Saturday, 31 May 2025

Killiad - Killiad (Album Review)

Release Date: May 31st 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Killiad - Tracklisting

1.The Cave 03:58

2.Summoner 07:13

3.Let Me In

4.Merciless Being

5.The Librarian

6.The Sky Becomes An Ocean


Review


Stoner Metallers Killiad’s sound is inspired by the greats such as KYUSS, FU MANCHU and MONSTER MAGNET with a deliciously heavy FUZZ ROCK attitude. The sound is highly unpolished with a direct Garage Rock attitude which you can fully appreciate on their self-titled debut album. The stripped back energy emitting from the speakers demonstrates a Punk Rock drive whilst remaining true to their Stoner Rock/Metal roots. Though, expect Killiad to play heavier, bleaker and gloomier surroundings in the later stages of the record.


The added reliance on Sludge, Psych, Doom and good old fashioned HEAVY RAWK sees a band playing to their strengths even if everything sounds CHAOTIC and with a mighty PISSED OFF attitude. The vocals are grizzled and on the right side of aggressive seediness despite them not moving into harsher realms. Killiad allow themselves to experiment with Progressive textures and overlapping layers of distortion, reverb and sonic surroundings which only adds to the FUCKED UP tone of the whole album.


Killiad truly come alive on tracks such as Summoner, Let Me In, Merciless Being and The Sky Becomes An Ocean where they drift into areas of SABBATHIAN instrumental passages which have  certain Proto-Metal themes to them. The mood can be downright FREAKY and CREEPY when Killiad operate with a more Doomedelic mission statement which manifests into the heaviest and aggressive parts of the record. 


Imagine if TRUCKFIGHTERS or FU MANCHU were possessed by an evil spirit and that’s how demented, twisted and superbly heavy the FUZZ tone of Killiad’s music ultimately becomes. For a debut recor, Killiad are highly confident with their technical ability and whole creative vision which gives them a highly confident attitude which they fully earn with great songwriting being shown throughout.


As I said earlier, the production values are quite raw and there are some moments where the music drowns out the vocals making it hard to understand what’s being sung. However, that’s my only criticism of an otherwise superbly entertaining record that will no doubt keep the Stoner Rock/Metal underground masses mightily impressed for a long time to come.


Excellent and Highly Recommended.


Words by Steve Howe


Links


Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram


Thursday, 29 May 2025

Portland's Stoner Metallers MORDBEAR Delivers Crushing Debut EP Due To Release June 06th 2025


MORDBEAR EP Details

Release: June 6, 2025
Genres: Stoner Rock, Doom Metal, Acid Metal.
Format: EP,DR.
FFO: Sleep, Om, & Acrimony
Label: Dipterid Records

Tracklist:

1. Like The Dead
2. A Mirror with a Sea of Flames
3. The Alchemist

The Lowdown

Emerging from the rainy gloom of the Pacific Northwest, Mordbear arrives with a debut EP that fuses gritty stoner-metal grooves with surreal storytelling and a heavy dose of acid-fried mysticism. Built on a foundation of ‘70s proto-metal and acid rock, but firmly grounded in the present, Mordbear is the sound of three seasoned musicians channeling personal mythologies, literary references, and esoteric philosophies into towering riffs and wild sonic turns.

Mordbear is the collective force of Tyler Balthaser (guitars, vocals), Nico Martinez (bass), and Erik Larson (drums), each bringing years of experience from vastly different musical backgrounds—from hardcore and jazz to psych and doom. Their chemistry lies in the process: “I write demos for the songs, bring them to the guys, and we work them out until we have something that we are excited about... with the Mordbear footprint on them,” Tyler shares.

The self-titled EP showcases three tracks that function less like a conceptual arc and more like a collection of strange transmissions from the minds of its creators. As frontman and songwriter Tyler Balthaser puts it: “There isn't too much of a specific thread between the songs — two I've worked on in one form or another for a few years now, and one, ‘The Alchemist,’ is pretty new for all of us.”

But what links them is an uncanny ability to turn off-kilter ideas into heavy, head-nodding anthems. The opener, 'Like the Dead,’ was inspired by a surreal conversation with a hippie veterinarian, recounting a theory about global warming, rabid bats, and a Southern California zombie outbreak: “The theory itself and especially the source and setting stuck it in my head, until it was time to write lyrics for what was the first song for this project.”

