Posted in Whathaveyou on July 29th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
The Lord of the Riff, Tony Iommi, founding member of Black Sabbath and someone whose influence has spanned actual generations, not just every-five-years-is-a-new-one generations of bands, has a new solo album out Oct. 23. It’s called From the Dark, and for the endeavor, Iommi is joined by vocalist Jørn Lande (Masterplan, Jorn, etc.). Reportedly it has Becky Baldwin (Mercyful Fate, etc.) on bass and drummer Karl Brazil, who played with Iommi on the 2024 perfume-promoting single “Deified,” but it’s the first Iommi solo full-length since 2005’s Glenn Hughes collaboration Fused, and the first single “World Alone” is being released Sept. 4 as a 7″ with an instrumental B-side.
That’s the extent of what I know. As to what it sounds like, my guess would be riffy. Iommi of course took part last year in Ozzy Osbourne‘s farewell concert, but has been sporadic in his live appearances since his fight with cancer, and while he made a memorable guest appearance with Candlemass for their 2019 album, The Door to Doom (review here), studio work hasn’t exactly been bustling since the turn of the century. A solo album, whatever shape it takes, is welcome.
I snagged this from the preorder page that’s linked below:
Tony Iommi, founding member of Black Sabbath and one of heavy metal’s absolute pioneers, is back with his first new solo album in 21 years and his first full-length release since Black Sabbath’s farewell album 13.
The album From The Dark features eight inventive, magnificent, and captivating tracks, created in collaboration with long-time producer Mike Exeter. The result is one of 2026’s most significant rock releases, where heavy riffs, rich soundscapes, and impressive musical details come together in perfect harmony. At the same time, Iommi delivers some of the strongest guitar performances of his career.
The first single “World Alone” is an up-tempo, guitar-driven track with Tony Iommi’s characteristic, monumental riffs at its core. The song balances the heavy expression with strong melodies, while Jorn Lande contributes both lyrics and vocals. The result is classic Iommi – with all the hallmarks of his legendary guitar playing, but with a modern twist.
1. Over The Violent Sun 2. Black Times 3. World Alone 4. Beyond The Dead 5. Stormwatcher 6. Death Wake 7. Return Of The Arbalist 8. Legacy 9. Scent Of Dark (Bonus) 10. Deifie (Bonus)
Alunah and Samavayo release their split LP, Embers of Belief, on June 5 through Heavy Psych Sounds. I’m honestly not sure what brought the UK doom rockers and Germany-based crunch riff (I had a typo there that said ‘brunch riff’ and I almost left it, because that rules) together, but in a universe of infinite possibility, it could’ve been a show, a bunch of shows, a random online outreach or the fact that both bands have been actively kicking around the underground for the last 20 years or more — Alunah celebrate two decades in 2026, Samavayo marked the 20th anniversary of their first LP last year — and they hadn’t yet gotten to collaborate.
The shape of the thing is thus: Alunah present four tracks. The first two of them, “On Blacklow Hill” and the French-lyric “La Pucelle,” are studio-born, while “Hazy Jane” and “Violet Hour/Hunt” were recorded live. Samavayo answer back with three pieces of their own, including the makes-your-arm-hair-stand-up melodic surge of prior single “Bavar,” the shorter twister/shover “Mottainai” and the nine-minute semi-acoustic sprawler “California Sky,” which premieres on the player below. They’re in and out in a tidy seven songs and 41 minutes.
Whatever the occasion, both bands make it an occasion. For Alunah, “On Blacklow Hill” and “La Pucelle” are especially crucial as they represent the studio debut of the band’s third vocalist, DaisySavage, whose melodic delivery both sustains a thread that’s been an important part of Alunah‘s sound through all their personnel shifts, and feels particularly suited to the swing of the split’s opener while laying claim in “La Pucelle” to something that, to my knowledge, the band haven’t done before, putting a song even partially in a language besides English. Both studio pieces are comfortably paced for groove, and the “Burn the witch” hook in “La Pucelle” seems to harken to earlier days in terms of theme.
Rawer as they would inevitably be, the live tracks feel like they’re there to bolster the declaration Alunah are making of the Savage-fronted lineup, and the new vocalist shows no sign of trouble carrying those melodies or adding flourish to them. Like their studio counterparts, they sound formative, like a beginning, and one hopes that the band continue to grow together in chemistry as they push forward. This is them doing that work, and the results are encouraging.
