#Genre: Stoner/Heavy Metal Grunge

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

Soundgarden

[lovejustforaday]

Shoegaze Classics - Ferment

Ferment - Catherine Wheel (1992)

Main Genres - Alternative Rock, Shoegaze

A decent sampling of: Noise Pop, Dream Pop

Oops, I got lazy and procrastinated the last regular "classics" review. Well, better late than never.

For my final entry on this retrospective, before I move on to my select few magnum opuses of first wave shoegaze, I wanted to cover another band that I feel I could recommend to most casual listeners of alternative rock. So today I'll be taking a closer look at the moonlit melodies of early shoegaze's gruffest band, Catherine Wheel.

The Band

Catherine Wheel formed in Great Yarmouth, U.K. in 1990.

They were probably the biggest band of the first wave not signed to Creation Records or 4AD, though Creation Records' Alan McGee certainly tried. Instead, they got signed to American label Fontana Records.

The band's lineup for the vast majority of its duration was Rob Dickinson on vocals and guitar, Dave Hawes on bass, Brian Futter on guitar, and Neil Sims on drums.

When referring to this band as "early shoegaze's gruffest band", I was especially referring to Rob Dickinson's vocals; less of the typical semi-androgynous, zoned out 20 something year old stoner dude, and more like your cool heavy metal uncle singing lullabies to you.

Rob's gentle but husky voice was often placed rather high in the mix when compared to most other shoegaze acts of the time, giving his lyrics more of a central focus. His general musings involve cerebral, abstract mystical-isms, while sometimes being the brooding, angsty kind of poet that was very much dominating the grunge music and alternative rock airwaves in the United States in the early 90s.

In fact, again I have to say that I would've expected these guys to be a lot more successful in the United States given what was happening overseas at the time. Much like Swervedriver, Catherine Wheel were a bit more hard-rocking than their other peers in the scene that celebrated itself, though not really in the same way as the former.

If Swervedriver's thing was shoegaze mixed with noise rock distortion and post-hardcore levels of intensity, then Catherine Wheel's sound was more of a kind of shoegaze rock and roll, more indebted to the hard rock of the previous few decades than other bands. A lot of their melodies have kind of a timeless feel to them.

Their sound is also distinctly nocturnal, even more so than most other shoegaze bands. Ferment and Chrome are LPs meant to be listened to on night walks and bus rides, especially the latter.

EPs happened. Then came the debut record.

The Record

Ferment is Catherine Wheel's journey into the foggiest recesses of the half-waking, half-asleep mind, with loud, opaque walls of sound and glistening electric guitars.

The production of this record has a very washed-out quality, like the entire record was given the acid wash treatment. If that's your kind of thing, you'll love this record. It certainly lends itself well to the "heavy rocking slumber" quality of Catherine Wheel's general musical aesthetic. That being said, one or two tracks here may sound a bit flat by modern production standards.

The record opens with "Texture", a menacing 6/8 splattering of radioactive glowing guitar chords creating a radiant, moonlit shoegazing mosaic. A very bold opener with possibly the most aptly titled song for a shoegazing band ever.

"I Want To Touch You" is, also true to its name, a nervously erotic track that is both enticing and surreal. There's about a hundred ways that a track with this title could go wrong and turn into failed-seriousness or something off-putting, but somehow this ends up working really well with its breezy melody and flashy guitar leads over tingling shoegaze drones. It's a certified banger.

If ever there was a song worthy of the moniker "shoegaze" in its most literal interpretation, then that song would be "Black Metallic". The drowsy-eyed, cerebral introspection of this behemoth of a song is communicated through sonic timbres of pleasantly tender abrasion, perfectly capturing what it would sound like to be quite literally lost in a labyrinth of your own thoughts while staring absently into the apparent abyss of one's own shoes. "Black Metallic" is a masterclass in evoking a state of mind for the listener through well-crafted, gorgeous guitar soundscapes. This is probably among the first two or three tracks that I'd recommend to any of the uninitiated.

Sadly, my one major gripe with this record is that it starts with the excellent three track run that I just mentioned, and then never comes close to picking up that momentum again. And at 38 minutes onward of mostly by-the-numbers shoegaze-alt. rock, the record becomes a bit of a slog to get through.

Mind you, by-the-numbers shoegaze is still something I could very comfortably put on and just vibe to, enjoying it for what it is, but the promise of the first three tracks leaves something to be desired from the rest of the record. Ferment is honestly one of the most front-loaded rock LPs that I can think of.

The title track "Ferment" is fairly transcendent for me until it gets to that effing jumpscare at two minutes and forty eight seconds in (maybe I'm exaggerating for most listeners, but that shit certainly made me jump).

Unfortunately, much like Drop Nineteens' Delaware which I reviewed much earlier on in this series, Ferment is more of a record that I recognize as a classic because of its importance to the scene and the reputation it holds versus my own personal enjoyment of the project as a whole.

I can see why this record really does it for some folks who like their shoegaze loud and heavy, and I do really love those first three tracks and "Black Metallic" in particular is probably one of my most played shoegaze tracks period, having graced me with its blissful textures on many a zero-sleep bus rides into uni after pulling an essay all-nighter (cuz I'm trash like that sometimes). But the rest of it just never lives up to what it could have been for me.

But like I said in the Drop Nineteens review, a lot of shoegazers love this record. So again, I implore you to listen and form your own opinion. All in all, this is still a solid record by my tastes, but then I'm also very biased in favour of shoegaze as a genre of music.

What Came After That?

Catherine Wheel is yet another shoegaze band that did not survive of the turn of the century, though they did release four more records in the 90s.

Truthfully, I'd definitely recommend their sophomore LP Chrome over the debut album, because I feel that it's a more fully-realized project, with a track listing that flows better and contains overall better songwriting ("Black Metallic" notwithstanding).

The only real reason why I didn't opt for covering the follow-up record instead is because I wouldn't exactly call Chrome a shoegaze record in the primary sense; more of a heavy, dreamy alternative rock record with its roots in the scene, with roughly three or four actual shoegaze tracks here and there.

After dropping three more records, Catherine Wheel disbanded in 2000. I haven't really checked the rest of the records out, but going off of the RYM genre tags at least, it would seem the band never really put out another full-on shoegaze record.

Rob Dickinson released one solo record in 2005 after the group disbanded. Nowadays, the dude seems...very much into cars? Not exactly what I would expect from the usual shoegazing crowd, but then there was that one Lush song on their last LP.

Brian and Neil went on to form their own indie band called "50ft. Monster", which funnily enough immediately calls to mind the similarly titled PJ Harvey single. Again, haven't bothered to check this out yet.

