Awesome Freak Party...

The Freeks - Shattered (2016)

Here for our enjoyment this week is the latest album from the five-piece group of The Freeks, and as it's the band's third album in almost a decade of tenure, you can't accuse them of rushing things.  So what are they up to on Shattered?  Punky psychedelic rock, that's what, with plenty of feedback, neck-popping drum rhythms, growl/howl vocals, thick riffs, and balls-out energy.
Right from the first track, "Tiny Pieces", The Freeks are bouncing and shaking, though they settle down into more of an acid blues groove in the follow-up of "Where Did You Go", and keep their style moving and shifting like that for the rest of the songs.  There's something to be had for fans of '70s psych rock, something for those who prefer the faster stuff of today, something for blues rockers, hard rockers, and deconstructed punks.  And who knows, each of those might find enough to groove on in the other songs to pull them into trying out some genre they haven't explored before.
Put short, it's a fun album.  Put a bit longer, it's an album which wears its energy and enthusiasm not just on its sleeve, but all over its clothes, face, and hair.  And while they fit in enough slower trips to not wear themselves and the listeners out too quickly, that energy is so pervasive, it's hard to come away from listening to the songs without having that liveliness dominate your impressions.  Check it out if you have a taste for rock that rocks without limiting itself to painting by the traditional numbers.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Blue Cheer, The GTVs, The Heavy Co., The Human Instinct, JPT Scare Band

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The Freeks - Fast Forward (320 kbps)

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Filled With Sparkles...

Glitter Wizard - Hollow Earth Tour (2016)

With this latest album, Glitter Wizard and their glammy strain of hard rock are back with songs of reptilian creatures, UFOs, magical mushrooms, and other oddities well-suited to a hollow-earth setting.  The five-piece band has their groove together in fine form, managing to fit jammy bits into the more regularly-structured stretches of song, and the '70s-flavored noodles of keyboard and guitar are mixed in without stealing momentum from the main riffs.
There's also a nice variety of moods to the album, from chilled-out pieces to harder-rocking beats, and the band flows from one side to the other without any of it feeling fake or forced.  Having a good time is the album's main vibe, and it follows that edict with a faithful liveliness that helps keep things moving smoothly, even through the trickiest spots.
Despite boasting a three-part song towards the middle ("Stoned Odyssey", split into "Spreading the Spores", "Delivering the Monolith", and "Fungal Visions"), the album moves along quickly, not letting itself get bogged down by over-indulgence or major misfires.  Something that should hold up to steady listening, and worth checking out if you've been in the mood for some modern hard rock that does more than just imitate ye olden days.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Banquet, La Chinga, Lizzard, Queen Chief, Teacher

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Glitter Wizard - The Hunter (320 kbps)

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Coming Out Swinging...

Monsternaut - Monsternaut (2016)

Coming to us from the ever-solid Heavy Psych Sounds label, Monsternaut's self-titled debut album introduces this Finnish group with a collection of two recording batchess, spanning back to 2012, and each self-released by the band with the title Monsternaut.  Working as a three-piece (b,g&v,d), they've got an easy-going hard rock style spruced up with some stoner rock touches.
That adds up to nicely dirty-sounding guitar with a little rough buzz on its edges, thick bass that doesn't get tied down into slower tempos, solid backing from the drums, and vocals with a little sneer to them when not yelling out for action.  On the down-side (and this may just be due to the bunching up recording in the two years that was handled), it's kind of striking how similar the songs are to each other, with one practically picking up the same riffing rhythm that the last one just finished using.
That streak of similarity kind of gets shaken off by the time they hit the fifth track, "Black Horizon", but as that's already halfway through the album, it's not enough to lift the average back up to where it should be.  Oddly, the newer batch of stuff comes first on the album, so it's the lder tuff that shows more flexibility in stle and playing.

Taken as a (very well-produced) demo collection, rather than a full-fledged LP, you can still have some fun with this, to be sure.  Just don't head into it expecting to hear a band at the top of their game; instead, take it as the band trying to entice you to stick around and hear what else they've got in store.  Given that they do show some nice chops, interplay of instruments, and a firm grasp of where to find the fun in retro rock, you've got a pretty good chance of wanting to hear those oncoming tunes yourself, and having heard this one, you'll have a better sense of how they developed.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Blackout, Hossferatu, Jussipussi, La Chinga, Teacher

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Monsternaut - Mexico (320 kbps)

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Shrouded Hands of Doom...

Shroud Eater / Dead Hand - Split (2016)

While Shroud Eater has been on our radar, this is the first of their releases we've reviewed, so it's a pleasure to encounter them teamed up with Dead Hand (whom we've covered before, and always enjoyed).  For this split, it's a fairly straight-forward affair, each band getting half a 7" for their song, but they don't put a moment of the format to waste.
Shroud Eater open things up with a thick, rough-edged wave of bass, soon joined by the slow-howl vocals and a big, rolling beat.  Things are kept swampy, teetering somewhere in the overlap of doom metal and sludge, and though it feels a little short for their style at just six minutes, the band manages to pack a sense of extra size into it with the reverb and aggressive chording.
Dead Hand pick up from there, launching into a faster, more venomous brand of doom.  There's touches of both black and death to be heard, but those work more as fuel additives in the doom engine they're running as they roar through the song's valleys and tangles.
Very solid stuff from each band, making this split a great spot to jump in if you're unfamiliar with either band, or both of 'em.  Check it out the next time you're in the mood for a quick shot of doom with nice variety to it.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Blind Samson, The Munsens, Reptensol, Trees, Wounded Giant

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Dead Hand - Guaiacol (320 kbps)

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Scorching Desert Blues...

