“I admit, I avoided this band in the past because weed pun names rub me the wrong way. I have nothing against hazy plant explorations—I dabble—but you can only laugh so many times at joke titles like “Kief Castle” or Stoned Jesus. Heck I’m sure in the right state of mind I’ve even made my own joke band names. Chicago’s REZN isn’t here to joke around though. Eschewing comical escapism, this young quartet aims for a more conscious and guided meditation.” Two bongs may make a light.
“I opened my review for Excalion’s 2019 opus, Emotions with the words “Once upon a time,” and here we are almost four years later with their sixth album, Once Upon a Time! Clearly, Steel has real clout in the power metal universe! I’ve been a fan of this Finnish power metal outfit since I stumbled upon their 2007 sophomore outing, Waterlines, which remains one of my favorite albums in the genre. Since then Excalion have proved to be reliable purveyors of punchy, catchy power with enough muscle and grit to satisfy those among us who do not own frilly pirate shirts.” Tell us a power story!
“Everyone’s favorite Christian band is back (that isn’t Stryper or Theocracy). No new gimmicks, no new twists—just the same sermons explaining why all you sin-sucking sons of bitches are going to Hell.” Holy ghosts and goblins.
“Ventura, California power trio, Night Demon have been producing quality, workman-like metal for over a decade. Always dependable, they quickly honed their NWoBHM-infused trad metal into bite-sized, three-minute horror-themed nuggets and swaddled them in denim and leather. Their last full album, 2017’s Darkness Remains was a power-packed olde school homage that my brother-in-sump, Eldritch said, “delivers pretty much everything you could want from a traditional heavy record.” After four years, the band return to haunt your dreams once more, but this time with a much more ambitious offering.” A night at the demon.
“Nothing moves quickly in the world of San Francisco cult stoner-doom stalwarts Acid King. From expansive, dreamy psych-smattered jam sessions to low and lazy stoner-doom riffs, and groovy plods, through to their sporadic recording output, Acid Kin do shit at their own relaxed pace. And in the realms of kaleidoscopic, thick, heavyset stoner-doom, Acid King do it well and never disappoint.” Acid King can do…anything.
“’Twas two weeks and change before Christmas, 2018, when I went to see Madder Mortem. The venue turned out to be one of those backrooms behind a cafe, the kind regularly rented for family gatherings and bat mitzvahs and stuff, complete with random sad disco ball. There were 5 bands in total, and the whole thing lasted for 5 goddamn hours because of half-hour breaks. It was a weird and exhausting afternoon into night, and the only good thing until the main act hit the stage was a largely unknown troupe called ¡Pendejo!, who blew me away with a unique brand of brass-infused, Spanish-sung stoner metal.” Latin heat in the street.
“Established in 2009, Maze of Sothoth toiled underground, swirling amongst eldritch soil devoid of all life, carefully awaiting their time to emerge. Emerge they did with a twisted debut, Soul Demise, in 2017. Reveling in a grimy, horrid tech death reminiscent of Origin and Kronos, Soul Demise showed great promise for the fledgling band, fast and vicious were its crooked tendrils. Six years later, Maze of Sothoth emerge again from the inky void with the even grimier Extirpated Light,” Tentacle whap, tendril slap.
“It’s a dreary, overcast March afternoon as I type this review. The ground remains caked in mud, the air battles between the dampness of southern humidity and the frigidity of winds that blowing in from the north, and even though it’s not raining yet, the weather-induced migraine that I’m currently nursing indicates that it desperately wants to pour any given minute now. Needless to say, it would be par for the course for the last, oh, couple of weeks here in weather-temperate Florida. Normally, I would also say it would be an ideal day to review The Loss of Beauty, the fourth full-length by Italian doom merchants Shores of Null.” Metal for all seasons.
“By my own admission, post-metal – especially where it crosses into sludge – is not my typical jam. So much is it not my jam that CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS on staff receive much hate for their love of sludge. But a favorable, if not effusive, word from the elusive but expressive Kronos is all I need to take a band seriously, and so it was with Poland’s Entropia.” Filthy recommendations.
“Apparently, I’m the only one ’round these parts who gets excited to see the band Dirge in the same sentence as “post-metal.” I’m like, “they’re back, baby!” and I lose my goddamn mind. The French masterminds of such classics as Elysian Magnetic Fields and Wings of Lead Over Dormant Seas were a force to be reckoned with, but then I realize: this is the other Dirge, the one from India.” International doom.
