The Grey Men - Resentment (Album Review)

Release Date: September 21st 2026. Record Label: Woven Eye Propaganda. Format: CD/DD

Resentment - Tracklist

1.Resentment 05:12

2.Resentment, Part 2 02:35

3.Spite 06:07

4.Ruin 04:30

5.Useful 07:02

6.Coherence 02:27

7.Spite (noise) 06:06

Review

Resentment is the fifth album from Drone/Doom/Noise Rock collective The Grey Men who follow a similar style of music by the likes of EARTH, SUNN 0))) and NADJA. The album is not a straight-forward record with The Grey Men constructing an abstract narrative and sandbox to create, develop and play their music. There’s harsh atmospherics with some unsettling industrial and electrical themes being used throughout as some parts of the album remind me of Aphex Twin in places. 

The Grey Men at least play some “standard” musical notes on this record but they’re mostly played slowly and sometimes annoyingly they feel heavily out of place. However, this is still a fascinating and highly engaging listen with the songs all having a different tone, structure and musical delivery to each other. When the music does become more fascinated with Doom Metal and Drone Metal sounds, then there is a sense of haunting Industrial Metal themes dictating how the music grows into something more familiar whilst keeping that highly experimental sound.

The record works best when The Grey Men merge their experimental themes with a standard “riff-centric” message with the music still being Drone/Doom Metal obsessed. The intricate Post-Rock, Ambient Metal and Psych Metal soundscapes allow the violent vocals to remain cautiously lurking violently in the background. The album does have an eclectic soundtrack quality to it with gloomy synths and underused industrial themes transforming into a different style of extreme music. 

The two main weapons of choice for The Grey Men to deliver their music is VOLUME and DISTORTION which they apply throughout this album. Some parts of the album do feel like SUNN 0))) performing with WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM which you’ll fully appreciate on tracks such as Resentment Part Two and Spite. 

The Grey Men are wonderfully creative and brilliantly subversive with Resentment which perhaps leaves you more confused than entertained. However, this album is perhaps suited for long-time followers of Experimental Music with songs that don’t have a beginning, middle or end. I applaud The Grey Men for going down this route as the music is unbelievably harsh and superbly violent when you least expect this but one that also offers some blissful movements of distorted Post-Rock and Post-Metal.

Resentment is a great record and is a record that has real “CULT APPEAL” which always goes down a storm with the underground Doom/Drone Metal scene, If you’re in the mood for endless feedback loops, sonic distortion and amplified warfare being played when you least expect it then Resentment could actually be an exciting and thrilling prospect for folks to fully check out.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Liquid Pennies - Cope (EP Review)

Release Date: January 22nd 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Cope - Tracklisting

1.Cope 08:01

2.Floating Mote 07:28

3.Long Fuse 03:59

4.Cope (Single Edit) 06:46

Members

Chas Binns - vocals, guitars, synth, electric piano, engineering

Pierson Whicker - drums

Tysonious Mink - bass

Review

Psych/Shoegaze/Stoner Rockers Liquid Pennies return with their new EP Cope which lasts for twenty minutes spread across three tracks though there’s a shortened and rather nifty single edit of the opening title track. The EP perhaps has a certain Indie Rock/Alt-Rock quality to it compared to their acclaimed 2025 album FORE. However, there are moments of aggressive Stoner Rock sounds which can easily be compared to the likes of QOTSA and FOO FIGHTERS for the more peaceful moments.

Opening track Core is quite an upbeat rocker with a passionate Radio Friendly sound with Liquid Pennies moving closer to the Grunge and Alt Rock platforms. The vocals from Chas Binns have a certain Post-Punk quality to them with a more laid back energy compared to what was delivered on their last record. The second half of the song is the faster sludgy grooves take complete control and you can hear those Mastodon and Baroness highly influenced melodies take this track into a whole new direction before slowing the mood right down before the song closes naturally.

Second track Floating Mote is more of a frenzied Droned Out and Electronic sound with sudden flashes of glitchy Psychedelic beats. This overlaps with a long drawn out experimental Sludge Rock passage which maybe too confusing for some. Though, the sound is quite varied with Liquid Pennies trying some different compared to the previous track. After a few listens I’m beginning to enjoy the track more and more. 

The final track Long Fuse is a gloomy and haunting Electronic/Post-Rock/Post-Doom number with the creative themes of the previous two tracks being heard within the background. This has a certain throwback and influence to the likes of NEW ORDER, DAFT PUNK and NINE INCH NAILS with its cerebral style of Electronica beats. 

Cope may not be as accessible as previous Liquid Pennies releases but if you like the experimental qualities of GENGHIS TRON then there is much to admire and enjoy here. At least Liquid Pennies are always trying something different to stay ahead of the curve.

