Solothurn - High Priestess (EP Review)

Release Date: July 24th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

High Priestess - Tracklist

High Priestess

Burning Decay

Hollow

Members

Ryan Adair - Vocals 

Dee Cleland - Rhythm Guitars 

Jamie Wright - Lead Guitars 

Ross Hunter - Bass 

Marty Elley - Drums 

Review

Grunge/Alt Metallers Solothurn latest EP - High Priestess  - continues the great work they achieved with their previous single Hollow that was released last year. This time round Solothurn brings a heavier Progressive attitude to their music with some great melodies inspired by the Nineties Grunge, Alt-Metal and Stoner Metal scenes. The music is quite melodic with a hard hitting attitude with some intricate Psychedelic passages coming out to play which you can instantly feel within the excellent opening title track.

If you’re a fan of Alice In Chains, Deftones, Soundgarden, TOOL and Mastodon then Solothurn conjures similar sounds of those amazing bands whilst putting their own creative ideas into the mix. THe EP lasts twenty minutes with Solothurn moving their music into the Alternative Metal arena with each passing moment. There are small echoes of Doom Rock and Stoner Metal grooves appearing along the way but it’s mostly of that classic Grunge and Alt Metal dynamic that has the most lasting impact. The lyrics are superb which adds real emotional weight to the whole record.

The vocals from lead vocalist Ryan Adair are spectacular which he taps right into the Post-Metal and Prog Metal dynamic which works superbly well within the Grunge aesthetic which goes for a gloom and doom outlook on the other two tracks of Burning Decay and Hollow. The final track of Hollow was released last year but this version has been slightly revised which gives it extra weight from beginning to end. 

High Priestess is an outstanding EP that allows Solothurn to make a real name for themselves with a record that delivers on all fronts with some great musical instrumental passages that leave you wanting more. I loved the transformation from Solothurn when they venture into more extreme levels of Heavy Metal. I hope they use that style of music greatly within their next release as they pull that off with great style and adds a more menacing presence to their music. 

Check this out when you can.

Words by Steve Howe

Links 

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

The Salt Pale Collective - ...and God Said Nothing (Album Review)

Release Date: July 24th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Released. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

…and God Said Nothing - Tracklist

1.Raised aloft upon the horns of the celestial bull

2....and God said nothing

3.Our pale Madonna

4.Litany for a dying son

5.Ahoy! The black caskets

6.The stars fade and reel in confusion

Members

Alex

Dan

Dave

Review

…and God Said Nothing is the colossal second chapter from Doom/Sludge/Post-Metal collective The Salt Pale Collective. The record merges elements of Drone, Doom, Sludge, Post-Metal, Post-Rock, Ambient, Hardcore and Alt Metal. The vocals sometimes feel they’re forged in the underbelly of Death Metal with other different types of vocal progressions being played throughout the album. The heavy reliance of Electronica sounds reminds the listener of NEUROSIS and CULT OF LUNA with the band forging new creative ideas of their own as this album fully sells its deeply haunting themes.

The Salt Pale Collective conjure up gloomy Post-Metal and Prog Metal melodies with a dangerous style of Ambient Metal which aims for pure destruction. The death metal vocals are the most dominant but it’s good to see different styles overlapping from time to time mostly within the excellent second title track. There’s an epic cinematic style of Alt Metal developing that bridges the gap between the Blackened Doom grooves and depth defying Psychedelic beats that the band put to great use.

…and God Said Nothing can be undeniably bleak that left me feeling anxious and left me looking over my shoulder during the heaviest and brutal based beat downs the band applied to their music. The level of sonic brutality is one of the albums main strengths which is put to maximum use on tracks such as Raised aloft upon the horns of the celestial bull, Our pale Madonna, Litany For A Dying Son and Ahoy! The Black Caskets. These tracks alone show the full weight, heaviness, melodic and violent intensity that the band ultimately thrive upon. There is a sense of emotional despair behind the lyrics that can be even quite therapeutic within the mellow Post-Rock and Alternative based moments. 

