Elusive Illumination...

Fell Harvest - Pale Light in a Dying World (2021)

Following up on their self-titled EP from last year, the power trio of Fell Harvest have made their return with a solid forty minutes of forceful doom metal. Peppering in a little bit of spoken word samples here and there, the main focus remains firmly on the strength of the instruments' impact, moods that lean more towards rage than sorrow, and pressing ever onwards.

With “Titanicide”, the opening track, the band sets a powerful first foot forward. Pounding percussion, strident vocals, and insistent strings come together in punchy chords and hooky riff arrangements. Some sharp guitar work gives those hooks all the more ability to lodge in the back of your brain, and the speed with which the band rams through their ideas makes the four-minutes-and-change practically zoom past. As the title track follows up on that initial salvo, expanding into an eight-minute rambler, the band finds more room for slow melodic focus. It should be noted that, in spite of the song names, there's fairly few moments of sorrowful calm to be found in the album; funeral doom, this is not. But the times when it does arrive (as with the extended bridge in the title track) are well-used, making the inevitable returns to thunderous pummeling feel more impactful.

Thankfully, the interplay of the band members is reliably interesting and inventive, shifting focus around the trio's talents to strong effect, and keeping the songs feeling that much more vitalized as a result. In particular, when they unite around a main driving riff, things really kick into gear (see “The Lark at Morning” for a strong example). Similarly, when they give attention to grinding down a particular rhythm (as in “Thy Barren Fields”), the results are some of the album's heaviest. All in all, it's a very strong album from the band, and one with enough twists in the compositions to reward return visits. Here's hoping that their next album finds a little more time to spend in the melodics and sorrow, though.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Candlemass, The Fateful Hour, Heavydeath, Opeth, Pilgrim

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Fell Harvest - Thy Barren Fields (320 kbps)

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Stellar Travel Report...

SpaceMetal - Highness (2021)

It's been a while since we last heard from the NOLA-based group of SpaceMetal; their last LP, Shroud, dropped back in 2018, and it's been fairly quiet on their digital front since then. Now, thankfully, the group has returned with another batch of songs, this time in honestly-titled EP form, to reassure the world that their heaviness is alive and well.

First of the EP's four tracks is “Stare”, an eight-minute cruiser which plays around with acoustic guitar and spoken-word vocals for an intro before diving into the deep bass and big-body riffs which make up its majority. With a wizard standing at the center of the lyrics, the band keeps a friendly vibe going through the crunch of the tunes, and the strong flow makes the eight minutes fly by. “Cry” follows, working a twistier main riff loaded with earworm hooks. Playing with rhythm change-ups and brandishing big guitar chords, the band manages to make this song feel just as full (if not more so) as the eight-minute track, despite running three minutes shorter.

The title track opens up the EP's second half, ratcheting up the psychedelic traces with some echoing vocal effects and more sedate guitar work. The drums get to come out a bit more in this one, flexing on the cymbal emphasis and experimenting with the fills mid-measure. Lastly, “The Seed” holds on to the psych touches while bringing back the acoustic guitar from the very start of the EP, providing a nice cohering element while wrapping things up. All in all, while it runs just under half an hour, there's enough depth to the songs to let listeners dive right down while it plays, and come out feeling not just that their time and attention was well-spent, but that there's more to be heard next time they spin it. Grab it for yourself once it releases June 26th, or just head over to the BandCamp now to stream it ahead of time.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Attalla, Dead Hand, Tar Pit, Wizard Cult, Wizard Smoke

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SpaceMetal - Cry (320 kbps)

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Weighing In Together...

Bongzilla / Tons - Doom Sessions Vol. 4 (2021)

Continuing a steady pace for their split albums in this series, this is the second Doom Sessions release from Heavy Psych Sounds this year. Bringing together the long-running Bongzilla with the Italian group Tons, this installment

The elder of the two bands gets the A-side, and Bongzilla leads with “Mother Flowers Little Helper”, and despite seeming a bit word salad, it makes a big impression. Plugging along on a main riff that does enough work for a stretch of nine and a half minutes, spiced with groaning vocals, hard beats, and a fair amount of high-hat clanging, the tune is a heaping helping of opener to get listeners in the stoner doom mood. “Cosmic Distillate, Nectar Collector” follows, picking up the pace (relatively speaking) with a hooky pull from guitarist Jeff Schultz. Some chuggy breakdown adds to the fun, gaining enough momentum to build a slow-swinging rhythm up and into the exit. “Cupcake” (I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's an ode to an edible) takes a similar tack, but brings in more feedback, spiking things up as the sludge gets consumptive, eventually crawling the tempo down to a seething end.

Tons' side is a single track split into three parts: “Chronic Morning Obesity”. As dismally heavy-sounding as the title suggests, the quartet gets down to semi-psychedelic sludginess, raw vocals and crunching chords complemented by the concessions to harmony which perk up the music. Highly in tune with the style of Bongzilla's contributions, the band thunders along in swampy style, crashing and crushing. A low-mixed sample of someone rambling through a list of all the food they want to cure their munchie cravings shows up in the last slice, making for an entertaining shaping of the mostly-instrumental grooves.

Both sides fit together extremely well, so if you've been in the mood for some fresh and dirty stoner doom, all splashed up with sludgy tendencies, then this double serving is right up your alley. The split officially releases April 23rd, but pre-sales are already up, and going fast, with an assortment of colorways for the vinyl. Cheers to HPS for another winner.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Bomg, Cavity, Dead Existence, Dopethrone, Wizard Smoke

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Tons - Chronic Morning Obesity, Part 1 (320 kbps)

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Burnt By Starlight...

