Majestic Mountain Records

Saint Karloff – Paleolithic War Crimes Review

By Ferox on June 4, 2023 in Reviews, Stoner Rock, 14 comments

“The time-dilating effects of the pandemic reveal themselves when considering Saint Karloff’s latest effort. Paleolithic War Crimes follows 2019’s Interstellar Voodoo, a platter that consists of a single forty-minute track. Interstellar Voodoo feels like it came out either two weeks or two thousand years ago; I can’t always tell which, but I swear I just read Steel‘s rave for the first time and filed the record away as one to dig into whenever that mythical chunk of free time presents itself. That album’s combo platter of songwriting brio and Sabbath-ian, Kyuss-ite riffage captivated our Hairy Knuckled Underboss. Four long years (that somehow also feel like four short weeks) later, Saint Karloff returns with a new batch of progressive occult rock.” Quest for stone fire.

Daxma – Unmarked Boxes Review

By Carcharodon on November 18, 2021 in Reviews, Ambient Metal, Post-Metal, 14 comments

“Where Ruins based its first track loosely on the seminal critical theory work, Minima Moralia: Reflexionen aus dem beschädigten Leben, by German philosopher Theodor W. Adorno, Daxma’s second full-length, Unmarked Boxes, drinks deep of 13th century Persian poet Rumi’s work of the same name.” Smart music.

Grand Cadaver – Into the Maw of Death Review

By Steel Druhm on October 28, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, 30 comments

“Sometimes I forget why I seized a particular promo, as weeks and even months can pass between wading into the primordial muck to retrieve it and finally sitting down to marinate in the righteously poached product. When it came time to get cuddely with Grand Cadaver’s debut full-length, I had no real sense of why I took it beyond the cool name and the vague “death metal” tag emblazoned on its filthy outer shell. As the music washed over me I was greeted with the oh-so-familiar buzzing of classic Swedeath, but as the vocals assailed my ear sockets, I felt an immediate pang of recognition.” Old corpse, new maggots.

Kite – Currents Review

By Cherd on October 10, 2021 in Reviews, Noise, Post-Hardcore, Sludge, 10 comments

“Let’s conduct a thought experiment: picture a noise band selling their souls to play better noise. The devil appears in a cloud of sulfur at a crossroads. He does this a lot, so he doesn’t stop to notice this particular intersection is the crux of sludge and post-hardcore. He offers the assembled musicians incomparable guitar skills in exchange for their eternal essence. “You mean like a more abrasive guitar tone?” they ask, which kind of throws him. He conjures visions of the fame and carnal pleasures awaiting if they accept his offer. They point out that they screen print their own t-shirts in the bassist’s garage and they doubt they could fill orders over 100.” Hard bargains.

Mama Doom – Ash Bone Skin N Stone Review

By Felagund on July 24, 2021 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, Occult Rock, 18 comments

“Occult rock has undergone something of a renaissance. Over the past few years, it would seem that a crop of Blue Öyster Cult devotees have taken a collective step outside of their salt circle and onto the lighted stage. Whether it’s the pop metal Satanism of Ghost, or the 70s-tinged stylings of groups like Lucifer, Blood Ceremony and Witch Mountain, occult rock with just the right amount of metallic edge has taken a very specific subset of the world by storm. So where does New York’s Mama Doom fit into the pentagramed paradigm?” I dismember mama.

Laser Dracul – Hagridden Review

By Carcharodon on September 23, 2020 in Reviews, Stoner Rock, 15 comments

“Drawing on both the atmospheric doom of Black Sabbath and Witchfinder General’s stoner rock, Laser Dracul deal in dirty, lo-fi, rolling riffs, underpinned by the rumbling bass and rough, hollow cleans of Michael Brander. Sounding a bit like Dozer run through a Sleep filter, there is something oddly comforting about the sludgy rock on show on Hagridden.” Of lights and undead lords.

Saint Karloff – Interstellar Voodoo Review

By Steel Druhm on October 7, 2019 in 2019, Majestic Mountain Records, Norwegian Metal, Reviews, Stoner Rock, Occult Rock, Stoner Rock, 34 comments

“When I saw the name Saint Karloff bobbing in the promo cesspool, I was intrigued. Growing up with Saturday morning horror movies in the 70s and 80s, Boris Karloff was like my unauthorized babysitter and creepy uncle, so I felt compelled to hear the band that dared to hijack his name. Upon closer inspection I learned this Norwegian psychedelic occult/stoner act’s sophomore outing, coming hot on the heels of a 2018 debut, is one 40:23 minute song. I was dismayed by this, and immediately considered weaponizing it and dropping it on some unsuspecting staffer like a concrete piano from a fourth floor window. Then I pressed play.” Do that voodoo, that you doo doo, so well.