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Showing posts with label Soulseller Records. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soulseller Records. Show all posts
“Lords of the Permafrost” represents
the best comeback any fan of the band could have hoped for after so long away.Slick and primitive in equal measure, the
album represents primal aggression delivered expertly. Recommended.
“Lords of The Permafrost”
CD//DD//LP track listing:
1). Skull Splitter
2). Beyond the Walls of Ice
3). Lords of the Permafrost
4). Cemetery Wolf
5). Warlock Moon
6). Gargoyle
7). Black Tide Rising
8). Mutants of the Iron Age
The Review:
Usurper return! These Chicago warlords were
hard at the coal face through the 90s and early 2000s before splitting around
2007 (I think). I recall reading a lengthy explanation of vocalist General
Diabolical Slaughter's resignation from the band many years ago in Terrorizer
that went along the lines of the fact that he “was done” and now only wanted to
play video games and smoke weed. Perhaps the whole band felt the same way a few
years later?!
No
matter, they are back and sounding as vicious as ever. Naturally, the band
benefit from modern recording techniques as demonstrated by the clear yet very
gnarly production on offer on “Lords of The Permafrost”. The
opening of “Skull Splitter” recalls
the early days of death metal- bands often got in some calm before the storm-
but from there on out, this is heavy and feral stuff. Blackened thrash/death
probably sums these guys up and they do it with all the commitment of Venom
at their best. There are some huge riffs, great vocals and inventive drum
patterns (bonus points for the use of a closed high hat).
The
chug of “Beyond The Walls of Ice” sees
the band demonstrate their ability to still get necks snapping with a serious
groove. It's good to see the band stick to fantasy and supernatural themes;
it's just not the kind of forum for nuanced political criticism or anything
socio-political. This is metal, as purely forged as any.
The
title track is a rolling tank, “Cemetery
Wolf” is aggressive and rabid, “Warlock
Moon” mixes tempos and high and low pitched riffing to good effect. “Gargoyle” and “Black Tide Rising” continue a fairly furious assault before the
manic “Mutants of The Iron Age”
brings the carnage up one more level before the album concludes.
“Lords of
the Permafrost”
represents the best comeback any fan of the band could have hoped for after so
long away. This is a must for fans of Venom, Entombed, Whipstriker, Skeletonwitch etc. Slick and
primitive in equal measure, the album represents primal aggression delivered
expertly. Recommended.
DEMON EYE
are back with their third offering and another dose of their own blend of Heavy
Classic Rock, Proto Metal and Traditional Doom!
The new album "Prophecies and Lies"
was recorded by Mike Dean of CORROSION OF CONFORMITY
in the band's hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina, and displays a strong
musical progression with mighty riffs, haunting melodies and fist-raising
anthems. DEMON EYE are bringing vintage heavy
darkness for modern times and current day evils, giving their listeners dynamic
songs to empower them against all adversaries.
With the release date of 11 August 2017 just over a week away, today
were serving another sonic brew from the
album entitled “Dying For It”, a hard charger with a bit of Voivod dissonance meets classic Dio. You
can check it out in full below. Preorders are available here
Taking their name from one of the darker tracks of
the Deep
Purple catalogue, Demon Eye consists of four men, two New
Yorkers, two Southerners, and one shared love for old school metal, yes Demon Eye are back folks, indeed news of an
impending third offering pleases us very much around there parts, having
fallowed the upward trajectory of this stellar act since debut “Leave The Light” (review here)
hit are decks back in 2014.Be sure to
mark the date in your diary because “Prophecies
And Lies”will be
released on August 11th and that means another superior dose
of their classic rock, proto metal and traditional doom.
Demon Eye’sheavy grooves and thunder rhythms channel the doom
and crush of Black
Sabbath and Pentagram, and the fist banging shred of early
‘Maiden.
You
could say that Demon
Eye represents the flowering of an American take on the spirit of
the Scandanavian Retro Rock bands. Combing the warm vibes of 70's jams by
Deep Purple,
Black
Sabbath, Mountain and others with a rough and ready
smattering of the early metal roar of Pentagram and Pagan Altar thrown in for good
measure.