Sometimes it sounds like there’s two different bands at play here. One is the brutal Doom/Post-Metal band who take no prisoners and unleash a torrent of brutal grooves that demolishes everything in their wake. The other, is a beautifully engaging Ambient Post-Rock band that cares more about the human spirit than the total chaos and destruction being raged around them. However, when both these worlds fully collide then it’s a dangerous mix of epic proportions with The Salt Pale Collective allowing the listener to experience something real and superbly creative at the same time.

There’s some wonderful orchestral arrangements on this record that gives it an almost Classical Metal feel that reminds me of OPETH in many ways. The later stages of the album taps into influences such as The Ocean and Blood Incantation for a record that offers no easy answers whilst leaving you a shivering wreck with its non-stop style of intense Progressive and Post-Metal changes.

…and God Said Nothing is an experimental powerhouse with The Salt Pale Collective bridging the gap between conventional Doom, \Sludge and Post-Metal themes whilst adding a layer of complex Death Metal energy that you don’t really hear such as this. This isn’t a record for the faint hearted and you may perhaps need to be a fan of Experimental Metal and Extreme Music to get the full enjoyment but if you’re willing to stay the course then you’ll be treated to a thrilling and possibly future classic album in the making.

I need to take a long lie down after listening to this masterful album. I’m exhausted just from listening to the album as this feels like an intense endurance course. And I mean that in the best way possible!!!

Words by Steve Howe

...and God Said Nothing is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl.

Links 

LinkTree | BandCamp

An Interview with Ryotaro From Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metallers LOOPRIDER To Discuss New Album LOVE

Japanese Heavy Rockers LOOPRIDER have just released their stunning and brilliantly heavy new album LOVE. This record takes a heavier detour into Drone, Noise. Doom, Psych, Grunge and Stoner Metal passages compared to their acclaimed 2023 album Metamorphose. 

The band has a new member Tacchi (Guitars) who joined the ranks recently after longtime member and  guitarist Haruka left before the band started recording the new album. 

If you dig bands such as BORIS and THE MELVINS then this is the place to be. LOOPRIDER never makes the same album twice and I wanted to find out more about this great band as they have become one of my favourite bands from the Japanese Heavy Rock/Metal scene.

You can read my review of LOVE here.

I'm pleased to say that I caught up with Ryotaro (Vocals / Guitars / Noise) to discuss the formation of the band and the making of the new album.

Hi there. Thanks for doing the interview. How are things with you today?

Doing well. We just finished our last rehearsal before the release tour and feeling pretty good about it.

For folks not in the know, can you give a brief history of how the band came together and where it is today?

Looprider is a band I started on my own, making demos by myself. Originally it was supposed to be a project with a revolving door of members, like Nine Inch Nails or Queens of the Stone Age. It ended up being a trio band. We’ve had people come and go since so I suppose it’s become a revolving door of sorts, but conceptually now it’s supposed to challenge the limits of what a trio can do.

How would you describe your own sound?

Heavy rock, I guess. We’ve been called shoegaze, sludge, noise, etc. Like our idols Boris and Melvins we are OK with being fluid with these things. I see music as a spectrum, and if you have noise on one end and drone on the other, for example, then everything else, including pop music, exists in between that broad gradient. Am I making any sense? I see the band as a vehicle to explore that spectrum.

You're about to release your amazing new album "LOVE" What can people expect from the album and LOOPRIDER this time round.

This is the first time that I think we have captured the raw sound of the band. We’ve tried different ways over the years of how to record our bassless set up and I think we did a pretty good job this time.

We tried a lot of new things as well, the most obvious being bringing in a baritone guitar as my main instrument. We have always tuned low, but this was on a whole other level. These instruments provide a lot of clarity despite being tuned low, and I think it sets us apart from other sludgy bands.

Why did you call the album "LOVE" as it's anything but that. Dare I say this is your heaviest and most aggressive record to date.

