Tag: album review
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Fu Manchu – Gigantoid
The Gigantoid is a very elusive creature. Out on the band’s own At the Dojo Records, it’s not available in stores, and can only be found at Fu Manchu concerts across the country… such as the one that recently took place in Toronto. And as far as new albums go, it’s the Fu’s first in…
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Big Wreck – Ghosts
Under most circumstances, hearing that a band has spontaneously slowed down on their newest album sends chills through fans. In rock, “slowing down” is usually synonymous with “getting old” or becoming “less energetic” and, when these phrases start flying around, it’s like a death knell for the band at which they’re aimed. No fan likes…
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Satyress – Dark Fortunes
A female-fronted doom band from Portland… that’s not Witch Mountain? Do tell! The aforementioned set the bar pretty high pretty high with their comeback effort South of Salem, pushing the vocal stylings of Uta Plotkin to the forefront and putting Rip City on the map as a place whose doom scene had much more to…
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Doomeastvan – ‘Tis We
If you guessed, judging by their name, that Doomeastvan was a Vancouver doom-metal band… well, you’d only be half-right. The artwork on this album screams 90s death metal, while their song titles and stage names (ie. Cazbo Low Rifferson, 333 Thee Half Beast) would make Oderus Urungus proud. I guess you could call opening track “Humans…
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Kuolemanlaakso – Tulijoutsen
The most obvious thing about Kuolemanlaakso’s Tulijoutsen is that it’s another collection of doomy, slow-moving metal from Finland, one that will certainly reinforce the stereotype that gloom is something that Finnish musicians do very well. This is not the first release from Kuolemanlaakso. Their first album, 2012’s Uljas Uusi Maailma, went completely under my radar. This…
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Mos Generator – Electric Mountain Majesty
I believe this is album number five from Pacific Northwest vets Mos Generator, who’ve been kicking around — and old school — since the dawn of the new millennium. Their sound certainly takes you back more than 15 years, more like 40, to the good ol’ days of vintage rock ‘n’ roll. “Beyond the Whip”…
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Mount Salem – Endless
Originally released in 2013, Endless comprised the first six tracks the spankin’ new Chicago band Mount Salem wrote. That caught the attention of Metal Blade, who’ve reissued the release with two new tracks. This powerful doom-rock quartet consists of guitarist Kyle Morrison, bassist Mark Hewett, drummer Cody Davidson and vocalist/organist Emily Kopplin, whose voice measures…
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Prizehog – Re-Unvent the Whool
Not gonna lie, my first reaction to Prizehog (aside from noting the intentionally bad spelling) was to think of 90s one-hit wonders Spacehog. Apparently, those guys are still touring. Say whaaaa!? However, this Portland trio isn’t living in the meantime, but rather in the present. This is, in fact, their fifth album, though I can’t…
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BL’AST! – The Expression of Power
I must admit that I missed out on BL’AST! the first time around, eventually getting word of these guys through bands like Black Flag and Fu Manchu. But it wasn’t until their long-lost album Blood! was recently unearthed by Southern Lord that I really got into ’em, so this remastered reissue of their ’86 debut by the…
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Coffinworm – IV.I.VIII
A double dose of Coffinworm reviews – Gruesome Greg and Matt Hinch both weigh in on IV.I.VIII. The Indiana band’s second full-length album is out on Profound Lore. It’s been nearly four years in the making for album number two from this Indiana sludge crew, and I was hoping it’s been worth the wait. I’m one…