What I like best about getting my paws on a debut record is experiencing the twofoldness of the statement that is made on this introduction. The record simultaneously says “this is definitively us” and “this is just the beginning.” (Well, hopefully it’s not the end so soon, right?) Portland quartet…
We’d be missing a trick by not mentioning the two bands whose members have birthed Rowsdower, the vibrant sludge band who’s brand new LP we’re premiering today. Two of the angriest, heaviest bands to ever come from the sunny West Coast, Admiral Angry and Black Sheep Wall are famous for…
I normally like to include at least three bands in every edition of Rotten To The Core/Grind My Gears, but this week’s inclusions are so damn important in this year of releases that I felt they deserved more words and more of my time. So you’re only getting two. Deal…
Bringing “the heavy” in new and interesting ways is tough, but Texas duo Pinkish Black have a way of making it sound easy. Frighteningly dark and drenched in desperation, they evoke everything from the more obvious horror-tinged vibes to ephemeral, unsettling tension. They’re never really heavy in the sense of…
Despite the seemingly straightforward nature of drone, the style is a great deal more varied in practice. For drone metal in particular, the idea of drawing out doom to an even more low, slow and meditative state relies on each individual band’s interpretation of the genre they’re extrapolating from. As…
The Denver trio Palehorse/Palerider embody the core aesthetics of doomgaze, meticulously crafting sweeping soundscapes ripe with mysticism and guttural power. Layering Brandon Richier’s shimmering guitar work and ethereal vocals over the muscular low end provided by bassist David Atkinson and drummer Nate Marcy, they possess the ability to transport listeners…
Last year, we told you several times to listen to Skullcave, a doom metal band doing extremely interesting things in Australia. It was part of a larger, most excellent year for the continent but Skullcave was the band closest to doom as part of it. Their emphasis on emotive clean…
One of the fastest ways to a music critic’s heart is a seamless synthesis of styles. Anytime a group successfully blends adjacent or dissimilar genres, the results can push boundaries with a truly engaging, unique listen. Such is the case with Ache Pillars, the latest EP from one-person band Folian.…
Sigils delivers their debut, You Built the Altar, You Lit the Leaves, amidst a swirl of psychedelic trudge wrought from Tom Colello’s guitar playing and the often soaring vocals of Salvatore Rex. On the first track, “Samhain”, we are greeted with a lumbering riff that rarely deviates over the song’s…
It’s always fun to dive deep into Bandcamp or Spotify or whatever music streaming app you use. I personally love finding those diamonds in the rough, especially brand new stuff. However, you can’t really only enjoy that stuff unless you’ve got some context for it. It’s always awesome to hear…
