Tag Archives: Occult Rock

Decibel Magazine Declares The Death of Mainstream Metal

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In an end of year article, Decibel Magazine’s veteran scribe Shawn Macomber has declared the death of Mainstream metal in his piece, ‘Mainstream Metal is F*cking Dead’. The piece was written in reaction to both Decibel’s top albums of the Decade 2010-2019 list as well as their top albums of 2019. The writer, one of the best at the magazine goes on to say that he isn’t against mainstream metal albums and actually likes some, but that the best quality releases from the last year or beyond are really coming from the underground bands and labels. Continue reading →


Old Blood Vocalist Feathers is Departing The Band, Final Show Next Month

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Bummer news as California-based Psychedelic Stoner band Old Blood has announced their singer Feathers is departing the group for other opportunities. They have their last gig booked together on May 10th at Petie’s Place in Tarzana, CA, and have a replacement lined up, but as yet unannounced. Old Blood is tight and we love their sound. We’re looking forward to new music from the group as well as what comes next for Feathers. Continue reading →


Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats – Blood Ceremony: Live at O2 Institute, Birmingham (UK)

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After being somewhat spoiled with three support acts the previous night at Skid Row in Manchester, it’s a bump back down to a single support for this evening’s fare, with Canada’s Blood Ceremony touring in support of Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats at Birmingham’s O2 Institute. The room is not quite sold out, though very busy, with the intimate feel of the venue lending itself to a really good atmosphere. After a far too early arrival, allowing unneeded extra time for snow, it was time for some doom and gloom in my ears to warm me from the cold. Continue reading →


Alms – Act One

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The state of Maryland has a truly grand Doom legacy, and new quartet Alms aim to carry that on. Described by some as purveyors of a Funeral brand, the Baltimore outfit’s roots and product lean more towards seventies Occult Rock, despite the slow speed of some tracks.Continue reading →


Coven – Sanhedrin: Live At Le Poisson Rouge

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Coven, occult, unholy and gleefully wicked. They have carved an unholy history across fifty years of rock and roll blasphemy. When they descended on Le Poisson Rouge for their first New York City show in decades the scenes devout congregated in worship. After a stunning opening set from Brooklyn hometown heroes, Sanhedrin the hour of doom was nigh. As the band strode out with a swaggering version of ‘Black Sabbath’ (The Coven song predates Iommi and co’s version by a year) and caroming through renditions of ‘Wicked Woman’ and the ‘White Witch of Rosehall’, this is a group at the height of their powers. Exciting, over the top and gloriously satanic, Coven is on top of the world and ready to destroy minds and reap souls. Devout fans take note, Prophecy Productions will be releasing a 50-year anniversary box set to celebrate the band in 2019! Continue reading →


Huntress Singer Jill Janus, Dead At 43

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Sad news has come down as singer Jill Janus of Huntress has died of an apparent suicide. She was 43. Janus had been open about her lifelong battle with depression and mental illness, all of her life. She also had a bout of Uterine Cancer and a resultant hysterectomy in 2015 that kept the band off of the road during their tour to support their album Static (Napalm Records). Static featured Lemmy from Motorhead on a track and was well-received. The news of her death was broken in posts by her bandmates. Casey Wood, who posted the following message on Facebook: “I’m in shock and can’t stop crying. My X best friend, singer has left the world. She was the biggest sweetheart and I hope that her Legacy lives on as it should! You were supposed to be on your way back here Jill Janus. I love you I miss you, and my door is still open for you always. Rest in peace my sister.” Johnny Jetson also commented “Very sad news… Just talked to my drummer Casey Wood who informed me that our singer Jill Janus has passed away. My deepest condolences to her family and loved ones… Jill was amazing and will be missed…”Continue reading →


Lucifer – Lucifer II

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Whilst there is no pre-requisite for nominative determinism in music when you call your band Lucifer, you do set a bit of an expectation that your sound is going to, at the very least, a bit dark and evil. No one seems to have told Lucifer this. Their second album of what can only be loosely regarded as Occult Rock weaves its (black) magic in a way that is as unexpected as it is compelling.Continue reading →


Tribulation – Down Below

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2015 was a big year for Tribulation, and The Children of the Night (Century Media) quickly garnered them a lot of media attention for delicately weaving together Classic Rock, Prog and psychedelia, to create a haunting, depraved tale that was as much in common with Hawkwind as it did Mercyful Fate. They elevated their musical ambitions from 2013’s The Formulas of Death (Invictus), with its suffocating combination of Death and Black metal, and produced a record that not only exposed them to a much broader audience but set expectations at an all-time high. Three years later Tribulation has brought us Down Below (Century Media), continuing their evolution from morbid death-rattlers to fully fledged Occult Rock-stars.Continue reading →


REVIEWS ROUND-UP: Ghost, Lovebites, Babylon Fire, HammerFall and more…

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The beauty to last weeks’ beast, the Ghost Cult album round-up is back for your vulgar delectation, and our final compilation of 2017 captures albums most Metal and most Melodic, shining a light on last-minute stocking fillers that St. Anne, rather than St Nick, would approve of… Continue reading →


Jess and the Ancient Ones – The Horse and Other Weird Tales

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Jess and the Ancient Ones are back with a new album! This Finnish occult rock band have released their third album, and with The Horse and Other Weird Tales (Svart) they have taken a nosedive further into the psychedelic genre. Spanning only 34 minutes, the album isn’t terribly long, but it manages to cram a lot of goodness in that half an hour. Continue reading →