When you talk about dream touring packages, very few co-headliners feel like such a glorious match as Corrosion of Conformity and Orange Goblin – the best of the US “Stoner Rock” and the UK’s finest down-and-dirty bluesy Heavy Metal troupe, tearing it up round the UK with Fireball Ministry and Black Moth in tow to warm things up. Continue reading
I don’t know how Matt Pike does it. Six months since Sleep dropped The Sciences (which is still ace and you should totally buy if you haven’t already) seemingly out of nowhere, the man who has forgotten more brilliant riffs than most of us will ever know has effortlessly created another world-beater. I admit that might be a case of me showing my hand a bit too soon – saying a High On Fire record is great is about as predictable as the sun rising in the morning, but both are positive reminders that good things are always on the horizon.Continue reading
Sometimes you don’t know you miss a band until you remember they’ve been gone. For California’s Light This City, it’s been over eight years since they broke up. Then they put out a new album in Terminal Bloom (Creator- Destructor) and it sounds like they never left. Plus the production is a killer. It sounds clean and gritty at the same time. Zach Ohren has once again produced a melodic thrash and death metal masterpiece.
House of the Tiger King (Self-Released) is a record that very much wears its influences on its sleeve. Born out of Leeds’ underground DIY scene, the members of Nomasta have put in the legwork over the past 10+ years, with vocalist/guitarist Owen Wilson and drummer Andy Richards previously being a part of the very much missed Canaya as just one of many examples. Channelling the psychedelic spirits of the likes of Mastodon, Baroness, and a huge helping of High On Fire, the UK’s new favourite sludge-mongers Nomasta have put their name to an energetic, riff-heavy, and crudely produced record that has more complexity than you would initially assume on first listen.Continue reading
Once in a while, the art that society needs to help it pull through collective dark times comes along right at the precise time. In another life, that album would have been a new album from a reunited Rage Against The Machine, the legendary rap-rock band. However, what we’ve got instead is the début full-length album from Prophets of Rage, the supergroup with members of Rage, Public Enemy, and Cypress Hill added in for good measure. After an EP and a slew of singles telegraphing the powder keg of potential greatness to come had dropped, the full meal real deal thing is here. Forget about the quarter of the album already released, and the hype train pulling into the station. Prophets of Rage, may not save the world, but they coming out swinging, making damn sure they will try.Continue reading
Brooklyn’s Blackout is the type of band that likes to lay it on real thick. And that’s not to be mistaken with exaggeration; if Blackout excels at one thing on The Horse (RidingEasy) it’s putting down some of meatiest riffs committed to tape. Pretty impressive for a band that hails from a borough that’s become synonymous with food trucks, overpriced coffee and just being straight up soft.Continue reading
Greetings From… (Universal) is the latest live offering from The Sword. Greetings From… tries to capture the swank and swagger from The Sword’s live show and condense it into album form. It’s a combined hit and a miss. Some parts translate beautifully, while others, not so much. Let’s examine Greeting From… shall we.Continue reading
It could be argued that Deathcore as a genre has become stagnant with bands happy to stay the course whilst offering nothing more than small changes in sound, almost unable or not willing to push themselves. However along come Martyr Defiled from Lincoln, UK, who have torn Deathcore a new arsehole with their second album Young Gods (self-released).Continue reading
On March 25th Machine Head’s impeccable second album The More Things Change… (Roadrunner) turned 20 years old. Released at a time when thrash was struggling, and hardcore metal bands were mostly in a time of transition, they dropped this bombshell of heaviness and rage that cemented their legacy as one of the leaders of American Metal that they hold to this day.Continue reading
The new Metallica album is out, and YouTuber Paschalis Theotokis has decided to take on Hardwired… to Self-Destruct in his own brilliant way. Continue reading