psychedelic / doom metal

An all-female doom trio out of Los Angeles is called High Priestess – well what kind of music would you expect? Certainly not any kind of Death Metal or RnB, but rather some kind of psyched up rock following in the footsteps of some occult doom. That is also more or less the only stereotype that Katie Gilchrest, Mariana Fiel and Megan Mullins fulfill. The three definitely have something to show for their record, or rather records because “Casting the Circle” out on Ripple Music since April 10th is their sophomore release after their eponymous 2018 debut turned some heads in the doom community. 

There are some things very special about this trio making them stand out from a lot of the doom bands of the late 2010s. The three know how to write really good songs no matter the length, sometimes they come up with short three-minute-ditties and then again they are not afraid to write the (rather self-explaining) 17 minute opus “Invocation”; the five tracks together span 42 minutes of brilliantly lit, well-clad doom rock that shares in the glory of the genre. 

Another brilliant feature of the band is their three voices sharing vocal duties so that very often one gets the idea of a Hydra-Headed sorceress standing before one’s feet luring the ears, mind and soul into an unreal safety net, just before the lullaby-like ritual turns into the gigantic that has been woven only to give the multi-eyed spider the chance to strike with chants like “Satan is not dead” or ideas of time and decay when they talk about the “sand in the hourglass” that slowly falls down leading to both – the end of time and of being. 

Musically there are seemingly simple guitar phrases layered upon each other with some awesome sixties vibe-spreading keys – both delivered by the hands of Gilchrest. The rhythm section seemingly wants to go unnoticed because Fiel and Mullins both give a tight performance that leaves the ground paved for the seductive melodies to go straight through one’s ears into one’s subconsciousness dwelling there for quite a while and removing all other things no matter how important from our agenda. 

That might be one of the most impressive things about this record – it seemingly has no agenda, it’s not made to impress in a blasting way, it’s just there and through its surface simplicity is able to seep into your heart and soul sending away everything else. Candlelit doom at its best! 


Thorsten

psychedelic / progressive

bandcamp

Sunday afternoon, half of the country is closed, the other half remains inside, hiding from the Corona-virus which is threatening society as we know it. Outside it's cold and windy, although the sun tries to pierce through the clouds. Here in my living room it's warm and comfortable, a good time to get working on another bunch of reviews. And what better way to kick things off than with this complex yet captivating piece of work by Seikai, the progressive ambient act by Anthony Pandolfino and Samuel Groat. Although, "progressive ambient" might not be the correct words to describe this music as there is a lot more to be found here. Let's see if I can guide you through.

Seikai are known for their spacey electronics and space rock jams but for 'IV' they focus on a wide array of instrumentation, letting their respective sounds roam freely. That way, the album somewhat feels like a set of jazz improvisations which slowly turn into psychedelic jam sessions, a bit like if Tangerine Dream had a jam session with Ozric Tentacles during a starlit night on a beach in Goa, something like that. There are elements of krautrock, the pulsating bass of psychill, the playfulness of jam band guitars and the atmosphere of old science fiction movies. All of that is created by synths, (slide-)guitars and even a melodica. It's been a while since I've heard that thing in a recording.

I think my favorite track here is 'Galaxahatchie', which seems to drive on a throbbing eighties bassline. There is something gloomy about the whole thing, which immediately reminds me of old soundtracks. Besides, all four tracks here are quite long improvisations and all of them are well worthy of a decent listening session, especially of a daft Sunday like this one. Check it out, you'd be pleasantly surprised. Even post rock fanatics will appreciate a track like 'Starlit Trail'. In fact, this whole album, and thus the band, could prove to be an interesting addition to many post rock festivals, just saying. Anyway, 'IV' is a beautiful album, narrative and adventurous but also comfortable to listen to, and that is all that matters now...


