Holy Grail From Hell ))) In Sludge We Crust

Pilgrim - Misery Wizard (2012)

2012-02-16T09:09:00.002-08:00

There are many many Doom Metal bands these days, many of them good but many others (sort of the same with Black Metal) are these fake Melodic craps ruining the whole genre. Pilgrim have been among the most original bands of the revived scene and their latest offer "Misery Wizard" is no exception. To explain their sound in best way I can say they're like Saint Vitus' more progressive version, with some Cathedral influences. Their songs are often slow burning, growing and epic, there's no hurry in the songwriting and all riffs are used as much as they reach the impending atmosphere, something like Burning Witch rather than Weedeater or Eyehategod's more drug sort of use. Vocals are totally classic but the point that make 'em unique is that they often use a neat, epic vocal line ("Quest", "Astaroth") instead of the non-changing Candlemass style most bands use. Also the guitars sound to be more Traditional Doom influenced; Trouble, Witchfinder General, etc; rather than "My War" sort of dawdling Hardcore vibe Saint Vitus uses for example. Artwork wise, it fits the whole classic feeling neatly, it simply speaks for itself, the whole pale theme is also great. Simply the best Doom Metal release of this year up today.

Earth - Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light II (2012)

2012-02-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

Earth have been one of the most inspirational artists to me ever, their Avantgarde/Drone experimentations in the 90s which is almost like a church for me, it's been always like an ocean of ideas floating around, giving you the opportunity to catch your fish, no matter how many times you've listened to the record, it has always something fresh to say, sort of like Jim Jarmusch's movies. The more Post-Rock influenced Acid Folk revived Earth of the 00s might seem simple but it isn't. "HEX Or Printing In The Infernal Method", "Hibernaculum", "The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull" and the duology of "Angels of Darkness, Demons Of Light" which I am about to talk about in this article all have been among the most philosophical concept records ever made, quite unusual to see a concept record without any lyrics, but keep in mind that almost every masterpiece has to be unusual. This is the ultimate concept of paradox that is told within the folk tale. Heavy use of cello is the main difference from the first section, while the dark and enchanting mesmerizing atmosphere is still present. In the end I believe Angels of Darkness, Demons Of Light is not only a musical masterpiece, it's a journey, a voyage to the unknown which makes it as priceless as a painting or a poem, remember this is art we're talking about, it's not some fake and soulless crap the propaganda tries to cultivate in brothels like the Grammys.

Wino & Conny Ochs - Heavy Kingdom (2012)

2012-02-16T09:04:00.000-08:00

The most illustrious music legend, the most inspired artist, .... What else one can say about Wino? putting out two or three, perfectly neat and original in their own genre records in one year is something only he can do. Here it is his latest release which is a collaboration with the German Conny Ochs, this roots to the tour Wino did in support of his solo Acoustic project with him. The style is somehow the same Acoustic he did in "Adrift" with the difference of having two vocals, also it's good to mention that Wino's Acoustic records are neither like Steve Von Till's Ambient/Post-Rock nor Chris Cornell's Alternative/Rock, they have an antique Bluegrass feel along with a straight Rock N' Roll structure.

Orange Goblin - A Eulogy For The Damned (2012)

2012-02-16T09:02:00.001-08:00

Stoner Rock was sort of an underground genre in the 90s, but the more acts like Queens Of The Stone Age and Wolfmother gained mainstream success, the more people become interested in checking out the originals, sort of the same with Sludge and Mastodon for instance, Orange Goblin been among the second wave of Stoner Rock bands like COC, Five Horse Johnson and Clutch who were more Southern Rock influenced than Doom/Psych of Kyuss or Sleep for example. "An Eulogy For The Damned" is their latest release and in my opinion their best to date, it's full of up-beat one hundred percent rock and roll you can't stop listening to, from 4/4 straight roll of Red Tide Rising to epic impending blast of "Death Of Aquarius" and skullcrushing boogie of "Bishop's Wolf" you can't even breathe for one second, it's even more of a holy grail these days when COC's Hardcore Punk side's been rolling, Leadfoot ain't around anymore, Clutch are experimenting with Psych and Space, Five Horse Johnson haven't released anything since 2006. Final words, forget about that little joke called the Grammys, this is Rock n' Roll.

