Mares of Thrace, Mahogany Frog, and No More Moments
Mares of Thrace
The Exile // Sonic Unyon Records
Mares of Thrace return after a decade with The Exile, a reaching doom offering, peppered with riffs, noise-rock, and hardcore leanings. Sure to resonate with the seasoned metal listener and all of us that have had isolation thrust upon us over the last two years.
Forced to relocate to survive, Thérèse Lanz crossed the country for work and eventually felt the cathartic need to create. She found a new collaborator in Casey Rogers (Caveat). Rogers offered to fill in on bass and drums in order to make the project happen.
Lanz pushed herself out of her comfort zone in order to succinctly capture the essence of isolation as a snapshot in time. Isolation, then being driven from a place, in order to survive. Lanz takes the listener on a meandering journey, a journey not dissimilar to her own.
Setting the tone, "Onward, Ever Onward" marches towards some unseen goal(perhaps survival?), hindered only by the odd hesitation or hammer-on. "Dark Harbours" features a more introspective tone and delivery on the introduction, only to make way for more crushing riffage.
"Offerings of Hand and Tongue" juxtaposes clean singing with gutteral a screams and more crunchy tasty riffs. Enjoy the high/low call and response of the guitar work on "Mortal Quarry" (my favorite track). "In All Her Glory" differs in feel and tempo. At almost twice the pace, it has you thrash banging. "The Thread That Will Unravel You" is a fitting conclusion to The Exile. Plodding riffage grinds all the way to the end, growling and sputtering away, unrelenting.
- Drew Cox
Mahogany Frog
Faust // MoonJune Records
As a classic of German folklore, the tragedy of Faust looms large, inspiring literature, plays, films, and music. The story of the man who sold his soul to the Devil is a timeless one that has captured our collective imaginations for centuries. Winnipeg experimental rock powerhouse Mahogany Frog has contributed to this legacy with their latest album Faust, a searing and mind-bending score for the silent classic F.W. Murnau film of the same name. The film is visually awe-inspiring, its operatic scale and splendor reflected in the dramatic lighting, ground-breaking visual effects, and poetic compositions that bring to mind Gustave Doré’s illustrations of Dante’s Divine Comedy.
The task of scoring a silent film is a unique undertaking, one that opens a world of interpretation not only to convey subtleties of tone and subtext, or to explode the drama with heightened intensity, but also as a storytelling tool more broadly. Sound effects timed to the strike of lightning, the villain’s theme, the crucial moment of romantic reprieve: these are all moments that require a deft compositional hand, as well as a form of collective mind-reading in the live performers as the celluloid flashes over their heads. To see this performed live— as Mahogany Frog did, premiering at the historic Roxy Theater in Saskatoon before moving on to Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg— would be an immersive and total sensory experience. While I humbly made due with headphones and a manually synced stream of the film, it must be noted that this work deserves to be heard live.
From the opening tolls of the bell, we are welcomed into the world of Faust, where demons and men walk amongst one another. The scorched-earth guitar feedback crashes in like a wave as the horsemen of the apocalypse ride on “Faust I (Including: Alchemy)”, and synthesizers blip and sizzle as Faust works in his alchemical lab. The intro to “Plague I” sees the town celebrating the carnival, the music deceptively mild, transforming then as the sky is darkened by the towering form of the Devil, a sinister lurching beat staggering out of the smoke, haunted by ghostly synths. Lead single “A Decision of the Flower'' underscores the romance between Faust and Gretchen, a doomed affair that is reflected here by undulating electric piano chords and delicate swells. While it is a warm interlude, the track never loses its edge of anxiety, that creeping reminder of the fate that awaits the lovers at the end of the line.
Mahogany Frog have achieved something that is singular, tough to pin down, and ultimately pointless to attempt to render in text. Their range is extremely vast, from long progressive passages to roaring noise to complex harmonies to textured sound-collages— often all within the same song— while maintaining a clear-sighted vision, and most importantly, one that is dedicated to the film itself. However, even with the visual removed, the worlds and scenes that play out in the imaginative listener’s mind will be just as powerful, just as haunting, just as beautiful.
