KEVIN - It Is What It Is (Album Review)

Release Date: July 24th 2026. Record Label: Riot Season Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

It is What It Is - Tracklist

1.Wood Grain 07:47

2.Point 03:02

3.Potter's Wheel 06:02

4.Murphy Is Buried 08:49

5.It Is What It Is 06:20

6.Yagura 04:08

Members

Yutaro Umemoto (guitar/vocals) 

Yuichi Umemoto (drums).

Review

Experimental Psych Kraut-Rockers KEVIN release their second album It Is What It Is and it’s quite a vivid collection of tracks that have quite a fractured and disjointed approach to them. The record isn’t the easiest thing to listen to but I was expecting this challenge as the record is being released by the equally weird and amazing record label Riot Season Records. KEVIN bring an aggressive Post-Punk and Noise Rock delivery to their music which is quite different to their 2022 debut album Aftermath since the band are now a duo instead of a dedicated power trio. 

The sound is very lo-fi and quite surreal within the excellent opening track of Wood Grain. This is the type of track I could easily be playing in the background of a David Lynch, Gus Van Sant or Steven Sodenbergh film. The song is definitely it’s own thing with warped instrumental passages that bursts into sudden scenes of intense screeching violent guitars that remind me of The Melvins and BORIS at their most experimental. The vocals can only be described as WTF but they’re brilliantly addictive that draw you into KEVIN’s dark world

The atmosphere is quite hallucinogenic with KEVIN blurring the lines between fantasy and reality with sludgy psychedelics and warped noise rock sounds that are surrounded by that delicious Krautrock delivery and intense experimental vibes. KEVIN apply that same experimental and creative logic to the rest of the album where everything once again becomes freakishly weird and demented with experimental Jazz sounds moving straight back into Krautrock territory on tracks such as: Point, Potter’s Wheel, Murphy Is Buried and Yagura. 

The album does have a sense of isolation as one of its most dominant themes which gives KEVIN a unique and perspective take within the psychedelic movement. The whole record really comes alive when KEVIN play a more straight forward style of conventional Rock and Roll whilst keeping true to their core Experimental sound which allows some areas of Garage Rock and Industrial sounds to emerge from the darkness.

This is a record that has its own dark moral code which allows the music to be quite deliriously seductive and threatening at the same time which you can ultimately feel on the standout track of Murphy Is Buried. The lo-fi production values once again add a menacing attitude which KEVIN run amok with until the dying seconds of the whole album.

It Is What It Is can be considered an offbeat and hip record which manages to be completely original and superbly different in its own right. KEVIN are another great band to discover from the Japanese Rock underground scene.  

Words by Steve Howe

You can buy It Is What It Is on CD/DD/Vinyl now via Riot Season Records

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Louse - Buyer's Remorse (Album Review)

Release Date: August 14th 2026. Record Label: Riot Season Records. Formats: DD/Vinyl

Buyer’s Remorse - Tracklist

1.Best Laid Plans 03:44

2.Buyer's Remorse 02:39

3.Rags And Tatters 03:38

4.The Wastepipe Ripper 02:29

5.Comfort 03:43

6.Legal Loophole 03:01

7.Wheel 02:32

8.Meatslide 03:48

9.The Deer Caller 04:24

10.Potato Diet 03:20

Members

The Captain - Vocals

Septic Pete - Guitar

The King of Sting - Guitar

Uncle Brutus - Guitar

Mister P. - Drums

Dieta Di Patate - Slide Bass

Review

Buyer’s Remorse is the sophomore album from Noise/Sludge/Doom/Stoner Rockers LOUSE who call their music SCUM ROCK and they’re a band I haven’t come across before which is quite surprising since they are from my hometown of Newcastle Upon Tyne. The record itself is a Noise Rock offering with LOUSE adding filthy and highly mean strands of Sludge, Doom, Alt Rock, Psych and Stoner Rock melodies.