‘A Mirror with a Sea of Flames’ pulls its title from Tom Wolfe’s ‘The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test,’ conjuring visions of DMT-fueled trips and side-mirror firestorms on a school bus full of proto-hippies winding through the hills of New York in the mid ’60s. Commenting on the inspiration spark, Tyler says: “The text and imagery felt like they were prime for a stoner metal song to me, and shoe-horning dimethyltryptamine into a song’s lyrics alone was worth it.”

Photo credits: Peter Subaiya.

Meanwhile, ‘The Alchemist’ explores an eerie modern parable about self-transformation and the cost of ambition in a capitalist world: “Early interests in esoteric schools of thought taught me about alchemy—really just an early form of chemistry, but also an allegory for refining yourself into a better version through introspection and intention,” Tyler shares, while taking a more literal approach, reflecting on our hypercapitalist society: “It can feel like you need to trade your life for a small amount of gold just to get by, and people seem to be willing to trade more and more for a smaller piece.”

At its core, Mordbear is a debut that doesn’t just introduce a band—it builds a world. One that is chaotic, cinematic, and just strange enough to feel true. 

The debut EP arrives June 6 via Dipterid Records. Pre-order from now on here.

Links



Thanks to Discipline PR for all of the details.

GOYA - In The Dawn Of November (Album Review)

Release Date: June 13th 2025. Record Label: Blues Funeral Recordings. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

In The Dawn Of November - Tracklisting

1.In the Dawn of November 

2.Cemetery Blues

3.Depressive Episode 

4.Sick of Your Shit

5.I Wanna Be Dead

6.Comes with the Fall


Members


Marcus Bryant - Drums

Jeffrey Owens - Guitar/Vocals

CJ Sholtis - Bass


Review


Doom/Stoner Metal Heavyweights Goya are back with their latest opus In The Dawn Of November. I’m surprised this record is being released at the start of summer season and not near Halloween season where the record will no doubt ultimately thrive the most. As the record is full of heavy, seedy and downtuned gloomy sounds the likes of Saint Vitus, Electric Wizard and Ramesses used to make back in the day.

Goya have been missing in action for eight years and I thought the band had split up though low and behold their back with their new record. In The Dawn Of November has a classic nihilistic and gloomy atmosphere which perhaps propels the DOOM METAL surroundings of their sound to the forefront of the action. The lyrics are constantly about DEATH with Jeffery Owens sounding like he’s selling his soul to the GRIM REAPER of the DEVIL himself. The music has a sublime PROTO-METAL quality with the sudden shift to Fuzzed Up Sludge Metal dynamics being built up superbly well within the excellent opening track In The Dawn Of November.


Goya feel reborn and energized with first rate songwriting and an epic musical performance that can only be described as HUGE and REVOLUTIONARY with it’s stripped back energy coming along thanks to the fabulous work of the legendary Jack Endino who engineered, recorded, mixed and mastered the whole album. Jack propels Goya into the league of DOOM METAL masters with their stunning array of riff-centric tracks that are equally dangerous to boot with the band touching upon some damaged, fractured and fragile human emotions within the lyrics written for the whole album.


I’m not afraid this record is perhaps the “BEST ALBUM THAT THE CLASSIC LINE-UP OF ELECTRIC WIZARD” never recorded. As Goya taps into the sound the mighty Electric Wizard delivered back in the day especially on tracks such as Cemetery Blues, Depressive Episode, Sick Of Your Shit and I Wanna Be Dead. These tracks alone allows Goya to project their “NO FUCKS GIVEN” attitude against the whole world with reckless abandonment though the music remains constantly original, aggressive and catchy as fuck. The band surround themselves with moments of Grunge, Sludge, Classic Doom, Fuzz and Stoner Metal which is highly melodic that Goya splice with trippy keyboards and gloomy synths. 


The neverending use of freaky guitar pedals, feedback and amplifier reverb has been used on Goya’s previous record but this is the most menacing and commanding use of music I’ve heard from the band. In The Dawn Of November is a tour-de-force of modern day DOOM METAL that allows the other elements and genres of Goya’s sound to feel quite real and grounded. There’s a ton of outlandish and monolithic instrumental soundscapes which adds a dangerous level of VOLUME into the whole album that leaves you wholly satisfied and wanting to listen to the album over, over and over again.


In The Dawn Of November is gonna turn heads within the underground scene and even beyond with GOYA delivering their best record to date. 


