1993 Mercury Records

I almost don’t know how to describe the music on this disc, which makes it a natural for the Sonic Abyss.   You’ll find elements of Ministry-style industrial sounds, glam, metal, dance, hair-band melodicisms (I just HAD to use that word), blues, acoustic, grunge, Zappa and flat-out rock.

Strange that this disc didn’t find a wider audience given that it came out smack-dab in the middle of a time when alternative rock was struggling to find an identity and darn near anything unknown qualified as “alternative.”  I saw them at the Varsity Theatre in Baton Rouge, LA on the tour for this album back in the 90’s.  Can’t remember for the life of me who they opened for, but I remember them being very very good live and I was floored at how indifferent the crowd seemed to be.

So many elements within the music of the same band (much less on one CD) make this one hard to classify.   It definitely rocks, kicking off with the industrial come metal sounds of Prepare Yourself! and going directly into the grunge meets glam jam of Segue.

The disc would sound like a band in search of an identity if the whole thing didn’t sound so dead-on deliberate.  No, I think this was a band in love with music who saw no reason these influences couldn’t come together and live in harmony.   The pulsing, funky and danceable Do You Need Some? then follows suit with heavy guitars and a tight dance groove to the fore.  Some tasty wah guitar in there, too.

Mixed in with the electronicisms (yeah…I don’t even know if it’s a real word) of the aforementioned tunes is the totally-steeped-in-rock-but-still-futuristic sounding Daisy Chain, which on one hand sticks out but on the other hand totally fits.   From there, we go right into perhaps my fave riff and song on this disc, I Am.   Again, totally tight and totally deliberate, while 40 Days sounds like it must have been a blast to play live.

Violent Dream has one of coolest and most menacing keyboard sounds to cross these ear drums and was the song that originally drew me into this CD.  Guitars are biting, heavy and tight and not even the Europe-cheesy keyboards (sorry…it makes me cringe a little) at the end of the choruses can ruin it.    And finally, there’s It’s What I Want, which really defies description in its upbeat catchiness and (I believe deliberate) campiness.   Super cool bass line on this one and Zappa-esque eclecticisms galore.

Don’t know what else to say except buy this sucker online, where you can find it for stupid-low prices.  I paid full-price for mine back in 1993 and I ain’t complaining.

Rating:  4.5 out of 5

To celebrate Stick guitarist Mike Tobin’s recent visit to The Sonic Abyss (thanks bro…you’re always welcome here!), this week’s WAV comes from Lawrence, Kansas’ own Stick with “No Groovy.”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find an actual video for this song, but hey…it still rocks and it’s a nice way to kick off your week! I hope you enjoy it…Abysmally, of course. Cheers!

2003 Hollywood Records

This disc still sounds fresh 6 years after its initial release.   No small feat for any CD, and I can’t believe I didn’t give it more of a chance back then (whatwith my obsession with opening track “All We Know”).

“All We Know” is just an incredible song to open the album with, Greek bouzouki sound stylings showing their influence right off the bat.  The guitar sound is heavy and very nu-metal sounding, while the overall sense of style and dynamic on the CD is much more diverse.

The aforementioned Greek bouzouki influences are all over this disc not just in the instrumentation in places but in the overall effect on melody.    Though they sound nothing like Sepultura, the Greek influence here is prevalent much the same way as on Sepultura’s seminal Roots album.

“All We Know” is almost a “10 Most Truly Abysmal” song for me.   Just a dynamic breath of fresh air and it should have been their first single.  “Someday” and “Dead Generation” are both good songs but they’re not singles, though they were released as such.  Why “Even Though It’s Over” wasn’t released as a single, I’ll never know.  I can’t get that song (especially the chorus) out of my head.

“You Can’t Look Away” is another stellar track that once again shows a band in uncanny command of dynamics in their music (an amazing track, really), while “Media” is a fast and aggressive blast of energy.   Extra kudos to lead throat Mike Love  for some killer diversity in his singing style.

So often with younger bands, dynamics sound forced rather than letting them happen naturally.  With Sloth, it sounds natural and closing track “Billygoat” is a great example of their command of both dynamics and melody.   Lyrics at times venture too close to trite for my taste, but thankfully never totally give in.   Probably just a matter of personal taste.

A decidedly grey mood, this disc triumphs due to a prevalence of silver linings…and you’ve just got to admire their work ethic.  I mean, they got their recording deal because they followed the Warped Tour in their van with their equipment and played for people in the parking lot before the actual Warped show started.

