Tag: review
-
Demontage – Fire of Iniquity
Man, looking at some of the show flyers in Demontage’s press kit reminds me how long I’ve been hanging around the Toronto scene—and these guys have been around even longer. Fire of Iniquity marks the third album from the 15-year vets, coming a full six years after their last record, The Principal Extinction, which I…
-
WARFATHER – The Grey Eminence
Skepticism and apprehension tug eyebrows upward any time a well-known band’s powerful, long-standing vocalist is replaced, regardless of genre. Steve Tucker is eternally a part of death metal’s fabric with his contribution to Morbid Angel, impressive on its own, much more so considering he replaced one of death metal’s greatest frontmen: David Vincent. Some purists…
-
Cat-Iron – Sings Blues and Hymns LP
In my life, I have had three perception-altering experiences with the blues. The first was when I heard Howlin’ Wolf; when I first heard the guttural moan and growl which came off songs like “Smokestack Lightning,” it rattled me to the core and hooked me with the inherent danger of it. The second time the…
-
Craneium – Explore the Void
Well, it seems the Swedish stoner-rock sound has seeped across the sea to Finland. Craneium hails from Turku, and has been kicking around for five years now, although this is the first record of theirs to make it across the pond. It’s not hard to hear why — fans of the classic Lowrider/Truckfighters sound will…
-
Solitude – Reach For The Sky
Japanese metallers Solitude are Toru Nishida (bass), Akira Sugiuchi (vocals), Takamasa “MAD” Ohuchi (drums) and Shingo Ida (guitars). This is Solitude’s third album following 2009’s Brave The Storm and 2001’s Virtual Image (all released in Japan on the splendidly named Spiritual Beast label). Reach For the Sky was mixed by Magnus Sedenberg who previously worked with the…
-
Boston – self-titled LP (40th anniversary reissue)
How does one attempt to celebrate the release of an album like Boston? To date, the record has sold twenty-five million copies worldwide. The breakthrough single from the album, “More Than A Feeling,” has attained a status which makes it rank among some of the most instantly recognizable songs of all time; the average Joe…
-
Sithter – Chaotic Fiend
Now, Japan has produced some pretty solid stoner and death/doom bands over the years, from Coffins to Corrupted, Eternal Elysium to Chuch of Misery… not to mention Boris, who practically deserve their own category. But when it comes to straight-ahead Japanese sludge, I usually come up empty. So when I heard that Sithter, a band…
-
Scum – Garden of Shadows
Bit of an interesting back story behind this one. This Finnish death/doom outfit formed in 1990, and was signed to the legendary Black Mark Productions, where they put out a couple records in ’94 and ’95. Garden of Shadows, recorded in ’96, was to be Scum‘s third album, but Quorthon reportedly tossed this demo in the…
-
Roadside Bombs – War On Love 7”
It might not be for everyone but, for me, some of the coolest things to hear are those which crosswire a few different sounds and styles which feel as though they should stand at odds with one another. A perfect example of such an unusual stylistic counterpoint can be found on Roadside Bombs‘ new single, “War…
-
The Second Coming of Heavy Chapter IV: Red Mesa/Blue Snaggletooth split
Like I said when I reviewed Chapter 3 of this compilation, Ripple Music has become somewhat of a tastemaker in the stoner-rock scene, a modern-day Man’s Ruin or MeteorCity, if you will. And they’ve only built on that reputation in the past couple years, signing the likes of Wo Fat and Devil to Pay and…