Mind-blowing. End Of.


Words by Steve Howe


Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo.


In The Dawn Of November is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via BandcampBluesfuneral.com and SPKR shop


Goya links

CROP - Alone (Single Review)

Release Date: May 29th 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Alone - Tracklisting

Alone


Review


Alone is the new single from Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metallers CROP forthcoming new album S.S.R.I and it’s quite a hard-hitting homage to bands such as DOWN, CROWBAR, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY and bands from the NOLA scene in general. However, there’s a subversive Post-Doom, Grunge and Post-Metal attitude starting to form behind the cracks of the bleak lyrics that form a brutal creative narrative which allows this to be CROP’s heaviest song to date.


The song is quite melodic despite the harsh sludgy guitars injecting a subtle mix of grounded realism and progressive vibes which appear on the latest stages of Alone. This song is primarily about ADDICTION and is perhaps one of the most personal tracks the band have written.


However, CROP perform with a much needed vitality and resonance to their music which becomes more real when the atmosphere changes into a heavier and fuzz laden landscape with moments of Psychedelic heaviness reminding me of early-era Alice In Chains. 


Overall. Alone is an absolutely outstanding track backed up by excellent production values that may have put S.S.R.I as one of the best albums to look forward to in the incoming months when it's released in August 2025.


Words by Steve Howe


Links


LinkTree | BandCamp


The Spiral Electric - In Too Deep (Single Review)

Release Date: May 16th 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

In Too Deep - Tracklisting

In Too Deep


Members


Clay Andrews : Vocals / Guitar / Piano / Percussion

Nicolas Percey : Guitars

Ryan McKnight : Bass

Matias Drago : Drums


Review


In Too Deep is the latest single from Heavy Psych Rockers The Spiral Electric with this being their first new song in two years. The song is a stripped back song with a hazy Acid Rock and Shoegaze approach. The flow is constantly mellow with The Spiral Electric keeping the mood nuanced and superbly melodic. There’s some brief moments where the band almost branches out into heavier waters but the message here is one of “CALM and PEACE”. 


There’s a subtle 1990’s Alt Rock vibe coming from Clay Andrews warm-hearted vocals which allows a sudden shift into Grunge sounding dynamics where the best instrumental solos appear towards the end of the song. In Too Deep is superbly written with heartfelt lyrics that leave you with a warm emotional glow and is perhaps the perfect sounding Stoner Rock track for the upcoming SUMMER season.


If this is an indication of what The Spiral Electric’s upcoming new album will sound like then we’re in for a real treat. Check out this great track now. It’s sublime. End Of.


Words by Steve Howe


Links


LinkTree | BandCamp


Wednesday, 28 May 2025

"Best of Ramones Redux" new single: RESTLESS SPIRIT feat. Restless Spirit feat. Jeff Matz


For the final advance single from "Marc Urselli's Best of Ramones Redux" that will be released parallel to the forthcoming MER Redux Series installment "Marc Urselli's Ramones Redux", Long Island trio RESTLESS SPIRIT are being joined by HIGH ON FIRE bass player Jeff Matz to pay homage to the RAMONES track 'Poison Heart'.

The liner-notes for the RAMONES album "Mondo Bizarro" (1992), on which the song was originally released, claim that this song was one of three written by the band's (at the time already former) bass player Dee Dee Ramone, who exchanged it for bail money following his arrest for possession of marijuana.

Please find more details about "Best of Ramones Redux" below. Both tribute albums have been scheduled for release on June 6, 2025.

RESTLESS SPIRIT feat. Jeff Matz' rendition of the RAMONES' 'Poison Heart' is now available for publication via this link: https://youtu.be/Y2NMHPidZfE


RESTLESS SPIRIT feat. Jeff Matz 'Poison Heart' taken from the album "Best of Ramones Redux"

RESTLESS SPIRIT comment: "When the idea of doing a Ramones tribute song came up, 'Poison Heart' was our obvious choice", guitarist and vocalist Paul Aloisio writes. "This track has got everything that we like in a song – great leads, a big chorus, and introspective lyrics. On top of this, being able to record with a renowned producer like Marc Urselli was a dream, and of course, collaborating with Jeff from High on Fire is definitely a highlight of our career."

