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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Völur – Disir
I’ve seen this Toronto trio live at least a couple times, most recently opening for The Body atop a skateboard ramp on Bathurst. The bass/drums/violin outfit notably features Blood Ceremony bassist Lukas Gadke, who also lends some death-metal growls to the proceedings. I suppose you could file this one under “Doom,” but I’d hesitate to slap…
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SUNN O))) – KANNON
Sunn O))) isn’t for everyone, certainly not for those with bowel control issues if they were to attend one of the band’s notorious ground and venue-rumbling performances, such shows that some fans liken to spiritual experiences. The drone overlords have returned with a reliably thunderous slab that continues to eschew conventional four-piece band structure and…
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Beelzefuzz – The Righteous Bloom
This Maryland-based band features players from doom-metal mainstays Revelation and Pale Divine, yet they aren’t really doom, in the traditional sense. There is a strong 70’s influence here, but without too many lugubrious tempos; more of an uplifting sound inspired by everything from 70’s power ballads to 80’s power metal. Righteous Bloom, their second album,…
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Scientist – 10100II00101
It seems there’s no shortage of post-sludge bands coming outta Chicago in recent years—from Yakuza to Bloodiest, Minsk to The Atlas Moth. Well, now you can add Scientist to the mix. This four-piece outfit is actually fronted by the guitarist from Yakuza, and while their 2013 debut strictly contained tracks named after elements from the…
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Spell – For None and All
Formerly known as Stryker from Vancouver (not to be confused with Striker outta Edmonton), heavy power trio Spell strikes again with their second record, For None and All, a bubbling cauldron of witchcraft and scorpions on Bad Omen Records. “Madame Psychosis” immediately puts us under with its bright, clean riffage of the trad-metal variety, coming…
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Pup – The Dream Is Over
Over the last few years, critics have announced the death of rock n’ roll so often that it has become pretty difficult to truly wonder if they’re not right. It gets even harder to not think that maybe – just maybe – there’s no going back either; it is the twenty-first century, after all, and…
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Earthless / Harsh Toke split
Two of SoCal’s most far-out jam bands collide on this two-track, 34+-minute split EP, out on Tee Pee. Earthless starts us off with “Acid Crusher,” a 15-minute acid trip that begins as a nice, slow blues—I think I even hear an organ—before things get a little funky with some congas around the five-minute mark. Unfortunately,…
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Scorpion Child – Acid Roulette
Scorpion Child kinda caught the tail end of the Led Zeppelin revival scene with their self-titled debut album, which came out in 2013. I still haven’t actually heard that record, but I saw ‘em live twice on the supporting tour, once opening for Clutch, and again on a smaller, headlining gig with the likes of…
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Melvins – Basses Loaded
In case you’re wondering about the title, the Melvins have been through about as many bassists as Spinal Tap had drummers—although we’re still waiting for one to spontaneously combust on stage. It’s also a lesser-known fact that King Buzzo once blew off backstage passes with Dave Grohl and Josh Homme because he had Dodgers tickets.…
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John Carpenter – Lost Themes II
When John Carpenter released his first ever solo album, appropriately on Halloween 2014, he was amazed at the critical and public acclaim he received. This is as it should be because John Carpenter’s music is an integral part of his films: it is unique, providing the ‘sonic pulse’ to his imagination. When I hear the…