The Doors

Reverend Mother – Damned Blessing Review

Reverend Mother – Damned Blessing Review

“Once known as Priestess, this power trio of Brooklyn musicians recently reinvented themselves as Reverend Mother and released a self-titled EP. Led by frontwoman and guitarist Jackie Green, the band’s sound on debut full-length Damned Blessing is a testament to their love of classic rock and metal like Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, and The Doors.” Stone matriarch.

Duel – In Carne Persona Review

Duel – In Carne Persona Review

“Hailing from Austin, Texas, Duel have spent their relatively short lifespan building a strong body of work in the stoner/doom metal/rock style. In Carne Persona is the band’s fourth full-length album since 2016 and follows in the footsteps of 2019’s strong effort, Valley of Shadows. Take a whiff of Duel’s sound, and you’ll detect notes of pure doom in the tradition of Sabbath mixed with the melodic sensibilities of Thin Lizzy and the creepy, doomy rock of Danzig.” Flavored stones.

Dreamslain – Tales of Knights and Distant Worlds Review

Dreamslain – Tales of Knights and Distant Worlds Review

“It involved a lot of bushwhacking, riding across three passes, through streams, losing our way, carrying our bikes up the backside of two mountains, and being eaten alive by black flies. We made it, though, and because we are stupid we did it again a month later. When we found a review of the trail, several years old by this time, the summary read, ‘I can only recommend this ride to the most foolhardy of idiots.’ Where am I going with this? Read on, dear friend, read on.” A dream to some… a nightmare to others!

Saint Karloff – Interstellar Voodoo Review

Saint Karloff – Interstellar Voodoo Review

“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.

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.

Yer Metal Is Olde: Monster Magnet – Powertrip

Yer Metal Is Olde: Monster Magnet – Powertrip

“A little while ago I talked about how 1998 was not a great year for metal. Some loyal thralls disagreed with me, but you know what? I was right. However, I should add to that point the fact that, while 1998 wasn’t a great year, when the music was good it was really good. Bruce Dickinson, Opeth, Blind Guardian, and Iced Earth all released great albums, as did a few other bands I’m sure will surface (again) in the comments here. And yeah, I suppose King Diamond could be included. Not to be overlooked in all of this is Monster Magnet’s grand fifth album, Powertrip.” Power is its own reward.

The Bad Larrys – Hodads Review

The Bad Larrys – Hodads Review

“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!

Jess and the Ancient Ones – The Horse and Other Weird Tales Review

Jess and the Ancient Ones – The Horse and Other Weird Tales Review

Avatarium went from retro doom to 60s rock in the span of 3 albums, and over their own 3 album run, Jess and the Ancient Ones voyaged from occult 70s rock/metal to what they’ve become on The Horse and Other Weird Tales – tripped out 60s hippie rock with nary a metal influence to be found.” Find your inner hippie.

Tombstoned – II Review

Tombstoned – II Review

“With a name like Tombstoned, you can probably gather that these boys love the sweet leaf and the doomy, sludgy sweet life of the ’70s. Warping back to a time once ruled by Black Sabbath and shared by Hawkwind, Tombstoned lather up in the buzzy, dynamic, heaviness of the former, while incorporating the psychedelics of the latter.” The rolling stoned gather no moss.

Hexvessel – When We Are Death Review

Hexvessel – When We Are Death Review

Hexvessel came into my life in 2012 and filled a void in my soul I didn’t even know existed. You see, I didn’t have any Finnish psychedelic forest folk in what passed for my miserable existence, and only when I tasted of its rich goodness did I realize how much I always subconsciously hungered for it.” And the fire still burns.