Truster - Creeping Thing (Album Review)

 

Release Date: July 10th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD/Vinyl

Creeping Thing - Tracklist

1.The Flesh Beneath Our Nails, a Gift 00:34

2.Wretch Collector 03:08

3.She Who Requires Blood Remembers Them 05:16

4.The Fire 07:01

5.The Flood 04:27

6.Lest I Tear You to Pieces and There Be None to Deliver 06:26

7.A Home for the Lonely 06:12

Members

Stacy Burnett

Jordan LaFleche

Kevin Wunderlich

Review

Doom/Shoegaze metallers Truster debut album Creeping Thing is quite a thought provoking and highly emotionally charged record that uses the power of Post-Metal, Shoegaze, Doom and Drone to highlight the experiences that members of the queer community go through especially within their daily lives and even within the HEAVY METAL underground scene. However, the record is also emotionally uplifting throughout despite Truster’s maximum use of Doomgaze and Post-Metal that creates moments of pure chaos and violent soundscapes devouring everything within it’s wake.

Truster are also inspired heavily by the Alt-Rock and Grunge scenes with their music being more potent when it enters that grimy atmosphere. The level of Drone, Fuzz and Distortion that holds everything together is superbly impressive on both a technical and musical level. The haunting vocals from Stacy Burnett are beautifully poetic but also cuts like a knife when the banshee screams come out of nowhere which just hammers the point home on how powerful Creeping Thing actually is. You can tell Stacy is speaking from personal experience when the screams violently shake the listener to their emotional core on track Wretch Collector, She Who Requires Blood Remembers Them and The Fire. 

Those tracks make you aware how socially aware and emotionally devastating the journey that Truster take you upon with compounding Post-Rock/Post-Metal melodies that’s spliced with Shoegaze, Doom and Drone that reminds me of Neurosis, Windhand, Slow Crush, Portishead, Tori Amos and PJ Harvey in equal measure. Sometimes the music is quite hard to describe but that’s a great thing as Truster has a more dangerous element to their musical persona that allows them to take bigger, bolder and fearless risks with their music.

The music is played at a great slow-to-mid pace with the bone-crunching instrumental passages allowing Stacy’s vocals the perfect time to breathe and grow naturally. The Post-Rock/Post-Metal sounds are my favourite aspects of the record from a musical perspective as Truster brings a sense of darkness to their music and when they inject that brooding style of Ambient and Trippy sounds into the mix. Creeping Thing becomes a more sensual experience even when the dominant Sludge Metal grooves reign supreme on tracks such as She Who Requires Blood, The Fire, The Flood and Lest I Tear You to Pieces and There Be None to Deliver which is perhaps my favourite track on the whole album.

One of the strongest aspects of Creeping Thing is how Truster moves between different musical landscapes where it’s emotionally delicate one moment and the next they have the power to destroy whole musical planets with a single note, rhythm or melody. Stacy, Jordan and Kevin are masters of their own musical craft as this is a brilliantly original record which is just earth shattering.

Creeping Thing is an absolute marvel of an album to fully listen to which leaves you a shivering wreck with its brilliantly poetic lyrics and sometimes bleak vision. I’m hopeful that Truster will achieve bigger and better things on this record as they absolutely deserve it. 

WOW. What an experience. 

Words by Steve Howe

Creeping Thing is available to buy now on DD/Vinyl from Truster.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

IRATA - Human (Album Review)

Release Date: July 10th 2026. Record Label: Small Stone Records Co. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Human - Tracklist

1.Altar

2.Confessions

3.Seeds

4.Delirium

5.Mirrors

6.Slipped

7.Goodside

8.Daystar

Members

Jason Ward: drums, keys, vox

Jon Case: bass, vox

Owen Burd: vox, guitar, keys

Review

Sludge/Stoner Metallers IRATA return with their emotionally charged fourth album Human which sees the band offer their most melodic record to date. IRATA uses a greater musical creative palette for this record with areas of Grunge, Shoegaze, Prog Metal and Cinematic based storytelling being added. With a mind-expanding use of sludgy psychedelics giving Human a cautionary sound which sees IRATA experiment with their music even further and even applying gloomy modern Doom-Pop hooks.

IRATA draws upon the likes of HUM, TORCHE, FLOOR, KYLESA and TOOL with influences appearing from other areas of the Nineties Alt-Rock scene which has become a constant staple of the band’s music whilst still sounding remarkably just like IRATA. The record may take a few listens to take everything in compared to their 2019 effort Tower and that’s down to IRATA’s great use of Progressive melodies and switching into heavier distorted sounds which gives a frenzied and grounded approach to their music.