The third and latest RESTLESS SPIRIT full-length "Afterimage" embodies the East Coast trio's aim of never wanting to sound exactly like before. The album serves Long Island deep-fried guitars seasoned with pounding rhythms and emotionally raw vocals. Where predecessor "Blood of the Old Gods" (2021) sometimes ushered the listener into twisted complexity, 

"Afterimage" delivers short, sharp shocks that hit straight home. Embarking on their musical journey very early in life, the band's core of Aloisio and bassist Marc Morello met the summer before Kindergarten and grew up discovering music side by side. Their debut full-length "Lord of the New Depression" (2019) fit equally well into the stoner, doom, and sludge molds, while on "Blood of the Old Gods", the three-piece developed a more varied, melodic approach with added complexity.

Bass player Jeff Matz is best known as the bassist of American stoner metal band HIGH ON FIRE from Oakland, CA. The band was founded by SLEEP vocalist and guitarist Matt Pike together with the band's first bass player George Rice in 1998. The latter was replaced by Joe Preston, who left the band while on tour in 2006. ZEKE bass player Jeff Matz stepped in on short notice and the chemistry worked out so well that he became a full-time member of HIGH IN FIRE during the recording of the fourth full-length "Death Is this Communion" (2007). Matz recorded and toured on the following five albums, with "Cometh the Storm" (2024) being the latest, and he is currently the only remaining full member along with Pike.


Tracklist "Best of Ramones Redux"

1. Voivod feat. JG Thirlwell 'Zero Zero UFO'
2. Destructo Disk feat. Timo Ellis 'I Don't Wanna Be Learned/I Don't Wanna Be Tamed'
3. Impostor Cult feat. Amy Tung Barrysmith 'Pet Sematary'
4.
Oscar Dunbar & The Heat Inc. 'You're Gonna Kill That Girl'
5. Daniele Brusaschetto & Chvad SB 'I Can't Be'
6. So Hideous feat. Gary Lucas 'The KKK Took My Baby Away'
7. King Potenaz & Nefariant 'Time Has Come Today'
8. Venamoris feat. Eicca Toppinen 'I Want You Around'
9. Kayo Dot & Ihsahn 'Teenage Lobotomy'
10. Duel 'Chinese Rock'
11. Raw Power feat. Sergio Milani -'I Don't Care'
12. Zeni Geva & Besvärjelsen 'You Should Never Have Opened that Door'
13. Restless Spirit feat. Jeff Matz 'Poison Heart'
14. David J & Paul Wallfisch 'I Wanna Be Sedated'

Rock took a turn towards the bombastic, complex, and symphonic in the early 70s of the last century. YES had released the monumental "Close to the Edge" in 1972, not even a year later GENESIS were "Selling England by the Pound", and LED ZEPPELIN entered the "Houses of the Holy" also in 1973.

It very much looked liked as if the greasy, long-haired kids of rock were all becoming posh and polished. Yet in Downtown New York, a very different scene emerged that begged to differ. In a new club, a bunch of leather-clad rowdy youths that called their band RAMONES gave their debut show at CBGB's on August 16, 1974. They were loud, their hard-hitting songs needed few chords, hardly lasted longer than two minutes, and they barely gave a damn about playing perfect notes. The world of music was about to change forever.

The RAMONES are unquestionably the most ubiquitous American punk rock band of all time, whose spirit of rebellion and music have inspired generations; and still remains alive while all original members have sadly passed far too early.

With three chords and straightforward lyrics, the RAMONES embraced a stripped-down, high-energy approach that was both primal and revolutionary when it arrived in the shape of the self-titled debut album "Ramones" in 1976. They went on to influence some of the most recognizable rock, punk and metal bands of the next several decades, ranging from BLACK FLAG, NIRVANA, METALLICA, CIRCLE JERKS, WHITE ZOMBIE, PEARL JAM, and GUNS N' ROSES, to name just a few. The mighty MOTÖRHEAD even dedicated a song to them.

The RAMONES perfectly represented and encapsulated the essence of the underground, holding true to their sound and style for decades, inspiring multiple generations, and establishing eternal cultural significance despite never achieving true commercial success themselves.

Magnetic Eye's Redux Series was created to pay homage to classic albums from across music history. The label has charged themselves as chroniclers and archivists to contribute to keeping the memory of outstanding artists and records alive and transfer their music to the sound of new generations.

