Monday, June 28, 2010

Music To Frag To! – June, 2010

(From Digital Gaudium)

This series of monthly features will talk about select songs on the latest albums from extreme music based bands (death metal, hardcore punk, powerviolence, etc.) which you should listen to when getting the nuke or capturing a flag.

Sometimes when I play games like “Call of Duty” or “Halo,” I get a bit irritated of those moments of silence. It became an annoyance when I played the “Lost Planet 2″ multiplayer demo where distant sounds sounded too far and near proximity effects fade too quickly. I put on some fast grindcore which in result turned out excellent. The immediate assaulting songs worked in context of the game and would work in others too.

For this month I will showcase music from the first half of 2010. For the coming months, it will regularly be based on releases during a particular month while I might do some special entries on occasion.

NOTICE: Music on this edition will be removed by next feature of this series. Labels, if you request a track removal during this period, contact staff@digitalgaudium.com and we will happily remove the file.



1. Kverlertak - 'Mjød' (self-titled)
In extreme music, Norway is the capital of its significant black metal scene. Murders, church burning and even a bizarre suicide situation. The ideology is dangerous but the music is intense and mysterious.

The atmospheric energy from the sound is blended with Kvelertak's love for party time rock and roll. Sort of like a mix of Turbonegro, Emperor and Refused. Their latest album is perfect for those casual play sessions with friends where good clean fun is more important than winning. Kvelertak's self-title album is currently streaming here.

2. Celeste - 'Ces belles de rêve aux verres embués' ("Morte(s) Nee(s)")
Most of the time I hear people put their microphones near their music speakers on Xbox Live; it's pretty much badly done hip-hop music with the bass frequency of the beat pattern repeatedly coming on. French quartet Celeste also focuses on constant rapid repetition but for their case it works.

Hypnotizing black metal-like guitars and bass fill the left and right channels, drums stays and a pummeling rhythm, and vocals contribute to the chaotic approach. The production is intentionally overpowered to match the constant bombastic and bludgeoning terror the album encompasses. Would sound great for the upcoming "Splatterhouse" reimagining. An intensely violent game with intensely violent music; there will be blood. The album along with their previous two is officially available for free here.

3. Extortion - 'Regrets' ("Loose Screws")
FAST! FASTER!! FASTEST!!! High speed intensity represents this powerviolence band from Perth, Australia. It's immature and punk but that's the point. They play it very straightforward in every release they had. Great for those tactical knife sprinting runs on Modern Warfare 2.







4. Ceremony - 'Sick' ("Rohnert Park")
Ceremony is too after two album of fastness. Rohnert Part takes it back to the early 1980s where bands like Black Flag and Bad Brains were emerging from their own scenes. The song "Sick" best represents that feeling.

Staying on a pacing tempo, Ceremony vocalist Ross Farrar goes all out nihilistic about hating everything. If you have that same mood and won't care if you are playing adversarial or team modes, you hate everyone and it's time to kill them (in game of course).



5. Trash Talk - Tracks 1-3 and 5-10 ("Eyes & Nines")
Removing the fourth slow track 'Hash Wednesday,' Eyes & Nines from this Sacramento, California quartet is just about 12 minutes long. But hell those 12 minutes go out fast like a bullet. A big player count Halo match should be enough for these nine songs. The minutes will be blissful chaos during melee combat and constant ballistic urgency.






6. Integrity - 'Learn To Love The Lie' ("The Blackest Curse")
Cleavland, Ohio metalcore masters debuts a full length (ever since 2001) with more "Holy Terror."

Remember when Slayer's 'Angel of Death' was in almost every skateboarding game? Even a great thrash song can get tiring. If there was an alternative, I will take this song or others from Integrity's The Blackest Curse." They match the rage that Slayer perfected in "Reign In Blood" and makes it more in key with hardcore punk. It's still angry.



7. "This Comp Kills Fascists Vol. 2"
It's 74 tracks of aural violence in one CD! The compilation soundtrack to utter chaos for any intense multiplayer game. Enough said. Here are two tracks from the massive grindhouse of sound. DON'T PRESS PAUSE.