ALBUM REVIEW: Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters, "Come & Chutney"

By Andrew Field

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 13/07/2018

Label: Riff Rock Records

 “Come & Chutney”is remarkable in so many ways, but perhaps most tellingly when the album ends you want to both play it again and go see one of their shows immediately. With no flab to be found on it, and packed with hooks which will lodge in your brain for months, “Come and Chutney” is damn near perfect.

“Cum & Chutney” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Doggy Bag Of Slurry

2). Krones Of The Kiln

3). Cojones Feos

4). Glue Ear

5). Gutlads

6). Gawdless

7). Doner Trump

8). Psychedelic Hallucinogenic Vagrancy

The Review:

Watching Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters live is a truly life affirming experience. Few other bands lock in and groove like they do. Built on the thunderous rhythm section of drummer Mark Buckwell and four stringer Will Hart, with frontman Owen Karty laying ocean-sized fuzzed-up riffs and gravelly vowel-mangling vocals over the top, their sheer sonic power is matched by their fierce tie-die t-shirt and corpse-painted stage presence.

Whilst their debut 2015 EP “Earth Hog” was a sterling effort, it served more as a momento of their live shows than anything. Their songs on the 2017 “Special Split” with Ten Foot Wizard likewise. And so, one was left wondering if Chubby were to be one of those bands who never quite caught their onstage majesty on vinyl.

All such fears are swept away after just one play of “Come & Chutney”,and after several spins it’s clear the trio have created something quite special. We’re talking “candidate for album of the year” levels of goodness here. From the opening riff of “Doggy Bag Of Slurry” onwards, the Chubbs deliver 8 slabs of buzzsaw boogie and achieve the remarkable feat of making them all killer with no absolutely no filler.

Every track packs a punch and is an ear worm: we’re talking 40-odd minutes of vim, four-to-the-floor swagger, drug and kebab love, and a good old go at Donald Trump. Immaculately captured by Sam Thredder in his Cro’s Nest studio, Buckwell’s bass drum is constantly battering your head and driving each seismic anthem forward. Hart’s bass rumbles and thunders. Karty’s guitars are constantly set to stun. When Chubbyproperly hit their stride, on the majestic “Krones Of The Kiln”, they sound like the bastard offspring of ZZ Topcirca ”Rhythmeen”. Only better.

The best is left to last. Closing 10-minute wig-out “Psychedelic Hallucinogenic Vagrancy” turns off the fuzz and ramps up the heavy psych, starting with a beautifully plucked guitar motif then building through to an explosive organ-led finale featuring guests Chantal Brown of Vodun and Gary Harkin of Ten Foot Wizard. The song reeks of weed and sounds like 1969.

“Come & Chutney”is remarkable in so many ways, but perhaps most tellingly when the album ends you want to both play it again and go see one of their shows immediately. With no flab to be found on it, and packed with hooks which will lodge in your brain for months, “Come and Chutney” is damn near perfect.

“Come & Chutney”is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

TRACK PREMIERE & TEST PRESS GIVEAWAY: "Masters Descent" by Slomatics

When you run out of superlatives to introduce a band, sometimes you’ve just gotta cut the shit and let the music speak for itself.  Today that is exactly what I am going to do.  Slomatics are back barely a year after their monumental album “Future Echo Returns” and their finest album to date and what’s more they have exceeded themselves again, with vocalist drummer Marty Harvey putting in his finest vocal performances to date, supported by the sledgehammer riffs of Chris Couzens and David Majury, for me today’s  track premiere is one of their best ever tracks.  So enjoy “Masters Descent”, the final track from their forthcoming split with Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, entitled “Totems” which is set for release on 30^th March 2018 via Black Bow Records and is available to purchase here.  Info about the giveaway below.

Now if that track premiere wasn’t exciting enough, we have teamed up with the band to give away a test press of the split.  All you have to do is like the post of this article on our facebook page.  That’s right.  Like the post. The give away will end in 5 days directly after the post and I will select a winner at random and sent them a message notifying them they have won. 

 Band info: Facebook || bandcamp

ALBUM STREAM & REVIEW: Twingiant - "Blood Feud"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type:Full length

Date Released:13/10/2017

Label:Argonauta Records

"Twingiant seems like it is out to represent an immortal hard rock sound that will always be loved. It's a great sound, and one that has floated Twingiant from underground favorite to emerging powerhouse."

“Blood Feud” CD//DD Track listing

1). Throttled

2). Poison Control Party Line

3). Ride The Gun

4). Re-fossilized

5). Shadow of Southern Mountain

6). Formerly Known As

7). Last Man Standing

8). Kaishakunin

TheReview:

These moments, every band is a something-something-something. Is this a marketing thing, or entirely accurate? There's blackgaze-sludge, symphonic-death-doom, hardcore-atmospheric-drone, something-but-wait-something-else. You get the picture. Three out of ten times, there's some truth to it. The rest? Well, it's often left up to interpretation. Very charitable interpretation.

The beautiful thing, if you're Phoenix's Twingiant, is that when you have a fun and a refreshing sound you do not need a shit ton of hyphens

Since the band formed in 2010, Twingiant has seemed to pick a lane and stayed in it. Their stoner rock is cut from that classic 1970s cloth you may know well. The big sound of Mountain, the multilayered compositions of Black Sabbath, and down the line. More than a few have noticed bits of sludge metal here, but to categorize them as a sludge metal act feels inadequate. Twingiant seems like it is out to represent an immortal hard rock sound that will always be loved. It's a great sound, and one that has floated Twingiant from underground favorite to emerging powerhouse.

