Reviews:
"I would advise listening to Carnaval De Carne next to a bath tub. This album will blow a huge wad of aural sludge in your general direction -- plenty of cause for a warm shower afterwards -- but the concurrent pounding-to-a-pulp it delivers will leave you too destroyed to even stagger down the hallway. It might be wiser to listen in the tub, with water already drawn; just don't get your headphones wet, and you'll be in good shape. Like Tomahawk or The Jesus Lizard, Jumbo's Killcrane takes the dark side of human nature and makes it a little more fun to listen to. Their chosen medium is brutal, sluggish riffs topped with a frighteningly inhuman take on the typical Kurt Cobain rasp, and it's certainly not the sort of thing you'll feel comfortable listening to alone at night. The album has no lyric sheet, but these certainly aren't happy songs, judging by the words I could decipher. There are scattered moments of math rock precision, but we mostly have slow doom rock, ideal for inflicting bodily harm on woodland creatures or taking excessive amounts of hard drugs -- and we're not talking about that marijuana you bought with the money Dad loaned you. As horrific as it all sounds, the songwriting is actually quite good. Each track takes on its own disturbing hues of brown and black, with the vocals and guitar-borne grit bolstered by a sick sense of catchiness and purpose. Even the repetitiveness is appropriate at times, furthering the feeling of getting your head crushed and ground into the pavement. "Claxton II", the oddball of the pack, finishes the massacre with stumbling "Black Dog" breaks and a heightened sense of energy, but the filthy haze of the first five songs makes such an energized ending taunting and vengefully anticlimactic. The band avoids making this a dragging affair by ending the melee after slightly less than half an hour, as if they realized they'd probably gone too far already. Carnaval De Carne is certainly not for the faint of heart, and even the boldest of metalheads may find it to be an unexplainably unsettling experience, but it's a welcome alternative to the all brain, no heart Dillinger Escape Plan style so prevalent. Just make sure you've got a bar of soap handy. - SPLENDID E-zine
"Yeah, yeah, during my tenure at Maniacs, I’m well aware I’ve waxed nostalgic for the days/daze of AmRep a bit too often, a bit too doggedly, but yours truly can’t help be a bit gleefully hopeful about this neo-(mini)-movement of noise-rockin’ bands bringing (back) the NOISE. The fine folks at Escape Artist have the market cornered (and well), all right, but you can add Kansas noise-merchants Jumbo’s Killcrane to such hallowed ranks, the trio stacking up considerably to that label’s raison d’etre: challenging Heady Metal that’s stealthy as it is iron-wrought...and more than a bit indebted to AmRep’s heyday (roughly ’91-’97), albeit all well-intentioned-like. Expertly titled, Carnival de Carne is the Killcrane’s third slab of post-sludge-prog/post-both, working/wracking at impossible -and impossibly angular- angles whilst being coated in enough residual Tar that hygiene’s not an option. Familiar as they are foreign, JKC are a mish-(sour)-mash of influences gone awry the legendary Hammerhead trying to get happy, but futilely going fuck all and keeping the chips on their Midwestern shoulders; native heroes Season to Risk had they wanted Columbia to stay miles away, dropped decades before they were signed; kindred spirits Kung Pao tapped to be their more-obese tag-team wrasslin’ partner, Jumbo paradoxically being the lithe one; avant-improv-metallers Stinking Lizaveta reconfigured not as post-hippies, but as gun-totin’ backwoods types; Scratch Acid if the vastly overrated Jesus Lizard never happened, but given BC Richs to abuse and a keg of petrol to huff on - while sounding like none of them necessarily nor generally. Which, at the end of the day, all illustrates the sublime ugliness-as-beauty of the AmRep Years: Up is down, right is left, dumb is smart, noise isn’t rock is noise-rock, vice is/isn’t versa. Hey, sometimes circles are my favorite shapes."- Nathan T. Birk METAL MANIACS
