Kiritsis - Kiritsis (Album Review)

Release Date: April 04th 2025. Record Label: Wise Blood Record / Pout Records.. Formats: CD/DD/Cassette

Kiritsis - Tracklisting

1.Knuckles 04:14

2.Locusts 03:18

3.Pissant 03:17

4.It Ain't Easy 06:15

5.Like the Taste 01:56

6.Thieves and Fools 04:07

7.Never Coming Home 04:10

8.Deny.Defend.Dispose. 03:59

Members:

Bake Henry - Vocals

Bill Scott - Bass

Eric Mason - Guitar

Nik Jensen - Drums

Review

Kiritsis debut album is built upon harsh sounding grooves that dives right into the Hardcore and Metallic sound the band adds to their aggressive style of Doom and Sludge Metal. With a subtle NOLA and Post-Metal energy being used to create a Blackened sound with a similar momentum being played to bands such as Neurosis, High On Fire, Down and Crowbar. 

The band isn’t afraid to play a death fuelled style of vocals which just adds to the sense of hopefulness and bleak cynicism that resides throughout the whole album. Though, Kiritsis sure know how to play some knockout grooves along the way which even brings a sense of fucked up THRASH and SPEED METAL based aggression along the way which you hear on tracks such as Knuckles, Locusts, and Pissant.

The sound despite its harsh and blackened complexities has some cool sounding Psychedelic elements with short outbursts of LOW & SLOW melodies that gives Kiritsis a vital presence when playing other areas of music that showcases their superb technical ability. The sound can be quite abstract when the Post-Doom Metal angle appears and gives a softer sound on the standout track of It Ain’t Easy for the opening beats but then a Sludge groove with the force of a mighty sledgehammer breaks the atmosphere into a thousand tiny pieces for the excellent vocals from Bake Henry to offer a different vocal style. 

Grizzled, aggressive and muscular guitars provided by Eric Mason allows Bill Scott on Bass and Nik Jenson on Drums to lay a solid foundation of primal instrumental passages that stay PISSED OFF throughout. The second half of the album sees the Hardcore aspect of Kiritsis music to reign supreme yet again but with multiple excursions into the Doom/Sludge Metal world which only leads to more chaos and destructive qualities on tracks such as Thieves And Fools, Never Coming Home and Deny.Defend.Dispose.

There’s a subtle OLD SCHOOL energy to Kiritsis which they use to their advantage and when the record almost transforms into a full on DEATH METAL charge, the fast-paced NOLA and HARDCORE based sound keeps everything grounded and allows the band to end the album in bleak sounding style.

This is a record that’s not afraid to get DOWN and DIRTY and kick the utter shit out of it’s intended audience and still leave them demanding more PUNISHMENT.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Wise Blood Records and C Squared Music for the promo.

Kiritsis is available to buy on CD/Cassette/Digital Download now via Wise Blood Records and Pout Records

Links

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VAPE WARLÖK - ...And His Skull Shall Make My Bong (Album Review)

Release Date: April 20th 2025. Record Label: Pillars Of Creation. Formats: DD/Vinyl

...And His Skull Shall Make My Bong - Tracklisting

01. Satan's Succubus

02. ...And His Skull Shall Make My Bong

03. Meth Slave

04. Satanalingus: The Devil's Tongue

05. Bongmaster General

Members:

THE COUNT (Collyn McCoy) - Guitar, Vox, Synths

THE BARON (Phillip Rodriguez) - Drums, Samples

THE DUCHESS (Mariana Fiel) - Bass, Vox

Review

...And His Skull Shall Make My Bong is the debut full length album from Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metallers Vape Warlök and it’s a record that feels it was created in the  BOWELS OF HELL or perhaps made by the deadliest strain of WEED imaginable. The record is inspired by the likes of Electric Wizard, Sleep, BONGZILLA and Sons Of Otis. 

The band is made up of members from acts such as UNIDA, Circle Of Sighs and High Priestess with their take on some epic ELECTRIC WIZARD inspired SATANIC FUZZED UP grooves which has an ugly atmosphere emitting from the speakers. The vocals from The Count and The Duchess are bleak and constantly full of death based GROWLS but they’re quite easy to understand which is a good thing so you can get a sense of the bleak story contained within the whole album.

The Baron adds some wickedly OCCULT based samples which thrusts this record into the upper levels of DOOM METAL which can be quite trippy, surreal and wonderfully psychedelic with the trappings of a downright intense trip into the sinister side of WEEDIAN metal. The songs are quite progressive with them running from seven minutes to eleven minutes in length. Vape Warlök demonstrate a wide range of different musical styles with some classic melodies appearing which combine superbly well with the harsh Sludge/Stoner Metal surroundings especially on tracks such as: Satan’s Succubus, ...And His Skull Shall Make My Bong and Bongmaster General.