Serge

sludge metal

“Demonic Black Magick for Tortured Souls.” That’s one of the first sentences you read when coming across Seventh Circle’s FB-account. Interestingly this record has less death metal than you would assume after such a proclamation and after a record title referring to Dante’s Seven Circles of Hell. The record is a solid pastiche of stoner-influenced sludge metal with a share of death metal miniatures. The duo from California really hits some weak spots in all of those people who like their death metal a bit more on the hard rock-side with these three tracks.
The sound is gritty and heavy and the breakdowns are not too hardcore-ish so that those 13 minutes are over quicker than you wanted. Most interesting are those moments when they take some time to establish the mood of a song instead of just racing into it. The only thing that might be bothersome is the mixing because although of course a band like this should be produced raw and dirty but the vocals are too far in the background. 

black metal

Invictus Productions

Iron Bonehead Productions

Belgium’s black metal band Possession brought a totally new concept to split EPs at the end of November by releasing two different splits with two different bands but with one unifying theme. “Passio Christi Part I / Witch’s Spell” is their split with Spite from the US and “Passio Christi Part II / Necrophagus Abandon” is the one with Venefixion from France. The second part of each record’s title is one of the track of Possession split partner. 
Interesting about these two separate releases on two different labels with bands spanning five countries is that it all sounds very organic and as if this was meant to be. But the logistics and planning for this thing must have been arduous. 
However, when playing both records in a row, you do not have the feeling of a loss of quality or a change in sound and vision. The releases each start with a very atmospheric intro by Possession with the second one even played on a church organ and incorporates carillon bells. Very, very good. The Belgians pursue their idea of a raw punkish sound and attitude, a high-octane version of black metal. “Stabat Mater”, the last of their six tracks total, ends in a whirlwind of drums and riffs that has mantra-qualities just before their final contribution to this duo split turns the song into an instant classic as they take up the intro from “Passio Christi Part I” again using a choir to make their songs one big entity. 
The other two bands are not only bystanders but take part immensely with each giving their respective releases a different element. Spite, for example, delivers the cover song that each good split should have doing Manitú’s “Cruel Creator” in their own way, very lo-fi and very chilling.  Venefixion, on the other hand, do the best thing to do after a song as good as “Stabat Mater” - they do their own piano-intro (!) and then all hell breaks loose, no barriers holding back, no hostages taken, no one left standing in their way – straightforward black metal!
As a final say, one has only very seldom heard such a coherent, thoughtful conceived combination of split series as this one!

psychedelic / stoner / rock

The California-based trio is set to release their next album on Valentine’s day next year and “8hr Parking” is the first single off of that record which will be called “Mortal Foils” and released via Italy’s specialist label Heavy Psych Sounds Records. 
And as this is not their first release but another one in quite a long list of excellent ones, it shows that singer/guitarist Enver Koneya, bassist Travis Williams and drummer Braden McGraw really know what they want to sound like – a mixture of “full-throttle, pedal to the metal” and “whirling swooshing Tornado jet”. The new song thunders like steamrolling in a Mad Max-vehicle without roof right through Los Angeles all the way up the coast with the wind rushing through your hair while tanking north on Pacific Highway 101 and then having to step down a bit because otherwise the turns and curves will not be mastered especially in Big Sur and North. If the upcoming record is as convincing as this one then we might up for something special!

alternative rock

Sometimes there comes a band that is able to emulate a sound that directly brings up several memories from your past that you had forgotten you had somewhere deep in you. Now a lot of you readers will say “Of course that is what good music should be able to so that you find a connection to it!” For clarification: Listening to an EP with the singer in the first song sounding like a first-class Layne Staley impersonator is never a bad thing, especially when he concentrates on the articulation and breathing and not on the impossible to imitate the voice of Alice in Chains’ front man. With the second using the same bells that Radiohead used for “Karma Police” is another very positive thing and the third one witnessing a voice imitating Thom’s way of phrasing words and sounds while the band is finding the middle between both bands the author of these lines is back in a room at home with the lights on, thinking about former loves and igniting hundreds of candles to fit his mood. Or is that just what this record wants me to feel like? Probably; well: Well done!

