Grave Pleasures - Plagueboys (2023)

After two albums that were good, but not as memorable as I expected from people coming from Beatsmilk/Hexvessel (singer Mat MacNerney, and for Beastmilk bassist Valtteri Arino) and Oranssi Pazuzu (guitarist Juho Vanhanen), Grave Pleasures released last year Plagueboys, which this time lived up to my expectations, even exceeding it. Plagueboys is less gothic rock and more post-punk/new-wave, in terms of writing and sound. Stripped-out songwriting, and sharp and/or echoing guitars, basslines pushed forwrad, simple and catchy beats.It reminds The Cure/Joy Division more than previously. But the main point, the key tot he improvement is the songs, they are more memorable, and just better. Highly recommended!

The BC page.

 

Mammoth Volume - Raised Up By Witches (2024)

Raised Up By Witches is the second Mammoth Volume album since their return and it's another epic piece of finely crafted progressive heavy rock. Once again they deliver a unique mix somewhere between doom metal and stoner rock, with a strong progressive component. They can remind Mastodon as much as QOTSA (or for those stuck in the previous century we could say they sit between Black Sabbath and Yes). Very nice!

The Bandcamp page.

 

My Morning Jacket - My Morning Jacket (2021)

I've been liking My Morning Jacket for close to a quarter of a century, and their latest, self-titled, one is probably my favourite. So I think we can say they really earned their review on Blasting Days... In the meantime their music evolved from indie rock/americana to indie/soul/progressive/psych rock (now evoking band like Pink Floyd or Yes at times, and the quality remained and even improved. Highly recommended!

The Bandcamp page.

 

Warfuck - Fail. repeat (EP 2024)

This five track EP called Fail. Repeat is a short but intense reminder of how good Warfuck is now. We could say they repeatedly fail to fail and keep on producing top quality modern / post-Nasum grindcore. Recommended! 

The BC page.

 

Slave To Society - Thrown To The Wolves (EP 2023)

Slave To Society is Andrew Bowen and the music is finely crafted drum & bass / breakcore with creepy synthscape in the background. On threes tracks plus a hardcore techno remix of one of those done by Rebekah, the remix isn't my favorite but at least comparing the original and the remix shows well the difference between drum & bass and techno, in case you're not familiar with it. In any case, Thrown To The Wolves is a very good EP for people into the darker & Harder side of drum & bass.

The BC page.

Hideous Divinity - Unextinct (2024)

Unexctinct is the Fifth album from Hideous Divinity and they sure make clear that as long they will be releasing albums like these, brutal & technical death metal will stand tall. Once again, they provide a good example of how intense death metal can be. Took me a bit longer to really get into this one than with Simulacrum and Adveniens, but that's probably because it doesn't benefit from the initial shock anymore. In any case it's another excellent album.

The BC page.

 

Dark Brown - American Instrument (2024)

Well, there's really a lot to say about this album American Instrument. The instrument there is the drum set, the drum set having been invented in America and the album is a kind of tribute to drumming by drummer Bryan Lee Brown, playing here as Dark Brown. But don't be mistaken, it's a treat for drummers, but shouldn't be reduced to an album for drummers. It's an excellent psychedelic rock album, with a minimalistic feel, bordering drone or krautrock repetitive patterns at times. Recorded over 13 years in 9 studios it features some famous other drummers (John Stanier, Jon Theodore, Brad Wilk, Dave Catching), but there's also Eric MacFadden on guitar, and
you sure will also notice the legendary surf guitar pioneer Dick Dale. Highly recommended!

The BC page.