Tag: album review
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Graveyard – Innocence & Decadence
Finally got the chance to see Graveyard live in Canada this year, and they did not disappoint. But when it comes to their recorded output, I felt that Hisingen Blues was the band’s high-water mark; its successor, Lights Out, turned me off a bit. That said, it’ll be a full three years between albums by the…
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Witchsorrow – No Light Only Fire
That’s right kids, it’s another doom band with Witch in its name! They may not be playing Witchella next year, but Witchsorrow has done alright for themselves, with their third album dropping on Candlelight after a couple records with Rise Above. Their association with the latter label naturally brings comparisons to a band with Wizard…
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Pentagram – Curious Volume
Having had the honor of meeting this entire band and getting to have a long conversation with Bobby (Liebling, vocalist), might make me a bit biased. However, I can honestly say without a doubt that Pentagram is one of my favorite bands of all time. As far as my personal rating, I would put them…
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Dark Buddha Rising – Inversum
If this sixth album is the first you’ve heard of mysterious Finnish sextet Dark Buddha Rising, you’re certainly not alone. Four of their first five records were released either independently or on an obscure Finnish label, before 2013’s Dakhmandal, released on not-so-obscure Finnish label Svart Records, led to an appearance at Roadburn and subsequent signing…
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King Heavy – self-titled
OK, so it’s certainly not the most original moniker (to be fair, they are from Chile), but hey, King Heavy kinda has a nice ring to it. Don’t know much about these guys, being that this is their debut album, but they are signed to Cruz del Sur, home of Argus, Apostle of Solitude and…
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Carousel – 2113
I’m not really a Rush fan, but I gotta say, it takes some giant gonads to effectively name your album 2112 + 1. Then again, the official explanation from these Pittsburgh rockers is that 2113 is actually their house number. And hey, Carousel don’t sound much like Rush, anyways… unless you go all the way back…
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Behold! The Monolith – Architects of the Void
Behold one of the few (if not the only one I can think of) “noun the verb” bands that doesn’t play metalcore. Instead, The Monolith deals in stoner/sludge stuff somewhat akin to High on Fire and/or Lord Dying, with song titles (and artwork) that would give The Sword’s J.D. Cronise a hard-on. Actually, not gonna…
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Khemmis – Absolution
After Colorado legalized marijuana, it was only a matter of time before we started hearing about new buzz bands from the Denver stoner scene. I’m not saying the two things are related… but let’s face it, Vancouver has by far the most sludge bands per capita of any city in Canada. Drugs ‘n sludge are…
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King Giant – Black Ocean Waves
King Giant’s previous album, Dismal Hollow, was more of a grower than a shower for me, but by the time I saw ’em live in Milwaukee last summer, I was fully a fan. Though they hail from the D.C. area, you couldn’t call ’em a band of Pentagram worshippers. File under doom, perhaps, but if…
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The Apex – S/T
Straight from banks of the filthy-as-fuck Detroit River, Windsor, Ontario, four piece THE APEX bring a raw technical death attack on a Meshuggah/Dillinger Escape Plan tip to their brief but uncompromisingly brutal debut CD. Years of hard-earned road experience via past/present member tenures in CLOSED CASKET FUNERAL and CORRUPTED LEADERS (among numerous others) playing alongside…