I am struggling to remember listening to a stoner or doom band from Australia that I didn’t really like. There always seems to be something new that I really dig from Down Under, be it the Simpsons loving Dr. Colossus, Planet Of The 8s and Duneeater who shared a split on Ripple Music last year, the new doom stylings of Oceanlord, or the amazing and dynamic Neptune Power Federation. Which is why I was excited to check out a band I was not familiar with from the continent who brought us Men At Work, Emergency Rule.
The description in the folder for their new album, The King Of Ithaca, simply said “riffs” which is a pretty spot-on description. On their Bandcamp page, if I paraphrase their self-description, the band sounds like a combination of Black Sabbath and Lynyrd Skynyrd, which is also pretty much spot on. Regardless of how you describe them, Emergency Rule rip it up on King Of Ithaca, riffing and boogying over eight killer tracks.
The Hook kicks us off with one of those riffs, and boy are there a lot of them on the King Of Ithaca. But these guys have a dirty southern rock swagger to go along with the stoner riffing that makes them stand out. The guitar work on The Hook is top notch and partners perfectly with the whiskey-soaked vocals. There is a Raging Slab vibe to these songs, but only heavier. Garden is up next and brings more of the heavy riffing with that boozy swagger, and I am hearing Fireball Ministry in this one as a reference point. My favourite riff amongst a throng of amazing riffs is from Bartender, which should be the band’s signature song. Something To Say slows the pace down a bit but doesn’t lay off the heavy and I love the solo on this track; I get a faint hint of Pantera vibes.
The Hook kicks us off with one of those riffs, and boy are there a lot of them on the King Of Ithaca. But these guys have a dirty southern rock swagger to go along with the stoner riffing that makes them stand out. The guitar work on The Hook is top notch and partners perfectly with the whiskey-soaked vocals. There is a Raging Slab vibe to these songs, but only heavier. Garden is up next and brings more of the heavy riffing with that boozy swagger, and I am hearing Fireball Ministry in this one as a reference point. My favourite riff amongst a throng of amazing riffs is from Bartender, which should be the band’s signature song. Something To Say slows the pace down a bit but doesn’t lay off the heavy and I love the solo on this track; I get a faint hint of Pantera vibes.
Abuse is the pinnacle of The King Of Ithaca. This is a raw and emotional track both musically and lyrically and even has strings, which you don’t hear so much in this genre, especially not done this well. What a great song. Corporation is some straight up heavy stoner goodness, while From The Grave brings back that Raging Slab via Fireball Ministry comparison which I am here for all day. The latter has the most southern feel to it, and it simply kicks ass. This reminded my of 20 Watt Tombstone. If you dig the band Wolftooth you will love the closer, Ulysses, which sums if the riff party perfectly.
Chunky riffs, whiskey-soaked Southern Rock swagger, hints of COC/Down/Pantera, great songwriting, and expert playing, The King Of Ithaca is next level awesome. Australia has done it again, as Emergency Rule is right up there with all the other outstanding bands coming from that scene. This is a must listen. 9/10
Ophanim - Do Not Feed The Animals EP (Self Released) [Mark Young]
Extreme prog/metal fusion with a song inspired by James Herbert? Oh get in. This 4-song ep comes your way via a Scottish two-piece Ophanim, who skilfully blend extreme ends of the musical spectrum to deliver a brutally effective EP that offers four songs that are similar in approach but do not rehash the same ideas. It has moments of light, moments of absolute crushing heaviness but always completely focused in smashing your ears in.
Chimera, with class drum introduction mixes things up almost from the start, heavy into almost jazz into a buzzsaw with some bottom end riffing. One thing is for certain is that when they hit extreme its extreme. It’s almost dizzying until it loops back to the opening arrangement and back for more of that quality riffing. It’s a lot to take in with a runtime of just over 5 minutes and it is like a sledgehammer to the head. Psycho Stag has more of a prog opening to it that is just kicked to the kerb by a now rabid song build that rumbles and punches through several different measures, constantly upping the approach, going from metal to lighter touches, but always urgent and direct.
