Buzzard Lope, based in London, but hailing from Bedford, Birmingham and Brazil are a three piece core consisting of Roger Illingworth (piano and vocals), Adam Jarvis (double bass) and Raphael Saib (drums). There are a few other talented musicians who lent a hand in the recording of Pyrrhic Victories, their debut album. Possibly named after a popular American dance from the 1890s, their music is a “hybrid of jazz, pop and alternative sensibilities”. Tom Waits and Mark Lanegan get a mention in the blurb that accompanies their album, which is how I came to give them a listen.

I can confirm that the description above is indeed accurate as the sound that emanates throughout the album is a jazzy concoction of rolling piano, laidback double bass and shuffling percussion. Buzzard Lope might find themselves up against it from the get go, as much like Johnny, I hate Jazz. Slight redemption can be found in that the only jazz that gets beyond my ear lobes is that created by Tom Waits.

Pyrrhic Victories is curious in that the more I listen to it, the more downbeat it becomes. Opening track ‘Peak of Evolution’ is cheery enough, coming across like a drunken Big Fat Gypsy Wedding theme. Imagine a latter day Bob Dylan huskily crooning along to that, there’s certainly a unique sound at play here.

Initial joy is soon knocked to the ground though as ‘Walk Don’t Run’, incidentally the strongest track, is a downbeat affair, featuring smoky piano and a vocal style that is reminiscent of Micah P. Hinson, softly whispered and a croaky falsetto.

Why ‘Blue Arsed Fly’ sits at third track I will never know, over after just 2 minutes, the quirk/irk factor goes through the roof as the repeated vocal line, umm, repeats until the song end. It’s just plain silly and would have been better left off the album or at least tagged on at the end.

If your attention has been aroused at all by these three curious opening tracks, then what follows will endeavour to remove that arousal. Title track ‘Pyrrhic Victories’ is a shuffling, heavy double bass nod to Elbow, ‘Girls In The Straw’ goes a little acoustic Beck, ‘The Dry Eyes of E H Gombrich’ features more of that phlegm riddled Dylan growl and is played at a funereal pace. None of these songs have that necessary spark of memorability that I like to hear. The heavy swampy percussion of ‘Jugged Hare’ aims for something unique but sounds too swampy. It’s one of the tracks where the Lanegan tag might be applicable, I think more whisky and smokes might be required though. Too much style over content as the melody just isn’t memorable.

When Roger isn’t trying to ape other vocalists, the songs work better, ‘Continuum’, a stronger track has lovely double bass, flickering piano notes and a simple melody. Some additional instrumentation and computer game noises add some more originality to the mix. The crisp beats, lively piano and swooping/stabbing guitar lines of ‘Fag Ash Crow’ also compliment a good vocal melody. But the urge to descend into the black soon returns and closing track ‘Blue Bow’ resplendent with lonesome piano and a very Waits-ian delivery certainly lets you know that alcohol has been consumed and that cigarettes have been lit and forgotten about. It’s an odd end to an album of oddities.

Despite the criticism, I do like what Buzzard Lope are doing, they’re a refreshing shift away from the usual indie guitar shite peddled by so many. Although I have my jazz misgivings, the playing throughout the album is excellent, especially the double bass. In my opinion, a little less reliance on trying to sound like your heroes will benefit the band immeasurably. In a music world where it seems new sounds are always being sought, Buzzard Lope’s take on old sounds might just find them appealing to the multitudes.

Is there a better rock band on the planet right now other than Truckfighters? Josh Homme doesn't seem to think so and on the strength of this album they have a great claim. In short, what we have here is one of the best rock albums in years and one that should lay a claim to belonging to the pantheon of greats. It's THAT good.

Although they may be seen as little more than a Queens of the Stone Age copyist act, there is a hell of a lot more going on here on latest album Universe. Yes, it does sound like Songs to the Deaf in parts, but it also sounds like the best bits of every other rock band. Truckfighters seem to have assimilated the very essence of rock into their music and created a barnstorming desert rock feast which is one massive peyote high mixed in with an excellent understanding of how to play. The catch? There is none...oh, they're Swedish.

Yes, you hardly expect to hear such a monstrously American sounding album like this from a bunch of Swedes but maybe that distance has enabled them to re-assemble all the best parts and cast away the more common traits of US metal/rock to create a sound which is half derivative, half original but always 100% fun.

