Oxford, UK, heavy rockers Indica Blues release their new album, Universal Heat Death, through Majestic Mountain Records this weekend, on Jan. 31. The title, which also applies to the rolling opening track that reinvents Electric Wizard “The Chosen Few”-esque riffing with a bounce few would dare to put to it, corresponds to the hypothesized end of everything. That is, if the universe is going to keep expanding, eventually — trillions of years, if I remember rightly from that PBS Nova (fund public media) — entropy will hit a maximum level and no thermodynamic processes will be able to happen because everything is so spread out from itself. So it just kind of dissipates in universe-sized voids. Like smoke, but impossible for humans to fathom in scale of both size and time.

Universal Heat Death, the record, is seven songs and 37 minutes, so very much within the realms of the fathomable. And the first impression the four-piece give, of genre-aware, gritty, stoner-nodding heavy rock, holds. It is the third full-length from Indica Blues, following behind 2020’s We Are Doomed (discussed here) and 2018’s Hymns for a Dying Realm, and their first for Majestic Mountain after working with APF on the second LP. And given its proliferation of endtimes vibes through weighted riffing and desert-bluesy groove, the Universal Heat Death sees the four-piece of guitarist/vocalits Tom Pilsworth, guitarist Lewis Batten, bassist Andrew Haines-Villalta and drummer Rich Walker balancing inward expression and outward reach in pieces like “The Raven” or the later “Debt Ridden Blues,” which manage to say something about existing right now through catchy hooks and a casually immersive roll.

It helps that the band are flexible enough in sound to give a sense of atmosphere amid the proggy bassline at the outset of “Bloodsands Pt. I” — yes, ‘Pt. II’ comes later — with guitar lines floating around before the drums start to really the tension build. When they reveal the full pust of “Bloodsands Pt. I,” they give a glimpse of progressive melodicism in the guitar, and looking at the penultimate counterpart, “Bloodsands Pt. II,” the more open-feeling second piece highlights the deceptively taut nature of the first. Ebbs and flows are common enough across Universal Heat Death, and it doesn’t feel like a coincidence that the shortest song, the desert rocking centerpiece “The Slow Descent Into Hell” (2:30), directly proceeds the longest, which is “Debt Ridden Blues” (7:42). Indeed, the band seem to have plunge as their central priority of side B, which pushes out through the jam in “Debt Ridden Blues” and the revisit-from-a-different-angle of “Bloodsands Pt. II” such that the shuffle at the beginning of finale “So Low” gives over to shred that comes across like the moment of arrival it’s intended to be.

Malleable tempos and tones, awareness of self and place in the material, and classic fuzz — there’s not much to argue with for the genre-converted. I count myself in that number. I don’t think you’ll find Indica Blues claiming to revolutionize fuzz, but they execute their material with a sense of persona and purpose, and that’s how genres ultimately evolve. As the PR wire notes, there’s a bit of melancholy underscoring the mood here, but it comes through in balance with the momentum of their own making, and Indica Blues find a position between being able to say the world’s ending and not making it sound like such a drag.

The album streams in full below, followed by more background from the PR wire:

Indica Blues, Universal Heat Death album premiere

Born in the shadow of Oxford’s dreaming spires and forged in a haze of down-tuned amplifiers, UK heavyweights Indica Blues return in 2026 with their most ambitious and apocalyptic work yet. Their new album, Universal Heat Death, arrives January 31 on digital platforms and CD, marking the band’s first full-length release since their critically acclaimed second album We Are Doomed.

Since forming in 2014, Indica Blues have crafted a reputation as one of the UK’s most compelling psychedelic, doom-stoner hybrids, once described as “bong-filling rock that is platinum heavy, but blessed with a melodic sensibility underneath it all.” Their blend of fuzz-drenched blues, doom, sludge, and psychedelic melancholy has earned them fans across continents and glowing press from underground tastemakers and major publications alike.

Their previous album, We Are Doomed, became eerily prophetic, with its apocalypse-themed release coinciding with the first wave of the global pandemic. “We’re looking forward to touring Universal Heat Death, and hope no cataclysmic world events stop us this time,” laughs bassist Andy Haines.

Recorded once again with the engineering team behind We Are Doomed, the new album sees Indica Blues doubling down on what they do best: bluesy, fuzz-forward doom, towering riff worship, and dual-guitar chemistry stretched across dynamic, free-flowing percussion.

Across seven tracks, Universal Heat Death explores themes of war, revenge and teenage destruction, culminating in its breathtaking title track, a three-minute descent into the dying gasp of the universe itself.

“After the end of humanity comes the end of the universe,” says guitarist/vocalist Tom Pilsworth. “We hope you enjoy it!”

