When the dust has settled on this fine year, and one that's looking like a vintage year, there may well be one record label that stands out against the crowd as the greatest discovery for us psych fans. The roster of Heavy Psych Sound Records is stock full of some of the wildest, innovative and downright dirty rock and roll bands to have graced our ears. Add to this a band who channel the inner spirit of MC5 and throw in a huge dollop of space rock and you have, in E.X.P., another superb find.

Taking their cue from the more garage orientated side of psych with a hefty dose of r&b thrown in for good measure, this is primal stuff and gallops along at a fair old pace. After an obligatory intro we are cast adrift on a riotous ride as 'Supavacuum Cleaner and the Atomic Mushrooms Eaters' (yes, they have fine taste in song titles too!) grips you by your collars and shakes you until you feel like you've eaten a ton of purple hearts. It's an amphetamine rush which doesn't let up.

'E.X.P'z and the Masticators of Frequency (pt1)' brings in the psych noises as they spread their wings out before piledriving us with the totally nuts and utterly brilliant 'Sex, Beatific Night, Magma Mother Lights', which sounds like Ministry on speed. Throw in a cover of MC5 classic 'Kick Out The Jams' and that headrush is like a runaway train.

For all its need to thrash out its existence there is a ton of variety on here so it never gets boring. At times you may be mistaken for thinking you're listening to a NYC hardcore band, other times some hoary old space rock band. E.X.P. have the chops to keep you expecting. One can only imagine what this band sound like live but on paper and on the power of this brilliant album they must be amazing. Another great find of the year from a great label.

You can definitely tell that Palefeather's members come from a background full of depressing music. The Swedish prog trio might worship at the altar of Pink Floyd, but members Pierre Stam and Björn Pettersson have been with In Mourning since 2000 and 2005, respectively, while Robin Bergh has been behind the kit for October Tide (for whom Stam played bass from 2010 to 2012) since 2009.

Palefeather’s Wish You Were Here-inspired debut is not nearly as dark as the bands from which their members come, but the bleak melancholy permeating October Tide and In Mourning is all over this album. It’s certainly a welcome addition to the prog genre, which has been plagued with too much ultra-bright-and-happy cheeseball bands despite the darker contributions of acts like Porcupine Tree and Astra. While at times derivative, Palefeather deliver a moving, atmospheric work that gets it right in all the right ways.

Opening an album with the longest track – in this case, the 18-minute ‘Megaloceros Giganteus,’ named for the extinct Irish elk – has always been a curious decision to me. The massive epics that are a hallmark of progressive rock are typically a focal point of the albums on which they appear, so placing them at the front – while not uncommon, as Rush did it multiple times in their career – risks making the following songs feel like an afterthought. Palefeather avoid this pitfall by making sure ‘Megaloceros Giganteus’ works perfectly as an opener, capturing the general feel of the album with its vintage organ synth sounds and emotional, post-rock-tinged guitar lines, but without exhausting every nook and cranny. There are few moments where you might confuse the tune for ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond,’ but where the Pink Floyd classic takes a brighter, slightly optimistic tone to its sadness, ‘Megaloceros Giganteus’ is a bit more obvious – not outright despondent and miserable, but definitely darker in tone.

Palefeather saved the real misery for the following two tracks, ‘The Trumpeter’ and ‘Rombol.’ ‘The Trumpeter’ is by far the most melancholic song on the album, marked by the eerie piano melodies and rumbling bass that make up its intro and the choir synths which form the atmosphere for the rest of the track. ‘Rombol’ starts off deceptively happy, but delves into increasingly sinister territory and becomes what is far and away the darkest song on the album. The album closes with ‘Palefeathered Wind’ which returns to lighter moods, pulling you out from the depths in the process.

While it might not blow you away, Palefeather will certainly be an enjoyable listen for any prog fan. The band is just original enough to keep from being a blatant ripoff, while still sounding familiar to longtime fans of the genre. Just don’t go in expecting something happy, and you’ll be pleased.

If you're going to name your band after one of the greatest metal albums of all time then you sure as hell better have some good tunes to back it up. Volume IV, the album, is one that epitomises a stoner genre and sets the bar for everyone else. Volume IV, the band, are never going to match up to this (but then, who can?) but in parts they give it a damn good try.

Not that it starts off too well with opening track 'Looking Low For A High' never rising out of it's sub-standard Pantera beginnings. All growling vocals and squealing guitar riffs, it's just plain ugly and doesn't bode well.

'Utero/Long in the Tooth' goes some way to rectifying this with the first allusions to the mighty Sabbath showing it's face. An intricate beginning gives way to a more than satisfying grind which settles the dust on that awful beginning. This is further tempered by the excellent 'Wager' and follow up 'BlackWater'.

