rock

I saw Swans on every UK tour that they did between 2010 and the end of the “trilogy” line up in 2017 (or 2018 – I forget). I got a copy of every live album they did too off the back of these experiences (except Deliquescence, which had sold out by the time the tour date nearest me rolled around, goddamn it). You could easily argue that The Gate captures “peak Swans”, who are at…

I’ve had this CD for donkey’s years but broke it out recently after the annoucement of the track listing for the new 2022 Swans album, The Beggar. The CD version of this album contains the apparent third part of the Body Lovers’ trilogy (part 2 being the “Look At Me Go” suite on disc 2 of My Father… from 2010 – which I also need to revisit). I’ve never been that hot on The Body…

Holy Diver was an excellent way to kick off the “solo” effort of Ronnie James Dio, riding hot off the success of both Sabbath records, Heaven And Hell and Mob Rules. Dio Sabbath isn’t my favourite thing in the world, but I heavily appreciate the work that the group did together with Dio (and not to mentioned, Dehumanizer is awesome and under-rated!). With Vinny Appice being onboard this doesn’t sound a hundred miles away from…

I love this album and return to it quite frequently. It isn’t something I would ever have found on my own; I have their annoucement for Roadburn festival about 11/12 years ago to thank for forcing me to check out their records. But, I’m glad to be here. At first, when the opening riff of “Freelance Fiend” comes forth from the speakers, it sounds kinda weird and hollow, and you may be forgiven for thinking…

Type O Negative is one of my favourite bands of all time, and Peter Steele is one of the most unique artists of all time. Therefore, every bone in my body wanted to like this, for the cover art, for the vibe, for the flat out Type O worship, but alas, it’s just not very good. “Windows” is by far the best track (and its not as good as people are making out) but the…

I listened the shit out of this album, not in 2005 when it came out (even though “The Hand That Feeds” got a lot of plays from me and my school mates), but in 2015 when I was in my mid 20s working shifts delivering for the local kebab shop, desperately trying to claw together some extra money for me and my partner. This CD never left my car. I’m not the biggest fan of…

Ah, Muse, Muse, Muse. Blimey. How hard can a band fall off? Why, just ask Muse. Origin Of Symmetry is a stunning sophomore effort from a promising band who, on their debut, showed a side to them which had a lot of promise, but perhaps conformed to dare I say somewhat regular songwriting for the time. Many have pointed out the similarities to Radiohead, and I don’t take much stock in this, because I love…

It’s one thing to be produced by a legend such as Steve Albini, but quite another thing to sound very, very similar to one of his bands. In this case, Head Of David’s Dustbowl is not a million miles away from the dissonant ramblings and clanking bass of Big Black, which is extremely disappointing considering the line up of this band, and as I say, the producer on board too. Putting aside the accusations of…

Swans are one of those special bands that sound completely different on each record. The early stuff is some of the hardest music you can possibly want to hear. You could also argue that the sound began thawing on Holy Money or Greed, albums that came before this, but the way I see that instead is that the band added more elements to their work, rather than stripping back their work. Children Of God was…

I absolutely loved this album when I was a kid. Back then, in the golden year that was 2000, where the world was changing and looking forward to a brand new millenium (what a dissapointment, eh?), 10-year-old me and one of my best friends, Alex, went to the local Woolworths, money burning a hole in our pockets, and we bought our first ever albums. I bought Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory (the first album I ever…

Notable for being the first album of Voivod’s to feature Jason Newsted on bass (who?), and to include the return of original vocalist Snake, after Eric Forrest’s departure. I’m a bit unclear on whether Eric left or whether Voivod 2.0 disbanded, before reforming with Snake and Newsted. Either way, this self-titled record was the product of the new line-up for the new millennium. Despite the incredibly strong staffing on this record, Voivod S/T begins something…

Suffering a similar fate to that of Katorz, Infini falls a bit flat by treading in slightly safer territory than the band’s usual frenetic thrash or prog-metal output. Is Infini bad? Absolutely not – some would have you believe that this era of Voivod needs wiping from the face of the earth, but I am not one of those people. There is, however, a reason why this period of Voivod languishes as the least favourite…

It pains me to rank a Voivod album so low (not that 3 is particularly dog-rough). I struggled for years to get into the Newsted-era / final Piggy releases but have returned to them now with a greater appreciation for the wider Voivod discography and history. It is a shame then that I still generally am not that into this era of the band; Katorz is fairly inoffensive and also rather “safe” for Voivod (they’ve…

This isn’t usually my bag but I was drawn in by the incredible vocals. Ended up sticking around for the whole EP, which is at points as dark and weird as it is poppy – the songs are crackling and alive with the spark of youth (lol) and I’d be very excited to hear more from this group to find out where they ended up taking things.

