FOR THOSE ABOOT TO ROCK: Riffs of Canada with Tunguska Mammoth (Montreal, Québec)

By: Mark Tremblay

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 11/05/2018

Label: Deathbound Records

If you dig riff-centric music interspersed with triumphant vocal harmonies, this record is for you.

“Breathless” CD//DD track listing:

1. Breathless

2. Kings And Queens

3. Phénix

4. The Yellow Sign

5. New Sun

6. Le Vent

7. Lily (feat. Jared Collins)

8. We are the Night

The Review:

Tunguska Mammoth return with their new full length “Breathless”. The album is a riff-heavy nod to bands such as Beastwars and Mastodon. If you dig riff-centric metal music interspersed with triumphant vocal harmonies, this record is for you. 

The album opens with a trio of bangers in “Breathless”, “Kings and Queens” and “Phénix”. All the songs are riff-focused, but not over the top to the point of self-indulgent.  The amount of restraint witnessed showcases the band’s collective ability of performing as a unit, and serving what is best for the song.  It is nice to see the band’s French Canadian roots showcased on the record.  Songs like “Le Vent” that are sung in both French and add subtle nuance that few Canadian bands are able to utilize.

The album’s apex comes on “New Sun”. The song is a demolition of riffs and incorporates a melody that would feel right at home on a Torche record.  Overall, if you’re looking for a record that is tasteful and well-balanced, Tunguska Mammoth’snew record “Breathless” is ground zero.

“Breathless” is available here

Band info: Facebook| Bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Throneless, "Cycles"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 01/04/2018

Label: Black Bow Records

Throneless do not break any musical barriers on “Cycles” but their mastery of riffcraft and ability to create massive, awe-inspiring compositions sets them high above the competition.

“Cycles” DD//LP track listing:

1). Born In Vain

2). Cycles

3). Senseless

4). Oracle

The Review:

Right from the opening subsonic bass rumble, you know you are in safe hands with Throneless. The Malmö trio’s new LP “Cycles” is a master class in monumental sludged-up doom bathed in a cosmic glow.

“Born In Vain”immobilises the listener with a ten minute onslaught of crushing riffs, each one striving to reach a higher plane of heavy perfection. The reverb-laden vocals and hazy atmosphere recall the rural horror of Electric Wizard’s“Dopethrone” recast as a science fiction epic. After this pulverising introduction, the title track initially offers some respite. Beginning as a laid back jam, there is an almost optimistic mood reminiscent of Colour Haze at their most blissed-out. It’s not long until Throneless unleash the full power of their earth-shaking backline once more, taking the track into lumbering Torchestyle thunder pop territory.

The second half of “Cycles” shifts towards slower tempos with an increase in punishing heaviness. This metamorphosis reaches its peak with the gargatuan “Oracle”. Over the space of fifteen glorious minutes, Throneless gradually build a sonic fortress of epic proportions from huge slabs of dense riffage worthy of Bongripper.   

Throneless do not break any musical barriers on “Cycles” but their mastery of riffcraft and ability to create massive, awe-inspiring compositions sets them high above the competition. This is a hypnotic trip that will have you coming back for more throughout 2018.

“Cycles” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

REVIEW: Empress, "Reminiscence" [EP]

By: Jay Hampshire

Album Type: Full length

Date Released: 12/02/2018

Label: Independent

Empress have taken a tried and tested formula of sludge metal and shot it through with enough outside influences to revitalise, and executed it with both obvious competency and righteous flair. If you’re interested in a change of pace, ‘Reminiscence’ is definitely it.

“Reminiscence” CD/DD track listing

1. The Offering (03:54)     

2. Immer (08:06)

3. Baptizer (02:50)

4. They Speak Like Trees (09:27)

5. Dawn (03:30)

The Review:

In a genre as swollen as the current sludge metal scene, it’s getting increasingly difficult for bands to stand out from the heaving crowd. Sure, your riffs are peppered with groovy blues shifts and groaning under the weight of distortion, but whose aren’t? The last word you’d expect to use when describing a new sludge release is ‘surprised’, but Vancouver based trio Empresstake the framework and contort it into something still recognisable, but near wholly original.

