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, we bring you some Americana via Australia, some huge electro-pop, a devastating piece of metal, the return of some yacht rock heroes, and more besides…
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With an opening track titled ‘Witches’ Sabbath’, this EP from British rock band Druidess makes no secret of its chief influences and interests. However, in a world that can feel overpopulated by doom and stoner metal bands, these guys really stand out. Their occult themed material and huge riffs fill the void left by Witch Charmer and Black Moth, and throughout the material on this debut, Shonagh Brown’s melodic vocals provide a superbly clear counterpoint to the band’s otherwise heavy sound.
On the surface, Vast Pyre might show off a minimalist set up, since they work a sound centring around just guitar and drums, but there’s absolutely nothing minimalist about the noise they create.
In the pre-release press materials for ‘Broke Sabbath’, Canadian sludge metallers Dopethrone referred to the album’s material as having gone “full on ‘Volume 4’…”, and although the band aren’t working in a pure doom genre, in terms of intensity, it’s possible to see what they mean. Sort of, at least. Back in ’72, Sabbath’s fourth album was their most uncompromising to date, and by association, one of the heaviest albums to date from metal’s first wave. Although far sludgier, the best material here certainly has the same relentless quality that tracks like ‘Wheels of Confusion’ would have conveyed decades earlier. Without quibbling too much over a difference in style, whichever way you slice it, this is an album that takes its art to the absolute extreme.
Ever since the release of their ‘In Gallows By Mass’ EP in 2017, Sheffield’s Ba’al have always been committed to pushing the boundaries of metal. That EP’s three tracks explored the extreme end of post-metal riffing, doom laden sounds, and even dropped in some black metal vocals for good measure. With a few melodic twists that explored a slightly more commercial goth based sound with clean vocals, there were concessions to some great melodies too, but didn’t offer anything particularly accessible to those not into extreme sounds.