They picked the right song, for sure. This thing’s catchy as hell. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend watching this new Ironweed clip if you’re prone to seizures or grossed out by surgical footage, but the Albany rockers put the warehouse and the B-roll to good use on this thing and it’s worth checking out.
Video was shot and produced by Tigress Eye, Cranman and Ironweed.
They’ve undergone a few lineup changes since the release of their 2009 Small Stone debut, Indian Ladder, but Albany, New York’s Ironweed have managed to maintain the tightness and the heaviness of that first album and even develop it some on the follow-up, Your World of Tomorrow. A rallying cry against the post-modern dystopia in which we live, the nine-cut, 40-minute full-length is rife with crisp songwriting, clear presentation and an overall straightforward style that the four-piece is well suited to. As per the Small Stone norm, tracking and mixing was handled by Benny Grotto at Mad Oak Studios in Massachusetts, and as per his norm, there’s no sacrifice of the band’s formidable live energy in the name of getting a professional sound. Your World of Tomorrow is heavy rock for heavy rockers, and I know there are plenty out there who will find satisfaction in the aggression and payoff these songs have to offer.
Ironweed trace their roots back to Albany outfit Greatdayforup, of which guitarist Mike Vitali and bassist Brendan Slater were members. I wasn’t a huge fan of either Greatdayforup or the first Ironweed record, and even Your World of Tomorrow has a couple moments on it that feel contrived: the commercial balladry in the opening section of “And the New Slaves” and the ‘80s metal chorus of centerpiece track “Awaken” come most immediately to mind. Yet, for every down, there’s an equal and opposite up: The swagger of “Messenger” is a heavy and unmistakable highlight of the album, and the earlier, faster-paced “The Lucky Ones” features Your World of Tomorrow’s best scorching guitar lead and chorus alike. “Heavy Crowns,” which pops up later, finds vocalist/guitarist Jeff Andrews playing up the considerable Solace influence in his singing to great effect, as does opener “Now Stronger,” but there’s something decidedly nü-metal in the chorus riff of that song (it can be a fine like sometimes), and it’s just one of the tradeoffs I find myself making while listening to Ironweed’s latest. The band – rounded out by the hefty drum work of newcomer Dan Dinsmore — is solid on a songwriting level, and it’s easy to appreciate what they’re going for on Your World of Tomorrow, but there are some misfires to go along with the hits as the album plays out.
It’s funny, but when CBS Radio does its traffic reports of Hudson River crossings, they never mention Route 7 in Albany. Maybe that’s because the station doesn’t come in up there (I know for trying to listen to the Yankees), or maybe they’re just lazy. Seems like an oversight to me, in any case.
On my way back for a few days to Jersey and my humid, humid valley yesterday, I made a brief pitstop at Albany‘s Last Vestige Music Shop on Quail St. It was my first time there, and I thought initially they were closed since the neon “Open” sign was off and it looked like there were no lights on. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.
All hail the dying breed of independent music stores. They had vinyl galore, up front and in a back room, but since my buying proclivities lean me else-wise, I paid little attention to it, focusing instead on the vaguely alphabetized racks of used CDs. In the “Recent Arrivals” bin I found Lewis Black‘s latest, Stark Raving Black, which was alright, Blind Guardian‘s Live, which I apparently already own, and the Wino Daze compilation by Lost Breed on Helltown Records of Glenville, NY, a mere 40 minutes south from where I was.
It wasn’t an easy store to search through, as there was a lot in a relatively small amount of space and the organization wasn’t great, but Last Vestige seemed like a killer shop for classic rock mainstays. They had a small metal section from whence I grabbed the Lost Breed and Blind Guardian discs, but there was also most of the Judas Priest and Iron Maiden catalogs available used as well. If they’d had Rocka Rolla, I would have bought it, but no dice.
I was glad to have found Last Vestige, even if it wasn’t the most successful haul I’ve ever had. The Lost Breed disc is an interesting curio, and for that and the much-needed moment to regroup before getting on the terminally boring New York Thruway, it was easily worth the trip. I’d recommend stopping in to anyone passing through or by Albany, and as Last Vestige‘s Saratoga shop recently went out of business, and Albany‘s Music Shack also went under a few years ago, the store might just be living up to its name.
Originally released on cassette by Scotch Tapes and bearing a title which when translated from the German is revealed to be Full Moon Songs, Albany, NY, husband and wife duo Bone Parade?s Vollmondlieder (issued on CD through their own Wind and Fog Records) is the kind of ambient darkness that makes your flesh feel like chewed meat. Somehow it?s fitting; I hear a song like opener ?Mandragora,? am enveloped in the esoteric drone and operatic vocals, and finally the unbridled noise, and can?t get the words ?lake effect snow? out of my mind. It must be freezing up there by now.
There are four tracks on the CD version I received, though five listed on the back of the hand-made, hand-sewn sleeve (and you?d be amazed at the effect a few dangling threads can really have on making what?s otherwise a common form really stick out), and the obvious reference point is SunnO))), but with the already mentioned operatic tendencies of Erica Sparrow, an entirely different atmosphere is brought to the fore. On ?Death and the Maiden,? as Kevin Johnston provides washes of noise behind, Sparrow recites a spoken word that culminates with the repeated line, ?The moon is hungry,? and listening to Vollmondlieder, I?m afraid it just might come and eat me. Jarboe at her best can evoke a similar discomfort, and Diamanda Galas presents a likewise feeling of drama and musical consequence.
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