ALBUM REVIEW: Satan's Satyrs, "The Lucky Ones"

By: John Reppion

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 19/10/2018

Label: Bad Omen Records |

RidingEasy Records

“The Lucky Ones” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Thrill of the City

2). The Lucky Ones

3). She Beast

4). Take It and Run

5). You and Your Boots

6). Too Early to Fold

7). Pulp Star

8). Trampled by Angels

9). Permanent Darknes

The Review:

What if, rather than dying in that car-crash in 1977, Marc Bolan had instead taken over guitar and vocal duties in Angel Witch, and decided they needed to tune down to couple of steps? It’s something we’ve all pondered, I’m sure, but thanks to Satan’s Satyrs we need wonder no longer.

“The Lucky Ones” is the fourth full length from the Virginia quartet, following their split EP with tour-mates Windhand, released on Relapse Records earlier this year. Once again the garage rock/proto-punk influences of MC5, Blue Cheer, Ziggy Stardust era Bowie, and all the rest, clash head on with NWOHBM dual guitars and chunky, swaggering Cock Rock riffs.

What are Satan's Satyrs? Are they a Glam Punk band? That sounds a bit shit. Are they a Retro Rock band? That sounds ever shitter. But they're undeniably a band whose sound, look, and attitude is rooted in the 1970s. Of course, the same could be said for a lot of bands in 2018, but Satan's Satyrs are a lot more The Sweet than Sabbath.

“Thrill of the City” is a tyre-screeching Stooges-like opener, with tasty Thin Lizzy twin lead work from Nate Towle and Jarrett Nettnin. “The Lucky Ones” like a raw, garage cover-version of some unlikely song you've definitely heard before, but somehow can't remember the name of. “She Beast”’s main riff is a weighty, sleazy Southern Rock strut with Clayton Burgess' chunky bass grunting away octaves below his pouty, boy-Bowie vocals.

“Take it and Run” is an acoustic driven number, equal parts Lizzy, T-Rex, and Ziggy. “You and Your Boots”' fat, chugging verses give way to straight up rock n roll choruses, with unashamedly triumphant leads which wouldn't sound out of place on a track by The Darkness. “Too Early to Fold”, similarly sounds like it could be some raw, rough and ready pre-“Permission to Land” lost demo.

There's more than a whiff of early Guns N Roses throughout the record, but “Pulp Star” is pretty much straight up L.A. Hard Rock. “Trampled by Angels” sounds exactly like it's being performed (mimed to, I suppose) on a 1978 Christmas edition of Top of the Pops. “Permanent Darkness” is the most thoroughly NWOBHM sounding track on “The Lucky Ones” and, as such, it's a strong closer – bringing the kitch levels down several notches.

So, to return to the question, what are Satan’s Satyrs? Is it possible to be a brand new Classic Rock band? Even if it is, that’s still not quite right in terms of describing what they’re up to. They’re more like a brand new proto-Classic Rock band – a band capturing the sound and energy of what happened in venues like The Rainbow in London in the lead up to the dull, grey 1980s, and the dawn of Stadium Rock proper. Sweaty, urgent, cocksure, and raw; as much as I can list all these forty-odd year old bands and artists that Satan's Satyrs undeniably sound like, there’s no sense that they’re a mere pastiche of what’s gone before. Whatever exactly it is that they’re actually doing, whatever you want to call it, they seem to be the only ones out there doing it right now, and they’re doing it well.

“The Lucky Ones” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Bong, "Thought and Existence"

By: John Reppion

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 02/05/2018

Label: Ritual Productions

This is IMAX for the ears - rolling sound-waves as far as the third-eye can see - never boring, never repetitive, an ever evolving  journey through a riffed rift in time and space

“"Thought and Existence" CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). The Golden Fields

2). "Tlön Uqbar Orbis Tertius"

The Review:

"Thought and Existence" is something like the forty-fourth release from Newcastle's Bong and is officially their eighth full length studio record, which isn't bad going for a band that's been around for thirteen years. Trippy, heavy, hypnotic, psychedelic, euphoric, spacey, massive, awe inspiring, mythic... all good words which could be, and have been, used to describe Bong’s previous output (most recently 2015's epic "We Are, We Were, and We Will Have Been"), and all of which work equally well for this latest offering. I will probably use most of them again below.