None of Samavayo‘s three inclusions was recorded live on stage, but to the certain surprise of nobody who’s heard the band, their brash energy holds steady as the tense beginning of “Bavar” unfolds with a rhythm and melody informed by founding guitarist/vocalist Behrang Alavi‘s Iranian background. The embrace of this cultural influence over time has made Samavayo more distinctive in the European underground, certainly, but also so much richer in sound, and able to harness a space in their work that “Bavar” puts to near-perfect use, propulsive but stately and marked later by lead guitar topping the bombastic crash before they turn back to the taut muted ticks of the intro before the last engrossing shove.
Hilariously, “Mottainai” kind of does the same thing, but in three minutes instead of eight. Okay, the lyrics aren’t in Farsi, but if you’re looking for progressive rhythmic and melodic intricacy, plus a banger riff, it’s an easy pick, and they drive the point home with a catchy chorus. “California Sky” reaches almost to 10 minutes and is a post-Kyuss desert mellowing introduced by digeridoo, set to a theme born of the band’s first US appearances in 2025, a tour they began at Planet Desert Rock Weekend V, where I was fortunate enough to see them (review here). Likewise sincere and dug-in, it feels like a meditation on time and place even as it removes you from your own.
The video for “California Sky” has footage from that tour — apparently Alavi was just filming the entire time? also, hi, Manu! — and perhaps you’ll notice the subtle narrative of landscapes that takes them from city to desert to ocean on their journey. Clearly a powerful experience for the band, and a potent homage in song as well.
Look, I like both these bands, so maybe I’m not an impartial observer here, but between Alunah daring to dip back to initial stages and start again with a new singer and Samavayo‘s compositional reach, I hear nothing that’s going to keep this from my list of favorite short releases of 2026 when year-end time comes. It captures both acts at fascinating (if you’re the right kind of nerd) moments in their respective ongoing progressions, and I come out of “Violet Hour/Hunt” and “California Sky” curious about where both are headed. I’m not sure what more you could possibly ask of two bands who have over 45 years of righteous experience between them than to keep their audience guessing.
Maybe it’s a stop on the way for the bands, but isn’t that what landmarks are?
PR wire info follows the video below. As always, I hope you enjoy:
Samavayo, “California Sky” video premiere
This spring, Heavy Psych Sounds Records is pairing two outstanding acts from the heavy scene, with this one-off split album combining the firepower of Birmingham hard rock pillars ALUNAH and Berlin stoner rockers SAMAVAYO. On Side A, Alunah unveil their first studio material with new vocalist Daisy Savage, blending swagger-laden riff-rock and epic NWOBHM grit, plus two live recordings celebrating their 20th anniversary. Side B sees Samavayo delivering three new fuzzy earworms driven by compelling vocal melodies, sharp riffing and their signature oriental touch. Punchy, rocking and exhilarating!
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 3rd, 2026 by JJ Koczan
I’m biased, but the eight-minute, in-Farsi single from Samavayo is killer. It’s got a rich melody and feels adventurous in its instrumental push but is still tightly played and able to hold tension, mixing the band’s Middle Eastern influences and progressive songwriting penchant. Honestly, their participation would be enough for me to be writing about this split right now, but the fact that they’re paired with the celebrating-two-decades Birmingham heavy rollers Alunah, who are debuting new vocalist Daisy Savage with the release, no less, provides another vivid point of interest. Savage is the third singer Alunah have taken on, and with how far their sound and dynamic have shifted since their outset, I’m curious to find out where they’re headed.
“Bavar,” which is the Samavayo track leading off their side, is at the bottom of this post. Before you get there, you’ll find copious PR wire info, which, well, it’s good to have. The likewise-rad cover art follows immediately, all courtesy of Heavy Psych Sounds:
Heavy Psych Sounds Records to announce ALUNAH and SAMAVAYO split album Embers of Belief – presale starts TODAY !!
Today we are stoked to start the presale of ALUNAH and SAMAVAYO split album EMBERS OF BELIEF !!
10 ULTRA LTD TEST PRESS VINYL 100 ULTRA LTD 3 COLOR STRIPED BLUE/RED/BLACK SPLATTER IN WHITE VINYL 300 ORANGE TRANSPARENT VINYL BLACK VINYL DIGIPAK DIGITAL
TRACKLIST
SIDE A – ALUNAH On Blacklow Hill La Pucelle Hazy Jane (Alive ’25) Violet Hour/Hunt (Alive ’25)
SIDE B – SAMAVAYO Bavar Mottainai California Sky
ALBUM DESCRIPTION
ALUNAH says:
“Embers of Belief” features the first Alunah recordings with vocalist Daisy Savage and continues our long-standing relationship with Heavy Psych Sounds Records. We are both excited and proud to present our contribution to this split release – two brand new studio tracks that give a glimpse into where this new chemistry as a band is taking us creatively, alongside two live recordings which document and acknowledge the incredible job Daisy did in stepping up to tour and promote our previous full-length.
