The Skull; which features members of iconic doom metal bands Trouble, Witch Mountain and Cathedral have returned with what could quite possibly be my favorite album of the year! Forming in 2012 ‘The Endless Road Turns Dark’ is the band 2nd studio album. Their debut studio album ‘ For Those Which Are Asleep’ was released in 2014. Both albums have been released via Tee Pee Records. ‘The Endless Road Turns Dark’ released on September 7th, 2018. Continue reading
Classic rock trio The Vintage Caravan caused an earthquake in the heavy music scene with their self-released debut album “The Vintage Caravan” (2011), and their sophomore record “Voyage” (2012; re-released in early 2014). In 2013 the band was officially signed with Nuclear Blast. Also their reputation as a powerful live band soon got around and gave them numerous possibilities to open up for acts such as Blues Pills and Grand Magus.
Jollymon is comprised of frontman/principal songwriter Carey Rich (vocals, bass), Mark Blackburn (drums), and John Colgate (guitar, vocals) – originally formed in Eugene, Oregon, releasing their debut full-length, ‘Sailing’, in 1995 on Eugene’s Elemental Records. They followed up Sailing with 1997’s ‘Nobody Knows Who You Are’ and 1998’s ‘Stoned Nation Radio’, both on Elemental Records. Then, in 2000 they released their fourth full-length, the self-titled album, on Battle Arena Records, before imploding shortly thereafter, walking away, with no plans to return. Now after 18 years, the Stoner Metal outfit is set to release their fifth full length, ‘Void Walker’ on June 8th, 2018!
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Formed in 1995, Orange Goblin are easily one of the most recognizable and influential names in stoner rock! Although it’s been quite some time since the last studio album, the London based doomsters haven’t been sitting around doing nothing. From 2014 onwards the band has been actively touring and growing in presence. With ‘The Wolf Bites Back’ Orange Goblin have released an album that is all killer and no filler and is perhaps their most aggressive album to date! The album released June 15, 2018 via Spinefarm/Candlelight. Continue reading
Yob, the Oregon doom trio will be following 2014’s ‘Clearing The Path To Ascend‘ with the new album ‘Our Raw Heart‘ which is scheduled to be released June 8th via ‘Relapse‘. This is an album that looked as though it might never come when singer/guitar player Mike Scheidt faced incredible odds following a life-threatening medical emergency . Thankfully, Mike has recovered because ‘Our Raw Heart‘ is a beautiful and emotional piece of music that is a modern Metal masterpiece!
Releasing albums since 2001, but not gaining it’s steam until nearly ten years later, Portland, Oregon’s first doom metal band Witch Mountain have been a force to be reckoned with. After the departure of vocalist Uta Plotkin who did three incredible albums ‘South of Salem’, ‘Cauldron of the Wild’, and the masterpiece ‘Mobile of Angels’ with the band, many people were skeptical that the bands could continue. Like troopers though, Witch Mountain could not be kept down and were officially back in action after a hiatus that was only a few moths long. In this line up we have drummer/ band leader Nathan Carson, guitarist Rob Wrong (also a member of doom outfit ‘The Skull’), Justin Brown on bass, and the incredible Kayla Dixon on vocals who had previously been known for her work in the heavy metal band Demons Within. Dixon may have seemed like an odd choice at first, but it was quickly apparent that she had a range that not only matched her predecessors, she also has a voice that is leagues above a majority of modern music’s so called “best vocalists.” Now in 2018, after nearly three years of touring with bands such as Enslaved and Saint Vitus; Witch Mountain are set to release their fifth album which is self titled on May, 25 via Svart. Continue reading
Coming May 25 via Napalm Records is the new EP: ‘House of Doom‘ from legendary doom metal band ‘CANDLEMASS!’ Clocking in at under 30 minutes, ‘House of Doom‘ is a quick but thoroughly enjoyable listen! We start things off with the title track which for my money has everything that an old school Doom Metal fan could ask for: Insanely catchy riffs, powerful vocals, and Sabbath style rhythm! This is easily the best Doom Metal anthem since “Doom over the World” by the now defunct ‘Reverend Bizarre.’
Swedish Metal is the unsung hero of the Metal genre. Rarely do you see so many game changing extreme Metal bands arise from one area as you do with Sweden. You have pioneers of various forms of Death Metal like Entombed, At The Gates and Dark Tranquility who all contributed massively to the genre by contributing buzz saw guitar tones and melody mixed with insanely heavy riffs. Fast forward to today and you still have a healthy amount of bands emerging from the area! One of the most notable would be LIK who have just released a new album that is a worthy successor to bands like Dismember, Entombed and Bloodbath!
The Melvins….what is left to say about this band that hasn’t been said hundreds if not thousands of times over the course of their nearly 40 year career? They are the godfathers of sludge as well as grunge, they were a huge influence on countless artists including Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, Mike Patton of Faith No More, Tool, Neurosis, Boris, Full of Hell and countless others. They have one of the strongest work ethics in music (they once played 51 shows in 51 days) and most importantly they are a band who have never lost their drive to create! They have one of the largest discographies in metal which includes 26 studio albums, 14 EP’s, 12 live albums, and 10 compilation albums. They don’t waste any time, and everything they put out is binge worthy material. The Melvins are constantly experimenting and taking new approaches to writing music and more often than not, it’s a success! The Melvins return with the new album ‘Pinkus Abortion Technician’ releasing April 20th, via Ipecac Recordings. Continue reading
“Shit out your soul/Day by day/Accepting lies they throw your way…”
The quote above is quite bleak, isn’t it? Well if you were expecting something upbeat and swinging, then ‘Rotting Civilization’ by Septic Tank is definitely not for you! However, if you’re a fan of bleak, pissed off 80’s influenced grind core, then prepare to have your face melted! Septic Tank which features members of Cathedral, Trouble, and Repulsion was originally formed in the 90’s as a way for frontman Lee Dorrian to express his love of bands such as Discharge and Siege. A handful of live shows were played during these times, but it wasn’t until 2013 when Septic Tank finally released a self titled 7′ EP, the only problem, it was only released in Japan and even then it was limited to 900 copies. From that release we got ‘The Slaughter’ an early Celtic Frost sounding track that honestly could have fit on earlier Cathedral albums.