Louse do remind me of their fellow Geordie Noisemakers - PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS - though this record has a more warped and abstract Punk Rock energy which feels inspired by the likes of The Melvins and The Hives in the early stages of the record. There’s a gloomy Garage Rock sound that emerges from the seedy catacombs that have echoes of The Stooges, MC5 and even At The Drive-In being felt on tracks such as Best Laid Plans, Buyer’s Remorse and Rags And Tatters.

The sludgy and stripped back sounds have a grim “Kitchen Sink” effect especially with The Captain’s vocals battling against the epic rhythm section from Mister P on Drums and Dieta Di Patate on Slide Bass. Mister P and Dieta Di Patate have a great understanding amongst each other by building up the filthy rhythms from the ground up with the excellent guitar work played by Septic Pete, The King Of Sting and Uncle Brutus. 

As you can tell by their band names, LOUSE don’t take themselves too seriously and have a ton of fun especially with the bleakly charged lyrics which have some extra bite between them. Sometimes the record can go leftfield with disjointed grooves, fractured vocal passages and gloomy experimental noise effects allowing that subtle Noise Rock and Sludge Rock energy to have a killer Punk Rock swagger. 

Other great tracks to check out are: The Wastepipe Ripper, Legal Loophole, Meatslide and The Deer Caller which allows LOUSE to spread their filth ridden and downbeat message to even greater heights with that lo-fi energy allowing screeching guitars to reach massive levels of distorted volume. Buyer’s Remorse is seriously fucked up but you can’t help be swayed and mightly impressed by the sheer filth ridden danger that Louse will put you through. There is some great riffs to fully lose yourself in with that MELVINS influence being put to great use towards the end of the album.

Buyer’s Remorse is perhaps described as a “CULT ODDITY” which manages to fit alongside some of the more impressive Sludge/Noise/Doom Rock bands currently making a name for themselves. I seriously enjoyed this album and it becomes better with each repeated listen. Louse are a great band to discover for yourselves if you like something way more grimy and experimental with that dominant NOISE ROCK theme that will drive you absolutely insane at the same time.

Yeah, Buyer’s Remorse is an absolute slice of RIOTOUS FUN!!!

Superb. End Of.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Riot Season Records for the promo.

Buyer’s Remorse is available to buy now on DD/Vinyl via Riot Season Records.

Links

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Black Helium - The Animals Are Coming (Album Review)

Release Date: June 20th 2025. Record Label: Riot Season Records. Formats: DD/Vinyl

The Animals Are Coming - Tracklisting

1.Return The Curse 2.Saviour Destroyer 3.Worm Vision 4.They Have Bodies 5.Up On A Hill 6.Inside The Horror Mask 

Members

Stuart Gray (vocals, guitar)

Beck Harvey (bass, vocals)

Diogo Gomes (drums)

Review

Psych Rockers Black Helium return with their fourth record The Animals Are Coming which allows each band member's creative personality to fully shine through which gives this record a more daring “fast and loose” approach compared to their previous albums. There’s more focus on SONIC experimentation from Black Helium as they embrace a heavier, dynamic and self-contained sound that allows this to become their most accessible and riff dominated record to date.

However, Black Helium still excels by playing warped Space Rock movements and extended progressive melodies which adds a heavier style of distorted warped energy through that monolithic “JAZZ” energy that’s a constant driving force for the whole album. With echoes of classic KrautRock, Glitched based noises and a serious Droned Rock attitude forming within the stunning opening track of Return The Curse which lasts over eleven minutes as Black Helium aim for NIGHTMARISH rock and roll excess.

The vocals from Stuart Gray and Beck Harvey once again offer a quality entrance into the band’s surreal and fearless instrumental passages with the distorted surroundings being quite nightmarish, fearless and highly original when the standard grooves appear.

Second track Saviour Destroyer adds a Post-Doom and Psych Rock attitude with Noise Rock arrogance which is matched against a classic Space Rock flavour. The music starts off quite slowly with a TOPSY-TURVY delivery before expanding into slices of Sixties based Psychedelic and Freakish environments that also transforms into areas of Heavy Sludge Rock.

