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Putting the “POW†back in power trio, Verse And Radiation’s debut brings “the business†with mathematic blues riffery, tasteful guitar trickery, and percussion that sounds like it was played on God’s own thunderbolt-firing drum kit. The vocals run the gamut from barbaric howls and raw-throated shrieks to bat-shit rants and chewing snarls – all of which is occasionally abandoned to make way for the dizzying instrumentals. The ass-slashing utensils don’t stop there for there’s additional keyboard wizardry thrown in here and there to flesh things out a bit – and we all know how zombies feel about flesh. Like a finder’s keepers cake stuffed with diamond grills, gold chains, and pimp cups, V/R offers a shining slice of metallic treasure to offset being surrounded by the strangely-hip, sugary-sweetness that fills the metal shelves today. ***Review from Crucial Blast Records: The Acerbic Noise imprint wows us again with this debut album of mutant thrash from Alabamiods Verse & Raditiation. Rooted in a heavy duty 80's thrash metal foundation, these guys then spiral out into a whole other realm of art-damaged weirdness with one of the most alien sounding thrash albums we've heard since Voivod dropped Nothingface on us back in 89. Seriously. Along The Celestial Ruins features nine blasts of crucial thrash metal power infused with an otherworldy, progressive oddness that reminds us alot of Voivod, but also flexes some mighty chaotic metalcore muscle via their crushing breakdowns, and also factors in a healthy Am Rep/noise rock influence. One of the best debuts we've heard in ages, and the only band besides our very own Microwaves that can dish out this sort of brain blasting sci-fi thrash metal. Gorgeous icy synths underpin sideways math guitars breaking pipes over your head. Demented robo-vocals share headspace with total aggro roar. Reference points could include crossover thrash era Corrosion Of Conformity colliding with Dazzling Killmen and Voivod, splattered with art punk chops. Way recommended! Daredevil.de Review -- Damn, not even on the scene for an extended amount of time and upstart label Acerbic Noise Development just keep the hits on coming with the debut disc from Verse and Radiation, an Alabama power-trio that have only one mission; to devastate your ears with experimental, reckless abandon. Hovering somewhere between the style of the more math oriented rockers on the Hydrahead and Escape Artist rosters (Mare, Keelhaul, Botch), the punk/thrash attack of older C.O.C, the metallic mayhem of Mastodon, the searing ear-damage of Amp-Rep noise-rock and the no-holds bar experimentalism of some of Crucial Blast's artists, Verse and Radiation are impossible to nail down at any given moment and just when you think you have them figured out they throw another curveball to keep you off their trail. The band manages to establish a very nice and powerful sound with intense guitar-work and riffing that nails a lot of complex math signatures and more straight-forward stuff that just all out crushes while the rhythm section features an insane drumming performance complete with slaughtering double bass-work and tight fills while the bass remains tightly structured throughout. The vocals are also well done going from droning, slightly distorted singing that really has an eerie feel to it to all out screaming that while vicious in delivery is still completely understandable and helps to deliver the sarcastic and unique lyrics with the perfect amount of bite. "The Learning Curve is Merging" opens things up with a punk seasoned, math metal assault that goes all over the map from crushing metallic thrash to mathematical riff rock that both grooves and decimates all at once. "Zombies Inherit the Earth" is one of the best tracks by far on the album though as it starts out with another mathy thrash stomp while still delivering riffs that are drenched in that somewhat sludgy, Amp-Rep noise style. The song continues to build and intensify until things slow down to a crawling dirge with punishing riffs and density while effective synth-work enters the mix and makes me feel like I'm listening to the sludge version of a Lucio Fulci film sound-track. Seriously, this part of the track is so damn creepy that I can't get it out of my head. The rest of the songs on this album all completely shred with some highlights that include the Keelhaul by way of thrash metal of "Kill Complete", "Black Escape" that features more eerie vocals and odd chord progressions and "The Old Man who Never Laughed" which sounds like Mastodon in a head-on collision with early C.O.C, Jesus Lizard and other noisy rockers. This is just a completely ripping album from start to finish that mixes in so many different elements of influential bands and labels with a completely unique touch to it. The album would be worth buying for "Zombies Inherit the Earth" alone but luckily the rest of the disc is a top-notch piece of work as well. Chock up another killer release to Acerbic Noise's belt and make sure if you dig any of the above bands, labels, etc. that you check these guys out. Highly recommended! Decibel Review - August 2006 Score: 8 out of 10 "Roll, tide, roll" Fury and precision are hardly Verse and Radiation's only assets, although Shiva knows the Montgomery, AL-based progressive Post-metalcore trio's debut boasts a buttload of both. From the moment frontman Shane Gillis launches opener "The Learning Curve Is Merging" with a graphic approximation of a pterodactyl getting its nut off, Along the Celestial Ruins hemorrhages ideas with an abandon that renders the very notion of antecedents moot - though still intriguing. The steamroller riffs and snotty shrieks of "Learning Curve" suggest an unholy liaison between Voivod and These Arms Are Snakes until it ends in a lurching, elephantine waltz complete with fancy high harmonics that stop just as you're beginning to ponder the ZZ Top/Morbid Angel connection. More eclectically built still is "Kill Complete," a dizzy amalgam of sinister, chuggy breakdowns, curtain-of-flame guitar, and a double-time interlude that might sound quaint if it weren't so well-designed. Despite the way the band wears the math-rock tag on their sleeve/MySpace page, Ruins makes minimal demands on your calculating apparatus, thanks largely to the band's predilection for getting physical. Colorful, too, as when the undead takeover PSA that opens "Zombies Inherit the Earth" fades into a plucky little fandango, then grows big teeth when bassist Adam Parker and drummer Robert Taylor crash through the song's wall. The momentum's relentless until a fake ending that breaks down into synth-driven dirgery-and another fake ending that brings the song back up to full speed just in time to stop cold as a frozen tissue specimen. -Rod Smith Check out the artist's website: http://www.acerbicnoise.com Track List: 1. The Learning Curve is Merging 2. Kill Complete 3. Black Escape 4. Zombies Inherit the Earth 5. House of Incalculable Depth 6. The Old Man Who Never Laughed 7. Don't Wombat Me, Jimmy 8. Shakespearean Powerhouse 9. Death Wish 8: Charles Bronson Swings A Pink Hammer Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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