Tag: album review

  • Laika – Somnia

    Laika – Somnia

    This band have taken their monicker from the unfortunate Russian dog who became one of the first animals in space: Laika. Unusual name for a band, but no less so than Leprotic Acid Spitting Amoebas From Angola (NB: I made that name up off to the top of my head – if a band with such…

  • Pallbearer – Foundations of Burden

    Pallbearer – Foundations of Burden

    Man, I gotsta say, this new Pallbearer rekkid is pretty fancy-schmancy: a double dose of uber-thick vinyl (I’m guessing 180g) that comes with a glossy poster/lyric sheet.  Profound Lore really went all-out on this one… but considering the success of its critically-acclaimed predecessor, Sorrow and Extinction, I can see why they felt ’twas worth the effort.…

  • Witch Mountain – Mobile of Angels

    Witch Mountain – Mobile of Angels

    Much like the first time I saw ’em, Witch Mountain was recently touring in support of an album that wasn’t even available yet… at least not on vinyl.  I did grab a CD, though, and if the live preview was any indication, their third record should be pretty decent. Sure enough, she opens up with…

  • Orange Goblin – Back from the Abyss

    Orange Goblin – Back from the Abyss

    I must say I quite enjoyed the Goblin’s last album when it came out, oh, some two-and-a-half years ago.  I missed their headlining tour when it came through town (I was in Texas, incidentally), but caught ‘em when they opened for Clutch last year.  Which has absolutely no bearing on this Orange Goblin recording, mind…

  • Electric Wizard – Time to Die

    Electric Wizard – Time to Die

    I’ve heard all sorts of mixed reviews of this new Electric Wizard record, though most tend to be favourable (perhaps none more so than this liquidized-teeth kid).  But for me, even before I lay wax to the turntable, my opinion is coloured by the whole Greening vs. Wizard feud, which is readily apparent just by looking…

  • The Melvins – Hold It In

    The Melvins – Hold It In

    The problem which tends to spring up whenever two bands team up and pool their creative energy for an album is that neither band wants to be outshone and be seen as “the group who bent to [insert the name of other contributing act here].” It’s not exactly an ego trip, just that nobody wants…

  • Brainoil – Brainoil

    Brainoil – Brainoil

    Like fellow Oakland outfit Noothgrush, Brainoil is/was a Bay Area sludge band that only issued one album, disappeared, then more recently reunited with new material (which I reviewed here three years ago). Well, this is that album, soon-to-be reissued by Tankcrimes Records. It’s no Erode the Person, but tis certainly none too shabby. The band…

  • Death From Above 1979 – The Physical World

    Death From Above 1979 – The Physical World

    In the name of complete disclosure, I must confess that I wasn’t the biggest fan of Death From Above 1979 on their first trip through the pop music ranks. What the band was playing at in their first go ’round was just too canny, calculated, competant and superficial for me; it played like punk geared…

  • Cannibal Corpse – Skeletal Domain

    Cannibal Corpse – Skeletal Domain

    And they’re back from the grave, ready to slash, butcher, cut up, kill and smash the listeners’ ear drums. Yes, it’s Cannibal Corpse and they are back with their thirteenth studio album, Skeletal Domain. On board for production this time is Mark Lewis who brings a darker and thrashier sound here. Some would say this is …

  • John Garcia – John Garcia

    John Garcia – John Garcia

    John Garcia. John fuckin’ Garcia. There is no voice more synonymous with stoner rock or desert rock than that of John Garcia. Best known as the singer for genre progenitors Kyuss, he’s been a part of a number of projects since that band’s dissolution almost 20 years ago. While Kyuss may always cast a shadow…