Showing posts with label Noise Rock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Noise Rock. Show all posts

Wednesday, 29 April 2026

Red Beard Wall - FTW (EP Review)

Release Date: June 05th 2026. Record Label: Snake Piss Records. Formats: DD

FTW - Tracklisting

W.A.N.T.S.

FTW


Members


Drums: Red Beard Wall

Guitar: Red Beard Wall

Vocals: Red Beard Wall


Review



Sludge/Stoner Metallers Red Beard Wall return after a five year absence and I thought the band had called it quits ages ago as things have been fairly quiet from the band. However, the band are back with this two track EP called FTW which sees Aaron flying solo this time and venting his pissed off aggression at the current state of the world and perhaps with their most politically charged and pissed off release to date. FTW only contains two tracks but there’;s a mixture of pounding Sludge, Doom, Stoner, Noise and Noise Rock sounds that Red Beard Wall made their name with.


There’s a sudden influx of Hardcore passages with their trademark streetlevel “DOOM-POP” sound being kept to a minimum that’s set against harsh realistic lyrics with Aaron venting out against the world mostly within the track W.A.N.T.S. That track still has a certain TORCHE based influence towards the end of the song but most of the time Red Beard Wall plays a highly volatile mix of down-tuned Fuzz/Sludge instrumental surroundings with socially aware lyrics to make this track an extra spicy level of pure heaviness.


The remaining track FTW is pure Red Bead Wall through and through with a stripped back Psych/Punk Rock groove exploding into a wall of heavy PISSED OFF noise which takes aim at more the dreaded enemy of Artificial Intelligence which sees Aaron taking aim at the perhaps the most dangerous threat known to man at this moment in time. The stripped back production values is obviously free of any A.I/ involvement with Aaron playing a more grounded style of Noise, Punk, Psych and Stoner Metal carnage with down-tuned Sludge Metal riffs that destroys everything within sight.


FTW is quite short running under ten minutes but it’s always great to have new material from Red Beard Wall and I’m hoping there’s a longer release in the long term. As this proves that the world of Sludge/Stoner Metal need RED BEARD WALL more than ever!!!


Words by Steve Howe


Links:

Wednesday, 4 February 2026

FATIMA - Primal (Album Review)

Release Date: February 03rd 2026. Record Label: Black Robes Records. Formats: DD

Primal - Tracklisting

1.Sassquatch 04:05

2.Mammoth Graveyard 04:17

3.Killer Wart Hog 05:06

4.Dog Ham 03:34

5.Chilled Monkey Brains 04:50

6.Gazelle Horns 04:55

7.Primal 06:00

8.Waters of Babylon 03:07

9.Chilled Monkey Brains (Single 2026) 04:50


Review


Doom/Grunge/Stoner Rockers FATIMA release their fifth album Primal which is perhaps their heaviest and most progressive release yet that builds upon similar themes heard within their 2022 album Fossil. FATIMA has a great way of blending classic Grunge soundscapes against a backdrop of Sludge Metal, Psych Rock, Noise Rock and Post-Punk attitudes. The whole sound is quite direct with FATIMA taking influence from the likes of Soundgarden, Nirvana, Alice In Chains, High On Fire and Mastodon with the multitude of different musical styles forming very early on through the excellent opening tracks of Sassquatch, Mammoth Graveyard and Killer Wart Hog.


There’s a heavy reliance on “MONSTER” folklore within FATIMA’s lyrics and how the album forms against these types of mythical beasts and the legends they provide. However, FATIMA have used this style of storytelling on previous albums though with the lyrics being more grounded despite the FANTASTICAL element they’re originally from. The switching to Post-Punk and Post-Doom surroundings allows the seedy GRUNGE aesthetic to generate a moody atmosphere which does become quite dominant with Post-Metal and Heavy Psychedelic attitudes holding everything together.


