Spider Kitten – The Truth Is Caustic To Love

 

 

Spider Kitten – The Truth Is Caustic To Love
APF Records – 2025 
Alternative, Grunge, Sludge, Americana
Rated: ***

It was the foul year of our lord 2021 when we first mentioned a Spider Kitten album on the HiVe. It wasn’t our first dive into the Spider Kitten universe; it was however the record that tangled us up and made us stick around for all the decided to weave afterwards. Like that damn fine and once again different A Pound For The Peacebringer from 2023. For yes, it’s Spider Kitten. They do things differently. Every time again. Changing things up with every album released. Even though dust never gets the chance to settle when one is referring to Spider Kitten. The new album The Truth Is Caustic To Love is once again a different side of the beast, stretching yet another one of its many legs. Fourteen songs, thirty-seven minutes. Grunge powering down, sludge slamming it home, offset by Americana touched strumming and open, personal and vulnerable songwriting that turns many of the songs into a confessional statement. Another album that weaves and builds their gigantic web of heaviness…

(Written by JK)

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Review for A Pound For The Peacebringer

Review for Major Label Debut

 

Wall – Brick By Brick

 

 

Wall – Brick By Brick
APF Records – 2024
Rock, Metal, Sludge, Doom
Rated: ***

Desert Storm, The Grand Mal, two of the other outfits that have ben built brick by brick by brothers Ryan and Elliot Cole. And Wall, that’s the project they started during that weird pandemic period a while ago. Remember that? Wall, it’s the two brothers making whatever racket they want and doing that all in the sludge and doom regions. Well, they do get help by some additional noise / guitar / mellotron on three tracks, Falling from The Edge of Nowhere, Cirrhosis, Filthy Doner Kebab on a Gut Full of Lager by Jimmy Hetherington. And on one of the two covers, they get vocals done by Dave Oglesby from Mother Corona. Two covers indeed, Nineteen by Karma To Burn and Electric Funeral by Sabbath. Both were of course present on the first two EP’s, which are collected now, as a finished structured called Brick By Brick. Which would have featured ten song if it has just been the two EP’s. But the brothers added three new tracks, the earlier mentioned Cirrhosis and Filthy Kebab On A Gut Full Of Lager. But also Masking My Contempt. A two and half minute puncher that starts off with a snippet from the American Beauty movie. Damn cool if ya ask me. And you can ready what Kyle SB wrote about their earlier EP’s here: WALL / WALL VOL.2. Nice of the brothers to have built this little castle of sludge and doom, in their very own heavy and august taste.  

(Written by JK)

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Spider Kitten – A Pound For The Peacebringer

 

 

Spider Kitten – A Pound For The Peacebringer
APF Records – 2023
Rock, Doom, Sludge, Americana
Rated: ****

We’ve always followed the cool cats named Spider Kitten. But we only really mentioned their Major Label Debut record from 2021. Well, their new one is of an entirely different level; yet still is typically Spider Kitten. Bigger in scope, slower in tempo than their grungier Major Label Debut album, A Pound For The Peacebringer is here to stomp and pound its story gradually, but severely into your heart. Filling it with a lavish amount of doom and sludge tones. But there is more, for Spider Kitten has always been about scouring through all genres for inspiration, and second track Safe To Drown for instance is a folk inspired, Americana and country ditty here to bookend the hefty tracks. And with those birds chirping away in the distance it turns into this delicate and almost lighthearted picnic scene. Fourth track God’s Song serves a similar purpose but instead of sunlight, we get a darker touch… Darker, just like the overall story of A Pound For The Peacebringer …

(Written by JK)

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Desert Storm – Death Rattle

 

 

Desert Storm – Death Rattle
APF Records – 2023
Metal, Stoner, Sludge, Prog
Rated: ****

