Rome trio Fvzz Popvli indulge in the somewhat metallic trend of using the letter v as a u, but given their Latin heritage, it’s relatively acceptable. Their music is an enjoyable romp through heavy, hostile Psychedelic haze, and second album Magna Fvzz (Heavy Psych Sounds) offers up black comedy, snarling attitudes and sinister twists in equal measure.Continue reading
Finnish Prog Rock merchants Superfjord have the kind of name that should cement immediate status as cult legends. Somewhat marvelously, they also sound as if the last forty-five years have never happened. The powerful resonance of the music they produce has, incredibly, seen the band embraced by BBC Music, and second album All Will Be Golden (Svart) could leave the average rocker wondering if this is finally an avenue into awards that have previously excluded our genres.Continue reading
Norwegian trippy harbingers Saint Karloff gave us a taste of things to come when they released initial single ‘Ghost Smoker’, and it’s this mammoth track that opens up debut album All Heed the Black God (Twin Earth/ Hellas), dripping diseased Doom through the ears with the groove and pace of Rock ‘n’ Roll and the banging heaviness of Occult mystery. The rhythms ooze power, and whilst some gorgeous lead guitar and vocal harmonies occasionally lighten the air, the time switches add electricity.Continue reading
When you release a fourteen-song follow-up to an album you released barely six months previously you’re either 1) beyond prolific, or 2) blessed with too much time on your hands. When the music involved possesses the quirkiness and diversity of German quintet Black Space Riders, it becomes an even more staggering achievement.Continue reading
Italian stoner quartet Black Elephant don’t usually plough that expected furrow, instead burning with a desire that evokes a rock club night rather than the chilled vibe of the desert. Sophomore album Cosmic Blues (Small Stone), however, sets off down a spacier path, with opener ‘Cosmic Soul’ full of psychedelic swirls and wonderful lead histrionics, all underpinned by a riff reeking of engine oil. A thundering rhythm section creates a blues-boogie coda, which leads nicely into the dirty groove of ‘Helter Skelter’: Caravelli Alessio’s whiskey-soaked throat oscillating around a sultry riff which does things it shouldn’t to the ears, a sleazy solo finishing off the ecstasy.Continue reading
If you want prolific, look no further than Polish psych fiends Spaceslug. This is their third album in four years, all graced by the greatest sleeve covers since Coheed & Cambria found the Milky Way and a monstrous roar that never gets tired.Continue reading
1968: the year following the Summer of Love, and the year before I was born. It’s 50 years ago now of course, and the Cheshire quartet bearing that year as its name is steeped in the Proto sound of that era. Having relentlessly gigged and released two EPs since their 2013 inception, Ballads of the Godless (HeviSike) is the band’s first foray into long-playing territory.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
Fans of The Elder Scrolls will have some idea where Morag Tong are coming from. The Sludgy, spacey promise shown on the London quartet’s 2016 demo has been enhanced on debut album Last Knell Of Om (self-released), with an added depth and maturity emboldening a sound which is in turns throbbing and melancholic, yet full of trippy Psychedelia. Instrumental opener ‘Transmission’ is bossed by an indolent, morose bassline and swirling oscillations, while lead guitars fizz and howl melodiously over the body. The last knell of Om indeed…Continue reading
Serious praise has been heaped on LA trio High Priestess and judging by the majesty of this self-titled debut album (Ripple), much more is coming. As the name implies, the band peddles a mystical, dark yet melodious slow crush, but there’s a joyous inventiveness here that sets it apart from its peers.Continue reading