‘The Offering’kicks things off with enough familiarity; burbling sci-fi synths are crushed under the weight of jarring chords, striding into a typically sludge riff with Peter Sacco’s blistering roars arcing atop. Slowing down and teasing with rumbling, fuzzed-out bass, it stalks into a brooding main riff with an undercurrent of atonal tremolo, ending on a strong feedback drenched chord. So far, so sludge.

But you’ve been lulled into a false sense of security, only to have the rug pulled out from under you.

‘Immer’ positively bounces with an incredibly energetic, movement heavy riff, with all the pop sensibility of a good Torche track. It’s punchy, a ‘good time’ vibe that Sacco’s vocals don’t really match until the trio shift gear and move into a muscular riff straight out of Mastodon’s early era playbook. Rattling snares usher us upwards into a soaring, sweeping post-rock ascension that is infectiously uplifting and a world away from the hard riffing of ‘The Offering’.

‘Baptizer’smoody, Nirvana-esque bass line is swallowed by the sudden impact of a dense layer of heavy riffs, punctuated by Chris Doyle’s constantly shifting drum work. Weighing in at under three minutes, it’s shorter and sharper than the two tracks it’s sandwiched between. ‘They Speak Like Trees’, the album’s zenith, ambles slowly and ponderously, backed by pounding toms and lances of feedback. Steadily building to a locked in chugging riff, it continues to climb through passages of unexpectedly stripped down hard-rock and wandering, clean contemplation, driving home to an energising finish.

Closer ‘Dawn’ is a shimmering dreamscape of guitar noodling and rushing synths, a gentle comedown from the album’s lofty peaks, a touch messy but pleasing nonetheless. Empresshave taken a tried and tested formula and shot it through with enough outside influences to revitalise, and executed it with both obvious competency and righteous flair. If you’re interested in a change of pace, ‘Reminiscence’ is definitely it.

‘Reminiscence’is available here

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Dove - "Dove Discography"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Compilation

Date Released:08/11/2017

Label: Independent

When Dove became the vehicle for the Floor approach, it could not have been more energizing. Listening to "Dove Discography," you will hear why; Dove's melodic vision for doom is competitive with anything you will hear today, and maybe better in several cases.  "Dove Discography" is such a good listen because it feels contemporary, even if it isn't. In the end, you finish with an appreciation for artists like this, who have tried to expand the sound and stretch doom to new boundaries.

“Dove Discography”DD track listing

1. Thank You For Patience

2. Goes Without Saying

3. On A Mission  

4. Red King          

5. Neither Today Nor Tomorrow

6. Twenty Three Twelve

7. Somewhere Between 

8. This You Can Trust

9. Without Warning

10. You And I

11. Start Running Now     

12. Never A Straight Line

13. Sight And Seen

14. See You Soon, Love Always    

15. Time Get Crucial

16. One Year After

17. Eight Letters

18. What is Best in Life

19. Seven Days

20. Octobers Winds

The Review:

Nostalgia for big-name performers can at times be a messy business. It is debatable if the world needs a farewell tour from a nearly 70-year-old Ozzy Osbourne, who's spending his down time from performing old hits taping a travel show with his son, Jack. And though Ozzy is an easy target, there are no shortage of acts in it for years or split up who try to stage a return. The nicer among us wonder how this impacts upon their legacies. The rest of us wonder if music really needs a recycle bag of old records and what space it takes away from bands coming through and without the name recognition.

In the case of Dove, a Floridadoom outfit that shares lineage with the legendary bands Torche and Floor, their return from the dustbin, at least in recorded form, feels like something many of us have waited for.

