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  • Chvrches – “Roses”

    Chvrches have returned. In the time since the Glasgow indie pop veterans’ last album, 2021’s resounding return to form Screen Violence, Lauren Mayberry ventured out on her own, touring and releasing the solo debut album Vicious Creature in 2024. More recently, the band’s Martin Doherty launched his own new project, the Leaving. In the meantime, Chvrches proper have kicked out new songs here and there plus a smattering of covers, including Postal Service and Robert Palmer tunes for this year’s Hulu drama Tell Me Lies. They haven’t gone away, but they’ve been in between-albums mode for a long time now.

    The post Chvrches – “Roses” appeared first on Stereogum.

  • The High Priest Route 666 Review

    The High Priest Route 666 Review

    This epic album opens with “BLACKSTONE,” a song that evokes a dystopian and intense atmosphere. Its gothic vibes combine with an ’80s feel, creating an almost industrial rhythm. The track immerses the listener in a dark and intense universe. Following this, “RESCUE ME” brings powerful and intense vibes reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails. What I appreciate about this artist’s style is the unique sound that feels almost muffled, transporting you to another dimension.

    The High Priest Route 666

    Next, “ARIZONA SUN” introduces a psychedelic essence filled with strong alternative rock influences. This song feels like an eclipse looming above, deepening its atmospheric presence. “THE NEXT STAR” transitions into a more introspective ballad, showcasing how this artist skillfully varies his compositional style.

    The track “IF I WERE THE DEVIL” presents a more hypnotic approach. The radiophonic qualities of the vocals draw listeners into a dystopian and intense experience, creating an intriguing auditory journey. In contrast, “THE DARK TRIP” showcases classic rock vibes that invoke a reminiscence of Led Zeppelin. It’s a unique song that captivates the listener, keeping one glued to the speakers.

    The title track “ROUTE 666” opens with a tone reminiscent of Jim Morrison, featuring heavily affected vocals that possess a ritualistic quality. This is followed by an engaging bass line, heralding the onset of a psychedelic and kaleidoscopic journey.

    Concluding the album is the bonus track “CC RIDER,” which has a rhythm that brings to mind The Prodigy. However, it circles back to the gothic vibes distinctive to this artist. This unique artist presents a deeply introspective style, embodying a post-futuristic punk essence. The vibrant yet somewhat dark atmosphere is ideal for films like Mad Max, making it a compelling listen for many.

    Route 666 – Sound and Atmosphere

    The album “Route 666” stands out as a unique exploration of sound and emotion. Each track builds upon its predecessors, creating a cohesive narrative throughout its runtime. The juxtaposition between heavy industrial sounds and the more delicate psychedelic approaches allows for a rich auditory experience.

    Throughout “Route 666,” there is a theme of searching and striving, layered within the music. The artist effectively utilizes contrasting musical styles to highlight these themes. The intensity present in the opening tracks paves the way for deeper emotional explorations as the album progresses.

    Route 666 – Performance and Production

    The diversity in songwriting should not go unnoticed. As the album unfolds, the transition from goth-inspired elements to hypnagogic sound explorations demonstrates a distinct artistic vision. They manage to maintain an eclectic rhythm that propels the listener forward, keeping the energy high.

    This album’s atmosphere is vibrant and dark, making it ideal for a range of settings, including films. Its explorations of sound and emotion create a lasting impact, ensuring listeners will find something new with each playthrough. The combination of personal storytelling against a backdrop of multifaceted musical styles builds a strong connection.

    The High Priest’s “Route 666” is undoubtedly a significant contribution to contemporary music. The album serves as an exploration of identity, sound, and the shadows that dance at the fringes of our consciousness. This artist is not only an innovator but also a storyteller, pulling listeners into every note and rhythm.



    Dark

    🔥 If you love this music: Discover More


    Find The High Priest here:
    Instagram

    For fans of:

    Nine Inch Nails • Led Zeppelin • The Prodigy


    The post The High Priest Route 666 Review appeared first on Edgar Allan Poets – Noir Rock Band.

