Bast have certainly developed creatively and have released another standout album in the world of heavy music
“Nanoångstöm” CD//DD//2LP track listing:
1. Distant Suns 2. Far Horizons 3. The Beckoning Void 4. Nanoångström 5. A Red Line Through Black 6. The Ghosts Which Haunt the Space Between the Stars
The Review:
When I heard Basthad recorded and released their 2nd album 'Nanoångstöm', I knew I was the right SLUDGELORDto put my name forward for the review.
4 years have passed since the release of 'Spectres', in my opinion, one of the best heavy records to be released this century, so Bast face an uphill struggle to better, let alone match the benchmark they previously set. 'Distant Suns' immediately leaps for the aforementioned benchmark, with the solemn bass intro, like a lonely astronaut floating through space, gathering momentum and hurtling towards the epically heavy 'Far Horizons', where the contrasting vocals of drummer Jon Lee's blackened growl and guitarist Craig Bryant's deep below overlay the Primordialesque folk tinged black metal. The album ebbs and flows seamlessly highlighting Bast'spenchant for the epic and enthralling, as 'The Beckoning Void” and the title track deliver moments of brutality, subtle tempo shifts and glorious melodies all wrapped up in progressive and finely crafted song writing.
'A Red Line Through Black' harks back to 'Spectres' building upon Bryant's moody guitar and vocal work, through some heavy prog inspired riffing to create a sonic journey full of the unexpected. By the time 'The Space Between the Stars' opening tremolo laden riff and blast beats slow down to allow the song the room to breathe, the unexpected becomes the ordinary as riffs, licks and screams leap out from all corners, dragging you, towards the black hole they created.
While Bast's influences may be apparent to some, with nods in the direction of a few of black metal's proggiest bands, it's the personal touches and subtle nuances that forge the main body of their sound. Bast have certainly developed creatively and have released another standout album in the world of heavy music. Whether it will leave as lasting an impression as 'Spectres' remains to be seen, but several more spins will go a long way into that decision. Now, where's that repeat button...
“Lux Tenebris” is absolutely terrifying in its delivery and atmosphere, by the time the slower riff of “Cupio Dissolvi’ cascades into the ether, you’ll begin to wonder whether you’ve listened to an EP or been sacrificed to a dark entity.
“Lux Tenebris” DD//LP track listing:
1). Vertigo
2). The Sorrowful Void
3). Cupio Dissolvi
The Review:
Italians The Secretare a band that are difficult to pigeonhole. Equal parts blackened hardcore, sludgy crust and nihilistic grind, with a pinch of apocalyptic doom for good measure, they seem to get heavier...and indeed better, with each new release. So it comes as no surprise that ‘Lux Tenebris’ the new 3 track EP is a maelstrom of hell fire and fury.
From the slow build of 'Vertigo' with its evil melodies penetrating the methodical black magic ceremony within, it switches gears as it struggles to contain the raging beast that is 'The Sorrowful Void'. Absolutely terrifying in its delivery and atmosphere, the track takes no prisoners and the blastbeat halfway through is almost a respite from the oppressive nature of the music.
Closer ‘Cupio Dissolvi’ is probably the blackest and nastiest the band have ever sounded; the tremolo riffs, blasts and d-beats create a magnanimous and utterly filthy piece of music that stands out among this year’s releases. By the time the slower riff cascades into the ether, you’ll begin to wonder whether you’ve listened to an EP or been sacrificed to a dark entity.
Kurokuma prove once again, that trends in heavy music never last, but creating something unique and personal within the boundaries of heavy music, undoubtedly will.
“Dope Rider” CD//CS//DD//LP track listing:
1). Dope Rider Part 1
2). Dope Rider Part 2
The Review:
I'm always drawn towards bands that tread their own path, so it's rather fitting that I get to review the phenomenal Kurokuma's latest EP, 'Dope Rider'. While the concept maybe based on a comic strip from marijuana themed publication High Times, fans of traditional stoner will be shocked at the lack of copy and paste pentatonic riffs and banshee wails.