I know it may sound like I'm not a big fan of this band based on the score I end up giving this record, but I'd be lying if I said there weren't more than a few great gems in this bands discography. Both of their first two records have a small but pretty loyal following, so I'm gonna strongly recommend you check both of them out and see if either of those records tickles your fancy. Regardless, "Black Metallic" at least is basically god tier shoegaze.

7/10

Highlights: "Black Metallic", "Texture", "I Want To Touch You"

[doomedandstoned]

DISASTROID Reveal Striking 4th Full-Length, ‘Garden Creatures’

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

Get ready for full-on galactic riffing, energetic rhythms, with moments of interstellar insanity. This is DISASTROID and their latest record, 'Garden Creatures' (2024) -- a swirling blend of colors drawn from a dynamic palette of psychedelic, grunge, desert, noise, and math rock influences.

This fourth full-length outing from the SFO band begins with the title track and is presented with rumbling force and jagged rhythms juxtaposed with clean, earnest singing and smooth melodic lines from frontman/guitarist Enver Koneya. At times the vocals soar like the pleas of some jerky cosmonaut thrust into the unknown vastness of outer space. Braden McGraw's drums thunder and churn like the roaring ocean. Travis Williams' bass is warm and pulsating.

Enver's guitar and Travis' bass trade barbs on "Stucco Nowhere," an ode to being stuck in a life of sameness and misery ("burning out within your head"). The singing builds to a crescendo, perhaps summoning sheer force of will to shake off the spell of mediocrity. There are some dreamy vocal harmonies that haunt overslept dreams, and finally a cry of frustration and despair to be set free from the shackles of it all.

"Mama says I need some help," laments Enver in "Figurative Object." The guitars chug with rocketing force, but often enter the realm of disorienting dissonance. This tendency towards the strange and uncanny continues in "Backwards Sleeping" and feels like a night of tossing and turning ("losing sleep for all that we have done"), complete with trippy guitar effects, rhythmic jolts, and ghostly droning.

"24" is fuzzy as all get-out, with screeching guitar hooks, unconventional rhythmic structure, and a misty hue of sadness in the vocals. Then "Hold Me Wrong" is like a fever dream, with a persistent bass groove, strumming and picking on the guitar, and exhausted pleas to "hold me tight, hold me right."

The penultimate song, "Light 'Em Up" is like a hallucination straight out of Blade Runner, with sounds and samples flying about us like fugitive visions. This is another where the bass is so integral to giving us a feeling of movement and cohesiveness in this shapeshifting world. The drumming here, as throughout the record, is stalwart and determined, whilst the riffmaking ranges from raucous to delirious. The record ends on a short banger, a riotous number "Jack Londonin'" with punk, noise, and math overtones.

Disastroid's Garden Creatures was recorded and produced by Billy Anderson and is releasing on Heavy Psych Sounds this weekend, February 23rd, on a spectacular variety of vinyl variants (get it here). Stick it on a playlist with The Melvins, Red Fang, Fatso Jetson, Kook, and Soundgarden.

Give ear...

SOME BUZZ

San Francisco veterans Disastroid have been serving up sludgy, grunge-infused stoner rock for the better part of a decade now, refining a sound that weaves heavy riffs together with angular guitar lines, odd time signatures, and hazy walls of fuzz. As influenced by 90's noise rock as they are by modern psych, doom, and post-metal, Disastroid delivers thick, satisfying stoner rock stomp while also embracing layers of noise, tripped-out feedback, and unpredictable song structures.

The current lineup of singer/guitarist Enver Koneya, bassist Travis Williams, and drummer Braden McGraw coalesced in 2011. They’re united by a desire to make heavy music that's loose instead of mechanical, a motivation to explore methods that make them sound bigger and more varied than a traditional rock trio, and a shared affection for the Amphetamine Reptile back-catalog. Thematically, their songs steer clear of genre cliches, touching instead on scattered aspects of modern life: technology fatigue, immigration, nuclear deterrence, the monotony of work, the existential dread of aging. Despite the subject matter, Disastroid never take themselves too seriously, injecting their live shows with an infectious sense of humor and their songwriting with math-rock quirks.

Disastroid’s latest outing, Garden Creatures, is a record about the darkness in the hidden corners of suburban landscapes — sinister overgrown gardens, secret collections kept in basements, the crime just beneath the surface, the pervasive loneliness under a veneer of normalcy. Accordingly, it’s a dark and atmospheric record, trading the stripped-down approach of 2020’s Mortal Fools for a thicker, heavier, and more layered sound. Legendary producer Billy Anderson (Sleep, Melvins, Neurosis) builds mixes that range from dark and dreamy to a thick, sludgy crunch, slowly pulling the listener through a range of sounds and textures, making sure things stay interesting. Singer/guitarist Enver Koneya's vocals are soulful and sometimes haunting, drifting above Disastroid’s characteristically off-kilter, grunge-influenced riffs.

Follow The Band

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[musicreveiwsbyezti]

August topster, I'm forced to go back to school with those the feral animals

14th: Siege-Dropdead (Powerviolence/Thrashcore): Powerviolence pioneers, and they debuted at their schools battle of the bands. It's alright, the saxophone can parts are quite interesting in the context of hardcore punk. Personally I don't feel the sticking power some people talk about, but I can still appreciate it.

13th: JPEGMAFIA-I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU (Experimental hiphop/Hardcore hiphop): I adore Peggy, but this album just isn't it. It's good and all, but just lacks something I can't put my hands on since it dropped. Idk maybe I just got tired of Peggy making yet another batch of songs that about bitching people he doesn't like.

12th: Dying Fetus-Destroy the Opposition (Brutal Death Metal): Good shit. I'd keep it short as DF has another entry higher up.

11th: Melvins-Stoner Witch (Stoner Metal/Stoner Rock): Melvins branching a bit further from sludge and grunge to stoner metal and rock. I heavily prefer their previous works like Bullhead and Houdini, but this album too is good. However the somewhat forced feeling of overlenghtening some songs do take away from the album itself.

10th: D.R.I.-Thrashzone (Crossover Thrash): Has one of the best 3 song starts of any albums I have heard so far. Takes its thrash and hardcore influences and wears it with pride. Sadly I don't have much to say. Worth a check if you like standard thrash metal.

9th: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard-Flight b741 (Boogie Rock/Blues Rock): King Gizz is sure is back. I didn't have high hopes up as I didn't vibe with the singles but the rest of the album is one of the best works of the band. They nailed the bluesy sound throughout the album. The lyrics are great and meaningful (yes I AM a silly Billy). I hope they will explore the bluesy genres in the future, maybe some r&b one day.

