Every time I put out a top ten list for a given year, there's some album that I find later on that makes me realize the list could have been better. But the way I look at it is that you have to have some balls to put out a top 10 of anything list, and the ultimate value of the list is how many people you got to listen to something they wouldn't have.
Anyhow, on to the review:
Local Legends Magic Circle Return With A Vengeance
Shortly after Grownman published my first post on this site back in 2014, I clicked on his "Listen Of The Day" and heard Magic Circle for the first time.
I consider Magic Circle's self-titled album and "Journey Blind" to be 'desert island' albums; on my list of must-have's if I'm ever stranded on a desert island.
Magic Circle embodies everything that was great about 1980's metal, without the cheese.
I will also stand by the statement that Brendan is one of the coolest metal singers there has ever been.
Departed Souls is 'head and shoulders' Magic Circle's best album; their closing argument in the case of whether or not Magic Circle is heavy metal elite.
Verdict: Guilty
This is a must own album for heavy metal and stoner rock fans alike.
Check out this example of how Magic Circle has evolved:
Magic Circle Is:
Chris Corry: Guitar
Justin De Tore: Bass
Dan Ducas: Guitar
Q: Drums
Brendan Radigan: Vocals
Much like Spinal Tap, Magic Circle goes to eleven. You can buy Departed Souls here: Be sure to enjoy the sweet keyboards on "Gone Again". Reminiscent of the sound John Paul Jones had on "No Quarter".
Over and Out
-ULTRA
Saturday, February 4, 2017
ULTRA'S SUPERBOWL SUNDAY STONER SOUNDS
In honor of Falcons vs. Patriots, which promises to be a classic brawl, let's have a Georgia vs. Massachusetts Stoner Rock Showdown:
First up, in the red and black trunks and featuring dual drum players, the band KYLESA from Savannah, with the classic "Tired Climb"
PS: Was drinking a bit when I posted a Maryland band here instead of Georgia last weekend. These things sometimes happen.
Next up, Massachusetts' own MAGIC CIRCLE hits back with "The Damned Man". This is one of my favorite tracks from a simply awesome album. Turn this one up loud:
Now for the heavy-hitters:
Atlanta's own MASTODON with "The Czar".
Currently based in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, it's ELDER with "Spires Burn":
(How do you pick one Mastodon and one Elder tune to play? Throw darts)
These bands are not in a contest against each other, but let me know in the comments whatever tunes you like best, or what bands or tunes you think I should have picked instead. There certainly are tons of great Georgia and Massachusetts stoner/doom/rock bands to choose from, but it basically comes down to this: When you write the post you get to pick whatever suits your current mood.
Anyhow, should be an awesome Superbowl. Falcons are under-respected, but even though it is a strange thing to say, so are the Pats in a lot of ways. You know I got to pick my favorite team.
Phhhhheew! The year end crush dominated me over the last couple weeks. This year I really fell behind in listening to new music. I caught up recently but the records I loved earlier in the year had time to grow and stick with me, thus staying higher up the list. With the formation of our new RADIO SHOW I should have plenty of new motivation to keep up with the new releases week to week.
I've found a bunch of really cool stuff over the past couple weeks that I unfortunately have not had enough to to digest. A few were some really solid demos, so lets take a look...
I love old school Speed Metal. I haven't heard too much of that this year but the couple that I did were really solid. One of those was a demo by a band named Vulture. That album cover looks like vintage Exciter but the music inside is a bit more ferocious. High Roller Records continues it's tradition of bringing us new bands putting their spin on classic sounds.
VULTURE Victim to the Blade
Keeping with the old school sound comes Angel Sword. With the name and album art I'm sure you can guess whats coming. With epic fantasy subject matter and Art akin to bands like Attacker, you better throw on the chain mail before these guys start swinging their axes.
ANGEL SWORDRebels Beyond the Pale
Dem Magic Circle boys are at it again. After the acclaimed Magic Circle records they had a side project everyone was drooling over with Stone Dagger. Then DeTore played on that Sumerlands album that is a consensus top 10 choice for 2016. Not to mention past projects in Hardcore with Rival Mob, Doomriders and Battle Ruins. Lets also not forget they are behind more extreme acts like Torture Chain and Innumerable Forms. They can do it all and they've done it again. This is really just straight up old school rock but I don't care, it belongs here.
