REVIEW: Haunt - "Luminous Eyes" [EP]

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 28/01/2018

Label: Shadow KingdomRecords

Fitting in squarely with the likes of Cauldron, this is heavy metal of the old school done correctly and with affection. If you want traditional sounds with a dark edge to the songs, this is most assuredly for you.

“Luminous Eyes” CD//CS//DD//LP

1). Luminous Eyes

2). As Fire Burns

3). No Master

4). Fallen Star

The Review:

Haunt are brought to you by Trevor William Church of Beastmaker fame. This is four tracks of pure NWOBHM (or should that be NWOTHM?!) worship. Expect traditional sounds; solos, raw sounding drums, galloping rhythms and also a fair amount of melancholy. Pitched somewhere between Maiden and Angel Witch, this is straight up heavy metal. The title track is rather slow burning and thoughtful but things heat up appropriately with “As Fire Burns”. The track rocks hard and features a kind of revved up Witchfinder General vibe paired with a victory /vengeance-shall-be-mine theme. Killer.

The quality and energy level is kept right up there with “No Master”, which features the type of riffage which, had this been made by a band in 1981 from, say, Newcastle, would have inspired  Metallica to cover it many years later. The EP closes with the grandiose sounding “Fallen Star”- all widdly leads and riffs, coupled with the loping gallop that the EP exhibits at various times throughout.

Fitting in squarely with the likes of Cauldron, this is heavy metal of the old school done correctly and with affection. If you want traditional sounds with a dark edge to the songs, this is most assuredly for you.

“Luminous Eyes” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

TOP 16 ALBUMS: The Sour 16 June 2017

Vokonis (2017)

Yes, it is that time again O ye lover of riffs, “THE SOUR 16” returns.  You know the drill by now, each month you the reader are unwittingly compiling a list of the top 16 records of the month, covering all genres of metal.  Is it not a chart, in which reviewers or contributors extol their opinion about their favourite music.  To put it simply, “THE SOUR 16” are the records that have been trending the most at TERR0R Headquarters.

The results are compiled based on the amount of page views the reviews have received and are then calibrated into the list below.  All reviews can be viewed by clicking the artwork and we have included album streams wherever possible. (Total views since their publication are highlighted in the red)

16). Coltsblood - "Ascending Into Shimmering Darkness" (324)

Coltsblood refine their unique brand of bleak, bludgeoning doom to punishing effect on “Ascending Into Shimmering Darkness”. This is a mighty collection that marks out the band as one of the most underrated heavy acts in the world.

15). blyh - "Transparent to the World" (358)

Short, to the point, but excelling in both subtlety and savagery, blyh is a band to watch out for.

14). Iced Earth - "Incorruptible" (361)

This is the kind of album that Judas Priest should be making- and used to make. “Incorruptible” is a great metal album, it delivers on every level, with every band member excelling in their field. Time for me to get hold of the back catalogue as well, as “Incorruptible” has converted me to being a fan of the band. After nearly thirty years of albums, Iced Earth are deadlier than ever.

13). Avatarium - "Hurricanes And Halos" (395)

This is another great record from Avatarium and one which places the band firmly in the upper echelons of doom outfits operating today. There is nothing to fault here. If you enjoyed the band's previous work, don't hesitate. If you have never heard the band, then this is as good a place as any to start. Great record.

12). In Human Form - "Opening of the Eye by Death of the I" (467)

The complexity of the songwriting on all of the tracks leaves the listener discovering many layers over multiple listens. This band has some serious talent, and absolutely deserves your time. A massively unique release weaving together so many influences it’s difficult to quantify them all. This is excellent music, and I can’t wait for future releases from this band.

11). Schammasch - “The Maldoror Chants: Hermaphrodite”(EP) (471)

Schammasch have created something remarkable with this most recent artistic expression, sophisticated, complex and yet somehow, eminently accessible.  Get lost. It is worth your time to find a way out.

10). USA/MEXICO - "Laredo" (472)

This is the kind of garage rock where the car is still parked inside with the engine running, warping the bands minds with fumes.   “Laredo” is an awesome offering from USA/MEXICO, a perfect blend of dumb headbanging heaviness and tripped-out weirdness.

9). Bereft - "Lands" (490)

There are other bands creating doom in a similar style to Bereft but few do it on such a grand scale. The Wisconsin quartet’s latest release comprises  of four epic journeys into the abyss with a massive production that matches their towering ambition.  “Lands” is a fine album that is sure to win Bereft a legion of new followers.

8). Vallenfyre - "Fear Those Who Fear Him" (511)

All in all it’s another good album that sees the band dishing out shorter and faster songs than we’re used to getting from them, while not losing the razor sharp edge of that classic Vallenfyre musical mastery and might.

7). Pyreship - "The Liars Bend Low" (579)

The Houston quartet deal in a captivating brand of complex sludge with a perfect balance of melody and grit. “The Liars Bend Low” is a debut brimming with potential for a glowing future.