Tracklisting:
1. Universal Heat Death
2. The Raven
3. Bloodsands Pt. I
4. The Slow Descent Into Hell
5. Debt Ridden Blues
6. Bloodsands Pt. II
7. So Low

Indica Blues are:
Tom Pilsworth – Guitar, Vocals
Lewis Batten – Guitar
Andrew Haines-Villalta – Bass
Rich Walker – Drums

Indica Blues on Bandcamp

Indica Blues on Instagram

Indica Blues on Facebook

Majestic Mountain Records webstore

Majestic Mountain Records on Bandcamp

Majestic Mountain Records on Instagram

Majestic Mountain Records on Facebook

So ‘homage to friends and influences’ is what’s going on here, but that’s long to fit in a headline, so ‘covers EP’ will have to do. In any case, Borracho‘s upcoming Eternos celebrates some of those lost in the last years, from Robert “Strings” Dahlqvist of The Hellacopters, who died in 2017, to Bruce Falkinburg, who died in 2022. Rev. Jim Forrester‘s murder still resonates as a shock to the Baltimorean underground he called home, and Dave Sherman‘s passing left a void that Maryland doom may never be able to fill. Add Will Mecum of Karma to Burn to the list, and you get someone that Borracho likely knew and who also had a massive influence on heavy rock, laying out a blueprint that instrumental bands the world over continue to follow. Can’t really argue with the selection here.

Those were tough losses. I didn’t know Dahlqvist, but I do know that The Hellacopters were an influence on Borracho, especially early on, so you know, you don’t have to necessarily know somebody to feel a thing when they die, not the least if their work touched your life in some way. Below, you’ll find the premiere of “A Heart Without a Home” as the first single from Eternos, followed by copious context from the PR wire. The release is out Feb. 19.

As always, I hope you enjoy:

Borracho Announces Eternos — A Tribute EP Celebrating Fallen Brothers of the Underground

Veteran heavy rock trio Borracho is proud to announce the upcoming release of Eternos, a deeply personal EP of cover songs honoring five beloved friends and musical influences who have passed on, out February 19, 2026. The first single, “A Heart Without a Home,” is out now, with preorders and early access available at borracho.bandcamp.com.

Borracho take a heartfelt approach on Eternos, transforming five hand picked tracks into a collective tribute rooted in reverence, memory, and shared passion.

“These guys weren’t just friends, they were individuals we looked up to and inspired us.” writes the band in the Eternos liner notes. “We decided that the best way to pay homage to them is to let the music do the talking. So let’s all raise a glass and celebrate their contribution to the cosmos. And while these giants have left this plane their music is eternal.”

The five carefully curated tracks on Eternos are each dedicated to the memory of a departed artist whose work shaped the band’s musical journey:

Fang (Spirit Caravan) — in memory of Dave Sherman
Keep On Shoveling (Foghound) — in memory of Rev. Jim Forrester
Twenty Nine (Karma to Burn) — in memory of Will Mecum
Damyata (The Hidden Hand) — in memory of Bruce Falkinburg
A Heart Without a Home (The Hellacopters) — in memory of Robert “Strings” Dahlqvist

The first single, “A Heart Without a Home,” is a low and slow interpretation of The Hellacopters deep cut — a fitting first taste of the record. It’s out now on all streaming platforms, and is included in all Eternos preorders on Bandcamp.

Eternos will be available worldwide across all streaming platforms, digital download, and in CD format. Preorders are now open via Borracho’s Bandcamp page (borracho.bandcamp.com).

Don’t miss Borracho on the road supporting the new record on the east and west coasts, including appearances at the Mojave Experience and Knights of Doom festivals.

Feb 3 – Pie Shop, Washington DC w/ Ritual Arcana & Foehammer
Feb 21 – Lucky 13 Saloon, Brooklyn NY w/ Sun Voyager, Guhts & The Crooked Skulls (EP Release show)
March 11 – Metro Gallery, Baltimore MD w/ The Obsessed & Foghound
March 18 – The Escondite, Los Angeles CA w/ Doomboyz & Sonic Blossoms
March 19 – Tower Bar, San Diego CA, w/ Nebula Drag & Space Wax
March 20 – Mojave Gold, Yucca Valley CA for Mojave Experience
April 20 – Pie Shop, Washington DC w/ Leather Lung & Weed Coughin’ (TBC)
June 21 – Cafe 611, Frederick MD for Knights of Doom

BORRACHO:
Steve Fisher – Guitar, Vocals
Mario Trubiano – Drums, Percussion
Tim Martin – Bass, Backing Vocals

http://www.borrachomusic.com/
https://borracho.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/borrachomusic/
https://www.facebook.com/pg/BorrachoDC/

http://www.ripple-music.com/
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/ripplemusic/
https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/

Borracho, Ouroboros (2025)

DUNDDW release their new album, Okukulukuta, this Friday, Jan. 30. It’s comprised of 11 tracks and runs 59 minutes, and its title and as I understand it the titles of all the songs translate to “flow,” though I’ll admit to trying to run the tracklisting through a major internet company’s translation matrix and not being able to source languages for all the words, while others were Indonesian, Spanish, Afrikaans, Tswanan, and so on. The Nijmegen-based improv psychedelia trio are no strangers to reaching beyond themselves musically. They would seem to have put that to use this time linguistically as well.

The unity of titles speaks broadly of intent on the part of guitarist Gerben Elburg, bassist Huibert der Weduwen and drummer Peter Dragt, who were last heard from in 2024, collaborating with Dr. Space on a live release (review here), but everything’s a live release when you make it up on the spot, so the lines become blurred. In any case, Okukulukuta (‘flow’ in Luganda, a Bantu language in Uganda) does more than just flow. Sure each piece hits a groove — even the 85-second “Mili IX III” with its sweet-toned, soft guitar is moving to the sway of the quiet drums — but if you look at the titles in the tracklisting below, you’ll start to see a pattern emerge in the Roman numerals.

On DUNDDW‘s 2023 split with Kombynat Robotron (review here), the trio featured the 20-minute jam “VIII.” Here, they pick up right where they left off, with “Vloei IX I” presumably being the ninth on-an-album jam they’ve done — one assumes there are many more jams that don’t make the cut — and while 2022’s Flux (review here) was comprised of parts edited down from longer dig-ins, with Okukulukuta, they take the approach further, carving jams ‘IX,’ ‘X’ and ‘XI’ into shorter individual tracks. That’s less the case with the 11-minute finale “Stroom XI I,” but even that has three other parts of the same jam included earlier on. It’s not a standalone. Nothing here is.

The message, perhaps, is that flow can happen anytime, and it happens everywhere. It’s not just about the linear direction “Stroom XI I” plays out, but that’s an important piece just the same. It’s possible for an adventurous or curious digital listener to rearrange the tracklisting so that it’s executed in jam-order. It’s not the way the band are choosing to present their work, so I’m not going to advocate for doing so as optimal, but it does provide some insight as “Elela IX II” picks up pretty much where the opener left off while “Agayus XI II” starts from the post-crescendo comedown’s silence with a quick bit of effects and then a turnaround to dive right back into the procession, meandering a bit before coming to a stop to give “Kuyenda XI III” a fresh start, etc. Again, I won’t tell how to hear a thing, and I’m not looking to mess with anybody’s art, but even though ‘X I’ is missing from the outing (perhaps to show up later, perhaps not), a sequential approach adds another dimension to the experience, and though the album is still about an hour long, the shorter individual sections make that feel more doable and more engaging on a puzzle level when you find how they all do and don’t fit together.

But from the prog-metal chug of “Mengalir IX IV” to the nod and angular strut of “Mikoriana X II” and the serene wanderings of “Kwarara XI IV,” the concept of ‘flow’ is met no matter how one listens, and in the tracklisting as presented, this is highlighted all the more by some of the starker turns from one inclusion to the next as DUNDDW reorient in terms of mood and execution with efficiency that feels sneaky but is really just manifest chemistry and knowing where each other are in the room at any given moment. That is, what you get, however you choose to listen, is the instrumental conversation between Elburg, der Weduwen and Dragt, resonating with an open creativity and a will to plunge into the aural unknown while keeping a foot in what, for them, is a heavy psychedelic foundation.

One thing I will recommend: Approach with an open mind and try to find that balance between hearing a thing and listening to it. I’m not saying you need to sit and analyze every turn and skronky jazz flourish or whathaveyou, but neither is a full zoneout the way to go. A couple deep breaths and I expect you’ll be fine, especially if you’re still reading, and thanks if you are.

PR wire info follows in blue text. Thanks for reading:

DUNDDW, Okukulukuta album premiere

DUNDDW is a 100% improvising, instrumental spacerock/krautrock trio from The Netherlands, with members from Bismut and Mt. Echo. Their first full length album Flux was released in November 2022. In June 2023 they released a split vinyl LP with German krautrock band Kombynat Robotron. February 2024 marked the release of a live jam they played in 2023, with Dr. Space from Øresund Space Collective, Black Moon Circle a.o. joining in. DUNDDW shared the stage with bands like Kanaan, Electric Moon and My Sleeping Karma.

The album artwork is made by Phosphor visuals.

Tracklisting:
1. Vloei IX I 7:02
2. Mengalir IX IV 2:33
3. Fluir IX V 8:03
4. Elela IX II 3:51
5. Mikoriana X II 7:03
6. Flyde X III 4:48
7. Agayus XI II 3:20
8. Kuyenda XI III 4:32
9. Mili IX III 1:25
10. Kwarara XI IV 5:40
11. Stroom XI I 11:17

DUNDDW:
Peter Dragt – Drums
Huibert der Weduwen – Bass
Gerben Elburg – Guitars

DUNDDW on Bandcamp

DUNDDW on Instagram

DUNDDW on Facebook

This week, Massachusetts heavy psych rockers Kind will travel to Las Vegas to be part of Planet Desert Rock Weekend VI. If you’re going, I’ll see you there. The band celebrate with a new single, “Bladelicker,” premiering below, that marks the official beginning of the band’s year after a busy 2025 that included stops through Desertfest London and Ripplefest Texas, among others. “Bladelicker” also follows behind the November standalone single “The Lean” (down near the links at the bottom of the post), and like it was recorded by Alec Rodriguez at Mad Oak Studios last August.

“Bladelicker” is the longer of the two at three and a half minutes, so by no means are we talking about Kind at their most expansive, but it might be their most immediate. A punch of bass from Tom Corino (ex-Rozamov) backed by the recognizable swingpush of drummer Matt Couto (Aural Hallucinations, ex-Elder) starts off, the fuzz of Darryl Shepard‘s guitar vibrant and moving at a decent clip by the time vocalist Craig Riggs (Roadsaw, Sasquatch, etc.) slips into the first verse like he’s walking down underwater steps to a warm pool. By the time they’re 30 seconds in, the momentum is set, the direction is locked, and they’re rolling, which they’ll continue to do until there’s about a minute left to go and Shepard (who’s been in more bands than I can count, but I’ll go with Hackman here because those records are underrated) takes off into the solo that concludes.

It seems simple enough on paper, and is (on paper), but can’t account for the sense of atmosphere that emerges from “Bladelicker,” specifically the guitar and bass tones and the element of noise that persists alongside. Riggs has regularly had effects on his voice to lend a feeling of spaciousness, and that’s the case here as well, which also of course adds to the breadth, but specifically in the strings, there’s presence and scope. That initial punch of bass that holds down the first 14 seconds until the guitar kicks in never dissipates, and together, the two tones are complementary in more than just stacking frequencies and layers on top of each other. The urgency conveyed at the start of the song doesn’t reveal itself as complete until Shepard joins the fray.

That’s not to leave the vocals out, or the organ, but Riggs (who lest we forget is also a drummer) rides the groove here in a different way, not off the beat, but more subdued in the delivery of the lyrics, setting up a partial contrast that, at this point — Kind‘s third album, Close Encounters (review here), came out on Ripple Music in 2023 — is quintessential to the sound. Anyone who’s heard Roadsaw can tell you when Riggs is hitting it hard. Here, with the effects and the spaciousness around, his voice becomes part of the atmosphere noted above; a human presence, yes, but still hinting toward the otherworldly.

As always, I hope you enjoy:

Kind, “Bladelicker” track premiere

Kind on “Bladelicker”:

We wrote and recorded the basic tracks for Bladelicker in under an hour. I had the guitar part, then Tom and Matt just came up with their parts right on the spot. Riggs wrote the lyrics and vocal melody on the spot and recorded his vocals right after we laid down the music.

Recorded & mixed by Alec Rodriguez
Recorded at Mad Oak Studios in August 2025
Mastered by Carl Saff at Saff Mastering
Written & arranged by KIND
Lyrics by Riggs
Photo by Jon Lammi

Special shout-out to Ripple Music

Kind are:
Craig Riggs – vocals
Darryl Shepard – guitars, Hammond B3 organ
Matt Couto – drums
Tom Corino – bass

Kind, “The Lean” (2025)

Kind on Bandcamp

Kind on Instagram

Kind on Facebook

Ripple Music website

Ripple Music on Bandcamp

Ripple Music on Instagram

Ripple Music on Facebook

Düsseldorf-based instrumental heavybringers Wasteland Haze start “Handful of Dust” with a skronk of noise and a sample from 1956’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers about humanity being drained away slowly, “not all at once,” before the crunch-toned riffing and nodding flow really begin to unfurl. Their new album, Lonestar, will be out in April through Clostridium Records, and the eight-minute cut is the second single from it behind the 10-minute “Pathfinder (The Great Hunt)” (points for long singles!), which operates not dissilimarly, though with more squibbly leads and a slower overarching progression.

“Handful of Dust” fills some of that space with an uptick in melodic complexity, as shortly after two minutes in, it transitions to a quieter stretch of standalone guitar, soon rejoined by the drums, feeling more raw-post-metal, like the break a SubRosa song might diverge into, but instead of slamming back to crush skulls, Wasteland Haze opt for a more meditative approach, gradually building up to incorporate lines of lead guitar — not as forceful as “Pathfinder (The Great Hunt),” and not-doing-the-same-thing-the-same-way is a strength to be considered — and another sample circa six minutes marks the befinning of the shift into the crescendo, which seems to spread outward at least as much as it towers upward, more about the forward urging than the impact but certainly not without that either.

The stride is declarative by the time they actually hit the peak, and though the drums drop out to leave the guitar to handle an epilogue on its own, they do thud back in at the very end for just a moment, building again, this time to a cold, muted-cymbal finish. At its loudest and noisiest, “Handful of Dust” is viscerally satisfying, but, having not yet heard the entirety of Lonestar — the full title of which may or may not be Tales from the Wasteland Pt. 1 – Lonestar — that early break resonates through the surrounding churn to foster a sense of emotional complexity that speaks not only to the intended narrative the band discuss below, but to personal and emotive evocations as well on the part of the listener. You can lose yourself in its movement, and yeah, I’d advise you give it a shot.

