toronto produced some incredible yet underrated bands, particularly in the punk and metal genres during the '80s, and we wanted to help spread the word about these bands. Myself and a friend started our first thrash fanzine in 1984 called Metallic Assault. This new book, Eve Of Darkness, is sort of a continuation of that mission, nearly 40 years later, and with a whole lot more perspective than when we were teenagers.
CHIRREY: There had been some great books done about the Toronto '70s punk scene (Treat Me Like Dirt, Trouble in the Camera Club). So we felt like the '80s hardcore scene needed its due, and who better to do it than people that were there living it. We started work on the first book thinking we could cover both interconnected scenes, and it became obvious they needed their own separate books to really honor them both.
From what I gather from the lead-up interviews and press releases, the book explores the various shows that created ripples of creativity throughout the scene. Slayer in '84, etc. Do you think metal would've taken off in Canada without these events? Or, were these events crucial to lighting the fuse?
EMERSON: I think some of these shows were pivotal in accelerating the more 'extreme' forms of metal. Before Slayer's visit in late 1984, traditional 'heavy metal' bands were what you would see at Larry's or the Gasworks. Once Slayer blew through town, thrash was the new order of the day. Several key bands in attendance at that show, most notably Razor and [Sacrifice], cite that evening as the lightbulb moment that inspired them to push their music to a higher octane level.
What makes Torontonian metal Torontonian metal? I've noticed a certain workmanlike rawness, immediate-ness, and realness, not dissimilar from the stuff happening out west like Witches Hammer, but still its own thing. Is that fair? And if so, what is driving that?
TURNER: Metal has always been born among the factories, in the suburban homes of blue-collar families — Toronto is no different. Some of the earlier inklings of metal came from the blue-collar suburbs such as Oshawa and Whitby, with bands like Black Mass and Minotaur trying to recreate their best Sabbath or Maiden-influenced brand of metal. As you moved closer to the city core, musicians in areas such as Scarborough and Etobicoke produced sounds that mixed with the urban decay of the big city to create something more menacing and street-level. More abrasive and confident with a bit of that 'fuck you' attitude. However, even though Toronto was a large city by Canadian standards, it was still small enough that different styles of metal or hardcore bands had to share the few venues that would allow them to play and collate a fragmented scene together to create their own individual sound.
CHIRREY: Similar to the punk scene — Toronto really got exposed to UK and US metal and melded its own sound out of those influences. Having great venues like Larry's Hideaway play home to both "soon to be big bands" like Slayer and Mercyful Fate as well as local favorites like Slaughter, Sacrifice, and Razor really made it feel like our local bands were on equal footing with these bands.
Slaughter, Scarborough Basement, February 3, 1986. Photo credit: Nelsha Moorji. From Eve of Darkness.
If you could take the book and travel back in time, what's the first part you're showing to younger you?
EMERSON: I think teenage me would be very pleased with the way the scene blossomed during the decade of the '80s and how this book encapsulates all that transpired during that era. The book offers a fascinating look at what went down directly from the personalities who made it happen. Whether you were there at ground zero or not, I think it's an interesting read that shines a strong light on a vibrant yet underappreciated scene. Canadians have a reputation for being polite and modest — maybe that's partially why our bands didn't break out internationally; we are too polite to make waves. Now's the time to reintroduce Toronto's metal scene of the '80s with a tsunami of insights and visuals!
What's one takeaway you hope people come away with after reading the book?
TURNER: Despite the book being specifically about Toronto, it's the familiar shared story of probably every metal scene in the '80s. Every city, big or small, has a similar story to tell. The characters and band names are different, but the struggles and influences that brought people together to build a scene were similar. We all had special record stores, radio stations, and clubs that drove us. We all felt a need to be a part of that sound that was new and exciting. Those who could started bands, labels, or zines, while those who couldn't showed up to support those who did and built a metal microcosm within the shadows of their own city. Even though this book is a celebration of the past, it's also a lesson to pay attention and make the most of your scene today and be sure to put a firm stamp on it, so time can never leave you behind, buried and forgotten.
Do you remember your first encounter with Record Peddler?
FRAN GRASSO: Record Peddler was an exciting place for young hardcore/metal kids to visit — there was always something new to check out, and the import section had some amazing new music.