6). Mantar - "The Spell" (EP) (669)

Mantar’s strength lies in their ability to maintain a perfect balance of dirty, underground grit and catchy stadium-bothering rock’n’roll ambition. Opening track “Pest Crusade” demonstrates this in style. It is a complex track composed of shifting tempos and styles, encompassing shards of raging black metal, stop/start riffage and blasts of no-nonsense stoner punk.  The three flawless tracks that make up “The Spell” demonstrate that Mantar’s unique brand of heaviness is growing ever more potent.

5). Bison - “You Are Not The Ocean, You Are the Patient”(707)

“You Are Not The Ocean, You Are the Patient” is an amalgamation of everything that Bison does well. If you love anything in the realm of sludge or stoner metal, this is a must for you.

4). Beastmaker - "Inside The Skull" (762)

It's impressive that, only a year and a bit after their debut, Beastmaker have taken their sound and improved upon it with sharper song writing and an impressive grasp of what makes music of the trad doom genre tick.

3). Paganizer - "Land of Weeping Souls" (787)

Rogga Johansson shows no sign of letting up at all; another album, another line up, another master class in Swedish death metal. This is absolutely business as usual for Paganizer, possibly the finest and purest exponents of this type of metal around. Highly recommended.

2). Elder - "Reflections of a Floating World"(822)

Reflections of a Floating World’ is both a glance back and a stride forward. The direct nature of some of the riffs and the weight of their execution sit it comfortably between ‘Spires Burn/Release’ and ‘Lore.’ The expansion of ambition and variety in musical approach however, keep Elder’s eyes firmly fixed on the horizon

1). Vokonis - "The Sunken Djinn" (964)

Whilst being undoubtedly heavy what makes this sophomore effort stand out is the variation employed in the bludgeon. By embracing less traditional doom landscapes ‘The Sunken Djinn’ has allowed Vokonis room to demonstrate the full raft of their audio-weaponry, and in doing so propelled them to the forefront of the heavy underground.

A big thank you as always to our amazing writers, your dedication knows no boundaries and for that I am truly grateful.  June 2017’s “SOUR 16” features reviews by:  Richard Maw, Andre Almaraz, Charlie Butler, Conor O’Dea, Brandon Green, David Jupp & Mark Tremblay

ALBUM REVIEW: Beastmaker - "Inside The Skull"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 19/05/2017

Label: Rise Above Records

 

It's impressive that, only a year and a bit after their debut, Beastmaker have taken their sound and improved upon it with sharper song writing and an impressive grasp of what makes music of the trad doom genre tick.

“Inside The Skull” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Evil One

2. Heaven To Hell

3. Now Howls The Beast

4. Of Gods Creation

5. Give Me A Sign

6 Nature Of The Damned

7. Psychic Visions

8. Inside The Skull

9. Night Bird

10. Sick Sick Demon

The Review:

One year after “Lusus Naturae”, California's Beastmakerreturn for more retro true doom. This time around, they have improved on all elements present on their debut. Mixing Pentagram, Sabbath, Danzigand a healthy dose of classic horror appreciation the band have struck on a winning formula.

Once again, the sound is raw and live sounding; the bass clanks, the drums pound and clatter and the vocals are a pleasing mixture of melodic and sinister. Right off the bat, you know what the record will be like: riffs, hooks and macabre atmosphere aplenty. “Evil One” sounds as the title implies (great solo too), “Heaven To Hell”is menacing and weighty in equal measure.

The album highlight for me is “Now Howls The Beast”, replete with werewolf atmospherics and a riff that Victor Griffin himself would be very proud of! It's impressive that, only a year and a bit after their debut, Beastmakerhave taken their sound and improved upon it with sharper song writing and an impressive grasp of what makes music of the trad doom genre tick.

On a general level, there is nothing to pin-point as a misstep on this album; it's uniformly heavy, sharply written and really quite catchy in places. No twenty minute drone work outs here: this is doom rock in the vein of all acts mentioned above. To make a lazy comparison, this is perhaps an American equivalent (by dint of geography, but not in total sound) of Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats. The two bands plough a similar furrow and will appeal to a similar set of fans, I suspect.

Whether it be the plodding drama of “Nature of The Damned” or the swing of “Psychic Visions”, the power trio work as a tight unit and keep things stripped down and raw- exactly as it should be. With the title track promising nine eternities in doom and the riffs making good on that promise, the album goes into the closing straight very strongly. Taking a nod from Sabbath by not going overboard on album length has allowed the band to turn in a very strong set of focused songs- all nicely uniform in terms of sound and content.

The short, sharp and sinister “Sick Sick Demon” is a very strong finish to a very strong album. If you have any interest in Sabbath and/or Pentagram, then this album will be for you. It's gritty, great and even gruesome in parts. Their satanic majesties have returned.

“Inside The Skull” is available here



FFO: Black Sabbath, Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats, Pentagram, Orchid

Band info: facebook|| bandcamp

INTERVIEW: "Nine Eternities In Doom" - An Interview with Trevor Church from Beastmaker.

