From one extreme to another!! It’s crazy to think of just how strong the releases have been so early in the year and I know that any mention of AOTY is probably met with an eye roll but we have what we have. And this one certainly touches down in that category.
This is one of those albums where you can go back to it repeatedly, as Pothamus bring you an enthralling and heady mix of sludge and tribal elements which as a description of what they sound like does them no justice at all. It is a massive release from the trio, which as their bio suggests moves them away from the conventional sound of others.
In some respects, it’s almost like dance music in the way they are constructed with the pounding drums taking a central role in driving each song forward. Everything is built around them, the soundscapes continually expanding so that they are so much more than just Sludge. Or more than just this or just that, its an album which you just must sample and then go from there.
Zhikarta starts and its almost immediate in announcing that this is not going to be your typical release. The drumming that underpins everything is rock solid and carries it along as ethereal vocals swirl around it. Guitar is used as an embellishment instead of a hammer, and suddenly its finishing as Ravus continues in with that constant percussion ruling the day.
Zhikarta starts and its almost immediate in announcing that this is not going to be your typical release. The drumming that underpins everything is rock solid and carries it along as ethereal vocals swirl around it. Guitar is used as an embellishment instead of a hammer, and suddenly its finishing as Ravus continues in with that constant percussion ruling the day.
Vocals are switched between cleans and grit and by now you are firmly entrenched on the journey that they have embarked on. This is music to sit and contemplate with, deeply textured and it demands your total concentration with it, lest you miss any of its wonder.
It also makes for a difficult review (poor me) in that anything I've said about those two songs basically repeats for the remainder of the album. Each track does follow a blueprint of sorts where like a painter they have an idea of what it should look like and then start to embellish the canvas in front of them. Its like this here and each one is a masterwork in bringing an atmosphere right into your ears. On Savartuum Avur, when heaviness kicks in with throat shredding vocals and an up-front guitar the landscape changes but the drums do not lose their place as being the central piece of this audio jigsaw.
It also makes for a difficult review (poor me) in that anything I've said about those two songs basically repeats for the remainder of the album. Each track does follow a blueprint of sorts where like a painter they have an idea of what it should look like and then start to embellish the canvas in front of them. Its like this here and each one is a masterwork in bringing an atmosphere right into your ears. On Savartuum Avur, when heaviness kicks in with throat shredding vocals and an up-front guitar the landscape changes but the drums do not lose their place as being the central piece of this audio jigsaw.
The last song, Abur takes all of this and gives you a 15-minute lesson in how to build and arrange a song. You could spend the first listen just entranced by Mattias M. Van Hulle’s drums which are just sublime. Its when you take your second or third walkthrough the rest becomes visible to you and I think that if you put that effort in with this then you will be rewarded on a deep level. In some respects, this song represents a crystal-clear version of sludge – it’s a long song, with repetitive music but it’s the way that they do it. It doesn’t feel like a long song at all and that is a testament to their ability.
Your appreciation of this will depend on how you take your extreme music. If you are looking for typical riffs, double bass, machine gun vocals of the clean and dirty variety then you will be disappointed. If you are looking for (or are a fan of) something that sits within the sludge circle (just) of a metal Venn diagram but offers a sonic landscape that is so much more, then you should try this. 9/10
Greybeards - Out Of The Red (Rexius Records) [Dan Sierras]
Swedish band Greybeards return with its EP Out or the Red, and to me, lead singer Olle Westlund seems to be dialing it up a notch on his vocals.
On their previous albums, Westlund seemed to yell much more (which wasn’t a bad thing) while singing, and in this EP he trying more to “sing”. I can hear much more vibrato in his vocals. Songs like When The Levee Breaks and Remember Me really showcase this.
This is a very polished band, and present that well on the tracks Holy Ghosts and Charade. Although the vocals are not similar, fans of Foo Fighters will probably dig a lot of what Greybeards have to offer. Finally, All Those Yesterdays dials it down a notch to close out this EP with a much more mellow track.
Overall, Out Of The Red is a solid offering for fans of radio rock ‘n’ roll. It’s nothing that really excites me, but there is definitely a future for this band if they can reach more of an audience. 7/10
Fvzz Popvli - Melting Pop (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Rich Piva]
Fvzz Popvli is tired of the same old same old. It even says so in their bio in the listing for their new record, delivered to us by Heavy Psych Sounds, Melting Pop:
“It’s not stoner, it’s not garage, it’s not punk, it’s not psych, it’s not even a traditional album. It’s melting, a blend of FVZZ POPVLI saying “screw the labels” and just going with the flow, all natural, like grown-ups with no preservatives.”
Cool. I am all for something going off the rails and creating a record so different that it leaves you wondering what happened. I am just not sure I feel that way about the eight songs on Melting Pop. Sure, they are a bit out there and not traditional stoner rock that they now seem to despise. The songs are really good, too. Is this something that is so fresh and new that I have never heard anything like it before? This is debatable.
I know the Rome, Italy band is not into labels, but I have to say something here so the reader can get a starting point, so I would call this record fuzzy garage psych rock. Temple Of Doom, the opener, is a great song, with all kinds of snotty punk energy to go along with all the fuzz. The trio sound great on the record and are super tight, despite me calling them “garage”. That is more the vibe and less the “sloppy” connotation that can go along with the label.
