Baxter Stockman - 2013 - Punter LP/CD (Review)



 

 

First time I saw the band named Baxter Stockman on some hardcore gig poster few years ago...

They should play some cool powerviolence from the West coast. That's what thought first.

 

But nope, the things turned another way...

Baxter Stockman is awesome noiserock band from Finland. They did few CD-EPs, 1 single 7 inch "Romance". And "Punter" is their first fullength record.

 

Baxter Stockman is the the name of the creepy character from the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" cartoon series who was one third fly, one third machine, one third human. 

 

 

 

 

Usually song starts with the simplest minimalistic riff made by one move of a pick. Following atmosphere going with the same tempo but becomes more complicated.

With the minimalistic sound BxSx achieves raw and aggressive neandertal effect.

That's about the sound. Damn, I really love that wonderful feeling when you invent time machine and go back to early 90s' to catch the pure era of ugliness.

Their music comes right that way.

.

 

 

 

 

 

And what I always loved about Finland's noiserock scene is their poster art !

 

 

 

 

http://baxterstockman.com/

http://bstockman.bandcamp.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Baxter-Stockman/187793970293

 

Get digital noise here :

http://ektrorecords.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=3181

 

Get waxy noise here :

http://cfprod.com/kon/

 

Sent By the Band - March 2013

NO OMEGA - 2013 - SHAME

"Stockholm, Sweden-based dark hardcore outfit NO OMEGA have put their upcoming record Shame up for pre-orders via Throatruiner Records. This second full-length is due out April 10th on LP and CD, and is up for free download on Throatruiner Records' website. "

http://music.throatruinerrecords.com/album/shame

http://www.facebook.com/noomega

No Sun In San Francisco - 2013 - Principles And Particles

Five-pieces band emergeing from the swiss post-hardcore/math-rock scene, No Sun in San Francisco has just unleashed its full-length debut album, "Principles and particles", on february 28th (Limited CD editition/Digital).

Formed in Lausanne by Juan Pablo L'Huillier /// growling, Bruno Allaki /// drums, Etienne Ducommun /// bass beasting, Bruno Cetrangolo /// shredding & Raul Bortolotti /// shredding & artsy stuff, NSISF creates its own and intense musical path, between bestial postcore and high-technical math-rock in order to make an heavy and spontaneous "hard" without any restrictions in terms of style or sound. So No Sun In San Francisco is just "post-something". 

The album is available for exclusive full streaming sessions on the several partners : DailyRock, Idioteq, W-fenec Magazine & The NewNoise.  

 Get your copy on Band's e-shop and Domino Media Store.

  

For Fans of Cult of Luna, Isis, Converge, Unsane.

http://www.nosuninsanfrancisco.com/

 http://www.facebook.com/nosuninsanfrancisco

 http://nosuninsanfrancisco.bigcartel.com/product/principles-and-particles-cd

 Full Stream Here :

http://www.idioteq.com/exclusive-album-stream-no-sun-in-san-francisco/

Jacob meets Blooming Látigo

The new project of David Cordero (ÚRSULA) and Marco Serrato (ORTHODOX) adapt, in their own way, songs from the unclassifiable BLOOMING LÁTIGO.

Orthodox "Der Fliegende Holländer"

Live show from one of the best band of recent times. It includes a new song called El Aullador

"It’s been many months of work talking about the project and agreeing a lot of details, but finally we take it up. Many people will say that we’re crazy to start something like this nowadays, but Knocturne Records isn’t an easy going project, as a matter of fact, they are not really interested in releasing music that is pleasant for everyone. We do it because we love it and enjoy doing so. It doesn’t really matter what happens from now on because we have the strong idea to bring out and release cassettes, cd’s or vinyl’s that shake us or grab our attention and curiosity. Our passion for music and believing in ourselves it’s what guides us. And for that, we work hard hoping that every single one of our releases has something special and different from the others."

http://knockturnerecords.bandcamp.com

 http://www.knockturnerecords.com

https://twitter.com/Knockturne_Rec

https://www.facebook.com/KnockturneRecords

Les Los Disidentes Del Sucio Motel - 2013 - Arcane

 

"Arcane", the new full-length album by Los Disidentes Del Sucio Motel (aka THE french stoner-rock brotherhood) will hit the stores on April 8th through Deadlight Entertainment (Peter Dolving, Loading Data, V13...)

Recorded at Cube Studio (Besançon, France), this brand new full-length effort (the second one after "Soundtrack from the motion picture", 2010) will be released on CD/LP and digital with an awesome cover-art done by ElvisDead (The Melvins, Graveyard, Sick of It all...).

From now, a new song by LDDSM, "Ouija", has just surfaced on the web and it kicks your ass right NOW.

...

For fans of Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Fu Manchu, Clutch, Eagles of Death Metal, Motörhead...

http://www.lddsm.com/

http://www.facebook.com/lddsm

http://www.elvisdead.com/

    

Dirty Sound Magnet - 2013 - What lies behind        

Dirty Sound Magnet is Rock preserved at its peak.
 