Gods of Space - Against the Falling Sky (2021)

Delivering their latest in a string of releases stemming back to 2014, the Pennsylvania-based trio of Gods of Space provide a concisely cosmic trip this time around. Packing five tracks and coming in a few minutes shy of half an hour, the band makes great use of their time, pushing ideas in a range of directions while keeping the hard psych flavors flowing continuously.

First of the tracks on the EP is “Against All Odds”, a soaring ignition piece with some hard bass-line riffs cranking it along. The gritty timbre of the strings contrasts nicely with the clear tones of the vocals, while the drummer's change-ups in intensity add a further layer of action. Pop in some tasty (though brief) guitar soloing, and it's a solid groover, not to mention an enjoyable wake-up tune if you play it early in your day. “Exit Point” follows, shifting to a darker tone; fitting with the EP's concept, this is presumably the point at which our intrepid crew of astronauts hits the point of no return, and the deep, quick-moving riffs fit the mood wonderfully.

“Falling Sky” picks up at the mid-point, employing a bit of retro stoner rock foundation before amping it up and skewing into full-blown '60s psych touchpoints. It's one of the easier tracks to let your mind glide along with, thanks to an extended breakdown section that really evokes the ship reaching its peak, and then beginning to collapse. “Sub Orbital” follows that up nicely with strains of melancholic melody contrasted against harder, engine-like chug riffs. The flow is good, the concept flavors are on-point, and the music is reliably solid.

Lastly, there's “Surf”, the EP's longest track, which opens on a stripped-down arrangement using string hammering for a chilly, desolate vibe. As it sprawls out into livelier tones, the band shows their facility with delicate arrangements, while the drummer keeps a reminder of the doom in store for the cosmonauts evident in his brooding beats. A fiery crescendo into an unwinding finish provides the perfect cap on the experience, and making for a truly impressive release from Gods of Space. The official release date is April 20th, so if you didn't already have that date circled on your calendar, go ahead and make a note to grab a copy of this that day. I promise you, it will not disappoint.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Acid Elephant, Demonauta, Frozen Planet....1969, Giant Gutter From Outer Space, Tuber

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Gods of Space - Exit Point (320 kbps)

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Skimming The Top...

Dope Skum - Tanasi (2021)

Rising up from Chattanooga, Tennessee, this two-piece group works a guitar-and-drums approach to sludge (with a few choice booms of bass), letting the punkier side of the style's roots show through in the leanness. Tanasi (try saying it out loud, with a bit of twang) is their first EP, following up on the advance single of “Feast of Snakes”, which is also the first track on the EP.

In said song, the duo work a grinding groove, with gritty production and dirty vocals keeping things grounded. The vocals and instruments twine together well around the main riff, which has a big enough hook to leave it stuck in your head for days. After that, “Anxiety” takes over, creeping along on a snaking rhythm, and letting it build up a while before adding in the vocals. It's one of the spacier tracks of the EP, but with relatively little feedback drenching it, making for an interesting dynamic.

“Chickamauga” takes center space in the track line-up, the title giving another nod to the group's locale. With this track, the band slips further into the moody instrumental groove, keeping enough uneasiness baked in to keep listeners on their toes. Some big drum boosting towards the end, along with plenty of cymbal-riding, makes this more of a showpiece for the drummer, though the guitar strains are a solid touch. “The Levee” picks up from there, and despite a quick run-time, it sets up a fun give-and-take roll on the rhythms, with a big and chunky culmination.

Lastly, “Mountain Cur” picks up the pace for an aggressive finish, gnarling through more feedback than the rest of the EP, though it comes to an abrupt stop. It still makes for a fun first effort from the group, with enough energy and exploration to entice further listening. Give it a go if you're looking for some sludge without all the studio polish most of it seems to get these days.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Clutch, Dopethrone, EyeHateGod, Iron Monkey, Weedeater

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Dope Skum - Feast of Snakes (320 kbps)

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Outrunning The Imminent...

Cortége - Chasing Daylight (2021)

Having been around for about half a decade, the Austin-based duo of Cortége have put out a good half-dozen releases. With the sci-fi flavor of their presentation, and the doomed Western vibe to the music, it's tempting to compare them to the KC-based Merlin, of Christ Killer fame. But with this new two-track EP, coming together at just over a quarter of an hour, the band clearly shows their own distinctively Texas-sun-scorched character, with morbidity and melancholy never entirely deprived of stylish swagger.

Starting off with some tone-setting engine cranking and radio-tuning (including reports of a Texas-sized meteor), Cortége then slam into a huge and moody funeral stomp, shift gears into a dirge-like gloom, and rumbles on from there. Despite the rowdiness of the opening, a considerable part of the song is focused on drifting tones and slow riff grooving, simply relishing the details of the instrumental swamp they're exploring. It's like a mix of the classic Italian film music for low-budget but high-ambition flicks in the western and horror genres, fused around dramatic and goosebump-raising foci.

The break into the second half squeals through on rough tires, but carries listeners smoothly into deeper and darker audio territory, somehow almost somber in its bar-twang guitar and boot-step percussion. As much as it tends to hang onto one riff for a while, the musicians coax an amazing amount of nuanced characterization from the wide-spaced clangs and chords. It helps that they're willing to experiment with instruments, bringing keyboards and bells to prominence alongside the usual doom metal bass/drums/guitar. All together, it's a very impressive EP, and a concise, compelling argument for the band's skills across an open range. If you haven't checked the band out before, this makes for an excellent intro; and if you have, it's a welcome reminder of just how damn good they are.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Broughton's Rules, Farflung, Frozen Planet....1969, Strato's, Tumbleweed Dealer

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Blunt-Tip Force...

