Category: Reviews
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The Melvins – Hold It In
The problem which tends to spring up whenever two bands team up and pool their creative energy for an album is that neither band wants to be outshone and be seen as “the group who bent to [insert the name of other contributing act here].” It’s not exactly an ego trip, just that nobody wants…
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Brainoil – Brainoil
Like fellow Oakland outfit Noothgrush, Brainoil is/was a Bay Area sludge band that only issued one album, disappeared, then more recently reunited with new material (which I reviewed here three years ago). Well, this is that album, soon-to-be reissued by Tankcrimes Records. It’s no Erode the Person, but tis certainly none too shabby. The band…
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Life After Death From Above 1979
Up until pretty recently, the question “What the hell happened to Death From Above 1979” was a perfectly valid one. At one point, the band was huge; between 2001 and 2006, they played over five hundred shows around the world. Critics lined up to sing the band’s praises, appearances on shows like Late Night with Conan…
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Death From Above 1979 – The Physical World
In the name of complete disclosure, I must confess that I wasn’t the biggest fan of Death From Above 1979 on their first trip through the pop music ranks. What the band was playing at in their first go ’round was just too canny, calculated, competant and superficial for me; it played like punk geared…
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Northern Crown – In the Hands of the Betrayer
It’s not often I’m compelled to listen to an unsolicited, unknown band nowadays, but when said outfit covers Candlemass—and a cut from Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, no less—now they’ve got my attention. Much as Candlemass’ debut was largely a studio project, masterminded by Leif Edling, Northern Crown also appears to be mostly a one-man endeavour with…
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Cannibal Corpse – Skeletal Domain
And they’re back from the grave, ready to slash, butcher, cut up, kill and smash the listeners’ ear drums. Yes, it’s Cannibal Corpse and they are back with their thirteenth studio album, Skeletal Domain. On board for production this time is Mark Lewis who brings a darker and thrashier sound here. Some would say this is …
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John Garcia – John Garcia
John Garcia. John fuckin’ Garcia. There is no voice more synonymous with stoner rock or desert rock than that of John Garcia. Best known as the singer for genre progenitors Kyuss, he’s been a part of a number of projects since that band’s dissolution almost 20 years ago. While Kyuss may always cast a shadow…
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Snailking – Storm
You know you’ve been listening to this shit for a while when you start seeing bands named after some of your favourite albums. Y’know, like the Polish band Dopesmoker or Dopethrone from Montreal. Hell, there’s even an outfit named after the Truckfighters tune Desert Cruiser—though I guess that one shouldn’t be such a surprise. In…
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Opeth – Pale Communion
Pale Communion is a richly appointed collection of progressive rock that continues the approach of 2011’s Heritage, while refining and expanding the style that characterized that troubling (to some) transitional album. Everything on Pale Communion—the production, the material, the performances—hangs together more logically than on Heritage. The songs travel through candlelit corridors, sidestep into a…
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White Hills – Glitter Glamour Atrocity
This NYC heavy psych duo—they’ve been through more drummers than Spinal Tap—has also been pretty prolific with its recorded output, although some of their earlier stuff was largely unavailable outside The Big Apple. Such was the case with Glitter Glamour Atrocity, White Hills‘ third album (of 13… so far!), originally released in 2007, but recently reissued by Thrill…