This week on the block, we have a Christmas album—and not just any Christmas album, but one from the legendary band Jethro Tull. At first, one might think, “What the hell?” But those who are die-hard Tull fans or just super fans of Christmas albums will remember this is not the band’s first venture into the realm of holiday music. The Jethro Tull Christmas Album—Fresh Snow At Christmas showcases the band’s love for the holiday season. Continue reading
Almost a year to the day, theatrical German zombies Dominum return to build on the success of their full-length studio debut Hey Living People. Keeping the corpse costumes, make-up and props close to hand, the undead quartet still look like they’ve escaped from the nearest graveyard but now come armed with a sharpened sense of melody and even more confidence in their delivery.Continue reading
More famous for its art and architecture, the Sicilian capital of Palermo also happens to be the home of something a lot nastier and ghastly. No, not its history of organised crime and murder. Something far more brutal than that: Death metal act Becerus.
In a world full of two-faced people, misleading information and strings attached to practically everything, Goregrind is the breath of fresh air society needs. Simply put: what you see is what you get.Continue reading
Black metal is to thank for bringing the mystique back to music. This duo from Portugal cloaks themselves in black shrouds, we can assume they are not playing in, but instead of blast beats Lord Sin hits you with some creepy dirges on their sophomore album Confessions (Larvae Records). The graveyard stomp of the riffs allows darkness to possess their sound organically, rather than having to pull out all the Halloween decorations to convince the listener. Halfway into the first song, it’s easy to hear where they fall in the middle ground between doom and black metal. For a duo, they are cranking out a great deal of sound and care about writing songs, rather than just bashing out riffs. Continue reading
Had I been told four or five years ago that the spirit of psyche-exploring, experimental Electro/Industrial duo Coil would be alive and flourishing in the hands of Napalm Death’s bass player, I would have been … surprised. Continue reading
One of the foremost names in Swedish Black Metal, Stockholm’s Mörk Gryning is back with their seventh full-length studio release, the second since the band’s reactivation in 2016. Founded by multi-instrumentalists Goth Gorgon (aka Jonas Berndt) and Draakh Kimera (aka Peter Nagy-Eklöf) back in 1993, Gorgon has been at the heart of every record since the very beginning with Kimera only absent for 2005’s self-titled, seemingly swansong release.Continue reading
Presenting the best of Stoner Metal that is guaranteed to make their listeners aghast, Geneva-based power trio Six Months of Sun are back with a third full-length entitled Creatures via Cold Smoke Records and Urgence Disk, which features atmospheric passages and a versatile succession of riffs that ranges from being heavy to sharp. Having embarked on a formidable journey of track record by opening for many big names such as Red Fang, Church of Misery, and Fu Manchu, they continue on offering a profound bestiary of Stoner riffs with hints of Prog undertones here and there. While they’re keeping their massive sounds intact, they are suitable for fans of instrumental stoner/sludge such as Pelican and Russian Circles. Being a longtime Pelican fan myself since high school years, I instantly vibed with this album right after first listen– with all its solid resonances and all that.Continue reading
Name changes can be important. Many great bands start out under completely different names only to find a quick re-evaluation of their brand is key to their eventual success.
In the case of Neckbreakker, language appears to have been at least partly responsible as their recent name change alters nothing in its meaning, just the form in which it is delivered. Continue reading
Miracle Blood’s latest album Hello Hell would serve as a standout piece within any punk music lover’s record collection. Their new album Hello Hell, released by Nefarious Industries, is a cacophonous concoction of noise-punk, sludge, and heavy metal. The band’s sophomore LP is strange and unusual, and may be found to be the next underground favorite of those who themselves are strange and unusual.Continue reading