Doom/Sludge/Stoner Rockers GIGANTUM Show Off Their Doomy Rock Stylings With New Single/Video For “Necron99” From Upcoming New Album

GIGANTUM Show Off Their Doomy Rock Stylings With New Single “Necron99” - Debut S/T Album Out Sept 2024

L-R - Mia X – Vocals/Bass, BlareNBitch – Guitar/Vocals, Chase Manhattan – Drums, Mark Lüntzel – Guitar/Vocals. 

Photo Credit Mariana Fiel

Gigantum, the innovative hard rock band from Los Angeles, USA continues to experiment with the genre norms as they release their second single “Necron99” from their upcoming self-titled debut album slated to hit online retailers on September 6, 2024. Following the successful launch of the single “Monkey King” last month, this new track delves deeper into the band’s eclectic influences and creative synergy, offering fans another taste of what’s to come. 

Vocalist/bassist Mia X comments on the single:

“A lot of the songs are about conversations that we have at practice. Necron99 came about when Mark told us about this movie he was really into and wanted us to check out called, WIZARDS. After watching it, I went down a rabbit hole to learn more and when he started playing the riff that is now Necron99, I started thinking about the importance of what the movie was portraying.”

“Necron99” has a very heavy, doomy industrial feel that takes the listener into darkness. Gigantum works collaboratively, coming up with riffs that bounce off each other, and in each track, the different ideas and musical influences of the musicians can shine through. The result is an EP that is as complex as it is compelling, offering listeners a glimpse into the band's creative process.

“Necron99” could be considered the modern-day “War Pigs” and is recommended for fans of Fu Manchu, Mastodon, and Red Fang.

Watch and listen to the lyric video for “Necron99” via its premiere below thanks to the cool folks over at Asher Media PR

Due out on September 6th, 2024, Gigantum's self-titled album is available for pre-order at https://gigantumband.bandcamp.com.

Track Listing:​

1. Monkey King – 6:11
2. For All My Friends – 5:38
3. Forever Dreaming – 7:02
4. Brain Haze – 8:36
5. Rock Box – 3:38
6. Necron99 – 8:48

Album Length: 39:52

More info: https://linktr.ee/gigantumband

Thanks to Asher Media PR for all of the info.

Ripcord Records, have just released 2 compilations to raise money for Refuge

Ripcord Records, have just released 2 compilations to raise money for Refuge - a charity in the UK that helps women and children who have experienced domestic abuse (refuge.org.uk). 100% of the money made is going to them.

Refuge: Part I is a post-rock/math rock compilation featuring 72 bands from 22 countries and over 7 hours of music.

 

Refuge: Part II is a post-/black/sludge metal compilation featuring 78 bands from 22 countries and over 8 hours of music.

They are both "pay what you like".

You can find both compilations on our bandcamp at www.ripcordrecords.com.

Different Times For OHHMS - An Interview With Paul Waller

UK Prog Rockers OHHMS have had a steady rise to fame and prominence since they released their debut EP – BLOOM – back in 2014. BLOOM showed OHHMS were a band that are hard to define. As the band include elements of Prog, Sludge. Doom, Stoner, Psych and Post-Rock interludes.

They released their debut album – The Fool – to major critical acclaim last year. Never known to take a long break between new records and albums. OHHMS will be releasing their eagerly awaited new album tentatively titled “Exist” later this year in November 2018. However the band experienced a testing time when recording their new album.

With this in mind I interviewed Paul from OHHMS to see where the band currently is and what people can expect from the new album. 

What’s been happening with the band recently? There seems to be a lot of activity especially with the forthcoming tour later this year with Boss Keloid and the new album.

We’ve been working behind the scenes. We’ve never done that before, never taken a period of time off away from Social Media and stuff like that. We’ve taken a few months to bury our heads in a practice room and get our act together. We’d already completed recording the album. However, then what happened was that Daniel wasn’t into the album. He loved his stuff but didn’t love the other guy’s contributions. Thing is the rest of the band were really passionate about all of it as was I.

It caught us off guard. This was the first major problem that OHHMS ever had and we had to make a decision. Daniel has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. It was awful when I did the deed and said - “We think it’s best to move on without you.”

Surprisingly, Daniel said he was almost relieved and that he could concentrate on future stuff. But it was a real awkward time. I won’t lie about it but I think our friendship has survived really well and that’s perhaps down to this Podcast that we recently started together.

So OHHMS is now in full swing without Daniel. It feels really weird but it gave the band the spark it needed to get the album fully recorded and released upon to the world. Also we can play songs that we’ve never played before because his replacement Stuart is a great singer. Proper exciting. I’m raring to go.

Did Daniel leave because the sound of the new album is different to your previous releases and wasn’t happy with the new direction? 

No. There’s always been a push and pull. I thought that what made us so good. Daniel in my opinion and for my taste was the best songwriter in the band and so I thought whoever we replace him with needs to have the same “Classic Rock” leanings that Daniel brought to the band. He was the only person that brought that to the band and I think that allows OHHMS to be that little bit more unique.