The Real Thing is one of those records that reveals itself to you more and more the longer you spend with it. It has been surely said a thousand times but Faith No More really were a special band, and whilst perhaps you could argue that the sound on this record is a little dated now, it is still a pleasure to return to and a highly recommended listen for anyone into rock and metal…

What can I say that has not already been said before. Often times when confronted with reviewing something as gargantuan as this I can find myself lost for words. Luckily, the music more often than not will speak for itself and do most of the work for me. Black Sabbath’s self titled record changed everything, at least in my opinion. It set the entire world of rock music onto a different course. One cannot understate…

Spectral Ecstasy is the perfect and I suppose logical continuation of the sound first presented on Kaleidoscope Dreams. This album is thirty minutes of fantastic psychedelic rock with small amounts of doom influence, as well as a larger dollop of black metal influence too, although this is definitely more restrained here than in the past. The production is mostly the same as what came before but there have been leaps and bounds made in the…

Facelift hits a lot harder than I ever would have thought (or given Alice In Chains credit for). Featuring a slightly rougher production that its more well-known follow-up Dirt, Facelift for me is the better album, with heavier riffs and generally just better songs. Y’know, there are probably more “stand out” songs on Dirt but Facelift works better as an album, in my opinion (not that its worth much). Never would have thought after all…

I’ve never been a big fan of pretty much anything in the grunge style (perhaps Kyuss or Melvins come closest) but I checked out a bunch of Alice in Chains stuff recently after replaying GTA San Andreas, which pumped “Them Bones” into my head about 500 times in the space of six weeks. And I’ve got to be honest, I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would. I don’t know enough about the…

Before CKY, there was Oil. CKY have a rich and varied history, but the band Oil was basically CKY in all but name. Granted, this is pre-Ginsburg, but by listening to this 1997 release (also known as The Gold Tape) you are listening to an old CKY demo, rather than material from another band the guys were in beforehand. A lot of these tracks never made it in the future, but this demo contains one…

My first impressions of Dark Quarterer were that of a poor man’s Messiah-era Candlemass. But, I gave this record a chance and damn, did it grow on me. What an interesting display of sounds. The production is garbage, the vocals are just… weird and the overall vibe is of classic or occult rock but after few grams too many in the pot whilst making the mushroom tea. It’s like, aliens observing from space saw rock…

Weirdly unsettling stuff, with a backdrop of sexual menace. Imagine Big Black and Filth-era Swans fighting at a Ramones gig. I dig the retro art though, I really love those old sleazy vibes. I’m not sure if Pussies is for me but I’ve never really heard anything quite like this, so I’ll give them points for that!

The turning point for Muse, I think. It was when they stopped being a rock band and became a whole corporate entity. That’s not to say I dislike Black Holes… some of my favourite Muse songs are on this. It is however, the point where I checked out. Anything past this I lost interest in.

Nordisk Krim gives me interesting vibes, like a twist between old prog rock and the more recent group, Goat. It’s not entirely in my wheelhouse and I find some of the aspects a little tiresome, but I can respect the musicianship and the quality of the production. The subjects of the songs is also very interesting, I’m not just in love with the finished album.

Where does jazz fusion end and prog rock begin? Endless instrumental noodling is afoot in that imitable, super-glossy big 80s production style. Only, this is from 1998 (lol). Ham-factor aside, these guys can seriously play, and Vital Tech Tones does kinda live up to its album / project name.