Your appreciation of this will depend on how you take your extreme music. If you are looking for typical riffs, double bass, machine gun vocals of the clean and dirty variety then you will be disappointed. If you are looking for (or are a fan of) something that sits within the sludge circle (just) of a metal Venn diagram but offers a sonic landscape that is so much more, then you should try this. 9/10
Greybeards - Out Of The Red (Rexius Records) [Dan Sierras]
Swedish band Greybeards return with its EP Out or the Red, and to me, lead singer Olle Westlund seems to be dialing it up a notch on his vocals.
On their previous albums, Westlund seemed to yell much more (which wasn’t a bad thing) while singing, and in this EP he trying more to “sing”. I can hear much more vibrato in his vocals. Songs like When The Levee Breaks and Remember Me really showcase this.
This is a very polished band, and present that well on the tracks Holy Ghosts and Charade. Although the vocals are not similar, fans of Foo Fighters will probably dig a lot of what Greybeards have to offer. Finally, All Those Yesterdays dials it down a notch to close out this EP with a much more mellow track.
Overall, Out Of The Red is a solid offering for fans of radio rock ‘n’ roll. It’s nothing that really excites me, but there is definitely a future for this band if they can reach more of an audience. 7/10
Fvzz Popvli - Melting Pop (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Rich Piva]
Fvzz Popvli is tired of the same old same old. It even says so in their bio in the listing for their new record, delivered to us by Heavy Psych Sounds, Melting Pop:
“It’s not stoner, it’s not garage, it’s not punk, it’s not psych, it’s not even a traditional album. It’s melting, a blend of FVZZ POPVLI saying “screw the labels” and just going with the flow, all natural, like grown-ups with no preservatives.”
Cool. I am all for something going off the rails and creating a record so different that it leaves you wondering what happened. I am just not sure I feel that way about the eight songs on Melting Pop. Sure, they are a bit out there and not traditional stoner rock that they now seem to despise. The songs are really good, too. Is this something that is so fresh and new that I have never heard anything like it before? This is debatable.
I know the Rome, Italy band is not into labels, but I have to say something here so the reader can get a starting point, so I would call this record fuzzy garage psych rock. Temple Of Doom, the opener, is a great song, with all kinds of snotty punk energy to go along with all the fuzz. The trio sound great on the record and are super tight, despite me calling them “garage”. That is more the vibe and less the “sloppy” connotation that can go along with the label.
Telephone is a very cool mid-tempo track with nice guitar work, dripping with psych goodness, and some harmonized (!) backup vocals. Salty Biscvits sounds like a combination of The Hives and The Dictators, which is a pretty cool formula. The garage label and MC5/Stooges vibes reign supreme on Erotik Fvel Pimp, leveraging that snotty punk side of the band. There is also this underlying Hanoi Rocks/80’s glam thing that I hear on just about every track, and it works for sure. The band has a pop sensibility to them, even if they want nothing to do with it.
Take Kommando for instance. The melody will stay with you throughout the day, no matter how snotty the vocalist is trying to be in his delivery. Hey, you want the guys to doom it up a bit? Well, you can have the creepy Ovija for your enjoyment that also somehow sounds like The Beatles song The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill. Cop Sacher has this 90s vibe to it, especially during the “You’ll never catch me…” part. Oh yeah, there is a sax solo too. The Knight closes it out with snotty psych, which is what I am calling the band now, like it or not.
Is this record really good? Yes. Should you go into it thinking you have never heard anything like it before? No, because that would just be setting you up for disappointment. If you want some killer, fuzzy, heavy psych guitar rock with some serious pop sensibilities then the new one from Fvzz Popvli is for you. Snotty psych lives. 7/10
ΘΛΙΨΙΣ (Thlipsis) – Servants Of Apathy EP (FYCR) [Chris Tsintziras]
What we have here is another tremendous release from the well known Greek underground label Fucking Your Creation Records, they specialise in the underground, with a real focus on extreme metal. This new release is from a band is called ΘΛΙΨΙΣ (Thlipsis) and it is their new EP Servants Of Apathy. Though there are only three tracks: Servants Of Apathy, Laments Of A Dying Land and Ξυράφια Απελπισίας. Anger and rage floods the speakers from the beginning and we are beaten by very extreme style of metal.
Is this record really good? Yes. Should you go into it thinking you have never heard anything like it before? No, because that would just be setting you up for disappointment. If you want some killer, fuzzy, heavy psych guitar rock with some serious pop sensibilities then the new one from Fvzz Popvli is for you. Snotty psych lives. 7/10
ΘΛΙΨΙΣ (Thlipsis) – Servants Of Apathy EP (FYCR) [Chris Tsintziras]
What we have here is another tremendous release from the well known Greek underground label Fucking Your Creation Records, they specialise in the underground, with a real focus on extreme metal. This new release is from a band is called ΘΛΙΨΙΣ (Thlipsis) and it is their new EP Servants Of Apathy. Though there are only three tracks: Servants Of Apathy, Laments Of A Dying Land and Ξυράφια Απελπισίας. Anger and rage floods the speakers from the beginning and we are beaten by very extreme style of metal.
The guitars are furious and the fierce drums give the listener an understanding of what they are here to do. They are a band who according to their lyrics, are ready to take down everything that is rotten in this unfair world. As I listened to the album the clear favourite for me was Lament Of A Dying Land, but this doesn't mean the other tracks lack anything, it's just my stand out. Servants Of Apathy brings more aggression and political ideology on the FYCR label. 9/10
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