Ripple Music continues to do the work for us, bringing back some out of print classics and bringing forward some independent releases to a broader audience to make sure the ears get on some of this under-listened to goodness. This week, we have the best label in heavy rock bring us the repressing of Godzillionaire’s 2020 record, Negative Balance (see my review for this one too!), alongside the first ever vinyl pressing of the killer record from Austin, Texas band Demons My Friends, Demons Seem To Gather, originally only released digitally and in a small run of CDs back in 2023. This record is filled with groove, hooks, and riffs; one listen and you will get why more people need to check this record out.
Bring The Night alone is worth the price of admission. Riff-filled, catchy, and right in that wonderful groovy stoner wheelhouse so many of us dig. Inner Slay is groove-heavy doom goodness. There is this Texas + Seattle thing going on with Demons My Friends. You get these harmonies on this track but a riff out of Vulgar Display Of Power, pairing perfectly. I love the emotional vocals on this record, with Ghosts Of You being a great example.
My favourite riff is from Make The Pay, that also combines the heavy with these underlying pop sensibilities that are subtle but there. This one goes in a few directions, all of them very cool. Sometimes you just want a riff to smack you across the face, and this is why Fire Mountain is on the record. Sludgy doom your thing? Your Bones got you, as this one slow rolls over you from Texas all the way to the Pacific Northwest and beyond. No skips here, just killer heavy groovy grungy stoner doom.
While this record is a re-release and you may have heard it before, this will be a new experience for you record nerds. I am lucky enough to already have the vinyl version and boy did it transfer well to wax sound-wise. These songs were meant to be heard in this format. No matter how you check this one out, Demons Seem To Gather rips, and Ripple bringing forward a band like Demons My Friends is an excellent thing. 8/10
Gran Moreno - El Sol (Self Released) [Rich Piva]
The new album from Austin, Texas band Gran Moreno is labelled “psych pop” in the folder where the promos live before they are assigned to us reviewers. That is the kind of label that both perks my ears up and makes me very weary of what that could mean. Enough blabbing, let’s check out what the record, titled El Sol, is all about across the seven tracks over 32 minutes it contains.
I get the psych part, as I am reminded a bit of The Black Angels on Las Montañas. Maybe a bit heavier and in Spanish, but it is there. I really dig the guitar tone and the atmosphere this song brings. Chunky with some psych leanings, and it even rips when the pace picks up towards the end. Aztlan leans more towards the stoner rock side of the house, with a bit of an up-tempo groove and another great riff. I dig the background vocals on this one too.
While this record is a re-release and you may have heard it before, this will be a new experience for you record nerds. I am lucky enough to already have the vinyl version and boy did it transfer well to wax sound-wise. These songs were meant to be heard in this format. No matter how you check this one out, Demons Seem To Gather rips, and Ripple bringing forward a band like Demons My Friends is an excellent thing. 8/10
Gran Moreno - El Sol (Self Released) [Rich Piva]
The new album from Austin, Texas band Gran Moreno is labelled “psych pop” in the folder where the promos live before they are assigned to us reviewers. That is the kind of label that both perks my ears up and makes me very weary of what that could mean. Enough blabbing, let’s check out what the record, titled El Sol, is all about across the seven tracks over 32 minutes it contains.
I get the psych part, as I am reminded a bit of The Black Angels on Las Montañas. Maybe a bit heavier and in Spanish, but it is there. I really dig the guitar tone and the atmosphere this song brings. Chunky with some psych leanings, and it even rips when the pace picks up towards the end. Aztlan leans more towards the stoner rock side of the house, with a bit of an up-tempo groove and another great riff. I dig the background vocals on this one too.
Huracán is where, I assume, the pop part comes in, and takes this record in a totally different direction. While there is a nice and heavy riff, there is this crooner aspect to this song that is interesting, and may make or break this album for the listener. I am not sure where I fall on this, but it is a jarring song to put right in the middle of this record. At times it sounds like a hair metal ballad, a blues track, an adult contemporary radio hit, and Soundgarden all at once. Whatever it is, it’s a lot.