  • “Choke” Confronts the Weight of Caregiving on ANAGNORISIS’ Return Album

    For ANAGNORISIS, the grief explored on Caregriever begins long before death. The Louisville, Kentucky black metal band have shared “Choke,” a new single premiered by Everything Is Noise, ahead of their fourth album’s October 23, 2026 release and their first live performance in ten years. The record grew from vocalist-guitarist Zachary Kerr’s experience of caring […]

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  • Noctule – Extinguish Thy Flame (Review)

    This is the second album from UK solo black metal band Noctule. The artist behind Noctule, (from Svalbard), brings us 39 minutes of melodic black and death metal on Extinguish Thy Flame. The music of Noctule has taken an assured step forward with this new record. Following Noctule’s 2021 Skyrim-themed debut Wretched Abyss, Extinguish Thy … Continue reading “Noctule – Extinguish Thy Flame (Review)”
  • Tool Albums Ranked: Every Album And EP, Worst To Best

    tool-band-albums-ranked

    Tool have released five studio albums and one EP in 27 years, from Opiate in 1992 to Fear Inoculum in 2019, and this ranks all six worst to best. The criteria are simple: the songs, the ambition, and whether the record still rewards a full listen on a good pair of headphones in 2026.

    Four of the six went platinum or better in the US, three hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and three of them won Grammys. Fear Inoculum lands higher here than most rankings put it, and the debut lands lower than its reputation suggests.

    How Many Albums Does Tool Have?

    Tool have five studio albums: Undertow (1993), Ænima (1996), Lateralus (2001), 10,000 Days (2006) and Fear Inoculum (2019). Opiate (1992) is an EP, and it’s ranked here because it’s the first thing the band released and it still gets played like an album.

    Everything else is a side release. Salival (2000) is a box set of live tracks, covers and rarities. Opiate², released on 1 March 2022, is a re-recorded and extended version of the 1992 song ‘Opiate’ with a short film, not a new record.

    One note on those chart numbers, because plenty of sites get it wrong. Undertow peaked at No. 50 in 1993. The No. 19 you’ll see quoted is a 2019 re-entry, after Tool finally put their catalogue on streaming services on 2 August 2019 and the whole back catalogue charged back into the charts. Opiate didn’t chart at all in 1992.

    tool-albums-ranked

    How This Ranking Works

    Three things decide the order.

    1. The songs. How many are still in the setlist, still in your rotation, still worth the ten minutes.
    2. The ambition. Tool are a band that raises its own bar. A record gets credit for where it tried to go, and it loses credit for repeating itself.
    3. How it holds up. Some of these have aged into something better than they were at release. One of them has aged the other way.

    Sales and chart peaks are context, not criteria. The album with the lowest RIAA certification here is not the worst record on the list.

    Loaded Radio Recommends – Spiral Out: The 13 Best Tool Songs for a Mind-Bending Journey

    6. Opiate (1992)

    tool-opiate

    Six tracks, 26 minutes, and a band being told what to be.

    Adam Jones has said the label wanted the heaviest material they had, because that was the way in: “When we started out, the record company said that we had to pick our heaviest songs, because that’s the impact.” That’s exactly what Opiate is. ‘Sweat’, ‘Hush’ and the title track hit hard and go home. ‘Cold and Ugly’ and ‘Jerk-Off’ are live recordings, cut with an audience on New Year’s Eve 1991.

    Produced by Sylvia Massy, Steve Hansgen and the band at Sound City in Van Nuys, with Paul D’Amour on bass, it’s the sound of a heavy Los Angeles band who hadn’t yet found the thing that made them Tool. The title comes from Marx’s line about religion being the opium of the people, and the sneer on the title track is the first sign of the lyricist Maynard James Keenan would become.

