Category: Reviews
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TMHM – Stage Names
Now frankly, I’m not sure if there’s anything resembling a hardcore scene in Regina—I’ve only stopped a couple times at a local Travelodge on the way to Winnipeg. But this outfit caught my ear pretty quickly within the opening minutes of their full-length debut. (OK, with eight tracks in less than 25 minutes, you could…
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Control / Harrington Saints – Pick Your Poison
While I happily admit that I appreciate the 7” single format, a split 7” is often a much harder sell with me. Why? Often, the focus feels too diverted on a split; the amount of time that each band involved has to leave an impression is very short and splitting focus two ways only makes…
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Happy 30th birthday to… Motorhead’s Orgasmatron
It seems almost impossible to believe, but thirty years ago on this date Motorhead‘s Orgasmatron album was released on an unsuspecting public. It was the first album to see release after the band’s 10th anniversary celebrations and was the first full-length to feature Phil Campbell and Wurzel on guitar, along with former Saxon drummer Pete…
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Devil to Pay – A Bend in Space and Time
Album number five from these Indiana stalwarts sees the band keeping with the cosmic themes of its predecessor, Fate is Your Muse. But this time, the lyrics seem more grounded in reality, including the Lemmy tribute track “Your Inner Lemmy” where Devil to Pay certainly channel one Mr. Kilmeister. This record starts off on a faster…
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Skeleton Witch – The Apothic Gloom EP
The soothing tones of an acoustic guitar float to the listener’s ear when you click play on the newest EP from Ohio’s Skeleton Witch. The Apothic Gloom swells to a crescendo of happiness before causing a windmill neck injury. This is the first recording with new vocalist Adam Clemans, formerly of Veil of Maya, and he does…
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Howling Giant – Black Hole Space Wizard (Part 1)
This is hardly the kinda stuff you’d expect to hear outta Nashville. While Music Row is all caught up in producing purely putrid pop music and inexplicably marketing it as country, a forward-thinking, heavy-rock trio has emerged from deep beneath the wreckage of country music’s soul. Sonically, Howling Giant seem to be the missing link between…
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Numenorean – Home
If you’re looking for Canada’s answer to Inter Arma, look no further than Calgary-based outfit Numenorean. Their debut album Home encapsulates the epic, blackened, extended post-sludge forays of the Virginians’ Sky Burial, with five tracks spanning just shy of 45 minutes. The nine-minute title track opens the proceedings on a swirling, NeurIsian note, before the…
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Yesterday’s Heroes – La Llama Que Nunca Se Apaga 7” EP
I could open this review by writing something trite like, “When it’s done well, whether listeners comprehend the language that a song was written in or not is irrelevant; its meaning will come through in the passion with which it was performed.” But that would probably make some readers scoff. It should – such statements…
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Sonic Wolves – Before the End Comes
This Italian outfit includes the drummer from Ufomammut, and a bassist who’s played with Joe Hasselvander, which gives me reason enough to check ‘em out. And yet, you won’t find any lengthy post-sludge epics on this one; the longest songs on Sonic Wolves‘ debut effort clock in just over six. After a brief instrumental intro, which…
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The Bar Stool Preachers – Blatant Propaganda LP
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Blatant Propaganda LP by The Bar Stool Preachers. It’s pretty incredible how much a band seems to change as soon as people start paying attention to them and their fanbase swells. History is littered with bands who seemed not to change for years as they attempted…