Blunt Horse - With Teeth (Album Review)

Release Date: April 25th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

With Teeth - Tracklisting

1.Teeth 08:28

2.The Grand Bizarre 07:27

3.Mind Raker 05:43

4.Buried in Significance 09:43

5.Eniccav 09:28

Members

Mike Dee - Bass

BG Drakeley - Drums

Clay Oboth - Guitars

Review

I last featured Sludge/Stoner Metallers Blunt Horse back in July 2021 when I reviewed their split record with Grilith and I was mightily impressed by their slight experimental style of Heavy Rock. Fast forward five years and the band finally return with their debut album With Teeth which is another exquisite slice of Sludge/Stoner Metal with slight jazzy and experimental vibes.

Taking influence from the likes of Mutoid Man, Cave In, Melvins, Faith No More and Mastodon throughout the album. The record itself is powered by a great style of progressive melodies and musical tempo changes that moves into an area of cool weirdness which you can experience within the opening track of Teeth.

Blunt Horse create a fascinating style of Sludge Metal which sees strange vocal techniques being delivered throughout and you can detect influences such as James Hetfield, Devin Townsend and Mike Patton starting to emerge. The lyrics are off the chart with a Frank Zappa approach that propels the album into levels of strange absurdity but everything works with Blunt Horse delivering their own great blend of “OUTSIDER” based Sludge/Stoner Metal.

The album is forty minutes long that’s spread across five tracks with Blunt Horse offering a highly original and unsettling ride at the best of times. The music does become more dominated by Progressive landscapes and trippy psychedelic energy which builds up superbly well on tracks such as The Grand Bizarre and Mind Raker.

Blunt Horse play a confident style of slow-to-mid paced grooves which become quite aggressive and fast-paced when the band decide to switch musical tactics for a more violent sound. The “GONZO” and “OFF-BEAT” approach maybe too weird for some but at least the band are playing music that’s vastly different and brilliantly surreal especially on the later stages of the record mostly on songs such as Buried In Significance and Eniccav. 

With Teeth is a record with genuine “CULT APPEAL” and Blunt Horse offer no apologies for delivering that unique style of music. If you like your music that’s quite multi-layered and perhaps even with a schizophrenic delivery then Blunt Horse are most definitely the band for you to check out. There’s a ton of great riffs, grooves and cool sounding instrumental solos to check out from this hugely talented outfit. 

Production values are excellent as well allowing Blunt Horse the time and space to create something grounded and superbly thrilling at the same time. WIth Teeth is a wonderfully surreal and first rate debut album that I can’t recommend highly enough.

Words by Steve Howe

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Astral Goat Dominion - Only Lucifer And Fuzz (Album Review)

Release Date: October 31st 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Only Lucifer And Fuzz - Tracklisting

1.Intro Acida 01:25

2.Lucifer (part I) 06:24

3.Only Lucifer and Fuzz 06:27

4.The Acid Ritual 07:13

5.Malignant Sign ov Evil 06:51

6.Bloody River 08:27

7.Make the Sludge Doom great again 04:18

8.Outro Disperata 00:50

Review

Astral Goat Dominion aren’t your typical Doom/Stoner Metal band as the band create a highly unusual and unorthodox style of music with weird vocal arrangements and outlandish creative themes you wouldn’t expect to go for the WEEDIAN genre. The band feels like ELECTRIC WIZARD jamming with THE MELVINS but still paying homage to the likes of Saint Vitus, Black Sabbath and even KYUSS. Just don’t go expecting a straightforward musical journey with their excellent debut album Only Lucifer And Fuzz.

At some moments the record is just bat-shit crazy and sometimes even confusing but in a good way. There’s a sense of demented gloominess and warped sludgy sounds emitting from your speakers. You will only need to listen to the opening two tracks of Intro Acida and Lucifer (Part 1) that this is going to be one crazed journey into the world of Occult Doom with classic sounding Seventies based Amplifier Distorted grooves generating a sinister atmosphere throughout. There’s some method to the creative madness from Astral Goat Dominion as the vocals are more like chants from a demented madman selling his soul to LUCIFER himself. 

