I have been a fan of Aalborg, Denmark’s Bogwife since their first album, Halls Of Rebirth, from back in 2020, and am now happy to report the four piece is back with their third record, From Ashes, which is all about their desert/stoner with elements of heavy psych and blues splashed in stylings across the new eight tracks. From Ashes will make fans of the band very happy and bring new recruits to the Bogwife camp with their great riffs, stoner/psych fuzz, heavy blues infused grunge, and attention to songcraft and melody.
The title track kicks of off with a great riff and some straight-ahead psych drenched stoner rock with really great vocals. This continues with Shivers, which slows it down a bit and brings a bit of 90s to the show. I love the tempo change in this one and how it builds to the solo. A song like Light Of Day is straight up killer stoner rock and will certainly scratch that itch. Bogwife excels when the blues side of the band gets turned up, which is what you get with No Church.
Did I mention the blues side of Bogwife? Well, if that’s what you are here for you will also love Heavy Burden Blues. Ages is a quick little under three-minute ripper that picks the vibe and tempo back up while the bass lick on Agony gets all grungy on us. The closer, Chrysalis, is the highlight on an already great record. This one is seven-plus minutes of the band slowing it down, stripping it all away, and bringing the emotion, reminding me more of something from their A Passage Divine record. Love the vocals and guitar work and how the quiet loud quiet flows so nicely.
Another excellent outing from Bogwife. Can I say it is better than 2021’s A Passage Divine that had longer songs and were a bit more of a journey that the eight tracks on From Ashes? I am not sure, but what I will say is that Bogwife is a great band that can pretty much do what they want and sound great, with From Ashes standing as a perfect example. 8/10Beastwars - The Ship & The Sea (Destroy Records) [Rich Piva]
New Zealand’s Beastwars is back with some more heavy and sludgy goodness in the form of their new record, The Ship // The Sea. Mastodon vibes are what you automatically go to, but these guys are more than just another sludge band, as The Ship // The Sea is complex, extremely well written and played, and goes the extra (nautical) mile to make this record their best so far.
I am sure the subject matter is making me lean that way, but this record reminds me of a combination of the aforementioned Mastodon and the amazing record from Solace, The Brink. So many riffs come at you, like a unrelating sea during a hurricane. The one-two punch of We Don't Say Fear and Guardian Of Fire is so heavy, but in a way that still invites you in to the story from the opening riff. Levitate has this post hardcore vibe to it, and shows that even a band named Beastwars can understand melody while still being heavy. I love the little breakdown during The Storm, where the vocals get a bit snotty. Great stuff.
New Zealand’s Beastwars is back with some more heavy and sludgy goodness in the form of their new record, The Ship // The Sea. Mastodon vibes are what you automatically go to, but these guys are more than just another sludge band, as The Ship // The Sea is complex, extremely well written and played, and goes the extra (nautical) mile to make this record their best so far.
I am sure the subject matter is making me lean that way, but this record reminds me of a combination of the aforementioned Mastodon and the amazing record from Solace, The Brink. So many riffs come at you, like a unrelating sea during a hurricane. The one-two punch of We Don't Say Fear and Guardian Of Fire is so heavy, but in a way that still invites you in to the story from the opening riff. Levitate has this post hardcore vibe to it, and shows that even a band named Beastwars can understand melody while still being heavy. I love the little breakdown during The Storm, where the vocals get a bit snotty. Great stuff.
Rust has the doomiest riff on the whole record, and while slowing the pace down a bit, it is still full sails on the heaviness. Blood Will Flow is more sludgy metal goodness while the chunky The Howling sounds like a sludge version of Jawbox, which, of course, is awesome. The most (early) Mastodon vibes emit from You Know They're Burning The Land, and they nail it. The Devil somehow reminds me of Jesus Lizard with way louder guitars, and that sure works for me. Light Leads The Way is the closer, and shows me that these guys definitely have a great hardcore/post hardcore record collection to go along with all the metal.
Sludgy metal post punk/hardcore storytelling is how I would sum up Beastwars work on The Ship // The Sea. There is a lot of good stuff going on, and if you listen closely, you will hear way more than just a straight up sludge record or Mastodon worship. A grower, but once you are on the boat, it is full speed ahead. 8/10
Murmur – Red Hill (Independent) [Spike]
This is not an album designed for casual consumption. Murmur’s Red Hill EP, consisting of three sprawling, experimental tracks, functions less like music and more like architectural nihilism. This isn't the forest-worship or traditional violence of standard Black Metal; this is an intellectual, dissonant obliteration. They come from Spain and, like a lot of bands from that city, they know how to make something beautiful, complex, and utterly unforgiving.
The sound is built on progressive foundations that have been systematically eroded by corrosive noise. The guitar work is frantic and strangely free-form, feeling like jazz written by a paranoid mathematician. There are blast beats, yes, but they are often used as rhythmic punctuation rather than constant anchors, dropping in like artillery fire before fading back into the chaotic structure. The key is the unsettling groove that constantly bubbles beneath the noise, keeping the whole 27-minute trip tethered to a destructive purpose.
The journey starts with Red Hill I - The Dead. It opens with a slow, creeping tension that quickly detonates into pure, experimental frenzy. The riffs are relentless, but deliberately unmelodic, slicing through the air with a razor edge. This track establishes the EP’s core conflict: the constant friction between highly skilled technicality and the chaotic atmosphere of raw, unfiltered noise. It drags you into the concept immediately, feeling like the frantic search for a flaw in a perfect, cold equation.
