Damn, that was heavy. That was my initial response when I listened to the new Blue Heron record, Everything Fades, for the first time. It is also the reaction after the first dozen and I assume beyond, because this bad boy is a crusher. Everything Fades is nine tracks that are the definition of heavy in stoner rock today and should be the prototype for bands who want to bring it.
The riffs, the vocals, the subject matter, the tone, the vibe, the title…there is nothing not heavy about this record. Null Geodesic immediately crushes you with death by riff and vocals by Jadd Shickler that will eat your face off. Don’t be fooled by the tame opening of the title track, because the riff is here to flatten you. The drum work on this album is fantastic, really pushing that heavy button, so I need to call out how awesome Ricardo Sanchez work is on this record. Blue Heron has perfected the heavy slow burn with Swansong, which reminds me of something from The Age Of Truth. This record is filled with gigantic, monstrous, world eating riffs brought to us by Mike Chavez who knows how to shatter the earth with his axe, as this track shows.
We Breath Darkness is more of the heavy, with this song being the best vocal performance by Shickler, as he doesn’t need to add the gruff to his voice to be effective. Steve Schmidlapp’s bass keeps this one grounded, and he partnered with Sanchez have one of the rhythm section performances of the year on Everything Fades. Dinosaur is a track of the year candidate and lives up to its name. I love the riff and I love the drumming, something I could repeat nine times (and may have). Just crushing.
How about we get a little psych action going with so very cool guitar work on instrumental Trepidation, that leads into more crushing riffs and drums on Clearmountain, which keeps a bit of the heavy psych vibe alive to go along with the perfected heavy stoner doom. This is THE drum performance of all of the killer ones on this record. Bellwether is my favourite though, as it has all of the goodness that I have called out previously in one track, almost like the build of this record all cumulated in brilliance of this song. I do like how the album didn’t end on that note but on Flight of the Heron, a one minute plus instrumental used to both close us out and leave you wanting more.
Everything Fades is the definition of heavy. If someone comes up to you and asks for some heavy ass stoner rock this should be your first choice without question. I see a lot of the birds the band is named after living in Florida, but what you do not see here or anywhere else are bands that can bring the heavy like Blue Heron. This is a must listen for anyone who even pretends to like heavy rock. 10/10
Soul Asylum - Slowly But Shirley (Blue Elan Records) [Rich Piva]
Soul Asylum was never a grunge band, though they were certainly marketed and bundled with them back when their big record, Grave Dancers Union dropped in 1992 and continued to have hits off said record through 1993. What a lot of people did not know was that GDU was actually their sixth album and the band was more like other Minnesota bands Husker Du and The Replacements than Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, but Dave Pirner looked and played the part perfectly, and created some serious success for the band in the mid-90s.
Even the songs on their two biggest records were more pop rock leaning or even alt country-ish more than grunge, but the 90s were what they were, and I will always have Somebody To Shove on my list of favourite songs ever. Pirner has kept the band going, with him as the only original member, creating more pop rock gems, now very under the radar, without rock radio and MTV to help push his always good stuff, with the new record, Slowly But Shirley, being another example of how underrated he is as a songwriter and that the band should never had only had one really big record, as Dave really is one of the more talented songwriters coming out of that era.
Slowly But Shirley isn’t going to brake barriers or produce throughs of new fans, but this is a very solid effort for what Soul Asylum is in 2024. High Road is Big Star inspired pop rock goodness with Dave’s voice sounding great. Freak Accident is another strong track that sounds right off of 1995’s Let Your Dim Light Shine, and the one two punch of Freeloader into Tryin’ Man and its funkiness is my favourite part of the record. Waiting On The Lord is a fun and different (for Soul Asylum) track too. While the band had some hits with their slower, ballad type tracks, I preferred when the back rocked, so the bluesy Sucker Maker is another one right up my alley with Dave’s vocals a ton of fun.
Soul Asylum in 2024 is still enjoyable and still worth your time if you are a fan. Slowly But Shirley is a fun listen and Dave Pirner continues to be one of the more underrated songwriters of our time. 710
Dead Sacraments - The Pale Temple And Others (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
Four slabs of monolithic doom metal from Dead Sacraments comes in the form of The Pale Temple And Others. Conceptually about doomed protagonists telling stories drawn from the imaginations of the four band members, The Pale Temple And Others is the second album from the Chicago band following on from 2019's Celestial Throne.
Slowly But Shirley isn’t going to brake barriers or produce throughs of new fans, but this is a very solid effort for what Soul Asylum is in 2024. High Road is Big Star inspired pop rock goodness with Dave’s voice sounding great. Freak Accident is another strong track that sounds right off of 1995’s Let Your Dim Light Shine, and the one two punch of Freeloader into Tryin’ Man and its funkiness is my favourite part of the record. Waiting On The Lord is a fun and different (for Soul Asylum) track too. While the band had some hits with their slower, ballad type tracks, I preferred when the back rocked, so the bluesy Sucker Maker is another one right up my alley with Dave’s vocals a ton of fun.
Soul Asylum in 2024 is still enjoyable and still worth your time if you are a fan. Slowly But Shirley is a fun listen and Dave Pirner continues to be one of the more underrated songwriters of our time. 710
Dead Sacraments - The Pale Temple And Others (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
Four slabs of monolithic doom metal from Dead Sacraments comes in the form of The Pale Temple And Others. Conceptually about doomed protagonists telling stories drawn from the imaginations of the four band members, The Pale Temple And Others is the second album from the Chicago band following on from 2019's Celestial Throne.
Now you may think this is an EP but all four songs are over 10 minutes long so it's definitely and album and one that needs your time and attention as Dead Sacraments play the sort of doom that hypnotically draws you into their fuzzy world, a catatonic dirge like The Mountainside or The Weeping Court bring the desolation. Lovers of glacial ominous doom will bang their head solemnly to The Pale Temple And Others. 8/10
Half Me - Opium (Arising Empire) [Matt Bladen]
German metalcore five piece formed Half Me in 2018 after their previous bands imploded. Chris and Silvian play guitar as Max and Tobias take drums and bass, Chris (another one) is the vocalist. Following on from their debut album Soma, they have been riding the wave of popularity since then.
Opium is an EP to keep that momentum going, blending 90's Metalcore and Nu-Metal sounds with modern production and a fistful of rage, it's a five song, fifteen minute breakdown of heavy riffs and screamed vocals. Your enjoyment of the album is very much defined by if you like the genre as it never stays too far from the hardcore/metalcore theme.
Keeping their name and their music relevant with new material Half Me hit the highs with Opium. 7/10
Half Me - Opium (Arising Empire) [Matt Bladen]
German metalcore five piece formed Half Me in 2018 after their previous bands imploded. Chris and Silvian play guitar as Max and Tobias take drums and bass, Chris (another one) is the vocalist. Following on from their debut album Soma, they have been riding the wave of popularity since then.
Opium is an EP to keep that momentum going, blending 90's Metalcore and Nu-Metal sounds with modern production and a fistful of rage, it's a five song, fifteen minute breakdown of heavy riffs and screamed vocals. Your enjoyment of the album is very much defined by if you like the genre as it never stays too far from the hardcore/metalcore theme.
Keeping their name and their music relevant with new material Half Me hit the highs with Opium. 7/10
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