I wanted a very straightforward title. And love is universal. But the album is not just about the pleasantries of love; it’s also about its ugly side. You can love something so much that it breeds hate. And love can be for all sorts of things: your family, your friends, your community, your idols. Each song represents a different side of it.

Was this original intention to release something different compared to your last album Metamorphose which was more heartfelt and quite emotional. Why the sudden change with the heavier sounds.

We always just do whatever we’re into at the moment. But getting my hands on the baritone really prompted this vibe I think.

Were you pleased with the original reception that Metamorphose received from fans and critics alike. I love that album and still listen to this day.

Yeah! It’s always nice when people vibe with your work. The last one was nice because people got to see a more shoegaze-ish side of us that we hadn’t done in a while.

Looking back, would you change anything about that album?

We tracked everything to a click and I regret doing that. Listening to it now, it sounds a bit sterile. Music should be free and fluid, especially bands like us.

Longtime guitarist Haruka left before you started recording the album. Was this an amicable split. Are you still on good terms with Haruka.

She needed to leave because of stuff in her life. We still text each other from time to time, no hard feelings.

Did Haruka leaving the band inspire the heavier aspect and creative dynamics for LOVE at all.

Not really. A lot of the songs were already done and the way we work is that I demo the songs or jam on riffs with our drummer first, so the direction and overall sound is already decided by the time the second guitar gets added.

You now have a new member Tacchi joining the LOOPRIDER ranks as well. How did you meet Tacchi and what does she bring to the whole LOOPRIDER sound.

I found her online and reached out. She’s really cool and brings an air of positivity to the band that’s really exciting. She has a great stage presence and is just a fun person to hangout with. She has a real edge to her guitar playing and we’re excited to see what she’ll bring from a writing perspective when we start working on new music.

What bands and artists influenced you when recording the new album.

I don’t really remember what I was listening to at the time, but there is this YouTube channel called The Bunn that specialized in baritone guitars. I think a lot of what he was doing influenced the riffs I was coming up with. I was also listening to bands like Nausea, Discharge and Doom. But the last couple of years I’ve just been listening to a lot of ambient stuff, people like Pauline Oliveros, William Basinski, that sort of thing.

Which bands, artists or albums inspired you all to pick up a musical instrument and to become a musician.

Probably bands like Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins initially. That got me into Melvins and My Bloody Valentine. Slayer and Napalm Death were other big influences. There is also this Japanese band called Luna Sea that I really loved when I was a kid. Melt-Banana was another early influence and through them I discovered artists like Mr. Bungle and John Zorn.

We have to talk about the stunning artwork for LOVE. As it gives a stunning picture of what to expect from the album. How did the design come about. It seems this was a joint effort between Ryotaro and Ryo7. Was this a true collaborative piece for LOVE. Or did you each put your own creative personality into the final design.

We have a record called “My Electric Fantasy” that has a pink cover. I wanted something that symbolically represented us getting away or melting away from the last 10 years of the band. A bit of a fresh start. Then this idea of ink clouds came about. I wanted it to kind of look like a heart shape. I had a specific idea on how I wanted the shape to be and also the texture and we realized very quickly that it wasn’t going to be possible using real materials, so we decided to do it as a 3D model. I’m quite pleased with the result, it also looks a bit grotesque, almost intestine-like. I think it captures both the prettiness and ugliness of the record.

What are your high points and low points you've experienced within your musical career so far?

High points have been playing with bands I’ve idolized like Melt-Banana and Luminous Orange and being included on compilations like the Japan Is Loud comp with bands again like Melt-Banana and Boris. Low points would be letting band members go or having them leave.

Can you advise if you’ve played or currently playing in other bands so folks can check out your other musical projects?

No other bands. I do some solo ambient drone stuff some times.

What is the creative process or setup within the band? Do you write the music together or do certain people within the band do that?