DEVILS DAREDemo 2016
I can't believe this one is a demo. Funeral Doom is a niche within a niche within a niche but I happen to love it. It's hard to construct these ridiculously long songs and keep them interesting as slow as they are. Temple of Abandonment shows a veteran savvy known to only the top echelon of the genre such as Ahab. Pay these guys the dollar they are asking for over at their bandcamp page.
Providence's DUSK will be the place to be for all the metalheads in the New England area this March 21st. I'm personally looking forward to seeing Magic Circle live and in the flesh. The band has been one of my favorites from the underground metal scene since last year's epic Self Titled release. Below you will find sound clips for all of the bands playing that night. $6 to see just one of these bands is too cheap. Get your ass down to Providence and if they have some merch??? buy it up....
2013 was another good year for metal. Lots of quality releases all year but my top 5 really stand out for me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my whole list but there's something about my top 5 that made me obsess over these albums and learn all of their miniscule details.Let's get to it.
10. INTOXICATED Rock n' Roll Hellpatrol
Crude songs, crude musicianship and crude production. AKA right up my ally. Picture Midnight without quite the songwriting chops. Lot's of memorable anthem type songs though. Top 10 album and one of the worst album covers of the year.
9. AUTOPSY The Headless Ritual
I've been disappointed with the comebacks albums from Autopsy, until now. This cracks when it's supposed to crack and slows to a dirge when it's supposed to slow to a dirge. Really a return to form and up their with their best material.
8. DEVIL Gather The Sinners
Time To Repent and their demo were 2 of the Doom highlights of the last few years. Most comparable to Witchfinder General, they've always had some really catchy tunes. This continues with the new material but with more of a Garage/Punk sound.
7. JOEL GRIND The Yellowgoat Sessions
Joel Grind is an unstoppable riff machine. Between this early Bathory worship album and the new Toxic Holocaust album, the man is on a roll. He's never sounded so menacing.
6. DARKTHRONE The Underground Resistance
Gone are the days of razor thin production and razor sharp tremolo picking. Gone even are the days of Crust, D-Beat, Punk Darkthrone. This is Agent Steel like Traditional Heavy Metal Darkthrone.
5. MAGISTER TEMPLI Lucifer Leviathan Logos
This band came out of nowhere and floored me with the first track they released. The rest of the album didn't quite live up to that song but it's still very good none the less and boasts one of the best and most unique vocal efforts of the year.
4. TORTURE CHAIN Mutilating Astral Entities
USBM is on the rise and and Torture Chain should be there on the forefront for years to come. Primitive, Punk infused Black Metal.
3. SACRIPHYX The Western Front
Rather than bludgeon you over the head, Sacriphyx likes to add emotional depth to their Death Metal. Melodic (no, not MeloDeath as we've come to know it) and emotional, these are stories about "The Western Front" of World War I but this is not Bolt Thrower. This is about death and destruction and the solitude, not the glory of war.
2. ENFORCER Death By Fire
Look, if you can't look past the schtick of the band that's your problem. This is classic 80's metal. Great songs and great technical wizardy. Who cares if it's completely derivative?
1. MAGIC CIRCLE Magic Circle
This is by far my album of the year. I've probably heard it 70+ times. It's perfect. It takes the best of Pagan Altar and ties it together with a little Black Sabbath to create a new classic. My hope is that this isn't a one of since it's a side project.
Keep your eyes peeled for my honorable mentions...
Grownman and I are back with another column giving our opinion on randomly generated songs that I have stored on my computer. It's simple. I have so much goddamn shit on my computer that I don't listen to, I figure I'll find a piece of charcoal that could be a diamond eventually, no? Anyway, nothing to under the radar here this week but lets commence with the opinions shall we?
AGALLOCH - IN THE SHADOW OF OUR PALE COMPANION
THE MANTLE
2002
GROWNMAN SAYS:
Before I even give my impressions on this, I'll say that I'm a big fan of Agalloch. Their album "Marrow of the Spirit" is one of my favorite albums of the last few years. I've really gotten into this style of Black Metal that integrates folk music instrumentation and often celebrates the power of nature in it's lyrics. This is a great track and has a bit more clean singing than their latest stuff. They definitely have a very distinct sound. I can tell this band by the fantastic drumming alone. I'm gonna invest more time into listening to their earlier work like this.
