Turtle Skull “Self Titled” Album Review + Stream…

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Turtle Skull

Turtle Skull – Digital Download // Band Shirt Bundles

Self Released – releases May 17, 2018

Terry “The Ancient One” Cuyler

Surfing the Psychedelic Sound Waves

 

 

Tracklist:
No News is Bad News – 6:56
Take it or Leave It – 8:27
Eden – 6:08
Empty Ships – 8:23

 

Ah…Spring has sprung. The trees are leafing and flowers blooming and I feel the urge to leave my cave behind and go bike riding. But to do that I need some good riding music and in my collection I have quite a bit to choose that covers a wide spectrum of styles.

Most recently I added a “Self Titled” EP by the self described Flower Doom  rockers from Sydney Australia called Turtle Skull who will be debuting the download of their EP on Bandcamp this May 17th 2018. Available for Pre – order now for $1 US I’d feel like I was ripping them off if I didn’t pay $5. Offering up what sounds to me like surf music infused with psychedelic feel good fuzz I find it easy to not care about trivial things when I listen to it. While I am not going to claim Turtle Skull is the next Earthless I feel pretty safe saying they have a lot of potential and I’d buy a full length album if they produce one.

Live Band Shot

Opening the EP is No News is Bad News a trippy fuzzadelic song about tuning out the talking heads on TV that encourage us to buy into their vision of a plastic paradise that we all to often buy into. What I like most about this are the droning vocals and guitars that feel like they are coming from the deep.

With a steady mid tempo rhythm that keeps things simple Take It Or Leave It has the rolling feel of a classic surf song. Overall, what I enjoyed was its catchy feel.

Nothing like having drums and guitars create a rhythm which Turtle Skull does masterfully.

Moving into a more visceral sound is Eden the 3rd track is my favorite on the EP. What I like most is that naughty guitar played by vocalist guitarist Dean.

Closing “Turtle Skull” is the psychedelic blues song Empty Ships that feels like a midnight swim under the stars. Deans smooth vocals and guitar along with Dan on synth set the mood for the song and proved to me they can do more than just sound more fuzzed. This debut album is an excellent start for this promising band.  I look forward to what they have in store for us in the near future.  Highly Recommend!!

Pro Band Pic

Zuul “Zuul” Album Review + Tour Schedule + Stream…

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ZUUL

Zuul  – Vinyl // CD-R // DD

Sump Pump Records – Release Date: September 8th, 2017

Reviewed by Ric “Suisyko” Dorr

 

Location:
Iowa City, Iowa

Lineup:
JL BOLINGER – GUITAR/VOCALS
IAN KOEHLER – GUITAR
DENNY RICHARDS – BASS
ALEX WATTS – DRUMS

Review:
Was sent this record to review, never heard of the band, had heard of the Tyrannosaurid Theropod Dinosaur that had been found in 2014 in Montana and had only recently been named and described this year, and by looking at the cover art, I gathered the name was probably more akin to the demon and demi-god Zuul the Gatekeeper of Gozer, from the Ghostbusters movie that, coincidentally enough, was a facet in the name of the aforementioned wicked lizard.

 

 

Eight songs making up this 32 minute romp of all things rage/punk/screamo complete with surf-punk kitsch in the guitar lines and an hyper-fuzzed bass line, enough cymbal crash to simulate roaring waves and a sneer-filled growling vocal line to rival even the fiercest on delivery.

ZUUL’s debut on vinyl for the first time, includes poster of the album artwork, lyric poster and an additional live album on the download code (w/vinyl version only).

From opener ‘747’ to ‘Punk Funk’, any pretense is wasted as these are full speed ahead through ‘What If’. ‘Middle Child’ is a slower tempo’d rocker that even the purest would have to appreciate in it’s heavy handed arrangement to keep your head moving. And then there’s ‘I Don’t Drive’ that comes out of the gate with a soft-touched clean guitar that breaks into over distorted squeals at the chorus break where the plush returns to envelop the ardent among before the clean returns to circle again.

‘Jimmy Buffet Killed Iowa City’ has a staggered intro that takes a hold as the winding guitar returns weaving circles around from all directions leading to the demanding vocal line that forces you to listen in a riotous cadence that shifts on a dime and again and again to almost a dizzying proportion that flows perfectly into ‘Greg Hall’ with it’s Spaghetti Western intro before full on shrieking rage comes back through the mic.