As much as I want to be a grown-up music reviewer and as much as I want bands and artists to naturally grow and evolve, I simply gotta say: goddamn I miss it when 40 Watt Sun was heavy. Distortion-filled 40 Watt, both live and on-record, is some of the best stuff that I have ever witnessed.  Not that I do not appreciate what Patrick Walker is doing here, of course. I saw 40 Watt…

I may be something of a novice when it comes to the Handsome Family, getting into them through them being featured as the theme song to the first season of True Detective, but damn, this stuff is unsettling. I’ve enjoyed the band’s misty, unnerving country music immensely, so I was shocked to fire up Odessa and find a brand of music more in line with the grunge. The guitar work hits incredibly hard though, and…

The Final Countdown is the title of this album, of course also the single, and its also the title of the band’s ‘best of’ album too. For a group that apparently doesn’t like to milk their biggest hit, that’s a bad look. I understand there’s probably a ton of label meddling in these decisions, but still. I’ve always loved the title track, since I was a wee lad studying music in school. So I figured…

I have to say off the bat that I find Democracy underwhelming. I’ve listened to it twice now, and it just doesn’t jump out at me. It’s not bad, but it’s just very uneventful. The mix is very wishy washy and everything gets lost and buried. Kinda like the shoegaze hoover effect, but not in desired way. Democracy, unfortunately, sees Killing Joke on auto-pilot. This is a crying shame after the return to form thay…

Juicer are a sonic force to be reckoned with. Calling All Cars shows their all-encompassing sound in its infancy, from sweet, lullaby-esque vocal pieces to stomping grunge and or sludge bangers. The duo would get heavier, more experimental and more extreme as time went on, but their debut is a sunny slice of all the things that makes this project so brilliant.

The Real Thing blew Faith No More up. Angel Dust, which followed, seemed to weird a lot of mainstream media and fans out, if what I read on the Internet is true. I can kinda see this, as Angel Dust can get quite obtuse in moments. Songs like “Jizzlobber” and “RV” are of course going to hit a bit on the nose, but fans of Patton et al will of course no doubt instead revel…

This is the second and final album from The Blood Divine, the band featuring several members of Principle-era COF, as well as Darren White from Anathema. Mystica is a refreshing journey, actually. The first album is a solid and fine lesson in 90s British doom (arguably the best doom?), but Mystica goes off in several unpredictable directions. There are a lot of rock and blues parts, and the keyboard playing is absolutely excellent in this…

This is arguably the catalyst for the initial destruction of the original run of the band in the 80s. I’ve seen it called a band unravelling, a misled attempt at a solo project, or also the work of intense vanity from certain members of the group. But how does it sound? To my knowledge, Geordie and Jaz go it alone on this effort, with a hired band of session musicians. It sounds… like a really…

What I would define (if possible) as Killing Joke’s “poppy” period is probably my least favourite era. That being said, Night Time is a banging album, but Brighter Than A Thousand Suns continues in this vein, but with less urgency and with more sprinklings of New Romantic style pomp. That’s not to say the songs aren’t sprawling or lush or anything like that, but elementally, things just come together differently, and therefore hit differently, especially…

I’ve never listened to Genesis before. Of course, their shit is all over the radio, but never to the point have I sat down and enjoyed one of their albums. I also can’t help but feel like Patrick Bateman listening to this shit. Anyways, it’s a very poppy, very synthesizer-heavy roundup of songs from Genesis. There’s some absolute bangers, and then there’s some tracks that just kinda blur on by with nothing to say for…

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Graveyard, but I have friends who adore them. So when this dropped, I added it to my To Do list, and I typical Lines In Wax fashion, it’s taken me 6 years to get around to giving it a proper listen and commit it to the virtual collection. I’m getting better, and as I get older my ducks are more and more in a line but there’s still…

Is there a comeback album as perfect as this? How many bands go away and then return better than ever before? The 2003 self-titled release from Killing Joke was also the first experience most people of my generation had with the band, too. Personally, I was never really that into it, I loved “Asteroid” and had heard “Loose Cannon” but I was 14 at the time so was neck deep in other types of music….

I recently spent a bit more time with this album (it’s been years) and it reminded me of just how special it is. Its easy to think of this as overrated, especially in comparison to some other gems in the Pink Floyd catalogue, but personally, I think this thing deserves all the hype it gets. Is it a disjointed fucking mess with seemingly no direction or purpose? Seems like it. Does it matter? Not really….