Influenced by the finest artists of years long passed, four-pieces swiss rock entity Dirty Sound Magnet manages to integrate the freshness and power of the music of today. The creativity of DSM calls them to shirk the notion of a ‘label’ or a ‘genre’ for what they do is more than rock; it is from the first to the last ‘music’. The band already has had the pleasure to perform over 100 live shows in Switzerland and abroad.

Recorded by Bertrand Siffert (Young Gods), "What lies behind", the debut album from Dirty Sound Magnet contains nine highly inspirational tracks, which represent an odyssey through rock music and has been released in october 2012 through Phénix Records (Colorblind, Hemlock SMith) on CD & Digital.

By the way, from now available worldwide, "What lies behind" is also up for full streaming on Bandcamp.  

http://www.dirtysoundmagnet.ch/

http://phenixrecords.bandcamp.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/DirtySoundMagnet

  

BUTE - 2013 - CRUSTATOMIC

BUTE (Punk-Crust/France), and this is our second release "Crustatomic".
We are two, guitarist and megaphone. We record it on February 2013. Mixage, Mastering by Kenny Vukovic.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/BUTE/238916912901667

http://incrustwetrust.bandcamp.com/album/crustatomic

 

Aidan - The Relation Between Brain And Behaviour

Frekete Agency (Angelo from Le Scimmie runs it!) got new band in their Rooster.
Check it out !

Instrumental attitude, post metal delirium, stoner acceleration, sludge swamps.
These are the ingredients that make "The Relation
Between Brain And Behaviour" one of the debut albums to keep
an eye in this first part of 2013.
Recorded at Red Sound Studio in Molise - Italy, mastered by James Plotkin (Khanate,
Old), the album will be available as a free download from
from the day of its official release, Monday, Jan. 21 2013.
If bands like Sleep, Melvins and Isis are your reason for
life, the heavy sound of Aidan is what you
need.
Try it!

http://aidanband.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aidan/312454752137706

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Frekete-Agency/171870452937892

Eibon - 2013 - II

2 solid pieces of pure sludge/doom heaviness.

Much better than their past stuff.

Don't miss it !

"After two splits, one MCD and one full-length, "II" marks EIBON's bleakest and most ambitious material to date. Recorded in a live setting by Sylvain Biguet (Comity, Revok, As We Draw…) then mixed and mastered by Francis Caste (Arkhon Infaustus, Kickback, Cowards…), "The Void Settlers" and "Elements Of Doom" are two massive twenty-minutes tracks where EIBON refine their very own vision of slow and painful music, infusing their raw sludge/doom with black metal and more atmospheric parts. A must-have for fans of Ramesses, Unearthly Trance or older Neurosis."

http://music.throatruinerrecords.com/album/II

http://www.facebook.com/Eibonmetal

http://www.aestheticdeath.com

SANGRE DE MUERDAGO -Up coming Gatefold LP

"sangre de muerdago is pure raw energy....... music and words inspired by passionate living roaming out of society and civilization...... destroying taboos, destroying fears, into the depths of nature, welcome the unknown, welcome those with a pure heart...... on the road and on the trail, lost in the woods, into the wild, in the endless paths of the soul, just a blanket in the backpack, filled in the way with magic, laughs, moments, tears, hearts..... the wisdom of the old one, the child that doesn't grow...... seek the mysteries, throw the stone, run blindly with no goal, run through the woods, jump the gap, get wet, hug the wolf, howl at the moon, swim the seven seas...... fearless and innocent, criminal and free......"

European tour March-April 2013 :

 March:

24th – OST – Vienna @ Ekh

25th – OST – Graz @ Sub

26th – HR – Zagreb @ The Infoshop

27th – SLO – Ljubljana @ Tovarna Rog + Seeds in Barren Fields

28th – ITA – Bologna @ XM24 + Bland vargar

29th – ITA – Milano @ Villa Vegan

30th – CH – Bremgarten @ Kuzeb Fest

31st – CH – Lausanne

April:

1st – FR – St.Ettienne/Grenoble

2nd – SPA – Barcelona @ Hangar + C-Utter + Wind Atlas

3rd – SPA – Valencia @ Flexi Discos

4th – SPA – Madrid @ Rock Palace + Otus

5th – POR – Aveiro @ Mercado Negro

6th – SPA – A Coruña @ Tio Ovidio

7th – SPA – Carballo @ A Reserva + La Casa Fantom

8th – SPA – Santiago de Compostela @ Tnt

9th – SPA – Bilbao @ Izarbeltz Ateneoa + Todo o Nada + The Jesus Grip

10th – FR – Bordeaux

11th – FR – Poitiers @ Le Zinc

12th – FR – Paris @ Au Chat Noir

13th – GER – Bonn @ ?? + Nebelung

14th – NL – Nijmegen @ Onderbroek

15th – GER – Hannover

16th – GER – Berlin @ Kastanien Keller

17th – GER – Leipzig @ Plaque + Peter Ross

http://bouerecords.bandcamp.com/album/sangre-de-muerdago-up-coming-gatefold-lp

http://bouerecords.bigcartel.com/product/sangre-de-muerdago-s-t-lp-pre-order

JIBÓIA - JIBÓIA EP        

                   

Don't know how to react on this stuff.

