Clamfight -III

Argonauta
2018
New Jersey's Clamfight has their aptly named third studio album album III hitting shelves next month. Gone are the album covers that looked like they were drawn by a middle schooler, but they stay the course with thick and slow slabs of fuzzy heaviness. We get five tracks in all this time around. Most of the songs require some degree of patience from the listener to allow the band to plod away and get to their destination. The music itself leans towards the basic side, but the tones and the bands quest to twist those tones certainly helps their cause. They don't compromise what they are trying to do on any of these songs, but instead hope we will hand in their and ride along on this winding, snail paced trail they lay out. Overall I think each of their studio albums has been better than the one before it and III keeps that trend going. This is likely I'll revisit soon as it's definitely one that needs a few spins to really take effect.

Conan-Blood Eagle

Napalm Records
2014

Scheduled for release at the tail end of this month "Blood Eagle" is only the second full-length for Liverpool's Conan. Having formed in 2006, before self-releasing the EP "Battle in the Swamps" at the very start of 2007, the band has a back-catalog that includes a lone demo, some splits, another EP (the well-received "Horseback Battle Hammer") and even a live album! And then of course there is the band's debut album from 2012, "Monnos". With "Blood Eagle" it's more of the same, but that's all good when you're talking about Conan and their patented brand of sludge/drone/doom metal. Slow and low, without ever giving the listener any excuse or desire to move on between tracks (as each and every one here brings about feelings of utter bliss-in a doomed and downright damned kind of way!), Conan are the very definition of the word HEAVY. As with any good power trio this lot (guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis, bassist/vocalist Phil Coumbe and drummer Paul O'Neill) makes use of the "less is more" motto while proving that they are worth their weight in gold thanks to epic (length-wise) numbers like "Crown of Talons", "Gravity Chasm" and "Altar of Grief". You can check out the sick track "Foehammer" via it's (cool) official video below and if you call yourself any sort of sludge/doom fanatic then be sure to snag "Blood Eagle" when it drops!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-of5C1OHX_8

Tumbleweed Dealer's Self-Titled Album To Get LP Release!

Originally a independent release, and a very cool one at that, the self-titled album from Tumbleweed Dealer is going to be released on vinyl on 9/18 by Mind Control Records. If you're not familiar with the name, or for that matter the album in question, I've attached my original review of this album at the bottom of this announcement. In a nutshell the "group" features the pair of  Seb Painchaud (Unquintessence, Vatican, Winter Bestowed, Trails of Anguish, The Last Felony and many, many more!) and Carl Borman (Dopethrone, Downtrodden) doing what they do best. In other words the sound is a wonderfully bizarre mixture of stoner rock, blues rock, doom, drone and western music (yes, even western music!) all mashed together into what could best be described as a soundtrack to a movie that doesn't even exist! Pre-orders for this truly unique and ever so cool album have already begun so if your taste in music sometimes finds you craving something that is a little bit more left-of-center (or just downright wild!) then this just might be what the doctor ordered! Find out more at the links below!
  Pre-order the LP here:
http://epdmc.com/Tumbleweed-Dealer-s-t-LP_1
 Read my original review of this wild and crazy album here:
http://metalmark.blogspot.com/search?q=tumbleweed+dealer 

Tumbleweed Dealer-Tumbleweed Dealer

Self-Release/Independent
2013

Tumbleweed Dealer is a new entity that features the pair of (well-traveled music veteran) Seb Painchaud (Unquintessence, Vatican, Winter Bestowed, Trails of Anguish, The Last Felony and what seems like a million other groups & projects!) and Carl Borman (Dopethrone, Downtrodden). This self-titled affair is the group's universal unveiling and, as it is presents a spell-binding sense of oddity, it is quite the treat! Yes, odd and spell-binding has to be the right words I'm searching for as this 7-track release scratches a itch that I never knew I had! Given the pair involved it wouldn't be all that surprising to find out that this one is a little left of center, but when you discover all the weird ingredients here...well, it's speaks for itself I'd say. So, what exactly are we dealing with then on Tumbleweed Dealer's first full length album? Well, the basic ingredient is stoner rock which, in and of itself, is nothing unusual. Even the addition of blues, doom and drone isn't that much of a head-scratcher. However, when you toss a pinch of western music things take an interesting turn right into the twilight zone of rock music! So, it’s a mix and match of stoner rock, blues rock, doom, drone and western music we find ourselves with and, you know what, it's all rather cool and, dare I say, yeah it's kinda hip! Seb Painchaud  and Carl Borman have created something really unique and interesting here. What strikes me the most about this album though is how this would make for a very cool soundtrack to a movie. It certainly has that feel. As these tracks unfold (splitting the landscape in half with a splash of vibrant colors!) you feel this journey opening up in front of you where anything and everything is possible. This is a remarkable album that's sure to find repeated listens in my household!