    It’s platinum, it rips, and I still put it on. But it’s a calling card. Everything that makes this band worth arguing about is on the five records above it.

    5. Undertow (1993)

    tool-undertow

    Undertow is the ugliest record Tool made and the one most people name when you ask which is heaviest.

    ‘Sober’ is the song that put them on MTV, and the stop-motion video did as much work as the riff. ‘Prison Sex’ is a harder listen, about abuse and the cycle of it. ‘Bottom’ has Henry Rollins doing spoken word in the middle of it. ‘Disgustipated’ closes the album at 15 minutes and change, and the story behind it is exactly as unhinged as it sounds: Keenan firing shotgun rounds into a piano while Chris Haskett of the Rollins Band took a sledgehammer to it.

    The artwork got the record pulled from Walmart and Kmart, so the band shipped an alternate sleeve that was a giant barcode on a white background, with the real cover available by mail. Bill Hicks is thanked in the liner notes, and he introduced the band at Lollapalooza in August 1993, six months before he died.

    So why fifth? Because of what came next. Undertow peaked at No. 50 and went on to 3× Platinum, and everything on it is direct: anger pointed straight at a target. The band that made Ænima three years later could do all of this and more. Great record. Smallest ceiling.

    4. Fear Inoculum (2019)

    Tool-Fear-Inoculum

    Thirteen years of waiting produced a record that refuses to be rushed, and that’s why opinions on it split.

    The average song here runs past ten minutes. The title track sits at 10:21 and became the longest song ever to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, taking that record from David Bowie’s ‘Blackstar’. ‘7empest’ is 15 minutes and 44 seconds of Adam Jones playing like a man with something to prove. ‘Pneuma’ and ‘Invincible’ are Danny Carey clinics. ‘7empest’ won Best Metal Performance at the 2020 Grammys.

    It went to No. 1 with 270,000 equivalent units and knocked Taylor Swift’s Lover off the top, which was the funniest chart story of that year.

    What keeps it from going higher is the lack of a knife. Tool’s best records have a track that goes for the throat. Fear Inoculum is patient, beautifully made and slightly too comfortable being itself. It’s also the record on this list that’s grown the most since release, which is why it sits above Undertow rather than below it. If you bounced off it in 2019, put the headphones on and give ‘Descending’ one more chance.

    Note that the CD is seven tracks and 79:10, while the digital version runs 86:43 with three interludes the physical release doesn’t have.

    3.10,000 Days (2006)

    tool-10000-days

    The most misunderstood record in the catalogue, and the most personal.

    The title has two meanings and both are documented. Keenan has pointed to the Saturn return, the point in your late twenties when the planet completes its orbit and, as he put it, “you are presented the opportunity to transform.” It also refers to his mother, Judith Marie, who lived roughly 10,000 days, about 27 years, between the aneurysm that paralysed her and her death. ‘Wings for Marie (Pt 1)’ and ‘10,000 Days (Wings Pt 2)’ are 17 minutes of a son burying his mother, and there’s nothing else in heavy music quite like them.

    Around that centrepiece, the record swings. ‘Vicarious’ and ‘Jambi’ are as direct as anything since Undertow, and Jones ran the talk box on ‘Jambi’ after talking to Joe Walsh about it. ‘The Pot’ is the best groove Justin Chancellor has written. Then there are the interludes, and this is where the album loses people. ‘Lipan Conjuring’ and ‘Intension’ test patience in a way Lateralus never did.

    It went to No. 1 with 564,000 first-week sales, and the packaging, with its built-in stereoscopic glasses and Alex Grey artwork, won a Grammy for Best Recording Package in 2007. That one goes to the art director rather than the band, which tells you how much thought went into the object itself.

    Third, because the peaks are enormous and the valleys are real.

    2. Lateralus (2001)

    tool-lateralus

    If Tool have a perfect-listen album, this is it.