So we found Stu, the new guy. He can pull that stuff off with ease but he’s also throwing a lot of other different things in, he has Prog Rock and Post-Rock in his arsenal. So we will see how that will integrate. The other band members bring their own individual talents to the band, none of that has changed. I must admit I was a little bit worried but the other guys are saying it’s going to work out great. We will find out soon enough.

Stu has re-recorded a lot of different stuff that Daniel originally recorded and we’ve even rewrote a whole song and started from scratch with some others. One track on the new album called ‘Shambles’ still features Dan playing; it’s an awesome farewell. But what Stuart has brought to the table just floors me. We really have landed on our feet.

When is the album being released? 

This album is being released November 2018 via Holy Roar Records and we are dong a tour with Boss Keloid in October. We are also doing two dates in November and those two dates coincide with the release of the album.

I can’t wait to get back on the road and play these new songs live.

Wait till you see what we have planned for the next album.

I’m surprised you said “next album” and this upcoming album. Does that mean you have the next album in place. Or plans in place? 

I think so. The thing is this album wasn’t meant to exist. The original plan was to release ‘The Fool’ and then we start recording next year for a 2020 release, which was going to be the next record. However, I got all my “poetry” altogether, all my notes which are about Animal Rights and Animal Conservation and things like that.

I didn’t want to wait. Sometimes with something that you’re truly passionate about, you have to do it right there and then. So we did it. We put all the money that we made off of ‘The Fool’ into the studio. We knocked it out right away. Chainy had been writing a massive song for several years before we started OHHMS. It was a song that Daniel particularly hated just because it was so long and complex. Before my vocals went on this song, even we didn’t know if it made sense. But it really does, it’s perfect.

Normally with our long songs, it’s a journey that has a beginning, middle and end. I really enjoyed doing stuff like that but last year I got proper bored with. So I asked Chainy could we use that track you did years ago and he said – “Yeah, I’ve finished it.”

We brought that song back into play and that has filled up the whole of side one. It’s 22 minutes and it’s in a style done by bands such as Pink Floyd, Genesis and Rush but a lot heavier. It’s one song but split into several parts, a suite. We couldn’t be more pompous if we wanted to. The song is about a life-cycle of an animal that’s born into Animal Testing.

I spoke to the guys, oddly with OHHMS we have regular meetings where we discuss the music and I presented them with all this stuff, all the words on paper. I asked could we write and make an album about this. The rest of the band said - “Yeah. Here’s all the music that we’ve done”. We just ran with it.

So we went for it and I’m so glad that we did. It’s weird back in the 60s/70s when bands released 2 or 3 albums a year. I want OHHMS to continue on and try release an album every year. As long as we are this inspired.

You may have noticed that bigger bands have announced their new albums to be released between Oct and Dec. Then they decide to postpone the release to the New Year. Was that ever a plan? Release it in the New Year? Or do you want the album released now? 

Holy Roar Records have had such an insane year. I don’t know if you know of websites such as RateYourMusic and similar brands. Usually you get a Hip-Hop album, a pop album or really weird underground indie rock album being voted top by critics and picking up points normally ending up as “Album Of The Year”.

At the moment Rolo Tomassi are doing it on the critic aggregation and that’s insane. Behind them you have Boss Keloid and Conjurer. It’s mad what’s currently going on over there at our label. I love Holy Roar and I want to be a part of this successful year.

I told Holy Roar that I want the album out this year as I want to start recording the new album next year. So lets get this album out now. They were unsure at first. Their release schedule was full. They are so busy at the moment. I noticed a gap right at the end of the year and I asked could we fill that. Holy Roar said no because there is no contention for when critics will put you in that “End Of Year” list sort of thing and Christmas time is notoriously bad selling time for new music by underground acts. Purely from a record label perspective of course if you get into the Top 50 Albums Of The Year things, that guarantees the band more sales.

There was another final spot in November. So I took that and they agreed. It was a relief.

Holy Roar Records have had a great year with albums this year. Such as Conjurer and Boss Keloid. Which is one of my favourite albums this year. 

It is my favourite album this year, Steve. It’s my number one choice this year so far.

Not many bands release a studio live album that Boss Keloid did earlier this year and still receive praise for the album. Is that why they are going on tour with you on your forthcoming UK Tour. 

I only had one choice with the band that I wanted to support OHHMS on the UK Tour and that was Boss Keloid. I asked them and they said yes. I was thinking – Yes! That was so easy. That’s amazing.

I’m in an envious position seeing Boss Keloid perform every night for 8 nights. That will be fantastic.

Will this be a joint tour or is OHHMS headlining. 

We are headlining but I would hope a ton of tickets are going to be sold because of Boss Keloid’s involvement as well. Our album doesn’t come out until a month after the tour. Our manager thinks were dicks for doing that. As you normally do a tour when the album is already out.

The thing is Boss Keloid haven’t really toured. They’ve done one or two gigs but they haven’t done a proper tour. So this will be people’s first exposure to the new Boss Keloid album. I’m proper excited, as I’m a proper fanboy.

