Category: Reviews
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Jamstik (gear review)
In the spirit of full disclosure, I must confess that I began my review of the Zivix Jamstik harboring a great deal of trepidation. A lot of that sprang from what I projected that the limitations of the device would be; Jamstik is a MIDI-driven (that’s Musical Instrument Digital Interface, for those who are completely…
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Nest – S/T EP
Like a gratuitous steel-toed punt to a prone skull, NEST kick the shit out of restraint and then some with an overdriven, relentlessly brutal 2-man black-hearted doom beat down straight from the KEEPER/PRIMITIVE MAN/FISTER school of glacial extremity. Pummelling, ponderous drums wrestle with ursine-heavy guitars and some apropos samples on this raw, dynamic self-titled EP…
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The Bar Stool Preachers – One Fool Down 7” single
When’s the last time you listened to some punk rock, reader? That’s P-U-N-K R-O-C-K; the snotty stuff made in the face of mediocrity. The stuff that a band wrote because they had nothing left to lose because they’d been kicked around and told they were no good but still refused to remain down after having…
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Gorelust – We are the Undead
Maybe we’re not missing out after all. Twenty years late, Gorelust are following up their debut album with We are the Undead. After struggling to make a go of it in the deepening death metal pool of the mid-90s, the band dissolved for the usual reasons. Nevertheless, the story goes that about half of the…
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White Hills – Walks for Motorists
This ironically titled outing is album number 13 from uber-prolific NYC psych rockers White Hills, who’ve surely cranked out more albums in the last 10 years than anyone not named Acid Mothers Temple. A melodic mish-mash of garage rock, digi-pop and psych-rock freakouts—no two songs sound the same, but all contain the same footprint. The synth-driven…
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id. – Sagittarius A
If this EP is anything to go by, a full-length album from id. will be an intriguing prospect. The band are indeed masters of their respective instruments and their song-writing is strong. Musically, they are very reminiscent of Opeth on ‘The Greatest Secret Never Told’. ‘Humanity’s Cry’ has a very quirky individual sound, and points…
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The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: Freedom Tower – No Wave Dance Party 2015
When The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion made its lustrous return with Meat + Bone in 2012 (after revisiting their catalogue with Shout Factory), fans were thrilled to discover that the band’s first desire was to just play straight and simply; there were no frills or fantastic embellishments on the band’s ninth album as there had…
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The Atomic Bitchwax – Gravitron
Haven’t heard from the Atomic Bitchwax in a bit—their last record, one-track, 42-minute instrumental The Local Fuzz dropped in 2011. But they’re coming in hot and fast with this new effort, 10 songs spanning 33 minutes and change. Even though Ed Mundell’s long gone, they’re now more of a Monster Magnet side project than ever;…
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Idol of Fear – All Sights Affixed, Ablaze
All Sights Affixed, Ablaze from Barrie’s Idol of Fear impresses right from the get-go with “Vanquish.” It lays the foundation for the album with a black metal base. The lead guitars are fantastic. They cut through the heaviness and burrow deep in your head. Screaming and screeching, they are nonetheless nearly permanently imbedded in my…
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Warhorse – As Heaven Turns to Ash/I Am Dying reissue
Boston isn’t automatically associated with stoner/doom metal the way that Baltimore or Indianapolis (for those in the know) is, but that’s not to say Beantown hasn’t cranked out a few solid outfits recently—Elder, Black Pyramid and Gozu come to mind. Hell, last year’s edition of the Eye of the Stoned Goat Fest was held in…