http://tumbleweeddealer420.bandcamp.com/album/tumbleweed-dealer

Chains-Dancing With My Demons 7"

Svart Records
2013


Chains was formed in 2010 by Etienne "Hellscream" Chelleri (Bleeding Fist, Naberius ). With Chains he is known as E. Chains and, prior to the recording of this limited 7", he handled all of the instruments and vocals. joined by Hour of 13's Lord Samhain. On "Dancing With My Demons" Lord Samhain, who actually joined up with E. Chains after the release of Chains' sole full-length recording, "Of Death", plays drums and end the result is rather chilling and eerie.  Reportedly earlier recordings (which also included the 9+ minute demo/single "All the Colors of the Dark") where similar in nature to Sunn O))), Moss and Urfaust, only with the added elements of 70's horror movies. Those 2 releases certainly sound like they would be worthwhile tracking down as the earlier recording were also said to be influenced by bands like Death SS and Paul Chain! Here though the music, which has this musty vibe to it, come creeping out slowing like a ghoulish skeleton from an old 70's Euro-thriller! On this 2-track release Chains experiments with not only drone and doom elements, but vintage death rock and horror rock. Toss in some dark metal and give the whole thing a ghoulish vibe and you've got "Dancing With My Demons".  With another full-length album due out in either 2013 or 2014 this 2-track 7" only serves as an appetizer for all the ghouls and boys out there!



https://www.facebook.com/ChainsOfficial?fref=ts

Brujas del Sol- Moonliner

Devouter Records
2013

And now for something completely different. Spaced-out, surf-infused, psychedelic drone anyone? Brujas del Sol are the sound of a band born out of improvisation and imagination. "Moonliner" doesn't really remind me of anyone or anything as it's like this crashing wave of fuzzy psychedelic garage rock wrecking glorious havoc on a collation of ambient, drone-loving hipsters while a bunch of old hippies have a sit in where "everyone  must get stoned!". Oddly weird and yet rather refreshing. This one must be heard to be appreciated and absorbed, but I can say/will say that this release, as odd as this sounds, sounds like home to me. And yes, I am looking for home these days so thank you "Moonliner" for providing a map.

Buy the album here:http://devouterrecords.bigcartel.com/

Free Metal Monday: Light Bearer-Silver Tongue

Self-Release/Independent
2013

Have a bad case of the "Mondays"? Chances are pretty good then that this sorrowful London act isn't going to help. If anything Light Bearer (A funny moniker as this is, in it's own way, very dark and depressing material) will make you want to crawl back under your bed covers and forget about the world around you. With the 18 minute "Beautiful Is This Burden" setting the pace early (It's equally beautiful and dreary) this band knows how to slowly build up tension as they carefully pull you into their web of despair. If Pink Floyd had been more of a post-rock band (That was into doom, drone and black metal) then this would have been the result. Check out this free album below.


http://lightbearer.bandcamp.com/album/silver-tongue-2

The Pod-Assassins in the Mirrored Hall

Black Iron Records
2013

The Pod is a solo adventure (or project if you will) by Make guitarist Scott Endres. If you know about Make then you'll understand when I say that there has always been something about that band that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Make always felt to me like they stood somewhere between the light and the dark, tip toeing between both. It was almost as if there was this equal pull in their music, in the energy flow, that Make couldn't fight. It moved the band back and forth in all of these directions and the same could be said of  "Assassins in the Mirrored Hall". If you already know of (and appreciate) that contrast, and the overtly experimental nature of the Chapel Hill, N.C.act that is called Make, then you need read no further. The Pod should fit comfortably alongside your collection of Make material. Even though you don't have to like Make to like The Pod it's almost as if they are one in the same while being slightly different in their own "interesting" ways. The short of it is that just like how Make is an experimental band so is The Pod. It's both a continuation of Make and a vehicle in and off itself. While the all-encompassing "experimental music" tag would certainly apply to The Pod terms like ambient, noise, psychedelic and drone, along with "soundtrack recording", all pop up. These different creatures come out of the shadows and play in the moonlight. The Pod's music has a dreamy quality to it (or is it dreadful?) that makes you stop what you're doing and, as odd as it sounds, dares you to engage the music in serious discussion. This album is structure in a way as if it were meant to be the soundtrack to a movie that doesn't exist. How else do I describe the true nature of this project? How about another example. If you live in the Northern States you'll understand what I mean by this next statement. As you look out your window at the snow piling up it's with both a sense of despair and awe. For as much as the snow represents the cold, darkness of winter there is also something almost mesmerizing about all of this white snow that suddenly has been carved into what was once this beautiful background. You might be fighting the urge to give into your seasonal depression, and failing miserably, and yet there is a blissful peace to be found as the snow flakes swirl about and fall slowly to the ground. It's the balance of everything good and everything that is washed over in despair. That is The Pod. The music isn't really sorrowful or joyful. It's what the grey area looks like in between as translated into musical expression. The Pod requires that openness and honesty be your guide as you take that first step into this new world. If you have that on your side you'll find an adventure of your own.

