Jonobar Hinge/Self titled/Division Records/2016 CD Review

  Jonabar  Hinge  are  a  band  from  Switzerland  that  plays  stoner  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2015  album  which  was  released  by  Division  Records.

  A  very  distorted  guitar  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  singing  vocals a  few  seconds  later  that  also  takes  the  music  into  a  heavier  direction  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  riffs  can  also  get  very  melodic  at  times  along  with  a  great  amount  of  90's  influences.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  very  distorted  yet  melodic  sounding  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  the  vocals  can  get  very  aggressive  at  times  and  the  music  also  brings  in  the  heaviness  of  metal  and  elements  of  grunge  can  also  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  songs  stick  to  either  a slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction.

  Jonbar  Hinge  plays  a  style  of  stoner  rock  that  is  very  aggressive  and  energetic  while  still  using  a  great  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  mixing  in  the  heaviness  of  extreme  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Jonbar  Hinge  are  a  very  great  sounding  stoner  rock  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "You'll  Be  A  Man"  and  "The  Front".  8  out  of  10.       

Blaak Heat/Shifting Mirrors/Svart Records/2016 CD Review

  Blaak  Heat  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  very  psychedelic  form  of  stoner/desert  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Shifting  Mirrors"  which  will  be  released  on  May  13th  by  Svart  Records.

  A  middle  eastern style  melodic  guitar  lead  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  it  also  gives  the  music  an  ethnic  feeling  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  on  the  second  track  guitar  riffs  make  their  presence  knwon  on  the  recording  and  they  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  When  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  they  are  done  in  a  clean  singing  style  and  elements  of  psychedelic  rock  and  proto  metal  can  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times  while  the  songs still  sound  very  modern  while t he  solos  and  leads  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  diversity  and  on  some  songs  ethnic  musical  instruments  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  while  a  few  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  a  couple  of  the  songs  are  all  instrumental  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  rockabilly  traces  while  avant  garde  influences  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording.

  Blaak  Heat  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  stoner  rock  and  mixes  it  in  with  desert  rock,  psychedelic  and  middle  eastern  music  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Blaak  Heat  are  a  very  great  sounding  avant  garde  and  psychedelic  desert/stoner  rock  band  and  if you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sword  Of  Hakim"  "Ballad  Of  Zeta  Brown"  "Tamazgha"  and  "Danse  Nomade".  8  out  of  10.

 

 

Alaric/End Of Mirrors/Neurot/Sentinent Ruin Laboratories2016 CD Review

  Alaric  are  a  band  from  Oakland,  California  that  plays a   mixture  of  dark  punk  and  death  rock  with  a  touch  of  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "End  of  mirrors"  which  will  be  released  on  May  6th,  2016  as  a  joint  effort  between  Neurot  and  Sentinent  Ruin  Laboratories.

  A  very  dark  drone  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  avant  garde  elements  and  after  a  minute  drum  beats  are  added  onto  the  recording  which  also  leads  up  to  some  distorted  guitar  sounds  which  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  post  punk  and  after  awhile  heavy  guitar  riffs  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording.

  You can  hear  elements  of  doom  metal  in  the  heavier  side  of t he  guitar  riffing  while  the  vocals  are  done  in  a  clean  singing  style  and  the  guitar  leads  are  melodic  and  bring  in  elements  of  80's  death rock  and  darkwave  while  clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  as  the  album progresses  the  vocals  start  getting  more  aggressive  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  they  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  hardcore  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  psychedelic  sounds.

  Alaric  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  dark  sides  of  both  post  punk  and  hardcore  and  mixes  it  with  death  rock  and  a  touch  of  doom  to  create  a  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Alaric  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  post  punk  and  death  rock  with  a  touch  of  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Demon"  "Adore"  and  "Angel".  8  out  of  10.  

 

King Giant Interview

Answers from Todd Ingram (TI) and David Kowalski (DK)


1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?

TI: We just did a short run of shows in the States as direct support for Pentagram. It was a great experience. It felt like touring with family. And last night we played in Baltimore with Fight Amp, Negative Approach, and Eyehategod so we are staying busy and trying to play shows to promote the album as much as we can.



2.Your last album came out during the summer, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

DK: Each album is an extension of the music that we’ve previously offered. We try to grow as musicians and songwriters. As for the sound, we are definitely a metal band with a penchant for song craft, so because of that, we tend to sound more “retro” than a lot of our contemporaries. That’s why our recent tour dates with Pentagram worked out so nicely, because they are a heavy band with such a distinct sound and great songs.



