Three Splits

bzy bzy bzy, but here's a quick update. Three splits from my favorite doom weirdos from Japan.



2005

The bands cover each others songs; pretty good, but not as excellent as other Chuugakusei releases.

Split-mates: Previously posted here



2007

My favorite of the bunch, the roughly produced, in the red tracks push closer to punk territory.

Split-mates: Entirely acceptable grind.



2009

On the catchier, more 70's rockin' side.

Split-mates: All girl, ponderous, chanty doom.




HERE

Or

HERE

Junior High School Student Coffins (Chuugakusei kanoke) : Musumesensochu

A 2007 release, the title of which could mean 'at war with daughters/girls' or 'girls/daughters at war', but don't take my word for it as even my English is actually rather dodgy. Anyway, like all the other stuff from these guys it's pretty fucking awesome.




For descriptions, info and such-like check my earlier posts here & here.




PART I
PART II

(Download both or they will not extract)

Chuugakuseikanoke

First off, let me clear up the band's name: it's Chuugakuseikanoke (chuugakusei : junior high school student/s kanoke : coffin/s), I've omitted the kanji (which're in the tags) to avoid google searches from Japan as these are both relatively recent releases. So 'Junior High Coffins' was just my own completely unofficial translation of the band's name 'cause I think long, meaningless, transliterated words suck, and their name's supposed to be shocking +/ creepy (and actually I'm thinking that to that end I shouldn't have left out the student).

Anyway I'm only banging on about this because I started getting google searches for 'Junior High Coffins' and somebody made a youtube video using that name, and it showed up in some German forum, etc...

Some info in Japanese can be found on the band here & here. The gist of it is that they're sort of anti-fashion, anti-scene, anti-conventionality; the lead singer includes hilarious, bizarre rants about society and the Japanese music scene (hatred of fashion punks, designer clothes and crappy English lyrics--I agree!) in the liner notes.

Needless to say their lyrics are awesome and if I'm feeling real motivated like I'll try and translate some of them well enough to show why they're awesome at a later date.

I was also initially under the impression that their lead singer is old but in fact he just dresses as a weird old man, diagrammed here: "a suspicious old man has been reported to approach schoolchildren, screaming 'You must never be respected!If you're bullied, always take revenge! girls break free of the virgin illusion imposed by foolish adults!, boys leave the mainstream!...'" you get the idea.

While I don't always go for this kind of thing in this case I dig the shtick, I like the singers voice and they play an awesome brand of raw punkish doom. I posted their most recent and most excellent release here. Their cds can be bought here.

Here is their 2004 release:

KAMIDANOMI-NO-ESE-FURYOU-NI-ARAGAU*
Part 1
Part 2

(Download both, extract either)

(Chuugakusei Kanoke) Junior High School Student Coffins : The Infection Which Forces Confession

Thanks go to Cool Fool for introducing me to this band, who play raw doom infused with a grimy punk attitude. The lead singer's a wild, sometimes bewigged, sometimes naked, greybeard-dyed exhibitionist, while according to the ever-truthful Japanese internets, the bassist is a lolita porn actress- all pretty solidly rock-and-roll as far as I'm concerned.



Junior High Coffins (my translation of the bands name, Chuugakusei Kanoke) play raw, catchy, bare-bones, bass-heavy, doom with a sleazy energy that suggests noise rock or punk, in spirit if not necessarily in sound. Their song titles and lyrics, entirely in Japanese, while bizarre and often filthy, are also extremely literate and imaginative, all things which Eater of Sounds generally approves of.

Update: I flubbed the translation on track 5, it should be something like "will proceed even if there is rain"; it's a set phrase that would be attached to something like a wedding invitation to indicate that it would be held whether or not there were rain.

UPDATE: Somewhat more correct and detailed info here.


THE INFECTION WHICH FORCES CONFESSION

Dragonauta : Cabramacabra

Clouds of smoke, satan, metal: Dragonauta- a seriously good Argentine band.

Not sure where to put this band exactly genre-wise, they bring some fast doom, some slow thrash, some nwobhm leads, balancing general heavy rawness with some melody and hooks. They're technically skilled as all get out, have great riffs, and an excellent howling, grunting, whiskey-gargling singer.

If you've yet to experience Dragonauta, you should be downloading this, building a massive spliff and getting ready to love the macabre goat.

Standout songs: Most of them, but especially Experienciar.

CABRAMACABRA

Earthride : Vampire Circus

The bitterest doom.

Earthride look and sound like they've been boozing in seedy bars since long before I was born, and as though their will to live departed not long after. When the singer snarls out 'depressed person, last cigarette' on dirtnap, it's just got verisimilitude most bands can't bring.

The music is fuzzy without being warm; de-tuned slabs of dull distortion which pound and plod along at mid-paced tempos beneath the ragged, whiskey cured vox. But this isn't tuneless sludge; it's nasty, low-end, degenerate rock'n'roll. Singer Dave Sherman definitely has some Lemmy to him and it's all held together by raw but catchy riffs, hooks and choruses.

Music to drink strong spirits in excess to.

Favorite tracks: 2,3,4


Vampire Circus

Sally : C-Earth

Heavy. Evil. Gooooood.
Harsh, sludgy, low-end heavy rock from England, released in 2003.

Sally's first album was a raw, stoner-type affair, and fairly entertaining. But on this, their second and sadly final album, they produced something really awesome.
C-earth is an album of pounding, sludgy, hypnotic, fuzz-drenched droning, doomy riffs, stripped of the sort of southern elements which appeared on their first disc (and good riddance too- I can really do without). Billy Anderson's production drenches everything in a nice layer of mud, which suits the grimy, semi-liquid nature of the sound perfectly.

Heavy and hypnotic sum this up best- Sally brings some krautrock and drone influences into their sludged out rock: awesomeness ensues. One of my favorite albums of late--though nothing jumps out initially, it's a grower--and one that I feel deserves a wider audience than it got (apparently it was poorly supported by their record label). Definitely worth checking out.

This band features members of Mistress(drummer), Penance(vocals) & Einstellung.

Standout tracks: 2, 7, 8.

C-Earth (2003)