Buckcore

Metalcore is dead, Buckcore has just begun

[buck09brown]

Check out Giant Sleep reviewed here at THe Ripple Effect. Great album.

[buck09brown]

My latest music review over at The Ripple Effect of Blackwulf - Mind traveler. Check it out.

Bandcamp

[buck09brown]

2014 Music: Mid-Year Best of List | Bucky's Top Picks

So here I sit floundering over a mid-year dilemma of trying to filter standout albums of the year so far. If you’re into this sort of thing at all, you probably agree that 2014 has been yet another scorching year for music releases. From Hard Rock, to country western, to psychedelic pop rock, so far, so good, and so fucking what, right? Well here’s my attempt at stringing together some of the more notable albums to grace my ears. Keep in mind, this is only a fraction of other deserving albums that just so happened to get shafted due to keeping the list as small as my mind would allow me. Let me know who I missed, which albums you agree on, and/or how shitty of music taste I have. I have listened to close to 600 new albums this year already, so to make the top 30 cut means there is something special. Play counts, initial wow factors, and growers are all present and factored into how I picked these albums as well as live viewings, and vinyl purchases.

Honorable Mentions:

30. Spanish Gold - South of Nowhere    

29. Villagers of Ioannina City - riza

28. 1000mods - Vultures

27. Black Book Lodge - Tundra

26. Sigiriya - Darkness Dies Today

25. Dwellers - Pagan Fruit

24. Mastodon - Once More' Round the Sun

23. Heavy Glow - Pearls & Swine and Everything Fine

22. Jason Cruz and Howl - Good Man's Ruin

21. Silver Snakes - Year of the Snake

20. The Scimitar – Doomsayer

19. The Beans – S/T

18. SautruS - Reed: Chapter 1

17. Hark - Chrystalline

16. Radio Moscow - Magical Dirt

Top 15:

15. Brave Black Sea - Fragments

I don’t know whether it’s the nostalgia factor this super group formed of ex members of Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age and Slo Burn gives me, or the fact that band members aside, the album brings a modern take on the 90’s stoner/grunge era? Either way, I totally fell for this one despite mixed reviews. Equal parts Nirvana and Soundgarden, to QOTSA and Kyuss. Check it out.

 14. Hyne - Elements

“It's heavy, it's got groove, it's melodic, it's psychedelic, it's flat out a rock n' roll masterpiece. Vocals are gruff but soothing, the riffs are ecstatic, the flow and diversity is intact. Here is my full Review.”

 13. Krownn – Magmafrost

Like I said on facebook after about the 5th time through the album in one day with the mandatory share, “Mind Blower of the month alert!!! HOT LIQUID MAGMAFROST!!” said in Dr. Evil voice of course. This one delivers on all counts!

 12. Jeremy Irons & The Ratgang Malibus - Spirit Knife

This one took a while to really hit me and when it did, it put it straight to the top of Small Stone Records massive 2014 output including great albums by Wo Fat, Dwellers, The Socks,  and Greenleaf, which I still haven’t been as awestruck with Trails and Passes as everyone else.

 11. Rival Sons - Great Western Valkyrie

Great Western Valkyrie rivals and Rival Sons album. At this point I am going to say it rivals any modern blues rock album. Completely and utterly amazed with this new album after not having been very into their last one. Seriously if one album has potential to come from behind and rise on my list, its this one.

 10. The Afghan Whigs - Do to the Beast

The new Afghan Whigs album is a masterpiece. I can’t say I really listened to them that much back in the day, but this new album proves that with age, comes wisdom and beauty.

 9. Oxcross - Tree and Stone

“Oozing with brutally melodic riffage, Oxcross creates a stoned out Mastodon/Baroness buzz with their own unique twist.”

8. Planet of Zeus – Vigilante

Like Clutch on PCP destroying any notion that stoner rock has died. In fact, Vigilante puts the heavy back in the hands of the true stoner rock authority and buries the nay sayers alive.

 7. The Graviators – Motherload

The Graviators have conducted one of the most compelling albums of the year in my book. If you're a fan of classic heavy metal mixed into a stoner/doom base such as bands like The Sword and Graveyard then look no further. Here is my full review, which is the only remaining review of mine still up over on that site.

 6. Blood Farmers - Headless Eyes

Another band that I heard for the first time with their latest offering Headless Eyes. This is spectacular/accessible heavy doom metal. Sounding like John Bush crooning from the deepest doomiest cauldron of the underworld. I can’t get enough.

5. Black Space Riders - D:REI

Completely blindsided with this new discovery this year. Wrote a lengthy review which expresses how the album hit my nerves. So unbelievably melodic and groovy while at the same time possessing an extremely awesome heaviness factor. Here is my full review.

 4. Aleph Null – Nocturnal

What more can we say about Aleph Null? A whole fucking bunch more needs to be said about Nocturnal. Absolutely mesmerizing concoction of heavy and trippy with a die hard 90’s grunge meets modern metal vocal.  

 3. Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music

What I think the modern answer to saving country music is. Sturgill Simpson incorporates a classic sounding country album with a modern twist that I haven’t heard in years, if ever. People are comparing this to the classics such as Waylon Jennings and Hank Williams, I say its BETTER!

 2. Truckfighters – Universe

Universe takes everything we all love about the fuzz rocker heros and incorporates a slightly more progressive leaning which for me is the icing on the cake. Actually the icing was seeing them live up close and personal and performing just about every one of the new tracks and their classics. Hands down, one of the best live performances in hard rock I have seen.

 1. Biblical - Monsoon Season

Incredibly awesome heavy psychedelic stoner rock, bridging the genre gap sounding a bit  like QOTSA at their most intoxicated stage. I don’t know what it is, but this has the IT factor for me. Sets it in front of the pack of what has been a fantastic 1st half of 2014.

[buck09brown]

Pet The Preacher - The Cave & The Sunlight | Review by Bucky

Here's another review I wrote a couple months ago, going back up after being taken down. Great band.

Review:

So I guess we can start this thing off with the first thing that anybody sees when picking up an album, or for digital purposes, the first thing they usually see when reading about or downloading a particular album and that is the cover artwork. I really dig the colors and have enjoyed all the artwork thus far done by the band. Oddly enough I was reminded of the recent album cover of The Socks album which I reviewed here at the Sludgelord earlier this year. I’m assuming different artists, yet a similar theme and similar colors. I don’t mind cause it looks cool, gives the impression that the music is going to sound cool, which to me, as bad as it sounds can be an immediate deal breaker in today’s music scene. Everything counts so chances are, if your cover looks cool people will judge it and the statistics are likely to show that more listeners tune in for a taste. I judge albums by their cover inadvertently all the time, especially when you’re given hundreds of albums to check out and only have time for a portion of them. Anyhow, Pet the Preacher succeeds on all levels of art visually and in sound.