"Thought and Existence" is thirty-six and a half minutes long and consists of two tracks: 

"The Golden Fields" opens with spacey gong-bath ambience and one of vocalist/bassist Dave Terry's spoken, sermon-like, poetic intros. Mike Vest's guitar drones swell, and swell, and swell and then Mike Smith's massive drums kick in. This is IMAX for the ears - rolling sound-waves as far as the third-eye can see - never boring, never repetitive, an ever evolving  journey through a riffed rift in time and space.  Smith's drums on "Tlön Uqbar Orbis Tertius" let us know that this is more of an overtly psych chapter; a second, more mesmerised, movement. Changes are subtle and unhurried, yet deeply effecting. Looping layers of drone which gradually grow in size and potency until your brain and body are vibrating at exactly the same fizzy-boned frequency. 

Bong are a band who can make a cover of Pink Floyd's "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" last half an hour and still be something that is an absolute pleasure to hear. 

"Thought and Existence" is a journey through sound, a genuine trip into and through the other-world the band conjures so expertly and effortlessly. Caution: Do Not Operate Heavy Machinery While Listening to Bong. Listening to "Thought and Existence" May Cause Out of Body Experience. Keep Out of Reach of Children.

“Thought and Existence” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Boss Keloid, "Melted on the Inch"

By: John Reppion

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 27/04/2018

Label: Holy Roar Records

Melted on the Inch" is going to be huge, and deservedly so.

“Melted on the Inch“” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Chronosiam

2. Tarku Shavel

3. Peykruve

4. Jromalih

5. Lokannok

6. Griffonbrass

The Review:

It's April 2018, Wigan's very own Prog Sludgers Boss Keloid are back with album number four, "Melted on the Inch", and it might just be "the big one". Do heavy bands cross over into mainstream success in the twenty-teens? If so, what does that even look like? I have no idea, but whatever form that takes, that's surely what's about to happen to Boss Keloid. Where reviewers of previous outings have drawn comparisons to the likes of Iron Monkey, Clutch, and Mastodon, "Melted on the Inch" has much more of a straight-up rock influence, with a dynamic range to match.

“Chronosiam”’s gentle proggy intro breaks into a super-chunky riff,  with Alex Hurst's powerful vocals pushed to the fore (as they are throughout the record). By turns triumphant, heavy, melodic, and atmospheric, it's the perfect opener.

In the next track we get our first bit of newest member Matt Milne’s keyboards – a subtle touch of 60s inspired prog organ-work.“Tarku Shovel” starts out with more than a hint of the 90s about it, seeming at first like a kind of Soundgarden meets Down type affair, with Hurst going full Anselmo for the sludgified chorus. The song’s final two minute movement though – too long to be just an outro – is the first real taste of the different territory Boss Keloid are venturing into with "Melted on the Inch", sounding not unlike a more laid back Baroness.

“Peycruve”’s sneaky, cheeky, almost jazzy beginnings would not sound out of place on Crime in Choir's 2004 album "The Hoop"; Arands and (Adam) Swarbrick’s rhythm section locked in as tight as anything, and with some fantastic guitar work from Paul Swarbrick throughout. Again we get the light and darkness – the contrast between the heaviness of one passage and the mildness of the next. The oft cited King Crimson influence comes to the fore at a pivotal moment, only to be swallowed by a wave of heaviness once again.

From Tribal Tiki Lounge percussive beginnings “Jromalih" becomes one of the more straight forward, verse/chorus/verse, tracks on the album. It also has some of the biggest riffs, however, and works very, very well indeed. "Lokannok"'s wonky synth intro leads us into a track with a pretty similar arrangement (albeit with more prominent and intrinsic keyboards), but which is no less effective. If I say that, at times, it (and other parts of the album) sounds a bit like Neurosis doing a Pearl Jam cover that might put people off. So I probably shouldn’t say that.

