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  • heavymetalkids.uk is Bay Area bound…

    I was totally blown away this week by the announcement of a stunning Dandy Boy Records showcase to welcome me on what will be my first visit to the Bay Area.

    Yes, after following the scene for some five years and covering it here for the last two and a bit, my wife Julia and I are finally going to experience it firsthand. I couldn’t be more excited.

    I’m meant to be taking a summer break from all things heavymetalkids.uk but I couldn’t resist the chance to highlight some of my previous posts relating to the line up that DBR have announced for Friday 19th September at Little Hill Lounge.

    above me – s/t

    Expanding on his former band Blue Ocean’s experimental shoegaze soundscapes, Rick Altieri’s solo debut incorporates drum machines, synths and electronic music techniques into its heady dreampop brew. Read more here.

    above me – out of body out of mind

    Rhymies – I Dream Watching

    From the pulsating urgency of the title track’s soaring chorus through to The Hesperian (Again)’s sweepingly atmospheric climax there is a purity to Lauren Matsui’s rhythmic explorations that is both spellbinding and highly addictive. Read more here.

    Rhymies – I Dream Watching

    Ryann Gonsalves – A sense of Bay Area belonging…

    Finally, you can check out last summer’s interview with Torrey/Aluminum frontperson Ryann Gonsalves here. Truly one of my favourite blog projects to date.

    Ryann Gonsalves – Feeder Fish

    You can expect more news relating to our forthcoming trip over the coming weeks. In the meantime be sure to give the artists above your fullest time and attention. Bay Area underground forever.

  • ALTAR OF THE FUZZ ~ COLOSSAL SUNN ENGULFED EARTH …. review

     


    Canada’s Altar of the Fuzz, Trey Graham (guitar); Caine Albright (bass/vocals) and Isaac McConkey (drums) are a relatively young band in terms of existence but in their short time together they have managed to put out a considerable output. Since their 2022  inception the band have managed to release three full length albums, “V” (2023), “Buffalo Haze” (2024) and “Their Skies Were Lost Gods” (2024), as well as a number of well received EP’s and singles. Altar of the Fuzz have become chiefly known for jamming instrumental grooves of a spacious and heavy persuasion but their latest EP “Colossal Sunn Engulfed Earth” sees the band also experimenting with some vocal flavouring.

    “Colossal” opens Altar of the Fuzz’s latest musical endeavour and it could not be a better named opus, not only does it span a whopping eleven minutes and three seconds but it also sounds COLOSSAL. The guitar work here is a Gilmour-esque merging of searing drawn out notes, crunching riffage and spacious ringing arpeggios that is is backed by a superbly delivered mix of growly and liquid bass work and a truly impressive blend of thunderous and shimmering percussion. The song takes you on a journey in a way that all good instrumentals should, the music swelling to enormous heights one moment then flattening out to become a trickle the next, atmosphere is a must in music of this nature and this track is drenched in the stuff. Next up is “Sunn“, musically this song comes across like a coming together of Elder, Pink Floyd and OM with the OM part of the equation mostly being found in the “weedian” like nature of its vocals which are delivered in a mantra like throaty gargle. The brief but intriguing “Engulfed” has a distant and otherworldly feel, the sort  of musical piece that could easily work as the soundtrack to a space horror movie, something in the vein of  “Event Horizon” or “Pandorum“. For the albums penultimate number, “Earth“, Altar of the Fuzz basically take Black Sabbath’s “Children of the Grave” riff and give it a space rock makeover and maaaan do they make a good job of it, if this had been played at Ozzy’s final gig it would have brought the roof down. The final song of the album “Ton 618” blends sampled space themed narrative and swirling bluesy guitar over spacious musical backdrops before fading out on a wave of hazy cosmic jive.  


    Altar of the Fuzz’s “Colossal Engulfed Sunn Earth” is everything you could possibly ask for from music pitched at the more cosmic end of the metal spectrum, a collection of spacious, heavy and atmospheric tunes that’ll take your mind to places your body could never hope to visit. 
    Check it out …..