Space Weed - Sorry We're Stoned (2021)

Hailing from the metal-storied region of Florida, this group's debut demo runs quick but effectively, with three tracks coming together at a little under a quarter-hour of music; given their proud theming, and the title of the last track, a quarter seems just right. With a title and cover art suggesting that they're fond followers of record label The Company, and their respective stable of artists, the demo cranks up to a ripping start with “Muskrat”, a track which practically throbs with bass reverb over the percussion. Their Bandcamp citing of Melvins, Electric Wizard, EHG, and Weedeater as influences feels honest enough, as the track follows one big main riff through its turns, letting the tone and vibes set the flow.

Production is rough, as you might expect from a demo, sounding authentically garage-y and raw, but as they follow that intro up with “Laser Rust Animation” the tone and clarity pep up considerably, with a snarly guitar line balancing out the broad-waved bass fuzz, the drums kicking up the tempo, and crashing cymbals spiking through the rumble. Some chunky breakdowns show an instrumental sense of humor with the push and retraction of the chords, while a slowed-down nod to Slayer's “Raining Blood” gives a brush of menace to the affair. Throughout, they show chops with pulling listeners into headbang mode, and while the playing threatens to tip over in a couple spots, they keep it just this side of upright.

Lastly, “Quarter Pounder” slows things back down, while keeping most of the energy of the preceding track intact. It's a bit sludgy, a bit doomy, but then their sample kicks in (and if you're not grinning upon hearing it, you need to brush up on your cinema classics), and the grooves take over indiscriminately. Altogether, a promising taste of things to come from this crew, with a nice dose of the fun we could use to recover from 2020.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of: Corpse Light, Dopethrone, Hypnochron, Lifeless Gaze, Tar Pit

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Space Weed - Quarter Pounder (320 kbps)

 

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Sumokem Interview

 On September 4th, Sumokem released Prajnaparadha. Following their 2015 debut The Madness of Lu Shen Ti, Vol. 1, and 2017's The Guardian of Yosemite, the new release finds the Little Rock-based band shifting their musical approach once again, but also turns out to be something of a larger turning point for the group.  We spoke with Sumokem about their history, the making of the new album, and what they see in their future.

The Burning Beard: Hi there, congratulations on the new album, and thanks very much for sharing some of your time with us. To start with, could you give new listeners a run-down on the band's current line-up?

Sumokem: Yeah, so it's always been myself, Jacob Sawrie, on vocals and rhythm guitar, and Drew Skarda on drums. Since 2015 we've had Tyler Weaver on lead guitar and Dustin Weddle on bass. Now myself and Dustin play synths, as well, on every song on the new album, actually.

TBB: Who was in the band's original line-up, and how did it come together?

Sumokem: Originally it was myself, Drew, and Josh Ingram on lead guitar. We played for a few months with no bassist, and I'm surprised people liked it, haha. We were fortunate enough to add local legend Alan Wells on bass, and that was SMKM for the first couple of years. We recorded our first EP in Alan's basement. Josh died in May of 2015, and Alan left at the same time to take care of his family and his health. Tyler and Dustin came in and we found some new life.

TBB: How did the writing and recording of Prajnaparadha differ from your previous albums?

Sumokem: Really the only thing that was different about the process was that everyone incorporated riffs. It really opened things up and made this album what it is. We also took things a little more seriously in the studio, and that definitely made a difference.

TBB: What were some notable inspirations for its themes, and what led the band to settle on the final overall concept for the album?

Sumokem: This album is definitely a reflection of the four of us and our separate tastes shining through and meeting in the middle somewhere. We were all able to contribute to the writing process on this one since we’ve settled into the lineup, so I think that’s a reason it sounds much different. Our drummer, Drew, even wrote quite a few guitar riffs for this one.

TBB: Were the songs mostly put together before the concept was decided, or did the concept come first and direct the song-writing?

Sumokem: Honestly, my stories kind of write themselves. I start with a time and place, do a lot of research, write an outline of the story, and go from there - but as soon as I learned the word "Prajnaparadha," I knew that "sins against wisdom" had to be the theme.

TBB: Were there any other memorable ideas on which direction to go with this album?

Sumokem: The concept for the albums, and the lyrics, have always existed before the music, per record. We've just always kind of written the songs based on what we feel from the lyrics - but this is the last album we'll write that way, at least for a while.

We wanted this album to be our most progressive, most dynamic album yet, but let things play out naturally, and it worked out.

TBB: If there is one, what's the usual process for Sumokem to build a song?

Sumokem: The writing process was pretty organic, we brought riffs in and arranged them together and somehow it all worked out without sounding too juxtaposed or odd.

TBB: Given Sumokem's tendency to change atmospheres or presentation with each album (Chinese vibes for Lu Shen Ti, First Peoples for Yosemite, and Indian for this one), are there any influences on the band which you feel have stuck around from the start?

Sumokem: The only real influence that has stuck around is the use of cannabis or other psychoactive drugs in ancient cultures; be it for a character's benefit, or to their detriment, as in the new album.

TBB: If it wouldn't be giving away too much, does the band have any thoughts on which culture the next album might visit?