Away from OHHMS, you’ve just started a Podcast called Different Times with Daniel. What is the podcast about and how did it come together. 

Yeah, Different Times Podcast. I was heartbroken with the whole issue with Daniel when he left OHHMS. He’s my best friend and it’s been like that for years. This is more than friendship. He’s more like a brother and within a week I was missing him. Within a couple of weeks we were talking again and a week after that we were planning this podcast.

You know the Podcast- That’s Not Metal, one of the biggest music podcasts. They put the feelers out by asking people to get involved. So we put together this pilot that we never sent where I love interviewing bands and Daniel loves talking “SHIT” about bands. It seemed like a perfect thing. It didn’t work out with That’s not Metal though when they changed their format. However we were left with this pilot and we asked ourselves – “Did We Want To Continue”?

And we did want to continue.

We are having real fun with this. All it’s about is looking at old Rock and Metal magazines. I love to put POP stuff in there as well just to wind Daniel up. We talk about the articles that were published at the time. It’s really weird and odd looking back at these magazines and articles. There is so much filler in those old magazines compared to the new ones.

The filler was so trite and mind-boggling at the time. It’s like from 1985 and up to the early 90s it was so sexist and casually racist and then Grunge arrived and changed attitudes. We just love reading the magazines and talking shit about them.

The great end to that story is that Daniel and myself are stronger friends that we have been for years. So I’m really thankful for that.

Where did you get these old magazines from? Do you have an old collection of magazines? Or do you buy stuff from Charity Shops or eBay? 

I have tons of magazines from my youth. The golden egg is KERRANG No 1. I’ve got it but I can’t bloody find it. I’ve got a spare room that’s full of tapes, old CD’s and magazines. I don’t want to go through all that stuff though as it will take forever.

Daniel is a bit different. When he wants something he goes on eBay. He’s on eBay all the time looking at different magazines. So that helps with the Podcast as well.

What else do you do on the Different Times Podcast.

We like to delve into music that I don’t know or Daniel doesn’t know or that we both don’t know. I love Daniel’s reaction when I dare to talk about Indie Rock. He’s so immature and he acts like a kid. I find that hilarious to do.

For something different we just recently did an episode on Cancer Bats. Where we discovered that Cancer Bats new album was released on 20th April 2018, which was when SLEEP released their new album – THE SCIENCES. It got buried underneath the SLEEP hype and I didn’t listen to the new Cancer Bats until a few months later.

It was such a mistake to make releasing an album the same day as SLEEP. HA HA.

Well Paul, thanks for doing this interview. Can’t wait to hear the album. Best of luck with everything. New album, forthcoming UK tour and the Different Times Podcast. 

Anytime my friend. Thanks again. Catch you later.

Words by Steve Howe and Paul Waller. 

Thanks to Paul for doing this interview. Thanks to Claire at Purple Sage PR for arranging this interview.

OHHMS Links:

Facebook | BandCamp

Different Times Podcast Links:

Facebook

Record Label Spotlight - Forbidden Place Records

Forbidden Place Records is a record label based in Denver, Colorado, USA that was started in 2014. This label is a record label with a difference. As the label describe themselves as:

"An art and music label that focuses on underground and experimental works by national & international artists"

Looking at their BandCamp Page, Forbidden Place Records have a lot of cool artists featured on their roster such as STAVH, The Dead End Alley Band, SIXES, MEPHISTOFELES and RUFF MAJIK.

Though Forbidden Place Records do have a lot of other cool artists that fall outside the Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal spectrum.

Links:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp

Under - Slick (Album Review)

Release date: May 31st 2017. Label: APF Records. Format: CD/DD

Slick – Tracklisting

1.Mirth Of Crows 02:43

2.Innards 04:57

3.Tended Ones 04:14

4.Tip Creature 03:56

5.Home 03:27

6.Slump 05:11

7.Straw Man 03:30

8.Worst To Come 04:50

9.Below In The Wreck 06:04

Band Members:

Andy Preece – Drums and Vocals

Matt Franklin – Bass and Vocals

Simon Mayo – Guitar and Vocals

Review

So here we have the debut release on APF Records.

For those of you not in the know APF is the brainchild and result of two years behind the scenes work of Andrew "Satan" Field.

Whilst we don't know each other particularly well (we met once at a Greenhorn show in Manchester and we were both VERY drunk) I know well enough the Mr Field is a staple of the North West scene and a HUGE supporter of underground music across the UK full stop.

He's pretty much the kinda guy you want running a label. Someone who's passionate about the music and not just looking to make a quick buck without giving anything back. He's already got an impressive roster with the likes of Blind Haze and Bong Cauldron on the books.

But this review is really about Under and their (as far as I know debut) release Slick.

The first thing that grabs you about it is the incredible artwork courtesy of Alan O'Neil. It's bold and garish and pretty much a neon nightmare. It's fucking awesome is what it is.

Pressing click on the first track "A Mirth Of Crows" I was a little taken by surprise by what came out of the speakers. In fact I even checked that the download was correct. It was. I'm not going to give too much away but it's gloriously mad and I promise you'll enjoy it.

