Psychedelic Rock

Soldat Hans – Es Taut Review

By El Cuervo on April 12, 2018 in 2018, Post-metal, Post-Rock, Progressive Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Reviews, Swiss Metal, Wolves and Vibrancy Records, Doom Metal, Post-Metal, Psychedelic Rock, 37 comments

“There isn’t much more satisfying in life than the accidental stumble into something really cool. A relationship. A blog in which you would still be participating 7 years later. A record for which you had no expectations as you simply didn’t know it existed. It’s the last of these which is the feature of today’s review. I have much less free time these days so I spend less time sampling new music. A lack of interest in the first 2 or 3 minutes of a song is a death sentence for that record. Switzerland’s Soldat Hans and their sophomore album called Es Taut should have fallen at this first hurdle given its glacial pace. Should.” Es Taut, Cuervo?

Octopus – Supernatural Alliance Review

By Master of Muppets on April 10, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Retro Metal, Reviews, Rise Above Records, Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Retro Metal, Rock, 78 comments

“Here we are, once again, gathered together under the metaphoric roof of the Angry Metal Hall. Our ranks comprise fans of all walks of metal, no two tastes are identical and yet we all convene here to bang our heads as one. What joins us disparate degenerates as children of the Jørn? What fantastic force unites the photometers, hamsters, and screaming boxes that plague our comment section? The answer holds as trve now as in those dark days preceding the internet: it’s the riffs, stupid. This obvious answer in turn poses an obvious question: “What does this have to do with Octopus’ Supernatural Alliance?”” What a big tent you have.

JIRM – Surge Ex Monumentis Review

By Huck N Roll on April 3, 2018 in 2018, Progressive Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Reviews, Small Stone Records, Stoner Rock, Swedish Metal, Progressive Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Rock, 28 comments

“First of all, look at that cover. If that isn’t one of the most glorious pieces of album art, I don’t know what is. It reminds me ever so slightly of Dio’s old mascot, but JIRM don’t worship at that altar. No, the band formerly known as Jeremy Irons and the Ratgang Malibus. play a groove-filled psych/stoner blend with plenty of progressive tendencies, and Surge Ex Monumentis is their first album under the shortened moniker. After three albums with their cumbersome old name. Why the name change? To distance themselves from a washed-up, mean old actor, or to just give us less to try and remember? And what else besides the name has changed?” Up the Jeremy Irons!

The Golden Grass – Absolutely Review

By El Cuervo on April 2, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Hard Rock, Listenable Records, Psychedelic Rock, Reviews, Hard Rock, Psychedelic Rock, 21 comments

“I love that title. Absolutely. It’s so charming. So affirmative. The Golden Grass, too, which sounds like a chip off the old rural-prog block made famous by the likes of Jethro Tull (though with a more obvious weed connotation). But despite strong ’60s and ’70s rock influences, Tull this is not. Hailing from Brooklyn, Absolutely represents the third full-length release by these chaps. Is it good? Absolu… well, partly.” Grass or pass?

Howlin’ Sun – Howlin’ Sun Review

By El Cuervo on February 7, 2018 in 2018, Apollon Records, Hard Rock, Non-Metal Metal Things, Norwegian Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Reviews, Blues, Hard Rock, Psychedelic Rock, 10 comments

“I’ve already waxed poetic about my deepening love for ’70s rock but the ’60s remain a relatively uncharted territory for me. I’m of the not-so-humble opinion that The Beatles are overrated (though unquestionably hugely influential) and I find the progressive developments and greater variety found in ’70s rock far more appealing to a decade whose bands who were still much simpler and overtly blues-based. Thus, the promise of ’60s rock with a heavier edge, professed on the promo sheet appealed—on what am I missing out? Can the ’60s interest me? Will I ever stop questioning myself? Answers to some of these questions might be found below.” Question self, question music.

The Bad Larrys – Hodads Review

By Huck N Roll on February 6, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Hard Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Reviews, Self-released, Stoner Rock, Hard Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Rock, 21 comments

“I’ve never had Larrys as friends. I have no idea if most of them are good, and the only bad ones are in this band. And although I know what hodads are, and I’m pretty damn old, I’ve never known any personally. So this album from The Bad Larrys, Hodads, is a whole lotta unknowns for me.” Don’t Larry profile!

Weedpecker – III Review

By El Cuervo on February 2, 2018 in 2018, Polish Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Reviews, Stickman Records, Stoner Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Metal, Stoner Rock, 54 comments

“It’s entirely unsurprising that Weedpecker reside on the same label’s roster as Elder. Both feature groovy, stoner riffs, are progressive and are drug-fueled to differing extents. Fortunately, unlike Elder, Weedpecker aren’t unrelentingly average; in fact, they’re drastically superior.” Superior drugs make for superior rock.

Black Space Riders – Amoretum Vol. 1 Review

By Huck N Roll on January 28, 2018 in 2018, Black Space Records, German Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Reviews, Psychedelic Rock, 21 comments

“Back in 2015, Germany’s Black Space Riders underwhelmed El Cuervo to the point that, when jousting over January promos, he couldn’t even remember having reviewed Refugeeum. That is a warning sign if I’ve ever seen one, but something about Amoretum Vol. 1 intrigued me nonetheless, and I’m worried I might regret it: after all, Vol. 2 is also slated to come out this year, and I’ll get stuck with it, good or bad.” You take, you own it.

Yer Prog Is Olde! Pink Floyd – Animals

By El Cuervo on November 12, 2017 in English Metal, Non-Metal Metal Things, Progressive Rock, Yer Prog Is Olde, Progressive Rock, Psychedelic Rock, 83 comments

“I hear Pink Floyd in so much of the music that I love. They’re a profoundly important and influential band generally but for me personally too. Their capacity to develop and retain quality through styles and songwriters is virtually unparalleled, one example of which is the subject of this post: Animals, which turns 40 this year.” Prog before swine.

I Klatus – Nagual Sun Review

By Huck N Roll on October 28, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Doom Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Reviews, Self-released, Sludge, Doom Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Sludge, 23 comments

“Never judge a book by its cover – unless that book is Nagual Sun, by outre Chicago band I Klatus. Because this album cover perfectly matches the oddities within. The brainchild of visual artist/guitarist/growler Tom Denney, at its best the music on Nagual Sun borders on sludgy, hard-charging post-metal like Neurosis on acid: at worst, it’s a cacophonous mess of fragmented ideas (just like that artwork, which honestly looks like Denney spent about two minutes in Photoshop. Some of our loyal readers do better copy/paste work than that, and I certainly hope to see some variations on the cover in the comments below).” Photoshop-core.