Post Rock/Psych/Sludge/shoegaze dealers of heavy, the Brittany-based Stonebirds, are back with their new record, and their final one, Perpetual Wasteland. In no way does the band take their foot off the gas as it relates to exploding your brain with their six new tracks, brought to us via Ripple Music. The trio certainly goes out with a bang with a killer 40 minutes of their unique brand of heavy.
Starting with Circles, Stonebirds are not messing around, as the keys and the drumming of Antoine Delhumeau lead to a blinding wall of sound of guitar that sets the tone with a two vocal attack that is a different brand of heavy. I love how the clean, harmonized vocals come in at around the midpoint of this track. Croak has this heavy Shoegaze thing happening, and it is excellent, especially on how the clean and not so clean heavy singing merges perfectly with what is going on musically. So Far Away has a 90s thing going on, almost like a shoegaze Helmet or even Unsane, with keys. Great stuff.
It gets all trippy too, and is that Soundgarden I am hearing musically during some parts? Sea Of Sorrow is not an Alice In Chains cover, but does also have a 90s thing going on. I love the urgency on this slow burn (for them) track. Oh, and the riffs. This one is my favourite on the record. Lit By Fire gives me Converge vibes and that is fine by me. The aptly titled The Last Line closes out not just this chapter but the band as a whole, and the combination of all they bring to the heavy table is on full display in what is the perfect way to end what has been an amazing journey since 2008.
It's never great when a band you love is no more, but if they go out the way Stonebirds do on Perpetual Wasteland, there is not much more you can ask for. A proggy, psych/sludge trip with 90s vibes and their brand of skull crushing, killer heaviness. Stonebirds will be missed, but we still always have Perpetual Wasteland. 8/10
Igarka – Dopamine Ocean (Self Released) [Spike]
Emerging from Romagna, Italy, Igarka’s debut EP Dopamine Ocean is a striking collision of shoegaze textures, post-hardcore thrust, and slivers of metal aggression. From opening moments, it’s clear this is not just an experiment, it’s a carefully constructed first statement, full of contradictions (soft vs harsh, ethereal vs dense) that all feel intentional.
Aisja Baglioni’s vocals anchor much of what gives this EP its emotional punch. She moves between delicate, whisper-like clean passages and raw intensity, and it’s in that tension where songs like Self-Similar shine brightest: melody that floats but never drifts too far, distortion that pulses underneath, and lyrics grappling with alienation and the loop of daily existence. It’s beautiful and uncomfortable in equal measure.
Behind her, the walls of guitars from Luca Pasini and Simone Succi build atmosphere. At times the guitars hover, reverb, shimmer, feedback and then they buckle under weight, becoming thick and bruising. The bass of Elisabetta Paglierani positions itself not just as foundation but as texture: rumbling, melodic, giving the heavier moments extra depth. The drums (by Giorgio Puzzarini) aren’t just keeping pace, they drive dynamics, pushing the music into tension and release in ways unexpected for a debut EP.
Production (DIY but ambitious) works well: the shoegaze elements are expansive enough, yet nothing gets so washed out that you lose the edge. The louder, harsher moments still land with force; the quieter ones give breathing space to sink in. You feel the pull between restraint and explosion all through the EP.
What makes Dopamine Ocean compelling is how it navigates identity. You hear Deftones, Baroness and other harder to place elements in there, but Igarka rarely sound like a re-tread. There’s a youthful urgency, sure but also a clarity of vision. Themes of disorientation, isolation, distrust in the future: these aren’t tacked on, they’re woven in, giving the music weight beyond its ingredients.
It’s not a long EP, but it sticks. Moments In Self-Similar echo long after the speakers quiet; the richer, heavier sections feel like a promise of more to come. For a first released work, this hints at something very much worth following; the kind of band building their language rather than mimicking one. A strong debut. Igarka show they can balance beauty and force, atmosphere and aggression—and do it with emotional honesty. 9/10
Warrant – The Speed Of Metal (Massacre Records) [Simon Black]
If you’ve clicked on this thinking that this hails the return of the US Glam Metal act, then it’s time to put your cherry pie back in the fridge. Although also formed in the early 80’s, this is Warrant the Speed Metal band from the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany, not the cringeworthy bubble gum pop metal act who are probably collectively responsible for much of the ozone depletion in California back then, not to mention some truly awful examples of Hair Metal.
The reason why there probably has not been a huge branding legal tussle back when the US namesake hit the big time is that by then Düsseldorf’s finest had already fizzled out not long after their 1985 debut The Enforcer album was released. It’s 2014 by the time they reform, by which time the US version were in disarray after the death of Jani Lane, and these days no-one cares if two very different bands like this are out there in the market, because apart from the name they are totally divergent. Although the big difference is I would pay money to go and see this Teutonic incarnation, because this album is an absolute belter…
As with many acts who have waxed and waned over four decades, there is quite a fresh line up for this much overdue third studio album. Vocalist / bassist Jörg Juraschek is the only remaining original member, but guitarist Michael Dietz has been in play since 2015. Given that this was immediately after the release of their sophomore the year previously, this is to all intents and purposes his first studio album for the band, with second guitar Marius Lamm and drummer Adrian Eric Weiss both being recent additions to the line-up. All three of them are also much younger than Juraschek, and the overall effect is of a young band having been influenced by what they found in their parents’ vinyl racks, rather than an act who was there when Speed Metal was a novel innovation, but never quite got the notice they deserved at the time. I guess technically both of these things are true…
Adorned by the band’s axe wielding mascot The Executioner, this album shouts classic speed metal tropes before the first note rips and roars its way out of my speakers. It does so pretty effectively too, as there is a fine balance between sounding as it if this new recording is a long-lost remastered gem buried in preservative for four decades whilst benefitting from the technology at our disposal today. Many bands both old and new get this badly wrong, getting distracted by recreating lost sounds, but the energy is about capturing the infectious power oozing from this band, with the tech focussed on capturing and improving on that zeitgeist. That balance is bang on the nail here.
When you don’t release new albums very often, the opportunity for honing and refining is clearly there, but this doesn’t feel like material that’s been bounced around for a decade. It’s fresh, well arranged and sharply focussed throughout. There’s the energy and danger of a live show, but with a well-balanced mix that allows each contributor to be singled out, without losing that cohesive band sound.
These ten songs are old school speed metal of the type the defunct German Noise label would have been pushing back in the day, but they don’t come across as overtly retro or derivative. When you have titles like Scream For Metal, my cheesy metal radar immediately kicks into overdrive, but it’s an absolute grindingly on the nail mix of rip-roaring speed and well-paced trad metal spliced together in a way that’s guaranteed to start opening up pits live and a cracking way to close the album. Forty years ago, it would have been the opening track. The maturity of the band is such that they hold this one back to the end of the record, letting the darker and lyrically more thoughtful material dominate for the first nine songs.
This band write and record very well together, and Juraschek’s voice holds a good range and an attention-capturing delivery. Bands in this niche whose singers hammer the bass as well often deliver their melody lines in sympatico with the rhythms and riffage, but Juraschek doesn’t tether the two together, which is all the more impressive given who those galloping bass lines truly drive most of the songs. It’s not all speed – there’s a couple of more trad anthemic riff-driven bangers as well, and I can really see them working well live. This is circle pit driving stuff of a very high order, and were it not for the galloping arthritis, I would be down there myself… 8/10
Andy And The Rockets – Casino (Dalapop) [Cherie]
Andy And The Rockets bring us 12 exuberant modern rock tracks with their new one Casino. It has a retro atmosphere with larger-than-life energy that’s bound to be a crowd pleaser, it's an album made to be played in a stadium with a huge crowd singing back.
