Occult Vibe Haven (OVH)
I didn’t expect to get into a sludge album this year, but Axis Mundi really hit me. It’s slow, heavy, and feels like it’s pressing down on you. After five years, TARLUNG could have played it safe. Instead, the riffs are thick and jagged, the drums mostly slow but sometimes exploding out of nowhere. The […]
Sleeping Giant finally put out a full album, and it doesn’t feel like something that needed a long setup or careful framing. Recorded in 2024 at StĂşdĂĂł ParadĂs, it sits firmly in stoner doom sludge way, slow and stubborn rather than dramatic. The band sounds like they already knew how they wanted to hit. Heavy, […]
Paramagia is the kind of record that will immediately piss off two types of listeners: people who want obvious hooks, and people who think “psychedelic heavy rock” should automatically be warm, cosmic, or fun. ABISSI aren’t interested in either camp. This album is stubborn, repetitive, and occasionally exhausting – and that’s exactly why it mostly […]
Well, II Bleak feels less like an album and more like a place you’re not supposed to stay in for long. Vast Pyre don’t dress this thing up or frame it as some grand doom journey – it just sits there, cold and heavy, grinding away at its own pace. The band clearly aren’t interested […]
I’ve been trying to describe what this album feels like, not what it “is,” because what it “is” depends on the day. First spin, I thought it was their most straightforward thing yet. Second spin, nope, it’s actually looser than the debut. Third spin, I stopped trying to categorize it at all. Maybe that’s the […]
Turin isn’t the first city you associate with shadowy, slow-burning heavy rock, but Dune Aurora have been sharpening their sound there for a while. Ginny, Roberta, and Serena first surfaced with a few singles and the 2022 Lonely Town EP, and even then it was clear they weren’t following anyone’s playbook. Their music felt like […]
I don’t know what’s in the water down there, but GOATFATHER sounds like they’ve been breathing exhaust fumes for breakfast again. Their third album, House of the Rising Smoke, comes out this October and, to be honest, it’s probably their most “them” record yet. If you’ve heard Monster Truck you’ll get the idea, but this […]
Deep River Acolytes interview answered by Ari Rajaniemi (gtr) and Timo Hiivala (gtr). The Origin & Identity: How did you all come together as a band, and when did it feel real? AR: – In 2010 I found myself in a situation that the previous band I was playing in (Sigil. Heavy rock / grunge) […]
There’s a point where riffs stop sounding like you’re trying and start sounding like you just are. Solar Sons hit that somewhere along the line. You can hear it all over Altitude, their sixth record, tracked fast in some cold room called Nameless City Sound. Eight days. Probably smelled of coffee and warm valve amps. […]
Danakil Heat don’t really sound like a new band anymore. There’s too much dirt in the gears for that. Doomsday Delight comes on quick – three tracks, no time to stretch – and still manages to feel bigger than it is. The fuzz hits first, that thick Helsinki tone, half-garage, half-machine. It doesn’t wait around […]