The Anatomy Of – Bleeth

Eden Kupermintz
The Anatomy Of
I'm honestly warming up to the idea of using this series to introduce you to new bands; after all, what description of the band's music could ever live up to the band themselves talking about the influences which made it be? With Bleeth, fresh of the release of their debut full length album titled Geomancer (it was released just last Friday, the 24th of August), it's a double pleasure since I don't just get to introduce you to a band but an excellent one at that. They deliver the kind of emotional doom/stoner/psychedelic that we've come to expect in 2018, replete with great riffs, moving vocals from two complementary vocalists, and an overall dedication to momentum that lies at the core of what makes this kind of music work.

EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE: Take a Dip in River Cult’s Halcyon Daze

Jordan Jerabek
Premieres
Do you like to throw your ears to the whim of open, swirling compositions? Or are you just a sucker for the fuzz? Either way, the debut long player from Brooklyn’s River Cult has you covered. At a glance, Halcyon Daze is a dirty, bluesy, and doomy stomper of a record. Thickness in tow, it hits like a champ enough to satisfy those strong of neck. At the same time, it’s complete with loose, jammy structures, gradual and dramatic builds and breaks, fat tones, and freak out solos - it has all the ingredients for a truly great heavy psych record. With five tracks at a hearty seven-minute minimum, it gives you plenty to get swept up in without compromising their unique vision that brings these worlds together. Lucky for us, these dudes break from the (what can be) formulaic nature of these genres, and come out with a truly spectacular 2018 record. Head on over the jump to stream the entire thing!

Bro Country is NOT the new Hair Metal

Joe Whitenton
Commentary
Some might say hair metal died in the 90s when Nirvana disrupted the rock industry. Yet, all of hair metal’s celebration of excess and sexism, musical dilution, and market oversaturation is present in today’s mainstream country scene. The factory seems to have just moved from the Sunset Strip to Nashville. It’s massive appeal to young listeners has created a divide in the country music scene not unlike the divide in the metal scene in the 80s. On one side industry titans argue that Bro Country is just the music of the times and that old people are just whining about being left behind. On the other side, more “authentic” artists are rising under the banner of “real country.” This is all quickly acessible on Wikipedia and Saving Country Music in more depth. But is Bro Country really just the second coming of Hair Metal? Or does Hair Metal deserve a little more credit?

Journey to the NOLA Swamps – The Birth of Sludge Metal

Scott Murphy
Deep Dive
We've covered a fair bit of ground with our Starter Kit series, where we select a handful of key records that highlight a niche musical style or penetrate the prolific status of a staple genre. Unfortunately, this format doesn't lend itself to covering proto-genres—microcosms of musical history comprised of a specific set of albums released in a fixed period of time. But these movements are crucial to the evolution of our favorite genres, particularly when it comes to the trajectory of sludge metal. What's become a multifaceted and often refined style was once a disparate lineage of bands from different genres who all applied the "sludge factor" in different measures. While you won't find a dedicated section for proto-sludge at your preferred music store, the following albums an artists laid the framework for the modern sludge landscape. So whether your sludge purveyors of choice come from the atmospheric, blackened or progressive sects of he genre, they're all indebted to the groundbreaking statements these albums made.