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Lázara - Tracklisting
1.Pretty on the Inside 02:44
2.Porcelain 03:46
3.Bent 02:15
Members
Lauren Palma (vox,guitar)
Ryan Rivas (vox,bass)
Hector Mojeno (drums)
Release Date: May 29th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD
Lázara - Tracklisting
1.Pretty on the Inside 02:44
2.Porcelain 03:46
3.Bent 02:15
Members
Lauren Palma (vox,guitar)
Ryan Rivas (vox,bass)
Hector Mojeno (drums)
Review
Miami-based queer Sludge Metal/Noise Rock band Bleeth latest EP Lázara is meant to be a rebirth for the band after a period of tough challenges and experiences they’ve faced or currently facing within this hostile world. Being part of the LGBTQIA+ community and what they're currently going through allows Bleeth to re-invent their music with a new found style of aggression and maturity which is quite refreshing from their 2025 album Marionette.
Lázara opens with a blistering and brutal cover of the HOLE classic Pretty On The Inside with the original’s Punk and Alt-Rock energy being replaced by a primal mix of Noise Rock, Sludge Metal and Harsh melodies. The stripped back sound of the original track is still there but it’s a stripped back style of crushing sludgy guitars with a ferocious Post-Punk sound allowing Bleeth to fully move into an Industrial and Experimental direction.
The EP does contain two original tracks of Porcelain and Bent which offers six minutes of abstract Sludge Metal and Noise Rock melodies with raw sounding production values. Bleeth are quite rightly pissed off on this EP with the whole creative flow surrounded by intricate Post-Punk and industrial beats. The lyrics hit pretty hard with a solitary and emotionally wrought experience hidden behind them. Bleeth inject that legendary brutal MIAMI underground vibe into their music throughout both of these tracks that remind me of CAVITY and FLOOR.
Lázara maybe on the short side but it gets shit done by allowing the LGBTQIA+ community to have a unique voice within the scene where we usually pride in saying “everyone is welcome” but sadly that isn’t always the case. Lázaras is a genuine gut-wrenching, pissed off and brilliantly heavy EP that allows Bleeth to have a real voice within the underground Sludge Metal scene.
If this is the new musical direction that Bleeth will be taking then I can’t wait to experience what they have in store for future releases.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Good Boy PR for the promo..
Lázara is available to buy now on Digital Formats from all good stockists.
Links
Official | BandCamp | Instagram
Release Date: April 19th 2024. Record Label: Ipecac Recordings. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
Tarantula Heart - Tracklisting
1.Pain Equals Funny
2.Working The Ditch
3.She's Got Weird Arms
4.Allergic To Food
5.Smiler
Members
King Buzzo on guitar, vocals and electronic noise
Dale Crover on drums/vocals
Steven McDonald on bass/vocals
Special Guest Musicians
Roy Mayorga on drums/synthesizers
Gary Chester on extra guitar.
Review
Tarantula Heart is the new album from the legendary Melvins who are joined by Roy Mayorga ( Drums/Synths) and Gary Chester (Guitar) for this delightfully creepy ride that can only be created and provided by this iconic band. The album is quite a different sounding album with the band employing a different recording process which King Buzzo explains below:
“The way we approached Tarantula Heart was different than any other Melvins’ album,” Buzz Osborne explained upon the album announcement. “I had Dale and Roy come in and play along with Steven and I to some riffs, then I took those sessions and figured out what parts would work and wrote new music to fit. This isn’t a studio approach we’ve ever taken. Usually we have the songs written BEFORE we start recording!”
The album opens with a nineteen minute epic song Pain Equals Funny which starts off with bittersweet melodies that transform into a Psychedelic Rock and slightly Grungy direction from the band. You begin to wonder if the band are starting to mellow out with this almost “POP” baked offering. However, give the track a few moments and the real MELVINS appear with distorted guitars, fractured drum structures and sludgy rhythms that turn into a surreal nightmare of experimental noises which will keep their legion of die-hard fans extremely happy. The vocals and lyrics are brilliantly surreal with a twisted “KOOKINESS” to them. The song is perhaps the standout track on the album with some of the most straightforward and experimental sounds contained on the whole album.
