LK Ultra's Molten Hot Mixtape, May 28th, ed.

Side A

1). CARDINALS FOLLY - Her Twins of Evil - You can say they're underrated or you can just say they're awesome. Cardinals Folly remains one of the more distinctive bands in the world of traditional doom, when these Finns are at their best, they have a knack for finding the fun side of death and damnation and they're at their best here. Their new album, 'Holocaust of Ecstasy & Freedom' is a good party: there's laughs, maybe a cry or two, then a fight breaks out and it's back to bacchanalia ... with sexy results!

***

2). SOURVEIN - Hymn to Poseidon - I've been saying for months now that Sourvein's new album is flawless and I stick by that. It proves that brevity and restraint are always good looks and it feels like an instant classic. 'Hymn to Poseidon' is one of the standout tracks, it's confident and bold with a hint of melancholic regret, the kind of song you'd want to have a beer with if it was sitting at the bar. In a word, it's got character, like much of 'Aquatic Occult'.

***

3). SLOMATICS - Electric Breath - We've still got roughly forever to wait for the release of 'Future Echo Returns' (September 2), but everybody's favorite Irish sludge band released the first taste of it recently. And oh, surprise, surprise, what do ya know, it's a crusher. Come on guys, like, predictable much? I mean, seriously though, there's one part of the song where they're just beating you to death with sheer power, Oh gee, "didn't see that coming".

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4). LORD VICAR - Accidents - This is arguably the most evil song Lord Vicar's recorded yet. When the verse kicks in and the bottom drops out on the drums, you're suspended by a rope over a fathomless abyss and each razor-edged note of the main riff is another frayed fiber. I connected with it in a big way yesterday when I passed a funeral chapel and a Dracula statue on Hastings street (Dracula statue courtesy of Netherworld Collectibles).



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5). BRUTUS - Wandering Blind - It's been a few years since we last heard from these Norwegian retro rockers, their new album 'Wandering Blind' proves that they haven't lost a step. There were about a half dozen songs I would have liked to include here but the opening track really stuck with me. It's five minutes of riffing and wandering so you can really sink your teeth in.


***

6). SCORPION CHILD - My Woman in Black - Scorpion Child impressed the hell out of me with their debut single "Polygon of Eyes" back in early 2013, but I found their album to be hit and miss. They try their hand at big rock and roll moves and they don't always pan out, but their ambition is appreciated. They're sort of like, what if the Black Crowes were a hair metal band. Once again though, the lead single from their upcoming second album, 'Acid Roulette' is definitely a big hit here.

Side B

7). ALTAR DE FEY - 1975 - There's so much right about this. The new single from punky San Fran goth rockers Altar De Fey's 'Echoes in the Corridor' sounds like a product of the era it's named after. Musically, it's a tour of the dark side of the glam rock scene, the dingy big city club bathrooms, the overdoses swept under the rug. Altar de Fey remind me of 'Three Imaginary Boys'-era The Cure or early Echo & the Bunnymen, which is a nice change of pace, I'm going to keep my eye on this band, "1975" is a standout track on an interesting album.

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8). YETI ON HORSEBACK - Dragged Down to Hell - Here's a hoser band that I was just introduced to by my good buddy Steve Howe of the Outlaws of the Sun webzine. It's a longer track, one you can take off your shoes to and put your feet up. It was released on bandcamp as a standalone track but will be the closing track on their upcoming debut album, 'The Great Dying' (September 23). It's enormous in all ways. The harsh vocals may be a sticking point for some, but Yeti on Horseback are poised to be a breakout hit in the world of sludge for 2016. (Note: 'The Great Dying' album artwork not yet revealed).

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9). NAGA - Hyele - I've had the pleasure of watching Italian blackened sludge trio Naga develop from birth and this song sounds like the end of their beginning. The first taster off their upcoming EP captures the sound and feel of a confident band mid-stride. The black metal riff, doomy drums and epic scope documents Naga living up to their early potential.



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10). TERRA TENEBROSA - The End is Mine to Ride - This Swedish band is new to me, the first single from their upcoming 'The Reverses' caught my ear on the ol' PR wire. I usually don't truck with "avant garde" metal, but this tune is less about exploration and more about exploitation. The best label for this would be blackened stoner. Whatever you call it it's just good metal and an end to our mixtape that'll have you pacing back and forth waiting for the next one.

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Bonus Track:
THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX - If I Had a Gun

NAGA to release debut album March 30

Great news came down to me this morning.  Remember when Naga released this promising E.P. / demo last year? [Read the review here]  Here they come with their debut full-length ...

"Recorded and mixed in Fall 2013 by Maddalena Bellini in Naples and mastered by James Plotkin in Philadelphia, Hēn is NAGA’s debut album: 5 tracks of doom and post-core, a black monolith which recalls Black Metal atmospheres –will be released in Vinyl by the dutch label Lay Bare Recordings (distributed by Burning World Records) and on CD bythe italian labels Fallodischi, Shove Records and La fine in March 30th 2014. The sound evoked by Emanuele Schember (bass), Lorenzo De Stefano (vocals and guitars) and Dario Graziano (drums), is a morbid, pachydermic, low-tuned mid-tempo. Hēn is the word used by the ancient Greeks to indicate the One, the divine principle embracing the whole reality, it’s the highest idea, it’s what the Becoming implies, it’s where everything originates and everything returns."

