Radical Research Podcast

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Episode 27 – Fall Into Overdrive: Spiral Architect’s Tech-Metal Masterwork Mar 12, 2019

Show notes

A Skeptic’s Universe is what happens when student becomes master. Spiral Architect’s school years were spent in obscurity, honing their craft, learning their lessons, keeping their noses to the grindstone. In 1998 they began work on their master’s thesis, and in early 2000, upon publication, earned a spot on the lonely pedestal of top-tier tech metal. While owing debts to Watchtower, Fates Warning, Psychotic Waltz, Sieges Even, Toxik and Cynic, the young Norwegians upstaged them all with a most vicious merging of high-test progressive metal, bubbling fusion ferocity, and laboratory-borne aural pathogens.

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Spinning” (A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000) “Excessit” (A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000) “Moving Spirit” (A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000) “Occam’s Razor” (A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000) “Insect,” two passages (A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000) “Cloud Constructor” (A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000) “Conjuring Collapse,” two passages (A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000) “Adaptability” (A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000) “Fountainhead” (A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000) “Prelude to Ruin,” two passages (A Skeptic’s Universe, Japanese version bonus track, 2000)

Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 27

Episode 26 – It’s Weird Being a Bob: NoMeansNo FTW Feb 26, 2019

Show notes

Angular, adventurous, and apocalyptic in nearly equal shares, few bands scratch the collective itches of Radical Research like Victoria, British Columbia’s Nomeansno. From their punky beginnings to the nuanced terror of their mature work, Nomeansno trafficked some of the most dangerous and dexterous rock music of the '80s and '90s. Accompanied by venomous libretti - Rob Wright May be responsible for rock music’s most articulate extrapolation of Hannah Arendt’s theory of the Banality of Evil - Nomeansno summoned a heady din of seething, twisting, mongrel-music. Peerless in a peer-friendly world, Nomeansno takes the road never traveled.

Note I: Caveat! We talk for 7 or 8 minutes at the beginning of this episode about drummer Vinnie Colaiuta before we get into Nomeansno. Note II: Due respect to Mama, Sex Mad, The Worldhood of the World (As Such) and Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie. All Nomeansno albums are recommended by Radical Research! Note III: Rob Wright is the man. For a long time, he looked like Phil Donohue…and when he was raging on stage, singing with sardonic malice and playing bass like a god, it was a fantastic visual, both hilarious and terrifying. Music cited, in order of appearance: “The End of All Things” (Wrong, 1989) “Victory” (Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed, 1988) “It’s Catching Up” (Wrong, 1989) “Ghosts” (0+2=1, 1991) “I See a Mansion in the Sky” (All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt, 2006) “Forget Your Life” (The Day Everything Became Nothing, 1988) “Real Love” (Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed, 1989) “0+2=1” (0+2=1, 1991) “The Day Everything Became Nothing” (The Day Everything Became Nothing, 1988) “Teresa, Give Me That Knife” (Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed, 1988) “The Tower” (Wrong, 1989) “Under the Sea” (One, 2000) “Everyday I Start to Ooze” (0+2=1, 1991) “Mary” (0+2=1, 1991) “Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed” (Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed, 1989) “The River” (Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy?, 1993) “Bitch’s Brew” (One, 2000) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 26

Episode 25 – Pytten’s Chamber Music: Black Metal in Grieghallen Feb 12, 2019

Show notes

Pytten’s Chamber Music: Black Metal in Grieghallen

As the ground began to swell in early ‘90s Norway, a shadowy figure known to metal fans only as “Pytten” (ne Eirik Hundvin) ensconced himself in Bergen’s Grieghallen Studio and began to document the work of the country’s Young Turks. In this frontier territory, Pytten used the cavernous spaces of Grieghallen to create a miasmic, atmospheric sound that would establish the production aesthetics for the emergent global black metal movement. For its 25th episode, Radical Research examines the morphology of Pytten’s work across a ten year span, as well as his cooperation with some of black metal’s most emblematic artists.Note I: We so appreciate our Sponsor, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, and urge you to go deep with their various RPGs! Get Frostbitten and Mutilated at a Triumphant Discount: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?discount=9ff813a5db

Note II: There isn’t much interview documentation or footage on Pytten, but here’s a great video that reveals some details we weren’t aware of at the time we recorded this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvQLSigwF2U Note III: Pytten, much like English producer, Colin Richardson, was dragged into the world of extreme music rather innocently. His first production, for Bergen’s Old Funeral, began as a favor to one of the band members’ fathers. Solid dad move.

Note IV: As we mention in our conversation, Pytten played bass in several rock bands in the ‘80s. Apropos of this episode, he also contributed fretless bass to Enslaved’s “Yggdrasil,” from their classic 1994 album, Frost, confirming his mettle as both producer and practitioner. Music cited, in order of appearance: Old Funeral, “Skin and Bone“ (Abduction of Limbs, 1990 demo) Burzum, “Det Som Engang Var” (Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, 1993) Mayhem, “Life Eternal” (De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, 1994) Emperor, “The Burning Shadows of Silence” (In the Nightside Eclipse, 1994) Hades, “Hecate (Queen of Hades)” (…Again Shall Be, 1994) Immortal, “Moonrise Fields of Sorrow” (Battles in the North, 1995) Borknagar, “Vintervredets Sjelesagn” (Borknagar, 1996) Gorgoroth, “Destroyer” (Destroyer, or About How to Philosophize with the Hammer, 1998) Aeternus, “Warrior of the Crescent Moon” (…And So the Night Became, 1998) Trelldom, "Slave Til En Kommende Natt" (Til Et Annet…, 1998) Mork Gryning, “Maelstrom Chaos” (Maelstrom Chaos, 2001) Enslaved, “The Cromlech Gate” (Monumension, 2001) episode 26 preview: Nomeansno, “All Lies” (Wrong, 1989) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 25

Episode 24 – This is the Ritual of Divination: Nasty Savage ’87/’88 Jan 29, 2019

Show notes

Emerging from the swampy wastes of Florida, Nasty Savage created a body of work built on the inimitable vocals of Ronnie Galetti (aka Nasty Ronnie), hammering percussion, and a harmonic guitar language that has yet to be replicated. This episode of Radical Research takes a focused look at the band's most feverishly creative period, represented by 1987's Indulgence LP and 1988's Abstract Reality EP. Neither thrash nor power metal nor prog, these two pieces of music vibrate at a pitch all their own, but have influenced artists who occupy a broad space of the heavy metal spectrum. Join us as we disinter these savage gems and apply the RR scalpel. And remember: You Snooze, You Lose!

Note I: Nasty Savage was among the first metal bands to popularize the use of Morrisound Studio in Tampa, Florida, which would come to be known as the crucible of the then-primordial Florida Death Metal scene.

Note II: We briefly mention the cover art that attends the two subject albums, rendered by Lewis VanDercar. Your Radical Research hosts are passionate advocates of visual surrealism and VanDercar is one of the form's most unsung practitioners. You are urged, should you be so inclined, to investigate the man's work.

Note III: You could do way worse than buy this thing right now: https://www.discogs.com/Nasty-Savage-Indulgence-Abstract-Reality/release/3063475 Note IV: And you could do plenty worse than checking out LotFP’s RPG, Towers Two, with a special discount -- at this link only -- for Radical Research listeners: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?discount=96d8ca0fe Note V: The steady band lineup of Galetti/Meyer/Austin/Beeson had trouble keeping a bass player for any length of time. The bassists on Indulgence and Abstract Reality were Dezso Istvan Bartha and Chris Moorhouse (RIP), respectively. Hail.

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Stabbed in the Back” (Indulgence, 1987) “Divination” (Indulgence, 1987) “Indulgence” (Indulgence, 1987) “Inferno” (Indulgence, 1987) “Hypnotic Trance” (Indulgence, 1987) “Incursion Dementia” (Indulgence, 1987) “Distorted Fanatic” (Indulgence, 1987) “?” (Indulgence, 1987) “Abstract Reality” (Abstract Reality, 1988) “Eromantic Vertigo” (Abstract Reality, 1988) “You Snooze, You Lose” (Abstract Reality, 1988) “Unchained Angel” (Abstract Reality, 1988) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 24

Episode 23.5 – Mystery Snippets Jan 22, 2019

Show notes

This game originates from one Jeff plays semi-regularly with our pal Tim Hammond, where CD-Rs fly back and forth between the Boros (States and Greens), and one has to puzzle out the other's mystery tracks. It's been an effective way to both discover new stuff and learn about things to avoid. This episode Jeff and Hunter play mystery tunes for each other. We'll likely repeat this point-5 feature on occasion, so if we're keeping score, it's Jeff 1, Hunter 0. But maybe Hunter gets .5 for his guess of...oh wait, it's a secret. Music cited, in order of appearance: sorry...nothing to see here...move along, you lookyloos!

Episode 23 – What the Hell is Art Rock? Jan 15, 2019

Show notes

The possibly despicable term “art rock” is where pop, prog & rock meet, with a generous layer of quirk embedded throughout. Art rock is pop without restraint, prog with good table manners, rock stretching its creative fibers beyond the norm. And yet, gray areas abound! In episode 23 of Radical Research, we offer an hour-long survey of several artists in this realm: Crack the Sky, Be Bop Deluxe, Godley & Creme, Split Enz and Max Webster. Leaping off from the platform built by the Beatles, David Bowie, Roxy Music, 10cc and Queen, we crash-land onto beguiling terrain. Note I: Other than the featured artists & foundational art rock gods mentioned above, more bands we recommend not featured in this episode: Alan Parsons Project, City Boy, Brian Eno (1973-1977), Phil Manzanera, Citizen Band, Angel (1975-1976), Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (1977-1980), Buggles, Japan, Sparks, Tubes, Eddie Jobson/Zinc, and even select Cheap Trick tunes. Blue Oyster Cult also intersect with this family of bands. And there are more… Note II: We’re proud to be sponsored for 2019 by Lamentations of The Flame Princess, Weird Fantasy Role Playing! We encourage you to check out their award-winning (and sometimes banned!) products here: www.lotfp.com/RPG/

Music cited, in order of appearance: Cheap Trick, “High Priest of Rhythmic Noise” (All Shook Up, 1980) Crack the Sky, “Ice” (Crack the Sky, 1975) Crack the Sky, “Nuclear Apathy” (Safety in Numbers, 1978) Be Bop Deluxe, “Sister Seagull” (Futurama, 1975) Be Bop Deluxe, “Kiss of Light” (Modern Music, 1976) Godley & Creme, “The Sporting Life” (L, 1978) Godley & Creme, “I Pity Inanimate Objects” (Freeze Frame, 1979) Split Enz, “Crosswords” (Dizrythmia, 1978) Split Enz, “In the Wars” (1980 b-side) Max Webster, “Toronto Tontos” (Max Webster, 1976) Max Webster, “Battle Scar” (Universal Juveniles, 1980) Blue Oyster Cult, “Hungry Boys” (Cultosaurus Erectus, 1980) Episode 24 preview: Nasty Savage, “Abstract Reality” (Abstract Reality, 1988) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 23

Episode 22 – Weeping Suns & Churning Seas: An Examination of Pyogenesis’ Twinaleblood Jan 01, 2019

Show notes

It would be inaccurate to say that Germany’s Pyogenesis is underrated because, in fact, they have hardly ever been rated at all. Over the course of their career – which is still in process – Pyogenesis worked across a wide swath of genres, including death/doom and alternative metal, before settling on a mostly-unsuccessful foray into pop-punk. The 22nd installment of Radical Research dedicates most of its time to the band’s finest piece of music, 1995’s inscrutably-titled, Twinaleblood. Our 70-minute conversation digs in deeply to the album’s daring mosaic of sounds and styles, which ranges from the Type O Negative grandeur of “Undead” to the hooky alternative rock of “Weeping Sun.” The album was an island in 1995 and remains so in 2018, bearing the visionary mark.

Note I: Immense appreciation to RR listener Giorgos Ketigenis for supplying mp3s of the early demo and 7 inch tracks.

