Tag: occult rock
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Angel Witch live in Toronto, May 2018
Angel Witch / Blood Ceremony @ Lee’s Palace, Toronto on Wednesday 16th May 2018 Calling all heavy metal maniacs! Here’s a very rare sight – New Wave of British Heavy Metal boys Angel Witch are in town for their Toronto debut and an exclusive Canadian date (take that, Montreal!). Toronto is definitely a heavy metal…
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The Hazytones – self-titled
It seems that there hasn’t been a solid heavy rock outfit outta Montreal since Priestess was in its prime. Enter The Hazytones, a stoner power trio that just got picked up by Ripple Music. Their self-titled debut offers 40 minutes of heavy tuneage to burn one to! “Light of the Day” starts things off with…
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The Judge – Tell it to the Judge
Remember about 10 years back, when all those 70’s worshipping fuzz rock outfits were all the rage? Well, since then trends have shifted (to Dungeons & Dragons doom in pawn-shop hippie clothing), and most of those bands that still sound straight outta the 70’s seem to be really into the stuff that they play. Now,…
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Venomous Maximus – No Warning
I had the chance to catch this Texas quartet at Milwaukee’s Days of the Doomed fest in 2013, where Venomous Maximus distinguished themselves as the most up-tempo outfit on the bill. Unfortunately, they got left behind at the border on the High on Fire/Pallbearer tour a couple years back, which was super-lame, cuz they probably…
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Ides of Gemini – Women
Within the overcrowded “female-fronted occult rock” subgenre, Ides of Gemini distinguishes itself by not stealing Black Sabbath riffs from the 70’s. Their music has always had a more sombre quality, leaning toward the gothic side of doom, while simultaneously not sucking. One of my biggest regrets at Psycho Fest was missing their set last summer……
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Castle – Welcome to the Graveyard
As far as the female-fronted occult acts are concerned, I’ve always found Castle to be a cut above the fray. Granted, they’ve always had a bit of a harder edge, a more metallic sound than many of the Jex Ceremony clones—likely due to guitarist Mat Davis’ formative years in the Toronto thrash scene. Owing to…
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Ruby the Hatchet – Ouroboros
I’ll be the first to tell you that I didn’t love Ruby the Hatchet’s Tee Pee Records debut. Sure they captured the sound of the 70’s… by adequately aping 17 other bands that are bringing the 70’s back. My biggest beef was that they didn’t bring anything new to the table, and seeing them open…
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Psychedelic Witchcraft – The Vision
If the name Psychedelic Witchcraft conjures up images of a female-fronted occult-rock act that worships at the Coven of Jex Thoth and Blood Ceremony, then you’re pretty much right on the money. Rather than drawing inspiration from classic Italian cult horror films, like, say, their countrymen in Arcana 13, this Florence-based outfit has chosen not…
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Cretus – Dux Mea Lux
Given the mainstream success of Ghost, it’s not surprising to see a wave of copycat acts beginning to rise like that drunk idiot who won’t sit down during a key at-bat of the ALCS. This particular trio checks all the boxes: masks, robes, melodic vocals and Satanic themes. They’ve even got a thinly-veiled promotional website…
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Witchrider – Unmountable Stairs
Not gonna lie, when I see a self-professed stoner/occult rock outfit with the word Witch in its name, I kinda cringe a little (notable exception: Witch Mountain). And if we’re judging an album by its cover, then I hope this trio doesn’t sound as tacky as their artwork looks. But hey, what with the dearth…