The lyrics are equally as strange but they match perfectly to the experimental driven nature of the song which becomes even stranger on tracks such as Only Lucifer And Fuzz, The Acid Ritual and Malignant Sign ov Evil where the band take a slight detour to Psychedelic Freakouts and Prog Rock just for the sheer hell of it. The journey is deeply rooted in Seventies Occult Folklore and Mysticism whilst the music being influenced by sounds of the Seventies Doom Metal and Nineties Stoner Metal scenes. 

Astral Goat Dominion do have an outlandish Tribal Rock energy to them which allows the band to play extended trippy instrumental jams for the majority of their music which can also be quite jazzy and funky at the best of times. Though, it’s still part of the satanic DOOMED OUT world. The album won’t be for everyone but if you’re in the mood for something different and highly experimental whilst keeping in line with the Doom/Stoner Metal arena then Only Lucifer And Fuzz is downright original.

I applaud Astral Goat Dominion for creating something crazy and thinking outside of the box for their debut release. This record has all the makings of becoming a CULT RECORD in the years to come and could allow the band to obtain a loyal following within the underground scene. 

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

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IN COVERT - Bleak Machinery (Album Review)

Release Date: May 09th 2025. Record Label: Dune Altar. Formats: DD/Vinyl

Bleak Machinery - Tracklisting

1.Blood Moon Rises (Intro) 01:02

2.Blood Moon 04:02

3.Nowhere to Turn 03:39

4.Shivers Down the Spine 03:43

5.The Truth Is Out There 00:48

6.Night Captivity 03:36

7.Dead Weight 03:43 

8.Gates of He// 00:32

9.Darkfields 02:43 

10.Ominous Dreams 00:40

11.Death Embers 03:18 video

12.Cemetery Nights 04:40

Members

Wes Lopez - Guitars/Synth

Kris Balocca - Vocals

Oscar Ruvalcaba - Drums

Victor Guitierrez - Bass

Review

Bleak Machinery is the debut album from Industrial/Punk/Noise Rock/Metal Sonic Terrorists IN COVERT where they cover almost every corner of the Punk, Hard Rock and Heavy Metal spectrum. There’s moments of Death Rock, Doom Metal, Sludge Rock, Post-Punk, Ambient and A;t Metal all appearing at dark and despairing times of the record. All I can say this is a band with a unique vision and highly original sound of their own. 

The record shows glimpses of the past, present and future of HEAVY METAL with it’s classic Post-Punk and Gothic themes allowing the modern sounding Electronica and Synth Driven themes creating a nightmarish landscape that could easily be classed as a critique on modern day world current events. The music itself is inspired by the likes of The Cure, Killing Joke, NIN, Ministry, Neurosis, Celtic Frost and even Motorhead.

Bleach Machinery excels the most when In Covert dive right into the harsh Industrial and Sonic landscapes with a Post-Doom and Post-Black Metal sound transforms into a Synth driven Sludge Metal juggernaut which you’ll encounter within the brilliant standout tracks of Blood Moon and Nowhere To Turn. The vocals are from the classic era of Post-Punk and Post-Goth which allows the record to have a 1980’s Alt Rock/Metal dynamic which is where the lyrics thrive the most. 

There’s a hallucinogenic and apocalyptic imagery appearing from the dystopian science fiction narrative that IN COVERT have injected to every fibre and being of the album. Distorted loops, psychedelic noises and electronic glitches allows IN COVERT to project a loud wall of NOISE and constant waves of DARK PARANOIA which NIN and MINISTRY were masters at back in the day. The record does feel like a distant relation to the landmark GODFLESH record Streetcleaner but with IN COVERT being perhaps more Doom Metal/Post-Punk based though the similarities are there.

IN COVERT do offer moments of sublime instrumental passages where riffs and proggy grooves begin to form but all kept under the vortex of that dark brooding Industrial and Post-Punk beats. I even loved the song Night Captivity as it offers a brief moment of uplifting Psych Rock sounds which is perhaps described as the best song “THE CURE never released”. The sound of Night Captivity is soon given a bleak APOCALPYTIC makeover with lush sounding vocals and twisted Doom-Pop melodies.

The later parts of the record sees IN COVERT experiment further with despairing feedback loops, industrial sounds and heavy monolithic instrumental passages that throw the odd curveball here and there with tracks such as Dead Weight, Darkfields, Death Embers and Cemetery Nights allowing IN COVERT to end things on a bleak and brilliant creative high.