Thorsten

psychedelic rock / stoner rock / hard rock

Sonic Cure is an album to be released in the end of the month, November 29, by Polder Records, with pre-orders to start on November 15. Work of veteran Belgian psychedelic/stoner/hard rock band Wheel of Smoke, Sonic Cure is the most recent release of this group, that has been around for fourteen years now, having released previously the albums In Sense, in 2011, Signs of Saturn, in 2013, Mindless Mass, in 2016, and the EP Enter The Pyramid, in 2015. With only five tracks — Sonic Cure, Brainshaker, Beamed, On a Wave and Electric I —, this album displays a sonorous vigour and a genuine enthusiasm from the very beginning, that is amazingly pungent, legendary and remarkable. With tremendously hallucinating guitar lines, cohesive and strong harmonies, and gloriously pulsating seventies psychedelic rock vibes, Sonic Cure has an authentically fit retro atmosphere, that subsidizes its splendorous, dense and gracefully dynamic rhythmic features, for the full extent of this amazingly fabulous album.

With a remarkable musical style, that completes on the vicinities of its marvelous genuine creativity the sonorous grandiosity of its wonderfully vivid and abrasive style, the density and the practical uneasiness displayed in the sound doesn't stand as a mere copy of seventies rock 'n' roll bands, on the contrary; the group departs from a cohesive conjuncture of eclectic influences, to compose in a mosaic of complex arrangements a vast diagram of deeply resonating and colorful authorial melodies. With wonderful harmonies — whose extensive creative sensibilities defies the consistency of its own organic structure —, Sonic Cure, in its entirety, easily reveals itself as the perfect combination between appreciation of tradition and original conception of sound. 

With gracefully pungent and colorful guitar solos, that expand the tempestuous grace of its renitent restlessness over the salutary density of its vastly flexible and unorthodox rhythmic proficiency, each track has majestically unique peculiarities, distinct beauty, splendid elegance, powerfully consistent and diligent qualities, that underscores the band's huge, impeccable creative potential. The formidable heterogeneity of the band — which can be surprisingly flexible, without ever losing its characteristic sonorous identity — is a deeply strong musical feature, that gives to their style an unpredictable sensibility, whose undisputed possibilities injects ostentatious vigor into the group's virtuous harmonies. 

A formidable, unique, sensationally graceful state of the art work, Sonic Cure definitely is one of the most genuine, remarkable and perfect albuns ever released in the contemporary history of retro-styled, seventies inspired hard rock. Displaying not only superb technical elegance, but also a virtuous creative sensibility — as well as a fantastic electrical audacity, an originally discreet, but vivacious and persistent restlessness —, and a truly genuine desire to break boundaries, Sonic Cure is a concise, but practically perfect work of modern rock, destined to establish new musical standards for all the other bands in the genre, as soon as the album is released.  


Wagner

blues / psychedelic rock

Stoneface is an album released in the end of July, by Australian blues rock group The Ivory Elephant. A very intriguing album, with dispersive and highly diluted guitar lines, that fly over the extensive sensibilities of its vaguely digressive harmonies, the work displays an overtly dense and horizontal placidity, while at the same time the imperiously somber dynamic strength of its cohesive sound gracefully externalizes in the tissue of its imponderable and vast serenity the ostensibly lucid vividness of its circumspect nature. So, while the transparent elements of its astounding energy fluctuates above the abrasive restlessness of its own atmosphere, the general musicality of the group conceives a versatile style, whose sound transpires vitality and authenticity. 

Forty-seven minutes long, the record has ten tracks: 1) Storm; 2) Maybe I'm Evil; 3) Wars; 4) Roll On; 5) Jazzhead pt I; 6) Low Expectation; 7) Stoneface Jamboree; 8) Stoneface; 9) Hard Case; 10) Jazzhead pt II; with solid and amazingly authorial guitar lines, that conceives a sonorous paradise where the soul can rest indefinitely in a sweet cosmogony of surrealist expansive splendor, the music of The Ivory Elephant revitalizes the best elements of modern blues rock, and gives them a more dynamic and introspective outlook, sometimes disrupting the harmonies into an almost minimalist rapturous contrivance.

Despite the lethargy that the melodies can inspire — as a consequence of its stylish features that conceives the superiority of supreme calmness —, the sound displayed in Stoneface is marvelously original, tremendously elegant and exceedingly sensible. The band not only manages to successfully create a discreet, but concomitantly extraordinary work of art, it also becomes necessary to expose the gracefully organic temperance of its dilated and effusive sonorous stability.