Rats, inspired by the first book in the Rats trilogy by James Herbert and anyone who loves that book gets an automatic thumbs up from me. The accompanying PR sheet notes this as being one of the older songs, and its subtly different, hitting with more of the metal edge but still with those fusion sensibilities in mind and is my favourite here as it seems to be more focused than the others. Fenrirs Bind occupies that similar theme of Chimera without directly repeating what they do there. This possesses a monstrous feel to it, an absolute massive sound to it. The drop into a concert hall style break down that reminds me of Mr Bungle, Disco Volante era before it kicks back up into that extreme metal attack.
Diving into online sources, it appears that they have decided to call it a day as a band, according to their FB account. The EP is up on YouTube, but there is no mention of them being inactive. I couldn’t find anything further online, and if this is the case then it is a shame because this is a belting EP that shows a lot of promise and a great deal of individuality in bringing two or more extremes of music together in a way that doesn’t sound as though it has been literally thrown together. It’s worth 21 minutes of your time 7/10
Hulder - Verses In Oath (20 Buck Spin) [Richard Oliver]
The USA is an ever growing fertile land for black metal and one act that has been gaining traction are Washington’s Hulder who are releasing their second full length album Verses In Oath their second release for label 20 Buck Spin following on from 2022’s The Eternal Fanfare E.P. Formed by Marz Osborne, who is the founder and namesake of the band, she has performed the vast majority of the music on previous Hulder releases (bar the drums which have been handled by a number of session drummers).
With bassist Necreon and drummer CK on board, the band have extensively toured the US and made their first appearance in Europe over the last year and after writing sessions during the dreariest months of the Northwest winter, the result is Verses In Oath. Previous Hulder releases have been a mix of atmospheric black metal with some medieval sounds and folk influences from Hulder’s native Belgium mixed in and whilst these elements are still lurking on Verses In Oath, there is a far darker, melancholic and more sombre feel to the music this time round.
Songs such as Hearken The End play on that melancholic feel with some effective clean vocal chants mixed in with Hulder’s ferocious roar and Cast Into The Well Of Remembrance is full of sombre melodies as well as unrelenting darkness. There is still plenty of fury to this album as can be heard in the aggressive title track and the intense Enchanted Steel.
Verses In Oath is a solid black metal album which manages to balance off the atmospheric and aggressive sides of the genre. The album does suffer slightly with pacing issues about halfway through with interlude Lamentations and atmospheric instrumental An Offering being placed back to back and there are a few songs which feel a bit forgettable compared to the stand out moments of the album.
Overall though this is some great black metal with plenty of mood, atmosphere, passion and aggression. This won’t be seen as a classic of the genre but fans of black metal should definitely give this a spin. 7/10
Haystack - Doomsday Goes Away (Threeman Recordings) [GC]
Not too much in the way of info on Haystack so after a quick search I can see they have four previous albums and are from Stockholm and can see a lot of comments with rock n roll and, hard rock and other such variations, new album Doomsday Goes Away could be interesting.
It starts off with Doomsday Goes Away that has a grungy vibe but its mixed with a bit of bluesy rock n roll and while its not offensive it doesn’t really do much and kind of just plods along unoffensively for the next 4 minutes, Dark Nothing starts off with a more southern rock type vibe but then just continues along without much in the way of highlights and it doesn’t really feel like it has much energy to it so lacks the ability to really stir much emotion, I mean its ok but nothing special.
Chunky riffs, whiskey-soaked Southern Rock swagger, hints of COC/Down/Pantera, great songwriting, and expert playing, The King Of Ithaca is next level awesome. Australia has done it again, as Emergency Rule is right up there with all the other outstanding bands coming from that scene. This is a must listen. 9/10
Ophanim - Do Not Feed The Animals EP (Self Released) [Mark Young]
Extreme prog/metal fusion with a song inspired by James Herbert? Oh get in. This 4-song ep comes your way via a Scottish two-piece Ophanim, who skilfully blend extreme ends of the musical spectrum to deliver a brutally effective EP that offers four songs that are similar in approach but do not rehash the same ideas. It has moments of light, moments of absolute crushing heaviness but always completely focused in smashing your ears in.
Chimera, with class drum introduction mixes things up almost from the start, heavy into almost jazz into a buzzsaw with some bottom end riffing. One thing is for certain is that when they hit extreme its extreme. It’s almost dizzying until it loops back to the opening arrangement and back for more of that quality riffing. It’s a lot to take in with a runtime of just over 5 minutes and it is like a sledgehammer to the head. Psycho Stag has more of a prog opening to it that is just kicked to the kerb by a now rabid song build that rumbles and punches through several different measures, constantly upping the approach, going from metal to lighter touches, but always urgent and direct.
Rats, inspired by the first book in the Rats trilogy by James Herbert and anyone who loves that book gets an automatic thumbs up from me. The accompanying PR sheet notes this as being one of the older songs, and its subtly different, hitting with more of the metal edge but still with those fusion sensibilities in mind and is my favourite here as it seems to be more focused than the others. Fenrirs Bind occupies that similar theme of Chimera without directly repeating what they do there. This possesses a monstrous feel to it, an absolute massive sound to it. The drop into a concert hall style break down that reminds me of Mr Bungle, Disco Volante era before it kicks back up into that extreme metal attack.
Diving into online sources, it appears that they have decided to call it a day as a band, according to their FB account. The EP is up on YouTube, but there is no mention of them being inactive. I couldn’t find anything further online, and if this is the case then it is a shame because this is a belting EP that shows a lot of promise and a great deal of individuality in bringing two or more extremes of music together in a way that doesn’t sound as though it has been literally thrown together. It’s worth 21 minutes of your time 7/10
Hulder - Verses In Oath (20 Buck Spin) [Richard Oliver]
The USA is an ever growing fertile land for black metal and one act that has been gaining traction are Washington’s Hulder who are releasing their second full length album Verses In Oath their second release for label 20 Buck Spin following on from 2022’s The Eternal Fanfare E.P. Formed by Marz Osborne, who is the founder and namesake of the band, she has performed the vast majority of the music on previous Hulder releases (bar the drums which have been handled by a number of session drummers).
With bassist Necreon and drummer CK on board, the band have extensively toured the US and made their first appearance in Europe over the last year and after writing sessions during the dreariest months of the Northwest winter, the result is Verses In Oath. Previous Hulder releases have been a mix of atmospheric black metal with some medieval sounds and folk influences from Hulder’s native Belgium mixed in and whilst these elements are still lurking on Verses In Oath, there is a far darker, melancholic and more sombre feel to the music this time round.
Songs such as Hearken The End play on that melancholic feel with some effective clean vocal chants mixed in with Hulder’s ferocious roar and Cast Into The Well Of Remembrance is full of sombre melodies as well as unrelenting darkness. There is still plenty of fury to this album as can be heard in the aggressive title track and the intense Enchanted Steel.
Verses In Oath is a solid black metal album which manages to balance off the atmospheric and aggressive sides of the genre. The album does suffer slightly with pacing issues about halfway through with interlude Lamentations and atmospheric instrumental An Offering being placed back to back and there are a few songs which feel a bit forgettable compared to the stand out moments of the album.
Overall though this is some great black metal with plenty of mood, atmosphere, passion and aggression. This won’t be seen as a classic of the genre but fans of black metal should definitely give this a spin. 7/10
Haystack - Doomsday Goes Away (Threeman Recordings) [GC]
Not too much in the way of info on Haystack so after a quick search I can see they have four previous albums and are from Stockholm and can see a lot of comments with rock n roll and, hard rock and other such variations, new album Doomsday Goes Away could be interesting.
It starts off with Doomsday Goes Away that has a grungy vibe but its mixed with a bit of bluesy rock n roll and while its not offensive it doesn’t really do much and kind of just plods along unoffensively for the next 4 minutes, Dark Nothing starts off with a more southern rock type vibe but then just continues along without much in the way of highlights and it doesn’t really feel like it has much energy to it so lacks the ability to really stir much emotion, I mean its ok but nothing special.
