Bang - The Best of Bang

Label: Ripple Music

Bang were a cult band back in the early seventies. Power trio Bang released their debut album in 1971. Since the band were considered the American Black Sabbath by some, it could be argued by many whether they fit under proto-metal umbrella or not.

The Black Sabbath influence is so strong on tracks like "Lions...Christians" and "The QUeen" that you wonder how many bats the singer has bitten the head off. There's undeniably heavy UK influence on this group in both senses of the word, "Questions" sounds like a missing link between Stray and Led Zeppelin due to the vocals doing the high-pitched part that Robert Plant became renowned for during his Led Zep days.

There's a delightful simpleness to the rock of "Mother". The song is catchy and there are echoes back to the fab four but while Bang were looking to the past, they were also looking forward. "Keep on" is from a similar mould and you can check this tune out on soundcloud. (Yay, I finally got my head around Soundcloud. Oh, no. I didn't. That site still sucks for embedding music on blogger). Many listeners will hear the roots of both what is now known as classic rock and also doom metal on tracks such as "Feel The Hunt". If "Windfair" was stacked up through more amps and turned up to 11, it'd sound rather similar to an English band named after torture device. There's some great soloing on "Don't Need Nobody". "Feels Nice" has a huge Zeppelin influence and if you've never liked Zep, this track will also beg the question, why does he sing like that?

This Anthology will nestle down in the vinyl format in the record collections of stoner and psychedelic rock/proto-metal fans and meat and potatoes hard rock fans. If you've enjoyed any rock albums that were released in the early seventies or if you'd like to, then "The Best of Bang" is a good arrival point.

4/5

Release date: 20 April 2018

Rapture - Paroxym of Hatred

Record Label: Memento Mori


How good can a Greek retro-thrash metal be? Rapture play unrelenting, ferocious thrash with a touch of death that is a throwback to the early eighties. Easy reference points are Slayer, Dark Angel and Kreator. This is largely due to the vocals of Apostolos Papadimitriou, whose barks fall somewhere between Mille Petrozza and Tom Araya. The band thrash along the Teutonic highway rather than taking in the sea air of the Bay Area. When Rapture go full throttle, they veer into death metal territory but keep the thrash edge, which is a feat not many bands can pull off. Just get a load of the death metal and thrash metal banging together tightly in the title track.

Those who like their thrash metal on the technical side will find what Rapture have served up on this vinyl to their taste as it is undeniably present in tracks like "Redemption through Isolation" and "Quintessence of Lunacy" plus a number of others. There's no doubt each of the musicians in this band can play their instruments with razor sharp precision and it's the tightness of the musicianship, which will have many a metal fan drooling over this band due to this release.



Other band comparisons that are likely be thrown at Rapture due to the sheer strength of "Paroxysm of Hatred" are Sadus, Dark Angel, Pestilence, early Believer and Demolition Hammer. This is Rapture's second album and is already a serious contender for album of 2018 in these quarters. 2017 was a great year for metal and 2018 is shaping up to be even better.

4/5

Rapture on bandcamp


Rapture on facebook

Affliktor

Record Label: Transcending Obscurity


These days it seems that one man black metal bands are a dime a dozen. However the one man band Affliktor is more than a notch above the usual bedroom musician that considers themselves a band as Affliktor not only add a thrash metal element but as the main man behind Affliktor is Toby Knapp, who has been hammering away on guitar since the early nineties and releasing underground metal albums both as a solo artist and as a band.

While Knapp's vocals are of the typically evil black metal goblin variant as you might expect it's the guitar playing that puts this above not only a tonne of one man black metal bands but also many other blackened thrash bands. The thrash metal on "Born to the Breeder" is strong and some mighty fine guitar leads hits the eardrums when the song slows down. "Backwards into Hell" is more black metal oriented although the drumming is more thrash metal oriented than blast-beats and there are wicked guitar leads that push their way out rather than being prominent parts of the song, which helps to strengthen the song. The intro to "Chaos Magick Totaliy"harks back to both 80's Metallica and Megadeth but then heads to much darker area of metal while still incorporating thrash style drumming and guitar solos. "Burn the Earth" convinces the listener that Affliktor really do want to set the world ablaze with the evil vocals, quickly paced drums and blistering guitar work.



