Category: news

Heck yeah! It’s another dose of massive pop-punk from Danger Den, who’ve just shared their …

The post DANGER DEN // Drop New Single ‘Too Much To Ask’ appeared first on Hysteria Magazine.

Roaring out of Newcastle comes Volatile Ways, an aggressive 4 piece blending elements of deathcore, …

The post VOLATILE WAYS // Newcastle Group Drop Thunderous Single ‘Times Up’ appeared first on Hysteria Magazine.

Inner Missing – Deluge (2021)

On their first album since clearing the one-decade anniversary of their first release, the Russian group of Inner Missing have put together eight tracks of gothic doom metal, blending melancholic reflections with powerful rhythmic work and aching tones from their strings.

“In the Haze” gets things off to a strong start, showcasing the band’s skill with nimbly sliding from one exploratory movement to the next, carrying listeners along through rousing action and somber focus. While that lush songwriting style persists throughout the album, as does the general mood of regretful introspection, the band has clearly taken pains to distinguish the tracks, to excellent effect. From the broad-buzzing guitar timbre affected for “Daybreak”, to the hard riffing of “Locusts” and the staggered beats of the title track, the songs find ways both immediate and more subtle to stand apart while cohering to a recognizably persistent musical personality.

The work put in by drummer Dmitry Kim deserve special mention, as it does a fantastic job of shaping the emotion and energy of the songs, even when just providing a backbeat to more elaborate guitar tonality. The band plays wonderfully together, building off of each other’s heat to reach some blow-away crescendos, and accenting the more emotive parts of the songs without getting treacly. Ultimately, it’s an excellently crafted set of songs, and one from which fans of textured, heartfelt doom will get plenty of enjoyment.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Below, Devastating Light, Earthling, Heavydeath, Pilgrim

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Inner Missing – Daybreak (320 kbps)

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To celebrate their 20th anniversary, BIGSOUND has announced one stacked lineup. This years event will …

The post BIGSOUND // 2021 Lineup Led By Henry Rollins And Tarana Burke appeared first on Hysteria Magazine.

ICYMI: Welsh metallers Bullet For My Valentine have announced their forthcoming self-titled seventh album and …

The post BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE // Announce Self-Titled Record, Drop New Single appeared first on Hysteria Magazine.

Calling all pop-punk fans! We’ve found your next favourite band, Danger Den, who’ve just unleashed …

The post DANGER DEN // Share New Single ‘Drag Me Down’ appeared first on Hysteria Magazine.

Planet of the Dead – Pilgrims (2021)

Following up on their debut album from February of last year, the New Zealander quartet of Planet Of The Dead have made quick turn-around to bring us this sophomore LP. Filled with references to sci-fi hallmarks like Alien, Dune, and RoboCop in the track titles and lyrics, with asteroid-drifting art for the album cover, the band makes no bones about their inspirations and pop culture fondnesses.

Opening with “Gom Jabbar”, the band takes a few moments for spaceship engine noise feedback to set an atmosphere before crashing into full sludge banger mode. Confident guitar crunch and flavorful bass-lines join the cymbal-heavy percussion and deep growls from the vocalist, coming together as a tight sludge package. The rest of the album doesn’t drift far from that initial MO, but each song does get some tweaks to help it stand out. For semi-title-track “Pilgrim”, for instance, there’s more of a groove focus, while “Nostromo” gets some slowed breaks, “The Sprawl” lets in some tasty soloing, and so on.

For those looking for sludge with overt sci-fi flavoring, news of PotD’s continued output should come as welcome news. The band’s willingness to switch to doomier slowness for breakdowns serves the spacy settings well, and a scattering of opening samples from the referenced movies add an extra touch of fun. With all the color pressings of their previous album already sold out (and one of the special pressings for this one already in the same boat), you’ll want to act fast if you prefer your sludge on wax. Whether the band keeps up their annual schedule, or spaces the next one out a bit more, they’re certainly becoming big players in a niche sub-genre.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Gallileous, giant gutter from outer space, Space God Ritual, Tides of Sulfur, Voidlurker

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Planet of the Dead – Escape from Smith’s Grove (320 kbps)

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SpaceMetal – Highness (2021)

It’s been a while since we last heard from the NOLA-based group of SpaceMetal; their last LP, Shroud, dropped back in 2018, and it’s been fairly quiet on their digital front since then. Now, thankfully, the group has returned with another batch of songs, this time in honestly-titled EP form, to reassure the world that their heaviness is alive and well.

First of the EP’s four tracks is “Stare”, an eight-minute cruiser which plays around with acoustic guitar and spoken-word vocals for an intro before diving into the deep bass and big-body riffs which make up its majority. With a wizard standing at the center of the lyrics, the band keeps a friendly vibe going through the crunch of the tunes, and the strong flow makes the eight minutes fly by. “Cry” follows, working a twistier main riff loaded with earworm hooks. Playing with rhythm change-ups and brandishing big guitar chords, the band manages to make this song feel just as full (if not more so) as the eight-minute track, despite running three minutes shorter.