The added use of down-tuned and slightly dirty FUZZ ROCK grooves allows a level of freakish and violent attitude to form which gives Primal a truly outlandish quality on tracks such as Dog Ham, Chilled Monkey Brains, Gazelle Horns and Primal. FATIMA always opt for a truly amplified sound which allows the LOW & SLOW and REVERB parts of the record to provide an exhilarating display of pure ROCK & ROLL fury.


The production values are handled superbly well with a classic Nineties Grunge/Stoned Out energy appearing from every single corner that allows FATIMA to play with extreme musical confidence. Sometimes the record does become a bit over the top for its own good along the way but this is offset by FATIMA’s superb musicianship which results within non-stop musical solos along the way. 


Primal is a record that delivers on all fronts which is most definitely worth multiple repeated listens.


Excellent and Highly Recommended.


Words by Steve Howe


Links 


Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram


Saturday, 13 December 2025

Libbianski - Episode 1 (EP Review)

Release Date: December 04th 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Episode 1 - Tracklisting

1.Continue The Sad 03:57

2.Steve French 04:26

3.Finding A Cure 04:44


Members


Kurt Williams - guitar/ vocals

Nat Reid - bass/ vocals

Tom LaHatte - drums


Review


Episode 1 is the debut EP from Libbianski who fuse Doom, Shoegaze, Post-Metal and Alt Metal that has a solid Doom-Pop foundation with the band playing similar sounds to bands such as TORCHE, HUM and Slow Crush. The record has quite an aggressive and vivid energy which I didn’t fully expect which comes out in full force within the excellent opening track of Continue The Sad. The harsh vocals from Kurt Williams (Guitar) are quite different from Nat Reid’s (Bass)  sublime Alt Metal and Punk Rock delivery.


The music moves from catchy Doom-Pop hooks to a gloriously delicious Post-Metal energy with a sludgy attitude forming throughout. Add a subtle Grunge and Noise Rock attitude which allows Libbianski to dominate the Doomgaze landscape. The lyrics are quite insightful but with a rebellious presence to them. That style of music continues within the outstanding second track Steve French which captures a slightly downbeat Nineties sounding melody with outbursts of Sludge Punk surroundings with the band following closely to their gloomy Pop hooks.


Libbianski are from Wellington, New Zealand which once again shows a different style of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal band to emerge from there with the likes of BEASTWARS, ULCERATE, Planet Of The Dead and Sidewinder impressing me over the years. Libbianski play their own great style of distorted sounds which takes a more warm hearted and disjointed approach within the final track Finding A Cure with Kurt’s and Nat’s vocals once again offering different styles and musical perspective. Tom LaHatte puts in a wonderfully understated performance on drums which makes everything tick throughout the whole EP.


Episode 1 is a superbly heavy, quirky and extremely delightful record with Libbianski offering a different style of Shoegaze that’s brimming with wonderful creativity. 


Words by Steve Howe


Links 


Facebook | BandCamp


Monday, 1 December 2025

Feel Worse - This Will Weigh Heavily On Your Annual Performance Appraisal (Album Review)

Release Date: November 28th 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

This Will Weigh Heavily On Your Annual Performance Appraisal - Tracklisting

1.In Public 03:47

2.Elbow Party 04:31

3.Graves Upon Graves 06:17

4.Break the Ice 03:17

5.So You Die 04:58

6.The Giant Who Wanted Company 03:30

7.Storms 03:57


Review


This Will Weigh Heavily On Your Annual Performance Appraisal is the debut album from Noise/Post-Hardcore/Sludge Metallers Feel Worse and it’s a project made up of members from bands such as Sulaco, Sully and Burn Everything. Feel Worse play a wide range of different musical themes such as Post-Rock, Black Metal, Psych Metal and Industrial Rock within their main Post-Hardcore and Sludge Metal attitude. 


