Kvelertak
Splid
Rise (2020)
There is a party going down in the Norwegian woods. There is a massive bonfire and hundreds of long-haired figures, stumbling around it, charging at each other and howling at the moon. The golden light of the flame reflecting off their leather jackets. Beer slacking their throats in preparation for the next bellow. It seems like a good time, but … Read more
Left Hand Black
Left Hand Black
Wolverine records (2020)
Back when I was listening to everything with the stamp Horrorpunk on it I discovered a band called The Dead Next Door. I liked them, but never got round to buying a record of them. They have risen from the grave under the name Left Hand Black. So even if this self titled album is the debut album for this … Read more
Lenny Kravitz
Let Love Rule
Hachette Publishing (2020)
Sometimes one thinks you got what an artist is about, even if his oeuvre only was only on the periphery of your radar, then upon further inspection and stripping away the superficial mainstream appeal, it becomes apparent that there is much more to it than meets the eye, which prompts one to revisit the respective oeuvre. Case in point: Lenny … Read more
Light Field Reverie
Another World
Avantgarde Music (2020)
I’m always on the prowl for dreamy music, especially metal. It’s harder to find things that fit that descriptor in the metal area too. After discovering sometime three or so years ago ISON, I somehow didn’t run into Light Field Reverie until earlier this year. My surprise arises from the fact that former ISON vocalist, Heike Langhans performs vocals on … Read more
LMI
Excess Subconscious
HANDSTAND RECORDS (2020)
Oh my god, where should I start with this one? Saying you’re something doesn’t make you that thing! Just because this band smokes weed does not make them the genre “stoner punk.” LMI process elements of hardcore, punk and stoner music. But not the parts I enjoy about those sounds. Their logo and various cover illustrations are the most honest … Read more
Mark Lanegan
Sing Backwards and Weep
hachette Book Group (2020)
“If I was honest, there was nothing but shame in the way I lived my life. I was nothing if not an abject failure, a fucking shitbag liar, a junkie loser if ever there was one”.Sing Backwards and Weep, the memoir of musician Mark Lanegan is a raw, honest portrayal of addiction with not a hint of poetry or hyperbole … Read more
Mark Lanegan
Straight Songs Of Sorrow
Heavenly Recordings (2020)
Mark Lanegan didn’t set out to write a new album, but after finishing writing his memoir, Sing Backwards and Weep (Out now from Hatchette Books), the waves of catharsis were so strong, he returned to the studio to create what’s possibly his finest work to date.To call Sing Backwards... a cautionary tale would be meiotic to an almost laughable degree. … Read more
Mark Mordue
Boy on Fire - The Young Nick Cave
Harper Collins (2020)
One cannot exactly claim that Nick Cave’s life and his oeuvre at large are being disregarded – au contraire, the interpretations and coverage of his emissions of the man, the myth, the legend is manifold. All the more interesting it is when a book emerges that tackles the life of Nick Cave through the deliberate effort of grinding a new … Read more
Mars Addict
Lamecoaster
Electric Funeral Records (2020)
Mars Addict from São Paulo, Brazil released their debut album Lamecoaster last summer. Summer seems the right time for a record like this. I listened to it a lot on my morning walks the past week. For the first time in months we’ve had sun here. It really feels like spring all of a sudden. And Lamecoaster just added to … Read more
Max Brzezinski
Vinyl Age: A Guide to Record Collecting Now
Hachette Publishing (2020)
Carolina Soul Records should ring a bell with anyone seriously into collecting vinyl as it is one the largest record sellers both in the third dimension as well as online along with having cultivated its own radio show and a far reaching social media presence.Vinyl Age sheds light on how the record collecting game has changed since the advent of … Read more
Mr. Bungle
The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny
Ipecac (2020)
When Mr. Bungle announced their first shows in nearly 20 years last August, fans worldwide rejoiced that their beloved Bungle had finally awoken after laying dormant for almost 20 years.But just like their 3 full-length albums, nothing is ever predictable, and details soon emerged that this would not be the funhouse Mr. Bungle of the self-titled album. Nor would it … Read more
Mutant Reavers
Monster Punk
Wolverine records (2020)
Back in the late nineties I started listening to horrropunk. To this day it is one of my favourite scenes. Back in the day I listened to basically everything I could find that would match the description horrorpunk. Nowadays I am more picky. Still, if I see a promo mentioning horrorpunk I am so tempted to review it. I’ve skipped … Read more
Naedr
Past Is Prologue
Zegema Beach Records (2020)
Sometimes I just can’t remember how something got my attention in the first place. One such example is longboarding. I picked it up somewhere, but I can not remember what made me try that. And I have been quite devoted to long distance longboarding. You might think I would remember why I started, but no. The same is the case … Read more
Night Jobs
The Shape of Bummers To Come
Independent (2020)
The world needs more 5-song EPs. Why? Because this is a record, not a single with a b-side. The Shape of Bummers To Come has a united vibe from start to finish and it gives a real feeling of seeing a band instead of feeling like an appetizer.Sticking with that theme a little bit, and perhaps because I miss live … Read more
Nothing
The Great Dismal
Relapse (2020)
It’s strange, how the metal scene embraces certain genres as one of its own, enabling said genre to become “metal adjacent” and enjoy a somewhat wider audience in the long-term. Genres such as synthwave, shoegaze or dreampop, post-punk – all have a solid following from fans of much more extreme music and there’s surely an interesting study within that somewhere, … Read more
Old Ghosts
Crow
State of Mind (2020)
These last few weeks I've started to notice that the creases in my forehead are deepening. It's a subtle change to my face, but it's progressively becoming more noticeable. My pores are becoming more visible as well, and my skin doesn't have the same spongey, moist quality to it that I remember it having in my early twenties. And of … Read more
Oranssi Pazuzu
Mestarin Kynsi
Nuclear Blast (2020)
The avant-garde used to be something that was looked upon as something altogether too strange, something to be listened to in private and whispered about to that one friend you had that also liked weird stuff. Now, it’s a marker of exciting experimentation, it’s celebrated, even, as a style that is moving music forward and giving some genres new leases … Read more
Orphanage Named Earth
Benefit for Sibir EP (feat. Gosia)
Sanctus Propaganda (2020)
Loads of venues are struggling to keep existing. Not being able to host shows is hurting them big time. A good thing bands like Orphanage Named Earth are stepping up for one such venue. Sibiř a cultural center in Brno, Czech Republic, which they know as they played there in 2018. Sibiř has hosted many DIY bands from all over … Read more
