Sep 26, 2020
Stefanie Zaenker
Caustic Casanova
seen from Türkiye
seen from Brazil
seen from Brazil
seen from Japan
seen from Netherlands
seen from T1
seen from United States
seen from Israel
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from Israel
seen from Ukraine
seen from United States
seen from Hong Kong SAR China
seen from Yemen
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Canada
Stefanie Zaenker
Caustic Casanova
Best of Black Sabbath
by Various Artists
Earthless - Never Say Die
Caustic Casanova - Wicked World
Summoner - A National Acrobat
Black Electric - Sweet Leaf
Rwake - The Rwrit Ginsburg/Margera/Reeder/Rota - N.I.B.
Year of the Cobra - Planet Caravan
Hippie Death Cult - Fairies Wear Boots Leather Lung - Hole in the Sky Mooner - The Wizard
Howling Giant - Lord of this World
Elephant Tree - Paranoid Brume - Solitude
Saint Karloff - Sleeping Village
Caustic Casanova Hits Hard With Feisty New Single
~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~
Malfunkshun recorded a song some 30 years ago called "With Yo' Heart (Not Yo' Hands)." To me, the title alone says volumes about the place of authenticity in music making. You can be technically proficient, you and paint by the numbers, follow the formula, but it won't resonate with listeners unless it's coming from a place deep inside you. That's how a band like CAUSTIC CASANOVA distinguishes itself when I've audited so many albums that I'm almost sick to death of hearing anything with a beat. And yet, still these tired ears can be lulled into asking, "Whose song is this, anyway?" Above all else, be interesting.
The band from D.C. has plenty of heart and ideas to spare, making the decision of which song to premiere really hard when their PR guy asks me to choose the one I liked best. "Boxed and Crated," the album-ending track from God How I Envy The Deaf, eventually won out. Says the band of this particular number:
"'Boxed and Crated' is one of our most unusual songs. For a while we'd been closing sets with our cover of The Melvins' 'Cow' from our Pantheon: Vol. 2 record. I wanted to add an original tune to our repertoire that could replace "Cow" as a set closer but with similar components, like a hellacious heavy metal start, an open-ended noise ending that could lend itself to improvisation and experimentation, and a Melvins-esque, focused sense of silliness. What was conceived as a short tune ended up, in classic CC fashion, becoming an album-ending and set-closing noise-prog epic.
"This song's got it all. Lyrics pulled directly from The Drew Carey Show, Spanish language verses, an epic guitar solo, layered percussion, sonic references to "Escape" by Rupert Holmes, and of course guitarist Andrew Yonki animatedly reading Lovecraft, slowed down so it becomes a molten lava sound effect, closing out the track as we slow a simple drone down to the doomiest of tempos.
"The lyrics are also a complete farce, in an intentional way. They're intended to mirror and also distort the words on the album's opener, 'Fancy English.' The record starts with a question, "where is hatred bred?" and ends with comical and ridiculous lyrical repetitions of the word "hate." It's repeated so much that the listener should become numb to the word. One of the main premises of social media is to keep users upset and full of hatred long enough to sell them products. They're made to feel that arguing with and insulting others is energy and time well spent, so that serious discussion devolves into blind and deaf rage, and then they're shown products to make them feel better. It's a sick joke. 'Boxed and Crated' is the album's final descent from coherence into madness and then finally into the grave, lyrically and musically. Enjoy!"
This one gets wild, too, people, watch out. Just wait until you hear that guitar solo! Look for God How I Envy The Deaf on October 18th on digital, CD, and vinyl formats via Magnetic Eye Records (pre-order here).
Give ear...
God How I Envy The Deaf by Caustic Casanova
Some Buzz
Relentless road-dogs CAUSTIC CASANOVA will release their new album, God How I Envy The Deaf, this October via Magnetic Eye Records. The record lands after a nearly two-month cross-country tour and only weeks prior to another trek in support of the confident collection of singable riff-punk anthems, establishing yet again that this band won't be held to any sort of predictable musical path nor many nights sleeping in their own beds.
Since forming as teenagers at the College of William & Mary in 2005, Caustic Casanova have weathered lineup changes and life-threatening injuries while maintaining an aggressive DIY touring ethic, and their eclectic sound has made them a favorite in a crowded scene.
Following drummer/vocalist Stefanie Zaenker's recovery from wrist injuries that nearly ended her ability to play, the band the band released the critically acclaimed LP Breaks in 2015 on Kylesa's Retro Futurist Records, as well as a trio of EPs between 2013 and 2018 that paired original songs with classics from Pentagram, the Melvins and Weedeater. This hard work led to nominations for multiple Washington Area Music Awards in 2019, as well as a deal with Magnetic Eye Records to release the much-anticipated new album.
Looking to the future, the band (Zaenker, along with bassist/vocalist Francis Beringer, guitarist Jake Kimberley and guitarist Andrew Yonki) have already begun work on material for their next album. First, though, the road-hardened unit will be showcasing the genre-mashing twists and alchemies of God How I Envy the Deaf across the world, including a slot at Magnetic Eye's upcoming Day of Doom label showcase this November, with lots more live dates to come.
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Ridin' The Dunes '22: The Playlist
Just when you thought you had left 2022 in the rearview mirror, ridin’ full throttle into the daunting new order 2023 has to offer, some bozo with bourbon in hand jumps out like some mid-2000s jumps-scare on speed to remind y’all of all the awesome tunes which made the previous 12 months bearable. Just like said jump-scare very little consideration has gone into how much this inconveniences you,…
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CAUSTIC CASANOVA 'Glass Enclosed Nerve Center'
@CausticCasanova new album 'Glass Enclosed Nerve Center' out on NOW via @magnetic_eye. Check it now at: www.InfraredMAG.com #NewMusic #CausticCasanova #GlassEnclosedNerveCenter #MagneticEyeRecords
CAUSTIC CASANOVA Glass Enclosed Nerve Center October 7, 2022 Magnetic Eye Records (more…)
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Album Review: Caustic Casanova - Glass Enclosed Nerve Center (Magnetic Eye Records)
Glass Enclosed Nerve Center is even more abrasive, even more progressive, even punkier and even groovier. It is a wild ride of eccentricity as only Caustic Casanova are capable of.
Progressive punk weirdos, Caustic Casanova are back! With a brand-new record called ‘Glass Enclosed Nerve Center’. Out on October 7th, 2022 via Magnetic Eye Records. Caustic Casanova certainly grabbed our attention back in 2019 when we reviewed their ‘God How I Envy the Deaf’ album. An album that befuddled and delighted in equal measure. An album that we thought was fantastic, even if we could…
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Monolith on the Mesa daily schedule announced
Daily lineup and set times for this year’s edition of Monolith on the Mesa have been confirmed. The lineup is focused on heavy riff-rock bands from a variety of genres including stoner rock, heavy psych, doom metal, sludge, drone, and retro rock. The festival is scheduled to take place from Friday, September 16th to Sunday, September 18th at Taos Mesa Brewing The Mothership just outside of Taos,…
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Metal Chris guests on the DC Beer Podcast
Metal Chris guests on the DC Beer Podcast to talk about the fallout around Atlas brewery suddenly stopping metal shows and more! Listen to the podcast here:
I was a guest on the latest episode of DCBeer.com‘s podcast, The DC Beer Show. I talk about the fallout from the sudden shut down (to the public) of Atlas brewery’s Ivy City location, how the local metal scene got involved with the local beer scene to begin with, and how we’re starting to get metal shows going at the DC Brau brewery! Click the play button below to listen or see the post on DC…
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