Moonsorrow - Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa (2011)

In January, German folk metal giants Falkenbach returned with a great effort entitled Tiurida. Despite considering myself a pretty big fan of Falkenbach, I actually had no idea the album came out until well after it had hit internet blogs and music sites everywhere. The same could not be said for the folk metal giants that were releasing their return to the limelight in the month February. That band was Moonsorrow, and much like I did with Enslaved, Melechesh and Agalloch in 2010, I could barely contain my excitement for their new album. Unlike Falkenbach, Moonsorrow are still in their prime. It was 10 years ago, also in the month of February, that they dropped their debut with Suden Uni. Since then, their acclaim has built up with each passing album. Most will point to their 2003 release Kivenkantaja or, more likely, their 2005 release Verisakeet as being their absolute best work, but to me they hadn’t made anything better than their most recent release, Havitetty.

With expectations flowing and giddiness present, I gave Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa it’s very first spin and I was… well, I was underwhelmed. I feel that Moonsorrow have only had one minor hiccup in their career, their sophomore album, Voimasta ja kunniasta. It was still a good album, something that most bands would be beyond proud to have released. I felt the same way about Varjoina as I did about Voimasta. I’m not sure exactly why this was, but it was actually the same thing that happened to me with Verisakeet. It was strange considering Verisakeet was my first Moonsorrow album and since I finally “got” it, I had instantly fallen in love with their other works. I wasn’t upset, but it was a little surprising that such an insanely consistent band had dropped so far. Of course that was just one listen. I was hoping that it might just be a grower. I’d give it a couple of listens and see if I felt different about it. That wasn’t necessary, though. My second listen to this album had me. Moonsorrow still had that magic.

Alright, enough about me. The reason Moonsorrow have always stood out is because they have one of the most consistent discographies around. They play a style that can easily get repetitive and, though they do play from a very familiar and similar base and formula, they manage to change things up just enough on each release to avoid being a different album same music kind of band. What they on Varjoina better than on album of their’s I have heard is to capture their heritage and their pride like I’ve never seen before. Sure, they’ve always been a band that has embraced their culture, their ancestors and their land, but there is just an atmosphere here that embodies what I imagine life in Finland to have been like. Of course that works incredibly well with their song-writing. Obviously this is an album that focuses mostly on combining the melody, spirit and story telling of the folk side of things with the rawness, emotion, intricacy and power of black and progressive metal in a way that is somehow refined and calculated yet distinctly primitive and real.

I wouldn’t say that at this time this is an album that can match Havitetty or Verisakeet in overall quality, but it is getting extremely close and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is an album that eventually finds itself considered amongst the greatest folk metal albums of all time. It certainly will be considered one of the best metal efforts of 2011

9

Lupe Fiasco - Lasers (2011)

1

Trap Them - Darker Handcraft (2011)

You ever just sit around listening to your favorite crust punk album and go “man I wish someone would combine early Entombed with this shit”? If you have then Trap Them might be the band for you! If you haven’t, then don’t walk away just yet (seriously I’ll hurt you).

After Trap Them’s seriously hardkour 2008 album “Seizures in Barren Praise” it would seem hard to top the intensity and bleakness of that music with anything that wouldn’t sound like a boring retread. Well they’ve managed to one-up that release with “Darker Handcraft”. For those not in the know, Trap Them are a band that combine elements of crust punk with grindcore, d-beat, death metal and a host of other nasty sounding genres. Basically if you don’t mind a little hardcore with your metal then Trap Them will probably appeal to you in some way. On “Darker Handcraft” they’ve managed to distill their acidic sound into something that is surprisingly easy to digest. Songs such as “The Facts” and “Slumcult and Gather” could even be seen as somewhat catchy. “Drag the Wounds Eternal” is a brooding slow paced (by these guys standards) death-waltz that will leave you drained. Sludgy, buzzing guitars and gangshouted hardcore vocals match up with steady blasts and d-beat drum patterns courtesy of new drummer Chris Maggio who steps up the rhythm section’s game here.

