Magick Potion - Magick Potion (Album Review)

Release Date: November 08th 2024. Record Label: RidingEasy Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Magick Potion - Track Listing:

1.Fever Dream 05:36

2.Empress 04:03

3.Love With A Wizard 05:54

4.Chateau Nights 06:15

5.Never Change 03:38

6.Pagan 04:03

7.Ultraviolet 03:20

8.Wild Perfumes 05:57

Members

Dresden Boulden on Guitar and Vocals

Triston Grove on Bass

Jason Kendall on Drums

Review

Magick Potion are blasting full speed onto the scene with their self-titled album, boasting an impressive and nostalgic nod to the late 60’s and early 70’s. The band wears their influences on their sleeves and it’s evident in the songs as you hear a plethora of bands from the bygone era. Not only are the songs themselves steeped in the vein of classic rock in style and composition, so too is the production, truly taking the listener back in time. 

I can promise that you will hear the many bands that have influenced Magick Potion along their musical pathway as they are scattered across the album. In fact, they will put a smile upon your face when you make the connections. Magick Potion are convincing in their efforts to revamp the sound of the past. The thing is, they never truly rip-off anyone, they make it all their own with a fresh take upon proto-metal, heavy rock, and psychedelic ideas in a spectacular fashion. 

Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Dresden Boulden, bassist Triston Grove, and drummer Jason Kendall, the power trio from Baltimore have created a spellbinding formula with this release. The vocals obviously differ from the more upbeat songs to the slower ones, ranging from the higher register voice cracks on ‘Fever Dream’ to lighter more reserved moments such as on ‘Pagan’. 

Proto-metal blues-based rock guitar riffs with just the amount of fuzz indigenous of the time warp Magick Potion demonstrate fill the album, as do the hammer-on riffs, and string bending guitar solos. ‘Empress’ is an example of the band dipping their toes into the blues, while ‘Never Change’ is a proto blast from the past. 

‘Love With A Wizard’ flaunts the surging bass lines and sliding of the strings, though the album is full of impressive bass playing as it weaves and walks throughout the album. The drums are amazing. I love the style of playing, and the sound of the kit. I believe on a few occasions I even heard some timpani being played. Just listen to the percussion on my favorite track ‘Chateau Nights’ if you need further confirmation of the complexities and talent of Mr. Kendall. 

I’ve always felt the flow of an album is especially important and this one has that special type of movement, as it never stagnates, never losing the listener along the way. You could easily believe this was released in ’70 or ’71 and you could file it between any vintage albums of that period. Though the heavy underground retro scene may not be as populated as it was five or ten years back, Magick Potion has conjured up the evidence that it has never truly disappeared, nor will it. 

Words by Jon McGough

Thanks to RidingEasy Records for the promo.

Magick Potion self titled album is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via RidingEasy Records

Links

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Frozen Future - Hideaway (EP Review)

Release Date: November 19th 2024. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

Hideaway - Track Listing:

1.Bound 04:56

2.Wander 04:18

3.Cabin Fever 03:30

4.Dawn 02:08

Review

Fuzz/Shoegaze/Stoner Rockers Frozen Future deliver an assortment of sounds on their superb new EP Hideaway especially if you’re a fan of bands such as TORCHE, HUM, FLOOR, JESU and Smashing Pumpkins with a delicious sideline in Alternative Rock and Fuzzed Up grooves. The music is catchy and downright melodic with the vocals being slightly aligned to the world of Indie Rock. The instrumental sounds have a multi-layered quality to them that veers from Shoegaze to an epic style of Doomgaze with a subtle “OUTSIDER” approach especially on tracks such as Bound and Wander.

The use of certain sound effects and trippy passages remind me of early-era TORCHE where the music becomes quite aggressive and quite POPPY at times with a thrilling Space Rock attitude starting to emerge. Frozen Future are from Norway and there’s some cool sounding NORDIC energy coming from the band with that classic Shoegaze swagger which moves over to areas of Grunge at times with songs such as Wander and Cabin Fever allowing the band to develop their own definitive style.