Part one of this 2 part release teases the eardrums with Joe E. Allen's always hypnotic, tribal drumming while feedback and droning guitars build slowly. The verse riff is superb showing just how unique the band are in their approach to song writing and riff crafting. Driven by Allen's drumming, vocals are traded back and forth between guitarist Jacob Mazlum and bassist George Ionita to accentuate the rhythmic flow and as the track draws to its natural conclusion, awash with gritty psychedelic textures, it's Allen's use of the mighty cowbell that closes.
Part Two starts off meatier than a caveman barbecue with devastating, muted riffs amid drumming that seems off kilter but is nevertheless absolutely on point. The tremolo riffing caught me off guard and had me gurning and nodding in definite approval. By the time the most accessible closing riff bleeds out to some droning, notes, listeners will want to press play all over again. At least I did...about 6 times...
Kurokuma prove once again, that trends in heavy music never last, but creating something unique and personal within the boundaries of heavy music, undoubtedly will.
“Dope Rider” is available digital here. Cassette and CD available at www.doomstew.com/store/. Vinyl coming September 2018.
Sweden's Pissboiler have crafted a brilliant album of terrifying proportions, creating a sense of tension and foreboding and pummelling the listener with sledgehammer riffs.
“In The Lair Of Lucid Nightmares” CD//DD track listing:
1. Ruins of the Past 2. Stealth 3. Pretend It Will End 4. Cutters
The Review:
There are 3 types of heavy bands; those which employ speed and ferocity, those whose use of atmosphere creates a tension and sense of foreboding and those who are slow and forceful, pummelling listeners with Sledgehammer riffs. On 'In The Lair Of Lucid Nightmares', Sweden's Pissboiler take the latter 2 and craft a brilliant album of terrifying proportions.
Creeping from the murky chasms, 'Ruins Of The Past' is 17 minutes of funeral procession-esque death/doom. Vocalist LG (no, not that LG) produces a guttural roar that sounds like it's bellowed from the 7th later of hell and the riffs saunter with My Dying Bridelike misery in tow. The production from band member Karl Wijk enhances each element with each instrument clinging to their own space while bleeding nicely into others. 'Stealth' comes as a bit of a surprise with it's lonely jazzy bass riff dripping with chorus and reverb and, at under 3 minutes, is the album's shortest track by far. The respite is short lived as 'Pretend It Will End'is utterly harrowing. Blood curdling growls and piercing shrieks team with suicide inducing, slow riffs before the bells toll and things take a slight turn with a riff reminiscent of Burning Witch. A very disturbing sample from a doctor talking to her patient, sets the tone for final track 'Cutters'; the atmosphere builds slowly with cavernous growls and swelling guitar drones and never stops the barrage of depressive doom. Some harsh screams burst through the bass heavy droning making for a truly unsettling experience.
For a fairly unknown band to create something this comprehensive (and very impressive) goes to show the talent that lurks in the darkest corners. If Sunn 0))) had released this, it would make the top 10 end of year lists of several well known publications, but for those of us who judge things on merit, it will most definitely be a contender, regardless of their standing.
“In The Lair of Lucid Nightmares” is available here
'Awaken' is a tour-de-force of genre hopping doom. It should see the band gain ground on their contemporaries and even surpass them.
“Awaken” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. A World Unseen 2. Astray 3. Foreshadowed 4. Awaken 5. Withering 6. The Sparrow
The Review:
Gothenburg's Agrimoniahave always been a difficult band to pigeonhole; partly epic and expansive doom, partly crusty, blackened death metal, they seem content to don the cap of each of the aforementioned genres whenever the mood is befitting. It should come as no surprise then that 'Awaken', their 4th full length, slithers and writhes with venom and bile in tow.
Opening with the majestic 'A World Unseen', a track that owes as much to Primordial as it does Dissection, Agrimonia put as much into one nine minute epic as some bands do on entire albums. It's an opening statement that implies that further surprises lay ahead...and lay ahead they certainly do; from the Paradise Lost with blast beats of 'Astray'to the haunting melodic intro of 'Foreshadowed'and through its Dismemberstyle death metalisms, there's very little for the casual listener not to enjoy!