Bleak Machinery is a one of a kind record you don’t come across or experience that much. With intense production values, IN COVERT have the potential to make a name for themselves in the wider Heavy Metal scene. 

Words by Steve Howe

Bleak Machinery is available to buy now on DD/Vinyl via Dune Altar.

Links

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Melvins - Thunderball (Album Review)

Release Date: April 18th 2025. Record Label: Ipecac Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Thunderball - Tracklisting

1.King of Rome 

2.Vomit of Clarity

3.Short Hair With A Wig

4.Victory of the Pyramids 

5.Venus Blood

Members:

Buzz Osborne

Mike Dillard

Void Manes

Ni Maîtres

Review

Thunderball is the new album from the legendary metallers MELVINS and this record features the core 1983 line-up of King Buzzo (Guitar/Vocals) and Mike Dillard on drumming duties. The record features five tracks that showcases some of the most riff-fuelled sound the band have made in quite some time but one that also sees them delve into Electronica experimentation thanks to the great work created by Void Manes and Ni Maîtres.

Opening track King Of Rome is a Punk, Grunge and Sludge Metal monster with MELVINS using their short running time to create a slightly commercial and offbeat sound. The song has a bass heavy atmosphere that allows the Psychedelic and Electronica beats that manifests into a hallucinogenic and psychedelic wonderland. The screeching guitars adds a level of seedy grit and Buzz Osborne’s dominant guitars and impressive vocals adds a Classic Hard Rock sound that only the MELVINS can deliver.

Second track Vomit Of Clarity is an experimental based Drone/Glitch/Psych/Electronic offering which is a stark contrast to the brilliant opening track. This has a sparse environment for Void Manes and Ni Maîtres to fully flesh out with intricate trippy beats. The song lasts over two minutes and can be quite Post-Rock based that reminds me of their fellow Sludge Metallers LOWFLYINGHAWKS at times that other members of The Melvins family have collaborated on multiple occasions.

Third song Short Hair With A Wig marries up the sonic experimentation of the previous track with that classic long drawn out progressive energy that Melvins are highly fond of. The bass heavy guitar allows the Electronica beats to weave a dark tale of mistrust before the song finally transforms into a heavy SLUDGE monster with KIng Buzzo’s pounding guitars and Mike Dillard’s intelligent and effortless drumming that builds up one hell of a racket. The drone elements are subtle and overlap with the familiar riff-centric style with precise determination and allows MELVINS 83 to form and function as one cohesive unit which makes you want to hear when the epic eleven minutes run time is finally over.

Fourth track Victory Of The Pyramids follows the same riff-fuelled pattern of the opening track King Of Rome but with a longer and progressive style of Hard Rock, Psych Rock and Grunge that is perhaps my favourite track on the whole album. The sound seems quite comforting and warm-hearted at first with the subtle and almost radio-friendly Psychedelic instrumental beats but this is THE MELVINS we’re talking about where they experiment yet again before transforming this track into a sinister blend of Noise Rock and Punk Rock. This is the closest track we ever get to the modern day line-up of MELVINS and perhaps the reason why it’s my favourite track. The lyrics are playful with King Buzzo in superb form. The stripped back approach allows the band plenty of opportunity to play different strands of Hard Rock and Metal with a jazz delivery within the quieter moments. The final moments are powered by a nightmarish style of heavy electronics leading the creative charge.

The final track Venus Blood is MELVINS at their most gloomiest and doomiest with a creepy sound merging from the subtle Sludgy guitars. Howling noises only add a sense of the OCCULT into the mix before the Electronic sounds levels everything out for another pulsating style of harsh environments. The song does have a wicked STOP / START and SLOW / FAST approach with the band using everything with nuanced sounds to great effect.

Thunderball is on the short side running under thirty five minutes but it’s what’s contained within that short running time that allows MELVINS to create another classic sounding album to their legendary discography. This is also perhaps their most fun and offbeat record in years. This is another ALBUM OF THE YEAR contender for the band and I’m looking forward to the next creative chapter from this truly ICONIC band.

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 18th 2024.