Second track Working The Ditch continues with the surreal and drowned out sounds which includes trippy soundbytes before a cool sounding groove appears with that familiar Melvins sludgy beat becoming quite distinct and progressive with some ferocious drumming to match. The vocals and lyrics are in fine nihilistic form with droned out textures and passages appearing within the music. Layered vocals and synths are another major part of this track and for the whole album with Tarantula Heart fastly becoming another essential release from the Melvins.
Third track She’s Got Weird Arms is classic Melvins through and through with a short running time of under four minutes with the band offering another sweet natured track full of off-kilter Noise/Grunge surreal hooks and twisted melodies. The song can be quite fractured and broken with Melvins playing jagged sounds with a classy “stop/start” approach which only they can fully deliver.
The final two tracks of Allergic To Food and Smiler offers the Melvins classic twisted sense of humour and even more experimental Sludge Metal grooves with the added bonus of twisted Noise Rock distortion that appears within both tracks with perhaps Allergic To Food being another one of the albums standout tracks both from a musical and creative view.
Tarantula Heart has a sense of urgency with this perhaps being some of the fastest and aggressive sounding I’ve heard from the Melvins in quite some time. The album isn’t going to be for everyone but for the band’s dedicated loyal fan-base, they wouldn’t have it any other way. The Melvins never make the same album twice and everything they’ve released sounds different to each other and Tarantula Heart is no exception.
This is a first rate adventure from one of the iconic bands from the Sludge Metal scene and the Melvins have delivered the goods yet again. Awesome. End Of.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Rarely Unable PR for the promo.
Tarantula Heart will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Ipecac Recordings from April 19th 2024.
Links
Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram
Release Date: October 13th 2023. Record Label: Records Collecting Dust Records. Formats: DD/Vinyl
Seasick - Tracklisting
1.All Rise
2.String Em Up
3.The Befuddled Pig
4.Pink Misty Mountain Hop
5.Gone
6.Fuck The Sun
7.Seasick
8.Mayday
Members
Jason “Blackie” Blackmore - Guitar/Vocals
Jade Devitt - Drums
Cole Mears - Bass
Review
Seasick is the new album from Alt Rock/Post-Punk/Noise Rock/Sludge Rock power trio Matelotage who play aggressive 90’s based grooves that are reminiscent of bands such as HELMET, The Melvins and Quicksand. There’s a ferocious drive to Matelotage’s sound and this album is superbly catchy with a slight Indie Rock sound which aligns into the Noise Rock aspect of the band’s overall sound.
Seasick contains a warped Heavy Industrial feel which comes kicking and screaming on the album's opening tracks of All Rise, String Em Up and The Befuddled Pig. These songs are beautifully chaotic and perhaps all over the place however the music is wonderfully weird with outlandish lyrics that allow Jason’s vocals to offer a bleak vision of the world. There is also a sleek digitised element to the album that offers a more substantial slice of classic Post-Punk themes. The tone can be quite sludgy in places which remind me of NIN jamming with the mighty WHORES.
Fourth song Pink Misty Mountain Hop sees a more experimental style of Post-Hardcore and vast amounts of Sludgecore that offers some of the albums heaviest and most aggressive moments especially with the instrumental work becoming influenced by industrial acts such as NIN and Ministry with the Sludge Rock prowess of The Melvins when the stunning guitar solos appears.
Fifth song Gone continues with the Industrial/Noise/Sludge Rock hybrid sound with a thick STONER groove which feels fused with gloomy-pop moments with despairing vocals from Jason allowing Matelotage who would have been right at home within the 90’s Alt-Rock/Alt-Metal scene.
