Rapidly Aging - You're Not Yourself Lately (Album Review)

Release Date: October 02nd 2026. Record Label: Fig On West. Format: DD/Tape

You’re Not Yourself Lately - Tracklist

1. Distant Sirens Wailing (2:41)

2. Fleeting Moment (5:47)

3. The Negative Thought Loops (4:20)

4. Awoken From A Bad Dream To An Even Worse Reality (7:58)

5. How Quickly The Ground Falls Out Beneath You (5:13)

6. Unsaved (6:46)

7. To Keep From (7:48)

Members

Music by Shalor Howell

Guitar, Slide Guitar & Bass performed by Shalor Howell

Drums performed by Matt Hendler

Pedal Steel Guitar & Violin performed by Ethan Fogus

Review

You’re Not Yourself Lately is the debut album from Ambient/Post-Metal collective Rapidly Aging who brings a dense and progressive style to the Post-Metal world as Shalor Howell (the creative mastermind behind the project) explores a slow style of music that allows other areas of Post-Rock. Shoegaze and Sludge Metal to fully form. Rapidly Aging takes their time in building highly melodic Post-Rock structures that are firm and hold steady one moment before a towering force of Atmospheric Sludge destroys everything for a heavier style of ritualistic passage to form.

You can hear influences from the likes of Pelican, Neurosis, OM, Pink Floyd, Earth and Russian Circles which shows you the type of musical surroundings that Rapidly Aging aims for. The whole thing does take time to fully get moving along but it’s a deeply reflective journey that allows the Ambient and Post-Rock sounds to appear within the haunting opening tracks of Distant Sirens Wailing and Fleeting Moment. I would consider these tracks the most straightforward songs on the whole album as Shalor Howell moves along into some unexpected themes of music for the stunning third track The Negative Thought Loops. 

The Negative Thought Loops combines Post-Metal aesthetics with a gloomy Americana, Gothic and Southern Folk sound which is held together by a commanding Post-Metal presence. The instrumental passages are heavy for the most part but Rapidly Aging then aims for a subtle Alt Rock and Experimental based flow. The whole thing tries to strive for pure Post-Metal heaviness but settles for a great style of Post-Rock and Post-Doom aggression. Parts Neurosis and Pink Floyd combine for a sound that’s perhaps one of the most reflective moments on the whole album.

Fourth track Awoken From A Bad Dream To An Even Worse Reality never shies away from playing a monumental style of precise progressive melodies that have a certain Pelican (Australasia) vibe to them. The free-flowing “cinematic” journey of the track brings a low-key Psych Metal aspect into the mix. The song is equally spaced out and fuelled by tranquil Post-Rock themes that feel cautiously optimistic but quite content to remain in the darkness at the same time.

The level of music experimentation is excellent with some deft classical rock and jazzy scores starting to make themselves known on the second half of the album. All of the vocal samples that provide the main storyline for the album are taken from the classic 1974 French film “The Man Who Sleeps” with this album acting as the unofficial soundtrack. I haven’t seen the film but the samples used are magnificent where they are matched up to the music amazingly well especially within the Ambient sections of the whole record.

The final three tracks of the album allows Rapidly Aging to fully explore the heaviest and progressive moments on the album whilst keeping to a slight Orchestral delivery mostly on How Quickly The Ground Falls Out Beneath You and To Keep From. There’s a determined energy to how the music is delivered with intense Progressive musical beats becoming thicker and denser that allows the album to reach it’s emotionally charged conclusion.

You’re Not Yourself Lately is not an easy album to listen to but it’s the overall journey that Rapidly Aging takes you upon that’s the real highlight. For an instrumental record, Rapidly Aging have crafted a dark and mysterious record that offers no easy answers but you can’y deny how brilliantly powerful the record is when everything is said and done….

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Good Boy PR for the promo.