Black Helium channel the likes of Hawkwind and Monster Magnet on the next few tracks but also showing their love and affection for bands from the legendary KrautRock scenes with a dash of Japanese based Freakouts that remains a constant and evolving part of the album to impress long time fans of the band.

Third track Worm Vision sees Black Helium play a subtle Post-Rock style delivery with that elevated Psych Rok attitude that soon aligns the record to a richer, fuller and subtle Space Rock atmosphere. The JAZZY effects are quite sullen with a slow-paced melody forming against the trippy noises, synths, glitches and other wonderfully weird sound effects. 

Black Helium add an experimental Electronica vibe to their music which appears within the subdued fourth track They Have Bodies which has small amounts of intricate Proto-Doom appearing mainly thanks to the expert drumming of Diogo Gomes. Beck Harvey (Bass) and Stuart Gray (Guitar) allow Diogo to conjure up black holes into another world with Beck’s dominant bass rhythms and Stuart’s epic progressive riffs being quite heavy and remotely quiet at the same time.

The final two tracks of Up On A Hill and Inside The Horror Mask is where the old school and real magic happens with Black Helium embracing their new found reflective sound which is matched against their old-school Sludge/Stoner Rock roots. Up On A Hill is cool and welcoming for the first half before the second half becomes chaotic, aggressive with a brooding attitude forming. 

Inside The Horror Mask is a ten minute plus track where Black Helium entice and deceive  listeners in highly dramatic fashion with that highly melodic Post-Rock/Post-Stoner style transforming into a heavier style of freaky HEAVY METAL which is where the band excels and impresses the most.

The Animals Are Coming is another expertly played and brilliantly produced record from Black Helium that once again solidifies their reputation as one of the true original Heavy Psych Rock bands the UK underground has to offer. With stunning production values that offers a warped and fractured SONIC experience that fully rewards Black Helium of completely being in a league of their own making. 

Outstanding. End Of.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Black Helium and Riot Season Records for the promo.

The Animals Are Coming is available to buy now on DD/Vinyl via Riot Season Records

Links

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OVER-GAIN OPTIMAL DEATH - Die Underground (Album Review)

Release Date: March 28th 2025. Record Label: Riot Season Records. Formats: DD/Vinyl

Die Underground - Tracklisting

1.Die Underground 05:49 

2.No Lord 10:28

3.Oversleep 04:56

4.Fallen Woman 14:07

Members:

Jasso : Guitar/ Vocals

Luna : Bass

Backhaus + TJ : Twin Drums

Review

DIe Underground is the new album from Psychedelic Freaksters OVER-GAIN OPTIMAL DEATH and it’s my first exposure to their hyper violent style of Fuzz, Doom, Sludge, Noise, Stoner, Psych, Garage and Punk Rock carnage that awaits you on this album. Taking elements of Japanese Freakout music and joining this with intense slabs of Garage Rock is quite a highly inventive idea though the added levels of Speed Metal is quite something to behold. Parts Motorhead, MC5, Acid Mothers Temple, Mainliner and The Stooges is there to fully experience but as the classic saying from The Matrix goes:

“Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.”

That saying is the best way to describe Die Underground as it’s brilliantly unique, violent and all over the place with the massive amounts of epic feedback and drug induced Speed Rock/Metal grooves that surrounds the entire album which starts forming on the excellent title track Die Underground before exploding into a volcanic mass eruption of experimental passages within the second standout track No Lord. 

The vocals are buried under a ton of distorted dirt, grime and noise which has quite a deep wave of paranoia to them. OVER-GAIN OPTIMAL DEATH brings an experimental and art-rock style of music which feels inspired by the 1960’s and 1970’s Rock Scene and these guys will perhaps feel out of place to the normal Stoner Rock mainstream. Though, I expect nothing less from the amazing Riot Season Records who are releasing this album and they are the KINGS of bringing brilliantly weird and extraordinary bands to my attention who don’t fit the standard underground sound. OVER-GAIN OPTIMAL DEATH is no exception with the final two tracks Oversleep and Fallen Woman allowing the band to close the album off in freakish and violently aggressive fashion which leaves you wanting to hear more before the dying seconds of the album. 

