Fantastic! One of our all-time obscure proto-metal, heavy psych faves has now been reissued on vinyl. Long, long ago we had a cd version, but that's long gone and this is definitely a nicer, more definitive reissue, done totally legit (for the first time we're now told) with the cooperation of the original band members. Here's more or less what we said about it before:
Here's good 'un for you Seventies proto-metal lovin' brothers and sisters out there, being another reissue of a vintage slab of heavy psych rock from way back when, in the vein of Captain Beyond, Dust, Bang, Leaf Hound, Jerusalem and the like... We don't know much about Orang-Utan other than that this was probably their only release, a self-titled album from 1971, and they hailed from England (we think). Certainly this is a bit Zeppish in spots. A minor lost classic? This rocks hard and melodic with a melancholic emotional edge to many of the songs, not just the mellower ones. Great vocals and riffage!
This new vinyl reissue enlightens us a bit, we've learned that Orang-Utan were indeed from London, England, but operated there under the name Hunter. But their sole album was issued only in the USA, under the name Orang-Utan, unbeknownst to the band themselves (sneaky management shenanigans afoot!). Comes with insert featuring rare photos as well as liner notes, by Ugly Things writer Jeremy Cargill, explaining the whole weird story. Also we found out that the singer was previously in cult popsyke band Jason Crest.
VERY RECOMMENDED HEAVY PSYCH PROTO-METAL!!
We want to like this British stoner rock band, really we do, but despite their hard-rockin, heavy ways we really just can't get into 'em that much. But, they're ok. This, their third or fourth album (see, we just don't care) is produced by one guy from Kyuss and has another, their singer, doing guest vocals on two songs. But (to their credit, perhaps) they don't sound like those oft-cloned desert rockers. No, "Coup De Grace" is more of a shit-kickin' motorcycle-ridin' rawk affair with gruff vocals and cowboy boots. More nu-grunge for the '00s. We can't really say what if anything is wrong with this, but it's just not grabbing anyone here at the moment, sorry. Maybe we need to hear it at a party or something. Stoner rock types should check out the audio clip for yourselves and see what you think.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
The newest from these retro-'70s English stoner groove merchants, fixated on motorcycles and mushrooms and similar good things. Heavy, similar to Sheavy, ready to party. Plus there's lots of blissful spaced out grooves to relax to after the party as well.
Orodruin's debut album Epicurean Mass might be the best release yet from the up-n-coming doom metal label psycheDOOMelic, run by Hungary's Hegedus Mark, who's also responsible for the underground doom/stoner bible Psychedelic Fanzine. With a name taken from Tolkien -- referring to Sauron's Mount Doom, natch -- Orodruin are an American band, from New York state, and play a doom fan's style of doom metal. That is, it's obvious that the Orodruin guys are doom fans with musical talent making good on their obsessions, doing justice to such influences as Black Sabbath (of course), early Cathedral, Saint Vitus, and... Bo Hansson? Yep, they've got a thing for the Swedish '70s prog-organist, an AQ-fave as well, which may have something to do with the Tolkien connection. But that's why guitarist John Gallo dabbles in some organ solos on here. Aside from those, don't come looking for anything super new and original on the doom front from Orodruin -- which is not to say this isn't great, actually this is. Solid doom metal played right, with melodic but morose vocals. And we can report that they're good live too, as they just played an impressive show here in San Francisco (on the "Doomination of America" tour with an international array of doomsters) on their way to last weekend's Stoner Hands of Doom festival in Portland, OR. Doom on guys!
Just by listing the members of this 'super group', I know some of you are gonna buy this before we even get to the part about how crappy this record is. Oops. I think I just blew it. Anyway. In case you're just scanning these long ass reviews let's try to get you to stop here a second: KYUSS QUEENS OF THE STONEAGE GOATSNAKE FATSO JETSON.....okay. Gotcha. Orchesta Del Desierto is made up of Alfredo Hernandez from Kyuss and QOTSA, Pete Stahl from Goatsnake and the Earthlings?, Mario Lalli from Fatso Jetson and the Desert Sessions, and Steve Brown from Hermano. So what does it sound like you ask? Well, it's sort of like stoner desert rock, but imagine if someone took away all of their effects pedals (especially the distortion pedals), took away their Marshall stacks and replaced them with Fender twins, and laced their pot with horse tranquilizers. So yeah, mellow and sleepy and uninspired. And add in Mr Pete 'My vocals can ruin any band' Stahl and you've got yourself a big ol' PASS ON THIS ONE. And for those of you who think I'm full of shit, here's the quote from the obi: "Soulful, spacious and mellow, but no less powerful than the heaviest riff-rock records Meteor City has released. Discard all your expectations of desert music and you'll be ready to take this journey."
DOOM. As per AQ tradition, we should throw some extra 'O's in there just to indicate just how doomy this is -- DOOOOOOooooooooOOOM! Not to get sidetracked, but Doom might be the only musical genre that you can deliberately misspell to indicate extra enthusiasm for whatever example of said genre you're describing. RRRRap doesn't work. Nor would you say Woooorld Music. And adding extra 'o's to Pop is a just bad idea, unless you're talking about pop you don't like. But doom, being all about being slow and low, just gets doomier when you exaggerate the spelling into doooooooooooom. The point of all this? That the debut disc from Spanish doom band Orthodox, needs, like, exponential 'o's to really get at its doominess.
Recently and rightly hailed as an Album Of The Month on Julian Cope's psychedelic drone/doom/druid rock lovin' website Head Heritage, Orthodox's Gran Poder ("Great Power") consists of three looong tracks of gloomy, glacial heaviness mixed with more chaotically rockin' parts, with one brief piano-laced interlude seperating tracks two and three. These crushing compositions are almost symphonically grand, an often exceedingly slow grind of eternally doomed drone like Earth or SUNNO))), sometimes speeding up to rock out psychedelically in the style of Argentina's Los Natas, graced with heavily tremelo-laden vocals or utterly spaced out ambience that make us think of Thrones and Yob.
Throughout this sludgey stoner soundscape, you'll hear feedback wailing like lamenting lost souls, the rumbling drum battery either nervously dodging the lugubrous riffs as they fall from the sky, or pounding in unison with the guitar and bass, sounding like the gates of an abandoned ancient cavernous cathedral slamming shut... over and over again.
We imported a whole bunch of these direct from the label in Spain because we're pretty sure that fans of the likes of Corrupted (who also sing in Spanish, after all) and Yob and Sleep and UFOmammut and all the other extra-o's deservin' dooooooOOOOoom bands that we love would want this! And if for some reason you need further convincing, please look up Julian Cope's review on his site, where he references Flower Travellin' Band's Satori and the Mediterranean paganistic roots of Catholic ritual and "Rumble" by Link Wray and much much more, his incredibly enthusiastic review almost a call to arms for doom fanatics... and he also includes cool pictures of the black-robed band members he took on a trip to their land!
