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.

Bandcamp||Facebook

Stoner Spotlight: Killer Gandhi

Hailing from that stoner rock n' roll mecca, Oklahoma City, Killer Gandhi recently managed 2 releases in 4 months, between December, 2014 and February, 2015. The initial drop was the self titled, 10 track LP Killer Gandhi soon followed by the 5 track EP Digital Messiah.

Expressing an edgy, scratchy, rocky sound deeply seated in both the 90s grunge and desert sounds, as well as a raw garage hillbilly boogie, these Okie gents crank out some raucous fun. The first album sets the stage nicely with a cool range of sounds in the LP's ten songs, from the opening Roadsaw-like sound of "Nasty Bastard", the haunting, desperate "In the Sun", the heavy, loud, and delightfully funky "Filthy Nickel", and the emotionally deep "All the Time in the World" to pinpoint a few. The vocals are beautifully edgy and raw, never overwhelmed in range or effort, fitting beautifully with the huge, jagged guitar, deep, driving bass, and piercing, pointed drumwork.

The 5 track second album ups the stakes significantly, never backsliding in quality or imagination, and instead grabbing and gripping with tight melodies, tight performances, and an oh so right rock sound jam packed with fuzz, fun, history, and a bit of uncharted territory.  "Laugh Now, Die Later" is a song for the ages, giving us a tune that should make anyone's playlist of favorites. "It's Gonna Break" is reminiscent of great grunge tunes mashed up with huge fuzzy stoner guitars creating a sound of fierceness and joy. The album closes out with the raucous, rollicking rocker "Hostile Takeover"

These 2 albums are quite the treat, seeming to languish in that big pile of wonderful stoner/fuzz sound out in the world, but hopefully, here, they will be able to provide a bit of rock n' fuzz respite from the harshness of horrible news everywhere you turn these days, a treat that can move your soul as it does the corners of you mouth, tickling your fuzz receptors in the process.

Killer Gandhi has mainly consisted of 4 members. On the EP, the latest release, Levi Dickerson deftly manned the drums, Josh Griffin and Steve Macanally shared shredding duties on guitar, and Brad Reed carried the heavy load on bass. In addition to his guitar work, Macanally was front and center with those righteous vocals. Since the release of Digital Messiah the band has been reduced to Macanally and Reed, but that is 50% of the song writing chops and 100% of the matchless and laudable crooning, so there remains huge potential  for future stoner grunge boogie. We can only hope.

bandcamp / facebook

Song of the Day-Electric Magma-"Multiball"

"Multiball" is taken from the new release "Silverball". The band has been kickin' around some pretty tasty jams for the better part of the last ten plus years or so and on this new song have proved that they are stronger than ever. Full-tilt boogie blues with a stoner rock mentality emphasizing fuzzy guitars and heavy riffs is always a win-win situation in my book. As the band says, grab a beer and crank it up! For more information, please check out the following links: Facebook | Website

Nuclear Dog's Atomic Split: Jaw Horse - "Cancer Creek" / Enchantress - "Visualize"

Today I'm doing something I've not done before. I am taking inspiration from my Heavy Planet compatriot Zac, who was already the inspiration for the Atomic Split with his excellent weekly feature Zac's Double Dose. Both 'Double Dose' and 'Atomic Split' bring to you 2 albums in one review because quite frankly and quite awesomely there is a LOT of great new music out there which compels us to give our best shot in bringing it all to you. Today's Atomic Split features bands that were originally featured on Double Dose, bands that have now released full length albums of music that fulfill the promise Zac uncovered in his original reviews. And by fulfilling promise I ain't just whistlin' dixie, as my grandmother used to say, these bands are kick ass quality, delivering noteworthy and memorable music beyond typical stoner or metal fare. So, if you recall your first go around via Zac's Double Dose of either or both of these fine bands, you are now primed to experience sensory overload, and who doesn't love that!
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JAW HORSE - "CANCER CREEK"

Originally featured on Heavy Planet nearly a year ago in March, 2012 with a 3 song demo, Jaw Horse have now delivered a full 12 track album, "Cancer Creek", that is without a doubt a righteous dozen of fine rock and roll revelations. Jaw Horse employ a frenetic, energetic tempo to a blues fueled, swamp gas blend of nitro and blissful exertion. You might just end up sweating at the end of a song, and certainly by the end of the album, after romping through the paces set by the energy and power demonstrated all around, by all the members working like a well oiled, top fuel dragster spinning powerfully, resoundingly, inexorably toward a place that simply marks the end of the fun.

Jaw Horse are -

Kramer on guitar
Adam on guitar
Pugh on drums
Jovi on vocals

While they hail from central Pennsylvania their sound is more closely associated with southern climes given their penchant for blues infused heavy rock and vocals as deep fried and resonant as a fast moving thunder storm unleashing fury and might unexpectedly, horribly, and pitilessly across an unsuspecting landscape. Guitars are simply incredible on these songs, beyond comprehension. They seem to have taken the very best of blues rock, electrified, fuzzified, and amplified and kicked it all up a level, perhaps not breaking the paradigm, but managing to add to its definition.

There is only pleasure in listening to any of the twelve tracks on "Cancer Creek". The second track, "Don't Call it Holy" is memorable in a stoner blues foray of power and pleasure as Jovi's vocals provide the focal point upon which the song's excellent melody is played out in power and passion where guitars scorch and burn and drums are vigorous and unyielding in execution.

"Go Man Go" draws immediately upon early boogie rock while embellishing it with updated amplification and well placed distortion, making for a fun and memorable turn of nostalgic rock with a powerful modern imprint.

"Hang in There", while not quite as melodic as "Don't Call it Holy" instead provides a platform for a powerful, memorable romp just beyond the opening stanzas in which the engine of Jaw Creek's top fuel dragster guitars gets kick started, pumped full of nitro, and unleashed in an unfettered onslaught of guitar brutality.

Perhaps the signature song is "Mother Mary", a pacy, heart pounding tale that moves through different tempos while relaying a tale presumably of whoa which is accentuated perfectly by Jovi's ability to present a powerful, in your face presence without ever detracting from the equally powerful guitars.

A beautifully rendered and haunting blues romp, "Wrong Side of the River", closes out the album, with deep fuzzy guitars, bright insistent guitars, and chained lightning guitars of brilliance and joy.

All in all this is an album of pure enjoyment, where elements of stoner rock, blues rock, retro rock, and southern rock are combined with an exceptional amount of talent and a fierceness in the joy they take in playing their music.

((( facebook || bandcamp || reverbnation )))




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ENCHANTRESS - "VISUALIZE"

Enchantress was featured on Double Dose back in November of 2011 when they had released an EP entitled "Volume 1: The First Few". Today we are featuring their first full length endeavor, "Visualize", seven songs that can quite confidently be classified as unique among stoner/doom/psych music.

Hailing from Toronto this trio play a stripped and bare brand of rock, exposing all the wonderful and jagged edges of their music that gets smoothed over by razor sharp vocals of exquisite clarity and range.

The guitars are a total fuzzfest of distortion and tribal rhythm, fun and endearing in tempo and delivery.

The opening for the album is "Blue Moon Rise(Visualize)" where we are introduced immediately to beautiful stoner guitars that set the tone for the type of ride "Visualize" as an album will be. Once the vocals come in the setting is complete as we get initiated to the unique vocal execution of Enchantress' lead singer, something quite rare and enjoyable.

"Rain Maker" picks up the tempo a bit, but is quite similar to the opening track, which in this case is not a detriment but a further chance to be immersed fully into a trancelike state sparked by the unique vocal/fuzz combination Enchantress deliver.

"Elder Tree" is a slowly boiling volcano of white hot guitar magma, tempered by the tempo, and the strategically placed vocals.

"Locomotive" is the crown jewel of a stellar album, one with no weak points, but with a definite and shiny example of Enchantress' potential in this song. The melody is deliberate and steady, again punctuated by the strategic vocal delivery, pushing beyond heretofore established boundaries, mesmerizing in its eloquence and uniqueness, while cleverly offsetting the main thrust of the song.

"Frozen Sky" kicks up the wattage a bit from its predecessors, demonstrating a snappier tempo, an increase in distortion and power, and utilizing a falsetto like vocal delivery wrapped tightly in fuzzy riffs and white hot solos.

Just as power increased on the penultimate song, it once again ratchets up a degree on the closer, "Buck Thorn Queen", with falsetto once again claiming a stake in execution and delivery, but not exclusively, as a duet unfolds, tempering the vocals, and enriching the overall quality.

"Visualize" is quite unique, compelling, and mesmerizing, blending a raw and fuzzy stoner sound with singular vocals not typically associated with this style of doom or psychedelic rock, all of which makes for a rich tapestry of sound and quality.

((( facebook ||| bandcamp )))