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Castle and Back When…

Castle - Electric WolvesOh yeah. "Electric Wolves" is the debut EP from Castle on Init Records—dropping a mere three tracks of pulsing, dissonant Neurosis-via-earlier-Isis poundings in about 19 minutes. This is great shit, too. Well recorded, well played, and well written—offering up a focused amalgam of straightforward crushing walls of power chords and harsh yells, discordant melodies, and subtly noisier undercurrents, among other attributes. It's a pretty quick listen, even considering that each track runs five to seven minutes, so there's not a great deal to say here, but I'm definitely left wanting more. I really dig the bleakness of the lyrics as well:

Reach into the heavenly openness. Swallow my stride. I am the weak follower. No point can be made when there's no one left to follow. We are already dead. Sow, reap, repeat. Better to start with what will already be. Stabbed, wounded, and waiting in hell. This is my light, this is your day. I will be your shadow of chagrin.

Castle "Violate"

This shit's limited to 500 copies and is only $6 straight from the label, so pick one up if you're a fan of the track:

@ Init Records






Back When - In the PresenceAlso new from Init Records is the "In the Presence" CD from Back When, which collects an assortment of tracks that provide insight into the band's progression from the relatively standard chaotic, noisy metalcore of their earliest EP to the sludgier and more artistic direction explored from the "We Sang As Ghosts" full-length to the present. Included are songs from the "Swords Against the Father" 7" and the split 7" with The Setup, as well as an unreleased demo, remix, and Jerome's Dream cover. The result is a series of two- to three-minute fits where dense rhythms and droning clean passages start to seep in amidst frantically acerbic jumbles of riffs and shouting/screaming—until said acerbic characteristics start to dissipate and compositions begin to top five to seven minutes of much more dynamically fluid transitions and emotionally moving atmospheres. I'm still not a particular fan of Back When's earlier material, but the growth they've exhibited since then is extremely impressive, admirable, and promising; so this disc is a great document of that growth and very clearly demonstrates just how far they've come. I'm very much looking forward to hearing some of their forthcoming new material...

Back When "Fraud of Scribes"

This is another cheap one at $8 from the label, so make the grab if this is your thing:

@ Init Records

Comments

  1. both these bands are great. init records never ceases to amaze me. bak when are on of my favorites. castle is not too shabby either.

    11.8.2006 | By chris

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