The sound constantly switches between harsh environments and lush sounding Sludge Rock grooves with a heavy support of distorted Progressive atmospherics. IRATA depends more heavily on keyboards for this album which gives way to some of the best trippy and spaced out elements that IRATA have created to date. I still find it hard to believe or accept that IRATA have been going as a band for nearly two decades and this is their only fourth full length album. They always find the best time to return and this record does feel like a cause for celebration at times and despite the bleak subject matter the record contains you can’t help but feel the gloriously euphoric jams when they appear that leave you in a highly peaceful meditative state.

The first half of the album sees IRATA within their “business as usual “ phase by playing fast-paced and highly psychedelic grunge sounds which made their last two records personal favourites of mine. The music is constantly heavy with areas of distorted fuzz and grunge that’s played against a wall of destructive moments of Psych, Sludge and Stoner Metal with a developing sense of Shoegaze and Alt-Rock developing that turns into something heavier in the later stages of the record. 

The vocals from Jason, Jon and Owen are universally excellent throughout with shades of The Smashing Pumpkins, FLOOR, TORCHE and HUM appearing highly confident but with their own great style being superbly delivered. 

My favourite tracks on the first half of the album are: Altar, Seeds and Delirium as they bridge the gap to the classic sounds of IRATA but also allowing them to develop a new found sense of creativity especially when the music is stripped back and a forceful Progressive Sludge energy appears. Human becomes more evolving but offering moments of wonderful sing-along moments which you ultimately lose yourself in once more. 

The lyrics are super-fresh that taps into the Nineties nostalgia scene perfectly but adding that subtle modern day vibe that adds a level of darkness when you least expect it. Things change quite dramatically within the second half of the record as IRATA switches musical directions with a firmer grasp of Prog Rock/Metal with swirling TOOL-esque compositions being heard with IRATA putting their own great take of modern DOOM-POP into the mix.

IRATA always seem to be thinking five steps ahead when delivering the heaviest and sludgiest sounds on this part of the album with tracks Mirrors, Slipped and Daystar bringing a more focused and cerebral style of music which retains that classic IRATA energy. The record manages to convey that classic IRATA sound with outbursts of bleak sounding Sludge/Stoner Metal with melodic Psychedelic grooves being delivered from the highest point of MOUNT AMPLIFIED DISTORTION.

IRATA ends the record in the most perfect and complete way. You feel highly satisfied by the whole experience as Human actually feels like a record that has a beginning, middle and end. The musical performances from Jason, Jon and Owen are first rate, which is perhaps their best recorded musical performance to date. The production values are of the chart with Human being expertly produced with some eye-catching aggressive sounds being played from the speakers throughout.

Human is an outstanding album on all levels which IRATA should rightly be proud of. This is perhaps my favourite album from IRATA. It may not be as riff-centric as Tower but there’s a lot more progression and musical variety that allows the band to play some intense grooves we haven’t heard from them before which is perhaps the greatest thing you can take away from this record.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Earsplit PR for the promo.

Human is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Small Stone Records Co.

Links 

Official | Facebook | BandCamp

US sludge-doom collective STAY DEAD! (with High Desert Queen members) to release debut LP on Ripple Music this July; stream first single featuring Matt Pike!

US sludge-doom metal collective STAY DEAD! (with members of High Desert Queen, Aiwass, Hollow Light) present their new single "Electric Mistress" featuring High On Fire frontman Matt Pike on guest vocals. The band is set to release their debut full-length "Beneath The Weight Of Worlds" this July 24th on Ripple Music. 

STAY DEAD! is a heavy, emotionally charged sludge-doom collective founded by U.S. Army veteran Christopher Borrelli as a means of survival, healing, and reclamation. Born from the realities of post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, and decades of carrying the grief of fallen soldiers, friends, and family, Stay Dead began as a therapeutic outlet, an attempt to transform internal chaos into sound. What emerged was something far greater: a band capable of channeling crushing heaviness, meditative tension, and cinematic atmosphere into songs that confront the darkest corners of the human experience while searching for meaning beyond them. The result is music that is both devastatingly heavy and deeply human.