We’ve been mentioning Desert Storm ever since Forked Tongues and even going back to their debut and we reckon we mentioned most of their releases. We might even have mentioned most of everything that has something to do with the Cole brothers who are of course an integral part of the Desert Storm heaviness. You know, what them two did with Wall and The Grand Mal. But today we are jotting down some words about Death Rattle, their seventh album in fifteen years of Desert Storm. Fifteen years and they’ve taken their progressive sludge all over the world, and all over the place. Moving into more stoner territories for some tracks and more metal with black touches on others. Death Rattle, as the ominous title already alludes to, has overtones of the heavier and darker territories and only lighter touches and songs as the album starts. Master On None, uses some doom touches and stoner riffing, soloing and trucking to get its message across, with both gritty as well as melodic vocals. Second track Cheyne Stoking might be the most progressive ditty on the album, with the cleanest vocals and airiest compositions. There’s in fact a whole lot of space in between it all, giving it all something solemn and mysterious. With the following Bad Trip all the cogwheels fall into place and relentlessly grind the sludge metal riffs into the most concentrated mothersludging heaviness you can get. And then to think it starts out so melodic, with that guitar slowly creeping its gritty back alley essence into your own personal Cul de Sac. The raw guttural vocals quickly dispensing any hope of some good, indeed, Bad Trip. An ode to a friend they lost some ten years ago. After which they keep upping the amount of darkness they use to color the Death Rattle tracks. Druids Heath, still holding a sludgy prog touch, turns black and bleak quickly, only offering some form of respite of something delicate guitar work in the middle circle part, which still remains somewhat somber and with the smoked dark brown vocals, it never fully lets you recover from all the pressure the albums has been building. And that’s what Death Rattle in the end turns out to be, this majestic pressure cooker of riffs and furious drum work, that just builds and builds, only ever so often offering escape for a tiny bit of air, until that final ending, outro kind of track New Dawn. Which after so much tension and gravity, might actually give you goosebumps and will surely a wonderous feeling of elation, as if you have escaped the darkness and have found a way to carry on…

(Written by JK)

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The Grand Mal - The Grand Mal II

 

 

The Grand Mal - The Grand Mal II
APF Records - November 2022
Stoner, hard rock, grunge
Rated: *****

The follow up to Oxford rockers The Grand Mal's 2019 debut is, without exaggeration, my most anticipated album of the past couple years, and "The Grand Mall II" does not disappoint. Building off their rock-solid, blues and stoner informed belter of a first record, the Oxford lads' sophomore effort retains their hard-hitting energy while further refining and tweaking the sound with new wrinkles and somehow even more swagger. The songs ooze with attitude, in large part thanks to the one-of-a-kind vocal performance of singer Dave-O, whose sneering high notes are reminiscent of Ozzy, but with a punk edge that offers an extra bite. An added nuance is his use of hushed tones in between clean croons and all-out belting, an approach that ratchets up the anticipation for the next big riff when contrasted with the bombshell drumming and churning guitar (see "Shallow" for a prime example). And hot damn, those riffs. Lee Cressey and Ryan Cole serve them up blistering hot, stomping out barnstormers like the adrenaline-fueled "Petit Mal" and winding through infectious grooves a la Clutch in "Seas of Glory". Not to mention possibly the heaviest cut on the album, "Hellbound Blues", an unrelenting facemelter that grinds and pushes, only taking a breath for a funky, bluesy chorus before diving back in. As much as it's a guitar-driven rock album, of course "II" owes much of its heft and inexhaustible energy to the rhythm section of drummer (and Cole twin) Elliot and bassist Rob Glen. From the clattering madcap percussion of "Petit Mal" to the authoritative and crisp work on "Seas of Glory", the drums make themselves known with volume and force, driving each track forward like a battering ram while the slabs of bass lay down sinister groove after groove and hold up the band's wall of sound without breaking a sweat. Not satisfied with just cranking out A-one heavy, though, The Grand Mal sprinkle in shorter cuts and interludes throughout "II", creating beautiful transitions between rockers with the bright and shimmering instrumental "The Lingering" and the spacey, grandiose "Empire of Vultures", which leads into the Led Zeppelin acoustic epic "Bloodmoon" to close out the album with class. The Grand Mal's sophomore work is confident, experimental in all the right places, and groovy as can be. This is how heavy modern rock is done, people.