Overall, Die Underground is an absolute joy if you dig the experimental and crazed nature of the whole album as there’s a ton of violent grooves waiting to be discovered under the masses of psychedelic terror that OVER-GAIN OPTIMAL DEATH conjures up out of thin air.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Die Underground is available to buy now on DD/Vinyl via Riot Season Records.

Links

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HIBUSHIBIRE - Magical Metamorphosis Third Eye (Album Review)

Release Date: November 24th 2023. Record Label: Riot Season Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Magical Metamorphosis Third Eye - Tracklisting

Orangesunshine Of Your Lovemachine

We Won't Go Back To The Past

Death Surfin USA

Tomorrow Never Ends

Ayahuasca Witch Abduction

Members

Tetsuji Toyoda - Bass/Bass Synthesizer/Vocal (Mermaid Mountain)

Aoi Hama - Drums/Suntur/Vocal (Cat Tongue Queen)

Changchang - Guitar/Acoustic Guitar/Guitar Synthesizer/Bouzouki/Electronics/Vocal (Melting Eye Spectacle)

Review

Magical Metamorphosis Third Eye is the new album from Japanese Psych/Space/Prog/Stoner Rockers HIBUSHIBIRE and sees the band return with a different line-up compared to their 2019 acclaimed album "Turn On, Tune In, Freak Out". This album sees HIBUSHIBIRE use themes such as Occultism and Mysticism though it's also about other things the band likes such as UFO's, Pyramids and Psychic Phenomena according to the press release. HIBUSHIBIRE play a never ending style of classic freakout psychedelic guitars throughout the album. Add elements of 60's/70's based Psych Rock, Cosmic Rock and Prog Rock which airs a cautious rebellious feeling within the quieter moments of the album before a frantic and aggressive seedy underbelly of Krautrock and legendary Japanese Psychedelic beats.

Opening track Orangesunshine Of Your Lovemachine is a catchy and chaotic style of Experimental Psychedelic Stoner Rock with frenzied guitars and jagged drumming that allows the vocals to drift off into multiple different directions. 

HIBUSHIBIRE do feel more creatively closer to certain landmark bands of the 1960's Rock scene such as The Beatles, The Byrds and The Beach Boys on the superbly mellow second track We Won't Go Back To The Past which showcases a different style of music from HIBUSHIBIRE. 

Third track Death Surfin USA matches the crazed glitchy and distorted Psychedelic sounds from the excellent opening track which draws upon THE WHO in the heavier destructive moments whilst still retaining that quality Japanese Psychedelic Freakout sound. The later stages of the track are wonderfully aggressive with HIBUSHIBIRE playing without a care in the world at times but there is METHOD TO THEIR MADNESS allowing the band to play with a sense of reckless abandonment but still retaining a cool sounding experimental groove.

Fourth track Tomorrow Never Ever Knows is driven by that Occultism and Mysticism influence mentioned previously with heavy frantic and sleazy trippy guitars perfectly balancing the 1960's Psych Rock Dream and then turning on it's head with a seedy almost sounding Doom Rock sound. The vocals have a certain conceptual feeling and flow to them but it matches the heavy rock attitude that HIBUSHIBIRE play within the background. There's moments of Psychedelic based Middle Eastern instrumental flavours that work amazingly well with the more riff-centric attitude of the album. 

The final song Ayahuasca Witch Abduction is an epic twenty minute plus song where HIBUSHIBIRE play everything that's been heard previously on the album but on a more grander and progressive scale. Ambient sounds, Jazzy beats and glitchy sound effects have an almost true life LSD feeling where I felt like I was being transported to another world at times. The instrumental work is confusing at times and with the vocals moving from one different tone to the next, the first few moments can be quite jarring at first. 

However, when HIBUSHIBIRE settles down into play a more cohesive and creative musical journey and that's when the real magic happens. Trippy extended instrumental Psych/Space Rock jams with the seedy underbelly of 1960's and 1970's RAWK & ROLL being given that Japanese Freakout makeover then HIBUSHIBIRE are KEEPERS of their own CREATIVE DOMAIN with a non-stop style of experimental and psychedelic breakdowns and frantic Cosmic activity that makes you wanting to hear more.

Magical Metamorphosis Third Eye is perhaps the freakiest and most far-out album of the year with HIBUSHIBIRE releasing a highly unconventional releases that twists the creative fabric of what is impossible within the Psychedelic/Space Rock scene and sound so devastatingly original within it's own right.

Then again am I really surprised with this great album being released by the always amazing and ever reliable Riot Season Records. Which is perhaps the perfect record label for the seriously weird and wonderful bands of the Underground Rock Scene to call home. And that's another great reason why to check out this brilliantly inventive album from one of Japan's finest Psychedelic/Space Rock bands. 

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe 

Thanks to Riot Season Records for the promo.

Magical Metamorphosis Third Eye will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Riot Season Records from November 24th 2023.

Links

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Codex Serafini - The Imprecation Of Anima (Album Review)

Release Date: June 23rd 2023. Record Label: Riot Season Records. Formats: DD/Vinyl

The Imprecation Of Anima: Tracklisting

1.Manzareck’s Secret

2.Mujer Espiritu

3.I Am Sorrow, I Am Lust 03:02

4.Animus In Decay

Review

The Imprecation Of Anima is the debut album from Psych/Space/Kraut/Drone/Doom Rock collective Codex Serafini who hail from the sunny shores of Brighton, UK. The band released two EP’s back in 2020 and 2021 which showed the band having a keen eye for a different style of Spaced Out Rock. This album has a Spaced Out Ritual Feel even with the heavy dramatic Saxophone making a welcome feel and I’m not the biggest fan of Saxophone being in heavy metal and hard rock albums. However, when used as thrilling and brilliantly well that Codex Serafini performs on this album then I’m fully on board.

Codex Serafini offers four tracks that gives a more Experimental take on the Space/Psych Rock cosmos which fuses BONG inspired slabs of Heavy Droned Out Doom with a KrautRock narrative which expertly comes into focus on the stunning opening track Manzareck’s Secret. Perhaps taking its name with a slight nod to the legendary The Doors Keyboardist Ray Manzarek though I could be totally wrong on that one. 

Manzareck’s Secret is a Progressive Space Rock journey into the more surreal surroundings of the Doom/Psych soundscapes with swirling guitars, intense vocals and melodic jazzy drum beats that make up for a cinematic style of OUT THERE RAWK MUSIC. Fusing sounds from the 60’s and 70’s Psych Rock scene but with a fleeting KrautRock and Stoner based narrative never too far behind. 

Second song Mujer Espiritu offers almost sixteen minutes of Ambient Post-Rock driven sounds which take time to morph into a heavier style of music. The Drone and Kraut aspects of the song allow Codex Serafini to play long drawn out moments of melodic Doom with creepy Keys and Organs offer a darker style of Space Rock. There’s a subtle Middle Eastern flavour to this song which fully comes into effect with the fantastic vocals and chants from the hugely talented and mysterious lead vocalist. I can’t find the name of the band members as they’re a mysterious collective unit. Fusing sounds from bands such as BONG, BORIS, EARTH and SUNN 0))), this record is cautiously slow and pulls no punches with its many different styles of music that accompany this weirdly psychedelic and majestic journey.

Third song I Am Sorrow, I Am Lust is more a straightforward affair with Codex Serafini playing a more riff based style of music though still cautiously weird and left-field. This is more of a Droned Out Punk Rock song with aggressive Psychedelic Freakouts and Jazzy beats being one of the most chaotic and enduring tracks on the album.

Fourth song Animus In Decay is the longest track and most diverse song on the album running past the seventeen minutes mark. I will admit I did struggle to connect this song originally but after a few listens it’s perhaps the standout track on the album. As it’s quite a different song though it starts off as a standard Drone/Doom Rock song with those trippy Middle Eastern flavours adding a more jagged feel to the song. The song is at it’s best towards the later stages when the song becomes more Drone/Kraut based with flashes of epic instrumental jams allowing Codex Serafini to end the album in style.

