December 2 - FROM BEYOND (The Color Out of Space EP) - Houston, Texas space / doom trio From Beyond's second EP of their rookie year isn't a complete departure from their first, but it does reveal them as a restless and ambitious band, never content to sit on a sound and ever ready to explore new ground. Four great songs, each different in texture and style. 'The Color Out of Space' is an advancement from 'One Year' and it leaves me incredibly excited about the future of this band. I was particularly fond of my recent review of this EP, and so were the band. You can read it here. Get it here. Highlights include "The Dead Still Ride" and "The Color Out of Space". Rating 5/5December 2 - Mother Gun (Human EP)
December 6 - MOTHERSLOTH (Hazy Blur of Life) - Madrid, Spain based quartet Mothersloth play a very metallic style of sludge and doom. Their four song EP is full of chunking and squealing heavy metal guitar, big throaty vocals and the heavy-hitting stylings of their drummer, the wonderfully-named, Gog. Get it here. Highlights include "Pile of Fortune" and "Goliath". Rating 3.5/5
December 7 - YEAR OF THE GOAT (Angels' Necropolis) - "Here we go again. Yet another Swedish retro rock band." Wrong. Year of the Goat is a retro band with a difference. They pay their fair share of homage to times past without slavishly attempting to recreate specific eras. Rather, they are collageists who take a bit from here, take a bit from there and add their own flame to the fire. The end result is eight terrific songs, a sweeping album full of excellent performances. Find it here. Highlights include "Spirit of Fire" and "I'll Die For You". Rating 4/5 (full review coming soon)December 12 - Enos (All Too Human)
December 13 - GEEZER (Handmade Heavy Blues) - Geezer don't lie. Just look at the album title and that should give you your best clue as to what you might find on this fine 10 song collection. Fans of Five Horse Johnson or Heavy Eyes will find a lot to love from this New York power trio, but fans of Robert Johnson, Son House, Willie Brown, etc. might love it even more. Get it here. Highlights include "Pony" and "I'm Coming Home". Rating 4/5
December 13 - HELLRYDE INC. (Hellryde Incorporated) - I'm hearing this more and more and I like it. Monterrey, Mexico's four piece Hellryde Inc play metal with groove and stoner elements. The guitars squeal, the drums thrash, the bass is distorted to near inaudibility, but the songs and the riffs are built on a stoner foundation. Check it out, this is high class stuff. Highlights include "Piss Me Off" and "Insomnia". Rating 4/5December 13 - Stonebringer (Ocean of the Brave)
December 14 - THE HEAVY EYES (Maera) - After releasing one of the best albums of 2011, what do Memphis blues heavyweights The Heavy Eyes do for an encore? They've thickened up their sound, the riffs are bigger, the grooves are filthier, the songs are tighter, the hooks are more memorable. Simply put, The Heavy Eyes have unleashed a monster of an album, one of the year's best. "These Men Are Wolves", "Parado", "Lately" and No. 1 hit "Levantado" are just a sampling of the abundance of standout material. Read my review. Get it here. Highlights include "Lately" and "Levantado". , Rating 5/5
December 18 - SLOW HEART (Dead Friends and Angry Lovers) - The latest incarnation of Ice Dragon and its multiple personae, Slow Heart is a goth / drone rock exorcism. This project seems to be an expansion of certain moods and sounds found on Ice Dragon's 'Greyblackfalconhawk' album. Get it here. Highlights include "We Want The Night" and "Never Trust a Woman (Dressed in Black)". Rating 4/5
December 19 - OWL (Christmas Mixtape 2012) - Owl's Christmas mixtape is a collection of free ballin' jams and outtakes, but it's no simple throwaway shit collage. It's a 44-minute noise fest featuring some really good moments. I don't think this stuff was recorded with the intention of release so some of it can sound rather poorly, but I listen to a lot of scratchy delta blues records from the 30s and psychedelic underground acetates of the 60s so unmastered de-studiofied recording are alright by me. And who doesn't love tapes? I was a diehard tape guy before I was a diehard CD guy. It wasn't until about '98 when labels stopped making tapes that I finally switched over to CDs ... Get your gift here. Highlights include "Chromatose" and "The Demon is Born". Rating There's something very inherently wrong with 'rating' a Christmas mixtape. December 21 - 1000mods (Valley of Sand EP)
December 21 - WHEELFALL / A VERY OLD GHOST BEHIND THE FARM split - Heavy, heavy stuff from France. Wheelfall's still warm on the table album 'Interzone' album has been a critical hit. This is the first new music AVOGBTF has released in two full years, whose album 'Primary Septagon' is a real favorite at PH. The wait was worth it. Crushing doom. Get crushed here. Highlights include "Hangman's Laugh" and "Navigating on the Seas of Dementia". Rating 4.5/5
December 22 - PALACE IN THUNDERLAND (Stars, Dreams, Seas) - This three song demo from New England supergroup Palace in Thunderland is the first release from the group since splitting up in 2007. Back then they weren't a supergroup, they were just a group. 'Stars, Dreams, Seas' shows some different sides but mostly fits into the stoner / space rock genres. Get it here. Highlights include "Beyond The Stars" and "Awakened Dream". Rating 4.5/5December 25 - Balam - New Song [No Vocals] Preproduction 2013
December 26 - Deaf Flow (Songs From The Dark Side of Uranus)
Best Album From December 2012:
'Maera' by THE HEAVY EYES
Best Song From December 2012:
"The Dead Still Ride" by FROM BEYOND
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