Having already dropped a handful of short-form studio releases, Massachusetts Progressive Death Metal act Ancient Death finally unleash Ego Dissolution (Profound Lore Records), their full-length debut album. Having already built up a well-deserved reputation in just a few short years, the four-piece from Walpole throw their psychedelic hat into a ring occupied by such luminaries as Gorguts and current darlings of the scene Blood Incantation.Continue reading
Since the late seventies, Annie Bandez (known as Little Annie) has carved out a singular path as a singer, painter, and performance artist. Over the years she has collaborated with many luminaries of the Alternative music scene. With (Cold Spring) is a compilation that brings together many of Annie’s key collaborations on one record for the first time.Continue reading
Timeless Stoner Rock giants Lo-Pan are at it again with their brand-new cut Get Well Soon on Magnetic Eye Records. Continue reading
In 2024, Electric Wizard returns with their first album in seven years, Black Magic Rituals and Perversions, Vol. 1 (Spinefarm Records), a live album. Returning with a live album is one thing but this isn’t your ordinary live album. Usually, when one thinks of live albums, you may think of hearing bombastic stage sounds and roaring crowds, but Electric Wizard chose to record to an audience of each other and to the fans with the idea that people would get to hear what a band, trapped in isolation with the thought of possibly never playing again. The result of this album is a crushing presentation of songs that are even more raw, angry, and fist-clenching than before. Continue reading
Sweden truly is a melting pot for all sorts of high-octane Stoner Metal acts – Monolord, Graveyard, Hällas, Greenleaf, Void Commander; you name it. It is almost like the ideal home for acid trip-inducing slow-paced riffs. Even back in 2021, the label/collective Weedian curated a compilation album consisting of the finest psychedelic haze-laden Stoner Metal bands hailing from Sweden, entitled Trip to Sweden. One of the bands featured on the gnarly lineup of that compilation, the Västerås-bound 10,000 Years, are actually the one whose latest release I’m reviewing today.Continue reading
Veilburner (the mysterious, otherworldly duo of Mephisto Deleterio and Chrisom Infernium, are never shy of tying lore and mythology into their releases. Seven albums, seven tracks, and each of them seven minutes long. On The Duality of Decapitation and Wisdom (Transcending Obscurity Records) the pair pick up where they left off (both musically and conceptually) with 2022’s almost-eponymous VLBRNR. Continue reading
Hailing from France the Dirty Shades upholds the country’s legacy of birthing powerful atmospheric rock. Their new album Stuck in Motion (Modulor Music) offers a post-Hardcore punch to the dynamics as their sound swirls around you. They step on the gas at a few points in the opening track “Cannon Fodder” to keep the dynamics varied. Lead singer Anouk Degrande is backed by shouted accents where she allows her voice to wander off the swells of the guitar. The bass line anchors the second track “Mine,” as the ambiance thickens to a palm-muted groove buried in the layers. They build the song up into a heavier punch not unlike how Tool once commanded dynamics during the nineties. Continue reading
Poland‘s Sunnata emerges from the cloud of smoke that shrouded the band on their last album to jam out their brand of grunge-out psychedelia. Continue reading
Brooklyn’s exceptional Doom Metal and post-Rock band Guhts dropped their new album Regeneration, earlier this year via New Heavy Sounds/Seeing Red Records! They have teamed up with Ghost Cult today to share their new music video for the song “Generate!” The band also recently announced a run of spring tour dates and Muddy Rivers Madness III Festival taking place in just a few weeks. Stay tuned to Ghost Cult for more coverage of Guhts and watch the video now!Continue reading
Singer-songwriter Ora Cogan, based in Vancouver Island, has been creating and releasing “cinematic compositions” since 2007. Her ninth album, Formless (Prism Tongue Records), presents a “bizarre sonic Venn diagram” of influences including gothic country, psychedelia, post-punk and more, according to the accompanying press release.