The later stages of the album sees a wicked Post-Punk outlook starting to appear with that bombastic Sludge/Noise Rock approach that still allows Matelotage to explore different musical avenues whilst not compromising their twisted creative vision even when the album becomes more riff-dominated on tracks such as Seasick and Mayday. These two tracks offer a more Progressive feel with both tracks running six minutes and eight minutes each. Matelotage offers a more cautious “Grunge” based sound before the mood becomes more world-weary especially with the subtle use of Psychedelic sounds.
Seasick covers a lot of creative ground within its short thirty two minute runtime but you can’t deny Matelotage's talent for creating heavy distorted grooves with a thrilling Noise Rock/Alt-Rock narrative that appears within the lyrics and kick-ass vocals that appears throughout the album.
Overall, Seasick is a truly captivating album with Matelotage creating their own highly destructive sound that offers intense grooves with ferocious melodies from start to finish.
Excellent and Highly Recommended.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Jason for the promo.
Seasick is available to buy now on DD/Vinyl via Records Collecting Dust Records.
Links
Release Date: October 01st 2023. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD/Vinyl
Stars And Screams - Tracklisting
Acoustic Song
Don't Know How To Tell
Spewer
Lovely Lovely
Right On Time
No Vacancy
Into The Storm
Fortunate One
West Coast
My Sane
Members
Jason Baker - Guitar/Vocals
Ben Carey - Bass/Vocals
Bryan Fairfield - Drums
Review
Stars And Screams is the debut album from Psych/Space/Stoner Rockers Skyraker which is perhaps best described as a wild and out of control Rock & Roll circus with how they deliver the multiple styles of Stoner Rock and Metal throughout this album. Taking cues from artists such as QOTSA, All Them Witches, Monster Magnet, NEBULA and Pink Floyd that has the wild reckless spirit of Frank Zappa on the the more outlandish stages of the album. The record starts ever so blissfully with the opening two songs of Acoustic Song and How To Tell.
Opening song is an exquisite Acoustic track featuring a uplifting Blues Rock/Americana based instrumental song that has an excellent free-flowing and easy-going attitude.No
Second track How To Tell is purely Pink Floyd influenced creative energy with a trippy All Them Witches based song but still allowing Skyraker to create, play and deliver their own bewitching style of Psychedelic Rock with cool sounding organs giving the album a wicked 1960's and 1970's contemporary sound. The atmosphere is warm-hearted with the freak-ish guitars and Alt Rock sounding vocals that makes you feel you'll be listening to a blissful and upbeat Stoner Rock album. So what comes next changes into absolute creative carnage....
Third song Spewer opens with a classic sounding Desert/Stoner Rock song with aggressive levels of Psychedelic Rock and Garage Rock. The vocals become more consumed by the bleak Desert Rock landscape. Layers of progressive Space Rock soon become more dominant before the song changes into a more outlandish style of Punk Rock and Sludge Rock. This opens up Skyraker to a more reckless creative attitude which results in heavier and wilder Hard Rock grooves which feels like it's being played by a different band compared to the opening two tracks of the album.
Fourth song Lovely Lovely continues with Spewer's aggressive and chaotic tone but then changes the direction yet again with a free-flowing Noise Rock driven STONER based sound. The Space Rock themes become more warped and even more distorted along the way which is more associated with NEBULA. Though, Skyraker still play their own blend of trippy "WEIRDO" Stoner Rock/Metal.
Fifth song Right On Time is a proper freak-ish and Psych Stoner Rock where the vocal spirit of Dave Wyndorf reigns supreme here. Things become ever so FUNKY and TRIPPY with Skyraker moving into multiple different areas of music at once. The song becomes more adventurous when the band operates with a more straight-forward Sludge Rock drive that allows this to become one of the standout tracks on the album. Moments of ambient glitches start to bring in the more crazed ZAPPA inspired moments of the album to appear and perhaps fully take over.
Sixth song No Vacancy is a Punk Rock driven number with Skyraker just playing what they want to play just for the sheer FUCKING FUN of it all. Huge crashing waves of Grunge and Warped Stoner Metal works impressively with the rebellious Punk based lyrics and intense vocals that allows Stars And Screams to be quite an out-of-body experience that delivers the albums finest moments in Stoner Rock/Metal debauchery and excess.