Their story is an odd one. The band that would
come to be known as Demon Eye began life as a seventies tribute /
cover band Corvette
Summer whose "set
generally includes the music of: Thin Lizzy, Humble Pie, Led Zeppelin, Deep
Purple, Blue Oyster Cult, Kiss, UFO, Alice Cooper, Free, ZZ Top, and many, many
more..." (Source).
So the ingredients were all there to begin with. Meanwhile, it turns out
frontman Erik Sugg has made quite a name as an incredibly popular children's
entertainer in the Raleigh,
North Carolina area, teaching
toddlers how to read through the power of rock & roll, and if you don't dig
the hell out ofthis story,
you simply have no soul. None of this however, suggests that the band
would blast into the doom rock world with an absolute scorcher of a debut E.P.,
which was released in early Spring of 2013. The eponymous E.P. generated
a decent buzz and those with one ear closer to hell didn't fail to notice.
One of those folks was Jorn, owner of Souseller
Records. The label who would go on to issue Demon Eye's
full-length debut, 'Leave the Light'
and 2015’s critically lauded sophomore release “Tempora Inferalia” (review here).So with the release date of “Prophecies and Lies” drawing ever
closer, it gives us great please to welcome band the onto the pages of THE SLUDGELORD
with a brand new and exclusive track “The
Redeemer” which you an stream below. Folks new to the band, we envy you and
if that describes you, you have to get your hands on this album if you would
answer "yes" to any of the following questions:
Do you like the demonic smirk of evil and forbidden
good times?
Do you like heavy guitars with shredding leads?
Do you like uptempo doom boogie music with catchy
choruses and clean vocals?
Not
only that, if the excitement of that new track wasn’t enough, we recently
caught up with front man Erik Sugg to talk us through some of the bands own
personal favourite albums.Which you can
check out below the track stream.Double
the dose double the riffs.Demon Eye welcome
back, you are truly knights of the sound table, we love you and you should
too.
Iron Maiden - "Live After Death"
This
is Larry's pick. What is there to say? It's classic. Amazing heavy metal that
has stood the test of time for several generations and will continue to do so.
Top notch song writing and incredible playing. It was pretty amazing being a
kid in the '80s and being exposed to Maiden as contemporary band. They were larger
than life and made their music epic for fans of hard rock and metal everywhere.
Queensryche - "The Warning"
Bill,
Demon Eye's
drummer, is a huge fan of this era of Queensryche. It's great classic metal from an
early period of the band before they began the more experimental portion of
their career during the latter half of the '80s, (the more heavily produced,
thematic albums.) A lot of folks in the metal community seem to share pretty
strong feelings about Queensryche, but this album stands up. If you
slept on it, you should go back and give it a listen.
Deep Purple - "In Rock"
We
seem incapable of not discussing Deep Purple during interviews, ha. A huge
influence for the band, obviously, and this record is certainly one of the best
things they ever did. It slams, through and through. Everything from the heavy
opening riffs to "Speed King"
to Ian's valkyrie-shrieking in "Child
in Time," to the almost MC5-ish "Flight of the Rat." I own three different vinyl copies of
this, (my listening copy, my back-up copy, and a picture disc version.) It's
one of my favorite records of all time. I was stoked to see a recent interview
with Ritchie Blackmore where he stated it was one of his favorite things the
band ever did.
Judas Priest - "Sad Wings of Destiny”
Paul
chose this one. If it were the only Priest record in existence, they'd still be
metal gods. It's really interesting this album was released in 1976 because
that's around the time when punk started kicking off, but it still granted the
band a huge audience and opened the doors for the pending NWOBHM scene.
Generally Sabbath
and Deep Purple
are the bands credited in making the musical transformation from heavy blues
towards a more classical moding style. That sort of thing ultimately became the
blueprint for the traditional heavy metal sound. Tony Iommi and Ritchie
Blackmore may have been the first guitarists to introduce that style to heavy
rock, but Priest
were the ones who really set that sort of thing into stone with this record. It
will always hold up.
