Terra Black - Mirage (Album Review)

Release Date: September 18th 2026. Record Label: Bonebag Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Mirage - Tracklist

1.The Gathering

2.Guayota 

3.Pareidolia

4.Thorn

5.Maze

6.In Stone 

7.Ruins 

8.In stars

Members

Ezgi – Lead Vocals and Guitars

Isak – Guitars

Denice – Bass

Sophie – Drums

Review

Psychedelic Doomsters Terra Black return with their sophomore album Mirage which takes a slightly different step compared to their acclaimed 2023 debut album All Descend. As Terra Black move slightly further from the spooky Occult Doom sound they conjured up so magnificently on their debut album which has been replaced by a thicker, denser and heavier COSMIC based attitude.

This gives their sound a trippier and psychedelic energy which is noticeable from the very start with a grounded Shoegaze and Sludge Rock melody developing with stunning vocals to match. However, there’s still that highly accomplished Occult Doom sound that made Terra Black such a great band to look out for that manages to stay consistently relevant with punishing levels of distorted FUZZ appearing behind the scenes. The lyrics have a winning DOOM & GLOOM attitude to them with the music matching the likes of MONOLORD and ELECTRIC WIZARD with that intense slow-to-mid pace.

Terra Black developed a thicker, heavier and denser style of Doomed Out Metal with a sublime Psychedelic Stoner Metal attitude forming on different parts of the album. The vocals from Ezgi are utterly captivating and deliver the right level of pure innocence and demonic based passion which feels like they’re being delivered by two different entities. This gives Mirage a bewitching atmospheric and seductive quality within the grounded moments of the album but the whole thing fully excels when the band play into their new found COSMIC DOOM surroundings. 

The music becomes noticeably thicker and brimming with amplified capabilities especially on tracks Guayota, Pareidolia, In Stone and Ruins. The whole sound is full of violent Fuzzed Out landscapes where Terra Black put their AMPS all the way upto dangerous levels and let their music do the talking. The harsh screams linger in the background before exploding into an emotional style that brings the Occult Doom world closer to the fringes of modern day Heavy Psych and Spaced Out Doom closer than ever before.

Terra Black have written some intriguing lyrics to match the music and with the band part of the massive Swedish underground metal scene then you know what to expect when that scene’s legendary sound develops into something more tribal and ritualistic. There’s some dizzying soundscapes and vocal chants that taps right into the Seventies Occult Rock scene but with dazzling Drone Metal overtones. 

Mirage is quite a forward thinking album as it’s fuelled by elements of Heavy Psych, Occult Rock. Doom Metal, Shoegaze, Stoner Metal and Space Rock which gives it such a nomadic and solitary existence at times. The whole thing is superbly real and refreshingly original with certain sections of the album transforming into a meditative style of Grunge, Post-Rock and Shoegaze that gives this record a completely different tone on the second half of the album.

The Ambient themes are exquisite and have a certain romantic elegance to them but that soon gives way to that modern day destructive grooves and soulful melodies that take no prisoners especially within the excellent rhythm section that allows Terra Black to branch out into different areas of music. 

Mirage is a magnificent beast of an album. As this is a record that knows when to become a true force of nature that destroys everything in Terra Black’s wake but it also knows when to show it’s caring, tender and emotionally engaging side as well. When both these worlds collide then there’s no stopping TERRA BLACK delivering one of the most satisfying COSMIC DOOMED OUT experiences you’ll have this year.

WOW!!!

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Sheltered Life PR for the promo.

Mirage is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Bonebag Records.

Links

Bandcamp | Facebook | Spotify | Instagram | Apple Music

Rapidly Aging - You're Not Yourself Lately (Album Review)

Release Date: October 02nd 2026. Record Label: Fig On West. Format: DD/Tape

You’re Not Yourself Lately - Tracklist

1. Distant Sirens Wailing (2:41)

2. Fleeting Moment (5:47)

3. The Negative Thought Loops (4:20)

4. Awoken From A Bad Dream To An Even Worse Reality (7:58)

5. How Quickly The Ground Falls Out Beneath You (5:13)

6. Unsaved (6:46)

7. To Keep From (7:48)

Members

Music by Shalor Howell

Guitar, Slide Guitar & Bass performed by Shalor Howell

Drums performed by Matt Hendler

Pedal Steel Guitar & Violin performed by Ethan Fogus

Review

You’re Not Yourself Lately is the debut album from Ambient/Post-Metal collective Rapidly Aging who brings a dense and progressive style to the Post-Metal world as Shalor Howell (the creative mastermind behind the project) explores a slow style of music that allows other areas of Post-Rock. Shoegaze and Sludge Metal to fully form. Rapidly Aging takes their time in building highly melodic Post-Rock structures that are firm and hold steady one moment before a towering force of Atmospheric Sludge destroys everything for a heavier style of ritualistic passage to form.