The record may have some humorous song titles but that’s where the humour ends and the pitch black melodic violence reigns supreme with Vape Warlök perfectly demonstrating a noisy and sometimes surreal style of music which generates into some pleasing moments of Classic Psychedelic Rock. The downtuned and distorted instrumental passages have echoes of Church Of Misery with the soundbytes that are superbly woven into the DNA and creative fabric of the album. The music is full of slow-down and stripped back melodies with Vape Warlök playing an aggressive and faster style of music when the mood calls for this. 

...And His Skull Shall Make My Bong does have a slightly DIY based approach with the production values but this adds a level of supreme urgency to the album and gives it a stunning “LESS IS MORE” energy that allows the music to have a sheer level of intensity which can be quite deafening at times especially on tracks such as Satanalingus: The Devil's Tongue and Bongmaster General. 

Vape Warlök is a band who know how to have a DEMONIC good time with the band even adding strands of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal into the mix through some wonderfully pitched moments of classic guitar shredding on different parts of the record. 

...And His Skull Shall Make My Bong is being released on the ultimate WEEDIAN holiday on 4/20 and this is the best possible way to celebrate. As this record is “Brutal and brilliantly filthy and can only be described as Bongzilla meets THOU”. So if you like your STONER records on the heavier and sinister side of life then Vape Warlök have all bases covered for an album that will easily be considered one of the best albums of the year.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Mettle Media PR and Pillars Of Creation for the promo.

...And His Skull Shall Make My Bong will be released on Digital/Vinyl via Pillars Of Creation from April 20th 2025.

Links

https://vapewarlok.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/vapewarlok/
https://www.youtube.com/@vapewarlok8343
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0awt1BklLLUydCXkK0qxIS
https://music.amazon.co.uk/artists/B0B281VDJ4/vape-warl%C3%B6k

Billy Rudin - There Is Silence Between The Words (Album Review)

Release Date: March 24th 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

There Is Silence Between The Words - Tracklisting

1.Softly Ascending To The Night That Yields 01:55

2.3x L1e 06:08

3.Hollow Promise Of The Eternal Love 04:15

4.In The Silence Of my Soul 05:58

5.Something From The Universe 03:21

6.Moksha 03:24

7.Getting Alone 03:42

Review

There Is Silence Between The Words is the new album from Czech Stoner Rockers Billy Rudin who released their debut album back in August 2024. This time round Billy Rudin has a greater understanding of their Stoner Rock sound by exploring areas of Post-Punk, Post-Rock and Grunge aesthetics which transforms into some mighty Doomed Out grooves. The music is a bit more intense and progressive with a sudden shift to Space Rock dynamics with a slightly darker take on the Post-Stoner vibe that’s becoming quite popular within the modern day scene.

The album lasts around twenty eight minutes with Billy Rudin not wasting a single second and delivering a soulful style of music that resonates with fans of 1990’s Grunge, Doom and Stoner Metal though with slight detours to Post-Punk and Shoegaze movements. Vocals drift in and out when firmly needed especially on the exquisite standout second track 3x L1e where the Space Rock melodies become fused with Prog Rock rhythms and heavy Sludge Rock dynamics. 

Third track Hollow Promise Of The Eternal Love is another superbly written track with Billy Rudin focusing upon a classic Post-Grunge theme then adding strands of Trippy Psychedelics and what I feel is almost a Trip-Hop vibe before the aggressive sludgy guitars dictate the whole delivery of the song. There’s a subtle Middle Eastern flavour starting to emerge which adds a level of Post-Rock confusion to the mix which allows Billy Rudin to experiment with different sounding instrumental ideas.

Fourth track In The Silence Of My Soul is a pitch perfect balance of Grunge, Post-Doom and Post-Punk creative ideas at play where a sullen Space Rock vibe appears out of nowhere and brings a haunting Desert Rock energy that has echoes of Yawning Man at times before a more destructive style of music appears. Ambient textures and grizzled Indie guitars have vibes of The Smiths appearing within the lyrics and claustrophobic guitars. Whilst I’m not a fan of The Smiths or that style of music, Billy Rudin expertly delivers their own great style of music that could easily be classed as GOTHIC ROCK in places. 

