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Brisbane’s favorite rum-guzzling party pirates, Lagerstein, are back and ready to lay waste to your livers. After what feels like an eternity off the map, the boys have finally dusted off the S.S. Plunderberg to deliver the most aggressively fun spectacle in Australian heavy music. If you’ve ever been lucky enough to witness a Lagerstein […]

Plus Azarath, Mortem and more

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It’s been a minute since I’ve committed any significant amount of time to listening to doom. Any doom, really. From anywhere. Of any type. And not because there hasn’t been great doom the past few years. Rather, my attention has been elsewhere. That’s just sort of the natural ebb and flow of what we seek out based on the landscape evolving around us. But a promising young band from Peru—in this case, Argul—is certainly enough incentive to change the trajectory, given the rich history of the subgenre in South America, and particularly Peru. That’s exactly how I found myself listening to Soledad & Orgullo, Argul’s full-length debut.

The immediate impact of this Argul album can’t be understated. If you have any history with doom this could very easily slide right into the slew of great releases from 2005 to about 2008 or 2009. There’s a sway—comfortably executed, in the pocket—that nails that general vibe. The sway and, of course, the solos that breathe life into the sway. Listen to “Engendro” and you’ll hear it.

If you’re like me, once you catch the general vibe you start to try to pick away at the influences to work to a core element or “mission.” What’s funny here is that the influences, whether real or imagined by me, are so vast that the core element or mission is really just Argul doing what Argul clearly does best. Like Pentagram, or any of the Maryland doom bands, really, there’s an obvious 1960s and 1970s psych rock influence with some blues in there for good measure. But there’s also a significantly heavier edge that justifies the “stoner” tag I’ve read elsewhere about Soledad & Orgullo. Think Sleep, Electric Wizard, and Cathedral. I’d bet Argul has heard a decent amount of Reino Ermitaño in its time, too. Generally speaking, I’d say the heavier edge plays a more significant role but the earlier influences give it some much-needed spice.

Of course, none of these influences would be worth a damn if Argul couldn’t make a sound of their own and write good songs to boot. But that’s exactly what they accomplish here on Soledad & Orgullo, which sounds less like a new band finding itself and much more like a veteran band deservedly throwing its weight around.

Kicking things off with the jammier “Ritual” was certainly a vote of confidence in themselves. A firm statement, no doubt. The driving riff envelops the echoed vocals like molasses. Strange how the ten minutes flies by before it kicks into the aforementioned “Engendro,” which aside from the Spanish lyrics and the vocals sounds not unlike Cathedral in their The Carnival Bizarre era. The one two punch of “Ritual” and the slower build into “Engendro” requires a careful planning that, again, seems especially commendable given the relative youth of Argul.

I will leave you to experience the rest of Soledad & Orgullo yourself. It’s not often that something this good presents itself from seemingly nowhere. If you were around and listening during that golden era of doom revivalism in the 2000s you will find much to love in Argul’s debut.

The post Argul – Soledad And Orgullo Review appeared first on Last Rites.

After a weekend of tearing up Reading & Leeds Festivals, unpeople today announce their stunning, anthemic new single blueprints – taken from their forthcoming debut album we are unpeople – out October 9 on SharpTone Records. A lighter touch that takes no prisoners when it comes to anthemic ambition, blueprints reveals another side of unpeople. […]

Wacken is the perfect place to discover new bands, or to listen to ones that you already love. For me, that’s the case with the fantstic Employed To Serve!

Benedetta

I’m here with the amazing and spectacular Employed To Serve. How are you doing guys?

Employed To Serve

Thank you for having us. Yeah, we’re feeling good after that. We’re feeling up ourselves now. We had a very lovely time playing Wacken Festival. I mean, it’s the best festival on earth if you’re into heavy metal. It’s heavy metal Disneyland, right? So, we’re just very excited to be back.

Benedetta

And I think that playing in an anniversary edition is even more special than usual, right?

Employed To Serve

Absolutely, yeah. I mean, what an honour. There’s so many thousands and thousands of metal bands. So, to be one of them, to be able to play this. Well, that’s it. To be here for the milestone and hopefully to see one of the many years that is yet to come as well. Fingers crossed. What a prestigious and legendary festival.

Benedetta

For sure. So, you have a lot of experience with performing live shows, obviously. And you also have experience in the studio and recording music. Do you think the life of an artist is a lonely life?

Employed To Serve

Interesting. I think there’s two answers. So, yes, if you don’t continue to keep connected with your friends and family at home. Because sometimes if you are spending all your time in the industry or with your band, or if you’re a bit sick of each other by being in each other’s company too much, it can be quite isolating. So, I think it’s important to keep connections at home and keep healthy habits. Making time for them as well. The turning point for us was probably the same for a lot of people. It was the pandemic. Because it kind of forced you to pause for a moment and take stock of everything. And we both, during that time, made a note of being like. “Hey, we’re still going to be on tour a lot. And be in the studio a lot. But that means when we’re home we really have to make the effort to see family. See friends.” And also see band members outside of band stuff. Because obviously, as fun as it is, it is work. So, just seeing band members in a more chill environment where we’re not having to do work stuff, is what I thought was really important. Because otherwise you just feel like colleagues.

