ALBUM REVIEW: Beggar, "Compelled to Repeat"

By: Peter Morsellino

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 03/04/2020

Label: APF Records

“Compelled to Repeat” CD//CS//DD//LP track listing:

1). Blood Moon

2). Anaesthete

3). The Cadaver Speaks

4). Black Cloud

5). Trepanned Head Stares at the Sun

6). Custody of the Eyes

7). Tenantless The Graves

8). Matryoshka Brain

9). Compelled to Repeat

The Review:

With groove laden riffs and demonic aggression, London four piece Beggar provide us with the soundtrack to the most fun apocalypse imaginable. A doom-laden slop that can be danced to all night, “Compelled to Repeat” is a party record for the rest of us.

Low tuned guitars and walls of distortion, a godless howl soaring high above an unforgiving back beat. It sounds familiar, doesn't it?  But just like discovering that your grandmother's cookies contain the same butter, flour, eggs and sugar as everyone else's, we realize that the raw ingredients make up only the basis for the thing we love so much.

So what is it, exactly?  Well, reader, I would have to say that just like the heaping spoonful of love that your dear gram tossed into her cookie dough, the answer lies much deeper than the genre standards presented here. I think the success of this one lies within the band itself and the good time that just can't be hidden by the grimy sludge piled on top of it.

Every riff on this album drips with swagger. There is a persistent groove to every fuzzed out, doomsday invoking riff. This is an all that just wants to keep you moving, regardless of the end times presented by the musical narrative.  You just can't help but feel the beat. It might be apocalyptic, but it's a really good time.

I for one have absolutely no problem with this. There will doubtless be purists who disagree with me, either shouting from their podiums that fun had no place in the doom and gloom that they have come to love, or even flat out denying the good times present in these delightful grooves. That's ok. Everyone has an opinion.  This is mine. 

With its fuzz drenched riffs, chest caving beats and chaotically screeched vocals providing imagery of fire and brimstone raining down on a world gone wrong, punchy grooves provide a medium for us all to dance ourselves out the door.

Beggar's “Compelled to Repeat” is the feel-good hit of the biblical revelation, and I compel you top give it a listen.

“Compelled to Repeat” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters, "Come & Chutney"

By Andrew Field

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 13/07/2018

Label: Riff Rock Records

 “Come & Chutney” is remarkable in so many ways, but perhaps most tellingly when the album ends you want to both play it again and go see one of their shows immediately. With no flab to be found on it, and packed with hooks which will lodge in your brain for months, “Come and Chutney” is damn near perfect.

“Cum & Chutney” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Doggy Bag Of Slurry

2). Krones Of The Kiln

3). Cojones Feos

4). Glue Ear

5). Gutlads

6). Gawdless

7). Doner Trump

8). Psychedelic Hallucinogenic Vagrancy

The Review:

Watching Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters live is a truly life affirming experience. Few other bands lock in and groove like they do. Built on the thunderous rhythm section of drummer Mark Buckwell and four stringer Will Hart, with frontman Owen Karty laying ocean-sized fuzzed-up riffs and gravelly vowel-mangling vocals over the top, their sheer sonic power is matched by their fierce tie-die t-shirt and corpse-painted stage presence.

Whilst their debut 2015 EP “Earth Hog” was a sterling effort, it served more as a momento of their live shows than anything. Their songs on the 2017 “Special Split” with Ten Foot Wizard likewise. And so, one was left wondering if Chubby were to be one of those bands who never quite caught their onstage majesty on vinyl.

All such fears are swept away after just one play of “Come & Chutney”, and after several spins it’s clear the trio have created something quite special. We’re talking “candidate for album of the year” levels of goodness here. From the opening riff of “Doggy Bag Of Slurry” onwards, the Chubbs deliver 8 slabs of buzzsaw boogie and achieve the remarkable feat of making them all killer with no absolutely no filler.

Every track packs a punch and is an ear worm: we’re talking 40-odd minutes of vim, four-to-the-floor swagger, drug and kebab love, and a good old go at Donald Trump. Immaculately captured by Sam Thredder in his Cro’s Nest studio, Buckwell’s bass drum is constantly battering your head and driving each seismic anthem forward. Hart’s bass rumbles and thunders. Karty’s guitars are constantly set to stun. When Chubby properly hit their stride, on the majestic “Krones Of The Kiln”, they sound like the bastard offspring of ZZ Top circa ”Rhythmeen”. Only better.

