Saturday night brings one of my favorite bands from my stoner metal/hardcore days back to Brooklyn. It doesn’t even feel like they are back, but more like resurrected from the grave. Florida is often forgotten when it comes to music, but No Idea Records has been running strong since 1985, and in 2002 they released the self titled album by South Florida’s doom metal masterminds’ Floor. Even though Floor was from Florida living in the south didn’t provide me with any chance to see them, but while working at 52.5 this record saw more than a couple spins in the store.
Floor’s first LP came a whole ten years after they began. They became known for the more stoner doom metal, but in the end this album falls more in line within the walls of stoner rock or if doom bands some how knew how to incorporate pop music into their heavy thunder. While it might draw comparisons to bands like Nebuala or Kyuss, Floor in the end is a much heavier beast. Tuned down guitars droning hollow, but still decipherable, vocals are the key elements of Floor’s unique flawless formula combined with song writers like Steve Brooks and Anthony Vialon who obviously worked hard to give such a heavy band a pop sensibility that can appeal to even fans of rock n’ roll that tend to steer clear of the word metal. I keep referring to pop, and that probably sounds strange when talking about a metal band, but Steve Brooks has gone on to play in Torche who has even been referred to as bubblegum sludge.
Below you will find two tracks from this mind crushing record…”Return to Zero” is the second track off the album where the vocals ring out like an anthem with the guitars and drums crashing behind them. Whenever I think of this album the beginning of this song starts to play in my head. Even though I hadn’t heard it in a couple years (until this past month) it still rings out clear, and it’s exactly as good as I remember it. If it wasn’t for the sheer heaviness of this band these songs would be straight up rock n’ roll, but they turn them into sludgey stoner masterpieces. “Night Full of Kicks” starts off even heavier than “Return to Zero” but really shows how slow this band can get…the song trudges along at a crawling pace with it’s distant melody resonating in your head. Finally at almost the three minute mark the music drops out and the vocals are the star of the show for about twenty seconds, and the doom kicks back in…it’s so perfect.
[mp3] Floor- “Return to Zero”
[mp3] Floor- “Night Full Of Kicks”
On that note…Floor happens to be playing in Greenpoint this weekend, and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to catch them. This album has been bringing me back to 2002 in such a good way, and I hope this show does the same thing.
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BrooklynVegan & 1,000 Knives present
a Northside Festival Showcase at Europa
Saturday June 27, 2010
FLOOR
Unearthly Trance
Javelina
Hot Graves
Doors at 7pm,
$13, click here for tickets, all ages
Floor also plays tonight in Philly:
- 6/25/2010 – First Unitarian Church w/GODS & QUEENS, JAVELINA Philadelphia, PA
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Floor is finally getting the royal treatment…typically only reserved for bands who sell platinum albums…from the well known metal/hardcore label Robotic Empire
It’s pretty rare when a band comes along that creates something truly unique. Scarcer still are multiple standout recordings from the same group. Rarest of all is one who amasses a large body of work that varies greatly, yet consistently remains impressive.
South Florida’s FLOOR were around for roughly 10 years and recorded well over a dozen times during their on-and-off existence. Nearly 100 tracks are the result of a decade of persistence amid overall underappreciation, and only in the wake of their demise did underground audio followers finally take note. Their huge body of work yielded only a few officially released records, and most of what the band recorded just collected dust in the vaults. Finally, everything ever laid down to tape by this truly ahead-of-their time(s) outfit has been compiled into one massive release.
From the living rooms and basements of 1992 to the studios of 2001/2002, FLOOR had an incredible evolution from the GODFLESH and early-MELVINS-inspired sludge worship, to the unrivaled sugary doom/pop amalgamation which would eventually pave the way for TORCHE, HOUSE OF LIGHTNING and others. The changes in sound from recording-to-recording means the sheer variation of style (and audio fidelity) witnessed throughout this collection is astounding, and when dating these recordings against what would eventually follow, it becomes crystal clear that FLOOR were consistently operating on that fabled “next level”.
It is with great honor and elation that we are able to present the Below & Beyond Box Set to you. After many years in the making, FLOOR is finally able to conclude their existence with this extensive collection. Ten 12″ LPs, one 7″ EP, eight CDs and a 32-page booklet of writings, photos, lyrics, artwork (and more) are all housed in separate jackets contained within a custom cloth-bound box. Each record comes on a different color of vinyl to match to the corresponding artwork, and two etchings accompany recordings that didn’t have appropriate flipsides.
We’ve made 305 copies of this deluxe box set, which is looking to be just a one-time pressing. (more info can be found here)
This might be the single most impressive box set ever made, and it will surely due Floor justice.
You can buy Beyond and Below here.
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- More on Northside Fest 2010 here.
- Northside Fest is a music, art, and film Festival happening in Williamsburg and Greenpoint Brooklyn from June 24-27th. For a complete schedule click here, to buy an all access pass click here.
- More Time-Slip posts can be found here.