Without description it makes no sense !

What the hell is that ?)

In current language, Jibóia is a boa constrictor, a snake that crawls close to the human skin. In music, we infer the same: Jibóia crawls close to the human skin, reaching the brain, making us to show off our dance moves from hell.

Óscar Silva is the one-man-artist behind this project: he loops, he plays with his pedals, he is the genius mind of Jibóia. Forget Marrakesh or the desert of Morocco: everything happens in Portugal with a guitar. You will experience, only with the sound, the bittersweet taste of kebab, while you move your feet, your body, your hand, your fingers… Mostly, you won’t be able to stop the movement. You will find yourself looking to the other side of the road, waiting for an actual snake to show up.

Being one of the sensations in the country without a single release, Jibóia’s first debut goes out on the 9th of March, via Portuguese label Lovers & Lollypops. Jibóia EP is a one sided 12’’, that was recorded on BlackSheep Studios, in collaboration with Makoto Yagyu.

https://www.facebook.com/abracodejiboia?fref=ts

http://loversandlollypops.bandcamp.com/album/jib-ia-ep

 IZAH / Fire Walk With Us - 2013 - split CD EP

Robust and atmospheric music on this split.

IZAH comes from Roadburn's motherland - Tilburg.

Representing 1 long, heavy and catchy track.

FFO: High on Fire, Snowblood.

FWWU - are from Amsterdam.

Following with 2 Instrumental tracks.

Think of best works of Isis, Pelian...

http://www.facebook.com/IZAHband

http://www.facebook.com/IZAHband

http://izahband.tumblr.com/

http://firewalkwithus.bandcamp.com/

http://www.facebook.com/FireWalkWithUs

1000 Mods - 2012 - Valley of Sand LP

Pretty fresh release from our fellas from Greece.

1 new track + 3 lives.

Wite wax. Ltd to 500.

Looks sexy.

Tour Info :

12.04 Fri - Greece, Agrinio @ Dewars

18.04 Thu - Bulgaria, Sofia TBA

19.04 Fri - Romania, Bucharest @ club PANIC

20.04 Sat - Romania, Cluj Napoca @ Gambrinus Pub

21.04 Sun - Slovenia, Ljubljana @ Klub Gromka

22.04 Mon - *Available*

23.04 Tue - Germany, Cologne @ Sonic Ballroom w/Planet of Zeus

24.04 Wed - Holland, Utrecht @ ACU w/Planet of Zeus

25.04 Thu - UK, London @ The Black Heart - Desertfest Opening Gig w/Enos

26.04 Fri - *Available*

27.04 Sat - Germany, Berlin @ Astra - Desertfest Berlin

10.05 Fri - Greece, Trikala @ Kentriki Plateia

11.05 Sat - Greece, Thessaloniki @ 8Ball

24.05 Fri - Greece, Athens @ AN Club w/Half Gramme of Soma & Omega Monolith

http://1000mods.bandcamp.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/1000mods/217284101582

dl

Booze Lords - 2013 - Legion of the Tankard

" Our band's sound is primarily doom influenced, but heavily saturated with other forms of metal and punk. "

http://boozelords.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Booze-Lords/495652783805929

Backinhg Band Project - 2013 - Drass 'N' Bum

Instrumental noiserock duo from Venezia, Italy with their debut album.

https://soundcloud.com/backing-band-project/sets/ep-2013

http://www.facebook.com/BackingBandProject

1914 Records

And tons of other cool stuff from Kumar you can find on the link bekow.

http://1914records.bandcamp.com/

Deathwalking - 2013 - Infectados

Introducing Galicia's Finest - Deathwalking: Infectados

 

 

“Infectados” is the latest album release from Deathwalking. They are part of a rare breed too, a Galician/Spanish death metal outfit. Hailing from an area of the world that’s probably better known for its soft, wispy, bagpipe driven folk music than anything else, they do not come much rarer than these guys. When all’s said and done, is Infectados worth the time and trouble of a listen though?

 

Infectados at a glance

First things first, Deathwalking are a duo that consist of Michael Sult on lead guitar and Ederon Korst on lead vocals and guitar. They formed in 2007 and this is their first full length album. Released on 7^th March, the album consists of nine tracks and has a running time of around forty five minutes. A preview of the album in it's entirety is available through YouTube, so you can click and have a listen to a little bit of each of the tracks first before you decide whether you want to buy it:

 

 

The album starts with the growling, low slung, infectious “Cae” which is a slow burning thrash that threatens you by the jugular, draws you in and sets you up for the rest of the album.

The second track “Skully” starts off with a really well paced guitar part that actually makes you believe for a moment you’re not listening to death metal at all and that you were hearing something that was perhaps a little more lame indie-schmindie than anything else. However, it’s a falsehood, the track kicks in properly and lets you know it’s wrong footed you. This is what Deathwalking seem to do quite well, not only in this track but the album as a whole. They trick you into thinking they’re something else, then you’re really quite surprised when you hear the tracks in full.

“Esquecer” is a guttural epic, throat grabbing and bloody. For the entire three and a half minutes the track lasts it brings the hairs up on the back of your neck and makes your bones shake.