It's definitely mainly the technicality of the guitar work that sets Affliktor above other blackened thrash bands out there. That the drumming isn't chock full of blast-beats and favours the more thrash metal approach is also a huge thumbs up. It's worth noting that the PR sheet hits the mark suggesting that is for fans of Slayer, Testament, Inquisition, Desaster, Arrallu, Waxen, Kreator, Sodom and Yngwie Malmsteem.

4/5

Release Date: 20 October 2017


Affliktor on facebook




Affliktor on bandcamp



The Small Takeover on Facebook

Faces of the Bog - Ego Death

Record Label: DHU Records


Chicago band Faces of the Bog released their "Ego Death" album late last year. However, we didn't hear it back then and DHU records is releasing the album on a limited vinyl release run this September so you can stare at a bigger version of the trippy artwork on the album cover while you listen to the album.

In this case judging an album by the cover isn't a bad thing at all, the music on Ëgo Death"is just as trippy and heavy as the cover suggests. Faces of the Bog mix psychedelic rock with sludge and a touch of early grunge ala early Soundgarden. The vocals go from clean to a dirty yelling caveman who has dropped a huge boulder that refuses to move on his toes and often the music goes from tripped out psychedelic rock to grunge to the filthiest sludge within a single track. Drawing comparisons for Faces of the Bog to other bands isn't an easy task but there are elements of post-metal Neurosis, the more psychedelic side of Pink Floyd, a fair amount of the sludge of Eyehategod and more than a touch of the heavy grunge of early Soundgarden.





There's an ethereal quality to the music here because Faces of The Bog are psychedelic and progressive sludge. On single songs like Ëgo Death" and the eight minute album ender, "Blue Lotus, a first time listener and even when the familiarity has grown, it's difficult to guess the path the band will choose and there are so many layers when Faces of The Bog turn on the heaviness that strongly shakes an awareness that music captures and transports us through a portal to another dimension.

4/5

Release Date: 22 September 2017


Faces of the Bog on Facebook


Faces on the Bog on bandcamp

The Flying Eyes - Burning of the Season

Record Label: Ripple Music



On their fourth album, The Flying Eyes open with a scorching fuzzed out psychedelic rock tune entitled, "Sing Praise". There's a strong early 60's/late 70's vibe modernized and amped up to arrive at your ears through modern technology. There's a laid back approach to the Jim Morrison tinged vocals in "Drain and you can easily hear and smell the joints being passed around when the band play live in the song's quieter spacier moments. The track builds up to a finale with the sort of bluesy hard rock with a controlled chaos that Danzig achieved on the first few albums. The cosmic vibe continues in the nine minutes of "Circle of Stone" with some great guitar shimmering' and shining through yet allowed to fuzz out.

The vocals on "Farewell" are reminiscent of Gary Moore's approach to both his blues output and his slower hard rock tunes. Musically the track is equally muscular without The Flying Eyes flapping well away from the psychedelic rock highway. "Rest Easy" is as dreamy and laid back as its moniker suggests. This is music designed for putting the headphones on and contemplating the possibilities of life on other planets while gazing up at the stars in the night sky.

As none of the lengthier tracks outstay their welcome, it is very difficult to find fault with this album with each listen to "Burning of the Season, there is the discovery of something new to like about the album. Ripple Music has chosen another winner with signing The Flying Eyes.

4/5

Release Date: 22 September 2017



The Flying Eyes Website




The Flying Eyes on Facebook


The Flying Eyes on bandcamp

Arallu - Six

Record Label: Transcending Obscurity


Most black metal leaves me cold however combine it with death metal or thrash metal in the vein of Goatwhore Behemoth or Blackfast and then you'll get my attention. Hell, combine it with rock 'n' roll like Israeli band Promiscuity did (check out the review of their EP here) and I'll not only listen to it but there's a fair chance I'll love it if it's done right.