The final three tracks of Something From The Universe, Moksha and Getting Alone journeys even further into 1990’s Indie, Rock and Alternative territory whilst still maintaining that core Stoner Rock vibe heard on the earlier stages of the album. Something From The Universe and Getting Alone contains some of the riffiest and aggressive parts of the album.

There Is Silence Between The Words is a brilliantly clever and superbly deceptive record where Billy Rudin explores many different areas of music that you don’t expect to work. However, Billy Rudin give have created a highly atmospheric sound where they create a great style of Post-Stoner music of their own making.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

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KAVRILA - Heretics I (EP Review)

Release Date: March 28th 2025. Record Label: Supreme Chaos Records. Formats: Cassette/DD/Vinyl

Heretics I - Tracklisting

1.{Exitatio} 00:43

2.Embers 02:44

3.Chains 03:02

4.Petrified 02:30

5.Ascend 04:21

6.{Ire Sub} 01:49

Members:

Ralph - BASS

Miltos - DRUMS

Andreas - GUITARS

Alex - VOCALS

Review

Punk/Doom/Hardcore Mob KAVRILA release their new EP Heretics I which is a raw sounding record with stripped back production values and recording techniques. The end result is an unapologetic record from the band who have taken the following creative approach when recording the new EP.

“Armed with a Tascam portable 4-track tape recorder from the ‘90s, borrowed from a friend, the plan was simple yet audacious: create four tracks, recorded analog, directly onto cassette. Starting with drums and bass, followed by vocals and guitar, no songs were pre-written—everything was born during the recording process.”

The whole sound does have a fantastic “SPUR OF THE MOMENT” energy to it with KAVRILA providing songs that sometimes feel never fully realized or reaching their full potential but that doesn’t stop them being LOUD, MEAN and VIOLENT AS HELL. As KAVRILA have stripped out the modern day excess of their previous record and release a primal slab of pitch-black fury with Hardcore Punk Rock vibes and grimy Doom Metal atmospherics on tracks such as Embers, Chains and Ascend. 

The vocals from Alex are aggressive and feels like he’s PISSED OFF AT THE WORLD and perhaps the surroundings of how the EP was recorded. That’s no bad thing as Alex has a more truthful persona and energy to his vocals here and I’m hoping the upcoming KAVRILA full length album has a similar feel. The instrumentals are quite melodic in places despite the rough production values Heretics I has and becomes quite DEATH AND ROLL obsessed before everything is said and done.

Overall, Heretics I is a very good EP indeed with KAVRILA firing on all cylinders that offers a different side to their creative and musical personality whilst still kicking up a FUCK TON of heavy grooves to impress listeners with.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

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Filthy Hippies - A Colourful Trip Through Melancholy (Album Review)

Release Date: April 04th 2025. Record Label: Mongrel Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

A Colourful Trip Through Melancholy - Tracklisting

1. Get Out Of My Way 

2. Wilt 

3. Miserable 

4. Fuzzbox 

5. Mind Pollution 

6. Throw Away 

7. Flashbacks 

8. Smells Like Rehab 

9. Sad Things Write Themselves 

10. Colours Fade Away 

11. Into A Dream 

12. Stargazer 

13. Absolution  

Members:

Andrew Paine - Vox/Guitars/Keys 

Mandy Backstrom - Bass/Vox 

Tim Ball - Guitars 

Ca'lee Tucker - Guitars 

with Mark Van Zyl 

Review

South African Psych/Alternative/Shoegaze Rockers Filthy Hippies return with their new album A Colourful Trip Through Melancholy which offers another experimental slice of Kaleidoscopic sounding Rock and Pop with hints of Noise, Space and Stoner Rock based expeditions. A bit more conventional than their 2024 album Share The Pill but with a subtle Shoegaze and 80’s Electronica feel. The record can be described as soulful, ethereal and dreamlike with a minimal HEAVY ROCK presence being used for the heavier moments that the album contains.

However, for the majority of the record A Colourful Trip Through Melancholy is more content being laid-back with its Shoegaze and Space Rock surroundings. The electronic and synth beats have moments of The Cure, Slowdive and Doves at times which are firmly implemented into the band’s core sound very early on tracks such as Get Out Of My Way, Wilt and Miserable. The quietly pitched vocals from Andrew Pain and Mandy Backstrom never feel out of place or pitched in anger but they do show moments of some Garage Rock or Punk Rock angst especially on Fuzzbox and Mind Pollution.