If all this doesn’t lure you in then maybe the fact that Kurt Ballou of Converge fame produced this album will. Whether you’re a fan of Converge or not, one thing that can’t be denied is that the dude has skills at production. He has a knack for producing metal and hardcore albums that are at once raw and polished. Sounds contradictory, but you’ll know what I mean when you hear it. He does a great job at bringing out the sludgy bass sound that Trap Them are shooting for. I also can’t help but notice some of Converge’s sound rubbing off on these guys, which you can’t go wrong with.

Without a doubt, Darker Handcraft is one of the best metal releases this year. It manages to punch you in the face for a solid 31 minutes of sludgy hardcore intensity without ever managing to overstay its welcome. If you’re looking for a dark and heavy album that takes no prisoners, look no further than “Darker Handcraft”.

8.5

Teenage Panzerkorps - German Reggae (2011)

Hey, it's the year 2011, and someone's courageous enough to come out with a post-punk effort. This takes a lot of balls. Why? Well, most of the time when someone decides to release an album that deals with a genre that was in its prime so long ago, you're already bound to face a fuckton of criticism. Most of it will be negative. Much like this review!

I mean, shit, you can have all the balls in the world, but y'know, this just doesn't work out too well. Sure, the percussion is pretty cool sometimes, as are the basslines that pierce through the mix, and shout "Fuck yeah, I'm distorted and shit, dawg", but y'know, this just doesn't really have much chop. What exactly does this mean? Yeah, I guess what I'm trying to say is that the album isn't all that special. It's short and sweet at 32 minutes, but you'll probably never remember any of it. Some of the production techniques are cool, but in the end, all I can say is that some things were probably better left in the '80s, such as unmemorable post-punk.

To cut this short, if you're looking for post-punk that you'll enjoy, just go listen to some shit from the '80s. In fact, if you listen to post-punk and enjoy it, you probably touch yourself and pretend you're Shawn Michaels in your spare time, so fuck you.

4

The 100 Best Albums of the 2000s

"This new millenium was very cool." ---SorboFTW circa 2011

The 2000s brought the most pure variety of music as technology made access to records more prevalent and encouraged artists to promote their music in a completely new way. This decade, as a result, might be the most confusing for critics. It has become progressively harder to claim albums as classics, to enforce just how influential a certain album actually was, or really take the fun out of listening to music. These are simply the records we dig the most, hopefully the truest reflection of the most personal decade ever anywhere.

Honorable Mentions
your favorite album


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44. Moonsorrow - V: Hävitetty (2007)

43. Ricardo Villalobos - Fizheur Zieheuer (2006)

42. Sonic Youth - Murray Street (2002)

41. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)

40. Negura Bunget - OM (2006)

39. The Mountain Goats - All Hail West Texas (2002)

38. Gojira - The Way of All Flesh (2008)

37. Converge - Jane Doe (2001)

36. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)

35. Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise (2005)

34. Opeth - Blackwater Park (2001)

33. Wolves in the Throne Room - Two Hunters (2007)

32. Beastie Boys - To the 5 Boroughs (2004)

31. Primordial - To the Nameless Dead (2007)

30. Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary (2005)

29. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It in People (2002)

28. Agalloch - The Mantle (2002)

27. Melechesh - Emmisaries (2006)

26. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (2005)

25. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)

24. Gris - Il était une forêt... (2007)

23. Tom Waits - Orphans (2006)

22. Jens Lekman - Night Falls over Kortedala (2007)

21. Isis - Oceanic (2002)

20. The Avalanches - Since I Left You (2000)

19. Liars - Drums Not Dead (2006)

18. Scott Walker - The Drift (2004)

17. The Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)

16. The Microphones - The Glow Pt. 2 (2001)

15. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (2007)

14. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver (2007)

13. Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007)