In the early 2000s, Dove offered a classic doom style that you might have heard through the embers of in Floor, a sound that would influence many bands afterward. Dove'smusic has been out of print for many years, however. This includes a 2001 split and the group's self-titled 2004 debut, which is featured in full as the first 14 tracks of the new "Dove Discography." It is, to hear the band tell it, everything Doverecorded from 2001 to 2005, from compilation appearances to demos.

The question is then, 'should you thus give a crap?' The answer is, most emphatically, yes

Even more than 10 years later, Dove's eponymous album stands up astoundingly well. Hardcore doom fans may be familiar with Floor and the style it pioneered. The swirling, psychedelic take on doom that relied more on sludge than stoner, the merger of post-rock and progressive elements counts many dads and Flooris certainly one of the more important ones. When Dove became the vehicle for the Floorapproach, it could not have been more energizing. Listening to "Dove Discography," you will hear why; Dove'smelodic vision for doom is competitive with anything you will hear today, and maybe better in several cases.  A song like "See You Soon, Love Always" is an example of a doom record that can be legitimately gorgeous in its orchestration. "Time Get Crucial" introduces some world music touches to its heavy base. And even short cuts such as "Neither Today Nor Tomorrow" and "Twenty Three Twelve" are still effective at showing you Dove can kick ass in three minutes or less. Unusual today, and pretty audacious 13 years ago too.

"Dove Discography" is such a good listen because it feels contemporary, even if it isn't. In the end, you finish with an appreciation for artists like this, who have tried to expand the sound and stretch doom to new boundaries.

"Dove Discography" is available here

Band info: bandcamp

REVIEW: Maximum Mad - "Dear Enemy" [EP]

By: Charlie Butler


Album Type: EP

Date Released: 16/09/2017

Label: Good to Die Records

Maximum Mad’s relentless riff generation makes for an exhilarating ride reminiscent of mighty Florida Helmet enthusiasts Wrong, they take the blueprint for dirty, riff-heavy racket from the 90s and 00s and wrench it breathlessly into the present on debut EP “Dear Enemy

“Dear Enemy” CS//DD track listing:

1. Affluenza
2. Lucky Coward
3. Active Aggressive
4. Unmanned
5. Weird Hand
6. Obscene Gestures

The Review:

Portland / Vancouver (DC) quartet Maximum Madare the latest band to take the blueprint for dirty, riff-heavy racket from the 90s and 00s and wrench it breathlessly into the present on debut EP “Dear Enemy”. Like many of the current glut of noise rock acts making their presence felt in the underground, their lack of originality is rendered completely irrelevant by the sheer quality of their sonic assault.

Maximum Mad’s relentless riff generation makes for an exhilarating ride reminiscent of mighty Florida Helmetenthusiasts Wrong. This is particularly evident on “Unmanned”where they also channel some of Torche’s thunderous pop majesty for good measure.

Elsewhere, the band deliver concise hits of churning Melvins-style grunge fury to great effect. “Affluenza” is the best example of this, bolstered by a brief section of warped, reverb-heavy melody towards its climax that brings to mind the much-missed These Arms Are Snakes. The sleazy groove of “Active Aggressive” shows Maximum Madare equally as effective at delivering lumbering menace as they are operating at full throttle

Closer “Obscene Gestures” throws in a dose of thrash into the mix which spices things up nicely. I like to think this is a little nod to their highly entertaining fake Facebook bio where they describe themselves as one of the most distinctive, influential and extreme thrash metal bands of the 1980s.

“Dear Enemy” is a solid start for Maximum Mad. Hopefully it won’t be long before they show the world what they are capable of across a full LP.

“Dear Enemy” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Forming The Void - "Relic"

By: David Jupp

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 17/03/2017

Label: Argonauta Records (CD) |

Lonestar Records (LP)

In a genre creaking under the weight of its own familiarity Forming the Void have built something exceptional that stands apart. ‘Relic’ is a record that will long outlast its creators and live on, forming the foundations, of future sludge-monuments.