"This is one of the most intricate, experimental, and unusual "sludge" releases to ever cross my desk. Hypnotically heavy and maniacally driven with a meandering groove that snakes through your soul and sinks its fangs into your subconscious. There's definitely a method to their madness. Math sludge, power prog, sludgecore and other labels have no doubt been slapped on these guys, maybe even a few doom adjectives have been tried, as well, but their music defies easy genre categorization. There's a smoking energy and emotional outpouring that's as unsettling as it is riveting. This is the music that makes Kansas emo kids cry, stare terrified at their shoes, and run for the reassurance of their backpacks. "Carnaval De Carne" reminds me of a King Crimson tape I had that nearly melted in the heat of my car. After the auto inferno, the tape stretched and sounded like a demented guitar/synth symphony. It became a great favorite of ours to listen to during some special "trips" we took. The Killcrane delivers that same kind of twisted terror with a fearsome guitaroar assault, four armed devil drumming, and scorched throat hell howls. More demonic and insidious with each listen. These guys play their asses off on this disc, and like most things I enjoy, their music is powerful, addictive, and intoxicating. Satisfies that gnawing hunger for the heavy. " - Glenn Tillman, TANGERINE Magazine
"Coming to us from the relatively unknown Lawrence, Kansas is the "math-sludge berserkers," Jumbo’s Killcrane".. Jumbo’s Killcrane delivers a solid effort of 6 songs in "Carnaval de Carne". Albeit it more for the doom/sludge crowd this is a good listen for anyone.There seems to be an obvious southern rock vibe to this band, which what I think makes record really enjoyable. While maintaining its heaviness and sludgy nature, the grooves that this band can play really make it flow well and they don’t make the record sound monotonous. The frequent tempo changes are also a nice thing to keep the music fresh and interesting. Vocally, they delivery is dynamic, with the screaming and "clean" vocals constantly switching up. The riffs are always heavy and can range from ultra slow to a decent pace, which is usually when they are playing some of the grooves and hooks on the record.Jumbo’s Killcrane offer up a full range of sounds in only 23 minutes. Whether you are a fan of doom and sludge, or a fan of bands that seemingly wouldn’t fit into this at all, you can probably enjoy at least some part of this record. Even fans of faster paced music can find this enjoyable to some extent. This is a record that really needs to be heard in order to be fully appreciated. Words cannot truly do it justice. " -SHARPSHOOTER webzine
"Now here's some great stuff. The romp-stomping unholy trinity that is Jumbo's Killcrane comes rumbling out of the Kansas cornfields with a head full of apocalyptic visions, hash smoke, and mathematical equations. Critically acclaimed but unknown outside the underground, JCK offer upon an undeserving world some beautifully complex yet bruising and raw art-sludge-metal. Bands that come to mind? Unsane, Keelhaul, Craw, Killdozer, old Butthole Surfers, old Amp-Rep shit. But the Killcrane are all their own - a moonshine brew of number-crunching abstraction and head-bobbing rockin' joint-rollin' groove topped by burly vocal roars and bellows.Opener "Fellatio" kicks this six-shooter off with a propulsive body-shaking lumberjack riff and the addictively heart-tugging refrain "I'm in love with my own dick." "Tonymegshi" surges and stutters, densely layered, off-kilter, and lethal - avant skull-bashing at its best. "Tres Futbol Del Mono I" is simply amazing - an entrancing down-tempo opium-nightmare of sinuous ambient fuzz, larynx-shredding death-throes, and guitar chimes floating above it all with the solemnity of funereal church-organs. "Case In Progress" throws it back down to earth, straight-ahead, thunderous and compulsive with its chant-along chorus: "I don't want what they want!", while "Gasmouth" dodges and dips, delivering flurries of concussive blows in a math-metal barroom brawl won decisively, yes, by Jumbo's Killcrane. Finally, the closer, "Claxton II" takes things in a more rock n' roll direction with its bluesy noodling atop crunching chug-chuggery, pounding the listener into a bloodied pulp masochistically hungry for more punishment.And that's my only complaint - too fucking short. Play this one on repeat. - Chopper, WHITE TRASH DEVIL webzine
