Slomosa - Tundra Rock (Album Review)

Release Date: September 13th 2024. Record Label: Stickman Records / MNRK Heavy. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Tundra Rock - Track Listing:

1.Afghansk Rev

2.Rice 

3.Cabin Fever 

4.Red Thundra

5.Good Mourning

6.Battling Guns 

7.Monomann

8.MJ

9.Dune

Line-up:

Benjamin Berdous - Guitar, Vocals

Marie Moe - Bass, Vocals

Tor Erik Bye - Guitar

Jard Hole - Drums

Review

Slomosa return with their highly anticipated second album Tundra Rock which follows their celebrated 2020 debut album that struck a chord with a wide majority of the Stoner Rock scene. Slomosa even managed to win plaudits from iconic musicians of the scene such as Brant Bjork and Nick Olivieri. 

Tundra Rock continues to see Slomosa explore and build upon their own dynamic style of Desert/Stoner Rock with a heavy Grunge based attitude. This time round Slomosa add a dense style of Fuzz Rock and Psychedelic attitude to their music which builds upto a more classical style of Stone Rock which allows them to create their own original style of music.

Opening track Afghansk Rev is a track that sees Slomosa channelling bands such as KYUSS and YAWNING MAN with a slow moving foreboding attitude which becomes quite Post-Rock sounding in places. The grooves are played at heavy levels of volume before slowly dying off into the background. There’s some vocal chants towards the end of the track though it’s the epic instrumental passages that pulls you in from the very start.

Second track Rice has become a live favourite for fans with Slomosa playing the track LIVE non-stop recently and it’s not hard to see why. Taking that classic KYUSS delivery with Spaced Out flourishes and Grunge attitude with Benjamin’s vocals being quite dominant for all the right ways. The music changes into an uplifting style of Cinematic Rock with a sludgy sound starting to emerge but the powerful FUZZED UP instrumental solos allow this to be one of the early standout tracks on the album. 

Third track Cabin Fever opts for a deft Psychedelic Blues Rock sound with a cool atmospheric Desert Rock drive before Slomosa open up their treasure chest of Aggressive based Stoner Rock/Metal passages. The sound becomes quite DOOM & GLOOM obsessed before Slomosa switches back to a style of music that transforms into a Post-Stoner movement. The vocals from Benjamin and Marie are sublime with both equally powerful despite being quite different to each other. The lyrics are quite direct and very warm-hearted when the epic sing-along chorus appears. Another one of the standout tracks shows why Slomosa are considered one of the brightest creative lights within today’s Stoner Rock scene.

Fourth track Red Thundra is a track that could be considered as one of Slomosa’s true classic definitive tracks with the excellent vocal interplay between Marie and Benjamin. Subdued guitars and beautifully played rhythm sections slowly move into a heavier area of music. The sounds become heavier with a meaty Sludge Rock/Metal appetite starting to emerge. The lyrics are very heartfelt and have a sense of harsh realism to them. The later stages of the track has the best instrumental and extended solos on the whole album with Slomosa playing a ferocious style of music that still retains this epic HUGE LIKEABILITY factor.

Fifth track Good Mourning is a gloomy instrumental piano piece which is used as a brief rest before returning to the heavy sandy dunes of SLOMOSA.

The next part of the album sees Slomosa capturing some of the vivid and uplifting creative energy they first showed on their debut album with a subtle Psych Rock style becoming more apparent. The vocals are excellent yet again with stunning music being classic and contemporary at the same time on tracks such as Battling Guns, MJ and Dune. 

Tundra Rock easily allows Slomosa to avoid the dreaded sophomore curse and deliver a record that’s even better than their celebrated debut album. With catchy melodic hooks throughout and thrilling instrumental solos, Slomosa have delivered an album that’s going to launch them ever so closer to the mainstream scene. They fully deserve all the accolades and praise coming their way as Tundra Rock is a masterclass of modern day Desert/Stoner Rock. 

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Action PR and All Noir PR for the promo.

Tundra Rock will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via MNRK Heavy and Stickman Records

Links

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

High On Fire - Cometh The Storm (Album Review)

Release Date: April 19th 2024. Record Label: MNRK Heavy. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Cometh The Storm - Tracklisting

1.Lambsbread

2.Burning Down 

3.Trismegistus

4.Cometh the Storm 

5.Karanlık Yol (instrumental)

6.Sol’s Golden Curse

7.The Beating

8.Tough Guy

9.Lighting Beard

10.Hunting Shadows

11.Darker Fleece

Members

 

Matt Pike - Vocals/Guitar

Jeff Matz - Bass

Coady Willis - Drums

Review

Sludge/Stoner Metal Titans High On Fire return after a lengthy six year absence with their ninth album Cometh The Storm. Teaming up once again with famed musician/producer Kurt Ballou, the band also have Coady Willis (Big Business) drumming for them since Des Kensel left back in 2019. Their 2018 album Electric Messiah saw the band reach greater creative heights which resulted in High On Fire winning the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance with their song "Electric Messiah".