The Alchemical Mixture - Naga & Zodiac (album reviews)

From: Naples, Italy.  Rating: 5/5.  Total Run Time: 22:50.
Release Date: January 17, 2013

Italian doom band Naga have unleashed their demo upon the unsuspecting masses on bandcamp as a 'pay what you want' deal.  The demo's made up of two lengthier tracks, rather on the razor edged distortion side of the doom ledger.  The band is made up of two thirds of the sludge doom band Kill the Easter Rabbit (KTER), who haven't been heard from since 2010's 'Apokatastasis' full-length album.  Like Spinal Tap before them, they have gone through their share of drummers, Naga's charter beat-basher, Dario, is a twelve year plus veteran of the band Nameless Crime.  One other roster move to report, they have switched from a twin guitar attack to a guitar and bass lineup with Emanuele Schember moving to bass.

Okay, with that all out of the way as an introduction, now it's time to dig into the music.  "The Path" opens things up with a sludgy doom riff and strong dynamics.  It doesn't take long for Dario to prove himself a powerful, dynamic drummer and a perfect fit with Emanuele and Lorenzo.  Straight off, the vocals are more brutal, more angry and less melodic than those of KTER, the last gasps of a dying wretch.  It's a great song that leaves nothing on the table, tempos are explored, dynamics exploited and that old feeling emerges of when doom was brand new (at least to the listener) matte black and dangerous.

"Vitriol" also explores inter-song dynamics, using major-minor chord variation to create an emotionally devastating effect.  If being chewed up and swallowed by some prehistoric monster was music, this is what it would sound like: chomping rhythms, crushing riffs, ringing splashes of light and saliva followed by a long journey down a very dark tunnel as the song changes and the band explores new tracts of sonic territory.

I'll be perfectly honest with you, this is exactly what I'm looking for in my doom.  Give me riffs, draw them out, change them up, take them to the burial chamber and make them suffer.  You don't always know what you're looking for until you hear it and Naga's two song demo may not make you sit up and take instant notice, but once the band begins exploring dynamics and different textures it all comes together.  It's only then that you realize: "I've been needing to hear this for a long time and didn't even know it".

From: Brisbane, Australia.  Rating: 5/5.  Total Run Time: 24:13.

Release Date: February 17, 2013

Another band that gives me that sweet and sour doomed feeling is Brisbane, Australia trio Zodiac.  While info on the band is sparse, I do know that the band features three fifths of hardcore punk band Last Chaos and I suppose it was time for these guys to embrace the doom and worship the riff.  So mote it be.

The big seventies-style doom riff plays a huge part of their sound.  Distinctive and melodic vocals and drums that add textures and layers to the storytelling rather than simply keep time weave a powerful spell over the listener.  Zodiac is a great band with a powerful and genuine traditional doom / paleo-metal sound.  A band whose tape can honestly be said to sound as though it actually was written and recorded during the late seventies or early eighties is a rare find.  They don't do it by copying and pasting their favorite sounds of the era into 'scrapbook songs', it's something achieved by production values, a refined ear and intuition.  Oh yeah, did I mentioned they released this three song demo on cassette tape?
The tape has sold out but it's still available from Nuclear Blood and No Patience in Australia, along with Shadow Kingdom, Hells Headbangers, I Hate Records & At War With False Noise.  I've got mine!

Riffs plunge down a Bermuda's triangle vortex of the classic devil's third tritone on opener "Vertigo" and spill off from there.  "Somnium" is another strong example of the band's ability to build an epic soundscape from a slow, tritonal riff and do so within a traditional doom framework that is both respectful to its origins and unique unto itself.  Towards the end of the latter song a haunting banshee wail from vocalist Ben Peters signals the band to finally cut loose and up the tempo.  It must feel great to do so, considering the band's pedigree.

I've no doubt Zodiac will end up on the radar of many and receive tons more press, and if they already are on your radar, give Naga a try, I'm sure you'll like it, and vice versa.  While Naga adds handfuls of filth to their sound, both bands are coming from very much the same place, the pond of primordial slime from which all doom bands have arisen.  The monumental tritone riff, which each of these two powerful bands put their own unique spin on to.  You can listen and download each of these great releases on the players below.

Genre: Sludge, Doom

Naga is:                                                                    Zodiac is:

Emanuele Schember - bass, effects                             Mikel Elborne - bass

Dario Graziano – drums                                              Will Learmonth - Drums

Lorenzo De Stefano - guitar, vocals                             Leo Price – guitar

                                                                                 Ryan Cooper – guitar

                                                                                 Ben Peters - vocals

Better Review:
Sludgelord on Naga
Too Late to Pray on Naga
Astral Doom on Zodiac

Naga facebook
Zodiac facebook

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