Covet’s latest American tour in support of their latest album Catharsis, started in April in Portland, OR, and recently came to a successful close this May in Santa Cruz, CA. I was able to experience Covet for the first time along with supporting acts ScaryPoolParty and Alto Palo in Phoenix, AZ, during which I was excited and curious to see how each of these bands would blend together.
Trevor’s Head are self-described as the most exciting thing to come out of Redhill, Surrey in three centuries. Without being a local, a quick investigation suggests little of note from the town bar the Foundling Museum setting up a school in the 1920’s and the construction of the M23 Motorway nearby during the seventies (thanks Google) and very little else of note, so this is most certainly a tongue in cheek boast. It is one that certainly sells the band short however as evidenced on the intriguing genre-melding on display on their latest album A View From Below (APF Records).Continue reading
This experimental Chicago band has been toying with the dark sonic corners for over twenty years. It’s been eleven of those years since we have had a new album from Yakuza, and it is good to dive back into their land of twisted shadows. The focus has shifted to a more deliberate brand of heavy, that places them not far from the sonic zip code of older Mastodon. The differences are fewer guitar pyrotechnics and a much darker trajectory than the Atlanta progsters. Bruce Lamont’s baritone moan carries a hint of anger as the opening track is framed with dissonance.
Thirteen years later this band from Texas continues to evolve their sound. Now six albums into their career, they have not lost their taste for weirdness as their singer is quick to declare that it is “time to say goodbye to normal people “.
Crown Lands claim the crown with this truly fearless album. Which crown? The crown of the New Kings of Progressive Rock. This virtuoso, exciting and engaging Canadian duo – guitarist/bassist/keys player Kevin Comeau and singer/drummer Cody Bowles – have delivered a record that, if you hold any prog in your soul, will leave you smiling from sated ear to sated ear. It’s also a record full of ideas, that will make you think, that fulfills its promise, and is well worth the wait – how many albums can we say that about? As Bowles sings on ‘Context’: “If life is a wheel/ Please let it spin/ And doors that may open/ Please let me in …” You’re in guys, you’re in.
Ghost Cult welcomes in guest contributor, podcaster and Pink Floyd expert Nik Cameron of The Glacially Musical Pouredcast to wax on about Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, which turned 50 years old today (March 1st, 2023).
The Dark Side of the Moon, 50 Years Later
As we sit here, author and reader, what could be arguably called the greatest prog rock album of all time, The Dark Side of the Moon, by Pink Floyd, has aged fifty years. At the time of this writing when I attempt some words about this massive achievement, I am 47 years old.Continue reading
Thunderous. Anticipatory. Windswept. A Bugatti Veyron driving at top speed through the Uyuni Salt Flats. Batman. Witch Ripper’s The Flight After the Fall (Magnetic Eye Records) is all of this and more.
At this point some thirty years into their illustrious career, Enslaved have truly transcended into their own musical entity. Creating a genre in their own image with a highly unique sound that still stays true to their extreme metal roots, but also blends the darkness with the light of progressive rock, and providing two distinct and opposing vocal styles in a way that no other band does.
We chatted late in 2022 with Dan “Chewy” Mongrain of Voivod! The band had a tremendous year in 2022, with a full-length release “Synchro Anarchy” and a new EP “Ultraman” as well. The band also toured with Opeth as well as their own headline dates. We discussed the “Ultraman” project, his love for the series, his first-ever lead vocal performance, his appreciation of Japanese fans, some music he has been digging in 2022 such as Child Bite, and Pat Metheny, and future plans for the band!
Anyone familiar with progressive thrashers Voivod will be fully aware of the Canadian quartet’s leanings towards the surreal and strange world of science fiction, so the Ultraman EP (Century Media Records), a short-form tribute to cult Japanese TV icon Ultraman, should really come as no surprise.