You’re Not Yourself Lately is available to buy now.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Shovelhead - A Place Of Dead Roads (Album Review)

Release Date: September 12th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Rising. Format: CD/DD

A Place Of Dead Roads - Tracklist

01. Witching Hour

02. Tempest

03. Dominion/Big Tex

04. Ghost in the Garden

05. Middle Man

06. White Stag Ghost

07. Bombers

Members

Jim LaPointe - Vocals, Guitar

Mike Scott - Drums

George Pierro - Bass

Review

Shovelhead may not be a name you’re familiar with but to a small and loyal dedicated following within the Stoner Rock/Metal underground community, these guys are almost legendary  especially around their hometown of New Jersey. This area is home to the likes of Stoner Rock/Metal legends Monster Magnet. SOLACE and The Atomic Bitchwax. Whilst Shovelhead didn’t reach the same towering heights of those legendary bands, their impact is just as meaningful.

The guys have returned with their first album “A Place Of Dead Roads” in nineteen years. I was a huge fan of their 2007 record The Crown & The Knife. The band helped form the style of Rock & Roll driven based Stoner Metal that’s so popular today and I’m pleased to say that almost two decades on that Shovelhead’s latest album makes them feel as important and vital as ever.

The record is powered by a classic style of “TURBO CHARGED” grooves with some great Garage Rock melodies with a burgeoning seedy Psychedelic attitude. Shovelhead don’t apply modern studio and recording techniques into their music. This is good old fashioned Stoner Rock/Metal music how it’s meant to sound and and superbly played. The end result is raw, uncompromising, gritty and highly unpredictable that allows Shovelhead to play with a fearless attitude which is applied throughout the whole album.

There are some moments of Grunge and Progressive momentums contained within the lengthier tracks of the album (Tempest, Dominion/Big Tex, Middle Man and White Stag Ghost) but there’s a multitude of different styles of Heavy Rock that’s being applied by Shovelhead that makes you just appreciate the fact how these guys are still around after thirty years making great music.

There’s a WILD MAN OF ROCK swagger that’s applied by Shovelhead to the fastest and heaviest parts of the record. There’s an out of control “JAM BASED” quality that you can hear within the fuzziest and sleaziest sounds of the album. The vocals by Jim LaPointe appear only when they’re fully needed which gives real weight to the whole record.

Only Jim LaPointe and Mike Scott remain from the original lineup with George Pierro replacing original bassist Sha Zaidi. George Pierro brings his own heavy bass sound to the part which is quite different to Sha Zaidi’s but still fully fantastic and fully becoming part of the Shovelhead creative framework.

A Place Of Dead Roads is quite a loose record and opts for a riff-centric / jam based delivery which has always been a staple of Shovelhead ever since their formative years. However, everything works as it should with the band delivering an intense musical performance that upcoming Stoner Rock bands should study and appreciate having great bands such as Shovelhead on how to create, write and perform a classic sounding Stoner Rock track.

As I stated previously, the production values are very raw and highly unapologetic but it’s one of the main strengths that allows A Place Of Dead Roads to fully stand out from the crowd. Shovelhead have released a first rate “COMEBACK” record that I’m hoping gives the band further appreciation from the whole Stoner Rock/Metal community. As this is as good as it gets.

If you miss the early days of MONSTER MAGNET when they had intense New Jersey destructive sound running through their veins that they may have lost over the years then you really need to check out SHOVELHEAD right now. As these guys are seriously becoming better musicians and more an essential band in their later years.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Mettle Media PR for the details.

Links

https://shovelheadnj.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/ShovelheadNJ
https://www.youtube.com/@theoriginalShovelhead
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2pIndavttdvGqKlHdVQp3L
https://intothevoidmerchco.com/collections/shovelhead
https://www.facebook.com/people/Shovelhead/100061003818946/
https://www.instagram.com/shovelheadnj

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

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

Shrineburner - Hymns Of Despair (Album Review)

Release Date: September 11th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Format: CD/DD

Hymns Of Despair - Tracklist

1.Void of Guilt

2.Spectral Cataclysm 10:48

3.Bodies Dragged to Sunlight 05:53

4.Slow Death Chant

5.An Ocean of Broken Hope

6.Hymn of Despair

Members

Peter Norman – guitar, vocals

Edward Hamel – drums

CJ Johnson – bass

Review

Hymns Of Despair is the massive debut album from Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metallers Shrineburner who have risen from the heavy metal wastelands of Chicago which is shown throughout the album. You can hear the creative DNA from bands from that scene that has come before Shrineburner where they apply their own great style of Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal folklore. 

The sound here is inspired by the likes of INDIAN, CONAN, BONGRIPPER, HIGH ON FIRE and MASTODON with Shrineburner applying a destructive cosmic energy which manifests into some epic Psychedelic down-tuned melodies with a fast paced Psychedelic quality. The added layer of Blackened Doom grooves adds a ferocious HEAVY METAL attitude which allows Peter Norman’s harsh vocals to put in a commanding performance within the stunning second track Spectral Cataclysm.

The whole environment is built upon violent areas of COSMIC DOOM with an intense THRASH METAL and SPEED METAL alliance forming when Shrineburner play an unstoppable style of HEAVY METAL before changing into an absorbing Post-Rock and Ambient Metal collective. Shades of YOB and PELICAN appear within these quieter moments which are some of my favourite parts of the album as it allows you to become emotionally attached to the whole album.

Even the darkest and bleakest moments of the album have a hopeful energy behind the scenes that gives Hymns Of Despair a multi-layered and progressive feel which the band play to their own great advantage on tracks such as: Bodies Dragged To Sunlight, An Ocean Of Broken Hope and Hymn Of Despair.

The Sludge Metal dynamic becomes the main weapon of choice for Shrineburner to build epic instrumental rhythms and melodies with that thumping bass line being another highlight of the album for me. There’s some great technical grooves being applied to the album which showcases how superbly talented the individual members of the band really are. The harsh atmospheric landscapes adds a true sense of despair with downbeat grooves being projected throughout the album though it’s deeply nuanced COSMIC and PSYCHEDELIC moments that holds everything together.

Shrineburner apply some great storytelling themes within the lyrics that remind me of MASTODON and HIGH ON FIRE but the band apply their own gritty attitude into the whole void with some brutally realistic themes emerging within the longer tracks contained on the album. There’s a great mix of down-tuned, low & slow and amplifier distorted instrumental passages that manage to both be quite old-school and superbly modern at the same time. 

The vocals maybe harsh and abrasive throughout but they’re quite easy to understand which allows the listener to be fully immersed with the whole musical journey at play here. Shrineburner are a fairly “new” band forming in 2023 but they feel like they’ve been around for decades with this record feeling like a greatest hits package than their debut album.

Hymns Of Despair is a masterful record and is one of the strongest debut albums I’ve had the pleasure to listen to. On this form alone, Shrineburner have what it takes to make a long lasting impact within the underground Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal scene and possibly beyond. 

This is an essential album to own. End Of.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Earsplit PR for the promo.

Hymns Of Despair is available to buy now on CD/Digital Download with a vinyl release planned at a later date.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

SILVERTOMB release new single and video for “Graves In The Sky” From Upcoming New Album

Doom Metal masters SILVERTOMB released their new single and video today. The song "Graves In The Sky" is also included on the upcoming studio album "The Interpretation Of Nightmares".

Guitar player and singer Kenny Hickey: "“Graves in the Sky” was a piece that was written from acoustic guitar and piano-a different creative approach for the band that yielded a new texture for the music, blending acoustic guitar, strings and distorted guitar along with piano. I felt I was coming close to death at the time of writing this song and the lyrics deal with that reality!" .

You can watch the video here:

You can watch the video for previous single "No Way To Live" here: https://youtu.be/36vA99eoufo

"The Interpretation Of Nightmares" will be released on November 13th, 2026 through Steamhammer worldwide in the following configurations:

=> CD DigiPak
=> LP, 140 g, black vinyl, padded inner sleeve, coloured insert
=> Exclusive LP Version and CD/LP Bundles with a shirt only at the Steamhammer shop
=> Download / Streaming

Pre-Order link for all configurations: https://silvertomb.lnk.to/Nightmares

Tracklisting:

 

1. Brain Matter / No God

2. Ascension

3. Graves In The Sky

4. You Know

5. Prayer For The Paranoid

6. Distorted

7. No Way To Live

8. When Will You Learn?

From left to right: Johnny Kelly (drums), Hank Hell (bass), Kenny Hickey (vocals, guitar), Joe James (guitar), Aaron Joos (guitar, keyboards, vocals

Links

https://www.facebook.com/silvertombmusic
https://www.instagram.com/silvertombmusic
https://www.facebook.com/steamhammer

Thanks to Palmer Turner Overdrive for the details.