If that requires a deep breath before you jump in on the premiere below, so much the better. Lonestar will be the second LP from Wasteland Haze, and given its ‘Pt. 1’ billing, the band are clearly thinking of it as part of a bigger, multi-album procession. If this is the arrival point following the trevails of the songs prior on the record, its payoff feels all the more earned, but even here, taken just on its own, “Handful of Dust” comes through as manifesting intent on the part of the band.

Their comment follows, courtesy of the PR wire. Please enjoy:

Wasteland Haze, “Handful of Dust” track premiere

Wasteland Haze on “Handful of Dust”:

This is the second single from our upcoming album “Lonestar” which we will release in april 2026 in cooperation with Clostridiumrecords.

Wasteland Haze is a instrumental 3 piece from dusseldorf, germany, founded in 2022. The music is a mix of Stonerrock, Doom and postrock. We try to get a gritty and interesting mix of all these genres and focus on a rich variety of styles, trying to make a entertaining and psychedelic experience.

On our first Album, which was first released in 2023 and rereleased in 2024, we wrote the songs first and this is the first time for us writing the whole storyline of the record and then writing the music around it, which resulted in a deeper and more cinematic storytelling and songwriting. Supported by various synth parts, voicing and atmospheric samples we created a fluid story in the whole record. The main story is like a revenge western story with our hero getting ambushed, learning about his inner spirits and take revenge on his scavengers.

Handful of dust is the 4th out of 5 songs on the record and is the mainfight in the story. Our hero stands and fights against his enemies after a long journey which was told in the songs before. The start is hard and sludgy and comes into a crispy post-rockish part, followed by a very hard doom riffing. With about 8 minutes of length, there are many parts and twists in the storytelling of this song. Best way is, checking it out for yourself :)

Wasteland Haze, “Pathfinder (The Great Hunt)”

Wasteland Haze Linktr.ee

Wasteland Haze on Bandcamp

Wasteland Haze on Instagram

Wasteland Haze on Facebook

Clostridium Records website

Clostridium Records on Instagram

Clostridium Records on Facebook

New Orleans heavy rock veterans Suplecs will release their fifth album and first in 15 years, Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky, on Feb. 20 through Ripple Music. If that doesn’t elicit a Stone-Cold-Steve-Austin-circa-’96-level ‘hell yeah’ from the frontal cortex of your brain, feel free to go back and read it again. There’s new Suplecs coming. Rockers, awaken.

It should tell you something that Suplecs — who’ve never been the biggest of big bands or the most hyped, who’ve toured plenty in their time but not in a long time, and so on — have released albums through the three record labels most responsible for defining the course of American heavy rock over the last 25-plus years. Their first two LPs, 2000’s Wrestlin’ With My Ladyfriend and 2001’s Sad Songs… Better Days (discussed here) were on Man’s Ruin. The story of 2005’s Powtin’ on the Outside Pawty on the Inside is complex and the album was released through a local imprint, but 2011’s Mad Oak Redoux (review here) was on Small Stone, and Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky being on Ripple completes the trifecta. It is not a coicidence.

I went 11 years between seeing them at a Small Stone showcase in Philly in 2011 (review here) and in Richmond, Virginia, in 2022 at Alabama Thunderpussy‘s reunion show (review here), and was still looking forward to it, no questions asked. If you went to Ripplefest Texas in 2025, you already know why. When they got on stage, they delivered like a band who — perhaps contrary to the insistant chorus of opening track “Got Nothing” here — had more to say. Rooted in ’90s-style fuzz, Suplecs have always kept the forms loose and the performances tight, and despite the severity of the title, Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky retains some of the humor, funk and swing that have made their first two LPs classics by now, and will be recognizable for that. In ideal fashion, the fifth record accounts for the band’s beginnings and roots, while having grown well beyond them.

The narrative of Suplecs‘ sound was never actually so simple as ‘fuzz plus riffs,’ and Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky reinforces this as well, in part with two side-ending divergences in the string-inclusive “Old Spanish Trail,” which builds around a purposefully slogging jangle guitar line with an evocative melody and is the longest inclusion at 6:45, and the album-capper “La Ti Da,” which harnesses the largesse of side B leadoff “Damn These Pills” and works in a Mardi Gras horn section to blow out the finish with a huge nod that, thankfully, at no point in its drawling ourse approaches being ska. Bullet dodged, gentlemen. And with apparent ease. Other cuts like the strutting “Blackwater Rising,” or the taut two-minute roller “Pentacle Star” or the punker thrust of “$6 Man” or the midtempo howler “I See You” (premiering below), which is apparently a crunching ode to guitarist/vocalist Durel Yates‘ mother, create a flow through material that still holds its ripper sensibility at the core — “Mountain,” “Forest of Fire,” “Heartless Bodies,” etc. — and builds complexity around the root methodology.