"Ramones Redux" re-imagines and celebrates the punk legends' debut album from start to finish, and is accompanied by "Best of Ramones Redux", which includes new renditions of deep cuts and classics from across their catalog. As a first for a Magnetic Eye Redux release, this homage to the RAMONES has been masterminded and curated by New York City and London-based Italian-Swiss audio engineer, sound designer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and Grammy winner Marc Urselli. And while the focus of fans regarding the Redux series is often on the full album homage, the sheer volume of outstanding artists and number of fascinating collaborations offered on this particular "Best of Redux" is simply stunning.

The Magnetic Eye Redux Series and its companion volumes feature hand-picked classic albums from across the history of rock and metal re-imagined in their entirety from start to finish. Artists we love from within and outside the heavy rock landscape choose tracks to make their own, bringing these milestone records into the new millennium with crushing heaviness and searing energy. To date, we've produced Redux editions of PINK FLOYD's "The Wall", HELMET's "Meantime", BLACK SABBATH's "Vol. 4", JIMI HENDRIX's "Electric Ladyland", ALICE IN CHAINS' "Dirt", AC/DC's "Back in Black", SOUNDGARDEN's "Superunknown", and JETHRO TULL's "Aqualung", which have included artists like RED FANG, MATT PIKE, PALLBEARER, THE MELVINS, ALL THEM WITCHES, KHEMMIS, ASG, SUPERSUCKERS, ZAKK WYLDE, MARK LANEGAN, RUBY THE HATCHET, and many more amazing artists.

Join us for our ninth foray into Redux territory as we pay proper respect to the US punk legends RAMONES!

Artist: Various Artists
Album: Marc Urselli's Best of Ramones Redux
Release date: June 6, 2025
Label: Magnetic Eye Records
Style: Doom, Stoner Rock & Metal, Psych Rock et al.
Review impact date: May 12, 2025

Shop: http://lnk.spkr.media/ramones-redux

Formats

"Marc Urselli's Best of Ramones Redux" is available as a Gatefold transparent clear vinyl LP, a Gatefold marbled white, black & silver vinyl LP, and as a Digisleeve CD (incl 3 bonus tracks).

ACEVES Announces New Video and Debut Solo Album MAGNUM DOPUS on I:AND:I RECORDINGS


FFO: Queens of the Stone Age, The Bronx, Teen Mortgage, Fu Manchu

This June marks the official release of Magnum Dopus, the explosive debut solo album from ZED bassist and underground mainstay Mark Aceves.

Written in the aftermath of his father's death and the tragic loss of close friend and bandmate Sean Boyles, Aceves poured every ounce of grief, resilience and hope into nine blistering tracks to help people move, scream, and heal.

“This isn’t a vanity side project, it’s a battle cry,” he explains. “I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel; I’m trying to light it on fire and ride it into the apocalypse with a crooked smile. The songs on this album come from my heart, and it's written with love, man. It's for the fighters, the dreamers, and the beautifully broken. It's loud. It’s real. And it’s just the beginning.”

Fans of Zed will be especially pleased to hear that Aceves hasn’t strayed too far from the raw and raucous grooves of his Bay Area brethren. A fireball of punk defiance, stoner swagger, and rock-and-roll soul — like a backstreet clash between QOTSA, AC/DC and The Bronx – Magnum Dopus is a raw cathartic blast of rebellion. From the gut-punch opener and Boyles tribute ‘The True and Indisputable Meaning of Rock and Roll’, to the defiant dancefloor anthem ‘Still Ain’t Dead’, the bittersweet ‘Love in the Time of Apocalypse’, and the poignant closer ‘For My Children’, the album is a riot of pure emotion.

Messy, honest, and unflinchingly human, Magnum Dopus by Aceves combines infectious hooks, heavy riffs and lyrics that bleed with meaning, and is released 27th June on I:AND:I. Pre-order here

Watch the new video for ‘Still Ain’t Dead’ now here!


Tracklisting

1. The True and Indisputable Meaning of Rock and Roll
2. Still Ain’t Dead [Listen]
3. Taxi Driver
4. Love in the Time of Apocalypse
5. Hail Mary
6. Just Your Disguise
7. Daisies
8. Faithful Man
9. For My Children

Artist: Mark Aceves
Album: Magnum Dopus
Record Label: I:AND:I Recordings
Formats: Digital
Release Date: 27/06/2025

Aceves on Bandcamp | Facebook


Thanks to Sheltered Life PR for all of the details.