While bands such as Pallbearer and Khemmis have been roundly lauded as the prime exponents of modern Progressive Doom, Boston’s Magic Circle has received less attention but is no less of a creative talent. The third album Departed Souls takes up where predecessor Blind Journey (both 20 Buck Spin) left off but sees positively lumimous advances from a whole host of instruments.Continue reading
Whilst steadily garnering a reputation in their native Balkans, Bulgarian trio Obsidian Sea finally saw some US action in 2016 with a repress of second album Dreams, Illusions, Obsessions (Nuclear War Now! Records). Third album Strangers sees a Ripple Music release that will undoubtedly propel the psych-Doom outfit further.Continue reading
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
Given the name, you’d expect Baltimore quintet Asthma Castle to deliver a wheezy form of Stoner/Sludge derived from the likes of Hollow Leg. Debut album Mount Crushmore (Hellmistress Records), the band’s first release for nine years, shows considerably more bounce and fun than any such misplaced assumptions, but flattens it all with unfathomable, cosmic weight.Continue reading
There’s often an unholy alliance of unbridled passion and near insanity in Latin American Metal: the eccentric, electric performance from California-based Punks At The Drive-In on Later… in 2000 being a prime example. This is a quality evident in the chaotic maelstrom of Brazilian trio Deafkids, whose third album Metaprogramação (Neurot Recordings) is a typically warped episode of barely controlled, electronic ferocity.Continue reading
It’s been seven years in the making, but one can excuse a big chunk of the wait for Copenhagen Rock collective Redwolves’ debut album Future Becomes Past (Argonauta Records). Just over two years ago frontman Rasmus Cundell was the subject of a brutal assault, yet despite the evidence of his scars being littered throughout the album, there’s a paradoxical lightness shining through.Continue reading
Those familiar with Baltimore acid-Blues combo The Flying Eyes may be blissfully unaware that two of that happy breed make up the larger share of an outfit bearing the name Black Lung. This darker-sounding trio, however, is no maelstrom of evil hostility, and has more in common with the parent band than the moniker might suggest.Continue reading
During an interview a few years ago, Conan’s Jon Davis told me he didn’t want to release music by his worshipped band on his own Black Bow label, in an effort to keep the two projects separate. Well, Ungraven is no Conan. A darker, more Industrial beast than the Caveman Doom outfit he has lovingly tended to for the past thirteen years, debut EP Language Of Longing (Black Bow Records) sees the more savage edges roughened up and thrust to the fore.Continue reading
Little is known of Gothenburg trio Earth Messiah, save for well-received 2017 demo Nocturnal Thoughtgrinder (self-release). Debut album Ouroboros (Argonauta Records) should boost that reputation with a healthy, lively supply of Stoner Blues that really slicks the grooves.Continue reading
It would seem that this is Scandinavian ‘Drenched Riffs’ Week, but to pigeonhole Swedish quartet The Riven as mere seventies Rock does them no justice whatsoever. Their bass-heavy groove machine is positively electric and eponymous debut album The Riven (The Sign Records) drips The Blues while shooting fire from both hips.Continue reading