Soma by Windhand

Richmond's Windhand have just released their Relapse debut and fans of doom and gloom will rejoice, but this album might speak to fans outside the genre as well. I catch whiffs of shoegaze, and there are a few drone sections that might appeal to fans of that genre, the masochists. 

Soma kicks off with the track "Orchard", and sets the heavy/haunting tone of the album. "Woodbine" contains a chorus that will move even the most stoic of metal heads. If you see Windhand live I bet you'll catch a few in the audience moving their lips when this one plays. "Feral Bones" is as thick a a Sequoia trunk. "Evergreen" is a haunted tune that is carried by acoustic guitar and Dorthia's vocals. If you're with me this far, the other tunes will please you just as much. There's only two of them, but they clock in just under 45 minutes.

The album is brilliant, there are layers to be uncovered, deep visceral feelings to be felt through the sonic stimulation of the tunes. You'll get lost in these riffs, find yourself transcending this plane, but then a solo will pop up and bring you back down to Earth. The album is haunting, heavy, and excellent. 

The cover, as you can see above, is a pic of a desolate shack in the middle of some foreboding woods, and after listening to the album, I'm convinced that this shack is their recording studio. Not because the music sounds lo-fi or isn't well produced, it's not that at all, it's that the emotion and vibe couldn't have been captured in some studio next to a 7 Eleven.

And the compulsory who meets who record review comparison? Pallbearer meets Acid King? Why not.

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I bet Windhand is on Bigfoot's Ipod.

Heavy Planet Podcast Episode #09: Girls Wanna Rock

This month the Heavy Planet Podcast treats your ears to some of the finest female-fronted bands the world has to offer. The bands represented here run the gammut from Occult Doom Rock to Horrific Sludge Metal. This is just a sampling of the many bands out there that deserve your attention. Missing from the podcast are progressive sludge stalwarts Kylesa (female vocals on some songs), enigmatic doom metal merchants Bloody Panda, doom duo Dark Castle, and I'm sure there are many others. But I know one thing is for damn sure, these ladies just want to rock!

Tune in this Sunday on Grip of Delusion Radio from 4:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST to hear what all the commotion is about.

Acid King-Teen Dusthead
Witch Mountain-End Game
Alunah-Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Windhand-Black Candles
Black Math Horseman-Origin of Savagery
Undersmile-Crab People
Black Moth-Blackbirds Fall
Thorr's Hammer-Dommedagsnatt
Blood Ceremony-Children of the Future
The Devil's Blood-Christ or Cocaine
SubRosa-Strega
Castle-Blacklands
Stake-Off the Witch-Deep Inside of Me
Spacegoat-Silver Swamp
Hijos De Mayo-Silence Unsaid
Siena Root-Nightstalker
Ides of Gemini-Starless Midnight
Royal Thunder-Mouth of Fire
Jess and the Ancient Ones-White Witch of Rose Hall
Rituals of the Oak-On the Sixth Moon
Misdemeanor-Mastery
Salome-Black Tides
Jex Thoth-Warrior Woman

LISTEN

New Band To Burn One To: BAD LUCIFER

Heavy Planet presents...BAD LUCIFER!

Today's "New Band To Burn One To" comes to you from Austin, Texas.

Band Bio:

We are a stoner rock band from Austin, Texas. We are newly formed since October of 2011. Our band consists of 3 members, Tiffany Barron on vocals and guitar, Rebecca Hubinsky on drums and Steven Kerner on bass. We are all veterans of the Austin music scene. Tiffany Barron was the bass player for the black metal band Cuss Pig, Rebecca Hubinsky was the drummer for local band One Good Lung and Steven Kerner was the drummer for the touring band Knife in the Water, guitar player for Bluegrass Drive By with Scott Byram and guitar player for the Royal Butchers. Our influences include Jex Thoth, Sleep, Acid King, and Wolves in the Throne Room.



Thoughts:

"With powerful yet sexy and angelic vocals leading the way, Austin's Bad Lucifer is about to turn the Earth to dust with their orgasmic blend of psychedelic-tinged doom and fuzz. The warm tone from the guitar wallows through the steady and slow tempo provided by the tight rhythm section. The mesmerizing tonality launches you into a self-induced coma of kaleidoscopic brilliance and blissful inebriation, a dream you don't ever want to leave. Shame on you..Bad Lucifer!"

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Album Of The Day-Acid King-"Busse Woods" (1999)

The Album Of The Day is "Busse Woods" by Acid King.



Black Sabbath was a major influence on a lot of the bands who recorded for Man's Ruin in the late '90s, and Acid King certainly doesn't escape the influence of early Sabbath on Busse Woods. This isn't to say that Acid King is a Sabbath clone -- far from it. True, Lori S.' singing owes a debt to Ozzy Osbourne, and her slow, forceful, brutal guitar riffs recall Tony Iommi's contributions to Sabbath. But the Bay Area band's heavy metal/stoner rock tends to communicate a looser, more jam-minded outlook than the music of Sabbath, and there are other direct or indirect influences one could cite as well, such as Robin Trower, Jimi Hendrix, and Hawkwind. Sabbath tends to get right to the point, whereas Lori S. enjoys stretching out when it's appropriate. Even though Acid King's brand of metal has often been described as stoner rock, one needn't be a stoner or use drugs to appreciate such metallic grooves as "39 Lashes," "Drive Fast, Take Chances," and "Electric Machine." Even if you consider yourself a teetotaler, Busse Woods is an exhilarating dose of metal. (Alex Henderson, All Music Guide)

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