Cometh The Storm sees High On Fire explore new musical highs with this record having a Middle Eastern flavour to the album especially within the more subdued and instrumental parts of the album. However, this is High On Fire we’re talking about here and they play their classic style of Thrash based Sludge/Stoner Metal grooves that made them such a well known destructive force within the global Heavy Metal scene.

Drawing upon sounds used on classic albums such as: Blessed Black Wings, Death Is This Communion, Snakes For The Divine and their last record Electric Messiah. There seems to be a more sense of primal urgency to the band’s music with Jeff Matz and Coady Willis forming a brilliantly thrilling relationship for Matt Pike to deliver his epic grooves from.

The band blast their way through an outstanding collection of opening tracks with Lambsbread, Burning Down and Trismegistus having that muscular THRASH METAL drive and Matt’s gravelled vocals being sung at a 100 miles per hour just like the music itself. The whole tone within these tracks is one of pure chaos and destruction with some epic guitar shredding that is built for METALHEADS and played by METALHEADS. The sound has a classic Speed Metal approach but one that allows the more modern sounding aesthetics breathe naturally especially within the more Progressive jams.

The lyrics feel more personal here which fully come into focus on the excellent title track Cometh The Storm with a seedy Sludgy groove that moves into dominant Stoner Metal territory the band have made their names with over their legendary twenty five year career. 

HIgh On Fire start to show their new found Psychedelic and Middle Eastern approach on the superb instrumental track Karanlık Yol (instrumental) which is a sound we haven’t heard before. I would expect to hear this style of music perhaps on a record by OM and not High On Fire. Though, it’s great to see the band trying new things and expanding their musical horizons which they used quite effectively on the later stages of the album. There’s a brooding and mysterious element to High On Fire when they add this style of music to the mix.

Cometh The Storm becomes even heavier within tracks such as Sol’s Golden Curse, The Beating, Tough Guy and Lightning Beard with a Motorhead based energy appearing at various times. This is where High On Fire perhaps play the most heaviest and loudest grooves on the whole album. Echoes of Thrash, Doom, Sludge and Stoner melodies are direct and very straight to the point which builds upto an endless cycle of violent head-banging moments.

The final two tracks of Hunting Shadows and Darker Fleece reminds me of Electric Messiah in many ways with stadium sized riffs being quite effective within the “less is more” style being used within the production side of the album. Darker Fleece is a long drawn out track with High On Fire using different levels of Psychedelic Distortion and Ambient Sounds for a slightly DOOMED out offering with various levels of different sounding vocals.

Cometh The Storm is another masterclass of Thrash/Sludge/Stoner Metal from High On Fire that will appeal to everyone within the global Heavy Metal community and cement their reputation once and for all as true legends of the scene. This will no doubt end becoming one of the definitive Sludge/Stoner Metal albums to own this year. 

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Hold Tight PR for the promo.

Cometh The Storm will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via MNRK Heavy from April 19th 2024.

High On Fire online:

https://www.facebook.com/highonfire

https://twitter.com/HighonFireBand

https://www.instagram.com/highonfireband

https://mnrkheavy.com

High On Fire release video for new album title track Cometh the Storm album out 19th April via MNRK Heavy

Photo by James Rexroad

Iconic GRAMMY-winning U.S. rock band High on Fire have released a video for the title track of their upcoming full-length Cometh the Storm, due for release on 19th April via MNRK Heavy.

Directed by Phil Mucci for Diabolik Films, watch the video for 'Cometh the Storm' here: 

Pre-order/save Cometh the Storm here.

"'Cometh the Storm' was built from a riff I started playing on bass at practice," explains bassist/guitarist Jeff Matz. "I was noodling around with this melancholic harmonic minor line, just hammering the notes with my left hand, when Matt yelled out “Are we recording this!?” The chorus riff was something Coady and I came up with when we were jamming in LA. Matt then came in and worked up some rough lyrics and came up with the vocal line. For the chorus, I used this fretless bass I’d acquired. The weight of the low frequencies this thing produced was insane - how it blended with the guitars and drums, it was like being hit with a sledgehammer. We knew right away that this was going to be an epically heavy track."