Sumokem: Actually, this is the last we'll be doing the "concept album" thing, at least for a while. We have started writing for another EP that is going to go in a more philosophical direction, lyrically.

TBB: What are some of the challenges you've faced as a metal band in/from Arkansas?

Sumokem: It's hard to say we have struggles any different than bands from anywhere else. You could say that the Little Rock/Arkansas scene is more underground than other major cities, but with bands like Rwake, Deadbird, Pallbearer, and Terminal Nation bringing attention to it, we can't really complain. It's a slow burn at worst.

It has its ups and downs being from a small city, we luckily have a history of killer bands here. It’s also harder it seems to get attention outside of Arkansas sometimes, but locally the reception here has always been great and we are grateful for it.

TBB: Are there any bands with whom you've shared a stage that you feel have helped sharpen your sense of who you are as a band?

Sumokem: Ha! Most of them. We've gotten to play with so many bands we admire, or even worship. We couldn't list all the bands we've played with that showed us how much better we could be. I think the biggest blessing was spending a week on the road with our friends in Pallbearer and Spotlights. Seeing them just kill it every single night was truly inspiring.

TBB: Are there any current bands with whom you'd be especially interested in putting out a split, or otherwise collaborating?

Sumokem: There's also a ton of bands we'd love to collaborate with. Personally, I'd love to do something with Pinkish Black or Kayo Dot, but we've also thought (if in passing) that an ultra-Arkansas collab could be cool.

TBB: Is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers?

Sumokem: Hey, we just hope people like the record - and a lot of people deserve a lot of thanks. We hope to see people on the road sooner than later.

~ Interview by Gabriel

Transcending Ignoble Impulses...

Sumokem - Prajnaparadha (2020)

Following up on their advance single for “Fakir” at the start of this year, the Little Rock-based group of Sumokem have released their latest LP, their third since kicking off with The Madness of Lu Shen Ti, Vol. 1 back in 2015. Running slightly under an hour across its six tracks, Prajnaparadha shows the band in great form, putting deep consideration into not just the individual song composition, but also how they fit into and build off of each other.

Leading off with “Prologue” (easily the album's shortest song, at three minutes and change), Sumokem set up a base-line atmosphere of muted choral voices, brooding piano melodics, and deceptively complex percussion. Working through its progressions, the group establishes a sense of deliberation and craftsmanship, which they temper by introducing some rough-edged guitar and bass in the following track, “Nihang”. There's some understated noodling going on here from the guitar, which helps cut the serious tone and keep it from feeling overwrought. Vocals are used with care, tending to a rumbling growl when they appear (though some clean contrast does crop up), and the instruments generally dominate the track. Gnarled and twisting as the song-writing is inclined to be, the hooks bite deep, and pull listeners along with the momentum and beats.

“Parak-Dar” picks up from there, tracing out a similar groove as the end of the preceding song for a bit, before switching to more of a roll-and-stop rhythm, and a number of others after that. A stripped-down break again highlights the group's facility with morose melody foundations, gradually building back up into tension and a bit of a duel between the guitar and bass. The high/low opposition is held onto and developed intriguingly, with the guitar going higher still as the vocals growl deeper, and another twisting passage leads the way to the second half of the album.

With “Sadhu”, Sumokem turn up the headbanging energy, while holding on to their doom/prog cocktail dynamics. They also find room for some lush harmonic interludes, balanced out by some heavy-crunching bass lead runs. “Fakir” (which we've linked below) follows, with some echo pedal lending things further mystic vibes, while the sense of deliberation gets a resurgence in the careful beat deployment. It's a strong pick for the album's lead single, as it gets across a lot of their character, showcases their song-writing skills, and gives a wide range of emotional evocation. Lastly, “Khizer” rides in with a hard riff to keep listeners' heart-rates up 'til the end. It also features more vocal interplay than any of the preceding tracks, and the song's shifting structure makes the final crescendo strike incredibly hard.

All in all, it's an excellent album, putting Sumokem's talents in clear relief with excellent execution. It's also impressive for how cleanly they've set aside the usual metal album preoccupation with finding a particular sub-genre (e.g., stoner doom, tech death, etc.) and diving headlong into it. Instead, Sumokem pull from a wide variety of styles, blending them into their open-eared metal foundation in whatever way will serve the song's growth. It's a song-writing approach that's sadly too infrequently undertaken, but Prajnaparadha is a fantastic demonstration of how well it can pay off. Seekers of ambitious metal, put this one on your list, and pick up a copy when it lands on digital September 4^th, and with a vinyl release from Cursed Tongue Records in November.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Abstracter, Ancient Lights, Flight of the Seraphim, Funerary, Hijo de la Tormenta

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Sumokem - Fakir (320 kbps)

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Talisman Of Change...

Merlock - that which speaks... (2020)

Following up on a couple of advance singles between their 2018 debut EP/demo and this new one, the quartet of Merlock (named for the Christopher Lloyd villain from DuckTales, I'm hoping) bring a cool blend of heavy psych and doom metal to action over the course of the four songs on that which speaks....

Kicking off with “Idolon”, the band establishes a solid riff before reinforcing it with extra fuzz, bass, and treated vocals, lending things a gloomy, semi-mystical air. That continues for a couple of minutes, before picking up speed into a near-thrashy groove that brings the guitar out in greater relief. Tasty bridges and pedal effects draw listeners through the midway of the song before revisiting the earlier riffs with still more intensity, and the vocals rise to match it, before fading away in favor of distorted shredding.