This significant release is part of our “VINGT” celebrations, marking 20 years of Alunah with both new music and festival appearances, including Bloodstock Open Air and Desertfest London. To everyone who’s stood by Birmingham, heavy rock, and doom through the years…this one’s for you!
Tracks 1 & 2 recorded and mixed by Owen Davies at Loud Noises Production Tracks 3 & 4 recorded by Suzanna Rain at Daltons, Brighton – “Doom By The Sea” Festival. Mixed by Chris Fielding All sounds made by Guitar, Bass, Drums and Vocals
Alunah are: Daisy Savage – Vocals Matt Noble – Guitar Dan Burchmore – Bass Jake Mason – Drums
SAMAVAYO says:
Creativity … it burns deep inside, demanding to be heard and when it wants out, ist has to get out. So here we are!
Longing, recklessness and hope—three themes that couldn’t be more human or more relevant right now.
Samavayo present three exceptional tracks on their split release with Alunah:
BAVAR is a crushing heavy piece built on the Fibonacci sequence, featuring Persian lyrics inspired by a poem from Siavash Kasraie. It stands as a defiant cry against grief and mortality—the narrator refuses to accept the death of loved ones, clinging instead to love, shared tears, and the breath of life as proof that loss can neither truly be believed nor surrendered to. Mottainai, the 2nd song takes aim at a reckless, consumption-driven mindset—the relentless pursuit of instant gratification and shortcuts. The song warns that this culture of excess and selfishness will ultimately leave a devastating legacy for future generations.
California Sky is a psychedelic, acoustic ode to Samavayo’s 2025 US tour, captures a paradoxical longing for the American desert landscape. It evokes a sense of spiritual belonging in the vast emptiness of Joshua Tree, while reflecting a deep yet helpless emotional connection to the United States and all its contradictions.
All Songs written by Samavayo Tracks 1 & 2 recorded at Big Snuff Studio Berlin with Richard Behrens. Mixed by Richard Behrens Track 3 recorded and mixed by Samavayo Mastered by Pascal Stoffels
Posted in Features on July 22nd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
The Godfather of Heavy Metal, Ozzy Osbourne, has passed away at the age of 76. His family confirmed his death in a statement on the BBC: “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”
Ozzy, born Dec. 3, 1948, as John Michael Osbourne, rose to prominence with Black Sabbath in the 1970s and from there, cast an indelible mark on metal music. Like Lemmy Kilmister, Ronnie James Dio, and other major figures who’ve preceded his passing, his is an influence that is impossible to measure because it continues to expand every day. An icon, he is a part of the culture.
Alongside guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward, Osbourne established Black Sabbath at the nexus point where hard rock turned darker and became heavy metal. Their 1970 debut remains the first in a succession of debatably six landmark albums, and though he’d sing on nine Sabbath records ultimately — the final one being 2013’s reunion platter 13 — that initial run helped shape metal and launched the solo career that helped Osbourne make his name separate from the band he set out with.
Ozzy would release 12 or 13 albums under the band name Ozzy Osbourne, the latest of which, Patient Number 9, came out in 2022. From his 1980s heyday with records like his 1980 debut, Blizzard of Ozz, 1981’s Diary of a Madman or 1983’s Bark at the Moon, even amid the ongoing New Wave of British Heavy Metal with all its stately pretenses, Ozzy managed to communicate to his audience collections of songs that were comparatively down to earth (which would be the name of a later album), relying on charisma and the quality of the performances of generational-talent guitarists like Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee, Zakk Wylde, and others.
Founding Ozzfest in the late 1990s helped solidify Ozzy as a household name, not to mention his circa-then reunion with Black Sabbath, but it was the reality show The Osbournes, which aired on MTV from 2002-2005, that really brought pop-stardom to Ozzy, his wife and manager Sharon, and their kids Jack and Kelly (their eldest daughter, Amy, opted not to appear). Next-level fame came largely at the cost of dignity and the ‘Prince of Darkness’ image Osbourne had fostered leading up to those show seasons, but Ozzy would outlast even his own novelty, and be back on the road with his band, putting out records and dumping buckets of water on gleeful audiences.
