This is the third album from UK stoner rock band Psychlona.
Palo Verde delivers 49 minutes of quality psychedelic stoner rock. Continue reading “Psychlona – Palo Verde (Review)”
Tag: Space Rock
Moths – Space Force (Review)
This is the debut album from Moths, a progressive doom band from Puerto Rico.
Moths paint from a rich and diverse palette and play a form of music that takes influence from a range of places. In essence it’s a mix of stoner, doom, psychedelic, and progressive metal, which has then been expanded to include elements of space rock, 70s progressive rock, and jazz. It’s quite the experience, and Space Force contains 28 minutes of characterful material. Continue reading “Moths – Space Force (Review)”
Cave In – Final Transmission (Review)
Cave In are a US post-hardcore/rock band and this is their sixth album.
Final Transmission is born out of and shaped by the trauma of catastrophe; the band’s bassist tragically died in a car accident prior to this album being finished. He plays on each song here, however, with the tracks fully Continue reading “Cave In – Final Transmission (Review)”
Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard – Yn Ol I Annwn (Review)
This is the third album from the impressively named Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, a doom metal band from the UK.
I really enjoyed the band’s striking 2016 debut record Y Proffwyd Dwyll, which saw the band offer up an intoxicating blend of psychedelic sludge/doom metal. In 2018 they unleashed a mammoth, (ahem), split with Slomatics called Totems, which Continue reading “Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard – Yn Ol I Annwn (Review)”
Phased – Aeon (Review)
Phased are from Switzerland and play Psychedelic Doom Metal. This is their fifth album.
Phased are a familiar proposition in many ways. Taking the blueprint of a band like Electric Wizard, they proceed to play 44 minutes of music that’s similar enough to what we’re used to so that it’s instantly welcome, but with enough individuality to ensure that they’re not written off as a mere copy.
As with most things to do with music, this is subjective of course. For me, although this release has enough familiar markers from bands like Electric Wizard, Warhorse and, (to a lesser extent), Black Sabbath that it feels like an old friend, it also retains its own identity enough to be a worthy listen. In fact, if you cross Electric Wizard and Warhorse, you have a good idea of where Phased are coming from.
Understated, strangely-inhuman vocals act as just another instrument and can almost be overlooked as you get caught up in the riffs and confident melodies. Having said that, the overall impact of the songs would be lessened without them though.
The laid back, confident swagger of the Doom riffs and the general vibe of easy-going Space Rock is a beguiling combination. It’s hard not to like a band like this when they lock into a hypnotic groove.
So, will Phased do it for you, or have they missed their mark? Have a listen and see what you think.
Unhold – Towering (Review)
Unhold are a Sludge Metal band from Switzerland and this is their fourth album.
Unhold play Sludge Metal with a good grasp of Space Rock, Doom, Post-Metal and Progressive Metal.
The band boast multiple talented singers and each of them brings something to the table, be that Neurosis-style rough vocals, effortless cleans or powerful female vocals.
This is a diverse selection of tracks that feature shades of light and dark, build and release mechanics, dynamic pacing, rich texture and atmosphere by the bucketload. You can just taste the quality dripping off this album like fat.
A warm sound translates into tracks that feel very organic and natural. These songs sound alive and vibrant.
I love albums that feel like a complete listening experience; where each song seems to have its place and has its own identity. Towering is such an album.
Whether it’s gritty Sludge, colossal Doom, Southern-baked meandering or epic Progressive workouts, Unhold play their songs with style, conviction and depth.
There’s a lot of variety here that’s a pleasure to explore. The band have both the discipline and experience to craft songs that have a large amount of depth and longevity. The tracks are composed in ways that seem effortless and unforced. Ideas from all manner of subgenres and styles are incorporated into their repertoire and it seems that every aspect of musical expression they dabble with comes out a winner.
Unhold have produced an exemplar of Sludge Metal that’s going to be hard to top. Be sure to check them out.
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