Heartbreak City has strong powerful vocals and a very melodic and catchy chorus. It’s a track that guarantees that you will be singing along, all complimented by forceful drums and classic sounding riffs. In From The Cold is slow and emotional with raw vocals and repeating lyrics. The riffs in this one sound almost country and the persistent pounding drums adds a substantial pulse with lots of reverb. Your Touch Is Too Much and The Other Side is a great one, more rock and roll than the other with sharp classic sounding riffs which is nostalgic and reminds me of Meatloaf in his early career.
Ride Or Die is bracing and snappy and it gets you moving, it has rock radio hit potential and is my favourite from the album. Similar in style, Seven Years Of Bleeding leans into pop – rock a lot more. Overall, Andy And The Rockets are interesting, they blend genres and deliver us optimistic and bittersweet anthems which could breathe life into a gloomy day and though they are not an all-time favourite, I had a lot of fun listening to this one. 7/10.
It's never great when a band you love is no more, but if they go out the way Stonebirds do on Perpetual Wasteland, there is not much more you can ask for. A proggy, psych/sludge trip with 90s vibes and their brand of skull crushing, killer heaviness. Stonebirds will be missed, but we still always have Perpetual Wasteland. 8/10
Igarka – Dopamine Ocean (Self Released) [Spike]
Emerging from Romagna, Italy, Igarka’s debut EP Dopamine Ocean is a striking collision of shoegaze textures, post-hardcore thrust, and slivers of metal aggression. From opening moments, it’s clear this is not just an experiment, it’s a carefully constructed first statement, full of contradictions (soft vs harsh, ethereal vs dense) that all feel intentional.
Aisja Baglioni’s vocals anchor much of what gives this EP its emotional punch. She moves between delicate, whisper-like clean passages and raw intensity, and it’s in that tension where songs like Self-Similar shine brightest: melody that floats but never drifts too far, distortion that pulses underneath, and lyrics grappling with alienation and the loop of daily existence. It’s beautiful and uncomfortable in equal measure.
Behind her, the walls of guitars from Luca Pasini and Simone Succi build atmosphere. At times the guitars hover, reverb, shimmer, feedback and then they buckle under weight, becoming thick and bruising. The bass of Elisabetta Paglierani positions itself not just as foundation but as texture: rumbling, melodic, giving the heavier moments extra depth. The drums (by Giorgio Puzzarini) aren’t just keeping pace, they drive dynamics, pushing the music into tension and release in ways unexpected for a debut EP.
Production (DIY but ambitious) works well: the shoegaze elements are expansive enough, yet nothing gets so washed out that you lose the edge. The louder, harsher moments still land with force; the quieter ones give breathing space to sink in. You feel the pull between restraint and explosion all through the EP.
What makes Dopamine Ocean compelling is how it navigates identity. You hear Deftones, Baroness and other harder to place elements in there, but Igarka rarely sound like a re-tread. There’s a youthful urgency, sure but also a clarity of vision. Themes of disorientation, isolation, distrust in the future: these aren’t tacked on, they’re woven in, giving the music weight beyond its ingredients.
It’s not a long EP, but it sticks. Moments In Self-Similar echo long after the speakers quiet; the richer, heavier sections feel like a promise of more to come. For a first released work, this hints at something very much worth following; the kind of band building their language rather than mimicking one. A strong debut. Igarka show they can balance beauty and force, atmosphere and aggression—and do it with emotional honesty. 9/10
Warrant – The Speed Of Metal (Massacre Records) [Simon Black]
If you’ve clicked on this thinking that this hails the return of the US Glam Metal act, then it’s time to put your cherry pie back in the fridge. Although also formed in the early 80’s, this is Warrant the Speed Metal band from the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany, not the cringeworthy bubble gum pop metal act who are probably collectively responsible for much of the ozone depletion in California back then, not to mention some truly awful examples of Hair Metal.