We know you folks love limited edition vinyl releases, as Record Store Day just proved yet again. Well, here's something we just got a handful of copies of, and might not be able to get again - it's on the same label that did the Saint Vitus Die Healing vinyl that sold out so fast. And it's another one for vintage doom fanatics, a vinyl version of the debut album, aka Vol.1, from NWOBHM (aka New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, in this case, make that very very British) cult Pagan Altar! Songs written circa 1978-'81, recorded 1982, not released for the first time officially until 1998, and now available again in a deluxe gatefold vinyl edition. Obscure as it is, this is really a classic, '70s Sabbath/Priest styled (proto) metal, with an authentic occult vibe, powerful and melodic, up there with Angel Witch and, especially Witchfinder General - if you like them, you need to hear Pagan Altar as well!
Amazingly, the band is still around, still quite active, having released a couple other excellent albums, with work proceeding on a new one. They also did a split 7" with Jex Thoth not too long ago. As a matter of fact, Allan had the pleasure of seeing Pagan Altar play live just last week, at the Roadburn Festival in Holland! As far as he was concerned, one of the highlights of the fest (along with one of the only bands there to have been around longer, Comus!!!). When they came out on stage, the silver-haired singer (Terry Jones, brother to lead guitarist Alan Jones) was wearing a feathered top hat, that he gracefully doffed towards the audience, greeting us in a mellifluous Yorkshire accent. He possessed a theatrical, charismatic presence that made him seem not unlike one of the earlier incarnations of Dr. Who! They then proceeded to kick out an utterly classic sounding set of twin guitar NWOBHM, including of course many songs from this album, folkloric metal of witchery and doom, sung in a reedy voice that sounds a lot like a British version of Roky Erickson. They were really, really good.
So, if you're lucky enough to get a chance to see 'em, do so! And, at the very least, if doom and NWOBHM is your thing, check out their recordings, this being a great one to start with, except that we probably won't have it for very long (we only got, like, 8, and already have sold a few)...
Crimson Tears? Lord Of Sorrow? Ever After? Solitude? Hmm...from song titles like those, it would seem we've got a doom metal band on our hands here, eh? Well, of course we knew that already since this is the second album from Pennsylvania power trio Pale Divine, whose first album Thunder Perfect Mind we gave a couple doomed digits up to three years ago. Now they're back, just as morose and metal as before, and still riff-rockin' hard for the air guitarists among you out there. Pale Divine's singer/guitarist belts out the lyrics to their hymns of doom with what some friends of mind would term "chain wallet" vocals, that put us in mind of Metallica's James Hetfield and, in combo with the music, Blind-era Corrosion of Conformity. Overall, the band's influences are solidly in the realm of Sabbath (natch), Pentagram, Trouble, and Candlemass (that's their "Solitude" covered here, a massive version that closes out this album with supreme downer majesty). That is, as doom bands goes, Pale Divine are definitely in the rock n' roll tradition, one foot in the '70s, akin to acts like Place Of Skulls or Abdullah, as opposed to the ugly, feedback-filled, drone-dirge style of doom of we also love as practiced by the likes of Khanate and Cavity. Heavy but relentlessly rockin', Eternity Revealed breaks no new ground in a well-trodden genre but skillfully executes their specific style with aplomb, which we would imagine was precisely their aim. If you're looking for the innovative new doom, check out Yob (for instance) but for something accessible to crank in your Camaro, Pale Divine ought to do the trick. Includes re-recordings of some of their early demo tracks, including "Serpent's Path", their contribution to the first At The Mountains of Madness compilation some years ago.
Not to be confused with the albums from Nurse With Wound and Current 93, *this* "Thunder Perfect Mind" is the full length debut from a Pennsylvanian power trio known as Pale Divine, and it's something we've been waiting for ever since we heard their cut on
The guys (and gal) in San Francisco's Parchman Farm are doing their dangest to rekindle the spirit of the city's sixties ballroom era, when righteous psychedelic rock ruled the scene. This five song, 23 minute ep is their recorded debut, and right away you'll realize that there's some serious Blue Cheer worship going on here (which you might guess from the band name and cover graphics). It's like they brought Dickie Peterson into the studio to play the bass line on their song "Say Yeah" -- and that stuff rocks. But Blue Cheer aren't their only influence and they get all melodic as well, not always trying to turn the air into cottage cheese with sheer amped-up umph. Over the course of these five tracks, they go from all heavy to trippy and hippy and always come through with full-on rawk vox and even (of course) cowbell... Ironic and retro it might be, but I think that they're legitmately into this sort of '60s/'70s thing and trying real hard. They definitely have the sound. But do they have the songs? Almost. I mean, nothing here would/should really fool you into thinking it was a lost out-take from Vincebus Eruptum or Tyranny And Mutation or Closer To Home. But they're getting there. A decent debut for sure.
By the way, we think that someone at Parchman Farm's label Jackpine Social Club might need to check into rehab, for writing in the band's press one-sheet such god-awful lines as "their jean-clad legs wrapped around a fleshy column of stoner rock sludge and humpin' it all night long...like a shark riding on top of an elephant, just stomping and chomping everything in sight". What? Ugh. I mean, we've written some clunkers too, but...
Stoner/cock rock from Norway's Pawnshop whose religious icons are located under the hood of a '66 Ford 289 Mustang as well as in their pants. Required listening alongside Kyuss, Hellacopters, and Monster Magnet.
Chicago instru-metallers Pelican are back, with the full-length follow up to their brilliant "Untitled" debut ep. Like that disc, this is almost the perfect blend of heaviness (METAL heaviness, to be precise) and post-rock. There's prettiness and precision, darkness and dynamics. From slow and powerful downer grooves to mellow melodic interludes to rapidly riffing, sheer super heavy metal, could Pelican do it any better? There's even one track where they've got a guy playing the singing saw. It's freakin' beautiful. Influenced by epic black metal, academic minimalist throb, psychedelic Floydian rock, and the post-rock of their hometown (among much else) these guys have shaped their band into contenders for the avant-stoner throne, positioning themselves somewhere between Mogwai and Melvins, with some flashes of Morbid Angel. Or, imagine the Growing's The Sky's Run Into the Sea album (AQ Record of the Week back in September you'll recall) as performed by The Fucking Champs! It has the oceanic warmth of Growing's droning heaviness lashed to some more mathy, metallic constructions. Our customers who love all things heavy (Isis, Boris, Gore, 5ive, Tarantula Hawk, Dead Meadow, etc.) and who have a soft spot for spacier, sleepier stuff too should dig these six tracks for sure!
