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Tag Archives: Yakuza
INTERVIEW: Bruce Lamont of Yakuza Breaks Down His “Sutra” Album and The Economics of Tribute Bands
Ghost Cult caught up with Bruce Lamont of the long-running Chicago-based avant-guard Doom Metal band Yakuza! Their new album “Sutra” was recently released via Svart Records, and we chatted with Bruce all about the album, the current lineup’s contributions as a team, Bruce’s evolving approach to saxophone and vocals, his lucrative other gig in the Led Zeppelin tribute band Led Zeppelin 2, vinyl releases, and much more! Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Yakuza – Sutra
This experimental Chicago band has been toying with the dark sonic corners for over twenty years. It’s been eleven of those years since we have had a new album from Yakuza, and it is good to dive back into their land of twisted shadows. The focus has shifted to a more deliberate brand of heavy, that places them not far from the sonic zip code of older Mastodon. The differences are fewer guitar pyrotechnics and a much darker trajectory than the Atlanta progsters. Bruce Lamont’s baritone moan carries a hint of anger as the opening track is framed with dissonance.
Lord Mantis New Music Video for “Santa Muerte” Video; Universal Death Church LP Out Now
Extreme metal band Lord Mantis has shared their new video for their song ‘Santa Muerte’, off of their recent Universal Death Church album, released last fall via Profound Lore Records. Universal Death Church was produced by Sanford Parker, who provides synth work to the album. The album also features guest performances by Dylan O’Toole of Indian, Dallas Thomas of Pelican, and Bruce Lamont of Yakuza, and is completed with artwork and design by VENIEN. The video for ‘Santa Muerte’ was created by Chariot Of Black Moth and you should watch it right now!Continue reading
FESTIVAL PREVIEW: Psycho Las Vegas 2019
Ghost Cult is once again honored to be part of Psycho Las Vegas, a goddam heavy metal casino/beach party extravaganza if there ever was one. The filth of Rock, Sludge, Doom, Trad, Hardcore, Prog, and Stoner Metal genres and the glitz of Vegas- baby, all rolled into one. Headlined by Original Misfits, Opeth, Electric Wizard, Corrosion of Conformity, Bad Religion, YOB, Lucifer, High on Fire, GsY!BE, Clutch, Carcass, Triumph of Death, Graveyard, ASG, Primitive Man, Deafheaven, Kadavar, Vio-Lence, Soft Kill, Andrew W.K., Tomb Mold, Power Trip, Full of Hell, and a ton more bands, it promises to be a rager. Sadly, Oranssi Pazuzu and Rotting Christ have dropped out. Every band is carefully curated and picked, so try to see them all if you can. If you can’t get set with the full lineup, and our “must not miss list” picks for each day!Continue reading
Audio: Bloodiest Stream Their New Album In Full, Out This Friday
Chicago post-metal band Bloodiest, which counts Bruce Lamont of Yakuza in its lineup are streaming their entire self-titled new album, ahead of their release this Friday from Relapse Records. The album was produced by Sanford Parker (Corrections House, Minsk). You can hear the stream at this link or below:
http://soundcloud.com/relapserecords/sets/bloodiest-bloodiest/s-51Wlh
The band will embark on a short tour this March with Electric Hawk and Sweet Cobra.
Mar 03: UFO Factory – Detroit, MI
Mar 04: The Hard Luck -Toronto, ON
Mar 05: Gorham Brothers Music – Syracuse, NY
Mar 06: Bar Le Ritz – Montreal, QC
Mar 07: St. Vitus – Brooklyn, NY
Mar 08: Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA
Mar 11: Now That’s Class – Cleveland, OH
Mar 12: Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL
Bloodiest is:
Bruce Lamont – Vocals
Cayce Key – Drums
Tony Lazzara – Guitar
Eric Chaleff – Guitar
Colin Dekuiper – Bass
Nandini Khaund – Piano/Synth
Pre-order CD/LP/Digital via Relapse: http://bit.ly/BloodiestPreOrder
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On The Road… with Scott Kelly and Bruce Lamont
Two of the leading lights of underground metal, Scott Kelly and Bruce Lamont have teamed up for a tour where they two continue to mine the fertile ground they have laid together in their band Corrections House, their solo material in several guises, and their work in crucial bands such as Neurosis and Yakuza respectively. Performing both separately and together, these collaborators meld their minds and muses together to make some truly challenging and rewarding songs. On this night they played selections from their own albums, a Corrections House song and a cover (‘Cortez the Killer’ by Neil Young. Joined by openers Jim Healy and Keith Bennett (Panzerbastard), the night of music was anything but mellow, despite the acoustic guitars. Hillarie Jason captured the action at The Middle East Nite Club for Ghost Cult.
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Corrections House – Know How To Carry A Whip
Know How To Carry A Whip is Corrections House‘s second album following on from 2013’s unique Last City Zero (both Neurot). Colder, Harder, Bleaker than before, Know How To Carry A Whip takes that what they did before and refines it.