- Harman Burns
No More Moments
Quarter Life Crisis // Cursed Blessing Records
Am I too old for the scene? My sister asked me not that long if I was having a midlife crisis. At that time I thought I had already. I’m done with taking crap. Wanna go? Fight me. Well life has ways of presenting new and exciting ways to test you. Though my mind remains young my body is beginning to age. Waking up with aches and pains now. That’s new. Our kid is a teenager now and has a busy social life to adjust to. Sharing a car. Graduation next year. Not feeling as confident or as comfortable as I used to. Becoming particular in my age. I like a certain brand of coffee. I will hit up two stores to stock up when it’s on sale. I’m not all that drab. I still play music and still love going to punk shows. Still have a few friends that fancy a gig and will meet up with me too. When I heard No More Moments would be in Edmonton at BlakBar for their release party of the new EP Quarter Life Crisis with Cursed Blessing Records. I knew I had to go and I had to plan accordingly.
My nerves could relax as soon as I arrive. Friendly faces before I even walked in the door. I made my way over to the merch table. I gotta get Quarter Life Crisis on vinyl before I do anything else. I’ve been pretty excited about this release for some time. Have you seen it? The cover art, layout and vinyl itself are absolutely stunning! No More Moments drummer Carlin Black Rabbit took the time to chat and let me take a look at the new album. Very bright and eye-catching. Beautiful florals, a forest, berry trees. A guy giving the horns up on a horse in the bottom corner. The inner sleeve contain the lyrics. The vinyl itself a simply gorgeous pink and green. He points out a detail to me on the B-side… Their logo is etched beautifully on the whole B-side itself. Never have I ever seen that kind of detail before on a record. Seriously drool worthy EP guys! Oh and it’s making some serious waves across the country.
”Me and My Friends” is all the heavy and steady distortion and booming drum beat that I dig!! It’s got the fire and a total banger to start off the EP. Ever heard of the 27 club? Lyrically telling a story of signing away your soul for the claim to fame. Many very famous musicians died at the age of 27 at the heights of their careers. Some of them so moving in their craft many thought they sold their souls like that of the story blues legend Robert Johnson at the Cross Roads. Joplin, Morrison, Hendrix a few more to include. Who wants fortune and fame anyway? I really dig when a punk song tells a story and this one sent me down a rabbit hole.
In “Problem Child”, Quarthon Bearcheif speaks the truth fearlessly bringing awareness to racism, injustice, and the pain the Indigenous people of Canada face. “It’s a song about speaking out as a Native to the government. The left say they care, the right thinks they care, but the truth is…nobody cares. We as a people couldn’t care less about the system of current government infrastructure that plagues us. They don’t care about any of us. It’s fake and all for votes.” Mark Russell of Citizen Rage has featured vocals on this track packs some extra punch. Seeing them live when everyone joined in and sang in unison “Wooooaaaahhh! Wooooaaahhh!” Bodies went crowd surfing by. My new mosh buddy and I kick our feet in the air and sing along at the top of our lungs. The energy and emotion is real and raw. Made me feel like I belong here.
“All My Evil Friends Have Settled Down” presents a heavier side of Siksika Nation skate punks and it suits this song so well. Carlin Black Rabbit’s drumming style and sound is described as thunderous and thunderous it is!! Cory White slays that bass like no other. Jared Running Rabbit’s guitar pretty much self combusts in this track. Quarthon Bearcheif’s vocals show his strength and variation in his vocals, skill, ability and technique for speed/death metal. Once I had a chance to listen to the vinyl at home, sit on the floor and read along with the lyrics. The song title says a lot but some of the lyrics are more relatable than ever at this age and stage in my life…”Breakfast is important” , “Read before bed”, and “Nature walks” Well it was a really great song on my nature walk yesterday funny enough. I really love where they went with this track. I think it’ll be relatable to others my age or those not sure how they are feeling about their age. Just crank this up to 11 and see the chiropractor tomorrow cause you're gonna need it!
Maybe you got lucky and were at the album release. Or maybe you have tickets to see them opening for Propagandhi in the very near future. And if you haven’t seen them yet... when you do it’ll be worth every bruise acquired in the pit that I can promise. Pick up your copy at Cursed Blessing Records on Bandcamp today!
Be good to each other!
Love Always,
- Green Noreen
