Sergeant Thunderhoof - Terra Solus (2018)

Kaleidoscopic Mushrooms from Outer Space

I stumbled upon Sergeant Thunderhoof a few months back while surfing through my YouTube feed. It was a music video of the band performing the first track off their debut full-length Ride of the Hoof. It sounded so effortlessly catchy and dynamic that I instantly

listened to the album as well as their first EP Zigurat. Technically the EP can be considered as a full-length since it clocks around 40 minutes or so. Anyway, both the releases not only met my initial expectations of finding a solid chunk of stoner metal but surpassed it as Sergeant Thunderhoof's unparalleled synthesis of Sabbathian grooves, transcendental psychedelia, and unpredictable hooky flair make them more than just a stoner rock band.

Enter Terra Solus, the sophomore full-length release by these psychedelic heavy rockers from Somerset, UK. It’s every bit of a consistent opus as their previous outputs and perhaps more sophisticated, diverse and expansive. Right off the bat the gigantic bottom-heavy Sabbathian lurch of “Another Plane” begins this loud, epic and trippy extraterrestrial journey. The pace and dynamic remain in the heavy territory with the thunderous riff-o-rama of “Stellar Gate Drive”. Even though this album is more of a cohesive, consistent piece of work with practically no filler, “The Tree and the Serpent” is still a definite highlight of the record for me. It’s a six-minute psychedelic spiritual trip surrounded with a hauntingly infectious verse-chorus structure carried remarkably by airy, bluesy reverberating rhythm section and Dan Flitcroft’s charismatic soulful vocals which peaks with Mark Sayer’s orgasmics leads. “Priestess of Misery” is another absolute favorite of mine. It’s a stupendous moody doom metal piece which shifts back and forth between sludgy grooves, haunting monolithic chorus and intense leads.

As I’ve stated earlier that Sergeant Thunderhoof is not easily categorizable, sure general genre adherents can associate them with the stoner/doom spectrum and I think the band is totally fine with that. But their emphasis on catchy grooves, huge chorus, psychedelic meanderings and overall memorable songwriting is as much aesthetically akin to Deep Purple, ZZ Top, Soundgarden as it is to Black Sabbath, Cathedral and Kyuss as well as Pink Floyd to some extent. A prime example of this is “Diesel Breath” which comes across as a groove-laden heavy rocker at first until the grinding metallic crawl of the bridge and the soul-searching Floydian culmination of the outro. 

“Half a Man” is a really different sort of piece altogether which evokes a ballad-like feel upon

first listen but It’s not really a ballad. It’s simply an introspective, heartfelt, quiet vocal-driven atmospheric tune. The dreamy, pensive psychedelia of “Om Shaantih” brings closure to the contrasting, kaleidoscopic trip that is Terra Solus. Call it metal, heavy rock, stoner, doom or whatever, Sergeant Thunderhoof is definitely one of the most original sounding entities out there right now and I hope that they will continue to impress us with their mercurial brand of heavy rock for years to come.


Terra Solus is scheduled to be released on May 12th. Pre-order is up on Bandcamp for limited edition vinyl, limited edition cassette, compact disc and digital download. You can stream the first track "Another Plane" via the Bandcamp attachment below.






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Atragon - Volume I (2012)

Doom from the ghoulish crypts of Edinburgh:

At first listen Atragon may turn out as the Scottish counterpart of The Wounded Kings due to their massive, gnarly wall of sound. But no, upon further listening

you'll realize that they have this unusual and weird rock-out sensibilities attached to the writhing mass of gargantuan riffing. So, the outcome is not as ritualistic as The Wounded Kings neither as wretched as Cough even though comparisons remain viable to some extent.

They draw from every facet of doom metal, be it the abrasive sludge that pours from the first track, the more bouncy up-tempo tendencies of Pentagram, Saint Vitus and Crush the Insects era Reverend Bizarre as heard in the primary rhythm section of "Jesus Wept" disparated by its bridge which plunges into the hallucinatory depths of drone.

Psychedelic leads are also to be found on both the tracks and that too judiciously incorporated during the build-up. Jan Gardner's vocals fall

somewhere between the revolting snarl of Henry Rollins and the theatrics of Layne Staley. Too much of a compliment? No, his voice is really that damn good and you have to hear it to believe it.

