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
Formed nearly a quarter of a century ago, Twisted Tower Dire is one of those bands that never made it big, but has always been likable and consistent in their music. This Virginia-based act has been rather quiet since their last release, Mark It Dark (Cruz del Sur Music) in 2011, but now they’re back with a much-anticipated new record. Their sixth full-length album, Wars In The Unknown (No Remorse Records), boasts about how this quartet can still accomplish solid and entertaining Heavy Metal.Continue reading
The Dutch Death Metal act, Sisters Of Suffocation stirred the scene when they released their EP, Brutal Queen (Hammerheart Records) back in 2014. Young and female, SoS was determined to defy stereotypes by making their sound ruthless and unique. Their sophomore album, Humans Are Broken (Napalm Records) continues to carry this conviction and delivers something rather riveting.Continue reading
Boston Doom Metal stalwarts Magic Circle have just dropped a new single and video, and it’s the title track from their upcoming album. Departed Souls is due for release March 29th from the vaunted 20 Buck Spin label. Following four years of constant touring behind their last album, Journey Blind, Magic Circle is one of the premier names in the genre with just two albums under their belts. In a way, Magic Circle is bigger than the sum of its parts, with members from other notable bands such as Innumerable Forms, Sumerlands, Devil’s Dare, Stone Dagger, Lifeless Dark, Missionary Work, Pagan Altar. Check out the video for ‘Departed Souls’.Continue reading
My guess is that Altarage just aren’t fans of people in general. Not in the way I claim to dislike people when I’m hungover on an early Monday morning, but in the I-wouldn’t-mind-if-humanity-just-totally-ceased-existing kind of way. One listen to their third LP The Approaching Roar(Season of Mist) is all I needed to feel convinced that Altarage doesn’t care for me or my eardrums.Continue reading
Electronic music comes in many waves. From new, to old to 80’s electro-rock, not many succeed in creating a memorable electronic record. For the French trio, The Sacrifice, it’s a point to revive the genre with nostalgic moments as they debut with their self-titled (Season Of Mist) on their own terms. They have taken synth-wave and incorporated classic 80’s pop and metal to produce this modern electro groove. The 11-track album is an experiment that involved a dozen of vintage synthesizers and drum machines, according to the band. But what listeners will gather here is a record that balances sonic synths full of color and life. The Sacrifice is here to make you dance.Continue reading
Earlier this year, UK-based band, Conjurer released their debut album, displaying a staggering amount of different influences mixed together to create something amazing and new. Germany based, two-piece band Mantar have done just that as well with their sophomore release, The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze (Nuclear Blast).
However, unlike the influence from more prog metal bands like Mastodon and Opeth in Mire (Holy Roar), Mantar have brought together a variety of different worlds that can be shown throughout the album with elements of Metallica, Motörhead and Machine Head combined with animalistic vocals that sound like they belong in a black metal band. The overall effect of this creates a raw, vicious sound; even though there are only 2 members of the band, the sound that they’ve produced is larger than some fully manned bands.Continue reading
Witchskull’s debut album The Vast Electric Dark (Self-release) was one of my personal highlights of 2016. A Stoner-influenced romp that was catchy and steeped in good old Heavy Rock, it picked up the Clutch template and somewhat irreverently tossed it around the ring a few times.Continue reading
For those who hold music as dear to their hearts and their being as much as I’m sure you, the reader do, there is nothing quite like that discovery of a new band, perhaps out of nowhere, that captures so much about what you love in music. That feeling of finding a band in their early stages that stays with you, that smashes it out of the park, perhaps on the first try, and that both excites you so much and that you feel may break out in time to come. Ladies and gentleman; Wolf King may just well be that band for you. Continue reading
Although initially billed as an Industrial Metal band, France’s Dirge have long left the confinements of the classification. And although electronic sounds abound on their latest EP, Alma | Baltica (Division), the style here is somewhere even further down the post-metal rabbit hole. I’m not quite sure even if Alma | Baltica falls under metal anymore. These five tracks seem more like the score of a science fiction film that’s yet to be filmed. Continue reading