You can hear influences from the likes of Pelican, Neurosis, OM, Pink Floyd, Earth and Russian Circles which shows you the type of musical surroundings that Rapidly Aging aims for. The whole thing does take time to fully get moving along but it’s a deeply reflective journey that allows the Ambient and Post-Rock sounds to appear within the haunting opening tracks of Distant Sirens Wailing and Fleeting Moment. I would consider these tracks the most straightforward songs on the whole album as Shalor Howell moves along into some unexpected themes of music for the stunning third track The Negative Thought Loops. 

The Negative Thought Loops combines Post-Metal aesthetics with a gloomy Americana, Gothic and Southern Folk sound which is held together by a commanding Post-Metal presence. The instrumental passages are heavy for the most part but Rapidly Aging then aims for a subtle Alt Rock and Experimental based flow. The whole thing tries to strive for pure Post-Metal heaviness but settles for a great style of Post-Rock and Post-Doom aggression. Parts Neurosis and Pink Floyd combine for a sound that’s perhaps one of the most reflective moments on the whole album.

Fourth track Awoken From A Bad Dream To An Even Worse Reality never shies away from playing a monumental style of precise progressive melodies that have a certain Pelican (Australasia) vibe to them. The free-flowing “cinematic” journey of the track brings a low-key Psych Metal aspect into the mix. The song is equally spaced out and fuelled by tranquil Post-Rock themes that feel cautiously optimistic but quite content to remain in the darkness at the same time.

The level of music experimentation is excellent with some deft classical rock and jazzy scores starting to make themselves known on the second half of the album. All of the vocal samples that provide the main storyline for the album are taken from the classic 1974 French film “The Man Who Sleeps” with this album acting as the unofficial soundtrack. I haven’t seen the film but the samples used are magnificent where they are matched up to the music amazingly well especially within the Ambient sections of the whole record.

The final three tracks of the album allows Rapidly Aging to fully explore the heaviest and progressive moments on the album whilst keeping to a slight Orchestral delivery mostly on How Quickly The Ground Falls Out Beneath You and To Keep From. There’s a determined energy to how the music is delivered with intense Progressive musical beats becoming thicker and denser that allows the album to reach it’s emotionally charged conclusion.

You’re Not Yourself Lately is not an easy album to listen to but it’s the overall journey that Rapidly Aging takes you upon that’s the real highlight. For an instrumental record, Rapidly Aging have crafted a dark and mysterious record that offers no easy answers but you can’y deny how brilliantly powerful the record is when everything is said and done….

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Good Boy PR for the promo.

You’re Not Yourself Lately is available to buy now.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Post-Rock/Post-Metal Collective Our Ceasing Voice Unveil New Single And Video “Wherever You Are”

A deeply personal song about loss, forgiveness and keeping a memory alive

Austrian post rock and post metal quartet Our Ceasing Voice return with “Wherever You Are”, the third single taken from their forthcoming album “The Origin of Everything”, due for release on October 2nd, 2026 via Argonauta Records.

Watch the official video for “Wherever You Are”:

Following the previously released singles “Diamond Eyes” and “The Man You Wanted Me To Be”, “Wherever You Are” reveals perhaps the most intimate side of Our Ceasing Voice. Written in the aftermath of a devastating personal loss, the song is a meditation on grief, guilt and the difficult path towards forgiveness.

Vocalist Dominik Dörfler explains:

“When I was faced with the loss of an especially close friend in 2005, something inside me broke and has still not healed to this day, leaving a huge void.”

For years, Dörfler carried the feeling that he could somehow have prevented his friend's death, a thought that became increasingly difficult to escape.

“This feeling haunted me for so many years and prevented me, in every way, from coming to terms with it.”

Fourteen years after the loss, in 2019, Dörfler finally sat down at the piano and wrote “Wherever You Are”. The song remained untouched for a long time, neither played nor listened to, before the band eventually returned to it while working on “The Origin of Everything”.

Reworking the composition and revisiting its lyrics ultimately became part of a deeply personal process of healing.

“Working on it really helped me cope with this loss, see it in a different light, replace that feeling of anger with a kind of forgiveness toward myself, and immortalize the memory of a beautiful person.”

That sense of emotional transformation lies at the heart of “The Origin of Everything”. While the album looks inward at identity, belonging, memory and the forces that shape who we become, “Wherever You Are” confronts the past directly, turning grief into remembrance and regret into acceptance.

Musically, the song showcases the band's ability to move between fragile intimacy and expansive post rock intensity, creating a space where melancholy and catharsis coexist. It is another glimpse into an album that sees Our Ceasing Voice pushing beyond their earlier sound while preserving the emotional depth that has defined them since their formation in Innsbruck in 2006.

“The Origin of Everything” will be released on October 2nd, 2026 via Argonauta Records and features eleven songs that trace different paths through memory, identity, longing and transformation.

For more info:

​https://www.facebook.com/ourceasingvoicemusic​
​https://www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords​

Thanks to Grand Sounds Promotion for the details.

Matt C. White - The Flood (Album Review)

Release Date: September 18th 2026. Record Label: White Locust Records. Rising. Format: DD

The Flood - Tracklist

Three Hunters

Evil Wheel

Away

The Flood

Cold Water

Ursa

Evil Wheel (Instrumental)

Cold Water (Instrumental)

Ursa (Instrumental)

Members

Matt C. White - Everything

Review

Multi Instrumentalist Matt C. White returns with their latest offering The Flood which is another moody offering into the world of Classic Rock and Psych Rock sensibilities. The record follows a similar structure to the 2025 album A Cosmic Year with subtle flashes of Psych, Stoner Rock, Space Rock and KrautRock that allows Matt to embrace his love affair with the different levels of Hard Rock. 

There’s some hazy Blues Rock creative energy that’s heard throughout the album with Matt showing some musical influences by the likes of The Black Keys, Hawkwind, The Sword and Brant Bjork. The Proto-Metal and Classic Hard Rock delivery works exceptionally well from the start of the superb opening tracks of Three Hunters, Evil Wheel and Away. There’s a gloomy Garage Rock presence which moves into a slightly distorted Space Rock backdrop with small instances of Gloom & Doom holding everything back.

The music is quite warped but with a great style of melodic rock forming within the freakish Progressive beats that align the musical landscape. Matt’s vocals have an outsider delivery to them with his vocal range bringing Seventies Hard Rock themes to a more modern day setting. The instrumental sounds are constantly evolving into a heavier style of Cosmic Doom and Stoner Rock landscape. 

This feels like THE SWORD (early era) jamming with MC5 and The Black Keys where there are riffs galore waiting to be found within the standout tracks of Away, Cold Water and Ursa. The Flood works best when Matt explores the Cosmic and Psychedelic themes of his music which transforms into some vibrant musical passages that superbly nail on the Post-Stoner and Post-Rock quality of the whole record. 

The Space Rock delivery is almost hopeful, content and brilliantly realistic when it goes for a more "exploratory" approach. The whole thing becomes laid back where Matt allows his SONIC EXPERIMENTATION skills do the heavy lifting especially within The Flood and Cold Water.

This is quite a short album lasting around twenty seven minutes of new material as the final three tracks are instrumental versions of Evil Wheel, Cold Water and Ursa. These are actually great versions to include as you begin to forge a more emotional connection to these tracks especially if you’re a fan of Instrumental Rock music. 

The Flood is mostly fuelled by Classic Rock structures with some slight detours into modern soundscapes which allows Matt C. White to deliver a worthy and outstanding follow up record to his acclaimed 2025 album A Cosmic Year. This record may not be as heavy as that album but it’s perhaps more vivid and dare I say more emotionally charged and superbly original. 

Matt C. White has taken his music into greater musical heights and has released a highly mature offering that gets the job done.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

 

Words by Steve Howe

The Flood is available to buy now on Digital Download via White Locust Records.

Links

www.mattcwhite.com
www.Instagram.com/Matt_C_White

https://open.spotify.com/artist/mattcwhite

https://mattcwhite.bandcamp.com/

Shovelhead - A Place Of Dead Roads (Album Review)

Release Date: September 12th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Rising. Format: CD/DD

A Place Of Dead Roads - Tracklist

01. Witching Hour

02. Tempest

03. Dominion/Big Tex

04. Ghost in the Garden

05. Middle Man

06. White Stag Ghost

07. Bombers

Members

Jim LaPointe - Vocals, Guitar

Mike Scott - Drums

George Pierro - Bass

Review

Shovelhead may not be a name you’re familiar with but to a small and loyal dedicated following within the Stoner Rock/Metal underground community, these guys are almost legendary  especially around their hometown of New Jersey. This area is home to the likes of Stoner Rock/Metal legends Monster Magnet. SOLACE and The Atomic Bitchwax. Whilst Shovelhead didn’t reach the same towering heights of those legendary bands, their impact is just as meaningful.