Witchcraft - "Witchcraft"
I
can't not express enough how much this band means to me. When I heard Witchcraft's
debut record back in the mid '2000s it stopped me dead in my tracks. It was
everything I loved about vintage heavy rock and it was traditional doom metal
like Pentagram
and Candlemass,
but it wasn't over-driven nor downtuned. It was very clean and crisp, but still
sounded heavy and evil. I kept Witchcraft's sound and their techniques in my
mind when I first started writing songs for Demon Eye. I didn't want to
sound like them, but I wanted to achieve the same "less-is-more" kind
of power they were achieving. I don't know much about Magnus Pelander as an
individual, (he's a bit of a mystery to American fans,) but I will always
admire his imagination and his stunning songcraft. I will buy everything he
ever releases, Witchcraft
and solo releases, for the rest of my life and for as long as he's releasing
them.
'Magick Rites and Spells' is a fresh,
authentic display of classic occult rock being performed in the present day.
It's a blessing to see a band who are truly absorbed in this genre, leading the
way for all modern day occultists to follow. It's a very well-balanced mix of
old, new and cover songs and an incredible follow-up to the masterpiece that
was 'The Vision'. This band are only getting started and I'm truly excited to
see what the future holds for Virginia and the guys.
“Magick
Rites and Spells” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. Come a little closer (Exclusive to this release)
2. Godzilla (Blue
OysterCult cover, Exclusive to this release)
3. Set me free (Re-recording, Exclusive to this release)
4. Wicked dream (Re-recording, Exclusive to this release)
5. The dark Lord (Originally performed by Sam Gopal, with Lemmy)
6. Angela (taken from the “Black Magic Man” EP)
7. Lying on iron (taken from the “Black Magic Man” EP)
8. Black magic man (taken from the “Black Magic Man” EP)
9. Slave of grief (taken from the “Black Magic Man” EP)
The Review:
Psychedelic
Witchcraft
have just brought out their latest album 'Magick Rites and Spells'. This band
certainly know how to churn out songs as their last album, the critically
acclaimed 'The Vision' only came out back in April, 2016.
We
dive into the mystical land of the occult with 9 tracks comprising of 3 brand
new tracks, 2 covers and 4 tracks from the “Black Magic Man” EP,
released back in 2015.
Track
1, 'Come
a Little Closer', starts the album off with some elegant, flowing
guitar sounds before the main riff begins and Virginia Monti takes control,
doing what she does best. Such a powerful voice which can also be toned down
for those hypnotic lyrics, entrancing you as the song goes on. There's some
great lead guitar work in this track too, providing just enough of a taste
without overcompensating. It's a very enticing opening track and a great start
to a superb album.
Track
2 is a cover of 'Godzilla' by Blue Oyster Cult. This is the first time I’ve
heard a female sing this song and it sounds absolutely fantastic. I saw Blue Oyster
Cult a few months back and they played this song but to be perfectly
honest, Psychedelic
Witchcraft do a better job than B.O.C did live. It's also very refreshing
seeing a couple covers. A lot of bands have strayed away from covering songs in
recent years but when you can add your own signature touch, like these guys
have, then by all means, cover that shit!
Track
3, 'Set
Me Free', is a true piece of Sabbathian occult rock. Everything blends
incredibly well and there's still a lot of breathing room with the guitar and
bass tones so it's not total overkill. Virginia's
vocals soar over the top of some very tight riffage before a great breakdown
with just drums and bass involved. This leads way to another ripping solo from
Jacopo Fallai as the track comes to a close.
'Wicked
Dream'
is the 4th track on the album and the last of the brand new, original material
that is exclusive to this release. These guys create such a dark, gloomy vibe
to rock and roll but it works a treat and the visual imagery and lyrical themes
all work as a cohesive unit.
'The Dark
Lord'
is another cover of the famous Sam Gopal song that featured Lemmy
on lead vocals. It is in itself a fucking incredible song and it's so great to
see recognition of it and Psychedelic Witchcraft do a superb job at
doing it justice. As much as I love original material, I'd love to see these
guys do a full cover album just to see what they would pick and see how Virginia can lend her
voice to pretty much anything and do a fantastic job.
Track
6
'Angela' is the first track taken from the “Black Magic Man” EP from
2015. This time round it sounds much more polished and it's great to see their
older stuff rearing its head again. Psychedelic Witchcraft defined their style
early on and they still stay true to the Coven-esque style of occult rock. There are
also more current influences such as Blood Ceremony or Ruby the Hatchet who play very
similar styles of music but I think Psychedelic Witchcraft are the most authentic
occult-styled band.
Track
7 'Lying
on Iron' is another track from the “Black Magic Man” EP. It
is a beautiful, yet haunting piece of music and one of the more mellow tracks
on the album. The musicianship in this band is of a very high standard and the
fusion of guitar, bass and percussion is extremely affective in creating this
sound. The guitar solo uses a Jimi Hendrix'Little Wing' sounding
tone and works fantastically with the backing music. There are a million ways
to describe how good Virginia's
vocals are and yet again, she delivers an impeccable performance.
Track
8 'Black
Magic Man' is the title track from the EP of the same name. This was
one of the first Psychedelic Witchcraft songs I heard and got me into
listening to them. It definitely sounds a lot fuller this time round and
reminded me why I love this band. Parts of this song remind me of early 90s
desert rock but tainted with a hint of darkness.
The
final track on the album 'Slave of Grief' is also re-released
from their debut EP. It has a very simple chord progression which is perfect
for letting Virginia
grab your attention with her lyrics and vocals. It slowly chugs along and opens
up around the 3 min mark with another ripping, fuzzed out guitar solo. Some of
the tones on this album are very thick and fuzzy and some are clean and
appropriate to the style of each song. This one is steeped in that classic
vintage fuzz tone. The drums are absolutely on fire towards the end of this
track and it all culminates in a witch's cauldron of musical brilliance as the
track fades out.
'Magick
Rites and Spells'
is a fresh, authentic display of classic occult rock being performed in the
present day. It's a blessing to see a band who are truly absorbed in this
genre, leading the way for all modern day occultists to follow. It's a very
well-balanced mix of old, new and cover songs and an incredible follow-up to
the masterpiece that was 'The Vision'. This band are only
getting started and I'm truly excited to see what the future holds for Virginia
and the guys.
“Barren Fields” sounds like doom, it relentlessly rumbles forth with unstoppable perpetual motion. There is more light and shade with Tombstones, but they are no less weighty, the compositions are all stand alone pieces of music, but all with a vibe running through them and a sound that identifies them.Simply put, this is a modern doom record and those of us who enjoyed the their last record, Conan, Electric Wizard, Ramesses et al will find much to enjoy here. A fine album, then.
‘Vargariis’ CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. Barren Fields 2. And When The Heathen Strive, Vargariis Rise 3. Oceans Of Consciousness 4. The Dark High 5. Underneath The Earth 6. Pyre Of The Cloth
The Review:
Having heard “Red Skies and Dead Eyes” back in 2013 and enjoyed it a lot, I had high hopes for this Scan-Doom outfits' latest release. From the off, it does not disappoint. “Barren Fields” sounds like doom, all right, but of the Conan rather than Sabbath variety. It relentlessly rumbles forth with unstoppable perpetual motion. There is more light and shade with Tombstones, perhaps, than with their UK equivalent, but they are no less weighty. “And When The Heathen Strive, Vargariis Rise”acts as a quasi title track, a little quicker at base tempo but it is no less downtuned or doom filled. The vocals, when they arrive, are positively anguished (more akin to Moss, or something, initially). Good to hear the high hat foot pedal getting used too- not something you hear a lot of in doom.
“Oceans of Consciousness”starts with a rolling blast beat (think black metal, not death metal), which is both surprising and a great change of approach for the band. Things slow down to a grooving and low slung riff, of course, but again the band prove that tempos and dynamics are one of their strengths as the blast returns...
Naturally, as the track lengths are all uniformly around the nine or ten minute mark, it would be hard to argue that there are songs per se. This is doom, after all, and as a genre generally it will go for repetition and groove over hooks most of the time. That is not to take away from the compositions here- they are all stand alone pieces of music, but all with a vibe running through them and a sound that identifies them. “The Dark High”gives an almost trippy vibe; loose and open as opposed to some of the more claustrophobic tracks elsewhere and it breaks things up effectively. It gets heavier as it goes, of course and ends with a suitably feral thrashing of the bands' collective instruments. “Underneath The Earth” is a pleasingly downcast listen, all stops and starts and riffs.
“Pyre of the Cloth”finishes the record with another nine minutes plus of percussive battery and doom laden riffage. Simply put, this is a modern doom record and those of us who enjoyed the their last record, Conan, Electric Wizard, Ramesses et al will find much to enjoy here. A fine album, then.
There’s no doubt that “Velvet Skin” is an enjoyable listen despite the familiar tones that the band wallows in from the start. Lewis and The Strange Magics can be proud of what they accomplished on this debut album and hopefully they use this as the starting block to their career.
“Velvet Skin” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. Carbon Wine 2. How To Be You 3. Suzy’s Room 4. Golden Threads 5. Nina (Velvet Skin) 6. Female Vampire 7. Cloudy Grey Cube 8. Your Evil Trip
The Review:
The bar for making retro occult rock has been set pretty high thanks in part to Black Sabbath dragging Uncle Acid along for a successful European tour. With this, new bands should take note that they’ll need to work pretty hard to leave a mark. None the less, Lewis and The Strange Magics take a stab at it with their debut album, “Velvet Skin,” and don’t seem to have a problem coming across as the genre’s little brother.
At eight songs and 41 minutes, Lewis and the Strange Magics have presented a satisfactory, vinyl-minded debut album. It fits nicely on one slab of wax, each side telling its own story. Side A opens with “Carbon Wine,” immediately boasting the album’s strongest chorus as well as summing up the band’s sound in a nutshell. Shuffling along with the Hammond-led chorus comes follow up “How to Be You” before “Suzy’s Room” knocks at the door with a jazzy toe-tapper. “Golden Threads” is where the tastiest licks are at, neatly rounding out the side while also exploring jumps in rhythm that pique the curiosity as to the realms Lewis and The Strange Magics will find themselves on Side B.
The second half builds from spoken word before working its way into an expansive instrumental mid-section. “Female Vampire,” the album’s single, dances to the tune of playful key tickling and is by far album’s best song. It’s placement on Side B also helps to spread the good riffs evenly across “Velvet Skin”’s tracklist. A slow psych-blues stomp follows before giving way to a sprawling, nine-minute attempt at an epic to close out the album, showing that Lewis and The Strange Magics have some interesting ideas up their sleeve but they’re all things you’ve heard before.
There’s no doubt that “Velvet Skin” is an enjoyable listen despite the familiar tones that the band wallows in from the start. Lewis and The Strange Magics can be proud of what they accomplished on this debut album and hopefully they use this as the starting block to their career, seizing their potential to grow into something interesting on their sophomore outing and beyond.
Incarceration, legal battles, satanic live shows and line-up changes that make Cradle of Filth look stable, Gorgoroth are no strangers to controversy. Nevertheless, their contribution to Black Metal is paramount. Six years on Satan’s servants are back with ‘Instinctus Bestialis’ with remaining founding member Infernus, along with BØddel (formerly of Obituary) Tomas Asklund (Dissection, Dark Funeral) and the debut of vocalist Atterigner (Triumfall).
Technical and precise, this album at times has a subtle yet palpable progressive tinge, aligned with signature BM components of blast beats and guttural vocals, keeping their sound firmly in the realm of black metal.Unpredictable tempos and furious intensity maintains high energy, which permeates throughout the album; ‘Kala Brahman’ for example has a stop start element to the tempo which adds that sense of unpredictability. The guitar melodies are complex and riveting, switching from high pitched tremolo picking to deep chugs with the track ‘Rage’ being particularly varied through its guitar parts, demonstrating flowing melodies juxtaposed with harsh rhythm sections.
‘Radix Malorum’ packs a punch with its fast paced immediacy and soaring intricate melodies. ‘Ad Omnipotens Aeterne Diabolus’ emerges as the most memorable track, with the roar of ‘Hail Satan’ really solidifying the general theme of Gorgoroth; Satan. Newbie Atterigner delivers vocally, distinctively different from his predecessor Pest, with more of a death metal guttural approach but greatly effective nonetheless.
This album is memorable and in parts quite catchy, despite bearing similarities to previous albums particularly ‘Quontos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahun’, it still comes across as a fresh sounding album from Gorgoroth. Continuing to keep the spirit of Norwegian black metal alive, Gorogorth will always be remembered, but hopefully for the right reasons. This comes across as a very focused album from Gorgoroth, Infernus is clearly out to prove his worth and does just that with ‘Infernus Bestialis’, the future of Gorgoroth is in capable hands. Gaahl who?
Erik Sugg | Vocals, Guitars Larry Burlison | Guitars Paul Walz | Bass Bill Eagen | Drums, Vocals
Review:
Demon Eye, as their name implies, are firmly rooted in the 70's. Yes, there may be a lot of this kind of stuff around at the moment and indeed over the last decade (UAATDB, Blood Ceremony, Witchcraft et al) but there is something worth noting... The three bands I just named in the bracket are all very good at this. Demon Eye are too. The songs plough the same furrow stylistically as those mentioned, but with a twist. These guys are from the good ol' US of A and it sounds like it. UAATDB could not be from the US- too British in sound and atmosphere, even with Mind Control's Manson obsession.
Demon Eye are polished underneath the analogue production with shades of classic Pentagram in there on “End of Days” and “Listen to the Darkness”. The band play fluidly with changes aplenty and lots of snaking riffs. They are rather more dexterous than some of their counterparts and sound very professional indeed (just as many US bands do). Tracks such as “I'll Be Creeping” mine a similar ground to the aforementioned Uncle Acid in tempo and even atmosphere, and possess the same pop sensibility too. It's also catchy in the extreme. There are vocal melodies (often backed with echoing riffs) that will worm their way into your head.
The sound is indeed very analogue (who knows if it is or not?!) and features a very old school drum sound and the sound of guitars run through valve amps and suitably reverbed vocals. The band try their hand at very Sabbathian territory on ‘Poison Garden’ and in doing so show that they can do other tempos along with the swing of other tracks. “In The World, Not Of It” returns to a more jaunty approach, and the occult vibes come thick and fast. Again the melodies lift this above other bands of this rather niche yet overflowing genre, proving again that Demon Eye are up there with the best, not riding on the coat tales of lesser bands who like the ideaand imagery of Electric Wizard but just don't understand why they have to be so noisy or not have catchy songs. ‘Black Winds’ is positively fleet of foot for this type of thing and is, I suppose, Proto-metal that would not be out of place of an early BOC album. “Give Up The Ghost” goes back to walking pace and has a kind of Iron Maiden played at half speed vibe. Acoustic guitars finally make an appearance on “Please,Father” and bring a moody atmosphere to the track, augmented by ethereal vocals and a downcast approach.
The percussive battery of “Sons of Man” marks the beginning of the end of the album and the band rock hard on this one- five minutes of joyous playing that is full of energy. In straight forward terms, this is a 70's rock throwback that is way ahead of others operating in a similar arena. If you like this type of thing, you will be impressed. If you were unmoved by an album such as Blood Lust, then this will be lost on you as well. For me, it is superior and expertly executed. Even if it does not quite match the genius of Uncle Acid, it is still a damn fine album.
