Borehead - Vita Est Morte Est Vita (Album Review)

Release Date: November 29th 2024. Record Label: Octopus Rising. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Vita Est Morte Est Vita - Track Listing:

1.Estate

2.Circadian

3.Zoonosis

4.Macadamia

Members

Mike – Guitars

Stuart – Bass

Richard – Drums

Review

Instrumental Doomsters Borehead debut album Vita Est Morte Est Vita sees the band explore the creative groundwork played on their previous EP’s 001 and 002 even further with a heavier Psychedelic tinged sound with flashes of Post-Rock, Stoner Metal and Sludge Metal. The record is quite abstract and superbly heavy with an Industrial and Progressive based movement which comes to life on the excellent opening track of Estate.

The music is quite down-tuned and distorted with an aggressive delivery with Borehead operating with an Experimental approach at times. The band do lean further into the Post-Metal sound on tracks such as Circadian and Zoonosis with a gloomy outlook with how the music is delivered which isn’t surprising with the album’s English title being “Life Is Death And Death Is Life”. This is the type of music that harks back to the classic days of Post-Metal where PELICAN reigned supreme with blackened sounds areas of the Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal subgenres battling for creative supremacy.

The instrumental sounds are epic, sparse with Borehead being in complete control of their own musical destiny. Vita Est Morte Est Vita is haunting and beautifully melodic with strands of subtle Cosmic Metal allowing the record to be quite unforgiving with a dynamic Post-Rock presence. With echoes of eerie Post-Rock becoming quite regular on the later stages of each track which allows Borehead to add classic soundclips and soundbytes which manifests into a whole different level of heaviness for the listener to fully experience.

There maybe a lack of speed and urgency to Borehead’s music but it’s the actual journey that this album takes you upon that’s the real reward. You have more time to soak everything in with Borehad playing a multitude of different styles of Post-Metal with an epic sideline in Doomgaze and haunting Psychedelic Sludgy surroundings which have an air of sublime COSMIC and SONIC exploration to them.

For a debut album, Borehead feel like they’ve been around forever delivering intense and emotionally charged sounds of the highest order. Within the second half of the album you can hear more dominant and abstract moments of Drone/Ambient Metal starting to form which provides a cold and unsettling feeling with added layers of menacing glitch based noises that are chaotic and absolutely breathtaking to fully listen to.

Famed UK Record Producer Wayne Adams is involved with this album as he lends his great recording talents once again by recording, mixing and mastering the album which gives this record another layer of quality. The album is being released by fearless underground record label Argonauta Records imprint Octopus Rising and showcases why they're perhaps one of the best labels in the business of recognising new talent and promoting their great music throughout the entire underground Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal scene.

Vita Est Morte Est Vita is a masterful debut album that will no doubt appeal to fans of PELICAN, UFOMAMMUT, BONGRIPPER and Vinnum Sabbathi. Be prepared for a bruising encounter of first rate COSMIC based Post-Metal grooves that will leave you on the edge of your seat.

WOW. End Of. 

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Grand Sounds Promotion for the promo. 

Vita Est Morte Est Vita will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Octopus Rising / Argonauta Reords from Friday 29th November 2024.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp

Intergalactic Covenant SUMMONING SATURN VOIDS Unveils Debut Album Details; New Lyric Video Out Now

SUMMONING SATURN VOIDS - an intergalactic covenant born from a desire to create a musical time machine - unveils full details of their self-titled debut album, set for release via Argonauta Records on December 6, 2024.

The album's tracklisting and cover art are as follows:

1 - Cosmic Sabbath
2 - Nihil Re-Genesis
3 - Blackshift Alien God
4 - Technical Heresy
5 - Mare Tranquillitatis
6 - Star Wreck
7 - Funerastrology
8 - Siggy Starsmoke And The Bongsters From Mars

The new single and lyric video for 'Nihil Re-Genesis' are now available on YouTube: 

"The Summoning Saturn Voids spaceship continues its journey into the cosmos, among planets and ancient stellar deities. The band's Saturnian sound is much more expanded and rarefied in this song. A song to listen to in a meadow looking at the firmament." - says the band

Bringing a Black Metal singer into the future, immersed in sidereal and cosmic sounds and then catapulting him into the 70’s, jamming with Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler. Different emotions and influences contributed to the birth of his album: isolation, frustration, desire for redemption.

