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A revamped line up, some more additions to their traditional metal sound as they build on the prog from their last record but Black Sites still fly the flag of heavy metal on For Eternity. 8/10

Holystone – Accepting Omega (Self Released)

Desert doom from Down Under now with the second album from hypnotic rockers Holystone. Despite only releasing their debut in 2024, the trio of Wolfe Peterson (guitar/vocals), Madison Morris (bass/vocals) and Jonny Pickvance (drums) have built up quite a formidable musical history in their native country with other bands.

As Holystone the have been taking to stages across Australia in support of Brant Bjork Trio, Yawning Man and Witchskull, along with numerous big riff festivals. There’s a depth to Holystone that a lot of bands could really pay attention too. On the surface it’s doom and psych that are the major points of reference but Holystone make their music makes you feel uneasy, it’s brooding and ominous.

Ritualistic in their stage performance this transfers into their music as the vocals of Wolfe and Madison, blend together in union against the often discordant, rhythmically repetitive riffs. Within this mind bending psych doom there’s also garage, grunge fuzz and even some dark Americana.

Holystone create sounds befitting the cinematic style of Alejandro Jodorowsky or The Stand by Stephen King, both having a strong impression on Accepting Omega a record where themes of existentialism, morality and depression are paramount, as it’s an album about accepting the end and only then ultimately knowing who you are as a person.

I could describe all the songs on this record but it’s one of those you need to listen to front to back, let is enter your psyche and work it’s black magic on you. Accepting Omega is Holystone at their most apocalyptic yet. 7/10

Ruthless – Curse Of The Beast (Fireflash Records)

Heavy metal never dies and Ruthless are one of those bands who have taken a familiar path in the heavy metal world.

Formed in the 80’s to reasonable success, they broke up only to reform again in the 2010’s. Since then they’ve released three studio albums, the last one, The Fallen, on Fireflash Records and now with their fifth record Curse Of The Beast they return to Fireflash for more heavy metal mania.

Ruthless play US heavy metal, in the style of Jag Panzer, Metal Church and Exciter, owing inspiration to Accept and Judas Priest, they’ve even thrown in a cover of Metal Gods on this album. Their own tracks though are tough, heavy metal slabs, the American way with heavier riffs and rougher vocals than many of their European neighbours.

Speed metal often bowls over into thrash, for example the double shot of the Title Track and Raging Violence, however it’s not all intensity as Blood Coalition opens with melodic guitars and heavy chug, continued on Killed By Fate but the majority of Curse Of The Beast puts it’s foot on the gas and doesn’t ease off until the very end.

Ruthless by name, Ruthless by nature, Curse Of The Beast is more thrashing heavy metal from these US veterans. 7/10

Mothertomb – Dying To Live (Death Box Records)

A band from Michigan singing about Welsh folklore? Well sign me up as it worked for Fleetwood Mac, however unlike ‘The Mac’ Mothertomb are a much heavier and formidable group of forest dwellers formed after a colossal ice storm in 2025.

Cut off from the outside world with just music, the spirits and their own psyche for company Mothertomb crafted this debut record of transcendental occult doom, where hypnotic riffs, stoner fuzz, gothic atmospheres and glacial movements are all used to capture the attention and keep your head banging.

Dying To Live as I’ve said takes inspiration from Welsh Folklore but also more tangible issues such as suffering, the struggle between dark and light and the fight with inner demons rather than those that come from hell. Inspirations come from Sabbath obviously, but also Pentagram, Windhand and Acid King, combining various flavours of the doom world without running too far from low and slow.

Alton Minor (bass) and Mike Benitez (drums) create a black hole of a groove, the drumming expressive, with double kicks taking you by surprise and lots of cymbal work for ambience on Cythraul. The bass is the thundering bottom end, but adds the psychedelic grooves to Mountain Hag and the title track.

The bass lingers beneath the guitar of Chance Gawlinski, who can conjure mind warping passages with reverb and echo and fuzzy/distorted riffage from doom 101. Mothertomb is fronted by the brilliant vocal power of Alice Gawlinski who sails between ghostly wails and demonic snarls adding more dynamics to these already by casting the vocal spells.

Mothertomb may be Dying To Live but this debut kicks open their frozen tomb with some heavy occult psych doom. 7/10

HI AND WELCOME TO THIS INTERVIEW. TELL US ABOUT YOUR LATEST RELEASE.