The central piece, Red Hill II - The Execution, sharpens the focus. Here, the percussion steps forward, showcasing the drummer’s ability to treat the kit not just as timekeeping device, but as an orchestral instrument of chaos. This is where the band leans hardest into their experimental side, using dissonance to create actual physical discomfort. It’s dense, punishing, and utterly brilliant in its refusal to offer any traditional payoff. It forces the listener to find structure in the inevitable collapse, finding groove in the moments where the instruments almost, but never quite, fall apart.
Finally, the crushing, 11-minute closer Red Hill III - The Calling brings the concept to a terrifying, long-form resolution. It is a slow, methodical burn that finally grants moments of space, but only to emphasize the overwhelming weight of the ambient sound. The vocals are harsh, buried deep beneath the mix, sounding less like a frontman and more like the voice of the hill itself, calling for total ruin.
Red Hill is a challenging, rewarding dive into the philosophical extreme of the genre. It's not easy listening, but it is necessary listening if you want to know what Black Metal sounds like when it ditches the corpse paint and buys a textbook of advanced mathematics. 8/10
Predeceased – Weirdo Riffers (EEASY Records) [Spike]
Let's not waste any time with politeness. Predeceased named their album Weirdo Riffers because it’s the only label that accurately captures the noise they create. This trio crawled out of the UK hardcore gutter and immediately started smashing the rulebook, and this record is the sound of them happily living in the wreckage. If you were looking for standard, safe Metalcore breakdown patterns, you’re reading the wrong review.
This collection, drawn from a string of singles and unreleased chaos, is defined by its snotty, loud, and unapologetic energy. They draw from everything Black Flag ever taught about punk snarl and everything At The Drive In taught about dizzying, angular guitar work, then they slather the whole thing in a garage-rock fuzz so thick it smells like stale beer.
The core problem is that the raw punk aesthetic sometimes feels too familiar, relying on established genre approaches. While tracks like The News and Sun Reader showcase the band’s frantic, locked-in groove, for the most part, the riffs land in that territory where every aggressive, noisy punk band has set up camp for the last decade. It’s tight, yes, but the monochromatic sonic palette allows too many moments to bleed together into a loud blur.
However, the track-list is saved by a deliberate exercise in chaos and confrontation. You get the pure, aggressive Plague Trains smashing headfirst into covers that nobody asked for but absolutely needed. Their take on Heroes By David Bowie is not a respectful tribute; it's a glorious desecration, a noisy, abrasive punk rock war cry that completely obliterates the original without sacrificing its core power. Similarly, the Killing Joke cover, Blood On Your Hands, is an instant pit-starter, proving that their influences are purely rooted in aggression, not nostalgia. These moments of brazen sonic theft are the album’s genuine standouts.
But the sheer balls of the closer, Andre 3000 The Giant, is the final proof. It’s an insane, noisy salute that summarizes the band’s aesthetic: ridiculous name, serious musical chops, and a total commitment to being the loud, bouncy thing that doesn't fit anywhere. Predeceased isn't interested in your approval; they are too busy kicking down the door to your local venue and starting a chaotic sing-along. This is mandatory listening for the perpetually disaffected, provided you skip the filler and go straight for the covers. 7/10
Predeceased – Weirdo Riffers (EEASY Records) [Spike]
Let's not waste any time with politeness. Predeceased named their album Weirdo Riffers because it’s the only label that accurately captures the noise they create. This trio crawled out of the UK hardcore gutter and immediately started smashing the rulebook, and this record is the sound of them happily living in the wreckage. If you were looking for standard, safe Metalcore breakdown patterns, you’re reading the wrong review.
This collection, drawn from a string of singles and unreleased chaos, is defined by its snotty, loud, and unapologetic energy. They draw from everything Black Flag ever taught about punk snarl and everything At The Drive In taught about dizzying, angular guitar work, then they slather the whole thing in a garage-rock fuzz so thick it smells like stale beer.
The core problem is that the raw punk aesthetic sometimes feels too familiar, relying on established genre approaches. While tracks like The News and Sun Reader showcase the band’s frantic, locked-in groove, for the most part, the riffs land in that territory where every aggressive, noisy punk band has set up camp for the last decade. It’s tight, yes, but the monochromatic sonic palette allows too many moments to bleed together into a loud blur.
However, the track-list is saved by a deliberate exercise in chaos and confrontation. You get the pure, aggressive Plague Trains smashing headfirst into covers that nobody asked for but absolutely needed. Their take on Heroes By David Bowie is not a respectful tribute; it's a glorious desecration, a noisy, abrasive punk rock war cry that completely obliterates the original without sacrificing its core power. Similarly, the Killing Joke cover, Blood On Your Hands, is an instant pit-starter, proving that their influences are purely rooted in aggression, not nostalgia. These moments of brazen sonic theft are the album’s genuine standouts.
But the sheer balls of the closer, Andre 3000 The Giant, is the final proof. It’s an insane, noisy salute that summarizes the band’s aesthetic: ridiculous name, serious musical chops, and a total commitment to being the loud, bouncy thing that doesn't fit anywhere. Predeceased isn't interested in your approval; they are too busy kicking down the door to your local venue and starting a chaotic sing-along. This is mandatory listening for the perpetually disaffected, provided you skip the filler and go straight for the covers. 7/10
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