Paths Of The Restless

The following contribution was brought to me by Dmitriy from the band Cosmonauts Day.

2011 is nearing it's end, and BANG! There is this stunning album that can be counted as one of the best of this year!

Cosmonauts Day from Moscow, Russia is a four piece band that plays outstanding Post Rock/Metal with Sludge and Space influences.

This band has released their Live Demo EP in may and now they're back with their full-length album called Paths Of The Restless. This eight track album is definitely an impressive masterpiece. The musicians do a great job with their instruments. Thereby is the sound of this album very good.

All of the songs of this album are great, but if I have to pinpoint some highlights, then I have to say it are the songs Captain, Rift, Satellite and The Great Disease.

Support this band by spending some money on their Bandcamp page!

Cosmonauts Day - Paths Of The Restless (2011)

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If It Ain't Broke... Break It

From Dublin, Northern Ireland comes the band And So I Watch You From Afar. This Post Rock band has released this majestic full-length debut album in 2009.

There is a lot happened in Dublin over the past decades and this is reflected in the music of And So I Watch You From Afar. This is Post Rock with a quite aggressive appearance. Beside that there are also beautiful atmospheric passages in their music.

This album is absolute a recommended masterpiece with high musical skills. Two songs I want to mention as my favorites are Set Guitars To Kill and If It Ain't Broke... Break It. Enjoy!

That Derry’s finest instrumental rock troupe And So I Watch You From Afar are oh-so-frequently lumped in with the post-rock brigade is not so much unfortunate as it is downright wrong, but it does say something about the genre. In the eyes of all but the seasoned observer, a band doesn’t have to do anything, or sound a particularly way, to be labelled “post-rock”: just not having a vocalist is enough. Now, nothing irks a band more than being pigeon-holed, but it must hurt doubly to be holed in the wrong coop entirely. And with all due respect to post-rock, And So I Watch You From Afar’s music is so far removed from the post-crescendo genre that it warrants screaming from the roof-tops- in fact, that wouldn’t be such a bad idea. The Belfast-based band’s raucous sound is a pithy amalgamation of the ferocity and intensity of DC hardcore and the carefree abandon of arena rock. To point out the obvious contradiction would be to miss the point entirely.

Given the obvious lack of lyrics (apart from an “oi!” here and they odd “hey!” there), the song titles have to be a little more descriptive than they typically are. Opener ‘Set Guitars To Kill’ is a perfect example, kicking the album off with a crunching power chord riff and pulsating reverb-soaked drums that give way to increasingly more chaotic and dissonant exchanges. Likewise, the impeccably-titled ‘TheseRIOTSareJUSTtheBEGINNING’ is frenetically-paced and relentlessly aggressive, while ‘Don’t Waste Time Doing Things You Hate’ sees the band indulge their zanier pleasures: from signature shred-guitar moves rarely heard outside a guitarist’s bedroom to sexy Meters-like funk rhythms and a beer-soaked ‘Hey Jude’-style gang sing-a-long for the last couple of minutes. In truth, there is the odd moment within a song of overt post-rockishness: single ‘A Little Bit Of Solidarity Goes A Long Way’ works the silence-crescendo model to a T. But the overall effect is more comparable to compatriots and frequent touring partners Adebisi Shank, as they’re more likely to lock into a dynamic groove and play off that energy than to tease listeners with the quiet-loud formula.

Not only is And So I Watch You From Afar well-balanced between the band members, it’s also a quality effort from start to finish. It’s always tempting to load the best tracks to the front- and, to be fair, the opening three songs are the most immediate on the album- but the album ends just as strongly as it starts. ‘The Voiceless,’ one of two tracks to re-appear from the group’s debut EP, another track that hints at erupting into an Explosions In The Sky-like cacophonous crescendo, but instead holds off without really sacrificing anything in the way of grandeur. Following that, and finishing the album on a high, is ‘Eat The City, Eat It Whole’ (Pedants’ Corner: that should be a semi-colon). It’s stylistically different from anything else on the album, beginning with some country and blues-tinged motifs before patiently easing into a familiar mathy groove, the type that litters the album and makes it such a wonderful, coherent listen from start to finish.