“Relic” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1.After Earth

2.The Endless Road

3.Bialozar

4.Relic

5.The Witch

6.Plumes

7.Unto the Smoke

8.Kashmir

The Review:

There must be a point during the writing process for a record, when a band realise they have stumbled across something special. Whether mid jam at rehearsal or in the isolation of a low-lit lounge, when these threads of brilliance choose to offer themselves a bands collective heart must surely quicken. It is then just the small matter of following each thread home to its cohesive whole. Taken in its entirety, Louisiana four-piece Forming the Void’s second album ‘Relic’evokes a wealth of these ‘imagine being there when they wrote that’ moments.

The seven songs and one cover that make up album number two form a tapestry of contemporary influences that include Baroness, Tooland Soundgarden. But oddly, ‘Relic’ still seems an apt name. A relic is defined as an object that survives from an earlier time, and Forming the Void’s sophomore effort is certainly imbibed with an ancient and timeless quality. This is especially notable in its slower more atmospheric interludes, but there is also an ever-present driving yell to its heavier passages that conjures images of tribal charge.

The record opens with ‘After Earth’ and immediately implements the aforementioned approach. Setting forth with a shamanic and droned exchange between galloped toms and minimal guitar-flutter, this summoning soon bears blackened fruit as a huge wave of sludge crashes in on your already craned audio-neck. Similarly, to Vokonis’recent standout ‘The Sunken Djinn’ this mass of tone requires an impressive vocal and James Marshall’s layered war-yell doesn’t disappoint. In fact, the heft of the vocals on ‘Relic’ consistently add girth to the records overall spine. The lyrics evoke equally epic themes with Marshallcalling across the years. ‘Roam, beside the dead. Time unwinding.’

A large swathe of ‘Relic’draws on paths well-trodden but each time a dejected sigh might flicker in your throat the band find an extra few percent, be it through delivery or craft. Track two ‘Endless Road’ extracts this differentiation via Marshall’s vocal. The riffs are solid but the combination of Luke Baker’s undertow bass and Marshall’s bellow transform the ordinary into the special.

Next up trudging Miamistalwarts Torcherear their heads. ‘Bialozar’ wouldn’t be out of place on ‘Neanderthal’ with its fusion of vocal harmony and Thomas Colley’s skull-fuck snare. Again though, instead of massaging another band’s sound Forming the Void take a potion to the vein and inject something extra. This time round, the lyrics that supplement the battle cry provide the albums stand out moment. ‘Wings spread, over the mountain.’ I challenge any connoisseur of heavy music not to contort their face at this point. It’s just outrageously good.

Title track ‘Relic’ is up next and its initial two minutes offer the first whiff of a stall in momentum. Luckily just as the blueprint begins to feel a tad familiar the band cast war-paint all over it with a four-minute, Tool inspired grind.

‘The Witch’ follows and immediately picks up the pace with the Louisiana quartets admiration for Baronessraging into view. The song is a perfect example of the application of craft. There is nothing particularly new about the execution but somehow the charging whole erases all memory of its dull set of parts.

Track six‘Plumes’ offers the records only real misfire. There is perhaps an element of taste at play here though. ‘Plumes’would fit perfectly on Torche’s latest record ‘Restarter.’ For me that record missed the mark. There is something about a tempo that is neither slow enough for a half-time bang, or fast enough for horns that just doesn’t grab me.

Fortunately, penultimate offering ‘Unto the Smoke’ restores maximum worthy with an 8-minute testament to everything that makes melodic sludge so good. The driving crash and yell make a welcome return as do their symbiotic and shamanistic lulls.

‘Relic’scurtain falls in a slightly bizarre manner. By covering one of Led Zeppelin’smost iconic songs I can’t help but feel that Forming the Void succeed in breaking a spell they’ve toiled so hard to conjure. It’s a decent cover but it just feels out of place on a record with such a pronounced identity and narrative. It plays like a well-executed after-thought that is perhaps better left for the live stage.