“This was the first time I got to work with the guys on set and we had a blast,” offers Mucci. "High on Fire lyrics can always be interpreted in a number of ways, so I started by trying to define “The Storm”. A huge list of visual ideas got whittled down to the two essential characters at work, The Man and Gaia, representing duel ends of the spectrum — with a very destructive crossover. I always try to keep things light and encourage everyone to come with ideas — like Coady’s burning cymbal idea! No better way to end your High on Fire shoot than with exploding cymbals!”

High on Fire will kick off U.S. headlining tour dates in support of Cometh the Storm on 4th May, then head to the UK / EU. Dates:

Jun 04: CZ Brno Kabinet MUZ
Jun 10: DE Hamburg Bahnhof Pauli
Jun 11: DE Cologne Gebäude 9
Jun 12: NL Nijmegen Doornroosje
Jun 14: UK London Islington Assembly Hall
Jun 15: UK Manchester Rebellion
Jun 16: UK Glasgow Slay
Jun 17: UK Leeds Brudenell Social Club
Jun 18: UK Bristol Thekla
Jun 20: FR Wasquehal The Black Lab
Jun 25: FR Toulouse Le Metronum
Jun 26: ES Bilbao Kafe Antzokia
Jul 02: DE Aschaffenburg Colos Saal
Jul 03: CH Dudingen Bad Bonn
Jul 04: IT Torino Ziggy
Jul 06: AT Vienna Arena

The GRAMMY Award-winning group, celebrating their 25th anniversary, recorded Cometh the Storm at GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts with producer Kurt Ballou. The 11-song effort - the band's ninth studio album - marks the release of the first new High on Fire music since 2018's Electric Messiah and the first to feature drummer Coady Willis (Big Business, Murder City Devils), alongside bassist Jeff Matz, and guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike.

It has been more than five years since the band’s revered Electric Messiah earned High on Fire ‘Best Metal Performance’ at the 2018 GRAMMY Awards, placing the unit among the ranks of groups such as Black Sabbath, Motörhead, and Metallica as winners of the prestigious award. “Being nominated for a Grammy was pretty mind blowing, but winning one was truly surreal,” says bassist Jeff Matz. “A Grammy win was certainly not something we were aiming for, but it’s quite an honor to be recognized in that way, and we are grateful. In terms of how it’s affected us, it has definitely opened some new doors—we’ve gained some new fans and wider recognition, but it hasn’t changed how we approach our craft. We’ve always tried to create uncompromising music that feels good to us, and is in line with what we would want to listen to.”

In the half decade since the band’s Grammy nod, the world has seismically shifted and is a different place. The same can be said for High on Fire. The band’s musical archetype has been modded, morphed, and evolved; its blast radius widened. Bassist Jeff Matz joined Mutoid Man and traveled abroad to study and learn the techniques of Middle Eastern folk music and the plucked string instrument, the bağlama (or saz), Matt Pike formed a solo band, released an LP, and toured the U.S., and world-renowned percussionist, Coady Willis, he of Melvins, Big Business, and Murder City Devils united with Pike and Matz to breathe new life into the group a quarter century into their captivating career.

The lead track on High on Fire’s new album, Cometh the Storm, is the invigorating 'Burning Down', a vigorous barrage which exemplifies the prowess the unification of the three professional musicians owns.

Universally recognised as one of the most potent acts in music today, High on Fire creates dynamic metal that merges primal fury and aggression, hesher bombast and hall of fame heaviness. Described as "a supersonic exercise in conquest by volume," High on Fire has rewritten the hard rock rule book since their formation in 1998, forging a style and sound that is both critically celebrated and unique. The group features vocalist and cult guitar hero Matt Pike (also a founding member of the famed underground band SLEEP) singular bassist Jeff Matz, and powerhouse drummer Coady Willis.

 
High on Fire are:

Matt Pike: guitar, vocals
Jeff Matz: bass, guitar, bağlama, mellotron, percussion
Coady Willis: drums, percussion, vocals

High On Fire online:

https://www.facebook.com/highonfire
https://twitter.com/HighonFireBand
https://www.instagram.com/highonfireband
https://mnrkheavy.com

Track-list:

1. Lambsbread (5:45)
2. Burning Down (6:13)
3. Trismegistus (5:36)
4. Cometh The Storm (6:12)
5. Karanlık Yol (3:46)
6. Sol’s Golden Curse (4:52)
7. The Beating (2:29)
8. Tough Guy (3:44)
9. Lightning Beard (3:33)
10. Hunting Shadows (5:40)
11. Darker Fleece (9:59)

Thanks to Hold Tight PR and Action PR for all of the info.

