Category: Reviews
-
Atala – The Bearer of Light
Maybe it’s because they’re from the middle of nowhere, but I feel that California desert doom trio Atala never gets the respect they deserve. These guys play the kind of doom that Saint Vitus made famous, and their last couple records were produced by the likes of Scott Reeder and Billy Anderson… but you still…
-
The Ratchets – First Light LP
Anyone who has followed my contributions to this column likely already knows and understands that, while my coverage of vinyl records is very format-focused, I do not believe that the format itself deserves much discussion. Simply said, I do a lot of vinyl coverage because I like the SOUND of vinyl records – the color…
-
Baker Gurvitz Army – Since Beginning: The Albums 1974-1976
Once again Esoteric must be applauded for releasing a superb box-set that is not just a pleasure to listen to but also historically important. The Baker Gurvitz Army was formed in 1974 by former Gun and Three Man Army members Paul Gurvitz on bass/vocal, Adam Gurvitz on guitar/vocal, and Cram legend Ginger Baker on drums……
-
The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem – four-album collection (1963-1967)
In Person At Carnegie Hall / Recorded Live In Ireland / In Concert / Freedom’s Sons One of my earliest childhood memories is listening to The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem it is impossible to convey to anyone who hasn’t experienced living in a country that isn’t your home, the importance of their music to…
-
Yawning Man – The Revolt Against Tired Noises
I’m kicking myself here! I’m a “big” stoner rock guy but I’ve never really listened to Yawning Man that much. I know of them but just never got around to spending much time with them until now. I have been missing out! What you won’t be missing out on is vocals. OK, two songs have…
-
Louise Lemon – A Broken Heart is an Open Heart (LP/2CD set)
As intellectually evasive as music genre names have the capacity to be (dig into music history, and you’ll realize how silly sub-genre names get – take post-hardcore or “screamo” for just two examples), there’s no question that Death Gospel (or Doom Gospel – depending upon the press release that one reads) chanteuse Louise Lemon has…
-
Slomatics – Canyons
There’s something to be said for originality in doom. With most of the bands whose names contain either Witch or Wizard, you kind of know what kind of generic riffage and occult symbolism you’re gonna get. But Slomatics, their name just oozes doom, without sounding like everyone else. And when it comes to the music,…
-
Spirit Adrift – Divided by Darkness
Spirit Adrift’s previous album, Curse of Conception, was one of the best doom metal, if not overall metal albums of 2017. I know it ranked quite highly on my year-end top 10 list – and I definitely wasn’t alone. But now I’ve heard that they’ve switched things up a bit for their latest record. While…
-
Magic Circle – Departed Souls
Magic Circle’s first two albums are considered underground classics of true doom metal, so when they announced that Departed Souls, their first new record in four and a half years, was going to be more “70’s sounding,” there was some cause for concern. But I can assure you that if you like your doom of…
-
Nomad Son – The Darkening
Metal-on-Metal is a superb label. I haven’t encountered anything from them yet that wasn’t first class, and Nomad Son are no exception. Hailing from Malta, an island that produces a lot of fine metal bands (particularly in proportion to its population!), Nomad Sun play extremely proficient heavy metal, to my mind NWOBHM influenced with the…