Courtesy: Minus Head Records
A little more than three years ago, All Hail The Yeti rose from the wilds of Los Angeles and released its debut self-titled album. The album, released via AFM Records, boasted eleven tracks that completely defied any solid categorization. It is likely because of the inability of critics and audiences to classify the band into one specific sub-genre of the rock world or another that the band has remained just under the mainstream hard rock and metal radar since then. It is a sound that boasts influences from across the rock and metal world including but not limited to: Alice in Chains, Devildriver, Down, Crowbar, and a number of others. Now thanks to Minus Head Records, the band has gotten a new birth and the chance at achieving even more fame. That is because Minus Head Records re-issued All Hail The Yeti this past December. As an added bonus to the eleven songs featured in the original album, Minus Head Records has included three bonus demo tracks in the album’s new re-issue. The combination of those bonuses and the album’s original songs make All Hail The Yeti’s new re-issue an enjoyable re-introduction to the rock realm for the band and an equally solid recording for audiences while they wait for the band’s highly anticipated sophomore album due out this year also via Minus Head Records.
Minus Head Records’ new re-issue of All Hail The Yeti’s 2012 debut self-titled album is an enjoyable re-introduction for the band into the rock realm. It an equally solid recording for audiences to take in while they wait for the band’s highly anticipated sophomore album, which is due out this year via Minus Head Records. This is evident through the album’s mix of musical and lyrical content that cannot be classified into one of the rock realm’s subgenres or another. And that is obvious early on in the album’s run in the song ‘When The Sky Falls.’ In regards to its musical content, this song clearly exhibits influences from the previously noted rock and metal acts that have come before. They do so through the song’s heavy, crunching sludge metal sound. Even in that distinct sound, front man Connor Garrity’s spoken word verses and thundering vocals come together to make a vocal style that is unlike that of most metal front men past or present. The general effect of that standout delivery, when set against the song’s pummeling musical content, is a song that will have every head banging. The song’s musical content is a whole different story. The song’s lyrical content comes across as being from the mind of a rather disturbed individual. Garrity’s subject speaks here saying, “This day will forever change my life/I was lost deep inside my sorrow/Thinking this part of me was gone forever/So much of my heart given only to be taken/I built a shield/To protect what was left/And no one deserved what I have to give.” He goes on to say, “Then one evening/Was it summer or was it fall/Both seasons crashing like waves/Sea sick would not come on this day/No sea sick would not come on this day.” From here, Garrity’s subject goes on to tell the story of having met a woman and basically desiring her quite a bit. The thing is that the things that this subject says leads one to paint a picture of him as being of quite the criminal mind. That mindset is alluded to as Garrity writes, “I wanna take you/Take your soul/There will be no ransom note/Abduct this angel from heaven/Will that send me straight to hell/then burn my body down…I want your lips/And your kiss/I need your skin/And your touch/I crave your smell/And your taste/I will have your heart/And your f***.” It is definitely an interesting picture, needless to say. If it is indeed meant to be a bit shocking, then Garrity has accomplished his goal. Given, it’s not the only shock rock piece ever crafted (if indeed it is a shock rock piece so to speak). Sting’s ‘Every Breath You Take’ was sung from the vantage point of a stalker. But even with this in mind, it still is a piece that will get listeners’ attention. One could even argue that it takes ‘Every Breath You Take’ and take it to a whole new disturbing level. That and the song’s musical content make it a clear example of what makes All Hail The Yeti’s debut self-titled album stand out. It is just one example of what makes this record stand out, too. ‘After The Great Fire’ is another example of what makes All Hail The Yet’s debut self-titled album stand out in today’s metal community.
‘When The Sky Falls’ is a prime example of what makes All Hail The Yeti’s self-titled debut album stand out in today’s metal community. The song’s pummeling musical content set against its rather intriguing lyrical content makes it a song that in itself will definitely leave listeners thinking and talking. It isn’t the only piece that makes an impact in this record. ‘After The Great Fire’ is similar stylistically speaking to ‘When The Sky Falls.’ In terms of its lyrical content, though, it definitely stands out just as much. It is just as dark of a song in regards to its lyrical content as ‘When The Sky Falls’ just in a completely different manner. This song focuses on a fire that took a number of innocent lives. It hints at a fire at a hospital or some building that housed a medical structure. Garrity doesn’t directly note if the story presented in the song was in reference to an actual fire or structure. But its dark lyrical content will definitely make audiences take note. Garrity writes in this song, “Pure evil inside asbestos walls/This great fire raged one hundred feet tall/Taking forty children cradled in its flames/And two dozen women who were said to be blamed.” He goes on to write a rather vivid description of what happened, noting, “There was a surgical stench in the air/It reeked of flesh and burning hair/You hear the cries behind every door/With screams of pain and festered sores.” He notes in the song’s chorus something that comes across as being a supernatural reference, writing, “I hear the spirits come after the great fire/When the children call after the great fire/Inside the smoke they’re born after the great fire/When the children burn after the great fire.” It is a disturbing image. That goes without saying. And it is just as disturbing of a story, especially considering the song’s verses. Even as dark as it is lyrically, one cannot deny Garrity’s ability to really capture listeners’ attention with his writing. Once again, the song’s lyrical content not only stands on its own proverbial feet but it also paints a picture that makes envisioning the story rather easy, even if audiences don’t want to envision said picture. To that extent it proves in its own right what makes All Hail The Yeti’s debut self-titled album stand out in whole. It is not the last piece that serves that argument. ‘Ruby Ridge (Every Knee Shall Bow)’ is one more example of what makes this record stand out.
Both ‘When The Sky Falls’ and ‘After The Great Fire’ are key examples of what makes All hail The Yeti’s debut self-titled album stand out. Their heavy, pummeling musical content coupled with their equally vivid lyrical content make both songs compositions that while being somewhat similar to other metal songs, are just as unlike said offerings. They are just a couple of pieces featured in this record that make it stand out. ‘Ruby Ridge (Every Knee Shall Bow)’ comes later in the album’s run. It is one more example of what makes AHTY stand out. In terms of its musical content, the song is just as pummeling as the songs that come before it. This includes not just ‘When The Sky Falls’ and ‘After The Great Fire’ but each of the other songs not noted here. In regards to its lyrical content, it is wholly about the Ruby Ridge standoff of 1992, going all the way in-depth even noting that the whole thing stemmed from a land dispute between neighbors Randy Weaver and Terry Kinnison. There is also direct note of the outrage at the government agencies involved and the outcome of their actions. Garrity notes in the song that the agencies shut down the whole mountain on which the family lived (which for all intents and purposes is what happened) in order to conduct their operations. The whole thing opens with a taped quote from Randy Weaver recorded after his arrest in which he notes what he expected to happen. That and the story presented in the song make the song yet again a rather vivid story, and one that is true, too. The very fact that few if any other acts out there past or present have ever crafted songs about this infamous even makes the song stand out even more. And because of that it serves to make AHTY stand out in whole even more. Together with ‘When The Sky Falls,’ ‘After The Great Fire,’ and the rest of the album’s songs, the presentation in whole a record that is, once more, a welcome re-introduction for the band into the metal community and an equally solid offering for the metal community as it awaits the All Hail The Yeti’s highly anticipated sophomore album.
Minus Head Records’ re-issue of All Hail The Yeti’s debut self-titled album is a welcome re-introduction for the band into the metal community. It is an equally solid offering for the metal community as it awaits the band’s highly anticipated sophomore album, which is due out sometime this year via Minus Head Records. It is such a surprising recording thanks in large part to its musical content. It mixes elements of sludge metal, metalcore, and pure hard rock for a record that holds its own from beginning to end. The album’s lyrical content is just as important to note. While rather dark, the songs that were penned for the album are rather vivid in their presentations. They paint pictures that even as disturbing as they might be at times, are also quite easy to see. To that extent, the songs’ lyrical content proves to be just as important to this album as its musical content. The combination of both elements makes it an album that will keep listeners engaged from beginning to end. It also makes the album, again, a record that is both a welcome re-introduction for the band and a piece that will keep audiences’ ears as they await the band’s highly anticipated sophomore album later this year. AHTY can be pre-ordered online via the band’s official bandcamp page now at https://ahty.bandcamp.com/album/all-hail-the-yeti-re-issue. More information on All Hail The Yeti’s debut self-titled album is available now online along with all of the band’s latest news at:
Website: http://www.allhailtheyeti.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/officialallhailtheyeti
Twitter: http://twitter.com/allhailtheyeti
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