The title track sits at the centre of the album and, despite its mesmerising melancholy, and the fact it is a 3 minute instrumental, seems oddly juxtaposed. 'Withering' gets back on track with 13 minutes of captivating death/doom before final track 'The Sparrow' weaves a sombre tapestry before triumphantly galloping headstrong towards the album's shimmering, sobering conclusion.
'Awaken' is a tour-de-force of genre hopping doom. It should see the band gain ground on their contemporaries and even surpass them. For this, you're going to need to pack spare clothes and snacks, for this musical journey is truly epic.
From the opening drum fill that leads to some face ripping riffage of 'Black Hole, White Teeth' all the way through to the creeping, crescendo of 'Burial Shroud', it's a tour-de-force of extreme music.
“Cognitive Erosion” CS//DD track listing:
1). Black Hole White Teeth
2). Of Flesh And Worship
3). Entropic Decay
4). Burial Shroud
The Review:
To start with the most random pop culture reference here; do you remember the short lived WCWwrestler Glacier? He was a complete Sub Zero (of Mortal Kombat fame [yep, that's a 2nd pop culture reference]) rip off. He was hyped, full of promise and ultimately failed to deliver. 'Cognitive Erosion' from Denver's Glacial Tombis the polar opposite (excuse the pun); it's no bark and all bite.
The 4 tracks on this EP are chocked full of scathing, blistering, HM-2 worship and while crusty grind is the meat and potatoes, Glacial Tomb season the tracks with some crushing sludge/doom when the time is right.
From the opening drum fill that leads to some face ripping riffage of 'Black Hole, White Teeth' all the way through to the creeping, crescendo of 'Burial Shroud', it's a tour-de-force of extreme music. Sure, the guitar sound suffers from an almost digital sound, but this is enough of an appetite whetting to have me hungry for a full length. I'd love to hear these guys let loose on an analogue studio; the results would undoubtedly double the effects of global warming.
71TONMAN absolutely bludgeon the listener with hammer blows of relentless doom
“Earthwreck” CD//DD track listing
1. Lifeless
2. Negative
3. Phobia
4). Zero
5). Torment
6). Spiral
The Review:
Subtlety isn't something usually associated with sludge/doom, realistically, why should it? Poland's 71TONMAN, the latest to signing for Jon Davis' Black Bow Records, show no sign of straying from the well trodden path with 'Earthwreck'.
'Lifeless' sees 71TONMANlet you take a deep breath before absolutely bludgeoning with hammer blows of relentless doom. The death growl vocals make the songs reminiscent of Winter but have more in common with the likes of Dismember and Entombed with the way they echo into the psyche. 'Negative'has more to offer melodically than most doom bands do on entire albums, without losing the malicious, pummeling heaviness. 'Phobia'toys with the sensibilities of the traditional doom fan; this is extreme metal chump, save your talk of pentatonic scales for the millions of Kyuss/Church Of Misery rip offs! The sheer weight of the track makes you hyper aware of gravity and just when you think you can nod your head to the groove, they mangle the formula and have you gurning with glee.
'Zero'offers brief respite as the industrial noise is penetrated by clean guitars and syncopated drums before going whole hog with devastating riffs. 'Torment' makes great use of atmosphere to season the heaviness and 'Spiral'chops at your ear drums with its tremelo picking before smashing the weighty yet wonderfully catchy, riffs. Excellent stuff.
I don't like to write negative points about bands, and I'm not going to here, my only mild criticism would be that with 6 songs lasting 9 minutes each, the slog can be difficult to manage. Luckily there are plenty of intricacies throughout to keep your attention. I had the fortune of playing with these guys in Warsaw a few weeks back and I can confirm that they absolutely slay. A gem of a release.
There are few bands to which the phrase 'criminally underrated' is aptly applied as Unearthly Trance. Arguably spawning the 'blackened sludge/blackened doom' genres, they remain a hidden gem in extreme heavy music that only certain individuals appreciate. 7 years have passed since the superb 'V' with breaking up, 2 Serpentine Path albums, a few Howling Windreleases, a few other projects, a reunion, fatherhood, Thralldomreforming and releasing music coming in the meantime. The question that needed to be asked; will all this time dampen the creative fires that burn within the trident?
