Crib Notes

Atlanta punk metal trio Chopper crafts a heavy handed dirge that claims influences from a broad palette of many manly musics.

Everything from such classic rock icons as Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Led Zeppelin, Motorhead, Jimi Hendrix and so on, tempered with a modern hardcore/metal edge that’s sharpened by the likes of Converge, Mastodon, Entombed and Unsane fit the bill. But the music is not wihtout a sense of humor, that usually evokes something to do with wizards, Mel Gibson, mythical beats or all of the above.
The group’s debut, 10-song full-length, Born to Ride…or Die hits the streets this month on drummer Lamar George’s new label, Dark Wolf Records.

A CD release show is currently in the works and will be announced on Crib Notes very soon.

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From out of nowhere Off-Duty Cop is playing their first show tonight at Lenny’s. ODC is a new pairing of former Blame Game band mates Ian Deaton (guitar) and Alex Lambert (drums).

Deaton explains that the group is an excuse for him and Lambert to get together and jam on some punk songs and do some improvisational stuff as well. It is a project that will be ongoing, and will fire up whenever Lambert is back in town from NYC where he currently resides, or Deaton is up there.

Off-Duty Cop plays around 12:30 and the show is free. Be there or get busted…

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Fag Static guitarist Ian Deaton sent me a text message this weekend to tell me that the test pressings for the group’s new LPs are back and that one with my name on it is waiting for me at The Majestic on Ponce.

I picked it up Sunday afternoon and it hasn’t left my turntable since. The new record, titled Ficcanaso brings a much needed change of pace for Atlanta. This town’s music scenes are as separate and distinct as its neighborhoods, and let’s face it, the only real neighborhood around these parts that’s been on the upswing over the last few years has been the sloppy garage and punk rock bastions that have thrived in the wake of the Black Lips’ success.

Hardcore died a long time ago, and as so much simple, ramshackle rock and roll has been the face of Atlanta for so long, everything else has felt like a neglected stepchild. But the arrival of Ficcanaso signals a change on the horizon.

There isn’t truly a categorical home for Fag Static. The group draws from elements of hardcore, grindcore, artcore and judging by the song titles on the new album, Italian horror film scores.

The group features 1/2 of the original line-up of former ATL post-hardcore saving grace, Blame Game. And while there is no denying that Blame Game was a fantastic band, the group couldn’t resist sinking into a mire of uptight and prog-ish guitar worship that, by the end of the its time, had blunted any sense of spontaneity from the music. Fag Static doesn’t make the same mistakes. There is plenty of open space to roam around between the growling vocals, rapid fire drumming and quick pace of the music.

The first song on the b-side, “il Scoperta” is creepy in the most addictive way imaginable, and the balance of warm washes of tones and drones that are constantly at odds with an all out aural assault shows an incredible amount of growth on the group’s part. (more…)

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