Author: Gruesome Greg
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AMATEUR CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY HOUR: EARTHLESS @ Lee’s Palace, March 14, 2016
Until last night, the last time Earthless played Toronto was all the way back in ’09. They opened for Witch at the Horseshoe, and completely blew ’em off the stage. So yeah, we’d been waiting a while for their next appearance ’round these parts.
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Bardus – Stella Porta
When I think Philly, I don’t usually think noise rock, but French label Solar Flare Records, home to the likes of Sofy Major and The Great Sabatini, thinks highly enough of this young trio to offer them a deal—which is reason enough for me to give this a listen. Stella Porta comes crashing out of…
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Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas – Mariner
This collaborative effort between the Swedish Neurosis [Cult of Luna] and New York noise rocker Julie Christmas appears to be a concept album about live on the high seas—a theme perhaps not unfamiliar to ISIS, another notable (though sadly long defunct) post-sludge outfit. With five tracks spanning nearly 55 minutes, tis a rather lengthy voyage.…
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Conan – Revengeance
Just caught this U.K. trio’s debut Toronto performance on the heels of Detroit’s Berserker Fest. Conan had been kicking around the British sludge scene for a few years before their breakout sophomore effort, 2014’s Blood Eagle on Napalm Records, and now, striking while the iron is hot, Revengeance comes out less than two years later.…
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Zun – Burial Sunrise
Every scene has its unsung heroes. When it comes to desert rock, for every John Garcia, Brant Bjork and Scott Reeder, there are guys like Gary Arce and Mario Lalli, scene stalwarts that have received plenty of underground praise, if not much mainstream recognition. Let’s just say the type of people who buy Small Stone…
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Boris with Merzbow – Gensho
OK, so here’s the deal with the new Boris/Merzbow album. It’s actually two records, but you’re supposed to play them at the same time—which is fine if you have two turntables or multiple CD players. For the purpose of this experiment, I’m listening to Boris in Windows’ Groove Music and Merzbow on iTunes. This may…
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Dream Death – Dissemination
Dream Death’s 1987 debut Journey Into Mystery is one of the great lost metal classics of all time. On their debut album, this Pittsburgh outfit combined the nascent sub-genres of thrash and doom into a self-styled concoction called sludge metal—that’s right, they were the Possessed of all things tuned low and played slow. Problem is,…
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Black Shape of Nexus – Carrier
This German sludge sextet returns with Carrier, their first full-length since 2012’s oppressive 80-minute effort Negative Black. This one’s considerably less lengthy, but equally punishing, with six tracks clocking in just shy of 50 minutes. “I Can’t Play It” opens the album on an ominous note with tortured screams and squealing feedback. This one’s a…
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Church of Misery – And Then There Were None
I’ve always been a big fan of Church of Misery. Their last record, Thy Kingdom Scum, was one of my 2013 favourites, and I’m still bummed out that their Canadian tour dates got cancelled that year. (I blame Ted Cruz. No, really.) But hey, should they get together for some North American dates, the formerly…
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La Chinga – Free Wheelin’
Super stoked for the sophomore slice from these Vancouver-based bashers, who put out their stellar self-titled debut back in 2013. These retro-rock revivalists are kinda like the West Coast’s answer to Monster Truck…y’know, with better weed. Free Wheelin’ comes rolling outta the gate with “Gone Gypsy,” which sounds like early Aerosmith with some Robert Plant…