This album prompted a discussion here about how there's the post rock bands that throw in some heavy, riffy metal bits to make things weirder and more interesting (and maybe so they don't seem quite so wimpy). And there's also the metal bands that write some pretty, quiet post rock parts also to be weird and interesting (and so as not to seem like total Neanderthals). In both cases, when things work out well, the results are a band that sounds not like, uh, wimpy Neanderthals but rather like intelligent and sensitive types who also possess crushing might. Pretty much every boy's ideal, eh? And Chicago instrumental heavies (and big AQ faves) Pelican are a great example of this, even though -- especially with this new album -- we can't quite decide if they're a metal band first post rock band second or the other way around. The very first track on The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw, "Last Day Of Winter", is seemingly more on the post rock side, all simmering moodiness and storm-yet-to-be-unleashed power. It IS big and loud but not really metal. Eventually the album offers up some truly uber metal moments, though, yes. Pelican's vaunted heaviness remains. But things are overall at least equally dreamy...dreamy and layered and melodically mathy, with post rock dynamics that dip into quiet, relaxed territory as much as they charge into heavy rock battle. Track four, for instance, is ALL gentle acoustic string-strum, with hints also of glitchy electronic crackle. We were prepared for this by their warm-up ep March Into The Sea (the title track of which is reprised here in edited form) wherein those acoustic guitars were added to Pelican's sonic palette. Pelican's vast, riff-ravaged landscape now has little lovely flowers growing, and expands to even further horizons. Funnily enough, "March Into The Sea" itself also offers some of the most metal (fast, furious) passages on here. Whatever you call it, the music of Pelican is (and always has been) totally mesmerizing and epic. Even if this album makes us think that it's almost like Pelican are turning into Kinski. Who aren't metal even though they are sometimes quite heavy. And who we also like a lot after all.
Ok, enough about all this post rock vs. metal stuff (though we will say that the presence of an extensive "thanks" list argues for Pelican indeed being a metal band at heart). What's important is that anyone into massive sonics of riff-shifting symphonic complexity OR blissful simplicity, should bow down to the juggernaut genius of Pelican's lastest opus...now that sounds fairly metal, don't it? Mention should also be made of the really quite lovely cd packaging here -- the cd booklet's got a translucent vellum cover and some cool interior artwork. Recommended!
Four massive tracks of instrumental heaviness here, folks. Chicago's Pelican debut with this untitled document of dirge (actually this Hydra Head version is a reissue of their self-released debut from last year). Teetering on the cusp betwixt being a melodically melancholic and rhythmically clever post-rock band and being a punishing doom metal behemoth, Pelican don't let down either side. This is HEAVY. Epic, intense, and always interesting. Slow, trancey sludge riffs and chugging rhythms are interlaced with kinda pretty melodies and sudden tempo shifts. The result is a LOUD, almost psychedelic listen that should be very satisfying to fans of similarly droney and heavy outfits like 5ive, Tarantula Hawk, Boris, Pharoah Overlord... Gore and the Melvins and Harvey Milk too.
Pelican are the kind of band that plays shows with Isis and High On Fire, and reference La Monte Young and Ash Ra Temple in interviews...i.e. our kinda band! Kudos to Hydra Head for picking 'em up, and we look forward to their upcoming full-length on that label.
MPEG Download: "Pulse" [/audio/pelicanpulse.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Pulse" [/audio/pelicanpulse.m3u]
Legendary doomsters Pentagram have followed a bizarre and convoluted "career-path" to say the least. Though they've been around for at least 30 years (!) they've put out more stuff in the last four years than they did in their first decade, we're pretty sure, including both new albums and archival releases. The Pentagram cult grows. So here's another entry in their catalog, something from the vaults that's really for the true fans, being a 1978 live show from a club called The Keg in DC. So don't expect perfect sound -- yet it's not as bad as you might think either. The vocals are mixed a little low, but that's better than the opposite extreme that you often get from soundboard recordings. What's particularily interesting is that this comes from a period of Pentagram's history when they had boasted two guitarists, long since gone from the band, though you will hear the drumming of a young (18 year old) Joe Hasselvander, who probably never thought that he and singer Bobby Liebling would still be Pentagram in 2003! Tracks include Penta-classics like "20 Buck Spin" and "Review Your Choices". Diehard Pentagram heads will be familar with all these songs, but these versions are definitely different in parts. Plus, the live energy is quite exciting (making up for whatever this lacks in sonic fidelity). Tacked on at the end are the singles tracks recorded by this lineup, studio cuts of "When The Screams Come" and "Living In A Rams Head" different from the ones found on either First Days Here (their 1972-76 collection) or their later albums. All in all, nicely done: hardcore 'ram fans won't be disappointed.
Your Pentagram collection ain't complete if you don't have this! Here's the recent digipack reissue of the legendary DC-area doomsters' third album, originally released on Peaceville in 1994.
It's kind of the "forgotten" Pentagram disc, coming a few years after their two '80s classics, but also quite a while before what might be termed the 21st century Pentagram renaissance, that's seen several new albums on Black Widow, a couple amazing archival releases on Relapse (First Daze Here and First Daze Here Too!!) and even a Pentagram cover band popping up here in San Francisco (the cleverly-named Parallelogram, featuring John Cobbett of Hammers of Misfortune).
Yet, Be Forwarned is actually one of our favorite Pentagram albums, still featuring as it does the classic '80s line-up: Bobby Liebling (vocals), Victor Griffin (guitar) and Joe Hasselvander (drums), and Marty Swaney (bass). More importantly, it's got some great songs! Of course, there's a few Liebling compositions from way back in the '70s that those possessed of the First Daze Here comps might recognize (including the title track, a great version here of a track that Pentagram first put out on a single back in 1972), but also a bunch of tracks penned for this recording by Griffin and Hasselvander that surely are Pentagram classics by now too. Also, Bobby's at his Ozziest here, so if Sabbathy doom is your thing you can't miss this.
And now that Peaceville's gone and done nice reissues of these Pentagram albums, we're wondering when the heck Metal Blade's gonna do the same with the Trouble catalog?!
These two crucial Pentagram discs were reissued earlier this year and we figured we'd better (at long last) get 'em reviewed for our site, what with the immense popularity of Swedish retro-doomsters Witchcraft (seriously, we sell a TON of Witchcraft records and that's how it should be) and also their friends/countrymen/doppelgangers Burning Saviours, both of whom utterly absolutely obviously *worship* Pentagram. Black Sabbath too of course, but it's Pentagram who provide them with more of a "cult" thrill and inspiration -- Witchcraft has recorded several Pentagram covers, and Burning Saviors are even named after a Pentagram song.
