Showing posts with label Sludge Rock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sludge Rock. Show all posts

Friday, 3 August 2018

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

Friday, 9 March 2018

TRACK PREMIERE & TEST PRESS GIVEAWAY: "Masters Descent" by Slomatics


When you run out of superlatives to introduce a band, sometimes you’ve just gotta cut the shit and let the music speak for itself.  Today that is exactly what I am going to do.  Slomatics are back barely a year after their monumental album “Future Echo Returns” and their finest album to date and what’s more they have exceeded themselves again, with vocalist drummer Marty Harvey putting in his finest vocal performances to date, supported by the sledgehammer riffs of Chris Couzens and David Majury, for me today’s  track premiere is one of their best ever tracks.  So enjoy “Masters Descent”, the final track from their forthcoming split with Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, entitled “Totems” which is set for release on 30th March 2018 via Black Bow Records and is available to purchase here.  Info about the giveaway below.


Now if that track premiere wasn’t exciting enough, we have teamed up with the band to give away a test press of the split.  All you have to do is like the post of this article on our facebook page.  That’s right.  Like the post. The give away will end in 5 days directly after the post and I will select a winner at random and sent them a message notifying them they have won. 


 Band info: Facebook || bandcamp

Thursday, 12 October 2017

ALBUM STREAM & REVIEW: Twingiant - "Blood Feud"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full length
Date Released: 13/10/2017
Label: Argonauta Records


"Twingiant seems like it is out to represent an immortal hard rock sound that will always be loved. It's a great sound, and one that has floated Twingiant from underground favorite to emerging powerhouse."

“Blood Feud” CD//DD Track listing

1). Throttled
2). Poison Control Party Line
3). Ride The Gun
4). Re-fossilized
5). Shadow of Southern Mountain
6). Formerly Known As
7). Last Man Standing
8). Kaishakunin

The Review:

These moments, every band is a something-something-something. Is this a marketing thing, or entirely accurate? There's blackgaze-sludge, symphonic-death-doom, hardcore-atmospheric-drone, something-but-wait-something-else. You get the picture. Three out of ten times, there's some truth to it. The rest? Well, it's often left up to interpretation. Very charitable interpretation.

The beautiful thing, if you're Phoenix's Twingiant, is that when you have a fun and a refreshing sound you do not need a shit ton of hyphens

Since the band formed in 2010, Twingiant has seemed to pick a lane and stayed in it. Their stoner rock is cut from that classic 1970s cloth you may know well. The big sound of Mountain, the multilayered compositions of Black Sabbath, and down the line. More than a few have noticed bits of sludge metal here, but to categorize them as a sludge metal act feels inadequate. Twingiant seems like it is out to represent an immortal hard rock sound that will always be loved. It's a great sound, and one that has floated Twingiant from underground favorite to emerging powerhouse.

Their new release, "Blood Feud," comes after a string of critically hailed recordings. 2014's "Devil Down" (whose artwork was a not-so-subtle nod to Van Halen's “Diver Down”) and 2013's "Sin Nombre" both made Twingiant's reputation. There was a bit of grumbling that the last album wasn't as strong as its debut, or perhaps a tad too refined. If you were in that crowd, "Blood Feud" may be just the red meat you wanted.

There are many things to like on Twingiant's newest. "Poison Control Party Line" sees the double guitar assault of Tony Gallegos and Nikos Mixas that figures prominently throughout the album. It tends to be most resonant on this cut, but you hear its maturation on a song like "Re-fossilized." There's a subtle rhythm guitar element to it that quickly clears the way for the raucous almost full instrumental jam (vocals kick in more than four minutes in). You might be able to close your eyes and think this is what it sounded like as everyone lit up in the middle of Foghat show around 1974. Yeah, that sort of thing.

