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.

 

River Cult - Halcyon Daze

River Cult’s brand of psychedelic music is a fresh and intense sonic stampede that oozes eclectic vibes all over every passage of rock music. The brilliant odyssey of Halcyon Daze keeps going from one end to the other in a euphoric blend of atmospheric jams and pummeling eargasms expertly crafted into a fluid amalgamation too unique to describe in simple terms.

River Cult's guitarist and vocalist Sean Forlenza is an electric buzzsaw shredding wild outlandish fuzz on top of bad ass doomy riffs. His vocals are a blend of soulful eerie blues with raspy tones that somehow make the thought of swallowing glass and singing sound sexy. Layered underneath the band's artistic surface is a very raw and punk driven sound that I can not help but admire. Drummer and bassist Tav Palumbo and Anthony Mendolla respectively bring life to a dominant and loud rhythm section. Each musician in the band should be credited for their ability to envision and deliver so many styles working together without compromising the core of their music which is ultimately that organic hard metallic sound.

This three piece from Brooklyn has a very strong grasp on their creative vision. River Cult’s pedigree is somewhere on the threshold with early grunge era bands like Green River and the iconic underground bulldozers of stoner rock The Melvins. At times the band travels into such epic landscapes of musical ambition that they ascend into the territory of classic post-genre bands like Explosions In The Sky, ISIS, or Russian Circles. Also, there is definitely a very classic trippy vibe behind the guitar work as well, as you’ll notice if you’re a fan of ‘70s rockers like Peter Frampton, Eric Clapton, and Joe Walsh.

River Cult rotate between brooding melancholy to wild and carefree rock tracks charged by quick paced melodies. I would definitely recognize them as a band that is attempting to do something different and fun in the stoner rock scene. Due to the length of each song, the band is able to manage many different themes and styles with fluid ease, which makes for great listening and many different emotions. Every track is an amazing journey and nothing stalls out to become filler.

I would strongly recommend River Cult if you're into this sort of music or even if you're looking for something new. River Cult have definitely put the entire stoner rock scene on notice.  The album dropped on February 9th, 2018!

Year of The Cobra - Burn Your Dead

Radical space tripping rock from the great Pacific Northwest, Seattle’s Year of The Cobra are back and crushing with five track EP Burn Your Dead. The EP is a fuzzy hi-fi gnarly jammer with juicy rhythms and clean grooves. There are plenty of pummeling riffs on the album but they don’t lose a sizzling appeal that helps to allure the listener with enchanting tunes. 

Foreboding and menacing, Amy Tung’s vocals have a distinguishing appeal that helps to make the two-piece listenable, and even an edge with some familiarity to early 90s riot grrrl punk rock singers.

Despite some of the positive characteristics, nothing really made me want to remember any of the tracks apart from “The Howl” which stood out to me as the EP’s centerpiece. Because the album is so short, there’s not much to lean on, and I feel that contributes to some of the lackluster. At least there’s some effort to deviate between multiple tempos throughout the tracks, which I found helpful in keeping my attention.

EP releases October 27th 2017!

EP

Low Flying Hawks - Genkaku

Low Flying Hawks
Genkaku
Magnetic Eye Records

Low Flying Hawks are slipping into the sludge and unweaving riff after riff of fuzz induced harmony on Genkaku. The album creeps like a leviathan of doom and groove with moments of eye opening clarity that dip into spiritual awakening across every song. Magnetic Eye Records are releasing a treasure for doom gaze in the later half of this decade.

Lyrically the songwriting is really able to capture what feelings the music is reflecting, and you may catch that minutes into the first track "Smile". As the world turns in on itself in a tragedy of realities that would seem more fitting in a nightmarish dream, one must survive beat after harrowing beat, and I think that the band captured that in the opening track.

The drumming provided by Dale Crover (The Melvins) tops off what Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle) implements with serene melody; the musical gifts of each member come out naturally, soaking the listener into a vortex of adhesive music that does not easily let go. The same hypnotic brilliant composition that Dunn delivers in Mr. Bungle (with tracks like "Slowy Growing Deaf" and "Vanity Fair") is evident throughout the album.

Sulky but potent blues, Genkaku is pure noir overlapped by the modern ambiance of sonic technology. The music is a scathing and kinetic powerhouse made by two of the most respected artists in the community.

Dunn teases with vocal Low homages to Mr. Bungle sporadically throughout the track, but nowhere more evident than "Twilight."

"Sinister Waves" sends Genkaku off with an ominous conclusion. Wherever Low Flying Hawks fly off to, at the end of this track they close the book on an album that is fruitful with enchanting and ghostly harmonics. In its final waves, Genkaku lays melancholy notes of righteousness that will ripple through your head for quite some time. Genkaku comes out on August 23rd, which is exactly my birthday, and if you catch this in time and want to hook me up upon reading this self-gratuitous plug, then this doom goblin would be eternally grateful.