The mid point of the album sees a track called “Regresion”, which again, starts off in an almost delicate way, bringing you down from the strength of the other songs, before the beat kicks in again to let you know you can’t be lulled into a false sense of security for too long. It’s got such a strong guitar part at it’s heart and feels so well composed and driven. It’s also really well placed in the album too, offering a few brief moments of calm before the next track called “No Bosque” kicks in, which is a thrashy and punked up affair, rushing between high octane guitars and slowed down verses which again, give this feeling of being totally wrong footed by the band. You’re never sure where they’re going to take you from one track to the next. Just as you’re starting to speed up listening to them, they decide to completely alter the pace. Surprisingly, it works really well.

The final track “Fragua” is a total departure from the rest of the tracks, it shows you just what great musicians are actually at the heart of the band, with an instrumental that is almost heartbreaking in it’s beauty and really does leave you wanting to hear more from them. A word of note is that just when you think it’s all over, the track kicks back in again, so keep listening right to the end.

Is it worth a listen?

It’s a really weird thing in many ways, listening to the hard edged, driven guitar sound, flanked by lyrics that are teeth rattlingly bellowed in their native Spanish language. Apart from the fact you might need a set of Spanish textbooks to translate the songs into English so you can have some notion of what they're talking about, it doesn’t really detract from the sound at all. Far from it, it means that they stand out just that little bit more and hearing what is, ostensibly such a graceful and florid language shouted out and bellowed in an almost blood curdling way gives it that real extra edge. It should sound comical, but it just doesn’t. From the very moment the album kicks in with “Cae” through to the end track “Fragua” it’s an aural soundscape that just finds a way of drawing you in and shaking your bones through to the core. Well worth a little bit of your

time if you want something that's a bit different.

(Reviewed by EVE)

 

 Please Welcome Eve with this debut review for Robustfellow.

 

Download Infectados from: 

http://deathwalking.bandcamp.com/album/infectados

Visit the band's pages at: 

https://www.facebook.com/dwterror

http://www.reverbnation.com/deathwalking

http://www.myspace.com/deathwalkingband

https://twitter.com/dwterror

Pombagira - 2013 - Maleficia Lamiah (Review)

British psych-doomsters Pombagira are back with next full- ength release "Maleficia Lamiah", which I was eagerly anticipating after their previous effort “Iconoclast Dream” proved to be one of the thickest and heaviest releases the world of doom had ever seen. So much was I blown away by it that I can hardly count how many hookahs –smoking evenings had I enjoyed with its tunes chosen as a soundtrack. Not only was it the heaviest stuff the band had ever released, but also something which could easily send Electric Wizard and Lazarus Blackstar in the rearview mirror in terms of heaviness and sound.

However, times have changed as the tunes dominating their next opus are not even near close to what made the Iconoclast Dream so great. Maleficia Lamiah is their fifth full-length album and is composed entirely of two songs: the titular track and the swirling expanse of “Grave Cardinal”. From the very first riff it becomes apparent that UK-based duo has delved deeper into psychedelia and experimentation leaving the plodding doom goodness on the back seat. Gone are 5-minute long heavy –as – hell downtempo interludes and Sleep-like stoned-out riff–fests. Instead, Pombagira takes completely different approach here bombarding the listener with subtle layers of psychedelic tunes which occasionally give way to crushing riff pressure. Rather than bludgeoning with brute force, they deliver heaviness piece by piece, building the songs layer by layer. Some pieces of the songs are set against drone backdrop, while others have a distinct touch of improvisation to them. All this is delivered with raw and apparently feedbacked sound which conjures images of nuked wasteland infested with the ghost of those who were wiped out in the wake of immediate apocalypse. Yes, the album retains a very bleak and unsettling mood with the nearest comparison probably being US Flood’s “Native”. Sound like a good package for amazing psychedelic doom record with a lot to discover and explore with each new subsequent listen but the painful reality is that all this sounds inconsistent and out of place. Take US Flood’s native album as an example of what Pombagira could have achieved with the direction they had chosen, but what we have is nearly 40 minutes of psychedelic mess with almost nothing to reward more careful listening. I hope that next time British doomster will take all these into deep consideration and will not draw the bow before the arrow is fixed.

5/10

(Reviewed by Den)


+Vic Singh who infamously photographed Pink Floyd In 1966 for the Piper At The Gates Of Dawn album was enlisted for this album to take a new set of press photos, and the results are mesmeric and splendid. This is what Vic has to say about Piper at the Gates of Dawn and Maleficia Lamiah.

"I was approached by The Pink Floyd a new and comparatively unknown band in 1967 to take the album cover photo for 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'. The concept for the cover was left up to me, listening to The Piper for the first time surprised me, it was completely original, a complete break from the popular 60's sounds,  which we were all brain-washed into. The concept for the Piper cover photo remained mysterious for a while, finally I decided to use a prism lens which had been lying around in the studio and had never been used by me before.

Piper at the Gates of Dawn and Maleficia Lamiah have similarities.

