Album Review: Pesta - Bring Out Your Dead

Black Sabbath is an absolute standard bearer for much of what we love in heavy metal, whether it be stoner, doom, sludge, or other darker dives into low tuned musical underworlds. Fans of Black Sabbath, therefore, might find the latest release by Belo Horizante, Brazil's Pesta an absolute rush of addictive melody, riff, and distortion. Pesta do not rip off Sabbath, but instead channel much of those dark metal arts laid down long ago through their own abilities and tendencies, which are superb in delivering well developed, expertly executed tracks of a near genius blend of doom and stoner rock.

The members of Pesta are:

Anderson Vaca - bass
Thiago Cruz - vocals
Daniel Roca - guitar
Marcos Resende - guitar
Flavio Freitas - drums

The album opens with a kick to the head on "Black Death", announcing early that darkness and heft are the linchpins of their sound. Guitars and bass boom ponderously, unflinchingly through clutching muck and dark mire, leading up to more energetic riffs of pure bliss that are overwoven soon enough by Cruz' penetrating, robust vocals. "Words of a Madman" combine slogging doom hammer blows with a sing-song melody that is as ferocious as it is joyous. Next up, an ode to their totem inspirations via a beautifully rendered bass solo from Vaca with "The Butler Did It", which leads quickly into what is now the established deep richness of Pesta's renderings on this 8 track release with "Intimate". Tempo and spice are kicked up a notch on the freewheeling "March of Death", perhaps the album's best track. "The End is Near" is a beautifully rendered instrumental segue, while a return to form in "The 4th Horseman" and the longer, seven-minute trek of "Possession" round out this sophomore effort from these South America virtuosi with the surprising gifts of offering up a fresh take on the time-honored, and often sought sound of one of Metal's alltime greats.

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Album Review: Miss Lava - "Red Supergiant"

MISS LAVA - "RED SUPERGIANT"

After a scorching 2012 in which Small Stone Records had released well over a dozen new albums from their superstar stable of rockers, 2013 has started off a bit more slowly, until now that is. New signing Miss Lava is on the verge of releasing their second full length album, and first on the Small Stone label, "Red Supergiant". This album should become an instant classic in the stoner rock world, filled to the gills with eleven finely crafted throwdowns that epitomize quality metal music.

Miss Lava hails from Portugal, a country not necessarily known for its stoner rock breeding grounds but one that might surprise you with the community of low tuned metalheads rocking to the rumble and roar of real rock, with Miss Lava undoubtedly leading the way. In fact, the sound this quartet of talented torchmongers have crafted for "Red Supergiant" is top shelf incredible, blending the best of low tuned mega riffs, scorching solos, booming bass undercurrents, and memorable hook laden melodies. These gatos maniaco know how to both forge music of the finest craftsmanship, as well as to execute their handiwork in a display of impeccable showmanship. To top it off, out of eleven songs on the album, these rockers have managed to craft more than a few, or even a handful, of high caliber numbers, creating a full contingent of mouth watering exploits to be regularly and thoroughly enjoyed.

Band members:

Johnny Lee - Vocals
K. Raffah - Guitars
S. Rebelo - Bass
J. Garcia - Drums

While Miss Lava do not, in any way, sound like some sort of Kyuss cover band, the sound they have crafted is of a similar type, one that blends perfectly the heavy rumble and roar of classic stoner sounds with clever musicianship exemplified by striking melodies and memorable hooks. To top it all off they have managed to bat a perfect .1000 on "Red Supergiant" by including eleven songs in which each stands on its own as a beacon of rock quality.

The album opens with "Desert Mind", immediately demonstrating their penchant for both the rumble and roar of mega riffs from guitar and bass while vocalist Johnny Lee leads the way on melody and memories. "Lay Down"  and "Feel My Grace" keep the tempo at a brisk pace, putting those growling guitar riffs through their paces. The overarching tone on "Ride" is more somber than its predecessors as the stoner sound comes through in a huge way. "Crawl", too, creates a dire atmosphere of smoke and darkness permeated by distant thunder. One of the most poignant, well crafted, and memorable songs comes in the form of "Hole to China". The tempo picks back up in a big way with "Catch the Fire" a romp of monstrous proportions. "Murder of Crows" and "Motel Neon" blast and bomb away with a force of joyous fury, while "Yesterday's Gone" deals another haunting jaunt through bog and mire. The closer is the title track "Red Supergiant", which wastes no time in proving worthy of the gargantuan moniker by dealing out mammoth licks that grow in intensity as it builds to the inevitable climax to song and album.

Small Stone Records has a knack for finding quality bands and sharing their tunes with those of us that enjoy the lower, richer end of the metal sound, but also enjoy quality melodies and memorable stretches of music. Miss Lava are a welcome addition just as "Red Supergiant" is a welcome rendition.





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LP Review - Bongripper/Conan Split 12"

How low can low go? Ever since I first heard Electric Wizard's "Come My Fanatics" I thought that was it, heavy music could not get any heavier beyond that album. Then they released "Dopethrone" and the bar was lowered even more. Surely that was it? El Wiz pushed low as low as low could go. I was wrong though. I later discovered a band called Floor featuring Steve Brookes in his pre-Torche days on guitar. Floor put out an album featuring the heaviest tones I had heard put to record. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The 'bomb drop tuning" as coined by Brookes proved that a player could down tune a guitar very very low indeed and so achieve a sound that physically rattles your guts. The low-end tone is more than just a listening experience, it is a physical sensation that seems to massage the listener's insides. Whenever I listen to extremely heavy music I have this sensation deep within in me that is more than physical. It is as if a portal opens within me and I am sucked within myself and plunged into the lowest fathoms of the sub-atomic universe.

