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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Harvestman – Music For Megaliths
Get ready. Get set. Get stoned. This latest offering from Harvestman, the alter ego of Neurosis alumni Steve Von Till is a trippy, psychedelic offering. Soulful and searing Music For Megaliths is crushingly dense but only in the most atmospheric of ways. This is the same Steve Von Till of Neurosis but you’d be a fool…
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Thoughts of Ionesco – Skar Cymbals
Though this is the first I’ve heard of Thoughts of Ionesco, the band has quite the back story. Formed in the mid-90’s when they were still in high school, they developed a sound like My War and a reputation for beating the crap out of each other on stage while opening for the likes of…
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Bison – You Are Not the Ocean, You Are the Patient
Album number four from the band formerly known as Bison B.C. has been nearly five years in the making. Since the release of their last record, they’ve been dropped from Metal Blade, replaced their bassist and issued a lone, two-track, digital-only single… so you might say they’ve fallen off the map. Can this record re-establish…
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Hollow Leg – Crown (Murder edition)
Now here’s a band that’s after my bloated, sagging stomach. I dunno if Florida outfit Hollow Leg can actually chow down with the best of them, but when it comes to throwing down, well they do a pretty good job of that. Crown, their third album, came out last year on Argonauta Records, but with…
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Harsh Toke / Joy / Sacri Monti – Burnout!
San Diego is starting to become known for its heavy psych scene, as several stoner jam bands have followed in the wake of Earthless. This three-way split from Tee Pee Records captures three of them: Harsh Toke, Joy and Sacri Monti, all of whom have likely already shared a stage, or even a split EP with…
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Fire Down Below – Viper, Vixen, Goddess, Saint
Taking their name from either a shitty Steven Seagal movie or a 1970’s skin flick, this Belgian outfit draws its sound from the likes of Kyuss and Lowrider. Their debut album was independently released last year, but Fire Down Below have since been picked up by Ripple Music, who have made Viper, Vixen, Goddess, Saint more…
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Round Eye – Monstervision
Even on first examination of Monstervision, it’s perfectly clear how poised to totally reinvigorate punk rock Round Eye really are now. The band’s 2015-issued debut album hit those who heard it like a force of nature and won converts to the band’s banner effortlessly, but their sophomore effort is something else; Monstervision manages to retain…
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Petyr – self-titled
If you can picture a SoCal heavy-psych jam-band fronted by Tony Hawk’s son… you’d have Petyr, which is literally a SoCal heavy-psych jam band fronted by Tony Hawk’s son. I suppose there’s often been some overlap between heavy riffs and skateboarding, whether it’s Earthless, The Shrine, or probably even Fu Manchu if you go back…
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Enslaved – Roadburn Live
Enslaved have been around for close to three decades playing their brand of Pagan influenced, blackened and progressive tinged death metal. In all those years they have never released an official live album, until now that is. Serving as a chance to sample the band in a live setting without needing to leave the comfort…
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Norska – Too Many Winters
Though I didn’t review it at the time, I was definitely a fan of Norska’s self-titled 2011 debut, with the Portland five-piece landing somewhere between YOB and Neurosis on the post-sludge scale. As a matter of fact, their bassist has also played on the last three YOB albums… which might go some way in explaining…