Band Of The Week: Rollin’ Coffin

For well over 20 plus years now, I’ve been a fan of Tim Williams from Vision Of Disorder and Bloodsimple. I will never forget hearing VOD for the first time and being absolutely taken aback by the vocals I had just heard. It sounded like Jim Morrison was fronting a hardcore band and I loved it! So, naturally as I have done for many many years, I found myself at the record store buying up all the VOD albums that were out at the time. Then when VOD took a break, Bloodsimple was formed and that was awesome as well. And then after that VOD came back and it’s been a more than welcome comeback. Now though, Tim has branched out on his own and unleashed a side of himself that is a bit stripped down while still keeping the brutal honesty that fans of Tim have come to love over the years. Which now brings me to introducing you to Rollin’ Coffin and the first song released from this new project “Runaway.” Speaking on what the song means Tim said “‘Runaway‘ is all about breaking away from what you have known, good and bad. “To seek freedom without a sense of doubt or consequence. It’s about not being afraid to shed your skin and start again.” That sounds pretty damn good to me. The track was produced by Jon Markson who has worked with Drug Church. There is so much more to come from the project that Tim describes as “These songs are a stripped down version of myself, creatively, coming from an honest place. Sonically, I wanted to achieve a unique sound. A loose, almost dangerous, approach to a different chapter in my musical journey.” I personally can’t wait for more! 2021 is shaping up to be one hell of a good year for new music!

Rollin’ Coffin- Runaway:

Top Ten Bands A to Z: V

The A to Z list continues to find the top ten bands/artists in the alphabet. V is upon us and needs help to complete the list.

As usual your suggestions are wanted in completing this list.

These are in no particular order as well.

01) The Velvet Underground
02) The Verve
03) Van Halen
04) Vision Of Disorder
05) Vast
06) The Ventures
07) Vanilla Fudge
08) Violent Femmes
09) The Vandals
10) Vexes (one of the best new V bands)

Audioeclectica Radio Episode 3

Episode 3 of Audioeclectica Radio is here. This episode is quite a good one. It’s full of lots of eclectic music and bands for your listening pleasure. I hope you enjoy what I’ve picked for you all.

I’d also like to shout out my friend and fellow listener Ben, he made the new title card (the above picture) for the show and it looks awesome and badass!! So thank you Ben!

Don’t forget this show is totally interactive. So if you have any requests for certain bands/songs or even topics you’d like for me to elaborate on, send me a message or leave a comment in the comments section.

Enjoy the show!

Your host and curator,

Brian

 

Audioeclectica Radio Episode 3:

 

List: Best Self Titled Albums

My brain works in strange ways at times. I think of silly lists in my mind then start to really analyze them. Earlier in the week I had an idea while gazing through my music collection at home about how many self titled albums there are. Which then made me think how many of those are really that good. Well here is a list of the best self titled albums. This list is in NO PARTICULAR ORDER.

 

Black Sabbath- Black Sabbath
Metallica- Metallica
Alice In Chains- Alice In Chains (Tripod)
Year Of The Rabbit- Year Of The Rabbit
Vision Of Disorder- Vision Of Disorder
The Velvet Underground & Nico- The Velvet Underground & Nico
Led Zeppelin- Led Zeppelin
The Doors- The Doors
System Of A Down- System Of A Down
Them Crooked Vultures- Them Crooked Vultures
Foo Fighters- Foo Fighters
Slipknot- Slipknot
Royal Blood- Royal Blood
Rage Against The Machine- Rage Against The Machine
Rancid- Rancid
Pearl Jam- Pearl Jam (Avocado)
Korn- Korn
Garbage- Garbage
Deftones- Deftones
The Cult- The Cult
311- 311

Live Review: Vision Of Disorder at The Whisky

One of my favorite things about going to see bands that I’ve loved for years and years, is looking around at the crowd and seeing fans from the beginning till now reveling in the music. Vision Of Disorder has that effect on people. The legends that they are still pack one hell of a punch live and deliver with all their might. More on them in a bit.

The night began for my friend and I with the band Matriarchs. This 5 piece hardcore band from Los Angeles was the surprise of the night. Not only did they pummel the crowd with their brutal intense brand of hardcore, they managed to get a Los Angeles crowd on a Sunday night into quite a frenzy. It’s been a while since I listened to this type of hardcore. They reminded me of old school Hatebreed and Terror. Matriarchs are legit and deliver the goods as each song goes into the next. This band is on my radar for sure.

