Review: The Age of Truth-Threshold

First off, please forgive me as I have not written a review in ages so I may be a little rusty. I felt compelled to write a review of Philly-based band The Age of Truth's debut "Threshold" simply because I think it is one of the best heavy rock records I have heard all year. That is no bullshit! A perfect balance of thoughtful riffs, groove, and melody along with a precise mix lets each musician shine throughout this brilliant debut. But the thing that stands out the most is the incredibly powerful and raspy vocal of Kevin McNamara which soars over each song with a vocal reminiscent of Nick Pollock from 90's band My Sisters Machine (some of you may remember them) and early Chris Cornell, but with a more East Coast vibe, especially on the stagger-driven boogie rocker "Oceanbones" which may remind some of Clutch.

From the crushing bottom blow and crash of the cymbals of opener "Host (Demon In Me), I knew I was in for one hell of a ride. The guitar rings out with strategic echoing and flanged-out effects before feedback leads way to the punishing groove played along to the wailing vocal "I Got A Demon in Me".

The Sabbath-inspired meandering riff of "Come Back A God" will have your head-bobbing. It's grungy and filthy vibe will have you begging for more as it fades into oblivion, you get your wish, but only for a brief moment.

The shining moment on the album is the bass-driven title track "Threshold" that weaves in and out of soft staccato plucking and heavy stoner riffing until the end when it destroys you with a lumbering and penetrating rhythm, but wait, there's more as the vocals beckon "Come on..Come on..." surrounded by another tasty riff. Good heavens.

The music created by The Age of Truth is familiar, yet original. Melodic, catchy and heavy, the songs will get stuck in your head and will have you humming melodies to yourself throughout the day. And the riffs, holy shit, the riffs are non-stop. Forget about this band being labeled as Stoner Rock, they are just an awesome rock band, period. People always say to me that there are no good bands anymore, or I only like the one song from so-and-so band, well you just have to know where to look. This is The Age Of Truth!

With all the crazy shit going on in the world, there is always rock and roll to save the soul, and The Age of Truth is there to lend a hand.

The Age Of Truth is:

Kevin McNamara - Vocals
Michael DiDonato - Guitars
William Miller - Bass Guitar / Vocals
Adam Lauver - Drums

The album is released today digitally and will have a proper vinyl release on Kozmik Artifactz Records sometime early 2018.

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LP Review: Shepherd / Death By Fungi Split

At the beginning of 2015, we were introduced to a sludge/doom band from Bengaluru, India, with their debut full-length record Stereolithic Riffalocalypse, and it blew us away (review here), so it was sad that we recently heard that Shepherd have decided to call it a day. However, before they leave us for good, they've have released a split record with fellow Indian band Death By Fungi, who onslaught us with a hardcore edge, and it's a nice stamp in the face to remember the band by.

Perhaps it's because they're sharing a record with a hardcore band, or it was a direction that the band were heading down before they called it a day, but Shepherd have lost some of their doomier aspects (just some though) and gone for full on sludge meets hardcore, with elements of fuzzy djent in there too (you remember djent? That musical genre that lasted the summer of 2009?), and it's a sound that's exciting to behold. The record opens with five tracks from Shepherd, with 'Agents of Nihil' setting the tone with a bleak and frightening monologue from the climax of the film The Exorcist 3, before the chaotic sludge explosion assaults you, while their almost trademark chugging bass heavy riffs drive the spine of the song forward, a sound which all us doom/sludge heads will cling to. The vocals mix with light and darker growls, while they even find time to shred while the drums go off like a pneumatic drill. Shepherd, haven't lost their sound, so much as shoved a firecracker up its arse and honed the results. Our highlight of the entire record is 'Hope Comes Gnawing' with an almost funky sludge bassline continues throughout, both exciting and frightening in the same breath. 'Fungalord' and 'Weed Dealer' (Shepherd have always been a band who like to have fun with their song titles, just see 'Turdspeak' or 'Black Cock of Armageddon') are tracks which are both excellent break-neck speed sludge tracks with elements of stoner added in for, well, why the hell not? You can never really relax with these guys as they can change time signatures and pull out devilish riffs from out of nowhere. We're going to miss this band.

While the hardcore genre may not be something with which you guys out there are necessarily drawn to straight away (this being a site for the best stoner/doom/sludge/psych etc), Death By Fungi are not a band that you should ignore. While many of the trademark hardcore elements are there with constant snare beats, breakneck speed playing, high velocity shouting vocals, there are definite elements of something just that bit heavier with this band, just take the riffs with 'Edgelord Breakdown' melting your face with it's furious assault throughout and the anger of the vocals screaming "You've failed me so many times!", they take the elements of sludge which Shepherd bring to the table and put their own spin on it, and it becomes an invigorating and refreshing listen. 'Dead Soil' morphs into a sound which is like doom on acid, with a fluctuating heart rate that'll kill you with a smile on your face.

Even though Shepherd have sped up their sonic game, they're still the slower, sludgier of the two bands here, and the compliment each other well. If this indeed does prove to be Shepherd's final opus (bands do get back together after all) then it's a mighty fine closing on a short, but heavy-as-fuck career, one which you're a fool to have missed so far (but thanks for introducing us to Death By Fungi on your way out). Get this record now and give your ears a good kicking!

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EP Review: Kung Funghi by Kung Funghi

Now THIS is the shot to balls we've been waiting for this new year to attack us with! Energy and aggression are the two prominant things on display on the self-titled debut EP from Sweden's Kung Funghi, mix them with beer and riffs and you've got a hell of an exciting listen on the go. The five Swedes tread a slightly different kind of line of stoner that we'd normally refer to on here, where instead of chugging riffs and headbanging, the band wander into screaming territory along with the likes of bands such as Refused, add into it elements of fuzz, and, hell, we've got a party on our hands.

Opening track 'Kill or Be Killed' hits its stride as soon as Vincent Mommeni starts screaming his guts out to a glorious cacophony of riffs and thrashing drums as you barely realise what's hit you as the energy and sheer anger of it all makes you take a step back with a thought process somewhere along the lines of "Woah....what the f.....fuck YEAH!" The fuzzy, bass laden 'One-Eyed Skoll' shows off the Red Fang x Refused crossbreed the band are mashing up so well with heavy stoner riffs mixed in with a youthfully pissed off vocal. The band don't care about what genre lines they cross over, and it's to our delight that they do this; 'No Name' has elements of 80s avant garde, stoner, sludge, hardcore and stoner, while 'Son of a Goat-Dog' is the song that Queens of The Stone Age should be writing these days.

As 'Zugzwang' closes the EP with it's funky-kind-of-Doom, you find that your heart is beating faster than normal and you're slightly panting for breath. Kung Funghi may be short but for the first time in a while it's something new to the stoner genre that can give it the kicking that it sometimes needs. Kung Funghi are that little shot of caffeine you need in the morning to start your day, that little reminder that you're not the same as all of the other droids out there, they're that little voice in your ear that screams 'let's fucking have it'!

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LP Review: I by PEDRA PRETA

Something dark, heavy, and brutal has emerged from the depths of South America in the form of Brazil’s PEDRA PRETA, and their debut record, I, with enough venom and stoner hooks to grind you to your core.

The four-piece have melded together every form of heavy music you love into one confined, suffocating space, where you can experience every head banging emotion you can muster. The riffs switch between drawn out doom and fist-pumping stoner, while the vocals have a hint of bi-polar disorder, jumping between death-like screams to laid back psychedelia. It makes for an edge of your seat listen.

Opening track ‘O Ritual’ starts off as a tribute to Sleep with its repetitive killer riff leading you into a full blown stoner death assault (or as the band call it, “funeral rock’n’roll”) as Mickael Rabello’s vocals are screeched from the depths of hell. ‘Sgurd’ displays some excellent sludge heaviness before ‘Evil Spell’ displays the bands cleaner cut stoner side with softer vocals, but the riffs remain just as dominant throughout.  

When closing track ‘Devils Way’ sucks you into its stoner delicacy, you realise that the record works better with its polar opposite vocal approaches than it would without, as it sets the band apart from the rest of their peers, but also it makes for a much more interesting listen, as when the riffs can’t get any heavier, you have to turn the vocals up to their raw, punishing best, to which PEDRA PRETA do with immense satisfaction. 

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Blackwitch Pudding-"Betty Kougar/Herman the Worm Man 10"

I tasted the "Pudding" a year or so ago and after listening to " Taste the pudding" habitually I started wearing panties to hopefully throw at them if I was lucky enough to see them live. Still hasn't happened, but boy howdy did they just up the panty ante by bringing in the supreme vocals of Uta Plotkin (Witch Mountain). She belts out both of these tracks in BWP fashion but with a serpentine witch tongue fit for a Boris painting and somehow making me a man through this strange musical magic. There's plenty of killer riffage and sexy lead guitars to keep any fans of the doom/stoner genre happy. So buy this album and the other 2 releases then put on your favorite cloak, load up and toke.

https://blackwitchpudding.bandcamp.com/album/betty-kougar-herman-the-worm-man

https://blackwitchpudding.bandcamp.com/music

Elephant Tree S/T Magnetic Eye Records

Wow!

I was going through our submissions and seen that this had somehow not been snagged up for review. So I jumped on it recalling having heard their first release "Theia" last year and found myself nodding my head to the riffs in agreeing fashion.

The self titled release due out on Magnetic Eye Records in April (pre-order now) is everything I love about a band and then some, from Doom to Stoner, Psychedelic and more and carries you seamlessly for around 40 minutes.

I find the vocals a nice breath of fresh air and my ear holes welcome the foreplay of clean singing before any onslaught of sonic heaviness. The riffs when not sitting back to compliment the song are heavy and fuzzy like your tongue after about 3 sweet tokes with some nice effects thrown in to keep you in the wo trippy mode.

The 1st track-Spore instantly sets the tone and carries the listener right through all 8 tracks, I really like the acoustic track sitting in on # 4 and if you go to their Facebook page there's a little video snippet of them recording this.
Every once in awhile you get lucky when you put on an album and I'm instantly sold on this, if it was the end of the year this would be on my top 10 list for 2016 releases.

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Review: Battalions-Nothing To Lose

Battalions come out full force with some heavy down tuned sludge and serious riffage!

I can't help but feel a heavy N.O.L.A influence listening to this album in the vein of Jimmy Bower, and that is all good with me! (but hailing from the UK I can be totally wrong.)

These 5 lads are well seasoned and compliment each others playing by weaving in and out of riff after riff pummeling you with 8 songs of sonic enjoyment, might I add the song  Deadbeat Dad Beat Dead is one clever title!

Its also nice to see some shorter songs coming out for a change, not that I don't like 40 minute 3 song albums, but I can appreciate a well crafted song inside 4 minutes and Battalions does just this, good songs that keep you wanting more.

Nothing to Lose was recorded by Chris Fielding (Conan) at Skyhammer Studios and if you are a Conan fan then you'll know instantly that this is well mixed and mastered.

It looks like their first run of pre-orders are running out so go get some!

-Jon-

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LP Review: Wronger by Pigs

The main headline and precursor for Brooklyn band Pigs has been that guitarist Dave Curran is a member of Unsane, but that will soon become a secondary side-note, as the music on offer on Wronger, the band’s second record, is of such high quality Noise that anything but the music becomes a pointless distraction.

The relentless drone of opener ‘A Great Blight’ misleads you into thinking this is going to be an alienating record, but it’s far from it, well, as far as Noise allows you to be “comfortable” within its grasp. ‘The Life In Pink’ begins things truly as the gentle guitar twiddling soon gives way to crushing riffs and distorted shouts, mixing an undertone of stoner vibes alongside music which teeters on the edge of sludge tendencies without fully indulging. One thing Pigs do with their music is that they somehow make it catchy as hell. ‘Bet It All On Black’ is abrasive, lightning fast, covered in coarse vocals, mixing styles of punk, noise, and good ol’ rock’n’roll, interspersed with screams and end-of-world riffs, but damn if it’s not toe-tappingly danceable and dangerous all at the same time.

Wronger sees Pigs come out of the other side, confirmed as superb song-writers and excellent musicians, crafting a record which has lit up the Noise scene for 2015. ‘Amateur Hour in Dick City’ is razor sharp heavy, with riffs carrying the song through its short, but joyous life span, almost ending in a cathartic experience. ‘Mope’ takes a more alienating turn, not letting the listener wallow in their melodies for too long, before allowing glimpses of their song-writing soul again with ‘Make Sure To Forget’. Pigs don’t deserve to simply be labelled with just the ‘Noise’ tag (although admittedly we have for this piece) as their sound carries so much more than that; it’s one which explores many genres, states of mind, and party states, but Wronger is a record which shows the band to be excellent musicians, making the album one to be savoured upon repeat listens. Perhaps a record which is the highlight of the member’s careers so far?

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LP Review: Mona by Crux of Aux

Canadians Crux of Aux have been a band for a decade, and only now do we finally get to see the release of their debut record, Mona; and it is brutal! The band features former members of Cursed, Shallow North Dakota, and Sailboats are White, peddling their own hybrid of Noise, Sludge, Hardcore, and heavy riffing with devastating aplomb.

The record opens with the mosh-inducing ‘Purgatory Cop’ menacingly carrying a crushing riff over four minutes of scorched vocals stalking your every move. The vocals are full of a pain and anger that breathes life into the music as much as it feasts on its corpse. The guitars drag you kicking and screaming into an uncomfortable plain of head-banging, while the drums all but countdown to the tracks ultimate end: it’s destruction but in a beautifully artistic approach. The hardcore/(early)Mastodon-esque pummelling of ‘Sewer Ghost’ show that the band aren’t afraid to throw their hat into a breakneck speed ring, carrying a punk aesthetic to their shredding.

The record is as raw to the bone as it gets: ‘Body of Shale’ captures the band at their brutally diverse best, mixing jarred guitar riffs, pummelling drums, all covered with deathly vocals intertwined with sludge and noise, with even the tiniest hint of psychedelia just to fully throw you off balance. There are elements of grind in ‘Splat Splat’ and ‘Cestoda’, but ultimately, the sludge, Noise, and simply sheer heaviness of Crux of Aux shines through brightest, culminating in a record which is as brutal and unsettling as it is party-like and moshable. Mona is a must for fans of all thing HEAVY.

No Why Records