Black Orchid Empire – LORE (Review)

Black Orchid Empire - LOREThis is the fifth album from UK progressive rock band Black Orchid Empire.

Black Orchid Empire revealed themselves to be one of the best contemporary heavy/progressive rock bands around on 2023’s Tempus Veritas, and also showed their chops in the live environment at last year’s Mangata Festival. All of which is to say that the new 48-minute LORE promises great things. Does it deliver? Continue reading “Black Orchid Empire – LORE (Review)”

Abrams – Loon (Review)

Abrams - LoonAbrams are a rock band from the US and this is their sixth album.

Loon offers up a tight 37 minutes of infectious rock music, although this is not completely the same Abrams that we’ve encountered previously. Loon showcases a different facet of the Abrams sound, and it does this exceedingly well. Continue reading “Abrams – Loon (Review)”

Crippled Black Phoenix – Sceaduhelm (Review)

Crippled Black Phoenix - SceaduhelmThis is the thirteenth album from progressive/post-rock band Crippled Black Phoenix.

Crippled Black Phoenix’s latest record is the 66-minute Sceaduhelm. Ranging from accessible chorus-driven delights to delicate atmospheric grace, and much around these, Sceaduhelm is as absorbing as it is high quality.  Continue reading “Crippled Black Phoenix – Sceaduhelm (Review)”

Wildernesses – Growth (Review)

Wildernesses - GrowthWildernesses are a post-rock/shoegaze band from the UK and this is their debut album.

Growth is a 44-minute record that brings together post-rock and shoegaze into a something unexpectedly special. The music of Wildernesses is detailed and textured, offering a vision of post-rock to the listener that’s Continue reading “Wildernesses – Growth (Review)”

Oreyeon – The Grotesque Within (Review)

Oreyeon - The Grotesque WithinOreyeon are an Italian stoner rock band and this is their fourth album.

I enjoyed 2022’s Equations for the Useless, so wanted to check in with Oreyeon once more to see what this stoner rock crew were up to. The Grotesque Within is what. It’s a record bursting with stoner rock flavour, spiced up with grunge, doom, and progressive rock seasoning. Continue reading “Oreyeon – The Grotesque Within (Review)”

Wolverine – Anomalies (Review)

Wolverine - AnomaliesWolverine are a Swedish progressive metal band and this is their sixth album.

Wolverine play a compelling form of progressive rock, and that’s putting it mildly. Across the 52 minutes of material on Anomalies the band Continue reading “Wolverine – Anomalies (Review)”

Irk – The Seeing House (Review)

Irk - The Seeing HouseIrk are a noise rock band from the UK and this is their second album.

I got to The Seeing House far later than I wanted to or should have. Despite earmarking it for review, it somehow slipped through my Carefully Crafted and Highly Professional reviewing process, only surfacing once more to shout in my face about a month and a half or so after I should have written about it. D’oh! Ah well, better late than ever, eh? Continue reading “Irk – The Seeing House (Review)”

Civil Service – Dark /// (Review)

Civil Service - DarkThis is the second album from UK post-rock band Civil Service.

Civil Service offer up 46 minutes of post-rock on Dark ///. It’s an engaging and feeling-rich form of the style that Civil Service have prepared for us, and I very much like what I’ve heard on this record. Continue reading “Civil Service – Dark /// (Review)”

The Hyena Kill – Collapse (Review)

The Hyena Kill - CollapseThe Hyena Kill are an alternative rock band from the UK and this is their second album.

I really liked 2021’s A Disconnect, so was pleased to see Collapse appear. The Hyena Kill have produced another 55 minutes of music for me to salivate over, and salivate I do, as this is very tasty stuff. Continue reading “The Hyena Kill – Collapse (Review)”