(By Dave Donnelly at SputnikMusic)

And So I Watch You From Afar - And So I Watch You From Afar (2009)

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Let It Rot

The next Heavy Rock contribution comes from Idyllwild, California, USA.

Throw The Goat is a quartet that plays energetic Stoner Rock with a Rock 'n' Roll attitude. This band has just released their first demo and it is immediatly a step in the right direction. This demo contains six catchy songs with nice guitar riffs, screamy vocals and a solid rhytm section.

Throw The Goat displays their capabilities with this demo. This band is for sure a promise for the future. Enjoy!

Throw The Goat - Demo Primero (2011)

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Connoisseur II And The Hit Joint Sessions

Almost two years ago I've posted the album Connoiseur by the band Mountains Of Blow.

Now is this band from Los Angeles back with two simultaneously released free download albums called Connoisseur II and The Hit Joint Sessions. Musically seen are these albums a continuation of what they've done on the first one. It is Sludge and Metal influenced Heavy Rock music with again great repetitive riffs and rhytms.

A new thing is the addition of vocals. The album Connoisseur II is with exception of the song Matrix (Blue) almost completely instrumental, but almost all the songs from the album The Hit Joint Sessions are with vocals.

These vocals sounds great and are a welcome addition to their music. It makes it more complete.

So it is fair to say that Mountains Of Blow has grown and these new albums are a proof of that. Enjoy!

Mountains of Blow (named after a Ghostface Killah lyric) was formed in Los Angeles during May of 2009 by Shane Berman and Bill Hawken after their former band Exoneration broke up due to unforseen circumstances.

MOB played several shows as a free-form jam, guitar-and-drums duo with no set songs. Continuing with this set-up, the group released the self-recorded 'Connoisseur' album, comprised of 4 free form jams which were met with positive reviews from several stoner metal sites. Around this time, close friend and former Moment of Youth bandmate James O'Mara began jamming with the group and eventually joined on bass.

The band then wrote many songs and proceded to play all over LA on a regular basis throughout the rest of 2009 and 2010. However, this incarnation of the band began to dissolve and played it's last show opening up for Torche at the Bootleg Theater in Echo Park. Before completely disbanding, an 8-song recording was completed in 10 hours at the Hit Joint Studios in Silverlake, Los Angeles.

After the departure of James O'Mara on bass, Shane & Bill continued jamming once again and came up with what would become Connoisseur II. 5 tracks of mostly instrumental jams recorded at their home studio in Silverlake.

(Their bio)

Mountains Of Blow - Connoisseur II (2011)

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Mountains Of Blow - The Hit Joint Sessions (2011)

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Unspeakable Acts Of Intoxication

Thanks to Jay from the band Otis Reaper for this submission!

From Jackson, Tennessee, USA comes Otis Reaper. This four piece band plays some incredible Sludge/Doom/Metal with Punk and even NWOBHM elements. It has resulted in this debut cassette. This cassette contains five tracks, which are truly awesome and heavy. The guitar riffs sound because of the NWOBHM element very authentic. The vocals that sounds like the screams of a maniac are really impressive. Combined with the heavy rhythms, it forms a outstanding and aggressive piece of music. Enjoy!

Hailing from the doomed wastelands of Tennessee, We play hard rock and punk tinged cro-magnon metal harkening back to the days of yore. Sludgy, neanderthal doom riffs collide with nwobhm tinged melodies, thrashing drums and guttural, blackened vocals w/lyrics about intergalactic time travel, misanthropy, and alcohol.

(Bio from Facebook)

Otis Reaper - Self Titled Cassette (2011)

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Echoes In The Night

One Inch Giant is a new band from Gothenburg, Sweden. This quartet has released their debut album Malva three months ago. This album contains six tracks of high quality Stoner Rock.

Their sound is according to their Facebook page influenced by Black Sabbath, Alice in Chains and Mastodon. I think that it is quite correct, the guitar riffs are somewhat like Black Sabbath, the vocals remind me a lot of that guy from Alice In Chains and the music of this band has the same heaviness as Mastodon.

Malva is a great sounding album with great riffs, pounding drum and bass and outstanding vocals. There's only one thing, this album is with 31 minutes a bit short. One Inch Giant can make that right with the next release. I hope they do!

One Inch Giant - Malva (2011)

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Mother Fuzzer

I want to thank Max from Go Down Records again for sending another beauty!

Underdogs is an italian trio that plays some superb Stoner Rock with Psychedelic, Seventies and Grunge elements. According to their Facebook page is this band influenced by the following bands and artists: Kyuss, Queens Of The StoneAge, Ramones, Fu Manchu, Black Sabbath, The Doors, Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine, Led Zeppelin, Danzig, Helmet, Melvins, Motorpsycho, Stone Temple Pilots, Brant Bjork, Alfredo Hernandez, Joe Lalli and Vic Dumonte.

Revolution Love is their third release after the debut Ready To Burn and the unplugged EP Dogs Without Plugs. (This EP is available as free download on their MySpace page.)

Revolution Love is a nice collection of songs that goes from energetic and up-tempo to some more laid-back.

So it is fair to say that Underdogs is a great band with an impressive new album. Enjoy!

Once in a great while, a band comes along that sets itself apart from the rest.

With the recent explosion of independent music this becomes an even more difficult task.

As rock bands evolve and develop a more technical and refined sound, it becomes increasingly necessary to sonically "strike hard and fast" and leave your listener "hooked and begging for more. Enter UNDERDOGS.

Powerful and versatile trio inspired by the "desert rock", supported by GoDown Records and formed in 2004.

They already occupy a respectable place in the Italian underground, thanks to a lot of granitic & wild r'n'roll gigs all over Italy (and not only..), supporting international cult bands such as Nebula, Josiah, Colour Haze, OJM, Joe Lalli (Fugazi), The Answer, Brant Bjork (Kyuss), and many more!!

The lucky debut album "Ready to burn" was released in 2007 for GoDown Records, followed in 2009 by an E.P. unplugged "Dogs without plugs" (self-produced and available for free download).

After one year away from the scene for recording the new album & changing drummer, on summer 2011 they are ready to come back and strike again. The new album will be available by september 2011..

..so let's keep one eye open.. ..the 'dogs are back!

(Their bio from Facebook)

Underdogs - Revolution Love (2011)

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The Fruit Is Still Fresh

Exactly two months ago I've posted the album A Good Tip For A Good Time by the Norwegian band Cato Salsa Experience. In that post I've asked you to look out for that album, because it was really hard to get. There were a couple reactions by the readers of this blog. Because of these reactions I can call myself a happy owner of that CD.

Today I was pleased again when I found this CD on my doormat. It is the Japanese issue of the most recent album The Fruit Is Still Fresh. This version contains four bonus live tracks.

The Fruit Is Still Fresh is again a garantee for some infectious catchy and energetic Psychedelic Garage tunes. An example of that is the song Lovesick, once played and it remains sticking in your head for the rest of the day. You are warned! Enjoy!

Meet the hardest working band in Norway: Cato Salsa Experience! And (along with Ricochets, Madrugada, and Motorpsycho) they're also one of the most credible rock bands around our shores. I had the pleasure of seeing the latter half (to bad I missed the full set) of their performance at this years Roskilde Festival, Denmark, to experience what a great live band they are. So what about recordings then?

The Fruit is still Fresh is album number two (their debut A Good Tip For A Good Time came almost three years ago), with more of their garage'n'roll rhythm'n'grooves. Or; maybe one of the titles of the songs from this album is a fitting tag: "Rock'n'Soul". Their sounds twist and turns, and even though this music really begs to be performed live it works remarkably well on disc. Much thanks to the tightness of the band and the arrangements of the songs. The mixture of the charisma and energy of front man (singer/guitarist) Christian Engfelt, the dancing and playful bass thrills of Cato "Salsa" Thomassen, the steady drum-beat from the hands and feet of Jon M. Riise, all topped or touched with a spicy taste of organ by Nina Bjørndalen.

CSX have played 200 gigs the last three years, which is understandable when listening to how tight and punchy The Fruit... is. A few tracks: opening song "Living Longer Each Year"; the energetic "Runaround"; the explosive "Up & Around"; the slightly Television/Tom Verlaine-ish (guitars!) "Waiting For The Summer Sun". Plus my fave of them all: "Candyman", which is a rolling, stomping, thundering, whispering, blistering song.