Buck Satan And The 666 Shooters - Bikers Welcome Ladies Drink Free (2012)

2012-02-16T09:00:00.001-08:00

I remember hating industrial music from the early days, it was always there since the day I got my first Ministry record and that was "Psalm 69", it actually came to my attention due to William Burroughs' collaboration, that was totally different from the whole wave of other soulless shit you'd found, and the most vital reason was that Al's been heavily influenced by Blues, Country and Classic Rock and he simply translated the sound into industrial structures, here we are now with another side project of him, Buck Satan And The 666 Shooters, This is basically a cut between the fun industrial soundscapes of Revolting Cocks and neo-country rollings of Hank III, the whole vibe to the record reminds me of Ministry's "Cover Up", probably a little bit mellower cause we don't have much distortion going on, The tunes are so classic you might wonder if they're covers, but it's all from the mind of this genius of ours Al.

Coalesce - Give Them Rope (Deluxe Reissue) (2011)

2012-02-16T08:57:00.002-08:00

I don't want to babble all day that how much Coalesce been an influential act in every scene, but just know that there wouldn't be any Remission or simply any Mastodon without 'em, they might have been called as one of the originators of the so called subgenre Mathcore along with Botch and DEP but the fact that they're the main one is undeniable, Coalesce's dissonant, raw Hardcore riffage along with Experimental odd time-signatures were perfectly unique when "Give Them Rope" was released in 1998, one year before "Botch's We Are The Romans" or DEP's "Calculating Infinity". It wasn't about jazzy drumlines or F-tuning, it was all about dropped guitars and avantgarde vocal lines, so you can't count Meshuggah at all, this is totally apart from the creation of Math Metal/Djent. The classic record is now reissued in the best form, take it for instance the two winged growls in "One On The Ground" coming from left and right speakers one after another not only at the same time. It's as essential for Coalesce fans as it is for all Converge, DEP, Mastodon, ... fans if they wanna know how the dream became true.

Dry Bone Design

2012-02-16T08:56:00.000-08:00

I bet all of you folks have seen Mastodon's latest music video which was for "Dry Bone Valley". The reason I'm writing this article here on behalf of Talent House is that Tim Biskup (the artist who made that video) and Mastodon are inviting artists to submit a design inspired by "Dry Bone Valley" for the chance to have it displayed as part of a featured banner on Mastodon's official website as the official Facebook profile picture for one month. Plus, the winning submission will be promoted across the social media channels of Warner Brothers Records and the winner will receive $1,000. Here're the rules and schedule of the contest:

- All submissions must be original and submitted in JPEG or PNG format and must not have been commercially used either before or during this Creative Invite
- Participants must retain their original artwork should they be chosen as the winner
- All submissions must be 300 DPI with dimensions of 4.75 inches by 4.75 inches (1425 pixels by 1425 pixels).

- Submit by: February 29, 2012
- Vote: March 1, 2012 - March 7, 2012
- Winner(s) Announced: March 14, 2012

For more info and submission visit here.

Whores - Ruiner (2011)

2012-02-16T08:27:00.002-08:00

Sharp-edged riffs, 4/4 drum triplets, sudden tempo shifts and even the font of Whores' logo all reminds me of Noise Rock veterans Helmet, while their music is more aggressive and hate-ridden. They melt the Noise Rock of Unsane, Fuzz Rock of Fu Manchu and put some Buzzoven-style Sludge on top of it to create a neat sound for their listeners. This 18-minute EP will simply make you carve for more, and that's what makes their upcoming full-length record highly anticipated.

Nails - Split W/Skin Like Iron (2012)

2012-02-16T08:25:00.000-08:00

Nails have been one of my favorites since their short debut "Unsilent Death" in 2010 and here they are now with some new material which is basically two new songs running around 3 minutes together, this (again) short record is a split with Hardcore outfits Skin Like Iron whose side is more than Nails', running around 6 minutes, they kind of remind me of The Fucking Wrath, sort of more Melodic-oriented Metal brand of Hardcore. Anyway this split is as cool as it's short, the only negative point is about the length, otherwise it kicks ass in every aspect.

Holy Grails Of 2011

2012-01-02T04:19:00.000-08:00

In the first days of 2012; a very potent year in music (Sabbath, Vitus, EHG, COC, Down, ...); it's good to review the previous year and pick up the finest efforts, here's the list: (it's not in any order, just randomly arranged)

Amebix - Sonic Mass

Crust Punk legends Amebix topped their return with the release of Sonic Mass, an album that is truely as original as it's fresh, it has all the Post-Rock influences to its sound that Amebix always had along with a new Metal approach in some songs.