http://thebandthepod.bandcamp.com/

Make-Axis

Devouter Records
2012


Doesn't seem that long ago that I covered Chapel Hill, N.C. act Make. You can check out my review of their last album below, but "Axis" is more of the same only it's 3-tracks this time around. When the opening number is 17 minutes long though it kind of makes up for being "only 3-tracks". As stated it's more of the same only in this case that is a very fine thing again. This is fuzzed out doom by way of  freaked-out drone-metal rock. Yes, it's every bit as unnerving and unnatural as that might sound and yet, given the right context in which one sits down to fully plug-in and engage this album with, it's a thing of beauty. Don't expect anything that sparkles or shines though as this is bleakness at it's optimal level (only without making you want to throw yourself in front of a moving train or anything stupid like that). Hard and harsh metal shouldn't be so effective in such an ambient setting and yet Make do just that-they make the noise their own work of art.







 http://metalmark.blogspot.com/search?q=make-trephine

Xibalba-Hasta La Muerte

Southern Lord
2012

California's Xibalba take on a difficult task in that they try to combine sludge with hardcore and push some death elements in there as well. I can admire the undertaking because mixing styles can frequently result in musical growth in done in a way that pulls the best of both worlds. Xibalba begin to pull the thick resonating riffs of drone and the vocalist tries his best let loose some venomous screams over top of it. So "begin" and "try" should let you know that they don't completely pull off the attempt here. That is the case on this album. They have some pieces in place, but when they go to put the whole songs together they leave gaps where there just isn't enough going on. Most of their songs are between three and a half minutes long and five and a half. That's not terribly long yet I still felt like they would leave half a minute passages that just wandered around waiting for someone to step up and do something - anything. They put a lot on their drummer letting him mill around controlling bits where the rest of the band seemed to be sitting back. To be fair the drummer tried and in lesser hands this would have more excruciating. This albums isn't lacking in energy but it is lacking in consistency and ideas. The potential is here, but they need to work a lot harder if they expect people to do more than listen to their album twice and then stick it on a shelf to collect dust.

Labor day reviewathon count-3 down 7 to go 
Time left- two days, eleven hours and around fifty minutes
*I need to review ten albums by the end of Labor Day or I have to listen to Warrant's Cherry Pie. (I really need to get two more done today to be on track to finish this thing on time).

Samothrace-Reverence to stone

20 Buck Spin
2012

So  the pre-spin numbers say this-two tracks with a total running time just under 35 minutes and a breakdown reveals track one is under 15 minutes and track two is under twenty minutes. I don't always look at track times before playing an album, but I did this time around. So even before I heard a note I knew that I was likely going to have to be patient and I was expecting that this band to really deliver solid song structure and some varying tones and moods to pull off this album. That's a tall order and as a lover of sludge/doom/drone I set my expectations high on this style. On almost all albums I review they get at least two spins before judgement was passed. This album was no exception to that rule and actually I gave it three plays before coming to any conclusions. "When we emerged" spends a long time winding up and in the early part of the song is lead by thick yet basic drum beats. Eventually they song begins to develop some direction around half-way through. The other instruments step up and they integrate a more multi-leveled approach. The vocals are of the growling variety and truthfully they added very little to this song. The second track track "A horse of our own" is far more consistent. It opens with more build-up but eventually transitions into a slow, hard driving passage for most of the first half of the song. During the second half of the track we are treated to swirling sounds and tones that really show this bands ability to get the most out of everything they play. Not a perfect album, but certainly one with plenty of promise.