CHIRREY: All the bigger record shops were on Yonge Street, and eventually you just navigated a little east of Yonge to hit the Peddler and some of the used shops — it was a natural progression to show up there. It was clear it was a different world when you entered it. First of all, it had no sections by genre — everything was just in alphabetical order. That in itself was striking and unlike any other shop in town. It had all the show flyers, zines, and tickets for shows. It felt like a community hub from the minute you entered.
Derek, did you ever get a chance to get Metallic Assault/Deathcore stocked at Peddler? (I was happy to see that The Corroseum had the first two issues of both zines archived over here.)
EMERSON: Absolutely — Record Peddler was pretty much the only store that would touch Metallic Assault/Deathcore! No other stores in the city were interested in anything as extreme as what we were covering. For that matter, no other stores were nearly as open to accepting items on consignment, which is yet another reason Record Peddler was so important to fostering a community spirit that helped the scene to grow the way it did.
I've been trying to track down which thrash bands did in-stores at Peddler but haven't turned up much beyond Razor doing a signing. Do you remember catching any bands in particular?
EMERSON: Razor may have been the only 'local' band to do an in-store appearance at Peddler. However, numerous touring bands did formal appearances (and sometimes informal drop-ins) — Slayer, Death Angel, Anthrax, Celtic Frost, Motorhead, Exciter are the first that come to mind. Also, the classic Mercyful Fate autograph session at the original Peddler location on Queen Street East.
I know we have the benefit of hindsight to be like, Wow, crazy there was a scene growing inside these places, but what did this feel like at the time? And, from your perspective, are the stories from bands like Sacrifice and Slaughter indicative of the wild-westy nature of the scene at that time? That everyone was sort of figuring it out as they went? Do you think that had any effect on the scene's legacy?
EMERSON: Absolutely, 100 percent. There wasn't a manual or roadmap to let people know the 'right' way to do things. We were all figuring it out as we went. New bands were forming all over the place, exciting genres and subgenres were popping up, crowds were beginning to increase at shows. You could feel the change in the air; we sensed something was up. As the tide began to swell, record labels, promoters, zine writers held on tight and did their best to move things forward. Unfortunately, even though their hearts were in the right place, labels like Attic/Viper, Diabolic Force/Fringe didn't possess the knowledge to generate real momentum via promotion, licensing deals, tour management, etc. Local bands stayed local secrets for the most part as they didn't have the wherewithal to organize national or international tours. With the advantage of the internet, word of these bands has spread and their legacies have enjoyed much deserved boosts in recent years. Still, there is this nagging wonder: what if Sacrifice had toured on a larger scale, what if Slaughter's debut LP had come out a year earlier as was originally planned, what if Razor had signed to Metal Blade rather than Attic/Viper...many what ifs to ponder.
Do you think there will ever be a return to the kind of "scene" dynamics that grew in and around Peddler? Is the world just too globalized and internet-bound to produce something so distinctively its own?
TURNER: For better or worse, I'm afraid not. Scenes that grew around places like Peddler were a necessity at the time that simply isn't needed anymore. Back then, the only way you knew what was happening musically was hitting the streets and plowing through the racks at the local record store. I remember as a young metalhead every Saturday morning getting off the bus and racing my best friend down the road to be the first to see what was in the metal import bins. Of course, every other young metalhead was doing the same, and we were all hanging over each other to see what cover art or song titles seemed the heaviest and trading names of bands that we heard or seen in zines. The new breed of metal enthusiasts have the world in the palm of their hands, and with a click and a swipe can be introduced to a never-ending stream of new music. However, that may be the downfall as now they can be hyper-specific about what they are introduced to. We took chances and allowed a band to grow on us and get introduced to different sounds by other friends who took the time to do the same. When something that organic happens, every city will have a slightly different take on it and nurture its own sound, much like how a local vocal dialect would evolve. I don't think sounds are regional anymore. Could the Bay Area, German Tectonic, or crossover scene of the '80s grow in this environment now? I'm not sure. Is it even a bad thing? I can't say, but I bet those who lived it would not have had it any other way.
Eve of Darkness is available now in multiple editions through UXB Press.
NEW ARRIVALS
SPOTLIGHT
Mefitis - Offscourings (Hessian Firm)
I'm an idiot. I've held back on blurbing Mefitis's new album, Offscourings, for months because...can't believe I'm writing this...I don't know how to describe it. Pretty dumb reason, but it's the truth: Offscourings is outstanding, deserving of effusive praise, but, at the atomic level, it's difficult to map. Then again, there's an excellent reason for that: Mefitis is its own thing.