Osbourne’s passing comes on the relative heels of a celebration of his life and work that saw artists from across generations gather — from Alice in Chains and Pantera to Yungblood — to play his and Black Sabbath’s songs in Birmingham, England, where it had all started so many years before. For one last time, Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill took the stage. It will never happen again.
Heavy metal would not be what it is today without Ozzy Osbourne. I probably wouldn’t be here, you probably wouldn’t be here, the heavy underground probably wouldn’t exist. And like few figureheads, Ozzy never gave up his passion for performing and being with his audience. Seated on a well-earned throne, racked by the Parkinson’s Disease he was diagnosed with in 2019, he may not have looked strong, but the fire was still in him. Even if he couldn’t get it out.
The story is more complicated in reality, but if you said, “Black Sabbath invented metal,” you wouldn’t get a ton of argument. There is no other legacy to match his. There was ever, will only have ever been, one Ozzy Osbourne.
His memory will remain in the work that he’s done, in his family and those whose lives he touched either directly or not, and of course in the influence he’s had. We mourn his loss, and cherish the music and the community around it. Hail Ozzy Osbourne. May he rest in peace.
Whether they’re covering Billy Idol‘s “White Wedding,” blasting a sax and trumpet at the end of the ultra-swinging “The Fool” or telling you to “Scream Bloody Murder” in the night, Margarita Witch Cult have stepped up their game with their sophomore LP, Strung Out in Hell. Set to release on July 18 through Heavy Psych Sounds, it is the follow-up to the Birmingham, England, trio’s lauded 2023 self-titled debut (review here), with a sharp-cutting nine songs across 37 minutes of raw garage doom, proto-metal, scummer rock, and whatever brand of dirt-coated blowout “Conqueror Worm” is on offer for willing heads, truants, drunkards and general reprobates.
I’ll spare you a deep-dive because the record’s not out for a month and a half, but I got asked last-minute-style to host the premiere of “Scream Bloody Murder” as the lead track from the record and there are a couple things you should know going in. First of all, oof, that’s catchy. The debut wasn’t shy about an Uncle Acid influence, and part of that is represented here by a push into a nastier sound generally. There’s still melody, as “Scream Bloody Murder” demonstrates, but there’s a harsh streak in Margarita Witch Cult beyond the violence of the lyrics that Strung Out in Hell uses to make a central part of its impression.
But only part. As biting as “Dig Your Way Out” is and as much as “Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm” wraps with its own harsher moments, “Witches Candle” sounds like early Nebula tripping on occult biker magazine covers from 1968, the “White Wedding” cover — which is the side A finale and centerpiece of the tracklisting — is rougher than the original of course but fairly reverent, and “Mars Rover” touches on classic turn-of-the-century stoner rock with a fuzzy shove that can’t be faked. Strung Out in Hell presents itself as barebones, tapping into something ancient in metal, and the budget iconography of its rad-as-hell cover art referencing the songs bears that out (note the screaming cyclops skull; that’s for “Scream Bloody Murder”), but all is not as simple as it first appears and there is sonic range taking hold in their sound. Whether you hear that in “The Fool” or pointedly ’70s opener “Crawl Home to Your Coffin” will ultimately be up to you, but it’s there to be heard.
Volatility is a crucial element, but don’t expect outright chaos going into either “Scream Bloody Murder” or the LP it’s representing as the first single. Margarita Witch Cult send a clear message that the first album wasn’t a fluke and that they’re willing to chase their darker impulses in craft wherever they may lead. So be it, screaming bloody murder in the night.
“‘Scream Bloody Murder’ is an irresistible slice of classic heavy metal- an unapologetically melodious anthem for the damned that worms its way into the cerebral cortex and takes up permanent residency- just like the night terrors it depicts. Shock rock for the wretched soul- equal parts stadium-size banger and soundtrack for the dingiest dive-bar- it perfectly captures the essence of Margarita Witch Cult’s bombastic unrepentant sophomore album.”
Birmingham, UK’s doom rock torchbearers MARGARITA WITCH CULT are set to return with a bang this summer, with their sophomore album “Strung Out In Hell” to be issued on July 18th through Heavy Psych Sounds Records.