 

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Linktree | BandCamp

TORPOR - Abscission (Album Review)

Release Date: September 15th 2023. Record Label: Human Worth. Formats: DD/Vinyl

Abscission - Tracklisting

1.Interior Gestures 10:46

2.As Shadow Follows Body 09:20

3.Accidie 06:16

4.Carbon 03:32

5.Island of Abandonment 10:59

Members

Jon Taylor - Guitar and vocals

Lauren Mason - Bass, Rhodes and vocals

Simon Mason - Drums, electronics and vocals

Review:

Abscission is the new album from Doom/Sludge/Post-Metal collective TORPOR and sees the band offer a combination of pitch black melodies, soaring grooves and harsh vocals that are held together by a layer of Post-Metal nihilism. TORPOR have always continued to evolve with every release they’ve created and Abscission is no different with some of their best creative output on this album alone. The record dives right into the Psyche of Progressive Sludge Metal that a first rate Post-Metal band should do with TORPOR playing similar grooves and sounds of bands such as ISIS and Cult Of Luna but with a more ferocious sound.

Opening song Interior Gestures combines Blackened Doom atmospherics with Ambient Post-Rock textures that move into the Sludge/Post-Metal arena with lead vocalist Jon Taylor’s brutal style being open and honest with a more threatening presence that is quite easy to fully understand which gives the song a more uncompromising feel. Ambient and Psychedelic instrumental parts lead the way on the later stages of the track with Lauren’s ghostly voiceover giving a more Gothic and Post-Doom vibe to the song. 

Second song As Shadow Follows Body is another mind-expanding Post-Metal epic running past the nine minute mark. Distorted sounds slowly change into nightmarish Droned Out elements with TORPOR bringing that Pitch-Black mentality to their music which feels like a never ending sense of DREAD and DESPAIR. The music sees TORPOR play a more extreme style of Post-Metal but there’s still a sense of DREAMLIKE quality to their music with the trippy Psychedelic parts that appear beneath the band’s blend of heavy and downtrodden Sludge Metal. The vocals are exquisite yet again with the different styles of harsh growls and clean vocals that appear occasionally. TORPOR starts changing the melodic tone and direction of their music with more soulful styles of Post-Rock appearing for a more Atmospheric feeling. The later stages are more violent, fast-paced and wonderfully chaotic with that aggressive metallic sound allowing TORPOR to play some of the heaviest and most technically impressive sounds on the album.

Third song Accidie opens with an Industrial sound that wouldn’t go amiss from an Author & Punisher album. This song is quite clinical with its delivery which is down to the Industrial Rock/Metal creative approach to the song. TORPOR still retains that Sludge/Post-Metal sound but everything else is given a more Doomed Out makeover that feels orchestrated by NIN in places. The world-weary Psychedelic grooves are more Doom/Post-Rock driven with some of my favourite instrumental parts of the album held within song. The vocals are more extreme but the overlapping of distorted instrumental sounds allows TORPOR to play one of the standout tracks on the album especially when the song takes a more multi-layered approach with that punishing bass driven sound.

Fourth song is an Ambient/Drone/Industrial based song with frantic and down-tuned guitars being more of the Crust Punk world with its eerie style of Industrial breakdowns and mechanically delivered grooves. With a foreboding sense of Doom that’s made possible by the use of sonically driven Synths that feels like having a bad ACID TRIP listening to 90’s Digital Hardcore. One of the most nightmarish and uncompromising tracks held on the album which is made even better by the short running time of the track.

The final track Island Of Abandonment is where TORPOR lays everything on the line with a more theatrical song which moves slowly at its own gloomy Post-Doom beat. The subtle flashes of Psych and Ambient sounds hints at a more violent sonic experience heading our way. TORPOR use that multilayered style of Blackened Doom with a thrilling Industrial edge yet again which leaves the Sludge Metal and Post-Metal aspects of their music to slowly gain traction and ultimately complete dominance of where the song fully ends up becoming. The Black Metal aspect of this track is what makes this to become one of the heaviest songs that TORPOR have released to date with incredible drumming by Simon who is also responsible for the first rate ELECTRONIC parts of the album.

Abscission is one of the most technically impressive and forward thinking releases of the UK Sludge Metal/Post-Metal scene I’ve heard in quite some time. The album has a bleak sounding MONOLITHIC tone that is very hard to ignore that should elevate TORPOR to higher levels within the global Doom, Sludge and Post-Metal scenes.

Simply unmissable. End of.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Frenchie PR Trail for the promo.

Abscission is available to buy on DD/Vinyl via Human Worth from September 15th 2023.

