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

Doom/Sludge Heavyweights Sea Bastard Prepare To Release Cyclopean on Road To Masochist. Release New Song/Video For PROPHET FOR THE PEOPLE

Formed in 2011 by four musicians with a wealth of previous experience on the scene, Sea Bastard made rapid early progress. Their self-titled debut album appeared in 2012 and the follow up, Scabrous, was hot on its heels in 2013. The sheer weight and baleful intent of their malicious blend of suppurating sludge and decimating doom also saw them invited to tour with the likes of Witchsorrow and Primitive Man, as well as being selected to appear at high profile festivals like Desertfest, Damnation and Temples. 

However, after split releases with Keeper (2015) and Primitive Man (2016), Sea Bastard retreated into hibernation while the band members focussed on other projects dear to their decaying hearts. It took the request of a friend, diagnosed with a terminal illness, to reunite them in 2021 – something no one could refuse – and make them set sail on their polluted, poisoned waters once more. And now, after five long years, they are ready to invite us on another journey into their kingdom of torpid madness, with their third harrowing album…Cyclopean.

Nerve-shredding howls of feedback usher us into the subterranean rumble of Cyclopean’s first track, ‘Dark Altar’. You are carried onwards upon a thick, primal ocean of cloying darkness, the relentless earthshaking bass and gnarled, grizzled guitars bleeding your life from you like overzealous medieval physicians. Your desire to move, to think or even breath are all lost in the soporific, congealing tides. But Sea Bastard’s vast, sprawling tracks all cover a multitude of territories in their wanderings and an eruption of rage and spiralling chaos awaits, a razor’s edge of fear slicing into the dreamless slumber. 

Then, emerging from the residue of shadows, comes ’Entombed With The Pharaoh’, full of cavernous, malignant menace; the bass weaving threads of exotic atmosphere between the head-caving riffs and lich-like vocals. Nightmares lurk in this cunningly constructed maze-like mausoleum, even as it settles into a dark, rotten and mesmeric groove…and escape from the pyramid leads only to the arms of the ‘Prophet Of The People’, a song with an imperious swagger and untouchable, unquestionable power. It slides into a morass of wickedness, irresistible and heavier than God, dragging you down beneath the surface, where, far from the light a new sonic realm unfurls – bleak, broken and bereft of hope. 

Finally, crawling from an unnerving sense of emptiness, the formless beast of aggression and terror that is ‘Nameless Purgatory’…a last chapter that offers no return to the light, no respite from agony and confusion. Ungraspable, unknowable it stretches out before you like the plains of Hell and drags you, doomed and damned, past the limits of your endurance. Sea Bastard did not return to play around. This is doom and sludge operating in the farthest badlands of the genres and will leave you hollowed out and shellshocked.

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Paul 'Win' Winstanley (Code, Grave Lines, King Leviathan etc), every note of Cyclopean is imbued with an impossible, unbearable weight; while the artwork of guitarist Oliver 'Irongiant ' Hill channels all the madness and soul crushing desolation that informs this torturous work. Set to be released by Road To Masochist on October 30th, on Double Black 12" vinyl and CD, Cyclopean is the heaviest album you will hear this year, in many different ways. There is no coming back from this.

Line-up:

Steve Patton – Bass
Ian 'Monty' Montgomery - Vocals
Oliver 'Irongiant ' Hill – Guitars
George Leaver – Drums

Genre: Doom/Sludge Metal

For fans of: Primitive Man | Dead Existence | Dragged Into Sunlight | Rwake

Further Information:

https://www.facebook.com/seabastarddoom
https://www.instagram.com/seabastarddoom/
https://www.youtube.com/seabastarddoom
https://seabastard.bandcamp.com/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5bKWZ1zPK1bXb7j64jN02w

Thanks to Imperative PR for the details.

Apodemus - Radar (Album Review)

Release Date: September 04th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

Radar - Tracklist

1.Ohm 00:44

2.Dynamic 07:19

3.Radar 10:50

4.Station 06:47

5.Wave / Valve 13:01

Review

Radar is the latest album from Heavy Psych Stoner Rockers Apodemus who have established themselves a loyal cult following within the underground scene due to the great records they’ve released over the years. Their music is a heavy mix of extended instrumental jams and superb freak outs that’s laced with some standout DOOM ROCK movements. The record is quite a fast-paced affair with Apodemus exploring a more adventurous and progressive style of Heavy Psychedelic music. 

Taking cues from the likes of Earthless, Yawning Man and Karma To Burn but with a glorious “HIP” rhythm from their own making. The drums are quite hard-hitting with the rest of the band shaping up the musical landscape. There’s a great use of Post-Rock dynamics with a subtle change in mood and melodies within the quieter and refined parts of the album. However, a heavy instrumental melody is never too far behind especially on the lengthier tracks of Dynamic, Radar and Wave / Valve. 

Apodemus adds themes of Doom Metal and Stoner Metal throughout the album which brings a fresh Space Rock perspective on the majority of the tracks. The scope of the record is quite straightforward but one that offers many different heavy levels of Instrumental Rock/Metal for listeners to immerse themselves in. 

Radar is quite an aggressive record with flashes of uplifting Ambient sounds hidden behind the thundering guitars and thumping rhythm section that appears quite dominantly on the standout tracks of Radar and Wave / Valve. The whole record is a beautifully orchestrated journey of highly exquisite musical passages that move across the Spaced Out spectrum of Heavy Psychedelic music.

There is some gloomy optimism and ambient methodology exploring into areas of deep sonic experimentation that can be quite meditative but Apodemus do keep close to the rules of classic Instrumental Stoner Rock/Metal that KARMA TO BURN mastered back in the day. 

Apodemus have delivered the goods with this album and it’s one that I can’t recommend highly enough. Check this out at your earliest opportunity!!!

 

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Megaton Communion - Three Of Cups (Album Review)

Release Date: September 11th 2026. Record Label: Black Doomba Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Three Of Cups - Tracklist

1.Evil Speak 03:43 video
2.Echoes in Time 04:52
3.Desert Centipede
4.Three of Cups
5.Depth
6.Embrace
7.The Hollow
8.Goddess
9.River Valley Queen

Members

Derrick – Guitar

Joe – Bass/Vocals

Ken Gosselin – Drums

Review

Desert Rock/Stoner Metallers Megaton Communion return with their second album Three Of Cups which allows the band to add a seedier and grungier style of music. The sound is still very distorted with a classic Nineties Hard Rock attitude that emerges very early on within the sublime opening track of Evil Speak. There is a great style of different influences appearing where you can hear musical vibes from the likes of Soundgarden, KYUSS, FU MANCHU and The Melvins. 

The whole sound has an aggressive layer of Fuzz Metal with some buoyant QOTSA and Truckfighters based Desert Rock swagger. Megaton Communion are in complete control creating their own great blend of gloomy sounds that become quite DOOM based with each passing song being played such as: Echoes Of Time and Desert Centipede. The band excel playing fast-paced music to the more doom rock orientated slow paced numbers which shows a wide range of different styles to appear.

Three Of Cups may be dominantly melodic but Megaton Communion allow themselves the time and freedom to go in a different musical direction where the sludgy instrumental sounds become more abrasive and refreshingly honest. The “DOOM & GLOOM” themes contained within the lyrics has a certain apocalyptical momentum especially towards the second half of the album.

Megaton Communion even added some TOOL-esque beatdowns and musical progressive beats to make this quite a mind expanding record still keeping with the grounded attitude that’s always been a great aspect of the band’s music. Perhaps not as riff heavy as their debut album but there’s more variety of great music that allows each band member to show their great musical skills from start to finish.

The stripped back production of the album is refreshingly clean and superbly real which allows  Megaton Communion to add real human emotion into their music and nothing is over played with Three Of Cups being superbly original in its own right.

Other standout tracks to check out are: Depth, Embrace, Goddess and the mighty final track River Valley Queen.

My final thoughts is that Megaton Communion have delivered a superbly addictive album that pays homage to the classic Nineties Hard Scene but adding a gritty modern day flavour into the mix that is the complete package if you’re a dedicated follower of THE MIGHTY RIFF!!!

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Metal Devastation PR for the promo.

Three Of Cups is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Black Doomba Records.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

French Heavy Rock Trio GREYBORN sign with Mrs Red Sound for the release of their debut album ‘Insoluble’ this Fall

Photo credit: Florent Pinsault.

GREYBORN's cold, disillusioned heavy rock is being released as a full-length album for the very first time! Following two brilliant EPs, the band have signed to Mrs Red Sound and announced the release of their debut album ‘Insoluble’ on November 20th 2026. First video excerpt Cold Metal Bowels is available to watch now.

As a major milestone in GREYBORN’s history, the new album ‘Insoluble’ marks a lineup change: drummer-vocalist Théo Jude has swapped his drums for a guitar. The project takes on a whole new depth and seems to reveal far greater potential. GREYBORN’s new album ‘Insoluble’ skilfully straddles the boundary between different styles without ever wavering or veering into nonsense. The solid heavy foundation – at times doom, at times psychedelic, and even metal – is enhanced by clean vocals in a 90' style. ‘Insoluble’ has struck the right balance between simplicity and complexity, between impact and atmosphere. Themes of the ego, of abandoning oneself and others, of disappearance and fading away, feature prominently throughout the album.