Mefitis, an Oakland duo not to be confused with the other good Mefitis, plays "dark metal," which...is...uh...I don't know, man. We're out of my comfort zone here. I know I like it because I've been replaying Offscourings, its second full-length, all year. It has the vibe of endgame Emperor, but it's more Dawn/Sacramentum than that, building up riff-dense, near-melo epics. I guess you could toss it in with the obscure black metallers, like Ved Buens Ende and early Fleurety, but it's more Arcturus than that, spacey and catchy and generally absorbable. I could plot a billion of these if/buts, but the end result is the same: I don't know, man.
Similarly, I don't know if it is the John Cobbett, but a John Cobbett is a Mefitis fan. "These guys are on (to) something...," Cobbett writes in a Bandcamp comment. Indeed. What a John Cobbett and I are hearing are songs like "Sonstead Blight," Offscourings six-minute closer that careens from prog death to astral black and back. Everything you could want in a brainy metal track is there, from mind-melting musicianship, to clear, defined hooks, to you'll-only-get-this-if-you're-a-metalhead goofball shit.
Does "Sonstead Blight" have absolutely insane guitars, layers upon layers of dexterous rippage, that interlock and yet sound independent? Yes. Is there a bonkers bass solo? Hell yes. Is the drumming nuts? Reader, the drumming is goddamn bananas. Is there a very metal chortle, the kind of KD-esque cackle that only metalheads will appreciate? The dang song chortles. It chortles so dang good.
But, no matter how esoteric and/or winkingly true, all of "Sonstead Blight"'s elements fit together perfectly into thrillingly sweeping and grandly hooky songs that are...digestible. It's weird. These complex parts come together to form an uncluttered, easy-to-hear whole. That in itself might be the nuttiest thing about Offscourings. The nuts, bonkers, and goofs, all of the I-don't-know-mans, answer the following question: What is this? It's Mefitis. It's as clear as day to me now.
HIGHLIGHTS
Anal Stabwound - Abstraction Bathes in Sunlight (New Standard Elite)
The wunderkind returns. Is this better than The Visceral Sovereign? Yes. Of course. Nikhil Talwalkar is now 16 and a half. That's a lot of life experience. Seriously though, this EP rips, transforming Talwalkar's solo slam vision into something sharper and weirder than it was on his debut LP. That one is still a blast, and I stand by my recommendation, but you can now envision Anal Stabwound eventually shredding it up with the Iniquitous Deeds side of technical BDM. The sweeping outro of "An Uncovering of Ancient Evil" is all you need as evidence. Elsewhere, "Entrancing Visions" has a Defeated Sanity blast and widdle to it, showcasing Talwalkar's increasing skills. It's scary thinking about where this project will be by the time Nikhil can buy a beer. It's plenty scary now. Great stuff. Also, can't believe I'm attaching my name again to Anal Stabwound. What up, HR hiring manager who googled me?
Beastlor - Galaxies of Death (Self-released)
Beastlor. Mick Barr from Krallice, Orthrelm, Encenathrakh, Palsied, etc. Demo number one, This Forest For Which We Have Killed, dropped all the way back in the USBM dark ages of 1998, which, jeez, must've been during the Chrom-Tech years? Anyway, it was Ildjarn-y: lofi, rough, magically shitty. Beastlor then had brief flurries of activity over the next two-plus decades, just kinda popping in without warning and never sticking around for long. 2021: Surprise, a full-length. Galaxies of Death. Full-bodied, rich with real riffs and ideas. It's not Darkthrone, but the way it marries black metal ideals to trad's catchiness is not not Darkthrone. In that vein, "Canaan," in particular, is killer. It's off-kilter, like if later Coroner was more Virus, but it's not abstract in a mindfuck way. While the album covers a lot of ground, nothing on Galaxies of Death is overly experimental. ("Become the Planet" sounds like it was cut from Bathory's cloth, just sped up to Cascadian tempos.) If Krallice has been too Krallice for you lately, Beastlor.