Note II: Hunter knows The Archaic Course is a Borknagar album and not an Arcturus one. We both get excited and lose our minds a little when it comes to discussing the best performances of vocalist Simen Hestnaes. Incidentally, Jeff believes Simen’s performance on Arcturus’s Arcturian is one of the best in metal history. And there’s your Norwegian metal reference for this episode. Note III: Way back in episode 4 (Disharmonic Orchestra) we discuss the interesting heritage of the laugh in metal music. Listener and doggone brilliant observationist Forrest Pitts reminded us about Tim Asmodeus’s laugh on Pyogenesis song “In the End.” It’s not in the part we sample this episode -- we had already recorded -- but it's absolutely worth noting. Haw haw haw! Please keep the laugh-spotting coming, people. Might be a cool subject for a point-5 episode at some juncture. Note IV: Tim was also in a band called G.U.T. at the same time Pyogenesis was getting started. We wanted to mention that but conversation took us elsewhere. They were nuts. Check it out if you dare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFvUB-y4Lz4

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Considering the Majesty of Doom” (Ode to the Churning Seas of Nar-Mataru demo, 1991) “Lowland of Impiety” (Sacrificious Profanity 7”, 1992) “Still Burn in Fire” (Ignis Creatio, 1992) “In the End” (Waves of Erotasia, 1994) “Fade Away” (Sweet X-Rated Nothings, 1994) “Undead” (Twinaleblood, 1995) “Twinaleblood” (Twinaleblood, 1995) “Weeping Sun” (Twinaleblood, 1995) “Every Single Day” (Twinaleblood, 1995) “Abstract Life” (Twinaleblood, 1995) “Those Churning Seas” (Twinaleblood, 1995) “God Complex” (Twinaleblood, 1995) “Mutz Umst Erben” (Twinaleblood bonus track, 1995) “Supavenus” (Twinaleblood, 1995) “Love Nation Sugarhead” (Love Nation Sugarhead - EP, 1996) episode 23 preview: Crack the Sky, “Virgin…No” (Animal Notes, 1976)

Episode 21 – Who is the Freak Now? Regurgitating OLD Dec 18, 2018

Show notes

Meet the creatures Plotkin & Dubin, instigators of some of the most beguiling music ever beamed to Earth from a New Jersey-shaped quasar. Like the guy in the petri dish on the Musical Dimensions… album cover, your puzzled Radical Research hosts consider the bizarre landscape before them and dive into the peculiar tumult of OLD.

Note I: We can only assume “sleastak,” from the album title The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak, is a reference to Sleestaks, an extra-dimensional reptile race from 1970s Saturday morning show, Land of the Lost.

Note II: We briefly mention Khanate, a post-OLD endeavor of Plotkin & Dubin, but the wealth of material and collaborations James Plotkin became involved in after OLD’s demise is impressive and worth mentioning. First is Flux, whose 1997 album, Protoplasmic, was a direct successor to the trail followed on OLD’s Formula. Not to mention membership in the short-lived Khlyst, supportive roles with Scorn and Namanax, and collaborations with Mick Harris, K.K. Null, Mark Spybey, and many other specimens.

Note III: Jeff said there’s nothing exclusive on the Grindcrusher compilation. Not entirely true: the version of Carcass’s “Exhume to Consume” is different than the Symphonies of Sickness version. Either way, Grindcrushergoes with us to our graves.

Note IV: We love Duran Duran (ref. “Marzuraan” intro). We own and listen to 21 Duran Duran releases between the two of us. (19 of those are Jeff’s)

NoteV: Discogs Dot Com. Buy or Die.

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Peri Cynthion” (The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak, 1993) “Total Hag” (Old Lady Drivers, 1988) “Old Ladies Always Break Their Hips” (Old Lady Drivers, 1988) “Cocaine” (Old Lady Drivers, 1988) “Outlive” (Lo Flux Tube, 1991) “Citient Null” (Lo Flux Tube, 1991) “Marzuraan”(Lo Flux Tube, 1991) “Who Are You” (Masters of Misery – Black Sabbath: An Earache Tribute, 1992) “Two of Me (Parts One and Two)” (The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak, 1993) “Freak Now” (The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak, 1993) “Happy Tantrum” (The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak, 1993) “Last Look” (Formula, 1995) “Break (You)” (Formula, 1995) “Thug” (Formula, 1995) “Z.U.” (Lo Flux Tube, 1991) Episode22 preview: Pyogenesis, “Abstract Life” (Twinaleblood, 1995)