Hull - Beyond The Lightless Sky

Read the complete review here.

Tom Waits - Bad As Me

In his 60s Tom Waits is still crazy and over the top, his attitude kind of reminds me of Allen Ginsberg's, apart from the fact that he's been sort of part of the beat generation himself. "Bad As Me" covers both Experimental and Classical sides of Tom Wait's music, and its arrangement and atmosphere is closest to 99's "Mule Variations".

Exhumed - All Guts, No Glory

Another great reunion and another great record, Goregrind veterans Exhumed marked their return with a genre-defining record that is a big "Fuck You" to all Deathcore posers. Old-school Grindcore/Death Metal fans can't get more than this.

Premonition 13 - 13

Read the complete review here.

Trap Them - Darker Handcraft

Offering the pure aggression of Hardcore Punk, blasting speed of Grindcore and ghoulish structure of Death Metal, Trap Them have evolved with the release of each record, and "Darker Handcraft" is no exception, it is definitely their highest peak up today.

Sourvein - Black Fangs

Read the complete review here.

Hank III - Ghost To A Ghost/Gutter Town

Read the complete review here.

Pentagram - Last Rites

The legendary Doom pioneers Pentagram have been among the best bands since their early obscure days in the 70s, while they didn't remain that obscure like Necromandus for example, along with Saint Vitus and Witchfinder General saved the genre from extinction in the 80s. Their latest effort "Last Rites" goes as high as it gets, making an epic opus I don't think any other band can record except for next year's Sabbath and Vitus' upcoming albums.

Immolation - Providence

Immolation have been one of the few Death Metal bands that survived all the fake scenes in all these years, Melodic Death Metal, Deathcore,..., after 20 years their attitudes are still the same, epic riffage, relentless growls and evil mythological lyrics are all what make this 18-minute EP shine among all the other full-length records in this list.

Weedeater - Jason...The Dragon

Weed is probably the only drug you can simply quit anytime you want, but Weedeater... it's not that easy, they're among the very few bands in the Sludge scene whose music is not that angst-ridden, it's all about how high you can get with the riff, you're smoking the notes as you're listening to the songs as if they were leafs of marijuana.

Ravencult - Morbid Blood

While lots of retards are running around naming themselves a Black Metal band these days; take half-assed Melodic craps for instance; Ravencult are among the very few bands that have the original attitude bands like Bathory and Celtic Frost had in the 80s, they also took elements from the 90s wave like tremolo picking and blast beats and combine them together. With all that said I consider "Morbid Blood" their finest record to date and I'm sure you'll find the reason listening to it yourself.

Motörhead - The World Is Yours

With "The World Is Yours" Motörhead have returned to their 70s sound with today's studio tricks, and that's the point which makes this record different from all the others released in the 00s. It seems impossible to see Lemmy's voice get screwed up or anything like that, "Brotherhood Of Man" is simply the best example, one of the heaviest songs they've recorded since "Make 'Em Blind", "Devils" and "Orgasmatron".

Rue - Thorns

The all new revived Sludge Metal scene basically divides into two waves, one are the Post-Rock influenced wave; occasionally called Post Metal; bands like The Atlas Moth, Rwake, ... and the other are the more Metal influenced wave; bands like Howl, Black Tusk, etc. (There're other bands with unique sounds also, haarp for example, and Classic approached acts like Brainoil). Rue's sound is a cut between those two waves and Thorns is best example, marking their second full-length record to date.

Sludge Metal Massacre Vol. 1 (2011)

2011-12-24T22:35:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time I've got this idea about creating some sort of a compilation thing for the Sludge scene which I think deserves more attention, something like 80s Metal Massacre, to both have a great collection of the best songs released in each year and introduce people who are not into the genre at all, here it is now, the very first volume of this series (which will be continued in the next years) that actually includes the best bits of the Sludge Metal scene in the year 2011, Here's the setlist:

01 - Brewing The Storm (Black Tusk)
02 - Avalanche (Black Cobra)
03 - Brown (Rue)
04 - Long Gone (Weedeater)
05 - Warm Flesh (Acephalix)
06 - Unholy Foe (Hail!Hornet)
07 - It Was Beautiful But Now It's Sour (Rwake)
08 - Let Me Mourn (Crowbar)
09 - Nomadiac (Sourvein)
10 - Bend (Hank III)
11 - The Crawling Chaos (Brachiosauride)
12 - Junkie (Buzzov.en)
13 - Santabbath (Fister)
14 - Single Malt (Iron Witch)
15 - The Beauty Of Death (Brainoil)
16 - Medicine Noose (Live) (Eyehategod) (Bonus)

The songs featured are off the following records, be sure to get yourself the original copies to support the bands;

Black Tusk - Set The Dial
Black Cobra - Invernal
Rue - Thorns
Weedeater - Jason...The Dragon
Acephalix - Interminable Night
Hail!Hornet - Disperse The Curse
Rwake - Rest
Crowbar - Sever The Wicked Hand
Sourvein - Black Fangs
Hank Williams III - Attention Deficit Domination
Brachiosauride - Excavations
Buzzov.en - Revelation: Sick Again (Originally Released In 2001)
Fister - And Their Masters Bled For Days (Split W/The Lion's Daughter)
Iron Witch - Single Malt
Brainoil - Death Of This Dry Season
Eyehategod - Not Official Material (Recorded Live In 2011, Off The Upcoming Full-lenght Record)

Download Link

Brachiosauride - Excavations (2011)

2011-10-14T04:56:00.005-07:00

With a really wide range of influences from 70s Psych to 90s Sludge and Mathcore Brachiosauride have entered the world of underground music and released their debut album "Excavations" a couple of weeks before.

The record runs over 37 minutes, including ten songs. It's a concept album and its concept (which you can read more about here) totally reminded me of Mastodon's "Blood Mountain", the whole adventure philosophy and universal themes. Starting with "At The Cracks Of Void", a pure Sludge/Death mayhem with riffs of those like in Celtic Frost's "Monotheist", purely brutal and heavy, while vocals are in reminiscent of Mastodon's early days; two member growling one after another. The second song "Summon The Speechless" is one single Doom track that will blow your mind, as the main section is a bleak song like haarp's "Here in the Dark" the second part is definitely about some Blues-based harmonies.

Following with "Arrow Of Time", an ultra-sonic raw song something like Slayer's "Supremist" that turns into a multi-layered complex Prog song like Mastodon's "Divinations" or "Capillarian Crest". The fourth song "The Burning Giraffe" which I bet is based on Dali's surreal painting with the same name, is one really progressive song while vocals go where Neil Fallon of Clutch went in "Elephant Riders" riffs are pretty much like Sleep.

In this ten-song journey there are eight songs and two interludes both reminding me Sabbath's early structures like in "Master Of Reality" and "Vol. 4". After that short gap the second half of the record starts with "Credence Corruption", it's like Priest recording a Pentagram song, pure Groove all over, something like Black Cobra's melt of Sludge and Thrash with great solos and double bass drumming. After that straight forward Metal track Brachiosauride make things a little complex with a reference to Poe's cult classic "The Pit And The Pendulum", if you've read the book that I'm sure you have, you will be shocked how great they turned that story into a song, after a dark clean introduction there comes an insane Mathcore riff, something like Meshuggah's "Chaosphere" era or Coalesce' "012 Revolution in Just Listening" then an ultra complex solo comes in, something I haven't heard like anywhere except Oxbow's most avantgarde songs, and the final part is all about Stoner, Kyuss' riffage I recall.

The last two songs are "The Crawling Chaos" and "Cosmic Path Of Eternity", the first one (again a reference, but this time to H.P. Lovecraft) reminds me of Mastodon's "Mother Puncher" and Down's "Bury Me In Smoke" while vocals are something like Neil Fallon in his early Clutch days. The last song on the record is one masterpiece of art, with an eerie instrumental section and two pure atmospheric riffs ends this journey of doom. As a conclusion I think although "Excavations" doesn't have all these studio tricks most records have these days, it's a pretty great experimental effort which is so hard to find.

