Album Reviews


Album Review: GUTSLIT – ‘Amputheatre’

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India is in the bringst of a metal revolution and brutal death/grind legends Gutslit are at the forefront! Fresh from their second massive international tour “Brutal Grooves Grinding Moves” with Germany’s Stillbirth, American Splattered and Colombian Carnivore Diprosopus – Gutslit absolutely pulverised the masses across 15 shows in 8 countries to launch their highly awaited sophomore release “Amputheatre”. Set to be released on Oct 15th via new label Transcending Obscurity India – Asia’s largest label for extreme music, pre-orders are live and available here. 

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Album Review: KUBLAI KHAN – ‘Nomad’ [Album Stream]

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After creating the EP ‘Youth War’ and the albums ‘Balancing Survival & Happiness’, ‘New Strength’ Kublai Khan got around the table to let us know why they are the best at what they are doing. First teasing us with the tracks ”Belligerent” & ”The Hammer” Kublai Khan and finally releasing their full album ‘Nomad’ today via RiseRecords! The official album stream is linked at the end of this article, take a deep breath and dive right in!

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Album Review: KADAVAR – ‘Rough Times’

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Kadavar

Rough Times

Nuclear Blast Records

Forget the fuzzed-out riffs and the monster choruses, forget the facial hair and silk-and-velvet trappings; the single most ‘70’s thing about Kadavar might be their work ethic. The German stoner-psych trio has been in perpetual motion since their 2010 debut, locked in an album-tour-album-tour cycle that harkens back to the days of their musical forefathers, when bands plied and honed their craft through countless live shows and more than a year between records was simply unheard of. The end result of this ideology couldn’t be more evident. The band has become an incendiary live act, and each of their albums has built on the strengths of its predecessor. To say that trend continues here is a massive understatement; 2015’s Berlin was one of that year’s best albums, but with Rough Times, Kadavar may end up with the 2017 title all to themselves.

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Album Review: STONEBIRDS – ‘Time’

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If one were to accurately describe the after-effects of the act of combining the iridescent romanticism of psychedelia and the intense brooding nature of doom-rock then they’d gain an awful lot of credibility upon mentioning Stonebirds, a project which was formed in 2008 and has since proved itself to be a noteworthy Continue reading →

Album Review – WARFARING STRANGERS: ACID NIGHTMARES

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Fifty years ago, the much-vaunted but short-lived Summer of Love burned out nearly as fast as it began, and the Sixties began its death march toward Cielo Drive and Altamont Speedway. Choked out by lethal doses of greed and drugs, groovy-baby, flower-in-your-hair psychedelia quickly gave way to bad trips and endless bummers, speed freaks and acid burnouts. The sounds of an era roiled by perpetual tumult and social upheaval transformed and mutated as well, into something harder-edged, more sinister; less It’s A Beautiful Day and Scott McKenzie, more Blue Cheer and Black Sabbath. And while Alice Cooper has claimed responsibility for his group “driving a stake through the heart of the Love Generation,” the bands represented on the Numero Group’s new compilation Acid Nightmares show that his namesake act were but one link in a worldwide network of accomplices, and that sonically speaking, the Hippie movement died a death of a thousand cuts.

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Album Review: WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM – ‘Thrice Woven’ [Album Stream]

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I’m going to be perfectly blunt: American black metal bands aren’t supposed to be this damn good. While black metal is a dark, brooding, and relentless musical style that has cultivated a reverential following in Europe, it’s also a genre that truly lacks a thriving North American music scene that is comparative to bay area thrash metal or Floridian death metal, and great American black metal bands are few and far between.

