Superfortress - Tracklisting

1.Old Nomad 10:36

2.Superfortress 06:38

3.Ascend 05:43

Lineup

Leo Hancill - Drums

Andy Glen - Bass / Vocals

Review

Drone/Sludge/Stoner Metallers PAK40 awaken from an almost five year slumber with their new heavy pounding release Superfortress which once again sees the band explore a more minimalistic approach with their music. The mood traverses between Doom, Drone, Noise, Sludge and Stoner Metal surroundings with a sound that’s emphasized by stripped back recording techniques and production values. The EP lasts around twenty three minutes that’s spread across three tracks that allows PAK40 tap into areas of music populated by the likes of SUNN 0))), Neurosis, The Melvins and High On Fire in places.

Opening track Old Nomad sees PAK40 deliver a song that’s blessed and cursed by an aggressive Drone Metal mentality before exploding into a loud volume of noise where the music suddenly transforms into a sludgier riffier and meatier sound. You can hear echoes of BIG BUSINESS coming at the best possible opportunity with PAK40 keeping their own monolithic creative attitude appearing within Andy Glen’s outlandish vocals which has shades of DOOMED OUT PROPHECY behind them. The jagged instrumental passages are quite thrilling especially with the calm and measured drumming performance from Leo Hancill who I just featured recently with his other band’s TELEOST sublime release. 

The other two tracks of Superfortress and Ascend follow the same destructive pattern with elements of Noise, Psych Rock and even Garage Rock allowing PAK40 to add an eerie melody to their music. The sound is wonderfully violent with high levels of DISTORTED hysteria developing behind the loud levels of distorted soundscapes which one again allows Andy’s vocals to be developed with a true MADMAN persona which he delivers with pure evil relish.

Superfortress has the legendary talents of James Plotkin on mastering duties which shows PAK40 packing some serious power behind the scenes with excellent producing, recording and mixing handled by Niklas Pietsch and Eris Deimel. 

PAK40 have delivered the goods yet again with an action packed EP and despite the short running time, they don’t waste a single second in allowing the listener to fully losing themselves within the fucked up chaos that SUPERFORTESS offers from beginning to end.

Words by Steve Howe

These Edibles Ain’t Shit - Tracklisting

1.The Escapist 05:18

2.Cleanse The Cur 03:13

3.Meet Your Noisemaker 03:27

4.Uncle Cid 05:52

5.The Cycle 07:06

Review

Stormtoker returns with another outlandish slice of Progressive and Experimental Sludge/Stoner Metal that has moments of freakouts, jazzy instrumental passages and classic heavy metal surroundings. Inspired by the likes of High On Fire, Mastodon and The Melvins but offering a more fucked up and experimental approach that reminds me of PRIMUS dabbling into areas of the Occult especially within the opening track The Escapist.

Stormtoker throws everything but the kitchen sink into this song to see what actually sticks where they just run riot with multiple different styles of Heavy Metal being delivered. The song does feel like you’re coming down from a very bad trip and wondering WHAT THE FUCK is happening with trippy jams, weird vocals and experimental sounds all colliding to scare the hell out of you. The song is quite progressive and leans into the weirdly demented sound that The Melvins and PRIMUS developed back in the day.

Second song Cleanse The Cur feels like it was inspired by Mastodon, PRIMUS and Frank Zappa with violent vocals that don’t make a whole lot of sense at first but Stormtoker manages to make everything work. Harsh and death growls emerge from the harsh Psychedelic Sludge Metal and Jazz Metal grooves for a discerning attack on the senses. So expect lots of different styles of thrash beats and subtle musical changes at the drop of a hat.

Third song Meet Your Noisemaker sees Stormtoker change musical direction yet again with a nightmarish journey into the band’s creative and fucked up psyche. There’s echoes of SYSTEM OF A DOWN at play here with the band perhaps adding too many different elements that the song loses momentum towards the end but for the most part this is a solid track to lose yourself in.

The final two tracks of Uncle Cid and The Cycle allow Stormtoker continue their musical and creative journey into demented and spiritual madness with some epic progressive soundscapes being delivered throughout. This is perhaps the strongest part of the EP as the band play with a “LESS IS MORE” approach and let their music finally dictate the action with some marvellous technical skills being shown by the band. 

The Cycle is perhaps the standout track on These Edibles Ain’t Shit with Stormtoker perhaps delivering one of the most offbeat, oddball and superbly confusing releases to emerge this year from the Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal underground scene. This won’t be for everyone but if you’re in the mood for something refreshingly different then Stormtoker are the band for you.