Similar to blackened rock and roller's Promiscuity, Arallu also hail from Israel and although they are a new band to us, "Six" is, surprise, surprise, Arallu's sixth album. The band incorporate traditional Middle Eastern instruments like Saz and Darburka into their sound. In fact, the album opens with a song entitled, "Desert Moonlight Spells, which to these unknowing but curious Western ears sounds like a traditional Middle Eastern tune. After the soft tone of the opening the band inform the listener in the song "Only One Truth"and the rotten core of Arallu is black metal with death metal. What really lifts Arallu from the stench of generic metal is the use of their country's traditional instruments. There's such a hypnotic feeling to the sound, it's not difficult to imagine Lucifer hiding as a serpent in a basket lifting his head out in time to the music as these black metal charmers play their music on stage. Lovers of the death doom sound will enjoy "Possessed by the Sleep" which introduces itself with a plod and growling death metal vocals interspersed with background bursts of both the traditional instruments and the traditional black metal bumblebees with blastbeats sound in the foreground. Thankfully the vocals of Butchered don't sound like the stereotypical black metal hobgoblin but hark back to early death metal as Jeff Walker from Carcass and John Tardy from Obituary are the obvious comparisons.








There's a lean towards thrash metal in tracks like "Philosphers" and "Soulless Soldiers" without Arallu completely taking the blackened thrash route. The black metal template is still present in these tunes as are the traditional Middle Eastern instruments and both these elements come across as a natural part of character. In creating a unique sound, Arallu have managed to do what few bands have managed to do and step away from the hordes of generic metal bands.

4/5

Release Date: 22 September 2017


Arallu on facebook


Arallu on bandcamp

War Cloud - War Cloud

Record Label : Ripple Music

Bay Area band War Cloud are a new band having only formed in 2014. The band are made up of Alex Wein on guitar and vocal duties, Joaquin Ridgell,on drums,Sean Nishi on bass and Tony Campos also handling guitar. War Cloud took their name from a song from the UK band Wicked Lady, which will inform some readers that the band are influenced by hard rock from the late 60's and 70's.


There's a definite 70's influence coming through the fuzzed up guitar that leaves little doubt that Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy and UFO feature prominently in the collective listening diet of War Cloud. There's a hard rock boogie feel to "Chopper Wired"that forces a listener to not just listen but to also move their buttocks. With the band based in the Bay Area and lyrics about four horsemen in "Divide and Conquer", it's impossible not to think that within their musical stew, War Cloud are not only taking in and spitting out early hard rock and traditional metal but also early speed metal. The suspicion of an early speed metal influence is confirmed in "Hurricane" as it harks back to the first couple of Metallica albums but the vocals are more in the hard rock singing style than than the near punkish shouting style of early James Hetfeild. Wein can really sing but doesn't venture outside his range, which helps give the band their sound.

The guitar leads on "No Man's Land" are attention grabbing as it's apparent that both Wein and Campos are highly accomplished musicians. "Red Witch" sounds like it would have been a hit on the radio if it had been released in the 70's. It's a really catchy number due to the chorus, tempo and distorted guitar all shining from the speakers. It's easy to imagine people hearing the song on the airwaves and then seeking out the 45 rpm vinyl. "Speed Demon" is so full of punk'n'roll grittiness, you'll need to wash your hands after hearing the track. The album closer, which you can listen to below, has a NWOBM but War Cloud manage to stamp their own identity on the track.









At first I didn't really think much of this album but after listening to it a number of times, there are many things to discover and like about War Cloud's debut. An obvious criticism could be that with their retro style War Cloud look too much to the past however it's clear that the band have a genuine passion for hard rock from the past and their passion boils over in their songwriting and musicianship. Standout songs are "Speed Demon", "Red Witch"and "No Man's Land" however no song on the album is weak.


Release Date: 8 September 2017

3.5/5





Warcloud on Facebook

The Judge - Tell It To the Judge

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Damn, this is great! The Judge unashamedly play retro-rock. The band are incredibly influenced by the seventies hard rock and metal. There are obvious Led Zeppelin and Sabbath references but these guys are no mere clones. There's no denying the influence of Sabbath on "Empty Halls" but The Judge's singer, Tyler Swope, has own thing going rather than just copying Ozzy and sits more in hard rock genre than heavy metal. He has the voice most who don't like Led Zeppelin wish Robert Plant possessed in the seventies. It's melodic warmth is easy on the ears. The bass, drums and guitars just seam together perfectly throughout the album. There's a laid back groove to the whole album but it's strongest in "High Flyin'". Fans of guitar noodling and blues style boogie rock will enjoy "Darkest Daze", which has been reworked since appearing on an early EP.

