Regular readers will be fully aware of the high level of praise thrown Holy Roar’s way throughout 2018 so far, and with good reason, because their roster continues to produce some of this year’s most exciting, aggressive, and forward-thinking music. So when it was announced that the label would be helping Secret Cutter get their second record, Quantum Eraser, to the UK faithful you could almost hear the sound of this little island’s collective jaw hitting the floor.Continue reading
Depending on where you mark the stages evolution of Lamb of God, it has been twenty years since they effectively began the concentrated march towards the Metal behemoth we know and love today. Most of you will know they were originally monikered Burn The Priest, and released an eponymous album in 1999 before revamping themselves as LoG around the time of the appointment of Willie Adler on guitar for 2000’s New American Gospel (Prosthetic) – the band’s only line-up change in their history.Continue reading
Never has there been a more apt title for a record than the new one from Hermosa Beach’s Pennywise, who have now been around for the better part of three decades. Never Gonna Die (Epitaph) is the bands attempt to right some of the wrongs they made on 2008’s Reason To Believe (MySpace), which for many die-hard fans was a real low point.Continue reading
Thirty-five years, and now fourteen albums, of railing against the establishment and providing regular, biting social commentary and Spear of Destiny mainstay Kirk Brandon could have been forgiven for dialling it down on Tontine, a fan-funded album released on Brandon’s own Eastersnow imprint, and just appeasing the masses with re-recordings, or watered down versions, of hits of yesteryear. Instead, the lack of giving a fuck that comes with such longevity and belligerence of vision fuels an interesting and diversely poetic selection of tracks. Continue reading
To refer to Ilsa’s latest, Corpse Fortress (Relapse), as just Doom Metal seems a bit reductive. Yes, Doom is the foundation on which the monolith tracks of Ilsa are built on, and that is fiercely on display on ‘Drums of the Dark Gods’ and ‘Hikikomari.’ But careful attention reveals that there are undercurrents of Black, Thrash and even Punk fortifying the stock.Continue reading
This eponymous début album from Watford’s Funeral Shakes (Silent Cult) is the sort of record that could be part of rebuilding your faith that your favourite rock’n’roll band can still be the last gang in town. Comprising members and former members of Nervus, the sadly departed The Smoking Hearts and Gallows, the band’s underground credentials are pretty impeccable. This collection of twelve songs (well, eleven songs and an instrumental number) is a pared back, attitude-heavy collection of swagger-laden tunes revealing a (not unexpected) love of UK Punk, hardcore, and melody.Continue reading
In previous incarnations of these end of year pieces, whether hosted by the good ship Ghost Cult, or wherever, I’ve indulged myself by launching into a kind of state of the world address at the outset. You’ll be pleased to know that, in the main, I’m going to spare you such an ordeal and just get down to the business of Heavy Metal brilliance. Why, you cry? Because, listening-to-music-wise (and in general), I’m in the best health I’ve been in for a good twenty years, I’m back in my zone of loving what I love… oh, and there’s a lot of damn good metulz to get through! So, here be my snapshot in time at my thoughts on 2017… (note, “favourite”, not “best”)Continue reading
Continuing our round-up of the very, VERY best albums of 2017, we pick things up where Part 1 left off… So, without further ado, immerse yourself in our recommendations of our favourite and the absolute best albums of the year, as we bring you Part 2 (25 – 2) of the official Ghost Cult Album of the Year (2017) countdown:Continue reading
As the dust begins to settle on what will undoubtedly go down in a history as a fine year for heavy and progressive music, the Ghost Cult crew present our favourite albums of 2017. While a year with only a couple of genuine life-changing, genre redefiners, nevertheless 2017 has seen an absolute plethora of very, very high quality releases. With over 400 albums reviewed this year, at an average of 7.5/10, there was a deep pool of quality releases selected and dissected throughout the year. A genuinely democratic inner sanctum here, we now present Part 1 of an official Ghost Cult Album of the Year (2017) run down that s truly representative of Ghost Cult, our writers, and our musical position as a site. Please share your thoughts and comments on the music we collectively love, as we countdown from 50 through to 26…Continue reading
The Ghost Cult album roundup is back in town, for your vulgar delectation, though we’re taking a different approach this week and grouping together some of the less-“heavy” releases that are polluting our ears; it’s a walk on the lighter side of the Ghost Cult coin…
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