What I Heard This Morning: Boss Keloid

I hear a lot of heavy bands. I hear enough heavy bands that, at points, I have to ask myself if what I'm listening to qualifies as "heavy." This scrutiny extends to metal, particularly since the genre is now susceptible to instances of "acceptance" amongst those who, at any other point in time during metal's three or four decades in existence, would otherwise pay it no mind or run away. I won't name names, but I'll say that certain metal albums circulating last year were granted some significant acclaim, much to the chagrin of the genre's loyalists, a legion of music fan eternally devoted to being both aurally slaughtered by the masters of their obsession and to being ousted by proper, decent society. Plus, the genre has been infiltrated by charlatans in the same way punk had been in the mid-90s, bands that figured out that if you could simply play fast, wear the uniform and embrace a certain level of attitude, no matter how insultingly tame or childish, you could acquire some fans and earn the stature. Good Charlotte is probably the best example of this. While some of us are in tune to understanding legitimacy from falsehood musically, some music fans, budding ones especially, need to keep listening and listening and listening in order to figure out what stays and what goes, what is essential vs. what is disposable.

While I don't want to stray too far from the topic, I listened to a song this morning from a band called Boss Keloid, a sludge metal band out of the UK that had me upon first bass note. The song is called "Locking Stumps."  Take a listen:



Now, can we safely say that this would qualify as "heavy?"

The good people at Conspiracy PR were nice enough to send this to me, along with all the information below about the band's album, The Calming Influence of Teeth.  Just a note: the info contained here is from last year. 

BOSS KELOID: Britain's Sludge Giants Release 'The Calming Influence of Teeth' 

Drawing comparisons to early-Mastodon and Coalesce, BOSS KELOID were recently labeled "the slumbering sludge colossus of Wigan (UK)" in a Metal Mouth review of 'The Calming Influence of Teeth' (9/10). The new album has certainly attracted some of the the UK's tastemakers and is currently bubbling in the underground of the US as well.

'The Calming Influence of Teeth' is the second effort from BOSS KELOID and is currently available via Bandcamp ($4 digital / $5 physical) and delivers heavy doses of Groove, Sludge, Math and Progressive metal -- but blending it together so effortlessly that nothing feels forced. "The album contains 50 of the most fucked up and insane minutes you will hear in 2013" says the Sludgelord.

BOSS KELOID is also known for one of the most crushing live shows in the UK and they plan to deliver on that with shows scheduled throughout the end of the year -- including the just announced "Halloween Rock & Metal Extravaganza" on October 25 at Wigan's The Boulevard and this Saturday (October 12) at Manchester's Age of Diversity III Festival alongside Black Acid Souls and more.

Always creating new material, BOSS KELOID has also issued their first full music video for the track "Locking Stumps", available at the following location:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnrBESC1Jz0

Check out 'The Calming Influence of Teeth' at the following location:
http://bosskeloid.bandcamp.com/

Sincerely,
Letters From A Tapehead