There’s a South Asian Metal renaissance afoot at present, and nowhere is this more evident than in the Stoner and Desert scenes. Splitfire (Unherd Music), the second long-player from Bangalore duo Diarchy, is the first release from new Indian label Unherd Music and gives the promise of an Eastern mysticism to some heavy grooves.Continue reading
Whenever our house is made home by a particularly large member of the domestic arachnid species, it’s affectionately called Boris: largely due to the long-attributed name for such creatures, but also to my affection for the Japanese band of the same name. Latest albums Lφve and Evφl, originally released in August as tour merchandise, now make an appearance as a double album on general release (Third Eye Music).Continue reading
It’s been four years since Denver quartet Luna Sol powered onto the scene, with a certain amount of buzz around the fact that frontman Dave Angstrom had recruited former Hermano bandmate John Garcia as a guest on debut album Blood Moon (Cargo Records). Follow-up Below The Deep (Slush Fund Recordings/Cargo Records) continues the theme of the band’s self-styled “High Mountain Rock,” which incorporates variety into the Desert template.Continue reading
Since their 2010 inception, Ohio trio Valley Of The Sun has been lauded in the same breath as Grunge legends Alice In Chains and Soundgarden, while not yet achieving that level of iconic status. New album Old Gods (Fuzzorama Records) sees the band maturing, with a gentle psychedelia gracing those heady grooves.
When Iowan trio Druids‘ EP Spirit Compass (Self-release) hit my ears sixteen months ago, I was staggered by the apparent ease with which the bandmelded the darkness of Sabbath and the violence of Mastodon with the joyous, Summery Grunge of Blind Melon. It made for a heady mix and new offering Monument (The Company) promises the same excitement amid a paradoxically heavy flexibility.Continue reading
With a name as cheesy as Almost Honest, I expected an uninspiring combo led by the progeny of some aging UK rock star trying hard to forge her / his own identity. This Pennsylvanian trio seems anything but: far from uninspiring, the madcap antics of sophomore album Seiches And Sirens (Electric Talon Records) is an example of Stoner’s potential to be versatile and fluid.Continue reading
It may sound like a whimsical name for a quaint English country cottage but Dun Ringill has a far more serious pedigree, its members grouped from the ranks of Doomdogs and The Order Of Israfel among others. Debut album Welcome (Argonauta Records) drags influence from Nordic Folk as well as other more eccentric fields, while retaining something of a Stoner groove.Continue reading
I love a good ‘first person possessive adjective’ band name. My Chemical Romance, My Vitriol, My Dying Bride…it suggests a dark drama within. My Diligence doesn’t get the juices flowing in quite the same fashion, but the rampant category-defying experience this Brussels collective provides is anything but weary drudge.Continue reading
Search online for bands named Trees and the only entries you’ll find are references to the glorious British Folk outfit of the late sixties and early seventies. Deep in the recesses of Finland, however, comes another such incarnation: one that joins the gathering of acts that have revitalised the genre this year.Continue reading
With an album cover bearing bright colours and acid-flavoured fonts, plus a deal with Ripple Music, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Psych bangers Psychlona are unashamedly West Coast US. The real shock, therefore, is that this pack of four upstarts belongs to West Bradford UK, and give a fiery edge to that chilled fuzz template. Debut album Mojo Rising (Ripple Music) is set to give a real shot in the arm to a genre already packed with amazing releases in 2018.Continue reading