Raleigh, North Carolina’s amazingly hard rockin’ Demon Eyehave announced their new album, ‘Prophecies And Lies’, will be released August 11th via Soulseller Recordson CD, vinyl, and digital formats. The new album was recorded by Mike Dean of Corrosion Of Conformity/Righteous Fool in the band’s hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina, and displays a strong musical progression with mighty doomened riffs, haunting melodies and head bang-worthy anthems. Demon Eye are bringing vintage heavy darkness for modern times and current day evils. New track “The Waters And The Wild” is streaming below.
– Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker
Tracklisting:
“The Waters And The Wild”
“In The Spider’s Eye”
“The Redeemer”
“Kismet”
“Infinite Regress”
“Dying For It”
“Politic Devine”
“Power Of One”
“Vagabond”
“Prophecies And Lies”
“Morning’s Son”
PHE S/T – DD Self-Release – Release Date: June 2, 2017 Reviewed By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker
From Helmond, Netherlands we have the arrival of a hereunto somewhat secret trio Phe and their just-issued 5-song self-titled album. Secret or not, the cat (or PHEline) is out of the bag with this debut and whatta cat this is! Constructed upon all of the prerequisite fundamentals and components that make Stoner Rock the substantive treasure it is, the musical realms explored on Phe are quite diverse. Sure, it is all deeply rooted in the basics of heavy rock but the boys add in ample amounts of blues, fuzz, alternative and more into this stunning effort.
Things roll out off the line with the heavy stomp of ‘Heaven’s Hell‘, immediately finding an open-ended groove while a tight-knit rhythm section anchors things into place. Fuzzy riffs reverberate as a bit of husky, well-graveled vocals join the movement. We all ride this circuit together until things power down some toward the mid-section for a bit of stripped down vocals with bass and drum accompaniment. ‘Hide‘ begins with a much doomier introduction, a slow churn of guitar, bass and drums before yielding to to a minimalist amount of music during the verses. Reaching an almost hypnotic pattern at times while the vocals switch from melodic and airy to angst-y and intense.
Effect-laden guitars unfurl the middle-marking point of this album, ‘Grow Old‘, before they merge with the others for another intoxicating rhythmic ride. It pulsates and ripples before going off the rails during the amped up choruses while heady vocals do their thing. Those choruses become huge walls of sound where a frenzied delivery rages ever so briefly before powering down back to the melodic verses. In fact, the fourth song’s title sort of describes this best, ‘Rage Down‘. Ethereal bass lines reverberate as an equally airy type of vocal combine with its desert rock music for a bit of a progressive feel to the track itself. Then we arrive at my favorite song of the five, the album-closing ‘Up On The Mountain‘, a track chock full of stoner grit. It combines that grit with a bit of a gothic doom feel while providing some of the burliest riffs yet. A brief pause in the music becomes the shove off point for a fantastic jam session that ultimately ends this fine song and PHEnomenal outing.
LÂMINA Lilith – DD Raging Planet Records – Release Date: June 2, 2017 Reviewed By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker
From one of planet Earth’s ongoing hotbeds of psyche-infused heavy rock, Portugal, comes the 7-song ‘Lilith‘ debut from LÂMINA. Just released this past Friday, June 2nd, LÂMINA are poised to make their mark upon the global underground music scene with this release. With the quartet of Vasco Duarte, Katari, Evil and Filipe Homem Fonseca fueling the music upon this effort, what they’ve crafted is an energetic, enthralling entrance into another world. That world is a musical realm where hazy, lysergic hard rock melds with desert and grunge elements to render a powerful introduction to LÂMINA.
The diversity of music and genres explored on ‘Lilith‘ is an impressive example of the band’s ability to move within their music with cohesion and fluidity. From the heavily riff-driven opening song ‘Cold Blood‘ there is an underlying sense of urgency rippling within this cool tune itself. The band keeps things tight knit and moving at every twist and turn, up to a point where they delve into some headier aspects of the psyche-tinted variety. Explorations like that are rampant on subsequent tracks like ‘Maze‘ and ‘In The Warmth Of Lilith‘, especially the former as ‘Maze’ is a 20 minute plus excursion into otherworldly awesomeness.
But perhaps your tastes appreciate the heavier side of things and there is an abundance of such here. Just check out such stellar songs as ‘Big Black Angel‘, ‘Evil Rising‘ or ‘Education For Death‘. In fact, you should just go and check out the entire LÂMINA ‘Lilith‘ album via the Bandcamp embed below. Once there, you can reap the added bonus of it currently being available as a FREE download so it is truly a win-win for you (us) in every way.