Now, Pentagram's been around for a long time (almost as long as Sabbath) in various incarnations, and we've previously reviewed both collections of '70s era Pentagam material as well as their several recent albums. But the two records that really put 'em on the metal map were these, which date from the mid 1980s. Originally self-titled, Relentless was the band's debut full-length from 1985 (yep, about a full 15 years after they first formed!!) and 1987's Day Of Reckoning was their second. Both are classics of doom metal, up there with the other great '80s post-Sabbath doom LPs by Trouble, Candlemass, and Saint Vitus.
On these albums vocalist Bobby Liebling is at the height of his powers (he sounds kinda like Ozzy, but something about his voice and delivery indicates that maybe he's got even more first-hand knowledge of the dark side, like he's one of the evil creatures that Ozzy would just warn you about!) and current Place Of Skulls guitarist Victor Griffin riffs with the best of 'em. Drummer Joe Hasselvander and bassist Martin Swaney round out this era's Pentagram line-up. Penta-classic tracks found here include "Death Row", "Sign Of The Wolf (Pentagram)" and "20 Buck Spin" (on Relentless) and "When The Screams Come", "Burning Savior" and "Madman" (on Day Of Reckoning), among others. Both discs are great, buy the pair!
Reissued in digipacks, cd booklets replete with lyrics, photos, and brand new jive-talkin' liner notes by the still-kickin' Bobby L.
Maryland-based doom metallers Pentagram are on some kinda roll, following up their recently released and quite awesome album "Sub-Basement" (see the review on AQ-list 128) with this collection of stuff they recorded almost 30 years ago! Yep, they've been
"Starlady" ('76) -- why they didn't get signed on the strength of this potential single (a hit if I've ever heard one) I don't know. Or why KISS didn't buy the tune for their own use, that's perhaps even more of a mystery! (KISS's management was checking Pentagram out at the time, but no record deal resulted...)
"Forever My Queen" ('73) -- powerful doom metal that shows them at their Sabbath-like best (although, hearing this collection, you'll realize that Pentagram were equally into, and the equals of, other heavy contemporaries like Captain Beyond, Dust, and Blue Cheer).
"Last Days Here" ('74) -- it's like some Stones or "Raw Power"-era Stooges ballad, with Bobby doing his best Iggy impression.
"Be Forwarned" ('72) -- Pentagram re-recorded this epic, the A-side of first ever 7", on their 1994 "Be Forwarned" album, and when I first heard that version I knew it had to be an old song, 'cause it had such an authentic heavy psych vibe to it. So it's great to finally hear the original (more or less, see below).
"20 Buck Spin" ('73) -- again, the original version of a classic rockin' Pentagram track, covered recently by Pennsylvania doomsters Pale Divine.
All the tracks sound pretty great production-wise (except for the relatively lo-fi live rehearsal recording of "Last Days Here"), putting the previous Pentagram '70s rarities collection "Human Hurricane" to shame. Of course, Bobby did re-master and clean up these tracks in 2001. He also took the opportunity to add some vocals and guitar to "Be Forwarned", for reasons probably known only to him. There's also a few other questionable edits or fades only a Pentagram collector would notice. But such modern-day meddling doesn't detract in any way from the might of the music on offer. It's great stuff, and simply amazing to hear it sounding so good. Pentagram fans have a high tolerance for poor sound (witness the pretty much unlistenable live bootleg LPs that have been released) but this time, you get to *hear* the music as well as own the disc! Recommended to Pentagram fans (obviously) and ANYONE who likes good heavy '70s rock and roll!
It's a time of joy, and a time of doom. That's because in the space of just the past month or two we've gotten not one but now two awesome, unearthed releases of previously lost early '70s underground heaviness from a bunch of longhaired DC-area Blue Cheer fans who, if they'd only managed to get a record deal back then, might have gotten huge and now be known as the American Black Sabbath. Well they really are the American Black Sabbath anyway, but not as many people know it. We're talking about the legendary original lineup of Pentagram, and their even more obscure evil twin Bedemon.
Two lists back, we were freaking out over the long awaited release of that Bedemon album, upon which sometime Pentagram guitarist Randy Palmer's home recorded hymns of doom finally saw the light of day. We're still freaking out about it (just got more in, it's relisted this list), but now our frenzy is doubled. Yes, that amazing release wasn't enough, now here's First Daze Here Too, the follow-up to First Daze Here (natch) the AQ fave 2002 release that compiled a bunch of rare '70s era Pentagram recordings that were otherwise unavailable except perhaps with sub-par sound to rabid tape-traders. First Daze Here astounded us, being one of the best '70s heavy rock albums that never was we'd ever heard. Great songs, restored to sound better than fans has ever heard 'em. Incredibly, Relapse has now put together a solid -second- collection of unreleased vintage Penta-tracks from '72-'76. So many classics in their original form: "When The Screams Come", "Wheel Of Fortune", "Virgin Death", "Target", "Nightmare Gown", "Much Too Young To Know", an alternate version of "Be Forwarned", and more -- even their heavy take on the Stones' "Under My Thumb"! Sound quality varies, from tracks recorded for professional demo purposes to lower-fi rehearsal tapes, but fans will dig it all... though at 22 tracks total we'll admit that it's not all entirely the equal of the 100 percent killer first First Daze Here. This is more like 90 percent, yet it's not like we'd have wanted them to leave anything off. And in fact, we know that there's still more in the Pentagram vaults, so maybe we can look foward to a third volume someday...
Relapse have pulled out all the stops with this one, which after all these years Pentagram definitely deserve. It's a double disc (though actually we think all of it could have fit on one stuffed to the gills 80 minute cd) handsomely packaged with a huge thick booklet full of prevously unseen, sepia-toned band photos and text by original Pentagram drummer and keeper of the flame Geof O'Keefe, including track-by-track commentary... there's also notes from other former members as well. Doom on!
These two crucial Pentagram discs were reissued earlier this year and we figured we'd better (at long last) get 'em reviewed for our site, what with the immense popularity of Swedish retro-doomsters Witchcraft (seriously, we sell a TON of Witchcraft records and that's how it should be) and also their friends/countrymen/doppelgangers Burning Saviours, both of whom utterly absolutely obviously *worship* Pentagram. Black Sabbath too of course, but it's Pentagram who provide them with more of a "cult" thrill and inspiration -- Witchcraft has recorded several Pentagram covers, and Burning Saviors are even named after a Pentagram song.
Now, Pentagram's been around for a long time (almost as long as Sabbath) in various incarnations, and we've previously reviewed both collections of '70s era Pentagam material as well as their several recent albums. But the two records that really put 'em on the metal map were these, which date from the mid 1980s. Originally self-titled, Relentless was the band's debut full-length from 1985 (yep, about a full 15 years after they first formed!!) and 1987's Day Of Reckoning was their second. Both are classics of doom metal, up there with the other great '80s post-Sabbath doom LPs by Trouble, Candlemass, and Saint Vitus.
