Starting things off this week in music, we’re going to look at the debut full length from New Haven-by-Brooklyn heavy-metal psych band MYTY KONKEROR. The debut was welcomed with quite a bang, so let’s see what all the fuss is about.
For starters, there’s just three dudes in the group, Jon Schlesinger, Michael Steubs and Michael Kiefer. After listening to the music, the fact that there’s only three dudes sounds nearly impossible. The sounds are so huge and empowering that it seems crazy that it takes just three dudes to pull it off. Maybe that’s part of the reason this stuff is catching on so well.
The band originally started recording this album as far back as the Summer of 2008, and after that it would seem like “life just kind of got in the way” (check out that link for even more detail). Now that all of those difficulties are finally past them, the ridiculously heavy MYTY KONKEROR sound found it’s way into the ears of many listeners, and now in the blink of an eye, things seem to be going great for the band. Their first set of hand-cut LPs sold out so quickly that they ordered a second set, and that turned out to not be enough either they still got a few left. There’s a full legitimate repress planned for early 2011, (which you can pre-order right now) so until then, you’re going to have to wait for this one on the usual vinyl. But now the question is whether or not this band will fizzle out just as quickly as they found their way onto the scene.
As far as the music goes, that doesn’t actually prove to be likely to happen, as long as they keep a head on their shoulders. That being said, these guys appear to be more than capable of that. They’ve all got their day jobs and their kids and stuff, so they must be responsible, right? But I’m not here to predict the future, so I should shut the fuck up. We’ve got this album here, so let’s focus on that. It’s eight tracks deep of some of the heaviest, sludgiest, dirtiest metal-influenced rock I’ve heard all year, not to mention an unusually obscure album cover that looks like a page out of a toddlers civil rights themed coloring book (they have those?!).
The record literally covers genre’s from all across the board, but they stick to their core sound for the most part, always being heavy and never forgetting to bring the noise. Some songs have a much more direct and driving approach (like “‘sus Envy”, “Cell Division”, and “Vastare”) that literally engulf you in a cascade of heavy guitars that are so thick you gotta wipe your eyes and check yr ears a few times to make sure you’re not going insane. The guitar work is flawless as they throw in fiery solos throughout the mix to liven things up that much more, and the use of that clanky percussion only adds to the never-ending madness. There’s even songs like “Audacity of Taupe” and “Fake Rolex” that take on more of a soundscape nature as opposed to the traditional song. Then last but not least there’s a song like “Kidz and Gulls” which is probably the least intense of any song from the record, but don’t think of that as making it a bad song – it’s just different from the rest. The final 11-minute psych-drone track again creates a somewhat haunting landscape, but that’s all from me. Check out the songs below and see what you think. Thanks for coming by, and we’ll see ya again tomorrow.
‘sus Envy –
Vastare –
Whitewash –
My Rating: 7.5/10
Genre/ Tags: Psychedelic, Metal, Noise Rock
I miss the future: Tracklist:
1.) Audacity of Taupe
2.) ‘sus Envy
3.) Cell Division
4.) Vastare
5.) Fake Rolex
6.) Whitewash
7.) Kidz and Gulls
8.) Wide Skies
MYTY KONKEROR on Myspace
BUY the LP directly from Twin Lakes Records
Styrofoam Drone 
We actually have a handful of the lathe-cuts left. You can grab one at http://www.twinlakesrecords.com/mk-store. But you best hurry.