L-R – DJ Vaters – Guitar/Vocals, Matthew MacIsaac – Drums, Justin Boutilier – Bass
Nova Scotia Punk/Garage Rockers Human Missile Crisis has teamed up with Ghost Cult to drop a brand-new music video for their single “Snake in the Grass,” the lead track from their upcoming two-song EP, Waste Away, set for release on November 14th. Watch it now!
When Entombed followed Uffe Cederlund’s vision and produced the divisive Same Difference in 1998, the direction and sound that incorporated a hefty dose of Unsane and Cederlund’s other project, Haystack, was quickly parked following an overwhelmingly negative response -it’s genuinely not a bad record at all, with hindsight – Senior Ed], and the Stockholm massive returned to their HM-2 Death n’ Roll stylings.
Haystack, too, fell by the wayside for over two decades, too. The resurrection continues, though, with second album since their return, and fourth overall, Doomsday Goes Away (The Dogma Repertory Institute/Threeman Recordings).
It’s easy to get lost in the minutiae of music genres and what defines a band; what they can and can’t be, are and are not, and what makes them “good”.
Strangely, subjectivity has taken a backseat to this artform. If it’s not pristine, perfect, polished, and full of impressive instrumental or vocal acrobatics, it’s boring. Worse, it’s bad. Continue reading
With how common it has become for strong artists to get watered down by overproduction, it is refreshing to hear some raw, straightforward garage rock made solely for the love of music. Cardiff-based quintet James And The Cold Gun recorded their self-titled debut album (Loosegroove Records) from their very own garage, bringing an astute balance of polish and roughness – in other words, pure rock n’ roll.
Over the years, the ever-talented J Mascis has been creating powerful impacts on the underground music scene by being involved in a myriad of projects. He is best known for being the frontman of the legendary three-piece alternative rock act Dinosaur Jr., but there are also plenty of other projects that he has left marks on. Some of them being the short-lived hardcore punk quartet Deep Wound, the Sabbath-influenced stoner/doom act Witch, and the rather underrated sludge/doom act Upsidedown Cross, to name some.
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.
King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard – L.W.
As indicated by the title, King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard’s seventeenth full-length essentially serves as the second half of 2020’s K.G. and picks up where it left off stylistically. L.W. (Flightless Records) sees the completion of the microtone trilogy that started with 2017’s Flying Microtonal Banana, emphasizing a similar mix of Middle Eastern scales, rhythmic percussion, and loosely flowing song structures. ‘Static Electricity’ and ‘See Me’ do the best job of dialing that vibe with their upbeat pacing while the grandiose chugs and life-affirming chants make the closing ‘K.G.L.W.’ one of the band’s most over the top Doom Metal dives to date.Continue reading
The opening discordant, overdriven stabs of ‘Hello Cruel World’ set the tone for The Primals debut album All Love Is True Love (Southern Lord), a tone that summons the spirit of the fuzziest, poppiest and dirtiest moments of Nirvana’s In Utero (Geffen) jamming with The Pixies and that is every bit as gorgeously sincere as that sounds. So it may come as a surprise to learn that this grunged explosion comes courtesy of John Henry of Metalcore savages Darkest Hour, accompanied by Chad Fjerstad (Dead To Fall) and Andrew Black (The Explosion), a project you’d, like me, have been forgiven to have expected to be churning something more crusty or Hardcore based.Continue reading
Milwaukee rockers Devils Teeth have teamed up with Ghost Cult to drop their new single today, and the action is go! Known for their eclectic musical approach, loud volumes, proto-punk rock energy, feeling catchy tunes, and a lot of fun, ‘Sakuraba’ takes its inspiration from the Japanese MMA fighter and wrestler known for taking and receiving heavy beatings in his matches. Turn this one up to 11 and listen here. Continue reading
According to the business website Quartz, the guitar industry is suffering because rock music is falling out of favour, especially in the mainstream. Lucky then for bands like Royal Blood. The Brighton (UK) rock duo’s 2014 self-titled début album was very well received, and with their second effort, How Did We Get So Dark? (both Warner Bros), they’ve crafted another neat piece of simple but effective radio-friendly rock.Continue reading