ALBUM REVIEW: Dorthia Cottrell – Death Folk Country


 

There is a rich tradition of Doom musicians releasing stripped-back acoustic affairs as the likes of Scott Weinrich, Tony Reed, and Mike Scheidt can attest to. Windhand‘s Dorthia Cottrell is no exception and Death Folk Country (Relapse Records) marks her second solo effort to date following a self-titled debut in 2015.

Continue reading


Muddy Roots 2023 Weekend Tickets On Sale Now


For more than a decade, music fans have gathered at the Junebug Boogie Ranch in Cookeville, Tennessee for the Muddy Roots Festival. The fest celebrates Punk, Roots, Metal, Folk, and just about everything in between. We reviewed the 2022 fest here. Weekend passes are on sale now, with the first bands to be announced for next year soon!

Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Volbeat – Servant of the Mind


At what point do we (I? Is it just me by now…? in which case, I’ll get with the programme asap!) change our default position that bands twenty years deep into their careers shouldn’t be producing their best stuff in a heavy music arena? Cos it’s bollocks. Our staff voted-for album of the year top 3 picks for this year to prove it. The last ten years of evidence proves it. A whole plethora of written-off bands pushing well into their second, third, even fourth, decade with career best releases prove it. There’s a pervading feeling that age dilutes quality and / or heaviness, yet nothing could be further than the truth. Particularly in the Volbeat camp, because, Servant of the Mind (EMI), their twentieth anniversary and eighth studio release, is their best to date. Form is temporary when class is permanent.Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Corey Taylor – CMFT


Metal heavyweight Corey Taylor has officially made his solo debut with the release of a full record. This new space has granted him the freedom to create songs you’d never find on a Slipknot record, for better or for worse. If you follow Taylor’s career exclusively because of Slipknot, CMFT (Roadrunner) might not be worth your time. But, for fans of Stone Sour, the collection of different hard rock styles and adjacent alternative influences are sure to please. Continue reading


PODCAST: Episode 111: Henry Derek Elis on His Solo Career and Inspiration


Ghost Cult scribe Duncan Evans caught up by phone with singer-songwriter Henry Derek Elis for an interview about his new covers EP, All The Pretty Little Horses. Henry is best known as the former vocalist for metal bands Scar The Martyr and Act of Defiance, but his solo career has taken him down a path closer to Outlaw Country, Americana, and Dark Folk. Henry chatted about the new EP, his choice of artists to cover such as Danzig and Billy Idol, the difference between his metal music and solo career, his take on how watered-down “folk” music has become his influences and opinions of classic artists, and much more. You can order Henry’s music at this link:Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Wailin’ Storms – Rattle


Having originally formed in Texas, Doom/Punk quartet Wailin’ Storms relocated to North Carolina and it’s possible that both areas may be contributing to the band’s thick soup of rebellion and a life in the darkness. Third album Rattle (Gilead Media) sees the band incorporate a Grungey, swamp-drenched edge to that sound, further uniting related yet disparate genres.Continue reading


Shooter Jennings Featured In The New Season Of The Punisher


Marvel’s The Punisher Season 2 dropped yesterday and hopefully, it won’t be its last since it’s easily one of the best of the Marvel Netflix series there is. Certainly Punisher the most hardcore violent and true to the comic series (think Garth Ennis’ run for true fans). Music has always played a big role in these Netflix shows with Tyler Bates (Marilyn Manson, movie scores) composing the theme to Punisher, metal being used for Punisher trailers, Manson’s own ‘Fated, Faithful, Faithful’ in a season one episode, the use of Hip Hop, RnB, Jazz and Blues in both seasons of Luke Cage, and old-school Rap in Iron Fist. Outlaw Country finally got it’s due in the Season two premiere of Punisher- Roadhouse Blues, Shooter Jennings and his band play the bar band in the main locale for the episode. They performed the tracks ‘The Outsider’, his hit song ‘Outlaw You’, ‘Wild and Lonesome’, ‘The Other Life’, and ‘The Real Me’. For the uninitiated, Shooter is a great artist, a total badass, and the son of country royalty Waylon Jennings and Jessi Coulter. Continue reading


Volbeat – Let’s Boogie! Live From Telia Parken


For the uninitiated, Volbeat is not just an international success, but a very big deal in their home country of Denmark. Perhaps not yet as ubiquitous as more favorite sons Lars Ulrich (more about him later) and King Diamond, but pretty big. Volbeat has cool albums, but the live experience is what seals the deal (see what I did there?). The band is simply incredible live, playing up to the fans, entertaining every second and making a giant crowd of nearly 50,000 feel intimate. All while the band just jams their hits and deep cuts alike on Let’s Boogie! Live From Telia Parken (Republic). It’s a testament to why they are one of the best rock and heavy metal bands in the world right now. Continue reading


Amigo The Devil – Everything Is Fine


Troubador is a terminology almost forgotten to time. Sure it applies to a lot of Indie-Folk and Alternative artists. There are some really great storytellers across different genres in music history: Johnny Cash, Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Neil Young, Eddie Vedder, Loudon Wainwright III, Jaye Jale, Emma Ruth Rundle, The White Buffalo, Marissa Nadler, Chris Smither, Wovenhand, and even the lighter side of artists like Xasthur and Panopticon. Why not mash-up soulful Blues and Country like Hank III, but also Torch Song Art-Punk like Amanda Palmer? It can be done if you have the talent and the ability to convey realness. Fake anything won’t work for this style at all. Amigo The Devil a.ka. Danny Kiranos deals in these realities that point the mirror at the less flattering and absurd moments in life, including at himself. His new album, the Ross Robinson (Korn, Sepultura) produced Every Thing Is Fine (Regime Music Group) conveys this in spades.Continue reading


Devildriver – Outlaws ‘Til The End Vol. 1


You may or may not cringe when people say “everything’s been done before” depending on your taste in music. Fans can be a jaded lot, and there is so much noise to cut through to find new sounds to rock out to, it’s understandable to hesitance to think outside your typical playlists. Devildriver in their career have been nothing, but resilient, consistent, and heavy. Their cover of ‘Sail’ by AWOLNATION proved they could get out of their comfort zone, and impress. So here we are, on the ledge looking over the chasm at the release Outlaws ‘Til The End Vol. 1 (Napalm Records), an album that could easily divide their die-hard fanbase. Continue reading