Hideaway is superbly produced that allows Frozen Future to deliver heart-pounding and mightily loud SLUDGY guitars with a muscular progressive sound that gives this EP quite a destructive and addictive quality at the same time.

If you miss the good old days when bands took you on a reflective and cinematic journey then Frozen Future is more than willing to take you to that special place where you can ultimately lose yourself in over and over again.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

BandCamp | Instagram

Doctor Nez - High Desert Lows (EP Review)

Release Date: November 15th 2024. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

High Desert Lows - Track Listing:

1.MARK THE GRAVE 03:27

2.If You Know the Deal 03:55

3.Left All Alone 05:24

4.Among the Pages 01:58

5.In the Shadow of a Mountain 03:35

6.High Desert Lows 04:20

7.Bonus Track: Left All Alone (Radio Cut) 04:36

Review

High Desert Lows is the second EP from Doom/Desert/Stoner/Alt Rock solo artist Doctor Nez who is perhaps influenced by the old school way of creative thinking from bands such as Black Sabbath, Uncle Acid and Green Lung. What makes Doctor Nez stand out from the crowd is their great use of Alt Rock, Desert Rock and Grunge vibes that’s transformed into a Doomed Out structure.

The sound isn’t the most original but it’s what Doctor Nez delivers with this EP that makes this such a great EP to fully discover. With emotionally charged lyrics and a grandiose style of classic Heavy Metal and Hard Rock to play with that comes into life on the excellent opening tracks of Mark The Grave and You Know The Deal. The vocals veer from a multitude of different styles that can be quite contemporary at times with the hard hitting lyrics that more than most hit the intended target.

The production quality is great but still allows Doctor Nez to add a sublime DIY attitude to the whole EP which is never overdone and allows Doctor Nez to create music which is perhaps more on the emotional side of Doomed Out Stoner Rock. With highly intricate melodies and excellent composition being played on the standout tracks of Left All Alone, In The Shadow Of A Mountain and High Desert Lows, Doctor Nez always finds new ways of playing different styles of music that shouldn’t really work but they really do.

 

It may take listeners a few listens to fully get on board with this EP but it’s a journey worth taking as Doctor Nez writes some damn good tunes along the way. There’s some rough around the edge moments that appear where the songs just suddenly end but maybe that’s the style of music that Doctor Nez ultimately wanted to create and I admire his brave use of Electronica, Country and Post-Rock themes for a more satisfactory journey.

High Desert Lows is a great EP that’s worth giving a damn about…

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBpGEDxF5eI
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2qh3sD6KDa9YcUyJ5FX3Bt?si=3ba8ef39bafd4b9e
Bandcamp: doctornez.bandcamp.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctor_nez/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doctornezmusic

Scorpion Child to Release New LP, 'I Saw The End as it Passed Right Through Me', February 14 2025

Austin, Texas band, Scorpion Child, plays dark rock and roll that blends haunting themes and atmospheric melodies; a unique fusion of post-punk, hard rock, and brooding aesthetic. The band has returned in 2024, galvanized with a fortified lineup and renewed dedication. Scorpion Child will release its new album, 'I Saw the End as it Passed Right Through Me', on February 14, 2025 via Noize in the Attic Records. The LP is the long-awaited follow up to the band's 2016 full-length LP, 'Acid Roulette' (Nuclear Blast Records), a release hailed as "mesmerizing" by Metal Hammer. Pre-order/save Scorpion Child's 'I Saw the End as it Passed Right Through Me' at this location.

The first taste of what 'I Saw the End as it Passed Right Through Me' delivers lies in wait with the new single, "Outliers", a powerful punch of a song, filled with introspective lyrics, that perfectly encapsulates the band's distinct style. "Outliers" was recorded at Austin's Point West Recording with Charles Godfrey (Black Angels, The Mountain Goats). Stream Scorpion Child's "Outliers" video below

"Outliers" deep dives into the organizational use of fear tactics and the related, unknown forces that we are supposed to run from, or conform to," offers Scorpion Child vocalist Aryn Jonathan Black. "The song is a look into the thought that "they" are always watching us and that we should play the same game from our POV in the shadows."