TRACKLIST SIDE A Crawl Home To Your Coffin – 4:07 Scream Bloody Murder – 3:41 Conqueror Worm – 4:21 Witches Candle – 2:38 White Wedding – 4:45 SIDE B Mars Rover – 4:53 Dig Your Way Out – 2:27 The Fool – 3:24 Who Put Bella In The Wych Elm – 6:46
CREDITS Recorded & Mixed by Mark Gittins at Megatone Studio, Birmingham, UK Mastered by Scott Middleton at High Wattage Cottage, Ontario, Canada Producer – @mark_gittins_sound / @megatonerecordingstudio Artwork by Dirt Wizard. All songs Copyright Margarita Witch Cult 2025 except Track 5.
Guest Performers Alicia Gardener-Trejo – Baritone Sax on ‘The Fool’ Sam Wooster – Trumpet on ‘The Fool’
Writing Credits All songs written by Scott Abbott except: Track 3 – Conqueror Worm – James Brown / Scott Abbott Track 5 – White Wedding – Billy Idol Track 7 – Dig Your Way Out – James Brown / Scott Abbott
MARGARITA WITCH CULT is: Scott Abbott – Vocals & Guitars James Brown – Bass, Vocals, Synth, Mellotron, Guitars George Caswell – Drums & Vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 16th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Note the cover art with its various iconography culled from the song titles. Whatever you do, don’t miss the Mars rover. Classic ’80s metal vibes there that have me somewhat curious as to how Birmingham heavy rock trio Margarita Witch Cult will have progressed from their well-received 2023 self-titled debut (review here), but there’s no audio yet to begin to get a sense. They’ll get there, I’m just impatient with this stuff.
Whatever the three-piece are up to in pieces like “Conqueror Worm” and “Crawl Home to Your Coffin,” the safer bet is it’ll be over the top, as that’s where the self-titled spent a good portion of its time. There’s still the better part of two weeks before the first single gets posted though, so really what they’re doing is laying the groundwork and getting those who dug the first record to snag the second one on spec, which honestly probably isn’t a bad call to make. I’m sure when one pressing sells out they’ll do another, because why not, but if you don’t look at this cover and want a first pressing, I feel like maybe you need to re-up your appreciation for the absurd.
From Heavy Psych Sounds via the PR wire
MARGARITA WITCH CULT – Strung Out In Hell
– sophomore album for the UK proto metal – doom riffers –
Today we are stoked to start the presale of the MARGARITA WITCH CULT upcoming sophomore album STRUNG OUT IN HELL !!
FIRST SINGLE COMING OUT ON ALL DIGITAL PLATFORMS MAY 28th
RELEASED IN 15 ULTRA LTD TEST PRESS VINYL 100 ULTRA LTD SIDE A – SIDE B YELLOW/ORANGE/RED VINYL 100 ULTRA LTD HALF-HALF TRANSP./RED TRANSP. + SPLATTER BLACK VINYL 400 LTD GOLD NUGGET VINYL BLACK VINYL DIGIPAK DIGITAL
TRACKLIST SIDE A Crawl Home To Your Coffin – 4:07 Scream Bloody Murder – 3:41 Conqueror Worm – 4:21 Witches Candle – 2:38 White Wedding – 4:45 SIDE B Mars Rover – 4:53 Dig Your Way Out – 2:27 The Fool – 3:24 Who Put Bella In The Wych Elm – 6:46
ALBUM DESCRIPTION Margarita Witch Cult captured lightning in a bottle with their 2023 debut- a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it behemoth that saw the band thrash and burn through Europe and the UK, picking up legions of fans and touring with the likes of Cancer Bats, Monster Magnet and Nebula.
Now, the Birmingham trio are set to pick their teeth with the bones of their own past- as their second LP ‘Strung Out In Hell’ takes everything that was so compelling about their debut and turns the knob up to 11; rips off the knob; throws the knob into the fires of hell and cackles maniacally in the wake of its demoniacal glory.
From top-to-tail, ‘Strung Out In Hell’ is a cloven hoof to the chest; a dizzying descent through infernus. It will caress you only to chew you up and spit you out. It is the soundtrack to the afterparty of all life on earth. Succumb to its sordid siren song. Bolder, stranger, and downright more mean, there’s no better time to jump on the Margarita Witch Cult train- and it’s going straight down, fast.
CREDITS Recorded & Mixed by Mark Gittins at Megatone Studio, Birmingham, UK Mastered by Scott Middleton at High Wattage Cottage, Ontario, Canada Producer – @mark_gittins_sound / @megatonerecordingstudio Artwork by Dirt Wizard. All songs Copyright Margarita Witch Cult 2025 except Track 5.