I saw Jex Thoth once (fronting Sabbath Assembly), and whilst there is something a bit magical about that band, I prefer her “solo” work (even though this is a band all in of itself). This has a bit more stonery crunch and fuzz to the guitars, a bit more of a dirtier sound and a bit more go to it, where I found Sabbath Assembly to be quite pensive. Granted, there are larger themes at…

To say that this is a “strange” Pink Floyd album probably does the band a disservice, but it feels like the penultimate firework in a display, just before Meddle comes flying out as full-blown peak Floyd of the early days. Side A is whole piece, which is easily the best bit about this record, with the B side containing smaller, more digestible songs which are, unfortunately, a little bit forgettable. The final track is some…

Where Dub War met its end, Skindred rose from the ashes, sailing to new heights of popularity and success. Babylon would go on to sell extremely well, and whilst maybe it hasn’t aged all that well, stand out tracks like “Pressure”, the title track or “Selector” remind you why this brand of ragga, dub and metal was so infectious.

Rush are one of those bands that seem to command infinite respect but who’s legacy has somewhat sailed me by. I’ve also had a lot of time for the rhythm section of this band, but asides from giving 2112 a go a few times, its not really been for me. Moving Pictures (which shares a title with an hilarious Discworld book) suffers the same fate. I just cannot get into it. Shit, this thing leads…

Holy fucking shit this is boring. There’s some good ideas, some good instrumentation and some good vocals from Mr Bell, but fuck are the songs too long. The album in general could probably lose a third of its run time (that Simon & Garfunkel cover can be the first thing to get into the sea and never emerge again) and be wholly better for it. The first third is easily the best stuff here, even…

Has it really been 7 years since this came out? Haha! Damn, my priorities are all over the place. Granted, I got very tired very quickly with the whole occult rock revival thing, but thats no excuse to take 7 years to review something. The Oath are pretty good to be fair, with decent amounts of occult swagger tinting this fairly safe play on the rock and roll template. The extremely-levelled-off production also compromises to…

I need to find some context for this. All of a sudden, all these years after Sol Invictus, the lead single gets a bizarre and honestly, awful (lol) remix by the legendary J G Thirwell. I’m not sure what this is or what it is trying to achieve, but the vocal lines from “Motherfucker” seem shoehorned into some bombastic piece of music that is a thousand miles away from any related vibe. Honestly, I’m confused….

I was never that big a fan of Demon Days when it first came out. It seemed to lack the dub stylings of the Gorillaz self-titled album. It could not be argued however, that Demon Days is not packed with fantastic singles. From “Dirty Harry” to “Kids With Guns” to “Dare” or even all the way through to the abstract “Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey’s Head”, Demon Days is loaded with low key banger…

Commune is the second album by hippy-dippy (sorry) experimental project Goat, who burst into the world with the phenomenal World Music record. Commune, in comparison, is a little bit more muted. Things develop at more of a crawl than they did on the rather spectacular debut. It took me a while to realise that Commune isn’t necessary boring or without the spark that Goat made upon their unleashing to the world, its just that the…

Whore is an earlier album by the super-hyped Mephistofeles. Whilst I think Whore is better than Satan Sex Ceremonies I’m still not particularly wild about this project. I love the aesthetic, and the guitar tone, and that’s about it for me. Anyways, I’ve done two albums, I’ve tired to get into them. I guess we’ll just leave it at that for now! LOL.

Flux Information Sciences were admittedly a band I only ever heard of because they had an album out on Michael Gira’s Young God Records. The Last Mixes is a compilation of well, some of the last stuff the band ever did. Apparently. It’s not listed anywhere as an official release, and one of the band members has commented on the YouTube upload of this saying he doesn’t know where the hell the uploader got these…

Chiwawawawa are from Manchester and play an interesting blend of noisy rock and a slightly more melodic vein of indie music. Without wanting to be derivative or to put these guys in a box, Violent Architecture has an awful lot of Black Midi vibes, and the final track has parts that sound as if they are lifted directly out of Swans’ “Bring The Sun”, but this is so blatant it simply must be some sort…