SUMMONING SATURN VOIDS fire up the laser blades and throw in their magical cauldron-crater a mixture of sounds inherited from Planet Earth (lysergic doom, death/black metal chants, psychedelia, stoner rock) as well from the deepest regions of the (un)known Galaxy (music of the spheres, vibrational stars-resonance frequencies). The potion thus evoked is at the same time spirited and punishing, grim and melancholic, reeking of 70’s era Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream and... well, you will surely find out.

Featuring clones and doppelgangers stolen from earthly bands like Aborym, Darkend, Drakkar, The Headless Ghost and Daemoniac (plus a quite well renowned gentleman from Norway), the SUMMONING SATURN VOIDS spaceship travels through time back and forth, offering an adventurous sonic experience that will for sure appeal to a quite wide and diverse range of listeners.

LINE UP:

Æ – Vocals
AL(B)3 – Bass
RHA –Guitars
H7-25 – Drums
Fabban - Synth

For more info:

https://www.facebook.com/summoningsaturnvoids
https://www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords

Thanks to Grand Sounds Promotion for the details.

Hollow Leg - Echoes (EP Review)

Release Date: December 06th 2024. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Echoes - Track Listing:

1. Last Tribe (5:11)

2. Bury Our Kings (4:43)

3. Red Skies (3:28)

4. Ride the Wave/Dig the Grave (6:33)

Members

Scott Angelacos - vocals

Brent Lynch - guitar/backing vocals

Tom Crowther - bass

John Stewart - drums

Review

American Doom/Stoner Metallers Hollow Leg releases their second EP of 2024 with Echoes which acts as the perfect companion piece to Dust which was released back in May. This EP is a heavier and gloomier piece compared to Dust but both acting as different sides of the same coin. The music is perhaps more groove orientated which comes across superbly well within the stunning opening track Last Tribe. With a storming NOLA and Southern Metal style of music appearing yet again, the sound is quite thick and dominated by a thrilling vocal performance from lead vocalist Scott Angelacos.

Echoes runs around twenty minutes and maybe DUST and ECHOES should have been released as one full album but Hollow Leg have earned the right to carry out something different with their music and having two EP’s showcases the new creative direction the band are continuing with. The sound is quite bleak and oppressive in parts but it’s still classic sounding HOLLOW LEG through and through. The added use of Psychedelic pastures is used superbly yet again with a classic style of Doom/Stoner Metal being quite forceful and riff-centric in nature which is carried out through the rest of the EP especially on sublime tracks of Bury Our Kings and Red Skies.

The instrumental passages are quite grounded in Sludge Metal lore and technical ability but there’s also a great style of classic sounding Heavy Rock that we haven’t heard from Hollow Leg in quite some time. With some heavy guitar solos sweetening the deal within Bury Our Kings which can be quite flashy at times but this proves why Hollow Leg are perhaps undisputed masters of the American Doom/Stoner Metal scene currently out there. As they know how to write a lean, mean and bone-crunching groove that ventures across the whole Heavy Rock spectrum.

The final track of Ride The Wave/Dig The Grave is the standout track with Hollow Leg demonstrating a wicked sense of classic Grunge methodology that harks back to the good old days of Soundgarden and Alice In Chains but keeping inline with the backdrop of modern day Doom/Sludge Metal. The vocals once again are harsh, abrasive and pitched superbly well that makes them easy to understand. The track sees Hollow Leg perform their heaviest and sickest grooves on the EP which is also brilliantly original in its own right. 

