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

“Because Eleven is one louder”: Nikos Mixas (guitarist for Twingiant) choose his top 5 stoner picks

Phoenix, Arizona's loud and heavy, groove and growl band Twingiant, a recent addition to the Argonauta Records roster, formed in the spring of 2010 and since their inception, have refined its sound from their stoner/sludge rock template to incorporate 70’s rock based elements melded with a modern underground twist. Having released two independent LP’s “Mass Driver” & “Devil Down” in addition to an EP “Sin Nombre”, it was on the back of 2014’s “Devil Down” that the band began generate quite a buzz.

In May of 2015, Twingiantreleased their first video for the song “Tiger Lily” and in October of the same year, Twingiant successfully toured the Midwest United States in support of “Devil Down”.  They’ve also played Southwest Terror Fest twice in addition to Denver Doomfest.  In July of 2016, Twingiantwould re-enter the studio and record a two-song demo that showcases the band’s commitment to crafting their unique sound.  With plans to record an EP in the near future, today we have invited guitarist Nikos Mixas to head up a new feature we have called, “Because eleven is one louder”

Every so often we will invite our favourite band’s to choose their top 5 albums according to the genre their own band is known for.  Today it is stoner rock and here is Nikos from Twingiantto fill you in on the details. 

“The mighty Sludgelordasked me to list my top 5 stoner metal albums of all time and I feel honored to do so…but…I’ll preface my list choices by stating that I’m relatively new to the stoner metal party, and by new I mean I only started really digging into the genre about 10 years ago.  There’s not a Black Sabbath album included on my list, so what??? Fucking sue me or call me a poser if you don’t like it, I could care less. 


Music appreciation is a personal choice and I picked bands and albums that have either shaped or made an impression on me at some point.  I cut my teeth during the 80’s thrash and death metal scene and this may come as a shocker, but I absolutely love black metal the most out of all the genres of metal.  So without further adieu…here are my top 5 stoner metal albums.”    

1). Electric Wizard – “We Live” 

I almost picked “Dopethrone” because, well, it’s still the pinnacle of all EW’s albums. But because I’m a go against the grain type of guy, I picked “We Live”.  “We Live” is more of a haunting and moody album to me.  The whole album screams satanic ceremony and orgy fun time and I dig that shit. 

2). Melvins – “Lysol”

Melvins are heavy, this album is heavier.  It’s sorely underrated and for those that have heard it, regard it as a jewel in their catalog.   There’s a ton of KISSinfluence in there and the back story on it is amazing.  Read about it on Wikipedia…

3). Goatsnake – “Black Age Blues”

How dare I pick an album that isn’t regarded as a classic!  Well, maybe because they only have three full-lengths and I think this is their best effort by far.  The fucking tones on this thing are amazing and the riffage puts them on a plateau by themselves.  Pete Stahl is one of the best vocalists in metal hands down and he plays a mean harmonica to go with it.  

4). Fu Manchu – “Go For It…Live!”

Let me start by stating Fu Manchu > Kyuss.  OrangeCounty is cooler than the Palm Desertany day of the week.  All joking aside, I picked this album because it pretty much is a “best of” album and the live recording really captures the essence of the SoCal stoner metal/desert rock vibe.



5). Danava – “Hemisphere of Shadows”

These guys rip musically and this album is their thesis.  Riff upon riff, single note runs all over the place and great balance via the rhythm section.  If I get asked what stoner metal sounds like, I always refer them to this album.  Twingiant has had the privilege of opening for them before and I’ve seen them about a half-dozen times live.  They are the real deal, check them out!

Twingiant’s latest release is available here and for more info on the band check out the link below. 

Band info: facebook