(Written by Kyle SB / Shastabeast)

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Wall - Vol. 2

 

 

Wall - Vol. 2
APF Records - July 2021
Stoner, sludge, doom, prog, southern, thrash
Rated: ****

The Cole twins have done it again, bringing their pandemic-born project Wall to further riff-fueled fruition on their Vol. 2 EP. Continuing their airtight instrumental stoner rock, Wall's sophomore release sees an expansion of sound in moving slightly away from sludge pummel towards brighter, southern-tinged stoner, with still a bit of thrash to boot. Opener "Avalanche" starts the steady stream of primo riffs with a winding, rolling stoner lick that does the song title justice as it transitions into a crushing chug. The wiry leads bring to mind Karma to Burn in their piercing tone, an influence paid further homage to in the later cover of "Nineteen". Nimble and crashing cymbal work pushes the sonic weight forward, and eventually the track slows to a haunting stomp in the aftermath. Follow-up "Tusk" continues the penchant for neck-snapping guitar and hairpin turns, spiraling into dissonance and chug before climbing out again a la early Mastodon. The rolling drums keep the wild fretwork locked in and unrelenting, a credit to the twins' musical bond. All pretense is pushed to the side on "Speed Freak", however, ditching the proggy sludge for straight up old school Metallica thrash, a hard-partying fist-pumping jam with a surprisingly warm earworm lead. Before closing out with the dusty, Western melancholy of acoustic outro "Falling From the Edge of Nowhere", the Coles pay tribute to recently lost friend and legend Will Mecum of Karma to Burn. Nailing a rendition of "Nineteen" in both tone and vibe, the cover carries their appreciation for the man and his music through loud and clear. With Vol. 2, Wall is planting their flag as a force to be reckoned with when it comes to pro-shop instrumental stoner that revels in exploring the genre and its nooks and crannies.

(Written by Shasta Beast)

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Wall - Wall

 

 

Wall - Wall
APF Records - January 2021
Sludge, doom
Rated: ****

At this point, it's just a fact that the Cole twins are a prized possession of the UK heavy scene. First the long running standard-bearers Desert Storm, then the undeniable groove of 2019's The Grand Mal, and now yet another gift of heavy is granted in the form of Wall. A product of quarantine, the Coles' creative juices never stopped flowing, and they emerged as an instrumental duo laying down pummeling sludge and doom as only they can. The self-titled debut EP has all the best parts of the Cole sound, from the razor sharp, angular riffing to the sledgehammer drums, combined into a dark and relentless five tracks. Opener "Wrath of the Serpent" stomps forward with lumbering doom, each blast of distortion echoed by equally thunderous drums. The low and slow eventually takes a turn, shifting gears to a swirling, thrashy onslaught reminiscent of High on Fire, accompanied by lightning fast fills to dizzying effect. The trade-off between plod and adrenaline continues throughout the EP, and is showcased again in the seamless transitions between the somber noise and winding stoner guitars of "Sonic Mass". "Obsidian" brings the slogging doom in an unstoppable march of drums and grumbling bass, while "Legion" chugs forward before diving into an avalanche of tumbling riffs. To top it all off is the closing cover of Sabbath's "Electric Funeral", a devoted rendition with Dave-O, of The Grand Mal and Mother Corona, doing Ozzy justice with his top notch sneer. The heavy underground has been blessed with another creation from the Coles, and Wall's bludgeoning power will leave battered ears asking for more.

(Written by Shasta Beast)

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Under - Training Resource #5

 

Under - Training Resource #5
APF Records – 2020 (November 13th)
Genre: Progressive, Sludge, Post-Hardcore
Rating *****