    Lateralus is a 79-minute record designed to be taken in one sitting, and the sequencing does half the work. ‘The Grudge’ opens with that scream. ‘Schism’ won Best Metal Performance at the 2002 Grammys and made a song in shifting time signatures sound like a hit. ‘Parabol’ into ‘Parabola’ is the best two-song run the band ever recorded. ‘Reflection’ is 11 minutes that earn every second.

    Then there’s the title track, and the maths that fans have been arguing about for 25 years. The syllable counts in the verses follow the Fibonacci sequence, running 1-1-2-3-5-8-5-3, and the chorus moves through 9/8, 8/8 and 7/8. Danny Carey has explained where that came from: “It was originally titled 9-8-7. For the time signatures. Then it turned out that 987 was the 16th number of the Fibonacci sequence.” An accident that turned into the band’s signature.

    It debuted at No. 1 with 555,200 copies in a week, at a time when nobody expected a prog metal record to do that. Some of the best Tool songs ever written are on here.

    It’s first on plenty of lists, and I understand why. The record above it just does one thing better.

    1. Ænima (1996)

    tool-aenima

    Ænima is the album where Tool stopped being a heavy band with ideas and became the band everyone else measures themselves against.

    Justin Chancellor’s first record with them, produced with David Bottrill, 77 minutes long, and the only record in this ranking’s top four that never hit No. 1. It peaked at No. 2 with 148,000 first-week sales, and it’s 3× Platinum.

    Here’s the case. ‘Stinkfist’, ‘Eulogy’, ‘H.’, ‘Forty Six & 2’ and ‘Pushit’ are five of the best songs the band has ever written and they’re all on the same record. ‘Ænema’ won Best Metal Performance at the 1998 Grammys and remains the funniest apocalypse song in metal, wishing Los Angeles into the sea with a grin. ‘Third Eye’ closes it out at 13:47 and builds so patiently you don’t notice the floor has gone until you’re in it.

    It’s also the record where the band’s connection to Bill Hicks became part of the art. Ænima is dedicated to him, ‘Third Eye’ is built around his samples, the inside art shows him as a doctor captioned “Another Dead Hero”, and the title track takes its shape from his Arizona Bay routine about California falling into the ocean.

    Lateralus is the more elegant record. Ænima is the one with more great songs on it, more attitude, and more of the fury that made people care in the first place. It’s the one I’d hand to someone who wanted to understand what all the fuss is about, and it’s still the high-water mark.

    Check This Out – Is a New Tool Album Coming Soon? Maynard James Keenan and Adam Jones Weigh In

    Which Tool Album Is The Heaviest?

    Two honest answers, and they point at two different records.

    By design, it’s Opiate. That EP exists because the label asked for the heaviest songs the band had, and Adam Jones has said so on the record. Six tracks, no breathing room, no interludes.

    By consensus, it’s Undertow. Ask the average fan and that’s the album they’ll say. It’s the meanest full-length in the catalogue, and the writing at Revolver and Louder points the same way, calling it darker and more menacing than the EP that preceded it.

    Worth knowing: Keenan has said he set out to get some of that early weight back on 10,000 Days, and it shows on ‘Jambi’ and ‘The Pot’. If you want heavy Tool with modern production, start there.

    Where Should You Start With Tool?

    Start with Ænima. It has the highest density of great songs, it’s the record most of their live set still draws from, and if it doesn’t land, the band probably isn’t for you.

    If Ænima clicks, go to Lateralus next and listen to it in one sitting with no shuffle. After that, 10,000 Days, then Fear Inoculum, then back to Undertow and Opiate for the ugly early stuff.

    The one thing not to do is start with a playlist of singles. This band’s records are built as single objects, and ‘Schism’ on its own tells you almost nothing about what Lateralus is.

    Is There A New Tool Album Coming?