The guys have returned with their first album “A Place Of Dead Roads” in nineteen years. I was a huge fan of their 2007 record The Crown & The Knife. The band helped form the style of Rock & Roll driven based Stoner Metal that’s so popular today and I’m pleased to say that almost two decades on that Shovelhead’s latest album makes them feel as important and vital as ever.

The record is powered by a classic style of “TURBO CHARGED” grooves with some great Garage Rock melodies with a burgeoning seedy Psychedelic attitude. Shovelhead don’t apply modern studio and recording techniques into their music. This is good old fashioned Stoner Rock/Metal music how it’s meant to sound and and superbly played. The end result is raw, uncompromising, gritty and highly unpredictable that allows Shovelhead to play with a fearless attitude which is applied throughout the whole album.

There are some moments of Grunge and Progressive momentums contained within the lengthier tracks of the album (Tempest, Dominion/Big Tex, Middle Man and White Stag Ghost) but there’s a multitude of different styles of Heavy Rock that’s being applied by Shovelhead that makes you just appreciate the fact how these guys are still around after thirty years making great music.

There’s a WILD MAN OF ROCK swagger that’s applied by Shovelhead to the fastest and heaviest parts of the record. There’s an out of control “JAM BASED” quality that you can hear within the fuzziest and sleaziest sounds of the album. The vocals by Jim LaPointe appear only when they’re fully needed which gives real weight to the whole record.

Only Jim LaPointe and Mike Scott remain from the original lineup with George Pierro replacing original bassist Sha Zaidi. George Pierro brings his own heavy bass sound to the part which is quite different to Sha Zaidi’s but still fully fantastic and fully becoming part of the Shovelhead creative framework.

A Place Of Dead Roads is quite a loose record and opts for a riff-centric / jam based delivery which has always been a staple of Shovelhead ever since their formative years. However, everything works as it should with the band delivering an intense musical performance that upcoming Stoner Rock bands should study and appreciate having great bands such as Shovelhead on how to create, write and perform a classic sounding Stoner Rock track.

As I stated previously, the production values are very raw and highly unapologetic but it’s one of the main strengths that allows A Place Of Dead Roads to fully stand out from the crowd. Shovelhead have released a first rate “COMEBACK” record that I’m hoping gives the band further appreciation from the whole Stoner Rock/Metal community. As this is as good as it gets.

If you miss the early days of MONSTER MAGNET when they had intense New Jersey destructive sound running through their veins that they may have lost over the years then you really need to check out SHOVELHEAD right now. As these guys are seriously becoming better musicians and more an essential band in their later years.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Mettle Media PR for the details.

Links

https://shovelheadnj.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/ShovelheadNJ
https://www.youtube.com/@theoriginalShovelhead
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2pIndavttdvGqKlHdVQp3L
https://intothevoidmerchco.com/collections/shovelhead
https://www.facebook.com/people/Shovelhead/100061003818946/
https://www.instagram.com/shovelheadnj

FU MANCHU to headline SOL SONIC RIDE Wiesbaden 2027 celebrating 30 years of their cult-LP "THE ACTION IS GO"!

SOL SONIC RIDE returns to Schlachthof Wiesbaden with a thunderous third edition on Saturday, June 26th 2027! The first half of the lineup has just been released, lead by the Californian desert rock gods FU MANCHU celebrating the 30 years of their legendary record THE ACTION IS GO with a special set dedicated to the LP, playing most of the record plus a selection of their heaviest evergreens!

This is pure gold already, but there’s more to lose your head about waiting till next June with the German stoner masters ROTOR, who are known for blasting the tightest sets in the scene, the heavy hitters KRAKE from Berlin, the all-female heavy psychedelic four-piece LURCH from Austria, the grungey psych-rockers YEAST MACHINE from Tübingen as well as LEBENSHILFE (ex Noisy Valet) from Aschaffenburg with their dull-psychedelic comedown rock and many more to follow!

With the blind bird tickets already sold-out, you still have the chance to safe some in the early bird phase for a limited time – so get your tickets early and witness this heavily-stacked lineup and FU MANCHU’s trip back to the 90s, celebrating their cult LP. More bands and great other news follow in the upcoming weeks!

See you in Wiesbaden on June 26th at Schlachthof!

