Comply or Die "Sixes & Three suns"

 

  That review is a request from the band.

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The frenetic Irish stone-core squad is back and let's see how the unstoppable groove machine is going on since the Depths album.

Two songs would be enough to get an idea.

Sixes: the sound, the riffs, the nervous drumming: all you need to get a nice stiff-neck. Quite classically rocking piece, until 2:38, where you just open your ams to welcome a warm stoner part with the tapping and floor drums. Then you can go back to the head-banging and the shaking of your right leg, straight to the end of the song.

Verdict: a good old Comply or Die piece, made of the power and the energy I already praised and happily find again.

Three suns: a shorter one, with a nice intro, and lots of vocal. If the previous one led me to known territories, this one was a bit more difficult to enter. I am not a fan of the singing. In Depths, I didn't mind it, because it was never a central part of the songs. In Three suns, it is unavoidable, and I think it is too much for me. I also had a problem first with the small guitar solo at 1:41. I hate guitar soli, so I trained my brain gets nasty as soon as my ears come across anything that sounds like a solo (even remotely). But in this case, I soon discovered I had over-reacted: what I (and probably no one else) would call the solo part is preceded by the kind of greasy bass line I will never get tired of, the real solo only lasts 10 seconds and it is quickly drowned in a sonic mayhem so cool that I ended up looking for that part.

Verdict: I suppose this song may be more representative of the change in their sound announced in the communication leaflet that goes with the single. If I got used to it this time, I am not sure I would stand an entire album like that: too much vocals for me, and I found it sounded a bit too clean.

Comply or Die is slowly drifting from the sludge bank of the Wishkah to some Craggy Island costs. I enjoyed the trip, and if you like wet stoner rock made by hyperactive old children, check the single.

And this.

And this.

the bandcamp.

the site.

Objectivy is not a crime:

Belfast Metalheads reunited

Comply or Die "Depths"

I found them on the Savour your Scene compilation. Among the usual metallic variations around, under, over hardcore, their sound was so different I had to stop and check my mp3 to remember the name.
Unlike their label companions, they don't seem to explore the darkest corners of the human deviant soul, but they rather start directly with a good square efficient riff, and then a dirty bass line, and then that goofy voice that reminded me (I don't really know why) the first Dog Eat Dog album. I imagined them with XXL shorts and reverse caps, jumping all around and singing about having fun. But the more closely I listenend to the song, the less it sounded like Dog Eat Dog, or even like hardcore.
The song is a bit longer than usual, and the length doesn't serve as an excuse for experimenting calmer spacy moments to make your mind looking for god, harmony or your lighter. Just riff, just big bass, and the voice ends up shutting up to let the instrumental fury goes on, and on, and before you even notice it, you are shaking your head. Past the 3rd minute you are hooked, don't deny it, and what goes after is just pure pleasure: a break, that incredible bass sound, a bit of larsen, and the battery is back, like pam-pam-pam-pam to the conclusion of the song.
It is called "Motives", and it lead me directly to their bandcamp.
Same recipe, same effects: I used to listen to it while typing school shit, and I sistematically ended up banging my head against my screen. So I stopped typing, and I tried to understand.
Extended songs (from 3 to 12 minutes), killer riffs, toying song structures, really good clean-yet-dirty sound... reminded me of the desert, the generator, the dawns drowned in pot, mushrooms and beer vapours.That would be the stoner part of it. But no mysticism. At all (even if the "D.M.T." intro could let you think of the contrary). Full level energy, can't stop, won't stop. When the music slows down (like in the beginning of "Vermin"), it is only to consciously build the next attack. That would be the hardcore part, I suppose.

I first concluded they were the perfect mixture of stoner with hardcore. But that's even simpler: it is not a mixture, nor any new variation around well-defined musical forms. It is just... rock'n roll, man! It reminds me of Black Sabbath with more muscles, or a more rainy Kyuss. But more than influences, what you hear when listening to "Depths" is the plain simple pleasure to play loud and fast. And it is done so sincerely that you can't help but bang your head and smile. No fronts, no tricks, no soap box politics, no guns, just blunts, they kick this just for fun.

The website.
The music.
The reviews: MetalIreland / AyeTunes / NoiseAddiction / etc.

PS: I missed the grunge part of the comparison, but it does make sense too.
PS: their song on the Mudbitch/Comply or Die live split is just crazy.