An abrupt cut makes way for “Prolapse”, which picks up still more thrash flavoring with its rolling guitar progressions and steady cymbal clangs. Some fun noodling dominates most of the ride, with the vocalist hanging back and picking their break-out moments with care, and the main hook of the song is almost guaranteed to get lodged in your head long after you listen. “[Vessel]” follows, building a thick atmosphere around slow-moving measures and tonal sustains, with enough shifts throughout the song to keep things engaging and fun.

Lastly, “Condemnation” brings a bit of a death metal edge to the guitar and bass riffage, though the song grows slower and heavier as it progresses, finishing out the EP on a sinking moan. All together, it's a solid sophomore release, with a good showcasing of the band's abilities in a variety of approaches to their psych/doom blend. There's a limited run of cassettes (fifty copies) available for order through Merlock's BandCamp, or you can go with the digital version. Either way, you'll be getting some tunes that are quite easy to let yourself sink into and enjoy.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Demon Head, Goya, Pilgrim, Sleep, Venus Sleeps

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Merlock - Prolapse (320 kbps)

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No Time To Sit...

Guided Meditation Doomjazz - No Throne (2020)

Following up an EP, a live album, and a single, all released within the past year, the Austin-based trio of Guided Meditation Doomjazz are back with another four tracks. One of those was used for the aforementioned single (“Swamps of Sadness”, with another nod to The Neverending Story in its cover art), but the other three are fresh for this offering.

The release leads off with the title track, building from ominous words of nullification into a heavy but nuanced groove. With reminders to “breathe in, breathe out,” the song curls along on thick-toned bass-lines and a bowed instrument (which occasionally mimics an electric organ in timbre) providing the foundation over which the vocals drift. There's definitely a heavy psych vibe at play, but with some of that Austin fusion mentality in the works, things take an unpredictable course. “Swamps of Sadness” follows, with a poker-faced recitation of Atreyu's quest and loss of his horse. An interpretation of Giorgio Moroder's score for that section of the film accompanies the proceedings, but with the shift from synths to analog, there's an interesting adjustment of the mood to match.

“Imagine Relief” provides a rise up from the despair of the preceding track, though it keeps the mood low and heavy. It builds into a slow-loping riff carrying itself and the vocals into rising intensity and action, until they burst loose from a drum crescendo back into the original take, though now counter-playing against echoes of itself. Lastly, “New Nostalgia” picks up into a comparatively brighter groove, noodling along on the bass while the cymbals get prominent deployment. It all comes together as an interesting experience, fitting the band's name while giving your ears quite a bit to chew on. If you've been looking for something distinct and different in the doom realm, this will certainly fit the bill.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Merlin, Morphine, The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation, Shadowmaster, Wyatt E.

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Guided Meditation Doomjazz - Swamps of Sadness (320 kbps)

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Soot And Stones...

Chimney Creeps - Nosedive (2020)

Popping up from New York with this, their debut album, the power trio of Chimney Creeps (like chimney-sweeps, get it?) brings a seven-song batch of sludge-varnished heavy rock to the table. Flexing their style and rotating member focus on the instrumental opener “March of the Creeps”, the band shows a bit of grunge flavoring, but with a leaner, buzzier approach. It's a good foundation-setter for the next tune, “Head in the Sand”, which brings in guitarist Dennis Haggerty's lead vocals, striking a balance between punkish barking and moments of melodic harmonizing. Both the bassist (Donavon deCesare) and drummer (Alex Hadjiloukas) provide backing vocals throughout the album, pulling their performances in the songs that much tighter together.

As the songs go on, the band shows its facility with crusty riffs, big swells, dirty grooves, and beefy bass-lines. Keeping up a steady current of wounded anger, the group digs out old-school hooks and gives them a modern sharpening, while keeping the underground vibes well in effect. Things get a bit expanded in the second half, with the closer of “Diving Line” shading out into a number of stony bridges. Riding out on a big-finish groove, the Chimney Creeps make it easy to spin the album time after time. It'll be interesting to hear how their style develops with subsequent releases, whether they play up their dirt rock, grunge, or sludgy sides, or keep honing a fusion of the three. However it goes, if you've been in the mood for some audibly authentic heavy rock, you'd do well to pick yourself up a copy of this album. Available on vinyl and digital, both at very reasonable prices.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Alice in Chains, Funeral Horse, Pale Grey Lore, Rainbows Are Free, Sex Scheme

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Chimney Creeps - Creeper (320 kbps)

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Early Signs Of Life...

Randy Holden - Population II (1970)

Originally released in 1970, the debut solo album from Blue Cheer guitarist Randy Holden featured a style that was unfamiliar at the time, but which has subsequently grown to a full genre. While the hard and psychedelic rock styles of the '60s are still quite evident, there's also the chunky riffs and fat bass-end of heavy metal peeking its head out into the world on this album.

Of course, back then, the record technicians who had a fix on how that style should be handled in the mastering process were few and far between, so now that half a century has passed, Riding Easy Records have unearthed it and given it proper audio treatment, letting the wide-spread grooves and sprawling solos shine out with greater body and fullness.

For such an early chunk of heavy metal exploration, the album goes down with surprising smoothness. Packing four full tracks, with a couple of shorties sandwiched between them, the album flows along in cool form, letting its melodies and hooks roll along without too much fuss about sticking to the standard practices. It's a fun and fascinating peek at some nearly-lost roots of the style, and with the ten-minute closer of “Keeper of My Flame”, it packs a big finish. Riding Easy's reissue is due out on February 28^th, so if you're ready to dig on one of the pioneers of heavy metal, get ready to pick this one up and have it take you back.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Deep Purple, The Human Instinct, Iron Butterfly, MC5, Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels

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Randy Holden - Blue My Mind (320 kbps)

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Ready And Yearning...