Slick is by no means any easy release to digest. By the time I'd listened through the first time I wasn't sure. There was plenty that I loved and plenty that I wasn't sure about. But with repeated listens I started to get it. Like really get it.

Standout tracks for me being "Home" "Straw Man" and my favourite the brooding and oppressive "Tip Creature"

The album as a whole features elements of disgusting sludge, mad time signature's and harsh (and really fucking harsh) vocals. There's no fat on any of the tracks. Everything that's there is there for a reason.

I would liken this record to an aural equivalent of a season of The Walking Dead. There's a few bits and bobs that initially you're not sure about, but the conclusion not only makes it worth it, but puts the bits you weren't sure about into context and fully appreciate it as a whole.

Sometimes you put a record on and immediately you're into it, but over time that initial impact fades and it doesn't live up to all that early promise. Sometimes a record, works its way into your subconscious and crawls under (you see what I did there?) your skin and firmly implants itself there. And that's what Under have done with this record.

I'd fully recommend you pick up a copy as soon as you can...

Words by Simon Ross Williams

Thanks to APF Records for the promo. Slick is now available to buy on CD/DD now via APF Records.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp

ISIS (The Band) - Live VII 02.25.10 (Album Review)

Release date: March 31st 2017. Label: Ipecac Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Live VII 02.25.10 – Tracklisting

1.Hall of the Dead 07:50

2.Hand of the Host 10:02

3.Holy Tears 07:32

4.20 Minutes / 40 Years 07:23

5.Ghost Key 08:29

6.Wills Dissolve 06:22

7.Threshold of Transformation 10:14

8.Carry 05:15

9.Celestial (The Tower) 15:19

Members:

Bryant C. Meyer

Jeff Caxide

Aaron Harris

Aaron Turner

Mike Gallagher

Review

Even though they were certainly revered in their lifetime, since Isis split they have been remembered as both pioneers and visionaries of a post metal sound. They were certainly equally at home on stage as they were in the studio and this live concert, recorded in Melbourne in 2010, proves this beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Focussing on material from Wavering Radiant, the bands final album that has been released the year before as well as selected highlights from the bands back catalogue, this live document shows how formidable a sonic presence Isis were.

The band open with Hall Of The Dead and then Hand Of The Host both from Wavering Radiant and the sound is crystal clear and shows a band, despite being close to their splitting up, sounding absolutely immense with their sprawling sonic tales and as impressive as they are on record. Holy Tears, 20 Minutes/40 Years, Wills Dissolve and on, the highlights come in thick and measured droves with the centrepiece of this performance being a sublime rendition of Threshold Of Transformation.

As the band end their set in the best way possible with the stunning Celestial (The Tower), a song in which you can just feel the power soaring through your speakers,you will have listened in awe to a band doing what they do best.

The nine songs that they play here are epically recreated and demonstrates just how powerful a live band they were and having been lucky enough to see Isis live, this is a cracking reminder of that, how good a band they were in a live environment. Enthralling, expansive, awe inspiring and completely life affirming in equal measure.

Although it is unlikely that we will ever get to see Isis live in the flesh ever again (although never say never and all that!), this is the nearest thing there is and it should be embraced to celebrate one the most adventurous heavy bands on the planet that ever existed. There is also the fact that the members of Isis are currently playing in a multitude of bands (most notably Aaron Turner has the brilliant Sumac and Mammifer amongst others and Michael Gallacher has the sublime MGR) that should be checked out and appreciated in a live setting, proving that the Isis legacy will never die.

Words by Gavin Brown

Thanks to Monica at SpeakEasy PR for the promo. Live VII 02.25.10 is available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl from Ipecac Records now.

Links:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp

An Interview with Alex from TELEKINETIC YETI

Telekinetic Yeti maybe a band you haven't hard of yet but all that is about to change. As they're about to release their incredible new album – Abominable. Which is due out for release on March 17^th 2017 via Sump Pump Records. We will be reviewing that album very soon.

Telekinetic Yeti play a heavy blend of Psych, Sludge, Stoner and Doom. For a duo these guys are one of the heaviest bands I've came across recently. If you're a fan of Sleep, OM and CONAN then you're going to go crazy over this band.

I wanted to find out more about the band and Alex (Guitars) from the band has kindly agreed to this interview.

Hi Alex. How are things with you today.

Pretty good man

Can you give a brief history of how the band came about and where it is today.

The band was formed in March of 2015. Anthony and I had known each other for years from playing in some different bands years before. After that last band broke up in early 2010 he had moved out west. When he moved back to the mid-west in 2014 we tried to revive the old band. When that didn't work out with the other members we decided to see what we could do as just 2 people. We got together for a jam session and the first song we wrote was what ended up being the first song on our new album. We were stoked about how things were sounding so we kept with it.

Within 4 months we had our first set written and played our first show. The response right away was really good, people seemed really into it and were telling us they were blown away. Once we started playing our first out of town shows especially, the reactions we were getting were extremely encouraging. We felt like we were onto something.