    © 2025 Frazer Jones

  • ALTAR OF THE FUZZ ~ COLOSSAL SUNN ENGULFED EARTH …. review

     


    Canada’s Altar of the Fuzz, Trey Graham (guitar); Caine Albright (bass/vocals) and Isaac McConkey (drums) are a relatively young band in terms of existence but in their short time together they have managed to put out a considerable output. Since their 2022  inception the band have managed to release three full length albums, “V” (2023), “Buffalo Haze” (2024) and “Their Skies Were Lost Gods” (2024), as well as a number of well received EP’s and singles. Altar of the Fuzz have become chiefly known for jamming instrumental grooves of a spacious and heavy persuasion but their latest EP “Colossal Sunn Engulfed Earth” sees the band also experimenting with some vocal flavouring.

    “Colossal” opens Altar of the Fuzz’s latest musical endeavour and it could not be a better named opus, not only does it span a whopping eleven minutes and three seconds but it also sounds COLOSSAL. The guitar work here is a Gilmour-esque merging of searing drawn out notes, crunching riffage and spacious ringing arpeggios that is is backed by a superbly delivered mix of growly and liquid bass work and a truly impressive blend of thunderous and shimmering percussion. The song takes you on a journey in a way that all good instrumentals should, the music swelling to enormous heights one moment then flattening out to become a trickle the next, atmosphere is a must in music of this nature and this track is drenched in the stuff. Next up is “Sunn“, musically this song comes across like a coming together of Elder, Pink Floyd and OM with the OM part of the equation mostly being found in the “weedian” like nature of its vocals which are delivered in a mantra like throaty gargle. The brief but intriguing “Engulfed” has a distant and otherworldly feel, the sort  of musical piece that could easily work as the soundtrack to a space horror movie, something in the vein of  “Event Horizon” or “Pandorum“. For the albums penultimate number, “Earth“, Altar of the Fuzz basically take Black Sabbath’s “Children of the Grave” riff and give it a space rock makeover and maaaan do they make a good job of it, if this had been played at Ozzy’s final gig it would have brought the roof down. The final song of the album “Ton 618” blends sampled space themed narrative and swirling bluesy guitar over spacious musical backdrops before fading out on a wave of hazy cosmic jive.  


    Altar of the Fuzz’s “Colossal Engulfed Sunn Earth” is everything you could possibly ask for from music pitched at the more cosmic end of the metal spectrum, a collection of spacious, heavy and atmospheric tunes that’ll take your mind to places your body could never hope to visit. 
    Check it out …..

    © 2025 Frazer Jones

  • How “Made In Heaven” Made Me a Queen Fan

    A few weeks ago, my dad brought me something from Istanbul that evoked a lot of memories. It is the album that instantly made me a Queen fan and opened the door to every other musical interest of mine. Let’s go back to 1995 and talk about the last studio album that Queen ever released.

    I am, of course, referring to Made In Heaven. Ironically, Queen’s last album was my first from them. I was just 10 years old when I got it. My dad had received The Freddie Mercury Album, a compilation of some of Freddie’s solo works, as a gift from a colleague. I was already an introverted kid who was looking for any excuse to discover new music. I didn’t realize it then, but Freddie’s Living On My Own, Let’s Turn It On, The Great Pretender, and Foolin’ Around were perfect gateways to what was to come. I loved the music and this man sounded amazing on vocals! Who was he?

    The Freddie Mercury Album (1992)

    I soon learned more about Freddie Mercury and Queen. This was before the Internet was widely used. We certainly didn’t have it at home yet. I couldn’t look him up to read more or sample some of Queen’s music. It was a discovery that had to be spread over time. Also, I was a kid operating on weekly allowances. Where was I to even start? That answer came from an unexpected source; a documentary parents caught and recorded for me on a Turkish private TV channel that doesn’t even exist anymore. It was past my bed time but they wanted me to see parts of it the next day. For those who don’t know, I was born and raised in Turkey before moving to the US. In the ‘90s, we had this channel called HBB. I don’t remember much about it, but I vividly remember the documentary my parents taped on a blank VHS for me because they knew I wanted to learn more about Freddie.