On these albums vocalist Bobby Liebling is at the height of his powers (he sounds kinda like Ozzy, but something about his voice and delivery indicates that maybe he's got even more first-hand knowledge of the dark side, like he's one of the evil creatures that Ozzy would just warn you about!) and current Place Of Skulls guitarist Victor Griffin riffs with the best of 'em. Drummer Joe Hasselvander and bassist Martin Swaney round out this era's Pentagram line-up. Penta-classic tracks found here include "Death Row", "Sign Of The Wolf (Pentagram)" and "20 Buck Spin" (on Relentless) and "When The Screams Come", "Burning Savior" and "Madman" (on Day Of Reckoning), among others. Both discs are great, buy the pair!
Reissued in digipacks, cd booklets replete with lyrics, photos, and brand new jive-talkin' liner notes by the still-kickin' Bobby L.
If any band is a survival story, this one is. Each new Pentagram release is a minor miracle, if only because the reports we hear about the health of Pentagram mainmain/vocalist Bobby Liebling are always rather dire, to say the least. Yet Bobby has managed to get it together again to do another album, once more plumbing the depths of Pentagram's back catalog to properly record a bunch of unreleased '70s era Penta-classics (a couple of which fans will know from the First Daze Here demos collection). He's also penned a few new ones, in collaboration with members of his new band. Yes, Show 'Em How marks a significant line-up change in the 'ram squad. Now composed of members of doom stalwarts Internal Void and Penance, Pentagram is a full band again!
Both the old and the new material is heavy as heck, living up to the Pentagram name for sure. It's always great to hear Bobby sing, even at his most bizarre sounding (especially at his most bizarre sounding!). You get a dose of both Bobby-as-Ozzy, and Bobby as-nasally-gurgling-guy...as well as Bobby-as-Bobby. Despite how decrepit he looks in the booklet photos, on a good day he can still belt it out. If there's such a thing as survival of the doomiest then maybe we can count on more Pentagram records to come...
There's been a lot of activity lately from these semi-legendary lords of doom, surprising coming from a band that's been around for about thirty years and has dwindled down to only two members! But (thankfully for all fans of dark, doomy heavy metal)
The other day a mail order customer called up and ordered Finnish post-rockers Circle's tUMULt release "Andexelt", and also "Ciudad de Brahman" by Argentinian stoner-rock outfit Natas. I immediately suggested that he also get a copy of this debut cd by
Whoo-hoo! Hypnotic as ever, here's the third studio album (and fourth disc overall counting the live Battle Of The Axehammer) from Circle's so-called (by us) "stoner rock" side-project. Well now we'd have to say that stoner rock tag is a bit inaccurate, an oversimplication. I mean, we were kinda hoping they'd always stay "heavy" but I think that they're not so much "the stoner rock version of Circle" now, than they are simply a stripped down, instrumental Circle with more psych guitar action. Very very krauty. This actually actually sounds a lot like Salvatore, as much as Circle, for that matter. Which is most definitely a good thing!
Stacked up alongside the rest of Pharaoh Overlord's albums, it's not so dark as II, not so fried and blown-out as Battle, and probably comes closest to #1. And it's definitely something stoners are still gonna dig, but while they do heavy it up riff-wise sometimes, the psych aspect is laid-back and mellow just as much. Can you imagine the vibe of that last Dead Meadow mixed with a Circle style rhythmic pulse? This is all about tracks like opener "Test Flight", a druggy ten minute psych-jam, or track three, an epic, but almost funkily tight number called "Laivius 17", that builds up over 13 minutes and 13 seconds, getting more and more psych-guitar-skronked until it snaps -- into track four, "Autobahn", nothing but a droning, distorted guitar-burn solo. It's ten minutes but I wouldn't mind it for a whole album! That then swivels into the tick-tock, low-key groove of "Octagon". Very Can, that one. And on it goes... If only Pharaoh Overlord/Circle could come up with a way to make their cds automatically repeat when they reach the end, that would utterly satisfy the Circle aesthetic. Of course, you, the listener, will probably want to hit play again, but that's assuming you're not too zoned out to move your arm.
Yay. Pharaoh Overlord is the all-instrumental so-called "stoner rock" side project of our favorite Finns, Circle. Now they're back, with the aptly titled "II", and a new line-up that's apparently all members of Circle. Interestingly, while Circle themselves went kinda metal with "Sunrise", Pharaoh Overlord seem to have have mellowed out. Well not quite, as track 4 amps up the riffs a bit. But you'd be hard pressed to call this "stoner rock" anymore. It's more like a really relaxed Circle, still "heavy" but in a way that has less to do with being loud than being low (a bit like them other AQ-faves Bohren and Der Club Of Gore). Repetitive trance-inducing space rock, all deep, rumbling, and spacious. A real nod-scene. Metronomyic drums, meandering guitars, six long tracks of minimal, mellow menace. Even darker and dubbier than their first album. Definitely dubbier. But still totally psychedelic. Goes well with the disc Argentine stoner rockers Los Natas recorded for Circle's label Ektro, "Toba-Trance". And Circle fans will of course be pleased -- we're reminded of Circle's "Paint It Black" cover... Lovingly packaged courtesy of No Quarter, a label also responsible for some excellent releases from the likes of Earth and Laddio Bollocko.
Former Pentagram guitarist Victor Griffin is back, and he's 'born again' -- but he's still into the heavy stuff. The stoner rock/doom metal underground has been all a-buzz about Victor's new power trio Place of Skulls, and now Southern Lord has released
Pentagram fans will find that Place of Skulls sounds rather more like The Obsessed or Spirit Caravan than Victor's old band, but of course if you like Pentagram, you're probably a fan of those bands too! Victor's vocals sound a bit like those of Wino, not as strong though, and the music is of course heavy, plodding and depressive-sounding (but with a positive, Christian message). Chicago's Trouble already established that Christian faith and doom metal can coexist (indeed, where would metal in general be without Christianity, whether bands are pro or con??) but Trouble had better songs. So, while Place of Skulls delivers some solid doom metal, we're not exactly blown away. Stoner/doom fans (esp. those really into Wino's bands) who aren't put off by the Christian aspect should check this out and decide for themselves. Furthering the parallel with Wino's bands, this includes an Animals cover ("Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", which for the record isn't as good as The Obsessed's version of "Inside Looking Out").
The much-loved Wino, grizzled underground doom-metal guitarist and vocalist extraordinare, who first gained fame with the legendary bands The Obsessed and Saint Vitus and more recently fronted the popular Spirit Caravan (R.I.P.), is back, riding high in the saddle again in not one but two new bands.