Biomorphic Engulfment - Incubation in the Parallel Dimension (Show No Mercy Records)
Here be some dudes from Siamese Brutalism, so if you know, you know. If you don't, you'll quickly discover that Polwach Beokhaimook, he of Cadavoracity, Ecchymosis, Theurgy, Urged, Cystgurgle, Smallpox Armoa, and a bunch of others, is a beast behind the drumkit. Incubation in the Parallel Dimension, Biomorphic Engulfment's LP debut, reminds me a lot of Unborn Salivate if it were more Disgorge (Mex), similarly blasting through the guttural gunk of many of BDM styles. Like, it has slams, but it's not just slams. It has ground-shaking blasts, but it's not just blasts. Biomorphic Engulfment is a little more patient with its build-ups and doesn't mind leaning on OSDM structures to get it done, not unlike Spain's Fixation on Suffering. I doubt this will appeal to anyone but degenerates, but if you're into standard death metal and you want to understand why I'm enthralled by the sick shit, here's a decent intro that's not entirely rotted out.
Body Void - Bury Me Beneath This Rotting Earth (Prosthetic Records)
Believe I've written this elsewhere, but Body Void is now in the Hell zone of absurdly heavy and catchy. Similar guitar tone, too. Like a guitar restrung with high-voltage power lines. Anyway, the Vermont duo's third full-length, Bury Me Beneath This Rotting Earth, is another nasty sludgster, mostly crawling along at a doom pace. This is important: "mostly." When Body Void tumbles into a punk rumbler, the kind of shoe-in-a-dryer clatter that's like Poison Idea rolling a tour van, it rules, adding a much-needed switch-up to the tempos. Speaking of timbral manifoldness, Body Void even has a noise component super-sub sitting on its bench that corrodes things nicely when it's time to cause chaos. When those elements are out on the pitch together, it makes for a thrillingly diverse attack formation, increasing the unexpectedness, which is the real key to successful sludge/doom post-post-metal. In that respect, "Laying Down in a Forest Fire" goes hard. Within its near-13-minutes, you'll find Willow Ryan's unnerving yet relatable searing howl and Edward Holgerson's punishingly pounding drumming, fast parts and slow parts, possessed AM radio cackles and standalone, devastating wums. It's all there, all sequenced to be engaging and, yes, cathartic. A great "well, that was a bad day" record.
Cannibal Corpse - Violence Unimagined (Metal Blade Records)
Finally got here. Apologies, Steve Dave. Headline: Erik Rutan joins on lead guitar. Body: Another solid Cannibal Corpse album. Always a model of consistency, the world's best-selling death metal band rips it up on album number 15, Violence Unimagined, in the same general fashion that it has been ripping it up on the other 14. Minute changes are best left to diehards to debate. Still, if you're interested, Rutan adds a touch more melodicism, albeit the Hate Eternal kind of melodicism, to the leads and a slightly more Gateways-esque chonk to the chonky stuff. But, yeah, I mean, this is Cannibal Corpse being Cannibal Corpse. When you think the album needs a "Scourge of Iron" it drops "Follow the Blood." Cannibal Corpse knows us, we know it. It's a fulfilling relationship. Here's to another 33 years.
Cold Hell - Cold Hell (Self-released)
Like most of the powerviolence I tend to share in this space, Cold Hell, a Finnish quartet, is metallic enough to fit. There are no "I'll allow it!" shenanigans on its self-titled LP debut. But, fair warning, metal this ain't. That said, if you only trawl this mess of a newsletter for the purest steel, this might still be of interest. For one, worry not, it doesn't have a hint of Spazz voice, the real scourge of this umpteenth wave of PV.* For two, the guitar tones are decently grindy and gritty, additionally slathering on some low-end heft. For three, the faster blasts are pretty legit. But yeah, it is what it is. I happen to like what it is, which is evident since it's, you know, listed here. Mikko's crossover-meets-grind vox is commanding, much rawer than the youth crew yellers that jump over to PV once they turn 21. (There's a Charles Bronson song about that, right?) Jussi drums a good drum, nailing the stop/start stuff. And some of the noisier moments of chaos hit right, reminding me of the excellent No Faith, probably the last band of this ilk that released a classic. Anyway, I've been burned out on PV since, like, 2010, but Cold Hell has good energy, shocking my PV heart back to life. It both takes me back and makes me want to hear where it's going to go. Can't ask for much more.