This is Radical Research Podcast episode 21

Episode 20 – Wolf’s Lair Abyss: Answer & Announcement Dec 04, 2018

Show notes

From the dark past, in the light of freezing moons and through funeral fog, Mayhem reappeared in 1997, under cover of night and to relatively little fanfare. Wolf’s Lair Abyss, the band’s first release since 1994’s epochal De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, reveals a fiercer, future-forward approach to Mayhem’s trademark hailstorm black metal. Time has been kind to this EP and so your Radical Research hosts have pulled out the cuneiform in order to decipher symbols of bloodswords.

Note 1: With this EP, we see the reappearance of two former Mayhem members, Maniac and Necrobutcher. This lineup would go on to record two full-length albums, 2000’s black-tech masterpiece, Grand Declaration of War, and 2004’s steely Chimera.

Note 2: The EP’s final track, “Symbols of Bloodswords,” features a chord progression that would become a motivic device on Grand Declaration of War. Radical Research suggests a back-to-back listen for maximum effect.

Music cited, in order of appearance: “From the Dark Past” (De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, 1994) “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” (De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, 1994) “The Vortex Void of Inhumanity” (Wolf’s Lair Abyss, 1997) “I Am Thy Labyrinth” (Wolf’s Lair Abyss, 1997) “Fall of Seraphs” (Wolf’s Lair Abyss, 1997) “Ancient Skin” (Wolf’s Lair Abyss, 1997) “Symbols of Bloodswords” (Wolf’s Lair Abyss, 1997) “A Grand Declaration of War” (Grand Declaration of War, 2000) “Completion in Science of Agony (pt. II of II)” (Grand Declaration of War, 2000) episode 21 preview: OLD, “Backwards Through the Greedo Compressor” (The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak, 1993)

This is Radical Research Podcast episode 20

Episode 19 – The Unquietness of Fleurety Nov 27, 2018

Show notes

Goodbye clarity, hello obfuscation… Norway’s other post-black metal duo, perhaps dwelling deeper in obscure shadows than Solefald… we hail Fleurety’s dedication to the dark arts and… which craft? All the ones that bring metal to the most precarious of left-field edges. So bizarre that it makes complete sense. We enthusiastically endorse their mission.

Note I: Of all our favorite high school Latin teachers who are also committed metal fans, our favorite has to be Chris Ayers. We are grateful for his help with the Latin translations/meanings in this episode. Chris also has the rare distinction of having attended a listening party for DVC’s Molecular Shadow in Florida in 1992.

Note II: The Inquietum CD is the yellowest in either of our collections. It is also a mandatory Fleurety document. Buy it here: https://www.discogs.com/Fleurety-Inquietum/release/10711416

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Descent Into Darkness” (Ingentes Atque Decorii Vexilliferi Apokalypsis 7”, 2009, recorded 2004/05) “Profanations Beneath the Bleeding Stars” (A Darker Shade of Evil 7”, 1994) “Absence” (January 1995 demo) “Fragmenter Av En Fortid” (Min Tid Skal Komme, 1995) “Englers Piler Har Ingen Brodd” (Min Tid Skal Komme, 1995) “I Saw Claws” (Last-Minute Lies, 1999) “Face in a Fever” (Department of Apocalyptic Affairs, 2000) “Shotgun Blast” (Department of Apocalyptic Affairs, 2000) “Barb Wire Smile” (Department of Apocalyptic Affairs, 2000) “Summon the Beasts” (Evoco Bestias 7”, 2011, recorded 2008) “Degenerate Machine” (Et Spiritus Meus Semper Sub Sanguinantibus Stellis Habitabit 7”, 2013, recorded 2009/10) “Consensus” (two moments, Fragmenta Cuinsvis Aetatis Contemporaneae 7”, 2017, recorded 2011-2015) “The Science of Normality” (The White Death, 2017) “Future Day” (The White Death, 2017) “Facets” (Last-Minute Lies, 1999) episode 20 preview: Mayhem, “Ancient Skin” (Wolf’s Lair Abyss, 1997)

This is Radical Research Podcast episode 19

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