 The Cave and the Sunlight picks up right where The Banjo left off back in 2012. For those that are new to the band, Pet the Preacher preach the gospel of the southern blues riff, with an emphasis on softly petting the supernatural  groove until the sin is sung. Whereas The Banjo twanged a little heavier on the blues influenced hard fuzz, The Cave and the Sunlight weaves a bit more finesse into the immensely dark and ragged riff fest.

 Already within a couple years Pet the Preacher has carved a distinctive sound of their own within the stoner/blues niche. You can identify that song being a Pet the Preacher song almost instantaneously on their  Napalm Records debut. I can say this time around, as opposed to a few of my last reviews, that I've been into Pet the Preacher from the beginning. Well as early as someone living in another country can admit, I've been following the band since their debut. Not many bands combine as powerful of a growl with wickedly gnarly blues metal quite like frontman Christian Madsen. Such a deep sexy gritty tone (she says) that had he became an actual preacher; he would be the one getting molested by beautiful woman and children alike. For an even more bluesy, organic  taste be sure to check out his solo records available on bandcamp under the name of Hound.

 The Cave and the Sunlight brings forth both the dark and the light sides of the band. The record opens like a misty morning dawn spews its rays westward onto a new day. The dark cave awakens by the first beam of light, rolling quickly into a darker number in Let Your a Dragon Fly. Smattering chugs of the furious guitar open the song which maintains a high energy attack throughout its duration. Madsen annihilates not only the shining position as lead vocalists but is responsible for the vicious sequence of heavy hitting grooves on the guitar.

 Next song displays drumming and bass front in center as to not totally isolate Christian as a one man show. Pet The Preacher is indeed a 3-piece outfit and you can hear each participant’s contributions throughout the record, especially on Kamikaze Night which is a drummer’s delight with its throbbing thuds at the forefront.

 Clearly Pet the Preacher benefits from pristine production on The Cave and the Sunlight. I've always thought the bands albums had a nice crisp production to them, while maintaining a jagged edge and the new one is no exception. The deep vocals are mixed in perfectly to the spectacular arrangement of riffs, pounding drums, and building rhythm. The music flows not too slow but slow enough to get the delayed head bob going if you will. It’s definitely treading in stoner rock territory in a positive way.

 Pet the Preacher bring a subtle beauty to the battlefield. The title of the record seems fitting as the record seems to be about 50/50 hard and heavy to slow and delicate. Like sunlight warming the rim of a slumbering bear's dark and doomy cave.

The energy in the lyrics, "You bring the fire baby" that build at the end of 'Fire Baby' pair perfectly with the gnarly riff which slices straight through the senses and rolls into the 1st instrumental opening of the "Marching Earth" saga. "Marching Earth" parts 1 and 2 are a total mind trip and my personal favorites closing the 1st half of the record. The intensely psychedelic strums carve into your brain like ancient glyphs on the roof of a blackened cave.

 "The Pig and the Hunted" continues the trippyness with more innate musicianship combining heavy psych melodies and raw aggression in a casual yet poisonous fashion. Take note about midway through when that razor sharp note comes slashing in with tribal essence as if the pig has ate its last apple.

The album is a consistent ride of quality riffs through to the end. Definitely marking the heavy stoner rock realm with the Preacher's hot iron emblem. 

'What Now' answers its own question with perhaps the most sinister tunage on the record. Eerily chanting "What Now?" over and over to a brutally dark hard rock/sludge groove. Now, what now after 'What Now' is the logical question? Answer: 11-1/2 minutes of low and slow, belligerently cerebral riffage taking the album full circle.

 The album seems to flow consistently and fluidly with a slight build of intensity from beginning to end. The deeper into the album the more contorted and intense the music becomes. The ending carries a riff of sunlight behind the western horizon with a florescent glow just as the dawn of song one began the album. The Cave and The Sunlight team together as a surreal combination of dark and light soundscapes in heavy rock form. If you liked their previous material you will love the new one, and if you're new to the band, this is certainly an easy entry point as to what the Preacher feels like. Don't be scared, give him a pet. He likes it behind his ears. 

Check the band out on Facebook, order the album from Napalm Records. Napalm is definitely melting faces this year with the ever growing roster of rock and metal albums. 

[buck09brown]

I am now part of the Ripple Effect team and linked is my first review of the great new album by Heavy Glow

[buck09brown]

R.O.A.D, by R.O.A.D | Review by Bucky

8 track album

Review:

When you open an album with a high octane, ear splitting guitar solo partnered with pummeling drums and a guitar riff that could outrun an African cheetah you know you're in for a good time. R.O.A.D. combine a fuzzy but incredibly tight and honed pitch fronted by snarling southern whiskey drowned vocals. Pitted with Lemmy skin tags, corroded with fuzzy riffs to the point of non-conformity, R.O.A.D. not only makes for a hard word to type, but it’s muddy, and gargled vocal delivery will sure to have you mopping up the bar room dance floor with your snakeskin boots. "Dirt and whiskey", as shouted numerous times on the opening number basically sum up the entire album. Not to be redundant either, each song brings its own gun to the fight. The guitar marksmanship shreds prevalent on each and every rock and roll stand-off. The combination of classic hard rock with a dirty and sleazy modern bar scuzz, R.O.A.D.  keep the energy soaring off the charts through and through. If you're a fan of Motorhead, AC/DC, Corrosion of Conformity, or of the likes you are going to love R.O.A.D. Just look at the track listing and imagine those song titles completely brought to life. It's one of those records, you know? Really deep and emotional on a rock and roll fantasy type wavelength. It plays through fairly quickly at 37 minutes on 8 songs, which is just about right. Perfect soundtrack to smoke a cigarette, down a couple or three beers, and shoot a game of pool in the local hole in the wall saloon.

Check them out on bandcamp and Facebook now and order the vinyl. Let that inner punk-ass dirty scoundrel of yours take the wheel and swerve on down the ROAD. Fantastic album!

[buck09brown]

Swamp Machine - Mondo Magic, by Swamp Machine | Review by Bucky

6 track album

Review:

"Welcome to the Machine" Pink Floyd once said. I remember vividly tripping out to that song every time it floated through my speakers. The psychedelic, spaced-out and futuristic progressiveness gets me nervous to this day. Imagine if the Floyd crew were buried deep beneath the murkiest swamps of the south. Now imagine I never mentioned Pink Floyd but their rotting corpses started a band anyway. Well, welcome to the Swamp Machine folks.

