Tag: heavy metal
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Slagduster – Deadweight
I have heard a lot of original monikers for bands in my time, but Slagduster is one of the most original (it’s the name of a piece of mine machinery from over a century ago). This four-piece from Grand Forks, B.C., plays progressive metal in the vein of Gojira, Voivod, Sikth, Meshuggah, Dillinger Escape Plan, and…
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Deity – Deity
With a name like Deity (which means ‘Godhead; the Supreme Being; a fabulous god or goddess, a divinity’), this band have a lot to live up to, a self-imposed high water mark if you will. One the whole Deity more than do their moniker justice. Moreover, while being true to their death metal roots (indeed…
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Judas Priest – Turbo 30
Skim through the catalogues of any number of rock bands who have enjoyed a lot of popularity and, invariably, it’s easy to find the fly in the creative ointment that fans abhor. That album was Into The Unknown for Bad Religion, it was Unmasked for KISS and Metallica has yet to live down Load. Maybe…
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Interview: Albert Bell of Sacro Sanctus
Albert Bell is one of metal’s great characters, well known in his native Malta and beyond. Not content with his sterling work with Nomad Son and Forsaken, in recent years he has produced two outstanding albums with his most recent band Sacro Sanctus. Albert kindly took the time to give me a most illuminating and entertaining,…
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Mastodon – Emperor Of Sand
After having spent the last few years stretching stylistically in a few different directions (The “White Walker” single found a home as the lead track for a season of HBO’s Game Of Thrones, 2014’s Once More ‘Round The Sun saw the band get leaner and almost blurring the lines between metal and punk rock a…
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Dragged Into Sunlight – American tour blog 2016
I tagged along with England’s Dragged Into Sunlight for their first journey across America in 2012. I did so again for their second American tour last summer that spanned 27 cities. Comparing crowd sizes to their initial go around (about 50 to 75 people per show) to this time (100 to 400), it’s obvious that…
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Saturn – Beyond Spectra
This latest release from Rise Above Records comes from Swedish band Saturn, an outfit that treads a similar path to Witchcraft and Graveyard. What, were you expecting goregrind? Beyond Spectra is the band’s second album, following their debut, Ascending, from 2014. The 46-minute effort begins on a retro-metal note, with “Orbital Command” sounding like vintage…
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The Obsessed – Sacred
Can this really be considered as a comeback? The Obsessed, much like fellow Maryland doom legends Pentagram, had a bit of a checkered past. In the 70’s and early 80’s, they were one of those bands where you kinda had to be there, and it wasn’t until people started bootlegging the shit outta their unreleased…
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Wounded Giant – Vae Victis
Wounded Giant hails from Seattle, so it’s perhaps no surprise that there’s a heavy dose of Melvins in their sound. Vae Victis is the band’s second full-length album, after 2013’s Lightning Medicine, but like many in the noise rock community, they’re released a few splits and EPs in between—including a live cassette tape. This album…
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Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard – Noeth Ac Anoeth and Y Proffwyd Dwyll
Noeth Ac Anoeth It is increasingly rare to hear a band with their own unique sound, but the splendidly named Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard are just such a band. Wielding huge doom riffs and drums along with the astonishing vocals of Jessica Ball, they have a superb sound, aided by the sterling work of Conan…