Seventies hard rock fans could play games picking the influences for hours whilst they knock back a cold one or more listening to this album but it's more likely that they'll wind up just listening to "Tell it to the Judge" and just kicking back while enjoying the album. "Tell it to the Judge" sounds like one of the better hard rock albums from the seventies but the production quality is modern. The mix is great with all the instruments coming out nice, clear and loud. Drum cymbals give off the sound they should rather than sounding like sticks hitting canned food.


The Judge manage to have that retro sound and the dart hit the bullseye on "Tell It to The Judge". Go and grab yourself a copy when this gets released.





4/5

The Judge on facebook




The Judge on bandcamp

Sasquatch - Maneuvers

Soundgarden are history as are Kyuss but for those of us who were fans of both banging bands along come Sasquatch(actually they've been bubbling away for a while but they're recently risen to the brim). The opening track to Sasquatch's fifth album, "Rational Woman is pure Kyuss style desert rock fuzz but if that Chris Cornell guy was on vocals. Keith Gibbs vocals are really that close that's an amazing feat. Anyone that says Cornell was unique is proven wrong. Close your eyes and listen to "Destroyer" and there are a number parts where you could swear you were listening to Soundgarden at their peak. There are many moments where the instruments bind together in a similar hypnotic fashion as the first Queens of the Stone Age album.


Bottom line with this album is that you just need to imagine a top notch stoner rock band with Chris Cornell on vocals. This album deserves to be on a lot of end of year lists.

4.5/5

Sasquatch on facebook

Check out the opening track "Rational Woman" here.

Agata - Horror Stories

I'll admit that I judged by the pictures and expected Agata to be a B-grade Misfits or goth tinged pop-punk. On their second album, "Horror Stories", Agata serve up a dish of tight 80's style skater thrash. The opening track is melodic hardcore of the early 7 Seconds variant. The title track exists in a world where nomeansno cover the Descendents and vice versa. The song channels both these bands with great punk rythms and slightly shouted vocals. If you like any of the bands mentioned in this review, you should go straight to Agata's bandcamp and check this album by this Oakland trio out.

4/5

Agata on facebook

Desert Suns - Desert Suns

There aren't any prices for guessing which style of music San Diego band Desert Suns play. Their bandcamp page states, "In that space where psychedelia, blues-rock, doom and sludge coalesce, it’s there you’re likely to find Desert Suns." This is heavily 70's tinged desert rock,

The band provide knockout blows early in the album with the psychedelic hard rock of "Burning Temples" and the hard-out jamming groove of "Space Pussy" with its wailing guitar. There's a definite Sabbath influence in "Passing Through". The vocals sound close to Ozzy but Desert Suns have the talent to manage not to sound like yet another Sabbath clone. "Ten Feet Down" is a serious change of pace with a huge dose of Southern blues. The opening vocals on "Memories of Home" remind this listener of "The Real Thing" period Mike Patton although there's also Ozzy simultaneously shining through.

This is a great debut and it's easy to see why the two labels wanted to re-release this. I hope Desert Suns stick around for some time.

This album was originally released on a limited 300 run of vinyl but has been re-released in Nort America on vinyl and CD by Ripple Music and HeviSike music.

4/5


Desert Suns on facebook



Check out the whole album on Desert Suns bandcamp page.

Grave Siesta "Piss and Vinegar"

Grave Siesta are a Finnish doom metal band that have released their second album "Piss and Vinegar". The first thing that occurred to me when I saw the album name was English punk band GBH released an album with the same name in the not too distant past but that's where the connection with British punk stops as Grave Siesta are definitely a metal band.