Canopy - Humanity Loss (2020)

About a decade in the making, Canopy's first album follows a demo and a pair of EPs (which we covered here and here), and capably demonstrates that the band has been honing their material over all that time. Delivering just under fifty minutes of material across the six tracks (with the two-minute intro track, “Intrusion”, easing listeners into the experience), doom and sludge are stirred together for a heavy dose of suffering, and the results are superb.

The two-part “Hostile Architecture” follows the intro, operating in a largely instrumental fashion, though some screams and howls are used to punctuate the chilly vibes. Strong bass riffs and drums to match are contrasted with the scratchy highness of the guitar's tone, and a couple of spoken samples appear in distorted form to give things extra flavor.

Once that first chunk is concluded, it's on into “Exigent Weight”, which lines up a slow-grind ride with some surprisingly poignant strains from the guitar slid into the agonized atmosphere. The vocals take a more forward and distinct role with this song, but step back again to let the climax rise and strike in full power before rejoining the instruments. Sharp song-writing keeps things intense and stimulating, while the production hits a nice balance between clear and swampy presentation.

“No Cure” picks up from there, going deeper and heavier, and delivering a strong sense of immersion with the coiling echoes of the guitar-work. The vocals ride the swell and fall of the instrumental momentum with very effective poise, snaking in with a howl there or injecting a rasping scream there, always punching the energy higher. Lastly, “Adrenochrome” steps in with a slow-building ramp into action, escalating to hard-slamming rhythms and a final burst of expression. Excellent work throughout, and though it's a digital-only release for now, here's hoping that they find a label savvy enough to put them out on physical media in the near future.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Dead Existence, Leechfeast, Mudbath, Primitive Man, Slabdragger

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Canopy - Hostile Architecture II (320 kbps)

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Light Leaks Through...

Howling Giant - The Space Between Worlds (2019)

Following a string of EPs and a single for their cover of BOC's “Godzilla”, the Nashville-based group of Howling Giant are releasing their first full album, and taking their spacy stoner van art vibes to the next level by making it a concept album. Built around the idea of dreams creating alternate realities, the songs of The Space Between Worlds take form with a bit more lightness to their tone and attitude than the cover art and title might imply, but the abundance of riffage and

Moving faster than the stoner metal style usually does, opening track “Comet Rider” gets things off to a groove-packed start, with rushing bridges and barrages of drumming creating an atmosphere of '70s hard rock blurred into '90s desert rock, feeling something like a time-warped Kyuss at the end of the blend. “Nomad” carries on from there in similar fashion, setting up a comfortable run, before “Ghosts in the Well” shifts to a more stripped-down, acoustic bit of sober regret, accented with piano to really highlight the band's flexibility.

“The River Guide” switches the clutch back into heaviness, with a throbbing main bass riff that carries the listener right into another soft breakdown, this time with a bit of glimmering synth to give things that ethereal touch. Riding that slow mood through a few measures before slipping the drums back into to resolidify, the heavier tendencies get to really take hold again in the follow-up, “Ice Castle”, which might be my favorite tune on the album, due to its blending of all the album's elements while balancing them out to a satisfying and memorable chunk of earworming. It's a little unfortunate that it gets buried in the album's mid-section, but hopefully it'll come out as a strong enough hook to linger in most listeners' memories.

Boasting the oddest title of the songs, “Cybermancer and the Doomsday Express” swings to a lighter tone while maintaining the hookiness, and with the line “It's better to explode than fade away,” the ensuing bit of soloing seems a little underwhelming, though the drum flourish for the finish salves that to a degree. As “Everlight” stretches out to nearly eight minutes, the band shows their more leisurely side, along with some proggish focus on overt meter antics. It's fluid and fun enough to make the length a non-issue, but at the same time, it doesn't feel like the length is really being put to any use other than distinguishing it on that length alone. Penultimate track “The Orb” does a better job of that, with numerous change-ups in rhythm and pacing, as well as a shot of bass reinforcement in its latter half, and at just a minute shorter than the preceding song, it shows how much sharper the band can be when they put their minds to it.

Finally, “Stone Giant” delivers a tasty closer, with some high-action guitar-work and malleable song-shaping resulting in a pleasing finish to the dream-based tale. Those who go into the album after seeing the “stoner metal spacelords” moniker found in the press release may be taken aback by the lightness of it, but there's fun and grooves to be had, so give it a go if you're looking for a way to extend the summer warmth.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Molly Hatchet, Night Horse, Sheavy, Shepherd (India), Van Halen

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Howling Giant - Comet Rider (320 kbps)

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Bones For The Altar...

Buzzard Cult - Buzzard Cult (2019)

Coming to us from the Atlanta region of Georgia, the trio of Buzzard Cult play a mixture of grungy heavy rock and crusty downtempo punk, turning out a fusion that's lively, easy to groove to, and clearly averse to poppy over-polishing. Leading with the EP's advance single, “No Turning Back”, the band shows guitar crunch meshed with bass-line toothiness, and drumming that fills in and embellishes on the rest of the rhythms. Feeling something like a Dirt-era Alice in Chains B-side, “Ill Scheming” follows, alternating between brooding musings and outburst lashings of the titular chorus. The enjoyable cragginess of the instruments rising together each time they hit that chorus should put a grin on your face and a nod in your neck, and BC ride that momentum into the more uptempo reproach of “You're to Blame”, taking aim at the guilty at large and brandishing a crashing upswell for its climax.

