where the hell was i during this band's tragically short span? cincinniati's cobalt room may not sell too many records, but a band like this should be hard to miss.
eleventh symphony is listed under the metal genre on mp3.com, but it would be almost impossible to find a slayer fan that could tolerate this band, self described "oddcoreeverythingviolence" which sounds a little like a spazzcore band channeling captain beefheart and fugazi at the same time.
on the band's website, the former singer writes that he will sell the band's cds for $3 each. i liked the mp3s, so i emailed him to order it. i ended up getting the cd and 2 seven-inches for $6 (cd review here). i don't know about others, but i would buy a barry manilow cd for $3 - this was a great day.
the music has arrived, and it does not disappoint. the first 7" is probably the best of the lot. it is fast and fun and exciting and surprising and miles away from any "metal" band i've ever heard. the longer, more experimental tracks are great, but one of my favorite moments was on the ostentatiously titled "movement one," which concludes, after about 6 seconds of noise madness, with one of the band members noting that "it doesn't really matter how it ends 'cause its so short anyways." ha.
the second record is a split with a one-man electronic band called kendall bruns (sic). his amusing, adolescent vocals were probably the highlight ("i know that its wrong for me to eat meat but i'm weak and i don't have the courage to be a vegan" sung like a bad elvis impersonator), but i liked the music when it approached atom and his package territory after being improperly played at 45 rpm. the 2 eleventh symphony tracks were very different from eachother due to the fact that the first - "nervous" - was a cover of a kendall bruns song. it had some erratic pere ubu energy that was nice, but the second song ("movement two") was the gold here. probably the most restrained song in the eleventh symphony catalog, it managed to combine some arty fugazi breakdowns with odd time tricks and still throw in some spastic screaming action. excellent.
stop reading shitty reviews and go listen to this band. now!