You hear that? What's that smell? Over there look! The boggy smoke is rising from the chilled mire ponds. Dead limbs hang desolately above the gurgling swamp. Aghori Ritual has begun its worship, plodding slow sinister riffage. Highly intoxicated hallucinations of southern metal bubble up from the marsh popping with a stench vocal aroma. Somewhere between Hangman's Chair and DOWN the opening number displays what Swamp Machine’s debut album Mondo Magic is capable of. Webs and Spirals of heavy doom infested psychedelic stoner groove. "Am I just crazy or deeply insane?... Words and the wisdom are so hard to find.." Fitting lyrics as the Swamp Machine churns it's corroded gears into your brain. There's little hope for escape, that being the slightly up beat energy on display throughout Webs and Spirals. But the web is too sticky and the spirals to confusing to find your way to the surface of the slough. Burning Road torches the darkness with flames of malicious intent. Packed with jagged southern solos, it sounds like a pile of rotting animal carcasses smells, engulfed in a blaze of smoke. Nothing survives the Swamp Machine’s intensity. Ashes to ashes are continually absorbed into the thick rumbling mud to enhance the swamp’s already viscous texture. Gone strums desolation into its victims. Vocals echo through the sludge as bluesy chords wrap bodies with cloaks of psychotic grandeur.  Skulls whispers frightening bellows from beneath the caves of the swamp's underworld. It's now that reality sets in that reality is in fact a figment of hope. Sinister vocal chants plod behind slow fuzzed up strokes of distortion which permeate the empty brain cavity inducing a sense of comfort amongst the stained marrow zombie creations. At this point your ear canal is overflowing with 10 tons of crematory sludge. To mitigate the damage the Swamp Machine cools down it's steamy, stony stroke with a soothing instrumental lullaby. After one full cycle Swamp Machine proves it's got the horsepower to manipulate the mind and scarify the soul. Heavily tripped out southern sludge at its finest. Welcome to the Swamp Machine.

Order the album now and listen over at bandcamp.

[buck09brown]

The One and The Many, by SIOUX | Review by Bucky

6 track album

Review:

Sioux, who marched onto my radar just recently with their debut self-titled EP released back in May of 2013 smashed eardrums with an extremely loud and heavy psychedelic-sludge sound. Honestly it wasn't until I heard news about this new album, which is partially available to stream at their bandcamp now, that I fully realized the power of their self titled. As tough as it was and is, the new one is even stronger. It's basically a continuation towards becoming the heaviest sludge band on the scene and flows seamlessly, building off the foundation poured by the s/t. Both albums are highly recommended and they even have an audio tape package deal available too if your into that sort of thing. Let in the Night starts the trip with a slow lumbering dark and mystic chug a lug opening sequence of grooves resembling an early Mastodon sound. Calculated, heavy and dark riffs with a spooky vibe dominate the airwaves. Faithless crafts a sludge soaked, progressively twisted crunch with a catchy melodic chorus. "You will get what you deserve. I am master you are slaves" is a reminder that, here, riff is king and we are merely slaves to its scummy grind. Vocals continue with a sort of echoed production style resonating a mild stoner rock tendency with a strong dirty boggy progression. A killer discordant solo leads into a beat down of deathly growls set to a fuzzy bass line to close the song.  As the album roars on, Ad Astra maintains the prominent Mastodon comparison but I also hear howls of the likes of Monster Coyote featured here on the blog before. If you heard their last album, you'd know the ferociousness I speak of. Stomping grooves fuzzed up like a bed of cactus.  The One and the Many opens with an eerie electrically plucked extravaganza. Soloing along with a dreary and doomy attitude, the title track majestically builds into a heavy and progressive outburst of groovy grime.  Wrong right or indifferent, Ascension can be described as a witchy wondrous wailing, wrapped together wildly as a sinister festival of ripping noise. Say that ten times real fast in front of your bathroom mirror, lights turned off, If you wanna get real weird.  Scapegoat closes the 28 minute album and exhibits a fantastic doom-laden progressive sludge treat packed with plenty of punch.  At only 28 minutes in length I wouldn't let the size fool you. It's all about the motion of the potion and Sioux hits the auditory G-spot for fans of loud, psychedelic sludge metal, capable of rendering the listener intoxicated and potentially sterile due to the supreme throbbing sensation within the aural love canal.

Whether you're lonely or a musical whore like me you need to snatch this up now and give it some love.

  Check them out on Facebook, bandcamp, or if you’re close to Portland, perhaps they are your friends and you prefer personal contact. Just listen regardless.

[buck09brown]

D:REI, by Black Space Riders | Review by Bucky

13 track album

Review: (Written earlier this year)

D:REI is somewhat of a concept album broken down into the following sequence of events as outlined on the bands website:

D – Defiance

R – Ruins

E – Escape

I – Beyond

 Basically the band creates a hypnotic escape from reality throughout the course of its 79 minute duration. This was my first and only experience so far with the band and I was totally blown away after encountering D:REI with each and every listen I undertook. When asked to write up a review from Aaron (Sludgelord) just this morning I was quite surprised this one hadn’t gotten swept up by someone on the crew already. At the same time I was a bit intimidated by such a task as I had already been playing this album on repeat for the better part of the entire month of January and coined it into my top 3 albums so far this year list. So what better way to portray my take on the album than a classic song by song breakdown? Here goes nothing in somewhat of an outline song-by-song overview.

 Stare at the Water - Like staring at a glassy sea of water in anticipation until the 1:40 mark, you’re knocked clean off your vessel by a fucking Riffness Monster. Now staring at a vortex of water you’re crushed by new WAVES of British Heavy Metal polluted with kaleidoscopic vocals. Reminiscent of the styling’s heard in the band DAWNBRINGER, classic metal guitar solos, but a heavy nod towards the stoner-rock realm and beautifully melodic background singing throughout.

Bang Boom War (outside my head) switches up with a gruff pounding assault. Aptly titled, the song sounds exactly what you would desire. Evil tones backed by loony cries of desperation. Gloomy and morose drum beats pound a feeling of lunacy into your head until the 4:00 mark when the groove rescues you back into the war inside your head. 

Rising from the ashes of our world: Sinister sounding vocal whispers grow into psychotic shrieks of hell in this sludge rock ballad. Another 6-7 minute anthem filled with varied degrees of sludge and doom while maintaining that groovy and melodic edge. So far the songs seem to keep the peace and control while portraying that heavy and sharp edge desired by all metal fans. Classic rock is present in those soaring guitar solo hooks which seamlessly soar between the heavy drums and ominous shrieks of fury. Perhaps the most intense and wicked part on the album that will scare the hairs on your back back into their holes, is around the 6:00 mark, when all fucking hell breaks loose. It sounds like the nightmares within your daydreams. “Eeh oh ho ho”, chants eerily tremble senses of misery throughout the body, all while smiling cause its hurts so good.  