8th: Earth-Earth2 (Drone metal): This album is a true experience. I highly recommend if you have a spare 73 minutes.

7th: S.O.D.-Speak English or Die (Crossover Thrash): This album not just goes hard, but it is also funny. Best piece of musical satire I have heard.

6th: Wormrot-Hiss (Grindcore): Good. Wormrot is truly one of the goats of modern day grind.

5th: Dying Fetus-Reign Supreme (Brutal Death Metal): Oh my god this shit is brutal and heavy as fuck, and somehow is not corny like what most bd bands end up being. Also there are people who still waste their braincells over deciphering if From Womb To Waste is pro or anti abortion or not. Which I find funny.

4th: Nails-Every Bridge Burning (Grindcore/Powerviolence): NAILS IS BACK BABYYYYY. They riffed hard in this one. From the first single I knew this one would be one of my aoty for sure. I severely disagree with everyone who says that the guitar tone is shit on this album, this what grind sounds like, deal with it.

3rd: Yacøpsæ-Tanz, Grosny, Tanz... (Powerviolence): The best powerviolence record*. (I still prefer Nails and Combat Wounded Veteran albums, but Nails is more grind and CWV is more emoviolence , so it's best pv in the context of "pure" pv)

2nd: Bolt Thrower-Mercenary (Death Metal): "War destroys everything that makes us human, even if you survive the fronts you don't come back home as the same person the best fucking riff you will ever hear".

1st: Suicidal Tendencies-self title (Hardcore Punk): Punk as fuck, I'm tired, I can't write any good reviews today, fuck you. 8/10

[adriandiloca]

OMG follow my bands Instagram account, music will be releasing later this year.

No idea what genre we are, but there is heavy punk, Midwest emo, metal, grunge and stoner rock inspiration.

https://www.instagram.com/gaybestfriendband?igsh=MWpma21hdTFrNHRtZQ==

[metalhead-brainrot]

[Album of the day] Wet Cactus - Wet Cactus

Cantabria, Spain // 2015

[Genres] stoner rock, desert rock,* heavy psych

[Themes] marijuana, The Blues (TM)

[FFO] Hendrix

[Thoughts] Just a short post today. this self-titled release was an early introduction to metal for me. Though not widely known, I think Wet Cactus still outperforms much contemporary stoner rock I hear.** Like many stoner rock artists, the bassist is the vocalist (singing primarily in English), which I always like to see. Wet Cactus also brags two guitarists and some really consistent drumming.

Spain seems to really like their desert rock, which surprised me until I thought about their climate for about 10 seconds.*** I'll be moving to the country in the next year, so I'm putting out a call for any Spanish bands. If you know a Spanish band or are in one yourself, feel free to reach out; I'll listen to your music and might wind up promoting it here as well.

Otra vez para los hispanohablantes: voy a mudarme a España este año y quiero conocer más bandas de la región. Si superia una banda o estuviera en una banda, dígame el nombre o envíeme el enlace. Esucharé a la música y posiblemente lo promovería también.

o()xxxx[:::::::::::::::::> o()xxxx[:::::::::::::::::> o()xxxx[:::::::::::::::::>

* The line between stoner rock and desert rock is thin, with both terms originally applied to bands in the Palm Desert Scene. I will only use the term "desert rock" for music that has an evolutionary memory of grunge; "stoner rock" I use more generally.

** And I'm known for listening to too much stoner rock.

*** Also weed has been decriminalized in Spain for a while, which can't exactly hurt the psychedelic music scene.

[icantlose]

LEARN MORE ABOUT ME!

Favorite colour(s): Red, black, green, purple.

Favourite flavour(s): Salty, umami, sweet, sour...

Favourite genre(s): Angst, psychological, horror, comedy!

Favourite music: Grunge!!! Rock, hard rock, alternative rock, indie rock, funk rock, folk rock, punk rock, garage rock, stoner rock/acid rock, occult rock, glam rock, rap rock, celtic rock, art rock, prog, metal, funk metal, art metal, heavy metal, alternative metal, death metal, “proto-punk”, post-punk, funk punk, free-funk, jazz, cool jazz, smooth jazz, jazz rap, folk jazz, punk jazz, jazz fusion, swing, New Orleans Jazz, R&B, big band, blues, electric blues, chicago blues, blues rock, rap, hip-hop, nerdcore. crunk... 

Favourite movie: Toy Story 2. 

Favourite series: King of the HIll.

Last song: Devil - Shinedown

Last series: Breaking Bad

Last movie: Super Mario Bros.

Currently reading: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

Currently watching: Breaking Bad lmao

Currently working on: Art -- working on a shading/highlights study

TAGGED BY: I stole c:

TAGGING:  Now you steal c:

[polyghostfacehours]

Cactus fruit sorbet, chunky monkey, devil's food chocolate, fudge behaving badly, lemon-lime sorbet, orange pineapple whip, phis food, purple daze, Tennessee mud? For Billy Loomis

Ask and you shall receive.

Billy Loomis Headcanon Meme: Ice Cream Edition

-Cactus Fruit Sorbet: a “this shouldn’t work but it does” headcanon.

I'll be honest, I don't really understand the context of this one? I'll go with if someone said those words to him. In the context of a relationship. If his partner said this to him he'd subconsciously get a little worried that they may one day want to leave for someone who "works" better with them, and that might lead to him getting toxic during future arguments by gaslighting and convincing you nothing was his fault. But on the outside he'd just shrug it off and say that he doesn't care if the relationship doesn't make sense.

-Chunky Monkey: a names, addresses, nicknames, etc. headcanon.

Well, Billy is already a nickname for his first name, William. But he also gets called Billy Boy by Stu sometimes and he absolutely hates it lmao. Not as much as he hates being called William though. One kid called him Willy in elementary and he got suspended for throwing hands.

Unlike Stu's isolated farmhouse, he lives in a suburb.

-Devil’s Food Chocolate: a vice headcanon.

Besides murder? Scaring people. Jump scaring them and seeing their faces and hearing their screams is immensely satisfying to him. He does it often and on purpose to people. A food vice of his is sunflower seeds. He'll have periods where it seems like he's practically addicted to them lol.

-Fudge Behaving Badly: a misbehaving/getting into trouble headcanon.

Surprisingly, Billy doesn't get in trouble with authority often. He's incredibly sneaky, and good at not getting caught. A lot of authority figures see him as a kind of Golden Boy, whilst his peers see him as a mysterious and cool bad boy. I HC this because I don't think Sidney would've outright dated a real, like, Bad Boy. Plus Tatum mentioned he was "Too perfect and destined to have a flaw" at one point. So I'm sure he's well hidden a lot of his misbehaving and worse moments from most people.