New Jersey's SHOVELHEAD Return After 19 Years to Unveil Video Single "Witching Hour" Off Upcoming Album!

New Jersey's obscure Stoner Rock titans SHOVELHEAD return after 19 years, hauling in a heavyweight truckload of polished tracks on new album ‘A Place of Dead Roads’. Kicking up the dust on new jams starts right with the first track and video single of "Witching Hour."

Since forming in the early 90s, SHOVELHEAD (originally The Lemmings) has been at the vanguard of the groundbreaking New Jersey scene that produced underground heavy rock goliaths such as Monster Magnet, The Atomic Bitchwax, Solace, Halfway To Gone, Core, and Solarized.

Alongside other pioneering bands that helped lay the foundation for the coveted genre we know as Stoner Rock, SHOVELHEAD began crafting their sound before the genre had fully formed, resulting in a distinctive style of Stoner Rock N’ Roll that has served the scene for over three decades. During their initial run, three regionally notorious SHOVELHEAD albums (and one Lemmings album) were released, and at this point the titanic number of shows played is uncountable.

SHOVELHEAD decelerated in the late 2010s, along with the majority of planet Earth, but is back to full open throttle in 2026. Founding members Mike Scott and Jim LaPointe (also a contributor to Black NASA’s ‘Deuce’ album and live performer with the band) fused with George Pierro (Solarized, Maegashira, Tarpit Boogie) to resume playing shows, writing fresh tunes, and recording a new album.

'A Place of Dead Roads' is due out through independent release on Saturday, September 12, 2026. The heavy power trio self-produced the new full-length, with recording, mixing, and mastering all handled by George Pierro. Our introduction to the album is by way of its opening track, "Witching Hour," available for streaming on Bandcamp, and don't miss out on the official video below!

A Place of Dead Roads - Tracklist:

01. Witching Hour
02. Tempest
03. Dominion/Big Tex
04. Ghost in the Garden
05. Middle Man
06. White Stag Ghost
07. Bombers

To celebrate the release of 'A Place of Dead Roads', the band has a Record Release show with SHUT UP and BLACK HORSE PIKE in Jackson, New Jersey.

Everyone can pre-order 'A Place of Dead Roads' from SHOVELHEAD on their Bandcamp page right now:

https://shovelheadnj.bandcamp.com/

Witching Hour (Official Video) by SHOVELHEAD

Video Production & Editing by George Pierro.

T.R.O.G. - The Race of Gentleman footage was shot and provided by: / @bigblockautomobilia3895

“Best rock band in Jersey......a well-kept secret of that scene.” - The Obelisk

“Those in-the-know, KNOW that SHOVELHEAD is one of Jersey’s best kept heavy rock secrets. Those that don’t know, SHOULD KNOW!” - Tommy Southard, Solace

SHOVELHEAD is:

Jim LaPointe - Vocals, Guitar
Mike Scott - Drums
George Pierro - Bass

SEE SHOVELHEAD LIVE:

Sept. 12 Jackson, NJ - Shovelhead Record Release Show w/ Shut Up & Black Horse Pike
Sept. 25 - Vineland, NJ - w/ Meatplow & Dreadstrar
Oct. 04 - Manahawkin, NJ - w/ Dying Light

Links

https://shovelheadnj.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/ShovelheadNJ
https://www.youtube.com/@theoriginalShovelhead
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2pIndavttdvGqKlHdVQp3L
https://intothevoidmerchco.com/collections/shovelhead
https://www.facebook.com/people/Shovelhead/100061003818946/
https://www.instagram.com/shovelheadnj

Thanks to Mettle Media PR for the details.