TI: This was our first album recorded at Magpie with J Robbins. And I think sonically and composition wise, it is our best album to date.



3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

DK: Our song topics tend to lean toward the narrative / storytelling vein. Dave Hammerly, our singer, is our sole lyricist so he’s best to answer this question.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'King Giant'?

DK: The name King Giant was derived from a Sideshow “freak” of the same name. We thought the metaphor of a sideshow freak, coupled with gigantic riffs made the name apropos.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

DK: I’m sure we all have individual highlights because of performance and whatnot, but honestly, I’m sure we can all agree that our best shows are when we get new fans, based on them simply hearing our songs for the first time.

As for our stage performance, we just go out and play, it’s not theatrical, we’re just a heavy rock band at heart.

TI: Victor Griffin jamming with us at The State Theatre, headlining at the 9:30 club in DC, and our album release show for Dismal Hollow are personal favorites of mine.



6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
TI: We are playing the Maryland Doom Fest in June and we are looking at options to tour again later this year.



7.The last album was released on 'Graveyard Hill Records' which is also your own label, are you open to working with another label?

DK: Of course! if anyone is interested in working with us, we’d gladly take part in that conversation.



8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of metal?

DK: Very positive, we’re extremely humbled and delighted at the amount of international fans that have reached out to us, especially since we’re doing this all on our own, and especially, since we haven’t been able to tour overseas yet.



9.Are any of the band members currently involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
TI: I’m also in Serpents of Secrecy and in the middle of working on its first full-length release.

And prior to KG, Floyd was in a band called Blue Balls Deluxe and he is working on releasing some old recordings from that band.
Also back in the mid 90’s, DK, Hammerly, and Brooks were in a band called The City Bleeds. And they recently released an album of recordings captured back then.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
TI: It’s a very organic process. We are always writing new riffs or sections of songs. And when it comes time to make another album we select what still resonates to us, and develop them. Of course as we grow as musicians and composers we bring those new perspectives into that effort.



11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

DK: Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Metallica, coupled with punk / hardcore like Ramones, Misfits, All the Dischord bands, Bad Brains….. you get the idea.

TI: My influences include many of the bands DK just mentioned as well as more Prog bands like Yes, Rush, King Crimison, And since I grew up on 70’s and early 80s music Kiss, Zeppelin, Mountain, Ronson era Bowie, Hendrix, Aerosmith, Sabbath, and Free are also in the mix.

As for who I have in rotation now? Seriously the new Pentagram “Curious Volume,” is a well written record.
I hadn’t heard much of it before the tour, but hearing songs from it every night made me want to listen to the whole album repeatedly upon my return. I love the new Clutch album too.
Also Mothership, ASG, and Foghound.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
TI: Motorcycles, cooking, hot rods, bulldogs, hunting, gardening are all pursuits you’ll find among the band.


13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
TI: SUPPORT your Local Live Heavy Music venues. It’s such a tough market here in the States for this genre. So go out and support those venues and the bands that come through because before you know it, the venues will be closed or switching over to some kid playing his iTunes playlist on his Macbook.

Hexinizer/Witchesmentor Cult/Inferno Records/2016 CD Review

 
  Hexenizer  are  a  band  from  that  plays  a  mixture  of  shred,  speed  and  thrash  metal  with  a touch  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Witches  Mentor  Cult"  which  was  released  by  Inferno  Records.

  Witch  torturing  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  neo  classical  style  guitar  leads  a  few  seconds  later  which  are  also  a  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  riffs  are  done  in  more  of  a  thrash  metal  style  and  clean  playing  can  also be  heard  at  times.

   When  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  they  have  a  style  that  is  very  close  to  early  80's  black  metal  and  throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  early  death  metal  and  while  the  music  is  rooted in  the  past  it  still  has  a  modern  feeling  to  it  and  elements  of  speed  metal  can  also  be  heard  at  times and clean  playing  is  added  onto  the  last  track  along  with  a  small  amount  of  keyboards.

  Hexenizer  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  thrash  and  speed  metal  and mixes  it  in  with  shred,  neo  classical  and  a  touch  of  first  wave  black  metal  and  death  metal  to  create  a  style  of t heir  own,  the  production  sounds  very professional  while  the  lyrics  cover witchcraft  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Hexenizer  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  shred,  speed  and  thrash  metal  with  touches  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Witches  Violator"  "The  Fucking  Horny  Witch  Of  Hell"  "Riding  the  Witch"  and  "The  Vintage  Witches  Swing".  8  out  of  10.  

