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If you are looking for new Stoner Rock, Doom, Heavy Psych or Sludge Metal bands, then you have come to the right place. Heavy Planet has been providing free promotion to independent and unsigned bands since 2008. Find your next favorite band at Heavy Planet. Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Heavy Planet's Reader Takeover V2

Welcome to the second edition of Heavy Planet's Reader Takeover. The amount of submissions have been a bit underwhelming so far (only two), but since another reader took some time to send in his bands we decided to give it another go. This round of bands comes from Daniel. He has chosen to feature some bands from his home state of Colorado as well as a bonus band from Germany. If you are interested in submitting some bands for this feature please click here. Now, on with the show!



ABRAMS – riff heavy rock.



Black Lamb – singer Brian Hagman is one of the most dynamic frontmen ever.




Cloud Catcher – 70’s psychedelic heavy rock.



The Worth – straight up stoner rock.



Wovenhand “Refactory Obdurate” – read someone else’s review. genre defying. all around good people and Chuck is one of the nicest, coolest people I know (features Chuck and Neil from Git Some, PMFS)



Bonus band from Germany:

Giant Sleep – proggy psychedelic desert stoner rock.



Thanks for checking out Daniel's Reader Takeover selections.

Monday, July 28, 2014

LP Review: 'Hjortene' by Hjortene




Ahh genre labels, where would we be without them? What better ways are there to not just include bands into your listening circles by labelling them under the same genre or sub-genre as your listening tastes, but also to exclude any bands from ever giving them a listen? It seems a long time ago when there were merely just pop/rock categories down your local music store, now everything has its own sub-sub-sub-grouping, just to narrow your tastes down even further. And just when you thought there were no more categories to explore, we are given stoner-punk!

None of the genre ranting has anything to do with Denmark’s finest purveyors of “stoner-punk” music however, and it’d be a shame to take the attention away from the music, as their self-titled record is pretty special. Hjortene  opens with ‘180,000 km/t’, a blistering three minute blast of punk rock fury, with vocals from Valiant Thorr’s Valiant Himself. Where the overtly punk aesthetic is clearly there, the attitude is layered with thick and fast stoner riffs which make the band standout as genre groundbreakers. It’s a sound which carries a nuance of surprise as you never can settle with the sound, not knowing if the angry punk or the soothing stoner is going to berate you next. Palle Hjort’s vocals throw the band back straight into stoner territory with ‘Igennem Hárde Tider’, a slightly subdued voice guiding the guitars into their layers of pulverising riffs.

Singing in their national tongue doesn’t affect the sound of the band to those not fluent in Danish, as the lyrics become simply another instrument to rock your fists to. Whether it’s the grooves of ‘Classic Rock FM’ or the instrumental onslaught of ‘Epic Indian’, Hjortene is a record which dresses to impress with thick waves of heavy riffage matched by a youthful urgency many try to imitate, but few address naturally. A track such as ‘James Brown’ featuring vocals from fellow Danish punk band President Fetch, sung in English, is like a wake up call to those stagnant bands on the stoner scene, to basically get there shit together and step up their game.

Forget everything. Forget labels, forget what you think you know about a sound, a genre, a style, a foreign language. Hjortene is a record which needs to be explored and divulged into completely (and with the other band members going under the names of Claus Doomhammer Hjort, and Kim of Death Hjort, how can you possibly not get on board this?).



Sunday, July 27, 2014

Sunday Sludge: Bridegeist


So that digital age of music is waning, eh? Whatever trends these assholes come up with, upward or downward, I'm likely to hunch back and observe before making encompassing statements about the industry. Vinyl is expensive and cumbersome, compact discs have a short shelf life (get 'em outta your car, dumbfuck), mp3's and their compression are compromising quality. I have my own take: digital files are great for sharing, and for an undiscovered band to send me a link or download not only saves them money, it also makes it portable and convenient.