Give gravitation to the People: Spacey, tribal in essence, sounding  like you’re riding through space into the nothing. ‘Give Gravitation to the People” chanted over and over mixed with an electronic back-beat that you might mistake for a classic White Zombie introduction. 

Way to Me: Continues the trend of bad-ass-ly sung chorus’s which is basically the song title softly whispered to a warped sense of reality leading into Iron Maiden-esque guitar solo. Such a good job at veering in and out of haunting and psychedelic passages into straight guitar solo slinging. Seriously seamless execution.

Temper is Rising: Again softly spoken vocal hymns grooving along to an open highway journey into outer space. Strap on your spaceballs helmet cause you are going to end up on the planet of the apes riding the statue of liberty. “Tonight, tonight, tonight” swoons on sexily throughout the song. Sexy, sexy song is all I gotta say.

The GOD-Survivor: Razor sharp riffs cut through the air, while grizzled and toned vocals shout out melodies creating the most consistently catchy chorus’s I've heard all year. Each song has highs and lows which feed off each other seamlessly executing a work of art. Definitely a highlight here.

I See: Slows things down with a slow burning intro allowing the listener to put their clothes back on and wipe up the mess which has spewed from their senses with the first half of the album. Drums set the speed with their slow-motion dreamy pace. Song builds slowly like an icicle morphing from a rooftop. Softly dripping vocal passages ooze over smooth guitar ensembles not unlike a classic tripped out Pink Floyd song.

Leave: Psychedelic prowess rocks your soul and leaves your mind confused encouraging you to leave all inhibitions as the door and continue your journey into the world of freedom and fantasy. “Leave the silence, leave the place, leave the darkness, the legacy of the human race, leave corrosion, leave the dust, leave hysteria leave your inner space of trust…” Pretty much leave what you thought mattered at the door and let the song carry you into a state of ecstasy, which it has the ability to do.

Space Angel (Memitim): More spacey laid back tripped out crashes of groovy noise to melt away into the depths of space. Let the space angel guide your every fantasy as the hallucinatory atmosphere flashes before your ears. Clearly a psych-lovers highlight. The song treks on for an epic 10:00 without losing interest.

Major Tom Waits: Begins to bring the album to a close. One of the weaker tracks on the album in which they probably could have done without if it weren't for the cool little electric key contribution. More mellow tripped out feel.

Letter to a Young One: Catchy little ditty, classic rock in structure with their signature added foggy atmospherics in the background. One of the more poppy tracks on the album revives the lost energy that may have occurred over the second ¾ of the record which went into a peak of euphoria. A bit of a flash back to reality here ending with a strong final minute of slaying guitar and howling atmosphere. Really great track breaking a bit of the spaced out mold and rounding the album out nicely.

The Everlasting Circle of Infinity: Brings the journey to a close with another, now classic in terms of Black Space Riders style, thrilling bout of tripped out Hendrix-esque display of musicianship dropped on acid floating in a galaxy of meaningless equations. There may be a bit of a come down after this trip of an album so beware, however it’s an easy pick-me –up as well to just hit the replay button and go for another round. 

 I’m seriously in love with the diversity and flow of this album. So far this year I haven’t heard anything like it. I will definitely make time to backtrack their catalogue as I hear their previous two albums are no slouches either. If I were to say anything bad about the record, I would say it may be a bit overlong at 79 minutes. It didn’t bother me but it might be too long for the average listener. However, if you don’t mind continuous ups and downs and occasional mellow interludes and repetition of hypnotic freakouts, then you definitely won’t mind D:REI. Go have a listen now over at bandcamp where you can purchase digital, CD, or a Double Vinyl, 180g, gatefold-sleeve with CD plus digital package. It will likely be my next physical purchase as it looks amazing. Give em a like on Facebook too, because we know all you readers have it open in the other window as you’re reading this, and let’s not kid ourselves, that’s where the updates are most easily accessible. I won’t deny it. Enjoy!

Note: I have since bought this and their self titled album on double vinyl over at the Heavy Ripples cartel. Their may be some left, I don't know but I thoroughly enjoy this band.

[buck09brown]

MOUNTAINEATER, by MOUNTAINEATER | Review by Bucky

6 track album

Another old review posting up to see the light of day on my personal blog. You may have read it, you may have not. Question is, did you listen to Mountaineater?

Review:

Another great band discovery hailing from New Zealand. First we had Cobra Khan, then Beastwars and now Mountaineater. To be honest I know nothing about the history of the band members past projects, with a little skimming on the internet it seems apparent they come from high pedigree. What I know about New Zealand is this; absolutely nothing other than it looks like a lush, gorgeous and massive landscape of which a band can potentially write a soundtrack to. Mountaineater’s self-titled debut album does just that.

The opening sonic Mastodonian riff slings a strike with Gutterball as it spasms ritualistically through the mystical canyon walls completely ‘munsoning’ all in its path. Vocals cry desperately to convey a sense of despair on their accent to the craggy peak, which induce a salivating froth serving up an organically crushing slab of granite stone seasoned to perfection as a hors d’oeuvre course. 

While Gutterball summited the jagged peak of the ridge line, Lord of Sumo begins the decent with a refreshing melody. Perhaps the catchiest song on the album in sort of a poppy way, the progressive weirdness is there. I hear an obscure similarity to the band called The Next Hundred Years.  Way Out in left field the music feels far out, yet essential to a seasoned heavy rock listeners ear.

Exegesis VII brings a very soothing post-rock dish to the table. Full of serene atmosphere, maintains a metal flavor and feasts the ears to a sonic pallet of riffs. Tunneling its way beneath the crust of the mountain, Exegesis carves outward and reaches towards the next song Ch'an Ra which floats upward and amongst the misty mountain fogscape. Ch'an Ra is another purely instrumental post rockish break between the jagged cliffs of proggy sludge metal. The duo becomes a very refreshing interlude which encapsulates over 17 minutes of this 42 minute album.

Just as the wistful ecstasy is peaking Spider Baby brings yet another facet of sonar vision to the celebration. Sounding like David Bowie on his death bed Spider Baby eerily pulsates a sublime sense of freedom. Heavily orchestrated riffs rumble relentlessly across a hazy jungle of natural beauty. 

Jerusalem closes the album and brings the mildly chaotic landscape full circle, encapsulating the exotic, mountainous island flavor into a full course auditory feast. The beast of an album has eaten the mountain as set out to do. 

Overall Mountaineater demonstrate the ability to portray several enticing flavors or heavy music within their debut album. I highly recommend giving these New Zealanders some attention as I was thoroughly impressed with this release. Heavy, atmospheric, melodic, and progressive in nature, Mountaineater is in fact capable of devouring the mountaintops with the shear movement of their music.

Check these dudes out at the links below and hell, go check out their past pedigree of music. I would bet its great as well.

Website 

Bandcamp

Facebook

Banished from the Universe

[buck09brown]

Carrying on the tradition I’ve set for myself this year, I will share some of the better albums that graced my ears through the month of May.  The month came in like a lion and out like a lamb. My buying frenzy was put on hold, due to me just reeling in what could turn disastrous from a financial standpoint. So out of 60 plus 2014 releases added to my library, here are several that edged out the others in terms of playtime and overall enjoyment. But first I’ll shout out a couple that for whatever reason just didn’t totally hook me and impress me as much as they should have and that includes the new EP by DOWN. A damn fine EP, I just didn’t give it enough time, and the time I did give it, it just sort of glossed over me with nothing totally grabbing me. Eyehategod did nothing much for me either. Just a couple big name releases that won’t be making my best of the year lists at this point, unless they do what one album on this list did and that is make the biggest comeback of the year from initial listen to multiple listen impression. So here are May’s favorites:

  20.  California Breed – California Breed

Any band with Glenn Hughes at the forefront can be considered a super-group and California Breed is just that. Now one can argue Hughes has his foot in perhaps too many groups that sound all not that much different from eachother with their blues based modern rock. Well, California Breed has all of that yet it’s a refreshing take. The entire album is enjoyable.

 19. Dan Sultan – Blackbird

New to me, but Dan Sultan from Australia lays out a straight up modern rock masterpiece. Lyrically, vocally, and emotionally Blackbird is an amazing record combining blues, funk, soul, rock, pop you name it. Check him out, apparently he has been around for a while. I get a modern John Hiatt vibe out of this guy. That can’t be a bad thing right?

 18. Lord Montague – Lord Montague

Random bandcamp find, Lord Montague took a solid listen and then repeat to discover how well this doom based stoner rock works. Not the best overall production, but just one of those deep underground diamonds in the rough that I bet will surprise even the most seasoned ear after a good listen

.17. Black4 – The Tales of Cuatro Negro

Southern Heavy Rock anybody? One look at the cover and you might have guessed what this album sounds like. The Tales of Cuatro Negro is an all out riff fueled, fast and fuzzy rock album. For fans of Black Label Society, Corrosion of Conformity, etc…. The vocals hit that groovy tough as fuck registry backed by distorted stoner rock riffs. Good shit.

  16.  Old 97’s – Most Messed Up

This has got to be the most raucous alt country,/American albums I’ve heard all year. Actually it may be the most blunt and honest record of the year. Musically its okay, nothing special, but lyrically its deeply rooted in a blend of punk and Americana with its hillbilly/southern twang infused fuck off punk attitude. But hey, that’s what we all love the Old 97’s for right? Most Messed Up combines vulgarity with class and after my 3rd listen I was fully on board. Don’t stop at first listen people, odds are your initial impressions will fade.

  15. Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires – Dereconstructed

Speaking of sleezy, Lee Bains III has unleashed a southern rock monster. Somewhat of a concept album, not unlike most the Drive-By Truckers album, Bains brings emotion, anger, love and a damn good storyline about the dirty south. I can see this one growing even higher up on my list with more listens. Listen to the words and you’ll understand why.

  14.  Bird – My Fear and Me

Female singers are tough to totally grab me, but My Fear and Me does not stop at being fronted by a woman, no it combines layers of atmosphere with its electronic background and indie rock alternative backbone. Utterly spellbinding throughout moments of this record. Listen to this song and tell me you don’t get the chills. Impressed as heck.

  13.  Division Process – The Jesus Horses

Just happened to get a copy of this today and felt it worthy of making the list. Straight up modern grunge rock with a tad bit extra effort thrown in. Vocals are unique, the guitars are again, grungy but possess a post-hardcorish flair at times that takes this one over the top for me. It’s a not so distant cousin of Alice in Chains. Maybe these guys are more popular I never took the time to check it out. I just pushed play and was dumbfounded.

  12. Iron Hearse – Deal With It

Fast and doomy punk rock. Repeat this one over and over. Expanding on their last album keeping it simple and injecting a bit more of a punk vibe to their stoner doom goth rock.

  11. Bloody Hammers – Under Satan’s Son

Bloody Hammers are back in top form on Under Satan’s Son. In fact, this might have been lucky number 3 following the sophomore slump with Spiritual Relics, which was good, but it just kind of annoyed me for whatever reason. Under Satan’s Son succeeds in solidifying the singers voice as a uniquely outstanding croon in the hard rock realm. Riffs for days, vocal tones that drop your jaw in amazement. This record is the real deal. Bloody Hammers have a new coat of red dripping from their head.

  10.  The Black Keys – Turn Blue

Like the Old 97’s mentioned at #16, I wasn’t too into this one at first. I think I was confused as to what to expect. I loved El Camino, and after my 3rd and 4th listen, Turn Blue has taken over the lead in my eyes. Personally, I adore the more mainstream poppy sound they have seemed to have embraced the last couple of years. They do it so well.

    9. Spanish Gold – South of Nowhere

South of Nowhere sounds like the perfect soundtrack to being south of nowhere. It’s got a dusty Western psychedelic tone with a catchiness that is hard to escape. This is perfect music for a hot summer day at the lake, or mystical trip lost in the desert.

8. Casualties of Cool – Casualties of Cool

Devin Townsend’s new solo album is colossal in the most mellow and diverse way. Devin is mostly known for being “metal as fuck” but Casualties of Cool his solo moniker is nothing of the sorts. Ranging from country to post rock, Townsend combines his vocal strengths with some gorgeous female melodies to go back and forth between a multitude of styles. I was a little hesitant going into this since I’ll admit I was never a die hard fan of Townsend ‘s metal work, but this I can handle and prefer to his main act.

  7. Fire in The Field – Gypsy Tea Room

Just straight up enjoyable blues based rock n roll. Funky rhythms and familiar 70’s rock melodies make this one a hit.

  6. Crowbar – Symmetry In Black

Didn’t have much expectations for the new Crowbar having been down for Kirk officially leaving DOWN late last year. I should have known he had good reason, and Symmetry in Black is a perfect reason. Perhaps my favorite Crowbar album to date, the new one adopts more of Kirks melodic side similar to his project in Kingdom of Sorrow where he shared the stage with Hatebreed frontman Jamie Jasta. Crowbar have exceeded all expectations on the new one.

