Chat Pile - Who Loves The Sun (Album Review)

Release Date: September 04th 2026. Record Label: The Flenser. Format: CD/DD/Tape/Vinyl

Who Loves The Sun - Tracklist

1.Creature
2.Deep Blue
3.Same Rules
4.PEN I S MALL
5.Shrine
6.Intruder
7.Christabel ‘26
8.Influence
9.Family Funeral
10.October All The Time

Members

Ray B. - Vocals
L. Manhole - Guitar
Stin - Bass
Drums - Cap’n Ron

Review

Noise/Sludge Metallers Chat Pile return with their highly anticipated third album Who Loves The Sun which once again highlights why they’re one of the most unpredictable, original and most important bands to emerge from the Heavy Metal scene in years. This record shows once again how the band incorporates new elements of music into their ever-growing sound such as Alt Rock, Indie Rock, Shoegaze and Trip-Hop.

Chat Pile demonstrates why they’re so highly thought of with ten tracks that captures the raw essence of the Sludge Metal scene with a grimy and seedy attitude most bands cannot capture. The moody Noise Rock theatrics keeps everything grounded and allows Chat Pile to reinvent themselves yet again with a mixture of Industrial Metal and Post-Punk beats which has a mighty Eighties Rock presence especially within the lyrics and the more somber parts of the record. There’s a great style of vicious melody and rhythm developing which is more focused compared to their previous two albums.

Who Loves The Sun even has brilliantly refined commercial aspects which can easily launch these guys further into the mainstream. The despairing Noise Rock quality reminds me of The Jesus Lizard jamming with the likes of The Melvins and Kowloon Walled City but with Chat Pile keeping their own unflinching approach with bleak lyrics holding everything together. The shift in minimalist Post-Rock, Post-Punk and Sludge Metal is quite refreshing with a subtle Grunge and Psychedelic flavour emerging which adds a real chameleon like effect to the whole journey.

The “Doom & Gloom” essence is stripped apart and rebuilt within the band’s image which they incorporate into almost every track with a filth ridden attitude that can be quite buoyant and gleefully upbeat at times. The raw sounding production values allows Chat Pile to play at their own destructive slow-to-mid paced grooves with a level of sheer heaviness only appearing when it’s really needed.

The first half of the album allows Chat Pile to explore a decaying style of Grunge, Noise and Alt Rock with songs Creature, Same Rules and PEN I S MALL adding a heap of Blackened Sludge themes for a subversive experience. This allows the lead vocals to demonstrate a politically charged energy that really does hammer the points home that Chat Pile are providing this album.

Chat Pile are fully committed to exploring different areas of music for this record on other tracks such as Shrine, Intruder, Family Funeral and October All The Time which have some of the most rewarding moments on the album. The whole mood is constantly engaging with intense progressive musical passages being quite hypnotic and brilliantly surreal. 

Who Loves The Sun isn’t an easy album to listen to but it’s one that offers a must have experience where Chat Pile doesn't even offer any easy answers or solutions. As they leave this up to the listener’s own conclusions. What is guaranteed is another masterful record from Chat Pile that once again cements their status as one of the most important Heavy Rock bands in the world currently playing today. 

This is an absolute masterpiece and is a record everyone needs to own right now!!!

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Rarely Unable PR for the promo.

Who Loves The Sun is available to buy now on CD, Digital, Tape and Vinyl.

Links

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

NEUROSIS - An Undying Love For A Burning World (Album Review)

Release Date: March 20th 2026. Record Label: Neurot Recordings. Formats: CD/DD/Tape/Vinyl.

An Undying Love For A Burning World - Tracklisting

1. We Are Torn Wide Open

2. Mirror Deep

3. First Red Rays

4. Blind

5. Seething and Scattered

6. Untethered

7. In the Waiting Hours

8. Last Light

Members

Jason Roeder – drums

Aaron Turner – guitar, vocals

Steve Von Till – guitar, vocals

Dave Edwardson – bass, vocals

Noah Landis – synths, samples, vocals

Review

Well, we never expected for Post-Metal legends NEUIROSIS to return with a new album especially after what went down with Scott Kelly in 2019. Most people (including myself) thought it was all over for one of the most important metal bands of the last forty years. Then the band arrived back with a new album with no fan fare or massive PR hype behind them just like how SLEEP did with The Sciences in 2018 and HUM with Inlet in 2020. However, there were more surprises with Aaron Turner (ISIS and SUMAC) joining forces with Neurosis on Guitar/Vocals. 

This made complete sense and there’s possibly nobody better than Aaron Turner who perhaps formed the “other” most important Post-Metal band of the last thirty years. His vocal and creative presence fits in brilliantly with the core line-up of NEUROSIS and brings a fresh musical perspective which makes An Dying Love For A Burning World perhaps their best album in over thirty years. This is a monumental release which sees NEUROSIS on absolute fire with powerful sounds emerging from the very start.