"Math rock anyone? Jumbo's Killcrane seem to collectively have the attention span of a 2 year old child, or an 8 month old puppy looking for something new to chew on...what I mean to say that this stuff is mathy to say the least and is right up my alley with it's angular evil progressions, punishing changes and hardcore tendencies that will spin your head damn near off of your neck if you haven't witnessed the Killcrane sound before. Definitely for fans of Skin Graft Records or Am-Rep bands to say the least.The latest effort by this punishing 3 piece 'Carnival De Carne' is a sonic progressive blast of tight musicianship and multiple changes making this perfect for attention deficit disorder victims like myself. This stuff will be trucking along and out of nowhere switch paths and directions so quick that you don't even know what hit you. The drums are often tribal complete with slippery fills, the guitars are twisted with their back and forth efforts between pummeling power chords and single note riffs/leads, and the bass simply sounds sinister with it's overdriven goodness...just plain sick, and sick in a good way that is.The songs on the average are around 4-5 minutes, but you wouldn't guess it by the way they travel in such a short time. The changes are just amazingly tight and switch on a dime so to speak. If dig the sounds of bands like The Cherubs or Dazzling Killmen, then this is right up your alley. 'Carnival de Carne' completely blows away their past efforts in so many ways as well, so if you like J.K. then you will certainly like this...I recommend you see these guys live if they come to your town, they won't disapoint you. Their live show is everything that this CD demonstrates, but 10 fold...check it out. " -Rob Wrong, STONER ROCK.com
"Massive! Evil! Original! This is the right definition to describe JUMBO'S KILLCRANE music.These three drunken slugde berserkers from Lwarence, Kansas have the power to kick your soul with a very original mix of heavy rock, psychedelia, doom, noise and other elements that i am not able to describe. The band's sound has developed into raw, untamed raucuosness with more dimensions and more depth. "Carnival De Carne" is their third album, surely the best episode of their story. Their sound reminds me some fuckin' cool noise bands of the first 90's like Janitor Joe, Melvins, Helmet, Unsane and even the early Nirvana (Bleach period) etc... The songs are all good, especially "Tonymegshi", a possible hit-single (eheheh) with a great chorus and an insane riff that drives me mad. Finally they're cool because they're very original. Surely one of the best band of these times, able to destroy all the today's superboring Doom-stoner bands. Buy it, you will not regret it. Superb. -STONED GODS webzine
"Song after song of solid music is pulled under the proverbial tide by a feeling behind the music that conjures emotions of despair and sadness. Vocals reminiscent of what hell might sound like, the variations and changeups on this disc may be the only thing that kept me from complete depression and committal to a mental hospital."- ACTION ATTACK HELICOPTER
"Even though this seems to be already the second release by the Jumbos, this is the first time I heard of them. Sadly there are no lyrics printed in the booklet of this CD (which would have been interesting, because a song´s named "Fellatio" and I would have liked to know what this three piece is singing about), so I can only talk about the music. One word is absolutely fitting here: Sludge. Following the tradition of bands like Grief or 16, JKC add their own interpretation to this genre by adding an almost bluesy twist to it. Sometimes this feels like early Neurosis doing some classic Southern Rock stuff. Well done! -ENOUGH Webzine
" This band has been called "prog-sludge" and I can’t think of a better description for their viscous audio depravity. The songs are densely textured and thickly layered and built upon a solid foundation of slow to mid-paced tar-core. With the semi-clean, yet tortured, vocals JUMBO’s KILLCRANE has more in common with heavycore masters like 16, ANGER OVERLOAD and CAVITY than they do with the GRIEF inspired crowd. While some extreme music kills quickly and cleanly, JUMBO’s KILLCRANE ravages like a slow spreading cancer... slowly eating away the healthy tissue, perverting it, replacing it bit by bit with a new and pernicious mass that consumes and consumes and consumes..." -Jeb TooCrass / MINDSPELL