Temple Of Fire brings more of the stoner side of the band, this time sung in English. While it is the most straight forward track of the seven, it may also be my favourite. I say straightforward but there is this very cool little guitar interlude that makes this one special. They lose me a bit on La Mentira, which sounds too much like The Black Keys for my ears.
OAXACA / Please Don't Cry is another one of the tracks that will put this record over the top as something that you love or it may be an instant skip. I am still not sure which, but if you like a kind of Mariachi feel to your heavy rock this one may be for you. The closer, HIKURI, feels like an attempt at stoner Jack White, and partially succeeds, but may also be two minutes two long.
There is some good stuff on El Sol, and some stuff I am not so sure about. I would not call this psych pop, but there are elements of both in there, but I hear more stoner rock that attempts to branch out, maybe overstretch, more than I do the original description. El Sol has something you may really dig, I am just not sure it is the whole record end to end, but there are some very cool pieces here. 7/10
Moon Wisdom - Let Water Flow (Hypnotic Dirge Records) [Mark Young]
Let Water Flow, is described as being a ‘lean, 29-minute ritual’ and I think that is about an accurate description as you could make. There is a perfunctory introduction track, surprisingly titled Intro, which gradually builds before breaking into As Rain, which sees a Black Metallised hybrid of Iron Maiden, at least to these ears bursting forth. I don’t mean that to be disrespectful, it is the way the guitars interact with the drums with a forward motion is straight out of their songbook.
There is some good stuff on El Sol, and some stuff I am not so sure about. I would not call this psych pop, but there are elements of both in there, but I hear more stoner rock that attempts to branch out, maybe overstretch, more than I do the original description. El Sol has something you may really dig, I am just not sure it is the whole record end to end, but there are some very cool pieces here. 7/10
Moon Wisdom - Let Water Flow (Hypnotic Dirge Records) [Mark Young]
Let Water Flow, is described as being a ‘lean, 29-minute ritual’ and I think that is about an accurate description as you could make. There is a perfunctory introduction track, surprisingly titled Intro, which gradually builds before breaking into As Rain, which sees a Black Metallised hybrid of Iron Maiden, at least to these ears bursting forth. I don’t mean that to be disrespectful, it is the way the guitars interact with the drums with a forward motion is straight out of their songbook.
When it does break into traditional blackened territory, that is executed well, albeit in a familiar fashion. Ashen Winds is pure Black Metal for the ages, all trem picked riffs and snarling vocals. It’s definitely a case of a band finding their way, picking the best bits and then putting their own mark on things. There is some quality lead work on this, but also look for the flourishes that Hexis throws in whilst keeping the beat steady that shows they have quality behind them.
Frozen Soul enters the arena from an atmospheric and reduced tempo, opting to allow the guitar lines to ring out. As you might have expected It starts to pick up speed where it needs to, pulling back to usher in the second half of the song. The issue, although a small one is that you can figure out where they are going with their music on this. However, you shouldn’t let that dissuade you from the fact that it is a decent song, in fact they are all decent songs.
Frozen Soul enters the arena from an atmospheric and reduced tempo, opting to allow the guitar lines to ring out. As you might have expected It starts to pick up speed where it needs to, pulling back to usher in the second half of the song. The issue, although a small one is that you can figure out where they are going with their music on this. However, you shouldn’t let that dissuade you from the fact that it is a decent song, in fact they are all decent songs.
Going back to their assertion that this is lean, it certainly is. Solitude picks up the responsibility of keeping you engaged by upping the pace without it turning into a lesson in superspeed. The guitar/drums link up work is spot on again, but It would be remiss of me to ignore the work by Faith on vocals, with a jagged performance that ties up nicely with the music behind it.
Dark Shades does similar work, melodies broken by stabbing drums and pummelling rhythms. At its heart, like Solitude, is the use of melodic lines played at speed. The break piece that comes in midway is expansive, bringing in progressive elements to proceedings. Lullaby Of Woods is where they finish, bringing in string instruments to give it that atmospheric feel.
It is an impressive display from them and consulting online sources it looks like this is their debut release following a number of single releases. It is an assured release, one which should give them a strong foundation to kick on from. 7/10
Total Annihilation - Mountains Of Madness (Testimony Records) [Mark Young]
Representing their 4th full length and 20th anniversary, Mountains Of Madness sees Total Annihilation spewing out some effective Death Metal. Now, this is a band that has seen a number of line-up changes effectively leaving Daniel Altwegg as the only remaining founder member and in some respects the de facto boss. In terms of their music, I admit that they have flown under my radar and so I am going in as a fresh set of ears, unencumbered by their previous releases.
The Art Of Torture gets them off to a flyer, offering up some classic Death Metal – syncopated riffing, pinched harmonics, double bass drumming and Daniel’s vocal delivery that reminds me of Malevolvent Creation circa 91-92. It does what it needs to do in giving this album the start it needs, and by rights the title track should have followed the same direct approach.
It is an impressive display from them and consulting online sources it looks like this is their debut release following a number of single releases. It is an assured release, one which should give them a strong foundation to kick on from. 7/10
Total Annihilation - Mountains Of Madness (Testimony Records) [Mark Young]
Representing their 4th full length and 20th anniversary, Mountains Of Madness sees Total Annihilation spewing out some effective Death Metal. Now, this is a band that has seen a number of line-up changes effectively leaving Daniel Altwegg as the only remaining founder member and in some respects the de facto boss. In terms of their music, I admit that they have flown under my radar and so I am going in as a fresh set of ears, unencumbered by their previous releases.
The Art Of Torture gets them off to a flyer, offering up some classic Death Metal – syncopated riffing, pinched harmonics, double bass drumming and Daniel’s vocal delivery that reminds me of Malevolvent Creation circa 91-92. It does what it needs to do in giving this album the start it needs, and by rights the title track should have followed the same direct approach.
Mountains Of Madness has a slower vibe that sees its change gears quickly until it finds the right speed. They needed this to have a one-two opening salvo to get you firmly onboard with the tracks that follow. There is some brilliant guitar play in its closing stages, and a firm focus on bringing a crushing attack. Illusion is a blink and miss-it 9 second blast, whilst Chokehold drops in with a feet down head kicker. It has that class DM tempo to it, one where the double bass is providing that impression of speed whilst chunky riffs are fired at us.
So far, so comforting in that its Death Metal that does what is required without requiring a lot of effort from the listener. Its material that doesn’t seek to reinvent any wheels nor tell you that this is the greatest thing ever to come out of the Swiss nation (That's Celtic Frost - Ed). Actually, I think it does say that.
Anyway, each of the songs here present a fine selection of stylish metal; Age Of Mental Suicide just continues to push and push and push forward, making sure that it leaves a mark on you whilst Nyctophobia is a rager. This is the thing, they approach each song as though it’s the first time, flushed with enthusiasm for the genre. Amongst the constant battering there is a sense of joy, a commitment to the genre that goes a long way.
Hate Remains is the curtain raiser, and it’s a stormer. There was no way on earth that they would close the album out by going down the soft route of possibly some strings, a flute and gentle meanderings. This is a high-octane demolition job, a repeated attack that takes no prisoners and it is exactly what you want from any band that purports to be of the extreme persuasion.
Ultimately, its good, quality Death Metal. It comes, plays and leaves without overstaying its welcome. There are moments of real quality, but what I loved was the vibe that ran through it. It felt that they were having fun therefore we could join in with it. You can argue about founding members if you want, but for me it’s a great way to celebrate 20 years. 8/10
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