We’re back and we’ve got some hot hot heat for everyone! Quite the variety here while still staying within the scope that we usually cover. Things haven’t gotten much better in the last three months, but we still have the music to ease the pain. Plenty of good stuff here for every mood, emotion, and feeling. Dig in and enjoy!
Dirt Redux by Various Artists
The stoner rock and metal communities have been paying homage to their influences for years, mainly due to such a straight line drawn from classic rock to the beefed up or down tuned sound they pump out today. I remember my first compilation almost 20 years ago, Sucking the 70’s with Clutch covering Jethro Tull’s Cross-Eyed Mary and Raging Slab ripping through We’re an American Band. Fast forward to present and Magnetic Eye Records are perfecting the formula by taking the scene heavyweights and having them cover seminal albums of their choosing. Albums covered so far are Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Helmet’s Meantime and now Alice In Chain’s Dirt. With impeccable taste in curating the artists to participate its clear the people at Magnetic Eye adore the albums they choose to be covered as well as the artists selected to participate. Case in point is Thou kicking things off with Them Bones. If you are even sniffing around heavy music these days you know two things, 1. Thou are not fucking around and 2. They know their way around a cover! Some of my other favorites from this compilation are High Priest’s cover of Rain When I Die, Howling Giant’s take on Rooster and Vokonis’ creeping in towards the Angry Chair.
Now let’s not discount the first time I heard this recording on cassette in what seems like eons ago in 1992 when my family were on vacation in Arizona. As we’re driving up the Grand Canyon my Dad hands the rented car keys to my then, doc martin garnished older sister Melissa, who insisted on playing an album by some virtually unknown ultra-depressive, heavy as sin grunge rock band called Alice In Chains. Now I remember being in fear of my life and not just because my sister was a horrible driver at the time but as I unfolded the cassette cover pamphlet, the imagery and lyrics matched the scenery outside my window. Magnetic Eye and crew have outdone themselves once again and deserve a toast for a job well done, I can’t wait to see what they do with Vol. 4. – Apache Slomo
Ohms by Deftones
First it was nu-metal, then it was alt-metal, now I guess it’s art metal? As hard as music critics and fans have tried, Deftones have always existed alone in their own world, free of genre tags and common classifications. On their first album in four and a half years, they tap into what they’ve been doing best for twenty five years. Ohms showcases the balance between the raw aggression and sensual ambience as a high wire act with sharp turns throughout. That along with relatively long songs and a few new tricks here and there keep you guessing the entire time. Long live these deft ones. – MCG
Whose Line Is It Anyway? by Private Function
Coming on like an Aussie pub rock Buzzcocks, Private Function know what a decent amount of speed can do for a person whose motor skills are depleted. On Whose Line Is It Anyway? they invoke that giddy walk to bathroom when you know you’ve had too much to drink, but you’re cool because you have some insurance stashed in that tiny jean pocket. The album stands as just one giant shot in the arm and absolutely deserves to be heard live in a beer-soaked pub. Some early favorites are Speed Bumps, Evie Part 4, Albury Wondonga and of course the cover of Lenny Kravitz’s timeless classic, Are You Gonna Go My Way? Following a lineage of great Aussie punk rock Private Function have delivered a raucous party starter in a tight little goodie bag! – Apache Slomo
Eight Gates by Jason Molina
As the birds chirp throughout this wonderful piece of music, I can’t help but picture it as a stroll through the consciousness of a man who left this world behind. Molina passed away in 2013 and I had never heard of him prior to this, which makes Eight Gates feel like a deep, dark whisper issuing lovely warnings from the other side. May he gently haunt this world forever. – MCG
Slomosa by Slomosa
If you’re in the market for some stoner fuzz from Norway that sounds like it was made at Rancho De La Luna then let Slomosa groove you in all the right places. Picking up where Queens self- titled debut left off and bridging the gap between Riddle of Steel and Kyuss. The best part of this release and what separates Slomosa from the pack are the tunes and the guitar playing. There is room in the mix for the songs to breath, whoever recorded this record certainly knows what they are doing with this sort of thing. Highlights will certainly be found with, In My Minds Desert, There is Nothing New Under the Sun, Scavengers and Estonia. So get yourself a cold one and some blue dream and spend some time with this puppy, you deserve it! – Apache Slomo
Lungs by Regrowth
Melodic hardcore from Italy? Well then, just sign me the fuck up. This band and album took me by storm. I knew about 2/3 the way through my first listen that it was going to make it onto this list. It’s a pedal to the metal, white knuckle experience that turns your life into a blur just long enough to feel some relief. – MCG
Pagan Rhythms by Spiritworld
Speeding at you like a bat out of hell and landing flat on your face is Spiritworld. With the perfect blend of hardcore and Slayer-esque shred Pagan Rhythms is the perfect album for late night debauchery and human sacrifice. Spiritworld is pretty much the one-man vision of Stu Folsom, hailing out of Las Vegas and was named after one of my favorite movies growing up, Young Guns. If you recall the scene, Chavez y Chavez played beautifully by Lou Diamond Phillips, encourages the boys to imbibe some peyote to help them face the road that lies ahead. Actually, the entire album is bathed in cowboy culture and plays like a psychedelic satanic ritual. I know it sounds like a lot to sandwich into an album but that is was separates Pagan Rhythms from most modern hardcore records. From the moment you press play, Spiritworld forces you to saddle up, face your demons and ride majestic through the gates of hell. – Apache Slomo
When I Die, Will I Get Better? by Svalbard
This is a massive leap off a cloud-covered summit into the unknown abyss below, and throughout the duration of your fall, you keep going back and forth on whether you’re going to land on your feet or on your head. Logically it would be the latter, but there’s some peaceful hope buried here that leaves you unsure. It’s just as alarming as it is calming. – MCG
Shore by Fleet Foxes
Dropped as a surprise release Fleet Foxes return to us much sooner than was certainly anticipated. To be honest, when I first got word of a new release the day before I was pretty sure it was going to leftovers from Crack-Up, mainly because when I listen to a Foxes record it sounds like it would take forever to make. By the end of the first song, Wading in Waist-High Water and about 10 seconds into Sunblind my eyes got big and my heart swelled. I knew this going to hit me more immediately than Crack Up, an album I’m very fond of. If you believe in the healing power of the ocean, the sun and other elements well then you can start to comprehend what this band is capable of when firing on all cylinders. I wish I could spare you the hyperbole on this one but Shore feels like a turning of the tide, a harbinger of not only a new season but better things to come. – Apache Slomo
Ultimate Success Today by Protomartyr
One of the best post-punks running blessed us once more this year with another installment of their anxious meanderings. There are few that can harness this type of recklessness, especially with this amount of grace and precision. The builds and crashes have never felt more prevalent or necessary as they have this year. “When the ending comes, is it gonna hurt?” – MCG
**Honorable Mentions**:
World House by Mil-Spec
A Truth We Still Believe by Ecostrike
SPICE by SPICE
Killing for Both Realities 3 ’92 by Gag
Hollow Hope by FAIM
How to Draw Fire by Painted Doll
The Great Flood by Rope Sect
Protean Threat by Oh Sees
Microphones in 2020 by The Microphones
Ultra Mono by IDLES
The Circle of Fifths 