 Stream new single "Electric Mistress" (feat. Matt Pike) at this location

The band's lineup brings together musicians from across the heavy underground. Vocalist Ryan Garney (High Desert Queen) delivers a commanding performance that shifts effortlessly between introspective vulnerability and volcanic intensity. Founder Christopher Borrelli (Eternal Hope Records, Fear the Victor, Split 50, Chains of Aggression) provides the dense rhythmic foundation and emotional vision that drive the project. Drummer Kenny Shillingburg (Hollow Light, Unto Thee) anchors the music with a style that is simultaneously powerful, dynamic, and cinematic. Lead guitarist Rusty Miller (High Desert Queen) expands the band's sonic palette with expressive melodies, psychedelic textures, and soaring lead work. Guitarist and synthesist Blake Carrera (AIWASS) completes the lineup with cosmic ambience, immersive atmospherics, and otherworldly sound design.

In 2026, Stay Dead signed with Ripple Music to release their debut EP album, Beneath the Weight of Worlds, featuring guest appearances from Troy Sanders (Mastodon), Matt Pike (High on Fire, Sleep), Eryka Fir (Coma Hole) and AIWASS. This album will introduce the band's unique blend of emotional depth and overwhelming heaviness to audiences worldwide.

STAY DEAD! "Beneath The Weight Of Worlds"

Out July 24th on Ripple Music (LP/CD/digital) - Pre-order

TRACKLIST:

1. Empty Pages
2. White Noise (feat. Troy Sanders)
3. Electric Mistress (feat. Matt Pike)
4. Chrysalis (feat. Eryka Fir and Aiwass)
5. What Happened To Rock N' Roll
6. Fever Dog (Original cover)

Stay Dead lineup

Ryan Garney – Vocals
Rusty Miller – Lead guitar
Blake Carrera – Guitars & synths
Christopher Borrelli – Bass
Kenny Shillingburg – Drums

Stay Dead links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Ripple Music links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.

Swedish Stoner Metallers 10,000 YEARS share blistering new single "Alien Tactics"; new album "Esox Lucifer" out August 7th on Ripple Music!

Sweden's stoner metal berserkers 10,000 YEARS unleash their new single "Alien Tactics" on all streaming services today — a blistering second excerpt off their upcoming new album "Esox Lucifer" to be issued on August 7th via Ripple Music!

Stream new single "Alien Tactics" everywhere 

10,000 Years are set to return with their long-awaited new album, once again pummeling the world into oblivion! Delving deep into existential dread and dark lore, Esox Lucifer drifts through deep space with the same sci-fi, horror, and fantasy obsessions that have always fueled the band. Esox Lucifer delivers the riff-centric, melodic stoner metal that 10,000 Years has become known for, all driven by Erik Palm’s guitar wizardry and searing solos, the thunderous anchor of Alvin Risberg’s drums, and Alex Risberg’s fuzzed-out bass and fire-driven howls. The result is the band’s most ambitious work to date — one that will easily win over fans of Torche, High On Fire, The Sword and Kylesa!

About the song "Alien Tactics", vocalist Alex Risberg comments: "This is kind of the centerpiece of the whole album. It encompasses all aspects of our sound and showcases all the various paths the album takes, all boiled down to one song. The lyrics are inspired by one of our favorite TV shows of all time, The X-Files, and they’re a deep dive into various alien conspiracy theories, under the assumption that they’re all true. Fun stuff to write about, for sure, and right up our wheelhouse as anyone who’s followed us for any length of time would know. All in all, this is a real killer track that we’re super proud of and it feels like the essence of 10,000 Years as well as of the new album."

Don't miss their recent video for Two Million Stones!

10,000 YEARS "Esox Lucifer" - Out August 7th on Ripple Music (LP/CD/digital)

Formed in the plague year of 2020, 10,000 Years has wasted no time forging their signature brand of skull-crushing stoner metal. Across three records in as many years — including II, which earned them a nomination for Best Metal at the Swedish Independent Grammys (Manifest) — the band has proven relentless.

Their 2024 release, All Quiet On The Final Frontier, saw the Riff still reigning supreme, but with a newly melodic edge described as "an experience that’s as heavy as it is spiritual" by The Sleeping Shaman and "the psychedelic-stoner embodiment of science fiction" by Ghost Cult Magazine. The album marked their debut on Californian label Ripple Music, introduced powerhouse drummer Alvin Risberg on wax, and locked into perfect symmetry with Erik Palm's guitar wizardry and Alex Risberg's thundering bass and howling vocals. A massive leap forward into new and hugely exciting territory, which will be sealed with their upcoming album Esox Lucifer, coming in the summer of 2026.