Live Band Shot

 

Final track ‘untitled’, may be the one that doesn’t seem to fit until you listen to the lyric that flows with a voice that is almost impossible to believe is the same guy that you have just spent 7 previous songs with. Even the first guitar notes are clean and slightly warbled, showing a completely different side for this band on what I have to assume is a first release from as I could not find anything online besides the album listing and release party info on their labels webpage. This song shows ability typically not associated with a band that is seemingly pissed off all the time to deliver on any level imaginable.

Great outing from the Midwest and shows great promise in MY opinion. I have a feeling that in a live format they could rip your face off or get you pumped up and screaming at the very least. Get the album, play it to no end and share it to any set of ears you can, catch them live if they come anywhere close and keep it LOUD!!

Devil Electric “Self Titled” Album Review + Stream + Tour Schedule…

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Devil Electric

Devil Electric – Limited Vinyl // CD // DD

Kozmik Artifactz – releases August 11th, 2017

Reviewed by Terry “The Ancient One” Cuyler

 

Standing at the cross roads of blue, rock, and psychedelic is the  Melbourne rock quartet Devil Electric. The band first debuted in 2016 and gained a sizable following among stoner, psych, a doom fans with “The Gods Below.” This 4 track fuzzedelic blues EP full was of bluesy vocals done by Pierina O’Brien and heavy riffs laid down by Christos Athanasias- Guitars, Tom Hulse -Bass, Vocals, and Mark Van De Beek- Drums. Encouraged by the fans response Melbourne’s Devil Electric is preparing to release its 2nd release; their debut “Self Titled” Full Length on Germany’s Kozmik Artifactz Records.

Tour Schedule

 

When describing the bands 2nd album Tom Hulse, the bands bassist, backing vocalist and co writer said in the album press release “Lady Velvet” was written with the idea of painting a picture at the forefront. I wanted to create images and draw a theme in the listeners mind within the first few lines, touching on opposing forces and building a character. The song is about the push and shove of relationships we experience with the world both on a human level and a fictional/dramatized one. There’s always light and shade in life and when you run your hand across velvet you can see it change in color and form, reflecting just that in a material form.” 

After listening to this album several times now I’d say Tom Hulse did a pretty good job describing both the song Lady Velvet and the entire album both lyrically and musically. While the band is most definitely rock they take a different approach to heavy rock than some bands. Throughout Devil Electric, Pierina’s bluesy vocal style adds a dark element to the music as Tom,  Christos, and Mark lay down the psychedelic heavy blues rock. This are showcased especially in the instrumentals ‘Monolith’ and ‘Lilith.’ The songs I like most from the Devil Electric album are ‘Lady Velvet,’ ‘Acidic Fire,’ ‘The Sacred Machine’ and most of all ‘Hypnotica’ as Pierina vocals really cuts loose.

 

Devil Electric will be released digitally, on CD and vinyl on August, 11th, 2017 and is available for per-order right NOW. If you are a fan of Graveyard, Kadavar, The Dead Weather, Blues Pills, The Well, Electric Citizen, Black Sabbath you may like this band. Don’t be afraid to comment and share our posts with your friends.  Strongly Recommend!!

Arcadea “Arcadea” Album Review + Stream…

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A Metal Synth-ony from Bizarro World

Arcadea

Arcadea – Vinyl // CD // DD

Relapse Records – released June 16, 2017

Reviewed by Terry “The Ancient One” Cuyler

 Greeting tasters this is Terry the Ancient One. For the last few days now I have been listening to Arcadea the new “S/T” debut album by the super trio made up of drummer // vocalist Brann Dailor (Mastodon), Keyboardist Core Atoms of (Zruda & Gaylord) and Keyboardist // Guitarist Raheem Amlani (Withered & Scarab). Having not even learned of Brann Dailor’s new band until recently, I had no clue what I was going to be listening to. The Result is a visionary, 10 song synth odyssey that was recorded at Orange Peel Studios in Atlanta, GA. The self-titled debut record will see its release via Relapse Records this June.

With song titles like ‘Army of Electrons’, and ‘Through The Eye of Pisces’ I figured this would be Space Rock or some kind of Heavy Psych. But what I heard took me completely by surprise  when I realized this was not just Space Rock or Heavy Psych.

 

Band Pic

 

A concept album Arcadea has said envisions a future 5 billion years from now, where the impending collision of galaxies creates a new order of planets. Where cold, distant moons pledge alliance to new suns and expanding gas giants implode into black holes. Ancient drones, forever adrift, record toxic tales of love between dying stars. Where lifeforms in suspended animation, dream among the ice rings of Saturn and cosmic war wages among gods and planets. It is in this universe that Arcadea reign supreme as the last surviving space wizards since the final extinction.