A potent mix of clashing styles hung together with a framework of pounding industrial beats and loops, punctuated with mechanical clanking courtesy of Sanford Parker, leave the listener on the back foot as the rhythm travels down the off-beaten track. This mechanical cacophony brings to mind the factory sounds of the industrial English midlands which famously inspired Black Sabbath and continued with bands like Godflesh of which this shares a sense of aesthetics.
Layers are hammered together disjointedly with crushing and oppressive riffs courtesy of Scott Kelly (Neurosis) and Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), which feels like you could imagine Dälek covering Neurosis’ Through Silver In Blood (Relapse) would sound like, whilst also having a similar feel to DHG in the way the styles are shoved together.
Added to this potent mix, Mikey IX Williams (Eyehategod) puts in one of his finest performances to date with his distinctive lyrics and poetry that’s both persuasive and abrasive, a dystopian flow of decadent imagery and sharp-witted wordplay as evidenced on song titles such as ‘Crossing My One Good Finger’ and ‘I Was Never Any Good At Meth’ delivered with fervour of a manic street preacher who’s doing it for his own amusement rather than to save anyone in particular.
This is most notable on the tracks ‘Superglued Tooth’ and ‘Hopeless Moronic’ which contains some Mikey’s more memorable lines, delivered with cold calculated fury and working in tandem with Scott Kelly‘s intoned incantations and reverberating roars: layer upon oppressive layer of jarring discordance and a cold machine-like calculation make this album a step up from their first album.
‘When Push Comes to Shank’ shows more than a smidgen of influence from Joy Division, but with even more despair: love won’t tear you apart it’ll leave you in an alley missing a kidney. The album finishes on the lengthy ‘Burn The Witness’ a bleak meditation on the industrial world grinding to a halt and tearing itself apart with a fury and efficiency, machines drown in a black sludge of despair.
Know How To Carry A Whip sounds like a soundtrack to the end of the world as we know it, and it sounds more relevant with each and every listen.
9.0/10
RICH PRICE
Helen Money Supporting Agalloch On June North American Tour
Helen Money will be supporting Agalloch on their forthcoming North American tour in June. She is supporting her current release Arriving Angels, out via Profound Lore, which was recorded and mixed by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio and features drummer Jason Roeder (Neurosis, Sleep). Cellist/composer Alison Chesley, a.k.a. Helen Money, merges her classical training with a lifelong affinity for punk rock and a taste for heavy metal. In addition to her own material Chesley has also performed and/or directed string arrangements for artists like Anthrax (Worship Music), Russian Circles (Geneva), Broken Social Scene (Forgiveness Rock Record) and Yakuza.
Helen Money Tour Itinerary (all dates may be subject to change):
Jun 06: Midtown Barfly – Sacramento, CA
Jun 07: Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA
Jun 08: SLO Brew – San Luis Obispo, CA
Jun 09: Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA
Jun 10: Casbah – San Diego, CA
Jun 11: The Rebel Lounge – Phoenix, AZ
Jun 12: Hotel Congress – Tucson, AZ
Jun 13: Sister – Albuquerque, NM
Jun 14: Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO
Jun 15: Urban Lounge – Salt Lake City, UT
Jun 16: Neurolux – Boise, ID
Jun 17: Crocodile – Seattle, WA
Jun 18: Venue – Vancouver, BC
Jun 19: Victoria Event Center – Victoria, BC
Jun 20: Star Theater – Portland, OR
Helen Money on Facebook
Corrections House Storms London This Weekend!
Following two very special shows as part of this week’s Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, the musically combustive force known as Corrections House is taking over Birthdays on April 12th in London. The post-metal super-group for the ages (and recently seen on the cover of Ghost Cult #14) features Mike IX Williams (Eyehategod), Scott Kelly (Neurosis), Bruce Lamont (Yakuza, Bloodiest), Sanford Parker (Minsk, Twilight), and they are joined by their minister of propaganda, Seward Fairbury too.
Out on the road supporting their excellent 2013 release Last City Zero (Neurot Recordings), the collective will showcase their individual talents with brief solo performances, collaborating in groups while finally joining up for what they describe as their “end times apocalyptic jam”. The London show is an exclusive following two exclusive Roadburn sets, beginning tonight in Tilburg. One set will be the traditional CH set followed by a more independent “anything goes” type of one off show highlighting more personal work from the members of the band.
Bruce Lamont told Ghost Cult Senior Editor Rei Nishimoto in a recent interview how the group approached the creative process that birthed Last City Zero:
“It’s still a collaborative effort. It was still all of us working with each other. In various situations, we recorded in multiple studios. Sometimes at the same time and sometimes not, but we were able to bring it together. Sanford is not only a member of the band but he’s also the main engineer of the band. He was there or bringing things together and making it cohesive. The base of all the writing was already there, but he pulled it all together. Having the engineer be one of the creative entities makes things a lot easier.”
If you have already seen them live, the performances are more akin to a transformational live art installation, than a mere show from an ordinary band. If you miss your chance to see them on tour, you have my sympathies.
Supporting the band in London will be Consumer Electronics and Necro Deathmort. You can buy tickets here.
