Category: Album Reviews

Jamestown Pagans is quite a unique band with the form of music they create, the band introducing their particular brand of music with their debut album Grimoire Vol. I. This electric duo features the talents of drummer Megan Mullins, of High Priestess, alongside Christopher Hurt (vocals, organ, mellotron). Both come together to craft a powerfully resonate and gripping musical landscape reminiscent of classic horror. The music within this uniquely tempered debut falls into the same musical spectrum you’d recognize from bands such as Ghost. Continue reading “Album Review: Jamestown Pagans – Grimoire Vol I”

Jesus Christ, what a wild album. The young band Mountain Tamer has personality up the yin-yang; the psychedelic three-piece moves and grooves with a freaky fresh grunge-doom that establishes one of the freshest and more dynamic musical personalities within the up-and-coming music scene. The album ‘Godfortune Dark Matters’ displays a spectrum of songwriting talent that captures some of the best tonalities from the ’90s grunge scene and the modern stoner metal/rock movement. Continue reading “Album Review: Mountain Tamer – Godfortune Dark Matters”

Candlemass is back in a big way with their EP House of Doom, an EP that features some good old Candlemass complete with a fresh shine for 2018. The EP features four songs that stretches 20 minutes; it’s a short but incredibly sweet experience. Continue reading “Review: Candlemass – House of Doom (EP)”

From a music lover’s perspective, the biggest irony of the world we live in is perhaps the fact that even though new music is technologically easier to discover and access than it has ever been, there is such little effort and desire on the part of the masses to actually do so, it is mind-boggling and often depressing. Many people are simply content staying loyal to the music they’ve listened to thousands of times over, others are hellbent on the notion that there is “no good new music out there”, and the elite ones are always ultra-critical of any and all new music, dismissing it as “unoriginal”. Contrary to popular belief, there is a plethora of incredible, unparalleled, original musical talent out and about, talent that even the golden generations of yesteryear could not match. St. Louis, Missouri based band The Lion’s Daughter is quite possibly one of the best-kept secrets in heavy music for the past 10 years, and most likely not by design. The blackened sludge metal group has released their third full-length album today, and it is about time we did our part in uncovering this secret, as this is the best thing you’d have heard from a metal band this year. Continue reading “Album Review: The Lion’s Daughter – Future Cult”

Great Electric Quest, the young band out of Southern California, may very well be one of the hottest bands around the current scene. With the release of their highly anticipated 2nd LP, titled ‘Chapter II’, the band continues to strengthen the unstoppable trajectory they’ve set for themselves as one of the leading rock bands in this modern musical landscape. Continue reading “Album Review: Great Electric Quest – Chapter II”

The Rare Breed are one of those rare spectacles whose natural sound is deeply grooved in a classic formula that still rings strong with an identity of their own. The Rare Breed released a self-titled EP in 2015 and a follow up single in 2016 before being picked up by Ripple Music for the release of their full-length debut, ‘Looking for Today’. Performing as a three-piece, The Rare Breed channels their own groovy take on the Black Sabbath/stoner rock influences the music is derived from; the mix of their own original panache and the tried and true stoner rock values come together to create one of the hottest debut albums to come from an LA band. Continue reading “Album Review: The Rare Breed – Looking For Today”

It would not be an exaggeration to state that Portland, Oregon based Witch Mountain are stalwarts of doom metal in the 21st century. Since their 1997 inception, through immaculate studio releases and stunning live performances, this band has gone on to become a much loved entity among fans of the genre. In 2014, Witch Mountain underwent a major lineup change, with vocalist Uta Plotkin amicably departing the group. Most fans could not even have imagined a Witch Mountain without Plotkin at the forefront, such was her magical impact on everyone who listened to the albums and witnessed the band perform live. But, drummer Nathan Carson and guitarist Rob Wrong were always the creative core of this group from the time they co-founded it, and they had no intention of letting fans of the band and genre down. Just when you thought Witch Mountain’s career was possibly over, that they could not live up to their own reputation, enter Kayla Dixon. The band continued playing shows with the new frontwoman, and she captivated audiences with her unparalleled exhibits as a performer and singer. A studio album with Dixon on vocals has been an eagerly awaited one, and the time has finally come. Witch Mountain’s fifth full-length, a self-titled effort, is ready for release. Continue reading “Album Review: Witch Mountain – Self-Titled”

Swedish melodic death metal pioneers At The Gates formed in 1990 and have gone through periods of inactivity, but even during their dormant phase, theirs was a name always talked about and thrown around whenever it came to any discussion about extreme metal, Gothenburg metal in particular. It came to a point where fans were simply resigned to the possibility of the band never returning. But they did so in 2011 and started playing shows again. Even then, a new album seemed highly unlikely. Then came ‘At War With Reality’ in 2014, and smashed all doubts and apprehensions to bits. Their first album since ‘Slaughter of the Soul’ (1995), the 2014 release ignited a spark not only among At The Gates fans worldwide, but in the genre as a whole. A rejuvenated At The Gates breathing fire and trampling stages like an unstoppable force is just what the metal world needed. Was it going to be a one-off, or did the band have it in them to keep the momentum intact and create another album? It’s 2018, and the answer is a resounding Yes, as the sixth At the Gates full-length, ‘To Drink From The Night Itself’, is upon us. Continue reading “Album Review: At The Gates – To Drink From The Night Itself”

Where do I even start with this record? ‘Stranger Fruit’ is the follow-up to the debut record ‘Devil is Fine’ by Manuel Gagneux, working as Zeal & Ardor. This is a heavy concept album, not just in thematics, but in spiritual affectations and emotional ingenuity. Continue reading “Album Review: Zeal and Ardor – Stranger Fruit”

Up until 2010, Norwegian symphonic black metal stalwarts Dimmu Borgir were quite prolific in their studio output, having released nine full-length albums within a span of 15 years. Since then, they have attempted to create and complete material for the next album, but due to the band members’ personal lives as well as other factors, things kept getting delayed and pushed back. 8 years later, the tenth Dimmu Borgir studio album ‘Eonian’ has finally been released. In the metal world, there have been many such instances of bands releasing a new album after a long gap. In some cases it’s turned out to be worth the wait, in other cases it hasn’t. Unfortunately, when it comes to Dimmu Borgir’s ‘Eonian’, it’s the latter. Continue reading “Album Review: Dimmu Borgir – Eonian”