-Lemon-Lime Sorbet: a sexual/NC-17 headcanon (alt: a secret(s) h/c)

I'll go with a secret. Billy's planning on offing his father eventually. He always knew he would, since he's always lowkey hated his father. But because he depended on him back in high school, he couldn't do anything about it yet.

-Orange Pineapple Whip: a kinky headcanon (alt: an eccentricity h/c).

I'll go with eccentricity! Billy tugs at the ends of his hair when he's deep in thought. He does it during exams a lot. Billy also paces in his room when he gets hyped up imagining a scenario of any kind.

-Phish Food: a music headcanon.

Billy likes alternative rock a lot. He's also a fan of grunge, nu metal, and classic rock. He tolerates pop and all other genres, they're okay. Hates country.

-Purple Daze: a stoner/drugs headcanon.

Billy isn't a heavy drug user. But he does sometimes smoke weed or cigarettes. He's tried low doses of ecstasy before with Stu and you. My headcanons for Billy high can be found Here.

-Tennessee Mud: an alcohol, drunkenness, intoxication headcanon.

Billy is a bit wary of alcohol due to his father spending late night weekends at the bar with coworkers instead of his family. But he'll drink at parties. He holds his alcohol fairly well now, although he was a lightweight when he first started drinking. Unlike Billy high, Billy drunk is hard to discern from normal Billy. He's good at covering it up and acting the same as long as he isn't hammered.

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

Soundgarden - Tears To Forget

[callousdegenerate]

What kinds of music would the doctors & numbers enjoy listening to?

Doctors were mentioned here

uhh, as for Numbers:

[]

Cyrus - idk anything with guitar that isn't super hard/heavy. The kind of music guys who listen to Weezer listen to

Two - probably would unironically enjoy meme music and ironic soundcloud rap just because its funny or sometimes has a good beat [even if the lyrics might be shit]. Might listen to random electronic stuff and then random pop or hip hop stuff

Three - pop and indie. The kind of music some 2010's hipster might like

Blue - pop, club music, and hip hop

Five - Pop, hip hop, lil bit of soul because maybe her family liked it and it just stuck with her

Six - alt rock, indie. She likes chill music but probbably had a wilder streak once

Violet - that kind of alt/indie music from bands like Evanescence and The Birthday Massacre, tbh. Gothic, morose, or just lots of loud guitars and woeful feminine voices because i 100% see her having been through that phase and no im not projecting as someone who also went through that phase

Eight - ??? Classical? Dude lives and breathes ancient music and at first he probably only did it because it made him feel superior but he just realy ended up liking it

Lav - literally anything that pumps her up because she needs the energy, especially for workouts. Does not totally discriminate on genre but probably isn't much of a heavy metal or hard southern country kind of listener.

Ten - probably a lot of pop music tbh. Anything with a nice rhythm/beat/melody since she seems to also like that in classical music

Pickle - pop/indie, hip hop, etc. unironically likes history's greatest pop queens and doesn't give a shit if people hear him singing Madonna or Lady Gaga or something. [wow im old idk whats popular now but you get my point]

Twelve - man probably listens to thrash metal or something idk. Grunge, stoner rock, maybe a little metal but the kind of metal metalheads make fun of other metalheads for liking [I know that's vague but if you know, you know]. Either way, if it's angry, he probably likes it.

[doomedandstoned]

Edmonton’s DEGENERATOR Unveil Emotive Sonic Experience in Debut LP

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

DEGENERATOR is an eclectic two-piece from Edmonton, Alberta featuring Barrett Klesko (guitar, bass, vocals) and Jonathan Webster (drums), a dream-weave of modern/heavy metal mingled with elements of grunge, sludge, stoner, progressive, and Gothic.

Frontman Kelsko reveals:

'The Abyssal Throne' is a lyrical journey of how I fit in the cosmic scheme. It touches on themes of time, madness, despair, and contrasting dark and light. The music, which came first, was shaped to match these themes.

The duo, in fact, began with Webster's drum tracks and constructed the album around that scaffolding. Kelsko also experimented with vintage gear to produce a fuzzed-out sound inspired by '90s greats such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Type O Negative, and Alice in Chains.

There is a feeling of sorrow that pervades the record, but this is tempered by big drumming ("The Spiral"), compelling rhythms ("Hiraeth''), winding snake-like riffs ("Eternalism"), rumbling crescendos ("Heart Like a Hole"), and consoling vocals ("For Every Truth").

The guitar play is outstanding throughout, with plenty of thoughtful touches ("Neurotonic") and effective emotional moments ("A Way Out") reminiscent of Jerry Cantrell. There is great musical inventiveness on display here, with a deft blend of influences. An ideal vibe for this foggy, cloud-covered Thanksgiving Day.

Degenerator's new spin The Abyssal Throne is an emotionally moving album, worthy of being on a playlist with the likes of Chevelle, Young Hunter, Ancient VVisdom, Foot, and Mars Red Sky. Look for it this Friday, November 24th (pre-order here), and take it out for a long drive on a gloomy morning.

Give ear...

The Abyssal Throne by Degenerator

SOME BUZZ

Degenerator, Edmonton, Canada’s aggressive sonic titans, unleash a captivating blend of stoner, sludge, grunge, and goth rock with their debut album 'The Abyssal Throne,' which is streaming now. Led by Barrett Klesko (Alle Else Fails) who is joined by Jonathan Webster (Pass of Era, ex-Striker), this relentless musical force delivers a spellbinding sound that resonates with fans of grunge, sludge, stoner, and doom metal. These internationally acclaimed musicians set the stage for an immersive journey through explosive moods, progressive time signatures, and hauntingly unusual vocal melodies. Klesko comments on what’s in store for those who check the album:

"This album is a radical departure from anything I have produced before. It’s more somber, but not as heavy, as All Else Fails, slower, but also more profound than the Misfires, and though it has more order than The Secret Places of the Earth, it still keeps some of the mystery. I hope my fans can discover a new facet of my creativity and a new bond with the art that I make.”

Degenerator is a sonic experiment that Klesko conducted to unleash the noise that was haunting his mind. He wanted to capture the essence of retro The Smashing Pumpkins, with their saturated fuzzy guitars, but also add a touch of gothic darkness that he finds deeply appealing. Interestingly, they started with the drums and then built everything else on top of them.

Drawing inspiration from the genre’s most revered figures, Degenerator fearlessly invites listeners into an enigmatic soundscape where raw emotions intertwine with thought-provoking lyrics. Their music reflects the complexities of the human experience, delving into the depths of despair while simultaneously igniting a raging fire within the soul.

