Saturday, July 21, 2012

Friday The 13th New Music On Werehold Records (Part 3, Plus A New Local Band!!)

I know this is badly late from when it took place, but this got pushed back and back repeatedly thanks to other posts and some personal commitments. The wait is over though, as it's time for our coverage of the second Friday the 13th blitz of new material by Eckerman, Michigan label/studio Werehold Records! As you may remember, July 13th was a Friday this year, and Jason Mills' local label made good on plans to do another Friday the 13th song upload spree to the label's YouTube channel after the success of the first one in April, but this time with just 6 new songs, which is down from 9 that went up in April, so we'll fit this into one post rather than two. As a result, there's no new material from Moss, Wearwithal, or Orb Hearthstone's solo project this time around (or from a mystery band named Awaken Eidolen that Werehold pages also mention), but there is one new artist included this time around, and despite the smaller number of songs, there's a lot of quality songs to cover as there were in April, so let's start this look at what went up for Friday the 13th this month on Werehold Records' YouTube channel!

Let's first look at the bands that either lie outside our current coverage range or aren't metal first. One of the new songs is the "seriously truncated" instrumental mix of Isle Royale metal band The 1,000,000,000s Who Died's track "Declaration", which has promise and a solid low groove, but it's fairly repetitive, and I'd like to hear it with vocals and some more variance. Click here to check it out though! Also new on the 13th was "Nameless", the new song from Brimley electronic project Palaver, and like their earlier tracks, it's an edgier techno/electronic instrumental that isn't as monotonous as other similar songs I can think of by other artists. If you like electronic music, Palaver are an interesting listen, so click here for their new song!

We'll go in alphabetical order for the rest, starting with a new (and overdue) addition to our band links, that being the local thrash metal project Drayton Fever! We hadn't listed them on the site before as their pages described them as being from both Paradise & Hulbert (both outside of our current coverage range), but their Facebook page lists their current location as Sault Michigan, and knowing this project's leader's local band work, they definitely fit for further full coverage on the SMS, but their addition was inevitable regardless! Drayton Fever are led by veteran local musician Doug Reed, who you may recognize from past work with bands like Bludgeoned, Great Bodily Harm, Half A Man, and currently with fellow Werehold acts Swampghas & Wearwithal. A solo project at it's core, Drayton Fever have been active since 2008, and have been working on a solo album named "The Longest Summer" off and on in recent years, which is based around Doug's recent life events. This album is where the Friday The 13th upload "And On With The Killing" comes from, and unlike the other new Werehold tracks, this has vocals! I like the varied singing styles that Doug uses here, but his heavier singing does sound a bit forced. That said, the music (though short) is well recorded and very heavy, and it lives up to earlier tracks like "Mary Kelly", which I really dig!

Drayton Fever is definitely a promising metal project, and hopefully Doug keeps at it so we can hear "The Longest Summer" in full at some point! He's got lots of talent on different instruments, and he puts them to good use on the Drayton Fever tracks I've heard, which is good, as pure thrash metal is a rarity for active local bands. Check out "And On With The Killing" below, and for more on our newest addition to our Sault Michigan band links, click here and the above links!



Next up is the new song from Doug's Swampghas bandmate J.R. Johnson's Strongs-based metal project East Branch! Though they still don't have an online page that I know of, this latest instrumental "haunt" is called "Hillbilly Highway", and it's a lot lighter than "Black Market Body Parts" from April. It's harder to describe than it's fellow Friday the 13th uploads, and almost feels like two separate songs, as the first 90 seconds sound much different from the rest of the song. It's well done, and it has sort of a lonesome travelling vibe going for it late, but it's something you'll have to hear to really get. You can do that below, as it's worth a listen!



Also for the new uploads is a new old song from Eckerman, Michigan metal quartet Life's Eclipse, as led by fellow Swampghas member Jason Mills! Again, we have an instrumental track here (entitled "Up From Sleep"), which is part of an (unreleased?) demo from 1998 named "Deeper In The Woods". I really like where this one's going, as it's very heavy with a dark yet upbeat vibe, but a guitar solo and some vocals would definitely help it be less repetitive, especially midway through. I've always really enjoyed Life's Eclipse, and this song definitely fits with their solid local track record, so check out "Up From Sleep" below!



Finally for the latest Friday the 13th Werehold Records songs is (who else?) Swampghas, and not just the members in other projects this time! The Strongs metal trio's contribution to July 13th's uploads is a demo mix of their song "Fistfight With A Microwave" from the forthcoming "Raco Tower Incident" album, and thanks to the video description, we now know the inspiration for that song title! Despite commenting that this was the version recorded so lyrics could be written, it's also an instrumental, but a heavy and fast paced one, and slightly longer than their earlier originals! The riffing's fast and very heavy, and the drumming suits it well, so I'm eager to hear the full track! Give a listen to "Fistfight With A Microwave" below!



I hope you guys liked this latest look at Werehold Records' Friday The 13th extravaganzas! If they plan to do a third installment of a new music blitz for the label on Friday the 13th, it won't be for a long while, as the next Friday the 13th will be in September... of next year, but when Werehold Records have new media and updates to share, you know we'll have them here! Stay tuned as well for two more all video posts tonight and early tomorrow, including our last CASS Cafe video showcase and this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, and I'll see you guys at the Rotaryfest Second Stage TONIGHT! Thanks everyone!

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