Mastiff - Deprecipice (Album Review)

Release Date: March 22nd 2024. Record Label: MNRK Heavy. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Deprecipice - Tracklisting

1.Bite Radius

2.Everything is Ending

3.Void 04:07

4.Cut-Throat

5.Skin Stripper

6.Serrated 

7.Worship

8.Pitiful

9.The Shape

10.Thorn Trauma

Members

Vocals - Jim Hodge

Guitar - James Andrew Lee

Guitar - Phil Johnson

Bass - Dan Dolby

Drums - Michael Shepherd

Review

Doom/Hardcore/Sludge Metallers Mastiff opt for an even heavier and uglier sound on their new album Deprecipice that sees the band venture into Post-Metal heaviness with the right amount of violent Progressive melodies lurking within the more melodic parts of the album. Mastiff has a slight Post Hardcore energy within the more subtle parts of the album. Jim Hodge’s lead vocals are consumed by an intense anger but they can also be quite emotional on some of the most hard hitting lyrics the band have written for the album.

Deprecipice is brutally honest with the onslaught of pissed off sludge grooves that have a monolithic and apocalyptic flow to them on tracks such as Bite Radius,  Everything Is Ending and Void allowing Mastiff to capture a destructive void that leads into fast-paced and technically impressive slabs of Doom/Sludge Metal fury. The record is unapologetically nihilistic which is best told through the amount of grindcore blasts and beats which sets Mastiff onto becoming one of the heaviest and most intense bands the UK Sludge Metal scene has right now. 

The production values are off the scale with Mastiff delivering their finest album to date which pulls no punches within the volume department. Deprecipice retains its bleak cinematic vision on more outstanding tracks such as Cut-Throat, Serrated, Worship and Pitiful.

Mastiff delves into the dark arts of Extreme Metal with some first rate vocal experimentation which feels like they’re channelling into another dimension and bringing the true END OF THE WORLD along with them. The vocals range from harsh growls to demonic chants that provide an uneasy feeling especially when matched against distorted noises, grindcore beats and thrashcore breakdowns whilst retaining a Sludge Metal edge.

Mastiff could be compared to bands such as Neurosis, Primitive Man, THOU and Converge on this release as there’s similar creative themes to those amazing bands. However, Mastiff deliver their own blend of Doom/Hardcore/Sludge Metal riffage where they are the Judge, Jury and Executioner for those brave enough wanting to experience this intense album. 

I can see Deprecipice fastly becoming one of the most defining UK Sludge Metal albums of the last decade and one that can easily be described as an absolute masterpiece.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Hold Tight PR for the promo.

Deprecipice will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via MNRK Heavy from Friday 22nd March 2024.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

High On Fire release video for 'Burning Down'. Cometh the Storm album out 19th April via MNRK Heavy

Photo Credit by James Rexroad

Iconic GRAMMY-winning U.S. rock band High on Fire have released a video for new single 'Burning Down', taken from their upcoming full-length Cometh the Storm due for release on 19th April via MNRK Heavy.

Watch the video for 'Burning Down' here: 

Pre-order/save High on Fire's Cometh the Storm here.

The 'Burning Down' video was captured live and on location at GodCity by Jason Zucco during the recording of Cometh the Storm. Portions of the video footage feature direct takes of the album's recording sessions, including the fervent vocals of Matt Pike.

The 'Burning Down' video drop follows the release of a haunting, fever dream visualizer for the powerhouse song, created by Lars Kristoffer Hormander. 

Experience High on Fire's 'Burning Down' visualizer here: https://youtu.be/MJ9yIWBb4pY

“'Burning Down' kicks off with a classic Pike riff,” says Jeff Matz. “I think this song harkens back to the early High on Fire sound, but infused with fresh, new elements. It has a killer groove that you can really sink into. The body of the song took shape in our PNW rehearsal space, and we came up with the bridge/solo section and finalized the arrangement while we were at GodCity. Kurt Ballou’s input as a producer was also hugely helpful. His keen ears and fresh perspective were invaluable in making this album.”