Fear not! As 'Into The Spiral', the album's premier track goes straight for the neck muscles with its pulsating, blackened groove, it's a superb start to the album and adds an element of optimism. 'Dream State Arsenal' is more about the gravity; crafting a ludicrously catchy, yet so crushingly heavy riff punctuated by Darren Verni's always exceptional drumming, it's a definite pick up point to where 'V' left off. 'Scythe' crawls like a venomous snake, before striking and infecting your blood stream with its glorious riffs and stop/start rhythm and I'm reminded a little of 2006's 'Electrocution' in stylistic delivery.
Anyone who has heard 'Famine' will know how thick and heavy the guitar sound is, with Ryan Lipynsky's unique riffs sounding apocalyptic yet crystal clear. I heard 'Lion Strength' on a YouTube video of UT playing live, to me it sounded like some of their earlier work...but on record, it's a natural progression from 'V', with Lipynsky providing both the throaty, melodic vocal passages, echoey whispers and his traditional gnarly growls. 'Invisible Butchery'starts with some atmospheric noise before the death growls bellow out like lava spewing from a cavernous volcano. It's the slowest song on the album and will please the doom heads with its subtle nods to Winterand Autopsy. The Penultimate track 'The Great Cauldon' is a 9 minute epic which sweeps through several genres, starting out with head swinging trad-metal and descending into blackened doom, albeit melodic and calculated. As the track travels along, it bares similarities to 'The Scum Is In Orbit' with Lipynsky's trademark croons and guitar solo near the song's conclusion. Excellent stuff. 'In The Forest’s Keep' is the final song and is more of an atmospheric outro than a full song with melancholic guitar passages played over a harsh rumbling before a sample is heard, with added delay over the top. It's a fitting finale to this beautifully crafted album.
To say I had been eagerly anticipating this album would be an enormous understatement; UT are one of my favourite bands and they have rarely, if ever, put a foot wrong along their path. Hopefully, this album will garner the attention and success they deserve. A triumphant return? That and then some.
By: David Majury, Curtis Dewar, Philip Weller, Chris Bull & Richard Maw
Decades Apart
The idea of Decades Apart is pretty simple. I’ll choose 5 different albums from 5 different decades and I’ll share a little information about them and hopefully you’ll check them out if you haven’t already. Today is 1972, 1982, 1992, 2002and 2012. Whilst some these albums may not all be considered classics, they’re certainly amazing records. So be sure to check it out.
Deep Purple – “Machine Head” (1972)
Fate is a Deep Purple fan. It moves in mysterious ways, but its actions made a devastatingly big mark on the history of heavy music. What might have happened, you wonder, had a Frank Zappa concert on 4th December 1971 not ended in the burning down of the Montreux casino in which they were due to record? What would have happened if that fan-lit flare hadn’t been fired into the building’s roof? Would the record have sounded the same were they not forced to relocate, and indeed, what effect would it have had upon on the lyrics of ‘Smoke on the Water’, which were directly inspired by the whole drama?
That juddering four note riff echoes through the ages of time, it’s inspired thousands of young souls to learn the guitar and crowned what would become the band’s most successful record, topping the charts across the world. It became a definitive moment, not only in Deep Purple’s career, but in heavy music as a whole. It turned so many people onto heavy music. So many of these people would then go on to become greats in their own right, the likes of Iron Maiden and Metallica, to name but two, owing so much to the song. With that riff, Deep Purpleforged a legacy. Yet it could have all been so different had that fire not happened.
Through Ian Gillian’s inimitable introduction on ‘In Rock’, their sound had gotten hairy, lairy and beastly. But with 1972’s ‘Machine Head’, they learnt to tame their monster.
