Most recently Sr. Director of A&R at Roadrunner Records, Mike Gitter has signed and worked with bands including Opeth, Megadeth, Killswitch Engage and Bad Religion. Currently alphabetizing his CD collection, shampooing his cat, and plotting his next move in eventual world domination, he’s also listening to new music. And telling us what he thinks of it! Servicey!
White Wizzard –High Speed GTO (Earache)
Earache busts a move to Hesher-ville with So-Cal sunset speedsters White Wizzard and the results ain’t half bad. Now High-Speed GTO is little more than a mini-album recorded mostly by dudes (sans the WW bassist) who have gone onto sign onto Prosthetic under the nom-de-plum Holy Grail. Think LA Guns vs, Hollywood Roses and you’ve got the general idea (check Wikipedia for the low-down on the band-beef OK?). The title track is dope – NWOBHM to the max duder. The seven tracks herein are a bit hit or miss – sometimes you’ve got Keel and WASP and other times you’ve got the local warm-up band for nationals like, well… Keel and WASP. The sentiment is what warms up your tail-pipe. Songs about cars. Songs about marching skeletons. This is simply a prelude to a full-lengther due in early 2010. I’ve already grabbed a flyer for that gig, howzbout you?
Merauder – God Is I (Regain)
Jorge Rosado is heading for NYC hardcore and metal unsung hero status these days. With a new line-up and a more ferocious level of larynx abuse on its latest then even on the classic Master Killer , God Is I is taking honors for not merely Merauder’s heaviest record to date but also its best. This might also be the best and most belligerent record to come from the NYHC scene in ages – except there’s nothing hardcore about it. Just chunk upon chunk of mid-tempo metallic riffing and Rosado’s uber-distinct growl.. The likes of “Downfall of Christ” sound like the sort of thing Jorge would have voiced had he joined up with his Brazilian gente in Sepultura (which nearly happened nearly a decade or so back). Jorge Rosado has reemerged and Brooklyn is feeling a lot more brutal again.
Greymachine – Disconnected (Hydra Head)
Take the impressive resumes of Isis’ Aaron Turner and Jesu’s Justin Broadrick (best known for breaking sound barriers in Godflesh) combine ‘em and you’d expect a concoction of blissed-out, post-metal sonic futurism. That’s kinda what you get – except it’s really boring. There’s plenty of Hoover bass-lines verging on dub, interesting guitar skronkage and goes-bump-in-the-night sound-squiggles that 15 years ago would have seemed fresh. Turner and Broadrick make it sound like a mutual admiration society that we’re expected to shell out our hard earned cash for. Disconnected was apparently put together online and it really sounds like it was. The title says it all.