The second half of the EP initially slips back into lower speeds, but as “Lucid Dreams” continues, it finds its angry footing again. Slowly cooking until it boils over, this track just might be my personal favorite from the six showcased on this EP, and I imagine that its back-and-forth energy takes on some real power in live performances. “Night is Dark” slips back into a more relaxed bass groove, but keeps the tension evident in the bite of the guitar and coiled bursts from the drummer. A pedal-treated guitar solo lends things some extra juice, pushing the intensity of the song's ending up even as they slow the tempo down.

Final track “Lazy Mind” brings things to a solid head, working stern riffs and accusatory lyrics while gradually ramping up the tightness, and with its bass hooks digging in, it's hard not to wind up with this one stuck in your head. All together, it makes for a fun demonstration of the band's style and capabilities, and delivers some quality music in a style you don't come across too often. The band will also be playing some live shows in September, so if you're in the general Georgia area, check them out!

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Alice in Chains, Halo of Flies, JPT Scare Band, Nations on Fire, Night Birds, Stinkerbell

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Buzzard Cult - No Turning Back (320 kbps)

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Observing Final Rites...

Wizard Cult - Secunda & Masser (2019)

About four years ago, I had the pleasure of encountering the first album from Wizard Cult. It was heavy, it used psychedelic touches in interesting ways, and it had one of the most distinctive physical releases I've encountered (all the cassette copies were hand-collaged, with mine ending up wrapped in carefully-picked and pasted scraps of comic strips). For something just under half an hour in material, it made a deep impact, thanks in no small part to the sense of how much the band-members cared about bringing their music to life in more than just the usual ways.

This year, Wizard Cult are putting out their second release, which unfortunately looks to be their last, going by the digital liner notes (“From deep within the lost libraries of Arkngthand this album emerges, documenting the last efforts of a long lost cult of sorcerous power.”) So it was with a mix of anticipation and trepidation that I threw it on to hear; while the download copy has the album in unbroken A-side/B-side runs as an option, I'm going with the split version for ease of identifying specific sections.

Leading with the eleven-minute “The Cave”, the garage-like quality of the collected recordings is immediately evident, with a buzzy fuzz swaddling everything from the opening sample on through to the shaking bass and craggy crashes on the drum-kit. Cutting through most of the roughness, though, is the power of the grooves into which the band taps, with the blown-out vibes kind of suiting the intensity with which they play. As “The Cave” winds down from its trip, with screams and some cymbal flourish, it flows right on into half of the album's title, “Secunda”. Here, the bass throws down even harder, and with all the pieces established, it really starts to gel. The sludgy yells, the almost funeral doom-paced percussion, the deeply heavy psych growls of the guitar, and the overpowering bass rumble grind and slam together, and while it does feel kind of like you're sitting in on a rehearsal session, there's enough raw vitality vibrating through it all to make that a pleasing experience.

“Goat Demoness” drops into action with another cinema-sourced sample, and it's off into more dizzily-cranked heaviness, this time picking up the pace into a bleary-eyed late-night-highway burner. The hits come hard and strong, the menace is palpable, and it finishes off with the ringing of a cowbell. So, pretty great, obviously.

After a short lull, the fuzz returns with still another obscured sample to kick “The Fourth Pact” into action, bringing with it a slightly cleaner tone (at least to start), but even more anger to even that out. The plaintive screech of the strained guitar strings, along with the punch of the focused bass-line and plenty of squealing signal interference brings this one the furthest into sludge territory, and is sure to raise your heart-rate (or at least your blood pressure). With the finisher, “Masser”, Wizard Cult slide between the two tracks on a sled of disintegrating amp feedback, savoring it and letting exploration of the abstract run-off make up the majority of the song.

As an exit album, it's one which certainly plays on its own terms. It also presents the band, warts and all, high on the spirit of making their music their way, something which feels all too rare these days, and especially in the often over-produced realm of doom. Whether you picked up Wizard Cult's first album back in the day, or this is your first time hearing of them, I strongly recommend you spend your time to listen to this one (and then go back and check out the other one, either way, of course). Sad as I am to learn that this band has no plans to make further music, I'm also quite glad that they're going out on such an honest and powerful note.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Bomg, Cult of Occult, Dead Existence, Hypnochron, Primitive Man

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Wizard Cult - Goat Demoness (320 kbps)

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Alone And Drifting...

Low Flying Hawks - Anxious Ghosts (2019)

Following up on their two existing albums after a year away, the duo of Low Flying Hawks deliver five songs on this EP, leading with the grimy and down-cast blues of “Night Flight”. Taking about two minutes to paint a picture with acoustic strings, somber voices, and incidental noises, the band makes a turn into similar but distinct territory with the follow-up track “Somewhere (Part 1)”. Branching out into more of a desert rock vibe, the pair take their time to thoroughly establish the atmosphere and a backing beat before bringing in any words. Despite the low-key nature, there's a palpable feel of rising tension, from the abrupt twangs of the guitar to background tones and increasing weight on the drum-hits.

It's essentially a five-minute preamble, leading directly into “Somewhere (Part 2)”, which rides the elevated intensity right into a crash of bass and firmly fuzzy stoner rock grooving. Building, reinforcing, and diving into the main riff makes up most of this song's nearly eight-minute run, and I expect it'll be the high point for a lot of listeners. Having set that benchmark on the EP, though, the band goes even harder with the next tune, “Hollow Grasp”, bringing a harsher edge to the guitar work and vocals while maintaining the bleary fuzz miasma. Some slick echo effects applied to the singing make things even more disorienting, as does the tail-end switch back to the gentleness of the EP's opener. That change-up flows pretty smoothly into the last of the songs, “Doors to Nowhere”, which builds from an early stoner/desert rock groover into a heated and rambunctious blazerr, before easing itself out onto a cloud of static.

As much fun as the individual songs are, it's maybe even more enjoyable for the way the band maps out the rise and drop of energy over the EP. In any event, it's a cool experience with lots of little details to savor, and vinyl copies are going fast. Take half an hour to check it out, and see how it grabs you.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Attalla, Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters, Kyuss, Powered Wig Machine, Stone Machine Electric

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Low Flying Hawks - Hollow Grasp (320 kbps)

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Nocturnal Monstrous Howls...

Wolf Blood - II (2019)

It was five years ago that Wolf Blood let loose their self-titled debut album, and with pressing after pressing selling their full runs (including the vinyl from Roadburn Fest-hosting Burning World Records), it seemed like the band's momentum was picking up just like one of their riff-digging tunes. As they focused on live shows and a variety of rare merch (count yourself damn lucky if you've got one of the lightning bolts and Petrian cross shirts in your collection), it was up to the six songs of the S/T to keep the torch burning for those outside of WB's tour radius. Thankfully, the wide range of flavors and styles packed into the album made that a working solution.

Now the four-piece is back, having replaced their bassist with one who also does guitar and vocals, and offering up another six tracks of heavy, grimy metal. Opening up the new album with “Lesion”, the band lays down an icebreaker of a hard beat before swinging in the vocals, riding back to the beat, and then drifting off into looser riff exploration. The composition quickly establishes that a lot of the musical character from the first album is still present in force, and that the new bassist slots right in to the action. “Slaughterhouse” continues the fun by further blurring out the style boundaries, bringing together stoner rock, hard metal, and a bit of psych, while letting the focus center on the energy and flow. With the last track of the A-side, “Kumate”, they roll up another twisting ride, with drummer Jakob getting some spotlighting as he trades bashing flourishes with the guitars' snarls. The largely instrumental nature of the song makes for a cool way of recentering listeners, while the deeper psych journey of the song's latter half does solid work in drawing them back into the bumping groove.

Side B's “Opium” picks right up from there with still another hooky spine of a riff, alternating between tranced-out intonations and threatening growls on the vocal side. Moving quick (at two minutes and change) and hitting hard, it soon gives way to the more meditative “Story of a Drowning Man”, which brings probably the slowest drawls from the bass and guitars to be found on the album, while Jakob matches it with measured pace. Here is also where some of the most exposed emotional power comes through, with considerably less bluster and fury obscuring the singing, which moves to a reflective quietness. Things build in intensity, as you might expect, and as the main riffs strengthen their chording and volume, it's only a matter of time before the anger resurfaces, which it does in high style.

“Tsunami”, which you might have heard on last year's single to build hype for WB's return (along with non-album track “Home”), closes out the album with a tour through the assorted elements and inclinations preceding. Big, compelling riffs, contrasted with high-focus brooding and vocal alternation, do the title justice with the surge and ebbs they bring, while the finish is downright devastating.

An album to soak up the nuances of over numerous listening sessions, II shows that there's still plenty of fire in Wolf Blood's veins, and complements the debut with a number of intriguing adjustments to the baseline sound. Though there's not really any immediate howl along choruses like “Dancing on your grave!”, the confidence and skill of the band comes through with no obscuring. Vinyl's limited to 250 copies, tapes to 100, so if you want a physical instance of the album, you'd better act fast. More tour dates are already lined up, so hit those if you can, and keep ready for more to come from this crew.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Blood Farmers, Merlin, Mountain God, Shadowmaster, Stonerror

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Wolf Blood - Story of a Drowning Man (320 kbps)

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Informed By Erosion...

Folian - Ache Pillars (2019)

Coming to us from the locale of Portland, Oregon, the latest release from one-man project Folian features four tracks approaching lingering pain and consumptive brooding from an uncommon angle. Mixing low-frequency oscillations, haunted vocals, meticulously-mixed string sparseness, and a bevy of shifting electronic textures, the music of Ache Pillars aims for tangential listening recognition, keeping a thick swaddle of ambiguity to the emotions and structural direction, but prodding out such intriguing combinations of its sounds as to demand an emotional response. Or a physical one, as goosebumps don't seem like an inappropriate reaction to the intersecting layers of reverb and delay banks.

Metal purists will probably be too weirded out or offended by the absence of genre boundaries to really dig the experience, but the near-half-hour ride is one which persistently demonstrates pains-taking efforts to fuse unpredictable emotionality with the unhinged electronics, with quite an impressive result. About half of the EP's run-time goes to the final track, “Where All This Dust Comes From”, which breaks from the momentum built by the preceding tracks' run in order to build its own upwards creep into claustrophobic tension. Something best taken all in one go, but each track shows different facets of musician David Fylstra's exacting technique and enviable creativity.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Gnaw Their Tongues, Pale World, Sutekh Hexen, Ulver, White Darkness

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Folian - Gift of Sorrow (320 kbps)

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