There's only a few bands who can throw in a snippet of both Sabotage (on the rollicking Grind You Down) and Daddy Cool into their songs, but then there few bands that have the take no shit attitude of Swedish riffmakers Transport League.
Forming in 1994, they are contemporaries to the likes of Clutch, Down, Spiritual Beggars, Hellacopters and Sasquatch and others that are in that they remind me a lot of, spiky, stoner rock n roll with breakneck riffs, snarled vocals, big ol' grooves and riffs to spare. Since reforming in 2013 they have been more prolific than they ever were both in releases and touring but obviously 2020 put paid to that.
Though the engines were running, the tyres were changed and the disintegration of the world inspired more raging rock n roll. Culminating in We Are Satan's People, the never ending riffs, tonal shifts and lashings of groove all return and the result is 11 more tracks of no nonsense stoner/biker/racecar rocking.
Be it the brooding, hardcore influenced Hollowed Victory, the chugging industrial groove metal of Primate Apeshit, the Sabbath worship of Cosmo Death featuring Sandra Mattsson & Louise Törner of Lamasthu, who reappear a few times for some soulful backing vocals. I'd not heard much of Transport League before this record but yeah this will definitely appeal to the stoner/riff crowd, fat chugging riffs, clever lyrics and a decidedly Swedish edge. 8/10
Mother Of Millions - Magna Mater (ViciSolum Productions)
Greek prog metal act Mother Of Millions take the Leprous route with their music. That is atmospheric, emotive ambience weaving into chugging palm muted prog metal, culminating in rhythmic, catchy songwriting and lyrics sung with soaring soulful vocals, that harder tone witnessed on the title track which features some harsh screams and female vocals. With their previous album Artifacts they received critical acclaim and were able to take their music outside of their native Greece, there is a huge call and love for this music (just check out how many bands we feature in this publication) so it’s no wonder that Mother Of Millions have continued to make strides into the storytelling style of Leprous et al.
However they’ve also dialled up the heaviness, a lot has changed since their last album in 2019, the world is angrier and as a result so is Mother Of Millions’ music, the riffs are more down-tuned and hit harder, the slow build of Inside giving you that initial exposure to what I mean. The pulsating synths laying a back beat alongside the bass and vocals, drums almost distant and sparse in the verses as there’s an oscillating build with layers before the heaviness returns. Mother Of Millions are especially good at the build and release, they’re also good with grooves, the chunky Feral full of it as is the brooding Liminal.
The electronics bristle throughout the record, keeping the soundscapes that were the trademark of the band’s keyboardist Makis Tsamkosoglou, who passed away tragically and unexpectedly, their first release without him was 2022’s Orbit EP but Magna Mater feels like a tribute, to his life and the lives of anyone else we the band and the listener have lost. I use the word cathartic a lot but it’s difficult to describe Celestial as anything else, the keys such a powerful part of The Line, another build and release masterclass and the best song on the album for my money. Magna Mater continues the anthemic brilliance felt on Artifacts but makes it known that they still consider the heavy side to be important to their sonic development. 9/10
The Native Howl – Sons Of Destruction (Sumerian Records)
If Metallica leaned more into the country/bluegrass after Load/Reload, then they may have ended up with record like Sons Of Destruction. With Hayseed Dixie and The Dead South the other bands many will recognised in the crossover/bluegrass sound The Native Howl merge banjo’s, bouzouki’s and acoustic chicken pickin' with thrash metal electric guitars, blast beats and vocals. So Metallica meets Earl Scruggs, Molly Hatchet meets Megadave it’s ‘thrashgrass’ from Michigan. The four metalheads wanted to do something different so entered into Season 1 of the TV show No Cover and after winning signed to Sumerian Records to record this debut release.
It was preceded by a number of singles, all included here, especially Mercy which features the brilliant vocals of Lzzy Hale (there’s very few genres she can’t sing) and their cover of God’s Gonna Cut You Down an American folks song famously performed by Johnny Cash. It’s all furious and flashy, Can’t Sleep evokes Jim Dandy and Black Oak Arkansas, while the title track reminds me of Rebel Meets Rebel, where Outlaw Country icon David Allen Coe performed with Vinny Paul and Dimebag from Pantera (seriously if you like this check that album out).
The banjos often substitute for lead guitars, played with speed on No True Scotsman, a full on thrasher without the need for distortion (or wah pedal). Focussing their lyrics on the darker in things life, see Waco, Stockholm Syndrome, The Native Howl take quite an innovative but obvious sound and make it work. 8/10
Ignominous - Dawn With No Light (Vinyl Store)
Ah Greek black metal, it's incestuous and has been forging it's own path for decades. Formed in Thessaloniki in 2020, bassist Anestis Nekhromancer, guitarist/vocalist Chris and drummer Billy Vongaar started working on music but health issues due to the pandemic delayed the creation of this album but here it is in 2024 and these three veterans (they've all been in various Greek bands) unless ferocious black metal the Hellenic way.
From the brooding to blasting Nightwounds which shifts between speed and doom, the atmospherics of Apostrophe give it a slow world. The pace quickens on Aurora Borealis, technically is abound here the riffs razor sharp but the vocals sounding like they've gargled those same razors. The orchestral swells and gothic moments are ever present on the album but are more obvious on The Coming Fall and The Dawn With No Light.