Usually I will have riffs and ideas and we put them together with the drums. We get very detailed in the arrangement of the drums. Basically if it sounds good with guitar and drums, the track will likely be good. We then add the lead guitar on top of that to add a whole new dimension. Depending on what gets added, we may revisit the rhythm arrangement and sometimes even throw away the whole thing. Rinse and repeat. It’s like painting over a painting again and again.

Does Tokyo have a vibrant and huge Rock/Metal that allows you to perform gigs on a regular basis and do you have a local scene that you're actively involved with?

There are a lot of scenes and great venues. We tend to float around scenes and we’re not really part of any particular one. The heavier stuff happens at places like Earthdom, Niman Denatsu, El Puente and Bush Bash and then the more alternative and shoegaze stuff happens at places like Koenji High and Shimokitazawa Era. We have different friends in different scenes and we try to play different types of shows as much as possible.

Will you be performing any gigs to promote the upcoming album locally or further afield.

We have a tour coming up in Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo to promote the new record!

Before you go, do you have any words of wisdom for your new and potential fans out there.

Please listen to our different records because we try to show different sides of the band with each album. We encourage everyone to look at our whole catalogue. Hopefully there is something there for everyone.

Words by Steve Howe 

LOVE is available to buy now on CD/DD via Call And Response Records.

Links 

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Looprider - Love (Album Review)

Release Date: April 15th 2026. Record Label: Call And Response Records. Formats: CD/DD.

Love - Tracklisting

1.Love 02:59

2.Chaotic Heaven 02:08

3.Nebula 03:53

4.Havoc 03:54

5.Crush 04:31

6.Kill U 02:59

7.Elegy 12:29

8.Zero 03:32

9.Melt 07:10

Members

Ryotaro - Vocals, Guitars, Noise

Ryo7 - Drums

Tacchi - Vocals on “Chaotic Heaven” and “Zero”

Shoko - Vocals on “Crush” and “Elegy”

Review

Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metallers Looprider return with their latest album LOVE and it’s quite a subversive title for a record such as this. As this album has quite a different and aggressive sound to their acclaimed 2023 album Metamorphose. The uplifting and highly melodic structures that were played throughout that record have been replaced by a harsh, moody and violent down-tuned energy. Along the way, member Haruka left the band and was replaced by Tacchi on guitars and vocals. This version of LOOPRIDER has created their heaviest and sludgiest record yet without sacrificing their whole creative identity.

Looprider still blends Doom, Sludge, Stoner, Noise, Punk, Psych and Fuzz soundscapes throughout LOVE but with a truly devastating cinematic score being played at the very start. There’s a more urgent delivery to their music that once again reminds me of BORIS and THE MELVINS in equal amounts but this is still Looprider’s show. They add distorted movements of Thrash, Drone and even Post-Punk surroundings which are played for the most part at a sublime fast pace. This is a totally different band compared to Metamorphose as within that record they always managed to find the time to play “uplifting” areas of Ambient, Post-Rock and Post-Stoner tracks. On LOVE, the listener is thrusted upon a brutal wasteland of sharp distorted grooves set against an Alt Metal backdrop of dangerous Droned Out Fuzz structures. 

The album never lets up with its breakneck delivery on tracks such as: Love, Chaotic Heaven, Nebula and Havoc superbly setting up the scene with the band exploring some razor sharp vocals and intense lyrics. LOVE feels like a huge WALL of total destruction is being built from beginning to end as multiple levels of different sounding areas of FEEDBACK, DRONE, AMPLIFIER DISTORTION and manic PROGRESSIVE energy holding everything together.

There are some intricate amounts of Psychedelic movements that start to appear on the later stages of LOVE with tracks Crush, Kill U, Elegy and Melt. It’s great to see Looprider embrace some of their familiar sounds they’ve created on previous releases but still keeping in line with their new found Sludge Metal aggression. Taachi’s vocals are exquisite when they do appear. There’s also guest vocals from Shoko from Shoegaze collective COLLAPSE on the excellent tracks of Crush and Elegy.