OK, Place of Skulls isn't actually new (more on them in a sec) but The Hidden Hand is. Basically they're the continuation of Spirit Caravan by other means it seems. Wino recruited a new rhythm section -- one without overt substance abuse problems -- that really allows him to fire up his trademark heavy stoner rock into punkier, more aggro realms than before. They really kick ass with some complex instrumental stuff goin' on. Definitely further out on a limb musically than the Caravan. Lyrically, Wino indulges in a lot of ridiculous conspiracy-theory -- he's really gone off the deep end with post 9/11 paranoia. But his heart's in the right place, politically revolted with the Bush/Cheney/Ashcroft coup. It's redneck radical rock for X-files fans. Heavy riffs, heavy concepts, there's even a reading list.
Meanwhile, Wino also joined up with Place of Skulls, the band of ex-Pentagram guitarist Victor Griffin (whoo-hoo! supergroup!). Their first album Nailed came out last year on Southern Lord and we gave it a bit of mixed review, criticizing the vocals particularily. But they had potential, and now with Wino in the band they're much much better. It's a funny thing, actually, 'cause they already sounded a lot like Spirit Caravan or The Obsessed, but I guess they needed the talents of the man himself to really shine. His vocals help a lot. Victor still sings, too, but he's somehow better now thanks to Wino's example I guess! Dunno if they're still a Christian band, I'm not sure how Jesus fits into Wino's conspiracy theories... but he's certainly a 'spiritual' dude, so it works. Anyway, both Place Of Skulls and The Hidden Hand worthy successors to Wino's previous projects, with Place Of Skulls more straight-up doom metal for doom heads and The Hidden Hand harking back in ways to The Obsessed's DC punk roots, Bad Brains jazz fusion lurking in the grooves, though neither band would exist if not for Black Sabbath of course. And the Place Of Skulls album cover wouldn't exist if it weren't for Steppenwolf's "7"...
Well, this is a bit of a weird one. Planet Aids is actually the side project of a band we've yet to review beacuse their records have been so difficult to get. But whatever, here's the story, there's a Belgian ultra doom band called Bunkur, whose records are supposedly on the way to us right now and should be reviewed on the next list. They are of the slow motion funereal doom variety, like Skepticism or Thergothon or Khanate. In fact they sound quite a bit like Khanate but with weirder dubbier rhythms. Well, in the process of trying to get Bunkur records for the store, Bunkur mainman Manuel suggested we check out his other band Planet Aids, who he said were way more fucked up and noisy, and damn if he wasn't right. The problematically monickered Planet Aids offer up one 30 minute track of sick glacial death doom, ultra de-tuned guitars, gargling hellish howls, and rumbling bowel churning bass. Sounds good huh? Well, it gets even better, as every once in a while, the crusty murk gets interrupted by bursts of bizarre industrial rhythms, that sound like a malfunctioning Godflesh. Weird as fuck but so so cool. On the same label that released the two equally amazing Urfaust records.
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Australian band that combine Sabbathy doom metal riffs and death metal vocals, a bit like Cathedral. Distributed in the US by Andee's label tUMULt, and we're the first store to have it.
The post-Kyuss band formed by guitarist (and now vocalist) Josh Homme follows up their great self-titled debut (a sleeper hit here at Aquarius, and elsewhere), with this new album for Interscope. Not nearly as all-over laid back and catchy as the debut, this disc is more eclectic (with a variety of guests and instrumentation -- everything from lap steel to piano to a horn section). Mark Lanegan shows up to sing on a couple of songs, and they've even pursuaded Rob Halford to do some backing vocals on one track (tho why you'd want him to do backing vocals rather than the lead puzzles me, especially when your own lead vocals are passable but certainly not up to the "Metal God"'s standards!). "R" veers from raucous drug-fueled grunge to the more mellow "desert rock" Homme & Co. coined in Kyuss, to some avant-garde pseudo-jazz shennanigans. Will this get played on the radio? Hard to say.
Now, WITHOUT the limited bonus dvd disc! Here's what we said about this last time for those that somehow overlooked it... This one scarcely needs a review. By now you've been hearing this record on the radio and MTV and in malls. Odds are you already own this if you like the Queens Of The Stone Age previous albums, or you bought it for the single. Or you loved Kyuss and think the Queens suck. But setting all that aside, and taking this record just on its musical merits, 'Songs For The Deaf' is a kick ass hard rock/pop rock record. Great sound, great songs! What's not to like? This is easily their best record since their super heavy debut. 'Songs For The Deaf' has it's heavy moments, and the warm fuzzy Kyuss guitars are still in effect, but it's way more of a pop record. And while they do stretch out occasionally, with headbanging stoned desert jams, things always return to the hook. Which is not a bad thing. Just the opposite. And the addition of Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana) and Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees and solo) have added a lot in terms of sonic breadth and songwriting complexity. Way more dynamic and WAY MORE CATCHY. Listen to the sound samples and you'll be sold. The last "hidden" track is a piano driven, string laden psychedelic pop epic. It -sounds- great, but just wish it was a better song (although our friend Drew is convinced it is a 'masterpiece'). But so what? This record is full of great songs!! Plus lots of weird guests: Dean Ween, Twiggy Ramirez, Casey Chaos, Blag Dahlia! The only downside, which has been an annoying QOTSA quirk from the beginning, is their relentless in-joking. This record is rife with said in-jokes, a bunch of stupid fake radio DJ's, occasional joke songs and the like. Easy to skip by but they tend to kill the flow of an otherwise solid record.
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Intercontinental stoner rock summit between Queen of the Stone Age (the reincarnation of Kyuss, although they freshen up the Kyuss sound with seeming nods to Foo Fighters and Black Flag) and Beaver, sludge rock from Holland, where you'd think there'd be lots of competition in the stoner rock field, and yep, they're good.
Reissue of this Swedish stoner/grunge band's debut. More Soundgarden than Kyuss, but should appeal to fans of both. Includes their cover of Trouble's "A Sinner's Fame".
UK label Miskatonic, supporters of true underground doom metal, bring us this disc by the semi-legendary Revelation from Maryland (of doom). Featuring Revelation's 'new' line-up, this disc consists of eight demo cuts plus two live tracks circa their 1995 European tour supporting Saint Vitus and Solitude Aeturnus. It comes as a prelude to a brand new fourth album on which this long dormant band is now, at last, at work. To certain doom fanatics, these 'demos' are going to be more thrilling than many proper albums from other bands, such is the regard in which this band is held. If you've never heard Revelation before, expect doom metal (or, alternatively, depressive stoner rock) along the lines of The Obsessed and Place Of Skulls -- heavy, slow, Ozzified.
