From Melville to Metal: The Conceptual Depths of Mastodon’s ‘Leviathan’
Mastodon’s Leviathan is a concept LP inspired by American novelist Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Think of it as sludge metal’s answer to Dark Side of the Moon.
stoner metal
Two New Tribute Albums Show Soundgarden’s Magic Can’t Be Replicated
For better and worse, the latest installments in Magnetic Eye’s Soundgarden tribute series only underscore the iconic Seattle quartet’s range.
Post-Metal Outfit Pelican Returns with More Dark Moods and Inventive Instrumentals
On Nighttime Stories, instrumental quartet Pelican make the most out of working without a singer, proving that some narratives are best built without words.
Gypsy Chief Goliath Explores “Low Cost of Living High” (premiere)
Ontario-based stoner metal outfit Gypsy Chief Goliath presents the latest single from their upcoming fourth album, Masters of Space and Time.
High on Fire’s ‘Electric Messiah’ Is Home to Some of the Metal Band’s Fastest Songs
Now that the classic Motörhead line-up is hellraising on another astral plane, the Iron Fist has been passed to High on Fire.
Yob Highlight Their Conceptual Vision on ‘Our Raw Heart’
To characterize Our Raw Heart as consistent is not to damn the record with faint praise as Yob's music is as powerful and beautiful as ever.
Pepper Keenan Returns to Corrosion of Conformity for ‘No Cross No Crown’
Corrosion of Conformity have written a new record that harks back to their golden Deliverance and Wiseblood days, with the added doom-laden lurches of Keenan's last LP with the band, 2005's In the Arms of God.
Pallbearer: Heartless
Pallbearer’s third album Heartless exists outside of easy genre signifiers. This band is in a league all their own.
Earthless + Harsh Toke: Acid Crusher / Mount Swan
This is psychoactive music for psychoactive times, and neither Earthless nor Harsh Toke falter in their mission to sing the words of the muse.
JEFF the Brotherhood: Wasted on the Dream
If you wanted a cover album of Black Sabbath, Nirvana and Weezer's greatest hits but the originals were too strong for you, no worries! JEFF the Brotherhood's prolonged adolescent fixation with their predecessors continues!
Weedeater: …And Justice for Y’all
Thirteen years on this seemingly-derivative piece of sludge metal differentiates itself from less interesting acts with one thing: pure sonic filth.