Let's face it, everyone loves Wu-Tang.  In one form or another there is no doubt some incantation of Wu-assassins that will appeal to the sensibilities of most modern music fans; and tonight, one of my favorite members of the Wu, Ghostface Killah (the other being the GZA), returns to Atlanta in support of his 10th solo record, 12 Reasons To Die.  GFK (aka Ironman, aka Tony Stark, aka The Wallabee Kingpin, etc.) is at this point the most practiced, and versatile member of Wu-Tang, and has been consistently touring and putting out new records since the group's inception.  Ghost has been on a tear since his 2006 releases Fishscale & More Fish, and has been collaborating with musicians from all over the musical universe.  His latest album is an intense concept album based on a comic book mini-series being released alongside the album (first book comes out May 26th).  The story follows main character Tony Starks as he is murdered by a crime family and has his remains pressed into 12 vinyl LPs.  He then returns as the Ghostface Killah to kill all of those that have done him wrong (think of the story from the fake film Cleaver on the HBO series the Sopranos).  Though the concept isn't as intense as other rap concepts like the Roots' Undun, it's unpretentious nature and allusions to comic books are classic GFK.  Ghost's great rhymes are perfectly complimented by the beats constructed by film composer Adrian Younge.  The album's soundtrack can literally be called that; it is reminiscent of the RZA's soundtrack for Kill Bill, but with a large dash of Handsome Boy Modeling School mixed in.  Younge's solo project Venice Dawn will be opening the night off, and will no doubt be helping produce the beats so the prolific GFK can tear down the house at Terminal West.  Things get started at 10pm (yup, it's a late show...in the true NYC hip hop fashion), and tickets are $25 in advance.

Verge of Bliss find themselves  numbered among the distinguished few local bands I actually I like along side Aku You, Hip to Death, From Exile, and Lazer/Wolf but unlike the other four bands they are neither dark nor metal. They do have balls to their sound with out forsaking melody and can play their instruments, after that they can be hard to place a label on,  while they play rock music there is a hefty amount of experimentation going on. They don't fit in any of the cliquey little indie rock circles  and that's an asset because they care about musicianship and are there to play not cater to social scenes   Singer Virginia Bliss belts out the songs with a muscular alto that demands attention no matter  how weird they wander. Guitarist Trey Bliss commands one of the more extensive pedal boards in-town and utilizes them all.

The band camp to their new album "Enabler" is below, but regardless how impressive it might be this is a band who is very captivated in their own performances and that energy is expelled off the stage. They are sharing the stage at the Basement with the Law Band, who looks like they are refugees from the Duck Dynasty show I keep seeing on magazines while waiting in line at Kroger, not surprisingly they play a backwoods blend of Americana.

It's only bucks, with 9 p.m. and this is a 21 and over show so if you pick up anyone at the Basement tonight then they are at least of legal age when you commence to breaking sodomy laws.


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When Wizard Smoke formed in 2008 it was more of a wizard joke, as they were members of various local indie rock bands, the most notable among them being Maserati, who wanted to parody a metal band much like when members of Pinback formed Goblin Cock. Funny enough this occurred during the time when the Slow Southern Steel bandwagon was rolling and stoner/sludge bands had become common place, though the punch line did not go unnoticed for long and the local metal community became divided, saying the band wasn't "true metal" and called them hipster metal, since they are heavier on the irony than the Iron Maiden. These accusations of course could not be unfounded as the band took themselves as being tongue in cheek.

The band did to their credit begin to take their song writing more seriously with the release of their
"Speed of Smoke" lp and became more experimental adding synths to create psychedelic  undertones. This brought national attention from metal press unaware the joke was on them and locally from the show I attended the crowd was more of the East Atlanta mustache sect than a metal audience. Their last  e.p. "the Tickler" leaned into a more rock n roll direction, but could still be commended on some level for maintaining a somewhat adventurous spirit in the direction of the writing.

Tonight's show is being hailed as their farewell, though they are releasing a post-humous lp and have not sworn of the possibility of playing in the future. Doors are at 9 p.m 21 and up eight bucks at the door, the Liver Hearts and Powder Room open.



