Palace in Thunderland – In the Afterglow of Unity
This on-again, off-again Boston band featuring former members of Black Pyramid and Blue Aside is back on with their second album in the past…
Blue Aside
Blue Aside – The Moles of a Dying Race
It’s no secret that I dug the shit outta the first Pyramid record (to put it not-so-mildly), so in some ways, this is kinda what I’d hoped BP II would be. But don’t get me wrong, these guys aren’t some second-rate Black Pyramid imitators, by any means. There is only one Blue Aside, and they are fully deserving of your respect and admiration. You should really buy this record!
Ancestors – In Dreams and Time
While their debut album was all over the place—in a bad way—Ancestors have a delivered a much more focused effort this time around that’s worthy of a few spins. Recommended for fans of Neurosis, Isis and the like; just don’t expect to hear much that those bands haven’t done before
Snail – Blood
Snail isn’t your typical tune-in-and-drop-out stoner band. There’s something more interesting in this collection of tunes, something in that juxtaposition of the sweet vocals and heavy riffs that has my head nodding in approval.
Blue Aside – The Orange Tree
Whereas other sludge bands who deal in cosmic themes, like Zoroaster and The Atlas Moth, use harsh black-metal vocals to get their message across, Abrams’ warm, clean tones give Blue Aside a big boost. Their deftly executed blending of sludgy doom grooves with spacy guitar (and occasional synth) passages provides the missing link between Sleep and Hawkwind, YOB and Captain Beyond, Sons of OTIS and Secret Saucer… You get the idea.