Category: Reviews

  • Gigan – Quasi-Hallucinogenic Sonic Landscapes

    A drop of proto-electronica, a dash of Gorguts’ unpredictability, splashes of Florida’s meanest (to add some bite), a little Voivod eccentricity and a beaker of left-field nimble-fingered guitar athletics. Gigan’s mix of ideas sets them way ahead of the tech-metal pack, and although they are a state-of-the-art riffing launch pad into the celestial unknown, that…

  • Shooting Guns – Born to Deal in Magic: 1952-1976

    In the hands of a producer who specializes in this style of music (this band was born to work with Sanford Parker), these guys could be capable of a record that sounds even more massive. For now, though, we’re perfectly content listening to one hell of a fun debut, one of the very best Canadian…

  • Hot Graves – Desecration Time 7″

    In the mood for some thrash-worship discore that manages to fuck up the mix with occasional blastbeats and/or molasses-slow doom? Pick up this seven-inch from Hot Graves as a taster

  • Arson Anthem – Insecure Notoriety

    Make no mistake, this is not a metal album, this is early, dirty underground hardcore for folks who loved it and miss it, and a lesson for those who have no idea what hardcore is but are open minded enough to check it out. Start here then, go find the bands that influenced Arson Anthem…

  • Overkill: The Untold Story of Motorhead By Joel McIver

    Oh, I loved reviewing this book, it was like a time machine back to a golden age, one that importantly still continues, as Motorhead are still as awesome as ever.

  • Neurosis – Sovereign EP

    Neurosis has been reissuing a lot of their older material of late (see “Souls At Zero” review from a little while back). And while this four-song EP, the first to be released on Neurot back in 2000, doesn’t have the historical significance of prior reissues, it’s certainly worthy of a second lease on life, considering…

  • Alice Cooper – Old School 1964-1974

    “When rumours started to fly that the original Alice Cooper group was going to be inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame, Alice and his ‘team’ decided that it was time to put something out to commemorate that original period of time. It would have been easy for them to slap together another…

  • Darkest Era – The Last Caress of Light

    An awesome debut which points towards even bigger things, I can’t recommend this album enough.

  • Grifter – s/t

    Man, these guys have really nailed this style down. Anyone who digs Clutch, Bulletwolf, Orange Goblin’s more recent stuff, Diablo Red, COC, WCO, hell, KISS at their heaviest, or any of the fine bluesy psychedelic rarities previously unearthed by Ripple Music will wanna sink their teeth into this.

  • All Pens Blazing: A Rock & Heavy Metal Writer’s Handbook, Volumes 1 & 2, by Neil Daniels

    All Pens Blazing is less a guidebook and much more a map to heavy metal writing. Anyone interested in a back-stage view of the rock music industry will get a kick out of these two volumes.