10,000 Years lineup

Erik Palm – Guitars
Alex Risberg – Bass/Vocals
Alvin Risberg - Drums

10,000 Years links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Ripple Music links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details. 

Valluhn - Valluhn (Album Review)

Release Date: July 03rd 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Valluhn - Tracklist

1.Cary the light 05:08

2.The Watchers 06:06

3.You are mine 05:28

4.Black dollar bill 05:35

5.Butterfly 05:15

6.Rinse and repeat 04:35

7.Roots 05:36

Members

Brandon Vaillancourt - vox, guitars, bass, synth

Mike Kaminiski - drums

Aria Vaillancourt - vox "carry the light"

Review

Valluhn's self-titled debut album is a highly atmospheric slice of Psychedelic Stoner Rock with a core Shoegaze melody developing very early on within the record. Valluhn has a similar creative sound to the likes of Howling Giant, King Buffalo, Weedpecker and Elder where the music drifts into that epic style of Post-Rock, Prog, Psych and Space Rock surroundings. The record has quite raw and abstract production values that gives the whole record quite a vivid sound especially when Valluhn moves into full-on Stoner Rock/Metal mode.

The album does feel a little incomplete at times but Valluhn have created some exquisite sounds that have a real air of intelligence to them which keeps everything grounded especially through the superb opening tracks of Cary The Light, The Watchers and You Are Mine. With the music moving between areas of Heavy Psych, Post-Rock and Alt Rock dynamics with Brandon Vaillancourt being the main creative force behind this musical project. It feels like Brandon grew up on a steady diet of Nineties Heavy Rock with solid explorations into modern day musical composition.

The raw sounding heavy grooves is what makes the music really stand out with the lush Ambient and Post-Rock structures firmly setting the scene early on within each individual track before the aggressive Post-Doom and Post-Stoner music takes centre stage. There’s some excellent use of synths spliced throughout the album which should appeal to fans of ELDER and KING BUFFALO a great deal. 

There are some parts of the record that feel influenced by video games soundtracks but delivered with a sense of real emotion. The sudden shift into Post-Doom surroundings remind me of SPACESLUG especially within the heaviest parts of the album. Sometimes the tracks suddenly stop when things are just about to get interesting which almost took me out of the whole psychedelic journey of the record. However, it’s a good thing that Valluhn has written a collection of great tracks where the next big riff, hook, melody and groove isn’t too far behind to take the listener on another cinematic journey.

As I stated previously, the production and recording techniques are quite stripped back but they’re superbly delivered with Valluhn never outstaying their welcome. They always play to their musical strengths which results in some trippy Sludge/Stoner Rock sounds leaving you wanting more on tracks such as The Watchers, You Are Mine, Black Dollar Bill and Roots.

For a debut album, Valluhn have pulled out all the stops in releasing a highly atmospheric record that fully delivers within the riffs department. I can’t wait to hear what the band fully delivers next as they’re a great band to fully get behind and show some love if you can.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Links 

BandCamp | Instagram

Thunderchief - With Hatchet, Pike Or Morning Star... (EP Review)

Release Date: July 01st 2026. Record Label: ASR Records. Formats: CD/DD

With Hatchet, Pike or Morning Star… - Tracklist

Malaise

Chintzy

Catch My Fall

Entrance of the Devil (Zior)

Lie Nation

Slurpee

Members

Rik Surly - Vocals/Guitar/Bass

Erik Larson - Drums

Review

Doom/Sludge Metallers Thunderchief offer their new EP With Hatchet, Pike Or Morning Star... onto an unsuspecting audience. The record is driven by a black metal approach and down-tuned style of music where the band play some of the fastest and nastiest grooves of their career  within the excellent opening track of Malaise. Thunderchief plays a more violent slab of Punk Metal you’ll encounter in some time. The music is played against long drawn out Doom/Sludge Metal soundscapes that have echoes of SLEEP running throughout. 

You can hear elements of HIGH ON FIRE and  MOTORHEAD running violently free against the backdrop of nightmarish Drone Metal themes and distorted Blackened Sludge Metal firmly settling down for a fast-paced journey into the vast darkness of the underground on the brutal second offering Chintzy. The vocals are violent and way over the top that are delivered by Rik Surly who is on highly inspired devilish form.

The music adapts itself to more modern day Crust Punk surroundings that allows Thunderchief to firmly remain in MOTORHEAD territory on the remainder of the record. Thunderchief splice out lo-fi carvings of the Extreme Metal scene at times before merging within their Punk Metal delivery on tracks such as: Catch My Fall, Entrance of the Devil (Zior), Lie Nation and Slurpee which remain the some of the heaviest, seediest and dirtiest parts of the record. 