Ill-judged covers aside, with ‘Relic’ Forming the Void have taken a familiar set of materials and carved something fresh. One of the beautiful things about music is that it’s timeless, it’s forever. In a genre creaking under the weight of its own familiarity Forming the Void have built something exceptional that stands apart. ‘Relic’is a record that will long outlast its creators and live on, forming the foundations, of future sludge-monuments.

“Relic” is available here

Band info: Facebook|| Bandcamp

FOR THOSE ABOOT TO ROCK: Riffs of Canada with Cellos (Windsor, Ontario)

By: Mark Tremblay

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released:5/8/2017

Label: No List Records |

Harbour House Records

The best way to describe this band would be “Torche meets KEN Mode” in the most harmonious way possible. The album is a plethora of serpentine riffs from “Demagogue” and “Bury me on Highway 3”, to the outright sludgy plod of “Out of Phase” and “White Lines.  This record is for anyone searching for something slightly different in the myriad of heavy music releases this year

“The Great Leap Backward” CS//DD//LP track listing:

1). White Lines

2). Demagogue

3). Delirium Tremens

4). Ghosts in the Sky

5). Snake Charmer

6). Out of Phase

7). Bury Me on Highway 3

8). Shooting Star

9). Stranger at the Door

The Review:

Cellos continue the legacy of great Canadian Noise Rock under the No List Records Label (LP via Harbour House Records). The best way to describe this band would be “Torche meets KEN Mode” in the most harmonious way possible. The album is a plethora of serpentine riffs from “Demagogue” and “Bury me on Highway 3”, to the outright sludgy plod of “Out of Phase” and “White Lines”. “The Great Leap Backward” is an emotional rollercoaster that could be best encapsulated by the song “Snake Charmer”; a track that lulls you with a hypnotic opening riff, only to change course with the noise rock twist of Kittens.

Cellos “The Great Leap Backward” has so much crossover appeal that putting it into a sub genre would only cheapen its potential to a wider audience. This record is for anyone searching for something slightly different in the myriad of heavy music releases this year.

“The Great Leap Backward” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

FOR THOSE ABOOT TO ROCK: A countdown to Canada day with 5 Underrated Canadian cult classics

By: Mark Tremblay

Priestess- “Prior to the Fire”

A band remembered by many for their guitar hero favourite “Laydown” produced an absolute classic follow up record with “Prior to the Fire”. If riffs are what you dig, this album is full of them; the NWOBHM classics like “Lady Killers” and “It Baffles the Mind”, to sludgy down-tuned jaunts of “Murphy’s Law” and “We Ride Tonight”, the record has a bit of something for everyone.

Unlike a lot of stoner metal acts, the band does not merely rely on riffs alone. The

vocals of Mikey Heppner gives the album its melodic sensibilities; offering a catchy hook on every track. This album is perfect from top to bottom.

Anion- “Without Solace”

“Without Solace” is a deep-cut in the catacombs of the No-List Records catalogue.  Do not let the beautiful album art fool you, this is a deeply disturbing record that truly sounds unique. Tons of off-kilter riffs and rhythms that make for an uneasy listening experience. A stand alone record in the quagmire of hardcore/sludge metal bands.

Collider- “Collider” EP

Collidermanaged to only put together one EP before disappearing all-together. They were riff-centric, while still having the swing that many sludge metal bands lack. Collider represents what Mastodonwould have sounded like if they continued down the path they forged with their first record “Remission”.

 

Hamn- “Pig People”

By far the catchiest heavy record to come out of Canada last year. This end of year release went fairly unnoticed by most, but is undeniably an instant classic. The best way to describe Hamn would be “Dave Grohl as the lead singer for a Torche cover band”. This band really is the perfect blend of melody, and pummelling riffs.

Mares of Thrace- “The Pilgrimage”

Arguably the most visceral and bleak record on this list. “The Pilgrimage” tells the dark biblical tale of David and Bathsheba. The record is brooding like a doom record, but has the frenetic riffs that would appeal to a variety of Metal fans. Unlike many records, “The Pilgrimage” is meant to be played from front to back to fully appreciate the entire sonic palate created by Mares of Thrace.