Overall, this demo is very promising and regardless of what kind of doom you're into Atragon's crushing sonic waves oscillate between cathartic hallucinations, massive grooves and morbid atmosphere of the Edinburgh Vaults. As far as I've heard they're currently working on the debut full-length and I simply can't wait to hear it.

Rating - ★★★★ (87% on Metal-Archives)

Available for free download from Witch Hunter Records

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Inconcessus Lux Lucis - Crux Lupus Corona EP (2014)

NWOTBM = New Wave of Twisted Black Metal:

This emergence of freaky and twisted black metal is quite engaging to me. Be it Urfaust's drunken rituals, Negative Plane's black magic with a tasty surf rock

undertone or Head of the Demon's Sabbath meets Darkthrone approach all of these guys are pretty damn unique in their own ways. Now comes Inconcessus Lux Lucis! Huh! Inconcessus Lux Lucis is Latin for "Prohibited Light". Now the music is not quite dark or gloomy but it's definitely as deranged as the band name. Well, maybe Whorethorn seemed a bit too naive for this kind of sound!

Crux Lupus Corona is the after effect of the maniacal disorder caused by its full-length predecessor Disintegration: Psalms of Veneration for the Nefarious Elite which was released back in April. The EP is named after the containing individual tracks respectively apart from the intro "Via Dolorosa" which initiates this aberrant ceremony with an atmospheric and anthemic tone with piper like lead guitar melodies dominating over jangling grooves and poignant harmonized vocals. The strongest aspect of this duo is they know how to write killer hooks and classy rhythm. Constant Interplay between black and thrashy shifts with more rock-out and punk sections, texturally varied harmonics, swirling grooves and even a bit psychedelic flirting they utilize all these styles to create their own brand of oddball black metal.

Imagine Hail Spirit Noir jamming with Venom and Motorhead with a schizophrenic twin of Nocturno Culto on vocals. That's how bizarre and ridiculously dope they managed to sound with "Corona". Just make sure you have a bottle of Corona to accompany you when you howl-along,

"O hollow temptress, I call to thee - Fuck me! 

Come, join the slow dance, with maggots, shit and entropy!"

The crunchy headbangable riffs are appeasing to traditional metal, hardcore punk and thrash fans alike yet raw enough to please die-hard black metal fans. So, if you're a fan of good quality heavy metal in general, be it Motorhead or Celtic Frost and open for bands with quirky approaches then Inconcessus Lux Lucis might rock your socks off.

Rating - ★★★★

Cathedral - The Last Spire (2013)

"The Circle of Time Has Stopped":

Cathedral have always set themselves apart from their Black Sabbath worshipping peers. From the proto-funeral doom dirge of Forest of Equilibrium to groovy hard rocking bluesy metal oriented mid career to 70's progressive rock

influenced stoner/doom of The Guessing Game, they have incessantly re-invented themselves over the period of their legendary 25 year career which has been concluded with The Last Spire.

In Lee Dorrain's words "The Last Spire should have been our second album". Absolutely, spot on. The Last Spire ventures back to the dirgy gloom of their debut with a slight tint of progressive tendency. The guitar tone of Gaz Jennings on this record is heavy enough to crush the entire universe. The album begins with the eerie "Entrance to Hell" which is full of feedback and gonging bells with Lee Dorrian chanting "Bring out your dead" repeatedly in the background. It gradually delves into the longest track on the record "Pallbearer". "Infestation of Grey Death" starts with crushing riffs but has a somewhat upbeat mid section, clean acoustic passages during the chorus and a surprisingly soothing lead guitar melody after the second chorus. It's kind of a reminiscent of one of the band's classic tunes "Cosmic Funeral" and probably my most favourite song on the record followed by "Tower of Silence" which features an excellent palm-muted sludgy main riff accompanied by muddy basslines of Scott Carlson and mammoth stomp drumming of Brian Dixon. 

The album features guest vocals from Rosalie Cunningham (Purson) who is also featured on the video of "Tower of Silence" and Chris Reifert (Autopsy) has also lend his howls on "Cathedral of the Damned". Both of them have done commendable job in their respective departments.

Altogether, The Last Spire is hell of a worthy swansong for Cathedral. Not many bands can craft such a powerful and effective final opus which would solidify their legacy further and further. Now that the circle of time has stopped once and for all, we're doomed for eternity. R.I.P.

Rating - ★★★★★ (96% on Metal-Archives)