Words by Steve Howe

Links 

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Echoland - Tracklisting

1.The Plants 02:55

2.Setting The Scene For Time To Stand Still 08:46

3.If It Had Wings 05:31

4.Plastic Banquet 05:36

5.Echoland 18:23

Lineup

Paul Attard.........6 strings

Lachlan Paine....4 strings

Frank Attard.......no strings

Review

I haven’t featured Frozen Planet.…1969 on the blog in almost four years where I reviewed their 2022 album Not From 1969. Well, the guys are back with another extraordinarily slice of Psychedelic Rock with massive amounts of Space Rock, Stoner Rock and extended instrumental jams on their latest musical adventure Echoland. The end result is quite subversive and experimental with Frozen Planet…1969 employing many left-field creative turns with their music which can be straightforward and downright confusing at the best of times.

This has always been the case with Frozen Planet…1969 on previous record and they don’t change direction here with different flavours of Psychedelic Rock which is formed against a backdrop of experimental cosmic themes. There’s different feedback loops, noises and gnarly instrumental effects. The whole record is deeply rooted in Sixties and Seventies psychedelic folklore with a splash of modern day interpretation only being used sparingly throughout the album. 

With influences ranging from EARTHLESS, KARMA TO BURN, HAWKWIND and CAN being heard on Echoland, the band still manage to keep things quite real and putting their own authentic spin especially within the excellent tracks of The Plants, Setting The Scene For Time To Stand Still and the epic final title track of Echoland. There are shades of Garage Rock and more straight-forward Rock & Roll being added for good measure which results into some epic extended instrumental passages with the right amount of Stoner Rock streetwise credibility. 

Though, be prepared for different musical instruments, sound effects and noise effects being thrown in for good measure. If you’re a long time fan of Frozen Planet…1969 then you’ll be use to this surreal experience but for the casual fan, this will be like your mind, body and soul has been transported into an entirely new musical dimension of the band’s own making.

The album can be quite heavy and freakishly loud which makes this one of the most interesting records the band have put out in a long time. Frozen Planet…1969 adapt a whole experimental and cinematic approach which allows their music to feel longer than it actually is. That’s one of the main strengths of Echoland with some hidden and highly deceiving surprises throughout.

The warped use of different sound effects offers a fantastical and science fiction take which is always great to hear but Frozen Planet…1969 manages to keep everything real and grounded and that takes real talent to form a record such as this. 

Echoland is a superb slice of Instrumental Stoner Rock who prove once again they’re one of the finest Psych/Stoner Rock exports the Australian Rock scene has to offer at the moment.

Words by Steve Howe

Links 

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Still Life - Tracklisting

1.Still Life 05:46

2.Conform (To Belong) 04:40

3.A Gift 06:15

4.A Sun From A Sun 08:11

Lineup

Henrik Wikner

Christian Fransson

Review

Still Life is the debut EP from Swedish Progressive Sludge/Stoner Metallers SUN EMPRESS who perform music similar to the likes of YOB, KONGH and MONOLORD. Their music is expressed by a layer of Doomed Out melodies with an aura of ice-cold Psychedelic beats that soon transforms into waves of Ambient Post-Rock within the more reflective moments of the EP. For the most part SUN EMPRESS play an unsettling blend of modern based Sludge/Stoner grooves with the band playing some MASTODON-esque passages throughout the EP.

Opening track Still Life is a highly confident slice of Progressive energy with SUN EMPRESS exploring different themes from the Sludge/Stoner Metal environments whilst exploring different creative themes with subtle Ambient and Psychedelic touches measured against some excellent vocals at the same time. You can hear a slight Alt Metal and Grunge based sound bursting from the seams which comes into play on the later stages of the EP.

Second track Conform (To Belong) captures the classic Nineties Grunge/Alt-Metal attitude full on with shades of Soundgarden appearing before SUN EMPRESS return to their own Swedish Underground domain for a sound that can be quite GOTHIC and POST-PUNK influence in places. This is an interesting style with the vocals being slightly OVER THE TOP but it’s the band’s musical choices that make this such a great song to fully experience especially when the Post-Doom and Post-Sludge surroundings are applied against the backdrop of Stonergaze melodies.

The final two tracks A Gift and A Sun From Sun offer some darker moments with SUN EMPRESS embracing their Post-Metal identity even further with shades of Ambient and Sonic distortion developing within both of these tracks whilst keeping with their core Sludge/Stoner based dynamic. The songs are quite diverse with their different styles of Post-Whatever attitude keeping everything fresh and original. The lyrics are from the world of Alternative Metal which gives a warm-hearted and gloomy outlook both at the same time.

Still Life is a bold EP in every sense of the world where SUN EMPRESS deliver huge sounding anthemic grooves throughout that should hopefully gain them some wider notice and attention within the HEAVY ROCK underground scene. I’m looking forward to hearing more from SUN EMPRESS in the future. This is an emotionally charged record that you should all check out now.

Words by Steve Howe

Links