COC
Southern stoner metal juggernauts Corrosion of Conformity wrapped up a long and winding 30 date North American tour in Music City with sludgy brothers in arms Crowbar, Maryland doom metal veterans The Obsessed, and Dallas based trio Mothership stopping by The Cowan to fire up an already atypically warm February evening. Continue reading
Zeke @ Koko. DesertFest London 2018
The UKs very own version of Roadburn took over London over the bank holiday weekend of 4th May – 6th May. The annual 3-day DesertFest London festival hosted over 70 bands including some of the biggest names in the stoner rock scene, at the most iconic venues in Londons Camden town – from the Roundhouse to Koko, The Underworld, The Black Heart and The Dev(onshire Arms). Camden was a hive for worshipers of the scene to congregate for the 7th edition of this fundamental tour, and with headliners that included Graveyard, Napalm Death, High On Fire, Hawkwind and Monster Magnet, this year has been it’s biggest and most diverse yet!
FRIDAY 4TH
Today saw the festival at it’s busiest for its opening day, with 26 artists across 5 stages, not to mention the thousands of tourists bustling about Camden town – famous for its vast array of boutique and quirky independent shops, amazing street food, and markets, weird and wonderful street performers and musicians, as well as being the absolute hot-spot for all kinds of sub-cultures to thrive. With the distinct smell of weed fresh in the air on a blisteringly hot day in the capital, I was ready for the beginning of what would be an epic weekend of (natural) highs from the outstanding line-up at DesertFest London 2018. (Full gallery follows article). Continue reading
The UK’s premier independent festival Desertfest London returns over the May bank holiday (May 4th-6th) with what can only be described, as unquestionably it’s most biggest and broadest line-up yet!
Now in its 7th year, the festivities will take place across multiple venues in London’s Camden Town including the famous Underworld and breathtaking Roundhouse. With over 70 acts announced across the whole metal spectrum, together with the biggest names in sludge, doom and psych!
Not only that, as par tradition Desertfest will be holding their annual pre-festival party at The Black Heart on May 3rd featuring a full headline set by North Carolina’s A.S.G and London’s own Flash House as support! (Pre-festival tickets here)
Read below for full headliners and bands that are not to be missed! (Full weekend line-up follows article. Weekend and day tickets available here). Continue reading
Originally released in 1990 and out-of-print for almost two decades, The Obsessed’s now-legendary self-titled debut comes completely remastered with previously unreleased bonus tracks, including the highly-sought after four-track Concrete Cancer demo (1984), expanded artwork, never-before-seen photos, and extended liner notes from frontman Scott “Wino” Weinrich. The Obsessed is a true piece of doom rock history! The deluxe 2xCD version of the record includes a bonus disc containing the Concrete Cancer demo as well as a full live set from 1985 in Washington, D.C.. The Concrete Cancer demo is also available separately as a limited-edition LP. Continue reading
2017 is wrapping up, and once again it’s been an incredible year for all genres of METAL! If you are still one of those people who thinks modern Metal has nothing to offer, I have a news flash for you: YOU’RE DEAD WRONG! We are at a point now where you can literally find hundreds of bands to satisfy whatever genre you may be into, all it takes is just the smallest amount of research on your end via YouTube, metal sites and various other sources! While compiling this list I originally had thirty five albums I considered worthy of being “TOP TEN” material. So while it pained me to have to narrow things down, I eventually decided to go with the releases that had the strongest impact on me. As far as honorable mentions go, I’d like to recommend that folks check out ‘Mareridt’ by Myrkur, ‘Planetary Space Child’ by Ruby The Hatchet and ‘8’ by Ufomammut all of which would have made my list if I had more time to give them repeated listens. Also, I may get crucified for this, but I really enjoyed ‘Road Rage’ by Quiet Riot! It’s not top ten material, but it’s a quick listen that keeps you entertained throughout! Anyway, without any more delay, here’s my top ten releases of 2017!
10. Below – Upon a Pale Horse
Founded in 2012 Below is an Epic Doom Metal band from Sweden. With ‘Upon a Pale Horse’ you will get epic riffage in the style of early Candlemass mixed with beautiful Iron Maiden-esque melodies and truly sorrowful vocals. Highly recommended if you’re a fan of traditional Doom Metal.
9. PowerFlo -Self Titled
Featuring members of Biohazard, Cypress Hill, and Fear Factory: Powerflo is a band for those who enjoy the sounds of funk, Hip-Hop, and Metal all merged into one. While this release doesn’t bring anything new to the table in terms of sound or lyrical content, it makes up for that by having killer musicianship that is an even more intensified version of Cypress Hill’s rap/metal album ‘Skulls And Bones’. Also, I’d like to point out that I am a HUGE fan of having Sen Dog rap over metallic riffs (Check out his other band SX-10) and on this release he unleashes an anger that we haven’t heard from him in quite some time!
8. Lares – Mask of Discomfort
Mixing elements of Doom, Black, and Death Metal with a Psychedelic twist Lares are a band sure to assault your ears with their MASSIVE wall of sound! At nearly 40 Minutes ‘Mask of Discomfort’ is a release that warrants multiple listens truly to absorb all that is taking place in the music. Stand out tracks would be “Conjuring”, “Fog Of Terror”, and “Witness Of Lares”.
7. Kreator- Gods of Violence
What needs to be said about Kreator that hasn’t already been stated? They are legends in thrash metal and ‘Gods of Violence’ perfectly exemplifies why. This album is fast, violent, melodic and just down right catchy! At less than an hour long ‘Gods of Violence’ is a one two punch that will leave you begging for more!