The best is left to last. Closing 10-minute wig-out “Psychedelic Hallucinogenic Vagrancy” turns off the fuzz and ramps up the heavy psych, starting with a beautifully plucked guitar motif then building through to an explosive organ-led finale featuring guests Chantal Brown of Vodun and Gary Harkin of Ten Foot Wizard. The song reeks of weed and sounds like 1969.

“Come & Chutney” is remarkable in so many ways, but perhaps most tellingly when the album ends you want to both play it again and go see one of their shows immediately. With no flab to be found on it, and packed with hooks which will lodge in your brain for months, “Come and Chutney” is damn near perfect.

“Come & Chutney” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Age of Taurus, "The Colony Slain"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 18/05/2018

Label: Rise Above Records

Age of Taurus still have the hunger and riffs to compete with the very best of the genre and the very British delivery elevates them far above their American counterparts 

“The Colony Slain” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. From the Hills to the Halls
2. Taken to the Tower
3. The Trial of Blackwynn Chaise
4. In Dreams We Die
5. The Lost Garrison
6. Beyond the Westward Path
7. For Treason We Rise
8. The Walls Have Ears
9. To Seal a Mountain
10. As Ice Into Blood
11. The Colony Slain

The Review:

Age of Taurus return with their second full length release, some five years after “Desperate Souls of Tortured time”. The Londoner's appetite hasn't dimmed, even if line-up changes have seen metal stalwart Alastair Riddell depart the ranks and the bassist Richard Bruce also leave. The band still deliver doom; no fuss, no branching out- just a very traditional British metal/doom sound.

After a mood setting intro, “Taken to the Tower” brings a surprising turn of speed and the familiarly mournful sounds of Toby W Wright's vocals. The NWOBHM influences are still firmly present here as are the much more downbeat doom stylings- “The Trial of Blackwynn Chaise” being a solid example of the latter.

There is a lot of reverb in the mix this time around, maybe even too much in places, but the quality riffs and arrangements are still easy enough to hear. Amongst the more rocking material, traditional doom can be found (“The Lost Garrison”) and once again, the lyrics and themes are historical, mythical and magical. By the time of “For Treason We Rise”, the album's pattern is fairly firmly established; slow doom intros often abound, faster riffage and galloping rhythms often replace it and the atmosphere is one of melancholy.

Truthfully, there is nothing new here and certainly nothing that you won't have heard, but that is not to say that the delivery is convincing and the performances absolutely committed. Yes, Wytch Hazel are doing this type of stuff with more subtlety- but Age of Taurus are just as effective as on their debut and take on the mantel of bands like Witchfinder General (probably their closest older brother) with deftness and aplomb.

For doom rock in 2018, look no further than this album. “The Walls Have Ears” and “To Seal A Mountain” are solid proof that Age of Taurus still have the hunger and riffs to compete with the very best of the genre and the very British delivery elevates them far above American counterparts trading on occult themes and something to do with biker gang films from the 60's.

The title track closes proceedings with three and a half minutes of convincing NWOBHM flavoured doom- much like the tracks that preceded it. There is much to recommend here and if you like the style of either of the bands mentioned above you cannot go wrong by getting hold of this. Doom on compatriots.

“The Colony Slain” is available here

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Wychhound, "Earth Orbiter"

By: David Jupp

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 01/05/2018

Label: Independent

The many audio-faces that tell the story of ‘Earth Orbiter’ are proof, that if instrumental music is judged right, executed well, and arranged with craft, riffs beat words. Every damn time.

“Earth Orbiter” DD track listing:

1). Flux

2). Supercluster

3). Comet Shoemaker – Levy 9 (SL-9)

4). Aurora

5). Matter – Antimatter Annihilation

The Review:

When a band parts company with their singer, the ensuing discussion generally goes something like this. ‘Fuck! It won’t be the same man, someone else singing those songs. They might as well pack it in.’ Well in 2017 and only two years on from their debut EP, Wychhound did just this by saying farewell to singer Jimmy Holifield. Rather than start the depressing trudge through London’s abundance of awful singers, the band decided to strike out on a new path as an instrumental four-piece. Shedding the crutches a vocalist provides in both immediacy and structure is a brave decision, and especially risky when you already have an established following who expect ‘songs.’ So, as Wychhound set forth on a new journey the question is, can they fill the yawning void left by words?