Turnip - Window Killer (2016)

What would happen if you stuck Soundgarden, ZZ Top and Clutch in a blender?  Well, apart from a bloody mess of blended humans and guitars, the resulting brew might sound something like the exhilarating noise that American stoner blues merchants, Turnip, have come up with.

Never To Bleed opens Window Killer with the musical equivalent of a widescope desert panorama.  Blusey slide guitars and husky vocals set an atmospheric precedent that informs, but never restrains, the rest of the album.  Howl sees Turnip move away from out-and-out heavy blues to a somewhat grundgier sound that never quite shakes the shackles of the blues away but definitely feels as though it occupies a different space from the album's other songs.

Desert overlords Kyuss are invoked in spirit and attitude, likewise the ghost of messers Plant, Page, Bonnam and Jones hover over Turnip during their most soulfully blusey moments; but the group make a respectful nod to the heroes of old without ever nicking from them.

The remains that, even if you strip all of the influence away, you're left with a really excellent heavy stoner blues record that shouldn't be missed.  The comedic name belies a band of genuine quality and Window Killer is great album.

~ Martin

For fans of; Clutch, ZZ Top, Kyuss, Led Zeppelin, Soundgarden

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Never To Bleed (320kbps)

Chaos Reigns Supreme

 Hexxus - Tunguska (2016)
 

 

Are you fucking ready to make every hair on your body stand on end and melt any sense you ever held dear?

The Alabama bred Hexxus has Billy Luttrel on guitar and vocals; Matt Marks on drums and vocals; and Justin Regelin on bass and vocals. All three have been busy in the world of doomy sludge for some time with different projects such as Molehill, Hog Mountain, Charnel Ground, and Capsized. Their amplifier worshipping sound has opened a riff of time and space with their newest LP Tunguska. 

"Andromeda" has a slow burning beginning until the screeched out singing, which is a duty shared by all three members, and doesn't let get go until you completely suffocate from it. At ten minutes in length you can definitely see their influences of Swans and Neurosis but with an even deeper sense of aggression. That pure hatred that bleeds through to "Andromeda" doesn't skip a beat with "The Great Migration" with the vocals just getting more and more gnarled and twisted the guitars begin to swell and soar giving more depths to the sound. Justin's bass beats grind together for "Cross Bearer" as Billy's guitar attempts to keep everything in some sort of order but somehow sounds more chaotic for it. The layers topple over for a moment of clarity but that's quickly destroyed as the screeched vocals are dubbed, echoed and sound tortured beyond belief. All sounds cease any sense of order in "Extinct is Instinct" as just pure hell with every sound coming together to burn down any clarity in your head. An acid soaked guitar comes out of nowhere breaking up the doom jarring all of your senses. "Tunguska" ends everything and begins with a surprisingly clean production. Banging drums. Glorious guitars. And even the still snarled vocals are tamer in nature. It's almost like the monstrous band in reflecting on all its destroyed. All it's burned. All it's killed. It's calm now. But then the second half begins. Akin to a giant beast roaming the land for the next village to destroy. The vocals come back harsher than ever. The instruments are played in a primal nature. Then they slow down their sludgy guitars. Each note slower and slower. Until there's nothing but silence. 

~Richard

For Fans Of: Neurosis, Swans, The Melvins, Godflesh, Converge

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Thunder And Destruction...

Dö - Tuho (2016)

After warming up with a couple of EPs over the past couple of years, Finnish group Dö have released their first full-length album, and the six tracks held within it present their sludgy doom in fine form, deploying gruff vocals, pounding drums, and low-growling strings in a swampy mass of beats and anger.  "Born Under Black Wings" opens things up with a roar, pursuing that initial burst of power with dogged determination, throwing chunky chords and snarls around without fear.  "Everblast II (The Aftermath)" follows, switching in some higher pitch for the guitar and bringing some earworm melodies with it, riding the riffs through thundering drum-work and the lower strings' rumble. From there, "Ex Oblivione" shows more of that melodic side, with an instrumental ride through uneasy atmosphere and increasingly pressurized measures swelling to monstrous slamming.  "Kylmä" rides a rugged groove in to pick up where "Ex Oblivione" leaves off, working its main riff with focus and wonderful grime to the tones.  "Hail the Fire", the shortest track by far at a little under two and a half minutes, provides a calm interlude on acoustic guitar, with vocals toned down to match its quiet contrast.
But then "Forsaken Be Thy Name" rips into life, with its ~12-minute runtime to bring things to an end, and those moments of softness are gone, stomped out by a colossus of pain, savagery, and regret.  Sometimes using the full instrument set, and paring it down for aching power at other moments, the song makes for an excellent close-out to the album, showing even more variety to Dö's expansive style.  For a first album, the presentation by the band should have them winning over the ears of heavy music fans around the world in short order, so be sure you give them a listen as soon as you can.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Attalla, Funeral Horse, Green Fiend, Oldd Wvrms, Wounded Giant

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Dö - Ex Oblivione (320 kbps)

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Gorging On Ether...

