Category Metal
THE MELVINS – TARANTULA HEART
Label: Ipecac Recordings The Melvins are back with more heavy guitar and intense vocals. This album is an interesting journey, with the first track being 19 minutes long. Definitely feels experimental at times- check it out! The band’s bassist Steven McDonald (also of Redd Kross) says, “An album so magical, I helped create it without […]
Sorcerer – DEVOTION
Label: Deliverance Records RIYL: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Electric Wizard, Alice in Chains FCC: 2,4 The Parisian hardcore rookies do not disappoint on their first full-length release. I don’t really have much to compare this to. It has similar vibes to some of the heavier King Gizz releases, but the performances are a […]
Bongripper- Empty
Bongripper– EmptyRelease date: 2024Apr19Label: Self-releasedRating: 4.5/5 If you’ve never heard Bongripper before, you may be tempted to write them off as a joke-y stoner band. You’d be sorely mistaken. All four tracks are full of sludgy riffs set against excellent drum work. Favorite track is Forever as I feel it is the most expansive. Worth […]
Water Damage – In E
The latest from Austin based collective Water Damage, In E is a droning, powerful, tour de force of repetition that will leave you feeling a mesmerizing sense of dread and power. The album feels like the natural outgrowth of Velvet Underground song’s like Venus in Furs or European Son. The tracks are long, the rhymes […]
Malsten- The Haunting of Sivakra Mill-Rites of Passage
Malsten– The Haunting of Silvakra Mill- Rites of PassageRelease date: 2024Mar15Label: Svart RecordsRating: 3.5/5 Malsten hail from Malmo, Sweden with an emphasis on horror. Path of the Nix and Larum are slow and haunted by melody while Terra Inferna has an epic feel. Laurenti Berth is the most expansive track. Not much else to describe […]
Tarot- Glimpse of the Dawn
Tarot– Glimpse of the DawnRelease date: 2024Apr12Label: Cruz del Sur MusicRating: 4/5 Hobart, Tasmania’s Tarot return with their first release since 2016. Glimpse of the Dawn is stripped-down in the best way possible with a Maiden-esque feel. The Winding Road flows with rapid drums with a touch of blues guitar. Leshy’s Warning swaps out the […]
Void Moon- Dreams Inside the Sun
Void Moon– Dreams Inside The SunRelease date: 2024Jun07Label: Personal RecordsRating: 4/5 Sweden’s Void Moon return with their fourth full-length album and first since 2020.Rays of Vindication stomps forth with with amazing vocals. Dreams Inside The Sun plods in a manner reminiscent of Cathedral. The Dreaming Spire unfolds with epic interplay between guitar and bass. The […]
Stygian Crown- Funeral for a King
Stygian Crown – Funeral for a KingRelease date: 2024Feb23Label: Cruz del Sur MusicRating: 4/5 Stygian Crown hail from southern California with a sound influenced by the likes of Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus and Black Sabbath. Funeral for a King plods with thunderous hooks that set the tone. Bushido moves with a lightning-fast drum and bass attack. […]
Livgone-Almost There
Livgone- Almost ThereRelease date: 2024Mar22Label: Svart RecordsRating: 5/5 Livgone is a trio of Elise Aranguren, Emil Svensson and Michal Kielbasa that hail from France. Their sound straddles genres. Walk to Derealization starts of with soft melody. Silverstone unfolds with thunderous plods accentuated by a lilting vocals. Hypoesthesia (numbness) hits close to home with its’ melancholic […]
Bongzilla- Dabbing (Live) Rosin in Europe
Bongzilla– Dabbing (Live) Rosin in EuropeRelease date: 2024Mar15Label: Heavy Psych Sounds RecordsRating: 4/5 Bongzilla recently toured Europe and Dabbing (Live) Rosin in Europe is a compilation of new and old favorites. Since I’ve heard all of these tracks before, I’ll list the ones I feel sound best live. King of Weed takes on a dirty, […]
Acid Mammoth- Supersonic Megafauna Collision
Acid Mammoth– Supersonic Megafauna CollisionRelease date: 2024Mar15Label: Heavy Psych Sounds RecordsRating: 5/5 Acid Mammoth kick so much ass. Supersonic Megafauna Collision builds slowly, thundering forth with a high-pitched whine. Fuzzorgasm (Keep on Screaming) reminds me a lot of older Electric Wizard with an abundance of fuzzy riffs. The vocals add to the bleakness of Garden […]
Devil Moon Risen- Fissures of Man
Devil Moon Risen– Fissures of ManRelease date: 2024Jun06Label: Self releasedRating: 4.5/5 Devil Moon Risen was formed in 2020 and hail from Glendale, AZ. Bad Sketch of a Killer flows with melody. I can only describe Russian Man as killer desert sludge. The Rim opens with silence building into filthy thrash. Conscious Spring is a sonic […]