From the very first notes, Degenerator launches audiences into a realm where aggression surges and anticipation fills the air. With their unyielding commitment to innovation, they flawlessly navigate intricate and progressive time signatures, resulting in a sonic assault that defies convention. Each song becomes an adrenaline-fueled journey, enticing listeners to surrender to the primal depths of their own emotions.

'The Abyssal Throne' is completely DIY, mixed and mastered by Webster and produced by Klesko, who also did the album artwork and leveraged AI to create something that reflected how the music made him feel. It is recommended for open-minded fans who want to experience something new and who enjoy Baroness, Torche, Smashing Pumpkins, and Soundgarden.

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[therestlesssound]

21 Albums for 2021

Congratulations, you’ve survived year 2 of the apocalypse! 

Before I get going, I wanted to quickly preface the first entry in this musical repository by giving a little background on why it exists. 

Back in early 2020, before the shit hit the fan, Radar had just come off a string of really rad shows and things were rolling right along. Then the world began to shut down; professional sports teams canceled games, businesses closed their doors, the world locked down, and eventually live music became a distant memory. While I have tried to stay creative throughout the pandemic it has not always been easy without having a real-life outlet like live music to keep moving me forward.

This blog exists as a place for me to exercise that musical muscle while also sharing the things about music that I truly love (sonically and physically). My hope is that at least 1 person reading this will find a new band they like or a book they want to read or just feel connected in this crazy, digital world we live. 

With that being said, I figured this was the perfect time to share the music that really resonated with me in 2021. Initially I planned to do a top 10 list but as I began to put this together, I found it to be cumbersome as my rankings kept changing (who needs that kind of stress at the end of another hard year?). I’ve decided instead to simply share my favorite 21 albums in no particular order. 

For anyone interested in an easy spot to listen to all the music mentioned below, you can find the Spotify playlist HERE.

So, without further procrastination, here we go.

Mogwai - As The Love Continues

Vinyl/CD - Bandcamp

Release Date: February 19, 2021

Genre: Post-Rock, Instrumental Rock, Space Rock

Elder & Kadavar - A Story of Darkness & Light

Digital Album - Bandcamp

Release Date: December 3, 2021

Genre: Hard Rock, Psychedelic Progressive Rock, Stoner Rock

Blackwater Holylight - Silence/Motion

Vinyl/CD - Bandcamp

Release Date: October 22, 2021

Genre: Rock

Kanaan - Earthbound

Vinyl/CD - Bandcamp

Release Date: November 12, 2021

Genre: Heavy Rock, Psychedelic Jazz

Adele - 30

CD - Artist Website

Release Date: November 19, 2021

Genre: Pop Soul

The Bronx - Bronx VI

Vinyl/CD - Bandcamp

Release Date: August 27, 2021

Genre: Punk Rock

Kings of Leon - When You See Yourself

Vinyl - Artist Website

Release Date: March 5, 2021

Genre: Alternative Rock, Southern Rock, Garage Rock

King Buffalo - Acheron

Digital Album - Bandcamp

Release Date: December 3, 2021

Genre: Heavy Psychedelic Rock

Weezer - OK Human

Vinyl - Artist Website

Release Date: January 29, 2021

Genre: Alternative Rock

Manchester Orchestra - The Million Masks Of God

CD - Bandcamp

Release Date: April 30, 2021

Genre: Indie Rock

My Morning Jacket - Self-Titled

Vinyl - Band Website

Release Date: October 22, 2021

Genre: Indie Rock, Psychedelic Rock

Thrice - Horizons/East

Digital Album - Bandcamp

Release Date: September 17, 2021

Genre: Post-Hardcore, Alternative Rock

Ryan Adams - Big Colors

Vinyl - Artist Site

Release Date: June 11, 2021

Genre: Folk Rock, Indie Rock

Failure - Wild Type Droid

Digital Album - Bandcamp

Release Date: December 3, 2021

Genre: Alternative Rock, Post-Grunge

Monolord - Your Time To Shine

Vinyl/CD - Bandcamp

Release Date: October 29, 2021

Genre: Doom Metal, Stoner Metal, Psychedelic Rock

Royal Blood - Typhoons

Vinyl - Artist Website

Release Date: April 30, 2021

Genre: Alternative Rock, Hard Rock, Garage Rock

Turnstile - Glow On

Digital Download - Artist Website

Release Date: August 27, 2021

Genre: Hardcore Punk, Post-Hardcore, Alternative Rock 

Every Time I Die - Radical

Digital Album - Bandcamp

Release Date: October 22, 2021

Genre: Metalcore

Foo Fighters - Medicine At Midnight

Vinyl - Artist Website

Release Date: February 5, 2021

Genre: Rock

Green Lung - Black Harvest

Digital Download - Bandcamp

Release Date: October 22, 2021

Genre: Heavy Rock, Occult Rock, Psychedelic Rock

[faunroyalty]

the Losers in highschool

Richie is a huge band kid, and plays trombone. he also learns bass guitar, some piano, most other brass instruments, and any percussion instrument he can get his hands on. that's adhd, babyyyy

Richie was really into like, heavy metal like iron maiden as a younger teen, but leans more towards punk and ska in his later teens/early twenties. he listens to most genres though tbh

he started a ska punk band once, and they played one show and were banned from ever performing at the school talent show again. apparently they were too "political" and "inappropriate"

Richie is that one super smart kid who doesn't even have to try

Sonia won't let Eddie march, but she compromises by letting him join pit. he kills on marimba

sophomore year, they somehow mess up Eddie's schedule and they put him in auto shop by mistake. he'd always had a passing interest in cars, but being in that class really cemented it. he decided to stay in the class after the first week

Stan was in band at first (he played clarinet) but switched to art junior year. he's great at still life, and has a sketchbook he takes with him birdwatching

a few of the kids Stan used to play baseball with as a kid tried to get him to try out for the baseball team, but he just, wasn't interested in being on an actual team

Stan takes a whole list of ap and sat prep classes. he's constantly drowning in stress, but he still graduates as the valedictorian of his class

Mike plays football, so he doesn't march, but plays alto sax during concert season

he's also in the school's newspaper club. he's a busy kid

he wrote an article on the agricultural history of the area, and it won him a scholarship

Mike is the first one to get a car and a license, and the others take turns carpooling to school with him

Bill plays trumpet, because of course he does, but teaches himself guitar when home sick with the flu

he gets really into like, grunge and alt rock in his later teens/early twenties

Bill is in creative writing, and Mike talks him into writing short stories for the paper

Ben is fully tech theatre. he becomes the unspoken lead of most builds by sophomore year, and some upperclassmen resent him for it a bit. others are just happy the sets look fantastic

he uses his study hall period by being one of the school's library assistants

Ben does try out for track, along with Eddie, and they both would've made the team, if the coach wasn't such a huge piece of shit... he tries getting Eddie to join anyway, but he won't do it unless Ben can.

