Category: Reviews
-
Tensei – Constellate LP
Over the last few years, The Flaming Lips have really come a long way from being the LSD-dipped and surrealist punk band that they were when they emerged from the wilds of Oklahoma in 1983. Since then, the hard left musical turns that they were perceived to have taken have become streamlined and the group…
-
Smoulder – Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring
Epic doom is alive and well in 2019! Not only do we have a new Candlemass, with Johan Langqvist—and a guest appearance from Iommi—but there are also a few new outfits eschewing bongs and wizards for swords and sorcery, all in the name of doom. Among this new wave of heaviness is Toronto’s Smoulder, who…
-
Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard – Yn Ol I Annwn
This is the third album from the splendidly named Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard. No band sounds like M.W.W.B.; they are a secret the world needs to know. For sure, there are reference points, such as Black Sabbath and Hawkwind (and the musical spirit of adventure that Hawkwind represent is something far more bands should take…
-
Sacro Sanctus – Liber III: Codex Templarum
This is metal made for the very best of reasons by Mr. Albert Bell, a long-time mainstay of the Maltese metal scene: for the love of the music and culture. For, make no mistake, fifty years down the line, metal is a legitimate culture, with a glorious past, exciting present, and much optimism for its…
-
Mork – Det Svarte Juv
When such an arbiter of good taste as the mighty Fenriz endorses a band you can be sure they are something special, and indeed Mork are special. Black metal in the best sense of the word, the songs herein take the listener on a journey through the soundscape of the soul. For sure there are…
-
The Old Firm Casuals – Holger Danske LP
After a solid amount of time up on blocks (the band’s debut album was released in 2014 and, while there have been a couple of splits and a couple of EPs, demands for something more substantial have gone unanswered), a recent reissue campaign renewed interest in The Old Firm Casuals (a.k.a. Singer/guitarist Lars Frederiksen’s “other”…
-
Getaway Van – self-titled
Man, just the band name and the logo of this Vancouver outfit has got visions of Fu Manchu slowly cruisin’ through my head before I even push play. Hey, it’s no Boogie Van, but this Getaway Van is still Hell on Wheels, dude! OK, so they might not be the closest disciples of the Fu,…
-
High Reeper – Higher Reeper
After putting out a smokin’ Sabbath/Saint Vitus-inspired self-titled record about a year and a half ago, Philly’s High Reeper is already back with album number two. Why get high when you can get higher, bro??? The eight-song, 40-minute effort picks up right where its predecessor left off, with “Eternal Leviathan” serving up a solid slice…
-
Brant Bjork – Jacoozzi
It’s always a good day for stoner rock when Brant Bjork releases a new record—although this isn’t really a new, new record, and it isn’t your typical Brant Bjork record, either. Recorded in 2010, Jacoozzi is just Brant jammin’ with himself, playing all the instruments like he did on Jalamanta, his solo debut from ’99…albeit…
-
Minors – Abject Bodies
After seeing Minors about a year ago with Primitive Man and Spectral Voice in Toronto, I quickly grew deeply in love with these guys. Their first record, Atrophy, was simply perfect and when I heard they were doing a new album I was immediately excited. Minors are a powerviolence group from Windsor, Ontario that are…