They wanted it…and you can hear it in their music.   Will someone please tell me what ever happened to these guys?  It just ain’t fair.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

CLICK HERE TO BUY SLOTH’S DEAD GENERATION CD THROUGH AMAZON.COM

Being a sucker for good power-pop, I always loved this band. Very very short lived, but man they had some great songs. Saw them on the Spilt Milk tour at the Varsity in Baton Rouge back in the day and they were a great live band. From San Francisco, CA (retroactively)…it’s Jellyfish! Enjoy Abysmally…

Click Here to watch and listen to Jellyfish – New Mistake.

You really should own this album if you don’t already. And you just have to dig a band with gnomes in their video. These guys are becoming more and more well gnome. Enjoy Abysmally…and thanks to The DMC for letting me know about this vid.

And thank you Jared Champion for spreading the word of the Abyss. I have no choice but to award you an honorary doctorate. In the Abyss you will heretofore beknownst as Dr. Jared “Jaro” Champion, D.A.

This week’s WAV comes courtesy of Birmingham, AL rockers Brother Cane.

At a time (i.e. the 1990’s) when alternative and grunge were king, these guys had the guts to serve up a hot slab of home cooked rock n roll. Sounds just as great today as it did back then…maybe even better.

The soul and energy in this song is just off the hook…I still have the glass slide lead singer/guitarist Damon Johnson gave to me when they were touring the Seeds CD. As always, Enjoy Abysmally…

CLICK HERE TO BUY BROTHER CANE MUSIC THROUGH AMAZON.COM

1993 Arista Records

Punishing your sorry woofers with a tight and punchy sound somewheres between Stone Temple Pilots and Gruntruck (via Inside Yours, albeit with a less watery sound), Stick delivers a disc that simply stands the test of time.  Even better than some of their better known contemporaries at the time.

Heavy Bag was one of those discs I remember from back in my days at 100.7FM The Tiger in Baton Rouge, but I never got to know it well until recently…16 years after the fact.  I remember Dave “Dave In The Dark” Sorge telling me what a cool disc it was and adding lead single “No Groovy” to our playlist.  For some reason, I never got around to listening to it fully back then.

Listening to it on my MP3 player on the way to work for the past 3 days, I find myself discovering quite the sleeper disc here.   Choruses cook with an insistant slow burn rather than boiling over immediately, making this a disc that is very conducive to repeated listens repeated listens repeated listens repeated listens.

Leadoff  track “Grind,” while being okay, is the track I find to be the weak link.  From there, it’s on to the aforementioned infectious “No Groovy,” which will grab you and grow on you more each time you listen.

The tracks that really drew me into this disc, though are personal fave  “Stoning” (which many thought would have made a better single than “No Groovy”), “Fuel” and “Conditional,” each with those choruses that work in a more subtle way…more mantra-esque than sing-along and always inviting you to keep coming back for another good listen.

And that’s the beauty of Heavy Bag, as “Disposable,” “Zero” and closer “Taught To Lose” all are worth your time and ultimately make this one of those discs you can just put on and let it play.    Some have compared this lot to Helmet or Korn; however, the vocals are more melodic a la Scott Weiland and the riffs aren’t as broken or stacatto.   See the description in the first paragraph.

The hooks are many, simmering their way into a permanent spot in your conscience, the guitar sound is wet, the grooves are tight and it just plain works.

My only complaint here is for brevity, the whole smear clocking in at 38 minutes and some-odd seconds.   Small complaint for an album from the grunge age that proudly stands the test of time, still sounding strangely fresh yet familiar at the same time.

Timeless quality to the sound and the songs…and you can find it for just ridiculously cheap prices online ($2 – $3), though it’s well worth full price.

Rating:  4 out of 5

CLICK HERE TO BUY HEAVY BAG THROUGH AMAZON.COM

This Canuck band made a brief splash in the US here in 1981 – 1982 with the Rupert Hine produced album Worlds Apart, and this week’s WAV is one of the first videos ever to be featured on MTV when it was a brand new video music channel.