The two standout tracks are Elegy and Melt with these being the two longest tracks on the album. You can expect subdued Post-Rock moments before Looprider unleashes screeching and glitchy guitars that provide a haunting and unsettling aspect into the mix. Though, it’s the slow-paced surroundings that offer the most rewarding aspect for listeners to fully lose themselves in.

LOVE is an epic and masterful style of modern day of Heavy Rock music with Looprider once again proving why they’re one of the best bands worth knowing about from the Japanese Sludge/Stoner Metal scene. They never release the same record twice and LOVE only proves that point. This is a record with real human insight that makes LOVE such an unmissable and brilliantly powerful record in its own right.

Words by Steve Howe

LOVE is available to buy now on CD/DD via Call And Response Records.

Links 

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Deeper Graves - Pull Me Toward The Dark (Album Review)

Release Date: February 27th 2026. Record Label: Disorder Recordings. Formats: DD

Pull Me Toward The Dark - Tracklisting

1.MISUNDERSTOOD

2.NO TIME FOR LOVE

3.OVER MY SHOULDER 

4.ALL THESE YEARS

5.WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE 

6.THE TRUTH

7.PULL ME TOWARD THE DARK

Members

Jeff WIlson - Everything

Review

Post-Punk/Post-Rock/Ambient/Shoegaze collective Deeper Graves return with their third album Pull Me Toward The Dark and it’s a sensational mix of gloomy interludes and fast-paced Post-Doom surroundings. This is the project set up by the visionary Jeff Wilson also of Chrome Waves, Contrition, formerly of Nachtmystium and Wolvhammer, and owner of Disorder Recordings. The album is an unsettling and beautifully understated release with the album creating similar sounds to the likes of BEASTMILK, THE CURE and TYPE O NEGATIVE.

This is a collection of songs that perfectly taps into the Eighties Alt Rock and Gothic era with Jeff not afraid expanding his musical horizons with glimpses of modern day Psychedelic dreamscapes and Progressive Doom Rock attitude. The music is constantly therapeutic whilst shining a light on some tough subject matter with the Shoegaze flow allowing everything to be quite hopeful.

Jeff’s vocals have a distinctive “LESS IS MORE” attitude and delivery which are beautifully understated with a rough exterior when the mood calls for this. The opening few songs Misunderstood, No Time For Love and Over My Shoulder allows Deeper Grooves to create a slow burning mix of Industrial Rock, Post-Doom and sullen Shoegaze vibes that forms across different levels of psychedelic soundscapes. The ambient landscapes can be beautifully uplifting with majestic lyrics soulfully tapping into the Shoegaze and Post-Punk lifestyle.

The second half of the record becomes more daring and experimental with Deeper Graves playing with areas of Industrial Rock that reminds me of Killing Joke and Nine Inch Nails on tracks such as All These Tears, Where Do We Go From Here and Pull Me Toward The Dark. The most exciting and truly cinematic moments come within the final stages of the album as Jeff unleashes a wave of Euphoric sounding Post-Doom melodies that left me on the edge of my seat. 

Pull Me Toward The Dark is unapollogetically slow moving but that’s intentional with Deeper Graves creating music with real meaning throughout every aspect of the whole album. The production values are off the scale with Jeff handling everything here behind the scenes. He also handled the cover art and photography of the whole album. Jeff deserves credit for taking upon such a massive task. 

Another highlight of the album is how the most simply played notes and melodies sound absolutely huge with repeated listens. This album feels like a work of art at times which makes this such a highly unforgettable album to merge from the Post-Punk/Shoegaze scene in a very long time. 

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Earsplit PR for the promo.

Pull Me Toward The Dark is available to buy now digitally via Disorder Recordings.

