COME TO GRIEF 12″ EP

COME TO GRIEF • Pray For The End 12” EP

Grievance Records #4

2020

I’ve been following everything Terry Savastano has done since I fell deeply in love with his band Disrupt back in the early 90’s. Disrupt played furiously fast hardcore and I was lucky enough to see them at least 4-5 times. His next band Grief played the opposite of fast and they went on to be one of the innovators of East Coast Doom metal. I once saw them open for Man Is The Bastard and I recall their entire set consisted of one Sabbath song that was slowed down to almost nothingness. I was once again hooked to another Terry band. At any rate if you don’t know… Grief broke up in 2001. Terry got the band back together for a few reunions, but in 2014 with the original drummer on board they started playing gigs under the name Come To Grief (yes it’s a Grief LP title). They just started from scratch and did a new band with new records. It’s exactly what you’d expect if you followed Grief.  Slow, droned out harshness that just drops to the depths of someplace where most people don’t want to be. Me… sometimes I like being there. This is the band’s newest release, and features three beasts that just stay in the heavy lane. It’s perfect for the Covid-19 times we are living in. Terry Savastano for President! (NW)

Hit me up on Instagram if you want to send me your release for review at: nate_gloom

___________________________________________________________________

Justin Dratson: JD   Nate Wilson: NW   Matt Average: MA

UNITED MUTATION • Dark Self Image LP

Arctic (2018)

Arctic  2018

Director: Joe Penna

Starring:  Mads Mikkelsen

Great Transfer

Amazon Prime

Yup, I’m reviewing another current film.  This one was a no brainer for me because Mads Mikkelsen is one of my favorite living and working actors at the moment (second only to the almighty Clint Eastwood).  This film didn’t really have much appeal to me at all, besides it staring Mads Mikkelsen.  That is before I viewed it.  The story is that of your basic survival /rescue flick.  A lone man survives a plane crash in the middle of the Arctic, then sets up a make shift camp in what remains of the airplane’s wreckage.  He has to fight the elements of the extreme cold and figure out a way to survive.  There is barely any dialog at all for most of the film… that is until another crash happens near the camp, and he has a newly injured guest who is unconscious and almost dead.  Mads needs to make decisions if he wants to survive and save the newly found companion.  This was a really cool film that supposedly was shot in Iceland.  

I didn’t know anything about the director until viewing the movie and wondering who he was and if there was anything else he had directed that I could watch.  Penna is from Brazil and apparently started his career in film by having a Youtube channel that had 3 million subscribers.  (NW)

________________________________________________________________________

Nate Wilson: NW  Devon Cahill: DC  Matt Average: MA

BLACK FLY (2014)

BLACK FLY (2014)

Written and directed by Jason Bourque

Starring: Matthew MacCaull, Dakota Daulby, and Christie Burke

Streamed on Amazon Prime

Great transfer

This was an awesome little independent film that had me interested from the moment I started watching it.  The first scene takes place in a trailer park, and the main character is a teenage boy wearing a DOA shirt.  It’s obvious he’s been molested by his uncle who has been confronted and has now beat the kid silly.  This kid takes off to live with his older redneck brother, who still lives in the house that they grew up in on a remote island somewhere in Canada.  The parents of the brothers are no longer alive due to an accident, and suicide.   

At any rate things start off okay with the brothers living together along with the older brothers girlfriend.  The older brother soon becomes paranoid, unhinged, filled with jealousy and drunken rage in which much violence occurs. 

This thriller is dark and very atmospheric.  There is a cool build up with tons of growing tension that work toward the climax of the film.  After watching this movie I started to look into other films the director made over the years. This one seems to be his best work, I loved everything about it.  The battle at the end is glorious.  (NW)

________________________________________________________________________

Nate Wilson: NW  Devon Cahill: DC  Matt Average: MA

THE CAPTAIN (2018)

THE CAPTAIN (Der Hauptmann) 2018

Written & Directed By Robert Schwentke

Starring: Max Hubacher

Showtime On Demand

Great Transfer

This film was surprisingly awesome.  Its a recent movie shot in stark black and white and all in German. The story takes place two weeks before the end of World War ll in 1945 Germany.

The main character is a German private who has deserted from his troop.  He’s on the run and unsuccessfully tries to loot because he is starving and cold.  While on the run he comes across an abandoned army vehicle with a suitcase of belongings and a Nazi captain’s uniform.  The captain is nowhere to be found.  The private cleans up, and puts on the uniform.  Minutes later another low ranking German soldier appears (its obvious he is a deserter as well).  The new “Captain” takes on the grunt as his driver and later on runs into other German soldiers who are also obvious deserters.  He tricks them all into following him into a “secret mission” for Hitler as their troop commander.  This new “Captain” starts to emulate those he feared and ran from.  He seems to have gone completely crazy.  

Through many bizarre twists & turns the “Captain” and his fellow crew of deserters end up at a prison camp for looters, criminals and other German deserters.  What follows is brutal and unthinkable.

This is beautifully filmed. The camera work is great, the acting is superb, and the story/plot are that of something I never could have imagined happening.  Supposedly this is based on a true story.  War is hell, and his film proves it.  (NW)

________________________________________________________________________

Nate Wilson: NW  Devon Cahill: DC  Matt Average: MA

MUTILATED TONGUE Fuel the Flame LP

MUTILATED TONGUE – Fuel The Flame LP (2019)

Armageddon Records

I’m pretty out of touch with what has been happening in the DIY hardcore/punk scene for a few years now.  I can tell you this though..this shit is straight up fucking refreshingly awesome.  Total C.O.C. Animosity worship vox happening here…It’s blatant, and great!  Who doesn’t love Mike Dean 80s era Corrosion Of Conformity?

I  mean almost everything about this record is godly, and almost perfect (I’ll get into the almost perfect part later).  

The musicianship on this is stellar, and you can tell when dropping the needle onto the wax that these folks are vets.  The drums don’t stop pounding, this dude is able to do it all.  Heavy toms, fast beats, slow beats all caught on a totally raw but pro recording.  It almost makes me wish I lived in Oakland to take some drum lessons from this hero (I said almost).  The song writing is ferociously brilliant.  I love the short little melodic Discharge guitar leads that are thrown in.  This record flys by and is almost over as soon as it starts.  

It is hard to imagine that this can be pulled off live due to the fact that they are a three piece, and the guitarist sings.  Thats always a tough one to do.  Again though, these folks are vets, and they are probably pulling it off.  

I mentioned “almost perfect” at the beginning of this review. Well the almost for me is the band name… It has had me standoffish about whether this could be good from the moment I heard of them. Guess what? After three listens now, I’m starting to warm up to the name a little. I’d love to know the origin of it or what it really means to the people involved. Not a band shirt I could wear to pick up my daughter from school. I guess thats the point though, right?

I’m not going to get into all the ex bands that this group have on their resume. The music speaks for itself and really doesn’t need that hype. Just go buy this and support the people involved in making this happen. (NW)

___________________________________________________________________

Justin Dratson: JD   Nate Wilson: NW   Matt Average: MA

THE MISSOURI BREAKS (1976)

THE MISSOURI BREAKS (1976)

Director: Arthur Penn

Staring: Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, Harry Dean Stanton, Randy Quaid

Amazon Prime

Great transfer (shit fucking movie)

I can’t believe I made it through this film.  There were so many times I just wanted to turn it off, but for some reason I felt obligated to finish it (Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde).  This was painfully agonizing to watch and when it was over I felt like it was a complete waste of two hours.  I mean I love Westerns, and I thought this was going to be a classic.  The attempt at humor or slapstick comedy was terrible and doesn’t hold up (It probably was never funny).  The music was almost enough on its own for me to kill my TV.   I seriously thought that at some point either Jack Nicholson, or Marlon Brando might suddenly save things, but obviously neither of them ever did.  The only great acting in this film was done by Harry Dean Stanton (Repo Man).  Marlon Brando’s character was super annoying and from the moment he appeared on the screen I wanted to see him die.  Unfortunately that took two hours to happen.  

I mean Christ… throw a dog a bone or something…at least give me some nudity or some sick violence. 

I’m not even going to get into the plot here.  Nobody should waste their time on this over-rated garbage.  (NW)

________________________________________________________________________

Nate Wilson: NW  Devon Cahill: DC  Heath Row: HR  Matt Average: MA

SLEEP Live at Third Man 4 x 12″ box set

Sleep – Live At Third Man Records 4×12” Box Set

Released in March of 2019

Third Man Records

For those living under a rock for the last couple of decades Sleep is a three piece stoner rock/doom band who worship the almighty Black Sabbath.   I, like many folks, am a huge fan, and pretty much like and own their entire discography.  

From the get go upon hearing of this release I some how got it in my head deciding that I wasn’t going to order/buy this because it was ridiculously expensive and gimmicky (a club edition).  It seemed like a cash grab to me.  From the moment I heard about it I just wanted to hate it.  Four records, all different colored wax (Blue, Green, Purple, and Orange).  Locked grooves… packaged in a box jacket,  live songs recorded at Jack White’s venue in Nashville.  It all just seemed like utter nonsense.  Like a RSD product that nobody needs.  

Well I did not buy it as I previously said but I managed to get a copy to review.  I immediately fell in love with it.  This, of course, after a build up of me wanting to hate it for months and months.  I went into this thinking it was going to somehow suck.  It doesn’t suck, its very well done.

The reality is that it’s so beautifully put together that its hard not to just spend time looking at every aspect of the packaging and being mesmerized by the quality of the product as the music pounds through your speakers.  

The recording is straight up dope.  I’ve seen them live and this sounds like being in a room with them while they mosey through their set.  I cranked this while doing late night mailorder, and immediately had my wife came down stairs and reminded me that we had a sleeping baby in the house.  Uh-oh!!  

The sound quality is killer.  It was recorded in front of a bunch of dirt heads.  They used a direct-to-acetate system and then mixed/mastered in real-time.  I don’t fully understand what all that means, but it is pretty insane sounding.  

At any rate I don’t think this is a necessary part of their discography that one needs to own.  After a few listens I’d guess I’d become fairly lazy with being able to get the right records back into the right sleeves, and into the box.  It seems like a lot of work to basically listen to one or two songs per side, flip it over and then go through the same process over again through all 4 records.  

The tunes…

A
Leagues Beneath 

B
Dopesmoker (Part One) 

C1
Dopesmoker (Part Two) 

C2
Holy Mountain 

D1
The Clarity 

D2
Aquarian 

E
Sonic Titan 

F1
Marijuanaut’s Theme 

F2
Giza Butler 

G1
The Botanist 

G2
Dragonaut

(NW)

___________________________________________________________________

Justin Dratson: JD   Nate Wilson: NW   Matt Average: MA

THE EYES OF LAURA MARS (1978)

THE EYES OF LAURA MARS (1978)

Director: Irvin Kershner

Starring: Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones,  Brad Dourif

Viewed On Amazon Prime

Great Transfer

Well I was hoping that this was going to be a terrifying movie.  It was indeed a terrifyingly corny movie.  Faye Dunaway plays Laura Mars, a fashion photographer, who for some reason has the ability to see the murders of her friends and colleagues as they are happening in NYC.  A very young Tommy Lee Jones plays a cop who is investigating the slaughters.  The murderer uses a ice pick to the eye to pick off the victims.  Unfortunately its not gruesome, or even scary.  It blows my mind that two years later the director would direct The Empire Strikes Back.  

My buddy Mark told me that apparently John Carpenter was the original writer, and was kicked off of the film.  Apparently he wrote the original screenplay but it underwent heavy rewrites (mainly by (David Zelag Goodman) because they didn’t trust him.  As Mark said “Imagine if he got to make the film he envisioned?”  Mark is probably right.  This predates Halloween.  All he’d done up until then was Dark Star and Assault On Precinct 13.  I can honestly say the best thing about this is a scene where Faye is driving around frantically in a fucking Pacer. A Pacer!! I got a chuckle out of that.  (NW)

PS: The theme song is horrid.  

________________________________________________________________________

Nate Wilson: NW  Devon Cahill: DC  Heath Row: HR  Matt Average: MA

THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT (1974)

THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT (1974)

Directed and Written by Michael Cimino

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy,  Geoffrey Lewis

Viewed on Netflix, Great transfer

“Drop Your Cocks and reach for your socks”

“Man, I’m going crazy.  That drives me wild.  She just does something to me”

Man this is such a cool 1970’s flick.  Tons of action, cool old cars (car chases), and strange 70’s dark humor.  This is Cimino’s directing debut (he was only 35 when he made this one).  Prior to this he’d only ever written Silent Running and Magnum Force.  

Clint is by far my all-time favorite actor.  His filmography to me is simply incredible.  In this film it seems he’s trying to break his many years of being typecast. 

 This is known to many as a “buddy” movie.  The story is that of ex bank robber (Clint) who mistakenly runs into a petty loser thief (Jeff Bridges).  The two travel with one another through the West and quickly become fond of one another.  After a run in with his ex bank robbing gang (who are after him and a supposed stash of cash) Clint gets the old gang back together (plus the petty thief loser) for one last heist.  Of course things don’t go as planned.  George Kennedy (Red), and Geoffrey Lewis (Goody) are hilariously dumb, and brutal and Kennedy might steal the entire show.  Its easily his best work.  

Jeff Bridges clothes in this are amazingly atrocious.  Watch this now.  (NW)

__________________________________________________________

NW: Nate Wilson    DC: Devon Cahill   HR: Heath Row   MA: Matt Average