Corrosion of Conformity

Restless Spirit – Afterimage Review

Restless Spirit – Afterimage Review

“My native stomping grounds of Long Island, New York birthed such notable metal acts as Twisted Sister, Suffocation, and Dream Theater over the years. Hell, the legendary Chuck Schuldiner was born here, so that means we basically invented death metal too. It’s been a while since the area had a major metal champion to rally behind and support. Based on 2021s highly impressive Blood of the Old Gods release, I was ready to bestow that mantle on Restless Spirit. The band exists at the crossroads of several genres including sludge, stoner doom, classic metal, and grunge and their proprietary blend is nigh irresistible,” Horror on Strong Island.

Medicine Horse – Medicine Horse Review

Medicine Horse – Medicine Horse Review

“There’s no right way to honor your own ancestry, especially when so much of what you could know about the ‘right way’ has eroded. Such is the plight of many Indigenous or other disprivileged peoples in North America, even in areas like Oklahoma where the concentration of descendants of many Tribal Nations remains high. Medicine Horse hails from these lands choosing to honor themselves and their chosen traditions the way that comes most naturally—heavy fuckin’ metal.” Take your Medicine!

AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö: Slumbering Sun – The Ever-Living Fire

AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö: Slumbering Sun – The Ever-Living Fire

“AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.” Brutal Rodeö meets Slumbering Sun.

Yer Metal is Olde: Corrosion of Conformity – Blind

Yer Metal is Olde: Corrosion of Conformity – Blind

Blind, Corrosion of Conformity’s third album, was an odd duckling for various reasons when it dropped in 1991. It remains the only album to not feature longtime bassist/vocalist Mike Dean in any capacity, but also the only album to feature his replacements, vocalist Karl Agell and bassist Phil Swisher. It also debuted guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan, who only sang lead on the album’s hit single, “Vote With a Bullet.” Above all else, Blind saw the band at a crossroads of sorts, with one foot planted in the band’s seminal punk/hardcore history, while planting the other foot into Sabbath-drenched doom/sludge territory. The end result captured lightning in a bottle and today, Blind joins the ranks of the Hallowed and the Olde.” Blind but farseeing.

Mr Bungle – The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo Review

Mr Bungle – The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo Review

“In a year of surprises, mostly of the nasty variety, a new album from Californian experimental legends Mr Bungle seemed an unlikely scenario. Yet here we are, but not as many would have expected. As has been well publicized, rather than pen an album of fresh tunes, the band has continued their streak for delivering the unexpected, revisiting their earliest teenage musical roots, and 1986 cult demo, The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny.” Bunny or die.

Yer Metal is Olde: DOWN – NOLA

Yer Metal is Olde: DOWN – NOLA

“Supergroups. That exciting moment when you learn that members of two or more bands you love are coming together to create … well, if we’re honest with ourselves, usually disappointment. It’s rare that supergroups come close to fulfilling that promise and that’s probably because they can’t. That’s not their fault – expectations are always sky high as a new group coalesces but different fans want different aspects of their favorites to be front and center in the new entity. A rare example, however, of a supergroup not just living up to the hype but downright crushing – at least for this fan – is DOWN.” OLDEA

Volcanova – Radical Waves Review

Volcanova – Radical Waves Review

“When you see the word “Iceland” floating on the oily surface of the promo sump, your thoughts turn immediately to black metal. That’s been Iceland’s chief metal export for some time now and the scene is well regarded and expanding. You certainly wouldn’t think of that exotic locale as the home of desert stoner rock, but Volcanova is out to change that with their fuzzed out debut Radical Waves.” Smoke on the ice.

League of Corruption – Something in the Water Review

League of Corruption – Something in the Water Review

“The shadow of the mighty Sabbath looms large over the album’s down and dirty mix of bluesy doom and groove-laden heavy rock. Add some burly gruffness to Black Label Society and Corrosion of Conformity influences, and whiffs of the NOLA school of rock and sludge, and you get a basic idea of what League of Corruption are all about on their debut LP, Something in the Water.” Sumpin’ pumping.

Warped Cross – Rumbling Chapel Review

Warped Cross – Rumbling Chapel Review

“I’m about to drop a reality bomb on you that you’re probably already aware of; genre tags, on a collective whole, are oftentimes bullshit. Yes, I’m sure you’ve known that for ages, but when a band is characterized as a particular strain of metal, it’s either because the review writer in question needs some neat, easily identifiable box to put a band into so the listener can gauge whether or not the band is right for them, or said band is vastly stretching the idea of what they sound like to ridiculous lengths.” Rumble bumble.

GoatHawkBuffalo – Come to Temple Review

GoatHawkBuffalo – Come to Temple Review

“It’s been quite a long time since I thought about ‘Portlandia,’ the I-have-to-assume wholly accurate depiction of life in Portland, Oregon. But reading the promo material for GoatHawkBuffalo’s full-length debut, I was put in mind of the particularly curious ‘We can pickle that’ sketch. Not because GoatHawkBuffalo are from Portland – the five-piece is based in Copenhagen, Denmark – but because of this statement from guitarist Asger Abel Sørensen, talking about how the band live-recorded Come to Temple but “subsequently recorded various crazy overdubs – we’ve had microphones in empty Jack Daniels’ bottles and buckets of water, we also ran a guitar signal through a pickle …”” Brine and brawn.