The title track opens up the EP’s second half, ratcheting up the psychedelic traces with some echoing vocal effects and more sedate guitar work. The drums get to come out a bit more in this one, flexing on the cymbal emphasis and experimenting with the fills mid-measure. Lastly, “The Seed” holds on to the psych touches while bringing back the acoustic guitar from the very start of the EP, providing a nice cohering element while wrapping things up. All in all, while it runs just under half an hour, there’s enough depth to the songs to let listeners dive right down while it plays, and come out feeling not just that their time and attention was well-spent, but that there’s more to be heard next time they spin it. Grab it for yourself once it releases June 26th, or just head over to the BandCamp now to stream it ahead of time.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Attalla, Dead Hand, Tar Pit, Wizard Cult, Wizard Smoke

SpaceMetal – Cry (320 kbps)

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Bong-Ra – Antediluvian (2021)

While Bong-Ra is best known for decades of work in the breakcore style, back in 2016, the one-man band experimented with doom metal, on the two-track Palestina release. Half a decade later, musician Jason Köhnen is taking a deeper run at the style, bringing together about half an hour’s worth of material across four songs.

Opening with “Kheper – Pharoah’s Serpent” (sic), the album’s ten-minute opener operates with delicate female vocals over kicks of drums, long-reverbed waves of bass, crashes of cymbals, and squeals of feedback. Though most of the song takes a dirge-like tempo, there are outbreaks of drum frenetics, which add to the overall feel of churning currents moving deep beneath the surface. “Amun – Hidden Chambers” follows, taking its seven minutes to operate in much the same arrangement, but with some drifting piano and increased drum activity spurring things on, and the female vocals swapped out for some male groaning.

“Precession of the Equinoxes” leads into the second half of the album, still more drum-driven than the preceding tracks, and more dramatic with the impacts and contrasts. The female vocals return, though they’re all but drowned out by the crashing percussion, and we actually get something in the way of a riff from the down-tuned guitar presence. Lastly, “Aton – Mind Machine” follows up on that by working a distinct rhythm out of the elements in play, keeping the drums relatively concrete while the other instruments swirl around them.

Intriguingly atmospheric from start to finish, there’s no denying that this album is the result of a musician wanting to push the boundaries, not just with their own talents, but also with the musical style they’ve chosen to play. Though there’s a lot to remind listeners of Godflesh’s industrial doom, the more abstracted nature of Bong-Ra’s approach leans things hard into funeral doom territory, with the complementary Egyptian themes of the titles adding their own twist to things. One of those albums to put on for the purpose of letting yourself sink into the music.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Dirge, Godflesh, Fleshpress, Mudslide, Ommadon

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Bong-Ra – Aton – Mind Machine (320 kbps)

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Hermit’s Weedsom – As Above So Below (2021)

Making their return about half a year after the release of their first album, with a follow-up that’s about twice as long as the debut, the French duo of Hermit’s Weedsom are clearly aiming high and keeping their momentum up. Coming together at just over an hour across its eight tracks, the album works with an instrumental cocktail of heavy rock and prog metal, with some stoner dabs to keep things warmly casual.

Leading off with “Wheel of Fortune”, the band works a tight groove, spinning it out into elaborations, riding those out, and circling back to the original riff with some new twists to incorporate. Sharp guitar-work and tasty tones mesh well with the hold-it-down and flare-it-up styles of the drums, which pack plenty of punch in the mix. As the band continues through the album, each song gets its own focus and flavor, from the moody sorrow of “End of Cycle” to the inward-spiraling “Broken Chariot”, the craggy menace of “Emperor’s Fall”, and on. Not a disappointment to be heard among them, and the band keeps things inventive from start to finish.

The track titles are all nice and evocative, and loaded with Tarot references, complementing the emotive performances of their songs while providing a sense of occult mystery to the whole package. While some may have issues with taking the whole album in one go (the shortest song is just two seconds short of seven minutes), if you’ve got a spare hour to sit and soak it in, you’ll find the time spent to be well rewarded. Here’s hoping that some savvy label signs them up for a vinyl release of these tunes; if they do, expect them to be snapped up fast. Even if this doesn’t get a vinyl pressing anytime soon, get on over to the BandCamp page and grab yourself a CD or download of the album, and save it for a day when you’ve got time to savor some excellent music.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Acid Rooster, Frozen Planet….1969, Necro (Brazil), Porcupine Tree, Weedpecker

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Hermit’s Weedsom – Broken Chariot (320 kbps)

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