Take 'Mind Control', which rides in on grinding riffs and psych vocals leaving an indelible print on your brain. Their are melodies, submerged at first, which come to the fore as you adjust to the cacophony being produced. This then goes one step further with the fuzz guitars of 'The Chairman' instilling a far out sense of exploration as Truckfighters start to explore the limits of desert rock. Kyuss were never so brave and QOTSA relied too much on gimmicks. This is music from the heart and pumping with blood.

'Get Lifted' and 'Convention' keep up the pace with not one note being out of place or time for boredom to set in. Think they've run out of riffs, well take this solo then until we gather up another set for you. It's relentless and loud and shakes the foundations of your hearing.

It's the melodies and harmonies that set them apart from, say, someone like Mastodon who rely on brute force to subliminate you. Truckfighters know that a good chorus and hummable parts can set a song apart and lift it out of the doldrums and they have an innate sense of knowing when to do this right. There is a chance of crossing over at every turn and one can imagine MTV snapping up this band for show on their nightly scuzz fests.

Mastodon are paid homage to in the final song 'Mastodont'. An epic, grinding track which is purely monolithic in sound and trades on psych out solos to twist your mind into even weirder shapes. It's a breathless end to an awesome album and has the rare treat of leaving you begging for more. 2014 just got a whole lot more interesting with this band. Long live Truckfighters, their time is now. Superb.

“The Satanist” is a manifesto of a wise man, a free man, a man who dares to say “no” and a man who is brave enough to redefine himself from the very foundation. A man who has the balls to build his own world on the ruins of the old one.” – Behemoth

Nergal, front man of Behemoth was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2010. Despite his dim prognosis, he successfully fought off the disease with an effective bone marrow transplant and the sheer will to fight in order to live. Nergal (Adam Darksi) told Revolver, “There are moments I catch myself thinking about how my state was back then – it was me versus life, me versus death. It definitely changed my thoughts and it’s one hundred percent reflected in the record.”

The body needs to create billions of blood cells a day to function, both red and white. Bone marrow produces these blood cells and has to act quick enough to keep up with the process. Leukemia is the cancer of the blood or bone marrow. Just as leukemia ferociously infiltrates the human body, The Satanist acts in the same way, entering into the blood stream and spreading throughout the body.

The album ruthlessly tunnels its way into the plasma with the same viciousness of blood cancer.  Just as the music rapidly takes over, it simultaneously acts as both radiation and treatment; it’ll drag you down to the furthest depths of despondency moments before injecting strength and renewal back into your vital fluid. The Satanist is a declaration of transformation, a manifestation of willpower and muscle in musical form.

The album ignites like wick to flame; as ‘Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel’ starts to play an aroma of plundering evil fills the room. At every hammering of the drums the veins are electrocuted with the warning that something malevolent is on the horizon. You become aware of the calm before the storm. The unmerciful nature of the track begins to damage the blood, causing abnormality to grow and divide chaotically. Songs like ‘Furor Divinus’ and  ‘Messe Noire’ continue to macerate in a malignant way. Antagonistic lyrics couple with violence and further the process of disease. Both songs crawl their way down to the start of the bands death metal roots, embedding their primordial disposition inside of the hemoglobin.

Like an acute form of cancer that spreads rapidly and without remorse, ‘The Satanist’ begins to play. With a menacing beginning and mid-paced thick tone, a transformation begins. The track almost puts the psyche in a trance. Inferno’s tribal drumming reveals itself in sanguine fluid of the self, forcing you to stare into the mirror of your own mortality. Both physically and mentally demoralizing, the songs rhythm will harden the tissue of the heart and make the bones ache.

‘In The Absence Ov Light’ is dynamic and all-powerful. It has a way of putting human strength back into muscle memory, effectively killing the malfunctioning marrow. It is stripped down and archaic, the mantra for survival. With impeccable drumming and masterful guitar work the track tells a story all its own. It beautifully transitions into the final track, ‘O Father, O Satan, O Sun’, a brilliantly multifaceted 7-minute configuration of sound that is undoubtedly the most perfect ending to a flawless chef-d'oeuvre of musical expression.

The Satanist is the seamless push and pull relationship between absolute ruin and the process of rebuilding. It is artistic, organic, and beautiful. The entire album is riddled with musical maturity and fantastic arrangements of sound that are as cathartic as they are apocalyptic. Just as water turns into wine, Behemoth found a way to turn malignant blood into masterpiece.

The Satanist is out on Nuclear Blast/Metal Blade Records on February 3rd in Europe and out on February 4th in the United States. (Side note: Nergal’s actual blood went into the art for this album and you may find that The Satanist will find its way inside of your veins and also on your top 10 list for the year).

Alternative artwork

Blank Realm have pedigree. As well as some well respected previous work and incendiary gigs under their belt, they have also had the honour of recording with the Godfather himself Iggy Pop. Now comes their new offering, Grassed Inn and what a mightily impressive piece of work it is.

Peddling in dissonant noise and experimentation, they earned themselves the tag of the Australian Sonic Youth and there is plenty of evidence of that on Grassed Inn. There is also a fantastic talent in melody and post-punk structures making this whole album a highly enjoyable release that covers a lot of bases. Add in the louche vocals of Daniel Spencer and you have a peculiar hybrid of the aforementioned SY and a dash of Shaun Ryder.

The sheer breadth of songs on offer is audacious with opener 'Back To The Flood' positively bursting out of the speakers in it's rush to get itself heard. Chiming guitars and layered keyboards build the crescendo into an immaculate piece of post-punk which never outstays its welcome or even sounds derivative. This is then topped by the insane 'Falling Down The Stairs' whose chorus you will be singing with glee for a long time coming. Sublimely ridiculous yet considerably dark, it's a clear statement of intent.

Things inevitably slow down as the album progresses but by fourth song 'Bulldozer Love' you know you are in the presence of greatness. Much more considered, it still feels like it could tip over the edge at any point and this is the joy of Blank Realm. Rather than stay on the side of safety they like to throw caution to the wind and in doing so create a great sound.

This is an album which throws up myriad delights on repeat listens and the darker songs such as 'Baby Closes the Door' with it's screeching refrain and 'Reach You On the Phone' develop into psychotic hymns. Much more Joy Division than Sonic Youth, the combining of melody and song structure to their previous experimentation bodes well for a great future.

It is highly advisable to get this album and stick it on your headphones. Any time of day will do, it's a creeper and one that sticks in your mind. They seems to draw a rabid sort of fan who will go out their way to get their music and it's bands like these that we need. Dark, delightful fun that will also haunt your dreams for a long time.

Over a world young in time the shadow of the ship, oval in shape, floats along the surface of the vermillion landscape. Creatures dart over the land, below the enormous alien ship. Not of this sphere it has travelled from beyond the stars from a destroyed world, destroyed by the things it gave life, mankind. Now they have found their new home to settle on, start again, that world is Estron. Estron is also the new album by Irish double drop D klongy chong hi tech Celtic sludgey amp warlords Slomatics. Klongy chong being what the riffs sound like.

It's pretty simple with these guys, it's two guitarists with mega down tuned guitars smashing riffs in unison into weird as fucking fuck illegal fx pedals hand built in insane asylums by serial killers, the riffs then pumped into huge amps that hate you and are the real members of the band. The drummer sings too and on this record plays some synth. Yeah. Sounds great doesn't it? They have names too but this isn't fucking smash hits. I do feel but I should name them but, Chris and David on riffs and Marty on the smashy things and vocals. One has huge hair, the other looks like what if Jeffrey Dahmer was into Harvey Milk and the drummer looks immune to earthly weapons.

Labelling something as doom these days is as and has always been as lazy as just taking a pish in your bed rather than getting up for the toilet. Slomatics are more than that and on here definitely offer something that sounds fresh and yet firmly not of this time. They sound a bit like The Melvins so I'd say if you don't like The Melvin's then it's probably best you have a right good think about yourself. Being a concept album (Earth is pumped so a big ships were sent to another world to save mankind), Estron flows fantastically through all 7 of its tracks sounding almost like one long track (why didn't you just do that lads? WHY!).

Opener 'Trogglorite' starts with some wind and sharp synthetic tones, all rising and ending when the drums smash and guitars grunt while the singer sings his heart out. 'Tunnel Dragger' slows the pace a bit and is what could be described as an angrier sounding track upset at something, like your mum when I cum before her. 'Futurian' slows its shit right down, the fuzz is strong here and you have to ponder if the conceptual spaceship is slowing down or the band just fancied doing a slow Kranky number that will set off any sex charged internet warlock into visiting his favourite bung site. 'Lost Punisher' keeps up the "great song titles" form and sounds like Sleep covering early High on Fire. 'And Yet It Moves' is a sea change on the record, it's longer for starters and there's like lead on it, it's a synth but it could be something calling you from somewhere to tell you your wankface is a holy symbol on their plane and the noise is transdimensional prayer. 'Red Dawn' is an homage to John Milius's 80s Cold War paranoid fuelled USA INVADED BY COMMIES movie where the breakfast club tool up an Swayze and tiger blood save Uncle Sam by killing every cunt without the aid of any military training or army grade drugs. This track is an instrumental synth number, it's nice, a nice wee break from the distortion onslaught from the brother's Riff.

It fuses into final track 'The Carpenter' seamlessly I suppose like all the tracks. Another long number this yin starts like Sabbath's the warning without Ozzy mega vocals or the Iommian's guitars. But hold on, the riff bros have finished hoovering lines of grinded up alien bones from suicide girls anuses an are back by command of their amps to lay out one more time some mega big gongy klong numbers. As a fan of the last album I'd wanted Estron to be a more heavier, bigger warped A Hocht and was caught off guard when I realised these guys had actually tried to make something else while following the same theme in sound and heavy.

Again James Plotkin produces and Tony Roberts creates a cover that is so magnificent that it echoes hints of Moebius, Arik Roper and Frank Quitely yet clearly being Tony Roberts in style and creation. Out on Head of Crom Records ( on browny red vinyl) and available on CD from Burning World Records Estron should really be a must purchase for anyone with a taste grounded in the alternative. If you don't buy this you are scum.

Heads up warning: if you’re not a fan of instrumental music, then Liminal by Exivious is album is probably  not for you. Although you will be missing a corker of a record you bloody fools. What this album lacks in vocals it more than makes up for with sheer musical brilliance and inspiration. The pedigree of this band (just to put it in some context for you) is undeniable; featuring current and former members of Cynic, Dodecahedron and Pestilence to name but a few. What you are expecting is a blending of styles and genres. And you get it. Boy howdy....

Album opener ‘Entrust’ begins with some nice jangly chords in the most mellowed, laid back manner; almost jazzy. But then launches into an amazingly bonkers off-kilter riff that feels like someone has stirred your brain with a spoon. It’s not supposed to work but it does! Special mention for drummer Yuma van Eekelen for holding it all together whilst at the same time sounding about 3.7 beats away from collapsing the entire song. On display in this track and in ‘One’s Glow’ is an ear for combining the esoteric with the mundane (in a good way). Under both these tracks are moments of droning sounds that act as a foundation to tie everything together. A problem that bands of a similar nature (like Liquid Tension Experiment) often suffer from.

And just as you’re settling in for more nuttiness, ‘Alphaform’ begins with one of the most beautiful melodies I’ve heard in a long while. Everything in this track is much more settled and restrained, proof that this band know when to get their prog on and when to let a song just simply be a song and with it’s rousing finale it’s exemplary in it’s execution. The same vibe is used on ‘Movement’ as well, with its cleaned picked guitars notes and fretless bass (which, by the way TOTALLY sends a song into perfection) lulling you on a journey though the clouds as it’s ethereal ambience washes over you. ‘Deeply Woven’ allows guitarists Tymon Kruidenier and Michel Nienhuis to pummel your ears with some frenetic riffing... although they pretty much do that throughout this album.

This is an album both bonkers in it’s style but yet feels fully normal and natural. What Exivious have done is taken the best bits of your favourite genres (rock, pop, jazz, metal, prog) and melded it together to make a fun and dense record that is also serious and airy. That makes no sense does it? Neither does this band. But is works. Oh but yes it works. Check them out and let me know what you think in the comments box below.

Although the cassette tape collectives that have surfaced across the United States in the past few years present an altogether mysterious and intriguing picture, the fact remains that making a band’s music so difficult to access is audacious to a fault. In the golden era of Bandcamp, one feels almost entitled to be able to listen to, pay for and support independent music. When southern California’s Lake of Blood released their new record Omnipotens Tyrannus solely on cassette tape, it appeared as though that would be the only way to access the album.

Despite their presence on Bandcamp there was no promise of a digital release. With only a few instances of streaming versions of the album, the prospects didn’t look good. At the turn of the new year, nearly two months after its physical release, Lake of Blood made the album available for download. One can question a band’s artistic decisions only to a certain point, but Lake of Blood’s Omnipotens Tyrannus is such a fantastic piece of music that it is only fair that anyone interested should have access to it.

Lake of Blood’s previous releases have all been of the EP variety but Omnipotens Tyrannus finds the band fitting into a full length release very well. The album presents a large progression from their previous releases. The songwriting and structure are masterful, and the production is spot on. At nearly eighty minutes in length the album is, in a word, intimidating. Nearly every track is a ceaseless barrage of raw fury. This is American black metal at its best.

Guitarist Samael and Nordic, as well as bassist Krajavic, are all members of the L.A. blackened doom group Doctorshopper. Joining them is Xsithis on drums and Haagr on vocals. The band opted for a clean, balanced sound on Omnipotens Tyrannus, which allows every instrument to stand tall and even in the mix, including Haagr’s howling vocals. His screams bring a chilling element to the album but do not assert themselves over the rest of the instruments.

The album opens with the razor sharp 'Blood and Mercy'. The opening moments are a quiet hum, then the instruments charge in all at once. After the opening passage the song moves into shifting guitar progressions that prevent the song from becoming too repetitive. This is the story for most of the album, and the immensity of Omnipotens Tyrannus seems to melt away as each song charges through various changes in style and ambiance. With nearly every song being over ten minutes, this is no simple feat.

The third track, 'In Wells of Shadow', represents the largest variation in style on the album. the track, which feature’s Leviathan’s Wrest on guitar and vocals, shifts between doom and black metal but still manages to fit perfectly into the rest of the album. Samael and Nordic allow their sludgy guitars to ring out during the song’s intro before they shift back into a tremolo progression. The song moves in starts and stops with palm muted guitars and precisely executed drums.

Omnipotens Tyrannus’ longest track 'Omnipotens' fades into the closing track 'Reflect and Suffer at the Paw of Grace', a mournful reflection on the past hour and twenty minute assault. It is a deservedly heavy conclusion to an immersive and haunting album. Lake of Blood have set the bar very high for their future with Omnipotens Tyrannus. As the United States continues to make an argument for their legitimacy in the black metal scene, Lake of Blood make a very worthwhile addition to the conversation.

The latest release from producer James Strain, aka Auxiliary Phoenix, showcases the multi-layered DJ-ing skills that are helping him carve out an impressive niche in his native Ireland.

Shades of fellow (ultra-cool) countryman David Holmes are in evidence on Skribbl, which combines hip hop grooves with atmospheric synths, glued together with vinyl scratches and topped off with electronic wizardry.

The Auxiliary Phoenix searchlight for quality beats shines brightest on 'Apt 2B', where layers of scratched hooks and subtle melodies bounce off a strong rhythmic bed. Strain has developed a very polished production sound that’s testament to his prolific output.

The EP consists of four tracks at no more than three and a half minutes each, but the downside is the paucity of ‘WOW’ moments. There are no obscure, experimental samples that make you want to send Auxiliary some crate-digging stripes in the post.  

Another disadvantage to such purely instrumental tuneage is this: high-quality soundtrack music this may be...but a soundtrack for what? I’m not quite sure.

Perhaps I’m a bit malnourished when it comes to hip hop instrumentals, but the tracks are mostly built around a simple two-chord sequence. Sometimes he mixes things up by throwing in a radical four-chord structure.

Good driving music at a push, or a perfectly reasonable background to Saturday-afternoon shopping at Foot Locker. Just not something that inspires me to smile, dream, sweat, shiver, breakdance – heck, even cringe. The beats-by-numbers style stifles any further emotional response I’m capable of. (Then again, I’m emotionally left of the middle on the best of days.)

Formulaic.

When a band is described as extraterrestrial space rock, there is only thing to do and that is to hit play and see if they actually live up to that name. Whilst they may be not quite be extraterrestrial, Black Space Riders certainly know how to head out into space and make a tremendous noise while they are there. Welcome to D:REI, their new album...and prepare to be blasted off.

In what is a fascinating hybrid of classic metal, nu-metal, prog and Hawkwind, the requisite parts go together to make a fascinating if a little overlong album that never let's up with it's ambition and fulfils all the needs of a seasoned space trekker.

'Stare at the Water' sets the pace with its tempo changes and hypnotic vocals taking us off to a surprising melodic chorus. There are a lot of ideas but space is also kept for the usual guitar solo's which bring to mind an old Iron Maiden or Metallica song and this is just in the first couple of minutes. As Black Space Riders get going, so does the music.

'Bang Boom War (Outside My Head)' may seem a bit dumb at first with it's 90's metal feel but this all breaks down from the chugalong metal to a fantastic midsection which then takes a left turn into the anthemic. This is continued with the epic 'Rising From The Ashes of Our World' which is sheer magnificence.

'Way To Me' shows a more commercial edge until the motorik riff of 'Temper is Rising' kicks in and we are off into a quite phenomenal second half of an album as Black Space Riders pull out all stops. We get the wonderful, almost singalong, of 'The God-Survivor' which rests on what seems like a thousand tempo changes only for 'I See' to drop it right down into slow territory. Leave hits the funk button before shooting us straight into space with harmonies and crunchy riffs meeting spaced out guitar only to be met by 'Space Angel (Memitim)'.

It is testament to the rhythm section that this album is so strong. Unfussy but filling in all the right places, they hold us grounded as 'Space Angel (Memitim)' reaches out into the nether. 'Major Tom Waits' brings us right back down with its dirge like feel in what is a fascinating turn only to be stranded again with 'Letter to a Young One' and finally, 'The Everlasting Circle of Infinity'. Great song titles and great songs.

The only downpoint of the album is that it is tad too long. Ideas start to run out at the end but in all fairness to the band, they have already laid enough on the table. A peculiar hybrid and fairly extraterrestrial...this is one fine album and we await more from this band.

Hopelessness. Maranatha’s latest EP, Spiritless, brings with it all of the darkness and sadness that life can embody. Spiritless is heavy, both musically and lyrically. Combining elements of sludge, crust, and hardcore, Collin Simula has written a 15 minute, 6 song EP full of heavy, catchy riffs. The slow jam that carries the whole second half of track 2, ‘Skinless', will get stuck in your head for days. The same thing is true of the opening progression on track 3, ‘Mindless’. Thick, sludgy riffs that stick to your ribs, as your mom would say. I picked up this EP when it came out in July of last year. It’s still in regular rotation.

Lyrically, Spiritless travels a path through all of the crap that we have to deal with in life. Loved ones dying, questioning relationships, and crawling around in pits of despair are subjects that went in to the writing of Spiritless. The album “is hopeless. It is dark. It is a bummer record, and that was on purpose”, says Simula, the one-man whirlwind behind Maranatha. There is a glimmer of hope, but you have to wade through the garbage and the pain and the doubt to find it. Even then you may not come out whole, if you come out at all.

Simula is a drummer, first and foremost, and that comes across in the driving beats and thundering low-end throughout the EP. Simula also plays guitar and bass, writes all of the lyrics, and handles vocal duties for the band. Nick Nowell from The Famine and Society’s Finest makes a guest vocal appearance on track 4, ‘Heartless’. Simula cites Kirk Windstein’s guitar prowess as a major influence on his own style, and it shows. Comparisons can be made between Crowbar on this most recent Maranatha EP, as well as bands like Globe And Beast and Reproacher.

If you missed this EP last summer, you need to check it out. Spiritless will take you to a place that is full of sorrow, frustration, and anguish, if you’re willing to go there. Maranatha is heavy.

Hazzard’s Cure is a band from San Francisco in sunny California. Not heard of them before I was intrigued to hear what they sound like after their drummer Clint Baechle got in touch with me asking me politely if I could listen to their new 3-track release The Ugly EP. I am a sucker for nice cool artwork as it quite often makes me press play a lot quicker and in the case of The Ugly EP the stunning artwork by Lukas Krieg definitely got my attention. The metal world seems to have evolved into a symbiotic relationship with fantastic artwork similar to how a clownfish and an anemone need each other in order to survive. It simply is a mutualistic relationship.

Now, let’s focus on The Ugly EP. What we’re dealing with here are 3 tracks of thunderous thrashy heavy metal, dipping into more progressive and extremer blackened metal genres at times. Bassist Shane Bergman plugs away impressively on the 3 tracks on offer here and the drums are up tempo with plenty of nice fills and breaks. The vocals by guitarist Chris Corona have a bit of a Lemmy-like rawness to them and guitarist Leo Buckley is shredding away like there’s no tomorrow.

There is quite a bit of Motörhead going on here, perhaps it’s the bass playing or those vocals, but halfway the second track ‘The Ugly’ the sound turns around a bit to some progressive melodic metal piece, with melodic solos over slower played drums. But then it kicks back into heavier chugging riffs and a near Darkthrone-like black metal sounding shredding ending this fantastic slab of heavy metal.

The last track ‘The Body Amorphous’ hits upon all these above mentioned elements even more as this track is a near 7 minutes heavy metal track of epic proportions. It reminds me a lot of Vöhl, one of last year’s highlights as it’s all blackened heavy metal played in that extra gear, thundering away. The guest vocals by Laurie Sue Shanaman of legendary avant-garde black metal band Ludicra are awesome and fit the music perfectly.

There is only one minor criticism here, this EP is way too short! I want more of this! If you were as impressed as I was by Vöhl’s release last year or you’re a fan of blackened, thrashy heavy metal then I recommend you get this in your system right now. The EP is available as digital download for only a couple of bucks, but German label Ulterior Records are releasing a limited run on transparent one sided 12" vinyl with a screenprint on the b side in February. So you know what to do!

gh Demo I's two tracks will even please those who can't deal with uninterrupted drone. From the moment when you press play there's only one colour that is totally dark, with some grey nuances here and there. So don't waste your time looking for joyful notes because there's no room for them here.

gh Demo I is the debut demo of Icebirds, an experimental drone band from Fayetteville, Arkansas, and also a monument to slow-moving drone music. Less than twenty minutes and two tracks of meticulous experimentation and a commitment to the physicality of sound. The outcome is a beautifully dark, deep and intense soundtrack to your moments with yourselves and to the reflection of life's bleakest sides.

As soon as I started listening to the first track, 'Tales of 90's NBA Lore', I felt a moving and an heart rending sense of melancholy and anxiety. The three minutes long song starts as if the recording tape hits a snag somewhere and the field recordings in the background put you in a scene you have never seen. You're in the 90's and meanwhile the NBA's game report resounds in your room the bass-heavy drone is delivered at a clear, somewhat steady pace, extremely slow as if it is there to announce that something bad is going to happen. If you listen to this track at loud volumes you'll notice the meditative effect of the riffs and your body will start vibrating all throughout the album.

What do you expect from a track titled 'Hateful Harmony'? 'Hateful Harmony' is an incredibly tortured listen, with endless guitar feedback and anguished female vocals, and sounds of chains and birds that together create an unbearably intense climaxes.

In the wrong state of mind, the album is a tediously monotonous listen that refuses to take off. In the right state of mind, instead, the demo of Icebirds does about everything right. The walls of sound of both tracks with the field recordings and the vocals in the background are a perfect union of all of the distressing, agonising, tortured and cryptic thoughts in the corners of one's head.

I like how the tracks are arranged and the whole composition is worthy of attention as well.

Experience gh Demo I in the right state of mind and with good speakers, maximum volume yields maximum results.

When Dreams Become Nightmares is the debut album by the talented duo Anna Murphy (Eluveitie) and Tor-Helge Skei (Manes) together with close collaborator Eivind Fjøseide and a long list of other contributors. Having produced and mixed the album themselves Lethe found home at the interesting French Debemur Morti Productions label.

The couple started this band late 2012 explicitly to experiment and challenge themselves in order to expand their artistic boundaries but still incorporating melody and catchiness. Or as they describe it: an experimental metal/trip hop/electro project where the main rule has been that there are no rules.

Thematically the title already indicates that we have to deal here with a dark, eerie journey through the human mind. Musically the duo tried to create some unique, a genre-bending piece of music and indeed the whole thing meanders through different kind of musical landscapes like a small stream emerging from somewhere in the high mountains finding it’s way to the valley. Main features are the fascinating voice of Anna combined with the often hypnotic electronic programmed music, a job both have handled excellently. The ‘metal’ influence in the music is rather sparse I would say and finds its basics in the industrial side of this genre, think about some Rammstein guitar riffs. What I personally really liked is the incorporation here and there of some classic ‘Berlin-school’ kind of electronics: space and ambient. In tracks like ‘Transparant’ you can almost find the perfect fusion of the industrial metal by Rammstein and the transcendend sound of Tangerine Dream, both of german origin by the way. Together with the electronic beats and repetitive synth patterns it creates a dark undercurrent that fits the title of the album like a glove.

The compositions often resemble the typical post-rock, shoegaze style: a slow, carefully built crescendo to a multi-layered sound fest and then the return to the basic calmness. Just listen to the opener ‘In Motion’ and the 9 minutes plus epic ‘No Reason’ and you’ll know what I mean. But there are also some catchy tracks with a pumping drive (‘Haunted’), even a post-apocalyptic ballad in the vein of Dead Can Dance: ‘Ad Librum’ very gothic with it’s dragging rhythm and disturbing synths. You can almost feel the dust slowly falling from the sky. To pick out some favourites is a tough job, I myself I’m very pleased with the catchy ‘Come look at the Darkness with me’ and the dreamy, cold ‘You’ which somehow reminded me of the icy, melancholic sound of a late eighties gem from Norway: Bel Canto, also a male/female duo. All tracks are already available for streaming on Bandcamp.

For themselves the duo might have succeeded in its plan but can they also reach a broader public with their experiment? For me the album certainly has its merits but I’m not sure if the music presented here is suitable for everybody. It has a little bit of everything so I would  recommended the album only to open minded music lovers (I trust most readers of Ech(((o)))es and Dust are!). Just take some time to listen and be your own judge.

Nasty Little Lonely are not band to give much away any unnecessary information or undeserved hyperbole on themselves, so all we know is that they are a female fronted three piece from Bristol.

So it is up to the music to blows their metaphorical trumpet, which is handy as this EP Son Of The Flies is an extremely impressive and confident effort that pulls of an interesting sound with aplomb.

This sound is essentially its one part Goldfrap’s electro funk and one part Industrial abrasive rhythms. Trust me it works!

After a brief squall of feedback the opening track ‘Jesus Complex’ sets the template with a pulsing filthy bassline overlaid with post-punk guitar lines and sultry female vocals which settles into its industrialised rhythm.

With this template in place each of the four songs on offer uses this to add splashes of color ‘Lizard Brain’ would not sound out of place on the soundtrack to a Tim Burton animation with its swinging Psychobilly bounce and its rumbling breakdowns,

‘Son of the Flies’ takes a leaf out of Ministry’s textbook with its driving jagged guitars while ‘Turn The Screw’ is propelled by tribal rhythmic drumming and fuzzed up guitars.

It’s a short but very sweet affair that is packed to the brim with great ideas!

Sometimes you need some music that doesn’t follow set rules. Sometimes you need some music that makes you want to stop everything you’re doing and play the air drums or air guitar like there’s nothing else. Sometimes you need some music that makes you want to throw your pint in the air and start dancing frantically. Sometimes you just need some music that makes you want to listen to the album again and again to try and find out exactly what the rhythm change was that you heard in that song. Silent Front make such music.

The Londoners have been around on the local DIY circuit for some time now, since the late 90s to be exact, and they have released various split releases, and last 2010 their debut full length Dead Lake. They have toured extensively across the UK and Europe and they even found the time and dedication to start their own record label Triplejump Records. So, they have been quite busy and through all of these activities they have built up a reputation within the local DIY music community, not only as one of London’s best live bands. They now released their next full length album Trust through Function Records.

Silent Front is a three piece and their music can best be described as a huge noise-rock/post-punk/math-rock/post-hardcore melting pot, and comparisons with legendary names such as The Jesus Lizard, Drive Like Jehu and Shellac are easily made. The production sounds similar to these bands and there is the same raw energy and brilliantly skilful playing, with rhythms jumping all over the place.

It’s not all raw energy and mathy rhythms though as Silent Front incorporates plenty of quieter pieces, starting midway through first track ‘Mechanical Grip’ and recurring throughout Trust, such as on the beautiful instrumental intermezzo track ‘Confiance’. But then in the next track ‘Nails’ it’s all pure noise, dissonance, crazy mathy rhtythms, shouty vocals and uptempo energy again, grinding its way through to the end of this 8 track release.

I have not seen these guys live yet but listening to Trust gives me a pretty good indication on what to expect. Energy, sweat, flying beers and lots of dancing! They’re about to embark on another UK tour that no doubt will go down nicely again. First thing I thought when I listened to Trust was that these guys should hook up with Glasgow post-punk/hardcore band Thin Privilege and then I found out this is exactly what they’ve done! Go and see them if you can manage and grab a copy of their new album while you’re at it. Or pre-order through here.