The most striking feature are the vocal gymnastics of Taito Halonen and they hit you on the first dirty sludgy track, "Tyrant Pleasures". He goes from raspy grunts to clean singing to breathless growls. It'd be easy to compare him to Mike Patton but Halonen's vocals have a dirtier feel at times and sometimes remind me of a Chuck Mosley with wider range. "Coffinborne" moves from slow sludger doom into a faster pass and whips the listener thoughout regardless of the speed. Put your dirty mind at rest, "Seamen Swallow'd" is actually a rollicking track about sailors being swallowed. "Warwhore" is menacing with its catchy chorus and doom metal underbelly dragging through the slimiest sludge. "Pile of Tongues" has a death metal edge but heads in a rock 'n' roll direction and the vocals even take a short turn towards the very melodic edge of the Messiah of Candlemass. "Knight of a Bent Lance" sounds messy at times due to the drums shifting tempo but the band keep it together and if it wasn't originally intended, it's a fabulous disaster.

"Whispers of the Worm" lets you know that Grave Siesta keep their Black Sabbath and Candlemass albums close to the heart but when the vocals take a turn, you realize just how much these guys also treasure death metal.

While there are some clean vocals on this record, "Piss and Vinegar" is a dirty album and Grave Siesta offer up far more than retrodden Black Sabbath riffs. This band are treading some interesting ground that the more adventurous music fan will appreciate.

4/5





Listen to the album on Grave Siesta's bandcamp page





Grave Siesta on Facebook

Brond - Feint

The EP format is usually a great thing as it doesn't contain the fat that an album and it's over quickly. Brond are a post-hardcore band from Sofia, Bulgaria, which have chosen to release an EP entitled "Feint".


Brond's music is heavily influenced by the likes of Fugazi and Helmet. The first track has a lot of throaty hardcore shouting and a great start/stop dynamic. "Build Re Build" features some quick drumming and vocals which are a reminder of Fugazi. There's a progressive type feel to the music as it is difficult for a listener to guess which direction the song will take. Despite that, there's definitely not a lack of focus as Brond sound super-tight. While it falls between the post-hardcore of Fugazi and the more stripped down metal of Helmet, "Atlantic Empress" employs a tasty and fitting jazz-punk type direction. "Lava Divers" features the strong pound drumming that Helmet are known for and clear hollering over the music.


This is the sort of release that kicks a slacking off reviewer in the ass and leaves drool stains in the floor. There's mopping to be done shortly.

4/5

Check out the Feint EP on bandcamp here

Blackened "Underground Attack"

Here's a band who may or may not be named after a Metallica song. It'd be an easy assumption to make as Blackened do have some of the Bay Area sound in their thrash metal mix. However to my ears, it sounds more Exodus than Metallica as there aren't a whole lot of lengthy songs with classical leanings unless you're talking about classic 80's American thrash. The songs here all fall well under the five minute mark.

These boys from Brazil aren't metal purists as they're willing to go in the crossover mode. Just by looking at the cover, it's clear that D.R.I are a huge influence on Blackened and it comes through in the vocals although personally I find it hard not to think of Mark Salomon of The Crucified when listening to "Underground Attack". It's definitely due to the music rather than the lyrics as all the chapters in the Blackened bible only cover thrash metal. The song slows down so a quick and slower guitar solo can be played before the thrashing commences again. "Extreme Violence" has an early Metallica style intro but gets nastier and is closer to Exodus in style. The vocalist spits out words in "Psychopath" which has a punked up metal feel akin to some Suicidal Tendencies. The gang shouted vocals create a hardcore sound although the band still grip the metal firmly with all hands as there's no way they're letting go to slide fully into the hardcore.





There'll be some that complain that Blackened really do sound like an eighties thrash band when really that is admirable. This rules and in a dark room with a number of beer cans the band themselves have those important three words to say to you all in TxNxD, "Thrash Never Dies".

4/5



Blackened on Facebook

Witches Brew records

Drones for Queens - Practically Weapons

This E.P. from Philidelphia band, Drones for Queens, is a tasty slab for the D-beat fan to drool over. There's a very metallic feel to the EP's title track that won't really annoy D-beat fans and may even convert the more open-minded metalhead. For a large sum of the song, the guitar sounds like it could have a thrash or grind album which gets the thumbs up on this blog. "A Blinding Future" has a similar metallic leaning running through it and you know what? It works. Drones for Queens have offered up something much more interesting than standard Discharge worship. A thrash metal pulse with a tinge of death(of the metal sub-genre kind) runs through "Duress".