Each of these two songs show a different side to Volume IV which demonstrates their ability to turn their hand to some really good music. 'Wager' is all rocked out dirty biker metal with a charging riff which somehow seems to go on longer than the actual song does whilst 'Blackwater' is a much slower affair trading on doom riffs. Both are excellent songs and show that Volume IV can be a good band.

The main issue with this album, apart from lack of consistency (which is always an unfair comment to aim at a band), is it's lack of cohesiveness. Nowhere is this more demonstrated than on the Soundgarden sounding 'Save Your Servant'. Completely out of place, it casts a jarring feel over the album and we have to wonder where Volume IV are coming from. Sometimes too many ideas are a bad thing.

'Caba'l is a nice interlude before the growly 'Awake The Dreamer' brings us some classic metal. We are then treated to the excellent acoustic swamp blues of 'Save Your Prayer' before final song 'Locust Have No King' plays us out. It's a good end to an album which has both highs and lows and leaves us with a nice taste in our mouths. Not a bad effort but hardly likely to change the world. Given time Volume IV may be on to something really good.

Woodsman is a musical project that started in Denver when two separate two-man bands merged. Trevor Peterson (guitars) and Eston Lathrop (drums) already played together for years and in 2007 they came up with the Woodsman moniker. Around that time they met Mark Demolar (guitar) and Dylan Schoemaker (drums). 2008 was mainly used for jamming but at the end of the year, when the original duo Trevor and Eston managed to book some live shows for Woodsman it was clear that Mark and Dylan would join on stage as well: ‘a new and improved version of Woodsman’ as they called it.

In April 2009 the foursome released their first EP Humdrum and later that year followed by their first full album Collages, mainly written in the Colorado mountains.

So far this little history, now fast forward to 2014 and Woodsman latest release the self-titled Woodsman. Now reduced to a trio (drummer Eston left the band and is only present on the final track), this third fully fledged album appears on one of their own labels Fire Talk.

It brings on a 9 track collection of instrumental psychedelic ‘jams’ (more about that later) and although the guys relocated in 2011 to Brooklyn the music still has that feeling of outside nature. Picture some lumberjackers gathered around the fire to relax after a hard day’s work, maybe smoking some weed or consuming other substances (mushrooms) found that day.

After a short dissonant intro ‘Pre’, ‘Gravelines’ kicks in with some pulsating rhythms and clean but hypnotizing guitars bringing the psychedelic space-rock vibe to the front. The overall sound is quite layered with intoxicating guitars, spacy keys, a driving sometimes tribal-like drumbeat and some nice uplifting melodies here and there. But there is something missing here and this feeling sadly doesn’t go away as the record progresses.

Now what’s wrong then ? Well, for me the album lacks a certain direction. It all sounds like a bunch of down-edited jams. The longest piece on the album ‘Loose Leaf’ only clocks at 6:09 and that’s certainly too short to experience something of a psychedelic trip. ‘Teleseparation’ is another good example: as soon as the band creates a nice jam-vibe (at last !) they fade out the track at once, aaahhh too bad. This fragmented approach gives the album in the end a rather monotonous sound and that’s a shame as the musical ideas are in essence very nice.

With a more, traditional approach to the psych-style (groovy, lengthy jams) Woodsman could bring in a lot more to the fire.

Gentlemen, (re)start your engines and let the spaceship float again.

Cover versions of tunes can often cause a lot of divided opinion, and they're not for all people. Some people view them as being an unholy desecration of the original, while others see covers as a means of showing their roots and what influenced their music in the first place. In fact, many bands in their early stages play a load of covers before getting to grips with writing tunes of their own and forging an identity of their own.

For me, it's not a bad thing. To say that a cover of an original tune must be note perfect to me is defeating the object – after all why try to mirror the original tune when you might as well listen to the original? For a cover to work, to my ears it must be a decent rendition of the original tune that adds the bands own flavour and identity to the original work to make it more compelling for the listener. A perfect example of a cover that works exactly like this is Infectious Grooves' 'Immigrant Song', a groovy funk metal cover version that has a beautifully thundering bass line and massively catchy and addictive riffs. That – is a cover tune that is done perfectly.

Which brings me neatly onto the latest Drudkh release. This stop gap EP/Mini Album (call it what you will) fills in a few gaps of the Drudkh fans collection, as the tracks incorporated onto this release have been out on other split EPs that I assume are now difficult to locate and have probably become deleted prints.

'Fallen Into Oblivion' and 'Ashes' are stereotypically Drudkh; slow and heavy numbers that ebb and flow in a delightfully crushing manner as you would normally expect from previous releases, and not showing any signs of becoming one dimensional and boring – so existing fans will definitely not be disappointed in that respect.

