THE PLANET THE
You Absorb My Vision
(5RC)

Let me first begin by apologizing for the indefensible holdup that has preceded this review--at press time, The Planet The's sophomore release has officially been on store shelves for about a month and a half now, and I feel like a total asshole for neglecting it as long as I have. It's just when you have the luxury of seeing a band as certifiably awesome as The Planet The on a semi-monthly basis, it's easy to take for granted just how revolutionary their stammering ridiculousness can feel. The Planet The is like a constant--like God, death, and taxes, they have always been, and they will always be. Awesome. Fortunately, a few extra weeks hasn't cooled the disc at all--on the contrary, time only seems to work in favor of Absorb's wave-y blurts and bleeps. Clocking in at a frustratingly brief 22 minutes, You Absorb My Vision more than makes up for the somewhat disappointing Physical Angel, which failed to capture all of the conflicted glory of The Planet The's live performances. Both more poppy and more confident than their debut, Absorb finally provides an accurate companion to the band's joyous dichotomy--as confrontational as it is celebratory. Good show, gentlemen--and may you live forever. ZP

SOILENT GREEN
Confrontation
(Relapse)

Soilent Green are extreme metal's most versatile band, which means they can kick your ass in about five different ways--often within the same song. Their fast-paced, non-linear songs veer in and out of grindcore blasts, Melvins-inspired sludge, mutant black metal, and big, bad blues-metal riffs that owe as much to the Allman Brothers as they do Black Sabbath. Confrontation is the Louisiana band's fourth album, and their first since 2001's ill-fated A Deleted Symphony for the Beaten Down--which came out on September 11th, 2001, and was followed by two serious tour-van wrecks, one of which crushed singer Ben Falgoust's legs and left him in a wheelchair for more than a year. Four years on, though, they haven't mellowed a bit. If anything, Confrontation is harder, heavier, and denser than the already dizzying Symphony, yet on the whole, there's a better sense of flow within these songs--which is important when each one careens through 10 or 15 different parts in three minutes' time. You need a strong stomach to hang with these guys--this ain't Slipknot, folks--but if you're up to the challenge, you'll find an insane amount of detail and ingenuity beneath the turbulence. WILLIAM YORK

Soilent Green perform Wed Aug 3 at Solid State, 898 SE Ash.

**** Blanka
*** Dhalsim
** Balrog
* Ryu/Ken

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