Bandcamp has announced its’ third annual Juneteenth fundraiser where we donate 100% of our share of sales to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund on Friday, June 17th, from midnight to midnight Pacific Time. Read a statement from Bandcamp below.
Tag Archives: Oakland
PODCAST: Episode #167: Emily Jane White – on Her New Album “Alluvion”
Ghost Cult caught up with singer-songwriter Emily Jane White to discuss her new album Alluvion, out now via the Talitres label. Emily discussed her origins as an artist and singer, why activism goes hand-in-hand with her art, her love of Oakland, California, and much more.
ALBUM REVIEW: Necrot – Mortal – Tankcrimes
What’s the best strategy when it comes time to record a follow-up to a critically acclaimed album like 2017’s Blood Offerings? Well, for Necrot it seems as simple as following the course. Yes, that approach on paper does come across a little reductionist and it may imply that Mortal (Tankcrimes) is merely a rehash. But while Necrot may not be reimagining the genre on Mortal they are serving up some of the most satisfying Death Metal today.
Watch Tool’s New Years Eve Show In 1995
With New Years Eve right around the corner, and a new Tool album allegedly on its way, we’ve found a classic clip of the band to help with all of the excitement. Continue reading
Tool/Mastodon Supergroup Legend Of The Seagullmen Confirms Lineup, Announces First Show
Tool drummer Danny Carey and Mastodon guitarist and vocalist Brent Hinds got together in 2015 to form Legend Of The Seagullmen, and now that they’ve revealed their full lineup, they’ve finally announced their first show. Continue reading
Metallica Performs “Creeping Death” and “Blackened” Live at The Fox Theater
Metallica wrapped up their 2016 with an “intimate” Bay Area show two weeks ago in Oakland, and now they’ve shared an official recap of the gig. Continue reading
Metallica Performs At The Fox Theater In Oakland
Photo by Jeff Yeager via Metallica.com
Metallica wrapped up their 2016 with an “intimate” Bay Area show this past weekend in Oakland, and did not disappoint. Continue reading
Primus Announces 25th Annual New Year’s Eve Show In California
Primus has just announced the details for their 25th annual New Year’s Eve show, and it’s going to be huge. Continue reading
Secrets of the Sky – Pathway
An hour of the stormy, seaside-style intro to Pathway (Metal Blade), the second album from morose Oakland sextet Secrets of the Sky, would truly be the most hypnotic, serene experience. It’s real chill-out stuff, like those relaxation CDs you get from The Range. The band’s début, To Sail Black Waters (Kolony Records), was a heady mix of ephemeral beauty and harsh wastelands, and this effort proves no less expressive in both areas.
The first track in earnest, ‘Three Swords’, sees atmospheric synth course through steely riffs, dreamlike harmonies and hostile, agonised screams. There are brief interludes throughout the album; the more ominous ‘II’ leading appropriately into the balladic ‘Angel in Vines’s mix of doom-laden riff and rhythm, coated in a mix of death growls, blackened rasps and delicate, oft-whispered lilts. The accompanying soft, jangling leads make the whole reminiscent of a shoegazing Scorpions; it’s a stunning track, enveloping the listener in evocative waves of lush sound.
The utterly miserable ‘Another Light’, however, is the sound of a soul past the point of despair; sunk into exhausted apathy. Yes friends, this is no cheery experience and it sadly becomes increasingly cheapened by those brief synth and clinical lead inclusions, periodically dragging a powerful and harrowing sound into the occasionally cheesy realms of Melodic Death. Only the sluggish pace, anguished roars and ‘cleans’, and a pensive acoustic coda save ‘Garden of Prayers’ from wistful mediocrity.
Sadly the passion is also diluted, not helped by a crystal-clear production, resulting in what is undoubtedly intended to be a highly emotive outing being robbed of a significant dose of the required spirit. The brute force of the largely faster, nastier ‘Fosforos’ finally displays the element of grit that’s been missing: the closing half of wrought, sinister lead surrounded by the vicious vocals and pummeling drums of the opening section. A return of those hushed intonations over cold lead twangs in the anodyne, prosaic ‘Eternal Wolves’, however, embodies the flaws which ultimately stick in the mind.
Though by no means a poor effort, and musically accomplished in spades, Pathway is nevertheless short of real feeling.
6.5/10
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PAUL QUINN