On this historic day of February 22, 2019, the day after the 21st and the day before the 23rd of the year 2019, the Bandcamp gods gave upon to thee a plethora of heavy albums. Not since the birth of the baby jesusChrist have we had the joy and thrill of such a treat. I’ve got just a few of the albums listed below that I’ve had the pleasure of hearing, and a few that I have not, but I trust my fellow Bandcampers in their judgment. Utterly astounding day of release in the heavy music underground and may go down in history as a monumental moment.
Birdstone - SEER The artwork had me before even listening. I am a sucker for those bronze colors and style of artistry. There is something truly special going on here. The bluesy licks have a golden sheen shadowed with vintage psych and etched in occult. SEER would make an excellent vinyl package. I want inserts, posters, and actual snakes to go with the annihilating aura of proggy fuzz.
Palace in Thunderland – The King of the Empty Aeon The King of the Empty Aeon carries the torch of progressive doom through a saturated wasteland of stoner and grunge with an apocalyptic output of electrifying groove. The riffs are catchy, the vocals are savage yet melodic, and the groove bangs with crushing atmosphere. Today will go down as a historic day of heavy music releases and this is at the top of the heap in terms of quality. (2-22-19) Favorite track: The King Of The Empty Aeon.
Gypsy Chief Goliath – Masters of Space and Time If you’re not convinced by the sheer force tingling your spine upon the conclusion of song one City of Ghosts then you’re in luck. The entire album is a massive progression from earlier GCG works delving into much more of the classic rock side of the spectrum while still maintaining that brute Canadian grizzle. Dual guitar harmonies, organ driven melody, production that hits you like a ton of bricks, and AL’s refined vocals proving the Yeti can sing with the best of them. Mark your yearend lists, Masters of Space and Time is here to stake its claim. Favorite track: City Of Ghosts.
Witchers Creed – Awakened From The Tomb Witchers Creed have awakened from the tomb, steeped in the stench traditional doom, ringing with proto-metallic harmony, caked in beefy rhythm and crying with bluesy solos that'll eat your heart out. Favorite track: Salem (Resurrection).
Sanhedrin – The Poisoner The Poisoner is stricken with another round of immaculate heavy metal. Like their predecessor ‘A Funeral For the World’ the follow up takes influences from classic metal and doom with a modern-stamp and burly female vocal tone. It’s exciting, fresh and timeless without sounding derivative. This could have came out in 79 or 84 and we’d have been blown away then.
The Traveler – The Traveler I’ve only scanned a few songs of this new release by Traveler, whom to be honest, I only just heard about today on release day as a bunch of folks in the scene were discussing how big this day is for releases and this one was on some lists. I did select it as a choice due to the scan I conducted resulted in big juicy metallic riffs galore and not too unlike Sanhedrin above the classic metal flavor was on point. The NWOBHM influence runs deep on Traveler’s debut self-titled album. I will be digging deeper into this soon.
Demon Head – Hellfire Ocean Void I’ll be honest here, I have never been able to totally get into Demon Head. I don’t know what it is. I am sharing it here in the spirit of the big day being Friday the 22, 2019. This band has a cult following and I think with some time I could find myself appreciating what they are doing a little more. You be the judge, but most my counterparts rave about them regularly and I’m sure this will be turning some ears throughout the year.
Red Eye – Tales From The Days Of Yore This one is thick folks. The progressive doom tones fuzz along at crushing volume and heavy enough to sink the titanic. Hell, this is so heavy it could sink the iceburg that took down the Titanic. The cover art gives you an idea of what to think. Its hazy, its desolate, its quite sharp and intricate at the same time. Check out Red Eye.
Red Beard Wall – The Fight Needs Us All This new album by Red Beard Wall is pretty fucking killer. Its not like most anything you’d expect to hear. It’s noisy, progressive, and grungy all the same. Its chaotic without being obnoxious and has an accessible element to it that keeps me engaged.
Dead Witches – The Final Exorcism The latest album by Dead Witches proves that a band can improve and catch your ear even if prior material did not really do a whole lot for you. Although I still need to give this some more time, I did find that right off the bat I was intrigued and surprised at how much I enjoyed it compared to its predecessor. I don’t know if it’s the new singer or what, but they seemed to have grown into an actual interesting band with this release. Check it out.
Sons of Morpheus – The Wooden House Session Sons of Morpheus ride out on the dusty trail on a steel horse slinging soulful boogy rock drenched in blues andoozing with fuzz. Everything they’ve released has been top notch. The Wooden House Session adds a little twang to their signature distorted blues rock.
Wolf Counsel – Destination Void Wolf Counsel are on the epic side of traditional doom while maintaining that signature accessibility that Doom has over other styles of heavy in the genre. The melodic aspect has the power to retain the casual listener with a cleanish vocal and catchy groove. Even if it is slowed down to half speed, its enjoyable and doesn’t wear out its welcome that easily.
Candlemass – The Door To Doom Candlemass need no introduction. The purveyors of traditional doom are back with their first material in a long time with their original singer Johan Langquist. Well, I haven’t heard the entire album, and really wasn’t all that much anticipating it, I will find the time to hear it out as they are an influential band who has left their impression on the generation of Doom troubadours out there today. Tony Iommi makes a guest appearance on the track Astorolus.
Ordos – The End Ordos is on the rise at becoming one of todays hottest heavy underground bands. There is something so sinister and captivating about the riffs on display combined with their occult vibes and vintage fuzz tones.
Cocaine Wolves – Second Scorching I just found this one while searching my friends feeds to see which albums I forgot about. Look at that album cover and try and tell me these dudes from Indy aren’t out to have a good time. Reminds me of the movie RAD from back in the 80’s. The music sounds as if it could have been released in that same era. Straight up rock and roll, anthem ringing chorus’s dualing guitars harmonizing over fist pumping riffs and pile driving bass. I can dig it, can you? It’s a little corny but man this is fun. Look at those vinyl patterns. Why have I just discovered this stuff?
Jerky Dirt - Kaleidotropic Jerky Dirt brings us some salty licks of psych, rock and stoner groove. The fuzz is eclectic, vocals are kind of post-punky or something. This is a cool sound and one that I am sure will grow even more with time.
Straytones – Beware, Dark Lord! Here Comes Bell-Man! Intensely psychedelic garage rock here. The tones are trippy, the fuzz is thick,and the reverb secures the fact that they nailed their band name. How many more albums can I list?
As I mentioned this is just scratching the surface on how many quality albums were released today and available on bandcamp. I could keep going but I’d be stealing from your listening time. If there was a day to pick for releases today was the day. You know what else? There are a thousand more killer releases yet to hit the shelves. It’s never ending. We are all doomed to die doing what we love being listening to new music until the end of time.
-The Huntsman