Which tells you what? Suplecs aren’t wasting their time. Throughout Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky, Yates, bassist/vocalist Danny Nick and drummer Andrew Preen are very clearly not unaware of the decade and a half it’s been since they were last heard from in a studio capacity — they’ve still played live, built a local Mardi Gras following, and so on, as you can read in the PR wire info below — and there are aspects of Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky that speak to the band sitting down, hammering out the songs, putting time and effort into sculpting a sound that, in parts anyway, wants you as the listener to think it’s off the cuff. It works in the sense of making difficult changes sound less difficult, and calls to mind a sneaky songwriterism that’s always been underlying and continues to make songs memorable here.

Ain’t nobody gettin’ any younger, in Suplecs or otherwise, and Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky resonates with a feeling of the band locking in with a purpose. Part of that is expressive, part is expansive, part is clearly about the chemistry and the joy Yates, Nick and Preen feel creating music together, and all of it results in a gorgeous 48-minute/12-track outing that, yeah, pushes the form of a vinyl LP, but makes its every moment essential through urgent delivery and the already noted, purposeful variety.

I’ll not feign impartiality; I’m glad this record exists, and more, I’m glad it doesn’t suck. Rather, it feels like Suplecs stepping up to a moment that, hopefully, will see them able to get some of the broader plaudits for which they’re long overdue. No, I don’t think they’ll ever be the biggest or most hyped band, but one can’t ignore the fact that Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky will likely be Suplecs‘ introduction to a lot of listeners in a generation that’s come up since 2010, and I have a hard time imagining it being anything other than well received.

December was last month, and that was year-end list time. I’ll tell you in all seriousness that I have Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky in my notes for Dec. 2026 already, so when it comes around again, you can’t say you’re surprised. If/when you hear the album, I’m not sure how you could be.

I hope they get added to Emissions From the Monolith.

Enjoy “I See You” in the visualizer below, followed by more from the aforementioned PR wire:

Suplecs, “I See You” visualizer premiere

“Hymns Under A Blood Moon Sky” is a gut-wrenching ride through the New Orleans trio’s world. It ranges from the relentless, Maiden-meets-Sabbath attack of “Got Nothing” to the haunting, brass-backed NOLA jazz funeral dirge of “La Ti Da” featuring the horns of Egg Yolk Jubilee. The album fearlessly tackles themes of death, divorce, suicide and addiction (“Blackwater Rising”), balanced by moving tributes such as guitarist and vocalist Durel Yates’ ode to his mother, “I See You”. It weaves in diverse influences, from Black Flag swagger to prog-jazz intricacy, culminating in the dynamic first single: “No Apologies.”

The album’s title and artwork are deeply rooted in New Orleans history and personal narrative. The cover features a 1960s painting by Danny Nick’s father, famed Jackson Square artist Richard “D.Nick” Nick, depicting the pirate Jean Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, which housed an arsenal of weapons strategic to the victory of The Battle Of New Orleans in the War of 1812. The title, Hymns Under A Blood Moon Sky, serves as a tribute to the band’s resilient, outsider spirit—forging an arsenal of riffs in secrecy to pay homage to the only home they’ve ever known.

SUPLECS “Hymns Under A Blood Moon Sky”
Out February 20th on Ripple Music (LP/CD/digital) – PREORDER: https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/hymns-under-a-blood-moon-sky

TRACKLIST:
1. Got Nothing
2. Pentacle Star
3. I See You
4. Forest of Fire
5. Blackwater Rising
6. Old Spanish Trail
7. Damn These Pills
8. Mountain
9. $6 Man
10. Heartless Bodies
11. No Apologies
12. La Ti Da

Marked by life’s passages, Suplecs have maintained a vital presence, most notably with their annual Mardi Gras show—a New Orleans staple for over 500 attendees, celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2025. Now, after years of fan-favorite live sets, the band is channeling decades of raw experience, swagger, and heaviness into writing their highly anticipated fifth album, promising a powerful culmination of their storied career.

SUPLECS is
Danny Nick – Bass, Vocals
Durel Yates – Guitars, Vocals
Andrew Preen – Drums, Percussion

Suplecs on Instagram

Suplecs on Facebook

Ripple Music website

Ripple Music on Bandcamp

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So duh, good news that there’s a new Desert Storm LP on the way to follow-up 2023’s Death Rattle (review here), which was the Oxford, UK, riff-rocking four-piece’s third offering through respected-purveyor APF Records and seventh album overall in a tenure well pushing toward its 20-year mark (in ’28). The new one is called Buried Under the Weight of Reason, and even unto the fact that its title is more than one or two words long as all previous Desert Storm releases have been, it speaks to a shift in methodology toward which the new song “Shamanic Echoes” seems likewise to manifest.