While some power trio purists may be butt hurt there are no fuzzy guitars or ponderously slow and sludge laden bass lines.  Rather, those who love progressive, heavy psychedelic rock, space rock, and electronica will love this album. Unlike some electronic driven rock music Arcadea does not sound plinky plonky or overly light and airy. Like The Alan Parsons Project of aulde, Brann, Core, Raheem prodigiously weave a tapestry of sound . Listeners will feel like they are taking a ride through space and time through a tapestry of psychedelic soundscapes.  To get the best effect I would recommend using a pair of headphones unless you have a kick ass stereo.

Broken Ones “Self Titled” EP Review + Stream…

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BROKEN ONES

Self Titled 7 Inch – Vinyl // DD

Sump Pump Records – released June 3, 2017

Album Reviewed by Ric “Suisyko” Dorr

 

Location : Des Moines, Iowa USA

That’s about the extent of any info about this three piece other than they include members of the bands The Jitz, Traffic Death, and The band Rob Ogg, and have several upper Midwest shows running through July 2017. This being the first offering from, and released by Sump Pump Records.  It contains four tracks totaling 6+ minutes of pure punk rage including a ‘sliced and diced to perfection‘ cover of 80’s legend Greg Khin’s track ‘The Breakup Song’ that is ‘instant movement‘ for the entire 1:42 as you scream along with these guys.

Band Pic

 

The other three original tracks are full-on sneer inducing pure punk, each a quick burst of machine gun drum-lines, road-rage spewing and an almost love song to start things off. This is one of those maxi-singles that leaves one question in your mouth… “Where the fuck is the REST??” No real “New ground” broken other than the brilliant reworking of  Khin cover, but it hits hard from beginning to end and will force you to hear it over and over… get it now, shove it down the throats of your closest friends and all of their enemies too, support them live and keep it LOUD!!

 

CRACKHOUSE S/T EP Review & Stream [Argonauta Records]

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We are but a handful of days away from France’s Crackhouse re-issuing their self-titled debut EP via Argonauta Records. The 2-song effort will be unleashed on April 7th and to prepare you for what’s coming, I’m here to discuss Crackhouse a bit more in detail. So, what do you know about Crackhouse..and by that I mean the band, not the notorius place people go to beam up. Do you know that they are a three man band consisting of members Simon Morlec, Jibus Carton and Guillaume Vaillant? Or that they specialize in creating some lethally damaging, dense sludge riddled with doom overtones and abundant aggression? But there is more, much, much more as the guys meld dense Fuzz/Desert/Stoner Rock portions into their batch of intoxicating heaviness.

crackhouse (4)

With these two tracks the trio cook up a dizzying delivery of deep rhythms embedded in this threatening aural upheaval. Resonating riffs shudder through the air around the listener as jarring drums pound and batter you senseless. Both songs, “Swamp Widows” and “Serpent Suuns“, are wide-ranging in content. Both are lengthy explorations into a sedimentary mire of hypnotic hardness. The former unfolds with a trippy intro that soon crumbles away as the chaos is unleashed. A body blow of mile-wide riffs hit you head-on as the angsty, somewhat hardcore type vocals’ gravelly presence is announced. With Southern Doom vibes reverberating all around, the paces of the tune are then alternated somewhat..at times uptempo and more animated while other times finds them throttled down to a slow-oozing crawl.

The latter song takes on a much more uptempo energy after its initial feedback-ringing introduction. Sure, it too is a heavy handed foray but it is definitely more akin to a caustic, post-hardcore style of music. This is the much more ultra-aggressive side of Crackhouse showing their wares in such a way that it will sear your ears from the inside out when you undergo the experience. Things do gradually settle down a bit as the guys take us into a much headier direction with some hypnotic repetitions of the song’s signature riff. Soon, a flurry of activity hits us from all sides like a beehive of damaging hammering and it hurts so good.

Once again, Argonauta Records will re-issue the self-titled debut EP from Crackhouse on April 7th but you can stream it here and now today. But take heed for this is extreme music, it is dangerous and corrosive in this thickly agitated state. It’s a metallic, hard rock blast that provides its own euphoric rush and will leave you geeking for more. Thankfully you can feed that need to fix with the repeat feature on the embedded stream here.

– Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker