“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!
“Novelty in the metalsphere exists in many folds, whether it be the marrying of virtuosity and familiar structures or the exploration of foreign sounds and textures in a rock/metal context. Grayceon, for the better part of the past twenty years, has lingered in the latter path from 2007’s self-titled debut to this newest grand work, Then the Darkness, finding value in the riffy and amp-driven space between emotive, layered electric cello work.” Cello, friends.
“I had quite a torrid love affair with Castle from 2011 through 2016. Their gritty, back alley take on occult doom really got into my bones and I was helpless to resist their demonic charms. Albums like In Witch Order, Blacklands, and Under Siege were in near-constant rotation at the House of Steel and I wanted more, more, MOAR. They were just so skilled at their chosen brand of minimalist street doom and Elizabeth Blackwell’s rough yet seductive vocals were nigh irresistible. By the time 2018s Deal Thy Fate rolled around, some of the bloom was off the black rose and things were starting to sound a touch less essential. Fast forward 5 years and we’ve survived a million crises and the whole occult doom trend has died down considerably.” Evil reborn?
““AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.”” Now it rides into the desert.
“Texas-based Kólga bill themselves as a “blackened surf rock collective.” With a descriptor like that, and an album cover like THAT, there’s no way I could pass up on seeing what lurked beneath the Lizard People pool. Boasting members from a boatload of bands from across the spectrum (Dead to a Dying World, Cleric, Tyrannosorceress, Sabbath Assembly, to name a few) this is Kólga’s first stab at a full-length: and barely at that, running at a lithe 27 minutes. But if the band calls it an LP, then an LP it is, and a review it receives.” Surf’s up, Smurfs up.
“Having spread the spectrum of their influences across a few EPs, Ponte del Diavolo reigns in the fettering ambience and shriekier black metal extremes of their formative work for this debut full-length. In this regard, these witchcraft-worshipping Italians come across like a punk-edged, tremolo riff-informed Sabbath Assembly, with mic-echantress Erba del Diavolo capturing the same essence of cult-fearing warble that a fervent Jamie Meyers possesses.” Tomb knives.
“It’s not easy being John Cobbet, legendary underground guitarist of Vhöl, ex(ish)-Ludicra,] ex-The Lord Weird Slough Feg, and mastermind of Hammers of Misfortune. Along with his long-collaborating partner Sigrid Sheie (also of Vhöl), Cobbet has, at his own pace, pumped out eclectic success after eclectic success with his rotating Hammers crew.” Hammers time.
“Poor Summerland. Dool’s latest album has been picked up and dropped in the promo bin more times than I’ve had hot meals, and it looks like it’s finally found a home with me. First El Cuervo toyed with it, but after remembering how bored he was with their first album, he tossed it aside with disdain. Who else but GardensTale was there, drooling like a starving puppy, ready to take his shot at it. But it was not to be. Then along came poor old Huckles , late to the party, with nothing but Dool and a dozen black metal albums to choose from. Well, the only black metal I like is the Venom album, so the choice was clear. Who says beggars can’t be choosers?” Dooldrums.
“Last year’s self-titled debut from prog “supergroup” Howling Sycamore was one of my more positive surprises. On paper it shouldn’t have really worked: extreme drumming married to down-tuned guitars, then mashed in with over the top old-school vocals and the occasional crazed baritone sax. Yet the whole thing gelled in some weird, freakish way, and I was left hoping it wasn’t a one-off project. Well, here we are less than a year and a half later, with Seven Pathways to Annihilation, the band’s follow-up.” Screaming trees.
“In what should be considered a minor achievement, Sabbath Assembly are dropping their seventh album, A Letter of Red, with the identical lineup as 2017’s excellent Rites of Passage. This is the first time these strange occult-rockers have kept a static lineup, and that means we hope for an album of equal or better quality than the previous (which was a favorite of mine that year). However, the band makes it clear in their lead-up to the album that they are throwing a few change-ups our way: shorter songs, tight production, and a leaning towards 70s hard rock rather than the prog rock they treated us to on Rites of Passage. With the pedigree present, I’m sure they can pull off anything they attempt–can’t they?” Come back to the Sabbath?