Reverend Bizarre is so worshipful of their obvious influences (Sabbath, St. Vitus, Cathedral, Witchfinder General, Pentagram, Trouble, Sleep, Electric Wizard, etc.) that it might be easy to dismiss them as being just fans instead of the real thing... but we've got to say, there's something just so darn charming about how much these lads LOVE doom metal. It's infectious. And their songs are even ABOUT doom! Sloganeering for doom, that's their thing -- sing-along album opener "Doom Over The World" is a doom-lovers anthem basically. And they've chosen stage names guaranteed to amuse: Albert Witchfinder (vocals, bass), Peter Vicar (guitar), Earl of Void (drums). Yup, they've got some sort of extra-special, amateur fanboy appeal that makes you root for 'em. And they've worked so hard at living up to the standards of their heroes that they're not half bad, in fact, we're darn impressed. They come across like a hybrid of Saint Vitus and Cathedral, with dramatic, clean vocals definitely owing something to original Vitus singer Scott Reagers.
Their discs are always adorned with cryptic inscriptions like "Lohja Power" and "C.O.T.D" -- the latter standing for "Circle Of True Doom" something I think these guys invented, though I've seen it on other bands' cds. It also says "Apocalyptic Doom Metal" in big letters on the back cover of this one but when you first spin the disc, for the first few songs you'd think that "Party Time Doom Metal" or something like that would be a better motto since there's a definite headbanging catchiness to the first few tracks, the Rev. Bizarre boys rockin' out whilst dooming it up. As "into" doom and depression as they and their audience (you?) might be, the listener can't help but have their frown turned upside down when the band kicks into such rollicking, riffy, uptempo tunes as "The Devil Rides Out" and "Cromwell". It's heavy metal, and it's doom. But II: Crush The Insects ain't all fist-waving rockers. They do play slooooooow a lot of the time too. After the first three cuts, the album takes a turn into the realm of, well, apocalyptic doom metal, with track lengths in the double digits. Like the crawling epic "Slave Of Satan", which was apparently a number 2 HIT song in their native Finland!!! Hard to believe, as it's 13 and a half minutes long!! And that's the edited album cut, which is considerably shorter than the 21 minute single version!!! Torturously slow, anywhere else in the world it'd be a miracle if it made it into the Top 40 THOUSAND. The record continues in this vein, with some brief bursts of speed, through to the very last song, with the dumb/brilliant title of "Fucking Wizard".
We were totally blown away by the last Rigor Sardonicous record, a massive crushing black hole slab of funereal doooooooom (WAY more than two o's!) with its slow motion sludge, impossibly guttural vocals, but more importantly (to us at least) was what we dubbed "the most evil cymbal in the world", a huge trashcan like crash, that punctuated almost every measure. As we reasoned, it HAD to be the most evil cymbal in the world, why else was it so frigging HIGH in the mix?! To praise the Dark One of course. And while the ridiculous aspect certainly appealed to us, the 'evil cymbal' only added an extra element to what undoubtedly would have been a completely amazing doom record anyway. But add the evil cymbal and we've got a metal record of the year contender for sure. But now we have a brand new record, or more accurately a brand new recording, as these tracks are re-recorded versions of the band's pre-Principia Sardonica demo. So now, if the weirdly mixed cymbal was a fluke or a recording mistake, here's a chance for the band to fix it, change the levels, record it correctly. But they didn't!! In fact just the opposite! Which most definitely proves the 'evil cymbal' theory!! The cymbals, yes there are more than one, are EVEN LOUDER, clanging and clanking even more dark praise to the most evil one. In fact every aspect of Apocalypsis Damnare pushes all the stuff we loved about the first record even further. The riffs are thicker and slower, hugely sludgey and downtuned. There's more bizarre stuttering double kick drums, and the vocals are SO low, they are dangerously close to dipping below the boundaries of human hearing. A rumbling subsonic gurgle that sort of just drips like tar all over these tracks. And that would already be enough to kick our asses for sure. Maybe the heaviest slowest 'funereal doom' record since Skepticism's Stormcrowfleet or Thergothon's Stream From The Heavens. But then there's those 'evil' cymbals. Holy fuck?!?! Like giant dented trashcan lids, a massive clattery crash demarcating the ponderous plodding rhythms. Imagine UK ultradoom outfit Esoteric, jamming in the garage, spewing that thick viscous doom we love so, while neighborhood kids stood outside throwing bones and sticks at the metal garage door. So weird. And so completely genius.
We'll keep this one simple: if you're a fan of the 'stoner rock' genre, and especially if you're into those lords of space Monster Magnet, you must buy this disc!! Atomic Church is second album by Sweden's Roachpowder (the name comes from Burrough's Naked Lunch
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Swedish 'Southern' groovy stoner metal. Who would've thought that something this southern fried and stoned sounding could come out of Scandinavia? Huge crushing riffs, ultra catchy hooks, and an amazing Phil Anselmo (Pantera/Down) sound-alike vocalist (that is, like Phil when he's actually singing, not when he's sounding stupid). Incredible.
OK, here's an Aquarius-approved 'high concept' album, all right: Estonian medieval music group Rondellus performing covers of Ozzy-era BLACK SABBATH songs translated into Latin!!! Now *this* sounds like a Black Mass! Backed by lute, harmonium, psaltery,
One of the best, and most original, 'tribute' records ever. Now they should go on tour with Apocalyptica (the Finnish cello quartet that does Metallica covers)!
This Swedish band has been rumbling along for untold eons now (well, it's actually been probably just six years or so, but their music seems more ancient than that). Their doomy tarpit dirge and sludgy trudge conjure prehistoric visions, and their lyrical bent towards the occult also sets them in a cosmic, not human, time frame. But their true ancestors aren't dinosaurs and demons, they are bands such as Hellhammer/Celtic Frost from the '80s and the death metallers of the '90s. Sounding as if it was recorded by torchlight, Runemagick's latest is a 73 minute death knell tolling of Hell's bells, with unrelenting riffage, drums beating like black leather wings, and some sort of eternal, underlying bass drone that's always just under the surface. These unlucky thirteen tracks often seep and segue into one another, making invocations unbroken and epic. It's super heavy stuff with death metal vox, weird atmospheres and arcane inspirations, tough to catagorize exactly (experimental doom death? how about "Monolithic Death", the title of the first track here?) but something we think the doomiest subset of AQ customers should like. Imagine some sort of cross between Corrupted and Candlemass, ordinary death metal slowed down and ritualized...
There were other great underground metal bands in the '80s who practiced what doom messiahs Black Sabbath preached: Trouble, Candlemass, Witchfinder General, Pentagram... But it was LA's Saint Vitus who took the Sabbath sound to even further extremes.
