Tag: metal
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Beelzefuzz – The Righteous Bloom
This Maryland-based band features players from doom-metal mainstays Revelation and Pale Divine, yet they aren’t really doom, in the traditional sense. There is a strong 70’s influence here, but without too many lugubrious tempos; more of an uplifting sound inspired by everything from 70’s power ballads to 80’s power metal. Righteous Bloom, their second album,…
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Scientist – 10100II00101
It seems there’s no shortage of post-sludge bands coming outta Chicago in recent years—from Yakuza to Bloodiest, Minsk to The Atlas Moth. Well, now you can add Scientist to the mix. This four-piece outfit is actually fronted by the guitarist from Yakuza, and while their 2013 debut strictly contained tracks named after elements from the…
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Scorpion Child – Acid Roulette
Scorpion Child kinda caught the tail end of the Led Zeppelin revival scene with their self-titled debut album, which came out in 2013. I still haven’t actually heard that record, but I saw ‘em live twice on the supporting tour, once opening for Clutch, and again on a smaller, headlining gig with the likes of…
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Hopeless Youth – Devil, Walk with Me
Vancouver has seemingly got the Canadian market cornered when it comes to sludgy hardcore, so I was somewhat surprised to see that this band hails from Montreal. And while the name Hopeless Youth recalls so many of the “youth-oriented” 80s hardcore outfits (Youth of Today, Youth Brigade, etc), their sound is much more aligned with…
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Astrakhan – Reward in Purpose
I’ve been a big fan of B.C. sludge band Astrakhan ever since the release of their 2013 EP, The Pillarist. Their next EP was pretty good, too, combining the rugged grooves of locals like Bison and Mendozza with a bit of Baptists thrown in for good measure. Man, there is such an embarrassment of riches…
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Mars Red Sky – Apex III (Praise For The Burning Soul)
The splendidly named Mars Red Sky have produced a really good album. I would sum it up as a cross between Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd ( I was reminded of the spacey dynamics of “Astronomy Domine,” for instance), Hawkwind (particularly Lemmy-era Hawkwind such as Warrior on the Edge of Time), Voivod (there is the same…
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Vektor – Pillars of Sand
They’re Ba-ack! Building to their first full studio release since 2011, Arizona thrashers Vektor are giving your earholes a tasty morsel of sonic deliciousness with “Pillars of Sand,” a new track from their upcoming album Terminal Redux. This song though. The band teases with a melodic intro reminiscent of “Enter Sandman,” before enacting the bait…
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Short Cuts: Seven Recent Self-Released Albums That You Should Crank To 11
You know the drill (and if ya don’t, pay attention, hotshot): these days more than ever time is money, or relative, or something like that — hence the consolidated capsule review format, dig? Regardless, never loan money to relatives, or else time will be your only remaining (if fleeting) capital (in lieu of patience, and,…
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Boudain – Way of the Hoof
This Louisiana outfit is named after a spicy Cajun sausage, so they’ve already whetted my appetite before I even press play. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that they hail from a town four hours north of NOLA, home to so many great sludge bands. These guys have been grilling, erm, killing it since ’06, but…
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Atala – Shaman’s Path of the Serpent
Though you might not have heard of them, this California desert trio has a pretty impressive stoner/doom pedigree. Atala‘s self-titled debut, which came out in 2014, was recorded by Scott Reeder, while this follow-up effort was engineered by Billy Anderson. They’re even booked to pay this year’s edition of Maryland Doomfest—the other MDF—so even though I…