There's also a brilliant section where Hollow Leg start playing moments of Post-Rock, Post-Doom and Post-Stoner on the later stages of the track and I do hope we hear this style of music from the band on future releases as it really suits them compared to the heavier sounds they're fully known for.

Echoes is an absolute BEAST of an EP which ranks as one of the band's most definitive records in years. 

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Good Boy PR for the promo. Echoes will be available to buy digitally from Friday 06th December 2024.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram | Twitter

Craneium Signs to Majestic Mountain Records & Unveils New Single "Empty Palaces"

Finnish progressive heavy psychedelic rockers Craneium are thrilled to announce they’ve officially signed with Majestic Mountain Records. To celebrate this exciting occasion, the band will release their brand-new single "Empty Palaces" this Friday, available on all digital platforms. 

In a statement from the band, guitarist Martin Ahlö shared: “A friend of the band gifted us a book on old Egyptian magick, and some of the spells carried really empowering messages. It also inspired the themes that we explored a lot in our music at the moment: the inevitable decay of mankind’s empires and monuments at the hands of nature and time.”

Drummer Joel Kronqvist added, “We’re beyond excited to share a new single called ‘Empty Palaces’ with the world. This track is the perfect blend of our signature 90’s edge mixed with the soulful, retro vibes of the 70’s.”

Known for their ability to seamlessly blend classic riffing with dynamic atmospheres, Craneium explores the ebb and flow of light and heavy, drawing inspiration from '70s hard rock, '90s desert psychedelia, and various other musical influences. Their sound stands as both timeless and uniquely their own.

Formed in 2011 in Turku, Finland, Craneium has made a name for themselves with electrifying live performances across the Nordic countries and Europe. Having shared the stage with acts such as Skraeckoedlan (SWE) and Mars Red Sky (FRA), Craneium continues to spread their powerful sound to fans worldwide.

The band has already released four albums and two split releases and is currently working on a new full-length album, tentatively scheduled for release in 2025, now under the wing of Majestic Mountain Records.

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/craneiumband

https://www.instagram.com/craneiumband

https://craneiumband.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/majesticmountainrecords

https://www.instagram.com/majesticmountainrecords

https://twitter.com/Majestic_vinyl

https://majesticmountainrecords.bigcartel.com

https://majesticmountainrecords.bandcamp.com

Thanks to Viral Propaganda PR for all of the details.

Psych Stoner Rockers Liquid Pennies Release New Song/Visualizer For Sight Skewer From Upcoming 4th Album

This is the second single by Psych Stoner Rockers Liquid Pennies from their upcoming 4th LP, and showcases their shift towards incorporating drum samples and synths along with the heavy psych rock foundation of drums, bass, and guitar.

The song was mixed and the drums were tracked by Ryan Boesch of Candor Recording, who has done albums for Melvins, Eels, Helmet, Whores, and Foo Fighters.

My review on Sight Skewer

Imagine if BARONESS played a more Heavy Psychedelic blend of Stoner Rock fused with Post-Punk. Prog Rock, Americana, Space Rock and Stadium Rock sensibilities and this would be the delightful result. 

If ever a band oozes true CULT APPEAL then LIQUID PENNIES are that band. Sight Skewer is a work of art with the intricate melodies and progressive beats they fuse on this wholly cinematic spaced out journey of heavy far out sounds. 

Band Bio

Pulling from psychedelic rock, post punk, prog, hardcore, folk, electronic, and a myriad of other genres, Liquid Pennies seek to find the concise in the abstract while keeping listeners on their tapping toes. Formed in St. Petersburg Florida in 2018 and comprised of Chas Binns (guitar/vocals/synth) Pierson Whicker (drums), and Tyson Mink (bass, synth) the band has continually redefined themselves with constant movement and musical malleability.

 

 
Floods, the band’s 2019 debut album, was self-produced utilizing a blend of analog tape and digital mediums.

 
Adding fourth member Zoë Turtle on violin and vocals the following year, "Secrets Dash" was produced and released independently in June 2020. March of 2021 saw the release of the sophomore full-length Distant Dawn, tracked and mixed during the 2nd half of 2020.

In 2022 they released the raw and upfront analog-recorded D.E. ep., followed by Any Wonder; an hour-long journey showcasing the band’s growth and progression that featured a myriad of guest musicians from the Tampa Bay area. 2023’s A Wake-Ending explored intricacies between the lines with a stripped-down yet technical approach the band honed in their high-octane live performances as a trio, and was followed by a supporting East Coast tour. 

After a stint featuring the heavy psych rock pulse of dual drummers for the singles Doom Doubt and Name Dropper, their newest releases Ready Tide and Sight Skewer take a left turn, delving into the electronic synth-layered sounds foreshadowing their upcoming 4th album.

Links

Linktree | BandCamp

PARIAHLORD - Mirrors (Album Review)

Release Date: November 22nd 2024. Record Label: Timezone Records. Formats: CD/DD

Mirrors - Track Listing:

1.The Hole in the Wall 04:35

2.Infernal 07:06

3.Enigma 05:11

4.Nachtmahr 06:38

5.Oneironaut 08:25

6.Dogma 05:54

7.Elysion 06:08

8.The Hangman 08:23

Members

Carsten Schmitt – Guitar, vocals Jan Kurtze – Bass Phil Röttgers – Drums

Review

Stoner Metallers PARIAHLORD return with their new album Mirrors and the record has quite an uncompromising and abrasive quality with brutally honest lyrics that you don’t initially expect. The album is quite progressive and superbly melodic with a slight Alternative sound that operates with a rough and ready determination which makes Mirrors quite a thrilling album to listen to.

Opening track The Hole In The Wall is a semi-acoustic style of Doom, Americana, Alt Rock, Indie and Stoner Rock melodies. This was quite an unexpected album to open the album with as this feels more like a closing track than a traditional opener but it allows the listener to “expect the unexpected” with Mirrors. The song is superbly played and well put together but it’s not the strongest track on the album but that all changes for the better with the next batch of tracks.

The second song Infernal feels like the “TRUE OPENER” of Mirrors with a powerful blend of Stoner Rock, Punk Rock and Prog Rock sensibilities which is merged with Post-Doom qualities. The vocals and lyrics have an almost Post-Punk and Gothic narrative around them. The instrumental sounds can be quite SLUDGE obsessed on the later stages with an aggressive sound that transforms into a more atmospheric style of music with cool  instrumental solos along the way.

Third song Enigma opens with a Proggish Post-Metal guitar solo which soon transforms into a more dynamic Stoner Metal sound with the music becoming faster along the way. There is an industrial and Post-Punk vibe appearing once again within the vocals but the record still retains its Doom/Stoner appetite with flashes of abrasive Psychedelic melodies. The production of the record has a minimalistic feeling and this track is the best example where the “LESS IS MORE” delivery allows PARIAHLORD to play a muscular style of music that is wonderfully dark and surreal at times.

The next two tracks of Nachtmahr and Oneironaut are the standout sections of the whole album with PARIAHLORD playing the most riff-centric parts of the album which moves across the Doom/Stoner Rock platform with waves of Psych, Ambient and Alt Rock. With a seedy Grungy attitude appearing within Nachtmahr, the lyrics are quite poetic which can be quite hard to categorize at times. These two tracks have a great balance of LIGHT vs DARK moments which is built up by SLOW and FAST PACED instrumental sections that fuses different styles of music with intense creativity. 

The final section of the album is perhaps the DOOMIEST, GLOOMIEST and HEAVIEST parts of Mirrors and where folks will like the most. PARIAHLORD experiment once again throughout Dogma, Elysion and The Hangman with an intelligent Progressive sensibility being the main driving force for PARIAHLORD to deliver their music with. 

Mirrors is quite a challenging record to listen to but that’s one of the main strengths of the album with PARIAHLORD delivering quite a wonderfully weird, daring and original album that could become a CULT FAVOURITE within the underground scene within time.

I can’t recommend Mirrors highly enough and recommend you listen to this great album as quickly as possible. 

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Official | BandCamp

Astral Kompakt - Goldader (Album Review)

 

Release Date: November 22nd 2024. Record Label: Tonzonen Records. Formats: DD/Vinyl

Goldader - Track Listing:

1.Pirsch 06:24

2.Goldader 07:41

3.Welwitschie 05:14

4.Batavische Träne I 05:04

5.Batavische Träne II 05:11

6.Ruin 04:48

7.Levitas 06:19

Members

Marc - Bass

Julian - Drums

Roniel - Guitar

Review

Instrumental Stoner Rock outfit Astral Kompakt weave their own sense of creative sensibility for their highly inventive debut album Goldader which sees the band add layers of Psychedelic Fuzz with the cosmic style of Stoner Rock/Metal the band have at their disposal. There’s a jagged Progressive movement that appears within their music that’s quite jarring to hear when you first listen to the album, though this becomes one of the most powerful aspects of the record.

With a flamboyant style of Post-Rock and Ambient Rock appearing from time to time which allows the more mellow and quieter parts of the album to truly shine which comes into great effect on the exquisite opening track of Pirsch. The sound can be described firmly as Sludgy Space Rock at the best of times with Astral Kompakt adding a massive weight of trippy Instrumental sounds that gives the band quite a dynamic flair which sets the scene for the rest of the album.

Second track Goldader is quite a left-field track with the band employing a fusion of Jazz, Psych, Post-Rock and Desert Rock sounds for a more smoother style of music which only lasts for a few moments before Astral Kompakt return to their dominant Psych Stoner Metal sound. There’s a hidden FUZZ ROCK agenda lurking in the background which gives an extra crunch of HEAVY VOLUME even within the quieter moments. 

One of my favourite underground producers and performers Jan Oberg (EARTHSHIP and GRIN) adds his  masterful production and recording talents by producing, mixing and recording the whole thing. This adds another level of heaviness to the mix which makes the record sound even better especially within the more experimental and dynamic passages that Astral Kompakt play on the later stages of the record.

Third track Welwitschie is pure Cosmic and Space Rock chaos with Astral Kompakt once again playing their own blend of trippy Psychedelic movements with intricate Prog Rock beats that’s spliced with a thrilling Sludge Metal dynamic. This allows this to be one of the standout tracks on the album with the band excelling mostly on the slower parts of the song which brings a muscular drive to the whole album.

For the next two tracks Astral Kompakt offer a heavy two part musical opus entitled Batavische Träne I and Batavische Träne II that sees a more straightforward  style of Doom/Stoner Rock appear with the band still allowing themselves the time to develop some well executed experimental Progressive moments along the way. The abstract Sludge Rock swagger once again is kept very low key and only appears when the time calls for it. The Post-Rock sensibilities of the album sees the band play a subtle style of Jam based Instrumental Rock/Metal with superb Cosmic Rock grooves throughout.

The final two tracks of Ruin and Levitas once again sees Astral Kompakt play with a intriguing stop/start approach with moments of Cosmic fluidity having a slightly Post-Doom and Post-Rock perseverance which is perhaps the heaviest parts of the whole album especially on the sublime final track of Levitas. 

Goldader is a wonderfully poetic record with flashes of true originality appearing throughout whilst remaining true to the core sounds of the underground Instrumental Stoner Rock/Metal scene. I’m going to have to say this is my favourite instrumental album I’ve heard this year and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Give this album a chance and you’ll no doubt be surprised by what you hear.

Awesome. End Of.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Creative Eclipse PR for the promo.

Goldader is now available to buy on DD/Vinyl via Tonzonen Records.

Links

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/astralkompakt
Bandcamp: https://astralkompakt.bandcamp.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/astralkompakt
Facebook: https://facebook.com/astralkompakt
Label: https://www.tonzonen.de