Category: Rock

Dawnwalker – House of Sand (Review)

Dawnwalker - House of SandThis is the fifth album from UK progressive rock band Dawnwalker.

Driven by a single artist who has gathered a rich band of musicians around him, the core standard instruments are fleshed out by piano, violins, and no fewer than four vocalists. Continue reading “Dawnwalker – House of Sand (Review)”

Holding Absence & Alpha Wolf – The Lost & the Longing – Split (Review)

Holding Absence & Alpha Wolf - The Lost & the LongingAlpha Wolf are an Australian metalcore band and Holding Absence are a UK modern rock band. They have teamed up for this split release.

Alpha Wolf, (check out A Quiet Place to Die), give us two songs, lasting just over six minutes in total. Continue reading “Holding Absence & Alpha Wolf – The Lost & the Longing – Split (Review)”

Chat Pile – God’s Country (Review)

Chat Pile - God's CountryThis is the debut album from Chat Pile, a noise/sludge rock band from the US.

God’s Country is a 42-minute cry of anxiety, despair, and pain, which manifests as noise and sludge rock coalesced into nine emotive tracks. Other elements such as industrial, punk, and grunge have also made it into Chat Pile’s shapeshifting sound, resulting in a charismatic journey into impassioned desperation and energetic angst. Continue reading “Chat Pile – God’s Country (Review)”

Oceans of Slumber – Starlight and Ash (Review)

Oceans of Slumber - Starlight and AshThis is the fifth album from US progressive rock band Oceans of Slumber.

I really liked 2018’s The Banished Heart, but 2020’s self titled was something even more special, making it on to my end of year list. I wasn’t sure how Oceans of Slumber could top their last album, and I’m pleased that they haven’t tried to; as you may have noticed, I’ve tagged this as a progressive rock album, rather than Continue reading “Oceans of Slumber – Starlight and Ash (Review)”

Battering Ram – Second to None (Review)

Battering Ram - Second to NoneThis is the second album from Battering Ram, a Swedish hard rock/metal band.

Battering Ram play a combination of old-school hard rock and classic heavy metal that is then wrapped up in a modern delivery. Second to None is 36-minutes of raw fun and polished talent. Continue reading “Battering Ram – Second to None (Review)”

Light Creates Shadow – Ghosts Pass Through, Running from the Body (Review)

Light Creates Shadow - Ghosts Pass Through, Running from the BodyThis is the third album from US post-rock band Light Creates Shadow.

Light Creates Shadow’s brand of post-rock takes the style’s build/release mechanic and blends it with progressive structuring, ethereal resplendence, intricate dynamics, and a wealth of grunge influences. Continue reading “Light Creates Shadow – Ghosts Pass Through, Running from the Body (Review)”

Sergeant Thunderhoof – This Sceptred Veil (Review)

Sergeant Thunderhoof - This Sceptred VeilSergeant Thunderhoof are a stoner rock band from the UK and this is their fourth album.

This Sceptred Veil boasts a colossal 68 minutes of music for the discerning listener’s entertainment. Combining elements of doom, stoner, progressive, and psychedelic rock into a thoroughly satisfying and rewarding collection of tracks, Sergeant Thunderhoof have produced a sterling album.

Continue reading “Sergeant Thunderhoof – This Sceptred Veil (Review)”

Oreyeon – Equations for the Useless (Review)

Oreyeon - Equations for the UselessOreyeon are an Italian stoner rock band and this is their third album.

Here we have 42 minutes of stoner rock crafted by a band that know the style well enough to want something extra from it. Oreyeon combine elements of doom, grunge, stoner, psychedelic, progressive, and heavy rock into their music, pushing themselves to produce a quality listen that doesn’t rely on tired tropes to make its impact felt. Continue reading “Oreyeon – Equations for the Useless (Review)”

Sarayasign – Throne of Gold (Review)

Sarayasign - Throne of GoldThis is the debut album from Sarayasign, a rock band from Sweden.

Occasionally you stumble, blindly, across an album that is a real gem. Throne of Gold is exactly one such release. Sarayasign’s rock style may have fallen out of fashion some time ago, but that doesn’t change the fact that what they have produced here is a damn good album. Continue reading “Sarayasign – Throne of Gold (Review)”