'Insoluble' was recorded by Théo Jude and Guillaume Barrou, assisted by Thomas Marchand and Alexis Bardet, and mixed by Théo Jude. The mastering was handled by Thibault Chaumont of Deviant Lab.

Much like the album it represents, GREYBORN’s new track “Cold Metal Bowels” straddles genres, featuring clear, pop-rock, 90-inspired vocals, yet with instrumentation that sounds purely stoner, doom and metal. The disenchantment is obvious and reflected in the meticulous crafting of atmospheres and themes, blurring the lines between reality and imagination. The apparent coherence is never quite what it seems.

Guitarist and singer Théo Jude explains: “In Greyborn, we aim to find our balance between pop and ‘metal’, between simplicity and complexity, between efficiency and atmosphere, melody and rhythm. Instinctively, the theme that emerged for “Cold Metal Bowels” is the concept of emptiness. Like many people, I feel trapped in a society and a system that I don’t understand but of which I am inevitably a part. To try and portray this lack of faith, this disillusionment, this feeling of being trapped with no possible escape, Seb and I decided to depict lonely characters, lost in everyday settings that have been rendered empty and strange.”

The music video was directed by Seb Antoine. Stream the single and presave the album on the plateformes at this location.

GREYBORN new album 'Insoluble' - Out November 20th 2026 via Mrs Red Sound and F2M Planet.
Formats: LP, CD, digital.

Artwork: Saiden Burden.

TRACK LISTING

1. Lonely Promises
2. Insoluble
3. Daffodils & Aftermaths
4. Silk Parade
5. Cold Metal Bowels
6. Sulfur Seeding
7. Ghost Pelt

GREYBORN emerged in 2021 from that space between light and darkness, somewhere amidst the damp, mineral-like chill of Limoges. Led at the time by a drummer-vocalist, the band forged its own balance, shaping its raw materials: crushing heaviness, contemplative violence, epic melodies, and hypnotic atmospheres that were by turns sombre and radiant.

‘Leeches’, their debut EP released in 2022, saw them play around thirty gigs in France alongside Mondo Generator, Nebula, My Diligence, Pogo Car Crash Control… ‘Leeches’ was followed by a second EP in March 2024, ‘Scars’. From ‘Leeches’ to ‘Scars’, these releases weave a chronology and a causal link between the themes of the two EPs. Matthieu Giordano of The Heavy Chronicles listened to ‘Scars’ and wrote that “the trio’s music intensifies with this second EP, which boasts a massive, raw sound. Full of heaviness and rage, more disjointed and yet just as refined, it’s the gifted and carefree little brother to ‘Leeches’. Grittier and far more confident in its spontaneity and stoner roots, this second effort pushes all the knobs into the red.”

In 2025, drummer-vocalist Théo Jude became guitarist-vocalist and, after a few gigs that cemented the new line-up, GREYBORN recorded their debut album. Retaining the influences of their previous EPs, ‘Insoluble’ also reveals a darker, more melancholic and aggressive face. It comes out on November 20th 2026, on Mrs Red Sound (vinyl, digital) and F2M Planet (CD).

STUDIO LINE-UP

Théo Jude: guitar, drums, vocals
Guillaume Barrou: bass, backing vocals

LIVE LINE-UP

Théo Jude: guitar vocals
Guillaume Barrou: bass, backing vocals
Thomas Marchand: drums, alternately, depending on the dates
Florian Olives-Demerson: drums, alternately, depending on the dates

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Thanks to Shake Promotion for the details.

US Psychedelic Rock Trio SNAKE MOUNTAIN REVIVAL to issue new album "The Divide" on Ripple Music this October 23rd; stream title track now!

East Coast-based genre-crossing psychedelic trio SNAKE MOUNTAIN REVIVAL announces the release of their sophomore full-length "The Divide" this October 23rd on Ripple Music, and shares the dark and gripping title track on all streaming services today.

Get compelled by new single "The Divide" at this location 

On their forthcoming second album and Ripple Music debut The Divide, the versatile Virginia Beach trio channels a world in chaos into a cathartic and unflinching sonic reckoning, leveraging modern psychedelia, surf rock and folkier elements with a darker edge. Confronting everything from the anger and frustration caused by personal turmoil and a country on fire, SNAKE MOUNTAIN REVIVAL relinquished control to deliver nine sharp, reckless and definitely genre-bending tracks.

