Dee Calhoun - Angry Old Man (Album Review)

Release Date: July 18th 2025. Record Label: Black Doomba Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Angry Old Man - Tracklisting

1.A Last Cold Kiss 05:04 video

2.Angry Old Man 05:56

3.Voodoo Queen 05:04

4.A Piece From The Shoulder 05:44

5.Rise Up To March 04:15

6.Give Up The Ghost 04:20

7.VVitch (A Chant) 05:24

8.K*ll A M*ther F*cker 05:18

9.The Damned Human Race 08:27

Members

Dee Calhoun - Everything

Review

Dee Calhoun is back with his latest solo album Angry Old Man and for the uninitiated, Dee is considered a bit of a legend within the underground Doom Metal scene thanks to his stints with the legendary band IRON MAN and the excellent Spiral Grave. Dee Calhoun has been focusing upon his solo records for quite some time now blending Americana, Country, Doom, Blues, Stoner and Southern Rock but all told in a highly fashionable Acoustic Rock way.

Dee is also an acclaimed writer over the last few years and he’s got real talent and credibility with how he writes his lyrics that deal with some pretty dark themes even when they branch over into Horror and Fantasy though this record is mostly based on his own observations with the world.

Angry Old Man is quite an in-depth and highly involving record with Dee Calhoun once again used stripped back musical techniques to generate a gloomy and down-trodden atmosphere which some of the most well known figures of the underground scene have used for their own solo material such as WINO and Steve Von Till.

The AMERICANA and DOOMED OUT COUNTRY BLUES is a big aspect on how this album fully moves along at a cracking slow-to-mid pace. The whole record oozes gloomy atmosphere with Dee being quite political throughout but he does offer some superb wry and humorous sly commentary on certain parts of the album.

The music is quite abstract with ghostly sounds and twangy guitars reminding me of Johnny Cash at the best of times especially on tracks such as A Last Cold Kiss, Angry Old Man, Voodoo Queen, Rise Up To The March and K*ll A M*therF*cker. You can detect echoes of other vocalists that have perhaps shaped Dee’s musical knowledge but it’s his forthright confessional style that shows you what a damn fine storyteller Dee has ultimately become. 

Some parts of the album do become DOOM-FOLK obsessed in places but the solitary Americana and Roots based sound keeps things grounded. You can even detect a sense of MONSTER MAGNET gloomy rhymes in certain instrumental melodies that has a slight passing resemblance to the opening intro of SPACE LORD but that could be just me looking way too much into things.

The political message of Angry Old Man runs deep especially with today’s political climate and fucked up turmoil going on in the world and Dee Calhoun becomes more rebellious on the later stages of the record with Dee perhaps taking political cues from Neil Young is no bad thing at all. 

Angry Old Man is another forthright, bleak and outstanding release from Dee Calhoun who is perhaps in the best creative form of his life at the moment and that’s saying something especially with the career that Dee has lived through and ultimately achieved. 

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Facebook | BandCamp

Ancient Vvisdom - Master Of The Stone (Album Review)

Release Date: 26th January 2024. Record Label: Argonauta Records. Formats: CD/DD

Master Of The Stone - Tracklisting

1. Sold My Soul To Satan

2. The Adversary

3. Apollyon

4. World’s Demise

5. Ashes From On High

6. Master Of The Stone

7. Demon Est Deus Inverses

8. The Devil’s Sermon

Members

Nathan Opposition

Michael Jochum

Review

Master Of The Stone is the new album from Occult Rockers Ancient Vvisdom and their first new album in almost five years. It’s great to see Ancient Vvisdom continuing their relationship with Italian Powerhouse label Argonauta Records for this album. 

The rockers are on fine demented Satanic form with a spellbinding array of Hard Rock, Doom Metal and Stoner Metal grooves that all form dark tales to Lucifer himself which you can tell throughout the album. However, there’s a lot more to Ancient Vvisdom’s music than paying homage to the Lord Of Darkness which advises folks to stay true to themselves whatever their beliefs.