6. Memoriam- For the Fallen
‘For the Fallen’ by Memoriam is an album that lives up to the hype. It’s chock full of old school death metal riffage and features the return of legendary Bolt Thrower vocalist Karl Willets! If that isn’t enough to draw you in, I’ll also point out that every song on ‘For the Fallen’ is written to near perfection! Seriously, I truly believe that the riff in “Reduced To Zero” is one of the best riffs of the year! Memoriam embraces the roots of Death Metal with this release and all who listen will be in for a treat!
5. Novembers Doom – Hamartia
Now right off the bat I’ll admit that I had a bit of an unhealthy obsession with ‘Hamartia’ upon it’s release; everyday I would listen to it in its entirety multiple times throughout the day. I did this for nearly three weeks! Eventually I found other albums that I enjoyed slightly more throughout the year.With that being said, I would still HIGHLY recommend this album to just about anyone who likes doom / death metal with slight gothic influences! Stand out tracks include “Devil’s Light”, “Ghost”, and “Apostasy”.
4. Blackfinger – When Colors Fade Away
Led by the voice of doom himself Eric Wagner has blessed us once again with a soon to be classic album full of sorrow, despair, and a bit of sarcasm. The title track as well as “Waiting For The Sun”, and “Beside Still Water”, take us into more ballad like territory but of course with a psychedelic and doom-y twist to them, while “All My Sorrow” and “Can I Get A Witness”, are heavier and will be pleasing to fans of classic Trouble. All in all, if you are a fan of anything Eric Wagner has done, their really is no reason for you not to give ‘When Colors Fade Away’.
3. Kadavar – Rough Times
With ‘Rough Times’, the Berlin trio known as Kadavar decided it was time to release their heaviest album to date, and honestly the result is everything I could have hoped for! Songs like INTO THE WORMHOLE and the title track are bludgeoning slabs of doom while “Vampires” and “Words Of Evil” are more likely to satisfy fans of the bands older works. All in all, ‘Rough Times’ is a fuzzed out masterpiece worthy of your time!
4. Void Cruiser – Wayfarer
Currently located in The Andromeda Galaxy but originally from Helsinki, Void Cruiser are the very definition of a hidden gem. I was introduced to ‘Wayfarer’ by my friends at Bionic Records earlier this year and even then I knew that what I was hearing would be something special! I was listening to an album with a thick wall of fuzz and psychedelic, however that is not all it had going for it. This is a band of highly competent musicians and very capable songwriters! A shining example of this would be “I Didn’t Lie But I Know That I Should Have” which features some of the most soulful guitar playing I’ve heard this year! Please, do yourself a favor and listen to ‘Wayfarer’ in its entirety I promise that your experience will be a pleasant one!
1. The Obsessed – Sacred
Led by the mighty Wino, The Obsessed have once again returned with not only my favorite release of the year, but quite possibly one of the best doom Metal/ stoner rock releases in recent years! Starting with the re- recorded version of the classic Obsessed song “Sodden Jackal”, you know right away that you are in for a great listen! The production is top notch, Wino’s vocals and guitar playing are as menacing as ever as exemplified on songs like “Perseverance Of Futility” and “Stranger Things”; while songs like “Punk Crusher” and “Be The Night” showcase the impressive skills of Dave Sherman (Earthride) and Brian Constantino! Considering that Wino has been in music since the 70’s and is still releasing quality material is nothing short of a miracle, but I have faith that this is not the end. I have a strange feeling that in the upcoming years Wino will continue to deliver and carry on the torch that was past to him many years ago from the temple of Sabbath and Hendrix!
When it comes to Doom Metal there are few figures who have had a career as illustrious as Vocalist/ Guitarist Scott “WINO” Weinrich. The man is a LEGEND plain and simple. With a career spanning 40+ years, Wino has effectively set the standard for Stoner Rock and Doom Metal with standout albums like ‘Mother-Teacher-Destroyer’ by The Hidden Hand, ‘Born Too Late’ by Saint Vitus, and even the Self titled debut from the short lived band Shrinebuilder (which featured members of bands such as The Melvins, SLEEP, and Neurosis). Of course Wino is most commonly remembered for his time in a little band knows as The Obsessed! For those not familiar, The Obsessed was formed in 1976 (originally under the name War Horse). In 1983 They released the ‘Sodden Jackal’ EP and had one track (“Concrete Cancer”) featured on Metal Blade’s ‘Metal Massacre VI’! The band broke up in the late 80’s after Wino moved to California to join Saint Vitus, although different versions of The Obsessed have existed since then with the current line up consisting of Wino (vocals/guitar), Reid Raley (bass), and Brian Costantino (drums). Continue reading
CLUTCH has just announced Winter tour dates for the continuum of their ‘Psychic Warfare’ tour. Supporting the tour will be Devin Townsend Project and The Obsessed. Fan club pre-sale tickets will start at 2:00pm ET today, public stale starts 10am ET on Friday. The on sale date for the 4 Florida shows is TBD due to the hurricane in the region.
With 2016 just barely behind us we are looking at the upcoming releases in 2017. Some of these albums already have specific release dates and titles and some haven’t been announced yet. These albums are not only by bands that we like but a release in which the band is reuniting or hasn’t released an album in a while, or just an album we think will have a huge impact on the band’s career. The albums that follow are in no specific order and our staff has all had input on the albums in which they think are the most anticipated of 2017.
