Welcome to Dissident Aggression, where we sow the future, reap the present and highlight the past to bring you the underground of The Underground…
Don’t read band bios prior to listening to an album. Honestly, you don’t want any preconceived notions about a band or their music before you have a chance to formulate that all-important first impression. You will however be a little surprised when you read something in a bio that doesn’t jive with what you’re hearing. You know, like when a bio points out that there are zero guitars or keyboards used on an album that is heavy as hell.
New London, CT’s Bedroom Rehab Corporation are a two piece outfit focusing solely on drums and bass. To say that bassist extraordinaire Adam Wujtewicz is a master of the multi-pedal distortion that can manipulate sound in unique ways is an absolute understatement. This album is equal parts ambient stoner rock and battering ram styled noise rock…and there is not one single damn guitar anywhere on the record. I don’t think it can be understated that what Wutjewicz and drummer Meghan Killimade have done is to create an album as heavy and pummeling as a full on five-piece band with just the two of them and lots of distortion.
Red Over Red is, as the band puts it, “a paranormal seafaring concept record.” It’s funny though what images certain styles of music can conjure up for the listener. Maybe it’s because a lot of their sound reminds me of all the great stoner rock bands of the 90’s who came lumbering out of the deserts of Southern California – Kyuss, Nebula and Fu Manchu for example – but personally when I listen to this record I’m seeing dark, starry desert nights where the only living creatures are the ones who can survive in a veritable apocalyptic wasteland. The ocean and the desert have a lot in common. They are both powerful, harsh and inhospitable, yet equally filled with beauty and mystery. That’s a pretty apt description for Bedroom Rehab Corporation as well. Fans of bands such as Clutch, Melvins, Old Man Gloom and the aforementioned stoner rock outfits will find a lot to love on this record. Red Over Red was released on tiny indie label The Telegraph Recording Company, but you can stream the entire Red Over Red album for free over on the Bedroom Rehab Corporation Bandcamp page.
*Parts of this article are reprinted with permission by CT.com
Metal Homework
For today’s Metal Homework we are going to take a trip to Germany to revisit one of the bands that was one of the forefathers of the modern day Power Metal movement and an extremely proficient purveyor of technical thrash – Paradox. In 1989 Paradox released their second album, Heresy, on Roadracer Records. This is another example of a band that should have been way bigger than they ever got but due to an unstable line-up and eventual break up they were simply lost to the ages. As is pointed out over at 666DaysofMetal.com they have run through 13 bass players alone, both back in the day and since reforming in 2000. 13 bass players. Crazy. Hit the link though to read more about this awesome album and to check out links to some of the music. If you’re a fan of bands like Hammerfall for example or even some of the classics like Maiden and Helloween you should do it post haste.