Listening to Maleficia Lamiah for the first time I got a similar vibe as with The Piper of originality and the resolve to do something different, creating progression rather than repetition and stagnation."

Just two examples are attached, but there are plenty more where they came from and with exclusives set aside also.

+The LP version is limited to 500 copies will be available for pre-order at www.blackaxisrec.co.uk from 5 Feb. This version will contain three extra bonus tracks.

http://www.facebook.com/pombagiradoom

http://www.myspace.com/pombagiradoom

http://www.blackaxisrec.co.uk

Got Some News for you

Early Mammal release their debut album 'Horror At Pleasure on 1st April 2013 via Devouter Records. They are launching that very excellent record at this Friends With Records night on 3rd April 2013 @ Catch in London!! Event on FB http://www.facebook.com/events/361505237296413/ Full album stream : http://devouterrecords.bandcamp.com/album/horror-at-pleasure http://devouterrecords.bigcartel.com/ http://www.facebook.com/earlymammal http://earlymammal.bandcamp.com/ http://www.youtube.com/theearlymammal http://vimeo.com/earlymammal https://soundcloud.com/earlymammal Fat Guy Wears Mystic Wolf Shirt   Probably the best band name for past decade. Support this incredible Australian band by pre-ordering their upcoming album. Dudes are amazing.   Local Tour is coming... http://artascatharsis.bandcamp.com/album/dys-closure http://www.facebook.com/fgwmws http://fgwmws.bandcamp.com/ http://fgwmws.tumblr.com/ http://www.facebook.com/artascatharsisrecords Heavy Glow The band has just announced the following tour dates: April 10-San Francisco/Neck of the Woods April 11-Sacramento, CA/Luigi's Fungarden April 12-Reno, NV/Shea's Tavern April 13-South Lake Tahoe, CA/Whiskey Dick's Saloon April 14-Fresno, CA/Audie's Olympic April 15-Los Angeles/The Viper Room Heavy Glow is touring in support of a 7" single release on March 12th. Recorded in L.A. and produced by Michael Patterson and Nic Jodoin (Beck, BRMC, The Morlocks, Spindrift, Trent Reznor.)

http://heavyglowband.bandcamp.com/

http://heavyglowmusic.com/

Iron Hearse - 2013 - Get In the Hearse (review)

 

Hearses have been my obsession for a long time. No, I am pretty much serious about it. Having been a fan of 70-s Mafia movies since my early childhood I have always adored the funeral processions involving these gloomy vehicles and dreamed about procuring one for quite long time. However, it was not until the emergence of Iron Hearse that hearses received the credit they truly deserve, and it is exactly this type of hearse that received most of my attention afterwards.

Irion hearse takes its origin back in 2001, when 3 school friends from Wiltshire apparently obsessed with hearses as much as I was started to rehearse in the dilapidated shed. Drawing inspirations from the legends like Obsessed, Sleep, Electric Wizard and Black Sabbath these guys introduced the hearse –worshipping cult into the doom community. Several line-up changes, especially in terms of drummer section, had threatened the integrity of the band in a couple of occasions, but the hearse continued to roll the coffins to the burial grounds nonetheless.

Since then the hearse embarked on a slow and heavy ride, releasing a self- titled demo in 2003 and “Ruins of Doom” demo in 2004. Next year brought us band’s first EP “Peddle the Metal”, but it was not until the year of 2006 that Iron Hearse received first really serious load of coffins with first self-titled full-length. The release was a pure Doomy Stoner Rock worshipping, reminiscent of a more rock oriented songs of the original purveyors such as Black Sabbath and Pentagram. Above that, the band successfully incorporated some bluesy influences into their songs pushing this type of music much further than many of the counterparts however still appealed to the standards of the genre and steered clear of drowning their songs in drone or any other type of bad-ass heavy seriousness.

Having unloaded the coffins on this positive note, the hearse continued to throttle further along the gloomy highway with the next stop at “Lunar Funeral “graveyard, which accidentally became the moniker which the band had chosen for the next pile of coffins which was unloaded in 2010. Same year, split with fellow American doom-rockers Leather Nun saw the light of the day (or dark of the night he –he) after which the hearse took 2 years of maintenance and overhaul the result of which we could see on the Live at Doomsday IV DVD and will continue to marvel while digesting their sophomore effort “Get In The Hearse” Released on March the 1st via Snake Mountain Recs.

 



Here again we are immediately drawn into the onslaught of riffs, albeit this time there is more catchier touch to the songs as becomes obvious from the first sections of the album opener “Wolf Clergy”. What immediately came to notice during the first spin were amazing solo guitar sections courtesy of Grant Powell, who also handles vocals with a gruff, biker-style delivery which also stretches to almost Sean Harris territory at times.

The fuzzy rhythm section was not left behind as well as it continued to flow throughout the rest of the song however solo part was the thing which I craved for more after the first spin. Next one, “Slow and Heavy Ride”, pretty much lives up to its name as it sets the tone for what to expect next with its mid-tempo heavy as hell but at the same time groovy and melodic riffage. The ride is only 3:37 minutes long but everything sounds just right and it is definitely good that these guys decided not to overextend the songs with monotonous and repetitive riffs as many of their counterparts tend to do.