12. Interpol - Turn on the Bright Side (2002)

11. Deerhunter - Microcastle (2008)

10. J Dilla - Donuts (2006)

9. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Yr. Skinny Fists (2000)

8. Sunn O))) - Black One (2005)

7. Joanna Newsom - Ys (2006)

6. Electric Wizard - Dopethrone (2000)

5. The Strokes - Is This It (2001)

4. Kanye West - Late Registration (2005)

3. Radiohead - Kid A (2000)

2. Madvillain - Madvillainy (2004)

1. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)

The Best Albums of the 2000s [individual lists]

These are the individual lists of the contributors to People Who Stare at Rugs for the decade that was in alphabetical order.

Chemical Ali

1. Madvillain - Madvillainy
2. Radiohead - Kid A
3. The Strokes - Is This It
4. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People
5. Boris - Feedbacker
6. The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
7. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
8. Fugazi - The Argument
9. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Yr Skinny Fists
10. Agalloch - The Mantle
11. Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica
12. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
13. Opeth - Blackwater Park
14. Deerhunter - Microcastle
15. Arcade Fire - Funeral
16. ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - Source Tags and Codes 17. Isis - Oceanic
18. Electric Wizard - Dopethrone
19. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
20. Wolves in the Throne Room - Two Hunters
21. Radiohead - In Rainbows
22. Converge - Jane Doe
23. Boris - Akuma no Uta
24. Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
25. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
26. The Knife - Silent Shout
27. Sigur Ros - ( )
28. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
29. Explosions in the Sky - The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place
30. Daft Punk - Discovery
31. Animal Collective - Feels
32. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
33. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
34. Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein
35. Boris - Pink
36. Circle Takes the Square - As the Roots Undo
37. Yndi Halda - Enjoy Eternal Bliss
38. Binary Star - Masters of the Universe
39. Moonsorrow - Verisäkeet
40. Negura Bunget - OM
41. Boris - Flood
42. No Age - Nouns
43. J Dilla - Donuts
44. Isis - Panopticon
45. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
46. Opeth - Ghost Reveries
47. The Roots - Game Theory
48. Liars - Drums not Dead
49. Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain
50. Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary

deaconzonday

1. Radiohead - Kid A
2. Madvillain - Madvillainy
3. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
4. The Microphones - The Glow Pt. 2
5. Sunn O))) - Black One
6. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP
7. The Mountain Goats - All Hail West Texas
8. J Dilla - Donuts
9. Radiohead - In Rainbows
10. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
11. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
12. Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
13. Jens Lekman - Night Falls over Kortedala
14. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
15. The Strokes - Is This It
16. Joanna Newsom - Ys
17. Liars - Drums not Dead
18. Kanye West - Late Registration
19. Scott Walker - The Drift
20. The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
21. Jay-Z - The Blueprint
22. The Avalanches - Since I Left You
23. Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt
24. No Age - Nouns
25. Mastodon - Remission
26. The Go! Team - Thunder Lightning Strike
27. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
28. Animal Collective - Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished

29. Electric Wizard - Dopethrone
30. Keith Fullerton Whitman - Playthroughs
31. Quasimoto - The Unseen
32. The Field - From Here we go Sublime
33. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Yr Skinny Fists
34. Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary
35. Isis - Oceanic
36. Battles - Mirrored
37. Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow
38. Tom Waits - Orphans
39. Edan - Beauty and the Beat
40. The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
41. Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain
42. Ruins of Beverast - Rain Upon the Impure
43. Ricardo Villalobos - Alcachofa
44. Gris - Il était une forêt...
45. The Exploding Hearts - Guitar Romantic
46. Dizzee Rascal - Boy in da Corner
47. Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise
48. Converge - Jane Doe
49. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It in People
50. Liars - They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top