But my biggest reservation with digital music is the lost romance, the impersonal and cold click of a link over the "sssfffttt" of removing a new (or beaten) record from its crisp (or dog-eared) jacket. Music doesn't need to be as one-dimensional as strapping on headphones and walking to school. I need to know what these artists are about, I need to spread open the gatefold and scan the artwork, and sometimes I simply WANT visual movement to parallel a band's best riffs and progressions. Fuck it, blame MTV.

Welcome Wichita's Bridegeist, a psychedelic sludge-doom trio of seasoned heavy hitters specializing not only in devastating audio atmospherics, but also incorporating that oft-neglected visual element. Promising a debut 10" by October's dawn, the band's meld of the ethereal with the staggering is unique and promising. Add Ian Stewart's trippy, warbled visual accompaniments and Bridegeist make their case as the next act you can't miss.

Though the slow-smoked Wolves At Dusk offers no visual sidecar, it's no less worthy of attention. Resonating on goddamn electric riff-clouds and coated in peeling fuzz, you'll numb second-handedly just from the track's drippings. Hand-wrought woodshed guitars have trampled the cautious drums, but this rhythm section also has a severe case of Stockholm Syndrome. From every corner, Bridegeist trim fat in slow-motion and lace up with eerie psychedelia, glazing your throat with cosmic whispers among the sludge. The deliciously slow and sticky course meets its fallen bridge with split neuroses via swirling guitar licks, guiding this towering heaviness from overpass mischief toward red-rocket atmospheric ambition. You'll be weak at the knees succumbing to these wolves, friend.

But the looped, echoed warbles are made all the more haunting by Fellini-esque Sex-'N-Satan projections, full realizations of the profane. Storms of static are guided by waves and bursts of strange light. Cavernous whispers are all the more enticing paired with swinging hips. Short of dangling contortionists from rusty chandeliers, Bridegeist offer a full spread of visual stimulation commonly absent from bands' live shows.

For a band dipping their toes in the teeming, fly-laden sludge/doom abyss, Bridegeist have found more than one way to set apart themselves. If their upcoming release offers as much gut-rotted heaviness as Wolves At Dusk, we'll all have a reason to flush our expired prescriptions. Whatever images the sounds evoke in our minds certainly won't hold a black candle to Ian Stewart's live projections, however. You never thought a road trip to Wichita was in your future. Well...


For fans of: Ufomammut, Bongripper, Neurosis
Pair with: RuinTen IPA, Stone Brewing Co.



Friday, July 25, 2014

Planet of Zeus - "Vigilante"


Planet of Zeus,  those preeminent purveyors of that particular Greek brand of stanky skanky stoner rock, are back with Vigilante, their latest and most pathologically potent platter of primordial pandemonium.

On opening salvo "The Great Dandolos", the band explodes in propulsive fashion, sounding like the Hellenic answer to Clutch as Babis vacillates between swaggering vocals in the verses and shouty screams on the choruses, all over a piledriving riff and throbbing backbeat. The Clutch influence is particularly evident on funky strutter "A Girl Named Greed" with its slithering serpentine riff and Fallonesque vocals. Elsewhere, the warfare on your woofers continues on the syncopated bakefest "Second Coming", highly infectious "Burn This City Down" (appropriately named considering the incendiary solo contained within) and the relentlessly kickass larynx shredder that is "Tornado".

With its soulful vocals and fabulously filthy guitar tone, "No Tomorrow" is the deceptively cool track on the album, highlighted by a magnificent mesmerizing guitar solo. It's a perfect segue into the title track. Brewed with bluesed, boozed, and bruised attitude, "Vigilante" sounds like the bastard stoner grandchild of Black Oak Arkansas. It all culminates in "The Beast Within", an epic track that truly has it all:  a main riff that is colossal, circumlocutional, and abjectly brutal; a melodic Mediterranean midsection; and lead vocals so deranged they sound like Phil Anselmo overdosing on bath salts.