While the sound of the band can appear to be a little homogeneous at times, The Ivory Elephant manages to successfully make each track to be a glorious surprise, since each of them has an identity of its own, while at the same time the band is coherent and keeps loyal to its marvelously beautiful and sagaciously unique style. Despite the fact that the entire album is wonderfully good, splendid tracks like the epic Stoneface — almost eight minutes long — and the more retro styled Hard Case deserves to be highlighted. A virtuous and proficient work of art that reveals the formidable potential of a very promising band, Stoneface can certainly be qualified as a majestic album. Undoubtedly, blues rock enthusiasts are gonna celebrate this spectacular achievement, whose expressively genuine musical patterns anticipates further developments for the genre. 


​Wagner

psychedelic rock

Mydriasis is an album released by Australian psychedelic rock band Comacozer. An amazingly interesting work of art, with proverbially flexible and exceedingly colorful harmonies, that really gravitates towards the vicinities of its own original and highly energetic fluidity, the record is forty-five minutes long, and has only three tracks: Mydriasis, Tryptamine and Kykeon Journey. With a virulent, but at the same time preciously harmonious musical diagram, the music of Comacozer has its own fugacious, but expressive style, that conceives a surface made of grey smoke and dark shadows of solitary desolation, cohesively aligned with a sentiment of nostalgia, that embraces the veracity of its lucid and fatalist nature. 

While the band more or less displays the general elements of psychedelic rock — being predictable to a certain extent —, they managed to successfully develop a very singular style, that captures the attention of the listener already in the first track. A cohesive instrumental symphony of salutary sensibility, that easily revolves around its own disruptive and dynamic features, the sound present on Mydriasis showcases an excellent creative disposition, that really circulates above its own expansive melodic tenacity. 

Despite the fact that the band displays a formidable level of technical competence and sonorous vitality, unfortunately, there's little audacious originality or innovation in this work. The album manages to be very good — even fantastic in some passages —, but going straight to the point, there's nothing on this record that you haven't heard before in other works of the genre. The guitar lines are exceptionally good, and the overall musicality of the band is amazingly efficient, but don't expect too much beyond that. 

While Mydriasis does not disappoint, its difficult to feel inspired while listening to this album. Comacozer plays safe, and remains in a comfort zone that hardly offers them any challenge. Evidently, they are amazingly competent and skilled on their genre of choice, but sadly, this makes their sound to be too predictable, and sometimes ordinary. If you like old school psychedelic rock, you will probaly going to appreciate this album. But keep your expectations low. Mydriasis is a good record, but you will hardly have any surprises. 


Wagner

psychedelic / stoner rock

Let me ask you a question. Are you a fan of Hawkwind? or bands playing spaced out fuzz from a galactic stage in the middle of the cosmic hyperverse? Or maybe spacey stoner rock that sounds like it's been dug up from the middle of the Nevada Desert and eaten way too much peyote? If you answered yes to any of those questions then gather round friends as I have a new album to introduce you to in the form of Trondheim natives Dune Sea and their self titled album. 

The first place you think of when you mention fuzzy space rock or desert/stoner rock may not be Norway but these guys are looking to change that. They are well schooled in the art of the heavily distorted groovy bass heavy sound we know and love. They have tried to sprinkle a bit of originality in there in the form of some bluesier sounds but make no mistake, this album is balls to the wall space/stoner rock worship.

Opener Pentobarbitol And Ethanol (yeah that one just rolls off the tongue doesn't it!) shows you just what to expect from the album. It's bass driven spaced out bliss and does not disappoint. The whole album continues on exactly as you would expect, indeed if there is one criticism one can point at this is that it's not very original, but then again, why try when imitation is the best form of flattery. The track Morphine does hint at more rockier inclinations but it is a mear toe-dip in the grand scheme of things and it does open out into a wonderful progressive section towards the end which I would have liked to see expanded upon. The song Green has a great blues tinged riff and is dripping with reverb drenched spacey goodness, the rhythm section is particularly impressive as it bounces and grooves along and is a personal highlight from the album. 

So then, fans of space rock or stoner rock will find much to like here and is well worth your time, however, if you are not keen on either of these styles then move along as this album will do nothing to change your mind. 

