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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Connoisseur – Over the Edge
This stoner-themed sludge/crust band from Oakland slammed its way into my heart on their debut album Stoner Justice, with tracks like “Circle of Heads,” “I Am the Weed” and “Full Blown Marijuana Addict.” Their sophomore effort sees more of the same, with 14 tracks in 24 minutes, including such gems as “Live to Smoke,” “Free…
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The Obsessed – Sacred
Can this really be considered as a comeback? The Obsessed, much like fellow Maryland doom legends Pentagram, had a bit of a checkered past. In the 70’s and early 80’s, they were one of those bands where you kinda had to be there, and it wasn’t until people started bootlegging the shit outta their unreleased…
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Wounded Giant – Vae Victis
Wounded Giant hails from Seattle, so it’s perhaps no surprise that there’s a heavy dose of Melvins in their sound. Vae Victis is the band’s second full-length album, after 2013’s Lightning Medicine, but like many in the noise rock community, they’re released a few splits and EPs in between—including a live cassette tape. This album…
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Space Witch – Arcanum
I don’t say this very often, but Space Witch really sucked me in with the 16-minute opening track on this album. Personally, when I see a song that long from a band I’ve never heard before, right off the bat, I drop that promo out of my inbox like it’s life with bong in hand.…
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Jupiter Hollow – Odyssey
I am very impressed by this EP on any level. Sounding, to my mind, like a cross between Rush, Zombi, and Mastodon, this is progressive metal as it should be. Grant MacKenzie and Kenny Parry, the two men that make up Jupiter Hollow, can be proud of this EP. It features strong playing, excellent song-writing, and…
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Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard – Noeth Ac Anoeth and Y Proffwyd Dwyll
Noeth Ac Anoeth It is increasingly rare to hear a band with their own unique sound, but the splendidly named Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard are just such a band. Wielding huge doom riffs and drums along with the astonishing vocals of Jessica Ball, they have a superb sound, aided by the sterling work of Conan…
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Sweat Lodge – Tokens for Hell
When Sweat Lodge opened for Monolord in Toronto last year, some people were saying these guys could be the next The Sword, i.e. the next big heavy-rock band from Texas. (Turns out that might actually be Mothership.) Alas, twas not to be, as this four-track, 16-minute effort marks the band’s swansong—their farewell EP, so to…
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Darkthrone – Arctic Thunder
There can be few musicians who have such a love of what is good in metal as do Ted (Nocturno Culto) and Fenriz of Darkthrone. Their previous album, The Underground Resistance, was my album of the year in the year of its release. As ever, with Darkthrone there can be few complaints. Arctic Thunder works well as a…
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In the Company of Serpents – Ain-Soph Aur
With everyone from Steven Tyler to Jimmy Bower to David “Morbid to the Core” Vincent gone country these days, I guess it was just a matter of time before country doom actually became a thing. In the Company of Serpents describe themselves as “between sludge metal and sprawling spaghetti western scores,” but if you came…
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Albert Bell’s Sancro Sanctus: Ad Aeternum and Deus Volt
Metal-On-Metal is the perfect label for Albert Bell’s excellent Sacro Sanctus, both sharing a love and commitment for properly crafted heavy metal. Metal needs to a physical reality whether that be cassette, CD or vinyl. A download is like a so-called ‘Facebook Friend’: quite unreal! There is also a shared commitment to the importance of…