Download Link
Brachiosauride's Official Website
Brachiosauride's Official Facebook

Hull - Beyond The Lightless Sky (2011)

2011-10-14T04:48:00.001-07:00

Hull have always been an interesting band for me to check out their records, 2009's "Sole Lord" was absolutely great, now they've released a new album called "Beyond The Lightless Sky" and it's quite a huge turn in the direction of their music. Sole Lord was more like an Atmospheric Post-Rock influenced effort while Beyond The Lightless Sky is way brutal than that, the opening track "Earth From Water" is an obvious example, starting with mammoth riffs and howling growls while "Innocence" was a mellow slow attack of Stoner Rock. It has still a story behind, a story of struggles and salvation, and lyrics are still universal. Sludge and Psych are more apparent and songs are more progressive than before, in fact they kind of flow thru your ears, it is not wrong to compare this record with Shrinebuilder's selftitled release, it is as epic as that and vocals are so like Scott Kelly's in that record, plus some Wino-type riffage which is still original and fresh. The artwork for Sole Lord was made by Josh Graham and it had those realistic atmosphere but this time Hull have decided to work with Tamara Waite-Santibanez and her style is actually vice versa, the artwork has a sort of ancient painting feeling to it. Final words; Along with Premonition 13's 13 I consider Hull's Beyond The Lightless Sky as the best Stoner/Psych/Doom releases of 2011.

Buy the Original Disc

Mastodon - The Hunter (2011)

2011-10-14T04:41:00.001-07:00

Quite usual to see something about Mastodon here at Holy Grail, but this time I'm going to review "The Hunter", this long-awaited record we've been talking about in the past four months. Starting the album with this approach that almost everything in Mastodon universe has changed; this is not a concept record, Paul Romano isn't the one who did the artwork, this is going to be a fun record you can drink a beer to and even the fonts have been changed, so we're not gonna have a "Leviathan" number 2 or even "Crack The Skye" number 2, that's for sure.

With 13 tracks running over 53 minutes, The Hunter is the most lengthy Mastodon record to date (the other being "Blood Mountain" with 50 minutes), but it's not as progressive as the previous records as it's not meant to be. The fact that this is going to be a fun record will remind fun tracks they've recorded before like "Cut You With A Linoleum Knife" but it is not like that, all of us know that Mastodon have changed the vocal patterns intentionally since "Crack The Skye", to sing more and growl less, and that worked in that particular album because of the nature of the genre (70s Prog) but if this works in a fun record too I'm not sure about it, the only songs off "The Hunter" which have some screaming vocals going on are "Blasteroids" (one short part that Brent roars) and "Spectrelight" (and that's because of Scott Kelly's guest appearance), the rest of the songs use the singing style, mostly Troy who uses his chanting howling style (like in "Hearts Alive", "Siberian Divide", The Wolf Is Loose", "This Mortal Soil", etc), a little bit cleaner though and Brann does more of his Oblivion-like vocals. As I've said there are no growlings so Brent's are not there too but his other singing style (which we had in The Wolf Is Loose for example) hasn't been used either and his Oblivion-like singing is all over.

Musically I thought this album is going to be heavier than Crack The Skye as Bill has said in an interview that this time he's got more riffs there but it isn't so, again except "Spectrelight" (which I think again it's because of Scott Kelly's guest appearance) we can hardly label The Hunter Sludge or Prog Metal, but the fact is that all of these songs are great considering their own genre, I don't really like the term Sludge Pop, but Torche's music style is the closest to The Hunter's vibe so.. I should confess that I really dig this record but not as a Mastodon record and I've got one strong reason behind it, I remember Troy's words about their attitude in an interview in 2007 which was as follow:

"Our music and our stage show is very intense; it's very demanding. But it's basically because we choose to write this type of music that embodies everything dark and deep and brutal about life that we encounter, which are the same things everyone else encounters. We just take all this, and we channel it through what we call Mastodon."

That's what I believe about an artist's attitude, for example when I hear Sleep's name all about Doom and Stoner comes to my mind and if they put out a Mathcore record it might be a great record but it won't be Sleep. It's the same with Mastodon and The Hunter, there's no doubt that The Hunter is a great record but it's not Mastodon.

Talking about the songs, it's all about new elements although there're some we had like in past, for example "Stargasm" starts with an atmospheric intro in favor of "Sleeping Giant" and "Octopus Has No Friends" has a structure like "Quintessence" (although Troy's line reminds me of Baroness' "Jake Leg") as "Dry Bone Valley" is so like "Oblivion".

Lyrically songs are either sort of Melvins-like crazy ("Thickening" and "Stargasm") or personal ("The Hunter" and "Octopus Has No Friends"). And probably "Spectrelight"'s lyrics which are about redemption are the concept once Brann wanted to have for the whole record (referring to this article).

