GEEZER - Ancient Song

GEEZER - Ancient Song from the GAGE EP 2013

Geezer sweeps you up from the beginning of Ancient Song with psychedelic dreaminess in the guitar effects. Warm laid back tones mix with solid pocket drumming and sweet bass lines and of course Pat Harrington's signature vocal style; that gruff sultry voice that's been bathed in whiskey, smoke and gargled with sulfuric acid. This is a single for the upcoming "Gage" ep to be released tomorrow. Keep a look out for it and for future releases from GEEZER. A must for fans of psychedelic / stoner goodness.

IRON WITCH - Post Vegas Blues 7"

IRON WITCH * Post Vegas Blues 7"

Thirty Days of Night Records (2012)

These UK lads play some punishing crusty sludge, and yeah they get compared to EHG a lot, but these guys can stand on their own, without question! So lay off the constant comparison and hear them for what they truly are, amazing! After hearing the “Single Malt” release I have been hooked on these guys and couldn't wait to get my hands on this 7”. After pre-ordering and delays, that’s exactly what I had to do…wait. But, the wait was well worth it. Pressed on transparent green vinyl, I was stoked to finally hear this. Post Vegas Blues kicks in with some murky clean bass (Rick Owen), then the sludgefest begins when it all comes in! This track moves along like trying to run through a pit of quicksand, thick, powerful and pulls you under, the way crusty sludge should. It picks up pace a bit with a bluesy jaunt, but only for a moment before weighing you down again. Side B punches you in the face with Gunshot Residue / Exceed The Dose with crusty punk dirty filth which reminds me of DOOM and LEECHMILK. Dan and Sams guitar tones are thick and dingy, setting the tone for aural decay and tonal misery, with Will pummeling the absolute crap out of his kit the entire time. Chris' vocals are the icing on the cake for me, throaty dirges belted out with such disgust and urgency! Post Vegas Blues is a must for any Doom / Sludge vinyl collector, and anyone into this style of dirty delta southern sludge! This album is a must across the board!!

http://www.facebook.com/ironwitch1977 

http://ironwitch.bigcartel.com/

A STORM OF LIGHT * As the Valley of Death Becomes Us, Our Silver Memories Fade

A STORM OF LIGHT * As the Valley of Death Becomes Us, Our Silver Memories Fade

(2011) Profound Lore

Late, yes, but still necessary none the less. This is still a highly needed album, even if it is from 2011. I am amazed by the diversity of this band as a whole. I initially went into this album kind of expecting at least some sort of carry over from "And We Wept The Black Ocean Within", this was not the case. Instead I found it to be a brilliant album capturing the days gone by of metal. At times reminding me of the Industrial edge of Ministry and a whole lot of Metallica, and the direction they should have taken! The guitar and drums working together with amazing gallops and thrashy riffs just made my heart race and head swim, I was surprised and excited to be listening to this album! I do love when I hear an album that recaptures something for me or lights a fire in me again for music. A good deal of today's music is stagnant and mundane, but A STORM OF LIGHT have the balls to create each album different from the last, and I down right admire that! So many bands recreate the last album, or albums, in their catalog, and it happens so much; so this was a gutsy move and a breath of fresh air! Looking forward to the next step in the journey.

Ghulheim - Demo

GHULHEIM * Demo

(2012)

I recently saw this demo posted on Facebook, so I downloaded it to check it out, and afterwards, glad that I did. The demo opens with “Echoes of Ancient Skies” with a slow Saint Vitus type riff, then opening up to a thicker powerful sound plotting along with a good chill pace. The vocals are sung out strong, more of a traditional doom style but mixed with some good grit. “The Jabberwocky” has a sick little groove to it with some dirty blues riffs with a great drive to it. Bass and Rhythm reminds me a lot of Spiritual Beggars. Closing out the demo we have “Warriors of Steel” which has a strong straight up metal appeal, full of guitar galloping and cowbells. It’s thick and heavy with a little more of a power metal vibe. So give ‘em a listen and see what you think.

http://ghulheim.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/9swordsband

DOWN * IV Part 1 - Purple EP

DOWN * IV Part 1 - Purple EP

(2012)

Finally after a long sleep, they rise again with this 6 song slab of an EP. It's good to see them active again as a whole and creating such thick riffs, but to be honest, I wasn't completely impressed with the outcome of the EP. I realize that may be blasphemy to a lot of folks, but I can only speak for myself and how music affects me. I read in an interview that Phil spoke of doing solid EPs instead of full length albums with filler tracks, and I was excited at that thought. But even with a 6 song EP, there are still tracks that don't hit home and just fill in the space to call it an album. I even grow weary of Phils vocal approach, which hasn't really changed since NOLA with the gruff mumbling repeating what he just said or sang, dead horse kicking kind of stuff.

This EP has a couple saving graces and down right heavy, raunchy, dirty riffs, but for me this doesn't have it, but am looking forward to the next installment in the EP saga.

Sickness - Voyeurism

SICKNESS

Voyeurism

(Mp3-CD)

Here we have dense high-end tonal destruction and pleasant aural torture. Laced with guttural rumblings over-shadowed with squelch, signal bleeps, tweaks and other harsh signal calamity that is being pushed to extreme limits. Loosely woven within this mish-mosh of harsh electronics are samples and mid-ranged frequencies along with some loops and screams thrown in for fun.

A little history...

I started Scabies, roughly around 1999/2000, and then was a small run xerox zine exploring the realms of Grindcore, Metal, Black Metal, Experimental, what have you. The reviews were written by a band-mate at the time and myself, I took the noise releases to review due to it being more my cup of tea. The zine was called Scabies because most people that ended up with scabies were generally unclean, and people don't think well of metal and noise, and thought of those who listened to it to be scurge of the Earth, so it was fitting to name it after music for the unclean.

The zine only lasted a couple issues before becoming an online zine. It was easier and could update as I had time. After a while, time wasn't there much. I had a job, 2 full time bands, a noise project and a microlabel that I was neck deep into. My business kept me from fulfilling some material that was sent, and for that I apologize. I had too much on my plate and every intention to review everything that came through, whether I liked it or not.

Now a days, I tend to have a little more time and want to start fresh and take my time. I was recently inspired by a couple of people who write very well of others music and sounds, so thanks Phillip and Chavez.

If interested in having material reviewed, feel free to message me at http://www.facebook.com/ScabiesMagazine and I'll give you more info as to where to send your material.

Thanks!