Author: Gruesome Greg
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Bison – Earthbound (reissue)
It figures that just a few months after putting out their comeback album, which wound up being one of our top five Canadian releases of 2017, Bison would go all the way back to the beginning with this reissue of their first album on limited edition vinyl (666 copies). They’re more than 10 years removed…
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Zeke – Hellbender
Not sure I was expecting to hear from these Seattle punk rockers again. Zeke last released a full-length record almost 15 years ago, and I was not aware they were still a going concern… not that I’m complaining. Buckle up yer bumper cars, as they blast 15 tracks by you in 20 and a half…
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Eagle Twin – The Thundering Heard
I’m not always a fan of two-piece doom bands—especially when they don’t have a bassist. But some can still generate enough sonic power to win me over; such is the case with Utah’s Eagle Twin on their third album for Southern Lord. The Thundering Heard opens with a rumble, meditative vocals (à la Al Cisneros)…
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Besvärjelsen – Vallmo
This Swedish heavy psych outfit, featuring former members of Dozer and Greenleaf, has actually received airplay on Swedish National Radio, proving that rock ‘n roll ain’t dead… provided that you cross the pond. After two previous EPs, Besvärjelsen’s debut album is actually named after the Swedish word for poppy—although in this case, we’re talking about…
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Earthless – Black Heaven
You know the world’s been twist-turned upside down when Fu Manchu is kicking out 18-minute jams and Earthless is singing—yes, actually singing—sub-10-minute numbers. That’s right, America’s pre-eminent jam band seems to be slowing down in their old age, as apparent on this latest release. Mind you, most of the songs here still exceed six minutes…
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AMATEUR CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY HOUR: Earthless/Kikagaku Moyo @ Lee’s Palace, March 14, 2018
What’s better than seeing Earthless live? How about seeing Earthless live with lava lights!? The San Diego heavy psych veterans brought their new album out on tour, along with some solid support from the land of the rising sun. I wasn’t too familiar with Kikagaku Moyo beforehand, but their psychedelic melodies came in all flavours…
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River Cult – Halcyon Daze
Earthless already has a couple opening acts lined up for their upcoming North American tour, but if they ever needed another one, they couldn’t do much better than this New York heavy psych trio. River Cult busts a groove and kicks out the jams for over 40 minutes here on their full-length debut. “Likelihood of…
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Forming the Void / Pyreship split 10-inch
Both Forming the Void and Pyreship put out awesome albums last year, so this split certainly seems fitting. Of course, this kind of (post) sludge is too long for a 7-inch, so while there are only two songs here, it still warrants a bigger piece of wax. FTV takes Side A with “To the Wolves,”…
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AMATEUR CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY HOUR: Dirkschneider @ Mod Club, February 28, 2018
When Udo Dirkschneider and company played a two-hour set of Accept classics here last year, it was one of my favourite shows of 2017. At the time, I said I no longer needed to catch U.D.O. or Accept in concert again…but when I saw he was bringing back his namesake band for another kick of…
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Green Druid – Ashen Blood
In a scene full of witches and wizards, sometimes it’s good to be a druid. These Denver doomsters may not stray too far from the beaten path (they do have a song called “Nightfall,” after all), but their crunchy doom tones still satisfy on their 74-minute(!) Earache Records debut. “Pale Blood Sky” kicks things off…