Shock Mountain

Yesterday, I received an email from Ian, one of the two members of No Anchor, asking me to give their album a listen. This time I was more excited than usual, as he noted that they were a bass and drums doom metal/sludge band from Australia. I’ve been wanting to post more albums of this variety, yet I’ve been a little stuck. Fortunately for all involved parties, No Anchor’s Steam is great. Drawing influence from The Melvins, Boris, Nirvana, Sunn O))) and Black Sabbath, No Anchor are reminiscent of OM for their bass-heavy grooves and growing, epic anthems as well as Electric Wizard for their crunchy, balls-to-the-wall, loud-as-fuck sonic assault. Another thing to be noted are the vocals, which really won me over. Too often, music of this variety has awful vocals and none of it seems to replicate the distorted howls of Electric Wizard, but these guys manage to come very close. I’m glad my room was empty when I was able to listen to this: any witnesses to the full-volume rocking out would have been terrified. If you were a fan of the OM album I posted a few months ago, this is right up your alley!

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-Max

This new OM album leaked a few days ago, but I haven’t seen it posted, partially because I don’t follow many blogs posting doom drone and whatnot, but decided to post to give some more heaviness to the people who actually download our stuff. Anyway, OM is a doom metal/drone band rising from the ashes of stoner metal legends Sleep, only to the play with a more drone- and Middle Eastern-influenced sound. After one listen so far, I don’t really know how I would rank this against their other albums, they are all so consistent and this one seems to follow that pattern perfectly. Perfect for those times when your drone needs a little boost or when your metal needs to take a meditative turn or just for when you’re smoking hookah. With this album, OM also switched labels: from metal heavyweights Southern Lord to Drag City, home to many pysch and folk acts. For those of you in New York, OM is playing with Six Organs of Admittance and Lichens on October 13 at the Bowery Ballroom.

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THIS ALBUM IS TO BE RELEASED SEPTEMBER 29, 2009 ON DRAG CITY RECORDS GO BUY THIS THEN

-Max

Have 9 Dinosaur Jr. albums not been enough for you? Ever find yourself craving more of the earth-shattering riffery coming from J. Mascis? Ever wanted to hear a heavier, louder version of Dinosaur Jr.? Well, here is your answer: Witch. With J. Mascis on drums and members of folk group Feathers filling out other positions, Witch plays a brand of stoner metal filled with face-melting riffs, loud-as-hell tunes and a strong Black Sabbath influence. Not a metal fan? Don’t worry, this isn’t a metal album for your mallgoth friends, it’s a metal album for people who don’t generally like metal, for people who love ripping guitars and for people who, like myself, love J. Mascis. Released by Tee Pee Records in 2006, this is definite must, regardless of your stance on metal. Remember, I wouldn’t be posting this if it weren’t great!

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*Also: sorry for the lack of updates, I’ve been super busy lately plus everything I’ve been listening to has either been blogged here or just about everywhere else on the internet. No worries though, I have 3 more albums ready to share, they should be up by tomorrow.

-Max