Category: Reviews – Audio
Glorious metal in all its earthly forms, compressed onto shiny plastic discs or into digital files. Which ones will become the soundtrack to your life?
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Dead Witches – The Final Exorcism
If you ever wanted to hear what Electric Wizard might sound like with female vocals, this is the band for year. Featuring venerable ex-Wizard can-basher Mark Greening, Dead Witches recorded their sophomore effort in the same rural English studio as Dopethrone and Let Us Prey…although I’d say this one sounds more akin to the Wizard…
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Killer – Volume One: The Mausoleum Years 1981-1990
As time passed heavy metal became broken into many sub-genres, but conversely the New Wave of British Heavy Metal continues to grow in stature and regard. It is rightly seen as a time of innocence, where heavy metal was played for fun, for the love of the music, and where song-writing really mattered. But the…
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Sofy Major – Total Dump
What do you do when a French noise rock outfit shits on you? Such is the question posed by Total Dump, the fourth album from Clermont-Ferrand’s Sofy Major. Well, if you’re a fan of the mid-90’s Melvins, Big Business and a bit of Unsane on the side, you would eat it all up! The title…
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I’m A Freak Baby 2
A Further Journey Through The British Heavy Psych and Hard Rock Underground Scene 1968-73 I didn’t hear the first volume of this series which is a shame as it is brilliant; it’s like a proto-metal box set for ‘Life On Mars’. It is a veritable musical time machine, aural archaeology spread over three splendid discs.…
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Phenomena Reissues
Phenomena began life in the 80s as the brainchild of Ton Galley. Tom wanted a return to the concept album of the 70s but in an 80s style. This he certainly achieved with Phenomena’s self titled debut. Featuring the talents of Tom, his brother Mel (Whitesnake, Trapeeze), the voice of rock himself Glenn Hughes (Sabbath,…
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Great Falls – A Sense of Rest
I’m always somewhat partial to bands from Seattle (more because I’m a Seahawks fan, and less of a grunge thing), but this noise-rock trio captured my attention with their tuneage more than anything. Let’s just say that if you dug the latest KEN Mode record—and I did—you will want to get your ears on A…
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Domkraft – Flood
There has been no shortage of powerful Swedish power trios – think Truckfighters, or Monolord. But while continuing in the Swedish tradition, Stockholm three-piece Domkraft comes off as a cross between Lowrider and Neurosis. Apparently, you don’t need seven people in your band to play progressive stoner/sludge? Flood, their sophomore album, opens with “Landslide,” a…
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Yatra – Death Ritual
This doom trio hails from Maryland, but rather than worshipping at the church of Wino or the altar of Pentagram, their sound is more akin to muddy “stoner doom” a la Sleep or the Georgia sludge of Zoroaster. Yatra‘s debut album on Grimoire Records features 8 tracks clocking in just shy of 45 minutes. “Hour…
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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?…