Having got into the hearse on a slow and heavy ride for a couple of spins, I ventured further along the highway with the next stop at the “Vessel of Astaroth.” This piece is not much different from what the previous song was offering as it is built around the same mid-tempo heavy riffs with lush solos interfering with the flow of the song. A section build upon the Paranoid-meets-Children of the Grave (early Black Sabbath era) is dominating the eardrums over the last minute of the songs and feels straight to the point even after a number of spins.

“Hydra’s Children”, the fourth coffin loaded in the hearse, adheres to the tradition of the previous song. Starting with the Saint Vitus –styled riffs the hearse picks the pace once the 1:30 mark is passed and further punishes our eardrums with intense onslaught of straightforward but heavy as fuck goodness.

Next parking zones at “Ain’t No New Thing” and “Orion’s Sword “do the right job, but it is the last two spots where the Iron Hearse unloads the heaviest coffins. “Black Sermon” is the 7-th coffin and it is definitely heavy as it weighs above 5 minutes. This song distinguishes itself from the previous ones there is much doomier feel to it. It could have been easily predicted as the name is self-explanatory to some extent. To tell you the truth, this one saw my head banging most over the course of the entire ride. I enjoyed it for as much as 4 times while these words were being written. And finally, the hearse unloads “The Ultimate Atomic Man”, the last and the biggest coffin the hearse has offered so far. It weighs 5:48 minutes and delivers top-notch grooves which initially sound much in the vein of the second song “ Slow and Heavy Ride” however evolve into pummeling dose of HEAVY-AS–SAINT-VITUS–MULTIPLIED-BY-10–SABBATH goodness closer towards the end.

 

 

To sum everything up, Iron Hearse has successfully reached destination. All of you who crave for good doom rock in the vein of Saint-Vitus, Angel Witch, Obsessed and off course Black Sabbath should grab this one immediately. A brilliant sound track for what looks to be a cold and sleazy March)  

 

8.5/10

(Reviewed by Den)

 

http://ironhearse.bandcamp.com/

http://ironhearse.bigcartel.com/

http://www.facebook.com/ironhearse

https://twitter.com/Ironhearse

Inside Charmer / Redwood Blues

Inside Charmer

 

 I've wrote about this fresh and promising Japanese band before.

Currently they have released 2 demos.

 

The band promise to launch Bandcamp pagein April.

And new Demo around Autumn 2013.

 

Let's watch this rising doom mammoth...

 

 

 

 

http://www.facebook.com/InsideCharmer

 http://insidecharmer.blogspot.com/

 http://www.myspace.com/inside_charmer

http://www.youtube.com/insidecharmer

 

 

Redwood Blues

	

 

 Hiromichi Nagai (mossa-hiro) (who's doing bass and songwriting in both bands, and also sings in Inside Charmer) told me about this band.

And I was really impressed when I heard Redwood Blues on myspace.

 

I felt myself like I've found a good hidden treasure.

Strong missing link in Japanese underground scene.

Sounds like an unreleased Church of Misery's album and even better.

Dig this and you'll fall into groovy-bluesy-southern-fried waterfall of riffs.

 

(By the way the title "Redwood Blues" is taken from Spiritual Beggars' song.

Aaargh, You've already know it.)

 

 

 

http://www.facebook.com/RedwoodBlues

http://www.myspace.com/redwoodblues

http://sound.jp/redwood_blues/framepage1.htm



MARS RED SKY - 2013 - Be My Guide EP (Review)

Yeah.

Finally.

The new EP by my favourite French fellas is going to be pressed on wax soon.

If you loved the debut LP you'll dig that one for sure.

The same sweet melodic voice, romantic lyrics and over-fuzzed catchy guitar riffs by Julien, impressive bass solos by Jimmy Kinast.  

The band found their own way. And it seems to be successful.
The perfect mix of sound, visual and graphic effects.
I can take it as one solid piece of art.

For Mars Red Sky previous year was reach enough on gigs and festivals (Roadburn, Freak Valley...). Although 2013 is going to be even more busy.

MRS is going to kick out the riff on Lodon's "Desertfest" in April.

This EP is going to be released on the band's label Mrs Red Sound on 8th of April.
180 gr. vinyl as a 45 rpm LP.
Regular edition - 900 on black

Ltd. ed. - 100 copies on colour wax (was sold out in less than two days.)

So rockin' is your business...and business is good.
Fuck major labels when you can do it by yourself.

Glad for you guys.

PS.
There's an information that new fullength is also coming out this year....
Will be happy to see/hear you again in Kiev with new fuzzy tunes.

www.facebook.com/marsredskyband 

http://www.marsredsky.com
https://twitter.com/marsredsky1

 http://marsredsky.bigcartel.com/

And the last thing to say.
If you're playing in a band - you'll probably need this :

(The M.R.S Custom© is a bass/guitar fuzz, developed by A.I.B Custom effects and Julien from Mars Red Sky, according to his specifications. )

http://marsredsky.bigcartel.com/product/fuzz-mrs-custom-pedal

Interview with Paul Catten

Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome – Mr. Paul Catten - gifted and talented person who was a creative spirit of such bands as Medulla Nocte, Lazarus Blackstar, Khang, Murder One, Stampin' Ground, Stuntcock, Barrabus, The Dark Half. Also he has been noticed as a guest musician in such bans as Matter and This Is Menace. For the last years Paul (no, he wasn’t hiding in a deep cave) concentrated on his solo project under the his own name and the most sonic/extreme band in the Universe - The Sontaran Experiment.