Ignominous' debut has been a while in production due to various reasons but with the adversity no conquered they look to do the same in the Greek extreme metal scene. 7/10
Forming in 1994, they are contemporaries to the likes of Clutch, Down, Spiritual Beggars, Hellacopters and Sasquatch and others that are in that they remind me a lot of, spiky, stoner rock n roll with breakneck riffs, snarled vocals, big ol' grooves and riffs to spare. Since reforming in 2013 they have been more prolific than they ever were both in releases and touring but obviously 2020 put paid to that.
Though the engines were running, the tyres were changed and the disintegration of the world inspired more raging rock n roll. Culminating in We Are Satan's People, the never ending riffs, tonal shifts and lashings of groove all return and the result is 11 more tracks of no nonsense stoner/biker/racecar rocking.
Be it the brooding, hardcore influenced Hollowed Victory, the chugging industrial groove metal of Primate Apeshit, the Sabbath worship of Cosmo Death featuring Sandra Mattsson & Louise Törner of Lamasthu, who reappear a few times for some soulful backing vocals. I'd not heard much of Transport League before this record but yeah this will definitely appeal to the stoner/riff crowd, fat chugging riffs, clever lyrics and a decidedly Swedish edge. 8/10
Mother Of Millions - Magna Mater (ViciSolum Productions)
Greek prog metal act Mother Of Millions take the Leprous route with their music. That is atmospheric, emotive ambience weaving into chugging palm muted prog metal, culminating in rhythmic, catchy songwriting and lyrics sung with soaring soulful vocals, that harder tone witnessed on the title track which features some harsh screams and female vocals. With their previous album Artifacts they received critical acclaim and were able to take their music outside of their native Greece, there is a huge call and love for this music (just check out how many bands we feature in this publication) so it’s no wonder that Mother Of Millions have continued to make strides into the storytelling style of Leprous et al.
However they’ve also dialled up the heaviness, a lot has changed since their last album in 2019, the world is angrier and as a result so is Mother Of Millions’ music, the riffs are more down-tuned and hit harder, the slow build of Inside giving you that initial exposure to what I mean. The pulsating synths laying a back beat alongside the bass and vocals, drums almost distant and sparse in the verses as there’s an oscillating build with layers before the heaviness returns. Mother Of Millions are especially good at the build and release, they’re also good with grooves, the chunky Feral full of it as is the brooding Liminal.
The electronics bristle throughout the record, keeping the soundscapes that were the trademark of the band’s keyboardist Makis Tsamkosoglou, who passed away tragically and unexpectedly, their first release without him was 2022’s Orbit EP but Magna Mater feels like a tribute, to his life and the lives of anyone else we the band and the listener have lost. I use the word cathartic a lot but it’s difficult to describe Celestial as anything else, the keys such a powerful part of The Line, another build and release masterclass and the best song on the album for my money. Magna Mater continues the anthemic brilliance felt on Artifacts but makes it known that they still consider the heavy side to be important to their sonic development. 9/10
The Native Howl – Sons Of Destruction (Sumerian Records)
If Metallica leaned more into the country/bluegrass after Load/Reload, then they may have ended up with record like Sons Of Destruction. With Hayseed Dixie and The Dead South the other bands many will recognised in the crossover/bluegrass sound The Native Howl merge banjo’s, bouzouki’s and acoustic chicken pickin' with thrash metal electric guitars, blast beats and vocals. So Metallica meets Earl Scruggs, Molly Hatchet meets Megadave it’s ‘thrashgrass’ from Michigan. The four metalheads wanted to do something different so entered into Season 1 of the TV show No Cover and after winning signed to Sumerian Records to record this debut release.
It was preceded by a number of singles, all included here, especially Mercy which features the brilliant vocals of Lzzy Hale (there’s very few genres she can’t sing) and their cover of God’s Gonna Cut You Down an American folks song famously performed by Johnny Cash. It’s all furious and flashy, Can’t Sleep evokes Jim Dandy and Black Oak Arkansas, while the title track reminds me of Rebel Meets Rebel, where Outlaw Country icon David Allen Coe performed with Vinny Paul and Dimebag from Pantera (seriously if you like this check that album out).
The banjos often substitute for lead guitars, played with speed on No True Scotsman, a full on thrasher without the need for distortion (or wah pedal). Focussing their lyrics on the darker in things life, see Waco, Stockholm Syndrome, The Native Howl take quite an innovative but obvious sound and make it work. 8/10
Ignominous - Dawn With No Light (Vinyl Store)
Ah Greek black metal, it's incestuous and has been forging it's own path for decades. Formed in Thessaloniki in 2020, bassist Anestis Nekhromancer, guitarist/vocalist Chris and drummer Billy Vongaar started working on music but health issues due to the pandemic delayed the creation of this album but here it is in 2024 and these three veterans (they've all been in various Greek bands) unless ferocious black metal the Hellenic way.
From the brooding to blasting Nightwounds which shifts between speed and doom, the atmospherics of Apostrophe give it a slow world. The pace quickens on Aurora Borealis, technically is abound here the riffs razor sharp but the vocals sounding like they've gargled those same razors. The orchestral swells and gothic moments are ever present on the album but are more obvious on The Coming Fall and The Dawn With No Light.
Ignominous' debut has been a while in production due to various reasons but with the adversity no conquered they look to do the same in the Greek extreme metal scene. 7/10
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