Mar 052025
 

(In this column our Denver-based friend Gonzo brings forward five albums of varied kinds of heaviness for your consideration, all of them released in February.)

Well, February came and went, and I’m still catching up on the absolute onslaught of heavy music that emerged from it – hence the noticeable delay in putting this column together.

Alas, shit happens. I’m still recovering from last night’s Cavalera show here in Denver, in which the eponymous brothers Max and Igor led their band through a crushingly heavy Schizophrenia set that was played at breakneck speed. Even the Chaos A.D. encore cranked up the BPM. And just before they were ready to call it a night, they hauled none other than Jello Biafra on stage for a downright cathartic cover of “Nazi Punks Fuck Off,” except “Punks” was replaced with “Trumps.”

In place of a politically charged tirade of my own, I’ll just lazily approve the above with a “fuck yes” stamp of approval and carry on.

Anyway, here’s some music you should listen to that came out last month. Continue reading »

Jan 032017
 

 

(Comrade Aleks returns to us in the new year with this interview of Amy Tung Barrysmith and Johannes Barrysmith, the members of Year of the Cobra.)

This Seattle-based duo started their practice in a vein of psychedelic doom metal / rock not so long ago. The Black Sun EP was released just about one year ago, but an active attitude toward this sort of music led Year of the Cobra to record a split-album with the famous Mos Generator, released on June 16, 2016. So it was just a question of time to finish their debut full-length killer-album and get the contract with STB Records.

Did you see the artwork? Nice one, isn’t it? I still believe that each album starts with the artwork, and that was the first reason why I took note of Year of the Cobra. But there are also a lot of groovy tunes besides this cool picture, so it was my sacred duty to spread the word further, and both Amy Tung Barrysmith (bass, vocals) and Johanes Barrysmith (drums) are here to help me with that. Continue reading »