RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://utflod.bandcamp.com/album/efterd-nn I absolutely love and cherish pretty much everything about this band and their latest pummeling effort. Not only is Utflod one (if not the) hardest hitting thing since the first Rocky movie and as devastatingly fierce as they come; they have also shaped and perfected a unique sound and a…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/products/postcards-from-scotland-scottish-independent-music-1983-1995 This one is a rather fascinating piece of work that examines and tells the story of a hugely interesting phenomenon that took place in Scotland in the eighties and early nineties, namely that of Scottish post-punk and its closely related genres within that geographical area. Author Grant McPhee has basically…
PHOTOGRAPHER: John Hesse.Photos copyrights belong to the photographer. No unauthorized usage allowed. Please contact photographer if you wish to reuse images in any context. About a month ago I happily stumbled on a ferocious and relentlessly intense 2-track EP on Bandcamp appropriately titled Entropic, which blew me away and instantly turned into a bit…
VENUE: StereoDATE: 30.07.2024 ORGANIZER: Dark Essence Records / Beyond the GatesPHOTOGRAPHER: J. NepperPhotos copyrights belong to the photographer. No unauthorized usage allowed. Please contact photographer if you wish to reuse images in any context. The ever-reliable purveyors of quality music known as Dark Essence Records, one of the world’s premier metal-related labels, are not merely…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://harrowed.bandcamp.com/album/entropic I rarely bother reviewing singles but this 2-track jewel by the fierce UK act known as Harrowed blew me the fuck away, and I may in fact have become addicted to it. Intensely heavy and punishing yet surprisingly groovy in places also, these gentlemen have spawned a muscular-sounding mixture of…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://christbane.bandcamp.com/album/psalm-i Bestial and relentlessly aggressive black metal madness is occasionally what the mood calls for and when that happens it is nice to know that the abhorrent musical entity known as Christbane is out there and ready to serve one’s needs, right? I got turned on to the band via Regimental…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/collections/frontpage/products/sniffin-glue-and-other-rock-n-roll-habits-published-29-february-2024 The legendary British underground fanzine titled Sniffin’ Glue . . . and Other Rock ‘n’ Roll Habits formed an essential part of the early punk scene (primarily in the UK) and was driven by a deep-seated love and admiration for the then-burgeoning milieu that began to form and take proper…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://vestindien.bandcamp.com/album/verdande In all honesty, I did not think it possible for the uniquely gifted masterminds behind Vestindien to top or better their flawless debut offering entitled NULL, but by some perverted and wonderful miracle these six twisted souls have conjured up a new work of radiant brilliance that transcends barriers and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/products/lifes-a-gamble-my-life-in-penetration-the-invisible-girls-published-on-18th-may-2023 The talented and iconic Pauline Murray is best known for her splendid work with punk rockers Penetration in the latter half of the seventies and some truly interesting, original-sounding solo works in the eighties that exist somewhere between new wave, synth pop, post-punk, and electronic music. Life’s a Gamble, her…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/products/what-have-we-got-the-turbulent-story-of-oi What Have We Got? by author Simon Spence is a most illuminating, thought-provoking, and perfectly balanced overview of the origins and evolution of the Oi! music genre and the whole scene revolving around that both in the UK and abroad. In some ways highly controversial and infamous yet also underappreciated…
VENUE: Stereo DATE: 16.09.2023 ORGANIZER: Stereo/Slaamaskin/Glasgow Kiss PHOTOGRAPHER: J. Nepper Photos copyrights belong to the photographer. No unauthorized usage allowed. Please contact photographer if you wish to reuse images in any context. The cozy and somewhat intimate venue known as Stereo, which is situated in a rather vibrant part of Bergen’s city center, had…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://slaamaskin.bandcamp.com/track/du-2 I friggin’ love these mad Norwegian bastards and their energetic and spirited take on explosive metal, hardcore, and punk rock. With fierce riffs and even fiercer vocals, Slaamaskin mean business and are clearly out there to melt our faces and pummel us to death, and the cool thing is that…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/products/kings-road-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-hippest-street-in-the-world-published-on-6th-april-2023 This expanded and revised edition of author Max Décharné’s vibrant and colorful story of the infamous King’s Road in London makes for a delightful summer read and is both insightful and humorous. With its warm and perfectly ironic tone, the book expertly guides us through the labyrinthine and deeply fascinating…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.officialdamned.com/ Legendary British punk rockers The Damned are still firing on all cylinders regardless of whether they are on stage or in the studio. Should you need an example of the latter, Darkadelic, which is their brand-new slab of energizing and superbly crafted rock, finds the band in rude form and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/people/Dirty-Velvet-Rock/100076167258796/ The Swiss alternative rock act Dirty Velvet was formed roughly four years ago and have been gigging quite a bit on their home turf since then, but their debut offering will soon see the light of day via Fastball Music, so let us take a closer look at that output,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://utflod.bandcamp.com/album/split-ep-utflod-shaving-the-werewolf Fierce, frantic, and utterly intense, this four-track split EP by the two Norwegian outfits named Utflod and Shaving the Werewolf is as hard-hitting as they come. The ferocious musical attack of both bands is almost overwhelming but certainly not without a sick charm, and I find the material quite interesting…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.wymeruk.co.uk/webshop/books/album-in-depth-series/the-stranglers-la-folie-%E2%80%94-in-depth/ The first time yours truly came across the uncompromising and legendary The Stranglers was when ‘Golden Brown’ appeared in Guy Ritchie’s movie Snatch, and that song prompted me to explore the group’s catalogue and especially 1981’s La Folie, which was a rewarding experience. Now, the thing is that there is…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/collections/frontpage/products/the-jam-1982-published-on-17th-november-2022 What a marvelous piece of work this visually stunning book on that tumultuous yet highly productive year in The Jam’s life that was 1982 is. That was the fateful year when front man Paul Weller decided to lay The Jam to rest following an intensely creative spell from 1977…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://falsegods1.bandcamp.com/ “Suffering is all that really ever was” (Your Thoughts Are Void*) It’s been about 2 years since the post-hardcore/sludge+ metal New York quintet False Gods released their explosive fruit of the three preceding independently released EPs: “Wasteland” (2016), “Reports From Oblivion” (2017) and “The Serpent And The Ladder” (2019),…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.apollonrecords.no/product-page/rotvelt-human-slakt Human Slakt by the Norwegian outfit named Rotvelt is a real treat, and this analogue-sounding fireball contains energy and spark in spades. The output is primarily punk-influenced but there is something akin to harsh and unpolished indie rock that sneaks into the musical framework too, which basically means that this vigorous…