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Thursday, July 24, 2014

New Band To Burn One To: INSIDE THE SUN


"After releasing their 2-song demo in 2013 and sharing the stage with the likes of Weedeater, High on Fire, and Black Cobra, Fresno's Inside the Sun is about to burn a permanent scar into your brain. Woven together by elements of doom, sludge and psychedelics, the five songs contained within the band's self-titled debut pound and penetrate with hypnotic and repetitive rhythms and wandering bass lines. Harsh and passionate vocals compliment the seething nature of this gnarly beast, as evidenced in the aptly timed (4:20) track simply called "Melt".  The hard-driving thrashing beats and powerful riffing on "Eclipseid Shadows" and album closer "A Number Concerning the Inevitable Heat Death of the Universe" will leave you in awe. What's next for Inside the Sun?? Stay tuned..."



Monday, July 21, 2014

LP review: 'Karmageddon' by MuckRaker




If you were to describe MuckRaker’s sound by saying that lead vocalist Will Price’s voice falls somewhere between Neil Fallon (Clutch) and Phil Anselmo (Pantera), while the music fits in between early Kyuss and Helmet, you would be forgiven for completely losing your shit and immediately seeking out a copy of Karmageddon, which sadly has no correlation to the banned 90’s computer game. Well, get ready to lose it.

The Atlanta based band’s second record opens with the title track and as many chunky riffs that you could fit into four minutes 25 seconds of joyously yelling “KARMAGEDDON”. It’s danceable “blue-collar” metal which has a political tinged undertone that isn’t immediately noticeable while you’re head banging around the room. It’s in fact the lyrics that make MuckRaker into a very powerful band, singing out against oppression and the downfall of the working man, that make you force yourself to stop and listen to the gentle aggression which becomes more indebted with each listen.

The heavy bass lines of Will Price, the marching chant of Batz Capo’s drums, and the gut punching riffs of guitarist Ray Mulligan, make MuckRaker one of the most danceable head-bangers to come out this year. It’s tight musicianship, with allegiances to traditional metal which doesn’t go off into self-indulgent tangents, but continues to carry along the core of the song until the end. It can leave you with a beaming grin. Grinning metal? Is that a thing?

If the powerful lyrics or the dancing wasn’t enough, every single song here requires you to join in the shouting of the chorus, whether it’s “ALL HAIL MARRYYYY!” (‘All Hail Mary’), “RED VULTUURRREEEE!” (‘Red Vulture’), or the record highlight of “RISE UP ALL YOU LOGGERHEADS, GO AND CRASH THE PARTAYYYY!” (‘Rise Of The Loggerheads’). If you wanted to really strip MuckRaker down to its barest of bones, you would have to say that they are full of just great songs, and that’s basically the essence of why we’re all here. Closing track ‘Too Much Metal For One Hand’ perfectly sums this up, a song about spending their lives listening to their favourite music, pissing off people, drinking, hitting the road, and loving every heartfelt moment of it.

Karmageddon is an exceptional record which should propel MuckRaker from their underground status, to serious contenders in the mainstream metal market. It’s an album to unite metal-heads, share a beer, and party all night to; and that is a beautiful thing.




Sunday, July 20, 2014

Sunday Sludge: The Powder Room - "Curtains"


Nostalgia has its place, I suppose. 2014's been loaded with reissues and throwback celebrations of many of the albums I spun twenty years ago, secluding myself in my room and pretending I wasn't skimming stroke books. Soundgarden and Meat Puppets were on heavy rotation, so catching these bands live at a ripened 33 years is a strange blend of the wistful and the sad. Contemporary bands glazed with early 90's influence, however, bring more suspiscion than sentiment. "We're influenced by My Bloody Valentine and Pavement." No, you're actually just bland and derivative.

Dodging scorn requires, obviously, innovation and progress. Crafting a sound that reminds me of something I can't quite pin-down is Athens, Georgia's The Powder Room. The trio's marriage of tradition and evolution marks just one of innumerable juxtapositions evident on Curtains, a nine-track exercise of (here it comes) whisper-to-a-scream jolts and assured stop-start sludge-noise that's somehow swollen with hooks and groove despite a devotion to rugged, violent filth. You can slam a warming Old Milwaukee, but you can also take a few breaths before you order another.