‘Highway Star’ the rocket fuelled, gas-guzzling opener sets the tone of the album. With its breathless rapidity and scintillating duelling solos courtesy of Ritchie Blackmore and the late, great Jon Lord, they sounded deadly. Quickly followed by the tumultuous stomping riff of ‘Maybe I’m A Leo’ and ‘Pictures of Home’, a song powered by Ian Paice’s thunderous drums and boasting some gorgeous, soaring melodies, this was their finest moment. ‘Lazy’ is drawn out, ethereal and savage all the same, ‘Space Truckin’’ packing gigantean, insurmountable grooves. Every song on the record is gold.
And the rest is history.
Twisted Sister – “Under The Blade” (1982)
1982 saw the release of what is perhaps one of the most underrated albums in the history of heavy metal: "Under the Blade" by Twisted Sister. While many modern day metal fans take a look at the band's heavy make up/transvestite image and automatically think "hair metal", the actual truth is that they were much closer to Judas Priest and even AC/DC in sound. While Twisted may have never reached the stellar heights of those two bands, the quality of "Under the Blade" (and later albums) cannot be denied. The album contains track after track of classic songs like "What You Don't Know (Sure Can Hurt You)", "Run for your Life", "Shoot 'Em Down" and "Sin After Sin" that definitely give other classic albums such as "Screaming for Vengeance" and "The Number of the Beast" a run for their money.
If you're one of those who never bothered to check the band out due to the 'glam' metal image, I highly recommend that you start with "Under the Blade" and then proceed to listen to the rest of the band's discography.
Darkthrone – “A Blaze in the Northern Sky” (1992)
After the release of the solid yet unspectacular 'Soulside Journey', Darkthroneembraced the flourishing black metal scene that was sweeping through the fjords and recorded 'A Blaze In The Northern Sky'. While many believe 'Under A Funeral Moon' and 'Transylvanian Hunger' to be the pinnacle of the band's corpse painted output, it was on 'A Blaze...” where they were at their coldest.
Starting with the ceremonial drums of the epic 'Kathaarian Life Code', a song which opened my eyes to the wonders of frost like atmosphere, Darkthrone laid down the blueprint that they would follow for years to come. While they had a few death metal riffs left over ('Paragon Belial' in particular), at the core is a dark and grim heart that bleeds the purest blackness. The guitars may sound like a swarm of wasps, but that was their intention on this, to make it as lofi and "necro" as possible.
Floor – “Floor” (2002)
Inspirational records don't come along very often. The Stooges "Funhouse" was one when I first heard it around the late '80s, "Nowhere" by Ridearound 1990 was another and "Bullhead" by the Melvinschanged things again about a year later. I didn't play guitar when I first heard those records, but I did by the time I heard Floor's self titled album.
I remember reading that when musicians saw The Sex Pistols they quit their bands and found punk, and for me hearing Floor was a similar experience. I quit the crust-stoner band I was in, tuned down and started on my endless quest for the ultimate combination of riff and tone. It's impossible to talk about Floorin other terms, as the record is absolutely bursting at the seams with both. When that opening low throb of "Scimitar" kicks in there is no way to avoid the crushing power of that riff. Every cliché for reviewing how heavy music sounds (glacial, tectonic, seismic, engulfing, etc etc) began with this riff. I immediately knew that less is more, that regular musical theory is obsolete and that "chops" mean nothing.
If Floorhad just played that opening riff for the duration of the record it would still be one of the most magical records ever recorded, but of course they were/are way better than that. Every song is just loaded with riffs that other bands would kill for, only Floor would throw three of them into a two minute song. There was no indulgence at all, no filler, no need to repeat anything to fill space. This album is a template for how to use dynamics in heavy music, but what sets it apart from every other ‘tuned to z’ band is the melody.
Although I’ve grown up with Black Sabbath and all the rest, I’ve always loved melody in a song. The cookie-monster death grunt thing never appealed to me, and I’d been listening to bands like The Pixies a lot more than any heavy music for years. Suddenly here was a band with the heaviest riffs ever, but welded together with unbelievable melody and heart-wrenching vocals. One listen to “Tales of Lolita” was enough to completely change how I wanted to play music forever, and I suppose I’ve spent the last ten plus years with Slomatics trying vainly to even get close to what Floordid so effortlessly on this record. Add to all this, the fact that the band were almost completely unknown, that every live picture I could find of them was playing to a half-empty tiny pub, and that they’d never even been out of the States and I was hooked.
What a legacy to leave for the then-defunct band. I’ve a friend who has a theory that in every city there is a band somewhere, whether in a practice room or playing one of those half-empty tiny pubs, which would absolutely blow your mind. Floorwere that band for me, and although they are now deservedly much more well known, at the time the very fact that they had existed and had written that beautiful record was enough inspiration for me to do what I’ve been doing since, and will never stop doing.
Dragged Into Sunlight – “Widowmaker” (2012)
In a time when everything is known about everyone and there is no sense of mystery about anything, Dragged into Sunlight are a dynamic blast of fresh/fetid air. Indeed, nothing is really known about the band- what is mentioned is mostly conjecture. Let it be said: this is a good thing. The band retains anonymity and lets the music speak for itself. When first reading about the new piece of music from Dragged into Sunlight some time ago it was described as a single track lasting 40mins plus. Indeed, the promo copy I have had on rotation is in this format. Research on Amazon indicates three tracks of 14.51, 11.47 and 13.10 in length respectively. I have found that the record works best when viewed as a single track- 40 minutes of tortured paranoid hate and despair. If that sounds like your kind of thing... Welcome aboard!
‘Widowmaker’ reveals itself as a very different record to ‘Hatred for Mankind’ from the first listen. What takes time is the depth of what is on offer therein to reveal itself. From the first ominous twang of a clean yet eerie guitar the sound is bleak and sets a mood that is unrelenting- even when the music employs dynamic shifts and all kinds of instrumentation. Four to five minutes in there are two guitar tracks building up an atmosphere that is the aural equivalent to watching the first series of Lynch's Twin Peaks. There is even a piano around the six minute mark. The first sign of any distortion comes at 8mins 20secs. An almost folk feel is created by cymbals and violin- and by that I do mean the good kind of folk. Think the feel of the seminal film The Wicker Man and you have the right idea. The samples of the first record are echoed over the first fifteen minutes but that is the only real comparison I can draw.
It may sound strange, but the first fifteen minutes fly past- the atmosphere, tension and feel of the record is introduced leads the way to what could be termed the second part of the album. A monolithic riff and the first scream herald in the next movement. The familiar horrific vocals over the music create a cacophony that is in stark contrast to the almost ambient first part of the record. A low death growl is introduced after more samples, creating another aspect and tonality for the listener. Just after twenty minutes an ascending/descending riff is introduced with other instruments buried low in the mix. The pounding double kick drums that were a great feature of their debut for me are back here. On headphones the whole thing sounds masterful and suffocatingly dense. There is even an almost stoner rock, Karma to Burn-esque feel around the twenty three minute mark. It doesn't last long, though, and instead gives way to a groove which in itself abruptly twists into doomy sludge, heralding in the third and final part of the record.
‘Part III’, beginning as it does with very slow sludge, is different again to the previous two parts. The bass, ringing out alone around thirty minutes in, offers up a kind of distorted mirror of ‘Part I's atmospherics, indeed the record almost feels as if it doubles back on itself. The band take us back to cleaner guitar tones but five minutes from the conclusion the riffs, distortion and crashing chords are back. The samples reach an apex for me as thirty eight minutes rolls past- you'll have to listen to it for yourself to find out what is said! After some frantic playing and vocals the whole thing dissolves into howling feedback and there the journey ends.
It is rare that a record of forty minutes feels this short. I can only conclude that a lot of work went into making this piece of music- the pacing, peaks and dynamics are all very well judged. It is an expertly paced soundscape that should be viewed as a whole. If you do this and invest the time in it you will be glad you did- the rewards are rich indeed!
The idea of Decades Apart is pretty simple. I’ll choose 5 different albums from 5 different decades and I’ll share a little information about them and hopefully you’ll check them out if you haven’t already. Today is 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001and 2011. Whilst some these albums may not all be considered classics, they’re certainly amazing records. So be sure to check it out.
Hawkwind - 'In Search of Space' (1971)
Growing up in the '80s I heard the name Hawkwindoften enough but never took the time to listen to them. As far as I knew they weren't a metal band, more some kind of hippie jam band with keyboards, which was a major turn-off when I was obsessing over Celtic Frost, Prong and Voivod. They seemed so twee, almost laughable in the face of the epic speed and heaviness of 'To Mega Therion' or 'Dimension Hatross. Of course, once Soundgarden and Mudhoneycame along it suddenly seemed alright to look backwards for inspiration, and when Monster Magnet released “Spine of God” and started mentioning Hawkwind in every interview I thought it might be time for a reassessment. I bought a double cassette compilation and dived in.
Trying to consume so much Hawkwind at once is sheer madness and the compilation leapt around in terms of chronology so I thought I'd work out where to start and go from there. A tuned-in workmate was so excited to be asked for Hawkwindrecommendations that he gave me a vinyl copy of 'In Search of Space' along with some valuable advice for ideal listening conditions. To this day I still get the same feeling of foreboding when the opening strains of 'You Shouldn't Do That' seep out of the speakers. To have the confidence to open with a 15 minute epic speaks volumes of just how mind expanding Hawkwind truly are/were, and to this day no-one has really done anything that comes close. Ultra creepy, doom laden, tribal, kosmich and totally confusing at the same time. What's more, there's nothing of the peace and love of American west coast psych here at all. Hawkwindwere raw, tough and incessant. I had to check the record label to see how long that song was, it felt like it was as likely to be three minutes as thirty. Totally transcendental. They didn't let up either with 'Master of the Universe ' rivalling Sabbathfor pure power, and 'Adjust Me' setting an early template for noise rock twenty years before anyone was even thinking about it.
Like Sabbath, really nothing sounded the same at the time, or since, and I can't begin to imagine how alien this record must have sounded in '71. Hawkwind's legacy has been tainted by inconsistent line-ups and releases, along with a slew of tenth rate copyists posturing as psych-rock, but there's no doubt in my mind that if the band had finished after 'Hall of the Mountain Grill' they'd be revered in the same light as Sabbath, Zeppelin and all the other Titans of the era. This record still stands up like few others. This is your Captain speaking. Your Captain is dead
Van Halen– “Fair Warning” (1981)
In 1981 an album that in my opinion is the epitome of the Van Halensound was released, “Fair Warning”. Sheer gravitas. For my money, each track holds its weight in groove, riffs, musicianship and straight up ass kicking swagger from David Lee Roth.
What in my humble opinion always gets lost in a lot of their albums and I feel especially on this body of work is how amazing the percussion is. “Dirty Movies” is a lesson in full on boogie till the fucking cows come home, sleep in the barn and prance back out to the pasture to graze.
“So This is Love”, forget about it. How many T Tops had this song blitzing from their 8 track stereos, meanwhile, engines growled like a Rottweiler in heat. The key is the smoothness of the Ted Templeman production, the sonic sexiness of the virtuoso himself, Eddie Van Halen. The tonality and growl of his axe is more potent than any espresso ever brewed.
I remember my buddyJim Delosh playing this for me and Vaugh Fachette's dad blaring “Sinner's Swing”, before going fishing. So if you are feeling sentimental, and have a 3 quarter t shirt In your drawer please put it on, get one foot out the door and become “Unchained”.
Soundgarden -“Badmotorfinger”(1991)
Having recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, Soundgardenhelped unshackle the band of their grunge tag with ‘Badmotorfinger’. While draped in that archetypal grittiness which helped characterise the movement and genre bursting from their hometown of Seattle at the time, this album was representative of a band outgrowing their early sound, building on their blues laden, doomy template with an intrinsic experimentalism which they learnt to perfect on ‘Superunknown’.