Guest Performers Alicia Gardener-Trejo – Baritone Sax on ‘The Fool’ Sam Wooster – Trumpet on ‘The Fool’
Writing Credits All songs written by Scott Abbott except: Track 3 – Conqueror Worm – James Brown / Scott Abbott Track 5 – White Wedding – Billy Idol Track 7 – Dig Your Way Out – James Brown / Scott Abbott
MARGARITA WITCH CULT is: Scott Abbott – Vocals & Guitars James Brown – Bass, Vocals, Synth, Mellotron, Guitars George Caswell – Drums & Vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 20th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
This isn’t the first time UK doom/psych rockers Alunah have been in the position of replacing a vocalist. It was something of a shock last August when Siân Greenaway announced her departure from the band to pursue other projects, but Greenaway herself had taken on the lead singer role after founding bassist/vocalist Sophie Day left, so Daisy Savage comes to the group as the third lead singer in their 19-year history.
Alunah‘s final album with Greenaway was 2024’s Fever Dream (review here), about which the story very quickly became the departing singer. The band have done a couple shows with Savage already and what video I could find is below, but it’s hard to really get a full sense of what she’s bringing to the band from somebody’s social media story (as grateful as I am to that same person for posting the clip in the first place). The real tell will be when and if they get to work on their next recording, which feels both like it should happen quickly since there’s a new lineup to embark on and solidify, and too soon because a record just came out.
A pickle in time and space, but again, Alunah are pros and can be trusted to steer through the change with veteran maturity. I look forward to hearing Savage in action with the band. Continued best wishes, onward ever forward, all that get-out-there-and-kill-it-type stuff.
Their announcement and a new show confirmation are below, posted successive days on socials:
Today we’re announcing Daisy Savage as the permanent singer of Alunah.
After having opened for us in her previous outfit Hot Little Hands on our Strange Machine hometown launch show three years ago, and more recently having joined the live fold for two hugely successful festival dates in Leeds and London, the time feels right to announce her as our official bandmate!
Daisy has brought a new energy, charisma and grit to our set that’s made the future feel very exciting, just ahead of our run of festival dates in the UK and Europe this spring and summer.
We’ve got a few aces up our sleeve still to tell you about in good time, but our first show with Daisy officially in the band will be with Brant Bjork and Earl Of Hell in Birmingham on February 1st.
We hope you’ll all make her feel welcome as we embark on this new chapter. 🤘
—
‼️GIG ANNOUNCEMENT‼️
Leicester! Following yesterday’s exciting news, we’re pleased to announce a one-off headline show at Duffy’s Bar as a warmup for our run of festivals in the UK and Europe.
We’re working on a set at the moment with old classics, new favourites, and perhaps something we haven’t played live before? 👀
Resin Events is helping to put this one together and we’ll have some special guests opening the night that we’ll let you know about very soon.
Mark your calendars and we’ll see you very soon! Until then, our next show is with ex-Kyuss legend Brant Bjork in Birmingham two weeks today via Rawk Promotions / DJ Harris, and then after this Leicester date we’re in Greece for HPS Athens 🤘
Posted in Reviews on October 11th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
I got a note from the contact form a bit ago in my email, which happens enough that it’s not really news, except that it wasn’t addressed to me. That happens sometimes too. A band has a form letter they send out with info — it’s not the most personal touch, but has a purpose and doesn’t preclude following-up individually — or just wants to say the same thing to however many outlets. Fair game. This was specifically addressed to somebody else. And it kind of ends with the band saying to send a donation link, like, “Wink wink we donate and you post our stuff.”
Well shit. You mean I coulda been making fat stacks off these stoner bands all the while? Living in my dream house with C.O.C. on the outdoor speakers just by exploiting a couple acts trying to get their riffs heard? Well I’ll be damned. Yeah man, here’s my donation link. Daddy needs a new pair of orthopedic flip-flops. I’ma never pay taxes again.
Life, sometimes.
Quarterly Review #41-50:
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Alunah, Fever Dream
The seventh full-length from UK outfit Alunah, Fever Dream, will be immediately noteworthy for being the band’s last (though one never knows) with vocalist Siân Greenaway fronting the band, presiding over an era of transition when they had to find a new identity for themselves. Fever Dream is the third Alunah LP with Greenaway, and its nine songs show plainly how far the band has come in the six-plus years of her tenure. “Never Too Late” kicks off with both feet at the intersection of heavy rock and classic metal, with a hook besides, and “Trickster of Time” follows up with boogie and flute, because you’re special and deserve nice things. The four-piece as they are here — Greenaway on vocals (and flute), guitarist Matt Noble, bassist Dan Burchmore and founding drummer Jake Mason — are able to bring some drama in “Fever Dream,” to imagine lone-guitar metal Thin Lizzy in the solo of the swaggering “Hazy Jane,” go from pastoral to crushing in “Celestial” and touch on prog in “The Odyssey.” The finale “I’ve Paid the Price” tips into piano grandiosity, but by the time they get there, it feels earned. A worthy culmination for this version of this band.