Devourer of Heaven - When the Sky Fell EP (2016)

This first EP from the Los Angeles-based doom project Devourer of Heaven is the work of Alex Makuch, who wrote, performed, recorded, and mixed all of the songs.  "Rise" starts off the EP in a sedate tone, strings being gently warmed up, before the heavier elements filter into place.  Some nice grime to the guitar tone clears the way for the growled vocals, and as the guitar picks up into wilder life, the bass and drums swell out into a grander scope, fitting well with the track's title and laying a strong groundwork for what follows.
"Fire and Pain" takes it from there, with guest Sten Hasselquist contributing some extra guitar layers, as the mood shifts to more of a melodic doom sensibility, though the hard edges of the break-downs retain the kick of the first song.  A smooth shift carries on into "Empire Dead", showing some more overt funeral doom influences (balanced by some lively howls from guitar) as the weight of the chords intensifies and the bridging riffs slow.

Lastly, "Gallows Prayer" returns to the initial calm of "Rise", savoring some slow-picked notes before blooming into a lush arrangement working thick-nested drum-work against the slower strings, and finishing with a solid flourish and declension.  The variety put into the songs speaks well for the DoH project's future, as there's a sense of fruitful experimentation to each of the songs.  Far from being a one-note style worshipper, Makuch seems to be taking pleasure in finding ways of fusing non-obvious aspects of different doom strains together for something which challenges him, while not going overboard enough to lose grasp of the songs' main drives.  Good stuff all around, and a very promising start for the band.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Battle Path, Blind Samson, Crimson Altar, The Munsens, Pillar of Leviathan

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Devourer of Heaven - Empire Dead (320 kbps)

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Joyriding Meteoroids...

Stonecutter - Space Ride EP (2016)

Making their debut with this EP (which is titled as simply Stonecutter EP on their BandCamp), this duo from Poland introduce themselves to the world with five tracks focused on having fun with that mix of styles that Polish groups seem so adept with: namely, doom/stoner metal with a wide streak of psychedelia and some bluesy currents.
Opening track "Tombstone" draws listeners into the action with eight minutes of instrumental cruising, building momentum and craggy riffs with thick fuzzy bass to serve as their tarmac, before "Space Rock" activates the jets to break out of the atmosphere and head for outer space with plans of bleary-eyed mischief.  Alternating between deep, hard crunches and more open acoustic environments for the strings, the song keeps things burning along without staying too rooted in what came before it.
The band's self-titled track picks up from there, sprawling out over more than nine minutes, and slipping into a mellower ride (one which literally gave me goosebumps as the tones slid over each other), though it's not too long before the heaviness re-emerges, with pedal treatments of the strings producing something akin to gravity's pull in audio form.  "Stone Cold Blues" picks up after that, getting even crunchier and dirtier with the riffs, and finally, "Klint Westwood" provides a two-minute wrap-up with a spaced-out take on a familiar melody.
As a whole, the EP does a great job of showing off the duo's talents, covering a nice range of varying styles, heaviness, and techniques in execution, while leaving enough unsaid to build temptation for follow-ups.  Personally, I can't wait to hear more from this band, so I'll be hoping that they get the recognition and support from fans that they've earned with their work so far.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Acid Elephant, Dead Thunder, Frozen Planet....1969, Gallileous, Major Kong

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Stonecutter - Space Rock (320 kbps)

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Season of the Blues...

Slow Season - Westing (2016)

Slow Season's third outing, Westing, kicks off with a frenetic blues rock jam that sounds like the bastard child of Clutch and Led Zeppelin.  Propulsive, energetic and impossible to dislike Y'Wanna fulfils the classic role of an opening track.  It grabs you where it hurts and it never lets go.

The thumping, hard hitting drum work may lack discretion but it does supply the sort of furious backing Bonham would be happy with whilst the stop start riffage of Flag owes a similarly large debt to Jimmy Page.  If the spirit of Led Zeppelin hangs heavy over Slow Season then it's no bad thing and nothing that a million doom bands haven't done with Black Sabbath.

In ways more than just their influences, Slow Season have a decidedly retro aesthetic.  The majority of the songs on Slow Season fade out, rather than lasting until their natural endings.  It might not seem a lot but it hasn't been the norm to fade rock songs out since the seventies.  The slow grinding blues rock of The Jackal summons to mind the dust drenched blues of the deltas as re-imagined through the sphere of scuzzy old school hard rock.

Slow Season may not be innovators as such but there is something paradoxically refreshing about their sound.  You can compare them to the old legends all you like but it doesn't diminish the fact that they're actually very good at what they do and Slow Season proves this as much here if not more than their previous efforts.

If criticism had to be meted it would lie for me with the production; on songs like Saurekonig there's a slightly murkiness to the sound - a lack of instrument clarity.  Perhaps this is intentional, but a drier more directly punchy production would have better suited these decidedly to-the-point songs.  It's a small fly in an otherwise very enticing jar of ointment though.

Make no mistake, those who like their rock heavy on the dirt and even heavier on the blues will find much to enjoy here.  Those who don’t like heavily influenced music might be best to move on, as it's not hard to identify the album’s roots if you're out to do so – but I see no reason to penalise them for that.  Slow Season have produced an excellent heavy blues rock record here and those enamoured with the genre's downtrodden charm should give this album a listen pronto.

~ Martin

For fans of; Led Zeppelin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Wishbone Ash, Groundhogs, Kadavar

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Y'Wanna (320kbps)

Burning On And On...