The band are perhaps closer to the likes of KOWLOON WALLED CITY and WHORES with the band creating sludgy anthemic grooves with a stirring social conscience appearing within the lyrics. The vocals are very much of the Post-Hardcore and Punk Rock variety as the music even has influences such as The Melvins, At The Drive-In and Converge to give this quite a highly experimental vibe. Feel Worse even find the time to play around with Psychedelic and Sonic movements which you can feel the full force on tracks such as In Public, Elbow Party and Graves Upon Graves.


With a twisted sense of melody allowing Feel Worse to move across different musical boundaries and even when the vocals move into Pitch-Black territory, the music is constantly melodic with a dark Psychedelic energy appearing within some of the more longer tracks of the record. There are some parts where the music is quite chaotic and Jazz focused in places but it’s quite refreshing to hear with Feel Worse always thinking ahead by creating complex rhythms and musical structures that also allow you to focus upon the lyrical content even more especially on tracks Graves Upon Graves, Break The Ice and The Giant Who Wanted Company.


Feel Worse has a harsh Nineties Alt-Metal attitude appearing on the later stages of the record with plenty of menacing beat-downs and progressive beats becoming more part of the action. This is a highly captivating slice of Noise Rock with a full on Sludge Metal attitude with the album also having quite a surreal experimental sound throughout.


This Will Weigh Heavily On Your Annual Performance Appraisal is a superbly entertaining record which dares to be quite different and still leaves you wanting to hear more with it’s great collection of individual songs that have BRAINS and BRAWN to match in equal measure.


Words by Steve Howe


Links 


Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram | LinkTree


Tuesday, 4 November 2025

Old Deer - Someone In The House (Album Review)

Release Date: November 07th 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: CD/DD

Someone In The House - Tracklisting

1. 2eizure 2alad (0:19)

2. The Hatch (5:00)

3. Still so Still (2:35)

4. Take it All (2:40)

5. Astrid (0:49)

6. Someone in the House (8:10)

7. Maelstrom (3:36)

8. 4507 (12:40)


Members


Matt - Guitar, Vocals

Josh - Bass

Tyler - Guitar

Adam - Drums


Review


Old Deer’s debut album Someone In The House is an uncompromising slab of Hardcoure Punk, Noise, Sludge Metal, Doom and Psychedelic violent tendencies. The sound despite its violent appetite can be superbly melodic with areas of Post-Metal and Post-Doom appearing for a sense of calm even when Old Deer play a brutal style of Doom/Sludge Metal with a Mathcore identity emerging.


There’s an unorthodox and experimental style of Jazz being added with the use of Saxophones appearing very early on within the record. Old Deer will appeal to fans to the likes of Mastodon, Melvins, Chat Pile, WHORES, BOTCH and Kowloon Walled City with the mood continuously moving onto the next aggressive slab of Post-Metallic energy throughout the whole album.


The vocals from Matt are purely out of control for the most part with harsh screams and blistering Hardcore growls that sees some brief moments of clean vocals emerging from the carnage. The instrumental sounds are quite varied that allows Old Deer to pick up the best musical elements they have at their disposal whilst developing their own original blend of PISSED OFF surroundings with perhaps the MATHCORE and SLUDGE METAL aspects being the most dominant.


The first half of the album moves at a breakneck pace before Old Deer start adding Psychedelic and Progressive soundscapes which results into a heavier and dynamic powerful sound on tracks such as Astrid, Someone In The House, Maelstrom and 4507 which makes the whole of the second half of the album which becomes my favourite part of the album. However, the first half is still exciting stuff as Old Deer deliver the unexpected with intense Post-Hardcore movements that is amplified by a Doom/Sludge Metal platform on the great tracks such as The Hatch, Still To Still and Take It All. 


There’s a socially aware identity to Someone In The House which touches upon some hard-hitting subjects within the lyrical content and with Matt’s superbly pitched vocals I could easily understand what was being said even in my advancing years.


Someone In The House is quite a diverse record with Old Deer exploring multiple different HEAVY SONIC based avenues to impress you with. The record doesn’t offer any easy answers but it’s an exhilarating and exciting ride that will easily find a dedicated and loyal following within the underground metal scene.


