Red Fang entered the game in 2009 with their self titled debut, formed by Bryan G., Aaron B., David S., John S., quickly establishing themselves on the world’s underground scene as a powerful riff machine. Early shows with Helmet and Crowbar gained respect from crouds, press and peers alike, showcasing a fresh, soulful and high octane live rock experience
The music takes the time to get the musical message across and while there aren't many show-off passages there is a huge amount of detail in the numerous instruments and vocals that will show themselves on repeated listens. Zappa, King Crimson and even Motorpsycho fans will be able to mine Carpet’s rich seams of passionate, beautifully crafted songs till their minds are buried in Elysian Fields.
True Widow is a three piece Texas, US outfit that embodies the spirit of 90s shoe gaze rock within a very laid back and sonically valium drapery.
The Tangent have been in the business for so long that I don't think they need any introduction. Their debut album The Music that Died Alone came back in 2001 and the band have continued to deliver albums since then.. The Tangent are one of the ground breaking bands in their genre and by that I mean the prog/sympho rock genre.
Last year Selim Lemouchi disbanded The Devil’s Blood , due to personal and musical differences. Selim Lemouchi & His Enemies is Selim’s second shoot-around as band leader and those who've heard The Devil’s Blood before will pretty much know what to expect here. Each of the three long songs (6-14minutes) is an adventure in psych rock featuring jammin’ arrangements and the vibe in question is sixties acid rock.
Procession is probably the best band in Chile to which the label doom metal might apply. While the melodies presented on To Reap Heavens Apart aren't groundbreaking for the genre, they are quite good and will certainly appeal to fans of doom metal bands such as Voodoo Shock, Solitude Aeturnus and Wall Of Sleep. The vocals by band leader/guitarist Felipe Plaza while by no means mind blowing, have enough heart and melody to make up for the melodramatic flair that can do this sort of music in if done incorrectly.
The fourth album from Austin-based Mammoth Grinder blasts immediately into brutal black n’ roll hell with the title track. Underworlds hit the decks with full on angry grind core (Napalm Death, Pig Destroyer) and punky sounding-like thrash/death metal (Discharge, Obituary, Municipal Waste)) like “Underworlds”, “Wraparound eyes” and a hint of Entombed/Unleashed with exceptional guitar solos, pounding drums and a Randy Blythe-like growl bite that hurts for days.
Checkmate is one of the many metalcore bands that seem to exist to put out angry sounding records that show a lot of brainless stomping furious energy. What holds me back on this album is that there is a sense of exhaustion that builds as the album wears on. It's all pretty standard stuff that's been done before, and done better.
It’ll come as no surprise to anyone who’s familiar with Swedish vocalist Lord Chritus’ former bands Terra Firma, Count Raven, Saint Vitus and Lord Vicar that Goatess are a stoner/ doom metal band. Goatess takes you all over the place with deep cut grooves, power jams and a true electrifying feeling that you are riding right along with Findus’ bass laden, heavily distorted wall of soundmachine in the slow to mid-tempo range.
What a treat to review UK based Earthling Society again. This band has been around since 2000 but in those years they've been quite busy, with 7 full lengths. This is their latest and one of their greatest, Zodiak. Their seventh studio album also skims the boundaries between progressive, kraut, space and psych rock while remaining in a territory all their own. Zodiak never stops surprising you throughout its entire running time and creates an extremely melodic yet bold and adventuresome musical tapestry.