Indeed, while it was that succeeding album that helped skyrocket the band, breaking them to the masses with massive singles in ‘Spoonman’, ‘Fell on Black Days’ and ‘Black Hole Sun’, its older brother has grown into something of an underrated, cult classic. The melancholy chaos of ‘Rusty Cage’ - lovingly covered by Johnny Cash some years later - and the 7/4 thump of ‘Outshined’(a pre-cursor to ‘Spoonman’, which is also in 7/4) make a moody and impenetrably iconic introduction to a record which, while its style and feel may receive seismic shifts throughout, never lets up. Its diversity is its greatest gift, riffs leaping out at you from the dark when you least expect it, psychedelia then whisking you away from the punches.
They showed with this album a sharp and intelligent level of song writing, from the genius lyrics of Chris Cornell (“I’m looking California/but feeling Minnesota” and “share a cigarette with negativity”) to Kim Thayil’s nasty, unconventional approach to guitar playing, it may not be an album hugely revered, but that is in no way a representation of its quality. There is a progressive mindset driving the record, their playfulness with less common time signatures and often obscure, unnerving note choices defining it as something of an ugly beast. But why should rock music be pretty?
‘Slaves And Bulldozers’, ‘New Damage’ and ‘Holy Water’ are packed to the rafters with titanic doom riffs which snarl and growl like an animalistic Tony Iommi. The short and savage punk of Ben Shepard’s ‘Face Pollution’ and the bastardised, brass-tinged classic rock of Matt Cameron’s ‘Drawing Flies’, keep you guessing, keep you on your toes.
Never short of surprises, it is an amalgamation of so much, all condensed and blended into one unholy racket. Like any true classic, it is a record that no other band could write.
Converge – “Jane Doe” (2001)
Released in 2001, Converge's breakthrough 4th album, 'Jane Doe' remains a landmark in extreme music and sounds as fresh and relevant today as it did 15 years ago. Played with such ferocious precision, thanks in part to the impetus of new members Ben Koller and Nate Newton, 'Jane Doe' is a bitter, angry, scathing statement of intent from the band.
From the opening arpeggio that dips into the inhuman blasts of 'Concubine', the album barely lets you catch a breath as Jacob Bannon screams at you, telling you the story of a ruined relationship. It's so powerful and full of emotion that you can almost hear the blood pouring from the man's broken heart seep into his vocal chords.
Various twists and turns permeate the albums intensity; 'Distance And Meaning', 'Hell To Pay', 'Homewrecker', 'The Broken Vow' and 'Heaven In Her Arms' provide some of the most memorable moments, while 'Phoenix In Flight' is near perfect in its composition and placement on the album, allowing you to digest what's just been thrown your way before 'Phoenix In Flames' and 'Thaw' that follow, absolutely annihilate your eardrums. As if that wasn't enough, the album's title track is an 11 minute emotional rollercoaster, making you worry for the welfare of the song's protagonist.
Elder – "Dead Roots Stirring"(2011)
As opposed to the debut that was more of a brawny smack to the gut (or the wall, whichever you prefer), Elder’s excellentsophomore was one for the thinking-man’ stoner books. As psychedelia-ladden as it was riff-driven in its approach, this Boston trio set themselves up to be true trailblazers in the genre. Showing respect for the long-form, each track in duration 8 minutes at the very least with two nearing the twelve-minute mark, they brought a world fully their own and spent time exploring it with quieter moments but not lacking any punch either. The sheer rawness acting contrast to the intricate layering, all the while showcasing their penchant for experimenting with songwriting formulas.
The album is equal parts a plunge into murky depths – like the epically ravaging conclusion that closes the opener – as it is opting for the less travelled overgrown route, with floating guitars going off on shimmering tangents like aptly-titled third track ’III’. With rusty riffs bringing its plodding hooks, bluesy and bog-ridden coincide with the album art, sill, alongside the opening notes of ’Gemini’, or the thick earthy toned pulse that opens the title-track, it’s De Salvo’s vocals breaking at just the right moment. Concurrently melodic and raspy in their intonation, they come through as if a guide lighting the way, though showing restraint enough to let the instruments tell the majority of the story.
"Dead Roots Stirring" gave strong hints of what was to come on yesteryear’s acclaimed Lore, again proving that there isn’t a band that does it quite like Elder.
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