Their new release, "Blood Feud," comes after a string of critically hailed recordings. 2014's "Devil Down" (whose artwork was a not-so-subtle nod to Van Halen's “Diver Down”) and 2013's "Sin Nombre" both made Twingiant's reputation. There was a bit of grumbling that the last album wasn't as strong as its debut, or perhaps a tad too refined. If you were in that crowd, "Blood Feud" may be just the red meat you wanted.

There are many things to like on Twingiant's newest. "Poison Control Party Line" sees the double guitar assault of Tony Gallegos and Nikos Mixas that figures prominently throughout the album. It tends to be most resonant on this cut, but you hear its maturation on a song like "Re-fossilized." There's a subtle rhythm guitar element to it that quickly clears the way for the raucous almost full instrumental jam (vocals kick in more than four minutes in). You might be able to close your eyes and think this is what it sounded like as everyone lit up in the middle of Foghat show around 1974. Yeah, that sort of thing.

A few listens in and you come to value Jeff Ramon on drums. His playing on "Shadow of South Mountain" is without compare. Clean, rapid-fire and meets the challenge of Jarrod Le Blanc's hearty vocals across "Blood Feud." Ramon also takes on the steady build of "Last Man Standing" with aplomb. A good drummer can really make the other instruments blend together, and Ramon bridges guitars and bass into a seductive package in an all-around sharp performance.

As with any heavy rock group, though, Twingiant prospers with LeBlanc up front. Although it can't be said that LeBlanc has the greatest range as a singer, he is skilled at using what he has to the fullest extent. A song like "Ride the Gun" comes at you with a familiar sounding chord progression and chorus, but LeBlanc draws it out to something more unique with his signature snarl. He's also smart about stepping back and letting the music set the mood, as he does in "Throttled," where vocals don't go until a full minute in. And the pace Twingiant go for with "Blood Feud" is faster and more aggressive than even before. Thus, LeBlanc demonstrates a good intuition about what he's doing in a muscular appearance.

"Blood Feud" may not please all metal fans. However, there is a lot to like about what Twingiant are doing, especially for lovers of the classic power chords and wall of sound.

“Blood Feud” is available to preorder/buy here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

ALBUM REVIEW & TRACK PREMIERE: Stonebirds - "Time"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 20/10/2017

Label: Independent

The group merges many influences into a package that still sounds true to the subgenre. Stonebirds is adept at exploring concepts in their music that make it even more intriguing. To put it simply, the trio is one of the Europe's more intriguing stoner/doom performers today. "Time," far exceeds expectations and situates Stonebirds as a band to keep an eye on.

“Time” CD//DD track listing

1. I

2. Sacrifice

3. Blackened Sky

4. Only time

5. Shutter part I

6. Shutter part II

7. Animals

8. II

The Review:

Rostrenen, France's Stonebirds received much acclaim for its 2015 release "Into the Fog… And the Flithy Air." The stoner/doom crew was noted in particular for its originality. If you scan that record again, you will hear why it was so appreciated. The group merges many influences into a package that still sounds true to the subgenre. Stonebirds is adept at exploring concepts in their music that make it even more intriguing. To put it simply, the trio is one of the Europe's more intriguing stoner/doom performers today.

It was easy then to catch elements of inspirations like the Melvinsor a style like Cult of Luna before. Its previous works seemed more sprawling, in part due to a five-piece lineup. The group returns smaller and with an edgier vibe. On the band's 2017 return, "Time," Stonebirdsfeels intent on forging its own road, to some of its best results yet.

"Time"opens with "I" – and yes, it is bookended with closer "II"– which harkens to the impeccably ethereal rhythm you know of Stonebirds. When it rolls into "Sacrifice," however, the comparisons halt. The ten-minute track is still atmospheric and multi-layered, but in the end the overtures are devastating. Rough guitars, rattling bass and jarring vocals make this a nice profile of a band that has renewed focus. Later, the cut, "Animals," offers a similar kind of heft. The rumbling end of "Sacrifice"segues well into "Blackened Sky," which takes its fallow beginnings into sinister territory as the music arcs, then shambles into the darkness.

Contemporary social commentary is a perennial part of extreme music, and "Time" does not disappoint. The centerpiece of "Time"is undoubtedly "Shutter Part I & II," a narrative on climate change. Given the catastrophism that accompanies what was formerly called global warming – skyrocketing hunger, mass extinction and an upsurge in natural disasters are among the issues scientists cite the world will see more of – it remains a marvel as to why more acts have not examined climate issues further. In this instance, Stonebirdsdoes it in a non-preachy, understated way. What is ostensibly “…Part I” mostly set the mood. It is “…Part II” with the lyrical attack. Again, it is no 350.org manifesto. Rather, the sound comes across as the crest of a storm, with lyrics that inject fear ("time has come/for you to die" comes at you again and again) into this story. By song's crashing end, you are struck by how good it is, maybe the best track of "Time."

If there are any quibbles with the latest Stonebirds release, it may be that the mood changes can be a little abrupt. Songs bounce from sludge to much heavier and perhaps the composition could be a little different. However, overall, "Time,"with a smaller group and focused sound, far exceeds expectations and situates Stonebirds as a band to keep an eye on.

"Time" is available to preorder/buy here and you can check out an exclusive stream of the track “Shutter Part II” below

Band info: bandcamp || Facebook