‘Earth Orbiter’ sets flight to a wall of feedback. As the pressure builds and ‘Flux’ ignites, Wychhound let fly with a barrage of strings, cymbals and skins. It soon becomes clear how the wordless quartet intend on bringing their old fans with them, and to be honest it’s the oldest trick in the book. Big riffs. Lots of them. Really fast. Before you even reach the minute mark Wychhound have twisted their audio-rubix-cube three times. Twist one, swaggering math-groove. Twist two, euphoric chord progression. Twist again, Tool inflected grunge-swerve. As minute two lands guitarist Miles Mcdonald swaggers in with a howling solo and boots the whole metaphor out the window. Singers? Pfft.

The success of instrumental heavy music revolves around a bands ability to judge phrasing. Without lyrics to convey a message you are left with the subtle art of assembling meaning from a jigsaw of riffs. It’s like the best kind of sign language, hold a riff out for too long and the listener grows bored, take it away too quickly and the message is lost. Track two ‘Supercluster’ serves as an advanced elocution lesson in riff-annunciation. Guitarist Roberto Pini kicks things off with a superb off-kilter riff before Mcdonald laces another emotive lead into the fray. Just as the narrative begins to wane bass player Neil Neighbour and drummer Sid Nagdhi grab the track by the low-end and spread a stuttering bang all over it.

Having seen Wychhound cultivate the seeds of these songs across a variety of London’s venues in the last year I must admit that when I first saw the artwork for the record I didn’t really get it. Don’t get me wrong the art looks great but I didn’t quite see what a planet of faces had to do with the songs I had heard.

Named after a comet that broke apart in 1992 and collided with Jupiter, ‘Comet Shoemaker – Levy 9 (SL-9)’s seven-minutes of aching slow-dawn soon provide me with the artworks meaning. Wychhound are a band with many faces. Just as the opening act of the record’s focus sharpens into a prog-metal guise the second movement softens into soaring arpeggiated post-rock.

Great records are made in small increments. The stunning arpeggio that permeates ‘Comet...’s skyline progression is beautiful enough, but exceptional bands always reach for that extra percent. So, as Mcdonald’s triads arc into the records second half, Roberto Pini’s haunting e-bow adds that last extra lift and I challenge anyone not to crane their neck and sigh.

Next up is ‘Aurora.’ Until now Wychhound’s sophomore effort has worn its influences on its sleeve and that doesn’t stop here. Tool, Russian Circles, early Barrows and “Zidane”-era Mogwai have all stirred in places, but now Elder’s totemic influence on the contemporary heavy landscape looms into view. Luckily Wychhound have no intention of merely paying homage and as the Boston trio’s ‘Spires Burn/Release’ EP flickers in the distance the band re-apply their riff-sculpture and successfully carve another fresh face into the records strata.

‘Matter – Antimatter Annihilation’ brings the album to a close and makes a welcome return to the cinematic melodies of ‘Comet Shoemaker.’ As the spiralling guitar-runs that litter ‘Earth Orbiter’ arch back and dive into another surging chord sequence all fears of a loss of narrative are expelled and the record re-enters the atmosphere on a surge of hefty tone. 

In the last year Wychhound have become a staple of London’s burgeoning heavy-scene. So, by making the decision to record ‘Earth Orbiter’ live, I’m glad to say they have successfully captured the ebb, flow, movement and act that make their live show so popular. What’s more impressive however, is the successful progression from traditional stoner band into a new instrumental landscape. In music, just because a choice is brave doesn’t necessarily mean it is right, so in shedding their singer Wychhound could have easily gotten lost in a sea of riffs that lacked narrative. Luckily the many audio-faces that tell the story of ‘Earth Orbiter’ are proof, that if instrumental music is judged right, executed well, and arranged with craft, riffs beat words. Every damn time.

“Earth Orbiter” 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: 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

ALBUM REVIEW: Possessor - "The Ripper"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full length

Date Released: 24/11/2017

Label: Wicked Lester Records |

Graven Earth Records

"The Ripper" is one of the most pleasing releases to wrap 2017 and open up 2018. Possessor's massive sound and brutal composition make it one of the more intimidating listens on the scene, and one you should get to know now, if you aren't already down.

“The Ripper” CD//CS//DD track listing

1. Conjure and Possess

2. Guillotine

3. Wet Cemetery

4. The Slime        

5. Whitechapel Murders

6. Lava 

7. Notting Hell

8. Hacksaw

9. Earth Shaker

The Review:

London's thrash marauders Possessor have been at this for awhile, and get fans excited by its mutated form of garage, hardcore, thrash and even a splash of doom from moment to moment. The three-piece managed to carve its own lane in English metal through efforts like its 2016 album "Dead By Dawn," 2015's "Stay Dead" EP and many more. To its credit, Possessor has garnered, through this time, much critical acclaim for its distorted sludge and classic-metal influenced roar.

A band this busy – Possessor has offered nine records since 2014 – always raises eyebrows. Is there potential for burnout, or whiling through all one's creative juices? "The Ripper," an ambitious nine-song album with miles of fire to it, generates a number of these questions, undoubtedly.

So where is a band that gets high regard and seems to have a lot more in the tank to do when music itself is evolving constantly? In the case of Possessor, which melds enough traditional metal to offer a timelessness to its sound, there is an inherent advantage here, since it is not wedded to trends. "The Ripper" starts with "Conjure and Possess," a double-down of guitars and monster riffs that make it clear that Possessor is taking no prisoners. Again, there's an approach that seems to defy our almost innate desire for something wholly new. We're in a moment of so many metal consolidations – black metal with everything, hardcore and more subgenres are blended all the time – that fans almost start to expect it. Bands like Mastiff and Possessor seem to instead revel in straight-ahead metal. There are a list of gifted influences you hear on the opener and its followup, "Guillotine," including Pantera, Megdeth and Exodus among them. A few critical ears might feel this could be considered derivative or even a bit too 1990s. "Wet Cemetery" delivers a bit of grunge-style punk that still stands out for its heaviness. However, Possessor does something that is much harder to pull off than it seems. Songs like "Whitechapel Murders" and "Earth Shaker" come across as inspired by influences, rather than mimicking those acts. Herein Possessor make a far greater return than maybe even at first glance.

If you enjoyed the band's earlier work, like its driving and ferocious album, "Electric Hell," there's a lot on "The Ripper" to please you. The music thrashes hard while being enjoyable for new fans. Cuts like "Hacksaw" are some of Possessor's better songs.  "The Ripper" is one of the most pleasing releases to wrap 2017 and open up 2018. Possessor's massive sound and brutal composition make it one of the more intimidating listens on the scene, and one you should get to know now, if you aren't already down.

"The Ripper" is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

REVIEW: Slabdragger/Wren - “Mothers Of The Beef And The Magic Of Invention” [Split]

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Split 12”

Date Released: 27/10/2017

Label: Holy Roar Records

Both bands deliver the best kind of cover version; one that takes the source material and imbues it with their own unique spirit to create something new and exciting.  An essential purchase for any fans of the UK heavy underground and maybe it’ll turn some old Zappa and Beefheart heads towards the sludgier side of life too

“Mothers Of The Beef And The Magic Of Invention” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Slabdragger – “Muffin Man”

2). Wren – “Electricity”

The Review:

Slabdragger and Wren are a formidable duo of UK riff merchants. Bringing together the two slowest and heaviest bands on Holy Roar to unleash a split 12” leads to exactly the mighty results you would expect. What is less expected is that these behemoths manage to create characteristically earth-shaking offerings in the form of Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart covers.

Both bands deliver the best kind of cover version; one that takes the source material and imbues it with their own unique spirit to create something new and exciting. Slabdragger take Frank Zappa’s one riff wonder “Muffin Man” and throw in a filthy radioactive swamp, only to have it emerge as a mutant city-levelling Godzilla. The track is a perfect blend of modern dirty sludge and retro jam band freedom. This ten minute monster is bookended by classic monolithic Slabdragger riffage while the middle section sees them really channelling the spirit of Zappa with every band member getting a solo.

While Slabdragger offer up a cover that sticks structurally and sonically close to the original, Wren’s take on Captain Beefheart’s “Electricity” is a different beast. The original song is one of the notoriously difficult Beefheart’s catchiest numbers, three minutes of raw, warped funk. Wren take the source material and twist into a new dark form that stretches over eight dark and powerful minutes. If you listen closely you can hear the parts of “Electricity” that Wren have dragged out to create a sinister post-metal epic that would fit in seamlessly on their amazing “Auburn Rule” LP. The hypnotic elastic groove of the original is transformed into a huge lumbering riff that ushers in the tracks punishing climax.

This is a fine split from two awesome bands on crushing form. An essential purchase for any fans of the UK heavy underground and maybe it’ll turn some old Zappa and Beefheart heads towards the sludgier side of life too.

“Mothers Of The Beef And The Magic Of Invention” is available here

Band info: Slabdragger || Wren