Stone House On Fire - Neverending Cycle (2016)

Neverending Cycle is the second full album from this Brazilian group, and with it, they groove through eight tracks of solid heavy rock, seasoned with retro psychedelia and a more modern touch of hardness to their rock.  Savory guitar tones rolled in light fuzz, jazzy drum-work, a strong sense of atmosphere, and grooves crafted to sink firmly into memory are cooked into an impressively detailed album.
The care taken with building momentum across the songs is another strong point, with a swift rise through the first half, a breather in the form of ~2-minute "Pasaje", and a ramping up through the last three songs, ending with the ~7-minute rampage of the title track, which wraps things up with plenty of flourish.
It's an album that's easy to just let yourself get absorbed by, soaking up the powerful riffs and rhythms, but at the same time, it's one which rewards careful listening, picking out the nuances of those sweeping drives.  Pre-orders are up now for vinyl and cassette copies, so if you've got a taste for heavy rock that does more than just imitate the old ways, do yourself a favor and check in on SHOF.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Earth Drive, Gripe, Hijo de la Tormenta, Mondo Drag, Montaña Electrica

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Stone House On Fire - Electric Sheep

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Feel Them Twisting...

CEBO))) - GUTS (2016)

One-man sludge band CEBO))) is back with five more tracks on this new release, rolling on the momentum of Bloodwheel, which was released back in January.  Starting off with "Hill Country", a series of vocal samples from bluesmen and killers are threaded together with an undercurrent of bassy menace and understated humor, doing a great job of setting the mood while telling its own story.  The title track follows, launching into more dominant bass and bringing in the rest of the instruments, including the gruffly raw vocals, as a prickly riff develops into a craggy groove, leading listeners further in with the slow-bounce beats and thick tones.  "Sinkhole" makes for the last of the release's original tracks, getting further down in the swampy sidling rhythms before exiting on a keening note.
From there, a mean and gritty take on Cream's "Blue Condition" churns out the grime, switching between the vocals used on the previous two tracks and a cleaner (but synth-burbled) voice treatment, lending the interpretation a nice polish even while it swims in the muck.  Lastly, a cover of Willie Dixon's "Meet Me in the Bottom" cranks through it at high speed, making for a style that's like rockabilly filtered through sludge's sensibilities, and bouncing along like a pick-up with aging suspension.
The songs show a further growth of CEBO)))'s experimental nature, as well as the way the elements are assembled, and above all, he seems to be having fun with the material.  Check this one out if you want some sludge that recognizes its bluesy roots.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Church of Misery, Chronobot, Dopethrone, Groggy, Weedeater

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CEBO))) - GUTS (320 kbps)

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Spilling New Blood...

Crimson Altar - Clairvoyance EP (2016)

Coming to us from Portland, Oregon, the quartet of Crimson Altar are making their debut with this release, sporting four tracks of doom to make their first impressions on fans of heavy music.  The music has a little fuzz to it, and some nice emphasis on melody (particularly with the control shown in the vocals), but the band's main focus is on melding traditional doom with modern touches, not afraid to break out of the slow crush tempo for a lively bit of guitar noodling or some unexpected sweetness in the form of flute (handled by vocalist Alexis Kralicek).
On the whole, the band's efforts to tinker with the staples of doom while keeping its essence firmly intact are quite successful, though there are times where trying to find a balance feels like it would be better suited by diving more fully into the heavy end before coming back up with a lighter touch.  Aside from that, and a slight need for more rhythmic variations, Crimson Altar are in fine form, with songs that have a more than fair chance at getting lodged in memory until you find yourself humming out a few bars.  Good stuff all around, be sure to check this crew out; and if you're in the north-west region of the USA, you've got a chance to catch them live over the next few days, just check their BandCamp page for the dates.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Blind Samson, Brume, Jess and the Ancient Ones, Mist, Wolf Blood

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Crimson Altar - Break Free (320 kbps)

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Splash It On...

chainsaw rainbow - art brut (2016)

With his latest album, Chainsaw Rainbow's mastermind Dominic Massaro offers up ten new tracks of effects-laden guitar and dreamy drifting, including a new version of "Love is a Vapor".  Covering a range from soft-ringing chords to blaring feedback (and regularly layering the two extremes over each other), the songs play with contrasts of aggression and introspection, spooling out hypnotic loops but ratcheting the tension up to prevent getting drawn into drowsiness.  Punkish raucousness and shoegaze's pedal play are blended in interesting ways throughout the tracks, whether pushing into harder territory or slowing down to calmer cruising, as the swirling tones and heavy resonance bleed together in well-handled waves.
The album also shows some changes in the way Massaro is approaching the songs, though picking out particulars is a bit tricky due to the idiosyncrasies of each individual Chainsaw Rainbow release.  Where photorealistic had a focused, almost tunnel-vision-like push through channels of single-minded drone and pedal drive, Art Brut shows more diversity within the bounds of the tracks, wandering about and taking in some changes instead of blasting away.  While both approaches have their merits, it's a little too easy to imagine the musician getting worn out on the latter in quick order, so the signs of alteration are reassuring, while also giving listeners who aren't directly in tune with the fuzz-drone experience something more to latch onto if it's their first time hearing the band.  As usual with Chainsaw Rainbow, check it out when you're in the mood for some good-humored heavy psychedelic material with a wide streak of shoegaze and drone influences, and you should be well satisfied.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Mind, Skullflower, Spacemen 3, Telstar Sound Drone, Terminal Cheesecake

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chainsaw rainbow - love is a vapor

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Lit By Burning Corpses...

