While Red Fang’s fourth album immediately stands out as their first full-length since 2016’s Only Ghosts, it seems to hearken back to the Sludgy aspects of their earliest ventures. Tracks like ‘Unreal Estate’ and the title track reflect strong Melvins circa (A) Senile Animal vibes with their trudging riff patterns and eccentrically howled vocal lines. ‘Fonzi Scheme’ and ‘Days Collide’ elaborate further the former putting in a particularly potent stomp and the latter benefitting the most from the disorienting atmosphere.
2R0I2P0 (Twenty Twenty RIP, Relapse Records) is a collaboration album from two luminaries of the Japanese experimental music scene, Boris and Merzbow. Boris has released a vast number of albums over the past 25 years, and their sound ranges from psychedelic post-rock to crushing metallic doom riffery. Noise artist Merzbow (the brainchild of Masami Akita) has been even more prolific, having released hundreds of records over a 40-year career.
Ghost Cult is proud to share the full album stream from Italian Noise rock band ELM! The Waitreleases this Friday, June 12 via Bronson Recordings. Crunching riffs, fuzzed-out bass, and beats smash each other and then recede, while have sung half snarled vocals act as a warning to the listener. Tread lightly, and you’ll still get your proverbial teeth knocked back in your throat. The angular, aggro music the band puts out will find a common ground with fans of Helmet, classic Melvins, the weirder moments of Clutch and Jesus Lizard for starters.
Quote: “We wrote The Wait one year ago. It’s kind of a statement and kind of a warning: something’s coming, better prepare yourself. Now that the storm has come, you could take it as some sort of prophecy but you’d be wrong: prophecies are crap. Nothing has changed. The Wait finds ELM in a shinier, heat-fueled and darker landscape, adding tension to aggression and stripping it down to the basics.”
The eleven-track analog recording was captured by Paride Lanciani (Kash, Instrumental Quarter, Maniac Du Jour) and assisted by Alberto Costa, at Oxygen Recording Studios in Verzuolo, Cuneo, Italy in a week of retreat during the hottest summer to date. The state-of-the-art analog environment on the hills overlooking the flat land surroundings of Cuneo served as the ideal place for ELM to channel the mood of the songs into the tracks.
The eleven track analog recording was captured by Paride Lanciani (Kash, Instrumental Quarter, Maniac Du Jour) and assisted by Alberto Costa, at Oxygen Recording Studios in Verzuolo, Cuneo, Italy in a week of retreat during the hottest summer to date. The state-of-the-art analog environment on the hills overlooking the flat land surroundings of Cuneo served as the ideal place for ELM to channel the mood of the songs into the tracks.
Look, it’s as cold as a witch’s tit, and I’m not talking about the variety that likes PVC. With that in mind, here are seven attempts by the underground Metal scene to raise the temperature. As it were. (Come on, give me that one. I have an A-Level in English, and everything).Continue reading →
The first song on an album is important. It sets the tone for what’s to come. Get this right, and everything flows. Get this wrong, and, well… it’s better to get it right. Unfortunately, Mark Deutrom’s The Blue Bird (Season of Mist) is in the latter category. The opening track seems messy and disjointed and is followed by ninety seconds of a solo guitar playing whole notes…. Slowly…. The listener is unsure where this is going to go. Continue reading →
It is coming to the end of another year, a time with some celebration you may have heard of on the horizon and, more importantly, for end of year lists, where mostly sane people agonise and debate about ranking excellent things they enjoyed in an arbitrary list format which simultaneously means nothing and everything at the same time. It also means that albums released between now and the start of January will normally get overlooked; which, in the case of Great Falls and A Sense Of Rest(Corpse Flower Records), is a criminal injustice.Continue reading →
When we think of island land masses, amongst many things, there are a couple of notable thoughts and ideals which spring to mind. First is the idea of separation and seclusion, with the idea of remote, undiscovered or unknown locales, untouched by outsiders. Second is the diversity and uniqueness that they provide from both one another and from other land masses; different climates, cultures, unique creatures and flora.Continue reading →
Bands that take themselves too seriously are uptight, are easy to spot, and usually suck pretty bad. Bands that understand how absurd life truly is, usually makes interesting and challenging music that works outside the normal confines of typical genres. This is the case with Night Vapor’s bucket o’ weird and their heady noise-rock inspired jams. The band is dropping a new album 1,000 Miles of Mud (via Corpse Flower Records) on December 14th, and Ghost Cult is streaming their new single, ‘Your Daily Bread’, and you should check it out. Continue reading →
I get a real kick not only out of reviewing a band from the UK, but also a band that are from the city I hold very dear. Irk are a Noise Rock trio from the bastion of Yorkshire, Leeds. It will never be the most commercial genre, but there is a lot about Irk that is worthy of note, and to show exactly what they’re all about, they have served up their self-released crowdfunded debut album, Recipes From The Bible.Continue reading →
Canadian metallic hardcore-influenced noise rock band KEN Mode are back with a new album, Loved (Season of Mist), but there’s no love to be found on it. Contrary to the name, the Winnipeg, Manitoba band’s seventh album is a solid slab of slow churning, nihilist hardcore that sounds like it could self-destruct at any minute.Continue reading →
Canadian metallic hardcore-influenced noise rock band KEN Mode are back with a new album, Loved (Season of Mist), but there’s no love to be found on it. Contrary to the name, the Winnipeg, Manitoba band’s seventh album is a solid slab of slow churning, nihilist hardcore that sounds like it could self-destruct at any minute.