As frontman Ryan Chandler puts it, "I mean to provoke. We always have. 'The Divide' isn’t all thorns and rough edges, though. A major juxtaposition in many of these songs intends to remind us what we might be fighting for. When we protect beauty, peace, love and contentment, sometimes we must show our fangs. We show ours with this new album." The Divide will be issued on October 23rd in various vinyl editions as well as on CD and digital, with preorders available soon on Ripple Music.

New album "The Divide" - Out October 23rd on Ripple Music (LP/CD/digital)

Formed in coastal Virginia in the summer of 2017, SNAKE MOUNTAIN REVIVAL emerged from a collision of distinct musical pedigrees. Drummer Josh Woodhouse brought the precision of Florida's death metal and progressive scenes, bassist/vocalist Ryan Chandler channeled experimental and psychedelic depths, and now former guitarist Zack Trowbridge rounded out the trio with a foundation in blues, jazz, and surf rock. The chemistry was immediate and their early gigs built entirely on improvised sets accompanied by liquid light shows, quickly became the stuff of local legend. Rather than hide from their influences, Snake Mountain Revival playfully embellish them, crafting a vibrant, forward-looking take on psychedelia that feels both timeless and restless.

Their 2018 self-titled demo EP caught fire in the blogosphere, earning praise on both sides of the Atlantic and establishing the band as a formidable live act. In 2021, they released their debut album Everything Is Sight on Rebel Waves Records, hailed as "a vibrant, vast and unyielding landscape that any set of ears will enjoy conquering" by Distorted Sound Magazine. With a polarizing, high-energy presence and crossover sound, they've shared stages with kindred spirits like Acid Dad, Freedom Hawk, Sammi Lanzetta, and Frankie & the Witch Fingers.

Now, with their sophomore album The Divide, SNAKE MOUNTAIN REVIVAL turns inward and outward at once. Set for a October 23rd, 2026 release on Ripple Music, this new outing promises to catch listeners off guard and compel them into their own peculiar, transcending realm.

SNAKE MOUNTAIN REVIVAL is

Ryan Chandler - Vocals & Bass
George Spellman - Guitar
Josh Woodhouse - Drums

SNAKE MOUNTAIN REVIVAL links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Ripple Music links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.

ROBOT GOD Release New Single – DRIFTING INTO OVERDRIVE - Out Sept 11th From Upcoming New Album

Sydney psychedelic heavy rockers Robot God are showing no signs of slowing down.

Following the release of their acclaimed 2026 album Onto the Afterlife, Robot God return with “Drifting into Overdrive”, the latest single from their upcoming album Curse of the Driven, landing on September 11 across all major streaming platforms.

“Drifting into Overdrive” is Robot God doing what they do best, locking into a deep, hypnotic groove and letting the riffs take the wheel. Fuzz, weight, atmosphere with a relentless forward momentum, delivering another glimpse into a band that continues to push its sound further with every release.

The single arrives ahead of the band's second full-length album of 2026, Curse of the Driven, due October 16th.

Available on vinyl through respected underground labels Kozmik Artifactz and Black Throne Productions, Curse of the Driven sees Robot God continuing their evolution through crushing stoner grooves, psychedelic textures, heavy riffs and expansive jams.

Robot God have spent the past few years building a reputation well beyond their Sydney home base, earning international recognition within the psychedelic, stoner and heavy underground and sharing stages with major international acts. Now, with Onto the Afterlife behind them and Curse of the Driven ready to land, the band are taking things up another level.

Check out the link below for current singles and Robot God socials.

https://linktr.ee/RobotGod

JAPAN – SEPTEMBER 16th to 20th

Before the album campaign hits Australia, Robot God head overseas for a five date Japanese mini-tour of Tokyo and surrounds, taking their live show into the heart of Japan's underground heavy music scene.

September 16 – Cactus – Shinjuku
September 17 – Crescendo – Kichijoji
September 18 – Moonstep – Hatsudai
September 19 – Rathole – Chofu
September 20 – Earthdom – Shinjuku

The Japan run marks another step forward for a band that has steadily expanded its reach beyond Australian shores.

THE ROAD AHEAD

Robot God return home in October for a run of Australian shows supporting new single “Drifting into Overdrive” and the release of their latest album Curse of the Driven, hitting stages across Sydney, Wollongong, Melbourne and Geelong.

Drifting into Overdrive hits streaming services September 11th.

Full album Curse of the Driven lands October 16th.

Get on board before the machine disappears over the horizon.

Links

Bandcamp | Youtube | Facebook | Spotify