Relapse Records

It's nearly fifteen years since Matthew F. Jacobson founded Relapse Records in Aurora, Colorado. Since then the label has clawed its way to the pinnacle of the extreme music world - its roster had six entries in Alternative Press magazine's '25 Most Important Bands in Metal' poll.

Jacobson and partner Bill Yurkiewicz have maintained a vision of a label that exists for the fans - in the same way that other indie labels such as Touch and Go, SubPop or Earache have. They service their loyal patrons through strict quality control in the A&R department, by employing contemporary producers, by using superior packaging, and by nurturing a sense of community.
Over its tenure, Relapse has released music from the likes of Brutal Truth, Amorphis, Mortician, Unsane, Nile, and Neurosis, all pioneers in their field.

No surprise that Neurosis were one of the six acts chosen in the Alternative Press poll. For far longer than Relapse has existed the San Francisco act has poured its bleak, emotionally drenched sound upon the world. They, along with fellow poll winners Mastodon and The Dillinger Escape Plan, have vitalised Relapse's schedule with recent albums.

The Eye of Every Storm is the fourth Neurosis album produced by Steve Albini. This union seemed a little weird at first but now makes perfect sense, adding something to the aura of both parties. For Neurosis it means justice is done to their phenomenal sound, which has long been a thing of wonder in the extreme heavy music world.

Having shrugged off earlier hardcore punk and progressive death inclinations, the Bay Area sextet have focused their sound, introducing more contrast in their use of heaviness and ambient/melodic interludes. Album opener 'Burn' is a good example, resembling something a heavier HDU may have produced. The use of samples, Moog synthesizer and other non-traditional metal instrumentation adds unexpected layers that help build the intense atmosphere. Thus when the heaviness comes it has the impact of a falling girder.

Even better is the title track - all twelve minutes of it. Twisting through various phases, it's something of a mini symphony. This is heavy psychedelic music at its best, those electronic elements used to particularly good effect throughout the quieter passages. This is to be expected from a band whose alter ego, Tribes of Neurot, produces dark ambient companion works to the Neurosis albums.

Perhaps the album title is a reference to the relative calm in the eye of a storm, as these passages lull the listener into a false sense of security before the (welcome) hurricane strikes. Dual guitarist/vocalists Steve Von Till and Scott Kelly are in fine voice throughout, their multi-faceted playing also exemplary.

Kelly appears on a track on Mastodon's just released second full length Leviathan. And while his contribution is welcome, it's not like they need him. For anyone that's been disappointed by the metal scene in recent years, Mastodon are a band to believe in. Perhaps it's because of drummer/founder Brann Dailor's love of Iron Maiden, but they've got a 'real' vibe about them that infuses everything they do. It's there in the album art, in the overwhelming intensity of the music, and in the way they carry themselves. Just like their 2002 debut album Remission, Leviathan has a theme that's loosely based on the album art, in this case Moby Dick. This is threaded through tracks such as 'Sea Beast', 'Aqua Dementia', 'Island' and 'Joseph Merrick'.

Like their namesake (a prehistoric elephant) the Atlanta four piece stomp over all that they survey. They pack so many cool riffs into each track it's hard to keep up, covering ground from death metal to straight rock, thrash to classic seventies metal. Dailor's drumming is the point of difference though, so good that he’s renowned as one of the best metal drummers around. He's simply berserk, all over the kit all of the time - impossible to imagine he could pull it off live, but obviously he does. His double kick work, rolls, and sheer speed will blow you away.

Yet even that can't top The Dillinger Escape Plan. This New Jersey quintet are off the fuckin' planet, quite possibly the most insane fusion of ideas and talent currently terrorizing the rest of us earth bound creatures. In 1999 they shattered the metal world with their debut Calculating Infinity. Dubbed math-metal, their precision mix of jarring, constantly changing time signatures, insane speed, awesome virtuosity and total musical fearlessness polarised opinion.

Now with Miss Machine they've done it again. New vocalist Greg Puciato is far more versatile than predecessor Dimitri Minakakis, yowling like a more rabid Mike Patton. Comparisons with Patton's Mr Bungle aren't far off the mark, but with the schiz-o-meter set to kill. Ultimately there are no words to describe The Dillinger Escape Plan. This simply needs to be experienced to be believed. The guitarists are all over the fretboard, constantly churning through demented scales and riffs as if possessed, the drummer does new things with blast beats and syncopation, while the poor bassist attempts to keep up.

Between these acts there are three indispensable aspects of cutting edge heaviness. What else could you need?

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Top 5:
Meshuggah – I
Zombi – Cosmos
Coil – Musick to Play in the Dark Vol 2
The Prodigy – Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned
Killswitch Engage – The End of Heartache

Classic:
Black Flag – The Process of Weeding Out