    There’s no release date. Danny Carey told Spiral Out Network in February 2026 that the band are working on new songs and the goal is 2027, and he mentioned conversations about a residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas to go with a new record. Before that, Adam Jones talked about diving back in, Justin Chancellor promised it wouldn’t be another 13-year wait, and Carey’s own commitments have shaped the timeline. Maynard, meanwhile, keeps Puscifer and A Perfect Circle running.

    It would be the band’s sixth studio album, not their seventh. In the meantime they’re still playing: there’s pro-shot footage from Lollapalooza Argentina, and they’re on the Louder Than Life bill alongside Iron Maiden.

    What’s Left Out, And Why

    • Salival (2000). A box set of live tracks, covers and rarities, including the No Quarter cover. Not a studio album.
    • Opiate² (2022). A re-recorded, extended version of one song with a short film attached. A great object, not an album.
    • Live and video releases. No studio material, so they’re out.

    The Full Ranking

    1. Ænima (1996)
    2. Lateralus (2001)
    3. 10,000 Days (2006)
    4. Fear Inoculum (2019)
    5. Undertow (1993)
    6. Opiate (1992)

    TL;DR

    • Tool have five studio albums plus the Opiate EP, spanning 1992 to 2019.
    • Ænima takes the top spot for having the most great songs, the most attitude and the band’s defining moment in ‘Third Eye’.
    • Lateralus is second and is the best single-sitting listen in the catalogue, Fibonacci maths and all.
    • Undertow and Opiate are the heaviest releases, and they finish fifth and sixth because the band’s ambition grew far past them.
    • Three Tool albums hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and the band has won Best Metal Performance three times.

    FAQ

    What is the heaviest Tool album?

    Opiate is the heaviest release by design, since the label asked the band for their heaviest songs, and Adam Jones has said so. Among the full-length albums, Undertow (1993) is the usual answer, and it’s the meanest, darkest record in the catalogue.

    How many albums does Tool have?

    Tool have five studio albums: Undertow (1993), Ænima (1996), Lateralus (2001), 10,000 Days (2006) and Fear Inoculum (2019). They also released the Opiate EP in 1992, the Salival box set in 2000 and the Opiate² single and film in 2022.

    Which Tool album should I listen to first?

    Start with Ænima (1996). It has the highest concentration of great songs, most of the live set still comes from it, and it’s the clearest picture of what the band does. Follow it with Lateralus, listened to in one sitting.

    Why did Fear Inoculum take 13 years?

    Fear Inoculum arrived in August 2019, 13 years after 10,000 Days, after a stretch that included a long-running lawsuit, member injuries and disagreements about how the band writes. Tool also put their catalogue on streaming services on 2 August 2019, four weeks before the album came out.

    Is Tool releasing a new album?

    No release date has been announced. Danny Carey said in February 2026 that the band are writing and are aiming for 2027, and he mentioned talks about a Las Vegas Sphere residency to accompany it. It would be Tool’s sixth studio album.

    So where did I get it wrong? Is Lateralus the real number one, and does Fear Inoculum deserve fourth? Put your order in the comments. Follow Loaded Radio for daily rock and metal news.

    The post Tool Albums Ranked: Every Album And EP, Worst To Best appeared first on Loaded Radio.

  • PURE REASON REVOLUTION – Terrifying Angels (Album Review)

    Beloved prog/alternative/electronic rockers Pure Reason Revolution have had an incredible comeback since returning with 2020’s Eupnea. In fact, it – as well as successors Above Circus from 2022 and Coming Up to Consciousness from 2024 – recaptured the vibes of the band’s initial trilogy while also producing some of PRR’s freshest and most gratifying material. Thankfully, that trend continues with Terrifying Angels, another terrific entry into their catalog that sustains the spirit of its predecessors as it delivers a considerably more retro and ethereal experience.

    The core quintet from Coming Up to Consciousness (singer/multi-instrumentalist Jon Courtney, vocalist Annicke Shireen, guitarist Greg Jong, and drummer Ravi Kesavaram) return for Terrifying Angels. They’re also joined by bassists Mariusz Duda (Lunatic Soul, ex-Riverside) and Kristoffer Gildenlöw (ex-Pain of Salvation), with Pineapple Thief mastermind Bruce Soord handling mixing duties. Unsurprisingly, the result is a pristine production with sublime chemistry between all involved.

    As for the LP’s inspirations and motivations, Courtney explains: “The last record was more chill, so it just felt terribly natural to do something grittier, heavier and more aggressive. . . . Terrifying Angels is about encountering forces that appear redemptive and discovering that transformation is never gentle. The album follows a narrator who repeatedly mistakes salvation for safety, only to learn that the forces that save us are often the same forces that undo us. Ultimately, he must reach a deeper understanding by accepting complexity.”

    Arguably, the most intriguing thing about the set is how (intentionally or not) it feels partially like an homage to the group’s initial outings.

    For example, opener “Spin Like Fire” melds PRR’s trademark heavenly male/female harmonies with rambunctious distortion that evokes pieces from 2010’s Hammer and Anvil (namely, “Fight Fire”). Later, the expansive title track’s slowly evolving blend of wistful guitarwork, keys, and rhythms eventually conjures the melancholic tension of “The Bright Ambassadors of Morning” from 2006’s The Dark Third. To be clear, neither of those pieces – nor any others that recall earlier tunes – are unoriginal; on the contrary, they give listeners more characteristically haunting and dynamic PRR gems amidst alluding to past triumphs in ways that longtime followers will appreciate.

    At times, Terrifying Angels leans into extremely spacy sequences, too. In particular, the title track also channels Pink Floyd’s “Echoes” and passages from The Dark Side of the Moon with its psychedelic closing keyboard solo and trippy moments of ghostly tranquility. Clocking in at roughly twelve-and-a-half minutes, its various juxtapositions between turmoil and calmness (including some of the band’s loveliest melodies) make it an especially diverse and ambitious composition.

    On that note, and to Courtney’s point, pieces such as “Black-Arrow Acrobats,” “Rumination Ruin,” and “Haywire Heart” crank up the chaos to almost unprecedented degrees. Elsewhere, the largely electronic and abstract “Below Radiance” is wonderfully bittersweet, whereas the nearly 15-minute finale – “Hold Your Wrath” – surrounds grounded emotional payoffs with unpredictable and inventive changeups that easily make it the group’s most “epic” song to date. (The ending is especially awe-inspiring.)Terrifying Angels isn’t overtly superior or inferior to its immediate predecessors. Instead, and like those other records, it peppers Pure Reason Revolutions’ central formulas with eye-catching new touches to deliver something simultaneously familiar and novel. That it simultaneously investigates the past, upholds the present, and previews the future (in terms of PRR’s identity) is its greatest strength, and it’ll surely delight longtime Pure Reason Revolution devotees and appear on many ‘Best of 2026’ year-end lists.

    Release Date: September 25th, 2026
    Record Label: InsideOut Music
    Genre: Crossover Prog/Alternative Rock/Electronic

    Musicians:

    • Jon Courtney / Lead vocals, guitars, bass, keys, percussion, production 
    • Greg Jong / Guitars
    • Ravi Kesavaram / Drums
    • Annicke Shireen / Vocals 

    Guest Musicians:

    • Mariusz Duda / Bass
    • Kristoffer Gildenlöw / Bass

    Terrifying Angels Tracklist:

    1. Spin Like Fire
    2. Black-Arrow Acrobats
    3. Haywire Heart
    4. Terrifying Angels
    5. Rumination Ruin
    6. Below Radiance
    7. Hold Your Wrath

    Order the album here.

    The post PURE REASON REVOLUTION – Terrifying Angels (Album Review) appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

  • “Chucked Off” Finds INCITE Calling for Accountability as US Tour Continues

    INCITE have released a new lyric video for “Chucked Off,” a track from their 2025 album Savage New Times, out through Reigning Phoenix Music. The video arrives during the band’s US tour supporting SOULFLY and NAILBOMB, with dates continuing through October 15. For vocalist Richie Cavalera, the song addresses a tendency to shift blame onto […]

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  • Rorcal – Mahre Review

    Dreams are no longer just the soundtracks to sleep. Dreams are a disease, transmitted from sleeper to sleeper, gaining strength until it consumes the final victim entirely. Dreams are a sticky, tar-like affair. Dreams wait patiently; dreams can kill. We sleep and turn off the real world, but its reprieve offers no rest. Dreams dwell among the uncanny, the images of our loved ones or the places where we’ve felt safe, but nostalgia is in distant lands; this time, these figures are haunted: eyeless mothers and children with black spewing from their gaping mouths. These dream places and figments are just masks for some darkness lurking behind it – an inevitable malady. Sleep is not safe.

    Capturing an audio darkness better than most, the woefully underrated Rorcal has created something new for each release: mammoth post-metal (Myrra, Mordvynn, Marayaa), suffocating sludge (Heliogabalus), fiery grind (Világvége), shuddering black metal (Creon), and sprawling industrial drone (Muladona). The Swiss collective has retained that shadow within them, however, making each iteration another vision of the void. In 2024’s Silence, we saw a more streamlined approach: a blackened hardcore backbone fleshed out by skin and muscle of drone and sludge. It was a tad disjointed, but its eerie approach to hardcore nabbed the second spot on my Albums o’ the Year. Mahre is three years in the making, toning down the drone and the hardcore for ritualistic doom and post-metal in a sonic exploration of dreams as disease. If unease is your drink of choice, Rorcal will be a dreamland.

    Rorcal’s song construction has always been extremely calculated even among their already intricate contemporaries (Amenra, Bolt Gun, Fall of Efrafa), and this has made them all the more terrifying. Rorcal addresses the disjointed nature of Silence in Mahre while significantly toning down the hardcore influences, offering five movements to a common descent into a darker and darker ritual through meditative, suffocating sprawls and pulsing percussion. Focusing on atmosphere, the drone influence is likewise diminished in favor of dissonant atmospheres punctuated by punishing attacks. Each movement offers its own identity that colludes for a resounding payoff, from scathing, otherworldly dissonance and blackened blastbeats (Movement I & II), climactic sludge beatdowns recalling the late-and-unhinged Admiral Angry (III), ten-ton hammering sludge riffs (III), and chaotic derailing to reveal the capitalization of the descent into degradation (V).

    Rorcal’s wherewithal to burn in calculated intensity or explode in unhinged mania is Mahre’s clearest asset. Its five-movement crescendo, while intensely planned, features plenty of breath across its tidy forty minutes, allowing these movements to crash and burn in natural deterioration. The evolution from movements I to V is not only the progression from ominous blackened dissonant atmospheres to crushing sludge weight, but also from calculation to mania. By movements IV and V, the rhythms start deteriorating, and the simmering viciousness begins to derail, and the sonic dream sickness feels more like succumbing. A descent guided by vocalist Yonni Chapatte’s manic barks and shrieks, the anchor that holds your sanity in place, the transitions from the sprawling creepy dissonance of the first two movements, the punishing centerpiece “Movement III,” to the conclusions when the rhythms start falling into disarray, are truly an experience to behold.

    By the time “Movement V” closes, your mind will have been dragged to one of the darkest corners of the metalverse by one of the most premier acts to specialize in it. Mahre is remarkably clean compared to Rorcal’s catalog, toning down the drone and hardcore influences for a sound whose filth comes from placement of dissonance or sludge riffs and throat-shredding vocals – a potential point of contention among long-time fans. Recalling this year’s Aversio Humanitatis in its hypnotic dissonance and dreamlike rhythms, but second-to-none in its fusion with sludge and doom, Rorcal nevertheless remains one of the most prolific acts in extreme metal, each iteration feeling uniquely theirs despite wild stylistic differences. Their sixth full-length is pitch-black and unrelenting in ways that only its creators could do. The Swiss collective has created a dreamland that feels infected, contagious, and terrifying, and you’d be foolhardy to sleep on Mahre.