Mechwar - Love Comes With A Knife (Single Review)

Release Date: September 01st 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

Love Comes With A Knife - Tracklist

Love Comes With A Knife

Review

Love Comes With A Knife is the latest single from Sludge/Stoner Metallers Mechwar which continues the great work laid down on their 2025 debut release Hope // Mercy. The time round there’s a violent stripped back atmosphere which has some harsh vocals to match. The violent Post-Doom, Grunge and Noise Rock surroundings is powered by an aggressive bass line which feels like the real motorised engine that Mechwar builds everything around.

Perhaps not as riff heavy that you initially expect but a multitude of different progressive sounding melodies that is quite grimy but superbly melodic within its own unique. Mechwar are playing a less polished style of Sludge and Stoner Metal that’s packed full of menacing intent with the slow paced drumming adding a massive wall of sound into the track. With some cool Psychedelic and Amplifier trickery being added along the way, Mechwar employs a wealth of different LOW & SLOW and DISTORTED grooves which can be quite spaced out in the quieter moments.

Mechwar channels the likes of MELVINS, MONOLORD, SLEEP and SUNN 0))) on this track but still retain their own unique musical identity within the epic eleven and a half minutes runtime with ruthless precision. The raw sounding production values are quite abstract but serves the band amazingly well with the filthy and grimy attitude sealing the whole deal that makes Love Comes With A Knife such a thrilling experience. 

Words by Steve Howe

Links

BandCamp

Problem With Dragons - Permian (Album Review)

Release Date: September 11th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Permian - Tracklist

1.Deeply Divided 02:34

2.The Age of Sin

3.And All Are Anointed by God

4.Suspended

5.Lone Rider

6.Permian 06:32

7.Thine Right Eye

8.This Will Not End Peacefully

9.Reset The Future

Review

Problem With Dragons offer another warped slice of modern Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal with Prog Metal movements on their latest record Permian. This gives the band the freedom to do whatever they want as they continue that great run of developing slightly off-beat fractured songs that have a killer FAITH NO MORE influence to them. The band add a heavier downbeat style to their music with freaky psychedelic grooves that transform into a sublime Industrial Doomed Out theme which has been a major aspect of their music for the last decade or so.

Problem WIth Dragons adds free-flowing sonic and ambient beats along the way as Permian taps right into a classic Science Fiction feel compared to their previous albums. The sludgy sounds are quite anthemic with a frightening real life focus coming into play on tracks such as Deeply Divided, The Age Of Sin and And All Are Anointed by God setting the scene for a sudden shift into real Apocalyptic surroundings.

Some sections of the album once again sees Problem With Dragons merge Prog Metal ideology against the modern Sludge/Stoner Metal melodies where things feel quite disjointed and switched off from the modern day world. The whole thing is wonderfully fucking weird which isn’t a big shock to me but it’s how dark Problem With Dragons have become with some of the yrics contained on the album and also how experimental they are with certain sound effects.

There is a frenzied and pissed off approach with how the band deliver their music as well by applying a fuzz metal structure to the album with a violent COSMIC DOOM story line becoming more real with each passing moment. However, the guys always allow the listener to be fully part of the whole experience which becomes more powerful within the down-tuned, stripped back and droned out soundscapes that offer a trippy nightmarish presence to fully emerge from behind the scenes.

The ELECTRONIC and GLITCHY beats can be quite jarring and unsettling but that’s possibly the point why they’ve been included here as Problem With Dragons create a disturbing experience within the intense riff-centric Sludge/Stoner Metal grooves that appear here. There’s also some wicked DOOM-POP and RADIO FRIENDLY METAL sounding parts included on this record which is one of my favourite aspects on the whole album.

Permian feels like a message is being sent into the COSMOS from humanity after it’s completely destroyed itself with each song telling the listener what happened. The end result is very non-linear and is perhaps down to the listener’s imagination to fully piece everything together. If you’re only here for the music itself then Problem With Dragons never disappoint in that score especially if you’re a fan of the likes of MASTODON, BARONESS, SOUNDGARDEN, FAITH NO MORE and MONSTER MAGNET.