The final four tracks of the album sees Skyraker continue with their journey drifting into even more warped and experimental moments of Sonic Experimentation with Spaced Out attitude that remain constantly fresh and original especially on tracks such as Into The SKy, Fortunate One, West Coast and My Sane. There are some quieter moments with a more straightforward premise which outlines a whole different side to Skyraker.
Stars And Screams is a frantic and crazed surreal experience which you don't rarely come across especially for a debut album. This all builds upto an exciting and heart-pounding slice of Stoner Rock/Metal where Skyraker impresses on every level.
Words by Steve Howe
Links
Official | BandCamp | Instagram
Release Date: July 07th 2023. Record Label: SPM Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
News From The Invisible World: Tracklisting
1.The Start
2.Shake The Jar
3.Golden Thread
4.Photogenic Love
5.Wonderful
6.Non-Player
7.What A Time To Be Alive
8.Nostalgia Now
Members
Matt Stevens - Guitar, synths, keys, programming.
Steve Cleaton - Guitar, synths, programming.
Kev Feazey - Bass, vocals, synths, keys, programming
Stuart Marshall - Drums, percussion, programming.
Accomplices:
Terry Edwards - Sax, trumpets.
Matt Jones - Piano, keys.
Tom Hunt - Backing vocals.
Tia Bush - Backing vocals.
Lara Callaway - Backing vocals.
Heidi Henders - Backing vocals.
Lorraine Richardson - Backing vocals.
Natalia Stevenson - Backing vocals.
Review:
News From The Invisible World is the new album from UK Psych/Prog/Stoner Rock outfit The Fierce & The Dead. WIth this being their fourth full length record, the band spread their creative wings yet again by employing a more Experimental and Space Rock feel to their music. There’s also a weird narrative style that draws upon bands such King Crimson, TOOL and The Flaming Lips.
You can even say there’s even influences from the 90’s Britpop scene with the vocals and the kookiness of the lyrics that feature on certain stages of the album. However, The Fierce & The Dead are mostly a Progressive and Psychedelic Stoner Rock Band with elements of Shoegaze, Warped Noises and Post-Rock for an album that delves into the weirder aspect of the Hard Rock scene.
The songs are constructed in such a way that Ambient and Electronic Noises are added just for the sheer hell of it which you can experience on the opening few tracks of the album: The Start, Shake The Jar and Golden Thread. The grooves are plentiful with The Fierce & The Dead leaning to a more Experimental Stoner sound with flashes of Weirdo based Electronica, Indie Rock, Alt-Rock and Post-Rock. This is the sort of sound the mainstream press normally goes crazy over but still retains it’s Stoner Rock/Metal underground essence with the eager Fuzz based grooves that has a classic early-era QOTSA approach.
The album does become heavier and more experimental with the darker styles of Prog Rock/Metal that accompany The Fierce & The Dead along the way. News From The Invisible World has a rich and varied style of different vocals throughout the album which does take time to fully get on board with. Though, when everything settles down, the album becomes a more engaging experience especially on songs such as: Photogenic Love, Wonderful and What A Time To Be Alive.
The Fierce & The Dead do show their love and admiration for Porcupine Tree, Amplifier and even Radiohead on this album. Those influences are very easy to find within the songwriting techniques and different vocal styles used for the album. However, not many bands have succeeded brilliantly well by adding a Stoner Rock/Metal twist than The Fierce & The Dead have delivered with this album.
Yeah, it’s complex and utterly bonkers but at the same time, this is also an album that is fucking fearless and a superbly entertaining listen from start to finish.
News From The Invisible World is The Fierce & The Dead’s most complex and astonishing release to date.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to The Fierce & The Dead for the promo.
News From The Invincible World will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl from July 28th 2023.
Links:
Official | Facebook | BandCamp