The record does have an abstract flow inspired by the likes of EELS, Lou Reed, Velvet Underground and Phil Spector which allows Filthy Hippies to be very hard to categorize and the real heavier grooves, moments and perhaps STONER sounding melodies start to appear within the second half of the record and mostly through the standout sixth track Throw Away. The song has an assortment of sonic distortion, overlapping Stoner Rock guitars which allows the vocals to drift into different dimensional planes. 

With a heavier experimental guitar leaning sound developing even further on the tracks Flashbacks, Sad Things Write Themselves, Colours Fade Away, Into A Dream and Absolution allows the Space Rock expression to flow naturally that leads into some of the most powerful and emotionally charged sounds that Filthy Hippies have released to date. 

A Colourful Trip Through Melancholy is a perfectly named record with Filthy Hippies on a complete hallucinogenic trip of creative discovery where the results can be quite magical and downright confusing at times. However, the result is never boring and the music is played superbly throughout with magical sounds that need multiple playthroughs to fully understand the whole cinematic journey. Filthy Hippies never release the same record twice and that makes them a true original act in my mind and firmly keep their reputation as one of South Africa’s best musical exports currently out there. 

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Buy / Stream A Colourful Trip Through Melancholy

Follow Filthy Hippies

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Stoner Rockers VOLUME announce full US tour starting in May

VOLUME announce full US tour starting in May

29 Palms, CA Desert/Stoner Rock supergroup led by Patrick Brink (Fu Manchu), Ed Mundell (Monster Magnet), Mike Amster (Nebula, Spoon Benders), Dave Catching

“Pure, unadulterated desert rock by masters of the genre.” – Decibel Magazine

“Beefy, noisy, crunchy primal glory... One hell of a trip you should take.” – Metal Injection

"Feels like an acid trip in a sandstorm." -- Psychedelic Baby

Twentynine Palms, CA band VOLUME announce full US tour dates today supporting their new album Joy of Navigation (A Trip Through the Eternal Unknown). Please see all dates below

It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine. recently featured an in-depth interview with frontman Patrick Brink HERE.

The band is VOLUME and it deals primarily in density: Thick and weighty as the abundant sand surrounding their Twentynine Palms, CA hometown, but also comprised of a mass of fine grit that can sear the skin with a gust of wind, and quickly dissipate into the ether.

Yes, that is to say, VOLUME are purveyors of Heavy Acid Rock. Doomy psychedelia, but with more raw 70s punk brash than masquerading metal. VOLUME draw musical influences from bands such as The Stooges, MC5 and Black Flag to name a few, while also crafting their own distinctive heavy psychedelic identity. And, with Joy of Navigation, the band ventures into heavier, more psychedelic tones, while also keeping powerful hooks as the focus.

Originally formed in 1993 by ex-Fu Manchu singer Patrick Brink, the band has featured a revolving set of collaborators, with ex-Monster Magnet guitarist Ed Mundell playing leads on the forthcoming Joy of Navigation mini-album. David Catching (QOTSA, Arctic Monkeys, Iggy Pop) co-produced the tracks with Brink, as well as playing synth on the recording. Mike Amster (Nebula, Mondo Generator, Spoon Benders) plays drums on the mini-album. The current live lineup includes Mingus on drums, bassist Jason Hernandez and lead guitarist Derek Christensen.

Brink founded the band in order to take the lead and steer the musical reins down psychedelic rocking routes. Having performed with a number of acts including the aforementioned vocals for Fu Manchu in their early days, VOLUME offered Patrick a new creative outlet. Over their career the band has shared stages with Queens of the Stone Age, Mastodon and Goatsnake, and performed at festivals including Emissions of the Monolith and Stoner Hands of Doom (SHoD).

Brink’s upbringing in the secluded desert town east of Joshua Tree and 60 miles north of Palm Springs had a huge impact on his songwriting. It is a place of beauty and harsh realities, and those contrasts are present throughout Patrick's lyrics and songs. After getting into punk rock by accident in high school Patrick started his first band a couple of years later with the only other punks in town. This early love of punk rock inadvertently led him to the heavier bands on SST Records such as Wurm, SWA, DC3 and St. Vitus.

Heavy As F*ck (1996) and Love Is A Mountain And Heavy As F*ck (1998) were the band's first recordings. In the Fall of 1998, the seven inch Check This Planet I’m Gone... was released on Superkool Records. Requesting Permission To Land (High Beam Records) was recorded with the help of Mike McHugh (Train, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion). Each song was recorded in one or two takes to retain the original heart and soul of the piece.

“It’s rock and roll. Not brain surgery,” says Patrick of the recording process. The end result is a potent blend of thirty-plus minutes of psychedelic fuzzfest freakout and perhaps some of the rawest riffs you're likely to hear.