The GRAMMY Award-winning group, celebrating their 25th anniversary, recorded Cometh the Storm at GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts with producer Kurt Ballou. The 11-song effort - the band's ninth studio album - marks the release of the first new High on Fire music since 2018's Electric Messiah and the first to feature drummer Coady Willis (Big Business, Murder City Devils), alongside bassist Jeff Matz, and guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike.

 

It has been more than five years since the band’s revered Electric Messiah earned High on Fire ‘Best Metal Performance’ at the 2018 GRAMMY Awards, placing the unit among the ranks of groups such as Black Sabbath, Motörhead, and Metallica as winners of the prestigious award. “Being nominated for a Grammy was pretty mind blowing, but winning one was truly surreal,” says bassist Jeff Matz. “A Grammy win was certainly not something we were aiming for, but it’s quite an honor to be recognized in that way, and we are grateful. In terms of how it’s affected us, it has definitely opened some new doors—we’ve gained some new fans and wider recognition, but it hasn’t changed how we approach our craft. We’ve always tried to create uncompromising music that feels good to us, and is in line with what we would want to listen to.”

 

In the half decade since the band’s Grammy nod, the world has seismically shifted and is a different place. The same can be said for High on Fire. The band’s musical archetype has been modded, morphed, and evolved; its blast radius widened. Bassist Jeff Matz joined Mutoid Man and traveled abroad to study and learn the techniques of Middle Eastern folk music and the plucked string instrument, the bağlama (or saz), Matt Pike formed a solo band, released an LP, and toured the U.S., and world-renowned percussionist, Coady Willis, he of Melvins, Big Business, and Murder City Devils united with Pike and Matz to breathe new life into the group a quarter century into their captivating career.

 

The lead track on High on Fire’s new album, Cometh the Storm, is the invigorating 'Burning Down', a vigorous barrage which exemplifies the prowess the unification of the three professional musicians owns. 

Universally recognized as one of the most potent acts in music today, High on Fire creates dynamic metal that merges primal fury and aggression, hesher bombast and hall of fame heaviness. Described as "a supersonic exercise in conquest by volume," High on Fire has rewritten the hard rock rule book since their formation in 1998, forging a style and sound that is both critically celebrated and unique. The group features vocalist and cult guitar hero Matt Pike (also a founding member of the famed underground band SLEEP) singular bassist Jeff Matz, and powerhouse drummer Coady Willis. 

High on Fire are:

Matt Pike: guitar, vocals

Jeff Matz: bass, guitar, bağlama, mellotron, percussion

Coady Willis: drums, percussion, vocals

High on Fire online:

https://www.facebook.com/highonfire

https://twitter.com/HighonFireBand

https://www.instagram.com/highonfireband

https://mnrkheavy.com

Track-list: 

1. Lambsbread (5:45)

2. Burning Down (6:13)

3. Trismegistus (5:36)

4. Cometh The Storm (6:12)

5. Karanlık Yol (3:46)

6. Sol’s Golden Curse (4:52)

7. The Beating (2:29)

8. Tough Guy (3:44)

9. Lightning Beard (3:33)

10. Hunting Shadows (5:40)

11. Darker Fleece (9:59)

High on Fire recently announced new EU and UK tour dates this Summer.

Jun 04: CZ Brno Kabinet MUZ

Jun 10: DE Hamburg Bahnhof Pauli

Jun 11: DE Cologne Gebäude 9

Jun 12: NL Nijmegen Doornroosje

Jun 14: UK London Islington Assembly Hall

Jun 15: UK Manchester Rebellion

Jun 16: UK Glasgow Slay

Jun 17: UK Leeds Brudenell Social Club

Jun 18: UK Bristol Thekla

Jun 20: FR Wasquehal The Black Lab

Jun 25: FR Toulouse Le Metronum

Jun 26: ES Bilbao Kafe Antzokia

Jul 02: DE Aschaffenburg Colos Saal

Jul 03: CH Dudingen Bad Bonn

Jul 04: IT Torino Ziggy

Jul 06: AT Vienna Arena

Thanks to Hold Tight PR for all of the details.

High On Fire announce new album and release new single/video 'Burning Down'

Photo by James Rexroad

 

Iconic U.S. rock band High on Fire will release their new full-length Cometh the Storm on 19th April via MNRK Heavy. The lead track, 'Burning Down', which comes in the form of a haunting, fever dream video, is now available.

Watch the video for 'Burning Down' below:

Pre-order/save High on Fire's Cometh the Storm here

“'Burning Down' kicks off with a classic Pike riff,” says Jeff Matz. “I think this song harkens back to the early High on Fire sound, but infused with fresh, new elements. It has a killer groove that you can really sink into. The body of the song took shape in our PNW rehearsal space, and we came up with the bridge/solo section and finalized the arrangement while we were at GodCity. Kurt Ballou’s input as a producer was also hugely helpful. His keen ears and fresh perspective were invaluable in making this album.”

