I could either completely exhaust myself and do four separate reviews of the albums that represent 2019’s Day Of Doom live showcase at Brooklyn’s Saint Vitus Bar heading towards the end of releases in 2020 when most are shifting their focus to year end lists and preview pieces…or just do one MASSIVE review of all the releases. Take a guess where we’re going with this one, won’t you?
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Personally, I’ve subscribed to a few Patreon accounts and they can be a mixed bag. One I subscribe to gives the goods very frequently with informative updates, fun observations, etc. while another one I recently unsubscribed from couldn’t even provide the tee shirt promised with the tier I subscribed to let alone regular content.
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I’ve gotta be honest, okay? I’m not a big Pink Floyd fan. Like, at all. I remember having a few of their albums and seeking out the live Is There Anybody Out There? record back in 2000 because I had a gift certificate to some music store that was burning a hole in my pocket but beyond that? They do nothing for me. Sorry? [Read more…]
It’s that time of the year again! A time of reflection! A time of typing! A time of regretting the decision to pick the amount of best albums based on what year it is.
Review links are attached to the band name where applicable. Thanks in advance for reading! [Read more…]
How hard do Summoner rawk, you ask? Well, let’s look at the evidence we have currently: Phoenix was undeniably legendary and sophomore outing Atlantian was equally epic. If you’re keeping score, Summoner’s two for two with their recorded works right now and soon to be three for three. That’s right because Beyond the Realm of Light (Out on May 12th through Magnetic Eye Records) impressively holds up to the Summoner standard and could be the definitive album from these Boston rawkers. [Read more…]
Whew! Glad the 2016 retrospective is finally over. Now we can get to some reviewin’ and interviewin’ and stuff….wait, we’re doing a 2017 preview, too? UGH! WHY????? Then I guess without further adieu, the top 17 albums that may or may not surface in ’17: [Read more…]
Happy New Year’s! New year, new music! So what are we excited for this year? Glad you asked! Here’s a rundown of what we think will be played incessantly at the Rock and Roll Fables offices: [Read more…]
Getting out of the desert and into the swamp, Summoner’s latest album Atlantian probably has more in common with Black Sabbath or Deliverance-era Corrosion Of Conformity than Kyuss. The opening wall of riffs on “The Gatekeeper” is a good indicator of what the rest of this eight track masterpiece holds as it builds and builds upon a slow monolithic groove. It’s almost as if Summoner took “Dead Moon” from Phoenix as a template for Atlantian and went nuts.
Atlantian is a different beast altogether though. The closest this one comes to the raw fury that Phoenix brought is the spiritual cousin to “Winged Hessians”, “Horns Of War”. That’s not to say that Atlantian is a slouch by any means. Far from it! While Phoenix’s spacier moments went into the ether, the grooves here go straight for the jugular by incorporating some extra crunchy riffage throughout.
The main thing that Atlantian proves is that Summoner is constantly expanding their sound. Whether it’s the Geezer Butler-like bass line that opens “The Prophecy” or the sonic maelstrom which sounds an awful lot like some old school Metallica riffing that’s a precursor to the title track’s eventual slow burn, Atlantian continually astounds, surprises, and adds to Summoner’s musical repertoire.
Atlantian is available on November 19th through Magnetic Eye Records. Pre-order yours here. If you’re in the Boston/Cambridge area, be sure to check out the record release at the Middle East upstairs featuring some other local favorites like Jack Burton Vs. David Lo Pan, Second Grave, and Rozamov on November 30th. Event and ticket info can be found here.
Grade: A