Shred Earthship

ZACH HILL AND MICK BARR – “Shred Earthship” CD (5RC)
Spastic instrumental drum and guitar duo that sounds like improvised math metal and sometimes prog rock depending on the tone he decides to use on his guitar. HILL is the drummer for HELLA and BARR has been the guitarist in ORTHRELM and OCTIS. Intricate Maximalist music for sure, with both the guitars and drums playing at very high speeds and never sitting still. The drums almost never keep a regular beat, the guitars play mostly individual notes and all songs seem to never stop moving. The only groups I can think to compare them to are ORTHRELM and BEHOLD…THE ARCTOPUS.
1. Starts with feedback a 70s hard rock guitar tone which changes into blistering fast guitar and drums that don’t let up for over three minutes.
2. Short and less metal. Starts with repeated guitar/drum runs and then juts around for the last 50 seconds.
**3. Nosy, heavy and busy.
4. Drums play different sounds while the guitars noodle around.
5. Metal sounding guitar soloing and deep drums. Somewhat playful sounding.
6. Strange effect on the guitar makes it sound more like an old keyboard. The drums join in and the pace stays slow. The track does speed up and the guitar playing goes back to his usual wankiness.
7. Fast soloing drums and some sustained notes before the guitars start playing their usual fast blur of notes.
**8. Short vocal sample at the beginning into their usual flurry of notes and drumming but this time it sounds more like a bass and less metal. A really unique sound on the guitar (bass?).
9. Repeated guitar and drum lines.
**10. Heavier, more cymbals and relentless.
12. Lots of effects on the guitar and no drums for the first 40 seconds. Both seem muted. Drums are jazzy.
13. Another guitar effect that make it sound a bit like an old keyboard. Squirrelly.
**14. Slower drums and dramatic pauses that almost mock rock structure.
15. Long, another guitar effect and slow tapping. It doesn’t take long before they are into their furious playing. Individual drums seem easier to hear on this track.
16. Guitar that sounds slightly like a sitar.
17. Repetitive and slower. Long and has more parts/sounds than most others.
18. Like a cartoon chase scene. Short.
19. The longest track starts with just drums. The guitar eases itself in
Not like most things you’ve heard.
-mph