FORK TONGUE SAYS:
There's something about Agalloch in the cooling and cold months that makes we want to bundle up, grab my noise cancelling headphones and just walk until the city lights can no longer be seen. To sit under the stairs, watch my hot breath hit the cold air and just experience nature. Often times in snow storms I'll sit in front of my house with a cigar and some whiskey and just listen to Agalloch. There are no better times for me. That's the pinnacle. Solitude, music and the elements. Not much else needs to be said.
JESS AND THE ANCIENT ONES - SULFUR GIANTS
JESS AND THE ANCIENT ONES
2012
GROWNMAN SAYS:
What is this? Sounds like Ghost fronted by Pat Benetar. Hell I don't mind this at all. I'll have to say this is
less pretentious than GHOST that's for sure. Yeah I know a lot of people are huge fans of Ghost and that retro Blue Oyster Cult sound. I never found anything particularly interesting about Ghost other than the whole get up they perform in. I have the same feelings about Kiss. Now Jess and the Ancient Ones is pretty cool. The beginning of this song is very sweet. There is an intentional sincerity that's devoid of the ironic "look at me I'm doing retro" shit. The song takes a turn to a more familiar and dated sound later on when the vocals kick in. The lead singer has a decently strong voice that's confident and feminine. The tone of this song in particular has some Pink Floyd'ish elements (say momentary lapse of reason era). I'm not sure what the song is really about and from the peanut gallery's comments on youtube I'm judging it must have something to do with pagan ideals. I'm neither for or against and I think personally when it comes to hearing a band for the first time I look more at song structure and musicianship. So I say this was definitely worth the listen and even got me to look at a few of their other songs. (The final bombast of this song does remind me of the Botchamania theme so I'll give this extra credit)
FORK TONGUE SAYS:
I'll be the first to tell you I'm a sucker for this trend of female fronted occult retro rock. There's a ton of it (male also) and a lot of it is pretty damn good. Rock n' Roll needs a kick in the balls and a lot of this stuff is on target, Bruce Lee squared. Jess and The Ancient Ones are the stand out to me because of the strong vocals. I'm normally not huge on female vocals but Jess has the chops and just enough rasp ala Janis Joplin. Lot's of big riffs here and I love organ on pretty much anything. They also released an EP this year which I also highly recommend. Oh, and the first Ghost album is incredible.
MAGIC CIRCLE - MAGIC CIRCLE/CLOVEN IN TWO
MAGIC CIRCLE
2013
GROWNMAN SAYS:
Listen to that sound. So brutally crisp. Another band I love and I appreciate even more with each listen. To think these guys came from a hardcore band. Magic Circle probably represent the Sabbath sound best of all current bands out there. Each lyric is delivered heartfelt. To think these guys are still underground while bands like Red Fang get all the spotlight is a travesty. There are two styles of Sabbath inspired bands. The soundalikes and the bands that's tap into whatever demonic muse Black Sabbah came across once they left the confines of that bluesy Earth period. Magic Circle know that muse very well.
FORK TONGUE SAYS:
Full disclosure. You'll be seeing this high atop my Best of 2013 list. Also, this was put out by Armageddon Shop which is 15 minutes away from my house and run by Ben Barnett of Dropdead.But honestly, there is no bias here. This is an incredible album. I really don't hear much Sabbath other than on occasion when the singer gets a little nasally like Ozzy. What I hear more here is the NWOBHM influence of someone we've covered in these pages before; Pagan Altar. Granted it's mostly in the riff department but the riffs and vocals carry this album equally. By the way, these dudes are in Hardcore bands like Rival Mob and Doomriders all the way down to Death Metal bands like Innumerable Forms. All quality stuff. And for good measure, singer Brendan Radigan just released this doozy of a solo project on the world 2 days ago. Bonus, check it out.
Hello Heavy Metal Textbooks readers! I am Professor Fork Tongue and I'm here to answer your Heavy Metal questions, just make sure to raise your hands first. Anyway, I'll being doing a column here where I'll be covering great new releases and old obscure gems that have been buried by time and dust. In the mean time to familiarize you with my tastes, allow me to introduce to you my top 10 releases of the first half of 2013!
