High on Fire - Electric Messiah

When one says, “I had a dream about Lemmy”, it is a guarantee that a really good story will follow.

In the case of Matt Pike, seminal guitarist and songwriter who has made a career in two of heavy metal’s most accomplished acts, it is certain that the dream will conclude with thunderous inspiration.

Electric Messiah is High on Fire’s eighth full length album in twenty years, and so far it sounds like their strongest in over a decade.

“Spewn From the Earth” is a cacophony of classic riffs and face shredding solos, a perfect entrance. “Steps of the Ziggurat/House of Enlil” has the feel of a procession to damnation to it, and one could easily picture ancient cults performing sacraments as Pike delivers guttural sermons. About halfway into the nine minute track, Pike purifies the spirit with a sick melodic transition, and it becomes easy to see why he has dubbed this his own “rock opera”. 

The title track is just balls out thrash and there isn’t anything you can do but get swept up in the storm. One thing that High on Fire do well is establish a flow of moods that keeps the album interesting; “Sanctioned Annihilation” begins in the exact opposite direction of “Electric Messiah”, but inevitably tears you back under the hooves of pummeling grooves. Kensel’s undeniable contribution to the music is evident here, with drumming that truly carries the song’s momentum. At 10:29 long, it is an epic that fittingly bridges the divide between Electric Messiah’s first and second half, and much can be said about the awe inspiring tangibility it leaves in its wake.

As for leaving a strong last impression, “Drowning Dog” targets the bullshit of modern day cultural partisanship, and the damnation that follows. From Sumerian cults to American political drama, High on Fire cultivate a whirlwind of chaotic rock at another level.

Produced by the effervescent genius Kurt Ballou, Electric Messiah shines on every layer. Pike, Matz, and Kensel have returned with extreme and vibrant rapture that will define the second half of their career as more than just twilight years.

Here is some of that old school to keep your ears wet while we wait for High on Fire’s new album Electric Messiah to be released on October 5th through eOne.

Armed For Apocalypse - Palm Reader EP

Sometimes brutal can be a bit too brutal, as was my initial inclination of Armed For Apocalypse; well, if you’re going to name yourself something like that, then I guess it all makes sense to go full on knock your lights out sludge. Armed For Apocalypse has more of a Hatebreed meets Crowbar vibe, with some Napalm Death thrown in for good measure. With that being said, their EP Palm Reader is a blistering assault of extreme metal; the soundtrack to smashing your face through a plate glass window and asking for seconds, Palm Reader only relents to drag your body across groovy breakdowns.

Breakdowns and grind induced sledgehammer riffs, acidic vocals, and a tempest of beats that will drive you wild; Palm Reader is a pretty good return to form for the Chico, California band. From the abyss to the mosh pit, they fuse the despair of underground doom with hardcore and if you get caught sleeping you may very well be knocked out. Armed For Apocalypse plays music that assures you the only safe space you’ll find, at least through this EP, is in a morgue.

The album is available for pre-order on their official bandcamp page. Their last two albums are free to stream. Check out their last full length release The Road Will End below.

 

Deadbird - III: The Forest Within The Tree

Featuring members of Rwake, Pallbearer and at least a dozen other bands, Deadbird is a colossal project that has been collecting dust for a decade since their last album Twilight Ritual was released in 2008 through At a Loss Records. Now 20 Buck Spin has teamed with the band for a third album, The Forest Within The Tree.

Falling into the genres of sludge and post metal, Deadbird are dripping with angry raw southern doom with hints of ISIS and Neurosis. Effortlessly fusing the spirit of Arkansas with melancholy and nihilism, Deadbird is beautifully epic and packs some heavy punches. Recorded at Ardent Studios and mastered by the genius Brad Boatright of Audiosiege, The Forest Within The Tree burns on slow fuzz and atmospheric energy.

“Alexandria” is an eclectic track that resonates with elements of grunge, slowed down power grooves submerge you into a psychedelic hell on “Brought Low” and eject you into the meat grinder that is “Bone & Ash”.

While the new Deadbird album may not be something that bandwagons them out of exile into the next big thing, I do think this eight track package of gut wrenching experimentation offers some pretty tight twists. If you really want to be dragged down low and suffer morose melodies, then Deadbird might be worth checking out.

The Forest Within The Tree comes out on October 12th and can be ordered now via Bandcamp.

Beerwolf - Planetfall

Assuming you haven’t already heard, Florida has a pretty bitchin’ metal scene. Ascending from the bowels of Tampa are the renegades of boogy and grime, Beerwolf. Once their brand of electric groove snags you, you’ll be taken along for the ride that is Planetfall.

Yes, all 59 minutes of this space groove arcane doom trip will please you. Not enough labels for you? How about psychedelic fuzz monster. That’s what Planetfall is, which you’ll experience as guitarist Matt Howland takes you on a trip to other places, reducing you to slick protoplasmic ooze as he tears through time. The hypnotic rhythms of bass player Jason Kleim evoke a traditional free spirited rock aesthetic, which fits wonderfully with Beerwolf’s lyrics of heathen high adventure. In the background drummer Ashwin Prasad leads you along with grace, and easily pummels like a gigantic wave.

Borrowing from The Sword, Witchfinder General, Cathedral, 70s rock icons and of course Black Sabbath’s chunky blues riffs, Beerwolf have a lot to offer. The steady kindling of “Opium Meadows”, the flamboyant ecstacy of “Haze Arcane”, and the orthodox groove of “Magick Warbird” all make for something special that you want to feel a part of. As the titanic “Epilogue” closes the door on this maelstrom, you will be left with the aftershock of Planetfall branded into your skull. Planetfall can be purchased here through Ripple Music.

Cauldron - New Gods

The Canadian province of Ontario has long been a haven of traditional heavy metal and speed metal bands, including Anvil and Exciter for starters, and not unworthy of being mentioned, the extreme thrash outfit Slaughter which released the seminal early death metal album Strappado in 1987. One would need a ledger to detail all of the bands that have stayed true to heavy metal’s vision in the sordid halls of Toronto and its neighboring cities. Among those bands, at the top of the crop should be mentioned Cauldron, a band that has existed for just over a decade under the guidance of Jason Decay and Ian Chains.

Before the so-called new wave of traditional heavy metal was even a catchphrase to describe bands that were paying homage to acts like Anvil, Saxon, old school Priest, and Maiden, Cauldron was coming up out of the remains of Goat Horn; one would need to trace the lineage of Decay and Goat Horn back a decade further, and I would highly encourage you to watch the “Rotten Roll” video, even if you have already done it 1000 times, as I have. In 2009, Cauldron released their debut full length, a banger called Chained to the Nite, an album that set the precedent for what anyone else should be doing to respect true metal. With Goat Horn’s drummer Jason Mellish providing a kick behind the melodies and rhythms, the power trio accomplished an album that easily stood on an equal level with just about anything that came out two decades earlier. In an age of copycats and has-beens, Cauldron exercised an organic chemistry with an innovative mindset, implementing formulaic precision with the raw sleaze of 80s rock stars. It could not be done without the cerebral mindset of three passionate Millenials who were conjuring up a scene from the past, but under their own banners.

New Gods is Cauldron’s fifth full length in a decade and a follow up to the critically acclaimed In Ruin. The album takes the band in a slightly different direction, albeit not too far from what has pleased many of their fans. New Gods is a slow and heavy tribute to old-school arena rock and traditional heavy metal bands that emphasized more on formula than on face melting showmanship. The riffs still provide high energy, such as on the track “Letting Go”, which stays at a crawling tempo building up to a straightforward chorus. This song, like many on the album, has a simple pop template that emanates out through gritty aesthetic of metal.

Surrendering machismo for soul and depth, New Gods greatest moments shine through on its bluesy ballads. However, the intensity favorable to thrashers and headbangers isn’t completely absent, as evident on the righteous skull bashing track “Drown,” and “Last Request” rips right down the length of this album’s conclusion.




New Gods has very little to offer in terms of outrageous excess, complex arpeggios, and theatrical amusement. On the other hand, Cauldron does continue on the beaten path of their formatted mid-tempo brooding riff rock, which has worked out quite well for them. New Gods blares out an amalgam of Angel Witch and Ratt, an odd combination in theory that considerably works out quite well for them in practice. 

New Gods is available for purchase here.