Doing a service to the doom community at large, Southern Lord follows up their reissue last year of the long out of print Saint Vitus album V (originally released on the German label Hellhound) with another reissue of an equally long-gone Hellhound release, the Saint Vitus live album, aptly titled Live. Recorded on their second European tour in the fall of '89, this includes live renditions of such classics as "Born Too Late", "Dying Inside", "Look Behind You", and "Clear Windowpane", as performed by the Vitus MK II lineup that featured Scott "Wino" Weinrich (of The Obsessed, later of Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand and Place Of Skulls) on vocals. Southern Lord's deluxe re-packaging preserves the original's awesome cover photo (one that makes Wino look like one scary dude, and guitarist Dave Chandler like a really insane hippy freak) and adds a swank 32 page booklet of previously unseen photos (note Chandler's sweat-drenced Dinosaur T-shirt in several of the pics). There's also a short paragraph of new liner notes by Chandler as well, who, always the wise-ass punk, observes that "the print on CD sleeves is always too fucking small to read, so what's the point?"
Basically if you're a Saint Vitus or Wino fan it's hard to see how you wouldn't want this! If you're not already into these guys, it'll certainly provide you with a handy collection of some of Vitus' best tunes, but we're not expecting to sell many of these to the Vitus-ignorant. This is for the fans, old and new. People who'll dig the between song stage banter, and truly appreciate the extended guitar jamming portions sometimes added to their tunes in the live setting. Yessir, this is a hour+ of ponderous riffage and wah-crazed soloing, warts and all, as only Vitus could muster. All hail.
Of all the classic "doom metal" pioneers who kept the spirit of Black Sabbath alive in the '80s -- Trouble, Witchfinder General, Candlemass, Pentagram -- the most significant to me (Allan) by far is LA's Saint Vitus. Perhaps 'cause they recorded for seminal punk label SST, their influence was broad. In some way, you can thank Saint Vitus for side two of Black Flag's My War, for the Melvins, for SUNNO)))... "Stoner rock" owes them too. These guys were proudly retro '70s longhairs when it definitely wasn't cool, and for that they will forever be badasses. I pretty much like *all* of their albums, many of which aren't in print anymore. But this one, 1989's V (their 5th LP, natch) has just been reissued by the powers-that-be-doomed at Southern Lord. It's certainly classic Vitus, their final release with vocalist Scott "Wino" Weinrich before he split to reform The Obsessed for a brief and unsurprisingly ill-fated major label stint. And it was the first Vitus LP not to come out on SST. Instead it was released by the now long-defunct German doom specialists Hellhound. So, in the States, it was a hard to find import, and little publicized. For these reasons, V acquired quite a mystique -- some fans going so far as to consider it their best. I can't exactly agree with that -- for one thing, V is marred by perhaps the worst 2 minutes in Vitus' career ("When Emotion Dies", a sensitive acoustic number featuring Wino dueting with a female vocalist -- that ain't what Saint Vitus is all about!) -- but elsewhere on this slab you'll find some essential heaviness, from the psychedelic powerhouse opener "Living Backwards" to the wrenching, rocking "I Bleed Black" to the massive melancholy dirge of "Patra (Petra)" and the epic, shivering "Jack Frost". As well, tracks like "Angry Man" and "Ice Monkey" provide uptempo inklings of stoner rock to come... So, a prime Vitus platter that anyone with records by Electric Wizard/High On Fire/Spirit Caravan etc. ought to also own. And, there's more: Southern Lord have unearthed a video of Wino's first-ever performance fronting Vitus, shot by Larry Lally at the Palm Springs Community Center on May 16th 1986. It's included it on the cd as a bonus Quicktime file! It looks kind of like black and white '50s TV footage, but it's great to see and hear this vintage Vitus show, the band tearing through five classics including "Clear Windowpane" and "Saint Vitus".
Huge groovy Swedish stoner sludge. Warm fuzzy guitars, crashing drums and soaring vocals. On UK label Rage of Achilles.
Super catchy, southern tinged stoner rock from Canada. This is Sea of Green's second record and is a huge leap ahead of its predecessor. Great production (same guy who produced Deep Purple and Nazareth) and super catchy songs. Sounds a bit like Kyuss if
Sea of Tombs are a heavy psychedelic instrumental bass/drums/guitar trio from Chicago. They have some membership ties to Lake of Dracula, Jaks, and Clikitat Ikatowi, although that's kinda irrelevant to whether anyone would like this or not. What is relevant:
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Fifth album from these Sabbath worshipping Canucks. Their claim to fame is that their singer sounds EXACTLY like Ozzy. Ozzy at his most nasal perhaps, but definitely Ozzy. And they exploit that vocal similarity to the utmost, by writing the most Sabbathy songs they can (which they do quite well). And who's to blame 'em? And although the too-obvious Ozzyness of the vocalist might hold these guys back from being taken totally seriously on their own terms, this should be at least as popular as the equally awesome Early Man, who also have been known to sound a bit like Sabbath/Ozzy.
Not that this sounds quite like what you think it might. This is Sabbathy, but really uptempo Sabbath, rocking hard. Sheavy might be the only Sabbath-copyist band in existence to sound like they're specifically trying to emulate the Sabs circa Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die, the final two albums of the original Ozzy era in the late '70s. So no "War Pigs" or "Iron Man" re-writes here. The slowest and doomiest they get is the instrumental, "Moments Of Silence", whereas the rest of this is pretty darn rockin'. Actually, maybe it's more just Ozzy than Sabbath that they're going for here, as they also sound a lot like Blizzard of Ozz (Ozzy's band when he went solo in the early '80s) -- even if Sheavy's guitarist never quite tries to scale the heights of Randy Rhodes. Though he's no slouch, either, and contributes plenty of crunch along with some sweet soloing. So for those of you partial to the rock (and Ozzy's pinched whine), Sheavy's Republic? would be a good one to crank. Produced by Billy Anderson, by the way, for the sludge-obsessives amongst you keeping score.
Break out the Molson, 'cause Canadian Black Sabbath doppelgangers Sheavy are back with another (stoner) rockin' disc. The Sabbath comparison arises mainly from singer Steve Hennessey's uncanny vocal resemblance to the nasal tones of Ozzy Osbourne. Although Mr. Hennessey probably won't have his own reality TV show (on Much Music?) in thirty years, he really does sound a heck of a lot like the bat-bitin' one, circa Ozzy's early '80s solo heyday. Sheavy utilizes this seemingly-familiar voice to lead the listener into melodic and heavy (as per their name) territory more rockin' than doomy -- their take on the Sabbath/'70s vibe is closer to Fu Manchu than Electric Wizard: wailing guitars, plentiful hooks, driving grooves, even some "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" style keyboards. Definitely one any Ozzy/Sabbath freak has to check out, but also a recommended album for all into good ol' old fashioned hard rock/metal! Retro like we like it, with lots of sci-fi and car culture references for max kitsch value. How come these guys weren't on that Fubar soundtrack? A glaring omisson indeed.
