Author: Gruesome Greg
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Atala – Shaman’s Path of the Serpent
Though you might not have heard of them, this California desert trio has a pretty impressive stoner/doom pedigree. Atala‘s self-titled debut, which came out in 2014, was recorded by Scott Reeder, while this follow-up effort was engineered by Billy Anderson. They’re even booked to pay this year’s edition of Maryland Doomfest—the other MDF—so even though I…
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AMATEUR CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY HOUR: BONGZILLA, Black Cobra, Kings Destroy, Lo-Pan @ Mod Club, April 5, 2016
I was somewhat surprised to see Bongzilla headlining a concert-hall tour in 2016, but hey, with a four-band bill that brought it from start to finish, I’m certainly not one to complain!
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Valley of the Sun – Volume Rock
Cincinnati’s finest desert rock outfit, Valley of the Sun, is back with their second album, following their solid 2014 debut Electric Talons of the Thunderhawk. Ohio might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of heavy desert grooves—hell, the band named itself after Phoenix, AZ—but these guys sure know how…
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Blood Ceremony – Lord of Misrule
Lord of Misrule is not a metal album. While you could file their 2008 debut—still a personal favourite—under “Doom,” Blood Ceremony has moved away from that style on subsequent releases. I would even contend that there’s nothing metallic about The Eldritch Dark, which was named one of Rolling Stone’s top metal albums of 2013. While…
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Diamond Head – self-titled
Does the world really need a new Diamond Head album in 2016? Don’t get me wrong, their early 80’s contributions to the NWOBHM cannon are classics—particularly their 1980 debut, Lightning to the Nations—but this is hardly the same band. Guitarist Brian Tatler is the only original member, and while we chastise the likes of Black…
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Ruby the Hatchet – Ouroboros
I’ll be the first to tell you that I didn’t love Ruby the Hatchet’s Tee Pee Records debut. Sure they captured the sound of the 70’s… by adequately aping 17 other bands that are bringing the 70’s back. My biggest beef was that they didn’t bring anything new to the table, and seeing them open…
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New Keepers of the Water Towers – Infernal Machine
Fun fact: I actually reviewed this Swedish band’s debut for Hellbound all the way back in ’09. It got a pretty favourable review, too, drawing comparisons to Clutch, Mastodon and now-defunct Ontario outfit The Georgian Skull. But man, I don’t think I’ve listened to that album in five or six years—and I haven’t heard anything…
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Graves at Sea – The Curse That Is
The first full-length from Graves at Sea isn’t just a long time coming, it’s a long time, period—eight tracks spanning 76 minutes! I guess that with just a handful of EPs and splits over the past several years, they finally got the chance to make the most of their studio time. The lineup here is…
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Lord Mantis – NTW EP
With an infusion of new blood from now-defunct Chicago outfit Indian, you might be expecting something slightly sludgier from this Midwest blackened doom troop this time around. A new sound, after all, would justify the release of this four-song EP, which clocks in at just over 24 minutes. “SIG Safer” immediately signals that Lord Mantis isn’t…
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Psychedelic Witchcraft – The Vision
If the name Psychedelic Witchcraft conjures up images of a female-fronted occult-rock act that worships at the Coven of Jex Thoth and Blood Ceremony, then you’re pretty much right on the money. Rather than drawing inspiration from classic Italian cult horror films, like, say, their countrymen in Arcana 13, this Florence-based outfit has chosen not…