Thunderchief are never afraid to offer the listener a seedy, unapologetic and in some cases deeply flawed production values on the EP. As With Hatchet, Pike Or Morning Star… ultimately provides a thrilling picture of the brutal Doom/Sludge Metal underground scene you rarely witness.

Thunderchief channels some epic SUNN 0))) vibes with the aspects of Drone Metal reaching crazy levels of pure heaviness but the music is still riff heavy where the band never disappoints especially with the excellent drumming from Erik Larson being my favourite aspect of the EP. Erik’s fully committed or perhaps possessed by the POWER OF SATAN which allows Rik to deliver some mammoth sounding instrumental passages of his very own.

With Hatchet, Pike Or Morning Star… is a little short running around twenty two minutes in length but it provides an action-packed ride that’s fun, filthy and brutally entertaining that leaves you wanting more. 

Excellent and Highly Recomemnded.

Words by Steve Howe

Links 

www.thethunderchief.com

https://www.facebook.com/thunderchiefrva/

https://www.instagram.com/thunderchiefofficial/

https://thethunderchief.bandcamp.com/music

Nxmad - The Second Fall (Album Review)

Release Date: July 03rd 2026. Record Label: APF Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

The Second Fall - Tracklist

1.Men's Rea

2.Amber 04:37

3.Domicide

4.Vertigo 04:36

5.Bridge Burner

6.Transmissions

7.Actus Reus

Members

Drian Nash - vocals

Lewis Atkinson - guitar

John Carberry - bass

Liam MacBeath - drums

Taz Corona-Brown - guest vocals on Actus Reus 

Review

Doom/Hardcore/Sludge Metallers Nxmad return with their first album since reforming back in 2021 where they were originally known as Nomad. The band have dropped their Stoner Metal sound that appeared on their earlier records for a heavier style of Hardcore to level out the playing field. There’s also a heavy reliance on Thrash Metal and Speed Metal which you can feel from the opening stages of the excellent record The Second Fall.

Nxmad offer some solid classic hard rock and heavy metal hooks which compliments the dirty Doomed out sounds throughout the album. The band feel influenced by the likes of Motorhead, Metallica, Hatebreed, Crowbar and Kingdom Of Sorrow on this record but with that heart-thumping Hardcore edge giving this album a real modern “METALLIC” vibe.

Nxmad waste no time “FUCKING AROUND” by getting straight down to business of playing this THRASH METAL beatdowns throughout the stunning array of opening tracks Mens Rea, Amber and Domicide. The vocals from Drain Nash are always welcome to hear as he has a pummelling and violent aura to his whole performance. Drain Nash does channel his inner Punk Metaller for this record which works superbly well with the groove metal sounds that dominate the first half of the record.

The Second Fall isn’t over-produced with Nxmad projecting the right balance of modern day aggression and underground seediness which adds to the overall HEAVY METAL effect on the album within the massive thrash beats and sludgy grooves that continue to aim for maximum damage. There is a level of Post-Doom and Psychedelic awareness that develops on this record though mostly hidden in the background which come into play within the final stages of the record.

Nxmad continue to develop a harsh, unforgiving and abrasive energy where the Thrash Metal and Speed Metal aspects of their music fully collide with superb results on tracks Domicide, Vertigo and Bridge Burner. The raw atmosphere does feel like it’s been conjured from a long gone era of Hardcore, Groove and Sludge Metal but Nxmad know how to inject modern based atmospheres into the final mix. 

The standout track on the album has to be the final song Actus Reus which calls upon the amazing vocal talents of Taz Corona-Brown (Coma Smile and Undersmile). I’ve been a huge fan of Taz for years and it feels like it’s been an absolute age since I’ve heard her superb vocals where she really delivers here. The song allows Nxmad to delve into creative surroundings such as Post-Rock, Shoegaze and Post-Doom. The song works best when the quieter parts appear but you need those epic THRASH, DOOM and SLUDGE METAL elements to appear so Nxmad can close the album on an almighty finish.

The Second Fall is a superb record with Nxmad delivering some of their most interesting music yet which should leave the listener ultimately fulfilled with its non-stop amount of punishing sounds that will leave you a shivering wreck before everything is finished.

Words by Steve Howe

The Second Fall is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via APF Records.

Links 

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram