Tag Archives: Groove

Ringworm – Death Becomes My Voice

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Diminished twin lead guitars fade in above a filthy, distorted bass line. It segues into the intro of the title track, and Death Becomes My Voice (Relapse Records) begins in ill-conceived circumstances. This intro segment is a slow crawl through power chords and crashing cymbals, and completely unrepresentative of the album as a whole. When the main bulk of the title track begins it’s clear that the slow introduction was a calm before a storm, but perhaps an unnecessary breather to kick things off. It may have worked better somewhere in the middle of this unrelenting album as something of a palate cleanser, but more on that later.Continue reading →


Heavy As Texas – Heavy As Texas

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It has been almost thirty years since Pantera changed the landscape of the metal scene with Cowboys From Hell (East/West, Atco) and its repercussions still live on in music today. It’s an obvious comparison to make for the debut album of the Exhorder spin-off project, Heavy As Texas, but it’s one that needs to be stated straight off the bat. However, there are numerous other influences and musical styles that are present throughout the album.
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Druids – Monument

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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 →


Inter Arma – Sulphur English

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Despite third album Paradise Gallows (Relapse Records) establishing Virginian quintet Inter Arma as one of the World’s premier exponents of Harsh Progressive Metal, it’s nevertheless arguable as to whether or not the band remains in the shadow of 2014’s staggering opus The Cavern (Relapse Records). Fourth full-length Sulphur English (also Relapse), surely their most brutal yet, will lay such doubts to rest.Continue reading →


Pharlee – Pharlee

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There’s somethin’ incestuous a-brewin’ in San Diego: a fluid drift from band to band and back again, like the returning wisps of smoke from that latest joint exhalation. This is Zach Oakley’s second journey through my cans in as many months, while more of his friends in Psych outfits JOY and Harsh Toke make yet another union in the form of the drenched riffage of Pharlee.Continue reading →


Blind Monarch – What Is Imposed Must Be Endured

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From the first recording session through to the present day, it’s taken almost eighteen months for What Is Imposed Must Be Endured (Black Bow Records), the debut album from Sheffield-based quartet Blind Monarch, to see the light of day. In that time the band has shared stages with leading lights of the UK Death-Doom scene so it wouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination to suggest that this album is eagerly awaited.Continue reading →


Almost Honest – Seiches And Sirens

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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 →


Komodor – Komodor

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The world of Psychedelic Rock has enjoyed a population resurgence over the past couple of years, with all manner of newcomers coating their grooves in a warm, oscillating fuzz. In such a world it helps to gain patronage from a respected name and French sunshine crew Komodor have done just that: debut mini-album Komodor (Soulseller Records) carrying contributions and production work from Swedish Psych rulers Blues Pills.Continue reading →


Woven Man – Revelry (In Our Arms)

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Those of us who developed a fondness for sludgey goodness back in the days of its infancy will have a soft spot for Welsh sluggers Acrimony, who blazed (!) an early trail for the sub-genre in the UK. While most of that band went on to found the Stoner grooves of Sigiriya, Lee ‘Roy’ Davies has drifted through guises until settling in the present day, and Woven Man: an outfit tipping its cap to The Wicker Man and aspects of his former band, which shine throughout debut album Revelry (In Our Arms) (Undergroove).Continue reading →


La Muerte – La Muerte

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Who would think that a thirtieth-anniversary gig would lead to a band reunion for a new generation of fans? It probably wasn’t the first thing on the minds of Belgian cult legends La Muerte, who have been revered and reviled in equal measure during their long history. The tricksy genre mash of their past continues into the present with new full-length La Muerte (Mottow Soundz), which should pique the curiosity of all manner of Metal fans.Continue reading →