Next up was a band called Critic. These guys had something really cool going on. Musically they had elements of prog, industrial and hardcore, making for quite an intriguing set. Just as Matriarchs did, the crowd got into a bit of a frenzy during their set. Even the security guards at the venue were into them and Matriarchs. This band as well will see some more attention as time goes on.

After Critic, the reformed Pissing Razors took the stage. I have to say that while enjoyable, I couldn’t help but think they were taking their groove metal love of Pantera a bit too far. While watching them, I could see and hear the distinct similarities of Pantera in their music and stage personas. Not to take anything away from them, but when you start singing Pantera songs over their songs, you might want to revisit your own songs.

The highlight of the night was of course the legendary Vision Of Disorder. Their unrelenting set consisted of songs from their beginning to their latest release Razed To The Ground (which by the way is a great album). The sheer magnitude of intensity that lives within each member of the band was left on stage last night. Songs like “DTO,” “Suffer,” “What You Are,” “Set To Fail,” and “Loveless,” killed. One of the coolest things during their set was watching a swarm of fans push forward to the front of the stage to sing along with Tim Williams. Amongst the crowd and singing along was Dave Peters of Throwdown. Seeing him in the crowd pushing to sing along instead of jumping on stage was quite an awesome move on his part. Very punk rock Dave!!!

The entire night was outstanding. Vision Of Disorder are still the real deal and continue to put out great new music. Matriarchs and Critic are two bands I will be following and writing about soon. It’s shows like this that make it fun for me still. As I get older I’ve noticed I’ve become more selective in the shows I go to, but as long as my favorite bands keep playing in Los Angeles, like VOD, I will be there.

 

 

By: Brian Lacy

Underrated and Influential: Vision Of Disorder

I’ve been a fan of heavy music pretty much my entire life. There are certain genres within the heavy music world that I’ve really come to love over the years. In 1998 I heard a band that really stepped up the hardcore game. That band was Vision Of Disorder and the album was called Imprint. As I do with every band that I wind up really liking, I went out and purchased any other albums by the band. Flash forward many years later as the “MetalCore” genre started growing in leaps and bounds, it really got me thinking that VOD weren’t getting the due they deserved. Vision Of Disorder had a large hand in developing the “metal core” sound and perfected it with the right amounts of hardcore, metal, and melody. The first two VOD albums cement this theory, especially Imprint. Songs like “What You Are,” “12 Steps To Nothing,” “By The River” which featured Phil Anselmo, and “Jada Bloom” are exquisite examples of what the band stands for.  In 2001 the band changed it up a bit on their album From Bliss To Devastation. This album saw more structure and a more pronounced approach to songwriting. The band though grew frustrated by the lack of support from their label and thus Vision of Disorder went on extended hiatus and eventually disbanded. Singer Tim Williams and guitarist Mike Kennedy formed the band Bloodsimple (who released two solidly good albums). Brendan Cohen (drums) and Mike Fleischmann (bass) played in the band Karvnov. Over the years VOD would reunite for scattered shows, then in 2008 the band formally announced their return. The released a new album entitled The Cursed Remain Cursed in 2012 and are gearing up to release the follow up to that album called Razed To The Ground in later 2015.

Vision Of Disorder is a band that deserves the respect of the bands they helped pave the way for. They have a signature sound that sums up what the genre is all about. The music these gents create is passionate and headstrong. I’m happy to say that I’ve had the pleasure of seeing VOD live and they are intense and go for it all every time they are on stage. Do yourself a favor and pick up some VOD albums and see what you missed out on!

Vision Of Disorder:

Imprint:

From Bliss To Devastation:

The Cursed Remain Cursed:

 

Razed To The Ground:

https://www.facebook.com/VisionOfDisorder

Great Guest Vocalists: Phil Anselmo

 

Phil Anselmo has one of the most distinct voices in the heavy music community. He has lent his talents to a few bands over the years. Here are some of those.

Vision Of Disorder- By The River (From The Album: Imprint)

Iommi- Time Is Mine (From The Album: Iommi)

Anthrax- Killing Box (From The Album: Volume 8 The Threat Is Real)

Jarboe- Overthrown (From The Album: Mahakali)

 

By: Brian Lacy