Jerry Cantrell, he of Alice in Chains fame, has returned with I Want Blood (Double J Music). It is his fourth solo record and continues the Grunge flavoured Hard Rock and Metal he is known for with an array of famous friends popping in, including Duff McKagan (Guns N Roses), Robert Trujillo (Metallica), Mike Bordin (Faith No More), Greg Puciato (The Dillinger Escape Plan, Better Lovers) and the production help of Joe Barresi (Slipknot, Clutch, Tool, Mastodon) amongst others. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Grunge
ALBUM REVIEW: Bird’s View – House of Commando
From the fuzzy Alt Rock and early Foo Fighters vibe of “Vienna,” German rockers Birds View’s second album House of Commando (Drakkar Entertainment) starts as it means to go on. Influenced by ‘90s alternative rock acts such as the aforementioned Foos, Soundgarden, and Queens of the Stone Age, HOC is primed with propulsive, straight-to-the-point songs that do not outstay their welcome. Continue reading
FEATURE: Stone Temple Pilots “Purple” Album Turns 30 and Made One Hater a Fan
How can a certified metal guy explain to the reader how this album has gone from being the enemy to a close friend?Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Couch Slut – You Could Do It Tonight
How many times have you heard a band described as genuinely “unsettling” to listen to? In all honesty, this scribe in question has probably described a few in writing as such. Well, more than likely those acts cannot come even close to the nauseating realism, punishing content and sonic barrage of New York’s Couch Slut over the last few years.
ALBUM REVIEW: Blanket – Ceremonia
A genre-striding quartet from Blackpool, Blanket are back with their latest album, Ceremonia (Church Road Records). It is their third record and sees them continue their emotive brand of Post-Rock and Shoegaze, with the metal influences from their previous album Modern Escapism replaced with nineties Alternative Rock. Continue reading
REVIEWS ROUND-UP: ft. Amaranthe – Blackberry Smoke – Bokassa – Shooting Daggers
When Swedish Europop-metalcore (they’re a difficult band to put a tag on considering how distinct their sound is!) sextet Amaranthe announced their arrival with 2011’s self-titled semi-classic album, it was hard to imagine them, as great as their first shot was, still being around thirteen years later. Continue reading
Ghost Cult’s Albums of the Year 2023 – Part 3 (20-2)
Thermal count is rising in perpetual writhing, the primordial ooze of albums continues, and the sanity they lose choosing their favorites of the year. Awakened in the morning, to more ear-pollution warnings…
Now I can only laugh, as I read our epitaph – we end 2023 with cheer, in the light of our Albums of the Year.
May you all rust in peace…Continue reading
EP REVIEW: Full of Hell and Nothing (split) – When No Birds Sing
On paper, this makes perfect sense. A collaborative effort between Full of Hell and Nothing stand as two of the most creative outliers in their respective genres, and the mission statement of When No Birds Sing (Closed Casket Activities) is to fuse the juxtaposition of their varied sonic palettes. Brace yourself, as Full of Hell is the overpowering force when the album opens.
ALBUM REVIEW: Helmet – Left
Helmet are a legacy band, who at over 30 years into their career– albeit with an early 2000’s hiatus– are still very much thought of as a specific, early mid-nineties era band when alternative rock was king. And for good reason, as they are a band who certainly had a huge influence with early Interscope Records such as Meantime (1992) and Betty (1994), providing a sludgy down-tuned version of the more commercial alternative styles of the time.
ALBUM REVIEW: Code Orange – The Above
The hope for a band to “return to their roots” is a phrase that has been thrown around so much in modern music, it has begun to lose its meaning. As with the roots of a tree, a band’s roots are always there, securing the foundation of their sound, no matter how many different directions it may branch out into.