LUCA: This album closes the circle we opened 10 years ago. It picks up many of the songs we were working on back then. So much has changed since, and more still will. But right now, this is the sound that defines us. We’re incredibly proud of this work, and we can’t wait to bring it to life on stage.

PIER: Our latest album is probably the most surreal record we’ve ever made. The reason is simple: it was never supposed to exist. After the band split up many years ago, it genuinely felt impossible that we’d ever play together again. The fact that we were able to revisit song ideas we had started back then and finally complete them more than ten years later, giving them a new sound and a fresh perspective, still feels surreal to me. At the same time, it fills me with a real sense of pride.

I think you can hear the honesty behind this record, and I hope you can also hear the journey we’ve been through. In many ways, this album closes a chapter and brings a long story full circle.

CRISTIANO: It’s like the sharp point of a black diamond — hard but fascinating, with so many dark yet brilliant reflections.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND?

LUCA: Describing our sound has never been easy. It’s rock for sure, maybe ‘alternative’. But those words don’t really say much. I’d say ‘Italian 90s alternative rock’ gets closer to it.

PIER: It’s always difficult for me to describe our sound because I don’t want to sound pretentious by saying it doesn’t really sound like anything else. But, honestly, I don’t think we sound like any specific band. Our music is the result of many different influences. Each of us comes from a different musical background, and somehow all those influences blend together in a way that feels balanced, genuine and, I hope, original.

CRISTIANO: Inside it I hear so many genres, from pop to the most varied kinds of rock. Solid as a rock, but still smooth and impossible to pigeonhole in a scene that feels so flat right now.

WHAT DO YOU WRITE ABOUT? 

PIER: I’ll leave this one to our singer, who’s also the lyricist behind all of our songs. I’ll happily skip to the next question.

LUCA: On the first record I definitely tended to write lyrics about personal experiences, with a really strong pessimistic streak, maybe too much. With the second album I think that softened a bit and the scope widened. Even though there are still a lot of references to my own life, I found a way to talk about different topics too: stalking, those crazy years between 2020 and 2023, and the relationship between father and son.

WHAT DO YOU LISTEN TO WHEN YOU ARE HOME?

CRISTIANO: Everything, from Italian and international rock to the heaviest metal band.

PIER: As I mentioned before, we all have very different musical tastes. Luca, our singer, and I probably have the most in common because we’ve been singing together since we were kids. Over the years we’ve discovered, and sometimes moved on from, countless bands and artists.

That said, we all listen to music that’s often quite different from what Neorema sounds like. Personally, I love singer-songwriters, as well as folk and acoustic music, but I’m always happy to explore other genres too. I think it’s exactly this variety, together with everyone’s willingness to bring their own taste and experience into the band, that gives Neorema its identity and its sound.

LUCA: I usually listen to very mellow music, preferably acoustic, ambient, and film soundtracks.

 I love physical formats, and the ritual of listening to music constantly within the walls of my home is something I just can’t give up.

YOUR FAVOURITE LIVE PERFORMANCE SO FAR?

CRISTIANO: I have no idea which one to pick, we put so much focus and energy into making sure every show is memorable, a unique experience.

LUCA: I have very fond memories of the Campovolo show in 2008, on the same stage played by Battiato, Litfiba, Ligabue… and even U2. It was definitely a huge deal, completely unexpected and pretty daunting for an up-and-coming band like us… but we still managed to have fun and deliver a performance that was more than good enough for a stage that prestigious.

PIER: There have been many unforgettable shows over the years, but the one that means the most to me took place many years ago at the Festa dell’Unità in Reggio Emilia. We were booked to play in a huge tent with paid admission, and since we were basically an unknown band, we honestly wondered if anyone would actually show up. To our surprise, the venue filled up very quickly with people who were simply curious to discover new music. From the very first song there was an incredible connection with the audience, and the energy just kept building throughout the set. Then, on the very last note of the final song, just as we all hit the ending together, one of the stage lights literally exploded.

It couldn’t have been a more perfect ending. To this day, I still think of it as one of the best shows we’ve ever played.

1. TELL US A FUNNY STORY THAT HAPPENED IN STUDIO OR ON STAGE.

PIER: There are plenty of stories I could tell, but this one is definitely among my favorites.

Years ago we were booked to play at a nightclub. Playing in clubs can sometimes be challenging, and in this case the biggest challenge was the venue itself. We arrived in the afternoon for soundcheck, stayed for dinner, and spent the entire day inside the club. Throughout the afternoon we were treated with a certain amount of indifference. About thirty minutes before showtime, the doors opened and people started lining up outside. Even though we were already inside the venue, one of the security supervisors suddenly told us we had to leave the club, join the queue, get our wrists stamped and then come back in.

When we politely explained that we were the band due to perform in half an hour—and that we were already inside—he immediately became aggressive and made it clear that if we didn’t follow his instructions, he was ready to solve the situation physically. Completely baffled, we headed towards the exit. At that exact moment, one of the club owners walked up to us with a huge smile and said, “Come on, guys! Are you ready? Tonight’s going to be an amazing night!” We looked at each other and all thought exactly the same thing: “Yeah… an amazing fucking night.”

LUCA: I remember one concert in particular, May 1st, 2008, in a square packed with people, which we absolutely weren’t expecting. We did an Afterhours cover, “Dentro Marilyn”, and the emotion got the best of me so I completely cracked on the high note in the chorus. A guy made his way to the front of the stage and started yelling something at me that I couldn’t make out. It felt like he was insulting me, like he wanted to hit me… I finished the song doing the best I could, but to me it still felt like a letdown.

 Then the guy from the crowd reached up to shake my hand and said something super enthusiastic, even though my performance was pretty questionable. I was left speechless and just kept going, totally in disbelief.

YOUR FAVOURITE ALBUMS?

LUCA: The albums I still keep listening to are “Dirt” by Alice in Chains, “Dulcinea” by Toad the Wet Sprocket, and “Lateralus” by Tool, to name a few. Among the Italian ones, I’d definitely include “Germi” by Afterhours and “Il ragazzo di Berlino” by Disfunzione.

CRISTIANO: There are too many. If I picked one, I’d end up leaving out the rest.

PIER: Choosing just one favourite album is almost impossible.

I could mention “August and Everything After” by Counting Crows, “Canzoni dell’appartamento” by Morgan, or “Non al denaro, non all’amore né al cielo” by Fabrizio De André. Those are just a few examples. There are many other albums that I love, either because of the music itself or because they’re deeply connected to a particular moment in my life.

A MUSICIAN YOU WOULD LIKE TO MEET FOR A BEER?

LUCA: I would have loved to meet Layne Staley from Alice in Chains…or Jeff Buckley.

PIER: As I’ve grown older, I’ve become less interested in meeting famous people.

Very often, meeting one of your heroes or someone you’ve admired for years can be a little disappointing or, at least for me, a little awkward. These days I’d much rather have the chance to share a stage and play with musicians and bands I admire… but I’ll keep those names to myself.

CRISTIANO: Obviously Lemmy from Motörhead.

WHAT WOULD YOU ASK FOR BACKSTAGE, IF YOU WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT BAND ON EARTH?

LUCA: Before every show I need to stay focused, so I wouldn’t have any particularly weird requests.

 Maybe just a quiet room where I can warm up my voice…

CRISTIANO: Definitely something to drink and eat, and real friends — the kind who’ve been with you from the start. The ones you’d gladly offer something to, beyond just a special performance. And of course, the fans.

PIER: Honestly, the only thing I’d really want is to have the people I love and my closest friends around me to enjoy life’s best moments together.

And probably a foosball table, because I absolutely love playing it with my friends.

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE NEAR FUTURE?

CRISTIANO: Who knows. I’m 56, but I think I could still put out a couple more albums. I really want to. Even though the music scene right now is pretty discouraging. Our records are for the people who actually listen to them, not just say ‘cool song!’ and then skip to something else 20 seconds later. Music that deserves real attention — music made with real instruments and years of work.

PIER: Our plans are pretty simple: keep writing new music, keep experimenting, and stay curious about where Neorema will go next. We’re excited to see how the band continues to evolve creatively, musically and sonically.

LUCA: We’ll definitely be back with live shows to present “rumorEsilenzio”.

We already have plans to record a new song as soon as possible; we’ve got one in the works… and we’ve set aside several other ideas to develop. We’re leaving the ‘Neorema sound’ chapter open because we’d also like to try out some new directions.