I remember a radio station in Lafayette, LA back in the early 80’s called KSMB-FM. For about 2 years it might have been my favorite radio station ever. Whenever I was home sick from school, I had that station playing all day and in any given hour you’d hear KISS, Cindy Lauper, Ozzy Osbourne, Stevie Nicks, Police, Accept, Michael Jackson (Thriller was brand new), Yes, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith…I’ve never heard another station like it. It was all over the place and somehow it worked. That is where I first heard this song, and oddly enough I never saw the video on MTV myself back in the day.

Great song…And don’t it look soooooooooo 80’s?! And what’s up with singer Michael Sadler’s clothes. Oh yeah…it was the 80’s!

CLICK HERE TO BUY WORLDS APART AND OTHER SAGA MUSIC THROUGH AMAZON.COM

I recently rediscovered just how good this band is. I saw them back in 1998 at the Bronco Bowl in Dallas, TX when I was working for 93.3fm The Zone (now 93.3 The Bone). I found this live video of them performing their song Bittersweet on YouTube. Not even the crowd noise can hide what a great live band they are…to this day.

Will someone please tell me why these guys weren’t bigger?

CLICK HERE TO BUY BIG HEAD TODD & THE MONSTERS MUSIC THROUGH AMAZON.COM

And here it is!!!   This is the long-awaited list of the Top 10 Most Truly Abysmal Band Names…band names that are cool, funny, clever, crazy or whatever, as long as they’re memorable but not a household name.

Take a look, have a laugh and click on the links…you just might find your new favorite band!

1. Tricky Woo – Because I don’t know what the hell it means…and it makes me laugh!  Thanks to my bro Paul Ledoux for introducing me to this band.

2. Mudhoney – Just gotta love a grunge band name taken from a Russ Meyer film.  It actually is a good descriptive for the gooey, sludgey sounds the band still makes to this day.  Great call, Darren.

3. Ned’s Atomic Dustbin – The name just makes me smile.  I don’t even know exactly why…it just sounds cool.  Thanks for the suggestion, Greggo!

4. Celtic Frost – One of my all-time favorite band names…just really cool with a real mystique about it.

5. MC 900 Ft Jesus – Originally a team with DJ Zero (now out of the music biz since 1995), I’ve always thought this was the most OTT rap name ever.  The name was taken from a sermon in which Oral Roberts claimed that he had received a vision of a 900 foot tall Jesus, who commanded him to build a hospital on the campus of Oral Roberts University.

6. Cage the Elephant – Because it’s unique…and SO open to interpretation.  I  hope they’re around for a long time.

7. Gruntruck – I remember seeing these guys open for Circus of Power (another cool name) at the Varsity Theatre in Baton Rouge, LA back in ‘95 (calling Paul Ledoux!).   Just a cool sounding name that also describes their sound quite well.  This inclusion dedicated to lead vocalist/guitarist Ben McMillan, who died from diabetes on January 26, 2008.

8. Barkmarket – Another one that I love because it makes me crack a smile. Totally fun band name and quite the radical sound to go with it.

9. Skinny Puppy – There really is nothing more to say.  I mean really…   Thanks Darren for reminding me of one of my fave band names from my college days.

10. World Famous Nobodies – Maybe I’m biased ‘cuz it’s the band I’m in, but when my bro Paul Ledoux came up with this name I thought it was the coolest name I ever heard. And it never fails to make me crack a smile to this day.

11. The Well Hungarians – I know nothing about this band except that they’re a country band…and I don’t care.  I just can’t stop laughing.  As you’re reading this, I’m probably still laughing.  It’s your fault, Greggo!

Honorable Mention: Melvins, That Petrol Emotion, Curve, Swell, Amorphis, Clutch, Toadies, Atomic Bitchwax, Killer Dwarfs, Kyuss, Revolting Cocks, Liquid Jelly Monkey Love, Mercyful Fate, Monster Magnet, Strapping Young Lad, Morphine, Trouble, Obituary (THE perfect death-metal band name), Machines of Loving Grace, Spot, Ween, Zen Engine, Ancient Chinese Penis, Prong, Missing Persons, Camper Van Beethoven, Circus of Power, Butthole Surfers, Green Jello, Afghan Whigs, Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, Jodie Foster’s Army, Meat Puppets, Jimmy’s Chicken Shack, Winona Riders, Big Audio Dynamite, Chumbawamba, Snot, Dead Kennedys, Lard, 1000 Homo DJ’s, Pig Face.

Special thanks to Greg “Greggo” Liebrand and Darren “Darro” Cochran for some truly Abysmal recommendations.