Words by Steve Howe


Thanks to Good Boy PR for the promo.


Someone In The House is available to buy now on CD/DD.


Links


Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Thursday, 18 September 2025

Mathcore/Sludge Metallers OLD DEER Premiere New Song/Video For MAELSTROM From Upcoming New Album.


Following their crushing 2024 debut EP of sludge, noise, and mathcore “Something in the Water”, Colorado quartet Old Deer return with a vengeance, pushing their sound to new extremities with first full-length “Someone in the House”.As the title suggests, there is danger within Old Deer’s latest work. An unpredictability of what new sonic violence lurks around the corner, be it the piercing saxophone hidden with “The Hatch”, or the pit-inducing madness and crush of “Take it All”.

Drawing from a wide swath of heavy sounds, the corners of “Someone in the House” hold notes of sludge, doom, and post-metal, woven into foundations of blistering mathcore, noise rock, and post-hardcore.

Chameleon vocalist Matt Conlee delivers harrowing, ear-shredding screams, weaponizing his vocal cords for visceral impact one moment before laying down deep, melodic cleans the next.

In similarly shape-shifting fashion, the guitars and drums reel between brutal hardcore pummel and dizzying, spidery progressions owing as much to jazz as to math and noise.

Old Deer have concocted a heady, frightening brew of dangerous sonics and ill intent on “Someone in the House”, and dare listeners to take refuge within. The LP drops November 7th, and first single “Maelstrom” will storm the gates on September 19th.

To get you in the mood we have the exclusive premiere of their brutal new track MAELSTROM which you can listen to below thanks to the great folks over at Good Boy PR.


Old Deer - Someone in the House

Album out November 7th, 2025 Self-released (Digital, CD)
Denver, Colorado
FFO: Botch, Chat Pile, Kowloon Walled City, Zao

Tracklist:

1. 2eizure 2alad (0:19)
2. The Hatch (5:00)
3. Still so Still (2:35)
4. Take it All (2:40)
5. Astrid (0:49)
6. Someone in the House (8:10)
7. Maelstrom (3:36)
8. 4507 (12:40)

Old Deer is:

Matt - Guitar, Vocals
Josh - Bass
Tyler - Guitar
Adam - Drums

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Thanks to Good Boy PR for the details.

Monday, 8 September 2025

Old Deer deliver scathing mathcore, sludge & more on new album "Someone in the House", out November 7th


Following their crushing 2024 debut EP of sludge, noise, and mathcore “Something in the Water”, Colorado quartet Old Deer return with a vengeance, pushing their sound to new extremities with first full-length “Someone in the House”.

As the title suggests, there is danger within Old Deer’s latest work. An unpredictability of what new sonic violence lurks around the corner, be it the piercing saxophone hidden with “The Hatch”, or the pit-inducing madness and crush of “Take it All”.

Drawing from a wide swath of heavy sounds, the corners of “Someone in the House” hold notes of sludge, doom, and post-metal, woven into foundations of blistering mathcore, noise rock, and post-hardcore.

Chameleon vocalist Matt Conlee delivers harrowing, ear-shredding screams, weaponizing his vocal cords for visceral impact one moment before laying down deep, melodic cleans the next.

In similarly shape-shifting fashion, the guitars and drums reel between brutal hardcore pummel and dizzying, spidery progressions owing as much to jazz as to math and noise.

Old Deer have concocted a heady, frightening brew of dangerous sonics and ill intent on “Someone in the House”, and dare listeners to take refuge within. The LP drops November 7th, and first single “Maelstrom” will storm the gates on September 19th.