The vocal interplay between Aaron Turner, Steve Von Till, Dave Edwardson and Noah Landis is nothing short of brilliance with everyone given the time and space to inject their own personality into the record. It may have been quite daunting for Aaron Turner to appear alongside his musical heroes but this actually feels like an ISIS and SUMAC record in places which you have to give NEUROSIS full respect to for allowing them to open themselves to musical ideas.

However, this is still a NEUROSIS record through and through with the Sludge/Post-Metal elements having an aggressive ethereal sound with that classic apocalyptic and rustic energy which has appeared throughout the band’s career. There’s some foreshadowing movements into Ambient Rock, Post-Rock and Alt-Metal which is beautifully delicate through the great work laid down by Noah Landis. The album can be quite experimental along the way but it’s delivered with real purpose as the whole Psychedelic and Progressive structure for the majority of the songs moves into many different directions.

The first three tracks of We Are Torn Wide Open, Mirror Deep and First Red Rays allows NEUROSIS to develop the whole flow and mission statement of the record with harsh vocals, abrasive soundscapes and progressive grooves being grounded and wholly original. There are some beautiful vocal harmonies on First Red Rays which transported me back to my early days of Post-Metal whilst listening to the likes of OCEANIC and Through Silver In Blood.

An Undying Love For A Burning World is quite a bleak and sombre record with NEUROSIS once more touching upon some hard hitting themes whilst moving into other areas of heavy music on tracks such as Blind, Seething And Scattered, In The Waiting Hours and Last Light. The final two tracks of The Waiting Hours and Last Light offer around twenty seven minutes of music with NEUROSIS exploring areas of Doom, Industrial, Sludge, Post-Rock and Prog Metal like no other band can. I dare to say this might be some of the best music the band have written since their 1995 masterpiece Through Silver In Blood.

NEUROSIS prove time and time again why they’re not only the definite Post-Metal band around but also one of the most important Heavy Metal bands to emerge over the last forty five years. This album is a testament to that fact as An Undying Love For A Burning World could end becoming my favourite album of the year. It’s already blowing everyone’s minds right now and you can see why as this album is an absolute masterpiece.

What more can I say!!!

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Rarely Unable PR and Earsplit PR for the promo.

An Undying Love For A Burning World is available to buy now digitally with physical release arriving in May 2026.

Links

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | BANDCAMP

NEUROSIS Returns With First New Album In A Decade, An Undying Love For A Burning World, Out Now On Neurot Recordings

NEUROSIS Returns With First New Album In A Decade, An Undying Love For A Burning World, Out Now On Neurot Recordings; Aaron Turner Joins Lineup; Physical Pre-orders Available + Band To Play Fire In The Mountains

Physical Preorders For 2XLP, CD and Cassette Are At The Neurot Recordings Store HERE

NEUROSIS returns with their first new album in a decade, An Undying Love For A Burning World, which is now streaming on all digital platforms and available for physical preorder through the band’s Neurot Recordings. The album sees the band joined by Aaron Turner on guitar and vocals. NEUROSIS will also make their return to the stage at Fire In The Mountains Festival in July.

“We are torn wide open”

Evolution can be ugly and beautiful, painful and euphoric. An Undying Love For A Burning World is the first new release from NEUROSIS in a decade, and a potent statement of intent and rebirth – one that marks the first new steps of resolve and resilience.

“We need this, perhaps more than ever, and we suspect we are not alone. The trials and tribulations in our personal lives and as a band, combined with simply trying to navigate the insanity of our society, with the stress, anxiety, and isolation that come with it can be excruciating. Add to that the existential confusion and sorrow of the climate crisis and the sixth mass extinction. It is enough to cause you to completely lose your mind if you can’t find release or catharsis. This strange emotionally charged music has always been our method of trying to survive this and this is what we've always been singing about. When you have spent a lifetime engaged with these energies and utilizing this form of expression to purge and purify, it feels detrimental to our wellbeing to let it sit idle and neglected. This was now or never.”

“We’ve forgotten how to live, so we suffer”

An Undying Love For A Burning World is an epic album of colossal hypnotism - beautiful, fearsome and utterly compelling in a way that only NEUROSIS can be. Aaron Turner (Sumac, Isis) – a name whose legacy is intertwined with the band’s own and a true kindred spirit -- joins the band on vocals and guitar, alongside vocalist/guitarist Steve Von Till, bassist Dave Edwardson, keyboard player Noah Landis, and drummer Jason Roeder.