No, I’m not just talking about the pretty guitar divergence or the driving crescendo they launch from it, that push of kick drum like the sound your heart should be making if you want to feel alive at just that particular moment, before a lumbering, Mastodonic-prog nod reveals something still burly but quirkier and smoother in melody. But definitely that too. I don’t feel like I’m bragging when I say I’ve covered this band going on 15 years and have heard a fair amount of their work in that time. “Shamanic Echoes” feels like they’re stepping up. You know I love a seven-minute single (really anything over six warms my remembers-radio heart), and for sure their being dug in is an immediate draw, but it’s the shape of the plan at work and the scope from the quiet introduction to the roll that follows through the multifaceted structure that plays out that distinguishes “Shamanic Echoes.” In the beginning of the song, one is as likely to hear Meshuggah as anything else under the growls of the initial verse.

Don’t be intimidated (ever, by anything). That crush, crunch, and gutturalism is central to Desert Storm‘s sound, but already by the time the onslaught starts, the band have subtly clued the audience to the fact that there’s more happening by means of the introduction. What does all of it portend? Well, if Buried Under the Weight of Reason maintained a core approach keyed to aggression and being very, very, very heavy while at the same time being willing to branch beyond the surely-tempting monolithic largesse they foster, that would make it pretty consistent with their trajectory on the whole. They’ve never been a band to stop growing, or stop working on the thing and pushing themselves forward. Their ascent to Heavy Psych Sounds feels like a well-earned next step, and I’ll remain curious for what the rest of Buried Under the Weight of Reason has in store based on “Shamanic Echoes,” which you can hear on the player below, followed by some comment from the band.

Please enjoy:

Desert Storm, “Shamanic Echoes” premiere

Desert Storm on “Shamanic Echoes”:

“Ceremonial in spirit and tribal in sound “Shamanic Echoes” pulses with bass-heavy foundations and thunderous toms its downtuned guitars bending into hypnotic sludgy cadences. The middle passage drops into jazzy syncopated territory before swelling into an earth-shattering crescendo—cause and effect climax and release. Lyrically the track is steeped in ritual plant medicine and ancestral vision-quests: peyote mescalito and sacred smoke opening the gateway to higher states of being. It is both a hallucinatory trip and a sonic initiation.”

SHAMANIC ECHOES is DESERT STORM first single taken from the band’s upcoming new album Buried Under The Weight Of Reason. The release will see the light March 6th via Heavy Psych Sounds.

ALBUM PRESALE: https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/

USA PRESALE: https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop-usa.htm

With their latest body of work, Desert Storm carve out a sound that is as primal as it is progressive—melding sludge, doom, and heavy metal weight with moments of softness, space, and surprising vulnerability.

Across these tracks, the band summon the wilderness, ceremony, and chaos of the human condition, pushing their sound into new territories while staying true to their instinct for heaviness.

Tracklisting:
Side A:
1. Newfound Respect
2. Shamanic Echoes
3. Woodsman
4. Cut Your Teeth
5. Rot To Ruin
Side B:
6. Carry The Weight
7. Dripback
8. Law Unto Myself
9. Twelve Seasons

All music by Desert Storm ( Ryan Cole, Christopher White, Elliot Cole, Matthew Ryan, Andrew Keyzor)
All Lyrics by Matthew Ryan
Photos by Tim Finch Photography
Additional Guitars by Chris White
‘Buried Under The Weight Of Reason’ was tracked & recorded at Woodworm Studios by Steve ‘Geezer’ Watkins & Stu Jones from January – July 2025.
Mixed & Mastered by Joe Clayton at Nø Studios, July & Aug 2025.
All music written by Desert Storm, Lyrics by Matthew Ryan.
© 2025 Heavy Psych Sounds.
Cover Artwork by Kacper Gilka.

DESERT STORM is:
Matthew Ryan – Vocals
Ryan Cole – Guitars
Elliot Cole – Drums
Andrew Keyzor – Bass
Chris White – Guitars (Studio only)

www.desertstormband.com
www.desertstorm.bigcartel.com
www.desertstorm.bandcamp.com
www.youtube.com/desertstormuk
www.instagram.com/desertstormuk
www.facebook.com/desertstormuk

www.heavypsychsounds.com
heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/heavypsychsounds_records/
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/

Desert Storm, Death Rattle (2023)

Swedish doomcrunchers Skogskult release their self-titled debut full-length tomorrow, Dec. 5, through Bonebag Records. Based in Umeå, the four-piece of vocalist Simon Rosengrim, guitarist Samuel Nordström, bassist Albin Kroon and drummer Alexander Söderlund emerge with tectonic purpose and a bite to their approach that feels culled from sludge, but at a certain point, these lines begin to blur, and nine-minute opener/longest track (immediate points) “Lyktans Låga” is well on the other side of that imaginary mark, beginning with a low brooding quiet intro that cymbal washes into the first full-tone slam. It’s like their music is a sledgehammer and they’re rearing back over their shoulder to swing it again with each new measure.

