Regional Theatre - Tracklist

Loungeside

The 1234

Shake Hands & Exit

Somehow

Hey Nightmare

Superbia

Dream Sequence

Thrash

Hypernormalisation

Signal Bleed

Members

Kevin Feazey: Vocals, Bass, Production

Tom Hunt: Keys, Vocals, Percussion

Matt Stevens: Guitar

Steve Cleaton: Guitar

Stuart Marshall: Drums 

Review

Alternative/Stoner/Prog Metallers The Fierce And The Dead return with their fifth full length album Regional Theatre which takes a different direction compared to their acclaimed 2023 album News From The Invincible World. The record is compounded by a heavy Shoegaze effect which gives the band a whole new level of creativity to go with their already well-known and highly established experimental sound. 

The Fierce And The Dead use their musical influences wisely with sounds reminiscent of the likes of QOTSA, Mastodon, Slowdive, HUM, HELMET, At The Drive-In, Faith No More and Sonic Youth. I would even add MELVINS and BORIS to that impressive list as how the band create different QUIET vs LOUD musical dynamics with the powerful strands of Post-Rock and Shoegaze transforming into a battering ram of Doom/Stoner Metal dimensions.

Regional Theatre does have a theatrical or cinematic aspect to the whole story where the music drastically changes with each individual track. The heartfelt poppier / stadium rock friendly aspects soon give way to a more damaging Grunge, Heavy Psych and Prog Metal dynamic. The Fierce And The Dead are very hard to categorize here and they do remind me of the amazing band CLOAKROOM. As both bands have similar styles of delivering HEAVY MUSIC though multiple different lenses of the ROCK / METAL spectrum.

There’s a wonderful Eighties Rock sound that feels inspired by The Smiths and The Cure but with a subtle Sludgy Rock sound still being heard in the distance. Then the band changed musical direction for an abstract Punk Rock and Grunge sound on the amazing tracks of Somehow and Hey Nightmare being my favourite two tracks on the album.

Regional Theatre is perhaps one the hardest albums I’ve reviewed this year but that’s a great thing as the whole musical journey keeps you on your toes with it’s outlandish and surreal vision fully coming to life on the standout tracks of Loungeside, The 1234, Somehow, Hey Nightmare, Superbia, Hypernormalisation and Signal Bleed. I know that’s almost the entire album listed there but I love those tracks the same as each other.

The melodies are wonderfully subversive and superbly confusing at the same time with a jangled approach still allowing The Fierce And The Dead to show you what FAITH NO MORE, MASTODON and AT THE DRIVE-IN would sound like if they enter the Stoner Rock/Metal underground scene with a dash of TOOL and KING CRIMSON just to fuck things up even further but in a good way. 

The lyrics are slightly fantastical but are the perfect gateway and introduction for casual listeners to find a way into The Fierce And The Dead’s wonderfully inventive world. There’s a great use of SONIC experimentation which brings a fresh perspective to the band’s entire musical output. 

Regional Theatre is an absolute masterclass of warped and passionate heavy music which manages to project almost every genre possible but still being mostly part of the Doom/Stoner Metal scene. Yeah, The Fierce And The Dead are in a league of their own which will no doubt push them onto greater, bigger and better things once more.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to The Fierce And The Dead for the promo.

Regional Theatre is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via SPM Records.

Links

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

The Home - Tracklist

1.Disguise 04:25

2.Beyond It All 04:25

3.Leech 04:50

Members

Vocals - LJ Brazil

Guitar + Additional Instruments - Lewis Barnes

Drums - John Mclean

Review

Alternative/Sludge/Stoner Metallers The Home self-titled debut EP is quite an intriguing record with the band playing stripped back sounds that merge modern day Sludge Rock/Metal grooves against a classic Fuzz, Doom and Proto-Metal energy. The vocals are quite different with lead vocalist LJ Brazil performing in areas of Classic Doom, Hard Rock, Stoner Metal and even a great experimental style which has a slight Mike Patton influence.

The EP lasts under fourteen minutes but The Home creates some stirring grooves powered by elements of Alt Metal within the flashier aspects that appear throughout. There’s even traces of Soul, Funk and Blues Rock hidden amongst the Doom & Gloom melodies which provides a brutal style of amplified Sludge Rock/Metal on tracks Disguise and Beyond It All.

They’re not the finished article by no means but they have a great sound of their own making which can be quite freaky, outlandish and superbly progressive. The final track Leech allows The Home to prove they have some unfinished business for their next release as it does feel open ended where you’re expecting a massive instrumental riff to power through.

This is a great record for The Home to introduce themselves with as they do generate some HEAVY SOUNDING moments throughout and the production values ain’t half bad either. Some of the musical ideas don’t fully succeed but I’m quite excited to see what The Home delivers next.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

BandCamp | Instagram

Armageddon Scars - Tracklist

1.Flatline

2.Dead Shepherd 

3.Poisoned Crown

4.The Mariner

5.Passages 

Members

Ryan Ashmore - Vocals

Trey Porche - Instruments, Programming

Review

Doom/Sludge Metal duo FANE debut album Armageddon Scars creates a brutal and emotionally engaging style of music that ventures into similar waters of bands such as THOU, Primitive Man, YOB and Neurosis. The brooding atmospherics has plenty of heavy progressive weight that powers the DRONED OUT dimension that is added at different stages of the record. There are hidden traces of Punk, Black Metal and some small instances of Death Metal which gives Armageddon Scars quite a violent and hypnotic sound from the very start.

The opening track Flatline allows FANE to demonstrate some subversive levels of Doom Metal that allows the listener to fully lose themselves within the Sludge Metal textures that become more accustomed to the Post-Metal world. The vocals from Ryan Ashmore are delivered with a grim extreme and menacing style that has a solid HARSH and THUGGISH energy to them. FANE are never afraid to explore the dominant Black Metal environments which offer crushing, violent and destructive instrumental grooves that last the course and where any uplifting soundscapes are wisely banished from existence here.

Second track Dead Shepherd only solidifies the eternal DOOM & GLOOM message that FANE project throughout the album with punishing Post-Metal sounds and some brief Psychedelic interludes that offer a dramatic feeling to emerge from the darkness. Trey Porche has his work cut out providing all the Instrumental and Programming aspect for FANE to devour everyone’s soul with. This is a great counterbalance with Ryan’s vocals, perhaps opening the gateway for that brutal and monolithic style of music to explore the darkest corners of the whole album.

Third track Poisoned Crown follows a similar path to the previous track but operates with a simpler riff based structure without compromising the violent progressive sounds that have already been set out from the start. FANE delivers the most straightforward grooves that have that classic YOB influence behind them. The extra layer of Psych Metal just pushes the album into different sonic based arenas whilst keeping that Blackened Post-Metal atmosphere fully intact.

The final two tracks The Mariner and Passages bring a different aura of darkness from FANE with that Progressive sound adding abstract soundscapes and Ambient sound effects for perhaps the best part of the album. FANE feel more determined to forge their own identity with these two tracks with tighter vocals and better instrumental control whilst punishing the listeners yet again with an intense blast of pure Doom/Sludge Metal brutality. 

Armageddon Scars is quite subversive and superbly inventive with the Ambient Sounds and Psych Metal effects which allows FANE to never lose focus on releasing an epic sounding debut album that will leave you an emotional shivering wreck when everything is said and done.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Grand Sounds Promotion for the promo.

Armageddon Scars is available to buy now on DD via Octopus Rising.

Links

BandCamp | Instagram