Tag: heavy psych
-
Brant Bjork – Jalamanta (reissue)
After the psychedelic stoner rock of Mankind Woman and the funky jazz odyssey Jacoozzi, Brant Bjork is putting out his third record in about a year, this time going back to the beginning with the 20th-anniversary deluxe edition of his solo debut, Jalamanta. A solo album in the truest sense of the word, this record…
-
Dead Witches – The Final Exorcism
If you ever wanted to hear what Electric Wizard might sound like with female vocals, this is the band for year. Featuring venerable ex-Wizard can-basher Mark Greening, Dead Witches recorded their sophomore effort in the same rural English studio as Dopethrone and Let Us Prey…although I’d say this one sounds more akin to the Wizard…
-
I’m A Freak Baby 2
A Further Journey Through The British Heavy Psych and Hard Rock Underground Scene 1968-73 I didn’t hear the first volume of this series which is a shame as it is brilliant; it’s like a proto-metal box set for ‘Life On Mars’. It is a veritable musical time machine, aural archaeology spread over three splendid discs.…
-
Holy Grove – II
OK, stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Female-fronted Portland outfit mixes heavy riffs and soaring vocals on one of the best doom metal albums of the year. Only this time, we’re not talkin’ bout Witch Mountain, but rather the second record from recent Ripple Music signing Holy Grove. II kicks off with a…
-
Brant Bjork – Mankind Woman
The press release for this record was all talking about how this is Brant Bjork’s most political album yet, cuz apparently you gotta be political to sell records in this day and age. But when I listen to Mankind Woman, I don’t hear politics—it’s all about the grooves, maaaaan! This 11-track effort kicks off with…
-
Freedom Hawk – Beast Remains
Man, I’ve been listening to Freedom Hawk for almost a decade—I first reviewed their MeteorCity debut in early 2010. Now signed to Ripple Music (who recently reissued the band’s first album), these long-running Virginia rockers are back with another heaping platter of southern-fried grooves. Beast Remains begins on a head-nodding note with “Solid Gold,” a…
-
Besvärjelsen – Vallmo
This Swedish heavy psych outfit, featuring former members of Dozer and Greenleaf, has actually received airplay on Swedish National Radio, proving that rock ‘n roll ain’t dead… provided that you cross the pond. After two previous EPs, Besvärjelsen’s debut album is actually named after the Swedish word for poppy—although in this case, we’re talking about…
-
River Cult – Halcyon Daze
Earthless already has a couple opening acts lined up for their upcoming North American tour, but if they ever needed another one, they couldn’t do much better than this New York heavy psych trio. River Cult busts a groove and kicks out the jams for over 40 minutes here on their full-length debut. “Likelihood of…
-
Elder – Reflections of a Floating World
Elder’s last album, Lore, finished pretty high on a lotta year-end lists a couple years back, and I suspect this one will as well. Although it was released back in June, I did not have the chance to get my hands on Reflections until I saw ‘em in concert last weekend—but if their live set…