I've used Limited Edition's artwork for my review so I have to talk about the two bonus tracks coming with that package too, you all know about "Deathbound" but "The Ruiner"; like Deathbound it's one of Skye session's unreleased material and it's so similar to that, a little more headbanging and upbeat though, and again Troy's the only one who sings there, it starts with a riff that uses the same notes "Spectrelight" uses with a different pattern and vocal line. After all "The Hunter" is great but I really hope Mastodon return to their roots on their next album.

Buy the Original Disc

Brutal Truth - End Time (2011)

2011-10-13T10:02:00.001-07:00

After 2009's "Evolution Through Revolution" which was their first album in nearly ten years, and Kevin Sharp's Hardcore Punk sideproject (Primate)'s EP "Draw Back A Stump" in this year, Grindcore veterans Brutal Truth are back mightier than before with their 23-piece opus "End Time". The record starts completely different from all their previous efforts, "Malice" isn't a supersonic Grindcore song at all, it's a droning Sludge which perfectly introduces you the the album, As it's obvious in album title and artwork, the lyrical content is mostly political and apocalyptic. Except "Warm Embrace Of Poverty", "Drink Up" and "Malice" which are Sludge Metal songs, the rest of the record is full of ultra-fast Grindcore trax running over one minute. The album ends with "Control Room", a super-Avantgarde Noise song that reminded me of their song off the Sounds Of The Animal Kingdom record "Prey". Simply it's a must-have for all Grindcore freaks and junkies out there, so don't waste your time and grind.

Buy the Original Disc

One Inch Giant - Malva (2011)

2011-10-13T09:54:00.001-07:00

Hailing Jimi Hendrix' Blues and Pentagram's Doom, One Inch Giant play Stoner Rock with some definite Blues going on, vocally they're something like Leadfoot and musically they're a bit heavier. Their first release called "Malva" reminds one Red Fang's self titled album, so Punk Rock in the nature while having 70s Retro Rockers' attitude. Overall mood of the record is some up-beat headbanging Rock n' Roll that you will enjoy every minute of it. The artwork's theme is absolutely great, it has all their sonic characteristics in colors. After all I recommend Malva to all QOTSA fans and of course Red Fang lovers who want more.

Listen & Buy it From Here
Find More Info At Their Official Facebook

Black Tusk - Set The Dial (2011)

2011-10-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

One year after their masterpiece "Taste The Sin" Black Tusk are back with another Hardcore-fueled Sludge record called "Set The Dial". While Taste The Sin could be explained as "Reign In Blood" been re-recorded with Buzzoven's attitude, Set The Dial is more like a great High On Fire album, it might not have the epic tunes of Taste The Sin but it's full of fast and furious Stoner songs that won't let you breath for a second in this 34 minute long journey, it's all Rock n' Roll all over, riffs are Thrashy and Hardcore and vox have the same formation Black Tusk have always had, parallel-riff roars of all the three members. The artwork is again done by the long-time friend John Baizley and has the same mythological theme he always uses, a goddess with snakes around her neck, and it fits the album's general vibe. "Set The Dial" is definitely among great Stoner records of 2011 and is also available as Vinyl so get one to feel the ultimate pounding vim.

Buy the Original Disc

Rwake - Rest (2011)

2011-10-13T09:37:00.002-07:00

Running over 50 minutes, "Rest" includes six tracks; four long proggy epics and two interludes. Since their early days, records like "Absence Due To Projection" and "Hell Is A Door To The Sun" Rwake have always been a band that like Floyd's Prog and Neurosis' Sludge at the same time, and they weren't afraid to write long progressive songs with epic solos, but this time they went even further than that, with giant Post Metal epics like "The Culling" and "Was Only A Dream" both running over 13 minutes. Yes, Post-Metal, a very well-known term which is supposed to be a definition of Neurosis' later records, while they refuse that themselves (somehow the same thing that goes for Meshuggah and Djent) acts like Rwake, Isis, The Atlas Moth among others have been carrying this label with their blend of Sludge and Post-Rock. Back to "Rest" I see Rwake's music more Doom based than Post-Rock, of course in the early days they were perfect Sludge, but even "Rest" that has some Post-Rock influences going on, is still deeply bounded by Doom and Sludge. Lyrically it's totally aesthetic, apocalyptic and bleak, vocally it's all between growl and scream, something like Von Till's roars in "Enemy Of The Sun", guitars are almost lashing, gnarling pain, which is again in reminiscent of Neurosis' riffage, totally against Isis' compact palm mutes. As a conclusion "Rest" is an album which should be in every Neurosis fan's library as well as all the Post-Metal lovers.