This hurricane named Catten just started spinning and it ain’t stop !

1. Hi Paul ! Simple question to start it all - where’re you sitting now ?

Hello! Where am I sitting now? I am currently in my front room relaxing after spending the day in the spare room/studio working on a new solo record. The sound of harsh electronics mixed with a Russian Orthodox Choir has left me confused but overwhelmed with a desire to create something even more ridiculous than the last solo effort.

2. I say in a retreat that I’ve just listened to Co-Exist’s demos from 2005. Was looking for them during few years and now I’ve finally ate that candy. There is another band with the same fate - Lazarus Blackstar.  You’ ve started with both of them as a vocalist. Ugly , irritatingly and charming voice was that lucky feature that made these bands sound interesting and original. Today Mik Hell is doing vocals for Lazarus and he doing it well. As for me it’s better to change band’s name. What do you think ? Do you assume any collaborations with these bands (live appearances, album recordings…etc.) in the future ?

Well, Co-Exist were going for a long while before I got involved and have had a few singers since. They’re still one of the most brutal bands to come out of this island, and are sadly under rated…they should be fucking huge. Last time we saw each other I ended up on stage with them…wouldn’t be surprised if it happened again at some point, I love those guys! Blackstar are doing well without me ruining their sound and to be honest I think Mik suits them better. I love the two albums I did, extremely proud of them but that’s about you’ll get out of me before I need to do something else. In this case it was just a personal crisis that caused me to leave, but I’m glad they’re still going strong. Just wish they would play down this way at some point. I’d jump up for a song if they asked for sure, there’s no hard feelings…we hated each other from the start hehe.

          

3. Khang , Medulla Nocte…Any chance for reunion shows in the nearest future ? Roadburn and Desertfest might be interested in “A Man Called Catten” project (It was an exclusive set on Damnation fest 2011. Medulla's songs were performed.).  Don’t want to think of Murder One for that reason. I’m really sad about Jammer and Morrow. Without them Murder One wouldn’t be the same.

And the same with Medulla Nocte mate, no Jammer, no reunion…not that it would have ever happened anyhow. Murder One could never reform and I would never want to anyway. A Man Called Catten was OK…it never sounded as good as it did in rehearsal and I’ll just leave it there I think. It was nice to sing some of those songs again but it was really for my own self indulgence in the end I think. It’s good to see some of the old bands reforming but it’s something that interests me in no way at all. I have no desire to walk old paths really…keep moving forward, keep progressing. If the only reason is money, then I would be letting myself down for sure because I need to be interested musically….and that usually means doing something new.

4. Musically and artictically Barrabus was one of the most thrilling bands. Do you desire to dust off the suits one day ?

Funnily enough, Mark and I spoke about this today. I don’t think a reunion would ever happen for the reasons I have just stated, but some of the ideas that were around may be recycled (they were never recorded) for some new Sontaran stuff maybe. I really enjoyed Barrabus actually, sheer lunacy and the songs were fucking great. If I really, really, really had to reform one previous band, then it would be Barrabus I think. It was a good outlet compared to the heavy politics that were going on with Murder One at the time, no label hassles, no management bullshit, just us on tour with friends and blowing bands off stage…and looking damn smart while doing it haha.

5. MORROW FEST 2012 (festival in the memory of John Paul Morrow - the voice of Iron Monkey, Murder one, Armour of God) – became really big underground event that represented UK’s best underground bands of the past decade. The Sontaran Experiment also played there. The previous fest was almost 10 years ago in 2002. I think that Morrowfest has all chances to become annual . Any thoughts about the next voume ?

Murder One played the first one, and The Sontaran Experiment played the one last year. Both were fantastic events, lots of old friends getting together and playing some fine music. Annual? That may be a bit much, but every couple of years or so would be good. Johnny’s family really appreciate it and it also makes sure that this talented young man who was robbed of life at such a tragic age, will never be forgotten. Although I think some of the hero worship he receives would have him turning in his grave if he could see it…he used to fucking hate it!

6. That’s enough with old farts questions...Let’s talk about fresh juice…The Sontaran Experiment is going to release second album. Can you unleash some details ?

Early days yet, so far the songs are sounding like normal length but that can change at any time. More blast beats, more doom and more noise pretty much. There’s no rules in that band, so if it sounds right then its in. We’re just finding ourselves to be honest, so it will probably end up totally different to how it is sounding at the minute. The last album was 2008…this one needs to show 5 years progress for sure.

7. You’ve wrote on your facebook page about future plans. Writing a book was amongst others. Got some stories to tell ? Will it be some kind of autobiography or what ?

