Review: MELT – S/T [Album Stream + Live Performance Video]

 

Melt hails from Toulouse, France. The band originally formed as a duo in 2007 when Charlotte and Olivier met. Charlotte at times has used several aliases including Shiro. Olivier adds about Charlotte “there would be no band without her.” They quickly recorded their first demos which they deemed as “a powerful and personal rock, finding its full emotional potential on stage.” Charlotte’s singing comes from a crisis during in which she went crazy and untied herself from the real world. Her lyrics are oniric, a mix of english and imaginary invented language, disconnected from the “real” world, again. Melt sought out additional members and the lineup currently consists of Olivier (guitar), Roméo (drums), Charlotte/Shiro (guitar and vocals) and Julien (Bass). The band’s music is an unexpected mix between metal and cold wave tragic melodies. The band released a self titled EP in 2015 consisting of 4 tracks “Stigmata”, “Cypher”, “Blast” and “Opikanoba”. Those tracks along with 4 additional tracks make up the bands debut album. Melt released their self titled debut album on December 3rd, 2017. The album was recorded, mixed and mastered in a small studio in Saint Antonin, France, the studio doesn’t really have a name, and it was the producers debut working with a band other than his own. So it turned out to be both a debut for the band and the producer. The album is self released by the band and you can hear it below or pick up a copy via bandcamp here.

 

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Review: OLD BLOOD – S/T [Album Stream]

OLD BLOOD is multi-dimensional band that incorporates blues, stoner rock, doom and acid rock into one beautiful package. They formed in 2014 in Los Angeles, California. OLD BLOOD quickly signed to DHU Records in Europe after the critically acclaimed release of two demo tracks on Bandcamp and a Youtube video for their song “Glowplug”. OLD BLOOD takes a push into unknown territory in the genre with the addition of crystal clear vocals, keyboards and emphasis on heavy grooves and an extensive live stage show featuring The Rigomortettes beyond the wall of amplifiers. The soaring vocals by Feathers are the perfect pairing to the bands groove and doom elements within their music. OLD BLOOD incorporates various elements into their sound that makes them almost impossible to pigeon hole to one genre. They have been slapped with the label of “Acid Doom” and that is likely the most fitting. OLD BLOOD’s debut album was recorded and mixed by Frankie Siragusa at The Lab Studios in Hollywood, CA and mastered by renowned Los Angeles record mastering engineer Mike Wells at Mike Wells Mastering in North Hollywood, CA. The debut released on August 27, 2016. Continue reading