"Too short. Only a schmeedle'd be full up with a 24-minute serving Of such goodness. If you are familiar with Crucial Blast "CarnavalS" Is closer to the side of the label which released discs in conjunction with Berserker Recs. (RIP). That being blown up art punk metal drawing on Touch On¹ Go/Am. Rep. 80¹s blithering, grunting rocking units like The Butthole Surfers (pre-suck), Killdozer, Helmet, Unsane, Janitor Joe and others blowing SST intensity through grimy arena thunk salted with the twin sucker punch of the Birthday Party and (early ) Killing Joke.Playing it back to back with 2000¹s "IL Cadavers Eccellente", yields an excellent lesson. Jumbo¹s takes their "thing" tightens the bolts and emphasizes the songs groove while laying fills and riffs in it¹s guts. to grab your chest. It lets you breathe a bit now and again just to clamp down boa constrictor style when you think you might worm out. In a way this is what I¹d thought woulda come of some of the Seattle groups turn of the 90¹s, hell I didn¹t know all those guys got Neil Young recs. along with the Sabbath and Black Flag, and that Neil¹d be what stuck. Silly me. Hollered and drawn out hard core bred vocals butt into classic tempo doom cut up with the tension release dynamic traceable way back to hard ass electric blues. To wax nostalgic this band works the "Loose Nut"/ "In My Head" era Black Flag stuff into the hard, heavy, hard rock that was only punk by association. If you think the Voivod and Entombed covers of 21st Century Schitzoid Man make sense, or that bands like Craw and the Dazzling Killmen were important in the 90¹s (they were) spend some money. Rumor is they have a standing offer to play your living room for a hundred sixty bucks, two pizzas, a half quart of Jim Beam and 32 beers. Hell, you waste that much on a good weekend of not getting laid anyway, so as Earnest Angsley says, "the good Lord helps them what helps themselves". So bring these guys to town, it¹s right thing to do." -Craig Regala , LOLLIPOP Magazine
"The first word that will come to one's mind when hearing this record is: HEAVY. jumbo's killcrane is a kansas based band that plays some of the most dynamic heavy music i've heard in a while. this record is the followup to their previous record "il cadavers eccelente".these guys take the best elements of doom, sludge, metal, math rock, and hardcore, and they make these awesome fucking jams that rock the living shit out of you. this 6 song masterpiece is just stunning. utilizing complex and odd time signatures, these guys pave a soundscape of heavy and hard hitting music that has raw, downtuned, and aggressive guitars, looming, rumbling basslines, complex, spaced out drums that set the patterns for their mathematical assault, and harsh, gritty vocals that are a mix of barking and screaming, however definitely coming from the gut.this is probably one of my favorite new releases out now. it's got everything i want in a heavy record, and this band definitely does not disappoint. they definitely live up to the hype i've heard about them, and they're well deserving of all the good praise. pick this one up!" - CALAMITY PROJECT webzine
"Jumbo's Killcrane write solid doom rock akin to Keelhaul or any number of the other Hydra Head family of bands...." - INVISIBLE YOUTH webzine
"Wow...compared to their first release these guys improved and got harder and more intense as they used to be. "Carnaval De Carne" is one of the best Sludge albums I heard in a while! Why? Cause these guys play such a technical stuff and combine Metal, Sludge and Heavy-Rock. Technical!!! Yeah, you heard right and I think you guys out there will dig that heavy shit, cause these guys are the fucking Voivod of Sludge...goat damn!!!! Buy this CD...six fat and huge produced Sludge killer tracks with a lot of drive and intensity. I mean...these guys are out of their mind!!!You maybe think now..."no, Ralf is out of his mind!"...and I think you´re "right", but to be honest...this CD is defnetly under my top 20 of the year!!! " - DAREDEVIL