  

Growing up...well hell even now, I'm goth that's considered the token metal head by other goths and by metal heads their goth friend, unfortunately the blending of the two genres has had mixed results, best case scenarios being Type O Negative and Atriarch, worst case ...remember Nu Metal, Marilyn Manson... so when I find a post-punk/goth album with some punch and aggressiveness to it I'm pretty happy...in the most tragic way possible.

Formed in 2011 is is the London band's first Full Length  is very well crafted. Gemma Thompson's guitar fills the gaps and knows its role in the rise and fall of tension. Sure there is no denying the Siouxsie influence, not just in Jehnny Beth's voice but in some of the herky jerky transitions that give it the abrasiveness of punk. I once read a quote by Rozz Williams that death rock came about as punks who like Halloween  here the punk attack lies heavily in the drive of the bass which propels the opener "Shut Up", as the album progresses I can discern more where their personality lies.

The crisp production isn't too interested in slavishly recreating the vibe of the early eighties. The smoothed out end sections where they allow things to simmer in the night air are really strong, they know where they want to take the songs thus making their dynamics work really well. Would say the focus here is more on rocking than dancing in the bat cave. On the first listen reminded me of Cold In Berlin, though Ayse Hassan r doesn't secretly wear a Tool t-shirt underneath their Siouxsie Shirt.

They are convincing when they bust into the chorus of "I Am Here", Fay Milton's drumming is pretty impressive on this , though not the only song they make the most of the floor toms on to create a tribal feel. On " City's Full" an ode to over looked beauty in the vapid urban landscape, they take a breather towards the end though this one drones on the groove more. This song also establishes the tone of the album that they aren't keyed in on just one element of a sound and plan to beat it to death since like a hammer is their only tool.

It's on "Strife" where they album lays back in the darkness and get out of your face opening up room for melody. Here is where the delicate balance of trading the punch for beauty comes in like boxing in a glass house. Ayse Hassan's bass lines keep the forward and a sensual under current  like night driving with a dashboard covered in cocaine, there is still an edge it's just sharpened in a different direction. "Waiting for a Sign" continues its lazy narcotic lull allowing you to get a closer listen to the singer pipes. I think the guitar is particularly strong here as well, weaving around the bass line.  This also lets the build around the minute and a half mark have a higher ceiling to soar against.

the dancey "She Will" takes on a more Joy Division bass line with the guitar a ghost around it until they reconvene on punches, then back off again on the verses, then they build it way the fuck up with dense intensity, that hits the dark aggressive sonic sweet spot for me .

The bass driven "No Face" lunges at you with metallic swipes, with getting actually metal, yet their is some aggression being vented here. While "Hit Me" has a little too much of a blitzkrieg bop for my personal tastes I see where more punk inclined listeners will approve."Marshal Dear" comes close to being a ballad , i think the Piano is a really eerie touch to the song to make it sound like something from a David Lynch soundtrack, even before it takes a turn into lounge jazz.

In the whole goth revival of the past few years, they would be the best of the Siouxsie Worshipers, I even prefer them over the Yeah Yeah Yeahs , who younger listeners born in the nineties might want to compare them to. This is a pretty astonishing debut from a such a young band and comes highly recommended to fans of post-punk as it's one of those rare albums I can just leave on and let it play on endless repeat, leaving me.  already looking forward to the see where they go from here.  

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Along with Alice in Chains these guys are one of the only bands from the grunge era that I really care about, Nirvana could barely play their instruments and Pearl Jam was " Frat Rock"  and lets face both Soundgarden and Alice in Chains are pretty much just metal band. For all the lamentations about how Grunge killed Hair Metal, is Mudhoney any better of than Cinderella ? While Soundgarden is playing two nights at the Tabernacle is there given the size of the venues they normally play any doubt that Motley  Crue could do the same ? The Crue had aged more gracefully than the grizzled Soundgarden who will not be flannel clad any more than Motley will be found in hot pink leotards.

I have seen Soundgarden before, both times they were touring to support Louder Than Love, once opening for Danzig and once opening for Voi Vod, and each time they were pretty awesome, though it is before they started pumping out the radio hits.