A few listens in and you come to value Jeff Ramon on drums. His playing on "Shadow of South Mountain" is without compare. Clean, rapid-fire and meets the challenge of Jarrod Le Blanc's hearty vocals across "Blood Feud." Ramon also takes on the steady build of "Last Man Standing" with aplomb. A good drummer can really make the other instruments blend together, and Ramon bridges guitars and bass into a seductive package in an all-around sharp performance.

As with any heavy rock group, though, Twingiant prospers with LeBlanc up front. Although it can't be said that LeBlanc has the greatest range as a singer, he is skilled at using what he has to the fullest extent. A song like "Ride the Gun" comes at you with a familiar sounding chord progression and chorus, but LeBlanc draws it out to something more unique with his signature snarl. He's also smart about stepping back and letting the music set the mood, as he does in "Throttled," where vocals don't go until a full minute in. And the pace Twingiant go for with "Blood Feud" is faster and more aggressive than even before. Thus, LeBlanc demonstrates a good intuition about what he's doing in a muscular appearance.

"Blood Feud" may not please all metal fans. However, there is a lot to like about what Twingiant are doing, especially for lovers of the classic power chords and wall of sound.

“Blood Feud” is available to preorder/buy here



Band info: bandcamp || facebook

Friday, 6 October 2017

ALBUM REVIEW & TRACK PREMIERE: Stonebirds - "Time"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 20/10/2017
Label: Independent


The group merges many influences into a package that still sounds true to the subgenre. Stonebirds is adept at exploring concepts in their music that make it even more intriguing. To put it simply, the trio is one of the Europe's more intriguing stoner/doom performers today. "Time," far exceeds expectations and situates Stonebirds as a band to keep an eye on.

“Time” CD//DD track listing

1. I
2. Sacrifice
3. Blackened Sky
4. Only time
5. Shutter part I
6. Shutter part II
7. Animals
8. II

The Review:

Rostrenen, France's Stonebirds received much acclaim for its 2015 release "Into the Fog… And the Flithy Air." The stoner/doom crew was noted in particular for its originality. If you scan that record again, you will hear why it was so appreciated. The group merges many influences into a package that still sounds true to the subgenre. Stonebirds is adept at exploring concepts in their music that make it even more intriguing. To put it simply, the trio is one of the Europe's more intriguing stoner/doom performers today.

It was easy then to catch elements of inspirations like the Melvins or a style like Cult of Luna before. Its previous works seemed more sprawling, in part due to a five-piece lineup. The group returns smaller and with an edgier vibe. On the band's 2017 return, "Time," Stonebirds feels intent on forging its own road, to some of its best results yet.

"Time" opens with "I" – and yes, it is bookended with closer "II" – which harkens to the impeccably ethereal rhythm you know of Stonebirds. When it rolls into "Sacrifice," however, the comparisons halt. The ten-minute track is still atmospheric and multi-layered, but in the end the overtures are devastating. Rough guitars, rattling bass and jarring vocals make this a nice profile of a band that has renewed focus. Later, the cut, "Animals," offers a similar kind of heft. The rumbling end of "Sacrifice" segues well into "Blackened Sky," which takes its fallow beginnings into sinister territory as the music arcs, then shambles into the darkness.

Contemporary social commentary is a perennial part of extreme music, and "Time" does not disappoint. The centerpiece of "Time" is undoubtedly "Shutter Part I & II," a narrative on climate change. Given the catastrophism that accompanies what was formerly called global warming – skyrocketing hunger, mass extinction and an upsurge in natural disasters are among the issues scientists cite the world will see more of – it remains a marvel as to why more acts have not examined climate issues further. In this instance, Stonebirds does it in a non-preachy, understated way. What is ostensibly “…Part I” mostly set the mood. It is “…Part II” with the lyrical attack. Again, it is no 350.org manifesto. Rather, the sound comes across as the crest of a storm, with lyrics that inject fear ("time has come/for you to die" comes at you again and again) into this story. By song's crashing end, you are struck by how good it is, maybe the best track of "Time."