Your Sound of Liberation Crew

TICKETS & INFO



MORE INFORMATION ON OUR 2027 LINEUP:

FU MANCHU

The California desert rock legends FU MANCHU have been scene favorites for decades, blending desert rock, stoner, hardcore as well as punk influences into their absolutely heavy and unmistakable sound, feeding the soundtrack of the west coast skateboarding scene. At SOL SONIC RIDE Wiesbaden they’re play a special set celebrating the 30th anniversary of their legendary album THE ACTION IS GO dedicated to the record alongside a selection of their heaviest bangers!

ROTOR

The German stoner masters from Berlin are known for their heavy mix of stoner, psychedelic, and progressive rock. Since forming in the late 1990s, they’ve built a reputation for powerful, groove-driven instrumentals and intense live performances, always in line of casually and unpretentiously blasting the tightest set on any lineup.

KRAKE

The heavy hitters from Berlin push a deep growl of distortion through the crowd that shackles you up tightly like a six-armed kraken, yet, somehow you want more and more of it!

LURCH

It hums, steams and howls through your ear canals when Lurch are on stage. They make psych for metal fans, funky garage punk with a doom flavor, a bit heavy, a bit cheeky and always a bit in your face. They have fun and so will you!

YEAST MACHINE

Dirty, gritty stoner grunge with beats that get under your skin and hooks that stick in your head.

LEBENSHILFE

Dull-psychedelic comedown rock with droning grooves and walls of abrasive guitars with familiar faces from the Aschaffenburg underground (Electric Jugs, Dead Taste, Shocktroopers). They’ve been formerly known as NOISY VALET.

More Bands and great additonal news are coming in the next weeks!

The Blind-Bird Tickets are already sold-out, so hurry up and safe some on the limited Early-Birds – as long as they last!

TICKETS & INFO

Thanks to Sound Of Liberation for the details.

Paranoid Reverb - Red River Black Roots (Album Review)

Release Date: September 18th 2026. Record Label: Octopus Rising. Format: CD/DD

Red River Black Roots - Tracklist

Acantha – 06:19

0315 – 04:30

Da Capo – 06:07

F.U. – 05:01

Red River – 04:51

Come Undone – 06:19

QuickSand – 07:15

Review

Psych Stoner Rockers Paranoid Reverb return in stunning fashion with their second album Red River Black Roots which builds upon the highly atmospheric grooves created on their acclaimed 2020 debut album. The record has a grittier and spaced out attitude with a massive wall of sound developing very early on within the album. Paranoid Reverb have a similar cosmic style of music next to the likes of ELDER, Weedpecker, King Buffalo and Howling Giant. Though, you hear classic Stoner Rock/Metal sounds influenced by the likes of KYUSS, Truckfighters and FU MANCHU.

There’s many different levels of Heavy Rock appearing with some cool switches to Doom and Sludge melodies. The whole thing has a gloomy progressive power that allows Paranoid Reverb venture into that classic Heavy Metal realm with some mighty guitar shredding appearing out of nowhere.

Perhaps it’s not as grounded as their debut album but there is a thrilling sense of musical adventure bursting out of the seams on tracks such as: Ancatha, 0315 and Da Capo which combines moody atmospherics with aggressive psychedelic landscapes. The vocals move from areas of Alt Rock, Grunge and Stoner Rock themes with a delicate Blues Rock touch that appear in the quieter and most emotionally charged parts of the album.

Paranoid Reverb even manage to find the time to perform a subtle moody Blues Rock environment where everything played a delicate slow-to-mid pace but they sprinkle some distorted Psychedelic Doom measures within the ice-cold atmosphere. The band really start to impress more when they start thinking outside the Heavy Psychedelic sandbox and deliver some gritty soundscapes within the second half of the album.

Everything becomes quite gloomy when a theatrical Post-Rock and Ambient soundscape appears in the background with Paranoid Reverb offering a more refined style of music.

Red River Black Roots fully becomes a more dangerous and aggressive record to listen to when Paranoid Reverb fully embrace that Sludge Rock vibe within their music that dominates the second half of the album on tracks such as F.U., Come Undone and Quicksand. The great mix of raw sounding Stoner Rock passages melts away at the Psychedelic landscape with a stripped back swagger that forms a heavy Cosmic Doom delivery. 

The lyrics aren’t as outlandish as you expect with Paranoid Reverb keeping everything real and never overthinking things. This allows the album to move along at a great pace with the whole album never overstaying itss welcome. Some parts can be brash with the raw-sounding production values but this is one of the albums main strengths with the record having a true honest feel to it all.

Red River Black Roots is an expertly produced record with Paranoid Reverb firing on all cylinders and delivering a superbly entertaining album from start to finish.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Grand Sounds Promotion for the promo.

Red River Black Roots is available to buy now on CD/Digital Download via Octopus Rising (Argonauta Records).

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram