All of these albums are “album of the month” worthy, in my opinion. As usual, the Top 11 Albums of August are in a virtual tie for the #1 slot. I think it’s worth the time of any fan of the Heavy Underground’s to take you to these for a spin, put them on the playlist, and ultimately buy the album. Or at least buy a T-shirt. Support your bands!!!
Read More The Top 11 Albums of August, 2023It’s clear that Moon Coven has really put the work in fine-tuning their signature sound, proving themselves able to play multiple styles and do it well. If you can do that, the sky’s the limit. With this kind of talent and ambition to branch out and improve, I have a strong feeling that they’ll be (even more) successful. This is a band that absolutely refuses to stagnate.
Read More Review: Moon Coven’s Sun KingJeff Gallagher, AKA Mule Thrower, takes influences as varied and fragmented as Roy Clark and Electric Wizard, throws them against a wall and makes one hell of a mess. Cuts is basically an aural Jackson Pollock painting. Like Pollock, it’s a work of art worthy of study and reflection. But to get maximum effect, I think ya gotta be willing to look at your own shit in the process.
Read More Stoner/Doom/ Sludge Review: Mule Thrower-CutsI freely admit I resisted the charms of the Bandshee at first. But the cleverness of the name kept tugging at me, along with vocal performances. After a few months, I noticed it’s an album I keep returning to weekly. Maybe a stray melody from Forgotten Daughter or a vicious riff buried deep in Curse of the Bandshee would float in my mind. In the end, I’ve gone back to this ten times more than Blood Ceremony’s The Old Ways Remain, which is a highly rated and regarded album.
Read More Curse of the BandsheeThis begs the question: What do fans really want when a beloved vocalist is
replaced by someone new? A carbon copy of the original member? This could lead to a lot of nit-picking about how the new vocalist is either “trying too hard to be so-and-so” or just isn’t enough like the original singer.
The announcement of a collab album between REZN and Vinnum Sabbathi by Blues Funeral Recordings was announced a while back, and listening to the single for the very first time led me to the “pre-order vinyl now” button. This is definitely not a money-grab collab. In the case of Silent Future, THIS is a collab of epic proportions: It’s an “Avengers, assemble!” moment for me. This is MY demographic.
Read More Interview: REZN & Vinnum Sabbathi’s Silent FutureAll bands have to experiment, sometimes more than once, to find that particular space. More often than not, the results of their mad scientist-ry is still a great listen, even if the album ends up lacking some cohesion as a result. If you find that you always enjoy “the early stuff” the most, give this album a shot! My favorite tracks are The Satanic Space and Halutination of Psycho. (I love black metal song titles.)
Read More Black Metal: Myseryhymns to the Rescue on BarzakhI’ve heard a lot of great music since then, and I’ve even become a reviewer of sorts. Turned to Stone Chapter 2 is without a doubt the best album I’ve heard this century. It never fails to capture my imagination, my full attention, and still seems to get better with every listen.
Read More The Perfect Album: Turned to Stone Chapter 2The Top 12 Stoner/Doom Albums of July 2023, as selected by Clean and Sober Stoner and submitted to the Doom Charts!
Read More The Top 12 Stoner/Doom Albums of July 2023It definitely irks me that so many critics are quick to compare doom bands to Black Sabbath and then write them off. Of course virtually 100% of doom and stoner bands were influenced by Black Sabbath, but that doesn’t mean they’re all carbon copies.
Read More sheavy and Their 3 Best Albums