By: Steve Wilson

Fresno California’s Beastmakerdelivered one of the standout stoner/doom albums of 2016 with their debut “Lusus Naturae”. Their second album is out soon, to be followed by an extensive tour. Steve Wilson spoke to their founding member, singer/guitarist Trevor Church about his musical influences and plans for the band’s future. 

SL:You’ve just recorded a new album. What can fans expect when it’s released?

Horror and Doom. There is some Hitchcock inspiration and we’ve got some guest musicians on this album namely Johanna from Lucifer and Nate from Salem’s Pot. We wanted to continue where we left off on our debut writing dark riffs and lyrics of terror. I put some time into writing my guitars solos on this one. Our debut it was just improv solos. So, there are some subtle changes. Most importantly it’s heavy and filled with horror!

SL:Your debut album was released last year (“Lusus Naturae” - out on Rise Above Records). I’ve been lucky enough to hear an early version of the new one. It sounds a little more polished than its predecessor. Have you gone with the same studio, or do you like to try somewhere new each time you record?

We have built a studio at my house and that is where we do everything. Andy does all the mixing and mastering. I write all the music and engineer the record. We have an incredible dynamic together. We both pride ourselves in going through the learning curves and coming out on top. Coming from a place like Fresno there really aren’t any places I’d take Beastmaker to record an album. It’s costly to travel to record an album and we have no time limit. We can work as long as we feel we need too, getting the best result we can.

SL: “Lusus Naturae” and the accompanying 7” vinyl (“You Must Sin”) have artwork by Branca Studio. They have also designed merch for the band. How did you get together with them?

Branca Studio contacted me a little after the release of our demo. It really has been an amazing partnership. Sometimes in life things just click. It was fate that we crossed paths. I think he is the best graphic artist in the business. I don’t even have to give him direction. He just knows what’s up! You can’t buy that kind of friendship man. 

SL:You recently toured the UKand Europe in support of the first record. How did you find it? Was there anything you’d do differently on the next tour? 

Well, I would prefer to not break down multiple times in a rental next time around. We absolutely love touring the UKand Europe. The fans are amazing over there and it just makes it so worth the energy it takes to get on a plane. Hopefully this next time we have a driver. John and I drove and it was pretty interesting. Really it was an adventure. I got off the plane and next thing you know I’m driving on the other side of the friggin road going through roundabouts. We love that kind of thing though.

SL: Beastmaker are strongly influenced by horror movies, particularly those of Italian director Mario Bava (check out ‘Mask of Satan’ from the debut album). What are your favourites? Are there any obscure ones that have inspired Beastmaker songs that we should search out?  

I don’t know about obscure but the biggest influence when it comes to songwriting is “Tombs of the Blind Dead”. That is the epitome of what I’m trying to create musically. I like a lot of different movies from the 50’s to the 90’s. I like to create my own stories though as well.

SL:Moving on to musical influences now - what did you listen to growing up? What goes into the Beastmakersound beyond the obvious Black Sabbath influence?

I can’t speak for my band mates on this but for me it all began with skateboarding. My cousin Michael was 5 years older and listening to punk/metal. I was like 6 years old when I started listening to bands like The Misfits, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Motley Crue, Dead Kennedys, The Exploited, Sex Pistols, etc…Witchfinder General, and Danzig are really big influences for me musically. I feel connected to what they do and I try to recreate it with my own twist.

SL:For those that don’t know, you come from a musical family. Your dad, Bill Church, played bass in legendary ‘70’s rock band Montrose alongside Sammy Hagar, who would later replace David Lee Roth in Van Halen. Not too shabby! While this must have influenced you growing up, would you say that it has helped you as a musician (in terms of how to start a band and keep it going), or did it not make much difference?

My Dad is an amazing musician, so not to be inspired by him wouldn't make much sense. I had musical instruments all over the house my whole life. Originally my folks wanted me to be a drummer. I have many drummers in my family actually. My Mom’s cousin is Denny Carmassi also of Montrose and Heartto name a few. But, I didn’t like drums much and that’s when guitars started coming around.

Once again my Cousin Michael played guitar and taught me quite a bit. I can’t remember a time in my life where playing music didn’t exist. My cousin’s Brandon and Daniel were also musicians and we learned from each other. I actually really avoided my Dad’s music in my teenage years. I was really embarrassed of “I Can’t Drive 55”.

I was listening to a lot of different music in those days, mainly punk rock and Sammy Hagar to me was a mainstream thing. I always loved the Montrose record though. “Rock Candy” was the first song my Dad taught me to play on guitar. We went camping and I remember saying “hey shows me rock candy” and boom, ‘You Must Sin’ was created. Maybe some people will hear the influence.

SL: Last question! Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. What are your plans for Beastmaker in the coming year?

We’ve got our new album coming out in spring. The rest will unfold. We will be hitting the road for sure. With some new things for our live show.

Band info: facebook | bandcamp