Different Class is fucking great but I’m not sure if it has aged well. Jarvis Cocker’s sexually charged mumbles and whispers give him the air of some creepy-ass sex offender, especially when a few of these numbers have a sting in the tail (tale? Haha). He will get your Mrs. coked up, fuck her without johnny on, and then bail. But, he’ll write a song about it, so that makes it OK, apparently? Like I…

We played this on a night shift last year, after reading online about how its one of the evilist things ever recorded, or some such overblown statement. A Cool Dark Place To Die is, frankly, comical in its concept and delivery. Coming across like a mix of shit dungeon synth and even shitter “death-rock” like Christian Death and the like, Theatre Of Ice ham it up in every way possible, and then obscure everything with…

I picked up this 7″ for pennies during a Earache Records websale. This is a strange one. It seems to have been another victim of the label’s “fling shit at the wall and see what sticks” phase during the 90s, where they took all their money made from breaking death metal and grindcore, and tried to invest in many new music movements of the time. None of these really were a success, even when the…

I had a recent dabble into what could be called proto-metal (basically anything that pre-dated Black Sabbath’s self titled record yet was also very heavy). Sir Lord Baltimore are often a name thrown about for contenders who pipped Sabbath to the post for starting the heavy metal genre. The only thing available on Spotify is the complete works so I figured I’d give the whole thing a bash. Honestly, Kingdom Come (1970) is great but…

There’s an easy pleasure in listening to old Motörhead. Ace Of Spades is far from my favourite, but it’s just so easy to throw this on, and drive, or something like that. “Love You Like A Reptile” is an interesting cut, and I can’t help but be reminded of David Icke and his moon-lizard craziness. “Jailbait” is a proper dodgy number, one I suspect you wouldn’t be able to get away with writing today, even…

Trad metal with enough of a sleazy swagger that you would usually find in occult rock and so on. God’s Right Hand is a fairly short outing, but it’s incredibly well made and the production is also fantastic and crystal clear, but without losing much charm. I look forward to seeing what these guys come up with next. I believe the record store (read: crypt) Crypt Of The Wizard helped to put this out.

When Sol Invictus came out I struggled to accept it as a canonical FNM record, purely because it sounded so much like ‘X’ Mike Patton project, rather than a record from a band that I have come to know and love. But, I realised eventually (forgive me), that’s what it’s all about isn’t it? When has FNM ever done a record that wasn’t different from the last? I absolutely loved the lead single for this…

Is it really time for another Black Midi album? Fuck, I’m old. The years, they fly! Anyways, the band have come a long way in a short space of time, shedding the rawness of Schlagenheim for a more refined, almost jazz approach to songwriting. Parallels to Disco Volante era Bungle are perhaps too easy to make, and also do this album somewhat of a disservice. Whilst it is no doubt complimentary to be compared to…

Earache put out this record so I decided to give it a go, unfortunately for me it’s pretty uninspiring and not very interesting. I’ve never really been the biggest fan of the alt or grunge movements of the nineties, and Fudge Tunnel (at least on Creep Diets) falls quite heavily into that category. I’m glad I gave it a go, but it’s not for me.

I’ve always wanted to like Ascension but I’ve always found the mix to be impenetrable. Outside of opening track “Fools” I’ve found the whole thing blurs together into one forgettable haze. I can’t be the only one who had thoughts similar to this, as a completely new mix has been released by the man himself, JK Broadrick. It’s called a remaster but they clearly went back to the drawing board on this one. I know…

I’ve never really been the biggest fan of Sabotage as a unified whole, but there are some good tracks on here. Things would get a bit muddier with the last two Ozzy-fronted Sabbath records, and you could argue that Sabotage is the last “good” Sabbath album, but I don’t think that is strictly true. The band is almost unrecognisable even at this point.

I’ve done a good run through the early Killing Joke records recently, and Fire Dances cements everything that I didn’t like about them into one tangible listening experience. Fire Dances was the first album with bassist Paul Raven, who is, from what I can tell, just as proficient as the legendary Youth, but the band pull a Metallica and mix the poor fucker incredibly low in the mix. It isn’t until later in the album…

I got turned onto XTC when the song “Making Plans For Nigel” was used in the Black Mirror episode Bandersnatch. I’d heard it before but something about hearing it again made it stick with me, and it wasn’t long before I got this album on the go. It’s a strange affair, a lot of mixed vibes and bizarre songs, the weirdest one has to be “Complicated Game”, which seems like a mix between Adam Ant…

There is no denying the sheer musicianship on display here, from Devin and all of his collaborators. Everything hangs perfect in the balance, and even the man’s famous wall-of-noise production style is dialled back to allow the songs to breathe a bit. However, if I had to describe Ki with one word, that word would be “listless”. Honestly, this is one of the longest listening hours of my life, and the fact that I’ve had…

Oddfellows is probably one of the tamest Mike Patton releases I’ve ever heard. Here the legend fronts an almost stonery outfit who play decently catchy numbers, mixing elements of punk rock, even grunge and a bit of classic rock. The record seems longer than 40 minutes, but it doesn’t drag. Its a decent set of tracks but not really my thing. If it wasn’t for Patton’s involvement I wouldn’t have ever listened to this.

Hossannas From The Basements Of Hell is the sound of latter-day Killing Joke pushed to the extreme. Everything about the band is pushed to 11 on this release, as the band explore meandering, deafening compositions which were recorded in some catacombs beneath the streets of Prague. As someone who has visited some of these interesting subterranean caverns, one can only imagine the intensity that unfurled as the band conjured their ungodly work. Killing Joke have…

Travels… is probably my favourite Future Of The Left album. Not only is it incredibly well produced (the rugged bass and guitar parts gelling beautifully with a fresh, organic drum sound), but its choc full of back to back bangers. My favourite tracks have to be “The House That Hope Built”. “You Need Satan More Than He Needs You” and the song which apparently is all about my youth, “Throwing Bricks At Trains”. Honestly, my…

Warm, gorgeously produced analogue rock and or roll, from the glory days of the genre. There’s many reasons why Deep Purple’s Machine Head is such a well respected album, but I am not a musical scholar and won’t bore you to death which such facts. For the purposes of this submission, let’s just say that this classic is entirely deserving of your time. I absolutely love the sound of this thing, and should probably hunt…

Gorgeously composed, proggy music with just the right production balance between that rough around the edges retro / analogue sound and that clarity and polish required to make prog work. I know absolutely nothing about classic rock or the prog scenes, give or take a few of the bigger band names, but I went out on a whim with this one and fully enjoyed it. Cracking!

I recently discovered (through the Steegcast podcast on the History Of Metal) that Budgie were originally from Cardiff, which is of course, just down’t road from me. I figured then it was probably best for me to go back and suss out some of this Budgie business. Solid, swaggering rock and or roll, with hints of proto-metal, presented through the typical analogue production sounds of the day. I do not mean this in a bad…

Fantastic record! What a shot in the arm (no pun intended regarding current worldwide climate) for my interest in The Mars Volta and their later work. It is easy to write this off as disappearing up its own arse, but this is spaced out, gloriously complex, Latin-influenced and drenched in saxophone and weird jazz movements. Add all of this to the band’s already interesting songwriting and you have an intense melting pot of gorgeous tracks….

This is one of those things where I cannot remember for the life of me where I picked the recommendation up from. Musically, its not something that I would usually listen to, but I found myself falling in love with Black Magick SS’ occult rock swagger. Hey, maybe its just everything I ever wanted Ghost to be, except not shit, and with a black metal influence. Whichever way you cut it, this shit fucking rocks….

This is really an intriguing album. The title alone promises something mystical and exciting, unknown and terrifying. The art, well, strip away three of those things, leaving terrifying. I think that word is probably the best way to describe this entire album. Like, who on earth allowed this to happen? If the man himself isn’t crooning out awkward ballads or pop numbers, he’s lending his “guitar” “skills” to a bevvy of lukewarm reggae / dancehall…

I’ve had this vinyl for about a decade if not longer and I’ve never really paid it any mind until now and I can see why. I was correct in my estimations that this kind of thing is simply not for me. Sure, I can take pleasure in the listening to of simple rock and or roll, but I won’t be returning for a round two.

Tubular Bells is a fucking mad one, if you stop and think about. Like, I don’t know why the first part of this very uplifting and experimental journey was used in the unsettling as fuck movie The Exorcist (I’m sure Oldfield’s record label wasn’t complaining, sales wise!), but there we go. The “famous five minutes” aside, Tubular Bells is a mammoth release, where variations on a theme are looped over and over as Mike experiments…

Ever onwards I go through the Sabbath catalogue. Admittedly, on first listen, The Eternal Idol is a shock, even after Seventh Star. Nothing about this looks or feels like a Sabbath record, from the bizarre, 80s-as-fuck art that wouldn’t be amiss on some sort of dark vaporwave cassette, to the crooning stadium rock that fills the disc. Honestly, I don’t understand why Sharon’s legal team seems so intent on wiping out the post-Ozzy (or even…

Lemmy N Co’s third offering streamlines the adrenaline rush found on Overkill into a fairly similar yet still heavily enjoyable, classic Motörhead album. I mean, just look at that cover painting. The wheel is hardly re-invented, but its a decent companion piece and a solid discography entry for this workhorse of a band.

Chrome Hoof have been on the to-do list for longer than I would ever care to admit. How blown away was I when I finally checked them out? Well, read on! LOL. Beyond Zade is one of those awkward releases that kinda sits somewhere between an EP and an album, but either way, that doesn’t really matter, what matters is the musical content, of which I can safely report is absolutely bonkers in all of…

Volume 1 is another one of those records that got played to death in my teenage years. Listening again as an adult, it seems almost like a jumble of different sessions stitched together rather than a cohesive album, but that isn’t too much of an issue when the songs are of this quality. From the instant mega hit of the opening track, the abstract heaviness of “Rio Bravo” or “Lost In A Contraption”, or the…

Brilliant, meandering, dusty old world rock and roll with proggy elements. Considering such, the tracks are actually surprisingly short, but either way, I feel like I’ve cracked open a forgotten time capsule. Not my usual cup of tea, but a great listen none the less.

I slept on this when it first came out in 2018. Like, totally under the radar she went. Sometimes I have this habit of zoning out for months, even years, at a time when it comes to music scenes, and then I find myself playing catchup. Thankfully, this fourth Deafheaven record was worth chasing after. The band push their shoegazy, black metal influenced noise further into more abstract and interesting directions. Can this even be…

What a lush series of compositions! I got this cassette for literally pennies and was surprised to find out how much of a good condition it was in. The analogue depth lends itself infinitely to Mike Oldfield’s bizarre, arty, synth-led compositions. Admittedly, it gets a bit shit towards the end but up until that point I found myself lost inside these dense soundscapes.

Downward Spiral has never come across to me as an organised, coherent album. Sure, I’m not saying that it sounds like a series of disconnected tracks thrown together for a buck, or anything like that. There was obviously a deliberate creation process behind all of this. But, what I’m trying to say is, is that I’ve never found that Downward Spiral flows. At all. Now, I’m not an expert on NIN. Maybe this is intentional,…

Well this was depressing. Admittedly I’m out of my comfort zone when in the worlds of post punk and its infinite variations of weirdness, but Protomartyr just didn’t gel with me at all. I’ll leave it at that.

Never Say Die is the final and somewhat lacklustre album the band did with Ozzy, before 13 came out a few years back. Sabbath (read: Iommi) can be accused of phoning it in at multiple times in their career, but this is the first time the band well and truly jumped the shark. Never Say Die isn’t awful, it just doesn’t really do anything or go anywhere. Ozzy had already left the band by this…

Its not often I get to say this with much conviction, but this album is a bloody weird one. Bogus Blimp are strrraaange as fuck, with Cords.Wires taking you on a meandering trip through all sorts of vibes and audio collages. Its not all vignette-style aural wandering however, there does appear to be a smattering of fully-formed, more traditionally structured songs thrown in too, but for the most part, this is a bizarre journey. I…

And just like that, its like the hiatus never happened. System’s sound doesn’t really appear to have aged a day, as these two tracks showcase. “Protect The Land” harks back to the Hypnotise era, where the much more mental and crazy “Genocidal Humanoids” brings back that SOAD-grade madness that we all love so much. Here’s hoping another album follows this little release.