    Rating: 4.0/5.0
    DR: 11 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
    Label: Humus Records
    Websites: rorcal.bandcamp.com | rorcal.com | facebook.com/Rorcal
    Releases Worldwide: September 25th, 2026

    The post Rorcal – Mahre Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

  • ZERO HOUR & The ProgSpace Premieres Track From Upcoming EP “No Man’s Land”

    Popular progressive metal portal The ProgSpace is hosting an exclusive premiere from long-running California progressive metal icons Zero Hour; the instrumental version of the title track to the band’s new studio EP, No Man’s Land.

    Zero Hour’s No Man’s Land sees this top-tier musical collective incredibly technical and dynamic prowess put on full display, as expected from. No Man’s Land features original members, guitarist Jasun Tipton and vocalist Erik Rosvold, joined by newer members, bassist Andreas Blomqvist and keyboardist Jeremy Villucci. Roel van Helden was acquired as a session drummer for this new chapter for Zero Hour.

    No Man’s Land delivers two new songs, “Codes Of Violence and “No Man’s Land,” as well as instrumental versions of both tracks, marking another bold installment in the band’s catalog. Recorded by the band, with the drums recorded by Kai Stahlenberg at Kohlekeller Studio, the EP was mixed and mastered by Matt LaPlant at Madtown Mix Studio and completed with brilliant artwork by Wayne Joyner (Dream Theater, Ayreon, Devin Townsend).

    Jasun Tipton reveals: “‘No Man’s Land’ was the first song I wrote for the release, with ‘Codes Of Violence’ following. I took a long break after writing the two songs, as the music from these tracks captured the landscape and outlook of the EP. The rhythm section of Roel and Andreas is just insane; they dazzle through each passage of the song. It gives the guitars room to breathe at moments, yet everything falls into place and it’s tight as nails. With the addition of Jeremy on the boards, it really brought the music over the top. There are many killer sequences keeping the listener interested. You’ll be gripping to hear what’s next in the listening experience.

    Zero Hour will independently release No Man’s Land on CD and digitally through their own independent label, CynNormal Lab Recordings, on October 16th. Preorders can be placed here.

    Originally formed in the San Francisco Bay Area in the ’90s by Jasun Tipton and his brother Troy, Zero Hour was formed to create heavy, melodic, dark, and intricate music with influences from diverse influences like the Dio-led years of Rainbow, The Pat Metheny Group, and Dream Theater. The band released six studio albums from 1998 to 2008. The first two – Zero Hour (1998) and The Towers Of Avarice (2001) were self-released, while the next four – Metamorphosis (2003), A Fragile Mind (2005), Specs Of Pictures Burnt Beyond (2006), and Dark Deceiver (2008) – were all released under the Sensory Records of the vast The Laser’s Edge Group.

    Zero Hour dissolved after the release of Dark Deceiver, when Troy Tipton suffered an arm injury that prevented him from playing bass. After Jasun Tipton and vocalist Erik Rosvold reunited the group, they recruited drummer Roel van Helden. The two became friends when Roel’s group at the time, Sun Caged, and Zero Hour played a gig as direct support for Liquid Tension Experiment. They stayed in contact, and years later, they reconnected overseas and chatted about making music together. Van Helden was then instrumental in bringing Andreas Blomqvist into the lineup, having known him in his prior band, Seventh Wonder. This lineup would then construct the return album, Agenda 21, released through Frontiers Records in 2022, and now, arrives with the immersive No Man’s Land, opening the next chapter of Zero Hour’s ongoing saga.

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