With this release the low-end tone is taken to new extremes in a 12" that is sure to twist your guts and shake your bones and suck you into the abyss of pulverising weight. To celebrate their upcoming UK tour, American instrumental doom legends Bongripper team up with the UK's rapidly rising heroes of heavy Conan, for a split LP to be released on vinyl 22nd April from Holy Roar Records. And oh my, what heavy heavy (yep, heavy x2) soul crushing sounds are on offer here.

Conan's slice "Beheaded" is 17 minutes and 3 seconds of slow, low and nether-worldly doom metal. From the outset tribal drums drift upwards towards you from the silent depths that bring with them a mighty tone of ultra-low end that slams you full bodily leaving you prostrate in worship of the heavy. Huge droned out riffs pour forth in a tsunami of devastatingly crushing tones as shouted chanted vocals echo from deep below. Conan are the epitome of heavy as declared loud and proud in this slow paced monster of a galaxy devourer. The walls of my house are shaken with plaster falling from my ceiling and my intestines vibrate to the frequencies causing me to want to shit urgently. My brain cells rattle as I nod slowly along to the pounding drums that drive this track forward with each bass and guitar hit sounding even more heavy than the last. On it drones in thick waves of sludge and crunch while a buzzed and searing guitar lick adds to the deliberately drawn out affair on display. I am caught in a catatonic trance as I dribble spit onto my shirt and the sensations that whirl through me are a satisfying guttural massage, which Conan so graciously give in this veritable behemoth of a track.


The mighty Bongripper follow with "Zero Talent" which opens with a dark atmospheric ambient intro and the sound of a robotic mosquito buzzing through my head. There is an obvious electronic music influence in this prelude reminding me of an intro to some dark Drum and Bass tune, that is until the fucking immense weight of crushing riffs falls upon me and I am left prostrate for the second time in under 30 minutes. The riffs are delivered in that unmistakable Bongripper style with drums that bash out the huge and infectious riffs with pace changes that build the tension of extreme doom to a point where the track unleashes some frantic and urgent riffage that then plunges into crushingly down-tuned bomb drop tones. The ante is upped (or rather lowered) then as a huge wall of sound takes this track into even heavier dimensions. This is "off the hook", to use a popular yoot term, with a production that is just something out of this world, it being so damn heavy but still very clean in the mix.This track hearkens back to some of Bongrippers' earlier work but with an evolution in their sound that shows Bongripper are a band that are not afraid to push themselves forward.

I will be attending one of the shows of the Bongripper and Conan UK tour so look out for a review of that in the coming weeks.

BONGRIPPER / CONAN / HOLY ROAR RECORDS

LP Review - "The Fountain of Tantric Worship" by Black Moth Cult

I've not long woken up (it's after midday) and I sit down to write todays review and I'm still recovering after a heavy weekend away partying like I'm still 20 years old. I feel done-in, baked but satisfied; a couple more wrinkles added to my nearly 40 year old face and I'm trying to keep warm by a wood burner. It's snowing outside even though I can see blue skies. It's the fourth day it's snowed here and the mountains I see in the distance glow white under an early spring sun.

I really didn't know what I was going to review today but after flicking through a few demos and promos and not really getting excited about what I was hearing, I came across an album that suddenly got my blood pumping and had me blasting it out at full volume and rocking out to this finely crafted slice of stoner rock. I love a band that can do that. From the opening chords of the first track, your attention is grabbed by the balls and you are captivated by the sonic goodness that pours forth from your speakers. This band did that to me, and it has been a good while that something like that has happened so this band definitely deserve a review.

They are Black Moth Cult, a stoner band based in Toulon, France who recently released 10 tracks of highly accessible fuzzy and heavy desert style stoner-rock in the form of "The Fountain of Tantric Worship".
From the opening chunky bass riffs of the self titled track the stoner grooves are played with hearty passion showing that here is a band that take their music writing seriously, and boy are they good at it. They remind me at times of the now sadly long ago ended Astroqueen, with uplifting riffs that drift around huge vistas, sounding a celebration of Californian robot-rock and Swedish fuzz. This is driving music with the destination being outer space as each track launches us to soaring heights, leaving the earth behind in a blazing rocket of stoner-rock fire.

Stand out tracks for me are "From the Woods" with vocals that sound a bit like Stone Roses singer Ian Brown making the track almost stoner indie music and quite radio friendly. "Six Love Goddess" that shows Black Moth Cult's music writing skills in a blinding white light of riffs and drums in a many leveled track that takes us from QOTSA inspired sections to hugely uplifting stoner-rock dimensions. So many changing moments are crammed into the 4 minutes 26 seconds of that track that each section could be a track of its own. "Scum Sculpture" which is a hugely satisfying behemoth of classic fuzzed out stoner-rock in the vein of Astroqueen and Colour Haze. The riffs are delivered on this one in thick waves of crunchy tones that slay with the mighty hammer of low-end grooves. "Vintage Wines" being the last track and one of 2 tracks on the album that has Black Moth Cult going into mellow territory. This ender is a sumptuously jammed twinkly starred atmospheric story told under a clear night's sky and is a great way to end this great album.

It's a joy to listen to. Indeed the whole album is a joy to listen to. I am glad I have discovered Black Moth Cult today. I have found a new favorite band, one I will be keeping a keen eye on for future releases because with their level of song writing their next offerings are sure to be something awe inspiring, which this album already is.

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