BELL WITCH returns with "Future's Shadow: Part 1 Clandestine Gate" the first part of a proposed three album trilogy. The album starts off with a mellow organ passage that sounds like a funeral dirge. Guitars slowly fade in & the piece finally fully arrives at the 9 minute mark. If you thought "Mirror Reaper" was a slow burn wait until you throw this one on. All of the elements that we know & love about BELL WITCH are here, slow as molasses doom, epic patience & willingness to let the chords breathe & REVERENCE FOR THE DOOM. RECOMMENDED.

Classic, out of print BURNING WITCH material finally sees the light of day in a comprehensive package from who else? Southern Lord. Southern Lord guy STEPHEN O'MALLEY was in BURNING WITCH, so I guess that makes sense. Anyway, in case you're a doom fan and you HAVEN'T heard this band - it's slow, heavy, intense, & all of those other words that are tossed about when a band is loud and low. BURNING WITCH pre-dates bands like SUNN O))), KHANATE, GOATSNAKE, & others, basically the roots of the Southern Lord tree. This double-disc collection not only has the "Towers" LP & "Rift Canyon Dreams," but a downloadable 2-song demo and 4-song live set. Those six songs are over an hour of music, though . . . so don't think that six songs is nothing! For fans of all things heavy, dense, and super evil. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

BACCHUS ARCHIVES collects the hard-to-come-by material from New Zealand's garage legends,CHANTS R & B. Formed in 1964 & finishing in 1966,the group took full advantage of those 2 short years to build a large local following,releasing 3 singles on the independent Action! label.

What exactly happened here? Well, we will try to explain because to any YOKO ONO fan this business as usual. YOKO and the gang decided to get even more creative & hand pick contemporary musicians to re-work the ONO catalog. The selected musicians could pick whatever they wanted, so it is no surprise PEACHES chose to do "Kiss Kiss Kiss" where ONO seems to be having a "roll is zee hay." Most of the re-worked material is in the electro clash realm. However, CAT POWER's CHAN MARSHALL allows listeners to catch their breathe. Other artists assembled here within are: LE TIGRE, FLAMING LIPS, DJ SPOOKY, ANTONY & the JOHNSONS, & many more. Listen if you dare, you may just end up loving this. Recommended.

The shoegaze revival is now more or less complete. It started with MY BLOODY VALENTINE's triumphant return with the great "MBV" album in 2013, which was soon followed soon after by SWERVEDRIVER, LUSH & SLOWDIVE who all toured & released new music though LUSH fizzled-out pretty quickly. RIDE have been touring on their old albums for a few years but now they complete their return by releasing "Weather Diaries." Similar to the great SLOWDIVE album this year, RIDE have managed to hint at their old sound without relying on that too much while simultaneously moving forward. "Weather Diaries" features many elements of what made RIDE great, nods towards 60's British psych rock, melodic vocals & a willingness to experiment & push their boundaries a little. WELCOME BACK BOYS!

This sophomore effort from members of FEATHERS and J. MASCIS (of DINOSAUR JR.) brings more murky, 70's stoner rock to those SABBATH/ HAWKWIND/ MASTADON hungry ears. In addition to the doom and dissonant tracks, there are elements of sludgy punk sure to please the DEEP WOUND fans out there. "Paralyzed" is a slice of heavy rock, as it should be!!!

"Funeral Sanctum" is the 2024 album by WITCH VOMIT, a melodic death metal band from the Pacific Northwest metal mecca of Portland. This one has some nice variety with classic sounding death metal mixed with some nice melodic passages & plenty of divebombs. Great stuff.

Swedish Doom masters WITCHCRAFT are back. We'll be the first to admit that these guys aren't breaking much ground but it's ok because they f*cking rock! These dudes look & sound like they arrived in a time machine fresh from seeing the first BLACK SABBATH show to blow our minds with their fresh take on things. WITCHCRAFT originally were a PENTAGRAM cover band so that influence is obvious also. Fast forward at the end of track 10 for a hidden cover of a PENTAGRAM song! Scandanavian hard rock with tasty guitar leads.

MAN THIS IS A COOL RECORD. WITCHCRAFT look & sound like they were frozen in time in 1968 & thawed out to remind people in 2004 what heavy rock is really supp- osed to be about. Very Sabbath inspired hard rock recorded in a basement which only adds to its appeal in my opinion. Certainly not the most original sound ever but who cares cuz this record f*cking rocks! Highly Recommended!!!!

I JUST WANNA SAY, WE SEE A LOT OF METAL ALBUMS HERE AND TAKES A LOT FOR ME TO GO "DAMN. THAT'S A GOOD METAL ALBUM TITLE." BUT THIS IS A GOOD METAL ALBUM TITLE.