Buy the Original Disc

Mastodon's "The Hunter" Complete Tracklisting Unveiled

2011-08-03T23:48:00.003-07:00

Mastodon’s final tracklisting for ‘The Hunter’ has been announced. And as I’ve said before Deathbound is going to be released as a bonus track with the limited edition.

Plus, watch for “Curl Of The Burl” - coming August 16th!

01 - Black Tongue
02 - Curl Of The Burl
03 - Blasteroid
04 - Stargasm
05 - Octopus Has No Friends
06 - All The Heavy Lifting
07 - The Hunter
08 - Dry Bone Valley
09 - Thickening
10 - Creature Lives
11 - Spectrelight
12 - Bedazzled Fingernails
13 - The Sparrow
14 - The Ruiner (limited edition)
15 - Deathbound (limited edition)

Stay tuned to Holy Grail's Facebook and Fuck Yeah Mastodon for the latest news about "The Hunter".

A Limited Edition of Mastodon's "The Hunter" Available For Pre-Order

2011-07-25T23:46:00.004-07:00

As you know The Hunter is going to be released two month later in September (27-9-11), as a bonus we had Black Tongue's single on Itunes and other online shops a couple of hours ago and now The Hunter's limited edition is available for pre-order which gives you the oportunity to download Black Tongue as well as some extra features, like an alternative cover art which I think is really great as you can see it yourself, some of other features are as follow:

CD/DVD housed in digi-pack with an alternative cover
20" x 30" Lenticular Poster featuring the album cover of the standard CD
Augmented reality experience that will contain exclusive content only available to this package
Instant download of "Black Tongue"
Receive a download of "Curl Of The Burl" as soon as it becomes available.

Pre-Order Mastodon's The Hunter Limited Edition for 49.99$

Mastodon Released Their Newest Single "Black Tongue"

2011-07-25T11:14:00.007-07:00

Mastodon released a new single today, called Black Tongue (the song we had its demo as The Hunter's trailer some weeks ago), it was first featured on Spotify about an hour ago and till then it's available on some of the online shops, it has got a new album art as well as you can see and the song itself runs over three minutes (00:03:26):

Mastodon - Black Tongue on Spotify (you can have a listen here, I'm not going to upload it as the band doesn't want that)

Mastodon - Black Tongue (FuckYeahMastodon's Soundcloud) (for those who don't have Spotify, but be sure to buy it after listening anyway)

Buy Mastodon's Black Tongue Single On Itunes

Mastodon - Black Tongue Demo

2011-07-13T11:31:00.006-07:00

Check out the audio version of Mastodon's newest demo (full song here) "Black Tongue" from their upcoming record "The Hunter"

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Mastodon's The Hunter's Artwork Revealed

2011-07-07T08:02:00.004-07:00

If you were tracking FuckYeahMastodon you might have seen it before, this is the final album art for Mastodon's upcoming album "The Hunter" (see the alternative artwork for limited edition here), made by Aj Fosik who I've talked about in this article:

Mastodon To Work With Aj Fosik For The Hunter's Artwork

2011-06-30T14:04:00.007-07:00

As I've said before Mastodon are going to work with Aj Fosik for The Hunter's illustrations, and not with Paul Romano, I know every Mastodon fan will get a little bit worried since Paul's work has been a huge part of Mastodon from the early days, but here I've got to say there's nothing to be worried about, I saw a lot of Fosik's works a little while back and I was totally stunned, he's got a very distinct style (those carvings I've talked about) which is all Mastodon needs, plus the fact that most of his works are about some surreal creatures in favor of Blood Mountain's which I really enjoy, here's the original illustration he did for Mastodon's latest tour called "In The Teeth Of Stupefying" :

According to Brann, Aj is currently working on The Hunter's artwork and it will be ready around a month after now (Update: See the final artwork here, for the alternative version made for The Hunter's limited edition click here), here are some of his other works which are brilliant:

Mastodon - Deathbound

2011-06-28T01:34:00.019-07:00

Finally the time has come, the video for the new Mastodon song called "Deathbound" (an unreleased track from Skye sessions which will be on The Hunter as a bonus track) has been released via Adult Swim, it's a crazy Melvins sort of vid! you can watch it here:

Deathbound is a short, to the point brutal song, sonically in favor of Revenge Gets Ugly and vocally Blood Mountain-like:

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