2019 Albums

Album Review: Ruff Majik – Tarn 9 (Stoner Doom)

South African garage doom? fuck yeah. Ruff Majik embody the stoner sound with such reverie and mastery. I’ve described it a million times now, we all know what stoner doom sounds like. Sometimes it’s slow and bassy, then sometimes it’s fast and bassy. Sometimes it’s average, and every now and then something awesome like this comes along. […]

2019 Albums

Album Review: Bright Curse – “Time Of The Healer” 9/10 (Stoner Rock)

Bright Curse are a french band that have flown beneath many radars since they started in 2012, I’m glad I found them. Time Of The Healer offers stoner influenced post-rock with decent vocals. It’s difficult to classify it as post-rock, perhaps prog rock is equally relevant. There’s a lot going on here with it even daring to cross the threshold of sludge/stoner doom metal. And yet, at times reminds me of Radiohead or even Tool. It’s a strange mix that works well overall. […]

2019 Albums

Album Review: Mork – Det Svarte Juv 7.8 (Black Metal)

Just a quick review as I don’t have a whole lot to say today and I’m about to go to the ocean. So naturally I spent the sunny morning checking one of the latest black metal releases I’ve missed, Det Svarte Juv. Mork is a one man black metal band featuring Thomas Erikson. Really impressive work for one person, it sounds better than most shit I hear from your average 5 piece. For real. […]

2019 Albums

Album Review: Secret Band – LP2 9.1 (Post Hardcore)

Secret Band is the heavy side of Dance Gavin Dance and their first LP in 2014 reflected that more accurately. This LP marks their departure from that context as they develop a more unique metal orientated sound. The Metal Archives will have a hard time not accepting Secret Band after this one. I won’t go into the background with DGD, Will, Jon, Eric, Acceptance Speech and Happiness again, you can suss out my first review to read that stuff. […]

Carcassbomb's Reviews

Album Review: Secret Band – S/T Full Length 8.3 (Post Hardcore)

These guys represent the under appreciated side of Dance Gavin Dance, the core of the sound the exists without Johnny or Tillian that draws from metal and older post-hardcore/metalcore influences. This record is Jon Mess’ vocal playground where we get to hear just how versatile DGD’s unclean vocalist can be with his unique sound. As far as my appreciation of DGD, the guitars are what always carried their tunes through and the unclean vocals from Mess were some of the clearest and expressive screaming I’ve heard. The success of the Justin Timberlake-esque vocalist in the mix is what spawned a million imitation bands and changed the definition sound of post-hardcore, it became a theatrical farce more than poetry and catharsis. It was a nice sound for a couple of albums but after the whole scene replicated it, it lost its charm and became the standard. For an older fan it sucks watching them live and just seeing these guys who look like they have STD’s in their hair, air humping along to lyrics about love, facing a crowd of underage girls. That’s the side of DGD I can’t fucking stand, and so here is SECRETBAND – the anti-thesis to Isles & Glaciers. Similar to Fear Before and The Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza. […]

2018 albums

Album Review: Slugdge – Esoteric Malacology 8.7 (Prog Death)

Esoteric Malacology has some unexpectedly harsh death metal within the first part of the LP. With a lump of progressive elements and a thickness in the bottom of the mix that draws from their sludge namesake – Elements which are more thoroughly expressed in the mid to late parts. When the clean vocals also become prominent. Slugdge are a slug-themed sludge band but with this release the progressive death is really coming through more than anything else. The sludge is more from the mixing vibes. […]