Regarding psych rock, I have heard some of the best bands ever. They seem to come primarily from every place except for America. I have seen amazing bands from Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Spain. For the first time, I’m hearing a band from Cape Cod, South Africa. Moskitos have put Cape Town on the map as a new, untapped hub for psychedelic rock with their stellar debut album Mirage (The Good Times Co.) Continue reading
Tag Archives: fuzz
EP REVIEW: Hollow Leg – Dust
A tasty slice of rhythmic, headbanging Sludge, this groovy, nicely gnarly EP finds Hollow Leg in fine fettle, smoking hot and leaving many others in their wake – leaving them in the dust, you could say.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Mutoid Man – Mutants
Mutants (Sargent House) is album number three from Stephen Brodsky’s heavy, quirky and often colourful side-project Mutoid Man. And much like his work in Cave In, the music Brodsky creates with Mutoid Man encompasses a whole host of influences, to create a myriad of sounds.
ALBUM REVIEW: Sick Joy – WE’RE ALL GONNA F***ING DIE
After making a name for themselves in the local Brighton scene playing the small venues and intermittently releasing fuzzy rock singles, Sick Joy are here to introduce themselves to the rest of the world with their debut album. Having been described as being one of “British rock’s most promising young bands”, there’s a lot to be proved in this release.
ALBUM REVIEW: Valley Of The Sun – The Chariot
Valley Of The Sun transport us to a desert vista with their hard-hitting, classic blues rock fourth album, The Chariot (Ripple Music) The topographical downside is a straight-ahead tendency to skim the surface of the sand without revealing psychological depth or any hints at complicated thinking below.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW Black Lung – Dark Waves
It is a time of change for the Baltimore based psych-doom three piece Black Lung, who following the release of their third album Ancients in 2019, parted ways with founding guitarist Adam Bufano, replacing him with Deaf Scene’s Dave Fullerton. Four months later and their subsequent tour of the album was cancelled as the pandemic struck, so the band decided to regroup and start working on fresh material with their new guitar player straight away. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Deathbell – A Nocturnal Crossing
In the world of doom, there are seemingly as many subgenres as there are bands out there to choose from. I listen to so many different things and love that the genre just lets bands be who they truly are and express themselves naturally without conforming to something they are not. We have all heard bands who try to force elements in their music that they just simply do not shine at. This is not the case with A Nocturnal Crossing (Svart Recordings); everything has its place and works very well together.
ALBUM REVIEW: Monster Magnet – A Better Dystopia
Monster Magnet probably needs no introduction to anyone who has paid any degree of attention to the alternative rock scene over the last 25 years or more. The band has always been unashamedly and unapologetically rockist in their approach. Largely ignoring scenes such as grunge as they have come and gone, Monster Magnet have managed to pump out album after album of classic heavy rock, and they continue to play to huge audiences. Somehow they have always stood out from the crowd of rock revivalists and “stoner” bands. Whilst the music of many of these retro bands so often feels tired and trite when compared to the 60s or 70s bands they try to copy, they always exuded a special kind of conviction, authenticity and raw power that sets them apart. Maybe this has something to do with (singer, guitar player and only original member) Dave Wyndorf having been born in 1956 and so having actually lived through the 60s and 70s. Either way, the music has always felt just as legitimate and classy as records by Motörhead or Deep Purple.
ALBUM REVIEW: Spelljammer – Abyssal Trip
Funny, before writing this review I had just finished a very interesting conversation about Swedish bands with someone as passionate as I am for Swedish music and we concluded that there must be something about being born in Scandinavia that automatically increases your chances of being good at making music. Spelljammer proves this point with their latest effort Abyssal Trip (RidingEasy Records). An equally catchy, beautiful, heavy, and dark album that brings a scenario that can be only compared as being a collection of Black Sabbath’s darkest, twisted tracks but heavier and more melodic. And it’s impossible not talking about Black Sabbath when talking about a Stoner/Doom Metal band, but this Swedish trio can easily be in the same conversation.
ALBUM REVIEW: Bloody Hammers – Songs of Unspeakable Terror
Bloody Hammers are the Hard Rock husband and wife duo Anders Manga (Vocals, Guitar, Bass) and Devallia (Keyboards/Organ). Hailing from Transylvania County, NC, the Gothic-Metal rockers released Songs of Unspeakable Terror (Napalm Records). Of the Horror-Punk record, Manga says, “When the pandemic hit and I realized I’d be stuck at home for a while, I started thinking I needed to dig into a music project. I was oddly inspired by the unknown, and fear that this plague was gonna wipe us all out. I needed a creative escape.”