  5. The Golden Grass – The Golden Grass

Vintage rock and roll at its finest. Read up on this project earlier in the year and liked what I read. Pre-ordered the limited vinyl edition, which I received, and feel it may be one of the more overlooked albums of the year. Don’t miss out on this amazing rock output. Its only 5 songs in length but it sure is 37 minutes of modern classic rock and roll. My dad would have loved this had it came out back in the 70’s. It sounds like it came from the past.

  4. 1000mods – Vultures

Had high hopes for this one as well after backtracking and really falling in love with their earlier material not that long ago. Vultures toppled my expectations. It’s the next wave of releases that challenges The Truckfighters – Universe for best stoner rock album of the year. Vocally I think it sounds eerily familier to Truckfighters and musically, it has that intensely fuzzy bass line with desert groove for days. Top notch.

  4. Serpent – Slaves of Babylon

Superb collection of hard rock tunes with a heavy blues based metallic crunch. Vocals sear like a hot machete chopping through a metric ton of luke warm hog lard which oozes over the  smoldering melodic guitar solos.

    3. Jeremy Irons & The Ratgang Malibus – Spirit Knife

Okay, this is the album I mentioned in my opening monologue. I actually had this digital album for a few months now and just never gave it the time of day. The first listen I think I was at work and not totally paying attention and thought it was kind of weird. I believe the vocals had something to do with my initial turn off, well fast forward to mid-late May and we have an album that is rivaling its way into my top 10 albums of the year and catapulting itself into the Small Stone album of the year at this point. Weird to think because earlier in the year I remember saying somewhere that this was the worst Small Stone release of the year. Boy how wrong was I. Just go listen and tell me what you think. Its full of psychedelic harmonies that you will most definitely get lost into.

  2. Jason Cruz and Howl – Good Man’s Ruin

I have a definite soft spot for punk rockers gone soft and western. Jason Cruz, frontman of punk legends Strung Out, comes at us with his debut album with Howl and it is nothing short of perfection. I can listen to this stuff all day everyday. For fans of Nick 13, early Lucero, Social Distortion, Jonny Two Bags, etc…. If you dig that alternative country punk hybrid, Good Man’s Ruin might just be the best of its kind this year. I had Jonny Two Bags on last months list, this is in the same vein.

1. Sturgill Simpson – Metamodern Sounds in Country Music

Well this one has been making the rounds and for good reason. This is full on country music the way its defined. Instead of me yapping about it go read this review that nails the entire debacle on the head and that I agree 100% with. It hasn’t been said much better. If I were to name a favorite song on the album I would have to say ‘Long White Line’ be it. Can’t get enough of the way he sings that one. Seriously this may be one of the best albums of the year I any genre.

[gripofdelusion]

Elements, by Hyne | Review by Bucky

9 track album

PRESS:

After a successful 2013, the guys from Hamburg to go in 2014 with a new album at the start! Nine tracks somewhere between blues, rock and classic 70s sound reflect the idea of ​​the modern Stoner of five of the Elbe. The album “ELEMENTS” offers bold Stoner boards, groovy songs and also quieter tone beat the guys at. Released on April 25, 2014 through Setalight/ Fuzzmatazz Records.

REVIEW:

Hyne ignite on all cylinders wasting no time in route to the keg party on 'The Engine' which cranks the RPMs up with one of the most heavy hitting, high flying “whoooah yaaaaa’s!!!” I’ve heard in recent memory. Melodic guitar groove burns out like classic muscle car rubber on black top while purring out vocals clocking in around the James Hetfield registry. And by Hetfield I’m talking the toughness in the crackle of Christoph Kozieski’s throat holds merit amongst the meanest of the hard rock masters. 

'The Engine' easily qualifies for the main event in good starting position as ‘Beneath the Radar’ kicks in insinuating just that, that Hyne is flying under the heavy rock radar yet beating out the competition in the stoner hard rock race. Lyrically the message is simple, like they play their guitars, loud and relentless to a head bobbing trance, the message seems to portray their nonchalant attitude towards authority, not causing any harm to anyone, speaking of both overcoming and being overcome by obstacles. As evidenced by 'Burn', chanting “You burn me once again” over and over sounds like pretty generic stuff, yet it’s easily relate able and comes across so smooth and natural that it’s hard to ignore and easy to accompany. Kind of like that stinky, grassy stuff rolled up in paper being passed around the party. No pressure to inhale but if you don’t your smile just won’t reach that ecstatic perma-state, and if you do you are partaking in the very rebellious action the lyrical theme of Elements is expressing. So what’s the big deal right? Puff puff give and let the good times roll. 

Speaking of engaging in debatable quandary the title track 'Elements' floats in with it’s slowed down and psychedelic blues tone. The guitar melody reminds me of a favorite band of mine ‘Black Cowgirl’ which speaks for itself. Clearly a highlight, (they named the damn album after it right?) Elements smokes out a verse sounding like a stoned out bluesy 'Rage Against the Machine' on their classic teen angst number 'Killing In The Name' from a lyrical standpoint. “I won’t do what they want… I will question their ways… I won’t do what they tell me to do…” Doesn’t get any more defiant than that. The whole song is an anthem of freedom of expression and power to the people, depending on who you work for that is.

Contradictory to some popular belief the next song apologizes for it’s rebellious actions by offering up a harmonica interlude. Actually breaks up the album nicely coming in at almost exactly the mid point like a halftime show to a western shoot out, resulting in song 6 called 'Dead Men' which riffs along nicely, maintaining the commanding vocal and fading into a rusty white noise outro.

'Paralyzed' hammers out a metallic crunch which severs the auditory backbone with more dark and dreamy fuzz rock. By this time you’ve likely been reminded of multiple more well known, highly praised bands. To me I have had visions of Clutch and Black Cowgirl and by 'Pieces of the Universe', my favorite song on the album, elements of Truckfighters’ mojo are confirmed. Not only does the band put the pieces of the music together perfectly, but the production team has done a fantastic job mixing and sorting through any hiccups. The album closes with an instrumental lullaby that chills the senses with a surreal melody of enchantment. I especially love the mixing on this album and the variation of several layers of volume and tone all while maintaining a muscular rock n’ roll flair.

I ordered the vinyl version offered up by the band, which appears to be sold out now unfortunately. I payed for the high priced digital at bandcamp, and went out if my way to contact the band about a review. I don’t just do that for any run of the mill rock band. Hell, I don’t even usually order vinyl with international shipping charged, but when I do son, when I do it’s because the record is spectacular! At a minimum go stream the record online at bandcamp. Check out their older record as well. But eventually become a man and support these Germans with some coin. The end!

[buck09brown]

My latest music review over at Grip of Delusion below:

[buck09brown]

Review:

I approached this album as I do every album. I pushed play without thoroughly researching the band, their intentions, their hopes and dreams, rather my hopes and dreams as to perhaps finding a cool ass album to play over and over. That said, these guys seem to have a ton of ambition and unique ideas reading up on them after I had listened to the album and formed initial thoughts and descriptions for this review. Go check them out on their website to get a feel of what they are all about. As for the music here goes my experience:

To start things off, if there ever was a band to pull off being named Ethereal Riffian it’s the band named Ethereal Riffian. They basically invite all those who live within the riff worshipping community to gather, uninhibited, for a celebration of poetically and celestially heavy riffs. Although the riffs aren't light, the music portrays a feeling of serenity within its masculinity. Take heed of the album art as well which is always the first thing we as listeners see when scanning for new albums before pushing the play button. Grinding brain gears propelled by a sonic planetary spectrum of light. Ya, that could be used to describe the sound of the 4 track 45 minute album as well. 

Thugdam opens the album with a crunchy magnetic riff, shaping into psychedelic solo interludes laced between melodic guitar cracklings. The vocals brood together scriptures of worship to the occult altar, with all out doomy intentions. The shortest song on the album dances to a close with an evil tribal psych guitar pow-wow. Huge drums throb their way to the frontlines to kick off the March of Spiritu. Trudging away, awakening all inhabitants within winds distance, the 2:20 minute mark sparks the commanding orders of Captain Stonezilla himself, guarded by troops of distorted fuzz. The spirit of doom battles on proudly and strategically, growing larger with every smattering riff. Ducking and darting in and out of the gargantuan slumbers of the riff cannons, to snarly strumming of the swords, Spiritu marches on into the Nothing. Vocals keep the adrenaline from excerpting all energy by restoring their true doom origin throughout.  The tracks seem to flow epically in nature, captivating the listener throughout their 11-minute plus durations. The singing seems to delve deeper and softer into the mix as the journey peddles on acting more as an instrument accentuating its dark mystic tone amongst its guitars. Each song is spiked full of latent fuzz, scented with that ever so pleasant Nola groove which deserves the utmost applause by combining raw power and rhythm to the wickedly brain-fried absence of reality.  Anatman conquers the beaten warpath by unlocking a majestic Pink Floydian introductory passage leading to a hammer down of perhaps the wickedest rhythm on the 4 song epic. High pitch guitar screams frantically echo through the boggy field of mire while the battle-axes palpitate the landscape into liquid sludge. The album oozes seriously doomy bliss without surrendering its medicinal marijuana card. Only getting better with each listen as more and more buried treasures unearth themselves from beneath the belly of this epic beast. If you claim to be a fan of the all mighty riff, the darkness of doom, or the tripped out jammy type, you will find it all on Aeonian. Be on the lookout. Order the album now over at bandcamp, or troll all other possible outlets to enable a proper listen of this band. Take my word, this shit is ethereal!!!

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[buck09brown]

Acid Elephant-Star Collider | Review by Bucky

This was my first ever review published on a mainstream blog, and the band even used my quotes on their bandcamp page to describe the album. To be honest, I personally think my early reviews were some of my strongest from a writing perspective. With personal lives getting busier and time getting sparser, writing reviews in between trips to the grocery store, changing diapers and running dogs gets to be more of a chore than a passion, and thus these early ones, although I didn't put too much time into them, they just came out a lot more organic and natural. I was feeling the flow if you might say. Or I'm just a chump who thinks he knows what good music sounds like and doesn't know shit. Could be, and who cares. Haven't listened to this one in months, but it definitely had that initial impact and deserves some attention. 

Review:

Review written on first listen as I was listening. First I've heard from the band who released their debut back in 2011 called Guerrilla Drive Valley which I'll have to now go back and check out.

Album opens with the ever so pleasant crackle of a cold can of brew. Deep throbbing bass-y fuzz coated with echoed chantey vocals. The repeating sonic riff initiates the classic head-bob as per the stoner fuzz handbook. 

Red Carpet Lane brings more giant peachy fuzz backed by desert highway sing-a-long slurs and followed by an eerie instrumental guitar twang capable of summoning the serpents of the barbarian landscape. But before the snakeoid surfaces it's crushed by the colossal riff that closes out the second half of this ten minute monster.

7th Stone begins the end of the stoned out Joy ride with 13+ minutes of spacey rhythms and slow brewing bass tripping it's way through the abyss as a tribal drum beat whittles away through a quarry of enchantment only to reach the 7th and final stone upon its last breath, acoustically strumming it last chord. 

The quest marches on with Godmason which continues the trend by adding intense swirls of psychedelia at a medieval pace slowly inching it's way towards the center of the black hole, or it could be warping through asteroid fields at the speed of light? Either way the sound remains distorted to the point of abysmal despair. Around the 5 minute mark Godmason lays on a slab of metal mortar that constructs an impermeable wall of psychedelic sludge. The doomy trance continues slaving away for the remainder of the soundtrack to hell with no breaks, no lunch, no furlow, and no prisoners other than it's now owned and converted listeners.

By this time the music has won, there is no escape, Bog begins to bury all hope to survive the inevitable collision which turns out has already happened light years away. The pummeling drain of Bog's onslaught of creepily orchestrated doom washes the listeners cavity clean with sludgy drippings of what once was just another casual album listen.

Acid Elephant have created one of the heaviest slabs of doom I've heard this year, which surprisingly held me hostage for an entire hour. I'll admit I'm normally not a huge fan of the 15+ minute doomasaurs but this one was riveting enough to bury me alive. What starts as an innocent buzz-inducing desert getaway turns quickly into a bludgeoning assault of psychedelic doom which slowly carves it's way into your brain with the very guitar pick that hooked your fuzzy neck in the first place. There's no escaping the Star Collider. 

[buck09brown]

Hjortene S/T, by Hjortene | Review by Bucky

So since all my reviews were taken down from the original hosting site over some risque wording on my last and final review for them, I figured it only fair to the bands in review that they have access to the positive words somewhere on the internet. Not that many people will see them here, more of just a place to stash them. Here were my words about this killer record by some heavy rockers from Copenhagen, Denmark called Hjortene posted originally back in early April:

Hjortene are a stoner punk band from Copenhagen Denmark. Much like fellow Danes 'Pet the Preacher' they crank out some hefty tunes if I might say. 