Not so much of an autobiography, more of an account of being in a band at that level..touring, sleeping rough, getting fucked over, drugs, death etc etc…could be an interesting read. Plenty of stories to tell, as most bands do and it won’t be all negative, we had some good times too. I’m going to start writing it in the summer, with a view to it coming out early next year. The more I look into it, the more stuff I remember. I wish Jammer was here to help though, he was a master of the archives.

8. Among the other future plans : collaboration with Ginger Wildheart and new solo album. Got something to add ?

Yes, I did some vocals for Ginger for his Mutation project, alongside a whole bunch of other noisy types. Big honour that, I have a lot of respect for that guy and hopefully we can get him to appear on the next TSE album in some guise. That’s the kind of musician I like, one who sets themselves no boundaries. A pop album one minute, a fucking racket the next. A new solo album, hopefully will be a double cd, one of my compositions and one of workings of old video nasty theme tunes. Some are sounding great, others are not quite there so it may end up being some kind of bonus download maybe. I don’t want it to deter from the actual solo work. The solo stuff is sounding insane and I have hit a point now where ideas are flowing like water…inspired right now.

9. What is your attitude to the modern entertainment industry ? Mp3 or LP – who will survive ? And how do you think it can work in the future ?

MP3. Keep downloading the bigger acts illegally and put the major labels out of business. Keep it real and keep it underground. Support smaller bands as much as you can, and when they become big then download their stuff for free, that’s my motto. I’ve always been happy to see my band’s stuff on Soulseek (I’ve even leaked some stuff on there myself)…I never see a penny so why should any other fucker?

10. What is your fave British SitCom ?

The Young Ones was always my favourite, still is really. Pretty old now though!

11. Last year I was really impressed by BBC series called “Luther”. Sontaran Experiment can play some cute soundtrack for the new season, isn’t it ?

I never saw it, my TV doesn’t go on until around 11pm. I will investigate this Luther programme further however!

12. Are you still following “Right where you are sitting Now” ?

Not as vigilantly as I have done in the past, but when I’m doing some mindless web surfing I always check to see what conspiracies Ken has managed to uncover recently. Always a great place to discover new music may I add.

13. On your opinion - what are the main known conspiracies related with music ?

Just the mystery of how such shit is so popular right now. It’s all tattoos and skinny jeans and no fucking substance..I hate it! I cant even read a rock magazine these days without feeling sheer rage. Maybe I’m just getting old but I feel I want to punch these young fucking assholes straight in their pierced fucking faces for just existing.

14. Is prince William a new antichrist/reptiloid ?

Neither, just a posh twat who needs shooting alongside the rest of the thieving royal parasites.

15. What is your attitude to Pussy Riot ? And how your friends accepted this situation in Russia ?

Well, that’s a typical reaction of the Russian state I guess. I mean musically they deserved to be made to stop, but as far as free speech goes it’s a tragedy. Are they still locked up? I can’t say I’m overly familiar with Russian politics, but there’s always been that underbelly hasn’t there where people can’t really speak their mind. Not just there mind you…globally free speech is being tested. Britain is getting just as bad.

16. What is the main source of inspiration for you when writing new songs ?

Just a desire for extremity I think. Lyrically I don’t have much to say these days and I don’t really enjoy writing them any more..but I do know when I write solo or with the band that I want to be challenged as a listener also. In TSE I want my fucking ears blown out through sheer musical terror, and with my own stuff I have cried at a moment of beauty. Life inspires me these days…I’m a chilled out middle aged guy, a school teacher with a young son and it’s these things that matter to me now. I’m no longer driven to go on tour or make successful records so I don’t have goals in front of me, just the freedom to create what I want and I’m very fortunate that people still take an interest, and I’m also very grateful for that.

17. Any plans for gigs/fests appearances in 2013 ?

Sontaran Experiment are looking for festivals now..who knows what will come up. SuperNormal Festival on August 9^th is on I know that much. We’ll appear as and when I’m sure…we need to get abroad with this beast I think.

18. The film/book/event that has really impressed you in for the last time ?

I really enjoyed Sinister recently, alongside the Texas Chainsaw 3D movie. Last book I read was about the Rolling Stones recording the Let it Bleed album (a classic) and that was a good read. Last event I went to was a musical at the school I work at and it was just amazing to see the talent that the teenagers I work with possess sometimes. Fantastic singers and actors…working in education can make you feel proud sometimes.

19. Any Bands that you can recommend to listen right now ?

HorseBastard are on my hotlist right now..ultra fast grindcore. Zorn is having a revival again right now and his last few releases have all been wonderful. And the first Mr Bungle album is on in the car, I’d forgotten just how fucking amazing that record is.

20. Thanx for your answers, Paul. Any words to say at the end ?

Thank you my friend for the support, I hope we get to meet one day!

Current activity liks :

http://www.myspace.com/thesontaranexperiment

http://www.facebook.com/THESONTARANEXPERIMENT

http://www.myspace.com/stuntcocknoise

http://www.myspace.com/thedarkhalf
http://www.future-noise.co.uk/releases/fun010/

Some related links :

http://coexistgrind.bandcamp.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Khang/148138158609082

http://www.facebook.com/pages/lazarus-blackstar/20589373181