The reason why there probably has not been a huge branding legal tussle back when the US namesake hit the big time is that by then Düsseldorf’s finest had already fizzled out not long after their 1985 debut The Enforcer album was released. It’s 2014 by the time they reform, by which time the US version were in disarray after the death of Jani Lane, and these days no-one cares if two very different bands like this are out there in the market, because apart from the name they are totally divergent. Although the big difference is I would pay money to go and see this Teutonic incarnation, because this album is an absolute belter…
As with many acts who have waxed and waned over four decades, there is quite a fresh line up for this much overdue third studio album. Vocalist / bassist Jörg Juraschek is the only remaining original member, but guitarist Michael Dietz has been in play since 2015. Given that this was immediately after the release of their sophomore the year previously, this is to all intents and purposes his first studio album for the band, with second guitar Marius Lamm and drummer Adrian Eric Weiss both being recent additions to the line-up. All three of them are also much younger than Juraschek, and the overall effect is of a young band having been influenced by what they found in their parents’ vinyl racks, rather than an act who was there when Speed Metal was a novel innovation, but never quite got the notice they deserved at the time. I guess technically both of these things are true…
Adorned by the band’s axe wielding mascot The Executioner, this album shouts classic speed metal tropes before the first note rips and roars its way out of my speakers. It does so pretty effectively too, as there is a fine balance between sounding as it if this new recording is a long-lost remastered gem buried in preservative for four decades whilst benefitting from the technology at our disposal today. Many bands both old and new get this badly wrong, getting distracted by recreating lost sounds, but the energy is about capturing the infectious power oozing from this band, with the tech focussed on capturing and improving on that zeitgeist. That balance is bang on the nail here.
When you don’t release new albums very often, the opportunity for honing and refining is clearly there, but this doesn’t feel like material that’s been bounced around for a decade. It’s fresh, well arranged and sharply focussed throughout. There’s the energy and danger of a live show, but with a well-balanced mix that allows each contributor to be singled out, without losing that cohesive band sound.
These ten songs are old school speed metal of the type the defunct German Noise label would have been pushing back in the day, but they don’t come across as overtly retro or derivative. When you have titles like Scream For Metal, my cheesy metal radar immediately kicks into overdrive, but it’s an absolute grindingly on the nail mix of rip-roaring speed and well-paced trad metal spliced together in a way that’s guaranteed to start opening up pits live and a cracking way to close the album. Forty years ago, it would have been the opening track. The maturity of the band is such that they hold this one back to the end of the record, letting the darker and lyrically more thoughtful material dominate for the first nine songs.
This band write and record very well together, and Juraschek’s voice holds a good range and an attention-capturing delivery. Bands in this niche whose singers hammer the bass as well often deliver their melody lines in sympatico with the rhythms and riffage, but Juraschek doesn’t tether the two together, which is all the more impressive given who those galloping bass lines truly drive most of the songs. It’s not all speed – there’s a couple of more trad anthemic riff-driven bangers as well, and I can really see them working well live. This is circle pit driving stuff of a very high order, and were it not for the galloping arthritis, I would be down there myself… 8/10
Andy And The Rockets – Casino (Dalapop) [Cherie]
Andy And The Rockets bring us 12 exuberant modern rock tracks with their new one Casino. It has a retro atmosphere with larger-than-life energy that’s bound to be a crowd pleaser, it's an album made to be played in a stadium with a huge crowd singing back.
Heartbreak City has strong powerful vocals and a very melodic and catchy chorus. It’s a track that guarantees that you will be singing along, all complimented by forceful drums and classic sounding riffs. In From The Cold is slow and emotional with raw vocals and repeating lyrics. The riffs in this one sound almost country and the persistent pounding drums adds a substantial pulse with lots of reverb. Your Touch Is Too Much and The Other Side is a great one, more rock and roll than the other with sharp classic sounding riffs which is nostalgic and reminds me of Meatloaf in his early career.
Ride Or Die is bracing and snappy and it gets you moving, it has rock radio hit potential and is my favourite from the album. Similar in style, Seven Years Of Bleeding leans into pop – rock a lot more. Overall, Andy And The Rockets are interesting, they blend genres and deliver us optimistic and bittersweet anthems which could breathe life into a gloomy day and though they are not an all-time favourite, I had a lot of fun listening to this one. 7/10.
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