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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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…
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Moonbow – War Bear
What do you get when you cross a BMX racer with Hank III, Valley of the Sun and Steve Earle? (No, not that Steve Earle…) In this case, you get Moonbow, an outfit formed by singer/biker Matt Bischoff and Hank III axeslinger David McElfresh. This is actually album number three from said ensemble, albeit with…
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White Willow – Future Hopes
Every White Willow album is a gem, and Future Hopes might be the most precious of them all. Befitting the fact that they’ve entered their third decade in the progressive rock scene, White Willow’s newest offering is something special, both musically and visually (yes, that’s a Roger Dean painting on the cover). Of the young…
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Familiars – This Water That is Warm (I Will Join Soon)
Though they’re actually from a small town somewhere north of the city, I’ve had the chance to see Familiars open for a whole buncha heavy/stoner rock bands in Toronto these past few years. The semi-local trio plays a brand of heavy psych somewhat reminiscent of local legends Quest For Fire, though in the live setting,…
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Curse the Son – Isolator
Although you’d probably be hard-pressed to find it on these northern shores, I had a buddy of mine smuggle a copy of Curse the Son’s previous album, Psychache. At the time, they were largely a local, unsigned Connecticut band, but had started to make a name for themselves with their heavy brand of stoom. Alas,…