STAGNANT YOUTH - DEMO 2013

TEXAS ON TOP! This band is phenomenal in every sense of the phrase. Stagnant Youth is a new-er band out of Houston, Texas featuring three of the dudes from Back to Back. They played their first show at the Taqueria in Denton, Texas and absolutely killed it. This band blends a style of hardcore in the vein of Hoax and Gag and throws one of the most monstrous vocalists over the mix (dude sounds quite a bit like Martin van Duren of Pestilence in his prime, imo). There are so many cool parts strewn through this tape such as the mosh parts in "Deviant" and "Shameful" to the dark, fuzzed out solo, if you would call it one, in the middle of "Invasion / Reign". 

This band is still quite active and I would recommend seeing them live. I managed to catch their set at Chaos with S.H.I.T. and they just tore it up. If you see them, buy a shirt, buy a tape, and mosh your fucking brains out. But until then, prepare yourself.

OUGH.

CONSIDER THE SOURCE - ARE YOU WATCHING CLOSELY?

Let the outright fangirling begin. 

A few years ago when I first stumbled into the music scene a couple of friends continuously name dropped a band named Consider The Source. They came to town early on in my days in the DFW scene but I wasn't able to attend due to suffering from a car accident two days prior. So I gave them a spin on youtube and realized how bummed I was that I had missed them that March eve. But lo and behold I was informed that in June of 2011 they would be returning, even more thrilling was that they were playing in Denton on the night of my 18th birthday. But life has funny ways of making things happen my friends. I missed Consider The Source again for a second time that summer, due to an accident that occurred in West Virginia while my family and I were on vacation. Later that summer one night while I was playing minecraft with my friend Alex he decided to give the album "Are You Watching Closely?" a spin. Prior to this point the only CtS material I had heard was from their third album "That's What's Up!", an album phenomenal in its own right, no where near hooked me quite as much as "Are You Watching Closely?" got me. 

I ordered a copy from the local record store and it didn't come in until early October of 2011 and the rest of that year and up until this point now where I am typing this out, I am still utterly in love with this album.

Consider the Source is a hard band to pin down on what they play, they have prog moments, jazz, metal, sci-fi, funk, and even middle eastern moments in their music. It is literally all over the place. But what separates Consider The Source from a good chunk of prog and jam bands is that they do not sacrifice technicality for clever songwriting. There is not one boring moment on this album, the trio shift through moments of serene beauty to moments of pummeling force and back again. The most prime example of the CtS sound would be the second track "(Good Point) Wandering Bear" where in the middle of the song comes out this phenomenal slap riff on the bass and the guitars just begin to shred. 

Consider the Source comes through DFW about once or twice a year, most every time playing in Denton. I finally caught them in April of 2012, to date this is the only time I have seen them and literally the best band I have ever seen live. If you aren't into prog or any sort of music like that, give this album a shot. If you like this for the love of satan go buy this and see them. They do not let down. 

JAM IT!

ACHTÖNE! - S/T

And now for something entirely different. Achtöne! were a band from Denton that were around for a couple years and then dropped from the face of Earth. The band's sound was easily described as Psychedelic Post Rock, and is some seriously chilled out tunes. 

I remember catching them once at Rubber Gloves on the recommendation of a friend of mine (mainly as something to do, the fuel pump was out on my truck and I was dying to go see Creamers at 1919 but alas that didn't happen). That was a very chilled out show for the most part, but I remember Achtöne! being phenomenal that night and buying their CD.

The band's sound is a very good representation of their live sound, very smooth, very jammy and at times having some very Pink Floyd esc moments (A Falling Canyon And Green Grass in particular). And a definite shout out to the bassist of this band for holding down these monster grooves on this little EP.

Soon after the release of this EP, Achtöne! put out one more single this time adding vocals to the frey. While not bad in any sense, it didn't seem to have the same atmosphere that this EP had. Not long after the single hit bandcamp, Achtöne! broke up. Copies of this CD are still lingering around Denton, Recycled Books for one has about six copies of this discounted down to $3 a piece. But if you feel like giving this a go right now you can download it here.

EXECUTION TAX - DEMO 2011

Execution Tax was a dirty Punk band from good old Denton, Texas, USA. Formed sometime around 2010 in the infamous, and now defunct house venue, Lions Den and disbanded in June 2013. The band has been described as blackened punk or as one person referred to them as "If Hellhammer suddenly went punk". The one certain thing that I remember of Execution Tax was how catchy the riffs that they wrote were. After seeing them the riff to their song "Strider" (which is on this demo) would be stuck in my head for the rest of the night. 

I remember seeing them several times through early 2012 on most punk and metal shows at the Lions Den but the band quickly went dormant after the tenants of the house moved. Before they broke up Execution Tax played 3 more shows, one at Rubber Gloves in Denton with Spectral Tombs, another soon after at the short lived Tapatio Studios in Dallas with Long Knife, and the final show was a post-Chaos in Tejas show with Nerv from Iowa at Bruiser's Dojo in Denton, Texas. 

Before their separation Execution Tax put out two demos in 2011 and 2012, the ladder of the two is still available for streaming on their bandcamp. But you can get the 2011 Demo here.

Also to be noted members of Execution Tax have also been involved in these other North Texas projects; The Sentenced, Chainchomp, Meaner Demeanor, Mean & Ugly, Kid Prison, Dark Forces, Final Club, and Glowgod.