 

Hollow Leg Interview

>>
>> 1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
>> * well we've been rehearsing the new tunes and working on getting back to fighting form for touring, we've had a couple of dates so far, and we'll pick up more shows heading into the summer.
>
>> 2.In March you had released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
> * it's not too different from previous records, we recorded everything ourselves at our space in Deland ( high five audio), however, this time we decided to send the record out to be mixed by Sanford Parker. Colin Jordan mastered again as was also the case on Abysmal.  Songwriting wise, we took a bit longer and were more selective, we had a concept of sorts with the lyrics, so in general it was just more focused.
>>
>> 3.This is the first album to come out in 3 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?
> * we toured a pretty good amount behind the Abysmal release and we were writing CROWN for the better part of a year, we scratched what was basically an album worth of material with the exception of 1-2 tunes that made their way over to the CROWN bunch. We were active but we also took some time to work on other parts of our individual lives and also to stop touring for a bit and just concentrate on the writing and recording of this record.
>
>> 4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
>> *reptiles and technology

>> 5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Hollow Leg'?
>> * it's an adage for one who eats and/or drinks seemingly without filling up or feeling it
>
>> 6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
>> * Ha, think we do pretty well live! One can always refer to the YouTube in this day and age and check out some of our live footage, or go old school and come on out and see us if/when we come around! We've been fortunate to play some pretty cool shows over the years, but definitely during the touring behind Abysmal we were able to escalate from time to time and play for more people... The couple times we've been invited to play at St Vitus in NY with our friends in Kings destroy and Clamfight have been great, and actually the entire tour we did up and down the East coast with our friends Holly Hunt was really great.  Supporting Amon Amarth and Enslaved was certainly a highlight, various festival shows we've done have been cool, especially Destroyerfest which we played along side a bunch of our friends and it was a really cool show, and anytime we've played along side Weedeater is always great. Those are some stand outs, a couple of shows we did with Yob as well were really great.
>
>> 7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
>> * yes and that should all be announced very soon, but we can definitely say the next tour will be East Coast and revolve around our appearance at the Maryland doom fest.
>
>> 8.The new album came out on 'Argonauta Records', how would you compare working with them to your old label 'Last Anthem Records'?
>> * both record labels have been great to us, but Argonauta has released two records for us now, rereleasing our first record INSTINCT, and we're really happy to be a part of that great And growing label!
>
>> 9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of sludge and doom metal?
> * really great, a lot of positivity, especially from Europe and the UK, and we hope to make it over there at some point in the near future
>>
>> 10.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
> * Scott and Tom are still very much involved with Junior Bruce and they will be releasing a new record later in the summer and they play around Florida quite regularly...Tim has a new band he's working with also, out of Jacksonville, called Unearthly Child and they'll be playing their first show here in May.
>>
>> 11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
> * we certainly aren't looking to stray from what's always been at the core of Hollow Leg, but as we did with CROWN, we will look to augment the sound, and to simply work on honing it and making it the best version of Hollow Leg and continue to grow as musicians and as a band
>>
>> 12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
>> * The Sabbath influence is always at the forefront for all of us, but beyond that it really varies from individual to individual... Sleep, Eyehategod, Neurosis, High on Fire, are all heavy influences on all us as well... Tons of different other influences though from classic rock, blues, 80s and 90s bands metal as well as hard rock and rock...
>
>> 13.What are some of your non musical interests?
> *books, movies, spending time with wives/girlfriends/children, eating and drinking, travel...but really music is such a massive part of all our lives
>>
>> 14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
>>
>> * Go get CROWN if you haven't already! See you on tour, cheers!

Eternal Black/Self Titled/Obsidian Sky Records/2015 EP Review

  Eternal  Black  are  a  band  from  New  York  that  plays  a  traditional  form  of  doom  metal  with  a  touch  of  stoner  and  sludge  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  and   2015  ep  which was  released  by  Obsidian  Sky  Records..

  A  distorted  reverb  sound  starts off  the  ep  before  going  into  more  of  a  melodic  doom  metal  direction  along  with  all  of t he  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful  and  after  awhile  clean  singing  vocals  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  80's.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they remain  true  to  a  traditional  style  of  doom  metal and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  sludge  and  stoner  elements  gives  the  songs  more  of  an  up  to  date  style  and  the  whole  ep  also  sticks  to  a  slow  and  heavy  musical  direction  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Eternal  Black  plays  a  style  of  doom  metal  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the 80's  while  also  mixing  in  a  touch  of  stoner  and  sludge,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Eternal  Black  are  a  very  great  sounding  stoner/doom  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "The  Dead  Die  Hard".  8  out  of  10.