 I can't confidently tell you the correct pronunciation of the band name. Is the H silent is the J a real J sound or a J as in Jose. I guess I'm leaning towards Jose with the H-j combo, regardless it doesn't really matter because the album opens fast and furious like Jose or Hose B fleeing straight across the border heading towards greener crops. The bar is set in preparation for a punk rock assault with guest vocals from Sir Valient Thor himself.

Speaking of greener crops, the sweet leaf aroma on song two lays down the stoner foundation which supports the slab of heavy punk rock. The bass is tuned down heavy and low with a fuzzed out punky energy floating high like a kite on a cloud of bong smoke. Hjortene keep an upbeat pace with an invigorating punk rock tone to their baked distortion. The drumming shines from beginning to end as well, accentuating the fuzz just right. I get a bit of a Fu Manchu vibe as the album progresses forward which is never a bad thing.

 Classic Rock FM doesn’t sound like classic rock by any means. It spews out a desert riff much like something off the Truckfighter’s Gravity X album or something. Just a fuzzy base line set to a simple tone incorporating multiple languages in the vocals. I couldn’t understand everything on this record but what I did recognize was the supreme ability to chug out a groovy riff.

Epic Indian grooves away instrumentally much like Brant Bjork churns out the wicked grooves on much of his solo outings. For most the remainder of the record we get massaged with a pleasant stoner rock exhibition going back and forth between desert groove and monster energy. The clear highlight of the album comes in the last 9 minutes.

 Canada brings forth a super psychedelic and atmospheric experience blended in with the skilled stoner fuzz. The song features Lorenzo Woodrose from the band Baby Woodrose on guitar, which seems to make a difference and honestly for my taste the entire album would have benefitted greatly if Lorenzo took part on each and every song. Canada is a masterpiece of a heavy stoner song and heightens the success of Hjortene’s debut album.  I would have to say Hjortene showcase a promising debut with their self-titled. All in all, the entire album builds nicely towards the impressive finale at the end. The bulk of the album gets a bit repetitive in spots, which seems to happen the more bass heavy riffs a 3-piece gets themselves buried into, but it’s okay because the repetitiveness is a good sound and who doesn’t mind repeating a good thing. The guest appearances are probably the stronger efforts on the album for my liking, not discounting the virgin band members at all, more the fact that the guests that helped them out did exactly that. They helped them out and possibly the band learned a thing or two from them. Overall the album was a success and I quite enjoyed it, and recommend it for fans of heavy, bassy and fuzzy rock and roll. Like I said, the closing track incorporates much more of a psych twist which I would have liked to hear throughout the whole album.

 Currently, the album is up over at Bandcamp to buy and/or stream. They offer a vinyl edition as well for those of you who are floating down there in music addict rock bottom alley. Check the band out on Facebook and head on over to their Website if you can read their native language which maybe French? I don’t know but my computers translate feature wasn’t working to well and I had trouble really digging into details on the band, but I got the music and it sounds great. 

[gripofdelusion]

Listen/purchase: The Traveler (demo) by Black Cowgirl | Bucky’s Blurbs

Apparently Black Cowgirl’s sound engineer ran away with an actual black cowgirl while midstream during recording their new album and is missing in action. But they have made a rough cut of a new track off their to be released at some point new album. Hopefully sooner rather than later. Killer band, killer new track even if it is just a “demo”. Am I alone in that I think the term “demo” gets the short end of the stick at times? Enough blurbing, go download the new track.

[buck09brown]

New Black Cowgirl track. Demo or not, they rip!

[buck09brown]

Comet Control Review

So here is a review I did for another blog that got taken down due to the circumstances that were out of my control and I no longer contribute for. As well as all my reviews published at said blog being taken down, perhaps I'll put them up here at some point. Either way, although me and the band did not see eye to eye on a personal note, the music speaks for itself.

Review:

Comet Control is a psych rock band from Toronto featuring ex-members of Quest for Fire including Chad Ross (vox/guitar) Andrew Moszynski (guitar) Nicole Howell (bass) and Jay Anderson (drums).

To be honest I never really listened to Quest for Fire at all. Not that I didn’t like them, more over that nobody ever recommended them to me before so I never took the time to investigate them. So when presented this album the veteran group of musicians didn’t really excite me as it probably would for a die hard Quest for Fire fan. That said, there is a pretty strong chance I would have been a huge fan of QFF had I spent any time listening to them if Comet Control is any indication. Comet Control’s debut self-titled album tickled me in all the right places that’s for sure. From the opening 8-minute plus number of Blast Magic to the masterful closing minutes of Master, Comet Control aims its psychedelic fuzz rock towards outer space, creating an 8-song, 40-minute grouping of significant appeal to fans of stoner/psych/shoegaze/indie rock.

Comet Control has unleashed an album worthy of the Epic Proportions tag. Combining classic 60s psychedelia with modern stoner fuzz rock, the debut album takes the listener on a trip through space if I must say. Throughout the record I hear bits of dreamy shoegaze coated with a constant fuzz tone. Vocally Chad Ross brings a hazy and relaxed resonance throughout the entire record sounding something like how I imagine a heroin induced coma dream, floating your brain up towards that peak of ecstasy would sound. 

I'll make the comparison that Comet Control sounds like the daughter of a Pink Floyd and Queens of the Stone Age romantic encounter. That is Pink Floyd caressing QOTSA's fuzzy membrane with its mellow drugged out psychedelic delusions. 

Tracks like Hats off to Life utilize the keyboards to create a tripped out atmosphere within the heavy fuzzed up baseline. Floyd-esque guitar twang and mellow enchanting vocal passage such as "There's nothing that dies, just something that hides, in darkness and time, everything," leave the listener in a state of euphoria.

It's hard to really nail down any standout tracks honestly since they all bring something intriguing to the table. The opening number definitely gets the blood pumping, Fear the Haze brings a garage-blues/rock poppy tone to the table which I personally dig, and after repeat listens might possibly win the favorite track award. Future Forever pumps the volume heavy and high, The Soft Parade sounds like it could have been a popular hit straight out of the 70’s with its poppy luster, Century has a bit of a proto-punk edge to it, and Hat’s Off To Life just straight up rocks you like a dust devil swirling across the moon itself.

Overall, the album is a winner on all accounts in my book. Its heavy without being truly heavy, its mellow without boring the listener and the shoegaze-esque moments are contaminated with enough stoner fuzz to attract the indie rock math nerd wearing thick rimed glasses to the burly bearded stoner rock guy wearing a Clutch tattoo across his chest. Either way, don’t miss out on what has the potential to be a game changer shall these dudes elaborate upon this cool direction they’ve taken with Comet Control.  I approve of this message. Mark your calenders May 20th. They even have a vinyl pre-order up right now at this link. I literally just pushed pay for mine along with an older Sandrider LP.