Author: Gruesome Greg
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Jupiter Zeus – On Earth
The band’s bio makes mention of the fact that the previous incarnation of Jupiter Zeus was called Nebula. And no, this is not Eddie Glass’s band or anything — they were apparently completely oblivious to the fact that there was already a pretty popular stoner band by that name, which is made all the more…
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Taurus – No/Thing
Life, the debut from Portland doom duo Taurus, consisted of two 15+ minute tracks: “Life Pt. 1” and “Life Pt. 2.” No/Thing, their sophomore effort, has five songs, and things are slightly more structured this time around. Song lengths, for the most part, are shorter than the debut — though several still exceed 10 minutes.…
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Hark – Crystalline
Hark, here be another band with a Clutch connection. Frontman Jimbob Isaaac has done artwork for ’em, along with the likes of Red Fang, Kvelertak and Orange Goblin. In fact, Neil Fallon even makes a cameo on the last track on this album, so there’s that to look forward to. This Welsh trio’s debut begins with “Palendromeda,”…
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Mos Generator – Electric Mountain Majesty
I believe this is album number five from Pacific Northwest vets Mos Generator, who’ve been kicking around — and old school — since the dawn of the new millennium. Their sound certainly takes you back more than 15 years, more like 40, to the good ol’ days of vintage rock ‘n’ roll. “Beyond the Whip”…
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Ogre – The Last Neanderthal
I actually saw one of the last shows Ogre played before they originally broke up, at Rochester’s Born II Late doomfest in ’09. Didn’t know much about the band beforehand, but their performance was so impressive that they stopped the show for a one-hour intermission afterwards. Their then-swansong, Plague of the Planet, quickly became one…
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Kamchatka – The Search Goes On
This Swedish trio, Kamchatka, is best known for touring with Clutch, collaborating with Clutch (J.P. Gaster appears on a couple of their albums) and hell, even sorta sounding like Clutch. So if you like Clutch, keep reading… Their fifth album is somewhat shorter than previous efforts, offering 10 tracks in about 41-and-a-half minutes. “Somedays” kicks…
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Prizehog – Re-Unvent the Whool
Not gonna lie, my first reaction to Prizehog (aside from noting the intentionally bad spelling) was to think of 90s one-hit wonders Spacehog. Apparently, those guys are still touring. Say whaaaa!? However, this Portland trio isn’t living in the meantime, but rather in the present. This is, in fact, their fifth album, though I can’t…
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BL’AST! – The Expression of Power
I must admit that I missed out on BL’AST! the first time around, eventually getting word of these guys through bands like Black Flag and Fu Manchu. But it wasn’t until their long-lost album Blood! was recently unearthed by Southern Lord that I really got into ’em, so this remastered reissue of their ’86 debut by the…
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The Socks (self-titled)
These Socks don’t stink! The French quartet brews a blend of pungent, throwback heavy psych on their Small Stone debut. Kicking off with “Lords of Illusion,” The Socks use their illusion to channel Hendrix, Purple and Sabbath throughout this nine-track, 44-minute effort. There are also shades of modern bands like Monster Truck on the organ-accented…
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Fossils – Flesh Hammer
Now, I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but the album art on this one is made outta beef jerky, and I loves me some beef jerky… Anyhoo, Fossils is a Danish guitarless duo, and this is their third album, and third album about meat — at least in name,…