The Last American Poet, Shane Beck, collaborates on this album with stoner/doom band Burial Beyond The Sea. I’m pleasantly surprised to see how well spoken-word balances with doom.
This is perhaps the most remarkable psychedelic rock release of the past year. Up until a few days ago, I had no idea who The Black Flamingo were, and now, 5 or 6 plays later, they have me curious about their heavy back catalog.
This massively heavy release by Allysen Callery collaborating with doom monsters Mother Bear is appropriate for Halloween. From the release’s Bandcamp site:
“”Creep here with me, keep it close and you might see…the little things that glow…and they all have teeth…”
Something spooky this way comes!
Allysen Callery has joined supernatural forces with Germany’s Doom metal masters Mother Bear , for a delightfully dark offering presented by Gruselthon, sub label of Cosirecords.”
If you can imagine Shirley Collins with a slight stoner vibe, you’re coming close to the power of this release.
Stoner rock is a genre that always surprises me (in a good way, mind you). Dead Gallery, for example, are a heavy stoner/psychedelic blues band out of Austria, and the music they make reminds me of really old rare hard rock albums you would find in collector fairs (think of bands like Black Widow as an example).
Musically, the guitar playing is great, the vocals are raw and loud, and the production is surprisingly clean without sacrificing the power of the tracks.
Psycada are a band out of Greece who produce some amazing psychedelic garage rock. The cover art caught my attention drew me in, but the music will keep you hooked.
Doc Wör Mirran got its start as a multi-disciplinary project out of Nürnberg, Germany in around 1985, and for nearly 40 years, the band have continued to produce strange, intriguing avant-garde rock and experimental music. From their Bandcamp site:
“Contrary to most compilations which compile the greatest hits of an artist, “Second Try” is a compilation that highlights the drumming talents of DWM’s drummer Stefan Schweiger. He compiled, edited and partially remixed this album himself of his favourite tracks, and added new sounds and samples to make some of the tracks quite different from the “normal versions”. Stefan also contributed the cover and label art for this, one of DWM’s more guitar and rock oriented releases.”
Though I’m not much of a metal guy, I have grown fond of things like desert rock, stoner rock, drone metal and other variants. The online label Weedian has been releasing free (or pay-what-you-like) compilations of bands in local scenes, and this one covers Germany in 62 tracks. Most of these bands are surprisingly good, and those of you into things like Saint Vitus or Black Sabbath will find plenty to enjoy in this album.
Doomed & Stoned is a series of compilations covering the best of doom metal and stoner rock all over the world. This comp covers the scene in Chile, which is surprising rich. There are 99 tracks of surprising variety, including one that left me mystified:
It’s a track by Heraldica de Mandrake and perhaps the only way to describe it is Gregorian doom. It’s actually quite pleasant.
From the ashes of local garage rock legends The Bomboras sprang, in something like a phoenix-like fashion, The Lords Of Altamont. This particular album has been reissued by the Italian record label Heavy Psych Sounds, and as considered to be a rarity for garage rock music collectors. It was first pressed by the French record label Fargo Records, but the band hype was so strong at the time that the record sold out very quickly, and it remained out of print until now.
The mix of biker rock, psychedelic rock and B-movie exploitation movie imagery made them a big hit during the 1990s, and you can hear these and more influences on this album. It helps that members of the band played for the MC5, The Cramps, and other legendary troupes.
I had the privilege of witnessing their first performance at the venerable club my brother was promoting out of at the time called The Garage. From literally the first drumbeat, the music was so loud and heavy that nothing in Los Angeles at the time could compare to these guys.
The members are still active, as far as I know, and are still making some of the best garage rock around. This long-overdue release will be a welcome addition to your collection.
Today seems to be an important day, at least as far as I can read. It’s apparently a pot holiday, and as such, though I can’t stand the smell of the stuff, I figure posting a sludgy piece of metal would be appropriate. The Swedish band Domkraft roar with one of the louder pieces of music I’ve heard in some time. This is heavy on the level of early Black Sabbath with a fuller guitar sound (reminding me of a very much slowed down Metallica or St. Vitus), more distant vocals, and pretty good guitar work. I’m not much into metal, but if it’s done this way, I’m perfectly fine with the result.