Agnosis
Demo 2004 (Demo) 2004 None
This demo is all about breaking through the musician/listener barrier and getting to know the maniacs behind the music. These New Yorkers probe your psyche's sore spots with thoughtful metal, free of cliches or pretension. Afterwards you feel like lighting a smoke and buying them a beer, cause these guys are putting it on the line with total honesty, and that's just too damned rare these days. Agnosis's dense music is an ever-changing blend of underground metal, 'Vol. 4-' era Sabbath, thinking man's tuneage from Louisiana (Acid Bath), NWOBHM vocals, hardcore, and Alice in Chains-goes-obscure grunge. The sound quality is decent but not great. 'Sharpening the Axe' starts things off, a driving Sabbathy tune with plenty of rhythmic changeups. The clean vocals are excellent, a real strong point for the group. The guitar solo is creative, but needs some work. 'Leaky Faucet' is punkier, with vocals reminiscent of the NWOBHM. 'A Kick in the Ribs While You're Down' is the most professional-sounding on the disc, with infectious doomy riffage... at least for the first minute or so, before their trademark changeups and meter shifts kick in. It's all good though, and the dirty Staley-esqe vocals don't hurt. One thing's for sure; these dudes are earnest about what they do. Their anti-poser stance is the triumph of substance over style. True, they need some tightening up and polish, as most new bands do. But if I lived in the New York City area, I'd search these guys out in whatever underground venue they're in, just to hear some honest music done with passion and conviction. BTW, their first release was called 'Welcome to the Monkey House'. Anyone into early Vonnegut can`t be all bad, right?	1. Sharpening the Axe 2. Leaky Faucet 3. Doom (The Fallout) 4. A Kick in the Ribs While You're Down Approx. 16 minutes
Reviewed by: Kevin McHugh
Zero (CD) 2005 None
It seemed like I just reviewed Agnosis's 'Demo 2004' when a new album from these golems of New York City's doom underground arrived, so fresh that there were still tendrils of smoke rising from the package in the mailbox. And then I learned that they've put out a rarities disc in the meantime. Nobody can accuse these guys of sitting around being all mopey while they wring tears of melancholy from their dirty handkerchiefs, that's for sure. Actually, they put out an even earlier disc, 'Welcome to the Monkeyhouse', but 'Zero' is their first long player. They've come a long way in a very short time. 'Zero', which includes most of 'Demo 2004' is in all ways better and more professional, but still so far underground that they're not even on The Man's radar, much less in danger of getting the soul sucked out of their music. In some ways Agnosis's music is the doom equivalent of Cable or Ichabod; not because it sounds like them but because it's so difficult to tag. There's no doubt that it rests on a firm bedrock of Sabbathy doom, but after that it's up for grabs. It's complex (at times) but not mathy, it's old school but doesn't sound like Maryland doom, it's got a Louisiana vibe but doesn't imitate Soilent Green or Acid Bath, and the vocals sound like a deathy mix of NWOBHM and Layne Staley, but the band doesn't track like either Saxon or AIC. Let's just call it progressive doom metal, played with straight-up hardcore integrity by dudes who surely realize that they'll never be shoveling coke up their nose or flying in private jets making this type of music. That's OK, 'cause they love it anyway. 'Sharpening the Axe...' is the show opener, a mid-paced tune that rocks the doom with some fine guitar playing. 'A Kick in the Ribs' is more progressive, with some added death grunts and black metal vomit vocal shredding, while 'The Fallout' has a mathy chorus with a mid-eastern guitar figure. 'Weak-Minded Man' is some great riff rock with NWOBHM-ish vocals mixed with effective death grunts at the end. Unlike most CDs, some of the best tuneage brings up the rear. I have to give these guys credit: they're on their own program and they don't really sound just like anyone else. This is a difficult feat for a band's first album, not to mention a rarity in the highly imitative doom genre. After all, most bands never develop their own distinctive sound, no matter how many albums they produce. It's impossible to predict where this band is going: I could see an album of total experimental avante doom, kinda like Cecil Taylor meets 'Master of Reality' or an album of Priest covers. I'm kidding but I'm not kidding, dig? Check out their website here.	1. Sharpening the Axe... 2. Swore my Soul 3. A Kick in the Ribs While You're Down 4. Witness 5. The Fallout 6. Elegant (The Hunt) 7. A Lifetime Later 8. Reconcile 9. Weak-Minded Man 10. Against the Sun Approx. 49 minutes
Reviewed by: Kevin McHugh