With this being released by Riot Season Records, The Imprecation Of Anima is a wonderfully different and exciting debut album with rich sounding production values adding a more quality feel throughout the whole album. 

The album isn’t going to be for everyone but if you’re in the mood for a different style of Experimental Drone/Doom then Codex Serafini could be music to your ears.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Riot Season Records and Yeah Go On Then Promotions for the promo.

The Imprecation Of Anima is available to buy on DD/Vinyl via Riot Season Records from Friday June 23rd 2023.

Links

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Machiavellian Art - Indoctrination Sounds (Album Review)

Release Date: February 24th 2023. Record Label: Riot Season Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Indoctrination Sounds: Tracklisting

1.Serotonin Problem 05:22

2.Faceless Voices 03:16

3.Indoctrination Sounds 02:48

4.Revolution 03:46

5.Let Down 02:38

6.Watch Them Crawl 02:12 video

7.Digbeth B5 05:17

8.Neanderthal (Bonus Track) 02:55

9.Death in Paradise (Bonus Track) 04:16

10.Thought Abduction (Bonus Track) 02:37

11.Serotonin Problem (Bonus Track) 02:04

12.Verbal Lobotomy (Bonus Track) 02:42

13.Perhaps A Lunatic Was Simply A Minority Of One (Bonus Track) 03:16

Members

Amy Murphy - Bass Guitar

Benjamin Thomas - Vocals and Saxophone

Joe Parkes - Guitar and Noise

John Andrews - Guitar and Vocals

Sam Hunt - Drums

Review

Indoctrination Sounds is the new album from Doom/Noise/Hardcore Punk/Shoegaze collective Machiavellian Art and it’s weird as hell. There’s a manic sense of fun to be had with this album with the band even bringing a Saxophone into the mix. I’m not the biggest fan of the Saxophone being played on Hard Rock and Heavy Metal albums but I was surprised how much I enjoyed Benjamin’s performance here. 

The album is a mixture of different sounds from the Doom Metal, Noise Rock and Punk Rock scenes but with a demented shoegaze effect leading the way. The instrumental work is frantic and built upon layers of stylish Noise Rock beats and freakish Psychedelic glitches with a gloomy afterthought which you can hear to great effect on the excellent two opening song of Serotonin Problem 

There’s a MELVINS and BORIS influence heard within the HEAVIER sludgy sounds when the band on this track decide to play standard grooves but don’t expect that to happen all the time. As the band primarily use AMPLIFIER DISTORTION and DRONE based freaky notes for this track.

The Hardcore Punk element does come on strong on the next two tracks Faceless Voices and Indoctrination Sounds as well but also a lovely Psychedelic Rock beat appears within the crazy Noise Rock carnage that’s primarily the forefront of this track. Benjamin’s vocals are not what you expect but he puts in a great vocal performance here on both tracks. There’s huge amounts of DOOMED OUT SONIC EXPERIMENTATION here which may get too tiresome for some listeners.

The rest of Indoctrination Sounds follows that same creative path with the band becoming more Noise Rock focused on the later stages of the album. The album remains constantly gloomy and experimental with some sublime extended grooves along the way if slightly on the warped experimental side. 

Standout tracks include: Revolution, Watch Them Crawl and Digbeth B5.

The band have added their 2019 debut release as bonus tracks. They’re not as good as the main album but there’s real cool sounding moments on these tracks. They just don’t have that great creative spark as the main part of the album.

Machiavellian Art is perhaps better suited to the more experienced Experimental/Avant-Garde music fan. As there’s a ton of crazed grooves and trippy sounds going on with this album. I can see why Riot Season Records released this album. As it’s a marriage made in musical heaven. You want a weird and dangerous album with a lot to say then Indoctrination Sounds is that album. 

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Riot Season Records for the promo.

Indoctrination Sounds is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Riot Season Records

Links

BandCamp