Old Deer - Someone in the House

Album out November 7th, 2025 Self-released (Digital, CD)
Denver, Colorado
FFO: Botch, Chat Pile, Kowloon Walled City, Zao

Tracklist:

1. 2eizure 2alad (0:19)
2. The Hatch (5:00)
3. Still so Still (2:35)
4. Take it All (2:40)
5. Astrid (0:49)
6. Someone in the House (8:10)
7. Maelstrom (3:36)
8. 4507 (12:40)


Old Deer is:

Matt - Guitar, Vocals
Josh - Bass
Tyler - Guitar
Adam - Drums

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Thanks to Good Boy PR for the details.

Thursday, 4 September 2025

SISTERS - Wings Of Deliverance (Album Review)

Release Date: August 29th 2025. Record Label: Spartan Records. Formats: DD/Vinyl

Wings Of Deliverance - Tracklisting

1.Wings of Deliverance 01:55 

2.Home Is Where The Heart Is 02:58

3.Peoples Temple 02:22

4.The Angels of Violence 05:02

5.Golden Sunbeams 03:28

6.The Planning Commission 04:29

7.White Night 05:58

8.Death Is A Friend 08:56


Members


Jason Blackmore (Molly McGuire)

Mario Quintero (Spotlights)


Review



Wings Of Deliverance is the second album from Noise/Grunge/Sludge/Post-Punk/Stoner Rock outfit SISTERS who return after a two year absence with a more abrasive, aggressive and sludge based offering. This feels like a different band compared to their 2023 acclaimed debut album Leecheater. SISTERS features Jason Blackmore from Molly McGuire and Mario Quintero from Spotlights with this band featuring many similarities to those great bands but also carving up their own heavy riff driven sound. SISTERS still offer a deep sense of Melodic Rock though you wouldn’t expect this after you experience the delightfully violent and pissed off title track of Wings Of Deliverance. 


This is the nastiest and heaviest track that SISTERS have delivered yet with a highly ambitious take on Industrial Metal with flashes of Post-Punk, Noise Rock and deeply rooted Electronica Beats. The vocals are harsh with a mid nineties/early noughties influence lingering in the background. The instrumental beats move from glitches to full on Electronica beats with a sudden shift into Heavy Power Mechanical Doom that feels like NIN crossing swords with Author & Punisher.


Second track Home Is Where The Heart is continues with the warped Industrial/Sludge grooves but added a melodic Sludge/Stoner Rock flavour that has similarities to TORCHE and RED FANG in places but with SISTERS adding their own distorted level of streetwise attitude and full-on catchy melodies. The vocals from both Jason and Mario are both clean based and in a stark contrast to the opening track. This is the type of music they brilliantly excel at but you’ll still be treated to outbursts of violent  Sludge Metal when the time calls for this.


Third track People’s Temple is another sonic odyssey with SISTERS employing a cool sounding melodic vibe that doesn’t necessarily play it safe with the COMMERCIAL ASPECTS that appear within the whole creative flow of the album. There is an epic nineties Alt Rock attitude with the swirling grunge based guitars and stunning rhythm sections that Mario and Jason equally contribute to. This is where SISTERS start to really hit their creative stride with subtle Psychedelic and Fuzzed mid-tempo changes which lasts the course for the rest of the album.


Songs such as The Angels Of Violence, Golden Sunbeams and The Planning Commission offer a classic Post-Punk attitude with flashes of Post-Rock and Doomed Out passages with SISTERS demonstrating their own great style of music. The lyrics are quite deceptive and observant which adds a mysterious edge to the whole album. I forgot to mention this album is about the following: 


Wings Of Deliverance tells a chilling narrative about the cult of personality and the horrors of Jim Jones and the Jonestown tragedy


Despite the harsh subject matter that SISTERS deal with on the record there’s still some uplifting moments told through the groovy melodies that once again remind me of TORCHE in places. However, SISTERS are never too far away to bring the mood to a slightly depressing Post-Punk and Sludge Rock vibe especially on the final two tracks of the record White Night and Death Is A Friend.which brings some moments of Progressive Metal attitude into the mix. 


