EP Review: Wax Mekanix / Troll Teeth - Blunt Split EP (Rock, Exmerimentation 2021)

I like thie music direction that the songs spread that Wax Mekanix contributes to this digital only release.

The songs sound fresh. The music denies to be pressed into a single folder. Instead it always changes into the directions that fits to the mood of the moment.

This EP features songs "In Stereo" as the sign promises.

Already the opener "Head" will please all Rock fans out there that are open-minded. It rocks without any fears or negativity on the mind straight away. It's unusual refrain and message will stick in many heads for a long time. It even invites to dance to it in a typical rock club. The never ending lyrics give it a feeling of a wire that winds into the endless.

The second contribution "Manchester Strawberry Blonde" feels more like a intermission. It's more of vocals mixed up with a drum pattern. The voice sounds out of a total different direction and some female voice breaks in at the beginning. Finally it fades with the tonality of the beginning. Not my favorite but for sure a nice experiment.

My favorite after some re-listening sessions turned out to be "Freak Boutique". The hacked way the riff goes and stops always jumps into my ears. It invites to listen closer and just let yourselves join the good vibes this one spreads. Good rocking stuff with unusual structure that just makes me even more curious on what Wax Mekanix hopefully has to offer in the future. 

The songs that Troll Teeth recorded for this Split EP are of a total different direction. They belong to the total epic exerimentation field and didn't found my sympathy. I disliked all the high tonality and the raw and edgy sounds they present to the listener but it's for sure a highlight to those seeking something out of the ordinary music catalog.

The EP is available as a download for 5 USD on the Bandcamp page of Electric Talon Records.

Album Review: Wax Mekanix - Mobocracy (Rock, 2020)

Intensive from start to finish with many, many parts put inside. A well crafted sound collection not to be found that often out there.

Which record would you expect looking at the cover?

Wax Mekanix is an American musician, songwriter, performer, producer, and founding member of NWOBHM cult rockers Nitro. (Not to be confused with the Hollywood band).

In recent times he put out a brand new record. He can be heard on "Mobocracy" performing Lead and Backing vocals, Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Drums and Percussion.

The result surprised me least to say. It's a fully rocking release showing that music needs to be anything but one-sided. A breathe of fresh air went through my ears as I listened to this. It has more in mind with modern Rock sound. So many ideas have been put inside - all you need to be is a bit of opened minded to enjoy this.

Track by Track

Blood in my eyes starts the release with a rough rocker and has a wide calling refrain. It's a little bit rock radio compatible.

Victorious - goes in the easiest of the songs,rocks away, straight and surely a fest for fans of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Many repeats of the chorus towards the end - this may be a bit boring at times.

All Freaks rocks it out a more hacked way. The ripped riffs crawl out of the speakers, many guitar effects and experimentation but straight all in all.

Mad World comes with compressed guitars, different song structures than before, and a dizzy atmosphere. It needs closer listening, brightest sound so far.

Ghostland is a darker themed tune,much detail work on vox and guitars,sounds like one voice broken and burst into many different ones

Black unfolds as a acoustic ballad,deeply touching,tells a great tale of all the lifes grey zones,voice transport so much of it's content,guitar drums-great!

All in all it's anything but a casual record. It's not too long in duration but the content provided is so intensive that running it a second time and even more reveals more and more of the many details worked in. 

This surely has taken it's time and effort to put together so it's well worth a purchase in one of the many packages with fine merchandise attached to the music (also the tracks are available as download alone) on Bandcamp.

The artwork stands out. The unsharp optic and the use of red color at the front may seem strange at first sight but it packages the unusual music performance of the record well.  

The lyrics have been detailfully taken care of. I think I've not read so dedicated and own worded texts in a long time. 

You can connect to Wax Mekanix on Facebook and Twitter Network to see how things move on.

CD Review: God In A Cone - Earth my prison (Experimental, 2018)

This project has become a surprise bag for me everytime I look inside. You can never know what comes next - this time around it's more of the heavy side along with much positive vibes.