We entered Flatblack Studios in Lone Tree, Iowa in early 2016. The recording process was spread out over several months because initially we didn't book enough studio time, and the studio was booked solid months in advance.

Fast forward to now, the albums done, our first music video is out, and the album is being released on Sump Pump Records on Vinyl on March 17, 2017. We are self releasing it on CD and digitally. We have 8 album release shows in the mid-west in late March in support of the Album. And we also just started booking a longer tour for June of 2017.

Why did you choose the name – Telekinetic Yeti for your band. Any specific meaning.

We just wanted a name that reflected the way band sounds. The music we were making sounded huge and fuzzy, kind of like a yeti. We thought a Yeti with some sort of occult powers would be cool, when we thought of telekinetic we were sold.

How would you describe your overall sound.

Thunderous, thick, fuzzy, riffy, prehistoric at times. Its a mix of stoner, doom, and rock and roll.

So we are here to talk about your debut album – Abominable. Congrats on a great album. What can people expect from the album.

The album feels like a journey. Each song takes on its own unique mood, we try to not write the same song twice. Wed like to think the album is a good balance of kick ass rock and roll riffing, and also some more moody and colorful stuff. People have mentioned there is an element of unpredictability to it that keeps the listener engaged. 

Was it an easy or hard album to write and record for.

Some of the songs came together very quickly, and some took more time. I wouldn't say any of the songs stuck out as being particularly more easy or hard to write or record. Each song presents its own unique challenge. Usually we've had a pattern of writing the first half of the song fairly quickly, then usually a descent amount of time is spent deciding where we want to take the song from the halfway point.

Every song you write could be taken in so many different directions, there really are no rules. We don't always end up using the first part we write, we might write 4 or 5 different parts and choose whichever one we think is the best for the song. Ultimately we pretty much always know when a part or a song is done, and its totally based on how it feels. Does it feel good to play? Does it make you really feel something? That's when we know the part is good.

What is your favourite song off the album and the reasons why. Mine is Colossus.

Honestly we can't pick one, it would be like picking your favorite child. We like them all for different reasons.

Are you anxious what your fans will think of this record.

No. We wrote and recorded the songs that we thought were awesome. We are proud of the collection of songs we recorded and we wouldn't have done it any other way.

Will you be touring this record heavily In the future.

Yes. Be sure to keep on our page for dates when we come to your city.

The album is being released on Sump Pump Records How did that come about.

We played a show with our friends in Druids who had their album release show in Des Moines, IA. Sump Pump Records saw us play for the first time at that show. We hit it off with Dan from Sump Pump, and decided we wanted to release a record together. 

How did the excellent artwork come about. Who designed this and how much input did you have into the overall final design.

The artwork was done by Headbang Design. We gave him feedback and ideas throughout the entire process and we worked off of his art abilities and bounced ideas off of each other.

For a two man group, you're an incredibly loud act. What is your equipment setup to create this sound when recording live or performing in the studio.

For the guitar, I play a 7 string guitar tuned super low, somewhere in between where a bass and a guitar normally sits. And I use super thick strings, some of the thickest strings on my guitar are actually bass strings. The thick strings really beef things up and allow me to have proper string tension with the low tunings. We are then splitting the guitar signal into 2 orange ad140s, and a fender bassman 300 pro, into four 4x12 orange guitar cabinets and a 2x15 ampeg bass cab. At certain points in songs I also use an octave pedal that beefs it up quite a bit.

Anthony has a vintage Fibes acrylic drum kit, similar to the one John Bonham in Led Zeppelin used. They are physically large drums so they are super loud and powerful sounding, and Anthony hits his drums really hard, so the drums sound very big and full.

Where can people purchase or listen to your new full length album.

You can buy the album on CD from our online merch store at telekineticyeti.bigcartel.com, you can buy the album on vinyl at http://sumppumprecords.com/albums/vinyl/telekinetic-yeti-abominable , and you will be able to stream the full album and buy it digitally at telekineticyeti.bandcamp.com come March 17, 2017.

Before you go, do you have anything to say to your fans.

Thanks so much for all your support, it really means the world to us! We hope to see you at a show soon!

Well Alex, thanks for doing this. All the best with the new album.

Words by Steve Howe and Alex Baumann

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp

Helms Alee - Stillicide (Album Review)

Release date: September 02^nd 2016. Label: Sargent House. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Stillicide – Tracklisting

1.More Weight

2.Untoxicated

3.Tit to Toe

4.Meats and Milks

5.Stillicide

6.Galloping Mind Fuk

7.Creeping You Company

8.Dream Long

9.Bullygoat

10.Andromenous

11.Worth Your Wild

Band Members:

Ben Verellen

Dana James

Hozoji Matheson-margullis

Review:

After giving Helms Alee new album Stillicide a couple of listens I realzied that I couldn't find the appropriate way to describe the band. They are heavy, but not heavy metal. The music is too well played and recorded to be punk music. I'm sure there is a post- something tag that I am no way near hip enough to know that could apply, then it dawned on me, the way to best describe this record is good....really, really good!

Helms Alee is a trio from Seattle. Stillicide is their 4th full length. I am a fan as I have their first two albums. I somehow slept on their 3rd, Sleepwalking Sailors (sorry!). Perhaps there is something about that Pacific Northwest region that causes the musicians to blend so many different styles together so seamlessly. If you break it down to it's purest/simplest form Grunge music, was basically an amalgamation of pop, punk, and heavy metal done with an indie mindset. Helms Alee does a similar sort of thing. I don't want diminish anything on this fine record, but I was reminded on multiple occasions of a heavier version of Sonic Youth when listening to some of the songs. Which is a good thing, I was a big Sonic Youth fan that was heartbroken when the band broke up and honestly, I haven't the time, energy or money to follow them on any of their post SY adventures. Helms Alee slides into that empty void of pounding dissonance and relishes in it.

There are so many elements to the band's music that you hear something new on every listen, which to me, is a sign of a great band and a great record. There are riffs aplenty, an interesting mix of male/female vocal interplay, some huge driving drums and plenty of low end to keep fans of any genre happy and listening on.

The opening, instrumental track More Weight is interesting as it plays an almost symphonic rock quality, that makes you double check that you are on the right album, it works and quickly gives way to the concise, pounding Untoxicated. One of the albums most stellar tracks is Tit to Toe, one of the many tracks that mixes the often under appreciated male/female vocal interplay that makes Helms stellar. Meats and Milks stumbles in and melts your face and leads into the bass riff of the title track. The band takes you on a ride with Galloping Mind Fuk and leaves you unsettled on Creeping you Company. Dream Long is another killer track. Bullygoat and Andromenous continue to deliver with power and chiming dissonance before the albums killer final track Worth your Wild, is truly that.

Stillicide is a beautiful, brutal, multi layered experience that will bring you back listen after listen. You can peel away layers like an onion and hear sounds and influences time after time. Check this record out, you will not be disappointed.

Words by Todd Stealey

Thanks to Rachel at Silver PR for the promo. Stillicide will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Sargent House from September 2^nd 2016.

Links:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp

Moon Tooth - Chromaparagon (Album Review)

Release date: February 05^th 2016. Label: Self Released. Format: CD/DD

Chromaparagon – Tracklisting

1.Queen Wolf

2.Offered Blood

3.Igneous

4.Little Witch

5.Bats in the Attic

6.Forgive Me Snake Ryder

7.Chroma

8.Vesuvius I

9.Vesuvius II

10.Belt Squeezer

11.Death and the Vibrant Architecture of Rebirth

12.White Stag

Band Members:

John Carbone – Vocals

Nick Lee – Guitar & Vocals

Ray Marte – Drums & Vocals

Vincent Romanelli – Bass

Review:

A lot can be said about Moon Tooth’s debut album Chromaparagon. Progressive, Complex, Challenging, Creative, Exhausting but perhaps the best way to describe it is – Chromaparagon is perhaps one of the most clever and devilishly fun debut albums I’ve heard in a while. It’s not going to be for everyone. If you’re a fan of Mastodon, At The Drive-In, The Mars Volta and perhaps even Dillinger Escape Plan then you will find much to enjoy here.

Moon Tooth deserves credit for trying something different with their music. Stoner, Doom, Sludge, Prog Rock, Math Rock and even Thrash makes an appearance on the album. Opening track – Queen Wolf – matches the ferocious heaviness of Mastodon with the quick witted intelligence of The Mars Volta but the band still create their own original sound. The vocals are one of the most impressive things on the album as lead vocalist shows his impressive vocal range – Prog Rock, Thrash and even a touch of alt-rock style vocals with a deep haunting edge. When the riffs change from Prog Rock to a more bombastic Sludge based groove then the album changes mood and direction.

The album has a schizophrenic approach as the band can’t decide if they want to be Prog Rock, Prog Sludge or a straight out experimental alt rock/metal band. Second track – Offered Blood – feels it could have came off from At The Drive-In classic album – Relationship Of Command. It has the same complex melodies and intriguing story that album has but as I’ve said before Moon Tooth make this their own sound. The song has quite a doomy outlook with different noises and riffs being played against each other.

Third track – Igneous – once again challenges the audience’s perception of what genres do these guys fall under. It’s a stunning track and one that shows off each member musical talents with the vocals almost being drowned out by the frantic riffs. You can start to hear traces of thrash based riffs in the background before the band adds almost sinister psych/blues rock noises.

I’ll be here all day if I try to explain every single song. Let’s just say the rest of the album carries on the experimental progressive nature of the first three songs as the band create heavier and sometimes disturbing moments of Prog Rock/Metal. Check out the fourth song – Little Witch – which is perhaps the most straight forward Hard Rock/Stoner Rock song on the album. It’s a nice contrast to the opening songs but the vocals take a sinister turn at different times and I never expected the Thin Lizzy dual guitar style melodies towards the end.

