Rebel Extravaganza

Heavy Metal And Other Occasional Musics And Cultures

admin

Album Review: Caustic Phlegm – Purulent Apocalypse

It’s no secret that I’m a lover of all that is icky, repulsive and sickening when it comes to metal. I regard most instances of “sick” death metal as a challenge. One thing I insist on, though: a song can be grisly but it still has to be a SONG. As long as I can detect an interesting structure, there’s no limit to how heavy I can go. And I know I’m not the only one to feel this way. CAUSTIC PHLEGM is a one-man wrecking crew helmed by a UK guy named Evan Vasilakos and he wants to create […]

TRIBUNAL: Vancouver Orchestral Doom Quintet To Release Second LP, In Penitence And Ruin, On 20 Buck Spin April 18th; ‘Armoured In Shadow’ Single And Preorders Posted

Vancouver, British Columbia-based orchestral doom quintet TRIBUNAL returns with their second album, In Penitence And Ruin, an elegy most grievous and forlorn, descending deeper into the solemn abyss of woe. 2023’s The Weight Of Remembrance debut set a high bar for the Canadians becoming one of the year’s most notable and praised doom releases, leading Decibel Magazine to include the incoming record in their annual list of most anticipated releases for 2025. The band has taken their time and crafted an opus of enormous scope to echo evermore through halls long abandoned. Conjured by TRIBUNAL’s new form as a fully […]

Album Review: Negative 13 – Recover What You Can

‘The Desolate’ does the rare thing that intros actually do, which is set the listener up for what’s in store. In this case, a plodding rumble/riff join forces to tumble us headlong into the SIXTY WATT SHAMAN-ic swinging groove of ‘Casket Trail’ {Scott] Fisher retains the hardcore-tinged snarl that’s suited him well as far back as the NEGATIVE THEORY days, and the band has more than a bit of My War-era BLACK FLAG in its sense of the disjointed when it comes to putting a song together, then nearly wrecking the whole thing so as to make it seem it’s […]

HASHTRONAUT: full East Coast tour announced

Denver, Colorado’s stoner doom specialists HASHTRONAUT are set to spread their skull-crushing, weed-laden gospel with an extensive East Coast tour this spring. Their debut album, No Return, is available now on Blues Funeral Recordings. Red-eyed at the crossroads of thunderous stoner sludge and towering doom, HASHTRONAUT daze and inebriate the riff-obsessed masses on this planet and beyond. Released in 2024 on Blues Funeral Recordings, No Return is a resiny slab in the grand tradition of weed-fiend odysseys from Sleep to Bongzilla, an intoxicating and pummeling trip with a lungful of potent hook-doom and strikingly anthemic vocals that will enthrall fans […]

Album Review: Slow Burn Drifters – Golden

Any PR one-sheet that compares its subject to TINDERSTICKS immediately has my interest, so let’s just get that out of the way. Formed as the wave of what passed for “alternative rock” was reaching its crest in 1991, the Brits were an anomaly in the same way (though not in the same style) as THE AFGHAN WHIGS, more akin at times to explorations of soul music or late ‘60s R&B than the “loud-for-loud’s-sake” bands of the time. But this isn’t a TINDERSTICKS review, so let’s throw that line of thought on the fire…for now. Though 12 albums deep into his […]

EARL OF HELL: new single ‘Calling Is The Crow’ available + Upcoming album release + Tour dates

Edinburgh, Scotland’s heavy rock ‘n’ roll five-piece EARL OF HELL share their new single and video for ‘Calling Is The Crow’, taken from their self-titled debut album to be issued on April 25th through Copper Feast Records. The band recently announced spring UK shows with Alain Johannes and Masters Of Reality. Watch EARL OF HELL’s new video ‘Calling Is The Crow’ Listen to the single on all streaming services EARL OF HELL’s self-titled debut album bestows a juggernaut of raucous dive-bar rock ‘n’ roll delivered with a relentless, raw punk energy. Recorded at Deep Storm Productions and mixed and mastered […]

Album Review: Sanhedrin – Heat Lightning

After three absolute bangers in the hard rock / trad-metal field (you want some elitism? Any diehard MANILLA ROAD fan will give the most panda-painted supporter of [Insert Black Metal Band Name Here] a run for their money when it comes to what is or is not Metal, SANHEDRIN returns with Heat Lightning. Salivating with anticipation, ‘Blind Wolf’ begins, soon thrusting into a choppy, syncopated machine, Erica’s [Stoltz, vocals/bass] as clear yet fierce as ever. Her tone may not be as road-raggedly “queen of the mountaintop” as Doro Pesch, nor as operatically weak-livered as the corseted “symphonic” dame of the […]

AHAMKARA Announce Release of The Harrow Of The Lost – New Song Now Streaming

Following ten years of silence after the release of their debut album The Embers Of The Stars and the untimely death of vocalist Steven, UK-based atmospheric black metal trio AHAMKARA returns with a new lineup and new album The Harrow Of The Lost, an unflinching exploration of the transformative nature of grief. The band has shared a stream for the album track ‘Our Scars Shall Abide In The Thaw’ The exclusive premiere for the song comes via Decibel Magazine. Listen to ‘Our Scars Shall Abide In The Thaw’ The Harrow Of The Lost is due out April 25 on Bindrune […]

Album Review: Karla Kvlt – Thunderhunter

This German power trio keeps it in the family on their debut record. Markus E. Lipka of the cult band EISENVATER is the Dad of group, holding down guitar duties, while his son Johann Wientjes pounds away on the skins and daughter-in-law Teresa Curtens handles bass and lead vocals. That must certainly make for some unique dynamics in the studio. KARLA KVLT’s sound is also unique and takes some time to appreciate. I really know little of EISENVATER so I can’t say how much KK sounds like that band. If I had to describe KARLA KVLT briefly, I’d say it’s […]

HERAKLEION: New Orleans Death Thrash Trio To Join Exhorder For Eastern US Tour Next Month; Necroverse EP Out Now!

Fast rising New Orleans, Louisiana-based death thrash trio HERAKLEION will join legendary state mates, Exhorder, for a three-week March tour. The journey will commence on March 11th in Indianapolis, Indiana and run through March 30th in Nashville, Tennessee. Additional support will be provided by Void, Freya, Restless Spirit, and Flesh Parade on select dates. Comments drummer Speed Wilson, “HERAKLEION getting out to the East Coast is long overdue. Being tour support for Exhorder for our first time out that way, makes it even better. We’re very thankful for [Exhorder vocalist] Kyle [Thomas] and all those guys’ support and for making […]