Many Arms, Exemplary Thrash Metal on Tzadik

Guitarist Nick Millevoi, electric bassist John DeBlase, and drummer Ricardo Lagomasino comprise the super-power trio Many Arms. Their self-titled, latest release came out on Tzadik this past spring and it really jumps out at you!

Much of the music involves breakneck, asymmetically endless rifflines that fracture, circle back, fracture again and go on from there in a remarkably driving, heavy way. It's high energy non-stop virtuoso thrash that will certainly get your attention.

The middle cut, "In Dealing with the Laws of Physics on Planet Earth" breaks the mood with a series of sustained, slow melodic arpeggios on guitar that the whole band eventually takes up. It's a haunting piece.

All-in-all this is scorching and substantial power trio art. Anyone with voltometer ears must hear this! Then track down the earlier ones if you flip on this one.

Greeley Estates: No Rain, No Rainbow

Death metal, thrashmetal, grindcore, speed metal, it's all been around for 20 years or so and the newer bands can be more sophisticated (if that's the right word?) than their forebears.

Greeley Estates and I believe the latest album (from this year), No Rain, No Rainbow (Tragic Hero 90059) give you the exorcist vocals, true, and the low-tuned guitars playing doomsday motifs, the drums wildly double-bassing, and they do that completely in the idiom. But there are other elements creeping in, other musical elements and some pretty complicated instrumental elements.

This is no easy music to play. Whether you like it depends I suppose on a predisposition to appreciate the onslaught of energy and noise-ish sound the music consistently provides. This is definitely one of the better bands doing this kind of thing right now. They are musical about it all. That's what counts.