These two tracks offer the heaviest, hard-hitting and bleakest parts of the album with challenging lyrics and vocal harmonies being added to complicate matters. Though, SISTERS once again play outside of the rules of HEAVY MUSIC to craft something brilliantly original and in their own aggressive image. This allows Wings Of Deliverance to be one of the most thought-provoking and sonically original records within the Alternative Rock/Metal scene (next to MOON DESTROYS and MUSEUM OF LIGHT) you’ll hear this year.


Simply unmissable!!!


Words by Steve Howe

 

Links



Friday, 1 August 2025

Alt-Rock/Stoner Metallers Sisters new single “Home Is Where The Heart Is” delivers heavy and melodic rock


Sisters have been carving out their own heavy, melodic world since the release of their debut album Leecheater in 2023 — a record that laid the foundation for their signature sound: raw, riff-driven rock with an unflinching honesty. Now, the duo Jason Blackmore (vocals / guitar / bass / keyboards ) and Mario Quintero (vocals / drums / guitar / keyboards), return with Wings of Deliverance, a darker, more experimental follow-up that examines Blackmore’s fascination with cults, religion, and power structures led through a conceptual exploration of the Jonestown Massacre.

Having set the stage with title track and album opener Wings of Deliverance,” the duo now enter the next phase with single “Home Is Where The Heart Is.” The track emphasizes Sisters balance of heavy and melodic, as soaring vocals ride over heavy riffs. The track centers on the propaganda and comfort cult leader Jim Jones amplified to his followers, as Blackmore expands:

“Belonging. Unity. Joy. Jim builds a devoted following at his church. These people trust him and feel as if they have finally found a place that they feel safe in. A place they identify with. Home.”

You can listen to “Home Is Where The Heart Is” below:


Wings of Deliverance will release on August 29th through Spartan Records and is available for preorder now.

Both Jason Blackmore and Mario Quintero have a wealth of experience that feeds into Sisters’ unique approach. Blackmore, a founding member of Molly McGuire, a band known for its heavy, emotionally-charged sound, brings years of songwriting experience to the table. Quintero, best known as the guitarist and vocalist for Spotlights, has contributed his technical prowess and musical vision to a band that’s been recognized for its atmospheric, heavy tones. Together, their combined experience in crafting songs for bands with distinct and powerful sounds has shaped Sisters into what it is today.

Wings Of Deliverance tells a chilling narrative about the cult of personality and the horrors of Jim Jones and the Jonestown tragedy. The record explores the devastating consequences of blind faith and how easily minds can be swayed by egomaniacal leaders. Sonically it enacts the floaty heart of Deftones with the experimental energy of Nine Inch Nails, boasting through a combination of alternative metal, industrial, and noise rock. Recorded in Quintero’s basement, the production is raw and exclusive. The album packs depth in both sound and concept, digging deep into the darker corners of the human psyche and delivering Sisters most true to form body of work yet.

Wings Of Deliverance Tracklist:

1. Wings of Deliverance
2. Home Is Where The Heart Is
3. Peoples Temple
4. The Angels of Violence
5. Golden Sunbeams
6. The Planning Commission
7. White Night
8. Death Is A Friend



Thanks to Wordless PR for the details.

Thursday, 31 July 2025

TORSO - Annihilation Day (Album Review)

Release Date: August 28th 2025. Record Label: APF Records. Formats: CD/DD/Tape/Vinyl

Annihilation Day - Tracklisting

1.THE HALLS RUN RED (Rita’s Death / The Thrill of The Kill / Dorm of The Dead)

2.SATANIC NIRVANA (Tolls of Death / Christine’s Theme / The Sound of Blood) 07:56 video

3.BLAST FURNACE (Killer’s Theme / Vengeance In Their Eyes / Too Many Humans)

4.SHOW YOUR FACE (Christine Kills / Dripping Corpse / Bloodbath to Paydirt)


Members


Graham Bywater


Guest Appearances


Lisa Bywater, Thomas House, Sam Marsh, Paul Waller and Stephen Franklin.