Links:

Linktree | BandCamp

HIGH STRANGE Release New Song EVIL IS LIFE From Upcoming New EP - Woe Upon Man

Doom/Noise/Thrash Metal Riff Merchants - High Strange - release their new EP - Woe Upon Man on August 24th 2021 via Chrome Peeler Records. This is a band with their own unique style and take on all things HEAVY.

Members:

Jonathan Canady (Deathpile, Dead World)
Jay Newman (Unearthly Trance, Serpentine Path, Abandoner)
Conor Hickey (Brain Slug, Born Sinner)
Joe Branciforte (Carnivore A.D., All Out War)

The Lowdown

Lyrically based on August Strindberg’s “A Dream Play” HIGH STRANGE infuses their dark heaviness with a surrealistic edge. “Woe Upon Man” is a depraved cacophony of metal and noise primitivism, injecting blasts of fetid doom with mangled thrash. Massive slabs of rotted noise and low-end rumble into a seething mass of claustrophobic horror, creating a diverse and mind-blowing avant-heaviness.

Limited to 200 copies on black vinyl and 50 cassettes.

FFO: Bolt Thrower, Prurient, Full of Hell

PRE-ORDER @ https://chromepeelerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/woe-upon-man

You can hear their excellent new song Evil Is Life below:

Tigers On Opium - Dark Electric (Single Review)

Release date: December 11th 2020. Label: Forbidden Place Records. Format: DD

Dark Electric – Tracklisting

1. DARK ELECTRIC 04:00
2. DARK ELECTRIC-(WarStar Remix) 03:30
3. DARK ELECTRIC-(TRIANGLES Remix) 03:45

The Lowdown

Experimental Doom/Stoner Rockers Tigers On Opium released their new single Dark Electric recently and it's from their forthcoming album - 503.420.6669.Vol 1 - which will be released by Forbidden Place Records at a later date.

The song is a catchy hybrid of Doom Metal, Psych Rock, Stoner Metal and a hint of Weirdo Rock. If you can call it that. The song is quite gloomy but also quite addictive when the Psych Rock and Stoner Metal sounds appear. If you dig band such as KYUSS, Electric Wizard and Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats then Tigers On Opium are here to quench your thirst.

The song is backed up by 2 different remixes as well. They're good and I mean really good. Though I prefer the original version but it's good to see the band including different versions of the song.

Juan Carlos Caceres from the band says this about the song :

“Over the years... We’ve lost so many great friends, musicians, and artists to the grip of heroin and opioids.  I wrote this song as a sort of release of tension, for how I feel about the people I’ve lost to drug addiction. There’s a sort of juxtaposition to it all. Like a mixture of sad beauty, or a car crash you know is coming but you crank the music and live the ride.” - Juan Carlos Caceres

Words by Steve Howe

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp

Exclusive Stream Of THE BURNING TREE New EP - PARIAH

Driven by an inability to remain static, Ohio native William Jennings now offers his latest musical project to denizens of anything twisted and strange: The Burning Tree. Jennings, who plays bass in stoner/doom band Ghost:Hello and dabbles in many other DIY artistic endeavors, has created a boardwalk sideshow for the senses in this work of self-described "dumpster pop."

With influences including Dax Riggs, Cocorosie, and The Magnetic Fields, Jennings' new music is honest and open in all things. The Burning Tree's upcoming five-song EP, Pariah, takes listeners from bright caricatures to seething evil and tales of loss -- and then right back up to the flashing lights and cotton candy of the boardwalk. 

The surfy tone of opener "Oranges & Lemons" is deceptively upbeat; this evolves into the threatening "Lovely Lyra" and the mournful, Eastern-inspired "Joan of Arc." "Lost Boy" sounds like adventure in Area 51 with Aileen Wuornos, while closing track "Operator" is a singsong folk nightmare that unexpectedly takes a harsher turn. No matter which emotion Jennings portrays, he paints an irreverent, psychedelic portrait for listeners.

With this music, Jennings has channelled buried kinks and hidden secrets, untold fantasies and old memories. Anything is possible beneath The Burning Tree. Pariah will be released on September 6 2019.

You can hear an Exclusive Stream Of The EP below



EP Credits

William Jennings -- all instruments, vocals, arrangement, and recording except where noted
Anthony Rich -- drums on "Lovely Lyra"
Nina Rich -- backing vocals on "Lovely Lyra"
Sarah Powell -- backing vocals on "Lovely Lyra"
Patrick Delagrange -- drums on "Joan of Arc" and "Operator"

Connect With Jennings and The Burning Tree

The Burning Tree on Facebook
The Burning Tree on bandcamp
William Jennings on Twitter
Sex, Drugs, and DIY Blog 

Thanks to Curtis at Dewar PR for all of the info.