Onto the cover versions. I have to confess, that the bands they have covered are ones that I haven't heard before, notably Sacrilegium, Hefeystos, Unclean and Master's Hammer (the latter one I have heard of vaguely, and is highly praised by some of my black metal loving friends – and one that I shall have to do further research with, on the basis of these covers). Fortunately, due to the wonders of the internet I was able to track down the original tunes and perform some comparisons.

'Tam Gdzie Gasnie Dzien' is a thunderously glorious cover, and to my ears versus the original tune is a faithful cover that adds much of Drudkh's style to the original tune without over egging the pudding. The original stomp of the tune is complemented perfectly, with some tremendous ebbing dynamics and adding a new sonic interpretation of the original – down from the fragile ethereal opening chords of through the gloriously stomping main riffs. 'Indiánská Písen Hruzy' is an entirely different reworking of the original, turning it into a stereotypically ebbing and flowing Drudkh with catchy and sharp slow riffing that if you hadn't heard the original could be forgiven for thinking was a tune they penned themselves. '...W Krainie Drzew' adds more of a heavier paced edge over the original tune, sounding a lot punchier and leaving it with a catchy stomp of their own with works very well without making a complete hash of it, which works effectively.

Lastly, 'Ten, Ktery Se Vyhyba Svetlu' is a more cleaner interpretation of the original, which was a more grittier sounding track – but without adding excessive amounts of polish and ruining the whole tune entirely, while 'Recidivus' retains the power and speed and managing to sound like an unreleased Drudkh track as the album closer.

To conclude, such a stop gap release like this could have been a bit of a mixed back or a complete disaster, but Drudkh deliver the goods in spades with the covers that are on this stop gap release. I believe it will suit the hardcore Drudkh fans out there, and also new fans of the band equally well. A compelling piece of work, with some decent slices of their unique eastern European black metal applied to the tracks covered.

I’ve always had a curious fixation with Australia. Something draws me to that laidback nature and how the good folks who live there perceive life. The country’s wondrous imagery and landscapes is like no other and Melbourne’s Magic Mountain Band do an incredible job of conjuring up a tremendous soundtrack for the outback. Their mini album Wilderman might contain only 5 tracks and have a running time of only 30 minutes, but during the passing of this half hour, something unique happens. The album feels longer, you could probably neatly get the gist of each track in much less time. But that would be totally missing the point, whilst not much happens, what does happen is sublime.

If you’re a fan of The Dirty Three and their wonderful meandering instrumentalism, then Magic  Mountain Band will definitely appeal to you. The album is book ended with two shorter pieces that serve to usher you in and out of the desert, utterly satisfied with your trip. Opener ‘Tidal Surge’ begins with a minute of deep hum, like a car speeding towards you from the distance, dust and dirt kicking up into the air. Slow, deliberate Alan Sparhawk guitar ambles into your ear space. Then the water surges, rippling initially before overcoming with mighty force, waves (cymbals) crashing against the desert rock(s). It’s beautiful, gracious and a mesmerising opening track.

In between these bookends, we have the expansive ‘Into the Wild’, an long epic of droning, circular guitars, Hammond organ and shimmering percussion. Close your eyes and you’ll see images of the outback, immense open spaces where wild animals and few people roam. There’s a palpable tension and mystery at work, the track is repetitive but at no time does it become a bore, always threatening to explode into something more aggressive, but the urge is resisted.

‘Vaquero’ is a slow paced, audible illusion of brevity, but still sounding long and drawn. Twangy guitars and faint organ barely rising above the ether, recollecting The Dirty Three, minus the violin. Drums are lightly stroked and tapped, almost neglible. The track has such a beguiling command over you, and then it’s over too soon.

Southern hemisphere cohorts, Mono are recalled on ‘Lost to the Deep’, a gentle guitar laments reflectively, the bass throb is deep and provides an ominous presence. With a slow, funereal pace, the only percussive touches are flickers of cymbals. Organ holds the track together, the playing is simple but marvellously effective in guiding the tune. Drone doesn’t always do melody, but this is an area the band excel in. Halfway through the track, the instrumentation swells, louder and increasingly aggravated. The tempo appears to pick up, possibly because the drums have joined the deathly procession. Calmness and serenity return, the track flickering quietly as the fury fades away.

So to the other bookend, the aptly named ‘Farewell Transmission’, which begins with a minute of deep droning hum, an indeterminate instrument, followed by the sound of the mothership taking off. Clouds part, rays of light beam through, a heartbeat pulses, the heat causing a shimmering haze to blur the clear, concise imagery of the previous tracks. But still you are drawn in, where will the track go to now? Again, the answer is nowhere, but you still feel as if a lot has happened over the journey just travelled.

Truly, it does the heart and soul good to find gems like Magic Mountain Band. Creative artists with a passion for making music that can transport you to places you’ve never been in a physical presence. That’s exactly what Wilderman does, it’s a journey I’ve taken many times in the last few weeks and it’s a trip I plan on taking again, over and over. Good times.

I had nice chats with the guys of Go! Save the Hostages! and when I asked them where their name come from they linked me a video with the speech of a member of the Egyptian Parliament about Chinese toys and how they humiliate Islam. There was a recent debate about a toy gun that, when the trigger is pulled, says “Go go go, pull over and save the hostages". Some claimed that it says “shoot Sayyida Aisha” and thus, the issue was brought up in Parliament. At that time Amir Samman and Sherif Sami from Cairo, Egypt, were forming the band and, finding everything ridiculous and sad a the same time, they choose that name.

Go! Save the Hostages! is an instrumental rock duo from Cairo and its debut EP is really good and capable of sticking in your head. The five instrumental compositions of the EP are the proof of the talent of the two friends and a band in control of their own destiny.

The experience will leave you out of breath for the ability these guys have to create deep and moving atmospheres. From the first beginning the journey into the Go! Save the Hostages!'s music world is so intense that you'll be immediately fascinated by it. The intro is slow and full of melancholy before exploding into an incredible wall of sound and dissolving again according to the classic post rock statement. Even though they recall the sound of well known bands such as MONO and Explosions In The Sky, their mix of melodies is definitely unique. 'Salma', the opening track is stunning and listening to it we get the sense that the band poured all of their heart and soul into the production. Every instrument gets their moment in the spotlight and it's a great way to start.

I appreciate the fantastic guitar riffs and brilliant dazzling mood of 'Souvenir Du Caire' and I really like the dark and melancholic vein of 'You Call Me Monkey, I Make You Cry'. Through this song Amir and Sherif really create a vast soundscape along with the chilling guitar riff.

Something changes with 'I’ve Wondered What It Would Have Been Like For Me If That Shark Got You' where, apart from demonstrating the love for the typical long post-rock title, the duo introduces an electronic whistle and it's like if we are listening to a new album. There's a perfect harmony between the instruments that are perfectly played. The mix of sounds in this song is incredible and when if u feel you are in a Saloon of a western movie an unexpected voice starts saying “the story I'm about to tell you is one of the most extraordinary story about time..”. It ends talking about the concept of change.

For sure the Egyptian duo knows the meaning of this word because again it demonstrates its talent and its ability to push the boundaries of the typical post rock. Experimental is the right tag for this music that definitely deserves our attention.

'I Used To Shank People Like You Inside' and its creative bass riffs ends an album where Go! Save the Hostages! strives to convey more melody rather than creating extremely long builds as it happens in the typical post rock compositions.

This is a nice discovery for me and I think that anyone appreciating good post rock music should listen to this EP. The two guys of Go! Save the Hostages! are really talented and I hope to receive soon new stuff from them.

Potential for the future!

Noise Rock. One man’s cacophony, another man’s symphony. My ears love a good melody and a song with a structure. As some act of trialling perversion, occasionally I like to inflict upon them, the most heinous sounds, as if to challenge them and ensure that in my later years, youthful zest doesn’t give way to too much easy listening. So I still find an awkward joy in acts like Lightning Bolt and The Jesus Lizard. Bands who couldn’t give a shit and no matter how many listens you give them, there’s just no possibility of grasping the nuances of every track.

So here comes Glasgow’s Thin Privilege, a four piece band culled from Scottish underground’s finest, such as Hunt/Gather, Billy Ray Osiris and Notebooks. I’m drawing on the PR for this knowledge as I’ve not actually heard any of these bands. Their debut album, Thin Privilege, is a short blast of noisy punk rock viciously created using bass guitars and drums. Shove yer guitars!

I’m going to do something I’ve never done before in writing this review. I believe it appropriate and necessary for this band. I’m going to transcribe the preparatory notes I made whilst listening to the album in real time. The scattershot nature of the music (in some tracks, I challenge the labelling of the contents as music!) will be better described in short sharp shocks, it’s the only approach I can think of! Here goes…

‘Tapeworm Womb’ - one minute of frenetic insane greasy fret board feedback squalls, neither tune nor hook in sight. Welcome to Thin Privilege.

‘Hex Charmer’ - a riff! More riffs and good ones too. The manic idiocy of the opener thankfully parked up. It’s a good blast of noisy punk attitude and dirty scuzzy mayhem.

‘Howl, Sleeper’ - timings askew, tunes eschewed, the drummer loses his shit big-time on this one, glorious! There are hooks but the line keeps breaking trying to reel them in. Not too dissimilar to the madder moments on Nirvana’s Bleach.

‘Perfunctory Blood’ - doesn’t even hit the minute mark, took me longer to punch in the words on my Blackberry than the track lasts. It’s actually shit.

‘No Such Constellation’ - a slower groovier beast. Akin to Liars, closest we get to singing and a memorable tune. The bass guitars sounding soooooooo filthy, surely the amps have decided to call it a day. A positive epic at three minutes.

‘A.S.D.F’ - off kilter Pixies guitar lines over a furious jazzy drumming ripsnorter of a track.

‘Red Cloak’ - great pile driving riffs barely giving the other time before the next one starts. Vocalist wailing and shrieking, lyrics indecipherable. If this was a gig, it would be around now I would probably be thinking I’d just had enough. Time to go.

‘Sword Swallower’ - drummer obviously knackered by now, can only manage a solitary tom thump. Our bassists have a wee break too by apparently using their feet to play instead of their hands. Oh shit. Hang on, we’re off again! Another long one at almost five minutes. This track has multiple sections, of course none of them follow with any coherency. Thin Privilege do not do coherent.

‘…with Apologies to Thin Privilege’ - Whoah! Six minutes! Really going for it with this one. One thing grabs you now the end is nigh, this might be an utter cacophony of shredded noise, splintered drumsticks, bloodied fingers and knackered larynxes, but these guys are a) loving what they do, b) making much more enjoyable music than the shite on daytime radio or in the charts and c) just fucking mad. Oh yes, the last track has the same effect on me as Lightning Bolt do. It is head mangling, but the world needs this kind of band. I have no idea why I like it, but I do. I’ll wager that Thin Privilege are an amazing live band.

So there you are. Apologies if my literary skills leave a lot to be desired in this review. Promise not to do this again, but this is the effect Thin Privilege had on me. Their apparent desire to not play by the rules, just not give a fuck, is contagious. It’s noise rock, punk rock, a new genre? Fuck you rock? You’ll either love it or hate it. Either road, keep ‘er lit lads.

I was looking some inspiration this week, searching for something a little more uplifting. And its not always the easiest thing to find when you’re constantly sifting through music. I found a creative and talented musician this week in the form of Nihal Anand aka Deadstar.

Nihal has 4 previous releases to this latest E.P Congratulations On Your Happiness, one of which (All My Friends Are Dreamers) was reviewed by Echoes and Dust writer Gary Jackson last year.

After listening to previous works, it seems that Deadstar as a whole has improved not just in terms of quality of instrumentation, but also in progression of song structure, arrangement and overall song feel, taking previous constructive feedback and turning it on its head. And that’s saying something, because Nihal’s earlier releases are actually really strong and not to be sniffed at.

‘Sea Dream’ opens nicely with some reversed guitar work, which I am a big fan of. It creates an atmosphere and continues to add a subtle dreamscape in the background as the song begins to flow. Its not an epic entrance to the EP, but its only when you progress through the song, you realize its what you needed anyway.

The direction of the opening song helps the EP remain balanced yet gather a little momentum at the perfect pace. Beautiful sampled vocals occur halfway through the song by Sanjana Nyapati (from his other band Cloudstory) and add quality depth to the arrangement; as does the last half of this track with a lovely flowing bass line.

At this point it is important to point out that this EP was recorded without an actual Bass guitar, and all the bass lines are recorded by experimenting with a 7 string guitar. Something that still sounds natural and impressive.

Track two ‘ Jill, Jill’ continues where the last song left off and it becomes apparent that a lot of work and care has gone into the drumming of this EP and It’s hard work that has paid off nicely. The off-beats are more than impressive. They stay within the realms of reality and song structure in timing with the pretty but impressive guitar work that continues to unfold. It’s a build up track that almost carries you gently through the song to a wonderful climax of Post and Math Rock.

Halfway through, we come to a very strong EP title track. This song is predominantly again about the continuous clever understanding, yet not too over complicated, relationship between guitar work and drums. It’s a wonderful melody, and it changes halfway through to keep things interesting. Crashing cymbals bringing a crescendo to the song in just the right place makes it a joy to listen to, again and again.

Deadstar then brings it down a notch with the first of the two final tracks. ‘November Song’ shows a little diversity and more restraint compared to the rest of the songs. Here, I believe we are shown a Post Rock element to Deadstar and although it’s rather short, it does work and it does add that needed sorrow feel that should be included at some stage. Simple picked guitar work followed by a strong back bone of a drum beat to carry off an all round solid song, to which I can certainly hear the lush guitar sounds of 65daysofstatic come in towards the end. For me, I could of done with maybe another 30 seconds of the ending to really round it off.

Lastly, we approach probably my stand out track of this EP titled ‘December Song’. I’m taken back a step to the EP title track ‘Congratulations On Your Happiness’, which for me is a really good move. But in this case new elements of atmosphere and pads are evident within the break and ending and they make it very accomplished. It’s a smart move really, because if you listened just once you’d miss the point, but when listening to Deadstar’s new release as a whole, the penny drops.

I must mention the artwork as it is eye-catching, and it seems that Deadstar have a good understanding of this, as shown in previous releases too.

Yes, it may be quite a short EP in terms of track lengths, but does that really matter when you keep going back for more? And does that just make this EP much more special and something to really appreciate? I’ll let you be the judge, but in my opinion, hats off, I love it. I’ll be keeping a close eye on Deadstar in the future as I believe it’s just the tip of the iceberg in creativity for what Nihal Anand has in store for us.

Ben Verellen must be a very busy person. He used to play bass and sing in post-hardcore band Harkonen, then started playing the guitar besides singing in recent Sargent House signing Helms Alee, and now he also plays drums in noise-rock/post-punk band Constant Lovers. Two full time bands, and both bands have released great albums this year. Helms Alee Sleepwalking Sailors has been getting all the positive press (including by yours truly) and this new Constant Lovers release Experience Feelings is a fantastic addition to the noisier guitar rock musical world as well.

Only last year the band self-released their first album True Romance and now Experience Feelings gets the label treatment on the Seattle based label Good to Die Records. It is a rather fitting label for this release too, being a Seattle label as that instantly activates my grunge/noise-rock radar and that’s exactly the type of music Constant Lovers produces on Experience Feelings. But with a slab of melodic post-punk added to the mix. Think of bands like Pissed Jeans, Grinderman, Nirvana, a bit of old Pixies, on occasion The White Stripes and even Ben’s other band Helms Alee.

Opening track ‘Mush Teeth’ kicks off brilliantly, with a nice and warm sounding dissonant guitar intro to then kick into the biggest noise-rock groove I’ve ever heard. Just listen to those drums combined with that bass line! It’s damn catchy, pulsing and addictive and makes any music fan dance uncontrollably. So we're off on a great start! Joel Cuplin’s vocals sound raw but very clear and passionate. Cuplin’s guitar playing in combination with other guitarist Eric Fisher is great, with plenty of feedback, dissonance and riffing going back and forth. But the driving force on this release is Gavin Tull-Esterbrook, whose bass playing is spot on throughout the whole album, with Ben's talented drumming.

There are many highlights on Experience Feelings and you can’t really go wrong with this release if noise-rock and post-punk is what’s keeping you happy. The chorus in ‘Hey Bo Diddley’ is damn fine catchy, while ’14 Missed Calls’, ‘Cry Me a River’ and ‘Spread Your Wings’ form an amazing strong middle section on this record, which finishes on a high note as well with the great track ‘I Am Your Skunk’.

The production is spot on as well with Matt Bayles (of Botch, Sandrider, Russian Circles, Minus the Bear production fame) responsible for the engineering job. It sounds noise-rock raw, but not too noisy, as there is a good level of clearness and warmth in the sound, which makes it really appealing.

When noise-rock gets done well it makes me happy, and Constant Lovers have done everything very well on Experience Feelings. I can’t find any criticism. In fact, Experience Lovers is my ‘feel good’ album of this year so far, perhaps even of recent years.

Split EPs are always a great occasion to check out new music and new bands. These kind of projects let you compare different styles and are really a good experience when both bands turn out to be excellent. This is the case on the upcoming split EP between Thisquietarmy and Syndrome. The idea is for sure a big deal for the bands involved and for fans it’s a great gift.

This is not the first time that Montreal drone alchemist Eric Quach, who has released over 50 albums under the name Thisquietarmy, collaborates with other bands – we all had the occasion to appreciate his work together with Aidan Baker, Year Of No Light and Labirinto – and now he teams up with Belgium's Syndrome, the project fronted by Mathieu Vandekerckhove (Amenra, Kingdom, SemblerDeah, Caan, C-O-R) who completely conquered me when I attended his gig in Zottegem in Belgium when he played that brilliant 28-minutes track titled ‘Now and Forever’.

The melting pot between Canada and Belgium is called The Lonely Mountain and is part of the ConSouling Sounds collaboration EP series. The new release is made up of four tracks including a bonus track of a live collaboration between Thisquietarmy and Syndrome, recorded during their 2013 tour. The EP is everything a loyal fan could hope for and more. The two one-man bands go beyond a simple collaboration to create a sonic experience where a mixture of post-rock and ambient music invites you to dive into a world where there’s no room for light and that is deep and intense enough to make it an unforgettable experience.

If you are familiar with both Thisquietarmy and Syndrome you already know that they are really great in evoking dark atmospheres that sometimes don’t let you breathe. Together, the two bands create a sophisticated and intricate EP able to offer you approximately one hour of pure evasion. The whole composition has a post-rock vein with heavy ambient, drone and experimental elements. Dark is its colour.

The journey through The Lonely Mountain starts in the ‘Cold Valley’ – the song title is perfect – where the two bands involved immediately create a dense and atmosphere. The minimalistic approach is brilliant and it’s impressive the way this sound is able to catch you. The EP and the tracks are very aptly titled and from the cold valley we can see the ‘River That Never Ends’. The music absorbs you completely and brings you away like the a river flowing fast.

‘A Black Breath Blows In The Sky’ opens up with a tranquil wash of synth and a solemnly echoing guitar line and it’s so intense and dark that it seems it’s enveloping the world and dragging it into the abyss. There’s not much light to be found at these depths. I particularly like the last three minutes of the track and I had the impression to be in a completely dark place where the only guide to the exit is the sound, provided that you are able to understand where it comes from!

‘Live at Magazin4’ is the live collaboration of the two bands and it’s really a masterpiece of drone/ambient music. The most devastating moments here are the quietest, and they have the power to insinuate into your into your bones.

And I feel really comfortable in these songs.

There is doom music out there that thrives on a repetitive riff grinding you down as vocals scream you into depressive submission. That's the nature of the genre, you either love it or hate it. There is also another side which has a much more classical side to it and has more in common with the likes of Debussey and co. rather than the archetypal Sabbath clone. This is doom that builds from small beginnings into a piece of music which should be taken as a whole rather than singular pieces.

This is the sort of music MEMNON SA deals with and Citadel is the result of this. Essentially a solo project of multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer Misha Hering, this is a long drawn out piece which aims to encapsulate the desolateness of a doom soundtrack.

It's utterly pointless to try and break the album down into its requisite songs as singularly they don't make much sense. That said, it can be quite difficult to settle down into a lull deep enough to let the music wash over you and there is more than a hint of vanity project about it. From the long drawn out beginning of Citadel whose two minutes belies the fact it seems much longer, into the much deeper Megalith which keeps you hanging on for eternity, it is obvious there is no rush to get anywhere fast.

There is a deep gothic feel about this album and it may be suited to old black and white movies such as Vampyr or Nosferatu. Titles such as 'Hecca Emem Ra' and 'Kali Yuga' do nothing to allay such fears of witchcraft at play and one wonders at the psychological composition of such a musician. Of course, it is just music and it's pretty good in places. It's an album that grows on you although it's unlikely to be one you would listen to often. It's the soundtrack to a grim, rainy Sunday afternoon (which is always the best time to listen to doom) and can be used a bring me down from a hedonistic evening. It's also very superlative musician wise and may appeal more to the aficionados rather than those after a quick fix.

German rock band The Intersphere are certainly preparing themselves to pack a punch with their latest album effort Relations in the Unseen. Across 12 tracks we're presented with a rather fun and very energetic performances that are certain to please their own fans, and perhaps garner them more from fans of the more alternative-punk-rock genre. The Intersphere certainly seem to have a number of enjoyable qualities in their music, though we do ask ourselves whether or not they are really adding anything to music, or whether they're just treading the same ground that many bands have gone before them.

There are a number of enjoyable qualities on Relations in the Unseen which certainly does set out to entertain. Each track on the album contributes towards a very adrenaline-fuelled punk-rock experience, somewhat similar to Fall Out Boy or Panic! At the Disco's earlier work. For the most part it all works very well, with the whole album more or less expressing what The Intersphere wants it to express.

However, it's hard though to ignore the incredible average and repetitive quality that Relations in the Unseen possesses. Musically the album sounds the same as so many other bands that have preceded The Intersphere, with there being little or nothing that showcases the band more strongly than the others. The music is enjoyable to some degree, but it feels like The Intersphere haven't injected enough of their own personality to really make the music their own. Everything is left sounding distinctly average and to some extent... rather boring and contrived. There's little true creativity here to make it a record worthy of any recognition.

The Intersphere do suggest some good ideas from time to time. Although the whole record sounds rather uninteresting and uninspired, it does seem to feature one or two little moments that suggest The Intersphere are better than what they're pushing out. It seems though that the band have opted to push out the easier and uncreative elements of their music, rather than utilize their stronger moments to create music that is ultimately their own. Perhaps there's something here to appease to certain people, perhaps... but the whole album is very thin on the ground to really work on its own merits.

Despite being a long time fan of hip hop I only recently found out about Hector Bizerk. Poor on my part because as well as being from Glasgow, they are also brilliant. Actually I have to give Ech(((o)))es and Dust editor of all things heavy Sander credit for pointing me in their direction. Now I've caught up, it's an exciting time for Hector Bizerk. They recently released their second album Nobody Seen Nothing , won a Scottish Alternative Music Award (SAMA) and have announced shows in the birthplace of hip hop, New York.

If that wasn't enough,  drummer Audrey Tait has made the finals of Hit Like A Girl, which is a worldwide competition highlighting female drummers. Hector Bizerk consists of Audrey and MC, Louie C.K., complemented by Fraser Sneddon (Bass) and Jennifer Muir (synths, percussion). Audrey could rival most drummers regardless of gender or genre. Providing the kind of organic thumping rhythms and subtle dexterity Questlove would be proud of. A large part of the appeal of Hector Bizerk is the live band set up, rather than being reliant on production techniques only. It adds to the diversity of sounds on Nobody Seen Nothing, at times shifting to dub and ska influenced sounds.

Regional accents in hip hop have a tendency to put some wider audiences off. From the outside hip hop is perceived to need to have a brash American accent or Southern State drawl. Bollocks if you ask me, if someone has the ability and a good flow it doesn't matter if they're from Brookyln, Bristol or Belfast. In fact, anything apart from using your native dialect is fake and frankly ridiculous. Louie, has both a thick Glaswegian accent and plenty of flows to dispel the myth further.

The lyrical themes are socially conscious, without getting to the point of preaching. 'Orchestrate' opens the album with a Clash influenced dub swagger. With clever lyrics and metaphors comparing life struggles with composition of music, it's clear right away Hector Bizerk are stand outs.

The production fully utilises the pounding ability of Audrey. At times stripped back to drums and rhymes with minimal scratches, the sound is infectious and raw. 'Fingerprints on the Drumkit' demonstrates that perfectly, a relentless show of organic power.

Throughout the album there is variation in styles, ensuring there's no feeling of repetition. 'Party at A&E' is a tale of a typical City centre night out ending in casualty. It's a familiar tale of a binge drinking culture and a welcome change from the glorification of violence and excesses that is often associated with hip hop. Putting genres to the side 'Waste Britain' is massive. Containing  the kind of chorus that is affirming and unifying. In an ideal world it would be a regular on national daytime radio instead of the pish that often gets pumped out.

Louie and Audrey are complemented at times with the  additional musicians all lending to the live feel. Their shows must be full of energy and it's easy imagining them appealing to more than just a hip hop crowd. 'Columbus' is another stand-out track with an infectious chorus and clever wordplay. Overall though the album packs enough punch and rarely dips in quality or finds the attention stray.

Nobody Seen Nothing is a big leap forward for Hector Bizerk. Having checked out their previous releases, it's more mature, assured and generally an album they should be proud of. Scottish music has always produced some phenomenal talent. Hector Bizerk deserve the recognition to ensure a documentary on a hoax act isn't the best known hip hop connection from Scotland.

Nobody Seen Nothing is available through Bandcamp and follow Hector Bizerk on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with all activity.

Following superb releases by psychedelic Canadians Sieira and hardcore Norwegians Jagged Vision, Retro Futurist sticks closer to home this time to present us with the debut release of Darkentries from South Carolina. The band themselves formed in 2012 after I assume they overdosed on Eyehategod and Cult Of Luna’s entire back catalogue as the The Make Believe is a distilled amalgamation of all the finer points of post, doom and sludge metal.

The five tracks on offer certainly won’t win any awards for originality, and lacks the natural kinetic energy of those artists but it makes up for this by being uncompromisingly loud and monstrously heavy.

‘TV Fuzz’ opens proceedings gently with an elongated melodic guitar passage with occasional drum flourishes which goes on long enough to lull you into being jolted by the sudden intrusion of power chords, the “vocalist” initial spoken word delivery providing a suitably dramatic atmosphere to the crushing doom before changing into the default setting of impassioned screams over off kilter rhythms and grinding RIFFS.

This default setting ploughs on throughout the next three tracks with the rhythm and tempo constantly ebbing and flowing between atmospheric tension and outright intensity. While the first four tracks are a direct result of their influences it’s the final track ‘Feedback Funeral’ that is the undisputed highlight and a stunning track in its own right as it showcases what this band is truly capable off when they transcend those influences.