The GRAMMY Award-winning group, celebrating their 25th anniversary, recorded Cometh the Storm at GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts with producer Kurt Ballou. The 11-song effort - the band's ninth studio album - marks the release of the first new High on Fire music since 2018's Electric Messiah and the first to feature drummer Coady Willis (Big Business, Murder City Devils), alongside bassist Jeff Matz, and guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike.

It has been more than five years since the band’s revered Electric Messiah earned High on Fire ‘Best Metal Performance’ at the 2018 GRAMMY Awards, placing the unit among the ranks of groups such as Black Sabbath, Motörhead, and Metallica as winners of the prestigious award. “Being nominated for a Grammy was pretty mind blowing, but winning one was truly surreal,” says bassist Jeff Matz. “A Grammy win was certainly not something we were aiming for, but it’s quite an honor to be recognized in that way, and we are grateful. In terms of how it’s affected us, it has definitely opened some new doors—we’ve gained some new fans and wider recognition, but it hasn’t changed how we approach our craft. We’ve always tried to create uncompromising music that feels good to us, and is in line with what we would want to listen to.”

In the half decade since the band’s Grammy nod, the world has seismically shifted and is a different place. The same can be said for High on Fire. The band’s musical archetype has been modded, morphed, and evolved; its blast radius widened. Bassist Jeff Matz joined Mutoid Man and traveled abroad to study and learn the techniques of Middle Eastern folk music and the plucked string instrument, the bağlama (or saz), Matt Pike formed a solo band, released an LP, and toured the U.S., and world-renowned percussionist, Coady Willis, he of Melvins, Big Business, and Murder City Devils united with Pike and Matz to breathe new life into the group a quarter century into their captivating career.

The lead track on High on Fire’s new album, Cometh the Storm, is the invigorating 'Burning Down', a vigorous barrage which exemplifies the prowess the unification of the three professional musicians owns.

Universally recognized as one of the most potent acts in music today, High on Fire creates dynamic metal that merges primal fury and aggression, hesher bombast and hall of fame heaviness. Described as "a supersonic exercise in conquest by volume," High on Fire has rewritten the hard rock rule book since their formation in 1998, forging a style and sound that is both critically celebrated and unique. The group features vocalist and cult guitar hero Matt Pike (also a founding member of the famed underground band SLEEP) singular bassist Jeff Matz, and powerhouse drummer Coady Willis.

 
High on Fire are:

Matt Pike: guitar, vocals
Jeff Matz: bass, guitar, bağlama, mellotron, percussion
Coady Willis: drums, percussion, vocals

High on Fire online:

https://www.facebook.com/highonfire
https://twitter.com/HighonFireBand
https://www.instagram.com/highonfireband
https://mnrkheavy.com

Track-list:

 
1. Lambsbread (5:45)
2. Burning Down (6:13)
3. Trismegistus (5:36)
4. Cometh The Storm (6:12)
5. Karanlık Yol (3:46)
6. Sol’s Golden Curse (4:52)
7. The Beating (2:29)
8. Tough Guy (3:44)
9. Lightning Beard (3:33)
10. Hunting Shadows (5:40)
11. Darker Fleece (9:59)

High on Fire recently announced new EU and UK tour dates this Summer.

Jun 04: CZ Brno Kabinet MUZ
Jun 10: DE Hamburg Bahnhof Pauli
Jun 11: DE Cologne Gebäude 9
Jun 12: NL Nijmegen Doornroosje
Jun 14: UK London Islington Assembly Hall
Jun 15: UK Manchester Rebellion
Jun 16: UK Glasgow Slay
Jun 17: UK Leeds Brudenell Social Club
Jun 18: UK Bristol Thekla
Jun 20: FR Wasquehal The Black Lab
Jun 25: FR Toulouse Le Metronum
Jun 26: ES Bilbao Kafe Antzokia
Jul 02: DE Aschaffenburg Colos Saal
Jul 03: CH Dudingen Bad Bonn
Jul 04: IT Torino Ziggy

Jul 06: AT Vienna Arena

Thanks to Hold Tight PR for all of the details. 