Beverly plays french horn/marches mellophone, but is also unofficial color guard outfit concept designer. she doesn't make them herself, but she helps pick them out, helps tailor them, and mends any tears throughout the season

Bev and Richie are those punk stoners that smoke behind the bleachers

Bev and Richie go to local shows together often, and once, Richie got elbowed in the pit and got a black eye, and Bev got an earring ripped out stage diving on the same night. they took a picture together with Rich's eye swollen shut and blood running down Bev's face and neck. it's one of their faves

They have a whole collection of Polaroids, both good and bad. the good ones are mostly Bev, who's kind of an amateur photographer

[6505-blog1]

The Greatest Rock/Metal Albums of the 21st Century.

21st century marks the most diverse decade for rock and metal continuation. Absorbing, if not radiated by the long progenitors from Led Zeppelin who cranked up their amps and Black Sabbath that turn it out murky and sinister grim, to the dazzling theatrical persona of KISS and Motley Crue, to the new level heavy metal confronter of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, to the head crusher of Motorhead and Metallica, to the destructo maniac of Slayer and Kreator, to the prog menu offerer of King Crimson and Tool, and finally aligned to have some peculiar layers and brooding tendency of Korn. We have come a long way. Yet our engine keeps raging.

I have cumulated the finest, the most influential, and the most prominent albums released in the new millenium by the descendents that took their predecessors to a whole different level, sustain the genre, and move myriads of people to mosh.

In a particular order:

10. Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil (Warner Bros, 2005).

Rolling Stones magazine has named the sonically-punk with the flames of Iron Maiden, City of Evil on the last number of their 100 Greatest Album of All Time list. That should be a fair consideration since the extravagants like Beast and the Harlot, Bat Country, and Seize the Day altogether with the rest of the setlist ultimately transced the whole level and the destiny of the band as a leading force of eliticians in not so distant future. The 11 tracks have also successfully resurrected the triumph of classic guitar virtuosso portrait demonstrated on 80's as the talisman, Synyster Gates embarked over tons of appealing riffages and dueling solos which was buried after Nirvana and grunge breaktrough on the early 90's. Veteran and Ozzy Osbourne/Black Label Society guitarist, Zakk Wylde acknowledged him as a "Torchbearer" for arguably giving a birth and cultivating the guitar culture to the next generation.

9. Behemoth - The Satanist (Nuclear Blast, 2014).

The tenth album of Polish most profound extreme metal giant after Adam "Nergal"s battle with leukemia. Unlike the speed and precision exhibited over prior releases, the coagulated dense and horified cultish doom are found intensely throughout the setlist as to explicit the heretic messages. The result is astonishing and stronger than ever. More to add, The Satanist is pure, cathartic, flawlessly emotional, carefully-savage, and conquering by its complexity of repertoire within vivid and cinematical gradation as multi-dimensional tracks Messe Noire, In the Absence ov Light, Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer, and the leadoff Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel ravage in none but diabolical fervor. This album expansive flair has comprehensively unfolded the darkest caverns and creates the new standard of underground craftmanship.

8. Bring Me the Horizon - Sempiternal (RCA/Epitaph, 2013).

I wouldn't believe that i need to make Sempiternal in the cut. Who would have guessed? But i will beat every negation towards it. It is the album that eventually transforms Bring Me the Horizon from bunch of hipsters to one of the most important unit in the 21st century modern rock landscape. A year and a half after the release, Oliver Sykes and co. took over the world attention of rocking Wembley Arena, the same monumental venue where Queen — one of the biggest rock band in the history — was there doing the same story. It was approximately 12.000 attendees which made Sykes stated: "So this is our biggest show ever". The soaring Can You Feel My Heart, the furious The House of Wolves, the euphoric Shadow Moses, and the melodic of Sleepwalking are undeniably the new testament of rock music.

7. Lamb of God - Ashes of the Wake (Epic, 2004).

Count how many metal bands on the planet started after invented Laid to Rest or Now You've Got Something to Die For! It was countless. Lamb of God has became the crowned icon of "New Wave American Heavy Metal" and one of the most distinctive band in the scene. Their ferocious riffs, blistering drum works, lyrical contents, sound, even how to sing like Randy Blythe are largely imitated and seem to be the ideal menifesto of modern metal anatomy with obviously Ashes of the Wake as the highest pedestal. It contains tremendous chaos of 11 front-to-back blazing tracks immensely portrayed after Mark Morton - Willie Adler's virtuosity and of course, Chris Adler's voraciousity. Implying both abundance and how well they grasp the roots that will less likely be outnumbered.

6. Mastodon - Leviathan (Relapse, 2004).

We are now talking (and unravelling) the true genius minds of Atlanta-based extraordinary quartet. The newborn Metallica, Mastodon — the group that always exceed anyone's expectation — has seamlessly ranged their pinaccle from sludge to prog to avant-garde to even folk with staggering exponents of highly sophisticated masterpiece. With any fruition that comes in, the sheer Leviathan is believed as the opener tap. Written after Herman Merville's 1851 novel entitled "Moby Dick", the 46-minutes concept album is nothing but endless breathtaking experience of capturing bizarre Ode to the sea soundtrack. Blood and Thunder, I Am Ahab, and Aqua Dementia are torrent of forceful yet fascinating guttural power chords with Brann Dailor's tracherous drum tempo reflecting the theme while Iron Tusk sets sail upon muscular stoner riff and Naked Burn for menacing-tactical intro and flaunted visceral jarring chorus are hulking the imagery of the beast. Until the epic Hearts Alive with a glimpse of Metallica's The Call of Ktulu patiently reigns and all the greatness rendered.

5. Evanescence - Fallen (Wind-up, 2003).

The album that made Evanescence — a small town band from Arkansas — a megastar in the blink of an eye. It was the second semester of 2003 where the breakthrough hit single, Bring Me to Life played million times on the radio around the globe (and MTV as well) picturing the female face lead singer and her gleaming voice, Amy Lee who started the band with the co-founder guitarist, Ben Moody (though the relationship didn't survive and separation happened in the midst of suporting Fallen tour). The fame that nowhere expected begun when the terrific duo met on a camp and cliche of having the same musical taste brought them to finally sign the major label Wind-up and dominated the world stages in a brief. Fallen with the added values of enchanting piano, symphonical strings livery, and haunting soundscape that most nu-metal groups didn't have at that time effortlessly stood-out and arised in comparison to even Linkin Park. Other songs served like the down-tuned goth Going Under and the everlasting ballad My Immortal are only legitimating their popularity.

