“Every now and again we at AMG receive promo that defies genre classification. Out of those, one or two make us crazy trying to decide whether we even like it or not. This review marks the first time I get to experience said phenomenon firsthand. Black Passage, a “metalcore” quintet out of Bay Area, CA, are releasing their debut LP The Veil at the tail end of July.” Pigeons without holes.
“Not everyone was on board with their wanton and blatant Tool-meets-Opeth template, but you can count me amongst their followers. After all, it was their first album, and the trio from Boulder, Colorado had to mimic someone. Over the past couple of years, the Madam and I have often posed the questions, ‘How’s it going with Source? And is their sound going to evolve into their own, or are we gonna get another Tool-ish record?’ ‘It’s going well” and ‘Sort of’ would be the correct answers, via their sophomore effort, Totality.” Return to the Source.
“In an effort to expand my horizons, suppress my average scores, and prevent this blog from becoming a black- and power-metal only publication, I’ve decided to spend more of 2018 with the dregs of the promo bin; bands no one likes, no one has heard of, or no one has the courage to approach given their genre tag. With the questionable name of Holophonics and the even more questionable tag of ‘Alt Metal,’ I feared that Fast Forward was a product from the center of that Venn diagram.” Deep is the promo sump.
“Hinder. Depending on your familiarity with modern rock radio, you’re either asking who the hell they are or why in Jørn’s name we’re reviewing them. For the former, the term “Nickelback-lite” is all you need to know. For the latter, it all started when Madam X presented The Reign as “good hard rock,” inciting a discussion about who was familiar with these Oklahoma natives. With a sideways glance and a quivering lower lip, I stepped forward and sheepishly announced to the group: ‘I… I have known this band.'” Confessions, interventions and hard rock.
“Listening to this debut release from Zedi Forder makes me think of a rephrasing of a now-famous commercial: I don’t always review radio-friendly alt-metal, but when I do I review good radio-friendly alt-metal. My selections (read: offal) this month have ranged from bad to worse, but I’ve been granted respite with the debut album from this British trio.” Zedi or not, here they come.
I’ve been in the mood for some killer stoner rock as of late. Ever since the almighty Kyuss went belly-up in 1995, I’ve been on the lookout for some killer jams to race cars, drink a few IPAs, and clean some demons to. The deserts of California were a ripe breeding ground for desert jams, and Kyuss’s disbanding left a gaping hole. Roaring down the highway in a souped-up, cherry-red Camaro comes Norway’s El Caco, who bring with them their seventh full-length, imaginatively entitled 7. Do they have what it takes to become the new stoner rock kings, or should you just hush them all away?
