Holy Grove-Live at Jooniors

Self-Release/Independent
2014

Don't know the name? No worries my friends. Soon enough Portland, Oregon's Holy Grove will be on everyone's lips! And yes, it will be well-deserved chatter and then some! Formed via Craigslist in January of 2012, Holy Grove is a female-fronted doom metal act with the (Name Your Price) "Live at Jooniors" offering two samples of the group's live prowess. Recorded this past summer, "Live at Jooniors" features the tracks "Holy Grove" and "Nix" and with both numbers running past the six-minute mark there is more then enough material on hand to allow listeners to fall heavily in love with this four-piece act! Lead effortlessly by vocalist Andrea Vidal (with guitarist Trent Jacobs, bassist Gregg Emley and drummer Craig Bradford rounding out the fold), Holy Grove has become one of Portland fastest up-and-coming metal bands and after listening to this live EP it's no wonder why! By fusing vintage doom metal with classic rock riffs, 70's hard rock and the rhythmic aspects of blues-rock this four-piece brings down the house! With their honest and sincere approach to music and the way in which it all sounds so natural and free-form Oregon's Holy Grove easily captivates the audience and holds it's attention tight. Skilled beyond belief, guitarist Trent Jacobs and bassist Gregg Emley lay down thick cover (read: hearty riffs and fantastic fuzz!) over which Andrea can work her magic. Meanwhile drummer Craig Bradford keeps everything wrapped together nice and warm making Holy Grove's sound all the more alluring! With a full-length album supposedly due sometime before the end of 2014 Oregon's Holy Grove should be a household name soon enough!


 http://holygrove.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-jooniors

Rachel Taylor Brown-Falimy

Penny Pop Records
2014

Residing in her birth-state of Portland, Oregon (a continuous hotbed of new and exciting talent!), Rachel Taylor Brown (every bit a philosopher dressed up in a quirky persona) is not so much a singer-songwriter as she is vocalist/pianist. "Falimy", which (despite assurance otherwise) is spelled out correctly, perfectly reflecting the disharmonious nature of the family unit/relationships (the theme that runs through this album's 11 tracks), is Rachel's ninth overall album and her seventh recorded with friend Jeff Stuart Saltzman. Teamed up Jeff and a small army of guests (incl. a choir!) Rachel waists precious little time formalities and simply jumps right in to the fray never once pretending to be anyone but herself. There's no shortage of honesty here as Rachel's lyrics are direct, pointing out the logical lapses in ideology and presenting thoughtful arguments on a variety of topics pertaining to not only the family structure, but both the beauty and ugliness of this world we call home. On "We'll Have A" (the album's opener which, with an eye set on free-form imagination, helps to set the mood for this honest and thoughtful collection of care-free piano folk) Rachel finds a remedy for mankind's ever encroaching downfall by suggesting the need to start a family. Quite obviously it's more tongue-in-cheek then anything and one can see from the little sparkle in her eyes that there's undoubtedly a devilish streak to be found in Rachel and in her music. That merely plays into to the overall strength of this recording though as numbers like "Mt. Athos" (a real steamroller in which Rachel addresses the confines of the catholic church and all of the obstacles that stand in her way as she tries to get to Heaven) and the child-like "Robin" contain observant messages that cut deep into the core of this life's countless hangups. With that said, "Falimy" is not a complete masterpiece of alternative piano pop (even if the quirky "Family" is piano punk bliss!). For one thing, "Trade" doesn't exactly come off right. It felt as if it was lacking Rachel's complete focus and it drifted in places. Thankfully she gets back on track with "Little Fucker", "Me Hurting You" and (one of the better moments on "Falimy") "Litany Of The Family". These moments show off Rachel's ken ability as both a vocalist and a musician as do the likes of "(Bird)" and "Falimy's"closing number, "One Brave Soul". As a whole Rachel's latest work is bold and brave. It's honest and wide-open for all to see. And, just like Rachel herself, it has a natural beauty to it. While one might be hard-pressed to offer a definitive description of this album's intelligent and inventive music (quirky (free-form) piano folk?) that simply cannot take away from it's appeal and the desire at hand to share this one with those who see themselves as more open-minded and in desperate need of a new creative awakening! You can check out "Falimy" at the link below. To find out more about Rachel Taylor Brown be sure to visit her website here:  http://www.racheltaylorbrown.com/

http://racheltaylorbrown.bandcamp.com/

Never Awake-Underground

Self-Release/Independent
2014

When it comes to potential (album) submissions to our site there are some bands that will hit you up once and then wait on a potential follow-up response and then there are bands like Never Awake who are diligent, making sure that their voice is heard loud and clear! Site-founder Metal Mark, having received two separate e-mails over the course of four days from two of Never Awake's bandmasters (first by drummer Alex McDonald and then by guitarist/keyboardist Matt Galligan), was kind enough to forward both (album submission) e-mails to me and I must say that I was highly impressed with this Portland, Oregon-based four-piece and their thoroughness as far as sending follow-up e-mails. But, I do have to question why a band like this, which (incidentally) was formed back in 2011 and is rounded out by lead singer extraordinaire, Taylor Dye, and bass guitarist Jesse Weiss (the final addition of Never Awake after the band went through a revolving door of bass players!), has to work so hard to get noticed? The thing is Never Awake, who also have a 2012 self-titled EP to their name and have shared the stage with similarly-minded acts such as Fate's Warning (as well as legendary guitarist Uli Jon Roth and the Michael Schenker Group!), should be more well-known just based upon their skilled nature. Especially if we're talking about the progressive metal scene where a band like this one should be on every metalhead's lips! On their full-length debut album these Portland-based skilled musicians take their influences (Led Zeppelin, Dream Theater, Opeth, Porcupine Tree,etc.) and with a few twists and turns (read: technical wizardly and fine-tuned songwriting!) light a fire to the scene while invoking flashes of everyone from "Master Of Puppets"-era Metallica to Symphony X! Of course those influences do come into play (Dream Theater) and the previously mentioned Fate's Warning has obviously been vacuumed up and sprinkled over Matt Galligan's guitar, but on the whole it's impressive just how original this lot sounds even at this early junction in their career! Guitars, like weapons, attack the listener while the rhythm section exposes the flaws in far too many similarly-styled acts (few (new) progressive rock and metal bands that I've heard lately have as tight of a rhythm section in place as Never Awake!). And that vocalist? As hinted he's in top shape here on "Underground" and his voice, as sincere as it is forceful, instantaneously throws a spotlight on the limitless potential of Never Awake! This band has all the tools at it's disposal to rapidly clime to the top tiers of the progressive metal mountain. All they need is for the right person to take notice. Somewhere out there is right PR whose been waiting for an act like this one to fall into their laps. If that description fit me in the least I'd have signed Never Awake in the time it took to complete this review! Needless to say this CD comes with my highest recommendation! Be sure to keep an eye out for Never Awake (http://www.neverawake.com/) my friends as this is one progressive metal band that has HUGE written all over them!!!!

Ogre-The Last Neanderthal

Minotauro Records
2014

Portland, Maine's Ogre are no strangers to all of us here at Heavy Metal Time Time Machine. We've covered their classic debut album, 2003's "Dawn of the Proto-Man" (a real must-buy folks!), and even have an interview with these talented doom rock and rollers buried in our archives! Still, every new release from Ogre is like stepping out into the unknown and "The Last Neanderthal" is no exception! With Ed Cunningham on bass and vocals, Ross Markonishon guitars and synthesizers and Will Broadbent on drums and percussion Ogre waist no time in getting down to busy with instrumental opener "Shadow Earth". When Ed's vocals do kick in on "Nine Princes in Amber" I couldn't help but envision a truly warped (and yet less stoned and much-clearer headed) Ozzy Osbourne, but the track is more indebted to classic rock and seventies heavy metal then Black Sabbath could have ever imagined and even when confronted by the eight minute plus "Bad Trip" (in which Ed really sounds like Ozzy and the HEAVY doom really gets turned up to 11!) it's like Ogre are on an entirely different planet/realm of existence then any mortal power trio out there, past or present! And speaking of HEAVY (and for that matter FAR OUT!) it certainly seems as if a track like "Son of Sisyphus" is Ogre's way of saying "We can be just as HEAVY as FUCK as the next act out!". With Markonishon's guitar solos being among some of the best he's ever laid to tape and Will Broadbent keeping this power trio on task we get excellent numbers like "Warpath" and "The Hermit". Along the way this trio takes a stab at funk with a cover of  "Soulless Woman" by a different Ogre (this one a 70's bar band from the Pacific Northwest!) and even tips their collective hats at country with "White Plume Mountain"! Sporting an almost Neil Young meets Crosby Steels Nash and Young "White Plume Mountain" is the album's second instrumental number and it perfectly ushers in the epic closing number "The Hermit". At ELEVEN minutes in length "The Hermit" is just awesome and Ogre prove once again why they are such a well-respected doom metal/stoner rock band! With the album's many different elements (doom metal, stoner rock, seventies hard rock, classic rock, funk and even country!) "The Last Neanderthal" pushes the envelope as far as what a band like this is capable of achieving and yet it all sounds so remarkably normal and coherent (even on the obscure cover track) that it gels perfectly! So far this is one of the BEST doom release of 2014 and by the end of this year I can't imagine any albums beating it in that regard! This one is a must-own!

Honduran-Street Eagles

Eolian Empire
2013

Every now and then some new band comes along that makes you want to reevaluate your position that x, y or z band are the heaviest and most brutal band on the planet. Such is the case with this Portland, Oregon 3-piece. No, we're not talking about some extreme, full-speed ahead, it's all death metal and nothing else act here. These 3 musicians, who first set down on the stage in early 2009, don't need to travel into that territory in order to compete in the world's most extreme band contest. Besides, that horse (extreme death metal) has been beat to death ad nauseum.  Instead we find guitarist/vocalist Jason Dinges, bassist/vocalist Corey Dieckman and drummer Kevin Spafford feeling quite comfortable raging out to their own beat thank you very much! On this 11-song, 21-minute album we get some Napalm Death/Terrorizer-like grind, old-school thrash metal (mostly Bay Are or bust) and old-school hardcore (Cro-Mags, Sick Of It All, Gorilla Biscuits, Burn, Leeway, Agnostic Front, Inside Out, etc-you get the point) mixing it up in some back alley-winner take all. With some early Prong showing up to add to the carnage it ends up as a street fight to the death! It's a rather bloody and violent conflict with countless bodies left in it's wake. It's also a rather bloody fun listen as these Oregon bashers and thrashers sure know how to show listeners a good time! This ones not for the weak-willed or those who like their extreme music to comes packaged in a little neat box. Nope. This one is raw and ugly with kicked in teeth and broken limbs. It's street-cred is written in blood and it never let's up into it smashes everything into nothingness. Yes, it is that heavy and brutal and yes, I am reevaluating my belief that I've already heard the most wonderfully extreme and violent music out there. This 11-track release proves that's there is always something new waiting just around the corner to beat-down your senses. That's something to be thankful for.