Thankfully, WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM is one of those rare and exceptional black metal bands from the good ole US of A who have attained a level of excellency rivaling that of their European counterparts. After over a decade since releasing their punishing yet atmospheric debut ‘Diadem Of 12 Stars’ in 2006, WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM have unveiled their newest record ‘Thrice Woven’: an album that is a masterpiece of thematic musicianship that intellectually moves the listener into a spellbinding trance from start to finish. Sure, it’s not necessarily news to say that WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM have crafted a truly excellent album (again), but even at just five tracks in length, it still needs to be said that vocalist/guitarist Nathan Weaver, vocalist/guitarist Kody Keyworth, and drummer Aaron Weaver have created an album of the highest quality.

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Review : EVIL INVADERS – “Feed Me Violence” [Official Video Streams]

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Three long decades ago when the denims were tight, leather jackets worn, ragged and hair unkempt in the golden era of 1980s, Steve “Zetro” Souza of EXODUS shouted in the song “Deranged” off the album “Pleasures Of The Flesh”  in his raspy voice, “It doesn’t make me calmer, it only makes me mean“. Little did he know that those words would still carry the feeling and aggression portrayed in it, which is still relevant in today’s thrash metal and it is an innate characteristic of this highly erratic and fast sub-genre in the entire spectrum of metal. I quoted the above lyric because that is exactly what these four angry hot blooded young men from Belgium offer you in their latest sophomore release, “Feed Me Violence“, titled very aptly. Watch out for this fast paced, gritty and nerve wrecking thrash metal record from young guns EVIL INVADERS as the release date nears soon, coming out like a hot bomb via Napalm Records on September 29.

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EP Review: Prostitution – ‘Egyptian Blue’

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High levels of activity, thriving urbanization, fortification in disposition and a mysterious yet entrancing underbelly are all indefatigable qualities associated with Brooklyn. One lesser-known concept hailing from said place would be the incorrigibly experimental blackened metal group Prostitution, who evidently are set to release their new cryptically titled EP ‘Egyptian Blue’ on 10 October 2017. The group is a power trio consisting of bassist/vocalist Jesse Adelson of Beast Modulus, guitarist/vocalist Russ Cowen of Black Harvest and drummer Jason Spence of Demilitia. The EP was produced and mixed by Anthony Lopardo and Raymond Marte and is an independent release.  Continue reading →

Album Review: UFOMAMMUT – ‘8’ [Album Stream]

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Ufomammut

8

Neurot Recordings

Since their inception nearly two decades ago, Italian space sludge squadron Ufomammut have carved out a singular niche for themselves in the doom community. Unlike many groups who manage to get by on brute strength alone, Ufomammut’s pulverizing yet hypnotizing sound tends to crush with pressure rather than weight; it’s a black hole, massive, swirling, and distorting, that sucks listeners in and rips them apart on a molecular level, as opposed to just beating them over the head with a great big hammer. 8, the trio’s latest offering, is an intergalactic machine of almost infinite force, a riff-hewn monolith perched on the edge of the universe.

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Review of Meade Ave.’s Band Defining LP: “Stitching the Torn”

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Meade Ave. is:

Aaron “FURBY 2chainz” Paoletta: Founder/Drummer
Matthew “BISCUT” Paoletta: Bass Guitar
George “GHOLE” Rodenas: Lead Vocals
Greg “SPEEDY” Scopinich (UOM): Lead Guitar

So, what happens when one of our favorite, established bands, voted the #1 Unsigned Band in Las Vegas, switches up vocalists, heads into the desert at the guest house at The Goddess Temple in Indian Springs, NV in December 2016 to record an album utilizing The Cave Recording Studio mobile rig and then uproots themselves to migrate back East to Pennsylvania? This kind of chaos has wrecked havoc on many a band over the years; shredding lesser groups and scattering members into other projects or simply giving up on an already “hard row to hoe” line in the music business. If anything, this has strengthened my boys in Meade Ave. and is brilliantly reflected in their upcoming release of Stitching the Torn, which we have been honored to hear first from founder, drummer and recording wizard, Aaron Paoletta. I had my grubby paws on the masters the minute Aaron got them back and have been enjoying this beast ever since. A huge “Thank you!” for the opportunity, my friend! Love you guys!

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