"Bloodpheasant - Grieve"... famous last words...

So, Bloodpheasant hit me square in the jaw in 2015. I was slow on the draw with their previous offering Traum. From Providence, RI USA, this is a great heavy alt-doom/indie-folk group (I know, I know), who are so easy to listen to, it's crazy. I was super excited about this new release, only to find out that it will be their swan song. Each member of the band has something like a thousand other bands to be busy with, but it still makes this a pretty special album. It is a dreamy, dreary, dark & howling spiral staircase of reptile bone and raven tongues... Grieve is a great album. A perfect way to call it day for the band, and worthy of being a little bummed about...

   Get It Here

Devil Electric: Fine Australian Doom

 Devil Electric are from Melbourne, Australia. I have no idea what might in the water to make them so doomy. I also have never been to Australia, but from what I know, I'm pretty sure that it's warm there. Like, the temperature stays a pretty comfortable degree ALL of the time, for the most part. So, what part of Australia is cold? It seems like they live in an icy climate with all of their dark and dreary "woe unto us this Winter mourning"- sort of thing. Maybe they just feel chilly with that wind generated by all of the applause they must receive from their awesomeness. Whatever weather phenomenon is going on down there, it's churning up good things.
Their first (now sold out) 7" EP The Gods Below Vol. I came as quite a surprise. There are lots of doom bands around. And definitely lots of female-fronted doom bands at that. It's nothing new. But Devil Electric are something else.The sultry nastiness and ballsy delivery of vocalist Pierina O'Brien is really a thing to behold. Really. She can actually sing.
"Devil's Bells" opens everything with a kick in the ribs. O'Brien immediately rips into the opening with a huge presence, winding in and out of the main riff with her powerful melodic lines. It keeps everything in check with a slow, plodding, head-nodding tempo, devil-ish lyrics, and thunder-y bits.
"The Dove & The Serpent" has some obvious moral questioning going on. Perhaps a cry for help, or an ode to the dark lord of whatever: "I think about the Dove, the Serpent, and which I've felt I need more".... Either way it has the darkness that mercilessly pounds away with the swaggering tempo and Sabbathy chunka-chunkas.
Second EP 7" The Gods Below Vol II continues the fracas with the very NWOBHM-inspired "Confusion Of Mind"... this is almost white knuckle driving music. You'll get a ticket for sure if you play this while cruising.
"Holy Ghost" caps it off with more of the Sabbathy doom that seems to be their specialty.
So... why so dark in Australia? Well, it seems that they have been listening to the right stuff and it's translating into something special. Not to mention, just a little poking around will also point out that the other members of the band are all actively involved with other bands, as well. So, seasoned musicians all getting together to make something pretty cool... When ol' Scratch pokes away at doom/stoner, he eventually gets tired. So, these folks take over for a while. That's awful nice of them to do, wouldn't you say? Female-fronted stoner/doom that, when played at high dB, has been shown to open up demonic portals, and peel carrots. I approve.

                                                                    Check It Out Here

Wight- Love Is Not Only What You Know

So.. I know I'm early, but this album is already way up on my Top Ten list of 2016. Some super smooth and classy tunes from an incredibly groovy band of gents.. reminiscent of "Rides Again"-meets-"Bang"-era James Gang and every Free album ever, with true psych/stoner grooves, great vocals, awesome bassings, frettings, and drummerings... That's some serious music. And that cover is rad, let's just be honest. Wight rules. You'd be nuts to let this one slip by you...
As far as the band goes, they send out transmissions from Darmstadt, Germany. Over the years, they have released a few really good heavy albums (Through The Woods Into Deep Water, a split with Stone Axe, etc.), and everything has been showing nonstop signs of growth for the band. Musically, they once had a doomy vibe. Heavy, downtuned, sludge-driven riffs accompanied by exceptionally smooth basslines. A stoner/doom band working their stoner/doom band magic. But then while listening to the albums over the years, you notice a real progression and "coming of age" in the songwriting and general musicianship. Then they slyly began including some real jamming in their songs, some inspired songwriting, and some sneaky groovy-ness, live shows turning into real muscial experiences (Live In Athens)... so Love Is Not Only What You Know is a culmination of these years of simply growing and becoming the incredible band they are.
Check it out here!

Not Dead

So.
I've been away from the Blog scene for a while. I'm not dead. I originally intended this to be a music review blog, and that's the way I intend to keep it. Starting today.

Thanks.
- A