Wizard City - Wizard City EP (2016)

Starting off with a film sample worked well into a building atmosphere of dread before launching into low-toned strings, grinding bass, and raw vocals, "Filthy Disease" starts off this debut from England's own Wizard City with a fusion of doom and sludge, roiling sickly between the weight of the former and mental grime of the latter.  It makes for a striking mix, one executed quite well by the quintet, with further exploration shown in "Eternal Realm of Hate", which brings in a stinging sharpness for the guitar while the vocals belch out that old chestnut of "Where is your god now?".
"Jail Cage" churns up some fuzz while handling a bit of a throwback-flavored main riff, the proto-doom of it soon savaged by the sludgy rawness and aggression, though it rises back up to take its own before the finish.  Lastly, "Abyss" sinks into an instrumental pit of nasty growls and heavy resonance, making for a stylish finale which show-cases the group's abilities in constructing a layered monster of a track.  An excellent first release, and one which should have listeners looking forward to further output from this crew.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    The Air Turned To Acid, Coffin Torture, Dopethrone, The Hyle, Verdun

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Wizard City - Jail Cage (320 kbps)

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Finding Familiar Strangers...

Serpents of Dawn - Beloved Unknown EP (2016)

Following up on their 2013 debut, Burnt Offerings, the San Francisco-based group Serpents of Dawn are back with this quartet of new tracks, featuring an adjusted and expanded line-up behind the music.  Running about a quarter of an hour, the EP starts off with "Yawning Black Abyss", setting up the style of doom rock with gruff, growling vocals running under the retro-influenced riffage, the two guitars showing nice interplay as the drums sweep in on the fills and bass plugs away.  "Eye for an Eye" and "Locust Bringer" roll along in similar modes, trying slight tweaks on the formula, mostly by way of seeing how the guitars can get cranked and twisted, before "Out of the Mire" rises up with a sizzling riff right out of the gate to carry things to the end. 
While some more variety would certainly be welcome on the group's future releases, they're showing a solid dynamic between the members, and the songs have an infectious energy that helps them feel bigger than their three-minutes-and-change durations.  Give this group a listen if you want some fun heavy times, and keep your fingers crossed for their next release to arrive before too long.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Blacksmoker, DoomLord, High on Fire, Nightosaur, Queen Crescent

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Serpents of Dawn - Out of the Mire (320 kbps)

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Salem's Pot Interview

Salem's Pot have been on an upward trend of exposure ever since Daniel Hall heard their Watch Me Kill You demo, and subsequently formed Easy Rider Records (soon to become RidingEasy Records) just to make sure the recording got a wider release and vinyl editions.  In addition to the releases Sweeden and ...Lurar Ut Dig På Prärien, the Swedish group has released a couple of singles and a split with Windhand; recently, that catalog has been expanded to include the band's first 'full-length' album, Pronounce This!.  Salem's Pot were kind enough to indulge our questions about their influences, the changes within the band, and what they see on the horizon.

The Burning Beard: Hi there, and thanks for letting us throw some questions at you.  To start things off, what's the worst question you've been asked in an interview?  Aside from this one, of course.
Salem's Pot:  That is actually a good question.  Any questions about what drugs we took during our recordings or about drugs in general are pretty boring and we are pretty fed up with those questions.  Communication in music is deeper than just chemicals, if you've been there you know what it's about and it just comes out naturally.  I mean, have you reached yet?

TBB: As fans of old sleazy movies, have you come across any lately that really got you excited? 
SP: Recently saw "Who could kill a child?" and I really liked it.  Possessed Spanish children on an island without spoiling too much.  Perfect summer movie. 

TBB: Are there any particular visual artists (in film, painting, live performance, comic books/strips, etc.) who have had a special influence on the music and/or album presentation of Salem's Pot, or whom the band-members just dig on and would recommend fans of the band look into?
SP: Anything from the compositions of Ennio Morricone to the movies by Kenneth Anger and the music/live performances of Hawkwind.  Giallo movies and Hammer Films artwork are also a big inspiration. 

TBB: If Salem's Pot could provide the soundtrack or score to a movie by any film-maker, live or dead, who would the top contenders be?
SP: Stanley Kubrick and Dario Argento.

TBB: Do any of the members have a favorite Stephen King movie, or is there no real connection there beyond the name?
SP: Stephen King's stories have haunted us since we were kids and Salem's Lot, Misery, It and Carrie, to name a few, are all awesome.  But Kubrick's The Shining is probably one of the best movies ever made. 

TBB: In previous interviews, you've said that you never wanted to get stuck doing a single type of music.  What are some exercises or methods you use to keep things fresh?
SP: Well, it's pretty much impossible to make something that's never been done before, but we're trying to not restrain ourselves.  We never start a song by saying that it should sound like this or that, we just play what comes to our minds and if it sounds catchy enough it doesn't really matter what genre it is.   Also we are all into different stuff so we put in a little bit of everything, as long as it's creepy. 

TBB: As a band which started out as a two-piece, what's it like to be working with such a comparatively large line-up these days?
SP: When the two of us started the band it was only one of us who played an instrument, so we took in a bass player and a drummer just to have a beat to make noise over.  The other one took care of the artwork and the visual parts as well as the concept.  He eventually learned how to play the organ and synthesizers and with the addition of that I can focus more on actually playing guitar.  We used to have a hard time finding a drummer who lived in the same town so a friend of ours, who's really a guitar player, took the job.  Finally he got sick of playing drums and was about to leave, so we put him on a second guitar and recruited the drummer from his old band.  It was really difficult in the beginning and pretty much sounded like total chaos, but now I can't see it any other way.

TBB: You did a great split with Windhand a few years back. Are there any other bands you'd really like to do a split record with?  Actually, let me fork that into two parts: bands who are currently active, and bands which you'd have to do some magic to reunite or bring some members back to life for recording purposes.
SP: Currently Beastmaker, otherwise The Cramps. 

TBB: If money and other logistics were of no concern, what would your dream pack-in item for a Salem's Pot album be, aside from merciless psychic expansion?
SP: Probably an anti-gravity machine. 

TBB: Was there any special consideration as to who wore which masks on the cover of Pronounce This!, or was it just what you dug out of your closets/picked up at the local costume shop?
SP: We all picked out which masks we wanted to have for our live performance and the clothes are from our own and our girlfriends' closets.

TBB: What are some of the strangest things you've encountered on tour so far?
SP: Russia was pretty crazy, everything from the vodka-fueled train ride to the drunken/stoned crowd in our dressing room.   One guy stage-dived without anyone catching him.  But there's been a lot of weird stuff on the road, some of it isn't even weird anymore.  After a show in Munich one of us tried to put his mattress into a small closet because it would be like "sleeping in a coffin".  It obviously wasn't even close to fitting and none of it made any sense, I guess he ended up on the floor.

TBB: Are there any annoying misconceptions about the band that you tend to come across?
SP: We've heard a lot of things, anything from that we really are a side project of Windhand to that we ride bicycles to our gigs.  Some people seem to be upset about that we don't play the same riff for 20 minutes anymore, but truth be told we just did that because we couldn't play any better. 

TBB: What are Salem's Pot's plans for the near future?
SP: Amsterdam this weekend and Sonic Blast festival in Portugal in August.  And then a European tour with Electric Citizen in October that should be announced soon.  Apart from that, try to stay sane and not get eaten alive by the society. 

TBB: Is there anything else you'd like to say to our readers?
SP: Thanks for sticking with us, without you this world would be long gone. 

TBB: Thanks very much for your time and the excellent music!
SP: Thank you!

~ Gabriel

Melody Amongst The Fuzz...

Moths & Locusts - Helios Rising (2016)

Melody is a musical tool that can too often be forgotten in heavy rock.  Distortion pedals might be the rock guitarist's ‘bread and butter’ but a keen sense of melody is always a good thing - yet many guitarists act as though distortion and melody are mutually exclusive.

Moths and Locusts clearly realise the power of a good tune though, as this most recent in a long series of releases from the Canadian quartet, Helios Rising, is every bit as melodic as it is heavy.  The guitars craft distorted melodies not a million miles away from Queens Of The Stone Age at their more aggressive; and vocals are clean, clear and well sung.

Although Helios Rising's compositions lack the repetitive, long form jamming of Space Rock, the album does have the genre's signature bleeps and bloops in plentiful supply throughout, adding a psychedelic element to the group's sound.  It's an effective embellishment that manages to never distract from the song itself.

In addition to the group's finely tuned sense of melody, there's a very natural sense of dynamics on the album too.  Troubled is a slow burning, atmospheric jam that suspensefully threatens heaviness for a long time before finally giving it.  The track's echo laden wails and murmurs give the piece a fittingly tortured sense of drama.

Overall, Helios Rising is a fine album that comfortably fits in with the wider heavy psych rock movement without losing its own identity.

~ Martin

For Fans Of; Hawkwind, Queens Of The Stone Age, Floor, Truck Fighters, Torche

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Our Dear Leader (320 kbps)

Witches On Wheels...

Witchstone / The Death Wheelers - Summon The End / Mind Blowing Trip!!! (2016)

Coming to us from the superb Sunmask Records, this split unites two distinct Canadian bands with penchants for heaviness and stylized madness.  Witchstone take the first half, running two ~10-minute songs, while The Death Wheelers slice their section into smaller tracks.
"The Sludgelands" is the first of Witchstone's offerings, starting things off with a wail of feedback before slamming into the heavy with low-tuned strings and drums ready to bash some skulls inwards, deploying the dirty vocals once the thick stony atmosphere is well-established.  After diving through the filthy doom of that one, it's on into "Altar Riot", a more riff-driven piece with the grimy tones intact for the procession of heavy strains and nasty ear-worms as the energy goes wild.
Over on The Death Wheelers' side, they kick off with a sample from (what I think is) Psychomania, a film with a clear influence on the band's image of undead bikers.  From there, it's a ride through stoner doom cranked up to burning levels, with a few more choice samples adding their character to the instrumental tangles of notes and percussion which make up their cool stretch of songs.  Ending on "Cycling for Satan", which hurtles through the riffs and chunky bass-lines like they're heading back to Hell, the band smashes with style off into the horizon.
Between the two bands, it's a great split, with each getting to show-case their style while forming an effective counter-point to the other; Witchstone does it big and twisty, The Death Wheelers fire off like a rocket.  Both sides have a lot going for them, and in the end, it's just a blast to hear such damn fine music getting played (and you better crank up your speakers to do it).  Vinyl's getting regional distribution (War On Music for Canada, RidingEasy Records for the USA, Hevisike for the UK, and Totem Cat Records for Europe at large), with a limited run of cassettes for those who need it.  Either way, do yourself a favor and check these groups out.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Davie Allan & The Arrows, Goya, Ladybird, Sleep, Strange Broue

Witchstone Facebook • The Death Wheelers Facebook • Sunmask Records • Witchstone BandCamp • The Death Wheelers BandCamp

The Death Wheelers - Cycling for Satan (320 kbps)

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Let All The Blood Soak Your Flesh...

