So, over the last few years I been really intrigued by extreme metal from Germany, especially the likes of Nocturnal, Cruel Force and Ketzer comes to mind immediately and of course the revival of thrash metal’s favourite sons, Exumer.

However, within Germany itself something dark and malevolent has been brewing. There is excellent support from local German promoters with awesome festivals such as Party San Open Air, which promotes German metal, and that is where I got my first glimpse of Chapel of Disease in 2012. The German death metallers have recently released their first full-length titled Summoning Black Gods.

When you listen to the album, it’s like taking a time machine to the late 80s and early 90s, which in death metal’s case were the most important era for death metal with bands like Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower, Vader, Entombed etc. Well, Chapel of Disease do an amazing job in reminding the so called “Brutal Death Metal” morons of recent years that it’s not all about speed and technicality – which ruins it for me to be fair- but about writing riffs you can lose yourself in and that you can actually headbang to.

There is nothing more brutal than slow, crushing death metal to me personally, but hey, I’m merely a music journalist, or so they tell me.

Summoning Black Gods is a culmination of all the good things about death metal has to offer. The album consists of 8 bone-crushing traditional death metal tracks that will have you wiping your face off the wall within the first 2-3 tracks. Basically, it’s fucking evil!

Summoning Black Gods is an amazing album and shits all over these technical asshats. So if you’re tired of listening to death metal that basically all sounds the same, Chapel of Disease do not disappoint! Summoning Black Gods is an excellent release and one to keep your eye on in the future.

What an interesting word.

I had heard the word before, not in this exact form, but as 'fulminating appendicitis'. This is not a phrase that you ever want, or are ever likely, to hear, unless your appendix - the vestigial, germ-collecting cul-de-sac of the human gut - ruptures. Scary shit, because, as the word 'fulminating' suggests, in medical parlance, the onset of illness is sudden, severe and most often serious. 

After I saw that Kellar named their latest album Fulminant, I looked it up to get the real and proper meaning. To see that 'fulminant' is derived from the Latin word 'fulminare' - to strike with lightning - and knowing what I know about Kellar and their particular modes and manners of sonic assault...Let's just say that I can't think of a single, better word to describe the duo and their music.

And, yes, Kellar is now a duo, which is cool and kind of amazing on a couple of levels.

First, the fact that amazes me about Kellar, is that two people can make this much sound with just themselves and a bit of studio technology. They were a trio until around April of 2012 (see the interviews on (((o))) as well as the other Kellar music reviews). I thought that it was pretty amazing that three musicians could make these sounds. Maybe it's because I read the interview with Dan and Andy (by our own Gilbert Potts) while writing this and listening to Fulminant, but I can hear the change in song structure that Kellar alluded to. There is less contention for the listener's ears over the drums, and maybe the single guitar works better. I definitely think that Fulminant is a more accessible, musical (less noisy) album, while still being esoteric and greatly varied.

The second amazing thing, at least to me, is that this music is all improvised. If you have ever tried to do an impromptu speech, or attempted impromptu comedy, you know that it's difficult and easy at the same time - Difficult to make it 'work' and easy to let it suck. Improvisation has largely been the province of the Jazz elite, or at least that is the most well-known sector of the music world where one sees it most often. Improvisational music like Kellar's, sometimes Droney and Doomy, seems like it would be among the most difficult to make, at least from my layman's perspective. In the same interview with Kellar, they assert that, at least for them, improvisation is EASIER than the traditional, scripted, structured song (aka 'normal'). Improvisation means that you are likely to never hear the exact same rendition of a song twice.

And now, my standard disclaimer on when and where I listen to Kellar: While Fulminant is considerably more listener-friendly than most of Beloved Dean, it is definitely music that demands my full attention. This is sit-and-listen music at its finest, and hearkening back to my youth, the type of music that would have been amazing and really cool when paired with certain substances (which I DO NOT condone/condemn in any way). Fulminant is not an album I would play for my wife, unless I wanted her to leave me alone for 90 minutes or so. I would love to experience Kellar's live show as well, since improv is even more impressive live, and who knows? Maybe it will happen someday.

Did I forget to mention before that Fulminant is almost exactly 90 minutes of music? It boggles the mind, at least it does mine, that this album results from some riffs and beats that the musicians bring to the studio. I am jealous and envious to the extreme of that kind of creativity.

I don’t think that I can do justice, with my usual descriptors, to the range of musical styles and explorations, if you will, that Kellar touches on Fulminant. I will state vehemently that it’s much, much more than a collection of Avant-Noise meanderings, and is way closer stylewise to King Crimson and Frank Zappa than it would be to, say, Yoko Ono (the very model of Avant Garde, no?). You’ll hear everything from minor-tuned Fugue thrash to space rock; Precise Metal riffage oozing feedback to Velvet Underground-style devolution into static.

Fulminant is not background ambience, is not for those that just want feel good vibes from their tunes. But if you love Sonic Youth, any sort of hardcore Jazz, long Prog songs, walks on the beach, puppies...Wait, strike those...Take my advice: Buy this album, pour a glass of whatever you drink, put on the good headphones, sit back and listen hard. I think you’ll like Kellar’s latest. Has your old pal Jake steered you wrong yet?

Alkerdeel. Ouch. This sounds like it was recorded under the grimiest bed in the dankest cave imaginable, which would normally be an utter turn-off for me, but it just adds to the music. I am actually enjoying listening to something that sounds like it's being projected via headphones though a paper cup. This is dark, like, dark dark. The kind of dark you only get out in the country side in the depths of winter. A kind of dark where you can't sense anything around you until it's grasping you by the throat. If thoughts of witchcraft and generally evil stuff don't spring to mind, then I think you should consult some kind of therapist.

All of that aside, this has a real driving force behind it. Drilling through skull matter kind of force. Recording quality may be a big no-no for some, but if you can handle it sounding a bit sketchy, then by all means give this a go. But don't say I didn't warn you.

Well, this side is a little different. Cleaner. Which is a plus. A Den Of Robbers definitely have the lion's share of this split, starting out with a few fast and furious belters before launching into the five minute mid-mark and ending on a couple of volatile three minute blasts. Solid knuckle-cracking sludgy grind from start to finish with a welcome change of pace set in by 'In Shades' and taking a perfect transition through to 'Peoples Temple' which might be my favourite track so far.

Less challenging on the listening front, but still exciting and invigorating. Considering I wasn't sure where to start with either of these bands, I've walked away from this record interested in hearing more and picking this up.

FFO: Dragged Into Sunlight, Primitive Man

I confess, I had never heard of this band before - my sole reason for requesting this album was a track called 'Release The Kraken'. Because who doesn't love a Kraken reference?

Well - am I glad I did. This is not just one of the best stoner/fuzz albums of the last few years, it's one of the best ever. EVER. QOTSA? Pffffft.  Slo Burn? Nope. Fu Manchu? Ehhhhh. This album is probably the closest thing to a perfect release I’ll hear this year... In fact, excuse me if I wax lyrical, but it's that good.

So, while everyone on the interwebz is indulging in the 22 year old circle jerk that is the new My Bloody Valentine release (me included) I might just slide this one under the radar... But I feel what I write won't do it justice - you need to hear it yourself!

Dead Wahines and Tsunamis opens with 'Cyclops will be Beheaded' - a rollicking way to start the album and a clear indicator of the band's intentions for the next 70+ minutes as low thudding bass, melodic fuzzed up guitars and some great, powerful drumming all compete for space in your eardrums. It’s wonderful, and made me immediately think of Blues For The Red Sun in its scope and warmth…. A sense of space, time and place permeates this release, making it far greater than the sum of its parts.

Next up is 'Landkreuzer', where we start to see Feuerzeug's colours get nailed to the mast - superb dirty question and answer guitars, groovy bass and crisp, driving drumming. And with nary a gap we're into ‘Evel Knievel Has Kissed The Devil’ – one of the best tracks on the album for me with its irreverent subject matter making for some super cheesy vocals that normally I'd hate, but here I love. These are bookended nicely by a bass line that would be home in a Red Hot Chilli Peppers track and some great forceful guitar work that explodes into a big 60's breakdown and finish. It's great, and I suggest it as a driving song for sure.

I'm going to jump ahead a bit to 'Nitroghostcar' - a corker of a track. Over in three and a half minutes this drips aggression, swagger, rock, sweaty concerts and beer. And Motorhead. It was at this point on the album that I realised how truly melodic, groovy and fuzz laden the guitar work was - I'm running out of suitable comparisons but maybe Kyuss with 2 guitarists? A stoner rock version of The Darkness? Anyway, it's a rollicking good time which precedes the sludge'n'roll majesty of 'Fusion Van'. If you close your eyes during this track you can see America's High Desert appearing through the windscreen in front of you as you cruise down an empty road, this track blasting at epic volume while the sun beats down overhead.

Their serenade to the Desert theme continues for the next 2 tracks, 'Cruising the Desert Pt. 1' & 'Cruising The Desert Pt. 2' which are more of the same melodic, rock structure... and the change from 'Pt. 1' to 'Pt. 2' is excellent, as the two guitars exchange solos to bracket the tracks. Lovely. Then there's some feedback to finish and we're up to…

'Release The Kraken'. This track opens with exactly the sort of balls and swagger you would expect by now, with a lament to brave sailors lost to a mythical creature as the vocal content while again some excellent, dark and melodic music swirls around them. It's the second longest track on the album and I didn't notice the time at all - everything feels justified to be in there.

And then after the initial few minutes of rock out it finishes with an ambient taper off into 'Kometa', a song with some lovely little wah/harmonic guitar lines swirling through the mud of bass while the drums propel you into the soaring prog-rock styled 4/4 stomp at the end of the track - I can only imagine how much fun this would be live, with arching feedback providing ample opportunity for a huge rock finish.

I'm going to stop there and leave you with the following - in a fortnight where a new Eels album and a new My Bloody Valentine album have both been released (two bands I have adored for many, many years), both have struggled to get time in my eardrums ahead of Feuerzeug. I'm even picky about what music with vocals I listen to and yet this album kicked in my door, beat me over the head and demanded me to love it - and goddamn it, I do. It's exciting, melodic, groovy, cheeky and not once does it drag for me - rare on a 70+ minute album. And it’s only their second release!

So after all that gratuitous wank on my part it boils down to this - if you like stoner rock, fuzzy guitars, big rock epics and simply great music, this is a compulsory album. It's not flawless, but holy shit it's close. This proudly sits alongside some classic albums and holds its weight against them all - a mighty effort. In fact, we're all spoilt that this exists - it's February and I have a heavy contender for album of 2013…. Even though this came out in October last year!

So, thank you 'Kraken' reference! Now - how to get to Switzerland... I'm exceedingly jealous of anyone who gets to see them live!

Maybe it was something in the water. Out of fertile musical ground sprang forth Youth Movie Soundtrack Strategies, Jonquil, Foals and This Town Needs Guns. Oxford baby. I had (still have) music scene envy. I’m from Sheffield, I had to contend with Milburn, Little Man Tate and The Rev *shudder*.

It was a song on a rocksound cover mounted cd that first brought This Town Needs Guns (or TTNG as they have been newly christened) to my ears. From there I sought out their split EP/mini album thing with Cats And Cats And Cats. I relistened to that split before writing this and it still sounds tremendous all these years later. TTNG are all about the guitar. They hurtle melodies at you in such quick fire succession, it’s at turns both thrilling and disorientating. When they get it right, it is a marvel to behold. When they get it wrong, it acts as a barrier. An excluding mechanism. There are moments on their debut, Animals, which bristle with indulgence that act as such a barrier.

The band has been through a number of line-up changes. The one that convened to record this, their second album, exists with a new singer who now also takes up bass playing duties after their previous one departed. The keening voice of Henry Tremain on first listen reminded me of Saves The Day’s Chris Conley, and even a touch of Alex Trimble of Two Door Cinema Club (I’m so very sorry!! Please, come back!). Really though, he kinda does.

For such a major change in the core members, it is fortunate that the key elements that made TTNG so appealing remain by and large intact. If anything, whatever has been going on behind the scenes seems to have given the band a renewed vigour. 13.0.0.0.0 is a wonderful album, an album that grows with each successive listen and stakes an early claim for record of the year. It is as concerned with the minutiae of each gorgeous arpeggio as it is with the overarching sound and structure. Something which Animals, for me, never struck the right balance.

The album is seemingly pieced together with the minimum of fuss. Very clean and warm, the guitars peel away from the thrust of the song at any given moment, but then wrangle it all back in seconds later. The instrumental ‘In The Branches Of Yggdrasil’ relies upon a syncopated bass run not too dissimilar to ‘Narrow Stairs’ era Death Cab… and marks out a more sedate song writing approach.

Coupled with ‘2 birds, 1 stone And An Empty Stomach’, it gives the album a breadth of scope that sets this line-up of the band apart from any previous incarnations, and also distances them from their peers. They take cues from American Football, Owen & perhaps Minus The Bear but with 13.0.0.0.0 have set a high bar for fiddly, forward thinking guitar music.

If there’s a negative here then it perhaps overstays its welcome by a song or so, and naming a song ‘Nice Riff, Clichard’ is asking for a roll of the eyes, but these are minor points when the whole is so gratifying.

It’s consistently inviting, rewarding multiple visits. The melodies buried in ‘Cat Fantastic’ or ‘Havoc In The Forum’ reveal over time, they’re densely constructed  but also wonderfully accessible. The real success with this record, and the indication of just how far TTNG have progressed are how confident they are with placing the more delicate tracks amongst the rippers.

Sometimes while seeking out new music I stumble on something that makes me want to shake everyone until they take notice. It happened recently with Archon, a band from New York who despite me being oblivious to, have been building a reputation Stateside.

Archon blends the heaviest of doom/sludge and experimental metal into a stew of thick riffs and overpowering rhythms. There are elements of doom, psych filled sludge and post-metal ambience all apparent on Ouroboros Collapsing.

They have pulled all these elements together and recorded an album of the murkiest and heaviest music imaginable. Featuring vocals from both Rachel Brown and Chris Dialogue, they navigate the swampy rhythms at times both howling with guttural screams and more melodic clean singing. Rachel in particular impresses with her range of vocals, equally adept at clean singing and demonic howls.

Archon have been through various line-up changes and have a few releases behind them. Formed by guitarist Andrew Jude they now have a settled line up that incorporates members of the also excellent Alkahest. They've played with the likes of Unearthly Trance, Coffinworm, Hull and Batillus.

Previous release The Ruins at Dusk was an epic recording of atmospheric extreme metal. On Ouroboros Collapsing they've managed somehow to make it even thicker and heavier sounding whilst matching its quality. As I'm only introducing myself to the band time will tell which is the better release (I'm enjoying both immensely). I suspect this new release will further prove their quality and help spread the word of their filthy heavy grooves.

Featuring four tracks, two around 15 minutes and two 10 minutes in length there is an element of epic voyage about Ouroboros Collapsing. One of those albums that shifts in styles and mood throughout, all of it is enthralling listening.

Beginning with the impressive 'Worthless' it builds atmospherics slowly until the blackened guitars crash in and Rachel's melodic vocals ring out. The muddy mix of guitars and bass makes it downright filthy, with Rachel and Chris both contributing growled vocals. More ambient textures give way to a further barrage of sludge and psychedelic riffage.

'Desert Throne' has a more immediate impact; devastatingly heavy at first it soon features a Kylesa-like passage with clean vocals. This gives it a more stoner/sludge feel as it re-occurs. Archon are now proving they have quality song-writing on offer among the deluge of doom and sludge. 'Desert Throne' in particular serving up riffs, hooks, and some stunning guitar work.

'God's Eye' continues the trip, again psychedelic riffs, murky rhythms and experimental sounds roll out. Frantic drumming and deranged vocals give way to more stoner vibe singing. Back and forth it heaves leaving you dizzy from the shear heaviness and mixture of styles.

'Masks' closes the album, an expansive slow paced doom workout, closing what is an excellent album. If you like your metal dirty sludge filled and head crushingly heavy, then Archon could be just what you've been looking for.

Ouroboros Collapsing is available here with a further physical release coming on the excellent The Path Less Traveled Records.

I said it before, but I will say it again: the year 2013 is still short, but oh boy, we have been absolutely spoiled with good music already! To add to this vastly growing collection of brilliance, Conan now released the complete live set they played at Roadburn Festival in the Netherlands last year through the fantastic Burning World Records.

There is nothing new on this live release as all songs have been released on the studio releases Monnos and Horseback Battle Hammer, but the great production of this live set and the chosen 6 songs they played makes this a fantastic “best-of” album. Monnos was my album of the year 2012 (see our full list here), and there is a good reason for this. Conan is in my opinion the current best in combining ear-destroying, skull crushing and bowel vacating heavy filthy riffs with slow earth shattering pounding drums. Conan builds upon previously established foundations of metal, doom and sludge, but completely adds their own stamp to this.

Mount Wrath starts with one of my favourite Conan tracks, ‘Krull’, also the opener on Horseback Battle Hammer. This song starts so slow, it is almost re-defining what slow means. And I get the feeling Conan was doing their extra best to play ‘Krull’ even slower during this live performance. It really goes on for quite a couple of minutes, building this huge wall of sound. Filthy riff creator John Paul Davis opens his mouth after a while shouting the amazing opening lyric “MYYY NAAAAME IS KRUUUULLLL…I LIIIIVE ON A MOOOUUUNNN….TAAAAIIINNNN!!!”. The great thing about ‘Krull’ is that after these long slow repeating riffs the song completely breaks open to a nice tempo change, while bass player Phil Coumbe takes over vocal duties, providing a deeper and gruntier voice.

One of Conan strong points in my opinion is drummer Paul “Rippled” O’Neill. It is not the most technical drumming he produces, but being a drummer myself I can only confirm how difficult it is to drum so slow for long stretches, suppressing the need to slightly speed up while the song is on-going. But most of all, he really brings a lot of depth to Conan’s heavy wall of guitar filth by adding lots of cymbal touches, like a little splash hit here and a china hit there. I always noticed this on the studio recordings, but the production on Mount Wrath is done perfectly, so that these cymbal details really come through very nicely. Next time you listen to Conan focus your ears open on the drums and you’ll know exactly what I mean.

Continuing with Mount Wrath, after ‘Krull’ it continues with a couple of “faster” tracks, ‘Satsumo’, ‘Hawk As Weapon’ and ‘Battle In the Swamp’ before ‘Headless Hunter’ takes things right back down again. And ‘Headless Hunter’ again has so many great details going on with the drums that it is an absolute pleasure to listen to. Listen for example to the nice hi-hat rhythm after around 1:50 in. Both vocalists combine the singing on this song, giving this track an extra level of edginess. Similar to ‘Krull’, ‘Headless Hunter’ ends on an up-tempo bit, with the brief introduction of pounding double bass drums. Mount Wrath finishes with the epic long and slow track ‘Sea Lord’ again taken off their earlier Horseback Battle Hammer release.

After Burning World Records already released the Bongripper Roadburn live set (find it here), they now released what, according to some people, was one of Roadburn’s best ever live sets. It is a great release, and any fan of heavy deep filthy doom/sludge should get this as you won’t be disappointed.

Mount Wrath is available on Bandcamp through the “name your price” option, but fans of physical music will be pleased to hear that it will also be released on CD first and then on vinyl as well in a couple of weeks time.

Conan will hopefully release a new studio album soon, but in the meantime you can catch them live as they're about to embark on a extensive European and UK tour. Catch them live if you can!

War Iron hail from my home Belfast, at least that's what their profile says. Listening to them I'm more inclined to believe they were forged in the fiery pits of hell. This is sludge at its most filthy, all low end rumbling and vocals no more than tortured screams. Twin Bass provide the bone-rattling dirge, this is the kind of stuff to accompany, say a weekend of virgin bloodletting and sticking red hot pokers up yer ass.

So, no War Iron won't be appearing on "This Morning" anytime soon, unless it’s to fulfil some work of Beelzebub himself. Come on Philip Schofield's got more than a retired Gopher puppet in his closet. Many a skeleton lurk there in I'm sure, and I'd like to see his face when War Iron come calling time.

Anyway back to the music, I became aware of War Iron through the impressive Tartarus Records and discovered they had released a split with Glasgow's 's own HEADLESS KROSS which is available here.

Musically The Fifth And Final Sun stays low in gear and sound. That's what's intended though as it slowly unravels working its way into your brain. Occasionally it all locks into a devilish groove, when it does it is over-powering. Tracks average around the 7 minute mark and 'Black Fleet' is double that. Drums are pounded into submission while the two bassists provide treacle thick riffs throughout.

If you like the kind of earth shattering slow doom and sludge of Conan and Slomatics then War Iron may just be what you need.

The Fifth and Final Sun is available as a limited cassette (is it 1980?) now here. Orders also include an immediate digital download.

The first word that popped into my head when I hit play on the Bad Guys' first full length album was "finally". This London based, no nonsense rock band have seemingly been around forever, tearing up this city with their incredible live shows and nothing beyond a 2 track EP to show for it.

But here it is, all teamed up with the ferocious British record label Riot Season who have put out face melting noise rock releases from epic bands such as Todd and Hey Colossus, this is a match made in the most awesome underground rock bar in heaven.

The good news is that Bad Guys is worth the wait and then some. ‘Brick Toothpick’ kicks off the proceedings with some absolutely shit kicking riffery… think ‘Rusty Cage’ by Sound Garden wrestling with some classic 70s hard rock jamming. The tortured vocals rip into it and you know you’re onto something truly bruising yet wonderful. There’s nothing terribly original about Bad Guys, a little bit of Melvins, a handful of Torche, a splattering of Sabbath, but the album somehow feels like a new approach to kick ass hard rock.

Imagine Metallica and Lou Reed really nailed Lulu and it was everything it should have been (instead of absolutely terrible)… a metal band hammering out more earth shattering riffs than you could shake a stick at with some lunatic crazy man spouting his nonsense over the top. That’s exactly what this is. Their man on vocal Stu has some important things on his chest; you can imagine him propped up at bar growling every thought that pops into his chemical ridden brain.

It’s all pretty consistent, the dual guitars work in absolute harmony together and have wonderful little hooks and quirks which keep pulling you back into Bad Guys’ fun yet brutal little world. It’s scientifically impossible not to nod your head with a scrunched up face in appreciation to some of riffs that ‘Alcowhore’ fires out.

‘Witness a new low’ has a wonderful cheesy 70s vibe but is still delivered with sludgy edge.

‘Fat Labrador’ is not only a brilliant song title but has a British feel to it. Lyrics such as “I see you at the chip shop, I see you at the park”, this album does not take itself too seriously.

The final track ‘Hurl’ what can you say apart from that it’s one of the best songs EVER! The first few minutes of heavily distorted slow stoner rock jamming could never prepare anyone for the animal, which is unleashed when things gets moving. It will make you want to throw your laptop at the wall and try start a mosh pit with your girlfriend and cat in the middle of the living room (I didn’t do that honest). The guitars are fast, dynamic and the commanding vocals scream “You weird like prick, come and suck my fucking dick” sure some might think it’s not the most grown up or intelligent lyrics in the world… but us rock fans are not meant to be grown up or intelligent and we’re damn proud of it! The break down has some wonderful soft electric noises floating around and playing with the deep distortion, almost like Neu! or Circle turned up to help them play the album out. We’re then treated to one last blast of carnage, the band are absolutely owning it whilst the vocals roar “Let’s get a fucking beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!” and they’re right; we’ve just had a power hard rock master class so come on…let’s go get that fucking beer!