    They had only managed to record the tail end of the documentary, so to this day I have no idea what the beginning was like. But I remember there was a presenter. She introduced a video clip, told a brief story about it, and then they would show the video she had talked about. They must have caught it from 1989 onwards, because the documentary for me started with “The Invisible Man”, “I Want It All”, and “Scandal”. I also saw videos from the Innuendo days. All this before I had even owned The Miracle or Innuendo. But then the host talked about Freddie’s death in 1991. I knew he had passed, but watching those images set to “You Take My Breath Away,” a song I was hearing for the first time, truly broke my heart. How could this incredible musician be gone? But just as I was feeling like everything was lost, the presenter started talking about a new Queen album. New? How?

    There is already a lot of material available on how the remaining members of Queen came up with the songs on Made In Heaven. There are some new tracks. These are songs where Freddie just did the vocals to a click track and the guys did the music later. Then there are some earlier Queen demos that got re-worked to be put on here. Finally, there are some material from Freddie’s solo album that got new versions as Queen songs. The title track, for example, is originally from Freddie’s Mr. Bad Guy album. So, not everything is new, per se, but everything got reworked, everything got a new life, and we definitely got a new Queen album. I was catching this documentary right when Queen was releasing this gift to the whole world. Here was our chance to listen to new Queen music in a full-length studio album context for one last time.

    I wanted that CD. I didn’t own any CDs at the time, or anything else that stored full-length albums. Though I later co-opted the Freddie Mercury compilation CD, it didn’t belong to me at the time. So, my first CD was going to be Queen’s Made In Heaven. I asked my mom if I could get my pocket money earlier in the week to buy the album. She ended up buying it for me. She could tell I was moved by the documentary, and I was at the cusp of making a big musical discovery.

    So within a few days of watching this documentary, I was holding this CD in my hands. I still have it! It’s in its original package too. What a great memory to have and what a great discovery it led to!

    My copy of Queen's Made In Heaven in CD format.

    My “Made In Heaven” CD. I used to have the booklet open in front of me all the time to read the lyrics.

    I have no idea what happened to that VHS tape my parents recorded. I checked YouTube but I couldn’t find anything about it. Still, I’m grateful to the people who worked at that private TV channel for getting the word out to the Turkish public about Freddie Mercury, Queen, and their new release. And a big shout out to my parents who recognized an interest early on and decided to tape it. Where would we be without people who introduce us or give us the tools to make our own discoveries?

    Made In Heaven is a phenomenal release. I didn’t intend to do a full review, so I’ll leave that for another day, but it’s a record that captures Queen’s essence beautifully. Every song is a different story. And it covers a huge timeline if you know your Queen history. If you haven’t heard it, give it a listen. Brian, Roger, and John dedicated this album to the “immortal spirit of Freddie Mercury”. It doesn’t get any more meaningful than that. I will never let go of the musical journey this band set me on. I engage with music in my own way, and it has been the best fuel whenever I’ve needed to keep moving forward.

    When stormy weather comes around
    It was made in heaven
    When sunny skies break through behind the clouds
    I wish it could last forever

    The post How “Made In Heaven” Made Me a Queen Fan appeared first on Mega-Depth.

  • BORRACHO ~ OUROBOROS ….. review



    We at Desert Psychlist were a little surprised when it was announced that Borracho, Steve Fisher (guitar/vocals); Tim Martin (bass,/’backing vocals) and Mario Trubiano (drums), were releasing a new album, to us it only seemed like five minutes ago we were lauding praise on their previous release “Blurring The Lines of Reality“, however we soon realised that the reason we still thought of their last album as fairly recent was because it has been a staple on our playlist at Stonerking Towers ever since its release two years ago. This is the beauty of Borracho, they make albums that do not date and stay ever fresh in the memory, we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again…these guys don’t make bad albums. New album “Ouroboros” (Ripple Music) is no different, this is an album that will blow your mind on day one and will be continuing to blow your mind many years down the line.

    Borracho come out of the starting gate ripped and ready to rumble with opening number “Vegas Baby” the song kicking off with chugging riffage interspersed with cool ear-catching guitar motifs and fills, the songs groove really starting to spark when the drums join in but then ferociously catching fire when the vocals enter, Fisher waxing lyrical on the draws and dangers to be found in America’s gambling capital. Next we have “Succubus“, things here start a little dissonant and swirly only then to proceed to get a little jagged and off-centred as the song progresses, there is nothing straightforward to be found here Martin’s bass lines are a mix of spacious and growly, Trubiano’s drumming often borders on tribal and Fisher’s guitar work is a mixture of slurred power chords and dark off centred lead work, the vocals, an exquisite mix of throaty lead and grainy harmonies, are powerfully delivered and also share a similar element of slurriness. “Lord of Suffering” like its predecessor begins left of centre but then settles down into a groove that can only be described as throbbing and LOUD, vocally the song is a trade off of lead singing and backing shouts, musically the song is smorgasbord of thundering bass and guitar riffage driven by Bonham-esque drumming. Fourth song “Vale of Tears” sees Borracho mixing into their unique blending of riff heavy rock’n’roll and distortion drenched stonerized metal smatterings of bluesiness, shades of doominosity and essences of heavy psych while “Machine is the Master” finds the band going full tilt metallic but metallic with just a hint of alt-rock colouring. “Freakshow“, meanwhile, finds Borracho in a playful mood with vocals delivered in the style of a fairground barker over a backdrop of gnarled groove that carries Clutch-like musical similarities, the vocals and lyrical content maybe playful here but the music kicks serious ass! Borracho bring “Ouroboros” to a close with “Broken Man” a song that blends together elements of stoner rock with elements of its close musical cousin southern metal and inserts into that blend swirling keyboard textures and off-the -grid lead work, a feisty finish to a damn feisty album.

     Being consistent and pleasing your fans while also trying to progress musically is no easy task but Borracho seem to have found  a way to balance the needs of their fanbase with their own need to progress musically. Each Borracho album released is a level up on the previous one and when you consider that each and every one of the bands albums is essential listening then that is some feat. “Ouroboros” is the bands best album to date but if they don’t suddenly decide to call it a day and they carry on improving the way they have been up until this point you can guarantee it won’t be their best album ever!
    Check ’em out ….

    © 2025 Frazer Jones


  • BORRACHO ~ OUROBOROS ….. review



    We at Desert Psychlist were a little surprised when it was announced that Borracho, Steve Fisher (guitar/vocals); Tim Martin (bass,/’backing vocals) and Mario Trubiano (drums), were releasing a new album, to us it only seemed like five minutes ago we were lauding praise on their previous release “Blurring The Lines of Reality“, however we soon realised that the reason we still thought of their last album as fairly recent was because it has been a staple on our playlist at Stonerking Towers ever since its release two years ago. This is the beauty of Borracho, they make albums that do not date and stay ever fresh in the memory, we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again…these guys don’t make bad albums. New album “Ouroboros” (Ripple Music) is no different, this is an album that will blow your mind on day one and will be continuing to blow your mind many years down the line.

    Borracho come out of the starting gate ripped and ready to rumble with opening number “Vegas Baby” the song kicking off with chugging riffage interspersed with cool ear-catching guitar motifs and fills, the songs groove really starting to spark when the drums join in but then ferociously catching fire when the vocals enter, Fisher waxing lyrical on the draws and dangers to be found in America’s gambling capital. Next we have “Succubus“, things here start a little dissonant and swirly only then to proceed to get a little jagged and off-centred as the song progresses, there is nothing straightforward to be found here Martin’s bass lines are a mix of spacious and growly, Trubiano’s drumming often borders on tribal and Fisher’s guitar work is a mixture of slurred power chords and dark off centred lead work, the vocals, an exquisite mix of throaty lead and grainy harmonies, are powerfully delivered and also share a similar element of slurriness. “Lord of Suffering” like its predecessor begins left of centre but then settles down into a groove that can only be described as throbbing and LOUD, vocally the song is a trade off of lead singing and backing shouts, musically the song is smorgasbord of thundering bass and guitar riffage driven by Bonham-esque drumming. Fourth song “Vale of Tears” sees Borracho mixing into their unique blending of riff heavy rock’n’roll and distortion drenched stonerized metal smatterings of bluesiness, shades of doominosity and essences of heavy psych while “Machine is the Master” finds the band going full tilt metallic but metallic with just a hint of alt-rock colouring. “Freakshow“, meanwhile, finds Borracho in a playful mood with vocals delivered in the style of a fairground barker over a backdrop of gnarled groove that carries Clutch-like musical similarities, the vocals and lyrical content maybe playful here but the music kicks serious ass! Borracho bring “Ouroboros” to a close with “Broken Man” a song that blends together elements of stoner rock with elements of its close musical cousin southern metal and inserts into that blend swirling keyboard textures and off-the -grid lead work, a feisty finish to a damn feisty album.

     Being consistent and pleasing your fans while also trying to progress musically is no easy task but Borracho seem to have found  a way to balance the needs of their fanbase with their own need to progress musically. Each Borracho album released is a level up on the previous one and when you consider that each and every one of the bands albums is essential listening then that is some feat. “Ouroboros” is the bands best album to date but if they don’t suddenly decide to call it a day and they carry on improving the way they have been up until this point you can guarantee it won’t be their best album ever!
    Check ’em out ….

    © 2025 Frazer Jones


  • VVARP ~ POWER HELD IN STONE…. review


    We at Desert Psychlist are very partial to doom of a more sedate and atmospheric nature, strident up-tempo grooves of course have a place in our hearts and we have much music lining our shelves at Stonerking Towers that meet that criteria but what really gets our blood pumping are grooves that lurch toward the finishing line rather than race to get there. Even better for us is if those grooves have an almost spiritual/ritualistic air about them and Australia’s VVARP, Claudia Sullivan (bass/vocals); John Bollen (guitar/vocals/keyboards) and Scott McLatchie (drums), make music that fits that mould perfectly. The band first came to Desert Psychlist’s attention via their 2020 release “First Levitations” a release we described on their Bandcamp page as “thundering riffs counterbalanced by floating monastic vocals“, while calling it in our full review “a must for fans of Windhand, Dead Sacraments and Chile’s Heráldica de Mandra“. The band return this year with “Power Held In Stone” (DHU Records), an engrossing and atmospheric tome they describe as “an imagined soundtrack for a folk horror film that exists only in our collective imagination“.

    Unaccompanied Gregorian-like harmonies announce the start of opening track “Druid Warfare” and are soon joined by bass, drums and guitar in a thrumming distortion drenched doomic groove that offsets its repetitive nature with subtle swells in volume and intensity, a trick that draws the listeners focus more towards the vocals than the music itself, the music in this case seemingly serving as more of a framework for the vocals with those vocals possessing an almost medieval quality. Swelling keyboards accompanied by droning guitar textures herald the arrival of “A Path Through The Veil“, here the music and the vocals stand on an equal footing, bone shaking bass and pummelling percussion laying down a platform of dank groove for lilting dual harmonies and searing lead work to be launched from. Third track “Equinox Portal” sees VVARP  musically shifting up a gear into proto-doomic territory yet vocally still staying in that monastic occult-like pocket that has become the bands default setting, oh and keep an ear out for swirling Celtic flavoured guitar solo that proceeds the songs droning keyboard outro. VVARP go into full stoner-doomic mode for the pulverising “Iron Cloak” with guitar amps dialled to eleven and drums set to thunderous, the vocals sit a little deeper in the mix here but that does not detract from their impact, in fact the song benefits greatly from allowing the instrumentation to be pushed a little more to the fore. The stoner-doomic dynamics explored on the previous song remain in place for final number “Stone Silhouette” the vocal harmonies here are again floaty and monastic but the musical feel is one of intensity and heaviness, well that is apart from the songs deliciously dank and somewhat lysergic middle section where the vocals once again find themselves the full focus of attention.


    Doom with a floating ethereal quality is what VVARP bring to the altar with “Power Held In Stone”, songs full of intensity and heaviness offset with elements that at times border on folkish and otherworldly.
    Check it out …. 