Ancient Vvisdom play a classic style of Acoustic Doom or Acoustic Rock alongside the blistering Heavy Metal sounds that are played on the album. This record has many similarities with their classic debut album A Godlike Inferno with the switching of Acoustic Rhythms and Electric Guitars to great effect.

The opening stages of the album are quite dark and bleak with opening tracks Sold My Soul To Satan and The Adversary setting up the scene which is what we come to expect from Nathan and Michael who form this great band. The lyrics are influenced by the greater Occult and Satanic themes which is part of Ancient Vvisdom’s creative DNA. The instrumental sounds have a lot more Heavy Metal swagger compared to previous releases with moments of Thrash Metal and Groove Metal which gives the record a more THUGGISH sound. This is quite a different sounding Ancient Vvisdom record but there’s a lot of fun to be had amongst the Occult based demonic energy that’s played on the album.

Masters Of The Stone has a more Apocalyptic energy which becomes ever more present as the album marches on through great tracks such as Apollyon, World’s Demise and Ashes From On High. There’s also a warped Psychedelic energy appearing on the heaviest moments of the album which gives a more unsettling feeling to the album.

Ancient Vvisdom show their softer side with their acoustic songs such as World’s Demise which could have easily come from their landmark release A Godlike Inferno. The song is powered along by sublime vocals and an exquisite acoustic guitar which is perhaps more Gothic Doom than Americana. The lyrics are quite subversive that could even describe the horrible events going on in today's world.

Master Of The Stone also features a few guest musicians, Vanek from the band MIDNIGHT does a guest guitar solo on the track Ashes From On High. Matt Sorg from the bands RINGWORM and Shed The Skin does a guest solo on Sold My Soul To Satan and Noah from NUNSLAUGHTER also played guitar on a few tracks as well. This is perhaps the reason why the album is perhaps more HEAVY METAL focused but still remains a wonderful sounding Ancient Vvisodm record in its own right.

The album is on the short side clocking in around thirty minutes but Ancient Vvisdom get the job done in providing the world of Occult Rock and Doom Metal with another exquisite record to satisfy their Demonic and Satanic cravings with. With excellent and rich sounding production values, Ancient Vvisdom are back to reclaim their place as one of the best Occult Rock bands within the scene. 

Welcome back guys. You’ve been missed. Master Of The Stone is an essential release. I’m hoping that Master Of The Stoner is given the vinyl treatment further down the line. As it’s a great record that deserves to be released on vinyl. 

Words by Steve Howe 

Thanks to Grand Sounds Promotion for the promo.

Master Of The Stone will be available to buy on CD/DD via Argonauta Records from January 26th 2024.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp

Thomas V Jäger - Iron Nights (Album Review)

Release Date: November 17th 2023. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Iron Nights - Tracklisting

1.Side By Side 02:41

2.From One To Another 04:28

3.I'm Losing My Mind 04:36

4.No Doubt About It 02:53

5.Cold Blue Sun 03:29

6.It's Been A While 04:01

7.Light Of Yesterday 04:15

8.Weigh Me Down 04:17

Members

Thomas V Jäger

Guest Musicians

Peter Scherman / drums on Side By Side

Anders ”Pompe” Jacobson / drums on From One To Another & The Light Of Yesterday

Isa Jaeger Berglund / Vocals on It’s Been A While

Nicklas Hellqvist / Bass on The Light Of Yesterday

Review

Thomas V Jäger from Doom Metal Titans MONOLORD returns with his new album Iron Nights and it’s his second solo album release of the year following April 2023’s Foliage. This is another collection of spellbinding tunes where Thomas delves into areas of Psych Rock, Blues Rock and Classic Rock which has moments of melancholic moments of Doom Rock and Stoner Rock. This is quite a different journey compared to Foliage with Thomas offering a more heartfelt sound which draws heavily upon the 1970’s Prog Rock scene with its flashes of intricate Psych Folk sounds.

Opening track Side By Side is a varied style of different musical themes with the song exploring Semi-Acoustic grooves that merge into areas of Folk, Blues, Psych and slightly more aggressive Stoner jams which setup the main creative nucleus of the whole album. Despite the short running time of the track Thomas covers a lot of ground on this track which is quite progressive in its own way. The song has the mellow trademark vocal tones from Thomas which adds a friendly atmosphere and easy-going attitude that makes the album more easier to fully get on board with.

The second song From One To Another is a gloomy and emotionally charged track that drifts form semi-acoustic rock to mind-expanding 1970’s trippy Prog Rock which soon brings a more emotional performance from Thomas with the Folk-ish trappings of the song. The song is quite melodic which becomes quite heavier when the full-on electric guitars appear that thrust the song into the 1980’s arena of Classic Hard Rock before the music mellows out with soft Ambient tones.

Third song I'm Losing My Mind is mostly driven by Post-Doom themes with echoes of Psych Stoner Rock with moments of MONOLORD inspired gloominess within the solitary acoustic guitars. The track impresses mostly with the minimal vocal performance from Thomas that reminds me of certain classic tracks of THE WHO in places. One of the standout tracks on the album and perhaps one of my favourite individual tracks that Thomas has created to date. 

Fourth song No Doubt About It is an upbeat Blues Rock/Classic Rock number that has a more AOR or Soft Country Rock approach which I didn’t expect but it’s superbly played and a direction I wouldn’t expect to hear from Thomas. The vocals are calm, passionate and quite loud when they need to be with superbly written lyrics that have a loving and easy-going drive that will leave you with a nice warm glow inside you.

The second half of the album sees Thomas venture further into the different musical genres he’s created for this album with moments of Bluegrass starting to appear within the weirdly addictive fifth track Cold Blue Sun. Though, there’s still a wide range of fantastic sounding Classic Hard Rock sounds that blends the Acoustic and Electric styles of music to more magical sounds and extended grooves on other cool tracks such as It’s Been A While, Light Of Yesterday and Weigh Me Down.

Thomas had delved into his love and appreciation for the 1970’s Music scene where he brings so many different musical styles for an album that’s deeply warm-hearted and superbly engaging throughout. Iron Nights is another superb solo release from Thomas V Jäger which is also perhaps his most experimental and personal solo effort yet.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

BandCamp | Instagram

Thomas V Jager - Foliage (Album Review)

Release Date: April 20th 2023. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Foliage: Tracklisting

I Hope It's Black

Cold

Like A Storm

Sea Of Green

On YOur Own

Nocturnal Vision

When I Call Your Name

To Feel Alright

Review

The voice of Monolord, Thomas V Jäger returns with his second solo album Foliage and almost three years after his celebrated debut. The album follows the same creative path as that album with Thomas playing a style of Acoustic Doom, Folk Rock and Blues Rock with subtle hints of Stoner or Weedian themes heard within both the music and lyrics that Thomas has written for this album.

The vocals are more emotional and organic for this record compared to Thomas's work for Monolord. It's great to see Thomas adding eerie Psychedelic Sounds throughout the album and playing a wonderful sideline in Acoustic Doomed Out Rock with subtle Classic Rock influences. There are some beautiful and emotionally heavy parts of this album where Thomas does bare out his soul early on the record on such songs as I Hope It's Black, Cold and Like A Storm.

There's guest appearances from musicians such as Ryan Gut (STONER and Brant Bjork), Hasse Nyman, Isa Jäger Berglund, Ryan Lee and Esben Willems (Monolord) who all make this album a richer experience whenever they appear. Though, it's Thomas’s wonderfully diverse creative talents that make this album truly work. Even when the heavy WEEDIAN sounds move from semi-acoustic to full on Electric Rock. 

The songwriting is immense and some songs do have that classic MONOLORD energy within the background when the heavier moments appear. Foliage is mostly laid-back with a sweet-natured attitude but expect some catchy bouts of Hard Rock heaviness which gives this album a more atmospheric nature you wouldn't expect.

Standout tracks include: Like A Storm,  Sea Of Green, On Your Own and To Feel Alright.

Foliage is a super-fresh and down to earth release from a wonderfully gifted musician, singer and songwriter who I hope releases more groovy and interesting solo albums as this more often. Though, Thomas's time with Monolord may hamper these wishes but Foliage is an excellent album that oozes class from start to finish.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

BandCamp | Instagram