Links 

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Solothurn - Hollow (Single Review)

Release Date: October 10th 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Hollow - Tracklisting

Hollow

Members

Vocals - Ryan Adair

Guitars - Dee Cleland

Guitars- Jamie Wright

Bass - Ross Hunter

Drums - Marty Elley

 

Review

Hollow is the latest single from Grunge/Alt-Metallers Solothurn who are from Belfast, Northern Ireland. The band have been building up a mighty fine reputation with their blend of Grunge, Alt-Metal and Post-Metal sounds that are influenced by the likes of Alice In Chains, TOOL, Soundgarden and Soundgarden. Their debut EP - Servitude - was released back in 2023 which I actually listened to but sadly forgot to review. I was impressed by their style of classic songwriting and hard-hitting melodies that brilliantly tapped into the whole Nineties scene whilst capturing a thrilling modern day score.

Solothurn new song Hollow has a more nuanced Post-Stoner and Psychedelic approach that still sees that TOOL and A Perfect Circle influence still being there but you can hear small echoes of bands such as ELDER and MASTODON in places especially within the heavier Doomed Out moments. The vocals from Ryan Adair are from the old-school of Alt Metal and Grunge with a slight mid-noughties approach when Ryan hits those emotionally charged high pitched notes which he does on multiple occasions. 

The music from the rest of the band is expertly handled and delivered with supreme precision with Dee Cleland (Guitars), Jaime Wright (Guitars), Ross Hunter (Bass) and Marty Elley (Drums) moving between the areas of Post-Metal, Grunge, Doomgaze and Post-Stoner melodies that leave you wanting more.

I don’t know if Solothurn has an upcoming EP or full length album being released in the future but I’m excited to hear more from the guys. As this is a band that could be on the start of a special journey within the Rock/Metal scene. Hollow is an outstanding single which I recommend you check out at the earliest opportunity.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Mila Cloud - Quietly Unpresent (EP Review)

Release Date: September 03rd 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Quietly Unpresent - Tracklisting

1.Unwater 02:48

2.Nonexisting People with Familiar Voices 03:05

3.Quietly Unpresent 03:28

4.To Live Secretly in Someone Else's House 04:20

Members

Mila Cloud - Everything

 

Review

Doom/Drone/Post-Black Metal solo artist Mila Cloud with their first release in over two years with their spellbinding new EP Quietly Unpresent which sees a slight change of pace from Mila. As this EP is more reflective and stripped back of aggressive Black Metal creative energy that Mila has released previously. This record is more emotionally charged and taps right into the Shoegaze and Doomgaze structures that a lot of Post-Black Metal outfits are currently down.

The LOW & SLOW melodies is a refreshing change with deep levels of FUZZED OUT DOOM appearing that appear within the haunting opening track of Unwater. The sound is perhaps Post-Rock obsessive at the best of times but Mila does add a sprinkling of Drone Metal to elevate the song into a cautionary style of Alt Metal that reminds me of Deftones in places.

Second track Nonexisting People with Familiar Voices continues with the Shoegaze/Doomgaze vibe with a sound that has a meaningful extended instrumental energy to it all. The song is purposely slow with Mila expanding upon their Drone and Post-Rock creative heritage which sees a sense of Ambient textures forming before epic sludgy guitars appear. The sound is still cautiously slow but offers a heavier vibe for some brief moments of emotional clarity.

Third track Quietly Unpresent is the heaviest track with thick layers of destructive Ambient based Drone/Doom Metal being played against each other. The mood is highly destructive and sees Mila generate a brooding and aggressive style of music with the distorted soundscapes once again capturing a long drawn out style of Doomgaze with flashes of psychedelic tension along the way.

The final track To Live Secretly in Someone Else's House is another reflective Ambient/Post-Rock number with Mila once again laying everything on the line where listeners can't help form an emotional connection to the lush surroundings of the music being played here. Perhaps not the heaviest track to begin with but easily the standout track with Mila combining subtle Drone, Doom, Fuzz and Alt-Metal elements that allows Quietly Unpresent to end on a highly satisfactory conclusion.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Facebook | BandCamp

Sugar Horse - The Grand Scheme Of Things (Album Review)

Release Date: October 04th 2024. Record Label: Pelagic Records. Format: CD/Digital/Vinyl

The Grand Scheme Of Things - Track Listing:

