Tag: review
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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…
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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…
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Yamantaka // Sonic Titan – Dirt LP
In this age of post-modern songwriting and culturally blended musicianship, finding something which is truly striking and unique in its composition, performance and presentation is rare but, as Yamantaka // Sonic Titan proves on its third album Dirt, not impossible. This time out, the Canadian Noh-Wave behemoths offer listeners their first great breakthrough document of…
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Violation Wound – With Man In Charge
A simple summation of Violation Wound’s sound is that they sound like Autopsy or Abscess without the death and doom elements of their music. So, to say it’s stripped down is an understatement. This is no surprise when you realise that Autopsy and former Abscess member Chris Reifert is on guitar and vocals. It really…
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Death – Give It Back 7-inch
You’ve got to respect Death [from Detroit] for the way they’ve chosen to conduct themselves over the years. Really think about it, reader; this is a band who, since changing their name and turning to punk rock in 1976 has only released six albums [Death started in 1973 as a funk band called Rock Fire Funk…
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Morbid Saint live in Toronto, March 2018
Morbid Saint @ Coalition T.O on March 9th, 2018 Time to lock up your children! Underground thrashers Morbid Saint have arrived in Toronto. Formed in 1982 in Wisconsin, the five-piece released the highly respected Spectrum of Death debut album before undertaking the route of so many ‘80s thrash acts and dissolving by 1994 when the subgenre…
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Book reviews by Steve Earles: Rise Up, Women
Rise Up, Women: The Remarkable Lives of the Suffragettes Written by Diane Atkinson Published by Bloomsbury Recently I saw the excellent film Suffragette (which Diane Atkinson was a consultant on) starring Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep. It’s not often you see a film that changes the way you view the world and its inequality and injustice,…
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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…
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Vantablack Warship – Abrasive Pulmonic Speak
Vantablack Warship continue to progress in leaps and bounds, and I could see them being a valuable addition to any quality metal label’s roster. Imagine Rush colliding with At The Gates, and you will have some idea of Vantablack’s sound, but really with each successive release they become more and more their own creation. Their song-writing has…
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Young Hunter – Dayhiker
Young Hunter has graced the world with their latest album titled Dayhiker. A dreamy, doomy desert rock album pulling inspiration from modern masters of the genre, and time machines back to the 70s. Dayhiker does what it pleases, while tickling the stoner metal system in your brain. The tracks make you question whether you are…