Release Day Roundup – 10/15/21
Editor’s Note: Do you think we “missed” an album this week? Click here.
Each month, we always seem to come to the same conclusion when it comes to our Editors’ Picks column: Friday ... Read More...
EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE: Human Impulse Reign in the “Error Era”
Just another absolutely dynamite premiere today here at Heavy Blog; marking the beginning of a new calendar month with some absolutely rip-roaring rock'n'roll of the noise variety. As cold and clinical as Peter... Read More...
Dub Trio – The Shape of Dub to Come
Eight years is an uncommonly long wait between chapters in any band's story, but Dub Trio have always had a lassez-faire attitude to convention. Indeed, you can count the number of instrumental three-pieces fo... Read More...
A Storm of Light – Anthroscene
The world will end. The world will end. The world will end. Not with a whimper but a long, drawn-out, human-inflicted death rattle. ...Or so Anthrocene, the fifth-full length from ex-Neurosis visual artist Josh... Read More...
KEN mode – Loved
Anyone dead set on having bands ready to sit in a specific pigeonhole concerning their genre must absolutely hate KEN mode. The Canadians have made music that spits, soothes, seduces and sets things on fire and... Read More...
Heavy Rewind // Cathedral – The Ethereal Mirror
Just two years after their debut, Cathedral pumped up the tempo and incorporated a slew of influences stretching beyond their solid, but somewhat limited, doom metal sound on Forest of Equilibrium. Shades of sludge à la Black Flag and The Melvins are most apparent, but the band reaches further beyond the low-and-slow realm to pull in influences from hard rock, heavy metal and progressive rock. Most importantly, the band's vibrant personality sheds its skin entirely and reveals its true colors, thanks in large part by an unhinged, dynamic vocal performance from Lee Dorrian. It's an exceptional combination that slightly edges out the band's initial groundbreaking efforts. Whereas several bands contributed to the sound developed in part by Cathedral on Forest of Equilibrium, there's never really been an album that sounds quite like The Ethereal Mirror, and it remains a multifaceted album with reverberations felt in music from the likes of Baroness, Pallbearer and a decent chunk of modern stoner metal.
The Melvins – Pinkus Abortion Technician
Nothing has ever been quite as on the nose as a Melvins record featuring the bassist from Butthole Surfers coming out on 4/20. The weirdos of the grunge movement are back again with Pinkus Abortion Technician, ... Read More...
Connecting the Dots // The Dillinger Escape Plan
It’s been a while, but we’re back, so welcome to another edition of Connecting the Dots, and today we will be focusing on mathcore masterminds The Dillinger Escape Plan! Whilst they’re soon going to be shutting up shop (R.I.P), we can remain eternally grateful to the incredible records they’ve released during their two-decade career, their vicious live performances, and the incredible other musical projects they leave in their wake. Without further ado, let’s dive into the amazing projects these musicians have been a part of.
Low Flying Hawks – Genkaku
Doom metal, in its purest form, is Sisyphian, forever attempting to move its great weight over a seemingly unreachable peak. That that mythical figure was, well, doomed to his task for cheating death is an apt metaphor for the bleak artistry of this genre of metal. In attempting to establish where this particular scene lies in the greater schema of music right now we can look to this ancient myth as an apt metaphor. Taking into account the plethora of new releases, new Sisyphuses, pushing their own respective boulder-esque projects it’s easy to see that doom is in a bit of a renaissance, currently, as crucial (relatively) new bands such as Elder, Pallbearer, Dreadnought, and SubRosa have raised the bar for longtime practitioners.
Hey! Listen to Part Chimp!
Comeback albums are in vogue this year, especially for rock music and its offshoots. At the Drive-In, Gorillaz and nearly every major shoegaze pioneer (The Jesus and Mary Chain, Ride, Slowdive, etc.) have all resurfaced for returns-to-form or late-career flops, depending on whom you ask. The fact many of these bands had been laid to rest for decades certainly contributed to disappointment among some fans, as did the heightened expectations created by their pre-breakup classics. Part Chimp bucks the drawbacks of all these metrics with their hiatus-smashing record Iv, which provides and incredible delivery of the band's signature blend of sludge-ridden noise rock and stoner metal. The band's comfortable position in the underground and relatively short hiatus—they disbanded in 2011 and reunited last year—has allowed Iv to feel less like a comeback album and more like a reunion with a beloved friend, where good memories come flooding back and it feels as though everything is still in its right place.