BØG JIM – CD//DD Self-Release – Release Date: June 10, 2017 Reviewed By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker
Having just celebrated their third year of existence in April, what better time for BØGto release a new studio offering than right now, huh? Well, that’s exactly what the Melbourne, Australia-based trio of bassist/vox Dain Fewings, drummer/vox Eric Stone and guitarist/vox Tim Jacka are preparing to do. The 5-song ‘JIM‘ will be unleashed on June 10th and when I say “unleashed”, that is exactly what I mean. See, JIM is a humongous beast of a release, a densely crushing recording where terms like volatile or savagery just scratch the surface of this thing’s overall heaviness.
The trio of BØG meld some diverse elements into their music on this outing, everything from sludge, doom, and death metal to ambient, atmospheric and psychedelia. There is an underlying hellishness to the content, a deep darkness that permeates it while channeling a sense of bleak despair. Those elements are solidly represented during the opening cut, ‘Original Hate‘, as a veritable locomotive-like slow groove churns things along. Tortured, acidic vocals, occasionally guttural ones too, navigate the music and at nearly ten minutes in length, there’s some places to explore.
Exploration sums things up nicely when referring to the haunting, heady songs ‘Fractured‘ and ‘Warm Smell Of The Dredge‘. Both seem somewhat minimalist but these are cases where less truly is more as trippy psyche nuances flow throughout the semi-funeral doom styling of the songs. I keep finding myself reminded of the genre classification “Outersound” that my friends in Swallow The Sky turned me on to last year. The music of BØG is most definitely that of the outersound nature and it does not get more outer there than ‘Siding With King Mort‘ and ‘Peat For Scars‘. These pair of back-to-back album ending tracks are two of the more experimental ones here with the former, ‘Siding With King Mort‘, being my favorite of the five.
Bludgeoning brutality with pummeling punishment derived from a truly sonic-based battery, BØG absolutely embodies such in their music. It’s relentless and constantly crushing you beneath its compacted weight, like the mass-condensing ability of a black hole. BØG are like an aural quicksand that you cannot escape from, they pull you inward and under their amplified mire. Be you doomed or damned, ‘JIM‘ is one hell of a way to go. Here’s your chance to stream it in full below…if you dare.
Portland, Oregon’s sludge/doom heavyweights Graves At Sea are officially on tour in the U.S. as of right this moment. Dubbed The Cold Dead Hands Tour 2017, the trek kicked off yesterday evening in Boise, Idaho and will close June 16th on their home turf in Oregon. The run includes performances at 71 Grind Fest in Colorado Springs, Colorado as well asNorthwest Terror Fest in Seattle, Washington. See all remaining dates below.
Graves At Sea are touring in support of their 2016 debut full-length album, The Curse That Is. Engineered by Greg Wilkinson (Noothgrush, Brainoil) and mastered by Brad Boatright (Sleep, YOB), The Curse That Is melds walls of feedback-laden sound with gargantuan riffs that burden and crush one with the weight of mountains. The Curse That Is is out now on Relapse Records. For physical orders visit Relapse.com HERE. For digital orders go to the Graves At Sea Bandcamp page HERE where you can also stream the record in its densely savage entirety.
GRAVES AT SEA [remaining dates]:
6/01/2017 Hi Dive – Denver, CO
6/02/2017 71 Grind Fest @ Black Sheep – Colorado Springs, CO
6/03/2017 Sister Bar – Albuquerque, NM
6/05/2017 Club Red – Mesa, AZ
6/06/2017 Brick By Brick – San Diego, CA
6/07/2017 Five Star Bar – Los Angeles, CA
6/08/2017 Alex’s Bar – Long Beach, CA
6/09/2017 Starlite Lounge – Sacramento, CA
6/10/2017 Oakland Metro – Oakland, CA
6/15/2017 Northwest Terror Fest @ Neumos – Seattle, WA
6/16/2017 Tonic Lounge – Portland, OR
THE ARTICLE SIXTIES Gods Of The Multiverse EP – DD Self Released – March 31st, 2017 Reviewed By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker
From Bruges, Belgium comes The Article Sixties with their debut EP, ‘Gods Of The Multiverse‘, like a bullet out of the blue. Similar to that ordinance, this EP is a dangerous hunk of steely hard rock. Steeped in Seventies-style heaviness but with a clearly modern bent to their sound, this 4-song outing is chock full of energy. The quartet comprising The Article Sixites are Nick Anne (vox), Michiel Henneco (guitar), Marijn ‘Danger’ De Craecker (bass) and Niels Vanthourenhout (drums).
Things immediately burst out of the gate with the introductory cut ‘The Lucky Few‘, a heavy stomp of animated riffs and super-grooving rhythms. Stellar drum work powers out throughout the song while the vocals are quite solid. The song never pauses nor takes a breather and before you know it, ‘Outlaw‘ arrives. Another ripping, tight-knit track with some bluesy overtones where again, the guitar playing is intensely active. Things get quite groove-based in the bridge, I especially like the stripped down section of isolated bass lines and feedback. We receive our first real breather as the lighter vibes of ‘Little Sister‘ begins, melodic and a bit musically haunting. Things soon delve deeply into a bit of psychedelia before a full-on eruption into driving rhythms and vocals with a sense of urgency. That feeling continues to build and build but before the song is over, I swear it takes on a styling that reminds me of The Misfits and TSOL (True Sounds Of Liberty) both. We get to ‘Match‘, the last song and my favorite of the four. Another energized number with a bit of W.F.O. attitude in the thick guitars, amazing rhythm section’s back and forth and the album’s best vocal performance in my opinion.
The Article Sixties ‘Gods Of The Multiverse‘ EP is a superb introduction to the band as well as just a rocking release in general. It is no crap rock and roll and as such, it is good and it kicks ass, simply put. Check it out via the Bandcamp embedded stream below.
PUTA VOLCANO Harmony Of Spheres – CD//DD//Vinyl iota5 Records – Release Date: April 28th, 2017 Reviewed By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker
I have long said that there is some incredible music happening in the nation of Greece and this band, Puta Volcano, are the latest example of what I am talking about. Clearly, I am not alone in that belief either seeing as how Athens’ Puta Volcano is set to play at DesertFest Athens 2017 alongside acts like Saint Vitus, Orange Goblin, Colour Haze and Graveyard, among others. It has now been close to a month since the band, vocalist Luna Stoner (aka Anna Papathanasiou), guitarist Alex Pi, bassist Bookies and drummer Steven S., released their latest album, the stellar ‘Harmony Of Spheres‘. The 8-song offering is the eagerly awaited follow-up to the band’s earlier releases, The Sun (2015) and Represent Victory Below Eye (2011) and let me tell you, the wait was worth it.
Much like their namesake, Puta Volcano and their music are an explosive eruption of lava hot Desert Rock, but such that has elements of Stoner, Psyche, Grunge and Progressive Rock augmenting it. The quartet craft intensely enthralling riff-driven hard rock that just flows with rhythmic propulsion, they keep it tight knit and cohesive thanks to their solid deliveries. It simply astounds me that the band is not a widely known commercial success, a well-recognized household name uttered upon the lips of countless music fans. But then like I said, this record is a freshly out of the oven, piping hot slab of molten musicality so who knows what may be lurking around the bend?
Speaking of bends, things kick off here with the winding rollercoaster that is the aptly-titled introductory song, ‘Dune‘. Huge grooves, thunderous rhythms and impressive drumming drive the song’s swaggering, laid back flow but without question, something gets revealed. A sultry sounding, raspy-throated and utterly incredible vocal powerhouse that is Luna! Don’t get me wrong, the guys are as equally fantastic as well but we all know that without the proper singer, even the best music can fall short. There seems to be no chance in hell of that happening here though thankfully.
Once you’ve regained your senses, there’s a whole range of multifaceted music explored in subsequent songs like the beautiful ‘Bird‘, jumpin’ ‘Jovian Wind‘ or radiant ‘Afterglow‘. For me personally, things really landed well during the middle segment of the record, particularly ‘Zeroth Law‘, ‘Neon‘ and ‘Moebius‘. All three tracks are just incredible, the hypnotic haziness of ‘Zeroth Law‘ with a structured, pattern-like vocal delivery where Luna once again struts her stuff. From there, ‘Neon‘ ratchets up both the tempo and intensity like a driving, pumping engine as a tempest of energized music swirls about. Meanwhile, I believe ‘Moebius‘ may actually be my favorite cut on the record with its own trippier nuances. Things eventually careen headlong into some truly powerful Alt. Rock, the band itself in unison and rolling out a truly stand-out performance. I will let ‘Infinity‘ just surprise and impress you all on its own.
Yet when all is said, done and played, Puta Volcano‘s ‘Harmony Of Spheres‘ is a veritably stand alone musical statement itself. Simply put, it is a fantastic album and I feel that life is better with it than without it but you will have to be the judge of that for yourself. You can do exactly that by streaming it via the Bandcamp embedded player below.
