Like Rats - Like Rats (2012)

My goal for Like Rats is to create music that could have existed in the evolving extreme metal scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Many of the bands that are ostensibly related in defining genre parameters don't really sound much like each other. Morbid Angel sounds way different than Suffocation sounds way different than Deicide etc.

I wanted to write with the same feelimg as early material from Incantation, Immolation, Darkthrone, and Asphyx without actually sounding too much like any of those bands. I also wanted to maintain the punkish d-beat feel of Celtic Frost and Sodom (who just very clearly loved Discharge and Motörhead). Finally, I wanted to stress the dark melodicism that defines early death metal as well as artists like Dead Can Dance, Prokofiev & Strauss. Speaking of Strauss, trying to touch what these people have done makes me feel like an ape encountering a monolith, but such is life.

Here is a track-by-track breakdown with all of the riffs I can remember purposefully stealing. Some are blatant rip-offs and others are a bit more abstracted. I've noticed other acts of thievery upon relistening to the album, but these are the ones that were definitely intentional. Click each link to be taken to a youtube video timestamped to the pilfered riff.

Red Dawn:
Celtic Frost - Innocence & Wrath
Morpheus Descends - Proclaimed Creator

Fire:
Slayer - Piece by Piece
Death Strike - Pervert

River Dread:
Immolation - Into Everlasting Fire
Morbid Angel - Chapel of Ghouls

Winter Sun:
Sergei Prokofiev - Piano Sonata No. 6
Unleashed - The Final Silence
Massacra - Apocalyptic Warrior

Dark Masks:
Krypts - Dormant of the Ancients
Darkthrone - Summer of the Diabolical Holocaust

Dusk:
Sepultura - Morbid Visions
Celtic Frost - Eternal Summer

Direction:
Gorgoroth - Drommer om Dod
Sodom - Nuctemeron

Bloodline:
Sergei Prokofiev - Piano Concerto No. 2
Celtic Frost - Procreation of the Wicked (probably the single most influential riff on Like Rats)

Russian Midnight:
Richard Strauss - Also Sprach Zarathustra
Incantation - Nocturnal Dominium

And of course, here are external links for purchasing and listening:
Full album stream via Decibel
Vinyl via A389 Recordings
Digital download via A389 or iTunes

Like Rats - Like Rats (2010)

So the new Like Rats record, released by Cosmic Debris Records,is available for order or download over at www.likerats.net. You can have the mp3s for free and just pretend that everything is working normally on this blog or you can internet us a few dollars and we will mailbox you a physical vinyl record with cool artwork featuring a photo by Noel Rod0-Vankeulen (one of Shea's photo buddies) and Regan did the layout and he has a gold record hanging prominently in his apt because he did the layout for Lupe Fiasco. I'm really happy with how this turned out, so join me in jubilation. This is more of that Celtic Frost worship, with some steps taken towards a more proto-death metal sound. Andy will record your band and do a really good job at Bricktop Recording in Chicago, so get into that. Love is love, everything is love, please like my band, one what? One love.

Like Rats

Like Rats - Like Rats (2009)

So, I have this platform on the internet where people are interested in my opinion on music. As such, I've got to take this opportunity to tell you to listen to my own recordings. Besides, I wouldn't post it if I didn't think you'd like it. Half-hearted apologies to all of my friends on Twitter/F-book who've already been informed of this a few times. You'll be fine.

This is basically an example of me writing music that I want to hear, and what I want to hear is chromatic riffs at mid-paced tempos, but sometimes fast and sometimes slow. I love Tom G Warrior's signature riff composition style, and I tried to write riffs that evoke similar feelings without actually copying his techniques. There are a few self-imposed stylistic restrictions in order to keep the overall aesthetic within certain boundaries: no palm-muting, no double bass drum. Special attention was paid to the way that two primitive riffs compliment each other and create a relationship that makes each one significantly more interesting than if it were to exist on its own.

With love from me to you:

Download

While I'm talking about heavy Chicago bands, I also have to mention The Muzzler (Voivod, Morbid Angel, etc.) and Hate (newer Converge, except higher, more metal, and more pissed), both of whom recently put out new releases. The thing about these bands is that I would like them and listen to them even if I didn't even know them as people.