Benedetta

Do you think that we will ever have some sort of equality between men and women in the metal world?

Employed To Serve

I think it’s way better than it used to be. Because we started in 2013. And from then until now, that’s a huge jump. I feel like there’s way more women in metal now. And I think it’s only going to get better. Because it’s about representation, right? You see yourself in others. That’s why it’s really important to have people from different racial backgrounds and from the LGBTQ community as well. Just because you see yourself in them. And that young person who watches the band play. They’ll be like, “Oh, I can do that too“. I remember we were talking before, when we started, even at that time in 2013 we thought, “Wow. Compared to maybe ten years before that. It seemed like there was a lot of women in bands“. Because we were playing with bands like Rollo Tomasi and Veils. And we had quite a lot of peers. But even then that kind of stopped there. It did. From an outsider’s perspective, obviously it’s not something I’ve thought a great deal about. Because it’s a privilege that I don’t have to think about it. But back then I was like, “Oh, there’s totally equality in heavy metal. There’s all these bands with women in.” And then fast forward another ten years to where we are now. It feels like the gate has opened up a whole lot. And I think the real eye opener for me is coming to festivals like Wacken. Download in the UK. And seeing the number of women at that. Now compared to when I used to go as a kid. I just stupidly thought back then. Oh, girls aren’t interested. And it’s not the case at all. I think it’s also going to help push the genre forward. Because there’s all these different people from different walks of life. Coming in and being creative together. So it’s going to naturally create something that hasn’t been done before. Either lyrically or musically. Because of their different backgrounds. A good example is on our label Church Road, we have Lowen. The singer Nina is from Iran, she has a lot of Iranian native instruments on the thing. She uses a sort of Iranian singing vocal style within metal. It’s something I’ve never heard of, and it’s really exciting. It teaches you more about Iran and her history. I think it’s important to become aware. We’re at this point now, like any music genre. Everything runs the risk of becoming regurgitated: same old, same old. The more people who are welcoming to the community, they can have their take on heavy metal and open up different avenues of thought. It just makes it more interesting. And it means the genre can grow. So it doesn’t stagnate. It’s all good stuff.

Benedetta

Guys, thank you so much for doing this interview. Is there anything else that you want to add to our reserves of metal?

Employed To Serve

Heavy metal is awesome, isn’t it? Do what you want to do. Spread the good word of heavy metal. Play heavy metal, come to Wacken Festival.

The post “I think it’s important to become aware” – interview with Employed To Serve first appeared on FemMetal – Goddesses of Metal.

Gallows appear to be preparing to announce something in the coming weeks, if their recent online activity is anything to go by.

Around six weeks ago, the band blacked out their profile pictures across their social media accounts and added an Openstage link for fans to sign up for future news.

Keen-eyed fans suggested that this surreptitious activity was connected to a possible anniversary reissue of their debut album Orchestra of Wolves, which was originally released on September 25, 2006, through In at the Deep End Records. It was re-released the following summer via Epitaph.

After signing a £1 million deal with Warner Bros., the quintet released Grey Britain in 2009 before being dropped the following year. Vocalist Frank Carter quit the band two years later due to “creative differences” and played his last show with them on July 23, 2011, at London’s ULU.

Carter quickly unveiled his new band, Pure Love, formed with former The Hope Conspiracy and Suicide File guitarist Jim Carroll, while Gallows continued with Alexisonfire’s Wade MacNeil as their new vocalist.

The following year, Gallows released their self-titled album year through their own label, Venn Records. After their fourth album, 2015’s Desolation Sounds, the band’s activity gradually ceased.

Carter is currently part of the Sex Pistols reunion and touring the US from September 11 until October 18, with a run of UK shows taking place in December.

On September 1, a video featuring footage of the band’s last show in London with Carter was posted, featuring a voiceover of the vocalist describing how fans repeatedly ask him when Gallows will reunite.

“In 2011, I quit the band,” says Carter. “We couldn’t meet on what we were doing creatively. People still ask me when I’m gonna join them, all the fucking time. Once a week, some c**t will message me. If I did it again, it would be more.”

Maybe the singer’s phone is about to get hot very soon. The plot thickens.

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More Punk Than Punk gets special London cinema screening with Satpal Ram documentary

The post More Punk Than Punk gets special London cinema screening with Satpal Ram documentary appeared first on Louder Than War.

Accusations against the glam rock singer relate to incidents that are said to have occurred between 1978 and 1981.

Let’s face it, noise rock is on the rise in recent years, and it’s here to stay. Once

Katy Perry’s sci-fi concert film from Paris shines brightest during simple, back-to-basics pop moments.