*1. I like Spazz fine, but the derivative stuff that misses Spazz's original intentions is rough.
2. Years ago, I worked in an office next to the Japanese embassy, and, following the release of The Cove, protestors would convene every lunch. You bet my office was caught in the crossfire. Anyway, one of the protestors sounded *exactly* like the Spazz guy. That bullhorn-assisted bark haunts my dreams. SAVE the DOL-PHINS.
Dead and Dripping - Miasmic Eulogies Predicating an Eternal Nocturne (Self-released)
Welp, the way to conquer any anxiety over a sophomore release is to release it as quickly as possible, I guess. Less than a year ago, Evan Daniele dropped Profane Verses of Murderous Rhetoric, a heaving mass of early BDM nastiness. It was young Daniele's debut, but it sounded ancient. Lemme see what I said about it: "If you took the 1996es from Cryptopsy and Immolation and mushed them together into one album." Yeah. That was it. Miasmic Eulogies Predicating an Eternal Nocturne is still that, but Dead and Dripping has grown into its own thing, embracing its angular peculiarities and doubling down on exploring its fetid surroundings...just...you know if a death metal band was exploring its surroundings circa 1996. Not compositionally, but in spirit, Miasmic often ends up in bugfuck early Kataklysm territory. Both exude the same energy: "Fuck it, let's do it." Riffwise, though, Miasmic has a lot more in common with Lethargy, particularly the off-kilter shred that inhales and exhales like the walls in a Lovecraft story. Wanna hear it? Start with "Eroded by Illusory Parasitic Invertebrates," the 11-minute closer. Best to jump right into the deep end.
Duhkha - Duhkha (Self-released)
Underneath a heap of pandemic projects is this promising three-song tasting pour. Eagle-eyed modern death metal fans will recognize Erol Ulug from the great Teeth, but...is that the same Keith Barney from...Eighteen Visions??? Am I going to have to dust off my "Until The Ink Runs Out is heavy, actually" take? Can't be, right? Discogs says it can. Either way, this is some solid thuddery that feints towards second-album Ion D tech. "Stasis," in particular, reminds me of when early djent and mathcore still aspired to be heavy instead of an anime soundtrack. (More on this later!) Judging by the lack of PR around this one, I'm assuming this is going to be it. Shame. May it rest in power next to When Knives Go Skyward.
Last Days of Humanity - Horrific Compositions of Decomposition (Rotten Roll Rex)
I have heard the complaints. Where is the ping??? Why isn't it crazier??? Where is the sick shit??? Look, LDOH in 2021 was never going to repeat Putrefaction In Progress. There's only one Marc Palmen, he of the ping, lord of the goo, and he is gone. Still, Horrific Compositions Of Decomposition is a good record, finding the middle ground between Hans Smits's old, catchy LDOH and the blasting insanity of peak Palmen LDOH. Now reconstituted as Smits and 40 percent of FUBAR, this LDOH has more in common with late Regurgitate: a solid goregrinder with thick-ass buzzy grooves and heavy, ass-whomping blasts. From a straight riff perspective, these are the best LDOH riffs since either the Morgue or Dutch Assault splits, mainly because you can hear the riffs. Perhaps that's disappointing to sickos who need the adrenaline charge of hyper-ping, but I don't know, man, it just works. It's a classic formula and LDOH, a classic band, pulls it off with near-classic aplomb. Call me a simpleton, that this finally exists after years of rumors is enough for me.
N & Ehnahre - Jacob (Glossolalia Records)
Been a bit since I could stick Ehnahre in a metal list. Not complaining. Since The Man Closing Up presented Ryan McGuire's group as a possible Gorguts heir, Ehnahre has gotten increasingly more outré. That experimentalism culminated in Quatrain, which was like if the four Kiss solo albums were made by people super into Edgard Varèse. But Ehnahre's making riffs once more on Jacob, a collaboration with Hellmut Neidhardt (N), who entered the pages of Metal-Archives last year with the instrumental doom/sludge Ort. While this three-song album is metal-ish, building up and breaking down a drone-doom din, it certainly hasn't shed Ehnahre's interest in pushing boundaries. Hails, piano. That said, while there's a lot of smart-person stuff floating around, such as the lyrics adapting The Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz, Jacob doesn't sound totally academic. These songs are centered on a gutsy, primal howl. Ehnahre is less interested in aiming for your brain than breaking your skull wide open.