If there are any quibbles with the latest Stonebirds release, it may be that the mood changes can be a little abrupt. Songs bounce from sludge to much heavier and perhaps the composition could be a little different. However, overall, "Time," with a smaller group and focused sound, far exceeds expectations and situates Stonebirds as a band to keep an eye on.

"Time" is available to preorder/buy here and you can check out an exclusive stream of the track “Shutter Part II” below




Band info: bandcamp || Facebook

Sunday, 5 July 2015

LINIE - What We Make Our Demons Do (Album Review)


























‘An intriguing collection of noises and sounds that fuses Desert Rock, Industrial Rock, Electronica with a heavy slab of Sludge just to keep the mood very bleak indeed’

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: July 31st 2015
Label: Bad Kingdom

‘What We Make Our Demons Do’ CD//DD//LP track Listing:

1). Intro
2). Blood On Your Arms
3). The City
4). Inability
5). Designate
6). Lake Of Fire
7). Chewing Gum
8). Bearing Life
9). No Ideal
10). Natural Selection
Outro

LINIE is:

Jörn // voc/git
Alex // git/voc
Ralph // bass/voc
Alex // drums/voc
Iggi // keys/electronics


Review:

I have featured LINIE on the blog previously when I reviewed their debut 7inch single.  Fast forward to summer 2015 and the guys return with their dark electro tinged album ‘What We Make Our Demons Do’. What you get is nn intriguing collection of noises and sounds that fuses Desert Rock, Industrial Rock, Electronica with a heavy slab of Sludge just to keep the mood very bleak indeed. The album opens with ‘Intro’ a 51 second track that perfectly sets the mood with hazy electronic noises and a creepy soundbyte outlining the tone of the whole album.

‘Blood On Your Arms’ has influences ranging from Depeche Mode, The Cure and other gloomy dark rock bands but LINIE splice things up with traces of Sludge and Desert Rock. Lead vocalist Jörn has a range from clear pitched harmonics to the heavier based growls with added support from his band members. These guys say their music is mainly Desert Rock? Well I haven't heard Desert Rock gone this dark and twisted before and it works as LINIE are unlike anything you'll hear this year. I've had this album for a couple of months now and it's a complex sounding album with scope and vision to match.

The third track ‘The City’ is another electronic influenced dark odyssey where the Desert Rock vibes feel they've been given a makeover by bands such as The Cure or Nine Inch Nails. The music ventures from heavy sludgy riffs with traces of fuzz, to more bass driven Industrial carnage, indeed LINIE won't appeal to everyone, the more traditional or familiar Desert Rock sound is mostly absent here. This a more twisted and experimental version of Desert Rock. ‘The City’ is one of the albums standout tracks as it has quite an addictive edge.

‘Inability’ sees LINIE becoming more and more pissed off as the music becomes ever more primal and darker throughout. It's more of the industrial side of music with the Sludge driven riffs being played at different levels throughout the song. Jörn channels his inner angry poet persona like his life depended on it. Shades of Robert E Smith may appear in Jörn's vocal delivery from time to time but I find that very mesmerizing indeed.

LINIE continue this dark and twisted journey on other songs such as ‘Designate’, ‘Lake Of Fire’, ‘Chewing Gum’ and ‘No Ideal’. The rest of the album doesn't really change from the opening 4 songs and in my eyes that is a good thing because LINIE creates their own unique take on all things Stoner and Desert Rock. The electronic sounds, noises and rhythms may take some getting used to, but they're an essential part of LINIE's music. If you take that part away from LINIE's sound then you would lose the heart and soul of this album.

The production on the album is superb throughout and ‘What We Make Our Demons Do’ is a dark, twisted and violent album that is very hard to define. If this is what LINIE call Desert Rock then I want to hear more. I can see LINIE going down a storm with the Roadburn Festival crew, their sound caters a lot for that festival's audience. Dark, Ambient, Industrial, Sludge, Stoner, Noise and Desert Rock. Lets see where this album takes them becasue these guys are something special indeed.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to LINIE for the promo CD. What We Make Our Demons Do will be available on CD/DD/Vinyl/Tape on Bad Kingdom Records from all good stockist on July 31st 2015.

For More Information

Like: Facebook
Listen: BandCamp

 

Sewer Rats - Money Maker (EP Review)

SEWER RATS - MONEY MAKER EP cover art

A band from the UK who are giving the scene the kick in the balls it desperately needs. ‘Money Maker’ is a snarling ugly beast of a record

Album Type: EP
Date Released: July 27th 2015
Label: Fluffer Records

‘Money Maker’ DD//LP track Listing:

1). Skint
2). Devil Blues
3). Black Sertonin
4). Money Maker
5). So Far Away

Sewer Rats is:

Dean Robbins | DRUMS
Iain Morrison | BASS
Luke Morris | GUITAR/VOX

Review:

Oh Hell Yes!!! - I've been hearing a lot of great things about Sewer Rats. A psych, grunge, stoner, sludge rock band from the UK who are giving the scene the kick is the balls the scene desperately needs. ‘Money Maker’ is a snarling ugly beast of a record. Lo-fi garage based riffs with lead vocalist Luke Morris doing a mighty fine job as the snarling and vicious front man that all great Rock and Roll band need. Shades of Lemmy can be found in Luke's vocal delivery and that's not a bad thing at all.

Opening track ‘Skint’ is a nasty punk driven rock and roll number, traces of lo-fi stoner/sludge adds further weight to the track, indeed it is one that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Sewer Rats resemblance to Motorhead is uncanny at times, however you won't care because they bring a vibrant burst of violent energy to the party and should be judged on their own merits. ‘Skint’ is very lo-fi and the production can be very crude but the record is all the better for it. 

‘Devil Blues’ sees the band trying their hand at grunge and it's another great track to show off Sewer Rats undoubted talent, launching into some Kyuss inspired riffs, with the vocals all over the place, this band is going places. A casual delivery at times perhaps, but they're still exciting as fuck to listen to. ‘Devil Blues’ is possibly my favourite track on the EP, their don't give a FUCK refrain highlights a violent burst of energy.

Third track ‘Black Sertonin’ is a blues rock number which demonstrates that Sewer Rats can play refined and classy music too. It's a soothing piece to the manic riffs that came before it. Yeah, I dig this song a lot. It maybe slow-paced but at least you see another side to Sewer Rats. It is impressive stuff indeed

‘Money Maker’ and ‘So Far Away’ sees Sewer Rats return to the fast-paced opening refrain and you can expect more manic riffs being played at 100mph. It's a delightfully scuzzy lo-fi stoner infusion that fans of the band BAD GUYS with revel in.  On the whole ‘Money Maker’ is a thumping debut EP from a band I want to hear more of. I can't wait to hear the full-length debut album as Sewer Rats are one of the most exciting UK bands I have come across this year. Fantastic stuff!!!

Words by: Steve Howe

Thanks to Josh Cooper for the promo. ‘Money Maker’ EP will be available to buy on DD/Vinyl from Fluffer Records from July 21st 2015.

For More Information

Like: Facebook
Listen: BandCamp

Sunday, 24 May 2015

Prehistoric Pigs - Everything Is Good (Album Review)

Everything is Good cover art

Album Type: Album
Date Released: April 26th 2015
Label: The Smoking Goat Records

Everything Is Good - Track Listing:

1.Everything is Good I 08:30
2.Universally Droning 06:52
3.Red Fields 05:13
4.Shut Up, It's Raining Yolks 06:06
5.When The Trip Ends 10:02
6.Hypnodope 09:08
7.Zug 04:03
8.Everything is Good II 07:36

Members

Juri Tirelli – guitar
Jacopo Tirelli – bass
Mattia Piani – drums

Bio:

Prehistoric Pigs are a trio formed by brothers Juri (guitar) and Jacopo Tirelli (bass), and by their cousin Mattia Piani (drums). The band was formed in 2012 as a direct prosecution of the jam sessions that the 3 guys used to have for a lot of years. Prehistoric Pigs play an instrumental stoner rock, with doom, space and psychedelic influences. Their heavy, rough and distorted sound merge with Hendrixian solos, Kyuss style riffs and krautrock melodies. The lysergic and ipnotic atmospheres evoked by their music lead straight to the Californian desert, and then float to the obscurity of Uranus skies and collapse to the deepest bowels of the Earth. Prehistoric Pigs published their first album “Wormhole Generator” in the end of 2012, with Moonlight Records. After a lot of concerts in North Italy, they exported their music abroad playing in festivals and clubs in Slovenia, Germany, Austria and Ireland. In the summer of 2014, a “Split” with the irish band Electric Taurus has been released by Go Down Records. After a series of gigs all over Italy, and subsequently to the deal with The Smoking Goat Records, Prehistoric Pigs are now getting ready for the release of their second full length, expected for the spring of 2015.

Review:

Instrumental rock, be it stoner like the Prehistoric Pigs or proggy like The Bakerton Group, is a tough nut to crack but I have to admit the boys pull it off well with their new disc “Everything is Good.”

“Everything is Good I” opens the record. It’s heavy enough to get your attention but not enough to overwhelm. The vibe begins to change mid-song slowing down, moving into classic Pigs trippy soundscapes picking back up again, dropping the axe and turning up the volume. Great way to start the record.

Track two, “Universally Droning,” opens with a Fu Manchu like fuzz chord that leads into a full out wall of heavy sound, the kind of thing you swear you can reach out and touch, it’s that solid, that fierce. There’s a brief interlude of spaced out weirdness that leads you into the storm, churning out a power chord maelstrom guaranteed to knock you out of your chair. And when you think you just can’t take it any longer the Pigs take it down a notch, offering mercy in the form of a Sabbathy, doomy outro to the song.

“Red Fields” begins acoustic, quiet, almost reserved leading into another wall of fuzzed out sound that seemingly drops right on your head, going back acoustic as if to prove that there is such a thing as “quiet heaviness,” something I discovered a long time ago with Blue Cheer and Saint Vitus. And then I hear old echoes of Kyuss coming through near the end of the track against an outro of muffled distortion.

“Shut up it’s Raining Yolks” immediately becomes the most experimental song of the record. I think it’s safe to say I enjoyed this track the most since it screamed psychedelia to me, evoking images of Paisley prints and Patchouli incense sticks in a style only the Pigs could pull off, somewhere between pre supernova and post lunar landscape.

“When the Trip Ends” slows the tempo of the record down, moving back into “quiet heaviness” I mentioned earlier. And it’s a song like this that really makes me appreciate how well how the Prehistoric Pigs have this amazing grasp of what the concept and definition of “heavy” truly means. They get it. They have it figured out. They understand how to create sonic textures, how to create moods and atmospheres and get that across to the listener without the aid of vocals, through music alone. That’s talent, that’s a gift.

“Hypnodope” begins with down tuned chords so rich and thick it’ll hurt your brain trying to understand how the Pigs can do it and not trigger massive earthquakes and tsunamis in the process. Throughout the tune are strange hushed whispers that permeate the background of “Hypnodope,” disembodied voices that float back and forth, swept up in the ebb and flow of the music, caught in the undertow, appearing then disappearing, all without warning. Of all the songs on this record this one probably has the most ominous, unsettling feel to it.

The second to last song, “Zug,” goes straight groovy with a quasi-Trouble / Sabbath boogie tilt to it, worshipping at the altar of Iommi, Wagner and Chandler leading into the final track of the record, “Everything is Good II” taking that same approach that track one had properly ending the record as it started.

If you dig solid, heavy, fuzzed out instrumental rock you’ll really appreciate what the Prehistoric Pigs have accomplished with “Everything is Good” but getting past a band without vocals can be a hard one. My advice to you: Give it a shot. After a while you won’t even notice what you think you might be missing. Buy this record.

Words by Theron Moore

Thanks To Marco at Metaversus PR for the promo. Everything Is Good is now available to buy on CD/DD now.

For More Information

Wednesday, 22 April 2015

JussiPussi - Greatest Tits (EP Review)

Greatest Tits cover art

Album Type: EP
Date Released: April 21st 2015
Label: Taxi Driver Records

Greatest Tits - Track Listing

1.The Bliss Of A Black Dawn 03:50
2.Warning Sign 04:35
3.Vultures 02:58
4.Explant 03:54
5.Surrounded By Cowards 03:24
6.Bury You Deep 04:38

Members:

Marco Giarratana - vocals;
Michele Cigna - guitars;
Antonio Petrotta - bass;
Francesco Borrelli - drums

Bio:

Fascinated by a famous type of Finnish bread called Jussipussi, four Milan-based guys from the deep south of Italy, start jamming together in October 2013. Seven rehearsals later, the six songs that make up Greatest Tits see the light. And those proverbial Tits are the breasts that feed wars, online narcissism, ruthless competition at work. In short, super serious stuff, even though those guys from the deep south of Italy are not that serious at all. What they would really dream of, instead, is tasting a piece of Jussipussi and ham, surrounded by blonde Finnish girls.

If you like Jussipussi, you also love Queens Of The Stone Age, Mastodon, Clutch and Red Fang. It's as simple as that.

Review:

JussiPussi is a band that has just came to my attention when the promo landed on my desk. Was I intrigued by the insane name of the band or awesome EP title? Well it could have been both as it takes a band with ralls of steel to call themselves JussiPussi and to call their debut record - Greatest Tits. However I was pleasantly surprised as JussiPussi play music that's influenced by Clutch, Red Fang and Mastodon. It's an EP that's not going to change the world but it definitely makes for an exciting and thrilling 23 mins or so. JussiPussi play to their musical strengths and create some good old fashioned Stoner/Sludge Rock packed full of groove and hard hitting attitude.

These guys are from Italy and it's good to see a band like this from the Italian Sludge/Stoner Rock scene as most of the Italian bands we have featured recently are more of the heavier side. So JussiPussi are a breath of fresh air. Opening track - The Bliss Of A Black Dawn - is a frantic and fast-paced Stoner Rock number with blazing guitars and drumming coming at you from all directions. It has a slight Punk Rock vibe that gives way to louder Stoner Riff and awesome vocals courtesy of Marco. JussiPussi build a wall of noise for their sound to add layers of FUZZ. It's one of the EP's strongest songs as JussiPussi have your full attention for the remainder of the record.

Second Track - Warning Sign - has a more laidback vibe with Marco singing in a reflective mood before the band venture into grungier territory with the Sludge/Stoner Rock melodies holding everything together. When the band lowers the volume and play quieter riffs you can't help be moved by the great music on show.

Third track - Vultures - is the standout track on the album as the band venture into Clutch/Red Fang Stoner Rock territory by blending blazing Stoner Riffs and a great sing-along chorus as JussiPussi impress through out. Vultures will have you singing out loud and head-banging at the same time. It's one of those tracks you can't help but rock out to. Simple but effective. As JussiPussi start to show what a great band they can become if they write more of this catchy up-tempo Sludge/Stoner Rock in the future. Marco's vocals shine through out though it's the music that impresses the most. Yeah definitely my fave track from the EP.

Explant is the next track to come blazing at full volume. The guitars are the main focus here with the drumming and vocals appearing centre stage when the times call for it. Shades of Red Fang/Clutch appear but that's no bad thing as JussiPussi still leave you with a huge smile on your face. The production on the EP is superb through out as you can feel every riff and note coming at you. The EP's final two songs - Surrounded By Cowards and Bury You Deep - sees the band bring their grunge influences to the front as they blast there way through a high amount of action packed riffs with some elements of dirty fuzz giving their sound a slight doom and gloom feel.

JussiPussi have released a stunning debut EP that's gonna go down a storm with the Stoner/Sludge Rock crew. JussiPussi are definitely a band to keep an eye out for as Greatest Tits has it all if you're a serious Stoner Rock fan. Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Thanks To Sara at Taxi Driver Records. Greatest Tits is available to buy now from Taxi Driver Records on CD/DD.

Words by Steve Howe

For More Information

ZOLLE - Porkestra (Album Review)

Porkestra cover art

Album Type: Album
Date Released: April 11th 2015
Label: Bloody Sound Fucktory

Porkestra - Track Listing

1.Porkediem 02:15
2.Porkeria 03:04
3.Porkasmatron 03:00
4.Porkona 01:39
5.Porkemon 01:37
6.Porkimede 04:04
7.Porkata 02:23
8.Porkobot 02:53
9.Porkenstein 03:04
10.Porkastica 02:05
11.Pork Vader 01:39
12.Porkangelogabriele 06:17

Members:

Ste - Drums, Xilophone.
Marcio - Guitar

Bio:

Only those who know the ease of a cow while defecating can understand the genesis of the songs of Zolle.
Children of a natural path, direct, compact, subject to the force of gravity. Impact safe with warm soul that does not end in the fall to the ground. Even the sketches are lost. In this contemporary, complex and indefinite, spare plates affirm the essential, appearing as furrows of land of the plain from which they come. Being broken, turned, crushed, chopped Scents and smells merge into a single mass of sound: Zolle..

Review:

Italian Psychedelic Noise/Sludge/Stoner Rock Duo - Zolle - return with another heavy round of experimental noises and riffs to impress you with. Second album - Porkestra - follows the same route as their acclaimed debut album with the band providing a more experimental noise rock take on all things Sludge/Stoner Rock. Once again it's purely instrumental as Zolle capture some creative far-out moments in their moments.

Opening track - Porkediem - (you may notice the overall Pork based theme of the album that shows off their insane sense of humour) - is a fast-paced heavy affair that sees Zolle play heavy and finely tuned riffs with the drumming being the main highlight as drummer hits the heck out of those drums. And the guitar playing ain't half bad too. It's hard to believe that Zolle is a duo as they feel and sound like a bigger band. If you're into Big Business with a little crazier sense of humour then Zolle is the band for you. Zolle blast there way through a stunning set of songs such as Porkeria,

Porkona, Porkemon, Porkobot and my fave song title - Pork Vader. Yeah these guys are having fun with their music and it shows as this is one highly infectious album of experimental action packed riffs with style and substance to match. Zolle can be very loud at times where the band unleash with a non-stop attack of heavy drumming and fast-paced riffs. What more do you want from a Stoner/Sludge Rock album. It has vibes of Psychedelic Rock and Noise Rock that will keep you entertained through out.

I became a fan of these guys after listening to their debut album back in 2013 and then seeing them support Ufomammut on their 2013 UK Tour and believe me Zolle won a huge raft of admirers on that tour. As they are one of the most entertaining bands currently out there. Zolle are one of those rare bands who bring the same vibrant energy when playing live or in the studio. Most of the songs last from 90 seconds to a more generous 3 minutes. Don't let that put you off as Zolle are experts at delivering a ton of exciting riffs in such a short space of time. They go straight for the jugular by playing as many fantastic riffs as they can.

I have to say the drumming is some of the best I've heard this year. Delicate, precise, crazy, inventive and a whole load of fun. Porkestra is an excellent album from start to finish. Zolle have delivered one of the finest and exciting Instrumental Rock albums of the year. I hope more people take notice of Zolle and Porkestra as this is one album that is simply unmissable.

Porkestra is available to buy now on DD/CD now.

Words by Steve Howe

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