Wow. This has to be the absolute low point thus far in my Sabbath journey. Surely it cannot get any worse than this? I mean, for a large portion of their (read: Iommi’s career) the band have peddled awful rock and or roll with that inescapable 80s feel. Surprisingly this varies in flavour and in quality from album to album, with Seventh Star being the absolute lowest point utter dogshit rock bottom that is nothing…

WOMAN! I hope you are ready for Danzig’s dark and evil moooosak to pour all over you? Wolves, wine, satan, leather and enormous belt buckles are the order of the day here. But, in all seriousness, this is a genuinely enjoyable romp through Danzig’s unique charge of rock and or roll. Listen loud, and enjoy.

Quite possibly the perfect record to sit in an old city centre pub with, drinking strong ale and watching the revellers go about their business. Truly I suppose, Tom Waits’ music is probably more suited to smashing back an Old Fashioned in a dusty, smoky hole of a piano bar, but I’ll work with what I’ve got here in little ol’ Wales. Whilst not as macabre or as experimental as later offerings, records like Swordfishtrombones…

I’ve been digging this album since I caught Witch at one of the two Roadburns I went to (can’t remember if it’s 2011 or the 2012 off the top of my head). I love their blend of stoner rock, it really works quite well. The guitars are crackling like fire over lazy, swaggering rock, and the vocals are energised and sultry.

Hrmmmm. Without wanting to sound mean, this has to be one of the most stereotypical rock and or roll / metal records that I have ever heard in my entire worthless life. Every possible trope is dragged out kicking and screaming, and it almost makes metal a parody of itself. Yes, this is symptomatic of the trends at the time, but Jesus, this is awful. “Mr. Tinkertrain” is one of the nonciest things I’ve ever…

I picked up a 27 single from Relapse about 12 or 13 years ago, and only now have I got around to checking out a full length from the band. Honestly, it’s rather pleasant, and recorded excellently. The production is to be heavily commended, and whilst I’m not the biggest fan of this kind of thing, I really enjoyed this album.

Many thanks to local guitar smithery legend Luke for turning me onto this Bossk record. Bossk are not a name that I have come across in sometime, in fact not since the I and II records from quite some time ago. Audio Noir builds on those sprawling compositions, but offers – in my opinion – a more metallic sound, and a tracklist that is consistent and flows well.

I love the early Melvins records. They are dryer in production yet pull no punches with aggression. Its like grunge got a shot of adrenalin in the arm, only instead of making it really fast, it just made it really, really angry. Honestly, the grooves that these guys fall into is the best thing about the album. Songs are often hypnotic and repetitive, but have a similar effect to Swans and that kinda shit in…

Bill Laswell has his fingers up in all sorts of pies. Baselines is something of a solo effort and something of a collaboration with others (as per always I suppose), but is something of a mixed bag. The vibe is a bit unusual and I wasn’t sure whether the music is intended to be chilled out or rather perplexing. There didn’t really seem to be much of a line between the two things. IDK, maybe…

This took me by surprise. Recently decided to investigate some “proto” metal, as in, who came up alongside Sabbath in the formation of the heavy metal sound? I was recommended Blue Cheer, who sit a bit more on the bluesy end of the spectrum (hey, I guess the clue is in the name). I love the crunch and the muddy sound of the guitars. It fills me with complete joy. Something so simple yet all…

The Bad Seed EP was one of the final offerings from the volatile Birthday Party group. The tracks positively crackle with chaotic energy, firing this awkward, bizarre mix of punk and indie pop (yeah) up to a whole new level. There are times where it seems the whole song will fall apart, but that just seems like a part of the deal here. Worth going back to, especially for Nick Cave fans.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t initially underwhelmed by Swans’ 90s output, especially coming in as a fan of the sonic destruction that was Filth, Cop, Greed etc. – Omniscience however, the live album I believe for the Love Of Life album, showcases those rigid and dark folk songs in the stretched out sprawling live incarnations one would expect from Swans. Even the morose electronic-laden and acoustic guitar driven rock melodies that the…

I hate it when shit like this happens to bands. I guess something similar happened with Gorgoroth, where several instances of the band existed (also with Von if I recall). I tried to give this a fair go, but CKY without Deron Miller is not something I think I can get my head around. Sure, there are plenty of bands that can shed vocalists and reinvent themselves in the process, but personally I think Deron…