*** Long break, huh? Feels weird to be back on the grind, but here we are. Hope you got your escapist licks in over the holiday because we're crashing back to earth now. Gonna try to ride that theme pretty hard, prepare yourself for a triple dose of reality. *** First, speaking of THE GRIND: That's CARCASS and this is one of their milder tunes. Like the Beatles, Carcass formed in Liverpool. Unlike the Beatles, they pioneered the genre of GOREGRIND: extreme metal grindcore paired lovingly with imaginative titular turns of phrase such as "Cadaveric Incubator of Endoparasites", "Genital Grinder", "Embryonic Necropsy and Devourment", "Lavaging Expectorate of Lysergide Composition", and — my fav — "EXHUME TO CONSUME": Carcass formed in 1985, releasing five albums between then and 1996, when they disbanded. They reunited in 2007 with all of the original member besides the drummer and dropped a new one, Surgical Steel, in 2013. Pitchfork says it's pretty good, too! Carcass has been touring pretty hard on that one, and now they're coming to Beijing as part of China longhair bible Painkiller Magazine's 14th anniversary. The Painkiller dudes are super amped on this. They say: Spearhead of Grindcore and Melodic Death Metal! One of the most extraordinary metal legions ever! As one of the most creative metal bands made in UK, the extreme metal legends CARCASS have delivered 6 classic albums over the years. With each album they have managed to change the face of extreme metal. Whether it's Grind-Core or Melodic Death Metal, CARCASS has always been there to break the chains and set new rules... Now for the first time ever, you fans have the unbelievable chance to join in this legendary band for their live show in Beijing. Take your CARCASS and prepare for the medicine they prescribe and the mind surgery they do!! Should be intense. Thursday, October 9 at Yugong Yishan. It's a metal show in Beijing, so 8pm start. Tix are 380rmb at the door. More info in the listing. *** Less extreme, though no less intense: Earth Eater Release on Friday at 4corners. Earth Eater is the latest concept album / alter ego from Beijing-based (but not for long) renaissance man Jordan Thomas Mitchell. Don't know if you made it to his "Dirge King" event but he made out with a wraith and screened videos of burning churches in Iceland the whole time. Earth Eater will be a different vibe. Earth Eater is like a drink, or something. It has tequila and champagne in it. I sampled it the other night when I was feeling kind of blue, and ended up spending the night early morning on the couch in 4corners' entryway. Here's JTM breaking it down with Earth Eater co-inventor "Doctor" Rich Faeglin and SmBJ's own E-I-C, Morgan:

Earth Eater Release Event from jordan mitchell on Vimeo.

Do you understand? I don't either but I am getting thirsty. I guess Earth Eater is also a feature-length film. Here are some stills that have snaked their way out of the box: Not sure what the actual music on this thing sounds like, but pretty sure it involves a traditional Mongolian throat singer somewhere. Here's some more teasers from Jordan himself: Conceptually, Earth Eater is created as the mirror of a dream about dying & subsequently living. It is a collaboration between Jordan Thomas Mitchell & Dr. Rich Faeglin of Transalcohol company, Hole Spirits. In contemporary civilization, all people are peasants. The greater paradigm would have you believe that you are free--free to live here, eat this, buy this, wear this, love this, ad absurdum--but in reality you are not free. You are a peasant. And you are going to love Earth Eater. What can we expect at the Earth Eater Release Event? You can expect a large, complementary vessel full of the cocktail. You can expect an enlightening and provocative presentation on the concept of Transalcohol, of which Earth Eater is tied familially, by Dr. Rich Faeglin. You can expect a musical performance by Jordan Thomas Mitchell replete with choreographed dancers. You can expect a musical performance by Traditional Mongolian Throat Singer, Ta Lin and an accompanying belly dancer. So, yeah. Friday, October 10 at 4 Corners. Tickets are 100rmb at the door, or 80rmb in advance (pre-sale stubs can still be picked up from the bar at 4C). 10pm start — the doors will close and lock on time, so be punctual. And — I can't stress this enough — "Dress code: Formal". More info. *** Less extreme, less intense, but no less earth-related: Yosi Horikawa at Dada on Friday. As if the Kim Laughton poster wasn't an instant indication, this joint's being put on by Shanghai's Subculture bass music cabal. Yosi Horikawa, an alumnus of the 2011 Red Bull Music Academy, produces experimental electronic music using predominately field recordings of nature and homemade instruments. Hmm... this is right in my wheelhouse. Here's the teaser for a mini-documentary Red Bull made about a recent field recording mission Yosi made to the World Heritage island of Yakushima: And here are some examples of what he crafts from these various earth sounds: Quite nice. Yosi Horikawa will do a live set on Friday, October 10 at Dada. That's followed by a live set from White+, who will eschew the drum kit for a set of 100% live electronics. Saw them test this out the other week at Dada and they had a few kinks to work out, but when they got clicking it sounded really great on the non-shitty-rock-club sound system. Dada has been consistently pushing the boundaries of what a "club" can do in Beijing, this gig being a prime example. Highly recommended. *** Recap: CARCASS = Thursday Oct 9 @ Yugong Earth Eater = Friday Oct 10 @ 4corners Yosi Horikawa = Friday Oct 10 @ Dada