Author: Gruesome Greg
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Wizard Rifle – Here in the Deadlights
Can I just say I’ve partaken in a few too many Facebook discussions about how there are far too many doom bands nowadays with Wizard in their moniker? Wizard Rifle is a pretty blatant example; do wizards actually carry guns in Portland, or something? Alas, their silly name combined with some, erm, creative song titles and…
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The Body / Sandworm split
I still have fond memories of the one and only time I’ve seen The Body live. The local promoter had a hard time finding a venue that would accommodate their awesome amplitude, and they ended up being double-booked with some indie-rock band at The Shop, a pre-fabricated Parkdale punk-rock dive. After the respective local openers…
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Atriarch – An Unending Pathway
Not too familiar with this Portland outfit, but Atriarch have been described as a head-on collision between post-sludge and new wave, which seemed intriguing enough for me to listen up. The fact that heavy-rock luminaries Billy Anderson and Brad Boatright had a hand in mixing and mastering is also a good sign; the production really…
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Apostle of Solitude – Of Woe and Wounds
Has it really been four—hell, almost five—years since Apostle of Solitude put out an album? Last Sunrise was one of my fav releases of 2010, but I guess things move slowly in doom circles sometimes. In any case, those who aren’t strangers to the band probably know a few of these songs already. “This Mania”…
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The Skull – For Those Which Are Asleep
Here’s another band I recently saw this year in Milwaukee. The Skull features three former members of Trouble, most notably frontman Eric Wagner. The last time I saw him on stage, prior to this summer, he had short hair, wore sunglasses and a Beatles shirt, and spent the whole set staring at the floor. But…
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Giant Squid – Minoans
Had not heard from this post-metal outfit, Giant Squid, in a little bit—it had been three years since their last EP, and a couple more since they put out an album. But the West Coast quintet is back with an album that, at least by its title and some of the song names, seems to…
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Pig Destroyer – Mass & Volume
When one of the biggest grindcore bands of recent years drops a two-song, 26-minute doom-metal album, you can certainly colour me intrigued. Pig Destroyer actually recorded these two tracks back in ’06 but, understandably, they took some time to see the light of day. “Mass & Volume” takes up 19 of those minutes, starting off slowly with…
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Ides of Gemini – Old World New Wave
I’ll admit, I kinda slept on this album, which actually came out back in September. But the L.A. trio’s debut, Constantinople, left enough of an impression that I figure their follow-up effort is worth a belated listen. A two-thirds-female outfit that mixes shoegaze sounds into a lighter shade of doom with stirring feminine vocals: unlike…
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Pallbearer – Foundations of Burden
Man, I gotsta say, this new Pallbearer rekkid is pretty fancy-schmancy: a double dose of uber-thick vinyl (I’m guessing 180g) that comes with a glossy poster/lyric sheet. Profound Lore really went all-out on this one… but considering the success of its critically-acclaimed predecessor, Sorrow and Extinction, I can see why they felt ’twas worth the effort.…
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Today Is the Day – Animal Mother
Let’s be honest here. Today Is the Day is mainly the life’s work of one man, Steve Austin, with a rotating rhythm section that changes every album or two. That said, he usually finds musicians that are well-versed in the genre… I guess you could call it post-hardcore? For album number 10, it’s drummer Jeffrey Lohrber…