​Simon

noise / dark ambient / experimental

bandcamp

electronic

dSound In Silence

progressive / metal / black metal

heavy metal / thrash metal

downtempo / electronic / post rock / shoegaze

facebook

psychedelic / doom

sludge / black metal

ambient / modern classical / experimental

bandcamp

drone / doom / noise / experimental

ambient / electronic

noise rock

stoner rock / grunge / alternative rock

facebook

​Serge

krautrock / psychedelic rock / post rock

The Insektlife Cycle is no stranger to Merchants Of Air. This instrumental rock band from Manila has been featured a few times in the past several years. In 2015 I was quite amazed by their post rock influenced music, especially since the band members have a history in death metal and mathcore.

So that was rather surprising but perhaps even more remarkable: the band is already evolving away from the post rock scene. With 'Temple Of The Soul', this quartet jams itself into the world of krautrock and psychedelic anthemization (if that is a word).

The four lengthy tracks on this album have been recorded during a 150 minutes lasting jam session and recorded live on a four track cassette player. With that, it might be rather normal to be catapulted back into the sixties and seventies. Pretty much everything on this record breathes that vintage air, from the cover to the elaborate guitar solos and the overall sound quality. So no, this is no longer a post rock band, this is a psychedelic jam act that will rock your socks off if you're into this kind of stuff.

The music on the record has been cut from the original tape recording, which is quite noticeable in opener 'Unmentioned Motions'. This track does not feature an intro or anything, it just starts rocking rather suddenly. From the very beginning the drums and bass guitar provide a steady foundation over which the guitar players seem to enjoy absolute freedom. 'Sonic Sermons' is my personal favorite, mostly because of its doomy blues feel. Title track 'Temple of Our Soul' would make a neat sixties movie soundtrack.

The closer is up to you to discover. If you are a fan of long jam sessions, inspired by everything between Hendrix and Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, this album deserves a shot. Perhaps it needs some time to grow on you, but once inside, you'll never want to get out of there.


​Serge

stoner rock / progressive / experimental

bandcamp

Different Layers of Fear is an album released on May 10, by Romanian stoner/psychedelic rock band Methadone Skies. A very interesting and abrasive album, the level of powerful energy, consistency and creative strength demonstrated by this work is simply above all the extraordinary measurements one can imagine, much more by their creative audacity than the beauty of the music itself. With elegant and symmetric, though mostly diluted harmonies, the style of the group gravitates towards a vast and dense cosmogony of dynamic, but synchronic musical tonalities, where a modest degree of experimentalism and graciousness showcases a proverbial and dispersive sense of lugubrious tenacity. 

Seventy-one minutes long, Different Layers of Fear has seven very extensive tracks:
1) Where Were You When We Were Into the Void?; 2) God Help Us All; 3) Focus; 4) Contra; 5) Ol' Painless; 6) A Glitch in the Sun; 7) Manos; though the album eventually resents itself of some degree of monotony – given the length of some songs –, this beautiful work has a formidable set of qualities, intrinsic to its exceedingly peculiar, delightful and audacious musical style. With expansive melodies and a dynamic density that lives by the color of its graciously designed and sculpted sonorous atmosphere, the general creative diagram displayed by the songs revolves around a rhythmic synergy between creativity and technique, that proves to be a major point of cohesion in the axis of the group’s restless, but competent style.  

With a gracefully vivacious sound that departs from the horizon of its sometimes slow, but consistent patterns, this album is a collection of lovable dream-like symphonies, that definitely creates a peculiar, but methodic universe of harmonies within its diluted introspective existence. As the album evolves, the sound becomes more serene, perceptive and transparent, showcasing a stylish lucidity whose clear visibility exposes a strong and visceral degree of musical authenticity, whose standards definitely highlights the most formidable virtues – stability, cohesion, serenity – displayed by the band. 

With vocals eventually surfacing a little after forty-minutes, this additional surprise comes as a pleasant quality that aggregates a gracious element of sensibility and grandiosity within the band’s musical atmosphere. All along the way, Different Layers of Fear proves itself to be a majorly epic, genuine and ambitious album, whose ostensible levels of excellence, experimentalism and originality certainly will please all enthusiasts of the genre, possessing all the necessary qualities to shake and to take the underground scene by storm, with a natural and inherent artistic authority.  


Wagner