Scorpion Child just completed a successful autumn European tour which launched on October 3 and included spotlight festival appearances as part of Switzerland's Up In Smoke Festival (w/ Monster Magnet, Slomosa), the Netherlands' Into The Void Festival (w/ Black Tusk, Greenleaf), Germany's Keep It Low Festival (w/ Russian Circles, Inter Arma), Belgium's Desertfest (w/ Conan, Monolord). The tour included a special live set on legendary German music television show, Rockpalast, which has hosted scores of A-level artists such as The Afghan Whigs, Black Pumas, The Cult, and Thin Lizzy, and saw Scorpion Child lauded for its "raw energy" (review here).

Scorpion Child (photo: H. Love)

"'I Saw the End as it Passed Right Through Me' is a quite intense and rather moody record," Black continues. "I wrote these songs from the pits of a deep depression after going through a really rough patch in life where my mental health was very poor. Don't think of it as all gloomy, though, because in our sadness there are always euphoric times of extreme happiness and nirvana. It's truly an honest record, and we are excited to perform it live."

The track listing for Scorpion Child's 'I Saw the End as it Passed Right Through Me', is as follows:

1.) Be the Snake
2.) Actress
3.) Outliers (stream VIDEO)
4.) See the Shine
5.) The Starker
6.) Wired Corpse
7.) Godskin
8.) Hanging Sun

Pre-order/save 'I Saw the End as it Passed Right Through Me' at this location. Exclusive vinyl and physical variants are available for pre-order via Bandcamp.

Scorpion Child is Aryn Jonathan Black (vocals), Asa Allen Savage (guitar), Adrian Arostone (guitar), Garth Condit (bass), and Ryan Henderson (drums). Follow Scorpion Child on Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X for breaking news and updates.

About Scorpion Child:

Scorpion Child wields a sound that hearkens back to when guitar rock ruled the airwaves and going to concerts was the ultimate main event. The Austin, TX quintet released its self-titled debut in 2013 via Nuclear Blast Records. 

The album landed at #26 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and #99 on the Billboard Hard Music Albums chart. Following its premiere by Eddie Trunk, iTunes named “Polygon Of Eyes” its “Single of the Week,” and Scorpion Child earned a nomination for “Best New Band” at the Classic Rock Magazine presented “Classic Rock Awards.” 

The group's second album, 2016's 'Acid Roulette' was recorded with GRAMMY® Award-nominated producer Chris “Frenchie” Smith [Meat Puppets, …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead], and featured the fan-favorite tracks “Reaper’s Danse”, and "My Woman in Black". The band's new album, 'I Saw The End as it Passed Right Through Me', is set for release on February 14 2025.

Thanks to Action PR for all of the details.

Void Sinker - Stuck (Album Review)

Release Date: November 15th 2024. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

Stuck - Track Listing:

1.Cold 17:10

2.Stuck 14:03

3.Repel 20:56

Members

Guglielmo Allegro - Everything

Review

One Man Instrumental Doom/Sludge Metal wrecking crew Void Sinker return with their new album Stuck which is way heavier and more threatening than their last album Sunless. Taking a solemn Drone Metal attitude for the album that is set across three tracks running past the fifty minute mark. Void Sinker takes their time in exploring heavy volumes of Drone, Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal pastures.

The journey is quite slow paced at times with Guglielmo Allegro once again providing a masterclass of AMPLIFIER DISTORTED HEAVINESS and seedy GUITAR REVERB with a slow pounding bass only adding to nasty volume levels which has become a major part of Guglielmo’s work especially over the last couple of record he’s provided under the guise of Void Sinker.

If you’re a fan of Electric Wizard, CONAN, Slomatics and UFOMAMMUT then Stuck is perhaps Void Sinker’s most accessible record to date going by the dangerous FUZZED UP grooves contained within the excellent opening track of Cold. 

The song COLD slowly builds up a heavy destructive rhythm where FEEDBACK is king and the instrumental attitude draws in bands such as SUNN 0))) and Bongripper. There’s a more caustic COSMIC vibe emitting from the airwaves with Void Sinker playing long drawn out notes and intense down-tuned passages. There’s riffs contained within COLD but their buried under a ton of FUCKED UP monolithic sounding movements which has an essence of Blackened Doom lurking in the background. 

