Tag: psychedelic

  • Saint Karloff – Interstellar Voodoo

    Saint Karloff – Interstellar Voodoo

    Doom metal is no stranger to the single-song album – from Ufomammut’s Eve to Ogre’s Plague of the Planet to the most obvious example. Oslo trio Saint Karloff follows in these familiar footsteps with their sophomore album, Interstellar Voodoo, a one-track, 42-minute effort. This record starts off all slow and Sabbathy, with a couple nods…

  • The Nude Party – s/t LP

    The Nude Party – s/t LP

    As one listens to The Nude Party‘s self-titled album, it’s instantly easy to pick out some sounds and ideas which may have inspired the music, but not so easy to figure out how all the pieces might have aligned to produce this result. For example, the haunting keyboards which color the songs on The Nude…

  • The Death Wheelers – I Tread on Your Grave

    The Death Wheelers – I Tread on Your Grave

    Fans of horror doom, instrumental surf and biker rock, rejoice. The Death Wheelers combine all three on their fast ‘n loose debut album. Had a chance to catch these guys opening for Monolord, and they set the stage in their biker jackets and army helmets. I did not know they made this kinda music in…

  • Forming the Void – Rift

    Forming the Void – Rift

    Lafayette, Louisiana might only be 150 miles from New Orleans, but native sons Forming the Void are much further removed from the NOLA sludge metal of Eyehategod or Crowbar. Their 2017 record Relic reminded me of a cross between Torche and Sleep, with a side of early Mastodon, and landed on my year-end top 10…

  • Black Elephant – Cosmic Blues

    Black Elephant – Cosmic Blues

    Album number three from Black Elephant landed in late July on Small Stone Records. Their heavy, fuzzy psychedelic rock is certainly right at home on one of the leading purveyors of stoner rock, as this Italian outfit walk the line between desert rock and vintage psych jams for 34 minutes. “Cosmic Soul” kicks things off with a mellow…

  • High Priestess – self-titled

    High Priestess – self-titled

    Although there are some outstanding female-fronted doom outfits that don’t dabble in witchcraft and wizardry (Witch Mountain and Windhand being two excellent examples), most of the ones that do aren’t taking things any further than what Jex Thoth and Blood Ceremony were playing 10 years ago. But once in a while, a band such as…

  • Wykan – Solace

    Wykan – Solace

    Wykan are making their music for all the right reasons. Not to show off body modifications; rather, they are all about brain modifications. They have dug deep into the primordial well-spring of the music that we all love. Inspired by the blues (working man’s music, just like heavy metal), doom metal and even a touch of…

  • No Joy / Sonic Boom – s/t EP (12″ coloured vinyl)

    No Joy / Sonic Boom – s/t EP (12″ coloured vinyl)

    Ever had one of those moments when you heard or read about a new musical project from a couple of established musicians, got excited as your imagination began to run wild with the possibilities of what may come from the endeavor, and then learned that you couldn’t have been more right when you got a…

  • Naked Giants – Sluff LP

    Naked Giants – Sluff LP

    Upon first glance at Naked Giants‘ New West Records debut album, Sluff, those who pick the album up might assume that they’re staring into a time warp. The awkward poses that the three-piece band’s members strike combined with their clothing and the garish color scheme as well as the decor in the image look like…

  • Earthless – Black Heaven

    Earthless – Black Heaven

    You know the world’s been twist-turned upside down when Fu Manchu is kicking out 18-minute jams and Earthless is singing—yes, actually singing—sub-10-minute numbers. That’s right, America’s pre-eminent jam band seems to be slowing down in their old age, as apparent on this latest release. Mind you, most of the songs here still exceed six minutes…