Category: Reviews
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Reviews x3: Fractal Cypher, Striker, Jo Quail
Fractal Cypher – Prelude To An Impending Outcome Fans of Dream Theater will find much to enjoy here. Beautifully played progressive metal, and a release that bodes well for their future music. Transcendent! (Mini Album, Self-Release) https://fractalcypher.bandcamp.com/album/prelude-to-an-impending-outcome Striker – Play To Win Striker remind me of the good old days when great bands like Iron Maiden…
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The Great Sabatini – Goodbye Audio
Montreal’s favourite bearded noise-rock wizards – The Great Sabatini – are back with their fourth full-length album, featuring such family-unfriendly titles as “Still Life with Maggots,” “The Pursuit of Crappiness Parts 1-4” and “You’re Gonna Die (Unsatisfied).” You can always count on noise rock to warm your heart on a cold Canadian winter’s day, eh?…
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Dad Brains – EP (7”)
Now over forty years since it first appeared, it was inevitable that punk rock was probably going to take on something that resembled a fatherly voice, somehow. How could it not? With Green Day having made concept records already and both Fat Mike Burkett and Mike Watt having produced punk rock opera albums, punk and…
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Cancer – Shadow Gripped
There is an important and very true quote from Carl Jung in the CD booklet to Cancer’s excellent Shadow Gripped, which I will share with you. “It is a frightening thought that man also has a shadow side to him, consisting not just of little weaknesses and foibles, but of a positively demonic dynamism. The…
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Wasted Theory – Warlords of the New Electric
Delaware’s finest purveyors of heavy riffs and silly song titles are back with their third full-length album. With tunes like “Bongronaut,” “Doomslut Rodeo” and “The Son of the Son of a Bitch,” they definitely don’t disappoint in the song-title department on this one! “Rawhide Hellride” kicks off this eight-track effort with a groovy, 70’s style…
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Holy Grove – II
OK, stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Female-fronted Portland outfit mixes heavy riffs and soaring vocals on one of the best doom metal albums of the year. Only this time, we’re not talkin’ bout Witch Mountain, but rather the second record from recent Ripple Music signing Holy Grove. II kicks off with a…
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LIGHT // SOUND – s/t LP
Since childhood, we’re taught to never judge a book by its cover or be so superficial as to make inferences about a person’s character based solely upon their exterior persona. It’s good advice – not making snap judgements about the contents of an article or individual by the first sight one sees – but that…
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Ominous Eclipse – Sinister
With a name inspired by the film Pitch Black, Ominous Eclipse tick off all the correct death metal boxes. However, the more one listens to Sinister the more one detects other influences and this bodes well for some longevity in their career. One to look out for in the future. (Self Release) Ominous Eclipse is Guitar, Vocals:…
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Bloodbath – The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn
To me, The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn really proves that death metal as a genre has staying power. This album builds on the classic work of Death, Autopsy, Carcass, Entombed and Unleashed and their ilk and forges its sound into something true to its roots, yet very much of the 21st century. The track “Bloodicide”…
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Cantique Lepreux – Paysages Polaires
Cantique Lepreux are gearing up to release their second full-length album on Eisenwald on November 30, 2018 and it’s proving to be the perfect album to listen to during the snowy months. Quebec trio are yet again putting out some of the best black metal in Canada and they have nothing but masterpieces behind them.…