VOLUME draw inspiration from a time when music was truly experimental and free. They see themselves as rock'n'roll torch bearers whose duty it is to bring the flame, intact, into the future. They invite you to join in that endeavor, for the Joy of Navigation.

Joy of Navigation (A Trip Through the Eternal Unknown) is available for download/streaming, released on November 1st, 2024 via Golden Robot Recordings, and on LP via Kozmik Artifactz. Order HERE.

VOLUME LIVE 2025:

05/16 Las Vegas, NV - Dive Bar
05/17 Salt Lake City, UT - DLC
05/18 Denver, CO - The Crypt
05/19 Kansas City, KS - Mini Bar
05/20 Des Moines, IA - Lefty’s
05/21 Chicago, IL - Reggies
05/22 Detroit, MI - the Sanctuary
05/23 Lakewood, OH - 5 O’Clock Lo unge
05/24 New York, NY - Lucky 13
05/25 Boston, MA - Mid East Upstairs
05/26 Philadelphia, PA - Animated Brewing
05/27 Baltimore, MD - the Metro
05/28 Louisville, KY - Mag Bar
05/29 St Louis, MO - Red Flag
05/30 Tulsa, OK - Whittier Bar
05/31 Albuquerque, NM - Echoes
06/01 Phoenix, AZ - Yucca Tap Room

Joy Of Navigation (a trip through the eternal unknown) will be available to buy via the following records and formats listed below:

Golden Robot (digital) / Kozmik Artifactz (vinyl)

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Thanks to US / THEM PR Group for all of the details.

PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS - Death Hilarious (Album Review)

Release Date: April 04th 2025. Record Label: Rocket Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Death Hilarious - Tracklisting

1.Blockage 02:51

2.Detroit 05:39

3.Collider 03:27

4.Stitches 05:27

5.Glib Tongued (Featuring EL–P) 03:43

6.The Wyrm 07:04

7.Carousel 05:03

8.Coyote Call 03:52

9.Toecurler 08:27

Review

PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS (PigsX7) perhaps needed to fine tune their sound for their outlandish and superbly entertaining fifth album Death Hilarious. Stepping away from the aggressive sounds of their previous record Land Of Sleeper and returning to the more inventive sounds of their 2020 album Viscerals and in some ways their earlier albums such as Feed The Rats. Death Hilarious is PigsX7 aggressive and riff-fuelled record to date but still allowing themselves the creative freedom and experimentation they’ve delivered with previous albums. 

There is a drone heavy appetite forming on tracks such as Blockage, Detroit and Collider which has loving glances to bands such as The Melvins, BORIS, TORCHE and Soundgarden when the mood becomes ever so grounded with screeching guitars and a classic GRUNGE attitude. Lead frontman Matt Baty’s vocals have an earnest and grounded approach to them with the off-kilter Post-Punk energy that resonates from his intense delivery and cynical delivery that accompanies the stripped back and amplifier distorted heavy instrumental melodies. There is a delicious and devious sense of fun with the grimy and pitch-black humour that appears at the right critical moment that allows PigsX7 to be quite cerebral and downright vicious with the THUGGISH and THRASH sounds that appear on later stages of the album.

There’s even a HIP-HOP inspired number called Glib Tongued featuring guest vocals from Hip-Hop Artist EL-P which on paper shouldn’t really work especially with the Doom Metal/Sludge Rock surroundings that PigsX7 bring to the party. However, this is the perfect match for both parties. As EL-P brings a sense of TRUE GRIT to this track and the spiky lyrics written by bassist John-Michael Hedley are some of the best on the entire record. 

Death Hilarious has its fair share of Psychedelic sounds and Sonic beats that are spliced with such vitriol and fury especially when the band’s determined use of Noise Rock and Progressive based grooves on tracks The Wyrm, Carousel and Toecurler which are some of the other standout tracks on the record. 

This is perhaps PigsX7 most mainstream sounding record to date though one that still has all the nasty trappings and seedy heaviness of the underground scene where the band first made their name with. This just confirms PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS place as one of the most vital and important Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal bands the UK has right now.

If you ever need a record that has the BALLS, BRAINS and COURAGE to be different and still offer a brutal and brilliant sense of realism then DEATH HILARIOUS is the record and it’s right up with Viscerals for being my favourite PigsX7 album. This is another ALBUM OF THE YEAR contender from the band and will no doubt be another massive success for the band.

 They deserve all of the plaudits surely coming their way….

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram