“while wading through the promo sump, I stumbled across the self-titled debut of fresh project, Ritual Arcana. Soon discovering this seasoned power trio feature none other than the legendary Scott ‘Wino’ Weinrich (Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan), wielding his scuzzed-up axe alongside Sharlee LuckyFree (ex-Moth) on bass and vocals, and drummer Oakley Munsen (The Black Lips).” Hobo Wino!
“Once, Witchcraft were a prominent figure in the analog rock/metal scene, mentioned alongside acts like Orchid, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, and The Sword. They treated us to some right bangers like 2005’s Firewood and 2012’s Legend, and I was eagerly anticipating whatever might come after 2016’s Nucleus. What eventually followed was the acoustic and intensely somber Black Metal, which struck me as less of a Witchcraft album and more as a hyper-personal form of artistic expression by multi-instrumentalist frontman Magnus Pelander, something meant for him and him alone. It’s an honest and compelling artistic work, but it can be difficult to recall amidst the context of Witchcraft’s proggy occult doom/rock discography. Now, with two fresh band members, Witchcraft have reincorporated the lo-fi buzz n’ fuzz.” Which Witch?
“Alongside money, sex, and the number 42, “To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their women” remains the peak answer to the meaning of life. Such melodic woe, such malodorous despair is the anthem to many a succulent succumbing of the Other, the Lesser Than, and the Detested. Conan traffic in an unusually encouraging slab of doom; namely, rather than horror descending upon the listener, you are that horror, and woe betide all who come to oppose you and your curiously hawk-shaped weapons. Here to be the accompaniment to your next assault on all those whose name you scorn and singing the songs of your own personal terrorization of those beneath your notice, sixth LP Violence Dimension has arrived.” Live to slay.
“What better way to bounce back from a week of depressive, melancholic doom than to marinate oneself in a hard-rocking retro stoner/occult release by an act totally unknown to me? Texas-based Warlung boast a spectacular name and though The Poison Touch is their 5th album, they’ve managed to evade my metal detector until now. Their sound is a mix of 70s rock, stoner doom, and occult metal with flashes of NWoBHM-inspired rowdiness sprinkled throughout.” Iron lungs.
“Pentagram don’t get the respect they deserve considering their place in metal history. Rising from the primordial ooze of the Virginia music scene in 1971, they can arguably claim to be the first American heavy metal band and it’s indisputable that they were the first American doom act. Despite this rarefied standing, they remain a truly underground act to this day.” Lightning in the crypts.
“With so many bands vying for attention in this digital age, sometimes it takes something truly original to catch a listener’s eye. This is what fixed my attention on Zamāru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu Part 1 as it poked out of the fertile soil in the promo pit. Wyatt E. was originally founded in Belgium as an instrumental drone/doom group by guitarists Sébastien von Landau and Stéphane Rondia to portray the captured people of Jerusalem during the Babylonian Exile in 587 BCE. They made some bold alterations on this latest record to expand their sonic footprint, namely the addition of two drummers recorded simultaneously and collaborations with vocalists Nina Saeidi (Lowen) and Tomer Damsky.” Wyatt E. Coyote.
“Hailing from Austin, Texas, Duel have spent their relatively short lifespan building a strong body of work in the stoner/doom metal/rock style. In Carne Persona is the band’s fourth full-length album since 2016 and follows in the footsteps of 2019’s strong effort, Valley of Shadows. Take a whiff of Duel’s sound, and you’ll detect notes of pure doom in the tradition of Sabbath mixed with the melodic sensibilities of Thin Lizzy and the creepy, doomy rock of Danzig.” Flavored stones.
“We’re up to our ears in stoner rock and stoner doom most months. There’s an unusual quantity of it cascading through the AMG sluice and pouring to the promo cesspool. We can’t cover it all, but we try to dent the stone. Greek stoner doom crew Acid Mammoth are part of the endless tide, with Under Acid Hoof being their second platter of fuzzy, bong-friendly madness.” Feel the tusk.
“The AMG promo sump is stuffed to the rafters with glowing PR spin about how this band redefines genre X and that band takes sub-genre Y into realms hitherto unheard. Most of it is utter crap and as accurate as your average public access channel psychic reading. Not so with the debut full-length by U.K.’s Gorilla however, who describe their sound as “F*ck the safety net heavy rock n’ roll.”” Ape cake for all.
“The AMG higher-ups fancy themselves benevolent despots. That’s because they allow us relative freedom to choose our own promos and surprise us with pizza and hobo wine office parties now and then. Occasionally they’ll even offer tepid praise after our reviews are published. Sure, the quarterly beatings leave marks, but they rarely break the skin. Then again, if they see us getting too comfortable, they’ll assert their authority by assigning reviews that leave us just enough rope to hang ourselves. They might make brutal boi Kronos review symphonic power metal, or give our morose Muppet a jaunty pirate metal sing-along. For reasons beyond my understanding, they saw the words Glitter Wizard in the promo sump and thought, “Now there’s a stop-bang pooper doop if we’ve ever seen one, and we know just the writer for the job.”” Feel the opera.