The front cover of God In A Cone's Earth my prison Artwork : Ble Logo : Daniel Goudelis, (c) by God In A Cone, used with kind permission

Summary
Nick Marinos is the head and creative force behind God In A Cone. He works constantly on new material and it sounds like he has a lot to say to the world. All the previous releases already proved that he is able to write material of very different kind of styles. It's his open-mind attempt that is biggest strength in my eyes.

For this round of songs the more slightly heavier side seems to have influenced Marinos songwriting. But the songpackage is also far more treated with good vibes than ever before. The cool thing is that the tracks remain to catch your ears so quickly that listening is a massive joy straight from the first minute.

Track-by-Track breakdown
The intro "Necrology" spreads irritation with it's spoken parts and few rhythm patterns but the second one "Relief" goes straight to the strong meat. It surprised me with it's gothic hard guitar attack and dark vocals.

Happily it also shows that the fine tradition of earcatchy refrains is not gone.  But you'll have to get on further to track two to get this clearer. From there on the record shows it's openess far more. Good vibes start to spread and give me a kick to start into the day.

"Sell a life" sounds like the first acoustic attempt from Marinos. I love to hear that. It's just great. It's not sadness but easyness coming along through my speakers.

Follow us "River Down" and have a party. This track invites you to have a good time. Light instruments touch you before some heavyness comes shining in. "XFool" will let you dance with it's pumping rhythm and light keyboards. The refrains want's you to sing along to it.

"Inside the globe" gives a slower to the end. You'll come down to this one without being let down. A great way to close and round out a great time - once again a slightly more heavy way like on the beginning of the disc and also the longest track.

Purchase-Link and Preview-Track
This release will come around for the first time on a Compact Disc. Make sure to have a eye on the God In A Cone Facebook page for the exact release date and where to order your copy.

This is a release not to be missed - it's the soundtrack to your great summer of 2018. Well worth some bucks. Make sure to let your friends know about it.  

Music is pure positive power against worries and this record proves why.

CD Review: God in a cone - Agrypnia (2016)

This album sounds as if it is dedicated to the open minded metalheads out there. It's half a metal album while the other half is focussed on electronic and atmospheric parts.

Introduction

God in a cone is the side project of Nick Marinos. You may know him best of his vocals for the gothic metal band Slitherum from Greece. This record however is a solo project effort and in many ways much different from what Nick produces with Slitherum.

The cover of the first God in a cone CD "Agrypnia", (c) by God in a cone, used with kind permission

Summary

Agrypnia is a album that comes around with a lot of melodies and harmonies that you can directly access. They often form a structure that is easy to follow and has a clear tonality and message. This means most of the material isn't that heavy. Nick Marinos mostly seems to have had atmosphere and groove more on his mind than to record brutal songs right here.

As I said before you need to be open minded to enjoy this one. Many people out there may be reminded of Paradise Lost's album "Host" when they listen to this record. I know those songs of the british icons was discussed many times by the people out there. I like it and it still rotates in my CD player from time to time.

The same may happen with the first God in a cone effort. Agrypnia is full of electronic effects. I know this may be something purists don't like at all. But if you open up to the melody and just focus on the beauty of the music you won't recognize this anymore. This album doesn't leave my ears each time I listen to it and that's a sign that this piece of music left something in me behind.

I can only recommend you to give it a try - but please don't expect the usual metal sound right here. If you like the songs of Sisters Of Mercy you may also find this album a pleasure. It also has partly something of Korn but only if you compare it to the slower material of Korn. Sit back, relax a bit and I think you will enjoy this, too.

Player

Some tracks are up on the YouTube channel of the project. As for this review I've decided to pick "Cold Feeder" as a preview track for you. It got me into the record and I think it's the best way to discover the music of God In A Cone.


Purchase-Link

If you would like to purchase the album on CD add Nick Marinos to your friendlist on Facebook. He has some of the silver discs left in store and you can buy them via Paypal directly from him.

Contact-Data

You can find more info on the project and get in touch with them via Facebook.