The record is an extraordinary “AUDIO” experience as there’s not many bands like Problem With Dragons who can create different PSYCHEDELIC and SPACED OUT frequencies that are set against a backdrop of classic WEEDIAN grooves. The lyrics and vocals are equally inventive which once again has been a major part of the band’s success over the years especially on tracks Suspended, Lone Rider, Permian, Thine Right Eye and Reset The Future.

Some folks may be put off by the sheer schizophrenic nature of how the music is delivered but that's a great thing about Problem With Dragons, as they're always thinking outside the box where not many bands can possibly create or fully touch.

Problem With Dragons have delivered the goods yet again with another first rate and classic sounding record that’s full of brilliant songs from start to finish that manages to bring something cool and unique to the party.

Words by Steve Howe

Permian is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl.

Links

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Danish Doom Metal quintet SONIC MOON returns with new album "In Lack Of Clarity" on Ripple Music this November; stream first single "Weightlessness"!

Danish melodic doom metal merchants SONIC MOON have inked a worldwide deal with US label Ripple Music for the November 6th release of their sophomore full-length "In Lack Of Clarity", with its crushing debut single available now on all streaming platforms!

Stream Sonic Moon's towering new single Weightlessness 

Denmark's up-and-coming heavy doom merchants Sonic Moon are set to return with their sophomore effort and Ripple Music debut: In Lack of Clarity. The new material pushes toward heavier and darker territory — menacing stoner doom riffs wrapped in hazy psychedelia, cathedral-sized grooves and soaring vocals. Like their 2023 debut album, it was recorded and produced by the band in their own studio, with mixing and mastering by Haldor Grunberg at Satanic Audio (Behemoth, Weedpecker, Dopelord). 

"The album emerged from a more personal introspective view. We felt inspired to explore the heavier side of the genre on this album, and it certainly has a doom-feel to it. We spent a lot of time experimenting in the studio and tried out a lot of ideas, making it DIY in our own way. With our combined creativity and, at times, ingenuity we have created an album that resembles us as individuals all while diving head first into the deep end of doom," says Sonic Moon.

SONIC MOON "In Lack Of Clarity" - Out November 6th on Ripple Music (LP/CD/digital)

Formed in the fall of 2016 in the suburbs of Aarhus, Denmark, Sonic Moon came together around a shared love for heavy, hypnotic rock. The original lineup spent their early days writing in a cold, rundown house, drawing from the likes of Electric Wizard, Kyuss, All Them Witches or Colour Haze. In 2021, new bassist Niclas Fritz Sørensen joined the band, rounding out the current lineup.

After several EPs and a steady run of live shows, the band honed their sound in their own studio and issued their debut full-length Return Without Any Memory in 2023 via Olde Magick Records. The album found its audience in the stoner and doom underground, picking up favorable reviews from major scene tastemakers such as The Obelisk or Doomed & Stoned, while reaching #7 on the monthly Doom Charts and appearing on multiple year-end lists. Described by The Sleeping Shaman as “incredibly difficult to pigeonhole”, the record leaned into fuzz-heavy guitars, slow-burning grooves, and a melancholic, psychedelic atmosphere.

To support the album, Sonic Moon played shows across Denmark with acts like Weedpecker and 1000mods, and took their first trip outside the country in the spring of 2024 for dates in Germany and the Netherlands. Since then, the band has been writing and recording their sophomore effort, In Lack of Clarity, marking their debut release on Ripple Music, the California-based label known for work with The Obsessed, Hermano, Wo Fat, Colour Haze and countless stoner and doom acts of the international scene.

Sonic Moon is

Oliver Lyngkilde - Vocals
Jeppe Rasmussen - Guitar
Emil Damgaard Andersen - Guitar
Niclas Fritz Sørensen - Bass
Emil Gam Klinkby - Drums

Sonic Moon links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Youtube

Ripple Music links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.