Dopethrone - "Host" / Fister - "The Failure" (2016)

Horror movies, fittingly, drench the cover art for the new split between Dopethrone and Fister. This stellar cover was designed by Alexandre Goulet and promises to be "the last thing you ever hear" as the clenched knife comes out of a speaker for Dopethrone and an execution by a guitar driven through the mouth and neck of a man for Fister. We're in for a Hell of a ride. 

Dopethrone took on a huge responsibility by naming themselves off what many to be the quintessential doom metal album by Electric Wizard. They've always knocked it out of the damn park. Their track "Host" begins with a field recording layered deep within vicious guitars and black metal vocals by Vincent as they flow recklessly with the bass of Vyk. The only thing holding everything together is the powerful and precise drumming of Carl. The grooves are a rowdy fuzz filled carousal that only become less tangible with each listen. I swear there are ghosts in this track.  

Fister delivers their signature take on black metal on "The Failure" with upped aggression the likes of which their home state of Missouri has never seen before. Marcus Newstand is a powerhouse vocalist, and guitarist, who carries his shrieked vocals and layers them so much it's dizzying. Marcus draws out each word so much I have to imagine he's just hoarse almost to the point of coughing up blood at the end of each session. Nearing the middle of the track the bass of Kenny Snarzyk, who normally splits vocal duties with Marcus, and the drumming of Kirk Gatterer slow dramatically into an almost funeral doom paced clashing with pure sludge that marches along until the song slowly dissipates into nothing.  

A vinyl release is slated for later this year by Riff Dealer Records.
~Richard

For Fans Of: Behexen, Mayhem, Electric Wizard, Leviathon, Xasthur

Facebook(Dopethrone) • Facebook(Fister) • Bandcamp

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Grown From The Unknown...

Lachrima Corphus Dissolvens - Passage of the Three Laments (2016)

Here we have the latest album from Lachrima Corphus Dissolvens, which in case you haven't heard of them before, is a band from Bolivia which has been producing metal of the death/doom variety since 2003.  With Passage of the Three Laments (apparently an expansion/follow-up to 2010's Bin of the Three Laments), the group shares over an hour's worth of material to life in morbid atmosphere, managing to bring together moments of dramatic theatrics (e.g., the sounds of weeping children, the rumble of thunder, and piano progressions built around letting one note ring out at a time) with more fierce outpourings (howls, guitar shredding, hard and heavy drumming) and have it feel like a natural union, unhurried and paced in ways that play to the strengths of each side.
From that, there's a strong sense of thought going into the album's assembly even before the actual song-writing began.  It feels like a story being told with care, the different moods of the songs acting as environmental set-pieces to further illustrate the narrative while providing a dark richness for the ears.  I feel like I'm fumbling more than slightly to put it into words, as the group achieves a cinematic quality which most bands don't even seem to consider tackling, and LCD do it so damn well.
On top of that, there's the range of styles that the group meshes together, keeping the morbid mood alive through neofolk-like acoustic guitar strumming, the numerous atmospheric interludes, the vibrant turns into unrestrained metal, the genuinely epic size and ambition matched by production to make things sound as though they're taking place in a cathedral, the woods, a tomb...  It's all of this and more.
Just fantastic, all told, though thankfully there's enough substance to the album that it doesn't compromise itself for instant accessibility.  Not one to put on in the background (at least not for the first few times you hear it), but instead, something that should be given concentration to appreciate how much work went into making the songs what they are.  Expect to see this one in the single-digits ranks of my 'year's best' list, and please, if you enjoy doom that can take things seriously, take the time to hear this one for yourself.  Also, here's hoping that Forcefield Records or some other excellent label picks this up for wider distribution and a vinyl pressing.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Abysmal Grief, Bell Witch, Candlemass, Jupiterian, early Opeth

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Lachrima Corphus Dissolvens - The Truth Is Out There (320 kbps)

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Scraped From The Amp...

Resin - Resin (2016)

The Canadian group of Resin is making their public debut with this EP, sporting dirty vocals over fat-tubed bass resonance, sweet-pedaled guitar, drums that hit the sweet spot between loose and on-point, and old-school stoner doom riffs that show their blues influence proudly.  Powerful riffs to sweep you along in their rhythms, clear signs of creativity with the breaks and space play, and a care for the tones that has them simply seeping out of your speakers point to this band being able to come up with new ideas while staying true to the stoner doom spirit, always a relief in a genre as saturated with tradition slaves as that one is. 
And the three songs do what a first EP should do best: leave the listener hungry for more.  I want to hear more from this group, because there's so much potential here, and they've got such a grasp on how to work the essential stuff (which they've fucking got, just take the time to listen), so I can't wait to hear how they keep experimenting in the future.  Just thinking about the future for this group, with forays into heavy feedback, crazy-long songs, more sweet instrumental crannies, and, of course, all the fun song titles that'll entail, has me grinning and eager to hear what they'll devise.  Until then, I'll be keeping these songs steady in my listening mix.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Acid Bath, Crystal Balls, Green Fiend, Hypnochron, Ladybird

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Resin - Null (320 kbps)

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Tangled In Minerals...

Crystal Balls - Roots (2016)

With this two-track first release, which hit the world on April 20th (presumably at 4:20 p.m.) for maximum stoner cred, the Floridian group of Crystal Balls specialize in dirty grooves, vocals that sound like bong-water was gargled to prep for the recording session, and bass that stretches out with no worries.  It makes for a mix that some (like me) might describe as 'blackened stoner doom', but the emphasis is certainly on the stoner doom half of that mix, breaking up the usual zonked-out slowness of that style with frenetic bursts of raw beatings before slipping back into reverb adoration and focus on string tones.
It's an uncommon mix, but certainly an enjoyable one, as long as the rough vocals don't immediately turn you off.  The group shows a deft hand at drawing out and gradually twisting their melodies, with each of the lengthy tracks easily avoiding repetition for its own sake, and instead keeping things lively and engaging (though not so wild as to lose the already red-eyed listeners).  Since it runs just about 21 minutes between the two songs, you'll need to listen to it twice to hit the magic number, but that'll let you pick up on some details and technique you might have missed your first time through, so it's all good.  Definitely check this one out if you can dig some violent tendencies with your stoner doom, and stay tuned for more from this crew.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Desert Crone, The Munsens, Toke, Trees, Wolf Blood

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Crystal Balls - Altered Strain (320 kbps)

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Cool Guys With Cool Hotpants....

Totally Unicorn ~ Dream Life (2016)

Sometimes we all love a little something thats a bit discordant and out there. My personal vice when it comes to weird and wonderful finds is Australia's own Totally Unicorn.
Brought to my attention by an Aussie friend of mine while I was Thailand, I was shown the video for their song Cool Dads With Cool Sons while sat next to an elephant, in blazing heat drinking my 8th bottle of Chang. I know those details aren't entirely required, but when you watch the video it really helps paint the picture of what a surreal predicament I was in.
I will prefix this whole thing by stating that I'm not a massive hardcore fan. Whether it's the overly pretentious band members or the often discordant nature of the music, I don't know. I've never quite been able to put my finger on it. That being said, this is where Totally Unicorn stand a good few paces from that particular crowd. If you viewed even so much as 10 seconds of the video above this will already be brazenly apparent to you. If you've yet to, well maybe such song titles as "Umm, Yeah We're The Gay Metallica" and "Let's Spice Things Up With Laser Swords" gave it away?... Or maybe the fact that they released an EP called 9inches and pressed the vinyl in the shape of a dick (yeah, it totally looks as awesome as it sounds). Either way, it's safe to say that Totally Unicorn as about as far away from the conventional straight edge hardcore scene as it's possible to be without dabbling in acoustic folk music. Although I wouldn't put it past them. Still, it's a damn good refreshing change to find a band that don't even contemplate taking themselves remotely seriously. While listening to the music alone doesn't instantly convey this image, in typical Aussie style the guys certainly have fun at the top of their agenda. Yeah, not all of you are going to dig it, but I defy any of you to say that you wouldn't want to catch these chaps live or be at a house party with them. I can just picture it now... Them rocking up to the front door with a crate under each arm, before you later discover that one of them has buttered the cat, another shat in the washing machine and that they've superglued their latest album into the cd player.
The only trouble with Totally Unicorn is the fact they're damn hard to describe, other than that they're the musical equivalent of Marmite, you're either going to love them or hate them (apologies if that analogy gets somewhat lost in translation). It's tongue in cheek hardcore essentially, but you really should go and check them out and make you're own damn mind up.
Dream Life is out later this week and although it may not be in the shape of a giant phallic, this new release will still be an absolute belter. Head on over to their bandcamp and check out some of the preorder bundles on offer!
Go on, go!
~ Jay

For Fans Of; Nasum, Cult Of Luna, Sourvein, Swarm Of Spheres, Gay Paris 

Facebook • Bandcamp

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Breaking The Barriers...

Demons from the Dungeon Dimension - As the Crow Flies (2016)

Coming to us from South Africa, this debut from the Demons from the Dungeon Dimension (DftDD, or DDD, or D3, or 3D... so many options for getting around writing out that name in full!) offers what's become a relatively rare commodity these days: metal from an environment where it's still considered to be a threat to society.  Fittingly, there's more than a little of the retro heavy metal flavor to DDD's sounds, though they avoid whole-sale imitation in favor of blending it into their raw doom base.  As you might also expect of music coming from a context of no social support for what the musicians are doing, it's self-produced, though aside from some fuzz and a little persistent feedback, this doesn't cause any real issues (and the hatred doomsters have for fuzz is well-documented, right?).
Finding comparisons for the group's style is tough, as they casually move between heavy rock and metal barbs without telegraphing it, keeping afloat on thick grooves while weaving atmosphere to fit, but it does feel like they've carefully studied a wide number of bands to bring their own style into being.  Chunks of blues, flashes of death, and smears of grungy alt rock all bubble up from the heavy doom base, and hearing the way they roll it all together in a way that holds together (even while manifesting some odd shapes) is a big part of the fun of the album, at least in my listening.
The band already has a new EP out (I guess it's technically a single, but one that comes to about 24 minutes of music), so if you want to hear a new band applying some creativity and musical knowledge beyond doom dogmatism, you might want to grab the downloads for this and that from D3's BandCamp page.  And hey, why not throw them some money for it, to let them know they've got an interested audience paying attention out in the world?
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Brume, Celophys, Headless Kross, Moon Curse, Salem's Pot

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Demons from the Dungeon Dimension - Scales (320 kbps)

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