1.The Grand Scheme of Things

2.The Shape of ASMR to Come

3.Corpsing

4.Mulletproof

5.Spit Beach

6.New Dead Elvis

7.Jefferson Aeroplane Over the Sea

8.Office Job Simulator

9.Space Tourist

Members

Ashley Tubb (Vocals/Guitar)

Jake Healy (Baritone Guitar, Keyboards)

Chris Howarth (Bass)

Martin Savage (Drums)

Review

UK Rock/Metal Experimentalists Sugar Horse return with their second full length album The Grand Scheme Of Things. The band have been quite productive with singles, EP’s and split releases over the years and they’ve created and defined their own style of Doom, Prog Metal, Sludge and Experimental sounds which they’ve managed to capture on this record with highly intriguing results.

The album may even test the limits of their dedicated and loyal following with it’s grand style of Alt Rock and Post Doom which shine a torch on bands such as Deftones for the first few tracks of The Grand Scheme Of Things, The Shape Of ASMR To Come and Corpsing. As Sugar Horse conjures bittersweet Doom and Post-Rock melodies with soaring Ambient rhythms to match. With echoes of BORIS being a slight musical influence for this part of the album with Sugar Horse adding gloomy and thoughtful lyrics that spring into life thanks mainly down to Ashley Tubb’s superb Alt Rock inspired vocals. 

So far, so good, right. Well, not quite. As Sugar Horse change musical delivery for the better in my humble opinion as a dark sense of humour comes into play with the band taking a MELVINS style SLEDGEHAMMER to the album and merging it with a surreal creative tone on tracks such as Mulletproof and Spit Beach. The uplifting energy of the opening tracks has given way to a darker tone where the heaviest and gloomiest sounds appear that has moments of Screamo, Sludge Metal, Post-Hardcore and Blackened Metal vibes.

This seems Sugar Horse is fuelled by a desire to offer the twisted and nastiest rhythms on the whole album and perhaps what they’ve released to date which feels like from a totally different band. The album delivers a nasty and unpleasant sound that feels like THE MELVINS possessed by THE DEVIL himself. The down-tuned sludgy guitars have moments of Harsh Vocals or Cookie Cutter Vocals that could be quite intense for some. 

Fifth Spit Beach has small moments of the uplifting nuanced moments from the opening three tracks but this is drowned out by the nightmarish Blackened Sludge Metal sounds that can be quite GRINDCORE based at times but is always exciting to fully hear and be apart of.

Sixth track New Dead Elvis continues with a jagged experimental Post-Hardcore/Noise Rock sound that’s spliced with that harsh Sludge Metal attitude with outbursts of Sludgecore and Psych Metal with Ashley’s vocals drifting from clean vocals to the heavier screamo growls that can be quite unsettling to hear at times. 

The next two tracks of Jefferson Aeroplane Over The Sea and Office Job Simulator allows Sugar Horse bleak sense of humour to take centre stage with the music superbly combining the finer and melodic strands of Post-Rock and Post-Doom before the chaotic Sludge Metal grooves appear to add a destructive force of nature to this part of the album. 

The final track of Space Tourist is twenty four minutes long and features dreamlike Ambient Post-Rock textures with a subtle Space Rock delivery. The vocals can be slightly off-key in places but works surprisingly well with the style of music that Sugar Horse creates here. The song drifts into heavier Drone Metal exploration with the music not changing very much but the everlasting use of Psych and Ambient melodies once again allows the album to end on a more hopeful feeling.

The Grand Scheme Of Things isn’t going to be for everyone with Sugar Horse creating an uncompromising and highly original album that will no doubt get people talking within the Doom/Sludge Metal scene. However, if you’re looking for an album that dares to be different and offer a different sounding style of Experimental Doom/Sludge Metal then Sugar Horse are the band for you. I loved every twisted moment.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Pelagic Records for the promo.

The Grand Scheme Of Things will be available to buy on CD/Digital/Vinyl via Pelagic Records from Friday October 04th 2024.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram