 Hilltop
Distillery
"...Died in the Woods" CD
State
Bird Records
Genres: instrumental rock, experimental rock
e-mail
the band
Dec 2 - 8 2002 |
Instrumental
music is not easy to create. Many audiences aren't willing to get over
the fact that rock music without vocals can't be good. As superficial
and unfair as that may be, it's the reality, and thus a band like Hilltop
Distillery may not receive the attention they certainly deserve.
It's complete bullshit, I mean REALLY, but that's the way it works.
And for that reason I want to let you all know that this band,
though primarily instrumental, is not one of those other, bland
instrumental rock bands. Oh, no. With warped, angular chords and
frustrated guitar gouges, HD know what they're doing, and do it
dang well. And ...Died in the Woods is the perfect example of
what they can do. Right from the oddly warped starter, "Host of a
Chance," the album's off to a great start. Boasting bizarre,
almost discordant guitar chords, it puts you into a bizarre world of
intergalactic moodiness. "Mach Studder" continues this
trend, introducing unintelligible static-drenched voice transmissions
into the mix (very GYBE!-esque, y'know?), and "Ky.
Suite" keeps it going as well.
"1st of the Month," meanwhile, sees a more energetic side
of the album. With angular, crunchy guitar sounds, swift drumming, and
frantic vocals, it brings to mind a sax-less Sweep The Leg Johnny.
"8 Ohm" shares this mood, except with a more jagged, dark
feeling to it that really gets a nice atmosphere going. "To the
Damn!", the album's final track (excluding a brief hidden song),
is an engaging nine-minute finale that will leave you breathless.
Starting off with a blast and then moving into a haunting
drum-and-guitar assembly line, it works best in the dark, where it
plummets you into a creepy musical netherworld of fear and
brain-numbing hallucination. The sound is intense, the track gradually
plodding along, building up to a crashing, apocalyptic climax that will
send you flying through the window. It's the album's best track by
far, and is worth the price of admission alone.
All things considered, ...Died in the Woods is the perfect
introduction to this Kentucky experimental rock band. While definitely
not for everyone, those who think a more experimental version of Sweep
The Leg Johnny would be appealing will find a lot to like here.
Even for just the last track, this is an album I urge you to check
out.
89%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
9 tracks; distributed by the
band;
released 2002] |