You're likely gonna hear more about these guys and who they sound like, but that's omitting what's much more important. The whole of this album trends dirty and downward, baiting you close with jarring tin guitar licks on the bass-led opener Disappointment. But moving through tracks like Earthworm and Frayed, you'll notice a sense of urgency under the dog-dollar trot. Pacing is tense, elements circle like hornets, and the screeches and shifting tempos are fucking dizzying. It doesn't take long until we're on our backs, knees to the sky.

Perhaps what sets apart these songs most is what's achieved between the gnashed lament. Blowout is sludgy and drenched in dischord, but Dead Pet truly resonates in its cavernous creepiness. There's a sparse atmosphere bookending the crushing brew of noise, all wrapped not-so-neatly in a cold, hollow wind. When the band isn't patching up last night's lumbered haze, they're peppering quick cruisers supplemented with frantic focus. There's a staggering level of movement on Curtains, though the unpredictability is strangely palpable.

This noise is slung with purpose and rolls with cool confidence. For all the low-end thickness and jagged licks, the tufts of melancholy worm their way into your senses with catchy nuance. The Powder Room are both trim and tubby, both fresh and seasoned. Forget what influence you think you're hearing. Focus more on what mood Curtains has drawn up for you. Thickening as it cools, the album is as all-encompassing as any I've heard in ages. There's a LOT here to digest. Luckily, I've got nothing but time.

For fans of: Melvins, Whores., Fudge Tunnel
Pair with: Breakfast Stout, Founders Brewing Co.




Wednesday, July 16, 2014

LP Review 'Thieves, Beggars & Swine' by Astralnaut

You don't need doom riffs and Irish blood running through your veins to enjoy a shot of Astralnaut. With the release of Thieves, Beggars & Swine, this 5-piece hailing from Northern Ireland will have you nodding your head to their epic riffs. The band wastes no time, blowing it open with "Ego Eccentric." The tune boasts a righteous riff along with a groovy breakdown/solo section. The slow doom and bluesy solo of "Mac Tire" has a confident swagger to it. On "Neopium," vocalist Thomas Mallon channels the spirit of Jim Morrison, giving us an idea of what the sixties icon would have sounded like fronting a stoner rock band. "Utopian Dawn" rises with a mellow intro before the drums crash through and "Dethroned" walks through a series of tempo changes in what could be called classic, epic doom.

The guitar duo of Gaz Treanor (lead) and Pearse Donnelly (rhythm) provide a heavy, sonic landscape while Stephen Todd (drums) and JonJoe Harrison (bass guitar) keep the bottom end nailed down with chunky, driving, low end. Thomas Mallon's vocals are unique and yet his influences are recognizable. With equal parts Zakk Wylde, Neil Fallon and Kory Clarke, Mallon has growl while staying melodic. The attention to vocal arrangements and production is what sets Astralnaut apart from the hordes of stoner rock bands out there today. Harrison and Donnelly's backing tracks help to fill out the vocal spectrum. Clark Phillips did a masterful job with the production of the record and the original tracking at Hi-Tone Studios must have been superb for the final mixes to sound so stunning.

I'll admit that I'm a bit biased because my great grandparents were born on the Emerald Isle. But even if you have no connection to Ireland, you'll appreciate Astralnaut as purveyors of epic, slugging, doom. Thieves, Beggars & Swine is at the top of my list for best releases of 2014.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Sunday Sludge: Lavagoat - "Weird Menace"


Sunday mornings demand we not overthink things. I've still got last night's regrets dripping from the corner of my mouth, so I can't handle squeaky clean production and cock-metal flare. My skin is raw and my skull is buzzing, so let's find something to delay the ennui of lawn duties. This is why I applaud bands like Saskatoon's Lavagoat. They don't fuck around with knobs and buttons to cheapen things through edits and filters; their sound is scraped from a damp, sooty concrete floor and directly bottled for consumption.

The band's latest EP, Weird Menace, offers one track of six movements, a stream-of-consciousness barrage of various captive-bolt stunners spanning damn-near the entire continuum of heaviness. The campy horror themes are hardly cartoonish, while the range demonstrated in these eighteen minutes (all one fucking take, you should note) will make your teeth hurt. Beams of sludge and doom outline a course, but stoner repetition and thrashy fret molestations coagulate in an absurdly complete metal experience.

Opening on the punchy nostalgia of Possess the Exorcist, you'd think this is a quick grindhouse tour of classic thrash, forgetting to breathe as blisters form. But the Goddamn electric lumber of Doomfinger is pure blunt-force doom brutality, crashing and shattering as giants bark beyond their chains. The one-two sets the tone, advising listeners to expect nothing and blink as little as necessary.

But the bulk of what this album achieves begins with the spacey break toward Ectoplasm. Cool hovers and a cosmic tapestry of buzz is littered with panned plucks, making one nearly use a descriptor that's everwhere lately: organic. Things appear smooth, but they're just itchin' to get ugly. We're split dead-open with an escalated, abrupt, scream-coated blast of guitars and cymbals that signal this reprieve is fucking over, dude. The true sludge roots of Creature From The Black Lagoon are a near-nod to swampy 8mm films from your attic. Scorching, screeching licks pepper the terrapin pace before the consuming swirl of Vampyromorphida glazes everything with static. Meters chug, we ascend, we collapse... And as the pace lifts, guitars have already swollen beyond the point of shedding their skins.

Completing the full spectrum is the torrid thrash of Headless Priest, a quick-paced closing argument that Lavagoat's evolution is ongoing and ceaseless. From frantic to stoner-steady to slow-simmering, this final passage offers the most complete pitch for the band's marriage of proficiency and focus. The storm of elements burns brightest here, hoser. To compactly administer this much mayhem so deftly in such little time is the truly staggering triumph. Whatever your poison, look no further.

Use only as directed.

For fans of: Cathedral, Vulgaari, Venom




Friday, July 11, 2014

LP Review: Wasted Theory - Death and Taxes


Listen up…I DO NOT speak for my fellow Heavy Planet brethren when I say this…but there are times when I get tired of all the post-this, proto-that, 25-minute bullshit songs that get passed off as "epic" nowadays.  I realize I'm probably very much in the minority on this within our little community, but sometimes God dammit…I just wanna ROCK!  Now if you can dig on that, then I suggest very strongly you get yourself someplace devoid of assholes and buzz-kills, set your speakers to LOUD, and give the latest from Delaware's Wasted Theory a go.

From the blazing first riff of album opener "Dead is Dead" to the final strains of "Black Widow Liquor Run," Death and Taxes is an album chock-full of shit kicking groove and dirty, Southern swagger.  Guaranteed, you'll be wrecking your neck to the bouncy stop/start rhythm from vocalist/guitarist Larry Jackson Jr as he strains his whiskey drenched pipes with "I wanna get high…high as the sun…up in the sky" during "Hellfire Ritual."  And kudos to bassist Jonathan Charles for being able to keep up with drummer Brendan Burns, who by my estimation, is one of the hardest hitting skinsmen on the circuit today.  Don't believe me?  Check out the thunderous pummel of "Tire Iron (The Stone Giant)" and prepare to board up the windows.

Now I don't know if it has anything to do with the addition of new guitarist Dave McMahon, or if the band has simply gelled since 2013's Godspeed, but the musical growth and improvement in songwriting from that release to this one are notably substantial to my ears.  Of course this isn't surprising since I made a similar observation about Wasted Theory in my recap of their live performance at this year's Moving the Earth Festival (HERE).  The band's maturation is evident throughout the eight tracks found on Death and Taxes, from the dare-I-say catchy riff of "Hexes" to the feedback drenched, slow build of "Celestial Voodoo Lounge."  Or check out the stoner stomp of "Absinthe Queen," which culminates in a badass, bluesy guitar solo that'll leave you simply nodding your head in approval.

