Category: Reviews
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Steak – No God to Save
Mmm, Steak… These heavy rockers from the desert plains of London have returned with their second album on the always tasty Ripple Music. Don’t let the Dischargey album title fool ya—these guys play ‘r low ‘n slow, and like it done medium rare. “Overthrow” opens the album, a seven-minute slab of rifftastic stoner rock. The…
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Film Review – Kong: Skull Island
Orson Welles once memorably commented that films should be made with innocence (something we rarely see now, sadly – we live in a time when films are made by marketing committees!) and Kong: Skull Island is a fine example of a film made for the right reasons. It has been described as a reboot of…
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Godhunter – Codex Narco
Godhunter’s debut album, City of Dust, was one of the great underrated sludge records of 2014, which actually found its way onto my year-end top 10 list. In the few years since, the band helped put Tucson on the metal map by hosting Southwest Terror Fest (which has since moved to Seattle), and has put…
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Merchant – Beneath
Just the other day, I was less than enthused about a few 13-minute sludge tunes, but this thunderous Aussie outfit actually managed to grab my attention with these two. Beneath, the second album from Melbourne doom crew Merchant only has two tracks—but they both clock in around 15 minutes. And yet, like I said, these…
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Obelyskkh – The Providence
The Providence is the third album to cross my desk from German stoner/doom outfit Obelyskkh, although it’s been nearly four years since its predecessor, Hymn to Pan. I think I passed on reviewing the last two, but after such a lengthy passage in time, they say this one is going to be different—more psychedelic or…
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Ides of Gemini – Women
Within the overcrowded “female-fronted occult rock” subgenre, Ides of Gemini distinguishes itself by not stealing Black Sabbath riffs from the 70’s. Their music has always had a more sombre quality, leaning toward the gothic side of doom, while simultaneously not sucking. One of my biggest regrets at Psycho Fest was missing their set last summer……
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Zedi Forder – Zedi Forder
Zedi Forder is a UK heavy rock/alt-metal trio on the verge of releasing their first studio album, a self-titled offering. I would compare this band to a bright-eyed college student. An individual who, after a semester of heavy studying and lecture time, is asked to write that final paper as a culmination of what they…
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Woodhawk – Beyond the Sun
I’ve been hearing a bit of buzz about the Calgary fuzz-rock scene lately. Apparently, there’s a whole legion of bands now that musta grew up on Chron Goblin and the recently reunited Hypnopilot (a personal favorite from back in the day), so many that Cowtown is actually hosting a three-day stonerfest on 4/20 weekend. When…
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Mastodon – Emperor Of Sand
After having spent the last few years stretching stylistically in a few different directions (The “White Walker” single found a home as the lead track for a season of HBO’s Game Of Thrones, 2014’s Once More ‘Round The Sun saw the band get leaner and almost blurring the lines between metal and punk rock a…
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Radio Free Universe – Casa Del Diablo
Firstly, kudos to the splendidly named Radio Free Universe (inspired by World War 2’s ‘Radio Free Europe’) for their commitment to the physical format of music, this is one excellently designed CD. In a fair world, Radio Free Universe would be the next Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam or Soundgarden, not because they sound like those…