Mastiff release crushing new video 'Serrated' ft. Harry Nott (Burner); announce new album Deprecipice

Photo by Nick Sayers

Mastiff have announced their forthcoming album, Deprecipice, will be released on 22nd March via MNRK Heavy. The new release features an onslaught of special guests including Ethan Lee McCarthy from Primitive Man, Harry Nott from Burner, Dan James from XIII and Rob Scott from Yersin.

The band have introduced the caustic new album by sharing a very special video for their first single, 'Serrated ft. Harry Nott (Burner)'.

Watch the video for 'Serrated ft Harry Nott (Burner)' below: 

Pre-order Deprecipice here: https://mastiff.ffm.to/deprecipice

The first single that Mastiff have unleashed from Deprecipice is the furiously aggressive 'Serrated' which features blistering guest vocals from Harry Nott, the vocalist for South London’s Burner, whose debut album It All Returns to Nothing was one of the hottest debuts of 2023 featuring in Metal Hammer 10 Best Death Metal Albums of 2023 & 50 Best Albums of 2023, released on Church Road Records. Also appearing on the new single, ripping a Slayer inspired guest solo, is Dan James, guitarist in Hull band XIII, who played with Mastiff on their 2023 tour with theatrical metallers, Avatar.

Commenting on the new single, vocalist Jim Hodge said: “Lyrically the track is about the ‘bullsh*t machine’, people blowing smoke up your a*se but you try to stay grounded. It’s too easy to fall foul of the reverse of imposter syndrome. We met Harry and the Burner boys when they came to Hull when they were supporting Employed to Serve. It turned out Burner were fans of us and after about 30 seconds of them playing we all became some of their biggest fans too.”

Adds guest vocalist Harry Nott (Burner): “'Serrated' is a relentless track and the vibe clicked instantly - I went into the studio and smashed it in a couple of takes with some quickly penned lyrics. Mastiff are the epitome of darkness, so I went hard on some apocalyptic imagery.”

Everything Mastiff does is in the name of intensity. Since forming amid the misery of Kingston-upon-Hull in 2013, the five-piece have crashed extreme metal, sludge and hardcore together to create the most brutal sonic onslaughts possible, all in the name of keeping their music fresh, raw and seething.

Signing to MNRK Heavy three years ago, Mastiff’s commitment to blunt-force aggression remains untempered. Their 2021 album, Leave Me The Ashes Of The Earth, was described by Blabbermouth’s Dom Lawson as a “horrifying slab of disgust” and “a sustained scream in the face of uncontrollable madness”. Now comes its long-anticipated follow-up: Deprecipice – an album that, somehow, smacks even harder than anything this band have unchained before, produced by longtime collaborator Joe Clayton (Wallowing, Ithaca, Tuskar) at Manchester’s No Studio. The beguiling artwork that runs throughout the album is by Paul Phillips at the award winning True Spilt Milk Designs, another long time collaborator with the band.

“We’ve gone quite a lot towards a hardcore sound,” says Hodge. “Where the last one was more death metal, this one’s a lot more staccato: a lot more defined, riff-wise.”

Unlike so many of their extreme metal peers right now, though, Mastiff didn’t source this rejuvenated savagery from the anxieties and frustrations of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the lockdowns ended and real life started to resume in 2021 and 2022, Hodge and Lee noticed the spirits of the world around them lifting. Feelings of trauma and isolation were beginning to enter people’s rear-view mirrors – and it was an overcoming that the duo couldn’t relate to. Lee was mourning the loss of his mother, while Hodge realised he was still grieving over the death of his five-day-old son, Isaac, in 2010.

“The album’s called Deprecipice, and that pretty much sums up where me and James were when we wrote it,” says the singer. “We were both standing back on the edge of a depressive void.You have to keep that primal feeling,” Hodge continues. “I think, if you take too much time, you start to second-guess yourself. We try to be as true to ourselves as we can.”With Deprecipice, Mastiff have made a magnum opus that bleeds with genuine pain. As earnest as it is ferocious, it’s already an album of the year candidate for a year that’s only just beginning.

Mastiff hit the road in March touring the UK, including London’s legendary The Black Heart with North East extreme metal outfit Yersin. Pick up tickets here.

Tour dates:

22 Mar: Hull, Polar Bear
23 Mar: Glasgow, Audio
24 Mar: Edinburgh, Bannermans
27 Mar: London, The Black Heart
28 Mar: Brighton, Green Door Store
29 Mar: Bristol, Crofters Rights
30 Mar: Birmingham, Devils Dog
31 Mar: Nottingham, Rough TradeMastiff are:

Line-Up

Jim Hodge – vocals
James Lee Ross – guitar/vocals
Phil Johnson - guitar
Dan Dolby – bass
Michael Shepherd – drumsFor more information:

Links

https://www.facebook.com/mastiffhchc
https://twitter.com/Mastiffhchc
https://www.instagram.com/mastiffhchc/
https://www.mnrkheavy.com

Thanks to Rarely Unable PR for all of the details.