If you'd rather sample before diving in head first, start with the aforementioned "Hellfire Ritual" and then check out "Black Widow Liquor Run."  Both tracks showcase the band's heaviness by way of their dual guitars, rock solid rhythm section, and some seriously deviant lyrical content (which I understand comes courtesy of Burns).  Here's a little snippet..."the devil's watching every move that I make…I'm spittin' fire like a mountain of snakes."

The bottom line is this…life is short and as the album title implies, there are really only two certainties.  So when you're burned out from wasting precious time on tunes that are long winded, meandering, and tedious, throw on some Wasted Theory and get down to brass tacks, musically speaking.  Because you know…sometimes it's okay to just want to rock.

For fans of: Alabama Thunderpussy, Corrosion of Conformity, Orange Goblin
Pair with: Ice cold fucking PBR

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Bloody Hammers - "Under Satan's Sun"


Bloody Hammers, those nefarious miscreants proudly hailing from Transylvania County, North Carolina are back with their latest and greatest monster mashup of gothic stoner doom. Under Satan's Sun is ten wicked tracks of dynamic diabolism and creepshow cool!

It all kicks off in sinister fashion with "The Town That Dreaded Sundown", replete with vintage spook clip and macabre scream before settling into a bludgeoning riff hammering away over a strident backbeat. "There's an evil that walks these moral grounds" croons Anders Manga in his deceptively mellifluous voice. Unlike most of their retro rockin' brethren, Bloody Hammers are not inclined to fill up every empty space in the music, allowing the songs to breathe and, as a consequence, become more cinematic presentations, like a modern day version of Alice Cooper (whose "Second Coming" is covered here in appropriately creepy crawly style). These cinematic atmospherics are quite evident on "Death Does Us Part", a gothicly romantic paean to lovers leaps, augmented by Devallia's understated keyboards.

"Spearfinger" amps up the horror show histrionics with a killer fuzzed out buzzsaw riff and a swelling shout along chorus. The guitar solo is of the terse and tasty geometric style a la Ace Frehley. The fuzzed out psychedelics continue on "The Moon Eyed People" with its sociopathically circular guitar riff and dirge-like cadence. Elsewhere the band adopts a punkish beat on "The Last Alarm", channeling a total Misfits vibe. The clearcut standout of the album however is the title track, which is both a demonic love song and a summer thumpfest that just begs to be blasted from the speakers with the windows down as Anders sings "Under Satan's sun and burning for you like a demon, let's make this memory sublime"!




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Wednesday, July 9, 2014

New Band To Burn One To: CRAANG


"Chill out music that rattles your fucking skull is the best way that I can describe Greek band Craang's debut release "To the Estimated Size of the Universe". The album consists of four songs and all clock in at seven minutes or more. Within these four songs is an outlandish and sporadic bludgeoning of the human mind. At times mellow and soothing and at times chaotic and tumultuous, the beautiful fuzz drapes over a bounty of psych-laced riffs spiraling out of control with a deluge of feedback and pounding rhythm.

My favorite track on this album is "Magnolia". A mind-melding journey that concludes with an ominous bass line that jabs through a swirling wall of feedback then fades out into a spooky psychedelic barrage of soft guitar. Absolutely fuckin' stellar!

Now, if only I had a gyro and some spanakopita to jam down my throat my night would be complete. 



Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Heavy Planet's Reader Takeover

Welcome to our first official post of "Heavy Planet's Reader Takeover". This is a post in which one of our readers submits some of their favorite band's in hopes that they can get a little more well-deserved attention. These next four band's come from John Fadden. John is the vocalist for one hell of a killer band out of Boston called Ichabod. If you have yet to to hear this band, do yourself a solid and check them out sometime. Now...on to John's picks.



"Hey this is John from the band Ichabod. I'd like the readers to enjoy some of the amazing up and coming talent we have had the privilege of sharing stage time with leading up to the half-way point of 2014. Any song available by any of these bands is a guaranteed homerun."

Bedroom Rehab Corporation

2 words: Awe Inspiring.
Adam [bass/vocals] & Meghan [drums] have an undeniable chemistry and put on a live show that rivals any 5pc. dual gtr. riff fest on the planet. Adam's brooding stage presence compliments Meghan's bombastic and passionate drumming perfectly. Their songs are heavy on hooks, flawless execution, & fuzz. They are a lethal duo who I assume won't be a band that goes unrecognized nationally for very much longer.



Bandcamp|Facebook

Set

Visually ominous & nothing short of a full-scale auditory assault SET brings together elements of 70's/80's occult rock, an at times not so subtle mixture of hardcore from all corners of the US [Boston, NY, LA, & DC]...well don't ask me how they do it so seamlessly, but they do...... and top it all off with a crusty/DIY style presentation which is unmistakably genuine. Not too mention that just like Bdrm Rehab Corp. this group is as friendly and personable off stage as they are a gang of denim vested, bearded warriors on it.



Bandcamp|Facebook

Side Effects May Include [S.E.M.I.]

This 4pc outfit from NH falls more into the experimental/progressive metal category than the rest of this playlist but they deliver their stony goods as well as anyone. Obvious comparisons to Faith No More/Mr. Bungle aside, these guys are as animated physically as they are musically. I'd suggest the track "Wakizashi"



Bandcamp|Facebook

Four Speed Fury

Lastly, we have Massachusetts' own FOUR SPEED FURY. The band features original Ichabod vocalist and founding member Ken Mackay. The band formed in late 2013 and have already crafted a set of songs that are custom made for live performance and they surprised and delighted the audience last month as the opening act for Swedish riffmeister's Deville in Worcester, MA. alongside the before mentioned Bedroom Rehab Corporation and us[Ichabod]. Ken's unmistakable trademark vocals that brought Ichabod's multi-dimensional musical constructs one step beyond their own sonic event horizon have once again become realized and shine for all who listen. We cannot and could not be any happier for Ken and the rest of 4SF.


ReverbNation|Facebook

Thanks John for the awesome bands! If you would like to takeover the pages of Heavy Planet for the day you can do so by going HERE.




Monday, July 7, 2014

LP Review: 'Darkness Died Today' by Sigiriya




With new label Candlelight Records, and new vocalist Matt Williams’ gruff welsh voice leading the line, Sigiriya’s second record packs an almighty punch of chugging riffs and powerful songwriting to continue the legacy of these heavy rocking Welshmen.

After UK stoner legends Acrimony called it a day, the members formed the original line up of Sigiriya and released the record Return To Earth in 2011, but with a change of vocalist, the band are intent on leaving the past at home and stepping into a new world of hard rock masterclasses. Opening with the ferocious ‘Dragging The Bones’, the album kicks off exactly how it means to go on, fast, heavy riffs with an organised songwriting style which welcomes rather than alienates. That could be said to a lot of the tracks here, whether it’s the husky vocals of Matt Williams or just the direction the band are looking to take, they have created a much more accessible and commercial sound which does take a few listens to fully understand, but it’s a courageous ride once you’re on board.

There are plenty of references to their old band Acrimony in the music on offer here as is evident on ‘Return To Earth’ with its doomy opening followed by trudging stoner bass lines and lyrics revolving around  atmosphere and meteors, it’s certainly the album’s most skull-crunching moment. Even the track ‘Godspeeder’ is basically sped up stoner riffs, which is as good as it sounds. The band have some truly cascading moments, In ‘Freedom Engines’ the vocals and guitars build so much it’s a surprise that the speakers don’t collapse in on themselves, and ‘Tribe Of The Old Oak’ is just a mirage of thick heavy waves of riffs that is a sheer joy to tackle.

When the past and line-up shifts have all been put to one side, Darkness Died Today proves itself to simply be just a great heavy rock record, full of riffs, mighty husky vocals and even the odd sing-along moment. The artwork is even done by fellow Welshman, and frontman of Hark, Jimbob Isaac!
 What’s not to love?



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