Tee Pee Records

Danava – Nothing But Nothing Review

Danava – Nothing But Nothing Review

“Are you ready to have your face scorched? Danava may sound like a brand of European yogurt but there’s no fruit on the bottom here, just shards of broken beer bottles and rusty guitar strings. The band is a fierce and feisty quartet from Portland who deliver new waves of metal by the spiked wheelbarrow load. Get your tetanus shots before spinning Nothing But Nothing because there’s plenty of jagged, gnarly riffs to lock your jaw wide open in wonder. Looking like Spinal Tap and sounding like Di’Anno era Maiden, these boys have packed their bong with a heavy strain of metal, stoner rock and prog and forged a record that will make you want to drag race your carpeted van up the rainbow bridge and straight into Valhalla.” Nothing but RAWK.

Mirror Queen – Inviolate Review

Mirror Queen – Inviolate Review

Inviolate is NYC band Mirror Queen’s fourth album. I’ve never heard of them, nor of the group they rose out of, Kreisor. Therefore, I have no preconceived notions of what to expect. The group claims to be influenced by Blue Öyster Cult, Hawkwind, and more, so that’s a promising start, and I’m always happy to jump into some retro metal to hear what’s shaking, especially if the band also professes to lean into some psychedelic realms.” Oyster Queens and Hawk Kings.

Comet Control – Inside the Sun Review

Comet Control – Inside the Sun Review

“Time flies. One day you wake up, grab the next album in the review queue, and think to yourself, “These guys seem familiar.” Then you do some digging and realize you really loved their last album – five years ago. Center of the Maze, Canadian psych-rock outfit Comet Control’s second album, was a glistening example of psychedelia, stoner, and alt rock all mashed together. Featuring members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Biblical (another band worth checking out), and the now-defunct Quest for Fire, Comet Control proved back in 2016 that they have the musical and songwriting chops to craft a memorable album. Will their third release, Inside the Sun, strike the same chord?” Stoned space oddities.

Mythic Sunship – Wildfire Review

Mythic Sunship – Wildfire Review

“Given the heavily jazz-influenced psychedelic free-form rock on show from Mythic Sunship, that they borrow part of their moniker from Coltrane’s 1971 Sun Ship. For me, there’s a fine line in avant-garde music—be that jazz, psychedelic rock or even the most progressive forms of black and death metal —between writing something progressive, challenging and interesting, and simply delivering what sounds like a noisy, unstructured jam session committed to record.” Spacey jam.

Worshipper – Light in the Wire Review

Worshipper – Light in the Wire Review

“Most of the time, stoner metal is the epitome of average. It’s below the great but above the bad, bathwater that’s neither too hot nor too cold, a big-screen TV that’s not 4K. I have yet to review a total dud of a stoner metal release, but when you somehow catch something that winds up being your Album of the Year, you’re encouraged to keep hunting for more greatness. Worshipper mine the depths of stoner metal on Light in the Wire, the Boston quartet’s sophomore release.” Motherload or diaperload?

Hot Lunch – Seconds Review

Hot Lunch – Seconds Review

“Proto-metal is a bit of a strange moniker to apply to modern-day bands. The “proto” prefix literally means “first” or “common ancestor,” so linguistically it makes little sense to apply it to any band past 1975. Yet with the popularity of everything retro, plenty of bands try to recreate that pre-metal hard rock sound that laid the foundations of our favorite genre. Hot Lunch are as proto as proto gets, despite first appearing with their self-titled debut in 2013. With the sophomore slab, appropriately titled Seconds, can they function as the time machine they aim to be?” Back to the past and future.

The Skull – The Endless Road Turns Dark Review

The Skull – The Endless Road Turns Dark Review

“I miss Trouble. A lot. They were and still are my favorite American doom outfit, and they had a special sound and vibe all their own. A big part of their charm was the one of a kind vocals of Eric Wagner. When he left the band, I knew it would be downhill for them, and boy was I ever right. The Skull was originally formed by Wagner and other former Trouble members as a tribute band of sorts, but they eventually decided to record original material, resulting in 2014s For Those Which Are Asleep. The album wasn’t perfect, but it felt like a long-awaited Trouble revival and it made my heart feel only good things. Now four years later we get the followup, The Endless Road Turns Dark.” Trouble every day.

The Atomic Bitchwax – Force Field Review

The Atomic Bitchwax – Force Field Review

“Winter is coming, and not just in Westeros. As the days grow shorter and the coats grow thicker, a somber feeling draws across us all, blanketing anticipatory holiday cheer. Seasonal Affective Disorder (with its hilarious acronym SAD) strikes its yearly blow, and the call of morose doom metal like Hallatar and Loss is stronger than ever. But frankly, in this melancholic time of the year, it’s nice to have a band around who don’t give a flying iota about the dark short days ahead. The Atomic Bitchwax is that band in body, mind and spirit.” Screw your winter!

Biblical – The City That Always Sleeps Review

Biblical – The City That Always Sleeps Review

“I spent the summer searching and searching for the next great retro album. I never found it. In fact, all year I’ve only found a half-dozen albums I’ve really liked (as in a 3.5 or higher), and none of those since June. That’s piss-poor and depressing. It’s like owning a black and white television. Well, I’m hoping to upgrade to a color TV eventually this year, so what better time to start looking than right now?” Baby bible steps.

Lecherous Gaze – One Fifteen Review

Lecherous Gaze – One Fifteen Review

“‘I hope this is one you’re reviewing and you didn’t actually buy it,’ said my fiancée less than thirty seconds into this album. Why? I won’t spoil it so early on, but if ever a band’s sound suited their name, the sleazy, leering proto-punk of Bay-area throwbacks Lecherous Gaze would fit the bill.” So sleazy it’ll leave a stain on your speakers.