Innocence. It's a lovely thing isn't it? A carefree understanding of the world, unfettered by the trappings of the modern world or adulthood. It's exactly the feeling that sprang to mind when initially hearing Dion & The Magic Chords' new release, Curiosa. It's a feeling reinforced by the album artwork, which appears as a still frame which could easily be from an imported Polish stop-motion animation from the 1960s. It's as much a statement as the music: a toy-like explosion of colour and instruments, some of which are home keyboards of 70s/80s vintage; two marionette-like musicians acting as the source of this carefully choreographed chaos.  

Throughout the course of the album, one can make connections to danceable jazz, some blues riff-age, naive sonic experiments, krautrock dronery, 60s/70s British public information films and archetypal 'lift music'. 

There's always a knowing innocence to this though. As the album progresses, we are transported from child-like simplicity with 'Prelude' and the first few bars of the next track, 'City Light Motion'; via an electronic jazz-blues workout, to the stand-out track, 'Curiosa'. Here we encounter rhythmic elements of samba with some strident chord-work and distorted leads. The track builds and shifts, as does most of the album. Rhythmic passages segue and overlap, the keyboard drones become stabs of chunky chords. There's richness and depth to this music, of both sound and structure.

'Bloose' develops into a lovely, thick slab of arpeggios and chords. 'Sehnsucht' starts out all epic repetition and develops into a sonic nursery rhyme. Then another beauty of a track: 'Seasaw' starts out all Boards of Canada and then gets into serious Tangerine Dream territory with saw-wave arpeggios and lush pads. Closing track, the magnum-opus 'To The Moon….And Back', gives us a past vision of the future and then takes a darker turn with synth drones and odd squiggles of sound.

So, after all this wordy bollocks, is it any good? In short, yes. Very good, in fact. 

DATMC are walking a relatively well-worn path previously occupied by the likes of Stereolab, Plone and Broadcast; but they are doing so with considerable skill, invention and good-humour. The tracks exhilarate, entertain and evoke. You can't ask for more really. Impressive. 

The Pod is the solo project of MAKE's Scott Endres. I'm a long-term fan of MAKE's sludge filled post-metal. One of the elements that drew me to them was the long textured ambient passages that contribute to their excellent sound.

With The Pod, Scott fully realises these 'moments' of MAKE, giving them room to breathe, sprawl out and evolve. It is this kind of sound present on Assassins in the Mirrored Hall I jokingly refer to as "Post-Morphine". Anyone who has had the need for morphine may have experienced the wave like euphoric feeling it can give (Oh for the record don't do drugs kids!). Its these 'waves' that best describes for me the textured ambient music Scott produces both here and incorporated into MAKE. It is not all drone, there are rhythms and structures that take shape. In fact fellow MAKE members Spencer Lee and Matt Stevenson provide some support with contributions across tracks on bass and drums.

Assassins in the Mirrored Hall begins with the short 'Times Desiccated Sanctuary' before expanding in sprawling ambient fashion with the near 15 minute 'The Analeptic Ritual'. Displaying The Pod at its best, shimmering ambience and drone like openings,give way to building rhythms and swirling guitar. It is one of the highlights on the album. 'A Stranger in a Hidden Room' features some psychedelic rhythms and distorted guitar with flourishes of electronic fills.

The Pod is an excellent side-project of MAKE, and can be enjoyed by their fans but will also appeal to a wide range of music fans. There is a variety of sounds and structures that make each track interesting. It rarely descends into drone just for the sake of it, tracks evolve and take shape. Another lengthy workout 'Citadel Of Mirages' begins with harsh distortion upfront, with more delicate melody emerging before entering some Sunn O))) like heavier territory. 'Abandoned Ark' features low-fi electronic noise and is infectious in its repetitive rhythm.

If you pre-order Assassins in the Mirrored Hall you receive an immediate download of the album and two bonus tracks not available after release. I highly recommend doing so, as one of said tracks 'Reinvent the Wheel' is another highlight. An almost Dj Shadow feel with its drumbeat and glitch noises it takes an evil turn towards the end.

Scott has produced another excellent album of varied sounds and further demonstrates his talent. Assassins in the Mirrored Hall is available to pre-order now. All pre-order funds contribute to the production of physical copies and if you’re quick additional free items are included, so it’s a really good project to support. Get your copy here.

Space..the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Gnod as they take you to the outer reaches of space rock. Perhaps a more apt beginning would be the wise words of Nik Turner…DO NOT PANIC.

For it’s with the legendary Hawkwind that Gnod lay their badge, not that this is a bad thing. Chaudelande Vol 1 & 2 is a re-release of sorts (it’s an independent thing) which would tie in nicely with the newly released Space Ritual from the aforementioned Hawkwind. This is space rock for a new age though with more in common with the industrial sound of techno and Krautrock than it does with the magic mushroom insanity of the 1970’s.

‘Tron’ starts proceedings with it motoric rhythm building up into a crescendo which is both equal parts Can and Motorhead. It’s not easy listening, it’s not meant to be, but it affects the parts that not much other music does. Try it first thing in the morning for a quite different start to the day.

It’s not all about the riffs and beats though, bubbling vocals add disconcerting sounds to the pounding music. ‘Visions of Load’ builds on this but it is with the almost left turn of ‘The Vertical Dead’ that Chaudelande takes a different tact.

‘The Vertical Dead’ is quite astonishing in that it mixes tribal rhythms with a slow burning techno sound which drags you into its darker regions. It is a thing of terror and horror and takes a strong stomach to stay with it…ultimately though, this is a worthwhile experience.

The rest of the album can’t seem to keep up with this and suffers ever so slightly. The riffs do become rather formulaic and you find yourself wishing for some respite. Of course, this is music for the live arena and so would make perfect sense there. It’s only with the final track ‘Genocider’ that we glimpse an ironic side to Gnod though which makes sense of what we have been listening to. About halfway through the song there is what seems to be a homage to Black Sabbath which completely throws you back to the 70’s and reminds you where this music originated from. Music that has been done before but on this showing who cares as it is so much fun.

Black Pus, side project of Lightning Bolt’s drummer/vocalist Brian Chippendale is back with album number seven All My Relations. According to the press release, Brian is now experimenting with pop structures. That simple statement would likely cause incredulous facial contortions from 99.999% of the population. For those of us who are familiar with the absolute mayhem that Chippendale conjures up with his Providence cohort Brian Gibson in the aforementioned Lightning Bolt, this description is reasonably accurate. All My Relations is the most commercial offering yet, certainly since 2005’s Hypermagic Mountain. Of course, commercial as a description for the type of out there sounds created by Chippendale is overtly generous. The relentless, cascading rhythms, remarkable percussive time signatures and unconventional shrieking vocal stylings are unlike any other act I’m aware of. Repeated listens to this extreme music always generates new findings with every turn, which is part of the appeal for me.

The last Lightning Bolt album Oblivion Hunter featured unreleased material and had disappointed me with it’s lack of hooks. Thankfully, Chippendale has re-ignited his pop sensibilities with this new album and in '1000 Years', could we have a crossover hit on our hands? Highly unlikely, but it might just reach out to a few more who would previously have shunned the wayward carnage of  most of his back catalogue. Featuring a snappy jive beat and a traditional verse chorus verse structure, it’s a real highlight of the album.

Released in March on the Thrill Jockey label, Brian has eschewed the usual 4-track shenanigans in favour of utilising a proper recording studio and allowing Keith Souza and Seth Manchester to oversee the recording process. This gives a clarity and sheen that doesn’t take away from the sheer brutality of the performance, but enhances the listening experience. Experience is a key word when dealing with Black Pus/Lightning Bolt. To listen to this (or any other Chippendale album) requires you to be in a certain frame of mind, your mindset will certainly be altered by the time you’re done.

All My Relations features a considerable amount of “vocals” for a Chippendale release, with an ever expanding range of styles. On 'Hear No Evil' we get medieval chanting, 'Word On The Street' features a caterwauling Tarzan, all processed through the usual array of effects and distortion. No need for a lyric sheet here, given Brian’s insane ramblings on Twitter it’s probably for the best, I shudder to think what the content might actually be.

The opening 'Marauder' sets the tone for the rest of the album with it’s huge groaning bass throb and spleen bursting drum patterns. Technically drum and bass but as far removed from that genre as you could possibly imagine. 'Fly On The Wall' settles very quickly into a 2-note groove and is one of the few tracks that utilise traditonal song structures.  Closing track 'A Better Man' is a 10-minute epic workout that ends up chasing itself, such is the intensity of the sounds being unleashed.

As with a lot of Chippendale’s recorded output, when it’s good, it’s very very good but when it’s bad it’s a form of aural torture. There are occasions on this record where there’s a coherency with the riffs and grooves, little pockets of merciful memorable moments that give the listener something to grasp onto. At times though, the urge to languish in a quagmire of scuzzed out experimentation overcomes and the track ends up spiralling into insane tangents, the listener ends up begging for mercy. Again, this is part of the appeal for me, it’s a masochistic endurance challenge but ultimately a rewarding experience for those willing to see it through.

I find Brian Chippendale a most intriguing artist, a huge influence on my own musical dabblings but firstly and foremostly, a drummer of extraordinary ability. The technical ability to create this music in both studio and live environment is quite incredible (I urge you to check out Youtube footage of Lightning Bolt gigs). I don’t see him ever gaining mass appeal, operating on the extremities of musical terror that he does, but he is seemingly having a blast doing it. More power to him.

It’s no lie to say we love Hookworms at Echoes & Dust. For the last year or so they have been shocking us with how they are maturing in to what can be described as one of the best UK Psych bands. Since I interviewed them last year they have grown in such stature as a live band that I’ve been itching to see how that will transform on to vinyl and with Pearl Mystic all I can say is WOW. For those who haven’t heard or seen this Leeds 5 piece hold on to your hats because this record is going to make these boys very busy and before the year is out you will not only know them but you will be eulogising about them like a bible basher at your local shopping precinct on a Saturday afternoon.

For those who want a synopsis of what Hookworms sounds like imagine the bastard love child of Perry Farrell fronting some Stooges/The Seeds/Wooden Shjips  with a little touch of the story telling of other Yorkshire luminaires like Pulp.

Pearl Mystic kicks off with a lovely textured drone that has a fine balance of tension building perfectly as ‘Away/Towards’ hits a technicolour crescendo. ‘Form & Function’ which was previously on the Gringo Records split with Kogumaza hits home with a pop sensibility in its harmony backing vocals that you doesn’t normally work in this genre but her its majestically reminiscent of 60s garage R&B bands.

I love the interludes on the record, they counterbalance the wonderful songs and I would be happy with an album of those alone but I am a feedback/drone/reverb whore who can listen to things self-oscillating until the cows come home

‘In Our Time’which has been doing the rounds as a rerelease titbit has a moody swagger of grim back streets and a disaffected jilted lover lamenting his feelings to any passing cat that would care. Sensitive, insular and overt as only can be allowed at one time by his pain will allow.

‘Since we changed’ is a lovely dirge punctuated with tambourine mournfully playing out while the guitars swirl, bass line just pacing us a long until MJ’s lovely vocals transcend to the heavens. More glorious 60s tinges that send shivers down the spine.

Holy Fucking Bo Diddley, what the hell happened there! Shit a brick, ‘Preservation’ is just heart pumping tribal, leg shaking pulsating, machine gun bass lines spraying the crowds in to a frenzy. When the fuzz wah lead kicks in I’m in heaven, pulse racing, strobe lights hitting the back of my mind and flashing into my primal heart.

Then finally, ‘What We Talk About’ is a perfect closure. The harmonies, sparse rhythms, droning organs, slide guitars and slow build until you are putting your arms around your neighbour and swaying along (this nearly got me in to trouble on the 75 bus last night).

Psych has some stirrings in the ether at the moment and these Leeds upstarts are going to cause a few waves when they break through in to the mainstream, dragging their glorious brand of drone/blues/pop/fuzz sanctified music to the masses. So don’t repent your sins if you haven’t got on the bus yet, just enjoy every last bit of fuzzed up goodness.

When was the last time you heard something that really surprised you? A question in a similar fashion was brought up by a like minded music lover in an email conversation a while back. I had to agree a good point was being made; it's not very often I come by music which strike me as unique and utterly takes me by surprise. The last album which did is Jerusalem In My Heart's cryptically titled "Mo7it Al-Mo7it".

Montreal-based Radwan Ghazi Moumneh is the man behind this contemporary Arabic and electronic music project which was formed eight years ago. Since two years ago JIMH has been a trio consisting of musician and producer Jérémie Regnier and visual artist Malena Szlam Salazar. Together their three different backgrounds are as diverse as Lebanese, French and Chilean! During their live shows they use film projections to visually enhance the music, and it's being said that the concerts have never repeated themselves - neither music-wise or visually wise. I can imagine this strict artsy performance approach is very likely to be the main reason why it took so long before the project evolved into a debut album.

"Mo7it Al-Mo7it" often includes Moumneh's characteristic use of Arabic singing styles - and to me it's a thematically built album and very much like a man's wanderings through a city. This day is transformed into sound which are divided into seven deeply emotional chapters. The opening song is an epic song of the man standing right before a religious wall singing out his prayers during the early sunrise. After his dramatic morning prayer he continues to find his favorite park to reflect upon recent happenings. Improvised acoustic guitar playing is combined with birds singing gently for over nine minutes. This cominbation is like shivering water; so calm and meditative, and yet so abiding and restless - in many ways similar to the ancient-like music of Anouar Brahem.

He gets distracted by a fraction of a thought. A soon-to-arise-problem is lurking in his mind. He leaves the comforting park and wanders out into the streets, which are getting more and more crowded as the sunrise is turning into bright, blinding daylight. Psychedelic ambient is combined with whispering and dark Arabic singing; the voice inside his head is troubling him and the faces of the crowd has never seemed as unfamiliar or as hostile. 

He has to get away from this morning chaos, so he goes to find his room. It's a simple room with a wooden bed, table, chair and a small window. A glass of water and some pieces of bread lies on the table. This is when he starts to whimper out loud. And this is where I'm going to stop this fantasy tale, because I just have to say; I haven't heard as much sorrow and despair packed into one song as in the fourth '3anzah Jarbanah'. Try to imagine all the fear you have ever felt through your entire life. At the same time. This song is exactly how that would sound like. 

The album continues in a similar fashion, but in the sixth and seventh track we get to the climax where all the tension and the unsettling back-and-forth between darkness and brightness finally comes out. JIMH's music is mentally exhausting, but ultimately rewarding when listened to under the right conditions.