"I know nada about these boys except that they are somehow in Totimoshi's orbit, which is a big point in their favor. (The Totimoshi connection explains "Tonymegshi," natch.) This arrived literally at the last fucking minute so i can't get real detailed here on such limited opportunity for playback, but initial spins reveal mondo heaviness and math-rock precision, plus -- this is key -- lots of fucking shouting 'n shit, especially on "Fellatio." (Now there's a title i can hang with.) The math-rock thing is definitely in effect -- structurally (especially in the riffs 'n drum patterns) they call to mind the likes of Shellac, Slint, and other math-rock demijazzsquatthrusters, only twitching with a fondness for squiggly riffs 'n grinding heaviness. Tonally they're metal, dude -- their basic credo appears to be big amps + tortured riffs + everything on 11 = a real good time. But it's all scientific-like, man... riffs with joints that writhe in precise time, dense clouds o' controlled fuzz... implacable thunder (especially on "Tonymegshi") and endless robot riffing at tinnitus-inducing volume. I like "Tres Futbol del Mono I" because it sounds like slowed-down Killing Joke played doom-style with lots of spaced-out psychedelic chiming guitar floating somewhere over the fuzzed-out riff death. "Case in Progress" is a bit more down-to-earth and violently jet-propelled, mostly a handful o' riffs and a lot of shouting, all of it insanely loud and distorted and blown up bigger than life. "Gasmouth" is slower and more revealing of their Sabbath roots, but with complicated riffs 'n beats like something from the last Zeni Geva album, all lurching and stop 'n start moments and other weirdness. There are moments of jazzy motions in "Claxton II" that are broken up by pure unbridled heaviness (and of course, lots of shouting). Heavy as Chris Farley's coffin and made from die-tool cast precision parts, suitable for consumption at high volume. If the swell guys in Totimoshi think they're swank, don't you think you should find out why? Hmmmm?" - DEAD ANGEL #56
"Crucial Blast Industries is a label that is cultivating a certain sound - usually a weird, twisted heaviness; a culmination of dissonant musical thought so far afield from mainstream listening habits as to only appeal to the most intrepid and adventurous listener. That's why we here at Hellride, dig the 'Blast. Convention is turned on it's ear. Jumbo's Killcrane have evolved a bit since their last album, II Cadavers Eccellente. The tethers to grunge have been severed. In their place have grown odd, flesh-like tentacles composed of drug-ravaged neurons and synapses firing on acid. The JKC sound is rooted in a turgid guitar sound, riffs spawned as much from a slide rule as emotional turmoil and more bottom end than J Lo. Well, almost. The whole album reminds me of Danish stoned prog rock giants Beaver, if they tuned way down and believed in primal scream therapy. Or Grief if they sped things up and got a sense of humor. Or very early Genesis if they believed in writing songs under 12 minutes and eschewed acid for heavy barbiturates. Even Messugah comes to mind. Maybe. Clearly, Jumbo's Killcrane are on to something. I can't listen to "Tres Futbol del Mono I" without going into a hypno-sludge induced trance, "Fellatio" without rocking out, or "Gasmouth" without letting my jaw hang in math-rock awe. A nice package of everything the seventeen-year old hottie working at Bebe hates about you and rock n' roll in general." - Hellride Music
"Give up the chunk. We want the chunk, gotta have that chunk! And Kansas band Jumbo's Killcrane is here to give it to us.... Jumbo's Killcrane is a prog-sludge outfit that could hold its own with sludge-core king the Melvins. Its upcoming CD "Carnaval De Carne" is one big wall of ear-pounding sound that's studded with raw, ferocious guitar riffs, squalled vocals and thudding rhythms....." - Tallahassee Democrat , ROUNDUP
"Man, these guys blew me away. A power trio from Lawrence, Kansas, they play intense, morose stoner rock, but manage to avoid most of the clichés of that already-tiresome genre. With an eclectic sound that touches on sludge, metal, grunge and math-rock, they’re as close in spirit to mid-’70s British prog groups like King Crimson and Gentle Giant as they are The Melvins and Soundgarden.
Their complex and cacophonous songs switch tempo and meter on a dime, and fly back and forth between gloomy drones and extended sections of manic, off-kilter grooving. Vocally, there are obvious nods to Kurt Cobain and Dave Wyndorf of Monster Magnet, but this band is also mining the same mountain as the Jesus Lizard and Helmet. In fact, despite playing "spot-the-influences", Jumbo’s Killcrane sounds more like Bastards, Killdozer, or any other old Amphetamine Reptile artist from the early 1990s than anything else. If you dig jazzy, exploratory metal with little pretense and much nerve, be sure to catch this band. " - Jim Reed, CONNECT SAVANNAH
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