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?
-
Alan Davey – Sputnik Stan Vol 1: A Fistful of Junk
Alan Davey is a legend on the British underground music scene. For many years he was bassist/vocalist for British space rock legends Hawkwind. Seeing Alan play live with Hawkwind is still one of the best gigs I’ve ever seen. Indeed, in a great many ways, he is a worthy heir to his predecessor in Hawkwind,…
-
Kylesa – Exhausting Fire
Exhausting Fire, the seventh album from Georgia’s Kylesa, is surprisingly flexible – though that may not be a good thing. I found I could bend its mild sludge sounds to fit anywhere into my day. At first listen, I thought the album required headphones, so the space between my ears was treated to the pleasant fuzzy…
-
Sofy Major – Waste
I believe this is the third album from French noise-rock outfit Sofy Major, but seeing as they’ve also been involved in a number of splits and underground vinyl releases, I can’t be entirely sure. That said, its predecessor, Idolize, elicited comparisons to the Melvins, Unsane, Neurosis and even Nirvana from yours truly a couple years…
-
The Brains – Out In The Dark
Since they first stumbled out of a Quebecois crypt ten years ago, The Brains have always attempted to do their best to connect with their fans and further grow their fanbase. Of course, their first introduction was made as a psychobilly band – but it didn’t take long for the group to begin reaching…
-
Clutch – Psychic Warfare
I have a confession to make: I’m not a super-huge Clutch fan. Mind you, I think I’ve seen ‘em three of the last four times they played here—but only because they were touring with Wino, Motorhead and Orange Goblin, respectively. That said, I always stuck around for the headlining act, and I do like their…
-
Satan – Atom by Atom
Usually each year we’re faced with much uncertainty when hearing new metal music, especially a band with veterans such as Satan. But we have been lucky this year to listen to lots of new material from the genre of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, such as Venom, Raven, Motorhead, Iron Maiden and now…
-
Moloken – All That is Left to See
Grabbed the promo of this Swedish post-sludge outfit’s third album on a whim; can’t say I’m too familiar with Moloken, as it’s been four years since their last record, which I haven’t even heard. But hey, I can always use some post-sludge in my diet… at least in moderate doses. That being said, they don’t…
-
Spider Goat Canyon – Always the Heavy
Endearing album title from this Aussie guitar/drums duo, Always the Heavy packs a whopping 13 tracks into 76 minutes that don’t always live up to its moniker; Spider Goat Canyon’s sound is really all over the map. But don’t get me wrong; this ain’t no easy listening. A foghorn effect reverberates all over opening track…
-
Corrections House – Know How to Carry a Whip
I’ve been following the career of sludge-metal supergroup Corrections House – featuring Mike IX Williams, Scott Kelly, Sanford Parker, Bruce Lamont et al – since the beginning, and I’ve been intrigued every step of the way. After all, what exactly would one expect from an EHG/Neurosis mash-up served with a side of Yakuza? Their initial…
-
Twin Lords – Devastating Planetary Shift
Attention! Former Tombs drummer Andrew Hernandez is in this band! Ok now that I’ve given you a fickle reason to care, here’s a better one: Hernandez joined forces with bassist/vocalist (and voice actor) Dan Alex Rivera to form Twin Lords and unleash Devastating Planetary Shift: seven tracks of sludgy, insane progressive metal. The duo obliterate…