Nesquik

1. Melechesh - Emissaries
2. Agalloch - The Mantle
3. Primordial - To the Nameless Dead
4. Wolves in the Throne Room - Two Hunters
5. Gris - Il était une forêt...
6. Isis - Oceanic
7. Gojira - The Way of All Flesh
8. Negura Bunget - OM
9. Opeth - Blackwater Park
10. Nokturnal Mortum - Голос сталi
11. Moonsorrow - V: Hävitetty
12. My Dying Bride - The Dreadful Hours
13. Shape of Despair - Angels of Distress
14. Electric Wizard - Dopethrone
15. Virgin Black - Requium-Mezzo Forte
16. Drudkh - Autumn Aurora
17. Thy Catafalque - Róka Hasa Rádió
18. Isis - Panopticon
19. Gojira - From Mars to Sirius
20. My Dying Bride - Songs of Darkness, Words of Light

21. Ea - Ea Taesse

22. Kylesa - Static Tensions

23. Canvas Solaris - The Atomized Dream

24. Enslaved - Below the Lights

25. Neurosis - The Eye of Every Storm

26. Drudkh - Blood in Our Wells

27. Sigh - Hangman's Hymn

28. Moonsorrow - Verisäkeet

29. Amon Amarth - With Oden on Our Side

30. Darkspace - Darkspace I

31. Mastodon - Leviathan

32. Warning - Watching from a Distance

33. Om - Pilgrimage

34. Myrkgrav - Trollskau, Skrømt og Kølabrenning

35. Quo Vadis - Day into Night

36. Septic Flesh - Communion

37. Opeth - Ghost Reveries

38. Altar of Plagues - White Tomb

39. Disillusion - Back to Times of Splendor

40. Enslaved - Isa

41. Pelican - Australasia

42. Nevermore - Dead Heart in a Dead World

43. Krallice - Krallice

44. Falkenbach - Ok nefna tysvar ty

45. Negura Bunget - Măiastru sfetnic

46. <> - Nouveau Gloaming

47. Nokternal Mortum - Weltanschauung

48. Rwake - Voices of Omens

49. Esoteric - Subconscious Dissolution Into the Continuum

50. Cult of Luna - Salvation




Snoogans

1. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
2. Radiohead – Kid A
3. Broken Social Scene – Broken Social Scene
4. The xx – XX
5. Yo La Tengo – And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
6. Burial – Untrue
7. Wolf Parade – Apologies to the Queen Mary
8. Interpol – Turn on the Bright Lights
9. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles
10. The National – Alligator
11. Radiohead – In Rainbows
12. M83 – Saturdays = Youth
13. The Go! Team – Thunder, Lightning, Strike
14. Kanye West – The College Dropout
15. Arcade Fire – Funeral
16. jj – jj n°2
17. PJ Harvey – Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
18. M83 – Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts
19. Deltron 3030 – Deltron 3030
20. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
21. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
22. …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead – Source Tags and Codes

23. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell
24. Junior Boys – Last Exit
25. Broken Social Scene – You Forgot it in People
26. The Tough Alliance – A New Chance
27. Neon Indian – Psychic Chasms
28. Sufjan Stevens – Illinois(e)
29. Walé – The Mixtape About Nothing
30. LCD Soundsystem – LCD Soundsystem
31. Madvillain - Madvillainy
32. Daft Punk – Discovery
33. Radiohead - Amnesiac
34. Panda Bear – Person Pitch
35. Spoon – Kill the Moonlight
36. Kanye West – Late Registration
37. Animal Collective – Feels
38. Deerhunter – Microcastle / Weird Era Cont.
39. Primal Scream – XTRMNTR
40. Menomena – Friend and Foe
41. The National – Boxer
42. Radiohead – Hail to the Thief
43. Animal Collective – Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished

44. Sonic Youth – Murray Street
45. Kanye West - Graduation
46. Boards of Canada – Geogaddi
47. Junior Boys – So This is Goodbye
48. Mos Def – the Ecstatic
49. The Flaming Lips – Embryonic
50. TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain

SorboFTW

1. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

2. Kanye West - Late Registration

3. Beastie Boys - To The 5 Boroughs

4. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver

5. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare

6. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven!