Play the title track "Practically Weapons"



"Practically Weapons" is being released as a limited to 300 copies 7" white vinyl. There's a link or two below for pre-orders.

4/5

Drones for Queens on facebook

Pre-order the vinyl here.

Miserable Failure "Hope"

The grindcore rule book states that songs by bands that claim genre should be short angry bursts that rely on super fast blazing riffs and blast beats.  The myths surrounding this rulebook include that it was written for people with short attention spans so it can be read in less time than Napalm Death's "You Suffer" and that it was originally printed with a lump of black coal then photocopied and handed out at grind gigs on A5 paper.

Lost all semblance of my original train of thought; where was I again?  Oh, yeah.  I was writing a review of French grindcore band, Miserable Failure's "Hope".  It's fast and angry grind.  Four songs in less than four minutes.  Balls jackhammered to the wall by a bullet train sum up this band's approach although they do slow down for a bit in "Goodbye and Good Riddance" to give a sample some breathing space.

If you have four minutes to spare then click the link below for some great grindcore.

Miserable Failure on bandcamp

Home "Bound To Gravity"

As a longtime supporter of the underground it's always great whenever a band takes the time to email me rather than just go through a label or a publicist. I'll admit I appreciate hearing from labels and publicists too if they actually have taken the time to look through the blog and realize whether or not the music they are currently pushing fits with the blog.  The amount of rap and country music that comes my way astounds me as it just doesn't fit with the context on the blog.  Anyway enough about the blog and back to the recent email(it was actually received in late February), I really wanted to talk about.  It came from Austria from a guy named Amadeus who said his band Home were Austrian Sludge/Stoner/Post-whatsoever and that because it was release day of their album "Bound to Gravity", the trio were going to get drunk.

On listening to the first track it became apparent that post-whatsoever really means post hardcore as there is a bit of both Quicksand and Fugazi in both the music and the vocals.  The sludge label makes sense for the track "Next To Last", though the song opens with stripped bare metallic riffing, the vocals recall the likes of Killdozer and Clawhammer.  There's no prettying things up here.

I'm willing to bet that "Not Even Me" is a live favourite and unites hardcore and metal kids only to battle it together in the pit before the abrasively raw sludge applies sandpaper to their wounds.  Often the direction where Home go with their rhythms takes the listener by surprise and the unpredictability adds to their charm. The lengthy "Dead City" slowly pulsates with a Black Sabbath heart although Home take a more experimental turn with speeding up the rhythm and lightly applied sandpaper raw vocals.

The initial description of the band by Amadeus still rings true to my ears as this is likely to appeal equally to fans of Eyehategod style sludge, rawer post-hardcore and amphetamine reptile fans.  Check out "Bound to Gravity" on their bandcamp site linked below.

4/5


Bound To Gravity on bandcamp



Home on facebook

UPYR Altars/Tunnels

 Black metal has never really been my cup of corpse paint.  However I have been a fan of musical hybridization for a long time  although that Run D-MC/Aerosmith collaboration should never have happened since it was the genesis of nu-metal.  Since I've contradicted myself in my opening statement I'll get on with the business on hand and say I was recently emailed a bandcamp link from a Bulgarian band called UPYR.  My initial reaction was to consider the band to be huge fans of text messages as I get lost with all the abbreviations the kids use these days.  A quick google revealed that the name is a type of vampire.  What really got my attention though was that the band was described in the email as blackened doom, which caused raised eyebrows as that is a musical description that isn't witnessed every day.

The band also has yet another thing I usually hate: long songs.  There is a difference here as UPYR flirt with different styles within their songs but also stand up on their own two feet and proudly identify themselves through their chosen sounds.  There are tinges of goth here and there and some of the slow spoken parts have a similar bleak feeling and gloominess to "Burning World" era Swans but also British doom bands such as My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost.