#10. PRIMITIVE MAN Scorn
Audio doom. And I don't mean the style of metal. I mean, dread, despair and DOOM. While this is Doom Metal, it isn't your grandpappys style of Doom. This is heavy, blackened, sludgy doom in the vein of the mighty Coffinworm Nothing peaceful or serene, just uncompromising, bludgeoning riffs.
#9. LANTERN Below
Simply put, one of the best Death Metal releases in the last several years. Old school early 90's Death Metal without sounding like a retread OSDM act . Great production also with a real cavernous sound but yet still very clear. Add in some heavy atmospherics and some Doom elements and you have yourself a contender for Death Metal album of the year.
#8 DEVIL Gather The Sinners
Metal is rarely this catchy especially when it's Garage Rock Doom Metal complete with 70's analogue production. The thing that sets it apart from the other bands of this ilk are the more gruff vocals and the Punk spirit that runs throughout. To me Doom is the premiere form of metal at the moment and Devil is one of the best at it.
#7 JOEL GRIND The Yellowgoat Sessions
How can you go wrong when the main man behind Toxic Holocaust decides to do a side project dedicated in sound and aesthetic to early era Bathory? You can't, that's how.This whole album rips and I've probably listened to it more than all but my #1 but I gotta take some points away for essentially being a cover band.RIP Quorthon.
#6 DARKTHRONE The Underground Resistance
If you haven't heard Darkthrone since their Black Metal heyday then you're really missing out. They've made great Crust Punk albums since and with this one they go (almost) all out Traditional Heavy Metal. I'm talking Agent Steel, Mercyful Fate kind of stuff. Seriously. Without a bad album in their catalogue and constantly evolving, Darkthrone is easily the most consistent band in Metal.
#5 MAGISTER TEMPLI Lucifer Leviathon Logos
This is a band that came out of absolutely nowhere to me. This is their debut LP, I heard no buzz about them beforehand, no demos, no nothing. When I happened to come across a teaser track they leaked online I was blown away. Traditional Heavy Metal in the old style with some NWBHM influences, what really carries it are the vocals. I'm not sure if they are for everybody but goddammit I love 'em. Oh, and RIFFS.
#4 TORTURE CHAINMutilating Astral Entities
This here badboy was only released on cassette at Chaos In Tejas a few weeks ago and is completely sold out. Nor is it on Youtube. Truly kvlt. But relax, it's too good to not be released in other formats. US Black Metal. If you think USBM can't stand up to our brothers from Norway, you're in for a surprise. Every demo Torture Chain has done before this is great and really upped my expectations for when they release a full length. Well, expectations meant. I wish I could provide a sample but here's there full demo from 2012 so you can get a taste.
#3 ENFORCERDeath By Fire
Call them a retro retread act, call them cock rock or a novelty, call them whatever you want. Enforcer brings us back to a time when Metal was more about fun than who can be more grim than the next guy. They balance somewhere between NWBHM and Speed Metal and goddamn is it awesome. If you can't enjoy this than you're just an asshole, it's that simple. Great musicians, great songwriting and songs you're going to actually remember months from now! Gasp! What a novelty. Memorable songs are a rarity in Metal these days and trust me there's a bunch of songs here you'll be waking up with in your head.
#2 SACRIPHYXThe Western Front
In their debut LP Sacriphyx takes Death Metal, elements of Doom and Black Metal combined with war themes and creates what is destined to become a classic. Other bands have done this but not the way Sacriphyx has. While most bands focus on the violence, Sacriphyx focuses on the emotions of war. Fear, despair, honor, valor and tell a story. The whole album is based off of WWI battles and even with growled lyrics they are able to convey all these emotions perfectly. A well thought out history lesson of a Death Metal album. Whodathunkit?
#1 MAGIC CIRCLEMagic Circle
Local Massachusetts Hardcore kids from bands like The Rival Mob who thought the could make a Doom Metal album and uh boy, where they right! Loosely musically comparable to bands like both Pagan Altar and Pallbearer and of course the indominable Black Sabbath,what really sets it apart is the vocal performance. Ozzy-esque with out the nasally voice it really pulls the whole album together and they are even better live. Great, memorable songs that can be played over and over without getting sick of them. The marks of a true classic.
There you have it you pencil neck geeks, my best of the first half of 2013. Hopefully the 2nd half is just as fruitful!!! See ya soon!