Finally, “Griffonbrass” feels like the perfect counterpart to the album opener, so that the pair bookend the record nicely. This latter showcasing more or less the full range of styles and influences covered across "Melted on the Inch".

"Melted on the Inch" is a really polished sounding record and, if I’m perfectly honest, then I think it might be a little bit too polished. The way the very dry vocals are pushed right to the front of the mix, and the keyboards pushed to the very back doesn’t quite sound right to me. I don’t feel like it sounds as massive as it could or should. But who gives a fuck what I think? Kerrang and Metal Hammer already love Boss Keloid, and they’re currently in The Guardian’s Top 40 Tracks for April playlist. "Melted on the Inch" is going to be huge, and deservedly so.

“Melted on the Inch” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Eagle Twin, "The Thundering Heard"

By: John Reppion

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 30/03/2018

Label: Southern Lord Recordings

“The Thundering Heard” is a dense and rich record; full of aural and textual interest. It’s a record that makes you think, makes you imagine.  It is a visceral, heavy, epic Riff Monster of a record with horns of flame and hooves of stone.

“The Thundering Heard” CD//LP//DD track listing:

1). Quanah Un Rama 

2). Elk Wolfv Hymn

3). Heavy Hoof

4). Antlers of Lightning  

The Review:

“Longhorn running ‘cross the dead salt sea / Mountains rising up like beasts with horns like trees / Antlers reaching high, like a forest… On fire!”

“The Thundering Herd (Songs of Hoof and Horn)" is Eagle Twin's third full-length album, following on from 2012's "The Feather Tipped the Serpent's Scale" and 2009's "The Unkindness of Crows". Like its predecessors “The Thundering Heard " deftly blends crushing, yet hypnotic riffs and beats, with American literary Folk Horror. Which is pretty impressive for a two-piece, really.

“Quanah Un Rama” (a fittingly bicornuous title based on Hellboy's Enochian name "Anung un Rama”, and Quanah Parker, Comanche war leader of the "Antelope" people…possibly) opens with a harmonic drone from vocalist/guitarist Gentry Densely’s throat. At once bestial and like some primal religious vocalisation, this inhuman sound underpins much of the record. Then a Big Fat Riff kicks in. And it is Massive. Truly earth moving. The guitar sounds (right across the record) are just… wow. More Om than Sleep, but with all the groove and swagger of the latter. The track jams on and on moving from part to part, texture to texture, but the same narrative remains throughout; every progression is a natural and necessary, and another chapter of the same story. When Densely chants “Come now / Thunder / Come now / Thunder cloud” over Tyler Smith's tribal tom-work, it sounds like a genuine summoning. You will believe that the sky above the studio was black that day.

“Elk Wolfv Hymn” swells in dreamily, yet ominously. We huddle close to the wilderness campfire for another folk-tale of stags and vultures and trees, of mountains and antlers and wolves. And in that same magical way Earth managed with “The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skul”l, there’s something so incredibly American about the actual sound of the music itself. The wild, untamed, real America where bears and mountain lions and alligators think nothing of cracking and crunching the bones of humans to get to the marrow within. And crow keeps watch all the while.

“The Heavy Hoof clips / The Heavy Hoof clops / And the Heavy Hoof stamps on your grave”. Another massive riff. Another tom thumping groove. Another absolute belter of a tune, which seems to threaten to evolve into the heaviest version of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” you could possibly imagine at one point. But that doesn't happen.

“Antlers of Lightening” begins as pure Sabbath Doom: lumbering, tritone laden heaviness with proclamations of the terror to come in the form of the lightning antlered one. Again through, as the music evolves, the guitar becomes more frenetic, and everything builds and builds and builds, we get an idea of the emerging narrative. We hear the destruction wrought by the electo-horned deity, and the fate of those who dared to try to stop it. About ten minutes in it seems for one moment like we're going to get an actual “Children of the Grave” style chug-a-chug-a-chug-chug breakout riff. Instead things slow back down and jam out until we reach the bitter-sweet outro of the album. A gentle but melacholic ending, like a cold dawn breaking.

“The Thundering Heard” is a dense and rich record; full of aural and textual interest. It’s a record that makes you think, makes you imagine. It very much brought Algernon Blackwood’s Weird Fiction tales The Wendigo and The Willows to my mind; tales of the wilderness and the things which walked there long before man ever did. All that said, “The Thundering Heard" is not some deep-thinking, post-something, soundtrack to an unmade movie. It’s a visceral, heavy, epic Riff Monster with horns of flame and hooves of stone. 

“The Thunder Heard” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Ministry, "AmeriKKKant"

By: John Reppion

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 09/03/2018

Label: Nuclear Blast Records

“AmeriKKKant” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. I Know Words
2. Twilight Zone
3. Victims of a Clown
4. TV5/4Chan
5. We’re Tired of It
6. Wargasm
7. Antifa
8. Game Over
9. AmeriKKKa

The Review:

“This isn’t the future we were promised. They said there’d be jet-packs, and flying cars, and hover-skateboards, and self tying shoe-laces, and, and, and…” Yes, the films, and the TV shows all lied. As it turns out, our timeline is less Back to the Future II, more Orwell’s 1984. You know who, in a weird way, seems to have known exactly what the 21^st Century would be all about, though? Al Jourgenson and Ministry, that’s who.

Ever since their 1992 anthem “N.W.O.” sampled the then president, George H. W. Bush, Ministry have been pedalling an anti-authoritarian, anti-right-wing American message. And ever since “N.W.O.”, they’ve been hacking up the words of US presidents, and incorporating them into their patented brand of drink and drug fuelled industrial-metal. This approach culminated in the band’s early 2000s anti-Bush (junior) trilogy of albums: “Houses of the Molé” (2004), “Rio Grande Blood” (2006), and “The Last Sucker” (2007). Ministry officially split in 2008, but continued to release re-mixed and previous recorded material fairly steadily. Then Uncle Al came back with all new material for 2012’s “Relapse”, which was soon followed up with a definitely, absolutely, unequivocally, final album (their thirteenth studio album, in case you were wondering) entitled “From Beer to Eternity” in 2013. And that was Ministry done. Over. Dead.

Then, on the ninth of November 2016 it was announced, much to the amazement of many, many people in the world that Donald J. Trump was going to be the next president of the United States of America. Trump the king of the idiotic sound-bite. Trump the liar; the “lets’ build a wall around Mexico and make them pay for it” guy; the ex-reality TV star; Trump the alt-right’s leader of choice.  Had Al Jourgenson somehow tragically lost his life post 2013, I feel there’s a genuine chance Trump’s presidency would have resurrected him. His deadlocked, leather-clad corpse clawing its way through the earth, bursting forth from the grave screaming “GET ME TO THE FUCKIN’ STUDIO, NOW!”. 

“AmeriKKKant” is the album that brought Ministry back from the dead. Again.

Trump’s infamous words “we will make America great again” – suitably warped and fucked with – are the first thing we hear on opening track “I Know Words”: the ominous, middle eastern influenced, instrumental (save for all the Trump samples) introduction to the album. “Twilight Zone” is a weighty, plodding industri-stomp, very much in the “Scarecrow” mould. It too, features plenty of Trump samples, and a good dollop of that harmonica which crops up in more Ministry tracks than you remember.

When the bass comes in on “Victims of a Clown”, you could be forgiven for thinking you were listening to something off of 1989’s “The Mind is a Terrible thing to Taste”. This is very much classic Ministry, with the scratching of new member, turntablist DJ Swamp, the only real indicator that this isn’t some lost pre 90s off-cut.

Eight minutes(!) or so in, we get a final blast of the higher BMP industri-thrash stuff more associated with latter Ministry (and with much of the output of Al’s most recent side-project Surgical Meth Machine). That Burton C. Bell fella out of Fear Factory (remember them?) growls “Hey! What he say? Vomiting conspiracies. God damn the racist blind. Anti social impotence ignites”.

“TV 5-4 Chan” continues the tradition of short, sharp, “TV” titled tracks which have graced their albums since the early 90s. This time guns, racism, and white nationalist are the targets. It segues into “We’re Tired of It” which is an up-tempo thrash diatribe against “Fucking insane Christian Hypocrisy”, with Bell on vocals once again. “Wargasm” is more very classic sounding Ministry, with a chorus reminiscent of 1996’s “The Fall”. Samples talking about “the people’s war” and “the mother of all bombs”… you get the idea. “Antifa” is a chug-along anti-fascist anthem “Brown shirt little snowflakes never want to admit, Terrified of the red and black flag, Antifa's the shit”. Enough said. Oh, you want to know which old Ministry song it sounds like? A bit like “Just One Fix”, I suppose.

Closers “Game Over”, and title track “AmeriKKKant”, are a pair of mid-paced, somewhat more reflective songs. The rage of earlier tracks turned to despair at the inevitability of  just how fucked we, America, and the world as a whole actually are. There is a nice brass section in “AmeriKKKant” to offset that slightly, though. “It's like the Nazis back in '39, Like the Romans on the verge of decline. Like the Russians back in '68, How is this supposed to make America great?”

Jourgenson has referred to “AmeriKKKant” in recent interviews as “Pink Floyd on meth”. Yes, it’s a concept album, and yes several of the tracks do have rather excessive running times, but ultimately this is a Ministry album. I’m not going to say “just” a Ministry album, because that would be doing Al and company a disservice, but it’s 100% a Ministry album. Have you heard previous Ministry albums and enjoyed them? Good, then this is another one of those. Yes, some will argue that not much has changed musically in the Ministry camp for some twenty-odd years, but what’s even weirder is to think that US politics has somehow become more regressive in that time. If it feels like you’ve heard this all before, then maybe that’s just because Al Jourgenson has been right all along.

“AmeriKKKant” is available here

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Forktail, "Forktail"

By: John Reppion

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 30/01/2018

Label: Independent

“...if sitting off stoned round that camp-fire, drinking that cider is a thing that appeals… maybe thinking about all those other camp-fires, real and imagined, others have sat round before… well, “Forktail”’s a pretty good soundtrack for that.”

“Forktail” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Smell The Foxglove

2). A Forked Tale

3). Primitivo

4). The Trickler

5). Beast ‘82

6). Wolves of Saint August

7). ∆O§ 

8). Familiar

9). Dronehenge

The Review:

Forktail are Simon Davis and Boo Cook, and their self titled debut is an atmospheric ode to the English Weird. Part soundtrack to an imagined film, part spoken word seance, part dream-logic sound collage, “Forktai”l presents the listener with a kind of micro-dose Psybient Folk Horror.  I should probably use the word hauntological too, just to make sure I get it in there.

The ragged calls of crows and jackdaws accompanied by the thump of a timpani introduce us to the world of “Forktail”'s “Smell the Foxglove”; a calm yet ominous psych-folk sneak deeper and deeper and deeper into the Old English woods. “A Forked Tale” is a well crafted spoken-word piece (written and performed by Si Cook) dealing with witches, magic, folklore, history, and all that good stuff. The words are accompanied by ambient church-bell drones, bird-calls, and minimalist bass, guitar and drums which evolve by degrees into something more trippy and drippy.

“Primitivo” is a Neolithic camp-fire drum-ritual jam session with added fuzz bass that comes out sounding like Shpongle on ketamine. “The Trickler” is a wonderfully chilled whimsical Detectorists dream-sequence guitar-soundscape, with a wassailing theme. “Beast ‘82”, the most unabashedly electronic sounding thing on “Forktai”l up to this point, pairs John Carpenter-esque synths and sensibilities with the same stoned in a muddy field, drinking cans of warm cider sensibilities as the rest of the record. By the end of the track the revellers have got a bit freaked out by a noise from a nearby farm and are doing their best to quieten down, but it’s almost certain that they’ll forget about all that in a minute or two.

“Wolves of Saint August” is (the linear notes tell me) “based on a Transylvanian chapel field recording by Monica Lucia Madas a.k.a. Monooka who improvised the vocals live in situ”. Spacious church ambience and beautifully sacred sounding vocalisations are chopped up and remixed into something that sounds not unlike Portishead joined in the studio by a pack of wolves. “∆O§” (AOS) is built around a sample of modern-day writer/magician Alan Moore talking about the work of 20^th century artist/occultist Austin Osman Spare. The nature of magic and art, and art as magic. What begins as quite subtle musical accompaniment builds and builds into a laid-back bass driven slice of Trip-Hop.

“Familiar” is the track most deserving of the Folk Horror tag on the record, with an air of menace and malignancy which just mounts and mounts throughout. “Dronehenge” offers a more positive and optimistic sounding reprise of some of “Primitivo”’s ideas – its a kind of structured grounding ritual, bringing proceedings to a close.

“Forktail” is not a metal record by any stretch of the imagination, and is not even really a rock record. It is also not heavy, or ever truly harsh, and in fact maintains a pleasantly fuzzy-muzzy, foggy-headedness throughout. I’ve already besmirched myself enough by using the term Trip-Hop in this review, so I won’t make things worse by using Chill Out too. However, if sitting off stoned round that camp-fire, drinking that cider is a thing that appeals… maybe thinking about all those other camp-fires, real and imagined, others have sat round before… well, “Forktail”’s a pretty good soundtrack for that.

“Forktail” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

REVIEW: Windhand & Satan's Satyrs - "Windhand & Satan's Satyrs Split"

By: John Reppion

Album Type: Split LP

Date Released: 16/02/2018

Label: Relapse Records

This is two bands at the top of their game, producing some of their finest work to date

“Windhand & Satan’s Satyrs Split” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Windhand – “Old Evil”

2). Windhand – “Three Sisters”

3). Satan’s Satyrs – “Alucard AD 2018”

4). Satan’s Satyrs – “Succubus”

5). Satan’s Satyrs – “Ain’t That Lovin’ You, Baby”

The Review:

I was lucky enough to catch Windhand and Satan's Satyrs playing together when they toured the UK at the end of 2017. At the time I didn't quite see the kinship between the two bands, but thanks to this new Relapse Records split release, the connection is now somewhat clearer to me.

On first listen Windhand’s opener, “Old Evil”, sounds like a track straight off of “Griefs Infernal Flower” (and that’s definitely no bad thing). Further plays however, reward the listener with something that’s actually a few degrees heavier, and tighter than the content of the 2015 album. Essentially it’s like the most Windhand that Windhand have ever been; they are well and truly on point here. “Three Sisters” is built around one simple and massive riff, with added keyboard gloom courtesy of Jonathan Kassilow (of Sinister Haze and former Windhand Split-buddies Cough). The track is staggeringly doomy: lumbering and powerful and miserable, and pretty fucking wonderful overall.

“Alucard A.D.” starts things off on the Satan’s Satyrs half of the record, and it does so in heavy style. Now previously, thanks to their 2015 album “Don’t Deliver Us”, I thought of Satan’s Satyrs as a kind of Glam Punk retro rock kind of band, but that’s not what they sound like here. This is juicy, juicy stuff which reminds more than a little of Electric Wizard’s “We, The Undead”, in the best possible way. 

“Succubus” follows on wonderfully well with a main riff that’s both doomy and kind of cheeky and funny. There’s more than a hint of NWOBHM in the guitar work, and the whole thing just slots together in such a way that, even after several listens, still hasn’t failed to put a smile on my face. Closer “Aint That Lovin’ You Baby” is much more in line with my previous expectations with regard to Satan’s Satyrs. It’s a sleazy 12 bar blues that clicks into double-time half way through before going down in a blaze of Cock Rock guitar solos. Claythanas'/Clayton Burgess' shout of “thank you, goodnight!” is all that’s really missing from the end of this obvious set-closer.

Sometimes these split EPs can feel a bit like filler between “proper” releases; songs that didn’t make it on to the main record, or versions of some work in progress that’s not yet quite come together. That is definitely not the case with this Windhand / Satan's Satyrs release however. This is two bands at the top of their game, producing some of their finest work to date. So much so in the case of Satan's Satyrs that

I’m really regretting missing the beginning of their set back in October.

“Windhand & Satan’s Satyrs Split” is available here

Band info: Windhand || Satan’s Satyrs