With a heady mix of animal aggression and technical precision, Ape Machine's music carries an organic depth and warmth rarely heard since the time of rock's glorious early years...
By my count, the Melvins have already officially released 42 covers of other composers, and there are probably another five or more that I am missing. Indeed, their seminal Lysol...
Some records hit you at exactly when you need them to. For this writer, Clutch's 2004 stoner-rock masterpiece Blast Tyrant was one of those records. It caught me in my awkward...
Another year, another new album from Thee Oh Sees. Wasn’t it just yesterday that I reviewed their last LP, the excellent Putrifiers II? Really, not all that much has changed in...
Evening. The explosive new album by Thee Oh Sees is another keeper. This has been a great music week so far. Genre: garage rock. Enjoy! (Oh, and this is recommended listening...
"Heavy Mental" psych rockers Blaak Heat Shujaa will release their sophomore LP The Edge of an Era . The follow up to the Los Angeles trio's critically acclaimed Tee Pee debut EP...
Clouds return to Ramp after a long hiatus in the studio to deliver their USB Islands mini-album. From the orchestral opener "Cannibal Generals," to the tapped auto-tuned euphoria...
One can only speculate what paths Helms Alee will wander during their journey from the cradle to the grave, but based on their birth one can only assume that it will be a long and...
The uber-talented band's enticing blend of genres has been called "a dissonant symphony unveiling visions of great natural expanses" and is unlike anything you've likely heard...
Federale's The Blood Flowed Like Wine , the band's third full release, expands on their efforts to recapture the haunting, violent atmosphere evoked by classic spaghetti western...
With each successive release, the Sword have pulled their music in two seemingly opposing directions: they've become more accessible, but they've also gotten weirder. There's...
Americana/black metal hybrid Horseback has been having a banner year thanks to the On the Eclipse 7" and Half Blood. They also dropped a split with their dark buddies Locrian a...
Hey. Anyone up for some dynamic psych/sludge/stoner rock? If yes, please check out the very recently added new album by Indian Handcrafts and enjoy! (One review here.) Indian...
Howdy. It’s a new week and while the number of notable new releases are decreasing it’s not yet time for the 2012 Mega Project. Anyway, the explosive new album by Graveyard was...
Before there was metal, there was the blues. Metal's original trinity-- Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple-- all started in Britain's blues scene, and those roots are...
ReviewsBusiness is largely as usual...AlbumBo NingenLine The WallAlbum ReviewIssue 79
Intermittently thrilling stuff, but the NME Album Of The Year Award will have to wait
As any aspiring guitar hero will attest, few are the pleasures as satisfying as a cranked up amp combined with an endless array of pedals waiting to be activated by a nimble right...
Hi. The reviews for this one have been quite good so far. From a very recent Spotify update: the new album by Thee Oh Sees. Genre: psychedelic rock. Enjoy! Thee Oh Sees...
Those musicians who write prolifically face the prospect of flooding their carefully carved niches with feckless underwritten, or overwritten filler. In almost all avenues of rock...
Among garage rock's best proponents, Thee Oh Sees imbue their music with a visceral energy perfectly harnessed by the lo-fi production techniques they employ.
I’m glad Torche exists. I’m glad they write sludge pop metal tunes. I’m glad they can so effortlessly toss off songs. But mostly, I’m just glad they exist. Founded from the ashes...
Almost too perfectly styled 70s psych-metal from a Berlin trio that cheated on Led Zeppelin with Pentagram.
Evening. This dynamic album by Kadavar was added to Spotify last month. Genre: psychedelic rock. Enjoy! (US version here) Kadavar – Kadavar Filed under: 2012, Rock
Shit-kicking SoCal pool-skaters bridge Blacks Flag and Sabbath via Cro-Mag hooks and high energy sludge.
Plenty of bands namecheck Black Flag as an influence, but the Shrine are one of the few to see that worship pay off directly. Chuck Dukowski himself has produced songs by the band...
Critically admired and fan celebrated San Francisco psychedelic power rockers Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound delivers a one-two punch of psychedelic power choogle and lunar...
There are a lot of different criteria to take into account when assessing an album’s success: Artistic merit and intent, originality, its place among its contemporaries and so on...
To the uninitiated, Burning Love is a group from Toronto with a chip on their shoulder and electric blood in their veins; their output a desperate, venomous and informed rock n...
NWOBHM, thrash riffs and Valhalla references aside, studly vocals are what make this trio’s fantasy a reality.
First, a Melvins primer: Traditionally, the Melvins have been a three-piece with Buzz Osborne on guitar, Dale Crover on drums and a seemingly revolving cast on bass. However, in...
For an outfit approaching its three-decade mark, the Melvins surely don't slow down or straighten up. To wit, next month they'll launch a 51-day, 50-state-and-D.C. American run...
On this stunning breakthrough, screaming female Mlny Parsonz commands a bluesy mix of Led Zep and Sleater-Kinney.
It's damn near impossible to escape the endless hackneyed tropes about moonshine and Dixie for any Southern band that dares to so much as hint at the blues or that lapses into...
Three stoned kids walk into an expensive studio with the idea of recording one song that lasts for an hour and opens with the line, "Drop out of life with bong in hand." During...
Frostbitten Scandinavian black metal and rustic U.S. roots music harmonize on Horseback's second proper LP to create a sweeping mix of ugliness and beauty. It's post-rock at its...
There are some band comparisons that just never work for me. No one is ever is as good as Jawbreaker, no one ever approaches Bruce Springsteen’s grandeur. What people really mean...
Morning. From a very recent Spotify update comes the slick debut album by Swedish stoner rock band Dödaren. Good stuff. Enjoy! Dödaren – Maen Filed under: 2012, Rock
Considering how often the band rotates members, you’d think the band name 16 was in reference to line-up changes. Regardless of the constant shifting, though, 16 has remained a...
The Miami sludge-pop band's third album feels like an attempt to make a break with the past, but they might not be able to, at least not yet.
Something of an anomaly in the metal world, Torche return with a new line-up and third album Harmonicraft – their most commercial output to date without forgoing the metallic...
Something of an anomaly in the metal world, Torche return with a new line-up and third album Harmonicraft – their most commercial output to date without forgoing the metallic...
On this third LP, Torche have found the great songs to match their extraordinary sound.
Hello friends. From a very recent Spotify update comes the new album by Torche. Genre: stoner metal. Read this review and enjoy! Torche – Harmonicraft Filed under: 2012, Metal
On record, Songs For Singles was the finest Torche release to date. It found the band focusing its sludge metal drones into something a little more radio-friendly, hence the title...
Hello there. From a very recent Spotify update comes the new album by Danish band Baby Woodrose. Genre: psychedelic rock. Enjoy! Baby Woodrose – Third Eye Surgery Filed under...