Links

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Slowenya - The Wild Inevitable (Album Review)

Release Date: April 17th 2024. Record Label: Karhuvaltio Records. Formats: CD/DD

The Wild Inevitable - Tracklisting

The Perfect Undesirable (3:48)

Angel Raised Wolves (6:23)

Classic Romantic Dramatic (5:26)

Terminal Eclipse Of The Heart (4:32)

Horizontal Loops (3:35)

Adjacent (5:57)

The Heat Burns The Grief (4:45)

Members

 

Jan Trygg - vocals, guitars, synths

Timo Niskala - drums, ambients, synths

Tapani Levanto - bass

Review

Alternative/Doom/Sludge Rockers Slowneya return with their new album The Wild Inevitable and it’s a major leap forward for the band compared to their previous albums with 2021’s Somer and 2022’s Meadow. This album has a deep emotional connection to other areas of music such as Post Punk, Electronica, Psych Rock and Rock. 

Their industrially charged take on Alt Metal, Doom Metal and Sludge Metal is still intact with The Wild Inevitable but there’s a more experimental sound starting to emerge with influences as diverse as NIN, Deftones, Neurosis, Killing Joke, Godflesh, Depeche Mode and SWANS appearing through the cracks of their catchy instrumental movements.

Slowenya are wonderfully diverse with the music being firmly rooted in the 1980’s Alt Rock and Post Punk scenes with a vicious Doom/Sludge Metal appetite allowing the band to deliver a highly original blend of Post-Doom grooves that does feel quite surreal. The surrealistic edge appears mostly through the lyrics and Jan’s vocals which remind me of Dave Gahan all the way through the album. There’s some brutally harsh vocals that come into play on the excellent third track Classic Romantic Dramatic courtesy of Jori Saloranta which propels the album into pure SWANS nightmarish territory.

However, the two opening tracks of The Perfect Undesirable and Angel Raised Wolves sees Slowenya generate Psychedelic and Ambient textures within their familiar style of Doom/Sludge Rock which has a haunting Post-Rock and Shoegaze quality. This style of music becomes more dominant and abstract on the later stages of the album which sees Slowenya weave different heavier sounds into the overall creative themes of the album.

Slowenya do play epic instrumental passages that are beautifully reminiscent of the 1980’s New Wave scene but there’s a sense of distorted heaviness within the record even when the quieter moments fully take effect. The record’s more heartfelt moments appear within tracks such as Terminal Eclipse Of The Heart, Adjacent and The Heat Burns The Grief. 

The beautifully eccentric fifth track Horizontal Loops is full of intense loops, noise effects and industrial guitars which sees Jan’s vocals become quite hopeful before the music changes into a destructive mix of Post-Metal, Noise Rock and Atmospheric Doom with added HARSH soundscapes to put a different flow into the album.

The Wild Inevitable is quite a vivid and deceptive album with Slowenya delivering a uniquely different sounding Doom/Sludge Metal album that even I didn’t expect. The record takes many creative risks that ultimately pay off with huge rewards waiting for the listener if they last the journey.

The record only lasts forty minutes but feels longer thanks to the different styles of music they create on this album alone. The production is quite frantic but ultimately sounds superb with Slowenya playing a ton of heavy experimental grooves from start to finish.

Slowenya are building an exciting reputation for themselves with each passing release and The Wild Inevitable being no exception. This is their most technically impressive and outstanding record to date. The Wild Inevitable has the potential to be considered as a future “Album Of The Year” contender before the year is out. 

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Slowenya for the promo.

The Wild Inevitable will be available to buy from Karhuvaltio Records from Wednesday April 17th 2024.

Links

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Andrew Elstner From DEAD NOW, TILTS, RIDDLE OF STEEL and TORCHE - Favourite Albums Of 2023

Andrew Elstner part of Hard-Rocking Doom/Sludge/Stoner Riffsters DEAD NOW and formerly of great bands such as RIDDLE OF STEEL, TILTS and TORCHE  has been one of my favourite musicians for over a decade now. 

Andrew's impressive back catalogue speaks for itself and he knows a thing or two about playing great songs with epic riffs. 

It's been a while since we've spoken and I wanted to see what Andrew's favourite albums of 2023 are.

You can see Andrew's choices from the great list below.