Swiss heavy post-hardcore unit Coilguns‘ fourth LP and the first in five years, though they’ve had EPs and splits in that time, Odd Love offers 11 songs across an adventurous 48 minutes, alternately raw or lush, hitting hard with a slamming impact or careening or twisting around, mathy and angular. In “Generic Skincare,” it’s both and a jet-engine riff to boot. Atmosphere comes to the fore on “Caravel,” the early going of “Featherweight” and the later “The Wind to Wash the Pain,” but even the most straight-ahead moments of charge have some richer context around them, whether that’s the monstrous tension and release of capper “Bunker Vaults” or, well, the monstrous tension and release of “Black Chyme” earlier on. It’s not the kind of thing I always reach for, but Coilguns make post-hardcore disaffection sound like a good time, with intensity and spaciousness interwoven in their style and a vicious streak that comes out on the regular. Four records deep, the band know what they’re about but are still exploring.
Subconscious Awakening is Robot God‘s second album of 2024 and works in a similar two-sides/four-songs structure as the preceding Portal Within, released this past Spring, where each half of the record is subdivided into one longer and shorter song. It feels even more purposeful on Subconscious Awakening since both “Mandatory Remedy” and “Sonic Crucifixion” both hover around eight and a half minutes while side A opens with the 13-minute “Blind Serpent” and side B with the 11-minute title-track. Rife with textured effects, some samples, and thoughtful melodic vocals, Subconscious Awakening of course shares some similarity of purpose with Portal Within, which was also recorded at the same time, but a song like “Sonic Crucifixion” creates its own sprawl, and the outward movement between that closer and the title-track before it underscores the progressivism at work in the band’s sound amid tonal heft and complex, sometimes linear structures. Takes some concentration to wield that kind of groove.
Especially for an experimentalist, drone-based act who relies on audience theater-of-the-mind as a necessary component of appreciating its output, Pittsburgh solo outfit Fuzznaut — aka guitarist Emilio Rizzo — makes narrative a part of what the band does. Earlier this year, Fuzznaut‘s “Space Rock” single reaped wide praise for its cosmic aspects. “Wind Doula” specifically cites Neil Young‘s soundtrack for the film Dead Man as an influence, and thus brings four minutes more closely tied to empty spread of prairie, perhaps with some filtering being done through Earth‘s own take on the style as heard in 2005’s seminal Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method. One has to wonder if, had Rizzo issued “Wind Doula” with a picture of an astronaut floating free on its cover, it would be the cosmic microwave background present in the track instead of stark wind across the Great Plains, but there’s much more to Fuzznaut than self-awareness and the power of suggestion. Chalk up another aesthetic tryout that works.
Trad metal enthusiasts will delight at the specificity of the moment in the history of the style Void Moon interpret on their fourth album, Dreams Inside the Sun. It’s not that they’re pretending outright that it’s 1986, like the Swedish two-piece of guitarist/bassist Peter Svensson and drummer/vocalist Marcus Rosenqvist are wearing hightops and trying to convince you they’re Candlemass, but that era is present in the songwriting and production throughout Dreams Inside the Sun, even if the sound of the record is less directly anachronistic and their metallurgical underpinnings aren’t limited to doom between slowed down thrash riffs, power-metal-style vocalizing and the consuming Iommic nod of “East of the Sun” meeting with a Solitude Aeturnus-style chug, all the more righteous for being brought in to serve the song rather than to simply demonstrate craft. That is to say, the relative barn-burner “Broken Skies” and the all-in eight-minute closer “The Wolf (At the End of the World,” which has some folk in its verse as well, use a purposefully familiar foundation as a starting point for the band to carve their own niche, and it very much works.
Best known for slinging his six-string alongside brother Kyle Juett in Texas rockers Mothership, Kelley Juett‘s debut solo offering, Wandering West pulls far away from that classic power trio in intention while still keeping Juett‘s primary instrument as the focus. Some loops and layering don’t quite bring Wandering West the same kind of experimental feel as, say, Blackwolfgoat or a similar guitarist-gonna-guitar exploratory project, but they sit well nonetheless alongside the fluid noodling of Juett‘s drumless self-jams. He backs his own solo in centerpiece “Breezin’,” and the subsequent “Electric Dreamland” seems to use the empty space as much as the notes being cast out into it to create its sense of ambience, so if part of what Juett is doing on Wandering West is beginning the process of figuring out who he is as a solo artist, he’s someone who can turn a seven-minute meander like “Lonely One” (playing off Mos Generator?) into a bluesy contemplation of evolving reach, the guitar perfectly content to talk to itself if there’s nobody else around. Time may show it to be formative, but let the future worry about the future. There’s a lot to dig into, here and now.
With vocalists Kristian Eivind Espedal (Gaahls Wyrd, Trelldom, ex-Gorgoroth, etc.) and Lindy-Fay Hella (Wardruna, solo, etc.), guitarist Ronny “Valgard” Stavestrand (Trelldom) and drummer/bassist/keyboardist/producer Iver Sandøy (Enslaved, Relentless Agression, etc.), who also helmed (most of) the recording and mixed and mastered, Whispering Void easily could have fallen into the trap of being no more than the sum of its pedigree. Instead, the seven songs on debut album At the Sound of the Heart harness aspects of Norwegian folk for a rock sound that’s dark enough for the lower semi-growls in the eponymous “Whispering Void” to feel like they’re playing toward a gothic sentiment that’s not out of character when there’s so much melancholy around generally. Mid-period Anathema feel like a reference point for “Lauvvind” and the surging “We Are Here” later on, and by that I mean the album is intricately textured and absolutely gorgeous and you’ll be lucky if you take this as your cue to hear it.
You know how sometimes in a workplace where there’s a Boss With Personality™, there might be a novelty sign or a desk tchotchke that says, “The beatings will continue until morale improves?” Like, haha, in addition to wage theft you might get smacked if you get uppity about, say, wage theft? Fine. Orme sound like what happens when morale doesn’t improve. The 24-minute single-song No Serpents, No Saviours EP comes a little more than a year after the band’s two-song/double-vinyl self-titled debut (review here) and finds them likewise at home in longform songwriting. There are elements of death-doom, but Orme are sludgier in their presentation, and so wind up able to be morose and filthy in kind, moving from the opening crush through a quiet stretch after six minutes in that builds into persistent thuds before dropping out again, a sample helping mark the transitions between movements, and a succession of massive lumbering parts trading off leading into a final march that feels as tall as it is wide. I like that, in a time where the trend is so geared toward lush melody, Orme are unrepentantly nasty.
Budapest instrumentalist duo Azutmaga make their full-length debut with the aptly-titled Offering, compiling nine single-word-title pieces that reside stylistically somewhere between sludge metal and doom. Self-recorded by guitarist Patrik Veréb (who also mixed and mastered at Terem Studio) and self-released by Veréb and drummer Martin Várszegi, it’s a relatively stripped-down procession, but not lacking breadth as the longer “Aura” builds up to its full roll or the minute-long “Orca” provides an acoustic break ahead of the languid big-swing semi-psychedelia of “Mirror,” informed by Eastern European folk melodies but ready to depart into less terrestrial spheres. It should come as no surprise that “Portal” follows. Offering might at first give something of a monolithic impression as “Purge” calls to mind Earth‘s steady drone rock, but Azutmaga have a whole other level of volume to unfurl. Just so happens their dynamic goes from loud to louder.
After trickling out singles for over a year, including the title-track of the album and, in 2022, an early version of the instrumental “The Freaks Come Out at Night” that may or may not have been from before vocalist Virginie D. joined the band, the hashtag-named #chaleurhumaine delights in shirking heavy rock conventions, whether it’s the French-language lyrics or divergences into punk and harder fare, but nothing here — regardless of one’s linguistic background — is so challenging as to be inaccessible. Catchy songs are catchy, whether that’s “Fada Fighters” or “La Diable au Corps,” which dares a bit of harmonica along with its full-toned blues rock riffing. Likewise, nowhere the album goes feels beyond the band’s reach, and while “La Ligne” doesn’t sound especially daring as it plays up the brighter pop in its verse and shove of a chorus, well made songs never have any trouble finding welcome. I’m not sure why it’s a hashtag, but #chaleurhumaine feels complete and engaging, at once familiar and nothing so much as itself.