Review


TORSO returns with Annihilation Day and Graham Bywater the creative mastermind behind this sinister effort blends Doom, Sludge, Stoner, Grind, Thrash, Noise Rock and Black Metal to devastating effect which results in TORSO’s most demented and violent record yet. That is saying something after their celebrated 2024 album Brain Cells.


This time round, Graham has a bigger and murderous playground drawing upon his usual style of 1980’s Horror Movies influences allowing TORSO to conjure up the following storyline:


“Annihilation Day is TORSO’s first concept LP. Set on January 1st, 1984, it tells the twisted tale of a small-town university campus invaded by an escaped madman and ex-student on prom night. The town’s fate lies in the hands of two girls, Rita and Christine…and all hell breaks loose!”


Perhaps classic horror styles from John Carpenter and American Horror Stories are the main influence for the storylines but maybe some Italian seediness comes into play as well. Though, lets focus on the music that surrounds itself the violent and sometimes brutally funny storyline comes into play. The music is quite ELECTRONICA obsessed with a grindcore style of Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal developing at full throttle within the brilliant opening track of THE HALLS RUN RED (Rita’s Death / The Thrill of The Kill / Dorm of The Dead).


The record is highly volatile, violent and aggressive but also superbly melodic with touches of Prog Metal appearing within the more subdued and outlandish parts of the record. TORSO has allowed some of his friends from the underground scene to be part of the action with appearances from the likes of Paul Waller (OHHMS), Thomas House, Stephen Franklin, Lisa Bywater and Sam Marsh who all provide KILLER support along the way. The vocals are a great mix of different styles that has echoes of 1990’s Alt Metal, Grunge and Shoegaze to give Annihilation Day quite a unique and grizzled sound compared to TORSO’s previous records.


The second and third tracks of SATANIC NIRVANA (Tolls of Death / Christine’s Theme / The Sound of Blood)  and BLAST FURNACE (Killer’s Theme / Vengeance In Their Eyes / Too Many Humans) just amplifies the action to a grislier and seedier level with profounding bursts of NOISE ROCK energy that feels like WHORES jamming out with the likes of MOTORHEAD, TORCHE, SOUNDGARDEN and THE MELVINS. Simply outrageous but one that never feels out of place with TORSO outlining, developing and delivering a Classic Horror Storyline that would have easily been banned under the infamous (UK 1980’s) banned Video Nasties furore / craze if this was ever committed to celluloid. 


Graham does become quite obsessed with Glitchy Noises, Ambient Beats and Psychedelic Synths which has a surreal Tangerine Dream effect that isn’t too dis-similar to modern day Post-Rock sounds before returning to his HORROR OBSESSIVE ways.


The final two tracks of BLAST FURNACE (Killer’s Theme / Vengeance In Their Eyes / Too Many Humans) and SHOW YOUR FACE (Christine Kills / Dripping Corpse / Bloodbath to Paydirt) are perhaps my favourite tracks I’ve heard from TORSO to date. As they’re an expert mix of different styles dripping with gloomy atmospherics with a sudden shift to MASTODON-esque melodies, rhythms and progressive soundscapes whilst still being it’s own thing at the same time.


Annihilation Day is an exhilarating experience from start to finish with a non-stop style of exciting Sludge/Stoner Metal sounds being played that will leave you in a very nervous disposition indeed. This is TORSO’s most technically impressive and cinematically sounding record to date. I’m hoping that Graham will announce some LIVE SHOWS in the future as I want to fully experience and feel the intense music that he’s delivered with this record.


My advice - Be afraid, be very afraid for an outstanding record that will no doubt claim some potential ALBUM OF THE YEAR spots before the year is out.


Words by Steve Howe


Thanks to APF Records for the promo.


Annihilation Day is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl/Cassette via APF Records.


Links


BandCamp | Instagram