Second track Stuck adds a gloomy apocalyptic measure to the forefront of the heightened down-tuned grooves that slowly emits dangerous COSMIC energy to the masses. With the drumming becoming ever more present on this track that forges a constant battle with the sludgy guitars that brings a powerful and creative dynamic that’s very hard to describe.

Channelling the dangerous influence of SUNN 0))) once more, Void Sinker decides to add a slightly faster sound into the mix before venturing into a heavy industrial movement which allows the record to be considered one of COSMIC HORROR or perhaps a record with an unforgiving destructive nature yet again. 

The final track of Repel sees Void Sinker experimenting with various Psychedelic measures on the later stages of the track which reminds me of the sound that the legendary UFOMAMMUT created with their landmark album EVE though this time is more slower and possibly stripped back. This track is the heaviest part of the album and perhaps the most riff-centric style of music that Guglielmo has ever delivered. 

Stuck is another outstanding slice of underground Drone based mayhem from Void Sinker who once again delivers the goods with his own original style of ear-shattering and planet destroying based Doom, Drone, Sludge and Stoner Metal that leaves you wanting to hear more.

 

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

SoftSun - Daylight In The Dark (Album Review)

Release Date: November 08th 2024. Record Label: Ripple Music. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Daylight In The Dark - Track Listing:

1.Unholy Waters 06:50

2.Daylight in the Dark 07:13

3.Exit Wounds 05:52

4.Continents 04:50

5.Dragged Across The Desert Floor 05:03

6.Soft Sun 11:22

Members

Pia Isaksen - Bass/Vocals

Gary Arce - Guitar

Dan Joeright - Drums

Review

Daylight In The Dark is the debut album from Heavy Psych/Desert Rock/Stoner Rock outfit SoftSun who employ a cinematic style of Shoegaze to bring their music to life. The band is made up of seasoned members of the Stoner Rock scene with Pia Isaksen (PIA ISA, Superlynx), Gary Arce (Yawning Man, Fatso Jetson, Big Scenic Nowhere) and Dan Joeright (Earth Moon Earth). The end result is an almost dreamlike journey into the finer parts of the Stoner Rock Psyche with Pia’s enchanting vocals matched against Gary Arce’s legendary swirling soundscape based guitars and Dan Joeright’s measured and precise drumming. 

The album is beautifully HEAVY without the need of crushing dynamics as SoftSun blend Post-Rock structures and Doomgaze passages which do have a slight resemblance to the earlier works of Yawning Man but with the added bonus of Pia’s ice cool vocals that add a sublime NORDIC sound to them. The lyrics are very honest and quite heartfelt with the sounds of the Californian Desert being quite bleak, opaque and even romantic at times especially on tracks such as Unholy Waters, Daylight In The Dark and Exit Wounds.

There’s a deep reliance on 1980’s Shoegaze imagery which propels SoftSun into their own unique world with layers of SONIC based Progressive Rock whilst still harnessing the classic Californian Desert/Stoner Rock sound which drifts further and further into the realms of Space Rock for the lengthier instrumental grooves that appear throughout the album.

After multiple listens you begin to experience influences such as EARTH and SUNN O))) in places wiih a DRONE based quality appearing with the shoegaze leaning guitars. The drumming brings an organic and mellow creative approach to the whole album but it’s Pia’s vocals that’s perhaps the real “HEART” and “EMOTION” that holds everything together especially on the later stages of the album.

The second half of the album allows SoftSun to experiment with their sound ever so slightly but still keeping with the beautiful and meditative energy that allows the band to drift into Sludgier surroundings where the record becomes that little bit DOOM & GLOOM obsessed in places.

The final two tracks of Dragged Across The Desert Floor and Soft Sun are the standout moments of the album for me. As the album can be quite bleak and despairing in places with Soft Sun still allowing themselves the perfect time and opportunity to play some truly uplifting SONIC grooves with Pia’s exquisite vocals keeping everything REAL and SURREAL. 

Daylight In The Dark is a truly majestic work of art which showcases a different style of Desert Rock and Stoner Rock. With the winter months slowly appearing, this album is the perfect soundtrack to lose yourselves in. 