    © 2025 Frazer Jones

  • VVARP ~ POWER HELD IN STONE…. review


    We at Desert Psychlist are very partial to doom of a more sedate and atmospheric nature, strident up-tempo grooves of course have a place in our hearts and we have much music lining our shelves at Stonerking Towers that meet that criteria but what really gets our blood pumping are grooves that lurch toward the finishing line rather than race to get there. Even better for us is if those grooves have an almost spiritual/ritualistic air about them and Australia’s VVARP, Claudia Sullivan (bass/vocals); John Bollen (guitar/vocals/keyboards) and Scott McLatchie (drums), make music that fits that mould perfectly. The band first came to Desert Psychlist’s attention via their 2020 release “First Levitations” a release we described on their Bandcamp page as “thundering riffs counterbalanced by floating monastic vocals“, while calling it in our full review “a must for fans of Windhand, Dead Sacraments and Chile’s Heráldica de Mandra“. The band return this year with “Power Held In Stone” (DHU Records), an engrossing and atmospheric tome they describe as “an imagined soundtrack for a folk horror film that exists only in our collective imagination“.

    Unaccompanied Gregorian-like harmonies announce the start of opening track “Druid Warfare” and are soon joined by bass, drums and guitar in a thrumming distortion drenched doomic groove that offsets its repetitive nature with subtle swells in volume and intensity, a trick that draws the listeners focus more towards the vocals than the music itself, the music in this case seemingly serving as more of a framework for the vocals with those vocals possessing an almost medieval quality. Swelling keyboards accompanied by droning guitar textures herald the arrival of “A Path Through The Veil“, here the music and the vocals stand on an equal footing, bone shaking bass and pummelling percussion laying down a platform of dank groove for lilting dual harmonies and searing lead work to be launched from. Third track “Equinox Portal” sees VVARP  musically shifting up a gear into proto-doomic territory yet vocally still staying in that monastic occult-like pocket that has become the bands default setting, oh and keep an ear out for swirling Celtic flavoured guitar solo that proceeds the songs droning keyboard outro. VVARP go into full stoner-doomic mode for the pulverising “Iron Cloak” with guitar amps dialled to eleven and drums set to thunderous, the vocals sit a little deeper in the mix here but that does not detract from their impact, in fact the song benefits greatly from allowing the instrumentation to be pushed a little more to the fore. The stoner-doomic dynamics explored on the previous song remain in place for final number “Stone Silhouette” the vocal harmonies here are again floaty and monastic but the musical feel is one of intensity and heaviness, well that is apart from the songs deliciously dank and somewhat lysergic middle section where the vocals once again find themselves the full focus of attention.


    Doom with a floating ethereal quality is what VVARP bring to the altar with “Power Held In Stone”, songs full of intensity and heaviness offset with elements that at times border on folkish and otherworldly.
    Check it out …. 

    © 2025 Frazer Jones

  • Danny Peyronel ‘It Happens When You Look The Other Way’

    Danny VocalsThe post Danny Peyronel ‘It Happens When You Look The Other Way’ first appeared on ROCKNGROWL HARD ROCK HEAVY METAL MUSIC PRESS PROMOTION.

    Danny Peyronel – Argentine born English rock singer, songwriter, keyboard player and producer (Heavy Metal Kids, UFO), has announced the release of his solo album ‘It Happens When You Look The Other Way‘, out on September 17th, 2025 via Cargo Records UK. The album can be pre-ordered/saved here: https://cargorecordsdirect.co.uk/products/danny-peyronel-it-happens-when-you-look-the-other-way https://lnk.to/9hSTN6 Danny recorded his new album, ‘It Happens When You Look the Other Way’, with the help of David Pereira-Oleart, guitarist, producer and video creator, and featuring top local talent as […]

    The post Danny Peyronel ‘It Happens When You Look The Other Way’ first appeared on ROCKNGROWL HARD ROCK HEAVY METAL MUSIC PRESS PROMOTION.

  • HELLSINKI 2025 – DAY 2

    Photos: Péter Tepliczky “Pekkamoto”