4. Ghost - Prequelle (Loma Vista, 2018).

In our nearly five decades of heavy music, such names as Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Van Halen with their fantastic works and spirits have became a catalyst that will be remembered greatly in the faraway future for causing an enourmous impact to our community. Those that have bloomed and paved the way many artists to follow. And if there is a chance for this millenium bands to extend the list, Ghost will be the first to step up the grace.

This year, their most recent release Prequelle has been nominated for The Best Rock Album and its single Rats for Best Rock Song of 61st Grammy. An award that should be familiar since they have been winning it two times with Infestissumam (2013) — their second major label album — as The Best Hard Rock/Metal Album and Cirice — the single taken from previous album Meliora (2015) — as Best Metal Performance. A peak of a decade existence for one superior man behind the wheel, Tobias Forge. Appear himself as a satanic pope, Papa Emeritus I, II, III, Zero, and now with the newest fully renowned ascencion clergy Cardinal Copia has completely shaped the band's identity. But the latest Prequelle has more than to be attained to an award. Forge's admiration to film makes no surprise if any substance on the record is prone to get visualized and draw medieval realms so alive and real. He could blend joyous disco with scattered shock rock backbone for Dance Macabre, provide brilliant exotic pop-esque instrumental opus for Miasma, and close all the novelty and intellegiousness by a soothing grand finale of Life Eternal. That is the last strike.

3. Greenday - American Idiot (Reprise, 2004).

With the overwhelmed mainstream-breaking punk rock hit single American Idiot, it was an album (a concept album, for specific) everyone knew which handfully restored a big disappointment both sales and critical of their previous release. Taking the power back after four years gap with anti-Bush vitriol narration over long and merged tracks was everything we could expect from an ambition. Performing sarkastic American-post 9/11 political singable outcry and dragging down to emotionally-related suburban decline on Holiday/Boulevard of Broken Dreams, followed by californian sunset accoustic staccato and straighforward revv Give Me Novacaine/She's A Rebel, a love story of Whatsername where a street punk main actor St. Jimmy fell and how it all ended on Homecoming.

The grandiose worths 16 millions selling CD is the anthem of this generation where a generation ago pridefully have The Clash with the classic London Calling.

2. Slipknot - Iowa (Roadrunner, 2001).

The most brutal and confrontational album of 21st century nothing to this day can bear. That is the deal. A remorseless turmoil just from the first second of welcoming to the house of pain intro, (515) to the last 15 minutes epilogue of magnificent unrelenting drama title track, Iowa. Please recognize the insolent hate mantra "Here we go again motherfuckers" as Corey Taylor opens up and rips off anything with hammer to the face misanthropic followed track, People = Shit that seems a vulgar warning to extend the torture of their 1999 debut phenomenal self titled album. But things got tenfold. They were all damaged animals, making it excuriatingly worst instead, and wanted any living to hear them. That they fuck what trend you live up on bludgeoning bestial Heretic Anthem, that they are adamant bastards you can't bleach their darkness out on atmospherical assault New Abortion, that killing is their primal instinct on grinding jaw-breaker scorn Disasterpieces, that they are fucking obsolete machines on the scorching psychosis Everything Ends. There lies Neurosis-ian dressed Gently and never eschew Grammy nominated singles, Left Behind and My Plague.

All the violent rampage should be addressed to Ross Robinson (producer) for being able to wrap up the devastating times the band encountered in the studio and that was how its ruthless resonated the world where many people are pissed-off to everything. An absolute impossible album to be re-recorded due to its hell of organic material. Yet apart of any malevolence, Iowa is sadly, a gift to liberate your heart and soul.

Honourable mentions:

System of a Down - Toxicity (American/Columbia, 2001).

Converge - Jane Doe (Equal Vision, 2001).

My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade (Reprise, 2006).

1. Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory (Warner Bros, 2000).

The world seriously gives us no chance to break. After Lemmy, Bowie, now we have lost the most beautiful voice that represents our generation.

May rest in peace and honour, Chester Bennington.

We miss you everyday, and we do care if someone whose time runs out is you.

The album that took nu-metal to a whole different level forever and highly contributed to shape the sound that outbursted the 21st century. For two decades, Linkin Park has became the most iconic group on the planet. Breeding the bands like Bring Me the Horizon, Asking Alexandria, and Bullet For My Valentine (with their recent 2018 album, Gravity).

Hybrid Theory (which was the actual name of the band before settling to Linkin Park) is the sublime fusion of heavy metal, alternative rock, hip-hop, pop, and electronica desired only to make a lifetime change. It is truly no derivative. Yet recalling back, it was multiple rejections of label after label before it took off with Don Gillmore (previously worked with Eve 6, Lit, Pearl Jam) to produce the album and pushed the band excessively. It was the part that would not have regretted where all they saw afterwards and going on was all miracle. 28 millions copy sold should be a very serious sensastion everyone must have a seat to talk about. A rock n roll revival after Guns N' Roses's Appetite For Destruction (1987) so to speak. With angst to fuel, Hybrid Theory yielded the catchy single opener One Step Closer, the drug abuse easer Crawling, the unhinged paranoia Papercut, and the most well-known last single sung by anyone In the End. Not to mention its cohesive supplementaries A Place For My Head, Runaway, and My December that blur the foursome due to their equivalent prowess. Admit it, Linkin Park and Hybrid Theory are the gateway to rock and heavy metal empire.

[db-reviews]

#128 - Demon Box - Motorpsycho (1993)

After two years after their debut release, Motorpsycho started to explore more sounds and styles. While not fully progressive rock yet, their 1993 release of Demon Box would mark a shift in the band’s musical stylings, not bordering themselves up with grunge but instead trying new recipes into the mix in their hour-long breakthrough album.

To see how they changed, the first song, Waiting For The One, does a great job of showing that the band is trying a bit more genres than just grunge and stoner rock. It is a purely folk tune, with acoustic guitars and all. What I like about this song is that even though it is very different, you can still feel that early Motorpsycho edge in some shape or form. It is just the vibes this song radiates, it both feels good yet also very grimly as well. It makes for a good opener to this sophomore album.

Continuing with trying new things, Nothing To Say while still being very grunge has a lot of nods and winks towards the indie/alt-rock sound that bands like Foo Fighters and Pixies were doing in the 90s. I do dig that riff they keep up at the start of the song. It is really heavy yet extremely melodic all at once, creating a sound that is very much their own without sounding too gritty. I also really love how Bent Sæther can go from very calm and collected vocals to very in-throat yelling that makes you think he is in pain. He has a natural soft vocal range so his yelling makes his singing feel very intense. It all makes for a great song that, while still very much grunge, has some more interesting elements to make it not JUST your typical grunge song.