Neglected slows the pace right down and is a brooding and slow lurching song that despite its slow nature offers some intrigue as you think there might be a big build up, so it keeps you listening but, that big end never actually happens but still it’s a half decent song at least!
Wastemakers does nothing to convince me there will be very much on here I am going to like and it dawns on me what is missing, I really think the addition of a second guitarist would benefit Haystack greatly because it would beef the sound up naturally and give the other guitar the room to try all the intricate and widdly noise rock they are aiming to push forward as here it all just sounds confused and lost.
Burning Eye does have a decent opening riff but again once the song actually starts it just doesn’t have the power I would expect and the opening riff is used again to good effect midway through but its all just so flat sounding, maybe that’s the production because you can hear the bass but it’s just not adding any oomph to the sound and again the riffs just don’t punch through as much as you would want them to.
Blame has another nice catchy little riff to start, and it continues nicely into the main part of the song but, when they try to mix it up the sound just gets a bit lost and it all sound too sparse, a nice riff usually can make you forgive most things, but it doesn’t save this song I’m afraid. The Ban really does nothing for me, the music is kind of ok in bits like it’s got a decent stoner vibe but the vocals on this song are just a no go and just make me want to turn it off, they are so out of pitch and strained I just can’t deal with them.
Going Under fairs slightly better musically with a punky sound that has been creeping around some of the songs pushed more to the foreground and it helps also the vocals seem to cope more with this type of song, Freak is a bit stop start and another song that I struggle to really understand or enjoy, the way they have structured it is just all wrong for me and my brain just gives up trying halfway through.
Closing track Winter is a slowed down Sabbath-esque crawl of a song but for the final time its all just to underwhelming and honestly the vocals, I can’t deal with them anymore and am glad that it’s the end of the album to be honest. After listening to Doomsday Goes Away, I think I can see what hey are aiming for style wise a kind of southern punk Sabbath mix and they almost pull it off in places but the lack of depth and structure in places just really put me off.
There is most definitely a call for this type of stuff but unfortunately it’s just not for me and I can only say what I think at the end of the day. 4/10
Wastemakers does nothing to convince me there will be very much on here I am going to like and it dawns on me what is missing, I really think the addition of a second guitarist would benefit Haystack greatly because it would beef the sound up naturally and give the other guitar the room to try all the intricate and widdly noise rock they are aiming to push forward as here it all just sounds confused and lost.
Burning Eye does have a decent opening riff but again once the song actually starts it just doesn’t have the power I would expect and the opening riff is used again to good effect midway through but its all just so flat sounding, maybe that’s the production because you can hear the bass but it’s just not adding any oomph to the sound and again the riffs just don’t punch through as much as you would want them to.
Blame has another nice catchy little riff to start, and it continues nicely into the main part of the song but, when they try to mix it up the sound just gets a bit lost and it all sound too sparse, a nice riff usually can make you forgive most things, but it doesn’t save this song I’m afraid. The Ban really does nothing for me, the music is kind of ok in bits like it’s got a decent stoner vibe but the vocals on this song are just a no go and just make me want to turn it off, they are so out of pitch and strained I just can’t deal with them.
Going Under fairs slightly better musically with a punky sound that has been creeping around some of the songs pushed more to the foreground and it helps also the vocals seem to cope more with this type of song, Freak is a bit stop start and another song that I struggle to really understand or enjoy, the way they have structured it is just all wrong for me and my brain just gives up trying halfway through.
Closing track Winter is a slowed down Sabbath-esque crawl of a song but for the final time its all just to underwhelming and honestly the vocals, I can’t deal with them anymore and am glad that it’s the end of the album to be honest. After listening to Doomsday Goes Away, I think I can see what hey are aiming for style wise a kind of southern punk Sabbath mix and they almost pull it off in places but the lack of depth and structure in places just really put me off.
There is most definitely a call for this type of stuff but unfortunately it’s just not for me and I can only say what I think at the end of the day. 4/10
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