Lord Dying - Clandestine Transcendence (Album Review)

Release Date: 19th January 2024. Record Label: MNRK Heavy. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Clandestine Transcendence - Tracklisting

The Universe Is Weeping

I Am Nothing I Am Everything

Unto Becoming

Final Push Into The Sun

Dancing On The Emptiness

Facing The Incomprehensible

A Brief Return To Physical Form

A Bond Broken By Death

Break In The Clouds (In The Darkness Of Our Minds)

Soul Metamorphosis

Swimming In The Absence

The Endless Road Home

Members

Erik Olson (Guitar/Vocals)

Chris Evans (Guitar)

Alyssa Mocere (Bass)

Kevn Swartz (Drums)

Review

Clandestine Transcendence is the new album from Sludge Metallers Lord Dying which is their first album in five years. The Portland, Oregon natives return with a more outlandish and progressive sound that features a more operatic sound which features the band's usual flair for Doom, Thrash, Stoner and Sludge Metal dynamics. There are elements of Prog Metal storytelling which the band have been using since their 2019 album. Shades of Mastodon, OPETH, GOJIRA and EYEHATEGOD can be heard within Clandestine Transcendence with Lord Dying still creating their own exciting and dynamically powerful sound. The main THRASH based sound is perhaps the main creative engine for Lord Dying to deliver their intense melodic grooves with a mixture of clean vocals and harsh growls that have moments of ferocious aggression and sublime Psychedelic Sludge energy.

This is the first album to feature Alyssa Mocere on Bass and Kevin Swartz on Drums even though they've been members of Lord Dying since 2019 and they bring a more fully fleshed and realised sound to Lord Dying not heard since their acclaimed debut release. The album opens with a set of great tracks (The Universe Is Weeping, I Am Nothing I Am Everything) that showcases the more aggressive and adventurous Lord Dying with moments of Classic Hard Rock, Heavy Metal and Thrash Metal alongside their standard Doom/Sludge Metal sound. The songs are varied in tone and how they're fully delivered with sometimes an EXTREME style being played which surprised me along the way. This feels like Lord Dying playing new experimental ideas against their usual style of music they're ultimately known for.

The third track Unto Becoming sees Lord Dying embraces MASTODON-esque world building with a flashy NWOBHM energy being played against a subtle OPETH prog rock flow whilst still allowing Lord Dying to deliver their strongest material to date and keeps that winning creative energy throughout the remainder of the album. This track alone is aggressive whilst showing a more restrained style of music from Lord Dying. They let their aggressive grooves and sounds only take centre stage when the time calls for it.

Fourth track Final Push Into The Sun continues with the extreme energy of the previous track but with a more proficient and technically delivered performance which harks back to the mid-00's of Progressive Sludge Metal with modern day Psychedelic energy. The song is played at a breakneck speed which perhaps makes it challenging to listen to all the multiple styles of music the band play on this track alone. However, the album is always exciting and has a lot to say even within the more subdued and quieter moments of the album. The vocals become theatrical but you can understand the creative reasons why the band went with this direction.

With this four tracks out of the way, Lord Dying have given the listener a cool idea of what to expect for the rest of the album with many dark twisted moments of Progressive Sludge Metal which has some killer Classic Hard Rock duelling guitars appearing more and more with tracks such as Dancing On The Emptiness, A Bond Broken By Death and Soul Metamorphosis. There's also some exquisite shorter paced tracks such as Facing The Incomprehensible and A Brief Return To Physical Form which both once again show different sides to Lord Dying. 

Clandestine Transcendence is a warped Psychedelic journey into the more experimental areas of Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal with Lord Dying delivering their heaviest and trippiest album to date. The record runs for nearly an hour which means there's a lot to take in for this album. However, this is a wonderfully surreal release which is helped along by awesome production values which are handled by the legendary Kurt Ballou at his famed God City Studios. Lord Dying are back with a vengeance and they've ultimately delivered their best album to date. 

Words by Steve Howe 

Thanks to Lauren at Rarely Unable PR for the promo.

Clandestine Transcendence will be available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via MNRK Heavy USA and MNRK Heavy Europe

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram