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This is 'Liberation through Amplification.'
This is definitely one of the best
albums of the year and its vitality is
astounding for a band of this vintage. Superlative heavy rock for 2019.
“Tinnitus
The Night” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. Along For The Ride
2. Shake
3. Fat Rats
4. Final Phase
5. Peel
6. Knock Em All Down
7. Find What You Need
8. Under The Devil’s Thumb
9. Midazolam
10. Silence
The Review:
Roadsaw return after an eight
year break from releasing full length records and boy does this just JUMP out
of the speakers! Kind of like an US East Coast Orange Goblin, these noise
purveyors deal in the finest and heaviest stoner rock. Massive riffs, drums,
bass and sounds coalesce to turn in powerhouse performances on opener “Along For The Ride” and “Shake”, The band slows to a greasy
groove on “Fat Rats” and don't put a
foot wrong from there.
With
ten tracks and neatly fitting onto one side of a TDK 90min cassette (should
that be your preferred medium) this feels like a throwback to the band's first
heyday (95-2000) and channels the power of their 2007 release “Rawk
N Roll”. I am ashamed to say that I missed out on their self titled
2011 effort, but in my defence I did catch them live at Desertfest a few years
ago- and they ripped the Underworld a new one with a tight and energetic set of
all-American rock and roll- and gave away a three track EP on CD which I still
have.
“Final Phase” is a speedball of energy
with “Peel” then dropping the pace
back down to a laid back cruise. It's a fairly extended loose track that marks
the mid point of this deadly record. For side two, you get “Knock Em All Down” first, with a big
groove and grunge like feel. “Find What
You Need” is pure rock and roll enjoyment- killer riffs and hooks.
“Under The Devil's Thumb” is just as good- grooves
for days- with swagger like Monster Magnet in their prime. For a band with
25 years under their belt, Roadsaw sound hungry and hopefully this album
will see another flurry of activity from them and lead to more releases and
shows. The albums second languid set piece is “Midazolam”; a longer playing time and the band spreads their wings
to take in some epic riffage and quiet loud dynamics. As the band close things
with “Silence”, they utilise
acoustic guitars for a rather melancholy ending to this excellent record.
This
is definitely one of the best albums I've heard this year and its vitality is
astounding for a band of this vintage. Superlative heavy rock for 2019. Welcome
back!
It has been hectic 2018 to say the least, so forgive
me readers for I have sinned, it has been 6 months since our last SOUR 16, and our usual presentation of the16 most popular albums of the
month. So given that I have failed to
deliver the chart for the last six month, I’ve decided to present not only the
most albums of the 7 months , but also the individual charts for the months you
missed. So by my reckoning that 112
albums for you to check out. So
apologises normal services is resumed, here is our TOP 16 MOST POPULAR ALBUMS OF 2018 SO FAR and the SOUR 16
(JAN - JULY 2018)
Here’s a quick recap, each month you the
reader are unwittingly compiling a list of the top 16 records of the month, covering all genres of metal.
Is it not a chart, in which reviewers or contributors extol their opinion about
their favourite music. To put it simply, theSOUR 16 are
the records that have been trending the most at SLUDGELORD HQ.
The
results are compiled based on the amount of page views the reviews have
received and are then calibrated into the list below. (Total views are highlighted in
brackets)
If you’re ready for a simple space rock record
that’s sturdy, hooky and well written, take “Mindfucker” out for a spin.
“Mindfucker” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1).
Rocket Freak
2).
Soul
3).
Mindfucker
4).
I’m God
5).
Drowning
6).
Ejection
7).
Want Some
8).
Brainwashed
9).
All Day Midnight
10).
When The Hammer Comes Down
The Review:
Monster Magnet’s evolution has been fun to follow. Back in the day,
when front man and key driving force of the band, Dave Wyndorf, got his band of
psychedelic gods together, they got weird. As time progressed, the ‘Magnet remained a psychedelic powerhouse, but one that
consistently moved forward from where they began. The days of long, drawn out
and druggy jams are behind us. Now, we’re reveling in a period of shorter,
leaner songs with big hooks. Fans of Monster Magnet are
sometimes divided in the camps of “early” and “modern” Monster Magnet.
There’s no need for these camps, though, because Monster Magnet
has always been - and will always be - a band that knows when it’s time to get
weird and when it’s time to rock out. Isn’t that what stoner
rock is all about?’
So it’s now 2018, almost five years removed from Monster Magnet’s last studio album, “Last Patrol.” Where that album, and certainly the redux albums
that followed it, brought both hooks and jams to the fold, this new album, “Mindfucker” is all about the rock and
the roll. “Mindfucker” tells a simple
story to the tune of compact riffs and songs that move pretty quickly. About
half of the songs are around the 4 minute mark, which reflects the simple song
structures.
But rest assured, simple isn’t bad, by any means. In
the case of “Mindfucker,” simple is
even somewhat a breath of fresh air. There’s that MC5 vibe
in these songs and punk rock is never far out of reach. The hooks are firmly
mounted and effortlessly carry the weight of the songs. Bob Pantella and Chris
Kosnik play their asses off, running the sturdy rhythms up and down the dance
floor.
Like any good Monster Magnet set
list, the weirder tracks are spread out evenly between all the ragers. “I’m God” (exclusively streaming below) rears its
head after the three songs that open the “Mindfucker”
party. This track is the largest of the bunch, with a huge chorus that has
Wyndorf stepping to the mic to proclaim that he, in fact, is God. Kind of a
strange claim to make, sure, but Wyndorf’s lyrics have always been pretty out
there, rather arrogant and more or less out of this world. After all, he
delivers these lines with such conviction that he makes the lyrics work. The
song uses every second of its 6:16 run time to fly off into space, in
only the way that Monster Magnet knows
how; Wyndorf at the helm, one foot on the monitor, colorful, flashing lights
everywhere…all seen through a fish-eye lens.
The songwriting aside, the production of this album is
also top notch. “Mindfucker” is a
party, despite some of the themes in the lyrics. The way the guitars sound and
how this is mixed with Pantella’s cymbal work, makes this record sound
rambunctious. “Mindfucker” even goes
so far as to sound like a live recording, one that has Wyndorf pulling in the
crowd and having the audience scream their lungs out for the entire duration of
the record.
If you’re ready for a simple space rock record that’s
sturdy, hooky and well written, take “Mindfucker”
out for a spin. Go on, let loose of the hopes that Monster Magnet
are going to make another “Spine of God.”
The band’s moved on and is having a great time doing it. Join them for the
ride, you won’t regret it.
"Force Field" is an album that punches you in the face from the moment is starts, and keeps up its
unrelenting force until the album’s grand finale. The songs are short, they’re
fast, and each one hits its chorus within 30 seconds. There are no frills, no
bullshit, just straight up rock n’roll with attitude.
“Force Field” CD//DD//LP track listing:
01. Hippie Speedball
02. Earth Shaker (Which Doobie U
Be)
03. Alaskan Thunder Fuck
04. Shocker
05. Crazy
06. Fried Dyed And Layin To The
Side
07. Shell of a Man
08. Houndstooth
09. Tits and Bones
10. Humble Brag
11. Super Highway
12. Liv A Little
The Review:
When
The Atomic Bitchwax got their start in the 90’s, they
offered up the flip side of the coin to the West Coast’s Fu Manchu. Like the Fu, The Atomic Bitchwax also had punk roots, dirty guitars,
hard drumming and a link to rock royalty. What sets these bands apart is mostly
the themes in the lyrics. Fu Manchu sings about
babes and cars, The Atomic Bitchwax spits lyrics about drugs
and flying through space. Sure, this is a pretty blunt summation of both bands,
but the bottom line is, The Atomic Bitchwax
appeals to the space-punkers. Their music is for those who want their Monster Magnet faster and their Fu Manchu
more psychedelic. The Atomic Bitchwax
fills that void perfectly.
In
layman’s terms, The Atomic Bitchwax is a stoner rock band.
But as Monster Magnet continues their way back to
their psychedelic beginnings and Fu Manchu gets heavier,
The Atomic Bitchwax once again fills the void between these
two and does so by dropping the “stoner” tag. The word “rock” is what
remains, and that’s just what we need in these times of pigeonholing bands into
genres that are so specific that there’s no fun left in the
music.
On December
8, The Atomic Bitchwax are going to drop a
belter of an album. It goes by the name “Force
Field” and its one helluva rock album. It’s one that
punches you in the face from the moment is starts, and keeps up its unrelenting
force until the album’s grand finale. The songs are short, they’re fast, and
each one hits its chorus within 30 seconds. There are no frills, no bullshit,
just straight up rock n’roll with attitude.
Opener
“Hippie Speedball” is a quick
two-and-a-half minute glimpse of what the band is here to do; rock. Follow-up “Earth Shaker” does the same, and the
increasing speed and intensity in the third song “Alaskan Thunder Fuck” nails down the band’s mission statement. The
cuts are teeming with vocal harmonies, polished beyond belief but no less sharp
and mean. And when Pantella pounds on his drums, you can hear him grinning with
satisfaction. Kosnik and Finn are also grinning, no doubt about that, and this
adds to the album’s presentation. The band is smug, they know they’re kicking
ass and they know their licks are second nature. This is rock n' roll.
“Force Field”
confirms the direction The Atomic Bitchwax
took on 2015’s “Gravitron.” On “Force Field,” the New Jersey three-piece
don’t do much more than open the flood gates and barrage the listener with
hard-ass riffing and tight-ass rhythms. This happened in 2015 and it’s
happening again now. Therefore, the simple conclusion is, if you dug “Gravitron,” you’ll love “Force Field.”
Evil Triplet’s laissez-faire, anything can happen attitude works really
well. There’s no pretense or chest thumping, just an enjoyable fuzzed out ride.Evil Triplet throws their own twist to this
spacey-stoner formula in how they let the mind altering substances influence
their game while plotting out soundscapes as vast as Texas itself.
“Otherworld” CD//DD//LP track listing:
01. Star Ladder
02. Fungus
03. Get a Job
04. Planet I’m On
05. Post Group Date Scene
06. Pyramids
07. We Are the Aliens
08. Worship Satin
09. Road Trips
The Review:
Those who celebrate the weird unite! Evil Triplet
is here, dialing in from the warm and fuzzy Austin, Texas,
to bring us a sprawling 72 minute look into the world of weirdo stoner-space
rock named, “Otherworld.” Each extended jam is the glue that holds a song
together and in turn places the successive songs in context. It’s an album
that’s big with its claws dug deep in a keen ear for a strong hook.
It’s close to impossible to discuss “Otherworld”
without mentioning the influences that pierce the veil of the songs. Just short
of ripping anyone off, Evil Triplet puts on a show of how they’ve
applied lessons that they’ve learned from the greats. Such is the case in the
chug-a-chug of “We Are the Aliens,” a song that runs like an early Queens of the
Stone Age hit, but the 9 minute run time offers up a murky, spaced
out vibe to get lost in. This theme of ‘getting lost’ runs through the album,
certainly during moments that the instrumentation is expanded to include a Monster Magnet
like organ or a hippy-is-as-hippy-does sitar jam. These journeys make Evil Triplet
more than just a power trio, they’re a spaced out power trio, and they make
this work to their benefit.
In terms of groove, there’s plenty of that, too. Take
the shroomer’s anthem “Fungus,” locked in at the track two
spot, wasting no time in letting you in on one of the many things that keeps Evil Triplet
busy. “Worship Satin” is less about drugs but lacks not in laid back
tonal push. Then there’s the sarcastic “Get a Job,” a song that will get you
down even if you aren’t unemployed, and the burnt out “Planet I’m On,” which are
just two of many examples that show Evil Triplet’s penchant for riding a tasty
lick for as long as the wax in a the lava lamp is swimming around. And to tie
everything together, there’s the unabashed Steve Marsh behind the microphone,
honing in on pitting loose stoner vibes up against a down and out
I-wish-I-was-living-in-outer-space-instead story when he sings verses like
this:
I took off several hours ago and I left the
whole world behind
Looking for the most precious thing, it wasn’t so hard
to find
I found it and gave it to the one who needs it
And then I blew my mind!
Evil Triplet’s laissez-faire, anything
can happen attitude works really well. There’s no pretense or chest thumping,
just an enjoyable fuzzed out ride. Sure, the Wyndorfian influence is felt, as
is the So-Cal sunburn that drives this whole stoner rock thing. What makes “Otherworld”
flourish is that Evil Triplet throws their own twist to this spacey-stoner
formula in how they let the mind altering substances influence their game while
plotting out soundscapes as vast as Texas
itself.
Although the band name suggests otherwise, Frozen Planet….1969 dates back
to early 2012! It was then that a heavy-psych jam session between two
Sydney-based musicians, Paul and Frank Attard, and Canberra-based Lachlan
Paine, took place.
Luckily, this afternoon of improvisation at the home of Pepper Shaker Records, Frank
Street Studio, was recorded. However, it wasn’t until over a year later that
the three decided they should finally mix and release some of the material they
had created that day.
They decided this album would be set out like a soundtrack to a film. That film
would be called “Frozen Planet….1969”. It was a digital-only release on Pepper Shaker
Records. Pretty soon this one-off release would become a band called
Frozen
Planet….1969. The emphasis would be on improvisation. No vocals,
just straight-out instrumental jamming. This band would consist of Paul Attard-
guitar, Lachlan Paine- bass and Frank Attard- drums. It was basically a
side-project for the three of them. Paul and Frank had been playing in the
stoner-doom band, Mother Mars. Lachlan was playing in the Canberra heavy rock trio, Looking Glass.
After playing on numerous bills together over the years it seemed only natural
there would be some sort of collaboration between the two bands at some point.
Frozen
Planet….1969 played its first show in February 2014 and it was also
around this time that the band recorded another mammoth jam session. From this
jam session came the second and third releases for the band, “Lost
Traveller Chronicles, Volume 1” (released 20th August 2014) and “Lost
Traveller Chronicles, Volume 2” (released 6th May 2015). The concept
this time would be a travel journal through the constellations, with each song
being a chapter from the journal! Both volumes were released in digital and
physical format on Pepper Shaker Records.
Fast forward then to 11/1/2017 and with Frozen Planet….1969 releasing
their latest album “Electric Smokehouse” the chemistry between the players – Paul Attard on
guitar, Lachlan Paine on bass and Frank Attard on drums is stronger than ever
and can be heard in each one of these new cuts. In fact, it’s not only heard,
its felt, and that’s what makes this record sound so great. The music is alive,
it moves, it gels, and best of all, it’s both heavy and psychedelic.
Given that the album has left such an imprint upon us here at
Sludgelord
acres, we decided to hook us with the band and get them to talk about influences. So here is guitarist
Paul Attard to talk through his top 5 psych based records, as we take our
weekly trip to the extreme, by cranking it to 11.Why do we go to 11, because “It’s one louder, isn’t it?”
Hi there.
It's Paul, the guitarist in Frozen Planet....1969 here.
I have a list here of five albums loosely in the psych genre that I
absolutely love and have inspired and influenced me in some way with my own
music. I tried to aim mainly for heavy psych rock but there were certain
albums I just couldn't look past and they still tie in with psychedelia in some
way and they fit in with the spirit of what Frozen Planet....1969 is all about.
These are in no particular order!
Jimi Hendrix– “Band Of Gypsys”
A great example of a jam band and psych rock. This
album was recorded live at the Fillmore East and featured Billy Cox on bass and
Buddy Miles on drums. EverythingJimi Hendrixdid was great but I've chosen
this album because it features some amazing jamming and tonnes of soul! And it
was a band that hardly had time to prepare before the show. They
just chose a few songs, got up on stage and then just jammed out. 'Machine
Gun' is a stand-out if you want total heavy psych guitar. Hendrix, Cox
and Miles on this album (known as theBand Of Gypsys) are just the ultimate
psych-rock jam band. Some seriously groovy bass and drums fill this
album also. Only six songs were chosen for the album. These songs were taken
from concerts over New Year's Eve and New Year's Day 1969/1970. So much
other great material was left out!
Hawkwind – “Hawkwind”
Hawkwindare known more for being a space-rock band but their
first album has more of a psychedelic vibe to it. It features not only
some dark, trippy psych but also some acoustic, more folky, blues sounding
material- Which is more where guitarist/vocalist Dave Brock was coming from.
Bottom line is, the range of sounds on this album- acoustic twelve-string
guitar and harmonica, some shuffling beats to crazy, way-out sound effects and
heavier, darker guitar sounds- covers a great deal of what I like to hear.
Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band– “Safe
As Milk”
Certainly not a heavy psych rock album! But this
is just great. Straight out psychedelia. And with just the right amount
of blues which is what the Magic Band had been doing for a couple of years
leading up to this album. And I guess it goes without saying that the
blues element is a big part of the foundation of psychedelia and psych rock
anyway!Captain Beefheart(Don Van
Vliet) put together a batch of psych (and blues) flavoured songs for this album
and made them all even more unique with his amazing deep voice over the top. He
was always experimenting with sound too and was always evolving. The
magic band (especially in the incarnation that followed this album) were no
strangers to the extended jam as well.
Atomic Rooster - “Death Walks Behind You”
This is more of a heavy prog rock album but I think
you could still call it a psych rock album. In 1970 most heavy music still
seemed to have a psych or blues vibe to it anyway. Some amazing energy in
these tunes and some great musicianship. They do stretch out at times and
jam. They managed just fine on this album without a bass player with Vincent
Crane covering basslines on the organ. Crane also used a piano on this
album and used it to great effect.Overall,
this album is a great example of early heavy rock involving three musicians who
could improvise really well together.
Monster Magnet– “25........Tab”
Also known as just "Tab".
This recording is often recognised as an EP or mini-album but I think
with an opening track that goes for about half-an-hour and a total playing time
of over fifty minutes we can safely call this an album. The
opening track 'Tab' features some great psych guitars and tape delay sound
effects as well as some great, solid, driving, yet laid back bass and drums.
And later in the song if you zone in on what Wyndorf is saying it only adds to
the trip!A great example of psych rock
from the early 90's.