“He came straight out of the gate contributing, writing and presenting ideas,” the band states on Turner’s arrival. “His energy matches ours perfectly. It’s as if he was always meant to be there.” Turner adds, “From the moment I first heard NEUROSIS over 30 years ago, I felt this was the music my heart and mind had been seeking but not yet heard. Now after many years travelling along various musical paths of my own, the singular sound and spirit embodied by Neurosis continues to speak to the depths of my being. It is an honor and a true pleasure to have been welcomed so warmly into a band that not only shaped my perspective on the limitless possibilities of music - but has lived and exemplified the necessity of upholding creative integrity and camaraderie above all else.”

“We’ve forgotten how to struggle, so we suffer”

NEUROSIS has never been afraid of change, and here they embrace endless regeneration, surrendering to the emotional exorcism through heaviness and distortion that their music incites. Just as the universe tends towards balance, NEUROSIS’ cacophony of noise, rhythm, and dissonance always resolves towards moments of beauty. The addition of Turner's powerful vocals and wildly creative and unhinged approach to guitar proves to be a vital force as Neurosis find themselves again at the mercy of evolution and expression.

“We’ve forgotten we are wild, so we suffer”

On every song in the band’s history, NEUROSIS shifts restlessly between tension and relief, invoking a feeling both feral and transcendent in listeners. The band describe their songwriting process as an inescapable impulse to create with each other - a need rather than a choice. Indeed, the band insist that their return is, “not a reunion - we never broke up.”

An Undying Love For A Burning World was recorded by Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City, Sumac, Great Falls) at Studio Litho in Seattle over three weekends this Winter and mixed in three days just six weeks before release at Evan's Antisleep Audio in Oakland.

“We exist in isolation, so we suffer”

An Undying Love For A Burning World Track Listing:

1. We Are Torn Wide Open
2. Mirror Deep
3. First Red Rays
4. Blind
5. Seething And Scattered
6. Untethered
7. In The Waiting Hours
8. Last Night

NEUROSIS will play their first show in seven years on the traditional lands of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana as part of Fire in the Mountains festival by special invitation of Firekeeper Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to reducing youth suicide in Indian Country. FITM, is a unique festival known for bringing epic music to epic landscapes with the intent of reconnecting and immersing oneself with the natural world, and strengthening our ancestral roots as human beings - an aim which aligns directly with NEUROSIS’ deep-rooted power.

“I cannot think of a more appropriate environment for us to return to the stage,” comments Steve Von Till who also serves on the board of Firekeeper Alliance. “Last year’s Fire In The Mountains festival was the most profound music event I have ever been a part of. The weekend took on a healing, cathartic ceremonial nature that is difficult to put into words. Using emotionally heavy music to build community and collectively stare darkness in the eye is something we have always believed in, but using it to directly address the heartbreaking reality of suicide, grief, loss and trauma is taking it to another level.”

“The dissonance is deafening.”

NEUROSIS’ An Undying Love For A Burning World is available now on all streaming platforms. The album will be issued on LP, CD,Cassette and Digital; physical preorder options can be found HERE.

NEUROSIS Live:

07/23/26/2026 Fire In The Mountains @ Red Eagle Campground – Blackfeet Nation, MT [info]

Links

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | BANDCAMP

Thanks to Neurot Recordings and Rarely Unable PR for all of the details.

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

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Guiltless - Teeth To Sky (Album Review)

Release Date: March 07th 2025. Record Label: Neurot Recordings. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Teeth To Sky - Dirtmother

1.Into Dust Becoming

2.One Is Two 

3.In Starless Reign

4.Our Serpent In Circle

5.Teeth To Sky 

6.Lone Blue Vale

7.Landscape of Thorns

8.Illumine

 Members

Billy Graves: Drums

Dan Hawkins: Guitar, Noise

Sacha Dunable: Bass, Noise

Josh Graham: Guitar, Vocals, Noise 

Review

Guiltless is a new band featuring members from Intronaut, Generation Of Vipers, A Storm Of Light and Battle Of Mice. Between them, they’ve made some of the most important and critically acclaimed Post-Metal records over the last two decades. They’ve left a wake of destruction in their midst and Guiltless continues that journey with their debut full length album Teeth To Sky. Guiltless did release their debut EP Thorns in 2024 to much critical acclaim. The record’s mix of Noise, Post-Metal, Experimental Rock, Industrial, Sludge and Doom was an exhilarating experience within the short run time of the record.

Guiltless sound has been amplified to the most destructive level possible with Teeth To Sky as the record is more vicious, aggressive and a deceiving level of melody. Taking cues from their love of bands such as SWANS, NEUROSIS, BREACH and even some Stadium Rock fare along the way.

For the most part, Teeth To Sky has quite a visceral and street level style of Noise Rock/Post-Metal with outbursts of aggressive Sludge Metal surroundings with a harsh Hardcore Punk sound which comes to life spectacularly well within the opening tracks of Into Dust Becoming, One Is Two and In Starless Reign sees Guiltless use each individual band members knowledge and history from the Sludge/Post-Metal scene to maximum effect.