The Lunar Effect- Sounds of Green & Blue
The Lunar Effect– Sounds of Green & BlueRelease date: 2024Apr21Label: Svart RecordsRating: 5/5 I’ve read praise for The Lunar Effect, who hail from London, UK. Ocean Queen sets the tone with a melodic desert feel. Flowers For Teeth reminds me of Deep Purple, especially toward the end. Colour my World is a soulful burner. I […]
Opium Death – Genocidal Nemesis
Label: Self-Release Release Date: April 19, 2024 Opium Death is a brutal concoction of extreme metal, sent forth from the suburbs of Chicago, USA to lay waste to metalheads around the world with their first full-length album Genocidal Nemesis. The album delivers a lot of variety in terms of tempo dynamics, song structure flow, lyrical […]
Cell Press – Cages
Label: The Ghost is Clear Records Release Date: March 8, 2024 Cell Press is an old school sludge band from Montreal. Cages delivers blistering riffs, gut-wrenching vocals and a few unexpected twists. The record begins with Adult Baptisms, a track that questions mass media and serves warm and fuzzy riffs. Original Uranium Baby is a […]
Mega Colossus- Showdown
Mega Colossus– ShowdownRelease date: 2024Jan26Label: Cruz del Sur MusicRating: 4/5 Mega Colossus hail from North Carolina and Showdown is their fourth full-length album. Fortune and Glory hits the ground running with a melodic thrash beatdown. They manage to Outrun Infinity with epic riffage before they Grab the Sun with a vengeance. Other tracks that caught […]
Backstabber – Patterns of Domination (EP)
Label: Self-Release Release Date: March 15, 2024 Hailing from Rouyn-Noranda in northern Quebec, Canada, Backstabber is a formidable death/thrash band inspired by conspiracies, new technologies, philosophy, and history. Patterns of Domination is a relentless and catchy four-track EP. The musical style and lyrical content will appeal to fans of Hypocrisy. Not a GMR artist! Listen […]
Hatred Reigns – Awaken the Ancients
Label: Self-Release Release Date: December 1, 2023 Hatred Reigns threatens to awaken the ancients with fast, barebones, guttural death metal. The title track unleashes an infernal symphony of brutality and precision. The production is a little bit muddy, but it works here. On To Depths Unknown, the band increases the already fast pace by about 30%. […]
Myrkur – Spine
Label: Relapse Records Release Date: October 20, 2023 Myrkur unfolds the next chapter in her personal mythology of Amalie Bruun, setting a new course for the enigmatic composer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. Marked by the birth of her child, and a means of making sense of the storm of emotions in that wake, Spine, charts a […]
Clouds Taste Satanic- All I Want For Christmas Is Your Soul
Clouds Taste Satanic– All I Want For Christmas Is Your SoulRelease date: 2023Nov24Label: Self-releasedRating: 5/5 It’s not often that I pay attention to holiday music. In fact, I go out of my way to avoid it. However, I came across this gem from Clouds Taste Satanic and just had to make an exception. All I […]
High- Nice To Meet You
High– Nice To Meet YouRelease date: 2023Dec06Label: Self-releasedRating: 4.5/5 High had me at the clever album title. They’re from the UK. Seeds is an epic opener with cathartic drums set to prodding sludge. Lyrics are cannabis-themed. My Socks Don’t Match But I Have to Wear this Uniform (It’s Hard being the President) starts off in […]
Supertzar- Epic Truths & Fantasies
Supertzar- Epic Truths & FantasiesRelease date: 2023Nov18Label: Analog Spleen RecordsRating: 4.5/5 Supertzar hail from France and quite possibly were named after the Black Sabbath track. Styx plods with a epic head-banging drumwork. Tamerlan changes it up with blackened riffs. Other tracks that stand out are Satan is Worshiped Here (sinister and unforgiving), Architects and The […]
Graven Dagger- S/T
Graven Dagger– Graven DaggerRelease date: 2023Oct27Label: Helter Skelter Productions/Regain RecordsRating: 5/5 Graven Dagger is the work of a mysterious individual and comes out of the Argentinian stoner metal scene. Towards Dawn sounds like it could be a theme from an old horror film. Dungeonist sets a psychedelic mood with an uplifting feel. Each song is […]
The Convalescence – Harvesters of Flesh and Bone
Label: Cleopatra Records Release Date: November 3, 2023 The Convalescence blends black metal/horror theatrics with intense death metal style blast beats and shredding guitar along with brutal slamming breakdowns and catchy melodies. Harvesters of Flesh and Bone features 11 tracks of relentless brutality, each song is its own short horror story. On No Survivors, horror […]
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