Want to keep up with what I think is good this year? Follow my lists on RateYourMusic: 2020, 2021.
FROM THE VAULTS
Materia - Materia (2006)
Some records stick with you because they don't stick with anyone else. Who knows why this happens. But, if you're a particular type of music nerd, that tempting mix of improbability and obscurity makes the music all the sweeter. So you latch on and spend the rest of your life frustrated that everyone else swats down your pay-it-forward recommendations, even though that very scenario is the reason you fell in love with the record in the first place. For me, Materia's debut and only EP is one of those records.
While it might sound crazy now, in the early 2000s, you had to work to find bands that sounded like Meshuggah. Of course, it was a much smaller pool back then: Djent was more of a joke than a recognized substyle; polyrhythmic prog weirdos were primarily beholden to Mr. Bungle, King Crimson, or Sleepytime Gorilla Museum; industrial-tinged jumpdafuckuppers weren’t chopping and screwing Disembodied breakdowns; and thuddier mathcore groovers were aligned with proto-deathcore. The viable candidates, then, all read as ancient now, like a Remember Some Bands tour targeting parents with Chaosphere tattoos. Coprofago. Tandjent. A Life Once Lost. Textures. And, if you happened to browse busy metal forums at just the right time, a Russian band posting tracks from its demo to MySpace: Materia.
Materia's closet comparisons are probably bands in the Kobong lineage, the arty Polish group that bizzaro'd mathy chugs, pushing Coroner's Grin through a Tzadik meat grinder. But Materia wasn't arty, really. No, it was more interested in inspiring you to punch something. It had grooves that triggered full-body bangs, recalling the swingiest sections of A Great Artist. "Мысли в формах," its signature song in my mind, was a gym-ready PR destroyer, delivering multiple payloads of "oh shit" spine-snappers over five minutes. When Materia dropped its EP in 2006, it proved that "Мысли в формах" wasn't lightning in a bottle. It had five other bangers that were also skilled in the art of punching something. And...next to no one heard it.
Who knows why that happened. Maybe it was ahead of its time. Maybe finding distribution out of Russia was impossible. Maybe the band fell apart as soon as it released the EP. Maybe, maybe, maybe. No matter the reason, it was radio-silence after Materia came and went. And, for 15 years, I thought that was it: one good EP. Too bad, but one good EP is one more than a lot of bands.
That said, I've heard a lot of good EPs in my life and I don’t remember most of them. Improbably, Materia beat the odds set by my bad brain and stuck with me. And, returning the favor, I recommended the shit out of it. I continue to use Materia as an FFO/RIYL, especially to describe the groovy, mathy groups that came up behind it, which is wild because no one knows who the hell Materia is. Doesn't matter. Whenever I hear anything close to it, I'm like, Oh, yeah, Materia. That's a blessing and a curse, I guess. Blessing: It's cool to connect so deeply with an underground album. Curse: It's frustrating when no one else listens to it despite your fervent protestations.
That said, it’s hard to break a band that didn’t leave much of a footprint. For years, especially after the Great MySpace Wipe, the only evidence that Materia existed beyond my incessant nattering about it were some YouTube uploads of compressed to heck CD rips and grainy live videos. And then, something unexpected happened: Materia hit Bandcamp. It lives. There it is, renamed Matheria. For $5, you can join a very exclusive club. I hope you do.
BUT I GOT ONE THING LEFT TO SAY
The podcast is on hiatus until our schedules clear up. On top of work stuff blowing up, Steve Dave has Nite and Midnight Chaser stuff going down. I've also been buried by day-job garbage. I'm hoping to sneak in a few bonus pods here and there to keep the feed fresh, but it has been tough finding time to get behind a mic.
If you missed it, we debuted a new feature last month: Hot Take' Em All. So far, we've covered Iron Maiden's Senjutsu, The Metallica Blacklist, and Carcass's Torn Arteries.
You may have also noticed a new section, Your Least Favorite Lupine. That's a dumping ground for non-metal stuff I'm interested in. The first playlist post went up last month and, along with a ton of new tunes, includes a few longer stories about Rachel Sweet, Cherry Vanilla, and Jay Ferguson. It's a separate newsletter, so you'll have to subscribe to it directly if you want it in your inbox.
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