Cathari’s 2023 release ‘In God’s Infinite Silence’ presented six tracks of wonderful bleakness. On that record’s best tunes, the band’s doom metal influenced sound centred around a clean vocal and clean guitar, which often resulted in its oppressive feel coming from a gothic perspective. Going a little deeper, an intermittent concession to cold post-metal, as opposed to recycled Sabbath-isms, gave the band a strong sense of identity. When reaching for further extremes, passages where doom collided with abrasive black metal influences suggested Cathari were already drawing from a bigger well of intensity than most. Overall, the record left the feeling that the band might deliver something even more intense going forward.
Author Archives: Real Gone
RED MESA – Partial Distortions
Red Mesa’s second album ‘The Path To The Deathless’ brought the world a selection of finely crafted riffs during the pandemic lockdown of 2020. At the album’s most melodic, tracks like ‘Death I Am’ injected an extra spookiness into a classic desert rock backdrop; at its most groove laden, Red Mesa blended the driving elements of early Sabbath’s faster offerings with an extra layer of fuzz that looked back to classic Corrosion of Conformity, and when occasionally stretching for heavier sounds, their slow and oppressive riffs showed a love for the mighty Electric Wizard. In terms of taking a bunch of key influences and chucking them into a giant stoner metal stew, it was the kind of album that genre fans would love.
REAL GONE GOES OUT: Billy Bragg – Hall By The Sea, Dreamland, Margate, Kent 10/5/2024
It’s been many years since Billy Bragg last visited Thanet. He confirms this by telling the crowd a really funny story about how, circa 1983, he played a tiny venue in Margate or Broadstairs – the exact details of which are now unclear – and he managed to lock himself in the cellar.
9-VOLT VELVET – Nude Beaches
Texan rockers 9-Volt Velvet serve up a superb selection of riffs on their first full length release ‘Nude Beaches’. It’s a record that values directness, with each of the tracks feature some really taut riffs, but unlike some garage rock oriented bands, 9VV’s best tunes aren’t just in the Band of Skulls mode. The best bits of this album draw from a broader musical palette, and sometimes do so within a single song.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #51
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual mp3s that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. This time around, the SB includes a few familiar faces: Roisin McCarney returns with some great pop; Scotland’s The Lines share one of their finest tracks to date, and alt-rockers Then Comes Silence deliver one of their most incessant hooks. There are unfamiliar acts here too, as well as the Bar’s usual variety, as we explore some retro pop, a tune from a brand new singer songwriter, and a couple of other treats. As always, we hope you find something interesting within…
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