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo

Daylight In The Dark  is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Ripple Music

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Smoke / Doomsday Profit Split LP (Album Review)

Release Date: October 25th 2024. Record Label: Olde Magick Records. Format: DD/Vinyl

Smoke / Doomsday Profit - Track Listing:

1.Smoke - Appalachian Black Magic 08:26

2.Smoke - Scavenger 05:25

3.Smoke - Hellish Rebuke 05:37

4.Doomsday Profit - No Salvation 05:22

5.Doomsday Profit - I Am Your God 04:41

6.Doomsday Profit - Void Ritual 05:26

Doomsday Profit Members

Kevin See (lead guitar, vocals)

Ryan Sweeney (bass, vocals)

Bryan Reed (rhythm guitar, vocals)

Tradd Yancey (drums, percussion)

Smoke Members

Ben Gold (guitar)

Stephen Tyree (bass)

Alex Thurston (drums)

Dalton Huskin (guitar, vocals)

Review

We have two of the best upcoming bands from the Doom/Sludge/Stoner underground scene with Smoke and Doomsday Profit teaming up for this epic sounding split album release. Both bands try their hand at performing new sounds we haven’t heard from them before with each band offering three new tracks. Smoke’s music runs for around twenty minutes with Doomsday Profit going slightly shorter at around sixteen minutes.

Smoke are up first with their batch of tracks with Appalachian Black Magic, Scavenger and Hellish Rebuke with their NOLA fuelled take on Sludge/Stoner grooves. There’s an essence of classic sounding DOWN appearing within Appalachian Black Magic with a demonic and smokey SOUTHERN BOOGIE beat that soon sees the band change into a style of Southern Metal with an aggressive Stoner Metal beat. The vocals from Dalton Huskin have an essence of Proto-Doom behind them especially with how he delivers some of his lyrics behind a masquerade of finely tuned WEEDIAN smoke.

The songs are superbly constructed and aggressively melodic with moments of distorted grooves with the quieter moments of all the tracks. Appalachian Black Magic and Hellish Rebuke are the standout tracks from Smoke with a fine amount of hard rocking movements that powers through the barrage of modern day Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal with even time for Psychedelic energy starting to form with a glorious devilish FUZZ ROCK swagger. I admire the level of SONIC DISTORTION the band delivered with the superb second track Scavenger especially when matched against the Swamp Blues Metal sound they opt for the majority of their music.

Doomsday Profit are no strangers to the blog as I’ve featured them multiple times and you can call me a fan of their music and they don’t disappoint here. Their music is firmly rooted within the Sludge Metal sound with a gloriously downbeat DOOM METAL approach with that eerie flexible Psychedelic Stoner Metal edge that allows the band to play a classic style of Heavy Metal guitar solos along the way. There’s some influences from bands such as High On Fire, Mastodon and Motorhead being played here especially within their outstanding opening track No Salvation which has sublime harsh growls and vocals throughout. Though, it’s the music that impresses the most especially when the band blends distorted harmonics and multi-layered screeching guitars with a killer rhythm section adding more volume to the sound.

The other two tracks of I Am Your God and Void Ritual easily match the dark theatrics of No Salvation but there’s an even more despairing dirge ridden Sludge Metal vibe that feels like it was created within the pits of hell. However, the band’s vocals take a delightful and melodic turn whilst still having a DEVIL-ISH quality to them. The lyrics are primarily DOOM METAL obsessed but the band’s clever use of SONIC and PSYCHEDELIC textures allows Doomsday Profit to become part of the Post-Stoner or Post-Metal world at times before returning to their own dark domain.

Smoke and Doomsday Profit have delivered the fucking goods with this excellent split album release. This album gives both bands the chance once again to prove why they’re both worth giving a damn about and perhaps gain some more fans along the way. This is another standout split album release being released in 2024 and I implore you all to add this album to your record collection now. 

This is an unmissable release. End Of.

Words by Steve Howe

Smoke / Doomsday Profit split record is available to buy now on DD/Vinyl via Olde Magick Records.

Doomsday Profit Links

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Smoke Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram