Stallion's Mane-Stallion's Mane

Independent/Self-Release
2017

Released on January 19th, "Stallion's Mane" is the debut EP from the Canadian heavy metal band of the same name. It is available on cassette tape and as a digital download. The cassette version is limited to a mere 50 copies(!) and the two songs on this EP are "Antimatter Siege" and "Wasteland Rebels". Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Stallion's Mane is a bit of a mystery as there are no members listed on the group's bandcamp page and there doesn't appear to any sort of website associated with the name! That being said, "Stallion's Mane" is the sound of 100% pure heavy metal done right. It has style and it has class.  There is obviously some serious talent going on behind the scene. At only two dollars to download (and $5.00 plus shipping for the cassette) this nine minute plus EP is far too good to not share!! Hopefully this is just the starting point for this mysterious outfit...

Crime-First Crime

Shadow Kingdom Records
2017

In 1977 the British band The Flys gave us "Love And A Molotov Cocktail". The first two lines of this punk rock single are "Two fingers poking at the world. The one golden rule, no rules at all". I couldn't help but think about that classic song after hearing the EP "First Crime". Opening up with "Highway Robbery" (a six minute smasher that starts off by sampling the video game Silent Hill!), the no holds barred  "First Crime" is the debut offering from Santiago, Chile duo Crime. It is a LOUD and PROUD three-track recording that lovingly blurs the lines between punk, raw metal, the rock and roll of Motörhead, and the rougher edges of the N.W.O.B.H.M. movement! Besides the (simply-great) "Highway Robbery", "First Crime" features the slick cuts "Give Your Life To The Ruin" and "We Shall Destroy". While they both start off in similar fashion fashion to "Highway Robbery", "Give Your Life To The Ruin" was the only other track where I could recognize the sample used. Cleverly enough, "Give Your Life To Ruin" samples The Warriors (or more specifically the scene in the movie with the baseball goons). Talk about a perfect choice! Here we have a pent-up slab of fury (it's kind of like a cross between the N.W.O.B.H.M. band Tank and Cleveland's Midnight) that has been given the optimal starting position. By using sample clips to open their songs, Crime has successfully breathed extra life into what are already incredible compositions. By the time "We Shall Destroy", the shortest and meanest cut here(!), slams the door shut on this demo EP you have the real sensation that you've just witnessed something that is urgent, powerful, and above all, dangerous! Currently available for download by clicking on this link, "First Crime" will be released on cassette in mid-March. Seeing as there will only be 100 copies it is sure to become a hot ticket item so it you want a copy be sure not to sleep on it's release. Now, as of this writing it does not appear as if Crime has it's own Facebook page or official website. My guess is that will change soon enough. Especially with the news that the duo will soon start work on Crime's first LP, "Second Crime". The album promises to follow in the same footsteps as this brute. If that does happen, Crime will become the next big thing in your life and mine. Honestly, there's a sentence I never thought I would type up!

Castle Freak-Still Rotting (Cassette Release)

Tridroid Records
2014

Leave it to our friends at Tridroid Records to offer up yet another great release on cassette tape! This time around the label is tackling Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's Castle Freak who, besides (likely) being named after the old horror classic of the same name* (Can you say Jeffrey Combs baby? Awesome!) self-describe themselves as "grinding death punks"!

*I have a fond memory of renting this 1995 horror film on VHS.

Influenced by bands such as Repulsion, (early) Death, "Scum"-era Napalm Death, Autopsy, Carnivore, Discharge, (early) The Misfits/Samhain and even old-school Megadeth (as well as Beer/Weed, Gore flicks, Troma & Horror of all kinds.) the band (Gigan-lead vox/guitar, Zak-guitar, DZ-bass and P-drums) cuts a clear enough path between punk/hardcore and grind/noise while making "merry" music that will have you thinking it's 1980 something all over again! Having shared the stage with Full of Hell and Noisem (two bands who, alongside Castle Freak, are featured on A389's 2014 Digital Mixtape) this Philadelphia four-piece strikes a real underground cord thanks to their punk attitude and raw, D.I.Y. vibe. For Castle Freak (who also have a 2012 demo to their name) this upcoming cassette release should help the band achieve further acclaim while simultaneously showing how Tridroid Records is slowly turning into a dependable source for underground/up-and-coming acts of all shapes and colors!

The member's of Castle Freak just saying hi to all the haters!

https://www.facebook.com/TridroidRecords

https://www.facebook.com/CastleFreakPhilly

Seven Sisters-The Warden

Self-Release/Independent
2014

The answer is obvious enough, but when the magic and the mystery of N.W.O.B.H.M. movement still swirls around your hometown then is it any wonder that (time and time again) we (the heavy metal community at large serving as both critics and fans) are treated to new favorite bands like Seven Sisters? Maybe I am getting ahead of myself here, but for the members of Seven Sisters it's almost as if time stopped around 1983 or 1984. How else are we to explain the marvelous, near golden-oldie kids, vibe that lies at the heart of this four-track demo? Yes, state of the scene being what it is and all has produced handful upon handful of traditional heavy metal/N.W.O.B.H.M. inspired & infused bands in the UK and here in the states. Few feel as authentic as this 4-track demo though. Just released this month, with band co-founder/guitarist (and for this recording at least) bassist Kyle McNeill actively involved with the demo's recording and mixing, "The Warden" sparkles with such heat and passion that one could easily pull a bait and switch and pass these songs off as rare singles from a bygone age. This release might have well been a dusted over gem  from the heydays of the scene (or specifically heavy metal coming from everyone from Satan and Witchfinder General to Tokyo Blade, Jaguar, Savage and Blitzkrieg) as it is (nostalgically-speaking) that thick in texture and rich in flavor! Of course one big thing that helps this lot out is the presence of Josh Winnard  (Dark Forest, ex-Wytch Hazel) on lead vocals. Having long-loved his work in both of those bands one could argue that it was a predetermined idea that I was going to love this project. Fair enough, but the thing is Seven Sisters originally started out as a writing project between Kyle McNeill and Graeme Farmer (guitar) with Josh simply providing the necessary 'touch-ups" if you will. With "The Warden" it's the two string-men that really make this short EP COOK especially as they went and presented a fantastic background upon which Josh Winnard could come in and lay down his cool voice. Opening strong with the title cut, which is one fave number where bands such as Witchfinder General, Angel Witch and Jaguar come out to play(!), "The Warden" strongly recalls the classic British metal scene as a whole, but this demo does take time out from the party to rock another familiar beat. As hinted at above this one might come from a "modern" metal act, but it is an eighties metal release which means that in addition to all the previously-mentioned acts the listener is served up fistfuls of 80's metal! Take a listen to "Onwards They Ride" for example. Here Seven Sisters draws upon the U.S. metal scene (think early speed metal bands who were simply not quite at the point of playing full-fledged thrash) along with bands like Ravage and the result is nothing short of phenomenon! So, while it's N.W.O.B.H.M. or bust for this bunch there are other influences carving out a niche in this London band's sound! In the end this demo smashes and bashes it's way through four "Ready or not here I come!" cuts of pure metal fury and it does so at it's own tried and true pace never once taking it's foot off of the peddle! With all of these various eighties influences making their way into "The Warden" the band, who interestingly enough list their extracurricular-activities as Excessive drinking, satanic rituals, beauty pageants, makes heavy metal for lovers of true heavy metal. The three members of Seven Sisters know what they are doing and given time this can evolve into something absolutely essential! As only a limited number of cassette tapes were issued for "The Warden" the band did the next best thing and put this demo on Youtube and then offered it as a digital download on Bandcamp. And speaking of the digital download, "The Warden" is available for a mere dollar and some change (U.S. conversion rates being what they are) making it a MUST OWN for those who still worship the N.W.O.B.H.M. movement and/or love classic heavy metal! You simply cannot go wrong with this one friends!You can listen to and download the demo here:http://sevensistersuk.bandcamp.com/album/the-warden-demo and follow the group here: https://www.facebook.com/sevensistersuk. Also, Seven Sisters are in search of a bass player and drummer so all interested parties would do well to contact the band and get on-board while the opportunity presents itself!

Cemetery Fog-Shadows From The Cemetery (Tape)

Iron Bonehead
2014


As they say there's no school like the old school. And when it comes to "From The Cemetery", which is the third demo to come Finland's own Cemetery Gates since they first assembled back in 2012, that saying couldn't be anymore true if you wanted it to be! Initially self-released in 2013, with xeroxed covers appearing on home-dubbed cassette tapes according to the Metal Archives, the five track "From The Cemetery" will be seeing a second release on tape thanks to the fine folks over at Iron Bonehead Productions. Be sure to mark down the date on your calender (March 31st, 2014) as this atmospheric doom-death release is delightfully haunting and a bit edgy just like they used to make them way back in the day (say late eighties to mid nineties). To their advantage Cemetery Fog chooses to forgo the usual small gaps that would normally appear between each individual track. All of which makes the 23 minute plus "Shadows From The Cemetery" that much more cold, unearthly and unflinching (by which I mean spectacular!). Every track here just seems to fold in and out of, over and under the previous track and, seeing as I listened to this one none-stop a few times over on loop, it takes on a life of it's own. From their sound, which is strengthened by the otherworldly essence of J. Filppu (vocals and guitars), to the way in which this demo was actually recorded (it really comes across as if it was recorded in another time period and just stored away in some tape collectors closet waiting to be unearthed again!) everything about this Finnish trio known as Cemetery Fog feels old world and somewhat classic. Or could it just be that they ghosts that haunt recordings such as this one are actually more comforting then scary? Either way the result is the same. Add it all up (from the magical, near-sludgy riffs of days long thought passed that seem as if they were assembled as if to pay tribute to the gods of old to the eerie, ghoulish vocal delivery of  J. Filppu) and it results in a (undoubtedly recommended!) demo like this one that is unlike any other that you are likely to hear anytime soon my friends. It's a demo that seems to call out for, make that cry out for(!), fans and collectors alike who still hold out hope that they might, even if it is just for one last time, experience musty, creaky, cold and crumbling (and even mysterious) doom-death like our forefathers used to craft!

Forgotten Gems: Möwer-Bastard Bröthers

Cruel Noise Records
2012

Stop me if you've heard this one before. First, a punk rock band from Pittsburgh (featuring two brothers in Craig and Sean Simpson) discovers that yes, it's alright if you play crazy fast (thanks in no small part to stumbling upon D.R.I.'s classic album, "Crossover"). Afterwards, no doubt through divine inspiration (because after all, Lemmy is God!*), said band is introduced to the almighty Motörhead and, one quick name change later, Möwer is born! "Bastard Bröthers", which was recorded at the Grease Diner, is actually Möwer's second release and (in all seriousness here folks!) it's a gloriously sleazy ride towards rock and roll damnation! It can be checked out here:http://mower.bandcamp.com/album/bastard-br-thers and I just want to give a quick thank you/shout out to the site Rust Belt Hammer ( http://rustbelthammer.com/) which I recently discovered. Covering music from my general part of the country, Rust Belt Hammer actually interviewed this crazy Penn.-based punk n' metal act which is how I was able to gather so much "back-story" on these brothers and their "Sex, drugs and rock n' roll" lifestyle! The groovy "Bastard Bröthers" is available as a digital download (the price is only $1!) and/or on cassette ($4!) so if you've every wanted to know what Motörhead would sound like if they were a Pittsburgh punk n' metal act now is your chance!

*If you've never seen it then check out the movie "Airheads"!