It’s not post-metal because it’s not hyper-cerebral feeling. That is, when the grueling nod that develops in “Lyktans Låga” shifts into a softer stretch — a volume trade well familiar to post-metallic types — before its massive, slow-rolling payoff, it doesn’t feel contrived. Certainly Skogskult have put thought into the structure, but the impression is still raw in tone and vocals, and the brutal groove is the first of many. “Turs” picks up the pace with a doomly swing and a piped-in-from-the-dark-ether harsher verse, and also has a break later, a comedown with melody that reminds of Monolord without actually sounding like them, and that holds over for a while until the long last scream. The transition to “Jag Ger Mig Av” is direct and lets the standalone bass rumble come into focus for 30 seconds before the inward sweep arrives, another shout included for good measure. Less of a shove than the song before, “Jag Ger Mig Av” makes its impression in the spaciousness of its roll, and on a record without a centerpiece, it feels like one anyway as the band dutifully chugs toward another stirring culmination, this one capping side A and every bit worthy of its placement.

“Pakten” introduces a shuffle where one is needed. It’s the shortest inclusion on Skogskult by mere seconds at six minutes flat, but it feels like a turn from the first three songs just the same, and adds to the palette the band are working with generally. There is no quiet break and loud return, and while consistent in tone, the band bring forth a boogie that proves refreshing. This sets up the melodic triumph of “Sol,” which works its way forward at a slow crawl through a moodier ambience early on, beginning a single linear build that spreads out over the 7:53, less crushing than anything among side A’s heaviest moments, but branching out and showcasing a diversity of intent in their songwriting — something that obviously bodes well for a band getting their feet under them and exploring who they want to be as Skogskult are here — and redirecting structure only make for a richer listening experience on the whole. They close with “Snöblind,” the intro to which is probably the source of the Sleep comparison the PR wire makes below, and accordingly is nothing to complain about.

It’s somewhat expected that Skogskult would finish huge, returning to the largesse of side A and tying the entire release together, but there’s still more melody in “Snöblind” (and no, it’s not a cover). Rosengrim takes advantage of the space in the riff to evoke a bit of soul, and the lumber that ensues is engrossing in classic stonerly fashion. They break and return, underscoring the point. Already by then, however, the context of the album as a whole has expanded because of the purposeful work on the band’s part to make it do so, and instead of feeling repetitive, “Snöblind” ties together both sides of Skogskult‘s Skogskult, fostering melodic outreach as well as barebones distorted roll. What I like best about it is it sets its own patterns and shows the band have something to say in terms of songwriting, which comes through despite the notable (so here’s me noting it) language deficit on my part.

But it’s a deficit and not a barrier and that’s a distinction worth making. I’m sure this is a far wimpier analogy than the band would find appropriate, but there’s kind of a seed-planting sense throughout Skogskult, and one hopes the years to come will indeed bring a garden’s flourishing therefrom, but the nascence aspects of this first full-length — inarguably among the most crucial statements a band can make — make it more exciting as a prospect for what might follow. In the meantime, all killer.

The album streams in its entirety on the player below. Please enjoy.

Taking cues from classic doom bands like Sleep, Acid King, and Electric Wizard, as well as contemporary acts like Monolord and Telekinetic Yeti, Bonebag Records is thrilled to announce the debut album from rising stars, Skogskult.

Formed in 2022 in Umeå and featuring members of underground bands Från Mars, Scitalis, and Never Recover, the Swedish doom quartet marked their path toward the album with new single “Turs.” Produced by Cavern Deep and Bonebag Record’s own Max Malmer, ‘Turs’ is the second of three singles – following ‘Pakten’ earlier this year – that delve deep into Nordic mythology and arcane mystery. The track tells the story of beings rising from their slumber, bringing destruction as forests fall and mountains bleed. With Swedish lyrics and heavy, fuzz-driven guitars, ‘Turs’ continues to build the atmosphere that defines Skogskult’s sound.

Drawing on imagery of Skinwalkers, Norse burial rituals, and occult gatherings, Skogskult channels the dark traditions of doom and stoner rock into a fuzz-filled vision of darker days to come.

“I had the fortune of catching one of their first shows and signing them on the spot,” explains Malmer. “It was so great to see that there were young, local musicians getting into the stoner doom genre. Since discovering them we’ve produced an entire album together. Hopefully this new single will give everyone a sense of what they’re all about.”

Skogskult’s self-titled debut will be released on 5th December 2025 via Bonebag Records.

Tracklisting:
1. Lyktans Låga
2. Turs
3. Jag Ger Mig Av
4. Pakten
5. Sol
6. Snöblind

Skogskult:
Samuel Nordström – Guitar
Albin Kroon – Bass
Simon Rosengrim – Vocals
Alexander Söderlund – Drums

Skogskult on Bandcamp

Skogskult on Instagram

Skogskult on Facebook

Bonebag Records website

Bonebag Records on Instagram

Bonebag Records on Facebook