Other songs to check out are Forgive Me Snake Ryder, Vesuvius I, Vesuvius II and perhaps the standout track on the album – White Stag. White Stag is on for eleven minutes and Moon Tooth unleashes a sonic progressive masterpiece onto the world. It’s a complex and challenging listen as the band create moments of Mastodon style epic prog rock/metal madness with moments of sheer genius especially with the lyrics and vocal delivery.

Maybe the band has included a few too many songs but it doesn’t deter from the fact that Chromaparagon is a beautifully created and perhaps slightly demented album at the same time. As I said before this isn’t going to be to everyone’s taste. You need to invest a lot of time with this album as it’s full of great ideas that a few listens is never enough. If you have the time and patience for a challenging album such as this then you will be rewarded with a trippy as hell progressive experience. An outstanding debut album.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Moon Tooth and Curran Reynolds for the promo. Chromaparagon will be available to buy on CD/DD from February 5th 2016.

Links:

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Niels Fuzz Bartholdy Top 25 Albums Of 2015

There is no denying it, 2015 has been an absolute smashing year with regard to both underground/DIY bands and bigger, well-established names. A swarm of killer releases from all over the Globe have swamped this year with badass tunes within the Stoner/doom/psych/fuzz/blues/hard rock/metal realm. 

Pinning down your top25 or even 50 favorite releases from the passing year is a tough task under normal circumstances, but given the aforementioned horde of top-shelf albums released this year it has been a near impossible task to complete. So in order to ease the selection of the best this year had to offer, I needed to narrow the perspective to include only full-length albums released on vinyl although this inevitable would rule out some magnificent digital/CD only releases. Furthermore is not included albums released before 2015 as digital/CD only and that saw a vinyl reissue this year.

However, the list below at best tries to outline the releases of 2015 that ranked the highest with me, and stood the test of multiple listens and thus managed to remain intriguing, vibrant and that kept me coming back for another spin. So based on number of listens and magnitude of joy the Top 25 of 2015 according to my humble opinion: 

1. DoctoR DooM – ‘The Seed We Have Sown’ (STB Records)
2. Elder – ‘Lore’ (Stickmann Records)
3. Sweat Lodge – ‘Talismana’ (Ripple Music)
4. Brothers Of The Head – ‘Light The Night And Feed The Flame (xx)
5. The Devil And The Almighty Blues – ‘The Devil And The Almighty Blues’ (Blues For The Red Sun)
6. Windhand – ‘Grief’s Infernal Flower’ (Relapse Records)
7. Spelljammer – ‘Ancient Of Days’ (Riding Easy Records)
8. Uncle Acid – ‘The Night Creeper’ (Rise Above Records)
9. The Heavy Eyes – ‘He Dreams Of Lions’ (Bilocation Records)
10. Nocturnalia – ‘Above*Below*Within (Gaphals Records)
11. Kadavar – ‘Berlin’ (Nuclear Blast)
12. Horisont – ‘Odyssey’ (Rise Above Records)
13. Clutch – ‘Psychic Warfare’
14. Freedom Hawk – ‘Into Your Mind’ (Small Stone Records)
15. Demon Eye – ‘Tempora Infernalia’ (Soulseller Records)
16. Bison Machine – ‘Hoarfrost’ (Bilocation Records)
17. Old Man’s Will – ‘Hard Times – Troubled Man’ (Riding Easy Records)
18. Captain Crimson – ‘Ageless Times’ (Nasoni Records)
19. Palm Desert – ‘Pearls From The Muddy Hollow’
20. Libido Fuzz – ‘Kaleido Lumo Age’ (Pink Tank Records)
21. We Hunt Buffalo – ‘Living Ghosts’ (Fuzzorama Records)
22. Red Mountain – ‘Red Mountain’ (Nasoni Records)
23. Limb – ‘Terminal’ (New Heavy Sounds)
24. Ruby The Hatchet – ‘Valley Of The Snake’ (Tee Pee Records)
25. Sacri Monti – ‘Sacri Monti’ (Tee Pee Records)

Words by Niels Fuzz Bartholdy

An Interview with KRAK KRAK

KRAK KRAK are about to release their brilliant debut album - All The Punks In The World Cannot Save You Now. The album is an adrenaline rush from start to finish with the band crossing so many musical boundaries that I didn't think was even possible.

KRAK KRAK's sound includes Noise, Garage, Punk, Sludge, Stoner and even Thrash Metal. It has a violent addictive quality to it. They're getting some major praise within the UK Hard Rock/Metal Press and they have a formidable reputation when performing live on stage.

The guys were kind enough to premiere – BLOOD - from their new album last week. Well I wanted to find out a little bit more from these experimental riffsters and I'm happy to say KRAK KRAK have kindly agreed to talk to me.

Hi guys, thanks for doing the interview and for allowing me to premiere your new song recently. Much appreciated. How are things with you today.

We're well! We're currently mixing a live EP for December!

For people not in the know can you tell how your band came about and where it is today.

Oh the joy of KRAK... It all began when I became slightly disillusioned with a previous musical outing and wanted to create a band that was about creating a joyous horrible noise. I found Kiyarn through mutual friends and Chris was the only bass player to reply to a vocalist wanted ad... From then we wore our heart on our sleeve and just kept recording and releasing as we went. It's been a year now and we've released tracks through Sonic Anhedonic Recording Company, Fluffer Records, Alcopop Records, Super Fan 99 and Rawshark Records. The debut album is an accumulation of this years adventure as it were!

Where did the name KRAK KRAK came from. Any specific meaning.

Well... When we started we joked that the aim of the band was to make a noise akin to the White Stripes on crack... Crack Stripes? White Crack? Crack Crack? KRAK KRAK!

Photo courtesy of Keira Cullinane.

Your music is very hard to describe. Noise, Garage, Punk, Sludge, Thrash, Metal. How would you describe it. It’s loud and heavy probably why I dig your sound so much.

Thanks man! Hmmm... We've recently coined the term 'Radio friendly grindcore' but I don't think that even describes us... We don't try to be elusive believe me! We all have very big personalties so I think we pull the music in all different directions naturally.

Your about to release your new album – All The Punks In The World Cannot Save You Now. What can people expect from the album and why did you choose that catchy title. Great title.

The title is an extract from a David Sandström (Refused) album, it really stuck with us and summed us up quite frankly! Without sounding too pretentious, the album is literally a musical journey as we started writing it as soon as the band was formed so it sums up our year really. We have have took influence from everything be it the grind, prog, stoner, metal and psychedelia elements. Hopefully they're should be something for everyone!

Was it an easy or hard album to write and record for.

It was easy to write but hard to perfect (if you can call it that)... The nature of the beast with songs that are under minute long or for that matter go on with one riff for over a minute, is to keep those parts interesting but yet not over think them. We had that punk mentality throughout where we just kept writing what we wanted rather than thinking about singles, what was cool etc.

Your music is getting some great praise within the UK Hard Rock/Metal scene. Has that surprised you in anyway or don’t you take notice of things like that.

Yes to both! Every time we get any sort of positive feedback we're like “Really? You sure?” I think as we really are writing and doing this band for ourselves I still find it incredible that people are behind us. It definitely spurs you on. We all find it incredibly humbling to have any sort of feedback to be honest!

Will you be touring the record in the future.

Yes! We're currently booking shows and festivals for 2016. We have a tour being booked for January with some amazing bands. Watch this space!

The UK Hard Rock/Metal scene is sort of at a crossroads at the moment. Some people I’ve spoken to think it’s on the way up whilst others think it’s on the way down. What’s your verdict on this. Have you noticed anything different recently. If it is in decline how can we improve it.

I think it depends on where you look. Personally I think its on the up but I would look to the amazing indie labels like Holy Roar, Small Town America and Riot Season and their releases rather than the majors. Bands like Rolo Tomassi, Workin Man Noise Unit and USA Nails have done extremely well this year. How to improve it? I think people need to support the smaller labels.

How hard is it for you all being in a band within today’s musical scene. Is it always a never-ending struggle.

You're not far off the “Never ending struggle”... Its been a steep learning curve, but we've learnt a lot. There are definitely some things which are harder than others. Gigging is always going to be tricky as your always most definitely going to operate at a loss, which is hard when you want more and more people to witness the noise... But I think the pros outweigh the cons and we wouldn't change it for the world.

We have to talk about the album cover. What is that album cover about. Who designed it and what does it mean to you as a band and the album in general.

The album was based around trying to be inclusive of all our artistic friends, we have so many that it was about getting everyone involved. It also sums up the schizophrenic style of the album quite nicely. We had over 30 teeth so was quite hard arranging it into a coherent vision... A bit like the album...

What’s the song-writing dynamic within the band. Is it a group collective or down to one individual.

Nearly all songs go through the same process... We start with a collection of drums beats and a brief mood “Play a riff that sounds like sludgy Mastodon with a pop chorus that will make us $$$” and then a bunch of riffs get written that we take it into the studio and we re arrange everything like a weird metal puzzle then Chris shouts bloody murder over everything...

With 2015 drawing to a close, what have been your favourite records you’ve listened to this year.

Straight off we all really enjoyed the new Refused album. Definitely the Rolo Tomassi album, personally I really liked the new Cradle of filth album but I think I'm alone in that one... Also the USA Nails, Workin Man Noise Unit and Sergeant Thunderhoof albums are amazing.

What does 2016 have in store for KRAK KRAK

Gigs gigs gigs! We're really looking forward to playing some festivals next year. We're currently writing album 2 which is shaping up really nicely / quickly so we'll be recording that early next year. We're really trying to push the boundaries on the next one, half of it will be entirely noisy grind...

Well guys, thanks for doing this. All the best with your new record.

Our pleasure!

Words by Steve Howe and KRAK KRAK

Thanks to KRAK KRAK for taking the time out to do this interview. All The Punks In The World Cannot Save You Now will be out to buy on CD/DD from November 30^th 2015 via Rawshark Records.

Links

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