7. Wilco - Yankee Foxtrot Hotel

8. Sunn O)) - Black One

9. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

10. Converge - Jane Doe

11. Ricardo Villalobos - Fizheuer Zieheuer

12. Scott Walker - The Drift

13. Mastodon - Crack The Skye

14. Derrhunter - Microcastle

15. J Dilla - Donuts

16. The Horrors - Strange House

17. Isis - Celestial

18. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Baby 81

19. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours

20. Tool - Lateralus

21. The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Tomorrows Heroes Today

22. Raekwon - Only Built For Cuban Linx...Pt II

23. The Strokes - Is This It

24. Frank Turner - Love Ire and Song

25. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

26. Clutch - Blast Tyrant

27. Isis - In Absence Of Truth

28. Radiohead - Kid A

29. The Kills - Midnight Boom

30. Lily Allen - Alright Still

31. Madvillain - Madvillainy

32. Kylesa - Static Tensions

33. Joanna Newsom - Y's

34. Mastodon - Remission

35. Boris - Pink

36. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

37. Blotted Science - The Machinations Of Dementia

38. Elliot Smith - Figure 8

39. Cryptopsy - Once Was Not

40. Boards Of Canada - Geogaddi

41. The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Bravery, Repetition and Noise

42. The Decemberists - Crane Wife

43. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - B.R.M.C.

44. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP

45. Sufjan Stevens - Michigan

46. Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf

47. Opeth - Blackwater Park

48. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

49. Electric Wizard - Dopethrone

50. Chris Cornell - SCREAM

UberKvltPancake

1. Isis - In the Absence of Truth

2. Negura Bunget - Maiastru Sfetnic

3. Thy Catafalque - Tuno Ido Tarlat

4. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven

5. Radiohead - Kid A

6. Electric Wizard - Dopethrone

7. Septic Flesh - Communion

8. The Ruins of Beverast - Rain Upon the Impure

9. Dirge - Wings of Lead Over Dormant Seas

10. Cryptopsy - Once Was Not

11. Disillusion - Back to Times of Splendor

12. Orphaned Land - Mabool: The Story of Three Sons of Seven

13. Gire - Gire

14. Novembre - Dreams d'azur

15. Boards of Canada - The Campfire Headphase

16. Joris Voorn - Balance 014

17. Ricardo Villalobos - The au Harem d'Archimede

18. Buried Inside - Chronoclast

19. Canvas Solaris - Penumbra Diffuse

20. Dying Fetus - Destroy the Opposition

21. Corrupted - El Mundo Frio

22. Plastikman - Closer

23. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. 2

24. El-P - Fantastic Damage

25. Mouth of the Architect - The Ties That Bind

26. Nasum - Helvete

27. Rosetta - The Galilean Satellites

28. Shpongle - Are You Shpongled?

29. Noisia - Fabriclive 40

30. Teebee - Black Science Labs

31. Burial - Burial

32. Mastodon - Crack the Skye

33. High on Fire - Blessed Black Wings

34. Haymaker - Haymaker

35. Accept Death - Accept Death

36. Emancipator - Soon It Will Be Cold Enough

37. Irreversible - Sins

38. J Dilla - Donuts

39. Converge - No Heroes

40. Daemonia Nymphe - Daemonia Nymphe

41. Haus Arafna - Butterfly

42. Scott Walker - The Drift

43. Gaza - I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die

44. Marcel Dettmann - Berghain 02

45. Richie Hawtin - DE9: Closer to the Edit

46. Meshuggah - Nothing

47. Summoning - Stronghold

48. Suburban Knight - My Sol Dark Direction

49. Amon Tobin - Supermodified

50. Gorguts - From Wisdom to Hate




Vr00m

1. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
2. Radiohead - Kid A
3. Madvillain - Madvillainy
4. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It in People
5. Deerhunter - Microcastle
6. The Strokes - Is This It
7. Joanna Newsom - Ys
8. Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
9. Tom Waits - Bastards
10. Sonic Youth - Murray Street
11. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
12. Kanye West - Late Registration
13. Radiohead - In Rainbows
14. The National - Alligator
15. Electric Wizard - Dopethrone
16. Liars - Drums not Dead
17. The Avalanches - Since I Left You
18. The Beat Konducta - Vol. 5
19. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
20. Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary
21. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
22. No Age - Nouns
23. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
24. The Microphones - The Glow Pt. 2
25. Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica
26. Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
27. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Yr Skinny Fists
28. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
29. Outkast - Stankonia
30. Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain
31. Jens Lekman - Night Falls over Kortedala
32. Boris - Akuma no Uta
33. Animal Collective - Feels
34. The Knife - Silent Shout
35. Edan - Beauty and the Beat
36. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
37. Liars - Liars
38. M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts
39. Brian Wilson - Smile
40. ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - Source Tags and Codes

41. Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030
42. Fugazi - The Argument
43. Portishead - Third
44. LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
45. J Dilla - Donuts
46. Kanye West - Graduation
47. Boris - Pink
48. Burial - Untrue
49. Kanye West - The College Dropout
50. Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out

Salem - King Knight (2010)

If you're the kind of person that loves subtly crafted beats, insightful lyrics, and a gentle atmosphere, then most likely you'll hate this album. On the other hand, if you like to wander into vacant houses late at night, take baths in melted cheespuffs, and lather yourself with SPAM while watching the latest episode of Ghost Adventures, then you'll probably love Salem's latest album-"King Night."

"King Night" is about the album you would expect out of a genre called "Witch House". Listening to it is like taking one of those haunted house tours during Halloween where people jump out at you every time you turn a corner, fog machines churn out smoke all night, and a mix tape loops clanking chains and ghost howls in the background. Basically, subtley is eschewed and everything is thrown towards one goal-completely immersing the listener in the atmosphere of the album. For Salem this means lathering on thick, synth filled beats topped with Chopped and Screwed styled vocals-like if DJ Screw were reincarnated as a warlock.

Unfortunately, this overbearing and often tacky approach does more to remove the listener from the atmosphere than anything else. It's like with a B-grade horror movie where everything is so overdone that you can't help but rolling your eyes a little. Now, some of those B-grade horror movies do end up filling a sort of niche, but this isn't the case with "King Night". Maybe you could argue that there is a bit of that B-grade, made-in-grandma's-basement-charm to it, but for me it just ends being to dull and boring to ever achieve that. I mean in the end, a lot of the track just aren't interesting enough to make up for their shortcomings.

Being cheesy and creative is fun. Being cheesy and dull is not.

"Hound" is the track, for me, that epitomizes why the album fails as a whole. It starts pretty straightforwardly with a simple sci-fi synth melody and a Chopped N' Scewed drum beat, but 15 seconds into the track this timbale sounding drum loop comes in-high pitched, flat and thin. It's like if you were walking through that haunted house, when all of a sudden out of the fog machine smoke comes a gay pirate-the two just don't go together. So instead of establishing any sort of atmosphere, even an enjoyably B-grade one, Salem ends up shooting themselves in the foot.

There are some high moments on the album. To me, "Redlights" and "Traxx" both succeed in establishing a pretty unique atmosphere, envoking something similiar to the album's cover. But the production ultimately holds it back from becoming anything special. Really, it just sounds too BAD. Like not just cheesy, but actually bad-the drums, the mixing, the bass-all of it. If some time were spent giving some real depth to the beats, then there might be some real potential there.

I think as a genre "Witch House" has places it can go. It's appeal even makes sense to me-I mean, I enjoy a good B-grade horror film. But "King Night" is not the best best representation of what the genre can become. Instead, it ends up showing how, if the genre wants to succeed, it's going to be very challenging to find the right balance between being tiresomely tacky and endearingly cheesy, if that's what you want to call it.

4