EP REVIEW: Dead Heat – Endless Torment


 

“Drinking beer, smoking marijuana, listening to Judas Priest…” stems from a shoddy news report detailing the Judas Priest lawsuit trial from 1990. But for those in the know, the sample from the said report was the awesome opening touch that Nails went with on the Among the Arches of Intolerance/In Pain single from 2015. If you don’t own the Decibel Magazine flexi, do yourself a favor and give it a listen on your preferred streaming platform. The same beer-swilling, reefer madness slogan would make perfect sense paired with another Oxnard, California standout in Dead Heat.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Old Blood – Acid Doom


It’s oddly satisfying when an album’s title is also an accurate descriptor for the music it contains. This is more or less the case with Old Blood’s second full-length album, Acid Doom (DHU Records/Metal Assault Records). While the group’s style may not be crushing in the traditional sense, their brand of Heavy Psych has a dark sultriness that should sit well with fans of groups like Uncle Acid and Blood Ceremony. And considering the four-year gap since their self-titled debut, it’s fair to say that things have only gotten more off-the-wall in that time.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Stygian Crown – Stygian Crown


Stygian Crown’s full-length debut sits comfortably within the Epic Doom Metal niche, but their particular style comes from a more aggressive mindset than many of their peers. This is especially apparent with the guitar work, which exhibits a grainy tone and bulldozing riff patterns that are chunkier than the Classic Metal-derived fare of more conventional outfits. It never goes full-on Death/Doom but the band’s declaration of a Candlemass meets Bolt Thrower sound certainly makes sense when viewed through this lens.

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Mr. Bungle Released Their Final Album, “California”, 20 Years Ago


On this day twenty years ago the final studio album from the wild and weirdly cool, insanely talented Mr. Bungle, California (Warner Bros), was released. At the time it seemed like the band best known as the side project of Mike Patton had long legs as if they would go on to make many more albums afterward. Sadly, it was not meant to be. Still, California holds up today as a strong album and a forebearer of further musical projects all of the members would undertake in the future. Continue reading


Yawning Man – Macedonian Lines


Is there anything a band can really do without? Drummers and bassists are indispensable. Guitarists summon the magic and give the punters something to throw things at. Keyboardists? Well, sometimes they’re OK. The dude with the bagpipes? Folk Metal is the new Sex.Continue reading


Continuum – Designed Obsolescence


Designed Obsolescence (Unique Leader), the latest LP from Technical Death Metal supergroup (we’ll get to that) Continuum has a quite a bit going for it. Continuum hails from the modern death metal hotbed that is California and features former members of acts ranging from Rings of Saturn, Allegaeon, Pathology, Decrepit Birth and more, so you don’t even have to listen to a single note on Designed Obsolescence to know that these dudes can play. Yeah, they can fucking play with technicality and precision that this writer will never grasp.Continue reading


Ulthar – Cosmovore


Pause for a moment, dearly beloved, and check out THAT COVER. See it, feel it, breathe it in. It is Ian Miller at his gothic grotesque best like someone crossed a lurid creepy crawly with a bad trip in a fin de siècle opium den. It’s got one of Lovecraft’s Elder Thing exploding with mouths, beaks, eyes and profane wind instruments, striding through a cancerous landscape full of writhing horror and grandeur. It is also my laptop’s Christmas wallpaper.Continue reading


Tool’s Danny Carey Performs With Primus On New Year’s Eve


Primus put on their 25th annual New Year’s Eve show last weekend in California, and they had a very special guest jam with them during their set. Continue reading