Stockport Noise-forgers Under return with a feral follow-up to last year's split 7" with KUROKUMA, this time crafting a four-track cacophonic din replete with Proggy tempo-twists, crushing Doom and Hardcore venom that really showcases the band's inventiveness and exploration. As with all corporate meetings, 'Introductions & Apologies' opens Training Resource #5 with no-nonsense intent on Business: convoluted rhythms and riffs intertwine with animalistic vocals leaving no-one in any doubt as to who's in the chair. 'Dope Loop' mangles the down-tuned entrails of a guitar with off-kilter percussion and a pace as slow and doomed as a poisoned sloth. 'Dividers In Hell' brings the Powerpoint presentation: a graphic, no-holds-barred assessment of Corporate Slavery delivered with acerbic bile and hate-fueled, spiky riffage. Closer 'My War' pummels its way into the meeting, throwing a hefty nail-bomb of hard riffs and hard attitude onto the table, scattering everyone in its wake. Under successfully manage to find an extraordinary balance of noises to further cement their reputation as one of the UK's finest explorative outfits. Four tracks is woefully inadequate... We want MORE!

 

(Written by Reek of STOOM)

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Desert Storm - Omens

Desert Storm - Omens

APF Records / Purple Sage PR - April 2020

Sludge, stoner, progressive, doom

Rated: ****

Since 2008's self-titled LP, Desert Storm have been a national treasure of the UK heavy scene with their thunderous mix of sludge, stoner, and southern rock, and their sixth effort Omens sees them firing on all creative cylinders. Following 2018's crushing "Sentinels", Omens adds even more layers of atmosphere and progressive technicality, and succeeds in the impressive task of balancing raw, touching emotion with unrelenting heaviness. The titular spoken word intro sets the scene with eerie rhymes and occult vibes, and then the gates are blown open with the massive, roiling riffs and venomous bellows of "Black Bile". The low end divebombs in Torche fashion between the twin guitar attack's jarring grooves, all grounded by pulverizing drumwork. It's no small feat to compete with this wall of sound, but the agile vocals prove more than up to the task, taking charge with a wide range of growls, melodic cleans, and sludgy roars that add an emotional weight and element of storytelling to take the music's impact to another level. This is most apparent on following track "Vengeful Gods", a tale of struggle against an ancient evil told over pummeling riffage and atmospheric keys that make the threat feel all too real. The expertly crafted songwriting is maintained throughout the rest of Omens, with passages of slower, haunting melancholy peppered in to offset the band's earth-shaking assault. Desert Storm are at the top of their game on Omens, a powerfully affecting record that sees them continuing to evolve and experiment even after twelve years, to devastating results.

(Written by Shasta Beast)

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Stoner HiVe’s Top 5 artists listened to last week…

Stoner HiVe’s

Top 5 artists listened to last week…

Dandy Brown

The Good Hand

Desert Storm

Drive By Wire

Blackwater Holylight

It’s evening already over here. But we still wanted to quickly put up the Top 5 Most Listened to albums of the past week. Two are still there, so let’s name them first!  Most of our time still went out to Dandy Brown and his majestic new album Scattered Days. Out soon on Taxi Driver Records the maestro we know from Hermano and the awesome Orquesta Del Desierto, (the last, of which Dos was remastered and re-released last year via Spin On Black), gives us nine tracks that meander through many heavy scenes and all have a marvelous lingering aftertaste. It will put you in a righteous mood! As we already stated last week, we love The Good Hand… And perhaps a bit too much! Their super deluxe limited diehard fan release of their earlier album Atman via Minstrel Music is majestic and definitely one of my favorite vinyl treasures. And we can’t wait to get our hands on the new ‘blue velvet’ edition vinyl coming our way! The new record is called Blissful Yearning, once again impressive and bordering on perfection. The new Desert Storm album Sentinels, out on APF Records, is one hell of a sludge and stoner metal homerun. And will not only ring on through the heavy underground, every metal fan will dig it! What a ride! As is Spellbound, the new album by Drive By Wire. On a completely different playing field the bluesy, psychedelic and sunny sound of Spellbound, out on Argonauta Records, brings forth all the goodness one needs from everything stonerrock with a dusty feel. Put on Spellbound and winter will definitely run away! And finally, Blackwater Holylight, the all-female outfit, releases their first effort through Riding Easy Records. A wild, heavy, fuzzy, psychedelic record that will make you dream of witches and will make your dreams bewitched. Impressive debut for sure! So… You should check it out! Check’m  all out!