To quote Will Farrell’s Ron Burgundy character in the film Anchorman: well, that escalated quickly. It’s an apt quote to describe Blues Pills’ meteoric rise to fame, who, after three EP’s of tantalizing teasing have now finally released their first self-titled album. Sounds from the Dark Side takes a look at the goods on offer.
Tag Archives: review
[Live Review] Angel Olsen, EKKO Utrecht
What do Stockholm, Paris, Los Angeles, Glasgow and Utrecht have in common? Well, all cities were recently visited by the graceful singer-songwriter Angel Olsen. Olsen released her sophomore LP, Burn Your Fire For No Witness, this February and has been on tour ever since, playing night, after night, after night. The EKKO stage in Utrecht (The Netherlands) was the next in line for Olsen. And since the album made it to our ‘not to be missed in 2014’ section, a visit to this gig just couldn’t be resisted.
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Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks – Enter the Slasher House
If you’re into close encounters of the blurred kind musically you’ll find a safe haven within genre of experimental psychedelics. In the past twenty years or so this scene is mostly dominated by bands such as The Flaming Lips, Of Montreal, Dirty Projectors, Animal Collective and their innumerable side projects. Indeed, being a busy bee is pretty much the standard in this scene. Same goes for Animal Collective frontman David Portner (also known as Avey Tare) who announced a new outfit last year surrounding his own persona called Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks. This year the band debuted with Enter the Slasher House. Continue reading
Accept – Blind Rage
Thank the Metal Gods that Accept decided to return in 2009 with Blood of the Nations, an album that still ranks easily amongst the best these Teutonic metallers ever released. The same could be said about the equally stunning Stalingrad. In 2014, Accept returns again with their third post-reunion album, and it might just be the best yet.
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Peter Matthew Bauer – Liberation!
Maybe it would be best to call it quits. However, why should we? Especially after being together for such a long time. Indie rock band The Walkmen experienced a conflict like this first hand a year ago and decided a split would cause a lot of unnecessary hubbub, so an ‘extreme hiatus’ seemed a better plan. A creative gap seemed unavoidable, leaving fans empty handed. Continue reading
Judas Priest – Redeemer of Souls
Six years after their last album, and three years after the start of their supposedly last and appropriately titled Epitaph tour, British metal masters Judas Priest return with a new recording line-up and a new album. But can Redeemer of Souls measure up to past material? The answer is two-fold. Continue reading
[Live Review] Ghost, Melkweg Amsterdam
The last time I saw ghoul rockers Ghost live was in 2011, when they supported Paradise Lost on their Draconian Times anniversary tour. Opus Eponymous had just been released and the band were already creating a buzz in the metal scene. At the time, Ghost was seen as not much more than a joke band that would last one, maybe two albums before the curtain would fall. A lot has happened since then. Continue reading
Sounds from the Dark Side top albums of 2014 (until now)
Hey y’all, summer solstice lies behind us so it’s time to saw the year in half. These are our top albums of 2014 until now and in no apparent order. Metal, Latin, Hip Hop-Jazz, Western funeral march music… we’ve got it all! Continue reading
Meridian Brothers – Salvadora Robot
Here’s some good news: Eblis Álvarez and his gamely fellows are back! Not that we’ve haven’t heard from Bogotá’s finest for a while though… Only a few months ago Meridian Brothers reintroduced themselves with the compilation album Devoción which was a follow up to their most recent work Desesperanza (2012). Salvadora Robot is the latest addition to their lively and dense catalogue and saw the light of day earlier this month. And yes, just for a tease, a whole new carnivalesque hallucination awaits us. Continue reading
Sabaton – Heroes
To be completely honest, the longevity of Swedish war-themed metallers Sabaton continues to amaze me. I first learnt of the band through their sophomore album Primo Victoria and I clearly remember my younger self thinking, “Well, this is neat, I wonder how long they’ll last.” That was nine years and five albums ago, and the band’s popularity has sky-rocketed since then, and it doesn’t seem like Sabaton’s popularity is going to wane any time soon. Continue reading