There are three songs on the band's CD but their bandcamp site includes a song which is from a cassette.  It's hard to know if it's because this was a December release that I keep staring at the goat and imagine it standing up on two legs completely draped in red. You should do yourself a favour and check this band out.

4/5


UPYR's bandcamp


UPYR's facebook




Smalltakeover on facebook

Scythe "Subterranean Steel"

"You shouldn't judge a book by its cover" is a well-worn saying and it often also applies to albums.  There are covers out there with artwork that looks like the artist has only just graduated beyond drawing stick figures and some of these albums are regarded as classics due to the music.  The cover of Chicago band Scythe lends the trio the appearance of a black metal Manowar due to the over the top poses.  Strictly labeling Scythe as black metal is doing the band a slight disservice as the music contains elements of traditional, thrash and death metal.


The Chicago trio put the dirtier side of metal through a blender in"Leather Aggressor" but a filthy black metal heart pumps strongly.  The tempo is high-paced and with clear audible growled vocals, then the pace completely halts and the muddy sound black metal bands are renowned for disappears for what seems like a few seconds and a clear crunchy guitar assaults the listener only to vanish into a murky pit where an absolute pummeling is a necessity.    A strong backbone is provided in "Monarch" due to a simple drumbeat which lets the guitars take over and cast a hellish atmosphere.  If you've ever wondered what a slow moving bulldozer to the cranium feels like then get a dose of the title track although it will move quickly at some unknown point and the blast-beats will replace heavy machinery as you fall heavier into the muddy bog.  Scythe have  a perfect song title in "The Grunting Dead" and the song can only be described as blackened thrash.  The thrash sneaks up on you sometimes like on "The Bray Beast", which has a few riffs that are reminiscent of Exodus but probably at the pace those guys should be playing these days since they're nearing retirement age.  


It's difficult not to wonder if the title "Beyond the Northwoods" was suggested by someone with a lisp as the song takes in black metal and the guitars and drums edge of the sort of thrash metal that the Bay Area was renowned for in the eighties although a group of angry bumblebees make sure black metal gets the last word.  Oddly "Nights of Terror" reminds me of Wall of Silents but I highly doubt that the trio who recorded this song are aware of that band.  Rock, punk, thrash, death and black metal are all put into a concrete mixer  and the concoction is  similar cross-genres sound with crunching guitar leads.


There are a few times on the album that it is difficult to tell if a song has finished and another one has started.  Without any clean singing or breakdowns and gang choruses Subterranean Steel convincingly combine  the black, thrash and black metal sub-genres and keep it dirty and raw.  Clicking on the reverb nation link below is highly recommended as a taster.

4/5

Scythe on reverbnation

Scythe on Facebook

The Small Takeover on facebook

Dripping Slits - "Krokodil Rock"

Sometimes, at any given review outlet, an album makes it way to the top of the pile simply because of what the reviewer has heard of their previous output.  Dripping Slits have previously been reviewed here earlier this year when they shared a split and we loved them then as you can see here..

This latest release "Krokodil Rock" also spat on all the thrash, death and black metal, promptly stole the bottles of corpse paint mixed them with ethanol then  raided the liquor and medicine cabinets and apologized with a wink and only a hint of a winning smile.  That particular kind of charm is a rare commodity in this day and age so it wins every time here.  Dripping Slits' music is dirty sleazy rock 'n' roll played the way it should be.  It's noisy, dirty and raw.  The fact that the band have a song entitled "Venom and Denim" may give the impression that they fall somewhere between the originators of black metal and Scandanavian punk 'n' roll but lyrics like "A wise man once said, " Rock and Roll is dead but he ain't seen what I seen" lets you know these guys pump sleazy rock through their arteries and no doubt contain in other vessels that may contain body fluids even if they usually just hold alcoholic beverages.

These cats know that blues aren't just for washing clothes as there are a few moments that the scuzz is from a southern swamp.  The final song, " Snake Oil Blues" sounds like a cross between Motley Crüe 's debut combined with Alice Cooper's best moments meeting head-on with Black Flag and then grabbing a little something off a stoner rock band.  The album "Krokodil Rock" is streamed on the band's site which is linked below.  So you really should click the link.



4/5



http://drippingslits.com/