Good luck around the world, CSX. Guess he success will increase (they've already been on tv soundtracks in Jackass and The Osbournes). In the USA they're (along with Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren Band) signed to Emperor Norton Records. In Japan Epic/Sony distribute the CSX groove-machine.

(By Håvard Oppøyen at Lukacafe.com)

Cato Salsa Experience - The Fruit Is Still Fresh (2003)

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Your Protected

Today is day that this blog is up for three years. So I like to celebrate that anniversary with the following contribution.

Your Protected is a Post Rock band from Brynmawr, South Wales, UK. According to their Facebook page is this four piece band influenced by the following: Cloudkicker, Baroness, Tool, Animals As Leaders, Maybeshewill and the awesome band And So I Watch You From Afar.

The selftitled EP contains six outstanding instrumental songs. Especially the guitars make quite an impression. The high level of musicianship has resulted in progressive and sometimes complex music, which me make think a bit of Math Rock.

This EP is a great start by this fantastic band. Enjoy!

Please allow us into your homes, phones, stereos and screens.

Music should be organic, like a symbiotic life form entwined with our minds; healing and helping, invoking and teaching. Mutually evolving and leading us down unforeseen corridors of thought, on adventures of mind and hope.

As dark or as bright as you like we shall write in this our voiceless tongue.

So enjoy, relax, accept and protect.

(Bio from Facebook)

Your Protected - Your Protected (2011)

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Soil Sacrifice

This is yet another fantastic free download Bandcamp discovery!
From Tampere, Finland come the one-man project Consciousness Removal Project by Antti Loponen.

This guy plays impressive Post-Metal with Sludge influences. The album The Last Season is an atmospheric masterpiece. This album contains five amazing tracks that display great musical capabilities.

Antti Loponen had some help with this album of several musicians. Whereby I especially was touched by the violin in the songs Soil Sacrifice and Kyoto.

The Post-Rock genre is in general instrumental music. That is not the case with this project. Antti shows some great vocals, from clean to scream, it sounds awesome.

So The Last Season is for sure a need-to-hear album! Enjoy!

CONSCIOUSNESS REMOVAL PROJECT is a one-man post-metal band from Tampere, Finland. Its only official member Antti Loponen is solely responsible not only for compositions, lyrics and arrangements but also for most instruments and the record production. With the help of a live collective, Consciousness Removal Project has also been able to perform live since 2008.

The music of Consciousness Removal Project has been published on the internet for free since 2004. The style has evolved from guitar-based instrumental rock/ambient towards a post-metallish direction and vocals have been added into the equation. The 2011 album "The Last Season" was also released as a limited-edition CD Digipack.

(Bio from Facebook)

Consciousness Removal Project - The Last Season (2011)

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Night O'Mine

Been Obscene is a Psychedelic Stoner Rock band from Salzburg, Austria. This quartet has released last year their album The Magic Table Dance. This is a fine album, but a point of critisism is that some songs reminds a lot of Color Haze.

Now is Been Obscene back with their new album Night O'Mine. With this album does this band show more a sound of their own. This is an entertaining album with eight impressive tracks.

Beside the Psychedelic Stoner Rock, does their sound contain also some Seventies, Alternative, Progressive and even Pop elements.

Night O'Mine is an album that definitely should not be lacking in your record collection. So make sure you get it at Elektrohash or your local record store. Enjoy!

Been Obscene, founded 2008 in Salzburg, Austria, are tremendous versatile. Hypnotic Stoner Rock with Pop elements? Psychedelic Post Rock? Alternative progressive vibe? They inweave new song structures with classics and create their own universe.

“A full moon is drawing absurd, alive seeming shadows into the surrounded by huge trees night. Only the blazing eyes of an observing owl are glowing cool out of the coppice. The sun has set long ago, but the heat is left.”

Night O’Mine is the second album of the quartet, signed by Elektrohasch Records since their debut The Magic Table Dance in 2010. It is more gloomy and mystical than their debut. More experienced, detached and filigree. Rocking parts with spacy breaks and mosh parts mixed up with easy sound walls. On top a brilliant voice, which always modulates perfectly to the different atmospheres of the songs.

”The most beautiful time throughout the year is the night, because of it things are possible, which are detained by the routine of everyday life.”

Music-wise as well as lyric-wise Night O’Mine leads through the schizophrenia of the night with its combined abyss and climax of human beings. Driving riffs meet melancholic interludes, classic 4/4 beats complex rhythms and arrangements. A powerful, but sentimental up and down, that always finds its salvation in wonderful refrains.

”We don’t want to turn night into day. We want to live the night – in all its euphoric, calmative and redemptive outcome.“

Been Obscene already played with scene heroes like Motorpsycho, Fu Manchu, Brant Bjork, Colour Haze, Los Natas, Rotor and My Sleeping Karma, among others at the Swamp Room Mania, DUNAjam Festival, On The Rocks Festival and various venues all around Europe like Festsaal Kreuzberg Berlin, Backstage Munich, Arena Vienna or Rockhouse Salzburg.

(From their presskit)

Been Obscene - Night O'Mine (2011)

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Head Of The Demon

This awesome piece of heaviness called Head Of The Demon was releseased in 2009 by the band Tank Destroyer. This band from Columbus, Ohio plays stunning and heavy Stoner/Doom Metal with obvious Sludge influences.

Tank Destroyer is according to their Facebook page inspired by: Black Sabbath, YOB, Boris, Deep Purple, Pentagram and Sleep.

This album is the only release by this band so far and a new album is scheduled for 2012.

Head Of The Demon is an album with eight superb songs, that together last for almost an hour. The sound of this album is very good. So what more do you want? Enjoy!

Justin, Chris, Dan, Ben, and Michael formed Tank destroyer in July/August of 2008. Recording and playing live commenced soon after. 'Head of the Demon' released October 10th 2009. ...more live shows... Justin & Chris resign due to artistic differences in May 2010. Justin replaced by Chad. Ben resigns due to schedule conflict. Lance replaces Chris. New album coming spring 2012.

(Their bio from Reverbnation)

Tank Destroyer - Head Of The Demon (2009)

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Great Barrier Riff

This is the first time that I see the term Great Barrier Riff in combination with heavy music! That name fits this demo very well!

Sea Bastard is a four piece band from Brighton, UK. This band is a formation of two other Brighton Doom bands.

Sea Bastard plays stunning Stoner Doom Metal, whereby the name Electric Wizard as first comes to mind. They're according to their Facebook page also influenced by the following bands: Sleep, Cathedral, Celtic Frost, Corrupted, Black Sabbath, Burning Witch, Weedeater, Ramesses, St Vitus and Pentagram.

Needless to say that you can expect some slow and heavy tunes of this awesome new band.

The sound of this three songs is not that great, but hey, it's a demo! It gives anyway an impression of what Sea Bastard is capable of. Enjoy!

Sea Bastard recorded our demo on Wednesday 19th October 2011 at 284 Studios in Brighton. The demo's a live recording with vocals added afterwards and we think it captures the abject filthiness of Sea Bastard pretty well. We're all listening through it at the moment and once we're happy with it we'll post it on here and probably stick up a link for a free MP3 download, unless we decide it's worth a few quid.

There are plans for a CD version with awesome artwork provided by our very own Oliver Irongiant. Hopefully we'll have some of these ready for the Pagan Altar show on the 31st. There are also plans for t-shirts featuring the CD artwork which should hopefully also be ready for the gig.

Speaking of which, our first show will be on the 31st October at the Green Door Store with Pagan Altar and Mönarch. We'll also be playing the final Metal Monday on the 19th December with Enos and Slabdragger and hopefully supporting Conan at the Albert in January, though that's not quite confirmed yet.

(From Reverbnation)

Sea Bastard - Great Barrier Riff Demo (2011)

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Within The Witch

Stone Angels is the new band of Steven Bell from the New Zealand band Second Gear Grind. Stone Angels will release their debut album called Within The Witch early december. The album will be presented at the NZ's Stonerfest '11 among several other heavy bands.

For now is an unmastered version of the titlesong Within The Witch available as free download.

Where Second Gear Grind plays pure Stoner Rock, has Stone Angels also more Sludge, Doom and Metal influences. Within The Witch is a song that has made quite an impression on me. It is a lot heavier than any Second Gear Grind song.

If the song Within The Witch is the standard for the upcoming album, then I'm very eager to get that album. Enjoy!

Stone Angels - Within The Witch (One song only, 2011)

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