Mike Dean - 4:23

Traindodge - The Alley Parade

Duster - Remote Echoes

Upchuck - Bite The Hand That Feeds

Empire State Bastard - Rivers of Heresy

Dead Now Links:

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Pharm - The Tower (EP Review)

Release Date: December 01st 2023. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

The Tower - Tracklisting

1.Infinite Stairway of Madness 03:53

2.No Mouth, Must Scream 07:17

3.The Tower 02:52

Review

Prog Stoner Metallers Pharm return with their new EP - The Tower. It’s great to see the band have kept their jagged and experimental sound from their 2022 debut album Vortex. The Tower is fourteen minutes of chaotic sounding Punk/Metal grooves that has a slight PRIMUS feeling within this release alone. As Pharm channels many different styles for Punk, Prog, Doom, Psych and Stoner sounds for The Tower that can be very overwhelming at times. However, Pharm delivers an inspired style of warped melody throughout the EP which you can feel instantly on the excellent opening track Infinite Stairway Of Madness.

Second track No Mouth, Must Scream is more of a Prog Rock/Metal sound with perhaps small traces of Funk Rock appearing here and there. Pharm delivers strands of Experimental Stoner grooves with the crazed vocals allowing the band to conjure up Frank Zappa-esque warped themes with a real nightmarish quality shining through. The song is brilliantly weird and sometimes the mood can be hyper-kinetic which gives the EP a true outlandish feel.

The final track The Tower continues with the warped audio imagery of the previous track but with a more direct Hard Rock sound. The sound is still flashy and outrageous but there’s a more classic Stoner Rock sound appearing within the more theatrical moments of the song. The later stages become more despairing and critical of the modern world with the intense lyrics the band have written for this song. 

The Tower is another daring release from Pharm and allows them to take their music and creative vision into a whole exciting direction compared to their debut album. If you like your Stoner Rock/Metal with a whole load of Experimentation and Paranoia then Pharm are the band for you.

Words by Steve Howe 

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Mila Cloud - Long Way Back From The Familiar Place We've Never Been To (EP Review)

Release Date: September 09th 2023. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: CD/DD

Long Way Back From The Familiar Place We've Never Been To  - Tracklisting

1.Cloudgazer 05:24

2.Sweet Mommy 01:46

3.Some Warsaw Junkie 04:52

4.The Coldest Boy 03:19

5.Long Way Back From The Familiar Place We've Never Been To 04:42

6.Dzielna Street Recovery Center 02:25

Review

It’s been a while since I’ve ventured into Drone/Doomgaze Solo Artist Mila Cloud dark edgy industrial based world. That was way back in Jan 2023 when I reviewed their 2022 Release Graylight. Now Mila returns with a new EP that’s a concept record of sorts which is described below:

“This album is about Warsaw in the 90's. It tells the story about blocks of flats, clouds, night buses, junkies, parks and backyards.

Some places have probably never been as we remember them now. We've never been there, so it's time to come back.”

I can only comment on the music itself and not the overall story as I’m from the UK but I can see similarities in the hometown where I grew up. However, this is about the EP itself with Long Way Back From The Familiar Place We've Never Been To being a more surreal and Psychedelic based Drone journey compared to Graylight.

This has a more unsettling Post-Rock based sound with Mila adding layers of Ambient Doomgaze effects. The music is beautifully slow paced and distinctively mellow with an air of menacing Industrial grooves appearing more prominently on the excellent third track Some Warsaw Junkie which has a more seedy experimental sound. The song does capture a sense of bleak reality despite the absence of vocals and lyrics. Mila has a wonderful talent for capturing the finer details of human emotion and frailty with the long drawn out Doomgaze sounds that shows brief moments of Psychedelic Post Rock before changing back to a more nightmarish world.

The whole EP follows the same destructive and droned out path with Mila creating an EP that feels mostly like an extended track broken down into individual chapters. The music despite its harsh textures can be quite soothing and melodic with this being another standout release from Mila Cloud. The use of nightmarish FUZZ is another clever way of bringing a more DISTORTED and HEAVIER sound to the record even when the quieter Ambient Post-Rock sounds are used more primarily compared to the harsh Droned Out noises that people may expect to be.

The production values are impressive indeed with MIla allowing themselves the perfect creative opportunity to let their music evolve and grow naturally. The Shoegaze or Doomgaze sound of the EP is the strongest aspect of the whole release which left me wanting to hear more. 

Long Way Back From The Familiar Place We've Never Been To is another sublime release from Mila Cloud and should hopefully allow Mila Cloud to gain more notice within the Drone/Doom/Post-Rock underground scene.

Words by Steve Howe

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