It seems like just a short time ago that we were plucked, screaming from the soggy, gaping womb of our birth. But alas, this entity was not meant to prosper. That’s right friends, as of today audiobomb is pulling the plug. We’re moving on to greener pastures. From now on you’ll be able to catch my editorials over at Music Emissions‘ new editorial branch (under the edgy alias Trismus) as well as the usual album reviews. Stegmaier will be doin’ the daddy deal and Sublogic will continue to give his morale support over the frothy promise of many barley pops.

We thank everyone who shared the past handful of months with us and look forward to seeing you on down the line. From your friends at audiobomb: Goodnight!

For anyone who may have just learned what this thing called the “interwebs” is, and may be wondering what has been happening on it during the last ten years, Weezer has compiled a “highlight” reel for you.

(yeah, we thought it was lame too.  like more than usual.)

Tom Waits loves the last scene in Chinatown, has a hard time being patient with others, and found the best food he’s ever had in an airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Discover more about Tom, from Tom, here.

The video for The Dillinger Escape Plan’s new single “Black Bubblegum” can be viewed here.  It is the second single off the group’s most recent release Ire Works.

Pyramids’ self titled release is music, technically.

Whether you can classify it as the type of music that one would actually listen to is another thing altogether. While I always have loads of respect for the bands that push the limits of music and strive for the abstract, I’m always left with roughly the same sentiment: that’s great but I’ll never listen to it again.

The same can be said for past conceptual works, such as Mike Patton’s Adult Themes for Voice or Negativeland’s Fair Use.. These are bold explorations of musicianship and, to some degree, have a place within the spectrum, if only to serve as the far left boundary of musical composition. What’s great about these types of projects is that they force you to digest them differently than you would a typical new release from a band with a usual format. You can’t judge them based on whether or not you enjoy what you’re hearing. You have to find something else about the offering that appeals to you.

For example, Pyramids’ debut is great by its own merits. It takes real creativity and the capability to project such a vision in order to produce the ten tracks they have released. It’s psychedelic in a fashion that is more Radiohead-in-a-panic than earlier models of the term but there is also a quality about the album that is usually reserved for darker bands of very different genres (namely Metal). The album is haunting and the atypical manner in which Pyramids portrays this mood is uniquely unnerving. The band has done a fine job of executing their vision and I can see fully why Hydra Head Records includes them on their distinguished roster.

But that vision is SO overtly obtuse that their finished piece is nearly unlistenable. Even as ambient “work music”, the album fails because you’re constantly trying to catch your bearings. Much of the time the songs sound like two that were, in someway, recorded on the same track, having nothing in common with the other song that somehow shares the same space. You’d chalk the whole damn project up as the recordings of an autistic caveman if you didn’t already know that cavemen sold insurance. The combined work is chaotic to a degree I’ve never experienced before, which makes the album both exhilarating and the musical equivalent of a roller coaster that you’re happy you rode but never will again.

Unless, of course, I’m trying to turn my brain inside out. Then I’d crank this album up as loud as possible and count backwards from the number R.

Even with all of this said, the candid testimony of a reviewer truly lost within an album, I can’t help but give Pyramids’ debut release high marks. It’s unique, talented in ways I’m sure I can’t comprehend, and horrifically unlistenable. The album is an amalgam of elements that can only blend into brilliance.

I’m sure one day I’ll understand it.

Because we’re just wild about repeating features around here, we’re going to start another involving songs we feel are all-star caliber, destined for our own personal Hall of Fame, tracks that are so incredible that they must be stored away to preserve their excellence for years to come. And since this is the inaugural post, we thought we’d start with one that everyone can agree on (of course, if you don’t agree, then chime in on the comments section and tell us why. Supporters of the choice are, of couse, welcome as well to leave their thoughts).

Alright, without further adieu, the first entry into our vault of greatness and preservation is Machine Head’s “Imperium”. This song is a near perfect example of all forms of metal. It’s got elements of thrash, hardcore, it’s got the ever-loved breakdown, and a crescendo that absolutely crushes. I played this song for an emo kid I worked with and he showed up the next day wearing camo shorts, a torn black tank top, and a pierced septum.

If that didn’t give you douche pimples, go to the hospital because you don’t have a pulse. You can find the song on Machine Head’s 2003 release Through the Ashes of Empires. It’s the first track on the album and, unfortunately, it’s the album’s high point. But where do you go after that track?

I’ll tell ya where: to the supermarket.

To get a steak for your eye.

This one gets the vault seal of approval.

This is the first video off Meshuggah’s amazing new album obZen.  It’s a hangover’s nightmare.

Homme and Co., instead of posing for the camera, have let digital avatars strut their stuff on stage in their new video for “3’s and 7’s.” The video uses the visual style of “Rock Band,” the video game phenomenon, in which players man instrument-like controllers and play along with the actual songs.

The song has appeared in “Guitar Hero 3,” a similar game, so this is less of a validation of the game genre and more of a piece of evidence that this type of game is fully entrenched in the zeitgeist of the intended audience. So much so that, according to MTV, bands are about to start debuting tracks within the two games. Quite a shake up for the music industry.

Version 2 of the exclusive audiobomb playlist is now up and streaming over at our MySpace page. It’s chock full of recently discussed bands and their recently released material, so head on over there and get your earhole loved.

Cee-Lo and Dangermouse recently released the video for the single “Going On” off of their latest release The Odd Couple. This album is making a hard push for my Album of the Year already and this song is one of the many reasons why. Enjoy.