THE RIVEN Blackbird – CD//DD Self-Released – April 14th, 2017 Reviewed By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker
The London, UK-based band The Riven recently issued their 5-song ‘Blackbird‘ EP and it has quickly garnered quite positive press across the board. With an ever-present feel of bluesy hard rock and retro vibes, vocalist Charlotta Ekebergh, guitarist Arnau Diaz, bassist Max Ternebring and drummer Olof Axegärd deliver a powerful musical statement with the effort. Immensely soulful elements permeate the musical output of The Riven, ones exuding depth amid the intricacies resulting from brilliant songwriting.
If you can imagine the guitar-fueled strength of a band like UFO melded with the vocal chops inspired by greats like Ann Wilson or Pat Benatar then you’re starting to get the idea of what’s going on here. From the faster-fueled paces of the opening ‘Ain’t No Doctor‘, with its driving intensity and throbbing rhythms to the unhinged boogie of ‘Tower‘, this is energized music. There are moments of melodic psychedelia, such as in the bridge of the latter track there or in the fantastic haziness of the title track ‘Blackbird‘. It’s a simmering, heady number and definitely one of the stand out cuts from the EP along with the fantastic ‘One Last Time‘.
If you’re seeking something that’s steeped in classic rock overtones, embedded with bluesy swagger and full-on with amplifier-fueled attitude then look no further. The Riven‘s ‘Blackbird‘ EP is a superb display of raw, solidly-hewn hard rock that you can check out for yourself below.
FORBIDDEN NOISE Distances EP – Digital Download/Stream Self-Released Apil 11th, 2017 Reviewed By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker
Metal…the forbidden noise. Sounds ominous, doesn’t it? Well that is quite fitting then because we are here to spotlight the unquestionable metal presence that is Szeged, Hungary’s Forbidden Noise. The band just recently issued their five-song (and an intro) ‘Distances‘ EP and the PR for it states that it is: “Five songs about the physical, mental and emotional distances within and between people.” Now, while it may be all of that and more, it is also something else…Metal. Part death metal, part power-violence, part metalcore, part Post-Hardcore and all of it is downtuned D-Beat and damaging.
After the brief intro piece of ‘Foghorn‘ sets the stage, things explode with the bruising rhythmic pulses of ‘Crowing‘. Driving pulsations pump like pistons while constant guitar manipulations are presented, all while dizzying drum work is delivered too. A multitude of vocal styles alternate back and forth from guttural bellows to piercing shriek-styled ones. Thrashing cuts like ‘From Under The Grindstone‘ (official video below), ‘Mass Production Line Of Fear‘ and ‘Release‘ send you reeling one after another. The music remains energetic and intense at all times and once again I must draw attention to the fact that the diversified vocal approach keeps things interesting. If you need a comparison, think Lamb Of God-meets-a-much-heavier-Between The Buried And Me.
My personal favorite track is ‘Amit ott találsz‘ and while I have no inkling what that means or translates to, I do know that it is a fantastic song. Melding all of the heaviness of the music with a bit more melodic elements and more importantly, abundant measures of progressive nuances. That experimentation infects all the components here as schizophrenic-like vocals unfurl one after another and the melodic, exploratory tint of the music grows more epic. The song, and Forbidden Noise‘s ‘Distances‘ EP itself must be heard to be fully appreciated and you have the ability to do so below via the Bandcamp embed.
The roots of Cleveland, Ohio’s Contra are deeply connected to a bevy of bands that the members either are in currently or were in previously. In fact, Contra itself originally started as the instrumental trio of guitarist Chris Chiera (Sofa King Killer), drummer Aaron Brittain (ex-Rue) and baritone guitarist Adam Horwatt (So Long Albatross). That line up recorded a demo, Son Of Beast, that revealed the guys’ style of blended metal, blues, rock, and sludge but still, something was missing. Enter vocalist Larry Brent of such acts as The Unholy Three, Hatchet Job, Don Austin and Splinter. Then, after only three shows of the quartet playing together, Larry began recording vocals to eight of the ten tracks of what would become the Contra debut, Deny Everything.
Deny Everything will be released by Robustfellow Productions and Shifty Records on July 1st. It was recorded in Cleveland at Bad Back Studios and mastered at Cauliflower Audio. Today, we are presenting you the new track ‘Snake Goat‘ below and after you’ve enjoyed it, you can check out three more songs from the ten-tracker further on down.
– Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker
Tracklist:
Human Buzzsaw (3:24) Snake Goat (4:07) Altered Beast(3:19) The Gorgon (2:27) Humanoid Therapy (6:02) Son of Beast (4:13) Bottom Feeder (2:58) One Hundred Hand Slap (2:45) Dr. Goldfoot (4:54) Shrimp Cocktail (7:41)
