We asked Boysetsfire/I Am Heresy singer Nathan Gray to investigate eight unmarked song files and deliver his verdicts in our Blindfold Test. Check out what happened when Gray came face to face with Cookie Monster. Twice!
SONG #1
Gray: Well… the song starts off with Cookie Monster making an incredibly short cameo, and then he runs off as quick as his part was. I must assume he had other engagements. He is then followed by what I assume is a young boy starting his journey through puberty screaming mad… I must deduce he is as confused and angered as I am by the rather short appearance Cookie Monster made on the song. The furry blue star can’t possibly be cheap, but is one short growl all they could afford? There’s a bass driven verse, and a pretty cool Disembodied-esque chorus, then at around 1:53 begins one of the most confusing breakdowns I have ever experienced. It honestly sounds as if they are personally fucking with me at this point… then the song ends.
The reveal: Code Orange - “Slowburn” from I Am King (Deathwish Inc.)
Gray: Huh… well, I’ve heard a lot of great things about this band. No one mentioned Cookie Monster or breakdowns that seem to be laughing at you behind your back. I will need to go familiarize myself with their other songs, as this one has not convinced me of their greatness.
SONG #2
Gray: Speaking of Disembodied, yeah… I can get down with this. Good, strong, pissed off-edness. Nifty breakdowns and hardcore rippin’… no new ground broken, but I doubt that is what they were going for anyway. Now the lyrics… hmm… make me sorta cringe a bit. Simplicity can be a really beautiful thing sometimes, and sometimes… it can be… well… just simple. The rippins are cool, the vocals are cool, the lyrics are… well.
The reveal: Vanna - “Piss up a Rope” from Void (Pure Noise Records)
Gray: Oh, so that explains that whole lyrics-written-by-an-angsty teenager thing. I have never really listened to this band, and after looking them up and barely being able to make it through one video, and then deciding it would have been more advantageous to look up Vanna White, I then did so. Vanna White can turn the fuck outta some letters.
SONG #3
Gray: Blasts out of the gate like some old school Bad Brains, fuck yeah, and then falls into some really bizarre void of fuck no. Took a turn around 35 seconds that just went in the complete opposite direction i was hoping for… buzz kill city.
The reveal: The Great Sabatini - “Nursing Home” from Dog Years (Solar Flare Records)
Gray: I’m glad I now know the name of this band. All their other songs have restored my faith in this band… fuuuuck… “Guest of Honour” does exactly what I wish this song did. Awesome band but this song just doesn’t do what I want to, which kinda makes me want to spank it and tell it to be more like its brothers.
SONG #4
Gray: Okay, change of pace… nice. Yeah, I can definitely get… into… no wait… wow… nope. Goes from cool to goofy, western, rock ballad real fuckin quick. No thanks.
The reveal: Jason Cruz and Howl - “High and Lonesome” from Good Man’s Ruin (Echotone Records)
Gray: Oh! Jason from Strung Out? Love that dude… don’t love this.
SONG #5
Gray: Oh! There’s the other engagement Cookie Monster had to get to!! Someone should tell the pissed off kid from song #1.
The reveal: Cannabis Corpse - “Zero Weed Tolerance” from From Wisdom to Baked (Season of Mist)
Gray: Really? You guys love weed, huh? How exciting and… zzzzzzzzz.
SONG #6
Gray: Catchy, silly, and strangely familiar sounding. Like Weston, Piebald, and Atom and His Package had a weird little baby that no one minds hanging out with. Pretty okay.
The reveal: The Front Bottoms - “Lipstick Covered Magnet” from Rose EP (Bar/None Records)
Gray: Of course they’re called The Front Bottoms… why wouldn’t they be? It’s pretty catchy, cool stuff all around. I listened to a few other songs that were also that. Way to be doing stuff that’s fun and catchy, guys. People like that.
SONG #7
Gray: Now we’re talking! Fucking dirty ass Neurosis meets The Jesus Lizard in a mud puddle shit… oops… and then they get real Alice in Chains outta nowhere… no, no, no!
The reveal: Drunk Dad - “Fuck in Garbage” from Ripper Killer (Eolian Empire)
Gray: Another band that I’m glad you found for me. The other songs I found are bad ass, just not this one. Drunk Dad, by the way, is a great name for a band that sounds like this. So many analogies to make… so little time.
SONG #8
Gray: Straight up thrash. I’ll take it… no fuckin around, just take no prisoners thrashin’ about. I am sure many a circle pit has started due to this song. I would start one myself if I wasn’t so damn old, so instead I will appreciate a good tune, and slowly headbang (nod) on my couch.
The reveal: Goatwhore - “Baring Teeth for Revolt” from Constricting Rage of the Merciless (Metal Blade Records)
Gray: Well, of course this is Goatwhore! Fuckin’ rad thrash-o-rama, no fuckin’ around. Stoked. I got nothing but love for this.
I Am Heresy’s Thy Will is out now on Century Media Records.
Boysetsfire’s most recent album is 2013’s While a Nation Sleeps… on Bridge 9 Records.
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