Tag: review
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VHS – Screaming Mad Gore
For context, that which frightened me as a child is that in which I now take comfort. Despite my childhood fears of boogeymen, axe murderers, and the glowing visage of my own 5-1/2” tall Skeletor, I now find that stylized images of death, made familiar and trusted by metal and horror movies, have become a…
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Destroyer 666 – Wildfire
Wildfire is probably one of the best albums of 2016 so far. Having been nearly seven years since their last release, Destroyer 666 are back and probably better than ever. When a band takes that much time off from writing, things can sometimes go south very quickly. But D666 have proved that they are still…
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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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New Keepers of the Water Towers – Infernal Machine
Fun fact: I actually reviewed this Swedish band’s debut for Hellbound all the way back in ’09. It got a pretty favourable review, too, drawing comparisons to Clutch, Mastodon and now-defunct Ontario outfit The Georgian Skull. But man, I don’t think I’ve listened to that album in five or six years—and I haven’t heard anything…
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The Basement Paintings – Mystic
The majority of the time RIYL lines baffle me as I tend not to hear the influence of most bands listed. Sometimes I just don’t hear it, sometimes I’m not trying to compare bands. However, in the case of The Basement Paintings and their Mystic album the RIYL line is bang on. ISIS, Tool, Pink…
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Graves at Sea – The Curse That Is
The first full-length from Graves at Sea isn’t just a long time coming, it’s a long time, period—eight tracks spanning 76 minutes! I guess that with just a handful of EPs and splits over the past several years, they finally got the chance to make the most of their studio time. The lineup here is…
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The Flaming Lips – Heady Nuggs, 1994-1997: 20 Years After Clouds Taste Metallic
As most fans know, The Flaming Lips had already gone through a few semi-seamless transitions by the time they were ready to begin making Clouds Taste Metallic. By then, they’d already been DIY Okie punks and goth-y pseudo rockers, and had even managed to sort of put together an arresting estimation of their first genuinely…
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Lord Mantis – NTW EP
With an infusion of new blood from now-defunct Chicago outfit Indian, you might be expecting something slightly sludgier from this Midwest blackened doom troop this time around. A new sound, after all, would justify the release of this four-song EP, which clocks in at just over 24 minutes. “SIG Safer” immediately signals that Lord Mantis isn’t…
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Mastodon – White Walker (12” picture disc)
When fans first hear the “White Walker” 12-inch picture disc, the first thought which will pass through their minds (ALL of their minds) will likely be, “Wow – this doesn’t sound like Mastodon at all.” There’s no arguing that; “White Walker” has none of the metallic crunch that albums like Leviathan, Crack The Skye or…
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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…