Mastodon’s ‘Medium Rarities’ Could’ve Used More Substance
Medium Rarities is the kind of album that will appeal mostly to longtime Mastodon fans.
sludge metal
King Buzzo Continues His Reign with ‘Gift of Sacrifice’
King Buzzo's collaboration with Mr. Bungle/Fantômas bassist Trevor Dunn expands the sound of Buzz Osborne's solo oeuvre on Gift of Sacrifice.
Old Man Gloom Mourns Loss on ‘Seminar VIII: Light of Meaning’ and ‘Seminar IX: Darkness of Being’
A heavy feeling of loss pervades Old Man Gloom's new albums as these songs are a way of coping and documenting grief, as well as commemorating how much Caleb Scofield meant to the band.
Torche Continue to Mine a Complex Brand of Metal With the Mesmerizing ‘Admission’
Admission isn't an enormous change in the sound of Torche, but rather an affirmation that this band insists on forging new paths and confounding expectations.
Baroness Craft a New Benchmark of Creative Saturation with ‘Gold & Grey’
Just about every listener—no matter their history or prior opinions—will deem Gold & Grey Baroness' masterpiece.
Faerie Ring Get Heavy, Psychedelic, and Fantastical With Debut LP, ‘The Clearing’ (album stream) (premiere)
Indiana fuzz merchants Faerie Ring take us back to the earliest sounds of underground heaviness while suggesting a brutal and bright future for this manner of sludge and spectacle.
Cable Give Listeners a Dose of “Black Medicine” (premiere)
Cable's new dark and groovy track, "Black Medicine", from their upcoming album features Tombs frontman Mike Hill on vocals.
MetalMatters: March 2019 – Beware the Ides of Metal
From Drastus' monumental second LP to Mystifier's righteous comeback, to Venom Prison's evolution towards death metal infamy, and enthralling debut full-lengths from Devil Master, VLTIMAS, Heaume Mortal, and more, March's MetalMatters highlights a bounty of subversive brilliance.
Yob and Near-death Metal Experiences
Yob's Our Raw Heart topped PopMatters Best of Metal 2018 list. Here, Yob's Mike Scheidt meets with neurophilosopher Christopher James Stevens to discuss music and mystical experiences.
SUMAC Breaks New Ground With ‘Love in Shadow’
Following their fantastic collaboration with Keiji Haino, heavy post-metal act SUMAC introduces free rock, noise, and improvisational ideas to their sound on Love in Shadow.
KEN mode Turn Back the Clock with ‘Loved’
Canadian extreme hardcore act KEN mode makes a return to its proper, overwhelming form with their sardonically nihilistic new record, Loved.
Destroy Or Be Destroyed: Alice in Chains Confronts Ghosts, Past on ‘Rainier Fog’
Frontman William DuVall discusses Alice in Chains’ sessions for its first album tracked in Seattle in over 20 years and the emotional and psychological impact of recording on the group’s home turf.