Guiltless members maybe from other well known bands but this is a band creating their own identity and sound within the overall Post-Metal scene. Teeth To Sky is brutally original and superbly honest with the lyrics the band have written for the whole album where they preach a few home truths about today’s modern world and how it’s all going to shit at the moment. 

The industrial landscapes and soundscapes allows Guiltless to sell the bleak desolate journey to everyone that listens to the album. Distorted grooves and down-tuned Post-Metal sounds are put through the Industrial Rock/Noise Rock machine especially on tracks such as Our Serpent In Circle, Teeth To Sky and Landscape Of Thorns.

Teeth To Sky is deeply rooted in the Post-Metal lore of the last thirty years or so but there’s still a strong sense of modern day carnage to their overall sound with Guiltless allowing modern styles of Post-Doom, Ambient Rock and Post-Rock to form a chaotic style of Sludge Metal which allows Teeth To Sky to become one of the most important and prominent Post-Metal debut records to emerge in quite some time.

With one foot in the past and one in the future, Guiltless are paying huge respects to what has come before them whilst breaking new ground for future fans of Post-Metal to be inspired and influenced by. Teeth To Sky is a wake up call for today’s disillusioned generation and the music is KEY on how GUILTLESS will deliver their music to the Post-Metal masses.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Rarely Unable for the promo.

Teeth To Sky will be available to buy on DD/Vinyl via Neurot Recordings from Friday 07th March 2025.

Links

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Melvins - Tarantula Heart (Album Review)

Release Date: April 19th 2024. Record Label: Ipecac Recordings. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Tarantula Heart - Tracklisting

1.Pain Equals Funny

2.Working The Ditch 

3.She's Got Weird Arms

4.Allergic To Food 

5.Smiler

Members

 

King Buzzo on guitar, vocals and electronic noise

Dale Crover on drums/vocals

Steven McDonald on bass/vocals

Special Guest Musicians 

Roy Mayorga on drums/synthesizers

Gary Chester on extra guitar.

Review

Tarantula Heart is the new album from the legendary Melvins who are joined by Roy Mayorga ( Drums/Synths) and Gary Chester (Guitar) for this delightfully creepy ride that can only be created and provided by this iconic band. The album is quite a different sounding album with the band employing a different recording process which King Buzzo explains below:

“The way we approached Tarantula Heart was different than any other Melvins’ album,” Buzz Osborne explained upon the album announcement. “I had Dale and Roy come in and play along with Steven and I to some riffs, then I took those sessions and figured out what parts would work and wrote new music to fit. This isn’t a studio approach we’ve ever taken. Usually we have the songs written BEFORE we start recording!”

The album opens with a nineteen minute epic song Pain Equals Funny which starts off with bittersweet melodies that transform into a Psychedelic Rock and slightly Grungy direction from the band. You begin to wonder if the band are starting to mellow out with this almost “POP” baked offering. However, give the track a few moments and the real MELVINS appear with distorted guitars, fractured drum structures and sludgy rhythms that turn into a surreal nightmare of experimental noises which will keep their legion of die-hard fans extremely happy. The vocals and lyrics are brilliantly surreal with a twisted “KOOKINESS” to them. The song is perhaps the standout track on the album with some of the most straightforward and experimental sounds contained on the whole album.

Second track Working The Ditch continues with the surreal and drowned out sounds which includes trippy soundbytes before a cool sounding groove appears with that familiar Melvins sludgy beat becoming quite distinct and progressive with some ferocious drumming to match. The vocals and lyrics are in fine nihilistic form with droned out textures and passages appearing within the music. Layered vocals and synths are another major part of this track and for the whole album with Tarantula Heart fastly becoming another essential release from the Melvins. 

Third track She’s Got Weird Arms is classic Melvins through and through with a short running time of under four minutes with the band offering another sweet natured track full of off-kilter Noise/Grunge surreal hooks and twisted melodies. The song can be quite fractured and broken with Melvins playing jagged sounds with a classy “stop/start” approach which only they can fully deliver.

The final two tracks of Allergic To Food and Smiler offers the Melvins classic twisted sense of humour and even more experimental Sludge Metal grooves with the added bonus of twisted Noise Rock distortion that appears within both tracks with perhaps Allergic To Food being another one of the albums standout tracks both from a musical and creative view.

Tarantula Heart has a sense of urgency with this perhaps being some of the fastest and aggressive sounding I’ve heard from the Melvins in quite some time. The album isn’t going to be for everyone but for the band’s dedicated loyal fan-base, they wouldn’t have it any other way. The Melvins never make the same album twice and everything they’ve released sounds different to each other and Tarantula Heart is no exception.

This is a first rate adventure from one of the iconic bands from the Sludge Metal scene and the Melvins have delivered the goods yet again. Awesome. End Of.

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 19th 2024.

Links

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

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

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