We get even heavier with Feedtime, and they are embracing a bit more of their stoner metal music from Lobotomizer, but this time picking up the pace, creating this very energetic take on their sound prior, and revolutionizing it to where each turn just knocks you over. This is also when the band starts to use sampling in their works, where in the middle of the song you hear someone tell an audience that a choir will play a song that many people have heard before. I know it feels a little weird to add that into a song with no rhyme or reason, but I just think it is a neat inclusion. It just adds more flavor to the music I think, and really with such an already tasty lineup of songs, adding something new is Motorpsycho’s specialty, even at this point. It is such a good track that adds more to this dish than anything else.

Now while Nothing To Say had some indie/alt-rock elements, Sunchild on the other hand is practically an indie rock song. It has that fun, rockabilly-type rock music that is very fast moving, and quick to the pace. While not my favorite expression of music, I do admit this fun portrayal of their harder sound makes this cake they are baking have even more layers than anticipated, not only making music that is fun as all hell, but yet very expressive in their energy.

The band probably knew the album was getting a bit too heavy, so they decided to make the next track, Tuesday Morning, an acoustic song. No drums, for the most part, just the acoustic guitar, and some wacky sound effects sprinkled in, plus the beautiful singing of Bent Sæther. It does grow on you at this point that these guys are making music they want to create, not abiding by any genre they put themselves under other than the ones they want to utilize, and that is why I love them so much. They are kinda like Rush in a way, not caring about what others think and proceeding to create the music they want to make.

Continuing with those acoustic stylings, but changing things from a more folk song to a bit more of a gothic country song, we have All Is Loneliness. I do think that country twang works very well with this song since it kinda has this already dark and foreboding sound already, but the country music added onto it makes it even spooky. I think Motorpsycho is at its peak when they get a little spooky. They are like the Count Chocula of progressive rock bands, they are a great autumn band that can do very well when given the chance.

Now I am gonna be honest, I do not care for the production quality of my music. One of my favorite bands is Magma, and some of their live albums have extremely bad sound quality. However, those albums are still very good. However, again, I will say the low quality of Come on In absolute works. It sounds like an old home recording of some teenager’s song he made after coming home from school and recording something he thought of while he did his math homework. The low quality gives it charm, and I like a charm in my music. I think the quality is important, but even the lack of quality can also be important as well. This is a great song, and I am a sucker for it.

Now we get into the most bizarre song off this album, which is Step Inside Again. This to me is very much on that same weird Avant Garde monster that Careful With That Axe Eugene is like. The songs are very similar. Very mellow, very scary. Not only that but both have a very sharp scream that works surprisingly well. It is not the best song off here, but in the mood of the album, it works, and sometimes you just need a song that works.

Now we get into the band’s first epic, the 17-minute title track of Demon Box. For a first-timer, this one does things very nicely. It is loud, abrasive, and haunting, and does a lot of things that work well. I love how it has a shift in tone and volume, where the first few minutes, it is very loud, gritty, and intense, to this very quiet drone melody, and then back to the heavy and intense music without any warning. I do like this structure because it does some interesting things in the core structure of the music, plus it’s gnarly, to say the least. My main issue is the quieter bits in the middle. Now I am fine with the band reducing the heaviness in their sound, but what I love about Motorpsycho’s epics is that they are consistent in their focus. Each movement sounds similar to the last one, but there is always something new whether it is a new riff, a new instrument, or making things a bit more streamlined from before. This has a hard shift in tone and sound rather than a natural one, and in some retrospect, I kinda wish that the drone bit was removed entirely or that this song was split into three separate tracks, like say have the first movement, the heavy and intense part be a track called Demon Box Part 1, than have the drone bit be its separate track in between, and then go into the next louder part of Demon Box Part 2. For an epic, this is solid and I do like it a lot, but the track suffers a tiny bit from how hard the shifts from the intensely powerful music to the quiet drones can be.

Now I will say that this album is not bad at all, in fact so far it is amazing, but I will say that Babylon isn’t my favorite. I think they did way better in this more indie rock style on Sunchild than they have done here. Not to say this song is bad, but it feels less like they tried to make some kind of indie rock or punk rock song and more like them just messing around and trying to make something work within the context of the album.

Now what does work well within the indie rock sound is Junior. Man, I love this song, it is incredibly rhythmic, and incredibly powerful, but not too rehashy of ideas as Babylon did when it came to comparison with Sunchild. It tries to be its own thing, and I do like that. It is a very fun song just to turn your brain off and just jam. This is a key moment on the album for sure.

Now I would never say Motorpsycho is a post-rock band, but Plan #1 is a very post-rock song, at least in the first minute or so. Those first minutes do remind me of a Godspeed You! Black Emperor intro with the talks of god and Christianity and such, which is kinda how the epic of Static started up with the rantings of a priest to his church. I’d say for the intro alone, it is a very interesting song for Motorpsycho to tackle, and I do love how it does go back to that intro after the music settles down, and then they combine the intro back with the music making for a very high crescendo. It is a very nice melody that I am surprised isn’t talked about much in the Motorpsycho community.

Now my favorite song off this album, and one that I can never get out of my head, is Sheer Profoundity. Man, I love this song with my heart, just that bassy riff from the guitar and how it just consistently pounds away as Sæther asks if his sir needs anything that needs to be done. That one line of “Anything I can do for you, sir?” always gets stuck in my head, and I do not know why. It is surprisingly catchy even though it probably wasn’t meant to be catchy. It is just so good in its details and its playing. It is one of the band’s first, truly amazing songs they created in their early career.

The last song is a bit more of a punk song, and that is The One Who Went Away. While I am not a fan of punk music, aside from post-punk and art punk like Cardiacs or Unwound, I do think this does pay off well. This album is a very eclectic piece already, and while not progressive rock they do show a variety of genres under their belt that they can pull out of their pockets at any point in time. This song ends the trend off on a high note, with something the band hasn’t done yet and doing it surprisingly well. Through an album of twists and turns, the last turn will surely always be a good ending.

A high improvement from Lobotomizer, Demon Box not only continues the band’s sounds but introduces new ones as well. No wonder many Motorpsycho fans say this is one of their favorite records because it not only broke the mold for the band but made new molds for them to break in future releases. If you liked Lobotomizer but wanted something more in sounds and scope, Demon Box is your key my friend, and even if you haven’t listened to Lobotomizer then I still suggest listening to Demon Box. It is great, and one that needs a lot of love.

4.5/5